Rival ( Edited )

Who, is that?

Finally, I finished the parasite, now I just need a test subject, and what do I see on my way to the cave? A lonely manticore, how convenient. I motionned her to come and she did so, when she got in front of me, she sat down excited, then it hit me, how do I make the parasite go in her? Then I remembered that I could just make her eat the parasite, but I didn't want her to suffer, so I made the parasite look like a piece of meat with the taste of me, I brought it on my paw and gave it to the manticore, who happily ate it.

After she finished, I focused on the parasite in her, and soon enough I got a feedback, I now felt in the gastric acid of the manticore, I felt being absorbed by the body, because I knew the flow of the blood, I went directly to the brain where I made some changes, but because I didn't want to cause pain, I made the brain sleep and so the entire manticore went asleep, in this time of sleep, I added some things in her brain, now she has the ability to talk to me through thoughts because the parasite now reside in the part of the brain where she should normally think, just to be sure, I added some memories in her brain, the general knowledge of some being sentient with a general education.

She then woke up and I immediately got a feedback from the parasite.

'Urgh, My head... What happened?' I heard in my mind.

'It worked!' I exclaimed, it made the manticore shake a little.

'Master? Is it you?' She thought to me, I nodded and she look shocked.

'What did you do? Why do I feel like I wasn't always able to think?' She thought, I then smirked.

'Because I made you able to do so, well at least think about so' I thought and she quickly licked me.

'Thank you Master! I feel so much better like this, but what did you do?' She thought.

'I just changed some things in your brain.' I replied, she seemed satisfied now looking at me with a seductive stare, she may be a manticore but she oozed hormones.

'I must ask, why did you do this to me? I don't think gaining true sentience is an ability you give to anything now is it?' She thought, because our minds are 'linked' I could see many things in my mind, all of her thoughts were linked to reproduction, so I modified the parasite to transfer only communication.

'I did this because I need to properly communicate with every manticores.' I thought harshly, she seemed taken aback and pouted.

'Your no fun Master.' She thought while pouting. 'Interesting' I privately thought.

'Now come, I need to make the rest of the pack able to communicate through thoughts.' I said while going to the cave.

Meanwhile...

"Ok, today is the day, I feel it." Fluttershy said while preparing to go in the Everfree forest again, but she was stopped by her friends.

"Fluttershy, we’re worried about you, why do you keep going in the Everfree Forest? You know that we've been noticing you going in since Princess Luna's return." Twilight said with a worried voice.

"Yes darling, the Everfree Forest is so horrid, and you can't worsen your beautiful body dear." Rarity said with a stern look.

"Yeah Flutters! Nopony is able to survive in the Everfree Forest, besides me of course!" Rainbow Dash said full of pride, this got a glare from everypony.

"What Rainbow meant was, It's too dangerous for ya, and ah don't want tah lose a friend." Applejack said still glaring at Rainbow.

"Yeahandbecausethereissomanymonstersintherethatitstoodangerousforyoutogoandthatthereisasuperscarylookingmanticorethatrulesoverallofthefrorestandthatits-" Pinkie Pie said before she got cut off by a cupcake in her mouth, brought by Spike.

"I know I know but... Wait, Pinkie what did you say?" Fluttershy said, noticing a part of Pinkie's rambling being interesting.

"Oh, thathereissomanymonstersintherethatitstoodangerousforyoutogoand-" Pinkie said before being cut by a hoof in her mouth, brought by Fluttershy.

"Not that but after." Fluttershy said.

"Oh, thatthereisasuperscarylookingmanticorethatrulesoverallofthefrorest-" Pinkie said before being cut by a hoof in her mouth, brought by Fluttershy.

"Yes that! But can you say it slower?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh, thhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttttt thhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeee-" Pinkie said.

"Umm, can you say it normally?" Fluttershy asked.

"Gee Fluttershy, never happy about what you ask but okay, that there is a super scary looking manticore that rules over all of the forest?" Pinkie finished, this got Fluttershy's and the girls eyes to widen.

"What? A new species of manticore and that it's ruling over the Everfree Forest?" Twilight exclaimed while thinking of all the things she could study.

"Oh, this horrid Forest got a ruffian as a ruler?" Rarity said before fainting.

"Pfff, I bet it's not even scary." Rainbow said full of pride.

"Hold it right there, just think about what that fellas is, if Pinkie's right, it's the ruler of the Everfree Forest and should ah remind you that this same forest ain't normal and is full of beasts?" AJ said.

"Oh don't worry, he's a good guy! Because I saw him confort Princess Luna when she was crying in front of the Castle." Pinkie said casually, the girls were taken aback by this.

"How kind..." Fluttershy mumbled.

"Princess Luna was crying? Why? And what were you doing in the Everfree Forest?" Twilight said.

"Oh Princess Luna was sad because of what she did as Nightmare Moon, and I was going to get some flowers for Rose because she was too scared to go in the Everfree Forest." She said, the girls thought about why would Rose need a flower from the Everfree Forest, but they shrugged it off, it was just Pinkie being Pinkie they all thought.

"Are you sure about what you saw?" Twilight said.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." She Pinkie promised, it was sealed.

"Let's go girls!" Twilight exclaimed, determined to find this manticore, because it was Pinkie who said it it must be true because when Pinkie Pinkie promises, it was always true.

After a while in the forest, they heard a loud roar, Fluttershy thought she heard that roar yesterday but it was different, it sounds like it came out of a wooden flute, then when they arrived at the source, they saw something mythical, it was a big Timberwolf, but unlike the others, it wasn't scarred with countless wounds, it was clean, and it had blue eyes that ooze wiseness. And in front of it, it had a manticore with a fiery collar fur and a bloody body fur, it's eyes are unlike anything they saw, it was lifeless but at the same time it seemed so alive. Then, eyes started to open all over its body, they were terrifying, they all looked around with bloodlust in them, then it's body started to twitch, then shake madly, it looked like it's body was gonna explode, and then...

I was happily thinking with my family when a Timberwolf pack came at the entrance of the cave, but unlike the other pack, it was well organized, it was like I was looking at a trained army, then they all barked in unisson and started to scatter in two groups, and on the middle road came a massive Timberwolf, completely unscattered and had blue eyes that saw countless battle, making him look wise. But that’s not the problem, the problem is that my instinct that I didn't know I had until now started to fill me with bloodlust, it wanted me to kill him for no particular reason.

"Beast of Tartarus! Leave this Forest and leave us be! Your presence disturb the Natural flow of this Forest!" It said, it was shocking, a sentient being besides me, the manticores and the ponies was just in front of me, but for some reason I wanted to tear it apart, leaving nothing behind.

"Why would I do that? For all I care about is those manticores!" I roared at him, I opened many eyes on instinct, I noticed the ponies from before in the bushes but I didn't care, he roared and I roared in response, I wanted to tear it apart, to make him suffer, TO INFECT HIM. And so, I made my body transform, I didn't care if there were witnesses.

I needed a better head, what I have isn't enough, so I twisted my head apart making blood splatter everywhere, then I broke the bones apart, I moved my brain in my back to be safer, I tore my head apart, making countless razor sharp teeth appear, but I needed to see what I tear apart with them, so I made an eye in the mouth, but it was a weak point so I covered it with hardened mucus, about 5 layers of them. The head is done, now the body.

For the body, I needed to have more agility, so I tore the sides of my body, making spiders legs would be advantageous, it would allow me to jump and move fast, but they are weak points too, so I needed to cover them in a hard material, but it should not slow me, hmmm, bones are too slow, mucus is not resistant enough for limbs, crystal... A modifiable crystal, an all time melting crystal, that hardens upon impact. Yes, that would do the trick. So as I said/thought, I tore my sides to make multiple spider legs come out, covered by sticking molten crystal.

Hmmm, it's not enough, because it takes too much energy, I need to have a better way to transport nutriment to the body, so more blood and a better heart, but to make more blood I need to eat, oh poor little manticore, a dying manticore came to me.

'Take me Master' The brave one thought in my mind.

'Are you sure?' I thought, he nodded so I proceeded to devour him through my monstrous mouth, I moved my eye to let space for the way to my stomach, I made sure it was a painless death, the ponies I saw through my protected eyes seems to gag or vomit in the sight of what I was doing, the Timberwolf just growled at me. After I finished my meal, I made my heart bigger, but because of that, it was visible through my skin, the skin in question I turned it into the same crystal over my spider legs, but it was the crystal I always use to harden my skin, so it was near indestructible. I was ready, so I turned to my foe, who looked furious.

Then all of the pack charged at me, but were blocked by the manticore pack, it was a war.

'Master! We'll take care of them! Go for their chief!' One of them thought in my mind, I was proud and so, I rushed over my enemy.

But he did something wrong, he launched a liquid at me, this liquid was painful, it broke throught my hardened skin, I backed away to analyse the structure of the liquid.

"THE BLUE FLOWERS NECTAR" I roared at him, he just smirked at me.

"Yes it is, I watched you from afar and noticed that you were afraid of the flower, so, because I'm immune to its effect, I extracted some of its nectar." He said, I was confused, I made sure I was immune to it, to the point I tested it myself.

"THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE, I MADE SURE I WAS IMMUNE TO IT! WHAT DID YOU DO?" I roared while rushing at him, he dodged and backed away.

"Oh you silly monster, I concentrated it of course, because I knew you were gonna make some immunity to it, I made sure to extract as much of the nectar as I could, I took an entire field of them." He said, it made sense, I only tested it with one flower, but didn't do it for all of them.

Then I roared and rushed at him, he tried to throw me the nectar again but I jumped and launched some sharpen bones at him through my mouth, yes I needed to make a distance way to attack him. He tried to dodge but was scarred, then I saw it, a little green liquid leaking out of the wound, I launched myself to him and as expected he dodged and backed away, but the green liquid was on the ground, I analysed it and what I found was amazing, it had cells! Like mine, but less developed because I noticed that he could only multiple, not infect, then I got an Idea and so I started to infect the cells DNA to replace them as my own, soon enough I was able to copy the form of anything I had the DNA of, in short, I have the ability to clone now.

"So your the one who made the Timberwolves, like me, your a unique cell." I stated, he seems taken aback by this.

"No... YOU WILL NOT END MY CHILDRENS LIFE!" He said while rushing at me, he was blinded by fear and rage, then, when he got close to me, I pierced his body, but not all, I devoured him to the cellular level, I needed to end him, but then I realised, I shouldn't end every last bit of him, because if he is, then the balance of this forest will end, he made the Timberwolves, he is the source of their birth, if I end him, the Timberwolves will stop existing, and the Timberwolves act as a balance, or the police of the forest so that when there is an overpopulation of a species in the forest, they are here to wipe the 'over' of the 'population', sure the forest will adapt but it will take centuries for that to happen, so I didn't end him. I let go but, I ripped all of his abilities by removing the DNA linking to them, but I let him the ability to clone, so that he can make Timberwolves again. I then reverted back to my manticore form as I see no danger anymore, the manticores and Timberwolves stopped fighting and only looked at us.

"You're a pillar of this forest, if I end you now, the balance of this forest will break." I stated while healing his body, he looked at me and growled.

"If you ever do anything monster, I will come back." He said while going away, the pack of Timberwolves followed him, I just sat there with the manticores behind, those injured came to me and I soon healed them.

After this, I turned to the frozen ponies hiding in the bushes, I could see them shake in fear, but couldn't move because of it.

"Well, are you going to come out?"

Author's Notes:

Here's the chapter, yep, our cell here is, like everything, weak to something.
Nothing much to say so till next chapter.