_______*Ponyville, Golden Oaks Library, the next day, 8:00 AM*______
The library was quiet, which was ironic, considering it was rarely quiet these days.
The inhabitants of this library, were Twilight Sparkle, Spike and Mana, a unicorn, dragon and human turned Timberwolf hybrid, respectively.
This peace was short lived since they were all asleep right now, however, Spike was waking up.
Spike's eyes slowly opened as he woke up, he yawned and sat up, he stretched his arms and legs before jumping off the bed, he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision so he could see.
He yawned again and looked at his roommate. "Mana, wake up." He said sleepily.
When no response came from the sleeping girl, Spike walked to her side of the bed and looked at her.
Mana's body had altered in her sleep, a sight Spike had grown accustomed too seeing, her ears and fangs were showing, and he could see the faint glowing mist in her eyes, while her appearance was fearsome, her facial expression was peaceful.
'I have to admit it, she looks a lot nicer when she's asleep as opposed to her being awake.' He chuckled a little bit, he then lightly shook Mana. "Hey, Mana, wake up will you?" He proded.
Mana's only response was a light breath, followed by a short groan of annoyance. "Five more minutes." She grumbled as she rolled over.
Spike blinked in confusion, but he then poked Mana and spoke as the room temperature suddenly dropped.. "Mana, wake up, your sleep freezing again." He stated calmly, as if he was used to it.
Mana groaned again as she rolled back over, her eyes now open and staring at Spike. "Sorry, can't help it." She replied.
Spike watched as the transformation receeded and she was mostly back to normal, the only thing truly different was her eyes, which remained glowing green mist. "Have you found a way to return your eyes to normal?" Spike asked out of curiosity, and because Mana's eyes creeped him out, but he wouldn't say anything.
Mana sat up and stretched her arms. "No." She said simply.
Spike shrugged and motioned to the door. "Anyway, I'll be downstairs, you really shouldn't hide up here all day again, it's not that good for a social life, believe me I know." He said with a smirk.
Mana raised an eyebrow as Spike walked out, she guessed that he was referring to his and Twilight's past, which she honestly didn't know much about.
'I really should ask about that some time.' She said to herself as she stood up.
______*Downstairs*______
Mana yawned as she walked down the stairs, she rubbed her eyes and looked around the main room, seeing Spike sitting on the couch half awake. "You alright Spike?" She asked groggily.
Spike nodded and slowly stood. "I just need some time to wake up, I usually wake up later in the day." He replied.
Mana simply walked to the couch and sat down next to Spike, she held her eyes shut for a while, trying to wake herself up, soon however, the awkward silence that had grown over the past few minutes left her nervous.
Spike soon looked at Mana with a serious gaze. "We should probably talk about last night." He stated, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
Mana opened her eyes and sighed, she looked at Spike and nodded. "Alright, what first?" She asked.
Spike thought for a few moments and after he found his words, he spoke. "What exactly happened to you out in the forest?" He asked.
Mana unconsciously shivered at the mention of the forest, but decided to reply. "I......I saw what looked like a bad memory, a nightmare?.....a memory?.....I'm not sure, but I remembered seeing someone, a young girl, she looked a lot like me, her hair was black and her eyes were brown." She paused to remember more.
"I.....I saw her look at me, she screamed, she called for help, she said there was a monster, I could hear another voice calling for her, the voice said......Lune?" She continued with confusion.
Spike blinked in confusion at the name. 'Sound's like a variation of Luna's name.' He observed.
Mana crossed her arms and looked at Spike. "When Twilight told me what was happening to me, I.......I panicked, out of fear and anger, a ran off, I hid where no one thinks to look, but Sweetie Belle found me, and brought me to my senses." She continued.
"Where were you anyway?" Spike asked.
Mana shrugged. "The old park, it was never removed, just left to wither away., there was a small pond that I took Sweetie too after our hide and seek game." She replied easily.
Spike listened to the details of Mana's story, and while she respectfully avoided the details that Sweetie Belle told her, she did reveal that she had a newfound appreciation for Sweetie Belle, rather than tolerance.
Spike was confused about one thing however. "What, exactly, is happening to you?" He asked curiously.
Mana sighed sadly and looked down at the floor. "I died." She muttered, her voice barely a whisper.
Spike however, had trained his ears to hear even Fluttershy's voice, so when he heard Mana speak, his eyes widened as he stared at Mana in shock. "Your dead?" He shakily asked quietly.
Mana looked at Spike. "How do you think the Timberwolf Magic inside of me changed my body so quickly?" She asked.
Spike laid his head back on the couch as he processed this information, after a few minutes, he looked at Mana. "Let's change subject." He offered.
Mana smiled at the welcome change of subject, she laid back and spoke. "What do you want to talk about?" She asked.
Spike looked into Mana's eyes, his own eyes betraying no emotion. "Why did you call me your brother?" He asked out of curiosity.
Mana sighed and looked up at the ceiling, she seemed to be debating on something within her mind, soon however, she just spoke. "Spike, I will be honest with you.......you are the closest thing I have to a brother, I was always an only child, so I guess being around you got me to lower my guard on these kinds of things." She looked at him with a sincere expression. "If I overstepped my bounds, or offended you, I'm sorry." She added.
Spike looked down at the floor and went into deeper thought about this. 'It may be.......strange, but I'm not disturbed by this at all! I mean, I even called her sis last night!.......I've always seen Twilight as my friend, Shining Armor and me didn't get along as well as he thought we did, but Mana, she doesn't judge me when I make bad choice, she usually just teases me or cheers me up.......or flat out goes along with it.' He looked at the girl as he thought more on this.
'I will admit, I haven't spent that much time with Mana, not as much as I should anyway, she does make the boring days better just by being around, I'm usually excited to spend time with her, and our friends, I doubt this is everything to having a sibling, but it's close enough.' He looked away and started to talk. "Mana.......you didn't offend me, I myself called you sister last night, but i won't push anything, take your time, neither me nor Twilight will force you to do something you aren't alright with." Spike said.
Mana smiled at those words, she nodded and stood up. "Well then Spike, seeing as Twilight seems to have vanished on us." She said calmly as she paced around the room a little.
"What do you want to do?" Mana asked.
Spike tapped his chin in thought for a few moments, he then shrugged. "How about we get ready for the day? as in food?" He suggested.
Mana chuckled. "Yea, I sorta forgot about that." She admitted.
______*an hour later*______
Mana sighed in relief as she stepped outside the library, not because of the fact she wasn't hungry anymore, but because she had finally allowed her bone tail to be free, she found that she had a limited control over it, but it felt good to have it free, instead of hidden beneath her clothes.
Spike however had remarked that her tail 'looked cool' and that she shouldn't be ashamed of it.
That statement had made Mana take a moment to realize something, she was afraid of changing. 'If I hadn't freed my tail, I never would have thought about this that much.......so why am I afraid of change?' She asked herself.
She took in a breath of fresh air before walking to the town, Spike had told her that Twilight apparently was spending the day with Rarity and Fluttershy, for reasons that Mana couldn't remember.
Not that she minded, Mana felt like she needed a few more hours to herself anyway, if only to clear her mind.
Mana was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't even realize how far she had walked, she stopped walking and looked over her shoulder, she was almost at the border to Sweet Apple Acres by now, she blinked and scratched the back of her head in confusion. "How did I end up all the way out here?" She asked herself quietly.
Mana soon shrugged and walked over to the nearby fence, she sat down and went back to her thoughts.'If I really am afraid of change, it would explain my haste to avoid anything about my new......powers, it also explains this strange sting I feel whenever I talk about that......shrine, or whatever it is.' She looked up at the sky.
Mana watched as a cloud soared overhead, she chuckled, knowing exactly who was pushing it around, mostly because of the rainbow trail following behind it, she felt her tail coil around her waist as she closed her eyes. 'Perhaps I'm thinking too hard on this, after all, I'm not losing my mind or soul, it's just a body.'
She raised her left hand and opened her eyes to examine it, it's claw like features making Mana sign as she remembered her old hands. "Why did we have to get on that stupid boat?" She asked herself quietly.
'Don't tell me that the brave Mana got beat by a rock?' A voice echoed in her mind.
Mana head snapped up and she looked around for the source of the voice, seeing nothing, Mana soon calmed down and settled back to her sitting position.
'No way Lune! I'm not giving up because of that little bruise!' Another voice echoed, this one however, sounded just like Mana.
Mana stood up and looked around, her left arm shifting to its icy form on instinct. "Who's there?" She question warningly.
There was no response from the nearby grasslands. 'Well, you still look like crap, so maybe we should stop?' The first voice echoed.
'What? and leave you here with no audience?' The second voice asked sarcastically.
A chuckle rang through Mana's mind and she looked around once more. 'Well, if you are sure, remember, don't tell mom and dad!' The first voice stated firmly.
Mana heard a giggle in her mind and she stopped searching her vicinity for the source, as she now knew it was in her head. 'Why would i tell them about this?' The second voice asked, but it was more of a joke than a question.
The voices stopped after that statement, leaving Mana alone with her thoughts once more, she sighed as she leaned against the fence. "Maybe I'm just losing it." She muttered to herself.
______*Spike's POV*_____
Spike sat on the couch in the main room of the library, he slowly tapped his chin in boredom, normally, when Twilight went out for the day, he would take his time in doing his chores, so that he at least had something to do.
But then Mana came along, and not only did she help Spike with his chores, effectively cutting the work time in half, she also managed to relieve much of the boredom with her occasional antics, as well as simple conversation.
However, this also brought up some problems, first, since everything was done, he had nothing to do, secondly, with Mana taking a walk, he had nothing to do now aside from think or read.
Spike was tired of reading for the day, and since his new friends, the cutie mark crusaders, were all busy today, he had nobody to hang out with, as all of Twilight's friends usually were too busy, or were too polite to say they didn't want to hang out with him.
As such, Spike sighed sadly to himself as he laid back on the couch and stared at the ceiling, at this time, he found himself missing his younger sister, and at that thought, Spike paused his train of thought and sat up.
'Did I really just think that?' He asked himself out of disbelief, he looked at the door and continued his new thought. 'I guess I really do think of her that way.....if my mind just defaults to that.' He shook his head and laid back.
'But like I told Mana, unless she believes it's truly alright, I won't push anything.' He told himself mentally.
Spike was about to close his eyes to take a quick nap when there was a knock at the door, he quickly got up and ran to the door, he opened the door and saw Rainbow Dash actually standing still for once.
"Oh, hey Rainbow, what's up?" He asked.
Rainbow Dash motioned her head to her right and Spike saw Twilight standing there as well. "Oh, hi Twilight!" Spike added happily.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash entered the library and Spike closed the door. "So, Twilight, how was your day out?" He asked curiously.
Twilight shrugged and looked at Spike. "It was alright, Fluttershy and Rarity did most of the talking for once, I didn't really have fun." She replied.
Spike nodded. "Ok.....so uh, did you want something?" He asked, hiding his desire for something to do.
Twilight nodded. "Yea, could you start some tea for me?......also, where's Mana at?" She asked.
Spike started walking to the kitchen to start the tea. "She went for a walk, she said she wanted to clear her head." He replied before entering the kitchen.
As Spike started the tea a few moments later, his mind went back to some of his earlier thoughts, but this one was more grim.
'If Mana really is.......dead, why does she need food?....water, sleep, why would she need those things?' He sighed to himself as he heard Twilight call to him. "Spike! can you go and find Mana? tell her I need to talk to her?" She asked.
Spike walked out and looked at Twilight. "Sure thing, tea is started, I'll be back." He stated as he walked outside.
______*ten minutes later*______
Spike had absolutely no idea where Mana was, he knew she went for a walk, but she never said where exactly she was going, as such, he wandered aimlessly for a while, until he spoke with some ponies.
Thankfully, Spike had discovered that Flitter had seen Mana walking towards Sweet Apple Acres......actually, in her exact words. "I saw a strange looking creature heading towards the farm, it had a weird tail made entirely of bone without any fur."
Spike simply thanked Flitter for her directions, not bothering to mention that the creature was called Mana, and that she was a friend.
After a short walk to the farm, Spike eventually found Mana resting at a fence, she was sitting down and looking at the ground, he walked over and sat down.
Mana simply chuckled quietly and looked up from the ground. "What's up Spike?" She asked.
"Twilight's back home, she wanted to talk to you." Spike replied instantly.
Mana sighed and looked at Spike. "I.....I have a lot on my mind right now Spike, I'm not sure I can handle talking to Twilight right now." She said.
Spike slid closer and spoke. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked calmly.
Mana thought on that for a moment, she looked at Spike with curiosity for a moment before nodding. "Yea......I think I need to get this out of my system." She took a breath before speaking.
"Do you remember when me and the crusaders went to the forest to explore?" Mana asked.
Spike nodded, he remembered the scolding Twilight gave Mana about that, even though it wasn't long ago. "I heard the scolding, but other than that, not much." He replied.
Mana looked away and closed her eyes as she rested her head on the fence. "In the forest......I snapped, I felt the beast take control as it fought the other Timberwolves, but I was able to stop it.....before......" She trailed off, something that Spike stopped.
"Before what Mana?" He asked.
Mana looked at Spike and noticed that his expression was comepletly neutral, she signed and spoke. "Before it killed the girls." She stated shakily. "I.......I'm afraid of this thing Spike, it almost made me kill my best friends out of pure bloodlust." She said as she clutched her left hand with her right hand.
Spike nodded in understanding. "And you are afraid it will happen again?" He asked.
Mana slowly nodded and looked at the sky. "I really wish my parents hadn't forced me onto that stupid boat ride down to our southern tribe." She said, though Spike could tell she was talking more to herself than him.
Spike placed a claw on Mana's shoulder. "Listen to me ok?" He asked, to which Mana looked at him. "No one can change the past, but no one can control your future, you can fight this Mana, you can control it, I know that for a fact." He stated with a small smile.
Mana sighed and closed her eyes. "I really hope so Spike, I really do." She muttered.
______*later that day, 4:00 PM*______
Mana laid back in the middle of the library floor reading a book, she wasn't paying top much attention to it, as she was once again lost in her thoughts.
'Maybe Spike's right, maybe I can control this feral half of myself, I've just been too afraid to try.' Mana closed the book and stood up, she walked over to one of the shelves and returned the book to its proper place.
"Maybe I just need something to take my mind off of things." She muttered.
Just then the library door burst open and a red faced angry Twilight barged in, almost destroying the door in the process. "I DIDNT DO IT!" Mana instinctively called out suddenly.
Mana's sudden statement seemed to confuse Twilight, as she momentarily calmed down. "Didn't do what?" She asked calmly.
Mana blinked and stratched the back of her head. "I.....don't know, I suppose I didn't do whatever it is that made you mad?" She offered out of confusion.
Twilight's anger then returned and she stormed upstairs, all the while making angry comments about slowly removing hooves.
Spike soon entered the library and carefully closed the door behind him. "Where's Twilight?" He asked nervously.
Mana pointed upstairs and crossed her arms. "What's got her so angry?" She asked.
Spike walked over and calmly handed two scrolls over to Mana. "Go ahead, read them." He said.
Mana raised an eyebrow but read the first scroll regardless, it detailed an invitation to a wedding between Shining Armor, and one Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. "Who are they again?" She asked.
Spike rolled his eyes and answered. "Twilight's Brother Shining Armor and Cadence, our old foalsitter." He replied easily.
Mana blinked and looked at Spike. "Then why is she mad?" She asked.
Spike pointed to the second scroll. "Read." He insisted.
Mana huffed at the rude reply and read the second scroll, it was from Shining Armor explaining that he was getting married. "Oh.......I see now." She handed the scrolls over and held her left arm up and ignited it. "Want me to scorch him?" She asked calmly.
Spike shook his head and waved his right hand away. "Na, no point, besides, it would be considered assault." He said.
Mana groaned and crossed her arms.....she then grinned. "What about a poison ivy leaf to his nose?" She asked.
Spike went to reply but stopped himself as he considered it, he grinned and looked at Mana. "Extremely annoying, not illegal, and he doesn't have any known allergies." He replied with a devious grin.
Mana winked and looked upstairs. "So.....how am I planting the ivy?" She asked.
Spike shrugged, as he heard Twilight walking back down. "Keep it quiet for now." He whispered.
When Spike and Mana saw Twilight, their expressions became worrisome, as Twilight had a notable twitch in her left eye. "Are you alright Twilight?" Mana asked.
Twilight took a breath and nodded. "Oh yea, I'm just fine, I just discovered that my BROTHER did NOT HAVE THE GUTS TO INVITE ME TO HIS OWN WEDDING IN PERSON, OR EVEN TELL ME WAS GETTING MARRIED IN THE FIRST PLACE!" She shouted.
Mana held her right arm up and ignited it. "Want me to scorch him?" She asked.
Twilight sighed and shook her head. "No, we'd never get away with it besides, Shining is a master of shield spells." She stated.
Mana grumbled as she doused her arm and crossed them again. "Darn." She said to herself.
Twilight looked at Spike and Mana. "So, how about it, you two want to go to Canterlot and hear me shout at my brother?.......I mean, go see the wedding?" She asked.
Mana shrugged. "Sure, why not, but Rarity ain't getting me in a dress or suit of any kind, I don't care what she says." She pointed out.
Spike nodded. "I have been wanting to go see the comic store lately, so I don't see why not." He added.
Twilight grinned deviously, for reasons unknown. "Good! we leave tomorrow!" She stated with a grin.
Spike and Mana shared a look. "We've created a monster Mana." Spike stated.
Mana nodded. "Agreed, let's just hope she doesn't go too crazy." She replied.
_______*the next day, Ponyville train station*_______
Mana and Spike stood together as Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash waited for the train.
Spike was bringing nothing but a pouch of bits and a small backpack, as well as his gem rations, which were actually just five gems.
Mana was wearing one of the outfits that Rarity made for her, and the only one that Mana was capable of paying for, mostly due to Rarity's stubberness, it was a pair of black sweatpants with dark blue trim, she wore a dark red tee shirt with a black jacket, with the symbol of the four nations on the back, for her feet she wore simple brown shoes that were both comfortable and water resistant, she also wore dark red fingerless gloves, so that they wouldn't break in case she changed her hands into claws.
Unlike Mana's other clothes, this was the only outfit that didn't have a hood, but for once, she didn't mind, she had cut her hair to be just under her ears and let it go wild.
Mana was happy about one thing though, Onyx was with her again and currently sitting on her shoulder, unfortunately, he also would not shut up.
Spike looked at Mana as she argued with her squirrel over something as pointless directions to the closest pai sho table, whatever that was.
Mana eventually gave up and crossed her arms. "Whatever Onyx, I didn't think we would already go back to this old argument......again." She muttered that last part.
Onyx chattered and slapped Mana's ear. "Don't start that with me Onyx, I'm warning you, I will shove you into my bag." She said calmly.
Mana sighed in relief as the train soon arrived at the station, she slung her bag over her back and walked with everyone else into the train.
'This trip might be just what I need to clear my head.' Mana thought to herself as she looked around the train.
Once the train was ready, it set off to Canterlot, and the long trip began, the main problem was, all of Twilight's friends were fighting over the window seat.
Mana watched as Twilight wordlessly took her seat and shook her head, clearly having a headache right now.
Mana herself had enough and looked at Spike. "Watch this." She muttered, she then looked at the seat and grinned, her entire body turned into wood and she slipped into the seat and returned to normal, placing her bag above her seat with her still wooden arm.
She looked at the mares and and grinned at their stunned expressions. "Dibs." She said as Spike took the seat next to her. "No window for you." Mana added as she covered the window in bark.
As the mares all begrudgingly took new seats, Mana and Spike fist bumped before laughing quietly.
Spike leaned back and thought to himself. 'Oh yea, this trio is going to be fun.' He chuckled to himself at his own thought.
Mana did notice Twilight had a small smirk on her face now, she gave a thumbs up to the mare and closed her eyes as she settled in. 'I can't wait to pull this prank off, it'll be a blast.' She thought to herself with a smirk.