A Clash of Magics

by Lemon Twist

A Clash of Magics - Part 2

Shino woke the third time much earlier than usual. In fact it was many more than three wakes as her sleep had been very disturbed, but she thought that it probably did not count as a proper wake if the sun was not up. Therefore, as soon as it was, she rose quietly and tip-hooved out of the Library, shutting and latching the door carefully behind her.

She remembered the main route to the Everfree Forest, and hoped that she would be able to get to Zecora's hut safely. Just hoping to be safe was unwise, but she was so keen to get answers that she even considered this risk acceptable, possibly because she did not really know the dangers she could face.

The Forest was more intimidating when alone and in the grey light of dawn, and it was not long before she was wondering if this had been a wise idea. After all, she had previously only had an impression of evil, she had not actually seen any, but she had a growing feeling that if she saw any it would be too late to avoid it. Nevertheless, she was keen to learn what Zecora's potion might be able to provide, so she continued deep into the Forest.

Despite her worries, she arrived at Zecora's hut safely as the forest gloom was just beginning to lighten. The zebra was pottering around gathering items from nearby bushes but looked up, ears cocked and eyes wide, as she heard a single set of approaching hooves.

She relaxed as she saw Shino, but was obviously surprised to see she was unaccompanied.

“So Shino, you have come alone
To visit once again my home.
My potion you are keen to try
To repair magic gone awry.”

With a smile she beckoned Shino into her house and placed the gathered materials on a low shelf. Then she turned and picked up another flask, which she unstoppered and poured into a deep bowl. Shino did not trust herself to speak, so she just pointed at it and looked inquiringly at Zecora, who nodded in confirmation. As Shino reached out for it Zecora placed a hoof over it and looked seriously at her.

“You wish to try, I understand,
But our friends are not at hand.
They will be upset if they miss
The outcome if you now drink this.”

Shino felt a pang of remorse. Until now she had been so focussed on her problems that she had not really considered what her new friends had done for her. How would they feel to find she had sneaked off like this, risked the Everfree Forest alone and tried the potion without their support. She supposed they would be upset, just as she would have been if a patient of hers had behaved similarly. But then the need to know overcame all her principles, she pushed Zecora's hoof aside and downed the potion. It had a sour, liquorice taste, and no other apparent effect. Shino scowled a little as she waited for a result, without apparent success.

“This potion has delayed effect
As you have now come to suspect,
Though not as long as you might fear;
Your magic now comes very near.”

There was something in the zebra's manner and tone that commanded belief. Still not trusting herself to speak, Shino nodded her thanks to Zecora and began her return to Ponyville. Zecora watched, anxiety clear on her face, as Shino left the glade. The wise-zebra had seen, deep down, a kind and caring soul dedicated to healing; similar to Fluttershy in that respect. But overlaying it was a thick layer of death and destruction. What had the stranger been through to accrue so much damage? What might she do when she got her magic back? And would it be possible to send her home?

***

Spike was first up, as usual after a late night study session. He began his day with a small gemstone snack left over from the previous night's supper and a brisk buff of his scales, then did a quick tidy up; putting away large items, gathering the laundry and (in passing) registering that something was wrong but unable to identify what. Idly curious about the niggling puzzle, he lit the stove with a cough of flame, got out the pans, and prepared the pancake mix. Then he set to preparing the breakfast.
A few minutes later all was prepared and he went to call the ponies.

“Twilight,” he called, then opened his mouth to shout “Shino” and the penny dropped. He bounded up the stairs, yelling, “Twilight! Twilight! Shino's gone!” Twilight raised her head sleepily as Spike burst into her bedroom. “What? What?” she mumbled, and yawned widely.

“Twilight, Shino's gone. There's no sign of her anywhere. She must have gone out alone.”

Shaking her head clear of sleep, Twilight muttered, “And we all know where to, don't we?”

Spike's eyes grew huge in astonishment. “Alone? Into the Everfree Forest? But she doesn't have any magic or anything.”

Twilight leapt out of bed and threw the window open. As luck would have it, Rainbow Dash was dozing on a cloud that was floating nearby. Twilight telekinetically prodded her with a twig from the library's “thatch” until she got a coherent response. She beckoned the pegasus closer and told her the news as she arrived. Rainbow Dash was at first dismissive; after all, only a total fool would go into the Forest alone. Twilight scowled at her. “You mean, like we all have at one time or another? And we know the tales, she doesn't.”

Rainbow suddenly looked anxious. “I see what you mean. I'll just take a quick sweep round town to see if I can see any signs, then I'll round up the others if I can't.” Twilight agreed, and hurried downstairs to help Spike provide breakfast for the others when they arrived.

It took less than a quarter of an hour for them all to congregate in the kitchen, grab a few mouthfuls of food, then set out in search of Shino; Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew ahead to scout for signs of her, although when they reached the Forest the tree cover was very dense and the ground was rarely visible.

***

Shino peered into the bushes; she had heard a distinct snap as a branch was trodden on and the whispering of bushes being pushed aside. Then she heard a pony's whimper at the same time as something large gave a deep growl. Shino eased cautiously through the undergrowth to get an idea of what the threat was, wondering to herself why she was not just running to safety. As she neared a slight gap in the trees she caught a glimpse of red and gold, possibly a pony's mane, and then shadows between her and it. A few seconds later one of the shadows slunk across a slightly lit area, and Shino saw that it looked like a wolf-creature made of branches and twigs, scraps of timber magically animated to replicate real creatures. But then it stopped slinking, and rose up... and up... and up... to its full height. It was at least half as tall again as a pony, and then she could see several others that were only a little smaller. Facing them was a golden pony with a red mane, staring at them defiantly while shaking with fear. Between the mare's legs Shino could see a terrified colt laid on the ground, gasping for breath. Seeing the mare standing there alone, unmoving, the timber-wolves had given up stealth and were advancing openly. Shino's memory reminded her that she had faced many foes more formidable than these in her former life; but then it also reminded her that she had faced them with teams of highly skilled combatants used to working as a team. This time she was alone, or paired up with a terrified colt and his mother, so the sensible action was to... RUN! She did... toward the besieged pair. Screaming at the top of her voice, she raced between the predators and the ponies, who promptly turned and bolted. The timber-wolves were startled into a few seconds of immobility, but that was enough to give Shino the head start she needed as she raced after the ponies.

The whole scene had only taken a few seconds, so the others had a short lead as Shino began to gallop after them. Behind she could hear snarls and crashing sounds as the creatures thrust through the bushes after their prey. The pursuit was on.

The ponies galloped for all they were worth, mostly dodging branches and roots that suddenly seemed to always be in the way, as if attempting to stun or trip them. Despite their best efforts they all received scrapes and bruises as they ran. They needed to get well clear of the Forest, then their pursuers would (hopefully) abandon the chase on open ground.

They had nearly made it, and they could see a lightening of the gloom ahead of them, populated by comforting glimpses through gaps in the undergrowth of her friends approaching when, galloping along just at the rear, Shino gasped as, with a thud and skitter, the mare (who had been galloping behind the colt, chivvying him to run at his utmost) tripped and fell. Shino's instinctive reaction was to jump the thrashing body, and for a few paces her panic kept her going, but then the thought of the lone pony left to the attentions of those monsters and the fate of the motherless colt brought her to a skidding halt. She spun, to see the mare lying in a crumpled gasping heap beneath the hulking shapes of the wolf-shaped timber monsters. They loomed over her, snuffling at her with their wooden muzzles. Shino was determined that the mare would not be their prey..

“BY THE LIGHT, YOU SHALL NOT HAVE HER!” she screamed at the top of her voice.

The Light heard. The Light answered.

As the timber-wolves all turned their heads to her and raised their muzzles as if to sniff the air, Shino felt an old familiar tingling sensation course through her. She glanced down and saw the pool of deep purple shadow forming around her feet and releasing “fumes” that curled and swirled around her. As she lifted her gaze back to the approaching timber-wolves her mouth widened into an ecstatic grin.

She was once again a conduit of The Light. She was once again the Shino she had always been (except in shape, of course). Her long experience of combat while exploring Azeroth came to her aid, identifying targets and planning her attack sequence.

At the edge of the forest, the six friends heard Shino's cry and, fearing the worst, swung off the track into the bushes, dashing as fast as possible to her aid. They struggled through tangled bushes and ducked around grasping trees as they sought to rescue the stranger.

Shino's first move was to aim a spell at the largest wolf, probably the alpha (male?) to distract it from its prone prey. A forehoof pointed at it launched a beam of purple light which struck its chest and made it stagger. As it continued for several seconds, Shino was gratified to observe that the other wolves also showed signs of injury, so the 'area of effect' spells still worked as she expected. That was useful to know.

As the beam vanished, Shino aimed her next spell at the alpha, causing a dark cloud to form around its head then implode into its skull, causing it to keen in pain. Now she had its full attention, as it started to stagger toward her. Seeing the alpha turn away from the fallen mare toward a new prey, the other timber-wolves also turned and Shino found herself facing six twig-fanged muzzles. Her grin widened; now she had rediscovered her purpose.

Obviously all in pain, the timber-wolves advanced toward her, initially at a steady, cautious pace. That suited Shino; in quick succession she cast the same spell on all of them, one at a time. Each of them was briefly surrounded by a bluish cloud which seemed to implode into their head. Last to be targeted was the alpha, and the new surge of pain goaded it into accelerating toward her. The other wolves followed suit. Once again Shino cast the purple light beam and all the wolves staggered in pain.

There was a crashing sound behind her, as of several ponies suddenly breaking through the last of the undergrowth and stopping aghast at the sight that met them; a lone, slightly-built pony standing in a weird dark cloud and facing down six huge timber-wolves. And apparently unafraid. Was that bravery or stupidity? Twilight immediately started to cast a telekinetic spell that would grasp Shino and pull her free, but what she saw next made her gasp and the spell fizzled out uncast.

Recognising that the alpha was by far the strongest threat, Shino had calmly cast another spell. The power had surged through her; she had seen a blue shadowy skull cap appear on the alpha's head and it had shaken its head in agonized frustration. As the spell had continued to affect the alpha, her peripheral vision had caught shadowy movement at her sides. A quick glance had shown that the spell had conjured up shadowy wings that spread wide to either side. That was the final confirmation that The Light was granting her usual powers.

The alpha was still in the lead, so Shino cast another spell at it, this time a blue beam of light that slammed into it and slowed its advance toward her. As she had hoped, the other wolves also slowed, perhaps nervous about angering it by reaching the prey first.

One of the timber-wolves obviously decided enough was enough, turned and fled. As it reached their previous prey it lunged aside and sank its fangs into the mare's flank, attempting to salvage something from the encounter. Shino, catching the mare's scream and the movement behind her main targets, hurled a spell that slammed into the wolf and made it gape in pain, dropping the mare, and Shino took that opportunity to cast another spell, this time one that seemed to grasp the mare and haul her through the air to Shino's feet. Seeing her land there, Fluttershy launched into the air, her acceleration almost matching Rainbow Dash's best, and streaked toward the unmoving mare. Shino was already casting other attacks on the approaching timber-wolves, but a few seconds after the mare landed beside her and, as Fluttershy approached unseen behind her, she cast another spell directly down at the injured mare. It looked like a firework slamming into her chest but, as she suddenly gasped and rolled to a sitting position, it seemed to bounce and head in opposite directions. One firework headed toward Fluttershy, the other toward the timber-wolves.

The one aimed at Fluttershy struck first and also split, continuing on toward the other five friends. They saw Fluttershy twitch slightly as she was hit, but continue on to land beside her patient. Then the other firework struck the first timber-wolf. It collapsed instantly, becoming just a pile of brushwood. As it did so, the firework split and aimed at two more wolves, slamming into them just as it had the first, but it also took additional spells from Shino to destroy them. Now only the alpha remained, obstinately determined to rid itself of this turbulent prey before reclaiming its other prize.

Twilight saw what the firework spell had done to the timber-wolf and cast a shield spell as it approached them, preventing it from striking any of them.

The alpha was only a couple of paces away now, and it fought through the pain to snap at Shino, only to have its fangs bounce off a glowing sphere that had suddenly appeared around her. With clinical calmness Shino waved her forehoof one last time and the others saw shadowy spikes appear and drive themselves deep into the alpha's skull. With a whispering rattle, it collapsed to the ground and fell to pieces.

With a final glance around the combat area, Shino dropped the shadow and stepped to Fluttershy's side. As she bent forward to check the mare was all right, she heard her name called.

“SHINO! STEP AWAY FROM THEM!”

Still wearing her grin, she looked round and stepped back involuntarily in shock.

Gone was the friendly Twilight, teacher and friend. In her place was a raging alicorn, head lowered, horn aimed, wings raised in a terrifying threat display. Arrayed beside her was a line of scowling faces that she hardly recognised.

“W-what? What did I do?”

“FLUTTERSHY. STEP AWAY FROM SHINO.”

“Um... I'm not sure I...” was all Fluttershy was able to say before she and the mare were grasped in a telekinetic field and yanked back to join the others. Twilight had barely blinked as she cast the necessary spell. Her attention was still locked onto Shino, and Shino did not know why.

“What... what's the matter? What have I done?”

There was no answer from the six friends as they glanced at each other.

Then Twilight cried, “To the Elements!”

They turned, and galloped off into the forest. Fluttershy gave a sad little smile before she sped away after them, leaving Shino puzzled and hurt. The colt snuggled up to its mother, who looked doubtfully at Shino, then walked slowly toward her.

“We just wanted to say thank you for what you did. I know it seems to have caused some trouble, but we do appreciate it. Really we do.”

Shino nodded her thanks. “Do you have any idea how I've upset them?”

The mare looked embarrassed. “Well, I'm sure I don't know. I expect they'll explain it to you when they're ready.” And with that she turned and chivvied the colt into a gentle trot back to town.

Shino had a heavy heart as she watched them go. Once they were out of sight she began to pace up and down and to wonder what to do next. Eventually it occurred to her that Fluttershy's house was not far, so she set out toward there.

She was approaching the bridge over the stream next to the house when she realised there was a welcoming committee. The bridge was crowded; mainly by a large bear, but also by a lot of other smaller animals. She smiled as she approached them, but they all seemed to scowl, and the bear stood towering over her with a fierce snarl. She stepped back, and discovered that she was only seen as a threat if she was within six paces of the bridge. So she sat down seven paces from the bridge, and waited to see what would happen.

***

Fluttershy pumped her wings as hard as she could, but her friends were galloping so fast that it took her a long time to catch up with the other ponies as they raced through the forest. She finally managed to fly above and alongside the group trying to get their attention, but sadly repeatedly failing. She was too short of breath to call to them, and could not get in front to try to obstruct them. Her plan soon became to keep with them until they stopped, and then try to talk to them.

All six of them dashed down the stairs into the cave that harboured the Tree of Harmony, now restored to health after the Elements of Harmony had been returned to their resting places on their previous visit. Once again they stood before the crystalline structure bearing the gemstones imbued with the Elements, with the strange six-sided crystal casket and its mysterious keyholes held before it on a stout stem like a unique flower.

There they stood in front of it, chests heaving as they regained their breath, except Rarity who threw herself to the floor and sobbed, “Oh my, I am so out of shape for this kind of extreme physical activity.”

Rainbow Dash snickered down at her. “I'm willing to set up a training regime any time you want,” and adopted her Iron Pony pose.

Rarity looked up from under her long mane. “Why thank you Rainbow, that's so considerate... now that I'm here all sweaty and... ugh... smelly...”

“Um... what are we...” began Fluttershy, as soon as she could speak at all.

“Right, no time for idle chatter, we need to recover the Elements,” commanded Twilight. “Everypony look for a way to withdraw them from the tree,” and she stepped up to the trunk for a closer examination.

“Erm, Twily, 're you sure? Ah not claimin' ta be an expert on magical stuff like y'all, but when they fitted back in that looked like a pretty final flash of magic that sealed them in,” said Applejack doubtfully.

“I'm sure there must be a way to get them back in an emergency like this,” insisted Twilight. “I'm sure we can't have been left without a way to defend Equestria, not after all we've done.”

“But why... do... we... um... need...” murmured Fluttershy as the others divided their attention between the Elements on the trunk and the keyholes on the casket, but she subsided into silence as everyone ignored her.

Rainbow Dash turned away from her nose-to-gem examination of the tree. “Okay, I can't see any way to free our Elements. They look definitely glued in like for ever.”

Twilight frowned as she nodded in reluctant agreement. “Well then, it has to be the casket. There must be some sort of clue to the keys we need,” and she began a minute examination of the surface.

“Er.. can I... just...” resumed Fluttershy.

Rarity and Applejack looked at each other. “But Twilight, haven't you been studying the casket ever since it first blossomed? I know I've seen lots of drawings and notes in the library,” Rarity enquired.

“Yes,” answered Twilight testily.

“I... er... don't understand... “

“So what makes ya think that ya'll suddenly find the answer now?” asked Applejack.

“Because this is an emergency, and our destiny will guide us like it has before!” snapped Twilight at her friends, to the surprise of all of them.

There was an awkward moment of silence as Twilight fumed at her lack of success, then Pinkie Pie leapt onto the casket and pirouetted on its lid.

“Pinkie!” snarled Twilight.

“Hey everypony, I have a brilliant idea!” cried Pinkie.

“What?” growled Twilight.

Pinkie stopped pirouetting and leant down until she was muzzle to muzzle with Twilight's fuming scowl. “Listen to Fluttershy.”

“What?” repeated Twilight, rearing back slightly.

“Listen to Fluttershy. She's really clever,” and Pinkie beckoned the pastel pegasus forward. “There, Flutters, the casket is yours,” and she bounced off.

As the others gazed at Fluttershy in silence she slowly flew onto the casket and gently cleared her voice.

Twilight was still scowling. “”Well?” she snapped, silencing Fluttershy as she was summoning up her courage to speak.

“Really clever,” sang Pinkie, silencing Twilight and giving Fluttershy the encouragement she needed.

“Er... I just wondered... why we need... the Elements?”

Twilight gaped at her in disbelief. “Why do we need them? You saw Shino. You saw what she did. She needs to be stopped, and we need the Elements to do it!”

“But... what did we see her do?”

“What?”

“What did we see her do?”

“How can you ask that? It was obvious.”

“What did we see her do?” repeated Fluttershy patiently.

Twilight looked round at the other ponies. “You all saw what she was doing, didn't you?” She was surprised that she did not get the full support she had expected. All of them except Fluttershy and Pinkie nodded half-heartedly, Fluttershy because she was gazing at Twilight enquiringly, Pinkie because she was the only one nodding as hard as she could. Twilight was unsettled as she asked, “Pinkie, you saw it, right?”

Pinkie continued to nod as she responded, “Oh, I saw it, but I think we saw something different. Over to you Fluttershy.”

“Different? How can you have seen it differently”

“What did we see her do?” asked Fluttershy yet again.

“All right,” snapped Twilight, “we saw somepony who cannot do magic summon up a cloud of dark magic, turn into an alicorn, and then cast spells that tore those timber-wolves apart like nothing I've ever seen before.”

“So you saw a... a dangerous threat to Equestria and we came here to... to prepare our defence?”

“Yes, obviously.”

Fluttershy gazed down at a scowlingly restive Twilight for a moment.

“I... I saw something very different. I saw somepony who... who could not do magic, but who had drunk one of Zecora's potions intended to remedy that, call on an... an unknown type of magic to save and heal a... pony who had fallen prey to a pack of... er... timber-wolves we would have struggled to defeat between us. She acted heroically, not... sinisterly, surely?”

“But she turned into an alicorn? In an instant, just like that! How can that be possible? This new magic of hers must be amazingly powerful if she can do that. Dangerously powerful.”

“Why is powerful dangerous? You're powerful, and we don't think you're... dangerous.”

Twilight looked put out at the very suggestion. “Of course not. But I'm me, and we're friends.”

“And she isn't?”

“And we're all bearers of the Elements of Harmony. She isn't.”

“No, she isn't a bearer, but that doesn't in itself make her a... a bad pony.”

“Well of course not, but...” Twilight paused to put her thoughts in order.

“But...?”

“...we saw her do really evil things.”

“No Twilight. We saw her do... things. We put our own slant on whether they were good... or evil.”

Twilight scowled, clearly unconvinced.

“She's kinda got a point, Twily. Shouldn't we be talkin' to her and findin' out how she sees it?” suggested Applejack.

“Oh right. Like she'd happily admit she's a dangerously powerful dark magician,” Twilight scoffed. Applejack looked slightly offended by the response.

“Maybe not,” continued Fluttershy, “but how do we look to her now? She gets her magic back, probably thanks to a potion made by our friend Zecora, uses it to save a mare and her colt from a... a terrible fate, and when she turns to us with a big smile, we run away to find a way to... destroy her. And she's evil?”

All the other ponies looked at Fluttershy in awe. It was rare to hear such a speech from her, and the picture she was painting made them feel awkward, though Twilight continued to scowl.

“Really clever,” crowed Pinkie Pie.

All six of them looked at each other, then Fluttershy leapt down from the casket and trotted away to the stairs up from the cavern. At the foot she turned to look back at the others.

“Really really clever,” piped Pinkie Pie as she pogoed across to join her.

That was enough to get the others to begin the journey back, with a disgruntled Twilight trailing along behind.

They returned to the site of the combat to find that Shino had left. There was a discussion about where she would have gone, but it was soon decided that she would not have returned to the Library, but might have set off to Fluttershy's house.

A few minutes later they saw Shino sitting dejectedly near the bridge to Fluttershy's house. She looked up as she heard them approach, but there was no change of expression as she rose to greet them. The six drew up in a line abreast, ranged either side of Twilight as usual. There was a moment of silence as the two sides assessed each other.

Then Shino's expression changed to a resigned look and her shoulders fell. “Come on then. Do whatever you need to do.”

Fluttershy stepped forward. “What... what do you expect us to do, Shino?”

Shino shrugged. “Twilight looks as though she wants me dead, and you're all friends and you all support each other, so just get it over with.” Hanging her head as she was, she did not see the look of shock on Twilight's face.

“We're not all Twilight. We are friends, but we don't just... follow blindly...”

“Shino,” interrupted Twilight, “what made you think I wanted you dead?”

“Didn't you? It looked very like it.”

“I would never want to kill anypony. I did want to subdue and imprison you for the safety of other ponies, but never kill.”

Shino shrugged again in response as Fluttershy resumed her part in the conversation.

“Kill or imprison are not the... the only options. We've come back to ask you what happened. Twilight saw things... happen, and they looked bad to her, but not all of us have the same view. Twilight, erm... you say what you saw, step by step, and let Shino answer.”

Twilight nodded and stepped forward.

“Shino, when we arrived you were surrounded by a pool and cloud of evil dark magic.”

“Shadow magic. I know it might seem like playing with words, but it is just another aspect of The Light's power.”

Twilight sniffed in disdain.

“Oh, Twilight, all of my magical abilities come from The Light, as I told you. And The Light supplies that power in three forms; Holy, Discipline, and Shadow. Holy is essentially all about healing. Discipline is defence with a little healing. Shadow is attack with a little healing.

“When I last used The Light I was fighting for my life on Azeroth, so when it came back it was natural for the Shadow form to manifest itself, especially when I was about to fight for that mare's life. And, after all, where there is light there must be shadow.”

Twilight snorted in response. “So what about turning into an alicorn?”

Shino looked blankly at her. “Turning into an alicorn? How could I do that?”

“That's what I'm asking you.”

Shino thought for a moment. “What did you see that made you think you saw that?”

“Make me think I saw that? I did see it. You suddenly spread your wings wide as you were casting your 'shadow' spells. But you're a unicorn, and unicorn's don't have wings, so you turned into an alicorn.”

As Twilight mentioned the wings Shino had realised what had been seen. She wore a small smile as she responded to Twilight's accusation.

“That was no alicorn. It was a side-effect of one the spells I was casting at the wolves.” She thought better of naming the spell; they would no doubt find 'Devouring Plague' upsetting. “When I cast the spell it creates a pair of shadow wings for a few seconds. They don't do or mean anything, but they can be intimidating in combat.”

“Oh.” Twilight looked a little sheepish as another foundation of her argument crumbled. “Well then, your spells are horribly damaging. You were able to destroy those wolves far faster than any other pony could have. Why would you know such awfully destructive magic?

“I come from Azeroth. It's a world of struggle, of combat. There are a few farmers and merchants, but most people there are adventurers. The world is full of enemies, natural and unnatural, instinctive to intelligent. So that is what Azerothian magic is designed to cope with.”

“What about that firework spell you used against Fluttershy?”

“Firework spell? Oh, you mean 'Cascade'. That wasn't against Fluttershy. It's what's called a smartspell. I cast it on the injured mare. As she is not a threat to me it hit her as a healing spell. It then bounced to two other targets. One was Fluttershy, who it healed. The other was a timber-wolf, who was a threat, so it injured it. The Fluttershy one bounced toward you but you must have shielded against it because, unlike Fluttershy, you're still scratched and scraped. The timber-wolf one hit more of them, causing more injuries.”

Twilight hung her head for a moment, then looked at the others. “All right, this time I'll listen, not just judge. What do you think we should do?”

As they all debated who should speak first, Shino held up a hoof. “Can I just say something before you decide?”

The others nodded.

“While I've been sitting here I've wondered why I've been brought to this place. It seems I have come to a wonderful land of relative happiness and harmony where my ordinary combat magic is seen as dangerously overpowered. As The Light has a purpose in everything that happens, I have to wonder why I am here, with my particular skills. I wonder if I am here because there is a threat coming that your present defences couldn't cope with, but my Azerothian training has prepared me for.”

All of them looked a little shocked as she finished, and she stood back as they huddled together to discuss their options. It took quite a while, and Shino was careful to not pay attention to who said what; she did not want to know.

Eventually they turned back to her. Twilight was again the spokespony; the furious scowl was gone, though she was not as yet smiling.

“Shino, we are concerned about your magic, because it is very different to what we know. We are not sure it will be safe for you to return to town, especially when the pair you rescued start telling everypony what happened.

“So we wonder if you would mind staying here? Fluttershy says you can use one of her sheds out the back that needs renovating.”

Shino nodded her agreement. It was much better than she had been afraid it might be.

“But,” continued Twilight, “we also need to know more about this world of yours and the magic you're using. Do you agree to be a test subject for our investigation?”

“Of course I will,” agreed Shino. “I agree to any investigation you need to make.” Barring dissection, she thought to herself. “And I can defend Ponyville against wandering forest-dwellers if needed.”

Fluttershy looked at her new tenant with a little anxiety. She hoped Shino would not be too quick to cast her devastating spells against wanderers...