Chapter 6_ World Blink – Sumac Bat Fairy
Huddled in her black leathery wings as she looks at the rising sun and feeling sore in more ways than one, was a pale skinned, horned… squirrel? No maybe she was a bat. Whatever she was it had many of the features of Hound’s true form.
‘Was this what Hound Speakers kin looked like when they were first born, loosing the wings and horns as they become adult hunters.’ The black winged fairy which was no taller than a large rat, Sumac pondered bitterly. ‘I should ask Hound about this before I rip him or her apart.’
“Another silent vigil?” a sleepy Princess Trixie yawns.
“When there is no trail to follow you can only wait or find another to hunt.” Sumac muttered sullenly.
“It would be for the best if you do not try to kill him when we all see him next. We need to find out how his transformation is related to yours.” Trixie scolds.
“What do you mean?” Sumac retorts taking flight and turning to the princess still covered up in her bed.
“Hound Speaker as you know him is really a biped… human named Kelly Mathews who says she was kidnapped and transformed before she ended up walking into your packs territory.” Trixie replies poking her head out of the covers. “The magic for something like that can’t be reversed on the dead. You don’t sound like you want to be stuck like this, or am I wrong?”
Hound fluttered back down to the window ledge.
“Your right I need to stay calm.” Sumac replies in a resigned tone.
“You don’t sound surprised by what I said Hound was?” Trixie asks curiously.
“My pack-mates and I noticed something strange about Hound’s real self’s scent. He was female. I snagged some mane fur and it changed scent upon dying after our first meeting. I already seen her before the pony spell was used on her.” Sumac adds calmly.
“So you thought she was a male at first.” Trixie replies.
“Hound had the build and even scent of one as far as my nose could tell. The scent of unnatural magic clung to everything she touched.” Sumac replies her tail twitching. “After finding out she was a she I followed my nose into the pony den and found a small thing that looked like I do now with her scent on it just outside the main trail. I planned on returning it to jog Hound’s memory and break the pony spell.”
“But it turned you into this.” Trixie replies with a hint of concern in her voice.
“I got knocked out in a fall. I didn’t know I transformed. Some loud pony barking later drew me further into the pony den and I spotted Hound in her original form… or the form I was first acquainted with and gave chase.” Sumac continued. “That smoky metal beast started moving and I fought to hold on. I found a small gap in its skin and crawled inside until the metal beast slowed. I almost had Hound only for her to vanish before my eyes.”
Trixie thought back to how the confrontation went at the train station.
They were all filing off the train. Princesses Luna and Trixie took the lead followed by Cheerilee and Derpy. Derpy was waving a hoof to encourage the bi-peddle swordsman Nigel to get off the train.
Once off the train however Nigel seems to cast his head about in confusion and quickly starts to become see through.
“Hound…” A tiny flying creature shrieks loudly.The creature has a pale rose completion her skin to contrast the black of the rest of her form. Lightning like sparks danced in her clawed fingers. “Get back here!”
“Princesses we have a problem back here!” Lyra shouts seeing the angry fairy zip into the spot where Nigel once stood.
Both princesses turned and caught the flash ball lightning colliding with an over eager night guard. The night guard’s trajectory changed by the hit, careened into a bush and his fur and main fluffed out in static cling. The guard attempts to pull himself triggering a crack of static to arc over his body which makes him sigh in defeat.
“Are you alright?!” Derpy calls to the guard.
“Yeah I’m alright, just warm and fuzzy for all the wrong reasons.” The guard groans narrowing his eyes to glare at the fairy that hit him.
“Who are you and how dare you assault one of my guards?” Luna calls out in a scolding fashion to the fairy.
“My apologies for injuring your pack-mate… herd-mate, I didn’t know I had this magic.” The fairy replies fluttering down to land on Luna’s hoof. “My name is Sumac, timber wolf.”
Back in the present Trixie put a hoof to her chin thought before commenting on the new information. “I’ll need to consult the Magic Council about the spell on you, and maybe even Twilight Sparkle. It will take a few days to arrange a meeting.”
Elsewhere in an isolated tower overlooking the sea on the island nation of Mercator, an elderly man dressed in ankle length deep blue robes with a combination yellow and green stripe down the front emblazoned with a human skull. A frayed gray poncho in turn covered up the upper part of his robe and beaded rosary of stone and claw hung from the man’s neck. Colored like his robe was a frayed brim circular blue hat with a bent narrow cone poking above a yellow ribbon fixed to a square brass buckle.
This magician has only just pulled a large red text from one of the three shelves in his private study. The red book which was possible as large as a flag stone and maybe as thick rested in the magician right hand as he began skimming it not even waiting to reach his desk for contents of vast importance.
“Master Mir, you summoned me. What task do you need done?” a slender figure askes from the shadows.
“I need you to see to it I’m not disturbed here until five sunsets from now.” Mir replies sparing only a glance for his servant.
“It will be done as you ask. Is this about our unsettling sense of being elsewhere when we have not left?” The servant replies.
“It is more than a sense and there is something I must prepare. Now be off with you!” Mir orders having stopped at a page and silently scribing notes to a blank scroll with an inked quill.
It has been four days since the mission to expose a mass foalnapping plot of nobles revealed the new mystery of an unrelated abduction. A stranger looking much like the Elf peoples of the mostly closed boarders Continent had been among the victims. From the moment Luna laid eyes on him she had become certain that a sinister conspiracy held the stranger in its grip. The fact he vanished upon arrival to Ponyville right under her nose only fueled Luna’s fears that Equestria was about to be in danger.
The being of the stranger’s dreams was unknown to Luna but the madness it caused and helplessness it inspired was none the less bile boiling. It hit far too close to home for Luna with what just befell her own kingdom. The stranger needed therapy urgently for what they have been on both counts as the strangers dreams were not the only violation they had suffered.
“Has word arrived yet from guard left at Maple village.” Luna irritably demands.
“We have lost contact with them Princess, Guardsmen Starry Colors has just returned with dire news. You may step forward Guardsmen.” Luna’s Guard Captain repiles.
“Sir… Princess Luna it has been thirty-six hours since the team left at Maple village failed to report in and I was dispatched to find out why.” A night guard named Starry Colors replies saluting her commander than turning to salute Luna. “I took the train until the conductor and I literally had to abandon the engine due to derailment.”
“The train derailed!” Luna replies in shocked surprise.
“Yes mamm. We had no warning the track was just gone. After flying the conductor to a safe patch of ground away from doomed train, I took to the sky to again to survey the damage…” Starry Colors adds trailing off.
“What did you see?” Luna asks her fur starting to bristle in frustration.
“It… The land… The best way for me to describe what I was looking at when I tried to survey the land below was to compare it to moth eaten tapestry where your vision blurs when you try to focus on the holes. Whole sections of the landscape were just missing.” Starry Colors continues. “The way these holes were spread out it could almost be mistaken for a trail of some kind. I tried to get a closer look when I noticed that last detail but I couldn’t get any closer to any of the holes than the balcony overlooking the square.”
“Why not?” Luna asks.
“As I got closer the more trouble breathing became. I wasn’t even sure I was even flying strait until my ears almost lost all sensation of noise and I snapped my eyes shut and flew for any kind normal noise.” Guard Starry Colors replies now clearly trembling. “We couldn’t get closer without going around and after that I feared getting hopelessly lost to even try.”
“What about the conductor?” Luna asks with a sigh.
“We back tracked to the switch point and caught ride back with a freight Train.” Starry Colors concludes. “The conductor went to the train yard to report the derailment.”
“Princess… Commander, Princess Trixie requests an audience.” Another guard announces.
“Thank you for the report you’re dismissed.” Princess Luna says sending guard Starry Colors off.
“Luna, I wish to address the magic academy about Sumac’s curse.” Princess Trixie asks.
“I will convene the academy’s brightest scholars and volunteers. I take it the one we discovered by her original name of Kelly has not returned yet to provide an answer.” Luna replies placing a hoof to her head.
“Yes it is unfortunately as you say.” Trixie replies. “I can only hope that Kelly’s disappearance was good news but I worry that the issues with Sumac being linked with her means our troubles are not yet over.”
Outside the throne room Sumac was looking for a place to hide from the pony guard’s watchful gaze as he was not use to being the size of prey with everything he once considered a food item being bigger. There was no chase as one might figure for the former timber wolf merely the reality of being deeply in another creature’s territory and being the center of everyone else’s attention.
Sumac search for solitude while keeping the trail back to the pony Trixie close eventually lead to a small office with a telescope and some plush furniture. No one was in the office making it an inviting place to rest and hide from the eyes. Sumac flies over to a young but well kempt tree that sat potted near the desk. The sapling Crab Apple sported a healthy trunk and many tiny yet broad green leaves, which quickly eased Sumac’s tense nerves. Sumac crawls into the pot intent on relaxing enough to think.
Hound Speaker a pony that was something else entirely; occupied Sumac’s mind yet again this time going over the dreams the young stranger was helped to describe. He had only gotten a short ways into his reminiscing when his eyes wonder onto an object that seemed out of place and one Sumac was certain had not been there when he arrived.
The object was a figurine of a mutant ant with a long flexible looking snout adorned in armor similar to what the ponies were wearing and posed in an unnatural stance so it could hold things in its fore limbs.
Even without his real body Sumac bristled with unwanted tension at the sight of the figurine that was too much like Hound’s doll. Taking flight once more Sumac heads for the office door not wanting to have anything to do with this alien thing.
“Sumac you are ordered to come with me.” An angry night guard shouts.
Startled Sumac turns wings flapping defensively in an attempt to ready himself to face off against the guard. No sooner was the guard insight a new yellow light erupts from behind Sumac.
“By the Aether’s way I Samantha, bring the Overworlder’s Honor and the Danian’s Pride to aid you my other worldly friend.” A young female voice shouts out from behind Sumac. Judging by how the guard blanched and took off, Sumac was pretty certain that he didn’t want to turn around.
“How precious, but isn’t being this small even with a displaced powers dangerous? Seriously my hands are bigger.” The voice’s owner, a giant mutant ant looking a lot like the figurine from before continued speaking and pulling out a thin slab with a green gem fixed to its top and trimmed with gold. “Let me get a quick scan of you.”
Sumac trembled in spite of his better instincts to run as he would not have chosen to fight the pony sized ant even with his old timber wolf body. The normally disorientating light not enough to make Sumac break eye contact with this new threat; he only regained his wits in time to make a feeble attempt to flee an approaching hand.
“Don’t run away I’m here to help you. What can I do for you?” Samantha asks holding the fairy in her hand.
“Giant ant…” Sumac replies raspy.
“On my father’s side and it would be Danian not giant ant. My mother was a Loxodon or elephant warrior, but again not an elephant; Ms Strange Stats.” Samantha scolds feeling a little cross over the comment.
“Where did you come from my home is in a forest three dawns run from here? I’m Sumac; I apologize for being rude you are the second new creature I’ve met that is unnatural to me.” Sumac replies still scared.
“You’re just new to this displaced stuff. My home is Obsidian Falls in the Basalt Valley of Perim.” Samantha replies. “Did you actual have need of my skills to return to my earlier question?”
“I didn’t ask for help. I bumped into a thing that looked like you only smaller. I could use the help in tracking down Hound Speaker as it was one of his… her things that made me like this.” Sumac replies.
“Is that what he calls himself here? My mom’s stories mention a cloaked figure whose features are shrouded in shadow that sells these cursed things. You’re lucky you still can go home at all, it really is your fault to do business with him.” Samantha chuckles out a reply.
“Hound Speaker’s features were never shrouded in shadows. Her true form had sunflower colored mane limited to the top of her head and pointy ears…” Sumac snarls.
“No way, I’m sorry…” Samantha replies shocked.
“Your description is not of Hound, but it reminds me of a conversation I once had with her on a thing in her nightmares.” Sumac replies.
“Oh no… she’s the displaced. None of mom’s stories covered this, but none of them covered inheriting these powers either like I did either.” Dania continued.
“Surrender now Intruder!” Princess Luna orders with a shout leading a six guard formation.
Samantha furrows her brow as she looks over at the alicorn. An earth pony guard breaking formation to try to tackle the oversized ant.
‘You stupid overeager beta.’ Sumac thinks with groan as Samantha grabs the guard out of the air mid lung with her prehensile snout and flings him over her shoulders behind her. A loud crash of falling objects signaling the guard would not return to this fight.
“Use your spears to keep the intruder at range and don’t hurt our guest.” Luna orders frowning.
Four of the guards advanced. Two going high and over Samantha with the other two stopping short in front of her in a pouncing stance spears readied. Samantha lets go of Sumac causing him to be teleported over to Luna.
“What do you take me for?” Samantha sighs dismissively.
“A prisoner.” Luna retorts the guards lunging with their spears.
Sumac understood what the ponies intended as Samantha used her free hands to redirect each spear head meant for her to a weak spot of on different guards armor. The ponies did their pounce and caged their prey, but it would be the prey getting the kill if these guards had been as bad as the first choosing instead to be disarmed and roll away from their pounce to avoid getting stabbed.
“Do I have to do everything myself?” Luna screams charging a spell.
Samantha throws down all but one stolen spear and pulls a crystal ring from a pouch at the sight of a large ball of bluish magic raced to hit her. She shouts. “Refrain of Denial.”
Just as Luna’s magic came in for a hit a shaft of light intercepts and erases the attack.
“Samantha stop, I’m not in danger here. I am a guest here,” Sumac shouts flying to get between the two fighters. “You need to go home. I didn’t ask for your help and this fight is not helping me.”
“You’re right, you said before it was an accident. To send me home you just have to say my name and our contract is done. Even when it’s a token mistake the return command remains fickle that way.” Samantha replies down cast pulling out another crystal ring and tossing it to Sumac. The ring shrinking so Sumac could catch it. “You should be able to cast this one by calling out Song of Reversal. You and your Displaced may one day need its help in this path in life.”
“Thank you Samantha our contract is done.” Sumac replies catching the ring and placing it in a bag of her own that came with the body. Another flash of light later and Samantha was gone leaving the figurine in her place.
“I want that object placed in the forbidden vault. You all will then report to the guard captain for remedial training. Am I understood?”Princess Luna orders.
“Yes Milady.” The guards reply recovering the figurine to lock it up.
Elsewhere in the castle during the confrontation a man in dark blue robes and pointy hat put the finishing touches on a teleportation ritual circle.
“It’s up to you now my other self. You know what Nigel must do.” Mir the wizard whispers before teleporting out.
Later on after seeing Princess Trixie off to Ponyville, Princess Luna prepares to raise the moon and set her stars. Upon completion of her ritual Luna noticed something off.
“Sister is something wrong?” Celestia asks seeing Luna’s annoyed expression.
“There is an extra planet or star bringing my night sky out of balance.” Luna replies closing her eyes in concentration. After a exerting her magic Luna stops a hoof in frustration. “Something interferes with my powers. First was learning the lost team could not be tracked, and then it was mystery with our guest Sumac, and lastly was the humiliation of myself and the guard by a child of an intruder.”
“Sister Lulu please let me help.” Celestia pleads.
“I appreciate the gesture Tia, but I think the only thing we can do is wait. Tomorrow will meet with the academy Headmaster about Sumac and start unraveling that mystery and maybe the rest of these puzzles will become clear.” Luna replies accepting her sister’s nuzzle of affection.
Elsewhere in a Ponyville far off a man in dark blue robes and a pointy hat stood waiting.
“I would seem my part will soon be played. Nigel be ready.” Mir whispers.