Twilight and the others rushed through town on their way to the hospital. They couldn’t help but think of the worst case scenario as they imagined what kind of state the three fillies were in. Despite their grim thoughts, they pushed onward through the streets of Ponyville and tried to keep their hopes high.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity of being left alone to their thoughts while walking through town, the group found themselves outside of Ponyville hospital. The ponies entered the building and eagerly walked into the lobby to find the reception desk.

Sitting behind the desk while looking over some paperwork, was a white mare with a pink mane that the ponies knew as Nurse Redheart. She looked up to see the approaching group and gave them a courteous smile.

“Hey guys, how can I help you?” Redheart gave her best friendly greeting, although it was clear that she was fairly tired from the tedious atmosphere of the job.

“We’re here to check on three fillies that were brought here earlier; Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo.” Twilight immediately got to the purpose for their visit.

“Oh them… they looked pretty banged up when they came in. We are just about ready to release the two with concussions. We had to put Applebloom’s leg in a cast, but it should heal up just fine.” The nurse pony explained with genuine happiness that the two fillies would be alright.

“What about Scootaloo?” Rainbow Dash spoke up from beside Twilight, eager to find out what happened to the young pegasus.

Nurse Redheart frowned slightly and sighed. This reaction made the ponies eyes widen in shock and concern. The white pony shook her head upon seeing the worried expressions on everyone’s’ faces.

“Don’t worry, she is still alive. We have her in intensive care right now… they are giving her blood and fixing up her wounds. From the looks of it we’re going to have to keep her here overnight to watch her, but she should be alright to release tomorrow.” Redheart explained calmly to the group. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the good news.

“I will arrange for Sweetie Belle and Applebloom to be brought out, and I will be sure to let you see Scootaloo tomorrow when she is better.” Redheart added while bending down to pick up some papers.

“Can I stay here to see her when she gets out of surgery? She could use someone to keep her company after all that she’s been through.” Rainbow Dash suggested pleadingly. Nurse Redheart shook her head sadly.

“I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over for the day, and she won’t be out of intensive care for a while.” The nurse explained sympathetically to the cyan pegasus. Rainbow Dash frowned while nodding understandingly. Twilight put a caring hoof on her shoulder before smiling to cheer her up.

“It’s ok Rainbow Dash, we can come back to pick her up tomorrow. If you want, we could even get up bright and early to come see her in her room.” The purple mare suggested optimistically. This made Rainbow Dash brighten up a little bit.

“Alright… but you better be up early if you’re coming with me. I plan on leaving right after I get up.” The cyan pegasus cheered up significantly while nodding her head with determination. Everyone was happy to see the cyan mare return her energetic personality.

“Well swing by the library before you go… we need to ask Scootaloo a few questions about what she saw. And besides, I’m sure she would be happy to see us.” Twilight added to curtail the pegasus’s enthusiasm. She nodded in agreement before walking over to a chair to wait. The group followed her example and either sat down or wandered the lobby idly as they waited for the two fillies to be brought out.

After waiting for a few minutes, the group finally noticed Nurse Redheart escorting Sweetie Belle and Applebloom into the waiting area. The two had a protective bandage wrapped around their heads to prevent them from causing any more damage, and Applebloom was wearing a thick cast on her back left leg that rendered her unable to move unless she awkwardly shuffled along.

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed in excitement before rushing over to the white unicorn and jumping into her waiting arms for a loving embrace. While the two were happily greeting each other, Applebloom tried her best to walk over to her waiting sister.

Applejack smiled before deciding to meet the impaired filly half way. She knelt down and carefully wrapped her arms around the small earth pony for a hug.

“How do you feel Applebloom?” Applejack asked sincerely while pulling her head back to look at the young filly. Applebloom wiggled her cast around and brought a hoof up to feel her bandaged head.

“Well… this cast is kind of itchy, and my head still hurts a little, but other than that Ah’m fine.” The yellow filly stated with an upbeat attitude. Applejack was pleased to see that her sister still held her spirits high.

The farm pony smiled at the cheerful filly before bending down further and beckoning her to hop onto her back.

“Tell ya what sugar cube… since you can’t walk all that well right now, you can ride on my back until we get back to the farm.” Applejack suggested while patting a spot on her shoulder. Applebloom smiled at the offer before carefully walking to the side and trying to climb up.

The filly struggled to hoist herself up. She kept hopping upwards with her good leg only to be met with a short fall downwards as she failed to support her weight and climb. Twilight saw the distressed filly and decided to help her out.

“Here Applebloom, let me help you up.” Twilight offered while lighting up her horn and wrapping her magic around the young pony. The unicorn gently lifted her up and meticulously ensured that her casted up leg wouldn’t hit anything as she placed her on her sister’s back.

“Thanks Twilight.” Applebloom smirked cheerfully at the unicorn before settling in and finding her balance. Applejack carefully stood up and walked back over to the group.

“Well seeing as we’re all together, why don’t y’all come down to the farm with us and have dinner to celebrate the girls’ good health.” Applejack offered while looking around at the gathering of ponies, a dragon, and a human.

“That sounds wonderful darling! You can count us in.” Rarity stated happily while looking to her sister for support. Sweetie Belle nodded cheerfully in response to the offer.

“I’m in… I could use some good food and time with you guys.” Rainbow Dash added while rubbing her empty stomach.

“Oooh we can’t have a celebration without calling it a party! I’ll run home and grab some treats and meet you down at the farm!” Pinkie Pie chimed in excitedly while rushing out the door and heading back home. The group couldn’t help but wonder how she got the energy to be so enthusiastic every day.

“I would love to come.” Fluttershy nodded happily while smiling.

Spike smiled for a moment before looking to Twilight pleadingly. She could obviously tell that he wanted to go with them.

“Come on Twilight, can we go?” Spike looked at her earnestly and clasped his hands together to beg. “Please?” The dragon asked while trying his best to appear sincere.

Twilight sighed sympathetically. She knew that they needed some off time, but she also knew that they needed to stay on top of the investigation. With what happened at the school still heavy on her mind, the unicorn wanted to finish her mission more than ever.

“I don’t know Spike… I mean, we do need to find out more about those hooded ponies. The princess left me in charge of the investigation, and I don’t intend on letting her down.” Twilight explained while looking over to Tom for support. Much to her surprise, he chuckled before walking over to the rest of the group in favor of their decision.

“Hey, no objections here… I could use some time to unwind after that ordeal, and so could you. Remember what Princess Luna said?” Tom stated in a lecturing tone. The unicorn seemed to be too focused on the case at hand and needed a break.

Twilight sighed as she looked around her at the pleading faces of her friends. They all wanted her to go, and she even wanted to go herself. She finally decided to hold off the investigation, at least for today.

“Alright, you guys win… I’ll go.” Twilight huffed in a defeated yet happy tone. Everyone cheered happily at the unicorn’s decision.

“Then it’s settled. Let’s head down to the farm and get ready everyone.” Applejack announced to the group while making her way outside. Everyone followed the farm pony out of the hospital and stuck close to her as she made her way towards the farm.

The band of ponies traveled through Ponyville as the sun rose higher into the afternoon sky. They chatted with each other happily to pass the time while walking. Eventually, the subject of the conversation turned to asking Tom more about his past and what he knew about being a slayer and humans in general.

“Hey Tom, how many slayers have there been? Do you know?” Twilight asked curiously while walking behind the human.

“Well… a slayer is chosen periodically throughout the ages. There’s usually a buffer period of about ten or so years between when the last slayer gave up their powers, and a new one is chosen. So with that in mind, there have been many throughout the years since the first slayer.” Tom gladly explained his knowledge on the matter.

“Who was the slayer before you?” Rarity added to the subject. Tom thought for a moment about his knowledge on various slayers before responding.

“Not sure… I have memories of varying intensity from different slayers. Most of it is acquired knowledge on the supernatural, but I can recall a few unique details on the lives of a couple of them. The slayer before me is a little fuzzy though.” Tom scratched his head curiously as he tried to sift through his memories.

“What about the first slayer? Do you remember them?” Rainbow Dash chimed in from the back of the group.

“Oh yes, that one I have the most knowledge of. I know about his origins, his powers, and most of his career as slayer.” Tom lit his face up with intrigue and nodded. The ponies grew silent and listened intently as the human prepared to share the story of the first slayer.

“His name was Arthur Redwood. He was a prince that lived in an old kingdom in a time that was many years away from my own. Unlike most people who held royal power in the human world, he was a kindhearted soul that actually cared for his subjects, much like your princess does. He willingly enlisted to fight in the king’s army, and was even knighted for his many brave escapades. But where Prince Arthur was a valiant and noble person, his father the king was not.” Tom waved his hands around in an animated fashion to emphasize the points in his story. He was obviously enjoying the experience as much as the ponies enjoyed listening to him.

“The king was a very greedy man. He was the type of person that would let those around him die as long as he could get away and keep his wealth, which is exactly what he did.” Tom furrowed his brow in disgust as he recalled the old king. The ponies shared his disapproval at the prospect of such a terrible person being put into power.

“Why would someone do something like that?” Rainbow Dash was appalled by the sickening story. “As a ruler, you’re supposed to watch over your kingdom fairly, not sell it out!” She fumed in revolt before allowing the human to continue.

“People back then believed that a person was royalty just because they were born into the royal family. I’m sure that happens still, but they took it to the point of being unable to do anything should the king or queen decide to abuse their power. Anyway, the kingdom that Arthur lived in was besieged numerous times by an army of bandits. They had amassed from all over the country to have a chance at claiming the king’s wealth. Throughout the many years that the bandits kept returning, the king grew tired of the costly need to constantly defend his people from the attacks. So one day, he decided to make a deal with the bandits.” Tom shrugged sadly as he could already tell the ponies did not like where this story was heading. Although he knew that they were aware that a slayer’s story wasn’t usually the happiest one.

“The king would allow the bandits to enter his capital city and pillage as they pleased, and in return he would give them a part of his grand fortune to help him fake his death and let him escape with his closest circle of servants and guards to live in seclusion with his wealth. The bandits accepted, and so the king sent a covert order for his corrupt guards to replace the ones that would gladly stand for the crown. But when the king went to his family and lords with the plan, his son the prince did not agree with him. Arthur argued that it was a king’s duty to protect and watch over his kingdom, and that he was more worthy of the crown than his father. So the king gave his son an ultimatum… go with him and live peacefully without the duties of being royalty, or stay with the city and burn with it.” The human continued his story while trying to not drone on dully. The ponies were shocked by the events they were hearing, but continued to listen eagerly to learn what happened next.

“Naturally Prince Arthur chose to stand and protect the city, and stormed out of the castle before his father could say anything further. He grabbed his armor and sword, and ran around the city warning as many people as he could. As night fell, the bandits swarmed throughout the city, burning houses and shops, and killing whoever they saw. Despite Prince Arthur’s best efforts, the king got away with his plan, and the bandits overtook the kingdom. The prince fought valiantly against the endless mass, but perished while trying to defend his kingdom.” Tom allowed the group to process the story for a moment before continuing.

The tragic tale left many of the ponies hanging their heads sadly as they dealt with the sad story. Although the telling of the story made them gloomy, it did not bring them to tears like Tom’s past did.

“That’s awful, how could anybody betray people like that? Let alone their family and subjects.” Fluttershy pouted with empathy as she imagined what it must have been like for the prince in his last moments.

“I’m glad that Princess Celestia actually cares about everyone in her kingdom. I don’t think I could live in a place like that.” Twilight added sadly while reflecting on the good things in life that she often took for granted.

“But as I said before, a slayer is born when a great tragedy has befallen the innocent, and someone has the will to stand up for what’s right.” Tom spoke up again to lighten the mood. “Prince Arthur’s willpower and desire to punish the bandits and his greedy father was so great, that he defied the laws of nature itself. He came back from the dead a few weeks after the dust had settled and the kingdom was nothing more than a gathering for traveling thugs and vagabonds. He was transformed into a harbinger of justice and retribution. He was gifted the power to make those that wronged him and his people pay… he had become the very first slayer. Although Prince Arthur’s abilities were geared more towards battling evil people rather than evil monsters, his vengeance was just as fierce as any slayer’s. He went across the country and delivered his merciless justice upon the heads of every single one of those bandits. He eventually was left with nobody else to slay, except for his father.” Tom carried on with a sense of excitement as he remembered the fierce drive of his predecessor. “He wielded his spirit weapon and cut a bloody path through the followers of the false king. He would let nobody get in his way as he marched forward into his father’s dwelling.” Twilight was suddenly struck with curiosity at a particular part of the boy’s story.

“Spirit weapon? What is that?” Twilight asked quizzically while interrupting the boy briefly. Tom chuckled and summoned forth his claws.

“A slayer’s spirit weapon is given to them when they are first reborn. My spirit weapon as you may have guessed is my claws. Whatever weapon is best suited to each slayer is forged out of their fiery lust for vengeance. The weapon is bound to them and represents their intense desire to enact justice upon the heads of wrongdoers.” Tom explained while articulating each of his fingers individually for the group to see his claws clearly.

“That looks so cool!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed with intrigue as she leaned in closer to examine the claws. It occurred to Tom that the young unicorn hadn’t even seen the claws before, and most of the others hadn’t had a good look at them. The last time he let them examine them in detail was when he showed them off in the darkness of the Everfree forest.

“I know right? I whip them out sometimes just to watch the flames appear and vanish like that.” Tom stated while rapidly making the claws vanish and reappear. He chuckled innocently as he marveled at the display of fire along with the intrigued ponies.

“Anyway, before I get too distracted to finish the story. Prince Arthur’s spirit weapon was also claws… oddly enough, I can’t think of any other slayer that used claws as their spirit weapon other than me and Arthur.” Tom explained curiously. This made everyone hum with fascination.

“Why do you think that is?” Twilight asked while puzzling over the subject in her own head. Tom shrugged his shoulders obliviously.

“Beats me… there have been swords, axes, spears, and plenty of other unique things as spirit weapons, but no claws. Maybe Arthur’s spirit is the one that picks out those worthy enough to be slayer and he liked me best or something. Anyway, Arthur exacted his vengeance on his father, and then went on to carry out the duties that every slayer has. To destroy evil things… although not many supernatural creatures were around Arthur’s country.” The human finally wrapped up his story before looking around to see how everyone was reacting.

“What a curious bunch you slayers are.” Rarity added with an inflexion in her voice to make the statement seem more like a compliment rather than an insult. “I’m certainly glad that you showed up when you did darling. We’re always happy to welcome someone new into our society.” She added while smiling back to the human.

“Thanks Rarity… I was afraid I was going to be stuck in a world where I would be an outcast when I first got here, but I’m glad to see such a tolerant civilization took over after humans blew themselves up.” Tom commented appreciatively.

“Hey Tom…” Rainbow Dash spoke up from the back of the group.

“Yeah?” Tom returned while turning to look at the cyan Pegasus.

“Why haven’t there been any pony slayers? I mean… you would think that after all these years there would have been at least one.” Rainbow asked curiously. This made everyone else intrigued as to why such a thing wouldn’t have carried over from the human world into Equestria.

“I don’t think that any tragic deaths have resulted from evil creatures or people in Equestria. Either that or there hasn’t been a need for a slayer up until now. That might even explain why I’m here in the first place. Since a new slayer was unable to come into existence, whatever force that made the slayers must have had to send an old slayer forward in time to protect Equestria before anything catastrophic happened.” Tom reasoned while scratching his chin in thought. Everyone nodded in revelation as they agreed with the boy’s explanation.

“Well whatever the reason, it’s probably tied to all the trouble happening lately around here. And those hooded ponies seem like our best bet for a lead.” Twilight added while trying to piece together the events of the past few days in her head.

“Well let’s not worry about that right now… right now we should just focus on resting for a while.” Rarity stated to get the purple unicorn to stop thinking about the investigation. She sighed in frustration before nodding in agreement.

The group looked ahead and saw the familiar sight of Sweet Apple Acres coming into view. The sprawling lush orchards of apple trees never ceased to impress the ponies as they took in their simple elegance.

“We’re almost there.” Applejack looked back to the group and announced eagerly. The filly resting on her back breathed a sigh of relief as she thought about relaxing at home after her harsh ordeal at school.

“Ah can’t wait to just curl up and take a nap.” Applebloom yawned tiredly as she looked back to her bulky cast. The restrictive casing made her feel very uncomfortable as she tried to maneuver her injured leg inside of it.

“You sure you don’t wanna stay up a while for dinner sugar cube?” Applejack asked sweetly while smiling to the young filly. “Ah’m sure you could use a little food in yer system before you head up to bed hungry.”

Applebloom sighed as she became aware of her empty stomach. With all the commotion she had almost forgotten that she didn’t have lunch at school.

“Ah suppose it wouldn’t hurt to stay up a while longer.” The yellow filly shrugged in defeat as she looked back to the smiling group behind her.

“Don’t worry Applebloom. You will have plenty of time to rest now that you don’t have to go to school for a few weeks while your leg heals.” Sweetie Belle commented while walking alongside her sister. “Me and Scootaloo will need to head back in a few days once they get everything sorted out down there. All things considered, you’re the lucky one out of all of us.” She added in an attempt to cheer up her friend.

“Well Ah don’t feel lucky…” Applebloom sighed sadly in response to the ironic statement. She would much rather have to stay in school rather than deal with healing a broken leg.

The group made their way through the farm and found themselves coming up to the Apple family house. Big Macintosh was standing outside of the house talking with a familiar pink pony that had a tote bag around her hips.

“Pinkie…? How did you get here before us? I thought you were going to go pick up some treats from home?” Twilight stated curiously as the group walked up to meet the two on the porch of the house. Pinkie Pie giggled cheerfully while flashing her usual smile.

“I did! It doesn’t take me that long to put together food for a party.” The pink mare explained nonchalantly while motioning to the bag she was carrying.

“Ok then…” The purple unicorn added in slight confusion as she tried to work out how the pink pony could have made it all the way home and then beaten them to the farm.

“It’s nice to see you guys looking healthier. The last time we were here you looked awful.” Twilight commented while observing the lack of any new scratches or bruises on any of the farm ponies. They even looked like they had gotten their energy back as there were no visible signs of fatigue in their faces.

“Yep, we all slept like rocks last night thanks to you guys.” Applejack said while smiling at Tom and the purple unicorn.

“Happy to be of service.” The human stated genuinely while returning a smile to the farm pony.

“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s head on in and get started!” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly while rushing inside.

“Uh… Ah guess we shouldn’t keep her waiting then.” Applejack shrugged while stepping inside and motioning for the others to follow. Everyone quickly filed into the house and found a spot to get comfortable.