//------------------------------//
// A symphony of Wildwood and Frostflame. 
// Story: The Raindrop 
// by Sylif Daring Doo 
//------------------------------//

______*several hours later, 4:01 AM, Mana's POV*______

The decision had been made, Twilight and Spike were going with me as we left Ponyville with the hope to find this shrine and save my life.

I was on watch duty, I stood by the window and kept an eye on the outside, well, four if you count the Timberwolf inside me, while he detested the idea, he didn't seem very keen on trying to stop me.

'Im surprised that you aren't doing something to stop us.' I say mentally. 

The beast grumbled. 'We have agreement, cannot act, will see this to end.' It replied.

After making certain we weren't being spied on, I closed the curtains and leaned against the wall, I hold my left hand out and it turned into the head of the Timberwolf. "Before, in that store, when Kino asked for my name, you said Scale, is that your name?" I asked curiously.

The wolf looked around the room, checking for Twilight and Spike before looking at me. "My kind, no names, only titles and designations." It explained. "I was given the title Scale, for killing a hydra when my pack failed." It continued.

"Well, I hope you don't mind me calling you that then." I take a breath and sit down on the floor, and Scale spoke. "Why do they call you Mana? is there a purpose?" It asked.

I shrug at his question. "It's my name, and as far as I know, there was no reason, but you knew that." I reply.

My hand returned to normal as Scale spoke. "I cannot see your mind, unless you want me to see it, I can however influence it, as you have felt before." It said.

Before I could reply, Twilight walked down the stairs and spoke. "Alright Mana, we have everything we need, we're just waiting on Spike." She said.

With that I stood up and rubbed my wooden hand, it changed into a claw and I sighed. "I really wish he weren't coming, if this shrine isn't real, I don't want him to see me when I turn."

Twilight walked up to me and placed a hoof on my shoulder reassuringly. "No one wants to see the ones they love become something they aren't, but all we can do is be there when it counts." She said with a smile, the sentiment was there, but what unnerved me was that Scale said the exact same thing at the same time.

I quietly nod and walk to the desk. 'How did you know what she was saying?' I asked mentally.

'Father said same thing to me years ago, in short, take comfort that the dragon is coming with us, he may witness you change, but he will always remember you as his sister.'

With that I hear footsteps approaching, I look in that direction and I see Spike with a travel bag on his back. "I'm set, when do we go?" He asked.

"Right now actually." Twilight said as she walked in between us. "I can teleport us a good distance away from here, but we have to walk from there." She said.

I nod and reach my arm out to grab my bag, my arm turned to wood and extended long enough for me to grab it and place it on my back, after that I quickly retracted my arm and looked at Twilight and Spike. "So, how do we all get teleported exactly?" I ask.

Twilight looked as though she wanted to explain it fully for a moment, but she kept herself under control. "Just grab on to my leg, I'll do the rest." She said.

Spike hopped onto Twilight's back while I gripped her leg gently as to not cause bleeding with my claw like hands.

Twilight's horn lit up as she closed her eyes, and in a bright flash we were now near the edge of Ponyville, and I was immediately nauseous and felt vomit rising up, i fall to the ground and vomit on the ground, violent coughs followed for a few moments before I wiped my mouth with my hand.

"I really hate teleporting." I mutter as I stand back up.

"Believe me sis, you don't get used to it easily, took me ten teleports just to stop vomiting every time." Spike said.

I groan and look at Twilight. "So which way do we go?" I ask.

Twilight tapped her chin in thought for a few moments as we started to walk, soon though she had an idea. "I'm not entirely sure if it's true or not, but the book did mention that those who truly needed the shrine, would feel it call out to them." She said.

I blink and cross my arms, silences myself to try and listen for anything calling to me, but instead of the silence I wanted, I hear Scale speaking to me. 'I feel it girl, go to the west.' It said.

"That way." I say as my arm points in the direction Scale said, I lower my arm and we start walking that direction, towards the forest. 'Why are you helping? you could have said nothing.' I ask curiously.

'Noise made pain for me, I can hear it while you cannot, pain stopped when I told you, simple.' Scale replied.

As we walk closer towards the Everfree, I find myself dreading what's to come. "I was hoping to never go back in there, looks like we don't have a choice now." I say.

"Don't worry Mana, I know about most of the creatures that live there, so if we get attacked, I can ward them off." Twilight replied.

While I would like to believe that, I have a bad feeling that she is wrong. 

______*The Everfree Forest, ten minutes later.*______

The three of us walked cautiously through the forest, following Scale's directions as he gave them, since we weren't on the safe path, we had already encountered a Cockatrice on the way, one swift flame breath from Spike and a giant wooden hand blocking its vision made it flee very quickly.

We kept on moving for what felt like hours, stepping in mud and other gross things on the ground, we kept on avoiding the creatures of the forest as much as possible, and fending off those that we couldn't avoid, much to Scale's disappointment.

We had walked for about two and a half hours before Spike spoke up. "We should probably stop." He said as we walked slowly.

"Good idea, I'm feeling pretty tired anyway." Twilight said.

While I did find Scale's silence concerning, I was more concerned about stopping my legs from hurting, they may have been wooden now, but I did find out that they could still be sore.

With the three of us agreeing to stop and rest, I took on the responsibility of making us a safe area, using my power, i summoned a wooden dome around our makeshift campsite, and I placed a few pillars of ice to keep it standing. "We have four hours tops." I say calmly.

With silent nods, I help Twilight and Spike to quickly set up the sleeping bags so we can get some sleep, before we all laid down, Spike had given us each a small bar of some kind of food. "What is this?" I ask quietly.

"It's travel rations, we had them just sitting around back home, they aren't tasty but they will keep you going." Spike explained.

I will admit one thing, travel rations may be stale and tasteless, but at least they go down easy, so after we ate, we finally got some sleep after being awake for basically an entire day.

______*hours later*______

I awoke with a groan, my head felt like it was fuzzy for some reason, and my body felt light, I opened my eyes and I saw Spike and Twilight asleep in their sleeping bags, the dome I had made still stood strong, I slowly got out of the sleeping bag and rubbed my head gently.

'Man my head feels weird.' I say to myself.

Scale spoke after that. 'you mean OUR head feels weird, and it probably has to do with that flower in your hair.' It stated.

I blinked and felt around my head, and sure enough I felt something in my hair, I grabbed it and held it in front of me so I could examine it, the flower had seven petals and was green in color, it had a yellow center and the petals went in a counter clockwise direction.

"Where did this come from?" I asked myself quietly as I burned it.

I looked at my brother and Twilight, I sigh to myself as I sat down. 'You are troubled?' Scale asked.

With a nod, I held my hand out so Scale's head emerged from it. "Yea......I am." I took a breath. "I died on that boat, and I'm guessing my parents did as well, but what I'm really concerned about is the fact that I see Spike as my brother, but I don't know how to see Twilight yet." I say, feeling somewhat awkward about venting my emotions to the Timberwolf who was taking over my body.

"You worry too much, if you need any reason to wonder your place here, look to your left." I look and see Spike and Twilight. "They came with you when they could have stayed, you didn't even ask them to follow you on this insane quest, I may be taking over your body bit by bit, but even I will not kick a pup when she is down, now go and wake your family, the hunt continues." Scale stated as he returned to my body.

With that, stand up and cross my arms, I used my waterbending to form two ice shards from a small water pouch, then I place them on Twilight and Spike's necks.

Almost instantly, the two woke up startled and confused, it took a few moments before they realized what I'd done, mostly from my stifled laughter. "That isn't funny!" Spike said as he got out of his bag and rolled it up.

I rolled my eyes and rolled my sleeping bag up as Twilight did the same. "It woke you up in a funny way, so yes it was." I placed the bag on the travel bag that Spike carried and passed around travel rations. 

"Let's just get ready to get moving, I really don't want to be in this forest longer than we have to be." Twilight said sleepily.

Once we were ready, and had relieved ourselves, I lowered the dome expecting to see some kind of creature, but I saw none, which was either very good or very bad, either way we started to move on once Scale gave me directions.

Thankfully it was easy to pass off Scales random directions as the shrines, otherwise we would have wasted our time with a pointless conversation.

We passed a few mud puddles and even some random hot springs, but no creatures, which put everyone on edge, but we continued on regardless.

After a few more hours and a couple times to stop and rest, we reached the top of a hill, where we finally saw something of importance.

My eyes widened as I spotted a large stone structure in the distance, it had four stone pillars that reached above the treeline. "There it is." I whispered to myself in disbelief.

'Well well little pup, you may just win our little bargain after all.' Scale muttered.

The three of us headed in the direction of the structure carefully, not wanting to get injured or attract any creatures nearby.

It wasn't long after we reached the bottom of the hill that I heard something in bushes nearby. "Did you hear that?" I asked.

Twilight lit her horn and Spike looked around. "Yea, I did." Twilight replied, her tone comepletly serious.

I turn my hands into claws and ready myself, but a familiar but foul aroma filled the air, and my eyes widened. "Oh no." I ignited my claws and out from the brush came three Timberwolves.

Two of the wolves were just like the others, but one of them looked rotten, like it was about to fall apart on the spot, I blink as I spot a burn mark. 'Scale, is that what I think it is?' I ask.

'That husk used to be my body, before my Soul Splinter embedded into you, it nothing more than a shell obsessed with regaining what it lost, destroy it at will.' Scale replied apathetically.

With one swift motion, I throw a stream of fire at the wolves, two of them managed to dodge, but the husk was unable to do so.

As the Timberwolves charged at us, Twilight fired a magical blast at them, just barely missing as they dodged it, but that dodge allowed me to set one of them on fire.

As the ignited Timberwolf ran off, the third one pounced on me and roared, I tried to struggle but my arms had been pinned down, just before I could do anything, I heard a strange voice in my head. 'You took him from us! give him back Splinter Sprite!' It screamed before it was blown away by Twilight's magic.

I quickly got up and looked at the Timberwolf as it began to reassemble itself, I began to walk away. "Let's just go, it'll be a while before it's repaired." I say.

With no words, Twilight and Spike followed, we were silent as we walked towards the stone structure. 'What's a Splinter Sprite?' I asked Scale.

Scale growled as it replied. 'A truly despicable creature, they steal Soul Splinters and corrupt them, using them for their own purposes.' It replied.

As we walked, I begin to hear a slight buzzing in my head, ignoring it, I ask Scale another question. 'Did you know that Timberwolf?' I ask.

'Old friend from pack, we used to hunt together, I am not shocked that he seeks your death.' Scale replied.

We had walked for what felt like ten minutes, and the buzzing was far more intense now, I clutched my head. 'What is with all of this buzzing?' I muttered silently.

'This is what I have been hearing since we left the town.' Scale stated with annoyance.

I groan as I walk past some trees, and what I see next blew my mind.

There stood the stone structure, standing strong in the forest, covered in vines dirt and leaves, the stone was slightly cracked but otherwise intact, the four stone pillars were on the corners of the structure while a large stone door declared the entryway.

I walked towards it and the buzzing went away. "This is awesome." I say to myself.

Spike and Twilight simply followed, completely in awe of the massive structure before them. "Yea, it's awesome alright." The little dragon agreed.

I walked up to the door with Spike and Twilight and pushed as hard as I could, but the door did not budge, I backed up and stratched my head. "So uh, any ideas?" I asked.

Before either of them could answer, a bright flash blinded us and when we were able to see again, a floating eyeball was looking at us, my eyes went wide when it stared right at me, it then disappeared and the doors opened as I heard a voice. 'You are the one who seeks the aid of the makers, prove yourself to me, or be destroyed for your intrusion.' It boomed.

I gulped and catiously stepped inside with Twilight and Spike, we entered the structure with caution but we couldn't see anything as it was pitch black.

As we walked catiously forward, the door outside slammed shut, trapping us in complete darkness, Twilight lit her horn but it did little to reveal the darkness. "Why do I have the feeling like we shouldn't have come here?" I utter quietly.

As if on cue, the darkness was banished by light and the room was revealed, as a voice spoke. "You did not come alone, even though this place will only choose one, such a foolish thing to do." It boomed, the voice sounded male, but something was off about it.

While the three of us looked around curiously, a loud slam behind us got our attention, and made us all shocked.

Standing before us was a creature of stone, it stood on two legs and had four arms, it stood well over Twilight's head by a few feet and held a long staff in its arms. "What are you?" I asked cautiously.

The creature looked at me with its empty gravel like eyes. "I am the watcher of the shrine, tasked to guard this place from the unworthy, in all my time here, only one has proven himself worthy of the creators gift." It stated.

The watcher slammed its staff down and the shrine shook in response, mere seconds later the floor started to rise up, we all did our best to maintain our balance as it stopped soon after.

And then comepletely against my will, Scale transformed my hands into claws and ignited one while turning the other into ice. "What are you doing!?" I shout out as the rest of my body transformed into that of a Timberwolf.

Twilight and Spike backed up as Scale took complete control and roared at the watcher, a stream of fire erupting as a result.

The warden did not move at all, instead it simply waved its staff and the flames vanished. "So you are the one who seeks the shrine, the other two are here for no reason it would seem." It spoke as it slammed its foot.

Scale heard something behind us and turned to face it, it was two stone statues of minotuars, and they wielded giant axes, they took a step forward and Twilight jumped in front of us, followed by Spike. "We'll keep these two busy!" She stated.

At that, Scale looked at the watcher and charged forward, but as we got closer, Scale hopped and started rolling at an incredible speed at the watcher, forming spikes of ice and wood all over us.

As we neared the watcher, it simply aimed its staff at us and fired some kind of blast at us that was too fast to dodge, we were propelled back and as we crashed into the floor, I forced my way back into control, transforming my body back to normal. 'What are you doing pup!? i can defeat it!' Scale shouted.

I stood up slowly and looked at the watcher. "Your way got us into this mess and it didn't work." I mutter. "My turn." I add as I ignite my hands.

I start off by throwing a couple of fireballs at the watcher, which it easily deflected with its staff, I then throw three more fireballs followed by a wave of fire. 'Lets see what he does to something he can't deflect.' I thought to myself.

To my surprise, the watcher spun its staff really quickly, making the fire dissipate before it could even reach. "And now the girl, you are far more patient then the wolf, but you cannot win this fight with patience alone, and now I shall prove it." The watcher raised its staff and it shone in a bright golden light.

I shielded my eyes from the glow and once it was gone, I go to attack once again, but I hear something that stops me.

"Mana!" Twilight's panicked cry filled my ears, my eyes widened and I looked in her direction only to gasp at what I saw, both her and Spike were sinking into the ground rapidly, I go to them as fast as I can but the Minotuar statues block my way, with a growl, I throw my hand out and freeze them both solid, and shatter them with my hand that I had just turned into a war hammer.

With the statues gone, I run over to Twilight who was closer and begin to pull of her outstretched hoof. "Come on!" I say to myself as I pull, but even with all my strength, Twilight and Spike both sink into the floor, and just like that, the people that I called family were gone.

I shook in shock as the watcher spoke. "As I said before, only the worthy may recieve the blessing of the creator, and you are not worthy." It stated coldly.

As i trembled, I felt something familiar, a deep anger built up inside me as my trembling hands clinched into fists, I growled and my hands ignited once more. "I'll rip you apart!" I screamed as I snapped around and unleashed a ferocious wave of fire at the watcher, followed by another and another.

At this continuous assault of flame, the watcher aimed its staff forward and powerful gales of wind erupted and blew the flames out, only for spikes of ice to take their place almost immediately.

The ice spikes rapidly shot out from the floor and headed for the watcher, who slammed its staff and the spikes stopped.

Seeing as my elemental attack failed miserably, I allow my anger to take form, my body once more became that of a wolf, but with the addition of two long arms on the back that were covered in spikes.

"You allow yourself to be consumed by anger, and in so doing you have become something worse than a monster." The watcher said in its calm voice, as though it were unfazed.

The calm nature of the watcher only served to deepen my rage as I charge rapidly at it, as I neared the watcher I quickly lunge at it and force myself into a spinning ball of death mid air.

To this attack, the watcher only moved one arm, with no emotion, it simply reached its hand out and gripped, and to my surprise it had grabbed one of my spike arms, with one motion, it snapped it right off my back causing me to scream in agony, it then slammed me with its staff, sending me to the ground to writhe in pain.

As I lay on the ground trying to bare the pain, I feel my anger subside as Scale spoke. 'Young pup, we cannot win here, it is too powerful for either of us.' It said, admitting defeat. "I shall give you a moment to say your farewells, for all the good it will do." The watcher said.

I cough as I force myself to my knees, my hands holding me up. 'Your right Scale, neither of us can win.' I grunt and force myself to a kneel as my body returned to normal, the extra arms vanishing.

'So what now? it will probably kill us now.' Scale said.

I chuckle at the grim circumstance and smile. 'Then let's not make it easy for the watcher, we can't beat him alone, but together?' I proposed.

At this, Scale laughed, his voice boomed in my head, and I begin to feel my body change once again. 

The watcher had apparently grown tired of waiting. "Your time is up unworthy one." The watcher charged its staff and aimed at me.

My legs changed to that of a wolf while my arms stayed the same, I ignited one hand and froze the other, I hear a spark behind me and I react on instinct, I rolled to the side just in time for the blast to miss. "Lets break this stone freak!" I.....no, WE said.

The watcher fired a few more blasts of energy at us, they moved quickly but a few simple wooden pillars stopped them.

We quickly formed several wooden pillars fortified by ice beams, we then jumped high and latched onto one. "Your attacks are far too slow to hit us watcher!" We taunted as we threw multiple fireballs that were enhanced by frost.

The watcher attempted to blow the fireballs away with wind, but was unsuccessful, forcing it to move for the first time since the battle started. "I see, you finally gave in to the wolf, you decided to attack as one, combining power and focus into one lethal force." The watcher observed.

We quickly dodged as the watcher fired a few energy blasts at us, they impacted hard onto the pillars, but that was fine by us, we retaliated with a multi pronged assault, firing a Frostflame bolt and then firing another from a different pillar.

The watcher deflected some, dodged others, but still managed to avoid getting hit. "Even with the two of you working together, you cannot defeat me, I am a servant of the creators, I have fought countless creatures with powers far greater than yours." It declared.

We jumped and landed on the ground. "And yet one has defeated you." We countered.

The watcher aimed and fired a stream of deadly energy at us, which we quickly dodged, it followed us and destroyed the pillars as we jumped to new ones.

We jumped to the second to last pillar and looked back, with a grin, we jumped to the last one and waited, the stream of energy destroyed the pillar but not before we jumped.

The watcher quickly aimed at where we would land and fired an energy blast twice as big as usual, but before it reached, have quickly changed course by pointed our arm at the nearest wall and extending it rapidly, the wooden arm slammed the wall and propelled us away from the blast, allowing us to land safely.

The watcher quickly aimed at us again and prepared to fire, seeking to kill us quickly.

"We will have our family back!" We shout as we slammed the ground with our fist, and to the watchers surprise, a practical minefield of ice spikes and fire balls shot out of the ground and propelled themselves at it.

The watcher made no move to dodge or deflect, instead it stood still as a voice resounded through the shrine. "Your worth, has been proven." It stated ominously.

To our surprise, the entire chamber flashed white and we were completely disoriented, and for a moment, I thought I had lost my mind, when I heard a voice. "It is time we talked, little Lune." Said an oddly familiar voice as I lost consciousness.

______*unknown*_______

I grunt to myself as I slowly regained consciousness, I felt a small headache and I placed my hand on my head and rubbed gently to help ease the pain, my fingers running through my hair felt nice to my aching body.

And that's when my eyes snapped open fully, I looked at my hand and saw that they were once again made of skin. "Impossible." I mutter.

I then take note of the room I'm in, and see that I'm in a very familiar room, the Chinese writing on the large scrolls around the walls and room were very familiar. "It can't be." I say to myself.

"Have I taught you nothing little Lune? or have you forgotten our lessons?" Said a male voice that I could never forget.

I looked behind me and saw nothing, I look back and I see who had spoken. "Grandfather?" I ask out of disbelief.

Sure enough, there sat my grandfather, wearing his old brown robe, his gray beard the same length as it always was, right below the ribcage, his bald head the same as ever, even wrinkles on his face were the same. "How is this possible? you....your dead." I say out of shock.

He simply smiled at me. "I know, the one thing that I wish we didn't have in common." He said calmly.

"What happened to me?.....why do I have skin again?" I asked curiously.

Kimaj looked to his left and so did I, I saw Scale in the corner of the room, he was asleep. "The shrine has made this possible Mana, it has placed us somewhere that calms you, so we may speak, I know you have questions, so ask them, and I will answer to the best of my ability." He stated.

Questions? ha, my head was swarming with them, so I decided to ask the one I had been asking myself from day one. "First thing that I want to know is this......how did I end up in Equestria in the first place?" I asked.

"To answer this question I must ask my own, do you remember when I told you about the spirit world?" When I nooded, he continued. "When I died, I was sent to the spirit world, it was there that I discovered a gateway between worlds, I had allowed my curiosity to get the better of me, and I was sent here, though it would have been some time between then and now." He paused a moment before continuing. "I had wandered for days and nights, and eventually I stumbled across this shrine, I entered it curiously, and there I encountered the watcher, who tested my worthiness for rebirth." He explained.

"I am no fighter, so our battle was one of the soul, he examined my very being, everything there was to know about who I was, and he said I was worthy, and so I was reborn, but when I was, I experienced a vision, one where i witnessed your death." He sighed. 

"I could not stop it, but there was something I could do for you, before I returned to the physical plane from the spirit world, I redirected you to Equestria, where you could find a new life, and a second chance, of course, even though I knew where you would end up, I felt there was more I could do to guide you, and so I chose to keep watch over you." He explained.

I blinked and took a breath. "Who did you become, and why did you hide from me?" I asked quietly.

Kimaj smiled. "Little Lune, I never left your side, just because you didn't know it, doesn't mean I wasn't there." When I looked at him with a curious stare, he smiled. 

"Never once was I afraid of you when you tried to eat me Mana, nor did I resent you for sending me away afterwards." He stated.

At those words, I froze, my eyes were wide as I put two and two together. "Onyx?" I muttered.

"An interesting choice of name, but it is one I grew used to." He replied.

I took a few breaths to calm myself before I could freak out, and in a few moments, I was able to talk. "All this time, you were watching over me, I told you everything, how it felt when you died......everything." I said shakily.

Kimaj placed a hand on my shoulder. "Mana, I understand how much of a shock this is to you......but we do not have eternity here." He stated.

The statement caused me to snap out of it, I took a breath and spoke. "What exactly is going to happen? to me and Scale?" I asked.

"The temple will remake you, it will search your soul and give you a form that fits who you are, as for the Timberwolf, that is up to you Little Lune." Kimaj explained.

I looked at Scale, its form seemed so peaceful now, much different than when it attacked me in the forest, I remembered all the pain I endured because of it, and all the pain it caused in Canterlot.

I sighed and looked at my grandfather. "What do I do now?" I asked.

"Are you certain you have no other questions?" He asked curiously.

Realization dawns on me and I ask one last question. "What happened to Twilight and Spike?" I asked.

Kimaj smiled. "I am happy that you care so much for your new family Mana, they are safe outside the shrine, and will wake when we are done here." He stated.

I breathed a sigh of relief at the news, happy that they were alright. "In that case.....tell me what I need to do now." I say.

"You must close your eyes and allow the shrine to examine your soul, and from there, you must make a decision on what to do next." He explained.

Following his instructions, I closed my eyes and felt a presence enter my very being, I allowed it to search my soul and I suddenly felt a powerful burst of power emanate from somewhere.

As I felt myself grow very light all of a sudden, I can feel something extraordinary happening to me, and as my vision goes pure white, I feel my consciousness slipping once again.

"Goodbye Little Lune, you no longer need my guidance." Kimaj's fading voice said.

_____*some time later*_______

I awoke to a loud crash, my eyes shoot open and I force myself to get up, I pause and examine my new body. "Cool." I say.

After I was done with my examination, I look in the direction of the crash and I see the shrine destroying itself, the land shook violently and I suddenly feel the urge to run.

I quickly run off away from the shrine at full speed, i glance back and I see the land collapsing behind me, in a panic I speed up to get away from the collapsing ground.

I kept on running and I hear a voice nearby. "Mana!" The voice was young and male, I begin running in a direction that would let me meet up with the owner of the voice, without giving up much speed or distance.

I was running for what felt like two minutes before I had to stop and catch my breath, I panted and heard two voices call out. "Mana where are you!?" They called out.

I look in the direction the shrine had collapsed from, and see that the ground had repaired itself somehow, I groan. "Not even going to question it." I say to myself.

'Better that way, less headache.' Scale said jokingly.

I chuckle. "Yea, probably." I reply, after catching my breath, I shout out. "Over here!" 

After walking in a direction for about a minute, I hear footsteps nearby, I look around and then hide behind a tree. "I'm over here!" I call out. 'Are you afraid little pup?' Scale asked.

'No, I just want to prove its me before showing myself to them' I reply.

"Mana? you alright?" I hear Twilight ask. 

"I'm fine, I just need to catch my breath, running from a collapsing earth tends to tire someone out." I reply.

I hear Spike next. "Well come on out sis, we've been worried." He said.

"Alright, but I am not the same person as I was a little bit ago." I reply.

As I step out into Spike and Twilight's vision, they went wide eyed at my new body, hardly believing it themselves.

Then again, I don't really blame them.

My new body was that of a flesh and blood wolf with brown fur, though the most notable thing was that I had two small draconic horns growing from my head, and my underbelly was that of a dragons, my scales were light blue and my eyes were mismatched as well, my left eye was wolf like with a dark brown pupil, my right eye was draconic, but it was the same blue as my old eyes. 

"What do you think, pretty cool huh?" I asked as I walked up.

Spike met me half way and seemed to be in awe of my drastic transformation. "Yea that's pretty cool." He admitted. "So what are you supposed to be now anyway? half wolf half dragon?" He asked.

I shrug. "I don't really know, I'm just happy to be alive." I say as I look at Twilight who was completely in shock. "Are you alright Twilight?" I ask out of concern.

Twilight blinked and then shook her head rapidly as if shaking off a daze. "I'm uh, just a little surprised is all......so what about the Timberwolf? is it gone?" She asked.

'No, I am not.' Scale muttered.

"We came to an understanding, he's still in here." I say as I tap my head. "Good news is that he won't be taking me over, and I get all those awesome wood powers as a bonus." I reply. 

Spike looked a little surprised. "Even after everything he did to you? to others?" He asked out of disbelief.

I nodded. "Even after all of that, I'm giving him a second chance, can you do the same bro?" I asked curiously.

Spike crossed his arms and sighed. "Alright, but no funny business." He stated firmly.

I looked at Twilight. "Can we go back home now? I'm getting tired of forests." I say, knowing fully well the irony of that statement.

Twilight nodded wordlessly and charged her horn, me and Spike grabbed on and we were teleported.

______*Ponyville, a few days later*______

Life in Ponyville had gotten back to normal, well.....almost, Jared had an outburst about how bad this was for Mana to run away from the town, but thankfully Twilight managed to calm him down after explaining the situation to him.

Jared had agreed not to report the incident so long as Mana remained in town for the remainder of her parole, which was fine by her.

As for Mana, it was tough getting Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to realize it was her, but they managed to figure it out eventually, and then Mana had to deal with them asking her questions about her new species.

This had led to a very long discussion which ended with Mana calling herself a Wolf Drake, until an official name could be confirmed or a better one found, which was very unlikely.

Spike and Twilight had adjusted pretty well to the change, and while Twilight took a little longer to adjust, she seemed to be back to normal now.

Perhaps the most awkward moment was when Mana had unintentionally grouped Diamond Tiara and the crusaders, that led to a very VERY long talk about what was going on, Mana had answered simply, she met Diamond a while back and the two became friends right before the Canterlot incident.

_____*Ponyville School.*______

It was now a week after the shrine, and Mana was back to her old self, minus human body made mostly of wood, and she was nervous, mostly because she was about to introduce herself to an entire classroom of strangers, and while she knew her friends, that was still only five familiar faces including Spike.

And then a few moments later after Spike, Mana walked in front of the desk and introduced herself. "H-h-hi." She said quietly.

With that said and done, Mana took her seat, she was next to Scootaloo and a colt that she didn't recognize, she may have gone through something similar back at the Northern Water Tribe, but this was worse for one specific reason, the room was more cramped, so Mana couldn't hide in the corner easily while everyone else talked.

As the day progressed, the biggest thing Mana faced aside from her anxiety, was the other students who had never seen something like Mana before, and wanted to get a closer look.

______*later that day, 9:01 PM*_______

Mana exited the bathroom as Spike went to bed, she took a breath as she walked to Twilight's room, thankfully the lights were still on, she walked inside and lightly knocked on the door to let the mare know she was there.

Twilight looked up from her book and saw Mana, she set her book down and watched as the Wolf Drake sat down on the bed. "Are you alright Mana?" Twilight asked.

With a nod, Mana spoke. "I suppose so, but I think it's time I talked to you about something I think we've both been avoiding." She said.

Twilight sighed. "I know, so what exactly do you want to talk about?" She asked.

"I know that taking care of me, becoming my guardian was a lot of responsibility to take in, especially for a stranger.....why did you do it?" She asked.

Twilight seemed to be at a loss for words, but spoke anyway. "I couldn't stand by and do nothing, you needed help Mana, whether you wanted it or not was up to you, but you did need It." She started.

"I can't explain why I did it Mana, that would mean I'm just justifying my actions, so all I can say is that.......I just acted." She said.

Mana nodded. "I guess that makes sense." She then sighed and looked at Twilight, in one motion, Mana had embraced Twilight in a hug, she was careful not to hurt anything as she hugged. "Mana?" 

"Thanks for everything Twilight." She said quietly.

Twilight was stunned for a second, but she soon smiled and returned the hug. "Your welcome Mana." She replied.

Mana soon ended the hug and got off the bed, she walked to the door. "Good night Mana." Twilight said.

Stopping at the doorway, Mana looked back and then looked down. "Night mom." She whispered, her voice barely audible.

As Twilight returned to her book, Mana walked to her and Spike's room and entered, she walked to her side of the bed and got under the covers. 'Hey Scale, do wolves actually howl at the moon as an instinct, or is it voluntary?' She asked.

Scale chuckled. 'That is a question best left open for debate, because howling usually means something different for us, in most packs, howling together is a sign of intimacy, which is why we only howl either as a pack, to show that we are unified, or as a pair for one of the stages of mating.' He replied.

Mana blinked at the words, not fully understanding their meaning. 'What do you mean mating?'

Scale simply cleared his metaphorical throat. 'THAT is a discussion best left for another time.' He replied.

Mana yawned. 'Alright, night Scale' She said sleepily.

Scale, as a spectral image, looked down at Mana, he gently rubbed her neck. 'Good night, little pup' He replied before vanishing.