“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” her ear piercing scream is followed by hyperventilation and violent shaking.

Crimson darts his eyes desperately to anything that could ease the situation, but the only tool at his disposal is his own wit. He sits up on the bed and holds his hands in front of him, motioning them calmly, “Easy, eeeasy, I ain’t gonna hurt ya’. I'm, uh... friendly," he puts his hand on his chest, "friend." The scratches and scars littered throughout his chest, arms, and shoulders don't exactly give him an air of peace and tranquility. The more he speaks, the more horrified she looks.

Her back is firmly pressed against the rocking chair that she sits on and her pupils are shaking, but nevertheless, he continues in his attempt to appease to her. “You understand me, right? Listen to me. Listen. Calm down. Slooow breaths,” he speaks as tenderly as his deep, rough drawl will let him, "In... and out, in... and out." The mare still eyeballs him in fear, but she appears to be internalizing his words. She's steadying her breathing, following the pace of his voice.

Crimson takes this time to study her form now that she isn't bound for a heart-attack. She is a youthful unicorn mare, and her coat is an easy blue color, with her mane and tail being a slightly darker shade of blue with streaks of pink. Her currently dilated, trembling eyes are a vibrant pink as well. Her body is, from what he gauges in comparison to the other ponies he has already seen, a little bit on the heavy side. She isn't overweight to the point where it makes her look unhealthy, but she definitely has more fat on her than other ponies. Her face is rounded, giving her a more circular shape. Just from how well-groomed, unscathed, and delicate she looks, Crimson can tell that she doesn't get out much.

Finally, she begins to calm down. The man clears his throat and smiles, “Sorry for yellin', I was, uh... havin' a bad dream. I didn't mean to scare ya'.”

“T-T-Talking... human," she stammers quietly. Her voice is sweet and easy on the ears, a complete contrast to the headache-inducing scream she let out earlier.

"Yeah."

"T-Talking human! Human is talking! And smiling! Smiling human!” she points with her hooves as if blaming him.

Crimson rolls his eyes and nods, "That's me."

“H-How? W-Where did-- ..." she momentarily short-circuits, freezing in place while still pointing her hoof. "... You’re not supposed to be real! You aren’t supposed to be--! …” she stops herself again, blinking in some sort of realization. Crimson remains unspeaking, waiting for her to come up with a conclusion. “Un… Unless…” she whispers, taking on a thoughtful expression, “unless you’re apart of the anomalies I’ve been reading.”

“... What? Nah, wait, hang on a minute, let's take this slow. Alright? First off, where am I?" he asks and waits patiently for a response... which he doesn't receive, and instead gets a blank stare from her. "... Oookay, so, who're you? ... What's yer name?" His question still remains unanswered, prompting him to try another. "... What am I doin’ here?” Her wide eyes blink the look of being completely and utterly lost. “… Uh, hello?” Crimson leans forward and waves his hand to trap her attention again.

“O-Oh, I-- … W-Wow. A human. Asking me questions. This is insane. I’m insane. I’ve officially lost my mind,” with her hooves, she plays with the drooping locks of hair on the sides of her head to calm herself. Her eyes constantly shift from Crimson to something else, finding it difficult to focus them on just one thing. The man himself realizes how hard it is not to admire her shining orbs, how they reflect the amber light of her lamp in her room so gorgeously. “… Okay!” she exhales. “Okay. Answers. To the questions. You just asked me. Ehehehe…” the mare clears her throat, still very hesitant. “You’re in my home. I am Moonlight Wish. You’re here as a gift from Celestia, even though I didn't actually want one. She knows I've had brief interest in humans, so she sent one to me. And you are supposed to be my pet that I can simultaneously research on.”

“…" Crimson's brows furrow to the top of his eyes, "... What?"

Moonlight adjusts her black, fairly thick glasses, “You’re… um... you’re in my home, on the outskirts of Baltimare. And you're here because... a-according to Celestia, you're my-- ... um..." Moonlight's eyes expand upon internalizing what he is asking, forcing her to realize what she is saying.

“Girl, I ain't nobody's pet," he states sternly, pointing to the collar haphazardly on the floor. "The sooner you ponies can figure that the fuck out, the better off we'll be." Moonlight's mouth opens to speak, but her lips are quivering together frantically. A face-painting blush covers her nose and cheeks, giving them a pink glisten.

She looks so pathetic right now, frozen like a deer in headlights for the second time.

Crimson sighs and leans back, resting against the bed's headboard. Judging by her demeanor and her episodes of realization, it is clear that she hardly has any idea what is going on, so lashing out at her will cause nothing but trouble. He comes to realize that, despite all circumstances, he is in her home, and there is no need to make her feel uncomfortable in her own home. "... Listen... Moonlight. This is all real sudden and we're both at a loss. Is that fair to assume?" He gets a shy nod in response. "At this rate, I don't think anything'll get done. What do you say we start over? As individuals, not property. I'm sure you ain't meanin' any wrong, and I'd like to get to know you since, well... we're kinda in this show together now."

Moonlight's perky blush doesn't leave her face and she continues twiddling with her mane. She appears to shrink away from his proposition. “I-I'm... n-not all that interesting..." Her voice comes out timidly, unsure, and a bit awkward. Now that the dust is really settling after the whole 'the human can talk' ordeal, it is becoming very obvious that she is not the sociable kind. Far from it.

Something about her drives him to press on. "You look interestin' to me. Feel like gettin' to know you would be a nice experience."

Her eyes shift towards him and away from him several times. "... R-Really?"

"Sure. Here, why don't I start. You can call me Crimson. What's yer name?"

"... I-I'm... M-Moonlight Wish.” Her eyes stop shifting once she decides to keep them away from him. Her horn glows with light pink magic and he sees it pick up the thrown collar from the floor. She clips it closed and ties the leash around it before gently setting it on her desk. “U-Um... Cr... Crimson?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"C-Can I… ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"... When you woke up, you shouted something. A genus of flower, I think?”

“Ah, yeah. Dahlia." He suddenly pauses - his eyes dilate to pricks. He remembers something very important that was told to him by the mare of the same name. "... Welp... too late now."

“Were you having a bad dream about... flowers?”

Crimson snickers, shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck. While briefly tempted to lie, he rightens his honesty for the poor little mare's sake. “… Nah, it wasn't about flowers... a pony, her name’s Dahlia. Ever heard of her?” Moonlight shakes her head, still keeping a wary expression. “I was with her. She found me when I first woke up here in Equestria a few days back. She kind of saved my life.”

“... This Dahlia pony... i-is she... apart of the Canterlot research team?"

"... Uh... no. I wouldn't say so."

"What does she do for a living?”

"She raids temples and stuff, makes a living sellin’ the things she finds.”

Moonlight’s brows furrow, somewhat pushing away at her crippling timidity. "... She desecrates the burials of the dead. That is... lovely." In some form of perhaps self-shame, she lets her eyes fall to the carpet below melancholically. "... I don’t think I would like her very much. There are much better ways to study lost belongings."

“She's certainly a unique type, but I reckon we ain't ones to judge. I recently lost touch with her after yer princess 'Celestia' had her guard group me into a mass of humans. I got tossed here with her voodoo not long after.”

“... You were separated from your friend because of... Celestia's selection? I can't believe she still does it. ... H-How did you wind up there?"

"Dahlia 'n I came from Dodge Junction, on a trip to Canterlot to sell off somethin' we had. Like I said, Dahlia got stopped by them bastards with the armor and they separated us."

"The Royal Guard," she states in realization, ears falling onto her head. "Oh no. I-I’m very sorry that that happened, I didn't... I didn't mean for Celestia to... to...”

“Don’t apologize, none of this is your fault. If it was, I would'a made that clear by now. As much as I wanted to help myself and Dahlia out of the circumstance, there wun't much I could do after they got me with some sorta narcotic.”

Moonlight’s expression lights up with intrigue suddenly. “Y-You aren’t talking about the neutralizing potion, are you?”

“… I think so. It smelled like grass and it was in a little purple bottle. If knew what it was, I'd'a never let that happen. Slick fucks took advantage of their secret weapon, and now I'm here.”

“I'm-- I'm so sorry this has happened to you, if I could've known..."

"Like I said, no harm on yer end. But you seem mighty interested in somethin'."

"W-Wuh?"

"The potion spray."

"Oh! Um," she catches herself calms down quickly. "I-I am, indeed. In the potion and your experience. A... A human's experience, no less!"

"There we are. Now all you need is the question."

Her cheeks tint with dots of pink, forming as smile as she pushes her glasses farther up her muzzle with her hoof. "If-If you wouldn't mind, may I ask you on your experience with the potion?"

"Go ahead."

"Ooo!" She coos excitedly. "How did you feel? How long did it last? Do you remember anything? Hoh, I had the pleasure of shaking the hoof of Starswirl the Bearded! He invented and patented it! It's been one of my focuses since I've begun examining humankind!”

Crimson mentally recoils from her suddenly energetic attitude. He then recalls what he went through, bringing his hand to the back of his head. "I, uh... can’t remember much. I do remember some things, but lots of it was a haze. I remember gettin’ sprayed obviously, I remember the crazy fuckin' formation of human cattle. I was put in it after the guards took me away. I remember feelin’ hungry and sleepy. I remember the Celestia princess who took me in."

"When did its effects wear off? Do you remember?"

"It lasted all through out my time there in Canterlot. Several hours, maybe. It didn't stop until I woke up here. I'm glad that it didn't leave a hangover 'r somethin'."

"How riveting!" Moonlight shifts in her seat.

"I'd be excited too if my plans didn't get fucked up. But," he sighs, seeing her thrilled demeanor sober up at his toiling. "So, uh, what’s the deal with that Celestia pony? Is she the ruler of your country?” he asks in a discretely diverting manner.

“Y-Yes, she is. She was crowned princess not too long ago actually, only a few decades ago. Equestria has been doing well under her care. She's very powerful, but very kind. Because of her great successes in such a short time, many historians label this era, 'The Golden Age.' On paper, it all sounds very promising. W-Why do you ask?”

“… Just curious. The more I know about this place, the better. See, I don't actually belong here."

"You did say, 'when I first woke up here.' I was curious about what you meant by that."

"Yeah, I come from another world entirely. Since I reckon you're a fairly important person, I need to ask. If I go on about my time here in Equestria talkin', will that cause a ruckus?"

"Um... in what way, may I ask?"

"Like, eh... bein' taken into science lab and cut up type deal."

"That sounds terrible! N-Nu-no! Not at all! Has somepony told you this?"

"Nah, just... wonderin', since I know humans don't talk here. There won't be a chance that you can, uh... 'make sure' that don't happen? Maybe let your Celestia know about me?"

"Yes! It'll be the very next thing I write to her about! I vow that you'll be safe from a surgeon's knife!"

Crimson smiles wryly. "Appreciate that."

"O-Of course. If, um, if you don't mind me asking, how did you come to Equestria to begin with?"

"I'm... not sure. But I'm lookin' to get back. Dahlia was actually tryin' to help me with that. I need to go find her so I can get back home.”

“... How are you so sure she was trying to help you?"

“’Cuz I-- …” he halts himself. "... I... uhm..." Moonlight raises her left brow incredulously at him while he furrows in thought. "... Because she said so, I guess." She tilts her head, giving light to the obvious naivety. "Sheesh, make yer stance more obvious, girl."

"Mh, nh," Moonlight squirms at his accusation, "I-I don't mean to sound so crude, b-but I-I'm concerned for you. This pony is the type that steals from sacred sites without a second thought. Her life revolves around the next haul. Did you not anticipate the possibility that perhaps she was using you for some sort of monetary gain? How could it have been that she conveniently lead you to the human selection formation held specifically at a certain time on a specific day of the month?"

"But she didn't get paid for my capture, I was literally stolen from right under her. Those shitbirds took me from the blindside with that magic spritzer."

"... M-Maybe her plan backfired?"

Crimson squints at Moonlight, but his expression quickly softens and his gaze drops to the bed in thought. “… Now that I’m really gettin’ down to it, I was around Dahlia for the better part of a week, and I don’t know a single thing about her other than her name and what she looks like... despite me tryin' to get to know her.”

“That doesn't sound very surprising.”

Crimson remains thoughtful, staring at the bed he’s sitting on. Surprisingly, it’s big enough to fit him comfortably.

“... Please, don't let me stop you," Moonlight suddenly begins, drawing his attention. "... You're a creature of sapience. You can think and speak, act and rationalize... therefore you do not... belong to me. It would be wrong of me to keep you like an animal. ... If... you want to leave to look for your friend, at any time at all, p-please don't let me stop you."

The displeasure in her voice rackets Crimson's thoughts. The emotions dripping from her muse are plain to see. "... Think it might be for the best," the man states, keeping his gaze on her. These words cause her to visibly deflate further. He lines his lips at this, wondering if she is truly taking this to heart. After some silence, he speaks up to ask, "Moonlight?"

She raises her eyes to stare at him, mouth puckered in timidity. "Y-Yes? Crimson?"

"... Do you live here all by yourself?"

The question is quick to incite a frown, and her ears flop onto her head. She nods twice, letting her body language speak for her.

“Hmh," he hums in understanding. He looks around at the house he now resides in. It's comfortable, the air temperature is regulated artificially, and she seems like humble folk. Part of him wants to take off and trudge through unmapped lands to find Dahlia again, but it's turning to dust in the wind, he thinks. "... I don’t even know where’d I go if I left,” he considers aloud. “This world's pretty big, and I'm just one man. The last thing I'd want do to is waste myself being lost. Hate to start from scratch even though I just started, but... think we can scratch each other's backs?”

"S-Scratch?"

"Yeah. You give me the help I need to find a way back home, and I'll... be yer test dummy. Since you're interested in humans, 'n such."

Moonlights expression lights up almost immediately. "I-Is... is that what you really want?"

"If you don't mind, that is."

"... Y-You... want to... s-stay here with me?"

"If it ain't a bother. Maybe I can crash somewhere outside or in yer living room. Whatever's best fer you."

"N-Not outside! Please, you're welcome t-to stay... h-here... inside..." She shys away the more she pushes her words out. "... W-With me..."

"Well that's mighty kind of you, miss Wish."

She nods repeatedly. "P-Please, just... M-Moonlight."

"Right. Moonlight. I know I don't need to say this, but just in case... I promise I won't hurt you. Since humans don't got the nicest reputation, I feel."

"N-No, it's okay, I... I feel like you won't. You... um... seem like... a nice person."

"I can say the same about you. Reckon we'll have a lot to gain by workin' together."

"Mm!" she hums happily. "A-Again, I'm very sorry for all the trouble caused to you, but I will do my best to try and make amends."

Crimson grins back at her. "Thanks, Moonlight. I appreciate yer sincerity. It's also good to see you feelin' a little better now. I was worried you'd have a stroke earlier.”

"I-I'm sorry...”

He chuckles heartily at her unnecessary apology. "C'mon, girl, no need to say sorry."

“… A-And that. Your... expressions. They… they’re something to get used to.”

“Oh,” he drops his face, forcing it to return to its stagnant nature. "Pardon."

"I-I," she starts rather hastily after he dumbs his face, "I never said it was a bad thing. I... f-find it... quite charming."

Crimson smiles again, unintentionally, due to the sudden compliment.

Acting as if she did not say something fairly brash, she skips as quickly as possible over it. “I-I! Um! I think I may have a logical explanation as to why you're here, in Equestria!” Crimson raises his brows, waiting for her to continue. “Y-You see, I’ve been catching readings of anomalies, magical and otherwise, suddenly appearing all over Equestria. They’ve started to appear only a few days ago, reports have been coming in that these anomalies are possibly corrupting and altering pieces of the land, even animals. Trees suddenly die or grow to enormous size, animals become extremely vicious or mutated... and the worst of it all, we don’t know where it’s coming from.”

Crimson looks confused, sitting up from the headboard and scooting over to sit along the edge of the bed, effectively getting closer to Moonlight. A strange appliance on Moonlight’s desk, just next to her rocking chair, suddenly starts up. It looks like a box with a green LED line, where the line is squabbling up and down, along with the box emitting a strange wailing sound.

“What the heck is that thing?” he asks as he gawks at it.

T-That’s my Anomaly Net Accurator. Or ANA. I-I built her myself! She’s the reason I’m able to detect anomalies. Apparently she’s detecting something, and very close by.”

“… Me, maybe?”

“Most likely. I had programmed it to acknowledge you already, but maybe I need to adjust the acknowledgement class. I-If it's not too much to ask, may you please try moving closer to it?”

"Sure thing." He kicks his feet off the side of the bed, standing up while rubbing his left temple. Moonlight watches the lumbering man stand, his height causes her to become a bit timid again. He walks over to the beeping device, and it goes haywire as he approaches it, emitting an annoyingly loud whine. “Figures.”

“Indeed. That’s what I was getting to. I am to believe that your existence came from these magical anomalies that started appearing.”

“I don’t think I can agree with your hypothesis, professor Wish.” Moonlight’s mouth forms a small ‘o’, looking at him in wonder. “Like I've said before, I wasn’t any sort of human from this land that was ‘mutated.’ I know that for a fact. I still have memories from my home. My real home. I woke up here like a week ago, most of it spent running about with Dahlia."

“But that wouldn't eliminate the possibility that these magical anomalies could have dragged you from your world, via wormhole or the likes."

"... Hmh," Crimson thinks deeply on her proposition, finding soundness in her argument. The two fall into silence while the ANA device wails loudly. Moonlight's horn begins to glow, encasing a number of dials and buttons on the ANA with her magic. With a few turns and presses, it ceases its yammering. “… This is one crazy contraption you got right here. Reckon y’all have potent electricity.”

“The major cities do, and the city near by my home, Baltimare, was actually one of the first to receive it. It’s a rapidly expanding field! Great for jobs and general welfare!” she smiles. “And you? Does your land have electricity?”

“Just the rich who can afford it. Them fancy light bulbs don’t seem like a convenient replacement," he gestures at the lamp that's currently illuminating the room. "Good ol’ oil lantern won’t ever let’cha down.”

“Mm. Replacement is a stretch, maybe they can work in unison? Lightbulbs for the home, lanterns for the outside.”

The room falls into another moment of silence, this time without the aid of the loud machine. Crimson's quiet contemplation causes Moonlight to subject herself to awkward tension. She is mistaking the lack of constant conversation for social ineptitude, and she shuffles slightly in her recliner, avoiding any sort of eye-contact.

Crimson glances at her, noticing that she has been doing that quite a lot. The body language this mare presents tells of social anxiety. It's undeniable, with how her nervous adjusting of glasses and playing with her mane, that she's not the most outgoing pony, a complete polar opposite to the tan pegasus that he was acquainted with. “So…” Crimson starts, “what kind’a experiments were you plannin’ on puttin’ me through?”

“Oh!" she exclaims, obviously unprepared for such a question. "Uuh... I-I don't know!"

"C'mon, now, you ain't no liar. What experiments?"

Read at the cover, she caves in and lines her lips. "... I was going to run tests on you... t-they're practical tests.”

“I like practical. Hopefully these tests serve a purpose fer you, though I ain’t sure what good it’ll do since I’m not a human from this land. I won’t be able to give any data valuable to yer 'human research' cause that'll fit your current criteria."

“That’s fine! I-I’m just super curious, about, well, you, and what you can do! You are very interesting. Much more interesting than the other humans I have experimented with!”

“I ain't your first test bunny?”

“N-No. Actually, I’ve experimented on all sorts of things, humans included. None of them were harmed! I make very sure that my test subjects are safe and healthy... unlike some researchers I know."

"Sounds like you've got a grudge."

"... I don't hold grudges, I just... don't condone the methods used by some of the members from the Royal Research team."

"That's the second time you've mentioned the 'royals.' You familiar with Canterlot?"

"... Y-Yes, but right now, is it okay if we focused on you?"

“That's fine,” Crimson looks out the circular window that lies above the bed's headboard. “The sun’s startin’ to go down. Do we have time for an experiment?”

“Yes! Yes we do! A rather simple one, it won’t take longer than a few minutes! Please, follow me!” Moonlight hops off the rocking chair enthusiastically, trotting quickly to the door, and Crimson follows behind her.

As she leads him through the house, he sees that this place is rather… nice. It's very modern, to a much greater extent than he has ever seen. The floor is carpeted all around, the home is lit by nightlights plugged into wall sockets that give off a sleepy blue color. There aren't any lanterns, candles, or any other sort of primitive lighting found anywhere.

Moonlight leads him down a staircase, indicating a two-story house. Once downstairs, Moonlight turns and walks through a tile hallway, where her hooves clop against the tile in such an entrancing manner. She continues through a carpeted living room, towards a glass sliding door that leads to the backyard. They both take the door and step out to the grassy, incredibly spacious backyard.

The yard is filled with all sorts of fruit trees, flowers, rock designs, and wooden carvings. There’s even a small garden at the far end that has a stream of water flowing through it. Very tall cement walls lined with vines and flowers give the spacious backyard seclusion and privacy.

“… Your own little piece of paradise, huh?” Crimson asks.

“You can call it that~”

“You tend to all of this yourself?”

“In my free time,” she smiles.

Crimson's head turns left and right, taking the majesty of nature in. He sighs, satisfied and relaxed with his surroundings. “Right, so where’s this test?”

“Right over here!” she calls as she trots towards a line of rocks. The line contains ten rocks, all of varying size, lined up from smallest to the left, largest to the right. “This is a strength test. Fairly simple and straight forward.”

“Mm, alright,” Crimson smiles, liking the idea.

“The rocks are weighted in pounds. They’re marked with their respective weight!”

Crimson looks at the rocks. Indeed, marked with red chalk, there are the numbers. 15, 35, 52, 80, 122, 209, 300, 404, 523, and 631. Small rocks to huge boulders. Moonlight brings a piece of parchment and a quill into her magic from a small cubby box that’s sitting next to a picnic table.

“Start whenever you’re ready!” Moonlight nearly hops in anticipation.

Crimson looks towards the smallest rock first. He steps over it and faces it, this way, he can look at Moonlight and lift the rock at the same time. He crouches down, picking up the 15lb rock with one hand.

“Good!” she writes something down on her parchment.

“So… what’s the heaviest that’s been lifted?” Crimson asks.

“The heaviest rock lifted by a human thus far has been two-o-nine. It was very impressive.”

He nods in acknowledgement. He proceeds to the next rock after setting the first one down. He crouches, picking up the 35lb rock with ease as well. Moonlight keeps that adorable smile on her face the whole time, it's kind of encouraging. He sets the rock down, stepping to the next one. He lifts the 52lb rock with a little bit of effort and proper form.

“Excellent!” Moonlight exclaims.

He then moves to the next rock. He crouches, grasping it with both hands. With a grunt, he gets the 122lb rock off the ground.

“Very impressive!” Moonlight calls. "You make it look so easy!"

He drops the rock, letting out a breath. He moves to the next one, giving it a good stare-down. This rock is the size of three human heads.

With a determined look, he crouches down, gripping the rock. “Hrrh!” he heaves, lifting the rock with great effort. It takes him a second to stand upright with it, but he succeeds as he holds the 209lb rock against his chest.

“Woo! Iiimpressive!” she cheers, giggling to herself.

Crimson lets the rock plummet back onto the dirt, exhaling with a smile. "These rocks'r heavy as hell. Who even got 'em here, all lined up like this?"

"... That's, um..." Moonlight shifts her eyes left and right, "... n-not important?"

Crimson shrugs and smirks, stepping to the next rock. The massive rocks. The big boy rocks. The rocks that take several men to lift.

“Don’t hurt yourself now,” Moonlight speaks sincerely, adjusting her glasses with mild worry.

Crimson crouches down, gripping the massive 300lb rock. He breathes in. And breathes out. Breathes in… “HRPH!” he heaves, getting the rock up off the ground a few inches. “RRPH-- RRH…” His whole body begins to tremble, stuck at the lift-off.

“R-Remember not to strain yourself! Drop it if you can’t!” Moonlight says with growing concern.

“MMRRR!” He continues to tremble. He starts to raise the rock now, inch by inch, but his whole body quakes worse as he exerts himself further.

Moonlight’s mouth opens in surprise as she witnesses this man lifting a rock half his size. “You almost got it! Come on, Crimson! You can do it!"

He almost has it. He knows he has it. He's lifted more than this before. Why is it so damn difficult now? He knows he can do this, he knows he has it in him. ... But then he doesn't. His eyes start to close. Moonlight’s cheering turns to a terrified gasp, and her ears drop down onto her head.

“Momma? Why is Vigil not home yet?”

- "You feel it inside of you, don't you? ... Embrace it. Love it. It's apart of you, it's your gift. Use it to make the world a better place, just as Cobalt and Vigil did."

-- "For your life... I'll give my own."

--- "WE'RE COMIN' FOR YA', YA SONNOVA BITCH!"

“RRKH!” Crimson fails to get the rock up at the final stretch, nearly dropping it onto his feet. He stumbles back, falling onto his ass, breathing heavily and panting to catch his breath. His vision blacks out into a narrow tunnel, but as blood and oxygen flow as normal again, his vision restores. He worries not for his health, but his concern is stuck on the fragments of his memory that suddenly returned to him, just as it had days before when Dahlia was in trouble.

“Crimson!?” Moonlight says as she rushes to his side. “A-Are you okay? I told you not to overdo yourself!”

“Rh… y-yeah. I’m fine. Just… a little dizzy.”

“Crimson, your eyes! What is this? I’ve never seen something like this before!”

“My… eyes?” he asks in between breaths.

Moonlight's wild excitement turns to a massive frown. “It stopped! Your eyes! They were glowing such a very luminescent golden color! B-But they're not anymore! What is that?”

“... I’m gonna be honest with you, Moonlight, I don’t know what you’re talking about… but Dahlia had said the same thing before. I reckon it ain’t just a coincidence.”

“It couldn’t be, I JUST saw it! It was amazing! When they started glowing, you started lifting the rock higher and higher!”

“… I also started hearin’ voices, like if pieces of my memory came back to me. Me when I was younger, my mom, me again, then... Michael.”

"... Michael?" Moonlight lowers her head, witnessing anger fixate itself on his face.

"Don't... worry about it. ... I'm not sure what's causin' memories to suddenly come back to me."

“U-Unfortunately, it's... nothing I am familiar with. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Moonlight, it ain't yer fault."

"… Maybe we should go back inside, we’ve done enough for today,” Moonlight says as she begins to roll up her parchment.

Crimson rises to his feet, “No.”

Moonlight freezes.

“I’m gonna lift that rock. And I’mma lift it all the way up this time.”

“N-No! You can’t! You’re going to seriously hurt yourself if you try it again so soon! Let’s just do it tomorro—”

Crimson stands before the massive rock that triumphed over him. He stares at it, still breathing in and out deeply.

"Oooh, he’s not going to listen to me!" Moonlight cries in her head.

He crouches down, grasping the rock once more. “HRGH!” he grits his teeth. Just as before, he lifts the rock a few inches off the ground, coming to a halt just after. “RRK—NRGH!” His entire body trembles as his muscles flex their hardest. Slowly, inch after inch, it rises.

“WOOOWEE! TIME TO STOMP YOU OUT, BOY!”

- “You promised me you'd come back... please don't break your promise.”

-- "Crimson... I miss you..."

His senses feel unnaturally attuned, time itself seems to slow to a crawl. His eyes dart to Moonlight, admiring her terrified yet reverent expression. It is like she is holding completely still, as to allow him to take in her finer details.

Suddenly, hands come from under his peripheral vision. It startles him briefly, drawing his attention. These hands, made of pure ethereal golden energy, rise until they grasp the boulder. His eyes trail along these hands, which are attached to arms, which are then attached to a body. Bewilderment takes him when a visage of semi-translucent gold appears from nothing, standing before him to assist him in lifting the rock. His struggling comes to an abrupt end, as if a wind of reprise passed through his whole body. Upon further scrutiny, this visage… is him. A silhouette of light in his image.

With the conjoined strength of him and himself, the rock is lifted high into the air, above and over his head. Just then, time resumes as normal to him, and he hears an exasperated gasp come from the mare who watches. In one motion, he tosses the rock up a few feet and dashes forwards, allowing the immense chunk of earth to slam into the ground and burrow itself a few inches behind him.

Crimson spins around and remains still for several seconds, simply staring at the boulder. What he just witnessed almost scares him. He feels a distant beckoning – a call of sorts. He wishes to answer it… but…

Moonlight stares up at him, heart beating in her ears, venerating the golden magma which flows in the man’s eyes. When he turns his attention from the boulder to her, her chest tightens. She looks about ready to faint.

Crimson chuckles lightly and crouches down to tend to the unsteady mare. He brazenly reaches his pointer finger to move a wry strand of her mane out of her face. This action serves well to ground her back to reality. She ogles how his eyes fade back to their original hazel selves in real time. “Trust me when I say,” the man begins, “I just surprised myself.”

“W-Wah…”

Her incoherent stammer is all she can muster. Silence falls between them, Moonlight with her mouth slightly agape from awe and Crimson holding a simper. Emotions quiet down, the ambience of the garden around them takes hold… including a sound that does not quite fit the environment. It sounds like…

Witi-witi-witi-witi-witi-witi!

The duo both look towards the house. The sound is coming from inside. Moonlight realizes what it is far before Crimson does. “The ANA,” she murmurs to herself aloud.

“Don’t think she’s happy.” He rises to his full height. “C’mon, let’s go see what she wants.”

Moonlight agrees with the nodding of her head. They both return to the house through the sliding door and move upstairs to her bedroom. Pushing open the door all the way from its ajar position causes the incessant wining of the machine to increase in volume.

Moonlight is quick to trot to it and press a yellow button on the left side of the face. She analyzes the screen on it, seeing the green line break apart into several different lines of many colors. She then looks to Crimson, visibly hoping for him to provide some form of input. What she sees causes her eyes to widen in great worry. “C-Crimson, are you okay?” she asks, seeing the man blankly staring forward with drooping eyelids, gently swaying, appearing as if he fell asleep standing up. “Crimson?” She walks up to him, keep her eyes fixed on his. “Crimson, please, say something.” Nothing comes as a response to her plead. “Mmh, mmn,” she squirms uncomfortably, looking around as if to find an answer written on the wall or ceiling. She looks back up to him, biting her lip. “L-Let’s lay you down. Is that okay?” Still nothing. “… I hope it's okay.”

Clenching her teeth, she channels her magic to gently take his hand. She begins to walk toward the bed, and to her relief, he walks with the gentle tugs of her ethereal hold. She ushers him to the bed and ballets him with his hand in a one-eighty so he turns around. She presents herself at his front before she hops onto her hindlegs and softly pushes his abdomen so he sits back onto the bed. He does as she wills, right until he sits down. At his rear resting on the sheets, his eyes lull upwards and his upper body falls back.

Moonlight gasps, quickly climbing onto the bed to look at his face. He… “… fell… asleep?”

Her stress simmers slowly at watching him rest. He looks very peaceful, no signs of struggle or breathing issues. With great trepidation, she lowers her head to his chest and places her ear on it. A healthy heart beat.

Confusion replaces her worry. She could not know what happened, how he was able to suddenly lift that rock so high up without issue or struggle, and his eyes… that hauntingly radiant glow. She especially cannot understand what just happened to him – why he passed out so suddenly.

She comes away from him and climbs off the bed. She sits on the sofa chair and huffs stress out of her nose. She quietly and idly watches him. With many questions in her head, all she hopes is that some of them may be answered once he wakes.

‎

---

‎

“Nh?” Crimson’s eyes bust open sporadically. His eyes shift small distances. From one instant to the next, he seems to have… relocated. Teleported, almost. The last thing he recalls is honing in on the beckoning call that was tugging him so fiercely.

To his surprise, he feels at peace. Relatively. He swears he can hear music, stringed instruments quietly strum over a distant, ethereal choir... yet no one is around to play or sing.

He stares into the sky, he thinks. It does not look very much like the sky he knows. The field above him is grey, and it looks like a storm is forming. It swirls as if the atmosphere itself was a large, slowly churning twister.

He feels grass under him, running his fingers along the greenery. He turns his head left, resting it against the grass... that actually is not green at all. In fact, nothing around him is of any color.

He sits up, taking in his surroundings. He finds himself in a field that seems to expand infinitely, with a few trees and flowers amongst the grassy hills, but it is all grey. All sorts of different shades of grey, meshed together to make a beautiful grey-scale world.

Crimson squints in disbelief, uttering unintentionally, “... Where…”

“I was wonderin’ where you went.”

He hears an oddly familiar voice. His own voice. Crimson turns his head towards the speaker, and there, sitting next to him, he sees himself. He was not there before, yet he casually smiles as if he was always there.

"Welcome back."

Next Chapter: 《 The Arch Angel 》 Estimated time remaining: 27 Hours, 46 Minutes