I groaned and stretched as I walked into the light of the newly risen sun, though it wasn’t necessary. What passed for my muscles never cramped or weakened unless I ran low on food, but it was something normal people did and helped hide the truth of what I was. My current disguise was a gryphon of my own making, one with enough of a crazy past to cover up anything that might have given me away.

Best Defense, Ponyville’s resident gryphon and all around irritable bastard. I’d made sure to include every wound I’d taken defending the locals, and a few of my own making, as scars across my face and legs. My black fur had lines of angry pink flesh showing, the only visible reminder of the time a young pegasus had decided to crash into the forest and land in a nest of manticores. My salt and pepper feathers were intentionally unruly, as though I had been out all night hunting the hunters of this land. The only spots of real color on my body were the pair of red stripes above my blue eyes and the yellow skin of my talons.

Every inch of my appearance served a purpose, it helped me hide from Celestia. My true form looked nothing like the gryphon I was pretending to be, but Celestia wasn’t looking for a gryphon. She was looking for her arch enemy, she was looking for Jekyll.

The choice of wearing the face of a gryphon was two fold, it gave me a reason to eat meat and the origins of this disguise gave it some sentimental value. Regardless, I’d need to collect my latest bag of trophies and turn them in at city hall. There was good money in monster hunting, even more so when the area you patrolled was more dangerous. I had the Everfree, my job was to provide a monster free perimeter around Ponyville and the surrounding countryside.

Damn did it get lonely though. At least I would only have to hold out for another couple years before she came back, but that memory was painful enough and didn’t linger in the forefront of my mind.

I sighed and spared a glance back towards my increasingly ramshackle cabin, making a note to replace the door frame before the next rain. That cabin and I had history, I wouldn’t let it rot around me.

“Another day, another bit,” I commented quietly as I turned to walk around the side of the cabin, intent on retrieving the proof of my work so I could get paid.

“Hey Jack, come on or we’ll be stuck in line forever,” Lauren urged as she pulled me along. I thought about making a joke about reporting her to human resources for harassment, but thought better of it at the last second. Any supervisor that buys half the office tickets to Comic-Con and pays for the flight was above those kinds of jokes.

“Geeze Lauren, what’s the rush? We’re three hours early as it is,” Jerry asked.

“The line started forming yesterday, I’d like to get there before it wraps the rest of the way around the block,” Lauren replied quickly, as though talking faster would get us there sooner.

“You just want to find the Forge World stand before they run out of the new Magnus model,” I accused as my feet finally provided more force than Lauren’s arm and prompted her to let me run under my own power.

“Getting nervous?” Lauren teased.

“You’ve beaten me the last twelve times in a row and I’ve never beaten Jerry, I’m starting to think I need a new army. So no, I don’t have anything to be nervous about,” I snapped a little more harshly than I had intended.

“Someone’s getting frustrated,” Jerry noted mockingly, “But I get it, no one likes getting tabled in the third turn. Sometimes the cool looking ones just don’t pull their weight in game.”

“Don’t I know it,” I sighed as we slowed to a stop next to the rows of vendors outside the convention hall, “So aside from model hunting, is there anything else on our list?”

“I’m looking to get some pics with the cosplayers, maybe check out what bands are going to be playing tonight,” Jerry replied.

“I’m going to grab us a spot in line, drop by when you finish wandering so I can find some grub,” Lauren added, prompting me to nod before we all went our separate ways. Then I was alone in the crowd, wandering aimlessly but happy to be in the nexus of nerdom even if I was just in the parking lot.

I felt something impact my back and struggled to maintain my balance as whatever had hit me held onto the sides of my head and steered me around in the packed market. When I managed to get free, I turned to face my attacker and lost all traces of anger when I saw him. I didn’t know anything about the man, but I liked his sense of humor already. I was staring down at a midget dressed as a Jockey from ‘Left 4 Dead’ as he clambered back to his feet and ran off in search of his next victim.

I chuckled to myself as I walked away, quietly checking my pocket to make sure my wallet was still there. It was.

“Dude, are you okay?” a man next to me asked, having seen the display.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Guess we need to watch out for more than the Deadpools this year, eh?” I joked, showing a genuine smile. The stranger nodded and looked around at the sound of another congoer being attacked as I continued on my way into the forest of tent-like merchant stalls.

“Psst, digging the jacket. Maybe I have something to make it stand out a little more, stranger?” one of the vendors breathed, though I heard it as clearly as if he had been speaking normally in an empty room. Turning my head towards the sound, I nearly laughed again when I saw who it belonged to.

The Resident Evil Merchant, straight out of the meme, was hunched over a table’s worth of props and outfit accessories. I’d read the Creepypastas, heard the rumors. Apparently this guy was supposed to have the perfect addition to any cosplay outfit, but any unwitting passerby that actually buys anything is never seen again. Not that I put much stock into rumors.

“What?” I asked, wondering what exactly the vendor was talking about.

“All you’re missing is a tribal design on the back and a hood, but perhaps you could get by with these,” the merchant tempted as he slid a surprisingly high quality pair of rubber sleeves my way. The sleeves were fashioned to look exactly like the claws in that old video game, Prototype. I recalled it fondly, remembering the sense of power it gave the player and the freedom to be the horror movie villain turned hero of New York. At least until the sequel ruined it.

“Not in costume man. My friends and I just came from the airport and I haven’t found a spot to store it yet,” I responded honestly, grateful for the reminder that I was begging for heatstroke in my current condition. Wearing a thick leather coat during a California summer was a little much for even my Arizonian blood.

“The convention hall has air conditioning, you should be fine once the doors open stranger,” the vendor advised, “But back to business, you’re only twenty dollars away from having a costume of your own. Might even be enough to keep that gremlin off your back.”

“Hamming it up much? Or are you going for one of those meta things where you pretend to be the actual character from the stories?” I asked plainly, finding this whole encounter amusing.

“Stories are interesting things aren’t they? Twisting and weaving their way through our lives, shaping us as much as we shape them. Fifteen dollars, final offer,” the merchant continued, unfazed by my accusation.

“Fifteen? Now you’re messing with me, there’s no way you can afford to throw away props like that for fifteen bucks,” I rebuked, crossing my arms.

“I have a printer in the back, should only take another three conventions to pay off at the rate I’ve been going,” the vendor replied with a shrug, dropping his act for the moment.

“Now it makes sense. Alright, I’ll take them,” I agreed, finding the price too low to pass up and the merchant’s reasoning sound.

I handed the costumed man three fives and took possession of my new props. I knew I’d be the butt of plenty of jokes for buying such an outdated costume, but I knew it would be in good humor and give us a talking point for years to come. We still made fun of Jerry for owning a blow up doll, even if it was a gag gift he’d gotten at a White Elephant party.

The left arm slid over my own easily, revealing that the inside had been dusted with talcum powder for this exact reason. It would be harder to get off, but I had a bottle of Remington oil in my bag that would make short work of that issue. Gun oil fixed everything.

The right arm was more difficult, mainly because I had to use my non-dominant hand to put it on and that hand was already covered by rubber claws. I felt a sting of pain just as I got the sleeve to my shoulder, but didn’t think anything of it until I looked down at the result of my work and noticed I could see through a number of holes in my arms. It was as though they really were made of interwoven tendrils...and some of them were pulsing a deep red.

“Oh, I fucked up,” I managed before the world around me vanished.

When I regained consciousness, I found myself lying on something soft. My immediate assumption was that I had passed out from the heat and had since been taken to a hospital, but that theory was dashed when I opened my eyes and saw the canopy of a forest high above me.

“Shit,” I swore, summing up my predicament fairly well. My voice was more guttural and deep than I was accustomed to, almost growling. Figuring I’d have to get up and look for help at some point, I sat up and pressed my hands to the sides of my head in an effort to think more clearly. Or rather, I pressed my claws to the sides of my head.

I roared in shock and fear, scaring myself with the sound that tore from my throat in place of a scream. I was on my feet and staring at the offending appendages in an instant, clueless about how to proceed with this most recent development in how screwed I was.

“Nonono, I don’t have claws, I’m not supposed to have claws. Hands, I have hands, I want my hands back!” I cried, sending birds flying for calmer perches. I shook my claws ineffectually, hoping that somehow I could pull them off like a pair of gloves. I spent longer than I should have on that idea before I fell back into a seated position and took several deep breaths in an effort to calm down.

“Okay, this can’t be that hard. Prototype arms, right? Prototype rules then. Mercer learned how to form claws after he killed that one enemy, that doesn’t help. He seemed to be able to change to anything he knows how to make by just thinking about it, that could work,” I rambled to myself as I adjusted how I was sitting and held my claws up in front of my face. They were almost long enough to scrape the ground when I walked and looked incredibly sharp, it was a wonder I hadn’t cut my head open a few seconds ago when I woke up.

“Just imagine having hands, sounds so much simpler when there isn’t evidence to the contrary right in front of you,” I complained. I knew it was useless and self pitying, but I felt the need to vent and there was no one around to hear me anyway. After several minutes of sitting there recalling every detail of the hands I’d had before I woke up in this place, the claws in front of me broke apart and reformed into the familiar fingers I’d wanted.

“Alright, now we’re getting somewhere. What else is different?” I wondered as I looked down at myself. My shirt was gone, revealing a much more toned frame than the one I had before. It wasn’t particularly muscular, but the signs of aging I’d been affected by were gone. It’d been five years since the last time I’d had abs. Looking past my torso, I found that my jeans had somehow survived the transition but my shoes had not. My feet looked normal save for the charcoal black skin and inch long, hooked talons extending from every toe.

“As freaked as I am, that’s pretty cool,” I allowed, standing again and taking a few experimental steps to determine if I’d need to fight my feet. As I walked I noticed an error I’d made with my hands, they had returned to my normal skin tone. The human skin coloration of my hands didn’t extend past the halfway point of my forearm, giving me a mismatched look. It took me another three minutes to fix that mistake, during which time I decided not to bother with my feet.

“At least it’s getting easier,” I commented before realizing how little I had accomplished, “So what’s my next course of action? Damnit, I’m used to the desert, all these trees are going to make navigation impossible.”

I doubted there was any help coming, and I didn’t have any attachment to this spot, so I picked a direction and started walking, hoping to find either civilization or a stream where I could set up camp. I found both, for better or worse.

I caught the sound of babbling water in the distance and adjusted my course to head for the sound, resolving to set up a campsite and explore my surroundings from there. However, I also found a white horse crossing the stream, seeming to be heading towards the direction I had come from.

“Not much out there but more trees, at least as far as I saw,” I advised pointlessly. I was just glad to have something to talk to other than myself for a moment. To my surprise, the horse stopped and turned to regard me with confusion in its eyes, “Yeah, I know the feeling. I’m lost too. If you stick around, I’ll get you home when I find a town...if I find a town.”

“I’ve heard enough demon, you will not harm my ponies,” the horse declared sternly.

“You can talk? Shit, I’m either going crazy or I’m even further away from home than I thought,” I commented.

“Now you’re calling me stupid? I’ll have your head for this!” the horse declared loudly.

“Woah, chill out. I’m not calling you anything, I’m just saying that I’m lost and could use some help,” I corrected defensively, holding up my hands in surrender.

“More lies, demons don’t get lost,” the horse spat as a horn in the middle of its forehead that I hadn’t noticed started glowing. I clumsily dodged the fiery attack that followed and fell into the shallow stream.

“What the fuck? Is this how you greet everyone?” I asked pointedly.

“Just monsters. Your kind aren’t permitted in Equestria, you must be returned to Tartarus at once,” the unicorn declared as it charged another attack. I didn’t have anywhere to go, I would have to clamber up either bank to escape the conflagration and the water was too shallow to provide any protection.

“Please,” I begged, fearing for my life for the first time. My attacker scoffed and spread a pair of brilliant white wings as a lance of fire speared my chest. I fell back into the stream and cried out in pain, soon going limp as I assumed I was dead.

My eyes unfocused as a dark shape blocked out the sun. It wasn’t my murderer, this one was shaped like a human but bathed in shadow. Its glowing eyes seemed to radiate contempt as it stared at me and uttered a single command before vanishing into so much smoke, “Get up already.”

I found myself alone when I picked myself up and crawled up the bank of the stream, collapsing into the sand at the top and shivering in distress. I was covered in mud and algae, but my attention was drawn instead to the lack of a hole in my torso.

“H-How? Ah, that’s right, Mercer barely took damage from getting shot, I must have the same ability,” I reasoned breathlessly before finding several faults in my comparison, “But Mercer didn’t have black skin, makes me wonder what else is different from the games.”

I surveyed the area for threats before crawling back to the stream and looking down at my reflection. Most of my facial structure had remained in some form, but everything had an alien look to it. The skin was the same charcoal black as the rest of me, the only variations being my red irises and the red streaks running through the mess of tendrils coming out the top of my head.

“Tendril...dreadlocks?” I asked, confused but not displeased with the look. However I didn’t like the fact that the sclera of my eyes, while usually white, matched the black of my skin. I made a note to change that as soon as I figured out how.

“Well now what do I do? I’m like a start of game character, therefore I should eat things to get stronger...but that means murder...No, I’m not going to be the monster she thought I was. I won’t kill for selfish reasons,” I vowed as I climbed confidently up the bank once more and started collecting branches to make a makeshift shelter.

It was weeks before I met another denizen of this strange land, and again I was attacked without provocation. On the flipside, I could now say with certainty that it didn’t matter where I was hit. The arrow had pierced my eye and exited through the back of my skull, but I only recognized that the orb had stopped functioning. There was no pain as I reached up and pulled the arrow out, finding it bloodless.

“I’m getting pretty tired of people attacking me for no reason, maybe we could talk this out like normal people,” I called into the forest, though I didn’t expect a response.

To my surprise, another mythical creature emerged from the canopy and set down on the forest floor before me. A gryphon, half cat and half bird of prey, stood proudly with a bow and quiver slung across its back and a sword held low in a talon.

“You speak as though you intend no harm, be this true?” the gryphon challenged through his, and he was definitely male, thick accent, unmoving and seemingly unafraid.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone, I’m just trying to get by,” I responded sincerely, offering my open hand in a proper greeting. The gryphon jumped and raised his weapon, but seemed to relax when he recognized the gesture. I smiled when the gryphon stepped forward and gripped my hand with a talon.

“Friedhelm, hunter of monsters and protector of Everfree City,” the gryphon introduced.

“Jack, recently dropped on this world by things I don’t understand,” I replied in turn.

“On this world?” Friedhelm repeated, sounding confused.

“Yeah, gryphons only exist in myth where I’m from. I have to assume I’m not there anymore and have no way to get back to my people, I’m stuck here and have to figure out how to get by,” I explained as best I could.

“A fascinating tale, but beings similar to you have been seen before. We know them as demons, they are vile creatures and must be destroyed. Though I don’t believe you to be among their number; you are quick to speak and slow to violence; quite the opposite of demonkind. As fantastical as your story is, I cannot refute it. I believe you,” Friedhelm responded after taking a moment to think.

“Thank you,” I replied gratefully, releasing a sigh of relief that there was at there was at least one reasonable person on this planet.

“You said your name was Jack? You are no monster, I shall remember that during my hunts in the future,” Friedhelm promised.

“Wait, can’t you take me back with you? I’m sure I could just expl-” I began.

“Only sanctioned species are permitted within the pony capital, and even they are distrusted and discriminated against. My family and I will be leaving at our earliest possibility, but you would be struck down by the queen herself if her guards failed to kill you the instant you set foot within the walls. She has no tolerance for anything that might threaten her subjects, both of us falling under that description,” Friedhelm interrupted before looking away, as though seeing past the trees, “I am a woodworker by trade, I made toys for the young of my village. Ponies care not for gryphon toys, I was forced to take this job instead.”

I felt my expression harden, “Tell you what Fried, you’re the closest thing I have to a friend around here. If you need help with anything, I’m camped by the stream.”

“I thank you, but it is too late. My hands are too damaged from fighting beasts to hold a chisel steady, my career is over,” Friedhelm sighed. I felt a surge of anger at Friedhelm’s words, anger and a drive to set things right.

“You said there’s a queen in that city making these insane laws?” I confirmed rhetorically, “I’ll have a chat with her and see if I can change her mind. What’s her name?”

“Gaining an audience with the white alicorn Celestia is no easy feat for even her chosen, much less one who would be executed on sight,” Friedhelm responded seriously.

“The fuck is an alicorn?” I asked, a cold chill creeping up my spine.

“They are blessed with both flight and magic, but are incredibly rare and rumored to be immortal,” Friedhelm elaborated.

“Shit, I’ve already seen her definition of hospitality,” I swore, recalling the horse creature that had attacked me.

“Then you were the one creating all that noise a few weeks ago? You caused quite a panic in the city, the locals believed a great beast was coming to destroy them,” Friedhelm chastised.

“It was my first day, I’d like to think I was understandably freaked out,” I countered dryly.

“I do not blame you, but I cannot say the same for the ponies. Everfree City has hardened their hearts and left them as cold as the void with the Nightmare’s passing, they will hold this grudge for the rest of their lives,” Friedhelm advised.

“Then they aren’t worth my time,” I spat, glaring in a random direction in the hopes that I was at least close to impressing my ire of the city, “As I said, I’m camped by the stream if you ever need anything.”

“The stream closest to the city runs for miles in both directions, can you show me where specifically?” Friedhelm requested.

“You were hesitant to accept my help before, what changed?” I asked, gesturing for my companion to follow me as I turned to walk towards my makeshift home.

“Truth be told, my family’s future is uncertain. The ponies tolerate us, but the forest tolerates none and Everfree City is dying. Celestia has denied all efforts to repair that which the Nightmare destroyed, forcing many from their homes and the city as a whole. Dozens leave every day, soon I will be alone with my wife and daughter. We will not survive long,” Friedhelm confessed.

“What? Why? Can’t you go with them?” I suggested, shocked by the gryphon’s prediction.

“We have little money, we cannot afford to abandon our home and purchase a new one. A pony could appeal to his fellows and arrange their help in building a new house, but I will have no such luxury,” Friedhelm continued, “It occurs to me that I am burdening you with my problems, for that I apologize. It has been many months since I have spoken to any that would listen.”

“No worries, you needed to vent. As for your family’s survival, I can build a simple house,” I offered.

“I mean no offense, but you seem more than a little thin to be performing labor of that magnitude,” Friedhelm pointed out. I had gotten a feel for my strength as I set up my campsite and knew I was several times stronger than when I was human. I silenced Friedhelm’s concerns when I lashed out and struck a tree in passing, splintering the foliage and causing it to fall, “I retract my statement and send a thanks to the gods that you are this amiable.”

“I needed more firewood anyway, that and food,” I replied with a shrug as I lifted the felled tree onto my shoulder and navigated it past its fellows.

“What do you eat?” Friedhelm asked, a touch of nervousness in his voice.

“I found this big lizard thing with a bunch of heads, I’ve been eating that since yesterday but I don’t trust it not to spoil soon,” I answered with another shrug, “The weird cat things taste the best, I’m hoping another one of them tries to eat me.”

“You’ve killed a hydra and enjoy the taste of manticores, you are a frightening individual Jack,” Friedhelm commented.

“Nah, Celebitch is scary, I don’t attack people for being different,” I corrected.

“Then what are you?” Friedhelm wondered, leaving the question open as though he didn’t understand it himself.

“For now, I’m a friendly hermit willing to offer a helping hand. Is that enough?” I offered, hesitant to reveal my full abilities or suspected viral nature.

“I suppose it will be, thank you again,” Friedhelm replied with a bob of his head, the slight bow looking especially avian.

“Well we’re here,” I announced when we reached the stream a minute or so later, revealing my fire pit and a single stake jammed into the bank.

“Quite...simple,” Friedhelm appraised, visibly searching for something to complement.

“It’s pretty spartan, I know. At some point I’ll expand it and add a proper shelter, maybe a full on cabin. My lean to blew away during the first storm so I dug a pit to hide in when the weather turns, it’s under that pile of branches. But that won’t do for the long term, it’s just a stopgap I’ve been forced to use,” I responded.

“Thank you for showing me this place, I’ll return periodically to talk more. You have my word that we shall speak again and I will offer whatever help I may provide during the construction of your home,” Friedhelm promised, sounding genuine.

“Alright, you take care of yourself Friedhelm,” I bid, recognizing the farewell.

“To you as well Jack,” Friedhelm replied as he walked back into the thicket and disappeared.

Friedhelm didn’t return to my campsite, he never got the opportunity. Three days after my meeting with the gryphon, I heard the sounds of combat and a shrill cry of pain in the distance. Instinctively, I rushed to see what was happening and hopefully prevent any deaths. What I found instead was a half dead Friedhelm and a mess.

The gryphon’s bow was broken in half and his arrows lay scattered around his prone form, his sword had been shattered halfway up the blade and remained useful only as a knife. The gryphon himself was in ruins, three large diagonal cuts opening his chest and stomach. His life had been shortened to seconds by one blow.

“Holy shit, Fried!” I cried as I sprinted to the gryphon’s side and tried in vain to stop the bleeding.

“Never...seen...that...before,” Friedhelm managed haltingly, coughing up more and more blood with every word, “I didn’t even scratch it...honorless way to die.”

“Hey. Hey! Stay with me Fried, you’ve got a little girl who needs you,” I snapped, slapping the gryphon as his eyes drifted closed. Friedhelm’s eyes opened again with a start, “I’m not going to lie to you, you’re going to die. But you can still save your family, I’ll honor our deal but I have to know where to find them.”

“Do your people know of honor? No, frivolous question, of course they do. I am glad to have met you Jekyll, but I regret dying like this,” Friedhelm slurred weakly, ignoring my implied question.

“More than one culture on my world spoke about dying with your knife in the belly of the thing that killed you, about how that was an honorable way to die,” I stated softly, indulging my friend during his final moments. I saw now that he was in too much pain to think past his rapidly approaching demise, all I could do was end that pain a little sooner.

“We gryphons have the same,” Friedhelm agreed, looking confused when I picked up his broken sword and placed it in his grip.

“Then that’s how you’ll go, an honorable death for an honorable man,” I declared as I jammed the jagged edge into my stomach, “I’ll find Everfree City and make sure your wife and child are able to live in peace.”

“I thank you Jekyll, you would make a good gryphon. Better than me….I’m ready, help me meet my ancestors, would you?” Friedhelm requested. I did my best to make his death painless, not that it was difficult with his beating heart open to the air and already hemorrhaging his lifeforce from several cuts before I cut it free and ended Friedhelm’s suffering.

Thinking back on what I knew of history, it would probably be important for me to take the remains of Friedhelm’s sword back to his family. Any further speculation was halted when a tendril lashed out of my chest and speared into Friedhelm’s body of its own accord. I balked at the scene and tried to back away, though this only resulted in helping the tendril pull the body against my chest to be absorbed. The worst part was when Friedhelm’s head disappeared into my flesh, as a skull splitting headache accompanied it.

Thousands of scenes flashed through my mind much too quickly to comprehend, every one of the gryphon’s memories forcibly added alongside my own. I was left panting for breath when it ended, but I knew now where I had to go and how this world worked. I examined the new memories as I walked away from the bloody scene with naught but a broken sword to show that Friedhelm had ever been there at all. Some of the memories seemed damaged, out of focus, the most irritating of which was the one right before his death. I couldn’t see what had killed him, but that wouldn’t stop me from hunting that beast down and making it pay for its crimes.

I didn’t bother stopping at my camp and continued right past it as I traced a straight line towards the city gate, the broken sword held intently in my hand. I found two ponies guarding the gate, they were smaller than the white one had been and didn’t have horns but they were armed with spears.

I had an idea now of what actually damaged me, the crazy mare’s fiery magic had hurt but the blade and arrow had not, it was about the destruction of my cells. By that reasoning, I had nothing to fear from the guards. With that confidence bolstering my resolve, I ignored their orders for me to stop and continued into the sharpened steel. I felt the spears puncture my skin and break off as I passed the guards, but didn’t care about anything beyond my mission.

“How many times am I going to have to kill you?” a snide voice demanded.

“I have no intention of fighting Celestia, I’m just here to deliver a message and then I’ll leave,” I promised, unable to keep the somber inflection from my tone.

“Aww what’s the matter? Are the bigger demons picking on you again?” Celestia mocked with false sympathy.

“If you must know, a friend of mine just died. I’m here to inform his widow and child that he won’t be coming home, and give them his sword,” I allowed, feeling my patience wear thin.

“Horseapples, you don’t have any friends,” Celestia insisted, “And even if you did, anypony that would call you a friend deserved whatever they got.”

I had been raised with traditional American values, respect your elders, say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, don’t hit women, but there was a limit to how much I would take before those values stopped applying to whoever was taunting me. Celestia had found this limit.

My fist found her before she could deliver her next insult, the strike sending her sprawling and causing all of the ponies in the street to gasp in surprise. I hadn’t felt anything break, but I could see from the alicorn’s expression that I had rattled her in more ways than just her teeth.

“Fried was a good gryphon, he fought and died to keep all of you safe from the dangers of the forest even though none of you appreciated him or the toys he made. Listen well Celestia, you can talk shit about me as much as you want but I will not let you slander a good man,” I seethed, grabbing the alicorn by the throat and growling my anger into her face.

“You are not welcome here, deliver your message and get out,” Celestia ordered, clearly trying to preserve some illusion of control.

“I already told you that was my intent. Get the fuck out of my way,” I spat as I fixed my posture and walked away with false confidence. Dealing with Celestia had been the easy part, it was Friedhelm’s wife, Sigrid, that had me worried.

I noticed that I had gathered a sizable crowd by the time I reached Friedhelm’s house, even Celestia glared silently as a thin trickle of blood leaked from where I had split her lip. It was time. I steeled my resolve and approached the door as though it was more dangerous than anything I had encountered in the forest.

I wasn’t met by Sigrid when finally I knocked on the door, instead it was a much smaller gryphon that answered and looked up at me in wonder.

“Hello?” the child greeted unsurely.

“Hey there, you must be Freydis. I’m a friend of your father’s and just stopped by to drop something off for him, is your mother home?” I asked gently, kneeling to talk to Freydis on her level.

“Uh-huh,” Freydis replied before turning inside with a call of, “Mommy, there’s some…thing at the door for you.”

Sigrid was less polite than her daughter, though this likely had more to do with the mix of blood and flour staining her feathers than anything else. I must have interrupted her while she was making her family dinner.

“Do I know you?” Sigrid asked pointedly, looking past me at the gathered ponies and scowling in their direction.

“We’ve never had the chance to meet before now, but it was inevitable. Friedhelm tried to kill me a few days ago and we got to talking after he failed, eventually becoming something like friends. I promised him I’d help all of you get set up with a house after you left Everfree City and he in turn promised to help me build mine in the forest, at least until I could move out of there and find somewhere peaceful,” I began.

“I’m sensing a ‘but’ coming,” Sigrid stated impatiently, “If you had a falling out and are coming to kill me, just do it already.”

“No, that’s not...Freydis, maybe you should go inside,” I hinted, spotting the child peeking out from between her mother’s forelegs.

“Anything you can say in front of me, you can say in front of her,” Sigrid snapped.

“She shouldn’t hear it from me,” I insisted, finally getting the pieces to fit in Sigrid’s mind.

“Go inside honey,” Sigrid instructed numbly, lightly pushing her daughter away from the pain she was about to endure and closing the door, “How?”

“Something big, I haven’t seen claw marks like that before. I’ll find it and bring it down, you have my word,” I vowed seriously as I held up Friedhelm’s broken sword.

“Thank you for returning this, though I don’t know how much good it will do us now...I-I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, I want to curl up and cry but all I can think of is Freydis,” Sigrid confessed quietly, her voice bordering on a whisper.

“I don’t know much about this world but on mine we honor promises made to dead men, I’ll help you both however I can,” I promised.

“You obviously don’t know much at all or you’d know gryphons don’t want or need any help from anyone,” Sigrid snapped, releasing her grief through anger.

“I’ll be around anyway, just in case you change your mind,” I replied. Sigrid punched me in the face hard enough to turn my head, then screamed and tackled me. Punches rained down, but I felt no pain as the gryphon vented her sorrow. Two ponies appeared and grabbed Sigrid’s arms as they tried to pull her off, “No! Let her hit me if she wants, it’s fine.”

Everyone froze at my words, not comprehending why I would allow such a thing to happen if I was some evil monster from the forest.

“Why?” Sigrid asked after a moment to regain her breath.

“Because you needed it and I’m not the kind of asshole that would stop you. It didn’t hurt anything but my pride, so feel free to let it out,” I allowed.

“No, I’m done,” Sigrid declared before retreating back into her home. Even Celestia looked shaken by the display, her confidence in her hatred of me shattered.

“Time to leave,” Celestia reminded me, though her voice had lost all of its previous malice.

I didn’t speak as I was escorted out of the city and back to the forest, there was nothing to say. All I had now was one simple purpose, keeping those two gryphons safe. I thought about my motivations as I waited in the treeline for the sun to set, finding that my promise to Friedhelm wasn’t wholly responsible. Nor was it the lingering memories of them I had gained from him, as fractured and hazy as they were. No, my motives were far simpler: I had no other reason for being.

That was enough for now, I’d figure the rest out later. With my mind made up and clear to me, the hours until night fell passed that much quicker. I slipped over the wall as the guards changed shifts, leaving no trace that I had passed and none aware of my presence. I slipped between alleyways and rooftops silently and smoothly, only stopping when I had a clear view of Sigrid’s house.

The lights were still on and I could see two shadows of vastly different heights somewhere inside, though they appeared to be preparing to go to sleep. I watched the shadows and the surrounding area like a hawk, taking comfort in knowing I had a purpose and fulfilling it. I saw both shadows move to the right side of my view and the lights grow dim, signaling their departure from the waking world.

It was the new shadow moving from left to right that alarmed me. Why? Why would there be an intruder? I hadn’t expected anything to happen, I was just watching over them to feel useful. It didn’t matter, I wouldn’t let them die tonight.

I broke the roof I had been perched on when I kicked off and launched myself across the street, hitting the ground and immediately losing my footing. I tumbled across the street before catching on an abandoned cart and rebounding through the window I had been aiming for. By sheer force of luck, I managed to crash into the shadowy figure. The intruder never saw me coming, the only warning he got was the cracking of timbers across the street before the window exploded and I slammed into him. The pegasus’s surprise was clear on his face for the scant seconds it took me to roll across the room and pulp him against the cobblestone chimney, my claws forming as another pony yelped in alarm and sprinted out the front door.

I chased the other intruder into the street and tackled her as well, cutting off her scream with the rest of her head. I had been too slow, the damage was done. Lights flickered into existence all around as the short scream woke the neighborhood.

I growled at the sight and leapt onto a nearby roof, disappearing into the night but staying close enough to react if anything more happened around Sigrid and Freydis. I was glad I did when the short investigation led the growing mob of scared civilians to their house and the other body I had been forced to leave there.

“Murderers!”

“I knew we couldn’t trust predators like them!”

Cries of condemnation rang out, pinning the blame squarely on Sigrid and Freydis. How anyone could blame something like this on a child, I didn’t know and didn’t bother to find out. I knew enough of my capabilities to make a difference, that was what mattered.

“ENOUGH!” two voices roared, only one of them mine. Celestia landed in the middle of the mob at the same time as I crashed into the ground between the terrified gryphons and the crazed ponies.

“What is going on here? Why has that thing come back? And why, above all else, are you making this awful racket at two in the morning?” Celestia demanded of the crowd, finding no answers. It was also closer to midnight, but I was more focused on protecting Sigrid and Freydis.

“Intruders,” I growled, head low and claws bared. Those few that had remained even remotely near Sigrid and her daughter scurried away to find safety among the rest, “Two on them, armed. They are dead, killed by my claws for their attempt on these two.”

I had no idea if they had been armed, but there was no way to prove they hadn’t been; given all the ponies trampling the scene. In truth, I had only vaguely noticed that the both of them had been wearing black cloaks.

“Then you were already here, after I told you to leave,” Celestia spat.

“I don’t care about your orders and decrees, I don’t belong to you. I made a promise and I will keep it,” I replied, my tone even though still growling.

“Oi, I know you,” a voice I didn’t know commented, drawing my attention and Celestia’s by extension. It had an odd accent, like half drunken british man, “I know this mare, ‘er name’s Fleetfoot. She’s a regular down in the deep dark. Thief, if’n you can call her piss poor performances thievin’. I’d bet me weeks pay the otha one’s her good fer nothin botha’ too, the two of ‘em always got booked together.”

Thieves, I’d executed thieves. I could live with that.

“Silence, you fool. Nopony cares who they were or what crimes they committed, they will live on as this monster’s victims. See, it doesn’t even care that they’re dead, that they’ll never make another pony smile. Look at its smug face, it’s enjoying this,” Celestia retorted, raising her voice to stir the crowd.

“Is this how you want to play it? Paint me as the monster for trying to do the right thing? I’m weak now but I’ll only get stronger Celestia, it would be wise to make me your friend,” I advised, noting that Sigrid and Freydis had disappeared back into their house and moving slightly to block the way to their door.

“If it bleeds, it can die. I’ve hurt you before, therefore you’ll go down with enough effort,” Celestia remarked as she backed into the mob and let them surge forward. This was insanity, could none of them think for themselves and see what was happening? I’d called her out right in front of them and they still attacked in her name.

I didn’t know what to do, Celestia had trapped me. If I left they would turn their hatred on Sigrid and Freydis, but if I stayed I would be the monster Celestia claimed I was. My mind locked up and I simply reacted, roaring my challenge at them as my claws spread out to either side.

The first rank flinched, their resolve breaking as they recognized the danger and how little chance they had of surviving. The second and third rows collided with and tripped over their frozen compatriots, creating an organic wall of tangled legs and bodies. My eyebrows raised as I appraised the result, finding it better than I could’ve hoped.

With a slightly amused shrug, I turned to follow the gryphons into their home. I found Freydis shivering in fear next to a doorway, her mother on the other side and scooping as much of their belongings as she could into a set of dirty and weathered bags.

“You’re leaving?” I guessed.

“Not much choice now, they’ll kill us if we stay. We stand a better chance in the forest, slight as that is,” Sigrid replied, the anger she had shown earlier missing.

“I didn’t have a choice-” I attempted.

“Of course you had a choice, you could’ve stayed away, you could’ve ignored those...those criminals, you could’ve let them blame us. Believe me when I tell you that I appreciate your choices, but for my daughter’s sake we have to go now,” Sigrid snapped, interrupting me.

“You’ll find the forest to be harmless, I’ll make sure of it,” I vowed.

“Stop promising me things!” Sigrid demanded, her voice becoming shrill as her emotions boiled over.

“Mommy, don’t yell,” Freydis chided in the way children do, “I like...scary guy, he’s nice. Can he come too?”

Sigrid stopped and sighed as she thought, weighing her options and pride, before giving me a hard stare and nodding.

“Yes, that’s our best option. Do you have a name or am I forced to use pronouns?” Sigrid asked, looking out the small window to guess how much more time she would have.

“Jack, but Friedhelm called me Jekyll at the end. I don’t know why,” I replied.

“It means killer, he saw something you’ve proven with how you handled those thieves. It’s a good name, you should keep it,” Sigrid replied distantly, her attention focused on what was happening outside, “Can you fly? Nevermind, stupid question, you don’t even have wings.”

“I probably will someday, but I haven’t figured out how yet,” I responded, confused.

“I don’t-whatever, it doesn’t matter right now. This would be difficult even if you could magically grow wings and fly away. Alright, here’s the plan: you’re going to clear a space in front of the door so I can take off with Frey, then you’ll follow us to the forest. Once we meet up there, we’ll figure out our next step,” Sigrid instructed, finally turning away from the window to collect her bags. She discovered a new problem once she finished loading herself, and me, down with their belongings, she couldn’t carry Freydis.

“I’ve got it,” I declared before Sigrid had a chance to say anything, quickly scooping the smaller gryphon up and placing her on my shoulders.

“Woah, so high,” Freydis commented in wonder.

“Hold on Freydis, and don’t worry about hurting me. You can pull my hair if it gives you a better grip,” I allowed as I stepped toward the door and mentally prepared myself for what was about to happen.

“Just clear me a space and run,” Sigrid repeated, her voice showing real fear as she stole glances at her daughter.

“Don’t worry about us, I’m tall enough to keep her safe,” I reassured her.

“I hope you’re right,” Sigrid breathed before she pulled the door open for me to rush through. I wasted no time bulldozing the first pony I saw into his compatriots, knocking the lot of them back and clearing plenty of space for Sigrid to take to the air and escape. The next attacker was another pegasus and met the back of my hand as I turned to follow Sigrid’s path from the ground.

“Hold on!” I instructed as I kicked off from the ground and landed on the rooftop I had damaged earlier, causing the timbers to shriek in protest as I tested their resilience once more.

The roof buckled as I jumped off, collapsing into the house and throwing off my leap. I still made it to the next roof, but I stumbled and lost much of the speed I had built up. The sound of wings getting closer only added to my current problems, it was time to try a different tactic.

I abandoned my plan of using the rooftops to avoid trouble and dropped back to the street, resulting in frustrated groans from my pegasi pursuers. Though now I had more obstacles to deal with, the fastest of them would have a harder time following me. Time seemed to slow as I looked down the road at the distant gate, seeing everything between where I was and my goal.

I dug the claws of my toes into the cobblestone. My body lowered to reduce drag. I shot forward just as the first of the mob reached me, barely escaping whatever poorly conceived attack they had planned. Carts and ponies alike were effortlessly hopped and dodged as I let my instincts guide my actions, passing the gate and entering the forest bare seconds later.

“Again! Again!” Freydis cheered, giggling madly.

“Maybe later little one, first we need to find your mom,” I replied as I reached up to pull Freydis off my head. I found that not only did she have a grip on my tendril hair, but the tendrils themselves had wrapped around her to help hold her in place. They also weren’t letting go, “Huh, am I squeezing you too tight?”

“Nope, it’s kinda like a wing hug,” Freydis answered.

“Alright, that’s good. Let me know when you want down,” I commented as I looked around for any sign of Sigrid.

“When searching for a gryphon, you should always start by looking up,” Sigrid’s voice advised before the gryphon herself dropped from the canopy and landed in front of us. She paused to take a shuddering breath as everything from the last twelve hours caught up with her, “We made it, gods what a day. You’ve got some sort of shelter, right? Somewhere we’ll be safe while we figure out what to do? Somewhere I can...think privately?”

“I have a hole in the ground and a cooking spit, but it’s safe and I’ll start work on a real shelter as soon as we get there,” I replied as I started walking towards my camp.

“Beh, don’t bother if that’s all you’ve got. It’d make more sense to just set up a permanent spot on the other side of the forest,” Sigrid spat as she took the lead and changed our course to head due east, “And then that’s it right, you’re done?”

“What?” I asked, not understanding.

“You said you’d get us out and keep us safe until we had a new home. Does that mean you’ll wander off as soon as the place has four walls?” Sigrid clarified, seeming angry again for some unidentifiable reason.

“Do you want me to stay? I will if you ask me to,” I offered.

“Well it isn’t like I’ll be able to provide for us, do you have any idea how hard it is for a gryphon to find work? How much harder than that for a hen to do it? It’ll take months for anyone to hire me, and that’s assuming there’s anyone there to begin with,” Sigrid ranted.

“Then I’ll stick around, find a job somewhere and earn an honest living to help out,” I responded easily, as though it was obvious.

“Damn you, why are so bucking nice?” Sigrid snapped.

“Why do you have a problem with me?” I countered, grabbing Sigrid’s shoulder and stopping.

“You have to ask why? Is there something wrong with your head? You show up at my door and tell me...then you save us...and now…” Sigrid attempted, choking on her words as they died in ther throat. I pulled her into my chest before Freydis could see her mother cry, Sigrid in turn doing so silently until she regained control of herself, “We’ll discuss this after I know my baby’s not going to get rained on.”

“Good plan, but I can set up something temporary if you really need to talk,” I offered.

“Shut up and bucking walk,” Sigrid ordered, her anger rising again.

“Mommy, no swearing,” Freydis chided, bringing a thin smile to my face.

Sigrid fell silent as we started walking again, though she seemed to get angrier with every step. By the time we reached the other side of the forest several hours later, her beak was locked in a scowl and the redness of her face was bright enough to be clearly seen through her feathers.

I kept Freydis with me as I brought a few trees down and took them back to the spot where Sigrid had stopped, just in case Sigrid was the type to snap at anyone when angered. Sigrid, for her part, had frozen when we exited the forest, barely nodding her consent when I asked if this was where she wanted to set up.

“You okay Sigrid?” I asked as I brought two full trees back to the site.

“Just overwhelmed. We’re safe and that means I have time to think about everything that’s happened,” Sigrid responded vacantly.

“One bad day is all it takes to change a life forever,” I agreed, nodding.

“You know the feeling?” Sigrid asked, “That feeling that everything you knew is gone, never to return?”

I understood what she was doing, she was deflecting her grief to delay telling Freydis the truth, “I had my bad day a few weeks ago, lost my home, my family, and all of my friends. They’re out there somewhere, but I doubt I’ll ever see them again. Not that they’d recognize me anymore.”

“How did you move on?” Sigrid asked, a note of desperation edging into her voice.

“I gave myself a mission, something to attach myself to and give me purpose,” I answered simply.

“I was overthinking it. I can’t find meaning in something like this, there’s nothing to find. Can you handle things for now? I’m gonna just sit by that stream,” Sigrid requested as she wandered towards a stream in the valley we had found. We weren’t the only ones setting up here, there were plenty of ponies building a small town further away from the edge of the forest.

Though the valley looked idyllic, I could see the raggedness of the other settlers from where I stood. Living this close to the forest hadn’t been good to them. However, I’d be hunting for three now and that might dissuade any predators from wandering too close.

“Why is Mommy sad?” Freydis asked from my shoulders, interrupting my train of thought and bringing me back to the present.

“Change is scary little one, she’s gone from having a predictable life to living out here too quickly,” I lied.

“Is it because Daddy’s not coming home?” Freydis asked, prompting me to turn my head so I could look her in the eyes.

“What makes you say that?”

“He used to read to me about the Knights of Gryphonia, I know what a broken sword means. Did he die well?” Freydis asked, seeming much more mature than her age would suggest.

I sighed and brought a hand up to pat her on the back, “Yeah, yeah he did.”

“That’s good at least, thanks for being honest,” Freydis responded quietly.

“Thanks for putting up with me,” I replied, hoping to lighten the mood.

Freydis fell silent, prompting me to return to working on the cabin. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I had owned a set of Lincoln Logs as a child and found the shaped logs fit together the same way no matter how big they were. I only stopped then the sun dipped below the horizon, and even then only so the noise of construction wouldn’t keep Freydis awake.

I stood next to my partial construct while Sigrid tucked her daughter in and made sure she had enough blankets to stay warm through the autumn night. For my part, I was thinking and planning. Mentally judging this new area for potential threats and areas where I could hunt without drawing suspicion.

“She’s asleep already,” Sigrid reported as she appeared next to me.

“I’m not surprised, she didn’t get much last night,” I responded, my gaze and thoughts focused on the town growing in the distance.

“She’s taken a liking to you, thinks you’ll keep the bullies away,” Sigrid continued.

“Bullies? Freydis was bullied? How? She has talons and a beak, wouldn’t that be enough to deter anyone from messing with her?” I questioned, caught aback by the offhand statement.

“You must come from a very violent place, neither she nor the ponies think like that. She’d never even think of baring her talons in anger over something so meaningless as teasing,” Sigrid replied, smiling as she glanced back at the sleeping form of her daughter.

“I won’t let any harm come to her,” I repeated.

“I know. You keep saying that and sticking around no matter how many times I tell you off. You’d make a good gryphon, you ignore my stubbornness well enough,” Sigrid commented, giving me an idea I didn’t know how to act on yet.

“What about you, how are you holding up?” I asked, changing the subject to one I thought was more important.

“Not very well, I…” Sigrid began, quickly trailing off as she failed to find words, “I’m grieving, and not just for Friedhelm, I’m grieving for myself as well. And Freydis. All of our lives ended yesterday. I know you suggested focusing on Freydis, but she would barely look at me. I don’t know what’s going on anymore.”

I’d gotten enough of an impression to fully appreciate the gryphon’s candor, and knew that blunt honesty wouldn’t offend her in this instance. It would help guide her, “She’s pissed at you for not telling her the truth. She saw the sword I gave you and expected you to be upfront with her, she’s disappointed that you weren’t.”

“Can your people read minds?” Sigrid asked, no trace of sarcasm in her voice.

“She told me while I was collecting the trees,” I corrected.

“I see. Thank you for telling me this, I’ll mend the situation in the morning,” Sigrid promised before pausing, “Jekyll, can I be completely honest with you?”

“Sure,” I allowed, wondering what was coming.

“I despise you, I hate every part of you with all of my being. I think you killed my husband and I think you’re trying to take his place. And everything you do just enrages me further,” Sigrid replied, her harsh words delivered casually and without anger.

“May I offer a rebuttal?” I requested.

“Only if you speak the truth,” Sigrid responded simply.

“I did kill Friedhelm, but he was already mortally wounded and suffering horribly. He said his biggest regret was dying without managing to harm the thing that killed him, so I helped him stab me and then I pierced his heart. I gave him the death he wanted because it was what I could do. I can never take his place, but I can fill part of the void he left in your lives by providing what I can. I can hunt and build you a new house, keep your bellies full and your feathers dry, but I’ll never be him and I won’t try to be him,” I replied just as casually as Sigrid had been, leaving the gryphon in stunned silence.

Sigrid walked away without a word, though she returned from wherever she had gone to about an hour later with blood weeping from her knuckles, “Thank you for your honesty, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“My only shame is that I wasn’t there to keep this from happening at all, otherwise my conscience is clear and my intentions are pure,” I continued, pretending as though Sigrid hadn’t wandered off to punch trees for an hour.

“I see now why Friedhelm gave you that name, he wanted you to kill him. It’s a warrior’s name, one with a long history of honor and sacrifice. Do you mean to keep it?” Sigrid asked, ignoring my statement.

“I think I will, both as a tribute and because I think I prefer being on the righteous side of Hell,” I replied.

“I don’t know what that means,” Sigrid confessed.

“I’ll explain it later,” I promised, letting our awkward conversation die.

Sigrid spoke up again a few minutes later, “So...I know what I said before, but I gave Freydis all of the blankets. Could I…”

I didn’t bother responding with words, instead I simply sat down and opened my arms. Sigrid looked supremely uncomfortable as she settled in against me, keeping her back against my chest. Once the gryphon was settled in, I brought my knees up on either side of her and closed my arms around her body.

“Warm enough?” I asked, wondering what else I could do to stave off the cold.

“Yes, I think so. Thank you,” Sigrid replied as she shuffled onto her side and promptly fell asleep, the last day having an effect on her as well. I remained awake and alert, not feeling any drowsiness as I kept watch over my self imposed charges.

This was...nice. I hadn’t bargained for any of this all those weeks ago when I had been talked into buying those cursed props, but I could live with it. I hadn’t actually lost that much, just my career, friends, apartment, and one living family member, but I had gained something in return. Sigrid’s anger was already starting to fade and Freydis had already accepted me, maybe I could find a new family here after all.

Author's Notes:

This is the first part of the re-write of the mess that was chapter 1. The original can be found here if you really like painfully bad writing: [link].

Eric's Editor's Note:

So... We've finally gotten around to fixing this. Neat. Now, first off, thanks to everyone who made it past the old version of this chapter. And to those who are new, welcome! We're slowly working through the rest of the meh chapters, and before long, they shall be of respectable quality. But till' then, may all your fics be awesome. :D

Militia's Editor's Note"

Always good to go back to the beginning. In this case it was to make it less amateurish. Happy revising.