"Mom!" I ran down the dirt path towards home. "Mom!" My head was starting to switch from an ache to a burn. "Mommy!?" My scalp was on fire, chasing me through the floral scented wind. "Mom, help me!" My strange hooves tore up the slightly damp path, trapping a bit of mud between the my toes. "Momma?!"

The door to my secluded cabin flung open. "Arbor?" My mother walked outside, a hoof lifted, as if she was preparing to sprint out after me.

I kept my hand against my head as I ran across the small bridge over our stream and up the hill towards our house. "Mom, my head! My head hurts so bad!" I scrambled up the short steps and threw myself around he neck. I jammed my head against her neck, letting her mane sit across my ears. "Mom, it hurts so bad!"

Fluttershy wrapped a hoof around my back, pressing the flat of her hoof between my shoulder blades. "What's wrong sweetheart? Did you fall?" Her voice was soft, but heated with a rather hearty dose of urgency. "Sweetie--"

"Cheerilee sent me home! It just started hurting really bad!" I dug my fingers deep against her back, lacing her mane between my fingers to try and counter the burning in my forehead. "Make it stop mom, please, make it stop!"

I felt Fluttershy's wings wrap around me. "Oh no...." I felt my chest heave as I tried to keep from crying, the burning only growing worse. "Hold on sweetie." She ran her hoof from my back over my neck and across my head. She leaned her head down and gave me a quick kiss on the crown. "Oh!" She pushed me back and pressed a hoof against the burning spot. "Oh...."

I tightened my grip, snapping my cheek back against her side. "Mom, it hurts--"

"I know sweetie, I know." She nuzzled the burning spot with her chin and tucked her wings away with a soft rush of air. "Come on honey, we're gonna go visit somepony." She straightened out and started trotting in place. "Come on baby, let's go." Her voice was soft, like velvet against my ears.

I bit back a whimper and pulled my legs under me. "Okay...."

"Okay?" she asked, nuzzling my hair with the tip of her muzzle.

I felt my muscles compress as Fluttershy pulled back towards the path into town. A sharp whimper broke the chirping birds, my voice pulling it back with a deep breath. "Okay."

Fluttershy walked along, leaving me to keep my arms around her and plod along blindly behind her. I kept my face buried in her mane, hunched over like a limping puppy. And I really was just a puppy, hurt, crying for my mom, ignoring the biting yells of my classmates calling me a loser. I didn't care though, I had my mom, and her soft coat against my skin kept the pain at bay as we walked along.

The calm sound of the woods and the feeling of damp dirt under my hooves slowly changed to the bustle of ponies and a constant clopping from me, my mother, and the mass of other life around me. I just kept my face against my mother's mane, enjoying the sweet smell and the soft texture against my cheeks. "Mom, it hurts," I mumbled, snuggling against her and letting her carry me along across the roads.

My legs ached from the forced walking, but I held on. I couldn't let go. Mom was the only thing keeping me from crying, and the only thing standing between me and the horrid pain in my head. She was always there for me, even when it was my fault I got hurt, even when I fell in the mud or tripped or got in a fight, she was always there for me. And even now, when my head was splitting at the seams, nearly crippling me, she was here, helping me along the cobblestone roads of Ponyville.

"Alright, stay here Arbor." Fluttershy's voice quickly faded as I was dropped off blind in a road. "I'll be right back, okay?"

I opened my eyes, taking a few blinking looks around. We were in the north half of the town, surrounded by houses and Ponyville Library. "Twilight?" I asked, standing before a set of guards as my mother walked up to them. Twilight's guards were nice enough, but they were still guards and they carried themselves as such. They stared and shifted in their clanking armor, sending shivers up and down my spine. But there were only ever two. A pink unicorn and a earth pony without a helmet. And all they ever did was help give directions or stand there looking imposing, shiny metal armor painted a matte white.

"Hi there." A soft, almost overly sweet voice caught my attention. I snapped my head around, nearly stumbling over as I moved. "Careful." A white unicorn with purple in her mane was standing maybe a half-meter away from me.

I stepped back, holding my hands together. "Um...hi...." I slid my hand to my head as the burning started to return. "Ow...owwie."

The mare's smile faded into a frown. "Are you alright?" She walked up to me, looking me up and down as she approached. "Oh, what happened to your hooves?" She pressed the tip of her hoof against my toes, causing me to yank my leg back. "Oh no, I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" Her face flashed with a modest panic.

I felt my entire body heat up, the warmth centering around my cheeks and my chest. "No...."

The mare cocked her head. "You sure?"

"Arbor?" My mom's voice pulled me back. Fluttershy slowly started trotting back to me. She stopped before me and the white mare, forming a triangle with our bodies. "Ms. Velvet?" she asked, leaning towards the white mare. "Oh, hello."

I slowly tiptoed my way behind Fluttershy, hiding behind her tail as the two spoke. I covered my head with her tail, trying to get rid of the burning sensation once again plaguing my scalp. The two mares just kept talking, leaving me standing like a befuddled foal. "Come." A sharp, almost hissing voice pulled me back by my collar.

"Ahh!" I snapped my hands to the back of my collar, grabbing at it as I was pulled backwards into the unknown. "No no no no!"

"Arbor...quiet." As the voice finished my name I realized who it was. Even with a mouthful of my collar, I could tell that voice from miles away. I went as slack as I could, dragging over the ground as Twilight's unicorn guard dragged me along. "Really?" The guard yanked me upright, dragging me over the threshold of the library. "You're a little monster."

I kept my hands pressed against my head. "No."

The guard grumbled angrily as the clopping changed from cobblestone clicks to the soft plodding of fine woods floors. "Obnoxious."

I let the pony drag me along, my hooves sliding over the ground. "No."

"Yes you are!" the guard shouted, dropping me gently on the floor. He spun around, slapping me with his tail. "Twilight, you have a guest!"

I laid on the floor, looking up at the hollow tree roof. Windows and vents bored into the living wood. It made my skin crawl slightly, knowing that I was inside something alive. Then Twilight's bright smiling face popped up before me. "Hi, Arbor!" Her sweet voice forced a smile across my face immediately.

"Hi." I mumbled starting to sit upright. I rubbed my head as I pulled my hooves under me. "Where's mom?" I looked around the library, the smell of book paper and dust light in the air. "Twilight, where's--"

I felt something grab the back of my head. "Outside I think." Twilight's breath rushed over the back of my head. "You're holding you head, what's wrong?"

I turned around, holding the two burning points on my forehead. "It hurts."

Twilight looked down at me, smiling softly. "I'm sorry. Want me to take a look?"

I nodded, my cloven hooves tapping against the wood floor as I adjusted myself. "It burns a little."

I felt my scalp tingle as Twilight walked over me, peering down at my head. "Let's see what's- oh!" She pulled a hoof up and ran it over my forehead. "Oh! This is amazing!" I stumbled back slightly as Twilight leaned over me. "This is so cool!" she shoved back and started dancing in place. "Yes, yes, yes! This is a first, and I'm the first, and- yay!"

I just stood there, rubbing my head. "Twilight, you're being scary."

Twilight's forelegs slammed to a halt, her back half carrying herself into a tumble. "Wha!" She ended up flat on her back. She held her hooves up, using her wings to keep her balances as she tried to unstun herself. "Ow."

I laughed slightly, my hands still stuck against my head. I watched as her horn shot out a spark. "Are you okay?"

Twilight shook her head and rolled back onto her belly. "I'm alright, I'm okay! Alright, just, excited!"

"Why?" I asked, not really sure of what kind of answer I would get.

Twilight shook her body, shedding a feather as she did. "Um, sweetie, you've got antlers coming out of your head." She smiled and rubbed her forehead. "Can't you feel them?" She pressed a hoof against my head, occasionally causing a jolt of pain in my skull with each pass. "Feel the bumps?"

I felt Twilight pull my hand up to my head, forcing my fingers against my smooth skin. Sure enough a pair of bumps were starting to push against my flesh. "Ew...."

"Not ew!" Twilight beamed at me, trotting in place. "There's a few different kind of species with antlers, but only one that we would consider sapient." She spun around, brushing me with her tail. "Northren Deer!" She swung around with a book in her magical grip. "And- and- okay Twilight, stay cool." She took a deep breath and dragged her hooves across the floor. "Magic."

"What's magic?" I asked, following her around. The clopping of her hooves much, much louder than my own cloven hooves.

"You!" Twilight slowly put the book down, turning to me with a smile. "Northren Deer are- they're-- Okay Twilight, calm." She held a hoof out and drew in a deep breath. "They're like Unicorns, like Ms. Rarity."

I stared at Twilight. "But, she had a horn."

Twilight turned to me with a frown. "Had? You mean, has, right?"

I shrugged.

Twilight just stared at me. "Anyways.... Northren Deer are one of the few creatures on the planet that can harness magic as an energy!" She pointed to the book. "Look, look, look!"

I walked past her and lifted myself up. Pictures of a unicorn, a deer, and a dragon were lined up on the page. "Okay?"

Twilight looked at the pictures. "It's exciting, right?"

I rubbed my head. "I don't know."

Twilight looked down at me, staring at me. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she looked confused. She turned it to a smile. "Does your head still hurt?"

I rubbed the now prominent bumps. "A little."

Twilight leaned down, pressing her horn into my head. I closed my eyes, letting Twilight's magic run across my head. "There, better?" Twilight pulled back, smiling softly.

I rubbed my head, the burning starting to fade away. "Yeah!" I lit up, my entire body buzzing with a pleasurable hum. "Th- wah." I felt suddenly lightheaded, my body shifted to the right, almost slumping over. Twilight caught me with her magic, eyes growing wide as she looked me over. "Ow...I'm okay." I mumbled, grabbing my head. I felt my hearty jump as the two bumps were replaced by something soft and fuzzy. "Aah ahh ahh, Twilight, what's wrong?!"

Twilight's smile grew tenfold as she zipped over me. "Look, look! They grew!" She zipped under me, picking me up and forcing me to ride her backwards. "They grew! They grew!"

I held onto her flanks, shouting for my mother as Twilight started flying around the library. "Mom! Help! Help me!"

Twilight ignored my cries, continuing to loop around the Library with me on her back. Air rushed up the back of my shirt, sending a cold chill up my spine. "Somepony is gonna have to teach you magic! Oh- I- I--"

"Twilight!" A stern voice caused Twilight to fumble, doing a strange scurry in the air before landing with a slide. "Put him down."

I felt myself land softly against the floor. "Oh- no no no, I'm sorry!" Twilight's hoof pressed against me, rubbing a circle around the arch of my back. "Are you okay?"

I opened my eyes, finding myself laying head away from the ponies. "No!"

Twilight picked me up by my shoulders and stood me upright. "I'm sorry...." Twilight shoved herself against me, nuzzling my front. I tried not to show anything, but my fight gave in and I wrapped my arms around the warm pony. The room burst out into a loud multi-toned coo. I let go of Twilight and spun around, Twilight's guard, the white mare, and my mother were staring at me mid hug.

I felt my cheeks flush hot, my body lurch back, and my arms snap to encompass myself. I hugged myself tight and ran over towards my mom, kicking a book to the side as I went. Fluttershy caught me, wrapping me up with a wing and a hoof. "Are you okay?"

I tightened my grip around her, the burning in my scalp successfully dampened. "Yeah...."

Fluttershy carefully patted me with her wing. "What do we say?"

I snuffed softly and turned to face Twilight, still hanging my arms around Fluttershy's neck. Twilight stood there, smiling at me. "Thank you."

Twilight smiled and nodded. "You're welcome." The white mare whispered something into Twilight's ear. "Oh, sweetie, can you come over here?" She called out over me, signaling her pink guard to rush over. A lot of whispering filled the room, leaving me to hold onto my mother tighter than ever.

I tugged her mane. "Mom...what's happening?"

Fluttershy looked down at me, smiling soft as ever. "You're gonna have special play time with Ms. Velvet." She nuzzled my head with her mouth, ruffling my hair slightly. "She'll teach you all sorts of magical things."

I felt my stomach drop. "Um...bad touch?"

Fluttershy's eyes shot open, she grew a bit pink and trotted in place. "No sweetie...."

"Oh...okay." I held onto her, slowly going slack out of boredom. "Mom...can I go home?"

Fluttershy tapped me with her wings. "Soon sweetheart--"

A loud whistle cut the whispers. "Alright...enough of this." The pink guards stomped over to my mother. "You, mount up."

Fluttershy took a step back. "Um...no, it's alright Carve...."

"Wasn't asking." The guard pony ducked down and ran around mom's side. My mom let out a sharp eep as she was lifted up sideways onto the guard's back. "You, little one, ride?"

I just stood there, watching my mother try and kick her way off the guards back. "I- I don't- I--"

The guard looked back at my mother. "Fluttershy...your son is indecisive. You should put a clothing peg on his gonads, teach him to make strong decisions."

Fluttershy just mumbled. "No...no, it's okay, he's fine."

The guard turned back to me with a frown. "Fine for a cow--"

I cut him off, running full tilt into his neck. It felt natural, headbutting him. He skidded back a step before standing his ground. "Put her down!" I shouted, grabbing him and trying to get more traction.

The guard just stood there. "Hmm, perhaps not. Leading with your head is usually a good idea, but maybe don't take it so literally." The guard poked me with his horn, causing me to stumble back long enough for him to hook my stomach around his neck. "Who is the fat one? The child, or the butter flank?" He laughed a haughty, raspy laugh. "Is funny...."

Fluttershy and I hung off the stallion, plodding along towards some unknown destination. "Arbor...are you alright?" She asked, reaching out and rubbing my head with her hoof.

I huffed, watching Ponyville pass us by once again. "Yeah...." I rubbed my head, my stomach starting to ache from the slumped over position. "Mom...Twilight is weird."

Fluttershy looked past me and at the guard. "Um...I--"

The guard chuckled, "Yes. Can confirm, she is weird."