> furred angel > by ervn92 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Furred Angel: Prologue: A Beautiful Visitor > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: MLP FiM is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust not me, this my fist fic so be as hard as it needed to improve; with that said have a nice reading! Furred Angel: Prologue: A Beautiful Visitor Last Friday night. Whether it was a mess, a blessing, a curse, or a gift, the experience was quite noteworthy. Anyway, that day was the birthday of my roommate named Mark, so some of his friends at work and me decided to throw a party for him in my cousin’s restaurant. I decided bring the food, mostly to see who could eat what, and how much they could eat.(after all they didn´t do anything!) Oh, and believe me, they ate so much, I wasn’t sure anyone could walk to work the next morning. After all, at some point of the night; everyone was so drunk that they stopped caring; the poor bastards. They even started a stupid contest of who could chug the most hot sauce. It was so insane, I had to try not to pass out from laughing! It was so bad, that towards the end of the party, I started to put Mark far away from the food, but of course, in his drunken state, he didn’t listen. In response, to make a long story short, I led Mark to the bathroom, saying that there was more beer there, and locked the door behind him. It was such a wonderful prank, and it allowed me to drift away, happy and content. Until the next morning …. I woke with a start thanks to Mark’s loud bawling. Poor guy, he was probably hugging the toilet all night! Ah well, I ended up taking mercy of his poor soul. I gave him my secret family remedy to cure his hangover(it´s mine and you will never know it..evil lol), believing he would become sober in a few hours. With that, I walked up the stair, but before I could reach the top floor, Mark started bawling again. God damn it, I thought it would work! Ugh... I talked with him, and he mentioned something about a meeting of a woman, also claiming that I was the reason he couldn’t meet her! Naturally, I denied his claims, but my stupid guilty bone started quivering, and in the end, I told him I would go in his place to meet with the mysterious woman. Little I know that after the meeting nothing would make sense again. Looking back, I did sometimes wish I just left Mark to start making out with Mr. Toilet, but then, I asked myself, would I go through the sequence of events I decided to go through on that night if I were given the chance to re-live it? And every time, the answer would be yes. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Throgh the window i spoted her.. The woman with dark blue hair, elegant blue clothes, and a deep green eyes was just as beautiful as Mark decribed her as. Of course, the purple rose she held in her right hand, and her humungous eyes also helped! However, Mark failed to decribe her best feature, her face. It was difficult to decribe how beautiful her face was, but words like angelic and etherial would definitely be included in my description. When I revealed myself to her, she instantly held out her hand and said, with a smile, “Hello, I’m Mark’s friend” I shook hands with her, and replied, “Mark is sorry, he couldn’t make it, so I’m come here to tell you.” With that, concern became evident in her face “Is he alright?” I hated to see her lovely face displaying this sort of concern, so I quickly allivated her fears. “Yeah, he’s fine. Just a bad stomachache. I certainly hope he had learned his lesson, though.” With that, her concern changed to confusion. “Well, I’m glad he’s OK, but which that are you referring to?” I smiled. “Ah, to hear a friend’s advice, of course”i said with a wink Subsequently, she smiled brightly, almost as if she was recieving an early Christmas present. “My name’s Luna! Could you walk me back home?....It’s raining outside”she said pointing to the street Sure enough, as she said, there was a downpour outside. Still, I couldn’t let her go in a weather like this, even though I didn’t have a jacket. After all, chivalry is in my bones! “Sure thing, but I don’t have a jacket.” She winked. “There’s no need to worry” With that, she pulled an umbrella from absolutely nowhere. That...was weird, but who am I to complain; Anyway,we go to the door at the entrance I opened the umbrella with one hand and with the other grabed her arm as we took of to her place. She blushed. “Wow, what a gentleco...I mean man!” Again wierd (This should have turned on my ´arachnid sense´ but I was too happy for the comment to care.) “Chivalry isn’t dead, just in danger of extinction“ I said with a chuckle. Afterwards, I grabbed her arm with one hand grabbed her umbrella with the other. I guided her across the street, but after a few minutes of walking, she stops, looks at me with her big green eyes, and asks me the question that will change my life forever. “Would you go to a mysterious land and experience an unknown adventure?” I nodded eagerly but before I truly accepted her offer, I had to pop a question. “I’d be more than happy to, but...I know this is a stupid question could I use a phone where you are going to take me?” Once again, her face showed evidence of being puzzled. “No, why?” “It’s just...” I let out a sigh. “I know it’s stupid but…. I can’t live without my phone.”friends, work, family and the possibility to call the police in any moment are and always will be valid reasons to have you phone in hand!. Once I choked that out, she appeared angry for the first time, but after a few minutes of sighs and groans, she said, “That….can be arranged. Deal?” “deal!” With that, she offered her hand in agreement, and I shook her hand . However, immediately afterwards, she step out of the proteccion the umbrella proyected, leaving her soaked. Finally, she yelled, “I’m sorry!” and before I could say anything, a fucking bolt of lightning struck me! At my feet,sudenly a perforation in the fabric of reality opened at my feet as i was sinking in the gap, I yelled the last word I would probably be able to say in this world. “Ouch!!!” In retrospect, this might have been a horrible choice of words...but it really hurt me¡¡, and in retrospective I should’ve also learned to never do a favor to a roommate.. ever, but either way, my life was about to change...forever. A/N: thaks again to my exelent editors: DarkShockBro with his exelent editing and good nature in helping a noob, go and read him its awsome!! Moon_Fire with his editing again and his advices wich made the fic 20% cooler (also read him really woth it) and las but no least black wing and rust for the inspiration of the world(if you like this you should really read echo and griffin, those fic are awsome...but tell them i send you *wink") > Chapter 1 :New body, new faces > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: MLP FiM is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust not me please comment feedback is necessary! Enjoy! This is the edited chapter 2.0 version, DarkShockBro thank you again (not big changes in the plot, just 20%cooler) Furred angel: Chapter 1: New body, new faces As my mind reached consciousness, I opened my eyes, but the bright glare of the sun forced me to shut them quickly. With that, I decided to survey the damage of Luna’s transportation spell without the use of my eyes. My face felt funny, and everything was out of place. However, considering that it was still there, I was greatly relieved. Next, I checked my limbs; my legs, feet, toes, and everything seemed to be OK, but they still felt out of place. Honestly, I couldn’t put my finger as to why that was. I started to be able to piece it together, and then discovered how thick and powerful my arms were, which was weird. Enough to prompt me to stand up, with the strength finally returning to my body. I stood up as quickly as I could and...I fell on my face. Son of a .. I rubbed my face brutally to ease the pain but instead of my hand, I realized that paws had come to my aid. Wait, what? Greatly confused, I looked at my hands. My fingers were there, but they were much sturdier. However, that wasn’t the strange part. No, no, that was my thumb. Gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans all have the same type of thumb, and yet...my hand clearly resembled a paw! Now afraid, I flexed my hand, and to my amazement, everything moved as it did when I was a human! . Don’t believe me? Well, my paws had little black pads, and literally every inch of my body was covered in fur! With some knowledge about what I had turned into, I finally took in my surroundings; a forest with thick canopy. I sighed, and then said, “So...let’s see. I’m in a foreign forest, I’m this weird creature, and I’m alone, helpless, and hungry. God, could this day get any worse?!” At that, a rustle come from a nearby bush. A sudden need for walking took over me, after I reminded myself that complaining is useless, and a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. I wasn’t afraid. Why would you think that? Meh, probably because as I was walking away from the bush, an ear splitting roar came from the same direction. I took this time to start running like my life depended on it, which was probably true. It’s funny, one would think that running in in four legs will be hard, right? Not the case here. I was running much faster that I could in my original body. In fact, I tripped in the first minutes, getting horrible cuts and bruises but I didn’t felt them. My stamina also increased tenfold! As I devoured the miles like they were nothing Anyway, an hour of running later, I needed a rest badly, lucky me I smelled water nearby after fifteen minutes of following my nose I found it. It was long but shallow with clean water. The instant I saw it, and knew I was alone, I began greedily lapping up the pure, delicious water from that river. Once I concluded my drink, I began breathing normally. At this point, I also decided to look at my reflection in the river, so I could see my new self. Turns out, I had become some sort of leonine creature with bat wings and a scorpion tail apparently full with poison. Just use a Mad Lib animal designer and you’ll eventually get what I became. Still, if I could fly and inject poison, I could either fight or flight easily when I got into fights. Topped with my buff arms, I was a killing machine! Still, it didn’t conceal that fact that I had no idea where I was or what to do. So, I began making a to-do list after my stomach took this time to remind me that I was hungry with a cacophonous growl. Anyway, my list went like this: To-do list 1. Find something to eat. 2. Find shelter 3. Find Luna, and probably kill her.(make that SURELY kill her) With a plan in mind and hope in my heart, I jumped to cross the river. Couldn’t get worse, right? I really...really need to stop tempting fate. I really do. Why? Oh, no reason, all that happened as I was about to cross the river. A creature with purple scales and long serrated teeth erupted from the river, flowing hair, and a weird mustache, erupted from the water with a malevolent gleam in his eyes. But don’t worry, surely a creature ten times smaller than him could fight him off! Oh sarcasm how much I missed you¡ Looks like I had to evacuate the premises, or my bladder whatever comes handy. What? After all, it’s kind of tough not to piss yourself when a creature ten times bigger than you opens his mouth, as if he was about to eat you. ,I started praying: Jesus, I’m too young to die Ala, please save me! Yoda, bring the force Oh, shut up. you’ve would have done the same¡ Since I didn’t get any response, I had to take it as a man However, as my guts returned, the creature did the last thing I ever expected to happen. He said, in a rather high-pitched voice, “Go, little creature, shoo, shoo!” complete with shooing motions. One part of me was happy that he was not going to kill me. The other was angry at the “little” part. My jaw hung so low that...wait, it really was on the ground! Still, I was safe, so whatever. Emergency vault of intern processed water at normal pressure: No worries, just a simulation! Finally, I became relieved, and said, with happiness ringing in my voice, “You can talk? Wow! Could tell me where I am as well and the closest direction to a town?” In response, he continued his “shoo” motions. I became annoyed. “Hello? You understand me right?” but he kept up with the motions as if he was swatting a fly. At this point, I got pissed. “Well if being nice didn’t work...you horrible beast! Your hair is horrible! “ No response. “Your moustache makes you look like a freak of nature!” Darn it! Based on his actions, that was probably the worst insult I could muster, and there was still no response. Yep, he can’t understand me. With a sigh, I took the second best option. I created a time out sign with my hands…I mean paws. He understood the message, but looked at me with confusion. So, I continued, shifting my paw into the peace and love sign, at which he nodded. To seal the deal, I gave my paw in a friendship manner, which he smiled at, and finally, we shook paws. “Hellooo! I’m Steven Magnet the sea serpent!” he finalizes with a bow, which I returned happily. He continued. “so are you moving too?” Animals moved? It was season or what? Or are other reasons? I knew I couldn’t raise my questions so I just kept the conversation going, by merely shaking my head and pointing at him. “Me? Oh, yes! I’m moving to the fabulous upper river; those ruffians will never find me there!” I gave him a questioning look but he ignored it. He continued. “So...where are you headed?” I merely shrugged, however as I did, a hiss escaped my mouth because one of my cuts opened, causing pain to reverberate throughout my body. “My, my you don’t look so good yourself, actually you look terrible! You should visit Fluttershy’s cottage; she will patch you up nicely!” he said with a firm nod. I made a questioning sign in the air and a arrow hoping he will get the message He did. “Hmm? Ah! Fluttershy`s cottage is that way!” With that, he pointed to a path in the other side of the river. “It’s at the end of the road in a hollowed tree, just in the outskirts of ponyville; you can’t miss it!” I nodded and bowed in thanks However, as I was about to enter the path he said one more thing, “Take care and good luck!” while waving at me. Then, I pointed at him and put up two fingers, conveying the message, you too. With a final wave, I entered the dark part of the forest. I was so happy I took careless steps, and felt like I could just burst out singing at any time. After all, maybe in the town I can find a way back, and give Luna a piece of my mind. Probably several! However, my happiness was soon corrupted when I saw a pair of floating golden eyes. I wish I could said that I played cool and scared the mighty beast before it could attack me, and even brag that I killed it. But...you all know better, don’t you. Alright, what I did was give a mighty leap at one of the lower branches of a gigantic oak tree and dug my claws into it, effectively hanging on the branch upside down. Looking above me, in my reversed vision, I could see a zebra with a calm smile. Damn it, was I really afraid of a zebra? I’m a loser! With that, I face pawed , and realized that I was still on the tree upside down. I sighed, then with my free paw, I grabbed the branch and ceremoniously stood on top of it. Then, she spoke, in somewhat of a gypsy-like tone, “Sorry I startled you, my friend. But I didn’t know how’d you end.” Did she make fun of me...in rhyme nonetheless? I become more annoyed so I merely started looking around like it was my plan all along to survey the perimeter. I’m such a bad liar.. She nodded, not bothering to question me, and continued. “Have a nice day, maybe we will meet along the way”. With that, she left…and I started questioning how I would get down from this damn tree! After some pondering, I realized I had wings! Well, using them is better than doing something stupid like throwing myself off a cliff. With that, somewhere in equestria, a certain griffin pirate sneezed. Anyway, I flapped my wings a few times, and eventually, I was able to nearly take off, while also managing my own weight. I’m cool with this. With that, I jumped into the void and did some laps around the forest, until I became tired. Subsequently, to my good fortune, I found the path that led to a cottage, appearing as a speck in the sky, but I could still tell that was where my destination was. Finally, I managed to use my cycle of flapping my wings to gain speed, and stopping when they cause friction, to land safely on the path to Fluttershy’s cottage. At last, I would reach my first stop in a this strange land and my real adventure...would start A/N:thanks again for reading this and to my editor DarkShockBro for his patience and support. go and give him a shout or a thumbs up in my behalf.. Also a treat for who read this. maybe you have noticed that i never get to named the manticore or not but here´s the deal: you can name it! the name with most logic and support will be the winner, leave your ideas in the comments > Chapter 2 :Another long day > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: MLP FiM is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust not me, this my fist fic so be as hard as it needed to improve; with that said have a nice reading! Chapter Two: Another Long Day At the end of the path I begin to see the canopy decrease until it abruptly stopped. The sun hung low in the sky. As it was the late afternoon and would set soon. True to Steven’s word, I could See the cottage in a meadow soon after I exited the forest... To my amazement, the cottage was composed out of a hollowed willow tree, kind of like a hobbit house in the Lord of the Rings. Honestly, it was really…idyllic. I felt like I was in a storybook, considering birds were chirping happily, and there were little animals everywhere. Damn, I think Snow White could burst out of the door singing and she wouldn’t feel out of place. Still, to say I had mixed feelings about this endeavor would be a colossal understatement. I’ll try to put my feelings into words. My inner child was having the time of his life, my logic was telling me that I was high or dead…maybe both, my practical side told them to shut it and get help, of course my cynical side was saying, ‘Sure, go and follow the advice of some serpent, who you know nothing about!, I totally want to survive here!’ I simply sighed, and with a shrug, I pressed on. It may be the wrong choice, but I felt the positives outweighed the negatives. Oh, shut up. I was nervous as hell, and I didn’t know where the heck I even was. As I come closer to the cottage the meadow grew quiet; responding to the predator coming. The only sound that didn’t go quiet was a whistling; soft but steady cadence coming from, can you believe it? A butter colored horse…no, it was too little for a horse...a pony with a pink colored mane! I couldn’t put my finger on where I heard stuff like that before...but those thoughts stirred memories in me. I grew closer finally watching completely the pony, or more accurately, the Pegasus...wait, what?! It had wings!! No...wait, it was female!!! ………………………………………………………….. You see… remember Mark? Yes, the guy I talked about before I came here...he’s a brony. I discovered this one day after returning from work.. [FLASHBACK] “What a day!” I yelled. Normally, I arrived home later from work, but today, my day was slow and monotonous, so my boss let us go early. Because of that, I was at my home hours earlier than normal. Mark, my roommate, was also supposed to be home today, when I came home. With a shrug, I thought maybe we could grab some beers and relax, but when I opened the front door, I heard the television and voices in the living room. “Really, Nightmare Moon appears?” That was definitely Mark’s voice. “I couldn’t believe it also!” I didn’t know that voice and assumed it was just one of Mark’s friends; they were watching something on the television. With that, I sighed, and decided to make myself known by coughing. Mark´s face went pale, he looked like I was catching him with a smoking gun and a dead body. His friend only waved at me so I waved back. Even then, it did not break any of the awkwardness present at that time. Subsequently, Mark stood up and said, “Why, hello! You...came here early!” I sighed. “Well it is my home after all. What are you seeing?” “Nothing! Just some show!” I could clearly tell he was hiding something. That suspicion was only heightened when his friend wanted to say something, and he just glared at him in a successful attempt to get him to keep his mouth shut. With that, Mark facepalmed. I just snickered. “Heh, guess I’ll go into my room now.” Finally, I gave him a pat in the back, and he just stared at nothing, clearly in disbelief about our conversation as I entered my room. [END FLASHBACK] Later on he explained what a brony was, showing me the memes… all that stuff. I decided to give some punch lines about the show, trying to relax the seriousness, his posture stiff as a board and the edge on his voice ,all filed so I decided to tease him a little, but my attempts were cut short when I hinted that Mark was gay. I was joking, OK? Sheesh, relax. Mark drew a line once I made that hint and I respected it. Heck, he even tried to make me a brony but I shut him off, and didn’t even gave too much of a chance. However, I still recognized her because of those attempts. ………………………………………………………………….. Now every little thing I could remember from the show came to me with clarity, but wouldn’t you know it; it wasn’t much. For starters, I did know Fluttershy was...well, really shy and loved animals, so I guess that’s a good sign for my current state. Anyway, Fluttershy spotted me from the corner of her eye...and retreated behind a tree. Ugh, this really isn’t going well for me, you do know that, right? In response, I stood there completely still. We keep staring at each other for several minutes, but we never moved. She never moved out of fear, most likely, and I never moved out of shock. Then...just when you thought you could cut the tension in the air with a knife, a huge branch snapped. Guess who it fell on. Just guess. That’s right...it was me! I think the god in this place don’t have much appreciation for people like me. In response, Fluttershy gasped, and turned away, but she quickly returned her gaze to me. During all of this, I didn’t and couldn’t move an inch. Fluttershy gulped visibly starting to come closer at me, while I was playing the part of a statue. She was reeking fear and as she trotted closer to me, something new happened. A part of me was telling me ‘she is prey’ this new feeling make me shudder and not exactly from the pain, but before I could snap out of it, I heard a loud crash, and all of a sudden, intense pain coursed throughout my body, and I almost felt like I had to faint! What the hell was that?!?! With that, she lost her apprehension quickly, and was all over me. She started to mutter things like: “Oh dear, what happened to you?” “Where does it hurt?” Obviously she was concerned shyness forgotten, and I could actually understand her, apparently the pony`s talk English. The concerns in her eyes make me regain my feet, although I was still suffering big time. She then ushered me to her house. I could hear all the noises making a return, as she did this, but by the time we were inside her house, they pretty much dissipated. Finally breathing normally, I looked around the living room. It was neat and tidy even the immense amount of animals, who were watching me curiously, and without fear. The ceiling had little wooden houses for the birds, there were dens in the walls for the little critters and all of them were recovering from something; a broken wing, a fracture, or cuts. Suddenly, I felt like the stray cat brought to a foreign home. Heh, I guess that’s, another complex to my list! Anyway, Fluttershy told me she was bringing a first aid kit and she would be right back, so I waited. In the forest, I had something to distract me, the desire to escape, so I felt like I could actually think in here for the first time since I was dropped into this realm. So, my mind started racing with questions, such as, what am I going to do? How could I survive that lightning? How come everything can talk except me? How in the hell am I going to find Luna, and murder her? However, all my self interrogation was stopped when a white furry ball launched in my face and hit me in the jaw. I wish it would have stopped there so I didn’t have to murder the little nuisance, but he returned, and tried to get another face shot in. Damn, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Still, during his return, I was better prepared, and with a swipe of my paw, I snatched him and held him at my face. Turns out, my attacker was a bunny white as snow and since he continued to struggle; trying to release himself from my vice-grip, I glared at him. Fortunately, he was scared enough to stop struggling with my glare, but he still put on a brave face. What a hopeless facade. “I won't let you hurt Fluttershy!” he screamed at me. Does this thing think he can beat me? And why would I hurt her? In an attempt to avoid confrontation, I decided to go to with the second one. The diplomatic approach I asked him, “Why would I hurt her? She only had helped me!” That took him by surprise, but he continued his defiance. “Because…because you’re a manticore!!!” Wait, he understood me? Finally, something I can talk to! Even better, now I knew what I was! It was definitely worth it to come here! I continued. “Well, you’re a bunny, so you should hide at the presence of a predator. Now, we both are different from normal creatures like us, so we have something in common, truce?” He nodded, of course, he didn’t have any options. So I put him down and shook paws with him. At that moment, I saw fluttershy going down stairs. With a smile, she said, “Oh, it’s good to see you’re getting along nicely, and remember Angel, be nice to our guest.” I laughed. “Angel?” With that, he blushed out of anger and scampered off. Concurrently, I gave him a toothy grin. Afterwards, Fluttershy cure my wounds gently, clearly afraid to hurt me, and after she finished successfully, she gave me some surprisingly tasty, and comforting tomato soup. What a relief, at least I can eat veggies. With a full belly, I curled up in the sofa awkwardly, and with this day having many events, I was tired and fell asleep quickly. However, my thoughts continued to be plagued by a burning question, what am I going to do now? I kept asking to myself I finally fel asleep. A/N: thanks again to DarkShockBro for his lovely editing, sadly he`s computer it`s not working but when he get`s, I will let you know, About the updates I got another two ready tomorrow I will upload the next one, next sorry for the time between updates but RL has been difficult; so I bring you three, this time bigger but a little less good Again tell your pals about the story, did you notice the new and flaming cover give him a visit and if you liked mine, he`s totally a cool guy and open to commissions!! And before i forget the thing that mark`s friend wanted to show was that nightmare moon apear in the hourglasse`s library in canterlot, check it if you dont believe me. > Chapter 3 :Setting course > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: MLP FiM is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust not me please comment feedback is necessary! Enjoy! This is the unedited version, changes will be made at some point. Or not your decision if you think this is good enough. Sorry for the late update but something bad happened and I really don`t have the time to do it sorry. In other news chpt4 is ready but unedited like this one if you prefer the edited one (slow but better) or the unedited (fast but sloppier) your choice again. With all news done for now enjoy your reading! Setting course I woke up at dawn...damn rooster After my abrupt wake up call, I watched the sun rising in the horizon and decided it was still too early to be up. Hoping to catch more hours of sleep, I stepped out of the cottage; the one by now was getting louder with all the early animals in there. Thanks to a few extra hours of sleep, I finally got my so much needed beauty sleep,. I waked up with a poking in my ribs. "wake up please, Mr. Manticore” I flicked my ears in irritation. But I started my wake up routine, in two legs stretching myself, releasing a mighty yawn and regained my bearings. I slept outside the cottage in a patch of grass as bed. The sun was in a more agreed position with my usual`s waking up schedule, and my hearing catch the sound of flapping wings above of the normal sound of the forest…odd, Fluttershy was the one calling me up though; I really need to find a better name, at least something better than 'Mr. Manticore' the name really make me feel old. I kept stretching on my four paws this time, trying to pop my back. Weird question time¡ Have you ever felt a couple of hooves at high speed in your chest? Well I have let me tell you something, it's not funny "Leave her alone” the rainbow and cyan blur that hit me screamed as she prepared a second pass Fortunately for both Fluttershy intercede "! Rainbowdash, stop this instant!" this was he first time I heard some volume in her voice, which surprised me, or would have if my new found instincts didn’t tried to swap my paws at rainbow, with my claws extended to kill her. Whoa¡ I got claws¡¡ oh body of mine, when you are going to stop surprise me, and try to murder people. She stopped in midair my paw pounced at nothing, fortunately “he’s hurt and you will leave him alone!” Fluttershy stopped the second attack to my person, which I was grateful. I really not felt like murder right now. The thing that stirred in me yesterday wanted revenge for the blow. I put it down clearing my thoughts. I’m calling it ' wild side' because it`s was really hard to make me do that kind of things back home, and I almost never act on the impulse. It was like having other version of me inside, one more aggressive and angry, it really scared me. I stood up catching my breath and feeling my chest, which… surprisingly didn't hurt. Checking my body. Nothing felted hurt or sore anymore, I actually feel top shape. Like nothing had happened I regained my bearings. Fluttershy was arguing with rainbow, I ignored that because at the moment my ears heard the distinct sound of other hoof steps in the road. Other mare appeared this one was a unicorn with a lavender coat, black mane with purple highlights; she quickly got in the discussion and put an end on the discussion. In agreement they all nodded and got close to me. "Sorry" Rainbowdash said to me, obviously obligated by the other girls. Fluttershy was all over me checking for injuries. As much I appreciated her worry, that mare really doesn’t know what personal space is?! The unicorn just looked at me closely while Rainbow sulked at the entrance "We should get inside, I need to check those bandages” we all followed her inside and settled in the living room. Fluttershy went in to the kitchen and made some tea for all of them. now al settled comfortably; she started to take off my bandages. "How have you been?" The unicorn asked "So busy, the animals lately had started to come hurt a lot more and I been having a hard time healing them all" Fluttershy responded. She was really kind, even worrying for strange and wild animals, maybe almost too kind. "I figured that much, so we bring you this" the unicorn levitated. An envelope to Fluttershy "Can you open it for me?" "Sure, *ahem* You have been invited by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, to the grand galloping gala at Canterlot " I perked up at that "Oh, here's something else: Also in consideration in the events of the last gala and your service to Equestria; you have been invited to a private tour to the royal garden, with two conditions: A guard escort The tour it’s not at the time of the gala Yours truly: Princess Celestia" “Oh it’s so nice of her, but I don’t think I should go” “Well may be if you...” *gasp* Fluttershy gasped and everybody stop moving “What`s going on Fluttershy? You’re fine?” Twilight being the first to grab a hold on the situation “He… He’s fine” she said with urgency like it was supposed to explain it. Watching my body without all the bandages, I realized what she was talking about, all my bruises had healed, and even my broken rib was fine. The only evidence of my wounds were little pinks scars, even them were already growing fur. “Is that a bad thing?” Rainbow asked “He shouldn’t, at least for another week or so” Twilight with her brow furrowed “have you treated another manticore before? Maybe it’s normal to them” “Well no, but I don’t think it´s normal” “What?” Rainbow asked, god even with my upgraded senses it was difficult to hear it. I saw angel bunny going through the back door, and with all of them distracted. I followed closely behind. Time to get some answers. …wait¡ Fairy tail land……………….check Chasing a white rabbit………check Oh my god, now I know what Alice felt like. In a few seconds I managed to sip past him realizing this I stopped and turned around just in time to watch angel crash in my forepaw “I need to talk to you” “What do you want?” he angrily responded. I didn’t care, I needed answers and he was the one with answers. At least the only that could talk back to me. “Information” “Why would I give anything to you?” “Two reasons: if you help me I will be out of your hair… Err fur” “The second one?” he looked already interested, probably was trying to keep the attitude. “Its breakfast time” I gave him a disarming smile, with a lot of teeth. He didn’t know who was messing with. (Insert troll face here) “ok” his ears dropped on his back, you have to give some credit to the guy. He wasn’t shivering…much. `prreeeeyyy` my wild side whispered to me in a sing song voice. I now had voices in my head, lovely. *ahem*”where are we?” “In Ponyville” angel said with his full voice, his ears stayed in the back though Sigh “where’s Ponyville?” “In Equestria” Really what’s up with the names? So far: Equestria, Canterlot, Ponyville?¡ puns about horses everywhere, I swear¡¡¡. My anger must been leaking to my face because angel took a step back. “Who are the Princesses Luna and Celestia?” after calming myself, time for the big questions. “The rulers of this land” “The rulers? Then why are they called princesses? And what can you tell me about them.” “The princess thing, I don’t know” he shrugged “they are the rulers the control both had on the celestial cycle. One for the day. The other for the night” he spoke like a true story teller, an ominous tone “and Philomena, the pet of Celestia is a royal yerk” he said returning to his normal way of speaking. It felted like it was a story there may be later. Moving on.. “Where’s Canterlot?” Angel pointed behind me, to a side above the canopy of the trees. There at the top of a mountain stood the city of Canterlot. “How could I miss that?” asking to myself “Dunno” he shrugged and take that as an opening for him. “can I ask you something?” “sure, what`s up buddy” “What`s your name?” with some thinking I gave myself a fitting name, at least one that was accord to my situation. “Leon Truman, nice to meet you Angel” “Nice to meet you Leon” “I really need to finish this, now let`s continue. What do you know about the gala?” “Only that its tomorrow, and I have to take care to the others animals. While Shy´s there having fun” “What`s the fastest way to get there?” “By train or flying are the only ways to get there fast, you…you want to be there?¡” “I know. I don’t look exactly like gala material but” I was roughly cut short by the rabbit. “You don’t get it¡ there are going to be guards there. You are walking to your doom; they are going to kill you.” Waving his concern away, I dig to more pressing matters “change of subject, are all animals sentient?” What, I love meat and the though of eating something that screamed for mercy a little before. Didn’t appeal me in the least. “What do you mean?”. “Every living thing can talk?” Putting simply. “Well, no. I’ve never managed to talk to an insect, a plant or a fish”. “I understand the first two, but the fish?” “Well any fishes that had appeared in the river never had talked to me. But; the dolphins, turtles and other marine creatures that can breed air, can talk. To be honest, I didn’t knew `monsters` could speak either. My guess is that I never tried to, to busy running for my life and all. “How do you know all of that?”. “I live with the non official veterinary of Ponyville, one learn all kind of stuff” “Why I can communicate with some creatures and with others I cant?” “As far is I know, we just can`t, they simply can`t hear our voice or something” “You’ve said that you we can communicate with anything?” “Almost but yeah” “But then why, nobody had talked to me, except you?” “Mm you understand that you are a carnivore to all of things, right?” “So they are they just afraid off me? I can talk to them, just like that?” he nodded” And you, why aren’t you running?” “well first you are in Fluttershy cottage, it`s a peace place, even for the injured carnivores. Secondly if I were in real danger, Fluttershy would save me”. “If I really wanted to hurt you, she can’t stop me” “Really?” in a second he gave me a smirk. “Sure” the shy pony trying to convince me, big manticore to leave angel alone. Even the idea seemed rather funny Angel started running back to the tree. Starting the proverbial mouse and cat game, but in a bigger scale. I played his game just to see what exactly he had planned. We got near to the tree and Fluttershy galloped to our encounter and she looked to my eyes with her steely blue eyes, showing an attitude totally unknown to me I was being stared down by a pony, who would have though. How could I explain the `stare` to you, it was like she could see through mu soul bringing up all the things I was ashamed, or I regretted doing, I fell to the ground literally whimpering. As you could expect `angel` was rolling in the floor with laughter. The bastard soon received a good dose of karma, as Fluttershy turned around and watched him, she understood what had happened. She gave him also a `stare’. Apparently this wasn’t the first time he did something like this. ‘Angel’ My tail. He was the devil incarnate As the stare effect passed, I needed to get out of there now, not only to escape from that spawn of hell, But to finish the last of my `things to do list` Find Luna So with my silent thanks to Fluttershy and a glare to certain white bunny, I marched to my new destination, Canterlot. A/n: well please comment about the editing options. The name came from redpyramid1, thanks red, the thing about the name... He was the only one who tried and he got the opportunity. What I’m trying to say is: that every input is important, even if its only one of you said yes or no. I will do it, so please send me a PM or comment below Thanks for reading! PS: If you want to help me with the editing you’re also welcome. > Chapter 4 :Canterlot road > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leaving the cottage was surprisingly the easiest thing I had to do in order to leave ponyville, scurrying between buildings, mad dashes to avoid being seen, Etc. Finally leaving Ponyville behind. At least, that's what said a giant sign of a pink colored mare with pink letters saying you're leaving Ponyville. The mare of course waving "goodbye" that`s not normal... I continued the unknown road. What new adventures i will find until i reach my destiny? I will find friends? Enemies?....Why I sounded like the narrator of Pokémon?. A couples of hours later nothing seemed to change the road was unsurprisingly empty, very little people seemed to use it now.. Make that ponies, a world ruled by ponies how weird is that, its like “Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!” My musings were cut short by a screaming heard in the distance… of course I fastened my pace to go away from the screaming 'what? i'm no hero.' “AAAaaaaahhhhhhhhh!” The scream got louder, I started running, is the screaming chasing me? “Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!” I stopped dead trying to prepare myself for the incoming danger.Then I realize, the sound was coming from above!, My eyes went up only to see a ball of fire falling on my back. The little screaming fire landed there, cushioning his fall. Let me tell you something; my back was never meant to be a stunt cushion. and of course end it up injured again. Why always got hurt, maybe the universe just hate me. I stood up cracking my back to its original position *crack* *pop*. the fire fell to the ground. The fire, that on a closer look, was not a fire; just a flaming bird. …No. A phoenix, too little to be full grown bird, maybe a chick? apparently to little to fly and fainted if the comically roll of his eyes were any indication. I did what appeared to me be the right way of waking him up. I grabbed a stick and poked him to consciousness. Well maybe I was getting some fun doing it, don't judge me¡ “Are you alright? ”I said as the chick responded to the prodding. Of course the look in his eyes told me how afraid he was. “Are you going to eat me?” 'Do I looked like I could?' checking myself, yeah now I could. The chick started shaking in fear and the smell of it make my new instincts flare, after ignoring them. I did the only thing in my power to calm the chick down Ranting. “ Again with the eating thing! What am I a living stomach? No! , thank you for saving me perhaps? or even; thank you, for stopping me to become a pancake?!...”saying that and making my eyes twitch was the final straw, the chick was laughing his...tail? off with my rightful anger " now you're laughing, pleease decide. panic or laughing, panic or laughing" keeping the act only make the chick laugh more "so laughing it is heh" now in my normal voice more to myself. "i still got it" chuckling a little myself, a pleased smile appeared on my face, my ranting worked like a charm. Why do you may ask. I don't rightfully know, people always loved when I was complaining in my show, working in a comedy club for some time; Good tips, but when something better came up I took it. the comedy stayed with me though. Story time is up, regular schedule starting in 3..2..1.... "You're funny" Ah the chirp voice of innocence Looks I still have it, chuckling again. "What were you doing up there?"I said pointing up. "I felled from my nest by accident" it was a lie. I don't know why, the posture, maybe even my new nose but I just knew. "What were you really doing?" "I was trying to fly" he admitted. "Can you go back up?"he shook his head.Hello conscience glad you could make it. "Where is your nest?" he pointed to the tree that was right behind him. A tall one, facepalming hard. 'FFFFFFffffor the love of god WHY?'. "Well lets get you back home"Putting the chick in my head between my ears. Standing a the tree's base, nailing my claws in the tree. I climbed it and wasn't easy slowly making progress. I was halfway to the tree, when of course god reminded me. "Mommy!!" This won't end well, right. "WWRRRYYYYYYYY"The battle cry of a pissed mother. "Crap". The mom `s chick arrived, meeting me with her talons; trying to take the chick from his riding place. that or getting my eyes out of their sockets, probably both. Meanwhile, I tried to wave her off but she kept coming at me. In the scuffle, accidentally pulling my claws in. I felled backwards. Luckily I had the presence of mind to grab the chick, putting him in my chest and protecting him from the fall, the branches broke most of the fall; but it still hurt, a lot. In the floor I stood shakily, in tree legs still holding the chick against my chest, I realized this and putted him in my back , the chick was worst than me he was paralyzed by shock and trembling constantly. "WWWRRRYYYYYYY" mom to the rescue, again came swooping at me again at great speed, head on. Her mistake. I steeled myself and let my wild side loose, giving me just the edge needed to grab her in the air, in one fluid motion. "ROAAAR"Roaring in her face. I kept her in my paw, my grip firm but not hurting, staring in her eyes; making an unspoken statement: 'I can kill you, don't fool with me` "Are you going to stop attacking me?"I could swear her eyes doubled in size, she gulped and nodded. "Chick, is this your mother?"I grabbed him with my other paw, me sitting in the grass. The chick shock passed and tackled her mother in a hug, the mother kept glancing between me and him. A look of pure confusion on her face. "If you attack me once again..." growling a little for effect , I putted them both on the ground. The mother checking his son looking for injuries, The chick meanwhile laughing of her mom's 'tickling' after checking him she gave him a hug. I chuckled. The mother remembering her situation put herself in front of the chick 'protecting' him from the predator. I just rolled my eyes and continue my way. glancing at the road, *sigh* the long road ahead of me. "Blazer!"the chick mother's cried, I glanced and she was looking at me. Well more precisely to a little fire that was clinging to my tail chirping. "Thank you for finding my mom and for saving me"It was so nice that I couldn't help me but lose all the bad guy act "You're welcome kid" What can one says, I have a soft spot, especially for kids. " now get off before you start a fire in my tail" I glared him. I'm not that good, physical injuries, I draw a line there besides; this people don't know personal space!. Blazer just hugged me tighter, even with a few swings of my tail. He wouldn't budge. That actually seemed to thrill him further, like a fair game. Meanwhile the mother seemed about to have two attacks; one from giggling and a heart attack, she was standing with her wings open ready to catch his son with a smile in her beak but her eyes so wide open that they seemed about to fall off. "Hey you" I called her "Want him back? lend a hand..er wing" I carried Blazer closer to his mother and between us both managed to separate him. "But I don't want him to leave, he saved me" I heard him say while trying to escape his mother. "what does *grunt*he mean?". "He fell from the nest, and I managed to save him" Well he used me as a stunt cushion, what she doesn't know.. "I was trying to put him in the nest when you appeared"Her surprise was so great that left Blazer go. That led to a very weird chase. Imagine a lion being chased by a baby zebra, but more ridiculous. The chick never stood a chance, when his mother grabbed into her talons, she left him in the nest then perched in a nearby tree. "Thank you for saving him.. You're not like other manticores " "Thank you for the compliment" she twisted her neck, like trying to figure me out from a different angle 'HAH good luck with that'. She kept darting into different trees following me. "So... What's your name?" I asked never mind a little company "Swift" "You're going to keep stalking me?" "Yep" her eyes narrow with suspicion "Why?" "You tell me why." she said, anger in her voice "Why, what?"Truly confused this time "Why did you save him?,why you came looking for our nest?,why even you don't kill us both when you have the chance!?" Wow, she was having some sort of breakdown, caused by me! " I don't think no one would have done it, what are your plans?, eat us later? or some kind of sick game to you, playing with your food? what is your move?"that last bit went with all the venom only a mother can convey and sent shivers down my spine. "Look believe it or not; the reason to save him was only... Being there at the right place, at the right time nothing more and the reason to bring blazer home.That was only well"stopping for once thinking what to say, I decided to answer with the truth. "I have a sore spot for kids OK. That includes the family of said children. It would break my heart to see a mother that lose a child, and also if not more to see a child losing her mother!" As I talked my voice grew stronger to the point, I was nearly shouting, then I mumbled so low to myself so she wouldn't hear. "Losing a parent is a sure way to leave you scarred for life" looking again at Swift her demeanor changing to something more calm. Swift begun preening her wind and left a feather fall close to me. "Take it, if you ever need help, tell to the feather and I will appear as soon as possible" she took off to her nest and I begun anew the long walk to Canterlot.....suddenly a bright idea occurred in my head "WAIT!" ººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººº "Flying lessons, but manticores can't fly"she shook her head "Well on my way here I happened to glide from a very tall tree, my wings seemed fine to support my weight" "Well, show me what you've got"Swift said shrugging I started by flapping my wings, then doing it as hard and fast as my body take off, a few inches above the ground "Stop" I did it " well apparently you CAN fly, lets see" she began scouting for something "What are you looking for?"My 'spider sense' tingling "A cliff"No,my sense of dread escalating "What for?" I knew and hate the answer "So we can get in to your flying, of course" "No cliffs" I cut her off "What , why, none of this trees is tall enough to hold" "No trees neither" "I thought you wanted to fly¡"The plumes of her chest begun to puff in anger "Yeah but I never said anything about a crash course on flying, can we do this another way?" "Fine, lets do it your way" Swift took me to a green plain close to the road with not many trees in sight " Well first lesson; Take off, flap your wings" I did it hard and fast "No, not like that *ugh* how do I explain this" she took her wing to her head massaging her temples "Don't go against gravity, you want to avoid it, move forward" I nodded took a huge leap and telling my wings to go forward, it was like swimming. Figuring how to go up Swift caught with me "Good you're a natural, now second lesson; Drafts" she veered to the left.Me close behind her tail, then a warm breeze was caght in my left wing; making me going up very fast, sadly my right wind coldn't caught the draft, making me uneven and of course the crash came. 'Mmm the taste of fresh dirt in my mouth' sarcasm. Swift came back some time later after my crash landing with fish to eat. We began chatting a little. Apparently fish was the preferred food for 'good' predators, unless you go to the north; where the animals don't beg not being eaten, unless of course you were the other kind. The kind that loved the screaming and torture of food, which apparently all manticores did. I winced at the comment, later on we continued my lessons. The draft Swift explained; was supposed to carry me very high and in the end of it. I just would just glide down, until I found another this apparently was the favorite method just keep falling down with style. Unless I was a speedster and in the fall I put my wings to it and make tricks. When I tried the second way, lets just say that many trees in the area between Canterlot and Ponyville were 'marked' with my outline. by the time I got the hang of flying, The blue sky was tinged orange. It was time to go. Landing in front of the tree, I shouted to them "Swift, Blazer can you come down"Swift came down carrying little Blazer in her back. "Kitty! you came back!" "Leon" I said with a chuckle then nodding to Swift "Leon Truman, if all goes right in Canterlot, we won't be seeing each other again" Blaze seemed downcast at the news, Swift took his son and hugged him tightly. "When that happens. I will not came here to say goodbye, so... this is goodbye, but let me tell you something kiddo. meeting you both have made this trip a blast."he perked up at my words "Now little guy I need you to do something for me" I closed in and whispered "I need you to grow fast and strong. so you can take care of your mother" he nodded I sat back and with my best commander voice "Will you take your mission?" "Yes sir." "I can't hear you" "Yes sir!" With that we exchanged goodbyes and farewells. I took off, the sky going orange by the minute. ººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººººº By the time I arrived at Canterlot it was close to midnight, the city seemed deserted, outside from some nightclubs still running and the guards in the castle peripheria and in the sky. Thats it, apparently the castle guards are vigilant even in this late hour. The time to make my move seemed more correct now. Tomorrow in the gala, all the guards will be occupied with the guest to notice a manticore, even if they would, they would think i'm just another zoo pet and they will put me in a cage for that. I will just stole the keys first and hide them in my person, as a backup. First thing I need is a place to sleep. I grew closer to the castle, the guard grew thicker, Making me hide from roof to roof. looking for some place to crash. I needed to find another place this neighbourhood was too well guarded. then a sound from below alerted me. It was only a ponies. In the air my view of the city seemed to be sparkling clean, even from a great distance. Passing between the alleys, I saw the dirt of the city so to speak. In the alleys and dead ends of Canterlot that's where all the trash was taken. Even here in the heart of candy land, there were homeless ponies looking in the trash cans. I realized something very interesting. Maybe not all was good in the land in the land of sunshines and rainbows. Following the hobos I found their den. It was in the worst part of the city rundown buildings about to be condemned. fighting and shouting sounds could be heard in all the zone and founding my hiding place. I slept in one of the buildings with a large hole in the roof, When you're in doubt know your way out. I slept soundly maybe this time tomorrow. I will be in my own bedroom "Home" drifting of to sleep a tear rolled down my face