Quiet Ocarina awoke in the guest bedroom she’d be staying in for the last eight days. She could hardly keep still. Her nightmares were getting worse and worse. First they were just images of dead ponies. But then, other things started invading her mind. Emotionally hurting images that brought questions to her mind. Why hadn’t Cyburst returned any of the affection she’d been giving him? What connection did he have with Applejack? Why’d he follow Rain Whisper when she was angry?
She got out of bed to find yet another small, almost unnoticeable trail of blood. One would only see it if they were looking for it. It lead back towards the barn, like they always do. It directly lead towards a small potato cellar, one that hadn’t been used for at least a year. Well, until now. She found, yet again, a dead pony corpse down there. She was surprised that it hadn’t been stinking up the whole barn, but she wasn’t complaining. For all she knew, somepony was framing her.
“Oca?” A voice called from the door of the barn, “Are you okay?”
Quiet Ocarina quickly turned around, just Cyburst, “What? Yeah. I’m fine. Just stretching my legs.”
“By going into a barn?” Cyburst questioned.
“Yeah.” Ocarina said, quickly, “The smell of hay. Keeps me going.”
“Okay then.” Cyburst said, walking away, “There’s food on the table, if you want any.”
“I’ll be sure to pop in.” The mare said, slowly walking behind Cyburst.
They both went back to the Big House, finding their way to the table to eat. Rain Whisper, Apple Seed, and Applejack were already eating.
“There ya’ are! Where was she, Cy?” Applejack asked.
“In the barn.” Cyburst said simply, watching Ocarina out of the corner of his eye.
“Yeah, just running around in the barn.” Ocarina said, taking an apple off the table.
“Aaanyway, how are you feeling, Rain?” Cyburst said, looking towards the white unicorn.
“Do you guys smell that?” Rain asked, ignoring the question.
“Smell what?!” Ocarina asked,“Oh, you mean my new perfume?”
“It’s not perfume, your perfume smells good.” Rain said, getting up from the table.
“Rain, you never answered my question.” Cyburst said calmly, “How are you feeling?”
“Like a dog.” Rain answered, walking up to Ocarina and inhaling. “Why do you smell so different?”
“Well if you think it’s that bad,” Ocarina said, “I’ll just take the perfume back today.”
Rain Whisper raised an eyebrow, then turned her head in a different direction, inhaling again. “It doesn’t trail to your room...” she said. “It trails to the barn.”
“I sweat up a storm in there.” Ocarina said, shaking slightly, “Some of it must’ve came off. I’ll go clean it up right now.”
“Stop it, you two.” Applejack said, “Sit down and eat your breakfast.”
“I’ll be right back.” Rain said, ignoring Applejack too.
The mare trotted outside, walking towards the barn.
“Hey!” Applejack shouted, “Get back here!”
The mare opened the barn door with her magic, inhaling again. “What is that...?”
Suddenly, a rope went around Rain Whisper’s hooves and pulled them together.
“Ah’ won’t have ya’ not listening to the mare of the house.” Applejack said, dragging the mare back, “When ah’ tell ya’ to do somethin’, you better do it!”
“For Luna’s sake, Applejack!” Rain shouted, “Let me go look!”
“Not until Ah’ teach ya’ some manners.” Applejack said, tightening the rope.
Suddenly, a magical pair of scissors cut the lasso that bound Rain Whisper together. The mare quickly got out of her bonds.
“Do you want me to finish my breakfast?” Rain asked, levitating the plate over to her. “Fine!”
The breakfast disintegrated from the plate from a quick burst of magic.
Applejack tackled the smaller mare.
“Ah’ don’t know what they teach youngin’s in Ponyville anymore,” She said, “But wasting food that Ah’ worked so hard to get is not okay in mah’ book. Cy, get mah steel cable.”
The smaller mare’s body began to heat up spontaneously, burning Applejack more every degrees her body temperature rose.
Rain Whisper levitated into the air, while Cyburst walked to look at Applejack.
“Why the hell would you do that, Rain Whisper!?” Cyburst shouted, “You hurt Applejack!”
“I didn’t know they still allowed ponies to get whipped!!!” Rain shouted, “I don’t know what they’re teaching her here, but that’s not okay in my book!” Rain mocked.
“She didn’t whip you.” Cyburst said, levitating Rain Whisper close, “She was trying to get you to stop... Whatever you're doing! And you burned her!”
Rain looked over towards Ocarina. “Then if you won’t let me go in there, tell me.” She shouted at her friend. “What smells like blood?!”
“Nopony else can smell anything!” Cyburst shouted, anger radiating from him, “The only thing that’s happened is you accused Ocarina of smelling weird and running out here. To Applejack, that’s an act of defiance! If you want to stay here, you’re going to have to follow her rules!”
Rain turned her head back to the barn and swung open the cellar door with her magic.
“Go look then!” Rain shouted, “If you don’t believe me, go look!”
“There’s nothing in there!” Cyburst said, “That cellar hasn’t been used for over a decade!”
Cyburst levitated Rain Whisper closer to him.
“Look, I know it’s almost here, but you need to control yourself.” Cyburst said so only Rain Whisper could hear.
Rain leaned in closer. “I know that the little computer inside of your head knows that it’s there, why don’t you go check for yourself if you’re so sure.”
Cyburst encased Rain Whisper in a force shield. He walked over to the cellar and peered inside. He turned around and stomped right up to Rain Whisper.
“Nothing’s there, Rain.” Cyburst spat, holding his head,“Dammit, just... you’re staying right there for the rest of the day.”
Rain Whisper glared at the pony as he walked away, smashing into the side of the force shield. “Well fuck you then!” she shouted.
Cyburst picked up Applejack, who was still covered in burns, “Don’t worry, I’ll get you fixed up right now.”
“P-please.” Applejack stuttered, before passing out.
Cyburst looked back at Rain Whisper, then closed his eyes and shook his head.
The night had come faster than the mare had expected, the force shield was expanded so she could sleep in it overnight. As the mare looked up into the moonlit sky, she thought of what Cyburst had told her.
“You don’t control the beast, the beast controls you.” He said
“If you go berserk, I’ll do everything I can to stop you.” She remembered him threaten.
The mare stood up in her cage.
“I can handle myself.” She said aloud, “He doesn’t know what I can and can’t do.”
The mare looked up at the moon again, focusing her eyes on it.
“Let’s try... this.”
The unicorn focused all of her magic onto the gleaming beauty that lit the night sky, fighting against gravity to move it like Luna did, she knew there was such little chance she could replicate something so delicately, but she had to try, she had to prove to Cyburst, to everypony inside, what she was capable of.
The mare now used anger and frustration as a weapon against Luna’s moon.
Rain thought of the anxiety she had from waiting for the moon, the stupid moon, just to become full.
The mare focused all of her emotions around what she was trying to do, her horn glowed brighter than ever before, her head pounded like she was being hit with a sledgehammer, her nose began to bleed, seeping into her mouth, the mare spit the blood like venom, seeing that the moon was almost totally encased in her magic, just as she thought of giving up-
The pressure stopped altogether. The pain in her head, gone. The strain on her magical capabilities, gone. The brightness of her horn, gone. The mare had just noticed she had closed her eyes, so she opened them, looking up at the moon, which had been fully encased by her magic. It tilted just as she wanted, it felt like the weight of a book in her magic.
The mare smiled devilishly.
The moon tilted, losing its crescent shape and becoming a sphere.
A full moon.
The magic from the Rain Whisper’s horn faded, just as the moon’s magical field faded.
The moon now seemed to stare back at Rain Whisper, showering her with a beautiful light show.
“It’s-”
The mare felt a burning feeling in her eyes, as a reflex, she looked away, thinking it would go stop. It did not.
Rain’s very bones felt as if they were breaking. It felt like Cyburst’s healing spell, only it broke the bones, then repaired them, only to expand. Her mind clouded with pain, her body told her to scream, so she opened her mouth, all that emerged was a blood curdling roar, then an animal-like, low growl that came from her throat followed. The pain continued, leaving a convulsing and twitching Rain Whisper inside of a force shield.
The sound of glass shattering could be heard. A pony rolled in the dark.
“No, no, no, no, no.” A voice cried, “Mon dieu.”
The pony walked up to the force shield.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen tonight.” It continued, “The moon isn’t even full.”
The pony’s eye looked up to the sky.
“Well, guess Cynthia had other plans.” The voice said, stepping into the light.
It was Cyburst. A shattered-glass covered Cyburst.
“It wasn’t my doing.” Luna said, “I hadn’t moved the moon for a while now.”
“How long’s a while?” Cyburst said.
“Three hours.” Luna giggled.
“Oh yeah, that’s a really long time.” Cyburst said, pulling out some glass.
The mare inside of the force shield got to her feet, looking up at the moon, then her hooves.
“It didn’t work?” She asked no one in particular, looking at her body, which hadn’t changed.
“Of course it did.” Cyburst said, pulling out more glass, “It’s just a matter of time, time I could use to move the sun.”
The mare latched to the side of the force shield, staring down at Cyburst with newly acquired golden eyes. “Don’t move it!” She growled, with rising hostility in every word she spoke. “I moved the moon, I get to see this.”
“I’m not going to.” Cyburst said, taking out a shard from his eye, “As long as you can control yourself.”
“I ca-”
The mare fell over, twitching around again and struggling to get to her feet, she spoke, but it was not her voice that Cyburst heard.
“It... hurts...” she said, flailing inside of the force shield.
“Come on...” Cyburst said, “Prove me wrong.”
The mare turned her body, looking down at Cyburst as she slowly began to stand on her hind hooves, which had extended into dog-like legs. She inhaled and exhaled loudly, growling in between.
“Come on!” Cyburst said, shaking the glass out of his mane, “Keep control...”
Her fur turned from its usual white to a darkening grey with several white streaks going down her back, which had now hunched over a little more than usual. The paws started to form on her hind hooves, then the hooves she had pressed against the force shield, which the now over six inch claws dug through.
“You can do it.” Cyburst edged her on, “I know you can.”
Her mane seemed to disappear into her back completely, her ears pointed backwards and her front arms extended tremendously. Her eyes became smaller, but still remained the bright glowing color.
“Take over and control yourself.” Cyburst said, putting his face to the shield, “Your mother did.”
Her muzzle extended and her teeth grew to a size that doubled a shark tooth, her horn was completely gone, all of her teeth sharpened and her mouth hung open, where she began to salivate like a hungry predator. A black nose appeared on the end of her muzzle, becoming wet as soon as it appeared. Her tail copied the color of her fur and grew longer, fingers began to replace the front paws, so they could be used to grab objects and climb. The mare leaned back, looking up at the pale, bright full moon.
“Come on!” Cyburst shouted, “You don’t even have the worst of beasts”
A devilish roar awoke the entire city of Canterlot. Her transformation was complete.
“TAKE CONTROL!!!” Cyburst said, smashing his head against the shield.
The giant wolf went to the far end of the force shield, opposite of where Cyburst was, she hunched down, almost like she was going to lie down, but then Cyburst saw her begin to rear back, like she was about to charge him.
“Let me out.” She growled, charging at the other side and smashing the shield to pieces as she collided into the side, throwing her into the ground, where she quickly got up.
“Are ya’ in control?” Cyburst said, looking at her closely.
The wolf stared at the unknown pony, the new mind raced to come up with an answer of what to do.
“Simple yes or no question.” Cyburst said, “But it decides everything.”
The ears of the creature flicked back and she looked behind her, where a few tired ponies emerged.
The creature now turned back at the less aggressive group of ponies, who she swore she had a name for, and crept closer, staying directly in the moonlight where they could see her.
“Nopony move.” Cyburst said, “Not a muscle.”
The creature crept closer, circling the group from a safe distance, but a distance where she could react, or attack if needed. After a few seconds, she could smell the fear emanating from them, she decided to take a closer look.
“Just don’t move.” Cyburst said, “And she probably won’t hurt you.”
The legs of the orange pony shook harder and harder the closer she got, she didn’t see the movement as a threat, but when the cream colored one took off back to the den she came from, sparked her immediate attention.
“Dammit Apple Seed.” Cyburst said, still unsure.
The giant wolf slowly moved towards the house, going between the two other ponies close enough to rub her fur against them.
Cyburst teleported in between the wolf and the house.
The creature stepped back when the pony suddenly appeared in front of her, but tried to go past him to find the other pony.
Cyburst stuck out a hoof to block her path.
“Nope.” He said, “Stay right there.”
The wolf raised an eyebrow and tried his other side.
Cyburst shifted hooves, covering the Lycan's path again .
“Still no.” He said.
The wolf raised a paw in front of the pony, putting a gentle paw on his shoulder.
“Can you do it?” Cyburst said softly, “Can you stay in control?”
The grip tightened on his shoulder with enough force to break a bone, which the creature used as leverage to throw him into the side of the barn, then ran through the house in a frenzy to find the other pony that had run.
Cyburst teleported in front of the wolf again. His left foreleg hanging.
“Come on Rain Whisper.” Cyburst said, “This is your last chance.”
The wolf grabbed the pony’s horn in a swift motion, not aggressively to hurt him, but with a curious gentleness, she pulled them face to face, staring into his eyes. The unfaltering eyes of Cyburst.
“I don’t want to.” Cyburst said, looking into the wolf’s golden eyes with softness, “I really don’t want to have to hurt you.”
The creature dropped the pony and took off in the other direction at tremendous speeds, out of the house and towards the Canterlot gardens.
Cyburst got up, standing on all four hooves without any pain.
“Luna?” Cyburst said, “How are you at holding up two cosmic objects?”
“I could do it.” Luna said, “Not for long, but I can do it.”
“Good, I’ll only need until the morning tops.” Cyburst said, grinning, “I hope I can stop her from doing anything... stupid. Phoenix?”
“...Anytime...” Phoenix said, “The controls didn’t even complain.”
“Well, that’s one less thing to think about.” Cyburst said.
“FIFTY PERCENT!” Cyburst shouted, “RELEASE!”
“...You’ve never had to do that.” Phoenix said.
“I know, I like to.” Cyburst laughed.