Hi! Thanks to those who read this story. I would really appreciate more reviews, though. So, if you like this story, leave a review. If you don't like it, leave a review. Also, from now on, there will be a fictitious languague from my creation called Coranthan.
Disclaimer: MLP belongs to Hasbro. The OCs, the story, and Coranthan belong to me.
Chapter two
Hw laqpa zao xnwrao [The Pack of Brave]
...
It had been about a week since I arrived in Equestria. During that week, I trained my ability to change form, ability Nathan calls 'shifting'. I made some friends, mostly Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Rarity because of my personality being, in part, similar to theirs. I made myself a small hut in which I live. Fluttershy helped me settle in since she is my closest neighbour and a good friend.
I woke up, pushing my blanket aside. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. I yawned, and I walked out of my hut.
The sun was slowly rising in the east. I had developed the habit of waking up with the sunrise, and going to bed with the sunset. I breathed deeply, filling my lungs with cold late fall air. The air smelled the end of fall and the coming of winter. The leaves had fallen; a few days ago was the traditional 'Running of the Leaves'. I participated just to keep in shape, and I ended in fifth place.
I walked back in my hut. I made my bed, placing the blanket and the pillow neatly on the mattress. I grabbed my backpack, took out some dried fruits, ate them and left my hut. I walked towards Fluttershy's cottage, hoping my Vita was fully charged.
I got there and I knocked on the door, but no one answered. I knocked again, but still no answer. I walked around the cottage, but there was no signs of my yellow friend. Then, I heard someone cry. It sounded like a little girl about eight years old, and it came from the forest.
I ran towards the crying. I soon reached a clearing where I saw three human figures, one Pegasus figure, and three Timberwolves. I quickly ran to Fluttershy.
"Why are Timberwolves here?!" I asked.
"They followed them." Fluttershy said, pointing a hoof at the three kids.
The leading Timberwolf let out a roar, and it reminded me of something Nathan and I came up with to call for each other's help. To 'howl like a wolf under a full moon', to put it like Nathan did. I took a deep breath, and I howled like a wolf, and it sounded like a wolf with just a touch of humanity in it. The Timberwolves looked at me, unsure of what I was.
We all stayed there, sizing up each other while I waited for Nathan to come. But the longer I waited, the more the Timberwolves seemed ready to attack. Eventually, I got bored and moved first, but I was stopped dead in my track by a male voice I found all the most annoying right now.
"You called?" Nathan said from up a tree.
"About time you showed up." I retorted.
He jumped down from the tree, landing behind the Timberwolves.
"Let's make so fire wood." Nathan said.
He then jumped on the leading Timberwolf, giving me my cue to jump on another one of them. The tried to get us off, but they only managed to get some twigs out of their heads. Eventually, we made them bang each other's head. Thy fell to the ground in two piles of wood and moss. The remaining Timberwolf ran away with its tail between its legs.
"Thank you, Nathan." Fluttershy said.
"You're welcome." Nathan said before he ran away to wherever he lived.
I got closer to the little girl, but the oldest boy got in my way. I then saw that the youngest boy was injured badly.
"It's okay, she's a friend of mine. Jenny, could you help we get the injured boy to my cottage?"
I nodded and picked up the injured boy gently. I then saw the two other kids' forearms. Slashed and bleeding, just like me when I first arrived. I got the boy to Fluttershy's cottage, putting him down on the floor while Fluttershy went to get her first aid kit. She came back and began to tend the boy's wounds while I got the two other kids to the kitchen so I could patch them up, and learn as much as I could about them.
"So, who are you?" I asked the little girl.
"Don't answer her." The oldest boy said in a firm tone.
"You're not the only ones to have lost their home and family. I lost almost everything, too." I said.
I then folded my jacket's sleeves up, showing the six scars, three on each forearm. The little girl looked at her own forearms and gasped.
"You're like us." She said.
The boy looked down at his forearms, and let out a sigh.
"It might hurt a little." I told the girl before I began to clean the wounds.
She winced a little, but it was over soon. I bandaged her forearms, then I moved to the boy.
"Can you do it yourself, or do you want me to patch you up?"
He mumbled something, then he went in front of me. I cleaned and bandaged his wounds, then I looked at the two more attentively.
The girl was wearing a white dress and black shoes. Her hair was curly, blonde in color, and fell to her behind. She had emerald-green eyes.
The boy looked like he was about twelve. He was wearing a long-sleeved orange shirt with a blue denim jeans and white sneakers. He also had curly blonde hair, kept shoulder length. He had the same emerald-green eyes as the girl.
"Are brother and sister?" I asked.
"Yes, and the boy the yellow Pegasus is taking care off is also our brother."
"Her name is Fluttershy, Jacob." The little girl said.
"No, she is not a cartoon character, Lucy."
"Her name IS Fluttershy, and I am Jennifer, but I prefer Jenny."
"Why aren't you a pony?" Lucy asked.
I knelt down to be eye level with the little girl.
"You see, Lucy, I am from the same world as you." I said before I got back up. "And you will probably be stuck here for the rest of you lives."
Fluttershy walked in the kitchen.
"I did my best, but he needs a doctor, and fast."
I nodded and snatched my fully charged Vita and the charger, putting them in my backpack, before I left the cottage. I hurried to my hut, where I put my backpack down and got naked. I focused, and I began shifting to a wolf, the form I had the most ease with.
Once I was fully shifted, I went back to Fluttershy's cottage. I walked in, scaring Jacob but not Lucy. The latter walked to me and hugged me. Jacob quickly dragged Lucy away from me, and Fluttershy gently put the injured boy on my back. She strapped him there, and I ran towards the hospital as fast as I could without injuring further the boy.
We were all waiting in the library for Fluttershy to come back with the boy, who was named Franklin according to Jacob. Twilight was pacing around, like her usual self. Spike was trying to outrun Lucy who seemed to want to hug him and pat him and love him and call him George, you know, the usual.
Pinkie was, well, Pinkie. Nathan was perched on top of a shelf as a falcon, Rarity was sitting down on a cushion, Rainbow Dash was sprawled out in the stairs, reading the latest Daring Do book, and AJ was talking with Jacob. As for me, I was sitting with my back against the wall, listening to my music on my Vita.
After what seemed like an eternity, the door of the library finally opened. Standing in the door way was the nine-year-old Franklin. Like is two siblings, he had emerald-green eyes. However, his hair was black, straight and keep short. He was wearing a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, blue denim jeans and white sneakers.
Jacob and Lucy stopped what they were doing and they hugged their sibling. Fluttershy walked in and went to Twilight. Nathan and I promptly went to Twilight as well, Nathan perching himself on top of Fluttershy's head.
"So?" Twilight asked.
"Well, it's just like Nathan and Jenny. He healed up quickly, and the doctor said that something was weird about him. And he also has a mark that look like a multi-century old tree."
"Just like us." Nathan said.
"What do we do?" I asked.
"Teach them, and protect them. Probably make something like a wolf pack, since our call is a wolf's call." Nathan suggested.
"And where will they sleep?" Twilight inquired.
"Ah can give 'em a place ta live fer now." AJ said as she inserted herself in the conversation.
Twilight nodded and AJ went to the siblings to tell them they would be staying with her family. Once she had told them, I walked to them and I spoke.
"Alright. Nathan and I will teach you to control your new ability, the one you received from what slashed your forearms. I'll teach Lucy and Nathan will teach Jacob and Franklin." I said.
"Alright, so follow me boys." Nathan said as he flew out through the door.
The two boys looked at each other and followed him, leaving Lucy with me.
"Alright, Lucy. Come with me."
Lucy and I left the library and we went to my hut. Once there, I explained the basics to Lucy, did a little demonstration, and she tried it for herself. She quickly understood how to shift, and how to 'borrow' from other forms. By the time I was ready to get her to Sweet Apple Acre, she had a wolf's tail she voluntarily borrowed. I brought her to Applejack, then I went back to my hut, ate some nuts, then went to sleep.
The next morning, I was awoken by Lucy and Applejack.
"Whaa?" I asked, still half asleep.
"Twilight want to see you." Lucy's little voice said.
"Alright." I said as I got up. "Just a moment."
I grabbed my backpack and I went outside, Lucy behind me. I greeted Applejack with a gesture of the hand, then the three of us walked to the library. In the library, I saw that Nathan, Jacob and Franklin were already there, and Twilight was pacing around. I walked inside, Lucy on my heels.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Last night, humans attacked a group of ponies. I know it's none of you, but I still have to ask you a few questions."
And so began the interrogation. Fortunately, it didn't take long before it was over. Applejack left, and we began to talk about those humans that attacked the ponies.
"Like I said, I saw them. And I can tell you this: they are not from Earth. One of them used magic. They had swords and spears made of copper. And they all wore medieval armor, with a symbol on the chest piece." Nathan said.
I immediately took out my pad of paper and some pencils and colouring pencils. Nathan took the pad and a pencil, and he began to draw. After some time, he switched from the pencil to the colouring pencils. Once he was done, he showed us the symbol.
A golden skull above what looked like a blood-red sea, like a sunset or a sunrise over the ocean.
I saw Jacob flinch at the sight of the symbol, and Twilight swallowed something, probably to avoid vomiting.
"I guess it's up to us to stop them, then." I said as I took the pad.
"Are you crazy?" Nathan asked.
"You know, I wouldn't be surprised. I never believed in alternate universe or other worlds, and yet, here I am, completely alive. And I believe in this world." I said, walking around a little.
"You don't understand, do you? I saw what these guys are capable of, tabarnak. They are... Monsters!" Nathan replied.
"I said 'us', Nathan. Not 'me'." I said, showing the us five humans on the word 'us', and myself on the word 'me'. "We're in this together."
"If there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it." Jacob said, shaking his head. "I'm tired of just standing there and not even lifting a finger when others need help. I'll fight."
"I wanna help, too." Lucy said.
I was about to protest, but Jacob prevented me.
"Trust me, she can fight. And Franklin too."
"Looks like you're the only one that doesn't want to help." I said, looking at Nathan.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said I didn't want to help. I asked if you were up to the task, is all." Nathan replied with a grin. "Let's waste these bastards."
It was the night, and I was a wolf. Above me, a falcon was making circles, looking in every direction for any signs of camp. After about a minute, the falcon moved towards one direction, and I followed. After a few minutes, I reached a clearing, and the falcon landed on a tree stump.
"Can't see shit up there. Wherever they are, they know the ponies'll be watching out for them. So no fire." Nathan, in is falcon form, said with a sigh. "Plus, a falcon isn't exactly a nocturnal beast. I can still try to shift into an owl, but..."
"Go ahead." I said.
I turned around and waited for him to shift. I could smell his odour, the odour of human flesh. I heard my stomach growl.
"Hungry?" Nathan asked jokingly.
"Yeah, and..." I said as I sniffed the air, picking up the sent of humans, but not Nathan, nor any of the three siblings. "Got 'em."
"About time you used the wolf's natural abilities. Eventually, your human form will develop some of the natural abilities of your favorite form. In my case, I can spot things several miles away, and that's as a human. Alright, let's go." Nathan said.
I nodded and took off running in the direction of the smell. Nathan took off and flew above me, silent just like an owl. After about an hour, we found their camp. I watched the camp while Nathan flew back to Fluttershy's cottage where the siblings were waiting.
About an hour and a half later, three young owls landed, two in one place, the other in another. They shifted, Lucy back to human, and the two boys into wolves. Then, a white dress was dropped over Lucy, and she put it on. With a nodded, I went to her, nuzzling her as I slashed her back. Once I was done, she walked in the camp, stumbling around and making a lot of noise.
Soon, men walked out of their tents to see what was going. When the saw Lucy, they woke the entire camp, and when the man who looked like the medic approached Lucy, she shifted into a fully grown adult bear. It was our cue to me and Lucy's brothers.
We jumped out of the bushes, and we fought against the humans. We killed most of them, and as I was walking through the camp looking for remaining humans to be taken as hostages, I found a girl about my age. She was wearing the armor of the men, but not proudly. She looked like she hated the symbol on the chest. She had sweet hazelnut eyes, and straight dark brown hair flowing past her waist. At that moment, my heart skipped a beat. She was beautiful.
We gathered the few men and women still alive. In total, we captured seven humans, three women and four men. We brought them back to Ponyville to be interrogated the next day. When we finally got them locked up, I proposed to stand guard near them. I was granted my wish, and I passed the night watching them. And talking with the brown-haired girl.
I walked to where the girl was, still in my wolf form. She was held in a separate cell, alone, as the other cells were full with the six other humans we captured. I spoke to her.
"Hey. What's your name?"
"Sylva." She answered, her voice feeling like silk.
"How old are you, Sylva?"
"Eighteen."
"I think your beautiful." I told her, much to my head's disagreement.
"Me hardly speak language you. Past, me be slave." She said, and I realised that she probably hardly understood what I had said to her.
I slowly came closer to the bars of her cell, passing my muzzle between them. Sylva slowly crawled to me, and she placed her hand in front of my muzzle. I sniffed a little, recording her scent. She smelled like wild flowers, but she also smelled like blood, fear, hatred and sorrow. I licked her hand to comfort her, and she giggled, which filled my heart with joy.
The morning came, and there was no problem with our hostages. Twilight interrogated all but two of them, Sylva and a man I suppose was their leader. When the man's turn came, I eagerly followed. I stayed outside of the room in which the interrogation was to take place, and I listened with my wolf's hearing.
"Who are you and why did you attack ponies?" Twilight asked.
"I am Commander Dexan, leader of the Golden Skull." The man answered, a strong accent in his rough voice.
"Why did you attack ponies?" Twilight repeated her question, seeing Dexan would not continue on his own.
"We attacked the lkjauo because they are living on our land, the land our ancestors lost to your filthy kind." Dexan said harshly.
"Why didn't you just asked Princess Celestia for some sort of agreement?" Twilight asked.
"We will never fall as low as to beg to the filthy grekal that claims to be your benevolent leader. She will die, and all of you saktel with her!" Dexan spat at Twilight.
"You plan to attack the Princess?" Twilight asked.
"I won't speak to a grekal of a lkjau." Dexan said.
"Then, you are of no more use to us." Twilight said, and she left the room.
I hurried around the building to catch with Twilight before she took Sylva in for interrogation. When I reached her, I immediately spoke.
"The remaining girl hardly speak our language. I spoke a little to her last night, but I couldn't get anything out of her but her name and her age. Her name is Sylva and she is eighteen." I said.
"I will still ask her a few question, and the language barrier won't be a problem since one of the women is ready to translate everything for us. That woman was a slave to them." Twilight told me, and I felt better. "If you want, you can be there with me."
Twilight got Sylva out of her cell and in the interrogation room with the woman that was going to translate everything.
"So, you're name is Sylva, right?" Twilight asked, and it was translated to Sylva's mother tongue.
She nodded slowly, looking at me. Twilight saw it and rose an eyebrow.
"Wolf speak me night. Wolf friend." Sylva said.
Twilight's face lit up a little, but she still glared at me. I lowered my head, and I felt like whining.
"Tell me your story." Twilight asked.
Sylva nodded once she heard the translated question. She spoke in her language for a long time before stopping to allow the translator to tell us what she had said.
"She said that she was a slave." The woman said with a strong accent. "When she was young, maybe four, her village became vassal to the Golden Skull, a group of rogue soldiers. She was captured and enslaved because of her magical abilities. She belonged to Dexan and was often brought up during meetings with other smaller factions as a sign of nobility. She was also used as a mage, but Dexan never thought good to teach her other tongues. Dexan also mistreated her because of her impure attraction."
"Impure attraction?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. She is attracted by those of the same gender, and it is considered blasphemy and heresy to have such relations in our culture. Unlike me, Sylva was branded by Dexan, her Master, and cannot be set free. She and I are the only slaves of our camp." The woman said.
"Okay. Sylva, Apkeha, you are free to live among us. And I wish to learn more about your culture." Twilight said.
The woman, who was apparently named Apkeha, translated the first part of what Twilight said. Sylva began to cry. She got up, knelt in front of me, and she hugged me. Apkeha then spoke a little harshly.
"Sylva, wnnapa yw."
Sylva stopped and said something that sounded like an apology. I then spoke, startling Apkeha.
"I can be Sylva's guide and teacher. She can live with me while I teach her our language."
Apkeha knelt down and began chanting something. I rolled my eyes.
"I am a human. But I can't turn back to my human form because if I do so, I'll be naked."
Apkeha seemed to calm down, and she translated my offer. She looked at Twilight with pleading eyes. Twilight sighed and nodded. I then went back to my hut, leading Sylva there. Once we reached my cozy home, I turned back to human. I heard Sylva gasp. I turned around and I saw that she was blushing while she tried not to look at me. But she was still peeking from time to time. I smiled and I went back inside. I dressed and I went back outside.
I gestured to Sylva to follow me inside. We went inside and we sat down in the bedroom/living room. I took my pad of paper and took a blank sheet of paper with a pencil. I began to write down the alphabet we used for our language. When I was done, she nodded and took the pencil. She wrote down her alphabet, placing the corresponding cuneiform glyph beside the corresponding letter.
When she finished, I tried to take the pad and the sheet, but she prevented me. She then wrote the standard alphabet on the other side of the glyphs, but instead of starting with 'a', it began with 'w'. We continued trading knowledge about our respective languages for a long time.
I learned that the language she spoke was called Coranthan. And she taught me their word for 'gorgeous'.
Iwcjebemqa.
And she told me I was just that.
When the sun finally set, I went to sleep, and Sylva crawled under the blanket with me. I didn't knew why, but I felt that she and I would be perfect for each other despite the fact that we barely knew each other.