Same Old Fight

Chapter 3

Retrieval

Dano awoke to the cheerful chirping of song birds floating on the breeze and light behind his eye lids. With a small yawn he realized it was morning, and he threw his arms and legs out to give them a good stretch. As the survivor moved he felt a soft foreign object resting over his abdomen. Unsure of what was covering him Dano opened his eyes to see a large navy blue wing spread over his abdomen that attached to Luna’s back. Carefully the survivor tried to pull himself out from under the equine’s appendage, but his movement roused the princess.

“Good morning Daniel.” Luna said as she lifted her head from the ground it had been resting on while simultaneously retracting her wing.

Dano ignored the equine with a grunt as he rose to his feet.

“Are you alright?”

Luna’s voice dripped concern despite her calm features and small trademark frown.

“I’m fine.” Dano responded with a rough voice as he swiped the pine needles off of him.

“You did not appear fine last night.”

Dano shot Luna a look, but was met with her cool gaze.

“I’m fine.”

The finality of Dano’s voice attempted to end the conversation, but Luna simply shifted gears.

“It is quite strange waking up in the morning without watching my sister raise the sun.”

Dano’s curiosity peaked despite being severely hampered by the events of the previous night, and he found himself watching the sun rise with Luna.

“You two raised the sun?”

Luna shook her head.

“Celestia rose and set the sun. I brought the moon.”

Dano nodded a bit as the sheer power of the beings he was fighting for came into scope. That realization sent a chill down his spine. If they cannot defeat Nightmare Moon then how can I? The survivor pushed the thought away violently before letting out a sigh.

“We best get back. I have things to do.”

Luna gave Dano a long look.

“Are you sure you don’t want to rest for a bit? You have been through a lot.”

Dano forced a neutral expression on his face.

“I already lost Pinkie Pie once. I’m not going to let it happen again even if she is an animal.”

Dano’s tone was aggressive, and Luna seemed to become offended by the word “animal” but she only showed it for a moment.

“Very well then.”

Without another word Luna turned and began to walk through the pine forest that surrounded the two beings. Dano followed behind the equine quietly as his own thoughts and emotions resumed their fight for dominance. He couldn’t believe that the people who he had cared for were mere copies of sentient ponies in another universe. The knowledge that the sacrifices both Dano and his friends had made for each other were still real, but for some reason those victories felt hollow. The end result of his constant internal struggle was an overwhelming feeling of numbness when it came to his old home and those that once lived there.

It didn’t take Dano and Luna long to return to Sanctuary, and when they arrived the ponies Dano believed to be Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were standing in the entrance wearing old saddlebags with another unicorn stallion. The white coat sporting pony wore the same segmented armor type that the white pegasi soldiers sported as they stood guard on each side of the entrance with their spears. His was a light purple with gold trim instead of solid gold, and it carried a clasp over his chest that looked like a purple heater shield with a pink six pointed star in the center. The stallion’s short moderate sapphire blue mane held both cerulean and dark blue streaks, and his medium length tail matched his hair. His cerulean eyes were filled with a determination rarely seen in most sentient beings, and he had a loving smile on his face as he appeared to be having a conversation with the mares.

“Now I want you to be careful Twilight.”

Twilight responded with something close to a frustrated huff.

“I know what I’m doing brother.”

Dano and Luna finally reached the group as the stallion sighed before giving the lavender mare a loving rub on the head.

“Alright Twily.”

Twilight pushed the stallion’s dark blue hoof away before trying to fix her mane with her own. The rest of the group turned to see the approaching pair, and the stallion snapped to attention and fired off a quick salute to Luna.

“At ease Shining Armor.”

Luna motioned to the stallion with a quick nod.

“Daniel, this is Shining Armor. He is the captain of the Royal Guard.”

Luna indicated Dano with another motion of her head.

“Shining, this is Daniel. He will be escorting your sister and her friends.

Shining Armor looked Dano over with mistrust present in his features before offering a hoof.

“Nice to meet you Daniel.”

Shining Armor’s tone was cautious, but it was so far the nicest thing Dano had heard since he arrived.

“Likewise Captain.” Dano responded as he took the hoof in his hand to give it a curt shake.

The two males returned their appendages to themselves after the shake, and Shining gave Dano a rather cautious look before turning to the group of six mares.

“I need to be off” Shining said mostly to his sister “I will see you all later.”

With that Shining Armor gave Luna a quick but sharp salute before turning and walking back into the cave entrance of Sanctuary. The five mares said goodbye as the stallion moved away before turning to Dano and Luna.

“Well. I guess we will be off as well.” Twilight said with a cautious look at Dano.

“Very well. I will await your return.”

With that Luna also moved into the cave to leave Dano and the five mares alone.

“Let’s get going.” Dano said with a neutral tone as soon as Luna disengaged from the group.

“Alright. Let me just get the spell ready.”

Twilight’s horn glowed a light raspberry color as she opened one of her saddlebags to pull out a large tome covered in runes Dano could not decipher. The mare opened the book to a marked page and began to mumble as she read to herself. Soon a single, curly pink strand of hair was floating out of the book, and once she was satisfied that she understood whatever she was doing Twilight closed her tome to put all her focus into the hair.

“Now if I did this right…”

Visible concentration and exertion made a home on Twilight’s face before the hair she was staring at exploded into pink flames and disintegrated. The flame itself sustained on its own and began to float around the lavender mare until it slowly came to a halt.

“Pinkie is this way.”

Twilight indicated the small flame.

“This will point us in the right direction and grow in intensity as we get closer to her.”

Dano looked at the flame then to the direction it was pointing. The pine forest was all that he saw.

“Let’s get going then!”  Rainbow cried as she began to trot into the forest.

The others followed behind the cerulean mare after a quick chuckle, and with a quiet sigh Dano did so as well.

=====================================================================

Hours passed as the six beings moved through the pine forest to eventually find its edge. They continued to follow the small flame as they moved over rivers and hills, through marshes and valleys and around mountains that sprang up out of the earth. Dano kept his mouth shut and his senses sharp as he made the long trek through the country side. The five mares he was escorting were far less observant, and treated the rescue mission as if it was just a stroll.

Eventually the sun began to set, and the group decided to set up camp on the border of a small forest made up of several types of trees for the night. The party collected as much firewood as they could before Twilight started a fire with the magical flame she had been carrying just as the sun set behind the horizon. With nothing else to do Dano tried to relax around the fire with the five mares, and an awkward silence formed over the group.

“So…” Twilight said as she lay on the grass with her friends.

The small sentence only made the situation that much more uncomfortable.

“Yes Twilight?”

Dano kept his eyes on the small fire that burned in the dark.

“You’re human.”

Dano nodded.

“One of the last.”

The mares around the fire suddenly became interested in the endangered species in front of them.

“One of the last? What happened to your race?”

Twilight’s natural curiosity disturbed Dano deeply. He could remember times when the Twilight he knew would ask questions in the same tone.

“Disease.” Dano muttered in response.

“What kind of disease? Viral or bacterial?”

Dano heard Twilight rustle through the saddle bags she had placed next to her before a note book and quill appeared in her magical grasp.

“I don’t think he would want to talk ‘bout it Twilight.” Applejack interjected.

Twilight looked at Applejack with confusion before she realized her mistake.

“Oh. I’m sorry Daniel.”

Dano kept his eyes on the flame.

“It’s fine, and to tell the truth I don’t know myself. All I know is that it claimed everyone.”

Silence fell over the group.

“What was with the outburst last night?”

Rainbow Dash’s tone was blunt, and again Dano remembered her human form pulling the same stunt.

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack scolded.

“What? I want to know.”

Rainbow Dash’s rebuttal did nothing to stop the half scowl Applejack was giving her.

“That don’t give yah the right to bring up somethin’ like that.”

Dano shook his head a bit.

“It’s fine Applejack.”

Dano’s gaze focused on something very far way.

“So are you gonna talk?”

Dano ignored the pegasus for a while before responding.

“I’m not going to talk about it.”

Dano’s voice was barely audible as he focused on his own internal struggle. Simply hearing those mare’s voices brought disturbingly vivid memories of his home, and he could not believe the numbness that accompanied those memories. It was if he no longer cared.

“Ah think it’s time we went to bed don’t you think Rainbow Dash?”

Applejacks tone matched the glare she gave Rainbow Dash to force the pegasus to cease her questioning.

“Fine.” Rainbow Dash said with a roll of her eyes.

“Goodnight everypony.”

Twilight’s words were echoed by the group as they all settled in for the night.

Dano on the other hand did not feel sleep’s pull on his conscience. His mind was too occupied by the events he had been involved in as of late. The survivor searched endlessly for a cause to attach to like he had before, but found only the numbness created by his own subconscious to spare it from another break. Giving up on the search Dano continued to watch the fire as time rolled by, and the once lively flame died into burning coals as the moon drifted across the starry sky.  

Unable to find slumber like those around him Dano drifted through aimless thoughts until he was roused by the voice of the being inhabiting his body.

“Your thoughts have grown cold Daniel.”

What of it?

“You have lost your will to fight.”

You do not need will to fight. You need a target.

Dano could feel Celestia’s compassion and worry permeate from where ever she was hiding in his head.

“You know that is false. Without your will how would you have toppled Discord in Fort Security?”

Dano was a bit shocked at Celestia’s knowledge.

You have been looking through my memories?

“Naturally.”

A slightly embarrassed Dano heard the soft chuckle of Celestia wash over his mind like waves on a beach.

“Be assured, I have left many of your more ‘personal’ memories alone.”

Dano let out a soft sigh as the slight burning in his face subsided.

“Daniel. I know what you have felt and seen through your own eyes. You must find a point on which to focus on or you will fail in this fight.”

Dano could feel a small rage form inside of him.

You do not know what I have felt. You were not there nor were you me. You are still an observer Celestia.

Celestia was quiet for a few moments.

“Believe what you wish Daniel.”

Dano frowned at Celestia’s open ended sentence, but did not press. Instead he continued to stare at the glowing coals for a few more minutes before he decided it was time to sleep. Lying on his back and staring at the stars for what felt like forever the survivor finally fell into a shallow, dreamless sleep.

=====================================================================

Again Dano awoke to the feeling of the sun on his face and the sound of birds in the trees. He sat up without any resistance from his still tired muscles. His mind was in mission mode, and he would complete his objective even if he was a bit fatigued. The survivor did find it a bit harder to rouse those around him, and he spent a good portion of the morning trying to wake the mares who had somehow huddled together in the night. Rainbow Dash, naturally, was the staunchest opposition to getting the mission back underway, but Dano got her moving with a quick toss across the small camp.

As Dano tried to get the group moving he was constantly halted with bathroom breaks, breakfast and other things he had either ignored or taken care of already. With the sun well in the sky and the guiding flame re ignited through the use of a continuation of the spell used to create it the five mares and single human began their quest one again. They crossed over terrain that slowly changed from hills and mountains to plains and rivers, and Dano guessed they were moving out of a mountain range. Despite the flattening of the ground random mountains and hills sprang out of the ground, and one seemed to attract the guiding flame.

As the group neared the stocky formation late in the afternoon the flame began to grow in intensity. The five mares grew excited at the thought of meeting their friend again, and the pace increased exponentially until the party had climbed the foothills and reached the base of the mountain. The flame indicated that Pinkie Pie was on the other side of the formation, and the group moved around the perimeter of the rock to find that the flame didn’t change its direction. Confusion made a home on Twilight’s face as she tried to figure out why the fire did not stop pointing to the opposite side of the mountain. None the less the group moved around the formation until they reached a small opening in the rock face. As they walked past the cave the flame stopped moving and doubled back to the entrance before disappearing all together.

With a groan and a facehoof Twilight realized that the pink fire had not been pointing to the other side of the mountain, but to some place inside it. Eager to find Pinkie Pie the five mares turned back to the entrance, but Dano halted them with a hand.

“Slow down.”

Dano removed his Magnum from its holster before sliding the cylinder out and replacing the single spent casing with a fresh round.

“What is that thing by the way?”

Twilight’s curiosity seemed to draw her attention to the revolver.

“A gun.” Dano responded as he slid the cylinder back into the weapon.

“What does it do?”

Twilight’s questions were starting to get annoying to Dano as his mind tried to direct itself into combat mode.

“Hopefully you never find out.”

With that Dano began to walk into the cave with both of his hands on his Magnum. The five mares followed behind the human as he slowly moved through the entrance and into the formation. The sound of water dripping and the scent of damp air buffeted the six as they took step after step into the ever darkening void. To assist both Rarity and Twilight formed a flare on the ends of their horns, and Dano observed that Rarity’s magical aura was a light blue as she lit half of the cave with a flare of corresponding color.

The group pushed back the dark with their small lights. Dano could not see much, but he kept his ears open to listen to any movement. To his dismay there was nothing but dripping until Rainbow Dash, in all of her glory, began to yell into the cave.

“Pinkie Pie! Where are you?!”

Dano turned to silence the mare, but before he could a sound echoed from inside the cave. The survivor returned his gaze forward while raising his Magnum to search for targets, but was met with a soft, tired voice.

“It that you Dashie?”

The group all watched as a sickly pink mare with a long bright pink mane and tail entered the light cast of from the flares. Her light cerulean eyes were hazed over from dehydration, and her coat and mane were covered in stains and filth while showing off her rib, hip bones and shoulders. Her tattoo of three balloons, two cerulean flanking a single yellow one, was particularly dirty. The pink mare covered her eyes with a hoof as they tried to adjust to the small amount of light cast of by the flares, and there was silence before Dano was knocked back a bit by the wind that Rainbow Dash created as she flew through the air.

The two mares collided and rolled into the cave in a fit of giggles, and the rest of the equines gave chase only to jump on the two intertwined ponies. Cries of joy and laughter echoed through the cave as the six mares embraced and talked. Pinkie’s hair even inflated to the puffiness that Dano had once remembered on the human girl he had known. Instead of letting the happy scene force any feelings the survivor simply watched with a neutral expression. He did not see joy in the reuniting six, but an objective half complete. Dano was about to break up the six mares when he heard a voice from outside of the cave.

“Don’t you hear that? I think it is coming from that cave!”

Dano sprang into action, and before they knew it the six mares were quieted with a hushed voice while being pushed farther into the cave. Confused the six listened until they were behind an outcropping of rock deep in the cave.

“Kill that light.” Dano ordered quietly to the unicorn pair, and they did so quickly.

“What are we doing?” Rainbow Dash asked much louder than Dano wanted.

“Quiet!”

Dano peaked around the rock he was kneeling behind to see a pair of ponies enter the cave mouth. Judging by their size they were male, but they weren’t anything the survivor had seen before. Their coats and eyes were as black as the deepest pit, and their manes were a stark white. One of the pair was a unicorn, and his horn was cracked and missing its tip. Dirt and grime covered them, and their presence reminded Dano of the raiders he had fought in Fort Security. Knowing he had found his enemy the survivor readied his Magnum for the coming ambush.

The two ponies moved into the cave unhindered by the dark. Their heads moved back and forth as they scanned for whatever noise they had heard, and Dano could feel their presence through the air. They caused the survivor’s skin to crawl and a feeling of dread fill his mind. The only thing that stopped Dano from simply hiding was his mental fortitude. The six behind him on the other hand were shaking as they huddled together.

Dano waited and listened to the hoof falls of his targets. Almost on cue they both passed the outcropping just as the survivor brought his revolver to bear. Before he could get his opening shot off however Pinkie Pie coughed. The noise attracted the two equines to look directly at Dano as their brains decrypted what their eyes were seeing. The survivor used this split second of confusion to launch his attack, and he leveled his Magnum before firing a single round.

The .44 caliber bullet impacted the side of the far right pony, knocking him off of his hooves. Dano shifted his weapon to get the other, but the remaining target had already launched himself at his foe. The survivor was knocked back, and his revolver was thrown into the dark of the cave. Pinned and on the defensive Dano threw a left hook as the black unicorn pony tried to bite his neck. The blow was enough to kill any leverage the equine had over the survivor, and Dano pushed the pony off of him before rising.

The two combatants stared each other down before the pony charged Dano with its head down to bring its horn into play. Having a height advantage the survivor threw all of his strength and power into his right fist as it fell downwards to intercept the pony’s skull. With a snap the black equines jaw collided with the rocky floor, and before he could recover Dano landed a right kick to the mid-section of his foe. The pony flew through the air before colliding with the cover the survivor had been using. The unicorn tried its best to recover from the blows he had received, but was soon pinned to the rock with Dano’s left hand around his neck.

“Mercy! Please!”

Dano let out a dark chuckle as his foe managed to force out the words despite the crushing of his wind pipe.

“In your dreams.”

With that Dano quick drew his blade and dragged it across the black pony’s abdomen. The equine screamed in pain as his bowels fell out of the new slit in his body, and the survivor let his foe unceremoniously slide down the rock he was being held against to sit in an expanding pool of his own blood. A few shock filled whimpers later the black pony died.

Dano did not care for his foes passing, and he cleaned his blade on the disgusting fur of the deceased equine before sheathing it. Once free to take care of his charges the survivor turned to see a very scared six mares huddled together.

“We need to move.”

Dano watched as the six ponies gave him blank, terrified looks.

“Now!”

Dano’s raised voice broke the fear holding sway over the ponies, and they separated to follow the survivor as he turned and trotted out of the cave.

The orange glow of the summer afternoon met the seven as they dashed out of the cave, and a breeze that had been blocked by the stale air in the formation moved quickly over the rolling foothills around the mountain. Dano turned around once he had cleared the mouth of the cave to see that the six mares had followed him closely. Knowing that there may be more enemies in the area the survivor was eager to get back home post haste.

“We need to get back to Luna now.”

Dano looked to Twilight for an answer, and as she began to respond an eerily familiar voice sounded from the survivor’s left.

“Not so fast Dano.”

Dano turned to see a man with pale white skin and messy black hair standing in the grass that covered the ground around the mountain flanked by several more black coated ponies. His chest was covered in a black breastplate over a grey chainmail t-shirt, and small black shoulder pauldrons, black vambraces and armored gloves covered his arms. His waist was covered with a thick black belt that held a pair of scabbards for short swords on each hip. Below the belt was a short, black metal skirt of overlapping strips that split in the middle. Black grieves with small knee guards, armored boots and pants made from some sort of cloth finished the man’s ensemble, but Dano barely paid any attention to what the new arrival was wearing. Dano was instead staring right into the black eyes and cocky smile that covered the man’s face, and he realized with shock and anger who he was looking at.

“Don’t you recognize me Dano?”

Dano reminded quiet.

“You forgot me? Now I’m offended.” The man smiled wider showing off long pointed teeth “I thought we were friends.”

Dano’s neutral expression changed into one of anger.

“You are no longer my friend Soarin.”

Soarin laughed deeply.

“If I knew you would have thrown away our friendship so quickly I would have rethought my choice in pals.”

Dano scowled at his friend turned enemy.

“I’m not friends with traitors, and that is what you are.”

Soarin chuckled.

“I think of myself as more of an opportunist than an outright traitor. Either way I was sent here to kill you.”

Dano turned and moved away from the mares.

“How did you know I would be here Soarin?”

Soarin smiled.

“You honestly think we didn’t know what Celestia was up to or where Pinkie Pie was? We have been waiting for you to fall into this trap for three years, and now I can finally see it come to fruition.”

Dano glared at Soarin.

“Do you honestly think it will be that easy?”

Soarin crossed his arms.

“You have lost your firearms Dano. You have no bite.”

Dano drew his knife and squared his shoulders with Soarin’s.

“You are about to learn a fatal lesson Soarin.”

Soarin’s grin grew competitive as he drew his short swords.

“We will see.”

The pristine world continued to move on despite to the coming battle, and the lush green grass bowed as a particularly stiff wind. Dano and Soarin slowly shifted into fighting stances, neither of them willing to make the first move. With barely ten yards between them the survivor and his foe watched each other closely for any twitch or sign of movement, but after a few long moments Soarin threw caution to the wind.

With a roar Soarin charged Dano, and Dano in turn charged Soarin. As the two neared the former friend wound up to swing both of his swords in a horizontal arc. The survivor saw this coming and ducked under the blades to place his right shoulder against Soarin’s stomach. The resulting tackle surprised the former friend enough that when he suddenly changed directions both of his blades left his hands. Dano on the other hand kept control of his weapon until he and his combatant’s bodies hit the ground and tangled.

Both men fought for superiority while they rolled on the ground, and Soarin found it before Dano. With the survivor on his back and the former friend straddling his midsection Dano was forced to fight defensively, and he blocked a right jab with his forearm before launching his own punch. Dano’s right handed blow landed on the left side of Soarin’s jaw with a sickening crunch as teeth collided together. Before the former friend could recover he was hit with another right handed strike to his face, and blood began to trickle out of his mouth from the repeated blows.

Just as Dano thought he had the advantage his third right handed punch was blocked before a long, thin knife appeared from inside Soarin’s left vambrace. The former friend thrust the blade towards the survivor’s face, but before the knife could pierce any flesh Dano caught Soarin by the wrist. The two combatants grappled for a few moments before the survivor managed to force the blade less than an inch away from his face over his left shoulder and into the ground. Unable to support his left side Soarin was open for a roll, and with a quick trust of his hips and arch of his back Dano threw the former friend off of him.

No longer being pinned Dano scrambled to his feet just in time to turn and dodge a swipe of Soarin’s blade as he also rose. The fight stalled as the survivor and the former friend sucked wind from their short but intense struggle.

“You have gotten sloppy Soarin.” Dano said as he glared at his opponent.

“I have been out of practice.” Soarin’s cocky grin maintained through his fatigue. “I guess that’s what happens when you massacre villages for a living.”

Dano frowned.

“How far have you fallen Soarin? Why did you let Discord do this to you?”

Soarin laughed.

“Discord didn’t do this. Nightmare Moon did, and I went willingly.”

Dano snorted.

“The Soarin I know would never have let Nightmare Moon take him alive.”

Soarin’s grin subsided.

“The Soarin you know didn’t watch his girlfriend get butchered.”

Dano allowed his guard to drop for a moment.

“Help me Soarin. Help me avenge Rainbow Dash.”

Soarin’s grin returned.

“Nice try Dano, but revenge won’t satisfy me. Only your death will!”

Soarin lunged at Dano with the intent to run him through with his hidden blade, but the survivor quickly side stepped the blow only to dodge a back handed slash from his foe. Being put on the defense Dano searched for a way to even the odds as he dodged slash and stab after slash and stab. The survivor soon found it after ducking under a high sweep and spotting one of Soarin’s swords sticking in the ground next to its partner a few meters behind the former friend. With a plan solidified in his head Dano waited for the opportune moment to break from the fight and arm himself.

The time came when Soarin lunged in for another stab. Dano grabbed his wrist with his left hand and his elbow with his right before throwing the former friend behind him. No longer blocked from his goal the survivor dashed toward the sword in the dirt. Soarin saw Dano disengage, and with a growl he ran after his opponent. The two men ran as fast as they could, but no matter how hard Dano pushed himself Soarin was lighter and faster. The two combatants reached their destination at the same moment, and as the former friend raised his fist to drive his hidden blade into the survivors back Dano grabbed the hilt of the sword sticking out of the ground.

For the ponies watching the duel time moved along as normal, but to Dano and Soarin the world seemed to halt. Knowing Soarin was right behind him Dano dove forward while twisting around to slash at his enemy. Believing he was unable to be blocked the former friend continued he strike. To his dismay his own sword was streaking toward his face as Dano twisted. Soarin tried to slow and dodge the incoming strike, but he was unable to stop himself in time. Dano watched as the tip of his sword cuts a deep trench up the former friend’s face starting on the bottom right and going all the way up to the top left. Dano felt the ground catch him just as his blade finished its path, and he rose to his feet quickly to see Soarin holding his face while groaning in pain.

Soarin took a few disoriented steps backward before removing his hands to show a sheet of blood running over his left eye and trickling off of his chin. The cut had sliced through the former friends left eyebrow, lopped off the left side of his nose and nicked the right side of his lip.

“You piece of shit!” Soarin yelled as he tried to get the blood away from his left eye so he could use it.

“This is your last chance Soarin. Surrender or die.”

Dano kept his tone serious despite the slight stirring of emotions. He doubted he could end his friend even in his present state.

“Fuck you Dano, and your little friends.”

Soarin turned and began muttering curses under his breath.

“We aren’t done here Soarin!” Dano called as he watched his enemy walk away.

“You got that right.” Soarin responded over his shoulder.

Dano moved to chase Soarin, but before he could take a step the former friend was engulfed in a black cloud along with his escorts. As suddenly as the miasma came it went, and Soarin was gone. The survivor realized with a start that the sword in his hand had also gone with its owner along with its pair. Dano sighed as he found the first of the five unknown humans in this new world, and with a heavy heart he realized he was going to have to kill his friend.

Dano was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of voices and movement. He looked up to see the six mares he was protecting running toward him with smiles.

“That. Was. Amazing!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she quickly ran towards Dano. “You are going to have to teach me how to do that someday.”

Dano gave Rainbow Dash a neutral look while he retrieved his knife.

“Did you see that part where he did that flip Dashie?!”

Pinkie Pie’s enthusiasm was curbed by a hacking fit.

In the light Dano could see the damage of three years of solitude did to Pinkie Pie. Not only was she filthy and starved, but her body carried several small scars from her travels. Curious as to how she survived Dano crouched in front of the pink pony as Applejack patted her back to help her through her coughing.

“Pinkie how did you make it for so long?”

Pinkie took a deep breath as her coughing subsided, and a smile that reminded Dano of the Pinkie he had known graced her face.

“I don’t really know mister. I just kept moving to where I thought my friends were, and it turns out I found them.”

Pinkie smiled broadly, and her friends reciprocated.

“We are happy tah have yah back Sugarcube.” Applejack said as she wrapped a foreleg around her long lost friend.

The rest of the mares all joined in, and another round of hugging took place. Dano however continued to watch Pinkie as she entered another coughing fit. Worry for his objective began to worm its way into the survivors head, and he waited for the pink mare to finish hacking before standing. Twilight also seemed to worry about Pinkie Pie, and when she could get a word in edgewise she spoke.

“I don’t think Pinkie will make it back if she walks.”

Dano nodded.

“Agreed.”

With that Dano approached Pinkie, lifted her and laid her over both of his shoulders.

“Let’s get going.” Dano said flatly before he began to walk roughly in the direction of home.

“WEEEE!” Pinkie cried as she was carried by Dano, and the five other mares giggled as they began to follow behind the survivor.

Dano kept his neutral face as he moved over the foot hills in the afternoon sun’s glow, but from the excitement bursting from the pink pony draped over his shoulders the survivor could feel his own heart warm. He still did not have a cause, but he did have those he had once known around him. The survivor found that if he closed his eyes he could have sworn he was home, but he could not revel in the nostalgia for long. No matter how hard he tried the images of his fallen friends still plagued him. Content to simply enjoy the pristine world around him and the idle conversation behind him Dano continued to walk back to his new home, and forward to his next mission.

*is looking at mirror while wearing Author's college sweatshirt* how does it look darling?

meh. the arms are a little long.

nothing a few changes can't fix

oh no, do not mess with my sweat shirt.

*flies through window wearing Author's high school sweatshirt which has already been changed*

Rarity?

yes darling?

did you already mess with my other sweatshirts?

whatever do you mean?

*facepalm*

Wow

that was quick.

hopefully i can keep this pace up

i hope you all enjoyed

make sure to comment and rate.

that is all

kthanxbai