• Published 9th Nov 2016
  • 3,376 Views, 138 Comments

Hazel Eyes in the Moonlight - Oddling



What would you do if you were born with a curse? Would you simply live with it? Or would you go to the ends of the earth to find a cure? What if that cure... was in another world? Follow Jim as he pursues the cure to his curse in a land beyond ours.

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11 - Balance Shifted

The group of ponies, plus one werewolf, slowly entered into the cavernous opening that made up the mouth of the cave. To everypony else, the cave was as calm and serene as it usually was. For Jim, the instant he stepped forth beyond the threshold of the opening his fur stood on end. Something, whether it was a being of great power or an item with awareness, had set its sights on him. He instantly stopped, drawing the attention of Twilight and the others.

“What’s the…” was all Twilight managed to say before the cave’s interior lit up in a vibrant array of color.

Jim’s body became ensnared in thick strands of colorful light and he was forcibly dragged through a nearby tunnel. The sounds of hooves against stone greeted his ears as the ponies gave chase after Jim. Slight panic gripped Jim’s heart as he soared through the passages within the cave, his head nearly slamming against many of the crystalline formations on the tunnel’s walls and ceiling.

His uncontrollable travel came to a sudden halt within a large and brightly lit cavern deep within the earth. A strange crystal formation in the room, in the shape of a tree, filled Jim’s vision. A bright flash of light blinded him for a moment before the familiar gasps of Twilight and her friends drew his attention. Jim’s eyes peeked open only to widen in surprise when he saw all six of them hovering in the air beside the crystal tree.

“What the hay is going on!?” shrieked Rainbow Dash.

“I don’t know,” Twilight hastily replied, “but let’s keep calm everypony.”

“Wait, where’s Scoots?” Applejack asked as she looked around in search of the little filly that had just been with them.

Twilight scanned the room quickly, seeing no sign of the little orange filly. “I don’t know. Maybe she was left behind because she isn’t an Element Bearer,” she reasoned.

“Uh… girls? Not to be rude or insensitive, but I think we have other more pressing issues at hoof to deal with?” Rarity chimed in cautiously.

Everypony looked to her and then followed her gaze to the glowing, bound form of Jim in the center of the room. As if he were being held for a trial, the threads of light held Jim to the floor on his knees with his arms pulled out away from his sides. The sight filled Fluttershy with a feeling of pity for the poor soul in front of her. The yellow pegasus looked to Twilight. “This is awful, we have to find a way to stop this!” she yelled, an act that almost startled her friends.

Twilight nodded her head in agreement. “I know, but there’s nothing I can do. Something is making the Elements react to him. It’s almost as if… oh no!”

The room filled with a swirling display of harmonic power, the epicenter being Twilight Sparkle. The young Alicorn’s eyes filled with fear and she looked down to Jim. She opened her mouth to tell him to run away… but her voice died in her throat. Jim’s calm expression and the soft smile he held on his face told her everything she needed to know about how he felt about the turn of events.

“It’s alright… whatever happens, this is how it was meant to be,” Jim assured the ponies above him. Whatever fear he had felt before had vanished and turned into a feeling of acceptance for what he was about to endure. Whether his wish to be free of his curse came to pass, or if he was banished into oblivion, Jim was prepared to receive what the Elements deemed fit for him. Jim’s eyes closed and he let his entire body relax in the embrace of the threads of light that held him.

Twilight’s heart pounded in her chest. Fear of the unknown filled her as she dreaded the possibilities of what could go wrong. She fought with all her might against the power of the Elements, trying in vein to make the power stop, or to at least make it help Jim.

Rainbow Dash fought and struggled against the grip of the Element’s hold over her body. She still did not fully trust Jim, but he had yet to prove himself to be the monster that she originally thought of him as. She did not know what she wanted to happen to him, but whatever the Elements thought of him didn’t matter! Rainbow wanted to help him!

Applejack squirmed within the grasp of the Elements. She bucked hard a few times to get free, but quickly learned that doing so was pointless. Her eyes drifted down to stare sadly at Jim’s calm demeanor… and a fire lit up in her heart. She started bucking again to get free, if only so that she could do something to help Jim escape. The last thing she wanted to see was Jim getting banished because of her Element. She still had not found the chance to properly apologize to him for how poorly she had acted before.

Pinkie Pie tried to struggle, but quickly gave up when she started feeling her body tingle and tremble in a way she was not used to. Her ear flicked, then her tail twitched three times, followed by her whole body shivering before she went stiff as a board. Once comprehension dawned on her, Pinkie’s pink mane slowly deflated a little and she just stared down at Jim.

Rarity had tried to struggle against the powers that held her aloft, but try as she might there was nothing she could do to break the hold her Element had over her. All she could do was watch helplessly as Jim’s body began to glow.

Fluttershy, however, had fought hoof and tail to get free. The amount of effort she had thrown into her struggle had been enough to even get Rainbow’s admiration. The quiet little pegasus even tried biting into thin air to try getting a hold of the power that surrounded her. She positively, absolutely had to get free and save Jim. There was no way she could just float and watch as something bad happened to the poor werewolf – he did not deserve it!

The sounds of Fluttershy’s fighting did not go unnoticed by Jim. He opened his eyes and silently watched as she put her entire body into the act of getting free. Were it not for the tears streaking down her face and being flung out from her thrashing, he might have thought she had gone feral. It did not take long before her struggling slowly petered off as she spotted Jim’s eyes as they watched her.

Jim continued to watch Fluttershy as the magic in the room grew in size. His smile widened as his genuine emotions found their way to his face. He softly shook his head. “That’s enough, Fluttershy… I know you all wanted this to go differently, but you don’t need to fight for my sake anymore.” The intensity of the magic increased drastically once the ponies all stopped fighting against their Elements. “This is the time for my judgment. Your Elements are going to pass the sentence… and I will accept whatever they feel I deserve.”

“No, Jim!” Fluttershy cried out. “You can’t let yourself be banished! Please, you must get away!”

Jim smiled warmly for the poor little yellow pegasus mare above him. “Trust me, Fluttershy… I’m truly okay with that. Just let it happen,” he said kindly.

“I… I can’t, Jim. I just can’t let you be punished. You’ve suffered enough…”

“You may be right, Fluttershy, but that is no longer in either of our abilities to decide. Where I’m from, there’s a concept known as fate. Looking at this with that in mind, there is nothing that can be done to alter what is supposed to happen. Whatever happens, there is a reason for it and you just have to live with the outcome. Just know that I do not blame any of you for what is about to possibly happen to me.” Jim’s smile broadened.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to object once more, but the sound of the magic of harmony reaching its peak drowned her out. The myriad of colors surged forth, launching a beam of rainbow magic up toward the cave’s ceiling. Twilight and her friends watched it ascend in horror. Jim simply eyed the column of lights as it rose ever higher. He was at peace with the world… until the unexpected occurred.

The tiny buzzing wings of a young orange pegasus filly instantly drew Jim’s attention to his right. Scootaloo barreled out of a nearby tunnel and skid to a halt in front of the large werewolf. Jim’s eyes widened in utter shock and his eyes darted up to see the rainbow beam from the Elements making its descent toward him. The little filly was about to get caught up in his mess and there was no time to think.

Reacting on instinct, and out of desperate hope that it would work again, Jim lunged and sank his fangs into the magic that held him down. His powerful jaws made quick work of the magic, just like it had when Celestia had tried to pin him down and Jim flung his body forward. He landed between Scootaloo and the approaching magic and he threw out his arms to make sure that all of the magic would hit him, effectively turning his body into a meat shield to save the little one from the blast.

Nearly in unison, Fluttershy and the others screamed for the two of their friends just before the power of the Elements of Harmony struck. The beam connected… and the cave was consumed with light.

~~***~~

Jim slowly opened his eyes. An aurora of color greeted him as he floated in some unseen current. His ears flicked a few times and he swiveled his head around to take in his surroundings. There’s no sign of Scootaloo… I hope she’s safe, he thought as he realized that he was alone within the void of color.

Worry not, young wolf, the little one is safe for now…” came a gentle female voice.

A shiver of fear slithered down Jim’s spine. He slowly turned around to face the direction the voice had come from, only to feel his throat tighten as his eyes met with the voice’s owner. A massive Alicorn of ethereal golden light towered over him, its face a mixture of curiosity and firm resolve. Her wings slowly unfurled to take up Jim’s entire field of vision. She’s a god…

A slight frown etched into the Alicorn’s face. “I am not a god. I am a spirit – the Spirit of Harmony.

Jim quickly lowered his head submissively. “My apologies, but in my eyes you are still a being of great power. Even I would be a fool to not acknowledge that you are made of pure energy and that I am at your mercy. But I feel I must still ask… why am I here?” Jim questioned cautiously.

Harmony narrowed her glowing blue eyes. “I brought you to my domain to ascertain whether or not I should permit you to continue living among my ponies. I sense great chaos from you, both mentally and spiritually… so much so, that I nearly feared my son had tainted you.

“Your son?”

Yes… he has chosen the title of Discord, and he is the embodiment of Chaos.

“I can assure you that I have not met anyone by such a name,” Jim replied calmly. “Though, I do come from a world that is ripe with chaos. In fact, chaos is what drives my world forward in both good and bad ways.”

I see…” Harmony mused. “That explains much, but it does not solve the reason for why I brought you here.

Jim sighed softly and bowed his head. “Does this have anything to do with what I have become – my curse?” he asked solemnly.

Harmony stared at Jim for a long moment before she answered.“It does. Whatever taints you is not within my power to remedy. I cannot remove it from you without ending your life, but I also cannot trust you to continue to exist among my ponies.

Jim’s head twitched up and he locked a steely glare upon the Spirit. “Why? What reason do you have to say such a thing?” he asked firmly, clearly demanding an answer.

Harmony’s massive horn glowed and an oppressive weight bore down on Jim’s body, forcing him to kneel on an unseen surface. He fought back stubbornly, never allowing his gaze to drift away from Harmony. The Great Spirit seemed to smirk slightly at the defiant display. “You have a strong will, it seems… yet you never tried to stop yourself in the past. Your efforts to protect others from your dark nature were never truly forthright. Which brings me to your trial…

“My trial!?” Jim barked in near disbelief.

Yes… I will offer you a test. Should you pass, I will permit you to continue to live among my ponies.

“And what if I fail? What is this test?” Jim asked testily, his eyes slowly opening wider as he started to feel his will begin to alter.

A deep sadness slowly filled Harmony’s expression before a single pain-filled tear of light blue energy dripped down her cheek. “I do believe it would be in your best interest to pass this test, young wolf…

Author's Note:

Here it is folks. Sorry it's a little late, things have been a little hectic the past few weeks now (what with people quitting at work, snow storms dumping 5 feet of snow on us, and staying at a friend's place due to the storms to be able to make it to work). I wanted to get more put into this chapter, but it's been difficult since I've had almost no energy to devote to writing lately. Still, I think this little chunk is adequate enough to keep my readers hooked and waiting for the next chapter. :pinkiesmile:


As always, I hope you enjoyed the read. Look forward to the next chapter. :twilightsmile: