Best get your back up against a wall. You're outnumbered, so let's at least limit the directions they can come at you. Then wait for them to lunge before you strike. It worked before, it should work again.

You back up quickly, shoving your rump back into the rough stone wall as you pant, eyes darting to either side, watching the wolf-things eyes, glowing in the dark. The occasional flash of lightning illuminates their bodies, crouching low and several feet away, one moving to each side, thorn-claws scraping across the stone, as they walked, growls emitting from their unnatural throats as they stalked you...

You stand with your rump pressed against the wall, panting quickly, holding your blade up, and swinging it from your left to your right, in an effort to discourage your hunters... but you know that that won't last long, and you don't know what else to do. You'd love for them to just go away. Or run at you and impale themselves on your blade again. But the first time was just a fluke. Nopony, yourself included, could have guessed that a freaking sword could have spouted out of your hoof! And by mid-leap the thing couldn't stop itself from the self-impalement. But it's clear that these things aren't stupid, they're circling you, hunting you, not just charging... They're plotting how to take you down, and even with your back cut off to attack, it's only a matter of them being too many for you to handle, moving at once... and you don't know how to counter them.

Your new weapon yearns for battle. Observe the pack, made of wood or not, they are still wolves. Find their Alpha, the one they look to for orders. Challenge him and kill him. Once you slay him, you will gain your first minions in the remnents of the pack. If they won't follow you...kill them. Be sure to save some of their sap, there should be a flask behind the throne. Timberwolf sap/blood is quite toxic when ingested and it's always a good idea to carry a poison with you.

Nomad

You glance to your sword, the pale blue glow of the mist at it's base illuminating it enough for you to see it, at least the bottom half of it, and the green sap oozing down it's jagged blade... You're pretty sure that stuff's toxic. You might want to keep it later to use against other monsters. But that's not what's important right now! No what's important is this freaky blade that popped out of your damn hoof! What the buck!?

Low growls and pair of green eyes in the black reminds you that that's not what's important either. They are. You lower your blade a little and look from one, then to the other, turning your head from left, to right, watching them watch you. They're pack animals, you're sure of that. Like the foals that used to bully you after school, they're relying on each other, working as a group, scared to work alone. That means that they've got some kind of alpha, some big important head honcho goading them on. If they'd cowed or retreated you'd think it was the one that secured it's place in history as the first crystal-impaled wolf-kebab. But they're still working together, still hunting you... Which meant that their leader is probably somewhere else, and still demanding tribute. Buck it.

You breathe in deeply then out again, wincing slightly as you feel a throbbing at the back of your head... The fall from earlier probably hadn't run it's course yet, pain dulled by adrenaline, might have a concussion, but can't worry about that now. You've got a pair of wolves looking at you like your meat, so you've got to watch them and-

As another wolf lunges at you, lightning shall launch from the obsidian blade, shocking the wolf, and unlocking a new power.

With lightning the blade emerged, lightning is still within the blade. Use it as you will.

FLASH!

AWWWOOOO!!!

"SHIT!"

You didn't even see them coming but now they're right bucking there! Illuminated by the lightning, leaping through the air with their mouths open and thorn-fangs glistening, flash-frozen in the moment of your realization! Catch one and the other's left to gnaw on your insides! Unfortunately there's only one thing you can do, and you don't like it because it involves leaping forward then whirling around quickly, and desperately hoping that you do it before they bite into your flank. You really wish you had a better plan than that.

You leap clumsily on your tired bruised limbs, and land in a heap on the stone floor as the wooden paws of the wolves clamber onto the stone behind you. A satisfying-

THUNK

Sound fills the air, followed by growls of pain. You smirk, a wild hope entering your heart. Sounds like they knocked heads together, you might just have a chance! You scramble back up to your legs quickly with that thought in mind, but reality comes back to bite you in the flank. Literally.

"AAAHHH!!!" You shout as your flank lights up with a burning pain, screaming into your brain as something hot and warm runs down your right hind-leg. You whirl around clumsily, throwing your left hoof in an arch and you feel a-

CHIK!

As the tip of your blade catches on something, and then rips through it. A howl and a darting pair of green eyes in the dark gives you a small sense of righteous vindication, and a flash of lightning shows you the pair of wolves together, standing where you'd just been, teeth-bared and growling. The left one has a cut along it's muzzle, green sap leaking out, along with a mouth full of blood red thorn-teeth flesh and fur sticking out from between the fangs, your blood dripping down it's jaw and onto the stone...

You grit your teeth, chemicals in your body working to help you ignore the pain in your head, and your flank, and your limbs. You are getting really, REALLY pissed. That damn wolf just literally bit you in the ass! HE BIT YOU IN THE ASS!!! You couldn't even see it because it's so bucking dark and the only time you can see is when the damned lightning flashes! You need to be able to see the damn wolf-thing so you need the lightning to flash! You need the damn lightning! LIGHTNING DO WHAT YOU WANT!

FLASH!

BOOOOOOM!!!

Once again pain grips your body as a lightning bolt soars through a wide empty window to the left of the wolf-pair, striking your body and knocking you across the room, and into one of the ruined stone pillars, which you then proceed to crumple down in front of.

"Ugggghhh..." You groan as your fur stands on end, little sparks crackling between the hairs, the smell of burnt flesh emanating from you as wisps of black smoke rise from your form. As you shakily push yourself back up to your hooves, scraping the blade across the stone, head spinning, eyes groggy... Then your eyes shoot wide as a sudden pain seizes in your spine, and you arch your back upwards, planting your hooves on the ground and sticking your blade into the stone as you grit your teeth and squeeze your eyes shut, opening your mouth to let out an-

"Auuuggghh!!!" Screaming once again as a wet-

SPLAT!

Sound fills the air, wet red splattering down onto the stone all around you, and onto your hooves and fur that... that you can see... ... You blink, then slowly turn your head up and to the left, over your shoulder, looking to your back... ... And you are completely unable to comprehend exactly what it is you see sticking out of it.

Two steel-grey rods, slender and thin, jutting up out of your back near where Pegasus wings might have stuck from. They stick up high into the air, a foot and six inches to two feet maybe, and at the ends they're curved, like hooks though with dull rounded ends, arching back. But that's not the end of it. Archs of electricity are jumping between them, back and forth, sometimes running up and down a rod all the way to the hook at the end, and then zapping back over to the other side. The electricity is coursing along the two metal poles in your back and as it courses it's lighting up the room in flickering bright light, at least for a few feet around you, letting you see in the dark.

Letting you see the bucking wolf things as they crouch low, startled and surprised, growling at you, watching you with their bright green eyes. You blink, then you narrow your eyes at them, then you growl yourself, and something comes over you inside... You feel along the insides of your back, and find a new muscle, one that feels... right. You give it a twitch, and then push it up in your spine, and a loud-

BUUUUUUZZZZZZ

Comes from the rods on your back, as each of them pulls the electrical energy down the lengths of their rods up to the ends of the hooks, and keeps the energy there. Small balls of lightning caught on the ends, buzzing and humming and lighting up the room steadily as you feel pressure building up in that new muscle, as you feel a strain... Gritting your teeth, you focus your attention on the wolf you struck, the one that bit your flank, and let that strain free.

ZAP!

The twin balls of lightning arch a band of electricity together, before shooting out a bolt from in-between the hooks of the rods, launching through the dark towards your targeted wolf. The bright flash of arching energy curls through the air and hits it square on, throwing it back and into the wall as the energy ignites it's wooden body. The creature bursts into flames even as it shatters against the wall, green sap and wooden pieces splattering everywhere.

You breathe heavily, the rods no longer buzzing, energy no longer coursing up and down the poles... Then you furrow your brows as you see green mist start to rise from the sap and touch to it's wooden pieces, starting to pull them together... You growl, and swing your left-hoof forward again, ripping your blade from it's stone sheathe, scattering rubble as you point it towards the mist. The mist jerks, and stops, and then lets the wooden pieces clatter onto the stonework, twirling through the air towards your black Obsidian Blade, and spiraling into the surface, disappearing and eaten as it feeds the sword...

It is dark again. There is only one pair of green eyes in the dark, watching you. The energy from your rods is expended, and all that is left is the dark and the wolf... and your blade.

BOOOOM!

An arch of lightning crashes through the window once more, weaving through the air and into your steel rods, zapping them, causing your body to shake slightly as the energy courses through you, but it doesn't hurt this time, this time it feels right, it feels good! The room lights up and the wolf runs forward, thorn-claws clattering against the stone as it dashes at you. You twitch the muscle again, let it build up, and let it go. Time slows as your bolt flies through the air in a brilliant flash, striking the stone where the wooden wolf had been running, now illuminating it's flight through the air as it leaps at you, jaws open wide. Just how you like it.

You swing your blade up as it comes at you, and the black jagged edge catches it in the side of the neck. That doesn't stop the wolf's momentum. Even as your blade digs into the wood, and green sap pools out, it's right claw outstretched, and strikes your face. You feel the tearing along the side, feel the digging in of the thorns, and the red, more red from your body, pouring down. But you don't care. You're smiling anyway. Because you know what happens next.

You use your lodged blade to bring the wolf down to the ground, it's legs kicking, it's mouth open and howling as you keep it down. You jerk and twist the blade, biting through the wood, digging it deeper into the thing's neck. Then you bring your front-right hoof down and push it against the top of the wolf's muzzle, holding it's head down as you pull out your blade quickly, turn your hoof, and thrust it back in!

CRACK!

The wolf shudders as the protective roots in it's neck are snapped. You grin with a mad glint in your eye twist your blade sideways, getting it ready, and then-

POP!

You twist your blade down and up, popping off the wolf's head like a cork. Green sap gushes out, covering your blade, and green mist seeps into the black crystalline surface, not having even a chance to try and pull the Wolf back together. And you laugh. You laugh as you look down at the broken frail thing, and chuckle, and chortle, and shake your head as tears roll down your cheeks because your flank is burning up, your cheek is cut, your head is throbbing, and now you have a pair of rods sticking out of your aching back.

Now within your heart young mortal is despair can you feel it there good now let it fester and let it rot and as your heart and soul rot so will your body. Your body will bloat and fester with worm and fly with rot and disease but their is an upside you will no longer become sick and no longer will you feel any pain. Do so and become closer to your destiny as the bringer of the end time.

Your laughter dies down until you're just smiling, and staring blankly out into the dark place in front of you, lighting dim and gone.

"... I really am a freak." You whisper simply, remembering all those years of suffering at the hands of school-fillies as they called you that, tormented you for being a blank flank and now... now you know that they were right. You blink a few more tears from your eyes, rolling down your cheek, mixing in with your blood as you stare at the body for a few more moments... then turn your gaze towards the blade jutting from the end of your hoof, covered with green sap.

You pull it up, close to your face, examining it, the glistening green and the jagged sharp crystal. And for a moment, just for a moment, you consider putting it to your neck... a bit of pressure and a sharp tug, and suddenly there would be nothing left of you... freak gone, all the hurt, the pain, everything, just gone...

But you don't do that. Instead you turn your eyes to the green goop, the sap covering your blade... Poison... Blinking more tears from your eyes, smile still on your face, you lean forward and put your tongue to the base of your blade, on the flat side, and then run it up all the way to the tip, poking your tongue on it as you taste the green sap.

It's horrible. Blood and sap mix in your mouth and you swallow it down, gulping it as you keep on smiling, tears covering your cheeks. And then you collapse. Onto your side, sweat starting to form on your skin and in your coat as your vision goes blurry and you start to shake, cold and hot washing over your body, your mind scrambling, disoriented and unfocused. The lightning flashes, and you think you see a figure, standing a few feet away from you, four hooves on the ground... before you black out.

MUTATION GAINED: Lightning Rod: The Host is now able to process electrical energy and absorb it without damage. Electricity is actively attracted thin steel rods on his back when they are upright. The rods preserve the electrical current for a brief period, though the charge steadily drains from the rods and will eventually dissipate if unused. Otherwise the energy is expended violently in the form of a lightning bolt, cast from the rods. The electrical charge casts a steady light while running through the rods.

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"HAHAHAHA!!! That was bucking awesome! Oh did you see his face!?

""Are you not worried brother?"

"Hm? Oh nah. The Star of Woe just needed a catalyst for the next mutation. It's being rushed but it's not about to let him die from his wounds, not this early in the game. Timberwolf blood may be a poison to most living things, but it's also got some major regenerative magic in it. Should be interesting to see what the Star does with that kind of mix..."

"I was referring to his current location brother."

"Hmmm? ... Oh...Hahahaha! That's even better!"

"I fear you and I disagree on this point my dear brother... I hope that our endeavor does not end before it has begun... Hm?"

"Something the matter?"

"I'm not sure I... Ah, I see. The Watchers have been temporarily displaced by the Star. It's altering the host's mind to prevent dreaming and doesn't want interference."

"Why's it doing that? Usually it likes playing with dreams."

"Self-preservation. Taking Nightmare Moon's remnant power did indeed grant the host power, with great development potential. However if the host dreams now, Princess Luna will notice the return of Nightmare Moon's presence, and cure him of it in his sleep, thereby discovering the Star of Woe and the Watchers influence. So it is simply removing that aspect of the Host's life... the Watchers will merely have to content themselves with altering his waking hours."

"Hmph! Those bitches ruin everything... Can you send them back? Don't want them bugging us all night."

"They were displaced, not severed, so the connection is still there. Let's see, it's finished the alteration, so it should accept them back. A bit of quantum manipulation and..."

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MUTATION GAINED: Everfree Blood: Absorbed from the Timberwolves, the blood in the Host's body has been altered into a diluted form of the Timberwolf sap. The blood pumps through the internal body and reduces chances of poison or toxin damage in the Host's body. In addition, it aids in regeneration and healing, though comparatively minorly. The Host's blood now acts as a minor poison, when taken orally it can induce internal pain and possible hallucinations. A side-effect of the sap's properties is that the Host cannot move as quickly as before, suffering a minor decrease to body movement and reflexes. Part of the Everfree Forest Legacy.

MUTATION GAINED: Dreamless Sleep: To prevent detection from Princess Luna, the Star of Woe has removed the Host's ability to dream while asleep. Part of the Nightmare Moon Legacy.

You awaken slowly, opening your eyes blearily as you slowly come back into the world of the awake and living. And the first thing you notice is that your bed is SOFT. Like really soft, way better than the alley mattress. Which is good because your body hurts like a mother-bucker, all over, so some comfort is appreciated. You sniff a bit, and notice that there's a strange smell in the air. A mixture of herbs, spices, and plants that you're not familiar with. You're also covered in bandages, which are surprisingly comfortable compared to your usual attire. You start to sit up slowly, wincing through the pain and grunting slightly, as you turn your gaze to take a look around at whatever new place you've found yourself in, and decide what to do about it...