Twilight sat patiently in her chair while Rarity went upstairs to search for the supplies she would need. It was clear that it would take several minutes for the unicorn to rummage through her house to find the necessary items. The purple unicorn kicked her feet and looked around to pass the time. She looked over to Tom and Sweetie Belle chatting beside her and smiled.

The filly seemed genuinely interested in learning about Tom and humans in general. But she seemed mostly interested in Tom’s duties as slayer as she pelted him with a flurry of questions with a level of enthusiasm that only a curious child could offer.

Twilight was amazed at Tom’s lighthearted attitude. He seemed like a different person every time the situation grew direr, but outside of serious combat he seemed genuinely cheerful and accepting of those around him. The human answered all of the filly’s questions with charm and character. He even played to her sense of adventure by telling her some stories of his time as a slayer.

Twilight could not tell if he was exaggerating details in his story or not. When most people say the fish they caught was ‘that big’ they are usually putting on a show, but the unicorn had no doubt in her mind that the human could be telling the truth when he said that “the monster was as big as a house”.

Sweetie Belle laughed at something Tom said. She then looked at his hand curiously and thought for a moment. “Hey, Tom…” The filly asked innocently. The human smiled and leaned on the arm of her chair.

“Yeah?” Tom asked and gave her a genuine look of interest.

“Do you think you can show me the light you used to scare away those monsters? My sister says that it was amazing to see.” Sweetie Belle pointed to his hand with her hoof and asked with intrigue. She grinned with anticipation and waited for a response.

Tom sighed and looked to Twilight. He didn't want to disappoint the excited filly, but he was still exhausted from his time in the cave.

“Well, I don’t know. I’m still pretty tuckered out from when I beat up some monsters earlier.” Tom explained with a smirk. Twilight chuckled as the human looked at her knowingly. He then shrugged when the filly started pouting sadly.

“Awww… Come on. Please, would you do it for little old me?” Sweetie Belle tried to look as cute as possible while coaxing the human to agree to her request.

Tom chuckled at the attempt to convince him. He thought for a moment about his own energy level before looking to the filly in defeat.

“Fine, I guess if you really want to see it.” Tom said compliantly. Sweetie Belle bounced eagerly in her seat as the boy got up and lowered his outstretched arm to her level. The human breathed a few times to steel himself for the task ahead of him. “It’s not going to be as bright as when your sister saw me using it, but it should suffice. Just don’t feel too disappointed when I have to stop. This is really taxing work and all.” Tom explained to the eager filly, who nodded in acceptance to his statement.

He concentrated for a moment while focusing energy to his palm. Sweetie Belle looked on in wonder and amazement as blue light started emitting from Tom’s hand. The light softly hummed a pleasing tone as it shot upwards a short distance away from his hand. Twilight found herself transfixed on the light along with the excited filly.

Sweetie Belle hovered her hoof near the edge of the light. She hesitated and looked to Tom for confirmation that it was safe to touch. He nodded and motioned with his hand for her to stick her hoof into the glow.

“Whoa…. It feels so warm and tingly.” The filly exclaimed while giggling at the odd sensation. It felt like her hoof was placed inside a load of clothes that had just come out of a dryer. She frowned in slight disappointment as the light flickered out, leaving her hoof to cool off in the air of the relatively cold boutique. The boy breathed in a few deep breaths. He simultaneously gave the filly a pat on the head to cheer her up.

“Don’t look so sad. I plan on being around for a while, so I’m sure this isn’t the last chance you will have to see it.” Tom explained in an optimistic tone.

Content with the human’s answer, Sweetie Belle nodded and removed her sad expression. The three then shifted their attention to Rarity as she came down the stairs while levitating the items she had found in front of her.

She placed a spool of thread and a needle on the tray beside Twilight’s chair. She also placed down a cotton swab and a bottle of green liquid labeled disinfectant. After organizing her supplies, Rarity pulled up a chair and sat down while kicking up the leg rest for Twilight to use. She levitated the cotton swab and disinfectant bottle with her magic. She then unscrewed the cap and poured a few drops onto the white puffball.

Twilight cringed instinctively as she watched the cotton swab hover near her wounds. She then stared at the thread and needle beside her, causing her pupils to shrink to singular dots. Rarity looked at her sympathetically and sighed.

“I’ll try to be as gentle as I can darling. It shouldn’t hurt too much.” The white mare tried to sound as reassuring as possible. Twilight gulped nervously as she braced herself for the stinging pain that comes with sterilizing a wound.

Twilight had to bite her lower lip and concentrate to not whine in pain as the white pony dabbed the cotton swab over her legs. She then put the cotton swab down and picked up the needle. The purple mare started sweating nervously as she watched Rarity clean the needle with warm water and disinfectant. She did not like shots or anything else involving needles, so naturally thinking about how long the sewing process would take frightened her a lot.

“Gahh!” Twilight yelped in pain as the needle pierced her skin. She tried to avoid moving while Rarity steadily sutured her wound. The white mare tried to think of a way to keep her friend occupied and to get her mind off of the pain.

“So Twilight, where did you get these anyway? If I’m going through the trouble of patching you up, I would at least like to know what happened.” Rarity glanced up at her and asked curiously while being careful not to mess up.

Twilight shrugged in defeat as she thought about explaining her ordeal. The white unicorn had a point, though. If she was going to patch up such a large wound, she deserved to know why she was going through the trouble.

“Well, if you must know…tch! ... We were investigating the Everfree Forest trying to find out more about the monsters that attacked us.” Twilight spoke in between jolts of pain. She thought back to the events of the morning and paled as she thought of the dark cave. “We found out where the creatures were coming from... it turned out to be an undiscovered cave out in the forest.” She explained casually. Rarity hummed with curiosity at hearing about the interesting find. She listened intently and allowed her friend to continue.

“We found a few strange glyphs that resembled the writings of a spell, and…” Twilight’s eyes trailed off as her voice cut off from fear. “This thing suddenly attacked us and tried to kill us… It was so horrible, it... it was like a big swirling cloud made of shadows.” She said in an uneasy tone. Rarity gasped at hearing her friend describe the ghastly monster to her. Even Sweetie Belle shuddered nervously at the description of the creature.

Twilight remembered how Tom risked his life to help her and her friends. She felt bad for him as she thought back to how stressful the experience must have been on his body. She fought back a buildup of tears as she put the thoughts past her and continued. “The princess got knocked down by a part of the cloud. It must have drained her energy because she suddenly became so weak that we had to help her walk. We thought we were going to die without the princess able to help us. Then, Tom leapt into action. He used that light of his to push the cloud back so we could escape. That’s when I got these.” Twilight nodded toward her legs due to her being unable to move them for reference. “More of those monsters from last night appeared. They were going to break through the barrier, and Tom was occupied so… he asked me if I could do something. I figured that I could blast them back with my magic, but it seemed like a bit more than I could handle.” The unicorn shivered as she remembered the creature pouncing on her. She shuddered in disgust as she could still feel the beast’s cold drool hitting her face as it tried to maim her.

The white unicorn stopped sewing up the wound to put a hoof to her mouth in shock. She quivered sadly as she thought of her friend being brutally attacked by one of the monsters she saw in Zecora’s hut. “Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry that you had to go through that! I’m terribly sorry that I brought it up… just try to forget about that okay.” Rarity looked down sadly as she mentally chastised herself for letting her curiosity get the better of her. Twilight frowned as she looked at the sad unicorn. She smiled in an attempt at brightening up her mood. Rarity noticed her friend smiling cheerfully at her and soon joined her.

“It’s ok Twilight. You handled those darklings like a champ.” Tom spoke up in a reassuring tone of voice. The purple mare was shocked to hear the slayer compliment her on her performance. She looked at him with disbelief that he really thought she did well.

“Really...? But I let that thing pounce on me and almost got the rest of us killed by making you have to help me.” Twilight eyed him sadly while recounting her poor experience. Tom’s smile never wavered as he gave her a straight face.

“Most people would have frozen up and let those things eat them. But you did exactly what I asked for and more. You were doing a great job of keeping those things at bay. Just because one caught you off guard doesn’t mean you should beat yourself up about it.” The human said in a praising tone.

Twilight smiled bashfully at the remark. Hearing the slayer commend her for her supposed bravery made her swell with pride on the inside.

“Thank you, Tom, you really know how to cheer someone up.” The purple mare closed her eyes and smiled at the human before leaning back and preparing to endure the rest of the painful experience ahead of her.

After sitting impatiently through two legs worth of stitching, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as Rarity put down the needle. The unicorn admired her work for a moment before looking up to Twilight and smiling.

“There you go, darling. These should heal up just fine now.” Rarity gently tapped the side of Twilight’s leg in a manner that she was sure wouldn’t hurt. She then put the leg rest back and got up from her chair. Twilight moved her legs a few times to test out how they felt. They were still tender from the sewing process, but she was no worse for wear.

“Thank you so much Rarity. I really didn’t feel like going through the trouble of going to a hospital for this.” Twilight smiled to her friend and got up from her chair with a new pip in her step. She then walked to the door and waited for Tom to follow her.

Sweetie Belle pouted sadly as the human got up to leave. "Aww... do you really have to leave?" She asked with a dismayed tone.

Tom looked sympathetically at the young unicorn. He could tell that she had really enjoyed her brief time with him, but he never expected to have such a grand impact on her. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll meet up again sometime.” Tom patted her on the head and ruffled her already messed up hair. This made the young unicorn smile cheerfully as she watched the human depart.

Twilight walked out of the door along with Tom as she looked at her legs with intrigue. She stamped on the ground a few times to test if the stitches would hurt. Satisfied at her newly patched up legs, she then looked to the human thoughtfully. “We should head over to sweet apple acres to see Applejack next, and then we can go home and relax.” Twilight shared a sigh of anticipation with the human as she thought about resting. The unicorn wondered how Tom could remain so chipper when he was still clearly exhausted from the earlier struggle.

The pair walked across Ponyville until they reached the plot of land where the apple family farm sat. The breathtakingly lush fields of apple trees left the two in awe. No matter how many times she visited her friend, Twilight would never get over the sight and smell of fresh apples growing plentifully.

Twilight led Tom around the farm as she searched for Applejack amid the fields. Failing to find her farmer friend at work anywhere nearby, the unicorn figured that she would be in or around the farmhouse or barn.

Sure enough, the two could see the cow pony talking with her brother, a red stallion that Twilight knew as Big Macintosh. The pair seemed to be discussing something passionately as they sat near the front of the house.

The unicorn trotted up to the two and smiled as they turned to look at her. Twilight was shocked to see that Applejack and her brother looked even more tired than she and Tom felt. The two could barely keep their eyes open as bags had formed under their eyes. Twilight put a hoof up to her mouth and gasped as she noticed many bruises and scratches littering both of their bodies, and a rather decent sized laceration was plastered on Applejack’s left shoulder.

“Howdy Twilight, hi Tom.” The orange mare tried to perk up at the sight of her friends. She yawned heavily and shifted her weight around uneasily.

Twilight stared at the pair for a moment in shock before getting up the nerve to ask about their appearance. “Oh my goodness… you two look awful! What happened?” The unicorn examined her friend closer as she walked over to her.

The cowpony sighed deeply and stared blankly toward the inside of the house. “Well, you see… after Ah got home last night, Ah found out that everyone was still awake. Not because they were worried about me, but because they couldn’t sleep.” Applejack explained with a disheartened expression on her face.

The purple unicorn looked on in a mixture of confusion and worry as her friend droned on tiredly. She wondered what could have possibly kept the apple family from getting a good night’s rest. “Couldn’t sleep...? What kept you up?” Twilight asked quizzically while looking between the two. Almost as if on cue to answer her question, the group heard a loud crash coming from inside the house that resembled the distinct sound of glass shattering.

The orange pony stared toward the noise and growled under her breath in frustration. She then looked back to Twilight and shifted into a sad and desperate expression. “Something keeps throwing things around the house. Picture frames, plates, flower pots, even tools around the barn keep moving through the air like a unicorn was picking them up. And when things aren’t flying over your head, it’s still impossible to sleep because of the noise the dern thing makes.” Applejack huffed angrily as she explained the hardships that had befallen her recently. Twilight and Tom looked on sympathetically as she vented her frustrations.

“What thing Applejack? I thought it was just objects moving around?” Twilight tilted her head quizzically and asked her friend to elaborate.

The orange mare shrugged as she tried to calm herself down. “The thing that’s causing all this mess... We know it must be some sort of critter because it seems to target us specifically. If it’s not throwing something at you, it’s making some sort of banging noise against the floor… or worse.” Applejack’s eyes trailed off as she cringed from the large cut on her shoulder.

“Oh my goodness… how did all of those marks get on you? They almost look like cat scratches…” Twilight pointed out with concern as she observed the pair in front of her. They seemed to be covered from head to hoof in the small scrapes and scratches.

Applejack groaned in frustration as she thought about the plague on her family. “Well when we noticed that it started throwing things at Applebloom, we tried to get it to leave her alone. Me and Big Mac here stood in front of her and caught anything that flew at her. I think we might have made it mad with how we hollered at it to stop. Now it scratches and smacks around whoever it seems to fancy at the moment. Even poor Applebloom is all beaten up.” Applejack looked down sadly at bringing up her failure to protect her little sister. Big Mac put a hoof on her shoulder for support.

“See that mark on her shoulder there?” The stallion looked to the two and spoke up to allow his sister a moment to recuperate. Twilight gasped upon studying the wound closer. She had been too occupied with the rest of her injuries to notice it. Big Mac sighed sadly before continuing.

“A hoe almost flew right into Applebloom’s face. A.J pushed her out of the way and caught the thing in her shoulder. It dug in pretty deep, not surprising seeing how fast it was going.” Big Mac shook his head sadly as he thought back to the incident.

The two gasped upon hearing the tragic retelling of the family’s problems. Twilight was nearly reduced to tears as she thought of the hardships her friend had faced all night. Tom sat beside her and put his hand up to his chin in thought. He then looked up confidently and stared at the two.

“Tell you what guys. I think I have a rough idea of what you’re dealing with. And being the slayer of evil I purport to be, I would be happy to take a look to see if I can fix your problem.” Tom offered with a confident grin on his face. Applejack looked up and smiled genuinely at the human. Big Mac also perked up and joined his sister in smiling.

The orange mare walked up to Tom and placed a hoof on his side gently. She looked at him desperately and chuckled. “Tom, if you somehow managed to make this thing stop… Ah think that Ah would be the happiest pony in Equestria. Ah might even hug you on the spot if you would do that much to help us.” Applejack stated happily.

Tom looked confidently at the cow pony. He nodded and smirked warmly at the two. Twilight looked at the human with intrigue. She wondered if he was able to deliver on what he claimed. But judging from past experience, the unicorn was confident he at least knew what he was doing.

“I’m going to need you to show me around the place and introduce me to your family members. Anyone who has been affected by this thing, I want to meet them.” Tom instructed slowly and somberly to the two.

The orange mare smiled and motioned with her hoof for the two to follow her and her brother. “Right this way.” Applejack said while walking into the house.