//------------------------------// // Chapter 01 - Arrival // Story: Game of Fate // by ZekeDraco //------------------------------// Game of Fate - Chapter 1 - Arrival Armor...Worthless. Attempts to evade...Worthless. Identifying Light...Unsuccessful. Movement restricted, armor fractured, crushing weight of possibilities. A little monitor went red as it flew off with fragments of armor. ------------------- ----[ ??? ----- This was the second time she was pushed into another dimension like this, the walls of other dimensions closed in on her, pushing and crushing her until she reached her destination. She laid there her body ravaged, the new transmod hadn't done its job right and she was left as a lump of mangled flesh and fur where she landed. Her yellow fur covered most of her body, her underside and her paws shared the white color of her mane and tail. She looked like a fox but a bit different, the shape of her body suggested she was something else. Her muzzle wasn't thin like a fox, it seemed broader. Her ears were naturally pointed back and could only swivel slightly. She had a mane that went from the top of her head to around her neck and shoulders, and down her chest. It looked like she landed in a peaceful field, no one around for miles, maybe some wildlife, but that was it. With no visible threats in sight, she pushed onto her legs as pain shot through her and blurred her vision, she stifled a yelp and tried to step forward but a loud snap came from one of her front legs as it buckled under her. With a thud she landed on her side and aggravated several injuries. She let out a scream mixed with a snarl and started to fade into unconsciousness. As the world around her slowly became dark she saw as a white blur, an orange blur, and a yellow blur appeared in the distance. All she could do was listen, she heard a squeak before a voice with a southern drawl started to talk, "What in all Equestria?!" A second followed the first, it had more of a trans-atlantic tone to it, "She was moving a moment ago." "She's hurt badly. Come on! Get 'er on me!" A very soft and very shocked voice spoke out, "Oh...my..." For a moment sounds slurred together as she felt something move her. The trans-atlantic voice spoke again, "Is that?", it became loud, "Is that Blood?!" "Darn straight it is, come on!", The southern voice replied. "O-ok!", the soft voice responded. She started shift and a quickly stopped. The southern voice took a more commanding tone, "Steady 'er with yer magic!" She became balanced again and the soft voice spoke again, "I-I'll help keep her on you." "What about her...", the trans-atlantic voice asked. The southern voice shouted, "Ta Tartarus with her jewelry!" "But..." "Move!" She could feel a fast rhythmic movement start that didn't let her body try to recooperate, she coughed and a moment later she vomitted something warm with an iron taste. All three voices gasped and the trans-atlantic one shouted, "Gracious!" The southern voice shouted out again, "We need ta keep movin'!" Things became slurred again as only the soft voice could pierce through her dulled hearing, "Please don't leave...We're getting you somewhere...Please..." ------------------- ----[ ??? ----- She could see past her burnt furless chest as a silver lynx held his paw under her chin. He turned to someone she couldn't see, "She's hurt!" The voice of the other one was deep and objective, "Sir, she could be a threat!" He yowled at the other person, "I don't care if she's a threat!" "But, sir!" "Get a doctor, NOW!" A little dragonling with light blue scales climbed into her sight, the plates along the front of his body were hidden by the little shirt he wore. He looked at her and asked, "D-dwaggyfoff?" ------------------- ----[ ??? ----- Her eyes opened and started to focus, she placed a paw on her muzzle and quietly groaned. She knew her body had recovered because of her Expander trait, How long have I been out? As the color returned to the world she started to test her mind, DM Dimensional Travel protocol, Section 5, "With the inclusion of expanders capable of altering the size of themselves, the use of the expander growth or reduction abilities is not allowed unless used in defense against certain creatures but not on local sentient beings. Any other use will result in disciplanary action to be determined by the offending operative's commander(s) during debriefing or in the field depending on severity of the violation." That sounds right. She looked around, I'm still not going to use it for that, it doesn't feel right. Details in the room came into focus. The cieling was an off olive green with a swirl that was a lighter green, the walls were made of blue-ish aqua panels, she followed the swirl on the cieling with her eyes and at went past a curtain rod. She looked across the room at the bed on the otherside of the open curtain, "Hm?" She squinted and looked at the silhouette of the being that was asleep in the bed. In an attempt to sit up she pushed an end table away from her bed, the lamp tried to topple over but she quickly grabbed onto it and steadied it, Reflexes are returning. Her second attempt to stand was more successful, until she tried to stay standing on two legs. She lost her balance and quickly fell onto all fours, the rush cleared away some of the foggy feeling in her mind, No balance yet, I'll stay like this for now. The floor had tiles that alternated between light and dark shades of tan, This floor is clean at least., she paused and looked around again. This time she noticed the wall mounted machines above the beds and the small intercom on the wall, A hospital room? She continued to the other bed and took a look at the occupant. The body cast on the being was wrapped around a head with a broad, flat muzzle. The two left hooves of the being weren't wrapped but the rest of the legs were, this being had a coat that was a lighter shade of gray-blue than the wall panels. She thought carefully and decided that this being could have hailed from the Ayis star system, the closest match being the equine Mahra or Stallis. She moved away from the bed to try and not disturb this poor being any more than she might have already. As her legs worked to pull her back away, she came to the realization that she had taken an altered form, a form she was familiar with. Immediately gears spun in her head, in one grand conclusion she knew exactly what dimension she was squeezed into and that this being was actually a Pony Stallion. She looked at him again, It has to be, I can't take this form voluntarily. This has to be Equestria, but if I was forced into this existence, than this will be a different Equestria. I get a fresh start, a chance not to be known as one of the six beings that tore half of Canterlot apart. A breeze from the window blew a leaf past her as she summed up the possibilities. "Yes!" The door to the room opened and a brown maned, orange-yellow Unicorn Stallion entered. He seemed rather surprised to see Elise out of her bed, "How in... You must be more eager to be up and about than some of my other patients." Elise looked at him questioningly, "What do you mean?" The doctor magically levitated her medical charts close to his face and analyzed them, "According to this, when you were brought in you had several broken bones and severe internal injuries. Medically speaking you shouldn't even be standing right now, or walking around, or even conscious for that matter." Elise grinned, "I'm a fast healer, a very fast healer." "I still have to ask how are you standing? You vomitted blood in the ER! Twice!" "Like I said, I have an advanced rate of regeneration. As long as I don't move around too fast I can quickly recover from injuries." "Or you're just good at hiding your pain, if you would kindly climb back into your bed we can begin applying your casts before you damage anything else in your body by simply moving." She thought for a moment, "Let me ask you this: If I weren't capable of regenerating so quickly, wouldn't the loss of blood leave me in a near comatose state?" "Yes, you have a point there. However I am more than aware that there are some creatures that can force their bodies to maintain a proper shape regardless of broken bones. Which, according to your medical chart you have 59 different broken bones." "And if said bones were still broken wouldn't I be unable to sustain this conversation due to the pain?" "Considering that all but one of your ribs were broken, you wouldn't be able to, not without stressing yourself. Then there's the fact that you are standing with a cracked vertebrae, when you were brought in your hind legs were limp." "How about a wager?" He looked at her suspiciously, "What?" "If you take another X-ray, you'll see that I'm fine. My bones have all mended and nothing is going on inside of me. If I'm wrong, I'll let you apply a body cast without any resistance." He thought about it for a moment, "Alright, to do that you need to get back in bed first. So, if you'd please." Elise wandered to the bed and climbed back in, as she did Nurse Redheart pushed in a cart with a bowl and the resources necessary to make a large number of casts. She looked at Elise then to the doctor, "Doctor Hoovington? Was she?" He nodded, "Yes, she was up and about.", he used his magic to levitate a small film into the air above Elise and released a spell that copied an image of her skeleton to it. The film levitated back to the doctor and he took a close look, he did a double take and looked even closer, "Well, I'll be a Windigo's uncle, when you were brought in all of your legs were broken, and all but one of your ribs, now they're all fine. Even the cracks on your vertebrae and your skull have healed up. You went from 59 broken bones to none, in six hours! How-how is this even possible?" Elise climbed back out of the bed, "Just because of what I am." The doctor looked at her, thinking about what she could be, "Well, you aren't a pony, that's a given. Not a gryphon, not even a dragon, or a Manticore. I've never seen a fox grow any larger than a small dog, And you don't seem mystical or mythical. Alright I'll bite, what exactly are you miss?" "Half-breed. Half Vix--erm--Fox and half Dragon." "Half Fox? Half Dragon? That just raises further questions." Elise scratched behind her head, "I get that a lot." "I'm sure you do, but there isn't enough time to address every one of them." "Why not?" The doctor took out a quill with his magic and wrote on her charts, "I'm a doctor, not a biologist. As for records, I'll need your age and your name." "Oh. I'm twenty years of age, and my name is Elise..." "Alright, I suppose that since you've...uhm... recovered so quickly, you are free to go." "How much do I owe for your services?" Nurse Redheart looked at Elise, "The mares that brought you here already paid for your admission and opened a small credit line with additional bits in case we needed to do anything serious." Elise looked at Nurse Redheart, "Any idea who they were?" She thought for a moment, "I've seen them a few times in the last few months. Ah, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack." "I suppose I'll visit them and thank them for helping me." "Considering how bad you were, I think you mean 'saving' not 'helping'." The doctor looked at Nurse Redheart, "Nurse, why don't you go and escort Miss Elise to the front desk." Nurse Redheart nodded, "Alright." "Elise, if you follow Nurse Redheart, she can check you out and offer you a refund of any extra bits." Elise nodded, "Thank you." As the doctor went to check on Elise's room-mate, Nurse Redheart turned to her, "This way please." She nodded and started following her down the hallway past a large number of doors. Most of them were open and the rooms unoccupied, a curious sight to her. For a small hospital it was void of hurt ponies, apparently the populace was careful, very careful. Elise quietly followed Nurse Redheart along other hallways until they arrived at a set of doors. ------------------- ----[ Main Lobby ----- The doors swung open as the two approached, the lobby shared the same color scheme as the room Elise was in. The only thing different is that there were painted lines along the floor as guides to different parts of the hospital. Nurse Redheart walked to the front desk as Elise counted the empty chairs in the lobby, and the lone mare with a gray coat, a blonde mane and tail, and her eyes looking in two different directions. At the front desk Nurse Redheart counted up 79 bits and placed them on the table in a small bag, "Out of the 97 bits they had on hoof your six hour stay cost 18 bits. So here's the remaining 79." Elise bowed her head, "Thank you." "Now be safe, you can heal quickly but it might not be worth the pain." "I'll be careful. Say, that pony I shared a room with, what happened?" "Lucky? A week ago he galloped under a falling piano. Everypony kept warning him that Derpy isn't all that coordinated, but he was convinced his unusual good luck made him immortal." Derpy kinda shuffled into her chair, "I just don't know what went wrong." Elise scratched her head, "Oh, is he all paid for?" "He's got about 69 bits left to cover.", she paused as Elise took 10 bits from the bag and placed it closer to her, "That's very generous." "He's had enough bad luck for a while." "I'll let Doctor Hoovington know. For now, here's your discharge papers.", She pushed a rolled up scroll towards Elise. She took the scroll and tucked it between her mane and her left ear, "Thank you. I'll see you around.", she turned and walked away. Nurse Redheart grinned a little, "Hopefully not around here." Derpy got up and moved close to Elise, "Hey...uhm...I was gonna do that." She looked at her, "Oh, I didn't mean to..." Derpy smiled, "It's ok. I can give you the spare bits I was gonna give them.", she reached into her right saddlebag. Involuntarily she extended the wing for a moment before she quickly folded it, "Ow!" "What's wrong?" "I was delivering a big hammer to a griffin, when it slipped out of my mailbag and this sharp edge on it cut my wing." "A warhammer? I didn't know you could mail those." "You can't, somepony gave me a request personally." "Well, I hope your wing heals." Derpy smiled, "I hope so too. Uhm... can you reach into my saddlebag and get my bag of bits?" "Sure.", Elise reached in with her paw and took out a small bag, "This one?" "That's the one! I brought 20 bits for Lucky, so you can have them instead." "Thank you.", Elise took 20 bits out of the bag, "Should I put it back in?" Derpy shook her head, "No, I'll take that. Thanks...uhm...what's your name?" She placed the bag on the ground, "Elise. What's yours?" "Ditzy Do, but some ponies call me Derpy. If you need something delivered, you can count on me.", she picked up the bag with her teeth and walked to the front desk. Elise watched her for a moment then pushed open the front door. ------------------- ----[ Hospital Exterior ----- Outside of the hospital was a well cared for lawn that surrounded the dirt pathway to Ponyville. The warm afternoon sun was shining brightly, not a single cloud was drifting along in the clear blue sky, and Elise could see why as a bright aqua colored Pegasus was patrolling the area for any loose cloud cover. A grin crept along her muzzle as she thanked luck for her having her summer coat. She began to walk calmly along the path that would take her to Ponyville. No need to hurry, she thought to herself, While Hirana is repairing the Transmod I have all the time in this world to do my mission. Her mind cranked out a worst-case scenario that made her pause, Assuming she can repair it. She looked up at the empty skies, I'm the only other connection to the existence we came from. If I can't return to our 'new' home dimension, then little Follow won't be able to learn about where he really came from. He's too young to remember much more than his family, Nathaniel, Zeke, even Ticier. A happy high-pitched, "Nafe!", sounded inside of her mind and she calmed down, He's always so optimistic, like any child should be. He would probably find a way to save me, or just plain be happy. She smiled and started walking again, I guess this is as close to a mother I'll ever want to get. I should be able to handle him. I'm a half-breed, half Vixaen and half Gaudis Draconian. My mind and feet will be quick like the canid Vixaen, that should let me keep up with him. My other half is that of the draconic royal guard, the bipedal dragons that stand between the king of the dragons and any murderous scourge, my hide is thick and all the elements don't affect me as much. I'll be ready for the light blue scaled, Azuri Dragonling's ice breath sneezes. All I need to do at this point is find a way back to that dimension, so that I can be there for him in the absence of his mother, Myri. Her mind drifted back to before her ill-fated dimensional transfer, Hirana and Fyren, they won't leave me here. They'll fix things, they'll come looking for me. She paused again, her ears sagging a little, So will my Fyren, the one from my home existence. Memories started to flow as she started to saunter along the path once more. She recalled the Human named Letty, Why did he always wear those light blue glasses? Why did he always fall asleep playing with that paddleball...How did he keep going and counting in his sleep?! Images of Letty's sister, Melody surfaced, To be able to do complicated surgery with a chainsaw, how is that possible? The image of a bi-pedal dragon covered in tan scales surfaced, Lynn, the only Wyvern Huntress I know who could draw blood from a stone, and enjoy it. A mechanical Draconian appeared in her mind, Vathar, a kindred weapon, maybe your going on about your perfection is your imperfection. Tons of other images surfaced, one after another reminding her of the existence she hailed from and how far away it was. Beings that grew up normally, beings that were meant to be weapons, and even the long dead beings that wanted the destruction of both types. She had formed bonds with all her allies and all her friends in the Dimensional Mercenaries, one even surprised her. The image of a black scaled, deep gray plated Draconian with glowing red eyes appeared. He didn't seem like he would be a threat until he drew the sword from underneath his robes, and caused the magic infused blade's fragments start circling him. His cold demeanor sent chills along her spine as he recited words that were a threat to her, as the mouth of the image moved in her mind she subtly said aloud, "There's no place for organic weapons in any world, they can learn to act like others, can learn to feel like others, but deep down there is a chain that forever brands a weapon as a weapon." She paused as the image turned and walked into the black void of her mind, she shook her head and laughed a little, "Maybe by going after Follow, I not only saved him from harm, but I may have kept him from knowing Dracire." She continued along letting more memories, happy memories flow, losing herself in them. ------------------- ----[ Pathway ----- The other end of the path had a different scene, a pack of mares were traveling to the hospital. Three were walking, two were flying, and one was bouncing along in the colorful equine ensemble. The lavender library-dwelling literature loving leader at the front of the group was reluctant in traveling today but stories from her friends had piqued her curiosity, and this unicorn wanted to satisfy it, whether or not it was true. "Rarity, could you tell me exactly how this happened again? Nothing simply appears without some trace of magic." A white unicorn with curled purple mane and tail cleared her throat and spoke with her trans-atlantic voice, "I'll say it one last time, Twilight, she simply appeared from nowhere. There was no flash, no plume of smoke, and no spectacle aside from that dreadful landing." A colorfully maned, cyan Pegasus let out a sigh, "Rarity, it sounds to me like you guys found somepony who lost her balance and fell through a cloud." Rarity looked up, "I told you, Rainbow Dash, there was nothing she could have hit aside from the ground." An blonde maned, freckled orange pony wearing a brown Stetson looked up at Rainbow Dash, her southern drawl challenged what the Pegasus said, "RD, you of all ponies should know, twern't a single cloud in the sky this mornin'! An' there still ain't, this girl jus' showed up outta the blue and hit the ground harder than a chopped down tree. Right, Fluttershy?" A butter yellow Pegasus with a pink mane and tail nodded, "She was hurt so badly, when we found her, I-I was afraid she wouldn't make it. Oh, I hope they've been helping her." The pink party pony kept bouncing along, "Hey, maybe when she's all better we could throw her two parties in one! Both a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party and a 'Congratulations-you-just-got-better' party! It'll be a double blast!" Twilight looked back at her while still marching forward, "Pinkie, I think you might be getting a little ahead of yourself. First off, there's no way a fox could be as big as a pony. They usually don't get any bigger than a little foal. Second, if she was as bad as Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity said she was, she might not be out for a few--" Twilight ran into something and fell on her haunches, "-- hours?!" Elise snapped back to reality and looked down at Twilight, "Huh? Oh, I wasn't looking where I was going. Sorry." Twilight looked at Applejack who grinned and said, "Now do ya believe us, Twi?" Twilight jumped onto her hooves and started looking over Elise, "I thought you said she was badly hurt." Rarity was intrigued, "She was, honest." Rainbow Dash let out a sigh, "Knowin' you, Rare, she had a paper cut." Applejack looked up at Dash, "Then who's blood was I washin' offa me when ya came to the farm!" Rainbow Dash twitched, "That was blood?!" "Like Big Macintosh always says, 'Eeeeeyup'." Twilight stopped examining Elise, "It's impossible for anything to heal so quickly, especially from what you described. Where are the casts? The bandages? The heart monitor? The iron lung?!" Elise reached up and took the scroll from the hospital from her mane, "I can heal fast. Very fast. Here...", she offered the scroll to Twilight who opened it with her magic and read it. Dash moved closer to Elise with Fluttershy close by. Twilight's eyes widened as she read, "Half-breed? Fox and Dragon? How is that possible?! Well, I suppose that half-dragon factor is what let you heal quickly, since they usually get so big they have to heal quickly from territorial fights." Pinkie jumped forward and smiled widely at Elise, "HI! I'm Pinkie Pie! Who are you? You're somepony new aren'tcha!" "Pinkie? Oh... Yes... I'm Elise," she had to remind herself that this pink party pony hadn't met her before. Fluttershy moved next to Pinkie, "I'm so happy that you recovered, I was so worried." Dash landed next to Fluttershy, "Say, if you're half-dragon where are your wings? You've gotta be old enough to have 'em." Twilight looked at Dash, "Dash, it's possible that she didn't get that from being a half-breed. Which brings up the question, how did you get up there?" Elise looked at the group, "I'd...rather not say." Dash raised a brow, "And why not?" Applejack looked at Dash, "And why don't ya not ask why not. Th' important thing here is that she fell." Pinkie smiled, "Hey! I'm gonna throw you a double party for getting well so quick and for coming to Ponyville, and I'm gonna invite everypony! There's so much to do! I've gotta go get started!", Pinkie vanished leaving behind only a pink blur. Twilight, Elise, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity just watched as the blur vanished. Twilight broke the silence and offered a hoof to Elise, "I suppose we should introduce ourselves.", it took a moment for Twilight to raise her hoof high enough to try and offer a hoofshake to the half-breed standing twice her height, "I'm Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia." Elise picked up a front leg and wrapped her paw around the offered hoof, "It's a pleasure to meet you." Again. Once they shook paw-to-hoof Twilight looked away and Dash dashed between her and the half-breed, "I'm Rainbow Dash, the most awesome flier in all Equestria." "I'll take your word on that." Applejack tipped her hat to hide her rolling eyes, "Name's Applejack, ah work over at Sweet Apple Acres." "Nurse Redheart told me that you helped get me to the hospital. Thank you." "Twern't any trouble." Fluttershy stood next to Applejack, "I'm... Fluttershy." Elise bowed and recognized the voice, "I don't think I could have left without saying thank you for your help." Fluttershy smiled as Rarity stepped forward, "I'm Rarity, if you ever need a dress, then please ask for my help." "And thank you for helping, too." "Well, yes. A-as much as it pains me to say this, your jewelry has crumbled away." Elise looked at her, "Jewelry?" Rarity levitated a crystal out of her saddle bags, "All that I have left in one piece is this one crystal." Elise recognized the shape of the degrading crystal, it was a part of the crystalline armor she formed to protect herself before her landing, "Thank you for saving what was left. I should be able to repair it." "Perhaps I could be of assistance?" "I wouldn't want to trouble you with having to learn Draconic magic." Twilight raised a brow, "A unicorn can't learn dragon magic, but I suppose a half-dragon could." Rarity heaved a sigh, "I suppose." Applejack looked at Elise, "Looks ta me like you were headin' towards Ponyville, and now that we've bumped into ya, I guess we're headin' back that way too." Elise knew that even though she had won the trust of Pinkie Pie, the town crier and party planner, her obviously large stature and half-breed nature would at least spark some fears. If she could stay with the main ponies of this town, maybe there would be no panic. She grinned nervously, "Could I stay with you ladies for a while? I'm new to town and don't want to get lost." Twilight nodded, "Of course! I might want to ask you some questions about your nature." "I guess that's alright." "Really? Great! I'll run back to the library and retrieve a few books and a list of questions.", she galloped away. Uhm... ------------------- ----[ Ponyville Marketplace ----- All of Ponyville had to be out today, the marketplace was packed with so many ponies that there was hardly any breathing room. All the stands were selling fruits and vegetables of all sorts. Apples, carrots, celery stalks, oranges, corn, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage, cherries, cucumbers and bananas; and that only covered about a twelfth of the variety Elise could spot as she followed the other five mares. The introductions didn't seem necessary to Elise, until she reminded herself that a different existence has different timelines for each of the dimensions within it, and since she hadn't been to this version of Equestria nobody knew her. Though, the curious mares examining her was a little less desirable than getting the full introduction to each of the mares she somewhat knew already. Rainbow Dash was eyeing where her wings would be, trying to figure out how something half-dragon had no wings. Twilight returned with two books from the library, one on mythological beings and the other on common fauna. Fluttershy was watching to make sure that Elise was moving alright, and that she wasn't faking recovery. Now I understand why Fyren said being the first to a new world can be uncomfortable., Elise thought to herself. Fluttershy paused and looked at the long line for a tomato cart, "I need to get some tomatoes, I'll...catch up later." Applejack nodded, "Alrighty, I'll need ta go see if Bloom's been doin' a good job with th' apple cart." Fluttershy got in the tomato line while Applejack galloped along towards the apple cart. Twilight looked up from the two books and levitated a list of questions with a quill, "So according to these you could be either Lithovoric or Carnivorous. Do you know which one?" Elise hesitated, "I couldn't eat anything like a rock, I'll eat most anything else." The quill marked the parchment, "Omnivorous, alright. The next question becomes..." "I wouldn't eat a pony." Twilight looked up at her, "Well, that question, too. Have you exhibited any habits of dragons?" "Like?" "Hoarding things?" "No." The quill moved and wrote again, "Do you have fire breathing ability?" Rarity got between Twilight and Elise, "Twilight, darling, you do not need to bombard this young lady with so many questions so soon. She can tell you what you need to know whenever she's ready." "But..." Elise looked at her, "She's right. I've got a lot on my mind, please let me resolve my own questions first." Twilight closed the books and let them slide into her saddlebags with her list of questions, "Sorry." "I understand that you want to know about me, but... I don't know if it's time yet." "You will let me know when you want to, right?" Elise grinned, "Of course, it shouldn't be too long." The small group worked their way to the apple cart where both Applejack and Apple Bloom were selling apples. Apple Bloom quickly looked at Elise and galloped over, "Hi, Miss! Can ah interest ya in some quality Apple family Apples?" Applejack called out to her little sister, "Apple Bloom! Get back over here." Apple Bloom looked back at her sister, "But Sis..." Applejack wandered over, "This young lady is Elise, she's the one we found this mornin'." "Th' one who was badly hurt?" "Yep, she can heal right quick compared to other things." "Really? How long does it take for a cut ta heal? Can you break a leg and walk away?" "Apple Bloom!" Apple Bloom pulled back, "Oop, sorry..." Elise grinned, "That's alright, she's young." Applejack grinned, "She still needs ta learn to be respectful of others, but she's doin' well." Bloom smiled, "Thanks, Big Sis." Pinkie Pie appeared from nowhere, "Hey Elise! Your party is all set up!" She stared at Pinkie for a moment, "That was quick!" Rarity shrugged a little, "It's what she does, darling." ------------------- ----[ Ponyville Streets ----- That evening the party was in full swing, ponies to the left, to the right, and up above. Everypony was having a great time as Pinkie threw a doozy of a double-party. Elise was happy to be there, if she had lived as a kit or youngling, she would probably think of youthful times. This sensation was new to her and she truly enjoyed it, getting into the spirit of partying nearly as much as the host. Party sweets to eat, party appetizers to sample, just plain party everything all around! The only thing that could've made this greater would be if she had Follow with her. She took solace in the fact that she didn't try to bring the youngling. If she had tried to bring Follow along, he may not have survived the botched transfer. The ponies all around her were familiar, even if they didn't know her, still they enjoyed Pinkie's Parties enough to want join in the festivities. A conga line formed behind Elise and she had to go with the flow. Some time went by and she was starting to feel drained, normally her body recovered from any exhausting activity within seconds but for some reason it wasn't. She decided to wander a little in the hopes of finding some place to rest for a moment. A moment's reprieve could be found at a park table where she found Twilight. Even at a party she was buried in books, Elise sat next to her, "Having fun?" Twilight looked at her, "I guess, isn't this a party for you?" "Of course, but shouldn't everyone have some fun?" "Everyone? I guess. Everypony certainly is." "Still, why bring a book to such a celebration?" "Like I told Pinkie, I've been doing some research lately." "On?" "There are theories that it's possible to create magic powered devices capable of things that normal machines and unicorns aren't. I've been trying to find a way to find the right balance between the two." "That is a curious field of research, even if it has potential for good, evil, maybe even rifts between." Twilight seemed surprised, "I know of both the good and evil sides, but I didn't think anypony else would be interested in that combined field." "You wouldn't believe me if I told you what I've seen", with that Elise seemed to drift away into a snooze. Twilight looked at her, "You know something...don't you..." Elise curled up mumbling something that Twilight managed to pick up on before entering a soft snore. Pinkie wandered over and looked at the sleeping half-breed, "Aw, there were still so many games we had left to play." "Pinkie, could you see if Applejack could come and help us move her someplace?" "Okie-dokie-loki!", Pinkie bounced away. Twilight lowered her head down close to Elise's muzzle and started listening. ------------------- ----[ Pathway to Sweet Apple Acres ----- Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight were all walking along the path to the apple farm. Both Applejack and Pinkie were pulling along a small wooden cart that Elise was asleep in. Twilight was keeping up with them, watching Elise's peaceful face as she rested. Pinkie smiled, "That was so great a party, she's just so tired from all the excitement!" Applejack nodded, "Ah reckon' that she enjoyed herself like a little foal." Twilight looked at Applejack briefly, "Applejack, thank you for taking her in." "T'ain't nothin' to it, Twi, she's a guest here and she needs some shelter from th' night." "But why would you want to take her to your barn? Why not the guest bedroom?" "She's bigger'n Big Macintosh, she'd have a mighty hard time movin' about the house. Well, without grazin' ev'ry doorframe an' ceilin' with her head." Elise mumbled in her sleep, "What if I can't be more than that..." Twilight listened closely, "Huh?" Applejack was even listening, "Sounds like she's got some dreams." "...Fyren I'm...daughter?" "Some personal one's at that." They continued along the path and kept a slow pace to not wake the half-breed, Twilight listening to the mumblings all the while. From what she was able to figure out, Elise knew somepony named Fyren, and somepony else named Follow. She guessed that Fyren might be a Dragon or a Fox, and is her father. As for Follow, she couldn't figure out much, just that he said "nafe" a lot, for some reason. Ramblings like these made her think back to a psychology book she read a week ago. These ramblings may mean that Elise was hiding things, serious things, Twilight was even starting to worry that she may not be as peaceful as she seemed throughout the day. Elise reached out a little, "F-follow...protect you..." Twilight kept watching her. "...not a weapon...defense..." She moved a little closer. "...not Fate...a weapon..." Why does she keep talking about weapons?, Twilight thought to herself. She looked at Applejack briefly and could tell that she was also listening in on the mumblings. "...not going to...mmf...stab me....slash me...all you like...stop you Arla..." Pinkie was even starting to listen at this point. Twilight moved closer to understand more of what she was saying. "...m not a weapon. I'm more than just..." Twilight counted another weapon reference, She must know about different weapons, she just keeps mentioning it. Elise's forelegs twitched, "...rend every ounce of flesh off of..." Twilight stepped back as the other two ponies paused. The mumblings got slightly louder, "...End the war across millennia...no more suffering...more worlds lost...I'm no weapon..." Twilight jumped back further as Elise's claws spread and encased themselves in crystals. "...end to bane of all...Fate..." The ponies looked at each other as the crystals cleared away and her paws relaxed. "Follow...not your mother...I will protect you...though I were...no need to cry..." Twilight looked at Applejack, her expression asked the unspoken question. Applejack shook her head, then nodded at Pinkie. The three continued along the path as a light in the farmhouse appeared in the distance. ------------------- ----[ Sweet Apple Acres ----- Big Macintosh had lain out a blanket over a pile of hay in the barn as Applejack and Pinkie both moved Elise close. They let her down onto the makeshift bed where she adjusted her position, and curled up into a sleeping ball of fur. The four ponies exited the barn, and as she closed the doors Applejack considered whether or not to latch the bolt incase her guest did something. She didn't lock the door, instead she just walked to the farmhouse with the others following her. Once inside she placed her Stetson on a hook near the front door and walked into the living room. Twilight was deep in thought, trying to figure out exactly what Elise had been through. The fireplace was lit only by a couple of smaller logs, keeping the living room warm compared to the cool temperature outside. Twilight finished running through what she could remember from this trip and that book, "I'm guessing that Elise has been through a lot more than just a rough landing." Applejack looked at her sternly, "Ah reckon that with all that weapon talk, she might know her way 'round some war zones." "Unless she's been living for thousands of years, she couldn't have been in any. Applejack, I'm not sure she just crashed here. I think she might have lost a fight." "Seems like it, ah thought that bit a jewelry Rarity picked up was a bit off, Elise made crystals appear as longer, sharper claws. That don't settle right with me." "In a way I'm glad she did that with only us around, if she did that in the middle of Ponyville with everypony around." "We'd have ev'rypony bein' 'fraida her like it use'ta be with Zecora." Twilight looked out the window, "Right. Maybe in the morning we can try to figure out what exactly is making her mumble in her sleep." "Twi, as much as ah'd like to know what all's goin' on inside that head of hers, I just can't shake th' feelin' that there might be some trouble brewin' with her, and we don't need ta risk it bein' caused by meddlin', ya hear?" Twilight nodded, "Yeah, I guess so. I'm going to go back to the library, I'll see you tomorrow." "Alrighty then, get some rest Twi." "You, too. Pinkie?" Pinkie peeked out of the kitchen, "Yeah?" "We should get back to Ponyville."