Sands of Time

by Amaranthine Thought

Chapter 3

Hot…

I stir, and feel… sand? My eyes open to a glaring sun, bright, almost too bright. I can feel the heat, and yet, it is almost… comforting. My fur holds it and retains it and I feel… energetic under its effects.

I stand to look around me, and see nothing save sand as far as the eye can see. A hot wind carries sand forward, but I do not feel the grains. The sands and heat calls for me to wake, and I want to spread my wings to fly upon those hot winds.

I do so, and take flight, but not like before.

I know what to do, and the winds lift me high into the bright skies. I laugh, and my body knows how to act, what to do. My wings flap according to my desires and will, and I swoop and fly without fear of crashing, seeing the glittering sands underneath the burning skies.

The more I let control go, the more I seem to have. Odd perhaps, but exhilarating. I feel free of anything that might hold me. It is good.

I close my eyes, exulting in those feelings, and roar of myself, my voice carrying across the endless sands to proclaim my greatness.

I open my eyes again, and see birds. Large ones, and I hurry after them to snatch and devour them in flight. They cannot evade me, in neither speed nor agility, and I feel… powerful. I devour the one I hold, and snatch another.

It tastes so… perfect, so good. So soft, and so… so…

I look again, and the bird in my paws is no bird, but a pegasus.

I… I can’t let go. I… I resume eating it, the taste making my horror fade. This… this is not what I have chosen, but it is right.

I look down, and see a town below. I roar, and dive, caught in myself.

I don’t want to, but I do at the same time. I land amongst the ponies, my wings throwing a great gust of air that tosses the nearest ones away. They are frozen from my roar. I walk to them, horrified and yet satisfied.

The desire to eat is stronger than my will to not. And with each one, it becomes harder, and harder not to. Harder to think of things, harder to recall why I should not.

I must not, but I cannot stop myself… I… I know that… that…

…

That this is right. This is what I should be doing. This is what I am, and what I was born to be. My might tears their homes open, my power holds them still and helpless before me!

I am the might of the sands, the predator without match! I am the lord of these places, and nothing shall stand to defeat me, not even,

“Kitty!”

I snap back, an icy feeling dousing the burning fire within me. I look, and see Mirage. I see them all, gathered before me. As I stand there, dripping pony blood, surrounded by the fallen, they stare at me.

“Kitty, why?!” my Mirage screams, and I… it is hard to understand her, as if I am unfamiliar with her language.

“We did so much!” her daughter cries.

“We were there!”

“You were there!”

“Why would you do this?”

“Kitty?”

I shut my eyes, and open them again, to see them closer. They… no, I moved closer. They stare at me without fear, and only disappointment, a touch of fear.

“Kitty?”

I… I… no, I…

I can’t… I…

I hear them screaming. I hear it as if… as if…

I blink, and the sand is gone, the blood and death is gone, the feelings and taste is gone. I see stones, walls, a castle ruined in time. I hear… heard a scream.

I move to hear a yelp, and spot Mirage the 39^th on my back, clinging to it as I contort to see her. I breathe heavily from my own dream, that… that nightmare I have had.

“Mirage? What is wrong?” I ask, and see her look at me with wide eyes. “What is there, what is wrong, speak to me!”

“…What are you saying?” she asks me, and it is only then that I notice my slip back to my own tongue. I blink and calm before resuming.

“What is wrong?” I ask again, in the correct language, and force my fear away from me. It was just a dream. Nothing more than a few fears and desires made manifest in my sleep. Nothing more.

Nothing more.

“…I… just woke up and got a little… confused.” she tells me, taking a deep breath of her own. “I just got surprised, that’s all.”

I slowly calm. That is good. Nothing bad.

“And what’s wrong with you?” she asks me, making me pause.

“…I don’t understand.” I tell her.

“You woke up with a jerk and you yelled something.”

“Just a dream.” I tell her. “Just a dream.”

I close my eyes, and see it again. And I…

I do not feel horror. I do not feel regret, or sadness. All I did has this… enticing feel to it. A feeling that I hold back only with will. As like before, I still hold no care for pony kind, save for Mirage. The urges shall pass; eating something shall help, I am sure.

“Kitty?”

I feel her walk to my head, and pat at it. It helps, a lot. I purr in response, and feel my tension fade away. I am... I can control myself.

Twice, I have faced dire occasions, and I have not eaten, nor even killed, a pony. Not when I was swelled with might and new life. Not when I was hurt and dazed, not when they harmed me, not when they tried to trap me again. Even at my worst, I only harmed them; made them stop trying to hurt me.

I will not break that choice I made so long ago.

I stand up, and feel Mirage flutter from me. She goes around to my head as I stretch. And then I wonder something, and open an eye to see her.

I ask, “Why did you call Mirage when I was newly freed?”

She hesitates, and seems to think before looking uncertain. “…Um…”

“Tell me.”

She flinches at that, and flies a little away, not looking at me. She seems awkward, and rather obviously doesn’t wish to tell me.

“Mirage…”

“Alright, alright!” she says, and sighs. “Well… I did read Great grandmother’s diary, remember?”

“Yes.”

“It had the tale of when you were stoned, at least in some part, and… some ideas.”

“Like?”

“Well… that… That my ancestor might have gotten you to not… eat ponies by shouting her name.” she says rather quickly. “Not that you would!” she swiftly adds, before she pauses, seeing my expression. “…Kitty?”

I recall that day. That day, and the day that lead to it. The two ponies I ate, and the group I had nearly slain if not for Mirage’s call.

“It is true.” I tell her, and see her pause before seeming to shake it off.

“That’s… alright.” she says weakly. “It isn’t like you ever actually… did that after all.”

“When I met my Mirage, I had just killed and devoured two stallions.”

Mirage pales greatly, and begins to slowly drift to the ground.

“I woke within a forest without memory.” I tell her. “I had tried to fly, and had crashed in their town. I had never seen ponies before then, and they were… very tempting a meal, and I tried to hunt them. The two came to the others’ defense, armed with spears. One impaled my leg,” I glance at the leg in question; only a tiny mar in the fur remains of the once great wound, “but I slew and ate them both.”

She swallows heavily, still pale. “A, and then?” she asks, her voice trembling. “What… what happened then?”

I pause for a moment, watching her. She fears, but wants to know. “I limped to a ruined home. One that lied forgotten on the edge of a forest. I entered it to find shelter, and collapsed from my wound. I was unable to pull the spear from myself.”

“Your first ancestor, just a filly of four, was in that same house. She had found a home in that place, amongst the fallen wood. She came to me, a beast she had never seen, covered in blood, wanting to help. I growled at her, but she found the courage to resist my empty threats, and came to my leg, trying to calm me.”

“…She?”

“She pulled the spear free. Used her own tiny form to hold the wound shut. Helped me to heal as best she could. I can still recall her courage and kindness as if was just yesterday, and it is due to her actions that I swore to never again eat pony.”

She nods, still pale, but recovering. “I… She really did that?”

“She did. I knew her only for four days, but… I have never seen any with the same strength she held, even in her weakness. She feared nothing, and when I was stoned, she tried to defend me.”

Mirage nods slowly, and gives a faint sigh, calming. Then something occurs to her, and she hesitates.

“…You never saw a pony before then?” she asks.

“No.”

“And you didn’t speak before us…” she murmurs, and I can see her thinking. Then she nods. “So… you didn’t really mean to eat anypony.”

“…What?”

“You didn’t know any better. You couldn’t understand, were hurt and dazed from the crash, and just acting like… like you thought you should. So there. You’re still good, and even better; you chose to not do it again.”

I nod slowly, though I suspect she is trying to excuse the action more than explain it.

“And even when you were defending me, you didn’t.” she said, and I smile, seeing the little pride she has for me doing, or rather, not doing, that.

“And even beyond that, after our fall.” I add, and see her pause. “You fainted.”

“Oh… yeah, that… flight. It was… really… um…”

“Bad.” I say for her, and see her pause before snickering. “I do not fly well. That flight was my third, and the greatest fall.”

She nods, happy before pausing. “…After the fall? What do you mean?”

“I crashed into a town, and my bulk destroyed a few homes. I felt confused, and was acting slowly and thinking very little when I was attacked.”

“What!?”

“A blue pegasus saw me trying to pick you up again, and tried to stop me. I grew angry with her, but she was too fast for my addled mind to strike.”

“…She might have been trying to help me.”

I give Mirage a confused glance.

“Big, terrifying winged cat, remember?” she tells me, and I ponder that. My Mirage had never feared me; did that make her normal, or even more heroic than I first imagined?

“So, what happened?” she asks, flying up and looking over me, wincing as she spots the lingering burn left by the purple unicorn. My skin is visible under the blackened fur.

“Five others came to help her, but I managed to swat her flat when she tried to grab you.” I spot Mirage gape, and add, “She was moving still, and I did hear her groaning, so she is fine. I had to battle the others to claim you and escape. None are dead, maybe hurt, but not dead.”

“Blue… five more… what did they look like?” she asks me, a thoughtful, slightly worried look on her face. She is paying particular attention to that burnt patch of fur, from the magic the purple one had used. I see her touch it and have some of the blackened fur fall off from her touch alone. It feels a little sensitive.

I think back, ignoring the sight. “They were… many colors, and two of each kind of pony. The blue pegasus stands out though; her mane was many colors, and a purple unicorn seemed to lead them. She is the cause of my burn.”

Mirage’s mouth drops open again, and she freezes for several seconds. “…You… you were attacked by the bearers of harmony?!” she gasps.

“…Was I?” I ask, not knowing that name, or title I suppose.

“That pegasus was Rainbow Dash! The fastest flyer in Equestria, and you swatted her! How could you even hit her!?”

I frown a little. “She was underestimating me. She went in a straight line and wasn’t paying attention to me as she tried to snatch you. It was easy.”

“And the others!? Swat them too!?”

I frown a little more. Why is she so upset? “No. I had to beat an orange and pink one away from me, and the purple one fell from magical overexertion, but they are fine.”

Mirage only calms by a thin margin, and begins to pace around, muttering to herself.

“…Why does this matter?” I ask.

“Because they’re only the most important heroes Equestria has!” Mirage screeches. “Princess Celestia herself calls them when something goes wrong! They shouldn’t be attacking you, and you really shouldn’t be attacking them!”

Really? Princess Celestia herself... I wonder.

Why did they attack me? To help Mirage due to some misunderstanding of my shape and size, or… or did Celestia contact them, and send them to attempt to trap me again? The unicorn had tried to after all, and I know that letters can be sent by magic…

I should be wary. Celestia obviously remembers me, and has a very good chance of wanting me back in stone. I will need to be extremely careful to not let that happen again.

“They attacked first.” I say, and Mirage huffs.

“Which is the only reason why I’m not really upset with you.” she mutters. “We need to go back and find out if they’re alright.”

I’d be stone the moment I so much as go near the town. Or something even worse.

“No.”

Mirage glares at me. “Why not?!” she demands.

I need to have something to tell her. Something not ‘because I’m now terrified of Celestia’s heroes’. But, what reason could I give her...?

“Because I am hungry.” I say, and see her pause. “As you might be as well.”

“…So, breakfast first, and then we go?” she asks, and then pauses, regarding me. I try to appear calm and normal, struggling to think of some excuse.

“…Are you afraid of,”

“No!” I snap at her with all too much force. “I am not!”

She fails to repress a smirk at first, then pauses, thinking, and a look of realization and horror crosses her face. Then, she seems… understanding and slightly sad, looking at me before sighing again.

“Alright.” she softly says. “We can stay here.”

…

“Thank you.” I tell her.

“No, no, it’s… You’re the adult here. I should listen, right? I can trust you.”

She gives me a bright smile. I smile back, and feel better.

“So, we should go find breakfast.” she says.

“I have already found yours.” I tell her, indicating the bushes. She looks that way and hesitates.

“…You have got to be kidding me.”

“It is the same stuff my Mirage ate. They are good berries and plants.”

“They have dirt on them, and roots and everything. You just ripped them out of the ground, didn’t you? Ponies like… like flowers and things like that.” she tells me, looking back at me with a mildly pleading expression. “And I… kind of hate leaves and berries. Especially raw leaves and berries.”

“It is still food.” I tell her, and lean down to nuzzle her and purr, making her giggle. “I go to hunt my own meal. Stay here, where it is safe.”

“I can just follow you and,”

“No. Stay here.” I say firmly. I see her pause for a second before she huffs.

“…You better be back soon, and try to find something else for me.”

“How about apples?” I ask her, and see her brighten, making me chuckle.

Another similarity to my Mirage. A love of apples.

I leave the castle, making sure to put the door in place before I enter the forest. Just in case some predator comes calling.

I enter the woods in bright day, and find them dark. They almost seem… threatening in some ways. Nothing to harm me, but lots that might hurt Mirage. We shall have to find a different den fairly soon; this is no place for her to stay and be safe.

I find my new size useful as well. Being careful, and finding a large tree, I can lift myself up to stand on my hind legs, and see over the treetops. The forest stretches without end in most directions, but I can see an edge of it nearby. I think I can see the town I hit in the distance, but nearby, not very far, I see the familiar red globes of apple trees. Lots of them.

I head that way, smiling. On the way, I find yet another of those odd bat winged things. It was smaller than, and not as good as, the first, but that is my hunger settled.

The faint urge for pony still lingers. I dismiss the feeling, and continue onward.

The apples are here, but so is a fence. And a farmhouse in the distance. The trees are heavy with their fruit, but… I should be careful.

I find a problem more or less instantly. The fence is stepped over, but I have no real way of carrying the apples with me. I cannot hold them in my paw, and filling my jaws with them is a good way for me to swallow them by accident, something I learned with my Mirage. I need something to hold them in…

I see something. A fairly large bucket with a helpful handle, left behind. I pad to it, and see an apple already within it. This will do.

One claw to hold it, and my other paw to carefully knock apples from the trees into the bucket. Simple enough, and…

…I would have sworn I heard something, some soft and tiny sound nearby. Maybe it was a squirrel or something. I keep listening as I fill the bucket, a little worried I might be spotted by a pony.

I have no wish for the past to repeat itself.

Once the bucket is full, I catch the handle in my teeth and hurry away, slightly damaging the fence in my haste. The less time here, the better.

I hear no sounds, no yells or screams. But I feel watched, and now, followed. Every look back tells me I am just being paranoid though. There is nothing there every time, yet this sensation won’t leave me…

I take a few steps back every now and then, and I still find nothing. Other than the tracks I leave through the forest anyway; I might have to do something about that next time.

I also take a slightly winding path, and try to prefer the thorns and heavy bushes instead of the way I came. As I do so I would swear I keep hear something yelping behind me, but there is never anything there. No matter how long I look, or what bush I swat.

It is just my imagination, surely. After all, what would follow me? I am the largest thing in this forest, and to hide, whatever it is must be small, smaller than a pony. And what small thing would follow me? Nothing.

I walk forward in some confidence after that, and ignore the faint feelings and sounds. Until one sound was a growl.

I turn, and see… a timberwolf. I know of them, from the stories I have heard. I had thought them fantasy alone, but I can see the wooden creature nearby, along with several others.

They seem to be avoiding me, but linger nearby anyway. Like they want… my apples? Mirage’s apples? Are they trying to steal her food from me?

Best to teach them some humility now, instead of waiting for later. I set the apples down, and growl at them. They growl back, taking a step away.

I pounce on the nearest, and find that they tend to explode at the slightest hit. They are fast though, and the others bark and yip as they dart around me.

Their wooden teeth hurt, but they are not enough to puncture my skin and fur. I am smirking as I keep swatting them one by one, their wood and plants erupting across the area in a pleasing manner. A few try for my apples, but I don’t let them.

The last few finally run off, and I grin hugely and half roar my victory before I stop myself; somepony might hear. But that was fun. I might try to hunt them down whenever I feel bored. Maybe this place isn’t so bad after all. I pick up my apples again and head back to Mirage.

I attempt to say ‘I return’ despite my load, and more grumble something. Mirage looks over, and flies to me, smiling.

“You found apples? And a bucket? But why are you covered in leaves and… sticks and thorns?”

I pad past her, and set the apples near the… untouched berry bushes. Mirage the 39^th is a picky eater I see. I can feel her near me, pulling things from my fur.

“You really went wandering into…”

Her words trail off, and I wonder as I turn around. I see her paused, hovering in place, and then I see what she is looking at.

Three fillies. A yellow earth pony, a white unicorn, and an orange pegasus, each one rather young. They are covered in leaves and thorns as well, and seem… a little stunned, perhaps.

Mirage heads toward them, and asks, “What are you fillies doing here?” in a tone suggesting shock.

“Followin him.” the earth pony says, pointing at me.

“Why?”

“Because he took th bucket an th apples.”

“And we never saw anything like him.” the pegasus adds.

“And… we wanted to?” the unicorn finishes, a touch uncertain.

“You followed Kitty through the Everfree?” Mirage says with some note of concern. Maybe this place really is dangerous then. I walk silently to them, and see the fillies watching me, but I do not see fear.

I see curiosity, maybe even some strange form of… happiness?

“Ya named him Kitty?” the earth pony says, smiling, as do the others; the pegasus snickers.

“Well, I didn’t,”

“Where’d he come from?” the orange pegasus asks.

“I don’t,”

“He’s so big…” the white unicorn mentions, looking up at me with wide eyes. “How’s he so big?”

“I,”

“What’s yer name?”

“I’m,”

“Why are you here?”

“Sto,”

They keep going, one speaking right after the other is done and overwhelming Mirage in questions and remarks. I smile a little.

I can help her.

“You may ask me.” I say, and all three stop and stare at me with wide eyes.

“He talks!” the white one chirps.

Mirage puffs up in pride. “He does! Me and my family all taught him how.”

The look to her in some awe, and she swells with pride, standing tall and spreading her wings out.

“How did ya do that?” the earth pony asks.

“I sat near him and read him stories.”

“So, you weren’t afraid of him?” the white unicorn asks.

“Or course not!” Mirage lies. I frown a little, and lean down to lick her. She shrieks, and shoots high into the air.

We all crane up to see her high above, and I smirk. “Not afraid Mirage? You cowered when we first met, and if I recall, ‘big, terrifying, winged cat’ was your choice of description.”

“Kitty!” Mirage objects, descending to the giggles from the fillies. “That’s not fair! You are… a little scary.”

I eye her, and then look to the fillies. I see their eyes bright, and I lie down, to have them approach me without fear.

The pegasus jumps atop my snout as the other two feel my head, all three without even the faintest hesitation.

“…His fur is so soft...” the white one says.

“Did ya get beat up? I think there’s a bruise here… was it th timberwolves?”

“Look at his eyes! They’re as big as I am!” the orange one yells.

Mirage lands as I watch her, frowning at me in understanding. “Alright, alright, I get it.” she sighs, heading over to me. “Still, fillies shouldn’t be here.”

“Why not?” all three ask at the same time, ceasing their activities to stare at her in what I think is some kind of practiced act. Mirage startles, eyes wide, uncomfortable more or less instantly.

“It’s… it isn’t safe for children here!” she tries, recovering a little.

“But you’re not an adult either.” the orange one says, almost accusatory.

“Yeah! Yer here, and ya only look a couple a years older n us!”

“I’m here because I’m with Kitty!”

“We’re here with Kitty.” the white one says, in a perfectly innocent tone. Mirage groans, pressing one hoof against her face as she thinks.

“…Your families will worry.” Mirage says after a moment, triumphant.

“Not fer about five hours yet.” the yellow one says, instantly deflating her again.

The orange one nods. “This is crusading time.”

“Rarity wants me back by dinner though...”

“Then three hours. Lots o time.”

“But,” Mirage tried, a little pleading.

“Can’t we stay?” the orange one asks, interrupting.

“Please?” the white unicorn adds, and I might only imagine what expression she has on her face.

Mirage looks to me in a kind of desperation and I chuckle. “Kitty, tell them.”

“Tell them to leave, back to their homes?” I ask, speaking carefully lest I dislodge the orange one. She almost seems to take it as some kind of challenge, shifting to stand on me despite my speech.

“Yes!”

“Where they will be safe?” I ask her, watching the pegasus. She grins at me, a very visible challenge in her eyes, and I stop attempting to speak carefully.

“Yes!”

“Where their families are?”

“Yes!”

“Through the forest, alone, in the dimming light?”

“Ye, Kitty!” I laugh, and Mirage stomps, frustrated. “You did that on purpose!”

“I did.” I chuckle, and look to the fillies. “This place is not safe, for you or Mirage. We shall be leaving soon, and I will lead you back to the farm from whence you came.”

They sigh, but nod as I stand up.

“Sure we can’t spend any time?” the orange one, Scoots I think, asks me as she leaps off.

“Time for what?”

“To get to know you!” the white one says.

“Yeah, you an… an… an her! Afore you go an leave!”

“We’ll behave!”

They all stare at me, and the thought is… tempting. They… encourage me. New ponies, new fillies. I want to know them better, and so long as they wish to know me better, why not allow them to stay?

…I cannot guarantee that their families would not worry. Nor could I guarantee somepony would not come looking for them. Even should their estimates prove true, fillies are never truly left alone.

Returning them now might have me meet with somepony, and that can easily lead to the events of the long ago past. However, the longer they remain, the greater the chances of that happening anyway. Therefore, it would be for the best to return them as soon as possible.

However…

Three fillies. Three fillies that hadn’t known of me at all, not even as a statue, unafraid of me. Not simply brave, but friendly; they do not tolerate my presence, they appear to delight in it. Curiosity drives them, and there is no fear within them.

As much as they wish to learn of me, I wish to learn of them. Why are they like this? I’ve not truly heard of any other pony behaving as such, and their truth implies something more.

It implies that I might not find spears or magic, but instead find words. That ponies might no longer try to trap or kill me. The others I met had tried, yes, but these three…

…

I shall return them. And in their return, perhaps the others might stop and think for a few moments. A filly might not be much to change a mind, but at least they could introduce doubt and uncertainty.

I wonder what I will do if somepony comes in peace. I’m not sure really. What do I want? Something I can determine later.

“No.” I tell them, to a chorus of whines. “It is best to go back now, before…”

I stop, and look at the door. I… feel something. Something bad.

The fillies hesitate, and Mirage notices my concern.

“Kitty?” she asks, and I hush her.

What… is that? That… sensation I feel, the… whatever it is outside? My fur rises, and I focus, listening hard. I can hear the breathing of the fillies, Mirage’s own slightly harder breaths, but that is not what I listen for.

…Silence… I know it is…There!

Hoofsteps. Gentle hoofsteps on the grass outside. The faintest murmur of words. More than one. They are moving toward the door.

Ponies, already. They have already found me.

Celestia cannot be far behi…

The rainbow power.

That is what I feel. The power that stoned me. It comes with them.

I have no time. I have seconds or less.

I must escape. The power is too much, I must leave!

I roar with some urgency, hoping that I have acted in time this time. Mirage and the fillies scream in sudden surprise at my action, and an instant after, I just barely hear a yell from outside. Almost a shout.

Like the gasp from long ago, heralding my end.

But this time, I am already acting.

May that be enough.

May we be able to escape the power and the wielder of it.

I feel my power catch and start as it always has, but this time, I put forth my all, shutting my eyes in effort.

I soon grow worn, but still I roar, even as my breath runs out and the power within me dims and begins to burn. More and more is demanded of me and I am unable to deny it as it simply takes what is soon no longer there.

My strength soon fails me as agony lances through me. My roar dwindles as my sight fails and my body falls limp.

The last few sensations as I fall to my side is the lack of the power nearby, the confused cries of the fillies, and Mirage’s nigh desperate scream:

“Kitty!”