Hoof and Claw Versus the World

by Chythar

Act 1, Chapter 6 - This Desert is Jumpin'

After an embarrassing wake-up call, Nightmare Moon decided to teach me how to fly. But there was a big problem - she couldn't give me wings to fly with. The dark mare decided to meditate on the problem, and left me alone to practice my new skills.

---

For the first time since I joined Nightmare Moon's Army of Two, I was left alone to figure things out for myself. There was no dark and powerful alicorn to watch over me, lest I escaped from her evil clutches. But not once did I think about running or escaping. My mistress had given me a job to do, and I did not want to disappoint her. Besides, I was having a blast! I couldn't help but fanboy out a little bit.

I got to meet Nightmare Moon, and I've hung out with her for two days so far. Now, she's teaching me magic! On top of that, she's gonna to teach me how to fly! How awesome is that?

Sure, she had to take away my humanity and make me into some sort of cat-man, which really sucked. And I'm helping out one of the My Little Pony villains, which means I'll probably be fighting the Mane 6 at some point. But I get to meet them! Sooo awesome!

A gust of wind blew right in my face, bringing with it the various scents of the desert. I was reminded of a similar, more ominous gust of wind while I was training with Nightmare Moon.

Alright, alright. Time to get serious. The Mistress gave me an order after all.

After a few minutes of practice, I was able to lower my personal gravity enough to jump about 20 or so feet in the air. It took me several more minutes of practice to figure out how to keep my balance while in the air. I quickly learned that cats don't always land on their feet. I was also glad Nightmare Moon wasn't watching, or she'd probably have laughed her butt off at me again.

Once I got the hang of jumping straight up, I tried lowering my gravity and jumping forward. That was not one of my better ideas. Not even a cat's inherent grace could save me from falling over. I seemed to excel at landing on my face. At least I never hit very hard, lowered gravity and all. But it sure was embarrassing.

I kept practicing, and started making progress. Eventually, I was hopping around the desert floor like I owned the place. I got a good rhythm going: crouch down and lower my gravity, then push myself off the ground as hard as I could. When I had traveled far enough, and gravity tugged me earthward again, I would let go of the pegasai magic which would bring my weight back to normal. Gravity would then pull me down at a decent pace.

When I was close to the ground, I would lighten my gravity again so I wouldn't hurt myself when my feet hit the ground. After landing, I would crouch down to absorb some of the kinetic energy of the impact and to prep myself for another jump. The timing was pretty critical; one slip-up and I'd fly out of control again. But when I got it right, I had a lot of fun!

At the time, I never noticed that the exercise didn't made me tired nor did my feet hurt from hitting the ground so many times.

This jumping cadence did help me move around very quickly. Not as fast as flying, of course. I wasted a lot of energy jumping up and landing, especially when I landed hard. More than once, I scared a bird or small rat when I landed. As soon as my feet hit the ground, the animal would take off from its hiding place like a shot out of a gun. My new feline instincts would flare up and make me hyper-alert, urging me to pursue the creature and catch it! But my human instincts won out every time, settling instead for following the animal with my eyes. Only after I lost sight of the small creature would I leave.

One time, I startled a coyote. It ran away like all the other animals, but this time it hid behind a nearby bush instead. The coyote stayed there and watched me, unmoving, until I decided to leap away. More cautious than scared, I supposed.

While I could cover a lot of ground with these pegasai-magic jumps, I couldn't steer while I was in the air. I could only change direction when I landed, and subsequently jumped off in a different direction. I could activate the 'pushing force' spell while in the air, but without wings the magic had no effect.

I wonder if I can channel that magic through my arms? Time to make a mental checklist.

Arms and body at rest? No reaction.

Flapping arms while on the ground? Nothing.

Lowering gravity, jumping straight up and holding arms out? Negative.

Lowering gravity, jumping straight up and flapping arms? Sent myself off-balance and nearly ate dirt. Fail.

Lowering gravity, jumping forward and holding arms out? Still nothing.

Lowering gravity, jumping forward and flapping arms? Off-balance again and this time ate dirt. Scared a rabbit hiding nearby. Epic Fail.

I was now out of ideas. Time for some help from my friend, Google! While the internet shouldn't know anything about pegasus magic, I'd found some really crazy stuff from random Google searches. It couldn't hurt to try. I reached down to pull my phone from my pants pocket, and it wasn't there. I patted that spot on my leg several times, not quite registering that it was empty. Nor that I wasn't wearing pants. Panic set in as I finally realized my phone was missing. And I was just jumping all over the desert floor, it could have fallen out of my pants pocket anywhere!

Oh, wait - I'm not wearing pants.

Cue a forehead smack, which just kinda slammed my helmet back against my head.

Ow.

That's right, I've been wearing this new armor ever since I was changed. I wonder what Nighty did with my clothes? Must be back in the cave somewhere.

Did she undress me before changing my body? Really kinky.

She did tell me not to disturb her, so I'll have to wait to get my clothes until later.

But, I bet I can sneak in there without her noticing!

A number of pegasai-magic jumps later, and I was back at the cave entrance. Using pegasai magic to lighten my steps, I softly walked into the cave entrance and padded lightly down the passageway. As I rounded the corner, I noticed that the room was very dark. Faint magical witch lights bobbled near the ceiling, which gently threw light around the room. Before moving any farther into the cave proper, I paused to look for the ebony mare and watched for any sign that she knew I was there.

It was a good thing I stopped to look for my Mistress, or I would have tripped over her in the dim light. She had removed her armor, which a quick glance showed was on its armor stand off to one side. From this angle, her cutie mark was essentially hidden and her midnight-black fur nearly hid her from view. Only her ever-shifting mane and tail gave her presence away. Said mane and tail swayed slowly as they always did, though they seemed to be moving slower than usual. She was facing towards me, so since I couldn't see her eyes I presumed that they were closed. Her chest rose and fell slowly as she breathed in and out. I could not tell if she were meditating or merely asleep. It didn't really matter which it was, I wasn't gonna get close enough to find out if she was snoring.

I wish she had taught me how to remove my armor, or taught me a silence spell or something. I'm going to make noise no matter what I do.

Ah well, can't be helped. Hopefully she's deep into a trance or something.

Tiptoeing into the room, I searched around the walls and poked into the corners. Nothing. I wondered, could my clothes be under the bed? There was only one way to find out. I knelt down in the dirt and lifted up a corner of the bedspread. Still nothing.

"I THOUGHT I stated I was NOT to be disturbed!"

Aw crap, busted!

"My apologies Mistress, I was trying to be quiet."

"You FAILED. I am most displeased, I expected better from you."

Uh, oh. I didn't think she would be THIS pissed.

"Approach me."

I felt myself trembling as I walked around the bed. Kneeling down in front of my mistress, I looked up at the now very awake and annoyed Night Mare. As soon as my knees hit dirt, she spoke.

"Speak quickly lest you incur my full wrath, my student. Why have you disturbed my meditation?"

I am so screwed.

"I-I...I was looking for the clothes I was wearing before you changed me. I wanted to use my smartphone to do some research on how to fly without wings. Can I have them back?"

"They are no more. I used their material as I remade you."

"Wait. You mean my phone is PART of me, now? Can I still use it?"

"Nay. Its essence was unmade by my magic and remade as part of you. Your device and clothing were used as raw materials. The window on the device, for one, became part of the gemstone in your chest piece. Your attire and some metals found in the earth nearby were forged into your armor. Suffice to say, your device can no longer be used."

The ebony mare's eyes glowed red in anger. I tried to tear my gaze away, but her eyes held me in their terrifyingly firm grip. And they kept getting bigger and bigger, the longer I stared into them. If I had eaten anything in the past two days, I think I would have soiled my armor.

"I shall tell you this once more only. Do not return until I call you, or the sun rises."

Time seemed to slow as my world was burned away, replaced by the Night Mare's hostile and angry red eyes. A chill ran down my spine, and I shivered in my warm armor.

"Now, BEGONE!!"

A gasp escaped my throat, and I could feel all of my new fur stand on end. I lurched away from those evil eyes and fell back on to my butt, then scrambled backwards across the ground. To my horror, the eyes followed. A shudder ran through my body and my arms went completely numb. I fell flat on the ground and hit my helmeted head with a clang.

While I lay on my back, I could no longer see those vicious red eyes. But I knew they were still there, waiting for me. I had to escape! As fast as I could, I rolled over on to my stomach and staggered to my feet. But my body was trembling so hard I couldn't stand up, and I nearly fell over again. But I caught myself with a hand on the ground, and finally scampered away like a cat out of hell.

I ran out of the cave with my heart racing and my blood pounding in my ears. Once I got out into the open air, I used my new jumping skills to help me escape those evil, haunting eyes. I don't know how many jumps I made, or how far I went. All I remembered was the powerful urge to run away. Jump after jump, leap after leap, the need to flee consumed everything. All of a sudden, the tension and fear just BROKE mid-jump and left me feeling drained. I barely managed to land near a large cactus, then collapsed bonelessly to the ground. My body rolled for several feet before coming to rest on my back.

I panted heavily while my heart slowly stopped trying to escape my chest.

OH GOD OH GOD OH God I nearly died...

---

I lay there for who knows how long, exhausted beyond anything I had ever known. I tried to focus on breathing, and just waited for my body to stop trembling. When my mind began to clear, I took a deep breath and sighed out loud.

Well. Now I know why she's called the Night Mare. Cause that was the WORST nightmare I've ever had.

And to make things worse, I now know my smartphone is gone. No smartphone means no internet. How will I live?

Hey, sarcasm DOES make me feel better.

Hmmm. I used to be a comic book junkie. What do I remember about how superheroes fly?

Well, when Superman was created he could only jump really far. Kinda like the Hulk. But Superman's backstory got retconned, and the writers gave him some sort of telekinetic flight. Basically, he flew by using his mind. Somehow. Not helpful to my situation.

Thor just threw his hammer and held on. And I think he could steer the hammer with magic. Still not helpful.

I think the Vision could make his body very light, and somehow flew. Marginally useful, since I can also lighten my body. But I don't know how he changed direction in mid-air, or why a stiff wind wouldn't just blow him off-course.

Iron Man has rockets in his boots, and used the repulsors in his hands to help him change direction. He also had 'control surfaces' and an on-board computer to help him steer where he wanted to go. I don't have the computer, but maybe I can imitate the repulsors with magical bolts of force? File that away for later.

Hmmm, I can probably learn to make a shield that curves around my body and possibly my arms, making a lifting body of sorts. But that usually requires a lot of propulsion and speed to skip across the air. Another idea to file away for later.

Didn't the Rocketeer wear a helmet with a rudder on it to help him steer? Remember to try that too.

Namor the Sub-Mariner supposedly flew with wings on his ankles. Lame. But maybe tiny wings like that are easier to make with magic? Then channel the pegasus magic through those wings?

Man, I wish I had my phone. At least I could play some games to pass the time. I wonder what time it is?

---

I was roused from my slumber by a faint voice. I yawned and blinked owlishly, then wondered who was talking to me. The voice continued to whisper in my ears until I was awake enough to understand it.

"attend me, my student..."

Who? Oh, the Mistress! She must've figured out how to give me wings.

She's mighty quiet. What's up with that?

Ah well. Better head back before she gets pissed at me again.

I clambered to my feet and took a look around. I was looking for a landmark or something that would tell me where I was, so I could figure out how to get back to the cave. Nothing looked familiar, but I could still see the marks in the dirt where I fell and rolled on the ground.

I was really scared, so I probably fled in a straight line from the cave. So if I draw an imaginary line through the marks on the ground, I can use it to figure out which way I need to go.

I took a pegasai-fueled jump in the direction of that imaginary line, but stopped after landing. Sure enough, about ten feet away from me was a tell-tale mark of one of my landings: a circle of dust and a pair of large paw prints pointing back the way I came. I corrected my angle slightly, and made another jump. And again, not far from me was another landing mark of mine. I was now confident I was heading in the right direction.

My new pegasus magic jumping skills made crossing the desert floor fast and easy. As I traveled, I could still hear the Night Mare's voice calling me home. I expected it to get louder the closer I got, but it didn't. If anything, it got quieter. Was something wrong with her? I landed right in front of the cave entrance and quickly walked down the passageway.

Rounding the bend into the cave proper, I could see the room was lit brighter than before. A quick look at my Mistress, and her quiet mental call now made sense. To be blunt, she looked completely exhausted. Her head hung low, nearly in the dirt, and her mane and tail hung limply like they were now made of normal hair. And was she actually panting?

I thought she was all-powerful? What could have exhausted her so badly?

Two spherical teal-colored gemstones rested in the dirt in front of the mare. Each looked to be no bigger than a clenched fist. The gems glowed softly, as if lit from within. Even with my limited abilities, I could sense the power stored within them. I was quite curious about the gemstones, but I set aside my curiosity for the moment. Nightmare Moon needed me now.

As if on cue, the Moon Mistress glanced up in my direction. Her eyes were very glassy and unfocused, and her head bobbled a bit as she tried to focus on me.

What the hell happened to her?

Rushing to the Night Mare's side, I dropped to my knees in front of her. My concern for her welfare was all too evident in my voice, but I didn't care.

"Mistress, what happened?! Are you sick?"

"N...nay. I am...merely...exhausted."

"Exhausted, Mistress? I've seen you do amazing things and make them look easy. What could you have done, that would actually exhaust you?"

The worn out mare shakily pointed a hoof towards the two gems resting in front of her.

"Made...these."

These little things?

I reached down to pick up one of the gems. It was warm in my hand, though I could not tell if that was due to its creation or to the power contained within. This close, I could see that the surface was not faceted like most gems I had seen, but appeared to be polished like a pebble. Brushing my fingertips over the gem revealed it was not perfectly smooth. I could feel little bumps and dips in the surface. A note of wonder graced my words as I gazed into the gemstone.

"Creating two gems drained you of so much...I can feel the power held within."

"Yes...yes. They are quite powerful."

Her voice sounded a bit steadier, and I hoped that meant she was recovering.

"Creating gems that can channel pegasus magic is no easy feat, as you can see."

Indicating with her head to her left, she drew my attention to a number of gemstones lying together in a messy pile. Chunks of dirt missing from the adjacent wall implied that the gemstones had been hurled away by force.

Temper temper, Mistress.

With a force much gentler than what was used on the discarded ones, I set the gemstone in my hand back in the dirt next to its companion.

"I hope thou can appreciate what we have done for thee."

Huh?

Looking back at the exhausted Night Mare, I sat up and gave her my full attention. Her mood was easy to see - tired AND cranky, a clear case of Resting Bitch Face.

Joy.

"We have given thee so much. Firstly, we gifted thee with a new body, seeding thou with our own magic. Next, we have given thee personal instruction. We do NOT take students, unlike our accursed sister who will give 'personal instruction' to any pretty flank who takes her fancy. And lastly, we drain ourselves nearly dry for thy benefit. Why? To give thee WINGS! Dost thou understand the full weight of what we have done for thee?!"

The fight finally drained from her, Nightmare Moon dropped her head down to her hooves.

She has done a lot for me, it's true. Of course, she's doing it so she can take over this world. But it is still a lot of effort.

Reaching down to her muzzle, I caressed the palm of my left hand across her cheek and gently slid my fingers under her jaw. At first, she flinched away; the kind of move that told me she did not want to be touched. But a moment later, she leaned into my warm caress. Speaking softly, I gave her the kindest smile I could manage.

"I'm not sure what to say, except thank you."

The Night Mare smiled into my hand and nuzzled it briefly.

"You are welcome, my student. Truly.

"Ah, do not mind the ravings of a tired and cranky old mare. I shall recover in time."

Under her breath, she muttered to herself. However, my new ears let me hear her clearly.

"This had better be worth the effort. This is too much, too much to make just one warrior. I cannot make an army this way."

I wasn't really sure how to respond to that, so I instead asked how I could help her recover.

Lifting her head out of my hand, the Mare in the Moon looked askance at me.

"Dost thou really wish to help?"

"Yes, Mistress. I do."

Why wouldn't I want to help her? It's not like it would hurt or anything.

Nodding slightly in acceptance of my offer, she filled me in on her plan.

"There is a spell that will allow me to drain your magic. Do not move."

Like the flight spells earlier that evening, the transfer spell and its use were placed in my head via Nightmare Moon's magic. My eyes glazed over slightly as I examined the new knowledge.

It's essentially creating something analogous to transmitter and receiver 'nodes' inside each of us, where she uses her receiver node to pull from my transmitter node. Heh, kinda like one-way magical wi-fi.

My mental smile only lasted a moment as I digested another bite of this knowledge transfer.

Looks like I can only pull magic, kinda like Leech Seed from Pokemon. But if the other person or pony knows how to block it, or simply has enough magical strength, they can fight the drain. That ability might be useful later on.

I broke off my internal analysis and refocused on the mare in front of me.

"I'm ready."

"Then cast the 'Mana Transfer' spell for me, for I am too weak to do so."

Easy enough.

Transmitter node cast in me...check.

Receiver node cast in her...also check.

That was easy! Well duh dummy, she's not fighting it! Now to--

URGH! Ow! What?! She's...pulling...my magic...from me! So fast...it hurts! The spell didn't say it would hurt!

Gritting my teeth in pain, I pleaded with my Mistress to slow down.

"Not so fast...Mistress...it hurts..."

"Hmph. Very well."

The drain slowed down considerably in response. It still felt like someone was pulling a string deep inside of me, but the pain had died down to a bearable level. I would describe it more like discomfort than pain. I cleared my throat and shook my head, hoping to clear the dizziness creeping in on me.

"Erm, thank you Mistress."

No reply.

Several minutes passed in silence. Eventually, the draining feeling slowed then finally stopped. Good thing too, cause I felt like I was going to faint at any moment. Or throw up. Or both. Ugh. I was reminded of the time I used a new creatine supplement in the gym, and my blood sugar crashed hard. I felt sick and queasy back then, until I had something to eat.

Unexpectedly, a quick burst of energy flowed back into me before the link was severed. I inhaled deeply, and realized I no longer felt sick to my stomach. Still tired, still drained low, but otherwise felt pretty good.

What was that magical surge? A magical candy bar to fix my magical sugar crash?

"Better?"

Dark and bitter, just how I like my mares. Or was that said about coffee?

Looking at my teacher, I noted that she looked...stronger somehow.

"Yes, Mistress. And you?"

"I am still very tired, student. However, you were able to give enough so I am not...quite as drained. I will need more time to recover."

Without another word to me, Nightmare Moon bent down to the gemstones she had created and encircled them with her magic. She brought them up to eye level and set them spinning slowly in midair. It was a fair guess that she was examining the gems. I concluded that it was a good idea, and resolved to go check out the gemstones she had thrown away.

Maybe I can figure out how they work. Beats staring at the wall, or examining the lint in my navel.

Do I still HAVE a navel?

After determining that I did, in fact, still have a navel, I unsteadily got to my feet. My sense of balance was off and I wobbled slightly on my feet. When I felt steady enough, I staggered over to the pile of gemstones on the other side of the cave. Carefully, deliberately, I dropped to one knee then flopped my butt down on to the dirt floor. With some effort I got my legs crossed in front of me, then shifted around until I was finally facing the gemstone pile.

This close, I could just feel the power radiating in the gemstones. Having access to magic is kinda like having an extra sense - along with sight, taste, touch and all the rest of the normal human senses, I now had a magic 'sense'. I could FEEL magical items nearby, and an idea of how strong they were. Sorta like looking at a light and instinctively thinking, that's kinda bright.

And usually followed by whipping out a pair of sunglasses to cover your eyes.

I also ‘knew’ that touching a magical item would give me a better idea of the power contained within it. Using a version of magical 'sonar' of sorts, I could query the magical item and get a feel of how to use it. I didn't know how I knew all of this, but I'd already had enough crazy ideas and memories stuck in my head that I just went with it. The knowledge was probably part of one of those memory transfers from Nightmare Moon. Wherever it came from, the knowledge was obvious to me and I was going to make use of it.

I reached down and picked up the nearest discarded gemstone, then brought it up to my face for a closer look. The first thing I noticed was the weight, or lack of it. The gemstone felt hard and solid, like a rock or a brick, but it had almost no weight to it. Kinda like a styrofoam ball of the same size. To get a sense of its weight, I tossed the gem a few inches up in the air. I swear, the gem felt like it floated back down into my hand.

It was time to pay attention to my magical senses. Thus, I 'reached' into the gem a tiny bit. This one felt...flawed, somehow. There was magic within, but its pattern was disrupted. It felt fuzzy rather than clear, if that made any sense. The inner light on this gem 'felt' uneven as well. Turning the gem to different angles eventually revealed a large crack deep inside.

Guess Mistress put too much power into this one, or made it too fragile.

Setting the gemstone down in my lap, I looked over the pile in front of me. Shifting the pile around to get an accurate count, I found eleven gemstones: ten lying in the dirt, and one in my lap.

That's a lot of wasted energy. No wonder Moony over there is tired. Too bad you can't just drain the energy back out and re-use it.

That was an interesting idea. I narrowed my eyes in concentration and wondered if I was on to something. There was no reason not to try. I picked up the gemstone in my lap, then cast the transfer spells I had just learned. First, a transmitter node inside the gemstone. That one was kinda difficult, and felt weird, but I made it work. The paired receiver node cast inside me was easy. And...nothing happened.

Better check my work, in case I missed something.

After skimming mentally over the spells, I could find nothing wrong.

It all looks okay, but no energy is coming through. Maybe I got this wrong? I don't know if magic works this way.

Nah, I can't give up this soon. Let me think. Normally, a transmitter pushes signals to a passive receiver. But these spells link two nodes together, and the receiver should be able to talk to the transmitter.

I sunk a bit more of that magic 'sense' into the receiver node inside of me, to try and get an idea of how it worked.

The wi-fi analogy is failing me here. It's almost like these nodes are hooked together by a magic hose or a rope or something.

At that moment, I swear I heard a mental DING!

Hmmm, what happens if I give the 'rope' a tug?

One quick mental 'tug' later, and a torrent of pure magic just poured into me. It felt...good! Really good! You know how you feel when you've been working all day, or playing sports, or helping someone pack a moving truck? As the day goes on, you slowly get more and more tired? This was just like that, but in reverse. Like I was getting more and more rested and rejuvenated every second. It was AMAZING, I'd never felt anything like it before.

Idly curious, I looked down at the gemstone in my hand and was astonished at what I saw. The gem had lost most of its glow, but the shocking part was that chunks of the stone were just...missing. As I watched, the gemstone crumbled (or dissolved) from the inside out, with large pits and holes appearing all over its surface. In moments, there was very little left that looked anything like a gem.

Just about then, I felt the magical flow stop and kinda gurgle a bit. You know, like when water empties down the drain in a sink? The remnants of the gemstone in my hands suddenly turned to dust and fell all over my lap. I frantically brushed my hands over my legs to get rid of that crap, lest it begin to sting or burn. Turns out, it neither burned nor stung nor was there any dust on my legs after all. It's almost like the remnants just vanished into the ether. Weird.

Taking stock in my health, I marveled at how good I felt. Almost...no, better then if I had slept all day and night. I felt new! Brimming with energy! And all this from a single gemstone!

I wonder, what happens if I drain another?

Selecting another gemstone, I hungrily stared deep within its magical depths and cast my cliffhanger spell.