Vick woke up in a cold sweat, as she usually did when she pulled all-nighters at the club. It was her night off, she had been taking many nights off work since that man appeared at her workplace. If it wasn’t for that old unicorn packing heat things probably would’ve ended up worse for her that night. After using her blanket to wipe the sweat from her brow, Vick would then toss her sheets aside and pull herself out of bed, stretching her arms and her wings before heading out of her room to start her day.

After brushing her teeth and showering, she throws together some breakfast for both her and her cousin, who usually comes home during the day since they work night shifts. She sets her cousin’s helping of breakfast in the microwave before sitting down at the living room couch, eating while she figured out the schedule for today.

As she ate, she remembered the card that old unicorn gave her. She digs around in her purse for a few minutes before finally managing to find the card. She studies the card closely, clasping her fingertips to the edge of the laminated paper while she read the contents.

“Riley’s Lounge, located on Cherry St., South of the Hayland Mall.” She muttered softly, reading the address aloud to herself, taking pause to take a bite out of her toast. She never really thought to look into community centers until that old unicorn guy suggested this one to her. She never truly believed in the whole ‘charitable hospitality’ shtick that most alleged do-gooders like to pat themselves on the back for. If a serious individual such as the grizzled stallion that saved her hide that night suggested the place to her, then it must be at least somewhat legit.

Vick wolfs down the rest of her lunch while watching TV idly, washing her breakfast down with some milk before taking off out of the house. Before leaving her doorstep, she makes sure to look around cautiously, she lets out a startled yip when she spots her cousin sitting on the front porch smoking a cigarette.

“Mornin’ Vi.” Elly says, giving a tired wave as she drags on her cancer stick.

“Ah, hey El. Didn’t see ya there.” Vick greeted, smiling awkwardly as Elly snorted.

“Where you heading off to this early?” Elly asks, pinching her cigarette between her fingers while she exhaled fluid streams of smoke from her nostrils.

“...A friend told me about someplace, a hang out spot and I wanted to look into it.” Vick explains. Elly stares at her for a few moments, sucking her teeth before shrugging.

“Alright, I’ll be asleep, but if you need anything just shoot me a call and I’ll keep my phone’s volume up.” Elly says with a shrug.

“Cool. Your breakfast is in the microwave, I’ll be back later.” Vick says, giving Elly a wave as she in turn gave a wave back, watching as Vick walked off down the sidewalk closer toward the center of town.

It took her about twenty or so minutes to walk to the mall from where she lived, during that time she’d spot a familiar looking giant human. Walter is walking the same direction as her a little further ahead on the sidewalk across the road from the one Vick is on. Last time she saw him, he was sweating bullets in a crowd of intoxicated gyrating ponies, didn’t seem to be having as much fun as everybody else.

Normally, Vick doesn’t pay a second thought toward people she meets at work, often times they’re usually sleazy drunks or mares who like to complain about their coltfriends and how much of a bitch their mother is. But this human was different, in many ways. For instance, this ex-legionnaire seems to have garnered the interest of him. Vick didn’t know much about that sadistic blonde man, aside from the fact that he’s the Boogeyman working under the thumb of the nobility. Intimidation, assault, kidnapping, rape… Nothing is beyond this monster’s manner of working, this is something Vick was unfortunate enough to learn on a first hand experience.

About two weeks before she met Walter at the club, Vick left work early since the club needed to be closed down for maintenance. When she got home she was attacked by a man in a white mask. Her cousin had been beaten unconscious and tied up in her bedroom closet. The Boogeyman took his time with Vick… He cut away her clothes, choked her, abused her, used her like his own personal plaything. The more she cried or screamed, the harder he would go at it. It seems that the ‘favorite’ of all her siblings, her younger brother, had incurred a vast collection of debt, and took out a loan under her name. The Boogeyman had come to collect from her, but was left disappointed when he didn’t get the results he desired… So he took it out on Vick.

Before her first meeting with Walter at that club, the Boogeyman had approached her once again.In return for not harming her family any further than he has already, the Boogeyman wanted her to interact with a certain young herculean human man. He wanted her to instill some sort of urgency to find employment, most likely because whoever he’s working for has a raging boner for this overgrown kid for some reason. He’s a big dude, that’s no doubt. As far as she knew he was only ever just a common soldier. Sure military training is far more brutal in the Kingdoms, but as to why a noble of any sort would use the Boogeyman for such cloak-and-dagger methods is what confused her.

“Is there more to him than meets the eye?” Vick mumbles to herself, staring him down as he walks, keeping sure that she stays out of his peripherals. Walter doesn’t seem like a bad person by any means, she doubts he would be the kind of guy who would throw all his morals out for money, a far cry from the kind of man that Boogeyman is.

Vick couldn’t help but notice that she wasn’t the only one eyeing Walter from afar. She decides to stop at a newspaper dispenser near a bus station, kneeling down and pretending to be digging around for a newspaper as the other onlooker walks by. It’s him, the old unicorn from the club. She never caught his name, all she knows is that he means some serious business to always be packing heat, let alone brandishing his piece to a creep like the Boogeyman. The old unicorn’s interest in Walter piqued Vick’s curiosity even further now. With all these intimidating parties focusing their interest on one overgrown child soldier, it proved to be more conspicuous than either party probably intended. At least for those involved.

She continued on her way after giving some space between her and the unicorn, just to be cautious she followed her original route from a parallel road separated by buildings just so she’d be able to continue on toward her destination without alerting the old stallion. Not like she had a reason to be wary of alerting him, just didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. Then again following his subject of interest and shrouding her presence probably didn’t say anything good about her image either but that’s not a matter she planned on dwelling on any longer than she should.

A bit of surprise touched her thoughts as she saw Walter approach the community center she just so happened to be going to as well. Seems like a coincidence, since fifteen minutes after he arrived he began helping a few other volunteers with unloading a truck full of supplies. One of these volunteers just so happened to be the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy. She’d expect a pony like Fluttershy to volunteer, what has Vick curious though is the reason Walter is there, and why Fluttershy seems to know him rather well.

Once everybody seems to head inside, along with that huge hairy guy with the funky mustache and ugly Hawaiian shirt, Vick hesitantly made her approach to the community center, peering around. Something she took quick notice of, was that there were very few ponies of common race occupying the center. Mostly thestrals and a small handful of various non-pony races. The kind of folk society often don’t take kindly towards seemed to be the main populace of the center, which seemed more like somebody renovated an office building and transformed it into generously sized home. She pondered upon the thought of comparing this place to a mansion, but it was nowhere near as high-end or fancy, neither was it shoddy or decrepit. The interior of the building gave off a rather warm atmosphere, unlike most public places she attends to, she felt like she belonged here, which would explain the rather interesting crowd of folk that inhabit the place.

Seems like she would have to wait until they were done working for her to meet this Reynolds fellow, and so she took her time to explore the place a little. Seems the place was rather large, larger than she thought. He didn’t rent out a part of an office building, no, he bought the whole damn place and made it into a sanctuary. First floor had two kitchens, four bathrooms, an entertainment room, a daycare center, an exercise room and an indoor pool. Second and third floor are somewhat the same, minus the pool and exercise room, but the further up she went the more she saw living quarters.

The roof had a large garden with a few chickens and pigs. A group of thestral mares were learning how to farm and tend to livestock with an elderly thestral stallion teaching them the dos and don’ts. Vick observed the group with mild curiosity before turning her attention toward a peculiar smell coming from the small courtyard located near the rear of the building. It wasn’t an unpleasant odor, but rather a delicious smell of meats and veggies roasting over a grill.

Taking a curious glance over the fenced edge of the building, she sees a growing gathering of folks, including Walter and that Fluttershy. Walter seemed… Off, very off. His face was quite hard to read, but the look on his face made it seemed like he was bottling something in. At first glance the average person wouldn’t be able to distinguish his expression as nothing less than being stoic and reserved, but towards people with hard history it was easier to recognize one of their own. Vick didn’t seem to be the only one who noticed this, despite his best efforts, many of folk took notice to the tension in the air surrounding the human man. Fluttershy and Reynolds being two examples. After observing the spectacle for a few scant moments, Vick draws in a breath and passes an exhale through her nostrils, collecting herself before descending down the stairs.

Vick had another giant human man to worry about, one with freaky facial hair and a bad taste in Hawaiian shirts.

“Walter, is everything alright?” Fluttershy asks, drawing my eyes up from my meal, of which I’ve been poking at idly with a fork for the past ten minutes, meeting her concerned gaze with my aimless grimace, which died off rather quickly once her and I locked eyes. “You seem a bit… Off.”

“I’m… It’s not that big of a deal.” I sighed, deciding I should eat so the meal was not wasted. I’d began to idly toss bits of food into my mouth while occasionally glancing over at Fluttershy, who always met me with a concerned stare that seemed to bore into me like a drill. I’m about halfway through my meal when the intensity from her stare had grew to become more unbearable than I thought, so I whip my eyes to her, offering my full attention once again.

“I’m worried, Walter. You look… Spooked. What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked, her voice soft and tender to the ears. Each word she spoke felt like hot flames to a glacier. She didn’t have to melt the whole thing, just melt a path big enough for her to pass through. I gave pause for a few moments before shaking my head.

“Memories. Bad ones. Don’t want to talk about it.” I defended, being honest but still holding my ground stubbornly, or at least that’s what I thought. What I seemed to have forgotten is that Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness. On the surface she seems like your average mare, but she holds power just like the rest of the girls we both live with. I’ve been hanging out with them for a while so I tend to forget who they are, especially now since whatever mystical power she has seems to be gnawing away at my mental fortitude.

“I can’t force you to talk Walter. But holding in something that hurts isn’t beneficial for your health. Might as well be reopening a wound every time it begins to heal.” Fluttershy says, gently resting her hand on my knee. I stare at her hand quietly, my emotions gnawing at my walls more effectively than I’d prefer them to.

I cast Fluttershy one last detached stare before standing up, her concerned teal eyes following my movement. “I should probably get going. I have to pick up some gear for tomorrow.” I explain as I wolf down the rest of my meal before scraping what remained into a nearby trash bin along with the disposable paper plate and eating utensils.

“What’s happening tomorrow?” Fluttershy asked, standing up as well, following me as I began to walk my way out, the small pegasus mare stepping quickly in pace beside me to keep up. I pay her a brief glance as she follows me, returning my eyes forward as I reach the front entrance of the building after walking around the small grassy alleyway between this building and the one next to it.

“Work. Applejack offered me part time at her family’s farm. Figured I’d start working, so I’m not just leeching off anybody.” I say, giving pause once we reach the building’s front entrance. “I gotta go buy some clothes for the job, or at least a few sets I can use so my regular clothes don’t get raggedy.”

“Ah, I see... “ Fluttershy says, almost failing to hide the disappointment in her voice, chewing on her thumb absentmindedly while shifting her gaze off to the side in thought. She gives pause for a moment, before staring up at me with conflicted eyes.

“What’s up?” I asked, noticing the shift in her tone and body language.

“It… I um… I…” She struggled with her words for a moment, her face turning red little by little until she glances up, swallowing nervously as her eyes met mine. “W-What’s your phone number? I-In case you need something, you could c-call me?” she offers with a timid smile, suppressing her urge to hide behind her mane.

This was rather odd, considering how Fluttershy has always been very calm and collected, at least most of the time she has been since I met her. I know she has come quite far from her past of social anxiety issues and introvercial habits. Then it hit me, like a truck crashing through the wall that is my oblivious brain, the realization that Fluttershy is asking for my phone number, which has some pretty interesting implications given the fact that she’s acting all fidgety about it. My cheeks heat up a bit, my simpleton mind only left with aimless assumptions that made communicating for the next few seconds rather difficult. Giving myself a mental slap on the face, I clear my throat and fix my eyes to Fluttershy, who seems just as kindled by her question as I am. I open my mouth as if to speak, but no words seem to escape me. I fish around in my pocket, pulling out my phone. Once pulling up my number, I shift my eyes to the mare, staring at her expectantly..

“...Oh!” Fluttershy gasps softly, offering yet another sheepish grin as she fumbled around her purse for a few seconds before her hand emerges successfully with her phone in tow. I ramble off my numbers to her in a gentle tone, her lips curving upwards once she had my digits saved into her contacts.

“Flutters?” I spoke up, breaking the pause of silence between us. Fluttershy breaks her eyes away from her phone, glancing up at me, her cheeks still a bit heated. “Thank you…” I say, offering a mirthful smile to the pegasus, who in turn beamed up at me with hopeful eyes.

“O-Of course, Walter.” Fluttershy nodded coyly, her eyes suddenly becoming very interested in the ground. Without realizing it, I brought my hand up and rested it on her head, gently patting her head for a few moments. I retract my hand once I noticed how Fluttershy’s eyes were practically glowing at me, watching me intently through the entirety of my subconscious head patting. Feeling embarrassed I pull my hand away slowly, tucking it into my pocket while Fluttershy twirled some of her mane around in her finger.

“C-Can I call you tomorrow?” Fluttershy would ask, breaking the awkward silence that would seem to consume the air around us more often than either of us probably liked.

“Oh, uh… Sure. Shoot me a text real quick though so I have your number saved.” I mentioned, Fluttershy tapped on her phone for a few moments before mine gave off a vibrating hum. Glancing at it, Fluttershy had sent me a smiley emoji. Grinning slightly, I saved her number to my contacts before glancing back up at her. “Are you gonna head home?”

“Oh, well I figured I’d stay behind and help out a little while longer. If you need me for anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to let me know. When you’re ready, you know how to get a hold of me.” Fluttershy says, giving my hand a small squeeze with her gentle grasp.

With that, Fluttershy returned to the crowd while I watched her in silence. I’ll never be ready to tell her. I haven’t even told my own family yet. I’ve never talked about what happened during the Forest Operation, and I probably won’t for a while. I cast the thought of my unwelcome memories aside as I make my way out into the streets, heading further into town. I needed to grab some better gear for Applejack’s farm tomorrow, plus some casual shopping should help me get my mind off things.

“Vick, was it?” Reynolds spoke up, approaching the thestral while she timidly picked at her food on the far edge of the cookout, observing people quietly while she waited for Reynolds to fulfill his duties at the grill. Once he was done and had approached her, she sits up a little, shifting her slitted eyes his direction, her general body language speaking diffident volumes. “Would you like to go somewhere more private?” he asks, sensing the tone of her overall atmosphere.

“Hm… Sure.” she shrugged, standing up, bringing her plate with her as Reynolds lead her inside.

The human brought her to a office with large windows and plenty of light bleeding in, it was a six by six meter room with various lax appliances, rather than an office it looked more like a private entertainment room of some sort.

He sits on a bean bag chair, pulling one up in front of him, gesturing for her to take a seat as well. She pays him a deadpan gaze before taking a seat in front of him, adjusting herself to where she was comfortable on the bean bag.

“Before we explore our intentions through hit or miss inquisitions, would you by chance like to ask a few questions?” Reynolds started, leaning back in his seat, offering a friendly smile to the seemingly apprehensive thestral.

“...Who are you? I mean, I know your name and all… But how come this is the first time I heard about you and this place of yours? It’s like it just appeared out of nowhere, and with as many misfits as I’ve seen here I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of it the second I moved to Ponyville.” Vick explains as she crosses her arms, staring at the large human man studiously, subconsciously staring at his freakishly thick facial hair.

“Hmm… How to put this simply,” Reynolds paused, tapping his chin. “Call it a precaution, or rather, ensuring the safety of those I take in.” Reynolds explains, scratching under his chin now. “Only those who personally know me and have my willful consent to share my information can send others my way.” he says, seeming to still be searching for simple ways to explain himself.

“...What do you mean? Only people who know you personally can bring people here?” Vick inquired, raising a suspicious brow Reynolds’ way.

“I know it sounds silly, but it’s the truth. Sometimes my patients have undesirable individuals who don’t respect their wishes to be left alone. Often times most legal or reasonable means of keeping a harassing person of suspicion at bay aren’t as… Fruitful as we hope them to be. And so, the best nonviolent way for me to assure the safety of my clients is to… Work a bit of illusion into my defenses.” Reynolds explains, earning a growing look of confusion and curiosity from Vick.

“Illusion? You mean magic?” Vick stared at Reynolds skeptically, tapping her bicep with her right hand forefinger.

“Well if it helps you understand the concept better, then yes. It’s magic.” Reynolds nodded, offering a small grin.

“...Wait, are you serious? Magic? But how?” Vick sat up in her seat, her eyes locked onto Reynolds studiously as she earnestly tried to read both his visage and body language for any sign of deceit.

“My little pony, you don’t think ponies are the only ones out there capable of taming magic and the mana that fuels it, do you?” Reynolds smiles warmly, earning a very disconcerted gaze from Vick. “Do not worry, this is not a guarded secret. The princesses are aware of my presence and capabilities, as well as all of those the diarchs deem deserving of such information.” Reynolds says, lifting up his formerly closed palm, revealing an ice cold can of cola. “Thirsty?” he asked, offering her the beverage he seemed to have materialized out of thin air.

“I’m… I’m good. Once again… Who are you? You kinda told me what you can do and stuff that I don’t… I don’t know how to wrap my head around well enough, but that still doesn’t tell me who you are… Or rather, what you are.” Vick responded, holding her hand up dismissively toward the refreshment.

Reynolds gave a shrug, opening the can up, popping a straw, that also seemed to have materialized from thin air, into the opened can, sipping it’s chilled contents leisurely while listening to the thestral speak.

“Well if I told you what I thought I was then I’d kind of sound pretentious.” he says with a shrug, “I am capable of some stuff most humans aren’t. The reason why I’m not confined to a permanent residency somewhere on government owned property away from any major populace is because Lulu and Tia trust me, me and them go waaay back.” Reynolds sighs nostalgically while scratching at his beard.

“...Right, uh… Still kinda vague there.” Vick mumbled.

“...Hmm,” Reynolds hummed for a few moments, thoughtfully considering his words before speaking up again. “I am human, yet at the same time I am not. I hold power and abilities scant few others are gifted with, yet I am also an average man. I am very old, yet I am also very young. I am many things, yet I am nothing.” he rambles on, pausing for a moment before clearing his throat. “Best thing I can tell ya is that I’m just Riley Reynolds. I am my own entity. It’s better that you see it like that. As cryptic as it may seem, that’s the best way I can word it.” he explains while vick just stares at him blankly.

“...You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?” Vick muttered.

“Yes. Yes I am.” Reynolds replied with a cheeky grin. “Not joking about Tia or Lulu though, I’ve known them since I was a boy. I had them place passive illusion spells on me and my property. For the protection of my patients of course.” he chuckles softly while Vick continues to stare at him intensely.

“Right… Well, why are you doing this? Helping people like this I mean? It seems like you do so much without much to gain from it… It’s admirable, but, it has to take some sort of toll. Why go through with it?” Vick inquired.

“Because nobody helped me. At least, not until I met Tia and Lulu.” Reynolds says, taking pause to take another sip of his refreshment, which he must have been hiding behind the beanbag chair he sat on, along with the straw. “I was alone. Everybody looked the other way. I suffered in silence for most of my prepubescent years.” he trailed off, tapping his finger on the aluminium ridge on the top of the can.

“...What happened? I-If you don’t mind my asking…” Vick inquired, relenting to her curiosity, despite the pit forming at the bottom of her stomach.

“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours afterwards.” Riley offered with a smile.

“S-Sure, it’s a deal.”

“...My family was killed in an incident. Money, power, prejudice, not sure why but somebody decided that my mom, dad, and siblings didn’t deserve to live anymore. It was a group of’em, can’t remember much since I was really little back then, I managed to survive because I was locked in the attic, hiding under boxes and other shit to come off as invisible as possible. By the time the police arrived my mother and sisters had been handled like Clockwork Orange with a touch of Ted Bundy. My dad killed a few, but he bled out long before help arrived.” Reynolds paused, speaking with a chilling calm, pausing to take a sip of his drink.

“...By the makers.” Vick uttered just barely above a whisper, staring at Reynolds with concern and empathy in her eyes.

“Bounced around a lot between foster care facilities. Most of the homes I was put into, things were done to me. Soon enough it was Clockwork Orange all over again, only this time I was on the receiving end of it. I ran away from my last foster home at age ten. Some of Lulu’s off-duty guards found me, brought me in… I don’t know what would allow such providence, but at the time they took me in Lulu ran into me. After that… Things got better. I learned how to carry my luggage rather than let it weigh me down… Although it never truly leaves. My scars make sure of that for me.” he says, staring blankly at nothing in particular while he spoke.

“...I came home early from work one morning to found my house got busted into. I was about to run and call for help, my phone was dead and there was no one around though.” she paused, her voice wavering, having decided to speak up just a few moments after silence consumed the room after Reynolds’ revelations. The human wrapped Vick’s smaller more petite hands with his own large meaty paw, offering a comforting smile to her. He knew knew what she was going to tell him, but she needed to say it anyways, she needed to shrug some of the weight this secret of hers carried, and Reynolds is more than willing to help carry it.

“I.. I heard some noises. I heard my cousin, I thought Elly was in trouble so I… I ran in and…” she trailed off, lowering her eyes. “Either he was just finishing up or just getting started, I couldn’t tell. Elly was scuffed up bad, her clothes torn up and bent over the kitchen table. He saw me and…” she trailed off again, squeezing Riley’s hand firmly as tears began to well up in her eyes. “I tried to fight him… I really did. I fought long and hard. I screamed for help, for somebody to come help us, but nobody came… Not even the fucking neighbors. You’d think that somebody would’ve come to help us, but no…” tears begin to roll down her reddened cheeks, soft hiccups and sobs emanating from her throat. “He raped me. Took his time making sure I felt like I was being ripped apart by a knife from the inside. Broke my nose, ripped my hair, beat me senseless while he was already tearing my insides to pieces.” she sobbed quietly, she didn’t know when it happened, but she suddenly found herself in Reynolds’ arms, being held firmly within his large firm arms, comforting her with a warm embrace. “I thought I was going to die… I was begging him not to kill me. I thought the pain was going to last forever but… He just stopped out of nowhere suddenly, like a cat that spotted something more interesting than its already ruined victim. He just… Cleaned himself up and left us there. Guards show up a few minutes later… Fucking Boogeyman.” Vick choked on her words, sniffling and shaking.

“...Boogeyman?” Reynolds speaks up quietly, listening to her closely, holding a strong yet gentle expression on his face as he brushed some stray strands of hair from her face.

“...A tall lean human man, blonde hair, red eyes, has a smile that could peel the paint off a car.Just… He doesn’t seem to be interested in leaving me or my family alone… I did what he asked, but he just… I just…” she trails off, her words lost between her choked sobs.

Recognition washes across Reynolds’ face. His once gentle and welcoming visage shifts into a sour and vigilant scowl. Staring off at nowhere in particular while he combs his thoughts, he keeps the sobbing thestral embraced in his arms as he cradles her with a strong sense of paternal care.

‘Felix Krane… Back from the dead. This is… Unfortunate. I should report this to Mom and Auntie as soon as possible. If this means what I think it means, then Ponyville is in for one hell of a storm… And Felix Krane is the thunder.’ Reynolds thought to himself as he comforted Vick for several long minutes, letting her exude herself as much as she liked. He had work to do, but like he promised himself a long time ago… His patients came first above all else… Even himself.