//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Wandering Prey // by Rikkity //------------------------------// The house was quiet. Aiden peered in through the windows, but no lights were on in the house. He rapped his knuckles on the wood, producing a hollow thunking sound that seemed to echo in the cold night air. Seeing as how Connor wouldn’t answer the door, he tried the knob. Predictably, it was locked. With a few whispered words of power, he pointed his finger at the lock. There was a soft click, and the door swung open. He stepped inside and closed the entrance behind him. The wooden floor creaked as he stepped across the surface. “Connor?” he called out to the dark house. He was home, Aiden knew it. Aiden walked into the basement. A soft green light was coming from the base of the stairs, just around the corner. Panic began to well up in his chest. He took the steps two at a time, already beginning to deny in his mind the events that were rapidly occurring. He hit the base of the staircase and froze at the sight before him. Connor was hovering a few inches off the floor, his back arched and arms splayed out. Spirits of demons and the damned flooded the space, swirling around Connor and the open book on the ground. Aiden’s eyes widened at the sight before him, and his jaw fell agape. That accursed black book was the root of it all, the damned thing had overtaken his closest friend. Thinking quickly, he charged up a spell in his right hand. After a moment, he stretched his arm up and a beam of white light erupted around Connor. The sudden brightness stung his eyes, but he couldn’t look away. Once it had faded, and his vision cleared, he noticed that Connor hadn’t changed his position, but the spirits seemed to swirl around more violently. Echos of screams bounced across the walls. He had attempted a hasty exorcism on his friend, but it didn’t work. There was no way, without an actual priest to perform that kind of ritual, that he could free his friend. Any of Aiden’s attempts would be in vain. “You can’t have him!” Aiden shouted to the possessed body of what was once his friend. “Interesting,” came the distorted voice of Connor, “you seem to think highly of this hollow mage. And he thought highly of you.” The voice sounded even more disembodied as it spoke. Aiden knew that his friend was gone, but he had to give another try. “Connor, stop what you’re doing, it’s not too late!” he screamed over the shrieks of the spirits rushing around the room. “Connor is no more. It is only I, Nuhersë.” Connor’s body spun around in the air to face Aiden. His eyes had gone dark, and streaks of blood ran down his cheeks. A manic grin stretched across the breadth of his face, filled to the brim with sharpened teeth. There was only one way he could be freed from the evil. That book, that grimoire as it was called, was something that Connor should never have gotten his hands on. It was akin to poison, and now that poison had taken his soul. Without hesitation, Aiden put his hand out. A small ball of light formed in his hand. The mage closed his hand on it, tightening it into a fist. Aiden charged after his friend. Connor’s body flew backward, almost pressing up against the wall. He sent out lashes of shapeless dark energy, hoping to get a hit. Aiden, with the agility only given by several years of experience, threw his body left and right, dodging each attack without fail. Several close calls later, Aiden reached Conner and pressed his magic-charged palm against the demon’s head. The body of his dearest friend was engulfed by the light that Aiden struck him with. “I’m sorry, Connor.” The mage wanted to cry, but didn’t. He knew that it would be better to end his friend’s suffering now. Aiden did what he had to do. A bright flash lit up the room, and in an instant, the space where Connor’s body once occupied was empty. Only a blackened ring on the floorboard was what was left to signify that he was even there. Aiden looked over to the grimoire that laid open on the ground. With a simple flick of his hand, the book shut. He bent over, and picked up the book. The mage stared at the eerie black cover. A pentagram was embroidered on the hard cover with an upside down cross in front of it. Aiden pondered the events that had just transpired. “This book shall never again see the light of day.” He wholeheartedly declared to himself. With that, the mage tucked the book underneath his right arm. As Aiden made his exit, he turned his head to the side and said solemnly, “You are free now.” ***** Aiden’s eyes shot open, and he picked his head up. His chest heaved with shallow wheezes. He gasped for lung fulls of air, and his body shaking. Beads of sweat trickled down upon his brow. With his vision blurry and distorted, he blinked a few times, and rubbed his eyes. After a few more deep breaths, Aiden’s body started to relax a bit more. His breathing returned to normal, his vision began to clear up, and his body stopped shaking. He took his left arm and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He slumped back in his chair and looked around. Aiden was in the confines of his lab inside his house, built deep inside a dark and eerie forest. He sat at his desk with an open book filled with notes he had taken during his time in the newly discovered world. The notes described what the world is: the various types of creatures that existed and the sapient beings that inhabited it, namely, “ponies.” Aiden skimmed through his notes to find the name of the world they, and now he, roamed. After a lot of flipping, he finally found the page, and scanned it with his finger until he noticed the name. “Equestria,” He said to himself. He chuckled lightly at the name. “Makes sense that a bunch of ponies would be roaming this land. The name says it all.” Aiden pushed himself from his desk and got up from his seat. He walked over to the door which led to what represented his living room, and opened it. There was a small sofa up against the back wall and in front of it stood a small coffee table. At the other end of the space, there was a door which led to the kitchen, and a hallway that led to two other rooms plus a bathroom. In the living room, there was a door on the other side of the exit of the house, which led to the basement which happened to contain a library. The lucidness in the house was given off by electrical lights powered by magic. Aiden made his way to the exit of his abode located on the other end of the room. Just before he made his exit he pulled from his coat a homebrewed bright blue potion. He pulled off the stopper, and took a whiff. It didn’t smell too bad, but when Aiden drank it, he winced as the liquid made contact with his taste buds. He gagged a little, but managed to down the liquid. “I still won’t ever be able to get used to that taste,” he said with a raspy breath. A few moments went by, then an intense pain started to afflict his body. Aiden’s limbs slowly started to change shape. The bones in his body twisted and shifted until they were completely rearranged. His body grew fur and a tail, and his hands and feet became hooves. The potion had completely turned him into a white, unicorn pony with a brown mane and tail and light blue eyes. On his flank showed a circle of runes with an open book in the center. Once the transformation was complete, he took in a few deep breaths, and let them out slowly, allowing his heart rate to return to normal. “Three years I’ve been doing that, and it still hurts.” Aiden laughed to himself, despite the amount of pain he just went through. The mage, now turned unicorn, faced the door before him. He focused his magic onto the door knob, causing a bright blue aura to glow around his horn. With a simple thought, the knob twisted, and the door opened. Aiden made his way out the door and, with another simple burst of magic, the door shut behind him. ‘The Everfree Forest,’ Aiden began thinking to himself, ‘Nobody ever comes into this dark and spooky place. Makes it a perfect hiding place for just about anything.’ He was right, for the most part. Nopony dared traverse this ominous place. Anyone that did enter the forest, and travelled deep enough, were greeted by Aiden’s summoned servants. Among these creatures were phantasmal, hooded beings called Watchers, and golems made from rocks, dirt, mud, and scraps of metal and junk he had found laying around. The final creature that patrolled the perimeter of his house were Sentinels. Ethereal shadows with red, glowing eyes that would quickly wipe any pony’s recent memory and deposit them back at the entrance of the forest if they got too close to their master’s dwelling. Aiden whistled for his minions’ attention. Sentinels, Watchers, and golems gathered around him to hear their orders. “You all know what to do while I’m gone,” He stated, “No one is to get near this vicinity, period! Remember!” he pointed a hoof specifically to the golems, “No harming the ponies if one happens to be wandering around and gets too close! Got that?” His responses were hisses, whispers, and groans of acknowledgement. “Back to what you were doing.” With that, Aiden trotted off, making his way towards the town of Ponyville. ***** Before Aiden entered Ponyville, he channelled magic into his horn. With a bit of focus he was able to materialize a pencil and a notepad from thin air. Both items levitated in his light blue aura as he chuckled to himself. It was fascinating to see how their species uses magic. Aiden made his way into Ponyville, and took in the sights as he trotted through the road. Thatched roof houses filled the spaces and pegasi were managing the weather. As he passed ponies by they would greet him with a “hello” or “how’s it going”, and he would simply return their greeting with a curt nod. One part of town he would happen to come across on occasion did stand out among all the others. There was a building made completely out of gingerbread, and all he knew every time he saw it is that he wanted to eat it. “Hiya!” Pinkie Pie appeared right in front of the white pony’s face. Aiden stared wide-eyed at the pink pony. “Uh, hi.” “So, do you want to have your welcome party now? Huh? Huh?” She started to jump up and down in a jittery fashion. He shook his head. “No thank you.” Pinkie’s demeanor changed after hearing this, and brought a hoof to her chin. “Why don’t you want a Pinkie Party?” “I’m not really the-” Aiden’s answer was interrupted by Rainbow Dash flying down in front of him. “Yeah! Why don’t you want her to throw you a party!?” “Well I-” “I mean, her parties are awesome.” “Please let me-” he was cut off once more. “Mhm. Nopony has ever turned down one of my parties before. Especially for three years, four months, twenty three days, five hours, forty minutes, and fifteen seconds!” Pinkie added. Aiden gritted his teeth as his patience wore thin from their constant interruptions. “Please! Leave me alone! Just go away, and let me go about my day in peace!” His yelling left him with his chest rising and falling with violent puffs. Rainbow Dash took a defensive stance in front of Pinkie Pie, and took a defensive stance. “What’s your problem anyway?!” “What’s my problem? What’s my problem?! I don’t like it when I’m constantly asked “Oh you want to party” because that drives me insane!” Aiden's voice got much louder for everypony to hear. He got stares from ponies whom happened to pass by to witness the situation. He just ignored it all. Dash’s glare sharpened. “You’re right! You are insane!” “Just leave me alone.” “Better yet: why don’t you leave?” Aiden’s mouth fell agape and he thought long and hard about Rainbow’s retort. Why didn’t he just leave? Maybe it was because he felt more at peace here than back on Earth where he always lived his life on the run. Here he didn’t have to run, he hid in case some bad people managed find their way into Equestria, then he wouldn’t be to blame for the torment they would have to go through. So, he always kept his distance; observing from afar. It was because he wanted to keep them safe. The stallion put his head down in remorse from his outburst. “I-I’m sorry. I’m just not one for parties.” He took a long glance at Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. “Please, I just want to be left alone. I didn’t mean to yell like that.” Rainbow Dash’s gaze softened. “I-yeah. Sorry I yelled. See ya around.” With that, the pegasus took flight and left. Pinkie went up to Aiden with an apologetic smile. “It’s fine if you don’t want a welcome party. I understand if you don’t want to, but it would be nice if you did. Can you think about it maybe? It would be really super duper terrific if you did.” He took in some air and let it out slowly. “I don’t know, Pinkie. I don’t think you’d feel safe around me.” Pinkie gave a puzzled stare. “Why wouldn’t anypony feel safe around you? You’re always roaming around Ponyville with your little notepad and pencil.” “I’m just not comfortable okay? I don’t really speak with the other ponies for this long anyway. So please, leave me alone.” “Well, the option is always open incase you change your mind!” Pinkie turned around and slowly headed back inside Sugarcube Corner with less bounce in her step. ‘Did I really have to be so hard on her?’ Aiden thought. ‘I guess it wouldn’t hurt to one of these days reveal myself. Maybe those Hunters will never find a way to Equestria. Nobody knows about even half of the spells I created and casted. Being secretive can have its perks at times, but maybe this is one of those occasions where it isn’t.’ He thought deeper and deeper about the situation as he continued his exploration of Ponyville. He came across the market place and saw all the ponies sitting around at stalls eating, and waiting in line to purchase their goods. Aiden already had some notes about the many things ponies ate, but what he couldn’t wrap his head around is how they could hold some of these items in their hooves. It always caused his brows to furrow at the fact that was the one things he could never do while in his pony form. He always relied on his magic, and could never use his hooves like they could. That was one of the few things that made him stand out amongst the other equines. ***** Aiden continued to trot through Ponyville, taking notes on things he might have missed during his time in Equestria. He managed to fill a few pages in just a couple of hours. He then looked up at the sky with much vigor, and took in the deepest breath he could. He let out the air pour out from his lungs. He stared upwards at the blue veil for a few moments and whispered to himself. “Cloudsdale. One day I will reach you.” Aiden has heard much about Cloudsdale over the years, but he wasn’t really able to get there. Only pegasi could walk on clouds and had the ability to fly because they were born with wings. He didn’t think of it much as a problem with his human form because with just a simple spell, he could get there; but with his current form, he could not. The thought of getting there one day always made him giddy with excitement. He just needed to figure out how he would do it in his pony form. He didn’t put much thought into it at the moment because he was more determined to take more notes about the world that was currently accessible to him. He travelled to a local train station where he stood in awe at the fact that ponies even had trains to begin with. They seemed so medieval that he thought nothing of it. It didn’t occur to him until now to go around and explore more of this fascinating world. Aiden brought his notepad before him and scribbled away at the information he could attain without directly asking for it. “The Friendship Express,” he muttered. The sides of his lips turned up, and his eyes gazed upon the train in front of him. He would have to ride the train later just to see more of this fascinating world, but he didn’t have that kind of time right then. He had only about an hour left before the effects of the potion start to wear off. That was time he couldn’t afford to waste. With his newly jotted notes, he turned and happily trotted away from the station. As he took his leave, he could remember how perfectly aligned the rails were. How did ponies even do all of this with just hooves? Even the train itself had a an appealing design. He was aesthetically drawn to it all. The best part was that he finally knew how to get to Canterlot. After the few years he had spent there, he never really found the time to explore every area of Ponyville, especially the train station. Instead, Aiden always ended up couping himself up in his lab to create spells, study, and find ways to strengthen the effects of his ponfication potions so they would have a much longer duration. ***** Aiden trotted back through Ponyville to explore more of the town with what time he had left before the potions wears off. He picked a direction and stuck with it. He continued his way down the road until he came across an orchard of apple trees. With much curiosity, he traversed through the orchard as he jotted down notes in his notepad. The sight never ceased to amaze him everytime he visited it. That was until he saw Applejack bucking the trees. This was the first time he saw the mare somewhere other than her stall in the market. There was something about her that caught his attention. Maybe it was because she reminded him of his home back on Earth. His eyes glazed over as his mind drifted back to remember a crush he had way back then. He had been with a girl for a few years prior to him entering Equestria. He found many things in common with her such as her being country girl just as he was a country boy. Both their families lived on farms, and they both enjoyed country music. Everything was going well for them. That was until some things happened and he had to leave her and his home behind. “Uh, hello? You there?” Applejack asked as she waved a hoof in front of his face. Aiden blinked a few times and shook his head. “Oh um, sorry. I just spaced out.” Applejack raised a brow at him. “Y’all stood there looking like a zompony or somethin’.” “My apologies, I’ll get going. I’m trespassing.” “Are ya okay, partner?” “N-yes. I’m fine.” “You sure? ‘Cause you look like you need some rest.” Aiden’s cheeks turned up a little. “Yeah, rest. I’ll go get some. It’s time for me to get going anyway.” “Why not rest here for the night? We got plenty of room.” Applejack insisted. He didn’t want to turn her offer down, but he had to. His current form wasn’t going to last much longer. From what he could gather from the sun’s current position, he estimated that he had less than half an hour. “I am sorry, but I really gotta get home. I’ve got some rather important things to do.” He explained. Applejack cocked a brow. “What kind of important things?” “Uh….really important ones.” Aiden sighed. “Listen, if I stay at your place, it won’t end well. Okay?” “Ah’ guess ah’ understand. Just be sure to get that rest okay?” It’s funny, really. Aiden always wondered why she showed him such hospitality. Sure they had a few talks, but they were always very brief. She really did remind him of his family when it came to things like this. Whenever someone needed a place to stay, his folks opened their door to them. Or if someone needed some help, they’d help them. She was just that trusting even after only a few chats here and there. They barely even knew each other, but he’d always bring himself to smile at the mare. Aidan looked at Applejack with a weak smile. “Thanks,” he said as he turned around and walked away. “Anytime, Prism.” After he was out of sight, he put his head down. To his dismay, he knew he had developed feelings for her, but he couldn’t act on them. Interspecies relationships were just….weird. He was a human, and she was a pony though. It was just the way things were; and as long as he had the fear of being followed, he would not involve himself with her or any of the other ponies’ lives. ***** Aiden quickened his pace as he saw the sun beginning to move behind the mountains. He was almost in the Everfree, just running along the outskirts. As he entered the forest, he felt his body begin to change shape. He fell to the ground in agonizing pain as his bones twisted and writhed within his body. He always wanted to scream when he was transforming back, but he would just bite his lip and hold it in. His limbs expanded and his bones started to regrow, pushing against the surface of his skin. His white fur started to thin out and disappear from his body. His body started to change back to its original human appearance. Aiden felt his eyes water as he endured the painful process, not wanting to let out the slightest peep. After the transformation process was over, he laid there on the ground, gasping for breath, for a few brief moments. He struggled to his feet, but with his body weakened, he could barely manage to walk even an inch. A few pained steps later, one of his servants managed to spot him. It was one of his Sentinels. The ethereal creature looked at the pain its master was in, and decided to find a way to stop it. So it picked him up and carried him to his house. Aiden, with a bit more of strength, had enough energy to walk over to his door and turn the knob. He looked back at the Sentinel and nodded while giving his thanks. The creature dissipated and reformed along the boundary lines to continue its patrol. Aiden finally entered his house.’That took much longer than it usually did,’ he pondered. He had used a particular blue plant in this formula, but after he found out some of its negative effects, he had to find something else to counteract it. Thinking conservatively, he simply chose a few ingredients from a remedy so the effects would wear off eventually. He had to be careful about it though; one tiny miscalculation and he could end up being a pony for a while; a long while. He made his way down the hall and entered his bed room. His walls were covered with posters of famous rock bands from his world. Pushed up against the wall on the other end of the room was his bed, and to the left of it was a small nightstand with a reading lamp on it. In the drawers were either books of his liking, or tomes filled with spells he created himself. One such spell in one of those books was the one that got him to Equestria. He stumbled over to his bed and collapsed on it, his face smashing into the mattress. While he laid there, Aiden thought. His mind wandered for a bit, but eventually came to think about the other human that had recently appeared in Equestria. From what he could gather and witness, the man’s name was Lucien, and he spent a lot of time hanging around Twilight. There were some rumors floating around about how he caused the invasion of monsters from Earth during the last Winter, but he couldn’t prove anything. Honestly, Aiden didn’t care much about what the man was doing in Equestria, but he was still suspicious of him. Aiden felt a disturbing tide of feelings overwhelm him. His fingers twitched and clawed at his mattress. He was unable to do much about it because his body had given in to the exhaustion of the day’s events. His eyelids slowly made their way over his eyes. He finally drifted off to sleep to get much needed rest, for he had a feeling tomorrow would hold surprises around every corner.