Trixie raised a hoof to her eyes as the night was suddenly filled with a blinding flash. The unicorn’s cry of alarm actually lasted longer than the flash itself, but only because it turned into a scream of terror. Through her disoriented vision she saw a tall, gangly shape standing only a few feet in front of her. As her eyes readjusted to the darkness, her panic grew tenfold. Before her was a nightmarish, bipedal creature that seemed to be a grotesque fusion of metal and flesh. Scattered about the black, tarnished metal that made his lank frame were bits of exposed muscle, and though they were undoubtedly organic they had a dull, steel-like quality to them. The figure wore sparse, silver armor about his body, which was enshrouded in a ragged cloak of darkness.
But probably the most frightening aspect of the creature was its silvery, skull-like head. It peered at Trixie with two glowing red eyes devoid of pupils, its enormous, pearly teeth drawn in a smile. The unicorn’s mouth fell open in horror as the half-mechanical creature reached out with its gleaming claws and ran them through her mane.
“What a strange Rahi,” it muttered in a lyrical, reedy tone, “I don’t recall ever seeing anything such as this. I wonder if the Makuta are mad here?”
“Don’t touch me!” shrieked Trixie as she backed away from the metal monstrosity, trying to think of some spell to defend herself. The creature’s impossibly broad smile grew wider.
“A talking Rahi,” he beamed, “The Makuta here are surely mad. How wonderful.” Trixie began to hyperventilate as the creature casually strode over to her on his three-toed feet, his cape fluttering behind him. Once more he began to pet her. “Hello, Rahi. Do you have a name I can call you by, or is Rahi fine? You can call me Vezon, if you like.” In the time it took for the creature to say all this, Trixie fired a blast of energy at him, sending him tumbling into a tree with a loud crash. Trixie’s subsequent grin faded, however, as the being sat back up completely unharmed.
“My goodness,” he said, his eyes wide in fascination, “A self defense mechanism. The Makuta here really do think of everything, don’t they?” Trixie desperately wanted to run, but her adrenaline had stiffened up her legs to the point of immobility. She could only stare as the bizarre being stood up, staggered over to her again and sat down.
“What are you?” whimpered the frightened unicorn.
“A Skakdi,” came the quick response, “Well, half of one, anyway. Have they no Skakdi here? They mustn’t if you don’t know what I am.” Trixie slowly shook her head no. “Ah, well then. You never answered my question. Do you have a name I can call you by?”
“T-Trixie,” squeaked the unicorn. The creature’s metal features lit up with delight.
“Trixie,” he repeated, “I like it. What does it mean?” The question caught Trixie off guard, as it wasn’t really the kind of question she was prepared to answer.
“It doesn’t mean anything…” she said quietly. Vezon smiled warmly.
“Ah,” he said with a knowing nod, “It must be a Rahi thing. Fenrakk--Or Kardas, as I should say--was always pervasive when I asked him what his name meant.”
“Why do you keep calling me that?” Trixie asked, the fear disappearing from her voice, “A Rahi?”
“Because that’s what you are,” said Vezon, “A Rahi. A wild beast.” Trixie felt her fear melt away entirely, being replaced with her usual contempt.
“A wild beast?!” she muttered incredulously, “The Great and Powerful Trixie is not a wild beast! She is the greatest unicorn in all of Equestria!” Vezon put a thoughtful claw to his chin.
“Equestria,” he repeated, “I don’t believe I’ve ever been there before. What are the natives like? Are they Matoran, Toa, Turaga, Makuta or Vortixx?” Trixie raised an eyebrow at the biomechanical being.
“I don’t know what any of those things are,” she huffed, “But you won’t find any of them in Equestria.” Vezon frowned, the only expression that was uglier than his smile.
“No Vortixx?” he sighed disappointedly, “Well, that’s a shame. They’re quite beautiful, you know, even when they’re trying to kill you. That takes real talent.” Trixie stared blankly at the creature.
“That’s…interesting,” she gulped. Vezon nodded as a wistful gleam came to his eyes.
“I once knew a Vortixx--her name was Roodaka. We worked together on a little project, you see, and I miss her terribly. I’ll have to figure out how to visit her some time.” He gave Trixie a curious look. “You know, I’ve never seen a purely organic being before, aside from the occasional worm or snail. Are all creatures here organic?” Trixie inferred that he must have come from a world where all life was made of flesh and metal. As Trixie had yet to meet a life form in Equestria that was half-metal, she answered his question as such.
“Yes,” she replied. Vezon stood still for quite some time, as if in deep thought.
“May I try hugging you?” he asked. Trixie’s eyes went wide with alarm.
“W…What?”
“May I please give you a hug?” rephrased the half-Skakdi, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. In actual fact, a hug was a relatively mundane thing, but to be asked to be hugged by a biomechanical monstrosity was quite unusual.
“I…I…” Before she could begin to form something resembling an intelligible sentence, the unicorn felt the creature wrap his long, branching arms around her. He was very gentle, but Trixie could tell that he had more than enough strength to crush her ribcage. Therefore she reached the conclusion that it would be unwise to attempt an escape.
“You’re very soft,” said Vezon. Trixie snorted and gave the smiling being a glare.
“Soft?” she glowered, “What do you mean soft?” She looked very offended, for she thought he was insinuating that she was fat.
“Soft,” said the half-skakdi, “Like a pillow. Or a stuffed Rahi.” Vezon suddenly lifted her off the ground and cradled her like an infant. The unicorn rolled her eyes in annoyance, as she was convinced by this point that he meant her no real harm.
“Would you please set me down?” she muttered between clenched teeth. Vezon frowned dejectedly.
“Do I have to?” he asked crestfallenly.
“Yes, you have to!” snapped Trixie, “Do I look like a doll to you?”
“Well, actually--”
“Put me down!”
“Oh, alright,” sighed Vezon as he set the mare to the ground, “It’s just that you’re the first creature I’ve met that’s allowed me to hug them.” Trixie could believe this, as the half-Skakdi did not look like something that anyone would want to hug.
“Listen, Mr. Vezon,” she sighed, “I really don’t have time to sit here and speak with you. I’m a very important pony, and I have to make it to Canterlot by morning.” Vezon grinned again, and the sudden expression made Trixie shudder, as his smile could be described as being like a wolf’s with gingivitis.
“You’re important?” he asked, “How wonderful. You know, I’m quite important also.” Once again his mood changed dramatically. He leaned in very close and spoke in a barely audible whisper.
“I’m actually part of a secret organization,” he breathed, suddenly very serious, “I can’t tell you what it’s called. It’s very hush-hush.” Trixie drew her head back from Vezon, partially because he was frightening when he was being serious, and partially because he smelled like a number of things that her olfactory organs found offensive.
“That’s…very interesting,” she murmured.
“I’m on a highly classified assignment,” continued the half-Skakdi, “I’ve been searching for Makuta, the greatest evil our world has ever known. My mission is seek him out…and hug him.” Trixie raised an eyebrow at the toothy creature. By now she had no doubt that he was totally insane.
“Really?” she huffed as she rolled her eyes again, “So, you’re just going to hug him?”
“And possibly gouge out his eyes,” added Vezon as he put a claw to his chin and looked thoughtfully to the stars, “But that’s only if I can find a sharp object of some kind. If not, then yes, I’m just going to hug him.” He looked back at Trixie’s now-palled face. “Would you care for another hug, by the way?”
“N-no,” sputtered the unicorn as she took very noticeable steps away from the madman.
“Oh, please,” begged Vezon, “I’m not going to be around much longer. Just a quick one?” Trixie stopped inching away from him, but only because she had backed into a tree. The magician tried to avoid looking at the half-Skakdi, who gazed at her pleadingly.
“W-well I suppose--”
“Oh, thank you!” cried Vezon as he dashed forward and picked the uneasy mare clear off the ground in a bear hug, “Thank you, Great and Powerful Trixie!” He grinned at her as he set her back down. “You are the nicest being I have ever met. I would really like to spend more time with you and explore this world. In fact, I’ll do that once I’ve figured out how to control my powers. And maybe I’ll bring some friends!” Trixie stared as his body was suddenly surrounded by a brilliant aurora of white energy. “Goodbye, Great and Powerful Trixie!”
Trixie looked away as there was another flash of blinding light. When she glanced back, Vezon was gone. The blue unicorn stood still for a moment, thinking about what had transpired in the past eight minutes. It seemed so surreal that she wondered if it had actually happened. But even if it hadn’t, it had to be one of the most bizarre experiences of her life.