Twilight passed the recording crystal to one of the guards as she closed the door to the interrogation room behind her. He tucked it firmly beneath his wing before saluting and trotting off. It had been a long process, and she hadn’t been able to learn much from Darkflare. It was over now, and she was able to return home to relax.

Turning to look at Sunny, Twilight sighed and lifted her saddlebag onto her back.

“I think that about does it for today,” she grumbled, tightening the straps. “I don’t think I can stand another minute talking with him. How about we head back to the library and get something to eat?”

“Fine by me,” Sunny said, fighting back a yawn. “I’m exhausted, and I wasn’t even the one doing the work!”

Checking one last time to make sure that everything was fine at the guard station, the pair headed out into the evening sun. Twilight stretched her wings, a happy murmur escaping her lips. She was glad to be out of the building, and the gentle breeze felt nice on her tense muscles.

Beside her, Sunny giggled.

“Stressful time in there?” she asked, her eyes dancing with laughter.

Twilight groaned as she felt her back pop in several places. I will never understand why Max likes doing that so much, she thought, straightening back up. It seemed like every time he stretched, some part of his body popped and cracked. She could tell when he got up in the middle of the night, as the sound seemed to echo around the library. It always brought a smile to her tired face whenever she woke up to it; it was a sign that her human was still alive.

“That’s the understatement of the century,” Twilight growled, ruffling her feathers as she returned to the conversation. “He made me feel like a little filly on Nightmare Night. It was so unnerving, the way his eyes followed me wherever I moved. How could you stand working for him?”

Sunny flinched before hanging her head.

“It wasn’t easy, I’ll tell you that much,” she said softly. “I just tried my best to avoid him as much as possible. I tried to avoid all of them, actually.” She stared at the ground as they walked along, a small frown on her face.

"If you didn’t like working with them, then why did you?” Twilight asked, genuinely curious. “If you knew what they were doing was wrong, why help them in the first place?”

Sunny chewed on her bottom lip before looking up. Twilight blinked in surprise at the look Sunny gave her. Ever since she arrived, Sunny had been one of the happiest, go-luckiest mares Twilight knew. She could give Pinkie Pie a run for her bits on occasion. Even during stressful times, there was a hint of laughter in her gaze, like she knew everything would turn out alright in the end.

Now, however, there was only a tiredness the likes of which Twilight had only seen once before, on one other pony.

“Truthfully,” she said, sounding weary, “I needed the money.”

“That’s the reason?” Twilight scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You couldn’t have found any other way to earn money than to join up with criminals?”

“That’s easy for you to say; you’re a unicorn. Or were one, rather. For a pegasus born and raised in Canterlot, work isn’t easy to find,” Sunny growled, returning her gaze to the ground. “Everything is run by the unicorns. Hay, the whole damn city is practically ruled by them. Earth ponies and pegasi are usually reduced to working menial jobs like cleaning streets or trash collection, and those don’t pay near enough to support yourself.”

“What about working for the weather factory?” Twilight asked, trying not to sound too accusing. “That’s an occupation for pegasi.”

“Oh please, the weather in Canterlot isn’t controlled by pegasi,” she huffed, a wing twitching at her side. “With the use of weather-controlling magic, the entire Canterlot branch of the factory is run, controlled, and managed by unicorns. They use their stupid magic to make the weather and move the clouds. Why hire twenty pegasi when three unicorns can do the same amount of work faster? You can get more bits that way.

“That’s why I joined up with Darkflare and his crew. I needed the money. Although, I soon found that even though what we did could be considered wrong on so many levels, I enjoyed it. Not because it was torturing and selling humans,” she added, noting Twilight’s shocked expression, “but because I was working with humans. You see, to a human, there is no difference between a unicorn and a pegasus. They don’t see the horn, or the wings, or the lack thereof. They just see another living creature. If you are friendly to a human, they are friendly to you as well, regardless of who you are.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she talked, slowly rolling down her cheeks to fall to the ground below.

“Why is it that a creature that can be considered dumber than most other animals can show more compassion to a pony than other ponies can? Why will a creature that can turn violent so quickly not attack you if you show it a little kindness, but a pompous, arrogant unicorn won’t even pause to help a pony in distress?” She turned her gaze up to the sky, blinking back tears as she did so. “Why are pegasi that grow up in Canterlot considered next to useless?” she whispered.

Twilight’s ears splayed back. She chewed on her lip as she glanced at Sunny out of the corner of her eye, shocked at the sudden wave of negative emotions. She could understand where it was coming from, though. What Sunny said had some merit, much to Twilight’s chagrin. Canterlot was mostly run by unicorns, including the Weather Factory branch located there. Twilight knew that, yet still she blindly ignored the fact. But that wasn’t the only reason she was uncomfortable about Sunny’s revelation.

The entire time Sunny had been living at the library, Twilight had been treating her poorly. Max and Spike would go out of their way to help Sunny if she needed it. There were even times that they would let her pick what was going to be for dinner, or what everyone was going to do for the day. The smile on her face whenever they did that was blinding.

Twilight, on the other hoof, had just simply ignored the mare, or become frustrated if she got in her way. She had even shouted at Sunny once for putting a stack of books away before she was done with them.

I’ve been treating her like dirt, Twilight thought, mentally kicking herself in the flank, all because of who she was and what she did. Swallowing nervously, Twilight decided that it was time to fix her mistake.

Slowly, she moved closer to Sunny, draping a wing over her back. She gasped slightly as the wing settled over her, but she didn’t do anything to move away. In fact, she seemed to lean into Twilight’s side ever so slightly.

“I'm sorry,” Twilight said softly.

Sunny glanced up at her in confusion, tears still rolling down her face.

“I-it’s not your fault,” she sniffled, rubbing at her cheeks with the back of a hoof.

“Not for what happened to you in Canterlot,” Twilight said. “Not for what you went through while living there. I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you when you were staying with us.” Sunny inhaled sharply, her eyes widening. “You didn’t deserve it,” Twilight continued. It was her turn to hang her head, “and I’m sorry—”

She was cut off suddenly as Sunny draped her own wing over Twilight’s shoulder, their feathers brushing together. Twilight glanced over at her and saw she was smiling weakly through her tears.

“After what I’ve done, I deserved it,” she said.

“No, no you didn’t,” Twilight replied, shaking her head.

Sunny gave her a confused look, tilting her head to the side. “What makes you think that?”

“If you hadn’t joined up with Darkflare and his crew, you wouldn’t have been able to help Max,” Twilight said, hugging tighter with her wing. Sunny’s ears perked up at that, a surprised look crossing her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but Twilight pushed on. “And for that fact alone, I could forgive you. But that’s not all you’ve done.”

Sunny continued to stare at Twilight, her mouth open slightly. Twilight giggled softly at the sight.

Okay, that’s actually kind of cute. A blush quickly rose to Twilight’s cheeks as she realized what she had just thought. Coughing, she continued with what she had been saying. “You not only left the group voluntarily, but you agreed to atone for your crimes. You’ve helped out around the library. You’ve helped with both Max and Spike.

“Also, and this is the big one,” she said, pulling her wing off of Sunny and turning to face her, “you helped me find Max when he had been abducted, you were beside me every step of the way, and you helped us bring Darkflare down.” Twilight smiled at her before giving the pegasus a proper hug.

As she draped her forelegs over Sunny’s shoulders, she felt her flinch. After a moment, Sunny hesitantly returned the hug.

“In my opinion,” Twilight said, not breaking the embrace, “you’ve already been pardoned.” She tightened her grip on Sunny, tears welling up in her eyes. “And you are not useless,” she whispered in her ear.

Sunny trembled at that, a shuddering breath escaping her. After a brief moment of silence, she murmured softly into Twilight’s ear. “Thank you, Twilight. That means a lot to me.”

The pair broke the hug and smiled at each other, each wiping tears from their eyes. Sunny looked at Twilight, who could see that a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

THUD

And like that, the tender moment was ruined when Rainbow Dash came crashing down in front of them.

Both Sunny and Twilight jumped at the impact, looking over at Rainbow, who was laid out flat on her stomach, her eyes rolling in her head due to the force of her collision with the ground. A flock of birds flew around in a large circle above her, chirping madly. Twilight frowned. Some of them looked like Fluttershy’s birds. Shaking her head, she ignored them and turned her attention to her prismatic friend.

“Whoa there, Dash, where’s the fire?” she asked jokingly as Rainbow struggled to her hooves. Her laughter died when she saw the look on Dash’s face. It was a look of fear and panic.

“Twilight,” she cried, dancing on her hooves in agitation, “We've got trouble!”

Pain, my friend, we really must stop meeting like this, I grumbled as I regained consciousness. Shifting slightly, I immediately became aware that I was lying on a semi-comfortable bed. There was an annoying beeping noise coming from beside me, and I could feel something pinching in the crook of my right arm. I could feel bandages wrapped around my torso. Without even opening my eyes, I knew where I was.

I was back in the freaking hospital.

If this becomes a regular thing, I should really look into getting some form of health insurance, I thought, cracking my left eye open and looking around groggily. Back home on Earth, I had been in the hospital many times, but each time was to visit my grandmother, who had several medical problems. I, myself, had been admitted to the ER only once, and that was for a stomach virus that had me vomiting every five minutes.

Now, however, I found myself back in the hospital in Equestria for the second time in less than two weeks.

Coincidence? I’m not entirely sure, but something strange was going on, and my paranoia agreed. After all, I had been in Equestria for five months and nothing remotely bad had happened. Now, it seemed like my good luck had run out. Just... fucking... great.

I tried to get a good look at the room I was in, but the bandage over my right eye made it hard to get a good scope on things. I slowly moved my head around, my left eye scanning the room gradually.

A giggle next to my head caused me to glance to my left. A nurse was standing by the end of the bed, watching me with an amused smile on her face. She had a pure white coat, and her pink mane was done up in a bun underneath her nurse cap. A red cross adorned her flank, similar to the one on her cap. Her blue eyes twinkled with mirth as she looked at me.

“Welcome back. We weren't expecting you to be conscious yet,” she said, chuckling softly as I just laid there, blinking at her owlishly. “It’s good to see you again, even if it is so soon after you left last time.”

I crinkled my nose up at that, casting a cautious glance. It was almost like she knew that—

“Before you start getting paranoid,” she began, her tone of voice remaining calm and collected, “yes, I know that you’re… unique.” Seeing the alarm on my face, she shook her head and quickly added, “Ms. Sparkle explained some of it the last time you were here. Fluttershy filled in a bit more when she arrived with you earlier today. I’ve got to say, it was rather hard to believe at first that you were actually intelligent, but I can start to see that it’s true.” She giggled again as I closed my eye and groaned loudly, letting my head drop back onto the pillow. Great, someone else who knows the truth! Might as well just have a town meeting about it at the rate ponies are learning.

As if sensing my distress, the nurse patted my shoulder tenderly.

“There, there,” she said, laughter hidden in her voice. “It’s not all that bad. The only staff that know about your situation are the ones who are taking care of you. We figured it would be best to keep this as quiet as possible until Twilight could deal with it personally.”

I opened my eye and gave her a weak smile, silently thanking her.

She chuckled again before walking to the end of the bed to consult my medical charts. As she flipped through the chart, she continued her one-sided conversation. All things considered, I was fairly surprised at how well she was taking everything.

“It was a good thing that Fluttershy got you here when she did. Otherwise, the manticore’s venom would have done its job. She treated your injuries back at her cabin, but upon discovering the manticore barb embedded in your shoulder, she rushed you here. She was having a panic attack, believing that she hadn’t made it in time. Spike and the Crusaders will also be happy to hear—”

My heart rate spiked instantly, causing the nurse to drop the clipboard and yelp in shock. I had completely forgotten about the girls! Are they alright? Is Spike okay? What happened after I passed out? Struggling with the sheets around me, I attempted to stand up. The nurse rushed to my side, gently yet firmly pushing me back onto the bed.

“Relax,” she ordered, her tone authoritative, “Relax! They’re fine!”

I slumped back into the bed, breathing heavily. My shoulder burned and a dull throb resonated through my lower back.

“All of them had several cuts and scratches, and were in a state of shock, but nothing major,” the nurse continued, keeping a firm hoof pressed against my chest to stop me from rising. “Out of the five of you, you were in the worst condition when you arrived.” As my heart rate slowly returned to normal, the nurse returned to the foot of my bed, keeping her eyes on me as she walked.

“As I was saying, Spike and the Crusaders will be happy to see you awake,” she continued, picking up the clipboard in her hooves again. “You had the manticore’s barb jammed into your left shoulder, nearly hitting your scapular spine. It was touch-and-go for a bit as we tried to remove it, but once we did and got the anti-venom into your system, your condition stabilized.

“You also had several lacerations across your lower back, which we cleaned and bandaged, although it did require some stitches. Your feet were pretty scratched up as well, but we were able to heal most of the major cuts. Try and take it easy for the next couple of days, okay?” She asked, shooting me a smirk over the clipboard.

I rolled my eyes, but a small smile touched my lips nonetheless. The smile caused her to flinch, a shiver running down her spine. She managed to compose herself again quickly.

Returning the charts back in the basket, she proceeded to check my bandages to make sure none of my wounds were becoming infected. As she checked me over, I mused silently to myself.

Why is it that most ponies that discover I’m smart don’t freak out? Twilight and Sunny were understandable, but everyone else just seems to take it in stride. I glanced down at the mare, who currently had her ear pressed against my chest, head bobbing in time with my heart beat, a small smile on her face. Maybe I’m just not giving these ponies enough credit... or maybe it’s just this bloody town. Twilight did say that the ponies in this town were crazy.

Glancing out the window, I noticed that the sun was just beginning to set. Unless I was mistaken, I had been out for only a few hours.

Once the nurse was satisfied that I was as healthy as I could be given the circumstances, she stood up and headed towards the door.

“Well, everything appears to be in order,” she called back over her shoulder as she reached the door. “Now that you’re awake, there are some ponies out here that have been waiting to see you.” As she said that, I immediately thought of Sunny or Twilight.

I hope Twilight isn’t too upset with me, I winced, preparing my excuse for what had happened.

I was not prepared, however, for the white blur that assaulted me the moment the nurse opened the door. I could only sit there, a dumb expression on my face, as Rarity clung to me, crying her eyes out. Applejack followed her in, snickering slightly at the sight before her.

“T-thank you,” Rarity blubbered out, sobbing into my chest. “Y-you saved them. Y-you could have left t-them behind and saved y-yourself, but you didn’t!”

As she continued to cry, Applejack approached my bed, smiling sheepishly at me.

“Thanks for keepin’ mah sister and her friends safe,” she said, her southern drawl cracking as she spoke. Her eyes were bloodshot, a clear indication that she had been crying earlier.

I just gave her a small smile, wrapping my arms awkwardly around Rarity as she continued to cry. Her once ‘perfect’ mane was disheveled, twists and knots present where normally there wouldn’t be. We remained like that for several minutes; Rarity crying in my arms as Applejack stood beside the bed, shuffling her hooves, looking anywhere but at me and Rarity.

...yeah, it was actually pretty awkward; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Finally, the tears slowly began to cease. Sniffling, Rarity looked up at me and blushed slightly. Wiping her eyes with her hoof, she proceeded to extract herself from me, hiccuping slightly as she did so. Jumping down off of the bed, she attempted to straighten her disheveled mane as she turned to face me.

I rubbed my shoulder, the pain slowly increasing but still manageable.

“I’m terribly sorry about that, dear,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. “I-it’s just that ever since her accident, I’ve been scared of something bad happening to Sweetie.” Closing her red-rimmed eyes, Rarity took a deep breath, trying to compose herself.

Applejack snickered behind her hoof, and I couldn’t help but smile as well. After seeing Rarity be very prim and proper every time I’ve encountered her, to have her break down in front of me was kind of funny, even if the circumstances weren’t.

I’m sure she was very worried about her sister. I was just glad that my body reacted before my mind did when it came to saving the fillies.

“Anyway,” she said, opening her eyes, her voice sounding slightly stronger. “I just want to say that I’m sorry for how I have been treating you; it was unprofessional and unladylike to do so, and for that I apologize. I was wrong about you, and I thank you again for saving Sweetie despite our... tense... relationship with one another.”

I had already begun to sign out my response when I realized that neither of them could understand hoof-language. I guess I got too used to Sunny and Twilight being able to understand me.

I facepalmed, which drew confused expression from both mares, who glanced at each other before looking back at me. Gazing around the room, I searched for something to write on. I glanced down beside my bed and my eyes widened as I saw that my bag was lying on the floor next to it. Reaching down, I picked the bag up gingerly. As I placed it on the bed, I grimaced at the condition the bag was in.

There were small patches of dried blood across the bag, most of which I was pretty sure belonged to me. On second thought, I was positive that all of it was mine, as I didn’t really injure any of the manticores. The strap was barely hanging on, held together by mere threads.

I opened the bag and fished out my notebook and the charcoal stick, the charcoal having been snapped in two. Blood had soaked into the notebook as well, staining parts of the pages crimson. Flipping the notebook open to a relatively clean page, I scratched out my response.

+There’s no need to thank me. I would never have forgiven myself if anything happened to them+ There was no need to tell them about the little argument I had with myself about leaving the fillies behind.

I handed the notebook to Applejack, who took it gingerly in her hooves, trying to avoid touching the patches of blood. Rarity ignored the notebook completely, instead focusing on my bag.

“What is that?” she asked, staring at the bag in horror.

Taking back my notebook from Applejack, I scribbled out my response. I just held the notebook in front of her; I was pretty sure that she wouldn’t want to touch it. +It’s a backpa bag I made for myself. It got torn up while I was running from the manticores+

Rarity looked back and forth between the notebook and the bag, shaking her head in disgust.

“That will not do at all, darling,” she huffed, looking at the offending bag like it was roadkill. “I will not allow you to walk around with that... thing any longer! After you get out of the hospital, come over to my shop and I’ll create a new bag for you. Come to think of it,” she said as she started to eye my tattered clothing. “I can make you better clothes, too.”

I went to write out a message telling her that she didn't need to bother, but my notebook was pulled out of my hands by a light blue aura.

“I insist, dear,” she said, giving me a warm smile. “Think of it as a way to thank you for saving the Crusaders, and to make amends for my earlier behavior,” she added, giving my clothing another embarrassed look. “What was I thinking?” she said under her breath.

Sighing heavily, my shoulders slumped and I nodded my head, defeated. I was secretly cheering inside, because I seriously needed new clothing, but I couldn’t let Rarity win this round so easily. Not after all of those snide comments she made at me when she thought I was a dumb beast.

Rarity had just given me back my notebook, and I was about to ask about the girls, when Rainbow Dash suddenly came flying in through the open window. Landing on my bed, she turned her back to me and looked at Applejack and Rarity.

“I found Twilight leaving the guardhouse,” she said, barely winded from her flight. “She’s on her way here right now with Sunny. How’s the big guy doin’?”

I stifle a laugh at her expense. She apparently didn’t realize that I was awake when she flew in and perched upon my legs. Considering her size, she’s actually pretty light. Deciding to have some fun, I reached out and gave her bunny ears. Both Rarity and Applejack had to cover their mouths with their hooves to stop from laughing. Seriously, it didn’t take much to amuse most ponies.

“Why don’t ya ask him yerself, sugarcube?” snickered Applejack, motioning with her hoof for Rainbow to turn around.

I retracted my hand quickly and leaned back before she glanced over her shoulder at me. When she saw that I was awake and looking at her, Rainbow’s wings shot open and her eyes widened.

“Woah, didn’t see you there, big guy—” her words froze on her lips as her bottom jaw fell to the bed, followed shortly by her rear. She stared up at me in some kind of horrified awe, her wings standing further at attention.

The smile slowly left my face as she continued to stare at me, replaced instead by a look of confusion. Glancing at Applejack and Rarity, I raised my eyebrows in a silent question. Both of them just shrugged their shoulders, equally confused. It was when I started waving my hand in front of Rainbow’s face that she finally moved.

“Dude,” she breathed, standing up and taking a shaky step forward. “Your eye looks wicked!”

I looked at her in confusion. What’s she talking about? My eye is no different than the last time she saw me. Or is she talking about the bandages? I didn’t know why she would suddenly find the bandages around my eye interesting. They had been there all week, and she had visited me plenty of times. Was she really that oblivious?

Lifting up my hand, I reached for the bandage covering my right eye…

...only to touch bare skin. I froze instantly, my hand over my eye. There was no bandage covering it; it was completely bare. Yet I still couldn’t see anything!

All three of them immediately noticed my deepening look of horror and Rainbow Dash flinched back, a guilty look on her face.

“Dude, you didn’t know?” she asked in a low voice. She glanced at Applejack and Rarity, who just shrugged.

“We didn’t tell him ‘cause we thought he knew,” Applejack said, rubbing the back of her head. “Ah just assumed that Twilight had told him already.”

Rainbow looked back at me, her gaze concerned along with another emotion I couldn’t quite place. I ignored her, however, opting instead to try and get out of bed.

“Woah there, hun,” Applejack said as I started to rise. She hurried to my side and tried to push me back onto the bed. “Where do you think you’re going?”

I threw the notebook at them, a new message scrawled on the bottom. +I need a mirror+

All three of them flinched and Rarity shot me a concerned look.

“I’m not sure if that would be wise at the moment, darl—”

I pointed firmly at the notebook, cutting her off. +I need a mirror+

“But you just had a traumatic experience. Can’t this wait?”

I jabbed a finger at the notebook again, and she sighed in defeat before opening up her saddlebags and levitated a mirror out from its depths.

“Alright, darling,” she said, floating the mirror over to me, “but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Grabbing the mirror, I flipped it over and gazed at my reflection.

My face was dirty from my mad dash through the forest. Small scratches from the branches covered my cheeks, angry red marks against my skin. I had stubble growing across my cheeks and chin, as well as my upper lip. My brown hair, bleached slightly by the sun, covered my ears and hung down in front of my eyes. My left eye was completely normal, the dark brown color unmarred and pristine condition. However, the same could not be said for the other one. A long, thin scar ran from the left side of my face, starting under my left eye and trailing over my nose, before reaching the bottom of my right eye. The eye itself was completely useless; no iris, no pupil. Just a pure white sphere gazed back at me, almost like someone had removed my eye and replaced it with a glass marble filled with milk. It appeared that—despite my original belief—the blade did not miss my eye; it destroyed it.

As I just stared at the eye, transfixed by its horrific beauty, the others shuffled around nervously.

“It’s not that bad, dear,” Rarity said, her voice painfully chipper and false. “It’s actually quite... err, dashing.”

“Eeyup,” Applejack chimed in, a forced smile on her face. “It shows that you’re tough!”

“And look on the bright side,” Rainbow said, inching closer with an eager gleam in her eyes. “Now you and Sweetie Belle can join the ‘We got attacked by humans and are now blind in one eye’ club!”

Both Applejack and Rarity shot her an evil glare, but I actually snorted at that.

I wasn’t really upset that the eye was useless. Don’t get me wrong; it still sucked, and I would have liked to have had it back to normal, but it wasn’t really a huge loss on my part. While my left eye was a perfect 20/20, my right eye, which had been a lazy eye I had had surgery on, was only 20/70. That meant that even though I could see out of it, I relied heavily upon my other eye. So, the only real problem I had now with losing the eye was a permanently larger blind spot. Plus, I was pissed that nobody told me the eye was useless. My guess was that the doctors neglected to tell anyone because I was a human.

No, the eye didn’t really concern me that much. It was the way Rainbow Dash was looking at me that concerned me.

All three mares just stared at me as I studied my blind eye, each with a different expression of concern (or in Rainbow’s case, excitement and awe. Really, it was starting to creep me out). Tilting my head to the side slightly, I leaned in closer to the mirror, trying to get as good a look as possible.

“You okay, darling?” Rarity asked tentatively. “You aren’t upset, are you?”

I tore my gaze from the mirror and looked over at her. I gave her a blank look for several seconds before cracking a strained smile.

Rarity and Applejack flinched slightly at the sight of my teeth, but Rainbow just inched closer still, her wings still at attention.

“Ah don’t care what Twilight says,” Applejack muttered to Rarity. “Ah’ll never get used tah that smile of his.” Rarity nodded nervously in agreement before they both turned and gave me sheepish grins.

I smirked at the two mares before returning my attention back to the mirror, only to find Rainbow inches from my face. I jerked my head back before giving her a bemused look, a look that just screamed ‘Can I help you?’.

“Dude, that scar… your eye,” she said breathlessly, a small blush spreading across her face. “They’re awesome.” Slowly licking her lips, she continued to stare at my face as her tail twitched behind her and her back legs began to slowly knead down into the bed. Her wings were still stiffening gradually by her sides. An odd odor was beginning to fill the room.

I swallowed nervously as I slowly realized what that emotion on her face was exactly. Oh boy... not good.

Applejack and Rarity were staring at her in shock, mouths agape. She was slowly closing the gap between us, and I already scooted back as far as I could go. I glanced sideways at the other two, silently pleading for help, but I think they were completely frozen.

Rainbow was now close enough that I could feel her hot breath on my face, her crimson eyes glinting with an inner hunger. She slowly inched her face closer, her eyes starting to close as she moved her lips closer and closer to mine. Mere centimeters separated her moist lips from mine, her eyes closed tight in anticipation—

“WHERE THE BUCK IS HE?! I’M GOING TO KILL HIM!”

Everything froze as Twilight’s voice echoed around the hospital, causing the entire building to shake. The needy look immediately left Rainbow’s eyes, replaced instead by fear. I was saved! Unfortunately, it was by the lesser of two evils.

“Uh, I gotta go!” she said before bolting back out the window, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake.

“Right behind ya!” Applejack called after her, as she opened the door and shot down the hall.

Ripping the mirror from my hands, Rarity was right on her heels.

“Remember to come visit me later, if you’re still alive!” she called back to me as she ran. And just like that, I was alone in the hospital room, awaiting my final judgment. I should’ve let the manticores eat me.

I had a brief moment of peace before the door flung open, revealing a fuming Twilight.

The Goddess of Magic was glaring daggers at me as her mane slowly began to smoke. Her teeth were grinding together as she growled at me, her wings splayed aggressively by her sides. Sparks flew from her horn, energy crackling down the entire length.

Hell hath no fury…

As I stared at her, wide eyed, I was pretty sure I could hear my heart monitor short-circuiting beside me. Shit, this is worse than that time Spike dropped a book in the bathtub when he was taking a bath.

Twilight took a step forward, the tile creaking ominously underneath her hoof.

"What,” she growled, her eyes glowing with an inner fire, “the buck… were you thinking?”

I shot a quick glance at the open window through which Rainbow had disappeared not minutes ago, weighing my options. My room was on the second floor, so the ground wasn’t too far below. I would probably suffer some bruising and maybe a few broken bones, but I would get out alive.

Unfortunately, Twilight saw where I was looking. The window was quickly surrounded by her magic and slammed shut, the force of the blow causing the glass to rattle in its frame.

“What possibly possessed you to go into that forest, accompanied by ONLY three fillies and a baby dragon?” she growled, taking another step towards me. “Three fillies, a baby dragon, and an injured human? WHAT THE BUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!?!”

Well, when she put it that way, it does sound pretty stupid, doesn’t it?

~In my defense, Spike was the one in charge~ I gave her a sheepish smile, trying hard to resist the urge to bolt. I could feel my right eye twitch slightly as she continued to approach me, step by step.

Twilight’s eyes flashed white when I mentioned the young dragon.

“You let a baby dragon tell you what to do? You let a BABY dragon tell YOU what to do?!” she asked, her voice sounding as if several people were talking at once. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was about to tear my head off, I probably would have found that cool as hell. “What possibly possessed you to agree to that?!”

~They caught me by surprise!~ Twilight just glared at me, growling slightly. I decided that I should probably elaborate. ~It was the first time I saw Sweetie Belle up close, and I was too shocked at her injures to—~

“I thought you were intelligent!” Twilight snarled, interrupting me. “Tell me what part of that could have possibly been a good idea? Entering the Everfree Forest during manticore mating season? What were you thinking?!”

~I’m a human. In case you haven’t noticed, we aren’t the most intelligent species out there~ The pain medication they had me on was wearing off, but it seemed that there was still enough left in my system to make my mind not realize that I was on extremely thin ice with this mare with the power of the gods.

Leaping up onto the bed, Twilight roared at me, “STOP JOKING AROUND! YOU COULD HAVE DIED!!!” The entire bed shook with the force of her shout.

~Trust me, dying is the last thing I plan on doing~ I signed with a smirk on my face while my brain screamed at me to shut up. Instantly, I knew I had said the wrong thing.

Energy burst from Twilight, causing all nearby machines to immediately shut down. A great pressure pushed down on my chest, making it difficult to breathe. Twilight’s eyes were pure white, her mane flying around her head in an unseen hurricane. Snarling, she lunged forward, pushing her nose into mine.

As I stared at her in fear, I was pretty sure that my time had finally come.

“TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY, YOU MOTHER Bucker…” Twilight’s voice died in her throat as the magic around her immediately diminished. Her eyes returned to their usual violet color and they began to tear up. Placing a hoof over her mouth, Twilight backed up slightly, her wings lying limp by her side. As she continued to back up, I just stared at the place her face used to be, utterly confused at her sudden mood swing.

Twilight fell backward onto her flank, tears streaming down her face as she continued to stare at me in horror. Slowly lowering the hoof covering her mouth, she breathed, “Your eye.”

I stared at Twilight incredulously. That’s what got her upset? That’s what stopped her rage? My eye?! I know it’s bad, but I don’t think it’s that bad.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, tears slowly rolling down her face and falling onto the comforter below. This only served to make me more confused.

~What are you sorry for?~ I asked, trying hard to figure out what the hell was going on. One minute she’s about to kill me, and the next she’s in tears, apologizing to me.

“I... I cost you your eye.”

I snorted, rolling my eyes in disbelief. Really? She thinks this is her fault?

~You weren’t in the pit. You didn’t have the knife. You didn’t do this to me~

Twilight shook her head, the tears still coming.

“I was the one who blasted the human with the knife,” she cried, her body trembling slightly. She refused to look at me. “I-I’m the reason the blade cut across your face and hit your eye. I cost you your eye… and now y-you’re going to h-hate me!” With that she broke down.

Placing my hand over my mouth, I sighed as I looked at the broken mare in front of me. I didn’t know what to think anymore. Mere moments ago she was ready to tear my head off for going into the Everfree Forest, and now she was practically crying her eyes out because she thought that she was responsible for my ruined eye. I don't get paid enough to deal with this...

Talk about a bad case of being bipolar. What the hell was I supposed to do about this? Why do I feel like the saner one in this relationship? Staring down at the sobbing mare, I couldn’t help but feel my heart go out to her. After everything she’s done for me, after every little comfort she’s provided me, she still thinks that something like this was going to make me hate her.

Twilight, for a mare as intelligent as you are... you can be pretty stupid sometimes.

I sighed as I dragged my hand down my face, ~I don’t blame you, Twilight~

“Y-you don’t?” She glanced up at me, the fur on her cheeks wet and matted. Her eyes searched my face for any sign of deception.

I just shook my head at her, smiling warmly.

She blinked up at me, in confusion. Tears still ran down her face, but they were gradually beginning to fade. “But if I h-hadn’t hit him with my magic—”

~I would have died~ Reaching out, I grasped Twilight’s forehoof in my hand, gently pulling her over and into my lap. Wrapping my arms around her, I hugged her close and nuzzled my face into her mane.

She was hesitant at first, but after several seconds I felt her return my hug, gripping me tightly in her hooves as though she was afraid I would suddenly disappear. I was dimly aware that, elsewhere in the hospital, I could hear nurses running around, trying to comfort patients disturbed by Twilight’s rampage.

We stayed like that for a while, each enjoying the other’s presence. As I hugged Twilight, I caught the faint scent of lavender. Burrowing my nose into her mane, I sighed happily at the scent.

The smell of home, I thought absentmindedly, my mind slowly drifting back to Earth and my old life. A soft cooing noise from Twilight quickly brought me back to the present. I blushed as I realized what I was doing, and quickly removed my face from her mane.

Eventually, Twilight broke the embrace. Leaning back, she wiped her eyes with a hoof, sniffling slightly.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she whispered, sounding tired. “I know it isn’t a good reason to take my frustration out on you, but it’s just… it’s been a rather stressful day. Having to spend all day dealing with Darkflare and his crew, only to find out that you were attacked by a group of manticores; it was kind of too much.” She nuzzled my collarbone, murmuring softly into the flesh.

~Darkflare?~

“The leader of the group that kidnapped you,” Twilight said, not moving her head from my neck. She pressed her nose into my shoulder, inhaling deeply. “Sunny and I had to interrogate him today, and he was less than helpful. Didn’t you know his name?”

~No. They never said his name once while I was staying with them~ I made sure to emphasize “stay” in the most sarcastic way possible, since I couldn’t talk.

“Strange,” Twilight muttered, still refusing to move. Keeping her eyes closed, she rested her head on my shoulder, a small smile on her face. One of her wings brushed gently against my side, the feathers tickling my skin. Her back leg twitched slightly as she let out a happy sigh. I heard her whisper under her breath, “I wish we could stay like this forever.”

I silently agreed with her. It was surprisingly peaceful, sitting there with Twilight wrapped in my arms, her warm body pressed against mine. I even almost forgot about the growing pain in my shoulder and back as we lay there.

It was interrupted, however, by a bright flash of light that filled the room. Blinking back the spots that were now dancing in front of my eye, I watched as a single scroll fell onto the bed in front of us.

Reluctantly, I released Twilight and she leaned forward. Picking up the scroll, she brought it up to her face with a curious look on her face. That look slowly turned to horror as she read what was on the scroll.

“It’s from the princess,” she whispered, her voice terrified. Slowly, she looked up at me and handed me the paper. Grasping it in my hands, I unrolled it and read the message scratched across it.

+Twilight, I am coming to meet him+