"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
I had reached the place I was looking for. A shallow cave, on the outskirts of the Everfree. I needed to make sure that Mike actually was what I was looking for before I killed him. I didn't want to at first, but it seemed that I'd have to. I placed him on a rock and then turned to the outside of the cave. I went outside and sat there, mulling over the past day's events in my head.
First off, I wake up half drunk on Destiny Islands. Wonderful. Then I was called to this alternate Equestria. I was going home, in a sense. But no one remembered me, this being an alternate reality. Then this Mike guy appears and it's as if he's known the mane six for a while. And though he looks weak on the outside, he is very talented in strength and apparently song. That explained his cutie mark. I stared back at him, and grimaced. No, this is no time for pity. This needs to happen. I told myself. But did I actually believe it?
I sat the next hour in silence.
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Mike groaned, beginning to get up. I turned back into the cave, but not before I heard the distant shouts of the six other ponies. They were calling for Mike. It wrenched my heart to hear them calling out for him. But then I shook my head. What was I thinking? These weren't my friends. They were different.
I went up to Mike and looked down at him, putting a disapproving glare on my face. He groaned once more then looked around, slowly remembering what had happened. Then his eyes widened and he looked up at me. My vision whitened yet again as I immobilized his limbs with a specific Medic Sight. I could see the blue crosses that were in my eyes reflected in Mike's terrified eyes.
"W-where am I?" he asked, his voice quiet and soft. Yep, definitely like Fluttershy. If only I knew if he could care for animals. I guess it's now or never, since I have to kill him anyway.
"Can you care for animals?" I asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
"... What?" Mike said, the quiver gone from his voice.
"I said, 'Can. You. Care. For. Animals?'" I said it slowly, as if he didn't understand.
Mike looked slightly annoyed at that. "Yes, but I'm better at singing. Why?" Well, the similarities increase.
I chuckled. "It's true then. You and Fluttershy would be a perfect pair."
Mike glared up at me, still immobile. "You better be glad that I can't move."
I grinned down at him, "Or what? You'll buck me across the cave? ...Well, I guess that's a possibility."
"..." Silence, eh? I guess it's time to move on.
"So... you know why you're here, right?" I asked.
"Hm, let me guess. You're going to kill me in a really gruesome way. Am I right?" he said sarcastically. I narrowed my eyes. Was he really kidding?
"Actually, yes. Minus the gruesome." The look on Mike's face was one I'd like to get on camera.
"What? Why? I didn't do anything to you!" His face, instead of going to terror, contorted to one of rage.
I smiled down at him. "Like I said before, Mikey. You're trouble."
"Don't call me that."
"Oh, I'm sorry Mikey. But you really know why you're here, right?"
"Actually, no, so if you wouldn't mind telling me-"
I held up a paw and he actually stopped. I began to speak.
"Well then, Mike, let me explain. I am a Seer. Does that ring any bells?"
"Nope. You mentioned them earlier though."
"Well, then. it's a long story, so you might want to get comfortable." I freed his limbs and he shifted to what I assumed what was a comfortable position for a pony. He then gave me a quizzical look.
"Uh, why'd you do that?"
"To put it simply, it's like this. You run, you die." I grinned.
"Oh."
“Good to know we understand each other.” I sat down as well, “Now, where shall I begin?”
Mike got the look of a student who knew a lecture was coming.
“Seers are certain people with amazing powers. These powers tend to be derived from the Sun or Moon." Or Dark. I added silently. "For me, it was the moon. Seers whose powers come from the moon are referred to as the Lunar Clan. We love the night, and anything related to it. But don’t get your tail in a bunch; we’re not about to go summon Nightmare Moon or anything. We’re good guys.”
The look in his eyes now was one of mocking disbelief, accompanied with a sigh. I kept my irritation down and continued.
I myself am a travelling Seer. We travel to different worlds and fix problems to help out. I, for instance, was sent to Equestria to solve some issues there. But it wasn’t this Equestria. It was an alternate dimension. Do you know what that means?” I made sure to sound like a teacher. Mike nodded. “Good boy. Now, this alternate dimension of Equestria is very similar to the one we’re in right now. My Equestria, however, has one very different factor: you.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. In my Equestria, you aren’t there. At least, not in Ponyville. Maybe in my Equestria you’re still in Fillydelphia and you actually got the cutie mark your parents wanted. Maybe you never met Dreamer and you’re still wandering the streets. Maybe the dragon caught you and killed you as well as Dreamer.” I saw him shrink back with every memory I brought up. I thought to myself yet again, Could he really be the problem? I had too much proof to make it otherwise.
Suddenly I could swear a little light-bulb appeared above Mike's head, and I thought of Rarity, which led me to think of the others. Sadness flashed through me as I remembered what I was doing. Again I pushed the thoughts away and went on.
“Anyway, I was sent to this Equestria to take care of a problem. Naturally, the problem would be whatever makes our two Equestrias different, excluding me. And that’s you." The reluctant and forgiving side of me spoke up, It can also be something like Hunter... I pushed it away angrily. Hunter couldn't be here... Not now.
I continued, struggling to keep my composure, "So, I’m afraid I have to kill you. In all honesty, I’m kind of reluctant to do this. You seem like such a nice pony. But the job comes first, so you’re gonna need to die. Any questions?” I finished, and triumph flashed in Mike's eyes.
"Well, I have one." Mike tilted his head in mock confusion, "You're a cat, right?"
I felt a twitch hit me. “Are you an idiot?! Yes, I’m a cat! What the hell kind of question is that?” I then officially created the face-paw.
“Fluttershy taught me a lot about cats.”
Mike then took a deep breath. What was he-
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" what probably looks like a squeal to you was actually the high pitched singing of Mike. It pierced my ears and my cat instincts took over. My ears flattened against my head and I shoved my paws on top of them, growling.
"Partamos!" came the shout. I looked up just in time to have to hooves crack into my face. Mike's strength threw me backwards against the wall and I flattened almost exactly like I had one year and two months ago. I peeled off and left quite a clear cat-shaped imprint. I, surprised by Mike's strength, gave him an opening.
He rushed me again, and the fight began in earnest. Throughout the fight Mike used his amazing strength and bucking to try and incapacitate me, while I just mainly dodged by flying. I noticed that he wasn't used his wings at all, which got me wondering. Could he not fly? Still, I made more hits than Mike, until he did something that surprised me.
Mike leaped and bit down on my wing. Immediately pain lanced throughout my whole body. I collapsed to the ground and Mike tried to buck me again. Instead I used his momentum to flip him onto his back. But he just smashed his head into mine, which I replied to with, guess what, a buck of my own.
He spread his wings and didn't fly too far back though, and then started to fly. Surprised slightly, I took to the air myself and tried to tackle him out of the air. He dodged, and took the opening to fly outside.
I followed suit, and we fought under the watchful eye of the Sun Goddess. This was why I was in a cave! Under the sun, Celestia was always watching.
We threw punches and kicks in mid-air, both of missing and connecting evenly. I, having flown more, started to get an advantage. Then Mike greatly surprised me.
He flew straight up. And up. And up. Then he dove.
What was he doing? Did he expect to push me to the ground so easily? Then I saw the thin white line appearing in front of Mike. It spread and formed a cone around him. Too late I realized what he was doing. Horseapples. I thought.
The explosion was followed by a giant burst of blue and yellow light that flew forth as a wave of air smacked right into me, sending me hurtling down to the ground. As I struggled to get up, Mike landed in front of me, a smug grin on his face.
I finally got to a sitting position, panting. Mike leaned in threateningly and said, low and dangerous. "Had enough?"
Looking at the ground, I gasped out, "You give yourself... an unfair advantage." The grin grew wider.
Then I looked back up, flaring my wings out and my eyes blazing with a pale purple fire. The were still about two ponies long each. "...But that doesn't matter." I brought my wings together in front of me with a crack. The wind immediately picked up in the clearing, then surrounded the whole area in a shredding force of wind. The trees unlucky enough to be caught in the winds were torn to pieces. The force from the original flapping of my wings was enough to send Mike backwards a few feet.
Then I called forth something that I hadn't exactly used in a long time. "Annul Zodiacs!" I called. The familiar ring appeared, but now it looked more like a bracelet, meant for the foreleg.
"Gemini!" I shouted. My whole body crackled with electricity. Mike was just beginning to get up. "Twin Lightning!"
Two shining purple rays of light arced in a zigzag between the two of us, then...
Mike pushed himself up, then screamed in rage. The lightning split in two directions and ran straight into the wind, stopping.
I stared. What had Mike just done. Repelled lightning... with a shout? Vaguely an image of Skyrim popped into my head, but I shook it away.
"Very well, then." I muttered, "Leo!"
I felt the ring switch, and my body suddenly began to change. I grew larger, my whole body becoming twice as big as Big MacInstosh. My paws became as big as Mike's head, and I felt the fur around my neck growing out. My teeth became twice as big as they were before, and there was a heat building up in my chest. The only problem was... I had lost my wings.
I roared at the top of my lungs, "Die, monster! You no longer belong in this world!"
Mike, who had by now recovered, gave me an odd look. "... Say what now?"
I looked back to him, "Oh, just reminiscing about Castlevania."
Mike still looked confused. "Castle-what-now?"
I resisted the urge to face-paw. "That's right, no video games."
Mike stared at me like I was crazy, "Video Games?"
I shook my head. "Never mind. Anyway, it's time for you to die." I felt an evil thought go through my head. "And meet the same fate as Dreamer!" I took a deep breath, and Mike saw the flames building in my mouth. He tried to take to the air, but terror was keeping him grounded.
Before I could breath out, though, I heard the whistling of something moving through the at high speeds. Then Something slammed into my side. Coughing, the flames sputtered out and I returned to my normal size. My concentration broken, the winds surrounding us dissipated. Rainbow had my face shoved into the ground, and the only reason I didn't resist is because of who she was. Oh, and my wings were back. Yay.
"Mike!" I heard the other five calling. I just stared in horror as they came closer to him.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked Mike.
"I'm fine. A little tired, but fine." Mike replied, actually looking like he was about to collapse then and there. Then he glared at me. "What. The. HELL!?" he yelled at me.
“I told you already!” I cried through a smooshed face. “I have to take you out before you ruin everything!”
“Look, pal, I’m already having to restrain myself to keep from killing you right now,” Rainbow yelled in my face. “Don’t go making it worse!” That did it. I felt a light panic rising in my chest.
“He’s endangering all of Equestria!” I shouted, “If I don’t kill him, your entire world will be destroyed, or taken over, or some bad thing like that! It'll happen to my world too!” Oops.
“That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard!” Twilight snapped. She gestured to Mike. “Look at him! He wouldn’t hurt a fly!” Then she did a double take. "Wait, what!?"
The others were staring at me with odd looks. Then they looked back to Twilight with incredulous looks, as if nothing had happened. She pointed to me. "Okay, unless the fly was trying to kill him. But the point is, he’s not going to go and destroy Equestria!” Oh, so I'm a fly now?
“He fits the description!” I protested. “Master Blue Moon told me that this world’s had a problem with it for a few weeks! Mike’s been here for a few weeks, as you can probably remember! Bad guys usually have a dark past, and guess what Mike has? One of the darkest pasts I’ve heard in a while! And almost all of the bad guys I face look innocent, but they’re a lot tougher than you’d think! Lo and behold, Mike’s a perfectly innocent-looking dude with the power to topple a bucking apple tree with one kick!” I paused to catch my breath. I was talking like Pinkie Pie. “If Mike isn’t the problem, who else could it be?!”
“You’re not even making sense!” Rainbow yelled at me. “Mike isn’t a-”
“Stop, Rainbow,” Applejack suddenly said. Rainbow shut up, got off me, and we all looked at the farmer. She slowly walked up to me and sat down.
“Yes, Applejack?” I asked, knowing what was coming.
“Tell me yer whole story,” Applejack said simply. “And don’t go lyin’. Ah’ll know if yer lyin’.”
Should I? Oh, shit, should I? what will happen this time? At least they had known me a little before I told thm who I really was in the alternate reality. This... this was just... oh, screw it! "“Well…I’m a Seer…”
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“…so Master Blue Moon sent me to this Equestria to take down whatever problem was here. Mike fits all the criteria of being the problem. I mean, look! He causes trouble wherever he goes!” I finished and Mike flinched again. Why is he not going out with Fluttershy?
Everyone was looking to Applejack for an answer. “Applejack?” Rarity quipped.
Applejack herself looked stunned, but also slightly sad. She said in a monotone voice, "He’s tellin’ the truth.”
Everyone gasped, and I silently sighed. So typical... But then I put a triumphant look on my face.
“Everythin’ he said…is true,” she said. tears began forming in her eyes.
Mike was gaping at the farmer. That's right. I thought. It's the truth. But still the nagging thought that he was the good guy here was there. This time it wouldn't go away.
But then something odd happened. All the ponies got tears in their eyes. Were they feeling betrayed, or something like it? It seemed more like they were sad for some other reason.
“Mike?” Twilight finally began. “Wh…what’s going on?”
“I DON’T KNOW!” Mike shouted, his eyes filling with tears also. “I don’t know what he’s talking about! I…I’m not evil! I’m not ruining Equestria! I…I…”
Then he turned tail and fled the clearing that had been made by our fight. I tried to give chased, but Applejack bit down on my tail like I was Rainbow Dash and pulled me back to the ground. "Whoa, there. What do you think your doing?"
"I- he- it's just- can't you see!?" I exclaimed, "All the signs... they- they point to him!"
Applejack stared at me with her misty eyes and said softly, "You don't really believe that, do you?"
And with that, under the stares of six crying ponies that were my closest friends, my resistance broke. The thought that the trouble was something else took over, and I nodded slowly. "I.. don't believe it anymore."
Then I turned to the others. "Sorry, but I have a male version of Fluttershy to find." I spread my wings and took off before they could reply.