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// Everfree Encounters 
// Story: Their Otherworldly Grace 
// by MonoGlyph 
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	I felt increasingly paranoid on the days that followed. Had I actually met a changeling in the Archives? Why were the Volumes not on record? If I had encountered a changeling impersonating Luna, what reason could they have for giving me these books? Had I just imagined the whole thing? Meanwhile, my nightmares continued to get worse. I experienced visions of countless worlds across the stars and bug-eyed abominations from beyond the veil. In time, I stopped sleeping altogether. 
Autumn brought rain at last, in the form of brutal thunderstorms that struck various parts of Equestria indiscriminately. Trees and other debris covered the tracks, preventing trains from running. Until the train tracks were cleared, I had no means of getting to Canterlot and showing the Princess my books. A part of me was glad for the extra time with them. Frankly, I wasn’t sure what I’d say when I finally did get to the castle. Full disclosure would likely result in the confiscation of the Volumes, and I had barely put a dent in the first. 
To my growing irritation I was no longer alone in the library, so my work would be interrupted periodically. The nigh-uncontainable thunderstorms forced the Cloudsdale administration to evacuate the city in the clouds, for fear of errant lightning bolts. And so, Rainbow Dash asked to stay with me until the cantankerous weather passed. 
“Chief, you don’t look so hot. Maybe you should stop working so hard and get some R&R.”
I glared at her for some seconds. She was right, of course. My mane was unkempt, my eyes were glazed over and my legs felt as though they might snap beneath my weight. In retrospect, I might not have minded her presence as much if I was rested. As it was, I disregarded her advice. I had finally stumbled upon the first spell that the changeling tomes offered. I wasn’t going to lose my momentum now. 
This magic called for several physical ingredients, boar tusks, blood and spider silk among them. As if that wasn’t enough, casting the spell required a specialized altar surrounded by very specific runes. The spell itself was described simply as “creating life from the [lifeless]”. I‘d never pass up a chance to test out ancient arcane knowledge. The pegasi appeared to have gotten the rain under control for now. I took this chance to go out and ask a few favors of some friends. 
“Twilight dear, I might be a lot more receptive to the idea of giving you some of my prized spider silk if you would care to tell me why you want it in the first place.”
I looked at Rarity beseechingly. 
“Listen Rarity, we’re friends, right? Just this one time. Could you not ask me why I need the silk? I’d really rather not say.” 
She leaned past me to reach a sheet of royal blue fabric. 
“Well, I suppose if you really need the material, I’m obligated to help… But it’s not easy to collect, you know. I’ll expect payment eventually. And not for nothing, Twilight, but you really look like you’re not getting enough beauty sleep.”
I thanked her profusely and left with a small roll of the silk I sought. 
Fluttershy was more willing to help out, but I still had to play the friendship card to silence her questions. 
“Umm. I guess if you’re looking for boar tusks, that’s your own business… I don’t need them for anything, myself… So if you want, you can have a couple. B-by the way Twilight, don’t take this the wrong way, but you seem a little out of it today. Maybe you should…?”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Thanks for the tusks, Fluttershy. You’re a lifesaver.”
After dropping off the ingredients at the library, I traveled to the Everfree Forest to look for a discrete place to set up the required altar. I stuck to the outskirts, as I was familiar with some of the creatures that lived deeper in the wood and I wasn’t eager to run into any. 
Some hours passed. If it wasn’t for my navigation magic, I surely would have been lost. I had located a clearing which would serve my purposes nicely. I would need a pile of relatively small stones to serve as a hearth and a larger boulder for the lectern. The rain was picking up again. I made my way back home and tried to focus on the book again. I was vaguely aware that Rainbow Dash asked me where I’d been but I didn’t answer.
I had trouble staying awake that night. The gentle snores of Rainbow Dash and Spike started to get under my skin after a time. The darkness that filled the library took on various shapes. Squirming black forms surrounded me. I felt as though I was going to faint. Each time I nodded off a new scene unfolded beneath my eyelids and startled me awake. When Princess Celestia raised the sun that morning, I was a nervous wreck. Rainbow and Spike expressed their profound concern with my state. Or something. I wasn’t really listening. Focusing had become incredibly difficult. 
“It’s alright. I’m alright,” I managed, while trying to keep my breakfast down. “I have somewhere I need to be.”
“Do you need any help then?”
“No. No, thank you… It’s a personal errand.”
I sensed Rainbow and Spike exchange worried glances behind me as I left. 
I gathered some stone-cutting tools, the magical ingredients and the first Volume in a knapsack and brought a wheelbarrow to some of the old diamond mines scattered around near Ponyville. There I managed to find some rocks for the altar-to-be. It was fortunate that I could move the loaded wheelbarrow with my magic, as I certainly wouldn’t be able to lift it an inch otherwise, especially in my severely weakened state. It was noon by the time I finished relocating the boulders to the meadow in the Everfree Forest. Once I was there, my first task was to kill the plant life. I used a quick-acting pesticide that I’d purchased from Zecora in preparation some days ago. A sprinkle of the foul-smelling solution quickly wilted all the grass in the surrounding area. After the deed was done, I gathered the small stones into a circle in the center of the meadow. The last and most difficult task was to fashion the remaining boulder into a serviceable lectern and carve the correct runes into its sides. I have had no previous experience with stonework and the progress was slow. Eventually I managed to bury the bottom half of the stone in the ground and chip the top into a reasonably flat surface. It started to rain again as I began carving the runes into the side. I had to remind myself to be patient. Carving symbols into rock took more precision than simply wearing the rock down to the point where it could be considered ‘flat’. As the rain continued I started to feel increasingly light-headed. Finally, mercifully, my legs gave out and I fell into the moist soil. 
I found myself in the bottommost layers of Equestria once again. The black forest went on indefinitely in all directions. The crimson rain was falling again. I couldn’t move. As I lay there, soaking in the bloody downpour, I could hear something get closer. Several somethings, making their way through the dense foliage. A feeling of dread took hold of my heart. At last, they entered the meadow. 
I was roused back into consciousness by a feral growl. As I got up, weak and covered in mud, I saw that I was surrounded by a pack of frightening wooden constructs. I caught my breath. Timber wolves. They inched closer, anticipating the kill. I glanced around desperately, but the members of the pack had positioned themselves to block all routes of escape. I considered screaming for help but knew that as soon as I did so, the wolves would strike. 
Then… something else moved through the undergrowth. The timber wolves turned to get a look at the newcomer. She entered the clearing. 
The creature was mostly in the shape of a panther, but with a neck and head of a goat growing from its back and a long tail ending in a fanged mouth of a serpent. I recognized her form instantly. She was a chimera. As the nearest wolf leapt at her from behind, she caught it nonchalantly with her tail. The snake sunk its teeth into the resisting construct. It fell to the ground, likely paralyzed. The chimera let out a puff of flame which caught another timber wolf unawares. As the burning, yelping figure turned tail and fled, the rest of the wolves followed suit. Deciding she didn’t like the taste of lumber, the chimera ignored the fleeing wolves and turned to me. I silently calculated the probability of running into two types of incredibly dangerous predators in the span of two minutes. It was turning out to be a pretty bad day. Adrenaline shot through my body but I knew I wouldn’t be able to outrun the ravenous beast for long in my present condition. I tried anyway. 
I sprinted through the forest towards town but I wasn’t sure what I’d do once—or if I managed to get there. As I ducked under branches and leapt over brooks and stones, I could hear her behind me, crashing through the trees and bushes. The book in my bag got heavier. My breathing turned shallow. I stumbled again and again. My legs had gone numb and I knew there was no hope of survival. The she-beast was steadily closing the distance between us. 
I could see Fluttershy’s cottage on the horizon. I hoped she wouldn’t be the one to find my stripped and mangled corpse. There was no way she’d be able to cope. I tripped for the last time, and a sharp pain shot through one of my legs. It was over. I felt relieved to know that I was going to die. My pursuer had stopped running as I fell. She knew that I was resigned to my fate. As the chimera slowly neared my crumpled form, I closed my eyes, waiting for her monstrous jaws to close around my neck. 
But she hesitated. I nervously opened one eye. I was surrounded by a mysterious dark miasma. The downpour continued but the raindrops had started curving around me. I was drying and the mud started chipping off of my tired body. 



As I watched, fascinated, the black cloud took on physical form. Three evil-looking limbs materialized around me. Was I turning into one of the things from the Gray Domain? How was this possible? I felt the Volume stir in my knapsack, answering my question. The world took on a different shape, but I no longer cared about my physical surroundings. Everything had turned into information, mostly insignificant. I turned my attention to the chimera, a mass of numbers and statistics. No longer familiar with her opponent, she let out a bloodcurdling bellow and let loose a breath of fire. The flame dissipated against my unnatural shell. As she struck with her tail, I caught the serpent with two of my borrowed arms. There was a sickening crack as I tore the jaws of the creature apart. 
She drew back trying to recover and I flicked at the head of the goat with a fraction of my terrible strength. Its skull caved in with a whisper. I could see in her eyes that she had given up on the fight. As she turned to run, I grabbed hold of her two rear legs and pulled them in opposite directions, breaking them like toothpicks. The pitiful creature collapsed into a pool of its own blood. As I was out of danger, the three tentacles faded away and the miasma started to scatter. I came back to my senses.
“What in Equestria..?” 
The sight of what I’d done under the influence of the Other Gods made me nauseous. It shouldn’t have been possible. I spared a glance for Fluttershy’s cottage. I thought I spied a tuft of pink in the window, but I couldn’t be sure. I hobbled quickly from the scene.