Mayor Bear sat in his office lazily perusing stacks of paperwork. He offered his signature of approval to the humble request of a pup who wished for there to be a small town festival for his birthday, smiling softly at the innocence in the childish scrawling. It certainly took him back to the days when he was but a carefree cub. In the midst of his spell, however, the horrified shouting of his secretary and the weak growls of something predatory snapped him back to the present.

A stomp-stomp-stomping came tromp-tromp-tromping down the hall outside of his office following the sudden silence of Lavonia’s startled screams. Yet, as Mayor Bear tensed, ready to tear apart the intruder who dared harm his subordinate, a hurried scurrying of pawpads came tapping toward the outside of the door. More muffled whispers. Then came what he assumed was the light knocking of Lavonia.

“Come in!” Mayor Bear said, readying his claws under his desk.

The door handle turned, and the door was pushed slightly ajar. Lavonia poked her head in after a moment and he felt a sense of relief wash over him.

“Lavonia, are you alright? What in the blazes is going on out there?” asked Mayor Bear.

“O-Oh, it’s something, er, someone who w-wanted to see you, Mayor Bear,” she said in a trembling voice, her eyes watering. “He brought along a―”

And the door slammed open, me shadowing over both her and Mayor Bear, a large, imposing figure with a face wreathed in shadow. The act shattered when I slumped against the door frame, panting exasperatedly as I clutched what remained of my hand. My sword, too, was lost to the bowels of Bigby.

Mayor Bear regarded me with raised brows. “Lavonia, you’re dismissed.”

“But―”

“Dismissed!” he repeated. She scurried back out of the room. When the secretary was out of earshot he looked at me.

“Where is the girl?”

“Little Red’s doing fine. A bit shaken, but she’ll manage.”

“Where. Is. She.” he repeated.

“Out in the lobby,” I pitifully responded. Holding my ruined extremity against my chest, I squeaked in frustration. “Damn this hurts like hell!”

“You knew the risk, ‘hunter’. Quite honestly, I’m surprised you survived that ordeal.” Mayor Bear stepped out from behind his desk, walking over to me and taking my hand to examine it closely. “You were fortunate. Very fortunate. Nevertheless, I shall go check on Little Red Riding Hood and get her situated. I have no doubts that she is scared and confused. You’ll get your reward in due time.” With that, he left.

I shakily exhaled, sliding down to the floor in exhaustion. I died back there. No wait, I mean I should have died back there. Was this real? Did I really lose my hand to the Big Bad Wolf? He was just a fairy tale! But so was magic up until a few weeks ago. I now had the regenerative capabilities of Wolverine for biting into a strange piece of fruit, but my stump wasn’t healing just yet. What is real? I needed time to think, time to think, think, think!

A chill shot through my spine as the temperature of the room fell. The light was consumed by a churning darkness, and the shadows morphed and merged. It hurt to look at. Out of the shadows stepped a familiar figure. I recognized her by those piercing eyes, and that smug grin.

“The Night Mare…” I breathed. For a moment, the hair on my neck stood and my mangled hand was forgotten.

“Greetings, Ladarion,” she spoke, actually spoke!, with a smooth contralto that carried both comfort and menace. “So nice to see you so soon after our unpleasant first encounter. Surely you are wondering why I am here.”

I looked at her with great trepidation. My breathing picked up, and the world around me blurred as she walked forward with a practiced gait fit for royalty.

“You have been busy,” she said. “But tell me, why is it the first thing you do upon being thrown into a new world is pick a useless fight with one of its most dangerous creatures! Do you realize you could have died!?”

I mumbled something, my fearful gaze not leaving her furious eyes, yet staring at something a thousand yards away.

“Say that louder, mortal.”

“Y-yes…”

Her eyes widened, and immediately she stepped away. “I-Is this because of what we did in the chamber? Are you saying this is my fault?” I didn’t respond. “...Allow me to see your hand, Ladarion.” She yanked my stump away from my chest, causing me to grunt in discomfort. Looking over the grisly wound with an experienced eye, she pursed her lips. “I will not be able to do anything for this injury.”

“Why not!?”

“This ‘guardian’ of yours. His magic, strange as it is, is more likely to reconstruct your hand in such a manner that it is fully functional upon its restoration. Try as I might, I am not as well versed in the anatomy of humans as I am with ponies. I may also do more harm than good should he have some safeguard against powerful magic. You will have to wait this out.”

Before I could respond, Mayor Bear opened up the door. The Night Mare grimaced when the light touched her and slithered away into a corner of the room.

“Good afternoon, Princess,” he said. “I see you and Mr. Ladarion here have some history together.”

“Mayor Bear,” she growled. “How long were you eavesdropping?”

“My dear Princess, this is my office, and there is a man missing a hand inside of it. I have every reason to be concerned when there is more than one voice coming from within.” He turned to me, carefully looking over my hand. "As for you, sir, I have come with your reward.” He opened his paw and placed what was within in my remaining hand. “Thank you for bringing her back.”

With that he left.

I looked at the device, the Night Mare approaching as the door shut. “What a troublesome little bear…” she muttered.

I pocketed the thing, not particularly caring about what function it served. A sudden wave of drowsiness overtook me.

“I’m exhausted.”

The Night Mare grimaced. “Then you may sleep here. Mayor Bear will accommodate you for as long as necessary." After checking me for more injuries, her horn glowed and everything faded away.