Tempting Fate
Fate, my dear boy, is like a bar wench that has been too busy exposing her goods rather than selling a pint of ale. You mustn't tempt her, lest you find yourself in the room with a Bruxa rather than drowning yourself in the local brew...
Geralt had no idea why that sentence echoed in his mind, but he knew it had something to do with the mare sitting in the hospital bed, her fever reaching a ridiculous temperature and her breathing becoming ever more ragged by the minute. Sympathy swept over him.
The Witcher leaned closer to Fluttershy, inspecting her body close. Her veins were visible around the throat and face, a pale blackish color all too familiar with him present within. "... I don't know if you can hear me in there. You were- are a mystery to me, but you know something about how I arrived here." He held an object in his hand, the reflective surface beaming back and shining his eyes in a pale light. "What is about to happen will hurt..." He held her hoof, looking on her form, empathetic of the pony's worsening condition. "And you will never be the same. I'm going to ask for your rulers' blessing to do commence the Trial of the Grasses. Before I go, I want you to take good care of this." He took the object in his hand and tied it around Fluttershy's neck, the pulsing of the pendant vibrating against her with a dull buzz.
"Geralt?" Twilight interrupted, entering the hospital room. She approached cautiously, dread overcoming her features at her friend's worsening condition. She teared up at first glance, but shook her head and pried her vision away. "The princesses are waiting for you. Should I tell them to wait?"
"...No." was all he said. He was determined in seeing it through, there was no reason to second guess himself. (Song Ends)
"Y-you want to... What?" Celestia asked carefully, her voice trailing on the edge of venomous.
"Perform the Trial of the Grasses. With your permission." He bowed.
"No! No, I will not let one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony become some soulless husk! I-"
"I don't give a damn what you think about it!" Twilight surprisingly interrupted. "Fluttershy- my friend- is one high fever away from dying! If this can save her," she looked to the Witcher for any help in this. Receiving no reply, she sighed somberly. "We tried everything. This is a work of magic not even from here, so I think it best if we believe the only qualified expert and at least try."
"Do you even remember it?!" The white Alicorn exclaimed. "With your memory as muddled as it is, you're asking us to- to go practically on faith that it'll work!" She glared angrily, the room's heat rising a little.
Celestia moved to say something more, only for the hoof of her sister to halt her progress. "Do you intend on bearing the burden then, Twilight Sparkle?"
"W-what? I don't-"
"Please listen to my sister, my faithful student." The other mare spoke, nodding to Luna to continue.
"You are willing to subject your friend to an excruciating and dreadful process. Geralt can confirm that." The Witcher nodded in agreement. "Are you prepared to face what path Destiny will carve for your friend after this is over? She will be changed, and there is no telling if it's for the better."
"B-but Geralt's the one who's going to perform it! Why would I be responsible?!" The small mare exclaimed.
"He is but a tool. You are the one to see this through." She glared back at the Witcher, looking for his input. "What say you, Witcher?"
"Hmm..." Geralt grunted in thought. After a brief moment of silence, he faced the mare next to him with serious eyes. "This is not like your magic- from what I remember, it will take years for the body to adapt to the mutations. Maybe even decades. Your friend could potentially never see you or her friends for several years, if at all. You are the only one qualified enough to make the final decision."
Her jaw hung open, staring incredulously at the three before her. Eventually though, she understood. It was a choice she had to make, as a friend. "...I understand your majesties." She bowed and took her leave, abandoning Geralt to face the two alone.
"We are ever in your debt." Luna bowed. "Whatever can we do to-" suddenly, Celestia interrupted.
"How much?"
"I...beg your pardon?" Geralt asked, flabbergasted.
"You get paid for these sorts of things, so how much do you need?"
"Tia!"
"What?!" She glared back at her sister. "He doesn't work for free. Nothing's free! Haven't you learned that by now, after-" As if time stood still, Celestia froze like a deer in a bright light.
"After... What, dear sister?" Luna glared at Celestia.
"...How many bits do you want." She demanded, ignoring her sister.
"None. I declare Law of Surprise." He stated. "That which you possess, but not yet know. From my lands it's considered a-"
"Universal Law." Luna interrupted, still glaring at her sister, but this time with trepidation. "We... Know of similar laws in other lands here." She sighed. "Very well, then by the law of Equestrian Oligarchy, we hereby declare Geralt the Witcher free to obtain payment of this deed by way of Surprise. Upon your return to this very throne room, you may obtain whatever you first glance upon as your prize for the contract."
Thus the decree was made. Geralt left shortly after, heading back to Ponyville in order to begin the preparations.
The Castle of the Two Sisters gave off an eery and unpleasant feeling to any that lingered too close, despite it becoming a reminder of the accomplishments that Twilight and her friends had made. Even the Tree of Harmony was restored, thanks to their efforts. However, the dilapidated ruins were soaked in ancient magic, enough to put even Geralt on edge. Regardless of how he felt, he knew why it had to be a place like this- it was to attune the body to the latent magic strewn about the earth. To make it more sensitive.
...To alter it beyond recovery.
"Are you still prepared to do this?" He asked the Alicorn still making sure the items were in place, save for the barbaric cage Fluttershy was to sit in during the process. "It will not be for the faint of heart."
"I-I know the consequences!" She exclaimed nervously. "It's what I'm supposed to do! Celestia, she told me to do this. She told me to..."
A lie. Regardless, the Witcher didn't want her to panic more, and proceeded to mix the agents and reagents from what he could still remember from his own centuries ago. Vesemir wasn't around to teach him, and even if he was, he wouldn't want to witness another die potentially to the trial. He could remember that much, at least.
Suddenly, a figure teleported into the center of the throne room that used to be the seat of all Equestrian government, behind her a yellow sickly pale mare barely standing up. She was dazed and more than likely on some sort of sedative to keep her in that state to prevent panic. "We are here." Luna stated, her voice deep and without a hint of emotion.
Someone who saw war, Geralt thought. The look was unmistakable.
"She can barely move..." Twilight mumbled, glaring at the husk of a Pegasus that was once Fluttershy. "I-I don't know if I can do this... What if I screw up?"
"You won't." She replied.
"I..." She stared behind the princess at her friend once more, nearly bursting to tears before wiping her muzzle off. "Yes. I am."
"Come with me, and we will start your 'treatment'." The mare trotted behind Princess Luna, barely moving. It was as if even breathing was taxing to the poor Pegasus.
Once she was close enough, Geralt helped her into the fastener and began to insert the needles, intent on keeping her from looking back by any means necessary. Many would later fabricate the next part as a myth with several different ways he had calmed her, but the simplest and only true one was this:
"Excuse me," she said above a whisper. "C-can you tell me a story? I'm not a fan of needles, and telling a story always helps."
"I'm... Afraid I don't have any." He stopped and looked her dead in the eye. "None that will take the pain away..."
The mare heaved a dry chuckle. "This isn't like that beast that hurt me, is it?" She shuddered when the cold leather straps touched her fur and was drawn tight, locking her in place for the injections.
"...No. I don't remember." He kept the sentences simple, there was no reason to start giving into curiosity. Everything had to be precise, else she end up like the many who have died in the past to the trial. "But I will try my best to ease suffering." A lie; any change to the formula and it would end in the pegasus's death.
The ingredients were hard to find, and even harder to extract, but nonetheless, Geralt made do with what was given, many of the potential items far beyond his understanding of magical Flora and fauna. The more he found, the more dread was filling him in watching something like this take place. He remembered the pain of his own mutations entering for the first time, and remembered his time in the caves outside Kaer Morhen, but regrettably nothing else. It was all still a blur.
The first vial was set: a talon from a Griffon- the mutagen responsible for the flow of magic through the body. He was surprised to see this world not only was occupied by griffons, but they were far more intelligent than what he was used to thinking about. Twilight's friend, the rainbow haired one, contacted one of them for a sample. Taking pity, he decided to oblige the Pegasus on the operating table with a story. He remembered Vesemir tell the same one as a young lad, in fact more than likely during his Trial.
"Once, there was a story... Of a lonely Wolf." He turned the spigot, watching the golden liquid pour into the mare. Immediately her body shot up in pain, a small grunt of surprise leaving the mare's throat..
"This wolf wasn't like any others, for his fur was white as snow." He moved to the next mutagen, designed to harden the outside of the body and promote healing. Changeling venom, given from the newly crowned King Thorax, filled the blueish black jar. The liquid drizzled down like tar, filling her veins with the same familiar color and substance he was used to seeing flowing in his own body. This time Fluttershy wailed in pain, her body spasming against the restraints. Twilight moved to use magic and secure her, but was pushed back by Geralt's Aard. "His fur made him a lone wolf, the color too bright to blend in."
"This did not stop the White Wolf however, for He was a master of nature- that was his domain. But his fur was no match for his strength." He continued, hoping the two onlookers took the hint. They understood, and rushed to use their hooves rather than their magic to halt the mare from breaking anything.
"One day, the Wolf met an Owl-" he applied the next ingredient by hand, a salve of Phoenix Ash and Poison Joke. It burned like hellfire, Fluttershy letting out a horrific and bloodcurdling scream. She cried and cried, but it fell to deaf ears from him. Twilight and Luna weren't so lucky, but he understood their pain. To tell them the ordeal that was the Trial of the Grasses was one thing, but to witness them firsthand would shake the foundations of even the hardiest of creatures. "The Owl had told him of a nearby place full of game. The Wolf, hungry and greedy, had listened to the Owl and followed her deep into the woods, in a place he had never ventured before."
Only one ingredient remained- the catalyst. He had tricked most of the mutagens into applying correctly, according to the albeit gruesome results, but this would be the most crucial. There was no old magic from his world, so he had tapped into the only source available: himself.
Geralt stabbed the fourth and final tube into his arm, grunting in pain. Slowly, the crimson sludge of Witcher DNA flowed into the final injection point on Fluttershy, her body spasming once more before becoming completely still. "I-is it over?" Luna asked warily.
The Witcher nodded, trying to undo the straps. Surprisingly, Twilight still clung to them, shock overtaking her features. Gently, he pried the shivering mare loose from the bindings so he could assess the damage:
The skin and fur were subsequently bleached a lighter yellow than what Fluttershy used to have, as well as her pink mane and tail turning an earthy brown color. Geralt sighed, shaking his head. "The Owl lead the Wolf to a pond in the woods, and said 'behold your reflection.' the Wolf did as told, and peered down into the pond, only to jump back in shock. The Owl continued, it's feathers becoming fur and it's beak transforming into a set of teeth. 'for you were not a Wolf, but the pretender of one.' White Wolves do not exist, but a stray sheep could easily become one's lunch unless it were careful."
Fluttershy was breathing steady. It worked...
Geralt didn't want it to.
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And so it is done. Fluttershy has now joined the clan of the Witchers. She is the first true female Witches. Ciri only had the training, and never went through the trials. History has been made this night, though it never should have been.
Can’t wait for the next chapter
10064342
Failsafe99 I think there were female Witchers in the cat school
10064591
Great fakin chapter again m8
10065489
I have never heard of the cat school, so I will go research.
10065560
Its a Witcher school that rivals the School of the Wolf. The other Witcher Schools are more brought about in the video games. Griffon, Ursaine, Viper, Cat, Manticore, and Wolf are all of the Witcher Schools in Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Its due to their armor mostly that you know they exist beyond working with a Viper school witcher and fighting a Cat School Witcher. Manticore only gets an armor set through the Blood and Wine DLC while getting Grandmaster variations of the main armor you can get.
10065592
Well, that just means I need to continue playing then. Though I will still research it, as I love reading and learning lore for various universes. Its really fun to hold conversations with someone who is a fan of one series, when I havent played it, but know it's story and backstory.