Midnight walked down the stairs, her coat now clean and shiny. She walked into her medical closet and began to withdraw her equipment, ensuring to read over each label carefully. She pulled out a large crate and opened it. Her old uniform graced her eyes with its pristine shine and well fitted seams. She set it down to the side as gently as she could and continued her search. After several seconds of digging, she found her medical books. Skimming through her books on the subject of surgery, she came across a book titled "Surgical Studies and Medical Practice.” She plopped the book on the ground and opened it to the correct page she had book marked many years ago.

General anesthetic dosage size/species chart

Setting the book down, Midnight scanned the room for a suitable substitute for the general anesthetic. Cursing under her breath, she realized she had none. She wasn't running a hospital after all. In fact, she could get in a lot of trouble for any of the medical supplies she had "tactically acquired" through her years as a medic. Looking over the room once more, she saw her bag of "liberated" morphine. She vaguely remembered reading a study on morphine acting as a sedative. Only about 52% of ponies it was tested on actually went to sleep, but time was running out and so were her options. The good news was that the creature was already asleep. All she had to do was keep it asleep. Returning to her book, she flipped through more pages until she arrived at the page she wanted. After five years of being a medic, she practically knew every line by heart.

Morphine dosages size/species chart

Scanning through the lines, Midnight found yet another problem. She had no idea how much the creature could take. Or if it could take any at all. As it was, she knew she had little time to worry about that, and began reading though the page. The alien was a bit larger than a full grown stallion overall, so maybe just enough to keep a stallion sedated. Then again it might be a good idea to go with less in case the morphine doesn't have the desired effect.

Finally finding a compromise in her head, Midnight grabbed enough morphine to sedate a full grown mare, along with some other supplies and threw them into a bag.

"It just has to be enough to keep it under while I work..." she thought to herself

She walked back into her guest room, and was relieved to find that the alien hadn't moved, and was still breathing. Making her way over to the bed, Midnight brought the morphine up to the IV cable and began to inject the drug into its bloodstream. As if the creature wasn't at peace already, it seemed to relax even more upon the drug entering its system. The already negligible amount of tension in its muscles faded away entirely, leaving the creature in a peaceful sleep. The faintest smile could be seen on its lips as it relaxed so completely, that the only sign of life was its slow and steady breathing.

"Ok, that has got to be the cutest face I've ever seen."

Pleased with the response, and lack of death happening in her makeshift hospital, Midnight got to work. She levitated an apron and a surgical mask out from the bag she had brought the morphine in. She didn't have a full pair of scrubs, but then again, she wasn't really a doctor either. Covering her front with the apron, and sliding the mask onto her face, she began to levitate more tools out of her bag. A scalpel, surgical shears, and a lot of surgical gauze were quickly, but neatly arranged on the desk to Midnight's right as she set to work.

An exhausted Midnight wiped the last few beads of sweat from her brow as she finished wrapping the last of the gauze on the aliens head. She tiredly turned her head to see the clock on the dresser behind her. Three hours had passed since she made her first incision. The surgery had gone very well considering the different anatomy and risks associated with working on an alien.

There was a nine inch steel rod, coated in blood, laying on a rag in the middle of the room. The alien had been incredibly lucky the rod had missed any bones, veins, or arteries. Removing the impalement had proven to be difficult, but not at all impossible. In fact, Midnight was startled by how similar the creatures body was to that of a ponies. Granted, the structure was different on just about everything, but the similarities were there for sure. Bones in the same place, tendons, muscles, even its blood was the same color. It seemed to breath oxygen, so its blood most likely functioned the exact same way as a pony's too.

"And here I thought aliens would have bright green blood or something like that, hehe..."

Midnight tiredly observed the aftermath in the room. It looked like a war zone. Blood on the bed sheets, dirt here and there, the floor littered with medical tools and bloody rags. Midnight's apron was smeared with blood across the front from when she had tried to pull the metal rod out and some blood splattered onto her. Her mane was disheveled and messy again, and her coat had many blood stains soaked into it. A lesser mare would have been queasy, or just downright sick. Midnight was used to getting dirty though. She knew that as long as the patient lived, it didn't matter if she was completely covered in blood, dirt, or anything else.

She checked on the aliens pulse again.

"Ok, that's about fifty bpm" Midnight said to herself, "By pony standards, you're doing great. I just hope it's the same for your race..."

Seeing as there was nothing more she could do, Midnight retrieved her supplies and rags. Once she had all of her equipment in her magic aura, she left the room, careful not to disturb the sleeping form of the alien on her way out.

Midnight made her way to the back door of the house. Quickly looking both ways in case of any spying eyes, she moved to the trash can and threw the used medical supplies away. She made sure to wrap her bloodied apron and mask together in the bag to create the most compact form possible before pushing it to the very bottom of the trash can, under the rest of the trash.

With the evidence now disposed of, Midnight proceeded back inside, making sure to lock the door behind her. No such thing as being too careful when you have a secret as big as an alien in your house. Walking back towards the guest room, Midnight passed a mirror and stopped in her tracks. She looked like she had been through the meat grinder. A few times. Tired bags under her eyes reminded her that she hadn't slept in over twenty four hours. Coming to this sudden realization, Midnight decided it was time for one more shower, and then some well deserved rest.

Midnight began the slow trek up the stairs to her not so unused shower and warm, cozy bed. The sheets were silk. Soft as a newborn foals flanks. She always made an effort to keep her bed clean and soft. Sleep was her favorite part of the day after all.

Each step felt like a monstrous feat. Midnight's tired legs protested the whole way up, ignoring her promises of "Just a few more steps." Finally, she reached the top of the mountainous elevation and tiredly entered her bathroom. Finding herself too exhausted to care about using a clean towel, Midnight simply levitated her pre-used towel from the laundry hamper in the next room and brought it to the bathroom, the ocean blue glow creating the only light in the dark hallway. Midnight ordinarily wouldn't shower in the dark, but in her tired state, she just couldn't bring herself to care.

Setting the towel down on the counter, she willed her shaky legs into the shower and turned the water on. Midnight rotated the knob until the water was hot, and rested her head against the tile wall while the hot water rinsed her coat clean of the foreign blood. The half dried life fluid slowly seeped down her coat as the water wicked it away. A metallic smell filled the damp air and the clear running water under her hooves turned a sickly crimson.

Leaning her head back, Midnight slightly winced as the steaming hot water poured onto her face and permeated through her mane. She could feel the events of the last three hours wash away from her body. The sweat, the blood, the stress, they disintegrated under the scalding waterfall descending on her fatigued form.

After ten minutes of simply enjoying the relaxing water, Midnight started to doze off. Leaning to one side, she closed her tired eyes, and the soft pitter-patter of the falling water tried to lull Midnight to sleep. Unfortunately, ponies are not meant to sleep standing up. Midnight teetered to the side far enough to completely fall over. A surprised yelp escaped her mouth as she reached for anything to slow her descent, finding only the shower curtain there to offer support in her time of need. Fate, unfortunately had cruel intentions for the poor unicorn mare, and the shower curtain ripped in half under her weight as she fell out of the shower. Gravity dropped her unceremoniously onto her side, and the shower curtain lazily fell on top her her tired form a second later.

"Ugh..." Midnight groaned

Slowly removing the torn shower curtain from herself, Midnight rose to her hooves and checked the damage. All the hooks keeping the shower curtain hanging had been ripped through the waterproof material. Midnight sighed and added "buy a new shower curtain" to her mental checklist for later.

Feeling sleep tugging at her mind once more, Midnight reached into the shower and turned the water off. Turning on her hooves, she grabbed the still slightly damp towel off of the counter and began drying herself. After she removed as much of the water from her coat as she could, Midnight shook the rest of the water off of her like a dog having just received a much unwanted bath. Water droplets flew in every direction and the once neat bathroom now looked like a war zone for an army equipped with super soakers. Finally feeling dry again, or at least not very damp, Midnight walked out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. She didn't bother to turn on any lights along the way. She wouldn't need them where she was going.

Finding her bed in the dark, Midnight slid her hoof along its satin silk sheets, and let out a small sigh. She was going to sleep well today. Her horn lit up, illuminating the tenebrous room in a blue hue. The sheets were embraced in the same blue glow and began to open, inviting her with all the warmth and comfort of a long lost lover. Finally feeling at ease, Midnight slipped into the bed and wrapped herself in quite literally the softest embrace she'd felt all day. Her eyes drifted shut and her mind eased. Sleep was only minutes away and Midnight could not contain her relief. A happy sigh escaped her lips as she drifted off to sleep, cozily nuzzling her pillow and signaling an end to the nights troubles.

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

Midnight's eyes shot open.

"No. This has to be a dream. There is no way somepony could be knocking at the door right now! I just closed my eyes not thirty seconds ago!"

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

"Maybe if I just don't answer, they'll go away? Maybe somepony noticed me ditching work an hour early and wanted to check up on me... No, I made sure no one saw. That can't be it... What if it's the princesses and somepony reported me bringing a strange animal into my home? Surely the royal guard have checked into the crash site by now. They must have seen the spacecraft and knew there was an alien life form in the immediate area-"

Midnight was drawn from her thoughts by more knocking at the door. Groaning harshly, she rolled out of her warm, silky sheets, and dropped to her hooves. She began the long trek out the doorway, into the hall, and down the stairs towards the front door. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Midnight's heart sunk and a pit formed in her stomach immediately upon seeing who was at her front door. As the mid-morning sun's light filtered its way through the windows on either side of the front door, a figure stood directly in the window to the right, causing Midnight's heart to stop. Standing there in the window, was one of Celestia's royal guards. There was no mistaking it, from his golden plate armor, to his snow-white coat, to the spear resting against his shoulder. As Midnight, and everypony else knew by now, where there was one royal guard, there was likely more. In this case, the others were likely right behind the door.

Midnight froze. Making any sound at this point could mean the end of life as she knew it. The guard in the window hadn't noticed her yet. Maybe there was a chance that she could silently creep back upstairs and they would just leave. Slowly turning on her hooves, Midnight started to climb back up the stairs.

"Just gotta be quiet and hopefully they wo-

*TAP*

*TAP*

*TAP*

Midnight froze again. There was the knocking again, although this time, it didn't sound the same. No, that was the sound of a hoof banging on glass. Midnight slowly turned her head, eyes wide in horror as they fell upon the Royal Guardspony now looking right at her through the glass. To her surprise, the stallion smiled and gave a friendly wave.

"Maybe they haven't found anything yet..." Midnight hoped

Heading back down the stairs to the door, Midnight paused, took a deep breath and opened the door. Greeting her through the bright doorway were three royal guards. Two unicorns and one pegasus. The pegasus at the window held his smile, his emerald green eyes beaming in the daylight. The unicorn who had been banging at the door held a stoic face and began to address her while the other unicorn seemed to be standing watch behind them.

"Good morning miss," The Unicorn began. "My name is Sergeant Stone, and this is Lieutenant Duster and Corporal Ethereal." He gestured to the pegasus and other unicorn respectively.

"Midnight Shadow. How can I help you gentlecolts?" She responded

"We were investigating the meteorite crash about 10 minutes away and just wanted to come by to see if you've seen anything suspicious this morning."

"Meteorite crash? When did that happen?" She asked, trying to play dumb.

"Last night ma'am," Lieutenant Duster chimed in

"I didn't notice it, I didn't get back from work until very early this morning; you see, I was actually just about to go to bed."

"Of course ma'am, we're very sorry about the disturbance. If you see anything out of the ordinary, just let us know, we're going to be patrolling the area for the day, so we'll be nearby."

"Wait, what kind of 'out of the ordinary' are we talking about here? I don't understand."

"Just anything strange, we've been getting some extraordinary reports from the area and just want to make sure that everypony is safe and well."

"Uh, alright. If I see anything strange, I'll report it to you guys right away."

"Fantastic. Alright guys, let’s get moving. Ma'am, thank you kindly for your time. We'll let you get some rest."

At that, the three stallions turned and began to walk down the steps away from Midnight's house. Closing the door behind them, Midnight let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding in. She slid down until she was sitting on her haunches and breathed.

"Oh my Celestia that was close," she whispered, as if even the slightest noise would bring the royal guard right back to her doorstep.

"I should probably go check on the alien. Make sure they can't see him through the window or something."

Midnight rose to her hooves and walked to the guest room. As she rounded the corner and turned into the doorway of the room, she froze. Standing there, in the doorway, barely a foot away from her face, was the alien.

David awoke to the sound of knocking at the door. He kept his eyes clenched shut and tried to ignore it. A few seconds passed and he thought maybe he might be able to get back to sleep. Then the knocking returned, only louder this time. David's eyes opened slowly, groggy and impaired. His vision came to him at a snail’s pace, the whole world appearing as a blur. He blinked several times to clear his eyes of the crap that was surely obstructing his vision. After a few moments, he began to see clearly. White. All there was was white.

"Why is there only white? Did I die? Is this heaven? Purgatory? ...Hell?" David's thoughts raced.

Turning his head to the side, he saw a very light turquoise on the wall next to him.

"Oh, never mind. White and blue... Already too colorful to be Hell."

His eyes scanned the rest of the room, taking in every detail. There was a dresser on the opposite side of the room. It's snow white color seemed to compliment the light blue walls well. There was a desk sitting against the wall behind him, directly under a window. Both shared the color scheme of the dresser, accenting the room with a blue and white pattern. Serving only to amplify this, the sunlight filtering into the room through the white curtains bathed the room in a slightly orange hue, glistening off of the polished desk. Scanning to his left, he immediately spotted what appeared to be an empty IV bag attached to his arm. Not knowing what it could be pumping into his system, he pulled the needle out of his arm and wrapped the now bleeding vein with some excess bandages from his arm.

"Maybe I was picked up by another ship that was close enough to get to me in time..."

Looking further down, he saw that he was laying on a bed. The sheets felt so soft and warm under his body. He immediately wished he was under them and wrapped up in their silky embrace. His eyes found their way onto his beaten body, surprised to find that his arms had fared well, and he still had free mobility in all of his fingers and joints. However, the story was not the same for his legs. his right leg was wrapped in many bandages from the ankle all the way up to the thigh, making it slightly difficult to move. His left leg had bandages tightly wrapped around his calf, but was otherwise left untouched. Despite the burns and impalement, his legs were in no pain. In fact, his whole body felt warm and tingly. Then, he realized something.

"Where are my pants? Where's my underwear?" He croaked

Rolling over to his side, albeit with great effort, David pushed himself up into a sitting position, his legs sliding off the bed to the floor. The floor, however, met his feet much sooner than he anticipated. David was surprised to find that the bed was barely a foot off the ground.

"Maybe whoever saved me is really short..."

Careful to keep weight off of his left leg, David limped to the desk and pulled the curtain to the side. As sunlight now poured into the room unobstructed, David, squinted his eyes and took in the outside world. His gaze fell onto beautiful rolling hills, and flowers blooming as far as the eye could see. Searching to his right, David saw a forest, vibrant and green. Scanning left, he saw what could only be described as the base of a mountain. Jagged rocks and small cliffs greeted him on this side. David took a few minutes to admire the scenery and open the window. The cool mountain breeze gently caressed his face and filled the room with its sent.

"Where the hell am I? This place is so beautiful... I've never seen anything like it..."

David was torn from his musing when he heard what sounded like voices coming from down the hall. Maybe whoever had rescued him was just in the next room. David looked down at himself once more. Even if they had saved him and likely already seen him naked, David would rather meet his hero in the decency of modern clothing. Limping away from the window, David began his search for clothes. He didn't have to search for long, finding a pile of his bloodied clothes in front of the bed. Leaning down slowly, he retrieved his pants and slipped them on gingerly, careful to avoid putting too much pressure on his left leg. The pants, which looked more like shorts now, what with the burns and holes littering the leggings, slipped on easily enough, and David already felt better about his appearance. Minus the blood stains and burns.

Hearing a door close, David's attention was again torn from his current activities and redirected to the sound of footsteps coming closer. Except, they didn't sound like footsteps. They seemed to come down heavier than a normal person, and it sounded like there were two of them. As they got closer, a new realization crept into David’s mind; there was some kind of... clopping noise accompanying the footsteps. Something akin to a horse walking on hardwood floors. As the mysterious footsteps approached the doorway, David prepared to meet his rescuer. Hopefully they weren't some terrible alien only saving him so they could fatten him up and have a large meal in the not-so-distant future.

The footsteps reached the edge of the doorway and David prepared himself for whatever would enter. As his heart seemed to beat out of his chest, his savior rounded the corner and stepped into the doorway.

Time seemed to freeze as the two very different creatures stared at each other. David's face was frozen in a mix of shock and awe at seeing a mythical creature standing in the doorway. Midnight's eyes were wide with surprise. She couldn't move, nor speak. The shear realization that the alien she had worked so hard to save was now very awake, and very alert hit her like a truck. It also happened to be staring right at her. The silence filling the room was overwhelming. The sound of a pen dropping a mile away would have made more noise than the pair of otherworlders locked in a perpetual stare down.

David was sure he at least had a major concussion now. He brought his hand up to his head to gently feel the bandages on the side of his head.

"Maybe I am dead..." he thought to himself.

Standing before him was a creature he only knew from legends. A majestic unicorn... Only, it was a lot shorter. The top of its head barely reached his waistline. It's coat was a dark graphite, and its mane and tail were a shiny ebony. There was a turquoise shooting star adorning both of its flanks. Its mane and tail were so disheveled, loose ends sticking out at every odd angle, that it strikingly resembled a young teen with bed head. What truly caught David's attention however, was the unicorns face.

"What's with that face... somehow, it looks familiar... Almost.. human... Its muzzle doesn't stick out anywhere near as long as a horse back on earth and its neck is so much shorter. And what's with those lips? Soft, feminine lips like that shouldn't be on a horse... should they?"

All that paled in comparison to the most prominent feature on the equines face. A pair of beautiful, piercing, sapphire eyes stared intently at David. The way they twinkled in the morning sunlight... Captivating and beautiful. Like nothing he had ever seen. Not even people had eyes as vivid and gorgeous as those deep blue wonders.

Seconds might as well have been hours as the two stared each other down. Both wonder and shock painted across both of their faces.

"Uh..." David began, only to be interrupted by a decidedly feminine scream from the equine in front of him.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," she screamed, fear now written all over her face.

Midnight turned on her hooves and broke into a full gallop away from the doorway.

"How could I have been so careless!? With no way of knowing what this creature is capable of, safety precautions should have been put into place! It should have at least been tied down until I could make sure!"

In her tired state, Midnight had neglected to ensure the alien couldn't just grab her and eat her upon waking, and she was locked in a stare down with it for twenty seconds!

"Ok, I just need to create some space, then I ca-"

Midnight was torn from her thoughts when her face slammed into a wall. Dazedly stumbling away from the new hole in the wall, Midnight struggled to regain her balance. Trying her best and failing to regain her ability to stand, Midnight flopped onto the ground. A red mark appeared just under her horn on her forehead.

"Ow..."

Midnight felt her blood freeze in her veins. In her drowsy, possibly concussed state, she hadn't noticed the hoofsteps behind her. Only she knew those weren't hoofsteps. There were only two of them, not four, and they sounded much softer. Rolling onto her side, Midnight turned her throbbing head toward the sound right behind her. As her eyes opened, a terrifying sight befell her. The alien was not walking towards her anymore, it wasn't even walking at all. It was right on top of her, leaning over her like a predator about to claim its next meal. Its hands were closing the distance between them, and it was all Midnight could do to clench her eyes shut and let out a small whimper.

"Maybe I should have left this thing in the forest after all..."

To her complete surprise, Midnight felt no pain. In fact, she felt something pleasant. The loose ends of her mane were brushed out of her face, and soft, thin pads gently stroked against her coat. If she didn't know any better, she'd say was being petted. She felt a gentle pressure cover her forehead, where she had rammed the wall like a blind battering ram, and took this as her chance to open her eyes. The creature had a look of pure concern on its face. There was no malice in those striking brown eyes, no hate, and no semblance of any desire to cause pain. Only one emotion relayed itself through the chocolate orbs: concern. This alien was genuinely worried if she was okay.

"It's alright little guy. I'm not gonna hurt'cha." David spoke softly, giving a small smile to show that he wasn't a threat.

Midnight's jaw dropped.

"Did it just... Speak? How could it... It spoke Equish? How did-"

Midnight's thoughts were interrupted by the door being bucked open. Both pairs of eyes darted to the Royal guardspony now standing in the splintered door frame. In the chaos of what had been going on inside the house, neither of its occupants had noticed the knocking on the door and the muffled "Ma'am?" coming through the other side.

One look at the situation in front of him and the stallion leapt into action. His horn sparked to life and a golden aura engulfed the sword strapped to his back. In one fluid motion, he ducked his head and ripped the blade free of its sheath, slashing horizontally at the alien hunched over the fallen mare.

"Wai-" Midnight started, but she was too slow. The royal guardspony was already swinging the blade, cutting through the air like a hot knife through butter.

Before he even knew the pony wished him ill intent, the sound of sharpened steel leaving its leather prison filled the air. David released the unicorn and leaned back, finding no other way avoid being struck. David's wounded legs could not support his weight at such an angle and he fell back. He just barely dodged the lethal steel as he fell onto his back. He rolled onto his side and pushed himself up with his arms, doing everything he could to keep weight off his left leg. His attacker would have none of it though. He brought the sword downward intending to impale his prey. Rolling to the his left, David narrowly dodged the blade by only a few inches as it pierced the hardwood floor, sending splinters flying in all directions. He continued to roll until he reached the other side of the entrance where a table had some decorative pots and flowers resting on top. The pony attempted to free the sword, but couldn't seem to break his weapon out of the floor. He stood there for a couple seconds, grunting in effort to free his blade, and giving David the much needed time to rise to his feet. Adrenaline now pumping through his system, he looked for the nearest weapon to defend himself against his assailant. Luckily the pony was still preoccupied and didnt have his sword at the ready.

Scanning for anything he could use, David's eyes fell upon the potted plant on the table to his left.

"That'll have to do."

The pony gave up on trying to remove his sword and was now closing the short distance between them. Grabbing the vase and turning in one fluid motion, David arched his arm and brought the vase down as hard as his adrenaline fueled body would allow. Perfect contact was made against the small demon horse's cranium and he stumbled back, grunting in pain.

David had no time to contemplate how or what had just happened and began to half limp, half jog out the front door. He heard more hoofsteps coming from outside, and stopped in the doorway. Fear and confusion painted his face. Two more small horses, both wearing the same white coat and golden armor blocked the door, panting slightly.

"Fuck! They must have just ran up here. What the fuck is going on!?"

The two new assailants looked almost identical to the one inside. The only difference was that one had wings instead of a horn, and they both had spears instead of swords.

"What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?" David’s mind raced through its extensive vocabulary in a futile attempt to rationalize the scene unfolding in front of him.

David began to back peddle, nearly tripping over the dazed white devil still stumbling about to get his bearings. He tried to grab David's foot as he moved past, just barely failing to grab a hold. David raced back into the guest room and slammed the door shut behind him, three pairs of hoofsteps close on his trail. He scanned for something he could use to defend himself with. Finding nothing but the IV pole, he considered his options.

"Run away and maybe escape, or stay and fight three to one?"

The choice seemed clear enough. David quickly closed the distance between him and the window and climbed out. It was a short drop, not more than five feet. David gently lowered himself to his good foot, then his bad. He ducked down and proceeded to limp away from the unicorns and pegasus. Not a second later, he heard the door break open and hoofsteps on the soft carpet filled the room behind him.

Midnight stumbled into the room after the door had been broken down where all three guardsponies were checking for the alien.

"I see it running towards the cliffs!" called Sergeant Stone from the window.

"Alright, let's move ponies!" Lt Duster shouted.

"Wa- You can't. It's no-" Midnight started, only to be cut off by the Lt. Duster.

"Ma'am, we're going to have a nice long talk about what happened here later, but right now, I need you to stay here and stay calm. We'll deal with the creature," he said with obvious disappointment in his voice.

"But-"

Midnight never got to finish. All three of the guardsponies were already out the door and galloping out of the house in pursuit of the alien creature. She tried to run after them, but stumbled and fell again.

"Alright... I might have a concussion..."

David started to limp faster, then hobble, then jog as best as his wounded body would allow him. The pain was immense, but compared to being stabbed, he could manage. He hadn't covered more than a hundred feet when he heard the tell tale sound of hoofsteps closing in on him. Chancing a glance behind him, David saw two unicorns galloping towards him and a pegasus closing in even faster from the air. Not believing what he was seeing, but wanting to get the hell away from it nonetheless, he pushed his body harder. Gritting his teeth as the pain seared in his legs and blood began to soak through the bandages, he broke into a full sprint.

David’s lungs burned and his legs seared with pain. Until this point, he had been feeling warm and tingly, despite his injuries. He wasn't sure what had dampened the pain so immensely; by all accounts, he should have been in agony. However, now that his body was being damaged by the physical effort he was enduring, nothing could stave off the intense amount of pain coursing through his body. Despite his efforts, the hoofsteps and wingbeats were only getting louder and closer. David knew at this rate, he couldn't outrun them. He was running out of options, and it was looking more likely that he would have to take them on after all. If he could get them to come at him one by one, then maybe he could survive, but there was nothing to use as a choke point, and no weapons to use to even the playing field.

David's mind raced for an answer, and fate gave him one, in the form of a cliff. While his mind desperately searched for options, David misjudged the distance, and almost didn't stop until it was too late. Bringing his feet to a screeching halt, David nearly slid off the cliff side. His toes hung precariously off the edge. He turned and saw the three attackers forming a half circle around him and closing in. With his back against the metaphorical wall, and his enemies giving no route for escape, David's eyes quickly scanned the immediate area for anything he could use to defend himself.

"Fuck, I'm trapped... I need something. Some kind of weapon!"

The only potential weapon there was a small stick, maybe two inches wide by twelve inches long. That and a small boulder that was far too large to pick up. The stick was his only option.

"Looks like I'm fighting my way out. I'm not gonna die to some tiny horses!"

Grabbing the stick, David let his natural instincts take over. The hair on his arms stood on end and his back arched to give him a nearly feral appearance. Teeth barred and a snarl forcing its way out of his mouth, David shouted.

"COME ON THEN, WHO WANTS SOME?!?!"

Silence. Stunned, deafening silence filled the air. Then, the pegasus turned its head to its comrades and spoke.

"It speaks... IT SPEAKS!"

"CORPORAL, GET THE OTHERS!" The unicorn with the sword shouted to the other unicorn. Not a second later, a loud pop and bright flash appeared where it was standing and then it was gone.

David's mind was completely occupied with only two thoughts. Fight, or Flight. Flight was out of the question, so Fight seemed to be the only choice left. Every muscle in his damaged body tensed and prepared for the coming fight. As he was now, David was too far gone to notice or care that the equines were speaking. All he cared about was that now there was one less mini horse to fight, and he would need to be fast. There was no telling how long their buddy would be gone for.

The pegasus slowly lowered his weapon and took a cautious step forward.

"Stand down and we won't hurt you. Just come quietly and we'll see to it that you aren't harmed. I promise we'll take care of you and your injuries." The pegasus said, trying to calm the now feral alien in front of him.

For a moment, David seemed to believe his words and lowered his weapon. As the pegasus closed in on him, David saw movement out of the corner of his eye. The unicorn was slowly circling David's side, trying to get behind him.

"Oh no, I'm not getting cornered by you, you little bastard."

David preemptively took a step forward and swung at the pony in front of him, his body acting before his mind could think better of it. The pegasus ducked just low enough for the stick to graze the top of his helmet and pass over.

"That was for free. The next one's gonna cost you. I know you can understand me. Drop the stick and surrender. You have my word that we wo-" The pegasus started, only to be cut off by another swing. He barely dodged before David swung again, forcing the pegasus to back up further and further as the human advanced away from the cliff.

Seeing that diplomacy wasn't going to work out in this case, the pegasus propelled himself forward, his legs acting as springs, launching him into the alien in front of him. He connected with David's waist and tackled him to the ground, sliding dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. David was stunned for a moment and dropped his weapon. The stick rolled a few feet away from the scuffle and stopped just out of reach of both parties. Sgt. Stone, quick to pick up on the new tactic, jumped onto David's legs and pinned them down with his body while Lt. Duster tried to contain his upper appendages.

"Shit shit shit! I can't move my arms or legs! Fuck! Think, David, there has to be a way out! There's always a way out!" David thought through the grunts and heavy breathing both parties were exerting.

"You can't win this fight! Grrr. Just stop fighting us!" The pegasus screamed in David's ear.

David's mind raced. The pegasus's words fell on deaf ears, and David continued to struggle. Fear, rage, and a raw desire to survive forced David to fight on. No matter how much they tried to reason, David was too far gone to care. If there was a chance to get away from these demon horses, he was going for it.

As David struggled with the two vice-like grips on his body, a realization hit him. He wasn't currently strong enough to force these creatures off his body. His only hope was to fight a little dirty. David's instincts forced him to take action and find a weakness. Pressing the pegasus up with his arms, David found his target: The assailants foreleg. Pushing the pegasus up towards his face, the limb came within reach and David seized the opportunity. He bit down as hard as his jaw could. The reaction was immediate, a pained yelp escaped the tiny horses mouth and it released its hold on Davids torso, cupping its wounded extremity with its other hoof. David took the opportunity to go for the kill, figuratively. He grabbed the pegasus's mane and forced its head down, connecting its muzzle with his forehead. This time, a much louder scream escaped the pegasus's lips as its head reared back, blood flowing freely from its now broken nose.

Seizing the new opportunity, David shoved the pegasus off his chest and began working on assailant number two. The unicorn was shocked to see its friend knocked back and off of the alien so easily, but through discipline and training, managed to recover fast enough to block the next attack. David's right hook connected with a raised hoof, doing no damage. Quickly playing off his momentum, David shot forth a left jab, connecting right on the unicorns forehead. This knocked it back enough for David to roll out from under it and press himself up to all fours. Turning his body slightly, David forced the hardest kick he could muster with his right leg. The unicorn wasn't fast enough this time, and David's good foot connected squarely with its chest, sending it flying backwards. The unicorn slammed into the small boulder and fell to the ground, unconscious.

Pushing himself to his now bloody feet, David took a split second to look down at himself. The bandages on his left leg were completely soaked through with blood, and his right leg wasn't fairing much better. The pain was agonizing, particularly from the burns on his right leg. In the current state he was in, David wouldn't have made it a mile before collapsing from blood loss. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to ponder these matters, as the pony reinforcements arrived. David saw no fewer than twenty more white horses charging at him, the closest just fifty feet away and closing fast. Strangely enough, he saw the dark grey unicorn from before galloping towards him in their midst. There was no time to run. Even the edge of the cliff was too far away for him to make a running jump and hope for the best. The only option now, was to fight. At least they seemed to want to take him alive now, a kindness he would try to return. Try. He grabbed his stick and prepared for the coming onslaught.

"Stop resisting!"

"Just surrender and we won't hurt you!"

"Drop the weapon!"

"Take him down! Go for the legs!"

Voices rang out over and over, but they fell on deaf ears. David's mind was focused and his tunnel vision made it impossible to hear or care about what the small horses had to say. One by one they came, barreling towards David. The first came in fast, aiming to take out his legs. He sidestepped the tackle, bringing the stick down low and tripping the equine, causing it to face plant and somersault, landing on its back and skidding to a stop next to the wounded pegasus. The next small horse to charge at him was met with a brutal smack to the face, temporarily blinding the equine and causing it to trip and fall while David spun on his "good" leg away from his attacker. Setting his sights on his next target, David threw the stick as hard as his fading strength would allow. It connected right on the next assailants muzzle, causing him to stop dead in his tracks and grab his now bleeding nose.

The rest of the group circled around David and closed in on him together. David prepared himself for the inevitable and readied his fists. He would need many more fists to win this fight. The group jumped on him simultaneously, two hooves connecting with the back of his quads, forcing David to his knees. Two more equines were on his back, one wrapping its hooves around his neck and the other pulling him back, trying to pull him to the ground. David grabbed at the hooves around his neck as the white demon in front of him turned around and prepared a powerful buck. Having almost no time to react, David leaned back into the force pulling him down. Two powerful legs shot forth, but found nothing but air where Davids face was a split second ago. Reaching up and grabbing the hooves, David yanked back, pulling the equine off his front hooves and landing on his belly, right past David's thigh. He brought his fist down and connected with the back of the tiny horses skull, bouncing its jaw off the dirt below and knocking it out cold.

Throwing his head back, he hit the muzzle of the pony on his back with his head, causing it to release its grip on his neck. He leaned back up, and threw another right hook at the next pony to enter his sights. Despite all his effort, David only had so much fight left in him. More hooves grabbed at his arms and forced them down.

"Ugh, how are these things even so grippy? I thought hooves were basically little keratin feet. THERE'S NOTHING TO GRAB WITH!" David shouted in his head

With his arms and legs thoroughly exhausted, or trapped, David looked into the eyes of the pony directly in front of him. He summoned the last of his strength and screamed. Not a frightened scream, but a war-cry. If he was going to die, he was going to go out like his ancestors. With one last battle cry before the bitter end.

David felt something strike his head. It must have been some kind of blunt object because his vision immediately went blurry and he fell down to his side. Another pony was quickly behind him and choking him with everything it had. The concussive blow his temple had just taken, the damage done to his body from the crash, and the strain of fighting off twenty something tiny armored horses finally caught up with David, and his vision faded.

"STOP!"

The pressure around Davids neck loosened and his vision came back somewhat. Standing before him was the charcoal unicorn with the beautiful blue eyes he liked so much. Only, there were tears streaming down from those eyes.

Is she crying? Why is she crying?

"I'll put him under. Just... please... stop hurting him..." Midnight said.

"Put me under? What does she mean? Is she gonna kill me?" Davids thoughts raced.

The dark unicorn walked up to him and kneeled beside him, her face mere inches away from his.

"I promise this won't hurt... Just... rest now... ok?"

With that, she touched her horn to his head, a brilliant blue light emanating from the contact, and David's world went dark.

Hey guys. I'm glad you're reading this. That means you've made it this far and hopefully enjoy what you're reading. If you guys have questions about the morphine solution and the scientific accuracy of it, I just want to say that I have done some research on it and what I found said that it could be a possible general anesthetic. My headcannon for this story is that ponies an humans weigh about the same, only ponies are slightly smaller if they were standing on their hind legs walking around like humans. Hence why Midnight doesn't accidentally inject too much and kill David. Also, the only reason David doesn't pass out or die from the pain is due to the adrenaline and morphine in his system. I hope that part isn't too unbelievable. Anyways, I hope my writing style isn't too confusing to follow. I'm kind of trying to go for the "third person, over the shoulder" kind of story, so whatever is happening with a specific character is told from that characters perspective, hence why the ponies are referred to as tons of different things when the story follows David, and vice versa. We all know who and what David is, but to the ponies, he's some strange alien. So the narrator reflects that until they learn what we already know. I hope I'm not insulting anyone's intelligence by explaining that, but I just want to make sure it's made very clear so there's no confusion. In the next chapter, ponies are going to learn all about David, so don't worry. There won't be too much of this in future chapters.