Wolf is a human mage who was sent to Equestria when he died. Chaos ensues as he falls prey to his greatest weakness. Mares.
Our world is not as devoid of magic as most humans believe. A young mage from our world named Wolf has died and been sent to Equestria. In our world he was a being of immense power, an astral contractor able to change into the form of a wolf and wield the element of shadows. Now he needs to learn how to find his way in a completely new reality, one where magic is common and his previously overwhelming power is commonplace. He has already experienced a life of training and hardship. He now longs for something more… fulfilling.
Clop tags, because I was asked nicely. Will be spoilers of future events. Biting, Varying degrees of D/s and BSDM, Collaring, Blood, Dungeon, Multiple Partners, Changelings(And all their wonderful options such as, Doubles, R63, Mind Controlled), Tentacles, Discord(He gets his own clop tag because... well you'll see.* and whatever else happens to pop into my depraved mind. So yeah, when I said because it would be complicated to tag everything this is what I meant. Will update as the story progresses.
Many believe our world to be devoid of magic. They believe the accounts of mages, vampires and werewolves to be simple fantasy and superstition. It’s funny how the scientists, with their high-tech equipment, can fail to see an entire secret population simply because it can’t be real. There was a time where we had to hide. Now? Now everything to do with our world is ignored or debunked by those who don’t even realize they're saving us from themselves. I’m grateful to them all.
Unfortunately, they don't necessarily leave us safe enough. I move silently through my territory as night falls, and recounting who I am, simply because stealth is second-nature to me. Not that I need to be moving, of course. I already know where the hunters will enter. And I know where they'll die as well. Besides, I always find reminiscing to be oddly amusing, though I am not sure whether the humor of the situation is more dark or more twisted.
My name is Wolf. I’m 22 years old, muscular with long black hair, a ginger beard and emerald green eyes. Not the weirdest combination about me, but still pretty weird. I’m also a mage. I am a contractor with the astral totem of the wolf, to be specific, and those traits carry over to my everyday life. I’m instinctive. I love my steaks Texas-rare (seasoned and warmed up before searing both sides, leaving the middle so deliciously bloody and tasty). Oh, and I can turn into a wolf under the moon, if I have enough power. Unfortunately, power is hard to come by in this world. Contracting, blood rituals, or sex rites are the only ways to refill your power beyond the slow trickle that you can draw in from the elements around you. Fortunately, I am a good contractor. There are powerful astral entities that are willing to forge a contract with me. I have an affinity to all canines and, strangely enough, to draconequus.
I am always training and working to become stronger, having Gods as your holders isn't an easy thing to live up to and I must always be ready for any commands they issue. Most of the astral beings I contract to are quest types. They tell me what to do for them and I do it. I get to keep any power left over from the assignment to keep healthy. One however is special. The great goddess Mystery, a high draconequus. She provides me with a daily flow of power on the terms that my mission is to train daily and become a Grand Master mage of the highest order. As I grow stronger, she provides a quest every now and then.
The power she gives me leaves me ‘running hot’. This is a state where your power is at an absolute capacity and is slowly bleeding off but also increasing your maximum capacity. The quests she gives me are usually simple, far too simple for the gift of power she gives me. Things like hunt down this human and turn into a wolf in front of him, leaving a bite mark on his arm. Or my favorite, where she had me dress in a superhero costume and use my power as a masked vigilante. I felt ridiculous and absolutely epic. I still get a smile every time I read an article about the legendary Anime Man.
I leave a trail of news stories and pondering citizens in my wake. Along with some seriously pissed of mages and a bounty pool I have more than once tried to figure out how to collect on. Last I checked it included several potent artifacts, 80 large bars of silver, and a nice pile of gems cut perfectly for arcane arts. I suspect that she does it partly for the fun of spreading chaotic mysteries and partly because she’s raising me for… Well something at least. If she wants to raise me to the highest level to be the perfect lapdog, then I am more than happy to serve my master well. She is my alpha and I am her loyal servant.
I have no delusions about not wanting to be a Goddess's plaything. After all, mortals in general are the playthings of the greater beings and which is better? A random toy that caught someone's eye, or a cherished toy that is top of the line and took a lot of work to acquire? Especially since it would take a lot less effort to fix me if I got broken than to get a new one. Don’t get me wrong and mistake me for some weak-willed wuss. I am far from it. The weak-willed are the ones who refuse to accept their status as a mortal.
Right now I am in my special area on my family’s private forest. To the ‘normal people’, this estate is owned by a rich and generally unknown investor and my family is supposed to be some sort of group of wilderness experts that assist him when he comes to ‘rough it’. In truth, my family is wealthy by normal standards, however, by the standards of mages we are lower class. Not that money amounts to much in our world. Most so-called High mages wouldn’t dream of setting foot in our territory.
If they get past all the defenses in the woods themselves, all they have to look forward to is a man blessed with the incredibly rare earth aspect who is capable of feats of immense magic, impossible levels of strength, endurance and resistance. I once saw a famous gun mage fight my father. I actually felt a little sorry for the poor bastard. His enchanted bullets left nothing more than bruises and small cuts on the 7 foot giant charging him with an enchanted war axe. At least it was over quickly, one swing separating the man’s head from his shoulders.
Not that my daddy is a bad guy. He raised us with all the love and care he had. He helped me master my powers and stood there taking painful injuries when my first full moon after puberty unlocked my primal powers. He just stood there smiling and blocking as I fought to gain control. In the end he just laughed and bandaged his arms and sides smiling and celebrating. I still remember walking over the hill, coming into view of the house in wolf form for the first time. He took a long draught of moonshine and hollered, “My boy’s growing up into a real man! Let’s have some fun and celebrate!” The party lasted into the night, a bonfire burning and plenty of booze. Wish I had been skilled enough in my wolf form to drink some. Oh well, parties are just as much fun sober and without being able to roast your own marshmallows. It’s a simple life in these woods, but it’s a life I’m grateful for.
School was annoying. I scraped by, doing perfect on tests but barely bothering with homework at all. I had more important things to do. Like training and trying to make a contract so I didn’t have to keep mooching off my parents. In the end, I never succeeded. Instead, She came to me. My sis and I were sitting next to our sparing pit, taking a rest as our uncle was lecturing us on needing to find our own personal approach to combat so he could teach us properly. He was a Grand Master of seventeen denominations of martial arts and was a genius at teaching and learning them.
She appeared in the pit where my blood had spilled. I recognized her immediately from my books on astral beings. A draconequus, a God of chaos. I bowed upon seeing her, causing my sister and teacher to be quite concerned. They wanted to know what I saw. When I told them, my uncle sent my sister into the house and was worried. “What does it want?” he asked.
“Tell him I am Mystery, a high Goddess and your new Master.” His eyes went wide, “A chosen? At your age? It’s not unheard of in our family, but I always expected it of my son. You’ve never beaten him or shown any of the signs of greatness. Wolf astrals always end up as lapdogs or mercenaries.”
“Who says I don’t want a lapdog?” Mystery replied through me with a small chuckle that reminded me of a ringing bell. “Besides, your son will be nothing before his might in a mere two years. Begin teaching him the art of personification as well as a gentle style, a hard style, and a weapon style that focuses on staves. I will pay you now for all the effort you have and will invest in my future knight.” That was the first time I ever felt the feeling of running hot. I passed all the power into my uncle I could but in the end we were both left full.
He fulfilled his agreement to the best of my abilities. He taught me the gentle fist style Soul Reaver, an art designed to kill large groups with a single blow to each opponent. I mastered it well, learning the pressure points and anatomy based techniques very easily. I was less successful with the other styles, only reaching an adept level with weapons. My hard style, taijutsu, is the most lacking. I simply don’t have the personality compatible to learn hard styles. Personification, my main style for hand to hand combat, is essentially channeling the movements of a wolf into my fighting style while blending the other styles’ moves together. Together, however, they allow me a flexibility to handle whatever opponents life throws at me.
Many years of training and a thousand adventures have come to pass since that day. Now I’ve reached the age of the adept. My 22nd birthday was yesterday and I have retreated into the mountains for solitary training. It’s actually funny, in a way. Being twenty-two grants me the title of adept automatically. The funny part is that I’m known throughout the world as Prince of the Night, Sir Wolf, and Lord of Shadows. My official skill rank is beyond Master. It’s been a long time since I could even safely hug anyone besides my dad without being overly careful.
I stand in the meadow under the full moon, staring at my staff. It was a treasure the Wolf King led me to. He told me of its location in exchange for slaying a group of would-be poachers who were hunting his material kin. He was happy and very grateful that I lived up to his blessing without a contract. A contractor risking his life without hope of gain or potential for loss is a big thing, after all. My staff is ancient and unbreakable. I can hit a bear with enough force to send it flying away without so much as bending it. It is inlaid with silver runes and gems; a perfect conduit. I have been haunted ever since I was discovered to possess it, but it has been worth every fight. Especially considering I wouldn’t have won half of them without it, I think with some measure of chagrin.
I’m being hunted today as well. A group has entered the forest and declared me as their opponent. My father has his hands tied and I know it pisses him off. He cannot protect me anymore, now that I’m a full grown man. I twirl the staff and slip it into the slot on my backpack. The pack is enchanted to hold a lot more than it should, and reduces the weight of the contents dramatically. In short, it’s bigger on the inside. The slot for the staff lets me store its entire length within for easy removal. I sniff the air. They knew they wouldn’t find me in the day, but also that I wouldn’t risk letting the night go to waste. They entered as dusk. I find them and begin deciphering their scents from downwind.
An alchemist, something to do with electricity, and a mage that reeks of the undead assault my nose. The rest seem normal and from what I can see are mere fodder. I spring into action, drawing a sword from my pack and driving it through the chest of the necromancer. I hate those who work with the dead. They are never easy opponents. Before they can recover, I spin with another blade at the one with the electric smell. Not fast enough, I note as they bristle with an electric shield that send me back at contact with it.
I spring to my feet and face them openly now. Unexpectedly, one of what I mistook as fodder is a gun mage. I dodge into the trees at the roar of his pistols firing behind me. He’s out of place in these woods. I smile and cast a simple spell of darkness over the area. I hear gasping and laugh out loud as steady, sure steps degenerate into awkward noisy shuffling. One remains silent and I cannot find their scent. I shift into wolf form to hunt them.
Hah, an assassin type was hidden among the fodder as well. Perhaps all the fodder are the types that are hard to detect the strength of. They stand in the tree above me sniffing gently and preparing to drop on me. As they fall I dart forward and make a sharp turn, clamping my teeth on my opponent’s throat. I call upon the blood ritual and drain his power into me. Bolstered by the small boost of power, I pick off the gunman and resume my hunt. They’ve stopped moving, and I sense them trying to counter the darkness spell. How silly. I’m a contractor, my spells are backed by a being they cannot even comprehend the power of. They call me The Lord of Shadows for a reason.
I circle the group, searching for a weakness. The alchemist is bent over the necromancer, shoving a potion down his throat. I know him! That’s Asmodeus, they say he can brew a potion powerful enough to bring the dead back to life, as long as the head is still intact. The lightning type has a barrier around all of them. I know her too, Aztkin, She’s a Cherokee Goddess of lightning. At least two on par with me in terms of infamy and power. Looks like the Law Guild decided to step it up. The unknown power ones have drawn wands and weapons. If I can get my jaws on Aztkin I can end this easily. However, the revival of the necromancer is worrisome. His face is hooded, and he must be incredibly powerful if Asmodeus is willing to lose a potion that takes two years to make on him. The unknown power ones are hard to judge, but I guess from the smell of fear they’re leaking, and the smell of piss from one of them, that they are actually fodder. Should I focus on the healer, the numbers, or the one who can actually exploit my weak element?
I decide on the healer. Kill him before I have more problems and he wastes the profits I intend to harvest from him. I wield the earthen armor spell and leap at the alchemist, going for his throat. I sense little power in him and don't waste my time taking it. A jerk of my head sends him on to the next life. The lightning mage throws a mighty bolt at me, leaving a small burn under the dirt and stone skin. I growl and drop the darkness spell, tearing through all the fodder in front of the lightning mage. She stares at me as the last of her comrades falls in front of her.
I can speak in this form, but my voice is gravely and growling. I make it more so and lock her eyes with the predators’ gaze. I drive my power home to force her to feel fear at the monster in front of her.
“Surrender. I will spare you. Attack. I will take your life. Do nothing. I will wait,” I finish with a menacing growl. I do hate to hurt women. I want her to run. I want her to believe hope is lost on this foolish attack. I want her to not force me to hurt her. I don’t intend on killing her, even if she attacks. If I could make friends with her, at least I would have somebody I could hug without breaking. I smile inwardly as she takes step back. She launches another bolt at me and flees, not looking back to see the results. I give chase. She hears me rocketing through the woods after her and when she trips I stop behind her.
“OK. What’s your deal anyways?” She asks as she stands. “You could have finished me there but left me alive. Why?”
“It’s not like you’ve hurt me much or threatened my family or anything unforgivable. I can choose whether I spare those foolish enough to challenge me. Besides…” I shift back into my human form and give her a smile. “It’s not like I’m some kind of wild animal or anything. Perhaps we can meet again under more favorable circumstances. We've risen high on the mountain of power, I doubt it’s only me who finds this desolation of battle and blood lonely.”
“I’ll leave this forest and never return. I never should have come.” She walks off and I leave her alone. She calls back, knowing I can hear, “Sorry, but I'm not into guys I can't control.” I sigh and keep walking. At least today was a little productive. I wonder what kind of loot I’ll get. I should have stayed in wolf form, it was foolish to leave a necromancer unattended.
When I return, the bodies have risen again and I recognize the seals on the necromancer’s chest around my blade. The final requiem of death. This spell animates all corpses in its area of effect. The corpses lock in on the one who cast the spell and taint the magic around them, effectively rendering any astral or divine abilities useless and doubling the cost of elemental spells. In short, it’s a spell that says, “I’m gonna die? OK, so I trade the last five seconds of my life to get rid of all 200 year of his.” It’s a perfect example of why I loathe necromancers.
The corpses attack me, and I draw my staff. I finish them off one by one slowly. I know this spell and it is designed to defeat my kind. They are directed by magic and stealth is impossible. Critical points are useless. All you can do is fight without astral strength boosts, immobilize the bodies, and burn them at double the cost. I finally finish them off, panting as blood drips from my wounds. I’ve been poisoned and it burns in my veins. I have won, and smile in victory. All I have to do now is crawl until I’m free of the taint zone and-
“OW. Forgot the bloody assassin…”
A blade enters my back. I whirl and knock down the final corpse. A jet of flame from my staff silences the assassin for good. It’s a golden blade enchanted to cut astral connections. I can’t regenerate now, even if I do get away from the taint. I drop to my knees. My vision grows dim as I look around. Well played, magic cops, well played indeed.
My vision clears suddenly, and I feel power coursing through me. I reach back and yank out the blade, sighing in relief as all my wounds close. Mystery appears before me.
“Come to say goodbye, Master? I know I’m dead and I know you're not allowed to revive me.”
“Hmm perhaps. Perhaps death is not the end of your life? Perhaps I know a loophole to revive you with? Perhaps I’ve come to kill you myself for falling for this trap, AGAIN!” She yells the last word in anger. I await her next move with baited breath. She smiles, “Well you're dead right.” Really? Puns are gonna be among the last things she says to me?
She continues with a small chuckle at my thoughts, “Once I start time again, you’ll fall down dead. Healthy, but still dead. I’m going to send you to a world with different rules. You’ll never see or hear from me again. All you know will be no more, and a minute in this reality will pass 100 years on this plane. Know that when you breathe your first breath, all that held onto you in this reality will have faded to dust. Gather your things. You have 27 minute remaining. Then I will send you, prepared or not.”
I move as fast as I can, looting everything I can from the corpses that survived the fire and then run to the house. I leave a note on the kitchen table. “Sorry guys, but I died. I took all of ‘em out with me first but that fricken necro got me with that stupid Requiem of Death. Mystery is sending me to another reality. She doesn't want me to just die, so She improvised. Grabbed all my stuff for the new world. Love you. Just think, I get to go on another epic adventure before I go on my final adventure. I’ll make sure I die an old man next time. I already did the whole dying as a true warrior and a man thing once. It hurts, and a Goddess makes jokes at your funeral. See you in the next life.”
I gather my things as fast as possible, but I am still running towards my meadow when I feel my body burning away. Dang, I had my stockpile of cider there. Everything goes all kinds of colors, some of which I don't have a name for. I puke and it sprawls out of my mouth, spiralling out and orbiting me. Disturbing. I land in the middle of a forest and fall to my knees. The vomit explodes out from me, hitting trees in its path. My last thought before I pass out is, “In the time it takes me to wake up. My entire family will have passed on. When I wake up there might not be a world at all.”
Suddenly, I am running through a strange forest in the dead of night. There is no wind, and all I can hear is my footsteps crunching quickly through the leaves. I encounter a headless horse. Nope, not the headless horseman that scared me as a child. Just a headless horse that comes up to my chest. It rears and whinneys in what I suspect to be intended as a scary way. I cock my head sideways at it, very much confused.
“Man, I must be really weak if this is all my brain can manage for a nightmare,” I tell it.
I hear a voice coming seemingly from all around me, “No, that is a Nightmare. They are fey who haunt dreams and feed on fear.”
“So it’s evil?” I ask the mysterious voice from beyond the fog.
“Very evil and very dangerous. Do not be afraid, I will protect… Wow.” She cuts off as I jump and plant my boot into its side as hard as I can. It goes sprawling and dissipates into a black mist.
“Bad demon. No food for you. Now go whine in a corner and think about what you’ve done.”
I hear giggling as a shape comes from the mists. An alicorn! I fall to my knees and bow before her. She has a dark coat and is immeasurably powerful. I sense the entire power of the night in her. She smells in a way that I can only describe as starlight, moondust and astral power. Her mane is flowing in a wind that doesn’t exist.
“Why do you kneel, visitor to this realm?”
“I am in the presence of a Goddess. This is how we pay our respects in the reality I am from.” I raise my head and look at her. She seems annoyed.
“Rise. If you insist on titles, I am a princess. Would you prefer to speak in the real world? I am interested in why you are here and why you seem to think I am a Goddess.”
“I died, and the draconequus I served sent me to this reality. It is against the rules of our universe to interfere in the death of a mortal. She could not stand to see me die and sent me here. I would enjoy speaking to you in real life indeed. Dream walking makes me dizzy, and I would hate to vomit in front of you.”
Her horn glows as an amused smile plays across her face. I awake to see her standing over me. I rise to my feet and look at the moon. It is full as well. It’s bigger and different than the one from home. I look down and behold the alicorn before me. She stands even with my chest and smiles up at me.
I speak first. “Alicorns are Goddesses in my reality. They are served by unicorns who fight for them and aid their champions and pegasi who carry messages to other gods and mortals. I like this place so far. The air is buzzing with power and feels so clean.” I look up, “The night is so beautiful here. I’ve never seen the stars so bright or the moon so clear. Everything is more colorful. I feel like running, or dancing.”
“Thank you, I do my best,” she replies. I gawk at her and she continues. “I am the princess of the night. I raise the moon at the end of each day, and lower it at dawn. My sister, Celestia, raises the sun. Your kind is nocturnal?”
“No, I’m just special. Most of my kind is afraid of the night, but I feel at home in it. My name is Wolf.” I hold out my hand feeling stupid for a moment until she takes it in her hoof and shakes it. Good, at least there are some common threads between our realities.
Luna leads me through the woods. She tells me that we are headed to Canterlot.
“Canterlot sounds a lot like Camelot from my world. The parallels are actually somewhat disconcerting. Hmmm.. Tell me, do your people have some method of magical tattoos? The one of the moon on your.. erm.. upper leg, area?”
“Flank. It is called a cutie mark. When somepony discovers their special talent, it appears, usually at a young age. It shows what your true calling is. Your destiny.”
“Disturbing.”
“What? Why?” She’s looking at me bemusedly.
“Your destiny is displayed for all to see and set into your flesh. It implies something about how wound into fate this world is. I wonder if I have a destiny now. I have always done my best to live outside of things like fate.”
“Interesting outlook. It’s not that you have your life set in stone because of your mark. You simply get to know what you’ll always love and enjoy. If you had one, what do you think it would be?”
“Hmm... It would most likely be a wolf howling at the moon.”
“Simply because of your name?” She has stopped walking. I give her my best rogue grin and sweep my hair back with my hand.
“Promise not to get scared and mutilate me?”
“I am not certain as to why I would, but.. agreed,” she looks at me, unsure.
I take a few steps back and stare at the moon. I coil my legs for dramatic effect and spring at her, shifting into wolf form and landing in front of her. Sitting on my haunches, I release an unearthly howl. I hear several heavy thuds around us. With no reaction from Luna, I continue until I’m out of breath. Panting, I look around. We are surrounded by thestrals in steel armor. Judging by the moon crest on the armor, they are some manner of royal guard. One of them steps forward and scratches behind my ear. My leg twitches.
The guard scratching me has a lovely female voice, “D’aww, Princess Luna found a puppy! He was just singing to her with his beautiful voice.”
I turn my head and look at the erm.. mare? Or at least I had expected her to be a mare. She has fangs and batwings. Her coat is a deep purple, and her mane is silvery. Something about her tells me she is very pretty. I smile at her with a toothy grin that took years to master as a wolf. “Thanks. Your voice is very beautiful as well.” She jumps back and looks alarmed. I turn to Luna, “Was it something I said?”
Her short giggle puts the guards back at ease. “Indeed, I did not tell them why I came out here tonight.” She addresses her guards, “This is Wolf. He is a being from another world. His race is called Human, and he is a child of the night, just as all of you are. However, this is not his natural state. Wolf has the ability to change his appearance.” She addresses me again, “Can you become anything or just a wolf?”
“Well, as long as the moon is in the sky, I can change between human, wolf and monster. However, I hate the last one. It has no elegance and exists only as a form of brutality and physical power. I have limitations on all my forms. Wolf is faster, stronger, and has increased senses. However, I cannot use any non-astral aspect spells, nor can I use amplifiers. Monster is even faster, stronger, and my senses are beyond description. The price is that it takes a lot of power to shift back, and I cannot use any magic at all in that form. It can’t even talk.”
“May I see it?”
“I’d rather not. It costs an immense amount of power to return from that state, and I have no way of regenerating my power for now. If you command me, I will. However, you will have to make a choice. Have something straight out of a nightmare follow you back to Canterlot while it attempts charades in reply to your questions, ask one of your guards to carry me back, or give me an infusion of energy so I can recover.”
“I will give you the energy back. It is a forbidden spell, passing energy to another, but I will do it for the sake of knowing exactly what is in my kingdom.”
I look at her and the guards. “They won’t attack me no matter how scary I am, right? They look well disciplined.” Several of them get small brief smiles at the compliment.
She nods. I breathe in, and focus. My power burns, and warps my flesh. I stand up on two legs as the claws on my feet lengthen and sharpen. My fur thickens and darkens, and my forepaws end in similar thick retractable claws. My jaw aches as my maw becomes a terrifying cavern of blades. The overconfidence that always comes with this form quickly takes over. I bow to the princess and slash the base of a thick tree, finishing it with a heavy kick that knocks it over with a loud crash.
I turn back and stare at the guards with my hellish red eyes. A blur of speed, and a flower is in each of the pretty ponies’ manes. I even color coordinate based on eye color. They don’t like the sudden movement or the glimpse of how close I got to them. Every guard seems on edge and Luna’s horn is glowing. I quickly shift back to my human form and draw my staff out, leaning on it heavily.
“Sorry for scaring everyone. Please calm down, I hate it when beautiful women look at me in fear.” Luna has stopped looking like she’s about to begin murdilating me. The rest of her guard doesn’t look any more at ease. Oh yeah, this is their first time seeing this form, and now I’m armed. Though, I was technically armed with the claws and immense speed before.
“Hmm? Did the flowers offend you?” I try to step toward them, and the ground rushes to meet my face. Groaning, I roll over and prop myself against the remains of the tree I assassinated. My staff is out of reach, and I make a few futile grabs for it. The thestral with the silver mane trots over and gently picks it up in her mouth. She drops it in my lap. Power is surging into me. I feel the air around me. It seems that the natural generation of power is 100 fold that of earth. Not enough to sustain my accustomed level of power but enough that I can find a means of getting more.
Looking around, the guards are noticing the flowers in their manes to a mixed reaction. Some look afraid and others look annoyed. A few are at least smiling about it with a slight blush.
I reach up a hand and scratch behind the ear opposite the violet flower. She leans into it for a moment and then quickly yanks her head away. I see a faint smile as she heads back to the rest of the guard. Luna’s horn is glowing again, concentrating on me. A beam of light strikes out, and I feel a tsunami of power flowing into me. She cuts off the beam with a frown.
“Is that all the power you can hold? That’s comparable to an earth pony or gifted unicorn foal. How can you perform such complex magic like this? Your efficiency and control must be immense. Is it a result of living in a world of so little magic?”
I laugh, “Man, I feel like a character in a game that got nerfed. I was considered to be immensely powerful with magical reserves that rivaled Grand Masters. So now I’m weak? At least I can generate power naturally here. Perhaps I can eventually boost my reserves to a level no human ever has before.” I realize how pathetic that sounds, and give a small bitter chuckle, “Wow, I really got nerfed. If I hit a super high level, I’ll be as good as any other character starts out as? Oh well, life’s a bitch and then you die, might as well enjoy the ride.”
All the ponies look confused. Luna speaks up, “All we can say is, ‘What?’”
“Erm.. Long story short, I went from one of the strongest in my reality to a reality where I’m weak. However, this reality has the ability for me to get a lot stronger. The only thing is, even if I push and grow what used to be a legendary level of power, I’ll just be normal here. The last part was a saying from my home reality. It means that life loves to make things hard, and all you can do is have fun anyways.”
“Were you a great philosopher wizard in your old reality? I’m Commander Moon Light by the way,” the mare with the silver mane asks. Her violet eyes are locked on mine, and she seems to be examining me.
I rub my hair back sheepishly. “Actually, I was a warrior. Though, I can be a bit of a poet, and I love reading and writing. I do tend to think too much on things, but at the end of the day my heart is in its finest place when I enter combat. It’s not the part about hurting someone it’s..”
“Proving yourself with your body on the line. Seeing how strong you really are, and how strong your opponent is. It’s a thrill that calms and excites at the same time.” Moon Light finishes for me. We share the look of kindred spirits. I smile at her.
“Exactly. It seems that the true philosopher is you. Do you also write poetry?” I ask her. Hmm.. it seems something messed with my instincts a bit. Strangely, I find her attractive. I find a pony attractive. Perhaps the world adapted me to live in it? More likely, Mystery messed with my head and magic. This world doesn’t feel strange to me, it feels like I belong in it.
“Shall we resume our conversation and walk back to Canterlot? Or would you prefer to rest here and continue to advance on my guards all night?” Luna cuts in. She looks amused and partly annoyed. I rise and begin walking. I manage to resist a joke about preferring the third option where I flirt with all of them all night.. barely. We speak about my world and this one on the journey there. I learn a lot, but the conversation turns somewhere I guess is dangerous. Diet.
“So, what do humans eat?” Luna asks.
“We are omnivores to varying degrees. Some live entirely without meat, but I love it, being a wolf and all. In my world, humans are the only creatures capable of speech or thought. Here, however.. Something tells me that this world is drastically different.”
Moon Light looks at me with a cautious and glaring expression, “Do you eat ponies?”
I stare at her, and give her an evil smile. “Not normally. I wouldn’t mind a taste of you though.”
She stiffens and glares at me. “I’m not sure whether to be worried or worried for a whole different set of reasons. Are you actually hitting on me? Actually no, I know a lecherous look when I see one. Do you actually think an innuendo is a good idea for flirting?”
I smirk and casually turn my eyes back to the path. “No idea. Never really dated much back home and now there’s a whole new set of rules I don’t know about. I usually just go off of instinct and let the dice fall where they will. Do ponies have dice?” I ask her. I can’t tell if that’s the good kind of glare or the kind that means I no longer have any chance with her.
“Yes, we do. You really do have an interesting outlook. Shouldn’t you be all worried about being misplaced and trying to find a way back to your world?”
“Naw, time moves differently between our realities. Right about now, my world is several thousand years into the future and theres nothing left to go back to. Besides, this world is so beautiful and interesting. I don’t want to leave. Anyways, I’m dead in my reality, so if I return I will just die. I’m going to find a place in this world.”
“So everypony you love has died and you're fine with that?” I can’t read this look as Moon Light asks a hard question.
“I’m dealing with it the only way I know how. One foot in front of the other. Besides, in case you don’t remember, I’m the one who died. I’m the one in heaven. What I did to get sent to such a good place is beyond me.”
“This is hardly heaven. How did you die?” Moon Light asks me. She still has an unreadable look on her face. Is this a pony poker face? Actually, do ponies have poker? If they don’t, I will need to teach them. I look at her hooves. On second thought, I’ll teach ‘em dice poker. Somehow, I can’t see them being good at cards.
“I disagree. I’m in a world of immense magic and beauty.” I give her a gentle look and she looks away, but I catch a smile as she turns her head. “I was defeated in battle. I defeated all my foes but was sloppy with the necromancer, and he gave what was left of his life to cast a spell called The Final Requiem of Death. It made the corpses of his allies fight with all of their power and strength with completely immune bodies. I had thought that I burned them all, but I missed one. In the moment when I thought the fight was over, I dropped my guard enough that I got a poisoned and enchanted dagger in my heart from behind.”
“You died a warrior facing a necromancer? So you were a hero?”
“No, they were bounty hunters. I had a pretty big bounty on my head for breaking a few rules and pissing off some people.”
“Interesting. What rules did you break?”
“A lot of them. Technically, I was a wanted and highly dangerous criminal. I killed normal humans with magic because they were hunting endangered species. Used magic in full view of normal humans in the guise of a superhero. Ah, I still remember being the mysterious Anime Man,” I laugh and she rolls her eyes.
“So you're a murderer.” It’s a statement.
“Hmm.. Not exactly. Does your world have any sentient monsters?”
Luna speaks for the first time in a while, possibly intrigued at the ‘killing’ part. “Many. Are you changing the subject?”
“No. Anyways, let’s say we came across a monster right now. It’s killing ponies to skin them and sell their skins for money. If you were to slay it, would you be a murderer? I am neither good nor evil, and I am far better than either. I am a creature of chaos, of neutrality. I protected my family. I stood between the humans and their destructive ways and the earth. I protected the animals and the circle of life. I destroy unnatural beings such as demons or necromancers whenever possible.”
“Interesting, indeed. What is your world like where that isn’t a force of good?” Luna asks.
We keep walking through the night. I feel bad for keeping them all grounded, but me and flying are not friends. We speak in depth about my world. Luna is thoroughly disgusted in my species as a whole. She tells me more about this world. I decide that I need to find books on social interactions. Along with dating. Actually, I pretty much need to read a library or two. It turns out that they do indeed have poker here. I’m still trying to picture it. Finally, I turn to a conversation that caught my interest.
“So, tell me about curses,” I request.
“Curses? Why do you want to learn about dark magic?”
“Erm, I mean swear words. Like does the word fuck mean anything here?” Luna puts a hoof to her mouth and her eyes widen. The guards all stop and shoot glares at me. “Hmm.. so they are the same, but a lot more potent here. Sorry about that, but now I know. Man, I am butchering this whole conversation thing. What?” They have started glaring at me again. What did I say this time? “Okay, try and remember I come from a fucked, erm.. I mean frigged? Still swearing I see. Okay, I’m gonna shut up now.”
“You are a foul-mouthed scoundrel. To think I was interested in you for a little while there.” Moon Light turns away from me, and walks away. I look after her. I blew it. I growl as I feel anger flowing through me. The anger causes my magic to swirl around me in wisps of shadows. Everypony gasps and Moon Light whirls to strike a defensive position. “I take it you took offense to that. I’ll fight if that’s what you want.”
I laugh bitterly. “Excuse me a moment. I’m mad at myself. I really am blowing this. I need a moment to get my thoughts together.” I walk off into the woods. I hear one of them trying to silently follow me. They are good at stealth, but I am a master of it. I leap into a tree quietly and jump away. Certain I left my follower behind I release my anger in a charged punch that shatters the rock I subject to my violence. My hand is bleeding and I feel tears leaking out. A twig snaps as something lands behind me.
I whirl and draw my staff from its place in my pack. Moon Light.
“What the hay was that?”
“Sorry, I get like this sometimes. When I feel hopeless it turns to rage. It leads to me hurting myself far too often. It’s okay, I can heal it.” I cast the spell and mend the flesh on my hand. It’s still raw, but it will do.
“Hopeless?”
“Think about it. I’m in a world without knowing the rules. How am I supposed to figure all this out? Seriously, look how quick I managed to make you go from being a possible friend to hating me. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get rid of a thousand habits of my old life and learn a thousand new ones. Even when I try to figure out what would cause a problem it just makes one. I was bad at interacting with humans, and I even knew the rules then. Now I don’t even know the rules.”
I hear a crashing as something leaps from the forest. It’s a manticore, I realize. It focuses on Moon Light, readying its tail. She looks terrified, and has a gash from the beasts entry on her side.
“Oh, hell no. You're not gonna fuck with her!” I roar and drive the head of my staff into the side of the beast’s face. Its scorpion tail darts at me and I jump back, leading it away from her. Another stab with its tail. I spin my staff and slam it into the poisonous tip of the tail as hard as I can. It roars, yanking its tail back. I drive it with a broad slash to the back of the head. The beast rolls to the side with the force of the blow. Standing, it circles me and tenses. I glare at it and smile. “Does this mean playtime is over? I was only giving you a chance to run before. Next one, I won’t hold back.”
It leaps at me, claws extended and tail ready. I roll under it with the setting sun slash. It lands roughly from the impact it took midair. I prepare to strike bringing the power fully into the staff. The runes glow with all the colors of the rainbow as I prepare to finish this fight. It hesitates, but it’s too late. I charge forward and sweep it off its feet, slamming down hard on its head while its still in midair. It lands on the ground unconscious and breathing heavily.
I offer Moon Light a hoof up. “Are you alright? I can try and heal it, but I’m unsure of your anatomy. It won’t complicate things, the worst that happens is I can’t fix it.”
She looks at me with big eyes. “I’m going to die either way. The claws are poisonous as well.”
“All I can say is don’t take this wrong,” I place my hands on her one next to the wound and the other on her chest.
“What are you doing?” she says angrily. I told her not to take it wrong.
“Shh.. I need focus.”
I let my power flow into her and she gasps. Starting with the poison spell I know, I pull all the poison in her body out and send it back through the cut. Her organs appear to be damaged by it already. I now focus on telling her cells to use my power to regenerate. They listen, repairing the damage to her organs. The cut on her side scabs over and looks several days older. I stand back up.
“Sorry for touching you. You’ll be alright now, I’m gonna go get help okay?”
Her breath is ragged from the shock of it all, and the resounding pain, “Don’t leave me alone. Please. Can you carry me back?”
“I can, are you sure you want me to?”
“I was rude. I wasn’t thinking about how very different things were for you. You are managing things so well on the outside, I didn’t even realize what it must be like for you. Let’s start over back at the part where we realized we were kindred spirits, and I was thinking about asking you to go on a date some time.” I laugh and gently pick her up, walking back to where the others are. She is heavier than she looks and where her wings touch my skin it feels like velvet.
“Okay, then let me try again. Feel free to whack me if I mess up. You start by asking a ridiculous and frankly insulting question.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well when I made the innuendo that started this downhill spiral you were asking if I ate ponies.”
“Oh. Actually, now that I think about it, I kinda deserved that one.” She giggles, “Okay, let’s start with some basics. Your new swear words are hay, heck, and horse apples. For serious things, use buck, horsefeathers and butchered.”
“Okay, so what about flirting? What’s the norm here?”
“Okay, so innuendos are to be saved for after you know each other very well. Flirting comes in several forms. Studying the physique of the mare, asking about cutie marks, and in certain cases bumping cutie marks together. I suggest doing that while in wolf form, otherwise it would be pretty awkward. In general, don’t overlook simple conversation and just being friends. Somepony has to be a friend before they will ask you out. Barring, of course, certain mares that will just see a stallion they like and try to rut them.”
“Interesting. I take it that this world is matriarchal?”
“Ponies and zebras are, griffons and buffalo are patriarchal. What about humans?”
“Overly patriarchal. Who's the queen? I know the two princesses.”
“Actually, there are four princesses and there is no queen. Queen is a title somepony gives themselves when they want to conquer the world.”
We enter where everyone is waiting. They look at me with anger and fear at seeing me carry Moon Light.
“Sorry I took so long, Princess. We ran into a manticore. Wolf healed the poison and the wounds to a degree, but I still need a doctor. I feel fine though. Actually, my head is killing me and this hurts like heck, but I’ll be fine. He’s probably going to have to carry me back though.”
“Why do you want him to carry you? What happened in there?” a guard asks, bemused.
“Normally I would feel weak having to be carried, but somehow knowing that the one carrying me makes me look weak anyway makes me feel better. It’s far more dignified to be carried by him than by one of my subordinates.”
“I will finish the healing,” Luna’s horn glows as she wraps Moon Light in the aura of her spell. She smiles, “There, you are perfectly fine to walk.”
“I suppose you can put me down now, Wolf.” I set her down gently. When I pull back, my hand brushes her wing and she shoots me a wide eyed look, “Right, that’s an important one. Do not touch any pony's wings, horns or cutie marks. I’ll cover that in more detail later, but for now I’m just covering basic social etiquette.”
“Sure, can I ask why?”
“No. Well not now, anyway. Details later, facts now.”
I shift to wolf form and take a steady pace with her and Luna by my sides.
“Oh, what about scratching?”
“Huh? Oh, you mean like when I pet you and you scratched me behind the ears?”
“Yeah.”
“I have no Idea. We have very different legs and nopony else has those things,” she says, glancing where my hands would be without the paws. “I’d mark it in the same range as a hug, I guess. Keep it on a friend basis. Since you're a friend, I feel okay with it. However, if somepony I didn’t know did it, it would feel weird.”
“Understood. Hmm.. Oh, what about money?”
“What about it?” Luna asks, skeptically glancing over to me.
“What kind of economy is there? What is the money system? What’s considered valuable? Is gold, silver or gems worth anything? What are the baselines of wealth? How are taxes and such run?” I ask Luna. Money is a good thing to know about. It’s hard to survive in a world without a clue how to buy a meal.
“That’s a lot of questions about it. We use small gold coins called bits as money. Everything has value, really, as long as you can find somepony to buy it. I don’t know what you mean by a baseline of wealth. Oh, right. I don’t know what silver is, but gold is worth its weight in bits.” She gives me a wry smile at the joke. I need to ask slower.
“Okay, let me slow down then. Here, this is silver,” I shift my pack off my back and fish around for a moment. I pull out a bar of silver triumphantly. Everypony gasps, which is either really good or really bad. Luna gently floats the bar in front of her, inspecting it.
“This.. This is solid? This is pure all the way through?” She looks at me shocked.
“Yeah, it’s a normal bar of silver. It has good magical properties and can conduct and maintain power better than anything else. So the mages of my world use it as a currency. I took my entire life’s savings when I came here. I figured even if it wasn’t valuable, at least I could forge things with it. So, is it really valuable or does it have some kind of dark foreboding secret that makes it dangerous?”
“This is the highest grade of starmetal. This pure, this one bar is worth a fortune. It is very rare, normally only found when stars fall to the ground. I ask that should you choose to sell this, you sell it to my sister or myself. This can be very dangerous in the wrong hooves.” She floats it back to me and pauses, lingering on my pack as I stuff it back into it with the other. She sticks her head into the bag next to me surveying the small dimension within.
“Impressive. What a well made sack of holding. Do you know how to make such things or was it purchased from a master in the art?”
“Actually, neither. Dimensional objects are somewhat rare, however the one who made my pack wasn’t a master. A true backpack of holding doubles as a tent and houses all the conveniences of home. Also, they are quasi-anchored better so as not to have everything go into disarray when the bag takes a solid hit. My family was relatively poor, so I never could afford a nice real one, just this apprentice level cheap one. However, come to think of it, this pack cost ten bars of silver. So I got, erm.. is screwed a good choice?”
Moon Light interjects, “Bucked.”
“It’s going to be hard to wrap my head around the new value system. What would a pack like this cost in terms of bits?”
“Nopony remembers how to make them and they are quite rare. Bits alone could not buy one. However, I would guess to say you might be able to purchase one for three of those star metal bars. Perhaps less with the quality of them. Why do you have an army's worth of star metal inlaid weapons in there? I sensed immense power from them all as well.”
“I hope this doesn’t sound bad here, but.. well, I collect weapons. Some I made, some I bought, but mostly I take them from my enemies. Actually, here look at this. Be VERY careful, one small cut and even you might die.” I laugh and float my newest acquisition out. It is a true steel dagger with silver inlaid runes that glow a soft green. Its blade is still poisoned and there is blood on it.
“What is this? I sense evil and it has blood on it. Whose blood is it? What has this thing done?”
“It’s my blood. It has probably done a lot of really bad things. Like kill me, for example.” I smile at her. She places the blade back in its sheath and passes it back to me with a solemn look.
“Why did you keep it? It killed you, took you away from everything you knew. It is a weapon of death. It cannot be used to protect or fight. It can only kill.”
“I told you already. I collect them. I’m gonna examine it and figure out its secrets. Perhaps it will help with a future piece or perhaps it will be useless knowledge. Either way, it has a home in my collection. I do not judge things based on how they have been used. Objects such as this are simply tools. It does not think or feel, it simply exists. It is no more evil than a book on necromancy or a farmer’s hoe.”
“Wolf, that’s an offensive word.” Moon Light interjects.
“What is?” I think back on what I said. No clue.
“Hoe,” she cringes at having to say it. “Actually, it makes no sense how you used it. What does it mean to your people?”
“A h.. It is a tool used to farm with. It helps with planting seeds and tending to your farm. You use it for everything from agitating the soil to controlling weeds to piling dirt around the base of your plants in order to make them stronger. It’s pretty versatile.” I think and remember what else the word means back home. I’m just gonna keep playing innocent. “I take it farming is very different here? Actually what do ponies eat? Do you have agriculture?”
Moon Light mumbles under her breath, “I’ll eat you if you keep being so cute.” I shoot a wide-eyed look at her. She returns with her own.
“Please tell me you didn’t hear that.” I hesitate a moment too long, trying to figure out what to say. “How did you hear that?” She looks embarrassed and her cheeks flush with red. It’s a cute contrast to the fangs she’s baring in an embarrassed smile. I cock my head and listen around me.
“Twenty feet that way, a squirrel is opening a nut. Thirty feet that way, a bunny is watching us curiously and a little scared. Your heartbeat is slowly getting back to its normal rhythm, never mind, it spiked again. Princess Luna has two hearts that beat at different rhythms. He’s doing his best to hide the fact that he’s really hungry. Everypony is starting to get afraid of me. You, on the other hand.. well, I’ll tell you later.” I look around at everypony around me. They really don’t know how to handle my sensoria as a wolf. “Oh, actually, I have a question. Why do you still have guards posted out of sight following us? I know I can seem scary at times, but I would never do anything to hurt you, Luna.”
“I don’t. Would you mind telling these so called guards to come and speak with me? I would like to know this as well.”
I dash into the woods and slip next to the closest one. He isn’t aware of me behind him. I whisper in his ear, “Luna would like to speak with you.” He yelps and dashes forward. He’s a big white pony wearing golden armor, and he has no wings or horn. An earth pony, I guess. I chase and make a noise driving him right towards Luna. Moon Light trips him and he lands in front of Luna. I move back to my place in line.
“The rest are more nervous now. They are mostly pegasi, but there is a unicorn among them. The ones in the back have some kind of chariot with them. I suspect it’s enchanted or something. Shall I try and bring them here? The pegasi will fly away and the unicorn will most likely attack. Somehow, I think being snuck up on by a large black talking wolf in the pitch black woods will be too much for them.” I laugh and everypony giggles with me. The earth pony seems to be more in the line of nervous laughter though. “Soooo, care to explain why you're following the princess around?”
“Indeed, We would like to know why We are being surveilled.” Luna has a weird accent now. Is it some kind of royal thing? I am familiar with the royal We and the old English that some use when addressing subjects.
“I was ordered to follow you by Princess Celestia. She saw you take a full platoon of thestrals and wished to be informed if anything was to go wrong.”
“WE DEMAND THAT THOU COMEST FROM HIDING AND SPEAK TO THINE PRINCESS AT ONCE.” Her voice rings in my ears and I cover them whining from the feeling of having spikes shoved into my ears and lit on fire. My vision goes blurry and I close my eyes.
“Wolf, are you okay? Wolf?” Moon Light is shaking me. She sounds scared. I roll to my paws with a grunt. “Are you okay?”
“Dafu.. I mean, what the hay was that? I think my ears have been murdered. Luna, were you trying to kill me or did you just accidentally almost manage?”
“Why are you being so informal with a princess, mutt?” A pegasus in gold armor glares at me.
“Why are you being a jerk to a knight, turkey?” I growl back. He launches at me and I roll with the impact pinning him down and growling, my fangs an inch from his throat. I feel myself being lifted into the air. Luna has picked me up and is staring at me. Instead of the angry glare I expect, she looks compassionate. I feel my ears healing and the pain recedes. Another spell deletes the blood, and she sets me gently on the ground. I see her eyes harden into daggers an instant before she rounds on the pegasus. He’s still shaking in fear, and I take it this doesn’t help.
“How does Our sister manage with such incompetent forces? Why would you antagonize somepony who is injured when you are the ones that do not belong here? When you stop crying I expect an apology.”
I step forward, “Actually, I owe the apology. I’m not the one who wet themselves in front of a princess. Sorry, I know you were just doing your duty and defending the honor of your princess. I didn’t need to go all wolf on you. I’m Wolf, by the way, what’s your name?”
“I’m Dawn. Sorry about this.” He still sounds pretty weak. I’m not off to a very good start tonight. The chariot has been brought up to where we all are. Luna has me get inside it along with the earth pony and unicorn. I’m shocked when the two pegasi pulling it take it into the air with little effort. Then I’m sick, very sick. Wolves are not made to fly. In fact, I have a cosmic limiter that forces me to be sick from flying. I spend the thankfully brief trip concentrating on not vomiting and in human form. I don’t see the city until we land.
I crawl out of the chariot and slowly rise to my two unsteady legs. Solid ground, I had almost forgotten how wonderful it is. I look around at the city I am in. Despite the name, it is nothing like Camelot. I had doubted it would be, and am grateful that I am right. Everypony else has landed fine and I’m getting a lot of weird looks. Moon Light speaks first.
“So if you ever become a threat to Equestria, I just need to yell loudly and take you for a chariot ride. Good to know.” She’s giving me a wicked smirk and there are several snorts of laughter. I attempt to stand there and look dignified.
“That wasn’t a yell, that was a magically amplified scream of death with a special secondary enchantment that bypasses any magical hearing protection to make certain that the victim gets the maximum possible pain from it possible. So, what is next?” Luna cringes and I feel bad, so I give her an apologetic look.
“Moon Light, please escort our guest to a room in my wing. You are off duty tomorrow night, on account of your brush with death. Wolf, my sister and I shall speak with you tomorrow after you have had some sleep. For now, I shall retire.” She lifts into the sky again and I watch her. I wish I wasn’t afraid of flying.
Moon Light leads me through the castle. The clopping of her hooves has a nice rhythm that makes the silence of the halls enjoyable. We arrive in front of a gilded door with a small number three on it. Moon Light pulls open the wall next to the door and tosses me a small old fashioned key. I pull open the doors and stand shocked. It is a massive room that just screams of elegance and comfort. The bed is hidden inside thick black curtains. There is a section of the room devoted to a kitchen and two doors inside. One most likely leads to a restroom, I haven't a clue what the other one is. I walk inside and pull open the curtain on the end of the bed. It has heavy midnight blue blankets on it and looks fit for a princess.
Pulling my pack off of my back and setting it on the ground, I watch as Moon Light hops onto the bed. She lays down and lets out a contented sigh. Right, we still have unfinished parts to our conversation. I pull out pajama pants and shower items from my bag. The first door I open leads to a bathroom, and I quickly start a nice shower before bed.
It’s a great feeling to use a shower again. Luckily, this room seems designed to accommodate creatures bigger than the average size of ponies I’ve seen so far, and the shower is very nice. Finally clean and dried off, I comb my hair back. When I pull on the pajama pants and stride back into the room, Moon Light gawks at me. Her lips curl back showing her fangs and her wings lift into the air. I sense no ill intent despite her looking like she’s about to attack me.
“It’s nice to finally be clean, I had been living in the woods training on my own for a while. Hot water feels very nice after so long. So what does that expression mean anyways?”
She regains her composure and puts on her poker face, “What expression?”
“So it’s an expression that is embarrassing to be caught with, surprise, arousal or something I don’t have a word for or know is embarrassing,” I say. Gauging her reaction to arousal, I guess that it’s something along that line. “Anyways, you said you’d tell me about why not to touch wings, horns or cutie marks?”
“It’s that wings, for example, are very sensitive. Never touch them without a specific need, unless you're already intimate with that pony.” She spreads out a wing and gestures to the outer half farthest from her body. “This outer area is in the same realm as kissing. This inner area is in the realm of foreplay. The base… the base is an erotic act. Your turn now. What did you hear about me when you were doing the whole ‘I can hear your heartbeat’ thing?” She looks curious and something else. I sit on the bed next to her.
“Well, you won’t get mad if I say something stupid, right?” I ask. She nods and I continue, “It’s not just what I heard, actually. It’s what I smelled.” Her head jerks and she looks at me wide eyed. I give her an evil smile. “You were aroused by my skill. Somehow, when everypony else felt the tingle of fear when they realized just how good of a predator I am, you liked it instead. You're like me, you like dangerous things.”
She grins softly, “You're pretty good. You know, I feel a little jealous of you. This bed is way better than anything I could afford. I figured that as the sole representative of your race, a diplomat’s room would be fitting. I should go to sleep.” She starts to get off the bed, and I put a hand on her side.
“You can always share the bed with me tonight. Perfectly chaste, of course, I just don’t want to be alone right now. When I’m alone, my thoughts are going to catch up with me. I won’t be able to sleep tonight, and being around you soothes me.”
“Perfectly chaste? Sounds fair, just don’t try anything dirty. Get the lights, please. I know these curtains are good, but no sense wasting the lamp oil.”
I walk over to the lamps and turn them off. My eyes shift into night vision. She is laying under the covers with her head on a pillow. I close the curtain behind me as I get under the covers with her. Facing her, we stare at each other in the darkness. She smiles, closing her eyes and wrapping me in her hooves. I hug her close, she’s warm and has a wonderful scent that draws me close. Closing my eyes, I feel her move and her sharp teeth press against my shoulder. The nibble sends a shiver through me.
I open my eyes and stare at her, “Are you trying to make me fail my promise of being chaste?”
She looks back worriedly, “I don’t know why I did that, sorry. Wait. That didn’t worry you or anything? That actually turned you on? Why?”
Some questions cannot be answered with mere words. I move my mouth over to the base of her neck and gently bite her. Even in human form, I still have sharp teeth. She shivers and her spine arches. I smell the wonderful scent of her being turned on. It beckons me to do more, but I am held back by my promise. Tormenting her could be fun too.
“Oh,” she breathed, staring at me with wide eyes and a sexy grin. I smile back as we both become aware of a certain hardness between us. She doesn't lose her grin and asks, “I take it you enjoy trying to eat me?”
“If I hadn’t promised you, I would show you a whole new meaning to that.”
Her head darts forwards and our lips meet. I explore the inside of her mouth as our tongues dance. She seems as enraptured by my fangs as I am by hers. We break apart, breathing heavily and staring into the depths of each other’s eyes. The silence between us is sweet and laced with desire. She breaks the silence, her voice hesitant.
“Ponies are usually scared by night ponies’ teeth. Many of us even have special magic done to make them like day ponies’. Even other night ponies can be scared by them, and wouldn’t dare to kiss like that. I just might have to keep you, Wolf.” She hesitates for a moment and bites me at the base of the neck. I moan at the wonderful sensation. Her teeth make a small pinhole and she yanks back at the taste of blood. She starts to apologize and I place a hand on the back of her head pulling her into another kiss. It is deep and lingering like the last one.
“I think we’ve already shredded that little promise of yours, not that I mind,” she giggles.
I kiss her again and begin to trail my hands down her body, exploring it. She’s very muscular and her coat is smooth. It’s a wonderful feeling. I can feel her enjoyment of the exploration in the building excitement of our kiss. I hesitate, and stop my hands short of her center. She pushes my hands the rest of the way with a hoof. Breaking the kiss, she gasps as I touch her. I gently caress the folds of her and begin to explore. She moans as I slide a finger into her. The difference in anatomy makes it difficult at first, but using her moans I learn her body’s nuances. Her breath is coming faster now as I increase the pace. Sweat lightly covers her body, and she kisses me again. She moans and pulls me into the kiss as her body spasms.
The scent of her fills the air as I bring my fingers to my mouth and lick them. She lays still for a moment and smiles at me. “I’ll trust you with your fangs if you promise to trust me with mine.” She rolls onto her back and flips the covers off of her. Is she saying what I think she’s saying? I nibble on the base of her neck gently and begin a trail of kisses down her body. She shivers in excitement as I draw closer to my destination.
One final kiss induces the wonderful sound of her gasp. I smile and lick her. I’ve already learned a lot about how she ticks from working with my hands, and she wriggles under my tongue. The taste of her, the scent, the sound. It’s a beautiful symphony of the senses. She rocks and I manage a sound dampening spell an instant before she yells in climax. Moon Light is still gasping as I return to the spot on the bed next to her. I hold her as she calms down and kiss her. I feel no remorse for the promise I have, at this point, brutally murdered. She smiles at me, uncertain.
“Are you sure about this? I don’t mind if you don’t trust me. I would-” I cut her off with a kiss.
“Are you trying to talk you way out of it?” I ask her with a satisfied smile. She smiles back and moves down on the bed. She traces my muscles with her tongue. It feels heavenly. The occasional nip here and there as she explores my body sends shivers running through me. Finally, she stops and licks my hardness. The sensation sends a jolt of fire through my veins. She continues licking and teasing me in a way that drives me insane. She pulls away and looks at me uncertain again and I growl. Her confidence restored, she slowly takes my member into her mouth.
It’s wonderful. She sucks and licks slowly taking my entire member into her mouth. She is inexperienced but her fears are pointless as she works it. The pressure builds in my loins and I try and warn her, but all that comes out is a distorted “Cummmerrggg.” She seems to understand and pulls back, sucking on my tip. When it bursts out, she swallows my seed and moans into me. Wiping her mouth, she comes back up to the top of the bed.
“I’ve never done that before. It was.. fun. I should have thought this through better.”
“Regretting everything we did tonight?” I ask, worried.
“No way, I’m regretting that I have to wait an hour or two until I can play with you some more.”
I grin at her and pull her into a kiss. My hands trail her body as I fluidly roll her onto her back with me on top of her. My member is hard already with this sexy mare’s scent filling my head. She looks down with wide eyes and gets a lecherous grin.
“I could get used to this.”
I slowly enter her. It feels like fire coursing through my veins as the acts of the night bolster my magical reserves. I put the second half into her in a single thrust. She wraps her hind legs around me and moans half in pleasure and half in sweet agony. I work myself in and out, driving her. Our moans and scents fill the air as we move together. Every time I thrust into her she, thrusts back. She begins to cum, moaning as our sweat pools. I thrust harder, pushing her climax higher and higher as she squeezes me with her legs. I soon follow her in the spiral down as the pressure in my loins releases my seed into her. I close my eyes enjoying the feeling as we lose ourselves in the throes of passion.
As I come to my senses, I feel a sharp pain in my shoulder and feel something warm and wet on my arm. Lost in ecstasy she bit me, hard. She’s staring at it afraid. I shake my head at her.
“I’m sorry,” she says, sounding on the edge of tears.
“I know you are, but for the wrong reason.”
“What?”
“Quickly breaking the mood, thinking I’m some fragile thing that you're gonna break. That was fun, and I loved every minute of it. Actually, I liked you doing that a lot too. It’s just a little blood. The cut’s already healed. Hmm.. I kind of hope it leaves a mark.”
I pull out of her and grab a towel out of my bag. Hoping they know how to get blood stains out, I clean off my arm. Dropping the towel next to the bed, I lay back down next to her. With her in my arms, I smile contentedly and we drift off to sleep.
I awaken to a bright light and a sense of danger. Groggily, I open my eyes. A massive white alicorn is standing next to my bed, holding up the bloody towel with her magic and glaring at me.
“Explain what you have done to her,” her voice is soft and dangerous. I can feel the hatred radiating from her, though her colorful mane flows gently.
“It’s my blood, don't wake up Moon Light,” I whisper to the alicorn as I jolt fully to my senses. Moon Light has attached herself to me in her sleep. Her hind legs are locked tightly around my leg and her forehooves encircle my chest. With the grip she has, I’m pretty sure I could stand up without her budging an inch. How do I get out of this without waking her up?
“What do you mean it is your blood? What has happened?” The white alicorn’s expression has softened just a bit, but she is still glaring and radiating hatred.
“We had a little accident involving fangs. It’s fine.”
“What?”
As if on cue, Moon Light murmurs and shifts, biting me gently. Despite the horrid timing, it still sends a delightful shockwave through me. The alicorn’s eyes go wide in recognition, and a small smile shows on her face.
I smile gently as well, “She is so adorable isn’t she? I’ll admit she’s a bit dangerous, but what’s a rose without thorns?”
The mare looks confused, “A thornless rose. Why?”
“Er.. It’s a human expression. Roses symbolize love to us. The phrase means that the sheer beauty and lovely scent of the rose are very much worth dealing with the thorns. Any rose without thorns is just taking the beauty for granted. Perhaps I should say you can’t make a cake without breaking a few eggs?”
“Just use apple sauce.”
“Man, this world is interesting. It’s so absolutely different, yet just similar enough that it’s maddening. I need to find a library soon and read it. All of it. At least enough is similar that I didn’t mess up last night too much. Can I have a few minutes of privacy to get dressed and cleaned up? It might take me a moment or two to figure out how to detach her from me without waking her up. We can talk in a bit.”
“Very well,” she starts to turn to leave and shoots me a small smile, “Rub her chest gently. She should relax her grip.” She leaves, the door banging shut behind her. I put her advice to use and, low and behold, it works. Gently, I roll out of bed. Throwing on a pair of black jeans and t-shirt, I pull on my ever-present hoodie and backpack. I place a soft kiss on Moon Light’s cheek and close the bed’s curtains.
As soon as I head out the door, I am greeted by a group of six large guards. There are two of each of the day races, one each of black and white. In some ways, they remind me of chess pieces. All are wearing golden barding and have a look of determination.
“Please follow us to Princess Celestia. She is waiting to speak with you.”
“Sure thing. So, that’s who that was this morning? Lovely. Day two in Equestria. Daily objective: piss off Celestia. Check.”
“Show respect, and call her-,” a black pegasus darts forward and muffles him. I hear him whisper, “Do not go there. He might look harmless, but he is an immensely powerful being sprung straight from a nightmare. Treat him with all the respect you would show an ambassador from the griffins. He’s a nice guy, but still capable of being absolutely monstrous.”
We resume walking and, after some thought, I correct his word choice.
“Wasn’t your coat white last night? Anyways, I dislike the word monstrous. It comes from the word monster. That is one word that I least like used to describe me. Calm down, I didn’t go after you last night because of what you said. I went after you because of what you called me. The words mutt, cur, whelp or any similar racist words when used to label me will encourage me to show you what the other side of the gate to hell looks like.”
The pegasus's eyes shrink down to tiny dots, and he looks afraid. “I was being racist? No wonder you acted like that. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Can we pretend I called you ugly or some other insult? I was white colored, the barding changes our coats to black or white in order to match the royal colors.” He twists something on his barding, revealing a caramel coat with a brown mane. His wings have small gold streaks in the center of his feathers.
“Sure. Just pretend I gave you a devilish look and said something like, ‘Don’t be jealous just because you can never be this sexy.’” He looks at me skeptically. “What’s with that look? We both know mares dig the exotic strong types.”
“Don’t take me wrong, but you don’t look very strong.”
I stop and drop my backpack and hoodie off in a fluid, practiced motion. He is shocked by the cords of muscle hiding under my hoodie. I flex and he whimpers. Pulling my hoodie and backpack on again, I shoot him an evil smile, “Looks like stallions like it too. I don’t mind stallions, but I’ve got my eye on a certain little mare.”
The other guards look at him, and I consider my words. I have no idea whether homosexuals are condemned in this world or not. If I’ve set him up for trouble, I’m gonna feel bad. Then anyone that fucks with him is gonna feel bad. It would be my fault, after all. My suspicions are cut short when the other pegasus guard pokes him with a hoof and whispers, “He really is a hottie. He’d fit right in with the royal guard. How do you think he got muscles like that anyway?”
I reach out and poke the other pegasus in the side, “Okay, are you dense or flirting? My hearing is on a different level than yours, so whispers are the same as speaking out loud.” He shoots me an evil smile to match my own.
“Rule 28.”
“Wait, you're a mare?”
“WHAT?” His eyes are wide.
“What?”
“What is rule 28 to your culture?”
“Always question gender, just in case. What’s it here?”
“Why is that a thing? Rule 28 is a stallion is always flirting, no exceptions.”
I ponder this strange parallel, and I can’t help it. “What’s rule 34?” I try and keep my expression blank. He blushes. This is gonna be good.
“Somepony has a fetish of it. No exceptions.”
“I gotta get someone, I mean somepony, to write these down for me. This sounds like fun.”
“Whenever you are done with the bar speak, I would like to speak to my guest,” Celestia says as she rounds the corner ahead of us, looking annoyed.
I adapt the air of politics and hope that speaking as such isn’t different here. “Sorry about that, Princess Celestia. We got caught up in a stallion to stallion talk about the strange cultural differences and similarities between our worlds. I must apologize for my tardiness, but your people are so very interesting to me and it’s not like they could ignore my questions or force me to move faster without being impolite. Shall we head on to the meeting?” Thankfully, she smiles. We enter a large room with two thrones. If it’s anything like my world, this is where they hold court.
After the guards have left us, she turns to me and chuckles lightly. “Drop the act, Wolf. My sister has shown me her memories of last night, so I know that your ‘noble’s manners’ facade is just an act. Actually, I’m glad it is. I get sick of the nobles, and the real you is a lot more interesting. However, I appreciate that you're trying to employ politics to get those guards out of trouble. The funny part, however, is that they got the duty of escorting you because they are already in trouble.
“Now, onto business. Luna seems to like you and you might not know it but that is actually an achievement. That means that I will enter this meeting with an open mind, despite the dangers you pose. I would like a full account of your abilities and I have some questions that Luna failed to ask. We shall start with the questions. You said you eat meat, however what you didn’t say was how you planned on acquiring meat in this world. I know your kind might be capable of living without it, however with your astral existence as a wolf, I doubt it is an option for you.”
“Actually, I have no idea. It was my plan to figure out a way to ask about that myself, you know, after I figured out how to ask without sounding like a monster craving flesh.”
“Our long standing allies the griffons might be able to help. They are omnivorous with a need to eat meat to survive as well. I will send them a letter requesting a consultation. Until then, by all accounts, fish are no more sentient than insects.”
“Actually, if you have salmon in this world I’ll be fine. They were my main source of protein and iron back in my world.”
“Excellent. We do have a fish named as such. It remains to be seen whether it is the same. My next question is about something that I hope is very different between worlds. Tell me about the draconequus you served.”
“Mystery? Well she was a high elder draconequus. Basically a goddess embodying a neutral concept; in her case, the concept of mystery. In her service I did my best to spread mystery and wonder throughout the world. Remember in Luna’s memories, how I explained that magic is secret and why? Well, she would have me break certain laws from time to time. For example, one time she had me dress up as a superhero and use my magic to play the role.” I laugh, remembering that insane month. I strike a hopefully heroic pose. “I am the mighty Anime Man! I protect truth, justice and the otaku way! Wielding all the power of mankinds greatest force, imagination!”
She looks uncomfortable, but is smiling. “I think the joke lost something in translation. It is still funny to picture you as a superhero straight from the comics, though.”
“Anime is pretty much comics that move. So replace anime with comic book for the sake of comprehension. I’ll have to practice dreamwalking again and give Luna a tour of my world. Just enough that she can understand certain things.”
“Wait, if your power was that of comic books, does that mean you had all of the powers?”
“I did my best but no, not even close. My favorites were the usual superhuman speed and strength. However, I ripped off a few moves like the Getsuga Tensho from Bleach and the Kamehameha from DBZ. I even pulled of a small spirit bomb once. Oh, right. You have no idea what I’m even saying. Anyways, I still had a lot of fun doing a lot of good. I cut crime rate in the city to half for three entire months. Then Mystery made me quit.”
“Why did she have you quit? If you’re doing good, then why not keep doing it? I did understand the bomb part. You have a bomb spell?”
“Long story short? People imitating me and getting hurt combined with a full assassin squad from the law-keepers guild. They told me if I didn’t stop, they would become the supervillains to counteract my superhero. I had no choice anyways. Orders are absolute.”
“Interesting. Does that mean that Mystery had you do bad things as well to cause mysteries? Like make a large group of ponies disappear to make a mystery?”
“Not exactly. She knew that in my heart I was a good person. She was also good, I believe. However, she did have me do some things I didn’t want to do. I wiped out an entire guild of mages to prevent the see-no-evil spell they were working on from getting out. I understand why I had to, it was a spell for mass mind control. Another time I was working as a bodyguard for a writer who was making a book revealing a lot of secrets. I had to kill a lot of people to protect him.”
“How many sentient beings have you killed? Actually, no. That doesn’t matter from what I’ve heard about your world. How many innocents have you killed?”
“No human is innocent. You mean people who wouldn’t have killed me or others for greed? People who wouldn’t have done unspeakable acts of evil had I not stopped them?”
“Indeed, such are no different than a monster in my book. So you haven't killed any innocents?” She sounds hopeful, I regret what I must tell her. I hang my head in shame and she take a step back.
“I have killed an innocent. It’s actually my only regret. When I was younger I killed a sparring partner. They were a specialist who used short term power boosting. We didn’t notice that his boost had worn off, and I hit him with full force. It was…” I trail off remembering the blood and suffering of my friend. We had done all we could to keep him alive, but he was weaker than most humans without the boosts. Cosmic limiters are a terrible thing.
“It is ok, Wolf. Such has occurred before in the training of the guard. We do our best to check each and every piece of safety gear however every few decades or so there is a failing. It is a tragedy but it is also fate. I know your pain all too well.” I look at her, and there is a sadness in her eyes. It’s an old, deep wound that haunts her. “Nopony is perfect. With immense power and foolish youth, mistakes have a way of being amplified.”
Luna enters the room with us. “Do you approve, sister?” Celestia nods and Luna continues, “Wolf, you are too powerful to run around and waste your abilities. I fear that without something to do you will go stir crazy and start doing dangerous things. Am I correct?”
“Well I was thinking of taking up monster hunting. That manticore proved this world needs someone to knock the monsters around a bit.”
“Excellent. I wish to revive the Lunar Knights. I will have you knighted in my name. It means that you will be bound to my orders, even should you disagree with them. If I tell you to trade your life stopping a monster from hurting a village-”
I cut her off, “Then I’ll kick the monster’s flank and ask if you really expected me to die from a little thing like that. They will be much better last words than my last set.” I’m rewarded with a small laugh from the pair, when a very small part of me thought they’d be annoyed at the interruption.
“Indeed. I am glad you don’t find this offensive. It is too similar to putting a dog on a chain for my tastes, however. You might not realize this, but there is some measure of political fallout from your arrival. A large part being how you refer to yourself as a knight. Being a knight grants you certain privileges and immunities that I’m certain will compensate you quite well.”
“So a very gilded collar?” I raise an eyebrow as I figure out exactly what she’s saying. Basically, I’m a dangerous sword that she would rather have in her hand than pointed at her. “This is a play to bribe my loyalty with a title and privileges,” I state flatly and they both look a little embarrassed. I smile broadly at them, “It’s working. You never had to bother. To be honest, Luna, I’ve been loyal to the night since the first time I saw the moon, and especially the moon on this world. That’s hardly different just because I’m in a new world, and the night is somepony I can talk to. Bare in mind, however, my loyalty to you only stands as long as your intentions are for the good of the people you rule.”
She nods, “I prefer it as such. Should I ever become a menace to those I am supposed to protect, feel free to remember that I am no longer the one who knighted you with intentions of helping everypony.”
“So what does a knight get in way of privileges?” I hope that isn’t too forward, however, the eager look in her eyes reminds me that I basically just asked her to go into detail about exactly what she’s bribing me with.
“You, in particular, will have access to the entirety of the royal libraries, permission to address royalty informally, as well as permission to keep and bare arms at all times. Furthermore, you have equivalent to the rank of captain yet you are beyond commander's authority when acting under my orders. You serve all royalty, but always remember your oath of fealty is to me.”
“Awesome. So basically, anything I want to learn I can and you're not willing to go the issue of trying to make me give up my collection? I was hoping I wouldn’t have to have that discussion again. Last time, the phrases ‘over my cold dead body’ and ‘I’ll give you my gear when you get a written note from everyone I took them from’ were thrown around way too much. On that note, I was thinking about that dagger. I was right, it is useful. I’ve never seen such a powerful antimagic enchantment that even hits astral and angelic powers.”
Celestia speaks up, “The nobles will be here soon.” She looks at me hurriedly, “Now you’ve got a choice. The nobles are coming and wish to meet you. You will be poked, prodded, insulted and questioned. I expect you to bear it with the strength of a real stallion and knight. If you feel that you cannot handle dealing with them, then go through those doors. Turn left twice, and go to the doors with the large golden sun on them. The guards are instructed to allow you in without revealing your location to anypony. I decided that it’s only prudent to have a backup plan when dealing with possible social anxiety and very sharp claws and fangs. You have admitted yourself that you are bad with social situations.”
“Good idea, but I’ll be fine. I’m always good in social situations, it’s the actual talking that messes me up. But I need some guidelines. First, if a noble does insult me, am I allowed to respond with a witty retort?”
We begin speaking as quickly as possible, trying to make sure I’m ready for the rapidly descending vultures.
“Be yourself. Honestly, it would amuse me if one of the more idiotic ones gets themselves disgraced. However, keep it witty and charming. Don’t just resort to name calling or something foalish. It’s only done right when everypony else is laughing at them, not at you.”
“How scary can I be?”
“Explain.”
“Do you want me to keep my powers under wraps or would you prefer they have a good idea of what I’m capable of?”
“Be honest, but do not volunteer information unless you feel you need to. That game where you showed off your incredible senses was amusing, and I wouldn’t mind seeing it myself.”
I hear the footsteps approaching the door. “They are almost here.” The princesses retreat to their thrones and I stand next to Celestia where she instructs me to. She has a final piece of advice for me.
“Be yourself, and don’t let your anger get the better of you.”
They enter, and I advance down the steps to greet them. They smile as they enter.
“I am Sir Wolf. It is a pleasure to meet you all.”
After the pleasantries, they begin the questions. I answer to the best of my abilities and it is a long and dreary affair where only certain interesting parts even catch my attention. One, a prince named Blueblood, is rather annoying. Soon, they get to the interesting part. The rumors about my powers. I perform some basic demonstrations. Small elemental displays such as tiny fireballs or small lightning bolts. I keep my shadow magic under wraps for now. When asked to turn into a wolf, I’m shocked to discover it works. I decide to figure out whether it’s something to do with this world or the fact that I’m in the same room as the embodiment of the moon later. Celestia announces that she wants to do a small game.
“Wolf, in this room right now is a being that’s not a pony, aside from you. I want to see if you can find him.”
I focus my senses. There is an oddly colored potted plant leaking chaotic energy, and two of the nobles have strange slow heart beats. They smell very different than the ponies around them, It’s a sweeter scent that I like, and it reminds me of roses and chocolate. I laugh.
“I smell a trick. I can find all three of ‘em.”
Celestia’s eyes narrow dangerously, and I hear the soft dangerous tone again. The two who smell different start smelling like fear. “Three?” she asks. I turn to the mare closest to me, and point at her, then at the other one. Finally, I point at the flower pot. “All of you, come forward now. Guards, prepare to capture.” Hesitantly, the two mares walk up to her. They are shaking with fear, and the look of terror and hatred they shoot at me pains my heart. I might have done a bad thing. The flower pot disappears and reappears as a draconequus next to Celestia. He glares at me, but I assume it is because of how easily I ended the game.
“Explain. Everything.” Celestia asks of the two mares. I walk up next to them. If something turns out to be off, I’ll protect them.
“We are changelings, Princess Celestia. We are starving, and have left our hive and the oppression of Chrysalis. We know you love your subjects and had hoped that we could survive on it. Please don’t banish us, it would be a death sentence. We would never do anything to hurt anypony, ever. We are different from the monsters who attacked Canterlot.”
It becomes clearer. Now is the time to see the true character of Celestia. Judge a ruler not by how they treat their allies, but how they treat their defeated enemies instead. Her face hardens and she turns to me.
“I know you can detect lies even better than I. Are they being honest?”
I stare at them. They have barely any heartbeats to read, and their voices did not betray them. My instinct tells me I would be unable to tell if they were lying. I shift back into human form, and begin carving glyphs on the floor from memory.
“Place your hoof on this, and swear that what you said is true. It might kill you if you're lying.” The one closest to me immediately shows an expression of hope and places her hoof on it swearing it’s true. The moment she takes her hoof off, the other follows suit. They look back to the princess, still afraid but looking hopeful. I have to verify it. I place my hand on it.
“My name is Joe. FUCK!” A bolt of lightning arcs out and sends me sprawling. “Well, I’m glad you were definitely telling the truth. That almost stopped my heart, and I had a lightning shield up. What the hay was that? That’s a minor glyph, it shouldn’t have been so…” I glance up at Celestia and wiggle my eyebrows, “shockingly powerful.”
Everypony is staring at me, except the draconequus who is laughing maniacally and hysterically. It’s an interesting blend of expressions. Celestia has an amused ‘Are you an idiot?’ type of look. The rest are varying between shock, disgust and outrage. I dust myself off and stretch, combing my hair back.
“So, what’s a changeling? Are they shapeshifters? What do they eat that they are starving?”
“They are shapeshifters that eat love. They take the place of somepony and feed on the affections of those that love them. I do not know what to do, I cannot allow them to do this in my kingdom, however they are just trying to survive.”
My brain goes into overdrive. Feeding on love? Any kind right? Can I do something with their talents? My mind explodes and it occurs to me. I turn to the one closest to me.
“Have you ever seen any famous singers?”
“Yes, why?”
“Turn into one, preferably one whose songs you know.” She looks at me like I’ve lost it, but she turns into a different mare in a flash of green light. She has a dark coat and mane with streaks of purple running through it.
She gives me a look and with a sultry alluring voice asks. “Now what, sugar?”
“Perfect, absolutely perfect. Now, you sing your favorite song of hers. Sing it like she would.”
“I’ll need music.”
The draconequus appears in front of her, dressed as a conductor. “I’m such a fan. Tell me the song and I will be happy to provide the music.”
“I want to do ‘Moonrise’.”
He waves his conductor's wand and a beautiful melody fills the air. As the changeling sings, I feel moved by the beauty of it. Nopony moves and can only stare in awe at the performance. When she is finished, everypony including Celestia stomps their hooves on the floor.
The changeling looks around shocked, “I’m being loved! I’m being loved, a lot!” She touches a hoof to the other changeling, and something green passes between them. Celestia rises and looks at me.
“This had better be going somewhere different than I think it is. Having them replacing singers is no different than anypony else.”
“It was an experiment to see if they could survive on admiration. I don’t know why they haven't done this yet. Think about it Celestia, they can change their voice and appearance at will, they are actors so perfect that I had to resort to glyphs in order to tell whether or not they were lying to me. How can you gain admiration on your own with that skillset?”
The draconequus appears in front of me with a paw extended, “I’m Discord, master of chaos. I like your devious plotting mind and creativity. I see why a high elder would hold you in such regard. Even if Mystery is a loose cannon who never makes sense, even to those who don’t make sense.”
“What are you two plotting?” Celestia looks annoyed.
“A grand theater! With them as the actors, everyone in all of Equestria would come to see. I, however, won’t charge for admission. Just a little profit on the extras and certain special shows when it needs more funding. I will need a place in Canterlot to put it, and I need more changelings to make it work. However, I will of course keep it in tight reins until they earn my trust,” I grin broadly.
The two changelings rush up to me and hug me. “I will return with some friends of mine. There are others out there who wish to be good ponies. I do have your permission for this, right Princess?”
Celestia looks conflicted. She’s finding it hard to do the right thing. Luna walks up next to her, “Indeed. No more than 10 for now. Do not make Us regret this or We shall allow you to witness the fury of a betrayed Wolf. I have witnessed his might and know that even We could be troubled by him.”
“How are you going to pay for this, Wolf?” Celestia asks with a sigh.
I turn and dig around in my pack. Producing a bar of silver, I hold it toward Celestia, “I have some things I can sell.”
Her eyes lock on the bar, but Discord appears next to me. “I cannot outbid the royal treasury, however, I can make an offer you can’t refuse. I want that. I will give you 10 gold bars, and assist you in every way possible to make this plan a reality. You find a place for it, and I will build the greatest theater the world has ever known.”
“I can offer more gold and the same,” Celestia says worriedly.
“I knew you would say that. I, however, have an ace. Wolf, your world is ruled by cruel gods. For every gift they gave you, they tacked on a curse. You have the astral connection to a wolf, however you are unable to use most of your magic in that form and, regardless of your form, you have a weakness to wind. This includes, but is not limited to, your fear of flying, your inability to use the wind elements, and your defensive spells being completely bypassed by anything with a wind aspect; the Royal Canterlot Voice, for example.
Discord disappears and reappears, winding around me. “You have an earth blessing that makes you stronger and more resilient. It lowers your intelligence the more power you put into it. Even when not in use, it still applies negative affects on you. I will remove all the cosmic limiters not recognized by this world that I can. I have to see how intricately woven they are, but I know I can at least remove the ones I mentioned. Think about it, in time and with the right tools, you could fly. This is on top of the previous offer, of course.” He appears sitting on the air next to Celestia, “Care to outbid that? Princess?”
“Why are you doing this, Discord? What is your game?”
“I enjoy poker and cribbage, however, I am pretty good at chess too.” He’s toying with her. Thinking about it, he could easily take the silver. He isn’t even interested in it. When he decided to outbid Celestia, he wasn’t staring at the silver, he was smirking at her. He should have easily known about the changelings, I realize. Not to mention the rage when they were uncovered. This isn’t about the silver. This is about saving face, pissing off Celestia, and doing the right thing all at the same time.
He rounds on me, “Do we have a deal?” A tiny version of him appears on the end of his nose. I can barely hear it, and I know no one else can. “And if you ever tell a soul about the real reason, I’ll turn you into an earth pony. Make it look good. I so love to watch Celestia squirm.” I hold out my hand, and he takes it in his lion’s paw. I pull him close and wrap the other arm around him in the Earth gesture of being bros.
“Why did you hug him?”
“I didn’t, that’s a contractor’s handshake. It’s magically binding.”
“So there is no talking you out of this?” She sounds defeated.
“Not alive, anyways,” I look at her as solemnly as possible. Celestia watches as I pass the silver to Discord. She actually begins to squirm as he begins a slow, evil chuckle. Twitching and shuffling as her expression shifts. She squeals like a mouse and Discord breaks out in insane laughter. Her eyes shoot wide and stare at him with something approaching fear.
“HAHAHA! You should see the look on your face! It’s absolutely priceless. I knew I could make you do that in front of your nobles one of these days. HAHAHA! This is perfect. Here, I’ll sell you this for ten gold bars.” He holds out the bar of silver. Celestia stares at him, and at the eyes of the room locked onto her. Many of the nobles are trying not to laugh, but several have failed. Discord’s right, this is priceless. I break down laughing and Luna joins me. Luna declares this the “Best prank this century.” Celestia bemusedly agrees to buy the bar from Discord for 10 gold bars.
“Celestia, my dear. Next time, think about it. It took Wolf all of two moments to figure everything out. While his thoughts about the absolute cores of my motives and reasonings were disturbingly accurate, anypony should have been able to figure out the three basic tells of this prank. One, if I truly wanted it for evil reasons, I would just take it. Wolf could only hurt me in a prolonged battle when he’s prepared the battlefield ahead of time. Two, starmetal is completely useless to me. It’s used for glyphs and magical devices, neither of which I can or even want to use. Three, I’m Discord. If my desires are obvious, then you're obviously wrong.” A copy of him appear next to him with a drum set. It plays the old punchline from comedy acts. BA DUM, TSS! It vanishes with a poof.
“So you both read each others’ minds to plot this prank?” Celestia looks shocked.
“Unfortunately, Wolf lacks that ability. I had to make do with reading his mind and speaking quietly. By the way, Wolf, I was serious about that threat. I will do it if you ever tell so much as a rock about me. I have an image to protect, and jokes like this don’t work if everypony knows that.”
So, who is she? I think loudly at him, enjoying the way he freezes. He turns and glares at me.
“Stay out of my head, pup. You just might annoy me.” He’s glaring, but his eyes betray his mirth.
So, we on to get some drinks later and talk about mares? I smile at him.
He matches my grin, “Sounds like fun. We can swap stories and cause some drunken chaos.” I feel a little bad for him, at least I had my family who understood me. He’s going to be a good friend. Nopony from this world would ever understand me completely. He’s also going to be a great business partner. Who said you couldn’t profit on doing the right thing? Even Luna looks a little worried at this.
“What are we witnessing? We cannot tell whether this is the beginning of a rivalry or friendship,” Luna says. “Either way, I don’t like the thought of it ending in a drunken God of Chaos and whatever Wolf is running amok in Canterlot.”
“That’s the beauty of it, my dear Luna. Should Wolf and I decide to battle it out, it could go either way. He can hunt me to the ends of the world to lay a trap capable of beating me. I, however, am far stronger than he is and just as cunning. He can still be a rival, though. His thing is stealth and assassination, after all. No cheaty Elements, no being untouchable because of being born an alicorn. Just pure power and skill. That’s why he can be a good friend.
“I care about my friends in Ponyville, I truly do, but they don’t trust or understand me. They fear me, and rightly so. It’s like how my darling Fluttershy is with her cute little animal friends. Not that I don’t love them all the same, but it gets boring.”
“So he’s your rival?” Celestia asks, looking disturbed.
I facepalm, “People like Discord and I don’t treat rival and friend as all that different. The best friends are also hardened rivals. The best rivals are also dear friends. Heres the thing; You think with this box. There is white up here and black down here. There’s this strip of grey in the middle. We, however, see some streaks of white and black in the grey, there’s a green section on this side of the grey, and a section here made out of telzuli. It’s a color that can’t be seen and only theoretically exists. I named it myself. Oh, and there’s this big ring around the outside that changes color at random, just because it wants to.” Discord has been sketching this out in the air as I talk, and Celestia has a hoof to the side of her face.
The door opens behind me. Without turning around, I say, “Hey Moon Light. What’s up?” I hear her stop walking.
“How did you know it was me?”
I turn and face her, pointing at my nose. “Do you really think I don’t know your scent yet? I could track you anywhere in the city.”
Discord waves away the diagram. “Careful, Wolf. That sounds either very insulting or like it’s insinuating something about the two of you.”
“What do you mean? I am a specialist at stealth and tracking, remember? I didn’t say she had a bad scent. Actually I like it, it’s richer and sweeter than most ponies. Very enjoyable.”
“Wolf, calm down, you're scaring the nobles.” Moon Light says with a soft smile. She moves and stands in a corner of the room. I start to walk over and talk to her, but Discord puts a claw on my shoulder.
“In case you’ve forgotten, we have a job to do. Luna, do you know of any well located plots of land or abandoned buildings? We need a place to put this theater. I like the idea of having it flying, but I suspect nopony would come.”
“Actually, I was thinking it would be best to put it outside the walls. There are few large enough areas in the city, and all are in bad areas for it. There is a perfect place off the main road by the water. I am looking forward to this, I love the theater and there are far too few of them.”
She and Discord stride to the door. I glance at Moon Light. “Go on ahead. I’ll catch up to you.”
“How will you find us?” Luna asks me only to look away in embarrassment at the double facepalm between Discord and I. Facepaw? FacePAWlm! Nailed it with a swag bolt. I walk over to Moon Light as the room begins to empty. A few linger, watching me with interested eyes. Celestia glares at them and they follow the others.
“Hey, Moon Light. How are you today? I got caught up in a project, but if I’m free tonight, want to go do something?”
“Like a date?” She smiles at me.
“Yup!” I smile broadly. She nods, and we walk out of the room. I explain exactly what the project entails and fill her in on the non-boring parts of the meeting. As we are walking, I shift into wolf form. It is weird being out in daylight in this state. I feel out of place and guess that the thestral walking with me isn’t much better.
“About last night..” I start, unsure what to say.
“Yeah? You know when I said not to touch wings, I hadn’t meant even in that kind of situation.” She pouts, “Seriously, I know you hadn’t meant for that to happen and neither did I. I enjoyed it, and honestly it makes it easier to go out with you. I’m always scaring off stallions because of my fangs and have never been with one before. They always lose it when I lose control and nip them.”
“That was your first time?” I asked shocked. She stops and kisses me.
“Yes, and it was with a strong, heroic stallion of the night who likes me despite how dangerous I am. It was wonderful. I’ve heard your first time is better when your partner is experienced anyways.” She turns and we begin walking again. A moment of silence passes as what she said sinks in.
“Guess we’ll never know about that. It’s not like a life of living alone in the mountains or running from large amounts of assassins is a good way to meet lots of girls. Not to mention the fact that even if I did meet a girl, it’s like being around a glass statue.”
She stumbles slightly, “Wait, that was your first time? That was your first time?”
“Yeah, I just kinda went with my instinct. Instinct always serves me well. I’m happy it was with you. I wanted it to be, however I was thinking along the lines of going on a few dates and having a committed relationship first.” I shoot her a grin, “And then you decided to set my veins on fire with a nibble, and I told waiting to go buck itself.”
“So what are you plans for the theater? There aren't a lot of free playwrights and existing plays are either private, overdone or bad. Actually, a lot are all three.”
“I love the theater a lot actually. I have all of Shakespeare’s works and many other plays as well. Actually, I have a lot of books from my world. Over one hundred.”
“How can you even move that backpack?” Moon Light’s eyes are wide and staring at it. I laugh inwardly and give her a cocky smile.
“I can actually hold them all in one hand without a single issue.”
She looks at me suspiciously, “What’s the catch?”
I pull out my electronic book. The small black device powers on as I stop walking. I pull up Romeo and Juliet and hand it to her. She stares at the words on the screen entranced. “What are these glyphs?”
“Say what now? That’s just writing.” I wonder if our worlds managed to have the same spoken language but different written ones. She uses her hoof to write Moon Light in the dust of the street. It’s a very messy form of cursive. I stare at it and make a few changes to make it into modern writing. “Now what does it say?” I ask her.
“It still says Moon Light, though it looks like a griffin wrote it.” I Trace my name into the dust. Her eyes light up and she stares back at the device. She concentrates on it one letter at a time, slowly reading. Somehow she manages to balance the device on one hoof and walk next to me. I realize there’s some form of magical grip to the hooves. It doesn’t take her long to get the hang of the different word style. We exit the city and find our way to where Luna and Discord are playing with the design of the theater. Luna is making suggestions and Discord is altering the building accordingly. They turn and greet me.
“How did you get past the part where we split up? Or where we teleported the rest of the way? What about where Discord sent several copies in random directions?” Luna looks cheated.
“I followed Luna’s scent the entire time and the teleportation was anticipated. I simply looked for the freshest trail of cosmic magic and followed it in a roundabout manner. You’ll need to try harder to beat me at my own game, Luna. I was called the Prince of the Night for a reason. Although meeting the real Princess of the Night makes that old nickname seem like calling my sword Excalibur,” I reply with a wolfish smirk as she laughs. “Why try anyways? Did you want me to skip out on my duties?”
“Actually, I thought you already planned on it. I was expecting you to have a long talk with Moon Light and get a little lost by neglecting your duties. I was not prepared for you to take your mare friend down to where you expect to encounter changelings. Are you taking the threat they can pose seriously?”
“Nope. Tell me worst case scenario, what might happen tonight.”
“A small horde of them shows up and takes her form. Then you have to fight them all while trying to discover the real one while hitting somepony that looks and sounds exactly like her.”
“So at what point do I hug the real one and have Discord turn the rest into apples?”
“Why apples?” She looks slightly disturbed by that one.
“I like apples. I stand by the statement that my favorite food is anything made with apples. Just because I need meat to survive doesn’t mean it’s my favorite food, though I love… Nevermind.” I cut off before I describe something that will disgust and horrify Luna and Moon Light. They look at me with a bored expression.
“I spent time on the griffin’s Iron Mountain. Meat doesn’t disturb me in the slightest.” Moon Light smiles.
“I was Nightmare Moon. I’ve eaten ponies before,” Luna says dryly, smiling at my shocked look. “It’s a joke. One of the many legends about when I was evil is that I used to eat children who didn’t give me a candy offering on Nightmare Night.”
Sensing an excellent opportunity for an original play that I guess nopony would have the nerve to do, I press for details. “I would love to hear the full story. Perhaps we can put the play of it in our roster?”
“Nopony would dare make a play about such histories. I will tell the story, perhaps this is the first time of it being told from my perspective.” She sits down and stares into the distance a moment, collecting her thoughts. “Since my sister and I defeated Discord the first time, I have been the Princess of the Night. Ponies love and cherish my sister and her day, but fear and hate me and my night. Ponies still do, I’m afraid. They fear the dark and ignore the beauty of my moon. They do not know that I do not bring the night truly. I bring the moon. I bring light to the darkness without destroying the harmony of day and night. Many times I have gone to save somepony from their nightmares only to discover it was myself they feared.
“Over the years, I grew cold and hateful. I was jealous of my sister, and I hated ponies for not loving me. As my thoughts turned to darkness, I lost my sanity slowly. I began hearing a voice in my mind that was my voice and yet it was not. One morning, when it came time to lower the moon and allow my sisters sun to rise, I refused. My dark side had come to full power, and I became corrupted. I told Tia that if ponies wanted to fear me as a nightmare, then I would become Nightmare Moon. I tried to slay my sister, and she turned the Elements of Harmony against me. I was sent to the moon for a thousand years as my sister took over my duties.
“I began using what power I had, and over the course of one thousand years I stored power in a star. I waited until the Summer Sun celebration, a sacred day all about my sister and her dear sun, and returned. I was pursued on my way to destroy the elements by a group of ponies. The small part of me that was still kind and good refused to let me kill them. So I placed traps in front of them. They had been willing to venture into the night, so I gave them a chance.
“I tested them on the virtues. Had they failed a single test, then I would have not needed to worry. I failed to defeat them with my traps, and in the end I was defeated when they wielded the Elements against me. The Harmony burned all the evil out of me, and I became sane again. My sister forgave me and I her. I have come to accept that the night belongs to the night ponies and the day belongs to the day ponies. My followers might be smaller in number, but they are still my beloved children.”
She finishes with a smile directed at Moon Light, who blushes and looks away. I wonder what she would be like as an evil pony. I want to say something, but have no idea what. Luna turns back to the task at hand, “Discord, perhaps we should try and add a touch of darkness to it. Not enough to be foreboding, but enough to be reminiscent of the night.”
We all make suggestions to Discord, and eventually we settle on the design. It is a massive building of dark wood. It has a blank sign where the name will be. Lots of red and deep blue hangings adorn the outside. I walk up the the doors. They are heavy ornate doors that open far too easily to not be magic. We begin designing the inside, creating a large ornate stage in front of a massive amount of incredibly comfy seats. There are several balconies overlooking the stage.
Soon Discord disappears, and twelve changelings enter. They are disguised as all types of ponies. One is even a thestral without fangs. The one impersonating the thestral smells different from the others, with a more compelling scent. I hear a strong heartbeat from her, and she approaches me with a deep bow. “I am Jade. I hope to serve your hive well. If you will allow me, I’ll assist in managing the hive. As a royal changeling, my orders must be followed by any who are in my hive. I am grateful for the show of friendship you have offered, and am intrigued by this plan.”
“I would prefer to see all of you for you, if you don’t mind. I never did get to see a changeling’s true form.”
They are all enveloped in a flash of green, revealing small black buglike creatures with random holes. The one who was a thestral is taller and ponylike with a curved horn. She has black skin with streaks of blue in her coat, dragonfly wings, and a spiky yellow mane with holes in it. They are interesting, to say the least.
I address Discord, “Now for the hard part, I have a lot of plays that hopefully have never been seen in this world. Are you able to work some kind of magic and turn the story Romeo and Juliet from the device Light is holding into scripts? Hopefully, scripts translated from old english into modern ponified versions of it.”
Discord picks up the device. He stares at it and looks worried. Apprehensively, he raises a claw and snaps his fingers. The theater is filled with books of all shapes and sizes. I recognize many of them as the books on my device. He looks around shocked then shrugs, “I outdid myself and turned all the stories into books. I never should have doubted myself.”
“Awesome bro, wait… all of them?” My eyes go wide and I gulp. There are a lot of questionable books in this pile. “Nopony look through these. There are books of untold evil that corrupt all who read them within that pile.”
Moon Light is suspicious. “Then how are you not corrupted?”
I give a wide evil look at everypony around me, “I’m a creature of the night that has killed more than I can count, often by latching onto their throats and draining them of blood and magic. I specialize in shadow and assassination magic. What is left to corrupt? The last vestige of innocence I had I lost last night. Not that I’m gonna complain in any way shape or form about it,” I finish with a smirk. Everypony takes the bait and backs away from the pile, looking worried.
I begin sorting the books into four piles. Stash in my pack, useable for plays, donate to a library, and to be incinerated. After I’m done sorting and have stashed several books in my pack, I carry the rest outside. I bring a fireball to bear and blast away with a stream of white flames that destroy all the books. I turn back to them and see Luna stash a book behind her back. She’s not fooling me with that blush. I shift into wolf form. Her heartbeats are elevated, and she has a familiar sweet scent. Of all the books to find, it had to be one of that type.
Everypony shouts as I drop an area of darkness on them. I dash in and leap at the book, trying to snatch it before Luna can react to me and figure out what I’m doing. Luna easily dodges my bound in her direction, and I hear a small laugh as she tries to get behind me. I roll to the side and go for a full on assault, but I sense her eyes on me the entire time and I realize she can see through my spell. The darkness vanishes and reveals Luna with her horn glowing and a smirk on her face.
“This is so not fair,” I complain.
“That was an interesting spell. A complete and focused illusion of perfect darkness in an instant while performing a polymorph spell. All while calculating the movements needed after the lights went out. Impressive indeed.”
“Actually, it wasn’t an illusion. It was actual darkness. I countered all the light with shadow magic and created an area where light wasn’t allowed in. Can we agree to never speak of this to anyone? Ever? Including the part about shadow magic?”
“Show me this shadow magic of yours and I’ll return this so-called Kama Sutra book to you. It is useless to ponies anyway, as our anatomy is too different.”
I’m glad my wolf form hides the lecherous grin and tone as I say, “I wouldn’t bet on that, but I’ll accept.”
I transform back to human form and draw a wand from my pack. After leading everypony outside, I focus shadow magic into the wand and flick it, releasing a blade of darkness into the sky. It impacts the cloud I aimed at and slices it in half. The edges of the cut remain wreathed in shadows that devour the rest of the small cloud; causing the sleeping light blue pegasus on the cloud to awaken and fly off groggily. Luna gasps. I focus again, and this time I make the shadows into sticky orbs that attach to things. Finally, I show them my master work.
“This is why they called me the Prince of the Night and Lord of Shadows. Behold, my army.” I put away my wand and draw my staff, charging it with shadow magic. Everypony steps back as I become wreathed in shadows. The shadows form into twelve wolves standing behind me. The wolves walk towards the ponies and sit down in front of them. It isn’t easy to make wolves molded of shadow and darkness look cute, but I think I managed. Luna squees and pets the wolf nearest to her.
“D'awww can I keep him?” The wolves fade into mist as I dismiss the spell. “Is that all you can manage? That’s not really long enough to be useful.”
“Long enough to start draining my power. I don’t want to exhaust my reserves without a reason. Remember, my magic is different than a unicorn. I can’t just get a good night’s sleep and be back to full strength. It takes lots of time or a source.”
She floats the book over to me. Truly I haven't read much of it, and I debate whether to incinerate it or keep it. I throw it on the ground. I wasn’t intending to be some kind of sex god, and Luna was right to a degree about anatomies. Luna yanks the book out of the line of my flames. I turn to her shocked.
“You know I wouldn’t judge you for keeping this, right? It makes sense to want to do your best in that area. I don’t know about your world, but here a stallion is often judged by his abilities in that area. A version of this book for our world would be worth a princess’s ransom.”
“I can go on my instinct in that area, I don’t have any intention of being some kind of playboy.”
“What’s a playboy?” She is hiding her real level of interest behind a mask of mild curiosity, but fails to contain the force of her gaze.
“Someone who sleeps with a lot of mares, and often they sleep with as many as four or five different mares a week. It sounds like an unfulfilled and boring life to me. I want to find love, someone to make my life more than an endless battle with countless foes,” I reply.
“Sounds like a normal stallion to me. Is this uncommon in your world? How do the mares stay happy without stallions like this? Does that mean a lot of mares grow old without experiencing a stallion?”
“Why would they?”
“There are four mares for every stallion, do the math. Without playboys, as you call them, that means three mares of every four are never going to experience a stallion.”
“Woah, what's the gender ratio here?”
“Four to one, mares to stallions. Why? Is it different in your world?”
“Extremely. It’s about six to four, stallions to mares.”
“That's.. A lot of stallions.. “ Moon Light cuts in, I notice a blush forming on many of the mares’ faces.
“Wait, so what about marriage? Does that mean only one in four ever get married?”
“No, why would it? It’s not like you can only have one wife.”
I stare at her and gasp as my entire concept of morality and sanity comes crashing down. Ponies are polygamists. Polygamist nudist perverts, the lot of them, and they thought I was bad for responding to a rather insulting question with an innuendo. Then it clicks. Of course innuendos like that are insulting. In a world where all the males are playboys and all the mares are perverts, innuendo is overkill. It’s like being an amateur swordfighter who takes a big fancy pose before the opponent has even drawn a blade.
“I think he’s broken. He looks like he’s doing a lot of thought. Let’s finish the theater and leave him to do whatever this is.” Luna leads everypony else inside and I stare after them in shock. Moon Light stays with me.
“Are you going to be okay? What’s the matter?” she asks, walking to stand next to me. I just stare at her.
“My entire concept of social and moral standards just got ripped out and tossed away like garbage. Tell me something, if we ended up married would you expect me to go off and find another mare?”
“Of course not. If we married, I would be head mare and it would be my job to find compatible mares to add to our herd.”
I lay down. The grass against my stomach comforts me and I begin to calm down. “I need a full and complete understanding of how exactly dating, marriage and family works here. My world is different. We are mostly monogamous and polygamous is considered a crime that is quite stupid.”
“Why stupid?”
“Keeping one mare happy is difficult enough. Imagining trying to keep them all happy is rather.. daunting.”
She lays down next to me and leans against me. “I see. Let’s start with basic dating and move on from there. When a stallion decides he has enough experience in love and believes himself capable of starting a herd, or if he just realizes he’s going to be too old to be virile enough anymore, they start serious dating. They look for mares who are perfect to their tastes and possess the mental strength to keep his future mares in line.
“Dating is basically meeting up for an activity. Anything from dinner to a walk through the woods. The important part of a first date is communication and learning more about your partner. At the end of the date, the stallion will tell the mare whether or not they met the stallion’s approval with a kiss. No kiss means the date went horribly. A short, simple kiss means either the stallion is unsure or inexperienced. A passionate one lets the mare know exactly how much the stallion loves her. If the mare wants to move further in the relationship, they will give the stallion a gift. All the races have different gifts they hold sacred for dating customs.
“Thestrals, for example, give the stallion a lock of our manes. Actually, most night ponies do this. Earth ponies give flowers matching the stallion and mare’s coat, so I’m unsure how they would do this for you. Perhaps a black flower for your mane or wolf form? Either way, a special flower. Pegasi give feathers from their wings and unicorns give something magical that they made themselves. Something like a locket that plays a meaningful song when opened.
“After this exchange, they continue dating, and eventually when they feel the time is right they get married. After they have been married for a time the mare finds another mare, or in rare case a stallion, and introduces them to the relationship. It starts with the mare going on dates with the prospective member of the herd, and if they feel they are fit to be in the herd, they take them on a date with the stallion. The dating process continues and if they are accepted into the herd they marry the existing couple and become the second mare. Most herds are a stallion, two to three mares, and whatever foals there are. Got everything straight now?”
“What about fidelity?” I ask, my mind threatening to crack under all this knowledge. “How does a stallion provide for and keep so many mares happy?”
“I don’t understand. What is fidelity? Mares are quite capable of providing for themselves, and as for happiness you simply love the ones you're with.” Moon Light has placed her head on my paws. Luna is raising the moon and darkness soon covers us. I feel myself calming down again as the moon rises in the sky.
“Fidelity is, in a nutshell, only loving the one you're married to and remaining faithful to them.”
“Your society is monogamous, correct? I suppose this might come as a shock then. This is a foreign concept to me. I understand how many stallions want to be the only stallion a mare loves. I accept and respect that. I am a firm believer in a herd is supposed to be a single powerful stallion with mares who follow him. Is it so bad if your mares play with other mares to find one worth bringing to be yours as well?”
“It’s a lot to think about. What about interspecies relationships?” I ask, hoping that it isn’t a taboo or otherwise stands as a barrier between us. I shift back to being human and sprawl out on the grass.
“That depends. Between the pony races it is not even a concern. However, between species that would prevent the bearing of foals and it can be a problem. Many are against herds that can bear no children. You yourself, should you choose to settle down, will find some who would be perfect for you but are unwilling to commit because you cannot sire children.”
She stares at the moon for a while. Finally, she answers. “I am not. Love is hard enough without making it harder. However, it is not me you would need to convince. My father would take a great deal of convincing to allow his eldest and only child to enter a relationship with a stallion who could not carry on our line.”
I close my eyes as I try and absorb all of this information. This is complicated. Long story short, if I want to be in a serious relationship with Light then I need to properly court her and then prove to her father that despite being unable to carry his line I would be the best future for his daughter. It’s a daunting task, but I believe myself to be up for it.
“You know that the date I asked you out on is my wanting to try, as you put it, settling down, right?” I ask her.
“Is it? You’re actually serious about me? Why?”
“I need a reason?”
She gives me a deadened almost hurt stare at my little joke. Her voice cracks on her reply. “Yes.”
“Sorry, that came out wrong. What reason would I have to not love you? You’re strong, intelligent and interesting. Not to mention beautiful and absolutely adorable. Let me get to know you better and I’ll be able to give you a better answer.” I smile and she smiles back warmly. Her fangs glisten in the moonlight.
“Alright. Then I will consider us as considering being serious. It’s usual for couples not to be with each other physically during this time, to be certain it’s not just an attraction of the bodies.”
“Perfectly fine by me,” I don’t like it but I will accept it.
She stares at me with a sultry gaze, “Not by me,” she smiles and kisses me deeply. As I kiss her, I get a vague feeling I’m forgetting something. I run a hand through her mane, pulling her closer into the kiss. The memory of where I am and what I’m supposed to be doing jars me. She pulls away looking shocked. “What is it? Are you ok?”
I let out a small chuckle, “I just kinda remembered we were out in front of my work and everypony is inside waiting for me, or possibly watching me.” I realize I am being watched and look at the theater. A dark shape looms from the balcony window. Luna is watching us with a smile playing across her face. She sees me notice her and waves, gesturing me to come inside. Absolutely shameless.
I pull Moon Light to her hooves and we walk inside. Everypony is currently reading through matching scrolls. Discord poofs in front of me wearing a tux and looking the part of a director of plays.
“I took the liberty of passing out ponified versions of Romeo and Juliet. All the other books have been stored on shelves in the plotting room in the hive I created beneath us. I’m glad you joined us. We will be holding a role sorting soon. It turns out that you were right about their acting skills, however they had some issues at first with becoming somepony they’ve only read about. I can’t say I understand this play. I read it and it seems so sad. Why would you do a tragedy first?”
“Young love cut so short so soon. I want the audience to fall in love with the actors and be moved to deep emotions. If any play is memorable, it is this one. Even I would cry a tear seeing it performed by superb actors. They will be loved and admired for their skill and their parts if it is done well. More importantly, it will cause a lot of talk amongst everypony and they will come back. Their friends will come. Eventually, word of this will reach the farthest corners of Equestria. I want a copy of the script. I need to see it with the alterations to make sure nothing was lost in translation.”
Discord snaps his fingers and a scroll falls before me. I catch it and begin reading. Nothing has been lost, however some things have been seriously altered. The king has been replaced with Celestia. Lethal swordfights have been replaced by brawling. Only three ponies die in the new version. Tybalt, who is now the Prince of Stallions as opposed to the Prince of Cats, and of course Romeo and Juliet. It still holds all its dark beauty. Discord explains the part of killing off Paris as insulting to the royalty while Luna grumbles about Blue Blood.
The auditions start quickly. Predictably, Romeo and Juliet are the most vied for roles. Jade ends as role of Juliet. However, after all the actors have been placed, I still don’t have a Tybalt. Nopony wants to play the one who seems the villain of the piece.
“We are missing Tybalt,” Luna notes.
“I’ll play him, he’s my favorite character,” Discord and I stand and say together and turn as one and glare at each other. “Quit copying me,” We say as one and the glaring intensifies. He probably feels the same way about it as I do. He is a creature of chaos after all. “Let’s go audition then,” we say, a smile on our faces.
Luna and Moon Light look back and forth between us. “Creepy,” they say in unison and look at each other in surprise. They blush and stare at the stage. Discord poofs onto the stage in the form of a ponified version of Tybalt. I leap towards the stage, landing as a wolf. I look at Discord apprehensive. He can actually look the roll. The changeling selected to be Romeo comes to help us play our roles.
Discord goes first. He is overly dramatic and wrecks the mood during his death. I go second. I’ve played Tybalt before and truly get into character. At the end of my performance, Luna claps her hooves together excitably.
“We have a winner!” she proclaims. Discord bows to me.
“Indeed we do! I was moved by your rendition of Tybalt. Your experience in the part was an edge I was wholly unprepared for.”
“Don’t worry, Discord. You’ll do a great job as every minor character in this one. Also, I suspect you will love to play Oberon in our next play. He’s lord of the fairies. What that translates to in it’s ponified version, I have no idea. However, you will also do well as Robin Goodfellow, the trickster.”
We perform a script in hoof rundown of the play. Even without props or completed actors, it is an excellent first run. After two hours we leave the changelings to get some sleep. Moon Light and I set out to find what date we can with the moon so high in the sky. Canterlot is quiet and lonely. We decide to go for a walk through the woods outside the city.
We stop just outside of the city gates. She leans in and steps back before kissing me, giving me a coy smile. “I’m not gonna give you a kiss, you're gonna have to catch me and take it.” She takes off into the air, heading toward the forest. Thankfully she isn't as fast as a lot of pegasi are and I can easily keep pace while sprinting after her. I’m prepared to shift into wolf form if she starts getting faster, but I want to be able surprise her. I doubt ponies are used to the concept of climbing trees to catch something flying. Even if they are, I’m willing to bet I can climb faster than she expects.
The forest draws closer. She stays close to the treeline and I run ahead, dodging out of her line of sight. I quickly climb a tree and leap up to catch her by the hooves. She yells in surprise at the sudden ambush. Her wings flap twice as she tries to hold us both aloft. Unable to get any ground, she tries to bite me off, sinking her teeth into a cocoon of shadows I place around my arms. She tucks her wings in and we drop into the forest.
I’ve seen this trick before and simply pull her into a secure grip. My arms are around her, carrying her like I did after the fight with the manticore. Shadows rip the branches out of our way as I land heavily on the ground. The shock of the impact jars me. She has a big smile on her face and growls at me while struggling to escape.
“Release me or I’ll bite you! Hard,” she says. I hear something creeping into her voice on the edge of her mock anger. I ignore her demands and pull her face close to mine. She bares her fangs at me as I hold her an inch from mine. How am I supposed to kiss her with her lips so far apart? I figure out her game and I bare my own fangs and growl back. She recoils and I dart in, placing a kiss on her lips. She kisses me back passionately and, with my grip relaxed, wraps her hooves around the back of my head.
After we reluctantly break apart, she stares at me. I can’t read her expression. I can see lust, awe and something more.
“So that's what it’s like on the other side of my growl. I was afraid of you for a moment. When you went in for the kiss I was worried you were going to bite me for a moment.”
“Sorry about scaring you.”
“Don’t be. I have very specific things I’m looking for in a stallion, and anypony who isn’t stronger than me is completely unredeemable. Don’t think I doubted you for a moment, but if you hadn’t managed to catch and overpower me like this it would have been the end of our dateing.”
I smile and run a hand through her mane. She closes her eyes and I nip her neck. I love the feeling I get when she shivers and her eyes shoot open with a look of absolute lust.
“You know according to the rules of dating, sex is forbidden during the initial dating period.” Her voice has a whispery quality and her eyes are piercing in their intensity.
I chuckle and sigh, “Rules are annoying. I wouldn’t force you to break them.”
A flash of sadness then one of inspiration. “Is that out of respect to me or the rules?”
“I don’t give a damn about rules. I only care about you. If you want to be perfectly chaste until our relationship progresses, I’ll accept that. I’m not going to do anything to hurt you.” I shoot her an evil smile. “Unless you enjoy that in more ways than just a little biting.”
Her eyes get big and her gaze draws me in. She puts a hoof to my chest and pushes. I see a flash of frustration in her eyes as I remain unmoving and she drives both her forehooves into my shoulders. She sits on my chest, staring down at me with her big intense violet eyes. It’s a little hard to breathe.
She starts looking disappointed and then pouts. I can smell her so close to me, but out of my reach. “Are you torturing me?” I ask. Then it clicks at her confused face. Ponies’ necks are a lot more flexible. I place my hands behind her and yank her in reach, licking her. She moans at the contact and shifts closer. I explore her with my tongue as her breath starts coming out ragged. Her scent and taste cause my brain to fog as instinct takes over. I growl as she begins rocking against me. Her body spasms as she moans and she falls off to the side, placing a hoof and wing over me.
I meet her gaze with a smile. I kiss her and when our contact breaks, I nip the base of her neck. She moans and rolls onto her back submissively. I begin trialing my hands over her muscles and tracing the lines of her body. She has many scars that speak of battles survived. My hands reach her wings and she spreads them almost reflexively at my touch, and I gently explore her wings from the outside in. I take note of the spots she moans. My hands reach the place where her wings meet her body and she gasps.
“Mmm, how long.. are you going to keep.. teasing me?” she asks in between moans and gasps. I pull off my clothes and kneel between her hind legs, toying with her with the head of my shaft. Slowly I begin entering her. My hands free, I resume exploring her body as our hips meet. I slowly and teasingly begin to slide it out.
“Please.. Buck me,” she begs and I reward her as I begin thrusting. She gasps at the sudden change of pace and nips my shoulder. Thankfully she doesn’t freak out this time when a small amount of blood comes from the cut. She stares at it fascinated for a moment and latches onto the cut, sucking my blood passionately. I moan at the sensation. Acting on instinct, I bite the base of her neck and draw a trickle of her blood. I thrust into her as the energy flowing through us from the blood ritual heightens our pleasure.
We pull away from each other and cry out as one as we cum together. I faintly hear a cracking sound I ignore as all the sensations and power flow along my body. I roll to the side and begin to get dressed. She stands looking dizzy, and slowly a bunch of emotions cross her face.
“I drank your blood… I liked it… It felt wonderful…” Her voice is hesitant and quiet. I hear a lot of emotion in her voice.
I hope she calms down and I wait for her emotions to decide what to do. Her eyes lock onto mine and her lust is written plainly on her face. She coils her legs like she’s preparing to leap at me, “I want more!” She launches at me her voice one of lust and hunger. She reminds me of one of the vampires from my world. How would a mutual ritual of give and take awaken such an impulse? Suddenly it occurs to me that her fangs and disposition to biting aren't just for looks. Thestrals must descend from or currently are this world's vampires. As this train of thought arrives at the station her hooves impact my shoulders again, knocking me back.
My own instincts kick in and I refuse to be dominated. We roll through the forest wrestling and nipping, fighting for top. Finally my strength wins out over her greater willingness to inflict damage and I straddle her, pinning her hooves with my arms and legs. My fangs are bare and I growl. Something clicks in her eyes and they shrink to normal size. She looks away with a look of shame.
“Go ahead and be yourself. Just be gentle and don’t take too much. I’m going to be myself and never be dominated.” I smile down on the mare. I hear how my voice sounds a lot like the wolf’s but don't care. Her head yanks around in surprise as her eyes meet mine. She gently lifts her head and nips my shoulder causing a small cut that she presses her lips to. I feel myself harden instantly at the sensation. She notices and shifts her hips invitingly. I enter her again, but this time is far more primal with our inner beasts brought to the surface and welcomed by the other. I thrust deep and hard as I keep her pinned. She moans as she makes several new holes when the last one stops bleeding as freely.
She yanks her head away as she releases a screech that turns into a whimper as her body shakes from an orgasm. I growl in satisfaction of the mare’s pleasure and my own as I release my seed into her. She kisses me and I taste my blood on her lips. She lays her head on the ground content and I lay next to her.
“You accepted my dark side, completely and without any hesitation other than the fact that I was challenging your dominance.”
“Well, I have a dark side of my own. How could I resist that submissive pure desire for me? You submitted to me as a mare and I wanted to reward you in any way possible. So are all thestrals vampires? Or is that something special about you?”
“Neither and both. My family is the thestral equivalent to nobles. We don’t need blood to survive like the vampires of old, however we do still possess the instincts for it.” I hear a double heartbeat coming and dash to collect my clothes. I’m just pulling my pants on and looking around for a shirt when Luna lands.
“What happened here? Wolf what happened to you? Were you attacked?” She’s staring at the blood trailing down my bare chest.
“You might say that. I’m fine, nothing happened really.”
She glares pointedly behind me. The trees are covered in slashes, many of which still have shadows trailing from them. Several trees are knocked over. Oops. Moon Light steps forward and Luna looks at the blood on her muzzle with a small, “Oh.”
“Wolf, Moon Light, I am disappointed in you both. Moon Light, you need to control yourself better and explain yourself before doing something like that. Wolf, I know thestrals can be scary when they get like that, however you should not use such powerful magic against them. How did all of this even happen?”
Moon Light starts to look away ashamed, I place a hand on her head and gently scratch her ear. I smile at Luna, “Not even close, you have two more guesses. Wanna keep trying or give up?”
“So what happened? Obviously Moon Light attacked you and you attacked something.” She is staring around looking for more clues, signs of other involved party.
“Nope. One more guess.” I cut her off with a chuckle. Moon Light is looking around confused.
“What did you do to the trees? Actually, when? Was this while we were wrestling?” Moon Light looks a little worried.
I decide to stop holding them in suspense. It’s fun to mess with Luna, but I don't want to mess with Moon Light. “We had an incident involving her vampire instincts triggering one of the blood rituals of my world I told you about. I lost control of my power. Don’t worry, Moon Light was perfectly safe. Anything close and able to hide itself from my senses and watching us like a creep, however, was not so safe. It’s fine, I am glad it happened here though. I would hate to end up slashing apart whatever room I’m gonna be staying in at the theater. I’ll have to put up wards against my magic when I get a bedroom.”
“You're not staying in the castle any more?” Luna asks, looking disappointed.
“I don’t want to overstay my welcome. Not much need to occupy one of the Ambassador rooms when I already own a place to sleep. One where I can finally make a proper den, complete with spells and a display. Oh, and I can’t wait to make a proper arcane workstation!”
“I see. I understand. There is one thing I don’t understand though.” She has a small smile. “Why are there so many cuts on both of you? I understand one or two on Wolf, but why both of you? Are you hiding the good parts?”
Moon Light and I look at each other with a grin. Luna chuckles at the confirmation.
“Honestly Wolf, you do not need your sense of smell to smell that in the air. Why were you two doing that in the middle of the woods? What if a patrol had flown over?”
“What can I say? Sometimes things just happen, and you should just let them happen and deal with the fallout later. What’s the worst that could happen even if a patrol saw us?”
“They could get caught up in their instincts and want in on it. Get that smirk of your face. I meant wanted in on your blood. In the past, nobles shared their prey. The sight of Moon Light pinning you down and drinking your blood, they would have wanted to join her.”
I smirk, “Like she could ever pin me down like that. I’m an Alpha, I don’t get pinned down and treated like a snack.”
Luna looks shocked, “So you pinned her and let her bite you anyway? Are you insane?”
“Yes to the second, however I don’t feel like discussing my love life with a princess.”
Luna looks hurt, “I had hoped you thought of me as more than just a princess.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, let me rephrase. I don’t feel like discussing my love life with the boss of my lover, even if they are a good friend.”
She giggles, “Fair enough. However, she’s off duty tonight.” She has a look of chagrin. “Unlike me. I must be going.” She turns and flies off into the sky. Well, that was abrupt. I turn to Moon Light and we share another grin before heading back to where we were.
I manage to hunt down the rest of my clothes. A look into my backpack reveals a mess inside. I shrug and pull it on. We walk through the woods together, talking about things and getting to know each other better.
“So, what’s your favorite food?” I ask. She looks around worriedly. “We’re alone. I’ll tell you if anypony gets anywhere near us,” I assure her. What could cause that kind of reaction to such a simple question?
“I like rose salad. I know it’s expensive because of how hard it is to grow them, but it’s amazing. However, there was a time when I was at the Iron Mountains. I tried something called venison stew. It was meat and I loved it. They told me what was in it but it smelled so good I wanted to try it. I know I’m hardly the first night pony to like meat, actually I heard that Luna eats meat in secret. It’s still something you don’t tell anypony about, though. I hear rumors that ponies that eat meat are common, but since it’s such a closely held secret, they’re hard to find.”
“It makes sense to me. The horses of my world are mainly vegetarians, but they still eat meat if they can. You do know what venison is, right?” I am a little worried, since this would be the equivalent of a human eating chimp. I don’t want to lie to her, but I also don’t want to freak her out.
“I know it’s deer. They might look like us, but they aren't related to us at all. They are tasty, however. Some day I’ll have to figure out a way to show you how good it is. I don’t know how to cook it myself, but maybe we can take a trip to the Iron Mountains together. I think you’d like it there once you figure out your wing spell.”
“I know how good venison is. I can cook pretty well. I had thought that my specialty with meat would become useless in this world with the exception of fish. I don’t have a wing spell, humans use what we call brooms to fly.”
She laughs, “So you change the weather by sweeping it?”
“Change the weather? No, we just let the weather do its thing. The effort of trying to manipulate weather is not worth what little bonus it brings. It’s better to just leave Mother Nature alone.”
Seeming a cross between bewildered and amused, she continues, “So you just leave the clouds sitting there unmoving? How do you farm like that?”
I stare at the sky and notice that the clouds are indeed unmoving, with the exception of one that a pegasus is pushing. This world is weird.
“Okay, I need a rundown on weather. In my world it just happens, but I guess that isn’t the case here.”
She spends the next half hour telling me about weather. Everything from the rainbow factory to the pegasi who handle weather in the towns. It is interesting, and I find it strangely ironic that we’re just casually talking about the weather. It’s just so.. human. After she is done, we walk in silence as it all clicks in my mind. My stomach growls.
“Where can we get food at this time of night? I have some beef jerky on me, but it somehow feels wrong to eat it.”
She looks at me in shock and disgust, “Meat is one thing, but cows are sentient! They have lives and families.”
“Not in my world, but like I said it still feels wrong to eat it. The question stands about food, though.”
“Let’s head back to Canterlot. There are places that serve food, as long as you don't mind night ponies.” She gives me a playful nip on the leg and chuckles.
“Sounds wonderful! Lead the way.”
We walk back into the city, and the guards at the gate are now two moonicorns. They salute as we walk past them and Moon Light gives them a small nod. As we walk away, I focus on my ears and listen in on their conversation.
“Isn’t she off duty tonight? And why is she escorting him, anyways? I thought Luna said to trust him.”
“I don’t think that was just her escorting him, bro. She is off duty tonight. If anything, he’s her escort.”
“No way. She doesn’t play around with stallions like that. Even if they do manage to meet her infamous list of requirements, she scares them off. Remember when she went out with Night Stalker? He came back to the barracks an hour later bleeding and still gives her terrified looks.”
“He isn’t normal though. I was with the escort that found him. He beat a manticore unconscious without so much as a sweat.”
“Good point. He can probably dodge her when she tries to bite him. He’ll sing a different tune when she catches up to him.”
“You couldn’t smell the blood? She had blood on her muzzle and I could see the look on his face. He had that content, laid back look of a stallion after a good night on the town.”
“Wait a minute.. Isn’t he some kind of wolf with super-pony hearing?”
Both their heartbeats accelerate as they go quiet. In human form I can’t hear if they’ve started whispering. Still, I laugh and Moon Light looks at me.
“What?”
“Oh, just guards gossiping about me..” I reply with a smirk, “And then remembering my hearing.”
She laughs. Soon we arrive at a small restaurant. It has a design of the sun and moon next to each other with a plaque reading “Harmony Cafe; All who welcome all are welcome.”
We enter and several night ponies stiffen. The presence of a commanding officer in the company of somepony who must have been the subject of a lot of gossip causes all the conversation to die down. An earth pony with a cutie mark of a wolf comes forward excitedly.
“I’m Star, I own a small day worker business. Feel free to come to me with any jobs!” He says with a smile, “I am also co-owner of Harmony Cafe. Please allow me to seat you!” He leads us to a small booth in the back that’s almost a room in and of itself.
“Don’t want me scaring away your customers?” Moon Light asks with a laugh.
“No, this is a sign of respect. I thought the two of you would enjoy the privacy,” he says before disappearing around the corner. Star returns in a moment with a stack of menus. He hands her two and me six.
“I’m unfamiliar with your diet, so I have many menus for the many different extras. I’ll allow you time to order. In the mean time, can I get you something to drink?”
Moon Light speaks up, “Can you tell this is a date somehow? You don’t need to treat me differently just because of my rank.”
He gets an awkward smile, “Can I treat him differently? Yes, I can tell this is a date, or at the very least that the two of you aren't here as just friends.”
She looks confused. “I see. This is the first time in a long time that a new race has come to your shop. How can you tell?”
“Actually, it’s more than that,” he gestures to his wolf cutie mark and then back at me with a smile. “What would you like for a drink?” He’s dodging the question of how he can tell, and I can’t blame him.
“I would like some hot chocolate. Wolf?” I look around the menus, trying to find a section on drinks. A lot is seemingly familiar, but a lot is completely new or foreign to me.
“Somehow I’m guessing this Mountain Dew is not what I want it to be.”
“It is bottled water gathered by certain farmers from the mountain tops and used to make a soda infused with lightning. It is a wonderful, magical water that is quite popular among wealthy griffons. They say it tastes like thunder.”
“Huh, so it is what I’m thinking of. Except, you know, on acid.”
He looks worried at this, “I assure you, it’s quite safe to drink, even if you’re not a pegasi or griffon. However, it is quite pricey.”
“Sorry, the phrase ‘on acid’ is a cultural reference. Basically, my world has a soda called Mountain Dew. But this is taking the concept of my world’s Mountain Dew and multiplying it by the square root of insanity. I’ll try it.”
He looks surprised and nods, heading off to fetch our drinks. Moon Light looks at me surprised, “Either you seriously have misconceptions about a guard’s salary, or eating on a date is very different in your world.”
“A stallion would expect you to pay? Odd. In my world, you pay for what you order unless otherwise specified. Usually if anything the stallion pays for his and his dates food. I am more than happy to pay for you tonight. It’s not like I’m short on money or the means to earn it.”
She seems to be debating with herself. “You can order anything your heart desires. Anything.”
Her eyes dart to the menu and she licks her lips. Her eyes go wide, and she quickly looks at me with embarrassment, “Why didn’t you tell me I had blood on my muzzle?”
“Sorry, I didn’t smell it over what’s already on me.”
“I see. I think you might regret it when the bill comes, but I’ll let you pay. It feels weird, but I kinda like it.”
We begin studying the menus. Surprisingly, I notice that the griffon menu has several meat dishes on it. Looking carefully at the various menus, I decide on a meal.
“Do you mind if I order meat? I know you don’t mind it, but I don’t want you to look bad.”
“Actually, everypony knows you have a griffon’s diet. That's why I brought you here. If it looked like I kept you from eating meat because I couldn’t live in harmony with your race, then I would look bad. That's the point of this place. All the races accepting each other to live in harmony. If a pony and a griffon come here on a date and the pony tried a bite of meat, nopony here would think twice about it. It’s cultural exchange. Actually this place is rife with ponies who like meat and order the dishes that make the meat part discreet,” she explains. This place is definitely interesting.
Star returns with the drinks. “Will you be paying separately or together?” he asks.
“I’m paying. Tonight, we're doing it human style,” I reply.
He looks a little surprised and gets a big smile, “Very well. Have you decided on what you would like?”
Moon Light orders first. “I’ll have rose salad with a side of hay fries and a small order of black rolls.” For some reason he looks shocked for a moment then nods, turning to me.
“I want the lemon pepper salmon with a side of black rolls, and if you're not too busy, I would like to make a special order.”
“I see. My head chef always has plenty of time to learn a new order. It’s his passion and his dream to learn every recipe of every race.” He turns his notepad to one of the pages into the back.
“Cut potatoes into long rectangular strips about this thick. Spice them with something that is enough to be tasty, but doesn’t overpower them. Fry them in a skillet and serve after they have gotten crispy, with a light drizzle of gravy on top.”
“Alright. This seems easy enough. We will have your orders out soon enough. What do I call it?”
“We call them Dutch fries back home. If you’re interested, I can write down some interesting variations later.”
Not too long after that, a griffon comes up to the table. “Is this close to what you're hoping for, sir? In terms of the spices, at least. I made a quick version to taste spices on.”
I pick it off the plate and bite it. My eyes light up, the potato isn't nice and crispy but the spices are perfect. As long as the gravy matches, it would be among the best of its kind I’ve ever had. “Perfect! It’s like a taste of my homeworld. The spices look different, so I’m glad I hadn’t tried to use the name of the spices of my home. You nailed it.”
“Thank you, I shall resume the recreation of Dutch fries. I am happy to have captured it well.” He walks off with a big smile and a determined look in his eyes.
“So what is a day worker?” I ask Moon Light.
“Ponies who do errands for other ponies in general, and night ponies in specific. They handle finding things and making purchases. For example, when I want to get something from a store not open at night, I can talk to Star and he will help me rather than me having to stay up late or otherwise deal with the annoyances. They do other work as well. For example, if you were working on a project and had a list of things you needed, they would find everything for you.”
“Interesting. I’ll have to speak with him later. After I get Discord to uphold his side of the bargain tomorrow, I’ll begin construction of a flying staff.” With us out of sight, the restaurant has resumed its buzz of chatter. We add to it with our talk. I learn more about her life as a guard. Soon a waitress arrives with our food. For some reason, they place both orders of the rolls in front of me. Oh right, they have fish in them. I smile and move it over to her side of the table and the waitress apologises.
The Dutch fries and the black rolls are perfect. The salmon, however, is straight out of a dream. The absolute perfection of taste, texture and scent combine for an absolute symphony. I’m truly impressed with it. Moon Light looks almost guilty as she devours the black rolls. They are incredible and I can only imagine how good they are when combined with the flavor of forbidden fruit.
Soon we slow down our ravenous devouring of the food and begin talking.
“Tell me about growing up. What’s your family like?”
She looks away hesitantly, “They’re my family..” I hear an edge of pain and don’t press her. “What about you?”
“Dad was the head of the family. He was the symbol of our power. Mom was.. distant. My sis and I were close. We spent a lot of time together, helping each other get stronger. Unfortunately I went down a road she couldn’t follow, and we grew a little distant over time. I still love them all, but honestly I never really knew them that well. My family and I were different on a fundamental level. Imagine a night pony unicorn born into a family of trees.”
She looks confused, “Trees? Why trees?”
“I was a contractor and high mage. I lived a solitary life practicing and mastering complex magics. I often left our clan home and wandered the world. My family members were ritualists who drew power from the earth via an amplified connection. They used simple magics that were by nature absolutely primal and potent. They stayed within our home and most of our clan never leaves our forest outside of doing jobs. I loved them, but it’s hard to be really close to someone who doesn’t even think like you do.”
“Is that the road your sister couldn’t follow you on?”
“Not exactly. My family rarely leaves the clan home. We only ever leave for things like school or shopping. She won’t even try to leave for anything else. My dad stopped me for a while, but eventually I got strong enough that he acknowledged my strength. After that, I began to explore the world one adventure at a time.
“Soon I began to make contracts and get missions. The third time I left the clan home I was gone for three years. I left at the age of 16 to complete a contract. Afterwards my contractor, The Wolf King, led me to my staff. I was on the run from people who wanted it. I did all kinds of quests and raised a lot of.. Actually I don’t know what word to use there besides the swear. I caused a lot of problems while having a blast anyways.”
“Tartarus.” Interesting parallel, I must look into that later.
“Thank you. Eventually I returned home. I had gotten immensely strong and earned quite the name for myself. My family treated me as a returning champion. I had spread our name far and for the first time since my father retired we were getting good contracts. My father was proud and admitted that he thought I was never coming home.
“After everything died down, I realized something; nothing had changed there. Those three years had been a lifetime of excitement. My home, however, was a stagnant pit that coagulated time. Soon my sister came to spar with me for old time’s sake. She had once been my equal, now every move she made was so lacking in subtlety that it was like she was screaming her attacks a minute before doing it. After two instant wins she hugged me with tears in her eyes.
“She told me that she was proud of me but that I needed to find someone to accompany me on my cliff. I was lonely with no one who could match me well enough to be worth it. There were some suitors but being around them made me feel like I was trying to court a fragile glass doll. Eventually I was forced to tell them all that I desired a partner that could protect my back, not hide behind it. My father was annoyed that I was unwilling to protect my woman. I explained it to him like this. No matter how much a bear loves a rabbit and tries to protect it as its wife, in the end it will roll over in its sleep and crush it.
“He understood, and told me to seek out women in the world who held a reputation as great as mine. I began looking, and soon I became so desperate that I even began looking amongst the women who came to kill me. I suppose it was foolish. Had I ever found such a woman, I have no idea how I would have made it through the fight without losing my life or taking hers. I began to withdraw into myself. I trained, did quests and grew stronger. Eventually my luck ran out and I died. Next thing I know, I find myself in a world where I’m only considered to be good. I found the mare of my dreams and even got her to go out on a date with me. Is it pathetic that I could tell my entire life story in the time it took to debone and eat half a fish?”
Moon Light is staring at me wide-eyed. “Most ponies’ lives wouldn’t even fit in the time it takes to take the first bone out. You were the Discord of your world? No wonder the two of you get along. Are you sure you don’t just love me because I’m the first strong mare you met?”
I think about it for a moment, “If that were the case wouldn’t I have fallen for Luna? After all she’s stronger than me, and I’ve never had to protect her. I love you for a lot of reasons and for no reason at all.”
She smiles, “I..” She looks away and I see a moment of sadness. “Tomorrow would you be willing to meet my family? I want to get it over with before I start feeling something I will regret.”
Her family. The obstacle that stands between me and the mare of my dreams. “So off to convince your family I’m somehow useful to them despite being unable to continue your family’s lineage? Sounds like fun..” I hang my head. “Is this even possible? What could make me worth it? I wish they could just pull a Eurystheus on me.”
“A what?”
“A legendary hero named Hercules wanted to marry the daughter of King Eurystheus. However, having no royal blood and no great deed worthy of the arrogant king, the king sought to be rid of the suitor. He sent Hercules off on ten impossible tasks in hope of Hercules dying. However, the legendary hero completed them all and returned for the hand of the princess. Something like that I could handle. Impressing them with words, well, talking has never been my strong suit.”
“I can atest to that. This is the most I’ve ever heard you say. Even the character you play is a man of action, not words. As for my father, I have no idea. I doubt he would even allow me to date Luna herself, unless a worthy stallion was involved in the herd.”
“So I need to do better than the demi-god who brings light to the night and has vanquished more evil than I can imagine, not to mention being the originator of the very line your father is trying to protect? Don’t you at least have a sister? Someone besides you who can pass the line?”
“No, I’m an only child. None of the mares besides my mother has had a foal. Even then, being the eldest means me passing the line is important.”
“So, long and short, we’re bucked and he’s a hypocrite?”
“I guess so,” she looks at me with tears in her eyes, “I finally found somepony worth my time. Somepony who isn’t afraid of me or too weak to try and deal with. I don’t know what I’m going to do if father tells me not to see you.”
“I’m guessing there’s a reason you can’t just tell him to shove it up his..” She sees me struggling for the word.
“Plot hole. Yes, there is. Without my father’s blessing, I could be removed from the guard. I would lose my title and status. I wouldn’t even be welcome within my family’s home grounds. Considering that’s Canterlot and the surrounding area, I would lose everything.”
“So what’s keeping me from just telling him to shove all that in his plot hole? Can’t I just tell him that if he tries it he’ll have to answer to me personally?”
“You don’t even know what you're saying do you? You're talking about taking on my entire clan. That's most of the night guard and technically Luna herself.”
“You're right, it’s not like it would make you happy if I beat the snot out of your family. I just don’t know what to do.”
“You honestly believe you would stand a chance against all of us?”
“For you, I’d take on the world. When losing isn’t an option, I have no choice but to win.”
She’s looking at me annoyed, “Arrogance. What makes you so strong that you could defeat the wings of the night.”
How to word this without sounding arrogant? “Easy. If it came down to that for some reason, then my life becomes one of two paths. Win or die. Since it doesn’t matter after I die, all I can do is believe I won’t. Besides, I’m pretty sure if it came down to it I would have Luna, Discord and a hive of changelings watching my back, whether I want them to or not.”
Her eyes soften, “It’s not a matter of how strong you are, you just think your life is worthless.”
“Nope. My life without you however, very much so.”
She looks at me with a sad silence that stretches awkwardly between us. She slips out of her seat. “Dinner was lovely, but I can’t stay. If I fall any more in love with you then losing you is going to break my heart. I’ll be around after work so we can meet my family. I hope.. I hope this manages to work out.” She bolts and I watch a tear fall from her face in slow motion. I could catch her, follow her, or track her, but I can’t bring myself to do it. She doesn’t want to see me right now and I understand.
I pay for the meal and take my leave. I get a lot of angry looks as I leave. A thestral with a white mane cuts me off as I exit the cafe.
“What did you say to her? I have a policy that anypony who hurts our noble line has to be beaten.” He glares at me.
I feel the rage rising like bile. My voice takes on the edge as shadows begin forming around me. “Want a hoof with that? It’s your stupid rules and chains that are hurting her.Just go away before I do something I’m going to regret.” I pull back the darkness. He takes me regaining control as a sign of weakness or bluffing and tries to spin and buck me. I grab his incoming hind legs and throw him against a nearby wall. He hits hard and groans. “Some idiots just don’t know when to shut the fuck up and walk away.”
I feel a paw on my shoulder. Turning I see Discord staring at me with a sad look. “Tell me this isn’t the beginning of a fall to darkness. Tell me I don’t have to fight you,” he pleads.
“No, but you need to let me go heal that idiot. What do you know about what’s going on?”
He places a claw to my head and I feel a curious sensation like my brain has a feather being trailed over it. “Oh. That can’t be right. Here.” He snaps his fingers and the thestral who got on the wrong end of my temper appears in the same position looking perfectly fine but very nauseous. The world vanishes for an instant. Suddenly I’m looking at an elaborate, elegant room. There is a massive bed and three doors. The room has an amazing mural of a wolf beneath the moon howling while sitting at Luna’s feet. It’s down in a dark almost abstract form. The artist signature says Alumx. The night I came here, I realize, captured elegantly and beautifully by the amazing artist.
I explore and find that I have a full apartment here. Two bathrooms and all the works of a good apartment. There are magical lights with switches that control the brightness and a refrigerator that seems to also be magical. I walk outside and find myself in a hallway. The plaque on the door reads ‘Sir Wolf, Lord of Shadows, Savior of the Hive’. This is my apartment in the hive. I walk back inside and pull a mason jar full of a clear fluid out of my backpack. Ah moonshine, I’m gonna have to figure out how to make you here. I knock back a gulp of the mint flavored moonshine. Then another. Then another. Then things get blurry and I wake up sideways on my bed.
Thankfully, my room has a clock in it. It’s not long before noon and I begin finding my way back to the theater above. The hive is laid out very simply and finding my way out is easy. The changelings are performing a rehearsal and I find Discord directing them.
“Collection time, bro,” I say flatly.
“Collecting what? Ah, our deal. Very well, please lay down. You aren't going to do anything stupid, are you?”
“No. Isn’t there something you can do? Couldn’t you turn me into a pony or something?”
He hesitates and looks unhappy. “It would be possible, however you would never be able to revert to your human state again. You would never be capable of magic either. Ultimately you wouldn’t exist anymore, just a weak earth pony with your memories slowly slipping into madness.”
“That was one hard core threat back there then.”
He nods, “Wolf, all I can say is back down for now. Let things end on a pleasant note with her and her family. Time will tell if she can live without you. If not, then she will tell her family to shove it and ask Luna for her protection. If she can move on easily, then perhaps this is one sided. Now onto business.”
He snaps his fingers and a mess of strings appears above my back. White ones outline my body and are wrapped in red and gold. A black string seems to have resisted the tangle and only wraps around the white one. Discord stares into the tangle, stroking his goatee thoughtfully. He begins to slowly unravel the red thread. He pulls out a tiny pair of golden scissors and begins muttering to himself. He looks down at me and I don’t like the grim look on his face.
“I’m afraid it must be done. I cannot untangle the entire thing and must cut the curses off. This is going to hurt. Then you will pass out from the pain and your nightmare will simply continue the agony. You will probably pass out from the pain again. Unfortunately time in that level of the dreamscape is different. It will hurt less but for a lot longer.” I brace myself as he reaches into the tangle with his scissors. The first cut feels like having a chunk sliced from my soul. I enter a world of absolute agony and my world goes black.
Just as he said, the agony is even worse in the dream world and as hard as I try to fight it I pass out again. I go three layers deep in the dream world before the pain lessens to merely the feeling of my bones being ground to dust in a furnace. Days pass, maybe even weeks. Eventually I stop struggling. I stop yelling. I simply lay on the grass beneath the frozen moon and endure. Eventually I awaken from my torment. Looking at the clock, a mere ten minutes have passed. I feel wonderful without the pain. The strings above me are gone and the changelings have gathered around.
I leap to my feet as the world crystallises with my movement. I feel strong yet empty at the same time.
“You used my power for it too?”
“No, I broke the limiter of time for your reserves. You can now hold as much magic as is possible for a human. It will take time to refill your reserves, however I suggest filling them the natural way. Too much power all at once before you get to know your new strength could prove problematic.”
“Awesome. Maybe soon I’ll be able to levitate things like a unicorn. I know I could just pick it up or throw it for the same effect, but telekinesis is cool. Alright everypony, how’s the play coming?” I address the crowd of changelings. Jade smiles at me.
“Everything is going wonderful. We should be perfect by the time we perform.”
“Excellent. If nopony needs me, I’ll be doing reckless things that might be mistaken for suicide attempts to the untrained eye.” I smile as I walk out to the looks from the changelings. It’s time to see if Discord made good on his promise after all of the pain.
Soon I’m out behind the theater staring out over the water. I pull my staff out of my pack and throw my leg around it. It has decent wind riding spells on it, despite not being of the appropriate type of wood. I pour my power into the spell and take off. Slowly, I rise into the air. I practice spinning slowly in place. Something goes out of control and I shoot into the air spinning madly until I get thrown off. I land in the water with a hard slap. My wards hold and I swim back to the shore to retrieve my staff and try again.
By dusk, I have mastered flying and can beat any pegasus in a race. You know, if I tie them to the ground first and don’t knock myself out on the crawl to the finish line. I have actually gotten a decent grasp of flying. I find it hard to track my magical reserves, however it feels like my rate of regeneration was only a little behind consumption.
The breeze carries Moon Light’s scent to me. I walk up to meet her. Smiling softly I ask, “How’s it going?”
“Are you honestly going to wear that?”
“No, I was going to go with formal robes or whatever you thought was good.”
“No I meant the backpack. Your clothes are fine they fit you.”
“I never go anywhere without it. Besides, wouldn’t it be a nice status symbol? I was told a bag like this would be a sign of immense wealth and power in this world, as it was in my world.”
“Actually that’s good. Best case scenario, somepony asks about it and you bond with my dad over your shared love of weapons.”
“Honestly, what would my chances be if I was a night pony?”
“Assuming you keep your personality and strange powers? 50%.”
“Ouch. Well, once again, all I can say is lead the way.”
She takes me into Canterlot in front of a normal looking house. She takes a deep breath and opens the door. I follow her and am met with the stares of four thestrals and a moonicorn. Most of the looks are curious, however one is outright hostile. He speaks, “I understand that you have come here wishing to date my daughter with intent to form a herd.”
“Indeed,” I reply.
“What kind of herd has no children? What type of family can form without foals?” He locks me in his gaze and I feel the instinct of the alpha telling me not to avert my gaze.
“One that was built on love. Adoption is always an option.”
He continues his intense stare. “Tell me about your run in with that thestral last night.”
“He’s fine. He picked a fight with me and lost. I did warn him not to, however his rage blinded him and he attacked.”
“Adoption is not having a foal. If you were to adopt, then somepony who doesn’t carry the royal blood would possess our noble title.” He presses me again. He’s trying to off balance me and it’s working to a degree. I hate contests of words. I’d rather respond to an elegant statement of why I suck by punching the wordsmith in the face.
I’m sick of this staring contest and one sided conversation. I need to take action. “So you are against adoption? What is the royal blood that makes it so valuable? Tell me, is it the values and standards that your family upholds that makes it great? Or is it the blood that runs in your veins.”
“One is meaningless without the other,” he growls back. “Without the values, the blood holds no import. Without the blood, the values hold no weight.” His gaze softens and he looks down. “If only you were an earth pony, at least. I’m sorry, but I cannot allow my only daughter to date somepony who cannot father a foal. You may continue to see her. You can be friends. However you can never date her.” He looks at me again, realizing a potential for error. “No, I cannot command you. Moon Light, apply that to yourself.”
She stares at him as the tears begin to flow. Everypony leaves the room except us. I put a hand on her mane. She shakes me off.
“You failed to meet what I need in a stallion. You're dismissed. I don’t want to see you. Please don’t make it any harder.” She darts out of the room and I hear stairs being climbed. I stare after her for a minute, then walk out the door.
Pre-chapter note: This is currently unedited. Feel free to comment or PM any errors you catch or wording changes you suggest. Velvet is still very busy and doesn’t have the free time for this. I just had to post this, someone asked all submissive and cute and invoked the ultimate power of the Fluttershy cuteness. My icy Dom heart melted and I decided to give in and give you guys what I could.
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Numbness seeps through my entire being. I walk through the streets of Canterlot not watching where I’m going. I find myself leaving the city. The woods beckon to me. I shift and run towards them. The pain starts as I shift with every step it descends on me. My soul is burning and my eyes, incable of the tears my body wants to shed, burn. Everything is burning, my entire life is a burnt husk of what I had when I awoke.
I lay down deep in the woods losing my wolf form and curling into a ball. Time passes and the moon moves through the sky. I remain under it’s light as my mind tries to handle this new form of pain. Something lands near me. My nose is plugged from the mucus and I cannot catch the scent. I don’t really care. They take off back into the air. Good, leave me alone.
Something heavier lands a few minutes later. I cannot catch the scent however I can feel her presence. Luna has come. I struggle to a sitting position and see her staring at me with compassion. She embraces me and I break down. Tears finally begin to flow as she hugs me. Time stands still for a moment. Then the moment disappears as she steps back looking uncertain.
“Wolf, what is wrong?”
I tell her everything. She looks horrified. I smile through the pain.
“Somehow I can’t tell which is worse. The echoing loneliness at the top that I’ve always known, or this new burning pain of finding out what it means to have your heart ripped out. You’ve been through both. Which hurts more do you reckon?”
“The loneliness never fades. This will heal and pass in time. How much time depends on you. Moon Light wasn’t right for you. However you will find the one who is. Remember, you have friends now should you ever need to talk. I will be there for you and so will Discord, in his own way. You have more friends than that and can make many more.”
I stand and hug her. Somehow I feel like she’s put me back together. I’m still sad and in pain, but I don’t feel broken. “I need to sleep. I’m going to go to my room. Thanks, Luna. I’m going to be all right now. Eventually.” I begin to wander the wood back and Luna stays by my side. “I don’t feel like keeping you bound to the ground.” She starts to object but sees she misunderstands when I pull out my staff and rise into the air. She flies next to me as I soar back to my home. I’m a little reckless and push the speed way too far landing in a heap in front of the theater. I was almost as fast as pegasus for a moment there.
Luna looks concerned as I rise to my feet, watching the scrapes on my arms knit together. “Hey, I’m doing good for my first day flying. This is progress.” I pause and hug her again. “See you later, and thanks.” I head inside and trek down to my room flopping on the bed. I lay there for a moment before a knock sounds on my door. It’s quiet, almost hesitant. Opening my door reveals Jade.
“If you need somepony to talk to, or just to sit there keeping you company, I’m here for you.” She looks worried.
“How do you know?” I ask her.
“Changelings are sensitive to the emotions of others. Me more so than others. Do you wish to be alone?”
I pause. Alone is a terrible thing. I don’t want to deal with both pains at once. I step back. “Yeah, I could use a friend right about now.” I retreat to my bedroom and lay back on my bed. She hesitates then jumps next to me. We lay next to each other in silence. Knowing I don’t ever need to be alone again, that I have friends, rids me of the dull ache. The sharp pain is still there. I tell Jade everything.
My entire story. My world, the loneliness at the top, the power I possessed and fear it inspired, coming to this world. The many people who’ve died by my hands. Being an outcast and a criminal because I did what my heart tells me is right. How out of place and absolutely at home I feel in this strange world. I tell her about Moon Light and everything that happened. She asks some questions but mostly lays next to me quietly. After everything is said we sit in silence again. I feel myself drifting to sleep and she begins to leave.
“Wait, I know you're probably going to say no, but would you stay? I’ll sleep on the floor if you want just as long as you're here.”
She smiles softly. “Alright, Wolf. Let me tuck you in first though. I don’t feel safe sleeping next to somepony who has half the royal armory worth of weapons on his back.”
She’s right. I’m still wearing my backpack and gear. She eases me out of it and pulls off my hoodie and shirt. I stop her as she tries to take my jeans off and explain the clothes thing. She blushes and I laugh. She pulls the covers over us and runs a hoof through my hair gently. With her petting me, it calms me down and feel content for a moment. Sleep claims me and I drift the realms of a blank dreamscape.
I awake to something shifting in my arms. I’ve latched on to Jade in my sleep and she’s trying to escape. I release her and open my eyes. She has an embarrassed smile. “Sorry Jade.”
“For what?” She asks.
“Last night, dumping everything on you. Along with awkwardly attaching myself to you.”
“It’s fine, that’s what friends are for. I was latched to you too by the way. I just have to go work on my role. Juliet takes a lot of practice to master and I wish to do it stunningly. See you later, perhaps you’ll come up and practice your lines with us. We still need to get you your costume by the way, I hope Discord can help.”
I roll out of bed and hug her. “Alright, I’ll come up. Thank you.” She blushes again and leaves the room. Briefly I’m struck by her exotic beauty before she leaves. Perhaps I should act like the stallions of this world. They don’t date seriously until they want to settle down and start a family. Perhaps I can just find my happiness in being friends but so much more with the beautiful interesting mares I meet. I still have a good 50 years of my prime left after all, mages live a long time. Or do I? My gifts both extend life, did Discord cut the limiter that prevents them from extending it too much? Not to mention the ambient power in the air and the different physics of this world.
I get showered and dressed pushing the thoughts about my lifespan out of my head and head upstairs taking the director's seat. The play is different and some things have been cut or changed. The bite my thumb scene has become a stick my tongue out scene. I find it to be a bit ridiculous however they manage to keep the feeling alive in this retelling. The montagues are pegasi and the capulets unicorns. It makes the fight scenes a bit unusual because the pegasi are unable to use magic so they wield fake swords in their mouths.
Soon the first of my parts comes up and I leap to the stage shifting into a wolf. Discord has arrived by now and snaps his fingers as I’m landing. I look at myself and discover that I’m a unicorn. I feel like I’m wearing a bulky ill fitting costume. I find a mirror and discover that I very much look the part of tybalt. The curtain lifts again and I perform my parts perfectly wielding a shadow blade to imitate a unicorns telekinesis. The day wears on and soon we have completed the play. It has been a long time since I played this role, but I am a great actor. It is a necessary skill to survive my world.
As I walk of the stage at the end I’m happy to feel the weight of the strange illusion lifted. It’s noon ish and I watch Jade as she's walking towards the hive. I smile as a small idea comes to mind and I dart after her.
“You know you don’t have to spend all day in the hive right? You can explore Canterlot with me. Seeing you around town beforehand might decrease the negatives of you being here. At the very least it will be entertaining.”
“Watching ponies laugh at or confront me is entertaining to you?” She looks offended and shocked.
“On the contrary, seeing a changeling in my company and watching the rumors spread is entertaining. Trust me I know how these socialites think. Somepony in my company besides Moon Light is far too much gossip fuel to think about you like that. Besides if somepony does confront you or does anything else to you, well lets leave it at I must uphold the honor of the one I’m escorting and that can be fun too.”
“Did you get over Moon Light so easily? Or am I misunderstanding you again?”
I laugh, it’s short and slightly bitter. I don’t want to think about her. “I knew her for a short time. I’m just gonna think of it as having been turned down by somepony I had a crush on. It still hurts, but time tells no lies.”
She smiles warmly. “What kind of a fool would turn you down. You're a hero. I’d love to see Canterlot with you.”
She turns into the thestral form she had when she first came. “Nope.” I say.
“No to what?”
“I’m escorting Princess Jade today. Not a mirage. I want to be with the real you.”
She stares at me. “So does that mean that the wolf form is the real you?”
I think about it as I shift back to human. “Perhaps. I can become a wolf because I am a wolf on the astral plane, however this is the astral plane. However this is my true self.” We leave the theater as Jade shifts back to her natural state. The guards stop us at the gate.
“I was informed that the changeling were staying in the theater and not coming into the city.” The one on the left says. I remark again how hard it is to tell the guards apart. He smells of cinnamon and I don’t think I know him. He seems unwilling to meet my eyes. Did somepony warn them about my gaze?
“You were informed wrong, and right at the same time. They prefer not to come into the city, however I asked Princess Jade to come with me so I could show her around.”
“I need to find out if I’m supposed to keep you out.” He looks apologetic and I don’t feel like waiting for this stupidity.
“Well, tell you what. You can try and stop me and if you succeed I’ll just have Discord teleport me in. How’s that sound? Don’t worry so much, if you get in trouble just tell them I have a message for them. If you can stop me without Luna having to save you from nightmares about me for the rest of your natural life, please come try.” I glare down on him letting the pressure of the Predator’s Gaze drill into him as he meets my eyes in surprise.
He gulps as the pleasure hits him and nods. “Please don’t hurt me, however I have to ask that you refer to her as Princess Luna.”
I let me voice drop to a quiet sharp tone. “Do you guards believe yourselves to be better than Luna?”
“No Sir.” He whimpers a little at the perceived disrespect.
My voice warms and I reply jovially as I stride past them, pushing the little pegasus out of my way. “Good, then stop trying to contradict her. She wants me to call her Luna. Titles don’t stand during friendship. Besides, you didn’t call me Sir Wolf, now did you?”
Jade giggles as the guards move to stop her and shrink away beneath my gaze. We explore the city and I hear the whispers.
“Isn’t that a changeling! Actually more importantly. Is Wolf on a date with a changeling?”
“Isn’t Wolf with Moon Light right now? Do you think they had a break up?”
“Wolf is the reason the changelings are even welcome in our fair city. They feed on love you know. Perhaps he’s taking care of her so she has to take care of him.” This voice has a mild lecherous tone at the end and I can’t help but chuckle a little.
We have caused a bit of buzz and more than once I hear mentions of going to the theater. A well dressed grey stallion approaches us. He looks at both of us uncertainly.
“Tell me, the two of you have caused quite the buzz on your tour of the city. Is this more than just a member of royalty being escorted by a guard?” He addresses Jade.
“Indeed, he is a close friend who is letting me see this fabulous city without fear of attack. We worry that if we try and visit the city we will be accosted by ruffians who condemn our entire race for the actions of a single one of us.” She replies.
“I think the fear is groundless. Imagine judging everypony based on the actions of Nightmare Moon. I highly doubt that the nobles of this city are so uncouth.” I state offhandedly.
He seems to recoil at my statement and the use of the name Nightmare Moon. He seems quite interested as he asks. “I see. You are correct, such racism is not fostered within the noble houses of Canterlot. I assure you. We who are better ponies will see to it that anypony who is racist against your people is treated as the uncouth ruffian they are.
“I am Filthy Rich, A business stallion. I have come from a charming town called Ponyville in response to a rumor that somepony capable of forging enchanted items has appeared. Tell me Wolf, are you currently unemployed?”
“Actually I own a theater and have been employed by the crown as a knight. I have debated on a side job using one of my various uses of my talents, or in some cases ponies lack of. I suspect my calling will appear at some point but until then I’ll simply spend my time aimlessly doing whatever. Well also despite being employed as a lunar knight, they haven't really given me an assignment yet. So it’s unknown how much free time I will have later. I do know that whatever I chose to do will not be in the employ of some noble.” I say slightly bored by this pony. I have no interest in working for somepony else.
“I see, besides knowing a lot about glyphs, what are you other talents? Ah we shall continue this later.” I turn where he’s looking and a slightly angry looking Celestia is striding up to me. He trots off and Celestia reaches me.
“I would like to apologise for any problems you have had today, Princess Jade. My guards took me saying that unfortunately your hive will probably not be joining us in the city to mean that they should keep you out. I am glad Sir Wolf handled it, however inelegantly he did so...”
She turns to address me “There will be a group from Ponyville coming today. My personal protege, her five friends and a few ponies who are highly interested in meeting you. Be at the castle by the time I lower the sun. Be warned though. Your statement this morning ruffled a few feathers in the higher ranks of the guard. They seem to think of that as a challenge.”
“Excellent, I look forward to a little rumble with a nice opponent. I won’t hurt em I promise.”
She looks amused at my response but her face darkens. I feel a talk about my love life coming on. I try and think of something to say to divert it, but cannot think of what to say. “Luna told me about Moon Light. I must say I am disappointed in her family, however I must admit I can understand. How are you now?”
“I am alive, from that I can always move forward. Tell Luna she was right. Tell her Wolf says she can always visit me when she feels lonely.”
Her eyes narrow. “What is there between my sister and you?”
“She is a kindred soul. She knows the pain of living at the top and losing love far better than I do. She’s a good friend.”
“I see, I feel I must warn you however. Should you see fit to become more than friends with Luna I will not stop you. Should you do so in a way that hurts her then I will send you to the sun to burn for eternity.” She smiles but I see a hardness in her eyes that lets me know she isn’t joking.
“Has this happened before?”
“You will have company in the sun.”
“You know you’re terrifying right?”
She smirks and walks off with me staring after her. Jade smirks at me. “Did Princess Celestia just scare you away from an doing exactly what she expects?” Jade asks.
“No, I’m not that kind. I would tell a mare how I really feel about her. I would never pretend to be in love with somepony who I wasn’t in love with. Besides, I hadn’t thought about Luna like that. Well, much at least.”
“So how do you really feel about me?” Her face is a mask. She doesn’t know the gamblers rule about showing nothing is still showing something.
“You're beautiful. To be honest it was hard not to kiss you this morning when I saw you blushing. Beyond that, I don’t know.”
She looks relieved. “You really are honest. I’m glad, I can’t date for the same reason as she couldn’t, only instead of some stupid title I must hold the weight of my species. I can have a lover, so long as they are willing to accept not being anything more than good friends.” She gives me a smile that’s almost apologetic.
We continue our journey through Canterlot. Unfortunately it holds only just so much entertainment and we head out for a walk in the woods until dusk. The guards apologise as we go past them and I nod. We walk and talk about the play, the future of changelings and the past of them. She tells me about the queen who ruined the lives of all the changelings. I knew there was a small war but this is beyond what I had expected. Apparently the delegation from Ponyville is the wielders of a powerful weapon and changeling queens are capable of mind control spells. Thinking about it I realise that in the right circumstance Jade is actually on par with Luna and within 200 years might be able to stand even with Celestia. This mare is a lot more scary then she lets on.
Time passes as we talk, joke and laugh. Soon it becomes time to head back.
“Come on, let's get back to the castle. I’ll race you.” Jade says poking me in the side with a hoof.
“No fair, you can fly.”
She shifts into the form of a large earth pony mare. What she lost in wings she made up with her size. She grins and takes off. I grin and leap forward shifting into a wolf. She’s a lot faster then I thought and I’m slowly losing ground. We burst out of the woods and turn towards the castle. I love running full out after her like this. The wind in my coat and the burning in my body. The feeling of chasing her down gives me a strange feeling of lust and hunger. Some primal instinct that has been buried with my lack of lovers. I contemplate doing this with her some time with different rules. It could be a lot of-
Suddenly a yellow blur stops in front of me and locks eyes. I feel myself freeze in her glare. My mind begins fragmenting and I turn my own predator's gaze on. It’s like hiding behind a kite shield from an unending stream of dragon fire. I hear distant voices and shouting. Her gaze goes from a death glare to a sad look and the world comes into focus. I collapse on the ground feeling like I was ran over.
“What did you do to him? It’s just a race! What’s wrong with you ponies?” I hear Jade yell.
“I’m sorry… Um… I thought you were in danger… I’m sorry.” A soft shy voice replies and I feel a hoof scratching my ears. I open my eyes and stare into the eyes of the yellow pegasus. I flinch from her gaze terrified she’s about to release death again.
“It’s ok puppy. I won’t hurt you. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?” Her voice is sad and quiet and I can’t let her be sad. She’s too cute to be sad.
“It’s ok it was an accident I guess. Don’t be sad.” I say turning back to meet her gaze with a small smile. There are a lot of ponies around us.
Her entire personality seems to change. “Ohmygosh you can talk. That's so incredible! I can usually understand animals but you can actually talk!” She manages to pack excitement into her quiet voice somehow and I feel a moment of chagrin.
I smirk at Jade. “Theres more to the both of us than meets the eye.” Catching my cue we both shift forms. Everyponies stares at us in shock and I see a lot of hidden mistrust. Or in the case of the technicolor one, not so very hidden. I clear my throat. “I am Sir Wolf and this is Princess Jade, keeper of the Canterlot hive and a good friend. I am sorry for giving all of you a scare with our race. If you will excuse us we are late to meet a delegation from Ponyville back at the castle.” I start to leave with Jade however I hear a voice behind me.
“Don’t worry their late too. Somepony decided to ignore me and go save somepony from a wolf attack, despite us being warned by Celestia herself that the only wolf in the area is a friend.” The speaker is a lavender alicorn who sounds very passive aggressive and annoyed. Strange she has a normal mane and only one heart. Perhaps there are more than one type of alicorn. The yellow pegasus looks away and apologises again. “I am Twilight Sparkle. These are my friends. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack.” They all greet me when ther name is said. “The rest of us stayed behind when we ran after Fluttershy. I can see why Lyra was called but I can’t think how it was a good idea.”
“Why’s that? She afraid of wolves?” I ask as we head back towards the castle.
“Opposite actually. She’s obsessed with- I mean she is a leading expert in anthropology in general and the supposedly extinct creatures called humans in particular. She’s going to pester you with a thousand questions and want to examine you.”
I laugh at this. “She wants to examine me? Is she cute at least?”
Everypony but the two unicorns laugh. Rarity says “So, you're a ruffian. I suppose I shouldn’t expect any better from a wild creature. I had thought you were civilized from your fashion sense, however you've proven me wrong.” She seems to have taken an instant dislike to me. She is beautiful and I decide to try and fix that.
“Tell me fair Rarity. If you got sent to an entirely new world where being a talking pony who could do magic made you completely unique, my world perhaps. Would you prefer the ones who were obsessed with you and pestering you with questions at least be cute when they do it?”
“That is neither here nor there.”
“Oh but it is. You think me a ruffian and I will have you know that I am quite the gentlemen. I was called the prince of the night in my old world. Go ahead and laugh at that. When I met Luna we actually shared quite the chuckle about my old titles.” I pause examining her. Her eyes glow at the word prince and then seems disappointed. I shift my voice to a softer tone. “Your pretty interesting Rarity.”
She glares at me. “And what do you mean by that?”
My voice is pushing poetic and I keep a soft almost sad smile on my face as I look down at her. “You're like a geode. I can sense a good heart in you beneath your overly judgemental and rough exterior. Hopefully I can improve your opinion of me and get to meet the real you and see the beautiful gems of your soul. I can only ask that you offer me patience with our cultural differences.”
She looks surprised and doesn’t say anything for a while. I turn away and proceed when I see a small blush begin to form. I feel a small sense of satisfaction until I hear her whispering behind me. “Am I turning into Blueblood?” I round on her in anger with my words dripping venom at the thought of that stupid stallion.
“Never compare yourself to that annoying little piece of…” I clear my throat. “I mean no, you're nothing like him Rarity. You just had a bad first impression of me. It’s nothing major that can’t be fixed by actually getting to know each other.”
She smiles her first genuine smile and I grin inwardly at the small victory. “I see you met the prince.”
I nod and we are approached by two large stallions of the guard. Captains from the look of their insignias. “Wolf, we are here to discover the truth of what you said this morning.”
I get a wicked grin, time to have some fun. I even have a nice audience. “Finally, Celestia told me to expect some sparring partners! It’s been far too long since I had a good rumble, almost an entire three days! So one at a time or both together?”
The two large unicorns look at each other and nod. “Excuse me, pretty mares, but I’m gonna have some fun with some ponies who think that Luna’s champion is gonna lose to Celestia’s champions.” I dart away from the group and round on the two unicorns. “This is just sparring but try not to hold back too much. Magic is fine and I encourage you to work together. One more thing try not to wet yourself if the lights go out.” I pull my staff from its slot and prepare for a fight. The mares watch with wide eyes and Dash looks between us.
“Who should I cheer for?” She calls.
“Whoever’s cutest I suppose. I don’t need cheering, I’m awesome enough without it.” I reply with a grin.
“Go Wolf! I just remembered I don’t even know their names!” She watches intently as we prepare for a match.
The guards keep range and fire bolts of magic at me. I try a basic counter and am not disappointed to discover I can’t stop them. Unicorn magic is much higher density than human magic resulting in a much higher cost for all magic, but the spells they cast are infinitely more stable and incredibly harder to interfere with. This leaves me with no magic counters or defense forcing me to dodge them. This is a pretty nice balance. They have a lot of punch and prowess but lack my training and reflexes. It’s almost like they’ve trained for years but have somehow never seen combat with someone who wants to actually hurt them. As long as I can keep them together it will be an easy win. I charge straight at them prepared to dodge and counter. The horns glow and they both disappear.
I roll to the side and find them at a 45 degree angle of where I was. Time for some fun. I plant my staff into the ground and boost at the one one my right landing on the opposite side as his ally with a swing that catches him in the ribs. He goes down groaning. “PAUSE!.” I shout and the other stallion freezes in place looking worried as I set my hands on his partners side. Pony anatomy is different however I have done some studying for healing them. My power flows and the rib snaps into place as the damages heals.
“See an actual healer, I can mend alright but not as well as a good unicorn can. Alright need a hand up?” I hold out my hand he has a look of chagrin as he takes it and I haul him to his hooves.
“Sorry, your on your own. I’m out of the match. I’ll be watching, kick his flank Iron.” He walks off and calls “Resume.”
I stare into the other soldiers eyes. He has a look of grim determination. I know how dangerous this part of a sparring match can be. He’s treating me as a greater threat than I am. I stick my staff into my pack and shift into a wolf. He shouts when I summon a globe of darkness around his head. He cocks his head listening hoping to hear me coming. I see him systematically lashing out with his spear, keeping it on a random, yet focused pattern. His partner puts a hoof over his mouth trying to keep from breaking the rules and telling him I’m near him as I silently dodge the swings watching to see his opening. Just as he counters the darkness with a spell he drops his guard in relief and I dart forward before his eyes adjust to the light, setting my jaws around his throat as he shivers and freezes.
“Complete silence and you can make the world dark. You really are Luna’s champion.” He says with an interesting look on his face. I bump his flank with mine laughing at the stuttering and walk off back to the ponies from Ponyville. The rest of the ponies have shown up. Shifting back to my human form Twilight attacks me with questions before Lyra can get a word out.
“What other kinds of magic can you do? Can you use unicorn spells? Can unicorns use human spells? Can all humans use magic or are there different races based on the animals you can turn into? Actually is the animal form a spell or a human ability? What’s your world like?” Twilight explodes into questions. Her eyes are focused and her wings are lifted in excitement. She looks so curious it’s adorable.
“See it’s great when the one spamming you with questions is cute. Twilight I had a problem following that but we can talk basics for now.” I explain about my world and how magic functions. Twilight listens to the explanation while taking notes with magic. She seems particularly interested in the effects of density on magic and asks me to visit her for tests and more conversation, proceeding to try tempting me with offers of tea and highly effective puppy dog eyes. We reach the castle all too soon.
“Alright, we need to talk with the princess. This isn’t over.”
“Want to resume this conversation over lunch? I’m already hungry and food is a great way to get to know everypony.” I ask her.
Lyra looks at me with an intense stare. At first I think she’s staring at my crotch but when I move to sweep my hair back her eyes move with my hands. “Are you inviting all of us?” She asks.
“Of course, it’ll be my treat.” Everypony smiles at me and Dash gives me a grin.
“You're about to learn that you never offer to treat Pinkie to food, or Applejack for that matter. Or me for that matter.” She laughs.
“I hope you're just talking about the bits involved.” I mutter as Celestia and Luna enter the room. I nod and the group of ponies bow.
“Greetings, Twilight and everypony else. I have asked you here to meet a friend of mine. This is Sir Wolf, a human. I want all of you to get to know each other. As the first of the knights I expect him to get to know the ones he’s expected to lay his life for.” Celestia calmly addresses us.
“Mind if we do it over lunch? I already said I wanted to treat them and food is the greatest way to bring people together. A wise man once said that a truly great chef could prevent all wars, if only he could make all the world leaders sit together.” I ask her.
“Certainly, however we were hoping to speak with you first in private. There are some things that need to be discussed.” The others tell me they’ll wait and I’m left alone with the two princesses.
“Wolf, I want to know about the books that you put in your backpack. I knew it. No blush, either you're made of stone or Luna was wrong about all the books being perverted. Theres the blush.”
She right, I feel the heat rising to my face. “I didn’t lie. The books contain knowledge that could end this world.”
“Show me.” Celestia commands. I really don't want to but I reach into my pack and start with the least damaging one. It’s a book containing the principles of necromancy. I have always sucked at it and found it distasteful, however knowing how to tie a knot makes escaping a noose easier. It does have its place in combat as well, basic necromancy can be very useful. Celestia’s face grows concerned as she studies a little of it.
“Bear in mind, this is the least of it. I wanted you to understand that this is safe for anypony to read compared to the others. They are not all magic, some are technology that anypony could wield. One is a guidebook to conquering the world. In my world it was highly effective, a perfect crystallization of all the greatest arts of war. Here it would be devastating. You don’t have the history or brutality of humanity to defeat it. This is a book on how the evilest of an inherently evil race can rule.”
Luna and Celestia lock eyes on me with apprehension. “We still wish to see, for that very reason. Why did you not burn these along with the others? Was the book I found the only one of a sexual nature and the ones you burnt terrors beyond all I could imagine?”
I look away embarrassed. “Actually I burnt all of the ones of a sexual nature. I kept these because it felt wrong to throw them away. All the times they’ve saved my life I felt I owed them this much.”
Luna looks understanding however Celestia looks a little scared.
“You have the knowledge of how to conquer the world? You use necromancy and can build world ending technology?”
“The Art of Modern War is standard reading for any battle mage in my world. I detest necromancy however I am proficient in it. As for the technology part, I have fond memories of building an enchanted mini nuke with my dad. We used it to blow a hole in an enemy clans bunker. It was great, the explosion could be seen from a mile away. The enchantment was so that it converted radiation into lightning. Safe for the environment and a perfect way to make sure nothing escaped.” I sigh lost in the happy memories before the realization of who I just said what to snaps me out of it.
Now they are both looking at me horror struck. Celestia presses the issue her voice slightly halting. “Let's say for a minute that the zebras decided to attack Equestria. How would you use this knowledge to assist Equestria if I gave you orders to do anything in your power to end the war with minimal loss of pony life?”
“Do I get Discord?”
She hesitates. “Only as a backup for power. No one can know he was involved.”
“Long story short or all the details?”
“Quit stalling. Details.” She is looking annoyed at my attempts to dodge. I shrug and let her have the disturbing truth.
“I would take a group of elite stealth mages into their homelands via a magic version of a submarine. Once past their outer lines I would employ the wandering guerrilla tactic as we make a bloody line to the main city of the zebras. Once there I have Discord give me a lot of power and materials and drop a massive spirit bomb on the city. I make a statement to the zebras to back off or I continue. They will have lost any sense of hope for battle and will surrender.”
Luna and Celestia look sick. I finish “but that is simply how to use the knowledge in these books. Not what I would enjoy doing or wish to be ordered to do. If I could do anything I wanted then I would go against the textbooks methods and simply capture the leaders of the zebras. A surgical strike leaving as little destruction behind us as possible.”
They look at me there faces turning to shock at this. “How?” Luna asks.
I cock my head to the side. “Master assassin remember? It wouldn’t be the first time I captured a king. Actually it would be a bit harder because I kind of stand out, but since I get Discord he could arrange a disguise.”
“Alright, Wolf. I’m still not sure wether your a good pony or an evil one. However I trust you to do what you think is right, so in your own twisted way that makes you good. My sister and I request that you surrender these books to us. This knowledge cannot be allowed to exist outside of the deepest and darkest pits of the royal library. That war book however I might be inclined to destroy.” Luna’s voice is louder and commanding.
I nod and silently hand all the books over to her. She dismisses me and I go off to make some new friends. I hadn’t learned much about them yet and don’t even have their names down. I find them outside on the steps of the castle waiting for me.
“Wolf you look troubled.” Twilight is as observant as ever. “Is something wrong? Has something happened?”
I think about it. “I just handed the princesses books containing ancient and powerful knowledge from my home world. I know I can and must trust them, however I’m not sure if I did the right thing.”
“You can trust them. They would never do anything evil with it.”
“Someday you should have the tale of Nightmare Moon recounted to you by your teacher. Even the wisest and purest of us can fail.”
“That’s different, we saved Luna from the Nightmare. She good again.”
“That was you? Wow I hadn’t an idea that was such recent history. Now where were we?”
Twilight reminds me checking her notes and I continue to bring her up to speed on everything about my world and life. We find a nice restaurant and I manage to find something on the menu that looks edible. After we are done with my story I decide it’s time to get to know everypony better and answer somepony besides Twilight’s questions.
“Okay, mares. Let's play round robin. Basicly one at a time clockwise around the table introduce yourself and ask a few questions. First is you.” I point at the mare next to Twilight.
“My name is Pinkie Pie and I love to party! Did somepony throw you a welcome to Equestria party? It’s like when a foal is born so it’s a big thing! Oh when is your birthday? Do you like cupcakes?” She is pink with a cotton candy mane that seems to be even pinker. She smells like cupcakes and something almost like a rock when you hit it with steel. She is bubbling with energy and explodes the question in a blur. Briefly I wonder if this world has cocaine or if she’s actually like this. She seems to be incredibly healthy her muscles well developed and her eyes hold nothing but real happiness. Nope, if anything she’s on a sugar high.
“Um… I like parties too. Nopony threw me any parties at all here, unless you count my little party of one when Moon Light dumped me as counting.” Everypony shivers and looks at Pinkie funny at the phrase “party of one”. I’ll have to figure that one out later. “My birthday is August 18 in my home world however I don’t know if that’s right here. I happen to love cupcakes or anything else involving sugar really.”
Twilight perks up. “We don’t have an August, here have a calendar.” I look through it and receive a shock. There are 55 days in each of the 4 months. They are all just named after the seasons. It clicks… how old am I? I borrow some paper and a quill from Twilight. I’m 8138 days old. Dividing that by the new days in the years 220 I am 36 years old and will live about 331 years give or take a hundred. Shocking. My birthday is now in winter and I say screw that noise and decide on summer 22nd. “Now how long does the average pony live?” I ask. 150 is the reply. This is horrifying.
“I swear this world won't stop messing with my head. Not even time or years is right. I’m not sure whether to stick with my human age or what. I’m just gonna forget that math ever happened. Twilight heres your paper and quill. I’m 22 and my birthday is summer 18th. All I’m saying. Next mare please.”
“HOLD IT!” Pinkie screams I look back to her. “My tails a twitchen. You don’t trust me for some reason.”
I look back to her part amused part ashamed. “Sorry, but it’s a little thing of mine not to trust pink things. Pink is the color that the eye sees when the color is beyond its spectrum of comprehensible color. Also pink has an effect of humans and looking at it reduces our combat abilities. Pink has been employed as a weapon before and I’m used to an abundance of pink meaning a trap. I’ll deal with my psychosis later. For now sorry about having a reaction to you like that. I had hoped to hide it and deal with it later but apparently you're psychic. Can I go to the next one please? The pretty rainbowy one is looking annoyed.”
“My name is Rainbow Dash! I’m the fastest flyer in all of Equestria. What makes you so great that you are a lunar knight anyways?” She is cyan with a mane and tail that holds all the colors of a rainbow. She has a lot of corded muscles and I don’t doubt her claims to be the fastest. She does come across as tomboyish and somehow dangerous and is still shooting Jade occasional glares.
“Well. Power, skill and swag mostly. Also the whole lunar knight thing is basically a way to keep me chained to the royalty. I am technically speaking a creature of neutrality. However maintaining neutrality in this world means protecting the ponies. From what besides monsters I don’t know yet but meh.”
“So basicly your not awesome. How can you be a knight if you're not even well muscled and one of those who always wear clothes?” She challenges me.
I set my backpack on the ground and pull off my shirt and hoodie revealing my scarred and muscled chest. “My culture it is considered obscene not to wear clothing. Men must always cover their nether regions and women there chest and nether regions. I’m more comfortable with nudity on account of how long it took me to learn to shift my cloths along with my body when turning into a wolf. Also I am a creature of the night I sunburn easily.”
“Whats a sunburn?” Dash is staring at the scars and her question sounds distracted. A grin forms as I notice most of the mares seem to be drawn to look.
“You know, when you’ve been under the sun too much and your skin starts burning.”
Twilight looks outraged. “Celestia would never let her sun hurt somepony!” Interesting you lose some but also you win some I guess. I stash my hoodie and shirt in my pack. Lets see if I do get burnt, it would be funny to mess with Celestia later if I do and epic if I don’t.
I continue to Dash addressing the question she doesn’t seem to want to ask. “Dash the scars are from a countless number of fights. I am very experienced in combat.”
Her eyes lock on mine as a wicked grin spreads on her face. What have I done? “Oh I’m gonna have to see that for myself. You and me later. No magic and no flying, just pure martial arts. Actually do your people even have martial arts?”
“Dash I come from a race of constantly warring and power obsessed monsters. What do you think? We have thousands of arts I myself was trained to an adept level in two of them. I reached a mastery in the other two.”
She looks shocked. “You learned four styles and two to a master level? HAH that’s a good one. Your styles must suck if you can master it at such a young age. We are so on for a brawl later.”
“Sure, we’ll just have to decide on stakes later. I’ve been training for what amounts to 32 years in this world just for reference. Next is you, Rarity.”
“I am Rarity. I am a fashionista and love anything to do with fashion and things that are fabulous. Your species believes clothes are a need to wear item correct? Are you able to account to me all the various fashions to me?”
“Not even close. I know basics like I like jeans and black is the only color that looks good on me.”
“Nonsense black isn't even a color it’s a shade.” She starts floating fabrics up next to me eagerly at first and increasingly frustratedly. Finally she states in an overly dramatic voice. “You are a living crime against fashion! I know you can’t help it dear, however I simply must find something that suits you. Always wearing the same color, black of all things must be absolutely dreary! Ah I’ve just the thing! A black base and use matching colors to blend inwards so that the black is at least broken up a bit. Perhaps some form of design into it?”
I reach into my pack and pull out a favorite t shirt of mine and pull it on to show her. It has an epic flaming skull with fangs and blood decal on it and the back has black archangel wings on it. Everypony gasps in horror and it sinks in. This is not an appropriate for this world. I clear my throat. “This is human fashion in a nutshell Rarity. How’s it look?” I try and sound disgusted as I remove it and throw it back into my pack.
“I take it back. Coming from a world where that thing is fashion, you are a model of society and grace. You really are a gentlecolt. I’m finished I need to design!” She begins drawing and glancing at me. A fabric measure floats from somewhere and begins measuring me, much to my discomfort. I growl and resist the urge to obliterate it when it measures my neck. You simply don’t just wrap something around someones neck like that.
The next one who has an orange mane and a cowgirl hat. I doubt that's the proper word here. She has a mild bored expression and despite being polite I can tell this isn’t her cup of cider. Her southern accent is reminiscent of back in my world. “Meh name is Applejack. Ah’m a farm pony and my family owns the apple orchard back home in Ponyville. It’s called Sweet Apple Acres.”
“I love apples! I hope they're the same between worlds. Wait, how do you pick them?”
She smiles warmly but looks a little confused. “Well after we get the apples out of the tree we just check em for quality. Not much choosing involved in apples really.”
This one has my mind stuttering for a moment. “I er.. how harvest apples?”
“We applebuck. Basicly we give the trees a good buck and the apples fall out.”
Mental state has gone critical. Attempting to defuse the bomb. “I see, you must have to kick them a lot to get all the apples. Why not have a unicorn levitate em out?”
“No they all come down in a good kick, unicorns are too slow. Farming is best done the earth pony way. You ok Wolf?” My mind has fragmented again. This world is just straight up weird.
“I must see this. This is weirder than the whole weather thing. Actually this entire world is weird. At least it has apples.”
Everypony is staring at me at this point.I clear my throat and shake my head. “So Applejack, did you have a question for me?”
“How does weather work in your world that it’s weird here? Better yet how do you harvest apples?”
“We climb the trees or use a ladder and grab the apples. Humans are really good at climbing with training and these help with a lot of things.” I hold up my hands and wiggle them, Lyra gives a small sound that’s a cross between a squeak and a squeal. It sounds like ‘squee’.
“I want to see that myself. Tell you what come on down to Sweet Apple and we can show off our farming methods. I’m interested in how your human magic helps in farming.”
“Actually, I’m considered weird for liking to grow things by people who aren't in my family. Mages usually consider manual labor beneath them but my clan is connected to the earth. Actually come to think of it. My clan’s powers are usually based around things like enhancing the body, something with animals or plants.”
“So yer clan is the earth pony version of humans?” Applejack has lost her mildly bored expression.
“I guess, however we are still mages. Most humans don’t even know magic exists outside of stories and imaginations. Tell me do you have apple cider in this world? It must be invented if it doesn’t already exist! I will accept a world where stallions are supposed to be submissive to mares. I won’t follow it but that’s not the point. I won’t however accept a world without apple cider, maple syrup or night time.” I am vehement there must be cider! I will invent if I must!
Applejack has a intent smile finally. “Relax, sugarcube. We have cider here, my family actually makes the best apple cider in all of Equestria! So are mares supposed to be submissive in your world?”
“Depends on where really. Women range from being treated as little more than property to being in charge of everything. What matters is the fact that I never submit. I know this might sound dirty to your culture so I am apologizing in advance. I’m an alpha, a leader. I accept a mare as an equal but love mares to have a submissive side.”
Everypony looks at me like I’m announcing I’m a full on into bdsm. I am, but I didn’t say that. I wonder how they would react to some of my deeper fetishes and fantasies? I expected as much from a world where stallions are expected to be the rock that the mares anchor to. The stallions are not treated bad, far from it they are lavished with love and attention. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both have a wicked grin.
“You think a stallion could keep from submitting to me? I know you're big and strong but I could take you. Stallions are good at tasks of strength but mares are better at fighting.” Applejack is actively provoking me and her tail keeps swishing. Her words would be angering if I couldn’t here the light playfulness in her tone and the grin stretching across her face.
“After lunch, Applejack, I’m gonna have to make you eat those words.” A big raised eyebrow across the table. Jade loses the regal air she has been trying to keep up and giggles. “Let me guess, that sounded like some kind of innuendo?” A big confirming nod from the group. “Not what I intended but might as well let it go for one. It’s a human expression, I think it comes from the phrase choking on your pride. Let’s hope that one doesn’t have a different mean… Dang it, I give up. You ponies are all perverts, I’ve already established this. Okay, what’s your name, Mistress of the Predator's Gaze?”
The yellow pegasus looks shocked to be on the spot and quietly says. “My name is Fluttershy.” It’s almost hard to hear and I’m not sure if I was even supposed to hear it. I can’t help but be struck by how cute she is again. I kind of want her to be mine. A beautiful but secretly powerful pegasus with a naturally submis-OH SHIT!
I choke on my words a little as I sputter them out. “DId you say Fluttershy?! As in Discord’s Fluttershy?!” I feel a paw on my back and turn to the god standing behind me. “I totally wasn’t checking her out or anything.”
He does not look amused by me. For a moment he looks angry but he relaxes and smiles. “Indeed this is the special pony I spoke of. I see you’ve met my friends. How are you finding them?”
“Bro your a lucky guy. They seem nice, insane and dangerous, but nice.”
Fluttershy turns away again. “I’m sorry.”
Discord smile for a moment. “Dangerous, however do you think so? My dear Fluttershy will find it easier to talk to you if you change forms so it will be easier to get to know her after you're done eating.”
“Twilight is an alicorn radiating power, Lyra has a weird obsessive look in her eyes, Pinkie is just... well pink I guess. Oh did I mention the fact that Fluttershy possesses a Predator's Gaze equal to that of the Wolf King’s. I’ve stopped hearts with mine before and she shattered it like a twig beneath her pure intent to kill. I can’t even imagine what it takes to forge a heart that strong. Speaking of Lyra, your turn.”
“What can you do with your hands?” She is staring at my hands again. Her voice sounds strained and I detect something off in her voice.
“That’s a loaded question.” I reply. I can think of a lot I can do with my hands and I can’t figure out what to say. I feel a twack as Discord smacks me upside the head.
“Get your mind out of the gutter.”
I give him a smile. He doesn’t even know the meaning of in the gutter yet. I think about Jade and let my mind crank into the little technique I developed as a last resort against mentalists. A hundred twisted fantasies lay in my mind, from bondage to knife and blood play, I even picture him in a collar in the form of a dog with me petting him.
He recoils from me in shock and shakes his head. “Wolf! What is wrong with you? At least it was mostly about Jade so I don’t think she minds but still. What is wrong with you?”
I snort. “I went easy on you. It’s a technique I developed against mind readers. Besides that wasn’t even all that bad by human standards. Just remember that just because you can see behind every closed door, doesn’t mean you want to.
“Lyra, my hands can do a lot of things. Most of the things that is done with telekinesis I can do with my hands. I can play guitar. I can pick apples. I can use a special healing magic with them. I don’t know what to say really.”
She looks satisfied by this somehow and nods. I think she’s studying me or waiting for latter to attack me with questions. I turn to the next mare.
She is a light gray pegasus with chameleon eyes. It’s different from humans that have a lazy eye. Both her eyes are moving independently and focusing on separate things. It gives her a silly look not helped by the lopsided grin. “I’m Ditzy Doo. I am a mail pony and I like muffins. Nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you too.” I reply. She looks like she wants to ask a question. I think. I wait in awkward silence for a few minutes.
“Alrighty then.” I cock my head in a nod to the white pegasus with the varied rainbow mane and green eyes. Her cutie mark is three music notes, with each head of a note being a different color of the rainbow. Somehow this pony strikes me as a celebrity or something. Her mane is silky and the colors are layered and complex.
Her voice is a smooth purr. “I’m Velvet Dash, I’m Rainbow’s cousin. I’m a singer and I’m actually curious about a lot of things. I’ve seen a lot of unanswered questions so far and I want to get answers to them. What did that math say that worried you and hurt your brain?”
“Long story short? A human year is 365 and a quarter days long. Every four years we have a year that’s 364 days long to compensate. It annoyed me because I realised I have no idea how long I’m going to be alive. Human live an average of 90 years when healthy. Mages have a variance of sorts. The magic they possess affects the ageing process. Average for a mage of my level and astral connection is 200, bear in mind human, years. Here's the kicker. I’m in a realm that's layered with the astral realm now, I suspect that will up it a little bit. The oldest recorded mage was a bear form astral possession. They lived almost 800 years. Now lets do some fun little math and thinking remembering a human year is 365 days and a pony year is 220 days.”
Twilight’s eyes cross as she scribbles on a piece of paper. She looks shocked. “so you're still pretty much a foal to your people?”
“Nope I hit my 22nd birthday the day before coming here. I’m legally an adult in my world. Not that age has ever stopped me, I’ve been drinking since I was ten. Then again it was just cider at the time so nothing too intense.”
Velvet looks shocked. “Humans aren't acknowledged as adults until they are 22 years old? Weird. Here it’s around 15 to 18 depending on area and tribe. Interesting if you consider cider to be a mild drink fit for a foal, perhaps you can join me for drinks at some point. Nopony can outdrink me. Not as anything more then friends, you're not really my type. Now, a lot of your scars are from something unnatural. There are burns that resemble the slash of a sword and patches where it’s just one big blob like all the skin there was cut off. Explain these, here they would be signs of black magic.” Despite having looked somewhat shocked, Velvet asks her questions without a large change in her voice. If it wasn’t for the small qualities in her voice, she would almost seem to be completely relaxed. Is she just used to controlling her emotions because of whatever music thing she does or is it further proof that ponies have drugs? I want to shift so I can read her emotions better, should be good for a laugh at least.
“Humans, by default, use magic that ponies would consider to be dark. Yes, even I am a black magic user technically because the method by which humans refill magic is in and of itself black magic. However Luna has decreed myself and anypony involved to not be using black magic.” I hope the next question isn’t desiring explanations.
“Interesting, you can lose the worried look. I don’t expect you to casually show off black magic or teach about it so casually. You plan on a brawl with both Rainbow and Applejack after lunch correct? Are you planning on one at a time or both together?”
“One at a time. A fight is like a conversation. It has a subject and trying to hold two conversations that require two different means of reply is pointless.”
“So don’t fight two different opponents? That sounds rather weak.”
“Not even close. Rainbow is a test of martial arts and skill. We want to talk about our training in the best way possible. It’s a lighthearted and flashy conversation. Applejack however, is a matter of submission and removing myself from her generalizations of the males of this world. It’s a serious and focused conversation with subtle undertones. I want to give all due respect to both of them. Rainbow however did challenge first so I will face her first.”
“Rainbow is going to beat you and you won’t get your fight with Applejack until later. What is with you and cider anyway?”
“Okay, the questions are starting to get me off pitch. I love alcohol. I love apples. Hard cider is a small passion of mine, a piece of sanity in an otherwise insane world.”
“Fine, Tell me about human weather.”
“It does its own thing. My descriptions of it to a thestral led to this. “Tell them to picture the Everfree on a massive scale, complete with weather that doesn’t even exist here on such a scale.””
This raises an eyebrow by the pegasi collected here. “Sounds insane. Now for a fun one. What qualifies as submissive in your world?”
“There are many scales for that question. Are you asking about humans in general? I warn this may turn into a sexual conversation if I’m unable to explain it without covering that aspect. Otherwise if you're asking about me personally, well that also might turn sexual.”
Velvet giggles. “Start with humans so I can get background.”
“Well the most basic form amongst humans is as simple as the dominant one leads in terms of decisions and takes the role of protector and provider. That’s the area of one on a scale of one to ten dominance. A two is similar but might involve collaring or similar displays of ownership. Higher levels the submissive is similar to a willing slave in a way. The dominant one protects and lives for the submissive one. The dominant in this case holds unquestioned obedience and trust from their submissive.”
“It’s highest level?” Her face is calm. Nopony else is, but her face is.
“That would be in the form of the slave master. They have many submissives that form what’s called a harem. Remember my people are usually monogamous. It’s usually taboo to have more than one partner. Actually if one does anything with anyone else that’s sexual or flirting it’s considered to be a crime against the other. Far too often the pain of being cheated on is enough to destroy the one who was cheated on to the point where it ends in a double homicide and suicide or just a suicide. Either way, people often die.”
Shocked looks. “So sleeping with a stallion other than the stallion you're married to is so immensely wrong that it can lead to suicide? I can’t remember the last time somepony committed suicide. That’s a shocking thing. So if you take a mare you're not willing to accept other members into the herd? Is it still cheating if the mare is with another mare?”
“Me personally? I am finding my chances of even a single mare to be unlikely. However if a mare did wish to join my herd I would accept them conditionally. A stallion however, well to be honest I don’t know. As for being with a mare who isn’t in the herd I expect the mare to talk to me before doing something like that. If there is no chance of a mare being in the herd and nothing between the mare I’m with and the one she wants I can’t accept it. Basically once I decide to settle down I don’t want my mare to continue thinking she’s single.”
Velvet looks pensive. “Explain more about the stallions. What do you mean you don’t know?”
This is a complicated one. Velvet’s face has been slowly betraying her own curiosity through the veil of her poker face. The others have been shocked into silence by the sheer impact of how different our worlds are.
“Stallions are naturally submissive here and I don’t know how I feel about stallions to be honest with you. In my old world I wasn’t interested in stallions at all. When I got sent here I think Mystery played with my brain. I find mares to be attractive and even know what’s attractive about them to me. I can also tell that something about my magic was fixed because I can sense some major alterations on a deep level. Furthermore I’m able to read basic body language. Also I’ve found a few stallions attractive and had to shove those thoughts into a small box in the side of my brain labeled ‘deal with it later’. I have had a few instinctive reactions to stallions though. I actually automatically flirted with one earlier without thinking about it.”
Velvet winces. “Your sexual preferences was altered? Interesting was your biology altered to fit sexuality in this world?”
“Thankfully no, not that I’m aware of.”
“Thankfully?”
I smirk. “We have a nickname for what’s the norm here back home. We call em one hump chumps. Honestly I was actually shocked when I heard about this whole hour minimum between erections thing. Humans are very different. Considering that sex recharges a humans magic, often males in the mage world are expected to be capable of performing dusk till dawn.” I love the shocked grins the mares all shoot at me except Fluttershy and Velvet.
“So if you can’t manage to seduce mares then you won’t be able to use magic? The preference change makes more sense now. Worst case scenario you have to seduce a stallion, your dominance works in your favor in that case. I suggest trying it, at least seeing if you enjoy it.”
“Well, there's always blood magic and, as much as I hate to bug Luna, infusions. Besides I don’t seem to be having a problem finding submissive mares.”
“Seriously?” Rarity speaks up shaking off her shocked look.
Jade gives her a look. “I can attest to this. I find his commanding presence to be soothing.”
“Oh the two of you?” Rarity looks eager, I knew I had her pegged as a gossip type right.
“Not yet. He wasn’t exactly available until recently. He was trying to pursue a relationship with one unworthy to him.”
“I simply must get the details on that.”
“He tried dating a thestral from the noble family who couldn’t see past his possible inability to bear children to realize he was the only stallion in the world that could even put up with her.”
Velvet shows a flash of rage and reveals the ability to scream without losing her practiced tone. “Rarity! Quit interrupting my turn for this nonsense or I’ll show you the real meaning of gossip! Wolf, if you’re so bucking dominant why are you letting these mares talk about you like you’re not even here?!”
I let my smirk show. “Oh, now you have me interested Velvet. I’m curious to see what you consider to be real gossip. Perhaps drinks aren't such a bad idea after all. Anyways, I was enjoying the chance to see into what Jade is thinking for once. I’ll play the wolf game later so I’ll explain it then. Short story is Jade is immune to my abilities to read people and it’s nice to see a glimpse inside her thoughts for a moment.” Jade looks at me shocked. I put an arm around her and give her a small hug. “What’s your next question?”
She give me a brief smile at the agreement and a small conspiratorial look flashes on her face. “Not a question, so much as a request. I wish to hear you play the guitar.”
I smirk and turn to Discord. “Discord. Mind pulling something out of my mind and backing me up?”
He snaps his talons and a familiar guitar emblazoned with flame and bones decals appears. I smile and stand up. All eyes on my and Discord as he snaps his fingers and a small band of himselves -is that even a word? I don’t think the english language is enough to cover Discord- appears with instruments and appropriate matching gear. I strum the guitar and am surprised to hear it ring out perfectly. It doesn’t have the amp but it still sounds perfect.
“This one is from my old world, brace yourselves to be bucked in the face by the depravity of human culture. Discord, let’s slay this shit!”
Cast out of heaven for a sin I never did
Cast out of hell, demons deep within
Cast out of life for a debt I nevered owed
Cast out of love for reasons yet untold
I am lost and I wander the world
Starving shadow of what I once was
Y’abyss calls, but I will not come
Hiding from my destiny is my gift to the world
The music gets heavier and I lay into the guitar
Forsaken I fell from the stars
Mind is breaking, covered in scars
Don’t remember who I am
Don't give a shit about who I’ve been
Shadows wreath me as I call your name
How can you survive in such pain?
I am lost and I wonder the world
Starving shadow of what I once was
Y’abyss calls but I will just run
Hiding from my destiny is my gift to the world.
-(Sorry for no link, but it’s my original and I don’t know how to make music. I promise all non original songs will have links.)-
Finished, I smirk at the shocked ponies all around me and run a riff on the guitar. Let them stew on that one for a bit. I sit back in my spot as the Discords become one again. Complete silence greets me coupled with stares.
“Man Discord, I think we broke em.” I say with a smirk matching his own.
“How did you even make your voice do that? What does that song even mean? How can you so casually sing about that kind of thing?” Velvet looks shocked by this display of metal.
“I just like that song, the driving bass and pure swag of that song is just so catching. Just be glad I didn’t sing Hatebreed or Disturbed. I might do some Rob Zombie later. He’s epic. Or I should say he was epic? Don’t worry I’m not going to do anything like that again anytime soon. So who feels like ditching these hard streets and enjoying the grass beneath your hooves?”
The walk does wonders for the ponies and they escape there shell shocked state. I smirk thinking about having some fun with my sensoria. I’m also looking forward to seeing the martial arts of this world.
I’m leaning against the side of the theater as Rainbow Dash and Applejack argue about who’s fighting me first. They have completely ignored me when I said I was fighting Rainbow first and to be honest it had been pretty funny so far. Now it’s boring. I coil my legs and spring at the two landing next to them in a wolf form.
“Alright, you two. It doesn’t matter what you decide I’m facing Dash first, she challenged first so it’s only fair.” I fix them both with the Predator's Gaze and they both step back. I shift back to human form and take a stance staring at Dash. Her movements are fluid as she circles me she’s studying my stance. I see a small shift in her stance, she’s about to attack.
She darts forward and launches at my face my hands catch her back hooves but her front hooves swing with the momentum landing a solid blow to the back of my head that makes my ears ring for a moment as I let go. Okay, so analysis says immense speed and reflexes backed by a lot of combat experience. I’ll have to take her seriously, she is one heck of a match without magic. I wonder how I would fare against her, magic and wings.
I roll forward to her and launch a fast punch, she knocks it aside with her hoof bouncing off my arm and trying to land a hit on me. I roll to the side and bring my fist sideways into a hammer fist on the side of the head. She rolls into the blow turning the impact into momentum for a lightning fast back kick with both legs. I barely get away with my body intact as I twist away from the impact. The sheer air pressure I feel from that kick lets me know I never want to take it directly.
This is actually a tough opponent. Dash is using two different styles from what I can tell. What are her weaknesses? I definitely have mass against her. She’s studying me as well, I must have been more effective than I thought. I wonder if ponies have or have ever seen a gentle fist style. She is very good at turning my power against me and the best counter for a style like this is to not give her anything to use. I shift into the soul reaver style.
She sees the relaxed stance and laughs darting in both hooves first. I duck under the launch and drive my hands into the small spot where her forelegs meet her chest. She lands heavily and sprawls forward.
“What the buck was that? OW. What did you do to my legs?” She growls at me. I hope I haven't hurt her more then I think.
“The first one, my first mastery, Wolf Personification. I realized I didn’t stand a chance against you with it so I switched to a gentle fist style called Soul Reaver. It focuses on the weak points of the anatomy. It’s the fighting style of intellectuals.”
“A martial art for eggheads? It sounds like River or Horn Way. That shouldn’t be possible without magic.” She’s looking at me with fresh eyes as she expertly stretches the damage out of her legs. She’s gone in a blur of rainbows and I feel an impact on the back of my head. I pitch forward and she wraps her forehooves around the base of my arms. I can’t get my hands to bear on her. She twists and I land heavily on her.
I hear an ‘oof’ as I land, but she doesn’t relent in her grip. How does she plan on winning with a grip like this? I relax into it and she tightens her grip. It’s meant to be a sleeper hold or similar, however, humans don’t have the veins in the right places. “Sorry Dashie, this one's gonna hurt.”
I lift my head forward and slam it backward in the direction of her face. I hear a disturbing squeak and roll forward out of her grip. She rises behind me a trickle of blood from her muzzle. She’s actually smiling! She’s giving me a challenging glare and grinning ear to ear. I must admit though that my grin matches hers. This little ball of destruction is a fun opponent. I study her this time watching carefully for the signs of her accelerations.
A twitch is the only warning before she launches at me again. This time isn’t as fast, but I still take a solid hit on the face as I try and turn it aside. As she’s sailing past I land the Ten Star One Strike on her side. This move consists of driving all ten of your fingers into the soft spots between muscles. She lands with a groan and I’m horrified to see her not get up.
“Dash do ponies train their core against hits like that?” I rush to her side wiping the blood out of my eyes from the split eyebrow.
“The buck was that? I think you broke a bunch of bones.”
I place my hands on her sides analyzing her with magic. Crap she had no resistance to gentle fists styles. “Dash this is going to hurt at first, but I can fix the damage I did. I’m sorry for going too far for a simple sparring match. This might feel weird, it’s called a message. Basically, I forced a lot of your muscles to tighten up and need to make them relax.”
I begin gently relaxing her muscles. She doesn’t have any resistance to the damage but thankfully her muscles are well trained and relax easily. She is fine pretty quickly. Her voice is chilled out. “We have messages here, but they just hurt mostly. I don’t get why ponies like Rarity enjoy them so much. That feels awesome.” She’s going to be fine and looks annoyed when I finish and offer a hand up. She ignores the offer and stands up on her own. “I lost. I hate losing. AJ, make sure you kick his flank.”
“Rainbow, sorry for overdoing it. We’ll have to spar again later without one of use using a martial art designed to kill. Besides I have an unfair advantage. I know your anatomy and you don’t know mine. That’s why you kept going for the head right?” I fall backward and land on the soft grass and relax for a minute. “Applejack, Ready?”
She walks in front of me and glares. “Ah was born ready. This is going to be a wrestling match. Win through submission.”
I roll to my feet. Wrestling is fun. “Applejack. I’ve been looking forward to this game.” I smile broadly.
“WOLF! I challenge you to a duel!” I hear a voice to the side. Glancing over I see a griffin striding towards us. She is wearing armor and has a strange spear on her back. It’s long and at the base of the metal tip is a wicked blade that curves back away from the front. She looks regal and powerful as she strides towards me. I only see determination in her eyes, no hatred or anger, she seems intent on killing me for personal gain. I smile and wave in greeting.
“Sup? Whatever I did, I didn’t do it!” I reply to the challenge with a smirk. Is this an issue of status or have I managed to do something to offend her? I can’t think of anyone I’ve offended recently. It has to be a warrior looking for a challenge. “Seriously though you have to wait in line. I only do two at a time without a couple hours in between.”
“And if I simply attack you?” She asks. Immediately ten changelings fly out of the hive and transform into various things, even a small dragon and her, spear and all, in response to some kind of a weird pulse in power from Jade. The griffin looks at the small army hovering over her. “Oh, that. Fine I’ll wait.”
“So this is a surprise actually. I hadn’t expected this yet. I’m expecting an explanation after I’m finished with Applejack.” I turn back to the mare in question. “Welp, this is odd. Shall we begin?”
She dives into my legs and pulls me down. Crap, no warning at all. I roll on the ground and can’t shake her grip. She’s a lot heavier than she looks. I stop and think all she has is my legs. I sit up and smile down at her scratching her behind the ears. “Whenever you're done hugging me can we wrestle?”
Her eyes go wide and I take advantage of the moment of distraction to pull my legs free and dive into her. I land on top pinning her forehooves for a moment with my arms. She swings her back legs together with her front legs and we roll sideways fighting for position. She’s a lot stronger then Dash. She is slower but isn’t slow. Actually scrap that, nothing I’ve seen short of enchanted bullets is faster then Dash so that’s not even saying anything.
THUD. Applejack has slammed my head against a rock. I see spots for a moment as Applejack takes the infinitely tiny amount of time to lock me down. She is on top pinning me with a grin. I move my face closer to her and she looks worried for a moment. When I unleash my Gaze with fangs showing she recoils. I flip the position locking down her forehooves with my arms and her legs with mine. She struggles against my grip. Her forehooves are screwed, years of handling a staff has made my grip and iron vise. Her back hooves are a challenge. I am going to lose my grip on them and she’s gonna flip me back onto the rock.
I hear cheers of changeling behind me ring up. I feel emboldened and make a play to win. I let her kick my legs outwards and brace for the impact on the rock. OW, exact same spot. I wrap my legs around her torso and have kept my grip on her forehooves. She glares at me but I see a smile play across her face as it clicks. She thinks she knows my plan and shifts her weight onto my hands driving with her free back legs. I put my face close to hers with another hellish glare screaming of intent to kill. She ignores the glare. I lick her neck. The squeak she makes out of absolute incomprehension is adorable as I roll sideways.
I smile at my pinned target using my legs as leverage to lock her in. She kicks with her back legs. I can feel the power of her kicks as she tries to escape. I press my teeth to her neck and she freezes. “Don’t you have something to say? Or would you prefer to keep going? I don’t care either way I’m loving this game.” I say quietly and pull my face away from her.
She looks at me with big eyes and her ears laid back. She’s stopped moving for a moment. I’m wondering how her endurance held that long. My grip isn’t exactly making it easy to breath. She shoots me a wicked grin and kisses me. My mind goes blank as I feel a strange distant impact on my head. The world fades away.
My head hurts and my hair feels wet. Someone is shaking me. “Git Up, ya hear? I didn’t mean to hit yah that hard.”
I open my eyes and sit up. I stare at the orange farm pony next to me. I give her a big grin. “You win I guess. We gotta do this again, without the rock in the way. I wonder what woulda happened without it.”
“Nope, it’s a draw. Winner by submission, remember. Knockout doesn’t count.”
Nopony is looking at her weird so either what she did was completely blocked by my body, or kissing your opponent to win is normal. Somehow I can’t help but feel like either could be true in this insane world.
Dash hovers over her. “Come on AJ, He licked you that has to be cheating.”
So it’s definitely the first one. Well I’m hardly one to burn any bridges but I can’t resist. I smirk at Applejack. “Alls fair in love and war, right AJ?” She shoots me a warning look.
“I suppose, but how is this either?” A small smile shows for a second.
“It’s a human expression. I’d try with a different one like, hmmm, actually I can’t think of another phrase for this. No wonder it’s used for such a broad spectrum. Anyways, let’s relax a bit while I get the blood out of my hair.”
Applejack looks at me shocked. “Blood? How hard do yall reckon ya hit that rock.” She has a lot thicker accent then she’s shown so far. I suspect she hides it to a degree and it slips sometimes.
“Ya beaned meh head… I mean you smashed my head against a rock. If I was a normal human my skull would be split from that. A little blood is perfectly normal.”
“So you're off to your room for a shower?” Jade asks.
“Nope, Excuse me I’ll be right back. I walk around the side of the building and pull out a pair of shorts. I drop an orb of darkness around me and get changed. I walk back out to the assembled mares. “Humans even have specific clothes for swimming. Trust me you do not want to know what wearing wet jeans or underwear feels like.”
I pull out my staff and drop my backpack next to Jade. “Keep an eye on this, ok?” I turn to everypony else. “Lets have a small show. Bear in mind that when I’m not holding my staff I can’t fly alright?” They look at me strange at the word fly and I hear several gasps as I lift off into the sky. I hover high above the water and stand on my staff like it’s a very thin surf board. I charge it’s tip with a shadow blade and flip off it. The kick sends me upwards a little but it sends my staff streaking like a bullet embedding with a burst of darkness into the bank of the small lake. I turn downwards pushing my hands together into a divers spear as the water impacts me.
I flow with the water and turn before I hit the bottom rising to the surface with a gasp. That was a lot colder than I had planed. It sure did wonders on getting rid of some of my more questionable thoughts. I hear cheering as they applaud me. Then a lot of shocked stares. I look theres more red than I thought there'd be with that kind of dive. I dive again and shake my head running my hands to get all the blood out. This time the stares are a lot more shocked. I swim back leaving the small pool of red to dissipate behind me.
I walk past the mares and shift into wolf form shaking off the water as much as I can. Shifting back I can't help but love how easy wolf form makes it to go from soaked to damp. It doesn’t leave damp well though. At all. I cock my head at the looks. “You’d think that blood was some kind of super uncommon thing. It’s not like it isn’t inside every one of us. Or was it the water, I haven't seen any ponies swimming but I thought that was just because of the whole ‘too civilized for such a thing’ attitude that seems to be all to common around here.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.” Applejack is looking down on herself.
I put a hand on top of her head and scratch behind her ear. She looks at me. “Look, if the little pain and blood was the price of the fun I had wrestling you, then I’m willing to pay again after I have fun with that one sitting over there all alone and looking surely. Not just talking about the last part by the way.”
I motion the griffon over. “Alright spill it. What’s your story. Or at the very least your name.”
“I am Chulainn, a warrior of the griffons. I heard of your strength as a lunar knight and have come in hopes of finding a worthy opponent.”
“Fair enough. Give me a minute to prepare.” I grab my pack from Jade and walk away to change back to jeans. Dropping the shadows I pull my staff from where I left it and face the griffon. “Am I allowed to use magic?”
“It means nothing if I defeat you while you are only using a portion of your power. Bring everything you have to bear against me.”
I smile. She’s so serious. I study her as she pulls the spear from its sheath. Her armor and spear are both enchanted. She is muscled well and has an even distribution of mass. Her spear has a subtle quality to it as she levels it against me. She possesses a level of skill above mine. I suspect I’m about to get my flank handed to me. I ready my staff and focus.
“Whenever you're ready.”
“No. I can tell your holding back.”
I nod and she looks annoyed. I cut off her protests before she begins. “You're right, I have to hold back because if I unleash the wrong form of power then I will lose all too easily. I can’t know what power to release until I fight you. Besides unlike a unicorn it takes effort to refill my power. Using everything I have could endanger your life and could take weeks for me to recover from.”
She nods and looks annoyed. A quick stab straight at me with her spear. I push it aside with my staff and start to step towards her. She pulls the spear back as quickly as it went out and I feel it hook on my staff. She moves her claw outwards and shifts her position. I can see the paths of the fight and I don’t like it. If I try and move forward or pull it back she’ll drive it forward. If I push to the side or try and shift my position away she’ll slide it up towards my hands. I drive the base of the staff into the ground flipping it towards her taking a leap backwards.
She deflects the hit and sends my staff flying off to the side. I reach into a pocket of my pack and pull out a wand and a dagger. This is gonna be fun ride. I slash with the wand while trying to get range on the advancing griffon. I want to reclaim my staff so I can use my full power. Blades of shadow flash at her and she dispels them all with her spear. I lure her away and slowly circle her. Shes drawing closer but I’m almost in range. She darts between me and the staff letting her armor take a hit in order to cut me off. I smirk and hold out my hand. She seems to anticipate this and rolls to the side dodging the returning staff. I use the staff running style and get distance between us.
“Alright, you want to see power? MWAHAHAHAHA I’ll show you power!” My let my laugh slip into an evil sound as she recoils from me. Her eyes look eager as my body is wreathed in tendrils of shadow. I plant my staff in the ground in front of me and shift into a wolf. Gathering my power I shift again into the monster. I bare my fangs at the now much smaller griffon and grab the staff. This is the staff of the Wolf King. It has the same blessing as me. I let my astral power flow into it and it shifts into a naginata. It is a short staff that ends in a long blade with a bit of a curve.
I dart after the griffon she deflects the blade almost too easily. She has been hiding her true power up until now and it is as though we are both monsters clashing. No her style is one of grace and beauty, while mine is one of speed and power. It’s an angel clashing with a demon. Shadows and light flash from the meeting of our weapons. Her spear holds an enchantment that give her some form of light blade attack. I keep slashing and she is slowly losing ground. We are both on a timer now. Her endurance against my power and my powers own timer. Her grip slips and the blade sails home.
I recoil in shock as the blade slashes across her chest. I feel a burning pain in my side as her spear buries itself into my side. I fall to my knees as the magic of light attacks my shadow nature. Her cut is leaking shadows and I know the same battle is going on inside her. I feel my form evaporate into my human state as she pulls her spear free. I don’t have a lot of power left. I can pull out my shadows and try and heal her. If I do I’ll lose the battle against the light and die.
I smile at her and place my hands against her chest. “Sorry, I kinda went too far. Let me fix it. At least I’m gonna die in the presence of a beautiful girl. Lifes a bitch and then you die right?”
I don’t hesitate to pull out the shadows and pour my healing power into her. She says something but I can’t hear her. Everything is fading into shadows. The cut. Why won’t this cut heal? I hear a distant whine. Chulain disappears from in front of me and I vaguely see Discord over me.
“I can’t help him. He needs power but mine would only make the battle inside him worse. I don’t know what to do.” Discord looks sad. My veins are burning. I close my eyes. At least you saved her and I’m not dying a lonely monster. I feel hooves against my back. Something gets pressed against my lips. My eyes snap open at the small energy in the contact adding a new kind of light to the battle. Jade kissed me.
“He needs somepony to give him blood. If he drinks blood he gets power from it. Right Wolf? Or is there more to it than that?”
“I don’t want to hurt anypony. I’ve only done that once and it was an accident.” My eyes are closing again. The fire has almost reached my heart.
“So let him bite you, Jade. What’s the problem.” Applejack asks.
“I… Changelings don’t have blood like ponies do. I tried giving him a small dose of energy but It made it worse.”
“I. I’ll do it.” I hear a voice next to me. I hear a sharp gasp and something wet lands on my mouth. Blood. They think it’s the blood that has the power.
“Both my hands. Touching her.” I feel my arms pressed against her leg and I grab reflexively. It’s in my heart now and the pain of my entire existence being slowly burned away gives me strength. I pull the cut to my mouth and activate the blood ritual. She’s a vast ocean of power. I feel like a tiny bird caught in a hurricane. Power rips into my and slowly my power pushes back the light. All the power flowing into me is an incredible feeling and I hear a low moan. Wait, that’s Twilight! My eyes snap open and I release her.
She pulls back her hoof blushing and breathing heavily refusing to meet my gaze. I put my hand on her hoof and heal the cut. She looks at it surprised. “I don’t know how to make this up to you Twilight. Chulain is ok, right?”
She nods and stares at my mouth with a cross of disgust and something else. I feel a wetness around my lips and try and wipe the blood off. Her eyes resume their intense look when she’s looking for answers. “So it’s not the blood. It’s something else. How exactly does that work?”
I grin and stand up. “Get me a note of approval from Luna or Celestia before I teach you black magic, ok?” I bring my voice down to a mock conspiratorial whisper. “I recommend Luna, she’s not afraid of the dark.”
Several giggles reward me and I look around. Chulain is walking away. I want to talk to her. I run after her.
“Chulain, are you at least going to stick around long enough to say say good bye or something?”
She stops and glares at me. “You lived? The wound looks old and you're in high spirits. What happened? Why do you even want to speak with me? I’m not strong enough.”
“What do you mean by not strong enough? That was the upper limits of my power, I faced you with everything I had. Still you beat me, I would have died if not for Twilight. I get that you don’t want to talk with someone who’s a polar opposite to you but still…”
“Don’t lie to me! I know you were holding back. Even when it almost killed you. Why did you hold back?” She looks sad.
“You mean why didn’t I use my more destructive spells? Or why didn’t I use the Midnight Lotus?”
“I don’t know.” She looks confused and a little hurt. “I can just tell when my opponent has finally given all of their skill and power into a fight. You never had that look.”
I nod and smile. “Your right. I could have used the Midnight Lotus and risked my life for a lot of power. However this was a sparring match, not a death match. I didn’t want to kill you, actually even in a death match I don’t want to kill you. As for the spells I didn’t use, well I would hate to destroy my home and hurt my friends to win a little sparring match. Theres also the matter of I doubt you're just gonna sit there while I slowly activate them.”
“So in short what you held back was the same things I held back. Very well. I will return, Wolf. I will come back and challenge you again when I am strong enough for there to be a victor. A tie leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Fare thee well, Wolf.” She spreads her wings and takes off into the sky. It hits me, why didn’t she fly while fighting me? I think back during our entire clash she never used her wings for so much as balance. She never even moved them. I feel a sinking feeling as she flies off, she’s a lot stronger than me.
I walk back to everypony else quietly. “I lost.” I announce. Dash looks shocked and hovers eye to eye.
“You didn’t lose. It was a tie!”
“She never used her wings. Not even for balance. I lost.” I scowl at Dash challenging her to combat that. She backs off looking shocked. I sit down quietly and close my eyes.
Dash shouts and I look at her. She leveling a grin at me. “Yeah, well she fought a night pony during the day!” I can’t argue with that one. It’s wrong on a lot of levels but I still can’t even figure out what to say without it sounding like fluff. I focus inwards examining my body. My side hurts from the still healing gash. Something feels wrong on my insides, I think I feel organs slowly sliding into the right place. My head still has a solid egg and slowly closing gash on it.
“Girls. Our train is coming soon. We need to be leaving, sorry Wolf.” Twilight says breaking me out of my self analysis. Several groans and awes meet her remark but they say their goodbyes and leave.
Applejack bumps her flank against my leg. “Don’t forget you have to come down to Sweet Apples and show me how humans farm, Ya’ hear?”
I shift into wolf form and grin at her. I bump her flank with mine and reply. “Yup, sure thing. I’m looking forward to it.”
Her face goes red a moment and she trots off with the others. Jade scratches behind my ear and I grin at her. Velvet, however stays behind. “Alright, Wolf you owe me some drinks!” She actually looks excited.
“Didn’t you have to get back to Ponyville?”
“No, I live in Canterlot and was just visiting Rainbow. I never have free time like this so don’t back out on your promise now.” She turns puppy dog eyes on me and I quickly give in and let her lead me and Jade off into Canterlot to one of her favorite clubs. It has a nice dubstep beat playing and with the combined might of the two sexy mares being cute I end up agreeing to have everything put on my tab not that I really mind.
We find a booth in the back and they seem shocked to see Velvet there. Several ponies come up and ask Velvet for an autograph. It’s weird not being the one everyone has all their attention on. I actually kind of like it. Being just another face in the crowd is nice. I order some hard cider and Velvet calls me a wuss and orders a mudslide. Funny that they have them in this world. Jade however orders something called a volcano bowl that literally is a big bowl of booze and juice that has a magic about it that makes it create a fountain that looks like a small volcano leaking lava.
We hang out and talk about random things listening to the music. I finish my cider and start ordering shots of whiskey. As I’m lifting the shot to my mouth it speaks.
“Now really, is drinking your friends really the best way to keep them?” I drop the glass in shock and Discord appears next to me giving me a strange grin. Is he?… no, can’t be. “So what is a handsome man like you doing in a place like this?”
Is he really? He has to be messing with me. Choking on my drink a little I cautiously ask him. “Discord, what is your sexuality?”
His grin widens to the point where it falls off and lands in the form of a profile card. My reflexes can’t help but catch it and I read it.
Name: Ashnotuleguiooogggxythethmotoresto son of GYZZZZYYYXXXXYOU:Pinkiecrazy:DESTROMOMETER, but you can call me Discord.
Gender: Whatever you want me to be, baby.
Sexuality: Yes.
Age: five neginity and six.
Race: All of the above, sometimes twice.
I burst out laughing as I read the card. Discord looks slightly offended until I manage to blurt out. “Sexuality, yes. Gods that is priceless.”
He grins at me in a leering way, he is definitely trying to be sexy, and failing at it horribly. He could really use some advice on picking up people. Velvet looks at us with a surprised expression as Jade sneaks behind her and wraps her forehooves around her whispering in her ear. Over the music in the club no one can hear what is said, but it becomes evident as they head off to the dance floor together with a slight blush on Velvet’s face. Now that we are alone together Discord snaps his claws and becomes a busty woman holding a large glass of moonshine out to me. Her voice is sultry and alluring.
“Wolf, haven't you wondered what it would be like with a women? You might never find out, but I can show you.” She gives me an alluring smile as I fold his hands behind my head with a grin. Alright, this could be fun, Although I’m gonna knock this half-assed pursuit game of Discord’s off the table and take him on my terms while playing my game. I notice my head is a little fuzzy, hadn’t realized I had this much to drink.
“You're bad at this whole seduction thing, bro. Fuck it, I’m drunk enough to go with this. For your information I’ve been with a women, along with a mare, a succubus, a vampiress, a goddess and a bitch.” Odd I would admit that, there is a strange distant pain in my head and it feels a little different than alcohol.
She recoils as she turns back into Discord and he looks at Wolf reprovingly. “Well, that wasn’t very nice to say about a mare you’ve been with.”
I arch an eyebrow and grin. “Bitch is the correct technical term for a female wolf.”
He stares at me in surprise with a slight trace of disgust. “Wolf, just because you can turn into something doesn’t stop it from being beastiality.”
“So? She was the daughter of the Wolf King. She was smarter than I am, had issues with a lowly peasant trying to be an alpha, too. Bitch was a bitch…” My voice becomes a growl as my thoughts grow murky and disturbed as I think back to those days. “At least it was fun, right? I showed her in the end. I trained every single day, I made deals that drowned me in a river of blood and then gorged myself on all the blood, but I grew strong. I becomes so strong I can achieve the highest form! I became one so powerful that Lord Wolf Himself named me Wolf in His honor and was annoyed at her for throwing me away! I became one of the strongest in the world! I became so much more!” I finish with a resounding evil laugh that causes all the assembled ponies to stare at us as I calmly finish my moonshine. “What?”
They look away under the combined stares of Discord and I, seeming to decide that drawing the ire of the darkest duo in the place is a bad idea. I looks back to Discord with a grin studying him. Discord meets my gaze and we lock eyes for a moment. He’s into me, actually into me, not just the desire to have a human that brought him here. He is going to follow my lead tonight, this is me seducing him. But do I want to be with him as a him? He would easily be a her for me, but I am attracted to males. I shouldn’t be, this isn’t part of who I was, this is something Mystery did to me. Fuck it. I think there is something wrong with my brain tonight, but I just want to be myself and have fun. Honest and open fun. The lack of a shudder at that thought brings a moment of worry that I push away with another swig of shine.
With a final swig of the shine, I stand and hold my hand out to Discord. “Let’s have a dance and talk. I find it hard to believe that one as interesting as you would turn your nose up at the games I love to play. I only hope your not a Dom like me, or this might not go as well as I hope.”
He smiles and takes my hand in his claw following me to the dance floor. We dance our first dance near Jade and Velvet as the Dubstep and lights burst out across the floor.We begin to go wild and chat about kinks and games and limits. At one point it was an octopus dancing with a wolf while it held a glass of whiskey close to my face to drink from. Discord it turns out has very little in the way of limits being the ultimate switch naturally wanting to rule but being too chaotic to fall into a single role and able to enjoy the new experience. His lack of skill in hitting on me is a result of essentially having every lover served to him on a silver platter. People will go to great lengths gain even a tiny amount of intangible power.
After we get to know each other's basics and enjoy some more drinks and time on the floor we decide to head off for some alone time. I am very buzzed by this point, so buzzed that some might call it absu-fucking-lutly wasted. Discord snaps his fingers and all the world turns into a spiral of color and for a moment it looks like I’m inside of a simply animated cartoon where everypony is even more colorful, has outlines and is around the same size. Then we are at a floating house in a reality of void and chaos and the inconceivably improbable.
Discord grins at me and gestures around. “Welcome to my home. This little pocket of reality is mine to unrule and inhabit. The unrules of this place are simple, anything goes as long as it is within your conception. Here everyone is equal in the embrace of chaos.”
As he’s speaking I snap my fingers and a glass of music appears in my hand. I down it reveling in the flaring of Disturbed in my head. It tastes of blood, ash and a hint of mint. I grin and run my fingers through my hair, giving my head a flick as my fingers pull free. Discord looks at me with an almost indecipherable expression and steps forwards his claw and paw rest on my shoulders and he pulls me towards him and we kiss. I’m hesitant and a little nervous at first, but the moment quickly sweeps me off my feet and draws me in. My arms wrap behind his back pulling him close into the kiss as my mind burns in the moment. I don’t know what I was so worried about, guys aren't so different.
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End of the plot, beginning of clop. You may skip this chapter now. Also during scenes I use a slight Gorian grammer style, so the odd placement of capitals and lack of them are intentional. If this is immersion breaking or truly bothers you, comment as such, if I receive three comments or one comment of this nature gets 3 likes I shall fix it and leave a note here telling people to comment when I miss them, after all, this style is a habit I’ve had for a long time and not easy to break.
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He pulls back and it dawns on me that his teeth are different, the really big fang is gone, replaced by a mouthful of something akin to the canines of a canine. Looking further, I realize he’s made a few more shifts in his anatomy. He has a cock similar to the ponies, in a sheath with his heart shaped head starting to poke free. I set my backpack aside, snapping my fingers to vanish my clothes into my backpack. I grin and stretch before I feel a familiar coldness fill my heart. The ice within the flames, the call of Dominance.
Concentrating I snap my fingers and create a dungeon around me. Cobblestone walls with braziers of red and black flames light the room in dancing shadows, several hooks and chains appear on the wall, a St. Andrews cross rests in one corner and a steel set of stocks wait in the other. The wall behind me is covered in implements, all manner of floggers, paddles, whips and other toys. Beneath these on the floor is chests filled with chains, ropes, cuffs and everything in between. Oddly enough there is a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs on the top of one of the chests that I immediately vaporize after we both glare at it in surprise.
“Why did-” He starts before I cut him off.
“I don’t even know. Now, let’s have some fun.” I grin and lick my lips as I see him take a step back with with the look of a brat in his eyes. Inwardly I sigh, having expected it. Brats can be fun to play with at first, but long term play partners or having a goal in a scene it can be easy to lose your energy when it doesn’t match their flow. I clear my head and quickly plot some paths for our games to go on, preparing for what I came to expect from brats years ago when I could still play with others. A smile flits across my lips as I realize that finaly I can play without holding back.
I pull a black leather collar with a silver buckle and several steel loops from the chest. “This is a scene collar while you wear it you are Mine.”
He turns and lowers his head as I wrap it around his neck and lock it into place. When it is fully in place I grab his shoulders and pull him towards me and bite the base of his neck causing him to gasp. Giving him a swat on the rump I point over to the cross in the corner. “Get on the cross.”
He turns and matches my cold eyes with a look of petulence, not speaking out of turn, but not moving either. Already expecting this I grab his wrists and try to turn him around to drag him over to the cross. His natural strength leaves him unmoving for a moment before he reacts to the movement and lets me drag him, putting up a token resistance that actually takes effort to overcome. Pushing his arms up I push him against the cross faceing it as I lock his arms into place over his head. With them secure I lift his back legs up and strap them in as well.
Througout this entire ordeal, he hasn’t made a sound and I lean against him with my nails slowly dragging down his shoulders and sides. “So quiet… not to worry, I’ll hear you sing soon enough little discord.”
He continues his petulant silence but I see a small smile turning the corners of his mouth. Pulling away I walk to the other wall and pick out a horse hair flogger, smirking at the irony I’m certain we both appreciate. With a quick circle I slash down on the right side of his back. He flinches but remains silent as I spin it in a recovery arc and bring it to bear against the left side of his back. I quickly create a tempo and continue with even warming slashes until I finally hear a gasp that lets me know My victim is warmed up.
With a grin I walk to the other side and put the flogger back pulling out a knotted black paracord flogger with 36 falls. I arc the flogger and lead with a hard double slash, one for each side, that lets me finally hear his first note of the music we are creating. I begin a slow meticulous tempo of swings getting a soft moan from him punctuated by highs points with every fresh beat of my flogger. Finaly satisfied with the current section of this peice I drop the flogger and rub my hands against his back, leaning in to whisper in his ears.
“Such beautiful singing, can my little discord sing for me some more? I don’t want to break a toy I’ve just begun playing with.”
He smiles and turns his head around way more then should be possible to kiss me before turning back, still not saying anything. I take this as a confirmation of the check-in and fly the flogger into my hand as I walk back to the racks of toys. I pick up a nice plug and a leather signal whip. Setting the whip down on a conviently appearing tray I lightly lube the plug and press it into his plot hole, drawing out a nice moan as a light vibration starts with a thought.
I pick up the signal and let the tray vanish back into the aether from whence it came as I uncoil it and take a few practice swings to steady my aim and let the wonderful pops send shivers up his spine. With a steady breath I unleash the first slash against his back, drawing out a deep moan. I smile as I begin the tempo, each slash drawing a moan as the vibration in the plug slowly increases. Quickly he begins panting as the moans become a constant with the slashes drawing out a yelping high note every time they land. letting the tempo build it spills over as he jerks his hips and makes a sound like a strangled howl, painting the wall behind the cross with the threads of his cum.
Spinning the signal to a stop I coil it up, feeling my heart pounding from the effort with a headache pounding to match. Conjuring a mental image of myself perfectly healthy I snap my fingers and feel the exhaustion and pain disappear leaving only the buzz and glow of the scene. I step behind discord and trail my hands over his sensitive back as the plug comes to a stop. I pull it out and make it vanish before continuing to massage his shoulders and back as I let his breathing relax into a more workable pace.
After he recovers I lead him over to to the stocks, receiving much less resistance from him. Looking into his eager and slightly glazed eyes I can tell he’s in a good headspace. Setting his arms into place next to his head on the bar, I drop the top peice and lock it into place. Setting his legs into position I carefully strap them in as well. Rubbing my hands over his flanks I decide to have a little fun with him.
Carefully I change his body a bit, I feel a delay and resistance at first before he accepts the changes and lets me edit. I turn him into a hermaphrodite with two holes and a cock and give myself a second cock slightly above my normal one. With a wild grin, I bend down resting my tips against his holes and growl in his ear “I’m going to have fun using you as a good little fuck toy.”
As I straighten up from this I plunge my cocks into him and grab his hips with my hands, thrusting into him with uncaring hunger as I revel in the twin sensations. His plot is tight and feels wonderful while his pussy is hot and wet, clenching against me with a rhythm I quite enjoy. He moans loudly as I pound into him arching his back and trying to wiggle in the confines of his bounds. I release my grip on his hips and drag my nails down his back, fealing the heat rising from his earlier punishment.
I bend and growl into his ear “remember to ask.”
With the reminder given, I draw the tempo out to a faster pace as I see him twicting. Soon I feel the pressure beginning to get to him as he starts begging. “Plea… please… pleaspleasepleaseplease”
I wait a glorious moment as I draw close, listening to the begging until I’m finally ready.
“Cum for me” I order and he lets out the strangled howl as he cum with me burying my rods into him and release my seed deep into him. I rest against him for a moment with my softening cocks still inside him as we catch our breaths. Somewhere between a moment and an eon passes as we relax in the afterglow of the song until he manages to groan out a single word I’ve been waiting for to know he’s had enough for one night. “M-master.”
Sighing I pull out of him and set my anatomy right before cleaning myself up and letting him out of the stocks. He rises with a smirk and pulls the collar off and hands it to me. “Dress and head out the door, I’ll be back out after a while.”
Shrugging I get dressed as the room fades into mist leaving me in a void with a door. When I’m ready I walk out and find myself back in the bar only moments after we left. Jade and Velvet are finishing up their dance and walking back to the table. I hear them talking but I can’t really understand, my headache having returned with a vengeance. Jade’s horn lights up and I feel a tingling in my head for a moment before the pain lessons. She looks concerned and Velvet has a ‘you did this to yourself’ look.
Jade half-carries me outside with Velvet trailing behind. I sigh in relief as we leave the music and get somewhere quiet. “You have a concussion along with other damage all over your body that you have aggravated with the alcohol. We are going home and you are going to get plenty of rest after I attempt to heal the damage you’ve done to yourself.”
I sigh as we say goodnight to Velvet, Jade tells her our address and asks her to look us up. I’m forced to walk due to Jade telling me that I can’t use magick in this state, but eventually we make it home and I strip before sinking into my plush bed. Jade’s magick works wonders on my body, leaving me feeling perfectly fit, albeit tired. She tries to say goodnight and leave, but I scoop her up and pull her into bed grateful that changelings are not nearly as heavy as they look and are much more cuddly.
Jade pulls herself closer and whispers to me conspiratorially “So, which one are you going for anyways? I could tell there was a lot of flirting but which one actually caught your eyes?” She has a grin splitting her face.
“Maybe it was Applejack, who I can tell likes me a bit. I don’t know about her, though, I’m wondering if she just likes the challenge of trying to make me submit. Maybe it was Dash who’s skilled in combat and strong. Maybe it was Rarity who is quite the beauty. Not sure about her either, I’m not even sure whether she thinks I’m a ruffian or a gentleman. Velvet is beautiful and there's something about her that catches my eyes, but I’m not sure what her interests are.”
“And what about Twilight?”
“She’s a little off limits if I mess with her Celestia is going to burn me alive. Not that I’m not interested but still…”
“I knew it! So what’s the plan?” I grin at her and kiss her. She leans into it and kisses me back pulling me in with a hoof. She looks a little dazed when we break apart. “Distractions are effective. But still. Are you saying your not going to do anything at all?”
“Duties remember? We both have duties that come before ourselves. I’m a knight and must stay at hand. I sense them hatching a plan around me. I can’t leave Canterlot without permission. If they come back I’ll be happy to see them. I have a feeling I can make good friends with them. Even Pinkie Pie, even if she has weird powers or whatever it is about her. Beyond friends, well, time tells no lies.” I sit in the table staring into the distance. She sits next to me and leans against me.
“So honestly, tell me about Chulainn. Was she as even with you as she seemed? How much were you actually holding back?”
“She’s a powerful opponent. I’m wondering how far down I’ve fallen. I’m strong enough now that I would be a god amongst my people because of Discord and everypony else's gifts. That’s just the thing though isn’t it? All this power I have now is just much stronger people doing small favors. Even right now, I’m running hot with more power than I’ve ever dreamed of, yet it was just a tiny little piece of Twilight’s immense powers.
“I feel stronger than I ever have, but I’m still safe to be around. I could hug you full strength and while it might be a little painful you’d be fine. If I hugged a human like this, even if I just lost control of my power for a second. I would kill them. I need to find out where I lie in this world.”
She looks contemplative. “Why? Isn’t it enough to simply be as strong as you can and always strive to get stronger? Does comparing to others amount to much? Had it been a deathmatch and she used her wings and flown. How would you have reacted?”
“In a death match, I would have used a lot stronger techniques. Once she was in the air I would have used her lack of grounding to attack with lightning and thrown off her flight paths with fire. I don’t know how good a flyer she is but I do know that she’s likely resistant to lightning like a pegasus and physics are weird here. I couldn’t tell you how that would have gone in a death match.”
She smiles and kisses me again gently. “What if she was a threat to me? What if she had come to kill me and destroy the hive?”
“All bets are off and she would have died. It wouldn’t be a fight, simply murder from where she least expects it. If I had to I would unleash the Midnight Lotus.”
“Exactly, strength is a thing that changes so drastically on a situational basis. On paper would you have lost the fight that killed you?”
“Aye, necromancers are the bane of astral types. Just as we are the bane of tech and assassin types. Why?”
“Yet, you almost won. Had you not given in to the pain of loneliness and simply defeated the female, you would have seen the necro try casting his spell and stopped him. That’s why.”
I think about it as we sit in silence. She’s right, there's no point in wondering how I match against others when in the end, anypony could beat me in the right situation. Strength is such a complex thing usually, but in this world where I don’t even know the rules it is ever greater levels of complexity. I don’t even know my own limits and abilities anymore.
Jade snuggles closer with a sleepy sigh and I curl around her watching her drift away into the realm of sleep. I wonder about her. I know she finds me attractive, but I wonder how much of her affections comes from the food she gets from it. Does it really matter? Perhaps there is wisdom in changelings they just want to be loved. If nopony loved a changeling then they would die. Perhaps I should commission a play about changelings. Something moving that draws upon the absolute beauty of needing love to survive.
The night is moving forwards and my muddled thoughts keep me awake. Giving up on sleep I try to get up and go for a walk when her hooves wrap around my waist.
“Where are you going? Your beds more comfy with you in it.”
“I thought you were asleep.”
“Maybe I still am.” She gives me a coy smile
I chuckle at that. She really is adorable. I sigh and snuggle back in with her, she is really cuddly.
“So many thoughts are running through my head. I don’t even know who I am anymore. I wonder how much I’ll change in this world, as well as how much I will change it. I’m a monster among cattle here and a genteel among beasts out there, where do I belong?”
“Honestly, it’s hard to link the person who is always kind and affectionate to me with the person who has half the city treating them like the princesses newest tamed monster. I don’t get how you can flash between a glare that crushes wills and the caring look that you always look at ponies nice to you with.”
“It’s because I’m a wolf,” I reply in explanation. She laughs like it was a joke. “Not even joking. Wolves are powerful creatures that hunt for and will kill anything threatening the pack. However if they can tell you're not a threat and not worth trying to eat they aren't dangerous. However at the same time, a wolf will always put the happiness of everyone else in the pack above there own.
“To put it simply if you're nice to me I’ll go a round with a demon to protect you. If you threaten anyone that I like then I will go as far as I have to in order to protect them. The guards today were making you sad, so that put them on my bad side. However, the ones who challenged me was a matter of pride. We don’t have anything against each other, fighting is how wolves decide who the alpha is. I will always be the alpha.”
“Being the alpha, what does it mean to you? It sounds like you always have to be in control, but I don’t think that’s what it means.”
“An alpha is strong. They protect the pack from anything and never back down. When the pack has to run away they are the last to get out. When the pack charges an enemy they are the ones who lead the real attack. I don’t want to control really. It’s more of I want to… I don’t know how to put it into words.” I trail off. This is more self-reflection then I had planned for tonight.
Jade smiles at me and kisses me again. It’s a lot more passionate than the small kisses before. Fire and ice play under my skin. My power ignites as it flows through me. Her power draws at my reserves leaving shifting patches throughout me where the burning power is cooler. It feels wonderful. She explores my mouth and gently traces my fangs. She has two sharp curved fangs on both the top and bottom of her mouth. They are sharp and the contact with them sends a jolt traveling down my spine.
We break apart and I feel light headed from the lack of oxygen. She had a soft gentle look when she kissed me, now her eyes blaze and I can see the desire etched in every part of her face. She is baring her fangs and rolls on top of me. She kisses me again as I trace her body with my hands.
She positions herself and brings herself down on me. The contact is electric as she takes my length into her at once. I feel a moment of resistance before she buries myself in her. She gasps and freezes for a moment. She looks like she is in pain.
“Are you alright?”
She kisses me again before she starts shifting her hips. She moans into the kiss as she starts gyrating. I feel a momentary compulsion to flip us around and take control but suppress it. Instead, I shift my hips and thrust into her. She gasps and breaks the kiss. I thrust again, this time, she meets my thrust with her own as we build a steady rhythm. She bares her fangs and her head darts at me but she stops short. Her eyes are intense and she seems to be fighting herself. I place my hand against the back of her head and push her teeth to my skin.
She bites down at the invitation and I feel my power flowing into her. She’s stopped moving and I roll her over. I position myself better and resume thrusting. The pressure in my hips is building. She begins moaning into my skin and yanks her head back in a shout as I finish inside her. I feel her body spasm as she drives her hooves into me pulling me closer. When the spasms stop she goes limb. I’m worried until I realize she’s sleeping. I slip out of her and lay next to her. I pull her close and close my eyes exhausted from the rough day and drain on my power. She really is so adorable.
I hug her close and finally feel myself drifting off to sleep.
I wake up alone in my bed. Jade’s scent has cooled and I can tell she’s been gone a while. I check my watch and it reads midnight, reminding me I need one native to this world. Time seems to be different here. Seconds move sometimes slower and sometimes faster than it did in my world. The clocks native to this world are fine, but my alien clock is always off. It’s not broken, highly enchanted and nearly indestructible its greatness is it’s downfall because the enchantments that keep it always on perfect time are why it can’t tell time right here.I sigh and guess that it feels like sometime late morning. I get showered and dressed and head out the door. I’m wearing just a black t-shirt and pants because Twilight was right, I’m living in a world without sunburns.
Immagine sunlight being toxic to you and all of a sudden it’s fine. I wonder about the implications of sunlight no longer hurting a being with a shadow aspect. OH! The cosmic limiters! How far did Discord go when he removed them? Can I use necromancy? That was a weakness of being an astral aspect. With my shadow element, I should be a natural adept at it. However all the two conflicting rules resulted in was I can barely do more than messenger bats and other small basics even using advanced rune working.
I’m so caught up in my thoughts that I almost fail to notice that on my door is a letter.
Dear wolf,
I would appreciate that you report to the castle whenever you awake. I heard you had a rough day yesterday, and accept that you need time to sleep off the exertion. I’m pleased that it went so well.
Sincerely, Celestia.
The flowing script is elegant and somewhat hard to read. I pocket it and head upstairs. The changelings are beginning a full dress rehearsal for the play and Discord is on the balcony in a tux. I look closer and notice a beautifully dressed Fluttershy next to him. The love between them is endearing and I am impressed with his romantic side. Discord notices me heading for the exit and discreetly snaps his claw and I become Tybalt and teleport backstage. Guess I’m not going anywhere.
Duties to the royalty can wait next to my duties to my friends, anyways. This play is probably more important than whatever the Princess wants. Either way, Discord trumps Celestia as both a friend and a deity. I clear my mind and focus on playing my role perfectly and sit as a perfect director when not on stage. After we are done the room fills with Discords in all manner of different high-class outfits, dresses included, who cheer and clap at the performance. Several have tears in their eyes blowing on overly large floral handkerchiefs. Fluttershy looks a little sad and has attached herself to the main Discord in a big loving hug.
Grinning ear to ear I smile as Discord unzips himself onto the stage still hugging Fluttershy. “D’aww, you two are adorable together.” I address the changelings who have filed in in a neat crowd that shows their military background. “We are all so very ready for tonight’s big first performance. Is everypony going to be able to keep their calm and not get jittery?”
Most of the changelings nod and salute but a couple laugh, Jade included. “Changeling used to play a lot harder roles with a lot more riding on it. This isn’t really all that nerve wracking. You were right about us being natural born actors. Portraying emotions, looking and acting as another with a script and no need to improvise is grubs play.” She beams at me.
“Awesome, I’m heading out, Celestia wants to speak to me ASAP. I can tell she’s been plotting something with me, I’m good at sensing plots.”
For some reason Jade giggles at this. “Clearly.” Her tone is spiced by the giggles and I wonder what I just said. It’s probably something to do with being able to find the changelings in the first place. I stride out the door and shift forms running full out to the castle. I love the wind rushing through my fur and the slight burn of forcing my muscles to do there best.
The guards see me rocketing towards them and freeze up looking concerned. I realize this full tilt run looks like something has gone seriously wrong or is on fire. I shout as I near them “Relax, I’m just late.”
I’m happy at the relieved looks as they stand aside to let me past them into the main city. Several ponies give me waves and call greetings as I blare past them. I love how friendly everyone is in this world. Sometimes it’s surreal how fundamentally different the worlds are from each other. However I might be overthinking it. I choose this path through the city specifically because it dodges what I call ‘the clusters of stuck up idiots’ that seem to condense in certain parts of the city.
Most of the ponies on this path have music, art (cooking is an art), or combat oriented cutie marks. Another reason I love this path is the beautiful music and smells drifting from the houses as I pass by them. I see somepony coming out of the house ahead of me he’s loading a statue into a cart carefully with somepony else's help. Both are earth ponies with similar sculpting themed cutie marks.
The wheel of the cart snaps and as I’m turning my course to try and catch the statue they both leap and try and catch it. I sense a subtle magic incase the entire statute as it hits the ground. The weak marble should have been shattered, however, the magic makes it stronger than the road leaving a small crack. I shift and help them load the cart.
“I didn’t know earth ponies had magic like that. That was seriously awesome.” I comment after I shift back to help make sure statue is safely loaded.
“What do you mean magic? We picked that statue up with our strength. Earth ponies don’t have magic exactly we are stronger and we can connect with the earth.”
I cock my head questioningly at them. “Is earth pony magic supposed to be a secret or something? I saw you magically reinforce the statue to make it so tough it cracked cobblestone. I’ll keep it a secret if you want, but I am curious why it’s a secret.”
“I did what now? You know, now that I think about it, my chisels don’t get worn out like a pegasus’s do. This isn’t the first time I’ve dropped a statute either and had it survive the impossible. I never knew I had magic like that. Maybe I’m special like that.” He looks awed and his friend is staring at him in surprise.
“But you both used the magic, the other earth ponies even sent you some power to help. Is this all completely unconscious?” A small crowd has gathered around and everypony looks shocked.
A big leaf green stallion speaks up. “Now that you mention it, when I saw the statue falling I felt in all my heart that I wanted to help but couldn’t reach in time. I didn’t see any magic though.”
“Basicly every earth pony who had all four hooves on the ground sent a burst of power through the ground. The burst reached those two and they conducted it into the statue. The fact that all this is completely unconscious born solely from your desire to help each other… I don’t even know how to express how wonderful that is. Horsefeathers, Celestia, late!” I explode into movement as I shift back to the laughter of the ponies who had gathered around. These new swears are fun to use, it’s kinda funny how they developed like this.
Soon I reach the castle and shift to normal form. The guards greet me with a salute. “Celestia has sent for me.”
“Certainly, Sir Wolf.” I don’t know these guards scent, so Celestia has made an announcement about the lunar knights. The plot thickens. It’s about time I had something useful to do. Hopefully she wants me to defeat some kind of monster or something interesting, not something formal or likewise annoying. Somehow I can’t help but feel this is all gonna be some kind of anticlimactic ‘go run off this annoying manticore’ kind of thing. We reach the room where Celestia is awaiting me. I feel playful and can’t help myself when I get like this.
“Herro Tia’, how are you on this lovely day!” A moment of irritation flashes across her face at the greeting and the guard goes rigid. Her faces goes to a grin I recognise as a troll face anywhere.
“Greetings Sir Puppy, I am fine. I have no need to ask how you are, clearly you were up later than I expected, having taken this long to reach me.” As the guard is leaving the room I hear a snort. I debate continuing this but somehow I feel I would lose.
“So when are you going to show me your plot?” She recoils her face spilling a blush before she recovers. “What? I know you're plotting something to do with me. I’m very good at sensing plots.”
She bursts out laughing. “Clearly, from what I’ve seen and from what Twilight said, you are very good at chasing…” She snorts “plots.”
“Let me guess, that word has a whole new level of meaning here. What exactly did I just say?”
She is trying to contain her laughter on this. I can’t make her reply out.
“You just propositioned her in the most inelegant way possible. Asking her to show you a delicate part of the anatomy. Here I thought you only had an interest in mares with fangs.” Luna strides into the chamber from a door in the back. “You do know I have fangs too, if you’ve decided to take your pursuits to the royalty of the realm.” She smiles revealing the fangs common among her guard. Celestia shoots her a look of shock that matches my own.
The fangs melt away and her laughter echoes through the room. I smirk “Celestia, I was wrong. Engaging in a battle of wits against you is nowhere as bad as that troll.”
They both glare at me at this one. “Just in case it’s different here, a troll is somepony who is skilled at messing with heads and pulling pranks. Lulu, I didn’t know you had such a side as that. I must wonder why the two of you think I’m obsessed with mares. I mean seriously I’ve only been with Jade and the other one.”
Luna takes the nickname in stride. “Only two different mares in less than a week's time while flirting with several others, your right, there's no way you're that type of stallion.” She deadpans with a smirk. “Not to mention that you come from a world where humans were the only sentient race. I can’t help but wonder why you adapted from sleeping with another species is wrong to this so fast.”
I run my hands through my hair embarrassed. “It’s actually several things. First of all Mystery messed with my instincts before coming here. I recognise what’s beautiful about mares and what’s attractive about stallions. However I also had relations with different species before. I got over all that mental weirdness back when I was dating a wolf princess. Her name was Luna, she was a high astral wolf being. We had a falling out because of conflicting dominance issues.”
They look dumbfounded. Celestia recovers first. “Her name, was Luna.” She sounds shocked. Oh yeah, that can’t be common here.
“What? It’s a common name in my world. It means moon. Had I been born without the wolf aspect I might have been named Lunar or Shadow. Besides what would you name someone who was born to be princess of the night?”
They get matching smirks, crap that came out badly. Celestia again takes the offensive. “So, that's why you haven't tried anything with Luna. You're worried about” she pauses giving me an almost evil grin “dominance issues.”
“Celestia it almost sounds like you want me to be pursuing Luna.”
“Indeed, sister. I believe you’ve taken this joke to far.” Luna looks annoyed.
Celestia is far from done with her games. I cut her off. “I assume you did not summon me here to set up an arranged marriage with your sister. What is the issue.”
Celestia looks shocked at this, she’s probably never been cut off like that before. Luna looks at me with a piercing gaze. “What it’s not like anypony here ever expected me to just stand there and take jokes, right?”
Celestia smirks and shoots Luna a look. “Dominance issues. Interesting, you're correct. I need you to complete several basic training classes that guards are required to take. I have no doubt you will have no issues with the combat readiness and dark magic classes however I expect at least a passing grade in obedience.”
I snort, I can’t help it. “Obedience is a class? Alright, I’ll ace the class.” I smirk, it’s easy to be obedient when the people telling you to obey are terrified to give you commands. This might prove fun. Celestia looks suspicious. “So I take it I’m not supposed to scare the poor mage teaching the dark magic class?”
Celestia’s turn to snort and smirk. This can’t be good. “I doubt you’ll scare her. She’s a member of Black Sun and a powerful necromancer.”
I wince. Luna looks worried. “Will you be fine? I know how you react to necromancers.”
“If she goes too far she’ll regret it, however, I’ll do my best. When do these classes start?”
“You’ve already missed the first two. Dark magic will be in about an hour. You have a lot of paperwork to fill out. However with it being handed to her last minute like this she’ll likely try and get rid of you in annoyance. The class is pass and fail. If you get mentally damaged or would have died outside of the practical training, she kicks you out of the class.” Her voice drops lower. “I expect you to catch her attention. Show her your own black magic and play by her rules. She is a recruiter for Black Sun and I am hoping she tries to invite you to join them. They exist within their own laws and much of them is unmonitored by me. I wish to correct this and hopefully they will be unable to resist recruiting somepony with magic they have not seen before.”
I nod. “Show me the paperwork. I’ll get on it.” Celestia’s horn lights up and a table with a stack of paperworks appears on it.
How the hell am I supposed to read all of it? I take the first one and notice an annoyed huff by Celestia when I start reading it. “You do know you have to sign it regardless right? You slept in, so you don’t have time to read it. Actually…” A glowing paper appears in front of me and the stack is glowing. The paper simply reads “sign here”. I sign it and the papers all get signed in the appropriate spots. Crap, I have a bad feeling about this. “I’ll escort you and take the paperwork down to the class. I doubt you can carry it all without telekinesis.”
She leads me out of the hall and takes me to a different wing of the castle. Soon I’m sitting alone in a room that looks like a lecture hall. A unicorn mare with a sky blue coat and deep red mane with green highlights strides into the room. She is wearing a black cloak and her blue eyes blaze as she looks at me annoyed.
“Nopony with sense ever comes to this class early. I hate last minute entries to my classroom. Did you read all the paperwork?” Her voice is smooth and sweet, it has a certain draw to it.
“I wasn’t allowed. My orders were to complete this class. Everything is signed, however.” I smile at her, she seems nice considering she’s a necromancer.
She glares at me. “Are you a foal? You came to the one class that has a viable death rate unprepared and signed paperwork about it without reading it?”
“Isn’t like I had a choice. Celestia had me sign a paper saying sign here and they all got signed. I’m sorry about any extra work you have to do. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to die anyways.” I hold up my hand forming the shadows of flames around it.
She snorts. “If that’s an attempt to show off you are seriously lacking. Minor illusions are nothing. Even if that is the real Againap techniques it’s still not very impressive.”
I smile. “Fair point. I suppose to a necromancer little shadow games aren’t very interesting. I’ll just have to complete your class to show you I’m not gonna die taking your class.”
The rest of the class files in looking scared and takes their seats. They look like this is some kind of punishment.
The necromancer takes her position at the head of the class. She looks mischievous. “I am Nightshade. This class is pass and fail. If I decide you're dead then you are dead. I am a necromancer of the highest order. You are in for a fun time in my class. I will teach you everything you need in order to survive an encounter with any and all of the dark arts. I will begin with a roll call.” She reads off all the names studying how everyone responds to it. She smiles viciously when she’s done. “Excellent, let’s begin.”
Her horn glowed and her eyes trail smoke. Whispers fill the classroom as her necromantic aura encompases us in an attempt at illusions. Everypony looks disturbed and flighty. I’m actually kind of bored, I’ve seen a lot worse then some darkness and whispering. Her eyes lock on me and small sneer forms on her face. Looks like she’s started her plans to ‘kill’ me.
“Wolf, come down here.” I stand and stride to the podium. I stand next to her and several ponies are motioning something to me. “How you treat a black mage when you’ve caught their attention is important. Singled out you must do your best to survive the encounter. Deals, politeness and being impressive are effective in that order. Tell me Wolf, why do my pretty sights bore you?”
I notice a faint shimmering on the walls and several currents in the air. She has more illusions going then just the whispers. “I’m sorry, Nightshade. I can’t see them except for a small glimpse every now and then. It’s unfortunate, but my type is mostly immune to illusions and all I’m getting is a small voice whispering about how I should be afraid.”
She looks at me with only a single raised eyebrow betraying her surprise before she masters her expression again. A small grin spreads across her face. She jumps up and tries to kiss me, leaking intent to kill. I take a step back. She looks annoyed and her voice is poisoned honey. “Do you find me so hideous that a kiss is so repulsive?”
I smile at her. “Of course not, you are as beautiful as the flower you were named after. Unfortunately, just like the flower you are deadly. I can sense the intent to kill and the necromantic magic in that kiss. Get rid of that and I would be happy to kiss you.”
She looks taken aback. “You can read my intentions? Perhaps you aren't the worthless pretty boy publicity stunt I thought you were. You are allowed to return to your seat.”
I can’t help it, that one took me by surprise. She leaps up and almost plants another murderous kiss before I step out of the way. “Why did you go off guard like that?”
“Ponies must have some weird tastes. I’ve been called a lot of things in my life but pretty boy is kind of ridiculous. I’m ragged, scarred and to my race rather on the homely side. It caught me off guard, sorry.” I turn and head towards my seat I feel the eyes of the entire classroom on me.
I hear a whisper in the class. “I thought his love to play with dangerous mares was going to end him. Maybe it is only fangs that get him going?” I growl and Nightshade does not look amused. She points a hoof at the offending stallion.
“I need a new demonstration. Come here and be my new toy.” She is back in attack mode and the stallion in question gulps looking terrified. When he reaches the stage her voice takes on its deceptively sweet tone again.
“I take it you also find my art boring.” She gestures around the classroom noticing my wistful expression with a smile. I can’t help it I wanna see what she’s showing them.
“No! I just…” He can barely speak. I almost feel bad for him, almost.
She steps closer and he seems frozen. I notice tendrils of distortion trailing from the ground wrapping his legs. Tentacles maybe? She stares into his eyes. “So why is gossiping so important that you must do it in my class?”
“Sorry!” He yelps and cowers to the floor. I facepalm. He’s done for.
The distortions cover him and he is teleported out. “Sorry doesn’t serve any purpose but admitting you have something to be sorry for. Excuses and fear will serve you less. Be honest and respectful, but never let the darkness claim you. We will now enter practical application.” The shimmering around the room stops and the whispering ends. She walk out the door and the class follows her. She takes us outside to a training ground. Several boxes that look remarkably like coffins sit at one end of the field.
“Your task is simple, defeat me.” Her horn glows and zombies leap from the boxes. The zombies head straight for me and I whip my staff out and across releasing a burst of shadows at them sending them all sprawling. I charge at Nightshade to the shocked looks of the guards. She smirks and teleports away leaving a wraith in her place.
Cold iron is iron that has been used to kill. I can’t help but smirk at the sheer number of lives this staff has claimed as I slam the metal cap into the wraith. Another flash of sound behind me and I barely manage to turn and block the attack as Nightshade drops on me. Her hooves drive me to the ground. She weighs a ton, there has to be a weight increasing spell.
“Now this is hardly fair. Bringing cold iron weapons. Perhaps I should make you my minion for this exercise?” Her voice is soft and she’s trying to kiss me again. The necromantic energies pouring out of her aren’t draining my astral power like they should but I’ll only be able to hold her for a few more seconds. The other guards are busy with the zombies and won’t reach me in time. “How about a deal?” I spit out.
She back off for a moment and I continue. “Let me get up and activate my powers, if you're not too scared to kiss me I’ll let you.”
She hesitates. “Why the deal, how do we both benefit?”
“I’m good at elemental magic however my attacks at this position will hit both of us. I don’t feel like seeing if my defense or attack is better. I also don’t exactly want to do any lasting damage to you.” She stares at my now glowing staff and locks eyes with me. She cancels her spell and resumes her normal weight. I sit up and look around. The guards are all busy fighting zombies and thin air. “Wow, that’s…”
“Pathetic?” Nightshade helpfully supplies. I laugh. “I was gonna go with horrid but yours is much better. Ready to see the consequences of a deal with a devil?”
I smirk as she backs off looking worried. I plant my staff into the ground and shift into wolf form, then push farther warping into the monster form. I grab the staff turning it into a naginata and letting the shadows and flames rip around my form in a hell sent aura.
She looks almost hungry. She walks around me inspecting me. “This is the best you can do? Trading your speed for pure strength and-” I blast off full speed and slash a nearby zombie in half. “Well, now that is interesting, so, what is the cost?”
I laugh as much as the twisted form allows me to and the guards seem to have decided I’m the threat here. They charge me and I hold up a claw. I slice wait into the ground. Cocking my head curiously at Nightshade I bring my jaws full of a mountain of fangs in front of her head. She smirks and kisses me flooding my body with necromantic energy.
I can't believe she actually did that. Couldn't she tell it was a trap?
“How was it a trap? I connected to your powers and can hear your thoughts. Defeat the guards.”
I look at her incredulously. This feels completely different than it should. I can feel our two mana pools linked and yet I feel like we both need to agree before power flows either way. I realize too late that Equestrian necromancy works differently. Her powers flow through me in a subtle current blending with my own innate darkness. I feel the added power boosting my form to a new level. I look at Nightshade she is putting a hoof to her head.
“Stop thinking so much! How do you even think that fast? OW! I said stop!” She screams in pain holding her head. I pull back my thoughts and pick her up. Her defiant face despite the situation is impressive.
“Sir Wolf, Lunar knight and human from another world, release me and allow me to control you.” Her voice is layered with magic. Silly pony nobody is dumb enough to give their true name to anyone. She looks shocked. No way. I release her and shift to my human state.
“Deadly Nightshade. Pass me some power.” She opens her side of the power and I stand, back to full power. She clamours backwards afraid I walk slowly up to her. Now I don’t like this. The fear in her eyes because of me. I can’t believe she told me her true name just like that. Don’t these ponies protect their true names? I sever the connection.
The guards charge her only to be met with the regenerated zombies and a web of illusions. She locks eyes with me hate etched in every aspect of her face. She disappears and I feel something hot land on my back. It burns a lot! She used a light spell against me. I whirl and prepare only to notice the guards all focusing on me. Well played.
I launch myself sideways to dodge another volley from the halfwits who can’t tell illusions from reality. Option one, wipe out the guards and finish off Nightshade myself. Option two, catch that slippery necromancer and break her concentration so the illusion dissipates.
I leap at her and a guard puts up a shield around her. Crap! I turn my attention to the guards. Shadows rip from my staff as I slash through them. This will paralyze them for a few minutes. I catch another bolt to the leg and it hurts like hell.
“Nightshade, now I’m annoyed.” I glare at her. Her horn lights up the guards in her aura and animates them to attack me. Without their magic and the fluid movements of those in control of themselves, they are little more than meat shields. Nightshade has placed a potent looking shield around her. I’m going to have to work down that shield while dealing with her guard puppets without killing them, all before the guards wake up.
I lift into the air on my staff and reach into my pack. Lets play some games. She does not look happy about me flying. I pull out two highly potent gun mage pistols with anti-magic ammo. The matching silver inlaid guns roar as I fire them at her shield. The color changes and she grunts with an overflow forming on her horn. These shields are solid. I leap off my staff and land on top of the shield. This must be unprecedented because she looks shocked. Two more shots fire through the shield and I land on top of her. I grab her and take her into the sky away from her minions.
“So, gonna give up? I doubt you can teleport me along with you and if I see your horn glowing, I’m gonna knock you out.” I’m studying her expression. She looks defeated and annoyed. A smile flits across her face and I tense prepared for what she’s planned.
“Only one survivor, this game is over. Let me free, we need to wrap up class.” Now that she isn’t playing the role of the enemy her look is almost hungry. “I wanted to see just how much farther you would go, I wish I was stronger. Your magic is tainted at a base level like mine, if you could use necromancy…” I land and pull out a knife. Carving runes of animations into a corpse I, power it. It shamble to its feet and stares passively forward. Nightshade has begun awaking the class and by the time I’m done animating the corpse and enchanting it I am surrounded by many fearful looks and one highly interested one.
“Serve me, slave.” I state and the corpse walks in front of me prepared for my every whim. I grin evilly and the guards back off.
“We’ll play a game of re-kill the golem later. It’s less powerful then it could be considering it was never actually alive. I’m interested in how you made such convincing and powerful constructs.”
“Nope, round two. Wolf is the enemy. Begin!” Nightshade casts spells at the guards and their charge gets a lot faster. Crap! I pull back as the golem I made charges into their ranks. The looks of confidence turn to one of fear as spells deflect off the defensive runes on my creation towards them.
“It’s not a shambling weak zombie, foals. It’s a powerful flesh construct. Use a strategy!.” She yells at them as I laugh slipping into the role of the villain all too easily.
“Wolf!” An all too familiar shot rings out. My concentration stolen by the sun princess looking at me angrily the golem comes to a stop.
“Greetings Princess Celestia! Have you come to witness how my classes are going? Isn’t it wonderful?”
“This is too much for my guards to be handling in training! Fighting against two necromancers isn’t fair, I would hardly deploy such a small force against such a team.” She is looking between me and Nightshade and I notice a look of realization. “All of them against you? Why?”
I run my hand through my hair sheepishly. “Because Nightshade told me to? Okay, I’ll admit it’s a bad idea because I can barely take her but I’ll manage, even if I have to push my limits a bit.”
Celestia facehoofs. “Do you even realize what you’ve done? You’ve performed advanced necromancy without a license.”
I smirk, I can't help it. Her eyes narrow. Nightshade decides to help me out, not. “Is that all? What about the name magic, shadow magic and beast transformation?”
Another guard perks up. “He even risked letting her control his mind, just to try and set up a trap for her.”
I growl at them. “Alright, This session is going to intensify if Celestia lets me. How can I get a license so I can do my job? Certainly you don’t want me useless when you need me?”
Celestia raises an eyebrow and sounds resigned. “I’ll start the paperwork to get you a class A black magic license. I do want to see this intensifying your threatening, however.”
I plant my staff into the ground and they know what’s coming, or, at least, think they do. I shift into wolf form and release an unearthly howl creating 5 shadow constructs bound to my will. The number is lessened because, unlike the time where I was showing off to Luna, these are made for actual combat. Shifting back to human I grin at the forces I’m facing. “Shall we begin?”
They scramble into a defensive position as Nightshades zombies try and lock down my golem and the wolves charge them. I lift into the air on my staff and draw my favorite wand. Light spells and shields help them weather the assault of air and ground. Nightshade is studying the golem while casting buffs on the soldiers. Celestia watches the display intently seeming pleased. A pegasus in the group launches from the defensive wall and I cast a binding spell from the wand, ensnaring them with shining ropes as they get close enough to catch.
The pegasus mare in my hands looks at me with fear. “You know this is just a class right? Anyways you're dead, and I can’t pretend to be able animate more than one corpse. Go fly and sit next to Celestia.” I hug her and she looks confused. “Try and calm down, it’s just a game ok?” She nods as I unbind her seeming to have collected her wits and glides over to Celestia.
Nightshade is glaring at me. “You suck at being in character!” She yells at me.
I laugh maniacally. “Then don’t watch me!” I lock the place down in a shroud of darkness. The screams from within only incite my evil laughter. The blackness dissipates but the efforts of shattering it costs them a lot of time and the 3 remaining wolves land among them. The zombies and golem lay in a heap together. It’s actually rather gruesome. I control the wolves to injure the guards and their formation breaks as they scatter.
“Pause! Anypony who is injured please leave the field. I’m burning all your bodies with corpse flame.” Nightshade looks annoyed as the guards walk off and cancels the spell she was about to cast. “Five and Nightshade, alright I’ll allow you to surrender and retreat with your broken lives, a reminder to your princess to leave me alone.”
Nightshade is debating with herself studying me. The guards are looking to her for guidance and I can tell they don’t want to continue. “Alright practical training is over. I’ll get the medics, anypony with healing magic begin taking care of your comrades.”
Nightshade begins to leave and glares when I drop out of the sky and flop on the ground exhausted and hurt from the places the light magic hit me. “Seriously, you were bluffing?” She gives an annoyed huff and teleports away. Celestia lands next to me. “Hay, Celestia! How’d I do?”
She shakes her head and her horn lights up in a healing spell. It activates the light magic and burns like crazy. She looks at me worried as I squirm in pain. “What’s wrong with you exactly?”
“Light poisoning, you need to either give me power and let my system beat it naturally or pull out the light magic that’s burning the wounds.”
Her horn glows again and the burning stops as she pulls out the wisps of magic lingering from the impacts. I sigh in relief as the pain stops. Her spell changes and she imparts power into me. I rise to my feet and tiredly collect my tools stashing them in my pack. The medics arrive on the scene and they begin treating everypony. I give them a hand setting bones and the other healing I can do, but it doesn’t amount to much compared to the unicorns.
The looks of fear bug me. I hate being feared. “Can everypony stop looking at me like that, please? I’m a good stallion who protects ponies just like everypony else here.” It doesn’t help the looks. Nightshade sits next to me.
“They will always fear the darkness, Wolf. I know some ponies who won’t fear you and can understand what it’s like to wield the darkness in service to Equestria. Perhaps you would be interested in joining us?”
“Sounds like a good idea, but still I hate being feared. Wouldn’t joining them only make that worse?” Inspiration strike me, or should I call it impulsiveness. “How about a deal? Let me take you out on a date and I’ll come meet this group of yours.”
She laughs bitterly. “I would love to, however, there are few restaurants or venues of entertainment that will serve me. I am infamous and they fear I would scare off their customers. Come with me.”
She leads us away from the recovering guards to a more secluded part of the grounds. “I know a restaurant that will not refuse you service. I also happen to know a theater that’s putting on a never before seen play tonight, it’s called Redemption theater.”
Her eyes light up in recognition. “I don’t know if I believe you. That theater is sold out except for some very expensive special seats and I have yet to find a place I can eat without a potent illusion spell. I demand a down payment on your deal.” She is looking at me expectantly and her eyes turn excited as I lace my fingers in her mane. I pull her into a kiss and her hooves snake around my neck holding me into the kiss as our tongues dance. She smells of power and darkness with the scent of a deadly flower. My blood boils at her touch. She seems entranced by my sharp teeth and my skin tingles as she traces a hoof down my back. After an eternity of bliss we break apart.
I stare into her blue eyes that remind me of the night sky. They hold a depth and steel that speaks of the things she has seen and endured on her path into the darkness. “You're right I can’t promise that Star will put his respect for me and desire to keep my business and very deep money bag ahead of any customers in his shop. However, I can guarantee you a wonderful seat beyond even front row. I’ll have you sit next to me in the director's box, unfortunately, I am in the play so I will have to go on stage every now and then.”
Her eyes go wide in shock. “You actually meant it when you said you could do this. Why are you willing to put so effort into a date with me? If I scare off the ponies watching the play it will hurt you, not to mention this restaurant you're risking getting barred from sounds like it’s your favorite.”
I smile and kiss her again this time when I pull back she doesn’t let go. “You're beautiful and enticing, I don’t mind risking things when the rewards severely outweigh the risk.”
“And now it’s three.” Celestia’s voice rings out behind me laughing. I growl and Nightshade looks amused. I stand and face her. In her magic is a book and a large steel disc with engraving on it.
“This is your license. You are now authorized to use black magic to your fullest potential while in service to Equestria. I warn you this is not given lightly. This is a responsibility, do not use black magic recklessly. This book has all the laws and bylaws that govern dark mages. Read it and commit it to memory.”
I smirk and take the offered scroll and book. “So no getting drunk on moonshine and partying with wraiths?”
Nightshade giggles and Celestia glares before looking thoughtful. Celestia, of course, has to ask a dangerous question. “So you have an alcohol named after the moon?”
I smirk and dig in my pack. Producing a small jar I pass it to her. She holds it in her magic and removes the lid sniffing it. And promptly recoils at the potent smell. She coughs out. “You… drink this poison?”
I take it back with a smile. “I take it you're still a few thousand years too young to handle me in a drinking contest? You’ll have to get better faster than that. I’ll be an old man in few centuries, then how are you going to be able to claim to have out drunk me?”
Nightshade and Celestia go silent trying to comprehend what I just said. Celestia recovers the fastest. “Just how long will you live?”
“I expect you to answer a personal question in return. Assuming I don’t get ripped to shreds protecting somepony?” She nods and I continue. “Okay, so this is just a guess. Between Mystery, Discord, the differences in time between the two worlds and the differences of the two worlds in general. I only have a very basic guess.”
“How basic?”
“I estimate between 400 and 1500 years. Most likely it will be in the upper area, however, I can’t actually be certain it isn’t higher or possibly a case of life until death.”
She winces. “How can there be so many factors? That’s a large area for error there.”
I smirk and pull out a scroll I have already done this math on. Let’s hurt the princess's and necromancer’s pretty heads. “Humans live an average of 80 human years. Mages an average of 150, assuming they don’t die. A human year is 365 and a quarter days long. Converted that is about 133 for normal humans and 249 for a normal mage.”
They look surprised by this but I can tell there waiting for the next step that explains the 400 baselines. “Now for the real kicker. Shadow embodiments and astrally possessed humans. Both add a good 50 years to the end. The shadow because it allows the wielder to cancel out the effects of the mind and body decaying from disease and parts wearing out. You might have seen the regenerative abilities it gives me. Tack on the fact that Discord removed the cosmic limiters on it.
“The astral part is complicated. It’s a matter of having more life energy and being able to draw in natural energy more easily. Also, I have a strong self-definition, viruses and other diseases get destroyed by my system pretty easy and mutations such as cancer won’t affect me. Now amplify that by the fact that this world has immensely higher amounts of ambient magic and the fact the Mystery altered my magic and adapted it to this world.”
Nightshade looks confused and Celestia just looks annoyed. “In short you might not even age?”
“I doubt we’ll ever find the answer to this anyways. I’ll likely die in battle still looking young. Now for your question. What do the two types of alicorns mean? Why are you and your sister so different from Twilight?”
She recoils and even Nightshade looks at me shocked by this. “My sister and I are ancient alicorns that have grown into our powers over the years. Twilight is still very young, essentially an alicorn foal, in time she will grow into a mature alicorn. That was a surprising question. I’m not used to ponies asking things like this.”
“I had no means to gather the details on it myself. I also doubted whether I would find it in a book. I do prefer to figure things out on my own but I know enough to ask a question when an answer would escape me. This is interesting and I am naturally curious about many things, however, I’m not as reverent as your ponies. If you’ll excuse us, we were in the middle of a conversation. I’ve got a busy day and an even busier night.”
Celestia looks at me in surprise at the dismissal as I turn and leave with Nightshade following me. We part ways after I agree to meet her later for the date. Alone now I get things ready, the first stop is Harmony Cafe. Luckily Star is in.
“Hay, Star! Long time no see!” I smile at the stallion but he looks back without a smile.
He actually is looking at me wearily. “Hi, Wolf. You can sit anywhere, somepony will be over eventually.”
“Okay, what’s wrong bro? You look like I’m the last person you want to see right now.”
“I heard you broke Moon Light’s heart.”
I growl. “She was the one who told me to get lost. I don’t know what anypony said but she’s the one who decided I wasn’t the stallion she wanted. What would even make you say otherwise?”
He looks surprised. “Nopony knows. We just know she got very depressed and you’ve started going out with other mares. What happened?”
“In a nutshell? Her father told her I wasn’t good enough for her because I’m human and she listened to him. Look, on the subject of other mares…” He looks troubled but more relaxed. “I’m going on a date with a very special pony tonight and I want to bring her here. However she might make you lose some customers, Nightshade doesn’t have a very good reputation.”
He jumps at the name. “You and Nightshade? You like the crazy ones, I see. Don’t worry about it Wolf. Give me a time frame and I’ll give ponies a warning not to freak out when she shows up. I take it you want that romantic booth in the back?” He’s trying to keep it looking lighthearted but looks like he’s pleading with me on this one.
“Of course I do. We’ll be in at around 6. Now I have another thing to discuss with you. I have a list of things I need found. These items are listed by the name I know them by, however, I have a description of the item next to it. Don’t worry about expenses I’ll give you a starting balance, tell me if you are having problems getting any of the items. I’m willing to help you get things, I just don’t have the time or contacts to hunt all this down myself.” I hand him the scroll with all the needed materials for a high level broom on it. It has a lot of diversity to it so I can experiment with the different worlds materials.
He runs his eyes down the page. “This is… an odd list to say the least. I’ll get my ponies to work on it right away, we have most of this on hoof in Canterlot, so I can make a delivery to the theater within an hour or two..”
“It’s parts to make a broom so I can fly. Anyways, I have things to take care of for tonight. See you later. Oh, actually are you planning on coming down to Redemption theater tonight?”
He smiles. “I wouldn’t miss it! This is wonderful history in the making.”
I smile back and head out the door. Soon I make it to the theater to give everypony the heads up that I’m going to have a date tonight. After telling Jade, I head down to my room. When I pull my door open it is pitch black inside. There's a lamp on the wall behind me. I can see even in enchanted darkness. Needless to say, I draw out a sword from my pack and hitch the sheath on my belt. When I put my hand into the darkness it feels disconnected and tingly.
This is some form of magical transportation gate, I deduce. I sense Discords energy from it. This is either a horribly timed joke or he’s bored and doesn’t want to bother finding me in a bar. I step through and hope Discord is there to send me back on time. I find myself in a room with the lights off and dark enough I can’t see in this form. The alluring smell of tons of tasty food, sweet ponies, and adorable changelings caresses my nose. The lights snap on.
“Surprise!” Everypony yells at the same time. It’s a party and a banner reads ‘Welcome To Equestria, Wolf!”. A blur of pink darts at me. “Ohmygosh, I threw this party just for you! Discord made a special reality balloon or something so everypony can party together even if we can’t be together at the same time! I hope you like the balloons I made sure that I’m the only pink thing here. It was really hard to find everypony for a party and you are busy all the time so I got help. I wanted to throw this party to welcome you to Equestria. Nopony has ever thrown a Welcome to Equestria party before, unless you count-”
I take a step back from the stream of words pouring from the hyper pony. “Er, hi. Discord!”
He zips over to me. “Don’t worry about your date, no matter how long you stay here you will leave exactly 15 seconds later. This is a knotted dimension with set times for anypony who enters it. There are ponies here who came here weeks after you did, yet got here in time to surprise you.”
I debate on questioning the intelligence of messing with the continuum like this. Discord picks up my thoughts and interjects. “Don’t worry it wipes any memories harmful to the flow of time and converts any paradoxes into causalities. Of course that’s better. A causality is like a hiccup in time, a paradox is a full on seizure. Just try not to think about it too much and just enjoy the party.”
Through a herculean effort, I push aside the thoughts of the insanity that is this place. Seriously not easy. Right now I’m eating a cookie that doesn’t exist yet talking to a stallion whose wearing an outfit I wrecked with my shadow magic earlier today. I explore the room hanging out with ponies I know and avoiding the ones I don’t want to see. For some reason, Moon Light is here. Nightshade is here but neither of us can remember most of what the other says. A lot of the party seems to blur in my mind as chunks of overheard conversations or seeing ponies I shouldn’t mess with my head.
A group of ponies I don’t know approach me. There is a night pony with a horn and wings flanked on the left by an againap and on the right by a thestral. Behind them, an orange pegasus mare with a windswept purple mane and bright blue eyes looks at me sadly. Studying them better they all look like they're really sad but happy. I recognize the Wonderbolt pin on the pegasus. “What’s up ladies? Why does everypony look so sad?”
The night pony version alicorn speaks up. “We can’t say much or even our names. We are from the future, by quite a lot. We wanted to give you something and get a chance to meet you. Here. Take this and wear it always, please this is important. Never take it off.”
She hands me a necklace and I nod and put it around my neck. The moment I do everything goes to hell. The entire room distorts and cracks appear in the walls leaking some kind of something into the room. The ponies in front of me wink out of existence and reappear with smiles on their faces. Everything settles as whatever paradox was created becomes a causality.
“Wow, that was weird. Do you think it worked?”
“Of course, it worked or - wouldn’t - to be -”
“- looks really confused, we need to -”
The ponies talk amongst themselves quietly and large chunks of what they are saying are deleted. I can’t see their cutie marks or remember specific details about them. I can’t even remember their scent or voices very well. Just how much of an effect on my life in the future do these ponies hold? They smile at me as a group and walk through the archway out of here. I wish I could get a Discord eye view of that entire thing. My head hurts from the meeting and the strange connection formed when I placed the amulet around my neck. One thing is certain from the flow of events, I’m going to wear this or I might die. Or at least, be terribly hurt. Or is it hurt somepony else? Is this designed to stop me if I go rogue?
“Stop thinking and just accept it, Wolf.” Discord hands me a large glass of the incredible hard cider Applejack brought and points out where the Ponyville group besides Pinkie is sitting. “Let's go hang out with our friends, I’m sure they will be happy to see you again without your memories being messed with interfering with it. I explained to them not to mention anything about tonight or act on it in any way.”
I follow him over to the group. “Tonight?” I ask him with raised eyebrows only to be met with a fake glare.
“Ah ah ah, now that would be telling. There's been enough foreshadowing in this party to last for a long time.”
“Are… are you breaking the fourth wall?” I ask him with my head cocked to the side.
Pinkie pops up with a blackboard. “No way, he’s an amateur, this is breaking the fourth wall.” She writes ‘hello everypony, I hope you're enjoying this.’ on the blackboard. Mysteriously the blackboard writes out a reply on its own.
“Damn it Pinkie and Discord. Would you stop going out of control every single time I put you in the same scene? I swear I don’t know how you two manage to pull this off. Wolf decides to… er, I mean.”
I decide to ignore this before the combined efforts of this party undermine my sanity and make me question my reality.
Discord interrupts my thoughts. “Now who’s breaking the fourth wall? I’ll admit that was more subtle but mmph-” Discord cuts off having zipped his lips shut until he can get control of himself. I sit next to Applejack and rest my head on the table.
“How do you manage to survive those two? I think my mind is fracturing at the contact.”
Applejack gives me a comforting hug. “It’s ok, sugarcube. You just need to learn to accept things as they are and not think too much about Pinkie. Just remember three things. Don’t think too much about how. Trust her Pinkie sense and most importantly never break a Pinkie Promise.” She gives me a kiss on the cheek and I look at her surprised. “Right, you’ve only met me the first time at this point. Still why are y’all confused? Remember the wrestling match?”
I give her my best evil grin. “That was a legitimate move in a… submission match.” I put the emphasis on submission and her ears twitch as a grin slips across her face. I address everypony else. “So time-space shenanigans and insane pink ponies aside. How has everypony been doing since the last time we met? Oh right you can’t answer that because I will see yall again before you come here. Anyways it’s nice to see everypony again.”
“It’s nice to see you too!” A pair of hooves poke me from behind and manage to startle me. Pinkie slips into a seat around the table. “Your marefriends are coming over.”
Plural? I turn and see Nightshade and Moonlight following Jade over. Lovely. They pull up chairs at the now crowded table and study me.
Jade is first. “You’ve certainly had a busy week, Wolf.”
I smirk. “What can I say? A week can be a long time.”
“Who are these ponies?” Twilight asks. “I remember Jade, but who are the other two?”
“This dark gem is Moon Light, evidently we made up at some point. We were dating seriously but then she got rid of me because her father said so. I’m happy to see she won’t hate me forever. This stunning mare that is as beautiful and deadly as her namesake is Nightshade. We have a date scheduled for tonight on my part of the timeline. I hope it goes as well as I hope. I have no idea who is sitting in that chair though. I can’t see her or smell or anything. My instinct tells me she’s there and dangerous but that’s about it.”
“Wolf why can’t you see -? You’ve met her already.” Twilight has that intense look she gets when she’s trying to figure something out.
“Twi, don’t bother trying to figure the continuum out. It’s just gonna burn your brain. So am I guessing right that it’s Chulainn?”
She phases into existence as the room ripples again. Yay more causalities. “So I did manage to track you down again. That’s good to know.”
“You were looking for me? I can’t say much, I’m several weeks ahead of you. It’s good to be here though.” Chulainn looks happy to see me. What happens in the next week to cause this much difference in everypony? We sit and talk as the party wears on sometime we play games and a couple times I get invited to dance. There are so many wonderful snacks made from apples here it’s incredible. Pinkie remembered my favorite food because the cake is a cinnamon cake with apple frosting. It is absolutely incredible. The cider is decent and as time wears on the effects of the cider begin to tell on everypony.
Fluttershy and Rarity leave with a large group. After they are gone the party seems to switch entirely. A unicorn takes up the DJing with an epic light show and makes an announcement. “Hey, everypony this is DJ PON-3 ready to lay some webtastic party music down, now that the lightweights have gone to sleep. Let's spin this!”
A heavy dubstep beat begins to pour out of the DJ setup and everypony gets up to dance. It’s been awhile since I cut loose and danced like this but surrounded by mares like this is an entirely new experience. I begin to feel a different buzz from the one the cider gave me. The combined scents and sights in the room are intoxicating in and of themselves. The party begins blurring and it occurs to me that I’m going to have to sleep here. I can’t go on a date like this.
Jade and Nightshade seem to be dominating my time but Moon Light and several others keep cutting in. Chulainn is actually a really great dancer. I’ve been watching her and she doesn’t use her wings for balance for this either. Nightshade got annoyed the first time somepony cut between us, It’s actually kind of funny. Pinkie tries dancing with me, but I get lost trying to keep up with her. Or figure out what she’s even doing. Eventually, we get tired and retreat to our table. The crowd has thinned even more by now and there is only a handful of ponies left in the room.
The table is now Pinkie Pie, Jade, Nightshade, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Chulainn and me. Pinkie Pie and Dash look half-way to smashed and Chulainn keeps nodding off. Jade and Nightshade on the other hoof are as fine as me. I decide to fix that. Digging in my pack, I produce a bottle of moonshine. Nightshade’s eyes light up in recognition. Everypony else looks at it in curiosity.
“Alright, everypony, who wants to see what mages call hard liquor? This is called moonshine. It is strong enough to put a lightweight human flat with a single gulp. Celestia herself won’t touch it.”
I pour her a shot and hand it to her. She knocks it back like a pro. Then a look of disgust crosses her face and she coughs. “Wow, that was intense! I wanna try another!” She giggles and falls out of her chair. Silence falls in the wake of the collapsing pony only to be broken by a loud snore.
“Anypony else feeling up to the task?” I ask with a smirk.
Dash for once doesn’t rise to the challenge. “No way! Nopony outdrinks Pinkie Pie. I’m gonna pass on that and take her back home. See you later.” Dash is giving the jar in my hand almost scared looks as she carries Pinkie out through the arc.
“Am I the only one who’s going to be sleeping this off before I go back to what I was doing? Seriously everypony realises they are going back to whatever they were doing completely wasted right?” I ask the handful at the table.
“Good idea. Can you be my pillow again?” Chulainn asks me with her eyes half closed. My brain is too drunk to puzzle it out and I want to sleep anyways. I pull my bedding out of my pack and lay down the ground sheet. I need to remember to add a pillow. Chulainn lays next to me and puts her head on my chest. Nightshade lays on my other side and drapes a hoof around me. Jade stands over us and decides to lay next to Nightshade. Behold the benefits of being the only one with a bed and blanket!
“Ah suppose ah’ll go lay over here. Wouldn’t want to impose.” Applejack sounds left out.
“Don’t be afraid of the adorable griffon. She’s very cuddly and warm.” Chulainn says quietly. Applejack slips into the impromptu bed next to her laying on her stomach. It’s so warm and comfy I drift away to dreamland.
I’m standing on a burnt reddish planet, the sun is massive and hangs in the sky as a pained red disc. I hear my name shouted behind me and am tackled from behind. Feeling no ill intent from the massive attacker I don’t fight it simply twisting to see them as they hug me.
“Wolf? How are you here?” It’s Luna, but she’s different. Massive and scarred. She is the size of Celestia and her power feels like all of existence is packed into her. She plants a kiss on me initially passionate but breaks off at my surprise. “Wait, something's wrong. Wolf, you look so young, your eyes are... “ She trails off trying to figure it out.
Confusion floods me. “Where am I? Or should I ask when? I just went to sleep after Discord and Pinkie threw me that weird extradimensional welcome to Equestria party. Dreaming outside of reality... This is the end of the world isn’t it? When the material world begins to dissolve back into the dream realm”
She nods and gets off of me with a sad look. “I must look strange to your eyes, back then…” She suddenly beams at me. “I’ll accept this as a final gift from my long lost brother. A chance to see my long lost lover. Thank you Discord. Wolf, can I be yours again? One last time before I fade from this world and go to the next. I know it must be weird, we haven't even begun our friendship yet to you. Then again it was after you got back from that mission that we started getting to know each other better. You once told me that the party was a night of a thousand casualties that Equestria created to protect itself in the absence of the Elements. Now that the unreality filter isn’t affecting you, every word I speak is a causality isn’t it?”
My mind overheats and my thoughts cycle through concepts as I try to process this entire thing. She wants to be mine again. She says I look young and would recognize her current form. Whatever I do tonight will cause tonight to happen. The party I just had created a lot of casualties that save Equestria. She is looking at me with a slightly bowed head and her eyes scream desire, lonliness and pain. I can smell her scent in the air, more intense than it was in my time. She is all alone in this dying world that has merged with the ethereal plane. Her eyes are that of a goddess, untold hauntings matched by an equally untold amount of experience and wisdom.
These thoughts blurred by in the time it took Luna to blink. I smile and place a hand under her muzzle and bring her into a passionate kiss. She needs me, this world and her will soon fade to dust. Even though I’m only here through a quirk of time I will not let her spend her final moments alone. For a moment I am rocked by a simple realization of how easy it would be to fall for her.
The kiss breaks off and for once I’m the one left breathless. Kissing her is like falling forever into the night sky. She gives me a coy smile. “I’ve missed you, Wolf.” Her voice is almost a purr and she adds two words at the end in a breathy tone that sends a wave of delicious shock through me. “My Alpha.”
I embrace her and kiss her again. I feel a powerful warping around us. Not losing contact with her she takes a step back and falls with me landing on top of her on a large comfy bed. Eventually the passionate kiss comes to a halt as I attempt to refocus my mind. A grin has spread across her face as a hoof idly trails down my back. She smirks and twists her hoof in the small of my back resulting in a shock spreading through all my body. Shadows explode into being around me at the touch. She turns her head to the side tilts it back exposing her neck to me.
A grin that matches her’s spreads across my face as I lean in and gently bite down. She shivers in pleasure and her gasp brings my member to full attention. I explore her body, my fingers trailing the contours of her neck and enjoying the smooth silky quality that her mane possess. Describing the exact texture and scent of her mane would take the greatest of poets and lovers a decade and the result would be as abstract and fulfilled as a description of reality itself. She relaxes into the exploration moaning and gasping as I enjoy the beautiful mare before me.
Soon my exploration leads me to her burning center and she holds her breath in anticipation. I gently trail my fingers down her slit and lick her. The scent of her is intoxicating and her taste is sweet. My mind strains to handle the sensations flowing through me as I explore her with my tongue. Her flowing tail wraps around me as her hind hooves pull me closer. Her hips buck as her breathing grows ragged. Her body spasm and I feel a burst of pain through me as her hooves dig in hard. Her strength is incredible and I’m forced to push the power flowing into me through a defensive spell to keep her from doing lethal damage to me. As it is I think I feel a rib fracture
She releases me and I move up on the bed to lay next to her “My Wolfie, I’ve missed you. I was hoping we could play a game, one final scene after far too long without you.” Her lustful tone leaves no doubt in my mind about what kind of game she wants to play. She glances at the corner of the bed and I notice that the head of the bed has a rune inlaid collar with a long section of chain heading to the ground. The possibilities are delicious.
“Oh right, we haven't done this yet. Or you haven't, or…” She trails off with a frustrated growl that sends a shiver through me. “Alright, one more paradox to create. Our safe words are red, yellow and green, you taught me them so I imagine you know what is for when. I like it when you overpower me and make me your pet. This is why you knew all that about me isn’t it?”
I laugh as I see the perplexed frustrated look cross her face. I kiss her again. “Try not to think about that stuff too much, trust me I’ve been dealing with time-space crap all day and it just hurts your brain if you think to much. Now” I let my voice take on a more commanding tone that sends a shiver through Luna “let’s play a little game, Luna.”
I shift in the bed rolling on top of her and pinning her legs back. Her resistance is met with me severely boosting my strength. I don’t have to hold back in the slightest with her, I actually can sense she is holding back a lot herself. As I try and hook the color on her she knocks me completely off the bed. She doesn’t look surprised as I rise with a growl and smile. This is going to be fun. I launch myself back at her and pin her front hooves with my elbows managing to lock it in place. A small giggle escapes Luna as the collar clicks closed. She tests the chain and looks satisfied that they resist her strength. Her aura is much more subdued now as the collar blocks her magic.
“I was worried you wouldn’t be able to handle me anymore. Though seeing you wreathed in power like that just to play with me is new. It’s been a lonely without you, my love. When you get back to your home tell Discord that he’s the best brother I’ve ever had.”
I kiss her again and smirk. “You know out of context this isn’t exactly a great gift. Now are you going to be a good pet, Luna?”
Her voice and demeanor change as she shifts into the role. “No, we art the Princess of the Moon. We shall never submit to thou, Lord of Shadows.”
I give her an evil smile and slide off the bed standing over her. Her eyes betray the intensity of her desires. Like she said she likes it when I make her my pet. She starts to stand and I put a hand on her chest and push her back down holding her in place.
“We’ll see about that. You might find you like being my pet.” I trail my fingers down her chest and entwine my fingers in her mane. “The rewards of being a good pet are immense.” My fingers touch the outside of her slit and I gently run my finger over her clit, eliciting a gasp. “And the punishments for being a bad pet are quite severe.” My fingers tighten in her mane for a moment and her eyes widen. “Are you going to be a good pet” a teasing press to her clit “or a bad one?” I leave the threat unfulfilled until I see a hint of disappointment. This time I tug her mane.
“Yellow, we don’t have time for my usual resistance. Green. I- I- I will be a good pet, Master.” I smile evilly.
“Prove your worth pet. Service me.”
She leaps off the bed and gently nudges me backwards onto it. I sit on the bed as she removes my pants with effort from her weakened telekinesis. My hardness stands out aching for attention. She kneels and nuzzles my erection inhaling it’s scent deeply. She teasingly licks the pre from the tip. She slowly draws me into her until her muzzle is buried in my fur. I moan at the touch as she plays with me with her tongue. She works her muzzle up and down my shaft expertly. A gentle hoof caresses my knee and gently trails up my leg and abs and settle on my chest slowly circling through my chest hair. I moan again in the ecstasy of her touch.
All too soon I feel the pressure in my loins building as my body seeks release. A moan from her sends another shock of pleasure through me and the dam bursts. She moans as my seed shoots into her mouth sucking every drop out that she can. She smiles and stands a glow from her horn covering her muzzle cleaning the semen off. She looks at me expectantly.
“You have done a wonderful job, my pet. I think you deserve a reward.” I guide her to the bed and lay her down, her legs splay as I kneel between her legs. I trace my member up and down her slit and she opens for me. Gently I thrust into her gasping at the sudden tightness and incredible heat of the contact. A low moan escapes Luna’s mouth as I enter her.
I lean down and kiss her and our tongues dance as I thrust into her slowly and steadily. I am caught up in the wonderful velvety feel of her against me. Soon our breaths come in ragged gasps of pleasure as I quicken the pace and drive into her. Her legs almost crush me again as she lets out a loud wordless shout. Feeling her tightening against me and smelling the juices of her orgasm I lose control of myself and drive into her with abandon driving her orgasm further as I tip into my own release.
I collapsed on top of her hugging her to me as our bodies come down from the activities. I lay next to her and she cuddles me close.
“Wolf, I’m scared. Thank you for being here with me, my love. The sun will die soon, just please, hold me.”
I hold her tight as we lay in the bed beneath the sun. A flash lights the sky as she holds me and looks up with wonder. “I love you, Wolf. I’ll see you soon, my love.”
I kiss her as I feel the heat rising. “I love you too. I’ll see you soon, just a different time of you. I’m glad I could be here for you.”
The wave of light and heat from the sun reaches us and the last sensation I feel is the agony of being burned alive. Luna has a smile on her face as we die together at the end of the world.
I awake with a gasp still feeling the burning agony of the- my mind hesitates at trying to call it a dream. Looking around everypony is staring at me freaked out.
“Jeez, if you had used strength like that in our duel you might have won.” Chulainn says holding her front claw.
“Sorry, beautiful. I kinda experienced the end of the world and it hurt a lot. Discord, I have a message from Luna for you. ‘Tell Discord he’s the best brother in the world, thank you for this gift. Whether you meant it or not. I agree, I was glad to be with Luna in her final moments. Is everypony ok?”
Applejack and Jade nod. Chulainn just snorts and Nightshade glares at me.
“You kept whispering Luna’s name and I heard you call her your pet.” Nightshade looks at me annoyed.
“Yeah, turns out I end up marrying her sometime in the next thousand years or so. Why does it matter to you anyways? It’s not like we are in a relationship. Chulainn, let me fix your leg.”
I press my hands to her and am shocked to discover I broke a bone. While I’m kneeling over her she whispers into my ear. “You’ll have to show me this whole pet thing in person some time. Don’t even try and tell me that the dream thing was unrelated to what was poking me when I woke up. Well before the entire screaming in agony as you died a horrible death thing.”
I give her a smirk. “You know where to find me, most of the time anyways.”
She nods and flexes her claw experimentally. She smiles “I need to be going now. Have fun on your date with Nightshade.”
She walks out through the archway and I turn to Nightshade. “I suppose I need to be going. I’ve got a date with a really sexy unicorn tonight.”
She gives me an annoyed look. “Who is it this time?”
I facepalm. “I’ll give you a hint. She has deep blue eyes that hold the spirit of the night. A flowing silky blood red mane and tail that draw out my instincts and make me want to run my hands through them. She has a gorgeous blue coat that that reminds me of a perfect day sky. Her power is incredible and her battle lust can rival my own.”
She looks surprised. “This is before our date? That’s when you're from? Wait, we haven't even gone on a date yet and I’ve slept in the same bed as you? What would my mother think?”
“Well, you’ve been on a date with me at least. Besides we are outside of time right now and it’s not like we did anything anyways, right? Well, I’m off. See you in a few hours when I can talk without all these limits on what we can remember.” With that I walk out of the portal and find myself standing in the doorway to my room.
Looking at the clock I smile and hop into the shower to get clean. Finally I dress in my stylish black robes. These robes are the mages equivalent to an Armani suit. Silk, velvet and silver inlaid runes with glowing gemstones fueling the ridiculous amounts of enchantments. They are the very definition of dress to impress. Throwing my pack onto my back after belting on my two favorite swords I smile at the mirror.
I know that clothes in general are considered fancy here, but I want to be impressive. Not to mention I know something is gonna go wrong tonight and I want to be prepared to kill the life out of anything that messes up my date. Finally ready I pull out the supplies Star had dropped off and begin making an elegant broomstick. Rowan shaft, various magical twigs and finally 2 bars worth of star metal, a bar of cold iron and several large gemstones of perfect arcane cut. I’m still missing a feather from a powerful pegasus for a foci and some hematite for a stabilizer spell, however these can wait.
Satisfied I put my masterpiece over my shoulder and walk out of my room. I see Jade. “Hi Jade, been to the party that can only be talked about to those who have been to it because of the laws of time-space yet?”
She looks at me with a puzzled grin. “I don’t think so?”
“Alright, let me know when you have, I wanna talk about it. I’m going on a date tonight, and my date will be sitting in the directors box with me. Also, I made my broomstick finally! Lets go flying together!”
I’m in high spirits from the party, the Dream and the date. After we exit the theater together I throw my legs over the side of my broom and kick myself into the air. It has the speed and grace of a pegasus. Not to mention an auto summon spell that will always bring it to me if I lose it. Me and Jade happily play in the sky soon joined by other changeling and even a pegasus or two. Unfortunately I have to cut the fun short and I excuse myself and head for where Nightshade told me her house was.
Surprisingly it’s in an interesting neighborhood. Everypony seems to be from a variety of wealth and status, however, the aura of darkness comes from everypony on the street. Several suspicious looks are aimed at me as I look around.
I call out to the street. “Does anypony know where Nightshade lives?”
Several glares and a large unicorn walks up to me with a look of anger. “What is your purpose with her?”
I smile. “I’m picking her up for a date and she told me where her house is but, well, I kinda can’t tell which one it is.”
He takes a step back and glares at me. “A date? A knight is here seeking out a necromancer for a date? I don’t believe that for a second. We are dark mages employed by the crown for the good of Equestria and we-”
I cut him off and hold up the token Celestia gave me earlier. “Yep! Me too! And believe it or not, somehow I managed to convince the absolutely beautiful and powerful Nightshade to go on a date with me tonight. I know it’s hard to believe, but somehow she finds a homely wretch like me atractive.”
I’m happy to see his shocked look. “A knight is a blanker? What is moving in the shadows to bring this about?”
“What’s a blanker?”
He facehoofs. “A pony with a blank check in black magic. You can use any spell, bend any rule and do whatever you want. I thought only the higher ups in Black Sun held that privilege.”
“He is a higher up member of Black Sun.” Nightshades voice sounds out from behind me. I turn and beam at her. She’s dressed in a simple but elegant black dress that somehow shimmers in the light of the falling sun. She is breathtakingly beautiful.
“But I haven't even joined Black Sun yet. I’ll admit I want to, but isn’t there some kind of initiation required?”
She shrugs. “We’ll take care of that tomorrow. For now we’ve decided that since we make such a potent pairing and I’ve lacked a partner for too long to be ignored that you will be my partner if you accept and join us. Because I’m an Elite, that makes you one too. Not to mention you're a knight, a blanker and sexy.”
I smirk. “Sexiness is a factor?”
She smirks back. “It is when it’s mostly depraved mares voting.”
This gets a laugh out of everypony listening, making me realize that the streets seem to be filling with ponies all giving off the dangerous feeling of black mages. “Of course I’ll accept, now” I smile at her and pull my broom back out. “How do you feel about flying?”
She looks at the broom uncertain as I mount it. “Just sit behind me and wrap your hooves around me tight. I’ll keep us close to the ground. I always had a thing for motorcycles in my world and picking up my date on one was always on my bucket list.”
She looks at me confused. “Wolf, care to explain that one?”
“Over dinner, I wanna feel the wind in my mane and the sweet embrace of a half scared mare clinging to me like her life depends on it.”
She gives me a deadpan expression. “Not helping convince me.”
I shift over right next to her and lean in. “Come on the wild side. The thrill of the ride is almost as good as the thrill I’ll reward you with.”
With another moment of hesitation, she sits behind me and throws her hooves around my chest clinging tightly as we rise into the air a little. She squees when I take off forward at reckless speeds just above the heads of the ponies on the streets. Her fear melts as she stops clinging and starts to relax snuggling me and shouting with joy at some of the breakneck turns. All too soon we touch down at Harmony Cafe.
I stash the broom in my pack and lead her inside. Star looks at us worriedly. “There might be a few problems tonight.” He points a hoof to the corner and I spot Moon Light in the corner. Surprisingly she offers a small subdued wave that shocks the thestrals around her. She gets out of her chair and walks towards us. I scowl, not what I wanted to deal with tonight.
She hesitates at the scowl and then keeps coming. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry about everything and wish you luck tonight. I hope she turns out to be a better mare then I was. Some day, I’ll break the shackles of my family, but for now all I can say is I’m sorry for everything.”
She turns and trots out the door with a single lingering gaze backward. Nightshade turns to me with a smile. “An ex?”
I nod disinterestedly and lead Nightshade to our private table.
“I take it the owner wanted me out of sight?”
I frown at her. “This is his best booth. It’s hard to get a reservation for it. He would never let me down though. It’s the perfect spot, away from any ponies eyes and has a priority service.”
She looks at the secluded booth with fresh eyes and nods. “Like it’s a private restaurant just for us. Any idea what you want?”
I hesitate. “Actually I wanted to talk to you before i ordered. I know it’s common to have the mare paying here, but…” I trail off searching for the right words.
“Your culture expects the stallion to pay?”
“Exactly. It feels weird thinking about having the mare pay. Besides money isn’t an issue for me, just from my cut of this show alone as the director, owner and er… well I provided the original play.”
She snorts. “In short you find it weird to have the underpaid teacher who is a mare paying for the rich stallion?” Another snort that breaks into a chuckle. “You have no idea who I am do you?”
“A really cute and dangerous mare? Does your work for the Black Sun pay that well?”
“Well there goes the theory that you were acting like this because of my family. I am actually a noble and a business owner. I run a shop that sells anything related to magic, enchanting and arcano-tech. Anything we don’t have on hoof we order for a small fee. We have a low questions no worries policy.”
“‘I’ll have to check it out later then. Might find something interesting.”
“Actually, I know you will, we have an entire section devoted to rune working as well as a lot of rare tomes of arcane forging and crafting.”
I beam interested. “You had me at rune working.”
She giggles adorably. Unfortunately, the waitress interrupts our animated discussion. Nightshade turns to her. “We are separating orders, I’ll have the Golgari root tea for my drink, Wolf?”
“Mountain Dew.”
She archs her eyebrows at me as the waitress trots off to get the drinks. “Why a soft drink? I would have thought you a tea drinker.”
“I love tea, but I have no idea how any of them taste or will affect me. I have weird interactions with herbs because of my magic. A perfectly normal chamomile tea from back home is a potent sleeping drug to me. Likewise the highly deadly flower nightshade actually bolsters my healing ability when combined with ginger root. I don’t even want to think about the effects of wolf’s bane.”
“Ah, I suggest you experiment. Life is unfulfilled without tea.”
“Indeed, I’m thinking about finding an herbology book that has information on astral alignments and cross referencing it with teas to find one I like that has benefits. I’ll need to keep some medics on hand while testing, just in case something horrible happens.”
The waitresses return with our drinks. “Are you ready to place your order?”
“I know what I really want but I can’t have that in this world. I’ll take the lemon pepper salmon with an order of black rolls and a side of closh.”
Nightshade looks at me strangely. “Meat? Your eating meat?”
“I’m a carnivore. I’m actually craving red meat but there aren't any non-sentient red meat beings in this world. There's a lot of things from my old world I’m going to miss. Bacon is high on that list.”
“Wolf, we have bacon in stock. Boars are not sentient.” The waitress says with a smile.
I look at the waitress in surprise and delight. “I’ll be back for the bacon later it really isn’t a compliment for this meal. Nightshade, is me eating meat a problem?”
She looks at me surprised. “I’m a necromancer. I make the bodies of sentient beings into puppets to my will and have killed a fair share of ponies. No, eating meat isn’t really on my list of dealbreakers. It’s just surprising, not only do you eat meat but you brought me to a place where ponies serve it publicly. I’m actually impressed. I’ll have what he ordered, except swap the cloche for hay fries.”
I smirk. “Interesting.”
She gives me a dubious look. “What did you really not expect me to eat meat after saying all of that?”
My smirk deepens and I give her a wide-eyed innocent look. “I was actually questioning what’s wrong with closh. It’s the closest thing mac an cheese I’ve seen yet. So many things I wish I knew, like how to make pasta or electricity.”
“You mean like lightning? I’ve seen you use lightning before.”
My eyes go wide as it strikes me, I can create electricity! I can even make a magic to electricity and back device. I could make so many wonderful things.
“You look like you plotting something.” Nightshade states and I explain to her the concept of modern devices as we eat. Pulling out my mp3 player some copper wires and the charger… a little bit of lightning magick and some runes to control the output...
Plugging it into the small construct I’m happy to see the charging symbol. I hit play and am happy to hear the music coming out. “I’ve got something to show you later.” I declare with a smile stashing it away. Theres been a song in my mind ever since I met her and I’ve got the karaoke version of it. I’ll just have to jury-rig a speaker later. I’m gonna ponify it a bit and I figured she’d get a kick out of it. Dinner goes lovely but we still have an hour until the play starts so I decide to get Discord to help me with a private performance.
Unfortunately Fluttershy is there so after setting me up with some subwoofers from my memory he poofs them both away for a few minutes. Jade and Nightshade sit next to each other in the director’s box. They’ve been chatting while I set up. They keep giving me leering looks that send a cold feeling down my back and somehow I can’t hear them. Nightshade’s horn is glowing softly and I’m guessing it’s related.
Finally I stand at the read and grab the mic. The changeling in charge of hitting play pushes the button and I start
Living Dead mare!
Rage in the cage, and kill upon the stage
There's only one sure way, to bring the giant down
Defunct the strings, of cemetary things
With one flat foot on the Devil’s wing
Crawl on me
Sink into me
Die for me
Living Dead mare
Crawl on me
Sink into me
Die for me
Living Dead mare
Taking the weak, and making them freak
Like a hunchback juice, on a sentimental noose
Operation filth, they love to love the wealth
Of an SS Whorse, making scary sounds
Crawl on me
Sink into me
Die for me
Living Dead Marel
Crawl on me
Sink into me
Die for me
Living Dead Mare
Cyclone Jack, hallucinating Hack
Thinks Donna Reed, eats dollar bills
Gold foot machine, creates another fiend
So Beautiful, they make you kill!
Crawl on me
Sink into me
Die for me
Living Dead Mare
Crawl on me
Sink into me
Die for me
Living Dead Mare
Blood on her skin
Dripping with Sin
Do it again
Living Dead Mare
Blood on her skin
Dripping with Sin
Do it again
Living Dead MARE!
To say they were impressed would be an understatement. A cheer rings out from the two, the song appealing to their dark side. Nightshade is blushing and Jade has raised eyebrows. Shall I do another one? But what? HA! I walk over and prepare the next song. Gesturing for my DJ to hit the button I sing. I love singing so I have a two hundred or so long playlist of karaoke songs. A habit that annoyed the hell out of the non-nocturnal clan members. The metal blares and I air guitar and dance.
Luna chooses now of all time to show up. Her eyes go wide as the source of the music she was hearing is revealed. I feel a thrill tingle through me as her look matches that of Nightshade and Jade and show off a little, conjuring a guitar of shadows and playing it in time with the song.
Another reason
Another cause for me to fight
Another fuse uncovered
Now, for me to light
My dedication
To all that I've sworn to protect
I carry out my orders
With not a regret(a hot look shot at Luna)
A declaration
Embedded deep under my skin
A permanent reminder
Of how we began
No hesitation
When I am commanding the strike
You need to know
That you're in for the fight of your life
You will be shown
How I've become
Indestructible
Determination that is incorruptible
From the other side
A terror to behold
Annihilation will be unavoidable
Every broken enemy will know
That their opponent had to be invincible
Take a last look around while you're alive
I'm an indestructible master of war
More ponies are pouring into the theater now, some regret coming early and others are thinking it’s a treat. I don’t care I only have eyes for the three mares sitting together in the front in my director’s box. I send lightning sparking from the guitar as I rip through the riff on memory, despite not actually playing the music.
I'm
Indestructible
Determination that is incorruptible
From the other side
A terror to behold
Annihilation will be unavoidable
Every broken enemy will know
That their opponent had to be invincible
Take a last look around while you're alive
I am indestructible
Indestructible
Determination that is incorruptible
From the other side
A terror to behold
Annihilation will be unavoidable
Every broken enemy will know
That their opponent had to be invincible
Take a last look around while you're alive
I'm an indestructible master of war
Cheers ring out from the crowd as I raise my shadow guitar over my head and howl. “Alright, that was a band from back home called Disturbed, they are one of the greatest bands Ever! Without further ado, lets all get settled in and start the show.” I step off the stage letting the guitar dissipate and staring into the now cramped box. “So, lovely ladies, how did you like the music? The first one was for Nightshade of course, the second was my favorite battle anthem.”
“I loved it!” the three shout in unison then proceed to smack into each other in an attempt to kiss me. I break into laughter. They look at each other surprised and I notice how awkward this is and sober up a bit. “Right, Nightshade meet Jade, princess of the changelings and Luna, princess of Equestria. Jade and Luna meet Nightshade, elite necromancer and my date for this evening. Something tells me I need a bigger box. Or to TARDIS it.”
They look at each other amused. Nightshade gives me a pout. “You didn’t tell me you had a herd already.”
Luna and Jade give each other incredulous looks. I laugh again. “Still a single stallion looking for love in all the wrong places, Shade. Luna and I are friends and Jade is a… wow, never thought I’d ever say these words, we are friends with benefits.”
Nightshade nods and I notice a plotting look exchanged between the two while Luna looks annoyed. I give her an evil smile. “For now at least,” I whisper in her ear “I had an interesting dream last night, something about putting a collar on you and making you behave.”
She blushes and her alluring scent is rewarding as she looks at me in shock. “I… I had no idea you could dream walk. I’m losing my touch if I can’t tell when somepony enters my dream.”
I smirk. “Now this is interesting, I didn’t enter your dreams last night, remember I told you that dream walking makes me ill.”
She puts a hoof to her mouth and stares at me in embarrassment to the laughter of the other two. Nightshade is remarkably relaxed around royalty, her strength is impressive. Discord arrives and sees me standing outside the box. With a snort, he snaps his claws and makes it bigger on the inside. A plaque above the box has a Time Lord art style picture of the TARDIS in it. How does he even know about that? I shrug and slip in between Luna and Nightshade putting an arm around my date. Discord sits with Fluttershy on his lap in place of Jade who has to go rally the troops. Nightshade snuggles into me and I whisper in her ear. “If you keep being so adorable I’m gonna have to bite you. Or at least a nibble.” She gives a small laugh and snuggles closer intent on the play that is about to begin.
It’s relaxing and enjoyable. Watching the play and standing by with an open copy of the script prepared to give line prompts if needed, not that they will be. I sit between the two gorgeous mares with my arms around them pulling them close to me. When it’s time for my lines I leap upon the stage and shift into my wolf form as Discord puts the illusion on me. I’m onstage delivering the last of my lines when I see a flash of flame in the royal booth in front of Celestia. A shocked look shoots across her face and she yells out. “Wolf! Here now!” I shift and leap catching the edge of the balcony and clamoring over.
“Reporting for duty, m’lady, why do you look like someone ate your cat?”
“Inky Storm, the shadow guardian of Ponyville has fallen. If he is dead, then something truly powerful is attacking or going to attack Ponyville. I need you to take Nightshade go there and do what you can to protect Ponyville, but…” She looks distraught.
“The Elements are priority one? If all else fails, bring them here alive?” I ask and she nods with a slightly sad look. I pull out my new broom. “I need a guide and one of your feathers, I need the feather of somepony with potent flight magic in order to use this at max power.”
She looks down. “My pegasus magic is far lesser than most pegasi. Almost anypony in this room would be able to provide more power.”
I feel a poke from behind and have to avoid a fangasm as I see the The Wonderbolts(!!!) standing behind me on the railing each holding out a feather. “The Wonderbolts might not see combat often, but we are proud members of the Equestrian military. If this will help you save lives then take these and follow us.” Spitfire turns and glides out the entrance. I give Celestia a salute and lock the three feathers in place. The sheer power contained in them is incredible. I pull Nightshade on behind me and rocket into the sky after them. Luckily steering isn’t needed as I tear through the sky at speeds higher than even my magically enhanced chopper could ever go. I miss The Demon Chaser. I had that bike custom created by OCC and enchanted by a master technowizard. As Batman and Iron Man show us, money truly is the ultimate superpower. All it cost was 3 years worth of contracts and a literal king’s ransom. Worth it, I really wish I could have made it to my meadow in time to get it.
As we fly I fill her in on what Celestia told us.
“This is bad Wolf. He was a semi-retired elite member of Black Sun, He was one of the few who could scry energies within the Everfree.”
“What’s the Everfree and what do you think we are looking at?”
“You havn’t heard about the Everfree yet? It’s a forest full of wild magic, terrible monsters and anchient things best left buried and unmentioned. Recently one of our ranks stole some Idiot Scrolls and was last encountered in White Tail Woods. I’m really hoping he did something stupid, because something ol’ Inky would get involved with is either him or something a lot worse.”
“What are Idiot scrolls?”
I can’t see her face, but I can hear the ‘are you kidding me’ tone in her voice. “They are scrolls only an idiot would use. Things like phylactories, suicide curses, Auto-blood magic that kind of stuff.”
I growl and keep my eyes focused on the ‘Bolts ahead of me as I think about it. Coincidence aside, if this is something Eldritch I’m getting the Elements and we are heading out imeidietly without bothering with the suicide charge at it that either tickles it or pisses it off. “So, something beyond us we take the Elements and run, getting them to safety and trying to get word to Celestia that we need a much heavier hitter. What’s our plan for the Ex-Sun scenario?”
She takes a while to answer. “We link like we did in training, and use the ingrained telepathy to plan once we know exactly how stupid he’s been. I know those scrolls pretty well, they are mandatory training material. Both as a cautionary lesson on the difference between who is gaining power and as a reference on how to fight those who didn’t let that lesson sink in. I hate to say it, but I think we are looking at a lich in the making.”
With those dire words I notice a small village drawing close quickly and luckily nothing seems amiss in the town itself. The Wonderbolts all dash off to their planned locations as Nightshade directs me towards the Everfree. They are going to be setting up a watch and taking a roll call while I deal with the threat. I finally feel the deep thrum of power, louder then all the others, deep in the woods that Nightshade is senseing. As I’m flying towards the spot I notice six very familiar, and very out of place ponies below. I land and glare at Twilight.
“What exactly possessed you to come into the woods? What kind of idiot ‘thinks ponies have died and we are Equestria’s last line of defense, I think we should go and see what is behind the mysterious source of necromantic energy without the damn Elements that give us our power’?”
She looks contrite. “I sensed the energy and wanted to investigate. I have a duty as a princess to protect everypony.”
A small whisper behind me. “Send them back quickly. Tell them to tell Celestia that somepony is attempting a ritual of ascension and if we are not fast enough we might not be enough.”
“Well, your duty is back there in Ponyville organising the defense in case I fail. Send a message to Celestia, Nightshade says somepony is attempting a ritual of ascension, trying to become a lich. She says we might not be enough and might need backup. Situation unknown, enemy unknown, undead troops likely, Ponyville likely due for an attack from them even if we suceed.”
She looks at me in shock and nods. They turn and run back towards town. I kiss Nightshade, partly for luck but mainly to create the link, and face the source of the power and take to the sky again. I’ve felt this before, this unforgivable ritual. I remember the last time I battled a lich and if I’m late and can’t stop it I’m going to get wrecked three ways to sunday. I grit my teeth and aim at what looks like a cellar. Five wraiths guarding the entrance. I draw my blades and drop towards the group my initial swing returning two wraiths to the grave with Shade teleporting next to me.
One launches a fireball that she deflect into the ice cone of another one before darting past them into the celler. Lightning scorches my flesh and drops me for a second. I roll to the side and stand facing my two opponents. There phantom horns glow as they charge there spells. Beams of shadow tear from their horns and blast into me. I sigh in relief as the damage from the lightning seals up. They shriek seeing the lack of effect and draw backwards. This time there horns glow with lightning. Nope, I leap forwards and swing in a crossing arc shattering them into essense. The runes on my robes have saved me so far, but they lack the power they should have. I need to learn the runes of this new world and make some armor.
I don’t have time to recover and follow her into cave, I’ve seen her darting through a horde of skeletons that I am way too big of a target to follow her example. They lack coordination and shatter under my wrath and I proceed down the corridor into a room. In the center is a large forest green unicorn laying on an alter. He glares at me but seems unable to move as he and Shade are locked in combating beams of magic. Perfect. I stash my blades and shift into wolf form. Dodging the wraith body guards I land on top of him and sink my teeth into his neck. Blood and power flows into me like trying to catch a typhoon. I channel all the power into flames that fill the room and destroy his minions. I need to burn off the power so that when he dies, he lacks the power to become anything stronger then a shade.
I feel my mind connect to his and feel a connection to all his minions. Ponyville is in danger! He has an army of zombies, wraith and even a shade stationed outside of an apple orchard. He plans to start there and have the shade turn all of Ponyville into zombies and wreaths. I cannot allow this, when he dies the shade will be in control of itself. All too late I feel his life fade as he releases his last breath. Barely pausing to burn his body I turn toward the door and see the worst possible thing.
“Why the hell are you six still here? I fucking told you to protect Ponyville!” I say to them enraged.
“M. monster!” Twilight is staring at me in fear.
“Fuck you too, if you’ll excuse me there's an army about to destroy the world and I gotta go kill it. Welcome to the dark side, enjoy the complimentary nightmares.” I laugh bitterly as we tear past them getting an actual smile as she chuckles warmly at my dark joke. The looks of shocks on there face resonate with me and despite myself, and to Shade’s mental protests, I stop a step past them. “Sorry, necromantic magic brings out the worst in me. Everypony don’t let this mar your opinion of me, I wield the darkness so the light can survive.”
We take off into the sky and are surprised to see a rainbow blur do a spin around me. The combined power of the three leading wonderbolts and she just blows it away. “What was that all about?” She’s flying next to me pointing a hoof at me accusingly.
“I had no choice. If he didn’t die he would have ascended to becoming a lich, an undying creature of shadow and elemental powers. I had to finish him so I could destroy the army he’s controlling. Shades are strong but without a living source binding them here his army will be weakened. Dash, I know you can fight, I know you're strong and won’t get hurt, but please don’t come with me.”
“Give me one good reason not too.”
“Can you kill your best friend if you have to?”
“What?” she looks at me shocked.
“Where do you think the bodies for the zombies came from? He likely raided the cemetery, but it’s possible there are ponies you would recognise. Can you bring yourself to destroy somepony you know? Actually strike all that, do you have a method of dealing fire damage without touching your enemy?”
“I’m a pegasus, I buck my opponents at the speed of sound.”
“Tell you what, you can join me after, and only after, you figure out how to fight opponents who can kill with a single touch. Oh and it has to be light or fire magic. Nothing else can hurt a zombie, unless…”
“Unless what? I can handle this!”
I reach into my pack and pull out string and a pair of magic dueling pistols. I lash the guns to Dash’s front hooves and tie a string to the trigger. Filling the ammo boxes with cold steel incendiary rounds I explain the guns and rigging to Dash and she gets a smirk on her face. She aims at a nearby tree and twists her head. BANG! The guns ring out beautifully and she gets a wicked grin at the fiery explosion. “That was AWESOME!” I nod and explain the plan to Shade and Dash reminding her that after her next 19 shots they’ll be useless. No sense taking out the ground based troops on the ground when you have three ranged fighters.
We take our first pass past the troops. I lead with a blast of flames and shadow blades augmented by Shade’s mana pool as she casts some manner of shot gun style fireballs. Dash follows behind guns roaring. I notice she’s aiming for the wraiths and following my advice doesn’t bother trying to kill the shade. It takes a special kind of attack to kill one, well to re kill one. The second pass finishes off the wraiths and I find Dash’s ability to listen to orders impressive. I had her pegged as the no discipline fire at random type.
We take the third pass and everything goes to hell. Dash aims at the zombies but doesn’t fire. I can see her face completely conflicted. “Dash! Your only releasing them from the torture of what they’ve been turned into!”
She fires and looks at me with tears in her eyes. I shake my head and tell her to stop shooting and head back to the others to get the guns off. She licks the safeties into place and takes off almost knocking me off my broom as she whips past. I feel a wrench in my gut watching her, remembering the first time I had to kill a zombie of a comrade. I land in front of them and shift all the way into monster form with Nightshade beside me . Shifting my staff into its naginata form I stare down the remaining horde that had been enchanted against fire.
Fortunately they are the slow type of zombie. I ignite my blade in flames and slash my way through them. Pony zombies are harder to destroy. Somehow there innate magic still functions on some level. Pegasi can glide, unicorns can blast small bolts and earth ponies can… well they are the truly scary things here, stronger, fast and resilient. I make it through them without receiving much in the way of damage courtesy of my robes shifting into runed plate armor in this form. With her mana pool to draw on this is actually easy, I think we could have taken the lich like this. Don’t be so cocky, we’ll be lucky to handle the shade. Without a living source for them to draw from they are weaker and uncoordinated. But still dangerous, didn’t you notice the shade begin casting spells to protect his soldiers? This one is powerful and more intelligent than normal. It seems to have some basic concept of strategy.
The shade just stands there watching with an amused look on its face. After the last zombie falls it points a spectral hoof at me and a ball of shadows builds around it. I facepaw and laugh at the foolish spirit. The shadow ball slams into me and my laughter turns to shrieking as the lightning spell hidden inside fries me. I land on the ground panting in human form. Shade lies next to me unmoving. I’m Fine, you need to charge up your strongest spell and unleash it at it. Shades are methodical, they prefer to fight with shields and potent counters. This give them the ability to shift their focus from attack and defense easily, however, if you can hit it with something strong enough then the moment it takes to recover from your attack will give me a chance to hit it with a life spell.
I grin at it and take a dragon stance. Holding my hands together I prepare an old favorite attack from my days as Anime Man. First in the center a fire magic core, “Kame” wrap shadow magic around that, “hame lightning around that and charge them all to hell.
“HAAAAAAAA!” I shout unleashing my pirated spell, except now it’s on a different level. I make a mental note to hug Discord for everything he’s done for me and make Shade scream for the power to make this posible. The shade holds up a shield of magic. My blast slams against it, for a moment are staring at each other with my hatful gaze matching his smug look as it weathers the assault. Then I see a crack in the shield, his hatefilled gaze matches my smug look as I decide to force more power into the spell.
Sparks begin flaring from my body as a shadowy aura build around me in preparation for my ultimate desperate technique. “Sparks of my life, embers of my body I unleash you.” The limiters of human power snap as I break the seals that prevent me from killing myself by overdoing how much magic I use. Only one final step needed to force myself into the void of power. “Moonsong Reaper of the clan of Gaia, I order you to defeat the foe before you. Midnight Lotus.”
My power burns inside my body as I begin drawing on my lifeforce and breaking down my body to fuel the spell. With the redoubled efforts and boost in power the shade’s shield cracks and it struggles to hold it until I fall to my knees. I laugh weakly surveying the damage to the woods around us and Shade jumps up and blasts him back into nothingness. A crater has formed where the deflected power of my attack tore the ground asunder. The agony catches up to me and topple over onto my back. I hear voices in the distance and look up to see Nightshade and Dash looking down at me. “I’ma supa saiyan!” Everything fades to black and I hear vague sound in the distance similar to the sound of a hooves being slammed into foreheads.
I wake up and take a look around. I’m in a hospital bed and there is a very cute necromancer staring back at me. I smile and the pain catches up to me. My head is killing me and my magical reserves are at a bare minimal. That might have been a bad idea, only thing I had to beat a shade’s shield though. Well that or the Getsuga Tensho and that one has an even higher cost.
“Sorry about our date, looks like I owe you another one.” I frown. “Okay, how long was I out and why didn’t anypony think of giving me a transfusion?”
“Discord said that this close to him altering you it would cause a bad reaction, basicly the nature of our magic is different and might cause magical confusion without any of your own there to give it a new shape. I’ll admit I’m pretty impressed with what you managed to pull off back there. That rainbow one is kinda scary. She had Twilight magically replicate the ammo for that gun thing and has been flying around like a madpony making a lot of noise and burning targets. You’ve been out for three days.”
I wince at the thought of guns getting out into Equestria’s peaceful society. Nightshade smiles and I sense her leaking her necromantic powers. Smiling at her intent I kiss her and feel our minds linking. We carefully refill my power together, letting it take on my essence before adding more. Once we got my reserves up to a quarter it goes a lot faster. Communicating with thoughts is a lot faster, however I need to be careful not to let my entire thought process bleed over.
“Lets go get highly dangerous technology away from Dash. I’d rather not be the one responsible for inventing guns.” I think at her only to be met with images of existing guns already in Equestria.
“We have them, nopony really uses them. They are expensive and difficult to create, not to mention only unicorns can use them. They however for the most part refuse because either they are useless before the might and adaptability of magic or they have no use for a weapon of death.”
Feeling much better about myself we find Dash. She is streaking through the sky at blurring speeds laughing like a lunatic and firing away at targets. Spotting me she comes down and hovers in front of me. On each of her front hooves is a distinctly steampunk covering. They have braces that help distribute the shock and a triggering mechanism that seems to function via something inside the cuffs. She flicks a button on each bracer and the guns roll backwards with a click with the safety on. A strange glow surrounds the guns.
She hold them out to me proudly. “So what do ya think!? Anti detonation safeties, smooth firing mechanisms working off hoof movements, recoil damping, aim assist and last but not least, pure radicalness.” She beams at me proudly.
It clicks. “You made these? That is so radical!”
She gets a weird look. “Who said I made them? That’s something an egghead would do.”
“No way, they're totally kick a-flank and epic! So you're a steampunk?”
She smiles but looks at me confused “Steampunk?”
“Like good with machines and inventions like this that are useful but also stylish. I love steampunk stuff. I’m not mechanically inclined enough to do it, that stuff is outside of the places my brain works. I can work runes into them and enchant them at least.”
“Why do you keep acting like I made them? I said I didn’t!” She looks half pissed half embarrassed. I grin at her.
“Cause every single time you lie your heart skips a beat, your eyes twitch, your tone changes, and your ears twitch. Nopony can lie to me, ever. Changelings can, but I’ll have runes for that soon.”
“You… can hear my heartbeat?”
I point at myself. “Predator.” I point at her. “Prey.” I give her an evil smile as she back flaps. Do you really have to flirt with every single mare in front of you? Nightshade sends across the connection slightly annoyed. I’d forgotten we linked. I was flirting? Either you can lie in thoughts, or you are one of those stallions that manages to be a hit with mares while being completely oblivious. I smile at her then glance back to Dash. “Evidently I was flirting with you, sorry about that.”
She gets a strangely vacant and sad look and Nightshade facehoofs. “Why are you sorry about it?”
“Well, because er, I don’t know? Nightshade was annoyed at me for it, so I figured it was something I was supposed to be sorry for.”
She looks at us confused. “Can you read minds or do you just know her that well?”
“Oh, she’s helping me recover from last night’s… incident. We can link our minds and mana pools if we want. It’s very useful in combat, and other things and why we are a team.”
Nightshade shoots me a sultry look and sends me images along with What was that about making me scream in thanks for the power? I grin like an idiot and blush slightly. Mind linking is weird, interesting, but weird. Dash is looking at the two of us confused. She seems rather awkward for a moment. “So… since when can you fly that fast?”
I feel the snapping in my mind as Nightshade breaks the link. I look at her surprised when she falls over giggling. She collects herself and grins at me. “Can we go flying again? We never did get to finish our date by the way, so you still owe me one. Although, going off just the two of us to fight the undead together is a pretty good date.”
I smile and pull out my broom. Dash stares at the feathers as I unclip them. “Wolf, you have a herd? Wait that looks like one of Spitfire’s feathers! And that’s Soarin’s!” She looks at me with a shocked look.
“Pegasi feathers are the focus for my broom. The Wonderbolts each gave me a feather so I could make it here in time to save Ponyville. Unfortunately I burned off most of the charge on the way here with the backlash from some runes I didn’t place right. I’ll fix it later, but for now back to normal speeds. Just remember everypony whose lives were saved last night should thank the Wonderbolts.”
Her eyes darken at the mention of last night. “I knew one of them. Her name was Colgate, she was my dentist. That’s why I had to bail on you. I saw her and I just couldn’t…”
I pull her into a hug, Nightshade looks on with a look of resigned sympathy. “You had somepony you used to know there?”
I nod. “That’s part of why I had to come see her. The first time always hurts.”
Nightshade surprises me by giving her a quick hug. She’s earned my respect. It isn’t easy to see the darkness for the first time and it’s far harder to fight it as well as she did. Nightshade looks at Dash sheepishly. “You know Dash, you could come flying with us.”
She grins and takes to the air hovering above us. With a smile Nightshade wraps her hooves around me and we follow her into the sky. Nightshade holds on tight as I take off. We play together in the sky, I have to refrain from trying any major tricks, last thing I need is to drop Nightshade while showing off and without a focus I don’t have the speed most need. Afterwards she invites us to her place for lunch, my stomach reminds me I haven't eaten in far too long and I wholeheartedly agree.
She has a house made of clouds. I’m questioning whether she just spends all her time flying when she lands on the clouds like they are solid. Nightshade’s horn flashes for a moment and she leaps off landing on the clouds. Cool, there magic clouds here that anyone can walk on! I drop off my broom and promptly fall through the clouds with a yelp. Dash, true to her name manages to hook her legs under my arms a moment before my broom teleports to me. I’m shell shocked from the drop and the fact that Dash is literally faster than teleporting.
This time Nightshade cast a spell on me and I tentatively step on the clouds. Slipping my broom into my pack I take a step forwards and fall on my face. Luckily it’s a soft landing, clouds are very hard for bipedal to walk on. It’s like being in a bouncy house where the surface tension is random. I try and shift into wolf form but nothing happens. Huh, so it has been a proximity to Luna that let me change. Well that’s problematic.
Dash serves up sandwiches, I bite into one to discover they taste bitter and are hard to chew much less swallow. Closer inspection reveals them to be stuffed with hay and flowers. I question the odd cooking until I see the happy smile on the two’s faces as they devour the sandwiches. Huh, so this stuff tastes good to them, I wonder if giving a gift of roses is equivalent to giving candy? Nightshade sees me attempting to swallow and looks at me in surprise.
“Wait Wolf, what will happen to you if you can manage to force yourself to swallow that.”
I swallow hard and force it down with water. “I have no idea. Dashie cooked for me and I will eat it.”
Dash looks at me sadly. “Wolf I’m sorry I’m a bad chef. You don’t have to eat it.”
“Nonsense! It’s fine.” I take another bite of my sandwich.
“Wolf spit that out right now. You can’t digest it and you're going to end up back in the hospital. Dash don’t say that, your egging him on. He’s a predator, he can’t eat this stuff.”
Dash darts behind me and thwacks me on the back of my head causing the half chewed bite of the sandwich to propel out. She smiles at me. “Griffin diet, or pure meat?”
“Griffin,” I reply cleaning up the mess with a napkin.
She zooms back to the kitchen and I hear clattering and banging. She emerges a few minutes later with a bowl of salad and a jar of some form of homemade dressing. She plops them down in front of with with a hopeful look.
“Well look at you Dash, cooking like a proper stallion.” Nightshade says with a grin.
I taste the salad after putting some dressing on it. It’s actually really well put together and the dressing is incredible. I shoot a grin at Dash. “Can I kidnap you and make you cook for me?”
She blushes and looks away. Nightshade just sighs and mutters the word “stallions.”
Lunch goes a lot better now that I have something edible. We mostly eat in silence and I spend some time thinking. Nightshade is really possessive of me, she knows I’m not interested in a herd at this moment in time, just friends and companionship. Then again, if I did form a herd I would want her in it. I can’t think about forming a herd yet, there's still so many mares I want to have fun with, so many little encounters I’ve been planning. Chulain, Applejack, Luna, Dash, and Nightshade run through my mind. Thinking of Applejack, I should probably spend some time in Ponyville ‘recovering’. Honestly I’m not that far from Canterlot and it seems like such a nice town to spend some time in.
Thanking Dash for the meal we go our separate ways, Dash to do her job and Nightshade and I to try the take two of our date.
“So any ideas what you want to do for our date?”
“Not exactly, since you want to spend some time in Ponyville you're going to need a place to stay.”
I cock an eyebrow at her. “So your plans for a date involve going to my house?”
She shoots me a simmering look. “We did dinner and hung out together, I consider this the second date. Honestly you still owe me a good night kiss from our last one, and since it’s three days late I intend to collect interest.”
I smirk and we set out to figure out and rent a place in Ponyville. I quickly discover that the easiest way to do this is to just buy a house as a vacation home. Honestly I intend to spend a decent amount of time here in the future, not to mention this is where my priority principles (In the bodyguard business a principle is the one you're assigned to protect) live. It’s a decent house, two bedroom, massive bed, fully furnished minus blackout curtains and soundproofing spells. Not that I expect those to come stock anyways.
After finishing up setting up the house, not that it takes much, Nightshade suddenly starts acting nervous. She keeps looking away and I can tell she has something on her mind. I put my hand on her head right behind her horn and smile at her when she looks at me. “What’s eating you? Er, I mean what’s the matter?”
She shoots me a sultry grin at the phrase then gets a conflicted look. “I’m worried I’m going to regret this when I’m not in heat.”
That shoots a small shock through me, according to what I’ve read a mare goes into heat on a once every three month cycle, it is the only time she is fertile, and her sex drive goes to a much higher level. She’s right that she’s not thinking clearly if she’s in heat, then again if she is in heat why isn’t her scent different?
“Why would you regret it? Were you in heat back during the first date?”
“It’s complicated. Mares are supposed to control themselves when they get like this, giving in and sleeping with somepony you're not in a herd with, especially one not even planning on forming a herd with you, it’s just taboo. There are few social or even Equestrian laws I haven't broken in my life, I’m just worried about breaking what few of them I still haven't.”
“We don’t have too, we can just go hang out as friends for today. Just wait until it’s passed. It’s not like you have any chance of regretting not waiting, right?”
She locks her eyes in mine and she seems to be searching the depths of my soul. “I very much will regret it if I don’t. I’ve heard that it’s so much better when you're like this, and you're the one stallion with almost no chance of getting me pregnant. Is there even a point to the taboo when a foal isn’t the issue? More than that I really like you Wolf, and when you decide to settle down I want to be the one you settle down with. I can understand not being ready for something like that. You just got here and want to live a little not be tied down with a family. Still I can’t help but feel possessive when every instinct I have is telling me to follow you, that your my stallion.”
I stare back trying to process exactly what she’s feeling, trying to figure out what I’m feeling. She grins and her horn lights up ripping her cloak off and throwing it off to the side. “Buck it, I haven't gotten where I am playing by the rules and if you do get my pregnant I’ll probably be happy about it.”
She closes the gap between us drawing me into a kiss. She slips sideways sitting on my lap with her forehooves around my nexk pulling me close. Her scent flares and I realize that she’s been hiding it with some form of spell. The absolute desire in her kiss is overpowering as I kiss her back. Our tongues dance as I trail my hands down her body. I can feel every muscle beneath her velvet coat and her mane and tail are flowing silk beneath my exploring fingers. A low moan escapes her as she breaks the kiss and rich blue eyes hold a storm inside them as a grin slowly splits her face.
She doesn’t protest when I put my hands firmly beneath her flank and pick her up carrying her off to the bedroom. She giggles and kisses me again as I set her down on the bed. Since when does Nightshade giggle? I take a step back and stare down at her, taking in her scent, the way her mane falls on the bed behind her, the lust filled blue eyes following my every movement, the way her tail is twitching back and forth.
I let my robes fall to the floor and throw my pants and underwear down after them. With a grin I kneel at the edge of the bed between her spread legs and trail my hands over her body taking in every detail of her form. She’s so well muscled for a unicorn and her flank has a certain bounce to it. She makes a sound like a humming as she closes her eyes. Trailing my hands down she lets out a gasp as one of my trailing fingers hits a bump on her stomach. Closer inspection reveals teats and circle them with my fingers causing her to arch and hiss.
I let my hands continue their exploration downwards and trail a finger down her wet slit feeling a rush through my body at her low moan. I slip a finger inside feeling her warm wetness. Bending I lick her and revel in the taste. I feel my control snap at the taste as her hind legs wrap around my head. With a growl I eagerly begin licking her marehood. Her breathing starts coming out ragged as I explore and devour her. Remembering some of her earlier reactions I trail a hand up and begin playing with her teats again. I’m rewarded with crushing force on the back of my my head from her hind-legs as she convulses against me. She shouts my name as she he whole body spasms under my touch releasing even more of her delicious fluid into my mouth.
I gently lick her as the convulses die down and she starts returning to a more normal breathing pattern. With a smile I slide up the bed laying next to her and pull her into a passionate kiss. She gets a devious smile.
“Jade says I can play with you as much as I want without you getting tired, is that true?”
I smirk back at her. “Sex recharges human’s magic, but eventually my body will run out of stamina. So safe bet is I last until sunrise.”
She smirks and her hooves begin trailing over my body, discovering erogenous zones that I hadn’t even known I had. Aparently the small of my back is incredibly sensitive and feels like a jolt of lightning when her hoof digs in. By now my member is throbbing for attention and I groan and sink into the bed in relief when her tongue makes a pass up it. She seems to be enraptured by it, making little licks on different parts of it and watching my reaction. Then again as far as I can tell there's bound to be some major differences from the stallions native to this world who have their junk inside sheaths all the time. She seems to take a particular interest in my foreskin, moving it up and down with her tongue in a way that sends a wave of bliss through me.
She laughs when one particular ministration causes me to lose control and the air ripples with tendrils of shadow for a moment. Taking this as a sign to move farther she takes my length into her mouth. I groan happily as she works her mouth with a hum in her throat. As her hoof plays with the spot she found on my back she quickly brings that all consuming pleasure in my loins to the surface. As I feel the release build I tap her on the head to let her be prepared and she pulls her head away watching interestedly as the ropes spring from the end of my member. I feel a strange sense of annoyance at her pulling away like that, but that part of me is quickly quelled as her horn glows and it vanishes.
With a satisfied smile on her face she lays down next to me and lays on her back with her hooves outstretched. I roll on top of her and pull her into a kiss as I slowly enter her. She moans into the kiss as I begin working my hips slowly. I remember a little something I learned and decide to test it. My hand reaches up and touches the base of her horn. She freezes for a moment tensing up at the contact then relaxes tilting her head and moving her horn into my grasp. I gently begin tracing it, letting my fingertips follow the grooves and taking notice of its strange texture. It’s hard but has a strange softness to it, but also it has a quality to it that’s hard to identify. A buzzing feeling at the point of contact that is a result of her latent magic humming away beneath the surface.
He breathing starts coming out ragged again at the double ended pleasure and she makes a ragged gasp when I trail my tongue from the base of her horn as far as I can reach. She yanks her head back away from me as he body begins convulsing again. Driving into her harder I push us both over the edge and she stutters something out in the throes of her release. She collapses back with a blank look then a smile spreads on her face.
“The rumors weren't kidding about you loving danger. Did it even occur to you that a unicorn’s horn is sharp?”
I just chuckle at this. “Deep down, all interesting people are drawn to danger, love.”
I punctuate my point be pressing my fangs to her thought gently biting down and feeling myself hardening inside her as she hums again. She tilts her head down when I pull my head back.
“You know, ponies ears are really sensitive. I wonder how your teeth feel on them?”
I smirk and gently take her ear in my mouth, to be honest it feels a little weird but when a shudder racked her body at the contact and a moan built in her throat the weird feeling went away. Grinning as my member comes fully erect I begin thrusting. I can feel a major vein in her ear so I remove it from my mouth instead kissing her as I play with ears with my hands. I’m intrigued to discover just how much she really likes it and learn some wonderful things from her reactions. She responds to gentle caress with a hum and hard tugs with a gasp and her hips bucking up into me. She finishes twice for me and collapses backwards onto the bed breathing hard.
After she regains a somewhat normal heartbeat and smiles at me I’m happy to see she hasn’t lost her lustful look yet. “So much fun learning new things. So any other little interesting bits of information?”
She gets a blush and looks away. “Not exactly, theres something I want to try, but I’m not really sure about it.”
I run a hand through her mane and she turns back to meet my gaze. “I’m willing to play any kind of game you want, Shade. I thought the ear thing was weird at first, but seeing your reaction makes it feel so natural and exciting, I loved it.”
“I more of meant it’s one of those things that ponies talk about doing sometimes and you either love it or hate it. I have no idea which one I am, or even if I’ll enjoy it. I want to try it in my plot.” She blushes again and giggles almost nervously. I smile reassuringly at her at a loss for words.
“We can try it, just tell me if you don’t like it, or if it hurts. I don’t mind stopping and finding out if I can make you cum with just your ears and horn.”
She shoots me a grin and then looks around questioningly. Good question, how? If she was a human or I was a stallion it would be easy to figure out, it clicks after a moment of thought and it seems we both arrived at the same conclusion as she scoots down to the end of the bed as I roll off and walk around. She lays on her belly with her ears back looking nervous. Standing I slip my member inside her wet hole coating myself in her juices hoping it’s enough for this. Somehow I doubt ponies have invented KY yet.
I pull out and gently press my head against her tight hole. It pops inside and she winches at the sudden intrusion. She tells me to keep going and I push another inch inside. She’s too tense and I begin playing with her normal hole with my fingers gently rubbing her walls until she starts humming again. When she’s ready I slip the rest of the way into her. Still playing with her with one hand I reach out and grab her ear pulling myself deeper into her with the added leverage.
Satisfied that she’s enjoying it I begin slowly pulling out. It has a different feel to it and I find myself enjoying the different texture and position. Soon we have a nice rhythm going and I’m using her ears as leverage for the thrusting. I can feel the wetness of her against my sack as I thrust into her. Feeling myself reaching the edge I reach down and begin playing with her center, enjoying the ragged gasps as she begins pushing back in time to my thrusting encouraging me to push into her faster and harder.
Her spine arches as she yells something unintelligible as her center dances around my fingers covering me with her slippery juices. With a groan of my own I bury myself into her deep and finish depositing my seed into her plot hole. Feeling strangely tired I lean over her sweat dripping from me as I slip free with a small pop. She giggles and turns beaming at me. Her horn glows as she cleans up the mess, including the sweat on my body.
“Come on Wolf, it isn’t sunrise yet.” Her enthusiasm is infectious and a grin spreads across my face. Grabbing her flank I pull her back over to me. I bury myself into her center as a growl issues from my throught. Grabbing her ears I drive into her with abandon as she moans and writhes beneath me. We finish together and tendrils of shadow and sparks play together in the air as our control begins to slip. We continue playing together throughout the night, experimenting with positions and learning the nuances of each other’s bodies. By the time the sun rises I am filled beyond capacity with power and we are both physically exhausted. Our previously blue sheets and wall paper have been turned black by my shadow magic and we discovered just how much fun linking minds during the act can be.
I wake up around noon with Nightshade latched onto me. She seems to sense I’m awake and stirs giving me a smile. Without opening her eyes she leans towards me giving me a kiss. “I don’t think I’m fit to report for duty tonight. Everything is sore and I want to stay with you again. Despite that I have my orders and I have to be back in Canterlot by midnight. The necromancy license comes with a gilded collar unfortunately. Your lucky they trust you for some reason.”
I kiss her and smirk. “Lunar knight remember? I’ve got a gilded collar of my own. Pretty sure being a blanker didn’t help much not to mention I’m liable for a hive of changelings and have only been to my mandatory classes once.”
She giggles again. “Why exactly do you need these classes? I’m pretty sure there's nothing I teach in class that can help you. Oh! I almost forgot, I might not teach anything in class to help you, ” she finishes in a singsong voice “but I got a book you might like. If you’re very very nice to me I’ll let you have it. It’s a rare restricted level rune-working book.”
I look at her with a grin. “Oh, and I thought you were too sore for me to be very very nice to you?”
She giggles again, seriously when did she start giggling? I guess deep down she is still just a pony, even if she is a total badass. “I meant making me breakfast in bed, but that sounds fun too.” She groans. “Unfortunately I need to recover before tonight, so it sounds like too much fun.”
Alright, breakfast in bed. I quickly go over the things I know how to cook. I can make eggs, kinda. I can make salads, not dressings though. I can fry or bake meat and veggies, can even cook over a fire. Aha! She wants breakfast in bed, she didn’t necessarily ask that I cook. Maybe I can just go and get something from the market?
“Wolf, why do you look confused? Wait, do you even know how to cook?”
I get a lopsided grin. “I can cook some stuff. I’m more of a hunt it down and spin it slowly over a fire with spices or make it into a stew kinda guy.”
She gets a weird look. “How do you survive without being able to cook?”
I grin. “To quote a famous superhero. ‘Money really is the greatest superpower’ I just go to a store and buy stuff when I get sick of eating my own attempts at cooking.”
She facehoofs. “I’m a mare and come from a family of nobles with servants and even I know how to cook. What kind of stallion can’t cook?”
“Well I come from a family of mages who idea of fine cooking is rotisserie style bear. I can actually cook a lot considering how low it is on my priorities list. Anyways, I doubt we even have ingredients to cook anything, so if I gotta go to the market anyways...”
She sighs. “Get me a couple deluxe hayburgers and a double order of fries at the Hayburger.”
With an idea of what to get her for breakfast, I step out into the bright sunlight and look around. Ponies are shooting me odd looks as I wander through town, but I smile and greet them pleasantly. Eventually, I manage to find a place that serves hayburgers and discovers that they have next to nothing I can eat here. I pick up what she wanted and decide to check out the place that looks like a gingerbread house.
“Pinkie?”
“OMYGOSH WOLFIE!” She turns into a blur of pink that weaves through the crowd like water flowing down a mountain, unheeded by the mere rocks in its way. Before I can fully react she is sitting on top of my chest and talking a mile a minute. I try and figure out when I feel over only to realise that I’m still standing and she is somehow completely ignoring euclidian gravity in favor of just going with how she wants reality to work.
I shrug and just go with it reaching down to peel her from my chest, strangely enough, one she is no longer in contact with my chest her gravity returns to normal as she flips out of my grip. Wondering why she would hold up her line on such a busy day I look up and notice she is back behind the counter serving customers and that I’m next in line. This mare… “Pinkie, you have to teach me how you do that stuff.”
She considers it for a moment then smiles brightly. “Okie Dokie Lokie!”
* * *
* * * * * *
* * *
I’m uncertain what happened after that, but according to Nightshade I arrived back in my house after being gone for almost two hours, pulled her order and a giant cake out of my hair, devoured the cake as I insisted that physics are a suggestion, then finished off by staring into a corner for an hour mumbling to myself until Pinkie popped out from under the bed and whacked me with a giant blue hammer.
I sit up and bed with a groan trying to remember what’s going on as Nightshade fills me in on everything. She attempts to convince me to return to Canterlot with her but I stay steadfast in my decision to relax in Ponyville for at least a week. As I watch her leaving the station I turn and smirk. Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash or find someone completely new to play with?
Rarity is iffy at best, she seems like a very domineering mare and that kinda offsets her beauty, combined with her mixed opinion of me that is most likely the least fun path if it’s even possible.
Rainbow Dash, that cocky attitude and the way she seems to live on attention… everything about her screams brat to me. If my hunch is correct she has a fun side and we could definitely end up playing some games, not to mention the groundwork is already completely laid and ready to be acted on.
Finally there is Applejack, she’s the safest best to have fun with, she was the one actively coming on to me, but can she take a submissive role is the question, especially since she won our little match, despite what she says.
I push Rarity aside for when I’m bored and think about the two athletic mares. It’s early spring, from what I know of this world Applejack will be busy until sundown and Dash have already set up today’s weather and is likely either napping or training. I smile and make my decision heading off to find Dash. Applejack is best approached an hour before sundown anyway. Pulling my broom from my pack I lift into the air and do my best to try and find her. It’s not easy to hunt a pegasus, when flying my astral aspect is dulled and even without that, flyers tend not to leave much in the way of lingering scent trails.
Luckily I’m still in the habit of trying to find people by scent. As I’m flying by an out of place looking storm cloud over the nearby non-evil forest I catch her scent, it’s stronger and slightly different from normal and seems to be coming from inside the cloud. Smiling at having found her I poke my head into the hollowed out cloud.
“Hey, Dashie I was looking for… you…” She’s looking at me with a frozen expression of shock with one hoof still pressed against her marehood and the other one holding a piece of the storm cloud against her flank. I quickly school my shock and smirk. “Need help with that?”
She rolls over onto the hooves and glares at me. “Don’t make jokes like that. Getting my hopes up isn’t fair, or would Nightshade really be okay with that?”
I arch an eyebrow in confusion. “That wasn’t really a joke. Albeit I was more of coming to find you to ask you on a date and hope to do that later, but a snack before the date would be fun too.”
She blushes and looks at me with a strange look. “So you're just turning your back on your current mare to go for some random one?”
I sigh. “Let's get this straightened out. My and Nightshade are partners only in the sense that with are a combat team. We did go on a date, but all things considered with the way she was showing her true colors this morning I doubt it will become a relationship. She takes the whole matriarchal thing to way too much of an extreme, considering that I prefer submissive mares one that controlling is not an option.”
She starts giving me a cocky grin until something seems to click in her mind. “Wait. Does that mean you think I’m submissive? Look just because I’m into pain and like being tied up and sometimes I want to be treated like a pet does not mean I’m submissive!”
I look at her incredulously as I try and figure out what I could possibly reply to that self-contradicting statement, but luckily for me she seems to think about it and continues. “W-well I mean I could be submissive, but you would have to be strong enough to control me and awesome enough to be listened to and radical enough to do the things I like and… and…”
I fly closer to her and rest a hand lightly against her throat and slide it back until my fingers are laced into the base of her mane. “Instead of worrying about labels and opinions, how about we play some fun little games today?”
She gets a dreamy look on her face and relaxes in my grip saying “Okay” in a lusty voice.
“Snap out of it for a moment. We need a place we can play that we won’t be disturbed that’s not made out of clouds or I need a unicorn to cast the cloud touching spell on me. Preferably the first one, I prefer stable surfaces for things like this.”
She looks disappointed but leaves the cloud with me following next to her. “I was looking forwards to playing with lightning, but I guess having a partner is waay coolAH!” She yelps as I slap her flank with an electrically charged hand and makes an abrupt turn in midair colliding with me and latching on with all her limbs as she kisses me. I let us slowly lose altitude as our tongue dance and my hands trail over her body occasionally emitting small jolts that elicit moans from her When we finally break the kiss she looks at me impatiently. “Come one! Let’s go!” With that, she takes off and leaves me in the dust doing my best to keep track of her.
I gain some ground when she makes a stop at her house and I finally catch up with her hovering impatiently over the forest, the moment I get remotely close to her she darts downwards and I track her into a small cave. By the time I get there she is already rolling a thick blanket out on the ground. I join her in the preliminary setup by pulling my backpack off and digging out a black leather duffel bag. Refraining from mentioning the materials I unzip my special bag for the first time in years with an excited sigh.
“This is gonna be fun, I just wish we had… where did those come from!?”
I simply smirk down at her holding a set of glyph anchor cuffs. Absolutely inescapable while being quick release at the same time. “You really need to stop underestimating my preparedness. I’ve been wanting to play with you for ages so I made sure that if I ever got this lucky I was ready. Now, my feisty mare, are you gonna try and put up a fight or do you want to save games like that for later and get to the good stuff?”
She rocks back on her back legs and holds her forelegs together in front of her in a position to be cuffed together “Good stuff now, please.”
I arch a brow and look give her a sharp look. “I think you forgot something in that sentence, pet.”
She looks confused for a moment before recognition kicks in. “Oh! The good stuff please, Magister.”
I blink as confused as she was a moment ago. Did Dash just speak latin? Why did Dash just- I shake the thoughts away, this world is scary when you ask the wrong questions. I reach down and put a hand to her chest pushing her onto her back before spreading her leg out next to her head and attaching the cuff before activating it, sealing it to the floor and her leg with the runes on it. She gives an experimental tug and shivers at the lack of give. I move on to her other legs and soon have her spread out spread eagle before me her marehood clearly visible and already wet.
I trail my hands down her body starting at her forehooves and down her sides to her rear legs. The gentle sighs are cute, but I want something more raw from her. Setting my fingertips alight with lightning I trail my fingers down the same path happy to receive several yelps of pain mingled with gasps of pleasure. I trail my fingers over her body like this working my way up to her more erogenous zones. When I touch one of her teats she shouts in pain and I pull back. “Are you alright? I’m just getting started and don’t want to break you.”
She has a blissful smile and is trying to catch her breath. “I’m awesome, please, make me take it, Magister.”
With the permission to push her, I press a finger to her teat again and draw out another shout but this time, I keep going until each of her six teats has an electric finger circling it and she is moaning “ow”. Happy with the music she is making I decide to bring us to the final moments of this game. My fingers leave her teats and a single charged finger swipes against her marehood eliciting a shouted “yes!” and a delicious smelling pool of fluid beginning to form under her. I bend over her and this time let the electricity play over my tongue before I plunge it into her lapping up her juice as she strains against the restraints and her hips buck against my face. I think she’s trying to say something but she can barely make sounds form.
I cancel the electricity spell and gently finish licking her, letting her come halfway to her senses from the orgasm I just gave her. Though only halfway. I quickly rise to my knees and bury my shaft into her with a single rough thrust, kissing her deeply as I pound into her aggressively. With so little time to recover from the play she’s over-sensitive and quickly cums for me again and, with a few carefully timed electric touches, dissolves into that wonderful zone where everything is so sensitive it's like a constant, unending orgasm. I can see her eyes beginning to plead for it to stop, despite her being unable to say anything but I keep my thrusting and touches going until she manages to whimper out “Plea… Magis” Knowing she’s hit that point I dig my fingers into her hips and thrust hard into her releasing my seed deep into her with a growl.
After my body calms, I slip out of her and lay next to her still chained form slowly trailing my hands over her. It’s interesting how much and how little she trusts me, after all, this entire time we were playing she never let her wings loose. She turns her head to look at me looking exhausted and exhilarated. “Wow… just…. Wow. That was awesome. I’m glad you found me, I’ve never been able to force myself to shock there before! Are you sure you want to do a date and don’t just want to stay here for the rest of the week until heat season is over?”
I grin. “Want me all to yourself, huh?”
To my surprise, she shakes her head “I don’t even care. Go get Applejack and tie us together for all I care, this was awesome. Don’t get me wrong here, Magister, temporary things like this are common among pegasi, I like you as a friend and something more could definitely happen between us, but for right now I just want you to be my friend that’s a bucking incredible Magister to Top me until I stop feeling squirmy.”
I laugh. “That’s a relief, honestly. I haven't been weak enough to play these games in years. If I tried this stuff with a normal human they would die, but you ponies are so much stronger. I knew you would be an interesting mare to play with when I first met you and I think I would enjoy spending the next couple of weeks finding all the limits I can push you to and games I can play, but for now I am ravenous and want something to eat.” I release the restraints and stash them. “So go get cleaned up and meet me in Ponyville looking appropriate for a date with your Master.”
“Magister, you mean. We're not married yet.”
“Over dinner, you're going to explain this entire magister master thing, for now, get ready for a date with me in a public setting.”
She looks longingly at the blanket before blurring out of the cave. Seriously, it is too fast to be called flying, she is blurring. I relax and take stock of myself. A purification charm from my bag and change of clothes later I’m flying into town dressed in my robes with my bit pouch refilled from the sack I’ve been carrying in my bag. What exactly am I going to do for this date anyways? I’m glad I chose Dash, even in my world a hot power bottom willing to play like this was referred to as a unicorn. Wait… I think that phrase has lost a lot of it’s meaning to me now.
Shaking the sidetracked thoughts from my mind I resume trying to figure out an acceptable venue for the two of us. That hay burger joint has nothing I could eat, Sugarcube Corner is both not date appropriate food and a cursed place that I will avoid like an area blighted by Cu’thi’tck pestilence. Thinking back to the party she hasn’t thrown me yet I realise how lucky I was that much of her antics were deleted. I don’t even want to imagine what that mare is like drunk. I feel a scream within the depths of my mind as a repressed memory attempts to escape. A scream that sounds strangely like the word “FUN” that I know now to be a secret acronym mortal minds are not meant- I slap myself in the face and force my mind away from this dangerous line of thought.
A good place that serves food that I can at least eat, that won't require taking Dash back to Canterlot? I might have to ask around. See this is where the hate side of my love-hate relationship with small towns comes from. They are wonderful for their locale and tight-knit community but lack the conveniences of cities. Although considering the distinct lack of nobility to pretend to be polite to, Ponyville is already infi-
“Ah, Sir Wolf, it is rather good to see you again.”
...I know that prissy voice. I turn and see Filthy Rich standing behind me. People like him piss me off so much. Thinking they are important because- I wonder if he is having a nice day? “Good Afternoon, Mr. Rich. You were quite correct on this being a quaint locale. I’ve been inspired to purchase a vacation home here.”
He smiles and has a slightly conspiratorial tone to his voice. “So what mare are you escaping for the week, that you would acquire a house here for this of all weeks?”
I cock my head to the side in confusion. “Why? What is this week exactly?”
He matches my confusion. “It’s the last week of Spring, the yearly heat cycle? Is it simply poor timing that you have come to this remote locale during the one week of the year when a stallion such as yourself might gain immense favor from the mares of the upper echelons of the Canterlot Elite.” I feel a weight land on the broom behind me and a mare that I smell to be Dashie snuggling into me. His expression turns sour. “Oh, your lack of knowledge has lead you to be lured here by such a common mare, such a-” He cuts off abruptly. Perhaps it’s the way Dash has left her snuggled position to glare at him. Perhaps he realised he was being impolite. Perhaps it’s the hand lifting him into the air by the throat as my eye twitches from the rage shattering the persona.
I glare furiously at him and drop him at my feet, planting a foot on his side. “What, exactly, did you just say about the most amazing member of the Champions of Equestria know as the Elements of Harmony?”
He looks like he’s about to wet himself, Dash, however, simply snorts. “Ignore him, he’s not popular with the Electi for a reason. He’s too stupid to know how to tell who is important. News flash Filthy, rainbow mane means a member of the Spectrum house.” I hesitate for a moment before sitting back down on my broom and pulling Dash on behind me.
“Alright, much as I hate to break decorum, any ideas on where we can both eat? I’m not familiar with the town yet. I want either a place where we can have enough seclusion for a semi-private conversation or somewhere we can both get food and a good location for a picnic.”
She gets off from behind me and zips around to plop herself sitting in front of me facing me as I slowly fly around above town. “There isn’t really a decorum for something like this. You’re taking me on a date during estrus, although it is pretty early in the week and this sorta just happened instead of being planned so I can’t properly serve you. Wait a minute… Did you actually have no idea about estrus week?”
Dash seems a little different like this. Before she was a cocky and challenging mare and now she’s, well she’s still herself, just calmer and showing her submissive side more clearly. Then again she did just get laid in a way she’s probably fantasized about, even if the person wasn’t the Wonderbolt stallion she was likely picturing doing it. “None at all, I went looking for you because you made one heck of an impression when you visited Canterlot that you compounded during that fight and I just had to follow up on it. I couldn’t let things just stop there and my instinct told me I finally found a mare that would be my kind of fun. Why not go over all the expectations and par for the course of all this stuff I’ve stumbled into? Start with what exactly a Magister is. No, start with somewhere we can get something to eat, I’m ravenous.”
She looks like she want’s to start now but thankfully addresses the important topic. “I’m not really certain. I know Sugarcube-”
“No.”
“I know it’s not healthy and really date food but-’
“Let me clarify. Fucking no.” I growl out as several mares beneath us comically faint. “Last time I went into that building I ended up with a mental breakdown and a voice in my head trying to tell me the secret cosmic meaning of the word FUN and how it relates to the unnature of illusion, or as you call it-” My voice has become horrifyingly hyper and an impossible grin is beginning to split my face. Thankfully Dash slaps me out of it.
“Okay then… No Sugarcube Corner... got it... unfortunately, that means we need to pick up supplies and cook for ourselves. No idea where to find anything besides spinach and beans with enough protein and honestly I don’t want to spend a serious amount of time in a cave with somepony living on a diet of beans or spinach.”
“It took drafting the Wonderbolts and a feather from one of them to do it, but I did fly here in about twelve minutes. If I could find a pegasus with enough power…” I break off and grin at her and her grin matches mine.
“Oh come on! I’m the fastest in Equestria! Here!” She gives me one of her feathers and I slot it in feeling regret that my broom is still unfinished and will destroy the feather she just gave me. I lift into the air and we point in the direction of Canterlot with me careful to lay as flat as I can on the broom so I can draft off Dash’s much higher speed and strength. To my surprise, I can literally sense a cone of displaced air starting in front of her where she is essentially drafting off her own magic. Strange, that should be impossible. If somepony could do that level of aeromancy they could easily break the sound barrier, sure the force of doing it would destroy them, but if they could survive… That whole fastest in Equestria bit isn’t just fluff is it?
My eyes grow wide as I realise the nature of the mare I’m playing with. This mare could kill me. A blow with aeromancy like this behind it would cut into my weakness like it was nothing, and she has more than enough speed to back it up if she’s not playing around. For once I’m thankful that I’m been mostly honest and myself with somepony. Canterlot approaches and I slow her down to follow me on a stealthier approach to the city. If what Dash says about heat week is true then I might want to take some precautions after my flirting if I don’t want interruptions. We land and I set my plan in motion.
“Jade, if you want to feed on lust it is heat week and I dare say that the nobles would be willing to pull the sticks out of their asses to play with a partner that can shapeshift. Make sure to remind them that if they are shifted and out in public to put on the Identifying Medallion. Oh and on an unrelated note can I borrow one of those medallions?”
She snorts and hands me one of the medallions. “Need a distraction from the nobles for the week? Worry not we will do our best to encourage the belief that several nobles have hired us to experience a date with you.” She’s still smirking as I shift and run into the city with the medallion dangling from my neck immune to transformation. Dash flies over my head laughing at the realization that I’m hiding from the nobles.
“Wolf, I know the Canterlot Electi can be a pain, but they wouldn’t get in the way of a date with me. Unlike Filthy they know exactly how awesome I am.”
“And what about the soldiers? Or Nightshade? Or any of the other mares that I’ve chosen you over?”
She looks at me weirdly as we turn the corner and near Harmony Cafe seeming to not have anything to say to that. I shift back into my form with the medallion dangling outside of my clothes.
“Hello there friend, you don’t need the disguise here if you don’t want it. All races are welcome in my shop!”
I grin. “It’s actually me. Can I get a care package of food that can last a human and a pegasus for a week long campout delivered to the theatre as we order lunch here?”
He takes a step back in surprise. “Is this… even remotely legal?”
“Sure, the bill does say all shapeshifters wishing to be Equestrian citizens and I aaaam a shapeshifter, so not only would I be allowed to wear a medallion that makes ponies think I’m a changeling impersonating me I’m legally required to. Totally nothing illegal here.”
He still doesn’t look all that convinced but still leads us to my usual table. The date goes well and in amongst the small talk and other conversation, I learn some interesting things about pegasi. Firstly it turns out that they have a pre-unification language called pegalosian that is essentially a language between latin and English and has kept a great deal of the terms from the old language as a result of Equish not having the needed words for cultural differences between Earth Ponies and Pegasi.
Secondly it turns out that pegasi mares are typically submissive to their partners and have a whole type of dating system based around Dominance. Magisters, such as me, are essentially pro-Doms that fulfill temporary relationships with mares based around fun, particularly during this week. Most are well compensated for their efforts and can live well from their skills as long as they serve the electi, the pegasi nobles. As a matter of fact if I learned the cloud touching spell for myself I could likely make a great deal of money, it wouldn’t be as fun as being with Dash because well…
Thirdly I found out that Dash, despite being technically an Electi, is displaced from her house for being an undatable mare in such a way that her family can’t do anything about it. Put simply she is too damn strong. She is fast, strong and knows it. Her skills make her the hottest pegasi in Equestria, but also the most unapproachable. Add onto that her impossible standards and challenging nature you get a mare that only a Wonderbolt would approach and no Wonderbolt would put up with. Interestingly enough I learn that I’m only at an acceptable level for just a magister, to strive for more with her I would need to “get more awesome and maybe a little bit more radical.” I still don’t have a clue what the hell that means but she also told me that as a magister I got lucky with my timing because she would never have considered me as such without having felt my skills personally.
On a much less depressing topic, I discovered her limits and fetishes and have a lot more fuel for playing with her later. I pay, thankful that for once the mare doesn’t protest, and we take off with me picking up the package Star left for me and dropping off the medallion before we take to the air headed back to Ponyville. We stop, hovering over the orchard, as Dash gives me a sheepish look.
“Look, I have to talk to AJ for a minute. We kinda made plans to... er… help each other out for the week. She’s pretty good with that rope of hers and she likes to top as long as I’m willing to put aside my own preferences and top for her at least a little. So I need to cancel my plans and apologise.”
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, do you have any idea how she is gonna take that? Seriously as much as I don’t want to suggest it would be better if you held up your agreement, this could hurt your friendship.”
“You’re right but… EEERRGG I HATE CHOOSING LIKE THIS!!” Her scream takes me by surprise and I cover my ringing ears.
“Choosing like what, sugar cube?” A southern drawl below us asks. Looking down I see Applejack with a pair of saddlebags with a coil of beautiful rope hanging on a hook on the bags. I arch an eyebrow as I look between Applejack’s curious expression and Dashie’s deer-in-headlights look. Oh… I think I can make this fun…
Strange, that strange pendant I received at the impossible party feels heavy and warm against my chest. I feel something guiding me and I drop from the broom landing on all four limbs and slowly rising to my feet doing my best to exude an aura of earth magick. “Seems Dash let her reckless side put her in an interesting situation. Long story short she wants to play with both of us and can’t choose between her longtime friend and a chance to play with a magister that meets her approval for once. She doesn’t want to choose and can’t think of a compromise.”
“Well shoot hun, is their a reason we don’t just share y’all? I know sharing ain’t the right word, but ch’all know what I mean. Ain’t so uncommon a thing, heck that’s how a lot of herds get their start.”
Dash double facehoofs. “Why didn’t I think of that? Wait, did you plan that when you stopped me from cancelling my plans?”
The guiding feeling again, I know I could ignore it, but I sense it wants to help me with my plans. What is this pendant that it is helping me in a situation such as this? “I’ll admit the hope crossed my mind, but the fact that you didn’t mention it as an idea made me think that perhaps there was a reason not to. You have to remember I’m not from this world and if it’s natives are doing something that doesn’t make sense I tend to wait and see why.” Energy spreads slowly through my body and I take a step back and grin at the two mares in front of me. “So then, what kind of fun shall we have tonight? Applejack, are you willing to take a submissive role, or are we going to gang up on poor Dashie here?”
Dash has an adorable wide-eyed look. “What have I gotten myself into?”
Applejack smirks and slowly lowers her hat as she turns to Dash with a menacing in a good way look. “Ah reckon you’ve gotten yourself into the usual kinda situation for you. We Earth ponies ain't like them unicorns and pegasi that only know how to have fun from a single stance. Earth ponies are strong and flexible like the plants we tend. Ah’ll submit sometimes and take control others. Ah reckon that if y’all are a magister then you wouldn’t take to kindly to it, but Dashie here is always complaining ah don’t go far enough, so she ought to be able to handle the two of us just fine. Big Mac knows ta stay out of the barn this time o’ the year and I have some rigging already set up.”
I grin and follow the two mares through the trees to the big barn. The top where I expected to find a hay loft is instead some kind of tool shed that looks like everything has been pushed aside to make a pretty decent dungeon area. Strong hooks adorn the ceiling and a weird version of a St. Andrew's Cross sits in the center of the room with a slim metal stocks sitting next to it bolted to the floor. Applejack sets her saddlebags down on the padded part of the stocks and opens it revealing a decent stash of toys. I set my own bag on the floor next to it and we both look at each other with matching sadistic grins as we begin to dig into our bags with a low chuckle in sync. This is going to be fun.
She pulls out a paddle and sets it next to her rope. “Ah’ll admit, after hearing Rainbow go on about magisters the last couple of years Ah’m looking forwards to seeing you in action. Earth pony stallions tend to pride themselves on their endurance over their skills, so I’ve learned quite a bit from her teaching me how to top her. Masochism ain’t so common among us down to earth folks but I’ve found ah enjoy supplying it, but for now, I want to watch you.”
I nod and pull out a set of antimorph cuffs enchanted to hold tight no matter what form the wearer takes, these ought to hold her for a suspension. “So I take it that means you're not much of one for pain yourself? Does that mean I should limit myself to bondage and sensation with you?”
A scratchy voice behind us sounding nervous. “Quit doing that weird casual thing, it’s freaking me out.”
We share a chuckle at her expense and finish setting up the room. I round on Dash with a grin as AJ trots to the side to watch. I feel heat from my medallion before music begins to well up from everywhere and nowhere. Moving to the song I grab Dash and quickly lift and spin her moving with the rhythm as I hang her by her forelegs in the center of the room. My hands move separately, one trailing down her spine as another picks up a short flogger with thin leather falls. The words seem to pour from my heart as I sing a barely remembered song.
“Take this, you know what I want, you take what you need” I land the flogger against her flanks in time to the beat, alternating sides with each strike as she squirms. “I'll give whatever it takes to get you off.” That’s a promise I can get behind.
“The chains that hold you to the life, you live with no direction. I can grant you the addiction of orgasmic constant pleasure from fucking pain.” Time seems… off. As if time itself is moving to the song, or perhaps we are moving through time in time to the song by whatever power has hold of us. I am now trailing my fingers arcing with lightning over her having ordered her not to cum unless I let her.
“Beg” I demand as she asks politely to cum. “Beg” I demand again as her politeness devolves into squirming. “Beg.” I demand the third time and she begins pleading and calling me Master and I order her “cum for me”“Beg to your master” I sing out solely for the song, this is getting disquieting.
“Flee from reality, to fantasy and hardcore relief.” I’ve got ahold of AJ now, leading her into a set of stocks that were absolutely not there when this started. “Leave it all behind, don't let that motherfucker rape you blind” Okay what?
“Let this dominate you, Take control of every avenue” I’ve locked a vibe into place and have her faced to watch my play with Dash. At least the me in between moments of the song is just as good as the me fueled by it, the stocks are set perfectly and if I try I can remember everything about the missing moments.
Where the hell did I get a Signal? “This is what you deserve” I bring the whip down on dash’s flank. “This is what you deserve.” I bring it down again to a very satisfying yelp.
The vibe in AJ keeps shutting off whenever she gets close and I force her to beg for release before licking her until she cums for me.
I step positioned between them and run my hands through their manes with a soft smile checking on them and letting them catch their breaths. “Beg for me I’ll give you what you need”
My nails trail over their pelts eliciting moans. “Cut and Bleed ritual’s ‘come hither’ creed.” Now there are two stocks and Dash is locked in next to AJ as I stand behind them using my hands and alternating sides with my mouth bringing to mind an electric apple pie. “Break away pleasure awaits your heart. Rush inside before it tears you apart’ They cum together, their unified moans driving me wild with need.
I slide Rainbow back so her muzzle is right into place behind AJ before gripping her wings lightly in my hands and burying my rod into her as I whisper. “Right now degeneracy, takes control of your mind, Immortal Thoughts encompass all that you'll find.Just follow your emotions, Let the rest take direction”
After I have finished with Dash and switched them I bury myself into AJ wishing the song spell hadn’t taken so much fun out of using Dash. I whisper into AJ’s ear. “Fall into my world, Crawl into my world” After AJ get’s close I stop and refuse to continue until she is moaning and pleading for me incoherently.” As I drive her to cum I declare “Beg for me I’ll give you what you need.” I sing a few more lines and find us in a bed involved in a fantastic orgy where I am pounding AJ’s plot as she eats out Dashie whom I am making out with.
Having finished repeatedly we lay in a heap of cuddles on the bed as I whisper “Fall into my world. Fall into my world. Crawl into my world. Crawl into my world.” The music dies away as I cuddle them close and when I’m back to normal I kiss them one at a time and ask. “Any idea what the heck that was all about?”
Dash chuckles and AJ shoots her an odd look “Y’all’ve never seen a Heartsong before?”
Dash interjects for her. “A Heartsong is a bit of emotional magic woven into reality itself that brings emotions to the surface and pours them into a song about something you really care about. That said, why the BUCK was THAT a Heartsong for you? It was totally awesome, but kinda, I don’t know..”
“Evil?” Me and AJ finish for her.
She nods and I shrug. “All things have a place, I am like a vaccine, a lesser evil to strike down greater ones.”
Soon they have passed out and I slip out of the house, feeling the call of the moonlight keeping me from sleep. As I walk to town on the lonely I hear somepony heavily land behind me and catch Luna’s scent. I turn with a smile. “I take it Celestia disproves of my vacation? I just-”
I stop having seen a pearl of a tear in the corner of her eye. “Art thou avoiding me? Thy shows interest, yet runs to the outlands when the season commences. WHY?” With the last word her voice rises to a shout that causes my ears to ring in pain.
I dart forwards and lace my fingers in her mane pulling her into a kiss. I release her and look calmly into her eyes. “You never returned my feelings in a way I could understand, Luna. You seem to forget, there are many things about this world I don’t know. The significance of this week was unknown to me, however, I can’t say I’m disappointed. I have you all to myself away from those nobles and that city. Let’s try this again Luna, will you be Mine? Submit to me, let me take your being into my hands and fall into my love. Let me be your Master.”
Her eyes go wide as her breath catches in her throat. She stares at me and I can smell her arousal even as her look turns to fear. “I… I have not had a Master since before the Elements gave me a horn. All that I have given my heart to lay in ashes, scattered to the winds after knowing them for but a few short years. To love you… to love a mortal… it is-”
I place my hand over her mouth. “I cannot promise you forever, nor more than a millennium, but I can promise that should nothing strike me down I shall stand beside you for time beyond mortal ken. I am no mere pony, to fall to the ravages of time, until I get cut down I shall stand, but I dare say that will get harder for any to manage as time strengthens my skills. Now, push away fear of the future, set aside the haunting of the past, only the now is real. Take my hand, bow your head and tell me you are mine and let us create the greatest tale of love and battle that has ever been or ever will me.”
I release her mouth and see a brilliant smile beneath, she drops her head and speaks, her voice clear and soft beneath her moon. “I shall be yours, Master.”
I take her by the mane and pull her into another kiss before leading her into the woods where I met her when I first came to this worlds. Grinning I stand in front of her with the forest line at my back and kiss her. “It all started here, you know. These woods are where we met. It’s here in these woods that I’m going to finally catch you.” I smirk as she looks at me uncertain. “Run, little Luna. The wolf within shall be baying at your hooves soon.”
She smiles and darts off into the woods as I admire her form. Silent and swift, such beautiful prey. I shed my clothes and set my pack aside as my count reaches ten. With a haunting howl I shift and dart after her into the woods. The beast takes hold as I trace her scent, a delicate balance of fear and lust, of power and beauty. The scent of my beloved prey. I soon catch up with her and she yelps as she sees me gaining on her. I growl and she begins pushing herself for speed. She leaps over a felled log with a flap of her wings and I use it to bound into the air before she can take off into flight. As I near her I shift forms back and close my arms around her barrel, disrupting her flight. We crash and she lands hard on me, knocking the wind out of me. With a sound between a growl and a groan I rise to my feet and pounce on her, catching her forelegs in my hands and forcing her on her back beneath me.
I kiss her roughly, with hunger and triumph I break the kiss and howl my victory to the moon and stars. Biting her neck I position and thrust myself deep into her. As I hilt and you into her wide eyes I manage to growl out a single word “Mine!” before I begin thrusting into her roughly. As I take her my groans and growls meld with her moans and soon she gives an unearthly cry as her head lays back and her hooves curl around me as I finish into her. I hold her like that as our breathing slows and my head begins to clear. I’m uncertain how long we lay by each others side, but I know that when we sobered up from my hunt she swore and the moon darted across the sky before slowly beginning to give way to the sun.
With Day begun she rises from the ground and looks at me sadly. “I must return, my sister is likely worried from…” She gestures to the sky with a hoof. I pull her into a kiss as her horn glows brightly and she vanishes with a brilliant flash leaving me holding air.
“Mares… amiright?” I whirl and face the intruder to find Discord holding my pack out to me.
I laugh and take the pack heading out of the forest. “Yeah, what are you up too away from Flutter’s place during this week?”
He waves casually “Oh you know, taking a break, talking to friends, telling you about how you’ve been given the Element of Lust.”
“I’ve been what now?” I stop walking and stare at him.
He points at the medallion around my neck. “What do you know about the Six of Seven?”
“As in the Elements?” He nods and I think about it. “Earth, air, fire, water, shadow and light for terra at the heart. Chaos’ Harmony hold kindness, joy, integrity, honor, inspiration and friendship. Chaos’ Discord holds spite, cruelty, deception, scorn, destruction and corruption. Order’s Evil holds Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Hubris, Wrath and Envy. Order’s Good holds-”
He holds a claw up. “That’s quite enough, as flattered as I am that you chose to begin with Chaos, but, we have a lot to cover here. You know the Elements of Harmony and how the physically manifest in this universe? Good, the same is true for them all. Every world has a spirit of Discord and a Tree of Harmony, but Order is more limited. Order has a single being for each side Outside. Lady Fuast for Good and Lord Grogar for Evil. Things are moving in the multiverse, dark things. Six humans, six worlds, six elements and around your neck, the Element of Lust.”
I narrow my eyes. I am far more then just a playboy that only cares about lust, Discord.”
He backs up a bit. “Just trust me. I don’t have proof, but I have suspicions, and that should be enough. We need to do something-” He cuts off and stares behind me in genuine fear.
A low raspy voice creaks behind me. “You are indeed more than just a lusty fool.” I turn and find a skeletal ram behind me. “You are a warrior and the perfect little foil. The oppisite to that pathetic whorse Friendship. So similar, but everything is corrupted. Black magick, black connections, a dark soul that is perfect for my ends. Worry not Wolf, your time is not come, nor will it come in this world. The time will come when I shall have a deal you will be unable to refuse, but until then I leave you with a warning. To cast aside my Element is to find yourself useless to me, and this world I gave you, unneeded. Ta.” It steps back and reality ripples away from it.
Me and Discord turn to one another with dark expressions.
“Well shit.”
“Chaos save us.”
I begin my trip back to Canterlot in silence after bidding Dash and AJ farewell. So, it’s no accident I’m here, no great gift to me or stroke of luck. Such an easy life I had, so much free power, so many gods in my corner, I wonder what Grogar paid to make me the man I am. Am I just a puppet? A toy for gods to play with and sell? Little more than a divine arts and crafts? Does it matter?
This game… an Outer God wanting a chess piece. My world hostage if I fail to move as desired. Free will is a joke anyways. If I’m bred to be a piece, then I’ll play, but a single mistake, a single flaw in Grogar’s plan and I will turn on him. If the Bearers can turn Discord to stone, what can I do against Grogar if I can get the others on my side?
I land in a much better mood and stash my broom, worries later, for now it’s time to live up to my Element. I’m in the middle of trying to figure out where to hunt Luna down when a guard shows up with a summons from Celestia. Following him I soon find myself face to muzzle with an irate Princess the moment he leaves the room. That speed…
“Did. You. Mean. It.” Her tone is short and clipped, fury driving each word as her mane turns to flame.
Dreading it, but forced to ask. “Did I mean what exactly?”
“You wanting Luna to be yours, to belong to you.”
“I can explain Celestia, she wants to belong to me. It’s just how we are. We-”
She cuts me of with a hoof to my mouth and a step back. “I know all that already, I didn’t ask that. I asked if you meant it when you promised her your love forever.”
I fail to meet her gaze. “I cannot promise forever, I’ve seen the future.” I turn my gaze to her “I did not promise forever either. She will be mine for a long time, beyond mortal ken, but she will be the last of us.”
Finally a smile graces her lips, the worries in my gut fade away until the smile turns into a devilish grin and they return in full force. “Make sure she remembers to soundproof her room, I know far too well how loud she gets.” With that she simply walks out of the room, leaving me staring after her until she gives a parting shot. “You shouldn’t stare, unless you want some time chained to my bed.”
------------------
My staff twirls through the air, meeting the shield of my opponent. He responds by pushing aside my attack and opening me up to be frozen to the ground by his partner. He dives into the opening with a sword thrust only to be met by the blade of my staff’s Naginata form as I shift into the Monster state with a growl and rip my feet free of the encasement.
“KEEP IT DOWN, WE ART HOLDING NIGHT COURT!” A night guard shouts at us only to blush when she realises that everypony is looking at her. I shrug and backpaw Elemental into Death Knight. They land in a heap and the Knight seals them within a shield as he begins healing his partner. Taking advantage I leap over the shield and tag in Nightshade who gleefully joins me in the exercise. With my rescue objective complete the victory is easy, even if I notice Luna noticeably flinch when we kiss to link powers.
Waiting for Luna to get out of Court is boring and most of the visitors are really chill, so I decided to do a little match with my new friends from Black Sun. Only about 15 minutes left and Luna and I can leave on our date. I was going to take her on a normal date, but she has a certain place that caught her eye. I bid Nightshade, Elemental and Death farewell and promise to be by to officially join later and head towards Luna’s throne, watching the clock carefully.
The moment the clock strikes the hour I pounce, kicking off the wall behind her throne and landing on top in a crouch. I reach down and begin petting her, however, her and the DJ she is speaking to seems unperturbed.
“Hay, princess, I think you got something in your mane.”
“It’s my suitor, we’ve run late and it seems he’s eager to leave for our date. I’m afraid I must cut this short, but we’ll be by your club some time. He finds Ponyville to his liking and I agree. Another time, Scratch, it was-” She cuts off and leans into my hand as I begin scratching behind her ear.
“It’s chill, I totally get how special someponies can be. I got one myself, she acts all proper and stuff, but if I give her a little tap on the flanks she melts into a puddle of cuddly.” She pulls down her shades and smirks as she turns away and says over her shoulder. “Sometimes the puddle is real, if I tap hard enough.”
I jump down and stand in front of her with a grin. “Shall we away into this glorious night? The boring ones are falling to their beds and fun is about to begin.”
“Thou doth not ken to where we art patronizing, yet thy stands so eager to be off.”
“Where matters so little, with thee at my heel. Merriment is ever present in our path and unveiled festivities hold delicate mystery to enrapture mine desire.” I dart forwards taking her in a kiss and say the next part lower. “If thy choice of destination is dull, then I shall find merriment in thy flesh instead. Verily thy punishment would bring amusement, as too would thy apology.” Ah, the blush, the risen wings, the sideways look and smile. Beauty has many forms and her’s is that of being adorable. I pull her into a hug before turning to face the door with her by my side.
The guards have some seriously ill-controlled expressions right now, thankfully happy ones. To break protocol in front of Luna as an expression of happiness or loyalty, such is ignored by her, but for darker reasons… I thought I had a temper.
She leads me away into the streets of Canterlot, into what is quickly becoming known as the ‘Lunar District’. A wonderful place, loaded with all-night stores, artsy things and night clubs. During the day this place lies in shadow and seeming abandonment, but at night it’s the liveliest part of the city. She guides me down an alley without markings to a nondescript black door. She knocks a short tune on the door and a voice comes from the other side.
“Her gaze brings light to life, does she see you?”
She grins “I would need a mirror.”
Silence reigns behind the door and I facepalm. “Tell him the damn Password Luna.”
A slit opens and I see eyes that quickly retreat with a yelp right before the door swings open revealing a unicorn in full Dominatrix tack. Did she really? “Mistress Luna, you and your pet don’t need a password, but I think he’s begging for some punishment if you-.”
I glare down at her and Luna takes a step behind me.
“Oh… sorry. It’s just... she’s a princess and- Righty, as I was saying, welcome to the Cuir Bleu, Lord Wolf and Luna. It is an honor to play host to such illustrious guests. As this is your first time, you will have to have a talk with a DM about the rules and protocol of this club.”
I nod and she points us towards a massive earth pony wearing studded gauntlets made of blue leather and easily as tall as Celestia. He has an easygoing smile and waves as a greeting when we draw close.
“I love new faces. I am Ogre, one of the Dungeon Monitors of this club, you can tell us apart by the club gauntlets we wear. The rules are pretty simple. Common sense and consent is key, don't touch anything that isn’t yours without permission and always clean up after yourself. Protocol, however, might be an issue for you. I’m afraid that outfit isn’t exactly-”
“I have a change of clothes.”
“Excellent! If you have any questions, simply find me or another DM and we will do our best to help you out, but if you need a whole lifestyle rundown, you’ll be introduced to some community mentors who enjoy corrupting innocents… I mean teaching people who are new to the community to the lifestyle.” I smirk at that, like Luna or I would need a mentor. “If you're not comfortable getting changed wherever, there are changing rooms in the non-scene bathrooms. Worry not, the two are very clearly labeled.”
I nod and head off in the pointed direction. I think I got the layout down, four central common areas connected by hallways dotted with both public and private scene rooms. The center is all the bathrooms. As I shut the door behind me and pull open my pack I can’t help but smile as I pull out a small suitcase. I never had a chance to wear this for real back on Earth, by the time I found the community I was far too high above the mortals to join them. Black jeans with leather accents go on first, followed by an x harness with an open leather vest. A quick spell accents my canines and tufts my hair to resemble canine ears. Another spell grows my nails into short points and traces softly glowing runes up my forearms, I forgo the gauntlets to stay within protocol.
Dressed, I begin gearing up. Some choice talismans and a set of cuffs are stashed into various pockets, a six foot bull whip is coiled on my hip and twin short floggers dangle from my back where a tail would be. Stretching I step out of the changing room to receive some stares.
“Wow…”
“He’s...”
“ADORABLE! Can I pet you?” A little grey mare with crossed eyes, stark white hair and a green collar is hovering in front of me.
“I’m not supposed to be adorable! This is supposed to show how thin the line between beast and man is. Wait... Derpy?”
“And it’s adorable!” I- just accept the damn compliment…
“Wolf!” I turn and see Luna walking towards me wearing an absolutely adorable outfit. A tight short deep purple dress with a choker with a red bow on the side. I smile and pull her close to me by the choker’s dangling chain and kiss her.
“You look so adorable, Luna. I’m glad you’re mine or I would have to steal you.”
She looks a little cross-eyed as she looks back at me. “Kay”
“Come on, let’s explore.” I let the double meaning hang in the air and lead her off into the club casting a wake of ponies confused on whether or not they are supposed to bow to a submissive princess.
We wonder around, meeting ponies for a little while until we sit in a viewing seat to watch a scene involving a Dom who’s scenes are apparently popular. I’m quickly learning that Identities are somewhat fluid here. Some ponies are even walking around with different cutie marks then they came in with, although some remove enchantments to reveal BDSM cutie marks, and others cover up normal cutie marks with more thematic ones.
The stallion who walks in goes by Shadow. A tall stallion with ashen fur that is strangely reflective and a black mane with a curved red horn. On his flank a cutie mark of a black crystal heart wrapped in chains sits. I feel Luna stiffen next to me as she stares at him. He darts around the room adjusting things, enchanting the lights to be more sinister and then glances at the clock hung on the wall before darting to the throne against the far wall and sitting down quickly before acting like nothing is wrong.
Moments later a mare who seems to be made out of crystal walks in hesitantly staring at him in fear. “Y-you summoned me, Lord Shadow?”
He simply sit and glares down at her. “You know why you are here. You know what you did, Crystal Slave.”
“My lord I-” She cuts off as his red aura clamps her mouth shut.
He slowly advances on her from the throne as she futilely tries to pull free from his aura. “Spare me your drivel. I need no excuses to test my patience nor lies to call me wrong.” He has reached her and his hoof trails lightly down her back. “I heard what you called me, and you shall be punished.” He punctuates his final word with a slap on her flank that drops her to the ground with a muffled yelp. His aura lights up each of her hooves and he casually lifts her into the air splayed before pressing her against belly first against the wall. His eyes flash for a moment and his aura turns into crystal shackles that pin her to the wall.
“You called me a monster. I wonder what would be a better lesson for a slave like you. Being taught what a real monster is like, or beating you until you flinch in agony when the word is so much as spoken by someone around you?” A riding crop lifts from the seat of the throne and he smacks her flank. “Monster?” She yelps from the impact and he begins landing a string of blows punctuating each strike with the single word question. “Monster?”
After the 23 blow she goes limp in her restraints and her yelp comes out as a much sweeter sound. He rears up and rubs her flanks gently with his hooves, removing the gag from her mouth. He yanks her tail to the side and licks her dripping marehood. “Oh? Does being in the presence of a Monster make you happy? Maybe I should take it as a compliment? Or maybe you're just a little slut who is getting wet just from being in her Master’s presence? Which is it slave?”
Her voice is sweet and ragged with need. “Both Master.”
The crystals shatter and she drops to the floor. He darts forwards and lowers his horn to her lips and she promptly kisses it. A vicious grin splits his face as his horn glows picking her up and turning her on her back in the air so her tail drops out of the way exposing her marehood to the watchers. His hoof begins rubbing her as he whispers into her ear. With my hearing I catch some of the things he is describing to her and find myself committing some to memory for later. All too soon she cums, covering her hoof in her fluids that he forces her to lick off.
“Let me show you just how monstrous I really am slutty slave.” She can only moan in response as her drops her to the ground and drags her out of the room by her mane through the door they entered through. I barely catch the glow of his horn helping her along so her doesn’t actually rip her hairs out.
I turn to Luna and see a conflicted look on her face. Lust and hatred conflict before resolving into a snarl. “Sombra.”
I look at her expression and snap my fingers pointing down. “Come.”
I guide her out and into the hall finding an unused room to talk to her in. “So that was King Sombra, tyrant of the Crystal Empire?”
“Indeed! I know not how he escaped or made it here, but we have to alert my sister!”
I reflect on the situation. “Why bother?”
“We- what?”
“Way I figure it, you and Celestia took him out on your own ages ago, since then you’ve grown stronger and he spent a thousand years imprisoned, been blasted in the face by an ancient and powerful artifact and lost his ability to use black magic. Hell, far as I could tell he genuinely cares about everypony here, so he wouldn’t risk forcing you to use full power. It would be easy, I just wait till he’s leaving, deck him and he wakes up in the dungeon.” I pause as my words seem to have an effect and her eyes go wide. “Or we could go say hi, congratulate him on his scene, generally treat him like somepony you just met as he nervously tries to hide who he is, and in the end be like ‘I knew you were Sombra the whole time’ as we walk off laughing.”
She looks uncertain. “He enslaved the Crystal Empire, he was a twisted evil stallion who sought to rule and control all his subjects. A sadistic monster who..”
“Spent a thousand year imprisoned for his crime and has been purified by a mysterious artifact and has sought, on his own, a path to some manner of redemption? Sorry, Luna but to be honest I kinda want to meet him and take action only if necessary. I don’t want…”
“What?” She actually looks like she’s on her way to angry. Her tone is definitely demanding.
My eyes narrow and my voice drops into a dark tone. “I don’t want to watch you set a precedent for your own imprisonment. This world seems to run on irony and such is the kind of thing where it would be really easy for some idiot to bind your fates together. I can’t allow our anger to take you from me. I refuse to lose you over some stallion that isn’t even enough of a threat for me to be allowed to use my magic against.”
Are those slitted pupils? “Won't allow?” Yup, those are slitted pupils. “Refuse?” Oh my, fangs and a weird voice.
I lock eyes with her and cock my head to the side resting one hand against her cheek. I can feel her power building, her Wrath is immense and powerful, but my Element is a subtle one, a steadfast and all-consuming one. “Yes Luna, I refuse to allow it. I will protect you and do what I must if needed and you will leave it be until I can at least provide evidence of current wrongs.”
“Insolent WRETCH! Thy-” My aura explodes as I bring forth everything I have and yank my restrictor cuffs from my pocket. I pounce on her, driving her down, belly up, on the table before she can even complete her spell. The cuffs go on her forelegs and her magic cuts off causing her to stare at me in shock as I clamp the restraints on the table to her legs, spreading her out. I kiss her as she continues to stare at me.
“Release me!”
My voice is calm and light, but my words are slow and focused. “No, I don’t think I will. You are Mine and you’ve been misbehaving. I think you need a reminder of what I am. Now Luna, or Moon, perhaps, if the eyes are an indication, what am I?”
Her struggles and breathing slowly as I talk and she regards me warily. “A human?”
I pull the floggers from my back and trail them over her chest. “True, but not what I’m looking for. What am I to you?”
Her eyes go wide and she blushes brightly before averting her eyes from me. Her voice is quiet and tinged with need. “M-master… I’m sorry.”
I step closer to her head and pet her. “Good girl, now what have we learned today?”
She turns back to me, her face normal. “I need to trust you more and to adjust to being…” She starts to trail off and I arch my eyebrow she continues but her voice is small and unsure. “It’s been so long. I’ve grown used to the attempts to control me for political reasons, even my sister. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be loved and taken care of.”
I continue petting her for a moment before bending to kiss her. “You won’t have to forget again so long as I draw breath, Luna. Now I agree that we need to assess him, seeing how he reacts to you would be quite a good gauge. If he is still a threat if he still holds a great evil in his heart. Then, and only then, I shall strike him down and see to it that his shadow never again falls over the light. I hope that even should he maintain his darkness it will be capable of being used in a positive manner, after all, I posses infernal magick of my own, yet I wield it for good. “
I bite her neck and enjoy the way her body relaxes at the contact as her power finally drops down to its normal level. Wrath, such a powerful element, but in the end only sloth can resist the power of Lust… I release her bindings as something occurs to me, when did I learn so much about the infernal elements or start thinking of myself as Lust?
“Let’s go pay Hu-Sombra a visit, It should be enlightening, one way or another.” Now I’m thinking of him as Hubris, foreign knowledge in your head of the black arts is never a good sign, but for now I need to set it aside and take care of my mare. Luna casts a spell to find all the exits from the room Sombra took his slave into and lets me know that it exits into this room, the common area and a small room that only opens into the room he’s in. I set a ward on the door in here to let me know if he comes out of it and lead her to the common area.
The common area seems to be divided into three sections, on the left side is a bunch of low couches and pads around the floor, there seem to only be submissives in that section, based on the collars present on all the mares and stallions over there. To the right looks almost like an executive lounge, with fancy looking couches and chairs that all seem to be reminiscent of thrones without being overbearing, most of the mares and stallions in that section are wearing outfits that vary between screaming Dom and simply tasteful suits.
In the center of the room is a big multilayered bisected circle of couches where the rest seem to have gathered and are engaged in various quiet activities ranging from cuddle puddles to a civilized tea serve with the two conversing Doms wearing matching outfits and being served by submissives whose outfits also seem to match.
My eyes flick to Luna who seems to be trying not to stare down to the area that seems to be the sub sections where a group of mares and one stallion are grouped together and are doing some kind of fashion stuff, I focus and my ears catch the conversation being all about manes. I’m so focused on trying to figure out what is going on that has Luna so distracted that I almost fail to notice the silence slowly spreading through the room, coupled with covert stares at us. Oh, right. Their princess on a leash has got to be on the top ten lists of things you never expect to see.
I grin as my eyes drink in the room, I can smell the lust in the air and taste the elegance. “If you wish to join them I wouldn’t mind meeting some of the Doms and getting to know the community better. We have plenty of time before we can go say hi.”
I turn to her after I say that and see a conflicted look on her face. “I cannot. If I go over there, if I seek to make friends, it always ends with disturbing their activities as the seek to bow and scrape before me. I really want to but-”
She cuts off as my hand goes over her mouth. I sigh and pet her. “C’mon.” I start to lead her towards the group My hand still over her mouth cutting off her protests.A large green unicorn stallion with a bracer moves to stop me with a stern look on his face but I smile.
“Just dropping her off then heading over there, she’s shy and just needs a firm hand to help her say hi.” He nods, points a hoof to his eyes then walks back to where he was standing by the wall. I continue to the group who seems to freeze as we approach. To Luna’s credit, they begin to scramble for a moment before I put as much authority in my tone as I can while keeping my voice level. “Stay.”
They freeze up again and I smirk. “This is my adorable pet Luna, she’s kinda shy and wants to make some friends. While she is here, she is just Luna, My pet, nothing more. Bowing to another submissive would be kinda silly, don’t you think? Say hi Luna.” I drop my hand from her mouth and she takes in a deep breath before trying to say something only to have it come out as a squeak. “Good enough, take care of her, okay cuddlies? I’ll be over there if you need me. Peace.”
With that I walk off leaving them to do what cuddlies do best, take care of the messes a Dom leaves in His wake. I nod to the DM as I pass him and get a smile back as I hear the mares begin to fuss over Luna behind me, encouraging her to join them. With her taken care of, I stride over to the Dom section and take a seat in one of the chairs that has a solid line of sight with the door I’m watching. I look over the group around me as my thoughts turn to trying to add all these things up. My mind is being twisted, ever since I got this Element I’m known things, things I shouldn’t. Every time I gave into Lust I strengthened it, in turn strengthening myself.
I will keep this path, but I need to set up some fail safes to keep my mind from growing too twisted. As it is now, there is no one left I can rely on to destroy me if needed. I’ve taken Luna’s heart, and with it both her and her sister would be unable to cut me down. Nightshade would join me in anything I did, she only remains in the light because it pays better and she has free access to knowledge. For that matter, would Nightmare Moon join me if I turned evil? Would Discord? Looking at the web I’ve woven without meaning too I realize the true insidious power of Lust. It should terrify me, yet it brings a smile to my face.
“Waiting to speak with Shadow I take it? You know, if you have questions I can probably answer them.” A stallion says this as he sits next to me. He is a tall blue unicorn stallion with a black mane and tail, both streaked with ash highlights. He's trying to seem casual, but there is an intensity in his eyes that betrays a deep hatred and barely contained rage. It can’t be directed at me, can it?
“No, my talk with him is more of a personal thing. Nothing bad, just a casual conversation.”
He snorts and before I can react his horn flashes and I find myself sprawling to the ground. Grass? I’ve been teleported. I roll to my feet and drop to a combat ready stance reaching for a pack that I’m worried to not find on my back. “I know the truth. I know why you want him. I’ve been waiting for one of you to show up and I’ve been ready. I know him. He won’t lie, even to save his own life he’ll just hand himself over to the fuzz despite doing NOTHING WRONG!”
He fires a blast of magic at me that I roll under only for him to teleport and buck me in the face. I go down hard and even as I try to stand a spell of pure light strikes me on the side. I yelp in pain as I struggle to a sitting position. His horn lights up as he glares at me. My magick won’t respond and a look around shows the area to be saturated with wind and light magick. The beam flies from his horn as I smile. At least this solves my dilemma, if I die here then Grogar has no reason to hurt the ones I care about. My mouth gapes at the beam strikes a pillar of black crystal that suddenly form between us and a purple aura yanks me out of the circle of death. The angry stallion’s snarl fades as he sees Shadow glaring at him, a purple smoke trailing from the corner of his eyes.
“Have you learned nothing in your time here, Storm? Violence is the last resort, not the opening statement. If they have come to lock me away then I deserve it. It should not be your choice to join me in my imprisonment. I have done so much wrong in my life, left so much death and misery in my wake. I wish to repent and seek redemption, not drag an innocent youth into the dungeons with me.”
“You don’t understand! It’s him! Wolf is the Beast! He’s the one who murdered my brother, who killed all those people. He’s a real monster, not one like you or Luna who is simply misunderstood, but a true force of evil and chaos. He’ll destroy the harmony of this world and kill all who stand in his path. He is nothing but-” Storm goes quiet as Sombra puts his hoof against his lips.
He turns and stares at us regally. Luna, by now, has almost finished patching me up and I rise to my feet to look over at Storm. “So, you're the brother of that necromancer. I’ll have you know that I stand by my choice. If I hadn’t killed him he would have brought death to this world. If that is your reasoning for attacking me, I will forgive you this once. But heed my words, follow his path and I shall cut you down. Now, Sombra?”
The stallion in question sighs and bows his head managing to still look regal even as he bows. “You had matters to discuss with me it seems. I knew I would be found eventually. Go ahead and say your peace. I will not resist the Justice of the alicorns this time. My mind has been cleansed of the spirit, but the crimes are still mine to bear and so I shall.”
“That was a very nice scene, I’m glad to see you're doing so well on your path to redemption. If you ever find yourself looking for someone who can understand you, my door is always open. Luna too, once she gets over her old emotions.”
Storm looks so confused. “What fucking necromancer? You actually just wanted to talk to him? Who the hell are you? I thought you were that fucker from my world who went by Wolf, but you're nothing like him. What the fucking tacos is going on?”
“Odd, you remind me of my old sparring partner’s little brother, his name was Storm too, but he wasn’t nearly this good.”
“It is you!” He snarls shifting into a combat stance before getting smacked upside the head by a casual back hoof from Sombra. “I’m so strong because I trained to kill you after you murdered my brother, your sparring partner,”
“What are you on about? Inky died in a battle with an aeromancer. You already know this! You're the one who told me in the first place.”
Sombra finally speaks up. “If I might interject, are either of you familiar with the concept of parallel worlds? It’s entirely possible that you two are simply from similar worlds. One from a world where you are enemies, and another from where you are friends. I suggest that rather than drag out grievances he had an infinitesimally small chance of committing, you simply start over as two humans who have just met in a world that is not their own. Perhaps ponder out together why one remains a human, while the other has become a pony.”
I nod as I hide my smirk behind an earnest smile. “Even if you're not the Storm I grew up with, it’s good to see you again. Well, perhaps see isn’t the right word here. Why are you a pony?”
It seems my guess was right because the last of his resistance fades and he smiles back. “It was a part of the deal. My twisted second chance.” He walks over and it's on the ground next to me staring up into the night sky. “Does MLP or brony mean anything to you, Wolf?”
“That acronym doesn’t ring any bells but brony is something certain stallions call each other. I have a feeling it’s not that, though.”
He sighs and his horn lights up, I tense only for him to float a framed picture of a cartoon version of Dash and her friends, my principles, to float out of his mane. Why does he have this? This is a digital photo, ponies don’t have this technology yet. So this photo is from our world? How would that even make sense? “I was dying. Unfulfilled, slain by an unworthy foe with my vengeance unfulfilled. The one I had wanted so hard to kill was already long dead, I had thought I had gotten over it. But there I was, my ending just as pointless as his and I found my last thoughts turning to the Justice I never received. My dying words were not of the moment, not of death, but of Justice not served.”
As he speaks I find myself drawing the similarities between us. Both killed and with our dying wish, we thought not of our deaths, but of that which we could never have. A sense of calm fills me as I lean back and look at the stars. “Where does the photo come into play?
He chuckles a bitter sound that puts my instincts on edge. “Their was a show in our world. My Little Pony; Friendship is magic. It starred a certain Twilight Sparkle and her friends, together as the Elements of Harmony. Sound familiar? Well, it goes without saying that I was a major fan. So as I lay dying the god of Order shows up and offers me a deal. One of his Elements and a free trip to Equestria. Only one catch. I must choose between the ponies I love and the man I hate. On either side of the choice I am Justice.” He punctuates the last word by forming a silver sword in his hoof that skewers me. I look at him in shock as I stagger back away from him as he pulls the blade free. Blood flows down my stomach from the wound, just a few inches below my heart.
He lunges with the blade in his magic as a purple shield forms in front of me that simply shatters as the blade touches it. As I roll to the side I see Luna’s horn give off a burst of light as she grabs it with her hooves, pain clear on her face as she collapses. Sombra rushes to her aid eliminating my hope of allies. Use my power, Wolf. I switch into the form of the Monster and leap back studying my foe. His swordplay is sub-par, but his weapon is far from it. The Element of Justice’s Manifesto Doubled Edged Blade. Unleash my power Master, only together can we survive.
I drop the entire area in darkness only for it to completely dispel the moment it touches the blade. A fireball and lightning bolt suffer the same fate as he attempts to advance on me. I hear the voice in my head. My Element begging to used like a good toy should be. I remember the party, the death I predicted for myself that this amulet would prevent. To use the Element once is to start myself firmly on the Path of Grogar's lackey, but to refrain means death. A grin splits my face. Serve a god as a powerful warrior or die a foolish mortal. I’ve made this choice so many times that I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to come to the same conclusion as I always have.
“All mortals are the playthings of higher beings, so it is better to be a useful favorite toy than a discarded boring one. Attend to me, Lust.”
The monster form vanishes along with my clothes. As I stand before my foe nude save the Element on my neck a wicked smile and Predator's Gaze forces him back a step. Black tar flows from the medallion leaving behind leather armor that seems more at home in a BDSM club than a battle field, complete with a masquerade mask in the form of a wolf. On my left hip is a whip and my right has a cluster of chains dangling down. Knowledge of how to use these fills my mind as all my doubts flee. Leaving only the call of Dominance and a very bad stallion who needs to be punished.
Master, you are mighty indeed, but be wary. Your true foe is not the sniveling stallion, but the blade itself. Just as I kneel behind you in your service, Justice stands over him, waiting to control his puppet.
I nod and uncoil the whip. Shaking it loose a burst of fire and lightning flare down it. Seemingly in response Storms eyes change to one eye black and the other white as his stance loses its sloppiness and the blade begins the song only heard when a true Swordsman holds their weapon of choice. Storm whispers “let Justice be done” and charges me.
His charge is reversed as a well-placed crack of my whip lands in the center of his forehead knocking him backward. I hear a moan from the whip in my head as she unfurls. Mmmm… Master your so strong. Despite the power, he lands on his feet with a scowl. “Infernal slut! Do you dare stand in the way of justice? You believe the weakest of the infernals can challenge the greatest of the divines? I will crush you here and dispel your manifesto to the aether, never to return to this world again. Wielder, cease your pointless struggle, this battle was over for you before it began, even with this pointless struggle you are doomed, do you wish to know why?”
My left hand pulls one of the chains behind my back as I begin the process of activating it. It twists and curls in my hand as my thoughts guide it into the shape and power I need for my plan. Now to trick him into another foolish charge, not that it’s hard. Justice is direct and Justice is blind. All he knows is reckless charging relying on his power and skill over any sense of tact or subtlety. My tone is that of mock horror “Oh no! An enemy who monologues! Truly I must be facing a powerful foe indeed! Next, are you going to prove your superiority by pointing out your weakness, knowing that I could never manage enough power to exploit it?”
He snarls and charges again this time dodging under the snap of the whip and almost reaching me before my left hand snaps out launching a net of chains that wraps around him slowly binding him to the ground and spreading him in a compromising position. Despite his unearthly roars of rage it’s hard for me to take him seriously with his body in a bowing position and his plot waved high in the air with his tail pulled free, exposing him. A flash of flame burns the words ‘cum dumpster’ into his flank. The sword falls from his grip and the blade sinks a foot into the ground. Such amazing art, Master. Use me. Please. Let me finish him. I beg you master. Spurred on by her begging I let fly with the whip landing a resounding blow against the hilt as she moans at the contact.
A crack forms on the medallion consisting it’s pummel causing Storm’s eyes to return to normal. Terror fills his expression as I land another blow with my beautiful Lust making the crack bigger. He surprises me enough to make me hesitate as he teleports out of the chains and takes the sword in his mouth. I take a defensive stance ready to finish this once and for all when he teleports away. I’m sorry Master. I failed you. My chains bind order magic and ponies magic is naturally chaotic. Please forgive me? I swear Master, I didn’t know he could remain conscious after a full possession.
I glance towards the direction he teleported, I’m so sorry, then at Luna who is being tended by Sombra. “If you truly wish to be redeemed then tend to her. I must destroy that sword, it holds the power to destroy this world.” I’m sorry.
I chase after the trail the teleport left behind. Forgive me, Master, let me make it up to you? As I run wings of flame form on my back speeding me along and aiding me as I chase the trails of the chained teleports. I see him ahead of me landing out of a teleport in front of a house then teleporting inside. A lash of my whip removes the door and I find him standing, gasping for breath, inside a runic circle. “This isn’t over, Wolf.”
He vanishes as my thrown chains clatter against the wall behind where he was and before I can study them the runes turn molten and unmake themselves erasing the magical residue as the gold he used turns back into a neat stack of gold rods. A time magic fail-safe. That little... A snarl splits my face as horns and claws of flames form and my armor begins leaking flames.
“FUCK! You! I will find you and cut off your horn to use as a butt plug you insolent worm. You chose the wrong fucking monster to play a game of Manhunt with. You are my prey and I will hunt you down and shatter that pathetic Element you wield along with your mind. When I’m done with you, you’ll be convinced you name is Butt-Slut and all you exist for is to be used be every stallion with the inclination to be bothered with wasting seed on a bitch as useless as you.”
Master. Please find your calm. Lust holds fragments of all the other Infernal Elements within it. Remember Master. You are the Lord, you rule Wrath and Hubris, not the other way around. Please, Master. They must be punished, this is true. But what you plan is rape. Have you forgotten Consent Master? Stooping to such pathetic levels as forcing yourself on someone is beneath you Master. Please, calm down.
I snort, flames leaving my nostrils. The demon in my head is being the voice of reason here. It’s time to cut my losses and check on Luna. As I trek back to where I left them my anger cools and slowly the horns and claws vanish By the time I reach them only tiny versions of the wings remain. Master, I will soon run out of power for this scene. Be sure to have lots of fun so you can call on me again, okay? Love you lots and talk to you real soon! I promise next time I will do better.
My clothes reappear as the Element returns to its amulet form. “How is she?”
“I’m fine, it’s simply some form of magical burnout. Something about that blade… You were right to prioritize its destruction. I will be far more comfortable when I sleep knowing that such a thing was destroyed. Weapons such as that have no place in this world.”
“Then I’ll have to work harder to get you to sleep, love. He escaped, he had a teleport circle ready and could be anywhere in a 50-mile radius by now, if he didn’t teleport to a teleport. His escape ability, at least, is admirable. The Element was Damaged at least. He won’t even be able to wield it at all until he can fix it. Then he has to charge it.”
Luna rises to her feet and her horn glows jerking the moon towards the horizon. The moment her magic flared there was a crack behind me and I’m bowled out of the way by a pissed white alicorn. Catching myself I look at her as she embraces her sister with a spark briefly connecting their horns.
Celestia rounds on me. “I will send a message to all the crafters capable of repairing an artifact blade that I want that blade and pony with it brought to me.”
“It’s not some artifact Princess, it’s an Element. You can’t repair them through mortal means.”
“I am aware Sir Wolf. However, this pony does not seem to be as knowledgeable as we are. He was not quite wielding the blade as the blade was wielding him. That damage should have been sufficient to silence the voice of the blade and artifacts like that are always too confident in their own superiority to bother to inform their wielders how they truly work or how they can be fixed. Therefore, there is a high probability that this Storm pony would simply take it to the most legendary smith he can think of. I’ve seen this before many times in my little ponies. No matter how far into evil they fall, even the worst of us has a certain naivety about them.”
I sigh. “Only one problem with that. This isn’t one of your ponies. This is a human who was heavily focused on scholarly pursuits due to their lack of power. They likely know the basics of the Elements, including use and maintenance of manifestos.”
She gives Luna a dark look. “Lulu, what are you hiding?”
“I don’t want to show you...”
“This is important, Luna!”
“I can’t, he’s more important to me.”
I sigh. “Just go ahead and show her Luna, it seems worse to you then it would to her. She can understand how a lie can be used for the greater good. Even if in the end I failed to keep my past from catching up with me.”
A nod and another flash between their horns. Celestia looks at me with pity and understanding. “In my life, Wolf, I have learned one all-consuming truth. The past is the true foe we all must face. No matter how hard we struggle as we defeat the ones it throws at us it is still making new legions for us to face with every action we take.”
Luna picks up the thought, moving to stand beside her sister in the slowly growing dawn. “Immortality is naught but an unending battle between the present and the past for the future. An impossible fight, for in the end we too,”
“The Immortals” “The immortals” Together they speak these two words with a cutting power before Luna continues.
“Shall fade and become one with the past, another sleeping beast to be conquered by those that remain. Time is what we were given, equal parts blessing and curse.”
Celestia picks it up, bringing what I've come to realize is a poem to an end. “Remember, young one, as you join us in our eternity that living forever is not enough. To become a relic lost in the past is no different than being dead. You have a duty to shape the world, and so you should strive to make it’s shape beautiful, rather than twisted and unsightly, lest a day will come when you look at what you’ve wrought and you will realize this cesspool you are forced to wallow in is one of your own creation.”
