After the hit Logan, and after reading the comics, a young woman decides to Cosplay as Laura/X-23. With the final thing bought, the claws for her character, she winds up in Equestria. These are some of her adventures as she learns how to use her newfound abilities, and how she winded up on trial in front of Celestia herself.
A story idea by MrAquino of a displaced Laura in Equestria. It's a work in progress, so both good and bad comments are appreciated.
Characters and categories will be added as the story goes on.
“Is she contained?” One of Celestia’s royal guards asked as they walked down the dungeon’s dark and dank hallway.
“She should be.” The other answered. “Celestia knows how many lives she’s taken.”
“... I kinda feel bad for her.”
“Really? You feel bad for that beast?”
“Did you see her expression when it was done? She was tearing up. Obviously, she didn’t want to do that.”
“But she did.”
“I still think she’s innocent.”
“Your opinion doesn’t matter, corporal. Only the princess’s does.” They stopped at a door at the end of the hallway. The door was covered in chains and magical tombs, keeping the prisoner in the back. He pulled a key and unlocked the center lock. Everything fell. With a sigh, the guard stood on his hind legs and opened the slide, seeing the prisoner inside, cowering in the left corner, sticking out of the otherwise pitch black room. Inside was their prisoner: according to Twilight, she was a human, but nothing like the one the princess of friendship went into. She, as far as they could tell, had long, black hair, and wore some poorly made clothes that looked like some foal’s first attempt at fashion. Everything about her was dirty, especially her exposed feet. However, the disturbing part was that some of the filth wasn’t mud or grass stains, but… she was covered in blood… dried blood, especially around her knuckles and feet.
“How is she?” The concerned guard asked.
“... Hasn’t moved an inch.” The other replied before turning back to her. “Rise and shine, Sweetie! You got a whole of ‘splainin’ to do!” He pushed the door open. The other guard pulled a leash out.
“Um… p-please… make this easy on us, okay?”
There was little to no reaction. They would’ve thought that she wasn’t listening if it wasn’t for her head to lift up a little bit at the voice aimed at her. Beside her filth and badly made clothes, her hair was rather messy as well, some of it covering parts of her face to the point that her eyes couldn’t be seen, but they could tell when she was looking at them or not, which thankfully, she wasn’t.
“... Do it.” The gruff guard ordered. His partner nervously swallowed before putting the leash around her neck, followed by putting some cuffs around her arms and feet.
“C-come on now… it’s better to face it now than delay it.” He said meekly, giving the leash a light tug.
The girl made no resistance as she slowly got up, her bare feet touching the cold floor that wasn’t warmed up by her own body heat. Thankfully, the cuffs on her feet numbed the feeling, them only making sure she doesn’t try anything. She moved her hands on the leash to lightly tug on it, the tightness being rather bothersome. Other then that, she just stood and waited for the expected to happen.
The walk felt like the end of the world. All she could remember was bits and pieces of what happened… most of them just screaming.
She’s gone berserk!!!
Run, everypony!!!
HELP!!! HELP!!!
Mommy!!!
Then… darkness. All she did remember was blacking out as she was taken to the dungeon, with destruction everywhere, and bodies. If she was unlucky as she thought she was, then a good majority of them were innocent families.
She couldn't help but start rubbing her hands nervously, only looking down at them as she could feel a lump in her throat. She had a feeling on what to expect, but just couldn't be ready for it. ‘If it is what I think it is, at least I can finally be free.’ She thought to herself.
To her, the sunlight was blinding. It had been a while since she had seen sunlight, but she trudged on, awaiting her sentence. They stopped at a pair of large doors, hearing a loud crowd inside, each arguing over each other. A loud horn blew, silencing everyone inside.
“Announcing the prisoner!” An announcer spoke. “For the slaughter of innocent civilians, both Canterlot and foreign.” The doors opened and loud shouting came. She looked around, seeing rage filled creatures, all from different mythologies, and all wanting to kill her. Only a wall of guards kept them back from hurting her, though their warning came to her.
“You killed my mother, you bitch!!!”
“My son! Do you have any idea what you’ve done!?”
“You’re an abomination!!!”
She trudged through slowly, only looking up to see the tall, heavenly looking figure sitting on a throne. She was a pony, a unicorn-pegasus mix, wearing a golden tiara, necklace, and boots. Her mane somehow swayed, despite the lack of wind inside. Like everyone else, she had fury in her eyes, but remained professional about it, not wanting to lose her temper and look bad. The pony raised her hoof. Everyone was silenced with the occasional whisper, cough, or sneeze.
“... State your name.” The heavenly figure spoke in a threatening tone.
The human was silent for a moment, not even looking up at the mythical creature as she only looked down at her hands, feet, or just the floor. It took a moment for her to speak, but when she did, her voice seemed much nicer and didn’t go well with how everyone else in the room saw her as. “X-23.” She mumbled, not bothering in saying her second or even actual name as she felt that didn’t matter at the moment. ‘I’ll be dead either way.’ She thought.
“... Your real name.”
“...Laura” She answered differently as she was now focused on her hands, flexing her fingers a bit while also wishing she could at least wash them.
“... Laura… tell me… how did you get here?”
Laura was quiet once again, glancing to the side before she gave a light shrug. “I don’t know.” She mumbled yet again, it being a bit of a lie.
“You don’t know? … Well then, I guess the execution will go as according to plan then.” A loud cheer came from the crowd.
Laura only remained quiet at this point, knowing this was happening and knowing that she had no way or reason to even try to stop it from happening. In all honesty, she secretly wished for it.
“Wait!” The shy guard yelled, stopping everyone. “Surely, she has something to say!” He turned to her. “Please, I know what you did was wrong, but there had to be a reason why you were in the market that day, and a better explanation for what had happened.”
“Get away from her!” His partner growled. He turned to him.
“No! She has to tell her story! She can’t have been there to gone on a mindless rampage to get herself executed! Nopony in their right mind does that!”
Laura was still quiet, looking down at the floor as she thought about what he said. “Even if there was a reason as to why I did that, it’s not like it will change what’s going to happen.” She said as she remained looking at the white floor. “I don’t belong here, and I have no right to be here. It only makes sense if my life is taken as well.”
“Perhaps not.” The deity spoke, leaning in. Various whispers came from the crowd, each sounding unsure. “Laura, if you tell us your story, on how you came to Equestria and how you landed here, then maybe, if it’s possible, you will live and go through a… certain program.” The crowd murmured to themselves, unsure if this was a good idea.
Laura couldn’t help but raise a brow at what they were compromising. “You’d hear about the life of a killer?” She simply asked as she was a bit confused. ‘No one would bother listening and just end the killer’s life.’ She thought.
“I’d probably be hearing the life of a victim.”
“Probably...” She repeated as she felt that this would be a waste of time, it all just leading to her death. “... where do you want me to start?” She mumbled the question as she knew she had no choice on the matter anyways.
“How you got here will work.” She leaned back into her seat. Her horn glowed yellow and she carried a tea set to herself, sipping from the cup. “I have all of the time to listen.” Some members of the crowd groaned, a few turning and leaving. “Now, how did you get here?”
The human girl let out a small exhale, looking at her hands before she glanced up at the pegacorn. “Do you know what a convention is?” She simply asked.
“I’ve heard of them. Been in a few of them… under disguise, of course.”
“Well, I went to one of those… where I came from.” She looked down once again. “I dressed up as someone that was made up and had the… ‘abilities’, that I have now.”
“... Care to explain in detail?”
---
It was the first day she was going to do it. She had been to various conventions, but had never thought of doing it. The act of cosplaying. It seemed rather ridiculous at first; people dressing up as their favorite characters for a few days that isn’t on Halloween? While it did seem childish at first, but some of the Cosplayer had on costumes that looked almost spot on to the source material, and a few others even better than what Hollywood came up with. Truth be told, she was a bit envious, but she decided to go with it and dress up as her new favorite character, Laura, or better known, X-23.
When Logan came out, Jenny fell in love with Laura, mostly for how much of a complete badass she was. It only wasn’t until a friend of her told her more about X-23, how she was first made in the X-Men Evolution T.V. series, and her origin from the comics. Surprisingly, she practically looked like X-23 from the comics, both to the face and her figure. It didn’t take her much time to get the costume right: leather bra and pants, boots, and a collar were all that was needed. Unfortunately, the claws were another thing. While it didn’t seem that important, having the claws, the two for each hand and one for each foot, would really help her stand out.
‘Dang. So far, I’ve only seen gloves for Wolverine and not Laura. I mean, I could just take the center blades off of them, but it might ruin the gloves while also ruining what the creators have done.’ She thought, having a feeling that those who did sell the gloves she needed were already sold out. ‘Guess this is what I get for sleeping in late on the first day of ComicCon!’ She lightly hit her head over how dumb she was.
“Ooh! Nice costume.” A merchant spoke, dressed up as the King of the Cosmos from the Katamari games. “X-23?”
“Oh, uh, yeah. Are you the King of the Cosmos from Katamari?” She asked, looking at how well made his outfit was. She honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he had a small little prince to go with his cosplay.
“Indeed! But you’re looking quite down. Missing something? … Missing some claws, perhaps?”
“Urm, yes, actually. Without them, no one can really guess who I’m cosplaying as. You wouldn’t mind telling me if you know a stand that has a pair, or even one that wouldn’t mind if I tweaked their Wolverine one.” She said.
“Actually, I do happen to have what you need.” He leaned down and pulled out a pair of the 2 bladed gloves and single claw boot straps. “I’ve been meaning to sell these for a while, but no one wanted to buy them. I can only guess that like Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, a lot of women assume that other ladies will be dressed up as the Joker’s Henchwoman. Want them? They’re cheap.”
“Hmm...” She looked at the gloves and straps as she wasn’t quite sure if ‘cheap’ was the word to call any ComicCon merchandise. She knew that it would be more than a hundred dollars, but she just had to ask. “How much exactly?”
“Fifty bucks.”
“Woah, seriously? I thought I’d be over a hundred.” She admitted, hoping that maybe her pointing that out might change the merchant’s mind and make it that way.
“Yeah, it was, but some other X-23 cosplayers came along and didn't want to be considered ‘generic’, like the amount of Deadpool cosplayers. That, and you really do look like Laura, unlike the others.” He shivered.
“Yeah, well, you can’t have good without some bads.” She shrugged a little before she took her small(but slightly bigger than normal) black purse out and opened it to take her wallet out. “I’ll take them.” She smiled as she took out two twenties and a ten and placed it on the counter. “I guess next time, you’ll bring Harley Quinn’s bat and pistol for those cosplayers to throw money for.” She joked a little.
“I wish.” He chuckled, handing her the fake claws. “Oh, as a little bonus, they're retractable; just flick your arms and legs for the claws to come out and in.”
That was when she was a little curious, looking at the claws that she just put on. She did as instructed and felt the claws go inside a hidden section that blended in with her own gloves. “Neat! If you make more stuff like this, I bet marvel itself would hire you to make some sweet props.” She complimented as she did it again, the claws coming out this time. “Thanks again for the claws.” She smiled as she made a small wave farewell before she went back to searching for more things she would most likely fill her entire room with. In other words: nerd junk.
There were a few things here and there that got her attention: some cute plushies, some interesting artwork, and some inappropriate things. However, she spent most of her time getting pictures and recorded while acting like Laura, no doubt becoming Gifs her friends would see and be jealous of. But, throughout it all, she slowly began to feel light headed. She only figured it was the need for water, but it only got worse. With a single trip, she fell to the floor, unconscious.
~
The sound of birds chirping away came to her ears. With a groan, she slowly woke up, seeing she was no longer at ComicCon, but in a field of some sort. She felt off; not sick, just different. She could feel the prickly grass underneath her exposed skin, the gentle breeze of the wind going over her, and could even see the clouds up above that seemed more… fake, than normal ones. One thing was for sure, clouds were not as curly as she was looking at… or more detailed for that matter. ‘Something’s not right.’ She thought, slowly sitting up as she rubbed the side of her head. ‘Where am I? And how did I even get here?’ She asked the obvious. ‘Was I drugged? Kidnapped? Maybe pranked?’ She guessed some assumptions as most of them would come out blank. ‘No. I don’t remember drinking anything but my own water bottle, and I remember passing out when I went to get something to drink. No one was following me… I think. And my friends were going to come tomorrow, not today. They wouldn’t lie for some sick prank.’ She rubbed her chin, looking down at her hand as she noticed the blades she bought were gone. “Huh?” She spoke. “Did someone really steal my blades? … Wait a minute... I bet that guy had plenty of extras cause of all those Harley cosplayers.” She grumbled. “Son of a-” She clenched her fists.
SNICKT!!!
A sudden sharp pain came from her fists and feet. She did the only sensible thing: fall and scream in pain.
“GAAAH!!! FUUUUUCK!!!” She teared up as she looked at her hands: popping out, covered in her own blood, and out of her knuckles, were two pairs of razor sharp, metal claws. The sight made her hyperventilate; it was cool looking in the comics and the movie, but having it happen to her… that was a different story. It didn't help when she looked at her feet; if the boots weren't there, she’d see but two bloody feet. More screaming came out.
“SHIT!!! God…. Fucking shit!!!” She tried to calm herself, slowing her breath. “Come on… take it slow… slow… and steady…” She winced as she felt her claws going back in, also slowly. As soon as they were gone, she slowly got up. The flesh wounds healed without leaving a scar, much to her surprise. “Gotta get out of here… find a way home… and get these claws out.” She told herself as she couldn’t help but place a finger where the wound was, seeing if perhaps it was just hidden somehow. Once she felt nothing but skin, she sighed and looked around, seeing more grassy field and trees in the distance, while another side got more lifeless and had more dirt and rocks. She wasn’t sure where to go, not knowing which might lead to seeing people again. ‘It’s either the side with life, or the side that looks like it was drained its life.’ She thought as it was honestly a hard choice. Her answer came when she looked up: right on the side of the mountain was what looked liked a village of some sort, surrounded by large birds. “Guess the tree village it is.” She thought, looking at the large birds as she felt they might just be messenger birds linked to an owner. She started heading towards the mountain to which the village was perched upon, seeing that it would be a long walk.
“So, you were traveling to Griffinstone?” Celestia asked. The crowd had since dwindled away with less than a quarter of the original audience present. “Interesting. So you didn’t have those claws before, but bought them?”
“You could say that.” She glanced away as she didn’t look up at the mare. “But I still didn’t know how I got there.”
“Well, if you continue, then not only will I probably let you live, but you may return home… if it’s possible, of course.”
Laura only shook her head at that option. “I wouldn’t advise that. Most of those ponies wanted me dead. And if they saw me roaming free, they might take matters into their own hand. As for going back home… I wouldn’t be any better there than where I am now.”
“With how you were, I doubt it’ll be easy. But, please, continue. What happened when you landed in Griffinstone?”
“Well, it was a rather big surprise to see that those large bird were something more… unique.” She rested a hand on her cheek as she had no worry of possibly ending her own life with her claws.
---
Laura had to rub her eyes twice to see what she was looking at. Those large birds weren’t birds, they were gryphons! But not the ones from the stories where they’re half lion and half eagle, rather, all of these are different than the last. They were all half feline and half raptor, but all predator. ‘I could be dreaming, but you can’t feel pain in a dream!’ She thought, watching the mythical creatures fly by and ignore her. ‘Maybe one of them can speak english… maybe.’ She added as she began to walk past the fancy gate, seeing that the whole town looked both abandoned and a dump in one.
She could see some griffons flying into their home, or some that were flying by, a pair almost bumping into each other before they started screeching at one another. Most of the buildings were houses, until she noticed an abandoned library and a pub. ‘There would most likely be some griffons to ask where am I.’ She thought, starting to walk to the pub, opening the flap doors and getting everyone’s attention.
She let out a nervous gulp as she kept her eyes on the floor, reaching the front bar before she took a seat, the stools beside her being empty from the start. She wanted to ask, but just didn’t know how, or if they would even understand her. ‘Damn, it’s like the first day of school all over again.’ The bartender, one that looked part tiger and part condor, approached to her with a somewhat confused look, but gave her a stern stare as he half assed cleaned a mug with his own feathers.
“What are you?” He asked in a ragged voice that sounded like he smoked a lot.
She knew what he was asking, but remained quiet for just a moment. “I’m… I’m uh… a human.” She shyly answered, still looking at the table as she could see the shadow of the griffon cleaning a mug. ‘Very stereotypical bartender action.’ She thought.
“Human? ...Never heard of your kind.” He spat into the glass with a loud loogie, right before cleaning it again. “What do you want? A drink? History? Or just visiting and annoying my customers?”
She couldn’t help but look up at the bartender at the last part. “What? No. I mean, I… I just need some answers on where I am.” She answered.
“... For some bits, I can answer that.”
“Bits? Is that money in this place?” She asked, rather curious on what these ‘bits’ were.
“What are you? Retarded? Of course it’s money! You want to know or not? 5 bits.”
“What? Of course not. I don’t know where I am, how I got here, or how things work around here, alright.” She explained. “First, I was at a convention by myself, and the next thing I know, I wake up in a field, find this town, and now I’m talking to a creature that doesn’t even exist.” She showed a rather angry look with slight annoyance at how much of a jerk this bartender was. However, he didn’t seem to pay much attention to her.
“5 bits.” He handed his claw to her and opened it, ready to take in some cash. “5 bits, order something, or get out.”
“Tch, fine. I’ll go find help somewhere else.” She huffed as she got off her seat, starting to make her way to the exit. ‘Freaking jerk. If I didn’t know what a bit was, what made him think I would have any.’ She thought as she had a feeling that most of these creatures might be the same. Unfortunately, her way out was blocked as some more griffins entered, each wearing armor and having some scars across their bodies. There was a good five griffins; the shortest had a dagger sheathed to her left side, looking like a swallow and a lynx; the next had an ax, and resembled a vulture/lion; the largest was a Hawk/Tiger mix with no weapons; the tallest was an owl/panther, who barely had scars and had a sword; finally, the leader, standing in the middle, was an eagle/panther, the more stereotypical looking griffin of the bunch.
“Aw shit.” The bartender swore.
“Well, well, well.” The leader of the group purred in a Gentleman-Western accent. “Freud the server, it’s been awhile since you’ve paid for your… protection.”
“Look, I’m running a bit behind, okay? I’m trying to get your money’s worth, but you’ve been jacking up the price and-”
“Ah-tatata! Need we remind you what happens when you threaten want to alter the deal?” The Hawk/Tiger walked to the booth, cracking his claws and neck. The bartender backed away.
“W-wait! Please! Give me an extra week! I swear I’ll pay!”
“Too late. Give him what he deserves.”
“NO!!!” The large griffin grabbed the bartender and smashed him onto the counter with a loud ‘CRACK!’. His screaming became loud as the large griffin lifted him with his right claw and delivered hard punches with the other. The other griffins turned and looked away, all except for Laura. In thirty seconds, the bartender’s face was all but hidden underneath a mask of blood.
“That’s enough.” The large one stopped and took a deep, calming breath, dropping the bartender. A weak wheeze came from Freud, telling everyone he was alive, but wasn’t able to last long if it continued.
“Hey, boss!” The small griffin spoke, pointing at Laura. “Check her out!”
“I say,” The owl/panther added with an English accent. “What type of creature is she?”
“Looks like a hairless monkey.” The vulture/lion added with a gruff voice.
“Please, allow me.” The leader spoke, walking to Laura, smoothly taking a seat and sitting in front of her. He gestured to a seat next to her. “Please, take a seat, ma’am.”
Laura didn’t know what to do. Inside, she wanted to run off, ignore him, or possibly kick his ass for hurting that bartender, even after he begged for another week for whatever they were blackmailing him for. But, she complied and sat down, sitting across from the griffon as she didn’t know if she could even take on this creature.
“I apologize for that display you, and all of these customers, witnessed. See, he was part of an old army, back when this land was great, but had to retire when everything fell. We offer him protection, since he’s pretty old, but even now, some of old timers need to be taught a lesson from time to time. Allow me to introduce myself; the name’s Alexander, and these are my coworkers. Care to tell me your name?”
“L-Laura.” She said, the fake name being the first to pop in her head as she was still thinking back on fighting this griffon. She wasn’t even sure if he would be strong or weak to her. ‘Why am I even talking to this jerk? What would this griffon need protection from? Insults?’ She thought. ‘But maybe just against Alex himself.’
“Laura? Hm… interesting name Sounds normal compared to the other races and their names. Where are you from? The Minotaur kingdom? Oh, what am I saying!? Of course not! You don’t look like any of those bulls. You must be from some other kingdom. Let me guess: you’ve been sent here by your king and/or queen to find a new place for your kingdom to grow and decide to come here, Griffonstone, to ask King Gudo if they’d be interested to share his kingdom riches with yours. Is that it?”
“Uhm… no.” She simply answered, a bit thankful that he was talkative enough to say where she was, and perhaps some more places she could travel to find a way out of here. “I’m rather lost. I don’t know how I got here, or how to get back to my home.” She rubbed her neck a little. “I might not even be on the same planet or dimension even.” She added as she looked down at the table.
“... You’re new here?” He had a sly grin across his face. “Hm… and you have no idea about how anything works here?”
She only shook her head. “But I guess I’m in Griffonstone, as you called this place.” She said as she looked up at him.
“Hm… Laura? How would you feel working for some of my… employers?”
“Employers? I don’t know. I should at least figure out how I got here.” She said, starting to get up. “And thanks for the offer, but I don’t think I’ll be here for long.” The large and tall griffin stood to her right while the others to their left. Alexander stood up and walked to her.
“Oh, but you’ll enjoy working for them. They can offer you a good home, teach you the various cultures, and give you a better life than your old one.” The Owl/Panther and Vulture/Lion readied their weapons. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either way, my employer’s customers love experiencing… new things.”
“Again, very convincing. But perhaps someone else would be better suited once I head home.” She said, a little nervous as she wasn’t quite sure she could even leave now.
“... Hard way it is then. Get her.” The small and large griffins tackled her, each pulling out rope and began to hogtie her legs first.
Well, they tried, before she gave a strong kick to one of the griffon’s jaws before she tried to get up and run off, not wanting any of this. She was tackled by the two others, who slammed her onto one of the various tables.
“Look at you’re doing!” Alexander yelled at his co workers. “You’re ruining her look! Our prices are going to drop if you rough her up like that.” The pulled out their own rope and began to tie her hands together.
She didn’t know what, or how it happened, but it seemed her fight or flight options were coming, and that only taking over being fight. She growled angrily, before she unsheathed all her claws, She kicked one of the owl/panther griffon’s barrel, the single blade on her foot impaled him half-way, before she twisted it, using his body to kick away from the group. Even with her wrists tied up, she was able to jump to her feet. A small glint of red was in her eyes, the girl knowing what she was doing while having the adrenaline keeping her up and moving.
“What the fuck!?” The large griffin yelled in shock. “She just… WHAT IS SHE!?!?!?” Alexander looked shock, turning to his dying partner, bleeding out from the shock, before turning back to Laura. He pulled his sword out.
“She’s dead.” He charged at her, slicing his sword at her. Laura snarled and snapped the roped that tied her wrists before she sliced the blade clean with her own claws. Alexander took a step back surprised at what she had done, and feared for his life. She prepared to pounce at him, but the small one jumped onto her back, pulled they're dagger out, and began to stab Laura in the back. The Vulture/Lion took his ax and swung into her chest, stopping halfway through her body.
Her attackers stopped, and the bar gasped as her body healed rapidly; the stab wounds on her back quickly went away, and the ax was pushed out by her body. The real kicker, however, was Laura herself; she wasn’t in pain, oh no… she was pissed! She grabbed the small griffin off her back, grabbing it by his throat, before slicing their head right clean off. A shocked look was only present by the decapitated head, with a large fountain of blood spurting everywhere. Everyone was too shocked to react, allowing Laura to toss the body and tackle the Vulture/Lion. She snarled wildly as she began to slice past his armor and flesh, not even giving two shits about who’s watching: she only wanted blood, and they were her calling. The Hawk/Tiger, in a last ditch effort, pulled his dead comrade’s sword and impaled Laura with it. The blade went through Laura, covered in her blood.
Laura stopped momentarily, looking at the blade that had impaled her. She quickly turned to her attacker, fury in her eyes. She swiped her legs, slicing off the griffin’s legs off, making him wail in pain. The woman quickly stabbed him in the eyes, making him scream more, followed by slicing his throat, making the blood wash all over her face as the continued to stab the fallen griffin for a few seconds.
Alexander hyperventilated, seeing all of his men dead, mutilated by a human with claws. Laura turned to him, looking more like a wild animal than the frightened woman he was going to take in for any of his employer’s prostitution ring. He backed away from her.
“W-wait! S-s-stop! R-right now!” He whimpered like a child. Laura slowly walked to him, covered in the blood of his allies. Alexander pulled out another blade, aiming for her, but shook like a leaf. Laura didn’t hesitate; a single slice was all that was needed. He ducked, but he screamed as he felt his left wing being sliced off. The griffin turned and ran away, his nub of a wing bleeding, leaving a trail of blood as he ran away, tripping and falling roughly to the floor as he attempted to fly away. Only silence came, all but Laura’s own breathing. Her claws retracted as she breathed hard, suddenly regaining control. She gasped as she saw that she was covered in blood from head to toe and turned around. A massacre was inside the bar, with all of the corpses being mutilated by her own claws.
“... Wha… what have I done?” she asked herself aloud. A crowd surrounded her, which had gasping, some screams, and murmurs of the sight.
“Did she do this!?”
“What happened inside!?”
“How is she still standing!?”
Laura looked around, seeing the crowd coming closer. She didn’t want to, but her claws came out, making the crowd gasp and back away. The pain came back to her, making her fall and scream in pain, but she got up and painted her claws at the citizens.
“Get back!” She yelled “All of you! Get back!” She walked to them, parting the crowd, each looking frightened at her appearance. Panic got the best of her; she turned and ran out of the town and into the forest nearby, disappearing from sight.
“... Find her!” One of the griffins spoke before they flapped their wings.
Laura sprinted like she never had before; she had killed some griffins by herself, and she was going to be hunted because of this! It wasn’t like her to fight, not at all! All that went through her mind was for her to find a place to hide, and hopefully stay there until she can find a new disguise, or wait for a few years until she was but forgotten.
She lost her footing as she tripped and fell, stumbling down a small hill before she stopped by slamming against a tree. “Ugh… ooh.” She groaned as she hugged her stomach from the pain. “Mmh, damn it.” She mumbled as she curled close to herself. ‘I can’t stop. I gotta keep moving.’ She thought, slowly getting up as she was much slower with the small pain, making sure she wouldn’t trip and fall again. “What even came over me..?” She asked out loud.
“There she is!” One of the griffins yelled, pointing to her.
“Shit!” She shouted as she started running again, ignoring the pain as she wanted to run as fast and as far as she could away from the griffon that spotted her. However, she began to tire and feel light headed again. It was only a few feet, but she fell again, her sight blacking out as multiple griffins came and landed around her. Her eyes closed once again, drifting her off to sleep.
“A case of shock, I see.” Celestia commented. “That’s why you fell unconscious again?”
“Most likely… or perhaps exhaustion after what I did.” She looked down, looking at her hands as she could vision the same blood on her hands and claws. “Guess those griffon’s were also a victim of my… actions. But, I can’t blame anyone but myself.”
“You were defending yourself. And it seems you’ve put a dent into the trafficking business in the other kingdoms. If I had known earlier, thought I wouldn’t have approved of your actions, I do thank you for what you did… even if you didn’t know yourself.”
“But I knew there could’ve been a better way. Yet I decided that death is what they deserve.” She rubbed her hands as she felt a lump in her throat. “And… I didn’t know why the griffons did what they did after witnessing me killing their own kind.”
---
Laura woke up again as sunlight hit her eyes. Various chirping could be heard as birds flew freely outside. She only groaned as she got up, feeling light headed gain.
“Woah! Hold on, there!” A very kind, bubbly girl’s voice spoke, grabbing Laura from her back and putting her back down. “Easy there. You need some rest.”
“Wah! What the--!?” She shouted at the random voice and sudden contact. She was quick to squirm out of the grip before jumping out of what she noticed was a couch.
“Easy! Calm down, okay?”
She moved her head to where the voice was, seeing that it was none other than a griffon. A dark, blueish gray griffon with yellow talons and some lighter blue sections on her face, her tail having a small tuft of fur that was a darker shade that matched her wings. Laura could only assume it was a she, as the griffin had eyelashes, was smooth looking, and is smaller than the others.
“Are you alright?” It asked in that bubbly voice, approaching to her.
When the griffon took a step forward, she took a step back, not wanting to be near the creature in case she might attack again.
“Hey, hey! It’s alright! My name’s Gabby, and you’re in my house.”
Laura had to process that as she didn’t remember ever coming into this griffon’s home. “Y-you brought me here? Why would you?” She said, thinking back on just why no one would bring her to their home.
“No one else wanted. I just wanted to help you, what with being an honorable cutie mark crusader!” She saluted at the last part.
“A what now?” She was caught off guard yet again. “Never mind, there’s a freaking reason why no one would take me in, I killed four griffons and sliced one of the last one’s wing off.” She said. “Only someone with a death wish would consider taking me into their home.”
“But… you saved many lives because of it.”
“Come again?” For the third time in a row, she was confused as to what Gabby just said. “What do you mean by that?” She asked for an explanation.
“Those mercenaries… While what you did was brutal, that group in particular had our town in lockdown, keeping an eye on everyone, doing whatever they want and taking whatever they want. And while we want to fight back, not all of us have the combat training, or any weapons to fight with. … But you came along and, albeit, brutally helped us.”
Laura stayed quiet throughout the whole explanation, not sure if she should maybe come to account that her actions did good in some way or another. She let out a small exhale as she looked down at the floor, now sitting down on the floor. “But, shouldn’t there be some account that I technically killed your own kind? I wouldn’t be surprised if I was sent to prison or even tormented for my actions.”
“... Considering what you did and how you did it, I don’t think anyone wants to mess with you. I think the only thing that’s going to happen is that they’re going to kick you out of Griffinstone as soon as you’re well.”
“Well, that might take awhile. I wasn’t well ever since I woke up in this new world.” She said, rubbing her arms as she glanced to the side at a different section of the floor. “And I guess that also ends it with finding some information on where I am in the first place.”
“Ooh! I can help with that! I know many things! Ask me anything, and I’m bound to help!”
“Well, the obvious of course. Where am I? Other than in the town of Griffinstone.” She asked as she looked over at the perky griffon.
“The land of Equestria! Ruled and co-ruled by Princess Celestia and, her sister, Princess Luna. Founded about 2000 years ago by ponies, it’s still expanding and reaching over to other kingdoms, especially here, Griffinstone.”
“Alright then, so I’m assuming that there are more than just ponies and griffons, right?” She asked a different question.
“Yep! Minotaurs, Centaurs, dragons, breezies, sirens, gargoyles, draconequi, yaks, cows, donkeys, and hippogriphs, just to name a few.”
“Hmm, but I highly doubt that none of them can help me find my way home, right?” She asked curiously, wondering if maybe some creature could help her find her way back home.
“Hm… I think Celestia can help. She's really powerful! I bet she can help you if you ask.”
“Uh, I don’t know. She’s a co-ruler of this world, so I’m not sure if she would even think about helping a creature like me. Heck, not even a bartender would tell me where I am without paying him these ‘bit’ things.”
“Celestia’s not like a griffin. She's an alicorn, is over 1000 years old, and moves the sun every day. I think the only thing you'd need to pay is cake.”
“Cake?” She repeated. “Why?”
“She REALLY loves cake. Some article by somepony named ‘Gabby Gums’ found that Celestia is addicted to cake.”
“And you’re convinced that it’s true? Was there even any proof in the article? Did they even interview her about that?” She asked, not too keen on what some news article says about anything. The Griffin pulled out the article and showed the picture. It was Celestia, gobbling a piece of cake, with more cake behind her.
“And I've delivered some packages to her. Who knew she’d love Griffinscone cakes?”
“Well, even if I wanted to get some cakes, I’m guessing this world revolves around these things called ‘bits’ that I know I don’t have any of those.” She shook her head, rather curious on what they were anyhow.
“I have some bits you can take before you leave.”
“What? No. I couldn’t. I mean, just having me rest in your home is good enough.” She said as she declined the offer, not used to being offered anything for free.
“Nonsense! You need bits to get yourself something to eat, or just want something. I don't want to feel bad for not giving you the necessities and have you land in jail for stealing.”
Laura thought about it for a moment, still a little hesitant on taking someone else’s money. But she knew she had a point that she would most likely have to steal if she had no money. “Alright. But please don’t give me a lot. I don’t want it to feel like I’m being greedy over your offer.” She said as she rubbed her arm.
“Don't worry! I’m just going to give you JUST enough to get a train ticket, and a little extra for a meal. Sound good?”
She only nodded as her greedy side demanded more than just that, but she remained silent as she knew that was just the feeling of being given stuff: just wanting more like any other person.
“Yes! Ooh! Maybe I should join you!? Give you a proper welcome to Equestria? We can see Canterlot together!”
“Have you ever been to Canterlot before?” She asked as she found it rather odd if she did know the place well. From her view, if a city held two royal deities, the population would most likely be snarky and rub it in. They would also have to be rich enough to even live in the same city as two co-rulers.
“Yeah, but only to deliver Celestia’s cakes.”
“So you’ve never actually been around Canterlot.” She didn’t question it as she knew that was correct. “Well, I guess having someone who at least saw the city would be beneficial.” She thought while rubbing her neck.
“Yep!”
“So, how is it that we’re going to go through with this? I mean, those griffons wanted to take me somewhere, so I shouldn’t be surprise if any other creature would want me for a ‘job’.” She quoted the word, knowing full well that what they had planned for her was anything but good.
“Just stick with me. I know the good and bad places like the back of my claws.” She looked at her talons. “Oh! I didn't see that.”
‘Not sure if I can trust her after that, but I guess I have no choice. I would have to keep my guard up either way. If it wasn’t for that adrenaline rush, I would most likely being doing those griffons "job offer".’ She thought, glancing away for the last time before she got up. “Alright then Gabby. Lead the way.” She smiled a little. The griffin let out a happy chirp.
“Yes! I can't wait! Hopefully, there won't be any problems along the way.” She seemed to skip and flap her wings in a bubbly manner, rivaling her own enthusiasm.
Her happy attitude seemed to be contagious as Laura smiled bigger, it being the first time she ever did in this new world. She just hope that going to this Canterlot place wasn't going to be as interesting as her first and only day in Griffinstone.
~
The way of transportation, surprisingly, was trains. More specifically, steam powered trains, like the ones she loved to ride on as a little kid. Also to Laura's surprise, there were many of the races Gabby had mentioned, all sitting next to each other.
When she went inside, some eyes were on her, the girl not-so-used to the attention as she was thankful some others were distracted by their books, newspapers, or their friends or family. Laura was quick to sit where Gabby settled herself in as she was once again in a place where she barely knew anyone… except Gabby, of course.
“Is this your first time on a train?” Gabby asked, humming a happy tune to herself.
“No. Not really. I've been on tons of trains before. I'm just… new to all these creatures.” She said, not even sure if standing out was a real problem.
“Don’t worry, you’re not as weird as you may think you are. Heck, we have some changelings around now.”
“Change-what now?” She couldn't come up with what kind of creature it would be.
“Oh, right… well, the best way to describe them are pony-insects that can disguise themselves as anyone and anything. They're divided, with half of them following Chrysalis and feeding off love by others, and the other half follows Thorax, who spread love.”
She stood quiet as she tried to picture pony-insects, but couldn't come up with anything. “I guess I'll just have to wait to see one cause I can't picture anything.” She admitted as she looked down at her legs.
“Well, to give you a heads up, dark changelings follow Chrysalis and aren't nice. The brighter and colorful changelings follow Thorax and are friendly.”
‘That's seems kind of racist.’ She thought as the dark changeling part seemed a bit on the nose on how her kind thought of black people. ‘But, I guess they might have an actual good reason to see them as bad.’ She added. “I'll remember that.” After a moment of silence and nothing but the sound of outside conversation and the movement of the train, Laura was the one to break the silence. “I’ll go use the restroom.” She mumbled as she got up and started walking to one of the ends of the seated train sections as it had a bathroom that she could spot from her seat.
Gabby shrugged, having no reason to not trust Laura. If she had to go, she had to go. ‘Just as Grandpa used to say.’ She thought. But, she noticed a few of the train attendees acting rather strange; it seemed minor, from checking their watches to some whistling, but many of them became restless. It was only at a cave that everything went unexpected.
SCREECH!!!
The train came to a sudden stop! A few lights from unicorns were lit, showing them, and a few others, wearing helmets that had a dim, eerie green glow in the slot of the eyes.
“Alright, everyone! Get down, now!” One of them, presumably the leader, yelled, violently grabbing some of the riders and slamming them to the floor while taking a dagger out. “Don’t fucking move a muscle! You’re under the might of the Sons of Sombra now! One move, and you’re fucking dead!” Gabby yelped as she was tossed into onto the floor. Only a minotaur stood up, cracking his knuckles.
“Oh!? Look at that, a fighter!” One of the other members spoke. “Let’s make an example out of him.”
“As Iron will once said,” The minotaur monologues to himself. “If they block, show them that you-GACK!!!” One of the member’s horns glowed, picking the Minotaur up, slowly choking him in their magic. Then, the body began to slam around the walls, leaving noticeable dents on the interior, which had loud cracks of bones breaking. He wheezed weakly before the leader walked to him and slit his neck with the dagger, speaking in an unknown, language. Their would be fighter’s eyes glowed green, followed by purple smoke coming out, going into them.
“... That was a warning for you all! Try to fight, and you’ll end up like this cow!” He threw the body out of the window, breaking the glass, unseen by anyone else.
“Y-you won’t get away with this!” One of the ponies yelled, unsure if they’re making the right move. “Th-the royal guards will stop you!”
“... We beg to differ. Celestia will have to obey our commands if she doesn’t want anymore of her precious subjects to die.”
~Moments Before~
Laura didn’t really have to use the bathroom. Well… not entirely, but she was just in there to get some privacy, reflecting on what had just happened in the last 24 hours.
“Okay, Laura. This is obviously not a dream or some form of hallucination. But… how did I even get here?” She asked out loud as she sat down on the now closed toilet cover. “It could be a whole sorts of things. I could’ve been drugged… but I only had water I bought. Maybe a prank from my friends? No, they promised they would come the day after, and I would’ve spot them easily. But… maybe someone drugged my water… somehow.” She was brainstorming on just how this all happened.
She let out a sigh before she continued. “It’s fine. The sooner we go to this Canterlot place and meet this princess, the sooner I can get home and find out just how I got here. Speaking of, how can a princess even help me? All princesses do is wear dresses, act pretty, and connect with animals in some weird way. And what’s an alicorn anyways? Is it some animal hybrid? Another name for royalty? Well, I was told that alicorn meant the spiral of a unicorn horn… or another term of garlic. But that doesn’t make any sense!” When she finished, that was when the loud screeching was heard. “What the hell?” She pressed her ear against the door, hearing what sounded like a stick up, right before some brave person got really hurt. ‘Do I just attract bad guys!?’ She thought, rolling her eyes as she knew that if anyone was going to try, she would possibly be the most successful in stopping the whole thing.
One of the Hooded figures looked around, their ears swerving to Laura’s location.
“I found someone hiding!” They shouted, turning and stomping to the bathroom.
“Oh no.” Gabby said with worry. The pony banged on the bathroom door.
“Alright! Open up! Come out, or there will be trouble!”
There was no answer, almost as if no one was inside at all. She backed up from the door as soon as she was caught hiding, but she had a little something up her sleeves. The guard pulled out an axe and bucked the door open. They saw Laura in the open.
“... What the hell are you!?”
“Your worst nightmare.” She smirked before she pulled her blades out, a bit glad that it did instead of staying inside and making her look like an idiot. They looked at her claws.
“... Are you serious?”
“Eh, first try. I’ll come up with a better one.” She shrugged. “So what’s it this time: ransome? Petty thieving? Working under some powerful boss?” She asked as she leaned against the wall as if she was in no trouble whatsoever.
“We are the Sons of Sombra! We are on our quest to bring back the dark king himself and-...” He shook his head. “Why am I even telling you this!? Shouldn’t you be afraid, hairless monkey?”
“How can I be afraid of a three foot pony?” She asked as she had to look down at the stallion. “And besides, it’s not like I’m in real trouble.” She smirked as she called them weak in a certain way.
“... DIE!!!” He swung his axe at near blinding speeds, catching Laura off guard. The axe got into her left shoulder, slicing through and making her fall and scream in pain. In addition with the pain, she heard whispers, each saying many things to her.
“Come to me.”
“Join us.”
“I am your ruler.”
“You hear it, don’t you?” The stallion asked. “That’s the power of the dark lord! Submit, and not only will you live, but you will be in a cause that’s better than yours and others combined!”
After a bit of shaky breathing from the immense pain that slowly eased, she let out her first calm breath. “Yeah, I’m gonna have to reject that offer. Seems promising, but where I’m going, I don’t need some dark power.” She explained as she sat up, the ax still in her shoulder before she pulled it off with some difficulty and more pain. “Besides, I don’t think some dark power will save you from what’s coming.” She smirked as her eyes flashed red for a moment.
“W-what the-!? How did you-”
“YAAHH!!!” She pounced on him, her claws piercing his armor and skin, and she made short work of him, ripping and tearing into his flesh. The other Sons of Sombra saw this, most gasping and taking a step back. Their leader, however, shook his head and pointed at her.
“Don’t just stare! Kill that beast!!!” They all pulled out their weapons, with one pulling a crossbow out and firing into Laura’s heart. She yelped in pain, and looked up, seeing her oncoming attackers. A quick snarl came out as she pounced again, going on another slaughter!
Gabby could only watch with wide eyes and a terrified expression; moments before, Laura seemed ordinary, but now… she was gone, and in her body was some sort of beast. She had heard, and seen the aftermath at the bar, albeit, covered, but seeing it in person… it was quite terrifying. Yet, she wasn’t alone; the various transporters also cowered at the sight, many of the kids crying aloud, covering their eyes, all unsure if Laura was better, or worse, than the Sons of Sombra.
In Laura’s berserk, the pain, while numb, was still present with the words of the mysterious figure speaking to her conscious.
“What are you, creature? You’re nothing like what I’ve seen before. This… rage of yours… this… ferocity… it’s all… delicious! Make short work of these weaklings! Only the strongest will lead my army, and you are one of them! I am hoping to meet you in the flesh, sooner or later…"
The leader of the group quickly noted that this assault on Laura was pointless. No matter what they threw at her, not only was she quickly healing from it, but she was more enraged by them! He didn’t want to do it, but he disappointed his master; he retreated, teleporting away for safety. The last one was soon slain, the place having a fresh coat of red all over the walls, furniture… and it’s riders.
The train’s employees came in and gasped at the sight of Laura as she steadily breathed, regaining her normal self. The cowering words of the people came in.
“Mommy! I’m scared!”
“She-she-she did this!? On her own!?”
“I want those ponies back!”
Laura soon came to her senses as she saw that whatever took control of her went way overboard. She was quick to hide her blades again before she tried to make this not-so-bad. “I’ll… I’ll go wash my hands.” She said with a pink blush before she quickly went back to the bathroom to do just that.
While the door was still broken and on the floor, she decided to speak again. “Ya know, even though I overdid it, I think this would be better than being held captive for who knows how long. And I know they wouldn’t give any of you the royal treatment. Consider yourself lucky that no other innocent bystander was dead.” She said as she finished cleaning her hand and used a towel to dry them. Everyone, however, starred with dead looking eyes. Gabby was the only one to approach.
“... I think we should make the rest of the way by foot.” She only suggested, sounding dead than her bubbly self.
“What? No. You paid good money for the ride. I’m not letting you waste your bits on me… making us look bad. If you want, I could just go on another cargo and be by myself. That way I won’t scare anyone, and we can still get to Canterlot by train.” She smiled a little as she looked down at her. “And come on, it’s not like no one else ever killed anyone. From what I heard from the bathroom, what one of those guys seemed to do worse.”
“... We need to get out, now.” The staff members held up various objects like weapons.
“G-get off!” The main conductor, a brown stallion, ordered. “I-I don’t care who you are… just… g-get off my train!”
Laura only showed a not-so-happy look befor she just gave in. “Tch, no respect. Save an entire train from being robbed and I get kicked off. I swear, it’s like these creatures never been in a war before.” Laura mumbled as she started walking to the end of the train before she was at the opened deck of the last attached cargo. Gabby walked beside her.
“Um… you should know that Equestria hasn’t been in a war for a long time.” She informed. “The last war was with Sombra, and that ended with the disappearance of the Crystal Empire.”
“So? They’re acting as if I’m the bad guy. I mean, yeah, when I go a bit wild I can’t control myself, but I just saved all of those creatures and all they do is kick us off. Bet if this Celestia heard about this, she would actually praise me. Sure, not for how I did it, but just saving her ‘subjects’.” She quoted the last word as she knew most of them weren’t really.
---
Celestia glared at Laura, making the woman smile awkwardly.
“You’re lucky that I don’t take a lot of things personal.” She informed. “Continue.”
---
“... You may have saved them, but there were other ways that could’ve been preferable… like talking your way out.” Gabby spoke, walking next to the train and leading the way. The train let out a loud hiss and began to move slowly, leaving the two behind.
“Oh, sure. I bet that other creature thought about talking it out and look what happened to him. Hell! I didn’t even make the first move. That pony freaking hit my left shoulder with an ax!” She said angrily. “I was trying to talk it out, but look what happened.” She said as she showed the gash on her clothes now. “I’m pretty much wearing holes in my shirt.” She sighed as she sat down on the floor, her angered emotion replaced with slight regret and sadness. “If this is how those creatures are gonna treat me, then how is it that this princess would even help me?” She looked down as she felt her image was already ruined and she would be seen as a bad guy.
“Well, is this what your people usually do? Do you let out your claws and slice at each other while screaming your heads off like animals? Or is that common with your family?”
“Well… no. Actually, no one has claws coming out of your knuckles. And as for killing… that’s one of the things that makes me human. In my world, it’s kill or be killed. Everyone for themselves. And only the strongest survive.” She explained. “Humans were made for war. They made things that would blow an island up, end people's lives in one shot.”
“... I’ll have to ask Twilight when I meet her again.”
“Ask who what?” Laura looked over at Gabby.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle. She's visited the human world before, so she may be know what your kind is like. Truth be told, I think you're being a negative Nancy.”
“Well sorry if my first day consisted of murdering creatures, and then being kicked out for making it too gory for everyone's innocence.” She huffed as she stood up. “So sorry if my first time here is making me seem so negative.”
“It's not that! You're just… just… so… alright with it! No one's gonna be fine if you're just… alright with killing anything! That's near psychopathic!”
“Hey! I never said I was okay with any of this!” She snapped at her, a little ticked off. “You think I like killing creatures? You think I’m fine with this.” She flicked her wrists to show the claws. “I was not born with this. I didn’t choose to do all of this. I didn’t decided to come to some fantasy world where griffons wanted to use me for their ‘job’, and ponies would attack me with an axe just cause I insulted them. Even though it hasn’t even been a day that I’ve been here, I can see that this place isn’t any better where I come from, maybe even worse!”
“... We really need to work on that anger problem of yours.”
“I don’t have an anger problems!” She nearly yelled, only to huff and get up from her spot before she started moving.
“Yep. Anger seems to be your problem.” Gabby followed. “I'm no expert, but I think you should admit that you have an anger problem BEFORE yelling away.”
“You aren’t an expert, since it’s perfectly logical anger after what I went through.” She growled, crossing her arms as she knew her anger was in the right place.
“But it's unnatural for the answer to be slicing anyone a few feet away from you. That's just… bad.”
“Oh, and you think those creatures I killed were good little angels? Who knows what would’ve happened if I just came to accept it. I’d probably be a slave to some old dragon or something. Or most likely dead.” Laura said, looking down at the floor as her anger subsided. “Sometimes talking things out won’t fix it. I tried to talk out of those griffon’s job offer… and both times, I wasn’t the one to make the first blow.” She said. “I don’t know why you think I’m the bad guy when I really was just some victim, no less in a place that I was lost and needed help.”
“... Do you need a hug?”
Laura didn’t say anything, only feeling that Gabby wouldn’t understand where she was coming from with all this. ‘If only humans were as pure as her...’ She thought. Without saying anything, Gabby gave Laura a deep hug. Despite having talons, the griffin’s claws didn't hurt at all, and, maybe it was something else, but she swore she heard Gabby purr.
“There, there… you can let it all out. No one's judging you.”
Laura didn’t cry, but she could feel the lump in her throat as she held close to Gabby’s talons, feeling that she needed it. She teared up a little, but nothing more came after that.
---
“Huh… not much of a crier?” Celestia asked. “I'm quite surprised, actually. Most, if not all, who move away, cry deeply.”
“I guess I just didn’t want to cry in front of her. I mean, it would be kinda weird to see a murderer cry, yet, I guess this time the dam broke.” She sighed, feeling that she needed to cry more, but really had no reason to.
“Still, she told you that she wasn't going to judge you.”
“Eh, where I come from, some people go back on their word. I just felt this world wasn’t any different with what I went through.” She shrugged.
“... But you're with Gabriella, probably the most kind griffin known in the Griffin Kingdom.”
“Again, it was just my first time here, and I didn’t know who to trust anymore. Even if she wanted to help me, I always felt I couldn’t be at ease with her… it might’ve been because of those other griffons.”
“Perhaps that. Anyways, continue.”
---
“Do you feel better?” Gabby asked. “Hugs generally make anyone feel better!... You like hugs, don't you?”
“They're okay, I guess.” Laura shrugged as she crossed her arms again. “I never got much of it though, so it didn’t do much for me.”
“... Would a kiss work then?”
“...no.” She simply said, now walking a bit faster as to not kiss a griffon.
“Ooh! I think a kiss will work!... Not in a romantic type of way… but like a sister would for their sibling… get what I mean?”
“Again… no.” She said. “We aren’t even that close yet. I only see you as an acquaintance.”
“... But… we can get to know each other better on this little adventure. And who knows, we may even make a few friends along the way!”
“I highly doubt they’d want to be friends with a psychopath, as you described me as.” She said, still looking ahead, following the train track to where they were supposed to go.
“No, they just won't be friends with a grumpy pants.”
“A grumpy pants that killed other creatures.” She responded as she kept on walking.
“Way to ruin some advice.”
“Because I’m a grumpy pants.”
“Because of that.”
Laura went silent as she only continued to walk, hoping that perhaps she’ll be able to go back home before she would lose all her insanity being in this weird world. Unfortunately, it didn't seem likely, especially when Gabby hummed and whistled a tune on their journey. To save time, it lasted for the entire day, until the sun began to set, and it's place was the moon.
The human girl only sighed as she was rubbing her forehead, wishing that she could’ve cancelled out her humming after half an hour, but couldn’t when that’s all she could hear.
