" We should pick up Nightmare and head to Luna as quickly as possible. Forget Zecora, Luna will have the answer we need. " I said.
" Why didn't you tell Natura what really happened? " Twilight asked.
" Well, to put it simply : I don't want him panicking. I might still have to tell him, but hopefully Luna could help out in explaining things to him. Ugh, these scars still hurt. "
" Maybe we could check the library one last time? See if I really didn't miss anything. " Twilight suggested.
" Sure, but we better be quick. " I said as I walked into the library.
Twilight took to scouring the books using her magic, going through the entire books within a matter of seconds. I checked a few specific books which I thought could help, but to no avail.
" Definitely didn't miss anything. Let's go get Night. " Twilight said.
She teleported the both of us to Night's castle. After politely knocking on the front door, she opened it.
" Twilight! Primal! I did not expect to see the two of you today. To what do I owe the pleasure? "
" Teleport the three of us to Luna. It's quite important, and we should make haste. I'llexplain when we arrive." I said.
We huddled close, and Night took us along in her teleport. We appeared right next to Luna, but not where I expected. We were in the palace gardens, near Discord's statue.
" Hello Princess, sorry for barging in, but we got an important matter we were hoping you'd have a solution for. " I said.
" Is that so? Come with me to my chambers then, I prefer not talking near his statue. He can still hear everything. "
WWWWW
She closed the door to her chambers behind us.
" Well then, what is so important to interrupt my morning stroll through the gardens? " Luna asked.
" I'll just state it bluntly: Natura is a werewolf. "
" What?! When did you find this out? " Night asked.
" Last night I stayed by Fluttershy's place. I had a few suspicions already, but I hoped they were incorrect. Alas, they were most definitely not. He turned and ran into the woods. I had taken cover near a rock, and sent my clone after him while I went to wake Fluttershy up. "
"And you chased him into the forest? " Twilight asked.
" We did. I was hoping Fluttershy's extraordinary ability with animals would work on him too. I'm afraid it didn't. I managed to trap him in stasis, and we took him back to Fluttershy's home. The stasis broke quicker than I expected, so I sent Fluttershy to get you while I kept him busy. Got a few scars, but I should be fine. " I said.
" Hm. There is a way for him to be cured completely. But since he has such a strong connection with nature, it seems wasteful not to try and utilise his bestial form. " Luna thought out loud.
" How will he utilise it if he blanks out, though? From what I've been told and seen, he didn't respond kindly. " Twilight said.
" There is a way for him to assimilate the werewolf's essence, and use that essence to transform in a controlled manner. He will have to be cured first to rid him of the feral wolf in him. After that, we would need someone else to transform into a werewolf so he could absorb that essence into him, curing the other and giving him a way to shapeshift into a werewolf at will. " Night said.
" Well, I might already be cursed, since I've been struck. I'll offer myself for the transforming part. " I said.
" I have scanned your essence, and you are indeed influenced by it. Alright, that leaves the cure. It is not a hard recipe, but it will require some odd ingredients. " Luna said.
" Like? "
" Wolfsbane roots, which grow in the Everfree itself, a drop of blood from the afflicted's race, purified water created by boiling water mixed with Light's dust, and a Moon's tear. " Luna said.
" The blood and roots shouldn't be too hard. I have no idea where to get Light's dust or Moon's tears, however."
" My sister might have some of the dust. She keeps it safely hidden away, since it is considered a narcotic. Night could harvest some Moon's tears from the moon, quite the strange flowers they are to grow in the vacuum of space, supplied by the moon's innate magic field." Luna said. Turning to Night, she continued. " Bring more than required, we could use some more of those. "
" Good. Could you teleport the two of us to Fluttershy's home after we've spoken with Princess Celestia? " Luna nodded. " Thanks. Let's go get some drugs, Twilight. "
"Really? If you bring it like that she'll definitely not give it to us. " Twilight said, following me to the throne room where Celestia currently was.
" Relax, I'm not going to say that. Drugs are very bad for you, and I wouldn't even dream of using them." I said.
Knocking on the door again, I waited for either a reply or a door opening.
" Who knocks? " a stallion voice called.
" You. "
" You who? "
Recieving an annoyed look from Twilight, I couldn't help but chuckle.
" Sorry. It's Primal Dagger together with Twilight Sparkle, requesting an audience with Princess Celestia.
" The Princess is in a conversation, but you can enter and wait by the door. " the stallion responded.
He opened the door and allowed us passage. Celestia was at the other side of the room, talking with what looked like nobility. She looked up to see who entered, and nodded before continuing her talk.
The stallion, who is a member of the Royal Guard, was standing firmly by the door.
"So, did you hear about the new Justice Guard forming? " I asked the guard idly.
" The what now? The Princess didn't tell us anything about a new Guard."
" Hm. She must have her reasons to keep it quiet then. She'll tell you in time. " I said.
" You speak as if Her Majesty is a friend of yours, yet I've never seen you around. "
"That's the point. My work for her involves not being seen. " I said coolly.
" You're doing a bad job now, then. " Twilight joked.
" I'm not working, am I? " I retorted.
"Who knows? You might be. "
" Ah, whatever. "
" So, you're the stealthy type, then? Don't look much like it to me. " the guard said.
" Trust me, I could dissappear in a heartbeat if I wanted to. " I said.
" Well show me, then! The Princess will likely take a little while longer. "
I shadowstepped behind him, and tapped his shoulder. Before he turned around, I blinked again to stand on the other side of Twilight.
" Impressive. Sure you don't want to be part of the Night Guard? They could use you quite well. "
" I have my own position, appointed by none other than the Princess herself." I responded. " So no, thanks."
I looked to the side and noticed Celestia was done talking with the nobles, and made amends to move to us. The nobleponies asked one last thing before leaving the room through the door next to us, and threw disrespectful looks our way when they passed us.
Once the ponies were gone, and the guard to stand outside the door, Celestia spoke up. " Hello Primal, hello my student. How are you both doing today? "
" I'm happy now that we found a way to cure Natura. " I responded.
" Cure Natura? Of what? " Celestia asked.
" Lycantrophy. " Twilight said.
" Lycantrophy? Oh my. I suppose you need Light's dust then? "
" Yes. How did you..?"
" Let me just say we had a case of it in the past. I will go get the dust for you, stay here. The stuff is pretty sought after. " Celestia said, and teleported away in a flash of brilliant light.
" I hope all of this works out alright. " Twilight said.
" Me too. There's lots of things that could go wrong and spell disaster upon us.Let's just get this over with as quickly as possible, I don't like the thought of transforming into a werewolf. " I shuddered.
" I don't like it either, but if this works your friend will be a lot more powerful. D'you think he could shapeshift into a pony too? " Twilight said.
" Probably. Anything that isn't human he can probably transform into, but it would require the essence. And from what I understood, he will take all of the essence. Do that to a pony, and I'm not so sure the pony will stay alive after it. " I said.
" By Celestia, you mean he would need to kill a pony to become one? " Twilight asked.
" Yup. "
" Maybe the pyromaniac could be a test subject. " Twilight said.
" Don't think so. Y'see, the pyromaniac is a human. He approached me, asking me to join him on his burning crusade through Equestria. I declined, ofcourse, and attempted to zap him after he insulted my friends. He got away though. " I said.
" And you meant to tell me this when, exactly? " Twilight asked.
" Now? It happened yesterday, and I haven't had much chance to talk to you about it what with all the werewolf stuff happening. " I said.
" You could've been hurt! You should've told me the moment it happened! "
"So I had to like, stop talking with him, rush over to wherever you where at that moment, and tell you that the pyromaniac is, now was, talking to me? " I asked.
" I....Nevermind. Just tell me sooner next time, okay? " Twilight asked.
" Fine by me. By the way, shouldn't you give Princess Celestia your friendship reports? " I said.
" Don't turn this around now. Unlike you, I send my letters to Princess Celestia the moment after I learn something new. "
" You have indeed. Here is the dust. " Celestia said, who had just appeared again. " Take good care of it, a lot of shifty ponies want that stuff. Off with you!"
" Thanks Celestia. Hopefully we'll be back soon to tell you good news. " I said.
We walked back to Luna's room, and found her sitting on a chair, reading a book.
" Good book? " I asked.
" Yes. Daring Do is amazing at creating thrilling novels. " Luna answered. " Night should be back soon."
While we waited, I decided to play around a bit and battle my own clone using harmless lightning bolts and shields.
" Careful! " Twilight shouted.
" They're harmless, both the bolts and the shield itself, even though they are made of lightning. " I said. " Here. "
I shot one such bolt at her, which hit her directly on her horn. " I'm not sure how you managed to do that, but okay. Maybe you could battle me? " Twilight said.
" And get shot straight out of the window into a tree again? No thanks, I'll pass. " I grumbled.
" I'll use simple light bolts then, and my own shields. Ready? "
" As ever. "
Bolts of violet and bolts of lightning flew back and forth, and eventually things got a bit too competitive. A broken flower pot was the result.
" Why did you think it was a good idea to have a battle in my room? " Luna asked.
" Because.... Ah nevermind. Could you fix that pot, Twilight? " I asked.
Twilight used her magic to recreate the pot, and placed it back where it was.
" There, nothing happened. Now where's Night? " I said.
" I would not know. She should have been back by now-"
" Hello! Sorry I took so long, the plants were tougher to find than usual. " Night apologised, and held the strange plants in front of her.
" They certainly look tough. " I stated.
" Let's make haste. We still have stuff to do! " Twilight said.
" Stand near me, I will teleport us to Fluttershy's home. " Night said.
We stood nearby Night, and the world disappeared for a split second before reappearing in a different image.
"Teleportation is so fascinating. Imagine what humans could do if they found out a way to teleport. Or even worse, find their way here and discover you ponies casting teleportation spells like it's nothing. "
" What is so bad about that? In return for giving them teleportation, they could give us their technology. And maybe create some allies along the way. " Luna said.
" Uhm. Yeah, not gonna happen. There's loads of humans that would rather use it for personal gain or warfare than those who would do good with it. Let alone ally with talking, mythical ponies. " I retorted.
" It is that bad? " Luna asked.
" No no, I'm just overstating it. But there's a likely possibility. You don't want power-hungry humans. Or suicidal terrorists. "
" Terrorists? What do they do, cause terror? " Twilight asked.
" Yes. Basically commit crimes to inflict as much chaos and terror on the populace as possible. Some do it for religion, others have a goal to reach like sabotaging governments, and others do it for the fun of it, I guess. " I explained.
" What could possibly be fun about killing people? " Night said. " I wanted to plunge the world in darkness but I did not want ponies to die for it. "
" Don't ask me. I wouldn't know." I answered. " We got roots to collect though, so we better get moving."
" Should we split up? You with Twilight and myself with Night?"
" Good idea. If you find the roots, tell me using your mind. " I said, and we went our seperate ways into the forest.
WWWWW
Change of Character - Primal Dagger -> Nightmare Moon
" I cannot believe Primal's world is so vicious. Why would those humans just kill for fun? Killing others is not something to be considered fun. " Luna said.
" I do not understand either. I get trying to reach a goal, or having a belief that killing is justified, but for fun? Even I hated the thought of killing others. " I responded.
" Luckily, you did not, which means I did not. Funny how we were inside the same body back then, but now two separate beings, still linked to each other. " Luna said.
" You will be stuck with me for the rest of eternity though. Does thou really want that? "
" Depends if thou helpeth me on finding these roots. " she returned.
" Alright alright, fine. Why do we not use a spell to search for it? " I suggested.
" That is quite a good idea. Do you know any?"
" I might, but I would have to modify one I know already, which may have side effects. " I stated.
" Go ahead. What could possibly happen? "
" Missing body parts, corruption, magical overflow.... Let us just see what happens. "
I cast the modified version of a spell I used to detect lifeforms during my short skirmish a few months ago. Instead of ponies, it searched for plants now. But it was not very specific to which kinds of plants...
" Well, my world is a freak disco now. About everything is lit up. "
" Great. Can you discern any roots though? " Luna asked.
" I will try my best, but you should better search manually in the meantime. I can barely see anything now." I grumbled.
" So much for that idea.... Wait, what is that ?"
We stepped over to what looked like an oversized apple with many grotesque impurities on it.
" What kind of disgusting fruit is this? " I asked.
" I think that was an apple. Seems like it is corrupted. I can..... Oh my, that is definitely bad. "
" What is? " I asked, getting impatient.
" Well, my sister and myself recently found out that this forest is slowly getting corrupted. We do notknow how, or by whom or by what. If it got this far however.... We need to hurry in curing Natura, he could attempt to heal these troubled plants. " she explained.
" Luna... Look next to it.... "
" What? " She looked to the spot next to the deformed apple. " Oh! The roots! We will need a few more than just this, however. "
Luna pulled the roots out of the ground, and held them in the air with her magic. " I cannotlevitate these forever. You find anything yet?"
" I do not... Wait! I think I see some, behind that bush! And by the look of it, there are loads of them there! "
Luna hurried over to check, and let out a cry of relief. " You are right, there are a lot of roots here! I will contact Primal, you harvest the roots in the meantime. "
She dropped the roots she was levitating and fazed out to contact Primal. " Sheesh. Let me do the work while you contact him, sure. " I mumbled.
I lazily started pulling the roots out of the ground using my mouth. I could have used magic but I could not be bothered to do so.
" Alright, Primal said they found an odd cave and wanted to investigate. Twilight will teleport back to Fluttershy's home with the materials she was carrying so we can start making the potion. "
" Why did you not just add the roots to the bag I have here? " I asked.
" That holds the Moon's tears, yes? You do not want to mix them up like that. " she said. Luna collected the roots I pulled out and bundled them together using long blades of grass.
" Let us make haste for Fluttershy's home, it is nearing the afternoon. " I said.
" Teleport or walk? I am unsure if using our magic now for such a task is wise, since we do not know what will happen tonight. " Luna asked.
" It is not that far off, just teleport. That small amount of magic loss is nothing for us alicorns." I said.
And with a flash, we reappeared back at Fluttershy's home, to find a bag with a note on it that read : "For Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon. "
WWWWW
Change of Character - Nightmare Moon -> Twilight Sparkle
" Splitting up again to hasten up the process. I hope we find the roots quickly. " I said.
" You and me both. I can't wait to be rid of that nagging feeling that I'll transform into a savage animal tonight. " Primal said.
" I do hope you meant werewolf. " I said slyly.
" Maybe I didn't . You wouldn't see the difference. " he teased.
" Hey c'mon, it's not that bad is it? "
" You can be pretty oblivious from time to time. So could I, though. " he said.
After more minutes of trudging through bushes and circumventing trees, we found an odd sight.
" Is that a cave? "
" No it's a friggin' helicopter. Ofcourse it's a cave, what else could it look like? " he said.
" For the record, it was a rhetorical question. Thanks for answering, though. You have been selected as one of the possible winners for a bag of bits. " I joked.
" As if I need more of those. "
" Maybe you can buy some useful things for it instead of burning it on food and drinks. " I jested,
"Ha ha. Let's check the cave out now, alright. Wait hold on, Luna is attempting to contact me. "
I watched him slightly shimmer away from sight, as was usual when he was speaking with someone through the power of the mind.
I looked around while I waited to see if I could spot any of the roots, but the area around the cave was stripped clean of plants other than trees.
Primal returned to normal, and shook his head before looking at me.
" Still gets me nauseous, doing that. Anyway, Luna and Night found the roots. Could you teleport back to the cottage and place the dust back there so they can start making the potion? " he asked me.
" Sure, be right back. "
I teleported, and placed the saddlebag I had been carrying down near a fence post, and attached a small note to it. I teleported back to Primal, who had started exploring the cave already.
" Couldn't wait for me, huh? " I asked.
" I could, or I could scout out the cave to check for danger so we don't run into anything. "
"Fair enough. Let's go. " I said, getting slightly excited at the promise of adventure. If only Daring Do was here!
The cave lead out into a much smaller section,and eventually tunnelled a dark, snaky path towards a large chamber.
Other than an odd pedestal of some sort and an ancient looking door, the cave was empty.
I inspected the pedestal, and discovered it had four holes for objects of some kind to fit in.
" Hey Primal, check this pedestal. I think it's the unlocking mechanism for that door, it requires four objects by the looks of it. " I said.
He stepped over and inspected the pedestal too. He then looked at the door.
" I think I have some idea as to what has to go in those holes. They are related to the four primal elements depicted on the wall: Earth, Air, Water and Fire. And look, there's a plaque here. "
It read :
"The ones who mastered the primal aspects will each find their relative key in a location that suits their abilities. Only then will the door be unlocked."
" A location that suits their abilities.... I have no clue where any of those could be. Any ideas? "
" I guess the water key will be found somewhere in a location with water? I don't know, we should ask the Princesses about this. " I said.
" Good idea. Let's leave this cave for now. Luna and Night will probably be done with the potion by now. " he said.
We left the cave, and made our way back to Fluttershy's home, marking the location of the cave in our minds.
Princess Luna and Night were still working near a cauldron of bubbling water, and Fluttershy and Natura were watching with interest.
"Hello everypony. Is the potion nearly done? " I asked.
" Almost. Only the dust needs to be added now, and then it should be.... Done! " Night said.
" So I will drink the potion, and we bind Primal so he can't harm anyone. Then I'll siphon the werewolf's essence out of him and attempt to control it? " Natura asked.
" I have made an abundance of liquid, so if it goes awry we have a backup potion. Several, in fact." Night said.
" All that's left now is to wait for the night to come. It's still a bit early, and we haven't had dinner yet. How about we eat something? " Primal suggested.
" I recently imported some fine cuisine to my castle. We could eat at my castle. Should provide a safe place for the activities of tonight, too. " Night said.
" Out of the way, so if something bad happens the townsponies of Ponyville won't be harmed. Excellent idea. " Primal said.
" We could get a better look at the inside of your castle too. Last time we visited it was barely decorated. " I said.
" It is now. It looks the part now to accommodate the avatar of Darkness now. " Night said proudly.
" I have not seen the inside of the castle yet myself, apart from our fight back then, that is. " Luna said.
" I'm hungry! Let's go already before I start thinking about eating you. " Natura teased.
" You better not else we still chain you up together with Primal. Without dinner." I said.
" Hey, what have I done to deserve that!? " Primal whined.
" Being annoying. "
" I am not annoying! Merely crazy, which does not mix well with certain people. "
I teleported him to Night's castle. " There, peace and quiet. "
" Where did you send him to? " Night asked.
" Your castle. Let's go before he decides to wreck the place. " I said, and teleported off to the castle.
WWWWW
Night appeared with the others just after I did, and Primal was sat against a rock, looking glum.
" Aww, it wasn't that bad was it? " I said, actually pitying him now.
" I don't like being sent off somewhere alone. "
" You do Princess Celestia's contracts alone, didn't you? " I asked.
" Yes, but that doesn't mean I liked it. Now, I take Sabrina with me every time. It's better, but not by much."
"Why that? "
" Well, I don't have all of you guys around. I got quite attached to every single one of you."
"Ain't that cute. " Natura said.
" Hey c'mon, you didn't get rejected and turned down at every turn. "
" Very much true. But we're here now, right? Get up and stop feeling sorry for yourself, you're not alone. " Natura said.
Primal slowly got up, given a hand by Natura. " Thanks Robin. "
"No problem buddy. We're here for you. " Natura said. " Now get your ass inside, I'm starving. "
We followed Primal and Natura inside, and Night walked off to the kitchen to prepare the food.
Taking a seat in the dining hall, and the others doing the same, an eerie silence fell over us. A soft 'poof' broke the silence.
" Ah Sabrina. Hello again, had a good time hunting? " Primal said.
" Yes, much better to catch my prey. Eating fish all the time gets dull quickly. " Sabrina said.
" Good to hear. What do you think about this place? It's Night's castle. " Primal asked.
" It looks fitting for a dark pony such as her. Not saying she is evil, but she still looks the part. " Sabrina said.
" Gotta agree with that. She said she learned from her mistakes, but she still looks evil to ponies who don't know that. No wonder they get scared. " Natura said.
" I suppose. How does thy insist on altering my appearance? " Night asked, just walking in on the conversation.
" You could assume a disguise, but I doubt you'd like to live a lie... Maybe... No... too radical...too plain....." Primal thought out loud.
" How about sharing your ideas, Primal? Maybe they might still be applicable. " Luna said.
" Nah, it's mostly pointless. I got none, apart from actually showing the ponyfolk that you have truly changed. Maybe a task of some kind? No, wait!" He said, before running off.
" What was that about? " I asked.
" He probably got some weird idea and ran off to get something? " Natura said.
He came running back holding up what looked like a map, and slammed it down on the table. " Yea...yea... and then here...past this place...passing through this town..." he mumbled.
I huddled over to figure out what he was doing. He noticed, but instead asked me for a pen. I handed him one from nearby, and he began drawing a line on the map.
Once he was done, he shoved the map to the middle of the table. " Here's my idea. You see this line? You start here, in Ponyville." He traced the line along. "And then you end in Canterlot."
" But, what do I do then? " Night asked.
" Not just you. Celestia and Luna, too. I'll vouch to take over political business with Twilight, if she's interested. You and the Princesses can go from town to town, socialise with the populace, perform tasks if need be, and try to get the generaltrust of the public. Along with some more publicity for Luna, and an active ruler-esque image for both you and Celestia. " he explained.
" Past all these towns? Do you have any idea how long that would take? " Luna said.
" Think of it as a semi-vacation. Not now ofcourse, what with the werewolf stuff, corrupted forest and possible psychopath pyromaniac. But after that... "
" Hm. It does sound like a tempting idea. But you will need to convince Celestia too, if you want her to come along. And what about security? Conspirators against the throne could take that opportunity to strike at us. "
"Hm, that is a good point actually. Maybe... Twilight? "
" Don't tell me what I think you're going to tell me... "
" Well, you do like organizing, don't you? Besides, you would probably not do it alone. I assume Celestia has some ponies that work for her involving those matters. "
" She does indeed. All we do is talk with the nobleponies really, and listen to complaints and proposals. The paperwork is handled by other ponies. "
" I would need to think about it. What would you do, then? " I said.
" I'm not one for spotlights. I could serve as the security for the Princesses and Night, maybe together with Spirit. Would be good practice for him, too. "
"As long as you put it all together, you have my consent. " Luna said.
" Mine too. It would be an excellent opportunity to redeem myself to the populace. " Night said.
" Good. I'll pull some strings and put it together after these problems are handled. " Primal said.
" The food should nearly be ready. I know you two are meat-eaters, so I took the liberty to stock up on some for you. " Night said to me and Natura.
" I haven't eaten meat in what feels like ages. Thanks. " Primal said.
Night walked off to the kitchen again, and the aroma of food drifted over....
WWWWW
Change of Character - Twilight Sparkle-> Natura Thorn
" Come on, drink the potion. " Twilight said.
I took the bottle from her, and gulped it down. It tasted disgusting.
" Yugh, don't make me drink that again. " I said. I felt a shiver run down my spine, and before I knew it, I clenched my fists in agony. " AH! It feels like I'm burning from the inside out!"
"That is an unfortunate side effect of the potion. Means it has worked, however. " Night said.
" Now we chain Primal up and wait for nightfall. " Luna said. " You know what to do, Natura? "
" Just repeat one last time, just in case. " I said.
" Search your inner self for your essence, and tether it to his. Then, search his essence for the werewolf part, and place it into yours, but make sure it DOES NOT touch your own essence. You have to see your essence as if it is trapped in your body. Usually, the main essence is located near the brain, so that is where you need to look in Primal's essence. Make sure you don't damage his in the process of removing the werewolf. "
" So basically, I'm going to play brain surgeon simulator. Great. Where do I place the werewolf essence in my body? "
" Place it where you deem it right. " Luna said.
" Alright then, I'm as ready as I could ever be. " I said, cracking my knuckles and neck. " You holding out okay there Primal? "
" Apart from being shackled? Fine, I suppose. You sure these chains won't break when I turn? "
" I hope so. Otherwise, we have three adept magic casters here. And one that commands nature, but he will be busy. " Twilight said.
" I can feelthe moon pulling. Time to place it in the sky. " Luna said.
She levitated upwards, and the moon could be seen sliding over the night sky.
" It's happening. Get re- AARGH! "
He started turning, and I waited for Luna's signal so I could start.
" NOW! "
I closed my eyes and did as I was told, and found my essence - a twinkling green orb I saw in my mind's eye - and threw it out towards Primal. I could feel it chain together with his, and a small wispy line formed between the two of us.
The now savage Primal did not like it, however, and attempted to break free with much fury.
" Keep him chained, this might take a little time. " I mentioned.
I could see the dark red and black essence of the werewolf, half-merged with a brightly shining yellow essence. And apart from that bundle, a... vividly purple essence?
" He has another essence in him apart from his main and the werewolf.... It's seperate, though. Located within his heart. " I said.
I heard Luna gasp and whisper something to Night, but I couldn't hear what. I started carefully cutting the werewolf essence off of his own essence. Every cut I made incurred a growl from the beast, however.
I was about halfway when I missed slightly, cutting into the werewolf essence. This time, the wolf howled, and broke free from his shackles within seconds. " Quick! Contain him!" I heard Twilight shout.
I heard a spell being cast, and felt a warm breath in my face. " Get it out of my face, will you? "
" He nearly got you there. Work quickly, Natura. " Luna said in a strained manner. She was the one maintaining the spell.
I nearly completelyseparated the essence, whenthe wolf made a last ditch attempt to break free from its magical prison. It succeeded, and I could hear it leaping at me.
" One more cut... Got it! " I shouted.
The wolf failed his leap, and fell crumpled on the ground, screaming in a combination of human screaming and werewolf growling.
I undid the linkbetween our essences after moving the werewolf essence over to my body, placing the dark red and black orb in my left hand.
I opened my eyes again and looked next to me to see Primal on the ground, panting.
" Ugh.... I knew those shackles wouldn't keep me. I...AAgH! WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?! "
He started having what looked like a seizure, but he stopped shaking as quickly as it had started. Clouds formed above him, however....
" What the- YEOWWW! " he shouted as a lightning bolt zapped him from above. The lightning didn't leave his body, however.
" I think removing the werewolf essence triggered this other essence to activate. And if I think what I think it will be..." Luna said in a slightlyworried tone.
He started floating up, as another bolt struck him. " AAGH! Make it stop!!!"
Another bolt struck him, and this time, his flesh started transforming again. It became... immaterial?
" What's happening to him? " I asked.
" He is turning into his respective element. " Luna said.
" So that means... "
Thunder crackled and roared, and a bright white flash blinded us. Deafened by the noise, all I could hear were distorted shouts from Luna and Night.
Once both symptoms passed, I opened my eyes again. Where once was Primal, now there stood a being made out of pure lightning. A few enchanted pieces of armor contained the otherwise volatile electricity.
" Greetings, mortal beings from the material plane. My name is Xiz'Rath, and I, am the embodiment of Air. This, Primal Dagger, as you mortals call him, serves as my vessel. I... Wait. Is that you, Sister? " the elemental said, looking (?) at Twilight.
" Me? Your sister? You must have the wrong idea. " Twilight said.
" Not you. Your essence. Is that... Gaia, is that you? "
" You mean I house an elemental too?" Twilight asked.
" Yes. It seems Gaia still lies dormant. I trust you will take care of her, and tell me if she wakens. If you fail to protect her...." Xiz'Rath exploded into an orb of lightning, randomly striking the ground and leaving various scorch marks.
Twilight backed off in fear, shielding herself with her hooves. " Don't! I'll protect her with my life, I promise!"
The elemental returned to his previous state. " Good. I shall take my leave, my host will have contact with me. Oh, one last thing : duck. "
A shockwave erupted from the elemental, ceasing his existence and returning an unconscious Primal to us.
" I'm glad he warned us. Let's take him back inside the castle and tell Fluttershy. " Natura said.
" No. Take her outside and I will teleport the four of you back to Fluttershy's home. Me and Luna have some things to discuss. "
" Alright. "I jogged inside, and found a cowering Fluttershy behind the dining table. " It's alright, Flutter. It's over. "
"I -Is it? I got f-frightened by t-the thunder." she said shakily.
" It's okay. Come. " I opened my arms ina comforting gesture.
She ran into my opened arms, shaking but calming down slowly.
" Let's go outside. Night is going to teleport the four of us back to your home. She and Princess Luna have some things to discuss regarding recent events. "
" Why? W-What happened? "
" Let's just say I'm far from being the only one with another form now. " I said.
She looked at me quizzically, but didn't question further as we walked outside.
" Alright, gather together. Could you take Primal, Natura? "
" I'll carry him. " Twilight said before I could do anything. She carefully placed Primal on her back with his arms around her neck. " He's actually not as heavy as i expected. "
" Ready? "
We nodded, and Night cast the teleportation spell on us.
WWWWW
"Home sweet home. Atleast, if I'm allowed to call it that. " I said, looking at Fluttershy for approval.
" My home is your home, Natura. " she said, albeit quietly.
" Um..guys? Not to break your moment... but um... "