//------------------------------// // Deputizing for Others // Story: Rebirth of Magic: Cold, Cold Heart // by JimmyHook19 //------------------------------// It is said that in times of danger, heroes will come together to face the rising tide of evil, and fight back to preserve the light. These heroes can come from the strangest of places. This is the story of one such hero. Although he appears to be Sprout Cloverleaf, you may be surprised to learn his true origins... Oh? Here to file a report? Sorry for the delay, my desk was in a mess. Let me finish shuffling these papers and then I'll get to the matter. No, I'm not the Sheriff. He's over there, talking to somepony. Funnily enough, Sunny seems to be conversation as well. That's odd. Then again, socializing is something good... apparently. That? He's Hitch. Got a bit of an ego on him as well. Thinks he's the most handsome thing in the universe. You know, the type with a big fanbase and the paid off mortgage? Me? I'm renting a property somewhere down that way. I'm just a Deputy. That means I do all the stuff that Hitch would rather not do, as well as provide extra muscle when responding to cases. Thankfully, the worst that seems to happen around here is just a minor bit of littering. What's that? You're not here to file a report? That's a first. What is it you wanted? Oh, I see. You're interested in learning about the incident. The incident where, naturally, I proved myself to be the true hero of the day against that piece of swine. I'll gladly tell you the tale, as it's very heroic indeed. It has great battles, daring escapes, swooning romances, and distances so big you can count them on multiple hooves. It's all very exciting. And it only gets better every time I tell it. Seriously, my version is the best. Not like Sunny, who will probably tell you in painful detail about how the books were in the wrong order. In order to begin the story, we must go backwards in time beyond the last few months of our history. It will even require us to go across this thing called a gap, to find ourselves in another dimension entirely, filled with things that make this place seem exotic. I was originally to be found in a place called the Northwest, which was very big and very exciting. A scattering of small towns dotted this landscape, filled with hardy people who went on exciting adventures and brought back exciting stories of travel, the animals they had encountered, and wondrous scenery within the mountains. One of them was a place called Oregon, and within Oregon lay a rugged little town called Ashland. A perfect base for setting off into the wilds of this untamed land and seeing what beauty awaited around the corner. A friend of mine from this exotic place called England was going to live there for a year, before an annoying thing meant he didn't. I hear he eventually ended up somewhere else in the land, though I can't recall where. But in that town lived me, the only town I had ever lived in. My dad managed a local festival and hardware business, and my mom was a librarian. I even had a brother! Such an extravagance, eh? I was called James in those times, and there was nothing I loved more than heading into nature and seeing what adventures I could find in the wilds of Oregon. I was kinda like a modern day John Muir, if he's a concept. This one sunny day I decided to go on an adventure to Crater Lake, which is an enormous lake in a crater, hence the name. This lake would be a great place to stop and pass the time, and not only that had amazing fishing opportunities. Speaking of which, there's a good lake near the lighthouse if you fancy catching some fish. I loaded my car with stuff and took a look to ensure I had all I needed. I informed my folks where I was going, and then drove off into the wilderness, not noticing a unicorn looking at my house for some reason. The drive was about 90 minutes, which is a long time to be driving, so I stopped off for some food along the way at a roadside cafe. It was nice enough, but then again drivers are a captive market. Once I was done I was back on my way and off down the road towards Crater Lake. I didn't mind the food, as I'd be getting plenty of exercise on my way round the park. The main fishing chance was at the bottom of a long ramp, which was a long walk. This was because, as I mentioned, the lake was in a crater. So I went down into the lake with my equipment and got fishing. After about thirty minutes, I thought I finally had a catch and pulled back on the rod. But it didn't move. The rod jammed, and I was worried it might snap in two if I didn't act fast. So I released it, and suddenly spotted something floating on the surface of the water. A hat. A peaked cap, not unlike one you might see an army officer wear, was floating on the surface of the water. "What the?" I said, and went to take a closer look. This proved to be a rather bad idea. As I looked, a storm boomed overhead in an otherwise clear sky, and I was soon inside the water with my body below the surface. As I looked about the water, I suddenly saw a large machine sitting there below the water level. Sure, it was rusty and looked like it had seen better days, but what stunned me more was its shape. It was on treads, yes, but it looked like a horse! Who would build a robot like that? I thought, before I left the water, taking the cap with me. The rain was falling now, and in my soggy state I needed to get warm. I soon found refuge in a cave, having taken the cap with me to protect my head from rain. When examining it closely, it seemed to shine. All available hands are needed! said a voice. Take his place, James of the Line! I had no clue what this meant, but would soon come to realize what it meant. The top of the cave seemed to be getting further away from my eyes, before some form of balance was restored. A quick check revealed the world had indeed become bigger, and my neck was now longer. I must have looked like a giraffe by that point as my face got pulled about. A few adjustments of my mouth and blasts of pain revealed the bones in my face were being broken to reshape it into a new shape. They eventually healed in a new shape, but it produced a strange effect. Sort of like... a muzzle? Was this some sort of dog? My existing brown hair was turned to a yellowy shade, most of which was pooled at the top of my head with some along the back of my now outrageously long neck. My hearing briefly vanished, which was a bit weird as I could see the lightning raging outside, but this issue was soon resolved when two more appeared up top, making for an incredibly loud cacophany. I also had enormous eyebrows for some reason. And dark green eyes. That's definitely not normal. Some more snaps and cracks from my arms now revealed they were the opposite way round to how they were supposed to be. I regarded this situation with both confusion and horror as my fingers shrank into my hands, which soon reshaped into hard stumps. Hooves, maybe? My chest was stretched out into a new shape whilst my legs underwent the same strange mutation as my former arms. My feet were also converted into a pair of hooves as any remaining clothing was ripped to pieces or fell off from a lack of support. My rear began to itch, and I was rather concerned by that. Luckily, it only turned out to be a tail, the same colour as my hair... mane? Was that what I had now? Red fur sprouted all over, with the colour shifting to white down to my hooves, which were dark in colour. What on Earth had I eaten to witness that? That must have been a dodgy cup of coffee back there. I staggered out of the cave as best I could, with a distinct lack of coordination as I moved along. This was seriously weird, and trying to move on my back legs hadn't worked at all. As the storm seemed to clear, I noticed the cab was still there. It had previously been far too small for me, but I stuck it on my head and tried to use it protect my head from the rain. I blinked. This day had turned seriously weird.