//------------------------------// // Cat's Eyes // Story: Destiny's Calling // by Crimson_Moon //------------------------------// Meanwhile in Ponyville, Fluttershy was discharged and sent home for a peaceful night's rest... "Goodnight Angel Bunny!" Fluttershy tucked in her pet for the night and headed upstairs to her own room, exhausted from the events that happened. Opening the door, her room was coated in pitch darkness, except... It didn't seem that way. In fact, the Pegasus could see everything, down to the last detail. "That's strange, it should be dark out." Trotting to the window, she peered outside to see that it was indeed night time, according to the pale moon overhead that is. "The moon looks... Strange tonight." Blood... You can smell it. "Who's there?!" The mare whipped around, trying to spot the intruder. "Oh, a face is what you need? Very well. Try the mirror." Shivering from fear, she had little choice but to listen. A body mirror stood near the closet to the left of her bed, and what stared back made her scream before blacking out... A grey Earth pony with a black mane exited Sugarcube Corner, another customer in the ever growing list of nighttime customers, thanks to the Cakes' new Night Hours for the ones that had graveyard shifts, late night studies, or any other nighttime activity. Humming a small tune, the pony headed home now, just on the outskirts of Ponyville. A shadow moved in the dark, unbeknownst to him, following his every step on the cobblestone path to his small apartment home. Approaching the door, he reached for the keys he always stored underneath the friendly welcome mat. "Nothing like a nice baked dessert to go with tonight!" He said to nopony in particular. The shadow leered ever closer... "Whoops!" The stallion's key clattered to the ground, forcing him to bend down and try his luck again. Picking it back up, he successfully pushed it into the lock, when he felt a hit breath on the back of his neck. Surprised, he turned around ready for a fight... only to come across an empty street dimly lit by the light just outside his home. "Must've been my imagination, heh heh!" He nervously chuckled. Opening his door, the pony was greeted by a silent apartment- nopony else lived there. "I'm home!" He cheerfully shouted, more out of routine than convenience. Humming that same tune before, he headed to the kitchen, bent on enjoying the precious muffins the Cakes baked for him. Setting the bag on the counter, he dove inside to fetch the culinary perfection and chomped happily away, not noticing the shadow looming over him. Reaching for another muffin, the Earth Pony pulled it out and went to take a bite, when a glob of drool appeared from high above him and landed on it. His fright from earlier froze him in place, dreading to look upon the entity behind him. His instincts didn't listen, and a bloodcurdling roar left the house just before he was silenced forever... Fluttershy awoke with a gasp, frantically looking around for that horrible beast from her nightmare. Nothing but the empty silence of her room stared back, comforting the mare, although only slightly. "Angel?" Looking around again, she couldn't find her pet bunny. "Aaaaangelllll..." she called out again, jumping out of her bed and heading for the hallway. No one was in the hallways either. "That's odd, no sign of my sweet little animal friends either..." Moving on, the Pegasus headed down to the living room... Only to be greeted by a gruesome scene. Her woodland creatures lay smeared along the walls and ceiling, a mass grave piled in the center. Fluttershy partially screamed, before vomiting out whatever she had for dinner last night only to scream even louder; Her vomit was bloody, and had a few bits of intestine floating in it. Frantic, she dove to the kitchen to try and get first aid, only to find some of her larger animal friends as well as angel Bunny huddled into a corner, shivering out of fear. "Oh thank goodness some of you survived!" She stepped closer, thankful some of her friends were still alive. "Do you know who-" Immediately, many of them huddled closer to the corner, while the larger predators bared fangs at her. Blood is thick in the air now... Won't be long until you crave it's sweet nectar. Best to seek help... If you think it'll matter! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Geralt poured his magic into the rune he drew, the familiar glyph glowing with a slight magic. "Yrden is a kind of magic seal, your highness. It's only meant to cleanse and not harm. Seeing as how your majesties are far too colorful to be evil, it should work only as a dampener for the latent magics you both possess, if that's the problem. Are you ready?" He looked at the Winged unicorn, seeing if it was still ready to proceed. It's icy gaze stared back, a confirmation that it was either determined to die for this, or kill him if his intentions were not honest. "I'll take that as a yes." Again, he poured more magic into the rune, arcs of lightning hitting both Geralt and the horse. It neighed in shock but other than that, the unicorn looked fine. They stared at each other, before the horse spoke up. "Can you understand me, bipedal creature?" It spoke slowly, enunciating every word. "About time!" The Witcher grunted. "I'd like to know what the hell is going on with chaining me and dragging me to-!" "Silence! We will ask the questions, creature!" It tempted to step further only for another bolt of lightning to arc out, reminding it that it was to keep still. "I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria. What is your name, if you have one?" The melodic voice ringing in the Witcher's ears. "Geralt." Was all he said, bowing slightly. The voice answered a question he had about gender, at least. Still, he had so many questions but decided to let the Winged Unicorn continue with hers. The White horse neighed something but otherwise continued to remain silent. "Yes, I believe he can be trusted, sister." She squinted her eyes. "For now." Looking at the glyph, the princess tried to replicate it's form but found she couldn't- more than likely due to the interference from said glyph. "This...Yrden she stared thoughtfully at it, then at Geralt once more. "Can we replicate it? I wish to apply it to a piece of jewelry to allow for more communication between you and us." The Witcher sighed. "I am afraid I don't remember, all I know is it isn't possible." "Well, why not let us try scrying? Surely it can find whatever it is you can't rem-" Suddenly, Geralt broke the connection and came mere inches away from Luna's muzzle. "You see these eyes, princess? You probably lived long enough to tell the difference between the eyes of a regular creature, and one who has been altered so much that his mere being is tainted beyond recognition. So tell me, princess-" He held his hand close to the throat of the Winged Unicorn. "What do you see in mine?" The princess went to open her mouth when suddenly the doors to the throne room opened. Quite upset, another pegasus walked through, except this one's wings and eyes were different. A Thestral? Geralt knew the name, just like when he remembered what Unicorns and Pegasus were, but he had no other recollection aside from that Flying close to Luna's ear, it whispered quiet enough for even Geralt not to be able to hear. Impressive in it's own right due to his unnaturally sensitive hearing. "Thank you, Zion. That is indeed a serious crime." Backing away, Princess Luna left the connection the Witcher made with his glyph, and went to say something to the White one. Through snippets, the Witcher was able to make out vague gestures and familiar, yet different sounds the two horses made. It seemed the glyph helped his body to adapt to the magically soaked environment of this strange land: "........Bloodbath, nothing left." ".......Sister......And Geralt? ....Does he intend?" "Not sure, but..... Might be able to help." Clearing his throat got the attention of the two rulers. "If I may have the right to talk with you two again, I believe I might be able to help solve your problem. The Yrden glyph is still working on me, and I was able to catch bits of information." Luna stepped to approach again, but was halted by the wings of the white one. Slowly it stepped down, seemingly boring through Geralt as if he was a fly heading towards the sun. Though, given the tattoo on her rump, he'd argue it was the other way around. Once in range, the glyph targeted her and the Witcher, establishing a new connection. "Ah, excellent. And your name?" "I'm but the Jailor to you." It spat venom at him. "Now what can you do to help? Speak, or face the wrath of the Sun." "Of course, your highness." Geralt bowed once more, much to the ire of the horse in front of him. "But I must know what the scene looks like." "You are not permitted to leave these grounds, prisoner!" Geralt held up his hands. "Fair enough. Though I can get a lot more from being there, word of mouth is just as good." He smiled devishly. "Now describe the scene, your Royal Jailor." She hesitated for a second. "It... Is pretty gruesome. I don't think-" "Heart, liver, or kidneys?" He asked. "What-" "Heart, liver, or kidneys?" He repeated again. "What was missing from the corpse? I could smell the blood from that Thestral that came in, and I could tell you it at least left the body intact. Smell would be more pungent if it were otherwise. Narrows down the choice of monster." The White horse squinted her eyes. "And how would you know all this?" Now it was Geralt's turn to be surprised. He didn't know and couldn't recall his past, and yet... Yet somehow he knew he had seen this before. It was then that in the forefront of his mind that some vague memories came to him: "We are Witchers!" Vesemir called out to the still young boys standing before him. "Not some fancy knight or bounty hunter." Another person stepped forth, wheeling a cart full of books. "Each one of you will memorize these Bestiaries. You will learn to recall every single letter on every single page." He spoke sternly to the children. "You will not rest until you can tell me every beast, from the simplest of Godlings all the way to the Bruxae..." "Well?!" The horse exclaimed impatiently. "I'm a Witcher- a monster hunter of sorts." He smiled despite being held captive. "I specialize in these sorts of things. And from what I could smell on the Thestral earlier-" he pointed to the one in question currently standing guard at the door. "I can tell it isn't your run-of-the-mill burglary gone wrong. Now do I need to repeat myself a third time?" Nervously, she stared back at Luna who only offered a nod in response. "Very well." She sighed. "The body, as you said, was mostly intact, but it's chest was slashed, then forced open. The way it was done... Just horrible." "Sounds like a Cursed One. Any trace of the body near any silver?" He asked, only to receive a shake of the head from her. "No, and as you had described it, the heart and liver were missing as well as most of its intestines. What exactly are we dealing with, Geralt?" "Hmm..." The Witcher gave it some thought. "Avoids Silver, eats the Heart and Liver, forces the ribcage open... Gotta be a Lycanthrope." "A...what?" "Lycanthrope, or in laymans terms, a Werewolf. Either cursed or naturally born with it, the afflicted turns at every full moon into the twisted hybrid of man and wolf, though in your case, pony and wolf. I could take care of it for you... For a fee. How much is it worth?" "Excuse me?!" The horse sneered at Geralt. "I told you, it's my job. Services don't come for free. However, I can negotiate; 350 crowns and all the information I have on beasts such as this, as well as myself. In exchange, I will take care of the beast." "And by take care, you mean...?" "Cure or kill, depending on what can be done. That's where the money comes in. It has to be up front so I can prepare. I also need my Silver sword and armor back as well as the Wolf pendant that was around my neck. It's enchanted so that it lets me know if exceptional magic was used. So," he held out his hand. "Do we have a contract?" Reluctantly, she hoof bumped it.