______*Golden Oaks Library, later that day, 9:00 PM*______
Mana was currently in the bathroom, she was waiting for the water to heat up, normally she would just heat it up manually, but that just led to some unpleasant plumbing problems.
Once the water was finally heated to Mana's preferred temperature, she undressed and stepped inside, she sighed in relief as she felt the warm water wash off most of the mud off her body and her hair.
She actually did play with the others a little bit, unfortunately for Mana, she tripped into a small patch of mud, and annoyed Twilight to no end as she tracked mud through the library.
Mana proceeded to wash off her head, starting with her hair, and once that was done she moved on to the rest.
"Mana! you alright in there!?" Twilight called out, hearing a faint howl in the distance directly afterwards.
Mana looked in the direction of the door and blinked. "That's new." She muttered to herself. "Yeah!" She replied.
As she went back to her shower, Mana continued to hear howling in the distance, she ignored it for the most part.....but when one of these howls sounded like it was nearby, she turned off the water and got out.
"What's going on?" She asked herself.
Mana reached to grab her clothes, but just before she did, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, she gasped and clutched her
chest as it grew worse, she fell to the ground and she soon felt her insides tearing her apart, her muscles grew weak.
Mana was just about to let out a cry of pain, when a sharp pain struck her head, and she passed out.
_____*after waking up.*_____
Mana groaned as she opened her eyes, she sat up slowly and rubbed the back of her head. "Gah!" She exclaimed as she felt more pain, she held her hand in front of her face and blinked, she felt pain, but there was no blood. "What's going on?" She asked herself as she looked around.
She was no longer in the bathroom, she was fully clothed and dry, she was inside......wherever this place was, she was currently on a table in the center of the room.
As she looked around, Mana noticed some strange equipment around the room, most of which had lots of knobs and cranks. "Am I in Twilight's lab?" She wondered.
Twilight didn't let her into the basement, but Mana heard about the lab from Pinkie Pie, she said it was a strange and mysterious place, but she didn't mention the creep factor.
A door above the stairs opened and Twilight came walking down. "Oh good, your awake." She said with relief.
"Is this the lab I heard so much about?" Mana asked. "And what happened to me?" She asked.
"Yes, this is the lab." Twilight said as she walked up to Mana. "As for what happened, the answer is simple, pain related blackout." She answered.
Mana blinked. "Huh?" She wondered.
"In simple terms, you felt so much pain at once that your subconscious knocked you out to stop it." She replied.
Mana got off the table and held her head as she felt a dull pain in her head. "Why am I down here?" She asked. "Wouldn't the hospital be better for this?" She questioned.
"I already took you to the doctor.....two days ago, they said that you somehow suffered a heart attack, which doesn't really happen at your age." She explained.
"Two days?" Mana said out of shock.
Twilight rubbed her eyes. "Yea, but that's not why your down here." She said.
"Then why am I?" Mana asked.
Twilight used her magic and conjured a magical mirror and showed Mana her reflection. "What......this, what in the heck!?" Mana screamed out.
Mana's face had changed, she had elongated fangs, her ears were gone, and were replaced by wolf like ones above her head, but they were slightly wooden, her eyes were also replaced by a dark green mist.
Mana looked away from the mirror and tried to calm down as her breathing was frantic. "How did this....." She looked at Twilight. "What's happening to me?" She asked.
Twilight sighed and shook her head. "I.....don't know, but something tells me that it has to do with that timberwolf shard inside of you, as well as the magic you gained from it." She replied.
Mana leaned against a nearby wall and looked at Twilight. "What do we do?" She asked, suddenly calm.
Twilight looked surprised at the change of attitude, but replied. "First things first, I need to know what happened to you, can you tell me anything about what happened, before you blacked out?" She asked.
Mana looked away for a moment, then back at Twilight. "I was just taking a shower, then I heard.......howling, in the distance." She paused to think on this.
Twilight tapped her chin and looked around the room, she walked over to one of her machines and did some stuff, she then looked at Mana. "Anything else?" She asked.
Mana shook her head. "No, just that it got closer before a started feeling pain in my chest and shortly after, my head." She replied.
"We need time to figure this out Mana, I'll contact Princess Celestia, see if anything like this has ever happened before, until she gets back to me, we just need to go about our lives." Twilight said.
Mana blinked. "Do you seriously think I want anyone, especially my friends, to see me like THIS?" She asked.
Twilight's gaze hardened as she stared at Mana. "Do you have a better idea? because hiding down here is out of the question, now, unless you have a better idea, let's go upstairs and talk with Spike, he has seen you already, and he might be able to get your other friends to not panic." She said.
Mana sighed, she really didn't want to go outside now, but at the same time, she wanted to leave the building, she eventually sucked it up and stood up, she followed Twilight upstairs and a thought came to mind. 'This is going to suck.' She told herself.
______*Upstairs, two hours later.*______
Mana leaned back on the couch and sighed as Onyx lept up and sat on her shoulder, she smiled and gently rubbed his back. "At least you don't judge appearances old bud." She said.
Mana stood up slowly and picked up the book she had been reading previously, well, trying to read, she walked over and placed it on the shelf where she got it, she stopped as she pulled her hand out and looked at it. 'If I changed into this, how long until I lose the rest of myself?' She thought to herself.
It was just then that Mana heard steps nearing the library, she quickly pulled her hood up and walked to the stairs leading to her and Spike's room.
Twilight, who was at her desk, sighed as she heard a knock at the door, she walked over and opened it, revealing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. "Hey girls, what's up?" She asked,
"Is Mana home?" Sweetie Belle asked. "We wanted to know if she's alright." She said.
Twilight nodded. "She's home, and she......well, she's going through something personal right now." She replied evasively.
"Can we just wait downstairs for her then?.....there is something we want to ask her." Sweetie Belle asked.
Twilight took a subtle deep breath, but allowed the fillies inside. "I'll see if she can come down." She replied.
As Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked around the main room of the library, Twilight headed upstairs and approached the door to Mana and Spike's room. "I'm not coming down Twilight, I don't want them to see me like this." Mana's voice said.
Twilight opened the door with her magic, and saw that Mana had hidden herself in one of her little huts. "Mana, we have no idea how to return you to normal, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are your friends, they won't think any different of you because of something you can't control." She said consolingly.
Mana lowered her walls and looked at Twilight, she lowered her hood and held up her left....claw? "Even if I'm turning into a monster?" She asked.
In that instant, Twilight made a big decision. "Yes, they won't think any differently about you, you are not a monster Mana, only your body is changing, not your heart, nor your soul." She replied.
Mana looked at the floor, she blinked and slowly got up, she walked up to Twilight. "If you say so." She whispered.
Twilight led Mana downstairs and then urged her silently to go to her friends.
Mana gulped as she saw her friends, they waved at her, but they must have noticed something off about her, it wasn't obvious, but they both slightly flinched.
Mana walked over to them and spoke. "Hey girls, what's up?" She asked.
Sweetie Belle was the first to answer. "We were wondering where you've been for the past few days, you just vanished on us." She said.
Mana nodded. "I.....was at the hospital, i don't really want to go into the details." She said quietly.
Scootaloo spoke next. "Uh, what happened to your eyes?" She asked.
Mana sighed and looked down, she grasped the rims of her hood, and pulled it down, and the two girls went wide eyed. "I have no idea what's happening to me girls." She then looked up at them. "And I don't know why, but it is happening." She held up her new claw. "The only thing I can think, is that the Timberwolf magic inside of me is doing this, but I don't know how." She looked at them in the eyes, her dark green mist eyes looking straight through her friends.
Scootaloo looked at the claw, she looked at the ears, the fangs, and the eyes, and she spoke. "You look cool." She said simply.
Mana raised an eyebrow. "Huh?" She asked out of confusion.
Sweetie Belle blinked. "Are you.......still you?" She asked.
Mana looked at the unicorn filly and nodded. "Aside from feeling like crap, I'm fine mentally, mostly anyway." She said.
"How do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Mana sighed. "I......don't remember a lot of my past, there are gaps now, almost as if I'm losing my memories." She replied.
Scootaloo shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, nopony should have to lose memories." She stated.
Mana shrugged. "You don't have anything to be sorry for, at least to me, besides, if I lose all my previous memories, I won't have any reason to mourn, at least that's something." She muttered that last part.
______*Mana's Journal, a week later*_____
"So, was I afraid because of what was happening to me? of course, I never felt so terrified in my life, but I was forcing myself to be strong, not for me, but for everyone else, they didn't seem to want me to be in pain, or to be scared, but no amount of assurance from others could calm me down, i was being forcibly changed into a monster, I had no way of stopping it, and Princess Celestia still hadn't replied, I don't know how big those archives are, but I hoped she found something, and fast.
It wasn't long however that I had an eventual run in with the school bullies, all they really did was call Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom blank flanks, personally, if I wasn't in danger of getting in trouble for it, I would have told them that they shouldn't be looking at other peoples flanks anyway.....unless it's their fetish, then I have no idea what I would say about that.
Something unfortunate happened however, a few days after my initial transformation, Onyx had told me that I had tried to eat him after going into a frenzy, at first I thought he was having a nightmare......then Twilight confirmed it, I was disgusted that even at a subconscious level, I would try to eat my best friend.
Fluttershy however was happy to take care of him, as much as I hate letting Onyx stay over somewhere without me, I would never put him at risk.
It apparently did some good for Fluttershy though, having Onyx around, apparently the squirrel was able to keep Angel in line when needed, but he also agreed when the bunny made good points.
Spike never had to deal with me in a berserk state, thankfully, the last thing I needed was him fearing what I can do as well.
About the only consistent improvement I've noticed, is that I no longer feel social anxiety, I guess the Timberwolf in me isn't exactly a scaredy cat.
Twilight was getting anxious though, and I don't blame her, dealing with this change, it isn't easy, but I keep dragging her into it, even when I can handle the agressive......urges.
That's what scares me primarily, I have been having the sudden urge to just.......tear at someone's throat, I hope that I never do that, or even attempt it, willing or no."
_____*a few weeks later, Ponyville, 2:00 PM*_____
Sweetie Belle was walking with Mana and Rarity through town, apparently Twilight was needed in Canterlot again, and Mana wasn't willing to go with.
Mana's appearance had changed again, but it was only known to very few, she had sprouted a thin bone tail, she always kept it hidden, regardless of how uncomfortable it was, she had also gotten slightly more wolf like legs, they bent the other way now, which took her three days to figure out, her new claws made it impossible to wear footwear which Mana was actually ok with, and her ears were slightly longer.
Early on, the townsponies had been startled at the change, but they seemed to calm down after a few moments once they realized who it was.
Rarity however, was not going to judge Mana because of something beyond her control, so she simply behaved like normal, and by doing so, learned something about the young fill......girl.
Mana apparently had a very keen eye for certain details, specifically in material, she could point out the difference in fabric even at a distance, the most impressive thing however, was that she could notice even the slightest misstep in a design, which varied from a slightly higher left than right, or a little strand of color going a little bit off.
Sweetie Belle was honestly surprised about Mana's attention to detail, or even her passion for design, yet whenever Rarity offered to let her watch and perhaps learn something, Mana would always refuse, of course, Rarity never seemed to be disappointed with the answer,
Mana looked around the town carefully, attempting to control her violent urges, she almost lost control however, when she noticed a stray chicken, she felt her stomach rumble, she felt her tongue lick her lips, she could even hear a quiet voice in her mind. "Eat......go on, help yourself." The voice whispered, clearly tempting her. "Think about it......how good will that chicken taste?.....how long has it been since you've eaten meat?" The voice asked.
Mana heard a muffled voice nearby as she walked slowly, watching the chicken as she felt her right hand slowly shift into a claw. "Mana!" Sweetie Belle's voice called out.
Mana blinked and shook her head, she looked at Sweetie Belle. "Huh?" She said.
"Mana......are you feeling alright?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Mana pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers and shook her head. "Just.......trying to fight the urges." She replied quietly.
Rarity watched as Sweetie Belle consoled Mana, telling her that it would be alright, that she could beat the urges, she smiled at this, she knew that Mana was going through changes, and she had heard about her.....violent, outbursts, but it seemed that her sister was able to calm Mana down, same with the other crusaders.
Rarity was cautious however, Twilight had explained some of her more unstable moods, and what Rarity heard was disturbing, while she wouldn't go so far as to keep Sweetie Belle from seeing her friend, she was going to make sure that Mana didn't do anything as much as possible, for she had a feeling that Mana would eventually give in to the urges, she prayed that she was wrong.
Sweetie Belle looked at Rarity who was lost in her train of thought. "Right Rarity?" She asked,
Rarity blinked as she snapped out of her trance. "Hmm?" She asked.
"That you and me have Mana's back, just like Everypony else." Sweetie Belle said.
Rarity nodded. "That's right darling, we'll help you how we can." She added.
For what seemed like the first time, Rarity noticed a small smile under Mana's hood.
______*Canterlot.*______
Twilight walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle, the familiar environment easily traversed, all the pathways memorized, she walked through and headed for the old Castle archive, not for public use anymore, but still filled with old tomes and spell books, as well as myths, legends, history, and even folklore.
It was also where Celestia had asked to meet her.
As she walked up to the door to the old archive, Twilight sensed powerful wards on the other side, she could tell what their nature was, so she entered calmly.
The door creaked open and Twilight stepped in, she looked around and saw many walls lines with shelves and books, she saw an old web covered section of the library, she stayed away, knowing what was in those books.
She then saw Princess Celestia standing at a desk, she was accompanied by Princess Luna and they both looked over. "Ah Twilight, I'm glad you could make it so quickly." Celestia said.
"Of course, you said it was urgent?" Twilight replied.
Luna nodded as she walked away and looked at Twilight. "Indeed, this occurrence, the transformation into a Timberwolf, it HAS happened before, though only once in our recorded history." She stated.
Celestia used her magic and floated a book over to Twilight, it was pretty small. "Inside that book is the only mention of this happening before, most discarded it as nothing more than a myth, but when you told me that your new charge, Mana, was It?" She asked.
Twilight nodded. "That's her name." She said.
Celestia walked past Twilight as she searched for something. "Yes, when you told me that Mana was experiencing these changes, I knew it sounded familiar, so i began to search, when you return to Ponyville, i suggest you give that book a read, it may assist you." She then looked at Twilight. "However, I must warn you, this change will worsen, and fast, which means young Mana is running on borrowed time, and you must hurry." She warned.
Luna then stepped in front of Twilight. "Now, as for a remedy, there is none, however, there is a way to free Mana from this curse, and I believe I know how it has affected her so rapidly." She stated.
Twilight listened carefully as Luna continued. "I looked into Mana's dreams, and I saw a nightmare of her death, back in her home world, if Mana truly did die back at her home, then her body in this world must be slowly succumbing to death, and the Timberwolf magic within her is replacing her dying body, there is no way to stop this from happening, but you can free her." Luna explained.
"How?.....you just said there was no cure?" Twilight wondered.
Celestia sighed gravely. "The book speaks of an ancient shrine, one older even than myself and Luna, it is said to hold the power of transformation, it can change one to become something else, but at the price of never being able to return to your original form." She explained.
Twilight looked at her teacher in shock. "You mean......if we go to this shrine, we can give Mana a second chance?" She asked.
Celestia nodded. "That is correct, however, the shrine has been searched for, but no traces of it have been found, only one man has ever found the shrine, but he died long ago." She replied.
"The only thing that we can suggest, Twilight Sparkle, is that you begin your search as soon as possible." Luna added.
Twilight looked at Princess Luna. "What happened?....to the man who found the shrine?" She asked,, feeling hopeful about this idea.
"The book claims he survived, but there is no proof of this, or the shrine." Luna replied.
Twilight felt a little less sure about this idea suddenly, but she wasn't about to give up, she felt a fire burn in her heart, along with a desire to save Mana, who was practically family. "Do you have any idea where I should start looking?" She asked.
"The answers lie in that book my faithful student, i was unable to decipher everything on it, but perhaps you or one of your friends can." Celestia replied.
______*Ponyville, three days later, Golden Oaks Library, 3:00 AM*______
Twilight was still awake, she hadn't slept at all last night, even though Mana's overall mood has improved, her change had progressed yet again.
Twilight was also left pondering something other than the shrine as she read through the book over and over, if Mana truly was dead and decaying slowly, how did the Doctors not notice anything?
Twilight flipped to the last page, seeing only the random drawings on the back, she scoffed and went to close the book......then she noticed something.
The drawings on the final page, as well as the rest of the book, was mixed in with the rest, as Twilight examined these symbols, they looked similar to Mana's earlier handwriting, she made symbols that formed words, the worst part was that translation was impossible for the words, for Twilight needed a base of some kind, either a spoken language, or even the letter in the same language, just then she got a strange thought 'Is it possible that whoever wrote this book knew the same language as Mana?' She thought.
Twilight closed the book and sighed, she then had an idea, one that could help her translate the book, but it would be risky, and it would not be easy to explain. "I don't have any other options." She muttered.
_____*later that day, 11:00 AM*_____
Twilight looked at Mana who was sitting up against the wall, quietly brooding, she sighed and walked over. "Mana, can I ask you something?" She started simply.
Mana looked up, her eyes betraying no emotion. "Sure." She replied.
Twilight held out a book and Mana grabbed it with her left claw-like hand. "Do you understand that language?" She asked.
Mana opened the book wordlessly, though when she saw the words, her eyes widened. "How is this possible?" She asked herself in astonishment.
"I don't know, according to Princess Celestia, it's been In in the archives for a thousand years, more or less, she asked me to translate it for her, but I figured, you might know the language, so I should ask you." Twilight lied.
Mana blinked and looked at the book, she sighed and nodded. "Yea, I can translate it for you, I'll need a blank book though." She replied.
Twilight nodded, she walked over to one of the desks and pulled out a blank book, she then grabbed her inkwell and quill. "Whenever your ready." She said.
Mana then began to read off the book, telling Twilight what the words said, line by line, she would say the words, and Twilight would write them, they did this for a few hours.
They had made steady progress, and just after they called it quits, there was a knock at the door.
Twilight stood up and walked over, she opened the door and saw Rarity and Rainbow Dash on the other side. "Hey girls, what brings you here?" She asked as she let the two inside.
"Twilight, myself, Rainbow Dash and the others, were wondering if everything went alright in Canterlot." Rarity asked.
"Yea, things were alright, I just found out some things that were.....unpleasant." Twilight replied.
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "You usually bring back bad news from Canterlot, how is this time any different?" She wondered.
Twilight sighed and looked at Spike. "Hey Spike, can you take Mana outside?......some fresh air might help her relax." She asked.
"Sure thing!" Spike replied.
After Mana reluctantly left the library, Twilight closed the door and brought her friends to the center of the room. "It isn't good, is it?" Rarity asked.
Twilight shook her head. "No it isn't, I......found out that Mana is dying." She replied, causing her friends to gasp.
Rarity recovered enough to ask something a few moments later. "How long does she have?" She asked out of concern.
Twilight sighed and started pacing. "I don't know, but I know why Mana is changing, and that's progress." She replied.
"Care to explain?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight nodded. "Yes, you see, before Mana came to our world, she had died in hers, so if I understand this correctly, her body is dead, and it's slowly decaying, but since Timberwolves repair damage, the magic inside of Mana is replacing her as she decays, sadly, this also means she becoming more and more feral as time passes." She explained.
Rarity looked out the window, and then at Twilight. "Can you stop this?" She asked.
Twilight shook her head as she stopped pacing. "There is no way to stop Mana's body from dying, however, this book." She paused as she floated the book over. "Princess Celestia gave it to me, she said that this is the journal of the only recorded individual in our history, to go through the same as Mana, but survive." She replied.
Twilight set the book down and continued talking. "It speaks of an ancient shrine that has the power to grant individuals a new body, at the price of never being able to return to your original species." She explained.
Rainbow Dash nodded. "So, you want to use this shrine to give Mana a new body, and give her a new life, right?" She asked.
Twilight nodded. "Yes, that's correct." She replied,
Rarity looked at the two mares and cleared her throat to get their attention. "And WHERE is this shrine?" She asked.
Twilight sighed sadly as she continued pacing. "I don't know, the book may have clues, but I can't understand the words, Mana can translate them, but we need time." She said.
Rainbow Dash looked to the door and blinked. "We might not have time, if Mana really is changing faster, and she keeps getting more agressive, or even more violent thoughts, we may lose her." She stated.
Twilight paused and looked down, her ears flattening against her head. "Rainbow Dash!.....we need to be supportive right now! Where did you even get such an idea?" Rarity snapped.
Rainbow looked at Rarity. "One of us needs to be practical here, I'm just saying the truth, we need to hurry, the faster that book is translated, the better." She replied calmly.
Twilight sighed and looked at Rainbow Dash. "You're right Dash, thank you for getting that thought out into the open.....Rarity, as much as I appreciate it, being positive won't help right now, I'm going to see if I can get any useful information from what we've got, can one of you keep an eye on Mana for me?" She asked.
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Sure thing, I'm don't have work today anyway." She replied before heading out.
Rarity shook her head and looked at her friend. "Let me know if you need help Twilight, I'll do what I can." She said before leaving.
_____*later that day, 2:00 AM*______
It was a calm night, the moon was shining, there were no clouds in the sky, the wind was still, and the town was lit by candlelight and moonlight.
Inside the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight Sparkle had just set her book down and laid back in her bed, she sighed to herself as she tried to understand the gibberish that was written in that book.
Twilight had spent her day as usual, but had devoted most of the night to trying to make sense of the words.
Twilight shut off her light so that she could get to sleep, leaving the moonlight as the rooms only light source, she was just about the get to sleep, when she heard a door creak open.
Twilight blinked and looked as familiar footsteps neared her, and to her surprise, it was Mana, she looked tired.....and scared? "Mana? what's wrong?" She asked quietly, as to not wake Spike.
Mana clutched her left arm and looked at the floor. "I......I need to talk to you, while I'm still me." She replied, as though holding back tears.
Twilight sat up and let Mana sit next to her. "Don't say that Mana, you'll be fine." She assured in an attempt to soothe, even though she herself was not sure.
"Your lying just makes it more obvious." Mana replied sadly as she leaned into Twilight's right arm. "I.....I'm scared, more scared than when I was about to die on that ship." She said, her voice cracked, it was obvious she was afraid, but Twilight also felt tears run along her fur.
"I'm changing......I'm becoming a monster, and I.....I can't do anything about it, at first I wasn't worried, but now?....I feel like I'm losing myself, and all I feel anymore is fear and hunger." Mana continued.
Twilight gently stroked Mana's head in an attempt to calm her. "Mana I.......I don't know how to help you, I'm trying, I am, but I can only do so much, listen." She then held up Mana's chin to look her dead in the eye. "You are a lot stronger than you think, if you can fight off those urges on a daily basis, you can beat this Mana, you need to have more faith in yourself." She stated, believing her own words.
Mana sniffled as she silently cried, she then continued speaking. "I miss them......my parents, they may not have been the best." She paused as she wiped her left eye. "But they were family, and they tried." She looked at Twilight. "Can I stay here for the night?" She asked quietly.
Twilight smiled and nodded. "Sure, just try not to scratch anything ok?" She joked.
For once in a long while, Mana chuckled, it wasn't the same as a smile or a laugh, but it was close enough.
As the two settled in, Twilight could have sworn she saw something, a change in Mana, and for once, it was good.
For when Mana looked at Twilight, she could have sworn she had seen her old blue eyes, if only for a moment.
Just as Twilight closed her eyes, she heard Mana whisper something. "Good night.....mom."
Twilight said nothing, refusing to break the newfound silence, but she did say one thing. "Good night Mana." She whispered.