Wayward Sun was a simple stallion. Clad in chainmail and plate armor, his only adornment was a white tabard marked with a blazing sun motif. He sat with his back to a lone oak, taking a break from his travels to recover his strength. At his side sat the rest of his trusty equipment: a large metal shield and a well-crafted longsword. The stallion with the golden coat sighed in contentment, the sun above him glinting off of his trusty great helm.
“Excuse me, good sir.”
Wayward looked up from his reverie. Standing next to him was a vision of loveliness: a unicorn mare with a mane of royal purple and a coat of silken white. “Ah, hello!” Wayward smiled as he stood. “How may I assist you?”
The mare averted her eyes momentarily before smiling at Wayward. “I’m terribly sorry to disturb you, but this sunlight has made me quite parched.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Could I trouble you for a drink?”
“Well…” Wayward looked the mare over, noticing a number of minor wounds under her robes. “Forgive my wandering eye, but you seem to be wounded. Are you in peril of some sort?”
“Hmm?” The mare glanced down at herself. She frowned for a moment, her eyebrows knitting as she saw the state of herself. “A minor scuffle, nothing more. I’ve been… temporarily separated from my companions.” She waved her hoof dismissively. “Nothing I won’t survive, I can assure you.”
The golden stallion thought for a moment. “Then here,” he said, offering a small, green clay flask. “Try just a sip of this.”
The mare took the flask with her magic, raising a skeptical eye at the flask. The liquid inside seemed to glow with a yellow light, like a tiny sun was at the bottom of the flask. “Are you sure?” she asked. “There doesn’t seem to be enough for one pony, let alone two.”
Wayward chuckled. “Trust me. It packs quite a punch. Hah hah hah!”
After another moment of confusion, the mare raised the flask to her lips, taking care to only let a small amount of the liquid enter her mouth. Instantly, her eyes flew open as she gagged, almost spitting the contents of her mouth on the ground. Instead, she forced it down, her face screwing up in disgust. “B-bitter,” she coughed, trying to clear the taste from her tongue. “And it burns! How can you drink something like this?”
Wayward laughed again. “I did try to warn you. Besides, its effects more than make up for it. Just give it a second.”
“Effects?” Before she should get an answer, the purple-maned mare felt a heat radiating out from the pit of her stomach. She felt energized, like she’d just woken up from a power nap. A quick look over herself revealed that her body was faintly glowing, and as the glow faded, so did her wounds. “Wow. That’s… incredible!”
“Indeed it is!” Wayward took the flask from the stunned mare, tucking it back into his tabard. “It is a secret potion from my homeland. It restores our energy and cures your wounds. Worry not! The ingredients are simple, although the recipe does require a certain amount of work.” He stood, brushing the dust from his chainmail. “I would share the recipe with you, but I’m afraid it would take more time than we have in the day.”
The mare looked up at the sky. The sun had started its descent toward the horizon. “Oh my, has that much time passed already? I should continue my search for my companions.”
“Will you be alright on your own?” Wayward asked, securing his equipment to his belt. “I could take some time from my own journey to assist you on yours. After all, why not help one another on this lonely journey? So, what do you-” He froze. When he looked up from his equipment, the mysterious purple-maned mare was gone. “Well, yes, quite understandable. I suppose.” He glanced up at the sun and sighed. “We’ll laugh it off, shall we? Hah hah hah!”
* * *
From a distance away, the purple-maned mare watched the golden stallion start on his way again. A wry smile spread over her face. She chuckled to herself, slipping further back into the treeline. “That worked out much better than I expected.” She stopped, coming across a puddle in her way. Her smile widened as she inspected her reflection in the water. “I suppose I really do look the part.” The mare flipped her purple mane.
Before the curl could return to its original position, a flash of light passed over the pony’s body. The mare’s body became more stocky, the features of her face hardening and sharpening slightly. The silvery-white fur turned a shade of blue-green, spotted by patches of a more mint shade. The purple mane shortened, turning to a similar, if lighter, shade as the coat. Once the light had faded, only the smile remained as an identical feature.
Wits End’s hoof went up to his mane. “I will admit, I made that look good,” he chuckled. “This Alter Self spell is great! I could be anypony I wanted with this! I could be the rough-and-tumble tomcolt.” A flash of light and Rainbow Dash’s face looked up at him from the puddle.
“Or the hyperactive party mare.” Another flash and Pinkie Pie’s face bobbed in front of his eyes.
“Or even the fan favorite…” Flash. A familiar grey pegasus mare appeared in the reflection.
“Woah,” she muttered, holding a hoof to her face. “How does anyone see like this?” She paused, surprise registering in her misaligned eyes.
“Is that my voice? Is that MY voice?” The pegasus mailmare shook her head. “Nope. Can’t handle this.” The grey mare’s body vanished in a flash of light, replaced by the mint-colored stallion’s.
“Wow.” Wits End shook his head, forcing his eyes to face the same direction again. “That hurt my brain. Note to self: don’t do that again.” His smile returned. “Still, this opens a whole bunch of new opportunities for fun.”
Flash.
“Wits End!” Twilight frowned at the reflection. “Stop having fun! Books books books!”
Flash.
“Well gosh golly darnation!” Applejack’s eyes were wide. “Golly gee, Wits! Ah’m a cowpony! Howdy howdy howdy! Buy some apples!”
Flash.
A blush spread over Fluttershy’s face. “Nope, can’t even do this as a joke.”
With a final flash, Wits returned to his original form. “Still, there doesn’t seem to be any limitations on this spell.” He placed a hoof on his chin. “I wonder… Does it work if I try it ponies that don’t actually exist?” He closed his eyes and focused. After several seconds of concentration, the light returned. “Feels different this time…”
* * *
Wayward Sun hacked at an overhanging branch with his blade, cutting it cleanly off the offending tree. He couldn’t shake the image of the purple-maned mare from before. As a result, he had turned right around and forged a path into the forest, where he was sure the mare had to have gone. “My quest can wait,” he muttered to himself as he chopped down another branch in his way. “My return from Lost Izalithoroughbred can wait until this fair maiden is safely returned to her companions. No adherent of The Lady of Sunlight would leave a defenseless pony in danger.”
“Oh my, such a gentlestallion.”
Wayward spun around, his sword and shield at the ready. A washed-out-green pony with long, slender legs trotted out from behind a nearby tree, with a coat spotted by patches of more vibrant emerald-color. Long locks of a raven-black mane framed an androgynous face, broken by a long curved horn sprouting from the pony’s forehead. Its tail was covered by short hair like its body, except for the same long black hair at the end, creating an appearance more like a lion’s tail than a pony’s.
“And who are you?” Wayward asked, not dropping his guard for a moment.
The mysterious pony grinned, leaning against the tree. “Someone who’s an adventurer for fun. You can relax. I’ve no intention of fighting you.”
“Hmm.” Wayward relaxed, but didn’t sheath his blade. “In that case, I must ask you a question. Have you seen a young mare come through here? She had a coat of silver, and a mane of the finest purple.”
“The unicorn mare?” The black-maned pony thought for a moment. “Why do you ask?”
Wayward’s eyes narrowed. “Because I care for her safety. You clearly know of her fate, so tell me before I lose my patience.”
The pony chuckled. “Calm yourself, knight. Your fair maiden is safe. I saw to her myself.”
“And how can I trust you?” Wayward asked.
“Now why would you ask to trust a stranger in the middle of the woods?” the pony laughed. “Your fair maiden has a friend in me, good knight. Turn back to your own travels or continue your search for the mare. It’s no matter to me.” With that, the black-maned unicorn trotted past Wayward.
After a moment, Wayward sheathed his sword and turned to watch the pony retreat. “I do not believe I ever got your name, wanderer.”
The pony paused. “How very true,” it mused. It tilted its head back, looking over its shoulder at the knight, a toothy grin still on its face. “I do believe you’re right.” With another laugh, the black-maned pony passed behind a tree and disappeared from view.
Wayward frowned, watching where the pony had vanished. The mysterious unicorn had certainly seemed strange, but there hadn’t been any malice in its voice; only smug amusement. Besides, Wayward thought, with that much of a delay, the mare must be well out of reach by now. With a sigh, the wandering knight turned back to the forest entrance and set off for the end of his journey once again.
* * *
The black-maned unicorn watched from the shadows as Wayward Sun set off on the road. Its tail swept lazily behind it, like a hunter after a successful hunt. “Too simple,” it chuckled. “Far too sim-”
“Wits?” Twilight Sparkle’s voice broke into the unicorn’s thoughts. “Are you there? I need to check in. How are you doing?”
The pony’s smile fell as it was interrupted. It only took a moment for it to recompose itself, setting its grin back on its face. “I’m sorry,” it replied, “but Wits End is out at the moment. Please hang up and try again later, won’t you?”
“Wits? What do you mea-”
“Your call is important to us.” With a mental click, the telepathic connection closed, leaving the black-maned pony to laugh in the resulting silence.