//------------------------------//
// 3: Risk It All 
// Story: To Err is Equine 
// by RLYoshi 
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I collapsed in a heap, coughing blood out from my mouth and holding a hoof over the gash in my stomach where I had been cut. Glaring up at the form in front of me, I tried to summon a freezing spell, but as soon as I started glowing, I felt another stab in my stomach. My concentration broke, and the spell ended before it began.

"You've caused me far too much trouble," the shadow in front of me growled. "Ever since you arrived..."

This guy's a damn lunatic! I thought, my brain deciding this was a good time to state the obvious. My vision started to fade, the shadows around me somehow becoming even darker.

"I never got to thank you for releasing me," the demon added with a grin. "Consider your reward to be the honour of dying at my blade."

"Could you get any more cliché?" I complained.

"What if I told you I was your father?" the shadow replied in the same snarky tone as me.

I couldn't reply. I just spat out another small puddle of blood and went limp as everything disappeared.




Forcing myself awake, I groaned quietly, hoping to avoid attracting attention. My first night in Equestria, and I spent it in the alley next to Sugarcube Corner, hiding in a cardboard box.

My brain tried to collect my memories of the previous day – I ran from the library, narrowly avoided running into Pinkie Pie, jumped into the alley beside Sugarcube Corner, and hid for the entire day, eventually falling asleep without realizing it.

And then...that dream.

I shook my head, trying to forget the dream. I crawled out from underneath the blanket draped over me, carefully stepped out of the box, and-

Wait.

Blanket?

I looked back at the box. Sure enough, there had been a blanket covering me during the night that wasn't there before. It was brown and ripped in a few places, but looked fine otherwise. It didn't even have any dirt on it. I regarded it with suspicion.

"Hey, you're up."

Startled, I whirled around at the speaker. I found myself looking at a rather ragged-looking...unicorn pony? The spot where his horn should be was completely broken off, leaving only the jagged and cracked base. His coat was light brown, with a darker brown mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a smiling skull. What made him stand out was the huge amounts of dirt and several cuts covering his body.

"Hi?" I greeted with a question. He chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you," he said. He held out a hoof. "Name's Risk Reward. Never met a Windigo before."

I cautiously shook his hoof. "I'm...Arrell," I replied slowly. "Nice to...meet you?"

He laughed again. "I can tell you're kind of nervous. Here, let me tell you a bit about myself." He sat down, and I did as well. "I'm originally from Canterlot, but when I got my special talent for stunts, I felt too out of place. Everypony there's way too uptight and snooty, except for maybe one or two ponies."

"So you moved to Ponyville?" I asked.

"Yep. Only when I got here, some things happened." He sighed. "First, I got into a fight, and my horn broke off. Then I couldn't get a job, so the guy I was staying with kicked me out for not paying rent."

"Wow," I grunted. "What a dick."

"I know, right?" Risk agreed before continuing his story. "Anyway, for the past week since then, I've been living in this alley, trying to find a job. Then I found you here last night and wasn't sure what to do, so I just decided to wing it and see how a face-to-face meeting went."

I smirked. "You're acting pretty casually for somepony who's standing in front of a live Windigo."

He shrugged. "I went to the town librarian for help this morning, and she said she knew about you and that you were harmless. She'll be by later to check on you."

My eyes widened. Twilight's coming by?! Oh no... Suddenly, my panicking stopped as quickly as it started. Wait. I'm not scared of Twilight. It's Rainbow I'm scared of. Twilight's fine.

"Until then, what's your story?" Risk grinned. I gave him the same amnesia story I gave Twilight (hey, if I'm gonna lie to several ponies, I might as well use the same lie each time). After I finished telling him that, I told him about the previous day's events that led up to my night in the alley.

"So now I don't really know what to do," I finished. "I could try to regain my memory, or start fresh. In all honesty, I'd rather start fresh, but I don't even know what to do from there."

"Well, considering you're a Windigo, you've probably got some sort of destiny," Risk offered.

"Maybe, but what kind?" I sighed and stared off into space. "Am I supposed to become a hero? A villain? The new ruler of Equestria? Maybe I'm just another pony who happens to be a Windigo, and I'm not special at all."

I sighed again, and Risk tried to comfort me. "Hey, if worse comes to worse, at least you're not evil, right?"

"Yeah, I'm not evil," I agreed. "But I'm sure as Tartarus pretty damn unlucky."




As Risk promised, Twilight showed up about fifteen minutes later. At that moment, I was still tired from a rough sleep, as well as hungry due to not eating since arriving in Equestria, so I really didn't want to go through more questioning. I made myself very vocal about this (keeping out the whole 'just arrived in Equestria' part, of course).

"I only have a couple of things to bring up, and then I can help you out," Twilight replied, sounding a bit annoyed herself. I tend to have that effect on people – or ponies, now.

"Fine," I sighed. Risk had opted to leave us alone and go for a walk around town, so I was stuck on my own for this.

"First off, you don't need to worry about Rainbow," Twilight assured me. "I managed to get her calmed down, and I told the rest of my friends about you, so we're willing to help out if you need it."

Mary Sue levels...rising...

"Well...except for Applejack and Rarity," she added with a hint of sheepishness. "They said they're not sure they trust a Windigo who just shows up out of nowhere. Even Rainbow's not entirely sure."

"Alright," I sighed, waiting to just get the questions over with. "Anything else?"

"I was going to send a letter to Princess Celestia about you, but before I did, I wanted to make sure you were okay with it." She levitated a piece of paper and a quill out.

I squinted my left eye in confusion. "Where did you get those?"

For a moment, I thought I saw her eye twitch, as though I reminded her of something traumatic. She covered it up quickly though. "Never mind. Are you fine with me sending a letter?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

She began scrawling the quill across the paper for a few moments before stopping. It wasn't like she was done; she just hesitated, as if she didn't know how to spell a word or didn't have the right facts. She turned to me.

"Before I finish this, there's a question I need to ask," she said.

"What is it?" I twirled my hoof in a 'get on with it' motion. She then proceeded to ask the one question I didn't want to have to answer.

"Are you a human?"




Dear Princess Celestia,

Rather than a friendship report, I have something else I wish to inform you of.

"I...uh...a what?"

"A human."

Just yesterday, I met a pony named Arrell...well, the thing is, he isn't actually a pony. He's a Windigo, who claims to have lost his memory and only remembers a few things about himself and Equestria.

"...what makes you think that?"

"Come on, Arrell. A Windigo who acts like a normal pony, showing up out of nowhere and claiming to have amnesia?"

Unlike the Windigoes told about in legends, he doesn't seem evil or malicious in any way. He acts pleasant and casual, as though he's just a regular pony, and actually seems to be scared of what's going on. He doesn't even know how to use any of his abilities, aside from sensing hatred.

"How does that make me a human?"

"In the past while, we've had other humans showing up in Equestria, and all the ones I know of have taken on new forms. Diamond Dogs, griffons, Changelings..."

I had my suspicions that he is not all he seems to be, and sure enough, when I questioned him...

"...I'm sorry."

"For what?"

...I was right.

"For lying to you..."

"So it's true?"

He is yet another human.

"Yeah..."

But unlike the ones we know of, he doesn't seem to have any idea whatsoever of what to do now. All the others found some kind of goal and purpose, but Arrell doesn't even have a clue of where to start. I think we need to find some way to help him.

"Okay then. I'll make sure to tell the princess about this. I'm sure she'll be able to help you."

If you come up with any solutions, please let me know. We'll keep an eye on him until then.

"Twilight?"

"Hm?"

"...thanks."

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.




After writing the letter, Twilight went back to the library so Spike could send it. She wanted me to follow her, but I told her I'd catch up. I needed to do something else first, so I waited around in the alley.

Risk came back from his walk a few minutes later and saw me sitting there, waiting impatiently. He trotted over to me.

"Where's Twilight?" he asked.

"Back at the library," I answered, standing up. "I'm heading back there now. So are you."

He blinked, confused. "...I'm sorry?"

"You're homeless. You're weak. You need help. Yet you helped me instead of running away like any other pony would upon finding a Windigo in their 'home'." The word 'home' was dripping with sarcasm, considering I was referring to a freaking back alley and a box. "So for that, you're sticking with me until you get back on your hooves again."

His jaw dropped, and I chuckled slightly. He started to speak, but I shook my head, and he stopped. Motioning with my head for him to follow, I headed off in the direction of Twilight's library. While we walked, I had time to think.

So according to Twilight, there are other humans here...and they've all come in here as different species, not as humans or ponies...why does this sound familiar?

I tried to think back to my days as a human, where something like this may have happened. I couldn't recall it, unfortunately. Must be from the three days before I arrived here...the days I can't remember for the life of me.

"You alright?" Risk asked, walking up next to me.

"Just trying to remember," I explained. Technically not a lie. It occurred to me that I'd have to tell him the truth eventually. How would he take it? Not just me being a human – he took me being a Windigo well enough, so I wouldn't have to worry about that very much – but the fact that I lied about the amnesia.

When he finds out I lied, will he just shrug it off or hate me for it? I was hoping we'd be able to stick together for a while, but if he just up and leaves me, I'll be all alone. Even with the mane six – or at least the ones willing to help me – it won't really be enough. They've got jobs, plus they have their own adventures to go on, and I probably wouldn't be able to help them. A thought occurred to me. Maybe if I find those other humans? Sure, Twilight said the ones she knows all have goals and such, but maybe I could join them? Or at least think of something I could do myself. Yeah, that might work. But first I have to wait for Celestia's reply. If I get to meet her, I'll see if I can talk to her about getting to know some of the humans, or maybe I'll just meet some other ponies around here like Risk.

I almost didn't realize I was at the library. I opened the door with my hoof somehow and walked inside, Risk following in after me. Twilight must have already had Spike send the letter, since she was just lying on a cushion and reading a book. She looked up when she saw us come in.

"Hope you don't mind I brought a friend," I greeted with a friendly grin. (Well, I think it was friendly. I didn't know what Windigo teeth looked like at that point.) "He hasn't got anywhere to stay, so I figured I'd drag him along on whatever trouble I get into for a while."

Twilight giggled. "Sure thing. By the way, I sent the letter already, so we should hear a reply from the princess soon about helping you out."

Risk looked at me, confused. "Letter? Princess? Helping you out?"

Well, moment of truth...or truth telling, anyway. "Take a seat, pal," I offered. "I've got a long story to tell you."