//------------------------------// // Chapter One: In Which I Lose My Species, My Universe, and My Pants // Story: A Draconequus's Destiny // by TheOnlySaneDraconequus //------------------------------// Chapter One: In Which I Lose My Species, My Universe, and My Pants.   John’s P.O.V. I dreamt of fire, and shadow. I also dreamt of rainbow-colored apples dancing up some stairs that were made of jellybeans, singing “La Cucaracha.” I dreamt of pain, and of giddiness, and of sunshine, and of chaos. I don’t know how long I dreamt, and I didn’t know who or what I was for a time after I woke up. Third-person P.O.V. Fluttershy was walking through the woods behind her cottage, gathering plants for food and medicine. It was a typical, beautiful morning in Ponyville, her bird friends sang greetings to the morning, and the sun. It’s so beautiful! she thought, a small smile on her face. She hummed a few notes under her breath. With nopony around to hear her, she even began to sing. Morning in Ponyville shimmers Morning in Ponyville shines [ i]With the birds, I will sing And my song, it will ring For I know for certain, everything is fine! This last line had several notes held, and her clear voice rang through the trees. She scanned the trees, nopony in sight. She breathed out a sigh of relief. Even with her friends knowing of her singing, she wasn’t comfortable with an audience. But, she was taking baby steps. She was following a trail of daisies, when she heard what sounded like a growl, mixed with a bark, mixed with a groan, mixed with a whine. She let out a squeak of terror, whatever it was had been loud. She then unhooked herself from the tree limb she hadn’t realized she had flown up to and hooked onto with her forelimbs. She took several shuddering breaths. “OK, Fluttershy, calm down. It sounds like an animal, a hurt animal. A big, scary, hurt animal. It must need help. O- Okay.” She steeled her nerves, swallowing thickly. She then set off in the direction of the noise, trying to stop her teeth chattering. She came to a clearing. It looked as though a meteor had hit, there was a large crater, and several of the trees were singed. A meteor hadn’t hit, so there was no telling what had caused the impact. But what took her breath away was what was lying in the crater. It was long, and serpentine, and covered in a thick coat of yellow and grey fur on most of its body. “Oh. My.” Fluttershy breathed, “a Draconequus!” But that wasn’t possible! Her fear gone, Fluttershy (carefully) rushed down the side of the shallow crater. She circled around the Draconequus, he seemed to be asleep, but had been yelling a moment ago. The fur on his neck was long, and a yellow almost the same shade as hers. The fur from his neck down to his legs was a slate grey. At the base of his spine, instead of an oversized snake’s tail, he had two normal sized tails, a kangaroo’s tail on the right, and a cheetah’s tail on the left. His left hindleg was that of a lion, his right hindleg was a gazelle’s leg. His right arm was a four-fingered panda bear’s arm and paw, his left was a four-fingered brown bear’s arm and paw. He didn’t have wings of any sort. The fur on his long, serpentine body was a slate grey. His head was shaped like a pony’s, instead of a goat’s, the way Discord’s head was. It was the same shade of yellow his neck, but upon another circle around him, Fluttershy saw that the right half was a pale blue, the two colors meeting in a wave in the middle of his face. He had very large ears, they looked like a bat’s not a pony’s. The ears were the opposite color to the sides of his face, yellow on the right, blue on the left. Instead of two horns, he had one, a long, jutting spire that was completely smooth, it was shaped like a changeling’s horn, minus the holes. She shivered at some the memories that changelings brought, even if they were all mostly reformed now. He had a bushy white eyebrow on his right side, and a thin black eyebrow on his left side. His short, cropped mane was shaped like Discord’s, and had a zebra pattern of repeating black and white stripes. He had a long white goatee, but it only existed on the right side of his face, it just split in half and vanished on the left, as if someone had cleanly cut it in half. He didn’t have any fangs, but, his mouth wasn’t open, so Fluttershy couldn’t be sure. She couldn’t tell what color his eyes were, they were closed, he was breathing heavily. Fluttershy saw that he was clutching his chest, and his panda’s paw was covered in a bright blue liquid, she quickly worked out that he was bleeding, but somehow asleep. Worried that he was hurt, Fluttershy did the only thing she could do, she woke him. She quietly trotted over to him, and gently booped him on the nose. She let out a scream when he opened his eyes. His eyes were even stranger than Discord’s. His eyes were pitch black, with no visible difference between the pupil and the sclerae. The only thing that marked a difference between the two was his blue irises, which were glowing. The Draconequus covered his ears at her shriek of terror, and let out a loud growl. “Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you! Are you hurt, do you need help?” Fluttershy asked all of this in her normal tone. The Draconequus gave no reply, it simply tilted its head, like a dog’s. Its eyes seemed to be searching for something, there was intelligence in them, but it wasn’t acting like it was more than an animal. “Err… are you OK?” Fluttershy squeaked. She reached a hoof towards a deep gash in his chest, that was covered in the dried remains of the Draconequus’s blue blood. The Draconequus’s lips curled back in a snarl, its teeth were odd too, flat and deer-like on the right, sharp fangs on the left. It let out a loud, long growl. The growl sounded like when Queen Chrysalis spoke, two voices in not-quite unison. Fluttershy withdrew the offending hoof, the Draconequus stopped growling. “I’m going to go get you help!” Fluttershy said in a surprisingly commanding tone, the Draconequus gave no response, it just watched her gallop away, then curled back on itself, and went back to sleep. When Fluttershy reached Twilight’s Castle, she was out of breath. When Twilight saw her, Fluttershy panted out, “Twilight … Draconequus … woods … hurt … get unicorns …. Help move…” She nearly collapsed. Twilight hauled Fluttershy to her hooves, and got her a glass of water via telekinesis. As Fluttershy drank, Twilight said, “Fluttershy, I know the two of you are friends, but I think Discord has enough sense to take care of himself.” Fluttershy shook her head, and squeaked, “No, Twilight! It’s a new Draconequus! I’ve never seen him before! He’s hurt, and I need magical help to move him.” Twilight didn’t hear this last sentence. Her coat lightened by several shades as the blood drained from her face. Her left ear twitched twice. Her pupils shrank. She gave Fluttershy one of her slightly-crazed smiles. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, I must have heard wrong. It’s the funniest thing! I could have sworn I heard you say that there’s a new Draconequus in the woods, but that’s - ” “No, Twilight! That is what I said! He’s - ” Fluttershy never got to finish. Twilight went from panic attack to Warrior Princess with a 3.26 second turn-around time. Her horn began to spark dangerously, and she began to paw the ground with her front hoof, snorting angrily. “SPPIIIKKEEE!” Her Number One Assistant dutifully appeared, a worried look on his face at the intense volume. “Err, you OK, Twilight? You seem a little tense,” Spike understated. “Never mind that!” Twilight snapped. “Send an urgent memo to the Princesses, tell them that there’s a new Draconequus in the woods near Ponyville. Tell them to send reinforcements at once! We don’t know what kind of threat we’re dealing with!” “TWILIGHT!!” Fluttershy screamed angrily. That got Twilight to stop panicking. Fluttershy was breathing heavily, the last time she had been this visibly upset, she had been taking Iron Will’s classes. “He’s NOT a threat!” Fluttershy snapped in a way that was entirely out of character. “I don’t even know if he’s sentient! He’s hurt, I think badly, he was covered in blood. I only came here to ask for your help. I can’t move him on my own, and I don’t think he should be moved in his state. I need some unicorns to work up a teleportation spell, that’s all. Now will you help me?” The last statement was asked pleadingly. Twilight calmed down, and nodded. She turned to Spike. “OK, send a memo, but just inform them that we found a new Draconequus, nothing else. Tell them I’ll fill them in as more details are available.” Spike nodded. Fluttershy and Twilight dashed off into the woods. Spike sent the letter, and then crawled into his basket, and made a cocoon out of the blankets. He hopped to wake up from this nightmare soon. Twilight and Fluttershy pulled Rarity away from the middle of filling an order, but this was an emergency, potentially of the highest order. Twilight assured Fluttershy that she and Rarity could manage the teleportation between them, assuming nothing went wrong. They came to the clearing. The Draconequus opened his eyes, and gazed at them. A small whine escaped him, and he tried to back-peddle away from them, but didn’t actually go anywhere. Instead, he ended up slumping down. Twilight walked over, and extended a hoof in greeting. “Hello, I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.” The Draconequus made a few clicking sounds in the back of his throat. “Err, are you trying to talk?” No response. “Oh, my,” Rarity said, noticing the gash on the Draconequus’s chest, “That does look rather bad.” She reached out towards it. The Draconequus’s jaws snapped down on where her hoof had been a moment ago. “Oh! You beast!” she screamed. “Yeah, I don’t think anypony’s home.” said Twilight. Her horn began to glow. “OK, Rarity, plan forty-seven-pi-alpha! Ready?” Rarity gulped, and nodded. The Draconequus looked at their glowing horns in interest. Both horns shot a beam of light at him, he ducked, but too late. A moment later, his head hit the floor, and loud snoring filled the clearing. Twilight beamed. “Wow! That went even better than I thought!” The two unicorns fired up an advanced teleportation spell. Eight flashes of light later, Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, and the Draconequus were back in Twilight’s castle. Rarity leaned over conspiratorially. “Err, not to question your judgement, Twilight, but why exactly is the rabid Draconequus tucked into a bed in one of the spare bedrooms?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I’m the Princess of Friendship Rarity. The Castle didn’t exactly come with dungeons,” she deadpanned. Rarity nodded. “Besides,” Twilight continued, “looking at him now, I don’t even know if he is a threat. Even non-sentient magical animals can instinctually use their magic. He didn’t, I don’t know if he even can use magic. I think Spike and I can keep him from biting ponies for now. I just wish I knew what to do with him.” “Well, I’m going to get something to dress that wound. I think the reason he kept trying to bite us is it’s a bad wound. It might be infected, though with that color blood, I don’t know. Be back in a while girls, keep him safe!” With those words, Fluttershy trotted out. When she returned, the Draconequus was still asleep, and she was able to treat his wound with some herbs, and dress it with a bandage. The Draconequus let out a rattling hiss, but otherwise didn’t wake up. The girls checked on him throughout the afternoon, but even Spike didn’t sleep that heavily. Around dinnertime, Twilight walked into the room. She was carrying a glass of chocolate milk, on the assumption the Draconequus would like it. Twilight found him sitting up in bed, watching the door. He wasn’t moving, and didn’t seem to be wanting to leave or hurt anypony. The bandage on his chest was sliced open, but his wound had disappeared within three hours, which was a very speedy healing rate. Twilight smiled at him. “Oh, good! You’re awake! How are you feeling?” The Draconequus simply made more clicking noises in the back of his throat. Twilight laughed nervously. “I don’t know why I’m even talking to you, you can’t understand me. I might as well be talking to a Timberwolf.” She levitated the glass over to him, a brittle smile on her face. “Anyways! I brought you some chocolate milk, Celestia know Discord certainly likes it. Here.” The Draconequus’s eyes lit up (as best as the inky color could light up) and he smiled broadly. At least, Twilight hoped it was a smile, his needle-like teeth made her nervous, and the difference between the two types of teeth just made it stranger. The Draconequus regarded the glass, as if trying to work out what it was. He couldn’t seem to. Twilight drew the glass back, and he whined pitifully. Twilight then spotted a bowl on a side table, and poured the milk into it. She then passed the bowl to the Draconequus. He grasped it with his paws, and started lapping it up with a long, forked tongue. Twilight sighed. “It’s funny,” she said, more to herself than anypony, “I could swear you’re every bit as intelligent as a pony. But you act more like an animal. At times, it’s almost like you can understand what I’m saying, but it’s like you’re not all there.” She eyed the Draconequus, who was busy licking milk out of his fur and goatee. Twilight sighed again, not sure why she was bothering. “Maybe you’ve got the Draconequus form of amnesia. Who knows. Well, I’m glad you’re doing better, and that you’re not trying to bite my leg off. See you tomorrow.” She turned out the lights, and shut the door. The Draconequus curled into a short spiral under the sheets, and once again drifted off. John’s P.O.V. The first thing I noticed was that the room had a slight chill to it, which was unheard of for the middle of summer. I pulled the sheets a little tighter over me. The second thing I noticed was an entire choir of birds outside my window, greeting the morning brightly. I was awake, but hadn’t opened my eyes yet, hoping to drift back off. I grumbled, and pulled the pillow over my head. The third thing I noticed was the most significant: my body felt entirely wrong, in every possible way. It felt like I had 3 extra limbs, and, judging by the position of my head relative to my feet, and the curve of my spine, I was in a position that was physically impossible, even if you were a cat. At the point I felt fur, my eyes snapped open, and I sat stark upright in bed. “YYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!” My scream echoed off of the blue crystal walls. The. Blue. Crystal. Walls. I was in a bed, in a room, that looked like – oh, no. This was not happening. Twilight Sparkle galloping into the room confirmed my hypothesis, I had been sucked into my favorite kids show. This was not happening. She fired her horn up, looking at me like I was going to attack her. I held my arms up. “Wait! Stop! Truce!” I shouted. My voice sounded weird. Like two different people were trying to use my mouth at the same time, and couldn’t quite line up. “Why do I sound like that?!” I then looked down at my noodley glory. “EEEAAAGGH!” I leapt out of the bed, unable to believe what I was seeing. Twilight’s jaw almost hit the floor in a very cartoonish way. “You – you -y- you can talk?!!” She seemed as surprised at me as I was at her. I ignored the question. I was busy looking over my body. I started talking to myself, just to see if I was dreaming. “Ok. I’m in Equestria, I have a long, snaky body that’s made of mix-and-match critters, I’ve got a freaky voice … I’M A DRACONEQUUS?!!” I started stroking my half-goatee. It was much cooler than the one I was used to, even if it did look like a shaving accident. “Actually, I’ve always theorized that that’s the Equestrian being I would end up as. That or a changeling.” For being convinced I was really in a padded cell, I actually sounded quite calm as I thought this out, even if I didn’t feel it. Twilight walked over to me cautiously. “Why didn’t you talk yesterday? And how could you not know you’re a Draconequus? That’s crazy!” “Says the magical, talking horse,” I muttered. Then I actually heard what she’d said. I whirled around. “What do you mean,” my voice became an imitation of Twilight’s without my realizing it, “‘Why didn’t I talk yesterday?’” My voice returned to its normal double self, “I wasn’t here yesterday!” Twilight took a couple of steps back. “Uhh... would you excuse me?” I nodded. In a streak of dust, she was gone. I started pacing my room. For being sucked into a kid’s cartoon show, the room looked very realistic. So did I, although my proportions were very cartoonish. How was any of this even happening?! Twilight returned, followed by Fluttershy, Rarity, and Starlight Glimmer. I had curled in on myself on the floor, and was rocking back and forth. “You OK?” asked Twilight. “HeheheHAAHOOEHAHAA … I’m a pony!” I said, accidentally bearing my fangs in a smile crazed enough to rival some of Twilight's. I started giggling. “No, Precious, we’re not a pony, I’m a Draconequus!! If I’m not insane, this is either cool or terrifying! Who else wants doughnuts?!!” My voice was overlapping even more than normal. Twilight and the girls exchanged concerned looks. Then, sinister chuckling filled the room, and a familiar voice called out, “Oh, he’s not doing at all well, is he? My, my, we might have another me on our hands!” In a flash of light, the Lord of Bedlam, Purveyor of Disharmony, and Spirit of Chaos stood before us. He was dressed in a tweed suit and bowtie, had a long white beard and moustache, and was wearing thick spectacles. He was also smoking a cigar, though bubbles came out instead of smoke. I was lying on a couch, my arms crossed comfortably over my chest. “Now, zhen,” Discord said in a ridiculous accent, “Vhat zeems to be zer probvlem, young man?” I rolled my eyes. “Oh, you know, got pulled into an alternate dimension, turned into a completely different species, failed my Statistics final. Is that about normal here?” Discord gave me a critical look, first with his eyes, then a magnifying glass, then a microscope, then an x-ray machine. He stroked his goatee. “Hmmm.  … Tell me if this looks familiar.” A television then appeared in front of me. Only, it was a box made to look like a television. Discord was driving toy cars around in the window in front of carboard skyscrapers, making “Vroom! Vroom! EEeeep!” noises, followed by “Today’s stocks to follow on the six o’clock news!” I nodded. “Eeeyup. That’s more what I’m used to, I didn’t care much for stocks though.” Discord then threw the fake TV and toy cares away, laughing so hard he started to cry grape soda. He wiped the sticky tears away, they disappeared instead of sticking to the carpet. “Oh, this is just too rich! We’ve got a human on our hooves! Girls, this is one of the Creators! Tell me sir, are you a brony?”             “Err… yes? I didn’t actually want to be a pony!” My tails were twitching, I guess from nerves.             Twilight was giving Discord and I a laser-like look. “What are you two talking about?” Discord put an arm around her. “Oh, nothing to worry your brilliant mind about, Princess,” he said condescendingly. “If you’re attached to your sanity that is,” I added. “There are Things Ponykind Was Not Meant to Know,” I said, accidentally enunciating capital letters. A thought crossed my mind. “Actually, Pinkie Pie might be able to explain it to you. At least, better than I could.” Twilight gave me a disbelieving look. “I don’t really know. She’s Pinkie.” Discord looked at me, and said, “Mon ami, I really think we should continue this discussion in private.” He snapped his eagle talons. The smell of chartreuse hit my nose, as my eyes tasted freshly baked brownies, I heard the sound of silence, and tasted an acapella rock song. The entire world was made of moving swirls of color and sound, and strings connected everything in creation together. I thoughtspoke, “Prreeeettyyy” to a passing abstraction, although I sounded drunk. I probably was. Then the world coalesced back into a physical location, although the laws of physics were optional. We were in Discord’s home in Chaosville. I looked around at the random and drifting objects, and found an upside-down rocking chair I sat up in. Discord steepled his fingers, and gave me a wide grin. With his sharp teeth and jutting fang, it was not reassuring, nor was it meant to be. “So,” he said in slightly frigid tones, “as amusing as it would be for me, I really don’t think you should tell the citizens of Equestria about a certain televised program. I’m in favor of chaos, not mass insanity.” He brightened up. “Though, it would be hysterical to see Twilight try to – oh, never mind.” He crossed his arms and huffed, a frown on his face. “I’m ‘reformed’ now!” Discord said in brittle, sarcastic tones. He rolled his eyes. “Honestly, if these ponies had even a tenth of an idea – Oh, I’ll tell you that later. Do we have a deal?” I stared at him. “A ‘deal’ would imply that I get something out of this as well. It seems like I can’t say a word about who or what I am, or where I’m from.” Discord opened his mouth, I held up a paw. “I AGREE with you, all right?! I’m just saying I’m not good at creative lying. Or, lying in general. Ever, actually. Gods, why is my voice so funny?!!” I could have handled being a bass and a tenor at the same time if it had actually been in unison. The slight lapse between “speakers” was irritating at best. I would finish a word after I started another. Plus, I couldn’t tell how I was saying the words, it just seemed like I was saying them, but my voice was split in half. It must be magic or something. Discord smirked. “Yes, it is magic ‘or something’ actually. And you shouldn’t take the gods’ names in vain, they get tetchy when you do that.” “Get out of my head.” That snarl sounded even weirder than my voice, it was a mix between a hiss and a growl. Discord’s grin widened, a little more than it should have physically been able too. The Spirit could be creepy as all-get-out when he wanted to. “Sorry, I can’t actually help it, I’ll try to be better. You’ll think of some way to tell everypony where you’re from, and besides, it isn’t a cartoon here.” I nodded. “Wonderful!” Another snap, and we hopped dimensions back to the room we’d left. “Sorry everypony, my friend and I had an issue to work out,” Discord sing-songed. Twilight stared at me. “He didn’t threaten you?” I shook my head. “No, he just made a good point that I agree with is all. Nothing to worry about.” At that point, Spike walked into the room. Without realizing it, I dropped down to all fours. “Hey everypony! What’s going on?” Spike asked. I sprang across the room to him, my teeth snapping down on where he’d been a second ago. “WHOA! WHOA! EASY!!” Spike shouted. I shook my head hard. “What happened?” I asked softly. “You attacked Spike!” Twilight shouted. “What were you thinking?! “I … wasn’t. It was like instinct or something.” I hauled Spike to his feet. “I am so sorry! I don’t know why I did that!” I sniffed, and let out one of my hissing growls. “Oh. It’s your scent. I don’t know why, but it makes me really angry. I’ll adapt, I promise. In the meantime, maybe I should stay on the opposite side of the room.” I stalked over, still on all fours, before I realized it, and stood up, feeling stupid. “Riiight…” said Spike. “What’s your name?” “It’s KKkkkccckkkxxxx ….” My throat seized up. Starlight turned to Discord. “Is that Draconequine or something?” He shook his head. “No, I just …” I was at a loss for words. “I can’t remember my name!! Why can’t I remember my name?!” I then felt a draft, and looked down at myself. “YE GODS, I’M NAKED!” Discord and Twilight facepawed and facehoofed at the same time. “Yes, you’re naked. It’s normal for ponies, clothes are very expensive,” Twilight lectured like I was a kid. “You’ll have to get used to it, we don’t have clothes to fit you.” I still looked for something to cover myself with. “You really can’t remember your name?” I nodded. “I can remember everything else, just not my name.” Discord said, “There’s a perfectly natural, and expected explanation for that.” The whole roomed turned to look at him. He sighed, and a blackboard popped into existence. “OK, Draconequi 101. Every Draconequus is a Spirit of some fundamental concept. Chaos, order, life, death, time, all that jazz.” I raised a paw like I was in school. “So, you’re anthropomorphic personifications?” “Equipomorphic personifications,” Twilight corrected. Discord shook his head. “No, we’re not equipomorphic personifications, some of us aren’t even equipomorphic. We don’t embody the concept, we’re simply its messenger. Its caretaker if you will. It is the job of a Draconequus to spread their given concept throughout the universe. Well, a bit more than the universe actually. I’m not chaos personified, I’m simply the Spirit of chaos and disharmony, and it’s my given task to spread and maintain chaos in all its forms. Is that at all clear?” “I think so?” I said quizzically. “The reason you can’t remember your previous name is that that life is over. You can’t ever go back to it. The gods brought you here for a reason, presumably they thought you could be useful. The reason you can’t remember a name now is because you haven’t found the concept you’re the Spirit of. A Draconequus’s name is our version of a cutie mark. Discord, chaos, you see? Once you’ve found your calling, you’ll also find your name.” “Well, what do I call myself until then?!” Discord sighed. “Usually, a Draconequus finds their name within a few days of coming into being. You’re a Draconequus from this point on, but you weren’t born one, so it could take a while. Until then, just call yourself Draco or something, it’s sort of accurate, since it’s your species, and it’s not taken. If everypony will excuse me, I have to meet with everyDraconequus to figure this whole thing out.” “There are other Draconequi?” Twilight asked with interest. Discord sighed again. “Yes, but it’s a big multiverse, so we don’t always meet or coexist on the same world. I’ve had Equestria to myself for eons. Besides, each of us has a personal realm we live in, such as Chaosville. I’ll go into that lesson in another chapter.” When he said that, a brick wall popped into existence in my peripheral vision, when I tried to get a good look at it, it disappeared. “Later!” Discord called, vanishing in a puff of smoke. Starlight looked at me with interest. “What did Discord mean, you weren’t born a Draconequus?” I sighed. “I’m - I was an alien from an alternate universe, one without magic. Woke up this morning, and found myself here, and a completely different species. If the gods thought I ‘could be useful’ the gods must be crazy. I’ll tell you all about my sorry past some other time, it’s not that important, and I don’t particularly like my past species. I’m not proud of some of the things we did.” I had woken up in the early morning, and all of these events had taken slightly over an hour. “If it’s all right with everypony, this is a lot to process, and I’d like to be alone for a while.” Twilight nodded. “Of course. Take all the time you need, I can ask questions later. I’m glad you’re doing better than yesterday.” As everypony followed her out the door, I called, “What about yesterday?” but didn’t get a response. I looked around the room, it was very cozy. I got into bed. I couldn’t get comfortable, so I just curled up like a cat. I was pretty sure I still had bones or a spine, but my body sure didn’t act like it, given my current flexibility. I just laid there and thought for the whole day, into the late evening. I never got very hungry, and wasn’t in the mood to eat anything anyways, so I didn’t go down for dinner. As it got late into the night, I still didn’t feel tired, I was pretty wired for some reason. I just closed my eyes, and tried to get to sleep. At 1:35 in the morning, my eyes snapped open. I had surprisingly good night vision. I still felt like a jolt of electricity was shooting through me. I sniffed, once, then twice. My lips parted in a grin, and I chuckled darkly. I smelled prey nearby. It was foolishly unguarded. I hungered for it. Soon I would rip them open, and feast upon their innards. The hunger overwhelmed me. I slunk of out bed, and crept towards the door on all fours, I was almost entirely silent. I opened the door, and crept softly downstairs. I kept sniffing, to determine where exactly my prey was. I came to a closed door; the smell was overpowering. I softly pushed the door open, my teeth flashing in the dark. The hunt began. Fifteen minutes later, Spike opened the door to the room I was in, apparently, I’d woken him. He stopped in his tracks, and his jaw dropped as he surveyed the carnage. “Uh, you know Twilight’s going to want you to put all those books back, right?” “Want stories.” I hissed. Spike backed out the door. “Ok! OK! You’re the one who’s putting them back, not me! See you tomorrow, err … today. ‘Night Draco!” He was then gone. It was the middle of the night, and I still felt like I’d had an I.V. full of caffeine. I sighed, and pulled another book towards me. I walked around, and found a blank scroll, and a quill and inkwell. Might as well take notes. It looked like it was going to be a really long night.