Twilight had no idea how she should respond to this thing’s question. On one hoof he—judging by the baritone of the voice this thing was most likely male—had just injured one of her best friends, possibly enough that she would need to see a doctor. On the other hoof this creature moved faster than she thought physically possible, and on top of that, she did not understand what he was capable of. Fighting him was almost certainly out of the question. Looking around, her thoughts seemed to be echoed on her friends faces as each of them seemed to be weighing if this thing was really worth fighting. Finally, Twilight broke the silence.

“I don't think any of us would like to fight you, sir,” Twilight said, trying her best to keep her voice even to avoid giving away how terrified she was and hoping against hope that giving this individual some modicum of respect would improve their situation.

“That's good to hear” the creature replied, moving from his position at the door further into the building.

From the ponies’ perspective, the new arrival being in such close proximity to them in such a claustrophobic room was beyond horrifying. The closer he got to them, the more they felt like running away as far and as fast as physically possible. Although this creature did not seem to be entirely hostile, his approach none the less was putting everyone on edge. When he arrived at the fireplace it crouched down and proceeded to shift the three metal sticks that were sticking out of the fire through the coals at the bottom. So far, this thing had only been reactive to what the group had done, so the best idea Twilight had was not to act rashly and hope that this trend continued.

“Excuse me, sir, what exactly are you?” Twilight asked. Whatever this thing was, it had never been documented and probably never encountered before, so the fact he could speak perfect Equestrian was disconcerting.

“I’m a hunter” he replied several seconds later. As if to prove this point, after finishing his reply he pulled out two decent sized swords. The metal they were made of was dull and rough, making them look more like the start of a project than actual weapons. Each blade curved into a terrifying hook near the point. These swords were not made solely for cutting, but to rip and tear the flesh of whatever they came into contact with. In one quick movement, he connected the two blades at their points before flicking them both out to his right side, seamlessly combining them into one gruesome, double-bladed sword. It was obvious to the group that this creature was highly skilled at wielding his blades, and if he was being honest he was probably well trained in dealing with things far more powerful than any of them.
“That’s not what I’m asking, sir. I’m asking what your species is.”

“Human.”

This ‘human’ as he called himself didn't seem to be very keen on elaboration. To be honest, Twilight didn't think she would get more than what she asked for when she questioned him. She pressed on, hoping to ease the tension that had fallen over the room.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, and my friends and I-”

“I don’t care what your name is. What made you think you could just walk into my workshop without permission?”

This question took Twilight by surprise. It was not the wording itself, but more the manner in which it was spoken. Since he had first spoken, discounting the threat he had issued after fighting Rainbow Dash, his voice had been measured and distant, but now it possessed an undercurrent of anger. Twilight just hoped she didn't end up provoking his ire.

“Earlier today I felt an explosion of mana come from deep in the Everfree Forest and thought it might be a threat to Ponyville, so I sent a letter to the princesses to see if they knew anything about it. When both of them said they had no knowledge of the explosion, and were worried about what it could mean I gathered my friends together to investigate, and... well... you know the rest.”

“That doesn't answer the question. What are you doing rummaging around my house without my consent?” the hunter asked, sounding more than irritated at his current company. He turned back to the fireplace and pulled the last stick out of it. To Twilight’s surprise and horror, it was not actually a stick, but a massive, curved sword as long as a pony's body and about as thick as a table leg. The sword’s shape was very unique though as it didn't keep a uniform width, but tapered to a point. It gave the blade the appearance, not of a forged weapon, but a gruesome stinger taken from a monstrous insect. As fearsome as the weapon was, it didn't look to be in good repair. The outer edge was dulled to where it looked incapable of cutting anything, more like a bludgeon while the inner edge was chipped and uneven with a half circle cut out of it near the hilt.

Twilight needed to think through her current situation very carefully. She and her friends were trapped in a small room with an angry creature that had easily killed several timberwolves, not to mention beat Rainbow Dash with nary a flick of its wrist, none of her friends looked anywhere close to being able to confront him, with Applejack and Pinkie Pie, usually two of the braver members of the group, looking like frightened puppies, and to top it off Fluttershy was gone, tending to the timberwolf, so she couldn't count on her to pacify this creature. The only option that seemed left to her was to answer his question and hope he didn't decide to take his anger out on them.

“We were looking through the graveyard and saw two headstones that looked new and the headstone just outside your home, and we thought that whoever was living here had died.” Twilight winced as she finished her explanation, hoping that the hunter wouldn't resort to violence.

“Makes sense,” he responded calmly, placing the curved blade on his right hip under the combined blades he had retrieved from the fire before it.

Really? That was it? All of that hostility and what seemed like bloodlust, and all it took was her telling him they thought he was dead to clear the air. She, at least, expected him to still be a little irritated.

“Now, if you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you would leave. I have work to do,” the hunter stated offhandedly, turning to go out the door.

“Wait! Before we go, would you mind coming back to town with us? I’m going to have to tell the princesses about what we found here and I’m sure they would like to meet you and learn what they can from you and it would frankly be easier for them if they didn't have to come all the way out here.” The words poured from Twilight’s mouth almost before she realized she’d said them, and no sooner did she finish speaking before her friends started their own little tirade against her.

“Twi, what in tarnation are y’all thinkin? We don't know if he can be trusted, and don’t you remember that he done beat Rainbow Dash like she was a darn filly!”

“I must agree Twilight. There is nothing I would like more than to let the royal guards deal with this ruffian and be done with him.”

“Rarity is right! I usually like meeting new ponies, but he’s just a sour pus meanie pants angry birdie who hasn’t been nice to any of my friends!”

After the talking, the deformed purple horse, Twilight Sparkle, asked him to accompany her and her friends back to the town they had come from, Draxton had stopped to consider the proposition. True, he had no reason to trust they wouldn't pull the same stunt en masse that the flying blue one had, but he had done far less intelligent things before when he had been drastically outnumbered, and still emerged the victor. He remembered trusting Patches when he’d given him the tonsil stone, and the time he’d taken a trip to Cainhurst in a carriage that had come out of nowhere. Looking back on things, those had also been ill-advised, but if worse came to worst it wouldn't be hard to fight any number of them with his scythe judging by how easily he had subdued the blue one. If anything, he could learn where he was, and why he and the workshop had manifested in what appeared to be a different waking world.

“Sure. I’ll come.”

Twilight was just about to speak again when the hunter responded. The abruptness with which he replied made her suddenly feel apprehensive about inviting him to return to Ponyville with her, and judging by her friend’s looks of complete despair and incredulity, she wasn't sure it was the best idea to have asked him. Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, the hunter picked up Rainbow Dash and said something that made her stomach drop.

“I’ll carry your friend. If she tries anything funny on the way back to your town don't think I won’t kill her. I assume it’s east of here, in the direction of your other friend you left in the woods. We can collect them and head to town back the way you came.”

He knew where Fluttershy was! This was bad. If he saw Fluttershy with the timberwolf she didn't even want to think about what he might do, and if the wolf recognized him she knew Fluttershy would do everything she could to make him pay. She needed to think of something quickly before they left. She had to divert the hunter somewhere else.

“I don't think that would be the best idea. Fluttershy can be very timid, so if someone she didn't know like you suddenly appeared, she might have a panic attack. Then you’d end up having to carry two of my friends,” Twilight said, trying to keep her composure.

“Alright then. You lead the way” the hunter responded, moving aside so that the group could go ahead of him.

Twilight mentally breathed a sigh of relief, but now that she started to think about it, how was she supposed to keep the group at ease when they had to walk for several hours with such an intimidating individual. On top of that, she needed to help Fluttershy get the timberwolf back to Ponyville without her learning about the new arrival. This day was just getting better and better. The only plan that made sense at the moment was to rely on her acting skills, something that she had time and again proven poor at.

“Applejack, you can lead the way. Rarity and Pinkie, you can follow. I'll hang back with the hunter.”

Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. She couldn't tell if it was because they thought walking in front of the human was a terrible idea, or if it was they thought standing next to him was even more idiotic. Either way, no one spoke up in protest, and the long trek back to Ponyville began.

Twilight was starting to regret staying back with the hunter. Everything about him set off her internal alarms. Since they had headed out, he hadn't spoken a word, and the silence that had fallen over the group seemed far more oppressive than it had been when they had first entered the forest in hopes of discovering the magical anomaly. The human walked with an air about him that made Twilight feel like he was considering her and her friends as prey. However, the most unnerving thing the hunter did was that every so often he would turn his head in a random direction, slow his pace and fall farther behind the rest of the group for a while before resuming his place again. Twilight wondered how Fluttershy was handling her own situation.

Twilight nearly face hoofed herself when she remembered she had left Fluttershy back near the human’s dwelling. She needed to go back and get her as soon as she could.

These equines were strange. Not only were they able to talk, but they seemed to lack basic observational abilities. Draxton had lost track of how many times they simply walked past an old trail or a camouflaged animal without batting an eye. It was becoming so common that he had to admit to himself that he was most likely going to have to be their bodyguard. He noticed, however that none of them had grown less fearful of him along the way.

One thing had been on his mind since he had left with them. Twilight Sparkle, who he assumed to be the leader of the group, had mentioned that she had felt what could be described as a mana explosion—whatever that meant—come from the workshop. The most likely explanation was it was the result of his materialization here. Judging by the fact that they had asked what species he was, he doubted there would be any other humans in this world. There was another thing that he could not make sense of. They had spoken of informing “the princesses,” of his appearance. From what Draxton could guess, either the king and queen had more pressing matters to deal with, they were currently not of sufficient health to govern, or they were dead and their titles had yet to advance to their eldest heir.

Just as the group was passing by the remains of an old structure, Twilight Sparkle decided to break the silence.

“Oh, girls, I almost forgot about Fluttershy. You go ahead. I’ll go back and help her out” she said, turning back towards the workshop and hurrying off.

Looking at the others, Draxton didn’t think they were very keen on the idea, but the fact she was already galloping away made contesting her decision useless. Besides, there was something more important the group needed to worry about; they were being stalked. He had originally passed it off as a curious animal following them out of its territory, but after a while, it had become obvious this wasn't a harmless creature. Every time he had turned his head in its direction it would slow down considerably, but never fell too far behind the group. This animal was a seasoned hunter. The fact it had kept its distance for this long meant it was either waiting for a better chance to ambush them or for someone to break off from the group. Twilight Sparkle had just become that someone. He needed to think quickly. Even if he didn't personally care too much if these creatures died, having to explain to a royal family how he had allowed one of their envoys to be killed did not seem like the best way to start relations with the local government. The best idea he had was to lure their stalker in his direction with a more appealing target, wounded prey. As carefully as he could, so as not to arouse suspicion, he reached to the back of his belt with his free hand to grab his drinking flask. Being a hunter, blood was one of his most coveted resources, and while most hunters avoided drinking blood cocktails, as they dulled the senses and suppressed one's abilities, he had learned over time that a tolerance to them could be quickly developed if one was persistent enough. His original plan was to spread some of the drink on his clothes in order to lure the beast closer, but it was probably a better idea to simply leave the top off the canister as he felt its aroma would be strong enough without him having to spread blood on his clothes. With a quick slug to make sure the mixture hadn’t coagulated, he placed it back on his hip and resumed following the group.

At first, Draxton sensed the animal hesitate between following the group or chasing after the newly separated equine. He had caught its attention, but if he didn’t properly entice the creature he would need to act immediately as he had no idea how quickly he would be able to respond if it decided to attack Twilight Sparkle. Fortunately, the animal decided the scent of blood indicated a better target. The only downside that came with this plan was that this creature had now become more aggressive in its predation. Even when he would turn in its direction, it would only slow down slightly as it tried to close the distance. If he had to make a guess, he would have estimated he had about ten minutes till the creature was on them, provided they remained deep in the forest, or, if they were unlucky and reached a clearing a few minutes. Unfortunately, judging by the fact the trees were thinning out, he didn’t have much time before he’d be in the open and have to fight.

Twilight was glad the others hadn’t followed her after she’d split off from the group. It was obvious that the hunter and Fluttershy would eventually meet, but if she could help it she wanted that meeting to happen in a controlled environment, preferably a timberwolf-less one, where she could limit any collateral damage that might ensue.

Following the path she had used earlier, she eventually found where she had left Fluttershy and was relieved to see that she had calmed down the timberwolf.

“Hey, Fluttershy. I see your friend there is doing better.”

“Oh, yes. He seems to like me, and he’s so used to being with a pack that any company is welcome,” Fluttershy replied cheerfully, only to become very sorrowful and distant. “You should know that whatever attacked him is preventing him from properly healing. I'm going to need to get him back to the cottage to properly understand the extent of the damage.”

“What do you mean he’s not healing properly? I thought timberwolves just needed some old wood if they ever needed to replace lost pieces?”

“That's usually what happens, at least, that's what I remember I needed to do last time I took care of one, but something's different here. Look at his leg. It’s still splintered and broken. The magic that keeps timberwolves together always expels damaged wood from the body, but something is keeping the magic from working, preventing him from healing. What’s worse is that normally if a timberwolf were to get injured, it would split apart to prevent major damage to the rest of its body, but I'm positive the same thing keeping the wood from being expelled is preventing him from breaking up.”

“Do you think you can help him get better?” Twilight asked, concerned for the poor timberwolf in front of her and for her friends she’d had left behind with the human.

“I don't know, Twilight.” I’ve never had to deal with something like this before. I don't even think the most respected zoologist would know what to do. All I can do is guess.” Every word Fluttershy said seemed to be undercut with feelings of inadequacy and helplessness. It was only when she started to cry that it became obvious how deep those feelings ran. “I’m supposed to be able to treat every animal regardless of species. I should be able to help him. Why can’t I help him?”

Twilight wanted nothing more than to comfort Fluttershy. Even the timberwolf was nuzzling her in an attempt to console the weeping pegasus, but staying out in the Everfree any longer than necessary was a bad idea. “We need to head back. Do you think our new friend here can handle a teleportation spell?”

“I would think so. It's just….” Fluttershy didn't seem like she could finish the sentence, her insecurity getting the better of her. Twilight just nodded in response. It would be best to get her back to her cottage as soon as possible. Twilight charged up her teleportation spell, and in less than a second had transported the three of them through the ether and to the front of Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Where should we put your friend?” Twilight asked, knowing Fluttershy was most likely to keep him in the house to better care for him, but the other animals living there might object to having a dangerous predator in their midst.

“Do you think you can help carry him to my room? I’m going to need to keep a close eye on his health.”

Saying where they needed to move him was the easy part. Actually doing so was far more difficult. Timberwolves, when they reached adulthood, tended to be about ten percent larger than ponies, but the fact they were made almost entirely out of wood made carrying them a much easier task. The issue here came from the fact that the back half of this timberwolf had been mostly cut off, making moving him a challenge as anytime either of them touched his broken leg or the splintered mess that was his other back leg, he would let out a yelp of pain. Eventually, they were able to reach Fluttershy's room, and after further consideration, they decided to fix up a bed for the timberwolf beside Fluttershy's bed so she would have better access to him if his condition worsened.

“Thank you, Twilight. I don't think I could have done it myself,” Fluttershy said when they had finished, however, her tone made it sound more like a statement of fact than an expression of gratitude.

It didn’t seem right for Twilight to leave her friend in such an emotionally vulnerable state, however if her other friends arrived at the castle before she rejoined them, they would more than likely think she and Fluttershy hadn't made it back, and would probably set off again to find the two of them. As she was pondering what to do a solution came to her.

“Fluttershy, do you think I could borrow one of your bird friends for a moment?”

“I don't see why not.”

“Perfect,” Twilight magically grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill from Fluttershy's desk and quickly wrote out a letter telling her friends that she had made it back to Ponyville and was currently with Fluttershy. She then convinced a bluejay that had been watching them to fly the letter over to the castle and give it to Spike. Now all she needed to do was comfort Fluttershy until everyone got back.

This was probably the greatest day in Draxton’s entire life. in one day he had killed one of his mentors, got whisked away to a foreign world, and to top it off every single inhabitant he had encountered had either tried to kill him or was as good in a fight as a celestial infant. Speaking of which, the current oddity that had been trying to murder him for the last fifteen minutes was getting on his nerves. The creature seemed to be a large cat from what he had glimpsed of it (emphasis on glimpsed). Whatever this thing was, it was so fast that it made the Orphan of Kos look like a church giant. It had managed to strike him seven times so far, most of which were the result of defending his horse companions. He was bleeding fairly badly, and this only seemed to make the animal more aggressive.

The beast had first attacked with a powerful dive at his back. Fortunately, he had been able to dodge it as the group walked into a small glade. After the attack failed to land, the beast bolted back to the safety of the bushes, and the equines ran in the other direction, shouting something about heading toward an old castle. Now he had to run, protect the group, and keep track of the threat all at once. Did he mention how much he absolutely despised his current situation? Fortunately, he was starting to see the trees thinning again. He would finally get to fight back and get rid of this nuisance.

The underbrush to the left of the hunter suddenly erupted as the monster leapt at him again. He had gotten careless while keeping track of the horses and had forgotten to listen for an attack. With no other options available, he quickly dropped the horse he had been carrying and prepared himself to meet the charge. When he was finally hit he regretted the decision. The large cat—he could now confirm this from up close—sunk its claws into his torso and bit down where his neck met his shoulders, puncturing his jugular. He quickly stabbed the beast with his blade of mercy. This got it off of him, but whatever that thing was, its flesh was tough. His attack had only been able to create a shallow wound a few inches deep, insignificant when he considered that his current opponent was almost as big as he was.

The others had stopped in their mad dash when they couldn't hear him following them anymore. They looked back at him like they had when they had first met him. He needed to get them out of the picture somehow. They were worse than useless, they were cowards.

“Take your friend and run. I need to fight unhindered,” Draxton growled, throwing the flying blue horse he had been carrying at the others and then proceeding to inject himself with a blood vial to close his wounds.
.One of them sprinted to grab their friend and then continued running toward the castle. Draxton had half expected the beast to follow them, but for some reason, it still saw him as the more ideal target. When the horses finally left his line of sight, he switched out his blade of mercy for the burial blade and quickly transformed it into its scythe form. He was going to find this creature’s weakness and kill it with one swing.

Draxton was speculating how much of his mind he had lost recently. He would need to let it attack him if he wanted to figure out how to beat this nuisance. If he misjudged the attack it could kill him, if he didn't react fast enough it could kill him, and if he miscalculated the timing on his counterattack it could kill him.All in all, it was a typical fight as of late. If he survived this, he was really going to need to stop using madman's knowledge.

Draxton positioned himself facing the cats direction while it prowled through the bushes. He kept his front facing it so it wouldn't get a good shot on him. Even though Draxton showed that hiding wasn't working in the cat's benefit it didn't seem to mind, given that it was more or less unscathed and managed to almost kill him once he couldn't blame it for thinking it would win this little spat. If Draxton wanted to win this he would need to analyze every little move it made so if the cat had any patterns he could more easily strategize around them.

After approximately nine seconds of circling the cat suddenly bounded out of the bushes low to the ground and leapt forward at a shallow angle, straight at his center of mass once it had cleared the foliage. Draxton narrowly dodged the assault and watched as the cat fluidly landed and disappeared among the trees. The next attack came approximately two seconds after Draxton lost sight of it as it deftly leapt from a tree for an aerial attack. This time, Draxton wasn't able to fully dodge the attack and as he tried to roll was nicked on the back. Again, the cat retreated to the undergrowth to plan another attack.

Draxton didn't have to wait for long, he had barely gotten back up when the cat leapt directly for him with a paw raised in what looked like an incoming swipe. Instincts suddenly kicked in and Draxton jumped back as fast as he could. He had fortunately been able to dodge the attack quick enough and saw that instead of following through with the attack it made a ninety-degree turn to his left and returned to the bushes, three seconds.

This was just perfect, the creature didn't stick around for consecutive attacks instead opted for vicious potshots, so unless he gained the ability to read the future in the next ten seconds he was probably going to lose this fight. Unfortunately, for him predicting the future was not so easily acquired by merely wishing for it. To make matters worse this cat wasn't repeating any attacks so trying to analyze movements was just a waste of his time and mental skills. To add to the situation the attacks seemed to be coming faster, the cat had figured out how long it took him to recover and was going to exploit this flaw to finally get its prey.

The bushes to Draxtons rear right exploded with the cats latest attack, the attacks were getting so frequent Draxton had stopped trying to keep facing it as it was only wasting his energy, he was fortunately able to roll to his right to avoid the worst of the attack but was still grazed in his upper left arm as the beast flew past when he got back to his feet he was met with the cat hurtling towards him from a tree to gain a higher angle of attack. again he was not quick enough to dodge the strike but this time he sustained four deep lacerations down his right arm as he tried to duck to the left.

Again, the cat returned to the underbrush, as fast as Draxton could he took out a blood vial and stuck himself to start the healing process. That last attack, he had seen it before, it was the same attack it had done when he started to analyze the cats bombardments. Since that was the attack that seemed to have the most success in injuring him no doubt it was going to repeat the procedure to get the desired results, and since its subsequent attack was a more resounding success he had no doubt it would do it again, that's how he would win.

Just as he expected the cat leapt from the bushes in front of him at the same shallow angle. Instead of trying to dance around the beast's attack he rolled forward into the attack to dodge beneath it. When he got onto the other side of the cat he would need to get up almost instantly to mount his counterattack. Since trying his usual strategy for countering after an attack was hopeless he would need to intercept the attack as soon as it was launched and the two-second window he was given meant he needed to get up, turn around and at the same time prepare his attack in one fluid motion. When the cat was finally clear of him he jumped to his feet and raised his scythe above himself while turning around, if he was going to kill it he was going to make sure it learned just what it had picked a fight with.

Everyone was beyond terrified by what they had just witnessed, not only were they just in significant danger but whatever they had decided to lead back to Ponyville had just decided to stay behind to protect them and possibly get killed. Rarity was leading the charge through the forest hoping to Celestia that she was heading in the direction of the castle but the matter that they still hadn't reached it, even when running, was starting to lead to a loss of hope. Pinkie Pie was right behind Rarity, her hair betraying her feelings on the matter by having significantly deflated since they had first been attacked. Applejack had taken to the rear of the panic driven mob, not out of lack of speed but from the fact she was having to carry Rainbow Dash, and trying to keep her friend from slipping while still trying to run as fast as she possibly could was not the best recipe for leading any charges.

The friends had been running all out for the last ten minutes and the strain was starting to get to them. When they finally cleared the treeline they were met with the sight of Ponyville in front of them and Fluttershy's cottage not too far to their right. They had finally made it out of the Everfree but they were still in panic mode from what they had just been through so without a thought they instantly made a beeline for Fluttershy's cottage.
In their manic desire to get to some form of safety properly opening a door was merely a formality. Pinkie rushed ahead of Rarity and broke down the door to expedite their trip into the cottage. When the other two had made it in Pinkie slammed the door closed and quickly started to block off the door with almost all the available furniture.

“Whats going on down there, is someone in trouble,” Twilight called down, panic evident in her tone as she rushed down the stairs. When she reached the bottom she was met by the front door with everything but the kitchen sink piled in front of it and her friends in the fetal position on the other side of the room save for Rainbow Dash who was still knocked unconscious. “What happened to you girls, and where's the hunter!?”

“It was awful Twilight, we were just walking through the forest and then some mean and scary monster decided to attack us. we decided to run to try to get away but whatever it was just too fast. The angry birdie protected us for a while but then got hurt and told us to run away because he wanted to fight it alone,” Pinkie explained

“HE DID WHAT,” Twilight knew the hunter was skilled but to decide to fight a beast of the Everfree alone, in its own territory no less, was downright asking to be killed. She needed to get to him before it was too late. “what direction did you come from, I need to help him.”

“Twi, I know what y’all are thinkin but I just ain't sure any of us would be able to help that hunter,” Applejacks tone made it evident that she felt out of her league, almost exactly how Fluttershy had been feeling since she had met back up with her. Something about this human seemed to sap the hope and self-confidence from anyone he was around.

“I need to go find him, Fluttershy is upstairs caring for the timberwolf, if you one of you could go up and keep her company I would really appreciate it,” Twilight declared before teleporting away, preventing any objections from being voiced.

When Twilight reappeared as the main entrance to the Everfree she instantly took off, if anyone knew where the hunter would be it would be Zecora. She needed to hurry, Twilight didn't think the hunter would be able to win the fight alone, so if she could prevent a life form being lost she would do so.

It wasn't long before Twilight reached Zecora's hut and she couldn't have been happier to see the zebra was still at home. With a couple of overly zealous knocks, Twilight impatiently awaited for the door to open. When it finally did she was greeted with the smiling face of one of her closest friends.

“Ah, Twilight, it has been a while. I hope that your trip was not much of a trial.”

“I would love to stay and chat Zecora but I’m dealing with an emergency at the moment. Would you be able to tell me if you know where a fight would be occurring now? He was following my friends back to Ponyville be for he was attacked and told my friends to flee while he held the attacker off.”

“This seems like an important piece of information hold now while I prepare an incantation,” Zecora seemed to take on a very serious tone and proceeded to gather odds and ends for what she was planning. Every move she made looked very deliberate and thoughtful, Zecora didn't look for anything instead going right to materials in a well-practiced dance.

“I don't want to interrupt but you look like you've practiced this before, what is it?”

“What you see before you is a potion I use in meditation, it allows me to listen to the forest with the aid of translation. I look so practiced in its creation for it is a necessity in my situation,”Zecora responded as she dropped several elderberries into a goard shortly followed by some coltsfoot and fireweed.

“Is there anything you would like me to help with,” Twilight asked, it felt kind of wrong to come to Zecora and deplete her stocks just to help her find someone.

“I require a substance to break down the mix, I would appreciate it if you could grab me the bottle marked six.”

Twilight ran over to the shelves on the other side of the tree and looked for the requested bottle, she found it sitting on the middle shelf near the end. Twilight thought she would remove the cap for Zecora to help speed up the process but when she opened the bottle she was hit with the most rancid scent she could have possibly imagined. The best way to describe the horror was being thrown into a stallions locker room during a hot day after hoofball practice. She almost released the bottle from her magical grip the scent was so bad. It was at this moment she couldn't decide if she regretted or enjoyed that equines could not easily vomit.

“I can see that you wanted to increase the pace, I should inform you this is not a race,” Zecora stated with a barely contained chuckle, “What you smell before you is from the fruit of the norid though I must admit it does smell horrid. It is the only fruit I have found that has enough acid to not render the ingredients entirely placid.”

Twilight eagerly handed over the bottle to Zecora and bolted to the front door, she needed to get some fresh air because there was no way she was going to stay in the room any long as that bottle remained open. when she got outside she took a deep breath and leaned against a nearby tree for support. when Zecora finally finished with her concoction she stepped outside and motioned for her to follow her deeper into the forest. The two finally stopped in front of a tree in the middle of a small glade. The tree's roots seemed to initially come out of the ground before swiftly diving straight back down. Zecora put the potion she had been carrying down before motioning for Twilight to stand back slightly.

“Let me look to the forest and call for its knowledge, let us just hope that my call is acknowledged,” Zecora stated picking up the potion, taking out the stopper, and dropping a portion of the potion onto an exposed root and drinking the remainder. She then placed a hoof on the tree and closed her eyes in concentration, trying to reach out to the pulse of the forest and receive an answer to help her friend in her pursuit. The forests response hit her far faster than it had ever in the past, flooding her mind with the life auras of the forest, but what the forest specifically showed her was a dome, a dome of pure black greater than any she had ever seen. Usually, when a creature died naturally or was killed by a hunt the body would turn black to the forests eyes and leek off some shadow but nothing natural could have caused this. The only reason she could come up with for why the area was a void of death was something within it fed off the energy of death, consuming the darkness to empower itself. She could only make out two very faint lights in the darkness, one barely being visible most likely on the verge of death. Unfortunately, neither light showed what individual it represented so Zecora could not tell if Twilight's friend was the one on the verge of death or worse yet, the killer. Zecora suddenly became very pale, “The forest has responded and its answer has taken my breath, your friend is surrounded by the aura of death. I wish not to worry you as to your friends fate but I fear it might be too late.”

“That's not possible, where is he, I need to get there immediately.”

Zecora solemnly pointed to her left and Twilight instantly took off, she needed to see what had happened and if she could help him however she could.

She had been running for what seemed like an hour before she started to smell a musty scent in the air, at first, she wrote it off as an unknown plant in the forest until her palate started to taste like she had been sucking on a bit of metal. She couldn’t tell what it was until memories of watching open heart surgery flooded into her mind. Now she remembered exactly what it was, blood, and judging by the strength it was fresh. Twilight cast a spell to dampen her sense of smell and frantically started to search for the human.

It didn't take long to find where the smell of blood was coming from, Twilight almost ran right past a small open patch of the forest when she saw a large hairy creature lying near the middle. It took her a second to recognize it but when she did it was as if a wendigo had materialized on top of her. The animal before her was a Bladenboro beast, one of the fastest and most dangerous creatures to roam Equestria. The species was responsible for at least four deaths a year. The problem was so bad, in areas known to have one they required travelers to be accompanied by armed guards. She was about to slowly creep away until an all too familiar voice broke the silence

“I take it you didn't find your friend.”

Twilight snapped her head in the direction the voice had come from and was greeted by the human sitting under a tree in front of the beast smoking a cigaret. Twilight ran towards the hunter to check how hurt he was but just as she was about to reach him she heard quiet whimpers come from the beast.

She looked over to the beast and saw that she had missed something on her initial evaluation of the creature. She now saw a large stick ending in a piece of metal coming out of the beast's body. The hunter hadn’t yet killed the beast and had left it to suffer for Celestia knows how long. But the worst part was the face of the creature was currently wearing, the same face she had seen on the injured wolf, one of utter devastation and dread. The beast didn't look like the fearsome persona she had come to read about, instead, it looked like one of the orphaned bunnies Fluttershy had taken in months ago, scared beyond belief and begging for help.

Twilight had to turn away, the pain of looking at the creature in front of her. “ Why are you just sitting there, couldn't you have just killed it, can't you see it's suffering,” Twilight hated fact but she understood that many beings such as griffins were biologically required to eat meat and if this human was like them it wasn't right for her to try to make him feel bad about something he couldn't control but leaving an animal to suffer was another matter entirely.

“Don't worry, when I pull my blade out it will die. I had been hoping to hit his heart but I was only able to puncture a lung, I’m getting sloppy,” the human responded apathetically, as if he was describing how to maintain a garden when half asleep, “It should die of asphyxiation in minutes once it's blood floods the lung.”

His last sentence struck a nerve in Twilight, she looked straight into his blood red eye, furrowing her brow, trying with all her might to not outright explode in his face, “How is that any better, he still has to suffer a painful death for no reason,” she demanded almost shouting at the hunter. There was no way anything could be this cruel and flippant to another's misery.

The hunter didn't say anything, instead, he tossed his cigaret off to his right and stood up from against the tree and proceeded to the beast and crouched down. The hunter then put one hand on the creature's neck just behind the head and one hand on the creatures bottom jaw. Twilight was taken aback by what she was witnessing before she observed the most gruesome thing she could have possibly imagined. The hunter in one forceful move started to twist the creature's head at an unnatural angle before pops started to occur. Each pop was moist and uneven, almost like a group of fillies had started to trot on dried leafs whilst taking a bundle of sticks all at once. These pops leading to the most sickening crack she had ever heard, it was as if somepony had taken a bite out of a potato chip, only one made out of bone and sinew. The hunter had just snapped this creature's neck with all the care as one might expect someone to fold the laundry.

The hunter stood up, placed his foot on the creature's corpse next to the weapon and pulled it out. When the hunter had fully removed his weapon Twilight noticed it was the pony sized blade she had seen back at the hunter's home only it had been attached to a long misshapen pole. It registered in the back of Twilight's mind that the force to drive a blade that big up to the hilt was insane, a feat she didn't think many minotaurs could even accomplish, but that wasn't what was occupying the majority of her thoughts at the moment. What she was currently trying to come to terms with was the fact she had just witnessed a being she had trusted to bring back to Ponyville kill a creature so apathetically.

“There, it's dead and no longer suffering. Now if you don't mind I’m going to follow the path you friends took out of here, I hate forests.”
It took a few seconds for Twilight to break out of her shock and register what he had just said and turn to follow, but as she turned she just caught a glimpse at what she thought were tears on the Bladenboro beast's muzzle underneath its vacant lifeless eyes.

The walk back to Ponyville was silent and uneventful, Twilight had thought it was safe to lower her scent spell before but once she did the memories of the glade rushed back to her and she needed to recast the spell immediately. What was she going to do, she couldn't bring the hunter into Ponyville, and if she didn't keep him away from Fluttershy's cottage…

“Oof.” Twilight hadn't been paying attention and had walked straight into the hunter.

“I take it this was the town you were speaking of,” the hunter stated looking straight at the center of town,”I’m wondering why your friends went to the house over there instead of going into the town proper.”

“That's Fluttershy's house, the friend I went back to grab,” Twilight responded almost reflexively before turning pale, how did he know where her friends were at without him seeing them go in there. She needed to stop him if he planned to follow them to the cottage.

“I think it would be best if I took you to my house for the night. If it's alright with you I would prefer it if I teleported us there.” The hunter didn't initially respond to her and it took several seconds, thou to Twilight it felt like minutes, for her to finally get a reply.

“Sounds decent enough”

Twilight internally sighed with relief, one less thing to worry about. As she was preparing to cast her spell she saw the hunter kneel down, lower his head and place his hand on her shoulder. His touch sent shivers down her spine, every instinct she had was telling her to run as far and as fast away from here as she could, who knows how many he had killed with those hands, whos and whats blood was currently being placed on her. She wanted that hand off her immediately so as fast as she could she cast the spell to teleport them to the front hallway.
When they arrived Twilight felt unexplainably relieved to have the hunter remove his hand and stand back up. she needed to write a letter to Celestia immediately but not before she had the hunter isolated to a room.

“Your room should be up the stairs, to the left and the last room on the right,” Twilight told the hunter in a barely controlled mania, she would not start her paper until she knew where her visitor would be so when she followed him upstairs and turned right to her room she just couldn't take her eyes off the hunter, watching as he slowly made his way the guest room that she usually reserved for visiting dignitaries. When he finally opened the door and went in she threw open her own door and bolted inside.
Twilight quickly grabbed a quill, a jar of ink, and a piece of parchment and furiously started to compose her letter to Celestia.
Dear Celestia,
I have just come back from my exploration into the disturbance in the Everfree and have discovered that the anomaly was coming from an old cemetery, but this was not the most significant discovery. A species that has never been recorded calling itself a human was living in the cemetery. I had originally thought that it would be pertinent to bring him back to Ponyville but I have recently discovered that the human is a trained killer, far more adept at the craft than any that have been recorded. I am currently housing him in my castle for fear of what he might do alone given that he had learned of Ponyville's whereabouts when I asked him to accompany our group back. I would ask that you and your sister come here to Ponyville as soon as possible to help in this matter.
Sincerely,
Twilight

With the letter completed Twilight grabbed the parchment, rolled it up and sealed it with her usual ribbon. she then hurried downstairs and to the map room, Spike usually decided to read his comics or watch hoofball whenever she was out. When she finally got to the door and more or less slammed it open she was relieved to see she wasn't wrong about her assistant.

Spike who had been lying in his chair reading a comic sat bolt upright, tensing up like every muscle had suddenly been pulled taut, almost ripping the book from the shock of the door nearly being ripped off its hinges. When he placed his book down and looked over to see who had barged in he was greeted by a sealed parchment in his face.

“I need you to sent this to Celestia Spike, it's important she gets this post hast,” Twilight barked out

“Twilight what's the matter, I thought you were over at Fluttershy's’. By the way, none of your friends have come back yet,” Spike replied, worried for Twilight, he hadn't seen her this stressed in a long time, it was like since the gowrow incident several years back.

“Everyone's already at the cottage, I just need this letter sent, could you please just do that”

“Alright Twilight, you don't need to snap at me,” Spike replied defensively, breathing out his usual green flame to send the letter after the letter had completely disintegrated Spike felt like he could finally talk, “Twilight whatever the problem is I can help, you kn-” a burp interrupted Spike as a letter had been sent back to Twilight who grabbed it as fast as she could and began to read it.
My Dearest Twilight,
I regret to inform you that Luna and I have been summoned to the Zebra Nations in regards to the disturbance in the Everfree. Apparently the anomaly has been felt by their great shamans and they have requested to know what we know on the matter. I have instructed one of my trusted assistants to send me any mail that pertains to the matter when they receive it, this means that this letter was made before my departure and is not a direct response. If you require immediate help please inform your brother on the matter and ask for his assistance.
Sincerely.
Celestia

Twilight felt like she had just been given a report card saying she had failed. The Zebra Nations were seventeen hours away from Equestria when flying so she would have to wait for at least two days. What am I going to do with the hunter for two days, there is no way she will be able to keep her sanity for several days with what she knew about who she was housing. She hadn't even considered Spikes safety yet, as long as she had that hunter in her home Spike needed to know what was going on.

“Spike, whatever you do not go near the guest bedroom,I brought something extremely dangerous into the castle and I’m not sure how safe it is to be around,” Twilight said with as much seriousness as she could convey as she grabbed Spike in her magic and looked him dead in the eyes.

“Alright Twilight, I promise, but if it's really so dangerous why did you leave it in an unlocked room,” Spike inquired, it didn't seem like Twilight to gloss over such an important detail.

Spike was instantly dropped onto his tail as Twilight went rushing to the guest room. How had she been so careless, she had left the hunter unattended without locking the door what if he had left the room and went to terrorize the town and hack up the school ponies. When she reached the top of the stairs and finally got to the end of the hall she saw that the door to the room had been closed, maybe she was to late and had missed the start of the genocide he was about to unleash. So, feeling like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on her she slowly opened the door. What met her gaze when she cracked the door open was the hunter sitting on the bed writing in what looked like a small journal. The relief that Twilight felt at that moment was unimaginable, the hunter was simply sitting on a bed writing, nothing she wouldn't be doing given the current situation.

Twilight walked away from the room and back to Spike, maybe she had been overreacting and overestimating the danger the hunter posed. She felt exhausted, the Grand Equestria Pony Summit had nothing on the amount of stress she had gone through today. All Twilight wanted to do was head to her room and pass out but she had been away from Spike for most of the day and it didn't seem right of her to just come home, yell at him, scare him possible to death of what was going on, and then just go to sleep; besides, he was probably going to stay up till sunset before heading to bed.

“It was just a false alarm, I may have just been overreacting,” Twilight yawned out as she entered the map room, Spike for his part looked relieved before resuming a look of concern.

“Shouldn't you be in bed Twi? You look like you just you haven't slept in days,” Spike wasn't a fan of when Twilight put herself through the ringer to keep ponies safe, it wasn't particularly good for either of their bills of health.

“I’ll be fine Spike. I don't want to leave you alone when the sun's still out, I haven’t been spending enough time with you lately and me leaving you alone for most of the day and panicking you when I come back doesn't seem very fair.”

“Twi, it's been sundown for some time now, you’ve been gone ALL day” Spike was now very worried, Twilight only lost track of time like this when she was involved in something she had a great interest in or when she went full panic mode, “Twilight you just go to bed and I’ll be up when I put my comics away.”

Spike was right as he usually was when it came to her well being. So with the energy she had left she walked back up to her room and collapsed on her bed, barely bothering with the covers. With how this day had turned out, she was hoping that Luna would grant her with a good dream in a library so she could get this day behind her.

Author's Notes:

I give up. I've been trying to get this thru editing for the last month but with no headway, so fuck it, here's the chapter warts and all. If the last half of the chapter seems rough that's because it hasn't been edited.