//------------------------------// // Chapter 11:Wood // Story: Equestrian Revelations // by DuskApproaches //------------------------------// The position of the sun outside the window hinted at my rising to a late morning. I got up off my bed to find a set of clothes resting on the nightstand: long loose pants and a tight flexible sleeveless shirt. They must have tailored this set in respect to my previous ensemble. I tossed on my outfit and put on my shoes. I was about to open the door when Chao preemptively opened it for me. She wore a look of surprise in meeting face to face with me not expecting the abrupt encounter. “Hello, how are you today?” I greeted her trying to break the silence. “Um…” she said. “I’m great! And it’s all thanks to you!” The edges of her mouth were pointed out and not up. Also her eyebrows were slightly scrunched together and her eyes were not completely open. This could only mean one thing. “What do you want from me?” “…” “Well?” “How did you know that-“ “-that you wanted something from me? You made it pretty obvious as if pondering a question. Anyways, let’s talk on the way down stairs. “ [/hr] “So, you never did answer my question.  What do you want from me?” “Well…” “God damn it, Chao. Just tell me.” “...I want you to teach me how to fight.” Well, that’s new. Especially coming from Chrysalis’s personal guard. “It’s alright if you say no, I-“ “Don’t worry, you wish to do what I do and know what I know. That’s great. Tell me when and we’ll get started.” What am I getting myself into? I can’t teach. I could barely teach that 10 year old how to play piano. I taught the kid so well that he forgot how to tie his shoes making better ‘music’ in falling down stairs than he ever did with 88 keys...why am I thinking about this while going down stairs? [/hr] “Glad you could join us for breakfast,” said Chrysalis as we walked into the dining room. “If you eat love, why do you have a dining room?” “It’s mostly for guests.” “So you set up breakfast just for me then?” “For you? What a ridiculous notion. Four ponies arrived earlier and I, Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings may be heartless but can be a humble host to visiting guests. You will find that friends of my friends are always welcome in the changeling empire, allowed to walk these halls and enjoy commodities only offered to allies,” boasted Chrysalis displaying a sly grin. “Good morning,” said Luna as she walked into the room followed by Fluttershy and Rarity. “MY WORD! DARLING, THOSE CLOTHES ARE ABSOLUTELY HORRENDOUS!” That was certainly not something one would expect to hear from the element of generosity. I sure hope that the changeling who made it was not present. I heard a changeling behind me excuse herself and walk into the washroom. Within seconds, muffled whimpering came from the same washroom. God damn it Rarity! You had one job. “Rarity?” “Yes, darling?” “You just made the first changeling you ever talked to cry.” I was about to ask her to go and apologise when something tackled me to the ground. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!? DID YOU SERIOUSLY LEAVE ME IN EQUESTRIA!?” What a wonderful reunion between a man and his talking wooden wolf. “I’m sorry. I was going to get you and then I...well there was this thing a-and then I had to go and I...I’m sorry please forgive me.” She growled but got off me. Not before landing a hard kick to my chest. If this was a while back, I wouldn’t mind that much but she grew and so did her strength. I saw her walk into the corner and stare at the wall. This was not the best way to start the day. “Did that timberwolf just talk?” Rarity asked in shock.. “Not the biggest concern right now,” I  said wincing in pain. [/hr] “I’m sorry, please talk to me.” “…” “You’re making my heart hurt.” “…” “You’re giving me heart complications.” “…” “Please, I love you.” “…” This exchange of a one-sided conversation had been going on for a rather long time. Most of the ponies and changelings in the room were watching us at the beginning, but now most of them stopped giving a fuck going about their daily business. “Come on, give me one more chance.” She moved for the first time in two hours slowly turning around to look at me. The look in her eyes made me realise something I always knew but never noticed. She was not my pet, she was my friend. And I took something I never deserved for granted - her trust. God damn it, this sucks. “I’m sorry. I truly am and it’s not that I don’t care about you. I care about you more than I care about myself. Well, I don't really care about myself anyways. But still, I didn’t do any of this for myself. Actually, I’m not going to come up with any excuses because I have none and they probably won't be of much use to me anyways. I’m not going to attempt to justify what I did because I can’t. I just hope you can forgive me.” “…” “Please?” “Fine. One. More. Chance…” “Thank you so much, that’s so- AHHHH!” If it wasn’t obvious enough, her kicks were really fucking strong delivering the last one with enough force to leave two painfully sore bruises. [/hr] The morning was slow. Time crawled along at an agonizing pace as each and every changeling and pony present asked me how I learnt to talk. Sometimes, I wish I was never taught how to talk so I didn’t have to answer these stupid questions. “So, Moon moon-“ Fluttershy began “Actually,” the human cut her off, “the first thing she ever said to me was that Moon moon is a retarded name and that I was retarded for thinking it up.” “Not like I was wrong. My name is Talon now. We came up with it together. He thought it suits my character,” I responded interjecting my own opinion on the matter. “I see...that name would be a better fit for a wolf,” Fluttershy said holding a hoof up to her chin pondering the name’s suitability. No shit, what the fuck is a Moon moon? Fluttershy continued on with the question she had been meaning to get an answer to. “I wanted to ask you; he told me that you liked him and you both became friends right away. How did you happen, Talon? If that’s okay with you, of course.” [/hr] I move silently but quickly through the thick forest using my natural camouflage to hide myself from my prey. My prey was strange; I had never seen that kind of creature before. I am still very young and inexperienced. But I have seen most of the forests’ creatures and this one is not even close in appearance to any of them. It is currently crouching on a branch with a bow in hand. He is doing exactly what I’m doing - hunting. Except in his case, he was the predator. Unpleased with the small number of visible animals, he holstered his bow and jumped off the branch landing with a quick roll. I got ready to pounce on him when he did something that made me freeze in my tracks. He talked… to me. “Look, I know that you’re there and you are going to attack me. You can continue if you want to, but I’m going to tell you that I’m not your casual prey.“ He turned around. “You can fight me, but I will fight back.” He did not look very strong. He had thin bones and a small amount of muscle. I was sure that I would be able kill him quickly and easily. But the look in his eyes told me different. He was a warrior. He was strong. He was confident and not without good reason. Something told me that I should respect him, that I should learn from him. I walk out of my cover and towards what used to be my prey. “Hello there, you look smaller than all the other timberwolves. A little friendlier, though. That’s a good thing. Anyways, how are you?” “…” “Huh, well you can’t talk in my language. I can’t say that’s surprising. I don’t know why I was expecting an answer in the first place. But I know you can understand me so I’m going to keep talking.” I followed him as he walked along. What he said and the way he talked did not make him seem like a predator. Those spoken words gave me the impression of one who is not only a warrior but a little bit more. A warrior is fierce in battle, but a great warrior is fierce in battle and gentle in times of peace. There was a lot I could learn from him. I promised myself on that day to accept him as my teacher and respect him as so. [/hr] “This retard here is one that I have come to respect. He deserved that respect in many ways despite how much I hate his foolish behavior,” I responded to Fluttershy. "Gee, thanks!" I heard my friend mutter rubbing his sore chest. “That sounds lovely. I’m sure you’ll both continue to be the best of friends. Just try and go easier on him next time,” Fluttershy whispered leaning in close so I only could hear. Turning her head slightly in my friend’s direction, whom was still in pain, she gave me a furtive wink.