> New World, New Beginnings, New Challenges
>  by PoneFluff
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1. Where and What am I?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything ached, my head pounding like it was about to split open. I could feel sunlight on my skin, although it felt strange as if I had a thin sweater on. With a groan I drew a breath, feeling cool crisp air travel down my throat. My ears finally hearing something as a chorus of pained groans rose. Another breath as I steeled myself, on three I was going to force my eyes to open regardless of how bright it probably was. 3. The groans behind me grew louder. 2. I heard a sharp intake of breath. 1. My eyes opened, immediately watering as the bright sun shone straight through the trees above and directly into my sensitive retinas. With effort I tried to look around, my neck felt odd, stiff but at the same time far too flexible. Eventually, I spotted something groaning next to me, it's body rising and falling as I heard it breathing. It took a moment but I realized there were another two of the things lying nearby, although I seemed to be the only one moving. 

Mentally I checked myself over, breathing was starting to hurt less with each one. I could see and hear clearly. Slowly it dawned on me that there was a dark grey something in the middle of my vision, tentatively I tried to lift a hand to poke it only to see a charcoal grey stump lift. Distracted from the grey something I fixed my eyes on the stump, moving it about slowly. It looked almost like a hoof, and upon further investigation I could see where the actual hoof started, barely darker than the fur above it. Filling that information under `investigate more later` I poked the shape in the middle of my vision. Feeling the slightly cool hoof press against what my brain identified was my nose and a moment later I realized my mouth was right there as well. 

"Muzzle? Is that the term?" I muttered to myself, hearing my voice and letting out an involuntary sigh of relief. I still sounded like me. I felt my ears swivel as behind me someone gasped. My head turned almost 180 degrees as I looked over my shoulder to see a horse? Wait no it has a horn. To see a unicorn staring back at me, it's lips moving slowly before it finally spoke.


"A-asher?" 

I blinked, stunned as my brain tried to process. That voice belonged to Katty, one of my best friends. Why was it coming out of a unicorns' mouth? At the same time, I had a muzzle and a glance revealed the small horse body my head was attached to.

"Katty? Is that you" I asked, my voice the only thing breaking the silence that fell through the forest. She blinked before slowly nodding, tears welling up at the corners of her vast silver eyes. Her ears pressed flat to her skull as my brain immediately recognized that she was terrified. 

We remained still for a moment, her tears building as the other two creatures started to stir. A grunt escaping my lips as I stood, or tried to. My forelegs slipping from beneath me as I flopped forwards. I tried to visualize the movement in my head, setting my hooves beneath me before easing myself up. 

By the time I'd managed to take my first shaky step towards Katty, the other two creatures had opened their eyes. One looked similar to Katty, except two small wings adorned its side compared to Katty's horn. Both of them had cream coats, and orange manes although with a second look I could see streaks of red through Katty's mane. The Other creature looked different from all three of us, large wings covering most of its body, and from what I could see it appeared to be a Griffon.

Finally, I staggered over to Katty, collapsing next to her and draping a foreleg around her neck, trying to comfort her as best I could. The cogs inside my head turned as I felt Katty press her muzzle against my neck. The similarities in their appearances could mean that it wasn't just me and Katty who were here. 

"Maya? You in there?" I asked, looking at the Pegasus lying on the forest floor. She looked back at me before smiling and nodding quickly. I felt Katty's ears perk up at that reveal, springing to her hooves and with impressive grace staggering over to her sister before burying her face into Maya's surprisingly fluffy looking neck. 

"Can't you be quiet? I'm tryna nurse a hangover here" the Griffon complained, his voice identifying him as the last member of our usual group, Benjamin or Tibbs as we called him. Tibbs' head lifted and turned to look at us, his wings moving to reveal a muscular body. He stood and looked at us as I couldn't help but feel unnerved by his gaze, my eyes drawn to the sharp talons at the end of his forelegs.  Following my eyes, Tibbs looked down and I saw his beak curl into a smug grin, flexing his talons experimentally. 

"Asher, where are we? What happened?"  Maya asked, her voice clearly a forced calm. The occasional muffled sniffle or sob coming from Katty. I didn't know, but we were in the middle of a forest with no clear path to civilization if that existed wherever we were. I stood, far more stead now that I figured where to put my hooves. I could feel soft grass beneath them which was a small shock. With a shake I looked to my friends, Maya and Tibbs watching intently, clearly hoping I'd have some kind of plan.

"I don't know where we are, as to what happened? The last I remember we were in Tibbs' car headed to London. We can deal with that later though, priority needs to be survival." I announced, training taking over as I tried to locate the sun, finding hovering at what either was 7 am or 7 pm. 

"Food, Shelter, and clean water. We won't survive long exposed in a forest, I'm assuming this place has wolves or something of the sort."  Maya seemed shocked before nodding slowly, one of her wings unfurling to cover Katty's head and body. I tried to walk over to Tibbs, stumbling a little before finding the right rhythm to move my hooves. He rose onto his hind legs, taking one step forwards before collapsing backward with a squawk of panic. The soft pomph sound of his feathered and furry body hitting the ground was followed by a snort of laughter from Maya. Time felt like it slowed as we watched Tibbs flap his wings against the ground, struggling to get onto his paws again. Eventually, he managed to roll over, standing again and shaking himself like a dog.

"These things are frustrating" he complained to nobody in particular. I attempted to pat his shoulder only to faceplant straight into the ground, a bolt of pain shooting through my head. Sitting back on my haunches I reached up and felt my head, realizing that I had a horn like Katty. Maya and Katty’s laughter rang out across the clearing, Tibbs helped pull me to my hooves. My ears swiveled in the direction of the trees around us, a shiver rolled down my spine as I realized what was wrong.

“What happened to the birds?” I asked, my voice alone in the silence rapidly surrounding us. Katty and Maya stood up quickly, moving over to my side and pressing against me. Despite the building sense of concern, I felt slightly comforted by their behavior. Tibbs walked to us, his eyes moving from the three ponies pressing themselves together to the treeline around us. My brain worked slowly, processing wilderness survival training for what we could actually use. Predatory animals would probably be waking up or at least moving through the woods, we needed something that would keep them away or at least make them hesitant to approach. A fire would be our best option, but we didn’t have anything to start a fire with. Katty, Maya, and I jumped in surprise as Tibbs let out a shrill cry, the sound echoing through the trees around us. The silence of the forest fell over us again, seconds passing by as I felt the fur by my neck start to rise. The silence was broken much to our relief by a series of chirps of birdsong. 

The sense of panic that was building in my stomach relaxed as I shook my head, trying to think clearly. Katty blinked as she realized she had pressed herself against me, I could tell she was confused. “I think that was caused by a panic response? Herd instinct and stuff” Maya mumbled before stepping away from me. 

For the first time I tried to take in our surroundings properly, we weren’t on too steep of an incline but heading downhill might bring us towards the edge of the forest. I could hear the sound of water from downhill as well if I focused on it, both of my ears facing ahead and twitching slightly. Katty and Maya’s ears soon swiveled to listen and I could see their expressions change as they realized what I had heard. Tibbs stood by us, his face flickering between confusion and annoyance. 

“Mind letting me in one whatever it is you’ve heard? Or should I say you’ve herd” He laughed at his own joke, the sound coming out like a mixture between laughter and birdsong. I cracked up at this, the friend I'd always known as the bulky restaurant manager for arguably the toughest place in town was now a Griffon cracking bad jokes. The whole situation was surreal and once we weren’t preoccupied with survival the whole insanity of this situation would finally hit me. 

“We can hear water downhill, if we find that we might be able to follow it to a town or village”  I confidently stated, putting on a bit of bravado to try and calm my friend’s nerves. It was bizarre, I could practically feel Maya and Katty’s agitation and fear, presumably because horses and ponies were herd animals of some kind? It could also explain why Tibbs’ gaze made me shiver when he first looked at me. 

I started to try and trot downhill, focusing on getting my hooves on stable ground as each step risked a faceplant. The soft grass and occasional moss-covered rock beneath my hooves were surprisingly easy to trot on, my hooves not sliding when I stepped on a rock.  Progress towards the water was slow, we could hear it when we stopped and focused to listen but it wasn’t close enough to hear otherwise. As we walked darkness continued to fall, the sun setting and lighting the sky up with gorgeous streaks of purple and orange. 

We reached a clearing after another few minutes of walking and stopped. I was tired, my body was cold and I needed sleep however as we collapsed to the ground as a group I saw the night sky. My jaw dropped as I stared upwards, lost in the perfectly clear night sky. The vast inky blackness above us dotted with shining stars, twinkling almost hypnotically as I realized if I looked at the constellation above us I could clearly make out a bearded unicorn. The vast gas cloud seemingly filled in the beard as the unicorn's entire body was made out of stars, blue dwarf stars forming a massive wizard's hat on his head. 

As I watched the stars I saw it moving, the entire constellation almost animated. Katty and Maya realizing what I was staring at and joining me in stargazing. The Unicorn in the sky tilting his head forward as a star at the top of his horn went supernova, the blast of light shining forth from his horn and washing away two massive dark gas clouds revealing yet more intricately arranged stars, this time an immense tree with 6 vast glowing symbols decorating it. I couldn’t tell quite what the symbols were apart from two, one was a massive Apple glowing a bright red, and the other was what appeared to be three butterflies in a tight group together. 

“T-that can’t be real” I heard Tibbs mutter as we watched the night sky, as my eyes grew more used to the spectacle I sensed something else at work. Squinting to try and focus I saw ripples of dark blue light wafting through the stars, guiding the next great movement of them as I watched the Unicorn in the sky light up his horn once more before vanishing in a great flash leaving the night sky dark. Seconds passed as I watched the sky, trying to determine what was going to happen, the dark blue light was building to something and it must have been the climax. 

“It’s like a firework display” Katty blurted out as we watched the sky. Our patience was finally rewarded when we saw the moon rise into position before stars around it burst to life, illuminating into the shapes of two immense horses. Crowns of yellow suns residing on their heads, long horns from the top of their heads meeting above the moon as their manes and tails were shown using four gas nebulas, two a dark blue like the light I had spotted, the dark blue dotted with white like the night sky. Whilst the larger of the two horses had three colours of its nebula mane and tail, A bright pink, light green, and soft purple. We watched as the pair of horses in the sky spread their wings, the smaller horses blue wings reaching out to mimic the larger horse's vast white wings as they remained in the sky. 

“I feel like we’re missing something, they’ve stopped moving,” Tibbs said what was on all our minds. “Maybe a speech or something is going on? Like whoever is creating all that in the sky could have stopped the display to leave all eyes on them?” I answered, I’d had to attend addresses where the Station Commander hadn’t thought of that and was forced to yell over the sound of fireworks. Whoever must have been behind the stars clearly had enough intelligence not to distract their audience. 

“They’re moving again!” Maya yelled as we saw the two horses move down, their heads meeting in what I think was a nuzzle before there was a burst of light and the night sky returned to some semblance of normality. Albeit with far more intricate constellations and a worrying absence of the north star. The night sky had confirmed what I was feeling, wherever we were was clearly not earth but I doubted it was even the same dimension. As the excitement faded my body sagged, tired, and desperate for rest. 

“I’ll take the first watch, Ash I’ll wake you up for the second watch and that should see us through till morning,” Tibbs announced, his catlike eyes reflecting in the dark. I simply nodded before trotting over towards Maya and Katty, Maya’s free wing lifting into the air to allow me to press myself against her. As I lay down beside her, I felt her wing drape itself over my back, it was amazingly warm and soft compared to the bedding I had last time I went camping. Shuddering slightly at memories of basic training I rested my head on my forelegs and shut my eyes. “Night Kit Kat” Maya mumbled, only to hear a snort from Tibbs and me as Katty mumbled something inaudible in protest. 
> 2. Fire, Fish and Forest Creatures
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Mmmm, warm" I mumbled, my eyes still closed as I felt sunlight shining down on me. The cool morning air smelt of pine trees and the earth I was presently lying on. The warm blanket draped across my back moved and I was about to try and tug it back over myself when I realised what was going on. 

I was a unicorn, lying in the forest. Covering my back was Maya's wing, her sister on the other side covered with Maya's left wing. Based on the soft snoring Katty was still asleep, and from the occasional snort, Tibbs was definitely asleep. 

As slowly as I could, I cracked my eyes open. The soft light beaming down on us wasn't painful today, but a quick look at my friends confirmed what I'd expected. Tibbs was asleep, curled up by a tree with his wings entirely covering him. To my left Maya had her head tucked down between her and Katty's bodies with a wing stretched over her own head and Katty's back. A shudder ran down my spine as I looked at how Maya's neck had bent, it was creepy how flexible her neck seemed to be, was that a Pegasus thing?

I ran down the checklist in my mind, we needed to get to that river we could just faintly hear. That would hopefully provide some freshwater, if we could I'd want to boil it to be safe. Once we were at the river we could follow that downstream to hopefully find someone to help us. Plus the river likely had fish in it that we could eat, Horses could eat meat if I remembered correctly. 

Food would be important, I don't remember when I last ate. Replaying what I could in my mind, we were in Tibbs' car and then my memory blanked until I woke up in the forest yesterday. At best that was just over a day I hadn't eaten, at worst maybe two days. My stomach gurgled loud enough to startled Maya, her eyes blinking open.

"T-this wasn't a dream?" She asked, the hope draining from her voice. All I could do was sigh and shake my head. Giving her a soft nuzzle, instinct telling me it would make her feel a little better. 

"Sadly no, we're here, wherever here is. Whatever we actually are. For now, we need to focus on staying alive, we can worry about our bodies later." I said, trying to keep my voice steady. Inside I was torn between what little of my survival training could be applied, and the building desire to have a meltdown. Everything felt wrong but right at the same time, the clash between my brain and this body's instincts, walking on four legs should be a challenge but after yesterday it seemed right, and the worry that we would run into something other than ponies lurked in my mind. 

From what I'd felt, I didn't like our chances should we be found by a flock of Griffons. Just Tibbs on his own had made my body scream at me to run when he first locked eyes with me. 

I wiggled a little to get clear of Maya's wing, with surprising ease I rose to my hooves. I was about to try to walk when something blue fell across my vision. With a puff I tried to blow it out of the way, forgetting that my muzzle made that impossible. To my left, I heard Maya giggle to herself. If she wanted a laugh I'd give her something to laugh about. I took a moment to think through the motion before flicking my mane from my eyes with an elegant toss of my head that would look perfectly at home in a shampoo advert. 

Maya went from a giggle to full-blown laughter, wheezing slightly as her wings stiffened. Katty gasped as her warm blanket was suddenly lifted, her silver eyes glaring with enough intensity to melt steel. Until she made eye contact with me, as I continued the stupid shampoo model routine, swishing the surprisingly bouncy blue mane from my face a second time with a more enthusiastic flourish. I realised a split second too late that I'd overdone the movement as my right foreleg rolled the ankle and I went down straight into the dew coated grass.

Silence hung in the air for a moment before I burst out laughing, prompting the other two to join me. Tibbs' frustrated grunts as he joined the land of the living only serving to fuel our near-hysterical laughter. It felt good, just some kind of release from the stress and anxiety that had been building ever since we woke up in this forest.

____________________________________________________________________________

Forty minutes had passed as we wound our way through the woods, bird song all around us as the bright sun illuminated our path. I couldn’t help but smile, this whole situation was mad but at least we weren’t dropped somewhere in the middle of winter. My horn tingled slightly as we walked, I couldn’t see anything like what I’d seen in the skies last night but I could almost feel something around us. 

“Katty, are you feeling anything?” I asked, maybe only I was feeling it but I figured to start with the other unicorn and we could theorise from there. She looked at me for a second, I could practically see the cogs working in her head as she thought. 

“Yeah, it’s weird like static electricity almost? Or something else that’s just kind of all around us?” Maya hummed softly to herself as we walked along, the sound of running water in the distance providing the backing track for her. I was hoping we were close, my throat felt dry and that meant I was either dehydrated or very near to it. Assuming the others felt the same I continued to try and digest what I was feeling around us.

A wing draped itself over my back as I felt Tibbs bump against me, smirking as he flexed the other wing experimentally. “I think I’m getting the hang of these things,” He said, flicking his wing to cuff me across the back of the head, narrowly missing the top of my horn as I stumbled forward. We chuckled as Tibbs blinked in shock, his pupils widening as I saw the plumage on his head droop. “Shit I didn’t mean to” He started to try and apologize, being cut off by a hoofwave from me. “You’re fine mate” I chuckled before stopping to listen, my ears twitching as they moved slightly. 

I adjusted our course and started to negotiate a steeper section of the hill. The grass was damp and soggy, filling me with confidence we were headed in the right direction. Katty followed closely behind me, navigating the hill before we reached the bottom. Tibbs came after her before we saw Maya galloping as best she could, in one fluid motion her wings snapped out and she leaped from the hill. 

My jaw dropped as I saw Maya catch the wind, her wings were smaller than Tibbs but she seemed to be doing alright. The fire behind her eyes burned like a sun, and I could practically feel determination radiating from her as she glided towards us. Hooves stretched out forwards like a pony version of superman, she lost altitude rapidly. She landed in front of us, panting as she staggered a little. Her wings buzzing slightly as they fluttered up and down.

“F-fuck that was hard” She groaned, turning before burying her muzzle in her wings. I had no idea what she was doing but I heard a yelp of pain from her before she pulled her head out with what appeared to be a broken feather. She spat it out and grinned triumphantly at us, taking the lead towards the river, nearly skipping along. 

I had to trot quickly to keep up, Tibbs and Katty behind me as Maya bounced along. Whatever the motion was it seemed to somehow be faster than trotting. I swore I could hear music in the background as Maya resumed her humming, whatever energy I and Katty had sensed was definitely building around us making my coat bristle. 

The energy seemed to pass as we walked, my horn tingling occasionally in response to whatever it may have been. The sky was relatively clear above us, allowing me to start looking for contrails or any sign of aircraft. My eyes strained as best I could, spotting the occasional cloud but other than that the sky was seemingly devoid of traffic. Tibbs soon joined me in combing the sky as we walked, the water was definitely close as we could hear the faint splash sound from fish jumping upstream. I looked over to see Tibbs's eyes tracking something, his pupils almost the size of a pinprick as the plumage on his head twitched. 

“Three dots, no idea what they are but no contrails” I looked back at the sky, trying to spot what He was talking about, and saw nothing. Griffon's eyes were evidently better than Unicorn eyes I suppose. The ground before us gave way down to a river lined by trees, the rushing water making my dry throat ache with need as I found myself galloping forward with the others right by me. I plunged my muzzle and head straight into the water, a wave of crisp and almost painful cold washing over my head as I gulped down as much as I could. Each mouthful of liquid made me feel that bit more alive before the screaming in protest from my lungs forced me to lift my head out and gasp for air. My lungs heaved as I pulled in the air, staggering back and sitting down like a dog, my forelegs holding me up as I watched Maya pull her head out of the river.

Katty flopped to the ground, only to have Maya drape herself over Katty’s back. “So, what now? We’ve found water, I don’t fancy our chances making fire with these” Maya groaned, lifting her grass-stained hooves up into the light, her cream coat and light white hooves both tinted green and shining where they were damp. Tibbs’ head burst from the river as he grunted, drawing all eyes to him as I felt my jaw drop. Clamped in his beak he pulled a full-sized salmon out of the river, tossing it over his shoulder where it lay still, its spine severed from its head. 

With a shrill whistle, We watched in a mixture of horror and awe as Tibbs devoured the fish raw, his talons gliding across its stomach before pulling out its internal organs. I had to duck as Tibbs flung them over his shoulder towards the river, only for them to nearly hit me before splashing into the river. I turned back in time to see half the salmon be ripped off the fish and disappear into the beak of the very hungry Griffon. My ears dropped close to my head as I felt myself shuffling backward away from Tibbs, towards Maya and Katty. 

My whole body flinched as I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the display, Tibbs’ beak crunching through the fish’s bones as if they were nothing, gore and what appeared to be scales plastered to his beak and feathers. I cringed as I saw him use a talon to rip the spine and tail from the tattered salmon carcass, flinging it over his shoulder with the same apathy as before. I was stunned, I hadn’t been this squeamish before, I’d done that myself after a fishing trip, gutting and cleaning a trout that I'd caught. Yet as Tibbs ate the fish I felt nothing more than utter revolution and an urge to puke, my body shuddering at every sound that came from the griffon feasting. 

Silence fell across the forest moments later, birds having gone silent the second Tibbs whistled. I looked over at my friend, his feathers stained red, Talons coated in scales and skin. His tongue flicked out and licked his beak clean, panting for breath he blinked before seeing us three ponies practically cowering together. I shook my head before forcing myself to stand up, determined to conquer the bizarre herd instincts that kept trying to force me to run and hide. 

“I...I’m sorry, I didn’t expect to do that. I grabbed the fish and was planning on sharing but I just kind of zoned out I think, I didn’t realise just how hungry I was” Tibbs tried to apologize, moving closer before stopping and heading for the water. I trotted over to him, putting a hoof on his shoulder as I watched him scrubbing the blood off his talons. I could feel Tibbs ruffle his feathers, the plumage on his head having practically glued itself to his head in what I could tell was shame. The Sun was starting to sink in the sky above us, and I knew we’d need a fire tonight, the smell of blood from Tibbs’ incident with the fish could attract predators. I relayed our needs to the others and Tibbs volunteered to venture out to gather dry wood, Maya and Katty nodded and set about gathering rocks from the river for a fire barrier. I sighed before wandering into the woods to try and find some flint to help light the fire. 

My spine shuddered as I trotted away from Katty and Maya, into the woods ostensibly alone. I took a deep breath, if I was honest, I just needed a chance to clear my head before it broke. This new body I found myself in ached, it wasn’t used to the amount of walking we had done and I was starting to suspect I was pushing it too hard. More importantly, I felt guilty, I’d stepped up and taken charge, and if the others got hurt it would be my fault. My stomach twisted in knots about the idea of Maya, Katty, or Tibbs getting hurt due to my stupidity.  I snorted and blew air out of my muzzle as I walked, I wasn’t sure where my hooves were taking me. I just needed to walk and think, blow off what steam I could before we tried to light a fire. As I walked my emotions just sort of simmered, I should be calmer than this but everything was just feeding into itself and getting worse as time continued. 

I was pulled from my thoughts as I put my hoof into a hole in the ground, grunting in frustration I pulled it out relieved I hadn’t injured myself. It took a second before I looked at the actual hole in the ground and my charcoal coat turned white as blood drained from my face like I was a barrel with a hole in it. I had just stuck my hoof in a paw track, a bit one at that, claws about as big as I thought my fingers had once been like a nightmarish fusion of a bear in size but a wolf in shape. 

I turned and bolted, moving my hooves like the devil himself were behind me, which for all I knew could be true. The sound of galloping hooves echoing around me as I surged back towards Camp. “Tibbs! Back to the others!” I yelled out, hoping he’d hear me and get back quickly. I could see the last rays of twilight starting to disappear and the cold setting in around. How long had I been lost in my damn thoughts, my horn tingled as I bolted along, maybe whatever energy I could feel was influenced by emotions? 

I burst back to the river to find Tibbs and the others huddled around a small bundle of sticks crackling softly, casting a warm orange light across all of their faces. My heart pounding through my chest I slowed and collapsed in the gap they’d left for me, a warm wing draping itself across my back as I saw three pairs of worried eyes staring at me. 

“Tracks... fucking big ones… some kind of canine I think... 4 toes and a central heel... very very big claws.” I panted, my ears swiveling to hear anything from the woods over the crackle and pop of the fire. It took a few minutes but I calmed down, in some ways having a clear threat was good, my training started to take back over, monitoring the edge of the forest around us. 

“I’ll take first wat-” I started to say before we heard a howl in the distance, long and ear piercingly loud. It was close I could immediately tell that much, my blood-chilling as I felt fear creeping in. That was fine, fear would help me focus, I shuffled and gave Maya and Kitty a soft nuzzle hoping to help them stay calm. Tibbs flexed his talons on the opposite side of the fire, his catlike eyes reflecting in the light.

“Behind you three, move slowly towards me, I can see some eyes.” He said quietly, I turned and saw them immediately. Dim green glowing eyes stared back at us, four pairs of them. Katty and Maya rose to their hooves, standing close to me and Tibbs as we weighed our options. We could try to bolt and outrun them, leaving behind the fire. We could stay by the fire and pray that it would ward them off. I knew that predators would eventually brave the light to get their prey, and our little fire wasn’t big enough to truly scare what looked to be a pack of megawolves. 

I looked at the fire before leaning in, biting down on a long stick that was burning on one end. I lifted it from the fire below tossing it towards the creatures. Whilst our firewood was limited maybe this would scare them off. The creatures snarled as the fire landed by them revealing them in their entirety, they were literally wooden. Dark wood, with what looked like fangs made from bark, the wolves stared back at us, the fire having barely fazed them. 

“Literal timberwolves” Katty mumbled before they started to move, the largest taking a step forward and revealing how large it was. Almost three times our size, with fangs which looked like they could rip me in half. Any confidence I had felt evaporated as with a stamp the wolf brought its paw down on the burning stick, barely even moving as it smothered my pathetic attempt at warding it off. 

Emboldened by the fire clearly not being any threat they began to circle, more green eyes lighting up in the woods around us, penning us in against the river. My brain realized that we’d make camp in the perfect place to attack, dense forest all around us, with the only nonforested side cut off by a river that looked like it could sweep us away in an instant. An idea came to me as we backed against the river, A stupid idea but if it worked we might be able to survive this. 


“Into the river!” I yelled out into the darkness 
> 3. The River
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Into the river!” I yelled out into the darkness 

Maya reacted first, her wings flaring out as she turned and galloped at full speed towards the river, the monstrous wooden wolves snarled as we moved. Time felt like it slowed down as I watched helpless to stop the first wolf from jumping at Tibbs, He was facing towards the river as it landed on his back. His screech of pain rang out across the clearing as we fled for the river, clearing the short distance in half a second. Tibbs struggled with the wolf as he staggered backward, his talons clamping down on the wood between the wolf’s eyes and tearing the rotting wood out.

I sucked in a deep breath of air before I plunged towards the river, Tibbs having freed himself from his wooden attacker stumbled backward and collapsed into the water, his beak barely above the water as I saw blood flowing into the water around him. A blur of cream coloured fur passed in front of me, crashing into the water with a scream of shock. 

Quicker than we could react the current caught us, sweeping us downstream and away from the wolves. I opened my mouth to let out a small yell of joy until water rushed in, causing me to choke. My hind legs kicked as hard as I could, struggling against the tide. Tibbs bobbed up and down beside me, his legs beating against the tide as I realized what had happened. His left wing was in tatters, bloody claw marks scoring between his wings where the wolf had bitten and clawed at him before he could throw it off. 

“I...Can’t...swim!” Katty yelled, her head bursting through the surface of the water as we were swept around a bend, my lungs burning as I fought to get my muzzle above the surface. I felt a talon grab my shoulder and whipped my head around to see Tibbs shoving a log towards me. “Get it to her, I’ll grab another when I can” He practically snarled, the water around us started to darken as his eyes steadily became glassy and unfocused. 

I knocked the log towards Katty, seeing her forelegs drape over it as she pulled her head free of the water, coughing and spluttering. Moments later she was joined by Maya, her wings working far better to stay afloat than our hooves. It hit me why the wolf had gone after Tibbs at that angle, they had understood the need to cripple his ability to fly to prevent him escaping, but they hadn’t followed us into the river which meant. The cold water suddenly felt warm as the blood drained from my face once more, we’d just fled into another trap and the wolves would be waiting downstream where we’d wash up just to eat our bodies.

Anger boiled inside as we were buffeted and pelted by the river, the icy cold cutting straight through my coat. I felt the cold sapping what little strength I had left as my legs were kicking but getting slower as the seconds passed. The next turn neared us as the howling of those damned wolves picked up again, close, and based on my guess they were waiting for us around the corner on the shoreline.
With a final feeble kick, we hit the corner, the water bashing me against the rocks as I opened my mouth to yell only to be forced underwater. My back crashed against the stones on the bottom of the river, sharp chunks of flint tearing at my coat and skin, I flailed wildly desperate to get to the surface. I felt a blossom of pain as something hard smashed the back of my head, my vision blurring before the current changed enough to shove me against the side of the river. I scrambled and forced myself up, breaking the surface and coughing up water as I pulled in air. 

The river passed a smooth rocky beach, seemingly wolf free, I started to kick my hooves barely pushing myself towards the edge. “The beach!” I yelled, praying the others heard me as I couldn’t muster up more yelling. My whole body burned, cuts stung and my muscles ached in agony. Maya and Katty moved past me, their hooves firmly wrapped around the log as Maya’s wings pushed them along. Tibbs was the first one to make it ashore, followed by Maya and Katty before I joined them. I could barely stand, my legs quivering as I forced myself up. Tibbs limped over to me, his wings hung limply at his sides as flecks of dark red blood dripped from them onto the stones. 

“What now? I heard howling, those fucking wolves are going to be close” Maya said as she stood up, her wings spread as they beat a few times to dry themselves. We stopped and took stock of ourselves, I had no clue how long we'd been in the river but based on the moon it couldn't have been more than five minutes. Tibbs hissed in pain as he lifted his wings back up, Maya rushing over when she realised where he'd been attacked.

I looked around and the dense forest gave way to a more sparse area. The river behind me disappearing away from us back into the forest, I shuddered at the possibility of having to risk the water again. My ears swiveled as I looked around, desperately listening for anything that might give away the wolves.

"Wait, would they be Timberwolves?" Katty mumbled to herself, trotting up off the beach before I saw her ears perk up immediately. She whirled around, smiling like the Joker. "There's smoke on the horizon! Plus what looks like light pollution!" 

Our reaction was instant, I bolted up to where Katty was and looked out. I could make out smoke on the horizon, not much but definitely, more than our little campfire might have given off. Wait, if there was a town over there could someone have seen the smoke from our campfire? I tried to mull over this when I heard snarling coming from across the river. The four of us turned slowly, Maya and Tibbs already backing up towards Katty and me. Across the bank were the Timberwolves, minus the one that Tibbs had seemingly blinded. 

Katty was the first to act, wheeling around and bolting towards the smoke. The rest of us followed behind her as fast as we could. Behind us, howls echoed out as the Timberwolves launched themselves into the river and gave chase. 

My hooves ached as I galloped as fast as I could, terror and adrenaline fueling me to move even though every part of me begged for me to stop. What sounded like a thunderous noise from our hooves was quickly drowned out by the sounds of wood moving and the Timberwolves panting as they gained on us. 

Maya's wings were beating as we fled, each flap barely pushing her along a little faster. Tibbs however was starting to slow, his wings hung limp as the wounds on his back oozed. I turned my head back just as a Timberwolf struck, leaping forward and biting clean through his ankle. Possessed by something I reared and charged back towards the Timberwolves, Katty, and Maya turning and following me in. 

The Timberwolf looming over Tibbs snarled at me as I charged, lowering my head and colliding with it hard enough to send me sprawling across the floor. My forehead exploded with agony as I screamed in pain. beside me, the Timberwolf tried to move. It's green eyes fading before it collapsed to the floor, a hole punched right where its heart would be by my horn. 

I forced myself to stand, my horn throbbing with pain as I moved to block Tibbs from the Timberwolves. Maya flared her wings out beside me, as Katty lifted Tibbs by the scruff of the neck and got him to lean on her. With a tap of her hoof to our flanks, we started to back up, Tibbs limping along with Katty's help as the Timberwolves started to circle. 

“Do you desire to save your friends little colt?”

The Timberwolves' next attack came quickly, my mind still reeling from the voice. In a flash the first wolf plowed into me, its teeth clamping down around my neck as we crashed to the floor. My hooves frantically kicked and flailed to try and get it off. 

I heard Maya and Katty scream as the Timberwolves attacked them, Tibbs' voice joining the cacophony moments later. My own feeble struggle grew weaker as I couldn't help but rage. I was trained in wilderness survival, my friends had looked to me to get us to safety, It was my fault they were going to be hurt.

"Perhaps I could help you? Magic can be fueled by emotions. I can feel anger boiling within you, I could help you channel it to save your friends. All you need to do is accept my help~.”

I strained against the teeth, feeling as they pierced into my neck. The voice in my head offering an escape from certain death. “H-help” I croaked out, blood filling my mouth with each breath I forced down. The stench of rotting wood invaded my nostrils as I continued my struggle, fear and anger in equal measure running through my body as nothing happened. For the briefest moment, my whole body felt cold as I realised that the voice must have been my head playing tricks on me as I fought for my life. The Timberwolf on top of me continued its assault, as I felt my hind legs explode in pain, tendons being ripped and torn by another one of the monsters.  

“Very well little colt~ We have a deal”


My horn throbbed as I felt something flow through it, my eyes blurring as a tint descended over them like I had just put on sunglasses. The next thing I knew my coat stood on end as a cold chill ran through my body towards my horn before with a howl of pain the Timberwolf attacking my throat was blown clean in half by a crackling bolt of what appeared to be pure black energy. My throat was still bleeding from the puncture wounds as I shakily stood up, noticing the baby blue and black glow around my horn. The wolf that had attacked my hind legs was gone as I turned to scan the situation, my fears washing away as a strange calm descended over me. There were six wolves still around us, the pack leader straining against Tibbs trying to bite him whilst Tibbs held its mouth open. Maya and Katty were in a pile, my eyes twitched as I saw their blood on the mouths of the wolves around them, cream coloured feathers stained red littered the ground. 

I tried to take a step only to stumble, a glare at my legs saw the black energy swiftly encase them and take the weight off my injured legs. “We should remove the Alpha first, it is the biggest threat”. I simply shook my head, advancing towards Maya and Katty. The Timberwolves that were previously trying to eat them stopped to look at me. The urge to smile was almost overwhelming as a bolt of the black light lashed out and coiled around the wolf closest to me, lifting it from the ground before the sound of splintering wood and howls of pain filled the air. Dropping the two chunks of Timberwolf I took a second to look at Maya and Katty closer, Maya was lying over her sister, wings battered and missing many of their feathers, I couldn’t make out her face but she was a bloody mess. My stomach churned as I noticed the white of bone sticking out of one of her hind legs.

With a snarl the remaining four Timberwolves charged towards me, the first two bursting into flames before they even covered half the distance. The burning wolves turned and fled into the river, diving towards it whilst the remaining two continued towards me. I take a half step backward, my hind legs throbbing in protest despite the black casing. The first wolf lept at me whilst its compatriot remained low. A slicing arc of black energy met the airborne Timberwolf, the two halves falling to either side of me as I reared up and brought my hooves down on the final Timberwolf attacking me. I couldn’t tell whether the snarl I heard came from my mouth or the wolves as my hooves slammed down and crushed the wooden wolf’s skull like it was nothing but paper mache. 

“I am impressed by your friend's tenacity little colt, he is still holding the pack alpha.” 

The voice snapped me from my stupor, I looked to find Tibbs still where I’d seen him before, straining against the Alpha although he looked worse for wear. I could see scratches across his chest and his wings hung limply by his sides. Like a force of nature, I advanced, the ground beneath my hooves feeling different even if I couldn’t quite place why. The Pack alpha turned in time for the dark energy to lash out and grab its muzzle, yanking it towards me and away from Tibbs. The feeling of cold hatred that had overtaken me remained as I heard it whine in fear, paws digging into the dirt as I continued to draw it closer. The predatory grin across my face was almost painful, as with little effort the alpha was lifted into the air and hung by my face. I could see the terror in its eyes, its ears practically attached to its head as it struggled to escape with every ounce of its being. 

I looked down on the creature, the energy holding it slowly tightening as I drank in the sound of the alpha’s wooden body starting to break under the pressure. What looked like Sap was leaking from the cracks all across its body, before with a final snap the Alpha was no more. The green light behind its eyes faded before I dumped its body to the ground like a child abandoning a toy. 

As soon as I’d done that I turned towards my friends, Katty and Maya were moving as Tibbs limped over to them. The first step towards them was easy, however, after that I groaned in pain, my horn lighting up with agony causing me to stagger. My vision blurred as colours mixed and swirled together. 

“Our time is up little colt, I must rest and our body must heal”

The voice wasn’t as clear as it had once been, it was muddied and distant as my hind legs gave out, slumping to the ground before I collapsed forwards. My throat ached and each breath tasted of blood again, darkness encroaching at the corners of my vision. The tint that had fallen across my vision faded slowly and the last thing I saw before darkness overtook my sight was the wreckage around me. Patches of grass splattered with dark green sap, colour drained from other patches of grass the size of hoof steps and the impact crater from the beam that had blasted the first Timberwolf apart seemed to have gemstones shining in it.
> 4.Onwards to hoofington
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Asher hit the ground and time seemed to slow down slightly, the three of us stood shocked. Maya reacted first, her startled yell falling on deaf ears as I rushed over to Asher. My back burned where I could tell the Timberwolves had scratched and clawed at me despite Maya’s best efforts to protect me. My hooves throbbed in protest as I slumped over down by Asher, using my muzzle I rolled him over to try and see what state he was in.

“He’s still breathing” was all I could say, the bite marks in his throat were filled by something darker than his coat that was almost glinting in the light. The fur of his coat all around his neck was matted with blood and Timberwolf Sap, the stench made my stomach heave. Fighting through nausea as I continued to examine him, his forelegs seemed fine, scratches obviously but no deeper cuts, hooves covered in Timberwolf Sap. I jumped as something rested on my shoulder, snapping my head around to see that Tibbs was beside me with my sister leaning against him. I didn’t realise what Tibbs was looking at until my eyes followed his, looking at what remained of Asher’s hindlegs.

They were mangled, what I think was his ankle was ruined, the muscle and tendons torn out and away. Blood was stopped by more of the dark material that I’d seen on his coat, a closer look revealed it was like a crystal or maybe glass that had formed to close off arteries. I forced myself to swallow as bile started to try and rise up my throat, his hooves were held on by the tattered remains of his skin and muscle, bone exposed to the air. The more I looked in depth at his hind legs the more damage my mind started to pick out.

Tibbs broke the silence first “They hunt like wolves, I saw a documentary talking how wolves would rip out the hind legs of their prey to stop it running.” Maya mumbled something in agreement as I forced myself to look away from Asher’s body, the smoke on the horizon was our best hope at getting to civilization and getting help. My first attempt to get one of Asher’s forelegs around my neck was a total failure, I couldn’t grab with my hooves so I tried to use my mouth. I was vomiting what little was in my stomach almost immediately, the vile taste of blood and bitter acidic sap just wouldn’t leave my tongue. 

The second attempt, however, was better, Tibbs volunteered to carry Asher and with some help, we had our friend draped over Tibbs’ back. I swore I could see a flicker of pain move across Tibbs’ face as Asher’s weight rested on his injured wings, but he remained silent. Maya leaned against me as we started walking again, slower this time as we couldn’t find the energy to run like that again. The adrenaline had drained from my body left me shaking and cold, even with my sister’s warm body leaning against me. 

As we walked I was busy running through events in my head, the absence of immediate danger lifting the fog of fear from my mind. We’d been in Asher’s car, I remembered that much, Asher had picked me and Tibbs up from work before we’d crossed town to grab Maya. We were complaining about music if I remember correctly? Something about album covers and music videos. We’d collected Maya and drove out to...Where had we been going?

I was pulled from my thoughts by Maya nuzzling my neck softly, I could sense she was worried. Herd instincts I suppose, I attempted to nuzzle her back, bumping my muzzle against her neck gently before remembering the horn on my head and abandoning that idea. The Hill we’d been climbing finally gave way and revealed a gorgeous valley ahead of us, and like we’d been praying in the distance was a town or maybe a city?

A smile formed on my face, and I picked up the pace slightly. We were close enough to civilization I could already feel a hot shower. Weird that was the first thing my mind conjured up, not being safe or able to sleep without fear, but instead, it wanted a hot shower and to feel clean. With a shake of my head to clear the thoughts, I looked at Tibbs and Maya, her cheeks were damp with tears as her face mirrored my smile. I only just realised I’m bigger than her, only slightly but still, is it because she’s got wings? Are unicorns bigger than Pegasi? With a sigh, I looked at our resident mythology nerd, still unconscious with his eyes closed.

Cold ran down my spine as I looked at Asher, seemingly originating in my horn. I looked closer, unaware that the others had stopped. My hoof gently pressing against his eyelid and lifting it up as my stomach twisted in a knot as fear started to build. The white of his eyes was an almost luminous green, the blue of his eyes having darkened to an almost navy blue. My gut reaction intensified as a purple mist started to trail from the corner of his open eye, it was almost pretty if it wasn’t for the very core of my being screaming at me to run. 

I was snapped from my reaction by the sound of wings and hooves running, I looked up to find two large silhouettes circling down towards us. Their forms obscured by the morning sun all I could see were their bodies framed by wings beating slowly. The source of the sound of hooves revealed itself as I noticed a group of horses galloping towards us, a Unicorn out front wearing what looked like a cloak over his back, the others around him seemingly mixed between unicorns and regular horses wore golden armour and red something underneath it. The sun gleaming off their armour forced me to look away, a mumble of pain from my side returning my attention to Asher. He mumbled something, his eyes looked out of focus as more purple mist leaked from them. 

“Halt, Identify yourselves.” A barked order came from above as the two silhouettes landed with a heavy thump. They were both Pegasi, armoured in almost full-body plate armour, dark blues, and greys with a large crescent moon emblazoned on their chest. I was honestly in awe, the whole situation felt unreal as we just remained silent, until I noticed the sword on the pegasi’s sides. 

“I asked you to identify yourselves, why are four foals out by the Darkwood forest? Didn’t anypony warn you it was dangerous?” The first Pegasi continued, stepping closer until he spotted the state we were in, in one fluid motion his visor snapped up to reveal purple eyes looking at us. “Silent, back to hoofington, alert the hospital these four need immediate treatment.” He spoke and the other pegasi, Silent, took off in a flash, a small dust cloud being kicked up by the force of his takeoff. The four of us were left coughing as the dust cleared, it took a second but the remaining pegasus beat his wings and cleared the dust.

Tibbs again broke the silence first, his posture stiffening as he tried to make himself look larger despite the Pegasus being almost twice our size. “I’m Benjamin Tibbs, These two are Maya and Catherine Solas, the one on my back is Asher Harris.” He said, flicking his head towards Maya and me when he mentioned us. The Pegasus seemed confused before nodding slowly. 

“My name is Silver Star, one of Princess Luna’s Lunar Knights.” I listened and in some way what he said made sense, he certainly did look like a knight, and whoever Princess Luna was that explained the moon motif on his armour. Maya opened her mouth to say something when the horses we’d seen running finally arrived, the ones in armour quickly spreading out around us. 

“Form a circle, do not let them out of it” one of them yelled, the tall red plume on his helmet probably meant he was their leader. The fear in my stomach rapidly turned into panic as I felt my ears droop and press against my skull, Maya pressed against me tighter clearly feeling my panic. Silver Star looked confused as the guards encircled us until I saw him spot Asher, instantly the concern he had shown was gone, his visor clanked down and he drew his sword, the effect was lessened slightly because he was holding his sword in his mouth. I still couldn’t help but eye the blade, it looked sharp enough to cut me in half.

“Why is your friend leaking Sombramatic magic?” Silver Star asked, his voice cold and strictly businesslike. Maya looked at Asher and connected the dots between the purple mist and whatever Sombramatic magic was.

“What? You’re saying that purple mist is magic?” She asked, the crowd of armoured horses around us practically bristling as she spoke. The unicorn I’d spotted wearing a cloak emerging into the circle. His horn glowing with a soft orange glow as I felt something shoving me away from Tibbs, I looked to my side and there was a small wall of orange shoving me and Maya away. I resisted, digging my hooves in and struggling against the orange glow. As soon as I started resisting the glow disappeared and I heard the unicorn sigh. 

“You said he is your friend, correct?” Silver Star asked, answered swiftly by a nod from me. I saw the unicorn's horn light up again and prepared to dig my hooves in again only to see Asher’s body surrounded by orange light as he floated up off Tibbs’ back. Asher was gently deposited onto the floor before I felt a wave of energy roll through me. At this point, I nearly slapped myself, if they said what Asher did was magic that energy I just felt must be magic as well! The orange glow on the unicorn’s horn made sense now, his magic was orange? Or it might be the spell he was using. 

“You all show signs of exposure to Sombramatic magic, or Dark magic if you’ve not heard of its academic name. This would explain why the knights were sent here by the Princesses, is it just your friend who has used Dark magic, or have you done so as well?” The unicorn’s voice was surprisingly refined, he reminded me of a stereotypical professor in almost every way. We stood in silence for a moment before Tibbs coughed. “I think he means you,” he said, and if I hadn’t heard him the elbow to my ribs certainly got the point across.


“N-no sir, I haven’t. I don’t even know how he managed to, we were attacked by these Timberwolf things and one minute Asher was being attacked by two of them. Next thing we know his horn is glowing black and the wolves attacking him got torn to shreds, he saved us all from them.” I blurted out, my nerves still building as I was painfully aware of how many spears were around us as well as the sword pointed at me by Silver Star. The unicorn hmm’d for a moment before nodding to himself and starting to walk towards us.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt any of you, I believe this matter would best be resolved by one of the Princesses personally. We’ll escort you back to Hoofington so you can get treatment for your wounds, however, you and the other unicorn will have to wear suppressor rings on your horns. Before you ask, you are all being detained for public safety, however, you are not being charged with anything.” He finished his speech, looking at us before smacking himself in the forehead with a hoof. “I nearly forgot, I’m Mystic Haze, Professor of the magic academy in Hoofington, I’ll try to learn your names on the way into town before I write my report to the Princesses about this situation.” 

With a soft click, Silver Star sheathed his sword, flicking his head at the horses around us prompting a brief pause. “Formation Delta Seven, High priority escort!” I heard barked from behind me and the spears around us lifted, the circle collapsing in on itself as the horses formed two columns on either side. Silver Star falling in beside us and Mystic Haze with him. “Guard, by the left, quick march!” another order echoed out and the entire formation started moving, an unsubtle hint for us to get moving with them. 

We set off for the town on the horizon, hoofington they’d called it? Maya leaning against me to keep herself standing, Tibbs matching pace with Silver Star, and Asher floating along in Mystic Haze’s magical grip.
> 5. Meeting a Goddess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My eyes open, revealing a swirling void around me. The whole expanse seemingly infinite, yet my attempts to move left me floating in the void. I find my body uninjured, raising the question of what happened as I continue to drift aimlessly. 

"Greetings again, little colt." 

I shudder as the voice from before returns, my startled flailing slowing as I feel gravity suddenly pull at me. In the blink of an eye, the void was replaced by a vast empty night sky that stretched out above me. I grunt with impact as I land on a patch of surprisingly soft grass. My head turns as I look around, trying to locate the source of the voice. Only to find two teal eyes staring back at me from a unicorn a few inches shorter than me. 

"Do not panic. We are merely in your dreams together. We lost consciousness following expending all the magic we could pull on to decimate the Timberwolves."

"What do you mean in my dreams? What's this we shit!" I asked, my voice growing louder and more frustrated with each word. The sound was echoing all around us as the ground trembled beneath my hooves. My ears folded down as panic built in my chest. This wasn't right. The ground shouldn't shake; nothing was there for my voice to echo off. Was this unicorn telling the truth?

"As I said, we are in your dreams, that means both of our minds are sharing a dream. It took what little magic I had built up to do this. Little colt, do not misunderstand me. I am not here to be social but to relay one piece of information and a warning."

I tried to focus on her appearance, my eyes straining to make out details. Her coat and mane seemed to blur in and out, fading into the night sky behind her. All that seemed solid were the eyes looking at me, teal blue. Almost beautiful, were it not for her pupils, they were slitted eyes like a cat's. The whole situation felt wrong, the strange looks of the unicorn before me, her claims that we were in my dream, and the fact that the entire thing seemed to be unstable.

"You may call me Shadow, little colt. Beware the sun, for she cannot learn of my existence." 

"Shadow? The sun? Do you mean the literal sun, or am I missing something?" I start to ask before the dream around us begins to rumble, the grass beneath my hooves shaking as the stars above us began to fade. The unicorn doesn't seem to even hear my questions, continuing to speak the second I fall silent. 

"This dream is not easy to maintain. My magic is failing. However, this is beneficial. spells will not be able to detect my presence once my magic has been consumed."

The night sky finished darkening back to the void it had been before. Fear gripped at my core as the grass started to fade. The unicorn simply stepped closer to me, making her appearance more clear even as the void overtook the grass behind her. Those teal eyes staring unflinchingly into my soul, a shudder of discomfort rattled down my spine as her predatory gaze continued. 

"You are awakening, Little colt. Remember, you must tell nopony of my existence, or we shall both burn."



_______________________________________

Pain, definitely the first thing that made itself known to me. Almost my entire body hurt; my hind legs were thankfully numb while everywhere else throbbed and ached in time with my heartbeat. Breathing in a rush of cool air made my throat burn as if I had just swallowed razor blades. I lay still, letting my ears adjust and move on their own. The quiet beep of a heartbeat monitor was the only thing preventing silence from falling across wherever I was currently. 

It took a few minutes of breathing before I had gathered the courage to crack an eye open. The sight of white painted walls, a tile floor, some kind of IV drip stuck into my foreleg was all I needed to see to know I was in a hospital of some sort. The whole room felt like it was dead, the only light coming from a glowing crystal above me or the window, which must have been behind me based on the warm sunlight streaming in.


"Bwuh? W-" I started to speak before coughing; my throat was raw and painfully dry. With a single eye open, I looked to my immediate right. Usually, that's where the staff would put the bedside table, right? My search revealed a glass of water was sitting on the table. The white and red striped straw sitting in the glass taunting me with how far from my mouth it was.

I tried to move to reach for it. My forelegs lifting from the thin sheet covering my lower body, a metallic clinking filled the air, and my legs refused to budge. I looked at what my brain kept thinking of as my arms, my other eye bursting open as I saw the set of manacles adorning my forelegs. Every movement of my legs caused them to jingle and clank obnoxiously, the pain in my ankles suddenly made sense as I looked at the metal squeezing against them.

"Hello?" My voice rang out, breaking the quiet of the room. My mind racing, this wasn't right, why am I in literal chains yet in a hospital? If I was arrested, shouldn't they have put me in a jail cell? Slowly the blurry memories of how I'd looked coming out of the fight filtered through my mind. "Whoever we found must have put me in the hospital to let me recover before I join the others?" I muttered aloud to nobody in particular, trying to puzzle out what I must have missed.

I was pulled from my thoughts by a large Pegasus striding into the room. His helmet visor was lifted revealing two bright purple eyes. The dark blue armour with moons on the front was surprisingly effective looking, from what I could see he was wearing a black gambeson beneath his armour. He paused and locked eyes with me, one eyebrow raised, seemingly surprised I was awake. 

"I was asked to inform the Princess if you were awake. I will return shortly once she has been informed to escort you to meet with her." He announced before turning on his heels and practically marching out of the room. I was impressed despite my fear of the situation. The familiarity of the armoured Pegasus' professionalism helping to calm my nerves. 

Once he left, I sat back, adjusting as I could to sit up. Despite the numbness, I could move my hindlegs, it helped calm the worry that had been building at the back of my mind. Reflexively I moved a hoof down to grab the sheet hiding my legs only to brush my hoof against it as my mind remembered I lacked hands. A brief pause later, I settled to scoop the sheet off myself, giving it a few kicks with my hind legs to free them. 

I couldn't help but stare at my legs, still clearly healing where the fur had been shaved off. I could see intricate scarring where it looked like they had been sewn back together. I wiggled a little to bring my hind legs closer, reaching out to trace the scars on one with my hoof. 

Again my door opened to reveal the Pegasus standing there, snapping me away from staring at my injuries. We looked at each other for a moment before he turned away, lifting a wing as he buried his head in his side. The confusion I felt was quickly dealt with when he lifted his head up to reveal a ring of keys in his mouth. He trotted over to me before standing up on his hind legs and leaning against the bed, unbuckling my manacles to let me move my forelegs freely. 

"You are to follow me to your meeting with the Princess," he ordered, stepping back from my bed before waiting for me to join him. I shuffled towards the edge of the bed before turning to try and go off it backwards. However, my carefully planned manoeuvre only resulted in falling ass-backwards off the bed and onto the floor. A bolt of pain shooting up my spine as I landed on my tail. 

With a sigh, I was yanked to my feet, feeling teeth bite down on my collar like a cat would a kitten. The Pegasus looked at me once I was standing before heading for the door. My hind legs shook with the effort of standing, the muscles in them aching despite the numbness. I grit my teeth before forcing myself to move, the comfortable rhythm that I'd found back in the forest eluded me now as I struggled my way across the cold tile floor. 

The hospital was mostly what I'd expected, clean white tile floors that were frustratingly slippery for my unsteady hooves. Walls painted in muted colours, greens and blues were most common, it seemed. Some of the nurses looked at me as I was escorted by the armoured Pegasus, it must be a weird sight. 

The most bizarre thing with these creatures was the pictures on their rears. My escort had what appeared to be a comet. Most of the nurses we passed had what seemed to be medical-themed, ranging from a heart to bandages and even a scalpel cutting into some generic red shape. 

A twist of my head revealed my own rear was blank, presumably because I hadn't had it tattooed yet? Maybe it was like some kind of job ID? I pondered as we walked down the corridor. Not quite realising that I had zoned out, staring at the rear of a female nurse is probably the most obvious way possible. 

A wing smack to the back of the head brought me back to reality, the impact nearly caused me to fall as my forelegs slipped on the tile. Only to be caught by the same wing, gunmetal grey feathers filling my vision until they moved away again. The Pegasus guard's purple eyes bore into me after he'd both smacked and caught me. 

"Don't be some kind of pervert" he growled before opening the door to our left with a hoof. "Wait in here, the princess will be along shortly." I trotted into the room before the door shut behind me. I peered out the window to see the Pegasus turning on his hind hooves again. He marched off his wings, folding against his sides with an audible clang as metal met metal. 

The room was relatively empty, a low table with four cushions set out by it taking most of the space. I noticed the table was closer to the wall where only one cushion had been placed, so I trotted over and sat down as best I could onto the pillow. Sitting down as a unicorn was still a bizarre feeling, my hind legs folded as my rear rested on the floor and forelegs held me up. I would have preferred to sit on a chair to preserve some semblance of dignity. Until I realised that chairs would probably not work the same, considering if I sat like a human would, my tail would get crushed. Once I had sat down and briefly pondered equine furniture's complexity, I couldn’t help but examine the room in more detail. A dull blue paint adorned the walls, and out the window, I could see a lush green garden area with other horses walking about. What stood out most was their colours and the size of them, squinting to focus. I could make out a concerning trend that the ones with marks on their rears all tended to be larger than those without. Based on how some without marks were literally riding on the backs of their larger marked brethren, a missing piece of information slotted into position.

“We were turned into children?” I stated out loud, the fact made sense in retrospect. From what I’d seen in the walk across the hospital, I was smaller than most of the other horses I’d seen. My mind digested that bombshell slowly as my ears twitched, drawn towards the sound of large, heavy hoofsteps outside the room. They were like a cross between a high heel and an armoured boot from the sound, the clopping sound of a hoof hitting tile replaced by a metallic sound. Even my escort hadn’t sounded like that when he was walking with me. Which raised the question of just what was trotting down the corridor towards me. 

Silence fell across the room as I shut up immediately, my eyes screwed shut as I focused on listening to whatever I could outside the room. Muffled voices were barely audible through the door, bassy enough that they were clearly male. Two of them from what I could hear, one I recognised as that of my guard, his short, clipped military way of speaking was still easily recognisable. The other was softer with a hint of an oxford accent from what I could hear, the two were discussing something before a sudden silence fell across the both. 

Again I heard my escort’s voice saying a short sentence before a feminine voice cut through the silence. “Come with me Mystic” her voice rang out, simultaneously carrying far more weight than both of the men combined whilst remaining soft. The door was suddenly enveloped in a golden glow, shining into the room as I sat there stunned. Swinging open to allow a cloak wearing Unicorn taller than me to enter, a bundle of files floating along with him. He sat down opposite me before moving his cushion to the side and looking to the door. 

“Greetings my little pony” her voice spoke again as she stepped into the room. Long alabaster legs entering my vision first as I looked up to stare in shock at the immense unicorn. She continued through the door, revealing folded wings resting on her side. I realised that her mane was seemingly composed of the Aurora borealis itself, floating in an unseen wind. My lungs refused to comply as it seemed like all the air had been sucked from the room the instant she entered. The effortless aura of power she radiated made my knees weak as if her nature demanded I bow before her, the golden crown adorning her head, jolting my brain back into life.

“Y-you’re the Princess?” I asked, my voice shaking as I had to fight the urge to bow at her golden armoured hooves. Her large pink eyes looked down at me, my heartbeat raced as she did a mixture of fear and awe overwhelming me as I fought to breathe. The few brain cells that seemed able to function as she sat down opposite me finally collided. Spewing forth memories of how I’d read of mortals being overwhelmed by the sheer presence of a god. My newfound understanding of mythology aside, She looked at me, her flowing mane covering one eye as a regal smile formed on her lips. 

“I am Princess Celestia, this is Mystic Haze, a former student of mine and professor of the Unicorn Academy of Hoofington.” As she spoke, I was enraptured, waiting on her every word as her gentle voice filled the room. “He conducted the interviews with your friends whilst you recovered in the hospital. However, he felt it prudent to reach out to me for this interview. Do you know why that is?” 

Her question left the room to fall into silence, Mystic haze shuffling through some documents that I couldn’t make out. Guessing by the fact, there were three folders with paper and one without, they must be interview transcripts or something related. I wracked my memory, trying to think of what it could be that brought her specifically to see me and only me. The momentary thought that it could be related to Shadow sending a bolt of panic down my spine, followed by the realisation what was on Princess Celestia’s rear. The orange sun was on full display, making connecting the dots easy. “Beware the sun, for she cannot learn of my existence” Shadow had said, the connection was obvious. Celestia was what she’d meant, but She couldn’t have known of Shadow’s existence. Shadow said that the dream would drain her, which should hide her from being detected. 

“Was it the magic I used in the forest?” I asked, my voice thankfully, not cracking as I suppressed the rising panic in my stomach. Celestia looked at me thoughtfully before her horn ignited with the same golden glow as the door had, several papers floating over to her. I risked a glance at Mystic haze, finding his horn alight with a quill held over a sheet of paper, moving with startling speed as he wrote something down. 

“Indeed, my little pony, this is about the magic you used to save your friends' lives out in the forest. Also about what your friends have said regarding where you four come from. I understand what you all have been through must have been frightening.” she said as she lowered the papers onto the desk before her. “They said your name is Asher, is that correct?” 

I nodded, her words having hardly alleviated my fear at this whole situation. Her gaze studied me carefully, seemingly focusing on my horn and the ring around its base. Mystic tapped his papers against the table before offering another to Celestia. 

“Wonderful, I have read your friend’s accounts of what happened to you all unless there is something you feel the need to state about your time in the forest we shall move on.” Celestia started again, the warm, regal smile on her face not wavering for a second. “The magic you unleashed in the forest is known as Sombramatic Magic, or in laypony’s terms Dark Magic. It is not something that most colts can use without external help. However, I have heard of unicorns using it during times of extreme stress. You used it to protect others as well, despite the corruptive nature of Sombramatic Magic, which speaks volumes of your character to me. Although I would like you to clarify some of what your friend’s said, is this alright?” 

“Yes your majesty, I’ll explain what they said as best I can.” My mouth moved faster than I realised to reply, my desire not to upset the potential goddess opposite me spurring me on. To my relief, Celestia nodded her head slightly in thanks before Mystic cleared his throat. I turned to look at him, seeing the page floating before him. 

“Your friends stated you are a flying officer in the RAF? Could you explain what those mean? You obviously aren’t a pegasus, and from what your friends stated you lacked wings before arriving here.” he asked, his voice calm and collected. I got the sense he didn’t like me from how cold he seemed compared to Celestia’s almost motherly warmth. 

“Certainly, Flying Officer is my rank, I graduated from the Officer's College, and I am fully trained to pilot the GR4 Tornado. The RAF is a shortened name for the Royal Air Force, which was the branch of the armed forces that I was serving in.” I paused to think for a second before my urge to comply with the Princess’ wishes got the better of me. “We used machines to fly, I could explain them to you if you’d like however it’ll take a while. The simplest explanation is the Tornado was a flying machine with two crew members, a pilot like myself, and a navigator.” Mystic was writing with a speed that I’d never seen before, transcribing every word that I said almost instantly down onto the floating parchment. Whilst Celestia merely nodded and listened, her face unreadable whether that was due to my lack of understanding of horse facial tics or her impeccable poker face. 

“We also realise we should probably explain some things to you.” Mystic haze began, pulling another sheet of paper from a folder before clearing his throat. “You are in Equestria, which is presently ruled by” Mystic was silenced by a hoof from Celestia, she looked at the list and sighed. Shaking her head before returning her gaze to me.

“Sorry about that my little pony, I understand you’re likely confused about where you are, but that list was too much for me to stomach. You and your friend’s case is unique since the fall of discord, I do not know if we will be able to send you home as from what your friends have said your world is without magic. I am looking into this, and I promise you if anything is found you will all be told.” My brain stuttered for a second, comprehending what Celestia had said, the bombshell that our home was likely gone forever hurt to hear. Although telling me now was better than letting me develop false hope, I suppose. As I sat still the fur on my neck started to rise, looking up to see that Celestia’s horn was glowing gold I began to panic. The sensation of numbness spread from my legs as a golden wave passed over my entire body. It faded as swiftly as it had started, leaving me bewildered as I looked at Celestia to see her smile had changed slightly. Her smile had grown into a true expression of happiness, or perhaps relief. 

“That was a simple diagnostic spell, I was checking your body and magic for any lingering traces of the Sombramatic Magic you generated during your encounter in the forest. Thankfully it is no longer in your system, meaning we can remove the inhibitor from your horn and return you to your friends.” The golden glow returned as I felt my horn tingling, the ring lifting off quickly before my whole body shuddered. A rush of presumably magic flowing through my entire body, I felt energised and realised how hollow I had felt without my magic. Celestia waited for my epiphany to end before resuming speaking. “We have enrolled you at Mystic’s academy, along with Katty. Maya and Tibbs are to attend the small flight school in hoofington as well.” 

Mystic floated the papers over to himself, tapping them on the table before filing them away. As he did that, Celestia smiled again shuffling briefly before she stood, her height towering over me. Unlike before, the fear she had inspired was gone. Replaced by a sense of comfort from her bothering to help us with our problems. 

“Mystic will take you to your friends and then on to your new room at the student housing. I wish you and your friends the best of luck, Hoofington is a lovely city, and I am sure that you can all thrive here.” With that, she opened the door and left, allowing me to glimpse the horses in the corridor bowing as she strode off.

“I’m sorry if I came across as cold earlier, I’ve read reports of what Sombramatic Magic did to the minds of inexperienced unicorns who used it. Thankfully they seem to be wrong in this case. As the Princess said, My name is Mystic Haze, a pleasure to meet you, Asher.” Mystic said, having crossed over to my side of the room, a hoof outstretched in what I assume was meant to be a handshake. I lifted one of my own and attempted to shake his, the two limbs bumping against each other. We turned and headed for the open door. My mind already occupied by thoughts of making sure the others were alright, mingled with worry that I’d been unconscious for an unspecified length of time.
> 6. Mystic, Markets and Meet Ups
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mystic and I quickly walked through the hospital. My comfortable trotting rhythm was barely able to keep up with his far longer strides. I sighed in relief that I'd not had to keep pace with the Princess. If I had to guess she must have been seven-foot tall. Our walk brought us past yet more nurses and doctors bustling about their activity, my gaze lingering on their rears to examine the mark on them. By the time we reached the main lobby, my running tally was forty different doctors or nurses, and thirty-seven medical-related marks. 

I opened my mouth to speak as Mystic's horn lit up and pushed the door open to let us leave the hospital. The sunlight streamed through the open door and straight into my unprepared retinas. Any words I'd been about to say transformed into a grunt of pain followed by a startled yelp. In my infinite wisdom, I'd raised a foreleg to shield my eyes, only to try and continue trotting along without thinking. 

To all the horses in the lobby, it must have been a bizarre sight. The headmaster of Hoofington Unicorn Academy opened a door for a small unicorn colt. Who immediately fell face first, down the short set of steps leading out of the hospital. I lay on the ground, cursing both the sun and my human muscle memory. Thankfully I hadn't hurt myself, I thought, only some dull throbs that lingered from my treatment. 

With a flick of his horn, Mystic lifted me to my hooves and dusted me off. I couldn't help but smile in childlike wonder, magic was real, and I could learn it! That was certainly worth some of the pain we'd been through. Once I was standing again, I couldn't help but inspect the town we were in. 

Thatch roofed houses sprawled for a decent distance, some buildings standing out with bright colours or architecture that seemed out of place. I could easily spot the town hall, or what I thought was the town hall. A large clocktower built atop its roof with a bizarre two-faced clock, Roman numerals counting up to sixteen on one and eight on the other. The clock's puzzling design aside, I felt like I was in a town on the verge of the Renaissance. The largest building other than the town hall was what I'd guess was Mystic's Academy. Based on the large statue of Princess Celestia, I could see shining in the sunlight out front. 

For lack of a better term, I couldn't help but describe the place as picturesque. My eyesight wasn't the greatest at this distance, but I could make out a bustling market going on in the town square. A small amount of excitement building at the idea of experiencing what that must be like. I was brought out of my site seeing by a cough from Mystic. 

"Asher, you've been staring for five minutes. We're almost blocking the path. Is everything alright?" He seemed wary judging by his voice, but I could still hear a little concern mingled in there. 

"I'm alright just taking it all in, I suppose? It's very different from what everything looked like back home." I wasn't wrong, back home there would be paved roads, more than five streetlights, and many other minor comforts. Although back home, I'd also be living on base, dealing with constant noise and people barging into the mess. Despite my excitement, I still have questions about this world weighing on my mind. How I wanted to slap myself when I realised I could just ask Mystic.

"What's the explanation for the marks on your rear ends? Every horse I've seen has had one, even the Princess." The look on Mystic's face can only be described as if he'd just watch me shoot his mother before pissing on her carpet. A mixture of outrage, confusion and frustration. 

"Firstly, we are ponies. Do not use that other word. Thank Faust you didn't ask that question to the Princess, do you have any idea what that word means?" He began, my ears folding back as I couldn't help but cower before the weapons-grade rant I had unwittingly called upon my head. Mystic, to his credit, stopped and took a deep breath before opening his mouth to speak. "To answer your actual question, that is called a cutiemark. It symbolises a ponies special talent, mine shows my talent for magic." 

I looked at Mystic's rear, and after he lifted the cloak, he wore slightly. I could clearly see his cutiemark, a wand which seemed to be in the middle of casting a spell. Nodding to myself, I looked at my own rear, noting that it was blank. Presumably, that meant I hadn't discovered what my talent was? Or perhaps what I'd done on earth didn't count? 

"Although mine isn't purely magic mind you, to be specific, it's a talent for demonstration and explanation. Hence why I went into teaching." Mystic continued, my interest in his cutiemark waning as he spoke about the importance of spreading knowledge and harmony. 

After what felt like thirty minutes but was probably closer to five, Mystic finally finished his impromptu speech. Having told me not only about the importance of teaching. Also, how he'd obtained his cutiemark when explaining part of a complicated spell that Princess Celestia had asked him to break down as part of his homework. The only part that caught my interest was the name of somepony called "Starswirl the bearded." He sounded fascinating, like some kind of arch wizard. However, I couldn't help but wonder if he literally had a beard or if ponies could even grow facial hair. 

"Should we get going, sir?" I asked, realising that if Mystic would teach me at his academy, I should probably show him some respect. Mystic looked a little surprised before he nodded and started trotting into town again. A gentle breeze blowing through my mane, bringing the smell of citrus fruits with it. My mouth watered at the scent, wanting nothing more than to bury my muzzle in a bowl of oranges. 

"Asher, I know your actual past, why did you call me, sir?" Mystic asked, yanking me out of my idle fantasies about increasingly large amounts of fruit. 

"When I attended school, male teachers always preferred to be called Sir. It's a mark of respect where I'm from, or at least where I grew up." I explained as we continued into town, finally entering into the city proper enough to hear the market's noise. By my guess, we were going to have to cross the market, then another few minutes and we'd be at the school. 

The noise of the market grew louder and louder as we trotted toward it. One voice managing to rise above the clamour, shouting about something I couldn't quite make out. I rounded the corner to head into the market with a little excitement, staying relatively close to Mystic. My size meant I couldn't really part the crowd to get through at all. Having to resort to scrambling through gaps, Mystic looked at me as if I was mad when I realised he was moving through the crowd creating a small path behind him. 

Feeling like an idiot, I fell behind Mystic, letting him serve as an ice breaker to clear the chaotic haggling crowd around us. The voice I'd heard earlier was growing steadily louder, and after bouncing to see, I managed to spot its source. A yellow mare was standing on two legs on top of a table, a large top hat perched on her head and a brightly coloured coat with tails flowing in the breeze behind her. She continued her yelling, gesturing with a cane held in the crook of her ankle towards the crowd. 

"Fillies and Gentlecolts! Come one come all, Crème Caramel's Candy Carnival! Purveyor of the finest treats and confectionaries in hoofington! We have chocolates of all kinds, Taffy, Toffee, Banoffee pies, and all sorts of others made fresh daily!" Her speech stopped as I saw a hoof wave in front of her prompting her to disappear from view. I could only guess she'd attracted a customer. Mystic was still walking, which meant I had to try and gallop to catch up, my frustratingly stubby legs refusing to achieve the same speed they had in the forest. Although I supposed, I had some excellent motivation to hurry when I was in the woods.

In contrast, now I was merely trying to catch up. Mystic and I wove our way through the crowd. The mare I could only assume was Crème Caramel resuming her yelling as we finally reached the edge of the market. I wanted to go back and browse some of the stalls, but that desire promptly collapsed when I realised I had nothing to my name. 

I did my best to keep pace with Mystic whilst thinking over my situation. Presumably, the Princess had considered tuition? If they even charged for education here, which they might not. I could understand free tuition if it was for magic. The last thing anyo...anypony would want is to have an untrained unicorn accidentally blow themselves up. Although I suppose I'd shown some aptitude with magic by using dark magic in the forest, even if that was with Shadow's help. 

Mystic continued walking only to stop before he turned the corner, noticing the absence of his charge. Turning, he saw me standing in the middle of the street, my eyes slightly unfocused and distracted. I could see Mystic trot back over to me, his face painted with concern and potentially panic. 

"Asher?" My thoughts came crashing down as I shuddered, mentally noting to not go searching around my own head again for a while. I looked up at Mystic, my eyes refocusing as I yawned. A wave of exhaustion passed over me as my entire body felt heavy. 

"I'm fine, Sir, just tired, I think. How far is the academy?" I asked, praying to whatever god would answer me, equine or not, that the academy wasn't far from here. My legs felt like they would collapse out from under me at the slightest gust of wind. Mystic seemed to notice my legs as they wobbled under me, the concern in his eyes growing as he approached me. 

"Just around up the hill and on the right is the student accommodation where you and your friends are staying, are you sure you're alright? Perhaps we should take you back to the hospital?" Mystic asked, placing a foreleg on my shoulder as he tried to make sure I wouldn't collapse. In response, I shook my head and forged on up the hill despite the exhaustion. I was convinced that all I needed was a sit-down and the desire to be reunited with my friends helped me push on.
____________________________________________________________________________


The short walk to the building Mystic had indicated only took five minutes, but it felt like an hour as I was forced to lean against Mystic's body to stay upright. The humble-looking two-story building before me seemed straight out of a history book. A small plaque on the doorway stated "Hoofington Unicorn Academy, Student Block B.". Mystic let me go, once he was sure I wouldn't just keel over sideways, his horn lighting up and surrounding the lock with his orange glow. The sound of a bolt unlocking echoed out into the relatively quiet afternoon air. Before the door swung inwards revealing a startled looking unicorn filly with a cream coat and her mane done up into twin tails, one red and the other orange. 

"Asher!" she yelled before practically tackling me, hugging her forelegs around my neck as the other two of my friends emerged from further inside the building. "Thank God, Celestia, Luna or whoever the hell made sure you recovered. We thought you were dying when they took you away from us once we made it here. They had you in chains even though you were unconscious, it was so cruel!" Katty's rant was swiftly cut off by a cough from Tibbs behind her.

"Maybe we let Asher get into the building before we accost him?" Tibbs' suggestion thankfully caused Katty to let go of my neck before I ran out of air. Sheepishly she stepped back into the house, and I followed her, unable to stop my jaw from dropping. The building was like no student accommodation I'd ever lived in, a lush red carpet led into the foyer. Stairs leading upstairs with a plaque reading "rooms 1-4" and an arrow pointing upstairs. Aside from that, I could see a decently sized kitchen to my right and to my left seemed to be two bathrooms as well as a well-appointed dining room. I was snapped out of my daze of admiring the place by Mystic launching into another speech.

"As requested by Princess Celestia, you four have been assigned to live here. This block was under renovations before now, so no other students were planned to be here so that all works out. Asher, class begins at the main academy building down the road on Monday. You've all got the weekend free to explore the town as you feel, but my door is open for you all should you need to ask about anything." Mystic said before he turned and trotted out the door, shutting it behind him and leaving us standing in silence. I had a few days off to relax; it seemed before classes began, which meant learning magic! I couldn't help as an excited grin formed on my lips at the prospect. 

"Alright, time to speak Asher, what happened? You look like shit, more than you normally do mind you" Maya broke the silence, punching my shoulder with a hoof before heading for the dining room. I chuckled and followed her, all four of us settling around the table before I took a deep breath to try and explain the meeting with a goddess. My story took the best part of thirty minutes, trying to put the sensation of her presence into words was the hardest part. The mixture of fear and awe that I had felt was utterly alien to me, and based on the other's reactions, they didn't understand what I was trying to say. As I wrapped up and explained the uneventful walk across town, Maya was the first to speak. "Oh, you saw Caramel then? She's pretty nice, Mystic introduced us to her to get us out of the hospital whilst the doctors did something with your legs." 


"What actually happened after I passed out?" I asked, unsure of what had happened. The others filled me in. From the dark magic leaking from my eyes, the arrival of the two Lunar Knights, one of whom I recognised from their description as my escort back at the hospital. After that, they talked about the walk into town. How apparently they had been taken to the town jail and left in a cell overnight after the guard had taken me away. Mystic met them in the morning, taking them one at a time to interview them and how he'd explained what he wanted to do with the Princesses support. After that they'd been shown to this house and had the other Lunar knight supervise them for the next two days, following them wherever they went. He'd apparently flown off this morning, about the time I guessed I'd woken up and the Princess was called, so they probably had both knights report to her before she met me. By the time we were done talking, only two things were on my mind, food and passing out for the next twelve hours. 

As if she could tell that I was mentally weighing the pros and cons of eating one of my own legs, Katty jumped up and galloped to the kitchen with a little panicked squee. My confusion was swiftly solved when I looked behind me and saw a clock on the wall. Closely followed by seeing Katty waddling on her hind legs with her forelegs carefully cradling a bowl of what had to be the most heavenly smelling soup I'd ever smelt. The warm earthy scent filled the room as Katty set the bowl down on the table, Maya rummaging in a cabinet behind her before placing smaller bowls onto the table. 

"I lost track of time and forgot we had this waiting in the oven" Katty admitted, Tibbs rolled his eyes before chuckling. "Not the first time Katty, at least it didn't burn again." Tibbs' snark was met by a glare from the chef as she started attempting to ladle soup into the bowls Maya had grabbed. We watched her struggle before she gave up, letting Tibbs take over with the incredible gift known as hands. I couldn't help but smile as we sat at the table, sure the past few days that I had been awake were insane, but things were looking up now.

Dinner was a pretty calm affair, the four of us content with eating in silence. Tibbs took the empty bowls back to the kitchen whilst those of us without hands sat back and relaxed. I could only guess that it was because of the new pony tongue that a vegetable soup had tasted so good. 

"Oh yeah, you've got room four upstairs," Maya said as she slipped from the chair onto her hooves. Katty followed behind her, the two of them yawning before turning to head upstairs. "Night Asher, Night Tibbs" came two good-byes as they disappeared from sight. 

A moment later, Tibbs came back, sitting opposite me as I looked out the window. My eyes fixated by the full moon rising on the horizon. A soft blue glow had surrounded it, seemingly lifting it and guiding it into place as it floated in the heavens. Following behind it, a wave of blue magic brought forth starts in the inky black void. 

"You know it's one of the Princesses doing that apparently" Tibbs chimed in, having seen what I was fixed on. "I figure it's that blue one we saw in the sky that first night. How you described Celestia matched that white one, that we saw don't you think? Makes sense to me the blue one would be her sister, not sure what her name is though." 

"Luna" I supplied, the name popping into my head somehow as I thought back to the display we'd watched in the sky. The connection took a second as I thought back, the image of a bearded unicorn in the sky. "The other one we saw must have been Starswirl the bearded then, Mystic talked about him on the way over." 

Tibbs nodded sagely, clearly seeing my logic. A comfortable silence returning for a moment only to be broken by a sigh. "Wish my liquor cabinet had come with us. I'd kill for a brandy right now."

The laughter started softly as Tibbs laughed at his own joke before I soon joined in. Regardless of what world we were in, it seems some things would never change.
> 7. The Mare in the Moon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All four legs popped as I stretched, Celestia’s sun shining down through the open window and into my new room. It was a strange thing to wake up in a comfortable bed, after having spent every night since we arrived in this strange land, either unconscious or sleeping on the ground. Regardless, Mystic had said we had three days free until class began on Monday, and I wasn’t going to squander them. 

Memories of last night quickly returned as I tried to remember if anything was meant to be happening today. Apart from Tibbs mumbling about getting up early, I couldn’t think of anything. 

With a spring in my step, I hopped from my bed, the sound of my hooves softly clopping as they hit the floor. Everything was quiet aside from that, outside the window, birds were just starting to chirp from the trees. A smile formed on my lips as I headed for the door, stopping and pulling on the small rope attached to the handle with my mouth. Dragging the wooden door open, I left my room, descended the stairs to find Tibbs sitting at the table munching on what looked like beef jerky. 

“Mornin” Tibbs grunted in my direction, guessing by the unfocused look in his eyes he’d only just woken up as well. In retrospect, his passionate hatred for waking up before eleven explained why he never opened up for breakfasts or brunch back on earth. 

“Where’d you get jerky?” I asked over my shoulder, heading into the kitchen to see what we actually had. Settling for oats as I couldn’t be bothered attempting to make anything more complicated. I busied myself lifting the bag with my teeth before messily filling my bowl and adding a splash of water from the tap. 

After I was sure the bowl was secured in my mouth, I crossed back to the table and set opposite Tibbs. His sharp beak tore through the jerky as if it was a knife through warm butter. His green eyes still vacant and unfocused, staring right into the table as if the secrets of the universe were in the wood grain. 

“Need it in my diet, Mystic bought me some. Got work in town, need to go” Tibbs mumbled before flopping off his chair and onto the floor. I watched as my friend picked himself up and staggered towards the door, closing it behind him as he left. Finding myself alone, my attention turned back to the bowl of now rehydrated oats before me. Lacking cutlery and hungry enough that manners had rapidly become irrelevant. So I planted my muzzle in the bowl with an audible splat and started to eat. 

With my face buried in the bowl, mentally, I went over what I wanted to accomplish. The town had to have a library, so I should check there first to get some necessary information about the world. Maya or Katty might want to come if they were up before I left. Secondly, I needed to figure out how to get to the academy and get my and Katty’s schedule for Monday. Finally, I wanted to get out and see the town, this whole world was wide open to be explored and seen.

If Celestia could send us home, I wanted to be sure I’d have seen enough of this place that I wouldn’t have any regrets. If she couldn’t send us home...well I supposed it would be best to learn about my new home sooner rather than later. Ultimately that was a concern which I wanted to ignore, I couldn’t influence it as far as I knew and my knowledge of magic definitely wasn’t enough to understand anything about getting home. Until I could personally affect our chances of getting home it wouldn’t achieve anything to stress over it. 

Once I’d eaten breakfast and tossed the bowl in the sink. I opened the door and set out. Celestia’s sun was shining down, and the town around me was waking up for business.  It felt like a bizarre mixture of everyday city life and a renaissance fair, two Pegasi flying along with what I realised were mailman uniforms. 

“Wait, would that be a mailstallion? mailmare?” I pondered, taking off at a brisk trot down the dirt road back into the centre of town. A bright green mare poked her head up as I trotted past her, waving a foreleg at me and smiling. I smiled back, not wanting to try and wave only to go face-first into the floor again. Ponies all waved or smiled as I passed, a level of friendliness which was bordering on disturbing. Mystic probably hadn’t told any of them about the four of us, so I was left to assume this was just how they acted. 

The stillness of the morning rapidly disappeared as I entered the town properly, crossing through where the market had been before. A gold-edged plaque drew my attention as I trotted past it, stopping to read. 

“Stellar’s Redoubt, site of the first battle of the war for the heavens” I read aloud, looking at the Plaque as it showed, what must have barely been a hamlet called Hoofington. Although the majority of the focus was on the forest outside of town. The Plaque’s illustration had most details focused on the forest,  as well as a watchtower labelled as “The Solar Bastion of Hoofington.” 

The Plaque continued to explain how just after Sundown. When somepony called Nightmare Moon had been battling Princess Celestia in Canterlot, her supporters had launched an attack on the Bastion protecting hoofington. According to the Plaque, the town was significant due to its location between Canterlot and Broncordia. If it fell, the entire province would be cut off from reinforcements along the main road. I couldn’t help but get drawn into the tale.

Apparently, the “Loyalist Forces” had managed to hold out for what should have been the duration of the night. Pausing briefly to question what it meant by Loyalists. I could only assume that whoever Nightmare Moon was she’d started a civil war for power. The defenders were losing ponies faster than their opponents, resulting in the commanding officer’s last stand. 

I moved as fast as I could over to the next Plaque, set out before a statue of a Unicorn mare. The bronze statue gleaming in the sun as a gemstone in her horn caught the sunlight and practically exploded with light. “Stellar  Encore, The Heroine of Hoofington, Royal Guard Captain, Mother of four. She will live on forever in our hearts.” 

I stood back and looked up at the Statue, taking in all the details I could. So thoroughly distracted that I didn’t hear the sound of hoofsteps coming up behind me. 

“You seem a little awestruck there son.” I turned and had to look up to mee the eyes of the towering Stallion. A quick glance showed no horn or wings, meaning He was an Earth Pony. His black coat seemed dusty almost, the only other signs of colour being the grey area around the end of his muzzle and a slicked-back grey mane. 

“She was my great, great something, Grandmother. So I have to say, it’s lovely seeing young colts taking an interest in Hoofington’s history.” He said, a wistful smile on his face as he looked up at the Statue. “I’ll have to polish it again next month.” I nodded along, despite being confident he’d said that more for himself than me. 

“Do you know where I could find the library? Mr?” I prompted, hopefully, this encounter would at least give me some useful information. 

“Oh! Iron Works, but everyone calls me Iron. I run the rails in and out of town and the preservation society for the few statues in town. Stellar’s Statue as well as the Statue of her majesty Princess Celestia outside the unicorn Academy.” He looked down at me before chuckling. “Though I’d imagine you’ve seen her statue many times going to school?”

“Not really, I’m a new transfer, so I’ve not actually started at the academy yet. That’s why I was hoping to find the library, sign out some books on my reading list.” Sure it was a lie, but it wasn’t going to hurt anyone, and it should hopefully steer the conversation back to what I’d actually wanted to know. 

“Certainly, head past the gilded griffon and then take a left. Can’t miss the library, it’s got a large sign out front of it of an open book.” Iron answered, pointing a hoof over towards what I could immediately tell was a pub. Ranging from the arrangement of tables outside of the pub’s entrance to the day drinker sat at one of them with a pint of something. No matter that universe, some things never change it seemed. 

I set off at a comfortable trot, slowing down to peer in the windows of the Gilded Griffon. Several tables were set out inside along with a large bar set against the far wall. I could even spot a dartboard hung to the right of the bar. Although how a pony could play darts was beyond me, magic for unicorns? The others I had no idea how. I spotted a tall Griffon polishing the bar before I resumed my journey. Noting in the back of my mind that they had some bright red feathers on their otherwise pure white head. 

As I walked, I couldn’t help but ponder my own colours as well as my friends. Maya and Katty looked similar so that probably meant they were still biologically sisters. Tibbs was a selection of light brown on brown with a yellow beak, I wasn’t entirely sure the bird’s name but I knew that was some kind of eagle's colours. I thought my coat was a charcoalish grey, but I guess it was more silver greyish or some other light grey under a better light.  Did the colours have some sort of meaning? Maybe I supposed, it was another thing to research. Potentially the colours were a racial or species thing? It would explain why Tibbs looked like some sort of eagle, and now that I thought about it, Maya did kind of remind me of a robin just missing the grey. That left Katty and I, maybe our more outlandish colours were due to the presence of magic from being a unicorn?

“Excuse me, would you mind stepping out of the doorway?” A voice brought me out of my thoughts, looking up, I realised I was at the library. Smiling sheepishly, I stepped aside to allow a unicorn to step by me. I watched as he opened the door and held it.

“You wanted to come in, right? I’m sorry the library wasn’t open. I had to send a letter to ponyville, their new librarian keeps requesting some of our rarest books. I won’t burden you with the frustrations of a librarian don’t worry. My name is Quick Quill by the way.” 

I followed Quick Quill into the library, taking a moment to examine him. He was the first pony I’d ever seen wearing clothes outside of the hospital, even if it was just a tie dangling around his neck. His coat was almost the same as Maya and Katty’s. However, his mane was a hazelnut brown, trimmed in the front and tied up in a ponytail at the back.

As we walked in, Quick darted behind a counter and turned back to face me, leaning over the counter to avoid looming over me too much. I really started to get annoyed at being a colt. 

“So what brings you to the library today? We’ve got a few of the reading list bundles left if you’re checking here for that. Outside of that, there’s a royal pamphlet on Princess Luna in case you're curious about our newest royal. Obviously, feel free to have a look around! I’ll be here if you have any questions or need to check something out.” Quick’s genuinely cheerful deluge of words brought a smile to my face, his almost childlike enthusiasm was practically infectious. As he spoke though, that name stuck out, Luna. It caused a flicker of something in the back of my mind, paired with the confusion of how I’d known who she was last night.  

“The reading list bundle would be great, I’m starting there on Monday. Also, could I have a look at the royal pamphlet? gotta keep up with current events.” I smiled back as a stack of books bound with string floated up onto the desk, followed by a thin pamphlet placed on top. My smile faded as the fact that he was expecting me to levitate the books off the desk hit me. With a sigh, I hung my head.

“would you be able to carry them to a table for me? I can’t really use magic right now.” I admitted, unable to hide my embarrassment as my ears drooped. A glance up revealed a mixture of horror and shock on Quick’s face. 

“If you’d like some help you only need to ask, whether that’s getting books or understanding some spells in the books”. Quick said as the books floated up in a soft pink aura, as he came around and led me through the surprisingly extensive library to a small study room in the back. “You’re welcome to use this space whenever you’re in the library, just leave any books you aren’t going to check out on that shelf, and I’ll return them at the end of the day.” 

Quick turned and trotted back for the door as I heard a bell ring, probably to signal that somepony had just come in. Weighing my options, I decided to leave the magic books for a moment to look into the far more straightforward to open pamphlet. Flicking it with my muzzle, I managed to knock it open and set about reading it. 



By Proclamation of Her royal highness Princess Celestia


The monster known as Nightmare moon has been defeated upon her return from One thousand years in exile.


This occurred in the early hours of the morning when the Elements of Harmony were successfully activated by six ponies who wished to remain anonymous.



Princess Celestia was then freed from her temporary imprisonment in the sun, where she teleported to the site of the Nightmares defeat.


The Nightmare’s defeat has resulted in the liberation of Princess Luna, the first victim of the Nightmare’s spell. 



By Royal Decree of her majesty Princess Celestia, Her sister, Princess Luna is to be restored to her full authority, reestablishing the Celestial Diarchy. Her royal highness Princess Celestia has stated that she is relieved to have her sister returned to her, and further apologises for the lateness of the sunrise.



Further information will be made available to the public at a later date.


From the Office of Princess Celestia


Royal Canterlot Printing Company


I sat back in my chair, mulling over that information. Something called Nightmare Moon had captured or done something to Princess Luna, resulting in one thousand years in exile. Something was bothering me, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Initial Officer Training had drilled into me that information was a weapon in the right hands. Something was missing from what I understood. 

After a pause, I left that room to find Quick Quill. I needed to know more about Nightmare Moon, possibly about whatever these Elements of harmony were as well. Something was off, and I couldn’t place my hoof on it, however, the fact that I’d known Luna’s name yesterday raised more questions. Somepony might have mentioned her name whilst I was unconscious. Nevertheless, that was unlikely. 

“Excuse me Quick, are there any books about Nightmare Moon I could take a look at?” I asked after finally spotting Quick with his head in a box, tail flicking side to side in irritation. He looked up, a smile reasserting itself as I could practically see cogs turning in his brain. 

“Certainly, you’re lucky if you’d have asked a month ago when that pamphlet first came out then you’d be out of luck. Thankfully most of the books people signed out are back now, You want Nightmare Moon alone or the Element as well? most ponies wanted the double bill.” He said, deftly weaving between the bookshelves collecting a few smaller books as well as a large leather-bound book in his magic. 

I trailed behind, still mulling over what had stuck out as so strange to me. Finally settling on the language used in the pamphlet. How could Nightmare moon have been exiled yet still had a hostage? Why did I know Luna's name without even hearing it before? 

Quick and I returned to the room where my books had been left, depositing the new books as I returned to my seat. A mumbled word of thanks as I pulled open the first book. Before I tore through whatever information I found. 

After almost an hour, I sat back, mulling over things to arrange my thoughts more clearly.

Firstly, Luna had somehow fallen to Nightmare Moon. Some books seemed to claim that Nightmare Moon was a "Mare of shadows" and others that she was a name assumed by Luna once she fell to evil.  However, the "Luna became evil" explanation made little sense, she had by all accounts been rescued from the Nightmare's control. This implied the Nightmare was some other entity. 

Working on the assumption that the Nightmare was a second entity, separate from Luna, this would explain how she was taken captive by this entity. All the books agreed that Nightmare Moon wielded immense power through harnessing her resentment and anger at Celestia. The Phrasing of that struck me as familiar—Celestia's explanation of how Sombramatic magic was fueled by emotions coming back to me.

The book in my hooves fell back to the table, my eyes reduced to pinpricks as my eyes drooped to my skull. There were too many coincidences, our sudden appearance, Shadow's timely arrival, Nightmare Moon being defeated a month before our arrival. I could hear my heart beating as righteous anger coursed through my veins. I was being played, used as a hideout by some malignant entity. 

Taking a moment to try and calm me, I screwed my eyes shut, not wanting to risk a dark magic build-up from my emotions. Long deep breathes filled the air, gentle intakes and measured exhales. Evidence was mounting against Shadow, but after she'd saved my life as well as my friends, I would give her a chance to defend herself. Eyes closed, I started to focus on my own mind, a brief flicker of annoyance that I'd never tried to meditate before passed through my thoughts. 

After a moment I could feel what I had when Mystic and I were walking, something distinctly not me in my head. Focusing on the distinctly, not me part, I tried to mentally prod it as best I could. Trying to broadcast the need to talk to Shadow on the assumption that it was her. A wave of exhaustion washed over me, and I took that as a sign that I'd clearly gotten through to her. Fighting the urge to place my head down on the table and sleep until next Wednesday. I fumbled the books I didn't need onto the shelf before grabbing the still bundled reading list books by the string using my teeth. 

I stumbled to the desk and signed them out with Quick Quill. Evidently, a hoofprint works for a signature, although once I'd gotten telekineses down writing would finally be within my reach again. I envied Tibbs for his hands, even if they ended in sharp talons, still better than my useless hooves. 

With my books firmly held in my mouth, I set off home. Taking a careful course through the market, a lunchtime buzz of activity all around me. Over the hubbub of the crowd, I could hear Caramel yelling about. "The latest, greatest flavour sensation my talented special somepony and her new apprentice have ever created!" 

Ignoring the yelling, I left the market the rest of my walk passing in a tired blur. The battle to remain awake was definitely not a winning one, and as soon as I entered through the door into what I was tentatively calling my new home. My hooves carried me in a B-line to the stairs, scrambling up them four at a time with a surge of energy I didn't realise I had in me. I Burst through the door into my room and collapsed right into bed, ignoring the afternoon sun streaming through the window as my eyes slid shut. 
> 8. Shining a light on Shadow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Captain! Griffon vessel sighted Three kilometres ahead, She's running low and slow." I smiled as I stood up, the deckhand ahead gesturing over to the edge of the hull. The cold air blew through my mane, my breath forming small clouds as a spyglass floated with me. A look over the side revealed the griffon airship, her engines bleeding smoke as it limped along. Thick cloud cover had seemingly hidden our approach. 

"All speed we can muster, Helmsmare take us into a dive, Bosun Tibbs get the chase guns ready!" I barked orders, the result was instant as the crew of TMS Vengeance launched into action. Unicorns and Earth Ponies disappeared below deck as I heard the propellers at the aft of the ship roar before we lurched from their thrust kicking in. My lips curled into a predatory snarl as I stalked back up to the bridge, spyglass floating along behind me. With practised ease the Helmsmare pitched us forward into a shallow dive, coming in right behind the Griffon airship. 

"Captain, They've not seen us yet" reported a gunnery officer. The dull thump of gun ports on the bow and sides of the Airship dropping down to reveal our lethal bounty. I nodded in acknowledgement as we continued to close on our prey. The sound of hoofsteps almost entirely lost to the rushing wind as it ripped past us all, threatening to tear the tricorn from my head. 

"Greetings Captain"

"Ah, Firstmate Shadow I see you….Shadow?" I stalled as I was about to speak, the rushing wind having faded as I looked around myself thoroughly bewildered. We were on some kind of Airship from the looks, a glance up revealing a large flag frozen as it blew in the wind. I craned my neck to see what I was wearing, realising it was some form of naval uniform. If the surprisingly comfortable cap on my head meant what I thought, I was a captain? "This is a dream, isn't it?"

"An astute observation Sir" Shadow teased as she crossed towards me, a bicorn hat resting atop her head paired with a noticeably less fancy uniform than my own. "I must thank you for waking me up, The exhaustion you felt was our body taking the magical strain I was still recovering from. In a few hours, it will have passed." 

I stood my ground, the railing of the bridge behind me as well as the frozen Helmsmare. Looking at her again, I realised her startling resemblance to Katty, only thrown off by the Helmsmare's green eyes. I returned my attention to Shadow, looking at her as my brain worked through her explanation. Would her being fully rested allow her to possess my body as she potentially had possessed Luna?

"So that means you'll be back to full strength?" I accused, my eyes narrowed as I felt the fur on my neck raise involuntarily. Shadow took a moment to react, halting her advance whilst her eyes widened for a moment before returning to normal.

"What do you believe that would result in Captain? It appears you are suspicious of me if there is something you have yet to tell me, then please do so."

"I wanted to speak to you after what I have read today. Who are you, Shadow? Where do you come from? Why did you appear in the eleventh hour to save my friends and me?" I ask, unsure if I'm genuinely asking her or thinking aloud. "It all seems too convenient, and after doing some reading about recent events. Well, let's just say it looks suspicious, you enabled me to use dark magic and directed us in combat as if we were one entity. Your fear of Princess Celestia was also noteworthy, I thought it was just because of using dark magic, but there was something more there." 

"You believe that I am withholding information about my origins?"

"Yes, I think that you are more than you're letting on." 

"What do you suspect I am then, Captain?"

"The Mare in the moon, Nightmare Moon."

"Before I answer that, I must know how much did you research the Elements of Harmony?"

Silence rings around us, I'd neglected to really look into the elements, assuming they were reliant on magic theory that I'd not have understood. I'd gone a little out on a limb with my accusation, preparing for an enraged dark magic-wielding pseudo-goddess to try and smite me. Instead, the question threw me for a loop.

"I….Not enough, I suspect." My words feel heavy as I speak them, the fire that had fueled my argument sputtered as my momentum faltered. Leaving me wide open as Shadow seized control of the conversation. 

"I am not Nightmare Moon, though I suspect I am part of her. Allow me to try and explain, in short, the power of the Elements of Harmony. They cannot destroy. Instead, they can create new life, change its form, or more importantly negate non-harmonious magic. Be it Sombramatic or Chaos magic, both are weak to the Magic of Harmony." 

Shadow took a step back, her horn glowing as the world around us started to fade, replaced by a familiar grassy hill. The lone tree at the top framed by the star-filled night sky, constellations twinkling behind it. Seemingly pleased with her work, Shadow sat beneath the tree, her teal eyes still not moving from me. 

"Forgive me for the change to our dreamscape, but it is easier to hide this smaller dream than what your mind had conjured." 

"Why would you need to hide our dream if you weren't Nightmare Moon?" I asked before I even knew I had spoken. Refusing to approach or break eye contact with Shadow, remaining at a distance from her. 

"As I said, I suspect I am part of the Nightmare that was torn apart to free Princess Luna. Sombramatic magic is fueled by emotion, as such, it is complicated to predict how it will react or act. If I am merely a part of the Nightmare, it explains why my memory is incomplete. To be Blunt if I were the true Nightmare Moon, I suspect we would not be having this conversation at all." 

"What do you mean your memory is incomplete? You seem to understand magic pretty well." 

"My knowledge seems intact. However, I cannot remember any of the events leading up to Luna succumbing to the Nightmare. Instead, my earliest memory is the first clash with Celestia, no emotions, merely what happened. Surely you understand my fear of the vengeful sun now?" 

She made a fair point, I supposed. Princess Celestia had seemed friendly to me, but considering how much larger than me she was, let alone her command over the sun. I shuddered at the idea of what Celestia could have done to me. "Alright, you've made your point, but that doesn't explain just what you are." 

"I believe that I am part of the Nightmare, a shard if you will. Based on my knowledge of the Elements of Harmony, it seems in line with what they would do. They dissected the entity known as Nightmare Moon into its parts. Freeing the moon or Princess Luna to use her actual name, and carving the Nightmare into pieces."

As she spoke her horn ignited, a glowing image of a dark alicorn appearing between us. Rearing up to meet a beam of rainbow light before it washed over her. Once the rainbow light disappeared, I saw a blue alicorn with a crescent moon cutiemark, as well as a dark blob floating beside her. 

"The Elements of Harmony seek to create balance, that is why they are the greatest tool against disharmony. Luna's memories are completely gone, so I cannot know the exact details. However, Nightmare Moon's studies of the Elements during the civil war remain. So you can see why I believe I am part of the Nightmare. As for the Nightmare, Sombramatic curses like it are complex, consisting of many different spells woven together."

The magical diagram started to glow as the dark blob split apart into dozens of different sized chunks. Each shimmering and rippling as Shadow paused, I assumed she was thinking as I took a step forward my brain mulling over what she had said. It sounded vaguely like an advanced computer virus. The Elements of Harmony tearing it apart into all the different subroutines. Which only raised the question which parts would do what, and which part she was meant to be.

"That is all I know about my potential origins, it is why I am working to obscure our dreamscape from Luna's sight. I cannot anticipate what she would try to do should she find out that even a part of the monster that tormented her still exists."

Shadow's horn ceased glowing, and the magic diagram winked out of existence, leaving us both facing each other. The space between us was more noticeable than before as I sighed. This land promoted harmony and all that, she had lied to me, but it was out of fear. Lord knows how much of a nervous wreck I'd have been if she'd told me this before I had to meet Celestia. One question needed to be answered before we could move forward.

"So, why are you in my body? What drew you to me over the others or us in general?" 

"I was adrift, drained of magic and dissipating into the natural magic of Equestria. I suspect that was the fate of many shards, which likely was what the Elements had intended. Why you specifically? Because you are a unicorn, and channelling any kind of magic that would be useful in that situation is not something a Pegasus or Griffon is capable of. You were largely uninjured, and I could sense you would be the first to die should I not step in. As such, we bonded when you accepted my offer."

Shadow spoke as she stood up and took a deliberate step forward toward me. I matched her step with one of my own, nodding as I agreed with her assessment. 

"Right, I assume this means I don't have to fear you possessing my body?  

"Unless you willingly give control to me, I cannot steal your body. Luna succumbed to the Nightmare, and they became Nightmare Moon. Nothing is powerful enough to outright steal a ponies body other than Discord himself."

I took one more step closer to her, which in turn, she matched. Her explanation made some sense, albeit she had to speculate in parts. Internally I was relieved, the potential of body theft had been assuaged. The lingering feeling that she must have some form of agenda twinged at the back of my mind, but for now, I trusted her word. 

The clearing around us rippled as we stood, the gap between us diminished to almost nothing. Cool night air gently blew, my mane swaying in the wind. I suppressed an involuntary shudder from the chill, still in some way marvelling at how realistic dreams felt when Shadow was influencing them. If she could do this, it made me wonder what Luna could do, my reading had mentioned dream walking, so could she travel between dreamscapes? It would explain what Shadow meant about hiding from Luna's vision. Although how long that would be a sustainable option, I couldn't guess at. 

The clearing rippled again, shaking slightly, causing both of us to look around. Shadow took the final step to come to my side as her horn lit up. Tremors spreading through the dream only seemed to intensify despite her efforts. The cold wind started to speed up, blowing a chill through the trees.

"You must wake up Captain, she has noticed us."

Shadow said before turning and pressing her glowing horn to my head. The brief glimpse of her before my vision went white showed Shadow's eye narrowed in concentration. Her eyes pressed against her head in fear, as the moon in the sky started to darken.
____________________________________________________________________________

My eyes flew open as I tried to sit up, my panicked movement only serving to pull me off my bed and onto the floor. Cold hardwood met my muzzle as I crashed onto the floor, the sound of my groans of pain gently floated out into the otherwise quiet room. Moments passed as I remained still, electing to just wait on the floor instead of trying to get up, trying to sort out the chaotic mess in my head. I could tell a migraine was coming. Whether that was from Shadow forcing me awake, whoever had been trying to enter our dream or getting intimate with the floor, I didn't know. 

The sound of hoofsteps echoed through the house as I heard someone rushing up the stairs, only for Katty to burst into the room and look around before her eyes spotted me. One of her ears flicked as she sat down and tilted her head. "You alright?"


"Yeah, just felt like inspecting the floor up close." I reply, trying to free my forelegs from the tangled quilt wrapped around me. My admittedly rather pathetic struggles only managed to free one leg, whilst the other remained stuck in its soft prison. My ears swivel as I heard Katty thump to the floor, giggles escaping her watching me struggle. Another sharp tug finally freed my stuck leg only for the force to cause me to fall over again, my head landing near Katty's. Based on the fact she was nearly in tears from holding in her laughter. "You're really bored, aren't you?"

A nod was the reply I was given as she wiped her face with her ankle, sniffling as she stemmed the flow of tears. We got to our hooves, Katty's eyes still slightly puffy as she giggled to herself, whilst I rubbed my muzzle. It didn't hurt, but the dull throb wasn't helping the headache which arrived with the force of a sledgehammer on my skull.

"What time is it?" I asked, noticing the dying light outside. The sun had vanished behind the forested hills outside of Hoofington, long rays of orange spilling across the softly lit red sky. Equestria's natural beauty was still enjoyable, I couldn't help but hope it would always be unique like that. 

"Like six o'clock? Give or take. Tibbs brought back dinner from his job, it smells so good! I was coming to get you when I heard a bang and rushed up, you sure you're alright, Asher?" Katty said as she closed the gap between us before she put a hoof to my head only to lower it to the floor as she giggled. "Forgot about that for a second, but you are feeling alright, right?" 

I chuckled and nodded, my muzzle twitching as the scent of food floated in through the open door. The heavenly combination of pastry, cream and all kinds of vegetables floated in being picked out by my surprisingly strong sense of smell. I felt myself start to drool before I wiped my mouth, ignoring the blush burning on my cheeks. This smelt so much better than what Katty and Tibbs had cooked before, what was going on?

Katty and I trotted downstairs to find Tibbs putting bowls onto the table, a bandana tied around his head and his naturally brown feathers stained white. I stopped and watched as he got back down on all fours and walked across the room to grab something, leaving a trail of pawprints from his hind legs. "Been baking today then mate?"

"Don't start, you know why Flaky Crust hired me? Not that I'd run my own fucking restaurant but because I have hands. I spent all day making pies, baking pies and prepping vegetables." Tibbs fumed as he ferried an impressively large pie to the table, steam rising from its beautiful golden-brown crust. My mouth watered as I watched Tibbs place the pie down onto the table, like a mother would a child. That heavenly aroma filling the room was even better. I could smell the earthiness of fresh root vegetables, subtle nutty hints and a warming heat from what I guessed was pepper. 

"You want to know the weirdest fucking thing? The big fucking basis of pony cooking?" Tibbs continued, turning to grab a knife, his words barely registering as I was hypnotised by the pie. "What we missed when we cooked for ourselves? Fucking Sugar. I'm not even kidding. Apparently, it's vital to a pony or Griffon's diet, that's the secret to it all smelling so great." 

Maya seemingly materialised from behind me, joining myself and Katty in staring at the pie. All cares in the world forgotten at the altar of our new savoury saviour. Tibbs passed us, cutting into the crust and cutting it into quarters before putting the portions into our bowls. "Not gonna bother with cutlery, I've seen how you ponies eat today. Messy bastards." 

I chuckled at Tibbs' complaining, some handled the strain of their jobs by drinking, he always did by taking the piss out of his customers after shift. It was reassuring that some things refused to change, although that was not on my mind as I raced to my chair. Sitting my flanks down and promptly sticking my muzzle into the heavenly smelling slice of pie. The muffled moan from my right suggested that Katty enjoyed it, my first mouthful nearly eliciting the same reaction. A practical explosion of flavours assaulted my palette, whatever sugar had done it was probably magic. Vegetables weren't supposed to taste as good as they did, deep roasted flavours melding with sharper notes of herbs and pepper as I chewed the pie. Whoever Flaky Crust was they had certainly lived up to their name. 

Tibbs ate and watched our reactions. The lack of dinner time conversation and the three ponies muzzle deep in pie probably gave him some decent sense of satisfaction. I wanted to keep going only to be betrayed by my lungs crying out for air. I raised my muzzle from the bowl, gasping for air as I looked down at barely a quarter of my dinner remaining. Clearing my throat as I licked my lips, trying to muster what remained of my pride before finishing what was left in my bowl. 

"I really need to figure out how to use this thing" I mumbled, looking up at the slightly pointed horn mocking me with how useless it was to me. "Eating like that is just demeaning." 

"That it is, funny to watch though," Tibbs said, a glance revealing the smirk on his face as he sat back in his chair. Turning away from the table and revealing a large bottle filled with amber liquid. My eyes widened as I realised what it looked like, Tibbs grin only widening further. "This was a welcoming gift from the old Griffon running that pub in town, she wanted to get off on the right paw. Griffonian whiskey, imported all the way from High Claw…..wherever that is, I'm assuming that capital of Griffonia, I still need to look that up."

With a dramatic flourish, Tibbs slid four glasses onto the table, uncorking the bottle as Maya and Katty finished their bowls. Their cream coats practically glowing red as they realised what they'd just done, I couldn't help but chuckle a little. When it was somepony else eating like a starving animal, it was kinda funny. A moment later, Tibbs placed out the four shots, pausing after he picked his own up.

"I just realised we can't toast properly cause you lot can't hold stuff, well shit." Narrowing my eyes in concentration, I placed my hooves on either side of the glass, pinching it between them before slowly lifting my glass off the table. A smug grin on my mouth as I looked up at Tibbs, only to find him staring as Maya grabbed the glass using one of her foreleg's ankles. I mentally slapped myself before adjusting my grip to match how she did it, raising my glass up. 

"A toast to our brave chef then, first to get a job regardless of what world we end up in." Tibbs rolled his eyes before knocking back the shot, I followed suit. At that moment, I learned of my mistake, the whiskey was definitely not for drinking as a shot. The burn as the drink went down my throat was like nothing I had ever experienced. If I could have described dragon fire before coming to this world, it would have paled in comparison. Katty bolted for the kitchen, Maya taking off after her. My brain too distracted by the raging inferno in my throat to notice that Maya had managed to clear the ground for all of a second. 

Tibbs sat across from me during this commotion, his pupils had shrunken down to pinpricks as he remained motionless. Only after I had succumbed to coughing up my lungs did he then join us, our cries of pain slowly turning to pained laughter as we all filtered into the kitchen. Maya and Katty having downed what pint of milk that was delivered after I'd left that morning. Shaking my hoof at them, wheezing promises of revenge for their betrayal I staggered from the room. The return to my bed was simple enough before I knew it, my head met the pillow, and sweet sleep was able to take me away from the conflagration in my throat. 
> 9. The First Day of School
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday was spent like many other days had been back in training; my nose buried in a book. The difference this time was Katty sitting beside me as we worked our way through the essential reading we needed to have done by Monday. Understanding terminology such as a ponies Thaumic System was like a second nervous system throughout a ponies body that conducted magic. "Alicorn" turned out to have two meanings, the fourth tribe of Pony, which consisted of Princess Celestia. I couldn't help but chuckle at the hastily added, "and her sister Princess Luna" in the book. Alicorn was also the name of the material my horn was made from, named in honour of the sisters the book claimed. 

The first exercise the book had suggested was learning to sense magic and to see a pony's Thaumic System. Screwing my eyes closed, I started to focus on my breathing, needing to clear my mind as the book said. "The ability to sense magic around oneself is done by opening one's horn to the flow of natural magic around it." The book had said. In all honesty, I'd forgotten about the bony protrusion on my forehead. Not being able to use it had kind of resulted in me ignoring it. Opening my horn to the flow of magic… I had no idea how to actually do that, it wasn't really explained clearly in the book, or maybe it was something so simple that I should have known how to do it. 

"Asher, focus on the ebb and flow of power within us. Feel the magic inside our body as it moves through you and even in the air around you. Once you have, move your focus to our horn, use the lightest touch of magic to connect your Thaumic System to the magic around you. You will feel natural magic flowing around you, like an island amidst the tides. The flow of magic around your horn is not the only island; however, concentrate, and you will be able to locate others as well."

I could feel Katty beside me. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the magic within her. It was utterly Alien to me, unlike when Shadow and I had wielded dark magic. This felt like I had just opened my horn up to receive all kinds of signals. The warm feeling beside me was definitely from Katty. If I turned to look at her, I could see a fuzzy yellow blob with lines running away from it. The blob must have been her horn based on where it was. The lines running away from it must have been her Thaumic System. 

"Asher, why is your Thaumic System all weird?" Katty asked, shattering my concentration. The glow around my horn faded as my eyes opened. I cocked my head to the side, wondering what she was asking about. "Your horn is blue but with this black stuff in it, like a second Thaumic System or something?" 

"That would be me. I apologise for my lapse in judgement. I didn't anticipate her to pick up on this so quickly. If I am active, others can sense that we share this body. Keep it in mind before calling for assistance." 

"That's something lingering from what I did in the forest Katty, Mystic told me there would be some lingering marks." I bluffed, praying that Katty would take the bait without questioning. A moment of silence came closely followed by a nod from Katty.

"Makes sense to me", She confirmed, her eyes opening as we returned to the book. For the first piece of required reading, I'd been preparing for something more technical, to be honest. The welcome surprise that it was actually a fun read had brightened my spirits. If all equestrian school books were like this, I might try to study magic for a career. Weaving stories into the information kept me thoroughly invested, as well as giving more context about this world. Starswirl, the bearded, had seemingly done everything possible when he was alive. The chapter talking about Magic Sense had woven it through a tale of Starswirl having to evade a band of pegasi chasing him. He had used Magic Sense to see through what he was hiding behind and watch his pursuers, so he knew when it was safe to move. 

"God, I wish my books had been like this back at Cranwell," I muttered as Katty used her nose to flip the page over. The end of the chapter greeted us with another two pages of exercises, one page helping with learning the sense, the other for mastering it and being able to do it even with your eyes open.

____________________________________________________________________________

I pulled myself out of bed, my hooves dragging my body away from the warm sheets that begged for me to return to them. The first day of school, the thing that many children dread, obviously this wasn't actually my first day. Still, regardless it was my first day of school in Equestria. 

"I hate Mondays."

"Is this why you insisted on spending the entire time we were in our dreamscape explaining that orange cat? The joke still is not funny." 

"You're more talkative", I snip as I manage to get to my hooves, the cold air causing my coat to fluff up slightly to keep me warm. Catching a glance of myself in the bathroom mirror as I entered revealed just how adorable ponies were. It was odd; regardless of gender, ponies seemed to be universally cute. Brushing my teeth was as frustrating as always. Grabbing the toothbrush with my ankle just about worked, but I couldn't brush too hard. My ears snapped to the right at the sound of something sharp clicking against the wooden floor outside the bathroom. 

"Morning Tibbs" 

The zombie-like groan I received was confirmation that I was right. I reared up onto the sink and spat the toothpaste into it before exiting the bathroom and letting Tibbs enter. He was sporting probably the most impressive bedhead I'd ever seen. Feathers on his head sticking up at all different angles whilst his lion back half was puffed up like He stuck a talon in a socket. The door slid shut behind me, leaving my morning to-do list down to the last two items. I needed to eat something and grab mine and Katty's book bundle to haul to school. 

I trotted downstairs, unable to help myself, as a smile formed on my lips, a subtle spring to my every step. I came into the kitchen and busied myself, trying to make myself breakfast. Clumsily using my muzzle to pour oats into a bowl before I bit the rim of it to carry my meal to the table. The sound of hoofsteps came from the stairs as I ate, Maya joining me as she had a bowl of her own. 

"You know, you and Katty are gonna be on breakfast duty once you get that whole magic schtick down," She said, grinning at me from across the table. "Can't wait, to be honest. I think my first order will be pancakes? Or maybe a three-cheese omelette? What would the chef recommend?"  

Before I could reply, I was interrupted by a damp Griffon stomping down the stairs, his wings shuffling and flicking in irritation. Tibb's angry glare could have melted stone as he fixed his gaze on Maya. Setting himself down on a chair opposite her and beside me. "Who the fuck used up all the feather lather?" 

Sensing the imminent interspecies argument, I bravely elected to leave the room. Placing my now empty bowl in the sink before I galloped up the stairs as fast as my legs could carry me. Katty looked confused as I passed her, dashing into my room to fetch our books and hopefully leave the house quickly. By the time I'd managed to get the books back together, Katty was waiting by the door for me. Maya and Tibbs' arguing over shampoo was unfortunately still going. A glance into the kitchen revealed both of them leaning on the table, wings flared out to try and look larger than the other. I shoved the door open and started to leave before Katty tapped me on the shoulder.

"You fine holding the books? I don't mind carrying them," She offered, following behind me as we left the house behind us, with the sound of arguing thankfully silenced by the heavy door swinging shut. Hoofington in the early morning was surprisingly busy on a Monday. A flight of Pegasi flew over our heads, headed towards a large bank of storm clouds over the forest. The mailmare I'd seen on Saturday landed at a house across from us as we walked down the road. Waving to us with a bright yellow hoof before she took back to the skies, she headed into town as we turned to head towards the Academy. The walk towards Hoofington's unicorn Academy wasn't too far. Katty led the way as she claimed to have found a shortcut on Saturday whilst I was at the library. 

____________________________________________________________________________

I wasn't sure what to expect when it came to Mystic's teaching. He'd seemed cold when we'd last spoken. When I was met with an empty classroom, the crowd of foals, including myself and Katty, filtered in, murmurs of confusion passing through the group.

"Greetings class, take your seats please."

We moved to our seats, looking around to try and find where Mystic was. Katty smiled as I saw her horn light up, her eyes screwed closed. I realised what she was doing and couldn't help but feel impressed. She was using what the reading had taught us as a beginners exercise to try and find Mystic. A moment later and she looked up before her jaw dropped. I mimicked her, craning my neck to look up. Mystic Haze was standing on the ceiling, his horn glowing a gentle orange. The smile on his face suggested that he hadn't expected a student to find him so quickly. 

"Congratulations, Katty, I didn't expect anypony to think to use their magic sense this soon. I've done this trick for a few years for my new students to see if ponies actually pay attention." He spoke as he walked over to the wall, just attaching his hooves to the wall before trotting down it to the floor. "First lesson, students, is that magic is as much a sense as your eyes and ears are. Now please take your seats, and we'll get started with some practicals. After lunch, we'll be having a more theory-based lesson. Later today, we'll be covering the fundamentals for magic theory." 

Mystic's announcement was met by groans from a few of the other foals in the class. An orange and yellow coated unicorn filly was frantically scribbling down notes already. Another look around the room revealed most of the class seemed excited at the prospect of practising magic. Mystic trotted to the front of the class, floating two bags up into the air, before lifting what looked like small barbels out of them and placing one on each desk. 

"These are simple learner's weights like a pony would use to exercise. You'll be using these to learn how to grip something with Telekinesis before working on your strength." He explained, a smile on his face as he looked over the class to make sure he'd distributed the weights correctly. I looked at the weight in front of me, a small five embossed into the material. "Strength is important for your Telekinesis. After all, what good is only being able to float a few pebbles."

Mystic looked at his desk, and I watched as an apple floated up in his magic. "However, you must also learn to control your strength. Can't crush anything you try to hold now, can you?" He said as the apple was crushed into mush in his telekinetic grip. A small part of me recoiled in fear at the casual display, wondering what a trained unicorn could do to another pony. Making a mental note to consult Shadow on that later, I looked back to the front. Mystic's horn shone as the class gasped, the apple reforming from the pulp.

"Thank you for t-" Mystic started before the apple detonated like some sort of hand grenade, splattering itself over Mystic's face and three foals in the front row. A shriek of fright from the note-taking filly I'd seen earlier. With an awkward cough, Mystic turned back towards the class. "Those of you who were hit, you're excused to go clean yourselves up. I'm sorry, Lily." The orange and yellow filly, who I guessed was Lily, jumped off her desk and galloped from the room. I swore I heard her sniffling as she ran out. Two colts headed for the door as well, their manes splattered with apple mush. "And that class is why you test spells out before using them in public. Gold star to whoever can identify in a two hundred word report what failed with that spell."

Across from me, Katty's hoof shot up, a grin I recognised from my days going to school with her sister on full display. Mystic looked a little shocked as he trotted over towards us, one eyebrow raised. I glanced around and saw that all eyes in the room apart from my own were fixed on Katty. She seemed to have either not noticed or didn't care at all. "The spell didn't fail, sir, instead it just didn't linger. It fixed the apple, but when you stopped casting it, there was nothing to keep the apple fixed, so it exploded." 

"In laymare's terms, that is accurate, congratulations Katty," Mystic said before turning back to the front of the class. "Telekinesis is not a complicated spell. Focus on your horn, feel the magic within it. Then visualise the weight and surround it with your magic before trying to move that magic up and carry the weight with it."

I took in a breath, following the instructions as best as I could. Feeling the flow of magic through my horn, trying to ignore the other dots of magic around me from the other students. I looked at the weight, keeping its image firmly in my mind as I tried to surround it with my magic. A flickering and faded blue glow surrounding the dumbbell, my horn pulsing as I felt power flowing through it. It took a considerable force of will to not snicker and make a star wars reference to Katty as I increased the amount of magic I used. The small flow of power grew; it felt weird, like a light breeze blowing over my brain and out my horn. Tingles ran down my spine as I tried to lift my magic upwards.

"Yes!" As the weight wobbled and floated upwards, I whispered to myself, my magic managing to hold firm as the weight slowly started to rotate. I watched as it sped up, despite my magic holding it steady. It took a moment until I realised what was going on; the flow of power surrounding it was making it rotate away from me. In theory, I could kill that rotation. Adjusting my horn and the flow of magic, I watched as the weight slowed down before eventually stopping. A triumphant grin adorning my face as I looked right to see Katty floating three weights above her head. Her smile dwarfed mine. Triumph hardly even described the look on her face; the sparkle in her eyes was like Maya's when we'd studied how planes flew. I could tell that Katty had found her calling, which made me wonder, shouldn't this be when her Cutiemark would appear? Wasn't that what Mystic had said? Cutiemarks appear once a pony finds their calling? Or was it talent?

____________________________________________________________________________

Lunch was thankfully pretty soon; by the end of morning class, I'd managed to float two weights with relative ease. Katty had hit Ten before Mystic told her to calm down and not overstrain herself. We walked towards the lunchroom, thankful that Mystic's Academy provided lunch for students for free. The noise and clamour of a lunch hall streamed through the doors to meet us, the clink of cutlery and the dull roar of conversation. 

A little pulse of magic pushed the doors open for me and Katty to trot in. We entered the room, and silence fell almost instantly, roughly thirty unicorns turning to look at us. A few whispered to others sitting beside them. Their eyes staring at us from all around the room was unnerving. I felt the fur on the back of my neck rise. Katty was the first to move, ignoring the stares and trotting over to the counter. I followed behind her, trying to ignore the itch of frustration building in the back of my skull. 
The lunchmare was professional enough; she raised an eyebrow at us both but floated two bowls of salad to us. Which left the most "important" part of school lunches, finding a table. I rolled my eyes internally, the itch of frustration building as I looked around. Wherever I looked, the table occupants would either block the free spaces or just glare at me. 

"Come on Katty", I said over my shoulder, setting out for a table that was barely even a third full. The group of fillies at the far end looked up to see us approaching, and I swore their coats went a few shades paler. It was rather impressive, considering two of them had snow-white coats. Katty was floating our food along, her proud little smile still on display despite our fellow students' reaction. We sat down, and almost instantly, Katty had her muzzle in the salad, pulling back immediately in confusion.

"The dressing is salty?" She whispered to me, raising an eyebrow as she looked up. Why would the dressing be salty? It's unlikely that something was done to our food. Maybe it was like sugar? And salt was essential to a unicorn's diet? Mustering my best shrug, I just started to eat, floating pieces of lettuce to my mouth instead of following Katty's muzzle first method. All around us, the unicorn's stared. I could feel my eye twitch as the urge to demand to know what was going on built. Conversations gradually resumed as we ate, but I could still feel eyes watching me. Flickers of magic washing over me as somepony kept trying to sense if either of us did anything. 

"I don't like this Katty, what the fuck is going on?" I whispered, trying to keep my voice low enough that the fillies at the end of our table wouldn't hear. The moment I spoke, the conversations at tables around us died, ears unsubtly swivelling to listen in on our conversation. My eye twitched as the itching sensation only got worse. Out of the corner of my vision, a yellow filly I recognised from our class left the lunch hall. Sensing an opportunity to actually get an answer, I made a move. Excusing myself from the table wasn't exactly hard, "Not hungry. Whatever's left is all yours."

I crossed the lunch hall quickly, my hoofsteps sounding deafening to my ears. As I walked, a wave of silence preceded me, conversations died, and heads turned to watch. My frustration had grown into anger by this point. Who were these foals to judge me? What did they believe that we had done? Had they been through the forest! No, so how could they even try to comprehend.  By the time I had reached the door, I was burning up inside, each stare only further fueling the fire burning in my core. I could hear the clip-clop of Lily's hooves to the left, and I followed, catching up to her quickly, small dots of purple swimming in my vision. 



Lily turned around ahead of me, her ears pressing to her head as she stumbled away from me. Pressing herself against a wall in an effort to get away from me. "P-please don't hurt me", She muttered, barely loud enough for me to hear her. The fear in her eyes was almost palpable, sending a bolt of horror through my system. What the fuck was wrong with me? Scaring the hell out of a child and sulking like an irritable teenager again. 

"Asher, you must calm down. Do you not feel Sombramatic mana flowing within you? I will handle this for now, but we shall be discussing this later."

My anger dissolved in an instant between my realisation and Shadow draining away the dark mana. I was horrified at what I'd even been thinking. Fighting the urge to vomit, I looked up at Lily and tried to fix this situation.  

"Hey, my name's Asher. You're Lily right?" I ventured, a sheepish smile on my lips to try and reassure the utterly terrified filly ahead of me. I noticed what must have been a few inches size difference, not enough for me to tower over her, but it certainly wouldn't help with how scared of me she seemed to be. Making a mental note to figure out what was average height for a colt, I waited for her to reply, seconds ticking by as she remained frozen. "A...are you alright? I didn't mean to frighten you. I suppose the cold shoulder from everyone back there was just getting on my nerves." 

"Y-you're t-that dark unicorn from the rumours, aren't you? Why else could two unicorns show up like that in town and get the Princess to come all the way out for one of them!" Lily practically exploded as her ears lifted from her skull and pointed forward. Her body language radiated hostility clearly enough that even my limited time as a pony understood she had picked fight instead of flight. Much to my shame, I was startled and a little afraid at the yellow and orange magic-wielding Pony pointing her horn right at me. 

"What rumours?" I blurted out, trying to stay calm as I couldn't risk having another Sombramatic build up. My body shivered as the idea of having another build-up ran through my head. Images of an angry mob only making my attempt to stay calm feel justified to me. Lily looked at me as if I'd just claimed to be a bipedal ape evolved creature with no magic. In other words, she was utterly confused.

"You haven't heard? Tumble's dad is a guard and complained about having to rush out of town because of some knights from Canterlot demanding assistance with a dark magic user! The rumour says that it wasn't some evil stallion or mare but a unicorn foal, the child of nightmare moon sent to get revenge on ponykind for killing their mother!" Lily shook in fear as she recounted the story, which thankfully seemed to be pretty far from the truth. She claimed that the unicorn foal had ventured into the forest to revive the dead who had fallen trying to conquer the garrison one thousand years ago. In all honesty, the rumour was so embellished with villainous deeds that the foal had supposedly done. It was obviously some playground rumour. Although the parts it did get right were painfully accurate, from the dark magic-wielding unicorn foal being injured and the Princess arriving to judge the foal. 

"Wait, if the Princess arrived to judge this foal, why would they still be around town? Wouldn't the Princess have banished them to the moon?" I Interjected as Lily explained how the dark foal could drain the magic from another pony just by touching them. She opened her mouth to reply, the fire in her eyes burning before she faltered. One hoof raised to object to my interruption before her brow furrowed, and she sat down.

"That's a good point, so if you and that filly are here, you must not be the dark foal. But that doesn't explain why you two suddenly showed up and why the Princess came to see you!" Lily exclaimed as she pointed a hoof at me again. Come on, brain, I'm twenty-five years old. I can come up with an excuse in time. My thoughts ground to a halt as I frantically grasped at straws for an idea before the most blindingly obvious solution presented itself.

"We transferred from Celestia's school in Canterlot. I had an accident on the trip when I nearly fell onto the train tracks, so she came to see me in the hospital whilst she was here to finalise the paperwork with Mystic." I explained in as calm a tone as I could muster, hoping against hope that I had covered every base I needed to. Lily visibly thought over my explanation, mulling it over before she nodded slowly. Her demeanour changed on a dime as she perked up with a realisation. 

"What was the Princess like? Was she nice? She always sounded so kind when I heard her speak." Lily practically jumped closer, staring up at me with excited glee in her eyes. Moments later, I realised what I'd just unleashed. I'd just told a fangirl...fanfilly, that I'd met her Idol. Maintaining my best "official officer's business" smile, I started to edge back towards the lunch hall doors to escape. 

"She was intense. If I'm honest, the aura of her presence is just indescribable." My hasty description seemed enough to placate the excited filly as she nodded and literally bounced off away from me. I don't think I'd seen a pony literally bounce before, but that was evidently something they could do. Returning to Katty proved to be relatively simple. The cold stares greeted me as I came back into the lunch hall as if I was an old friend. With a heavy sigh, I trotted across the room, ignoring the stares and sitting down opposite Katty. "Turns out there were rumours of some dark magic using monster foal who came from the forest, and ponies in this place probably assume one of us is them." 

The room's nervous silence was shattered by Katty bursting out laughing. All eyes turned towards the source of the noise. I felt their stares as they moved past me to Katty. Who was laughing hard enough she had tears in the corners of her eyes, beating a hoof against the table whilst blubbering the occasional word. All I could make out was "you", "evil", "idiots" and "muffins." I had no clue what she meant by that last word as I was brought out of trying to decipher what she meant by the loud thump of Katty falling from her seat onto the floor, laughing the entire time.

____________________________________________________________________________


The end of the school day arrived far faster than I'd expected; magic theory was complicated. Still, Katty seemed to be able to intuit her way through the entire class. We walked out of the Academy's front doors with our books floating along in two colourful aura's of magic. I couldn't help but smile; I was using magic under my own control without any outside help. Something any normal human would probably think impossible, yet here I was doing it. As for Magic theory, it kind of made sense, each of the tribes had its own unique magic. Plus, Chaotic and Harmonic magic were two larger types. Added to that, I knew that Sombramatic magic was also another. 

The distinguishing feature was that Unicorn magic was the most versatile, being honed into different disciplines through training. I had to flip to the page to check the list, Pyromancy, Aquamancy, Songcraft, Combat and about a dozen other types. The book even explained that it didn't contain a complete list as each unicorn's magic was different, but they could apply the same techniques to form their spells. Magic seemed to be mostly done through mental constructs and channelling mana through different areas of your horn, no incantations, apparently. I was brought out of my thoughts as Katty stopped in front of me, and I walked right into her, dropping my floating books onto my head as my concentration was broken.

"Jesus! Watch it!" I complained, floating the hardcover textbook off my muzzle before rubbing it with a fetlock. If that bruised, I would practice my magic by dumping water on Katty at two in the morning. My muzzle tingled as it was yanked up by a field of yellow magic, forcing me to look up. Tibbs was lazily hovering above us, grinning like an utter madman. Katty's magic released my muzzle, allowing me to look down, spotting Maya walking along below Tibbs. She was covered in dirt and scratches. She looked pissed, her nostrils flared and ears twitching. 

"Flying makes no sense, seriously. How the hell do you keep stable in the air like that?" Maya was the first to speak, glaring up at Tibbs as he locked his wings to glide to the ground. It occurred to me that we were adapting pretty nicely to this whole place, Katty and I were figuring out magic. Give it a week, and Maya would be flying like she was born to do it. Tibbs already was, so I knew she'd figure it out. I floated my books into the bag Mystic had handed me after class before wincing in pain. 

My horn was starting to throb like I had a migraine coming on. I guessed it was probably due to overuse after not really using it at all after the forest. Today had raised enough things to ask Shadow about that I wanted to get home away from potentially prying horns. The town itself was seemingly rather calm, foals of all three tribes galloping off home. It was nice, if I'm honest, it reminded me of the photos I'd seen of small country villages in the peaceful years of the 30s. My ears swivelled as behind us; I heard the flapping of wings. It must have been a bunch of Pegasi, I guessed, although the wings had this weird buzz to them.

"Stop showing off Featherhead!" 
"Overgrown Chicken!"
"Bird Bucker!"

All four of us paused as what must have been eight of so Pegasi colts flew overhead, glaring and shouting insults towards Tibbs. I glanced at him to find he seemed to be as confused as I was.  


"Were those….species slurs? Not sure if I should be offended or laugh." He said out loud, watching as the pegasi landed not too far from us and galloped off. We resumed a brisk trot back to the house with a collective shrug, and Katty and I volunteering to cook tonight. By the time I finally got to bed, my horn ached. I could feel how drained I was. The soft blanket of my bed called to me. With a yawn, I collapsed onto the bed and felt sweet sleep finally overtaking me. 

"We have much to discuss, Asher."