“You know you’re going to end up hurting yourself again, and your stitches have only just healed,” Cyril said as he looked up from the fire to scold Angelus like a child.
She glared at him, hoping to tell him how foolish he was with only that. “I won’t. I’ve told you before that Angelus could modify her body to suit her surroundings,” she said as she lifted herself up on her hind legs. “Besides, these legs are fully grown and stronger than you.”
Six days ago Cyril and Angelus had noticed two lumps grown from Angelus’s side. Angelus had supplemented that she had wished for four legs instead of to. Cyril had admittedly began to worry, the sight of two lumps growing from her side, thankfully Angelus had put his fears to rest and assured him that it was natural for her character to change.
“How much practice do you have with those legs?” He asked as he eyed the new additions with a bit of skepticism.
Angelu gave him a half-hearted glare. “That’s why I’m testing them. After your little freak out when they first appeared, I thought it would be best to wait until they were fully formed before standing on them.”
Cyril shook his head in embarrassment, his green cheeks lighting red for a moment. “Hey in my defense I’ve never seen someone grow new limbs without being exposed to radiation,” he replied before clearing his throat and straightening a bit. “So you sure you want to leave tomorrow?”
Angelus lowered herself to where my new forelegs bent when they touched the ground, getting used to the muscles as she supported herself on her wings still. “If I didn’t need to learn how to use these legs, I’d leave today. These mountains are too cold and too sparsely populated to support a dragon for more than passing through to better places.”
He nodded his head as he turned back to the fire. She watched as a frown worked it’s way on his face, like he was disappointed that she was leaving. Angelus frowned herself before shaking her head as she tried to clear her thoughts. Cyril however sat and stared into the fire a bit. He was sad to see her go. Having spent so much time alone and fending for himself, had left him feeling lonely. While Angelus’s attitude was rude and brash, Cyril couldn’t deny that he didn’t want to be alone again.
“Yeah I guess that makes sense. Just remember, the ponies here are a little jumpy so try not to intentionally scare them otherwise you might find them chasing after you,” he offered.
Angelu rolled her eyes and sat her weight fully onto her forelegs. “What is it with you and avoiding ponies? It’s like you want to live as an animal.”
He chuckled lightly, the irony of her statement had not been lost on him. Ever since he had arrived in Equestria he had only ever lived to survive, he never sought out fun things or to try and make friends here. When he wasn’t hunting he was sleeping, when he wasn’t sleeping he was hunting, and when he was doing neither, he had been patrolling his territory to keep other animals out.
“It’s nothing like that, though living like an animal here isn’t the same as living like an animal back home. I’m avoiding the ponies because I don’t want them to come after me.” he paused for a moment as he collected his thoughts. “There’s a race here called changelings. They’re nasty little shapeshifters who drain the love of ponies. Now look at me, a shapeshifter who eats meat, a practice I’m sure is frowned upon by a society of mostly herbivores, back home what’s the first assumption people would make about the two of us?”
“I’m sure as long as we kept the meat eating out of sight, and our attitudes in check, we’ll be able to gain their trust some.” She stamped the ground with each leg before testing to see if she could stand on them separately.
“Well it might also have something to do with the fact that I’ve already been a lab specimen…” He commented not bothering to look at her this time.
Angelu snorted in amusement. “So you were poked and prodded while you were in a cage. I’ve played a VR or two where that happens. Always escaped in the most bloody and gore-filled way I could find.”
He sighed in mild frustration, she was getting on his nerves and he suspected that she knew exactly what she was doing and was loving it.“Firstly I wasn’t in a VR. Sure I wanted to bite that mare, but I didn’t want to seriously hurt her, second her teacher, the most powerful creature in this world was standing right there.”
She glared back a Cyril. “I wasn’t saying you had been in a VR, I was trying to relate to you by saying I had been in the same situation, yet reacted differently.”
“Ah I see,” He said before standing up and stretching. “So how are those new legs then? They giving you any trouble?” he changed the subject hoping to avoid any more unpleasantries.
There was a yelp of surprise quickly followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.. “Not until you asked.”
“oh...well then this is awkward…” Cyril replied going quiet.
“Ya think?” She muttered as she stood up again. Her forelegs shook a little before she sighed and laid down. “So your powers are just like Beast Boy’s?” she growled mild frustraion in her voice.
Cyril turned in surprise, she’d never once really bothered to get to know him, and he couldn’t help but be a little happy about it. he quickly pushed his surprise down however and thought about it.
“Uh, yeah pretty much. I mean I can change into any animal I’ve seen in real life or in books, and I can heal faster than a normal human. I’ve got increased strength and reflexes and a better sense of smell but...that’s about all.”
“So basically exactly like Beast Boy.”She pulled her right foreleg up and rested it on her chin. “Can you change into creatures such as unicorns or gryphons?”
Again surprise worked it’s way on his face. “What you mean like the one’s that live here?”
“Yeah. It’ll be even better if you could turn into a dragon.” She said as she turned to look at the cave entrance, after which she quickly turned back to face Cyril, but he couldn’t help but feel as if she had been trying to avoid looking at him.
Shaking his head to focus he thought about what she was asking. Never once had he actually thought about trying to turn into a pony or a gryphon for that matter. He could Angelus smiling from the corner of his eyes though, she seemed to be enjoying his stupidity. “I’ve, actually never tried it no,”Cyril facepalmed as her smiling turned into a full blown grin “That could have made things so much easier.”
“So you’re a bit too slow to realize that without someone helping you to think about it?”Angelus chuckled and shook her head in amusement. “Maybe you should just stick to being an animal.”
“Hey I…!” he began before he cut himself off and sat back down, a sad frown spreading on his face. It was true, Cyril had never really lived in Equestria. Sure he slept and ate and took up residence in the Everfree, but he never really lived. he used his powers only when the need would arise. he never used them for fun or to relax or even to see what it felt like to be an animal.
“I don’t use my powers except to hunt, fight or get away from danger. I’ve never used them for anything other than surviving.” he whispered out.
I rolled my eyes and gave him my best ‘friendly’ smile. “That’s the difference, then. I’m thinking up ways to use my fire and scales to try to get accepted into pony society, while you - not having been brought up to think long term - are trying to not ‘become corrupted’ by your powers.”
“I’m not trying to prevent being ‘corrupted’, I’m trying to prevent being dissected in someone’s lab.”
“Well how will they know if you look and act just like a pony, or a gryphon, or even a minotaur?”
“Well with a pony it would be harder for them to notice,” he admitted, “But as a gryphon or a minotaur, it would be easy to spot me. Green fur isn’t usually an inherited color of either species.”
Angelus paused for a moment as she thought about something that she hadn't thought of before. “Can you change genders?”
“....”
“...”
The silence that ensued from that single question alone was thick in the air, that even the crunch of the quietest mouse would be heard. Cyril stared at Angelus mild horror on his face, as she stared back curiosity the only emotion he could see..
“...I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.” Cyril finally said as he broke the silence, his cheeks burning bright red in embarrassment.
Angelus snorted in derision. “It’d make you easier to be around if you could. Plus it would make it even harder for those two mares... what were their names? Floyd and Gayness?”
“Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.” he deadpanned. “In what incarnation of the character Beast boy was he ever able to change his gender? This is Beast boy not Gender bender!” he yelled his cheeks still burning bright red.
Angelus shrugged “I guess the producers never thought to bring it up except for one episode.”
Shaking his head to dislodge the unsettling mental images his mind had crafted he turned to Angelus a deep frown on his face “Your future’s messed up cartoons aside, no I highly doubt I can change genders, and if it were possible I would never change into a female. It’s just too weird.” Sighing, he brushed his hair out of his face as he took a breath to calm his nerves. “Now about transforming into a pony, that I can try.”
Closing his eyes, Cyril sat crossed legged and began to sift through his mind as he tried to find the instincts that would come with the form of a unicorn. Concentrating on slowing his breathing he began his search with the Equine species.
“So this is all that’s going to happen? You’re going to stand there with your eyes closed?” Angelus’s voice broke through his concentration as her words wormed their way into his mind.
“I’m trying to find the right instincts so I can see if I can transform into a unicorn. Not every transformation is instantaneous, I have to use a form multiply times in order to use it at will.” he replied, his eyes still closed and his tone sounding a bit harsh.
There was the sound of air being expelled from a small space quickly followed by the subtle shaking of the ground as Angelus laid on the ground to watch him.
Starting again, Cyril began with Equines and slowly sifted through the many different species and breeds of horse, pony donkey and so on. It took a while, but eventually he found what he was looking for. In his mind's eye he could picture the form of an Equestrian native unicorn stallion, Something in his mind quickly took to the image and he could slowly feel his body transforming. His hands slowly began to melt together as they formed the keratin hooves. His feel went through a similar process. His arms and legs extended as his bones slowly shifted, his muscles moving to allow the unnatural movement that came with shapeshifting.
Various other body parts began to shift and Cyril couldn’t help but feel a mild twinge of discomfort as his head neck, and back all shifted. Finally Cyril felt something pushing through the skin of his forehead. As his new horn grew, he felt another twinge of pain but it quickly passed. Opening his eyes Cyril began to examine himself before he gave a whinny of annoyance and stomped one of his hooves before turning in a tight circle to try and examine himself. His nostrils gave a puff of steam as more neighing and whinneys escaped him.
“Heh, guess you found the wrong ones. You’re supposed to be half that tall and be able to talk.” Angelus snarked causing Cyril to turn to her and glare.
She was right though, Cyril looked more like an earth horse with a horn sticking from his forehead. Were he to walk into a town of ponies they would not recognize what he was and thus would more than likely run screaming claiming him some mutant.
Giving Angelus another snort of annoyance he closed his eyes to try and focus again. This transformation took just as long as the last. Having managed to shrink his size, he now looked like a gryphon, though his features looked to realistic and his fur/feathers were still green. Opening his mouth he gave a hawks screech before he quickly closed it and looked down at himself. Another screech, this time in anger, left his beak as he stomped his taloned forelegs on the ground.
Angelus smirked yet again. “Guess you can’t talk while you’re transformed.”
Again he closed his eyes in concentration, and just as before it took much too long, but when he started to transform his body shrank at an alarming rate, before his body was engulfed in green flames.Angelus watched as the fire died down, and standing where Cyril had been was a green bird whose feathers seemed to radiate with heat. The bird gave a screech and flapped it’s wings a few times lifting itself into the air.It’s feathers moved in a way that made the bird appear as if it were on fire before it quickly landed and shook it’s whole body as if dislodging something from between its feathers.
“Well look at that, a green Phoenix. You have any copper in you?”
Cyril quickly returned to normal as he glared at Angelus and mumbled about the magic of Equestria messing with his transformations.
“You aren’t going to try a dragon next?” Angelus asked somewhat excited to see what he would look like.
Cyril shook his head as he turned to Angelus his frown still firmly planted on his face. “Don’t need to. One of the incarnations of Beast boy allowed him to transform into mythical creatures. Already I’ve turned into a unicorn, a gryphon and a Phoenix.” he sighed lying back on the cold ground. “I think my powers only let me transform into non-sapient animals, trying to blend in with the ponies isn’t going to happen.”
“You haven’t tried a dragon yet, though. There’s a chance you’ll still be able to talk.”
“Not likely but I can always give it a shot, after all I know just about as much as you do about my powers.” he replied as he closed his eyes again.
Searching through his instincts again he began to make a mental barrier as he separated normal animals away from the mythical creatures. Animals were placed in mental cages and labeled to make searching for what he wanted easier. Doing this now with his new forms Cyril began to search trying to dig up the instincts of a dragon. It wasn’t easy though because he didn’t know what it was he was looking for.
He sat for a few minutes longer than was normal before he found what he was looking for. Already he could feel the changes coming on. It started with his hands and feet, as it had always done, before slowly traveling up his body. His hands and feet shifted slightly as claws grew from his digits. His head elongated sharp canines forming in his mouth and horns pushing from atop his head. From his backside a tail was already starting to push its way away from his body and the twinge of pain in his back assured him of two nubs slowly growing into large wings. Then Cyril felt cracks going along his skin. Sections of his skin pulled up and slightly inward making layers of skin that overlapped slightly, before the skin quickly hardened and began scales.
Looking down at himself again to take in his new form, he opened his mouth to say something only for a small roar to take place of his words. Angelus stared at him as her mind slowly worked a small detail out.
“.... You’re shorter than me,” she said with a bit of amusement.
Cyril quickly looked down at himself and back at her noting that he was indeed smaller than her. Opening his mouth he let out another roar, this one of anger, as he tried to defend himself.
“Seems like you can’t talk as a dragon either. I do like how strong you look, though.”
Cyril quickly tilted his head as he processed her words before his cheeks were tinted red in embarrassment and quickly turned to leave the cave to cool the burning sensation that accompanied his blush.
Angelus stood outside the cave her wings spread wide in anticipation as the day she would finally leave had come, however her flight was delayed slightly as Cyril stood a ways away as he talked about thermal winds.
“...for the most part you can just use them to glide over long distances, which comes in handy since flapping your wings endlessly wears you out pretty quickly, they also have an added bonus of lifting you higher, but that only really happens if it’s a stronger thermal wind coming from some source like a volcano or a geyser,” He droned on as he started walking around the small snowed in valley.
Angelus watched him with a glower of disapproval even going so far as to blow a cloud of smoke in his direction. Coughing, Cyril waved his hand infront of his face to disperse the cloud. A giggle escaped Angelus’s lips as his nose was covered in black soot
Glaring back up at Angelus Cyril spoke his tone showing how unamused.“Look, I’m trying to help you. The first time I flew I got distracted and nearly crashed headfirst into a tree.” he said as he grabbed some snow to wash his face with.
“And I know everything you’re telling me,”She replied. “I’ll learn nothing new from you when it comes to flying.”
Grunting in annoyance, he threw his hands up. “So sorry, I was only trying to be helpful.” he said as he walked well out of Angelus’s wingspan.“So you’re going to leave today then? Any clue where you’re going or what you’ll do?” he asked calmly.
“Yes, I am.”she replied stretching her wings a bit. “Like I said yesterday, these mountains are too cold and too sparsely populated by animals to support a dragon. A better place would be a forest or some plains.”
He nodded for a second thinking about something for a moment before he snapped his fingers. “Just some friendly advice, if you head southeast, there’s a big city called Baltimare, right next to it, is a forest. As far as I know, there aren’t any dangerous animals that could get the jump on you.”
“Hah, as if something smaller than me could hurt me.” she sniffed in disdain. “I think I’ll head southwest, though.”
“There’s a place out there called Los Pegasus, I think Vanhoover is also in that general direction,” he said aloud more to himself than to anyone else.
“So where are you going to head?” Angelu asked.
He paused for a minute. “I hadn’t really thought about it, before you showed up I was planning on heading to the Crystal Empire just a ways west of here, but I’m not planning to make my home there. It’s still cold and they’ve got a princess living there.”
Angelus scoffed and rolled her eyes “Really? Even more princesses? Why are there no kings or queens that I’ve heard of?”
“Because females outnumber males five to one plus as far as I know the four princesses are all alicorns so they’re pretty much immortal. Who better to run an entire country than the one who’s watched it grow through it’s good and bad spots?” Cyril said as his tone changed to one very similar to that of a scholar.
“If that’s the case why not call themselves queens?”
“I don’t know, maybe they can’t be Queens until they get married or something” he replied before he stopped to think about something. “Although Cadence is married to Shining Armor and she still has the title princess…”
Sighing Angelus shook her head, “I don’t get this world’s politics. Anyways, I might as well get going.”
Cyril nodded, sorrow flashing across his face but a moment before he quickly hide it. Taking a deep breath Cyril gave Angelus a forced smile before transforming into a hawk and taking off west, leaving Angelus to stand at the mouth of the cave alone
He flew for half an hour before he was finally sure he was far enough away from Angelus that she wouldn’t see him. Landing quickly his form reverted to his human state as his hands clutched at his chest. The pain had slowly started to bloom throughout his when he had left Angelus behind. a Part of him had wanted to stay and see her off, mostly to make sure she would be fine, but that part of him that couldn’t watch her go, couldn’t bear to be left alone again had forced him to leave without saying a true goodbye.
It wasn’t any sort of affection towards the girl turned dragon, but a deep desire to have company, and as it had been with the ponies, Cyril was afraid. Afraid that if he had stayed and they did travel together, that they’d grow attached, become friends even, and then she’d leave him in search of her own glory. That fear was to much for him, he wouldn’t allow that to be his life, he couldn’t let that be his life.
The pain never left his chest, not really, but as he kneeled their allowing the events to replay in his mind, the throat slowly numbed itself and with heavy limbs, Cyril managed to pick himself up and walk forward towards his destination, his powers allowing him some ability to weather the mildly cold snow around him, he would change and fly to his destination soon, but for now he needed time to think and allow himself to collect his thoughts.