How the Mighty can Fall
Chapter 10: All that Sparkles...
"I am Trixie, also known as the Great and Powerful Trixie. Until about a year ago I was a traveling performer, however I somehow managed to offend the Princess. She enacted her punishment when I got to Ponyville, you see that is where-"
"Yada yada yada, skip forward 'till you run away from the town into the Everfree. I know the rest" Josh butted in, sitting down on his haunches. It felt perfectly natural, and some part of him made him fix his eyes on Zecora for a few seconds. He shook his head and looked back at Trixie.
"Uh... OK then. So I ran into the Everfree. I'd just been shown up by the Princesses Prodige, and lost most of my possesions. I was sitting down in a clearing when I heard Zecora. She was arguing."
Josh looked at Zecora.
"The local vampire in charge of the clan. I must confess, I was not a fan.", the zebra conceeded.
"They were arguing over me. Not in a relationship way, over how to kill me. I scrambled to get up, and all of a sudden I was pinned on the floor, Zecora was shouting, and I passed out."
"I had to kill my vampire friend - he cause me fear for my own end. I brought in the mare and put her to bed, but if the princess had found out she'd have had my head." Zecora put in helpfully. Josh glared daggers at her, and she stepped back. Josh looked back at Trixie.
"I woke up a vampire, and Zecora explained the situation to me - she was a werewolf, I was supposed to be dead by order of the Princess, and the pony who beat me was indeed Twilight Sparkle, not some street pony. Magic is my talent as well, but I did not have her raw power - a bit like the difference between theory and practical at school."
"Except Twi is good at both." Josh pointed out.
"True, but when she came to ask Zecora about me, I was able to feign being dead some way from the clearing. I don't think she knows about me, but I still have to be careful."
"Oh trust me, she knows." Josh snorted. "So why did you attack me?"
"Celestia does upon the clans rely - to openly oppose them would cause us to die. But to force their hand would Celestia enrage, without the leaders us having to engage. If we bit you, you might survive, and lo and behold, you are still alive!" Zecora answered happily.
"I'm a Werepyre. How is that a good thing?" Josh asked sarcastically. "Oh great, I'm a walking behemoth of muscle and magic, now I just need to get home." He got up and began pacing on all floors. "I was hoping I could... Wait, Celestia?" Josh stared at the pair, suddenly shrinking slightly.
There was a knock at the door.
Josh dived out of the back window, scrabbling out and sprinting as soon as he hit the floor. Trixie dived under the bed.
"Zecora, we have a problem!" Twilight called from outside.
"I come my friend, the world shall not end!" Zecora called. She opened the door, only to get pushed back by Twilight.
"Have you seen a human?"
"Josh, from town? Not recently, don't feel down."
Twilight groaned and lent forward. She put her head in her hooves.
"He's in so much trouble, I need to find him."
"Twilight, what is it?" Zecora asked. She led Twilight in, keeping her facing away from the bed. Trixie bolted just before Twilight shut the door on her.
"I'd normally follow Celestia's instructions to the letter, but I sent him into the Everfree along the path rather than towards the grove, so no monsters saw him. He's still alive, but somewhere lost in the Everfree, and since Pinkie saw him just before he left she's freaking out, and so is the rest of town. Celestia came up with a 'monster' in the Everfree to keep ponies from going in, but now she's getting my mum to kill Josh and he won't stand a chance." Twilight said, wiping a tear away. "I need to find him and stop mum."
"He may have to the castle gone, an unusual place - it's certainly one." Zecora put in, handing a cup of tea to Twilight.
Twilight pushed it back shaking her head, and stood up. "Thanks but no Zecora. I'm going to head there now, wish me luck." She rushed out, leaving Zecora standing alone.
"Oh Josh, poor soul, I hope that I was not a mole." She wispered, tapping Twilight's tea with her hoof.
"Sorry!"
Josh just avoided the swipe of a manticores claw as he dashed past, desperate to get to the most secluded place in the forest he could. He didn't have any food, and he looked up to try and judge the time. He realised that he was completely unable to figure it out, and sighed, focusing back on the path. He wasn't tired or hungry, which worried him, but gift horse and all that.
His wings were unweildy until he learnt how to use them - he'd need an instructor to figure out...
No, he wasn't getting help any time soon.
He could see the edge of the woods. It was quite light outside, so Josh could see the mound quite clearly. As he got closer, he could see a series of picturesque streams, bridges and animal houses outside the main one. He grinned and skidded to a stop. Perfect.
"For the love of Celestia if that's you again Redchest I'm going to give you a proper injury!" Angel yelled, storming over to the door. Whoever was knocking was putting a lot of force into it, and probably needed help. Angel sighed and readied an apology. He jumped up, undid the latch and pulled back the door, to reveal-
"Whatever you do PLEASE do not get Fluttershy."
In the door stood a huge wolf, easily the size of a pony, with a jaw that looked like it could go through bricks, let alone a rabbit.
"We-" Angel began to yell, but was stopped by a paw over his mouth.
"Seriously Angel, no-one can know!" the wolf said. He had a look in his eyes that made Angel think. It was more scared than angry, but a bit cocky, and looked slightly familiar. Almost like..
"Mph?"
Josh moved his paw and knelt down until he was the same level as Angel. "Hey buddy."
"Woah, that's a problem. You're lucky Fluttershy is out, or you'd be on the wrong end of a stare right now."
Josh sighed and drooped slightly. "Can I come in?"
Angel stepped back and Josh walked in, to be greeted by a storm of squaks, crows, squeals and hisses. A group of puppies ran up to him, and sat down in front of him.
"Grandfather!"
"I'm not a proper wolf, little ones, go back to your parents."
One of the puppies tilted its head. "That's OK, you're one of our great-great-grandfathers then!"
Josh sighed and nudged the puppies back towards their parents. The older dogs nodded respectfully. Josh noticed that they hadn't spoken up once among the shouts and insults that the other animals had given him, not even to call back their puppies.
"All right, you lot shut up!" yelled Angel over the crowd "This is the human Twilight mentioned. Show the guy some respect, he wasn't one of these a few days ago!"
The crowd quietened down so that there was only the occasional murmur. Josh looked at Angel.
"So whatdya want?"
Josh sighed and slumped down, his head hitting the floor hard. He sighed.
"I'm a wanted outlaw."
The crowd gasped. Angel shook his head. "Wait wait, how?"
Josh looked around, then closed his eyes. "I got bitten, and I'm not even a bog-standard curable werewolf or vampire. I'm a freak. And Celestia suddenly says that there's a monster in the Everfree and no-pony can go in. If they see me then... Well, you guess."
Angel hopped in front of him. "Hey, it's not that bad."
"Angel, do me a favour." Josh said, eyes closed.
Angel hopped over, and bounced onto Josh's head. The puppies yelped and began to try to climb onto Josh as well, their parents holding them back.
"Sure, what do you need?"
"Try and keep the ponies out of the Everfree for a while, or show some of them the truth. I couldn't stand being alone at the- at the moment." Josh's voice caught in his throat for a second, and he felt himself beginning to cry. He lifted a paw and wiped it away, making Angel fall suddenly. The rabbit got in his feet again and saluted. "You have my word."
Josh sighed and smiled. Maybe he could just...
"Angel, I'm back! I have to help look for Josh and Twilight, I can't just sit here and pray!"
Fluttershy walked in to a semi-concious winged wolf laying on the floor with Angel by his head. The wolf pricked up its ears, turned around, saw Fluttershy and sprinted out the door, barging past the small pegasus.
"Well I never!"
Fluttershy huffed and stomped the ground lightly.
"Some ponies have no manners! Who was that horrible werewolf, I might have to teach him some manners the next time I see him!"
Angel sighed and facepalmed. This could be a problem.
Run run run run, run the race of your life.
The song came to Josh as he ran, wind biting into him. It wasn't one he'd heard before, but it worked.
Hope that you can leave behind, all your angst and strife.
Josh began to cry again. Nobody, not even Fluttershy. He had some dogs support, but that meant little in reality.
Feel the pain a-rising, rising off your back.
Water splashed in his face. Josh wasn't entirely sure where he was anymore, but it wasn't near town. He couldn't even come up with a good song
Hope that you can beat the mind attack.
"Well well, a pegasi werewolf, how interesting."
Josh stopped and looked around.
"Only I have the real right to go through here, me and the rest of my clan that is. I only consider Celestia's requests because of who she is, after all."
"I don't want to fight."
"That's a pity. I do."
A large werewolf stepped forward, and suddenly out of the shadows of the Everfree came a pack of werewolves, all transformed, all sizeable.
If Josh had been standing properly, he would have dwarfed even their leader, who stood haughtily in front of him, looking down through his nose. As such, he was crouched to flee at the first chance he got, and was about the same height as one of the shorter ones.
"Your choice. Fight me and pass, fight me and die, don't fight me and don't pass, or don't fight me and get killed because you try to cheat."
Josh looked around, checking his opponent and potential chasers.
"How do I win?"
"It's quite simple. Pin me for five seconds before I can do the same to you. You can have as many trys as you want, but I'll aim to kill after about five."
Josh gulped, but nodded. "Alright then." He stood up on his hind legs, and braced himself for a fight, hunching over and baring his teeth.
If he was the same size as them when stood on all fours, now he was easily taller than them, and the sudden display of flexibility on his part made them stop and think. Their leader gulped suddenly, but crouched and got ready to attack.
"Three." One of the wolves counted.
"Two." Josh licked his lips.
"One." The werewolf tensed and put his weight into his haunches.
"Fight!"
Josh sprinted foreward with one arm out, intent on stopping the smaller wolf from getting a firm grip. The smaller wolf lept under his arm and used his weight to force Josh onto the ground, but before it could bite him it was pulled off and thrown into a tree in one smooth motion. Josh rolled over and ran over to the wolf, but before he could grab it it rolled over and ran forwards out of his way. He managed to grab the fleeing wolves tail and yanked backwards, putting one hand onto its back and applying all the force he could, which was his weight and more.
The wolf collapsed, and Josh silently counted to seven in his head slowly. On seven, he lifted his weight off the wolf and stepped back. He looked around.
The smaller wolf looked up at him with contempt.
"Another pack leader looking to cause me hell?"
Josh shook his head and looked around for a landmark. There was a castle spire in the direction he had been heading before, as good a place as any to stay.
"No, just a traveler."
He dropped down onto all fours and started walking towards the castle, the circle of wolves parting as he passed. The leader struggled up from the floor.
"You idiots, he's getting away!"
One of the other wolves glared at him.
"You would do well to treat an obvious superior with respect, especially with a victory like that. Old fool." The wolf spat out the last two words.
She looked towards the spire which Josh was heading to. "We should be ready to help him when he asks for us. I will be."
Without another look at her old leader, she walked away.
The leader growled, but when the others followed the females lead, he spat.
"Traitorous scum! Nopony shows me up! Nopony!"
Growling and muttering, he walked back towards his den, murder in his thoughts.
"Well lookie here, a master infiltraitor! Never seen a guy like you before."
The vampire, like most of his kind, had fangs and very pale fur. Josh growled and kept walking as he had been.
"Aww, why so cold? C'mon man, I just wanna talk!"
"I've had a run in with a werewolf already today, do NOT make me add a vampire to my list of victories today."
"Eh, suit yourself." The vampire lept down from his perch and grinned at Josh, landing in front of him.
"But there's a fee to get through, y'know."
Josh snorted. "Yeah, I bet there is."
"I ain't kiddin'! I've gotta get so much for each person that comes through here, and you're trying to get through."
"Charge the next person double." Josh replied, moving forward and pushing the vampire out of his way.
The vampire stepped back in front of Josh and held out a hoof to stop him. "Can't. The fee is one pint of blood, and you are NOT getting through without paying."
Josh narrowed his eyes. "One pint."
The vampire shrugged. "Give or take."
Josh shook his head. He moved forward again, chuckling at what some people were willing to try.
The vampire moved to block him again. "No joke."
Josh growled. "The pint would be for you and you alone, you can't share blood between vampires. If you want to get a sample, go into town."
The vampire bared his teeth. "Maybe you aren't as dumb as I thought. If you want to keep your blood so badly, get ready to defend it."
Growling, Josh sprinted past the vampire...
Straight into its chest, sending it flying. Josh yelled as his head hit the vampire. It felt worse than when he'd had a cronic headache.
"Move you bloodsucking moron!"
"Not until I get my lunch!"
The vampire pulle itself off of the tree and began to flit around Josh to distract him. He was moving so fast it was hard to spot him. Bracing himself for the impact, Josh put all his strength into a huge leap, flapping his wings to get more force behind the leap. He barreled foreward, smashing into the vampire, who went flying head first into another tree.
"Oh Ce-" The vampire groaned. Josh ran before it could recover, folding his wings away as he went.
"How the hay did he do that?" The vampire groaned, pulling himself out of the small crater. "I'm the strongest guy around here, I swear!"
He shook his head. "Maybe the guy stands a chance against that unicorn after all. Still, good luck to him and all..."
The vampire looked around. Luckily, his defeat hadn't been noticed, so maybe-
"Oh man, that was just AWESOME!"
Well buck.
Run to the castle, find an intact room, take shelter, refocus, expose Celestia.
Josh sighed. Why did life have to be so hard?
The castle was derilict, and had vines everywhere. From his veiwpoint across a gully, Josh could make out shattered windows and fallen walls. Nevously, Josh lept, and with a few huge beats of his wings, made it across. He cut the bridge close to the planks just to be sure no-one could follow him.
Looking inside the first room, he recognised it instantly. The huge pedestle in the middle of the room was perfectly designed to hold the five elements, and the boulder in the middle of the pedastles had a slight green tinge. Josh ignored them, other than to look for a door in the base and around the rest of the room. The only one he saw led to a stairwell, so he walked up, trying to keep a track of everything.
It was incredible. Many of the tapestires and murals were of very good quality, and one room even had an intact bed in it. All of them had some kind of issue, unfortunately, and Josh hoped that there would be a room that was intact before he started messing with other ones. With a heavy heart, and a feeling of dread at the sheer amount of work he would have to do, Josh opened the last door. The door was intact, so far a good sign, but it led to another stairwell, which Josh grudgingly climbed. About halfway up, he thought he heard the door slam, but it was too far down to bother checking, so he kept going.
The last room was the one where Twilight fought Nightmare Moon, complete with armour shards and pedestle in the centre.
"Fitting that another of Celestia's enemies should be beaten by where Nightmare Moon fell."
Josh spun around to face the speaking pony. Unfortunately, he hadn't managed to figure out that particular motion, and fell flat one his face.
"And you're supposed to be a danger to me? This has got to be a joke."
The speaker was a white and pink unicorn, who was looking down at the were-creature with contempt.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Josh asked, pushing himself up, not even bothering to find some semblance of dignity from his slip.
"Twilight Velvet. I am Twilight Sparkles mother, and one of Princess Celestia's closest advisors."
Josh rolled his eyes. "If this is about coming in quietly, she's come to the wrong person. I will speak to her when I feel like it."
"Coming in? Oh no, I have been given a very different job to that."
Josh frowned for a second, then slowly backpedaled, eyes widening as he realised what was going on. "You wouldn't."
"I do this all the time." The unicorn answered nochalently. "It's 'just another day at the office' for me." She formed a sword out of her magic, which hovered in front of her as she stepped towards the retreating werebeast. "But for you, well."
Josh closed his eyes as the sword came closer to his neck. Twilight's mother smiled a terrible smile.
"For you, this is going be the end of your career."
...Is not Twilight.
As a side note, Twilight's mum, aka Twilight Velvet, will now be know as Velvet for the purposes if narration. Not the Velvet that is an awesome Tumblr (look for it), but another Velvet entirely. Blame the MLP wiki.
And if you want to know why it took me so long to update, it's because I have a crummy computer. And it was being fixed for way to long.
Also, AN EDIT! Any text in Italics is in Animal - i.e. ponies don't understand it. Except Fluttershy. Because it's freakin' Fluttershy.
Yes, that includes you Pinkie.
Damn.