The group eventually found themselves walking through the empty streets of Ponyville. Tom was impressed by the architecture of the buildings. After finding out the dominant species of the land was colorful talking ponies, he hadn’t expected much in terms of the technology they were capable of.

After a short while, Rainbow Dash left the group to head in the direction of her house. And after reaching a crossroad, the group bade farewell as Rarity and Pinkie Pie headed off in the general direction of their homes. Tom was left with only Twilight and Spike to lead him through the strange town.

“So, where do you guys live? I hope it won’t be too much of a problem to accommodate me.” Tom spoke up to break the monotonous silence.

Twilight turned around to face the human walking closely behind her. She had not thought about where she would put him once they reached the library, but she was confident they could work something out.

“We live in the town library… I happen to be the librarian and use the upstairs space as a living area. And don’t worry… I’m sure we can find some place for you to stay.” The purple mare said in a reassuring tone.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I think I’m going straight up to bed. It’s been a long day after all.” Spike yawned as he laid back and put his hands behind him to cradle his head.

“You would be a lot more tired if you spent a good ten minutes running for your life in a dark forest Spike.” Twilight sighed while remembering the ordeal she went through earlier.

Spike winced at the thought of what Twilight must have gone through. Those monsters seemed scary enough to him from the relative safety of Zecora’s lit up house, so the notion of Twilight running through an unknown section of the Everfree while being chased by them sent shivers up his spine.

“Sorry, I must have forgotten... I’m just glad that Tom showed up when he did.” The dragon looked back to the human with a grateful expression while still relaxing on Twilight’s back.

Twilight looked back to Tom as well and made a curious expression. Out of all the questions she had asked the human, she couldn’t believe she had forgotten to ask the most obvious one.

“That reminds me, how did you get here Tom?” Twilight asked with a burning sense of intrigue. The boy looked at the unicorn and the dragon as they awaited an explanation eagerly. He thought for a moment and came to the realization that he was just as puzzled at the occurrence as they were.

“I don’t know how myself actually. I just remember walking through some woods and hearing a cry for help. Next thing I know I was enveloped by a blue light and transported here.” Tom explained while scratching his head in confusion.

Twilight looked at Tom confused as she thought about his answer. Obviously, something as specific as a human appearing out of nowhere should have had some kind of reasoning behind it, but for the life of her, she couldn’t think of anything that made sense.

“That is quite odd… maybe the princess can help us find out why you’re here. But first, we should focus on where those monsters came from.” The purple unicorn rubbed her muzzle with her hoof as she tried to think of an explanation.

“Darklings aren’t usually that aggressive and persistent. Having a group of them that large chase after you would be very unlikely in normal circumstances.” Tom explained in an attempt at shedding some light on the creature’s odd behavior. He scratched his head and seemingly thought about the matter further, but he quickly shook his head in confusion as he too found no logical explanation.

Twilight chuckled sadly and shook her head. On top of her almost getting killed, she was now an exceptionally unlucky case. Still, the thought of random chance being stacked against her didn’t make much sense to the purple unicorn.

“Well, something made them attack us. The chances of a creature like that randomly showing up in the Everfree and choosing me to be the one it hunts down seem slim to me.” Twilight stated cynically while reflecting on her supposed bad luck.

“I don’t know what else to tell you. I have never come across any instance where this has happened before.” Tom shook his head in defeat and gave up on thinking about it any further for the moment.

The purple mare thought for a moment on how to reply, when she was interrupted by the sight of the library coming into view. Just seeing the building so close immediately sapped any energy she had left as she anticipated reaching her home.

“Ah... good, we’re almost there.” Twilight moaned tiredly while trying to keep herself moving forward. The purple pony could hardly ignore her aching muscles as she thought about lying down and sleeping. The immense strain on her body from running so much was weighing heavily on her mind.

Meanwhile, Tom was taken aback by the sight of the library in the distance. He found himself surprised once again at the architectural capabilities of these talking ponies. The library looked like a giant tree with a few features on it to suggest it was a building, such as the simple wooden door, the windows, and the balcony on the upper portion of the tree.

“Wow, so you live there? I must say that is one impressive library... Certainly looks a lot better than the one we had in my town.” Tom groaned in disgust from remembering the old run down building his town called a library.

Twilight was flattered by the compliment but was also curious as to what the human world was like. She had never actually had an opportunity like this before, and now that she thought about it, neither had anyone else in Equestrian history. She was actually talking to a member of a long extinct species. Even though she was far too exhausted to properly have a nerd moment, she still felt a little excited on the inside.

“Speaking of which, what were the buildings like in human times? Not much information exists on the human race and their culture.” Twilight asked curiously.

Tom could tell that Twilight was a sort of a bookworm. The way she carried herself and her genuine interest and curiosity for his culture, plus the fact that she was a librarian led him to believe that she loved learning. Being a history buff himself, he could only wonder what it was like for her to hear about ancient civilizations from a member of said civilization. He thought for a moment about how to describe human architecture to her in the best way possible.

“Well, thousands of years before my time, Humans used primitive means of building structures out of anything from wood and stone, to mud and grass. Around my time of living, though, humans made homes and buildings out of various materials including refined wood, bricks, and metal alloys like steel.” Tom explained while thinking of the many ways humans fended off the elements. He thought for a moment before turning to Twilight with a curious expression of his own. “That reminds me, just how did the humans die out?” The boy asked with an intrigued tone.

The question caught Twilight slightly off guard. She struggled to recall the information she had read on humans and the details on how they went extinct. “Well, if memory serves… I think I read that humans warred each other into extinction a long time ago.” Twilight explained as gently as she could considering the circumstances. The unicorn couldn’t imagine how knowing that every other member of their race was dead would affect someone.

“Well, that figures… seemed like everyone in charge of government was worse than the last guy. It was only a matter of time before they blew themselves up.” Tom chuckled at hearing the details about the end of his race. The two were confused as to how the boy could be so high-spirited about the destruction of his race. Deciding against asking any questions on the matter, the trio marched on through the night in silence.

Finally, after all that had happened that night, Twilight and Spike finally managed to reach home, with a new friend to boot. The purple unicorn opened the door to the library and motioned for Tom to step in. Once inside, Twilight levitated Spike down to the floor and breathed a comfortable sigh of relief.

Tom took a moment to look around at the large room they were in. Shelves filled with books took up most of the wall space, while a decorative rug covered the floor. To his right, there was a staircase leading up to a second floor, and to his left a doorway led into another room, which was too dark to make out many other details other than more bookshelves on the back wall.

Twilight looked around the room and thought about where Tom could sleep. She didn’t want to just leave him on the floor with nothing comfortable to sleep on, but she didn’t exactly have a guest room for occasions like this.

“Spike, would you please go find a spare blanket and a few pillows?” The purple mare asked gingerly to her assistant while expressing her gratitude via a pleading smile. As tired as Spike was, he couldn’t refuse a request like that.

The young dragon yawned and thought for a moment as to where such items would be. His mind was foggy, but he was confident that he could find anything around the library in his sleep, which might have been necessary if it took much longer.

“Sure, I’ll see what I can find.” Spike said with a helpful smirk. He then walked off into the other room to search the library.

Twilight then turned to Tom and attempted to look more awake than she actually was. A task that was considerably hard given how much she felt like slipping into a restful coma that would give sleeping beauty a run for her money.

”I guess you can sleep upstairs with us for now. Come with me, Spike should be up soon with some blankets for you.” Twilight stated in a peaceful daze that only sleep deprivation could bring about.

The purple unicorn started up the stairs and motioned for Tom to follow her. The boy walked up the stairs with her until they reached the landing on the next floor. Twilight then opened the door in front of them which led to her bedroom.

Tom could see two beds in the room. One larger one that was made of wood with colorful sheets and fluffy pillows which he assumed belonged to Twilight. And a smaller bed which looked more like a basket that sat on the floor a short ways from Twilights bed, Tom assumed this was where Spike slept.

“Ughh…” Twilight moaned as she climbed up to the loft and sat down on her bed sideways. She laid back width wise on the bed leaving her legs dangling off the side. She then closed her eyes and attempted to relax for a few moments.

Tom smiled at the sight of a fluorescent purple unicorn sprawled out on a bed with half of her body drooping off of it sideways. He certainly did not think that he would see anything remotely close to this when he got up that morning.

“After all that you went through it must feel good to relax huh Twilight? Umm... Twilight?” Tom waited for a response before hearing a low snoring sound. As he looked back up to the purple mare, he could see that she had already conked out. “Wow… out like a light.” He spoke more softly so as to not wake her, although he was confident the noise of the rapture happening outside wouldn’t be able to stir the sleeping unicorn.

After standing around for a few minutes, Tom could hear the sound of Spike struggling to climb up the stairs. He then walked into the room carrying a blanket and two pillows that were stacked higher than his head. Tom wondered how he managed to walk over to the stairs and climb them without being able to see.

The dragon walked up to Tom and placed the items at his feet. He then looked over to Twilight sleeping on the bed. Spike could see that a puddle of drool was already forming as Twilight’s mouth hung open at an odd angle while her head was planted sideways into the covers.

“She must have been really tired. I hope we can get enough sleep to not be exhausted tomorrow.” Spike droned on tiredly before yawning and walking over to his bed. ”Well, goodnight Tom… if you need anything, feel free to wake me up. I think Twilight needs all the sleep she can get.” The two nodded to each other in agreement while Spike climbed in bed and got situated under his covers. He then rolled around a few times while trying to find a comfortable position.

Tom looked down to the blanket and pillows at his feet. He then picked them up and placed the pillows in a line so one would support his body while the other would support his head. He then unfolded the blanket and laid down while pulling it over him.

The boy laid there starring at the ceiling for a while, thinking about his current situation. He then decided that he could have ended up in worse places all things considered, and closed his eyes to fall asleep.

The next morning, light from the sun started to shine into the library. Streams of the bright glow hit Twilight’s face, causing her to tighten her eyelids. She then opened one eye part way and sat for a moment while letting her body wake up a bit more.

She could feel coolness on her cheek as she lifted her head up a short distance. As she looked down to determine the cause of the sensation, she noticed a stream of drool connecting her face to the sheets. After wiping her face with her hoof and moving her jaw a few times to get the stiff feeling out of it, she then sat up and yawned while stretching. Hearing movement a short distance away from her, Twilight turned to see Spike moving around in his bed as he started to wake up as well.

“Ughhh… morning already? It seems like just a few minutes ago that I finally got to sleep.” The dragon groaned and rubbed his eyes while trying to shake the tiredness from his body.

Twilight sympathized with the young dragon as she too would have climbed back in bed if she was given the chance, but she needed to get up and start a new day.

“I know… ughh... But we need to get up and about. The princess should be on her way over already.” The purple unicorn groaned as she climbed out of bed and onto her four legs. While she was still sore from yesterday, she at least felt a little bit better.

“Now then, we just need to wake up…Tom?” Twilight stopped mid-sentence as she noticed the human was nowhere to be seen. She would have thought she dreamed him and the events of last night up had it not been for her aching muscles and the blanket folded up and placed in the corner of the room. Spike hopped out of bed and blinked his eyes rapidly to better acquaint them to the light. He looked around as well before discovering that the human was indeed nowhere to be found in the room.

“I guess he woke up before us... maybe he’s downstairs.” Spike reasoned while observing the neatly folded pile of pillows and blanket in the corner. Twilight nodded in agreement before walking to the door and heading down the stairs. The young dragon followed closely behind her.

Twilight stopped midway down the stairs as she noticed Tom sitting in the far corner. He was leaning his head against the wall reading a book, which Twilight could judge from the title to be a book on old fairy tales and ghost stories. After they continued walking down the stairs, the boy looked up from his book to see the pair descending the steps.

“Oh... you’re up.” Tom closed the book and got up from the floor. He quickly placed the book into an empty slot on the shelf he apparently got it from before walking over to the pair and smiling openly.

“I made breakfast in the other room if you guys want something to eat.” The human motioned with his hand toward the other room. Twilight looked at him with a surprised expression while taking note of how early it was.

“Breakfast...? How long have you been up?” The purple mare asked curiously. The human chuckled under his breath at the question.

“Oh... I don’t know… about three hours.” Tom stated almost nonchalantly. The pair looked at him slightly shocked.

“Three hours?! But it’s just now morning.” Spike exclaimed while looking out the window at the sunrise.

Tom smiled and tapped his foot on the ground to occupy himself. He seemed energetic and alert enough, so perhaps he actually had been awake for a lengthy amount of time.

“Yeah well, I don’t need as much sleep to be fully rested as most people. And I decided I didn’t want to sleep in for the sake of sleeping, so I busied myself with reading a few books.” Tom explained while nudging towards the bookshelf beside him with his head.

Twilight looked puzzled as she wondered how many new things she could possibly find out about the boy when she suddenly felt her stomach pleading for sustenance. “You said you made breakfast right?” The unicorn asked eagerly while sniffing the air to take in the odors of cooked food.

“Yep… figured you guys would be getting up soon, so I thought you might like some food. It was the least I could do as thanks for taking me in.” Tom replied while walking toward the dining room. Spike rubbed his own stomach as he felt it rumble as well.

“Well then what are we waiting for? Let’s go eat!” The dragon exclaimed eagerly while scampering off toward the other room.

The trio made their way into the dining room. A single table sat in the middle of the room with a few chairs strewn around it. On the table sat two plates with lids on them, presumably to keep the contents fresh.

“I didn’t really know what all you ponies eat, so I guessed from whatever ingredients I found lying around that a couple of cheese omelets would do.” The human said while leaning on a counter for support.

The two eagerly sat down and removed the lids to their dishes. Their mouths practically watered at the sight of the fluffy yellow omelets with red sauce drizzled on top.

“What all did you put in them?” Twilight asked curiously while grabbing two forks. She handed one to Spike before further examining the dishes to determine their contents.

“Cheese and olives mostly… I made the sauce on top from some tomatoes and red peppers I found.” Tom explained while looking at the two as they enjoyed their meal.

“Wow…these are pretty good. How did you know how to make the sauce?” Spike asked in between bites.

“Eh... I had an interest in cooking, so I asked my mom to teach me some tricks of the trade. I’m no pro, but I can make a few things.” Tom smirked proudly while admiring his own work being enjoyed.

Upon finishing their meals, Twilight and Spike hopped up from where they were sitting and put away the plates and utensils. Spike then set about performing his morning routine of chores, While Twilight sat and chatted with Tom.

“So Tom, what things have you done as slayer so far? You said you have only been slayer for around a few months right?” The purple unicorn tried her hardest not to swamp her new house guest with too many questions, but she was surprised to see that Tom had no problem answering most of her queries to the best of his ability. The human placed his arm over the back of his chair and leaned back. He then trailed his eyes off as he thought about the high points of his career.

“Well, other than dealing with the occasional roaming monster or two, I usually just wandered from town to town. I would pass through, stay for a few days to see what was going on, and clear up any problems I encountered... As for the more unique stuff, I have cleared a few haunted houses, dealt with a rather large sea monster, and even went to blows with a cult or two that got a little too touchy-feely with the nastier black magic. You would be surprised how much can happen in the life of a monster slayer in just a few months.” Tom explained in a friendly manner.

The purple unicorn listened intently to Tom’s stories of his past for around half an hour. Even Spike spared an ear when given the opportunity while dusting a few bookshelves. The idle chatter was a good way to keep the two occupied while waiting for the princess to arrive.

Sooner than she would have liked, Twilight heard a knock on the door forcing her to pull herself away from listening to Tom. The unicorn asked the boy to stay put while she got the door, to which he nodded and placed his head on his hands for support.

The purple mare got up and walked over to the door with a brisk pace. Upon opening the door, Twilight was greeted with the face of her mentor princess Celestia, who smiled warmly upon seeing her student. The unicorn smiled in return before opening the door wider.

“Princess Celestia! It’s good to see you, please come right in.” Twilight stepped aside and beckoned for her mentor to step inside. The regal white horse nodded before walking in.

“It’s good to see you as well Twilight. I hope you managed to get some rest after what happened last night.” Celestia looked to her student with slight concern in her voice. The unicorn could tell that the alicorn had beaten herself up over allowing her student to be placed in harm’s way.

Twilight swallowed uneasily as she thought back to the events of the previous night. Even now she could still feel chills as she pictured the strange creatures in her head. Judging from what Tom had explained, the name darkling aptly fit the terrifying monsters made of shadow.

“Yeah, I was fairly exhausted from being chased so much. I’m just glad Tom was there to save me.” Twilight stated with relief evident in her voice.

The princess looked intrigued at the mention of the mysterious new arrival into Equestria. From what stories she had heard, humans weren’t the friendliest bunch. But if he had saved Twilight and her friends, then the alicorn had no problems with him.

“Ah yes the human, his name’s Tom, is it? I think I would like to meet him.” Celestia said with a sense of curiosity. Twilight looked over to the doorway to the other room.

“He’s in the dining room with Spike, right this way.” The purple mare walked ahead as the princess followed her into the other room.

Upon entering, Twilight could see Spike and Tom chatting with each other. Once they noticed them, both looked over to where Twilight and the princess were standing. Spike smiled upon seeing the alicorn enter the room, while Tom merely studied her appearance.

The alicorn appeared much taller when compared to Twilight and the others. She actually managed to come up to eye level with the human. She had golden shoes on each of her hooves, a crown atop her head, and a necklace adorning her neck. Even her hair had a mystical appearance to it. The princess’s mane was made up of varying stripes of blue, green, and pink which all seemed to move with a sense of fluidity that was unnatural to regular hair.

“Hi, princess… it’s nice to see you.” Spike jumped up from his chair and walked over to greet the princess. Celestia looked down to the young dragon and smiled in return.

“Good morning Spike, it’s nice to see you as well,” Celestia said in a cheerful tone. She then looked over to Tom, who had stood up from his seat and walked over to join the group. “So you must be Tom, the one who saved my student and her friends... I must say I am incredibly thankful for your bravery.” The princess extended her hoof and waited for the human to grasp it for a formal handshake. The human looked at her and smiled while accepting the gesture.

“Wasn’t a problem your highness. I am always happy to help out a lady in distress.” Tom said in a friendly manner.

Celestia smiled and chuckled warmly as Tom made a light-hearted bow to her. She then walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. Once comfortable, she then motioned for everyone to come over and join her.

“Now then, I think it’s time we discussed a few things. Namely how you got here, and what those monsters were doing in the forest.” The alicorn asked the boy with a more serious tone. Tom nodded and started telling his experience to her.

After explaining everything he knew about how he arrived in Equestria, and his knowledge on the mysterious creatures, Tom waited for the princess to think of what to do next. The alicorn furrowed her brow in thought while she took in what the slayer had told her.

“You said these creatures don’t usually act this aggressive?” Celestia asked to be sure she had heard the human’s explanation correctly. Tom nodded in response.

“Darklings normally only attack when provoked, and even then it’s usually only in groups of two or three. I have never seen a case where a normal pack that large would chase after someone over that great a distance. They would have to be influenced by something or someone else.” The human explained while troubling over the matter himself.

The alicorn closed her eyes and sighed. The mere notion of some sinister plot to murder the purple unicorn and her friends unsettled her deeply. “In that case, I think it would be best if we went back to the area where Twilight was attacked and investigated.” Celestia stated to the group with a somber tone.

“What?!” Twilight jumped in place and became pale at the suggestion. She thought that she would have issues going on the marked path to see Zecora after what happened last night, so the notion of going back to the area where she found those beasts terrified the purple mare. Celestia gently placed a hoof on her student’s shoulder to calm her down.

“It’s ok Twilight, I will go with you to protect you… and besides, Mr. Greene here has proven himself more than capable of dealing with anything the Everfree has to offer.” The alicorn spoke softly while giving the frightened pony a reassuring smile.

The panic-stricken unicorn looked over to Tom smiling back at her. She felt a little calmer knowing that her mentor and a seasoned slayer of evil would be there to keep her safe. “Ok… I’ll go… you need someone to lead you to the area after all.” Twilight sighed in acceptance and looked down nervously.

Spike looked to Twilight with determination in his eyes. She could already tell from the way he was looking at her that he wanted to help. “I’ll go too if it makes you feel any better Twilight.” He offered confidently. The purple unicorn shook her head and looked down with concern to the young dragon.

“No Spike, I want you to stay here. I don’t want you to be put in any danger at all.” Twilight explained sympathetically.

The purple mare could see the concern on the young dragon’s face. She couldn’t blame him for wanting to protect his best friend, but at the same time, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if something bad happened to him. Spike winced as Twilight ruffled his head with her hoof. She then lowered herself to be at eye level with him.

“Besides, I would be lost without my number one assistant around to help me out.” Twilight spoke in a praising tone to lift the dragon’s spirits.

“Ok…” Spike looked at her with an expression of defeat on his face. “Just be careful and be sure to come back in one piece alright?” He added in a concerned tone. Although he had given up the issue, he still wanted her to be as cautious as possible. The unicorn smiled at seeing the young dragon perk up a bit.

“Alright, I will be back before you know it… I promise.” Twilight stated confidently.