Each moon was as beautiful as the last. A pale silvery glow that no star in the sky could compare to. A view that Kettlepot could only enjoy from the inside, eyes reflecting the white orb so far from their world. He lowered his gaze to the softly-lit town in the distance. The few buildings he could see — a freedom that was no longer his. He sighed, resting his chin on the window ledge.

Raising a hoof forward, he shivered at the cold touch of the glass. Even with the summer nights, air chilled without the sun. With a quick glance at his hoof, he thought of a familiar warmth replacing that unfriendly bitter touch. An ethereal lavender hoof met his, and he smiled at who he saw. “Berry…” She reciprocated his expression and nodded. “Oh, I wish you were here… I really do.”

Her image faded into mist as he blinked. ‘She’s not dead.’

“But you don’t know that.” He shrunk down in his seat. Twiddling his hooves like a foal caught in the act of disobedient behavior. “You and I saw what happened. There’s no way she’s alive.”

Hearing the tapping of glass, he shifted his body to the left. Met with the same muzzle he had seen every time; his own self looking back at him. ‘We don’t know that for sure.’ His expression changed not as a mirage of another being, just him mimicking this other self. ‘Yes, she was hurt but she could still be alive.’

“How?” A flip flop of expressions. Unhinging at the very spot. “She’s dead. We both saw it kill her.” The nightmare with metallic teeth flashed to life in the mirror for a brief moment. He clutched his chest, left hoof shaking. His breathing only increased in its unsteady rhythm. “That monster… there can’t… it’s not possible. She can’t be alive. There’s no way.”

‘We left in a hurry. There’s still a chance she could have escaped.’

“You can’t expect me to belie--”

‘Listen!’ Kettlepot crumbled up, eyes wide as he stared at the nothingness in front of him. Nobody else was in the room. ‘If she comes back alive and fine, she’ll wonder why you refused to pony up and save her like a real stallion would.’ Ears folded, Kettlepot hid them underneath his hooves, but the disturbing chuckle was not lessened. ‘Then again, you’re just a pathetic mess. Not grown up enough to handle any big colt problems.’

“Ju- just shut up,” he whimpered in a shaky tone, curling up tighter.

‘What? I’m just trying to get you to be a big colt is all. It’s not my fault. Being a big wimp is your forte, after all.’

“Just shut up!!” Kettlepot fell onto the floor. The chair cracked against the wooden surface, and he rolled into the wall. He blinked for a moment and stared at the mirror. Teeth clenched, his breath increased — he couldn’t stand it anymore. The other voice of self-deprecation punctured his ears; he was done listening to this mouthpiece. “Go away! I’ll prove it. I’ll find Berry. I don’t need you!”

His ears flicked, and he turned to the door. It opened, and Dr. Horse poked his head through the opening. “Is everything okay, Kettlepot?”

“Yes, yes. Of course.” He quickly stood up and brushed himself off. “I’m sorry if I made a lot of noise.”

“No worries, Kettlepot. So long as you did not hurt yourself, everything is fine.” He glanced at the chair. “We’ll make sure to replace your old one.”

“Th-thank you.” He watched as Dr. Horse brought in a wheeled table. “What are you doing?”

“Well, since you’ve been doing well, I thought I’d come in and bring you some food.” He lifted up a needle and flicked it once. “That, and I’m here to take some samples for the lab downstairs.”

‘You fool!’ the voice screamed. ‘He’s going to put you to sleep forever if you don’t stop him!’

‘Y-you don’t know that. Maybe he’s telling the tru—”

‘Listen! He’s going to put you to sleep, and then you’ll never find Berryshine ever again!’ He frowned, his fear growing out of control. ‘Don’t let him stick you with it!’ And as Doctor Horse brought the needle closer, Kettlepot yelled and shoved him away.

In his blind fear, he didn’t hear the chocked gurgle of pain. When he opened his eyes, he gasped at the sight of the needle inside the stallion. But it had been forced far too deep — blood trickled slowly out of the wound. He went to take the needle out but saw the near-lifeless eyes of the doctor.

“W-what… what did I do?”

‘You did what had to be done,’ the voice simply said. ‘Now let’s go. We need to get out of here now.’ Kettlepot stumbled backwards towards the door and opened it. Now outside the room, he could feel his magic come to him once more. He closed his eyes and teleported out of the room. He appeared outside at the front of the hospital. But he quickly ran towards a few bushes and hid inside of them.

He took a moment to catch his breath. “N-now… we find Berryshine, right? You said she’s alive?”

‘Of course she is! Why wouldn’t she be?’ Kettlepot didn’t know who else to trust but his own mind. He smiled a little and nodded. He looked to his right and left before he paced across the wooden bridge. Wherever she was, he would find her. And they’d finally be happily together again.

Twilight’s eyes opened wide, and she shot upright, hoof to her chest. She quickly scanned her room and found nothing out of the ordinary. She took a few deep breaths and sighed — the dreamworld had been unkind to her for the third time. More dreams of the Xenomorph. More dreams of the menace that plagued their living world. She closed her eyes and thought back to the once-vivid vision.

Her brow furrowed as she clenched her eyes tight and heard the faint screeches of the Xenomorph. And yet, for some odd reason, she thought she was somepony else. The horrifying moment in time seemed all too real. An omen to come, perhaps? Twilight let the thought drift to the back of the cascade of her other ruminating worries.

She looked out her window and at least had a smile, the sun greeting her to a sky bare of any clouds. Twilight slipped out of her bed and tucked the sheets back in with her magic. She approached the window and looked out, and turned when she noticed a few ponies running towards the eastern side of Ponyville. ‘What’s going on?’ She saw a few more and thought something must have been happening here in town.

But it was probably nothing she had to worry about. She walked over to Spike and nudged him a little. “Wake up, Spike.” The gentle movements made the young drake yawn, stretching his arms out.

“A few more minutes, Twilight,” he mumbled.

She giggled a little. “Come on. You’ll miss out on the ‘welcome back greeting’ for Applejack.”

He opened his eyes halfway and yawned again, scratching his back as he sat up. “Alright, alright. I’m up.” He took a moment to groggily fold his sheets. Once he finished, he looked up to Twilight. “Ready as I can be.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure we get some coffee afterwards.” His eyes lit up at the mention of the delicious elixir for his groggy state.

“Sounds like a plan.” He hopped up onto her back. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go say hi to Applejack!” It would be a welcomed distraction from everything else that was going on.

Twilight quickly trotted down the stairway and out the door. It didn’t take them long before the train station was in sight. She smiled when Rarity waved at her. “Good morning, Twilight,” she greeted her as Twilight walked onto the platform. “You’re just in time. The train should be here shortly.”

She took a moment to glance at the small group. Fluttershy sat beside Pinkie Pie with their hyper pink friend smiling as she got a laugh out of the pegasus. Apple Bloom fidgeted in place alongside Granny Smith, and Big Macintosh seated next to their grandmother. They all wore a shared assembly of worried frowns.

“They’ve been like this since they got here,” Rarity murmured.

“Well, at least Applejack’s return will brighten their day.” And revive everypony else’s spirits as well.

There was a roar in the distance, a train’s horn signaling its arrival. Twilight moved towards the others, Spike hopping off and sitting right beside her. Steam poured out from underneath the locomotive as it finally came to a full stop. The doors opened and a few ponies stepped out — her anticipation only grew in wait for her friend.

The conductor was backing out as he helped a pony along. When he stepped aside, Applejack moved onto the platform. She looked up and smiled. “Hey, y’all.” Apple Bloom was the first to jump into her foreleg, Applejack smiling as she sat down. Macintosh was the next one, who pulled the two into a hug, obviously doing his best not to cry and failing in that attempt. Granny Smith was gently pulled in. Twilight couldn’t help but tear up at the reunion of a family.

Applejack’s grin grew more at the sight of her friend. “Glad to see everypony’s here.” She pulled away and Twilight glanced over at the wrap that held her right foreleg.

“How you feeling?” Twilight asked.

Applejack glanced at her foreleg and smiled. “Yeah. I can’t use my leg for a while. But it’s not so bad.” It was nice that her friend seemed to be trying to keep a positive attitude.

Her ears flicked, and Twilight turned towards the source. Her smile disappeared when she noticed the frown on the mare. “Princess Twilight.” She noticed the red cross on her hat, and the name came to mind.

“Is everything okay, Nurse Redheart?”

She shook her head. Before she spoke, Twilight looked back at the others and noticed their own concerned gazes. She smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this.” As much as she wished she could stay and visit with Applejack, she figured this would require her attention.

When Twilight and Redheart walked away from the train station, out of earshot of her friends, she returned to the topic at hoof. “So what’s wrong?”

“There’s been a casualty at the hospital.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Doctor Horse… he’s dead.”

“How did it happen?”

“It… it was a needle injection. But the needle itself was forcefully shoved into his throat.”

A great bit of news to break her off from the more happy reunion with her friend, Applejack. Not only was this joyous moment ruined for her, but she also had an idea who the culprit was. “And… the pony who caused it. Was it the stallion, Kettlepot?”

Redheart nodded. “We found the doctor’s body in his room.” So now there is a homicidal maniac running around, Twilight thought, but at least he was the only one considering the Xenomorph was safely locked away in the containment spell.

Twilight let out a quiet sigh, but she gave a grateful smile. “Thank you for informing me, Nurse Redheart. I’ll make sure to contact the Royal Guards and send a group to go find him.” As the nurse turned away, she heard a set of wings to her right and looked up to the sky only for her to smile when she saw her former teacher. “Princess Celestia.” She landed a few feet from her, to which Twilight gave a relieved grin. “Thank goodness you're here. I was just told that Kettlepot escaped his confinement.”

“An unfortunate circumstance,” Celestia murmured, “but something we can deal with in the future. Right now, I need you to come with me. Cadance, Luna, and I brought the doctor to the shield. We are currently trying to get him to talk more about the Xenomorph… but have met with less success than we anticipated. We were hoping that another princess might help change his mind.”

Twilight nodded. “Of course. Anything to help.” But as she unfurled her wings, she gave one last glance over to the train station. She frowned when her friends had disappeared. With a quiet sigh, she rose into the air, following close behind Celestia towards the ruined castle. Maybe Markovich held more information than the device that she had in her hooves.

Kettlepot quickly glanced his surroundings, carefully scanning the thick brush all around him. He looked up and held a hoof to his eyes; the afternoon sun easily penetrated the canopy above him. The Everfree Forest had plenty of dangers, and he figured it couldn’t hurt to be careful, or he might stumble into something that would more than likely ruin his whole day. More specifically, ending his search for Berry Punch.

“I know nopony else will follow me here.” And who would? Not many ponies dared to even set foot into this place — a world all to itself, unrestricted, and not bound by the magic that ponies used to control the world around them. But beyond the possible terrors of this uninhospital land, he could at least subtract a worry from his list. “Now… all I have to do is wait until night comes. Maybe then I can find her.”

But the frown on his muzzle didn’t seem to line up with his hopeful thoughts. “Oh, who am I kidding. I murdered somepony. I took a life… I’m a wanted criminal.”

‘Look on the bright side,’ the voice said. ‘Now you don’t have to worry about anypony else. We can take our time now to find Berry Punch.’

Even though it wasn’t much of a brightside, the isolation Kettlepot found himself in was a nice and quiet setting, compared to his previous confined and somewhat noisy home back at the hospital. “I-I guess…” he murmured.

‘The best thing we can do now is to wait. Who knows. May—’ The voice stopped. Kettlepot’s right ear twisted, and he looked in the same direction. He crouched low as a couple of voices broke the former silence. He poked his head past a few branches and noticed a dirt road. When he glanced to his right, he slightly pulled back when he saw two fillies a ways down the road. Yet as he heard their voices, he couldn’t help but stare at the pink filly next to the silver one.

When she got closer, her body began to ripple before he thought he could see Berry Punch. “Is… th-that Berry?”

‘Yes! Yes, it’s her! Now stop hiding, and let her know you’re okay.’

As soon as she and the filly was about a yard away, he walked out of the bushes. “Berry Punch!” he yelled as he trotted up to her. “You’re alright!”

“Um…” She raised an eyebrow. “Who are you talking about?” The voice, even though it sounded younger than hers, didn’t concern him.

Did she forget who he was? “B-Berry Punch. It’s me, Kettlepot! You know, you’re coltfriend?”

“Berry Punch? That’s not my name. It’s Diamond Tiara, weirdo. I’m not your marefriend.”

His elated expression deflated, and a somber frown replaced that once happy grin. “B-but we’ve been together for almost a year. S-surely you remember me.” He reached forward and gave her a hug.

“What are you doing!?” The mare screamed, pushing him away from her. “Get off of me, you pervert!”

“I’m your coltfriend, Berry. Why don’t you remember me!” He held on tightly, digging his hooves into the ground, and refused to let go. “I’m just trying to protect you from that thing. Don’t you remember that monster from the alleyway?”

She only continued to resist him, glancing towards the filly next to them. “Silver Spoon, if you don’t mind, I’d like some help right now!”

“Let her go, you weirdo!” Silver Spoon grabbed onto his right hoof and pulled at it.

“Get away from us!” His horn lit up in a dark blue violet aura before Silver Spoon screamed. A bolt discharged into her chest and sent the filly skidding a few feet back from the two. When he felt Berry Punch pull at his hold he quickly jerked back. There was a sudden snap that almost seemed to deafen the former sounds of the chaos. He stared at Berry Punch for a moment as her neck hanged loosely against his forelegs.

“W-what did you do?” Silver Spoon murmured, her voice breaking with each word she uttered, “W-what did you do… to Diamond Tiara?”

Kettlepot looked down to the mare in his grasp. His eyes widened when he saw the pink filly from before instead of Berry Punch. Blood trickled from her mouth and dripped onto the dirt road. “Y-you… y-you, y-you freak!” Silver Spoon screamed. “You killed my best friend!” She ran back the way she came, screaming at the top of her lungs.

“B-but I… I thought she was Berry… Punch…” He held a hoof to his mouth and gagged, dropping the body as he quickly stepped back but unable to break his gaze from this horrid display. “I… I just killed a filly… I-I just killed… a filly.” Tears trickled down the sides of his muzzle; all he could do was stare at the result of his actions. “No… no… no, no, no!” he yelled and ran back into the forest.

As he delved back into the haunting scenery, his voice echoed through the trees as he pleaded for somepony’s forgiveness, begging to be told what he just did was an accident. That he didn’t just kill an innocent life again and that this was all just some sick and cruel joke.