"Would you like to play with me?" A childish voice asked from behind me.
The question took me completely by surprise. I had no idea there was anyone around me, the section of the library I was in had been empty when I had sat down and I hadn't heard anyone walk by for a long while. Turning away from my book, I glanced at the rather small girl standing behind me. She was a tiny thing with long dirty blond hair and a pair of mismatched eyes. The right eye was blue while the left was green. I didn't recognize her, not that that meant much, Bakersfield was a large place and the library drew people from all over town, but I frequented the library a lot and new most of the regulars. She looked up at me, head tilted as she waited for a response. For some reason, she reminded me of a kitten gazing at a new toy, not sure if she wanted to play with it.
"Depends, what do you want to play?" I closed the book I had been paging through, slipping a blank sheet of paper in to mark my page. I had been studying for my midterms a while now and could use a break. Besides, the kid looked bored. She had probably been brought here by her parents or older sibling and then told to go entertain herself while they looked for a book.
I glanced around and sure enough there was a rather stern faced man a near the history books glancing over at the little girl. He sent me a look and raised brow. Deciding that he was probably asking if the girl was bothering me, I shook my head and smiled a little. Seemingly satisfied with my response the man went back to searching the shelf.
The girl had taken the seat next to me and shrugged off the small book bag she had. "A game of pretend! I brought some of my toys." From the bag a small assortment of plastic and cloth toys tumbled out. Most of them were cats of some kind, ranging from house cats to tigers and everything in between, though there were a few exceptions. A small plastic jackal lay next to a large scorpion, and a hawk lay next to a crocodile. A large half woman, half cat doll was already claimed by the girl, "I've got this one! You can be one of the others, but pick carefully! You can't change your mind after you pick."
Feeling slightly bemused, I shifted through the scattered toys, before picking up a plastic lion that was made to look as though it was snarling.
"You choose the lion?" She asked. Somehow, it seemed as though that question carried more weight than it should have.
"Yeah, I love lions. Always have." The girl smiled brightly, "It's my all time favorite animal, and the Nemean Lion is my favorite monster." I half expected her to ask what a Neman Lion was, she didn't look older than six, but she just smiled and nodded." Say, is it alright if we pretend this guy," I shook the plastic lion a bit, "was the Nemean Lion?"
She frowned for a bit, her mismatched eyes gazing past me as she thought for a moment. Man, she was really taking this question seriously. "Okay." She finally replied.
"Brilliant!" I said happily. "So," I began, moving the toy lion to stand before her doll, "we know who I am, but who are you?"
"I," She made he doll stand before the lion proudly, "am Bastet, my good lion."
I had the plastic lion lean forward, it's back half lifting into the air, to give a bow. Though, I admit, it wasn't a good one. "Ah, forgive me my lady for not recognizing you at once. Please accept my most sincere apologies."
She giggled and waved the dolls hand in a dismissive gesture. "It is alright, you are forgiven."
"Thank you, oh fair goddess." I once again had the lion preform the sorta bow.
We spent the next hour playing with her toys. She would have her goddess doll send my plastic Nemean Lion on tasks, often using the other toys as monsters or a damsel or two. Strangely, I never felt it necessary to ask her name, though I did enjoy the time we spent playing. Reminded me of all the time I used to spend playing with my little sister before she grew out of it.
"Would you like it to be real?" My little companion suddenly asked.
"Like what to be real?"
"This." She waved her hand over the scattered toys and books which had been used as scenery and landmarks. "This world, being a lion, going on adventures and exploring. Would you like it to be real?"
I thought about it for a moment. Adventure and possible fame in a foreign land while getting to run around in a body that was damn near impossible to harm? Sounded great. "Sure I would, it would be brilliant!"
"And would you be my champion?" She asked, face completely serious.
Well, considering I had been playing the part of her champion for the last half hour I didn't see the harm. "Sure I would, my lady. And what about you? Would you like it to be real?"
She smiled in an odd way, it looked almost sad yet held a victorious edge to it. "It is already very real for me." I was taken aback, she no longer sounded like a child, not that she spoke childishly before, but more like a woman in her early twenties. "And soon enough it shall be real for you, my champion. I thank you for playing with me, but now I must be going. Sleep, my champion, and when you awake you shall begin your adventure." I began to feel drowsy and found it hard to focus on anything, but I was still aware enough to watch as the small girl swiftly grew into a tall woman.
The woman who had moments before been a girl leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Take this blessing with you, my champion, as thanks and may it serve you well in the trials to come."
Just before unconsciousness claimed me, I noted the air smelt lightly of perfume.
I woke up with a roar. I'm not exaggerating either, I literally roared as I awoke, the sound echoing off the cavern walls of the cavern I was in. I'm not going to lie, I scared myself with that. The sound of it echoing off the caves walls just made it worse.
Climbing to my feet, I noticed at once something was wrong, more than just my roaring. I was standing on all fours, yet I was still as tall as I was as a human and I felt heavier than before.
"What the hell happened to me?" I growled out. Looking down I noticed that my hands had been replaced by massive paws, and by turn my neck and inspecting my self, I was able to see the rest of my body easily.
I was a lion. There was no other way of saying it. I could go into a long description of my new physical features, but it all came down to me being a lion. Male, thankfully.
Deciding it would be best to freak out about my sudden change in species after I discovered where I was, I began to explore the cave in search of an exit. I seemed to be in a small side chamber off the main one, which was easily ten times the size of the one I woke in, and the one I woke in wasn't exactly small. On the far side of the enormous cave was a small opening through which I could see a sliver of sky.
However, what drew my attention wasn't the exit or the sheer size of the cave, no, what drew my attention was the glowing statue of a cat that sat on the opposite wall. Now, I know that any sane person would avoid a glowing statue after waking up in a strange place in a different body. Hell, most people who hadn't would avoid a magical glowing statue. But curiosity killed the cat, and I was a damn big cat at the moment and I just felt the need to investigate the damn thing. So I slowly made my way over graceful as a cat, walking on four legs was surprisingly easy when your body was made for it.
I stopped a good six feet away from the statue to examine it, not entirely trusting it. The statue was rather small, being the size of a normal cat, and sat on a small pillar that left it at eye level. It seemed to be made of some black stone while the pillar was made of a white one. Golden magic flowed from the top of the cats head, falling like grains of sand down the statues body and flowing over the edge of the pillar like a waterfall that suddenly stopped inches from the floor.
Cautiously I inched forward, wanting to get a closer look at the flowing energy. However, it seemed as though I had gotten a little to close as the flowing energy suddenly surged towards me.
"Shit!" I screamed as the energy engulfed my head, blinding me with a sudden flash of energy.
When I next opened my eyes, I was no longer in the cave, and I was no longer alone. There, standing before three very familiar pyramids, was the women the little girl had turned into. I tried to speak, tried to demand answers but I was unable to speak.
"My champion," She began, "I am the goddess Bastet. The Eye of Ra, goddess of cats, protection and love." The self proclaimed goddess stated oddly, almost as though she were speaking to a empty room instead of to me, even though her mismatched eyes never left my form. "If you are viewing this message then you have arrived safely and the compulsion I placed upon the statue worked and drew you to it." So that explained the odd way she was speaking, I was listing to some godly recording.
"You are most likely confused and scarred at the moment, unsure if what you see is reality or illusion. Let me assure you, this is reality." I think I saw a flicker of sadness cross the goddess face, but it was gone in a flash. "I have brought you to this world, and yes it is an entirely new world you now reside in, and given you this form for one purpose, to represent me and mine kin in a game of the gods. You are not the first nor the last of your kind to be dragged into this game."
A game? I was taken and changed and thrown into a new world for a game? A spark of anger lit inside me.
"The point of this game varies from god to god. Some see it as a way to settle grudges by having their champions battle, others to see it as a way to amuse themselves."
That's great, I thought bitterly, I'm so glad we can amuse you.
"I admit that I have brought you here for equally selfish reasons. I shall not tell you my reasons, but I shall tell you this, by just being here you are doing what I require. As such, you are free to do as you wish." Except go home. "I have given you the body of the Nemean Lion as your own, and I have left a small number of trinkets that you may find and collect to better yourself." I wanted to ask where they had been left, as I had not seen anything in the cave, but the goddess just continued on. "And finally I have given you a blessing, unique to you and you alone. So long as you embrace the suns rays once a day, you shall need neither food nor drink. However, should you go a day without the suns light, all the hunger you should have felt shall hit you all at once."
Well, that seemed helpful. It would have been a pain to have had to hunt and eat the amount a lion would have needed to survive on a daily bases, not to mention removed the need to find water. Now all I have to do is be sure to act like a plant and absorb some sunlight each day. Sounds easy enough.
The image of the goddess and the dessert surrounding us wavers for a second, letting me see through the illusion to the cave, before settling once more. "I have nearly run out of time. Champion, I must leave you now. I have left other statues such as this one spread out around the world, each one holds a message that you and you alone may hear. Good luck, my champion."
And just like that I was back in the cave, the golden magic that had surrounded the statue was gone. I just stood there for a long while, not sure what to do. I was angry, at the goddess who had dragged me here, at myself, at the world at large. But I was also scarred. I had no idea where I was, what the world was like, what I was going to face from the world at large.
Eventually I managed to get my great furry self to move away from the statue and towards the exit. If I was going to be stuck in this world, I might as well see what there was to see. Barren, that was the first word to come to mind as I stepped out of the cave. As far as I could see the land was bare of green. I couldn't even see a hint of water. I guess I should thank Bastet for her gift then.
The earth was hard beneath my fee-er-paws, I suppose I'll have to get use to saying paws. The earth was hard beneath my paws, small sharp stones poked the pads of my paws in a vain effort to pierce my flesh. Though they failed to harm me, they were still rather annoying, and I soon found my self in a foul mood. I had no idea where I was going, I had simply picked a direction and walked that way, but I hoped I would soon find civilization, or at least some form of life.
It took me three days to find any form of life, and when I did it made me once again question my sanity.
I had stumbled upon a large canyon on the second day of my trek, and had decided to follow it in hopes of finding water. It wasn't that I needed water, I actually felt as though I had just finished a glass of the stuff after eating a filling lunch, but I figured that if I found a source of water out here I might also find some form of life.
On the third day, just as I woke up, I spotted movement down in the canyon from my place on the edge. Curious, and hoping it wasn't a mirage, I swiftly made my way down the canyons edge and moved to investigate. What I found was almost to strange to believe.
A small pack of what looked like dogs, though they had a almost gorilla like body structure, were chasing a small pony. A small pony with a cream coat and a main and tail that was half brown half pink. And it was screaming. Profanities. Now, I admit that I had no idea why this little pony thing was being chased, but I did know one thing: it was adorable as hell and I couldn't stand by and let those dogs get it. So, my mind set, I took off at top speed to try and save the pony. Besides, I never really liked dogs in the first place.
Neapolitan was having a bad day.
She dodged under a swipe from one of the diamond dogs chasing her before making a hard right, allowing another of the mutts to fly past her and hit the cliff side. Unfortunately, that was not enough to put the dog out of commission and it quickly rejoined it's fellows. The chase had been going on for over an hour now, and Neapolitan was beginning to feel the strain. Actually, that wasn't true, she had begun to feel it after the first half hour, but had been powering through on sheer determination and adrenaline. Even her natural endurance as an earth pony was failing her, and the wounds she had experienced while in the 'tender care' of the pack behind her wasn't doing her any favors. Unfortunately, she knew she was going to give out soon, and as soon as that happened, she knew that she would fall into the clutches of the diamond dogs and be sentenced to a life time of slavery. Unless, of course, she was eaten first. Either way, the future didn't look to bright for her.
She came upon a split in the canyon, and without a moments hesitation, took the left. Unfortunately for her, that was the wrong choice. As soon as she entered the split, Neapolitan realized her mistake. The path she had chosen quickly lead to a dead end, leaving her trapped against the wall with a severely angered group of slavers blocking the only exit. The pack slowly moved in on her, the dogs spreading out to prevent the tired earth pony from running pass them.
"End of the line, pony." The lead dog said with a leer. The mutt held out a rusty metal collar towards Neapolitan and slowly advanced, "You have nowhere else to run. Time to come back to the mines." Neapolitan backed away slowly from the approaching diamond dog, his pack mates growling like savage beasts.
Just as the slaver was about to reach the exhausted mare, a roar like thunder shook the air.