Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash ran in the direction of their friend’s scream, or at least they hoped that it was the right direction. It was hard to pinpoint the noise considering that the trees of the forest seemed to meld together into a never ending maze.

Despite the danger of getting further lost in the forest, the two ponies had to come to the aid of their pink friend. After all, they had no idea what could have happened to her. Pinkie could have been separated from Tom, or she could have found more of those creatures. The horrific thoughts of what could be happening to their friend sent a rush of urgency and alarm through the pair.

“I think it came from over here.” Rainbow Dash announced behind her to give the yellow mare an update. Fluttershy was unsure of where the noise came from, but she hoped that between her and the cyan pony, they could find their pink friend.

“What do you think happened?” Fluttershy asked with a growing sense of unease. She hoped that Rainbow Dash’s opinion would somehow calm her down and reassure her. The cyan pony turned her head around and frowned with concern.

“I don’t know… but I hope they’re alright.” Rainbow said with a grim tone. Fluttershy hadn’t thought about it much, but if Pinkie was with Tom, then there must have been something bad that happened to elicit such an outburst.

Before the pair could dwell on their thoughts any further, they burst out of the trees and into another clearing. On the far side of the clearing, a large pit similar to the one they had used to escape the wolf moments before was opened up into the ground. The pit seemed to be more like a trench however, as it stretched out for the length of the clearing.

Hearing muffled noises from the chasm, the two mares rushed forward to the edge of the pit and looked down. Much to their surprise and shock, they could see their two friends hanging off of a root sticking out of the earthen wall of the trench. Tom was clinging to the root with one hand, while he used the other to hold on to a very frightened Pinkie Pie.

“Guys, what happened?!” Rainbow Dash yelled down frantically to the pair dangling from the root. Tom looked up to see the two ponies looking down at him fearfully.

“We were running from that wolf, when we suddenly came out into this clearing. We didn’t see this hole and fell in.” The human explained in a semi calm tone while struggling to keep a hold of the pink pony.

“Don’t worry! We’ll get you out of there in no time.” The cyan pegasus said with a shaky voice. She tried to sound confident for her friends, but the sight of Pinkie Pie and Tom hanging precariously on the precipice of such a large pit made her blood run cold.

The pit had no visible bottom, instead having a shroud of pitch blackness that descended down as far as the eye could see. Everyone swiftly realized that a fall from such a height would be fatal to a normal living creature. While Tom would certainly survive the plummet, Pinkie certainly wouldn’t.

“We need to get them out somehow.” Fluttershy stated urgently while nervously watching the root bend and strain under the weight of the pair. Rainbow Dash looked around for a moment to survey the situation before coming up with a plan.

“I know… back up, I’m going in.” The cyan mare said while rearing up to fly down after the two. Fluttershy was nervous about her friend going down into the pit. It looked like there was barely enough room for a pegasus to fly in the chasm, but she also knew that Rainbow Dash was the best flyer she had ever met.

Just before the cyan pony jumped into the pit, a loud snarling sound came from behind the group. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash turned around only to be greeted with the sight of a vicious looking undead pack of animals staring them down.

There were three zombified wolves growling and snarling at the two ponies as they walked forward slowly. The vicious instinct to kill was clearly evident, even in their emotionless glowing green eyes that concealed their pupils.

“What’s going on up there?” Tom yelled from down in the pit. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy didn’t want to break eye contact with the undead animals leering at them.

“That wolf you were running from is back… and he has friends.” Rainbow Dash yelled nervously while facing forward. Tom suddenly felt very uneasy knowing that his friends were in danger with him in such a precarious position.

“You two run, I can get us out of here myself.” The human instructed in a serious tone of voice while sizing up the climb he would have to make in order to escape the pit.

“We’re not leaving you here with these things. They’ll attack you once you get out!” The cyan pegasus reasoned anxiously. Even if they did run, one or more of the wolves or another zombie animal might attack them before they had a chance to react and send them hurdling backwards into the trench.

“Fluttershy, stay here and watch them.” Rainbow Dash said while setting the book she was carrying down and stepping forward anxiously. Fluttershy was confused by her friend’s words. She couldn’t imagine why she would want to get closer to the vicious beasts.

“What are you doing?” The yellow mare asked nervously as the cyan pony gulped nervously. Rainbow Dash turned around to give her timid friend one last look of confidence.

“I’m buying them some time.” The cyan mare said before turning around and rushing forward. Fluttershy reached out to stop the pegasus, but she was already making a beeline for the undead pack of animals.

“Ugh… just try not to die alright!” Tom yelled back nervously before returning his attention to the frightened pony dangling from his grip. Pinkie Pie was understandably panicked considering her current situation.

“Pinkie… listen up.” The boy spoke down to the pony to get her attention. Pinkie looked up nervously and tried her best to focus on the human rather than the perilous drop beneath her.

“Everything is going to be okay. I’m going to toss you up here so you can grab onto me, then I’m going to climb out of here… but I need you to stay calm for me alright?” Tom spoke softly to the fearful mare. Pinkie nodded slowly while gulping nervously at the mention of being tossed out of the boy’s grip.

“On three I’m going to throw you up, and you’re going to wrap your arms around my neck. I don’t want you to worry about hurting me. You just wrap your arms around me and hold on as tight as you can alright?” Tom instructed carefully and waited for Pinkie to nod in return. The nervous pony thought about the action for a moment before nodding apprehensively and preparing herself.

“One…” The boy counted up while swinging Pinkie to gain momentum. “Two…” Pinkie cringed nervously as she anticipated the sensation of being thrown upwards. Her mind was filled with images of herself falling into the dark abyss below.

“Three!” Tom yelled while pulling his arm upwards as hard as he could. He released the pink pony and flung her slightly above him. Pinkie yelped in surprise before quickly wrapping her arms around the human’s shoulders and interlocking them to hold on tightly.

The nervous mare closed her eyes and yelped in fright as she felt herself fall down only to be caught by Tom holding onto the root. The flimsy appendage bent from the sudden jolt to its structure. Pinkie screamed as she heard a loud snap that signified the branch breaking.

Just before the pair fell, Tom summoned his claws and pressed the metal blades into the earthen wall as hard as he could. The dirt offered just enough give to allow the claws to anchor into the wall like a makeshift climbing axe.

Pinkie noticed that the she was stationary instead of falling. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around nervously, only to find Tom smirking at her with a relieved expression. The boy chuckled nervously, coaxing the pink mare to laugh softly alongside him. The laughing slowly escalated and grew in strength. Soon enough the pair were sharing a hearty and slightly hysterical laugh at their death defying act.

“See? I said everything would be ok didn’t I?” Tom said happily while removing one of his claws and raising his arm up to climb. Pinkie was impressed by the slayer’s strength as he used his upper body to pull himself up the cliff with her in tow.

Meanwhile, as the human and the pink pony were fighting to climb out of the trench, Rainbow Dash was fighting to stay ahead of the three animals trying to maul her to death. Fluttershy watched anxiously as the cyan mare swiftly dodged the incoming attacks of the undead pack. Even though she was able to fly due to the lack of trees, the bold pegasus still had to stay close to the ground to grab the monsters’ attention away from her friends.

“Come on slowpokes, I’m right here!” Rainbow Dash yelled while pulling her legs in to avoid one of the leaping wolves latching onto her. The pegasus was surprised that she felt so confident in facing the hideous animals.

Unbeknownst to the cyan mare whipping around back and forth to dodge two of the zombified wolves, the third wolf had decided to locate another means of getting at the annoying pegasus. The animal walked over to a raised hill and backed up. It waited while watching the flying pony for a chance at bringing her down.

As Rainbow Dash was looping around to avoid running into the trees, she noticed that only two of the animals were chasing after her. She whipped her head over in a slight panic to see if the third beast was after her friend watching from the side. Failing to see the wolf heading after Fluttershy, the cyan mare was very confused.

“Where the hay did that third one go?” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself while looking around. As if on cue to answer her question, she heard a distinct third snarl that was in front of her rather than behind her. The cyan pony looked ahead of her just in time to see the third wolf jumping for her with its jaw wide open.

“Agh!” Rainbow Dash yelped in pain as the wolf clamped down on her leg while she tried to pull up. The sudden weight of the animal jerked her frame downwards just enough to send her crashing down to the floor. The cyan pony bounced from the impact, sending the wolf’s teeth even further into her already bleeding leg.

Fluttershy gasped in shock as she watched her friend getting pulled out of the sky. The two rolled on the ground until the wolf was on top of the injured mare. The feral creature let go of Rainbow Dash’s leg, only to go straight for her neck. The cyan pegasus quickly shoved her hooves at the beast, catching it on the shoulders and pushing it as hard as she could in a desperate attempt at keeping it from getting close enough to bite.

The two other wolves stalked towards the struggling pair slowly with their green eyes focused on their prey. Fluttershy watched the two animals approach her friend with a growing sense of fear and terror. She knew that the cyan pony would be ripped to shreds if she was attacked by all three wolves.

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy cried out in a panic as she expected to see the two wolves pounce on her friend. Much to her surprise, the two wolves turned their heads to face her direction. The yellow mare’s pupils shrank to pin points as the monsters started walking towards her.

Rainbow Dash grunted from the stress on her muscles as she pushed with all of her might to keep the wolf off of her. She slowly turned her head to peer off to the side to look at her frightened friend. Noticing the two wolves walking in her direction, the cyan mare gasped in shock.

“Fluttershy! Ack… Run!” Rainbow Dash yelled out as loudly as she could with the weight of the wolf crushing her chest. Fluttershy looked past the two animals approaching her to see her friend giving her an expression that told her to save herself.

“I can’t just leave you here, you’ll die!” The yellow pony yelled back while taking a cursory glance to the woods and the air above the clearing. It would be easy enough to either run or fly away to safety without getting caught by the two wolves, but she couldn’t just leave her friend to die.

Rainbow Dash could feel the icy cold and foul breath of the undead creature as it inched closer to her throat with its snapping jaw. She knew that her arms couldn’t hold out for much longer, and that she would most likely die, but she didn’t want the timid pegasus to risk her life to save her.

“Just go! I’ll be fine!” The cyan mare screamed to her friend while staring at her pleadingly. She could tell that Fluttershy knew that she was lying through her teeth.

Fluttershy looked back to the cliff behind her anxiously. She knew that Tom wouldn’t be able to climb up in time to save Rainbow Dash. She then looked to the two vicious animals growling at her while standing in her way. She also knew that the two monsters would doubtlessly attack her if she made any attempt at rescuing her friend.

The thought of being mauled by the beasts terrified her so much that she was shaking uncontrollably. When she saved Twilight from that monster in the school, Fluttershy acted on instinct alone. Her friend was in danger, and she just had to move her to rescue her. But here, she had to deal with getting past two horrible looking zombie wolves that could rip her apart in an instant.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash yelled defiantly as she watched the yellow mare gathering the courage to charge forward. Fluttershy could tell that her friend didn’t want her to endanger herself for her sake, but the yellow pegasus didn’t care.

Fluttershy looked down to the ground for a moment and gulped nervously. She did her best to block out the vicious growling and snarling of the monsters in front of her, and focused instead on the thought of every moment she had shared with the cyan mare, and saving her life. Setting Angel down on the ground gently, she turned her attention in front of her.

The shy pony spread her wings nervously. Her entire frame was still shaking in defiance of her actions, but she had to act now or regret her failures for the rest of her life. Fluttershy jumped forward and flapped her wings hard to gain as much lift as possible. She picked up speed as she sailed past the two wolves snapping at her dangling legs. As she approached her struggling friend, she swiftly flew to the side and started diving towards the pair with fearful determination.

Fluttershy closed her eyes nervously as she spun around and kicked her back legs as hard as she could. She felt the bottom of her hooves collide with the mangy and decayed fur of the wolf and heard the sickening crunch of ribs cracking as the force of the impact took effect.

The wolf flew off of the injured pegasus and sailed through the air until it hit the ground and bounced a few times while rolling. The animal came to rest several feet away and lay motionless on the ground as its undead body reacted to being jolted so much.

Fluttershy opened her eyes as she felt herself touching the ground. She looked around to see Rainbow Dash staring in awe at the wolf as it lay on the floor. The cyan mare then turned her head to look at her yellow friend with her jaw agape in amazement.

“You… you actually did it!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed joyfully while lifting herself up a little bit to give the pegasus a cheer of congratulations. Fluttershy accepted the brief gesture before noticing the growling sound in front of them. The pair lifted their heads to see the other two wolves snarling at them a short distance away.

“Well… I got one of them at least.” Fluttershy stated nervously before looking over to the unconscious wolf. Much to the yellow mare’s dismay, the animal was already getting up and leering at the two with its lifeless eyes.

Rainbow Dash rolled her body to get up from the floor. She cried out in pain and staggered to the ground as she put weight on her front leg. Fluttershy gasped as she saw the extent of the injury. A well-defined row of bite marks was on both sides of the limb. The deep gashes appeared to have been ripped downward as the flesh and muscle was practically shredded from the dead weight of the wolf hanging off of the leg while in the air.

“I can’t walk on this, and I think I sprained my wing.” The cyan pegasus said grimly while noting the pain in her left wing as she tried to move it. She then looked to her friend sadly as the three animals circled around them.

“Fluttershy… you need to run.” Rainbow Dash instructed pleadingly to the yellow pegasus. Fluttershy shook her head defiantly before looking at the surrounding wolves.

“I’m not leaving you for anything… even if I have to die with you.” The yellow mare spoke sincerely with tears rolling down her face. Rainbow Dash sniffled slightly as she felt a wave of sadness wash over her. The grim finality of the situation was finally getting to the two.

“I thought I was supposed to represent loyalty…” Rainbow Dash said jokingly with a bittersweet smile on her face. The cyan mare reached forward and wrapped her arms around her lifelong friend for one last loving hug. Fluttershy gladly accepted the gesture and held her friend closely. The pair closed their eyes and waited for the end.

The two listened as the snarling and growling got louder as the wolves approached them. They squeezed each other tighter as they prepared for the pain that would result from being mauled to death by a pack of wolves. The pair had tears of sadness flowing freely down their face as they resolved to face their demise together.

Suddenly, the unnerving sound of the three beasts growling stopped. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy opened their eyes and looked around curiously to see why the wolves had grown silent. They noticed the three zombies were frozen in place as their gaze was blank and unfocused. Their bodies started shaking and convulsing randomly as they stood in silence.

Much to the surprise of the confused ponies, the animals’ eyes blinked out as the green glow vanished from view. The three wolves dropped to the ground in unison as their bodies became limp and motionless. The two ponies looked at the three animals around them with shocked expressions, half expecting them to get back up again.

“Wh…what?” Fluttershy squeaked out in a mixture of confusion and slight relief. She could still feel the utter sense of terror that was enveloping her and her friend, but she was starting to feel a sense of joy welling up inside her.

The two ponies looked at each other in disbelief for a moment before looking forward to see the cause of their salvation. They noticed the faint shapes of Tom and Pinkie Pie standing at the edge of the cliff. The human appeared to be holding something in his hands. Rainbow Dash suddenly realized that she left the book on the ground near the cliff when she ran forward to distract the wolves.

“We’re alive!” The cyan mare cheered in elation as she shook the shocked pegasus beside her happily. The two shared a celebratory series of hugs and cheers as they each dealt with the mixture of emotions flowing through them.

Pinkie Pie and Tom watched the two celebrating happily. They couldn’t show it due to their shocked nerves and exhaustion respectively, but they felt just as happy as the two ponies that they stopped the zombie animals.

Tom closed the book of spells and placed it at his side while trying to catch his breath from the climb. He was thankful to have found the incantation to reverse the revival spell, and he was thankful to have had the lung power to recite the spell.

“Wow… they look excited.” The boy stated while observing the two joyful ponies on the other side of the clearing.

“I would be too if I thought I was going to die for sure and then someone saved me... kind of like what just happened.” Pinkie giggled happily as she watched her two friends celebrate. Tom took in a big breath before turning to the pink mare and smiling.

“You know… you’re a lot heavier than you look.” The human said jokingly while still catching his breath from the climb. Pinkie Pie chuckled before smiling at the boy next to her.

“And you’re a lot stronger than you look.” The pink pony replied before getting up to walk over to the others. Tom smiled at the response while gathering the strength to walk forward.

“Heh, thanks I… wait a minute, what’s that supposed to mean?” The human said with a suspicious leer to the pink pony. Pinkie chuckled while ignoring the question and walking forward.

As the two approached them, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash smiled eagerly at their friends. Fluttershy helped the injured pegasus to her feet and shouldered her weight to help her walk forward to meet the two. Tom and Pinkie Pie were shocked to see that the cyan mare was wounded so severely.

“Oh my gosh! Rainbow Dash… your leg.” Pinkie gasped while looking at the gruesome injury. Rainbow Dash winced in pain as she felt the sting of the cool night air hitting her exposed flesh and muscles. She frowned as she watched blood trickle out of the gashes on her leg.

“Oww… this hurts so much.” Rainbow Dash whined while cradling her leg close to her chest. She tried to move her injured wing before feeling a wave of shooting pain course through the appendage and the entire side it was attached to.

Seeing their friend in pain made Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie feel awful. They felt a deep sense of empathy as they watched the cyan pony clench her teeth to cope with the mind numbing suffering she must have been going through.

“Ugh… I’m not going to turn into one of them am I?” Rainbow Dash asked nervously while glancing over to the three dead animals.

“Don’t worry. I don’t think these are that kind of zombie.” Tom stated with a confident tone.

“It still looks like it might get infected… just not in the sense you’re thinking of.” Pinkie Pie said in a concerned tone while looking at the gruesome wound with a frown.

“Here, let me fix you up.” The human suggested while kneeling down to get a better look at the injury. Rainbow Dash watched the human with an unimposing frown. She could clearly see that he was exhausted from the climb out of the hole and all the fighting he had done.

“Are you sure Tom? You look awfully tired…” Rainbow said while pointing out the boy’s pale appearance. Tom felt good knowing that the cyan mare cared for his health, but he wasn’t about to let her suffer like this when he could help her.

“I don’t think my exhaustion is more important than a torn up leg. Just hold still and let me do my job.” Tom instructed while holding his hands out and concentrating. The familiar blue light emanated from the human’s hands and enveloped the injured pony in its warm glow.

Rainbow Dash felt a large tingling sensation as her wound started closing up. She even felt her wing tingling slightly as the healing effects traveled through her body into the other injuries she had. The violent tingling sensation on her leg was almost unbearable due to the size of the wound. The pegasus giggled as she struggled to keep her leg still with the pins and needles sensation flowing through it.

After the light died down, the ponies marveled at the freshly healed limb. Rainbow Dash moved the leg around and put weight on it to test it out. The cyan mare unfolded her wing and flapped it a few times as she tested it for any pain.

“Wow, thanks Tom. I feel good as new… Tom?” Rainbow Dash’s smile faded as she noticed the human staring forward blankly. The boy’s face appeared pale and clammy, and his legs were trembling slightly. Just before the ponies could ask him if he was alright, the human fell forward and caught himself with his hands just before he hit the ground.

“Tom! Are you ok?!” Fluttershy asked frantically while hovering near the boy to offer him some sort of assistance. Tom breathed heavily while keeping his eyes closed and remaining as still as possible. His entire body was shaking as he struggled to hold himself upright.

“What’s wrong with him?!” Rainbow Dash asked fearfully as she watched the ill human. She was worried that he became like this due to him over exerting himself by healing her injuries. Before the ponies could think of something to do, the slayer slowly lifted himself up and staggered slightly as he tried to stay balanced.

“I… I’m fine…” Tom muttered with unfocused eyes as he hunched over and stared at the ground. Rainbow Dash helped to steady the human as he weakly wobbled around.

“You don’t look fine.” The cyan pegasus observed sadly while watching the pale human. Although he looked slightly better, the ponies were still concerned for his wellbeing.

“No… really, I’m fine. I just felt a little dizzy for a second there… sorry to worry you like that.” Tom said in an attempt at easing his friends’ fears. He stepped away from the cyan pony helping him to show that he could stand on his own. The slight wobble in the boy’s legs made the group frown in concern.

“Sorry to worry us? You shouldn’t be apologizing for nearly passing out.” Rainbow Dash said sadly while offering an empathetic expression. “Let’s get you home so you can get some rest.” The cyan pegasus added. Everyone shared in her desire to leave the forest.

“How are we going to get back home? We have been running for so long, I’m not even sure what direction we’re facing.” Fluttershy said with a worried expression as she looked at the woods around her nervously. Even though all the zombies were gone, the prospect of being lost in the dark forest made the ponies very concerned.

Rainbow Dash looked up at the moon above them. The clearing in the trees gave her an idea on how to find their way back home.

“Hold on… you guys stay here, I’m going to fly up and take a look around.” Rainbow said while backing up to get some room. The group watched as the cyan pony spread her wings and leapt into the air above them. She flew straight up before disappearing from sight shortly after.

The feeling of rising up and out of the cramped and eerie forest felt refreshing to Rainbow Dash. She took a moment to enjoy the cool sensation of wind hitting her face as she flew up to gain a bird’s eye view of the surrounding area.

Spinning around in midair to quickly scan the area yielded nothing more than an eyeful of nothing but trees. The cyan pegasus huffed in frustration at the apparent lack of progress in her search. Just before she gave up hope, something caught her eye.

“Hmm…” Rainbow hummed with intrigue while floating forward slightly. A blurry thinning of trees was in the distance. The sight of the clearing filled the cyan mare’s heart with joy. That had to be the edge of the forest.

“Yes!” Rainbow Dash pumped her arm in the air in excitement while grinning at her discovery. She looked down to the forest below and flapped her wings to start her descent. In a brief moment, the cyan pony landed next to her eagerly waiting friends.

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy stood near Tom as they watched the pegasus land. Rainbow Dash was happy to see that the human appeared to be healthier than before. Only a slight paleness was left on his face as an indicator of his brief ailment.

“See anything up there?” Tom asked curiously with a slightly uncomfortable tone of voice. Everyone could tell that he was eager to get back home, and they all shared his opinion.

“Yeah, I think I saw the edge of the forest.” Rainbow Dash relayed her information with a satisfied smile while stepping towards the woods and pointing in the direction she had seen the clearing.

“If we keep walking this way, we should be back in no time.” The cyan mare added happily while turning to her group of friends. Everyone smiled at the realization that they would soon be returning to the warmth and comfort of Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Hear that Angel? We’re going home!” Fluttershy announced to the rabbit she held in her arms. She grew slightly concerned when she noticed that the rabbit was still acting strange from before. She found it odd that she had to go retrieve the animal from over by the cliff where she left him, but she figured that he would have snapped out of it by now.

“Angel? Are you ok?” The yellow pony asked with a concerned frown as she observed the rabbit’s blank stare and lack of emotion. Before she could work herself into any more of a worry, Tom spoke up to ease her concerns.

“He’ll be fine… those two ponies back at the camp said that the charm he’s under will wear off by morning. If it doesn’t, it should be easy enough to reverse.” Tom stated in a reassuring tone. The boy’s confidence in the matter eased Fluttershy’s concerns for her pet.

“That reminds me… shouldn’t we head back there and do something about them?” Rainbow Dash suggested while fretting about the hooded ponies and their nefarious actions. Tom shook his head in a tired sort of way in response.

“No… they are probably gone by now anyway. We have their book and we freed the animals, everything should be fine for now.” The human explained with a sense of relief at a job well done, however the ponies still felt a sense of uneasiness as they thought about the purpose of the horrible experiments that the ponies conducted on the animals.

“Why do you think they did all of this anyway? I can’t think of any reason why hurting animals like this would be useful to anybody.” Fluttershy said while sadly glancing over to the three dead wolves. Although wolves were vicious animals when they weren’t zombified, the yellow mare still felt sorry for them and all the other innocent creatures that had died to become zombies.

“I don’t know, but hopefully we can stop them before they finish whatever they’re doing.” Tom replied with a somber expression while putting a hand on the shy pony’s shoulder reassuringly.

“For now, let’s just head home. Running for my life and fighting off zombie animals has definitely worn me out for the night.” Rainbow Dash stated while walking towards the woods. Everyone nodded in agreement before joining her as she made her way through the trees.

The walk through the woods seemed far less ominous and creepy now that the group knew that there weren’t any undead creatures lurking behind every tree. The eerie darkness and ambiance of the forest still spooked the three ponies, but they could look past their bleak surroundings to enjoy the peaceful and serene silence of nature as they walked.

The group let out a collective yawn as they tiredly shambled forward. The only thing keeping them going was the strong desire to not sleep in the forest, and to get back to a warm and safe home. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were practically leaning on each other while walking forward, acting as a pair to prevent themselves from falling.

Much to the relief of the exhausted group, a break in the trees revealed a familiar looking landscape that nearly everyone recognized. They only had to walk a short ways up the road to get to Fluttershy’s cottage.

The change in scenery and the mentality of leaving the forest gave the ponies the boost they needed to complete their journey home. After a few moments of walking through the outskirts of Ponyville, they finally reached the yellow mare’s home.

“Well, we’re here…” Fluttershy said in a dull tone while looking at Tom apprehensively. She knew that it would be better for him if she led him back to the library. While he could probably find his way back alone, she would feel better if she were there to watch him in his weakened condition.

“How about I walk you home Tom? I’m sure Pinkie and Rainbow Dash want to head home as well.” The yellow pony tried not to sound negative about taking the human home. As much as she wanted to collapse into a restful coma, she still wanted to appear happy.

“You know what? I think I’ll stay the night, if it’s alright with you of course.” Tom said with a content smile on his sleepy face. Fluttershy wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay for her, or if he didn’t want to walk across town as badly as she did.

“Really?” Fluttershy asked curiously. As the yellow pony asked her question, her two friends stepped forward and smiled warmly alongside the human.

“I think I’m gonna stay too.” Rainbow Dash chimed in while trying to emote through her tired exterior.

“Me too!” Pinkie Pie started to sound enthusiastic as normal, but her exhaustion caught up with her and her voice tapered off into a dull drone. Despite her blank tone of voice, she flashed a quick smile to express her joy at sleeping over with her friends.

Fluttershy was flattered that everyone wanted to stay over with her. Whether they wanted to make sure she felt comfortable while she slept, or they just wanted to have the pleasure of sleeping over with friends, the yellow mare was happy either way.

“Of course you all can stay… let’s head inside and get settled in.” Fluttershy smiled gleefully and beckoned for the others to follow her as she opened the door and went inside.

Once they were inside, everyone found the nearest place to drop off the items they were carrying; a book for Rainbow Dash, and an entranced rabbit for Fluttershy. They then instinctively wandered over and sat down on either the couch or the chairs.

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash barely made time to say goodnight as they climbed under their still made sheets on the couch and practically passed out immediately. Fluttershy chuckled at the sight while taking note of her own sleepiness and sinking into the comfortable chair across from Tom.

She intended on staying for a moment and saying goodnight to everyone before going back to her room, but the yellow pegasus found herself staring ahead blankly as her eyes unfocused and her body relaxed. Tom watched as the peaceful mare fought to stay awake for a brief moment before drifting off completely into a deep sleep.

The boy looked at his own sheet and pillow thoughtfully as he watched the three ponies breathe slowly and silently. Everyone else had something comfortable to sleep on, but the yellow pony only had a chair. He nodded to himself before grabbing the two items in both hands and walking over to Fluttershy’s chair.

He gently placed the pillow behind her head, being surprised that he could move the unconscious pony like a limp puppet freshly cut from its strings. He then spread the blanket over her and covered her up, being careful not to wake the sleeping pegasus.

Tom smiled as he watched Fluttershy instinctively grasp the blanket and re-positioned herself to be more comfortable against the pillow in a sleepy daze. He figured that she would need the blanket and pillow more than he would, considering that he needed less sleep to function.

The human walked back over and sat down in the chair. He fidgeted around while trying to get comfortable before settling on a position that didn’t make him feel quite so cramped in the small chair. He wasted no time in closing his eyes and resting peacefully while waiting to fall asleep along with the others.