//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: The Stranger 
// Story: The Peryton 
// by Midnight Lore 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 2: The Stranger


“WHAT?!” I stood up. I paced, turned in circles, having a mini freak out. Mother waited patiently, knowing this would happen even though she had wanted me to stay calm. How is this possible? Where is he? Does he know about me? If he does, why isn’t he here? Why did he leave? Did he leave or did Mother send him away; no she wouldn’t do that, would she? I thought back to everything she’s ever said about father. Well, I guess she never said he had died, but everything she’s said has been in the past tense, so I just assumed. Maybe that was only because he hasn’t been here. Okay, deep breath, I’ve got to calm down. Mother will explain everything, I hope. I composed myself and looked at Mother.

“Are you done?” Mother asked and I nodded in reply. “Alright.” She thought for a while, then finally, “We first met when I was around your age.”

“Hold on.” I interrupted. “What about where he is and what he’s doing?” I pleaded. Knowing he was out there and not here was what I really wanted to know at the moment.

“I like for you to hear my story; because even though I didn’t know it at the time, the day I met your father changed everything. Also, this way you will be able to get an idea of the kind of person he is,” she calmly replied.

“Oh.” I sunk down, deflated. “Okay then, go on,” I replied, impatient for her to get to the present.

She gave a small nod. “At the time, I was living with my parents in a small town far from here. I was studying outside, in the shade of a Willow tree, when I saw him, wandering like he might be lost. I had never seen anypony like him. My studies forgotten, I watched him for a while, trying to determine if he was in fact lost, before getting the courage to ask.”


~~~~~~~~~


“Hello there.” I approached the wandering stranger with a friendly smile. He, well I assumed it was a he, had a coat that was mostly brown speckled with white. The edges of his wings, as well as his tail-feathers, blended into a dusty orange color, matching his short mane. Atop his head, strangely enough, sat a pair of antlers. “Are you lost?”

He turned to me with what I assumed was a confused look. “Perhaps. Could you tell me where I happen to be?”

His voice was slightly deep and quiet, yet not hard to hear. There was a strange accent to his words, nothing I had heard before. “Well this is the town, Ephys. Do you know where you are headed? Maybe I could help?”

“Do I know where I am headed? I did not have a destination planned.” He looked around; there wasn’t much to take in; the marketplace and an area for the town to gather to the north, farmlands spreading to the west, the worn ground making the path he came from to the south with the forest in the distance, and most of the town’s houses to the east. He glanced to his back, shuffling his wings slightly. “It seems I do not have the proper materials for my journey.”

“Oh.” I paused. He is on a journey and yet brought nothing with him? “I can take you to see my mother. She and father are the town’s leaders,” I explained, “They’ll be able to make arrangements to find you the necessities.” I motioned for him to follow, turning northeast, to the building where mother received any important messages that may arrive, as well as heard the concerns of the townsponies. I turned towards the stranger, “By the way, my name is Alani, nice to meet you. I have not seen one of your kind before, are you from around here?”

“I am called Volius. Your company is well met.” He bowed his head in a strange greeting, chin touching chest, antlers almost parallel to the ground. “Am I from around here?” His head tilted pensively. “No, I suppose not, but you would not know from where I come. In regards to species, my kin and I are peryton.

“Peryton?” Saying the word aloud was unfamiliar. ”I have not heard of you.” Maybe mother knows about them. I slowed slightly, letting a small group of children playing tag cross the path, heading towards the fields. After confirming they weren’t causing trouble, I noticed Volius watching them as well.

“It seems we share bird-like qualities, but I am not familiar with your species either. Are you the same species as those children?”

I looked curiously to Volius’ hind legs, which ended with talons, then looked to my own similar forelegs. “Well, I am a griffon; part eagle, part lion.” He gave a small nod, seeming satisfied with my response. I stopped and looked back to the game of tag, the two fliers staying low to keep in reach of their grounded friends, “As is one of the children. The two on the ground are ponies,” I saw his head tilt slightly to the side in question, and added, “one a unicorn and the other an earth pony, and the green-shaded one hovering nearby is a changeling.” He turned away from the game and seemed to deeply consider my words. I continued forward, watching the town’s activity as we neared our destination.

“Mother! We have a visitor!” I called out as I entered through the open-arched frame, Volius still pensive behind me.

“Alani?” Came mother’s voice as she descended the stairs. “Did you bring one of your friends-” she paused, finding the unfamiliar being. “-Oh I’m sorry,” she turned to me, “Alani, who is this?” She turned to the newcomer, “Or rather, who are you?”

“I am Volius.” Came Volius’ voice as he moved to stand next to me, bowing his head in greeting. “Your daughter has told me you could assist with my visit.”

“Of course.” She visibly straightened, going from mother to leader. “We were not expecting visitors, so you must excuse us being unprepared, but we have room in our home if you would find that suitable.”

“No forgiveness is necessary as I was not expecting my visit either. If you will have me, I would not dismiss your generosity.” He gave his strange chin-to-neck gesture. Mother bowed her head slightly in return.

Turning to me, “Alani, would you show our guest to where he will be staying? The room forgotten shall do nicely. If you find yourselves with the need to do something, maybe a trip around town would be nice? As Volius does not seem to have brought supplies, I will find what is necessary. If you can think of anything, make a note, and I will see what I can do.” After receiving a nod from me, she turned to leave, forgetting whatever she was doing before our arrival.

I turned to Voilus, “Well, follow me.”


~~~~~~~~~


“The room forgotten?” Questioned the voice behind me.

“Oh, yeah. We have lots of guests stay here, so the other guest rooms sort-of developed themes from the gifts that were given to us by their occupants. The one you’ll be staying in is next to mine, away from the others, and usually forgotten about, so the name stuck.” I explained, remembering how I decided the name of the room after a number of guests failed to enjoy it. I paused in front of the door. “This is it. As I mentioned earlier, my room is the next one over.” I gestured down the hall. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” I opened the door to find the same slightly decorated room. Since not many ponies used it, I made a point of finding things to put in it from my own collection. There was a circular rug I’d made covering the floor and cushioning the bed, a dresser adorned with odd shells and stones that had made their way up the river, a grandfather clock and the few books on the bookshelf the only things from guests, and a couch sitting near the sliding-doors to the landing, made so flying guests could come and go without bothering anypony.

Volius wandered into the room, taking in the décor, after seeing the bookshelf he strode over, studying the books. He turned to me, “Are any of these history? I cannot read your letters.”

I walked over, reading the titles. I reached for the thickest volume, taking it down with a talon. “This one has all the oldest information, starting with how everypony came together.” I opened it, flipping through the pages, remembering the tale from reading it so many times.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to hear it. I have not before seen so many different people together like this.”

I looked up from the book, “The short version then.” I moved to sit on the couch, motioning for Volius to join me.

“We started out existing separately, not really knowing of each other. The ponies; earth, unicorn, pegasus, and alicorn, took residence in the western part of the land. They were, and still are, the most populated of us. Griffons were towards the northeast, living in an area that was mostly mountains. The changelings were in the south, where they inhabited caves. There were, and still are, other species; although we know and interact with some of them, they continue to stay separated.

“One day in autumn, while the pegasi were working with the weather, planning a light shower, a swarm of twittermites appeared suddenly and with all the commotion of trying to herd them away, the light shower became a typhoon. The storm had gotten so out of hoof that the pegasi could do nothing to stop it and the ponies were required to wait it out. While the intensity diminished as time passed, the unnatural weather lasted a week, causing major flooding.

“As a result, the ponies temporarily relocated inland. Even though most stayed in the safest area closest to the damaged land, others ventured out, seeking resources that were lost. It was then that they came in contact with the changling hive and griffon scouts.

“The changlings were the first to help out, being the kinder of the two. Having overcome their need to feed off the love of other living things, finding it instead in themselves; they knew what it was like trying to adjust to a new lifestyle. Helping with everything from replanting to rebuilding, the two groups learned to work together and easily became friends.

“Griffons, at the time, were selfish and greedy, only wanting to do things for money; and while they didn’t know it yet, unhappy. The scouts they had encountered saw they had nothing, and turned them away; but kept watch on them. It wasn’t until later, once the ponies’ lives were starting to resemble normal that the griffons wanted to help out. The ponies were wary at first, but easy to forgive gave them a chance.

“By the time the water had receded to its original level, many of the ponies had moved back, repairing what could be salvaged along the way. Some lingered, enjoying their newfound friends. The griffons’ nature, while working with the ponies and changelings, had softened slightly, becoming more accepting to friendship and goodwill. With time, they were on good terms with both groups; a few even started living in the thought-temporary relocation.”

Having finished, I glanced over at Volius, who had stayed silent the entire time, his face calm and eyes closed. I waited patiently, using this time to get a closer look at him. His mane was haphazard, but looked soft. His antlers were larger than I previously thought, spiraling backwards, then forward, having six points on his right antler and seven on the left. They were coated in velvet that had a hint of purple. He was actually quite handsome. When he finally opened his eyes, I saw they were a dark navy-blue before quickly looking away, blushing slightly.

“Well, I’ll leave you to think on that. I will come find you when it is time to eat,” I quickly said the first thing that came to mind. Once I made it calmly out of the room, I rushed for the outdoors, hopefully avoiding conversation for a while.


~~~~~~~~~


I yawned and stretched as I woke after yet another day. I got out of bed and looked to at my calendar hanging on the wall. “Has it already been a year?” I said to myself, thinking about all the things Volius and I had done together since he arrived. Ever since he told me he had come here though some kind of portal, we’ve been trying to figure out how to recreate it so he could go back home, but we haven’t gotten any new leads recently. He told me that he is an only child and that his parents died when he was a teenager. Lately I’ve been secretly hoping we never find a way, but Volius’ kin must miss him, contrary to what he says.

I left my room and knocked on Volius’ door. “Hey Volius, are you ready to go?” It had become routine that Volius and I would take a quick flight together in the morning before breakfast to wake us up and make plan for the day.

“I am,” came his reply, along with the door being surrounded in his dark-blue-colored magic and opening, surprising me.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that,” I told him when I entered his room. I gently kicked the door closed, before he could do it for me.

When I first learned he could do magic I thought it might be like unicorn magic, but when I asked if his magic had a special purpose didn’t seem to think so. He explained that while there are some peryton with different abilities than others, they mostly use their magic for telekinesis. They can also use it to strengthen their bodies, usually their wings for flying. I had him demonstrate for me, and when his wings took on a blue glow they appeared more powerful, even though not much changed performance-wise. He also told me it was easier to fly here then back home, so he didn’t need to strengthen his wings unless we were in the air for a long time.

“Alright, let’s go,” I said as I moved to the landing in his room. Standing side by side, we took off together, heading south towards the forest.

“What do you think we should we do today?” Volius asked as usual.

“I was thinking we could get some more books from the library and look through them by the river.” It was always I who came up with the plan. He would sometimes suggest other things we could do, but those were always added to whatever I decided. After two months, with no sign of finding a way back for Volius, I started to teach him our letters so he didn’t have to ask me what everything said and it would help with our research.

“Sounds like a plan. We should look for more books on magic that deals with travel through a medium.”

“Sure. On our way to the river we can get supplies for lunch as well,” I replied.

According to Volius, he arrived here after something startled him and after a flash of blinding light appeared here, standing in front of a solid, flat wall. We think it has something to do with magic, but since Volius’ magic and unicorn magic are so different from each other, we haven’t gotten very far. I even got one of my unicorn friends to see if he could teach Volius unicorn magic, and while Volius was able learn a few simple spells, they didn’t seem to work the same and just one took a lot of effort that left him exhausted.

Without needing to talk, we turned around near the forest’s edge; Volius turned in a wide lazy circle, while I decided to do a backflip, with a 180 spin to right myself. We flew back to the house in a comfortable silence.

Using the landing outside Volius’ room, we passed through the room and headed down to breakfast together.

“Good morning Alani, Volius,” came mother’s voice hearing us approach, but not turning from her cooking. “Breakfast is almost ready, why don’t you set the table while you wait.”

“Sure thing,” I replied, but before I could reach the plates, they glowed and set themselves on the table. “Hey, I was going to do that!” I turned and pouted at the offender.

“I thought this way would be more efficient,” replied Volius with a smirk and a shrug of his shoulders.

I sighed, “At least let me do the cups.”

“All yours.” He gestured for me to continue a smile still on his face. I kept an eye on him as I neared the cups, making sure he didn’t try anything. I heard mother chuckle quietly from where she was, never turning around.

“Where’s father?” I asked, noticing he wasn’t around like usual.

“He had to leave early to help one of the townsponies locate an escaped pet. He grabbed some breakfast before leaving and said he’d take the morning shift for work,” she replied. Her cooking finished, she turned with a pan of ham and a bowl of greens balanced on top in a claw and looked at me, “Do you guys have anything planned for today?” She set the bowl in the middle of the table, Volius taking a portion for himself, and put ham on her and my plates.

“Just more research. We’re going to the river today,” I replied, Volius nodding his head in confirmation.

“That sounds nice. I hope you find something that helps,” she turned to Volius, “I enjoy having you here, it has been nice having someone here for Alani, but I am sure you would like to go back home.”

He looked to me while answering mother, “I couldn’t have hoped for a better family to have taken me in like this. As of now, I am in no hurry to get back home,” I stared intently at my food, feeling my cheeks burn, and he looked back to mother “Since I have no family left to return to, I hope you do not mind if I consider you and Alani’s father as parental figures to myself.”

“Of course not. Over the year, I have started to think of you as part of the family as well,” mother replied with a smile.

I looked up, at each in turn, happy both of them felt that way. I finished my meal quickly, “Alright. I want to get an early start,” I stood and turned for the door, looking over my shoulder I called out, “Come on Volius, let’s go.”

“Always in such a hurry,” he teased. He finished his meal, only slightly slower than he normally would, and joined me outside. “Shall we.” He turned us toward the library.

“Good morning you two. You’re here early today,” came the librarian’s voice from behind her desk.

“Good morning to you as well. Alani wanted to get a head start today,” Volius greeted for the both of us.

I nodded my head in silent reply, heading straight for the magic section. “I know I saw something the last time we were here,” I quietly muttered to myself, searching the titles on the shelves, “No, no, no,” I turned to skim another shelf, “Ah, here it is! Transparency. This one might have something,” I turned to Volius, knowing he had been searching as well, “Did you find anything?” He already had three books in his magical grip and was retrieving another when I asked. “I see you have.”

“Yes. I think these could prove useful.”

By the time we finished, we had a total of nine books to look through. We collected our things and went to check out.

“Did you find everything you were looking for?” The librarian asked as we approached the desk.

“I’m not sure, but these will do for the day,” I waited until all the books were in saddle-bags, “Thank you.” I waved as we left.


~~~~~~~~~


I closed the book I was reading, setting it down and stretching. I looked to our piles. One left in the ‘to read’ pile, seven in the ‘read’ pile. Volius was finishing the ninth. I looked to the sun, “It’s almost noon. When you’re done, how about we look through the last one together and then eat?”

He looked up from the book, closing it, “Just finished. Find anything useful in that one?” He stood up and stretched as well.

“Eh, not really,” I waved a claw, dismissing it, “How about yours?”

“Same.” He picked up the last book, Transparency. We decided to save it for last, as it seemed the most promising. He opened it with his magic, setting it in front of and to the right of me, and sat next to me, pulling me to his side with a wing.

I felt my cheeks go hot, but didn’t protest, enjoying his touch. I let him turn the pages, waiting patiently in-between for him to finish. He was still getting used to our letters and would occasionally ask me words he didn’t know.

He turned the page. “Hey, how about this,” I halted my reading, finding a spell that should alter an object so that you could pass through it. “What if you try to cast this while thinking of somewhere you know well back home?”

“I am not sure, I could try. Unicorn magic is hard though, and this spell may be to complex for me,” he said doubtfully.

He moved closer to the river, away from our stuff and concentrated. A sharper blue than his own magic, appeared around his antlers.

I admired our surroundings from the spot I had located during my search for places to study. It was a small clearing at the bottom of a hill with the river making a natural boarder. It was a beautiful day with the sun’s warm rays making a comfortable temperature. There was barely any wind, the river’s surface uninterrupted and smooth, giving a perfect reflection. I watched Volius, his eyes closed. I saw him release the spell, gasping slightly to regain his breath, then start again.

After a few failed attempts, I decided to bring up what I was really excited for, “Volius, there was something I wanted to tell you,” his face softened slightly, but he continued his work on the spell, “I wanted you to be the first to know.” I paused, nervous despite the good news. He released the spell again and looked to me. Seeing I was trying to get the words out, he continued to try and make progress with the spell. I looked to him, watching his face, “I’m pregnant.”

His magic burst, blinding me, and he fell backwards towards the river, shock on his face. There was no splash, just a strange *whoosh* before he should have hit the water. When I could see again, Volius was nowhere to be found. I rushed to the water. No ripples indicating he had fallen. He was gone.