The sun had reached its peak as I loped down the dirt road with Strawberry Patch clinging securely to my back. So far, all we'd seen were sparsely seeded bushes and trees, nothing suggesting the presence of civilization. For some reason, Ponyville was nowhere to be seen either, and that worried me. At least Canterlot should have been where I remembered, and so I decided we would continue north until we either found it or somepony who could give us directions... assuming they didn't freak out at the sight of me, first.

I came to a stop a little past noon. My legs were shaking, and my stomach was clawing at me for food. I panted and sniffed the air, trying to catch the scent of something edible.

"What's wrong?" Patch asked, looking over my shoulder at me.

I looked back up at her. I'm hungry, that's what.

"If you're tired, I can walk by myself for a bit."

Now that, I could appreciate. I lowered myself down so she could climb off, then shook my mane, which had become matted from her laying over it. Then I continued my surveillance for anything we could eat. I caught the scent of a rabbit, but for Patch's sake, I decided against eating anything she might find cute.

"I'm kinda hungry," Patch complained, "And thirsty, too. Is there anywhere we can stop and eat?"

Couldn't say, kiddo, even if I could talk. I sighed, not really caring that I could still do that. Wait a second. Isn't she an herbivore? I wrote CAN YOU EAT GRASS? in the dirt and showed it to her.

Patch looked away sheepishly. "Well, yeah, but it tastes weird raw."

Seriously? Her parents were missing, and her major concern at the time was eating raw grass? I shook my head, reminding myself she was just a filly.

TOO BAD. EAT.

"But what about you?"

CAN'T.

I didn't actually know if I could or not, but considering how eating grass made most predators throw up, I figured the same would probably happen to me. Maybe if I got her to turn around long enough, I could catch that rabbit. Speaking of which, where was that thing?

I tried to listen and smell for it, but I didn't sense it anymore. Something was making noise though, and it was nearby. The sound I heard was a deep rumbling sound, and I felt the air pressure suddenly drop around me; it was the calm before a storm.

Coming in from the east, a large cumulonimbus cloud was rolling in and casting a dark shadow over all it passed. At least our water problem was soon to be solved, but if we didn't find shelter, we stood the risk of getting sick in this storm, or getting struck by lightning in an open place like this. And if Strawberry Patch got sick, how was I supposed to help her? We had to keep moving and find some place to wait out this storm.

I nudged Patch and motioned towards the thunderhead looming towards us.

"Is it a storm?" she asked, "What do we do?"

I stood next to her and put my wing over her, motioning for her to walk with me. At the very least, going like this would keep her covered and hopefully warm enough. I looked back at the storm clouds and noticed something off about them: they were moving on their own. There were no pegasi guiding them over the land or controlling the rainfall; these clouds were forming and raining completely independently. That wasn't how it was supposed to work in Equestria. I got the feeling something was wrong with those clouds.

Patch and I kept walking down the road while I kept an eye out for anything suitable to hide in or under. I pressed the filly close to me with my wing as a chilled breeze swept over us, heralding the arrival of the wild shower. Small, cold droplets of rain began to pelt the ground around us, starting off few and far between, then increasing in frequency over time. A flash of lightning caught my attention, and I counted the seconds.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

A peal of thunder rolled over us, indicating that the storm was less than a mile off, and moving fast. The rain started to pick up, and now even I was beginning to feel wet through my scales. The cool water soothed my wounds from the previous night, but that sensation was quickly replaced by a cold sting of wind chilling the moisture on me. The droplets hitting my wing sounded much like rain on an umbrella, and I hoped my new appendage was making a proper substitute for such a tool. I felt Patch press against me and shiver. Hold on, kid. We'll make it, just hold on.

The rain was coming down harder now, and it was getting harder to see further ahead. The road was turning into mud, and every so often, Patch or I would slip and nearly fall to the ground. I considered trying to put up some kind of barrier over us, but my powers failed to produce such, and all I got for my efforts was rain pelting my eyes when I looked up to project a field.

We quickened our pace, now running on the grass to keep from stumbling around in the mud. Would it have killed the ponies to invest in gravel roads? I prayed we would find a traveler, maybe somepony with a wagon for Patch to ride in, but the road remained empty as we trekked on through the downpour. Now the rain was coming down in torrents, and lightning struck again, this time close enough that I could see it touch ground, even through the fog of rain.

Somewhere off in the distance, I saw a dim, orange light. Had that last bolt of lightning started a fire? No way it would still be burning with all this water coming down. It had to be something else. I wrapped my wing around Patch and used it to lift her off the ground so that I could speed up. I couldn't hold her for long at a time, what with how slippery the splashing mud had made her, but it helped cut down the distance between us and that mysterious light. Whatever it was, I didn't care what, at least it was something the rain could not snuff out.

As we came nearer to it, I saw a form around the light through the fog. By Celestia, it was a house! Not just any house, a log cabin with fire inside, and smoke coming out of the chimney! Patch and I broke into a full run, well, she did at least; I had to hold back so I wouldn't be able to lose her in the storm. I knew we were close, but I didn't feel like taking any more risks at this point. We reached the porch, and thank goodness it had an awning! Patch shook herself dry and shivered loudly while I padded up to the door and rapped on the wood with the side of my paw several times.

There was no answer. I knocked again, and waited. This time, the door opened, and we were greeted to the sight of an earth stallion with a dark rust-colored coat, a dirty blond mane and green eyes.

"Hello? Who's out he--OH, SWEET, MERCIFUL CELESTIA!" Upon the sight of me, the earth pony promptly slammed the door shut in my face so hard, I felt the wind blow at me.

I blinked several times, then looked at Patch. I tilted my head towards the door. You talk to him.

Patch rushed up to the door and knocked on it. "Mister, please open up! Hunter won't hurt you! He's my friend! We need help! Please, open the door!" We just met each other, and she already considered me a friend. That's ponies for ya.

Her small voice must have been the part that convinced him, for when he opened the door again, he immediately looked down and gasped at Patch's soaked, muddy and pathetic form staring up at him with a bedraggled mane and pleading eyes. "What... Ah... Ah mean..." He looked from her to me, then back to her. "Oh, goodness! Yer drenched, child! Come inside, quick!"

We hastily accepted his invitation and stepped into the cabin. Right away, a wall of warm, dry air washed over us. I shivered as the heat made me realize just how cold I felt inside. I caught a new scent in the air, too. It was the smell of wood burning and food cooking over the fire, and the cozy smell of the log walls around us keeping the rain at bay.

Our gracious host disappeared momentarily, and then returned with a pair of towels that he threw over us. He helped Patch dry herself off, but left me to fend for myself. I didn't blame the guy, and besides, I'd rather not have a stranger rub me down with a towel.

"What were y'all doin' out there in this storm?" the pony said, "And with this..." He looked at me, carefully selecting his next words. "...stranger." Good choice.

"Hunter's my friend," Patch said, pulling the towel off her head and draping it over her shoulders, "He's helping me find my parents."

"Oh, is that so?" the stallion asked, looking to me for an answer.

I nodded. What else was I supposed to do? Scratch words on his floor?

"Hunter can't speak, sir," Patch said for me.

"So Ah see," our host said, "Oh, but where are mah manners? Mah name's Applejack Daniels." He knelt down to Patch's level. "And what's yer name, youngun?"

Applejack Daniels? Like the drink? I looked at his cutie mark, and lo and behold, it was a mug of apple cider with foam billowing over the rim. I wondered if maybe he was related to the Apple family.

Patch shied back a little. "Strawberry Patch, sir."

"Strawberry Patch," Jack replied, "Y'all ain't related to Pumpkin Patch, are ya?"

Patch perked up. "That's my papa! Have you seen him?"

Jack shook his head. "Sorry, not since last week. Ya said you were lookin' fer him?"

Patch looked down solemnly. "Yes, sir. He was grabbed up by gryphons, and they took him away. Him and mama."

Fear washed over Jack's face. "Good heavens... not another one."

I tapped my claws on the floor and gave him a questioning look.

"Do ya know what's goin' on out there?" he asked me.

I shook my head.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Where'd ya say you were from, uh, Hunter was it?"

"He's from the Everfree Forest," Patch said.

"The Everfree Forest?" Jack said in astonishment.

I tensed up and quickly shook my head.

"Then where are ya from?" he asked, giving me a look of suspicion.

I thought about how to answer him, then, coming up with nothing good, I simply waved a foreleg off to the side to give the impression of a great distance. Hopefully I wouldn't have to explain my origins being in another planet.

Jack looked even more suspicious of me. "Ah take it yer not from Equestria?"

I nodded.

"So ya really don't know what's goin' on in Equestria?"

I shook my head.

Applejack Daniels looked to Strawberry Patch, who was looking at him expectantly, and sighed. "We're at war with the gryphons. Lately, they've been snatching up ponies off the roads an' takin' them away. Ah hear they're takin' 'em for slave labor or somethin' like that."

Upon this exposition, my eyes went wide and my mouth fell ajar. War? Why was Equestria at war?! I slumped onto my haunches,

"What about my mama and papa?" Patch asked fearfully.

Jack's gaze softened as he looked down at her, but he didn't know how to answer her. He opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated. He sighed and hung his head down. "Ah don't know how else to tell ye, friend... Ah'm afraid they may be gone fer good."

Patch gave a startled gasp, and I growled lowly at Jack.

"Ah'm sorry!" Jack said hastily, "There ain't nothin' that can be done! If they were taken yesterday, and y'all can't travel in this storm, then they'll be too far off before ya could catch 'em. There's a chance they might be held in one of the gryphon war camps, but if not, they'll be shipped off to Gryphonia."

Strawberry Patch was crestfallen. I stood close to her and gave her a nuzzle, but it didn't do much good. She was already starting to tear up again.

"Ah'm awful sorry, friends," Applejack Daniels went on, "If'n it helps, y'all are welcome to stay the night here. Ah got some grub cookin' we can share, too."

I looked from Patch to Jack and nodded. Yes, thank you. I knew it wouldn't do any good, but I figured I'd try with everypony I met in case somepony could hear me.

Patch sniffled and hiffed, blinking a tear onto the floor. I wrapped my foreleg around her and held her close, tucking her head into the crook of my neck.

"Um..." Applejack Daniels shifted uncomfortably. "Ah suppose Ah'll just get the table set."

I looked halfway towards him and nodded. As he sauntered off, I sat next to Patch and held her close against me, gently rocking back and forth. I couldn't imagine what it was like to be in her position. I'd been separated from my family in the past, but never had someone tell me it was hopeless to find them again. Although, I suppose it could happen now, provided Princess Celestia couldn't help me get home. But even then, I was an adult, so I still couldn't fathom what was going through the mind of a small child in that situation. All I knew was deep down inside, I felt the urge to protect her getting stronger by the hour. I squeezed her tight to let her know I was there for her, wishing I could say something to put her mind at ease. Patch pressed herself against my chest and clung to me, her cries beginning to ebb ever so slightly. Then she looked up at me, and I leaned down and rubbed my cheek against hers, which seemed to help a little.

Our tender moment was rudely interrupted when the smell of food wafted into my nostrils and made my stomach growl like a beast; Applejack Daniels must have opened the pot of whatever he was cooking. Patch gasped and lurched back, looking at my belly. I chuckled, well, sort of, and let go of her, then nodded towards the kitchen.

I led the filly to the table and pulled out the chair for her to take a seat in. I was tall enough that I could sit on my haunches on the floor and still be over the table.

"Everythin's almost ready," Applejack Daniels said, "Ah just need tah find that pot holder. Where did Ah--WHOA NELLY!"

I chuckled as I levitated the cast iron pot off the fireplace and set it down gently; I was beginning to really enjoy this telekinesis business. The poor stallion was dumbfounded, probably because my powers lacked the telltale glow of a unicorn's aura.

"Who... who did that?" the confused pony asked.

"Hunter," said Patch without much enthusiasm, "He was just trying to be helpful."

Jack looked at my horn and exhaled sharply. "Oh, Ah see. Fergive me, Ah didn't know you were magical."

I wanted to shake my head no, but then he'd want an explanation, and there was no way I'd be able to explain that my powers were genetic without some paper and a pen, which I didn't have on me. If he had any, I didn't know how to sign that I wanted some.

"Anyway, y'all are guests, so you jus' leave the servin' to me, y'hear?" Applejack Daniels said after recomposing himself, "Ah got leek soup, bread an' baked potaters here. Y'all eat hearty, now." He set out some dishes and held the soup ladle in his hoof while he served us each a portion.

"Thank you, sir," Patch said politely.

Jack chuckled. "Don't gotta call me 'sir,' youngun." He served himself last and took a seat across from us.

I wanted to make a good impression on our host, so I summoned up all the manners I had accrued over the course of my life, prepared to levitate my spoon, and... and my face was already muzzle-deep in my bowl, ravenously gulping down my dinner. Instincts trump manners, I guess.

The ponies awkwardly watched me devour my meal for half a minute before Jack decided to break the uneasy silence.

"S-so, how'd y'all meet?" he asked.

Can't talk, eating yummy soup.

"Well, I was lost in the woods after... you know..." Patch began, "I was so scared that I started crying, and I guess Hunter heard me. I really thought he was gonna eat me, but instead, he helped me by fighting off these big ugly wooden monsters! Then he took me to a cave and we slept all night in there." I noticed Patch's enthusiasm returning as she told our story.

"Hold up there, partner," Applejack Daniels interjected, "Yer sayin' he fought off a pack ah timber wolves?" He looked at me for confirmation.

I nodded.

"That's right!" Patch continued, "He used his magic to throw them around and rip them into sticks! Then when we tried to leave, we were attacked by this enormous cat monster!"

As Patch went on to describe our adventure in the Everfree, I was deep in thought about our situation. To be honest, with the night spent in the woods and the one we would be spending here, those gryphons had a two day head start on us. There was no way I would be able to track them without any leads. Her parents best bet would be to hold out until the war ended, or maybe someone else would rescue them before they were taken out of the country. My plan was to get Patch to Canterlot where she would be safe, and I would be free to search for and destroy any gryphon slave caravans I could find.

But would her mother and father even hold hope? They were taken at the edge of the forest, and they knew their little girl went inside there; would they have the will to live thinking their only child was dead? I tried not to think about that, and convinced myself to believe that they would press on as long as they could.

Still, the question nagged at me: what if I failed to retrieve them? What would happen to Patch? Was there any place safe, some place the war hadn't reached? And what if we lost? My thoughts kept coming back to Patch and her safety. I grimaced at the thought of what those barbarians would do to her.

I hadn't noticed that my food had vanished from my plate, and looked around curiously for it. A muffled burp informed me that my meal was already in my stomach, and so I decided to simply listen to Patch and Jack talk.

"...and then we got here, Hunter scared you, and you gave us this yummy dinner!" Strawberry Patch finished her story.

"Quite an amazin' tale there, friends," Jack said, taking a swig of whatever he had in his cup, "It's hard ta believe ya got outta there unharmed."

Patch mimicked the way he drank. "Well one of them bit Hunter, but he didn't even cry."

Gee, thanks, Patch.

"One o' them bit Hunter?" Jack looked at me with concern. "Where'd it get ya?"

I shrugged and turned so that Jack could see the wounds I'd received last night. To think a pony really could turn pale, especially a dark red one like him.

"Oh mah gosh!" Jack practically jumped out of his seat and scurried over to me, then closely inspected my injury. "Why didn't ya mention this sooner? Ya got a death wish or something?"

I stared at him and tilted my head.

The earth pony scowled at me. "Don't'cha know anything about timber wolves? Their bites are poisonous as a rattler's! Ah can't believe ya even lasted this long on yer own!"

Before I could even imagine what kind of snarky reply I'd have given about not being informed, Jack was hot on his hooves. He ran into the next room, and returned shortly after with several bottles of different liquids and a wad of some kind of moss. He sprinkled some of the fluids into a rag while chewing on the moss, then spat the green wad onto my largest wound and pressed the wet rag against me, causing me to hiss and recoil.

I felt like I was having hot steam sprayed against my skin where the medicine made contact. Immediately, I could feel it seeping into my body and coursing through my veins, like there was some kind of microscopic war going on inside me. The whole experience was making me feel nauseous, and I fought to keep my stomach down; I didn't want to puke the dinner he'd so graciously shared with us.

"There," he said with a relieved sigh as he took a cloth bandage and used it to tie the rag to my body, "That oughtta get rid ah the venom. Yer mighty lucky ya haven't passed out, otherwise you'd be done for. Open yer mouth. Is yer tongue green?"

I said 'ah' as best as I could for him, and he held my lower jaw down with a hoof. I could see him lurch back a bit at the sight of my fangs, but he quickly composed himself and took a closer look.

"Alright, the poison hasn't spread all over yet. It's amazin', really, how slow it's movin' through ya." He pushed my mouth shut and stepped back. "Now Ah ain't no doctor, but hopefully ya won't need one with that treatment Ah gave ya. Ah know how to treat a bite just fine, among other things."

Strawberry Patch came up beside Jack and looked nervously at me. "Is Hunter gonna be OK?"

Jack looked down at her. "Ah sure hope so, youngun. He risked his life fer ya, so the least we can do is try to help him out." He walked over towards the window and grabbed the curtain, drawing it shut. "Speakin' o' which, the two of ya better get some rest. There's a spare bedroom down the hall that Hunter can use. Strawberry, y'all'll sleep with me."

My eyes bugged out, and in an instant, I was low to the ground and snarling fiercely at Applejack.

"Whoa Nelly!" The stallion reared back in surprise. "Now hold on there, partner! Ah didn't mean it like that! Honest!"

My growling continued as I dragged Patch behind me, keeping my focus on Jack the whole time.

"OK! OK! Ah get it! She's all yers!"

"Hunter, what's wrong?" Patch asked, "Why are you acting like this?"

I turned to Patch and motioned for her to go down the hall.

"But why?" she pressed.

"Just go on, Patch," Jack said somewhat urgently, "Ah think Hunter wants to have us a grown up talk, alright?"

You bet your sweet apple acres, I do.

"OK." Patch turned around and started down the hall. She paused and looked back at me. "But Hunter?"

I turned my head towards her.

"Please don't eat him after he was so nice to us. Please?"

I would have rolled my eyes if it would have meant anything, but it didn't, so I opted for what I figured was a sigh, followed by an exaggerated nod. Patch smiled at me thankfully, and then went into the other room. Once she was out of earshot, I looked at Jack and grunted.

"Look," he started softly, calming down from the scare I gave him, "Ah just want you to know that Ah'd never do somethin' like that to a foal. Ah just meant that the master bedroom has a bigger bed, so the two of us would fit together. Yer bigger than both of us, so either way, ya'd need a bed of yer own, and we wouldn't fit in that smaller one." He tentatively stepped forward. "Ah just meant to make the two of you comfortable, nothin' more than that. You two have been through Tartarus, an Ah wanna do what Ah can to help, alright?"

I slowly blinked, and after a long, awkward pause, I raised my foreleg and rested my paw on his shoulder.

"Do ya fergive me?" Jack asked.

I nodded solemnly.

Jack heaved the biggest sigh of relief I'd ever heard. "Oh, thank sweet Celestia. Now Ah understand you must be real protective of her, so if ya wanna be the one sharin' a room with her, Ah understand. Ah'll just... leave it up to you, eh?"

I nodded again, this time managing what felt like a smile to me; I felt like I was getting a better sense of my expressions. Slowly, I padded of into the guest bedroom where Patch was waiting, hiding by the door frame.

"What were you two talking about?" the filly asked me.

I just gave her a look, then nuzzled her and nodded towards the bed.

Patch climbed up and buried herself under the blanket, then poked her head out and rested it on the pillow. I propped myself up on he bed and grabbed the blanket in my mouth, then tucked Patch in.

"Hunter?" she asked, the fear returning to her voice, "Do you think I'll find my mama and papa?"

Her question struck something deep inside me. It was a question that I couldn't answer with an absolute yes or no, and yet that was all I was capable of giving. What was I supposed to do? I opted for a reassuring lick on the cheek, and then rested my neck across her. As gently as I could, I raised my paw and brushed her mane with my claws,

I don't know, kiddo, but I promise I'll do all in my power to find them.

Patch yawned and rolled over on her side. "Thank you, Hunter."

My ears perked, and I raised my eyebrows. Did she hear me that time? I waited to see if she would jolt up and exclaim, "Hey! You can talk?" but it never happened.

The light suddenly went out, and I spun around to see Jack standing next to a freshly-extinguished oil lamp.

"Oh, sorry there, Hunter," he whispered, "Ah was jus' puttin' out the lights so no gryphon scouts come snoopin' 'round here." He quietly walked over to the curtain and drew it shut. "Will ya be alright in here?"

I snorted; not like he could see me nod.

"Ah'll take that as a yes," he said as he started out of the room, "Sleep tight, you two."

I watched him go, then turned around so I was parallel to the bed and hunkered down on the floor. The hard wood should have bothered me, but it was actually not that bad, and much better than that stone cave. The sound of the storm still going on outside was comforting as well, certainly a more welcome ambience than the sound of a child crying.

I couldn't help wonder what the next day had in store for us, or if Celestia would be able to help. One thing at a time, I reminded myself, First we get to Canterlot, then we ask Celestia for help.

Author's Notes:

If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!

Hopefully I'll be keeping the chapters this long. I know the Applejack Daniels pun has been done before, but I like it, so nyeh. Sorry for not much action in this chapter, especially when Hunter just had a boss fight in the first one. But don't worry; I've got plenty of cool fight scenes planned, so stay tuned!... or, you know, go read something else while you're waiting.