NTBN 1 [Chance Meeting]

NTBN 1 [Chance Meeting]

>There’s a bright flash of white.
>You fall flat on your chest.
>The ground is surprisingly soft
>Unfortunately, that soft surface did nothing to alleviate the amount of air knocked out of your lungs.
“Fuuuuck...”
>That’s all you manage to get out of your mouth as you flip onto your back.
>You would take in your environment, but your vision is obscured entirely by a pair of yellow, prying eyes.
“FUCKING-“
>You deftly roll backwards, gaining a better position to view the threat.
>It takes a moment for your brain to work it out, but the creature that stands before you is not an assailant. No, this creature is the misshapen chimera that made you the offer.
>A second chance.
>A fresh start.
>A new life.
>What a time he showed up at as well.
>He couldn’t have been more on time if he tried. Strange entities don’t just show up to save your life every day, you know?
>You go to stand, but find the position to be quite...awkward for some reason.
>You give your body the signal to run diagnostics. Within a mere fraction of a second you get back the results.
>You’re no longer a humanoid.
>The closest thing that you can compare yourself to is a horse, though if your body’s absolute size measurements are still correct then you’re smaller than an average horse.
>A pony perhaps.
>A green furred, black maned pony.
>Regardless of what you are, that fucking weirdo is still staring at you. It’s a stare you’re all too familiar with. Condescending, yet analyzing.
>Without a doubt he is looking down on you, but he’s also gauging you, trying to figure out what your next move will be.
>”What is your name?”
>The phrase leaves his mouth with such bluntness that it comes across as more of a statement than a question. And what a idiotic question it is.
>Not only is he skipping over the fact that you’re a fucking horse now, but you also remember that he used your name when you first met him.
>Still, you can tell right off the bat that there’s no
point in trying to reason with this guy. From your first encounter to this one here, his personality has flipped drastically. The signs that he’s given off are indicative of manipulative and sociopathic tendencies.
>That being said, no point in arguing.
“My name is-“
>Wait…….what?
“My name…”
>”Yeeesssss?”
>He draws closer to you as he taps his mismatched claws together, a sadistic grin growing on his face.
>You run diagnostics again.
>All is in order...
>That’s not right, you know it’s not…
>You glare at him with indignation.
“What the fuck did you do to me!?”
>He snickers before slowly slithering through the air, closer to you.
>”I only upheld my part of the deal. I gave you a new body. A new name.”
>He finally reaches you, slinking his head behind yours and whispering into your ear.
>”A new life.”
>You quickly duck away, never releasing your gaze from him.
>His head slowly tracks you as your mind races.
>What the fuck happened since you passed out?
>You had the inclination that this…… thing…. would be powerful, but it would seem that the influence of that power is more… magical in nature than you had expected…
>”Now”
>His voice snaps you out of your thinking.
>”What is your name?”
>You sigh. Regardless of what may have happened, that’s in the past now. This is going to be your new life, so you might as well hit the ground running.
“My name is Kallisti Flux.”
>A satisfied smile washes over his face at your words.
>”Good. With that settled, everything would appear to be in order. Let’s summon the ringmaster, shall we?”
>He quickly snakes his way past you, towards…
>Wait, where are you?
>Up until this point, you were so focused on the situation at hand that you had completely ignored your environment.
>It probably would have been a good idea to do that earlier…
>Anyways, no time like the present!
>You’re clearly in the middle of some kind of large clearing in a forest, but you had a more efficient way of surveying the area around you. Besides, this would answer a question you had.
>You bury a hoof into the soft grass beneath you and focus. Even if they’re small, you can feel the energy of every blade of grass beneath you. With a little more concentration, you can feel the energy of adjacent blades, connected by their roots, and blades adjacent to those.
>This will let you quickly paint yourself a mental picture of the land around you.
>Not only is it far faster than looking, it answered your question. You seem to still be a Tetran.
>Or at the very least your ability to sense energy was transferred over.
>Putting that aside, you were correct. You are in the center of a very large clearing, any tree line being no closer than 100 meters in any direction. Due to the areas from the tree line forward being populated by larger greenery, the clarity of further areas is greatly reduced, but you can tell that the forest expands past your range of seeing.
>Something like that is hard for you to comprehend.
>Back on Tetra, the furthest you could see before hitting the end of any forest was about a mile, but this forest expands past two miles in any direction. You must be far from civilization for this much life to exist.
>Now, for where that sociopath went.
>You turn around, and just as expected, a large hill with a weeping willow atop sits before you, the mysterious chimera floating at its peak, puffing on a pipe, from which come large bubbles.
>Now, time to meet this so-called “ringmaster” and get some answers.
>The ascent is short and pleasant.
>You’re surprised by how natural it is for you to walk in this body, with the new joints and all. You’re not sure whether that’s due to your knowledge on the anatomy of your body, or for some other reason.
>As you near the top, the creature dumps his pipe out on the ground, revealing the contents to be… confetti? You would be more concerned at such an odd sight, but considering that you’re a fucking pony now and there’s a magical, sociopathic chimera in front of you, sky’s the limit for today.
>”It’s about time you’ve gotten here. I though I’d have to wait another millennia.”
>He crosses his arms and huffs indignantly, small puffs of smoke shooting from his nostrils.
>Is… is this guy for real?
>You thought you had a read on his personality before, but at this point you’re pretty certain that this guy is just a fucking lunatic. First he’s serious, then he’s mysterious and creepy, and now he’s huffing at you as if you’re the one owing him an apology.
“What are you fu-“
>He snaps his talons, zipping your mouth shut in an instant.
>Literally… there is a fucking zipper there your lips should be.
>”Uh uh uh. Now is time for the adults to talk.”
>This fucking guy.
>Well, in that case, there’s not much else to do but observe.
>He carefreely knocks on the tree, producing a dull sound that resonates through the air. After a few moments of silence, he appears to grow irritated.
>He floats up to the higher branches, supposedly to check them for something. As soon as he does so, a dark grey pony appears from behind the tree with nary a sound.
>It appears to be female. She has a mane and tail of jade, so long and flat that her tail drags along the ground, her mane almost long enough to follow suit. Her eyes shine of freshly polished emeralds, piercing your very being with their honed edges. She holds an eerily calm demeanor about herself, with a smile to match. Upon her flank sits a tattoo of sorts, a swirling black symbol.
>Though, it can’t be a tattoo if you can see it through her fur. It must be some kind of biological mark, perhaps unique to this species.
>Curious, you look to your flank.
>Oddly enough, there is nothing, the same green color as the rest of you.
>Besides this, however, something catches your eyes as you look back at yourself.
>Are those…?
>You couldn’t have missed those in your diagnostics. Running it one more time, sure enough, on your back is now a pair of wings.
>Besides the fact that it’s another one for your weird day bingo at this point, the idea of having wings is fucking awesome! You try your best to move them, though, unlike with the rest of your body, it would seem that the motions do not come naturally to you.
>Fucking bummer.
>Whatever, you’ll work it out later.
>Returning your gaze to the mare, you see her…
>Walking up the tree...
>Vertically…
>You’re no expert in physics, but with your little knowledge, you could tell one thing: physics be damned in this world.
>When she is finished with her ascent, she stands at a height just below the cranky chimera, who is still leering though branches unpleasantly.
>Somehow with her hoof, she grabs his tail and, in an impressive display of power, throws him to the ground, filling his mouth full of grass and dirt. His expression as he picks himself up is less than pleasant.
>Had your lips not been sealed, you would have had to stifle a laugh. You can’t even remember a time when you’ve seen something so comical.
>The grey mare also agrees with your view, according to the giggle she lets out as she silently falls back to the ground.
>Both of them being on the ground and touching the grass, you get a hint of the energy within them. The chimera has an immense reserve of energy that actually spills into the area around him through the air. You didn’t think that was even possible. As for the grey mare, she seems to have as much energy as you would expect from a being her size, though nothing particularly notable.
>”Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny KK.”
>He wipes the remains of any dirt from his mouth with a scowl.
>”Now, how about we discuss what we’re both here for?”
>This “KK” brushes her flowing mane aside and silently nods. As she makes herself comfortable on the ground, an impossibly large stack of papers materializes in front of her.
>As if bound by an invisible force, the pages suddenly begin to flip violently from the stack to the ground, like a book. Once a good way through the stack, the motion abruptly stops and the top sheet gently floats to KK for her to read in an overly-calm, well spoken voice.
>”Section G, Subsection A , Article 12, Paragraph 13, beginning at line 7. Quote: ‘I, *Discord, Master of Chaos* am solely responsible for the retrieval of the target being specified in Article 7 of this same subsection. The target being is to be renamed by me to *Kallisti Flux* and made an appropriate body by me as outlined in Article 9 of this same subsection. Once the prior steps have been completed, I am to deliver the subject “Kallisti Flux” to the author of this contract, Khordaea “KK” Luster. This concludes the primary duties of myself in the context of this contract. I fully understand and accept that if not all of the outlined duties bestowed upon me in this contract are fulfilled in their entirety, then I will not be eligible for payment until they are.’ End quote.”
>You don’t really know what half of the things she said meant. Your specialization is in biology, not linguistics after all. However, what you can glimpse from her words is that the weird chimera is called Discord and he’s apparently a “Master of Chaos”. Whatever that means, it seems fitting for such a misshapen, unpredictable being.
>Possibly the most important piece of information that you got from all of that is that you’ve been brought here because of some kind of deal between these two beings in front of you. For what purpose, you have not the slightest idea. Perhaps that would be good to inquire about later down the road.
>Discord smiles with satisfaction at her words. Landing just in front of her stack of papers, he takes up a stance as if to flaunt himself to anyone watching.
>”Well, if I do say so myself, I have more than fulfilled all that is required of me. Now, about my payment…”
>He rubs his claws together, clearly expectant of something.
>”What about your payment?”
>”When will I be receiving it?”
>There is a gleam in her eyes for just a moment.
>”When you complete all of your assigned responsibilities.”
>Discord freezes entirely. The look of satisfaction remains on his face, though you’re fairly sure it’s because he isn’t capable of any other expression at her words
>”W-What…?.
>KK sighs through her nose.
>”I’m guessing that you’ve failed to read all of your responsibilities. If you look in Section K, Subsection L, Article 137, titled ‘Peripheral Responsibilities’, you'll find what you’ve missed.”
>The stack of papers explodes to life once again, flipping even deeper into the madness. It stops very close to the bottom of the stack as a page flies out in front of KK.
>”I won’t bother you with all of the complicated jargon this time around. Just know that you’re responsible for raising Kallisti until he reaches the age of 18, at which point you’ll be eligible for your payment, provided that you’ve kept him safe and healthy up until that point. If you don’t believe me then take a look yourself.”
>The paper flies towards Discord, who makes no attempt to avoid it. It smacks him directly on the face, deforming perfectly to his dead enthusiasm underneath.
>You chuckle at the sight.
>It’s like you’re watching a fucking cartoon.
>KK slowly trails her gaze to you, her eyes piercing your very being.
>yousouldnthavelaughed.jpg
>Her eyes visibly glow a vibrant green shine.
>OHFUCKOHSHIT.jpg
>A force pulls you violently across the grass toward the mare before you are brought to a dead halt, far too close for your comfort.
>While you’re sure that she only has a normal amount of energy, Discord did call her the “ringmaster” and she’s been pushing him around this entire time. While you have nothing to tell you how powerful she really is, your senses are telling you that you probably shouldn’t be as close as you are to her right now.
>”Kallisti, you may not trust me or what I’m about to say, but it is VERY important that you listen as best as you can.”
>The glow slowly fades from her eyes and her expression seems to soften ever so slightly.
>”You’ve been given a chance that most would die many times over for. To someone such as yourself, it is a blessing, and one that has come to you at a very modest price. Do not squander what has been handed to you Kallisti. Do you understand?”
>You attempt to respond, but are reminded of the binding on your lips.
>You can tell that she is waiting, and the stare that accompanied that feeling scares the shit out of you.
>Reaching up with your hoof, you do somewhat of a desperate grabbing motion at the zipper. Surprisingly, you’re able to get a good grip, regardless of your flat appendages, and unzip it quickly. Once undone, the zipper disappears entirely from your face with a flash, freeing your voice once more.
>You turn to her, and with all of the seriousness you can muster, you voice your response.
“I understand.”
>And understand you do. There is no way you’re going to fuck it up. You can’t. If you do, there will be nothing left for you. A second chance is about as good as it gets, and you have a feeling you won’t be receiving a third.
>”Good. But also know this Kallisti: even though you have given this chance for free, there is nothing that comes without a price.”
>Her expression hardens back to its original state as she suddenly stands.
>Your brain tries to wrap itself around that statement, and fails beautifully.
“But that doesn’t-“
>”Have a nice stay.” she says, before violently slamming her hoof into the ground, opening up a chasm below you, into which you helplessly fall, screaming as it seals off the light from above.

—————————————————————

>You are the almighty, glorious, benevolently mischievous Master of Chaos, Discord, and you currently cannot BELIEVE THE AUDACITY OF THAT CONNIVING, MOSS-HAIRED CRETIN!
>Your eyes evaporate the paper covering your face as you charge at the seated mare. She makes no attempt to resist you cooking around her with all of your rage.
“ARE YOU MEANING TO TELL ME, THE ALMIGHTY DISCORD, THAT I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT- THAT SNOBBLING BRAT FOR THE NEXT DECADE?!?”
>She blows an out of place hair away from her hideous face, only fueling the flames of your rage further.
>”Yes that is what I’m saying.”
>You go to speak one more, but are cut off by her hoof forcing your mouth back shut.
>”And before you go on another tirade about how you won’t do it, just know this. If you refuse to fulfill your side of the contract, not only will you forfeit payment, but it will also come with a rather… let’s say, *steep* price tag.”
>You quickly fly a distance away and cross your arms. The thought that she can even try to do this to you is ridiculous.
”PHHHH. SO BE IT! Your threats won’t get to me! I’m not doing it!”
>”Oh really?”
>Another paper of the contract floats up to you, face side down.
>”Maybe you should read the fine print before you go making such bold claims.”
>You scoff at her remark.
“I don’t have any need for a worthless piece of paper like that.”
>You attempt to burn it with eye lasers, but are dodged deftly by the flimsy piece of trash.
>”Are you sure?”
>You growl loudly.
“YES I'M SURE! NOW IF WE’RE DONE WITH THIS NONSENSE, I'LL BE ON MY WAY!”
>You raise your paw and-
>”So you won’t even do it out of the *KINDNESS* of your heart?”
>Even to someone such as yourself, you find the way she said that one word... sickening.
>Slowly, you lower your paw back down and turn back to her, as barely a whisper escapes your lips.
“What are you implying?”
>She says nothing. She only looks directly at the ground, her mane covering most of her face.
>Beneath that mane however, what you can see, is nothing but an expression you have never seen her make before… A smile of absolute and utter cruelty.
>The lone paper flies in front of you once again and shakes, as if doing a little, sadistic dance.
>You quickly snatch the paper from the air and turn it over, carefully reading over the fine text at the bottom. As your eyes glide over the letters, your heart drops. What have you done? What has SHE DONE?!
>In a mere moment you are eye to eye with the smiling, grey leech, a trail of fire burning any grass left in your path.
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?!?”
>She lets out a giggle that puts chills down even your spine.
>”I see you’ve finally realized the situation you’re in now.”
>Your fury fills the sky with dark clouds, spiraling around the hill and blotting out the sun. You snap, sending a bolt of lightning down upon her sorry face.
>At the last moment, it is redirected into the tree beside you, causing the entire thing to explode, shooting out shrapnel of bark and leaving behind only a burning stump.
>Again you snap, redirecting all of the shrapnel bark directly back to her.
>All of them burst into flame only a moment away from hitting her.
>Before you can launch your next assault, she intrudes with her hideous voice.
>”Before you go on, just know that if you keep this up, I’ll consider it a violation of our contract, and I just think that would be a shame, don’t you?”
>With every fiber of your being, you manage to put your paw down and quell your anger for the moment.
>For her sake.
>”Good. Now that you're done with your little hissyfit, I’ll finish.”
>Her expression returns to its original, detestable state.
>”You are now responsible for him, in any and every way that a father is responsible for his son. That means that you are not permitted to brutally harm him, neglect him, or any of the other things that you’ve been thinking of this entire time. If you do any of those, the contract will be forfeit. This, of course, excludes any other agreements that you have with others that would make it impossible to do so in a situation. And don’t think that I can’t tell when you end up in that situation, and when you put yourself in that situation.”
>You huff as indignantly as you possibly can at her.
>She sighs at you.
>”My point is, from now until he is 18 years old, you are to play the role of Kallisti’s father. Whether you like it or not, whether you want to be hands on or hands off, any of those things, is nothing I care about. I care that he is safe and healthy, physically and mentally. Nothing more, nothing less.”
>She remains silent for a moment.
“May I have a word now you hideous hag?”
>She nods irritatingly calmly.
“Tell me then, what is it exactly you have planned here? It’s very out of character for you to put so much time and focus into one little child.”
>A hint of genuine curiosity crosses over your face at the thought.
“What do you plan to do with him when he’s 18?”
>For just a split second there is a twitch, a slight falter in her hideous, perfectly calm smile. There’s not enough time for you to make sense of it before she responds.
>”Do you hear that?”
>There is a music box version of pop goes the weasel playing behind you.
>”That sounds like your ride home. Maybe that will give you some time to cool off before you greet your new son.”
>Turning around, you’re greeted with a face full of a comically large boxing glove.
>You see a set of comically large stars to go along with it, before everything goes black.