Life is short but not always a single occurrence, as a young Irish boy discovers through a cruel twist of fate. He is given another chance in another place, a place far worse than he originally believed.
Life can be cruel. As a young boy in Ireland found out it can be very cruel. As he lay, dead in a hospital bed, a voice reached out to him and made an offer. Life, death, or new life in a new land. Without regard to what may become of his person he rushed into this new opportunity with open arms. Now he is warped into a new kind of being in a new land. Terrifying power lies dormant within him. But can he maintain his sanity on his journey; or will the Irish wolf in Equestria be lost in the flames of power and simply become another broken piece in a twisted game of fate? Nothing more than a monster; howling at the moon.
Join a boy given a blank canvas of life, and a brand new set of paints to colour his fate.
Nothing is working! My limbs aren't responding to my brain! What the hell is this, am I dying? Muffled words pressed into my eardrums in a vain attempt to break the inky darkness that encircled my brain. A car. That's what I can remember. A box of metal demolishing my body as its intoxicated driver swerved through the small town streets. They say that an object will continue until something applies a suitable amount of force to stop it. My body was that force in this case. This was what people called fate right?
Well fate can bend over and fuck its own face!
What the hell did I do to deserve this? Why did the game of life choose to strike me down in such a cruel way? I know what you're thinking, this kid sounds like a right whiner; all he does is bitch about how bad he has it when others are suffering too. Well guess what? I don't care about other people! I am me; numero uno, the one, best of the best.....
Insert name here.
The memory slot where my name should be was gone. Replaced by a blank slate to be filled with my title. This was my life now wasn't it? Excuse me for the lack of information but as you can see; I'm in a bit of a jam right now. I got messed up by a car; that much is clear. But where I am now and what lies ahead is a totally different story. Allow me to bring you up to speed regarding my situation.
I have been badly injured by some genius fuck who thought that being four times over the legal limit was a safe state to drive in. Last I checked I was being wheeled around on a trolley; with sobbing everywhere. Now I'm motionless in hospital and totally senseless. Save for the constant rubbing on my hand.
Along with the beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep...... Beep................ Beep...............................
That's funny, I remember that sound, its the sound a heart monitor makes when a heartbeat stops. When a heartbeat stops. When my heart stopped. Oh my god.... Am I dead? No, not possible! I'm still here right? How can I be dead if I'm still talking?! This is a joke right? Just some sick and twisted joke that my parents are playing on me. Turn the beeping back on and we can laugh all about it! Every single possible thought that a boy of my age could have had got launched out of a cannon in my brain as I desperately tried to fathom what was going on. The rubbing on my hand became painfully fast. The sound of a door being opened accompanied by several hushed whispers. My chest began to rise and fall at irregular intervals. I wasn't breathing; I was being resuscitated.
The rubbing became incredibly painful as sharp finger nails dug into the skin of my hand. Whoever it was performing the act, it was NOT helping. Whatever they were doing to get me back around; it wasn't working. The thumping on my chest stopped, the sobbing stopped, everything stopped. A single long wail. My mother was crying. My father might have been crying; but making it less vocal. The doctors were doing their jobs; I was a lost cause and they saw that. But I wasn't lost!
Am I a ghost or something? What the heck is going on? This is far beyond a joke now; I WANT OUT OF HERE!!!
"That can be arranged my boy." Where is it coming from? A voice? After the age of soundproofed darkness it was nice to have something talking to me, even if it was an ominous voice that seemed to be everywhere in my head at once.
"I will be frank with you boyo, you are dead," No shit Sherlock. "But I am keeping you alive; in a manner of speaking. I have the power to perform one godly act my little Irish friend and no it isn't to magic you up a lifetime supply of whiskey!" The voice obviously enjoyed this little play on stereotypes enough to laugh. It wasn't the most pleasant laugh I have ever heard; but I've heard worse.
"Now, now Shamrock! No need for the unkind thoughts, I was merely jesting with you! But to place the pain to one side for a second I would like to refer to my offer." I wasn't able to answer. "You don't need to talk Shamrock, just think your answers and I will know!"
"Are you God?" I thought.
"You could call me that." I got a mental image of a woman bowing. "My name is Yiang, Goddess of Order and Chaos, Light and Dark, Good and Evil. You humans know me as the Yin-Yang."
I must be delusional. The Yin-Yang was nothing more than old Chinese folk-tale to explain something they couldn't understand.
"But who do you think implanted that idea into their head boyo?" Yiang whispered seductively. "Every idea is spawned from imagination my child; yet where do those ideas spawn from beforehand? The answer - in some cases - is me. Yiang is my name and the bending of reality is my game!" Yiang giggled childishly.
"Get to the point spectre." I hissed mentally.
"The what? Ah yes! My offer." I felt a strange warm iciness flow over my shattered body. "I have the power do one of three things my boy. I can send you back; five minutes before the car hit you. You can avoid the area and continue life without a care, I will be erased from your memory however."
That was a good deal.
"My second option is to allow you to continue life now, a broken body that can't walk or talk on his own. Judging by how many shades of beaten you are, I doubt you'll live past twenty."
Less enticing.
"My third option; is to kill you."
The fuck kind of choice was that?
"I will offer a twist on that however! Once you die in this world; I will take you to a new one. Fantastical and magical, where you can start new life as a new being. A land of wondrous sights and spectacular wildlife. With fate being nothing but a musing thought for you."
Now THAT sounds pretty fun. But to abandon my life here for a new one? Heck, this new land could just be England! Not likely considering she said it was fantastical and magical, not shitty and constantly raining. So I probed Yiang. "Where in the world is this land?"
"That's just the thing boyo," if an invisible creature that claimed to be a Goddess could lean close to your face; then this one just pressed its ghostly nose against mine. "This place ain't in this universe."
Okay, I'm high! I must've been high! This entire thing is just a bad drug trip surely! Or maybe I hit my head, or I'm dreaming this all up. All of them are better explanations than 'you are being contacted by a Goddess while in limbo.' "This is the last time I'm gonna offer it to you boyo! Get sceptical one more time and you'll be spending the rest of your teen years as a fuckin' vegetable!"
Well when she put it that way..........
"Okay then Yiang, take me away to this world of yours. To a brand new place filled with these wonders of nature that you talk so fondly of." I felt like I should have said goodbye to my family and friends first, but it wasn't like I could. Yiang squealed gleefully and I felt the same icy warmth that had encased me not to long ago.
"Hang on boyo; this is gonna be a bit disorientating!" Yiang whooped like a child; my life on Earth ended.
A dead boy, with a useless name, lay broken in a hospital bed somewhere in Ireland. His life-light had not been snuffed out however; it had simply been re-purposed. Fashioned into a brand new piece and moved into place; ready for a Godly hand to move it on the chessboard that was now the Irish boy's twisted fate.
*
My body felt oddly fluffy. I don't know what Yiang had done to me, but it felt bloody good! I was lying on my side with my eyes closed that much was certain. That strange block on my senses had been completely removed. I could smell roses and ripening fruits and blood. Blood? Can humans even smell that much at one time?
"Wake up boyo!" Yiang said noisily. "Welcome to your new home!" I slowly opened my eyes; to be met by a grey snout. I was bolt upright in a second trying to find balance on my feet. All four of them. I immediately felt nauseous, the effort of movement was overly laborious on my body and every muscle screamed in protest at even the most simplistic of movements. It took awhile for me to acknowledge that I had acquired two new limbs. Even then I treated it like it wasn't anything new to me. I began to make progress leg by leg; trying my hardest to limp towards the one thing I recognised in a totally noir world. A pool of water. The colour of the world was missing, like it had been sapped away by a vampire, one that feeds on pigmentation instead of blood. Yiang chimed in unhelpfully. "If you wonder where all the world's beauty has gone the answer is simple. Dog's don't see in colour."
"D-Dog!?" I yelped mentally.
"Take a look in the water mongrel."
I peered into the ripples for a slight second, and immediately jumped away again. Reflected in the water was not an Irish boy, but a wolf with two growths on its forehead that twirled around one another like serpentine horns. When I ventured back to the water's edge the wolf was still there. I was still there. I was the wolf.
The lack of colour made it difficult to distinguish any real facial marks beyond that of the horns. The fur was a strange pale white, the eyes two orbs of black in the contrasting white puddle of fur that was now my face.
"Like the new body boyo?" Yiang teased. "I picked it out myself. However I think the lack of colour vision will confuse you a tad." I turned away from the pool. "Where in the hell am I Yiang." I felt a spectral hand move my head around. "Welcome to Equestria sonny, this is your new home."
Laid out before me was one of the most amazing yet confusing sights I have ever beheld. An entire town - still nothing more than grey and black splodges - was nestled in the valley below. Why did I find this amazing? Well it just so happened that the town was populated, and by the looks of it run, by horses. Seriously. Not a single human being was in sight. Instead I say horses operating machinery, horses baking, horses painting and farming and acting just like human beings. BUT THEY WERE HORSES! Everywhere I looked an equine of some kind was performing a task that made no sense in relation to them being horses. It was a bedazzling sight that made my head spin in all the wrong ways. How the hell was this even possible?
"Its possible because it is boyo." Yiang said. "Just because this isn't the norm in your universe doesn't mean it isn't the norm here. I told you boyo; this is a whole new world for you to explore."
"But.... Those are HORSES!" I stammered, still unable to process my thoughts.
"They prefer to be called ponies, but you are correct in stating the obvious. They are indeed horses."
"How could this get any weirder?" Yiang coughed gently. "Well the forest behind you has a witch doctor zebra inside and is filled with mythical creatures that could kill you without a moments notice." My heart sank. "Well you asked how it could get weirder!"
"That didn't mean you had to tell me!" I moaned. This was unreal. Witch doctor zebras? Ponies in a fully functioning society? Mythical killer beasts? Just what kind of crazy universe did Yiang bring me to?
"This has to be the result of magic or something." I said jokingly.
"Well magic helped." Yiang said matter of factly. "But the Unicorns are only one third of the equation, the Pegasi control the weather patterns over most of Equestria and the Earth-Ponies are in charge of food production. If a single one st....."
"WHAT!?" I screeched. "Pegasi? Unicorns? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT WOMAN?!" My Irish charm was really bursting through now. "NOT ONLY DO YOU DRAG ME INTO ANOTHER UNIVERSE, YOU MAKE ME A WOLF, GREET ME WITH SOME SORT OF EQUINE SOCIETY AND SAY I COULD GET KILLED? GAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" I had lost all reason to even try and make sense of the situation now. This world could just go burn.
"Now now boyo." Yiang whispered soothingly. "No need to get all worked up over it; I'm here to help." I felt a ghostly arm drape around me. "Listen up boyo, I'll give you five minutes to get used to this body of yours. Then I will come back with an offer; you can decide when you've calmed down. Kay?" I nodded. "Sure thing lass; just give me some time to wrap my head around all of this."
"Sure thing boyo. How about this? You keep all those questions tucked up in your little leprechaun head until I say, and I will give you a name." How did she....? "Know that you forgot your name?" Yiang giggled. "I'm a Goddess honeybunch, I know a lot more than you would think." Even though I was alarmed by how friendly Yiang was acting now' I didn't argue. "Fine, I can do that." I felt a hand fall onto my shoulder. "I hereby dub thee Lycan, Two Horned Wolf of Ireland and the newest addition to Equestria. May you find what you seek in this land and experience the magic of friendship."
I frowned. "The hell do you mean by that?" But it was too late. Yiang's energy had dissipated, I was alone in the clearing. So I took my time and looked around. I was standing in what looked like a natural garden built next to the edge of a forest. The amount of varied foliage made me want to run. I flexed one of my hind-legs experientially, and broke into a sprint.
This body was fantastic. My paws hardly whispered as I ran back and forth in the clearing. I had not yet mustered the courage to venture further; to go beyond the tree-line and explore this place Yiang called Equestria. It just didn't seem right to do so yet. My place was in this garden; taking in the smells and sights. It was a botanical paradise. Every plant that I could have imagined to be in existence was here before me. Roses, daffodils, honeydew, violets, daisies, nightshade, poison oak; the list went on.
Yiang hadn't lied though. The lack of colour vision was really starting to take its toll. Being able to tell the difference between pigments may not sound like a massive advantage but it turns out that after spending five minutes stumbling about in a noir realm you start to miss the world of the spectrum. Moreover the varied shades of gray, black and white were just too boring to be tolerated. I was just about ready to die from boredom when that little voice in my head burst back into life.
"So you like the new bod boyo?" Yiang asked sweetly. "You ready to do what I ask now?" I nibbled at a small flower that looked like a rose. "I need to know more about why I am here."
"All in due time Lycan; all in due time. First of all I would bet money on saying that you would like the power of colour vision right?"
"Damn right there." I said. "This world is frickin' dull without it!"
"Well as I said before, I have and offer for you." Yiang said. "All you have to do is say yes." I hesitated. "What do you wish of me?"
"The task is simple boyo. Somewhere nearby a pony is mortally wounded; you are to find it and put it out of its misery." My heart stopped, what did she just ask? "P-pardon?" I asked.
"I want you to kill a wounded pony. In return I will grant you the power to see in colour. Interested?"
Its not like I had a choice in the matter was it? Yiang had backed me into a corner. I was the only shamrock in this garden of Eden, a shamrock that wanted to see how green it was.
"I'll take that as a yes boyo." Yiang said sharply. "Follow your nose to fulfil this simple task. Even a high-school drop-out like you can manage that right?"
With that Yiang vanished once again. Follow my nose? What the heck does that mean? Its not like my nose is gonna grow legs and lead me to this thing I just promised to mercy kill. Because that's what all Irish boys do. We kill things that are injured after being turned into a wolf and teleported to a forest clearing. I took in a lungful of air, my nostrils flaring at the mixed sensations that stormed my sense of smell. My sense of smell. I smelt blood. God I'm stupid.......
It was a metaphor; or whatever my English teacher called it. I wasn't literally going to follow my nose. I needed to smell the goal I had been set, following my sense of smell to find the creature. The crash must have given me brain damage for me not to be able to realise that immediately. Trying to save what remained of my personal dignity I took another long inhalation of air. Normally I would have loved the large number of new aromas that caressed my sinuses; but I was trying to find that specific smell. The smell of blood. Not a gargantuan slab of pollen.
I tried to focus my mind, thinking only of blood. I breathed in. My efforts were wasted. Standing still was clearly doing nothing so I began a leisurely trot around the clearing, taking regular tests of the air. Still my efforts were in vain; as I couldn't even distinguish between the scents of two different flowers with my so called 'heightened wolf senses.' Was there a trick to this then? Did I have to have an epiphany of some sorts to locate something that was dying? Was my whining even helping?
Probably not, so I packed it in and kept trying to smell the blood. I had smelt it when I had woken up so I returned to the spot I had come to on. A wolf-shaped patch of flattened grass was all I had to go by. The blood was still as elusive as ever. I leaned in closer to the grass and sniffed; looking for signs of....... BLOOD!
I could smell it again! My head snapped up and I began searching the air, the scent was gone. I moved my snout back to the grass, the scent returned. It was a sickly irony kind of smell that clung to the inside of my nostrils uncomfortably; but was a beacon of hope as far as I was concerned. Continuing to probe the grass with my muzzle I followed the trail. It was easier than I thought once I had picked it up. The stench became noticeably stronger as my search leaned closer to a large gathering of roses not too far from the pond. I had been standing right next to this bush not too long ago, why hadn't I picked up the scent?
Nosing my way past the flowers - carefully avoiding trampling them - my ears began to pick up a slow paced badump, badump sounding rhythm. As I moved towards that sound, another began to clearly enter my ears. It sounded like laboured breathing. My goal was nearby. The new meaning of nearby is just a rose away as when I poked my nose past one last flower it came into contact with warm flesh. I raised my head slowly, constantly aware of what I was doing. The creature was..... I THINK it was the same sort of horse I had seen in the town.
But it was different to the horses back in Ireland.
Its fur was a strange white colour and its mane looked like it had been styled expertly. Like it had actually gone to some sort of equine barbershop. But that's ridiculous! Horses don't get their manes styled! That's just not normal. But in the grand scheme of things Irish boys turning into wolves isn't normal either, so I have little ground to complain on. I was unable to determine (nor wanted to) if it was male or female; either way it looked like it was in pain. Its eyes were tightly shut and its breathing was become increasingly painful to listen to, like sandpaper being rubbed on my eardrums. Whatever this creature was; it was in a seriously bad way. Judging by the pool of blood it was laying in however I gave it a nine out of ten chance that it was bleeding to death via a hole in the side of its body.
Then there was me. Standing tall above this wounded animal. Without a clue as to what I do.
"Kill it boyo." Yiang whispered evilly. "Do it slowly and savour its death cries."
"No! Don't listen to her." Yiang muttered softly. "One strike to the throat and the poor thing dies without any pain."
"Keep your nose out of this bitch!"
"Bite me cow!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I said confusedly. "What the heck are you doing Yiang, what's with the split personality all of a sudden?"
"Whatever do you mean?" Yiang asked.
"One moment you tell me to kill this thing slowly, the next you tell me to end it fast. I can't make up my mind!"
"It doesn't matter boyo, just kill it however you wish and see this world in all its glory."
I shook my head in uncertainty, what the hell was Yiang playing at? My Godly guide was not the most helpful it seemed. I began looking for a means to dispatch the thing on the floor. I found a few rocks that would crush its skull as well as a multitude of fallen branches I could use as clubs to beat it into the next life. The only problem was that in terms of dexterity; paws left a lot to be desired. My jaws couldn't pick up a rock and swinging a stick was more difficult than I first thought it would be. What did that leave me with? I was just an animal. A wolf to be precise, the dog of the wilds. Dogs had teeth and claws. Oh fuck that......
It raised my paw once again and gave my claws a good seeing too. Razor-sharp by the looks of things. My teeth were no doubt the same level of deadly. But this wasn't right...... I couldn't do something like this...... Could I? That was the dilemma, the creature was clearly in pain and I was the only other sentient thing in this place. I had been told by Yiang to kill it in exchange for colour vision. But in the end it all boiled down to one simple question.
Did I have that killer instinct in me?
The correct answer was yes, yes I do. We all do. Human or not, we are all beasts at heart. I vaguely recalled a book about this kind of thing. Boys trapped on an island with no adults. It wasn't long before they descended into savagery, turning to violence to assert dominance over one another. One of them even became obsessed with killing pigs. The average age of the boys was about eleven. I was older than that, but I was still a teenage boy. Now I'm a wolf. A creature that by its very nature hunts and kills its prey without a thought for the life it removes. That was my life now. All I needed was a pack to run with. No matter how hard I tried to block it out; that same primal flame kept on gliding into my mind. That one repeated mantra from that book I read.
KILL THE PIG! CUT ITS THROAT! BASH IT IN!
If they could turn so quickly to such feral behaviour as humans, what could I do as a wolf? All I had to do was raise my paw and strike the creature down. I tottered over to near motionless creature, it was most certainly a horse despite its strange coat. This was it, the moment of truth. The biggest decision I would ever make in this world.
Can I complete this primal pact, and make my first kill?
My paw moved steadily upwards as the horse's breathing became faster. I twisted slightly to get my paw higher into the air. The horse's breathing began to rasp and blood dripped steadily from its nostrils. My paw was as high as I could get it with falling over. The horse's eye opened. My mind juddered to a halt. There it was in front of me. Pale eyes drained of life gazing into my own freshly resurrected ones. I had cheated death while this poor creature was practically crying for release from its mortal being. This thing was my quarry. I was the reaper.
Moving on the same primal instinct that had guided me here, my paw rushed towards its neck. My claws outstretched and prepared to spill blood. Blood. So much blood.
Its nothing like what you see it the films when somebody gets their throat slit. This was messy. A hunk of flesh caught on my claw and the entire front of the horse's neck was torn away. Blood erupted from it like a demented geyser and it drenched me in sticky bodily fluids. The stench was unbearable; my sense of smell screeched in fright as it was bombarded by the sickly juices of the now dead horse. Not knowing what to do, how to continue, I bolted back the way I came. In my head I pictured the pond; or a bath as I saw it now. My paws crushed the roses as I continued to flee from what I had just done. From what I had just killed. Primal instinct was doing nothing for me now. I was terrified for no reason.
The pond came into view, a shining puddle of cleansing in the clearing. I jumped in without a second thought. The pleasantly warm water went halfway up my thigh and lapped away the blood that stained my fur. The crystal clear pond swiftly became a mass of red as more and more blood inked the crystal clear pigment. Wait, why was the water red?
"I promised you colour boyo." Yiang said after her long absence. "I have granted you colour eyesight, enjoy it," Sure enough; the rest of the world started to gain colour like it were being painted by an invisible artist. The rich flavour of life burst back into view as the world became a mash of greens, reds, blues, pinks, browns and yellows instead of the inky grey it was before. The water was hideously red now. Hideously, beautifully red. I rolled around in the pond while giggling like a schoolchild in my head. I don't care if I was rolling in blood, it was coloured blood!
After several minutes of absorbing the wonderful new world I was in I exited the pond. My fur with totally clean. Save for one paw. My right forepaw was still a strange red colour. I dipped it into the pond and swirled it around. When I removed it is was still a bloody red. I attempted to do what a wolf does to clean itself normally, I licked my paw. It didn't even taste of blood. I nibbled at my fur and pulled some of it away. Red flecks of fur fell to the ground. It wasn't blood on my paw.
Of the colours I could have been, why was I red? Why was I this particular shade of red? My wet fur was near identical in pigment to the pond I had just washed in. The sick memory of my first kill was now a permanent mark on my body. Dammit, I need a mirror. A section of air in front of me shimmered slightly and my reflection came into clear view. Yiang's trickery no doubt.
Sure enough my entire body was a mass of thick crimson fur; with the occasional fleck of grey. My horns - as that was the only reason I have for what they are - were a weird shade of silver that seemed to make the air ripple inconsistently. Why do I have horns? I pushed that question out of my mind as I could almost hear Yiang say 'all in due time boyo' in response. My eyes weren't parallel in colour. My left was blue; my right was green. This was either another joke by Yiang or one of those stupid things to represent moral conflict. What is it with Gods and making vague signs to mortals?
For the first time since gaining my new body I got a chance to look at my tail. It was about forty centimetres long and bushy; still keeping the crimson colour scheme that the rest of my fur was abiding to. Why did Yiang choose this colour of red over every other single shade of the spectrum? Knowing her it was to torment me further. I turned away from the mirror and instead focused my attention on the world around me, waiting for my Goddess to play her next hand.
"How d'ya like the colours of nature boyo?" Yiang asked right on cue. "This garden is a wonderful place isn't it? Take a look at this." A small bunch of roses, a strange blue colour, floated over. "Take these roses for example, out of this garden they are unbelievably rare, so I keep them preserved here so I can enjoy its beauty more." The petals dispersed into the wind when Yiang released her spectral hold over them. "But I'm betting money on your next question having something to do with your next task." I nodded curtly. "What am I to do?"
"This next task is a little more on the dark side, I want you to practice your thieving skills."
"Pardon?" I asked in bewilderment.
"The task is simple. Go through that gap in the trees to your right; travel the path until you find a tree marked with an 'X'. In the branches above is a nest that belongs to a phoenix, you are to steal at least one egg from it without being spotted." I nodded slowly; the task was fairly straightforward so far. "The reward will be the ability to talk to others; not by moving your mouth but by projecting your thoughts into the mind of whoever you want to hear your words.
I was being offered the ability to talk to whomever I wanted to with nobody else knowing, and all I had to do was steal an egg? This was going to be child's play.
"I can do that Yiang." I answered cockily.
"Then get to it boyo." With that Yiang's presence faded once again. After having to kill that horse; stealing was clearly the lesser evil. Following the instructions given to me I made my way down the gap in the trees and continued down the dirt path. It was a fairly uneventful trek; with the occasional bug flitting into my field of vision providing the only entertainment.
That's when my common sense kicked in. I am a wolf with next to no dexterity, how the hell am I supposed to steal an egg without breaking it? Its not like I can carry it in my mouth, teeth don't tend to be good nannies. My horns would probably help just as little. I still didn't know why I had horns; wolves don't have or need horns. Keeping what little sense I could wrapped up in a tightly knit bow I continued to advance down the path towards the tree marked with an 'X'.
There! just a few metres further was a tree with an 'X' gouged into the bark. I followed it upwards with my eyes, hunting out the nest. It was a large construct that covered about three large branches, looked like nobody was home. Not wanting to fall into false security I crept closer to the tree; my paws making next to no sound as I trod over fallen leaves and branches. It was now that I started to appreciate just how finely crafted a hunter the wolf was. Even if the phoenix's were in their nest; it would be unlikely they could hear me. I never once went too fast or too slow, my speed remained a constant crawl that allowed me to maneuver past anything that may have alerted the guardians of my mark. The tree was hardly as big as some I had seen on my way here, but it would still prove a challenge to climb.
Using my claws to hook into the bark and began a strange shuffling movement up the side of the tree. When I found a suitable branch to stand on I began taking timed leaps from bough to bough; never rushing, stalking my mark with the efficiency of a true hunter of the wilds. One final jump and I was below the nest. A twig dislodged itself from the nest and fell quietly to the ground. A low chirrup came from within the nest, looks like something is home. I crawled underneath the woven construct of sticks and mud until I could look over the edge. Inside were four eggs; with one phoenix on guard duty. Its flaming plumes of feathers shone like miniature suns and its deep golden eyes stared intently at whatever fell under its gaze.
Whatever happened to be me in this case. The fire-bird was looking right at me. Not thinking about the consequences, I released a growl that was intended as a threat. The phoenix saw it as a challenge; lighting its plumes up in a wondrous blaze. Oh fuck all kinds of duck..... The phoenix swooped towards my face, narrowly missing clawing out my eyes. I snapped back in retaliation and began to jump through the trees to avoid the talons of the bird. We became entwined in a deadly semi-aerial battle; the phoenix flying aggressively and raking at me with its talons while I returned the gesture by swiping at it with my claws. So I had failed the part to not get seen but I could still claim the egg. Trying my best to find a flaw in the phoenix's defence I continued my dance through the treetops. The enraged bird dove at my ribs, leaving itself open to my jaws.
Running on the same predatory instinct that had helped me kill the horse; my legs pushed onto the branch enough to get me airborne. Then using the trunk of the same tree I propelled myself at the phoenix. The bird was unable to avoid my jaws in time. Clamping down tightly on its burning hot neck I shook it around like a rag-doll. Its flaming body singed my fur and hurt my muzzle, but I refused to let go until it was dead. The embers began to die as the phoenix fell limp; soon it began to crumble into ash. The particles of dust scattered on the wind as I spat out what residue was left behind in my mouth. From what I remember of mythology phoenix's regenerate after death by rising from their ashes, or something along those lines. I didn't know how long that process took so I made my way back towards the nest to claim my prize. Before the mate of the phoenix I just killed came back.
The nest was still relatively unharmed despite the battle between me and the phoenix. The four eggs still nestled in the workings of the nest. But the eternal mystery still floated in view. How in the name of St. Patrick was I supposed to pick the egg up? Shaking my head at making such a stereotypical remark I started to work an egg out with my paw. It tumbled from the nest and shattered on the ground. Three left. Next I tried to pick one up in my jaws. It worked, for a short while. The shock of jumping onto a branch below me caused my jaws to snap shut; breaking the egg. Yuck, phoenix yolk.... Two left. After I worked my way back up to the nest I stared glumly at the last two eggs. My paws lacked the grasping skill and my mouth wasn't likely to carry the egg back to the clearing safely. What the fuck am I to do know? Balance them on my horns? Yiang was probably laughing at me right now. Mocking my previous cocky attitude. How could this go any further south? A phoenix is how. A long shrill call rang out through the trees; I panicked and spun around to try locating the source of the call. My tail spun with me. My tail knocked the nest. The nest started to fall. I must be the most unlucky Irish boy ever.
As the nest fell so did the eggs. I needed one of them intact or I would fail my task. Becoming delightfully optimistic; I started to race the nest to the ground. At first its decent was slow, but as soon as it gained momentum my efforts looked wasted. The nest was going to hit the ground before me. The eggs would break and I would fail. That can't happen! It won't happen, I will stop that nest!
I just need it.... To.... STOP!!!
A thick haze of red gathered around the falling mass of twigs. Now instead of gaining speed it began to slow. The one egg that had exited the nest slotted itself back into its hovel and in turn lost speed. The nest halted a few inches from the ground; contents totally spotless. The red haze still remained. I cleared the last few boughs with a long jump, landing heavily next to the nest. What the hell was this stuff around the nest? It looked like some kind of demonic miasma, only it wasn't. I twitched my head to the side, the nest followed. I looked up, the nest followed. I danced around on the spot, the nest stayed in my field of vision the entire time. Was the nest following me? Was this another of Yiang's tricks? Why was I questioning it?
Right now I had a pissed off phoenix after me, and when it discovered the broken eggs I was going to be in for a fuckton of fire. Whatever was up with the nest it wasn't dropping any time soon. So without another thought on the matter I found the gap in the trees, and started to make my way back to the pond.
The nest remained enveloped in the haze as I approached the pond. The angry calls of the phoenix long behind me now I released a much needed sigh. That had been the second time I had willingly killed; or tried to kill another being. Its beside the point that the bird would regenerate. I had wanted to kill. I had driven myself to attack the phoenix with the same intent to kill that I had felt when I had stared into the dying eyes of the horse. What the hell was happening to me? Was the power that killing gave me already starting to corrupt me? Look at me, here for barely even a day and I had killed twice. This was my life now wasn't it?
"I see you have returned." Yiang said. "Did you bring my egg?"
"I did, kinda." I muttered.
"Kinda?"
"Can't you see this Yiang?" I asked. "What the hell is up with the nest?" Yiang started to laugh. "What's so funny Yiang?
"I forgot about that boyo; thanks for reminding me!"
"Forgot what Yiang?" I felt her hand guide me back to the air-mirror. I saw the bird's nest in the air with the red haze. I looked further into the reflection and saw what Yiang was trying to show me. My horns were surrounded by the exact same red miasma as the bird's nest. I was most certainly the cause of the nest's anti-gravitational feat. But just how was I doing this. The red became mixed with a fuzzy purple.
"I have it now boyo, let go." Yiang said.
"That's the thing Yiang; I might be doing this but I don't know how." I could almost feel Yiang's hand make contact with her face. "You are the most useless little...... Okay then, if you don't know how you are doing it; how DID you do it?" I recalled back at the tree. "The nest was falling and I panicked. At the last second I wished for it to stop. Then this weird aura started to cover it up. Now its floating."
"That's it? Well in that case, release the nest the same way you grabbed it; by telling it to fall." That easy huh? Well what harm could come of it? So if I got the nest to stop by telling it to stop. I just need it.... to.... FALL!
The red haze vanished instantaneously to be replaced by the purple. The two remaining eggs were plucked out from their hollows. Yiang hummed. "I only needed one egg, what to do with the second."
"Why not give it to me?" I laughed; not meaning what I had said
"That is a fantastic idea Lycan! One egg safety bag coming up!" Before I could object to Yiang's actions grass started to pull itself from the ground and formed into a ball in the air. Then guided by the purple aura; each individual blade began to weave its way into the shaping of a bag. I had to hand it to Yiang, she had weaving skills. By the end of her meddling the grass had become a fully formed bag, a comfortable looking one at that. The purple lowered it onto my back and tied it tightly. The only flap on it was lifted open, the second phoenix egg was deposited inside.
"That egg will never break as long as the bag remains shut." Yian said proudly. "Now you can keep it safe until it hatches.
"Question Yiang; how will I know it has hatched?" I asked sarcastically.
"Its a phoenix honey, you will KNOW when it has hatched!"
Well that was encouraging. All I had to do was wait for the intense burning sensation on my back? Simple enough. Now onto my next question.
"Yiang, its time you fessed up. What the hell am I?" Yiang exhaled loudly. "You want to know now?" I nodded. "Very well Lycan, sit." I did as I was asked.
"The truth is Lycan, you are not a normal wolf even for this universe. In fact, next to the elusive Spectre-wolf and the Winged-Wolves , you are one of the rarest breeds. Those growths on your head are indeed horns, the two of them to mark what you are. Lycan; I made you into something fantastical, you are a Duo-ceratias Lupus; a Two-Horned Wolf. One of the lucky creatures that is gifted with control over the forces of magic. You have a potential for destruction that many would strive their lives to gain. What you could do in the future could dwarf the power of even the most accomplished Unicorn wizards. All you have to do is find the words deep within yourself; some may be obvious and others may be more elusive then that. But every word is unique to you." Yiang paused for a brief moment, collecting her thoughts.
"None of the words you will use will be the same as the ones used by others. They will be unique to you, and only you can tap into the power locked in the words. I could have said one in this sentence and it has clearly done nothing. When you find the word and utilize your mind to turn it into power; that is when your magic will be feared by the even the servants of the Gods."
I took a moment to take in what Yiang had just told me. I had a potential at destruction that could make the servants of the Gods fear me? That sounded nice and everything, but was it for me? I had now come into this world looking to kill; I had wanted a new start at life. Not a chance to end others. But in the end I could never be sure about why I was here. Yiang had brought me to a land like no other and given me gifts that back home would never have been thought to have existed. It just didn't seem right that I was being dragged into a world that knew nothing of me so that I could be manipulated like a chess piece. Yiang had told me that fate would be nothing but a musing thought here. That was obviously not the case; clearly I had just filled in the application for the fate roller-coaster. I was being strapped in as of now. All I had left was to wait for this ride to start.
"Words of Power eh?" I murmured. "If that's the case...." I turned towards a nearby tree with a snarl on my lips. "GRAVITY WILL STOP!" The trunk strained for a moment, as did I, before the tree was torn from the ground. The red haze meant it was working.
"Lycan...." Yiang muttered. "How did you know?"
"Simple, I told the nest to stop going down. What's the force that brings objects down? Gravity. What do I need to stop in order to levitate something? Gravity. After I made that connection; the words just seemed to fit into place. You were right Yiang; all I had to do was find the words and tap into them. Now look at me." For all my bravado it became increasingly hard to keep the tree afloat. Eventually I released my hold by saying 'fall' (the counter-word) and sat back down to rest. Yiang was clapping excitedly at my new found talent. It wasn't very useful if I could only keep it going for thirty seconds. The mass of an object probably had something to do with it though, after all I had levitated the bird's nest for about ten minutes without even feeling a little drained. So I could now levitate objects at will. Tick one box on my path to gaining power.
Now all I had to do was find the rest of my words; so I could set this world ablaze.
I shook my head for what seemed like the fifteenth time this day. Something about this body was starting to twist me into a brand new person. I'm not sure I liked that person. Then again, I wasn't no longer the boy from Ireland. I was a being with a new name and body. I am Lycan. What I am now is Lycan. Lycan will become whatever I want him to become. I will carve his fate out with a knife if I have to. I will carve MY fate out if I have to.
I turned towards the town in the distance.
"I'm going now." I said bluntly.
"W-What!?" Yiang yelped. "You can't leave yet!"
"Why not? I can talk, I can perform levitation magic, I can see in colour and have a phoenix egg. Why can't I leave?" Yiang hesitated; she was stalling for answers.
"Well if you have no objections I will be on my way."
"Wait" I waited. "You can't go that way." Yiang said.
"Why not?" I asked impatiently.
"I-I-I-I-I can't say!" Yiang cried. "But even if it had something to do with that town, which it doesn't, do you really think that a wolf would be able to just stroll on in all calm like? They may have a world with mythical creatures in but those ponies are still scared of what they will see as predators. You are most certainly classed as a predator." I couldn't argue with that logic; it made sense that a bunch of herbivores would be scared of me. So I decided to re-plot my course. The only landmark I had right now was the forest behind me. So that's where I was heading. Yiang obviously read this in my thoughts and breathed a sigh of relief, what was her problem?
Taking steps towards the forest I decided against following the same path that I had used beforehand, on account of the no doubt rather livid phoenix that was still residing in the depths. I picked a new route. It was a tighter squeeze to get through the first line of trees; after that it was clear sailing. The entire time I moved away from the garden I could feel Yiang's hold getting weaker. So she might be a Goddess but even she has her limits in terms of reach. I began to move at a faster pace, getting further away from the violating hold of Yiang made me happier than I had been in a long time. This was when my journey would really begin! It was time for Lycan to shine!
"HOLD IT BOYO!"
I lost my balance at the sudden intrusion in my head and tumbled into the undergrowth. Several twigs caught in my fur and dragged out one or two tufts; it hurt more than it should have. Yiang once again placed her spectral arm around me. "I never got to give you your final gift boyo." She whispered.
"Oh joy, what could it be? A nice pair of grass booties to go with the bag? Or is there an army of pissed off phoenix's just waiting behind that bush? Oh what could it be?" I said snidely, thoroughly annoyed at the persistence of the Goddess.
"Its just I thought you would be lonely on the road, so I brought you these."
Two flashed of light, one white and one black. The alteration in light was so minute but it burnt into my mind forever. Left behind after the flashes were two of the strangest things I have ever seen. One ball of white light and one ball of black light. Both perfectly spherical but distorted in a way I can't explain. It was like I was peering into coloured rips in the air.
"Lycan, I want you to meet Asura and Kuroko. They will be your new guides." Yiang chirped. "They might even be of some use to you!"
Without so much as another sigh; Yiang vanished. Leaving me alone with the two sprites before me.
Asura and Kuroko. Two little balls of ethereal matter that would no doubt cause me great pain in the near future. They had done nothing except float idly next to me, Asura on my left and Kuroko on my right. So far I had tried multiple times to engage in conversation with them but they remained mute. Not wanting Yiang's final attempt at trickery to slow my process;.I hurried onwards. So far the forest had shown little resistance both in terms of foliage and creatures. By now I was doubting that the threat of creatures was even existent. Its not like they were plotting, animals are stupid in comparison to humans. I may be a wolf but I'm a wolf with a humans brain, that means these filthy animals had no chance when it came to a game of wits.
On cue to make me eat my words came the colossal form of what looked like a lion. It had hidden itself under a fallen tree trunk and had waited for me to walk past. As the beast roared its foul breath over me; a pair of leathery wings broke away from its back. That may be a problem. In time with the appearance of the wings came a scorpion's tail, with the bulging venomous tip already spraying its deadly payload. Well that's just taking the piss.
I dodged to the side and prepared my fangs to fight back, only to have the white sprite dive between me and the beast. The ball of light loosed a sudden burst of shine and the beast reared backwards in pain.
"Run you muppet!" It said with a voice almost identical to Stephen Merchant. "That thing is waaaaaay to powerful for you right now."
"Do as he says." The other sprite said, this one sounded like Johnny Depp as Captain Jack. "That right there is a manticore, AKA something that is about to seriously mess up your day. So run."
"So now you talk?" I said dumbly as the manticore's paw smashed the ground next to me; I got the message and ran as fast as my legs would carry me. The beast recovered from its momentary blindness fast enough to give chase. I began my symphony of swears almost immediately, trying desperately to find a way to shake it off.
"Can't you two do anything?" I growled; I was hoping that Yiang has actually given me the power to speak.
"I just gave you some help!" Asura said indignantly. "Now you have to put in some legwork too!"
"Fat lot of help that light-show was, now its angrier than a woman that just got proved wrong!" Lycan the Irish Wolf, master of wit. Even when in mortal danger.
The manticore was clearly not in the mood to let its prey escape so it must have seen my flight as a game; too bad for me it was winning. So I was five minutes into the real start of my journey and already I was being chased by a murderous mutant monster, a bad omen if I have ever seen one. My supposed guides were being useless beyond measure, my legs were starting to hurt and the creature was gaining ground. All I needed now was Yiang adding her regular pointless opinion and my life would be complete. I ran for what seemed like another hour; the manticore was nearly upon me. Then I experienced one of the weirdest sensations of my entire life. The world around me slowed to a near halt as did I. Ahead were two paths, one had Kuroko floating beside it and the other Asura. How had they gotten ahead of me? Regardless, there was something ominous about where each of them were. The path that Kuroko was beside had a faint tint of purple and seemed to shift and warp irregularly. Whereas the path that Asura was next to was like a solid block of bright colours; nothing was out of place in the slightest. Such perfection was unnerving.
"You must choose one of us." The sprites said in unison. "This will be the most minor of your tasks."
"T-Tasks?" I asked; the sprites were starting to go all cryptic.
"We are the taskmasters of Yiang. Sent in her stead to guide you. For now you lack the power to even be called a pawn. We are to guide you to that place. But some day you will ascend above even that role. You will one day topple a king." My life had crashed around me. This was beyond surreal and had instead ventured into the land of the totally insane. A king!? I'm no great shakes at chess but even a child knows the king is the most important piece on the board. Why - and how - would I take something like that down? Even if the king isn't the strongest in play its always protected by an army of other pieces. Taking on something like that on my own was inconceivable.
"You cannot do it as you are. Neutral and weak." The sprites continued. "Learn to master the threads of the Yin-Yang; take a leap of faith. Choose what you wish. Good or Evil, Order or Chaos, Light or Dark. This decision cannot be made by another, Lycan. This is your fate and yours alone. No other creature will have a hand in it; except you." The world began to speed up once again. "You have enough time to take one path. No indecision can take place. Choose now, or die."
That was it? I had to be Good or Evil? I had to choose on side of the coin and forgo the other? Fuck that. As soon as I felt my legs move at their regular pace I sprinted for the path I had chosen. It was not the one Kuroko was beside; nor was it Asura's. Instead I ran for the road between them. It was another thick layer of trees with a gap that was (I hoped) big enough for me but not the manticore. The two sprites began shouting hysterically at me. Something along the lines of 'what are you doing?! That's against the rules!" Well its not like the rules are needed because they said it themselves. This is my fate and mine alone.
I am a stranger in this land; a land that I know nothing of. I have been warped into a dog of the wilds and given the power to manipulate magic. These are the tools I will use to create my destiny. Nothing will prevent me from taking my path. My real name was forgotten the moment I died in a hospital in Ireland. From there my spirit was stolen and turned into what I am now. I am no longer that Irish boy who was killed by a drunk driver.
My new persona is Lycan the Crimson . This is the start of my story.
I bolted through the gap with ease; barely a tuft of fur was disturbed. The manticore on the other hand smashed painfully into the solid wall of bark. It roared in frustration and began to hack away at the barrier with its huge claws. Not wanting to waste a second of my lead I continued running. Leaving the manticore - and fate - far behind.
*
It would seem that for as far as I could run I could never escape my new companions. I had been travelling for no more than five minutes when the two sprites appeared once again. They were none too happy.
"What the hell was that?" Asura asked confusedly. "You were supposed to pick ONE of us, not neither of us!"
"Now that you pulled that little stunt the both of us are stuck with you." Kuroko growled. "One of us was supposed to return to Yiang."
"Well you guys said it yourselves, my fate is for me to decide. When you told me Good or Evil I pick Neutral." I said with less interest than they would have liked.
"Well guess what kid? Now you have to put up with TWO fairies of morality. Enjoy us!"
"Asura, Kuroko?" I asked. "Would you guys do something to designate which one of you is talking?"
"What?"
"Its simple really. If a voice pops into my head randomly its not like I can tell who it is if I'm in the middle of something."
"But we sound nothing alike!"
"Still, something tells me it will stop a lot of confusion before it starts. Kuroko did what I assumed was the fairy version of pouting. "Fine. How about I end every sentence with toru and he ends every sentence with a hum of some sorts."
"That would work."
"Then its settled, toru."
Now that I had performed what in most parts actually seemed a rather pointless task of getting the two sprites to add useless phrases to each sentence I began my questioning.
"So why ARE you two here?"
"Its simple." Asura said. "The original plan was that you pick one path at that fork in the road, hmm. You were to either take the path of Yin - me - or the path of Yang - Kuroko - so that the one you picked would train you, hmm."
"However because you decided to take a path that neither of us has prepared. or you put it the neutral path, we are now both stuck with you, toru."
"So does that mean that both of you will train me?"
"Well do you remember how Yiang gave you power toru?
"Well she made me do a task then she gifted me with power. Is this how you guys are going to train me?"
"Indeed toru. However your body will only have the capacity for eleven of the powers we can give toru." I gave them a puzzled look. "The capacity for eleven you say? What does that mean?"
"Its simple boy, hmm. We will each give you a task and offer a reward." Asura began to float in front of me. "However; these powers are not normal. Each one will give you an advantage that many of your foes lack. Because of this Yiang has decided to limit our power to give you only eleven of these skills. Once you hit eleven, you gain nothing more,hmm."
"It also has to do with your body not being a natural house for such power, more than eleven and you will die toru." Kuroko said bluntly.
Well that made sense I guess. "So how's this gonna work; will you take turns giving me tasks?" I asked.
"No,hmm. Considering that we both planned what we would do around being the only fairy its now a kind of contest, hmm."
"What my light-hearted brother means is that we will both offer tasks at the same time toru. You are then to accept ONE of these tasks and complete it, but by accepting the reward and task from one of us you may lose the chance to gain the other toru." So that was the contract in ins entirety? Well its a better than what some may get if they were in my position. Considering I have nothing better to do now I'm free I may as well check out the offers.
"Tell me what you two are offering right now."
"I offer the power of camouflage toru." Kuroko said. "You will be able to blend into your environments in a way that will make you more difficult to detect; you will not be invisible however and all sounds you make will still be heard at the same volume, toru. All you have to do, is steal from the rich toru."
"I will offer the Sky-Dance to you." Asura said proudly. "You will be able to travel short distances using nothing more than the air as your pathway, it is the closest you will get to flying, hmm. All you have to do, is free a hostage from captivity, hmm."
So my tasks were going to reflect who offered them? That means Kuroko's tasks will always lean towards moral evil whereas Asura's will lean towards moral good. Both of the fairies were offering a good reward in exchange for doing as they asked. But in my eyes, Asura won this round.
"I accept Asura's offer of the Sky-Dance. Lead on fairy."
This is Cryptic. I just want to make a note to you guys by saying that Asura's name is pronounced Ah-Shu-Ra not Ah-Sur-A. That's all I needed to say in regards to characters. But don't think that all the powers are going to be OP as heck, I'm going to find a balance between power and skill so that Lycan won't become an unstoppable killing machine. I will update again soon! - Cryptic.
The journey towards Asura's task gave me time to think. This was now my life. It had finally sunk in, I sure as fuck weren't in Ireland anymore. By whatever bizarre twist of fate brought me to decide to come here it was now clear that I wasn't likely to leave. So it was time to settle in. A land of society run by equine, where magic flowed in rivers, where myth and legend became fact and reality. This messed up world of Equestria was my home now. Whether I liked it or not.
My sprite guide continued to bob and weave its way merrily through the air, no a care in its tiny fairy brain. The path we had taken looked disused and fairly old. The occasional chirrup of a passing bird would be the only respite from the silence that clawed its way around my eardrums. Such unnatural quiet made me nervous. I started to think there was a reason for this path losing popularity.
My claws scuffed against something, I bent down to sniff it as it interested me. I nosed the small white rock out of the mud. Only to find it was a skull that vaguely resembled a dog of some sort. Any other day of the week and I would have flipped out. But right now I just didn't care. Something had died, oh well. Asura looped around a small rock and called.
"Hey doggy, could you get over here hmm?" I trotted over silently, still not wanting to discover whatever had caused the disuse of this perfectly good path.
"What is it fairy?" I asked calmly.
"Take a look for yourself hmm."
I did. On the other side of the rock was a small encampment built into a miniature crater. What populated this camp however; was what I questioned. They were not the same species I had seen earlier - save for one - at the garden. They closely resembled dogs but in the same respect they were vastly different. For each of them carried a weapon and walked on two feet. Most of them seemed to carry a crudely made club or sword, some opted to keep their claws. A few more carried what looked like blow dart tubes, I only came to this assumption when I saw the bandoleers packed with a wide range of darts strung across those who carried the tubes. There was one who piqued my curiosity in particular. He was in no way the biggest of the group but he carried the largest weapon. It looked like a strange mishmash of metal and leather that had been shaped into a shape that closely resembled a bell. The entire thing was being lovingly stroked by its holder As to what the purpose of such a device was it was yet to be seen. Not like I was in a rush to be on the business end of it anyway.
Asura glided once more into my view. "All you need to be concerned with is getting that little thing out safe and sound, hmm." That little thing happened to be a pink (I shit you not) pony. Better yet it had WINGS! Fucking WINGS!
"That's a Pegasus kid, your are going to need to get acquainted with the many races in this land, hmm."
"How many different things are out there?" I questioned. "And how did you know I wanted to know what that thing was?"
"The look of stupidity kinda gave it away, hmm."
"Fuck you fairy." Asura spun around a little more. "Just do your job okay? Get her out of the camp, alive and well. Can you do that hmm?" I began to climb over the rock that separated me from the camp. Asura flew in my face once more.
"One last tip boy, watch out for the darts. They could be poisonous or they could be a sedative round, hmm. You never know with these tricky bastards, hmm." I shook my head one last time, then I descended into a camp filled with anthropomorphic dogs.
It would seem that despite their numbers they were in no way running an organised group. I managed to slip into the heart of the camp without a single hiccup. No doubt this was just temporary luck on my part but I wasn't complaining. The captive pony was less than a metre away. Her muzzle bound by rope and her hooves tied with wires. These dogs really weren't into keeping their prey comfortable were they? Between me and her (don't ask how I now know its a girl pony) stood one of the club-wielding dogs. His back was to me, it would be all to simple to attack it without it ever knowing I was here. Sadly, mauling doesn't tend to be the quietest of approaches to a situation. I needed a distraction. It came in the most comical form. Not two feet away from the sentry was another; relieving itself in a nearby bush. Well lets just take that situation and make it hostile.
Using a small amount of levitation magic I gripped the dog's member, mid-flow, and spun the creature around to face his fellow. The result was something that belongs on comedy television. The unlucky guard I had been aiming for had to watch in horror as he soaked his companion with urine. The one being soaked of course had no idea that this was my doing and proceeded to leap on the offending dog. Their fight tumbled into another portion of the camp, giving me an opening to approach the pony. It could have gone smoother to say the least. As soon as I crept from the shadows she saw me, and promptly freaked the fuck out. I tried waving my paws to calm her, which was the worst possible thing to do as it looked like I was preparing to attack.
"Shut up girl!" I hissed into her mind. She said something inaudible behind her gag.
"I said shut up! Listen to me, I'm gonna undo these bonds and you are going to get out of here. Don't ask how I'm talking without moving my mouth; just listen. Got it?" She nodded. I chewed through the bonds with ease and nudged the poor pony to her feet.
"Now get out of here, I'll keep them occupied." I said with false hope. The pony cantered away from the camp, a strange glint in her eye. Was that a look of thanks? But the commotion was settling; I needed to keep the dogs away from the escaping pony. By any means necessary.
I did the one thing I had never tested as a wolf. I raised my head to the sky, which has become darker as night drew near, and howled. The sudden rush of movement towards me was staggering. What looked like the entire camp of dogs now stood before me. They didn't even look phased. Some even stared at me with reverence. I liked this feeling of power they were giving me.
That's when the first dart narrowly missed my head.
Fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck! Such was my level of eloquence at that point in time. Why had I lacked to forethought to plan my actions through all the way? Sure the pony had escaped but now I had a gang of barbarous skull-fucking anthro-dogs chasing me down. They had a multitude of weapons that made my claws and teeth look like nothing, I had a pair of fairies that were acting like Navi.
"They're attacking you, toru!"
"They have clubs, hmm!"
"Why don't you run,toru?"
"I think I know a way away, hmm!"
"SHUT UP!" I roared at Kuroko and Asura. "YOU ABANDON ME WHILE I DO THE JOB BUT RETURN AFTERWARDS TO ACT LIKE GRANDIOSE DICKS!"
"Fine then, I won't tell you the way to escape, hmm." Asura said in a huff.
"If you have some decent advice then by all means feel free to share!"
Asura bolted ahead. "Follow me wolfy!" Without any other kind of orientation to abide to I decided that whatever Asura had in store could hardly be worse than my current situation. Unless he was leading me into an even bigger jug-fuck, in which case it still couldn't really escalate any further. Another dart wedged itself into the ground an inch to my left making me jump out of my fur. These guys sucked at shooting, but I wasn't about to give them an easy target. Weaving my way past yet another row of tents on the trail of Asura; the fairy lead me out of the camp and into a large field, without any cover. Still better than that camp though.
The sprite zipped along at an impressive rate, I couldn't keep the same pace but I could keep his luminous body in sight. A spear that looked fashioned from a bone of some sorts grazed my flank, a small bead of perfectly obscured blood rolled down my leg. What the hell did these things have against me? I heard the occasional burst of speech from behind me, none of which sounded all that appetising. Common words were 'kill fake' or 'get the pretty' with the odd mutter of 'taste the flesh.' These things sure had a mastery of linguistic communication. As did they have a mastery of digging.
Not two metres away a member of the pack burst from the ground with arms outstretched and mouth slick with drool. It was coming right at me! I needed to get rid of it....... I wanted to get rid of it........ It just..... Needed to........ GET BACK!
My horns exploded with energy and a wall of red haze launched itself at the creature that was totally vulnerable in mid-air; no escape from the blast. A strangled yelp came from the dog as it was thrown in cartwheels away from me. It flew an impressive distance and landed with a crunch that made me flinch a little. Well that's new. I filed that new spell under 'force push' and continued to flee. By now the pack had started to close in on me, they were fast as a teenager's first-time. For those who don't know how fast that is it's somewhere between light-speed and twice the speed of sound. So still pretty damn fast. By now those who had been firing darts had long given up their attempts to hit me, they had come close once or twice though. The crowd was parting; allowing one of the dogs to move to the front of the pack. It was the one with the odd contraption on his arm. Just what did that thing do?
It launched a freaking net is what it did.
The entire thing burst from the device with a loud 'pumf' and closed the gap between me and it fairly quickly. If it wasn't for the spell I had picked up the best part of three seconds ago I would have been screwed in more ways than a big city prostitute. Instead I shouted that net right back at them; it hit the shooter and several others sending them bundling away in a writhing mass of greasy fur and spittle. Take that you kibble eating fuckers.
Asura was awaiting my arrival close to the edge of the field. A cliff-edge. Just what the hell did this fairy have planned?
"I hope you didn't forget our promise wolfy, hmm!" Asura said
"No, I remember. I free that girl and you give me the..... Sky waltz?" I replied through pants.
"Sky-DANCE, but yes that was the deal hmm. So the contract is fulfilled, I grant you the power of the Sky-Dance!"
"So when do I get to use it?" I queried as the cliff inched closer and closer.
"Well there's no time like the present, don't you agree, hmm?" So that was why I was being brought to a cliff; crafty bastard planned this all out didn't he? So all I had to do was make it over this ravine? What could possibly go wrong?
"So how does this work?"
"Just do what feels natural wolfy, I can't offer any more advice beyond that, hmm." What the hell Asura? I thought you guys were supposed to help me! Not like I could complain. This speech power came rather naturally to me also as did my magic; this would be a breeze. The dogs were nearly upon me. The drop was but a metre away Now or never Lycan, now or never.
I inhaled what seemed like half the atmosphere, and jumped.
Time didn't stand still like many describe these moments. It more slowed to a sickening crawl of distorted airflow and mixed scents. Many of my pursuers copied my action, claws scrabbling at my flanks and pulling hairs from my tail it a vain attempt to catch me. I looked down to allow the depth of the ravine to hit home. The bottom looked almost like a cartoon where the bad-guy would drop to that oh so familiar 'wheeeeee' sound. Except this was real life, and the idea of falling that far nearly made me stain my fur yellow. The dogs that hadn't jumped got this idea also and promptly halted their chase. Those who had jumped after me were none too lucky. At this rate I would be following them in their fall. Wait, what was that?
My pads touched down on something soft, fluffy like wool but firm like oak wood. It nearly stopped me totally. The back of my mind told me to jump again. So I did. What ever intangible force had been beneath my feet it was sturdy enough to allow me to propel myself once more into the air. Once more I landed of said intangible force, but opted to run this time. It felt fantastic. This feeling of effortless travel was all too welcome to me. The closest I could compare it to was running on a cloud, the comparison makes no sense but you must understand what I'm getting at. I wish I could run in this way forever; that would be cheating though. That chance to cheat was cut short by my legs suddenly feeling unbelievably weak. I took one final leap to clear what was left of the ravine and stumbled to the ground on impact. Wow I felt tired like a car-wheel.
Despite wanting to give us much distance between me and the dogs on the other side of the ravine, I gave myself the privilege of rising back to me feet and doing what I called the wolf equivalent of giving them the finger and trotted away calmly; with a small limp to emphasise my weariness. Asura and Kuroko both floated back into view, one of the two seemed to be buzzing with energy.
"That was AWESOME, hmm!" Asura beamed. "A perfect run, never seen anything like it!"
"Yeah..... Awesome..... Cool...... Sleepy." I muttered. Ignoring what little more the fairy had to say. I curled up at the base of a nearby tree and for the first time since death; fell into a peaceful slumber.
I awoke to the softest melody of birdsong and whistling wind. Each blade of grass around my body tickled at my fur as the light of day goaded me out of my groggy state of mind. I felt awesome, refreshed like an internet page after you press F5. This was a better feeling of revival than being brought back from the dead. The fatigue of the previous day had faded into non-existence, like I had never even been tired to begin with. Sleep was the fucking bomb. Not wanting to waste this new found energy I crawled to my feet, my fairy sprites buzzed out from underneath my fur. Had they been sleeping in my fur? Well they're fairies; do fairies even need sleep? Not wanting to dwell on such a ridiculous topic I nudged Kuroko up from the floor.
"So now I'm well-rested for what seems like the first time in forever, what's next you guys?" Asura yawned(?) "You want another task already? Eager aren't you, hmm?"
"But we are always ready to give. For now, toru."
I wasn't really ready for a whole new journey so I wandered idly for a small while; allowing my mind to awaken fully before plunging into another decision of good or evil. I took a moment to spy back across the canyon, to look at the camp that housed the creatures that tried to murder me not five minutes ago. Worryingly, the camp looked to be gone. They could already be on my trail if they intended to hunt me down. I had to move fast.
"Okay sprites, give me a new task." I said.
"I offer you a sensory boost, hmm. This will heighten your senses to a level that surpasses most creatures in this land. All you need to do, is eliminate a threat to a trade route, hmm."
"I offer you hyper-reinforcement to your bone structure, toru. This will make your teeth, claws and skeletal structure close to indestructible. All you must to, is eliminate the next caravan to pass by the same trade route, toru." Both offers were highly tempting, but c'mon lets be realistic this time; indestructible bones or a better nose? I think we all know what wins this round.
"I accept Kuroko's offer of the reinforcement, lead on fairy."
The black sprite bobbed in the opposite direction to the canyon, thankfully, and began to hum a small tune that closely resembled a sea-shanty I once heard; drunken sailor perhaps? Not wanting to let his happiness outshine anybody else's I joined in with the hum. Neither of us were all that good at keeping a tune nor were we giving much head to who could hear. But it was a grand feeling of camaraderie that I hadn't felt between the the two of us, Asura joined the tune and soon enough the three of us were trotting through the thinning trees carrying a dull tune that was not only out of time with one another's individual beat but sounded no better than two cats having intercourse. However this was a feeling of companionship that thus far we haven't even brushed upon. What had been two watchers that would critique my every move and help by throwing insults and ignoring my pleas for help not five minutes ago had suddenly evolved into two glowing orbs that had become my first friends in this fucked up land of anthro-dogs, magical horses and Goddess gone wild. It wouldn't last, I was sure of that, but for now I appreciated the time we had together as friends. Carrying the shanty further and further until we reached a main road with several weathered lead-off paths. Still being guided by Kuroko, who was now spinning around with his brother, my raggedy party of good, evil and clueless joy tromped down the main road. Hardly a care in the world.
*
A lazy afternoon of waiting around on the side of the road? Good enough for me. It sure as hell meant less work on my end so why bother complaining? The journey took much less time this round. Kuroko had flown away to scout for the next caravan that would pass this way. The only dampener on this day was myself, or rather my stomach. I hadn't eaten since arriving here; did the resurrected dead even need food? That musing was quelled when my belly growled in protest at it lack of filling. What was there for me to eat? I wasn't about to crack open the phoenix egg and I doubt I had a spell that could conjure me up a hot meal; despite that probably being one of the most awesome things ever. Kuroko returned after his lengthily absence. "Okay kid the next caravan is on its way toru." He said.
"Okay then, any tips?" I asked hopefully.
"I'm afraid not, toru." Asura jumped up. "No, no, no! This is a frayed knot!" The fairy had a knot with frayed edges floating just below it. There was a pause with power to shatter the heavens. I broke it by quizzing.
"Where the hell did you get that knot from?"
Too late. The tell-tale 'clip-clop' of hooves was just around the bend. The sprites dove for cover under my fur, I prepared to strike. But what had I prepared? Once more my lack of any real forethought had caught me with my trousers around me ankles. I joked to myself that this would one day be the death of me while in all seriousness it probably would be at this rate. More likely so when It was reveled that the caravan was at least five men (ponies) strong. Two on front guard, one pulling the cart and two on rear guard. The driver(?) was the only unremarkable one with a hardy gaze and lack of any distinguishing features. Three of the others had wings, with the exception of one who had something I was all to familiar with. A horn. A purple spiral that formed in the dead centre of the pony's head. So here were each member of this world's equine species. There were those without wings or horns, those with wings but not horns and those with horns but not wings. I swear to heck if I meet one that has wings AND a horn I will flip out, because that is just freaking overkill.
I started (a tad too late) to formulate a plot. My mind practically snored itself awake at this point, blinking the sleep out of its metaphorical eyes as it acknowledged just how much shit I was should I stay standing in place like I am right now. First impulse, stay rooted to the spot. I wasn't even scared; I had blanked. My brain had never been in a situation like this before. I killed the helpless, stole from phoenix's and slunk into a camp filled with murder-dogs. But I had never been in a confrontation I couldn't run from. Death had been easier than this. So I once again resorted to the only action I seemed able to carry out in this life. I rushed in blindly with my teeth bared.
My foolish charge was close to the opposite of what any skilled ambusher would perform, the guards thought that too as it would seem that having a wolf that was close to four and a half feet tall rush towards them from the front rose more than one eyebrow. I landed a head-butt on the first of the winged ponies (my brain reminded me they are called Pegasus) and he crashed to the ground dazed. I turned to attack the next only the be propelled backwards with inhuman strength. My brain didn't even take the time to point out that saying inhuman made no sense in this world but it sounded wrong to say inpony. Even that organ that seemed to halt my progress more than it assisted with it knew I was in trouble. I collided with the ground rolling into a collection of brush that scratched me up but stopped me from going further away. I got to me feet quickly as a hailstorm of adrenaline pumped its way around my system in a a desperate attempt to kick-start my brain, which by now had managed to put its clothes on and survey the area. The source of my pains was clear.
The Unicorn had challenged me to fight.
Not wanting to shy away from such a test I strode towards the magic-user with my haunches tensed and ready to leap. The stallion (shame he's a horse, impressive length) brandished his magical extension with pride as he strode forwards to attack once more. Not wanting to let him have all the magical fun I stared intensely at his chest and thought 'GET BACK!' Although he deflected the blast without being knocked back the Unicorn was visibly shocked at my use of magic; so wolves of my kind were less than common? All the more to press forward with the assault. I shouted at him again and again as each blast increased in a aggression while the Unicorn deflected away what he could. Being so preoccupied with my target I had forgotten about the others; the Pegasus I had smacked to the ground had recovered and taken flight with his companions. While none of them could use magic it was clear to see that they were far from helpless; on account of the blades they had attached to their forelegs. Ponies in combat, now I was once step closer to having seen everything.
They may have had the speed in a flat-out contest but I had the agility to keep out of the way. They dive-bombed in all way that most certainly tipped towards military efficiency in their formation and coordination. Every once in a while they nearly hit me but each time I managed to just about twist my way out of the situations that arose. The Unicorn continued to attack me with telekinetic bursts as I tried my best to escape the attacks of the air-force defenders, they were inching ever closer with each dive. I had to finish them off right now. A spell could do the trick to increase gravity maybe? That was what I needed, gravity intensification would send them crashing down nicely to the earth once more. But that didn't seem right. A spell to just make gravity is too much to create; too much effort really. Why bother making more gravity to make them fall, when I could just pull them crashing back down?
I locked my eyes to the group of Pegasi as they continued to accelerate towards me. I had to time it just right; too soon and they would escape too late and the attack would be useless. So I would wait. They got closer while I stood my ground. The point-pony raised a bladed hoof. I continued to stand my ground. The two flanking ponies prepared their weapons to follow their leader. I felt my horns light up as the words formed in my mind. They didn't hesitate as the gap closed.
Legs don't fail me now.
Releasing the tension in my legs I powered into the sky once more and locked the fliers into my vision again. 'GRAVITY WILL STOP' encasing them in my signature red haze I pulled their wings backwards as they approached the floor. I wasn't aiming to break their wings I simply wished to hinder their movements as they moved towards the ground. They tried to follow me upwards but the force I applied to their wings prevented any such action from being taken. Through a stroke of my near endless Irish luck my raggedy plan succeeded. The formation of Pegasi couldn't pull up in time and crashed into the ground painfully as their wings stayed restrained behind them. Screw two birds, I just took out three horses with one stone.
Not wanting to lose momentum I danced across the sky until I was directly above the Unicorn, his horn was still trained on me like a pointy gun. I pointed my equally horny appendage (both the one on my forehead and between my legs) directly at his horn. As the separate flashes of energy collided together they spewed out a myriad of sparks and splashes of pigment throughout the area. The matter that keeps me afloat dissipated and the force of the two spells combined was left to keep me aloft; not a very stable way of staying in the air. The Unicorn was winning. As to be expected really, he had skill and training; while I had only learnt to cast magic the day before. This entire mission had been suicide! I struggled to keep my focus and the spell faltered, giving the Unicorn caster even more ground against me. If the spell hit me now I would be killed or injured terribly. So this was the tipping point of my journey so far, the tip being did I really have the killer instinct? I could kill the dying and those to whom death is meaningless.
But could I slay one who had a full life left? Could I make my magic that powerful?
Then in the back of my mind I recalled some of the last wise words given to me by Yiang. "When you find the word and utilize your mind to turn it into power; that is when your magic will be feared by the even the servants of the Gods." That was the key! The words! I just had to believe they could deal the damage, I have to put the full force of my mind behind every syllable of every word of every spell that I ever learnt. I didn't have time to worry about who or what I was targeting, I just needed to deliver the kick to take them down. A simple telekinetic burst wasn't going to take this guy down when he had distance over me, or when the blast was spreading out in a conical manner. Gears clicked into place as the true nature of Yiang's words melded into place inside my brain.
It wasn't that my my magic was powerful
"Shift!" I shouted at the pony, blinking out of place in a burst of red light and reappearing next to the confused Unicorn, crouched with my horn pointing towards his belly.
"Teleportation toru?!" Kuroko burst from under my fur. It wasn't that my magic could kill any more effectively than another creature that could use such skills.
"Get Back........" It was quite simply because each and every one of my spells.
"Ball shot!" Was multi-purpose.
What was normally a wide spread burst of short range energy became a compact sphere about the size of an eye. Only it moved like a bat out of hell and hit like a freight train. The tightly packed ball dug into the Unicorn's belly with a thud that resembled that sound you get when somebody hits their elbow on a wooden table; accompanied by a cracking rib and a wheezing horse. He was thrown away in almost comical manner when the energy of the shot finished transferring itself into the pony's body. The Pegasi I had forced to crash earlier were only now finding their balance again and had struggled to their feet; only to have a Unicorn-sized cannon ball barrel through them and knock them flying like pins. I smirked. "Add another strike to my scorecard."
"That was terrible you Irish bastard, toru." Kuroko groaned.
"If you're gonna make a one-liner then at couldn't you at least put some effort into it, hmm?" Asura muttered in disgrace.
"Fine then dudes, I'll try harder next time kay?"
"That would be much appreciated thanks, toru."
I calmly recollected my thoughts post-combat and considered the last threat. The driver of the caravan had pretty much been standing in a puddle of his own urine for the most part of the fight; now that the attention was all on him the streaks of yellow down the insides of his legs were the brightest shade of buttercup yellow. Twas a most glorious sight to behold; now I can say to people that I really DID make somepony piss themselves in fear! Did I just say somePONY?..... Fuck it, makes sense I guess. Not wanting to make this situation last any longer I sprinted forward and slammed my head into his and enjoyed the feeling of his brain slamming into the opposite side of his skull. Its the little things that provide the most pleasure. Except in bed, in that case case he had better have the skills to compensate!
Not wanting to dwell on how I just made a comment about sex despite me never even so much as having kissed a being in my last life or this one I stepped away from the slumping body of the caravanner I had just nutted and nibbled at my fur to draw out its newest lodgers. My sprite companions zipped out of my fur with happy buzzes and sparks. Kuroko got straight to business while Asura glided over to the caravan to inspect the contents.
"Well you did as I asked and more boy, truly an achievement toru." He said as he circled around me dropping what looked like glowing specks all over my body. "As promised you are now gifted with a hyper-reinforcement, may it serve you well."
"Thank you Kuro, it was my pleasure to assist." I answered with a grin.
"Hey Lycan?" Asura called. "Found something you might like over here!"
I walked over to Asura to see what he could mean, the white fairy appeared from behind a small bundle of box's with one small sack hanging beneath him. The fairy lowered it onto the ground and opened the neck of the bag, inside was the most glorious sight I have ever beheld. Food. So much food; most of which was vegetables. I could only presume that as a wolf my diet was now predominately carnivorous but I would have began eating grass had I been left any longer without sustenance. The fairy returned to the caravan and this time came back with a small canteen that sounded nearly totally full. Asura hovered over the two containers and buzzed in a way that emitted a happy feeling towards me, all I could do was grin.
"Thanks man." I said with a smile as the fairy released the food and water from his telekinetic grasp. Asura buzzed some more. "Don't mention it wolfy, we were sent to help keep you safe after all."
I nibbled into what looked like a leaf of some kind while the two fairies flew around the caravan diving in and out of the many boxes strapped onto it. At one point Kuroko dived inside a box that had held lingerie and came back up with a pair of pink laced panties stuck to one of his wings. He spent the next five minutes racing around trying to get it to come off while Asura made catcalls and I wolf-whistled, doing it as a wolf using my mind was the coolest thing ever just so you know. They eventually teamed up to find me a 'collar' to wear; I didn't object as I was busy eating at the time. The stuff they came up with was enough to make me giggle once or twice. Everything from rope to whips; the sprites made sure the try and find everything that could possibly be made into a thing worn around my neck. Kuroko even suggested the panties that were still stuck to his wing. The two were about to give up when Asura bumped into a small container marked 'Carousel Boutique.' The fancy lettering and solid design of the case gave Asura plenty of reasons to poke his head into the box to inspect the contents.
He told us that inside were a mixed array of fabric and threads of all different colours. The fairy poked around inside for anything that may look the correct shape to be placed around a neck in a fashion that was both comfortable and stylish, or just humiliating. He sifted through several types of fabric, occasionally muttering about how dumb said fabric was, before discovering something that made him issue a small whistle of appreciation.
"Hey wolfy, what d'ya think of this hmm?" Asura asked as he floated back out from the box.
"What's this....? Dayum...." I murmured. Held in his fairy grasp Asura had a silver bangle that had a single bright sapphire placed in the front. It wasn't overly intricate but that was the beauty of the thing; it didn't try too hard to get your attention. Asura bobbed over to me and offered the bangle, I held out my leg. He unclasped the bangle after a short while of fiddling and began to place it around my foreleg locking it into place with a small 'click'. We were joined by Kuroko, who gave a similar mutter of 'dayum' when he saw the bangle on my leg.
"That's a fine piece of kit you got there boy, toru." He said in appreciation. "But may I suggest we get out of here before these guys wake up? Provided you haven't killed them toru."
"Now I think about it, it would seem prudent to evacuate the scene of the crime wouldn't it? This way guys!" I said cheerfully and picked a random direction to start walking in.
My fairies flew alongside me once more as we left the caravan path behind us and looked towards the horizon. All the while humming a melody together, as friends.
Target Information: Name: Unknown, Nickname: Lycan Age: Unknown, Approx: 11-19 Sex: Male, Sexuality: Closet Homosexual Race:Duo-ceratias Lupus Colouration: Blood red fur with one eye of blue and one of green. Companions: Fairies Kuroko and Asura (unknown origin)
Information so far: Target is unskilled and incapable in combat, relying on luck and on-the-spot thoughts to succeed in most given situations. He lacks the skill of thinking ahead but is highly adaptable in combat, often thinking of winning strategies in the middle of a fight. He also seems to be able to create his own versions of spells from random words and even if he has never cast the spell before he shows near mastery over its use in but a single cast.
Overall Assessment: Physical skill level: Low Magical skill level: High Strength of Will: Undecided Threat level of Target: Low Threat level of Companions: Harmless
Chance of victory in battle with Target: 98%
Will continue observations until given further orders - Hunter.
For the journey of the Irish wolf was far from over. As he survived with luck like clover. Further he must dive into twisted fate. To succeed before its far too late. Now he must sustain his joyous song. For this life will be so long. Though his resolve may one day tire. He will continue to fight with his spirit of fire.
My party continued away from the caravan for a good few hours; no particular goal in mind. I didn't feel in the mood for continuing my quest for power so I had picked a direction and walked. I really didn't care for what I would find it just needed to be something that wouldn't kill me. Hell I would even have settled for a rapist pony, at least that wouldn't actively try to kill me. Kuroko had taken a liking to my head and was now lounging upon it while nuzzling into the fur to appreciate just how fluffy it was. Asura was weaving between the my legs with mock commentary, pretending he was some kind of racer. By now I had begun to appreciate the world around me now that a lull in the action had occurred.
While the world wasn't as beautiful as Yiang had made it out to be I still found that it was quite pretty. Trees that were fit to burst with fruits and flowers were visible as far as the eye could see and wildlife could be seen enjoying everything that nature could offer to them. I sniffed the air experimentally; hoping to find a trace of something sweet, only to be surprised to find the scent of fresh baked pastry to be the dominant smell. I followed my nose for a minute or two to try and locate this new nasal sensation. I eventually found a small gap in a bleached white wooden picket fence that lead to the sweet aroma of baking that had taken hold of my senses. I squeezed my way through the fence and knocked Kuroko off of his perch.
"What the hell toru?" Kuroko scolded. "I was enjoying myself there!"
Ignoring my fairy's protests I continued towards the mixed scents of baked goods. The only barrier between me and the source of the smells was an open window, easy enough for a wolf. While the jump itself was a simple task in itself I had not prepared myself for what I would find on the other side of the wall. A small azure tinted Unicorn pony standing in front of an oven. I froze when my eyes locked with the filly's; she froze in tandem with me. It was a moment of true awkwardness. As wolf met eyes with pony neither knew what to do with this new visual sensation presented to them. The sweet relief came when she whispered quietly.
"Awesome." I whispered to Asura. "What do I do?"
"Well its up to you kid, me and Kuro can't do anything hmm."
Like the fool I am I continued to stare into her eyes as the filly started to trot back and forth excitedly at the sight of the red wolf on her windowsill.
"Mommy!" She shouted with an accent that I pegged as American. "Come look at the doggy!"
"What are you...?" asked an elder pony as she walked into the room to answer the calls of the younger. It was hardly unexpected when she looked at me and promptly screamed in terror, what with being a wolf and all. I needed to think fast or else this would get ugly, real ugly.
"Wait!" I exclaimed at both of them. "I'm not some feral wolf!" She continued to scream and flounder around pathetically.
"I can talk, I can work, I can think, I can do magic, I'm not a normal wild wolf!" Yet the elder continued to have a fear induced seizure on the kitchen floor; she could not have been overreacting harder if you paid her.
"Will you calm down?!" I snapped. "Think about it, had I intended to kill you wouldn't I have at least climbed through the window by now instead of talking to you?" Even in the face of shining logic the elder pony continued to have a foaming mouthed fit on the floor, worst escape artist ever.
I cursed at her and fell back from the window no longer caring for the smells that had brought me to the crazy-pony's window. Instead I found another alleyway around the side of the house and walked on through. When I emerged from the path I could already see a small gathering of ponies around the entrance to the building I was just trying to get inside. Another mare was comforting the sobbing elder from inside (drama queen) as she spun an epic yarn worthy of a place on every shelf in the land.
"..Then he looked at me, mouth fresh with blood and eyes red like bleeding fire-rubies, and growled in the most monstrous manner. If I hadn't grabbed little Sunny she would surely have been eaten alive by that monster.
"OKAY I'M CALLING BULLSHIT ON ALL OF THAT!" I shouted at the crowd making one or two of them jump back in fright. "First of all my eyes are NOT red, second my mouth is very much free of blood and third I WAS TALKING TO YOU CIVILLY WHILE YOU HAD A SEIZURE OUT OF POINTLESS FEAR!"
There was a bloated pause, just before they all ran about flailing in fear and shrieking like banshees. Only the children, some of which planted their faces into their hooves, remained in regular standing. I almost felt like joining those who had face-hoofed(?) when I saw to just what kind of scale the women had freaked out. Some had already begun slamming their doors shut, calling to their children in genuine fear, hiding under things that had I really intended to kill them I could have easily removed and I even heard one calling for her husband. I really wanted to meet whoever had taught these mares manners because they did a pretty crappy job at it. The filly from the kitchen, Sunny, trotted over to me with a smile; the first smile I had seen so far. She continued to wear that same goofy grin as she reached out to stroke my head, not wanting to hurt her feelings I lowered my head down so she could reach. While it was all so sudden to have such an action taken against me that it felt nice; it felt like I was being accepted for what I was. The children further away began to copy Sunny's actions and approached me. Despite taking more time than their azure friend one by one the small gaggle of about six foals were gathered around me. Some were petting me while others just stared at the wolf before them.
The mothers eventually snapped out of their fear-induced short-sightedness to see what their children were doing. While some only increased their efforts to sway their young from my side; others followed the example set by the fillies and colts (yeah I know horse terms, deal with it!)
"Asura?" I asked. "Aren't you worried one of them might get a hold of you or Kuroko?"
"No need to fret boy." Asura said. "Me and Kuro are all but invisible and intangible to every being except you and Yiang, provided we don't use any magic that is, hmm."
"Well at least I don't have to worry then, you two fly off and do some sightseeing; I have a few parents to deal with."
"Try not to murder anypony Lycan toru." With that the blips of light soared away from my fur leaving me to explain things one my own. So that is what I intended to do. With the crowd of young ponies still close I started to stroll towards the same place I had just been shooed away from. The door was now double-bolted to prevent any kind of entry from any normal creature. Not wanting to dampen the mood further by opening the door using magic I scratched lightly at the woodwork. No answer. I scratched away once more; hoping to garner a response of some sorts from the moronic pony within.
After a full five minutes of nothing I gave up, why bother trying to convince these fools any more?
The young ones were still swarming around me in their little pack; it was a little irritating to be honest. So I put on the best smile my body allowed and started to step through them. The excited hooves clacked along behind me for a good while before they lost interest, so one by one the individual sounds of hooves on cobblestone faded until only one last steady beat remained. I ignored it expecting the last remaining foal to walk away soon enough. They never left me. I walked for a good ten minutes; with those who saw me diving for cover in their homes while screaming and shouting insults in clockwork repetitive rhythm. Such hatred in a world that I was told would be kind? Yiang was gonna keep on fucking me over wasn't she? But that last foal remained.
I was close enough to the outskirts of the settlement when the foal spoke. "Are you okay mister?" I growled. "Aren't you going to run like everypony else?"
"Why would I do that? Your not a meanie monster like mommy said, you're fluffy!" I blinked for a second and turned my head to look at the foal, it was the one called Sunny. "You think I'm not a monster because I'm..... Fluffy?"
"Well that and most monsters don't talk like you do." She beamed.
"How would you know that kid?" I asked.
"Well I've met monsters before and they never ever ever talked, and the Diamond Dogs just tend to screech a whole lot about gems and other incoherent stuff that never makes sense even if you do piece it together. So to be able to talk to a talkative non-pony is nice; hardly monstrous like the others would say." What she said made me stop in place. I continued to stare into that familiar azure coat.
"But I'm a wolf, a big bad killer! Grrrr!" I said in a sarcastic manner.
"So what? Why judge a creature for what the life canvas decided to paint them as?" She stated sweetly.
Oh my god. I looked the child over once more.
"How old are you?" I asked.
"Eight years and three months." Sunny beamed Really!? Eight years old and already speaking more sense than some three times her age. What the young one had just said to me was perplexing in its nature yet ever so simple to understand. It was the basic topic of avoiding racism and hatred. Yet why is it that when put into practice no society seems capable of sustaining it? I had a very fuzzy memory of my life back in Ireland. My father, for what I can remember of him, was homophobic. That kind of put me in an awkward position; if you get my drift. The old bastard would flat out refuse the company of homosexuals, the irony of course being that the moron had several magazines with lesbians performing sexual acts. Kind of sucks that I could only remember the bad parts of my previous life. He wasn't (or is the isn't because of the whole alternate reality thing?) all that bad I know it. However when I attempt to recall something joyous about my life before becoming a wolf I simply blank. I can remember the worst. My father's homophobia. My mother's occasional alcohol fuelled rages. The people who would hate things about others that deserved no hate.
But not the smiles of those who loved me or the feeling of the Irish breeze on my face. I couldn't even remember where I had lived and died. Or my own god-damn name, why can't I remember my name!?
Sunny trotted alongside me once more and stared up at me with those big bright eyes, she was brimming with a joy that I just hadn't felt from anybody else in this world thus far. Just what the hell was going on in this topsy turvy universe that a race that seemed to be built to emit joy had become so withdrawn and afraid of new encounters. Just what the hell was waiting for me in this land they called Equestria? Well the only way to find out was to explore I guess, after all that's kind of all I can do right now. I turned to face the direction I had just come from. "Well like it or not Sunny I'm afraid you're gonna have to go home now." I said as nicely as I could. The filly looked saddened at this notion. "Why?"
"I'm not staying in town for very long, I have to go elsewhere."
"Whys that mister?" She asked with a excited glint in her eyes. I smiled. "I'm looking for something, don't know what and I don't know where. But when I find it I'll know; that kind of thing y'know."
"Okay then." Sunny jumped in front of me. "But you've gotta promise to come back sometime!"
I looked at the filly before me. She was an azure bolt of endless joy in an otherwise hostile and lonely world. She was innocence condensed into equine form. She has the kind of face that you just couldn't say no to; it was gloriously bright. She was exactly what her name implied. Sunny.
"All right then Kid." I said. "I promise. The name's Lycan."
"I'm Sunny, it was nice meeting you mister Lycan." She giggled one last time before galloping back the way we had come.
I couldn't help but chuckle cynically to myself as she ran away in such a joyful manner. I could be dead by tomorrow and nobody would know or care all that much. So making such a childish promise should have been beyond me. But like I said before, Sunny had to kind of face you just couldn't say no to. So I had gone ahead and told her that we would meet again.
As pessimistic as I was I had to admit, part of me was waiting for the time I would get to enjoy another sunny day.
It had been a full two days since we had left Sunny's village. I had all but lost the drive to work; even with the lures of power from both Asura and Kuroko. So I had wandered, finding peace in the nomadic lifestyle I would no doubt be living for the best part of the foreseeable future. It was a fine change of pace from being the prime target for murder, which is slightly hypocritical for me to say considering I AM a murderer in the grand scheme of things. The moon was once more a bloated beacon in the sky as a few stars gasped their way through the ink-black sky above. My fairies convinced me to settle down for the night so we found a small clearing off the beaten track and lay down to rest. The two of them opted to nestle down in a small pile of dead leaves for once, leaving my fur free of sprite-based nuisances for this night. As the two began to snore in their cute little way I remained wide awake. I just couldn't sleep for some reason.
So I wandered.
I ventured further beyond the tree-line and started another moonlit journey. It was boring. Every creature worth seeing had long gone to sleep and the nocturnal life in this land was just as sucky as the life back on Earth. Oh look an owl, wow a majestic moth, behold the ever eternal grace of a fox peeing on its own leg. If I had wanted to see creatures peeing on themselves I would have stayed in Sunny's village. Oh look another moth, behold yet another cricket. Gaze in wonder at the gigantic scar of charred trees and carcasses...... Wait what?
To be honest my reaction was slightly more exaggerated; unnecessary bad language and a slight open mouth to count two of the points. It was a spectacular sight to behold, in a slightly morbid 'oh look at that dead thing' way. Its like when you see a dead body for the first time; horrible but something stops you from looking away. I ventured further into the scar to look in closer detail. Nothing all that interesting beyond the destruction itself. That was until I found to markings. It was by chance that I slipped on a tree-trunk and smacked my muzzle into the burned bark. Not an all that interesting experience right? Well it wasn't until I spotted a small insignia scrawled onto the lower part of the trunk. It looked like a carving that consisted mainly of ornate flames; some of which coiled off to form creatures like snakes, hawks and even fish.
At the epicentre of the fire, was a four-legged creature. I don't want to jump ahead of myself and say it was a wolf, but it could have been a wolf. I switched positions on the log to get a better view of the carving. I was right about the flames but I still couldn't piece together what it meant. The creature at the centre seemed to be the source of the flames, so this was a sign of magic maybe?
"I see y'all are lookin' at the sign of the Fyre Fox, interested boy?"
I leapt out of my skin when the sudden voice joined the quiet night's melody. I know its slightly pathetic but I yelped a little. After tumbling over the fallen tree and floundering in the ashes for a second I shot back upright, determined to save my dignity in the face of this new presence. Much less surprising then it should have been, it was one of the anthropomorphic dogs I had seen not three days ago. While I should have been wary I noticed that he carried a walking stick, his left leg was close to crippled and hidden partially behind a robe.
"Now now child, I wont hurt you." The elder one said. "Nor do you need to hurt me; I'm not like my savage brethren."
"For one of those creatures you sure do have an articulate way of speaking." I mocked.
"Indeed I do my child, as do I know what you are my dear boy Lycan." He replied smoothly. I tensed for reasons beyond my knowing.
"That's right child." He continued. "I know your name, or should I say nickname? Its always so difficult to tell what people prefer in this day and age." The elder dog hobbled towards the fallen tree and sat beside it. "Well its difficult to tell which way is up any more."
"Stop speaking in riddles dog!" I snapped. "Explain yourself!"
The elder chuckled to himself. "Are you wolves always so impatient? Here I was thinking that our ancestor gene-line would be politer than this."
"What are you talking about old one?" I growled impatiently growing bored of his games." He beckoned me over. "Sit down child and I will tell you all I know." I reluctantly walked over to the elder one, he seemed harmless enough.
"So then first things first old one, what are you?" I asked.
"My name is Grotto I'm guessing by your wording you don't know what I am?" I shook my head from side to side.
"Figures, I am what one would call a Diamond Dog. We are a largely sub-terrain based species; preferring places rich with gemstones and easy prey." He sighed. "It is a simple enough life if you aren't near crippled like me."
"So what happened to you?"
"I was cast aside for being useless; my clan didn't willingly accept the weak. Now I am a wanderer."
"Who just so happens to claim to know more about me then I do?"
He chuckled once more, this time with a harsh edge. "I've been wandering for longer than you've been alive boy."
"Then tell me something I don't know." I chided.
"Very well, attack me." He said plainly. I snorted with laughter. "No offence old man, but I only partake in challenging fights."
"Just do it you little butt-bandit." He scolded. Well if he insisted. I raised my paw and swiped at his head, only to fall short as all the feeling drained from my leg. That feeling of emptiness continued to spread across my entire being until I slumped to the ground with barely enough energy to keep my eyes open. The elder hobbled above me; still chuckling away at his private joke.
"Well you clearly don't know the biggest weakness of your kind do you?" He stabbed me in the gut with his stick. "Its almost pitiable that one so head-strong should be so blind to his own flaws."
"What the.... Hell.... Did you do to me...... Freak!" I gasped with what little air I could gather.
"It takes one to know one my little friend. One such as yourself is hardly at liberty to call me a freak when you entire existence is abnormal."
"Just tell me what you did!"
The elder reached into his robe and pulled out a gleaming red gemstone the size of my head. He dangled it in front of my face.
"Do you know what this is boy?" He whispered scornfully.
"A big gemstone?" I asked.
"Very good. But its not just any gemstone, this is a gemstone with magical properties. Its correct term is 'fire ruby' and this is one of several stones that will mess up your day." The elder started to pace around me. "But what do I mean by that? Its simple really, if you come into close contact with any kind of naturally magical gemstone then you will be rendered immobile, weakened, magically silenced and all around exposed." He stopped to chuckle for the third time. "To simplify it, you are near-fatally allergic to magic gemstones. I know that I should have been worried about this, but I sometimes try to look for a positive spin on the negative. I looked up weakly and mustered a small grin. "So you're telling me that gemstones are to me like peanuts are to some others?" The elder dog stopped his pacing and smiled warmly. "Why yes, I suppose it is like that in some ways." He hid the gem back inside his robe, my body slowly regained feeling.
"Well that was one freebie, now I think you should find out the rest about yourself on your own don't you? It always fun to discover your own weaknesses." I couldn't say I agreed but the old one clearly wasn't going to change his mind. He had that look of determination a fly has when it tries several hundred times to exit the room through a pane of glass; minus the idiocy to not change the course of action they are taking mind you.
"Well then." I muttered. "You mentioned something about a fox?"
"Ahhhhh, the Fyre Fox." He murmured. "An interesting tale, one of which may prove useful for you to know." I sat down on the burned shrubbery and listened expectantly to the tale the old one was about to recount.
He raised a wizened hand to the sky. "Many years ago this land was under threat. Both Diamond Dogs and Pony-kind alike had begun to enclose on nature's domain, destroying the lands with lumber farms and fire. Many species were in danger of becoming extinct as a result of this sudden movement by these creatures. So in an act of defence arose a champion of the wilds. It was said that it was a fox with coat a coat of inextinguishable flame and claws made from molten rock. The tales say that this being would protect any land under threat; first warning the interlopers before using force to remove them from the lands." The elder one's face turned sombre. "But such peace was not to last. After three hundred years of protecting the lands the fox became corrupted by an unknown force. Some go as far to say that it was simply because the fox became maddened by years of solitude and being the only of its kind. Once this frightening stage was set the fox rampaged for thirty days without pause, destroying towns, forests and families. Then on the end of the thirtieth day, he vanished without meaning or warning; it was just 'poof' no more fox." The elder licked his lips and exhaled slowly. "What was strange however was this clearing. On the night of the fox's disappearance this entire clearing was engulfed in a blaze that lasted for two years, leading to the speculation that the fox came here to die. Further evidence." He tapped the fallen tree. "Are these carvings; every tree in this clearing has the same one carved into it."
"So this fox was near-immortal and could make fire, whys that so special?" I asked.
"This creature didn't just make fire, it made fyre!" said Grotto excitedly. "That's fire with a 'y' instead of an 'I' just so you know."
"What's so special about this... Fyre?" I pressed.
"The fox's fyre was unique in that it could not be extinguished by anything that could be manufactured or manipulated, the only known thing to be able to stop the fox fyre was for the fox to absorb the flames himself. This ability to absorb his own fyre became known as 'consumption' because he could even eat any other kind of natural or magical fire, he was on a close to godly scale with his control over the element of flame."
"So he was like a really jacked-up lighter?" I laughed.
"To put it in a form that even the most basic could understand, yes. The Fyre Fox was a massively jacked-up lighter."
I started to paw the ground. "But what does any of this have to do with me?"
"Well this is where the legend gets interesting." Grotto said. "It is said that the Fyre Fox roared in its last attack 'return is that of crimson' to those around." I blanked. "So why should I be concerned about that?"
"So short-sighted are you that you cannot see past your own nose? What do you know that could be crimson boy?" I frowned for a second. Before slowly (and stupidly) looking down. My fur was crimson.
"So now the wolf pup sees." Grotto mocked.
"You think I'm.... A sign?" I said lowly.
"I do not know what to think of you my boy. But I do know this. The Fyre Fox's return is approaching and for all we know." Grotto locked eyes with me. "He could already be walking among us."
I didn't have a response. I just resumed staring into the ground with an expressionless face. Was this why Yiang had brought me here? To be the harbinger of fyre? Or does fate just like pissing on my day at every opportunity it gets? Fuck. Just fuck.
"Grotto..... Do you think...?" I looked up; Grotto was gone.
I was alone. Again. It was becoming a habit for me to just be left in solitude when I had either a choice to make or a revelation to ponder, it was sort of nice not to have somebody hounding me when I needed to become lost in my thoughts. Nothing more annoying than that one person who no matter how many times you tell them 'I don't want to talk about it' keep on asking 'what's the matter?' over and over and over. But to oppose that point, I wanted company; the kind you can just talk to without them judging or commenting every three words. It would be nice to have my own portable Sunny right about now. I dragged my paws up from the ash and looked around for traces of Grotto, for an old cripple he sure could shift it. The elder dog was nowhere to be seen. He was a phantom; in front of your eyes one second only to vanish when you turn away. To be so old but so like a ninja; his middle name must have been Snake.
Obscure references aside I was hardly surprised that Grotto had been able to get away so fast. He was probably a cyborg ninja that used the old man thing as a front to lower you guard. I would accept him being two filly's standing one on top of the other; I seriously didn't put anything beneath this world as it had a track record for making me say 'wait, what?' internally. I gave the insignia on the tree one last look over. Return is that of crimson? Worst case scenario would be that I'm going to die. Don't ask me for the best case; I don't know what the heck to say.
So that was my purpose in this world? Or was this another cosmic ploy by those who see the threads of fate as strings to be idly plucked? Was it my fate to be eternally beaten back by the evermore serpentine threads of destiny that had begun to slowly tighten as a noose around my neck? What does the will of the divines have against the Irish?
I kicked another cloud of ash into the air and swore to whatever was listening that I wasn't going to let them win.
Subject Lycan has advanced further then expected. Already he has found the charred glade; he is ahead of scheduled time by four days.
'Hunter requests permission to engage with a low-level probe.'
........
'Chance of subject failure in encounter with low-level probe: 40%'
.........
'I request that I may use the probe'
..........
'I don't see you doing what I'm doing so why should you decide what I can and can't do?'
Hunter stumbled as intense fiery pain tore through its head.
'Yes sir, I understand that I spoke out of turn. But I must once more request that I deploy a probe; he has gone far too long without a challenge.' .............
'Thank you sir, Hunter out.'
Deploying probe gamma, low level spectre type.
Subject Lycan will now be engaged.
I cursed again and started to wander away from the tree trunk. My ears pricked up almost involuntarily as I picked up the minute sound of footfall. I continued to walk in the direction I presume I had come from, the slow footfall still following me. My mouth curled to reveal my fangs; I was armed and ready to engage if the need arose. The footfall stopped as did I. It was a moment of nervous anticipation, had I been imagining it? I hadn't. Something was wrong with this picture.
The back of my head whispered almost sarcastically 'move' and I jumped into the air activating the Skydance to keep myself aloft. There it was, just where I had been standing not a second earlier. Whatever it was it looked like a Diamond Dog composed of shadow matter. Its claws were buried in the dirt from where it had tried to back-stab me; it clearly wasn't intelligent. Now I could have just danced away and left it, but to at the very least try to defend my violent actions, I did have some steam to blow off. Disabling the Skdydance I angled myself into a shape closely resembling a cylinder and dove towards the shadow dog. I wasn't exactly going quickly but nor was I slow enough to be avoided by the stuck-in-place shadow dog. I crashed into the helpless shadow and clamped my jaws around his neck causing the thing to squeal in a weirdly distorted manner. It was kind of similar to that sound you get when you talk into a fan. It scratched into my flanks as I increased the pressure on its neck; this thing was going to crack sooner or later and I was fully prepared to apply as much pressure as needed to make that happen. This thing would submit to my strength.
What the hell am I doing?
I think it was me who said that but I couldn't tell. My jaw remained firmly locked around the creatures neck but the hold slackened just slightly. That base primal urge to eliminate the threat towards my life had been sapped away by a small crash of realism, I was claiming a life without any regrets or qualms. Was this really what I wanted to do?
I've heard all about the idea of survival of the fittest. Only the one who has the skills, adaptations and intelligence to survive will remain, the others will be killed off by the full force of nature's wrath. I knew that if I didn't start to kill I would be killed myself; however something within me detested the idea of such an act. I've never been a pacifist, not by a long shot, but neither have I been one to want to cause pain for the sake of causing pain. It just seemed wrong to claim life so freely. A wolf who can't kill, next there's gonna be a shark without teeth. My life was becoming contradictory towards who I was. Bullshit, I'm not anybody any more.
I'm a kid who got lucky and offered a new chance at life. Now I'm being hunted by fate as it concocts evermore deviated ways to push me to my moral limits. I wasn't going to outrun this gargantuan foe; I had to take a stand. I would have to make a choice that nobody my age should have to make. I would live and probably die on my feet, dogged by the cosmic foe that I called destiny and fate as it tried its best to slay me. Or I would live on my knees, bent over and prepared to be the bottom-bitch of fate as it screwed me at every chance it had.
I wasn't going to escape a horrid fate by being nice and accepting. This world reeked of injustice and corruption; bollocks to all that peace and wonder crap Yiang gave me on entry to Equestria. This place was rife with evil; I could almost smell it. The only way I was going to counter some of these evils was to commit a few of my own. To align myself with Kuroko and shun Asura. I must become what I have been for days but never accepted.
I would hunt those weaker than me if it were needed. I protect my kin, companions and mates with all the power I could offer. I shall run in the night as swift and silent as a spectre. I must embrace the feral instincts I possess and make them serve me, but never allow myself to become a slave to instinct. I will partake of the flesh from the bones my quarry without it being charred by fire.
My name is Lycan of Equestria, a being gifted with power of the forces of magic and a spirit that will never give in. I am a beast of the wilds. I am here to live my life. I am the one who will paint my fate as I see fit.
But first I must accept what I am in body and mind.
I tightened my jaw to vice-like proportions and twisted in mid-air, the creatures neck gave a loud 'CRACK' as it was spun around a full three-hundred and sixty degrees. The shadowy Diamond Dog gargled pathetically as a small trickle of black ooze dripped from its nose. The thing shuddered violently as it was claimed by the darkness of death. I had done what I needed; I have claimed the life of one weaker than me. Looking down at the body of the shadow dog I felt a huge weight well up within my chest, it felt good!
For the first time ever I rose my head towards the sky, and I howled like the wolf I am
Chapter 12 Lycan's Awakening part 2 - A Soul in Flames
I felt on top of the world, like a leprechaun who'd nicked another's pot of gold. For that one terrific moment of clarity I had truly known what it was like to be free. Sure it was a temporary feeling and I didn't have a doubt in the world that fate was around the corner with a knife poised to be stuck into my ribs, but that was to be dealt with then. I eventually found my way back to the tree that Kuroko and Asura had been resting under. The two sprites were in the exact same location as when I had left them. So I raised my paw and swatted them awake. Kuroko spun around like a top. "W-W-What the hell!?"
"Get up glow-balls we're moving out!" I chirped while the two continued to try and regain their composure.
"Dammit boy, we were sleeping toru!"
"Ahhh details." I muttered. "It matter's not any more! I have an inkling we should go out and enjoy life, sucks to what Yiang had planned!"
"Is that so boyo?"
That voice. I hadn't heard it in days and already I was sick of the sound of her. That nagging little bitch that would go on and on and on. Why had she bothered to come back? Was she here to try and tempt me into another bullshit deal? NO! That is not how this was going to go down any more! I was free and happy and I wanted to just live my life with my friends!
"Friends?" She mocked. "You don't have friends boyo."
I felt a surge of energy rush at Asura. The sprite popped in a way that would have been cute, had it not harked something far more sinister.
"Hey, what the---" Kuroko began, only to be burst in the same evilly cute way.
I felt something close around my neck. "DON'T YOU GET IT BOYO?" Yiang boomed. "I AM THE ONE WHO BROUGHT YOU HERE, I AM THE ONE WHO GAVE YOU LIFE! I WILL CLAIM IT BACK JUST AS FAST IF YOU EVEN THINK THAT YOU CAN BE FREE!"
She threw me through the air into a tree-trunk, the air was punched from my body as Yiang picked me up again and again; smashing my body repeatedly into the thick tree-trunk. On every impact I could feel the air pressed from my lungs and my ribs creaked in protest to the abuse I was being subjected to. But in the back of my head I was confused above all, just what the hell had happened? I never pegged Yiang as the peaceful type but this was unbelievable! She had outright attacked me from no reason, killed my best-friends and was now beating me harder than a teenage boy does his dick. Well this got out of hand rather quickly didn't it?
There was a moment of odd calm as she hoisted me into the air and pinned me, quite tamely to the tree.
"Do you get it now, BOYO?!" She hissed. "I. OWN. You." I smirked. "You don't own shit." There was a shift in the air as something began to change, she was using more magic. A lance of ice slowly began to form in the air in front of me. Its tip was pointed directly at me.
"Well." I muttered. "Something tells me this is going to hurt."
The icicle bored through my body with ease, puncturing a lung on the way in and collapsing my ribcage. My eyes bulged in shock and I tried to roar, but it instead came out as a strangled bloody mess. It was over. This was it. I tried to fight it but I was pinned to the tree by a lance of pure ice, I couldn't drag it out and my knock-back wasn't focused enough to shatter it. I thought. "Shift." Nothing happened. I remained pinned to the tree. Well this was a spot of bother wasn't it? Pinned to a tree by an icicle. A collapsed ribcage and a punctured lung. Blood slowly began to froth from the entry wound and I hacked up a glob of bloody phlegm. My horns buzzed with power that couldn't be channelled, my chest had a spike jammed through it and the tree would no doubt have a very nasty mark on it afterwards. There was also the small matter of getting out of here.
'Return is that of crimson.' Those word bounced back and forth in my mind once again. Just what the hell did Grotto mean by it? For the life of me I couldn't tell you why the elders of our worlds seem to talk in riddles in a fashion they seemed to have prepared long before the time they met you. What was the meaning behind that riddle? Was my death supposed to bring back the Fox? Was that my grand-purpose in life? To die, TWICE! NO! Fuck you Yiang! Fuck you fate! I looked at the icicle jammed into my body. By now my vision was nothing more than a thick haze of dancing dots and a faint red mist. My brain swelled and my mind spewed out speech on auto-cue.
"You think you've won?! I'm not done yet Yiang, I'm only just getting started! This?! THIS IS A TRIVIAL HURDLE!" Something started to build-up. Like the tension of the moment was being held by a string ready to snap and unleash hell. " MY NAME IS GABRIEL, MY SOUL WILL IGNITE AND SET THIS WORLD AFLAME!!"
The sudden rush of air and a surging of magic crushed my body worse than the lance did. I felt my skin heat up beyond description. The pain. The pain was indescribable. It felt like every layer of my skin was being peeled away by a rusted knife that had been held over an open flame. My fur was a huge mass of heat; roasting me alive as it popped and crackled merrily while I writhed beneath it. I tried to choke out a cry but instead I vomited a cloud of ash into the air. The icicle must have melted or something because next I know I'm flailing on the forest floor with my skin ablaze and my throat ripped hoarse from the pain. Taking to my feet I stumbled several inches away from the tree, still vomiting ash and cooking alive. I felt a welt on my skin grow and blister before bursting from the heat, disgusting and painful. What the hell was going on?
Another convulsion gripped me and yet another cloud of ash propelled from my mouth and blackened the ground. I tried to keep my footing but my brain was starting to fry inside my head. Colours became mismatched swirls of ink beckoning my forth into slumber. It was after even more ragged breaths and several whines of pain, I collapsed in a smouldering pile on the forest floor.
*
I woke up. That was the best way to describe my coming around, I simply opened my eyes and woke up. With a pointy stick jammed in the ground near my face. Now I could say I bolted upright and scanned the area, but my entire body felt like hammered shit. My throat was blazingly dry and every inch of my skin felt cracked and flaky. Something in the air smelt like burnt fur. I think it was me... I smell pretty nice for a burning lump of fur. Something disturbed the stick. That something smelt awful; or was that just me? The stick was yanked from the ground and its new holder yelped as it fell backwards.
"Thing is not waking." Somebody hissed, it sounded pained and slightly wary.
"Kill it, slit its throat and take the skin!" Another barked.
"Nooo! Claim it, take it back to warren and get rewarded!"
I grunted as I tried to shift my weight to my feet, the creatures were too busy arguing to notice my stirring.
"Why kill when if we claim we gain more?"
"Kill the beast, stabby stabby stab!"
"I say we vote on it. Those who want the thing dead." One mutter of approval.
"Those who want it live?" One mutter of approval. Geez these things were not the sharpest tools in the shed were they? But sharp or blunt it wasn't like I was going anywhere any time soon, so it was the better deal for me if they were to continue wasting time.
*
Twenty minutes. They argued for twenty solid minutes about what to do with me. They then decided on taking me back to the 'warren' to which they began to argue afresh as to who was going to carry me. How these creatures had the intelligence to breathe was far beyond me. I was still biding my time. The gradual warmth of bodily function had begun to work its way through me. I twitched a paw experimentally; just to see if movement was yet an option. It hurt. It hurt a helluva lot. But it was movement nonetheless. I slowly, very slowly, got to my feet. My belly was aching horribly like a mass of solid rock was resting comfortably in my gut. Every joint in my body ground against its housing with painful cracks and pops jostling my skin around like paper while the creatures continued to argue over who would be the one to take the workload. My vision, all things considered, was pretty sharp. I could make out colours and basic shapes while the finer details continued to allude my eyesight. My feet found a steady state on the earth and I wavered for a second as the creatures halted their bickering to instead switch over to a slightly bloated pause. They'd seen me hadn't they.
"Creature moved!"
"Creature is wolf!"
"Lies! Wolf is not that! Lies!"
I looked up steadily and was brought face to face with one of the creatures. It had an ugly mottled snout and decayed teeth that reeked of day old meat. I had half a mind to faint just from the smell; but that would hardly be prudent would it? I looked the creature in the eyes. "I'm a wolf." I muttered softly, belching a little. Belching something that stung the back of my throat and made my eyes water.
"I am a proud Irish wolf you mangy beast." I continued. Once more I had that disjointed dizzy headed feeling that comes with being tired or sick, the rock in my gut was starting to roll around.
"You are wolf?" The thing quizzed. "Never before seen wolf such as you."
"I'm something else.... Different? Yes, yes that I am. Different. Oh so different, or am I the same as some?" My head felt like a mess as was my body. I swayed from side to side without thought and my muscles had given up screaming and were now nursing their own sore throats. That rock in my gut was slowly shifting its way upwards to my neck.
"Why is wolf here?" The thing interrogated. "Answer me!" My mind wouldn't form the words to answer with. The rock made it halfway up my throat while the creature jabbed me with a stick.
"Answer or I stab more!" Answers wouldn't so much as reach the vapour stage of thought before they vanished from sight forever. Another jab and the rock made its way to the very edge of my throat and peeked into my mouth.
"Answer me! Wolf will answer me!" The thing reared back and jabbed my legs. "Now!" My cheeks bulged a little because the rock made its way into my mouth and was preparing to exit from my body in a rather prompt fashion. I looked the beast in the eyes, and mewled.
"I'm gonna be sick."
I vomited over the creature and that rock-hard presence inside me (minds out the gutter) was removed in a burst of fluids and squeals (I said minds out the gutter you filthy creatures.) The substance splattered over the creature with the stick and it screeched in fright, tumbling away to scrabble at its face in agonised twists. My stomach slowly settled as the thing continued to writhe; I had only vomited on it why was it acting so weirdly? Continuing to pant and stare at the floor I could hear the other two creatures panicking and rushing around shouting random nonsense words. Having allowed myself to purge the offending presence from my body and rest for a small fleeting moment I began to look up again, my vision repaired enough to make out the world in full.
"What in the world are you...." I cut myself off with a yelp of. "Mother fuck!" The creature on the ground was screaming for a rather more obvious reason now; mainly its entire upper-half was up in flames. Bright red fire slowly ate its way through the skin of its victim while I could only stand and stare dumbly at the spectacle unfolding on the forest floor. I must have eaten something spicy because that's some hot vomit.
Really poor humour aside I was still stumbling like a drunkard and felt once more ready to hurl up what was left in my stomach. One of the other creatures spun around to face me with a snarl, my body shifted the weight again. Streams of not vomit but blazing red fire flew from my gullet to sear its way through the creature's eyes. The monster dropped its spear and screamed in agony as the flames devoured its skull while its remaining ally could only stand by and watch. It was a twisted display of raw power, induced by vomiting, displayed like an artists half-finished canvas on the floor of the forest. The last creature left standing with raspy breathing and pacing from side to side without pause, eyes shrunken and void of description. With a pitiful howling it fled. With even more pitiable weakness; I blacked out.
Hunter's report: Sir I have news of dire importance. The boy, Lycan, has found his fire. Its still in the premature stages as of now but he is months ahead of schedule. I believe this deity that I was informed of had a hand in this act. I must be given permission to act NOW or else the situation could escalate beyond my control. I ran the calculations Sir and I can confirm that, with the discovery of his fire, the boy will have a seventy percent chance to defeat me with the next twelve months. Already his potential for magic was great but now... NOW... I MUST ACT! He is a threat I tell you. Sir I must request that you not only give me permission to engage but the knowledge of his name to be used as info. I can however confirm that his previous life may have been under the name Gabriel, but that cannot be confirmed. Hunter out.
Hunter. You will refrain from action or face my wrath. This is the only warning you will get. Now return to base, I have a new assignment for you. Don't worry, it will stay close to that boy you love to hate. A note of Emperor.
*
I swear if I pass out again I might as well tuck myself and call myself Gabrielle so high would the level of oestrogen in my blood. That was a joke for those who don't know. Although this time I felt less, violated. Helped by not having three sweaty, mangy creatures arguing over who got my body (why do I always get the creepy guys?) while I was unconscious. It was a matter of seconds before I could get back to my feet again. The smell was the first greeting I received and to honest it wasn't even that bad. It was like cooked meat but a little more sweaty and salty. I took my lack of fatigue as a time to study the corpses of the creatures I had slain involuntarily. They looked like Grotto, Diamond Dogs didn't he say they were? For now that presence in my gut had shifted away for good and I would have time to gather my thoughts.
"Its fine boyo." Yiang mused. "Totally fine and dandy,"
"You killed me best mates and impaled me to a tree. Yeah, dan-fuckin'-dee." I hissed. Now if I had the choice I would be using my fire-vom to incinerate this creature to kingdom come, only its a tad difficult to incinerate an intangible force. So I settled for the occasional sly curse and bottled temper tantrum. The truth be told I just couldn't find myself to scream, shout and act like I had the moral high-ground to Yiang. She might be the most colossal bitch I can remember but I also remember she DID technically make my fire-vom possible. But just what the heck was that?
I tried to pose the question to the degenerate goddess but she continued to evade the point by saying things like 'in due time' and 'wait please.'
"Pyromancy." She said dully.
"What?" I replied deadpan.
"That is what it was kid, pyromancy. Your telekinesis and teleportation? Only the tip of the iceberg boyo." I felt an invisible arm drape across me and begin to lead me around. "Just think about it kid, fire in its most bare-knuckle form all at your disposal. A flame to be twisted and melded for your enjoyment and pleasure."
I gave the air a funny look.
"Just listen to what I'm saying." Yiang continued. "You were special from the start. Sure you can cast a few spells that need your own special little words to be effective but anything can lob a few incantations around with the right biology or know how. But pyromancy, while common in some circles of magic, is an art truly untapped. Your body is special kid. The very part of your system that makes some shiny rocks harmful grants you an immunity to a single element. In your case, fire." Yiang's spectral grasp slackened around my neck, she was baiting me in.
"This little perk is as rarity found only in your biology and that of very few others. The advantage of course is that it allows for a depth to your respective element of magic that another creature could only dream of. Think of it boyo; you could become fire itself!"
I took a moment to absorb this information. If what this trickster ghost told me is even mildly true I am effectively a massive, furry walking bonfire, complete with witty attitude. The only question was how do I grasp this power? It had taken impalement and the murder of my two friends to get me to.... Ignite? Yeah, ignite the first time. Would it just come to me like my other skills? Come to think of it, where did the name Gabriel come from? A haze. A strange hazy curtain swooped shut over my brain for a split second only the be swiped aside the next second. That name had always been there only it hadn't. Was I Gabriel? Did I name myself Gabriel?
"Did you ever think that you ask too many questions?" Yiang interjected; slashing into my train of thought.
"Fuck off will ya?" I muttered darkly.
"Or what? You'll realise your hungry?" My belly rolled with thunderous intent. For what it was worth she was right, I was hungry. Only I had no food. I had eaten the last of the food from the caravan and the only other thing was the egg in my pack. Not desperate enough to eliminate the only ally I could have in this world before it was even born I decided I must do what all wolves do.
"Yiang, shut up for a minute. I'm going hunting."
*
Stupid nature with its elusive sources of food. I had been trudging around the never-ending forest (this land seems to be sixty percent woodland) in search of sustenance. I had nibbled a few shrubs but they hardly qualified as a starter, I'm a big boy! I'm a wolf! I need meat! But meat means I need to find a damned creature first. The wildlife of this land seemed just as elusive as the tolerance for five foot crimson wolves. So far I hadn't even seen a bird fly overhead. So much for a wolf's natural urge to be to hunt. Natural urge. Wolf's are hunters, so I'm a hunter. Wolf's have advanced senses. I'm the biggest friggin' idiot.
Calming myself for a second I focused inwards on my thoughts. I centred all of my urges, desires and thoughts into one objective. Find food. Find food. I repeated that same mantra over and over inside my brain until it was held down with stakes. The sudden clarity was breathtaking. The world sighed away its old shell to reveal a brand new layer underneath. Every sight, sound and smell became amplified by hundreds. I could hear the wing-beat of a butterfly, see the smallest alteration in the earth, smell blood still inside the body. I could hunt like a true predator this way. I could hunt like a wolf.
Sure the process continued for another ten minutes but it was a vast improvement from my previous blundering. With ferocious intentions I crept through the undergrowth on the tail of something. Peeking over the leaves I caught sight of my prey. Stag, fully grown by the look of it compared to the rest of the herd. Dinner time kids. Still moving on the breath of a ghost I crept over to the clueless creature. The wind was in my favour, they didn't know I was coming. This would go perfectly. That is if I hadn't fucked up at the last moment and tripped over a root. The sound of a wolf hitting the dirt ten feet from a herd of deer is none too quiet so it was hardly a wonder that the entire friggin' lot of them turned their heads in synchronisation to stare.
"Uuuuh.... Hi?"
They freaked out and ran. I cursed my idiocy while getting back onto my feet to give chase. That stag was mine. Keeping my eyes trained on it I ran full speed ahead. While in a flat-out sprint I would no doubt win this thing had the necessary grace to navigate through the trees without too many issues, big wolf on the other hand bumped into far too many trees and bushes. That was not going to deter me from getting my dinner! Keeping the pace of the chase constant I worked my legs overtime to stay in the running. We burst from the trees and landed in a clearing, now or never wolfy. I ran faster and faster until my legs were burning from over-exertion. It was the best-worst feeling ever. Giving one final push I launched myself at the stag. Body hit body and the clearing became a chamber of squeals and shredding. Fang met flesh as I bit over and over into its body, probably making it far more drawn out than I needed to. After an age of struggle the stag lay still.
I still had my jaws clamped into its side as it breathed its last to become nothing more than a meal for its killer. Now how do I cook this thing?
"You don't boyo." Yiang simpered in my ear.
"What do you mean I don't?" I growled. "I'm a pyromancer right? What's stopping me from cooking this thing?"
"Apart from you not knowing how to tap into the energy inside you required for pyromancy?" Bitch had me in a corner.
"Besides boyo." Yiang sighed. "Don't all animals eat their food raw?"
"But that's disgusting!" I moaned.
"Man up and dig in boyo." With that she was gone once more.
So, it was a very hungry me versus a very dead stag. I couldn't let a corpse upstage me. But eating cooked food was one of the few strings I had left that connected to the world I once knew, the life of a little boy in Ireland who may or may not have been called Gabriel. That life was gone was it not? I was no longer Gabriel of Ireland but Lycan of Equestria. A wolf that could cast spells and crack wise at the most inappropriate of times. This would just be the next step in my detachment from humanity.
Allowing both curiosity and hunger to drive me; I stripped away a long line of meat as I brought my jaw away from the corpse. Giving a few nibbles I managed to grind it down and swallow the...... Tasteless but bloody meat. That was all I had to say, it was like when it was cooked only uncooked. Keeping my new found confidence brewing I began to strip away more and more hunks of meat from the stag. I must have become frenzied because the next I knew I had all but cleared the midsection of the stag including (don't know I felt about this) the organs. Alas my belly was full and my mind clear enough to continue on my journey.
Only I had no journey to continue.
My fairy friends had been the only guides in this world and now they were gone. For the first time since death, I was lost for meaning to go on. Sure there was the egg, but it wasn't even close to hatching as far as I could tell. So what harm would there be in a little while of living rough? So long as Yiang doesn't poke her metaphorical finger back into my arse to cause trouble then it shouldn't be too hard. Just livin' life like a normal (enough) Irish lad should. What's the worst that could happen?
It had been two months since I had posed the question of 'how hard can it be?' Truth be told, it wasn't that difficult. It just had one teeny tiny snag.
"Focus boyo focus!" Yiang snapped. That was it. As soon as I had lifted my muzzle from my kill the intangible bitch herself had drove her finger so hard into my butt that I swear it came out my mouth. So it had been two months of 'training' from there on out. Now one could argue that Yiang was helping me and while that might be true; she was also keeping up her regime of being one of the single most irritating spirits I had ever met (although she is the first I've ever met.) So she was being Caspar the friendly bitch. Logical I know.
The training itself had been all about control over my new found - but hardly touched upon - pyromancy. The goal was to achieve ignition as Yiang called it, so far I could spit tiny flames (making sure to say 'Lycan use ember!' In my head) and set fire to common flammable objects found in nature, such as leaves. It had started off quite poorly. Yiang told me that her attack was to 'channel my inner fire', whether or not this was true was irrelevant. The facts were that I had used a much higher level of pyromancy on that day and hadn't even come close to it since. Heck it took me a solid two weeks just to get the feeling of fire built up in my stomach, another before I could even spit embers.
Just what the hell was it about this that was so complex? I had been firing off spells left and right without so much as the thought of sweat breaking coming into my mind, now I was becoming exhausted after making a small camp-fire. Seriously I found Sky-Dance took less effort than making a lighter worthy flame. But in the words of Yiang 'it will get easier with time boyo'. Yeah well so far it had become easy enough to make a flame to incinerate a wayward caterpillar should it crawl to close to the epicentre of my fire.
"DAMMIT!" I roared as my fire failed yet again to cause anything more than a minuscule ember. "I can't control it once it leaves my mouth."
"Why not use your horn?" Yiang probed with disinterest.
"I have, try as I might I can't control it in such a small quantity. I need more fire!" I slashed a few blades of grass with my claws. "I need hands. Not four paws that grant me the dexterity of a blind, dumb and deaf infant; but hands that can grasp things and draw signs and do things that hands do!"
Yiang tutted in disgust. "Then stand up fool." I gave the air a look of utter confusion. "Yeah that's right, stand up!"
"The heck are you talking about woman? I'm a quadruped not a whatjamacallit... Antromomorf?"
"The word you might be looking for is anthropomorphic." Yiang muttered like she was addressing a child. "So you aren't one now, who says you don't have a spell awaiting you that allows such a form to become a reality?" To be honest she had a fair point. I hadn't even flexed my magical wings yet so who's to say that there isn't a spell like that? Wait, that would be WAY too simple, like Mary Sue simple. I didn't wanna be no Mary Sue! I began to ponder on this matter further while Yiang nagged me to keep practising. Seeing no solution to the problem at the time; I gave into her whims and resumed my practice.
*
I made a breakthrough. I had practised for another two days while continuing to ponder on the matter of how to gain hands and then FWOOSH! I took a breath and with my sigh came a wonderful plume of orange fire! Okay that might be somewhat of an over exaggeration, it was hardly a plume but it was much more than an ember. Better still I had done it without effort and without too much thought. In my eyes I was ready to leave the forest and continue my journey, a journey for hands! I called it Operation Lyra. Not too sure why though.
The only snag was I still didn't have a clue as to what I was searching for. I knew I didn't have a spell so I needed another alternative. The gears in my head slowly cranked around until one teeny tiny cog whirred into life and spat out an idea.
"Alchemy!" I whooped in utter glee.
"Say what boyo?" Yiang yawned, had I woken her up?
"Alchemy! I need an alchemist, do you know where I can find one?"
"Why would I know? Get off yer ass and search wolfy." I nodded hurriedly and started to trot my way to the edge of the trees, I was rushing myself I know but the lure of hands was too strong! So I left the comfort of the forests and headed out to find an alchemist.
*
Turns out that finding my goals is much harder without a sprite floating in front to show the way with pretty sparkles and the occasional utter of 'this way'. I had only just found a village after hours of wandering. It seemed awful familiar though, like the sun was shining brighter above when I looked at the sprawl of houses that were laid out at the bottom of the hill. I slunk through a gap in a white picket-fence to gain entry into the town, keeping my head low and trying to stay undetected. I saw an open window but this time ignored it as to not cause a panic like last time I had entered civilisation. Retaining my low profile movements I used an alleyway to get around the front of the building, the town looked empty right now. All save for one little pony. A pony with a bright azure coat.
"Sunny?" I thought outwards to the pony. She started to look around quickly to locate the source of the voice, which was in her head so she had trouble. I stepped further out into the street and said again. "Sunny?" This time the pony turned in a full circle, her eyes fell on me like two big shiny orbs. I only just noticed that they had the most pleasant rose gleam to them.
"Lycan!" She squealed in joy before galloping over to me. For a small object she carried a lot of momentum because she hit me like a miniature train. I stumbled as she hit me and latched on like a oversized flea.
"Lycan, Lycan. Lycan!" She repeated. "Looky here! Look!" The little ball of hyperactivity jumped away and spun to show me her flank. It was adorned with an odd marking of some sort. It appeared to be a tattoo of a stringed instrument being painted and carved, only it clung to the flesh as if it were a part of it. Had the filly gotten a marking branded to her?
"Sunny, what is that?" I asked with genuine lack of knowing.
"It my cutie mark you silly!" She gushed back."
"Yer what now?" She gawked at me. "You don't know what a cuite mark is?" I shook my head. "Its what everypony gets when they find their special talent, it normal relates in some way to the talent or is symbolic of it." She puffed out her chest proudly. "Mine means I'm a handy dandy craftsfilly when it comes to instruments, I found it out about a month ago in workshop class when we were making toys. I started carving and before I knew it I had carved out the structure to a guitar." I turned my head sideways, that was all? She just had a sudden idea and acted upon it? Jeez if talent was that easy it explains certain 'talented people' quite well doesn't it? Sunny then leapt around me in a way that seemed improbable for a creature like her. "Then I made another guitar, a tuba and a violin!" That word clicked something in my brain. Another splutter as the single gear started turning to power thought and memory. Flashes of a previous life and an oddly cheerful duet being played
I had a very odd feeling in my brain. It was like the concept of a violin was normal to me. Had I played one back In Ireland? There was only on way to find out, but first I needed hands.
"Sunny, do you know where I can find and alchemist?" I asked the still bubbling filly.
"Yep!" She beamed.
"Wait really? Seriously?"
"Mmmhmmm, I can take you to him if you want."
"That would be awesome kid." I knelt down. "How about you jump on my back and we get there faster?" Sunny giggled and leapt onto my back with a girlish squeal of delight. Sure it looked like I was abducting a small child, but it was making her laugh. That was all I could have asked for. Her hooves linked around my neck as she shuffled into a comfortable position.
"Okay, Aqua is down the road and to the left. If you miss his hut I'll say." Sunny said.
"Righty-O. Hang on kid." I warned.
I flexed my hind legs to loosen them up, I then bolted off at a speed fast enough to make Sunny shriek in terror. That terror was quickly replaced by ludicrous glee as she clung for dear life to the fur around my neck, enjoying every single moment of her five foot crimson roller-coaster. It was good to run again. It had been some time since I had allowed myself to just run without real purpose beyond my own enjoyment. The bonus here being that I was making a child laugh. Fancy that, a wolf making a child laugh. Well just a few months ago I didn't think a wolf could breath fire or talk, or run on air, or interact in a society, or do anything besides growl and hunt to be honest. Learning is fun.
It wasn't long before I came to a point on the road where it spilt away onto a dirt path that in turn led to a smaller shack with a chimney happily spitting out clouds of multi-coloured smoke. An alchemist's hut if I've ever seen one. I performed a spectacular power-slide (that hurt my paws but was worth it) to stop myself from crashing into the front door. I leaned in and Sunny knocked thrice on the door.
"W-Who is it?" Came a call from inside.
"Its me Aqua! I brought a friend who needs to talk to you!" Sunny called back. There was a series of clunks, cracks and clatters as the occupant of the hut hopefully made its way towards the door. The frame creaked open to reveal a sooty grey stallion with a pair of goggles over his eyes and a vial levitating in a sheath of orange aura. Oddly, he didn't even flinch at the sight of me.
"Ah its you." Aqua said with a reminiscent glint in his eye. "I was wondering when I would see you again." I frowned. "What do you mean again?" "I'm sorry? Did I say something strange again? You must excuse me, I've been experimenting with a few alternative chemicals. Muddles the mind somewhat. Now come on in my friends before I lose track of...."
Something inside exploded and Aqua retreated into the hut, he seemed a bit too clumsy to be meddling with this kind of stuff. I had to stoop slightly to get inside the hut with Sunny still on my back. The inside was almost exactly how I had pictured it. Dark, smelly, filled with strange looking equipment that had even stranger goo running through their glass innards and dripping into various tubs and beakers. Aqua was sweeping shattered glass into the corner as Sunny stared wide-eyes at several jars filled with things I couldn't even recognise. Something about the environment made me want to exclaim SCIENCE at the top of my lungs.
"So Aqua, I need a potion..." I started.
"You looking for something to give you hands? That tends to be a hot item." Aqua muttered as he skimmed the shelves for something. "Of course for a creature such as yourself I'm going to need a sample of your fur and blood to make the mixture complete as well as a height measurement, you might also want to find somepony who can make clothes... Errm big clothes might I add."
Aqua ran a tape-measure along my body taking length and height measurements, he then trotted back over to his equipment to scribble down some notes.
"Five feet and seven inches. You're very big for a wolf considering the average in this area is two seven, three at a stretch. Duel horns hinting at magic, could just be an anomaly in genetics... Or a new species. Can you perform any sort of magical tasks?" I answered by levitating his quill away from the paper.
"Very good, so horns DO allow function of magic. Oki-doki I'm going to need some samples.." He snipped off a part of my fur before I could comply. "Now hold still so I can get a blood sample..." Aqua didn't give me time to stand still. He jabbed my flank with a syringe and pulled a small amount of blood from me before I could so much as mentally register that he had a sharp object. After sapping my blood he jotted down something on a piece of paper which he then handed to Sunny. "Sunny would you kindly take this into town and give it to Artemis? He'll know what it means, make sure to say its an order from me." Sunny nodded and headed out of the door back towards the town. Aqua started to mix various herbs, liquids and goo's together in a large drum. He seemed to just lob the ingredients in without taking much time to measure things out or even look at what was being thrown into the mix. Was this guy really an alchemist? Was he any good?
It took him the better part of five minutes to take a step away from the brew and smile.
"Its ready my friend." He smirked, scooping a small amount into a vial. "This is what I call a Gro-potion, that's grow without the w just so you know." I snatched it away and prepared to drink.
"No! For the sake of my home I must insist that you drink that outside!" Aqua said frantically as he pushed me towards the door.
"What's the worst that could happen?" I asked as he shoved me out the door.
"Drink it and see wolf."
I shook the tiny vial around with a critical eye, it looked like thick liquid silver. I drank it down in one gulp. It tasted like somebody had pissed in my mouth.
"Jesus Aqua! Is the taste the wor-" Something in my stomach popped. I felt pressure building in every single limb in my body as I began to vibrate without pause. My back arched and I heaved up air; all the while the pressure grew. My legs were the first part of me to snap. They popped out of place as the bones fractured and took on new shape. Even my tissues felt like they were being torn apart then reformed in an unnatural new form. The rest followed just as swiftly. Soon every inch of me was snapping and popping, ripping and shredding, banishing its old form to take on a new identity. The sensation wasn't even painful it simply felt like it wasn't supposed to be happening. I rolled onto my back and flailed my limbs, my hind-legs thrashed downwards while my forelegs smashed the ground next to me. Hang about, that's not right.
I slowed myself for a moment of breath. The movements had finally stopped. I rolled onto my front and pushed at the dirt, with two long furry arms. The sudden shock of seeing the limbs made me whip them from the ground to fall face first and smack my nose on the ground. Not wanting to look even stupider in front of Aqua I slowly made my way to my feet. I had gotten used to my height before but now, I felt like a giant. Taking baby steps I looked around for Aqua; only to find him when I looked down. He barely reached my knees.
"Aqua..." I spoke. My hands hit my mouth in shock. Why was the action of speaking with my mouth so strange now? This body just felt, weird. I focused on using my mind to communicate. "Aqua, how tall am I?" I asked this because I just wanted some sort of information about my new form. The now dwarfed pony took his tape measure and took his measurements.
"Eleven feet and four inches, just as I predicted. You have perfectly doubled in height Lycan."
I started to walk, still with baby steps, to get used to bipedal motion after my months of quadruped movement. It wasn't hard but it was sure as hell awkward. The concept of moving one foot at a time just didn't seem right any more.
"Mirror." I whispered to Aqua. "I need to look at myself." The pony waved his horn and the air became shiny and solid giving a perfect reflection of my new body. I really was a lanky bastard now. I still had my crimson fur only it had reduced and become closer to skin while retaining its fluffiness. My face was a strange mix of human and wolf. I still had a snout by the rest was closer to human. My chest was, well as normal as a human chest might look but with added fur. Travelling further down I- HOLY MOLY! As to be expected every part of my body had grown or reshaped to fit my next physique. Including my private areas. I now had what looked like a fleshy anaconda hanging between my legs.
Trying to move away from that topic I flexed my new fingers. They were thin built with wicked claws perfect for slashing apart whatever I could reach and with arms the length of an averagely sized person I could reach a good distance away. Finally were my legs. They kept with the look of my body so while they were thin; they clearly had power in them. I didn't need to comment on my tail. It was still bushy and red, that's it really. Looking at it all I could safely say I liked this body I noticed that my pack was no longer attached, it was laying on the ground beside me. I bent down to pick up the now tiny grass pack. I plucked the egg from inside, it was starting to glow faintly and noises could be heard coming from inside. It would hatch soon!
"I took the liberty of making you a new pack Lycan." Aqua said softly as he held out a grey fabric case. "It has an enchantment so it will reshape to match your form. It also has the same protection charms that your grass pack did."
"How did you know to make this Aqua?" I pressed, his knowledge was becoming suspect.
"I deal with creatures taking Gro-potions on a weekly basis so I have several packs like this pre-made just in case." He answered smoothly. I guess that made sense. Still, the protection charms wouldn't be so common would they? I kept that little bit of suspicion tucked away for now.
"You may want to take cover, I suspect Sunny will be returning with my order any moment now and she might not want to see your 'endowments'." Aqua said sharply. To make his point just a bit more powerful came the sound of hooves coming down the road. Wasting no time I took cover in some nearby bushes. Sunny came trotting down the path a moment later. "I have the stuff Aqua!" She called out.
"Good work Sunny." He took the parcel that Sunny had been carrying and dropped it into the bushes next to me. "Put that on Lycan, quickly now!" Taking haste I ripped open the package. Inside were clothes. I raised an eyebrow at the cloth sitting harmlessly in the remains of the package. These were going to fit me?
"I said quickly now!" Noting his impatience I began to pull on the threads bit by bit, starting with some rather plain underwear, then black formal trousers, a flash white button-up dress shirt, a midnight black blazer and a blood red tie. As I buttoned the cuffs of the shirt and straightened out my tie I couldn't help but feel like some kind of hit-man preparing for his next job. My prior doubts about the attire not fitting had faded. Whatever measurements Aqua had taken he had gotten them spot on. I flexed my neck and stepped from the bushes with a smile, Sunny went all wide eyed like the first day we had met.
I chuckled dryly and cracked a smile. "Welcome to Lycan two point oh baby."
A/N For anybody curious I have an image below as to what Lycan looks like now, take away the head-band and mix up the colours and that's the closest I could get for now.
This world that we are forced to live upon is but one of many. A possibly infinitely sprawling interwoven web of multi-verses that will never be tracked or traced to a single definite origin, such is the way of the laws of time and space. A single person is forever destined to never see more than one of these universes. Their soul will be fused to the shell they call their body and that shell will live whatever days it is numbered for before it fails its task to house the soul; releasing it back into the great cycle to be cut apart into a brand new being.
Lies, nothing but lies invented by thinking men who wanted to stand out among their peers.
What the fabric of existence really is can't be fathomed fully by a mortals mind. All we can do is scrabble at the straws of higher order in a vain attempt to grasp what may and may not be in this cosmic game of life. We're but pawns in comparison to the kings and queens of life. Life far more garlanded than our filthy beings, and eternally more powerful than any creature that has ever been branded as a mortal.
That is what I had come to believe.
It was not always as such I assure you but life has a funny way of flipping around every ideal you will ever contemplate upon to show each and every angle of this new world you may think you've discovered. That was what had been happening on this one job assigned to me by my Emperor.
It was simple, I was to track and follow the one called Lycan. In stark difference to the name he was to be addressed by this Lycan was not a wolf-man but he was certainly of canine breeding. The most shocking feature by far was the dual horns that came from his forehead. Each one like a perfectly crafted serpentine bone resting gracefully upon his head, the two twisted around one another to form a larger construct both gaudy and subtle. The bone peaked off to become a deadly beautiful lance that cast a red aura glow when in use. I rolled my eyes when I saw this, it seemed so dull for a creature's aura to be such a silly colour. Only super-villains and self-branded ‘perfect characters’ have red aura.
His fur is red also; such style of coat would serve only to enlighten a foe as to his location. Then again it was to be expected of his kind. From there on it had been a simple job. I was doing as I was told, keeping my distance while all the while never missing a single detail of his exploits. He slept when I slept and he awoke when I awoke. I was the hunter and he was the prey.
Such was another illusion I had built upon my overconfidence in my old ways.
It was when a second force intervened in his life that I saw the true folly of my ego. This wolf; this Lycan fellow, was far more dangerous than I had first thought. Such was the nature of one that must wield the fire in their heart with skill enough to change the world. He was a danger to all around him. He needed to be kept under lock and key, he needed to be watched at all times. My master had other plans.
I was called back to home to receive new orders. Since then I had been told time and time again that I was to wait, sitting in the dark until the higher-ups decided it was appropriate to shed some light on me. Today was that day. I was called to the Emperor's chamber and I wasted no time in getting there. The Emperor stood tall in front of me, a monolith of raw seeping power.
“You understand your mission.” He barked with firm authority.
“I do my liege.” I responded, bent on one knee before him.
“Then you also understand that everything I do I do because it furthers the goal that I have set out for you?”
“I do my liege.” The Emperor waved a limb through the air; I could feel every single particle within my body tremble in fear as a cold wave of pure power filtered through my being.
“Then why did you see it fit to argue with my orders Hunter?” He asked monotone. My heart stopped working. “Because I did not agree with you my liege.”
“Why did you not agree with me?” The Emperor whispered, another current of energy tapping its way through my system.
“Because I did not believe that your choice would further my goal my liege.”
I flinched against a strike that never landed. When my eye reopened I was greeted by the Emperor staring at me.
“You were correct in that assumption.” He said simply. I blinked at him several times over.
“Did you not hear me? I said you were correct my Hunter.”
“Then why the hell did you recall me?” I spat with defiance.
“To fulfil the next stage of your task Hunter, it was vital that you returned here.” The Emperor said. Before I could object to this he continued his speaking. “It would not matter had you stayed or left. The one you know as Lycan is now far out of both your reach and level of power. Were he to burst into this room right now I dare say he would kill you without batting an eyelash.”
“Impossible!” I screeched. “Not only is it impossible that he could find us but for one with as little experience as him to trump me? Inconceivable! I would sooner believe that a Diamond Dog would be capable of inter-dimensional travel at will than such a runt could kill me!”
“Do you wish to experience but a tenth of his current strength Hunter?”
“Of course I would.” I scoffed. “I need something to lighten my mood a little.”
The Emperor smiled at my display of bravado. This was all but a game to that man. His cold eyes fell upon me like heavy weights, each polished smooth iris crashing with brute force against my being. He continued to look at me for the slightest sign of change, the smallest hint that I wished to back out from this fight. I felt something breeze across my body.
“Was that it?” I laughed. “If a tenth feels like it might just blow a hair out of place I suppose full power could blow off a ha-“
Pain. Solid unfiltered pain tore across the length of my body. I screamed in total agony as every particle of my being was shattered in turn only to be rebuilt and shattered again. I had never before experienced such an intense feeling, it was as if that very core of my being had been set alight and I was to suffer with the fires as they chewed their way out of me. It was something a thousand times worse than any pain than you could possibly imagine. The rolling immolation continued to wreck havoc across my insides. It was the inevitable and pitiful outcome, but I eventually passed out from the pain.
*
When I eventually found myself awakening it was to a body pulsing with the after-effect of a pain close to death. I tried to stand but it felt like my legs had become nothing more than burnt stumps devoid of the capability of supporting my frame. What the hell had that power been?!
That was not the wolf I had been following, there wasn't an angel's chance in hell that that wolf had gained so much power in the scant few hours I had not seen him. It was simply inconceivable that a creature than had been in this world for little more than a few months could have gained power so vast. He had only just discovered his fire when I had been recalled; so it was simply out of the equation that he had already become immersed enough within the powers he had to be so impossibly mighty.
“You would be correct in thinking that something was amiss Hunter.” The Emperor cooed from elsewhere. “I too would believe the claims that were just laid upon you were fabricated given the circumstances.” The Emperor walked calmly into my field of vision.
“After all what kind of creature could become so powerful in such a short amount of time with no real training or experience? Even if he was trained to become that powerful in just two months is absurd! Why if it were the protagonist of a story that was put into such an extreme change in such a short amount of time I would put the story away and never lay eyes upon it again. Did I ever mention that I despise characters like that? They're so fanciful.”
The Emperor stared up towards the ceiling and sighed loudly. “Then again, isn’t that what a hero is? A fanciful character stepping on the borderline of becoming a Mary Sue, only an inch away from the reader realising how stupid the written creature’s power and skill really are?” The Emperor calmly strode over and, with a few grunts, helped me to my feet.
“Nothing in this world can be called perfect, but literature strives to make their targets as close as possible. I wonder if writers ever realise that a character is better when its believable in its context? Maybe they think that unless their creation is the best around its worthless, power is only worthwhile if you have truly earned it after all.” I wanted to ask him why he had launched himself into such an extravagant speech about power and literature, only he cut me off.
“You must be curious as to my all this applies to you my Hunter. It is simple. That wolf has not been in training for a simple two months, he has had much, much longer to hone his skills and learn not only the depth of his power but what his purpose is.”
“But how?” I questioned through cracked lips. “How is it possible for him to have done such a thing?”
“He might not be the greatest warrior to have ever been birthed but he is far stronger than he thinks or knows. What that boy could achieve was simply locked within him, far inside of the very centre of his being; waiting until his body and mind were capable of sustaining the power that was dormant inside.”
“Then what happened? Its still unlikely that he was gifted such clarity of soul in a mere two months.”
The Emperor waved a limb. “I said that already did I not? I also remember saying that it was a mere two months but far longer that he used to achieve this strength. Far longer than you've even been alive I think.”
“Impossible!” I roared, throat constricting on the note. “What black magic...”
“Do you want to follow the path that he took?”
My ear pricked to attention, this was a most interesting offer indeed. To take a path that allowed him to become so strong so fast? Who wouldn't want to cheat like that? The Emperor boomed with laughter, his stomach bouncing merrily as each low note was struck.
“Oh my dear deluded Hunter!” He said with laughter punctuating every other word. “I’m sure that that little mind of yours is cobbling up some sort of idea along the lines of a get powerful fast regime that the boy undertook. Once more you forget what I have said time and time again!”
“What? What in the world could be different?”
I felt something begin to infiltrate my body; musical notes being carried on the wind gently ran their influence over my eardrums as another swirl of power began to constrict my body.
“Did you not hear me the first four times Hunter?” The Emperor whispered, a malicious glint hidden in his eyes. “That boy had far longer than you have been alive to train. He didn't just have months, he had years.”
A rush of energy tore me apart bit by bit until there was nothing left; I was nothing but a spiritual spectre being swept along the winds. But just what kind of wind was I being swept along? Just where in the world was I being taken, and how was I still alive? The truth was both horrible and fantastical to be confronted by.
I was being taken to the true beginning of the journey called life.
*
[Lycan]
Sunny’s talent was pretty awesome. She had become the kind of pony that could carve and create a wide variety of musical instruments whether they are brass or wood. Pianos were still out of her reach though. I was interested in only one article however. Something in her workshop called to me.
“Isn’t this place neat?” Sunny asked as she sprung about. “I’m the new apprentice to Mr Maudlin, a real emotional player, once made an entire room weep on the first line of a piano piece. A real musical genius he is.” I was crouched over so that I didn’t hit my head on the roof. “That’s all fine and dandy Sunny, but earlier you mentioned something about having made a violin?”
“Yeah I did!” She chirruped. “It was awesome; I think I’ve still got it laying about in here.”
“Do yah think I could give a shot at playin’ it? I got a nice feeling about a violin.” Sunny beamed. “Sure I can Ly'. Let’s find it first!”
We spent the next ten minutes searching every inch of the workshop, not assisted by my new larger size, until we eventually found the thing. It was most peculiar to see her bring it out. The entire frame looked designed in a just so kind of way that it was sort of unnerving. Every groove looked designed in such a way that it seemed like it had been made for one creature and nothing else.
“Mr Maudlin says that its a masterpiece, like nothing he’s ever seen.” Sunny whispered in awe.
I motioned her to relocate outside; this room was far too cramped to even attempt to play. Once we had escaped the confines of the workshop Sunny lifted the thing towards me, taking the utmost care with the creation. I clasped it in each hand and weighed the thing. It was perfect in every single way. Its form, the curves, the grooves and indents that added to style and comfort without ruining the instrument in anyway visible to the eye, it was perfect for me. I positioned the violin on my collarbone, holding the neck with my left hand. Each action was decided by an unknown auto-pilot sitting within my brain.
It guided me perfectly every step of the way.
When I had the instrument positioned correctly on my shoulder I held out my other hand for the bow. When it felt correct in my hand I placed it upon the strings gently with the force in my mind clicking onwards to its conclusion.
The world stood still around me. An eleven foot high wolf with a violin playing a sonata I didn’t know my mind had stored away. Each motion of the bow, every note struck with intention to cause wonder to burst within the hearts of whoever may be close by. My mind was filling in the gaps where it believed other instruments should play while my hands continued to work away at playing. Something began to surround me. A dazzling light that infiltrated my body on time with the musical notes that played from the violin in my grasp. Something in my brain told me to stop playing. I ignored it.
The invisible constriction tightened its hold around me as I hit a note harder than needed, it was starting to hurt. Something hooked against my skin, tugging gently at my fur as if it were trying to coerce me out of my skin.
“An instrument can only be beautiful if the user knows how to manipulate it.” Yiang whispered in my ear, her mutterings were hardly registered by me in my entranced state of mind.
“Just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, you are the weakest link boyo. Do you think that the others would want to be helped by someone like you? Yes my boy, others. You are not the only one brought here. But you cannot yet stand tall with them; not with a body like that.” The hooks in my body began to really tug at me, intent on trying to break my concentration in playing.
“You need time boyo, time that I’m afraid you do not have. But you can make it.” The hooks were close to ripping my skin off of my body but I didn’t pause in my playing.
“You have a greater destiny than you might think. But alas you have already played it out, or have you? I can never tell.” A hand graced my cheek. “But enough, it is time the real journey began.” With that last sentence the hooks pulled me apart. I burst in a flood of energy that destroyed everything that I was, ripping my essence into small pieces barely the size of a grain of sand. The wind of musical notes picked me up immediately and, as I lost the ability to retain thought, the breeze swept me away.
*
I can’t go back to yesterday, because I was a different person then – Lewis Carroll, ‘Alice in Wonderland’
*
I regained my grasp on the world slowly. It was less that I had difficulty in functioning more that every part of me once again refused to work in synchronisation in the manner a body should resulting in a furry heap on the floor that was incapable of motion. The violin was still in my hand though and appeared totally unharmed.
However I most certainly wasn't where I had been not thirty seconds ago.
“Yes you are boyo.” Yiang said to me plainly. “This is the location of Sunny’s village, the exact spot you were before you passed out.”
“Not that I doubt you.” I muttered. “But even in my state I can see this is a forest glade and not a small village.”
“Well of course this isn’t a village! The village doesn’t exist.”
“What the hell do you think you’re talking about Yiang?”
I felt that Cheshire cat grin of hers peel into formation. “I’m talking about the village. The village you speak of isn’t going to be built for another five years.”
Something in my brain went number than I thought possible. I wanted to laugh and call Yiang out on her trickery, only the sincerity in her words bled through. She was telling the truth about the village having not been built yet. I was here before I was here. Today was yesterday and yesterday was today.
Now was when the wheels of fate became little more than sporadic notions to one whose cause means much but achieves little. Time may wait for no man, but it certainly conspires against them.
[Lycan]
“I want answers.” I rasped from empty lungs.
“What in the world does a dog that can’t even walk need with answers?” The moral goddess quipped. “On your feet or you get nothing.”
I gave it my all in my attempts to get back up from the floor, but you must forgive me when I say I struggled. My new body was now something totally incapable of fully working together and the clothes I was in constricted my chest. Using my brain-power I probed around my pack for a certain something eventually finding it nestled next to an old hunk of meat. Pulling the vial from my bag I pulled the stopper out from the neck, all by way of magic, and drunk it down. Once more I went through the sensation of metamorphosis only instead of growing into a humanoid my body shrunk and twisted itself back into the shape of a canine. The shifting of forms gave my body the much needed kick up the arse that was required for movement to begin.
Reducto-potions, as Aqua had called them, would allow me to revert back to my normal wolf form. Useful for a number of reasons such as travelling further distances, hiding, hunting and being able to lick my own testicles, then came the slightly awkward shuffling as I made my way out of the cloth cocoon that the now un-useable clothes had created. Once free of my cloth confinement I picked all the clothing up and folded it away into my pack for later use. It was then that I noticed the violin I had been grasping previously was now without a hand, or a home for it to live in. My pack was already filled to the brim with objects, the egg being the largest by far, so trying to cram a valuable instrument into that kind of mess would only harm the thing. So what to do what to do?
“Take this.” Said that spectral watcher I so love to hate, guiding another woven grass object in front of my face. It looked to me like a small case of sorts, then using the elite powers of perception needed to work these kinds of conundrums out, I clicked it open with magic and nestled the violin inside. A perfect fit. Assuming that it worked on the same boundaries as my pack, namely the violin was totally safe while inside its home, I slung it over my back and tied the grassy fastening laces up as tight as I could. I was starting to look like a proper adventurer I was. It was time for answers.
“I must ask now Yiang.” I said as politely as possible. “Just what the fuck is going on?”
The force that had lingered for so long blipped and faded for a spilt-second before answering. “I don’t mean to worry you child but I do not have much time left with you so listen.” The goddess said quietly. “I have told you from day one that your purpose is special, that you have power and talents no one else could ever dream of. Now is the day you prove that to me.
“This land is as vast as it is dangerous. Around every corner there lays a horror wishing to cut you down, but you must not let this deter you. You must be wondering where you are my boy and I do not blame you for my introduction to this was not even worthy of being called brief. You are twelve years in the past from the moment you started to pay that violin; it was the final piece of the puzzle that would allow you to complete your task.”
I swallowed a mouthful of embers; this news was causing my fires to act up somewhat and saliva had taken on a slightly hotter guise.
“Before you even think of asking how that is possible I will explain. You have a very special destiny. There is something about you, about your soul, which allows you to defy the expectations of reality. Whether it is strength untapped or talents yet to be learnt I do not know truth be told, nothing has ever been as queer as to the question ‘how is this creature different?’” Something in my brain shifted and an immense tremor rumbled throughout every atom in my being. My body was reacting to this news despite me not knowing how.
“I must confess to something, I have not been telling you the whole story. Everything until now has been a test run by me, well nearly everything. Asura and Kuroko were there to test your skills and morality. The travelling was to test your endurance and mettle. The attack on your body was to see if you were finally strong enough to embrace your dormant powers as well as survive incredible wounds. The playing of the violin was to see if you can reach into your past and draw from its potential.” I felt that ghostly touch on my body once more.
“What you are destined to do is to carry out a task so great that if you were anything but the special being you are, you would no doubt perish. Lycan, no… Gabriel. Gabriel. I have used every drop of my power to bring you here, twelve years ago, so that you may change history before it is ruined by the fires of greed.” Gabriel….. That name again. It began to tunnel its way into my brain effortlessly until it smashed its face into the correct centre of knowledge. An image flashed up in my mind, a tombstone somewhere in Ireland.
‘Here lies Gabriel Virtuosi’ ‘Son, Brother, Undeniable genius’ ‘May he find peace wherever he may be’ ‘???? - ????’
The dates on the tombstone were lost to me, hell the very fact I could see an image of something in another universe that had occurred after my parting from it was impressive enough so what did it matter that I didn’t know that last detail? I did grab the most important snippet of information however. My name was Gabriel. Not Lycan. I was not a moster-wolf; I was a proud canine with a proud name to boot. So no longer was I to be addressed under the barbaric moniker of Lycan. I was Gabriel, just Gabriel. Even if there was something in the back of my mind telling me that that kind of thinking was wishful at best.
Could a man best the beast when it came to living on the wild-side?
“Now is not the time for philosophising Gabriel.” Yiang purred. “It is time for you to act. This time is important for many a reason, the one that matters the most to your cause is that on this day, twelve years into the future, a force of pure evil will gain hold of one of the most powerful artefacts that currently exists across all the possible universes.
“Your goal is simple only in its name; to light The Beacons of Fate. These mystical fonts of sacred ember have been unlit for centuries now as the fire needed for their revival has been lost for too long. Your fire is what is needed for the ignition of The Beacons.”
My mind became clouded by images of a rocky plateau surrounded by a thick haze of rock dust and powdered miscellaneous debris. Somewhere in the murky haze I could just about sense a faint power.
“What am I seeing Yiang?” I asked. “This doesn’t mean anything to me.”
“That is the only clue I can give for it is all I know. What you see is a location far to the north, past the dominion of the Griffin-race and into the Badlands. Just let your instincts guide you, follow the embers and trust your nose above all. Every other sense will try to lie to you this time.” Suddenly Yiang’s presence became slashed down to a shred of what it had once been.
“I have lost all the time I had left!” She cried. “This could be the last time I ever talk to you Gabriel; though I hope it is not. Just remember the advice I give. Trust nothing but your nose, never lose sight of your goal, be wary of everything and do not become what you fear the most.” Another flickering of energy pulsed its way through my body. “You are special in more ways than you might understand or even come to terms with, but do not let that cloud your mind.”
The last remnants of Yiang’s presence began to fade from the world around me.
“Light the beacons before your time is up my boy. Don’t give up. No matter the cost...” She faded. All that Yiang had been simply vanished from the world around me. I had never felt more naked than I had at that moment in time.
My paws tingled with anticipation at the news that had been chunked onto me; I had a destiny to fulfil! I swiped cockily at the air with a large grin forming on my fresh face. It was time to head north to find the first Beacon. I howled in joy at my new purpose; at my new chance to test my powers and limits. My world might have seemed totally devoid of meaning beyond ‘go find the thing’ but I didn’t care.
Twelve years was a long time to light a few torches. Why should I not have some fun while I’m at it?
Treating the road like my home had been a fun life for me so far.
Each day I would awake to the fresh warbling of the various assorted types of avian wildlife that habituated the treetops and the air above my head. Once in a while I would Sky-Dance up above the never ending forest canopy to marvel at the beauty of the world around me. This world just seemed too peaceful, at least from where and when I was standing. If it had changed majorly in twelve years I hadn’t noticed the first time around. That might have been because I hadn’t actually gone anywhere beyond what seemed to be the exact same forest, but my point still stands.
This exact same forest was different enough that it was like a whole new adventure to me. Another big wide open world for me to tromp around with hardly a care or a bad thought dogging my steps, nothing but me myself and I for company. Unless you count a slightly warm egg as proper company; because I don’t.
The monotony of travel would have ground me to a halt had I not created an orderly routine. I wake up at dawn, I walk until noon, I hunt for food, I continue after what I consider one hour regardless if the hunt was successful or not, I make a camp of sorts when it gets dark and then practice my pyromancy until it gets late. After a night of hopefully sound sleep I repeat the process once more.
Routine is what separated me from total and utter boredom.
The road was little more than a dirt track for the first few days, I wanted to avoid civilisation at all costs. Because, a little fun fact for you, a wolf with crimson red fur standing at around six feet on all fours is apparently terrifying. This was a lesson learned when I had attempted to interact with a passing caravan.
Never before have I seen the equivalent of five grown men piss all over their legs in terror. Nor do I expect have I seen the last of it. Since then I’ve avoided all contact with the natives of this land, unless the native is wild and happens to look delicious. That means they have a special meeting with Mr Maw, a visit from Nurse Gullet before being sent on through to Dr. Stomach Acid.
Even eating raw flesh can be made light hearted when you’ve been walking for thirteen hours without pause.
*
-Day 17, Week 3, Year 1-
On the fifteenth day it dawned on me.
I hadn’t a blinding clue as to where the hell I was going. Sure I had been following the ‘instincts’ given to me. But while I might have lucked out and gone north at some point, I had been running all over the gaff without the tiniest idea as to what direction I should be going in. I could have been going south for the fifteen days it had taken me to realise how thick I had been! Lost time, lost time!
While I’m sure I wouldn’t be late for the very important date at this early stage I did note that that was fifteen possible days I wouldn’t get back, all because I let the freedom go to my head. It was time to gain a sense of direction. That meant finding a method of locating the direction required, like a compass, or asking for directions.
Unfortunately only the latter option made sense, so I got walking to the nearest road to me and followed the road-signs. My plan was to find a settlement of sorts to politely ask for directions north as well as a map. Somehow I doubted it would be that smooth a process. Twas but an inkling though, so I continued walking, and walking, and walking.
Walking was life now. Walking was the goal. Keep your head down and walk.
*
-Day 19, Week 3, Year 1-
I was already sick to my back teeth with all this walking.
Each time I would place a paw ahead of the other and each time I would make no visible progress, still I was surrounded by the same fucking trees in the same fucking forest. Foliage and birdsong was my marching troop; nothing more than thin symbols of a brighter world around me. I would kill to see a single sign of civilisation; so far this road had given me nothing but more roads to be walked upon. Was I cursed? Was I just simply incapable of finding my way?
Was I losing it?
“Bullshit,” I muttered aloud. “Just a long way from the nearest town is all.” So I continued to walk, one paw in front of the other.
Finally my toils paid off.
Just over the hill there was a town, it looked big too. I quickened my pace to try and get my directions sooner rather than later. I hoped that these folks would look past my size and race and just give me the information I so desperately needed. The fast walk became a run when I noticed an equine standing at the edge of town while leaning on a fencepost, he had the look of a guard of sorts.
I got within a close radius of him. “Excuse me sir, might I ask for directions?” I said softly.
No answer, the stallion continued to look at the ground.
“Excuse me sir, I was wondering if you could direct me north?”
No answer.
“Oi buddy, if you ain’t gonna answer me can you at least say where I can get a map and compass from?”
Still he gave no answer.
“Are you deaf mate or just rude?” I said with a harsher edge, extending my paw to push his head back up from its position staring into the ground.
Lifeless eyes stared back at me as a second mouth drilled into the neck of the stallion gave the silent answer of "I’m sorry, what was that?" I recoiled at the sight of the dried blood caked around the hair on his neck.
“Sweet mother...” I whispered to myself. “The hell happened here?” I looked up from the corpse, which I now noticed to have been propped against the post like a flesh scarecrow, so that I could look around the town. It was totally quiet.
I began to carefully pad my way into the town, constantly wary for signs of danger. My nose began to pick up faint scents of blood that had been washed away with powerful soaps and perfumes. Somebody had cleaned this place up, why would you clean up a murder scene so efficiently? I saw a shop in the near-distance with a sign that had a picture of a book on it, a library perhaps? The quick trot to get there was as uneventful as the rest of my intrusion on the ghost town so far. I nosed open the already open door, ducking to gain easier entry, and gently walked inside.
It stank to high heavens. All the smells I thought should have already been beating against my sinuses took their moment to rush into my skull. It was the worst thing I’d smelt that I could rightly remember, it kicked up more of a stink than my own burning flesh. I scanned the area with slightly teary eyes to try and locate the source of the stink. Basic observation showed that my hunch had been correct and that the building was a library so I began to search for a single section that might give me a clue to where I was. Looking past the first bookshelf was once of the biggest mistakes I ever made.
Stacked higher than the shelves was a pile of rotting corpses of varying types, equine and more. I shuddered with disgust, then fear, then disgust again. I didn’t vomit though, which I found most strange to be honest. I would think that to the eye not used to such a thing it would take a very powerful toll.
A book slammed to the floor and I shot away from the bang that had originated close behind me. My eyes darted about the room; trying to find anything abnormal that may have caused the falling of the book. Nothing but bookshelves and dusty floors seemed to be keeping me company. I turned my attention back to the fleshy-pile festering in the middle of the room; the smell was now a faint worry. Careful footsteps were taken towards the pile so I could search the rot for something useful, not like they needed anything anymore.
Rooting through the effluvial grime was a simple task made hard by the involuntary gags and heaves my body took due to the intensity of the stench that was emitting from the pile. The worst was closest to the bottom; where the combined mass of the corpses on top had increased the rate the bottom-half of the pile festered. The resulting heat mixed with the aforementioned stench only increased the foulness of the task. A body rolled from closer to the top and fell onto my back. The rotting skin split wide, bursting the side of the equine that had landed on me. Guts crawling with all manner of corpse-based parasites poured onto the ground as the now husked body slid slowly from my back.
I arched right then and there, splattering vomit all over the floor of the library. Stumbling blindly from the corpse pile I whined loudly with my tail flitting betwixt my legs. This was beyond messed up. I couldn’t tell you a single moment of my life where I seen anything as messed up as this. Painful scars dashed across my brain, fuzziness crawled along synapses as the mistress called Memory coiled her scarlet whip in preparation to serve out pain via another sudden leathery lash of recollection.
Screams inside screams, blood within blood, rot surrounded by rot. Everything overlapped, and for a brief shining moment I forgot my own reality in a desperate bid to find another; it was one where I was surrounded by old men and mathematical equations. It was beyond the concept of random, but it felt like home. The falsified reality was perfect until a striking pain across my chest broke me from the sanctuary of the mind.
Another strike, this time across my head, ensured that I was ripped from my stupor. I tottered a few metres to my right as it led away from the direction of the strike. Another book slammed close by my feet. The utter confusion eventually subsided long enough so that I could locate my attacker.
“Go away!” The little tan mare squeaked in my general direction from atop a nearby bookcase. “Leave me alone you monster!”
“Calm it down lass; I’m no mon…”A book relocated from the shelf to my face before I could finish the sentence.
“No! You’re with her, the one who did this!”
“I don’t have a bleeding clue what you’re talkin’ about! Quit chuckin’ novels at me!” I snapped. The mare atop the shelf continued to eye me up, probably not believing me. “Are we good? Besides use your brain, I’m clearly not from around here!”
The basic statement of fact was enough to bring the mare back over from the nutty-side of life and take a good long look at me. Her features shifted between confused, and then frightened, until her expression became a strange mixture of both.
“What are you?” she asked, book at the ready.
“My name is Gabriel, what is yours?” I began taking steps towards her. “My name is…”
The room was perforated by a shrill laughter that stung at my brain.
“AH!! I KNEW I MISSED ONE!” shrieked a third voice from somewhere in the room. “Yes! I knew I did, can’t fool this one! Hiding like rat, hiding like rat….. Can’t be allowed, can’t be allowed!” Something moved on the upper level, the mare on the shelf was swiftly snatched and pulled out of sight by ethereal vines that burst forth from the darkness.
One scream was all she had time for, until the darkness claimed her.
“Hold on lass!” I shouted, leaping up to the next level. “I’m here for you! You’ll be okay!” I leapt into the shadows after the creature that had snatched the mare away. I swiftly became lost in a maze of bookshelves. Loose pieces of paper crumpled underfoot as I briskly strode about; occasionally I would call out for the lass I was searching for. The smell of the corpse-pile had become fainter since moving further away but still the nefarious presence clawed its way through my nostrils. Once in a while I would find a splatter of blood, or even an errant body-part.
Something was in the shadows; lurking about in search of prey. The thing that had taken the mare was not ordinary by any stretch of the word; it was monstrous in its ability to mask its intent. A book slid from a shelf, impacting on the floor far away and casting echoes through the tall wooden holders of written knowledge.
From a few feet ahead there came a few pitiable cries.
The pace of my trot increased by a marginal amount so that I might discover the source of the crying; a final bookshelf later and I found it. Husks of creatures long dead peppered the walls, stakes driven crudely through their flesh to keep them pinned. Rusty halter-chains dotted about the room rattled regularly in a non-existent breeze. Several archaic candles with dimly burning wicks wheezed out small glimmers of light into the dusty environment as poorly coloured wax dripped steadily onto finely grooved metal candlesticks. The gentle sobs of the tan mare offered strange comfort to me as each small note generated from the raw fear within her kept reality tightly locked around me.
I then saw a new visual stimulus swiped onto the far wall. Painted onto the surface, with what I hoped was paint, was a symbol that I didn’t understand but I know leant towards the demonic. It was all sharp points and wire-coils with barbs spiralling off in random directions. Were it not for the situation it were placed one might have stopped to appreciate the lighter side of such a wicked work of art. Beneath the symbol was an altar with the tan mare – hardly even attempting to cry by this point – strapped down harshly by slightly frayed ropes. This was lavished in a similar manner to the rest of the area, all skulls and body parts; proper gothic design.
The thing that had taken her was lurking around somewhere.
Legs began to work slowly, carrying me closer to her. My brain kicked itself awake and meekly muttered ‘danger’ as my pads glided across a clearly discoloured floor panel. Wooden shafts sprung from the ground around me and formed a perfect box shaped prison cell, with no roof. The grey matter in my head continued to writhe as, through this marvellous new information, I was now able to gauge that something was wrong.
The same booming cackle from before drilled its way across the area; bouncing off the walls with spasmodic rhythm. Whoever owned that laugh was either really, really, REALLY happy; or they were several shades of screwed in the head. My head accepted the latter, my heart hoped for the former.
“So!” The Screech boomed again. “What do we have here? Another visitor to long-dead family; a spawn of foul magic; an oddity rejected by nature? Oh how I could whittle away the hours by simply guessing what brand of freak you may be… Oh, such fun indeed!” The tirade of The Screech was beginning to wear thin; nameless terror could only grip the heart for a certain span of time before it became dulled by anticipation.
“You most likely wonder what I am,” the clearly mind-reading Screech said proudly. “Allow me to introduce myself but first, kneel; I will then consider a plea for mercy.”
“Do you ever quit yammerin’?” I replied with disinterest.
“How dare you!? I am on a sacred mission to…”
“Oh by the stars, a sacred mission! I’m impressed! I would say mission accomplished; provided the mission is to bore as many Irishmen as possible.” My words clearly had an effect on The Screech, as she roared with even more menace than before.
“How dare you! This is disgraceful, you cannot speak to me in that manner you insolent pup! I should…”
“How interesting,” I drawled. “The big bad voice recognises a canine. Truly you possess intellect far beyond anything I could ever hope to imagine.”
The Screech hissed and spat various expletives around, every word floated around the room as a balloon of hate. It had become tiresome by now; even my original task to rescue the mare had become somewhat dulled by The Screech’s speeches. The confines of the roofless prison were clearly designed to hold small creatures that lack the power to either jump very high or get themselves airborne. I was a large creature that could jump moderately high as well as get myself airborne.
So while The Screech continued to whine with an oversaturation of swears, I leapt over the wooden bars holding me in the worst cell ever created. A quick scan of the area revealed nothing new; not a single other obvious trap lay in wait. The mare tied to the altar had totally ceased her crying by now and was resigned to her fate. I quickly made my way over to her side and snapped through the bonds keeping her down. She became wide-eyed; prepared to scream. I placed my paw over her mouth and shook my head side to side. The tan mare got the message.
The Screech either lacked the prowess to notice its prey had been freed, or it was smarter than I had assumed. Either way, it continued to rant and rave about nonsensical things. With a flick of my tail I beckoned for the tan mare to follow me back through the bookshelf maze that had brought me here. Despite clearly not knowing whether I was a new threat in disguise, or a saviour sent from the outside, the tan mare kept close. We retraced my steps with care and made sure every other moment that we weren’t being stalked by The Screech. My paw nudged something; it was far too warm for my liking.
I slowly started to look down and regretted it before I even laid eyes on the warm thing. It was a face; at least I think it was a face. The skin around its mouth and jaw had been carved away, revealing the pale white bones and scarred muscle beneath. Eyes devoid of feeling, bloodshot from fear or madness, were staring back at me. Mottled grey hairs peppered what was left of the skin on its body. I could see its ribs, I was able to make out the stomach churning, a few entrails dangled from a hole in its belly.
“Found you,” whispered The Screech.
I swiped at the mauled thing beneath me as my mind spun into a disgusted frenzy. Using my head as encouragement I forced the tan mare to run ahead of me, I couldn’t say if it was for her protection or my own. The Screech howled in delight and gave chase, it was impossible to pinpoint just where it was coming from. The tan mare was crying again and I would have too, if my tear-ducts were not paralysed by fear. Light ahead spurred us on, a great reward for outrunning our satanic hunter. We burst into the main atrium of the library, or should I say the corpse room, and leapt over the railings. I landed without a hitch. The tan mare landed funny and went down hard. She hit the floor and wailed in pain, kicking her back legs wildly as if to beat back some invisible force. I took no time at all to help; I simply focused my mind on picking her up and...
Nothing happened.
I blinked a few times, and then tried again. I focused my entire mind on picking the tan mare up. ‘Up! Up! Up!’ I said over and over in my head. Nothing was happening. I was trying to make my magic work and nothing was happening! The Screech was getting ever closer as I fumbled about trying to make my powers work, the tan mare still thrashing in pain. In the end I gave up, running to my injured companion and awkwardly wriggling underneath her so she eventually rested on my back. With no more time left to waste I ran to the door and leapt into the sunlight, the rays mockingly bright but oh so beautiful in comparison to everything inside the library. Not that it took much to be brighter than a building full of rotting corpses.
The tan mare on my back continued to squeal in pain as I made it my full intent to get as far away from the town as possible. The logic my body was running on was that The Screech couldn’t go outside either the library or the town. It wasn’t strong logic, but it was better than nothing. My desperate running continued for well over ten minutes until the town was little more than a pinprick behind me. The Screech seemingly never left the library. We were safe.
*
The two of us camped on the outskirts of the town for about an hour. Neither of us said much to start off with but we eventually warmed up to one another. The tan mare’s name was Shimmer; she was a dressmaker back in town. She told me how until two weeks prior the town hadn’t been any different to usual, save for a few more caravans passing through than scheduled. Then a colt went missing, and then four went missing, then fifteen. She said that two days ago she had simply woken up to find the entire town was gone, except her. There was no blood running down the streets, no signs of a fight and there had been no commotion. It apparently seemed like everyone in town had just packed up and left. So she started to search for something that might have given her an idea as to what had happened.
On the first day she found nothing, having spent half the day waiting in her shop for customers. The second day was less fruitless. She decided to search the library, finding the same array of corpses that I had. She told me that after that she had hidden in her shop for the entire day; she had locked the place down tight. Today she decided that she would flee town and seek help. Only she had seen me coming and gotten scared. In her panic she ran into the library and tried to hide, I knew the rest from there.
I began to think to myself while Shimmer tried to get a bit of sleep. It seemed so surreal to me that such a quiet little town would be the victim of something so horrific. However that also gave rise to a very simple question. Why not Shimmer? Everyone else in town had been taken and butchered, but what stopped The Screech – I assumed that was what had done the damage – from taking Shimmer as she slept? Something didn’t add up about this entire affair. In my gut I knew that my business in that town wasn’t finished yet.
*
-Day 20, Week 3, Year 1-
Shimmer and I had slept more out of fear exhaustion than genuine need for sleep. The crash after out life-threatening experience had been more than enough to knock us down for the count. I had woken with the sun already merrily sitting above us; Shimmer was still sleeping a few feet away. We had decided that she had most likely severely sprained her leg or broken if she was unlucky. I walked around nearby looking for food, never venturing far from Shimmer. I managed to catch a rabbit and quickly ate it, the noise woke my companion. I wandered over to her without delay, and her first words confirmed my fears from the previous day.
“We have to go back to town,” she said before I could even say good-morning.
“I’m sorry?” I asked, despite having heard her clearly.
“We need to go back to the town Gabriel, back to my shop. There are things there that I won’t leave behind.” I was already getting her onto my back. “Okay then, let’s go Shim’. We can’t mess around though.” Shimmer nodded in agreement, shuffling on my back to get comfortable. The two of us made our way down to the town. We entered through the main entrance to the town, no scarecrows lurking around this time. Now that I knew what had transpired in the town it felt wrong to be stepping here. I could feel The Screech watching me so I stayed far away from all the shadows and alleyways just to be safe. Shimmer guided me through the ghost-town to her shop, it was a modest establishment called ‘Stitched Together.’ A nice name for a nice shop in a nice little town; niceness topped on niceness wrapped in a bow of niceness. All ruined by whatever the hell was lurking in that library.
We came to the door and I tried to open it, it wasn’t budging.
“I’m sorry, I forgot to say. It has a one-way lock. I dropped the key back in that library...” Shimmer trailed off as she mentioned that building. “A-Anyway, there’s a key hidden around back. The gate is to the left.” I nodded, not wanting to talk back. I followed Shimmer’s instructions and nosed open the unlatched gate, entering the back garden area. It was a simple garden, white picket fence with a few benches and a flowerbed. It was nice; too nice all things considered.
“Where’s the key Shim’?” I asked, still keeping my eyes open for any sort of threat.
“I keep it under that fake rock over by the flowers.” Shimmer whispered. I could tell she was scared, hell I could feel her heartbeat against my back. I wandered over to the rock and nudged it over with my foot.
Nothing was underneath it. The key wasn’t there.
“Fuckin’ dammit...” I muttered to myself. “Why is it I have the worst feeling that our lil’ friend nabbed it?” Shimmer made an audible gulping sound. “I-I think... Maybe we could go to Razz’s place, he has a spare key that I gave him a few weeks ago.”
“Jus’ lemme think for a moment,” I said plainly. I paced around for a moment and started to wonder about every avenue that this could take. I didn’t wanna trawl across town anymore; I could feel The Screech lurking around in the shadows. I padded over to the back-door and applied a little pressure to it.
It slowly swung open to reveal an overturned interior. I felt a deep chill run across my body as I took in all the new information. Shimmer hunched down into my fur, like a child cuddling to its parent’s chest. I walked over the threshold and looked around to the back of the door. I nearly jumped away in shock. There was a corpse that had fallen on the handle, forcing it to remain open. It was a stallion, barely. Something had burrowed a neat hole into his skull and simply left the body to rot. I quickly trotted inside, leaving the door open so I could get out faster if needed. My paw knocked something cold and metallic. It was a key.
I picked it up with my mouth and passed it backwards to Shimmer; she took it without a word. It was meaningless now, but she no doubt wanted something to remember her less chaotic life.
“Okay Shim’, what am I lookin’ for?”
“I keep it upstairs in my bedroom, underneath my bed,” she paused for a moment and then hunkered down deeper into my fur. “Please hurry Gabriel. This place feels wrong now, and I have a terrible feeling about the corpse by my door. It scares me.”
“Okay Shim’. Jus’ hang on tight now y’hear?” I said before setting off. The shop was a wreck. Mannequins were all over the place, some had similar head injuries to the corpse by the door. Why the hell did that make me feel so cold? Despite the light pouring in through the windows the shop remained bleak, nothing was quite bright enough for my liking. I located the stairs without much effort, they were behind the counter, and I slowly made my way up them. Every freakin’ step made a creaking sound. Every tone that bounced around the shop made Shimmer cling ever tighter to my back.
Once we made it to the top of the stairwell Shimmer pointed a hoof towards the closest door to me, strangely I still felt like this wasn’t my first stop in this bizarre place. The door opened without much resistance, no corpses on the other side of this one, to show a lightly furnished bedroom. It was far too dark in here. Why was it so dark in a place with so much light? Once I was past the doorframe I nudged it shut with my back-foot, safety was gained from that.
“Aw’ight Shim’ you said under the bed right? What exactly am I lookin’ for?” Shimmer shuffled around a little. “It’s a box, please don’t open it.”
“Gottit, now keep an eye out for me okay?” I slowly made my way over to the bed and once I was there I had to lay on my belly to be able to get under it. There was a small blue box tucked close to the wall, I turned my head back to look at Shimmer.
“The box is blue right? We got the right thing?” I asked. Shimmer nodded sharply with eyes that glinted with joy. I gave her a little smile and turned my head back to look under the bed.
A mannequin head glared back at me from where the box once was. I yelped and scurried backwards, Shimmer digging into my fur out of fear. My heart began to box with my ribcage as I backed away until my rump hit the opposite wall. Neither I nor Shimmer moved for a full minute.
“Gabriel... I need that box...” Shimmer whined, quivering gently against me. “Please Gabriel; it’s so precious to me.”
“Aw’ight lets settle down Shim’, it was just a little scare ‘kay? I’m just a lil’ freaked out from this place,” I said to reassure myself over her. I wandered back over to the bed and laid back down on my front. The head was gone, as was the box. Something in this place was messing with us.
I stood back up once more. “Oookay, if I were a beastie messin’ with a wolf where would I hide his stuff?” I turned back towards the open door and started to wander out of the room. My paw stopped in the air, and my fur stood on end. I was certain that I had remembered to close the door when I entered the bedroom. Shimmer issued another whine and shuffled so her head was closer to mine. The poor girl was terrified. I warily continued outside the door, looking up and down the corridor. There was a mannequin standing next to an open door just to the left of me. Ever so carefully I made my way towards the ghastly waypoint; it had that creepy head-injury too. I entered the room but never took my eye off of the mannequin.
“Shim’, tell me what you can see.” She shuffled a little so she could look around, and gave a tiny gasp. “My box! Its sitting by the sink Gabriel, hurry!”
I turned around, mostly against my will, so I could pick up my pace towards the box. I was in a well-kept bathroom, nothing special. There was a white bath and a white sink with a mirror above it, nothing more and nothing less. Sitting innocently by the sink was that small blue box. I padded over and took a moment to observe my reflection, smirking at the wolf in the mirror.
“I swear if I look back up and see a spooky in this mirror I’ll jus’ laugh.”
“Agreed,” whispered Shimmer. Ever so slowly I leant down far enough so that Shimmer could grab the box and tuck it underneath her. I then counted over in my head for the moment I would get up and have to look in the mirror. One, two, three! I stood upright and glared into the mirror.
‘NoT tHaT sImPlE, wOlF’
My blood became glacial in a second. Shimmer whinnied in fright and continued her shivering. The message was scrawled across the mirror in something red, I told myself it was lipstick. A dressmaker was bound to have lipstick, even if something was using it to mess with us. The exit downstairs seemed all the more welcoming now that everything had become as messed up as I had predicted. I took a deep breath, turning around and walking from the bathroom with my head held high. Shimmer didn’t move from her cocoon in my fur. The shop had become unnaturally quiet now, the shadows continued to murmur ill will at me. The hallway was clear of any mannequins but I remembered the downstairs area was practically flooded with them. So step by step, I began to descend the staircase once again.
Creak… Creak… Creak… Each step, each creak, each palpitation of Shimmer’s heart; all these sensations sent icy daggers into my brain. We finally arrived in the display area of the shop. The mannequins were still as disorderly as they had been prior. I smiled to myself and started to make my way to the back-door, only to stop halfway there as I begun to question my eyes. The door was firmly closed and the corpse that had been beside it was nowhere to be found. Shimmer glanced up from my fur and whispered something to her box; I had begun to quake slightly. Once we reached the door I lifted my paw and pushed down on the release latch. It wouldn’t budge.
I shook my head in disbelief and pushed even harder on the latch, still it refused to move an inch.
“What’s happened Gabriel?” Shimmer asked quietly.
“The door won’t budge; I think something tampered with it. We’re not leaving through here Shim’.”
“The front door, I picked up the key and besides it has a release latch too.”
“Good plan Shim’,” I said without much confidence. I turned around and made my way back into the middle of the showroom. The front door was blocked by a small pile of debris, mostly mannequins with that damn head injury. I pushed my way past them and tried to ignore the implications that the motionless dolls carried with them in this town of the dead. Once we reached the door I once more lifted my paw and placed it on the release latch. With a little effort the latch began to open. I smiled in triumph and applied greater force, already moving forwards to push the door open.
Something placed its hoof on my back.
“Shim’,” I whispered. “Did you just touch me?”
“No.” I ignored it, pushing against the door harder and harder. I could feel more and more hooves touching my flank, but I refused to look back at them. They wouldn’t trick me. Cracks of light begun to form as the door swung outwards. Shimmer started to thrash slightly and I assumed that she was feeling the hooves touching her too. The damned door couldn’t have been opening slower and still more and more hooves began to swarm me, never entering my vision but crawling across every inch of my skin. With one final, fearful push I tumbled from the shop. We landed in a heap just outside in the blazing sunlight. It was just me and Shimmer, as well as the pile of mannequins that had followed us out from the shop. I propelled myself upwards from the ground, my tail flicking about wildly to try and dispel the nightmare I was walking in. Shimmer was openly crying now, if it was from joy or fear I couldn’t tell.
I didn’t want to spend one more second inside that forsaken town. Not even taking a moment to warn Shimmer of my intent, I took off at full speed. The mare on my back clung even tighter to me without even needing to be told, her heart continued to assault my spinal cord. We passed the library and once more I could feel The Screech’s eyes digging into me. I didn’t stop running until we had cleared the town and fled far into the nearby forest. Finally I collapsed from overexertion, and Shimmer wiped her face into my fur to get rid of any lingering tears. Despite my weariness however I still wasn’t ready to finish my day yet. I forced Shimmer to fall off my back and she immediately snatched up her box and looked at me warily. She knew what I was going to ask.
“Shim’ I am only gonna ask you nicely one time, what is in that box and why did you need to get it back so badly?”
“I already told you Gabriel!” she barked. “It’s precious to me, which should be enough for you to back off.”
“Okay then how about I change that sentence a little, what is in that box that the mannequins didn’t want us getting?” Shimmer’s eye became smaller. “Shim’, what the hell is in that box? Because I’m thinkin’ that whatever it is, it was what stopped that thing in the library from killing you in your sleep. So what exactly is in that box that causes shops to kill folks, makes mannequins come to life and prevents evil murderers from sneaking into your home at night?”
Shimmer looked for a way out of her situation, anything that could assist her. But she knew as well as I that there was no other way out of this that didn’t involve her getting hurt even further. “Okay, I’ll tell you Gabriel. I guess you deserve to know the truth,” Shimmer said gently. The mare placed the box on the ground and knocked the lid off with a hoof. Inside was a small, disc shaped object covered in strange symbols and writings. Despite its benign nature the thing seemed to glow with a sickly power. I looked at her quizzically and moved my face in a little closer.
“I don’t know what this disc is exactly because I found it in the woods two weeks back, all I know is that when I had it I was never without inspiration, I always knew exactly what I wanted to do or say or create no matter what had happened,” Shimmer was awash with pride at this. “Only I began to notice strange things happening around about the same time that that colt went missing. Things around the shop were misplaced, mannequins had been moved, and clothes were left on the floor. Most noticeably I always felt like unless I had the disc with me I was being watched. So I took to carrying it with me everywhere, and soon enough more and more residents started to vanish and more and more weird things started to happen around the shop.”
Shimmer started to shake a little, her little brown eyes glistening with moisture. “I don’t want to think about it, but I know I have to ask… What if I was the one that caused all these horrible things to happen to the town? What if I caused them all to die?” Shimmer began to sob once again, I was surprised that she wasn’t constantly applying the waterworks after everything that had happened to her, and I was wondering how I had kept a level head throughout all this. I didn’t know what to say to her without making it worse. My suspicions had led to the same conclusion of whatever the hell that disk was had caused The Screech to butcher everyone in town and that disk had caused Shimmer’s shop to come to life and try and keep me locked inside. All signs pointed to Shimmer being the ultimate cause of the town’s twisted fate, and now she sat sobbing on the woodland floor with the same memento that had saved her yet doomed all the others.
I decided it best not to say another word and instead curled up into a ball so that I could think about what had transpired over the last two days. Even after all the complaints I had made, I would pick walking for hours on end over the recent freakish display without question. My companion was far too vulnerable for me to judge harshly. In her defence the poor girl had no way of knowing that her discovery would bring ill-fortune to the town she loved, and I couldn’t blame her for wanting it back. So with a small irritated sigh, I helped Shimmer onto my back again and told her we were going to find somebody that could help fix her leg. My tan friend gave a meek response and ducked her head down into my fur so that she could rest. I on the other hand took a moment to make sure my legs were working, and then made it my goal to get as far away from that evil town as I was able.
*
-Day 23, Week 4, Year 1-
We had travelled for enough time for the sun to rise three times over. So three days had passed since Shimmer and I had fled that vile town. It had been hard going in terms of food for me, less so for Shimmer. As a plant-eater Shim’ barely had to go far to find something that she could at the very least keep down. I was a carnivore; I needed to hunt for food. With my friend still unable to walk she has pretty much made a home on my back, which was a hindrance while trying to hunt down viable prey. In the last three days I had eaten two rabbits, one of which was only able to be caught because it tripped and broke its leg. Needless to say Shimmer was less than impressed with my eating habits but understood why I ate what I did. It even became a joke that I would eat her if I got hungry enough. But I wouldn’t eat her.
She was far too thin.
Shim’ shuffled around a little on my back, she was trying to get some sleep. I was worried for her. I was hoping that the leg in question wasn’t broken but I couldn’t put it out of the question. I had asked her over and over and over how far away the next town was. Every time she would say ‘just a bit further.’ Three days of ‘just a bit further’ later and we still hadn’t seen a thing.
*
-Day 24, Week 4, Year 1-
Four days of ‘just a bit further’ had passed, and finally I saw the bastion on the horizon. It was a small, dainty place that shone as if gilded with holy fire. Shim’s cute snoring soon became a slightly disturbed yelp as my sudden burst of speed caused her to bounce around on her crimson mount. I started giggling almost deliriously as my canter became a giddy sprint. The distance between us and the village on the horizon was closed within the next fifteen minutes of travel, Shim’ constantly yelped as she was jostled around. It was only as I approached the first entrance I found did the elephant in the forest stomp its way across my brain.
I was a huge red wolf with a horn; the injured pony on my back only added to the image.
My paws applied the brakes just as the guard-pony on the gate lazily looked up. His bleary eyes slowly registering what was before him, Shimmer began to crawl towards my head so she could make the first introduction.
“He’s friendly!” she shouted. “Don’t freak out he’s friendly!” The guard-pony blinked the remnants of weariness from his eyes, and then practically shit himself.
“Didn’t you hear the lass? I’m not here to hurt you okay? I’m just a really big wolf who really needs some help,” I said as softly as I could. It clearly wasn’t working to full effect as the guard was steadily backing away.
“Please sir, please listen to us! This beast is not in here to harm you or anyone in this town. I’m injured, hungry and tired, as is my companion. I implore that you allow us into the town.” The guard-pony blinked several times, and then nodded quickly while beckoning us into the town.
“Where the hell did you learn to say stuff like that lass?” I asked Shim’. She simply giggled a little bit and winked at me before snuggling back into my fur.
I followed after the guard-pony; eyes flicking to the sign overhead. Strangely it didn’t have the name of the town. It was early in the day so the town was slowly winding up, only to wind way back in when they saw the humongous wolf marching through their town. A few screams, a few more whispers, even more slightly slammed doors. The guard was directing us towards the most official looking building, most likely the town hall. The children were the strangest part of it all. Not a single child ran away. Every young-one that saw me either watched in awe or made their way towards me, not one was scared of the wolf that walked among them.
Before long I had amassed a fairly large gathering of underage ponies. I didn’t quite know how to feel about that overall. Shimmer looked behind us and giggled slightly; clearly she enjoyed the strange show. The children giggled and whispered, one or two said ‘try and pet him’ to another member of the crowd. I shook my head a little bit and started to smile at the simple joy that my presence was bringing to the younger population of the town. We eventually arrived at the town hall, the doors flanked by two large stallions in armour. Shimmer murmured something to herself about ‘irregularities.’ I knew what she was questioning; the stallions didn’t look like standard watchmen.
The guard who led us here spoke some sort of passphrase to the stallions and we were allowed entrance into the town hall. It was far less grand than I would have assumed. It was one large room littered with notes, pages and books. A single large desk cluttered with all sorts of official looking documents; a few ripped beyond recognition. An old wooden chair sat on one side and the occupant was a weary, but youthful looking, mare. Her chocolate coat has lost its lustre and her mane was sticking down to her neck. The guard whom has escorted us from the entrance took his leave without saying a word, leaving us with the mayor. She glanced up to us from her work, not even an eyelash was batted at the sight of me.
“Uh... Excuse me?” Shimmer asked. “Are you the mare in charge of the town?” The mare behind the desk nodded slowly. “I am; my name is Briar Holten. I am the mayor currently instated here. May I help you?”
“Lemme cut to the chase lass,” I said quickly. “I’m a traveller who stumbled across the town four days down the way, and that place is fucked.” The mayor flinched slightly at my curse, but I continued to explain. “The lady on my back is the only known survivor of whatever the hell ripped that place up and she’s hurt kinda bad. I implore that you at least give her some help.” The mayor gave a weary sigh, climbing out of her seat to trot around to inspect Shimmer. She gave a low tut before tapping the bad leg, Shimmer yelped a little.
“I see; she injured her leg somehow?”
“She landed funny; I’ve been carrying her for the last four days because it’s too painful for her to walk. Think you can get it taken care of?” The mayor nodded once more, almost like she didn’t care what I was saying. “Whatever you need Red I will be happy to supply,” the mayor then trotted around a little more and added. “Provided you repay the debt you will owe us.”
I took a moment to consider this, a brief moment. “Of course, I cannot except for you to help without charging us accordingly.” The mayor smiled and beckoned me to follow her. Shimmer groaned a little bit and moved her injured leg slightly. I was still concerned for her despite the amount of time that she had been renting out my back for her living space. The mayor led us through the town and Shim’s earlier comment on irregularities became all the more obvious. Windows were broken, doors had gashes across the wood, and mothers were huddled around children in fully defensive circles. Something was going down in this town too. I was starting to think that my debt had something to do with solving these problems.
The mayor continued to lead us through the town and every step we took added to the idea that I was going to be directly involved with the solution to this town’s problems. More and more ponies were hiding in their homes even before I came into view, houses looked totally abandoned and some even looked as if they had been bombed out. The only building in the entire town that shone was the clearly marked hospital; at least it was the only thing that looked like a hospital. The mayor steadily rapped her hoof against the door, which was clearly padlocked. A small equine peeked through the glass and, without questioning who else was with the mayor, opened the door. The mayor walked in and smacked the wiry fellow around the head.
“What did I tell you?” she barked at him. “No opening without the password, no matter the situation and no matter the visitor. We need to protect what we have left.”
“S-Sorry madam mayor, it won’t happen again I promise,” the thin pony said shyly. He was far smaller up close and his dirty green coat gave him the look of an oversized blade of grass. He didn’t flinch when he saw me for the first time; he did make a slight squeaking noise however.
“Hey there kid, nice to meet you,” I said warmly. It didn’t look like it did much to ensure him of his safety. Shimmer slowly waved a hood from her nest as a sign of greeting. The thin pony directed us to an empty bed where I gently placed Shimmer down. Her initial smile turned to a frown and she then rolled over to face me.
“This isn’t as comfortable as your fur,” she said plainly. I laughed a little bit, not exactly knowing how to respond to such a compliment. She then proceeded to roll around a little bit more, huff a few times, and then fall asleep. The mayor took me aside as soon as Shimmer was resting peacefully and started to explain what my part was.
“I won’t beat around the bush wolf because I’m sure you’ve noticed what is wrong with my town,” she began to say.
“Aye, I did. But first of all, call me Gabriel.”
“If you insist, but allow me to continue. My town has been under threat for the last two weeks. A band of what I can only call raiders has made their camp about a half mile down the road. They have been a thorn in my side for far too long already, but I can’t risk sending any of my guards away to stop them.
“That is where you come in Mr Gabriel,” the mayor said as she led me towards the door. “You are a wolf, a very large wolf. You are also in a position in which I can use you to my advantage. So I want you to get rid of them, methods are not an issue.”
“So you want me to pop on over to these raiders and deal with them?” I asked slowly. She gave me a curt nod. I looked towards the ground and thought in silence. But the answer was made for me already; not doing this would ruin Shimmer’s chances of living proper for some time.
“Alright then lass, you got yourself a lackey,” I said to the mayor.
“Very good, I’m glad we have an understanding,” the mayor began to turn towards the bed where Shimmer was resting. She then turned back to me. “Actually, let me add a bonus to that contract of yours. Find their leader and bring him back to me, alive.”
“Alright then, y’all got yourself a deal lass. Drag the bastard running the show to you and get a bonus,” I said with a wry smile. “Now give me a place and I’ll go clear it out.”
*
I waited until nightfall to move out. I left through the same entrance that I had arrived in and noticed that the guard detail had been doubled since my arrival. They were gearing up just in case I wasn’t successful in my mission to rid them of the bandits. I walked without pause for the next twenty minutes and I could hear the bandits before I saw them; sky-dancing to see if I could get a new view on the situation. Visible from my first perch with a large glowing spot in the forest, a fire no doubt; so I began to dance towards it. My nose became uncomfortable with all the smells that I was experiencing. Sweat, blood, burnt food, smoke and urine saturated the air above their camp being lifted higher by roaring laughter and swearing. I dipped further downwards, landing close to the outskirts of the camp. It was impossible to gauge just how many there were inside the camp but the mayor told me that there was at least twenty of them. It would be hard to remain hidden simply due to my size being the biggest stealth limitation I had. The mayor told me that the boss was a stallion who wore a large cape embroidered with a single rose and would never be seen without his second in command, a bulky mare who had an identical cape.
At least my targets would be obvious among the crazed mess of the bandit camp. I started my mission without any further delay and immediately hid behind the only cover I could see, a large red tent. I peered around the side of my cover and observed the chaos. Equines and Dogs were leaping about wildly, fighting and drinking with raucous laughter echoing throughout the trees. A large fire-pit was singing happily as more and more fuel was thrown onto it at the slightest sign that it was fading. There was a huge amount of open ground between my position and the next viable source of cover, another large tent. Estimation set the distance at around about sixty metres, way too far for me to get there as the situation stood.
My pack became strangely obvious on my back now, the violin I was guarding weighing my left side down and the phoenix egg felt weirdly hot against my flank. I would now have to wait for my opening to try and move, it was far too risky to try and sky-dance around the camp because I could run out of juice and fall straight into a death trap. So I waited for the single moment that could allow me to sprint across the length of the camp. A few Dogs started to growl at each other over a hunk of meat, this quickly turned into a very loud bickering. A bottle was thrown. Not by one of the Dogs fighting but by another Dog watching. The combat erupted without a second more of waiting. Screeching and biting tore the air apart as the group of Dogs entered a vicious brawl. The entire camp became distracted by the sudden turn of events and began to cheer; some occupants placed bets on who would win.
It was the best chance I was going to get to move, backs were turned and attention was drawn. No one would notice the huge red wolf running across the camp. I broke cover and started to run across the camp as fast as I dared. The fight escalated in brutality as one of the Dogs was stabbed, the majority of the crows cheered. A singular roared with a powerful authoritarian voice.
“Stop this right now you gaggle of savage runts!” exploded the one voice that stood out from the crowd. Everyone went completely quiet, even the stabbed Dog ceased his painful moaning at the command of the voice. I froze in place, painfully in the open, simply in response to this extreme change in pace. The watching crowd started to part and I panicked, I was going to be spotted if I didn’t try to hide. There was only one place that would hide me.
The fire-pit that was still very much alive.
My legs took command and I leapt into the fire. At first my brain screamed in absolute fear, my fur started to explode with sensation. But it was a very pleasant feeling; my brain took a moment to appreciate the sudden feeling of serenity it was now surrounded by. I felt at peace, I also felt totally hidden. I gently looked to my sides and my pack was just as untouched as me, I felt even happier now I knew that I hadn’t destroyed my only other possessions. I turned my attention back to the parting crowd and a slight smile formed. My target was striding through the newly created gap in the crowd, a strangely scrawny stallion with a bright blue coat, striking orange eyes that shared its colour with his mane and, of course, his signature cape. Most noticeable of all was a very large horn coming from his forehead. Beside him was his second, a mare that was far bulkier than any stallion standing close to her. Her mane was midnight black and her coat was deep violet; eyes of near pure white glared out from under her brow. She also wore the cape.
The leader continued to stride towards me before turning around so his back faced the fire-pit, his tail was cut down to a near stump. His second almost mirrored her leader’s movements, turning her back to the fire-pit. Her tail was far longer than her boss’. I kept myself compact so that I would minimize any chance of being spotted by the two standing less than a few feet away.
“Okay then, would one of you like to explain what the fuck just happened eh?” the boss said cleanly, with far more eloquence than I would expect from a bandit. “Well? C’mon then you gang of rejects, explain to me why Saffron and I had to break off our discussion about literature to break up a fight over a slab of meat?”
“We was just playin’ Winslow! Not nothin’ bad was goin’ on I swears!” The boss, Winslow, gave a sharp laugh. “Is that really the truth? Then why, pray tell, is there a man currently stemming the flow of blood from a stab wound?”
“He.... Well he was jus’...” Winslow barked a single order. “Move it! Get him some medical attention or all of you will be on the receiving end of Saffron’s hoof!”
Every single member of the camp jumped about to start following the order, even if they couldn’t help they made it look as if they were working. Within five minutes the injured Dog had been fully bandaged up and was presented as if he were a gift to Winslow. The leader was clearly pleased with the show his people had made. He began to speak to them, a long but enrapturing speech that never slowed in pace and never left the ear wanting more. He was clearly a highly skilled public-speaker, one who overflowed with charisma. Meanwhile I waited in the fire, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. My first target would have to be the one who I assumed was Saffron, the mare beside Winslow. She was clearly a very capable fighter and the camp’s reaction to the prospect of her hoof was enough to scare even the largest stallion to work.
This would be much harder than originally thought, there were at the very least thirty individual members of this camp and I was not confident enough that I could get rid of them all; lethally or otherwise. My flank felt strange, almost as if it was vibrating. I tried to get a look at my pack to try and suss out what the hell was going on. Winslow began to wind down his speech, turning back towards the fire-pit and staring into the heart of the flames with silent eyes.
“Brothers and sisters, you will want for naught so long as you serve under me. You will find whatever glory you seek, you will gain fame and riches beyond all of which you might have once dreamed,” Winslow spun back around to finish his speech while my pack started to make a strange crackling sound. Winslow continued his speech. “You need give nothing more than your absolute loyalty to my cause and swear that you will always follow the orders given,” his voice was trembling with pride; my pack was just plain trembling.
“Stick with me, and you will never know fear again!” Something stabbed into my flank with enough force to make me leap up and roar in pain. Whatever I must have looked like to the camp, it was clearly a sight to behold. No sooner than I had roared had several members of the crowd bolted out of fear, screaming to the heavens about a ‘monster dripping with flame.’ Winslow himself stumbled backwards in shock, falling onto his rump. Saffron, for all her size, was clearly struggling to comprehend the sight before her. The confidence she held started to falter along with her boss’. I gazed over the camp, my mind buzzing with information. At first I felt fear, they knew I was here and they vastly outnumbered me. After a moment of thought however I realised that I could twist this turn of events in my favour.
“Who dares to defile the land I protect?” I bellowed in my deepest tone. “Who evokes the fury of the flame? Who among you directed this affront to my land?!” Not a single member of the party spoke. They had either fled or were paralysed with fear at the creature before them. I continued to spin my tale. “Either the perpetrator steps forward, or I shall burn the flesh from every bone here!”
“It was I, beast of the flame,” said Winslow. “I am the one who led these men here.” Saffron stomped her hoof. “No! It was I! I was the one who directed the band to this land.”
“Silence, you both hold the stench of the trespasser. You shall both remain,” I flicked my head around to try and add some dramatic flair to my show. “As for the rest of you, leave this place for as long as you all shall live, or suffer my eternal fury.”
The lowlifes in the camp needed no more convincing and every living thing that was not Saffron or Winslow fled the camp without so much as a glance backwards. I looked down at the two remaining ponies. I had to find a way to subdue them.
“You two are braver than I would have expected, not many would so willingly take the fall.” Winslow gave a slow shrug and stood back up. “Aye, that is true. But then again not many would know how to tell the difference between a flame-god and a magical wolf. Am I right?”
“Wh-What do you mean by that?” I said unconvincingly.
“Don’t worry mate, I’m not planning on running. I just wanted you to know that I could see right through you,” Winslow gave a sly smirk. “Hell, you were actually a rather timely arrival might I add. Saffron and I were just thinking of how to dispose of those ugly bastards we had to call a party. Not enough loot to go around.” I was shocked by this sudden change in character. The previously borderline fanatical Winslow had shifted into a far more mischievous persona than I had been taking notes on.
“My love,” Saffron began. “I must implore that you at least treat the beast with some caution. He is clearly still very dangerous.”
“Aaah let’s not get caught up on the details, eh Saffy? How about we just appreciate the company of a fine magical creature?” Winslow gave a small chuckle before asking. “So my friend, how may I help you?” I smirked, slowly walking out of the flames to reveal that my height was no trick. “I’m going to need you two to come with me, or else I’ll burn you both alive.”
“I suppose you were sent by ol’ Briar?” Winslow said softly before sighing heavily. “Aw’right, we’ll come quietly. I don’t wanna put Saffy at risk, can’t have her rump getting any hotter now can we?” Winslow was on the receiving end of a cuff around the ear from Saffron for this offhand comment. I was still slightly freaked out by the sudden change in attitude by both of the ponies before me.
I jerked my head towards the direction of the town; neither pony went against my direction. We started to wander away from the fire-pit, only to be distracted by a small chirruping. All three of us paused to listen to this new noise. I turned my head to look back at the fire-pit to try and make out what I was hearing. A large spark jumped from the flames and released a loud chirrup sound. I blinked at it, the spark leaped into the air a few feet before waddling to my paw.
“What the hell?” I whispered. The spark nuzzled my front paw a little bit and chirruped once more.
“You got a phoenix?” Saffron asked me. “That’s quite a rare find, feel like selling it?” I shook my head and offered my paw as a perch; the young phoenix jumped onto my paw and scrambled its way to my head. It chirruped joyfully at its new home.
“Well judging by that plume, I’d say that’s a female phoenix you got there buddy. Got a name?” Winslow said with interest.
“Not a clue, this must be what dug its beak into my rump. Maybe I should call her Beaky?” Winslow scoffed. “Don’t be an idiot Wolfy, you need to give it a truly epic name,” Winslow cocked his head a little bit, and a smile came to his lips. “How about you name her Aisling?”
“Ashling?”
“Yeah, Aisling, a fitting name for a phoenix that crawled out from the ashes of a fire.”
I lifted my paw to eye-level and the baby hopped down onto my paw, again she chirruped happily. Aisling truly was a fitting name.
“Very well then, I hereby name thee Aisling. I hope we can enjoy our time together,” I said proudly to my new friend. Aisling released a small cheep of happiness and hopped its way back onto my head. I swung myself back around to face my new captives. “Alright you two, get moving.”
I had led Winslow and Saffron back to town with hardly a peep from either of them. As soon as we arrived they were both detained by the local guards and taken away for their punishment to be decided. I took the time after that to go and check on Shimmer only to be shooed away by several nurses. Until midnight I had hunted properly for the first time in days before sleeping in the town square. Once the morning sun started to peek over the horizon I awoke to the sound of children playing in the streets, mothers laughing with each other and stall owners noisily bartering their wares to whoever would take them. It was almost strangely intoxicating to tell myself that I was the reason everything could continue as normal; big hero Gabriel had performed his first good deed.
I rose from my resting point and made it a mission to be able to go and see Shimmer, the poor girl was technically my responsibility after all. So I began to wander through the streets with my head held high, already builders had been dispatched to repair the damage that had been caused. They worked doubly quickly with the knowledge that their work wouldn’t be undone any time soon. My fur started to vibrate as I approached the hospital and Aisling arose from her nest with a flourish, cheeping triumphantly. The baby phoenix had been well behaved so far and never dared wander far from me; it clearly thought I was its mother. The mystery that was its birth could probably be explained by a creature with far more insight on the matter, I could only assume that the flames of the fire-pit combined with my use of pyromancy had prompted the phoenix to hatch. Either that or it was just ready to hatch at a very convenient moment in time. I couldn’t care less either way, because I’d gotten a sweet pet out of the deal.
When I reached the hospital doors a cheerful mare with a small cap opened the door with a smile, welcoming me to the premises. I was quickly shown to Shimmer’s bed and told that if I needed anything I need only call. The entire operation had gone from near vacant to bustling with life in less than twenty-four hours. It was quite impressive to behold as the nurses filed in and out of rooms, doctors ran back and forth tending to their patients and the patients were smiling and chatting amongst one another. This was what the town should have been like the days prior were it not for Winslow and his gang. My next goal would be to find Mayor Briar and ask her what was to become of Winslow and Saffron.
I approached Shimmer’s bed and noticed that she was engrossed in a book of some kind. So I stood at the foot of her bed and waited for her to notice the beast lurking beside her. Ten minutes passed and she didn’t even glance up in the slightest. Eventually it was Aisling that became fed-up with the situation and she twittered angrily in Shimmer’s general direction. The reading mare snapped her head up at the new noisy development and shrieked in fright at the sight of me, her cheeks slowly turned flush when she realised who it was.
“Don’t sneak up on me like that you big meanie,” Shimmer muttered coyly, her cheeks now the same colour as ripe red apples.
“Would it shock you to learn that me an’ Aisling have been standing here for about ten minutes now, Shim’?” I asked the now embarrassed Shimmer.
“What? Y-You have?”
“Yeah, clearly whatever you happen to be readin’ is a real page turner cause you didn’t even notice us come in.” Shimmer muttered something I couldn’t hear before saying. “Well at least I know you’re here now, so I hear that ‘the big red wolf’ is the hero around these parts. Come on Gabriel, tell your buddy Shimmer the news.”
I rolled my eyes slightly as I sat at the foot of Shimmer’s bed so I could recount the tale of the previous night. She was hooked on every word of my story, her brow raised when I mentioned jumping in the fire-pit. Despite her brain clearly begging to ask questions, she waited until I was done recounting the events that she had missed out on. The story ended and Shimmer gave me a loud round of applause; a broad grin on her face.
“So that’s how Gabriel the wolf saved the day,” I said. “Now then, I’m reckoning that y’all have got some questions.”
“Indeed I do!” Shimmer proclaimed, punching the air with a hoof. “First thing first, how am I supposed to believe that you jumped into a fire-pit and didn’t become a giant walking fireball?” I chuckled to myself. “There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for that, Shim’. Quite simply put, I didn’t become a giant walking fireball because I was already a giant walking fireball.” Shimmer cocked her head to the side, looking somewhat confused. I sighed a little bit and lifted my paw up and turned it around so the pad was facing upwards; I was hoping that my trick would work. I focused on my paw, willing the flames to come to life. After a few seconds of silence, a small bulb of flame came to life on my paw. Shimmer gave an audible gasp of surprise.
“There you have it lass, walking fireball.”
Shimmer sat up further to get a better look at the fire crackling away on my paw. I waved my paw about and the fire died out. My injured friend clacked her hooves together and giggled.
“Again! Again! Do it again!” she squealed happily.
“Sorry lass, that’s the one show you’re getting today. But it served its purpose didn’t it? Now you know the reason why I didn’t burn to death when I forgot my better judgement and leaped into a fire-pit without thinking.”
Shimmer mulled this over; she gave herself some time to think about her next question.
“So, where’d you get the phoenix from? That’s a rare bird” Aisling gave a slight twittering sound from her perch on my head, I smiled at my new companion and started to explain. I told Shimmer the story of how I was tasked with finding a phoenix egg, leaving out some of the more sensitive details, and how in the end I was allowed to keep the egg for myself. She listened intently, giving appropriate ‘oooo’s and ‘aaaaah’s at key moments.
“So what, you can use magic?” Shim’ asked with a frown. “Is that why you have that horn?”
“I’m guessing so, and it’s actually two horns that form to look like one. That’s why its looks like a spiral,” I stopped my speech to ponder on this. “Though recently it’s been kinda hard to use regular magic, hell I couldn’t even pick you up back in the library when you got hurt. I tried practising some magic yesterday too and nothin’ worked proper. It either failed, or got turned into flames…” Shimmer cocked her head. “So… You suck at magic?”
“Maybe I do lass, or maybe the first magical signs were just a gateway until I get better with my fire. Either way, I gotta practise if I ever wanna be useful in a fight. These paws won’t always work.” My companion scuffed her bedpost a little, and shrugged. “Whatever Gabe, it’s not like you aren’t capable enough to keep going.”
“Yeah, for now at least.”
I suddenly felt all the more uncomfortable. My mind went back to the camp from the night before, how useless I had felt against even a lone foe. For some reason a fight felt different to a hunt. When I was hunting there was nothing to fear, my prey ran until I caught it; never fighting back against its attacker. A fight felt twisted. It felt like I was both the hunter and the prey. You would always be moving forwards to press on my prey; constantly leaping back to avoid the jaws of the hunter. I thought back to the few fights that I had been in, how I’d felt invincible, like not a thing in the world could stop me. Then Yiang beat be silly. Being on the receiving end of a true arse-kicking seemed to have disabled the devil may care attitude inside me. Arrogance and courage had been warped into weakness and fear.
I could no longer stand to be in the same room as Shimmer, so I gave a weak excuse and left, her pitying gaze drilling a hole into my back. Aisling pecked softly at my head, preening my fur affectionately. This gave me some comfort. Once we left the hospital my avian companion fell silent again. She was a sweet little chick, and I cared for her despite the short time we’d been together. I had little else to do that day. My time became consumed by thought and idle behaviour.
*
The sun was starting to set. I was standing on top of the largest building in town, a five floor housing block. Aisling had started to flutter her wings about so I had distracted my plagued thoughts by helping her learn to fly. It was relatively simple; I stayed close to her and made sure she didn’t get hurt. So far she’d managed to maintain flight for a good three seconds, much to her enjoyment. Now the tiny chick was tired out and had nestled down in my fur to sleep. I had taken her onto the building so she could watch the sunset, as silly as that sounds. But after a minute of gazing at the flaming ball dipping below the horizon, Aisling fell deeply asleep. I had remained up there afterwards so I could continue my thinking in peace. The thoughts about fighting still clung to my brain like a disease. In my current state I probably couldn’t wrestle the lollipop away from a kid, let alone take down a fully grown monster without losing my eye or something else equally important. Hiding was the best option for me, so I could avoid other ponies like Saffron and Winslow.
Saffron and Winslow.
My brain leapt upwards and shook off all the cobwebs from its grey matter, shouting commands to the rest of my body. I was sailing across town by that point, my eyes locked firmly on the building they were keeping the two captive tricksters in. I dropped to the ground with a loud thump, causing the nearby ponies to jump out of their skin in fright. Aisling crooned unhappily as she was woken up, pecking my back disapprovingly. I promised my pet that I would make it up to her later, and marched into the holding-cells. The guards didn’t argue against my presence because as far as they knew I was under special orders from the mayor. I could probably sleep in their beds and they wouldn’t stop me. I asked that they take me to the bandit leaders, without delay I was directed down the longest, dingiest corridor in the building. There was a single large door at the end sealed by three padlocks. The guard with me took out a large set of keys and opened the locks one by one, pushing the eventually unlocked door aside. The room stank of salt, blood and sweat. Winslow was slouched underneath the window; his partner Saffron had been tied to a metal post by a short chain. The two of them looked at me silently as I walked in and the guard locked me inside. None of us spoke for a good minute; I was too busy soaking in the details.
It was clear that both of them had been treated roughly by the guards. Saffron’s confinement was bolstered by several lash marks across her back. Winslow has a large gash under his right eye, nearly close enough to have blinded him, as well as lashes and pockmarks all over his body. A few looked too fresh to be old battle wounds. I wandered over to him, the waning sunlight barely making it through the window high above us. Winslow gave me a mock salute and a crooked smile; he didn’t appear to hold me in contempt for what had happened to him.
“Would you two prefer if I jus’ cut to the chase and tell you why I’m here?” I asked the two quiet captives.
“That would be most kind,” responded Winslow, Saffron grunted a little bit.
“Very well then, here’s the deal. I’ve got a plan to get you two out of here and off the wanted list.” Saffron stomped a little. “Does it involve knocking in the domes of those bastards who hurt my baby?”
“If we get the time we can settle your grude, Saffron, but for now I want you to hear me out,” Saffron quietened down. “Good, now here’s the skinny. There is a town just a few days away…” I explained to them the situation of Shim’s home, what had happened, what I’d experienced personally and finally, what I wanted of them.
“… So in the end its rather simple, you two help me make her home safe again, and you can go free provided you promise to stop attacking villages.” Winslow pondered my offer. “Very interesting, I’ll give you that. But banditry is currently our only source of income, so how else could we get by day to day?” I flicked my tail indifferently. “Y’all could always come with me; I could use some travelling companions.”
Winslow looks to Saffron, Saffron remained as stoic as ever.
“Kay, let me talk it over with the missus and we’ll get back to you.”
“Very well Winslow, I’ll make sure no one disturbs you and I’ll be back in an hour. That should be plenty of time to talk,” I said while turning to leave. I pressed my paw to the door, it did not move. I frowned slightly and pushed harder, still the door would not swing open. I pressed the entire weight of my body against the door; it was not showing any other sign of being opened.
“Ayo! What’s happenin’ with this door? I can’t get it back open!” I called out to the guards.
“Exactly,” replied a gruff voice. “Orders from Lady Holten, no one leaves this cell until she arrives.” I snarled slightly, banging my paw against the door. “Like fuck no one leaves! Open this door before I burn it down!”
“Go ahead; you’ll just walk straight into our spears.” I continued to snarl, slamming my paw repeatedly against the door to make my displeasure very clear. The guard had called my bluff with perfect professionalism. All I could do was wait for the bitch in charge to show her face, so my claw could give it a makeover.
*
Then sun had long disappeared by the time the mayor showed. I hadn’t moved from my place directly in front of the door, Winslow has started pacing with eyes full of cold calculations. Saffron had started stomping her hooves in anticipation of a fight. During the wait I had confessed to the two that my powers over fire were so far quite limited, and they had a good laugh at my bluffing skills. Winslow was impressed that I had thought of the idea to trick them on the fly, he was less happy that he’d fallen for it. Saffron was just as jovial about it, though said that once we were clear of the town we would have to have a proper fight to determine who was better. That was when I told them the second part of my plan; them teaching me the basics of combat. While they were surprised, they were also surprisingly okay with the idea of helping me to defend myself. Our shared confinement, and now hatred of Mayor Briar, had caused the three of us to bond quite effectively.
Despite the limited range of my powers I had taken it upon myself to melt away part of the chain that had been holding Saffron prisoner. She could move around freely, but still had a rather snazzy chain as an accessory due to it being locked around her neck; none of us trusting me enough to get fire that close to her face. I heard the sound of approaching equines, and stood at the ready. One lock, two locks, three locks rendered useless. The door swung open and without delay I launched myself through the frame, teeth bared and received a spear to the shoulder. My yelping filled the halls as I was shunted backwards, blood streaming from the hole in my flesh. The arrogant impatience had nearly cost me my life. I quickly stumbled away from the door, whimpering a little bit as the guards flanking Mayor Holten shuffled inside, one was cleaning my blood from his spear. Mayor Holten gave a cold stare, her entire manner has shifted from the last time I had seen her. Another masquerade, another liar withholding their true intents; Winslow wasn’t the only one who could put on a good show. She looked around at us with distaste in her expression; nothing about her intention gave a hint of compassion.
“Ah, Mayor Holten, what a pleasant surprise to see you here,” Winslow purred gently. “What do we owe this gracious visit to our cosy little hovel?” She near literally spat her words. “So not talk like that to me you cretin, I will not hesitate to have my men beat you again.”
“You wound me my lady! I am far more advanced than a... Cretin, as you say.” She made a visible sound of disgust. “Say no more to me, I have my plans for you.”
“Hey lady, what the hell is the deal?” I growled to her, my wound pulsing. “Not to sound overdramatic, but why the heck did you lock me up like this?”
“You are a wolf, a threat no matter how one cuts the situation. Therefore I planned for your ejection from my town, however I never expected you to simply walk directly into my prison. I have, of course, rewarded the quick thinking of the stallion who thought to lock you in once you arrived.” My growling ceased, it hurt to think that I’d been outsmarted so cleanly. I was totally out of my depth in this situation. I wasn’t prepared to defend myself; Aisling had long hidden away in my fur out of fear. Mayor Holten had full control of this situation.
“So here is my offer to you, Wolf,” Mayor Holten began. “I will allow you to leave, no one else. Shimmer will remain in our care, and these two will hang tomorrow. If you ever decide to return, you will hang. Do we have an agreement?”
“I... I want Shim’,” I said. “Shim’ had better come with me or else...” Holten stomped her foot. “No deal, take the terms or hang. The choice is yours.” I bit my tongue slightly. “I...”
Saffron made her move. She launched herself at the nearest guard and slammed into him. He yelped as what plating he wore buckled completely under Saffron’s sudden strike. He was thrown into Mayor Holten and she screeched in shock. The other stallion flanking her stumbled away, prepping his spear to attack. Not a second later he was swatted away by a sudden rush of orange energy, followed by a laugh from Winslow.
“Internal magical wards, they stop you breaking the room but not the shit inside!” he roared with sharp joy. “Well then, shall we make our daring escape?”
“Of course we shall love,” Saffron replied in almost theatrical timing. She delivered a kick to the downed stallion she had flattened. Holten groaned from underneath the stallion pinning her down, and then issued a shout as Winslow gave a flippant hoof to her cheek. The two left the room, the both of them turned to face me.
“Well? Are you coming with Wolfy?” Winslow asked.
“Wait, you’re asking me to come with you. Despite me being the one who got you into this situation in the first place?”
“Sure we are, I mean, we had a deal right? Besides,” he flashed a cheeky grin. “I was looking for a new pet.” I blinked as Saffron gave an oddly warm smile when opposed to her violent display. Then I got to my feet and smiled back. “Alright then, y’all got yourselves a pet,” I said, the pain from the spear wound was starting to die down. I cantered over the defeated guards to join my newest companions. Our antics had stirred up trouble; guards were starting to make their way towards us. Saffron and Winslow began to do what I could only describe as their job. They worked perfectly in sync, Saffron would strike down an attacker and Winslow would pummel the next one to get close to her with magic. I was by far the most terrifying creature there, yet I could do nothing to assist.
Saffron stomped down another guard before facing me; she looked both graceful and crazed.
“Wolf! Get your ass outside and get that girl of yours, we’ll meet you at our old camp. Go!” I nodded. “G-Got it Saffron,” I murmured to her before bolting past the chaos and out of the door. There was a slight shriek from a few pedestrians that had come to investigate the noise coming from inside the prison when I burst from the premises. I didn’t delay, launching myself into the air and dancing across the sky towards the hospital. My hopes were riding on the news having not travelled across the town yet; through I could see the ripples of information crossing across the town. I pushed myself even harder, the wound started to flare up again. The hospital was close enough for me to land and start to run. Almost as soon as my paws touched the ground I could see a few guards in the distance, they had probably tracked me across the sky. I didn’t take a moment to think ahead, barrelling into the hospital and heading directly to Shimmer’s room. The mare looked up from her book, smiling gently.
“Oh hello there Gabriel, why do you look so tired?” she made a slight gasp. “Are you bleeding?”
“No time Shim’, get on my back right now,” I snapped a little too harshly as I knelt beside her bed. Shimmer quickly gathered her things and begun to crawl onto my back without question, though she did look a little taken aback.
Once she was safely on my back I could hear the guards starting to kick open doors, they hadn’t taken the time to ask what room Shimmer was in. My jaws parted a little to issue a gruff chuckle at their impatience to find me. I steeled my nerves, and bolted from the room. They were obviously blocking the main way out so I began to sprint towards the only other viable exit, a window.
“Cover your eyes Shim’, this might hurt a little bit,” I said to her, and she hunkered down in my fur. Aisling made the first sound she had made in a while, a strangely encouraging twitter. My pursuers started to shout things at me, all too late as my feet had already left the ground. It was nothing like it is seen in movies or action literature. The window did shatter but the glass started to cut my flesh long before half my body had left the building. By the time I had touched down on the outside, which in turn caused the glass on the ground to cut into my paws, I was bleeding even more. Shimmer whimpered slightly and Aisling was simply shivering. Despite this my brain screamed at me to keep going. To survive, to get the hell out of there so I could link back up with Saffron and Winslow. I started to sky-dance, my legs wobbling a little bit before I was even a metre off of the ground. Climbing higher and higher I left the village behind, heading towards the trees I knew hid the location of the camp. Shimmer had never been this high before. She knew of my sky-dance but had yet to travel on my back when I was using it properly. She clung to my fur and whined in discomfort, this was more than enough of a motive to kick myself into overdrive.
The trees edged closer but I wasn’t going to make it. My already weary body was growingly all the more weaker and the added intensity of sky-dancing was doing nothing more than depleting my energy reserves. I quickly made my way back to the dirt; my steps had become slightly uncoordinated so it took me a few moments to gather enough speed to run. The town behind me was buzzing with suppressed fury; the guardsmen were likely scouring the entire place for signs of me or my other companions. Hopefully they wouldn’t think to look at the old campsite, at least not before we were long gone. At that point I focused solely on getting my broken arse to the campsite, then I would make my way north. If I ever actually worked out what direction north was.
*
Shimmer was asleep by the time I managed to trudge into the old camp, the fire-pit had died out long before my arrival and several of the tents had been taken apart by what I could only assume were scavengers or wild animals. There was no visible sign of Saffron or Winslow. Aisling made a few soft chirruping sounds, hopping her way onto the top of my head. She scanned the area, deciding it was safe enough for her to leap down from me and totter about on the ground. I stayed close to the little thing, making it so that in a weird way she was leading. Her exploration brought us to the biggest and most colourful tent of all. Upon her hopping past the covering cloth she issued several happy tweets, bouncing back outside and trying to jump back up onto my head. I had to crouch down so the small bird could make it up, I then poked my head into the tent. The inside was strangely under furnished; two beds and a bookshelf seemed to be the only things there. However Aisling’s excited attitude had been sparked by a clear reason. Saffron and Winslow were inside.
The two looked like they hadn’t been around much longer than I had, they also only looked slightly better for wear. Saffron was in the middle of swabbing her wounds and Winslow was dragging a large trunk out from underneath one of the beds. I wandered a little closer to the pair; Saffron gave only a slight nod as a welcoming, Winslow was far too concerned with the trunk to pay attention to me arriving.
“Good to see that y’all made it out without serious injury,” I said while making my way to Saffron. “I was worried that I would be continuing my travels alone.”
“We’ve been in more than one dance darling,” Saffron said. “They were woefully underprepared for an event like a prison break; half of them didn’t know how to use their spears.” I took a moment to ponder this comment, how does a pony use a spear exactly? I vocalised this question and Saffron gave a slight tilt of her head.
“Weren’t you paying attention when you got stabbed?” she asked, making me scuff the ground with my paw. “Regardless, you raise a valid point. Well most guards are trained to use a basic battle harness, a type of armour that basically has a pointy stick glued to it. These kinds of fodder usually rush the enemy to try and impale them.
“A slightly more advanced version allows for the spear attachment to be adjusted so the user could sidestep or even back-dash into their foe to cause damage. The harnesses are the most basic versions however. Many guards carry gauntlets, bands that go around the leg that either have blades or points so swinging the leg or kicking can be even more deadly. Unicorns have magic, so they kinda get a free-pass when it comes to using weapons.”
“So then, equines have strange weapons?” I asked.
“That we do Wolfy, that we do,” Saffron said as she returned to tending to her wounding. I walked closer to the pair so that I could see what Winslow was doing, and Saffron gasped in shock. Before I could so much as flick my tail in response Saffron had descended upon me with disinfectant, swabs and combs. She picked all the glass from my fur, washed my wounds with stinging disinfectant and gave me a small peck on the cheek to top it all off. I gained a small blush and murmured a few words of thanks; Saffron giggled and took Shimmer from my back so that she could care her fellow mare. I finally managed to get close enough to Winslow so that I could see what he was doing. The unicorn had pulled out and then opened the large trunk from under the bed. Many of the things inside were simple; clothing, bottles and jewellery. Winslow had pulled out the most interesting things that the trunk contained.
The first was a two foot long staff; the second was a pair of bladed discs. The staff was enveloped by a cloud of orange energy and lifted from the ground; Winslow smiled gently at the length of wood.
“This is my pride and joy,” he whispered merrily. “Had it since I was a little kiddie, couldn’t leave it behind now could I?”
“I’m guessing those little things are Saffron’s show?” Winslow made an ‘mmnm’ sound and nudged the disc with his hoof. “We call ‘em Shoes, you clip them on your legs and it adds some extra punch to a kick… That makes total sense by the way.” I smiled at his strange wording and told them I was going to stand guard outside, Aisling chittered softly and stood to attention on my head. The two of us stood proudly outside the tent for what seemed like a good while; the trees were silent sentinels. One of these sentinels gave a tell-tale whispering of leaves, my ears pricked upwards and Aisling made a slight growling sound. Seeing beyond the inky darkness I made out the shapes of about ten Equines, the town guards had come looking for us.
I trotted back inside the tent and warned my companions of the impending danger; they quickly set about gathering everything else they valued enough to bring with them. Once Winslow and Saffron were loaded down by saddlebags I helped Shimmer onto my back, Aisling was still looking towards the tent-flap so she could warn us in advance. With the entire party set, I led the way out of the tent. The guards were poking through every single nook and cranny in an attempt to find us. If a stone had been turned over it had been turned over a second time to check for certain that nothing was hiding under it. We quickly made our way past the tree line and delved ever deeper into the forest, despite the intensity of my muscle cramps I still ordered my body to move. A decision I was certain I would regret in the future. Despite not knowing where we were exactly, Winslow was certain that we weren’t in a dangerous part of the forest. The occasional baying of other carnivores made me less sure. Eventually, despite trying my damnedest not to, I collapsed from fatigue. I briefly head Saffron mutter something about settling down for the night before my vision was claimed by the darkness.
*
-Day 30, Week 5, Year 1- [Gabriel]
It turned out that I had caused far greater damage to my body than I thought. When I had woken up in the morning my muscles had felt like sandpaper, my bones little more than thing sticks supporting an underfed shell. So for the next few days I had been out of the action, we travelled very little and simply assumed that the guards had given up their pursuit. By the time I was up and moving, so was Shimmer. Shimmer was extremely happy to be back on her feet, going as far as galloping around the forest while giggling. Saffron was quite the healer it seemed as she nursed both me and Shimmer back to full health with very little effort. When I was out Winslow took command, making it very obvious why he had been able to gather a large following of bandits. Winslow was smart, he knew what needed to be done to ensure that his group excelled. He wasn’t afraid of braining a bunny if it meant that I was getting fed, just as he didn’t mind skipping meals if it meant that Saffron got enough. He was the main reason we all survived those days where I was incapable of moving, and I thanked him greatly for it.
Once I was up and moving, I asked the question that had been burning away at my mind for a great many days now.
“So Winslow,” I asked. “Might you be able to direct me north? That’s where I’ve been trying to go for the last month.” He tapped the ground for a second, and then took a compass and a map from his bags. “North… North… Ah! North is that way,” he said while pointing a hoof to the trees and smiling.
“Oh! That’s the direction my town is in!” Shimmer piped up.
“Wait… What?” I murmured, the news slowly sinking in. Whatever they said in response was lost to white noise. I had spent a solid month going in the wrong direction; I had spent a solid month making negative progress. I raised my head, and issued a single statement.
Chapter 19 Problems Solved and Gained -Day 34, Week 5, Year 1- [Gabriel]
That fated town crested the horizon with its own special brand of sinister gleam. The party and I had travelled for four days with me in near total bitter silence, the sting of my misdirection still hung heavy in the air. I had taken the time on the second day of travel to tell them about the root of my fury, skipping out the part about the beacons for now, and Winslow had given a few understanding words as a hasty response. We had then walked, Shimmer, Saffron, Winslow, Aisling and myself all not wanting to make a single wrong move lest is cause another diversion to spring to mind. That had all come to a close when that town came into view.
Shimmer had immediately slinked into a hiding place behind Saffron, not wanting to ever so much as look at the ill-fated place she once called home. This has attracted a few curious stares from our newest additions. At the time they simply ignored it, but as we settled down to rest, Saffron brought it to light.
“Alright, spill it out kids,” she said with an emotionless edge.
“I-I’m sorry?” whispered Shimmer.
“What is with you two, Shim’ is acting especially weird. An’ it’s only started happening ever since that little town came into view. So spill it, what the hell is in that place.” I relented. “Remember the deal we had, back in that prison? Well that’s it. That is Shim’s broken and cursed home. Welcome to her lil’ slice of paradise, folks.”
“For a broken and cursed home, it sure does look peaceful,” commented Winslow.
“You have yet to see what is inside that library,” I replied; curling up to rest. They wanted to ask more questions, I could feel it, but for the time being I put my head down and let the clutches of sleep drag me far away from the immediate issue.
*
-Day 35, Week 6, Year 1-
Dawn came at a price. As the sun started to spread its influence across the land, Aisling started to flutter and chirrup frantically. The youngling awoke me from a dreamless slumber with her racket; the others were far too out of it for the tiny phoenix to have made a dent in their peace. She hopped around wildly as I steadily made my way back to my feet.
“What is it girl? What’s buggin’ you this hard?” I mused to her; the youngling leapt from her perch and started to hop her way towards a single, old tree. Roots jutted from the earth as they burrowed across the landscape in search of nutrients. Aisling continued to hop until she reached the backside of the wooden guardian, her feathers rippled and she made a strange growling sound. It took a few strides to reach her and to lean around the side of the tree to gaze upon the source of her discomfort.
“Hello there child,” the old Diamond Dog whispered as he pulled a tattered old cloak around his wasting frame. “It is very good to see you again.” My mouth ran dry, my paws tense. “G-Grotto? Is that…?”
“It is indeed I, young Gabriel. Have you taken the time to think about my last words to you?”
“That is irrelevant right now, how the bleeding hell are you here?”
“I will take that answer as a no,” the old Dog gave a weary sigh. “It is no matter I suppose, it is hardly to be expected that you, of all being, would remember my words. Let alone reflect upon them.” I stepped about a little bit, my tail flicking around nervously. “What are you talking about? I remember, I remember!” I murmured loudly. But try as I might it seemed that Grotto was being truthful, the words I sifted through my head to find simply didn’t appear. What was I looking for again?
“You are still immature it would seem,” Grotto chortled. “Once again, it is no matter to I. You have time left, we both do. For now however, I recommend that you simply take a few minutes to slow down and think.”
“What does that mean? You can’t give me nothing and expect to work with it…”
“Gabriel? Who are you talking to over there?” I quickly looked back towards the area my friends were resting in, they had all awoken.
“What? I’m talking to…” I looked back, Grotto was gone. Not a trace remained. For a few seconds I stood in silence. “It… Wasn’t anybody…” This answer gained a few raised eyebrows, but my expression deterred further investigation. Aisling sounded equally confused, from her perch on my head. Grotto must’ve booked it when he heard that the others had woken up, he was fast for an old man. It took the rest of them a few minutes to gather their thoughts and belongings, now we just had to make our way through Shim’s town. My oldest companion clearly held her reservations against this, but it was the only way for me to continue my journey north. Shimmer toyed with something, no doubt the damn rock that she held so dearly. It was time for us to put an end to this nightmarish burg. Shim’ cantered over to me and wordlessly climbed onto my back.
“Can I help you lass?” I asked, amused.
“Just let me do this Gabe, it makes me feel safer than walking,” her words started to trail off, but I didn’t question this. It was no doubt hard for her to have to return to the source of all her woes, safety would be a clear concern for her. Especially considering The Screech was probably still lurking about. Once Shimmer was happily snug in my fur, Aisling having made a few unhappy noises, we started to make our way towards the town. Shadows overlapping shadows, glaring at the wayward travellers that had once more invaded the sanctity of their home. I could almost feel The Screech breathing down my neck. Winslow gave a tiny whistle as he looked around the abandoned streets
A window slowly creaked open, every single head turned to look at it. The wood holding the frame in place had started to rot away, multiple scratches adorning the once fresh polished surface. The town felt dead, deader than it had before. Almost as if it were a corpse that had started to rot away, left to fester in the unknowing sunlight. It felt wrong, it felt unnatural. It felt like I was perfectly at home. Shimmer shivered, clutching the blasted stone to her chest. Saffron’s hooves landed heavily each time that they fell. Winslow kept his staff at the ready. I simply looked around for the slightest sign of danger. A few more random sounds started to float out of surrounding buildings; Shimmer continued to sink further and further into my fur. The situation felt dire without any real reason for it. The town rolled out another series of sinister sounds as the buildings leaned in closer and closer. The shadows curled their fangs, sharpened their claws and hissed out vile intentions as we walked through the already dwindling light.
The nearest exit to the town seemed a mile away, the perception of the horizon seemed to warp as we made our way towards the seemingly impossible to reach exit. A loud crashing sound came from a nearby alleyway; a screeched punched through the air.
“We ain’t got no more time, we gotta go,” I said bluntly, picking up the pace.
“What about that screaming? We have to investigate,” Saffron said.
“No we don’t, I heard that sound before an’ trust me; it ain’t something you wanna get close to.” On that word I continued my struggle to reach the exit to the town. My feet felt sluggish, weighted down by something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Shimmer hadn’t said a word in quite some time; she had her face firmly planted between my shoulders. The gate was only a few metres away now, but it couldn’t have felt more like a marathon level of distance. Winslow and Saffron felt it too, neither one of the equines seemed to be having a good time with the simple task of taking another step after the first.
The sun had long fallen once my paw breached the border of the town and the world was blanketed in darkness.
My paw, however, was not. The lone crimson slash of colour was illuminated as it rested on the opposite side of the town-border. Through sheer curiosity I shoved myself towards the only remaining colour in the world, and was nearly blinded by the sudden violation of my corneas by pure light. The sun sat jovially in the sky, birdsong rolling gently across the lands as the forests echoed with life. I scrambled about in my confusion, Shimmer and Aisling yelping as I tumbled over. Soon after I could hear my other companions following a similar course of action; the sheer confusion of harsh, unforgiving night being slung into calm, merciful day was dumbfounding. Shimmer had practically implanted the damned stone into her chest by this point in time. I shakily got to my feet and turned to look at the town. It looked exactly the same as it had been earlier, cheery and inviting.
“The fuck…. Is going on?” wheezed Winslow as he finally recovered from the shock of the change. “The hell is… That place?”
“I don’t know mate, okay? It wasn’t that fucked last time me an’ Shim’ came through…” I took a few tentative steps back towards the town. I poked my paw over the borderline and waited for something to change. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred whatsoever. I leapt over the borderline and growled to the air, expecting something to attack or cause the world to shift. Again, nothing that wasn’t to be expected happened. I turned back to my party; they gave a slight head-cocking of confusion. Saffron followed me over the line, nothing happened. Winslow was next, again nothing. Shimmer refused to move.
“C’mon Shim’, get back over here,” I ordered softly. She shook her head in refusal. “Aw’right, aw’right. Winslow, y’all stay here an’ keep Shim’ safe. I’ll go show Saff’ the library so she can get an inkling as to what we’re dealin’ with.”
Winslow gave a curt nod; his eyes clouded with suspicion, and stepped back to Shimmer’s side. I turned around and gave Saffron the sign to follow me. She complied without question.
“You know how that looks don’t you Gabriel?” she questioned emotionlessly.
“Course I do Saff’, but that don’t mean we can change it now. So c’mon I gotta show you the worst thing in this place.” We walked without another word until we reached the library; the town didn’t so much as whisper a word of ill-will towards us. We eventually reached the building I was afraid to gaze upon; it looked well all things considered. Saffron cantered up to the door and kicked it down, I gave a questioning look.
“Hey, if it’s as dangerous as you say we should always make sure to announce our arrival. Now come on,” she wandered into the library without another word. I followed after and was about to describe the corpse pile, until I tripped on a coffin. I tumbled over the small wooden box and yelped several times over, Saffron tittered at my display.
“The bloody hell?” I asked as I got back to my feet, slightly flushed under my fur. “The heck did all these coffins come from?” Saffron’s giggling almost immediately ceased. “I’m sorry?”
“This is all wrong… Last time I came here it was a mess, corpses stacked high as a small tower, blood an’ guts litterin’ the gaff.” Saffron smiled. “Are you sure sweetie? Not getting a little addled are you?”
“You don’t just forget that kinda show, Saff’. You just don’t.”
“But how else could it be this different?”
I was about to answer when there came a rending scream from outside. Saffron was off like a bolt, I was hot on her heels. As soon as we burst from the library we almost froze, the town had changed. Everything had become a demented caricature of what it should be. Streetlights acting as black-holes, windows dropping glass across the floor, buildings stretching towards the sky with malicious glares and evil sneers; I felt as if I had stepped directly into hell. When another scream was heard the environment reacted, buildings shuddered and the ground bulged outwards like the earth below was a single blight-filled canker.
“The fuck is happening?” I roared over the mash of conflicting sounds.
“I… I don’t know! But we need to find Winslow right now!” Saffron started to run across the constantly shifting ground, patches of the world falling into oblivion. The clouds in the sky had been replaced by bloody smears; the sky was a single brushstroke of deadly black. I felt like I stumbled into Wonderland, albeit an extremely twisted version. Not wanting to fall behind I started to run after Saffron, but the ground disintegrated below me. I leapt into the air and started to Dance instead of run. Saffron’s legs were working overtime to stay ahead of the collapsing ground, I felt abnormally heavy. Winslow came into view, and it wasn’t a reassuring sight.
The Unicorn was standing his ground against what looked like living mannequins, swinging his staff and slinging his spells with deadly results. For everyone that was shattered another simply formed from the shadows that now roamed the landscape. I dropped from the sky, landing on a mannequin and shattering its neck. I noticed that they bled black ink as opposed to blood, that tiny detail made me shiver. Saffron released a guttural roar as she launched herself onto a pair of mannequins, her hooves crushing their bodies as if they were nothing more than paper. She continued her brutal combo with a kick from her hind-legs that obliterated what could’ve been called a mannequin. Aisling gave a few angry chitters from her perch on my head, but was otherwise totally useless in this situation. With no formal plan established the three of us set out to kill everything that was remotely hostile. Saffron fought with hard-core brutality, Winslow with cold and calculated strikes. I just mauled anything that wasn’t friendly. We fought until my paws were matted with ink and Winslow’s horn began to lose its lustre. But still the mannequins would not stop their assault.
I had resorted to impaling them with my horns if they got too close, my shoulders were too sore to keep swinging them. Saffron was the only one who didn’t even seem mildly rundown from the attack.
“This isn’t working!” I shouted bitterly as I gutted yet another mannequin.
“Really?! What the fuck gave you that idea, huh? Was it the endless horde of living dolls or the part where we’re getting tired?” Winslow snapped back without delay.
“Unless y’all are offering a way to get out of here, shut the hell up! Now where the hell is Shimmer?” Winslow slugged an attacker with his staff, and then pointed to a dress shop with shattered windows. “She ran into there, and these things started attacking me before I could do anything,” he spun his weapon and smashed the skull of yet another mannequin. “That damn stone is doing all this, got that? It’s that freaking stone that she wouldn’t let go of. It’s a…” Winslow was knocked aside by a flailing mannequin; its eyes were stitched shut. Before the creature could so much as raise its leg to strike Saffron had beaten it into inky pieces. She pulled Winslow to his feet and licked his nose.
“Stay alert honey, its dangerous out here,” she simpered before turning around and using her shoe to slash a throat out.
“Don’t worry about explaining now, I’ll go grab Shim’. You two just stay alive,” I shouted to Winslow as I took off towards the dress shop.
The earth roared in denial, dropping out beneath me to try and prevent progress. I Danced my way across the sky to avoid the trap. Once I reached the door it swung open with a pleasant tinkling sound, the interior was far less appealing. As far as the eye could see there were mannequins with holes bored into their heads and their eyes sewn shut, ink splattered the environment. My paws became even more sodden in the black substance that ran as if were the provider of life in this place pooled around my legs. I started to wade through the ink, looking for a single sign of Shimmer. The only clue I had to follow was the sound of soft sobbing coming from somewhere it the shop. The mannequin heads tracked my movement, stitched eyes silently judging the interloper in their home. The ink became thicker and thicker as I made more progress, the world shuddering in fury as I made more and more progress against its trickery. The sobbing started to rise in volume as I got ever closer to the source.
The environment warped itself and buckled, ink pouring in from festering slash-wounds in the walls of the shop. The ink had become waist high at this point, it was getting nearly impossible to move. Aisling clung on for dear life as she squealed in fright at every new development; I had my new goal. I had to get the poor chick out of there. I slogged my body around what seemed like the ninth twist on the path to the source of the sobbing. My effort paid off. Sitting on a tiny island of fabric was Shimmer, her tan coat soaked with ink and her eyes gripped by fear. As I pushed myself through the still rising levels of ink she snapped her sight to me. Wordless sentences were sent tumbling out of her jaw; the stone was nowhere to be seen. I locked my eyes onto hers, pushing my slowly draining body through the murky liquid holding me back. Shimmer continued to mouth nonsense, her coat was dead and wasted where it wasn’t covered in ink. The ink-level was nearly up to my snout now; movement was starting to become close to impossible. But still I forced myself to move, forced my paws to take each new step towards Shimmer with the promise of safety coaxing my brain into operating sufficiently.
The effort made it worthwhile, my paws hit some kind of stairwell and I eagerly pushed my way upwards towards Shimmer’s small island. My fur sagged on me like a heavy blanket, the weight of the ink felt astronomically out of proportion to what it should’ve been. I carried myself up the stairs, looking down I saw that they were not stairs. I was walking on piles of needles, points gladly facing away from my paws. For every step I took, the world released another scream of discomfort. Shimmer cringed harshly in synch with the screams of the world; her eyes were sending tears out in violent streams. Aisling had gone beyond simply vocalising her discomfort, she was leaping about on my head as if the world was ending, which it did seem to be. I slowly started to extend a paw towards Shimmer, but she simply made a soundless scream and backed away
“Shim’, it’s me Shim’. Don’t you recognise your friend Gabriel?” I asked her with as much sympathy as I could muster. It gained no response. “Shim’, I need you to focus on what I’m saying to you, okay? Where is the stone? Where is it?” Again I gained no response from Shimmer; she simply continued to have her strange noiseless fit. Something entered the room. I couldn’t hear it, or see it or even smell it over the overpowering stench of the ink. But I knew it was there, watching me. I slowly started to turn, and sure enough at the end of the room stood The Screech. Only it looked calm. For all the rotting flesh and mottled fur, it looked calm compared to the last time I had seen it. It walked without hindrance through the neck high levels of ink, a strangely sad expression playing across its face. Shimmer saw the thing and started to scramble around on her island, looking for a way to escape from the advancing figure. I didn’t know what to think of what was unfolding around me. It held the constant threat of danger, yet connoted truth. The Screech ascended the pin-laden staircase, the walls contorting in bloody anguish with every step. I noticed properly for the first time that The Screech had a similar head-injury to the mannequins that had been attacking us.
Then it was upon us. The Screech stood not a foot away from me and all I could do was stare at it. Now that it was standing still, it looked pitiful at best. Shimmer continued to whine; forelegs wrapped around the back of her head, like she were trying to stop her skull breaking free from her head. I watched in morbid fascination as The Screech took its place beside Shimmer, nothing but contempt and kindness in its eyes.
“Do not lie to yourself,” it whispered in a soft voice. “You know what reality is, accept it.”
“No… No…” Shimmer whined over and over, her grimace warping to intense levels.
“Please, don’t lie. Wake up. Please just wake up and see the truth. Remember me, Shimmer. Remember me.” Shimmer started to weep, her voice growing louder. “It wasn’t my fault! I lost my temper! I didn’t mean to… I didn’t mean to I swear!”
“Shim’, what the hell…” I stopped speaking as the world started to collapse around me, the walls buckling under the force of the ink. The tsunami of black swept me and Aisling away, my eyes burning with such intensity that I believed I was going blind. After a few seconds of the torrential washing, I was spat out with Aisling clinging to my fur by her beak. I tumbled and tumbled until landing with a heavy thump.
In a body that was far more alien than my own.
*
-Day 6, Week 1, Year 1- [Shimmer]
I wandered through the forest with little interest in what I had set out to find; a rare breed of chrysanthemum that dwelled in the woodland. I couldn’t remember the name of the thing, but I knew that it reacted to magic. That bit of trivia was wasted on me however, due to my innate lack of magic as an Earth-pony. So I continued to stumble onwards as I searched for a thing that I would no doubt never find. To my left I heard something crack, a twig perhaps? Whatever it was, it sated my curiosity and diverted my attention towards it. I quickly cantered towards the source of the noise and hoped it was something interesting. A few steps closer and I soon found what I assumed was the source; a small ferret had become ensnared in a tangle of foliage. I sighed and started to help the poor thing escape from its entrapment. It writhed and hissed plenty of times but eventually I was able to free it from its bonds. The thing made a riled hissing noise at me and scampered back in the undergrowth, ungrateful little thing. Something else caught my eye.
I poked my hoof through the mass that the ferret had become caught up in and at the very bottom there lay a small stone disc. It was both hot and cold to the touch, and while the edge was perfectly smooth it had the bumping feel of a serrated blade. The most notable outwards feature was how the entire thing seemed to glow with a simplistic corruption. I thought about tossing the thing away then and there, but something held me back. With my curious goal well and truly matched I turned to leave, finding myself facing a horde of brightly lit chrysanthemums. It actually startled me at how sudden the appearance of the flowers was. I was almost certain that they hadn’t been there before, or maybe they had been and I just wasn’t looking hard enough. Either way I chose to count my blessings and picked a good bunch of them so I could take them back to my shop.
*
-Day 7, Week 2, Year 1-
That boy came by the shop again, the one with the brownish coat. I remember it quite clearly, the way he had tiptoed in and remained ever the eager one even when I discovered him trying to steal the designs to one of my newest pieces. I don’t know what drove that boy to me, I had nothing but clothes that don’t sell as much as I’d like, and a disc that sat in my room at all times. Ever since I had taken that thing from the forest my brain had washed itself of unclean thoughts. All my actions were precise and not a single detail was forgotten. That thing had been a godsend for me, it was convincing me to work after goodness knows how long. Now if only the boy would leave me alone I would’ve had everything I’d desire.
*
-Day 8, Week 2, Year 1-
The boy was declared missing that morning. It was all so sudden I didn’t know what to do with myself. The day after I had wished for him to simply leave me alone he had vanished from the town altogether. It made me wary about, It. That disc I had found in the woods hadn’t moved from a small box under my bed since that day, but every night I could feel it poking my back as I slept. The wretched thing whispered dark things to me as I tried to fall to sleep at night. Nothing good could come of it, except all the inspiration I could ask for. I held onto it for longer still, wishing that nothing more would become of it.
*
-Day 10, Week 2, Year 1-
Life as I knew it was starting to fall apart. An inspector from the police had come to visit me; he believed that I had connections to the missing child. He couldn’t know of the disc could he? He wouldn’t see it as I did, he wouldn’t know of its goodness. I thought too quickly, I acted on rabid impulse. Without missing a single beat I waited until he turned his back and drove a sharpened pin into his brain, a perfect puncture through the skull and into the brain. A glossy red hole glared at me when the deed was done. I had struck with far more force than I had meant to, he had died without a second thought. As his body tumbled his hoof knocked over a bottle of ink, the fragile thing shattering once it hit the floor. The black mess washed over my just-cleaned floor and made an impressive puddle underneath the fallen inspector, how poetic.
Why would I do such a thing just to protect that damned disc? Why was its presence so intoxicating that I found unprovoked murder to be suitable? Why was I questioning that beautiful thing? After all, the inspector was asking for it. He came sniffing around where he wasn’t wanted and needed to be shown the door. I locked up shop and decided to go to work hiding the evidence. The pin could be hidden in my stockroom, no one but me goes there. The body was a different task entirely. I took the inspector - young and handsome now I looked - to my work room so I could think. In the end it was far easier to put him to work for stepping in on my private affairs, so I painted him white and stitched his eyes shut. Lo and behold I had a brand new stallion mannequin to style; the only downside was the grievous head injury that tried to act as a reminder to my crime. All I had to do was put a hat on my newest model, and my guilt was gone.
*
-Day 16, Week 3, Year 1-
More question, more mannequins. Four more ‘inspectors’ had come calling; four more dummies started their new modelling career in my shop. They couldn’t have it! They don’t love it like I do, the Granter of Dreams that lives under my bed. Its ghastly light shed new meaning upon an otherwise useless life. My dreams had been fresh and memorable, my days filled with nothing but good luck and merriment. All annoyances would be gone within the blink of an eye; no guilt either. That was the best part of it by far, the freedom. Nothing that happened would faze me because what I was doing was perfectly normal. No one cared if a few brats dropped off the radar; no one cared if I was a little eccentric. It was all to protect the disc after all. My precious, darling disc.
*
-Day 19, Week 3, Year 1-
Oh my lord, what did I do? They’re all dead or gone; no one is left but me. I left the house and suddenly it hit me, everyone had vanished. I felt sick, I felt like running, I felt like at any moment that sweet little boy should jump out from a doorway and shout ‘surprise.’ But no one jumped out from any of the hiding spots. No one so much as breathed. What did I do that meant I was spared? Why was I the only one left? The disc! I needed the disc; it would guide me in this time of crisis. As I made my way back to my shop I saw something that made me body turn glacial in temperature. The boy was standing outside, his skin was rotted and his fur had moulted into patches that revealed glistening skin underneath. A single soulless eye stared at me from behind a bruised, exposed eye-socket. He looked at me. He wasn’t angry, or sad, or even regretful.
He was disappointed. He stared at me with nothing but brutal disappointment. He knew what I had done; he knew what I had become. He wanted blood. Not from fury, but to serve justice for all those I had wronged. I ran away as fast as I could to escape from him, his voice twisted and maniacal.
“Why Madam Shimmer? Why did you do all this to us?” he crooned as the soil split wide open around me. I let the tears stream down my face as I took refuge in the only available building, the library. Without pausing to look around I clambered up a shelf and got as low down as I could, sobbing heavily and waiting for death. I could feel him moving around, I could feel his eyes on me...
He was the one that killed everyone, yes… He was. He had done all this; he had come into this town and ripped it apart! He had taken everyone; he had caused all the evil to happen. It was him! Him, him, him, him, him! It was true; it was what had happened I’m certain of it! I managed to calm down after realising the truth. I hadn’t done anything wrong; it was Him that had killed everyone. The pile of corpses that I had found when I had arrived was testament to that. That pile had been stinking ever since I had arrived; it had always been here… Hadn’t it? I was sure of it, how else could it have been here? Nothing appears out of thin air like that. It was at that exact moment that I heard the door open, and a large crimson wolf wandered in…
*
-Day 35, Week 6, Year 1- [Gabriel]
I was thrown from the body and tumbled across the floor, slamming into a few inanimate mannequins. My eyes rolled about in their homes as my sight tried to refocus. My right eye took slightly longer than my left to get back up to speed, but once they were both working in unison I could see what was before me. Shimmer looked broken. She was sitting on the floor of her shop, weeping loudly. That disc, that thing that Winslow had warned me about, was sitting there. It wasn’t moving, it wasn’t even giving off its previous air of dread. It just sat there motionless, deader than the stone it was carved from. I struggled to stand up straight; Aisling was stumbling about on the floor in a daze. She make a small chirruping sound and fell on her face in defeat, the poor thing was exhausted from what I could see. “Why… Why did I have to do all that?” my friend sobbed, her forelegs soaked with tears. I had no words, how could I? Shimmer had done things that I would never have expected; she had practically deleted an entire town. The disc continued to just sit there, mocking us with unspoken superiority. Once I had regained total control of my legs I marched over to it with the intent to rid us of the damn thing. I reached out with a paw.
“No!” Shimmer screeched, but she was a fraction too late to stop my pad from brushing across the surface of the disc.
For the few milliseconds I was in contact with it, the disc granted every desire, every wish, every mild notion of a dream that I had ever had. My existence become bliss, I had created meaning from the meaningless. I surfed along the force of splendour that it had granted me until I reached a door. I took pause at this door. A large brass plaque on the front of it read ‘The Truth.’ The door was held shut by many, many bolts and locks missing keys. I frowned at it, what did it mean? I reached out to The Truth, but my paw was blocked by some invisible force. Something opened The Truth from the inside, a creature that had no definable form but was perfectly definable as a being. A thing with no sexual organs but identifiable as a man. An adult that spoke with a child’s voice.
“You cannot enter, Gabriel. Not yet,” it said with a slight mocking edge. “You are not ready to find the truth; you yourself are still shrouded by the fog of mystery. What facts do you have? What goals have you set? How can the beings around you help in finding these answers, and more? My dear friend Gabriel. There is much for you to learn, and much for you to discover. Were you only to have a single year to do this, you would quickly realise that the way you use your time is very precious.”
The Truthful Being, as I had decided to start calling it, stepped forwards and placed its hand on a brand-new looking bolt. “You have far longer than just one year, but you also have far more to discover about what you are. You are not of this world Gabriel,” The Truthful Being slid the bolt open. “And that alone, makes you a very special being indeed.”
“I… I don’t understand, what do you mean?” I asked The Truthful Being.
“I cannot lie to you, Gabriel. But I am bound two laws. I cannot reveal what you are not ready to know, or what you have yet to discover,” The Truthful Being said with honesty.
“But those are one and the same! If I am ready to know something than surely I will have discovered it?”
“Read deeper than just surface value, that’s some free advice for you there,” The Truthful Being opened The Truth again, despite it still having many locks on it. “I must leave you now, but rest assured that we will meet again. How soon that day comes however, depends entirely on you.”
The colours of the real world seeped back into view and The Truth faded away to be replaced by Shimmer and the shop. I stumbled about with a sense of extreme nausea gripping my head like a vice. The disc sat on the floor innocently.
“Wha… What the bloody hell… Was that?” I mewled gently.
“I don’t know; that thing... Does things to you, it whispers and controls and tells you everything you desire to hear,” Shimmer said lowly. “It told me what to craft, and how to eliminate the ones annoying me.”
“Let’s get Winslow on this, he seemed to know what to do,” I lead Shimmer out of the shop as Aisling hopped onto the dejected mare’s head to nuzzle her comfortingly. When we arrived outside the scene was almost too peaceful to be true. The birds were chirruping under the warm rays of the sun as the flowers bloomed in full-view of the world. Saffron and Winslow looked almost shocked at the sudden change of environment.
“Well shoot, looks like you DID have it handled,” Winslow cooed. “I was expecting you to screw up.”
“I had faith in you,” the doubter’s partner said with a smile. I walked up to the pair. “Saff, keep Shim’ happy. Winslow, the disc is on the floor in that shop,” I started to walk away from the group after Aisling leapt onto my back.
“And where do you think you are going?” Saffron asked as if she were my mother.
“I have a small detail I want to check up on,” I said back, walking in the direction of the library. It didn’t take long for me to reach the old building that had started my current woe. Pushing the door open slowly I took in the scene. Coffins. Rows of coffins lining the room, neat and orderly.
I quickly set about trying to pry them open, hooking my claws underneath the lids to pop the tops. Each time I pried one open I was met by the same sight, a pony of some sort laying there with a dizzy look and a strange cloud of blue around their head. Nothing I was said or did would wake them; they seemed totally out of it. It was magic, no doubt about that. I however had naught an idea how to break the spell. Winslow would know, probably. I left the ‘sleeping’ ponies in their coffins and called for my magical friend. As soon as he was certain the disc was safe he came to check out the library, and gave a loud whistle of admiration.
“Dayum... This is one powerful hex working here, I’d shake the hoof of the bastard who did it,” he said.
“I think she is outside, crying like her eyes are made of tears,” I answered bluntly.
“Ah, I see. Well no harm in doing it later eh? Regardless, I should get to work on breaking this,” Winslow said before setting to work.
center]*A few hours passed before Winslow gave in; in his defence he had woken well over half of the coffin-dwellers. I had hidden long before so the first thing the waking villagers saw wasn’t their perception of death. I waited in Shim’s shop until such a time as I was needed, watching silently as the town woke up from its nightmare. Saffron had started running errands, typically fetching food and water for the former coffin-dwellers. Shimmer had been ‘persuaded’ to remain in her room. Persuaded with a bookcase barrier and a lock on the door. This entire situation had gone from naught to one-hundred without a single shred of warning. Part of me wanted to be able to go back to endlessly walking until I reached the first beacon, but instead I had been dragged into something ridiculous. I just wanted to get moving quickly but we weren’t going anywhere until Winslow had woken everyone. So I continued to wait, a wolf among pony clothing.
*
-Day 37, Week 6, Year 1- [Gabriel]
It took two days for Winslow to be satisfied with his work, and satisfaction to him meant that the town was running as if nothing had ever happened. He spun a fantastic lie to them all, going into excruciating detail about how a warlock had invaded their town and had been storing them so he could use their ‘life energy’ to power a dangerous spell. But thanks to the timely arrival of him and Saffron, they had all been saved. The liar’s gambit paid off, and not a single mare or stallion questioned what had been told to them. Once the dirt had been swept thoroughly under the rug it left only one loose end, the real culprit. We walked in silence to her room, getting the barriers out of the way so we could stand there for five minutes. Eventually I gathered the courage and pushed the door open.
Shimmer was sitting there, staring blankly at the floor. We walked closer to her until Winslow piped up.
“So kid,” he started. “How you doin’?”
“I’m living. That’s enough I suppose. How’s the town holding up?” Shimmer asked flatly.
“Dandy as all things sunny, so how about we hit the road?” I said, trying to get the ball rolling. Saffron stomped her hoof a little. “Now hold up there Wolf, is she gonna be useful to us?” I turned and intended to speak, but she cut me off. “C’mon, what has she done for us so for? She isn’t exactly the most useful member of our group. I’m big, strong and good with medicines. Winslow is a unicorn, and his magic speaks for itself. You’re... Well you’re you, the Big Bad Wolf.” Something about that ticked me; I couldn’t tell whether it was a good or bad tick.
“An’ what? She was here before you two...”
“That isn’t what I’m arguing here, Wolf, did you forget what she did here?” Winslow had walked over to Shimmer and was trying to comfort her somewhat, but she continued to stare at the ground.
“Who cares now, huh? It was the dammed disc messin’ with her head this whole time! What is so hard to believe about that?” Saffron cocked an eye and gave a small chuckle. “Uh-huh, and what’s to say that she doesn’t ‘stumble’ on another one of these discs? Or maybe decides that she doesn’t need us anymore and takes us out when we sleep?”
“Bollocks! Why the heck would she do that now when she could’ve done it earlier, when she had the damn disc?” Saffron went to retort only for her partner to cut her off harshly. “Oi! The both of you shut your mouths before I zap ‘em shut.” The both of us did as we were told, but continued to glare daggers. An uneasy tension started to build in the room, the peaceful chatter of the now living town doing little to soothe our nerves.
“Alright kids... Now what are we gonna do?” Winslow asked quietly. Saffron shifted her weight slightly. “I say we leave her, she’s useless to us now.”
“I say that...” Winslow slashed through my statement. “True, she is entirely useless!” he said cheerfully while trotting towards his partner. “So I vote that we bring her along, and you teach her how to heal others up! All in favour say I, I!”
“I!” I belted out without thinking.
“I...” squeaked Shimmer.
Saffron looked speechless, as if Winslow had walked up to her and stomped on her tail.
“Well it’s been decided, come along honey we should go shopping for more supplies...” Winslow said as he dragged Saffron out of the room. They got a good way down the stairs before she exploded, Winslow laughing loudly as she did. Shimmer looked like she was going to cry, either from happiness or belated fear. I walked over to my oldest travelling mate and gave a grin.
“Well then, shall we get moving Shim’?” I chuckled while turning around. “Jump on lass; I’ll carry you for a bit.” Shimmer gave a slightly hitched giggle, tears glistening in her eyes. “Sure thing Wolfy, let’s go,” she said while preparing to jump onto my back. I made a slight gasp as her weight hit me and the mare shuffled around to get comfy. As soon as she was satisfied, she nuzzled my neck a little.
“You know we still have shit to talk about, right lass?”
“Of course we do, but we can do that once we’ve hit the road.”
“A fine idea Shim’. Hang on now...” I started a slow trot, my passenger whispering ‘mush’ jokingly. Aisling, having been taking a long nap in my fur, burst out in front of Shimmer and nipped her muzzle affectionately. She giggled and nuzzled at the phoenix.
While it was still obvious that Shimmer wasn’t out of the woods yet, it was heart-warming to see her light up so much. It was another tiny victory on a path so far riddled with mistakes.
*
-Day 37, Week 6, Year 1- [?]
It watched him. Never speaking and never intervening. A voyeur of superb scale that feasted upon the journey the Wolf was taking. It cracked a smile, leering slightly and whispering.
“Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Time is not your friend my dear, so hurry before you disappear. Your heart shall swell with baleful fire, while your mind will sink beneath the mire. Seek your truth, burn the lies. But remember well, you are in Death’s eyes...”
