“Agh!” Fluttershy yelped in fright as she jolted up in bed. She could still feel the alarm and fear she had from the creature pouncing on her. After breathing heavily for a few moments and looking around at her surroundings, she realized that she had been having another bad dream.

“Ugh… I hate nightmares.” The pegasus stated with slight relief as she placed her head in her hooves. After sitting for a few more moments and touching her face to assure that she was awake, Fluttershy looked over the side of her bed to find out if Angel was still where she had left him. Discovering the white rabbit fast asleep in his bed filled the pegasus with relief and peace of mind.

Taking note of her overwhelming sense of fright and discomfort from her dream, Fluttershy decided that she would get up and head into the living room to see if Tom was still awake, and to reassure herself that her friends were safe.

The pegasus got out of bed and quietly made her way to the other side of the room. Being careful not to wake her sleeping pet, she opened the door and walked out into the hallway with a lingering sense of hesitation. The house was still dark, but the absence of the thunder and lightning and the general eerie feeling from her nightmare made Fluttershy feel slightly better about traversing the dark cottage.

As she approached the opening to the living room, she was relieved to see her human friend sitting in a chair beside the couch. He was leaning back on a pillow while trying to pass the time with his thoughts. Upon noticing the yellow mare entering the room, the boy turned to look at her.

“What are you doing up?” Tom whispered quietly with a curious expression. Fluttershy looked over at the couch to see her two friends sleeping peacefully on opposite sides. The couch was just barely big enough for them to have enough space to sleep peacefully with their legs curled up. They were wrapped up in their blankets and were using their respective arm rests to prop up their pillows.

“I had a nightmare and can’t sleep now… I was hoping to come sit in here for a while.” Fluttershy whispered back while walking over to the other chair and sitting down. Tom nodded understandingly to the jilted pony as she got settled in.

“You know how I deal with nightmares?” The human asked with a sincere expression. Fluttershy was open to the suggestion.

“How?” The pegasus replied curiously. Tom leaned forward and rested his arms on the armrests of the chair.

“I used to have night terrors when I was younger. They would be so bad that I would wake up crying or screaming at times. When I was younger I would go sleep in my parents’ bed to comfort me, but after I got older, I needed a different way to make myself feel better.” The boy explained while thinking back to his past.

“After having a nightmare and waking up, I would head right back to sleep by using this simple trick. I would think of something happy or nostalgic to get my mind off of the dream. It works almost every time.” Tom explained with a slight smirk. The human’s story made Fluttershy think of any happy memories she had that would be good enough to insight a happy feeling. She smiled as she felt her anxiety disappearing.

“That’s a pretty good idea… thanks.” The pegasus spoke with a cheerful tone. Suddenly she thought about how the human must have felt about being separated from his family. This made her frown slightly at the thought.

“Do you… miss your world?” Fluttershy asked in a somber tone. The sudden question made the boy’s smile fade into a blank expression.

“Kind of… I miss aspects of it.” Tom replied while deep in thought.

“Like your family?” Fluttershy added with a hint of sadness in her voice. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be robbed of a family like Tom had been.

“I haven’t seen my family since the day I died… Being brought here hasn’t changed that. But to answer your question… yeah, I miss them. It was incredibly lonely being a slayer in the human world. I didn’t have any friends or colleagues, my family was who knows where, and as fun as beating the living daylights out of assorted monsters is… it was really lonely.” Tom looked down and sighed in a depressed tone. Fluttershy felt sympathetic for the boy. She wanted to go over and give him a hug, but felt that he needed a moment to his thoughts.

“I was actually going to give up you know… the day I came here.” Tom stated with a morbid sense of clarity. The boy’s statement surprised the yellow mare.

“What?” Fluttershy asked with shock and dismay on her face.

“I was in a forest when I got transported here… I was there to give up and die. I had no reason to keep fighting. I had nobody I felt like I had to protect, and I figured that another slayer could take my place… so I walked into the forest with the intention of finding a lake to drown myself in.” The human chuckled sadly as he remembered what he was doing before he came to Equestria. Fluttershy was mortified that the boy was contemplating killing himself.

“Kind of grim now that I think about it… But I couldn’t exactly settle down, find a condo, and watch T.V for the rest of eternity.” Tom explained once he noticed the pegasus’s shocked expression.

“What made you change your mind? I mean… you seem like you don’t want to give up now.” Fluttershy stated while noting the boy’s cheerful disposition. Tom thought about it for a moment before replying.

“I guess I wanted to keep Twilight and the rest of you safe. I never got to interact with the people I was helping before… I might have talked to one or two people to get information on a monster, but I didn’t feel like anyone would want to get to know me. When I first came here, I killed the darklings that attacked all of you just because I was there… but after you guys asked me about my past and gave me a place to stay, I felt a little attached to you I guess.” Tom explained with an awkward chuckle. He looked away and rubbed his eyes to get rid of a small buildup of tears. The human hadn’t thought about how he felt about being a slayer in a long time, so it was weird for him to finally get everything out in the open.

Fluttershy let a few tears roll down her cheek as she listened to the boy’s story. She was happy to hear that she and her friends could have such a positive impact on someone’s life. She smiled warmly and gave the boy a sincerely caring expression.

“I know this was kind of implied… but I’m happy to be your friend Tom, and I know the others feel the same way. Even if you hadn’t saved our lives multiple times we would still be your friends. Friendship can have a lot of positive impacts on a person’s life, so I think it’s important to be friendly to everyone you meet.” Fluttershy said with a sincere smile on her face. Tom was glad to hear that the pegasus and her friends cared for him unlike any other random person he met had.

“Thanks Fluttershy… that means a lot. I’m glad that I was brought here so I could meet all of you and help you keep this place safe.” Tom stated with a cheerful tone. Fluttershy was happy to see the boy’s spirits were lifted again.

“I think I might try and sleep in here for the rest of the night… I would feel better being in a room with more people in it anyway.” The yellow pony yawned as she contemplated going back to sleep. Tom nodded as he watched the pegasus get up to grab a spare blanket and pillow.

Suddenly, the human gasped for air as his senses went off involuntarily. The harsh noise accompanied by the blue mist shooting from the boy’s mouth made Fluttershy’s heart fill with dread. As if on cue to follow the slayer’s senses going off, a disturbing moaning sound flooded into the cottage from far away. The horrible noise sounded like it was coming from the far off forest, but it was so loud that it could be heard clear through the walls.

“There’s that noise that I heard before!” Fluttershy began shaking nervously as the noise made chills go up and down her spine. “Did you feel anything?” She asked with a squeaky voice to see if the boy felt anything familiar that could ease her fears.

“Not anything that I recognize… but there is something coming from the direction of the forest.” Tom explained with a serious tone of voice while getting up and rushing over to the window. He peered outside and searched for anything amiss.

“What the hay is going on?” Rainbow Dash said while rubbing her eyes to wake herself up. She and Pinkie Pie looked around nervously as they listened to the soul rending groaning that disturbed their slumber. The two mares quickly got up and walked over to the window where the human and yellow pegasus was looking.

“That must be the green glow you mentioned earlier.” Tom stated while glancing over to Fluttershy and pointing towards the distant tree line. Sure enough, there was a faint green glow emanating from behind a few of the distant trees of the forest.

The ponies watched the eerie glow in a frightened trance as they shivered with fright. The disturbing groans mixed with the mysterious glow made their minds race with images of whatever horrible creatures could be causing the strange occurrence.

Suddenly, Pinkie noticed a silhouette slowly walking off to the side of the yard. It was a four legged shape that seemed to be slightly taller than a regular pony, and it had what appeared to be antlers on its head.

“Hey guys, look over there… it looks like some kind of animal.” The pink mare announced while pointing at the shadowy figure.

“I think that’s a deer… it looks hurt.” Fluttershy said with slight worry in her voice. “We should go see what’s wrong with it.” She suggested while walking away from the window. The others followed the yellow mare as she went out the front door and into the yard.

The eerie moaning had suddenly died down, leaving the group in silence. The moon shone down on the area, leaving just enough light to be able to discern colors against the blue tinted landscape. The silent atmosphere did little to comfort the ponies as they stepped around the house to look for the animal.

Upon spotting the slowly moving creature, Fluttershy slowly walked forward while carefully observing the animal. It was staggering forward with its head lowered to the ground. It appeared to be barely able to support its own weight as its legs wobbled with each step. Tom used his senses to survey the area for whatever could have caused the injuries to the creature. He furrowed his brow suspiciously as he tried to make sense of the odd sensations he was feeling.

“Fluttershy I think you should back up… something isn’t right here.” The human spoke up in an anxious tone to the pegasus as she approached the animal. Fluttershy was fearful of the far off forest, but she couldn’t imagine how the injured animal could be dangerous. Animals came to her all the time to be cared for and treated for injuries.

“It’s just a deer guys… I’m just going to see what’s wrong with it.” Fluttershy spoke back to the anxious onlookers behind her. The yellow mare slowly stepped forward while observing the deer. It was hard to see in the sub-par lighting, but it appeared to be an adolescent male with its antlers coming in.

“Hey there little guy… are you hurt?” Fluttershy spoke in a soft tone while walking closer to the animal. The deer stopped in its tracks as it heard the yellow pony speak. Suddenly the woodland creature looked up at the shy mare, causing her to freeze in place from fright.

The deer had several dried up cuts and gashes along its face and body, one of which was a large slash to its neck, as if someone had slit its throat. The animal’s eyes were glowing a pale shade of green. Fluttershy could barely see the outline of its pupils and sclera behind the eerie glow.

*Raaaghh!*

The deer let out a garbled roar as it charged forward. Fluttershy fell backwards in shock as the animal ran for her. She screamed in fright as the creature lunged its head and front legs at her in an attempt at mauling her.

Suddenly the beast was sent flying as Tom kicked it in the chest as hard as he could. The animal rolled on the ground several times, letting out a sickening crackle as its neck twisted with each roll. It came to a rest a few feet away and lay motionless on the floor.

“Are you okay?” Tom asked while offering the yellow mare a hand up. Fluttershy nodded with widened eyes as she failed to find the ability to speak. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie ran up and huddled around the frightened pegasus.

After hearing another garbled moan, the group turned their attention back to the deer. Its head lolled around limply as it slowly got up. After getting to its feet, the deer’s neck creaked and popped as it twisted it back in place. The ponies were horrified to see the sickening display in front of them.

“W…w-what is that?!” Fluttershy squeaked fearfully as she stared at the monster. Tom stepped in front of the group protectively and placed a hand on his sword before turning to the group of fearful ponies.

“It looks like a zombie.” Tom stated in a casual tone while standing in front of the ponies in a protective stance.

“Wait... a zombie?! You mean like, an actual zombie?!” Rainbow Dash asked in a shocked tone while staring ahead at the undead creature.

“Looks that way… Stay here, I’ll take care of this.” Tom said while unsheathing his katana. The boy flipped the sword around in his hands before bringing it down to his side and walking forward cautiously.

Fluttershy and the others watched nervously as the human walked towards the horrific beast. They were concerned for his safety, but they hoped that he knew what he was doing. Still, the sight of the gruesome animal still made them shiver from fright even with the human in front of them.

The deer growled at the approaching boy before staggering forward. It wobbled slightly as it tried to avoid falling over while running. Tom gripped his sword in preparation for combat as he confidently walked towards the running beast.

“Hey there little guy...” The human said in a sarcastically sweet tone while watching the creature charge at him. He stepped to the side and stuck his leg out while grabbing the approaching deer by the neck. He then flipped the undead animal over his leg. The beast’s momentum made it fly head over hooves until it landed on its back with a sickening thud that sounded like someone tossed rotten meat onto the ground from a high place.

Tom stepped on the deer’s stomach forcefully to hold it down. He then plunged his sword into the ground through the bottom of the animal’s skull. The creature’s limbs jerked from the sudden attack before falling lifelessly to the ground. The deer’s eyes flickered a few times before the brilliant green glow disappeared completely.

After pulling his sword out of the dead animal and wiping the blood off of it, the boy turned to the group of onlookers and smirked. The ponies were impressed to see the slayer in action, but they were still a little bit shaken up from the experience.

“That was easy enough.” Tom spoke up so the others could hear him. They started to cheer for him, when suddenly another loud groaning noise silenced them. Tom looked over his shoulder to see three more zombified animals stepping out from the forest.

Two of them were wolves, one of which was missing most of the skin on its face, while the other was another deer that had part of its antler snapped off and a bone sticking out of its leg. The three creatures growled before walking out into the field.

“Me and my big fat mouth...” Tom sighed in annoyance before turning to face the incoming attackers. He rushed forward in order to keep the fight as far away from the ponies as possible. Fluttershy and the others watched anxiously as the boy charged forward against the horrific creatures.

“Go get em’ Tom!” Rainbow Dash cheered the human on as he rushed up to the three charging animals. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie shared the cyan mare’s sentiment for cheering the boy on, but they were still too shocked to say any words of encouragement.

Tom quickly sidestepped out of the path of the deer as it tried to tackle him. In one fell swoop, the human swung his sword downward and clean through the animal’s neck. As the newly decapitated deer slid to the ground behind him, the boy quickly turned to see one of the wolves jumping at him.

“Oof!” Tom grunted in pain as the zombie landed on top of him and knocked him to the ground. He held his sword against the wolf’s throat in an attempt at keeping it away from his face. The animal barked and snarled as it snapped at the human with its jagged teeth.

Much to Tom’s surprise, the wolf failed to realize that it was cutting itself on the sword as it tried to get at him. The blade dug its way further and further into the decayed flesh of the creature before stopping at the bone. Tom gave a quick jab upwards, causing the wolf’s spinal cord to snap from the force. The predator’s eyes flickered until the green glow disappeared from them, at which point the animal went limp. After shoving the lifeless corpse off of his body, the boy quickly got up and looked around for the third attacker.

“Where the-” Tom’s thought was interrupted by the sound of his friends screaming in terror. He turned to see the final undead creature making a beeline for the hapless ponies.

“Heel!” The human yelled before rushing after the wolf. Fluttershy and the others backed up to distance themselves from the undead animal. The ponies contemplated turning to run away, but they wouldn’t be able to outrun the monster.

Just before the creature reached the three terrified mares, Tom caught up to it and kicked it to the side. The wolf rolled on the ground a few times before settling on its back.

“Hyah!” The human yelled fiercely while jumping up to gain momentum. He crashed down on the animal with his katana pointed downwards, managing to plant the blade into its neck. The wolf’s body offered little resistance as the sword pierced through its spinal cord.

The wolf let out an interrupted snarl as it tried to jerk upwards before the sword impaled it. As its spinal cord was severed, its glowing eyes dimmed as the other animals’ had and it fell back to the ground like a limp puppet.

Taking a moment to catch his breath and extract his sword from the ground, the boy looked over to his fearful friends and sighed.

“Well… at least we know what the problem is now.” Tom stated sarcastically before re-sheathing his sword and walking over to the group.

“That was a close one… thanks.” Pinkie Pie said while breathing a sigh of relief.

“Yeah… we were almost that thing’s chew toy.” Rainbow Dash added with a nervous chuckle.

“At least we’re safe now.” Fluttershy said while calming her racing heartbeat. She was incredibly thankful that the human managed to save her and her friends before anything bad happened.

Once the danger had passed, the group looked around at the grisly bodies of the animals. Watching Tom slaughter them was a little bit unsettling, but what bothered the ponies the most was the thought of what made the animals this way.

“What happened to these poor things?” Fluttershy asked in disgust while looking over the decayed bodies. Tom sighed while shaking his head in pity as he observed one of the wolves.

“Looks like they haven’t been dead very long… all of these wounds probably happened after they became like this, except for this slash on the throat.” The boy explained while pointing out the different injuries. All of the cuts and bites looked like another animal had made them, but the gash on their necks looked like it was made with a knife.

“Do you think those hooded ponies did this?” Rainbow Dash asked while trying to contain her anger towards the horrible acts committed on the animals.

“Well somebody did this to them… these guys don’t look like naturally made zombies, they look like the kind of thing that comes from dabbling in necromancy.” The human stated with a grim expression. The others were mortified to think that another living being could do things like this to innocent animals.

“Do you think there are more of them out there?” Pinkie Pie asked nervously while watching the woods for any sign of movement.

“Most likely… I’m going to go check it out, but I’ll have to wait until tomorrow night for that. I don’t want to leave you all here by yourselves.” Tom replied while giving the woods a cursory glance to be safe.

“That’s probably for the best… but how are we going to sleep with those things out there?” Fluttershy asked curiously. She couldn’t imagine how they would be able to sleep with the threat of an undead animal being just outside.

“Well, I’ll just keep watch until morning. All you guys have to do is try to sleep through whatever noise these things make.” The human suggested in a matter of fact tone. Fluttershy was concerned about the boy staying up all night for their sake.

“Until morning… but aren’t you tired at all? I don’t want you losing any sleep over me. We can easily just go somewhere else.” The yellow mare said in a sympathetic tone while frowning at the human.

“It’s fine… I don’t need as much sleep as you guys do to stay energetic. And besides, you shouldn’t have to leave your home just because of something like this. I’ll handle everything, you all just head back to bed.” Tom volunteered with a chipper attitude. Fluttershy was still upset that the human would go so much out of his way for her, but she was also grateful for it.

“Thanks Tom... you’re the best.” The yellow pegasus smiled warmly at the boy, who returned the gesture as he followed the group inside.

-Earlier-

After watching Fluttershy leave the room silently, Angel rolled over in bed to get comfortable again. The pegasus had tried her best not to wake the rabbit, but her brief outburst from waking up had stirred him enough to interrupt his sleep.

Ever since she got home from yesterday, the yellow mare had been acting very strangely. She seemed more nervous and jumpy than usual, and the incident from last night hadn’t helped at all. The noises had terrified Angel just as much as they did his owner, but he decided to stay in the house to hide.

Finally, after much rearranging, the rabbit managed to get in a comfortable position to sleep in. He lay still and let himself drift into a hazy sort of half-sleep, when suddenly, another noise made his head shoot up in alarm.

The noises from last night had returned stronger than ever. The horrific moaning made Angel dart his head around nervously. Upon hearing the front door open and close from downstairs, the rabbit deduced that Fluttershy had gone outside with her friends to investigate.

Angel was unsure of whether or not he should be concerned for the yellow pegasus. After all, she did have the strange human with her. Angel had not had the opportunity to meet the human for very long. He only caught a glimpse of him when he poked his head into the living room to investigate the commotion caused by the ponies’ game of truth or dare.

Unable to sleep, the rabbit decided to get up to head over to the window to investigate what was happening outside. After a short hop up onto the windowsill, Angel peeked outside and strained his eyes to see what was going on.

It was hard to see through the reflective window, but he could barely make out the sight of his owner Fluttershy slowly walking towards another animal. The yellow pegasus often allowed other animals into the house, and Angel would often accompany her while she cared for them, so the sight of her going to help a supposedly injured animal was not strange to the rabbit.

Suddenly, the animal lifted its head up, revealing its grotesquely decayed and slashed up flesh in the light. The sight of the animal caused Fluttershy to fall backwards in surprise. Angel was horrified to see his owner in such danger.

Just before the rabbit could contemplate rushing outside to help the yellow mare, the human leapt forward and kicked the animal off of her. He helped her to her feet before standing in front of her protectively while her friends ran to her side.

The human reached onto his back and pulled out a sword. He twirled it around stylishly for a second before lowering it to his side and slowly walking out of the rabbit’s view. Angel was relieved to see the ponies were in capable hands.

Suddenly, a strange sound made Angel freeze in place. The odd sound harmonized in his head until it became a high pitched soothing melody. The room spun around and blurred as the rabbit slowly lost touch with his surroundings. He felt compelled to chase after the noise, to bathe further in its relaxing melody.

The rabbit turned around and hopped off the windowsill. As the surrounding room disappeared before him, he hopped forward while following the path engrained in his subconscious. After leaving the bedroom, Angel walked through the house until he found his way into the kitchen, and out of the kitchen window.

Fluttershy and her friends walked into the living room before plopping down on a chair or the couch. They breathed a collective sigh of relaxation as they took a moment to rest their bodies. It had been a long night, and they wanted nothing more than to curl up to get some sleep.

“Man… I kinda wish that I could sleep for like ten minutes. That would at least give me enough rest to feel less tired.” Tom vented his feelings to the air, while mentally acknowledging that he couldn’t sleep while keeping watch.

“Tell you what… I’ll stay up for a while to let you sleep. I’ll just wake you up if I see anything.” Rainbow Dash suggested with a helpful smirk.

“Nah… I don’t feel comfortable letting you stay up by yourself. You might accidentally fall asleep, or something else horrible might happen… but thanks for the offer.” Tom replied with slight paranoia. Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure whether to be impressed by the boy’s excessive spirit, or to be concerned for his lack of self-preservation.

“You sure…?” Rainbow asked courteously, to which the boy nodded in reply. “Alright fine, just don’t fall asleep on us yourself.” The cyan pegasus shrugged in defeat before crawling back into her makeshift bed on the couch.

“Hey Fluttershy, do you have another spare blanket somewhere? It’s getting a little cold.” Pinkie Pie asked while rubbing her shoulder to generate warmth.

“Yeah sure, I think there’s one in my bedroom. Let me take a look.” Fluttershy said in a cheerful tone while walking off towards her room. She walked up the stairs while taking care not to indulge her paranoia by looking into the darkened rooms of her house.

As she opened the door to her bedroom and stepped inside, something seemed off to the shy pony. She looked around her room to see if anything was amiss, when she suddenly laid eyes on the empty bed that her pet had been occupying before she left.

Fluttershy turned on the light to her room to confirm that she wasn’t seeing things. She walked forward and examined the empty bed before looking around to find the rabbit. Angel usually didn’t go anywhere else in the house during the night, and she hadn’t seen him on her way through the house.

“Where’s Angel?” Fluttershy thought out loud as a sense of dread and panic slowly filled her body. As if on cue to answer her question, the moaning and howling noise from before started up again as green light faintly shined in through the window.