Four Hooves

by destinedjagold

2 - 11

Author's Note:

Season 5 spoiler warning.
If you haven't seen the finalé episode of Season 5 and don't want to be spoiled, please don't read this chapter until you've seen it.

After following Reykan’s painful wails echoing through the forest, and after he was done licking his painful self when I found him hiding inside a tall bush, the two of us head north, towards Twilight’s tree home.

The wide gaps between the trees are getting narrower the farther we walk from Swan Lake, making my trek a little difficult, not to mention the slightly slippery worming tree roots that poke out of the earth, ready to make me trip, slip and fall if I’m not careful. Reykan doesn’t seem to be having any trouble at all, putting little to no effort in walking through this hazardous terrain. Maybe paws are suited best in forests than hooves? But Sienna didn’t have any trouble walking when she was still my party member. But I do have bigger hooves than her. Maybe that’s what’s making this forest walk of mine difficult?

I shake my head to rid of that train of thought. No use thinking about it anyway. I’ll just have to focus on my walking.

Tweets and chirps echo from the forest’s ceiling, accompanied by the occasional buzzing noises of tiny flying insects flying by and the rustling noises of leaves up above. Thin lines of sunlight stream down from the tiny gaps on the leafy ceiling, illuminating random spots on the forest floor that is littered with dead and decaying leaves and twigs.

“I can’t believe water could be so painful!” Reykan suddenly exclaims, startling me a little. “How are they even throwing water at me, anyway?” he asked, looking at me with a curious frown. “Can they grab water or something?”

“Magic gem.”

He blinks. “...Gems can do that, too? Huh...” He looks ahead. “They really do attack preydeytors like me,” he says with a frown. “If they don’t want me around, they could just say so, instead of...” he shivers. “...t-throwing painful water balls at me...”

I shrug. “I thought you don’t mind getting wet?” ...Shut up, brain.

He throws a frown at me. “I don’t. But their water balls hurt! Who knew water could hurt?” He shakes his head. “I sure didn’t know.”

Hm... Reykan is a strange predator. Or maybe all panthers are like this? From what I remember in all those science animal channels I watched before, panthers are elusive, agile and solitary creatures, like leopards. And I think panthers have emerald eyes. Back in my home planet, at least, in the wild where they live.

...I blink. That reminds me... “Hey, Rey.”

“Hm?” he looks up at me, ears twitching.

“I wanna ask about your eyes.”

“Oh. Okay.” He nods. “What about them?” He crosses his eyes. “Is there a bug in there again?”

I blink. “Uh...no?” How am I going to ask this? “Anyway, why do your eyes look...well...different...when uh...like Seri, yeah!”

He blinks. “...My eyes look like Seri?”

“Ah, no.” I shake my head. “I worded that wrong. Ahem... I mean, why did your eyes look different when we first met Seri?” I blink at him. “And when you saw those swans back at the lake?”

He tilts his head to the side, looking confused. “My eyes looked different?” He frowns. “Are they looking different right now?” he asks, his sapphire blue eyes reflecting light and my faint reflection.

“Well...no.”

“Oh.” He looks ahead. He then looks back at me. “What about now?”

I frown at him. “No, Rey. It’s... Well, do you remember when we first met Seri?”

“She took that cahroot that was inside my ear, right?”

I blink. “...Uh... Before that, Rey.”

“Oh. I was about to kill and eat her that time, right?”

I wince. “Er...yeah.” I take a breath. “Do you remember me hitting your head—?”

He frowns at me.

“—and telling you not to look Seri like the way you were looking at her?”

“I think so,” he replies, still frowning.

“Well,” I look ahead. “Your eyes looked really...cold. Killer-like, even.”

“Whoa...” Reykan whoa’s. “Really? Did they look cool?”

“Er...” I look at him, noticing his big, sparkling and awestruck eyes on me. “...No?”

“Aw...” Reykan’s ears droop, the twinkles in his eyes fading.

“But it was scary-looking.”

“Oh?” his ears points up again. “Cool! Being scary is good, you know!”

“Yeah, for predators, maybe.” I slightly shake my head. Hm... Time for a different approach. “Remember the first time we met?”

“I was dragging you and thought you were dead.” He chuckles. “I was really surprised when you suddenly stood back up.” He smiles at me. “You really scared me that time, Jay. And I didn’t even know that was possible!” His smile immediately turns up-side-down. “Don’t tell my siblings I got scared by food, by the way.”

“Er... Okay?” I’m still food to him, huh?

“I wouldn’t hear the end of it, if we see each other again,” he says, frowning as he throws his gaze ahead.

I blink at him. “...again?”

He nods his head. “Yeah. I met Syroc a moon ago while I was following you and Sienna.”

Oh?

“I told him to find another prey, because you two were mine,” he explains with a smile. “He followed me though, and he kept saying that I couldn’t handle taking down two large prey at once. I told him to back off, but he wouldn’t. Meh...” He shrugs. “He’s probably preying on Sienna now, because I didn’t see him when you asked me to look for that...uh...sound clovie plant whistly...thing...”

Reykan’s bro is stalking Sienna now, huh? Welp...

“I didn’t find that plant though.” He shrugs. “Anyway, I don’t really mind if Syroc goes after her. I still have you anyway, in case you change your mind,” he says, smiling a benevolent smile at me before throwing his gaze ahead. “If not, well, there are still food running around for me to eat.”

Eh heheheh... Heh... Um... What were we talking about again? I blink. Oh, right, eyes. “Um... Getting back on topic. Why weren’t your eyes different when you were attacking me?”

He takes a moment before answering with a shrug: “I dunno. I can’t really tell if my eyes look different or not when I’m hunting or trying to kill food.”

Fair enough, I suppose. It’s not like one can see their own eyes, anyway. One has to wonder why I even asked him in the first place. And hm... Trying to kill food? “You said you haven’t killed a pony before, right?”

“Nope!”

“Hm... Deer?”

“Nope!”

“Swan?”

“Yep!”

I blink. “Wait, what?”

“Huh?” He blinks at me. “What’s the matt—oh, swans? Yeah, I killed and ate swans before.” He tilts his head. “Why? They’re tastier and meatier than rabbits and rats. And bigger, too!” He frowns. “But they have more blood though. It’s annoying when they spray their blood on me while I kill them, especially if they take a looong time to die. Sometimes, the blood dries up on my fur and it’s really tiring to clean myself up without any watering hole. Oh! And their feathers are annoying, too. I first need to rip their feathers first before I could properly eat them.” He shivers. “I really hate it when I choke on their feathers.”

Too much info, kiddo. But, hm... So, Reykan’s eyes changed when he first met Seri and when he first saw the swans back in the lake... But his eyes didn’t turn cold when he first met me, Sienna and Twilight... He hasn’t eaten or killed a pony and a deer yet, but already ate swans before... I wonder, once he finally managed to kill a deer or pony, his eyes will change the next time he sees one?

“Oh, hey, look!” Reykan’s voice suddenly rings in my ears, snapping me out of my train of thought. He dashes towards a small hollow on the base of a giant tree. “Leg Crawler eggs!” he says before he turns his head to smile at me. “Check it out, Jay!”

“Uh...” Leg Crawler eggs? I warily look around, trying to pick up any rustling noises.

He turns back at the eggs. “I wonder if I can eat them?”

If Sienna’s words were to be believed, then— “Maybe we should leave it alone in case Mother Leggy comes back.”

He turns his head and blinks his sapphire eyes at me. He shrugs. “Meh...” He walks away from the hollow, no longer blocking my eyes from seeing the black, shiny, large-as-basketballs marble-like spheres stacked on top of each other inside the hollow.

I blink, and shuffle after Reykan’s retreating form.

“Hey, that reminds me!” Reykan turns his grinning face to me. “Have I ever told you that one time that my siblings and I played with a Leg Crawler egg?” He blinks, his eyes no longer focusing on me. “...Huh. Syroc ended up eating it, but I didn’t ask him if it was tasty or not.” He shrugs, looking ahead. “Maybe I should ask him the next time we see each other. Anyway! So, one night, my siblings and I were—”

---

I open my mouth wide as I let out a very long yawn. Damn, we’ve been walking all day and the exit is still a distance away. The sun has probably already hidden itself behind the horizon, making the forest too dark to walk through without stumbling on something. My eyes have already adjusted to the darkness, but it’s still pretty difficult to walk around, not to mention that I’m already too tired to move.

Lying on my stomach, I let out a tired sigh as I rest my head on the forest floor, my ears twitching slightly as I hear the continuous and monotonous chirps of crickets echoing all around me. I close my eyes, ready to let sleep take over me.

Reykan’s hunting around somewhere. The darkness suits him, being a nocturnal creature and all. Hm... When was the last time Reykan slept, anyway? I doubt he managed to find the time to sleep while he was following Sienna and I while we were still heading towards Swan Lake. But we did sleep during the night. Maybe Reykan slept during that time, too?

Hm... I wonder if Moon Gaze’s already back with the plants I need. Er... I mean, the plants that Twilight needs. I sure hope he got the plants. I can’t really delay this little journey of mine any longer. And if he’s already back in that little pasture of theirs, I wonder if the plants have already withered. I wonder if all of the ingredients will be withered by the time I get back to Twilight. Will she still be able to make a potion with almost dead plant ingredients?

I take a deep breath and sigh through my nostrils.

I wonder what happened to this Equestria. I remember that Season Five finalé where Starlight altered the past and changed the present completely. Twilight said... Well, Alter-Twilight said that whoever changed the past could die and the universe will use that pony’s ‘life energy’ to create another timeline to avoid changing the present time. But that didn’t happen, in the show at least, and that doesn’t make sense if what Alter-Twilight said was true. Then again, I have already told myself countless times not to base everything from the show. But, Real-Twilight was from the show. Her memories, her everything. So maybe I shouldn’t rule out the show completely.

So... Maybe Starlight Glimmer’s behind all this? She did use Starswirl’s spell, altered it a bit to fit her revenge. Even Twilight was amazed at her feat.

Hm... Maybe, just maybe, Starswirl was already aware of the consequences of going back in time and changing the past, so he made his spell to protect the caster from dying? Or maybe it was Starlight who added that little addition in the wizard’s spell?

Whatever the case, Starlight surrendered and Equestria’s timeline was fixed. Whatever happened to those altered timelines? Did they just vanished in time and space? I wonder if that’s even possible.

Hm... If not Starlight, then maybe some other unicorn found the altered spell and used it? That seems possible. I wonder who could have done it, and I wonder if they know what the consequences of their actions are. Starlight, according to the show, wasn’t aware of the consequences of her past-altering actions, believing that it’ll only make Twilight and her friends’ lives a little different or miserable until the alicorn dragged her along to the changed-present.

But Twilight required the spell-scroll thingie to teleport herself to the time where Starlight went. So...maybe the scroll is around Equestria somewhere. Maybe Spike has it and is just waiting for Twilight to find him? Or maybe Spike’s out there looking for her right now? Or maybe it’s just Spike who’s going back in time, trying but failing to stop whoever caused this?

Wait, no... Spike was with Twilight when Starlight cast that spell. And the three were the only ones aware of what was going on. But this time around, maybe no one else was there with the caster, so that means Spike...

Twilight hatched Spike, so if the past really did change all the way back in the past, then there was no chance for Alter-Twilight and Alter-Spike to ever meet in this new timeline, I think.

...Not to mention Twilight not meeting the rest of her friends, minus Rarity.

...Wow, that’s kinda sad to think about.

But hm... Before Equestria became like what it is now, Twilight said everything was swallowed by that bright white light. If whoever or whatever did this did use Starswirl’s altered spell, then why did Twilight say that the magic was unfamiliar to her? I don’t really know how magic works, or if a certain type of magic or spell can be felt familiar when you felt it at least once.

So... If it wasn’t Starswirl’s altered spell that caused this, then who or what did?

Sigh... Alright, that’s enough thinking for now. Isn’t that the reason why we’re gathering these plant ingredients in the first place; to get our questions answered? I just need to have some faith, let Twilight do her thing and hope she can get some answers.

Comments

[Galaxy of Equestria]

omg god if Starlight Glimmer’s right behide this i going ....

[Chrome Masquerade]

“I can’t believe water could be so painful!” Reykan suddenly exclaims, startling me a little. “How are they even throwing water at me, anyway?” he asked, looking at me with a curious frown. “Can they grab water or something?”

“Magic gem.”

He blinks. “...Gems can do that, too? Huh...” He looks ahead. “They really do attack preydeytors like me,” he says with a frown. “If they don’t want me around, they could just say so, instead of...” he shivers. “...t-throwing painful water balls at me...”

I shrug. “I thought you don’t mind getting wet?” ...Shut up, brain.

He throws a frown at me. “I don’t. But their water balls hurt! Who knew water could hurt?” He shakes his head. “I sure didn’t know.”

well, people often use highly pressurized water to cut things. and also there's snowballs. those can REALLY hurt if you get hit in the wrong spot!

[tsaukpaetra]

We don't believe Starlight is primarily responsible, it is indeed possible she is indirectly involved, but he's making assumptions again...
We believe Reykan has that happen because he ate them. There's a myth about letting predators taste blood, that it will permanently turn them feral, perhaps this is similar?
Keep going! ;)

[Syroc]

Nooooooo! Don't sink the ship, predator-me! Dooooon't!

[That One Brony Dude]

I actually still haven't seen all of season 5. That said, thanks Destinedjagold for the spoiler warning! I guess, since season 6 has started, I'll have to start watch the rest of season 5. That's a bummer, since I couldn't help but get as excited about a new chapter as Twilight herself.

[Shachza]

It's amazing how blasé he is about the possibility that Syroc is eating Sienna right now.

[Emperor]

Well, Jay doesn't know exactly how far along in the canon timeline Twilight Sparkle was, except that it had to be post-Season 4, given her mentions of a castle. So for all he knows, the time change took place prior to the Season 5 finale. It's possible Starlight Glimmer didn't decide to gloat to Twilight and instead went back into the past all by herself, and the changes to the timeline didn't take place until Twilight got home from her lecture thingie and was sitting at her table.

...I wrote a story like that once. Sorta.

[Voltaje]

How Jey ended up in equestria? Starlight may be the one behind, but i don't think its her fault hay being there.

[That One Brony Dude]

Considering that Destinejagold has been writing this since before the season 5 finale, I'm willing to bet (s)he has his/her eye on something else. Perhaps this was just an attempt to throw the readers a metaphorical curve ball, so that we won't see the end coming. Also, Starlight only changed the Mane Six's foal hoods. That wouldn't have prevented the first Hearth's Warming, which took place at least one millennium before that.

TBH, I feel like that whole over-explanation of the finale was very out-of-place. Assuming that the author isn't going to base future chapters on Starlight altering the past, there really wasn't much reason to add that season five rehash.

7068052
I agree. You would think that the news that Sienna is likely being hunted would cause Jay to have some kind of reaction. Given Jay's history of making decisions without thinking, I would imagine he would get himself hurt somehow trying to save Sienna (while presumably failing to actually help her). At the very least, I would have expected him to worry about her, perhaps while he's also thinking about season 5.

[Hoppa_21]

I really am wondering why Jay isn't reacting to the incredible danger towards Sienna. Honestly, my heart skipped a beat and panic started to settle in as I expected him to immediately race towards her, afraid of being too late. Instead he is indifferent for some reason. And now I am wondering, what reason?

[Primalhunter]

8647226
Because he is like me, somewhat f a sociopath, and she is a doucebag that deserves to die