Chapter 3

Shade of The Past

You know, I think that I’m too used to being “The Hero”. I actually expected all of the ponies in town to be panicking, like they did in Ponyville whenever something catastrophic happened. Instead, they had all rallied at the point where the monsters had been spotted, each of them armed with some form of weapon. There were a few ponies hiding indoors, but I got the distinct feeling that they were there in case an ambush was needed.

There was no denying it. These ponies were prepared for war.

Either way, I managed to push my way to the front lines, next to a mustard yellow Pegasus with small metal blades tucked into his wings. He glanced at me for an instant, before setting his eyes on the approaching horde.

“Sky let you in, right?” he asked me.

“Consider me the new hired help,” I replied, clenching and unclenching my fists in anticipation of the upcoming brawl.

He grunted at that. “Good. I’ve got your first job then.” As he made a short leap into the air, he shouted, “You’ll take point; charge into them and break their ranks. We’ll do the rest.”

I always get the best jobs at these gigs, don’t I?

“Got it,” I growled, setting my eyes on the monsters ahead.

Those monsters…I know them. At first glance, they just looked like malformed ponies, with ink black fur, and no mane or tail. Upon closer inspection, you could see that they had broken remains of horns upon their heads, with two smaller bumps next to them. Their eyes were soulless yellow orbs, and their hooves had been sharpened at the edges.

These were Shadow-Stalkers. Imp variety, if I’m not mistaken. There’s only one person who can create these monstrosities…

“Hey!” the same Pegasus from before shouted at me. “Charge! NOW!”

Obeying his command, I rushed forward on all fours, barreling straight towards them. The instant I reached their front line, my arms lashed out before me, knocking a good amount of them away, and disrupting their ranks. The moment I had done that, the rest of the ponies started their own attack, launching spears, arrows, and themselves at the rest of the horde.

Whenever an attack hit their mark, the Shadow-Stalker would disappear in a puff of black mist, leaving no trace of its existence. The ponies must have already been used to it, for the never gave the mist a second glance. They would move on to their next target, and do their best to destroy it.

What had these things done to them?

In any case, I had to focus on the task at hand. While imps aren’t exactly the elite of the Shadow-Stalker army, if I wasn’t careful, they could easily overpower me with sheer numbers. My fists struck at them again and again, but for every stalker I took out, two more would come to take its place. Occasionally, I would overshoot the attack, and miss them entirely. I had barely any idea of what I was doing, to be honest. I hadn’t ever used this body before, and the thing with the diamond dogs had just been me running on pure instinct.

A dozen small cuts hissed in pain as several stalkers leaped upon my outstretched arm, their sharpened hooves slicing away the fur, and leaving shallow lines on my skin. With an enraged roar, I swung my arm wildly, flinging them off in several directions. Finally, I stopped trying to punch them, and settled for swiping at them with my claws. It was weaker, but it let me use my stretchy arms to my advantage, keeping most of them at bay while the cavalry reaped their numbers.

“Ah, having trouble, Omnius?” a suave, hauntingly familiar voice whispered mockingly from over my shoulder.

I spun around, shouting, “Torrentican!”

“Ah-ah-ah,” the voice chided, as another imp leaped at my face. “Distractions will only kill you on the battlefield.”

Frantically, I tore the imp off of my face, and hurled it back into the crowd. “Show yourself, Torrentican!” I roared.

Out of the crowd in front of me, an imp that was much larger than the rest, with a full horn and wider hooves, stepped towards me. His eyes glowed a sickly violet color, as he gave me a condescending look.

“What do you think, my eternal friend?” he asked, his voice somehow carrying over the sound of the battle. “As you have become something not of this world, it is only fitting that I take on the form of my own creations…”

I couldn’t believe it. Sure, maybe me becoming a Werehog was a stretch (Badum-tish!), but Torrentican…becoming a shadow-stalker? I thought he was the one who created them, not…you know, BE them!

“Why?” was the only question I could ask.

He chuckled darkly at my confusion, sending another wave of anger through me. “Oh, you poor, simple, fool. Don’t you realize what is to come in the future? Of the war that could spell the end of this realm?” The Traveler of Evil shook his head in pity. “Chaos and destruction will reign supreme, and what better way to embrace that future than with a form meant for those things? Therefore, I have gone with the face of my creations…and that’s not all.”

In the blink of an eye, he had darted forward, neatly avoiding my arms entirely, until he was right in front of me. His eyes flashed, and he had changed shape…now, instead of an imp on steroids, he was a demonic, draconian figure, with scales blacker than coal, and wings the color of a blazing wildfire.

“All of my creations are open to me now,” he whispered. “And you? You are stuck in the body of a worthless beast.”

I tried to hit him with a sucker punch to the gut, but he easily sidestepped the attack. He struck my chest with an open palm, the force of it nearly cracking my ribs. As it was, he flapped his wings to lift himself, and kicked at the same spot with his powerful legs. I only had pure luck to thank for not getting my stomach torn open by his talons.

While I fell to the ground, he flew up into the air, and called out, “I look forward to our new game, Omnius!”

He laughed again, but was cut off when my hand shot up and grabbed him around the ankle.

“I’ve got a game for ya, Torrie,” I growled. “It’s called, ‘Whack-a-mole’.”

With another roar of effort, I lifted Torrentican higher into the air, before slamming him full strength onto the ground. Several Shadow-Stalkers disintegrated as he crashed into them…but I wasn’t done yet.

Once more, he was lifted into the air, and slammed onto the ground. I tried to use him as a hammer a third time, but he suddenly whipped around and sank his teeth into my hand. I yelped in pain, while Torrentican slipped out of my grasp.

“I hope you are better prepared when we next meet!” he shouted mockingly at me. “Or else this game shall end long before its full potential has been reached!”

Holy shit, he barely felt any of my attacks! Either he’s become incredibly resilient, or I still have no idea how to use this body without relying fully on my instincts.

“Come back!” I shouted, once more trying to grab him. Unfortunately, another imp launched itself at me, forcing me to defend myself. By the time I had dealt with the remaining stalkers that had surrounded me, Torrentican had already vanished.

Damn! I nearly got my ass handed to me, all because HE knows how to use his new body, while I’m still struggling to figure out how to use the stretchy-arms thing. If my guess is correct, I probably can’t swim either! This just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?

At least the battle was over. There weren’t any more stalkers in sight, and it seemed that the ponies had escaped this brawl unscathed for the most part. If anything, I was the only one who had taken any real injury…

The same mustard colored Pegasus from before landed next to me, a small grin on his face. “You did good down there, stranger. What did you say your name was?” he asked me.

“Omnius.”

He stuck out his hoof, and I shook it, being careful to not scratch him with my claws.

“That’s a weird name,” he mused, eyeing me with an appraising look. “It doesn’t really fit you that well…You know what? You have a new name now. Consider it your official, ‘Welcome to Pine Falls’ Guards’ name.”

“…Okay?” Now I’m confused.

“What? Omnius doesn’t fit a guy who’s gonna be helping us fight off these monsters while the town gets itself better protected!” he shouted. “Now, you need something that makes you sound tough…hmm…”

Jeez, thanks. I like my name, thank you very much! It makes me sound important and stuff!

“And your name is…?” I prompted.

“Oh, I’m Whirl Wing,” he said offhandedly. Wait, is it that or offhoofedly…? DAMN YOU GRAMMAR! MY TRUE IMMORTAL ENEMY!

We both made our way back into the town, as he tried to think of a good “Guard name” for me. I don’t think I need one, but if it’ll give me a bit of trust with the others…

WAIT. I can’t believe this just slipped by me, but was I really about to join the guard for a town that I had just barely came across?! There are places I need to be, and staying here isn’t going to help me at all!

Then again…I have barely any idea of how to fight in this body. Other than a few clumsy punches and swings that are good in a horde fight, I didn’t really know anything. Hell, Sky Blue had even pointed out my lack of knowledge on the forest around us. Not only that, but Torrentican was attacking this town…why?

I guess now that I think about it, I don’t really have many other options. Looks like I just got drafted.

“Hey, Fuzz!” a familiar voice shouted, once again snapping me out of my thoughts. “Good job out there. I saw the whole thing from the skies,” he said, slapping me on the back. “You were rough around the edges, but all in all, I think you’ll make a fine addition to the guard.”

“Thanks…sir,” I said, somewhat reluctantly. It’s gonna take some getting used to…I haven’t been in any sort of army, or had a superior officer in years. Decades, almost.

“So, you’re in then?” Sky asked, a triumphant glint in his eyes. He must have planned on this since he saw me. I wonder if there’s more to him than meets the eye…

“Yes sir.”

He nodded, and went back into the guard house. “Great. You can stay with Whirl Wing for now, or at least until we can get you a tent or something. You’ll report to me in the morning, but…go get some sleep. You’ve earned it.”

Whirl Wing didn’t voice any protests at all, much to my surprise. Sky must have been pretty well respected to get away with that.

And with that, Sky dismissed us, saying something about having to write a report so that he could make sure they were better prepared for the next attack. Wing and I walked through the town in silence, each of us brooding on the fact that we were now roommates.

“So…thanks for letting me stay with you?” I awkwardly said as we approached one of the smaller cabins.

“Well…don’t mention it. Just do me a favor, and let me go in there first. I don’t want you to surprise the missus.”

“Got’cha,” I said.

He stepped into his house, and told me to wait on the porch for him to give me the all clear. The sound of a small argument reached my ears, making me feel even more awkward. I mean, here I was, a near total stranger, about to stay in their home…actually, that’s all I really need to say. Doesn’t that sound like a situation you’d rather avoid too?

A couple of minutes later, and Whirl stuck his out the door, a rueful smile on his face. “Alright, you can come in,” he said.

I slowly stepped inside of the small cabin. It actually seemed a bit bigger on the inside, now that I was standing in there. They had a small kitchen area off to one wall of the house, and a door led to a separate room with a large bed inside of it. There was a large couch that took up the majority of one wall, and a wide assortment of bookshelves and drawers that made up the rest of it.

“Welcome to our little slice of home,” Whirl said, gesturing at the room. “Feel free to make yourself comfortable on the couch.”

“Dear, aren’t you going to introduce us?” a new voice called from the bedroom.

“Oh, right! Omnius, lemme introduce you to my wife, Gentle Heart. She’s one of the town’s nurses.” He gave me a conspiratory glance, and added in a hushed whisper, “Be nice, she’s a little cranky right now.”

Before I could ask what he meant by that, a unicorn with a shining white coat, and soft green mane stepped out of the bedroom. She had amber colored eyes, a light frame…and her stomach was bulging...not from fat, either.

Oh…My…Gods…

“Hello, Omnius. I heard about your role in the battle,” she said, gently shaking my hand. “Captain Sky seems to think that you’re trustworthy, so that’s good enough for me. Just do me a favor, and try not to tear up the couch.”

“I’ll try, ma’am,” I said nervously. Trust me, hell hath no fury like a pregnant woman.

“Excellent. Now, I already set some blankets and a pillow on the couch. If you need anything, just let my husband know,” she said, already making her way back to the bedroom. “Whirl? You coming?”

“Just a moment, honey…” Whirl responded.

When she had closed the door, both of us let out a breath at the same time.

“Too close,” I muttered.

“She’s really a nice mare, but lately her mood swings have been getting worse…guess that means the baby’s coming,” Whirl joked. “Anyways, I finally came up with a good name for ya.”

I raised an eyebrow…well, mimicked raising one at least. I still don’t know if I have eyebrows to raise!

“How’s, ‘Battleclaw’ sound?” he suggested. “Short, simple, and it’ll make sure everypony knows you’re in the guard! At least now they won’t attack you on sight.”

“…Battleclaw. I guess it works.” I suppressed a yawn, and added, “Alright, I’m gonna hit the hay. Thanks again for letting me stay here.”

“Thanks for actually doing good today. Tomorrow, we report to the captain.”

Right…well, let’s recap what’s happened so far, shall we?

I’m on Equestria, years before Nightmare Moon is supposed to be released. I’ve got a new body that supposedly has a lot of power, but no idea of how to use it. There’s some kinda war coming later on, and right now I have to help protect a town. Torrentican can turn into any of his Shadow-Stalkers, and apparently kick my ass.

I have no idea of what I’m supposed to do, and the only hint I have is the vision of a Goddess that barely makes any sense right now.

Oh yeah…It’s good to be the Traveler, ain’t it?

Next Chapter: 4) How Do I Stretch Arm? Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 46 Minutes