> The Raindrop
>  by Sylif Daring Doo
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> This vacation sucks.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*The Northern Water Tribe, 4:31 PM*______

'Dear journal, I uh, don't really know what to say, I just bought this thing and I have no idea what to do with it.

Well first off, let me clarify, I didn't buy this, I traded for it, the merchant gave this to me for a old vase, it wasn't worth anything, it had no sentimental value, and it definitely needed to be gone, that is what my dad told me, to make it gone before we left, he never said how.

Another thing I should mention, we are going to the Southern Water Tribe, me, my dad, and my mom, oh, and my little squirrel friend, can't forget him.

I feel like I'm forgetting something, oh yea! that's right, names, duh!

Anyway, my name is Mana, great name I know, but it isn't like I chose it.

My dads name is Cantor, and my moms name is Kama, and I named my squirrel Onyx.

Now, you might be wondering, how is my squirrel living up here with us? I have no good answer, I can't figure it out, but he is adaptive, he can survive basically any temperature, so long as it isn't extreme.

I was born in this tribe, lived here for as long as I can remember, I am seven years old, I have bright blue eyes, black hair, and the fair skin tone of a Fire nation decendant, as opposed to the darker tone of my tribe.

That's one last thing I should have mentioned, my dad was a born firebender, and my mother is a powerful waterbender, and me? I am mediocre at bending, I can only really bring out any true ability when mad, but according to my dad, anger is bad for bending.

I am glad I don't bend fire sometimes, there was always one person however that could bend all four elements, water, earth, fire and air, The Avatar, a human born to one nation, but master of all four elements, but that was an old tale, and even though it is true, there hasn't been an Avatar since Korra died, and that won't change.

In my opinion, I think we don't need an Avatar anymore, this world is so boring, and any criminal activity is quickly dealt with.

So that brings us up to speed for now, except for one thing.

Our boat sucks.

I'm not kidding, this thing is so old, I think it might be at least one hundred years old, it is sturdy, and dad says it will hold, but I am not so sure.

In case it isn't obvious, I'm a practical person, and I don't like things being left up to chance, I also don't like sleeping in the same room as my dad because he snores, but I can't do anything about that.

So that's it I guess, this is my journal, a description of how boring my life is, I don't even remeber why I'm writing in this, or why I bought it, oh well, I'm going to stop here though, don't want to use up all of the pages.'

Mana sighed as she put the journal into her travel pack, there wasn't much inside, a change of clothes for warmer places, a bag of food for Onyx, a small amount of money, and a necklace of yin and yang, right now, she was wearing a thick and comfortable blue hooded jacket with a white fur trim with a white shirt underneath it, she had thick gray pants with pockets and a white fur trim, she also had brown snow shoes on, she usually kept her hood up, only taking it down when she believed she was alone.

Mana leaned on the railing of the boat and looked up at the sky, it was bright and sunny out, which helped to alleviate some of the cold, but not all, she looked to her left and saw Onyx run up to her, she smiled and reached her hand out, the squirrel ran up her arm and stood on her shoulder.

Mana didn't want to go on this trip, she would have rathered they visit the Earth kingdom or the Fire nation, at least there, she could lie on the soft grass and fall asleep, but in the Water tribes, they practically had to keep moving just to stay warm.

Mana looked around, it wasn't just her family on this boat, there was also some other families, and they were all headed south. 

Mana walked up to the front of the ship and sat down, she looked at Onyx and set him down in front of her. "You excited to visit the Southern Water tribe?" She asked.

Onyx's tail flicked back and forth twice. "Me neither, why is it that your the only one that actually understands me?" She asked quietly.

Onyx's tail flicked to the left and then down while he stamped the wood with his right hand. "My parents? they didn't even notice my dislike for going, they don't even listen when I tell them I hate snow." She argued.

Onyx stamped the wood with his two hands and chattered rapidly. "Yes yes I know, but I can't stand that guy anymore." She said.

Onyx flipped his head around and lightly tugged at Mana's pant leg. "Alright bud, I'm moving." She picked Onyx up and set him on her shoulder, she then walked along the ship according to the squirrel's instructions.

Mana felt the squirrel tug at her ear and she looked at him, he pointed to the railing.

Mana walked over and looked over the edge. "I don't get it." She said as she looked at Onyx.

Onyx did a series of motions that looked like botched waterbending, she rolled her eyes and raised her hand a little, a blob of water arose and she moved her fingers a little, making the blob take the form of the water tribe symbol, then the earth kingdom symbol, then air, then fire, she chuckled a little and then she put her index and her middle fingers together while twirling her thumb, causing the water to spin and change form into a flower, she smiled and released the water.

"You know Onyx, sometimes you have the best ideas." She told her friend. 'While it is true that most of my bending power comes from anger, I can still do the little things.' She said to herself.

Onyx chattered and tapped her cheek, he then pointed to the stairs leading below deck. 

Mana listened to the squirrels directions and reached the sleeping area, she walked over to the cot she claimed, the one in the dark corner, she chose this one because it was solitary, especially as she kept the lamp doused, she laid back and Onyx stood next to her left arm. "You know bud, this trip won't be so bad, it'll be over before we know it, then it's back home for us." She said.

Onyx seemed to perk up at that, he wasn't very happy about leaving either, he would rather go to a warmer place, he chattered a little and flicked his tale.

"You know, I don't think Republic City is a good place for us, it's been going through some tough times, with everything that's going on and all." Mana replied.

Mana looked at the lamp, she sighed and grabbed a match from her pack and lit the lamp, she then laid back again and looked at the ceiling of the room. 'I hope we get there soon, I don't think I can take waiting on this ship for much longer.'

Onyx headed over to her and laid down next to her as she closed her eyes to sleep.

_____*a few days later*______

The ship was making good time to the Southern Water Tribe, according to the captain, they would arrive there within a few more days.

Mana was not enjoying the trip at all, it was bad enough that it would take longer to get there.

But the worst part was the odor, some of the passengers were starting to stink, and it didn't help that Onyx was growing more agitated by the minute, she didn't know why, but he seemed very antsy whenever they were near the railing.

Mana couldn't figure it out, and when she asked the squirrel, he gave her an answer in these specific words. "Brabbzalaobla."

"It's horrible when you stutter Onyx." Mana mentioned as she sat on the deck with a Pai Sho set. 

Onyx chattered and spun around rapidly.

"That is the first coherent sentence you have made all day." Mana said.

Onyx stamped the deck rapidly and tugged Mana's pant leg. "Why do you want to stay below deck all of a sudden? your the one who wanted to come up here." She pointed out.

'Yea, I talk to my squirrel, trust me, it isn't the strangest thing on the planet, especially when you work with him for three years on a communication system just so you have someone intelligent to talk with.' Mana added in her journal.

Mana rolled her eyes and ignored the Squirrels chattering. "Calm down Onyx, there isn't a single cloud in the sky, the ocean is calm, and dad says the captain has been using this route his entire life, the only concern is the ship itself." She said.

Onyx banged the deck with one foot and sat down in defeat. "Think about it this way Onyx, if you are right, you can say I told you so." Mana said teasingly.

Onyx simply laid down and ignored his friend.

As Mana played her game quietly, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly was bothering Onyx, normally he was so active, but now he seemed.....off, while she wasn't a stranger to him having off days, she rarely saw him depressed.

"Onyx, what exactly are you seeing that I'm not?" Mana asked.

Onyx looked at her and stood up quickly, he waited as Mana put her game away in a box and left it on deck, he ran up her arm when she knelt down and pointed down below deck when he reached her shoulder.

Mana sighed and headed below deck, she recieved strange glances from the other passengers as she followed a squirrels directions, she wasn't bothered by this, she got these glances from everyone back home, but she got over it quickly.

Mana looked around, seeing the supplies, the cargo, and other passengers talking with crew members, she decided to just follow the directions Onyx was giving her.

Soon however, she found what had him concerned, there was an entire wall of moldy wood in the main cargo room, as well as the corner she was sleeping in, it also looked to be warped completely and was going to collapse any second.

Mana bit her lip and decided to find her dad, he would know what to do. "You were right Onyx, this is serious." She said.

Onyx chattered, he tugged her hood and stamped her shoulder. "Oh quiet." She said quietly.

Mana then headed to the upper deck to find her dad, but just as she neared the ramp, she heard the captain call out. "Massive storm approaching! Get everyone below deck!" 

Mana sighed, this was exactly what Onyx was trying to tell her, she quickly retreated to her cot, if her mom and dad were going to be down here, she knew they would try to make sure she was alright, if not......there was nothing she could do.

Mana sat on her cot and leaned on the wall, she pulled her hood up to make sure it was all the way up, she then rested her head on the wall. "Sorry I didn't listen to you buddy, just want you to know that." She said.

Onyx sat down at her feet and patted her leg. "Thanks." She said in response as she looked around, the sleeping quarters soon filled up, but there was no sign of her parents.

'Did they stay up on deck?' She asked herself.

_____*twenty minutes later.*_____

Mana felt the ship rock and shake as they sailed through the storm, she couldn't see what was going on, but she could tell how bad it was from the Lightning around them.

Onyx had hid in her jacket while she sat there, she had pulled out her journal a while ago, and was writing down on it.

'I can feel the ship rock around violently as the storm rages on, while I have little confidence we will escape unscathed, I have serious doubt that we will get out of this at all, while I haven't been in a storm like this my entire life, I have seen various weak points in the ships hull that may cause us to sink.

I do have one great concern though, my family hasn't been seen the entire day, at least by me, I fear they may be on deck with the crew, I have no way of knowing this for sure, the only thing I can do now, is wait for either the storm to pass, or the ship to sink, this is going to be the longest night of my life.' She closed the book and put it in her pack before strapping it to her back once again.

Mana sighed and looked at the wall from before, she knew it was weak, but she didn't want to alarm anyone and cause a greater panic than there already was, so she kept quiet, even though she knew that her silence could possibly doom the ship, or save it. "We'll be alright bud, you know that right?" She asked.

Onyx gave no sound, but instead, she felt the Squirrel tug her jacket twice. "I don't believe me either, but it's better to lie to yourself than to face the truth sometimes." She whispered.

Just as she finished talking, an incredibly loud bang shook the ship as lightning struck, Mana looked up and then she heard creaking, she looked to her right and saw that the wall was bending, it then leaked a single drop.

That's all she remembered.
> A new world.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Ponyville, 4:10 PM*_____

Sweetie Belle was with her friends, the CMC, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, they formed this group as way for the three of them to find their cutie marks together, so far, no luck, and they were still blank flanks, as Diamond Tiara called them.

Right now they were heading away from Sugarcube corner, they were done with crusading for the day and were now near the fountain in town.

"I'll see you both tomorrow." Scootaloo said.

"Yep, you too Scoots." Apple Bloom added.

"Bye girls." Sweetie Belle said.

As the three parted ways, Sweetie Belle headed home to the Boutique, she was staying there yet again while her and Rarity's parents were traveling, no surprise there, in fact, she stayed at her sisters place so often, she had her own room.

Her parents would save themselves so much trouble if they just asked Rarity to have Sweetie Belle stay, but they would never ask that directly.

Sweetie Belle let her mind wander to random things such as school, her parents, her sister, her next crusade, and even the clouds up in the sky, she did this on the way to Rarity's place.

As she eventually neared the Boutique, she she noticed something odd on the doorknob, a raindrop, which was strange since it hadn't rained in a few weeks, Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off as it was possibly just a coincidence. 

Sweetie Belle opened the door and entered the building. "I'm home!" She called out.

She soon heard something fall over upstairs, she cringed a little but headed up anyway, certain it wasn't that bad.

_____*upstairs*_____

It was bad.

According to Rarity, she had lost focus for a split second, she slipped, one thing led to another, and now there was fabric everywhere.

"Uh, you need some help?" Sweetie Belle asked, partially feeling guilty for the mess.

Rarity took a deep breath, she let it out and looked at her little sister. "No no, it's alright, I don't have many orders right now, and it should not take long to clean this up, but thank you for the offer." She replied.

Sweetie Belle was......surprised, she hadn't been expecting that, normally her sister would be freaking out over this, but she wasn't going to question it when Rarity was calm. "Well, if you say so." She said before going to walk out.

"Actually, I do have a question for you Sweetie Belle." Rarity said.

She stopped and looked over her shoulder, her sister was busy working. "Yes?" She asked.

"Did you notice anything odd today? after you left, some clouds appeared over the Boutique and rained for a few hours, I can't figure it out." Rarity asked.

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "I didn't see anything, maybe it's just a prank?" She offered.

Rarity sighed. "Yes I suppose your right, it could be a prank, probably just Rainbow Dash again." Rarity muttered that last part.

Sweetie Belle headed into her room and laid back on the bed, it wasn't even that late, and she was still filled with energy, but for some reason, she didn't have anything she wanted to do today.

Sweetie Belle rolled over on her bed and closed her eyes. 'Maybe I'll get an idea after some sleep.' She told herself.

______*later that day.*______

Sweetie Belle opened her eyes and blinked, she was still in her room, but she was under her covers now. 'It must have been Rarity.' She told herself.

Sweetie Belle slowly sat up and yawned as she stretched, she got off the bed and looked out the window and saw that it was night. 'How long was I asleep?' She asked herself.

She walked over to the door and opened it, she headed downstairs in search of her sister, but she found no trace, not in the kitchen, not in the main room, not even in her design room. "Strange." She said quietly.

Sweetie Belle entered the kitchen and looked around, she didn't see anything lying out, and looking in the fridge proved to be pointless, but she was hungry, and she knew where the bread and cheese were.

Soon, she started to make her sandwich, and just as she placed the bread on the cheese, lightning struck and rain poured.

Sweetie Belle nearly jumped out of her skin, she dove over the kitchen table and was now shaking from the startling event.

She heard the front door open and close quickly, Sweetie Belle took a quick breath and stood up shakily, she walked out to the main room and saw Rarity closing an umbrella and walking to the stairs.

Sweetie Belle walked out. "Hey Rarity, glad to see your back." She said.

Rarity smiled a little. "Yes, this weather is absolutely dreadful, when did you wake up anyway?" She asked out of curiosity.

"Not long ago, I was making something to eat then the Lightning struck." She said.

Upon hearing the words that her sister spoke, Rarity rushed to the kitchen to see if anything was burning, thankfully, there was nothing there except a sandwich, with a sigh of relief, Rarity looked at her sister. "It's late, go ahead and eat your sandwich, then head back to bed, I'll make breakfast in the morning." She said.

Sweetie Belle did what she was told, she ate her sandwich, then headed to her room and laid down on the bed.

But when Rarity's door closed, she headed to her window and looked outside shakily, she made sure to wait until AFTER the Lightning, to look, but she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, not at first at least, just as she went to leave the window, Sweetie Belle saw something moving outside, a figure, it was too dark to see anything definitive, but it was very strange, to say the least.

The figure was leaving, heading into town slowly, but Sweetie Belle wasn't too concerned. 'Its probably just somepony who didn't get inside fast enough.' She told herself.

As Sweetie laid down to go to sleep, she had a strange feeling about that figure, she couldn't quite place it, but it was strange.

_____*The next day, 8:30 AM*_____

Sweetie Belle was sitting at the table with Rarity eating breakfast, nothing special, but the waffles were very good.

"So Sweetie Belle, did you do anything fun yesterday?" Rarity asked idly.

Sweetie shrugged. "Not really, not unless another failed attempt at finding our Cutie Marks counts." She replied.

Rarity nodded in understanding. "I know your eager, but you have to be patient, it will come to you when your ready." She said.

Sweetie sighed, she knew her sister meant well, but it was hard to be patient when almost all of the other kids had their Cutie Marks. "You know, I did see something strange last night though." She said.

Rarity finished her breakfast and looked at her sister with curiosity. "Oh?" She said. "What was it?" She asked.

Sweetie shrugged. "I don't know what it was exactly, because of how dark it was, but it was a dark figure heading towards town, it was kinda tall, a little taller than me, I didn't see much else about it." She replied.

Rarity gave this some thought, she was doubtful that Sweetie Belle would actually confront the creature, assuming it wasn't a pony who got lost in the storm, but at the same time, she wanted to know what it was. "In any case, keep your eyes open, I'll do the same." Rarity said.

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Sure." She replied.

Afterwards, Rarity and Sweetie Belle spent some time together, then after a half hour or so, Sweetie Belle left the boutique and went to find her friends.

______*Ponyville, CMC clubhouse, 9:14 AM*______

Sweetie Belle was with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo as they thought on ideas for crusading for the day, they weren't having any luck so far, and even though they made a list of everything they tried, and one list for new ideas, they still didn't have any idea what to do.

Scootaloo soon had an idea as was evident by the now eager look on her face. "Hey, I have an idea." She said.

The other two crusaders looked at her. "Please tell me it isn't cliff diving?" Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo shook her head. "We already did that, but hey, this idea is great." She started. "Now, did either of you see something odd last night? dark figure moving through the night?" She asked.

"No." Apple Bloom said.

"Yes." Sweetie Belle said.

"You did?" The two asked.

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Yea, it walked by Rarity's place when I looked out the window." She answered.

Scootaloo blinked. "Huh, I thought I was imagining it, but yea, that's my idea, we should find it!" She said.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom shared a skeptical glance before looking at their friend. "Are you sure about this Scoots?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yea, last time we did this kind of thing, we were stuck in the Everfree Forest." Sweetie replied.

Scootaloo groaned. "Come on, where's your sense of adventure?" She asked.

Sweetie Belle wasn't so sure about this idea, they had no way of knowing if this creature was dangerous, or hostile, or if it was just a pony out in the storm. "Maybe we should approach this carefully." She said finally.

"You can't be seriously considering this Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked out of disbelief.

"It's obvious that Scootaloo wants to find this thing, the least we can do is go along to make sure she doesn't get herself in over her head." Sweetie Belle pointed out.

Apple Bloom sighed, she then looked at Scootaloo who was looking at her impatiently. "Fine, but don't expect me to not say I told you so when we don't find anything." She said.

Scootaloo grinned. "Great.....so where do we start?" She asked.

"I guess we should start by asking around, see if anypony else spotted this creature." Sweetie Belle suggested.

"That's as good an idea as any this early on." Apple Bloom agreed.

_____*Hours later*_____

So far, the investigation was going well, at least ten other fillies and colts saw the figure, and five adults admitted to seeing it head toward the center of town.

It wasn't long before the three crusaders found another clue, by the fountain in the center of town, they found a muddy print, they didn't recognize it but from the way the print was facing, they assumed it was heading toward the park.

They hurried to the park, eager to follow up on their new lead, on the way, they ran into Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.

Pinkie was apparently looking for the creature as well, she claimed it was somepony new, or someone new, the CMC asked if she saw it at any time, but the pink mare wasn't able to help them, but she did give them so help, they now knew that the creature they were searching for wasn't a resident, so they were now searching for either a pony or a Griffin who just got into town, or something new.

When they reached the park, they split up to try to find evidence of where the creature went.

Apparently, they all found muddy prints, with Apple Bloom finding the closest one to the town center, Sweetie Belle finding the next one, and Scootaloo finding the furthest.

"Where does it lead?" Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo pointed towards some houses across from the park. "Over there." She said.

The three quickly moved through the park and soon reached the houses, they found more muddy prints along the backs of homes, they looked at eachother when they saw that the final print they could see led to the small stone bridge.

The three carefully peaked under the bridge and saw something strange, presumably what they were searching for.

They saw a small figure sitting under the bridge with a blue hood over its head, it had small pinkish white hands and a pack next to it, it was currently feeding a squirrel and doing something strange with the water, it seemed to be making shapes with some kind of magic.

The CMC quickly hid and went to speak. "What do we do now?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Maybe we should talk to him or her." Sweetie Belle asked.

"No way!" Scootaloo said. "We don't know if that creature can put a curse on us without words." She replied.

"I hate to agree with her, but she's right Sweetie Belle, we can't just go up and talk to it." Apple Bloom agreed.

Sweetie Belle looked back at the bridge, and then at her friends. "Then we have to tell Rarity or Applejack, maybe even Twilight." She said.

"Whatever we do, we need to do it quickly." Scootaloo said.

Apple Bloom nodded. "Ok, you two stay here and keep an eye on the bridge, I'll go find Applejack." She said before running off.

Sweetie Belle sighed and walked over to a nearby tree that had good sight on the bridge. "We might as well sit here, this could take a while." She said.

Scootaloo nodded and sat next to Sweetie Belle. "So uh, what now?" She asked.

"If somepony asks, we are waiting for our friend to get here." Sweetie Belle said.

"No no, I know that, but what do WE do, you know, to pass the time?" Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie Belle took a breath and blinked. "Twenty questions?" She offered.

_____*Some time later*_____

Apple Bloom finally returned with Applejack, who seemed to be more skeptical of the situation then anything.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stood up, they walked along with Apple Bloom and Applejack as they went to the side of the bridge. "Over there." Apple Bloom said quietly.

Applejack glanced under the bridge and saw the blue hooded creature, she backed off and looked at the fillies. "Thanks for letting me know about this girls, but I don't know what y'all expect me to do." She said.

"Scootaloo was afraid that the creature would put a curse on us." Apple Bloom said.

"Thanks for that." Scootaloo muttered out of annoyance.

Applejack sighed. "Didn't I tell you three that curses ain't real?" She asked.

"You did, but it's a legitimate fear." Sweetie Belle argued.

"Look, I don't know what you three are expecting, but I'll prove to you that that creature won't curse us." Applejack said.

The three Crusaders watched as Applejack headed under the bridge.

"Howdy." She said.

The creature simply turned its head to look at Applejack. "This might sound weird, but my sister thinks you'll curse us." She said out of some amusement.

The creature tilted its head, it then used a small stone to make a question mark in the dirt. "Oh I get it, you don't know what I'm saying?" She asked.

The creature pointed at the question mark, it then went back to the small stream, making symbols with the water.

Applejack walked back out and looked at the fillies. "I don't think it knows our language." She said.

"Maybe Twilight has some sort of translation?" Sweetie Belle offered.

"It's worth a shot I guess." Applejack said.

_____*twenty minutes later.*______

"You want me to do what?" Twilight asked.

"Translate what the creatures saying, you know more languages then any of us." Applejack said.

Twilight sighed. "At least I know a translation spell, it should help." She muttered.

Applejack watched as Twilight approached the creature.

The creature glanced and looked at Twilight who had her horn lit. "Can you understand me?" She asked.

The creature blinked, but soon nodded.

Twilight was relieved at that, at least she had a way to communicate. "We don't mean any harm, we are just curious." She said.

The creature looked at the little stream and continued making the symbols with the water. "Ok." It said quietly.

Twilight approached the stream and sat down. "Anyway, I should introduce myself, my name is Twilight Sparkle, you?" She asked.

The creature looked at Twilight with a disbelieving expression. "That's a name?" It asked.

Twilight tried her best to not feel offended, but she soon realized that the creatures culture probably didn't have names like hers. "Yes, it is." She replied.

The creature returned to its symbols. "My name's Mana." It said simply.

Twilight nodded. "Nice to meet you Mana." She replied.

Mana looked at Twilight. "Aren't you going to ask?" It asked curiously.

Twilight blinked. "Ask what?" She wondered.

"His name." It said.

Twilight looked and saw a little squirrel sitting with Mana. "Oh, I see, what's his name?" She asked.

"Onyx." Mana replied.

The Squirrel chattered and waved. "He said hi, also, to avoid confusion, I'm a female." Mana said.

Twilight noticed one thing about Mana when she first saw her face, she didn't say anything, but she saw red circles under the girls eyes. 'She's been crying.' Twilight noted. She then decided to bring up a question. "If you don't mind me asking, what brings you to Ponyville?" She asked.

Mana looked at Twilight. "That's what this place is called?.....huh." She then stopped with her symbols. "And to tell the truth, I don't know, I woke up last night in the middle of a forest during a storm." She replied.

______*last night.*______

Mana groaned as she felt feeling return to her body, her head throbbed in intense pain, her chest was killing her, she could hardly breath, and she could hardly feel her arms.

She slowly opened her eyes and as she did, she felt the soft dirt that she was on, she could see trees in the direction her head was facing, and she could feel the pain in her chest grow.

Mana grunted as she forced herself to sit up, her mind still numb from the storm.

She felt off, not in the sense of being sick, but she did feel like something was different.

It was hard to see right now, she rubbed her eyes carefully and she soon remembered what she was missing. "Onyx?" She asked quietly.

Mana looked around frantically for her friend, she was afraid that he had gotten in trouble, or ran off, or had drowned.

Her fears were alleviated once she felt her jacket moving, she raised the bottom trim up and out came the squirrel, he looked up at Mana and stamped her leg. "I'm alright Onyx." She finally said.

Mana sat there for a few minutes to let the pain subside a little, but she soon stood up after having Onyx climb onto her shoulder, there was still pain, but not unbearable, she quickly looked around for her pack, she checked her back and saw that it was still there, sighing in relief, she looked at Onyx. "Let's hope for the best, right bud?" She asked.

Right now Mana was torn, on one hand, she wanted to find her parents, on the other, she knew she had to find shelter for the night, she bit her lip and, with deep regret, made her mind up, she began walking in a random direction in the hopes of finding shelter.

Onyx chattered and tugged her hood.

Mana nodded, she pulled her hood up and continued walking. "Thanks." She said, trying to fight past both her fear and her sorrow.

Eventually Mana reached a small creak, she knelt down and drank some water, it wasn't entirely clean, but it was better than nothing, as Onyx drank some, Mana looked around. "Where are we?" She asked herself.

Onyx chattered and splashed a little water. "Don't be ridiculous Onyx, time travel is impossible, I know that, you know that." She said, she rolled her eyes and let Onyx onto her shoulder. "I'll figure this out bud, just keep your eyes open will you?" She asked.

_____*an hour later*_____

Mana passed some trees, she was moving carefully, as she didn't know what poison plants, roots and weeds there were, or if the air itself was toxic, but the last one she was willing to risk, as she had no way to filter the air, she wasn't coughing or wheezing, so that was something.

At least that was, until she smelled something foul, she held her nose shut and gagged at the smell of it, she looked around for the source of it.

It took a moment, but she found it, and she did not like it one bit, it made her eyes widen and her heart rate skyrocketed.

Standing directly behind her, was a massive wolf made entirely of wood, an eerie green glow surrounded it and it gave out a repulsive stench, she was able to avoid passing out on sight by remembering that she had to survive, she remembered that there was a small creek nearby, but she knew she wasn't very powerful with waterbending, she gulped and slowly backed up, knowing that would be her only method of escape.

The wooden wolf did not like this movement at all and suddenly snapped at her, trying to take a big chunk out of her neck.

Mana yelped and ran off as fast as she could, which wasn't as fast as the wolf.

Mana tripped on a root but quickly recovered, thankfully, as the wolf tried to chomp down on her, she managed to shove a long stick in its mouth, slowing it down briefly.

As she ran, she could see the creek getting closer, she looked back and saw that the wolf was already on her tail, her eyes widened even more as she tripped over her own feet and collapsed to the ground.

The wolf lept to her with its jaws wide open, in a last ditch effort to defend herself, Mana raised her left arm and shut her eyes, to her surprise, she felt no pain, she opened her eyes and saw that the wolf had gotten knocked to the ground, but what truly surprised her was the fact that her arm had turned to hard ice, she blinked and went to stand up, she winced as she felt intense pain on her left leg, she clutched it and looked at the wolf.

The wolf apparently hadn't given up, it got up and looked at Mana fiercely, it roared and charged her again.

Mana tried to call water from the creek to help her, but she was having no such luck, as she only succeeded in splashing the wolf with a small amount of water, not even fazing it.

She noticed that her arm was still ice, so she decided to defend with that, she forced herself to stand, and went to block with her arm.

The wolf seemed to become smarter after that, as it went around her arm and went for her legs instead.

Mana quickly threw her arm down and it broke the wolf's head off, she quickly backed off and was breathing heavily, she didn't feel well all of a sudden, while the wolf was trying to eat her, she didn't like the feeling of killing something, she soon felt the sudden urge to vomit, after losing her lunch on the nearby ground, Mana looked back at the wolf, and she was shocked.

The wolf was rebuilding itself, after it was done, the wolf looked at Mana and growled.

Mana's breathing was now panicked, she was sweating heavily and she noticed that her arm wasn't covered in ice anymore.

Mana fell to the ground in defeat as the timberwolf approached her slowly.

She could only watch as she felt her limbs freeze up, as the wolf growled in her face, she gulped, she raised her right arm in front of her face, she closed her eyes as she looked away.

The wolf roared and snapped at Mana, aiming to have her for dinner.

Mana screamed as she felt teeth sink into her flesh, but she soon heard the wolf Yelp.

Mana's eyes shot open and she looked, the wolf had been set ablaze by......something, Mana looked at her hands and saw nothing, though her eyes were blurry from crying because of the pain.

She stood up and went to run off, only to fall down again.

Mana's gaze turned to the wolf, she saw that it was aflame, she still didn't like the idea of killing, but she did need to escape it, and the fire offered the perfect opportunity, she winced and she heard water splashing, she looked and saw the wolf wasn't burning anymore,

Soon enough the wolf looked at Mana, it roared and ran off, not willing to continue the fight.

Mana clutched her mangled arm and forced herself to stand. 'I need to find some help, I can't heal myself yet.' She said to herself.

Onyx chattered. "I know, I don't want to find another one either." She said as she slowly walked.

_____*hours later*_____

Mana eventually reached what appeared to be the forests edge, she couldn't see any more trees in the direction she was facing, so she kept walking, the pain had worsened in both her leg, and her arm, but she was still able to move, albeit slowly.

She left the forest and continued walking, she didn't know where she was going, but she needed to find some form of civilization, it was night now though, and it was difficult to see.

But just as she left the forest, a lightning strike struck and rain suddenly began to fall, she groaned out of annoyance. "Perfect." She complained.

Onyx quickly hid in her jacket.

Mana kept on moving until she came up on a town, it didn't look like any town she had ever seen, but she needed help, and she had no options.

She walked into the town as the rain soaked her, she winced as she felt her wounds worsen, she continued walking, she remembered walking by some buildings, but she didn't think anything of it, as she had a more important concern.

She walked by a fountain and through what seemed to be a park, eventually reaching a bridge, she went under it and sat down, she winced as her leg shot up in pain, she continued holding her arm and sighed. "It's ok to come out bud." She said.

Onyx came out of her jacket and looked at Mana with concern, he chattered and rubbed her leg. "Thanks for your concern bud." She said out of appreciation.

As Mana sat there in silence, she eventually started to cry, partly from the pain, partly from her loneliness, and the rest, came from some part of her believing that her parents had drowned.

Mana had cried for hours in silence, eventually crying herself to sleep.

_____*the present.*_____

Twilight and Mana were in silence now, after she finished her story, Twilight really didn't know what to say.

Soon however, Twilight had something logical to say. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but I need to get you to a hospital, your injuries need to be taken care of." She said.

Mana sighed and looked at Onyx, she then looked at Twilight, and nodded. "Ok." She said quietly, slowly standing up.

Twilight carefully helped Mana up and helped her walk as best she could. "Steady." Twilight said.

Mana winced, she decided to listen to Twilight's instructions, she seemed genuinely concerned, and she did need help.

Even though Onyx didn't like it, Mana was sure even he would understand.

Mana was still clutching her arm, as such, she wasn't able to block the sun from her eyes when it assaulted her, she had to release her bad arm to pull her hood all the way up, she allowed Twilight to take some of the weight as they walked.

Mana spotted three smaller horse like creatures and the blonde one from before watching, she noticed them begin to follow, she was guessing they wanted to know if she would be alright.

She did notice one thing however, as they walked, they recieved stares from everyone nearby, Mana made a mental note that people here probably didn't see either her kind, or strangers very often. "Hey Twilight, what's your species called?" She asked, trying to take her mind off the pain for the moment.

"Technically, we are Equines, but there are three main variants, Earth Pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn, I'm a Unicorn, Applejack is an Earth Pony, and the ponies with wings are Pegasi." She explained.

Mana grunted as they moved. "I see." She said.

_____*a while later, Ponyville Hospital.*_____

Twilight entered the hospital with Mana, she had deactivated her translation spell a while ago as to conserve magic. "We need a doctor!" She called.

To Mana's surprise, there were more ponies out to see to them almost immediately, and while she had absolutely no idea what Twilight had said, she was willing to bet that she called for a doctor.

The doctors quickly pulled out a gurney and helped Mana onto it, after Twilight told her it was alright.

Mana allowed the doctors to take her away, and for some reason, the pain flared up as soon as she laid down, and she was forced to hold in the cries of pain with all of her remaining strength.

_____*in the ER*_____

Mana had no idea what was going on, she could here voices, but she couldn't understand them.

She could see blurs in her vision, but soon she felt something press on to her face, and then she suddenly felt very tired, and then slipped into unconsciousness.

______*hours later.*______

Twilight sat in the waiting room in nervous anticipation.

When the doctor eventually exited and walked up to her. "Miss Sparkle, am I to assume your taking responsibility for the patient you brought in?" He asked.

"Yes, I'll take responsibility for her." She said, while she didn't know Mana that well, she did feel responsible.

The doctor nodded. "Very well, then I believe you will be happy to hear that she will recover fully, the arm will take much longer to heal than the rest, but it will be fine." He said.

"That's good." Twilight said, relief washing over her.

The doctor then turned grim in expression. "However, there was one thing I was unable to remove." He said.

Twilight grew concerned quickly, she knew that when doctors gave bad news, it was always severe. 

"There was a small amount of wood lodged in her arm and chest, as well as a strange root in her left leg, we can't remove it in her condition and there may be too much of a risk to remove them safely even if she recovers, I can however say that she is in no danger right now, but she may experience pain when moving her arm, her leg, and her body in certain ways." He explained.

Twilight took a breath and thought about this for a while, she eventually looked at the doctor. "You should remove the wood, I don't think she would want to live with that pain." She said.

The doctor sighed. "Are you sure about this? If this goes badly, she may lose the ability to walk, or even use her left arm, so I ask you again, are you sure?" He asked.

Twilight nodded. "I am sure." She replied surely.

"Doctor!" Called a nurse.

The doctor turned around and saw the nurse in the doorway. "What is it?" He asked.

"It's the Jane doe, somethings happened!" She said in a panic before running off.

The doctor quickly ran after the nurse to see what was wrong.

Twilight knew better than to follow, she honestly did, it took all of her strength to not run off after them, she simply started pacing rapidly.

_____*two hours later, 5:20 PM*_____

Twilight was very antsy, she had no idea what was going on, and the doctors couldn't tell her anything other than it was a confusing situation.

Much to her relief, the doctor from before exited and walked over to her. "How is she doctor?" Twilight asked.

"She will be fine, we managed to remove the root from her leg and she's showing normal life signs, however, the wood in her arm and chest......" He took a breath.

Twilight felt her heart drop some. "It went wrong.....didn't it?" She asked.

The doctor shook his head. "No no, nothing went wrong, it's just that.....how do I put it." He then sighed and looked straight at Twilight. "The wood in her arm has fused to her bone, and the wood in her chest vanished, we don't know what happened, but from the looks of it, she doesn't look to be in danger at all, it will also be impossible to remove the wood from her arm without irreparably damaging it." He explained.

Twilight was curious as to how the wood fused to her bone, but she was more concerned with Mana herself. "How long do you think it will be until she recovers fully?" She asked.

"If she takes it easy? A week or two, if she doesn't, a month at most." He said before starting to walk off.

Twilight nodded. "Oh and doctor?" She said.

The doctor looked at her. "Her name is Mana, if it helps." She said.

The doctor smiled a little. "You should head home miss Sparkle, you can visit tomorrow." He said.

Twilight nodded. "Yea, i could use some rest." She said to herself.

_____*the next day, Ponyville Hospital, 9:00 AM*_____

Mana groaned quietly as she woke up, she slowly opened her eyes and saw a white ceiling, she blinked and slowly moved her good arm to run her head, which was throbbing. 

'Am I still at the hospital?' She asked herself.

Mana looked around the room she was in, devices she didn't recognize were all around the room, there was a unicorn in the bed next to her, and her pack was in a chair next to the bed she was in.

Mana sat up slowly and noticed that she was in a hospital gown, she looked at her left arm and saw that it was bandaged up, and that she wasn't feeling any pain, she decided against touching it and got out from under the covers, she examined her left leg and saw that it was bandaged as well, along with some bandages on her right leg, she held her side and felt more bandages there, she sighed and rubbed her eyes more, her vision was still foggy, but after rubbing her eyes, it was better.

Mana reached out for her pack, she heard the door open as soon as she did, she heard a voice as she grabbed her pack, she looked and saw an Earth Pony walking over.

Mana looked at her as she talked, she opened her pack and pulled out her spare change of clothes, she also pulled out the journal.

Mana tilted her head as the nurse talked, she then shrugged, and looked around for a second door, thankfully, there was a second door by the entrance, she slowly stood up and winced as she felt a small amount of pain in her foot, she looked at the nurse and pointed at the second door.

Apparently, the nurse got the idea, and let her into the second room.

Mana took the gown off when she shut the door and quickly put her pants on, they were light blue with two pockets, her shirt was light blue as well, it was short sleeved and had a white line on the sides, it also had a blue undershirt that reached her wrists, and a Fire Nation symbol on its back.

Mana soon exited the room and threw the hospital gown on the chair, she laid down on the bed and closed her eyes.

'I don't know what the nurse was saying, and I'm not sure I want to know.' She said to herself.

______*hours later*______

Twilight was kind of surprised, the hospital called her to see Mana, apparently she had completely ignored a nurse who was trying to keep her in bed, they also didn't have any staff member who knew the translation spell, and since she had so much experience talking with Mana, they called her, not that she wasn't going to visit her anyway.

So when Twilight entered Mana's room to find her writing down in a book, she was more than intrigued.

Twilight lit her horn. "Hey Mana." She said.

Mana held a finger up and finished writing. "Sorry, I wanted to finish that page." She replied.

Twilight approached and sat down next to Mana. "I see your doing better?" She asked.

Mana lifted her left arm and shrugged. "Could be worse." She replied.

Twilight nodded, her expression then turned serious. "Mana, I think we need to have a talk." She said.

Mana lifted her right arm and it slowly turned to wood. "You think?" She asked as it turned back to flesh.

Twilight's eyes widened. "That's.......not normal." She said out of surprise.

Mana leaned back on the bed and rested her head on the wall. "One thing I will say, I did not expect this, I wasn't expecting any of this." She said quietly.

Twilight sighed. "When did you figure out how to do that with your arm?" She asked curiously.

Mana tapped her leg. "An hour ago I think?" She replied.

Twilight was of course curious about this, but there were things that needed to be discussed. "The doctors want to know where your staying." She said.

Mana blinked. "Uh, when I'm out, nowhere, I mean, I have a bridge I can sleep under if that counts?" She answered, she was confused about the question.

Twilight told the doctor who then asked her a question, she shook her head a little. "What about age?" She asked.

"Why do they want to know that?" Mana asked curiously.

"They want to know so that way they know if they need to call someone to pick you up." Twilight replied.

Mana looked at her legs, she sighed and looked at Twilight. "Seven." She said finally, she wasn't happy with how things were going, but she had little choice now.

Twilight told the doctor and he told her something. "He said that he will have no choice but to place you with child services, unless someone willing to take full responsibility for you comes along, basically, a legal guardian." She said.

Mana bit her lip, she really didn't like either of these options, she would have preferred the bridge at this point.

Twilight stood up. "I'll be right back." She said.

Mana nodded silently, she then went back to thinking.

Twilight and the doctor were talking about options. "Doctor......what if I took care of her?" She asked.

The doctor blinked. "Miss Sparkle, are you positive about this? Mana has clearly suffered trauma, there is much to do to place you as her guardian." He said.

Twilight nodded. "The same goes for anypony else doctor, besides." She looked in on Mana. "She needs somepony she can trust, if anything, I can at least give her that." She said.

The doctor sighed and after a few moments, relented. "I need to make some arrangements, it will take time, until then, Mana needs to stay here, at least for tonight." He said.

Twilight let the doctor go, she then walked into the room, even though she knew she was getting into a very stressful and delicate situation, she knew that it was better than adoption, especially since she was planning on trying to help Mana go home.

"Hey, the doctor said you have to stay for the night." She said.

Mana nodded. "Ok." She said quietly.

Twilight then blinked. "One more thing, I've volunteered to be your legal guardian, but I do plan on helping you to go home." She said.

Mana looked at Twilight. "Do you even know where I was before I was here?" She asked.

Twilight shook her head. "How could i?" She asked.

"Drowning." Mana said flatly.

Twilight went wide eyed and her ears went back behind her head. "I......I'm sorry, I didn't know." She said.

Mana shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "No, don't be, your just trying to help." She muttered. "Even if we did manage to send me back, It wouldn't mean anything." She said

______*The next day, 1:10 PM*_______

Twilight was frantically running around Ponyville, she was trying to find Mana, she had disappeared from the hospital last night.

Twilight looked everywhere for Mana, high, low, back and forth, no where to be found.

However, she soon heard Pinkie laughing, she paused and hurried over. 'An extra pair of eyes will help.' She said.

Twilight soon found that her search was over, as Mana was sitting on the Sugarcube corner steps with Onyx on her right leg, and Pinkie laughing with her. "Mana? Why did you run out of the hospital?" She asked.

Mana smiled and tapped Onyx. "I missed my friend." She said.

Twilight looked at Pinkie. "How did you find her?" She asked.

Pinkie smiled. "I was cleaning the steps, Onyx ran up to me, and Mana here soon followed, looking for him, we've been sharing jokes." She said.

Mana giggled a little. "Pinkie here can understand me, and she told the best joke before you showed up." She said, barely containing her laughter.

"Mana, do you realize how this will look?" Twilight asked.

Mana smiled. "The way I see it, I'm just a confused girl, trying to find a friend." She said, letting Onyx run up to her shoulder.

Twilight went to go off a little, but she found that she couldn't, she instead took a breath. "What was the joke?" She asked.

Both Pinkie and Mana lost it and burst out laughing.

"What?" Twilight asked, feeling left out.

Mana and Pinkie shared a glance, and then a grin. "Not telling." They both said.

Twilight was really hating this now, all of a sudden she was getting the feeling like she was being led on.

Mana then looked at Twilight. "So now what?" She asked curiously.

Twilight sighed. "I'm not sure, I have to wait on somepony to show up about the guardian status, then more waiting, it's going to to take time Mana." She said.

Mana nodded and stood up slowly, she looked at Pinkie and grinned. "Nice talking with you Pinkie." She said before walking up to Twilight. "Let's go I guess." She said.

Twilight then said goodbye to Pinkie and led Mana back to the hospital. "Think about it this way, by the time all of this waiting is over, you should be fully healed." Twilight said.

Mana rolled her eyes. "Except for the arm thing." She added.

"Yea, except for that." Twilight agreed.

Mana didn't recieve many stares this time, but she still kept her head down as she walked. 

Twilight noticed this and decided to bring it up. "Is there a reason you hide your face?" She asked.

Mana blinked, she really didn't get that question often. "I'm shy." She said simply.

Twilight could actually see that, Mana didn't even try to talk with Applejack, or any of the hospital staff, the only reason she talked to her was probably because she could understand what she was saying, as for Pinkie Pie, she must have taken some time before talking, the only other person she talked to was Onyx, but she was guessing they knew each other for a long time.

Mana followed Twilight closely, never straying far, she did feel better now, but she still grieved for her parents and everyone else on the boat, but she managed to fight her way past it, at least for now, if anything, Mana was suddenly very glad she had a more mature mindset then her classmates back home, she was still a kid, but she could handle logical thought much better.

She finally reached the hospital with Twilight and stopped at the door. "Hey." 

Twilight stopped and looked at Mana. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Mana rubbed her eyes and sighed. "I really don't want to go back in there, could you just get my clothes and pack and give them to me?" She asked.

Twilight nodded and went inside, while she doubted that the doctor would he completely willing to just let her go, she didn't think that Mana would allow herself to stay another night.

Twilight chuckled, she was just like Rainbow Dash in that regard, a complete dislike of hospitals.

Mana sat down and rested her head on a nearby wall, she closed her eyes and waited.

It was about ten minutes later, but Twilight eventually walked out of the hospital again with Mana's pack and her torn cold weather clothes.

Mana opened her eyes and looked at Twilight who set her stuff down next to her, she looked up at the sunny sky. "Thanks Twilight." She said.

Twilight sighed and looked down at Mana. "Well, where are you going to go now?" She asked.

Mana shrugged. "I don't know, like I said before, I can live under that bridge, no laws against that, and it shouldn't take long for you to go through with that whole process right?" She asked.

Twilight shook her head. "I have no idea how long that will take, and you can't live under a bridge." She said.

Mana sighed. "Then where? I can't stay with you because of that process, so where?" She asked.

Twilight bit her lip, she eventually sighed, she sat down next to Mana. "I have no idea, all I can say is that we need to come up with an idea and quickly." She replied.

______*later that day*______

Mana stood in Twilight's home, they had decided that there was nothing wrong with a visit, and Mana was surprised at how many books there were in the tree house, apparently this was also the library.

Mana looked around while Twilight headed upstairs, she walked over to a bookshelf and grabbed a random book, unsurprisingly, she couldn't read the book at all, but it was still a thrill for her. 

"Maybe I should teach you how to read and talk our language?" Twilight offered.

Mana looked at Twilight. "That would be helpful." She admitted as she returned the book.

Twilight walked over and swapped the two books around. "Maybe reading should come first." She said.

'Actually, I think speech should be first." Mana argued.

Twilight looked at Mana. "Oh yea, right, at least then you won't need me to translate." She said.

Mana walked over to a nearby chair and sat down. "Well, we should get started." She finally said.

______*hours later*______

Mana groaned as she rested her head on the soft dirt under the bridge, Twilight had practically driven her insane with teaching, so far, all she managed to learn was how to say hello, yes, no, maybe, thank you, my, me, you, and her name.

Mana looked at Onyx. "I have never been so exhausted from learning since dad tought me how to write." She said.

Onyx chattered some and sat down next to her. "I know bud, but if I'm going to be stuck here, I might as well learn the language." She replied.

Mana then blinked, she looked at her right arm and then at the ground, she shrugged and started to turn her hand into wood, she then began to experiment with what she could do with it.

She also began experimenting with ice, using her left arm.

She grinned at the results a few hours later.

______*the next day, 2:00 PM*______

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the conundrum before her, Rainbow Dash had shown up and told Twilight that there was something strange in town.

Twilight thought she knew what that strange thing was, but she was wrong.

Apparently, under the bridge where she found Mana, there was now a strange wooden and ice wall on both sides, she blinked and approached after lighting her horn.

Twilight noticed a small crawl way and knocked on the wood above it. "One sec." Mana's voice replied.

Mana, soon appeared and looked at Twilight. "Can I help you?" She asked.

Twilight pointed at the wall. "Oh, that, sorry, I dozed off." Mana apologized.

Soon enough, the ice and the wood quickly went away, and Mana stepped out. "Why did you make that, and how?" Twilight asked.

Mana shrugged. "I used my newfound power, and as for why, to keep someone from barging in." She replied.

Twilight shook her head. "Ok, that settles it, you need a place to stay, you can't live under there." She said.

Mana sighed and crossed her arms. "Where exactly am I going then?" She asked.

"I just found out today that I can have you stay with me until this whole mess is straightened out." Twilight replied.

Mana nodded. "Fine then, let's go." She said.

Twilight held her hood up. "Uh uh, first things first." She then looked at Mana. "When was the last time you ate?" She asked.

"Uh, since the night I came here?" She said.

Twilight sighed and started walking. "Ok, that's the first priority, food." She stated.

Mana heard her stomach growl, she quickly started following the unicorn.

They eventually stopped at a small building that served food, Mana didn't catch the name, nor did she care at the moment, as they sat down, Mana noticed that she had a pair of eyes glance over. "I take it you don't get many visitors." She said.

"We do actually." Twilight said. "Just not many different species." She added.

Mana nodded. "I see, well, my village wasn't like this, we were used to things that weren't normal." She said idly.

Soon, a waitress popped over and took Twilight's order, she then walked up to Mana and spoke, Mana only understood 'you' from that sentence. Mana shrugged and looked at Twilight. "I have no idea what she said, or what anything on this menu is." She said.

Twilight then looked at the waitress and talked to her, Mana couldn't understand most of the conversation, but when the waitress nodded and walked off, she had an idea. "I hope you like eggs." Twilight said.

Mana nodded and crossed her arms, she looked up Into the sky, watching as the birds and Pegasi flew by, the latter of the two pushing clouds. "How are they pushing clouds?" Mana asked.

Twilight looked up and smiled. "It's magic, Pegasi are born with the ability to walk and touch clouds, as well as to create and control weather." She said.

Mana looked at Twilight. "That seems a bit hard to believe." She admitted.

"Trust me, as somepony.....sorry, someONE, who has studied the subject several times over, it's true, but they do need a lot of concentration and skill to create weather." Twilight said.

Mana and Twilight talked back and forth a while, mostly with Mana asking questions, and Twilight answering.

When the food arrived, Mana ate at a normal pace, she had learned a long time ago that eating quickly can lead to one of many unpleasant consequences, such as hiccups, stomach ache, or even vomit, if you pushed it.

After they ate, Twilight left some money on the table, and they left. "I was going to say, why did you pay with gold coins?.....kind of carefree with money?" Mana asked.

Twilight blinked, she then shook her head. "Actually no, that's Equestria's common currency, they are called bits." She explained.

Mana nodded in understanding. "Oh, because where I'm from, the currency goes from copper, to silver, to gold, well, in coins anyway." She explained, producing a small copper coin from her pack as an example.

Twilight noticed a symbol on the coin. "What's with the symbol?" She asked.

"This coin is made in one of the Water Tribes, it's an old coin, but still of value, I have a small amount of them, but I don't think now is the time for examining coins." Mana said as they approached the library.

"I do have one question though Twilight." Mana said.

Twilight looked at Mana. "What is it?" She asked.

"Unless you have a spare room and bed, things will get awkward very fast." Mana said.

Twilight nodded. "Then it's a good thing I have a spare room now isn't it?" She replied as they entered the library.

Mana looked over her shoulder and at Onyx, the squirrel chattered and patted her shoulder. "Oh yea, good point." She said in agreement. 

Mana then looked at Twilight. "Do you know a place where we can get more pet food?.....I'm running low." She said.

"Not me personally." Twilight said. "But my friend Fluttershy should know a good spot." She added.

Mana then set Onyx down on the ground and started walking towards the window, as she looked outside, she noticed something odd, a rainbow maned Pegasus flying......right towards the window. "Duck!" She shouted.
> Unexpected meeting, alone to mourn.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

____*Mana's journal, day 1 of living in Equestria, 3:30 PM*____

Back in the northern water tribe, the kid I could describe as my 'best friend' asked me to describe my life.

I laughed and said that I had no way of describing it as I hadn't really been alive that long.

But now? after technically dying, I think I can, my life was a train wreck waiting to happen, parents that were more concerned that I got into trouble more than they cared about what I had to say, a bunch of kids I somewhat knew that I guess I was lucky they considered me a friend, and the inability to swim which is very ironic considering my bending element, it's also what got me killed.

And now that I'm in Equestria, I have no idea how to act, I can barely speak a few words of the most basic language, I got attacked by a timberwolf almost immediately upon arriving by means that I still don't understand, and I apparently can turn into wood.

However, I think the fact that I am now trapped underneath a rainbow maned Pegasus who I now know to be Rainbow Dash, one of Twilight Sparkle's friends, kinda tops the most awkward situation of my life.

Now, I'm not easily embarrassed, I'm not, seriously, a bully back home pulled my pants down and I didn't even notice right away, and when I did I just pulled them up and froze his hands together without blinking.

That doesn't mean it's impossible though, for one, I'm shy, I hate socializing with people, I'm a lone wolf at heart, and I can't stand being around several strangers for more than a few seconds unless I willingly put myself in that situation, then I can somewhat calm down.

But when I got stuck, that was awkward, not embarrassing, just awkward, thankfully, none of us brought it up afterwards, or at least I didn't.

"Oof!" 

The sound of glass breaking and thudding filled the library.

Mana and the rainbow Pegasus slid across the floor a little and the library went quiet. "Rainbow Dash, what have I told you about using the door?" Twilight asked.

'Rainbow Dash? that's a name? oh wait, Twilight told me about her a little, is that who this is on top of me?.....I knew she was hot headed, but I didn't think she would be crazy enough to fly into a window!' Mana said to herself mentally.

Rainbow Dash groaned and looked at Twilight after repositioning herself, she spoke and much to Mana's annoyance, she couldn't understand.

Mana lay there wordlessly as the two began talking, understanding absolutely none of it, she decided to hope Twilight was telling the mare to get off, while she subtly turned her left hand into wood and began to form a giant wooden hand in a very careful way as to get no attention.

Twilight proceeded to say many things to the Pegasus, her translation spell vanishing, leaving Mana completely in the dark save for select words.

As the two mares held their little argument, Mana carefully tested her hand, finding it very capable of movement, she looked up at the Pegasus, seeing nothing but rainbow colored hair in her face, she looked at Twilight, who apparently just noticed her given her expression.

Mana felt something on her moving and she saw the Pegasus look down at her in surprise, Mana winked and picked the mare up with her giant hand and stood up.

Mana stretched a little, even as Rainbow's voice raised, she paid her no mind as she checked her right arm for injury. 

"Mana." Twilight said.

Mana looked over and saw Twilight with an impatient face. "What?" She asked.

Twilight pointed at Rainbow Dash who was still struggling in the grasp of Mana's giant wooden hand.

Mana rolled her eyes and her hand released the rainbow maned Pegasus, it then began to revert to normal, she looked at Twilight. "Happy?" She asked.

______*perspective change.*______

Rainbow Dash looked at Mana and then at Twilight. "Who is this?" She asked.

Twilight sighed. "Rainbow Dash, this is Mana, she's going to be staying here." She said.

Rainbow Dash blinked and looked at Mana, who simply looked at her and put her......whatever's, in her pockets. "Ok, why?" She asked.

"Because she needs help adjusting to our culture, and I volenteered." Twilight answered.

Rainbow walked forward and held her hoof out to Mana. "Hey, I'm Rainbow Dash." She said.

Mana said nothing and looked at Twilight, saying something in an unknown language.

Twilight sighed. "She's introducing herself Mana, her name is Rainbow Dash, she's offering to shake your hand." She replied.

Mana looked at Rainbow Dash with uncertainty for a moment, then catiously shook her hoof. "Hel....lo." She said.

Rainbow Dash barely understood Mana, she wasn't going to be rude, but it was very hard to understand the choppy words.

Rainbow then looked at Twilight. "Does she understand us?" She asked.

Twilight shook her head. "Not without my translation spell, other than that, it's just a few words she understands, and those are the ones I taught her." She said.

Rainbow looked at Mana. "Do you know what she is?" She asked curiously.

"She's human Rainbow Dash, and like I said, she's staying here." Twilight said, turning her translation spell off.

Rainbow shook her head and looked at Twilight. "Look uh, I'm sorry about the window, but I was wondering something." She said.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What?" She asked.

Rainbow looked up at the ceiling. "You uh, want to go get a bite to eat sometime?.......just the two of us? I mean, we never hang out that much." She said.

Twilight sighed. "Sure thing, but I need to get Mana set up, and i won't be here tomorrow." She said.

Rainbow looked at Twilight with curiosity. "How so?" She said.

Twilight paced a little bit. "I've been summoned to Canterlot, it's unavoidable otherwise I would stay." She said.

Rainbow blinked and looked at Mana. "Are you sure she'll be alright?" She asked.

Twilight groaned. "There will be absolutely no way she'll be fine on her own, she doesn't know our language, she can't read, and nopony else know how to.......oh no." She suddenly shivered.

"Twilight, I hope you aren't asking me to take care of her, I'm WAY too busy, not to mention the speech issue." Rainbow said.

Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash. "Pinkie Pie is the only one here who somehow knows how to talk to Mana, other than her squirrel." She said.

Rainbow Dash was going to question it, then decided against it. "Why not just ask Fluttershy then?" She asked.

Twilight blinked and gave Rainbow Dash a glare that said 'are you serious?' "Fluttershy is very shy Rainbow Dash." She stated.

Rainbow chuckled. "It's kinda in her name." She teased.

"Mana is shy as well, and she already met Pinkie, she never met Fluttershy." Twilight added.

Rainbow stopped her chuckling as she processed Twilight's words. "Good point." She finally said.

Twilight looked at Mana and lit her horn. "Hey Mana, I have to leave for Canterlot tomorrow, but I think I can teach you some more words....you know, in case you need to say them." She said.

Mana looked at Twilight.

______*perspective change*______

At that moment I was both releived and confused, as well as unsurprised. "Ok." I said simply.

"I'll make sure Pinkie drops by to see if you need anything." Twilight said.

I was then kind of excited, i didn't know Pinkie that well, but i liked the spirit the mare had, also, she was very good with jokes.

The fact that I was going to learn more words, that was interesting, but also very annoying. 

I saw that Rainbow was headed towards the door, i blinked. 'She must not like learning.' I thought curiously.

_____*later that day*______

I sigh quietly as I sat down on the couch, Twilight must have worked as a drill sergeant at some point, with how she practically drove me to learn the language, my head still hurt from all the words being spoken, thankfully, Twilight stopped our lessons a little bit ago, deciding I had learned enough for one day.

Twilight did admit that the lessons were rushed, saying that if I could at least communicate on a basic level, I would be alright, at least until we could take our time with the words. 

I closed my eyes and sat in silence, I could feel Onyx climb onto my shoulder and chatter. "Yea I know bud, but we don't exactly have many other options do we?" I said to my squirrel.

Onyx chattered angrily and batted my head. "Now that was just rude." I say as I pick Onyx up and set him down on my lap. "Maybe you need a lesson in manners?" I ask.

Onyx crossed his arms and chattered as he kicked my leg. "I know no one else can understand you, but that's no reason to take it out on me." I scold.

I watch as Onyx tugged my arm and pointed to the door. "Why would I go out?" I ask.

Onyx threw his arms out and apparently screamed out of frustration, he then tugged my arm again.

"Alright alright, man, you are insufferable lately." I say as I put Onyx on my shoulder and stand up, I walked to the door and opened it, to my surprise, there was a box at the doorway, I pick it up and take it inside after closing the door. "Are you up there?" I call out in basic Equestrain, it was very choppy, but the words were there.

I heard rapid footsteps and I saw a small purple reptile with green spines run down the steps, I raise an eyebrow and set the box down, it clearly noticed me, as was obvious by the panic and the screaming as it ran upstairs, I shrug and head back to the couch.

As I sat down, I found myself pondering the events that led me here. 'This was just supposed to be a stupid visit to the southern tribe.....why did I need to caught up in this?' I asked myself as I rested my head in my hand.

Soon enough, I heard footsteps by the stairs, I looked up and saw Twilight looking around, she looked at the reptile and spoke to it, the reptile pointed at me and I sigh. 

Soon enough, Twilight walked over with the reptile on her back, her horn lit up. "Spike, this is Mana, Mana, this is Spike." She said.

I gave a half wave to Spike, who waved back. "Spike, Mana is going to be staying here." Twilight said.

Spike's eyes widened and he jumped off and proceeded to say things to Twilight. "Spike, listen, Mana needs help, and I would appreciate it if you two got along, especially since I'm heading to Canterlot tomorrow." She said.

Spike sighed and looked at me, he reluctantly held his arm out, I catiously shook his claw and looked at Twilight. "Two questions, one, what is he, two, how long will you be away?" I ask.

"Spike is a baby dragon, and I'll only be gone one day." Twilight answered.

I nod. "Ok." I say.

Twilight looked at Spike as her horn diminished, she said multiple things and Spike apparently did not approve as he crossed his arms and grumbled.

_____*that night*_____

I closed the door and headed to the guest bed, Twilight was going to Canterlot tomorrow, and I am guessing that's the capital of the nation?

I wasn't sure, but I knew Spike wasn't going to bother me much, and Pinkie would only be checking up on us tomorrow, so I closed the window and the blinds, I then sat down on the floor and surrounded myself with a small wooden dome.

I held my legs as I rested my head on my kneecaps, I let out a tear, and finally allowed myself to cry.

As I cried, the memories of my past life came forward, I remembered the good times I had with my parents, and even some of the other kids from home.

As I silently cried to myself, I could feel the room grow cold, I paused my crying and saw that ice had formed around the wood, as if becoming another layer of protection.

I sniffled and continued sobbing as I mourned for my parents and everyone else from the ship.

My sobbing went on for a while, especially when i thought on everyone who had lost someone to the ocean.

It felt like hours until I was able to stop the tears, I breathed deeply and wiped my eyes with my free hand, I started to revert the change with my other hand, the ice vanished and the wood receeded.

I blinked and saw Onyx fast asleep on the bed, I gave a half chuckle and leaned on wall, I closed my eyes and I eventually drifted off to sleep.

_____*the next morning.*_____

Twilight was busy getting her stuff ready for the trip, as well as making sure that Spike and Mana had plenty of food for the day, thankfully, Pinkie was okay with checking in on the two, and making sure they didn't do anything.

Not that Twilight expected they would be trouble, Spike was a maybe, but who knew what Mana would unintentionally get herself into?

Twilight was trying very hard to not panic.

"Twilight, maybe you should, calm down?" Spike suggested sleepily.

Twilight's eye twitched. "I am calm, I am perfectly calm!" She replied.

Spike rolled his eyes. 'She isnt.' He thought.

Twilight heard a door open and she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, she lit her horn. "Good to see your awake Mana." She said.

A yawn was her immediate response. "Bathroom?" Mana asked groggily.

"Should be next to the guest room." Twilight replied.

Mana stretched. "Is that what that was?" She wondered as she headed upstairs.

Spike blinked. "So uh, how is it going, teaching her the language?" He asked out of curiosity, mostly, he was tired of not understanding the girl.

Twilight sighed. "Not good Spike." She admitted. "It's hard enough teaching her this language, but with me rushing it, it's even worse." She said.

"Maybe you should take your time?" Spike suggested. "I mean, what do you think will happen if she says something offensive, and she doesn't even know it?" He hypothesized.

Twilight nodded. "Yea, you're right." She said.

After a minute passed, Mana walked down the stairs and sat at the table with Twilight and Spike wordlessly.

The three ate breakfast quietly, and after it was over, Twilight left for the station, leaving Spike alone with Mana. 

Spike looked at Mana, who was attempting to read a book. "Can you read that?" He asked curiously.

Mana looked at him and blinked, she shook her head and put the book back where she got it. 

Spike sighed as he walked to one of the chairs and sat down. "You don't talk a lot do you?" He asked.

Mana tilted her head at him and made no other motion. "You don't understand what I said?" He asked.

Mana blinked. "What.....you....saying?" She asked with difficulty.

Spike facepalmed and leaned his head back. "Yea, this is going to be annoying." He said to himself.

He watched as Mana sat down in a random spot on the floor and held her hand out, he watched in awe as she slowly turned her fingers too wood one by one, he watched as her hand soon became wood and as she conjured some wooden stick figures.....and then he watched as all of the wood returned to her hand, then her hand became flesh once again. "Cool." He said.

Mana tilted her head at him. "What?" She asked clearly.

Spike shook his head. "It's nothing." He replied.

Mana shrugged. "Ok." She said as she began to experiment with her powers.

_____*later that day, 4:10 PM*_____

Pinkie Pie was headed to the library, not to see Twilight mind you, she was going to go check up on Spike on Mana, and she wasn't alone, she had run into Rarity and her sister just a few moments ago, and they decided to accompany her.

"So Pinkie, what did you say the name of your new friend was?" Rarity asked.

"Mana." Pinkie replied easily as she bounced along.

Sweetie Belle blinked. "Isn't Mana the name of some weird magic or something?" She asked.

"I have no idea!.....we should ask Twilight when she gets back!" Pinkie suggested eagerly.

Rarity shivered. "No offense to our friend, but I would rather not sit through another one of Twilights....lectures." She said.

The three soon reached the library and Pinkie knocked, soon, a familiar baby dragon opened the door. "Oh hey Pinkie, hey Sweetie Belle.....hi.....Rarity." He said dreamily.

"Hey Spike!" Pinkie said eagerly. "Just checking up on ya!" She said.

Spike nodded and stepped aside. "I'm  okay, I mean, i may be a baby, but I know how to take care of myself, Mana though." They all looked and saw Mana sitting on the floor with her eyes closed, inside a dome made out of wood and ice, with an entrance. "Yea.....she's been in there for hours." He explained.

Pinkie approached and eyed the dome. 

Rarity was confused, while Sweetie Belle recognized Mana. "Oh.....that must be what was outside that night." She said.

Rarity looked at Sweetie Belle and then at the creature. "I suppose your right, um, Pinkie dear, is that Mana?" She asked.

Pinkie nodded and sat down in front of the entrance. "Mana?" She said.

Mana's eyes opened, and her left eye, which was once a bright blue, was now the familiar green of a timberwolf. "Oh, hey Pinkie." The wood and ice soon returned to her and she stood up. "What's up?" She asked.

"I came by to check on you, see if you needed anything." She said.

Mana shrugged. "I'm good actually." She looked down at Onyx and picked him up, then set him on her shoulder. "But Onyx here needs some squirrel food, if that isn't a problem." She replied.

Pinkie stood up and Onyx jumped onto her head, she giggled. "No, it's no trouble, I know what it's like to take care of a pet." She reached up and set Onyx on the floor. "I'll see if Fluttershy has some spare food for him." She said.

Mana nodded. "Thanks." she then noticed Rarity and Sweetie Belle. "Who are they?" She asked.

"Oh yea!" Pinkie turned around and pointed at the two. "The big one is Rarity one of my friends, and the smaller one is her sister Sweetie Belle." She answered.

Mana blinked. "Huh." She walked over and held her hand out to Rarity. "I'm Mana." She said easily, having practiced a lot in the past few hours.

Rarity raised an eyebrow at the gesture, but she shook Mana's hand all the same, she said something that Mana didn't understand. "What?" She asked.

Pinkie stepped in. "She said her name is Rarity." She then looked at her friend and whispered in her ear. 

Rarity seemed to understand and nodded at Mana. 

Mana looked at Sweetie Belle. "Hi." She said simply.

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. "Uh....hi." She answered.

_____*Mana's journal, day 2*______

At the time, I hadn't realized it, but as I introduced myself to Rarity and Sweetie Belle, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

I also didn't know it at the time, but I had met one of my best friends, even though I couldn't understand most of what she said, and she couldn't understand me.

At least, that's what I thought.

From that point on, things kind of slowed down, like the world was giving me a break from the panic and rush that was day to day life, I was mostly on guard though, because I knew that things were never that easy.

One thing I hate to admit, but I know it's true, within a month, Equestria felt more like home than the Northern Water Tribe ever did.

The only difference being, I can be myself now, and not pretend to be someone I'm not.

Also, I can turn to wood, creepy and unsettling at first, but it got awesome, what's not to love?

I think I'm going to go lay down now, I can't keep staying up this late.
> Going through the flames and motions.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Mana's journal, day 5, 4:20 PM*_____

'It had been a few days since Twilight left for Canterlot, I wasn't concerned, but when Twilight came back, she was very disturbed by something, I asked what was wrong, in basic Equis no less!....that's the general language of this world by the way, which was an achievement in itself for me.

Anyway, I asked what was wrong, and she never answered, like she was in a trance, I was confused but I had decided to leave it alone.

So today I left the library and headed outside on my own, I figured I wasn't making any progress hiding out, so I wanted to go and see what would happen if I went outside.

That was......interesting, to say the least, I unintentionally set fire to two fruit stands, froze Applejack's Apple cart, and created an apocalypse of wild cats....actually, that last one was intentional.

But the strangest thing was, no one seemed that angry, or if they were, I couldn't understand them as they talked to me, I may be able to follow conversation to an extent, but not when they talk so quickly that it would make even Onyx have a headache.

The best part was at the end of the day however.'

______*The real world.*______

Mana was standing in the library as Twilight scolded her, mostly on improper usage of magic, but there was a bit of self restraint and responsibility lectures mixed in.

Mana sighed and held her arms as Twilight talked. "At least Applejack's cart wasn't damaged, and you should be thankful she wasn't angry." Twilight said.

"Carrot Top should calm down after you apologize, and Red Beats shouldn't be that angry." She continued.

Twilight then looked sternly at Mana. "But the wild cat army wasn't just random was it?" She asked.

Mana raised a finger. "Hey!" She exclaimed. "Those cats wanted to rampage! I just gave them a shove!" She argued.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "You set their tails on fire." She reminded flatly.

Mana sighed and put her arms at her sides in defeat. "And I STILL have no idea how I do that!" She shouted.

Twilight took a calming breath. "Look Mana, you need to take responsibility for what you did, you can't just do these things just because you feel like it." She said calmly.

Mana closed her eyes and held her arms. "Yea I know." She replied quietly.

Twilight shook her head and walked around a while, she then looked at Mana. "Why did you do those things anyway?" She asked.

Mana sat down on the nearby chair and rested her head on her hand. "I have no idea why the first two fires started, as for freezing Applejack's cart.......that was only because a third one started." She explained.

Twilight walked over. "What were you doing when the fires started?" She asked.

Mana blinked. "Now that you mention it, I had smelt something strange in the air, I sneezed then next thing I knew, things were on fire." She replied.

Twilight walked over to the bookshelves. "What did it smell like?" She asked.

Mana scratched her head. "Uh.....kind of like wet dog, mixed with Spike's belches." She replied.

Twilight paused and thought on this, she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, until an idea struck her. "Do you mind if we run a few small experiments?....there is something I want to test." She asked.

Mana sighed. "Sure, whatever, what is it?" She asked out of boredom.

Twilight soon produced a small notepad from her desk. "I want to see if you are the cause of these fires, I'll cause you to sneeze, if that's it, we can go from there, if not, that's one less thing you need to worry about......win-win in your situation." She said.

Mana rolled her eyes. "Knock yourself out I guess." She said.

Twilight then cast a small spell, it hit Mana but it didn't seem to work.......until she sneezed a few moments later.

Thankfully, there was no fire, which was helpful. 

Twilight scribbled something down and then undid her spell. "Alright, let's move in to theory two." She said.

Mana groaned internally. 'This is going to take all day.' She said to herself.

Twilight then tested a multitude of theories regarding Mana's strange firey mishaps, they tried a sudden jolt, they tried plucking a hair, they even tried a scare factor, but nothing happened.

Twilight sighed as she reached her final theory a few hours later. "Alright, last theory, let's see if this works." She mumbled.

Mana watched in shock as Twilight suddenly started a small fire with a match, on the library floor in a circle, in an instant, Mana felt her head sting as she instinctively reached out with her right arm, causing the flame to flow directly to her arm and swirl around it.

Twilight and Mana were both in awe, they watched as the fire danced around Mana, and soon dissipated. "What in the world?" Mana asked herself.

Mana looked at Twilight. "Do you want to explain what that was all about?" She asked quickly.

Twilight nodded. "Stress response." She answered. "It was the one test that I didn't want to attempt, and for good reason, but from what I can understand, your mind reacted to the sudden danger and immediately controlled the fire before getting rid of it." She explained.

Mana blinked as she looked at her right hand, it turned to wood and then back to flesh, she also felt a warm sensation inside her, where before she just felt an icy chill, now she felt a warm embrace. "Why don't you go ahead and try it?" Twilight wondered.

Mana looked at Twilight who gave a small encouraging smile. 'Use my fire?.....alright, what was it my dad told me the day we discovered i was a waterbender?......fire is life, but it must be treated with respect and a steady hand?' She took a breath and held her hand out a little in front of her chest, she soon saw her hand turn to wood and then engulf into flames, she was about to panic and stop, when she realized something peculiar.

There was no pain at all, she raised an eyebrow, she catiously held her left hand over the fire, and felt no pain, just a welcoming warmth, she placed her hands together and now there were two flames, she commanded then to receede, and they did so, leaving no fire.

Mana blinked and looked at her right hand, it was completely fine, no scorch marks, it wasn't even hot. "Strange." She said as her hand returned to flesh.

Twilight watched this all with interest before shaking her head, clearing her mind. "Mana?....are you alright?" She asked.

Mana nodded and looked at Twilight. "Oddly enough, I'm relieved, and suddenly very happy I never learned to use fire back home." She said.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Why not?.....is it frowned upon?" She asked.

Mana shook her head. "No, it's just that......since Water was the element I could bend, everyone just assumed that I was a waterbender, you see Twilight, in my world, when one person can bend all four Elements, they are known as the Avatar, and said Avatar has to travel the world to master the four elements, you see, the Avatar is the one who is usually known for keeping the peace, but for a long time, there hasn't been one, so people got used to sorting out their own problems." She said, she then shrugged. "At least, that's what I was told." She said.

Mana deadpanned as she watched Twilight scribble this down onto her notepad, Mana was not surprised, she had seen Twilight do this before, so it didn't bother her. "Anyway, you can understand why I didn't want to bend another Element back home, that would WAY too much work for me." She said.

Twilight looked at Mana and set the notebook aside. "But still, don't you wonder how it would have went?....you could have seen the world!" She said.

Mana chuckled. "It wasn't that interesting to me if I'm going to be completely honest, I didn't even WANT to see my sister tribe when our boat sank." She replied.

Twilight's ears dropped upon hearing that. "Mana....." She started.

Mana held a hand up. "Uh uh." She said, stopping Twilight. "Don't say your sorry, you had nothing to do with it, it was bad luck, nothing more, I'm focusing on my future, not my past." She stated before lowering her hand.

Twilight nodded slowly, but before she could speak, she saw Onyx run up to Mana and climb onto her shoulder, he chattered loudly and slapped her head a few times. "Onyx, you know I care about you, but seriously, your insufferable when you are hungry." She said before walking to the stairs.

As Mana went to go feed Onyx, Twilight pondered what her next step was, she wasn't sure, but she needed to figure it out quickly.

Twilight sighed to herself as she paced back and forth. "She can understand a good amount of our language, which is good, but she can't speak our language that well, which is bad, she seems eager to learn, which is good, she has problems talking to others, not good nor bad, but can cause problems." She took a breath and shook her head. "There is only one solution to this." She muttered to herself quietly.

______*two days later, 12:00 AM*______

"School." Twilight said to Mana.

Spike and Mana were both dumbfounded by Twilight's decision. "Um.....Twilight, I uh, don't think that's a good idea." Spike said.

Twilight cleared her throat. "Like I said Spike, I enrolled both you and Mana into school." She said calmly as she drank her tea.

Spike looked at Mana who seemed frozen in place, he tapped her arm and she didn't even flinch. "I.....i.....i." She muttered.

Twilight sighed as Mana soon turned herself and her chair to ice. "Oh, that didn't go well." She said.

Spike looked at Twilight. "Um, while she sorts her head out......why did you enroll us?.....i was tutored to a practical college degree, and she usually can't handle being around a lot of people." He asked.

Twilight set her cup down and looked at Spike. "I know that, but I think school will be good for you, it will help you to make some friends, Mana needs to learn, so that's one reason, another reason is that I'm hoping this will help her with her social anxiety." She explained.

Spike stifled a laugh. "Says the one who had like, ONE friend back in Canterlot." He joked.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "You and I both know that was intentional, at the time, I believed that my studies took priority." She countered.

Spike chuckled. "I had some friends back in Canterlot." He pointed out smugly.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "My brother, Cadence, Celestia, and the two rookie guards who enjoyed playing Dungeons and Dragons do not count, by friends, I meant, friends your age." She stated.

Spike just sighed.

_____*ten minutes later*_____

Mana opened her eyes as her body returned to flesh, she looked around and saw that she was alone in the kitchen, she stood up and stretched, after that, she walked into the main area of the library where Spike and Twilight were reorganizing the shelves.

She walked in and casually dodged a flying book and grabbed another with a wooden hand. "You should really pay attention, you'll break a window." She pointed out.

Twilight set all of the unorganized books into a small pile and looked at Mana. "You alright now?" She asked.

Mana nodded. "I'm not exactly thrilled.....but I guess I have to go out at some point, sooner than later I suppose." She replied idly.

Spike rolled his eyes. "How do you think I'll feel?.....I'll be one of the people there that already knows the answers, but doesn't feel like doing it." He added. "Not exactly a fun thing." He muttered under his breath.

Mana shrugged. "I don't see how it's a bad thing either Spike." She replied.

Twilight blinked, she knew Spike had said something under his breath, but she couldn't hear it. "How did you hear him?" She asked.

Mana blinked and her left eye changed to its timberwolf green coloration. "You couldn't?....it was clear as day." She puzzled.

Twilight tried not to show any sign of surprise, but it was difficult, she calmed herself when Mana blinked and her eye returned to normal. "Well, regardless, it's Saturday right now, and schools out for the spring break starting Sunday, you have at least three months." She said.

Mana sighed in relief, but just then, she heard papers rustling, she looked over and saw a small folder with some pages in Twilight's grip. "What are these?" She asked, still unable to read.

"These are questions that will help you catch up with the rest of the students, you aren't required to do them immediately, and they aren't due until spring break is over, Spike can help you with them after I teach you to read our language." Twilight said.

Mana was now slightly less relieved, but she was still thankful that she had plenty of time. "I get it." She said.

Twilight then shivered at some unknown thought that gave her a chill down her spine. "But still, Mana, it would be helpful for you to meet some people around the town, you might just meet a friend or two, anyway, i need to get back to reorganizing the library, Spike!" She called out.

"Yea Twilight?" Spike asked as he walked over.

Twilight looked down at her number one assistant and smiled as he held the books. "I'm giving you an early day off, why don't you take Mana and walk through town? show her around, visit some friends." She said.

Spike set the books down and let his arms hang for a moment as the weight was removed, he then looked at Mana with a grin. "Come on, I want you to meet someone." He said mischievously.

_____*Ponyville*_____

Spike and Mana walked through the town casually, Mana still got a glance from the locals, but it wasn't as bad now, they ran into Rainbow Dash, literally, or to be accurate, she crashed right in front of them, followed by a comment from Spike about 'Rainbow Crash' which was followed by Mana saying that Rainbow must be blind if she continually crashes, and that she should have her eyes checked.

The two were on the way to a place that she could not understand the name of, Spike translated and said that it was a tailors shop owned and run by Rarity, Mana was skeptical as to his intentions, but decided to trust Spike for now.

As the two reached the building, Spike knocked on the door, and soon enough, Rarity stepped out and greeted them. "Ah, hello Spike, hello Mana." She said.

Rarity allowed them inside and Mana glanced around curiously, the decor was fancy, but not over the top, it was as though she had chosen it in just the right way as to appear professional, but still be welcoming.

Mana looked around as Spike and Rarity talked, he mentioned them being enrolled into the school, this apparently made Rarity happy.

It was just then that Mana remembered Rarity's little sister Sweetie Belle. 'She must be in the school as well.' She noted.

Mana looked over and saw said.....filly?...on the stairs nearby, staring at her with a confused expression. "Hi." She said calmly.

_____*Perspective change*_____

I was slightly concerned, but once I heard Spike and Rarity talking, I started to calm down. "Hi." I said simply.

I watched as Mana walked off and I headed down the stairs, I saw Rarity and Spike sitting on the couch talking, but for once, Spike was actually speaking, and wasn't fawning over my sister.

I didn't pay much attention, and neither was Mana, until Spike's next question. "Hey Rarity, is it alright if we hang out with Sweetie Belle?" He asked.

That actually surprised me, Spike never wanted to hang out with me before, he was either working with Twilight, or helping my sister all the time, he never actually showed much interest.

"That's up to her." Rarity said.

I blinked at that reply, I honestly was expecting her to just say yes or no, but this was new, as Spike looked over, I shrugged. "Sure, but I wouldn't want the others to be left out." I replied.

This would either go really good, or really bad.

_____*later that day, perspective change, Mana's journal.*_____

'When we started to get closer to Sweet Apple Acres, I had actually spoken with Sweetie Belle quite a bit, apparently we both shared curiosity, and we usually tried to stay out of trouble, but it usually follows.

Thankfully, when we met Apple Bloom and got her to join us, I found that she shared something with me, a love for alchemy, we talked for a while about that, sharing ideas and notes, all in all, I appeared to be taking the situation rather well.

I will be completely frank here, I wasn't handling the situation at all on the inside, I felt as though I could have a nervous breakdown any second.

And then I met Scootaloo, and I discovered that these three, not including Spike, were the ones that first discovered me under the bridge, they were also notorious for causing trouble.

I didn't have much in common with Scootaloo at the time, at least, that's what I thought.

The girl kept pestering me the entire time until we decided on what to do, she wasn't really name calling, but more like half strength snipes, saying that I couldn't do much with a horn or wings.

And that is where I began to hate her, but also where I began to like her.

_____*Mana's perspective.*_____

I was slightly annoyed, Scootaloo had essentially just called me next to useless, but I was also amused and relieved.

'She doesn't seem afraid to speak her mind, and even goes so far as to discreetly challenge me, she's interesting.' 

"So go on, show me." Scootaloo said with her hooves crossed.

"Show you what? I wasn't paying attention." I asked.

Scootaloo sighed. "Show me that you CAN do something." She replied.

I shrug. "Alright then." I hold my right hand out and it turns into wood, it then engulfs in flame as my left arm turned to ice, I look at Scootaloo with a grin. "Satisfied?" I say before reverting my arms to normal and placing my hands in my pockets.

Scootaloo was dumbfounded, she clearly wasn't expecting that. "Okay, I have to admit it, that was awesome." She finally said.

Apple Bloom was just as surprised as Scootaloo, while Sweetie Belle was curious. "Can you do anything else?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I have no idea, if I can, I haven't found it out yet." I replied truthfully.

Spike walked up to us and held his arms. "So, what are we doing?" He asked.

Scootaloo shrugged. "I'm not sure, I'm kinda pooped out from crusading, and I don't have any ideas.....well, new ones." She said.

I raised an eyebrow at that, and my confusion grew when all of the others agreed, Spike simply wasn't sure. "Mana, any ideas?" He asked, he then clamped his mouth shut, realizing his mistake.

At that, my brain decided to shut down, of all the times for it to happen, it had to happen just as I started to consider warming up to the three girls. 

Scootaloo leaned next to Spike. "Is she ok?" She whispered.

Spike sighed. "She has social anxiety." He whispered.

I could hear them of course, on the count of my enhanced hearing, which at the time, I didn't know about.

Sweetie Belle approached me as I stood there blankly, she rested a hoof on my shoulder and spoke. "How about we show you the clubhouse?.....we can think up an idea on the way?" She offered. "If anything, just imagine that you aren't surrounded by others for a short while, it should help calm you down." She said.

At the time, i wasn't so sure, now?.....I listen, so I nodded silently, and the five of us started to walk.

The walk itself was mostly silent, partially on my part, the rest was the others, I don't know if they were actually thinking of ideas, or were just keeping quiet idly, regardless, the quiet time helped to calm me down.

So I was mostly back to normal around the time we arrived at the girls clubhouse.

And one thing I immediately noticed, was that these three were very proud of it, I could understand why, especially after I found out they did it without any adult help, even though all they did was refurbish it.

So as they all climbed up and entered the clubhouse, i carefully climbed up, and I just barely fit inside, particularly, I had to duck a bit.

It wasn't that bad later on however, as I sat down I absentmindedly turned my lower body into wood, at least, the parts touching the floor anyway.

Thankfully, the others came up with an idea. "How about we play hide and seek?" Sweetie Belle said.

I noticed that the others seemed alright with the idea, so I nodded. "Sure, I'm up for it." I said, recalling the times I played back home made me chuckle. "Not it." I immediately say.

"Not it!" The three girls simultaneously called.

Spike groaned as he got stuck with the seeker position. "Fine, but I'm going to add a rule for Mana." He looked at me. "Do NOT turn into wood!" He said firmly.

I nodded. "Okay." I say calmly.

______*outside, near the town, perspective change.*______

"Ok, no houses, no cellars, no roofs, and no leaving your hiding spot unless you are found." Spike said, going over the rules.

I hold up my hoof as Spike looks at me. "Yes Scootaloo?" He asked.

"How will we know the game is over?.....I mean, if you have a really good hiding spot." I ask.

Spike tapped his chin, he then held up a finger as he got an idea. "How about this, when seven minutes are up, we leave our hiding spots and come back here?" He suggested.

Everypony seemed to agree, so did Mana, who had a devious smirk on her face.

I was curious, but I wasn't about to ask her, not with the risk of her having another anxiety attack.

So we quickly spread out and hid as Spike began to count.

I found a decent hiding spot in a bush next to a tree, it wasn't obvious or anything, it also had a good view of the entire park, I waited with eager anticipation as Spike stopped counting.

I watched as he began to look around the area, he searched every bush, and looked up and around every tree.

_____*four minutes later*_____

Spike sighed In annoyance as he looked around, he had found the three girls, he found Apple Bloom first, hiding behind a tree, he then found Sweetie Belle, hiding behind Scootaloo, who was hiding in a bush.

But no matter where he looked, he couldn't find Mana, he began to suspect that she was cheating and had turned into a tree, but he felt like Mana was more honorable than that.

Spike looked behind rocks, in bushes, and all over trees, he even looked under the bridge, but he couldn't find Mana.

Eventually the seven minutes were up. "Alright Mana! times up!" He called.

They heard footsteps nearby and they saw Mana walking up to them. "Where were you?" Spike asked.

Mana grinned. "Not telling!" She said happily.

Spike blinked. "Did you turn into a tree?" He asked.

"No." Mana replied. "I said I wouldn't turn into wood, and I didn't." She said.

_____*hours later, 8:10 PM*_____

Twilight sat down with Mana, teaching her the written language, at Mana's own relaxed pace, of course.

As they worked, Twilight found herself amazed at how eager Mana was to learn, she rapidly absorbed knowledge, and seemed able to meet a mental challenge easily, while she wasn't expecting her to always do well, on the count of her facing such a traumatic event.

A knock soon came at the door, and Twilight got up, then began to walk to it

Mana watched with curiosity as Twilight opened the door, she saw that it was a yellow Pegasus mare, with a long pink mane and tail.

Thankfully, Mana's enhanced hearing allowed her to eavesdrop.

"Hey Fluttershy, what brings you here?" Twilight asked curiously.

"Um, Pinkie asked me to bring some Squirrel food over, I'm sorry for being so late, but I just got some myself today." Fluttershy said quietly.

Mana blinked. 'Wow, she is quiet, Twilight wasn't kidding.' She thought to herself.

Fluttershy gave Twilight the food. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, did you get a pet squirrel?" She asked.

Twilight shook her head. "I didn't, but Mana has a squirrel named Onyx." She replied.

Fluttershy blinked. "Who's Mana?" She asked curiously.

"That would be me." Mana said as she looked at the doorway, she gave a small wave.

Mana heard familiar pattering, she looked to the floor and saw Onyx run up, he chattered and tapped his shoulder.

Fluttershy and Twilight watched as Mana put Onyx on her shoulder and walked over. "Thanks for bringing food by the way." Mana said.

Fluttershy nodded, not speaking a word.

Onyx chattered and kicked Mana's shoulder. "Onyx, don't be rude." Mana scolded.

The squirrel chattered once again and held his hands out as though he was laughing. "Your very rude." Fluttershy scolded, beating Mana to the punch.

Mana paused and looked at Fluttershy. "You can understand him?" Mana asked.

Fluttershy nodded. "Yea, I can talk to animals, but I never thought I would meet somepony else who could." She said.

Mana grinned. "You aren't wrong yet, I'm not a pony." She replied.

Onyx facepalmed and spoke under his breath. "Knock it off Onyx." Mana ordered.

_____*Mana's journal, one month later, Ponyville, 1:00 PM*_____

'That month passed by incredibly quickly, I mostly studied the language, trying to perfect it, or at least get it to a point where I could use it.

What time I didn't spend studying or experimenting with my newfound powers, I spent having fun with Onyx, or hanging out with Spike, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

Either that, or writing in my journal and reading some books, practically anything would do for the earliest parts of the month.

While I still hadn't fully come to terms with my death and the deaths of everyone on board, I wasn't exactly traumatized by it.

Not much else happened in that month, aside from Rarity fixing up my jacket and making me another outfit, I was honestly surprised that she managed to completely restore my jacket though, she got it all correct which was the most surprising part.

When asked about it, Rarity simply said that she had a very keen eye when it came to fashion.

I wasn't entirely acceptant of that answer, but it would suffice for now.

I did discover one thing about the school I'm going to in two months, there were two bullies there, I wasn't thrilled about the concept of being bullied again, but I soon found out that this, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, were more of the verbal bully.

At this I grinned, now THOSE, I could handle.'

_____*The Library.*_____

I walked around me and Spike's room, i had begun to get used to calling it that.

While Spike had argued that he wouldn't be comfortable sleeping in the same bed as me, I had told him that I preferred to sleep on the floor anyway, which was true, I slept on the bed one time, and I never wanted to do so again.

So now we shared the room, Spike was busy helping Twilight downstairs, while I paced in the room.

To be perfectly honest, I was......nervous, my head was swarming with doubts and fears about everything that would happen in two months.

Soon though, I looked out the window and saw the girls running around, Sweetie Belle looked over and saw me, she waved before running off to join her friends.

I smile as another thought entered my mind. "At least I'm not alone this time, this time, I have friends to back me up." I say to myself as I watch the town outside.
> The Change.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Golden Oaks Library, later that day, 9:00 PM*______

Mana was currently in the bathroom, she was waiting for the water to heat up, normally she would just heat it up manually, but that just led to some unpleasant plumbing problems.

Once the water was finally heated to Mana's preferred temperature, she undressed and stepped inside, she sighed in relief as she felt the warm water wash off most of the mud off her body and her hair.

She actually did play with the others a little bit, unfortunately for Mana, she tripped into a small patch of mud, and annoyed Twilight to no end as she tracked mud through the library.

Mana proceeded to wash off her head, starting with her hair, and once that was done she moved on to the rest.

"Mana! you alright in there!?" Twilight called out, hearing a faint howl in the distance directly afterwards.

Mana looked in the direction of the door and blinked. "That's new." She muttered to herself. "Yeah!" She replied.

As she went back to her shower, Mana continued to hear howling in the distance, she ignored it for the most part.....but when one of these howls sounded like it was nearby, she turned off the water and got out.

"What's going on?" She asked herself.

Mana reached to grab her clothes, but just before she did, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, she gasped and clutched her
chest as it grew worse, she fell to the ground and she soon felt her insides tearing her apart, her muscles grew weak.

Mana was just about to let out a cry of pain, when a sharp pain struck her head, and she passed out.

_____*after waking up.*_____

Mana groaned as she opened her eyes, she sat up slowly and rubbed the back of her head. "Gah!" She exclaimed as she felt more pain, she held her hand in front of her face and blinked, she felt pain, but there was no blood. "What's going on?" She asked herself as she looked around.

She was no longer in the bathroom, she was fully clothed and dry, she was inside......wherever this place was, she was currently on a table in the center of the room.

As she looked around, Mana noticed some strange equipment around the room, most of which had lots of knobs and cranks. "Am I in Twilight's lab?" She wondered.

Twilight didn't let her into the basement, but Mana heard about the lab from Pinkie Pie, she said it was a strange and mysterious place, but she didn't mention the creep factor.

A door above the stairs opened and Twilight came walking down. "Oh good, your awake." She said with relief.

"Is this the lab I heard so much about?" Mana asked. "And what happened to me?" She asked.

"Yes, this is the lab." Twilight said as she walked up to Mana. "As for what happened, the answer is simple, pain related blackout." She answered.

Mana blinked. "Huh?" She wondered.

"In simple terms, you felt so much pain at once that your subconscious knocked you out to stop it." She replied.

Mana got off the table and held her head as she felt a dull pain in her head. "Why am I down here?" She asked. "Wouldn't the hospital be better for this?" She questioned.

"I already took you to the doctor.....two days ago, they said that you somehow suffered a heart attack, which doesn't really happen at your age." She explained.

"Two days?" Mana said out of shock.

Twilight rubbed her eyes. "Yea, but that's not why your down here." She said.

"Then why am I?" Mana asked.

Twilight used her magic and conjured a magical mirror and showed Mana her reflection. "What......this, what in the heck!?" Mana screamed out.

Mana's face had changed, she had elongated fangs, her ears were gone, and were replaced by wolf like ones above her head, but they were slightly wooden, her eyes were also replaced by a dark green mist.

Mana looked away from the mirror and tried to calm down as her breathing was frantic. "How did this....." She looked at Twilight. "What's happening to me?" She asked.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "I.....don't know, but something tells me that it has to do with that timberwolf shard inside of you, as well as the magic you gained from it." She replied.

Mana leaned against a nearby wall and looked at Twilight. "What do we do?" She asked, suddenly calm.

Twilight looked surprised at the change of attitude, but replied. "First things first, I need to know what happened to you, can you tell me anything about what happened, before you blacked out?" She asked.

Mana looked away for a moment, then back at Twilight. "I was just taking a shower, then I heard.......howling, in the distance." She paused to think on this.

Twilight tapped her chin and looked around the room, she walked over to one of her machines and did some stuff, she then looked at Mana. "Anything else?" She asked.

Mana shook her head. "No, just that it got closer before a started feeling pain in my chest and shortly after, my head." She replied.

"We need time to figure this out Mana, I'll contact Princess Celestia, see if anything like this has ever happened before, until she gets back to me, we just need to go about our lives." Twilight said.

Mana blinked. "Do you seriously think I want anyone, especially my friends, to see me like THIS?" She asked.

Twilight's gaze hardened as she stared at Mana. "Do you have a better idea? because hiding down here is out of the question, now, unless you have a better idea, let's go upstairs and talk with Spike, he has seen you already, and he might be able to get your other friends to not panic." She said.

Mana sighed, she really didn't want to go outside now, but at the same time, she wanted to leave the building, she eventually sucked it up and stood up, she followed Twilight upstairs and a thought came to mind. 'This is going to suck.' She told herself.

______*Upstairs, two hours later.*______

Mana leaned back on the couch and sighed as Onyx lept up and sat on her shoulder, she smiled and gently rubbed his back. "At least you don't judge appearances old bud." She said.

Mana stood up slowly and picked up the book she had been reading previously, well, trying to read, she walked over and placed it on the shelf where she got it, she stopped as she pulled her hand out and looked at it. 'If I changed into this, how long until I lose the rest of myself?' She thought to herself.

It was just then that Mana heard steps nearing the library, she quickly pulled her hood up and walked to the stairs leading to her and Spike's room.

Twilight, who was at her desk, sighed as she heard a knock at the door, she walked over and opened it, revealing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. "Hey girls, what's up?" She asked,

"Is Mana home?" Sweetie Belle asked. "We wanted to know if she's alright." She said.

Twilight nodded. "She's home, and she......well, she's going through something personal right now." She replied evasively.

"Can we just wait downstairs for her then?.....there is something we want to ask her." Sweetie Belle asked.

Twilight took a subtle deep breath, but allowed the fillies inside. "I'll see if she can come down." She replied.

As Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked around the main room of the library, Twilight headed upstairs and approached the door to Mana and Spike's room. "I'm not coming down Twilight, I don't want them to see me like this." Mana's voice said.

Twilight opened the door with her magic, and saw that Mana had hidden herself in one of her little huts. "Mana, we have no idea how to return you to normal, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are your friends, they won't think any different of you because of something you can't control." She said consolingly.

Mana lowered her walls and looked at Twilight, she lowered her hood and held up her left....claw? "Even if I'm turning into a monster?" She asked.

In that instant, Twilight made a big decision. "Yes, they won't think any differently about you, you are not a monster Mana, only your body is changing, not your heart, nor your soul." She replied.

Mana looked at the floor, she blinked and slowly got up, she walked up to Twilight. "If you say so." She whispered.

Twilight led Mana downstairs and then urged her silently to go to her friends.

Mana gulped as she saw her friends, they waved at her, but they must have noticed something off about her, it wasn't obvious, but they both slightly flinched.

Mana walked over to them and spoke. "Hey girls, what's up?" She asked.

Sweetie Belle was the first to answer. "We were wondering where you've been for the past few days, you just vanished on us." She said.

Mana nodded. "I.....was at the hospital, i don't really want to go into the details." She said quietly.

Scootaloo spoke next. "Uh, what happened to your eyes?" She asked.

Mana sighed and looked down, she grasped the rims of her hood, and pulled it down, and the two girls went wide eyed. "I have no idea what's happening to me girls." She then looked up at them. "And I don't know why, but it is happening." She held up her new claw. "The only thing I can think, is that the Timberwolf magic inside of me is doing this, but I don't know how." She looked at them in the eyes, her dark green mist eyes looking straight through her friends.

Scootaloo looked at the claw, she looked at the ears, the fangs, and the eyes, and she spoke. "You look cool." She said simply.

Mana raised an eyebrow. "Huh?" She asked out of confusion.

Sweetie Belle blinked. "Are you.......still you?" She asked.

Mana looked at the unicorn filly and nodded. "Aside from feeling like crap, I'm fine mentally, mostly anyway." She said.

"How do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Mana sighed. "I......don't remember a lot of my past, there are gaps now, almost as if I'm losing my memories." She replied.

Scootaloo shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, nopony should have to lose memories." She stated.

Mana shrugged. "You don't have anything to be sorry for, at least to me, besides, if I lose all my previous memories, I won't have any reason to mourn, at least that's something." She muttered that last part.

______*Mana's Journal, a week later*_____

"So, was I afraid because of what was happening to me? of course, I never felt so terrified in my life, but I was forcing myself to be strong, not for me, but for everyone else, they didn't seem to want me to be in pain, or to be scared, but no amount of assurance from others could calm me down, i was being forcibly changed into a monster, I had no way of stopping it, and Princess Celestia still hadn't replied, I don't know how big those archives are, but I hoped she found something, and fast.

It wasn't long however that I had an eventual run in with the school bullies, all they really did was call Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom blank flanks, personally, if I wasn't in danger of getting in trouble for it, I would have told them that they shouldn't be looking at other peoples flanks anyway.....unless it's their fetish, then I have no idea what I would say about that.

Something unfortunate happened however, a few days after my initial transformation, Onyx had told me that I had tried to eat him after going into a frenzy, at first I thought he was having a nightmare......then Twilight confirmed it, I was disgusted that even at a subconscious level, I would try to eat my best friend.

Fluttershy however was happy to take care of him, as much as I hate letting Onyx stay over somewhere without me, I would never put him at risk.

It apparently did some good for Fluttershy though, having Onyx around, apparently the squirrel was able to keep Angel in line when needed, but he also agreed when the bunny made good points.

Spike never had to deal with me in a berserk state, thankfully, the last thing I needed was him fearing what I can do as well.

About the only consistent improvement I've noticed, is that I no longer feel social anxiety, I guess the Timberwolf in me isn't exactly a scaredy cat.

Twilight was getting anxious though, and I don't blame her, dealing with this change, it isn't easy, but I keep dragging her into it, even when I can handle the agressive......urges.

That's what scares me primarily, I have been having the sudden urge to just.......tear at someone's throat, I hope that I never do that, or even attempt it, willing or no."

_____*a few weeks later, Ponyville, 2:00 PM*_____

Sweetie Belle was walking with Mana and Rarity through town, apparently Twilight was needed in Canterlot again, and Mana wasn't willing to go with.

Mana's appearance had changed again, but it was only known to very few, she had sprouted a thin bone tail, she always kept it hidden, regardless of how uncomfortable it was, she had also gotten slightly more wolf like legs, they bent the other way now, which took her three days to figure out, her new claws made it impossible to wear footwear which Mana was actually ok with, and her ears were slightly longer.

Early on, the townsponies had been startled at the change, but they seemed to calm down after a few moments once they realized who it was.

Rarity however, was not going to judge Mana because of something beyond her control, so she simply behaved like normal, and by doing so, learned something about the young fill......girl.

Mana apparently had a very keen eye for certain details, specifically in material, she could point out the difference in fabric even at a distance, the most impressive thing however, was that she could notice even the slightest misstep in a design, which varied from a slightly higher left than right, or a little strand of color going a little bit off.

Sweetie Belle was honestly surprised about Mana's attention to detail, or even her passion for design, yet whenever Rarity offered to let her watch and perhaps learn something, Mana would always refuse, of course, Rarity never seemed to be disappointed with the answer,

Mana looked around the town carefully, attempting to control her violent urges, she almost lost control however, when she noticed a stray chicken, she felt her stomach rumble, she felt her tongue lick her lips, she could even hear a quiet voice in her mind. "Eat......go on, help yourself." The voice whispered, clearly tempting her. "Think about it......how good will that chicken taste?.....how long has it been since you've eaten meat?" The voice asked.

Mana heard a muffled voice nearby as she walked slowly, watching the chicken as she felt her right hand slowly shift into a claw. "Mana!" Sweetie Belle's voice called out.

Mana blinked and shook her head, she looked at Sweetie Belle. "Huh?" She said.

"Mana......are you feeling alright?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Mana pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers and shook her head. "Just.......trying to fight the urges." She replied quietly.

Rarity watched as Sweetie Belle consoled Mana, telling her that it would be alright, that she could beat the urges, she smiled at this, she knew that Mana was going through changes, and she had heard about her.....violent, outbursts, but it seemed that her sister was able to calm Mana down, same with the other crusaders.

Rarity was cautious however, Twilight had explained some of her more unstable moods, and what Rarity heard was disturbing, while she wouldn't go so far as to keep Sweetie Belle from seeing her friend, she was going to make sure that Mana didn't do anything as much as possible, for she had a feeling that Mana would eventually give in to the urges, she prayed that she was wrong.

Sweetie Belle looked at Rarity who was lost in her train of thought. "Right Rarity?" She asked,

Rarity blinked as she snapped out of her trance. "Hmm?" She asked.

"That you and me have Mana's back, just like Everypony else." Sweetie Belle said.

Rarity nodded. "That's right darling, we'll help you how we can." She added.

For what seemed like the first time, Rarity noticed a small smile under Mana's hood.

______*Canterlot.*______

Twilight walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle, the familiar environment easily traversed, all the pathways memorized, she walked through and headed for the old Castle archive, not for public use anymore, but still filled with old tomes and spell books, as well as myths, legends, history, and even folklore.

It was also where Celestia had asked to meet her.

As she walked up to the door to the old archive, Twilight sensed powerful wards on the other side, she could tell what their nature was, so she entered calmly.

The door creaked open and Twilight stepped in, she looked around and saw many walls lines with shelves and books, she saw an old web covered section of the library, she stayed away, knowing what was in those books.

She then saw Princess Celestia standing at a desk, she was accompanied by Princess Luna and they both looked over. "Ah Twilight, I'm glad you could make it so quickly." Celestia said.

"Of course, you said it was urgent?" Twilight replied.

Luna nodded as she walked away and looked at Twilight. "Indeed, this occurrence, the transformation into a Timberwolf, it HAS happened before, though only once in our recorded history." She stated.

Celestia used her magic and floated a book over to Twilight, it was pretty small. "Inside that book is the only mention of this happening before, most discarded it as nothing more than a myth, but when you told me that your new charge, Mana, was It?" She asked.

Twilight nodded. "That's her name." She said.

Celestia walked past Twilight as she searched for something. "Yes, when you told me that Mana was experiencing these changes, I knew it sounded familiar, so i began to search, when you return to Ponyville, i suggest you give that book a read, it may assist you." She then looked at Twilight. "However, I must warn you, this change will worsen, and fast, which means young Mana is running on borrowed time, and you must hurry." She warned.

Luna then stepped in front of Twilight. "Now, as for a remedy, there is none, however, there is a way to free Mana from this curse, and I believe I know how it has affected her so rapidly." She stated.

Twilight listened carefully as Luna continued. "I looked into Mana's dreams, and I saw a nightmare of her death, back in her home world, if Mana truly did die back at her home, then her body in this world must be slowly succumbing to death, and the Timberwolf magic within her is replacing her dying body,  there is no way to stop this from happening, but you can free her." Luna explained.

"How?.....you just said there was no cure?" Twilight wondered.

Celestia sighed gravely. "The book speaks of an ancient shrine, one older even than myself and Luna, it is said to hold the power of transformation, it can change one to become something else, but at the price of never being able to return to your original form." She explained.

Twilight looked at her teacher in shock. "You mean......if we go to this shrine, we can give Mana a second chance?" She asked.

Celestia nodded. "That is correct, however, the shrine has been searched for, but no traces of it have been found, only one man has ever found the shrine, but he died long ago." She replied.

"The only thing that we can suggest, Twilight Sparkle, is that you begin your search as soon as possible." Luna added.

Twilight looked at Princess Luna. "What happened?....to the man who found the shrine?" She asked,, feeling hopeful about this idea.

"The book claims he survived, but there is no proof of this, or the shrine." Luna replied.

Twilight felt a little less sure about this idea suddenly, but she wasn't about to give up, she felt a fire burn in her heart, along with a desire to save Mana, who was practically family. "Do you have any idea where I should start looking?" She asked.

"The answers lie in that book my faithful student, i was unable to decipher everything on it, but perhaps you or one of your friends can." Celestia replied.

______*Ponyville, three days later, Golden Oaks Library, 3:00 AM*______

Twilight was still awake, she hadn't slept at all last night, even though Mana's overall mood has improved, her change had progressed yet again.

Twilight was also left pondering something other than the shrine as she read through the book over and over, if Mana truly was dead and decaying slowly, how did the Doctors not notice anything?

Twilight flipped to the last page, seeing only the random drawings on the back, she scoffed and went to close the book......then she noticed something.

The drawings on the final page, as well as the rest of the book, was mixed in with the rest, as Twilight examined these symbols, they looked similar to Mana's earlier handwriting, she made symbols that formed words, the worst part was that translation was impossible for the words, for Twilight needed a base of some kind, either a spoken language, or even the letter in the same language, just then she got a strange thought 'Is it possible that whoever wrote this book knew the same language as Mana?' She thought.

Twilight closed the book and sighed, she then had an idea, one that could help her translate the book, but it would be risky, and it would not be easy to explain. "I don't have any other options." She muttered.

_____*later that day, 11:00 AM*_____

Twilight looked at Mana who was sitting up against the wall, quietly brooding, she sighed and walked over. "Mana, can I ask you something?" She started simply.

Mana looked up, her eyes betraying no emotion. "Sure." She replied.

Twilight held out a book and Mana grabbed it with her left claw-like hand. "Do you understand that language?" She asked.

Mana opened the book wordlessly, though when she saw the words, her eyes widened. "How is this possible?" She asked herself in astonishment.

"I don't know, according to Princess Celestia, it's been In in the archives for a thousand years, more or less, she asked me to translate it for her, but I figured, you might know the language, so I should ask you." Twilight lied.

Mana blinked and looked at the book, she sighed and nodded. "Yea, I can translate it for you, I'll need a blank book though." She replied.

Twilight nodded, she walked over to one of the desks and pulled out a blank book, she then grabbed her inkwell and quill. "Whenever your ready." She said.

Mana then began to read off the book, telling Twilight what the words said, line by line, she would say the words, and Twilight would write them, they did this for a few hours.

They had made steady progress, and just after they called it quits, there was a knock at the door.

Twilight stood up and walked over, she opened the door and saw Rarity and Rainbow Dash on the other side. "Hey girls, what brings you here?" She asked as she let the two inside.

"Twilight, myself, Rainbow Dash and the others, were wondering if everything went alright in Canterlot." Rarity asked.

"Yea, things were alright, I just found out some things that were.....unpleasant." Twilight replied.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "You usually bring back bad news from Canterlot, how is this time any different?" She wondered.

Twilight sighed and looked at Spike. "Hey Spike, can you take Mana outside?......some fresh air might help her relax." She asked.

"Sure thing!" Spike replied.

After Mana reluctantly left the library, Twilight closed the door and brought her friends to the center of the room. "It isn't good, is it?" Rarity asked.

Twilight shook her head. "No it isn't, I......found out that Mana is dying." She replied, causing her friends to gasp.

Rarity recovered enough to ask something a few moments later. "How long does she have?" She asked out of concern.

Twilight sighed and started pacing. "I don't know, but I know why Mana is changing, and that's progress." She replied.

"Care to explain?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, you see, before Mana came to our world, she had died in hers, so if I understand this correctly, her body is dead, and it's slowly decaying, but since Timberwolves repair damage, the magic inside of Mana is replacing her as she decays, sadly, this also means she becoming more and more feral as time passes." She explained.

Rarity looked out the window, and then at Twilight. "Can you stop this?" She asked.

Twilight shook her head as she stopped pacing. "There is no way to stop Mana's body from dying, however, this book." She paused as she floated the book over. "Princess Celestia gave it to me, she said that this is the journal of the only recorded individual in our history, to go through the same as Mana, but survive." She replied.

Twilight set the book down and continued talking. "It speaks of an ancient shrine that has the power to grant individuals a new body, at the price of never being able to return to your original species." She explained.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "So, you want to use this shrine to give Mana a new body, and give her a new life, right?" She asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, that's correct." She replied,

Rarity looked at the two mares and cleared her throat to get their attention. "And WHERE is this shrine?" She asked.

Twilight sighed sadly as she continued pacing. "I don't know, the book may have clues, but I can't understand the words, Mana can translate them, but we need time." She said.

Rainbow Dash looked to the door and blinked. "We might not have time, if Mana really is changing faster, and she keeps getting more agressive, or even more violent thoughts, we may lose her." She stated.

Twilight paused and looked down, her ears flattening against her head. "Rainbow Dash!.....we need to be supportive right now! Where did you even get such an idea?" Rarity snapped.

Rainbow looked at Rarity. "One of us needs to be practical here, I'm just saying the truth, we need to hurry, the faster that book is translated, the better." She replied calmly.

Twilight sighed and looked at Rainbow Dash. "You're right Dash, thank you for getting that thought out into the open.....Rarity, as much as I appreciate it, being positive won't help right now, I'm going to see if I can get any useful information from what we've got, can one of you keep an eye on Mana for me?" She asked.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Sure thing, I'm don't have work today anyway." She replied before heading out.

Rarity shook her head and looked at her friend. "Let me know if you need help Twilight, I'll do what I can." She said before leaving.

_____*later that day, 2:00 AM*______

It was a calm night, the moon was shining, there were no clouds in the sky, the wind was still, and the town was lit by candlelight and moonlight.

Inside the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight Sparkle had just set her book down and laid back in her bed, she sighed to herself as she tried to understand the gibberish that was written in that book.

Twilight had spent her day as usual, but had devoted most of the night to trying to make sense of the words.

Twilight shut off her light so that she could get to sleep, leaving the moonlight as the rooms only light source, she was just about the get to sleep, when she heard a door creak open.

Twilight blinked and looked as familiar footsteps neared her, and to her surprise, it was Mana, she looked tired.....and scared? "Mana? what's wrong?" She asked quietly, as to not wake Spike.

Mana clutched her left arm and looked at the floor. "I......I need to talk to you, while I'm still me." She replied, as though holding back tears.

Twilight sat up and let Mana sit next to her. "Don't say that Mana, you'll be fine." She assured in an attempt to soothe, even though she herself was not sure.

"Your lying just makes it more obvious." Mana replied sadly as she leaned into Twilight's right arm. "I.....I'm scared, more scared than when I was about to die on that ship." She said, her voice cracked, it was obvious she was afraid, but Twilight also felt tears run along her fur. 

"I'm changing......I'm becoming a monster, and I.....I can't do anything about it, at first I wasn't worried, but now?....I feel like I'm losing myself, and all I feel anymore is fear and hunger." Mana continued.

Twilight gently stroked Mana's head in an attempt to calm her. "Mana I.......I don't know how to help you, I'm trying, I am, but I can only do so much, listen." She then held up Mana's chin to look her dead in the eye. "You are a lot stronger than you think, if you can fight off those urges on a daily basis, you can beat this Mana, you need to have more faith in yourself." She stated, believing her own words.

Mana sniffled as she silently cried, she then continued speaking. "I miss them......my parents, they may not have been the best." She paused as she wiped her left eye. "But they were family, and they tried." She looked at Twilight. "Can I stay here for the night?" She asked quietly.

Twilight smiled and nodded. "Sure, just try not to scratch anything ok?" She joked.

For once in a long while, Mana chuckled, it wasn't the same as a smile or a laugh, but it was close enough.

As the two settled in, Twilight could have sworn she saw something, a change in Mana, and for once, it was good.

For when Mana looked at Twilight, she could have sworn she had seen her old blue eyes, if only for a moment.

Just as Twilight closed her eyes, she heard Mana whisper something. "Good night.....mom."

Twilight said nothing, refusing to break the newfound silence, but she did say one thing. "Good night Mana." She whispered.
> Bad day, Good night.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Ponyville, a few days later, 1:00 PM*_____

It was a quiet day in the town of Ponyville, for once anyway, the birds sang, the breeze was soft and cooling, the day was hot, the sun shone brightly, and a small Unicorn filly ran to the Golden Oaks Library, seeking her friend.

Sweetie Belle ran quickly to the door of the library, she stopped to catch her breath before knocking on the door.

It wasn't long until Sweetie Belle heard hoofsteps on the others side, along with the telltale rumbling of many falling books.

The door opened to reveal Mana with her hood up, a common sight lately. "Oh, hey Sweetie Belle, what's up?" She asked.

"Uh......are you free to play with us today?......me, AppleBloom and Scootaloo?" She asked curiously.

Mana blinked, though it was difficult to notice at first glance. "Let me check." She replied as she closed the door.

Sweetie Belle waited a few moments before Mana opened the door and stepped outside. "Alright, where are we going?" She asked.

Sweetie Belle smiled as she pointed towards the town. "We agreed to meet up in town, if that's okay with you?" She wondered.

Mana shrugged. "Why not?.....might as well get used to it." She said before beginning to walk.

Sweetie Belle followed her friend closely, she looked over at Mana as they walked, she noticed a twitch in her right hand, and a nervous eye twitch with her right eye. "Mana......are you alright?" She asked.

Mana gave a half nod. "I'm fine." She replied evasively.

Sweetie Belle however wasn't satisfied with that answer. "No, I want you to be honest with me, are you feeling alright?" She prodded.

Mana said nothing as she pulled her hood over her face further, instead just continuing to walk.

Sweetie Belle was visibly annoyed at Mana's evasive behaivor, but when she stopped to think about it, she could somewhat understand WHY she was avoiding the question, but she was still annoyed nonetheless.

Deciding to simply accept the silence, Sweetie Belle continued walking, the two walked until they reached the park, at which point they saw Scootaloo and AppleBloom waving them over.

"Hey girls!" Sweetie Belle greeted in her usual cheerful manner.

Mana nodded silently, she then looked around carefully, she spotted multiple small animals running around, she felt her stomach rumble as her urges began creeping in. "Mana?.....are you alright?" Sweetie Belle asked out of concern.

Mana shook her head clear of those thoughts and turned to her friends. "Yea, just trying to keep the urges in control." She replied calmly. "So, we got an idea of what we're doing?" She asked.

AppleBloom nodded. "Yea!" She replied. "All three of us agreed to go exploring the forest......staying as close to the path as we can anyway." She started.

"We.....were wondering if you would like to join us?" Scootaloo asked.

Even though Mana's face betrayed no emotion, she had deep concerns and fears about going into the forest again, she let out a breath and then thought on it some more. 'They are going to the forest with or without me, and they may run into more Timberwolves, or worse.......I would rather make sure they are safe, guess I'm going back in.' She thought. "I don't like this idea girls." She started.

"Are you serious about this?" Mana asked.

Seeing the nods from the other girls, Mana sighed. "Then I'm going with, better to have one of us who can at least fight back." She said.

With that, the group of four began walking, the three fillies believing that they would be alright.

Mana however believed that this was a horrible idea, and that if Twilight, Applejack or Rarity found out, they would be in so much trouble. 'If anything, I can at least keep us from getting hurt.' Mana said to herself.

______*Everfree Forest.*_______

The forest was just as dark and dreary as the last time Mana was here, she payed attention to everything, to twigs snapping, to leaves rustling, to the faint hoofsteps of her friends.

The group had strayed from the path, if only slightly, Mana made sure to make her own landmarks, so they could get back if needed.

Scootaloo quickly snapped her head in the direction of creaking wood. "What was that?" She asked nervously.

AppleBloom looked at her now nervous friend, the one who was usually the bravest of the group. "If I didn't know better Scoots, I would say your afraid." She replied with a grin.

"Um girls?" Sweetie Belle started, but nopony seemed to have heard her.

Mana looked back at what Scootaloo heard and or saw. "That would be wise." She said calmly. "Fear can be useful." She looked at Scootaloo. "But I think right now you need to keep calm, things didn't go so well for me last time I was here." She said as she continued looking around.

"Uh......girls?" Sweetie Belle asked again.

"Your right Mana, I need to keep calm.....wait, last time?" Scootaloo asked.

Mana mentally cursed herself for her slip of tongue. "Let's......not talk about this right now." She replied, trying to avoid the question.

"Girls!" Sweetie Belle shouted, finally getting the attention of the others. "What is it Sweetie Belle?" AppleBloom asked.

Sweetie Belle took a breath and spoke, as the others looked at her. "The path." She pointed behind them. "It's gone.....we got lost just after Scootaloo heard the creaking wood." 

Mana growled as she crossed her arms and looked away from the group. "How could I have lost it?" She muttered, proceeding to pace and shake uncontrollably.

AppleBloom and Scootaloo looked between themselves and then at Sweetie Belle. "Huddle." AppleBloom said.

The three crusaders huddles together. "Mana's not going to be any help here, not in that state.....we need to find our trail so we can get to the path, then go back to town." Scootaloo said.

"Do you think we should see if Mana is ok?" Sweetie Belle asked curiously.

The three looked and saw Mana fidgeting as she paced, her movement was sporadic. "Yea, ok.....do either of you remember what direction we came from?" AppleBloom asked.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both shook their heads and AppleBloom sighed, she then looked at Sweetie Belle. "Alright, go and check with Mana, I don't want her to lose focus.....not now, me and Scoots will figure something out." She said.

With that, Sweetie Belle walked over to Mana to see if she was alright. "Mana?" She asked.

Mana took a few breaths to calm down and soon she looked at Sweetie Belle. "Huh?" She said In confusion.

"Mana, are you alright?....we need your help to find our way home." Sweetie Belle asked.

Mana rubbed her eyes, she then shook her head rapidly afterwards. "I......what?" She asked, as though she couldn't see.

Sweetie Belle walked closer and placed a hoof on Mana's arm. "Mana.......are you sure your alright?" She asked carefully.

Mana blinked and backed up slowly, she seemed, scared.....of something. "I......I......no, no no no.......I'm sorry, don't leave!" She shouted out, she held her head and knelt down.

"Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo and AppleBloom ran up. "What's wrong with Mana?" She asked.

"I.....I don't know, it's like she doesn't know we're here." Sweetie Belle said.

Mana then stopped and looked up, breathing slowly, she looked around, she then spoke. "Onyx?......where are you buddy!?" She called out as she stood up.

"Mana!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

Mana gasped out loud and looked at her friends. "Wh.......what, what happened?" She asked.

"You were freaking out!" Scootaloo said.

AppleBloom winced at the words. "I, think what Scootaloo meant to say, was that you weren't yourself for a moment." She corrected.

Mana rubbed her eyes and sighed. "Right.....we need to get out of the forest, um.....lets just choose a direction, hopefully we will come across either the path or a landmark." She suggested as she calmed down.

The three looked between themselves and then at Mana. "If you say so, but Mana.....are you going to be alright?" AppleBloom asked.

Mana shook her head. "No way of knowing, we just need to get out of this forest, hopefully before I lose my mind again." She said.

Picking a random direction, the group of four began walking, carefully traversing the forest.

As they walked, Mana had a strange feeling they were being watched, she looked around quickly and saw two sets of green eyes staring at her, instead of fear and warning the others of the wolf, Mana simply growled, unbeknownst to her, her eyes flashed brightly when she did so, the wolf then backed off, either intimidated into retreating, or going for help. 

______*a short while later*______

Scootaloo kept a close eye on Mana as they walked, her quick stand off against that Timberwolf had not gone unnoticed, what was strange was how the wolf backed off, but she decided to simply focus on getting out of the Everfree.

The group soon reached a small clearing, they decided to hold up a moment as they got their bearings.

Sweetie Belle noticed something odd about this clearing however. "Girls......does something seem, off, about this place?" She asked.

"It's the Everfree, everything here is off." Scootaloo argued.

Sweetie Belle then pointed to multiple trees surrounding the clearing, it looked as though they were forcefully relocated, and that they were bent in very strang angles. "The trees, they look like they were purposely moved." She said.

Mana looked around and saw what Sweetie Belle noticed. "Your right, something isn't right, even for this place." She said.

AppleBloom looked at the ground and noticed something odd. "Roots." She said as she knelt down to inspect them. "They are dead now, but look at them, they were cut off and left to wither, whatever happened here, it was intentional." She said before looking at Mana's back. "Strange." She said.

Mana looked at AppleBloom. "What is it?" She asked.

"Mana, let me see that symbol quick." AppleBloom said.

Mana blinked but allowed AppleBloom to look. "Why, what's wrong?" She asked.

AppleBloom looked at the ground then at the symbol on Mana's jacket. "Mana......this symbol is on the ground." She stated.

Mana's eyes widened and she looked at the ground, she didn't know how it was possible, but the symbol for the water tribe covered the clearing. "I.....i....." She looked around once more, but this time, she remembered her arrival, she recognized the trees, she recognized the rocks and the earth. "I.....remember this place." She said as she walked around.

Mana walked over to a particular spot of dirt was. "This is where I woke up, me and Onyx agreed to search for shelter, we went that way." She said, pointing in a direction.

The group made their way, following Mana's directions, or more importantly, tracing her memories, they eventually found a small stream that Mana recalled. "I cleaned up here, then I started walking again." She said as she continued moving.

The group approached a tree, at which point Mana continued. "I was ambushed by a Timberwolf here." Mana said, as though in a trance. "I ran, it chased me.......I raised my arm to defend myself." She stopped at a stained patch of grass, it was red and dry. 

"The wolf mangled my arm here, I.......I....." She then spaced out, comepletely oblivious to the world around her. "Mana?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Oh no, not again." Scootaloo complained.

Mana began to breath frantically, she looked around and knelt down, she clutched her side and breathed heavily as she grunted in pain. "Why us?......why us?" She asked over and over.

Sweetie Belle gently shook her friend. "Mana, snap out of it!" She shouted, hoping it would work again.

Sadly, it did not, and Mana continued talking. "I hope she's alright......I hope she got away." She muttered, soon she let out a shocked gasp. "......L.....Lune?........a......are you?" Her eyes then widened and she began to silently cry.

The three crusaders huddled around their friend, waiting for the trance to be over. "Mana?......come back to us." Sweetie Belle said quietly.

A few moments later, Mana let out a loud scream that made the girls cover their ears, she then fell over backwards, now unconscious. "Mana!" Scootaloo shouted as she shook the girl trying to wake her up.

As the crusaders attempted to wake Mana, they soon heard a growl, followed by a pungent odor. "Oh no." Sweetie Belle turned and saw two Timberwolves approaching them.

The crusaders quickly got up and stood next to eachother, putting themselves between the wolves and Mana. "Stay back!" AppleBloom warned.

The wolves did not listen, instead they began to circle the girls patiently. "What do we do?" Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie Belle looked around, trying to find anything that could help them, all she could find were twigs, and a few small stone shards, she looked back and forth between Mana, Scootaloo and AppleBloom, and the two wolves, she closed her eyes and thought on a strategy......she then bit her lip and spoke. "Keep Mana safe girls." Sweetie Belle said as she walked towards a Timberwolf. "Sweetie Belle no!" AppleBloom shouted desperately.

Sweetie Belle looked at her friends, she smiled and nodded as she focused on the Timberwolf, her expression turning serious. "You won't take Mana." She stated as she ignites her horn.

The Timberwolf did not back down, instead it took her words as a threat and charged her wildly.

Sweetie Belle poured all of her magic into a spell, she felt it falter however and she spoke under great stress. "Come on.......magic!......don't......fail.......me now!" She roared and fired a magical blast at the Timberwolf.

The wolf had no time to react as the quick magical bolt impacted hard, causing the wolf to fly back and land hard on the ground, the blast also set the wood itself aflame, however, it left Sweetie Belle drained as she fell to the ground, panting as she felt a dull pain in her horn.

The other wolf howled and soon, two more crept out of the woods.

Sweetie Belle grunted as she forced herself to move, she was back with her friends shortly, but they now had three wolves to deal with, not just two.

"Mana......please get up." Sweetie Belle said quietly.

AppleBloom and Scootaloo gulped as the wolves began to circle them, as if waiting for something, soon, one of them growled and stopped circling.

The girls shook in fear as the Timberwolf charged it roared as its claw was poised to strike AppleBloom hard.

The girls closed their eyes and screamed as the wolf's claw neared them, but the strike never came, they opened their eyes and saw that the wolf was frozen.

They all looked back and saw Mana crouched in a feral posistion, her left arm now ice and extended, she roared and the frozen wolf shattered.

Mana moved in front of the girls and stared at the two Timberwolves, she growled at them as she lowered herself to all fours.

Sweetie Belle, AppleBloom and Scootaloo were completely shocked but chose to stay out of the way, the two wolves were now focused on the angered Mana. 

Mana transformed her arms and legs to that of a Timberwolf and growled as her right arm ignited, her hood fell down as well, revealing her elongated ears, fangs and showing off her misty green eyes.

Still not intimidated, the remaining wolves roared and charged at Mana.

Mana's eyes widened and she ferociously charged back, she swung and took out the right front leg of one of the wolves, she dodged the other wolf and lept at it in a frenzy.

She collided with the wolf, and the two clashed, the wolf attempted to bite and claw Mana, while she attempted to freeze or burn it.

The clash ended after Mana managed to freeze and break the head of the wolf, she focused on the other one which had already recovered.

Mana growled and shattered the body of the wolf she had just clashed with, by freezing it then smashing it, she then had a standoff with the remaining wolf, they circled eachother like animals, Mana could feel sudden relief, and she discovered why, she had frozen the wolf's leg for a moment so she could look back, she saw that her bone tail was now free, it was thick and sturdy, it also felt very powerful, she looked back at the wolf and charged it.

The wolf just barely had time to break free of the ice when Mana struck, she broke off its claw and then set it comepletely on fire with one quick breath. 

The wolf died soon after, leaving Mana alone with the girls, she looked at them and took a breath as she stood back up, reversing her transformation. "Can we get out of here now?" She asked.

With shock and the desire to leave the forest still in their minds, the crusaders followed Mana as she managed to lead them out of the forest.

The group quickly put some distance from the Everfree and now they walked to town. "Mana......that was awesome!" Scootaloo declared.

Mana shrugged. "I don't know what came over me actually, I just felt a very powerful urge to protect you three......that's all." She replied.

"What happened to you back there anyway?" Sweetie Belle asked as AppleBloom helped her walk, seeing as she was still pretty fatigued from her spell.

Mana was silent for a moment, until she sighed. 'No point hiding it I suppose.' She thought.

"I......don't know what was going on to be honest, when I zoned out, I ended up in what seemed like a ghost world, I saw visions, nightmares......things I wish I hadn't seen." Mana explained.

"We also heard you mention a name, Lune?" Scootaloo asked.

Mana went to answer, but found that she didn't know. "I.....have no idea who that is." She answered honestly.

As they walked, the crusaders would ask something, Mana would answer, or vice versa, but one question had Mana curious the entire trip. 'Who is Lune?.....I've never heard of him or her, and why did I say that name?' She thought as they walked.

______*Ponyville, 4:00 PM*______

The four had split up afterwards, apparently Rarity and Applejack found out that they went into the Everfree, Scootaloo's parents weren't happy, and Twilight was mostly concerned, she was angry, but concern took most of it away.

Mana sat quietly as Twilight talked and lectured her. "What were you thinking!?.....going into the Everfree Forest?.....trained guards and soldiers know better than to search that place!" She scolded.

"You can't just wander into that forest because you want to explore! you shouldn't go there at all!" Twilight continued.

Mana sighed and nodded quietly as Twilight took a moment to calm down. 

After a few moments, Twilight spoke. "At least tell me you didn't have another episode." She said hopefully.

Mana was reluctant, but she soon shook her head. "I, turned feral, the girls also say that i acted weird beforehand, like I was possessed." She answered.

Twilight bit her lip as she paced. 'That's not good, if she's experiencing changes in her mentality, that means the change is speeding up, we need to find this shrine.' She thought to herself as she looked at Mana. "Do you........remember, anything from this, possession?" She asked.

Mana thought on it, but only one word came to mind. "Lune." She muttered under her breath.

"What?" Twilight asked curiously.

Mana looked at Twilight. "I remember a name, Lune.......I......I have no memory of anyone with that name." She replied.

At mere mention of this, Twilight grew curious. 'She isn't lying.....she has no reason too, but I wonder, is it possible that Mana suffered some form of stress to make her forget about this person?' She pondered.

"Mana, for now, let's just focus on doing something about the changes, we need to find a way to slow them down, or preferably stop them." Twilight said.

Mana blinked and chuckled. "If you have an idea, tell me, it can't get any worse." She replied.

Twilight tapped her chin in thought as she then looked at Mana. "Do you mind if I test something really quick?" She asked curiously.

Mana shrugged. "As long as it doesn't make it worse." She replied.

Twilight's horn lit up, she then built up a spell, once it was ready, she used it on Mana.

Mana felt a soothing sensation cover her, she grunted and closed her eyes as she soon felt a sudden jolt of pain in her arms, they felt as though they were being ripped open, she felt the pain subside and she opened her eyes, she gasped at what she saw.

To her astonishment, her lower arms were back to normal, if only slightly, she could feel that her upper arm was still altered, but her lower arms and hands being back to normal was good enough. "How did you do that?" She asked in amazement.

Twilight took a breath and sat down. "Healing spell, I figured, since Timberwolf magic is causing this problem, why not try to counter it by healing faster than the damage." She said, clearly out of breath.

Mana was still amazed by the return of her arms, but then she realized what Twilight had said, and she thought on it for a moment. "What do you mean, damage?" She asked.

Twilight froze as her eyes widened in fear. 'Crap.......me and my big mouth!........oooh.....what do I do?'

As Twilight mentally berated herself for her slip of tongue, Mana stood up. "Twilight?.......what aren't you telling me?" She asked, worry starting to take effect as was clear in her voice.

Twilight took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, she looked up at Mana. "Mana.......do you know what makes Timberwolves special?" She asked, trying to subtly hint.

Mana paused and placed one hand over her chest, where the Timberwolf splinter was. "They.....they can repair damage they take, as a form of regeneration." She replied, slightly confused by the change of subject.

"And what happens to the body when somepony........passes?" She asked quietly, trying hard to avoid saying what she knew.

Mana's mind returned to her home, she remembered her grandfather, the day he passed away, and the amount of sorrow and anger she felt afterwards. "They.......wither away, slowly decaying and eventually......becoming a skeleton." She replied.

Twilight then took one more deep breath, and spoke. "I don't want to remind you.......but Mana." She looked directly into Mana's foggy dark green eyes. "You died in your world." She said, hating herself for bringing it up.

Mana unconsciously clutched her left arm. "........So what, what does that have to do with......." She gasped as realization struck. "You mean......i?" She looked at her hand, as she did, she could feel it slowly decaying, as though it were long dead. 

"Mana......you are changing because you died, and your body is slowly decaying." She finally said, guilt filling her thoughts.

"But that's impossible!" Mana argued defiantly. "I didn't die here!......right?" She asked, doubt and sorrow clear in her voice.

Twilight sighed. "Mana, you ended up in Equestria by means unknown, you woke up in the Everfree Forest, after who knows how long, anything could have happened." She replied, sounding cold, but in truth, she was tearing herself apart just to force herself to talk, her eyes let out tears as she fought the urge to cry.

Mana shivered and shook, her breathing was sporadic as she looked at Twilight. "H-how long.......have you?......."

"Ever since the visit to Canterlot, I......didn't have the heart to tell you." She replied, cutting Mana off.

Mana felt all forms of emotions right now, but the most prominent were fear and anger, she gazed at Twilight, the mare who had gone out of her way to help her, who, out of the goodness in her heart, took her in.....had lied to her, kept this a secret.

Mana wanted to hate that, she wanted a reason, any reason, to lash out, but all she could manage, was a step backward.

Twilight silently cried, but when she heard footsteps heading away from her, she forced herself to look up. "Mana...." She started.

Before Twilight could continue her sentence, Mana bolted out the door and took off as fast as she could.

"Mana!" Twilight immediately rushed to the door and saw no trace of the girl, she exited the building and looked around, she saw nothing, she cursed under her breath, and used her magic to search the area.

When her results turned up nothing, Twilight immediately started running to find either Mana, or her friends to help her search.

______*Ponyville, Carousel Boutique.*______

Rarity was quite surprised when Twilight came over asking if Mana was here, she told the frantic unicorn no, and asked what was wrong, after hearing Twilight's explanation, Rarity immediately left with Twilight to find out, leaving Sweetie Belle alone.

Sweetie Belle was shocked......she heard everything, and she could not believe her ears. "Why would Mana run off?" She asked herself.

She walked to the main room of the Boutique and paced. "It doesn't make any sense.......unless she found something out." She said quietly.

As she walked around, Sweetie Belle remembered something that Mana had told her one day. 'You remember that game we played, hide and seek?.....well, while searching for a hiding place, I found something.' Mana's voice said.

'What did you find?' Sweetie Belle asked curiously.

Sweetie Belle sighed. "I really hope that's where you are." She muttered as she opened the door and left.

_____*Ponyville, five minutes later.*_____

Mana buried her face into her arms as she sat down, silently crying to herself.

Mana was in the park, or, a different one, apparently, there was an old park that no one ever went to, there were old trees, old flower beds, old benches with dust and warped wood covering them, thick shrubbery and some small animals, hidden behind the thick shrubbery however, was a small garden and a pond, perfect condition, as though someone was maintaining it.

Mana quietly cried as tears fell down her face, she just felt so much fear and sorrow right now, and she couldn't think straight right now.

"I hoped I would find you here." Said a familiar voice.

Mana looked over to her right and saw Sweetie Belle walk up and sit down next to her. "Leave me alone." Mana said, holding back the tears.

Sweetie Belle looked over and saw Mana's misty green eyes. "Is that really want you want?.....to be alone? trust me, that won't help." She said.

Mana looked down into the pond. "How would you know?.....you have your family, your friends, even others of your kind, you aren't alone." She said.

Sweetie Belle looked at Mana with a stern gaze. "Do you seriously think I'm not alone?......as much as my parents traveled, I had to abandon my friends, time and time again, Rarity doesn't remember I'm there half the time, and my friends can only help so much......believe it or not Mana, I always feel alone." She said as she looked into the pond.

Mana looked at her friend. "My parents died......I died, I think Onyx died......I had maybe one friend, and i wasn't even able to say goodbye to my parents before I died.......and as far as I know, I'm the only human in this world, not to mention, Twilight, lied to me about what was happening to me, at no point did she think to have us sit down, and tell the truth, that I am decaying because I'm dead." She stated grimly.

Sweetie Belle looked at Mana. "Do you seriously blame her for lying about that?" She asked In a disbelieving tone.

Mana looked back at the pond. "........No, I can't hate her for wanting to keep it a secret......I.......I.........." She sniffled as she felt her tears return, she decided to stop fighting them and she let them out.

Sweetie Belle was surprised as Mana broke down on the spot and leaned into her for support, she was not sure of what to do, so she started to gently rub Mana's head, falling back on some words she told herself a long time ago. "Its alright, let it out......i won't leave." She said quietly.

As Mana cried into Sweetie Belle's coat, the filly said nothing, instead allowing her friend to get the tears out of her system.

Soon however, Sweetie Belle spoke as she patted her friend on the shoulder. 

"Mana, listen, your confused, and upset, Twilight will understand that......I heard her when she was at the Boutique, she is very concerned." She started.

Sweetie Belle looked at the pond, and saw their reflections in the water. "Mana.......I'm not saying you have to forgive Twilight for keeping your condition a secret, but you should at least tell her you understand it." She advised as Mana stopped crying.

Mana wiped her eyes, she then repositioned herself, she sat down straight and placed her left leg over the right leg, she rested her left arm over her left leg and spoke. "I........Sweetie Belle I.........just, thanks I guess......thanks for letting me cry it out." She said as she looked at the pond, she noticed that she had her right arm across Sweetie Belle's shoulder, but the filly did not move. 

"Sorry." Mana said as she removed her arm.

Sweetie Belle smiled. "I never said you had to move it, but at least your considerate." She joked.

Mana chuckled a little, she did notice something odd though, she shook her head and smiled. "Well, that's a good sign I suppose." She said.

Sweetie Belle looked and smiled. "Your eyes are normal again?" She asked.

Mana shook her head. "Look around us, you'll see what I'm talking about." She said, pointing at the pond.

Sweetie Belle focused, and she soon saw what Mana was talking about, she giggled at the sight of it.

There were leaves in the pond, and they formed a heart around the two kids reflections.

Mana looked at Sweetie Belle and crossed her arms. "I'm not your girlfriend." She said quickly.

Sweetie Belle shook her head. "And I'm not your fillyfriend." She replied firmly.

______*Ponyville, Golden Oaks Library, 6:59 PM*______

Twilight sighed to herself as she and Rarity walked towards the library. "I'm sorry that we couldn't find her Twilight." Rarity said.

"I'll just have to look longer, but I need to make sure Spike will be alright until I go back to search." Twilight replied.

Rarity looked at her friend. "Darling, the way your talking, it sounds as though you think I will not help you search." She pointed out.

Twilight took a breath as she reached the door to the library. "Was it?......sorry, I'm just worried is all." She replied.

Rarity nodded. "I understand Twilight dear, but you shouldn't panic, Mana probably came back and is waiting inside." She said positively.

Twilight scoffed. "Yea, as if, knowing our luck Rarity?" She asked as she opened the door.

The two entered the library and both Twilight and Rarity were surprised at what they saw.

They saw Mana on the floor, sitting across from Sweetie Belle, they were currently in the middle of a game, The Game of Life. 

"Mana!" Twilight used her magic to grab Mana and proceeded to practically choke Mana with the bear hug that followed.

Rarity however, approached her sister calmly. "Sweetie Belle.......did I not say you were grounded?" She asked.

Sweetie Belle nodded sadly. "Yes." She replied, clearly rehearsed.

"So instead of staying home, you went and found Mana, and came here, am I correct?" Rarity asked.

"Yes." Sweetie Belle replied, trying not to laugh at the sight of Mana getting bear hugged.

Rarity sighed. "Sweetie Belle, do not get used to hearing this......but for once, I am glad that you didn't listen." She stated.

Sweetie Belle blinked. "Come again?" She asked.

"You found your friend and helped her when she needed you, that is very kind of you." Rarity replied.

Before Sweetie Belle could talk, Rarity interrupted her. "No, you are still grounded, but If it's alright with Twilight, you may finish your game." She said.

Twilight let Mana go from the bear hug, finally allowing the girl to breathe, so as Mana caught her breath, Twilight spoke. "I suppose, there isn't any harm in it, so long as it's quick." She replied.

Mana finally recovered and looked at Twilight. "Uh......missed you too?" She said as she blinked.

Twilight looked at Mana's mist green eyes. "Are you alright though?......seriously?" She asked.

Mana nodded. "Yea, I'm alright......Sweetie here helped me come to my senses........and to lose a lot of tears." She replied.

Sweetie Belle and Mana sat down to continue their game. "Yea, then by coincidence, a bunch of leaves formed a heart around our reflections in the water." Sweetie Belle said.

Mana chuckled. "Yea, complete coincidence." She added.

_____*later that night, 10:48 PM*______

Twilight sighed to herself as she laid back in her bed, she and Mana had a long discussion after Rarity took Sweetie Belle home, she had told Mana everything, of the shrine, of the books purpose and why she was translating it, she even explained multiple theories on how Mana was transported to Equestria.

They eventually decided not to settle on any ideas unless they found out for sure, Mana had also apologized for running away, Twilight understood her reasons for it, though she didn't agree with Mana running away in the first place.

Twilight for one was just happy that Mana was back, while she doubted that Mana was done grieving, she believed that the girl could begin to heal from her ordeals, even if it would be slow.

______*later that night, 12:00 PM*______

Mana looked out into the town, she had to admit it, she loved the nighttime look of Ponyville, and of the night sky.

Mana looked at her right hand and had it engulf in a small flame, she reached and touched the fire with her other hand and felt only a soothing warmth, she took in a breath of air and extinguished the flame, she then walked to the bed and laid down under the covers, Spike moved over and said something. "I thought you said you wouldn't lay down on the bed?" He asked tiredly.

Mana yawned and rested her head on the pillow. "Time for a change I guess." She replied sleepily before closing her eyes.

Spike closed his eyes and heard Mana mutter something. "Night bro." She muttered.

Spike was unsure how to respond at first, he opened his eyes and looked at Mana who was already fast asleep, he blinked and rested his head, eventually speaking. "Night sis." He muttered.
> Moving forward.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______*Ponyville, Golden Oaks Library, the next day, 8:00 AM*______

The library was quiet, which was ironic, considering it was rarely quiet these days.

The inhabitants of this library, were Twilight Sparkle, Spike and Mana, a unicorn, dragon and human turned Timberwolf hybrid, respectively.

This peace was short lived since they were all asleep right now, however, Spike was waking up.

Spike's eyes slowly opened as he woke up, he yawned and sat up, he stretched his arms and legs before jumping off the bed, he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision so he could see.

He yawned again and looked at his roommate. "Mana, wake up." He said sleepily.

When no response came from the sleeping girl, Spike walked to her side of the bed and looked at her.

Mana's body had altered in her sleep, a sight Spike had grown accustomed too seeing, her ears and fangs were showing, and he could see the faint glowing mist in her eyes, while her appearance was fearsome, her facial expression was peaceful.

'I have to admit it, she looks a lot nicer when she's asleep as opposed to her being awake.' He chuckled a little bit, he then lightly shook Mana. "Hey, Mana, wake up will you?" He proded.

Mana's only response was a light breath, followed by a short groan of annoyance. "Five more minutes." She grumbled as she rolled over.

Spike blinked in confusion, but he then poked Mana and spoke as the room temperature suddenly dropped.. "Mana, wake up, your sleep freezing again." He stated calmly, as if he was used to it.

Mana groaned again as she rolled back over, her eyes now open and staring at Spike. "Sorry, can't help it." She replied.

Spike watched as the transformation receeded and she was mostly back to normal, the only thing truly different was her eyes, which remained glowing green mist. "Have you found a way to return your eyes to normal?" Spike asked out of curiosity, and because Mana's eyes creeped him out, but he wouldn't say anything.

Mana sat up and stretched her arms. "No." She said simply.

Spike shrugged and motioned to the door. "Anyway, I'll be downstairs, you really shouldn't hide up here all day again, it's not that good for a social life, believe me I know." He said with a smirk.

Mana raised an eyebrow as Spike walked out, she guessed that he was referring to his and Twilight's past, which she honestly didn't know much about.

'I really should ask about that some time.' She said to herself as she stood up.

______*Downstairs*______

Mana yawned as she walked down the stairs, she rubbed her eyes and looked around the main room, seeing Spike sitting on the couch half awake. "You alright Spike?" She asked groggily.

Spike nodded and slowly stood. "I just need some time to wake up, I usually wake up later in the day." He replied.

Mana simply walked to the couch and sat down next to Spike, she held her eyes shut for a while, trying to wake herself up, soon however, the awkward silence that had grown over the past few minutes left her nervous.

Spike soon looked at Mana with a serious gaze. "We should probably talk about last night." He stated, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

Mana opened her eyes and sighed, she looked at Spike and nodded. "Alright, what first?" She asked.

Spike thought for a few moments and after he found his words, he spoke. "What exactly happened to you out in the forest?" He asked.

Mana unconsciously shivered at the mention of the forest, but decided to reply. "I......I saw what looked like a bad memory, a nightmare?.....a memory?.....I'm not sure, but I remembered seeing someone, a young girl, she looked a lot like me, her hair was black and her eyes were brown." She paused to remember more.

"I.....I saw her look at me, she screamed, she called for help, she said there was a monster, I could hear another voice calling for her, the voice said......Lune?" She continued with confusion.

Spike blinked in confusion at the name. 'Sound's like a variation of Luna's name.' He observed.

Mana crossed her arms and looked at Spike. "When Twilight told me what was happening to me, I.......I panicked, out of fear and anger, a ran off, I hid where no one thinks to look, but Sweetie Belle found me, and brought me to my senses." She continued.

"Where were you anyway?" Spike asked.

Mana shrugged. "The old park, it was never removed, just left to wither away., there was a small pond that I took Sweetie too after our hide and seek game." She replied easily.

Spike listened to the details of Mana's story, and while she respectfully avoided the details that Sweetie Belle told her, she did reveal that she had a newfound appreciation for Sweetie Belle, rather than tolerance.

Spike was confused about one thing however. "What, exactly, is happening to you?" He asked curiously.

Mana sighed sadly and looked down at the floor. "I died." She muttered, her voice barely a whisper.

Spike however, had trained his ears to hear even Fluttershy's voice, so when he heard Mana speak, his eyes widened as he stared at Mana in shock. "Your dead?" He shakily asked quietly.

Mana looked at Spike. "How do you think the Timberwolf Magic inside of me changed my body so quickly?" She asked.

Spike laid his head back on the couch as he processed this information, after a few minutes, he looked at Mana. "Let's change subject." He offered.

Mana smiled at the welcome change of subject, she laid back and spoke. "What do you want to talk about?" She asked.

Spike looked into Mana's eyes, his own eyes betraying no emotion. "Why did you call me your brother?" He asked out of curiosity.

Mana sighed and looked up at the ceiling, she seemed to be debating on something within her mind, soon however, she just spoke. "Spike, I will be honest with you.......you are the closest thing I have to a brother, I was always an only child, so I guess being around you got me to lower my guard on these kinds of things." She looked at him with a sincere expression. "If I overstepped my bounds, or offended you, I'm sorry." She added.

Spike looked down at the floor and went into deeper thought about this. 'It may be.......strange, but I'm not disturbed by this at all! I mean, I even called her sis last night!.......I've always seen Twilight as my friend, Shining Armor and me didn't get along as well as he thought we did, but Mana, she doesn't judge me when I make bad choice, she usually just teases me or cheers me up.......or flat out goes along with it.' He looked at the girl as he thought more on this.

'I will admit, I haven't spent that much time with Mana, not as much as I should anyway, she does make the boring days better just by being around, I'm usually excited to spend time with her, and our friends, I doubt this is everything to having a sibling, but it's close enough.' He looked away and started to talk. "Mana.......you didn't offend me, I myself called you sister last night, but i won't push anything, take your time, neither me nor Twilight will force you to do something you aren't alright with." Spike said.

Mana smiled at those words, she nodded and stood up. "Well then Spike, seeing as Twilight seems to have vanished on us." She said calmly as she paced around the room a little.

"What do you want to do?" Mana asked.

Spike tapped his chin in thought for a few moments, he then shrugged. "How about we get ready for the day? as in food?" He suggested.

Mana chuckled. "Yea, I sorta forgot about that." She admitted.

______*an hour later*______

Mana sighed in relief as she stepped outside the library, not because of the fact she wasn't hungry anymore, but because she had finally allowed her bone tail to be free, she found that she had a limited control over it, but it felt good to have it free, instead of hidden beneath her clothes.

Spike however had remarked that her tail 'looked cool' and that she shouldn't be ashamed of it.

That statement had made Mana take a moment to realize something, she was afraid of changing. 'If I hadn't freed my tail, I never would have thought about this that much.......so why am I afraid of change?' She asked herself.

She took in a breath of fresh air before walking to the town, Spike had told her that Twilight apparently was spending the day with Rarity and Fluttershy, for reasons that Mana couldn't remember.

Not that she minded, Mana felt like she needed a few more hours to herself anyway, if only to clear her mind.

Mana was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't even realize how far she had walked, she stopped walking and looked over her shoulder, she was almost at the border to Sweet Apple Acres by now, she blinked and scratched the back of her head in confusion. "How did I end up all the way out here?" She asked herself quietly.

Mana soon shrugged and walked over to the nearby fence, she sat down and went back to her thoughts.'If I really am afraid of change, it would explain my haste to avoid anything about my new......powers, it also explains this strange sting I feel whenever I talk about that......shrine, or whatever it is.' She looked up at the sky.

Mana watched as a cloud soared overhead, she chuckled, knowing exactly who was pushing it around, mostly because of the rainbow trail following behind it, she felt her tail coil around her waist as she closed her eyes. 'Perhaps I'm thinking too hard on this, after all, I'm not losing my mind or soul, it's just a body.'

She raised her left hand and opened her eyes to examine it, it's claw like features making Mana sign as she remembered her old hands. "Why did we have to get on that stupid boat?" She asked herself quietly.

'Don't tell me that the brave Mana got beat by a rock?' A voice echoed in her mind.

Mana head snapped up and she looked around for the source of the voice, seeing nothing, Mana soon calmed down and settled back to her sitting position.

'No way Lune! I'm not giving up because of that little bruise!' Another voice echoed, this one however, sounded just like Mana.

Mana stood up and looked around, her left arm shifting to its icy form on instinct. "Who's there?" She question warningly.

There was no response from the nearby grasslands. 'Well, you still look like crap, so maybe we should stop?' The first voice echoed.

'What? and leave you here with no audience?' The second voice asked sarcastically.

A chuckle rang through Mana's mind and she looked around once more. 'Well, if you are sure, remember, don't tell mom and dad!' The first voice stated firmly.

Mana heard a giggle in her mind and she stopped searching her vicinity for the source, as she now knew it was in her head. 'Why would i tell them about this?' The second voice asked, but it was more of a joke than a question.

The voices stopped after that statement, leaving Mana alone with her thoughts once more, she sighed as she leaned against the fence. "Maybe I'm just losing it." She muttered to herself.

______*Spike's POV*_____

Spike sat on the couch in the main room of the library, he slowly tapped his chin in boredom, normally, when Twilight went out for the day, he would take his time in doing his chores, so that he at least had something to do.

But then Mana came along, and not only did she help Spike with his chores, effectively cutting the work time in half, she also managed to relieve much of the boredom with her occasional antics, as well as simple conversation.

However, this also brought up some problems, first, since everything was done, he had nothing to do, secondly, with Mana taking a walk, he had nothing to do now aside from think or read.

Spike was tired of reading for the day, and since his new friends, the cutie mark crusaders, were all busy today, he had nobody to hang out with, as all of Twilight's friends usually were too busy, or were too polite to say they didn't want to hang out with him.

As such, Spike sighed sadly to himself as he laid back on the couch and stared at the ceiling, at this time, he found himself missing his younger sister, and at that thought, Spike paused his train of thought and sat up.

'Did I really just think that?' He asked himself out of disbelief, he looked at the door and continued his new thought. 'I guess I really do think of her that way.....if my mind just defaults to that.' He shook his head and laid back.

'But like I told Mana, unless she believes it's truly alright, I won't push anything.' He told himself mentally.

Spike was about to close his eyes to take a quick nap when there was a knock at the door, he quickly got up and ran to the door, he opened the door and saw Rainbow Dash actually standing still for once.

"Oh, hey Rainbow, what's up?" He asked.

Rainbow Dash motioned her head to her right and Spike saw Twilight standing there as well. "Oh, hi Twilight!" Spike added happily.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash entered the library and Spike closed the door. "So, Twilight, how was your day out?" He asked curiously.

Twilight shrugged and looked at Spike. "It was alright, Fluttershy and Rarity did most of the talking for once, I didn't really have fun." She replied.

Spike nodded. "Ok.....so uh, did you want something?" He asked, hiding his desire for something to do.

Twilight nodded. "Yea, could you start some tea for me?......also, where's Mana at?" She asked.

Spike started walking to the kitchen to start the tea. "She went for a walk, she said she wanted to clear her head." He replied before entering the kitchen.

As Spike started the tea a few moments later, his mind went back to some of his earlier thoughts, but this one was more grim.

'If Mana really is.......dead, why does she need food?....water, sleep, why would she need those things?' He sighed to himself as he heard Twilight call to him. "Spike! can you go and find Mana? tell her I need to talk to her?" She asked.

Spike walked out and looked at Twilight. "Sure thing, tea is started, I'll be back." He stated as he walked outside.

______*ten minutes later*______

Spike had absolutely no idea where Mana was, he knew she went for a walk, but she never said where exactly she was going, as such, he wandered aimlessly for a while, until he spoke with some ponies.

Thankfully, Spike had discovered that Flitter had seen Mana walking towards Sweet Apple Acres......actually, in her exact words. "I saw a strange looking creature heading towards the farm, it had a weird tail made entirely of bone without any fur." 

Spike simply thanked Flitter for her directions, not bothering to mention that the creature was called Mana, and that she was a friend.

After a short walk to the farm, Spike eventually found Mana resting at a fence, she was sitting down and looking at the ground, he walked over and sat down.

Mana simply chuckled quietly and looked up from the ground. "What's up Spike?" She asked.

"Twilight's back home, she wanted to talk to you." Spike replied instantly.

Mana sighed and looked at Spike. "I.....I have a lot on my mind right now Spike, I'm not sure I can handle talking to Twilight right now." She said.

Spike slid closer and spoke. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked calmly.

Mana thought on that for a moment, she looked at Spike with curiosity for a moment before nodding. "Yea......I think I need to get this out of my system." She took a breath before speaking.

"Do you remember when me and the crusaders went to the forest to explore?" Mana asked.

Spike nodded, he remembered the scolding Twilight gave Mana about that, even though it wasn't long ago. "I heard the scolding, but other than that, not much." He replied.

Mana looked away and closed her eyes as she rested her head on the fence. "In the forest......I snapped, I felt the beast take control as it fought the other Timberwolves, but I was able to stop it.....before......" She trailed off, something that Spike stopped. 

"Before what Mana?" He asked.

Mana looked at Spike and noticed that his expression was comepletly neutral, she signed and spoke. "Before it killed the girls." She stated shakily. "I.......I'm afraid of this thing Spike, it almost made me kill my best friends out of pure bloodlust." She said as she clutched her left hand with her right hand.

Spike nodded in understanding. "And you are afraid it will happen again?" He asked.

Mana slowly nodded and looked at the sky. "I really wish my parents hadn't forced me onto that stupid boat ride down to our southern tribe." She said, though Spike could tell she was talking more to herself than him.

Spike placed a claw on Mana's shoulder. "Listen to me ok?" He asked, to which Mana looked at him. "No one can change the past, but no one can control your future, you can fight this Mana, you can control it, I know that for a fact." He stated with a small smile.

Mana sighed and closed her eyes. "I really hope so Spike, I really do." She muttered.

______*later that day, 4:00 PM*______

Mana laid back in the middle of the library floor reading a book, she wasn't paying top much attention to it, as she was once again lost in her thoughts. 

'Maybe Spike's right, maybe I can control this feral half of myself, I've just been too afraid to try.' Mana closed the book and stood up, she walked over to one of the shelves and returned the book to its proper place.

"Maybe I just need something to take my mind off of things." She muttered.

Just then the library door burst open and a red faced angry Twilight barged in, almost destroying the door in the process. "I DIDNT DO IT!" Mana instinctively called out suddenly.

Mana's sudden statement seemed to confuse Twilight, as she momentarily calmed down. "Didn't do what?" She asked calmly.

Mana blinked and stratched the back of her head. "I.....don't know, I suppose I didn't do whatever it is that made you mad?" She offered out of confusion.

Twilight's anger then returned and she stormed upstairs, all the while making angry comments about slowly removing hooves.

Spike soon entered the library and carefully closed the door behind him. "Where's Twilight?" He asked nervously.

Mana pointed upstairs and crossed her arms. "What's got her so angry?" She asked.

Spike walked over and calmly handed two scrolls over to Mana. "Go ahead, read them." He said.

Mana raised an eyebrow but read the first scroll regardless, it detailed an invitation to a wedding between Shining Armor, and one Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. "Who are they again?" She asked.

Spike rolled his eyes and answered. "Twilight's Brother Shining Armor and Cadence, our old foalsitter." He replied easily.

Mana blinked and looked at Spike. "Then why is she mad?" She asked.

Spike pointed to the second scroll. "Read." He insisted.

Mana huffed at the rude reply and read the second scroll, it was from Shining Armor explaining that he was getting married. "Oh.......I see now." She handed the scrolls over and held her left arm up and ignited it. "Want me to scorch him?" She asked calmly.

Spike shook his head and waved his right hand away. "Na, no point, besides, it would be considered assault." He said.

Mana groaned and crossed her arms.....she then grinned. "What about a poison ivy leaf to his nose?" She asked.

Spike went to reply but stopped himself as he considered it, he grinned and looked at Mana. "Extremely annoying, not illegal, and he doesn't have any known allergies." He replied with a devious grin.

Mana winked and looked upstairs. "So.....how am I planting the ivy?" She asked.

Spike shrugged, as he heard Twilight walking back down. "Keep it quiet for now." He whispered.

When Spike and Mana saw Twilight, their expressions became worrisome, as Twilight had a notable twitch in her left eye. "Are you alright Twilight?" Mana asked.

Twilight took a breath and nodded. "Oh yea, I'm just fine, I just discovered that my BROTHER did NOT HAVE THE GUTS TO INVITE ME TO HIS OWN WEDDING IN PERSON, OR EVEN TELL ME WAS GETTING MARRIED IN THE FIRST PLACE!" She shouted.

Mana held her right arm up and ignited it. "Want me to scorch him?" She asked.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "No, we'd never get away with it besides, Shining is a master of shield spells." She stated.

Mana grumbled as she doused her arm and crossed them again. "Darn." She said to herself.

Twilight looked at Spike and Mana. "So, how about it, you two want to go to Canterlot and hear me shout at my brother?.......I mean, go see the wedding?" She asked.

Mana shrugged. "Sure, why not, but Rarity ain't getting me in a dress or suit of any kind, I don't care what she says." She pointed out.

Spike nodded. "I have been wanting to go see the comic store lately, so I don't see why not." He added.

Twilight grinned deviously, for reasons unknown. "Good! we leave tomorrow!" She stated with a grin.

Spike and Mana shared a look. "We've created a monster Mana." Spike stated.

Mana nodded. "Agreed, let's just hope she doesn't go too crazy." She replied.

_______*the next day, Ponyville train station*_______

Mana and Spike stood together as Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash waited for the train.

Spike was bringing nothing but a pouch of bits and a small backpack, as well as his gem rations, which were actually just five gems.

Mana was wearing one of the outfits that Rarity made for her, and the only one that Mana was capable of paying for, mostly due to Rarity's stubberness, it was a pair of black sweatpants with dark blue trim, she wore a dark red tee shirt with a black jacket, with the symbol of the four nations on the back, for her feet she wore simple brown shoes that were both comfortable and water resistant, she also wore dark red fingerless gloves, so that they wouldn't break in case she changed her hands into claws.

Unlike Mana's other clothes, this was the only outfit that didn't have a hood, but for once, she didn't mind, she had cut her hair to be just under her ears and let it go wild.

Mana was happy about one thing though, Onyx was with her again and currently sitting on her shoulder, unfortunately, he also would not shut up.

Spike looked at Mana as she argued with her squirrel over something as pointless directions to the closest pai sho table, whatever that was.

Mana eventually gave up and crossed her arms. "Whatever Onyx, I didn't think we would already go back to this old argument......again." She muttered that last part.

Onyx chattered and slapped Mana's ear. "Don't start that with me Onyx, I'm warning you, I will shove you into my bag." She said calmly.

Mana sighed in relief as the train soon arrived at the station, she slung her bag over her back and walked with everyone else into the train.

'This trip might be just what I need to clear my head.' Mana thought to herself as she looked around the train.

Once the train was ready, it set off to Canterlot, and the long trip began, the main problem was, all of Twilight's friends were fighting over the window seat.

Mana watched as Twilight wordlessly took her seat and shook her head, clearly having a headache right now.

Mana herself had enough and looked at Spike. "Watch this." She muttered, she then looked at the seat and grinned, her entire body turned into wood and she slipped into the seat and returned to normal, placing her bag above her seat with her still wooden arm.

She looked at the mares and and grinned at their stunned expressions. "Dibs." She said as Spike took the seat next to her. "No window for you." Mana added as she covered the window in bark.

As the mares all begrudgingly took new seats, Mana and Spike fist bumped before laughing quietly.

Spike leaned back and thought to himself. 'Oh yea, this trio is going to be fun.' He chuckled to himself at his own thought.

Mana did notice Twilight had a small smirk on her face now, she gave a thumbs up to the mare and closed her eyes as she settled in. 'I can't wait to pull this prank off, it'll be a blast.' She thought to herself with a smirk.
> Canterlot sucks.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Mana's journal.*______

"So.....I'm not even lying, I'm not joking or pulling anyone's leg, but Canterlot sucked, it felt like being near the rich nobles back at the Earth Kingdoms, but with them being prejudiced against anything that wasn't a pony or talked back to them.

Not everyone was like that though, I did meet two interesting individuals that caught my attention, no, not the princesses, and not Twilight's brother or Cadence, anyway, let's just say that Canterlot is a solid zero out of ten, I don't know why Rarity likes it so much, I don't see the charm." 

______*The present, Mana's perspective*_______

The train came to a stop as we reached Canterlot, I removed the bark I covered the window with and returned it to my body.....that sounds weird, but that's what I did.

As Spike gets up and I follow him, I grab my bag with my wooden arm and sling it over my shoulder, Onyx chatters and tugs my hair lightly. "I know your excited to see someplace new buddy, but seriously keep it together, we just got here after all." I say as I walk over to the door to exit the train.

To my surprise, Twilight is the first out of the train. "Seems she wants to see her brother after all." I say to myself.

We all exit the train one by one and I am personally surprised at the level of security here, there are guards all over the place and they are all carrying spears and swords.

Another thing that I noticed is the particularly suspicious glares I am personally recieving, I roll my eyes as Onyx takes cover behind my neck. "Relax buddy, we'll be alright." I say reassuringly.

I follow in silence as Spike, Twilight and her friends make their way past the guards after a blue haired unicorn stallion let them know to allow us through.....or more specifically, Twilight, Spike and the others, I however am given the short end of the stick and almost have to go through what I can only assume to be hours of interrogation.

Thankfully, Twilight pulls through for me, saying that I'm with her, that alone seemed to be enough for the stallion.

As I walk over to Twilight I noticed a skeptical glance from a nearby guard. "See Onyx? I told you so." I say calmly yet teasingly.

Onyx just shakes his head silently.

As I join the group, I notice Twilight walking off with the stallion, I nudge Spike and motion him to follow, he nods with a grin, knowing what I'm planning.

We carefully follow Twilight and the stallion to a rampart, where Twilight reveals him as Shining Armor, as Spike and I listen in, we soon spot a large unicorn Pegasus hybrid mare, an Alicorn from what I've heard, make herself known, she had pink fur and had a beautiful mane comprised of multiple colors, she carried an aura of authority with her, it made me.....uneasy.

I watch in stunned silence as Twilight proceeds to do something embarrassing in front of this mare, and Spike can only snicker at the scene as Onyx and I facepalm.

It is then that I learn that Twilight had no idea that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was her old foalsitter Cadence, which led me to believe that she and Shining Armor didn't really keep in touch. "Hey." Spike whispered. "Do it." He urged.

I shake my head. "It'll, be too obvious here, I need a more discreet time." I say quietly as Twilight began to scold Shining Armor after Cadence left. "Ah, that's what I've been waiting on." I mutter as I create a poison ivy leaf and sent it toward the stallion.

I grin to myself, one thing I did learn how to do was control objects I created when they were detached from me, for instance, a poison ivy leaf.

As Twilight and her brother talk, a poison ivy leaf makes it way over to them, completely ignored because of the argument, and soon, it landed on Shining Armor's nose, he swatted it off his hoof and walked off as he and Twilight finished their talk.

Spike and I quickly leave before Twilight blows her top, and we are soon wandering the streets. "So, where do you want to go?" I ask.

Spike looks at me and shrugs. "I don't know, I didn't explore much when I lived here, and last time I was here, all I did was hang out at Donut Joe's." He admitted.

I tap my chin and look around, I soon shrug and look at Spike. "Want to explore in a random direction and hope we get lucky?" I ask.

Spike mimics me and looks around, he sighs. "No.....we might as well head to the castle, Twilight is expecting us to be there." He says sadly.

I cross my arms. "Well darn, I have to watch preparations for a wedding I don't care about, what's the point of a vacation then?" I muttered that last part.

Spike nodded in understanding. "I know how you feel, but we are stuck with it, might as well make the most of it." He replied.

_____*Canterlot castle, fifteen minutes later.*_____

Twilight sighed as she walked with Mana and Spike, she said nothing as she silently brooded, she didn't want to get them involved, but she knew that Cadence was a imposter! she would never have forgotten their greeting, even under these circumstances.

The three soon found the rest of the group discussing their parts in the wedding, and Twilight heard Mana speak. "Hey Twilight, your brother have any allergies?" She asked.

Twilight looked at Mana curiously, but shook her head. "Uh, no.....why?" She asked.

Mana shrugged. "You should probably let your friends know, they are probably concerned about that." She replied calmly.

Twilight was unsure why this was suddenly a major concern, but she nodded and let it go for now. "You two can go ahead and explore if you want, this castle has a lot of history in it that might interest you Mana." She suggested.

Mana nodded and looked at Spike. "What about you Spike? what do you want to do?" She asked.

Spike pointed at Twilight as she walked over to her friends. "I'll probably stick with her, keep her from doing something stupid." He replied as though it were obvious.

With that Mana and Spike seperated, going their seperate ways.

Mana looked at Onyx who started to chatter and tugged her ear towards the hallway on the right. "Ok ok, we'll go your way." She said with a small smile, happy to have her pushy squirrel friend back.

_____*Mana's perspective.*______

I have to hand it to the interior decorators, they sure can do their jobs well, the walls look as though they were built from a combination of stone, quartz and diamond, it made a pleasing color to look at, the windows appeared to be made of a combination of stained glass and regular glass, the floors were obviously made from cobblestone, I recognize the feel of it anywhere, but the obvious enchantments made it look like porcelain or smooth stone.

I pause at a crossroads of sorts, I have two paths to go, forward or left, I look at Onyx and he points to the left, I shrug and follow his directions, I place my hands in my pockets and look around as I walk through the empty halls. "Where do you think everyone is?" I ask my friend.

Onyx chatters rapidly taps my shoulder. "Waiting for the wedding?....why would that stop affairs of state?" I ask him, the squirrel simply shrugged. "Ugh." I just continue walking without bothering to reprimand my friend.

I soon spot someone else wandering these empty halls alone, I say nothing as I walk past the blonde haired unicorn, clearly I startled him as he let out a shocked Yelp as I walked by him, dropping something on the floor.

I simply turn my head and stare at the stallion who seemed to be quickly regaining his composure. "Your jumpy." I say calmly.

The stallion gulped and seemed to fully calm down. "No....not really, i just wasn't expecting anypony to be in the castle, with the wedding and all." He replied easily.

I shrug. "I'm exploring, I was actually surprised to see a lack of people here, seeing as this is the castle, unless political matters take place elsewhere." I then look at what he had dropped, it was a small photo of a white unicorn filly with red hair, I reach down and grab it, I then give it back to him, he actually seemed surprised I handed it back. "You seem surprised, I'm guessing people don't help you often." I remark.

The stallion simply took it and looked at it for a few moments before looking at me. "Not without being told to do so, no, apologies, I should introduce myself." He said.

"My name is Blueblood, and you?" He asked.

I shrug. "I'm Mana, I came along with my caretaker and friends for the wedding......and I'm regretting it already." I say with ease.

Blueblood raised an eyebrow. "How so?" He asked.

"Everyone I walked past in the city either snubbed me, gave me a look of disgust or straight up said I was a monster." I take a breath. "I'm not offended, it's just mildly annoying." I say as I cross my arms. "So, why are you here? you live in Canterlot or are you just visiting?" I ask casually.

"I live here." Blueblood answered. "But living in Canterlot does have downsides, the politics for one." He joked.

I smirk and Onyx says something to me. "Eh?" I look at my squirrel who points at Blueblood and then and the castle. "I see." I turn to face Blueblood. "You must be pretty important to live in the castle, ambassador am I right?" I ask.

Blueblood eyes Onyx for a moment before shaking his head. "I am not an ambassador, that would be easier for me though, i'm the nephew of Princess Celestia, head of the noble court, and as you can imagine, it's not an easy job." He replied.

I chuckle. "Politics never are easy, everyone needs to be ahead, instead of just working together, trust me I'm no stranger to the effects it has on the people." I reply.

Blueblood cleared his throat as he hid the photo with his magic. "If I may ask, what exactly are you?" He asked bluntly.

"Human." I reply easily. "And as far as I know, I'm the only one here in Equestria." I add.

Blueblood nodded. "I see, well you may want to watch who you say that too, many nobles here will take advantage of a new species such as yourself." He warned.

"Thanks for the warning, hey, do you happen to know the directions to the library?" I ask.

Blueblood nodded. "Of course, go to the end of this hall, make a left and then make another left at the end of that hall." He replied.

"Thanks, this castle is a maze." I say as I walk off.

Onyx chatters and flicks my ear. "Jerk." I say as I grab Onyx and stuff his squirming body into my bag. "I warned you Onyx." I say as I continue walking.

I soon reach the library and I step inside, I whistle as I take in the sight of it, I heard from Twilight that this was a massive library, and now I see she was correct, bookshelves upon bookshelves lined with books, I notice the mare that Twilight mentioned, a brown furred earth pony mare with a black mane and tail, I walk forward into the library and look around some more.

"It is a sight to behold isn't it?" A female voice said, I look and see the mare standing near me. "It is." I mention as I focus my attention on the mare.

The mare had a calm smile on her face and gave off a calming presence. "Are you looking to check a book out?" She asked quietly.

I shake my head. "Wasn't planning on it." I reply.

The mare nodded. "Very well, but I will need to see your library access card." She said.

I blink, but then I remember the piece of paper Twilight gave me. "Uh, one second." I open my bag and see Onyx asleep, I see the piece of paper and take it, I then show it to the mare.

The mare examines it for a few moments before looking at me. "Very well, go on ahead, but please be quiet." She said before walking off.

I walk over to one of the many bookshelves and sit down at a desk, I grab a nearby book and begin reading, instantly liking my choice of book.

______*later that day.*______

I walk into the room that Twilight, myself and Spike were sharing with Pinkie Pie, much to Twilight's annoyance, I sit down on the couch and lay back as Spike and Twilight enter. "You two have a nice day?" I ask with a grin.

Twilight glared at me and Spike simply waved me off. "We had a.....interesting day Mana." Spike said evasively.

I raise an eyebrow at Spike's odd behavior, but i decide not to question it as Twilight looked like she was about to scream in anger. "Canterlot sucked for you guys too?" I ask.

"I......yea, let's go with that." Spike said as he inches away from Twilight.
> Wedding turmoil.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Mana's journal*______

'Ok, so maybe more than two were interesting, but hey, I wasn't in a position to ask.....I was mostly busy.

Doing what you may ask? I'll get to that, but first, let me tell you a little about Rarity, particularly one of her more unpleasant visits to Canterlot.

Apparently when she met Blueblood, he was rude as could be and Rarity quickly ended up hating him, so when she found out that I had a pleasant conversation with him, she was ballistic.

_____*Canterlot Castle, the next day, 9:00 AM.*_____

Mana looked herself in the mirror, her more canine appearance was very apparent now, especially with her ears and teeth, her Timberwolf side was very obvious because of the green mist that was in place of her eyes.

She was glad she trimmed her hair, because it wasn't fun having hair in your eyes at all, even if your eyes are just green mist.

Mana opened her mouth and saw that her teeth were as sharp as ever, she grinned and walked to the door. 'You know, this isn't such a bad look, give me my old eyes back, and I won't really mind it.' She thought to herself.

As she walked out of the bathroom, she saw Twilight angrily pacing again. "Still angry at your brother?" Mana asked out of concern.

Twilight looked at Mana and sighed. "No......I got over it, it's Cadence." She replied.

Mana walked over and sat down on the couch opposite Twilight. "Talk to me, I'll hear you out." She said.

Twilight paused for a moment, she then nodded. "Ok, look, Cadence and me have a special greeting, I went to greet her with it, and she didn't even react!" She stated.

Mana shrugged. "That can be explained by exhaustion." She countered. "What else?" She asked.

Twilight then went on and on about how yesterday went, and about everything Cadence did. "It's like she doesn't care!" The mare shouted.

Mana blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Twilight, listen I.....I don't know Cadence, I didn't see her at all yesterday, but you haven't been wrong about things yet, so If it helps, I'll keep an eye out for you." She replied.

Twilight seemed to visibly calm down some. "Thank you Mana." She said happily.

Mana crossed her arms. "What about your friends?" She asked.

Twilight sighed and returned to pacing. "They are too busy with wedding preparations." She replied in an annoyed tone.

Mana watched as Onyx ran up to her shoulder and sat down. "Good morning Onyx." She said.

Onyx looked at her sleepily. "Morning." He muttered quietly.

Mana looked at Twilight who had her jaw hanging open as she looked at Onyx. "I told you he can talk, he just doesn't like doing it." She said as she stood up.

Twilight watched as Mana and Onyx walked out of the room, she was still standing there with her mouth hanging open until she shook her head. "Maybe I should.....just get Spike up and go on out." She muttered to herself.

______*The castle interior.*______

Mana walked around the castle and looked at Onyx. "You think she's overreacting?" She asked quietly.

Onyx nodded silently.

Mana soon found Twilight's friends around a table in the massive dining room, she walked over and spoke. "Morning." She said.

A round of greeting later, Onyx simply grumbled. "Too much noise." He whispered.

Mana nodded and walked over to the food, she grabbed some stuff for herself and Onyx, she then walked over to a more distant table and began eating. "Got a headache bud?" She asked quietly.

Onyx simply looked at her as he grabbed his food. "Yes." He whispered.

Mana took a bite out of her food, it wasn't to her tastes, but it was food, and she was hungry.

Onyx's voice was quiet and soothing, he wasn't high pitched or deep voiced, but it was in between, leaning towards a whisper in volume. 

After Mana and Onyx were done eating, they walked over to the mares and Mana spoke. "Hey......what are your thoughts on Twilight's recent behavior." She asked curiously.

It was worrying to say the least, especially since Twilight's friends pretty much all said that she was overreacting.

Mana held her right and left arms. "Don't you girls find Cadence's behavior strange......at all?" She asked.

The mares simply shrugged, as though they didn't notice anything wrong. "She's just trying to make sure the wedding is perfect, she's just stressed." Rarity commented.

______*later*______

Mana was confused, for some reason, she was asked by Twilight to come to the rehearsal a few minutes early, she had no problem with this, as the wedding didn't truly matter to her one way or another, it also gave her some time alone with Onyx. "You know bud, if we find this shrine or whatever it is, I'll never be the same." She said grimly.

"You are Mana, you are my friend no matter what you look like." Onyx said quietly as he sat on Mana's leg.

Mana smiled and and rubbed Onyx's back. "Thanks Onyx, that means a lot." She replied.

"You must be Mana." Said a calm voice.

Mana looked over we shoulder and saw none other than Princess Celestia standing in the isle. "Princess Celestia." She said, nodding to her before looking at Onyx.

Footsteps.....hoofsteps?....whatever, footsteps approached Mana and Celestia continued to speak. "I have heard much about you Mana, Twilight is very fond of you." The Alicorn stated.

Mana looked at Celestia and shrugged. "I'm grateful to her, she took me in, I owe her a lot." She said as she rubbed Onyx's back slowly.

"I see it is true, your eyes are that of a Timberwolf." Celestia said.

Mana chuckled. "Yea, I can't switch them back, but I have my mind, so that's good enough for me." She replied.

Celestia took a seat near the altar. "I would have thought that you would be trying to change yourself, so that you would not be changing into a Timberwolf, so why are you Canterlot then I wonder?" She said idly.

Mana shrugged. "I was bored of translating that book, and Twilight needs someone to support her, sad as it is, I don't think Spike can do that." She replied.

Celestia nodded. "I know Twilight has had concerns, but I believe she is being overprotective of her brother." She said calmly.

Mana leaned back against the wooden seat. "Personally? I couldn't care less about this wedding, it has nothing to do with me, and it probably never will, heck, the only thing I'm here for is to cure my boredom." She replied as Onyx ran up and sat on her shoulder.

Celestia sighed and stood up. "While it is disheartening to hear you say that, I would ask that you not mention that around Shining Armor or Cadence, they are very stressed because of this wedding." She said.

Mana nodded. "Sure.....speaking of which." She looked at the door and it opened, she looked at Onyx. "Wanna watch?" She asked.

Onyx looked at her and nodded.

With that, Mana sat back and watched as the wedding rehearsal took place, everything was going well......until Twilight showed up and spoke out, saying how Cadence was manipulating Shining Armor with a spell and that she wasnt who she said she was.

After Cadence fled in tears, both Shining Armor and Celestia expressed how disappointed they were in Twilight.

Mana watched as Twilight sadly and wordlessly walked to the altar and cried in defeat, she wanted to go over and comfort her, but something was telling her she had something better to do.

Mana looked at Onyx. "Hey, keep her company bud, I need to handle something." She said as she lowered him to the ground.

"Are you sure about this? you aren't good with people on your own." Onyx asked out of concern.

Mana nodded. "Yea, I'll be fine." She said as she headed for the door.

Onyx ran over to Twilight and sat next to her. "Twilight?" He asked quietly

Twilight looked at Onyx, her fur was already stained from the tears. "I guess even Mana left.....everypony must think I'm horrible.

Onyx walked over and patted her cheek. "Don't be like that, you made a good argument back there, Mana wanted me to keep you company." He said as he sat with Twilight. "You can confide in me Twilight, i will not judge." He added.

______*meanwhile*_______

Mana exited the room and looked around, she spotted Twilight's friends and walked over with a frown, she did not see Shining Armor, Cadence or Celestia anywhere.

Mana approached the five mares, with a fake neutral expression. "Never saw Twilight have an outburst like that." She said.

The mares agreed. "I don't know what's gotten into her, Cadence may have done some rude things, but that isn't an excuse for the things Twilight said." Rainbow Dash said.

"I agree, she was out of line, I didn't even act that way when I was angry at Blueblood." Rarity said with a scowl.

Mana listened to the mares ramble, but after a while, she got fed up. "You know what I think?" She said as she crossed her arms.

The mares looked at Mana out of curiosity. "What?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Mana narrowed her eyes. "Twilight was counting on you, she wanted your support and what do you do? you get caught up in your own little worlds because you get to make preparations for a 'Royal wedding!" Mana snapped angrily, startling the mares. 

"You say your Twilight's friends?.....all I see is a bunch of selfish mares." And with that, Mana walked away, heading back to her apartment, leaving five mares behind with mixed emotions.

Mana was interrupted as Rainbow Dash flew in front of her. "Hey!.....you don't have any right to call us selfish!" The mare angrily said, flaring her nostrils.

Mana's left arm turned to wood and she wrapped Rainbow Dash in a thick layer of wood, making it so she couldn't move. "Name one time in this trip when ANY of you actually listened to what Twilight had to say, ONE time." Mana said as she held the Pegasus mare, who thrashed uselessly against the wood. 

"Mana! let her go." Rarity said.

Mana sighed and looked at Rarity. "Same question to the five of you, was there even one moment where you listened to Twilight? where you gave her your full attention instead of brushing her concerns off as nonsense?" She asked.

Seeing that none of them answered, Mana looked at Rainbow Dash. "As I said, five selfish mares who didn't listen when their friend needed them." She released Rainbow Dash and walked out the door.

______*The next day, day of the wedding*______

Mana was sitting in front of the altar, she was very concerned now, not only did Twilight not come back last night, but Onyx was gone as well!

Mana could normally handle being alone as long as she knew where Onyx was, after all, she could handle some time alone.

But when she didn't know where Onyx was, she tended to worry. "Where is Onyx?" She muttered as she rubbed her hands together.

It was almost time for the wedding, and Mana didn't have her best friend with her to keep her calm, nor did she have Twilight to talk to, and Spike was now the Best Man so he was busy.

Mana changed her hands to wood and paced, she was worried, and she was panicking. "Come on Mana, you can do this.....calm down, calm down." She told herself.

______*Canterlot Caverns.*______

Onyx looked at Twilight awoke slowly. "Take it slow Twilight." He said quietly.

"Ugh.....Onyx? where are we?" Twilight asked.

Onyx looked around, the walls were dark with glowing crystals sticking out. "It looks like some strange cavern." He replied.

Twilight stood up and let her head stop spinning, she felt Onyx climb onto her head. "Do you have to be up there?" She asked as she started to walk.

Onyx looked around. "It's the best vantage point to look around, so yes." He stated quietly.

After a few minutes of wandering, Twilight heard someone else nearby. "Wait." She said.

Onyx listened to it for a moment.. ".......It sounds like Cadence." He stated.

Twilight eventually found Cadence and blew the crystal wall between them up with her magic.

Onyx blinked. "Potent." He whispered to himself.

After a brief discussion, Twilight and Cadence, the real one, hurried to reach the surface......followed by a nice song.

_____*The surface.*_____

Mana watched the wedding from the corner of the room, so far it was going well, but Mana was on the lookout for anything that could go wrong.

Shining Armor seemed rather off, namely the fact that he was absently staring forward with a mindless expression, though no one seemed to notice.

Mana was ready to spring into action should anything go wrong, especially since her friends were here, they were the flower girls now, and Mana was genuinely surprised that they got Scootaloo of all people in a dress, something that the Pegasus filly was instantly regretting once she saw Mana watching.

With a grin, Mana planned on tormenting the filly about it when they got back to Ponyville.

Then something unexpected happened, Twilight barged into the room with Cadence and Onyx, surprising many spectators.

Mana blinked and looked at the Cadence at the altar, who was just as surprised as everyone else.

The second Cadence then revealed herself as the true Cadence, and said that the first Cadence was a Changeling, a creature that feeds on love.

Mana then watched as 'Cadence' revealed herself to be the Changeling Queen, and that many of the spectators were in fact Changeling's. "Whoa." She muttered.

As panic broke loose, Chrysalis and Celestia had a brief exchange of power, with Celestia losing because of the love that Shining Armor had for Cadence, which fueled the Queen's power.

This led to Chrysalis lowering the dome around Canterlot, revealing that she had an entire army with her, Twilight and he friends quickly charged off to get The Elements of Harmony, while Chrysalis gloated.

Mana noticed that everyone else in the room were huddled up or hiding, she sighed and walked away from the corner. "I hate to be that person, but you could have milked that a little bit longer." She pointed out.

The Changeling Queen clearly was intrigued, judging by her facial expression. "What are you supposed to be?" She asked out of curiosity.

Mana shrugged. "Human, dead, body slowly being replaced by Timberwolf, nothing major." She replied casually.

Chrysalis chuckled as she circled Mana. "Tell me, how could I have played that any better?.....my army is taking over the city, and soon the Element Bearers will be mine." She asked calmly.

Mana looked at the Queen. "Continue the con, say things that counter Cadence's accusations, and when everyone has their backs turned, lower the shield, once everyone is focused on the invading army, strike from the rear." She pointed out.

Chrysalis laughed as she stood in front of Mana, looking down at her. "You make a good point, what is your name?" She asked.

Mana looked up at the Queen. "Mana." She replied.

Chrysalis walked to the window and continued to speak. "Listen well Mana, very soon my forces will deliver the Element Bearers to me, and my victory will be complete, if you wish to get out of this unharmed, then do as I say." She said.

Mana sighed. "You know......your offer is tempting, but seeing as Twilight is my caretaker, I have to pass." She said.

Chrysalis looked at Mana. "I was hoping you would comply, but you have given me no choice." Her horn lit up.

Mana quickly threw up a protective wall of wood which blocked an incoming blast, she noticed that none of the other Changeling's were moving to assist. "Seriously?....I say no and you try to kill me?" She said in disbelief.

Chrysalis laughed as Mana's wooden barrier fell. "Who said anything about killing you?" She asked.

Mana felt a sharp jab in her neck and she lost control of her body, she fell to the ground and grunted in pain. "What.....what did you do?" She asked worryingly.

Chrysalis walked up and looked down at Mana, her horn lit up as she cast a spell. "Silence, obey my commands." She ordered.

Mana found herself unable to speak, she looked at Chrysalis. "Stand." The Queen ordered.

As though on cue, Mana found herself standing up, she looked at Chrysalis with panic. "This is your mission, find the Element Bearers, and capture them, bring them to me." She ordered.

Mana nodded wordlessly and walked out the door, she was now a prisoner in her own mind. 'Twilight, Onyx, I'm sorry for what I'm going to do.' She thought to herself.
> Prisoner.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Canterlot, two minutes after invasion began.*______

Mana walked forward towards the largest scene of battle, where Twilight and her friends were fighting to reach the Elements.

Mana felt a voice in her mind speak, it was commanding and familiar. "Mana.....do not forget your mission, capture the Element Bearers, dead or alive." Chrysalis ordered.

"As you wish." Mana replied in a monotone voice, her hands changed into claws and she ignited her arms.

A changeling went flying in Mana's direction, she looked at the Changeling as it landed next to her, it looked up at her and growled. "I am on your side." Mana stated, her eyes glowing.

The Changeling simply flew off wordlessly as Mana continued to where the fighting was taking place.

As Mana neared the fight, she saw a group of Pegasi flying towards the Changeling's, looking to flank them, in one swift motion, Mana unleashed a torrent of flame that forced the Pegasi to land, she walked forward and as they charged to engage her, she immediately recognized them, they were some of the guards from the train station, she heard a voice in her mind. "Go ahead, take them out, they are in your way." 

"Yes, my Queen." Mana said before summoning a torrent of wooden shards that impaled the guards without trouble.

Mana quickly turned her attention to the battle ahead, she spotted a glance of Rainbow Dash fighting two Changeling's in the air, she began to walk forward and a large magical blast impacted the ground.

Mana blinked and looked down, the new crater was large enough to prevent travel by land unless one wishes to take a ten minute detour, she raised her left hand and created a wooden bridge that she quickly crossed.

With that, Mana removed the bridge and now wielded the excess wood as a large club, to her it was weightless, even though it was about ten feet long and four feet thick.

Mana heard a voice in her mind, but this time she felt it linked to thousands upon thousands more. "My soldiers! step aside, Mana.....carry out your orders." Chrysalis ordered.

"Understood." Mana replied as she threw the large club towards the six mares.

_____*switch of perspective.*______

Twilight and her friends were initially relieved as the Changeling's moved aside, apparently giving up, but when they saw a massive wooden pillar flying towards them, they knew why they moved.

The six mares dodged the pillar which crashed into a nearby building, Twilight looked at where it came from and saw Mana walking towards them, her expression was neutral. "Mana!" She called out, happy to see she was alright. "Get over here quickly! we can keep you safe!" She said.

Mana said nothing as she looked behind her, the Changeling's forming a wall around her and the six mares. "Safe?" Mana asked in a monotone voice.

Twilight watched as Mana's arms ignited, the girl looked at her and Twilight could feel that something was.....wrong. "Mana?" Twilight asked, slowly approaching.

In what felt like a split second, Mana threw a wave of fire towards Twilight and changed her lower body to that of a wolf, she watched as Twilight protected herself with a barrier and looked at her in shock. "I have my orders, capture the Element Bearers, dead or alive, surrender now, and you will be spared." Mana offered with a flat and lifeless tone.

Rainbow Dash apparently would not accept surrender, as she charged at Mana out of pure anger, Mana did nothing as the Pegasus grabbed her and looked her dead in the eye. "You betrayed us for a bunch of bugs!?" She snapped. "After everything we've down for you!" The Pegasus was angrier than ever.

Mana simply blinked as she heard a voice. "Enough stalling Mana, capture them now." Chrysalis ordered.

With that, Mana grabbed Rainbow Dash with a large wooden claw and slammed her into the ground, she froze the claw in place, effectively trapping the Pegasus. "As I have said, I have orders, you will not reach the Elements of Harmony." Mana stated as she turned her left arm to ice and kept her right arm ignited.

Twilight immediately recognized this, she and Cadence ran into the old bridesmaids in the caverns, they were mind controlled. "Mana! you need to break free of the mind control!....you aren't yourself!" She shouted.

Mana looked at her arm, she knew that Chrysalis was watching and listening, so when she looked at Twilight, she spoke the truth. "You are wrong, I am myself, in every way." She then allowed the transformation to complete, and she now held her feral form, her bone tail shot out as it was freed, and her face changed to a canine one.

Mana let out a feral roar and spikes of ice shot out from the ground, the mares frantically tried to dodge them, but it was futile, she then charged forward rapidly towards Applejack, who moved to dodge an ice spike that shot up next to her, but just as she landed, Mana impacted, sending her flying Into the Changeling army, who quickly subdued her.

Mana looked at the other five, Rainbow Dash was still trapped, Fluttershy was helping Pinkie Pie get up, Twilight was using her magic to destroy the ice spikes before they could appear while Rarity was casting some spell.

Mana knew that Twilight was a powerful target, but she had a better idea. "Take the Rainbow one away." Mana growled.

Changeling's quickly moved in, responding to the orders quickly, but they were quickly assaulted by Twilight and Rarity, who clearly forgot about Mana. "Keep the other two busy." Mana ordered.

Changeling's immediately moved to take care of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, Mana then summoned a wall of wood that would surround Rarity on three sides, but hid it underground, she roared and charged towards Rarity who attempted to dodge the swift charge, but was immediately stopped by a wall of wood.

Mana impacted and Rarity let out a cry of pain as she collapsed to the ground, her cries of pain caused Twilight to turn her focus, just as an ice spike shot up and knocked her away.

Mana looked over at Fluttershy and Pinkie, the pink earth pony was surprisingly effective at keeping the Changeling's away. "Go from all sides, get the yellow one." Mana growled.

The Changeling's picked up on the idea quickly and in one coordinated effort, managed to capture Fluttershy, followed by Pinkie as she attempted to save her friend.

Mana finally turned her attention to Twilight, who was barely keeping the Changeling's away. "Take the others away." Mana ordered as she walked slowly towards the unicorn mare.

Twilight looked at Mana desperately, her breathing was ragged and she was obviously worn out from overuse of magic. "Mana......please, you need to fight her." She pleaded.

Mana said nothing as she extinguished her flames and changed her arm from ice to wood. "No, I do not, she has removed my fear, I am no longer afraid of what I am." She said as her body changed to wood as she talked, her clothes falling off as her body now almost perfectly resembled a Timberwolf.

Twilight tried to cast a spell, but a slam to the back of her head rendered her unconscious, curtesy of a wooden log.

Mana began walking back to the castle. "Bring her and the others to the Queen." Mana ordered mentally.

_____*Canterlot castle, a few minutes later.*______

Mana looked around the room, the wedding stalls and alter were demolished, Celestia was completely encased in goo, the Crusaders were trapped along with a few adults in a corner, and Chrysalis was looking out at Canterlot. "The Element Bearers my Queen." Mana said as she stepped to the side.

Chrysalis looked at the Element Bearers and walked over to them. "You see girl? I told you that I could not be stopped." She gloated.

Twilight said nothing as she looked at the ground blankly.

"You stay away from her!" Rainbow Dash snapped, still trapped in the wooden bindings. 

Chrysalis looked at the Pegasus. "Or what? in case you haven't noticed, I have won, you are my prisoners, helpless to stop me." She stated calmly as she walked away.

Mana stood guard by the doorway as Chrysalis spoke. "As for you Mana, you have done well, you sacrificed your own body for the sake of completing your mission." She said as she looked at Shining Armor. "You even brought all six Element Bearers back alive, when you easily could have slain them." She said as she looked out the window. 

Mana said nothing as she looked at the Element Bearers, they had mixed emotions, anger, fear, sadness, hopelessness, she then looked over and saw the Crusaders, she could tell their emotions sit by looking at them, fear, despair......sorrow?

Mana simply sat still as she watched Cadence shakily approach her husband, she moved to do something but felt Chrysalis' mind. "Leave them, she is a broken mare, no longer a threat." Chrysalis ordered.

Mana said nothing once again and decided to simply observe, she watched as Cadence said something to Shining Armor and touched his horn with hers.

Mana's eyes widened as she charged forward, sensing tremendous power emanating from the mare and stallion.

But it was too late, a powerful blast exploded from the horns of Shining Armor and Cadence, sending every one of the Changeling's flying away towards what was know as the Badlands.

Mana herself felt Chrysalis' connection to her mind sever as she held her head in pain, eventually blacking out.

_____*Hours later*______

Twilight heard a groan come from inside the room, she perked up and ran over to Mana who was still a Timberwolf, she kneeled down. "Mana?....are you alright?" She asked.

From Mana's perspective, the voice was loud and aggravating, so as she looked at the blur that spoke to her, she growled and jumped back, she continued to growl as the purple blur attempted to speak with her. "Mana......its me Twilight, Chrysalis is gone." She stated.

Mana watched as the purple blur reached out to touch her, she lunged at her and attempted to bite her, but multiple forms quickly pulled her off and dragged her away. 

_____*later that day.*_____

Mana paced around the iron cell she was inside of, she smelled many scents coming and going, but none of them were familiar, nor were they similar to the purple one, she growled at anyone attempting to visit, she could see clearly now, but it mattered not, she had no one left, she was alone.

One hour however, the purple one returned, she sat on a stool across from my cell and spoke. "I don't know what's going on in your head Mana, but it's not good, because of your attack, many of the guards want you dead." She said flatly, her voice void of emotion. "Can you even understand what I'm saying?" She asked.

'Finally, something worth answering.' Mana thought to herself. "I am capable of speaking and understanding you." Mana said, her voice was scratchy and was hard to listen too, but it was understandable.

"Then why attack me? I'm trying to help you get back to normal." Twilight asked.

"I AM myself! or do you not remember what I said?" Mana snapped.

Twilight seemed startled by the outburst, but she remained calm and continued talking. "Mana, you can't mean to tell me, that you would prefer to be a Timberwolf?....you've been fighting to keep that from happening for so long now." She said with concern deep in her voice.

"I fought it, and failed, and failed, and failed, every day I lost more of myself, I simply gave in." Mana replied before pacing around the cell again. "Now either leave or get me out, I belong with my kind, not in a cell." She added.

Twilight sighed and stood up. "I WILL find a way to help you Mana, don't forget that." She said.

_____*the next day.*______

Spike sighed sadly as he poked his food with his fork. "Come on Spike, you need to eat something." Twilight urged.

He looked at Twilight . "Mana is trapped in the dungeons, she's the closest thing a have to a sister, how can I think about eating now?" He asked as he held his head up with his left claw.

Twilight looked at the door and sighed. "I know Spike, but I have an idea that might help, I need to try it before somepony does something stupid." She said as she stood up and walked out the door.

_____*the dungeons.*_____

Mana was asleep on the floor while Twilight and her friends were outside the cell. "Do you think this will work?" Rainbow Dash asked quietly.

Twilight looked at Mana with a sad expression as she considered the odds of this spell succeeding. "it needs to work, now, when I go in, I'll try to find Mana's subconscious, and if I can, get her back to us." Twilight said as she lit her horn up.

Soon, Twilight was asleep against the wall, and her friends kept watch.

____*Mana's mind*____

Twilight looked around the unfamiliar landscape, it was frozen, the water looked ice cold yet pure, there we're buildings and walls made entirely out of snow all over the place, as well as a large cliff that seemed to lead to a tundra.

"Mana!" She called out as she walked around, intent on finding Mana quickly.

Seeing nopony around, and no sounds to lead her, Twilight began to wander around the town, searching for any sign of Mana.

As she walked, Twilight noticed that some buildings and even some pots had the same symbol on them that Mana's jacket had on it, she walked to a bridge and went to cross it, only for a black void to appear on the other side and right under her forelegs.

Twilight quickly backed away before she could fall, her eyes wide from the sudden shock and danger. "Ok, mental traps, good to know." She muttered.

Twilight looked to the other side of the bridge and saw that the void was still there, so it was clearly the border of Mana's subconscious, she took a breath and continued walking in a different direction, turning away from bridges as the border revealed itself.

Twilight soon noticed something peculiar about a nearby building, there was a small fire outside of it, and on the door there was a familiar symbol, according to Mana, it was the fire nation symbol. "Might as well check it out." Twilight muttered.

She opened the door with her magic and stepped inside the building, in stark contrast to the rest of the cold city, as Twilight noticed just how big this place was, the inside of the house was warm, she looked around and saw just how sparse the inside was, there was a table, a few cots, a chest or two and a desk. 

Twilight looked and saw a familiar girl sitting on one of the cots, holding something small, she walked over and looked at what Mana was holding, it was a small book with no words on it. "Mana......I need you to listen to me." Twilight said.

Mana sighed to herself as she set her hand down on her cot. "Onyx, come here bud." She muttered.

Twilight watched as Onyx appeared from under the cot and ran up Mana's arm and onto her shoulder. "Mana, look at me." 

Mana looked at Onyx and scratched under her chin. "I don't want to leave Onyx, the Southern Tribe is boring." Mana said quietly.

Onyx simply nodded. "I know, but you don't have a choice." He said quietly.

Mana said nothing in return, instead she began to write in the book.

Twilight looked to Mana's side and saw that she had her bag next to her. "This must be a memory." Twilight muttered to herself.

She heard the door open and two tall humans, a man and a woman, walked inside. "Mana, it's time to go." Mana's father said, his voice was calm and wise. 

Mana, looked around her house for a moment. "Do we really need to go? you know I hate our Sister Tribe." Mana argued.

"Mana! you were born there, how can you say that?" Mana's mother said, her voice sounded tired and stressed.

Mana sighed to herself and grabbed her bag, she said nothing as she left the house and followed her parents as they walked.

Twilight then proceeded to follow Mana and her family as they got onto an old looking ship, she didn't like it at all, and apparently, neither did Mana as she hesitated to get on. "I don't like this dad, this thing is really old." Mana said.

Mana's father simply reached his hand out to grab Mana's hand. "Come on Mana, it's fine, the captain just had it fixed up." He said reassuringly.

Mana carefully got onto the ship and immediately split off from her parents, content to write in the journal for a time.

Twilight watched with interest as Mana idly bended the water to her will, making the four nations symbols at random, the day went on in a dull silence for what felt like hours, and then, Twilight noticed Mana look up, seeing the large storm, all the passengers onboard were sent below deck, Twilight did notice that Mana's parents stayed up on deck to help the crew.

As everyone went into the quarters, Twilight saw Mana sitting alone in a dark corner of the ship, she walked over and watched as Mana quietly talked to Onyx, before eventually looking and seeing a leak near her cot.

Twilight backed away and Mana simply looked at it, as if in shock, she didn't even have time to warn everyone else as the wall broke apart and began to flood the lower deck.

Twilight noticed that the world went black and she looked around frantically as she fell screaming, very soon, a white light shone and Twilight felt herself be pulled from Mana's subconscious.

_____*the real world.*____

Twilight's eyes shot open as she panted, and just by judging the concerned looks on her friends faces, she knew that something happened. "What is it?" Twilight asked, her voice ragged.

Rarity was the first to speak. "You looked like you were having a fit, you were thrashing and mumbling almost the entire time." She answered.

Twilight leaned her head back and rubbed her left hoof, she felt a layer of sweat on it and looked at the cell. "How's Mana?" She asked.

"She's still asleep." Fluttershy said. "She seemed to be in the middle of a nightmare or something." She added out of concern.

Twilight nodded and stood up slowly, she signed to herself as she walked up to Mana's cell. "I think I know why." She muttered.

Rainbow Dash walked over to her. "Why?" She asked.

Twilight looked at her friends with a solemn expression. "I......I saw Mana die." She replied grimly.

Her friends all recoiled from the news, their eyes were wide and some didn't seem to be handling it well, judging by the fact that they were fighting the urge to puke or pass out.

Twilight turned her attention to Mana and lit her horn up, attempting to link to her mind, but found herself immediately repelled, she held her head in pain, fighting the urge to scream was easy as the pain quickly passed. "That's not good." She muttered.

"Is something wrong?" Rarity managed to say. 

Twilight once again looked at her friends. "Mana's blocking me from her mind, I guess she doesn't want me in, or I've seen all she wanted me to see." She replied.

"So what does that mean?" Applejack asked.

"It means we need somepony else to go into Mana's subconscious to speak with her." Twilight explained.

Rarity looked around. "But....who will go? none of us know Mana very well." She commented.

Twilight sighed to herself. "Your right, but Spike does." She said.

"You want to send Spike into Mana's.....subconscious?" Rainbow Dash asked with a worried expression. 

Twilight shook her head. "No, but he knows Mana better than anypony else aside from Onyx." She replied.

______*later.*______

Spike looked at Mana with a sad expression, he didn't like this at all, mostly because his adoptive sister was locked up, but also because he would be invading her mind. 'At least it's for a good cause.' He thought to himself.

Spike looked at Twilight, it was just him and her now, the other girls left to help with the repairs and tending to the wounded. "I'm ready." He said quietly.

Twilight nodded. "Now remember, you need to find Mana quickly, if she acts like you aren't there, it's probably because she's in a memory, not in control." She reminded.

Spike sat down next to the wall opposite Mana and Twilight cast her spell, sending Spike into Mana's subconscious.

For Spike, it was exhilarating, from his perspective he was flying through what felt like space, then landscapes, until he finally stopped on top of a rock, he grinned and looked around, still excited from the transition.

The area he was in looked like a meadow, with a forest to his back, he saw no buildings nearby but he did hear strange noises coming from the forest, he put his hands to his lips. "Mana!" He called out.

After a minute of waiting, there was no response from anything, so Spike decided to check out the forest, he hopped down from the rock and ran to the forest at full speed, rushing to the sounds.

After some time running, Spike finally stopped, he panted as he sat down to catch his breath. 'Where are you Mana?' He pondered.

Spike rested for a few more minutes before standing up again, he took a look at his surroundings, there were obviously a lot of trees, and the strange noises didn't seem to be occurring anymore, he closed his eyes and listened for sounds, any sound to help him find Mana. "Come on Mana, show me where to go." He said quietly.

A loud noise suddenly crashes in the woods behind Spike, he turned around and saw that trees were broken in that direction, heading away from him.

Spike immediately ran towards the broken trees and heard more falling behind him, he looked over his shoulder and saw that a black void was consuming the world behind him, his eyes widened and he quickened his pace, he didn't stop running until he reached what appeared to be a small wooden house.

Spike continued running until he reached the door, he attempted to open it but it was locked, he looked back and was surprised by what he saw.

The black void had stopped, it consumed everything in its way until it reached a small stone pillar with carvings on it. "What in the world?" He muttered to himself.

"Spike?.....how are you here?" Mana's voice asked from behind him.

Spike looked at the door and saw that Mana was standing in the doorway, unlike in Equestria Mana had her old blue eyes and she didn't have any of her wolf like appearance, she wore a brown shirt and gray pants with the Earth Kingdom symbol on it. "Mana, Twilight sent me into your subconscious to find you, you need to get control of yourself!" He said urgently.

Mana raised an eyebrow at Spike's statement. "In case you haven't noticed Spike, we aren't in Equestria, and I have full control over my body." She moved her hand and fingers around as an example.

Spike sighed to himself. "Mana, what's the last thing you remember from Equestria?" He asked.

"Going to bed in Canterlot." She replied easily. "I must have fully transformed overnight." She replied.

Spike shook his head sadly. "Mana, Cadence was a Changeling, the queen of them actually, she.....she controlled you to capture Twilight and the others." He said grimly.

Mana rolled her eyes as she leaned in the doorway. "I think I would remember that." She said.

Spike pinched the bridge of his nose and took a breath. "Ok, Mana right now your in the Canterlot dungeons, your body DID transform, but only because Chrysalis, the Changeling Queen, made you!" He stated.

Mana sighed and allowed Spike in. "Come on in, we can talk more inside." She said evasively.

Spike followed Mana inside and saw that there was almost no decoration, or even furniture, they stepped into an empty room and Mana stood in the center. "Spike, i can't go back there, even if I wanted too, I just........I can't." She said with a sad tone.

Spike flinched at her words. "You, you would rather stay here?" He asked, his neutral tone barely hiding his sorrow at her words.

Mana held her hand up. "I don't have the Timberwolf inside of me here Spike, in here I don't need to fear becoming something I hate." She said. "If I have to give up the life I had in Equestria to be rid of that fear, so be it." She said as she sat down and looked outside at the stars.

Spike took a few seconds before walking in front of Mana. "You told Rainbow Dash that Twilight needed her and her friends, she needs you now and your hiding in here?" He asked with anger in his voice.

Now Mana flinched at his words, she looked away from him. "I.....I know I'm a hypocrite, but you don't know what I've gone through, feeling this change happen inside of me every second, it's agony without end Spike." She replied quietly.

Spike placed both of his claws on Mana's shoulders and looked her right in the eye. "We are here for you Mana, you need to understand that, you aren't alone." He stated.

Mana slowly turned her head and looked at the floor, she then looked at Spike and placed a hand on his arm. "You need to understand what I feel." As she talked her body slowly changed to how she was before the wedding. "It will help me, knowing that someone out there knows what I go through every second of every day." She said quietly.

Spike's eyes widened as he suddenly felt unimaginable pain coursing through his body, it felt as though he insides were on fire......he felt as though his body were being ripped apart cell by cell, he screamed in pain and soon he felt himself be flung out of Mana's mind.

____*back in Canterlot.*____

Spike shot up panting heavily, he looked at his hands through blurry vision, he rubbed his eyes which quickly turned out to be a mistake as he screamed in pain as sweat went onto his eyeballs.

A fuzzy feeling on his eyes made it soon go away as he attempted to calm himself down, a voice barely registering in his mind as he tried to stop his hands from shaking.

Spike looked around and saw Twilight looking at him out of concern. "Spike!" She shouted.

"Wh....what?" He said in confusion.

Twilight leaned down to him and spoke. "Are you alright? what happened in there?" She asked.

Spike cleared his throat and he looked at his hands which were still shaking. "Mana.......she showed me how much pain she was in, everyday." He looked at the still sleeping Timberwolf in the cell. "She wanted me to understand how she felt." He muttered.

Twilight went to say something before she was cut off. "She wants us all to understand." A quiet voice said.

Twilight and Spike looked to the nearby doorway and saw Sweetie Belle standing there with Onyx on her head. "I know I'm not supposed to be here, but Onyx." She looked up. "He said Mana needed my help." She finished.

Spike sat against the wall. "Trust me, bad idea." He said, still in shock from the whole ordeal.

Onyx jumped off of Sweetie Belle and ran up to Twilight. "Send us in, if anyone can reach Mana, it's us." He said quietly.

Twilight shook her head. "No, no no no, Rarity won't let it happen, and you Onyx, I don't know if you will survive the transition." She stated firmly.

"I cannot say anything for Sweetie Belle, but you have no right to stop ME from helping Mana, send me in, I am your best bet at saving her, if I die? so be it." He snapped, anger and determination clear in his voice.

Twilight bit her lip and soon sighed. "Alright, just be careful Onyx, she seems determined to keep us from bringing her back." She warned as she began her spell.

Onyx readied himself for the transition, and just as Twilight's spell began to take effect, a white hoof grabbed Onyx and two minds were sent into Mana's subconscious.

_____*Mana's mind.*_____

Sweetie Belle looked around at the strange area, it looked like a home of some kind, with a small pond and short bushes around some kind of garden. "What is this place?" She asked herself.

There were small trees in the garden and even a few birds, it was.....peaceful.

Onyx climbed up Sweetie Belle's legs and sat down on her head. "We need to find Mana, this isn't a good place for her." He warned ominously.

Sweetie Belle looked up at the squirrel curiously. "Why?" She asked.

Onyx sighed. "Mana's grandfather, Kimaj, she loved him and he treated her like a daughter, they were close, he died here Sweetie Belle." He said quietly.

Sweetie Belle's ears went flat as she walked around, the garden no longer seeming so peaceful to her. "That's....horrible." She mumbled.

They walked into the house and wandered, keeping their eyes open for Mana, after a few minutes of walking they ended up at what Onyx called the entrance to the house.

"Where is she?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Onyx shook his head as he spoke with a somber tone. "If she's in this house, there is only one place she would go." He muttered.

"Where?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Onyx pointed to the left hallway. "Follow my directions, and I'll tell you." He replied.

Not quite understanding him, Sweetie Belle followed Onyx's directions, this eventually led her to a door that felt different than the others. "Behind here?" She asked.

Onyx nodded. "This is the room that Kimaj died, Mana was with him when he passed and she never truly recovered." He explained.

Sweetie Belle opened the door slowly and immediately recognized Mana in her blue jacket, she walked up and hear her talk. "I never really talked about it." She began. "When granddad died, he told me that he saw me as the daughter he wished he had, I didn't say anything.....how could I?" She sighed. "There were times I told him I hated him out of anger, and a few times I truly believed it." She looked at Sweetie Belle. "But if I'm being honest? I miss him now more than ever." She stood up and held her left arm. 

"Mana, why are you hiding in your mind?" Onyx asked.

Mana's hands shook violently as she breathed. "I'm afraid, you have no idea what it's like, fearing that at any second, you could change into the thing that did it to you." She took a strained breath. "I'm dead Onyx, I shouldn't be walking around like I was alive." She added grimly, tears falling on her face.

Sweetie Belle spoke up now. "Mana....you aren't dead to any of us!" She suddenly snapped, she put her hoof down hard, startling Mana. "You aren't alone, you have your friends to stand with you Mana!.....so please, come back to us." She pleaded, her own eyes welling up with tears.

Mana blinked, she took slow breaths and she looked at Onyx, who was now silent, she gulped and walked to Sweetie Belle. "Okay......ok, I get it, but if something happens to me, if I fully turn into a Timberwolf again......just let me go, let me roam in a forest somewhere, promise me that." She begged quietly.

Sweetie Belle slowly shook her head. "I......I can't promise that Mana, you know I can't." She replied.

Mana gave Sweetie Belle a gentle hug and closed her eyes. "Then at least promise me that you'll take care of Onyx, he may be smart, but he's a softie." She asked.

Sweetie Belle returned the hug. "Of course." She whispered.

After a few minutes, Mana, Sweetie Belle and Onyx felt the world grow lighter, as if there was a burden that was lifted, the room got brighter.

Mana chuckled quietly. "You know, if Scootaloo and Apple Bloom saw us, they would call us out and say we were a couple." She joked.

Sweetie Belle giggled. "Would that be so bad?" She asked teasingly.

Mana smiled. "Until then though, you aren't my girlfriend." She joked.

"And you aren't my marefriend." Sweetie Belle replied.

Mana let go of the hug and crossed her arms. "Alright, I'm sending you out of my mind now, I'll be along soon." She said with a smile.

Sweetie Belle and Onyx soon vanished and Mana was now alone, she frowned and spoke quietly. "Alright wolf, we are going to have a talk, no more fighting, no tricks, no head games." She said sternly.

Mana turned around and she saw a Timberwolf standing behind her, it growled as it released its horrible stench. "Stop blowing smoke, you will listen." She ordered.

The wolf started to circle her. "Speak." It said in a deep voice.

"You will not take over my mind or body again without my consent, until my body is completely gone." Mana stated firmly.

"And if I do not? you cannot harm me girl." The wolf reminded.

Mana smirked and ignited her arm. "You are correct, I can't." She extinguished her arm. "But when you take over my mind, I am a constant nuisance, one that you have to actively fight to keep repressed, if you can be patient, if you wait, if the day comes, I will willingly step aside and give you control." She said.

The wolf seemed to ponder this for a time, until it spoke once again. "You have an agreement, and I shall hold you to it." It said before disappearing.

Mana smiled to herself as she closed her eyes. 'Now that that's settled, time to wake up.' She said to herself.
> Complications.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*Canterlot Castle Dungeons.*______

I groaned as I woke up from my slumber, i felt as though i had been sleeping on rocks, I winced as my head throbbed and I placed a hand on my aching head and heard rattling and voices, I could feel the wood slowly recede from my body as I slowly regained my skin.

I rubbed my eyes and looked myself over for wounds, there wasn't any noticeable ones and apart from my arms and legs, the rest of my body was still wooden, though i understood why after realizing i had no clothes on. "My head feels like crap." I mutter.

"Mana! she's awake!" Pinkie Pie's voice cheered happily.

I looked to the voices and immediately notice that I'm in a cell, I try to stand up but I feel a tug at my feet and I fall back down. "What in the world was that?" I ask myself quietly.

Looking back, I spot an iron shackle around my right ankle, I sigh as the memories from yesterday come back. "I suppose it could be worse." I say.

"Hey, Mana are you alright?" I heard Spike ask.

I look over and see the dragon standing there with a worried expression.

"I'm chained in what I can assume to be a dungeon, nope, not alright." I say as I sit up and lean against the wall.

Spike grabbed the bars and looked down. "They brought you here, after you attacked Twilight, there is a rumor that a trial is to be held for siding with the Changeling's." He stated.

I blinked as i turned my  right leg into wood and shaped it to be thin, i removed the shackle and sighed in relief.

"Well they aren't wrong, I did fight for them but it wasn't willing." I replied.

Rainbow Dash walked up to the bars and spoke. "Hey Mana......we were thinking about what you said to us, about what we did?" She said. "Your right, we didn't say a word in Twilight's defense, and when she needed us we turned our backs." She added.

I looked at the Pegasus with a calm expression. "I'm not the one that you need to talk with, you need to talk with Twilight about that." I say firmly.

"All I did was tell the truth, don't go apologizing to me." I add as I look at Spike. "Where is Twilight?" I ask.

Spike pointed briefly to the stairs. "She went to go prepare a defense for you, but Princess Celestia said that she would take care of it." He sat down in front of the bars, a grim look on his face. "But Chrysalis didn't really control you, did she?" He asked.

I look at Spike for a while, confusion was overruled as I searched his expression for what he meant by the question. "She released the beast Spike, I was thrown back into the recesses of my mind as it took control of me, as to its motives for obeying, I wish I knew." I reply.

I look at my shackle and narrow my legs, and pul them back and slip out of the shackles, I sigh in relief as I allowed my legs to return to normal, while remaining wooden. "What all happened while i was out?" I ask.

"Mostly repairs to the city from the invasion, it's been hard work and everypony has been helping." Applejack replied.

I look at the mares and then I stare up at the ceiling. "Are there any Changeling's left in Canterlot?" I ask curiously.

"Not that the guard is aware of, they say that we should be safe from them for a while." Rarity answered.

I sighed and crossed my arms. "This may sound strange, but I kind of hope they don't hurt any of them that they find, they were just following orders." I say quietly.

A loud creaking door opened and footsteps could be heard, I glance over and see Twilight and a guard step inside. "Twilight! She's awake!" Pinkie said happily.

Twilight looks at me and her tense expression changes to a more relaxed and calm one. "That's great Pinkie." She said before walking to the bars. "How are you Mana?" She asked quietly.

I shrug. "I've been worse, but right now I'm just bored and hungry." I say before looking at the guard. "So why did you bring a guard?" I ask.

The guard approached the cell and unlocked it, he seemed tired and irritated. "I am here to release you, and bring you all to the throne room." He answered.

With that I stand up and walk out of the cell, afterwards I follow the guard as we all walk up the stairs and out the door. "Remember this Mana, you are forbidden from using your strange magic here, so do not try anything funny." The guard stated firmly.

I say nothing as we walk silently.

_____*seven minutes later, the throne room.*______

I step into the throne room and look around, it was mostly empty except for two thrones and many stain glass windows with figures on them.

We walk up to a point before the guard turns to face us. "Mana, go forward, the rest of you must remain here and go no further." He stated.

With that I walk forward, ignoring Twilight as she asks me to be careful, I notice that Celestia was on the large throne and there were some people in the room, I stop about ten feet from the throne and look at the Princess. "Hey Cel." I say.

Princess Celestia's expression shifted ever so slightly into a minuscule smile for a brief second before becoming neutral again. "Mana, you have been taken in by Equestria, Twilight Sparkle took you into her home and cared for you, and now with the recent Changeling invasion, you hold great powers that have been observed by Twilight Sparkle, however  eyewitnesses state that you did not attempt to stop Chrysalis, instead deciding to side with her and betray the people that took you in." She narrowed her gaze. "However, as a minor there is little we can do as punishment, and judging by the transformation that witnesses have described, I can only assume that you were under the Changeling Queens influence." She looked at the nobles and then back at me. "Therefore, the only punishment that I can enforce upon you is a warning at best, and psychological therapy at worst." She stood up. "Mana, should you side with an enemy of the state again, I will have no choice but to place you under observation, am I clear on this?" She asked.

I nod slowly. "Yea, your clear, it won't happen again." I said, knowing it was the truth.

One of the nobles, a green one with brown hair approached Celestia with an angered expression. "With all due respect Princess, this girl has committed crimes against our people, the other nobles and myself demand justice for her crimes!" He demanded.

Celestia looked at him. "Have you not heard what I said, Mana is a minor and she was under Chrysalis' mind control spell, none of her actions were her own." She stated.

The noble stomped on the ground hard, I examine him as he spoke. "Regardless, the powers she displayed were volatile and dangerous, you must place her under surveillance, and if she crosses the line she must be punished." He stated angrily.

Celestia's eyes narrowed on the noble. "Deran, I am sorry that your brother was killed in the invasion, but you must not allow your grief to cloud your judgement, Mana was a victim of the invasion like many." She sighed. "But you are correct, Mana's powers are volatile, so i shall place her under surveillance, this matter is closed." She stated firmly.

I look at Celestia with a confused expression, as much as I hated to admit it, the noble was correct, I fought for the Changeling's, and I didn't raise a finger to stop them. 'If I can lose control so easily, I need to hurry.' I thought to myself.

With this all said and done, the guard from before escorts me out of the throne room, with Twilight and the others following.

Once we were outside the throne room, my enhanced hearing heard voices behind the door, "This is an outrage! minor or no, that freak is not even an Equestrian citizen! she should not be shown mercy when she killed our soldiers!" A loud make voice boomed.

I wince slightly at the word freak, but then I look at my hand and turn it to its wooden claw form, I then turn it back as I realize something. 'I really am a freak, I'm not human anymore, I'm not a Timberwolf, and I'm not even alive, I'm just a walking corpse.' I sigh as I walk forward in silence.

It was a few minutes until we stepped outside, the guard looked at me with a flat stare. "Mana, you are to remain here, I have just recieved news that there will be a punishment, and the court is deciding now." He stated.

I look at Twilight. "You all should get going, I need some time to think anyway." I say before sitting down.

Twilight said something but I paid it no mind, instead she simply walked off with her friends and Spike.

I look at the guard who stood like a statue. "How are you hearing orders? is it magic?" I ask.

The guard looked down at me. "It is, the details are classified however." He then went silent and blinked a moment later, he looked at me again. "I have just recieved your punishment, you are to report to Corporal Kingston and assist in the repairs as community service, I will inform your caretaker of this development." He stated.

With that the guard teleported away, leaving me alone. "Might as well get started." I mutter.

______*ten minutes later.*______

I grumble as I approach the makeshift headquarters for the cities repair teams, it was a patched up tavern called the Kings Rest, because the guard hadn't told me where to find Kingston, I had to ask multiple people, which was incredibly awkward and embarrassing.

But now I was here, there was a lot of people entering and leaving the tavern consistently, I took a breath to mentally prepare myself and walked forward.

I managed to get inside with incident, so I assumed that people either thought that I was just short for my race, or it was open to all ages for the repair work, upon entering, I immediately notice how loud it is inside, it was easily as loud as my old school when it was time for waterbending practice.

Pushing my nostalgia aside, I looked around the tavern and saw that there were a few tables laid out with many papers on them, I saw some guards standing around, keeping a keen watch, I take in the scent on the air, and recognized it as freshly baked bread, I walk forward so i wasn't blocking anyone from coming in and I look at the tables, there were three people standing around them, one was definitely a guard, recognizable from the armor, another was a workman, easily identifiable by the yellow helmet he wore, called a hard hat for short.

The last person was out of place, as he had no armor or work clothes on, but simply a short cap, but presumably had importance due to the fact that a soldier saluted him, I decide to just get it over with and I walked over to one of the guards. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Corporal Kingston?" I say.

The guard looked at me and pointed at the stallion with a cap. "That is Kingston." He stated calmly.

I nodded. "Thanks." I walk over to the stallion and speak. "Uh, Corporal Kingston? I was told to report to you." I said.

The stallion looked up at me and blinked. "Oh yea, I heard about you." He said, his voice was easily heard, even though the noise in the tavern drowned everything else out. "Do you have any issues using your powers for repairs?" He asked, his question was short and simple.

"No." I reply.

The stallion then scribbles something down on a piece of paper and gives it to me. "Help the people on this list out, once they are satisfied you can leave, directions are magical, think about the person and then you'll know how to find them and what they look like." He stated before going about his business.

I look at the list and focus on the first name on it, and information floods my mind, and I instantly know where to go and who I am looking for, with this information, I walk away from the table and start to head for the ruined residential district.

As I leave the inn, I feel a sense of dread building up, I look around carefully but see nothing, I start to walk away when i hear a voice from within. "I smell a trap, be on guard little pup." 

I stop walking and take a breath before I continue. 'Thanks for the heads up.' I reply mentally.

____*ten minutes later*_____

I had spoken with Copper Brace, the foreman in charge of repairing the residential district, he wasn't very happy to see me, in fact I was certain he was going to attack me with the nearby plank of wood, at least until I told him who sent me, then he focused long enough to tell me to go create braces for some of the nearby buildings, so that work could continue unhindered.

It was simple enough work, but now that that was done, i started to make my way back to Copper, along the way though I heard an eerie music playing, I stopped walking and listened for a minute, it was coming from tthe nearby storehouse, I quickly turned my skin to wood and got away from the storehouse.

______*two hours later*_____ 

I sat down at the train station, apparently the trains were delayed as they were being searched for Changeling's, a pointless endeavor if you ask me, but they were going to search the trains and there wasn't much anyone could do.

It took around half an hour but the trains were finally declared clear, and as I stood up, I heard people walking up to me, I turn my head and see Twilight and her friends, as well as Spike. "Can we go home now, Canterlot sucks." I say.

"I'm sure it wouldn't have been so bad if there wasn't an invasion." Rarity stated.

I shrug and look at Twilight, who had a scroll being held in her magic. "Mana, there is something you should know." She started.

I raise a hand up to stop her and I speak. "If they are sending me on more community service, I'm probably going to go insane." I say.

"No, that's not it, it's just that Princess Celestia had to add something to your punishment, she's sending a guard to Ponyville to observe you, to make sure that you don't lose control." Twilight stated.

I groan but a new voice cuts me off before I can say anything. "I'm sure it won't be that bad Mana." Said a male voice.

We look at the owner of the voice and we see a Pegasus stallion with pale green fur and a light brown mane and tail, his cutie mark was a music note. "Nice to meet you all." He started before anyone could say anything, he then gave Twilight a letter, which she started to read. "I'm Jared Heartstrings, I'm going to Ponyville under orders." He stated calmly.

Twilight looked at the rest of us and nodded. "He isn't lying." She stated.

With that said, we all walked to the train and boarded it, but something about Jared's name was familiar, I just couldn't place it. 

We took our seats quickly, I took the window seat and Spike sat next to me again, but this time Jared was behind us, once we were all settled in, Jared spoke. "I want to clarify a few things before we arrive in Ponyville." He said.

I looked at Jared as he continued to speak. "The first thing is that I won't be tolerating any attacks, should somepony end up attacked by what appears to be a wolf, I WILL apprehend Mana and keep her locked up unless she is proven innocent, that said, I won't lock her up if she is simply using her wolf form to run around for example." He took a breath and then continued. 

"Under no circumstances is she to leave the town or visit the Everfree Forest, doing so will give me the idea that she is running away, I will also not tolerate any interaction with a Changeling, if you find one, you will report it to me immediately, am I clear on that?" He asked.

I nod and look out the window. "I will say this Jared, we do have a slight problem." I look at him again. "I am dead, and I am slowly being replaced by a Timberwolf as my old body decays, there's apparently something out there that will allow me to avoid this, and I am very certain that it isn't in Ponyville." I state calmly before looking out the window. 

Jared said nothing in reply, leaving us all to a now silent train ride.
> Back home.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

_____*Ponyville, 4:00 PM*______

Mana groaned as she walked out of the train, she had gained a headache somewhere along the way, and was unable to get rid of it, so she simply decided to go to the tree and sleep for a long time, maybe forever if the bed was comfortable.

But Jared seemed to be determined to ruin this idea, as he mentioned going over a few more details at Twilight's home, something that couldn't be discussed in public.

Onyx climbed onto Mana's shoulder. "I don't think you will like what he has to say." He said quietly.

Mana rubbed Onyx's head. "Don't strain yourself bud, you talked more this week than you have in a long time." She whispered.

Onyx said nothing as he looked back at Jared, who was walking with Twilight, Spike and Mana to the library, having seperated from the others.

Mana pulled her hood over her head and walked in silence. "All I want is some sleep." She muttered.

______*At the library, Mana's perspective.*______

I walk inside and immediately head for the couch and sit down on it, the door closes and Jared speaks. "I didn't want to mention this in front of the others, but Princess Celestia is concerned that the nobles will attempt something, she isn't sure what it is, but she believes that whatever they are planning will be harmful to Mana." He stated.

I look at Jared. "Even if they are planning something, I don't really care, I can protect myself just fine, right now however, i am tired, and want to sleep, so I'm going to bed." I stand up and start walking to my room. 

I hear smaller footsteps behind me and I immediately know who it is. "You think I was rude?" I ask curiously.

"Your tired, it's understandable." Spike replied.

I rub my eyes and chuckle. "Yea, I guess so." I mutter.

______*The next day, 3:00 PM*______

I was outside and standing in the park, I was leaning on a tree just enjoying the soft breeze, thankfully I had gotten lots of rest yesterday, and now I was trying to unwind from the events in Canterlot.

"All I'm saying is that you worry too much, you should try to relax more often." Said a nearby voice.

I open my eyes and look up at the sky. "Probably, but it isn't worry so much as anxiety." I reply.

I hear someone walking around the tree and I chuckle. "I'll be alright, but what about you?" I ask. "You going to be alright?" 

A pink furred filly with a light lavender mane and a white streak walked in front of me and rolled her eyes. "You know I'll be alright, you however are in the firing line." She stated, she adjusted the tiara on her head and blew a stray hair out of her face. 

"Thanks for the concern Di." I say with a small smile. 

Diamond Tiara nodded and sat down next to me, and I sit down next to her. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't look out for you?" She asked with a joking tone.

I roll my eyes and rest my head on the tree. "Yea......I kind of wish I didn't need to hide the fact we are friends from my other friends." I say.

"I never said you couldn't tell them, but I still think it's a bad idea, they will probably blow this out of proportion when or if they find out." Diamond replied.

I nod and stand up. "Well, I'm going to get going, I'll see you around Di." I say before walking off.

As I walk I bury my hands in my pockets, I normally try to avoid crowds and keep my head down, but lately I haven't been as nervous in crowds, and I haven't been hiding my face since the incident in the Forest.

While walking through town, I pull my left hand out of my pocket and look at it, it was completely wooden now, and I couldn't even change it back to skin if I wanted too. 'That book better be a direct location of this shrine, or I'll be Mana the Timberwolf before long.' I think as I put my hand back into my pocket.

I soon walked past the old hobbies shop, Kino's, the buidling was one of the oldest in town, but it hadn't changed since it was built, unfortunately this also meant a severe loss of business after the rumor spread about the roof falling apart.

In truth the building looked fine, and the inside looked maintained. 'I suppose a glance won't hurt.' I think as i walk into the building.

I open the door to the store and I immediately recognize the fresh pine smell in the air, I enter the store and I see an elderly earth pony stallion walking around, he had gray fur and hair, his cutie mark was a silver scale, his eyes were undeniably brown.

He takes notice of me and blinks. "Well I'll be damned, the rumors are true." He muttered quietly. 

"What rumors?" I ask calmly,

The old stallion seemed to be caught off guard that I could hear him, but he answered anyway. "That there's a creature in town that can turn into wood, didn't believe them to be true, but here you are." He said.

I shrug. "is the rumor about this buidling true as well?" I ask curiously.

The old stallion scoffed. "There isn't anything wrong with my store, those rumors are just a way to scare customers away." He stated firmly.

"Your Kino?" I ask.

The stallion nodded. "Last I checked, and you young lady? what's your name?" He asked me.

'Scale' The Timberwolf stated mentally.

"Mana." I reply. 'And you stay out of this, I don't need you messing with my head right now.' I say firmly before focusing on Kino.

"Strange name for a furless Minotuar." Kino stated.

That made me pause, I blink and look at Kino with a look of disbelief. "Uh, I'm not a Minotuar, I'm a human." I reply.

Kino turned around and grabbed a broom from behind the counter, he began sweeping. "As nice as it was to have company, the store is closed right now, so I'm afraid I need to ask you to leave." He said calmly.

"Alright then." I say before walking to the door. "Good luck with the store." I add before leaving.

As I walk outside, I hear the Beast again. 'Our head.' It said with a growl.

I quickly find a small fence and I lean on it. 'You might be taking over my body, but until I have absolutely no skin left, stay out of my mind and try to avoid giving me urges to kill.' 

The Beast laughed quietly. 'Little wolf, hunting fun, try.' It urged.

Ignoring that statement, I start walking back to the library, feeling it would be better to do some research on the book.

'Why believe lie? book false, trust instinct, instinct true.' The Beast stated.

I sigh as I look up at the sky, the Pegasi were working hard to get the weather sorted out, and the seemed to be in a hurry. 

'No matter how many times I see it, I'll never get used to seeing the weather be controlled.' I think as I look forward.

_____*back at the library, three hours later.*_____

I write some more words down on a piece of paper and look at the book once more, I then read another few words and write them down, I had been doing this ever since I got back, and it was tiring. 'What is book for?' The Beast asked.

'Directions to some shrine, supposedly it can change me, I'll be a different species, but more importantly I'll be alive.' I reply mentally as I continue working.

The Beast chuckled. 'Little girl, searching for fairy tail, better off looking for reality.' It said.

With that said, I closed the book and set it aside. 'Im dead, drowned because of an old boat, I'm under the care of a unicorn and dragon, and I have a wolf made out of wood taking over my decaying body, at the very least, this gives me a chance to live again.' I say mentally before standing.

Footsteps nearby catch my attention, I look over and see Twilight. "Hey Twilight." I say calmly, pushing the Beast out of my mind.

Twilight nods at me and sits down near me. "Hey Mana.......how are you?" She asks.

I shrug. "About as well as could be expected, I'm getting close to the end of that book, but it's very cryptic on its directions." I reply.

Twilight tapped her chin and then looked at me with a serious expression a few moments later. "Listen Mana......I have been thinking, maybe this shrine is too good to be true." She said quietly.

I slightly stiffen, but otherwise I am calm as I reply. "There will be obvious consequences or a cost to pay, so what's your point?" I ask.

Twilight sighed and thought, it took her some time to speak again. "Maybe......it doesn't exist?" She offered.

"Let's hope it does exist then, because I'm tired of losing myself all the time." I say before leaning back.

'You are.......calm?' ?The Beast asked.

'No point getting angry, besides, Twilight raises a good point, it's very possible that the shrine or whatever doesn't exist, it was far fetched anyway.' I reply.

Twilight stood up. "Mana, we need to speed up the search, we're running out of time and I for one don't intend to lose you." She stated.

I look at Twilight and nod, I then set the book aside. "Then let's forget the translations, let's do some real searching." I say before standing up.

"Aren't you supposed to stay in Ponyville though?" Spike said from nearby.

I cross my arms and lean on the wall. "As much I would like to stay put, I don't really have a choice." I say before looking at my now wooden hand. "I can change my size at will, If I can sneak out of Ponyville, I should be able to find the shrine." I state before looking at Spike. "I don't like having to sneak away, but if I'm going to live, I'm going to have to do things I don't want to do." I add.

Twilight nodded. "You aren't going without me, you'll need all the help you can get after all." She swore.

"You don't need to go with us Spike." I say abruptly, I let my arms hang at my side. "No reason for you to get in trouble too." I add.

Spike scoffed and crossed his arms. "What, and leave my sister hanging? no way, this will be way more fun than Canterlot." He said.

I looked at the two and smiled as Onyx climbed onto my shoulder. 'Mom, Dad, Old Man.......if you were watching me, would you be proud right now? Regardless, if you are watching, thanks for everything.' "Alright then, let's figure out a way to sneak out without Jared noticing." I say.
> A symphony of Wildwood and Frostflame.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

______*several hours later, 4:01 AM, Mana's POV*______

The decision had been made, Twilight and Spike were going with me as we left Ponyville with the hope to find this shrine and save my life.

I was on watch duty, I stood by the window and kept an eye on the outside, well, four if you count the Timberwolf inside me, while he detested the idea, he didn't seem very keen on trying to stop me.

'Im surprised that you aren't doing something to stop us.' I say mentally. 

The beast grumbled. 'We have agreement, cannot act, will see this to end.' It replied.

After making certain we weren't being spied on, I closed the curtains and leaned against the wall, I hold my left hand out and it turned into the head of the Timberwolf. "Before, in that store, when Kino asked for my name, you said Scale, is that your name?" I asked curiously.

The wolf looked around the room, checking for Twilight and Spike before looking at me. "My kind, no names, only titles and designations." It explained. "I was given the title Scale, for killing a hydra when my pack failed." It continued.

"Well, I hope you don't mind me calling you that then." I take a breath and sit down on the floor, and Scale spoke. "Why do they call you Mana? is there a purpose?" It asked.

I shrug at his question. "It's my name, and as far as I know, there was no reason, but you knew that." I reply.

My hand returned to normal as Scale spoke. "I cannot see your mind, unless you want me to see it, I can however influence it, as you have felt before." It said.

Before I could reply, Twilight walked down the stairs and spoke. "Alright Mana, we have everything we need, we're just waiting on Spike." She said.

With that I stood up and rubbed my wooden hand, it changed into a claw and I sighed. "I really wish he weren't coming, if this shrine isn't real, I don't want him to see me when I turn."

Twilight walked up to me and placed a hoof on my shoulder reassuringly. "No one wants to see the ones they love become something they aren't, but all we can do is be there when it counts." She said with a smile, the sentiment was there, but what unnerved me was that Scale said the exact same thing at the same time.

I quietly nod and walk to the desk. 'How did you know what she was saying?' I asked mentally.

'Father said same thing to me years ago, in short, take comfort that the dragon is coming with us, he may witness you change, but he will always remember you as his sister.'

With that I hear footsteps approaching, I look in that direction and I see Spike with a travel bag on his back. "I'm set, when do we go?" He asked.

"Right now actually." Twilight said as she walked in between us. "I can teleport us a good distance away from here, but we have to walk from there." She said.

I nod and reach my arm out to grab my bag, my arm turned to wood and extended long enough for me to grab it and place it on my back, after that I quickly retracted my arm and looked at Twilight and Spike. "So, how do we all get teleported exactly?" I ask.

Twilight looked as though she wanted to explain it fully for a moment, but she kept herself under control. "Just grab on to my leg, I'll do the rest." She said.

Spike hopped onto Twilight's back while I gripped her leg gently as to not cause bleeding with my claw like hands.

Twilight's horn lit up as she closed her eyes, and in a bright flash we were now near the edge of Ponyville, and I was immediately nauseous and felt vomit rising up, i fall to the ground and vomit on the ground, violent coughs followed for a few moments before I wiped my mouth with my hand.

"I really hate teleporting." I mutter as I stand back up.

"Believe me sis, you don't get used to it easily, took me ten teleports just to stop vomiting every time." Spike said.

I groan and look at Twilight. "So which way do we go?" I ask.

Twilight tapped her chin in thought for a few moments as we started to walk, soon though she had an idea. "I'm not entirely sure if it's true or not, but the book did mention that those who truly needed the shrine, would feel it call out to them." She said.

I blink and cross my arms, silences myself to try and listen for anything calling to me, but instead of the silence I wanted, I hear Scale speaking to me. 'I feel it girl, go to the west.' It said.

"That way." I say as my arm points in the direction Scale said, I lower my arm and we start walking that direction, towards the forest. 'Why are you helping? you could have said nothing.' I ask curiously.

'Noise made pain for me, I can hear it while you cannot, pain stopped when I told you, simple.' Scale replied.

As we walk closer towards the Everfree, I find myself dreading what's to come. "I was hoping to never go back in there, looks like we don't have a choice now." I say.

"Don't worry Mana, I know about most of the creatures that live there, so if we get attacked, I can ward them off." Twilight replied.

While I would like to believe that, I have a bad feeling that she is wrong. 

______*The Everfree Forest, ten minutes later.*______

The three of us walked cautiously through the forest, following Scale's directions as he gave them, since we weren't on the safe path, we had already encountered a Cockatrice on the way, one swift flame breath from Spike and a giant wooden hand blocking its vision made it flee very quickly.

We kept on moving for what felt like hours, stepping in mud and other gross things on the ground, we kept on avoiding the creatures of the forest as much as possible, and fending off those that we couldn't avoid, much to Scale's disappointment.

We had walked for about two and a half hours before Spike spoke up. "We should probably stop." He said as we walked slowly.

"Good idea, I'm feeling pretty tired anyway." Twilight said.

While I did find Scale's silence concerning, I was more concerned about stopping my legs from hurting, they may have been wooden now, but I did find out that they could still be sore.

With the three of us agreeing to stop and rest, I took on the responsibility of making us a safe area, using my power, i summoned a wooden dome around our makeshift campsite, and I placed a few pillars of ice to keep it standing. "We have four hours tops." I say calmly.

With silent nods, I help Twilight and Spike to quickly set up the sleeping bags so we can get some sleep, before we all laid down, Spike had given us each a small bar of some kind of food. "What is this?" I ask quietly.

"It's travel rations, we had them just sitting around back home, they aren't tasty but they will keep you going." Spike explained.

I will admit one thing, travel rations may be stale and tasteless, but at least they go down easy, so after we ate, we finally got some sleep after being awake for basically an entire day.

______*hours later*______

I awoke with a groan, my head felt like it was fuzzy for some reason, and my body felt light, I opened my eyes and I saw Spike and Twilight asleep in their sleeping bags, the dome I had made still stood strong, I slowly got out of the sleeping bag and rubbed my head gently.

'Man my head feels weird.' I say to myself.

Scale spoke after that. 'you mean OUR head feels weird, and it probably has to do with that flower in your hair.' It stated.

I blinked and felt around my head, and sure enough I felt something in my hair, I grabbed it and held it in front of me so I could examine it, the flower had seven petals and was green in color, it had a yellow center and the petals went in a counter clockwise direction.

"Where did this come from?" I asked myself quietly as I burned it.

I looked at my brother and Twilight, I sigh to myself as I sat down. 'You are troubled?' Scale asked.

With a nod, I held my hand out so Scale's head emerged from it. "Yea......I am." I took a breath. "I died on that boat, and I'm guessing my parents did as well, but what I'm really concerned about is the fact that I see Spike as my brother, but I don't know how to see Twilight yet." I say, feeling somewhat awkward about venting my emotions to the Timberwolf who was taking over my body.

"You worry too much, if you need any reason to wonder your place here, look to your left." I look and see Spike and Twilight. "They came with you when they could have stayed, you didn't even ask them to follow you on this insane quest, I may be taking over your body bit by bit, but even I will not kick a pup when she is down, now go and wake your family, the hunt continues." Scale stated as he returned to my body.

With that, stand up and cross my arms, I used my waterbending to form two ice shards from a small water pouch, then I place them on Twilight and Spike's necks.

Almost instantly, the two woke up startled and confused, it took a few moments before they realized what I'd done, mostly from my stifled laughter. "That isn't funny!" Spike said as he got out of his bag and rolled it up.

I rolled my eyes and rolled my sleeping bag up as Twilight did the same. "It woke you up in a funny way, so yes it was." I placed the bag on the travel bag that Spike carried and passed around travel rations. 

"Let's just get ready to get moving, I really don't want to be in this forest longer than we have to be." Twilight said sleepily.

Once we were ready, and had relieved ourselves, I lowered the dome expecting to see some kind of creature, but I saw none, which was either very good or very bad, either way we started to move on once Scale gave me directions.

Thankfully it was easy to pass off Scales random directions as the shrines, otherwise we would have wasted our time with a pointless conversation.

We passed a few mud puddles and even some random hot springs, but no creatures, which put everyone on edge, but we continued on regardless.

After a few more hours and a couple times to stop and rest, we reached the top of a hill, where we finally saw something of importance.

My eyes widened as I spotted a large stone structure in the distance, it had four stone pillars that reached above the treeline. "There it is." I whispered to myself in disbelief.

'Well well little pup, you may just win our little bargain after all.' Scale muttered.

The three of us headed in the direction of the structure carefully, not wanting to get injured or attract any creatures nearby.

It wasn't long after we reached the bottom of the hill that I heard something in bushes nearby. "Did you hear that?" I asked.

Twilight lit her horn and Spike looked around. "Yea, I did." Twilight replied, her tone comepletly serious.

I turn my hands into claws and ready myself, but a familiar but foul aroma filled the air, and my eyes widened. "Oh no." I ignited my claws and out from the brush came three Timberwolves.

Two of the wolves were just like the others, but one of them looked rotten, like it was about to fall apart on the spot, I blink as I spot a burn mark. 'Scale, is that what I think it is?' I ask.

'That husk used to be my body, before my Soul Splinter embedded into you, it nothing more than a shell obsessed with regaining what it lost, destroy it at will.' Scale replied apathetically.

With one swift motion, I throw a stream of fire at the wolves, two of them managed to dodge, but the husk was unable to do so.

As the Timberwolves charged at us, Twilight fired a magical blast at them, just barely missing as they dodged it, but that dodge allowed me to set one of them on fire.

As the ignited Timberwolf ran off, the third one pounced on me and roared, I tried to struggle but my arms had been pinned down, just before I could do anything, I heard a strange voice in my head. 'You took him from us! give him back Splinter Sprite!' It screamed before it was blown away by Twilight's magic.

I quickly got up and looked at the Timberwolf as it began to reassemble itself, I began to walk away. "Let's just go, it'll be a while before it's repaired." I say.

With no words, Twilight and Spike followed, we were silent as we walked towards the stone structure. 'What's a Splinter Sprite?' I asked Scale.

Scale growled as it replied. 'A truly despicable creature, they steal Soul Splinters and corrupt them, using them for their own purposes.' It replied.

As we walked, I begin to hear a slight buzzing in my head, ignoring it, I ask Scale another question. 'Did you know that Timberwolf?' I ask.

'Old friend from pack, we used to hunt together, I am not shocked that he seeks your death.' Scale replied.

We had walked for what felt like ten minutes, and the buzzing was far more intense now, I clutched my head. 'What is with all of this buzzing?' I muttered silently.

'This is what I have been hearing since we left the town.' Scale stated with annoyance.

I groan as I walk past some trees, and what I see next blew my mind.

There stood the stone structure, standing strong in the forest, covered in vines dirt and leaves, the stone was slightly cracked but otherwise intact, the four stone pillars were on the corners of the structure while a large stone door declared the entryway.

I walked towards it and the buzzing went away. "This is awesome." I say to myself.

Spike and Twilight simply followed, completely in awe of the massive structure before them. "Yea, it's awesome alright." The little dragon agreed.

I walked up to the door with Spike and Twilight and pushed as hard as I could, but the door did not budge, I backed up and stratched my head. "So uh, any ideas?" I asked.

Before either of them could answer, a bright flash blinded us and when we were able to see again, a floating eyeball was looking at us, my eyes went wide when it stared right at me, it then disappeared and the doors opened as I heard a voice. 'You are the one who seeks the aid of the makers, prove yourself to me, or be destroyed for your intrusion.' It boomed.

I gulped and catiously stepped inside with Twilight and Spike, we entered the structure with caution but we couldn't see anything as it was pitch black.

As we walked catiously forward, the door outside slammed shut, trapping us in complete darkness, Twilight lit her horn but it did little to reveal the darkness. "Why do I have the feeling like we shouldn't have come here?" I utter quietly.

As if on cue, the darkness was banished by light and the room was revealed, as a voice spoke. "You did not come alone, even though this place will only choose one, such a foolish thing to do." It boomed, the voice sounded male, but something was off about it.

While the three of us looked around curiously, a loud slam behind us got our attention, and made us all shocked.

Standing before us was a creature of stone, it stood on two legs and had four arms, it stood well over Twilight's head by a few feet and held a long staff in its arms. "What are you?" I asked cautiously.

The creature looked at me with its empty gravel like eyes. "I am the watcher of the shrine, tasked to guard this place from the unworthy, in all my time here, only one has proven himself worthy of the creators gift." It stated.

The watcher slammed its staff down and the shrine shook in response, mere seconds later the floor started to rise up, we all did our best to maintain our balance as it stopped soon after.

And then comepletely against my will, Scale transformed my hands into claws and ignited one while turning the other into ice. "What are you doing!?" I shout out as the rest of my body transformed into that of a Timberwolf.

Twilight and Spike backed up as Scale took complete control and roared at the watcher, a stream of fire erupting as a result.

The warden did not move at all, instead it simply waved its staff and the flames vanished. "So you are the one who seeks the shrine, the other two are here for no reason it would seem." It spoke as it slammed its foot.

Scale heard something behind us and turned to face it, it was two stone statues of minotuars, and they wielded giant axes, they took a step forward and Twilight jumped in front of us, followed by Spike. "We'll keep these two busy!" She stated.

At that, Scale looked at the watcher and charged forward, but as we got closer, Scale hopped and started rolling at an incredible speed at the watcher, forming spikes of ice and wood all over us.

As we neared the watcher, it simply aimed its staff at us and fired some kind of blast at us that was too fast to dodge, we were propelled back and as we crashed into the floor, I forced my way back into control, transforming my body back to normal. 'What are you doing pup!? i can defeat it!' Scale shouted.

I stood up slowly and looked at the watcher. "Your way got us into this mess and it didn't work." I mutter. "My turn." I add as I ignite my hands.

I start off by throwing a couple of fireballs at the watcher, which it easily deflected with its staff, I then throw three more fireballs followed by a wave of fire. 'Lets see what he does to something he can't deflect.' I thought to myself.

To my surprise, the watcher spun its staff really quickly, making the fire dissipate before it could even reach. "And now the girl, you are far more patient then the wolf, but you cannot win this fight with patience alone, and now I shall prove it." The watcher raised its staff and it shone in a bright golden light.

I shielded my eyes from the glow and once it was gone, I go to attack once again, but I hear something that stops me.

"Mana!" Twilight's panicked cry filled my ears, my eyes widened and I looked in her direction only to gasp at what I saw, both her and Spike were sinking into the ground rapidly, I go to them as fast as I can but the Minotuar statues block my way, with a growl, I throw my hand out and freeze them both solid, and shatter them with my hand that I had just turned into a war hammer.

With the statues gone, I run over to Twilight who was closer and begin to pull of her outstretched hoof. "Come on!" I say to myself as I pull, but even with all my strength, Twilight and Spike both sink into the floor, and just like that, the people that I called family were gone.

I shook in shock as the watcher spoke. "As I said before, only the worthy may recieve the blessing of the creator, and you are not worthy." It stated coldly.

As i trembled, I felt something familiar, a deep anger built up inside me as my trembling hands clinched into fists, I growled and my hands ignited once more. "I'll rip you apart!" I screamed as I snapped around and unleashed a ferocious wave of fire at the watcher, followed by another and another.

At this continuous assault of flame, the watcher aimed its staff forward and powerful gales of wind erupted and blew the flames out, only for spikes of ice to take their place almost immediately.

The ice spikes rapidly shot out from the floor and headed for the watcher, who slammed its staff and the spikes stopped.

Seeing as my elemental attack failed miserably, I allow my anger to take form, my body once more became that of a wolf, but with the addition of two long arms on the back that were covered in spikes.

"You allow yourself to be consumed by anger, and in so doing you have become something worse than a monster." The watcher said in its calm voice, as though it were unfazed.

The calm nature of the watcher only served to deepen my rage as I charge rapidly at it, as I neared the watcher I quickly lunge at it and force myself into a spinning ball of death mid air.

To this attack, the watcher only moved one arm, with no emotion, it simply reached its hand out and gripped, and to my surprise it had grabbed one of my spike arms, with one motion, it snapped it right off my back causing me to scream in agony, it then slammed me with its staff, sending me to the ground to writhe in pain.

As I lay on the ground trying to bare the pain, I feel my anger subside as Scale spoke. 'Young pup, we cannot win here, it is too powerful for either of us.' It said, admitting defeat. "I shall give you a moment to say your farewells, for all the good it will do." The watcher said.

I cough as I force myself to my knees, my hands holding me up. 'Your right Scale, neither of us can win.' I grunt and force myself to a kneel as my body returned to normal, the extra arms vanishing.

'So what now? it will probably kill us now.' Scale said.

I chuckle at the grim circumstance and smile. 'Then let's not make it easy for the watcher, we can't beat him alone, but together?' I proposed.

At this, Scale laughed, his voice boomed in my head, and I begin to feel my body change once again. 

The watcher had apparently grown tired of waiting. "Your time is up unworthy one." The watcher charged its staff and aimed at me.

My legs changed to that of a wolf while my arms stayed the same, I ignited one hand and froze the other, I hear a spark behind me and I react on instinct, I rolled to the side just in time for the blast to miss. "Lets break this stone freak!" I.....no, WE said.

The watcher fired a few more blasts of energy at us, they moved quickly but a few simple wooden pillars stopped them.

We quickly formed several wooden pillars fortified by ice beams, we then jumped high and latched onto one. "Your attacks are far too slow to hit us watcher!" We taunted as we threw multiple fireballs that were enhanced by frost.

The watcher attempted to blow the fireballs away with wind, but was unsuccessful, forcing it to move for the first time since the battle started. "I see, you finally gave in to the wolf, you decided to attack as one, combining power and focus into one lethal force." The watcher observed.

We quickly dodged as the watcher fired a few energy blasts at us, they impacted hard onto the pillars, but that was fine by us, we retaliated with a multi pronged assault, firing a Frostflame bolt and then firing another from a different pillar.

The watcher deflected some, dodged others, but still managed to avoid getting hit. "Even with the two of you working together, you cannot defeat me, I am a servant of the creators, I have fought countless creatures with powers far greater than yours." It declared.

We jumped and landed on the ground. "And yet one has defeated you." We countered.

The watcher aimed and fired a stream of deadly energy at us, which we quickly dodged, it followed us and destroyed the pillars as we jumped to new ones.

We jumped to the second to last pillar and looked back, with a grin, we jumped to the last one and waited, the stream of energy destroyed the pillar but not before we jumped.

The watcher quickly aimed at where we would land and fired an energy blast twice as big as usual, but before it reached, have quickly changed course by pointed our arm at the nearest wall and extending it rapidly, the wooden arm slammed the wall and propelled us away from the blast, allowing us to land safely.

The watcher quickly aimed at us again and prepared to fire, seeking to kill us quickly.

"We will have our family back!" We shout as we slammed the ground with our fist, and to the watchers surprise, a practical minefield of ice spikes and fire balls shot out of the ground and propelled themselves at it.

The watcher made no move to dodge or deflect, instead it stood still as a voice resounded through the shrine. "Your worth, has been proven." It stated ominously.

To our surprise, the entire chamber flashed white and we were completely disoriented, and for a moment, I thought I had lost my mind, when I heard a voice. "It is time we talked, little Lune." Said an oddly familiar voice as I lost consciousness.

______*unknown*_______

I grunt to myself as I slowly regained consciousness, I felt a small headache and I placed my hand on my head and rubbed gently to help ease the pain, my fingers running through my hair felt nice to my aching body.

And that's when my eyes snapped open fully, I looked at my hand and saw that they were once again made of skin. "Impossible." I mutter.

I then take note of the room I'm in, and see that I'm in a very familiar room, the Chinese writing on the large scrolls around the walls and room were very familiar. "It can't be." I say to myself.

"Have I taught you nothing little Lune? or have you forgotten our lessons?" Said a male voice that I could never forget.

I looked behind me and saw nothing, I look back and I see who had spoken. "Grandfather?" I ask out of disbelief.

Sure enough, there sat my grandfather, wearing his old brown robe, his gray beard the same length as it always was, right below the ribcage, his bald head the same as ever, even wrinkles on his face were the same. "How is this possible? you....your dead." I say out of shock.

He simply smiled at me. "I know, the one thing that I wish we didn't have in common." He said calmly.

"What happened to me?.....why do I have skin again?" I asked curiously.

Kimaj looked to his left and so did I, I saw Scale in the corner of the room, he was asleep. "The shrine has made this possible Mana, it has placed us somewhere that calms you, so we may speak, I know you have questions, so ask them, and I will answer to the best of my ability." He stated.

Questions? ha, my head was swarming with them, so I decided to ask the one I had been asking myself from day one. "First thing that I want to know is this......how did I end up in Equestria in the first place?" I asked.

"To answer this question I must ask my own, do you remember when I told you about the spirit world?" When I nooded, he continued. "When I died, I was sent to the spirit world, it was there that I discovered a gateway between worlds, I had allowed my curiosity to get the better of me, and I was sent here, though it would have been some time between then and now." He paused a moment before continuing. "I had wandered for days and nights, and eventually I stumbled across this shrine, I entered it curiously, and there I encountered the watcher, who tested my worthiness for rebirth." He explained.

"I am no fighter, so our battle was one of the soul, he examined my very being, everything there was to know about who I was, and he said I was worthy, and so I was reborn, but when I was, I experienced a vision, one where i witnessed your death." He sighed. 

"I could not stop it, but there was something I could do for you, before I returned to the physical plane from the spirit world, I redirected you to Equestria, where you could find a new life, and a second chance, of course, even though I knew where you would end up, I felt there was more I could do to guide you, and so I chose to keep watch over you." He explained.

I blinked and took a breath. "Who did you become, and why did you hide from me?" I asked quietly.

Kimaj smiled. "Little Lune, I never left your side, just because you didn't know it, doesn't mean I wasn't there." When I looked at him with a curious stare, he smiled. 

"Never once was I afraid of you when you tried to eat me Mana, nor did I resent you for sending me away afterwards." He stated.

At those words, I froze, my eyes were wide as I put two and two together. "Onyx?" I muttered.

"An interesting choice of name, but it is one I grew used to." He replied.

I took a few breaths to calm myself before I could freak out, and in a few moments, I was able to talk. "All this time, you were watching over me, I told you everything, how it felt when you died......everything." I said shakily.

Kimaj placed a hand on my shoulder. "Mana, I understand how much of a shock this is to you......but we do not have eternity here." He stated.

The statement caused me to snap out of it, I took a breath and spoke. "What exactly is going to happen? to me and Scale?" I asked.

"The temple will remake you, it will search your soul and give you a form that fits who you are, as for the Timberwolf, that is up to you Little Lune." Kimaj explained.

I looked at Scale, its form seemed so peaceful now, much different than when it attacked me in the forest, I remembered all the pain I endured because of it, and all the pain it caused in Canterlot.

I sighed and looked at my grandfather. "What do I do now?" I asked.

"Are you certain you have no other questions?" He asked curiously.

Realization dawns on me and I ask one last question. "What happened to Twilight and Spike?" I asked.

Kimaj smiled. "I am happy that you care so much for your new family Mana, they are safe outside the shrine, and will wake when we are done here." He stated.

I breathed a sigh of relief at the news, happy that they were alright. "In that case.....tell me what I need to do now." I say.

"You must close your eyes and allow the shrine to examine your soul, and from there, you must make a decision on what to do next." He explained.

Following his instructions, I closed my eyes and felt a presence enter my very being, I allowed it to search my soul and I suddenly felt a powerful burst of power emanate from somewhere.

As I felt myself grow very light all of a sudden, I can feel something extraordinary happening to me, and as my vision goes pure white, I feel my consciousness slipping once again.

"Goodbye Little Lune, you no longer need my guidance." Kimaj's fading voice said.

_____*some time later*_______

I awoke to a loud crash, my eyes shoot open and I force myself to get up, I pause and examine my new body. "Cool." I say.

After I was done with my examination, I look in the direction of the crash and I see the shrine destroying itself, the land shook violently and I suddenly feel the urge to run.

I quickly run off away from the shrine at full speed, i glance back and I see the land collapsing behind me, in a panic I speed up to get away from the collapsing ground.

I kept on running and I hear a voice nearby. "Mana!" The voice was young and male, I begin running in a direction that would let me meet up with the owner of the voice, without giving up much speed or distance.

I was running for what felt like two minutes before I had to stop and catch my breath, I panted and heard two voices call out. "Mana where are you!?" They called out.

I look in the direction the shrine had collapsed from, and see that the ground had repaired itself somehow, I groan. "Not even going to question it." I say to myself.

'Better that way, less headache.' Scale said jokingly.

I chuckle. "Yea, probably." I reply, after catching my breath, I shout out. "Over here!" 

After walking in a direction for about a minute, I hear footsteps nearby, I look around and then hide behind a tree. "I'm over here!" I call out. 'Are you afraid little pup?' Scale asked.

'No, I just want to prove its me before showing myself to them' I reply.

"Mana? you alright?" I hear Twilight ask. 

"I'm fine, I just need to catch my breath, running from a collapsing earth tends to tire someone out." I reply.

I hear Spike next. "Well come on out sis, we've been worried." He said.

"Alright, but I am not the same person as I was a little bit ago." I reply.

As I step out into Spike and Twilight's vision, they went wide eyed at my new body, hardly believing it themselves.

Then again, I don't really blame them.

My new body was that of a flesh and blood wolf with brown fur, though the most notable thing was that I had two small draconic horns growing from my head, and my underbelly was that of a dragons, my scales were light blue and my eyes were mismatched as well, my left eye was wolf like with a dark brown pupil, my right eye was draconic, but it was the same blue as my old eyes. 

"What do you think, pretty cool huh?" I asked as I walked up.

Spike met me half way and seemed to be in awe of my drastic transformation. "Yea that's pretty cool." He admitted. "So what are you supposed to be now anyway? half wolf half dragon?" He asked.

I shrug. "I don't really know, I'm just happy to be alive." I say as I look at Twilight who was completely in shock. "Are you alright Twilight?" I ask out of concern.

Twilight blinked and then shook her head rapidly as if shaking off a daze. "I'm uh, just a little surprised is all......so what about the Timberwolf? is it gone?" She asked.

'No, I am not.' Scale muttered.

"We came to an understanding, he's still in here." I say as I tap my head. "Good news is that he won't be taking me over, and I get all those awesome wood powers as a bonus." I reply. 

Spike looked a little surprised. "Even after everything he did to you? to others?" He asked out of disbelief.

I nodded. "Even after all of that, I'm giving him a second chance, can you do the same bro?" I asked curiously.

Spike crossed his arms and sighed. "Alright, but no funny business." He stated firmly.

I looked at Twilight. "Can we go back home now? I'm getting tired of forests." I say, knowing fully well the irony of that statement.

Twilight nodded wordlessly and charged her horn, me and Spike grabbed on and we were teleported.

______*Ponyville, a few days later*______

Life in Ponyville had gotten back to normal, well.....almost, Jared had an outburst about how bad this was for Mana to run away from the town, but thankfully Twilight managed to calm him down after explaining the situation to him.

Jared had agreed not to report the incident so long as Mana remained in town for the remainder of her parole, which was fine by her.

As for Mana, it was tough getting Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to realize it was her, but they managed to figure it out eventually, and then Mana had to deal with them asking her questions about her new species.

This had led to a very long discussion which ended with Mana calling herself a Wolf Drake, until an official name could be confirmed or a better one found, which was very unlikely.

Spike and Twilight had adjusted pretty well to the change, and while Twilight took a little longer to adjust, she seemed to be back to normal now.

Perhaps the most awkward moment was when Mana had unintentionally grouped Diamond Tiara and the crusaders, that led to a very VERY long talk about what was going on, Mana had answered simply, she met Diamond a while back and the two became friends right before the Canterlot incident.

_____*Ponyville School.*______

It was now a week after the shrine, and Mana was back to her old self, minus human body made mostly of wood, and she was nervous, mostly because she was about to introduce herself to an entire classroom of strangers, and while she knew her friends, that was still only five familiar faces including Spike.

And then a few moments later after Spike, Mana walked in front of the desk and introduced herself. "H-h-hi." She said quietly.

With that said and done, Mana took her seat, she was next to Scootaloo and a colt that she didn't recognize, she may have gone through something similar back at the Northern Water Tribe, but this was worse for one specific reason, the room was more cramped, so Mana couldn't hide in the corner easily while everyone else talked.

As the day progressed, the biggest thing Mana faced aside from her anxiety, was the other students who had never seen something like Mana before, and wanted to get a closer look.

______*later that day, 9:01 PM*_______

Mana exited the bathroom as Spike went to bed, she took a breath as she walked to Twilight's room, thankfully the lights were still on, she walked inside and lightly knocked on the door to let the mare know she was there.

Twilight looked up from her book and saw Mana, she set her book down and watched as the Wolf Drake sat down on the bed. "Are you alright Mana?" Twilight asked.

With a nod, Mana spoke. "I suppose so, but I think it's time I talked to you about something I think we've both been avoiding." She said.

Twilight sighed. "I know, so what exactly do you want to talk about?" She asked.

"I know that taking care of me, becoming my guardian was a lot of responsibility to take in, especially for a stranger.....why did you do it?" She asked.

Twilight seemed to be at a loss for words, but spoke anyway. "I couldn't stand by and do nothing, you needed help Mana, whether you wanted it or not was up to you, but you did need It." She started.

"I can't explain why I did it Mana, that would mean I'm just justifying my actions, so all I can say is that.......I just acted." She said.

Mana nodded. "I guess that makes sense." She then sighed and looked at Twilight, in one motion, Mana had embraced Twilight in a hug, she was careful not to hurt anything as she hugged. "Mana?" 

"Thanks for everything Twilight." She said quietly.

Twilight was stunned for a second, but she soon smiled and returned the hug. "Your welcome Mana." She replied.

Mana soon ended the hug and got off the bed, she walked to the door. "Good night Mana." Twilight said.

Stopping at the doorway, Mana looked back and then looked down. "Night mom." She whispered, her voice barely audible.

As Twilight returned to her book, Mana walked to her and Spike's room and entered, she walked to her side of the bed and got under the covers. 'Hey Scale, do wolves actually howl at the moon as an instinct, or is it voluntary?' She asked.

Scale chuckled. 'That is a question best left open for debate, because howling usually means something different for us, in most packs, howling together is a sign of intimacy, which is why we only howl either as a pack, to show that we are unified, or as a pair for one of the stages of mating.' He replied.

Mana blinked at the words, not fully understanding their meaning. 'What do you mean mating?'

Scale simply cleared his metaphorical throat. 'THAT is a discussion best left for another time.' He replied.

Mana yawned. 'Alright, night Scale' She said sleepily.

Scale, as a spectral image, looked down at Mana, he gently rubbed her neck. 'Good night, little pup' He replied before vanishing.