And so I sit here, alone in the cold as they use my tent for shelter and warmth, my taking down of those dogs didn’t exactly sit well with a few of the ladies and they wanted me to sleep outside...again. Sometimes I swear i'm too nice for my own good. I should be the one in there, not by this stupid little fire i managed to scrounge together by that damn adventures scrap wood. Took me 20 damn minutes to get the damn thing to catch. I have to stay in my Diamond Dog form just to keep from freezing my balls off. Now I've been practicing a bit, little transformations here and there. What I’ve noticed however is that my skin never really changes appearance, just the density.
I tried it out on a bat that I managed to snag with these wings. Really quiet for their size though. Rather than my skin growing the hair relative to a bat, all that changed was the wings. Kind of relieved about that. Wouldn’t want to be looking like some freak science experiment gone wrong. Also my teeth changed, it takes A LOT of concentration but I managed to keep the fangs that came with the bat transformation. One of the ladies said I looked like a threstial, whatever that means. I’ll look into it later. The fangs are nice but i keep nicking my lip and tongue. But the downside is I now crave blood...might have to look into that too. Wouldn't be lying if I said I didn’t consider tasting one of the dead guards. Especially the brute, plenty of flesh that I could pick through, suck dry, and then make some beef jerky for the road...yeah i'm getting rid of them till iIcan get access to meat. Actually, if they’re asleep now maybe I can snag a piece…
2 Hours later
I look into the the tent and am greeted with the sound of sleeps kind embrace. I smile as I close the tent back up and make my way deeper into the cave once more. You see, we had travelled all of yesterday to get to the mouth of the cave, we were to wait for the airship that Daring had contacted earlier. They said that if the weather permits that they’ll be here by nightfall tomorrow. Latest being early morn the next day. As I trek through my altered eyes notice things that my human eyes hadn’t noticed before now. Like the random crystals that poked out of the walls of the cave. I walked until I smelled the metallic scent of blood. I unsheathed my blade and walked over to the corpse of the brute that caused shining so much trouble yesterday, his body preserved in the cold of the cave, the dampness leaving a thin layer of ice over his body, encasing his in an icy grave. But that only made my job easier. Didn’t have to worry about the smell of a rotting corpse filling my nostrils. So I took my knife and drove t into his shoulder. I used the serrated end,it proving that it was indeed sharp enough to seaver. I then took his right arm, his blood dripping slightly from my coat and hands from the deed. His arm was huge, almost as big as my leg, and by no means light. it alone must've weighed around 40 pounds. When i got back to camp i was relieved to find my fire still going, albeit weak. I stroked the fire and made a makeshift pike where i pierced a piece of meat that i cut off and held it above the fire. I cooked it until it was thoroughly cooked. Just as I took my first bite, savouring the tenderness of the meat. The taste similar to venison, Mrs.Charm decides to step out and lightly gasps as she stares in horror at my back. My eyes closed savouring the flavor of the meat, though my ears alert me right away and I quickly get up turning around as i do so and quickly try to hide the arm behind me. Futile considering i'm still holding the stick containing the meat i was busy enjoying prior to this encounter. She just stares at me with a look that conveys fear, interest, and mild curiosity. I clear my throat and began speaking to try to diffuse the situation.
“Hi there, would you like something while im cooking?” Not bad i guess, could've been better but it's not everyday you get caught by an anthropomorphic horse eating an anthropomorphic dog arm. She hesitates before answering.
“N-no, I'm good, thank you though.” She responds before fleeing back into the tent. You sigh as you clean the blood off of your face and hands with your tongue, savoring the flavor before returning to your normal human form. Which you instantly regretted, the cold piercing you as you quickly store the meat in your pocket dimension. You use some snow from outside to cover the blood on the ground. You not wanting to freeze however decided enough was enough, began to walk up to the tent, You Open the flap and are greeted with Charm and Silver arguing.
“For Celestia's sake Charm it’s his tent! WHy the hell can’t he be in here with us? Its fucking freezing out there!”
“He was eating a freaking Diamond Dog Silver! What does that say about him eh? That he fucking eats meat. And what are we? Meat!To him were nothing but food!” At this point you decided you had heard enough and interjected. Walking forward you spoke up.
“Actually that’s false, if you were nothing to me than food then why would i be giving you shelter, food, and helping you. If you were nothing but food, I would've killed you, gutted you, sorted through your flesh, finding the good parts like the meat on Shinings arms, then adding salt to the meat to preserve it. Then i would use your skin for a multitude of uses including but not limited to, storing the meat and salt, making a more comfortable grip for my guns and knife, make clothing, shoes even. I would’ve used your hair for rope, and if I was a sadistic bastard id make a tooth necklace. but i'm not. So stop getting those damn ideas. I'm not gonna kill ya, im not gonna eat ya, and i'm sure as hell not gonna ditch ya. Now if you'll excuse me, i'm going to go finish my meal, of, you guessed it, meat. goodnight, i'll be sleeping in here tonight for your information. Be back in an hour.” You said in a huff, leaving behind a mixture of disgusted and surprised faces as you step back into the cold, quickly transforming to face against this damn cold. You finish cooking, packaging, and preserving the meat with the little salt you found on one of the Diamond Dogs you tied up. After storing your meat in your little pd you open the flap of the tent. Your meet with a blade at your throat and a glaring Flash. You move the blade away with the top of your finger, ignoring the blood dripping down from the cut off the unnaturally sharp blade.
“And what do you think you're doing? “ I growl at him. At this point I've had enough of their shit, besides, I'm already supposed to be dead. You don't exactly survive being a human charcoal stick. I've been on the defensive for too long, time to switch to offense.
“Making sure you stay out.” Flash hissed back.
“I've had enough of your foot one day.” I say as I use the powers gained from the brute. My body growing muscle I thought never possible. My height being elevated a good two feet and my teeth sharpening. I quickly grab his sword with lightning fast speed and throw it out of the tent. The handle of the blade ending itself into the nearby wall making a resounding clang echo through the cave. With that Shining wakes up and sees his unarmed ally take a fighting stance into my now normal form as I raise my fists and reborn myself as therestial. I fly backwards out of the tent as I find of my coat and expose my torso to the elements. He flies towards me, obviously being more skilled in the air than on the ground. I propel myself downward, rolling as I hit the ground and am on my feet as Flash lands with the grace of a swan. You stand at the ready, not wanting to make the first move. After a couple minutes of standing there, slowly bobbing from foot to foot, he let's out a growl of frustration as he charges at you, using his wings for leverage. You try to sidestep but he intercepts, grabbing your hair as he passes by, expecting to this you too the ground. However instead he rips a good chunk of your hair out, snapping your head back and causing you to stumble around, trying to reach the wall. However that never comes as he wastes no time. Flying up he plans to pile drove you into submission. Before he gets there however, a pink transparent glow envelops him halting him before he can begin his descent. The glow then brings him to the ground and pins him to the ground by his wrists and ankles. You finally make it to the wall and try to gather your bearings. As you do Shining steps out from the tent and walks over to Flash.
“What the fuck do you think you're doing!? “ Shining yelled at Flash as he lifts him up, his bindings still holding him spread eagle.
“Doing what I can to protect the others! Have you forgotten what the total guard's motto!?” Flash retorts, by this point you had already popped a pill and you could feel the flesh mend itself as your hair grows back to its original length and you begin to clean the blood, deciding to see how things turn out that interject.
“The motto is ‘To serve and protect the weak, to help the poor, and to never forget your morals.’ and what you just displayed isn't what makes a guard. This being is poor in knowledge, weak to our world, and you are attempting to kill him. Over what? The fact that he has different dietary needs? As captain of the royal guard I hereby place you on probation until further notice. I'll collect your things and it's effects will begin as of your release. You may keep your switchblade for emergencies but I cannot grant the use of your blade and gun while on probation.”
“What if we get attacked again?! What will be off me?!”
“You can hide with the mares.” Shining said with such calmness that it sent a shiver through your spine. The whole ordeal was hilarious to you. All you could think was, ‘Karma's a bitch ain't it?’ But you kept quiet, having a feeling you weren't of the hook either. Spell of the devil, Shining looks towards you work a disappointed glare, his glare softens however.
“The only problem I see here is if you're supposed to be a monster… why didn't you swing first?”
“Because I wanted this to be as fair as possible. If I went charging at him guns blazing after I embeded his sword into the wall during his hissy fit. Well let's just say he wouldn't be walking and talking right now. And what's the use in wasting a life?”
“You're wiser than you seem.”
“Thankyou.” You respond as you transform and scrape Flashes sword or of the wall and into Shinings awaiting hands as he puts it in Flashes seath. You stay silent as you await the upcoming questioning from Shining about what occurred while the rest were asleep.
“Look, I want to talk to you, but not now. Why don't you clean yourself up and meet me inside. Just when you come in, try to be quiet. Ladies are sleeping.”
That was all he said before he stepped inside, trailing Flash behind him. After cleaning yourself appropriately you step into the tent, tiptoeing as you move to a clear spot near the entrance of the tent. You summon your gun to your hand, use your coat as a pillow, and slip into sleeps warm embrace.
You wake up to the feeling of someone shaking your shoulder, sitting up you look to your right to find the same mare that used you as a teddy bear the other day.