The soothing rays of Luna’s rising moon illuminated the town of Ponyville as the silhouette of a werewolf could faintly be seen resting on the crystalline balcony of the Castle of Friendship. Jim sat with his back against the wall as he faced the horizon, a content smile on his face. It had taken a few tries but he had finally managed to find a position where he could sit more like he had when he was human. It was not the most comfortable position, but it allowed him to sit in a position to be able to see over the railing better.
Jim’s eyes glowed slightly as they reflected the light of the moon. He watched the milky white crescent drift higher and he thought back to the earlier events of the day. It had not taken long to locate the friends of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Oddly enough, it had not taken much to convince their friends to join the game, either. They had found Button Mash first, the young colt had been playing a game console inside of the bowling alley. Just as sweetie had expected, Button had been thrilled to see Jim. Tender Taps had been practicing some dance moves on a makeshift stage beside his home, but had declined the invitation to join the game. The orange colt would have liked to play, but he was pressed for time in getting ready for a play he was participating in.
The remaining two, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, had eluded the group, sadly. Still, the following game of hide and seek had been no less fun. Scootaloo had tried even harder to use what she had learned to hide better. Jim had actually found himself proud of her for how much she had improved. She had taken the longest amount of time to find. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had done better as well but, as Jim suspected the case would be, they just could not figure out the direction of the wind as easily as their pegasus friend. Button had been clueless as to the lessons from earlier, much to the amusement of the three fillies who had seen him get found first, but the colt had fun afterwards when Jim told him to become a new seeker to increase the difficulty for the remaining three.
They had played for a few hours and for the final game the four young ponies had wanted to try and find Jim. The smile on Jim’s face grew as he recalled that part. He knew they would have a hard time finding him, but for whatever reason he still found it to be fun hiding from them. It wasn’t until they had regrouped, completely at a loss as to where he had hidden, and called out to him that he jumped out and scared them. He had been hiding right under their noses the entire time, sitting comfortably in the branches of the tree they had counted beneath. Still, he had watched the four as they searched for him and somehow experienced delight in seeing them thoroughly explore for his location.
However, through his observation, Jim had seen the signs that Scootaloo was becoming more than a pony. Where the others had looked around playfully, Scootaloo had adopted a more methodical search. For the first few minutes she stood beneath the tree, her ears slowly rotating to catch the surrounding sounds. There were a few times when the wind would shift slightly and she turned her nose into the breeze, a clear indication that she was trying to catch his scent. At one point she even lowered her stance and crept around the tree when she thought she heard him. The sight had filled Jim with pride… and sadness. He was happy that she was taking to her new traits rather well, but it pained him knowing that it was his fault that she had them. Still, it was hard to stay upset when he thought back to the end of the game. After surprising them, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie had giggled gleefully and ran up to hug him. Button had held back. Whether it was because he was embarrassed from being startled so easily or because the evil fang-filled grin Jim had shown had truly scared him remained to be seen. In the end, everyone had enjoyed themselves and the crusaders looked forward to playing with Jim again.
A gentle laugh escaped from Jim’s mouth as he closed his eyes and took in the smells of the night air. It had been a good day; far better than anything he had experienced in over eighty years. That brought him to a slight pause and his smile faded a little. Looking at it now, it was pretty sad to admit that there had been so much crap being thrown at him throughout his life that he could count all of his good experiences on one hand. How had he lived for so long like that? Why did he?
Because it all led me to this place… to Equestria. Sheesh… it’s almost like it really is the land of magic and friendship, he thought and chuckled at the idea. So far he could not put together a compelling argument to state otherwise. Ever since he had stood in front of Luna, things had somehow turned out… happy. Yeah there were a few hiccups along the way, but now he had a new friend, no… friends. Luna, the crusaders, maybe even Pinkie and Fluttershy as well. Hell, even Twilight had warmed up to him, comparatively, and that other mare… Starlight, she had been pleasant enough company before as well.
Still, his life was far from over, and as he had seen so far… things could change at the drop of a hat. The friendships he had now could simply come to an end because of a single event. Jim’s smile wavered and his gaze dropped down to his wolf feet. All it would take is a single mistake on my part… and it could come crashing down to burn in a hell of my own creation, he thought morbidly. Though he had been pleased with how he had been in more control since leaving the cave of the Elements of Harmony, Jim still did not feel he was free from the beast within his heart. Deep down, he knew it was still there… watching… waiting…
A deep sigh slipped through Jim and he tilted his head back until it hit the wall, his fur dulling the impact. He doubted he would ever be free of his darker side, but not knowing when it would try to come to the surface again was unsettling, to say the least. For a moment he simply wished that there was someone he could talk to, someone who could help him find the answer. His fists balled up at that thought and a low growl rumbled in his throat. He had hoped that Celestia would have been in Twilight’s castle when he had returned. Instead, the solar princess had left for Canterlot shortly after he had left with Scootaloo. He still had questions for her and it peeved him greatly that she had just left without a word. Jim understood that she had important duties to tend to in the castle, but she should have stopped him if she was not going to have time to discuss things with him later. His curse wasn’t just some inconvenience to her ponies; it was a real and imminent threat! She should have taken it more seriously! It almost seemed that she simply did not want to waste her time talking to him about it because she thought she knew better…
Jim’s body slumped as his anger petered out. Getting wound up over it would do no one any good. The last bit of his annoyance slipped out of him in a long sigh. That was the end of that so he moved on, twisting his body around to get onto his feet. He paused briefly to look at the moon once more. The thought of jumping from the balcony to go and check on Scootaloo rolled around in his mind for a few moments, but he had not felt anything substantial enough to warrant that. He did worry about the small chance of her changing so soon after being infected, but most of him felt that it just was not time for that to happen yet. It was still a little alarming how quickly she had started showing signs of her change, though. Only a few days had passed and her senses were getting sharper. If that was any indication, then he felt her transformation would come between a few days from now to two weeks.
Whatever the case may be, Jim had spent enough time idling around. He had expended a considerable amount of energy while he had played with the little ponies and sleep was beckoning him. He smiled again as he turned toward the balcony doors. I guess it was a good thing I had gotten that smoothie. It might not have been much, but it helped me stay energized to keep up with those little rascals. I wonder what game we should play next… he mused as he entered the castle.
~~***~~
Morning welcomed Jim in its warm embrace as the first rays of the sun entered through his open window, followed by the birds singing in the distance. He stirred from his slumber atop the sheets and stretched his limbs with a low groan. His eyes slowly opened as his tail swished to the side and a smile steadily formed on the end of his muzzle. That’s probably the best sleep I’ve gotten in months… he mused and stretched again, focusing on his back. With his body limbered up and sleep’s hold no longer holding his mind hostage, Jim rolled over and off of the bed onto his hands and feet.
As with most creatures, Jim’s body held the usual morning demands and he promptly entered into the nearby bathroom. With what some referred to as ‘the ritual’ completed, he proceeded to satisfy his hunger, as well as to locate the source of the wonderful aroma coming from brewing coffee. Before long, Jim’s search led him to the kitchen where, much to his surprise, Twilight was standing beside the stove. He paused in the doorway and quietly watched as her magic took hold of multiple ingredients across the kitchen. The longer he stood there, the more intrigued and mesmerized he found himself becoming.
With barely a second glance in any other direction, Twilight simultaneously poured milk into a bowl as a cube of butter slid off of the stick and onto the pan on the stove. At the same time, flour poured into the bowl with the milk as a few eggs cracked and separated to send the goodness contained within into the mix as well. There were a few other ingredients involved but Jim just could not keep up with that many items as they all floated effortlessly into the creation.
Jim had assumed that the young Alicorn was gifted in the use of magic, and seeing her use it without even looking at what she was doing had proven to be… impressive. It even prompted him to look down at his hand and wonder what it might be like to wield magic. But what would I use it for? Well, aside from making breakfast seem like child’s play.
“Oh, Jim, you startled me,” came Twilight’s voice.
Jerked from his random musing, Jim’s head whipped up and he smiled weakly. “Sorry about that, Twilight. I was just thinking and kind of forgot where I was for a second.”
“Oh, well… what were you thinking about? It must have been interesting, judging by the blank expression you had a moment ago – it was like you were off somewhere else,” Twilight said with a little giggle.
Jim chuckled. “Eh, it wasn’t anything grand. I was just surprised seeing how effortless you made magic seem and I wondered what it might be like to have magic.”
“Oh? You’re interested in magic?” she asked.
“Eh…” Jim shrugged before looking down at his hand again. “I tried to pursue magic once…”
Her curiosity piqued, Twilight turned her body to face Jim properly. “Really? What did you pursue? Actually, I didn’t know magic existed on Earth.”
A weak chuckle slipped through Jim’s teeth as he fought back a sigh. He knew he should not have said anything about it, but he felt compelled to say it anyway. His eyes drifted away from Twilight to stare out of the small window above the sink. “I tried to pursue forbidden magic. There are few magics left on Earth and what is left is closely guarded – only a select few know about it nowadays. None of it is powerful, though… normally.”
Twilight waited for Jim to continue, but as the seconds passed she began to wonder if maybe he was not willing to say anything further. Still, he had gained her full attention and she was very curious as to what kind of magic someone like Jim would try to learn, especially one that was deemed forbidden. “So… what kind of magic was it?” she asked slowly.
Jim’s teeth clamped together as he recalled that part of his past. It had been a complete waste of time and had garnered him unnecessary enemies, all for nothing. He sighed slowly before he turned his head back to Twilight. “I tried to learn a way to bring the dead back to life. Necromancy, to be more specific.”
Twilight’s eyes widened and everything that was floating in her magic suddenly stopped and fell to the floor, causing a sizable mess. Jim’s ears folded back at the loud clanging of utensils and shattering of the bowl. He even winced as some of the bowl’s contents splattered up onto Twilight’s backside, going as far as her mane. A quiet sigh slipped through Jim’s nose as he looked back into Twilight’s eyes. He knew he should have stayed quiet about it, there was never anything good that came from exposing his past… but he wanted to try letting these ponies into his life.
Twilight simply stared at the werewolf in front of her. Of all the things she had heard, magic used to bring back the dead was one of the most frowned upon in all of Equestria, hay, even the world. Nothing good ever came out of that form of magic. Her eyes firmed and she took in a slow breath. “Jim… that kind of magic is nothing but evil. Why… what could you have possibly accomplished with it?” she asked seriously.
Jim’s eyes lowered to the floor as his face showed a deep regret. He was silent for a time before he finally closed his eyes. “I wanted to apologize… to tell Marcus how sorry I was for… for everything I did. I just wanted him to know that… that our friendship meant the world to me… and…” Jim swallowed hard as he fought back his tears. He did not want to cry. He couldn’t do it, not in front of anyone. He had to stay strong and not make things any more awkward than they already were for him.
Jim’s eyes suddenly opened when he felt a gentle warmth wrap around his abdomen. There, hugging him softly, was Twilight. He was stunned for a moment before his arms slowly reached out to hug her in return. Try as he might, such a show of kindness was just too much for his heart and his tears flowed down into the fur of his cheeks. He sobbed quietly as Twilight’s hug intensified and she whispered, “I’m sorry, Jim. I can’t possibly imagine what it must have been like for you, but… but I’ll try to help you any way I can. I can’t do anything about bringing your friend back, though. Necromancy is even more forbidden in Equestria than on your world – only those chosen by Celestia are even permitted to know what that word means. Nopony is allowed to know how it works.”
Jim sighed as he slowly released Twilight. He took a step back and kneeled down to look her in the eyes. “No. I failed with it before. I just can’t use magic… but I don’t regret that. I know now that bringing him back would not do anything positive. I’d only manage to disturb him from his resting place just so I could spout my nonsense in an attempt to satisfy my own grief. Even if he did forgive me, I would have brought him back only to suffer more. Giving life back to the dead only creates an undead with eternal life… even if you destroy the body, the soul can never find a place to rest ever again. I would’ve been sentencing my friend to an eternity of undeath… and that is worse than killing him. I don’t want help with anything regarding that kind of magic, but thanks for listening to me rant, at least,” he said and smiled weakly.
Twilight offered Jim a small smile. “I’ll gladly listen to you. Any time you need.”
With a short nod, Jim turned his attention to the mess on the kitchen floor. His eyes then scanned for a cupboard where he might find a broom, or other cleaning tools. Twilight noticed his actions and looked back to the mess as well and a small sigh slipped from her.
Jim’s ears folded back a little as he looked back to the young Alicorn. “I’m sorry. Is there a broom I could use to help clean this up?” he asked softly, his throat producing a low growl in its attempt to be soft spoken.
Twilight shook her head and smiled at Jim for his offer. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll have this picked up in a second.” No sooner had she said those words, Twilight’s horn lit up in her purple magical aura. The utensils lifted from the floor, the creamy batter smoothly slipping off of them. The shards of the broken bowl also rose from their resting place and came together, softly glowing along the cracks until the magic had fused them back together to repair the bowl flawlessly. Then, the batter and the remaining ingredients on the floor, as well as on her fur, lifted up and floated over to a nearby trash bin. With everything finally picked up, repaired, and cleaned, Twilight swiped a small bead of sweat from her brow and sighed contentedly.
“Well, now that everything has been cleaned up, I can start thinking about what to do about breakfast,” Twilight said happily.
“Again, I’m sorry about that,” Jim said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“It’s alright, Jim. If anything, I’m just a little bummed that I don’t have enough ingredients to make another batch of pancakes for everypony.”
Jim sighed and his eyes narrowed in thought. He wanted to do something to remedy the problem, but his experiences in cooking were very limited. He never had to prepare a meal for anything like these ponies. Obviously, they could not eat meat… not raw, or cooked for that matter. Even if they could, it would hardly be fitting enough to supply them with what they needed nutritionally. His mind could only draw a blank as to how he could remedy the situation, so he lowered his shoulders in defeat with another sigh. “Sorry, I can’t think of anything that might be useful. I just don’t know enough about the dietary needs of a pony, but I’ll try to make this up to you.”
Twilight’s face beamed with a happy smile. “I appreciate that, Jim, but it’s not necessary. If you’d like, I don’t mind teaching you a few things about ponies… or any of the other species in Equestria.”
A small smile slipped across Jim’s face and he nodded. “I think I’d like that. It would help me a great deal.”
“Oh, speaking of which,” Twilight said as a thought occurred to her. “What would you like to eat? I’m afraid that we don’t have any meat products… and I’m not exactly sure how to make a meat dish either…”
Jim’s smile grew a pinch more. “Don’t worry about that, Twilight. I eat my meat raw, or as close to it as possible. Every now and then I’ll try marinating it and cooking it like the humans do, but I usually just eat it as it comes. In any case, I think I’ll get out of the way and meet up with Scootaloo. I need to keep a close eye on her… she’s developing pretty fast into her curse.” Jim’s ears suddenly sprung up and his tail stiffened as he remembered something. “Oh, and I just remembered, but I offered to pay for a few shakes yesterday using that… what was it called again?”
“The stipend?”
“Yes, that. Just so I know for sure, was it alright for me to use it for that? I’m still not sure what all that money will cover, as far as all of my purchases…”
Twilight’s smile faded slightly as she thought back on that subject. “Well… as far as I’m aware, as long as you don’t exceed your income, you can spend it on a few personal expenses. Of course, if all you’re spending it on is nonessential things, then you may be audited and an investigation will be prompted to look into your purchases. The result would be an edit of how much you are allowed to be given.”
Jim nodded in understanding. “I see. Thank you for clearing that up. I’ll try not to use it too often when keeping Scootaloo and her friends fed. I’ll see you later, Twilight.”
“Bye, Jim. Have a fun day!”
Jim’s paws took him from the kitchen and into the town of Ponyville. As he walked, he took notice of the usual reactions of his presence, though they seemed to have lessened a little in how fearful the ponies seemed to be around him. He wondered why that was, but could not come up with a feasible answer. In the end, he simply shrugged it off as unimportant. His journey across town came to a sudden stop when he heard the flapping of quickly approaching feathered wings.
Turning his head fluidly, Jim’s eyed spotted the source of the sound. Rainbow Dash surged forth, spinning through the air in a quick flourish before landing in front of him. Jim simply raised a brow at the display. “Not that that wasn’t impressive, but why the dramatic entrance?” he asked.
Rainbow chuckled and struck a confident pose. “Well, I figured I’d show you some of my tricks since you’re still new here. That was just one of my usual little flips – I do them all the time when I’m full of energy.”
Which means you do them all the time because you’re never at a loss for energy, Jim thought before he opened his mouth. “So what can I help you with? Or did you just drop in to chat?”
Rainbow’s pose relaxed a little, but as she looked into Jim’s eyes he quickly noticed there was still something hiding within them… fear perhaps.
“Well…” she began as she rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, “I was kinda hoping you could… uh… let me hang out with Scoots a little today, too?”
Jim’s brow lifted again curiously. “I don’t see why not. But I think there’s more to it than just that. What do you really want?”
“I… I can’t really say, honestly,” Rainbow admitted. “Don’t get me wrong, I love that filly to death, but… I dunno…”
Jim sighed quietly before he responded to her. “Rainbow… I think that you want to tell me something, but you’re not ready to say it. So. I’ll keep myself free tonight. Come to Twilight’s place and you and I can talk this out in private. Unless you’re too scared of being alone with me, I’d understand.”
“Wha- no! That’s not… well… okay, you still get under my skin a little, but it’s not like I’m that scared of you.”
“Then let’s talk about this later. Right now I’m on my way to be near Scootaloo. After all, Princess Celestia did say it was my responsibility to watch her.”
“Right…”
With a shallow nod, Jim turned away from Rainbow and resumed his walk towards the Ponyville Schoolhouse. By his guess, the young fillies would have just started their classes by now. For obvious reasons he could not be within the building, but that did not mean he was unable to hide in the nearby tree line. A small smirk spread over his maw as he thought back to Twilight’s idea to keep him hidden by the young fillies and colts. She really was a clever mare, full of surprises.
Speaking of surprises, Jim’s ears picked up on the measured strokes of wing beats behind him as Rainbow Dash decided to follow him. Well that’s a good sign, I suppose.
The two eventually made their way to the edge of the clearing near the schoolhouse. Jim scanned the area for a few minutes, checking to make sure none of the ponies had caught on to his hiding spot, as well as to locate a nice place to sit until the end of the school day. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he moved to one of the taller trees and swiftly jumped into the foliage. From his perch, Jim could see the entire clearing with ease, and he could also see through the windows. Inside of the building were a number of young ponies. The teacher, a seemingly young mare with a deep purple coat and two-toned pink mane, stood at the chalkboard pointing out whatever the odd symbols were. Even with Jim’s sight it was just a little too difficult to make out what was written on the board.
Sitting near the middle of the room were Sweetie, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. The former two were paying rapt attention to their lesson, a sight that would have made Jim smile. But it was Scootaloo’s expression that stripped away any warmth from the scene within the school. Her ears were folded back slightly and it seemed she was feeling discomfort from something. She instantly became the sole focus of Jim’s attention, even as Rainbow Dash landed on the branch next to his.
“What’s with the serious look?” she asked cautiously.
“Something’s not right,” was Jim’s reply.
Rainbow’s body stiffened and she looked to the school. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary that she could see. It took her a few long moments, but she eventually spotted Scootaloo as well, the body language giving away the young filly’s distress. “What’s wrong with her? She looks like she’s not feeling so hot.”
“I don’t know, but I intend to find out. I’ll wait until a chance presents itself, but if she starts to change now then I’ll have to rush in there.”
“Then I’ll wait here, too. Chances are that if something like that does go down then it’d help to have somepony like me around to help calm the others down.”
Jim thought on that for a moment. Her presence would help, it was true, but Rainbow alone was not enough to ease his concerns. “Actually, I want you to run over and get Twilight. I’m not sure which of us would be faster, but I know that I’m needed here the most at this time. Scootaloo’s safety, and those around her, is my top priority right now and I don’t like how quickly she’s been showing these signs. If I had to guess, her change is coming a lot sooner than it should and her body is struggling to keep up with it. I’ll want Twilight’s help if something happens. Or… maybe she could help me think of something we could do to help ease Scootaloo’s suffering.”
Rainbow looked to the schoolhouse for a long moment as she weighed her options. Her eyes steadily filled with determination before she flexed her wings and glared at Jim. “Make sure you take care of her, Jim. I’m counting on you to be there for her… and her friends. Protect all of them.” With that, her wings flapped powerfully and she soared from the tree as a streak of rainbow filled the space behind her.
Jim watched her zoom away, his heart racing excitedly after seeing such a display of raw power. With renewed vigor, Jim turned his gaze back down to Scootaloo. Oh I’ll keep them safe, Rainbow. There is no doubt in my mind that I will.