Human Nature

by Blank Page

First published 9th of September, 2012

Torn from his world and thrust into another, Hunter Grey struggles to survive in the alien land of Equestria.

I still can't believe it all started with a family camping trip gone wrong. One moment I was enjoying my time with my parents and brothers, then next thing I knew I was stranded on a world full of magic and mythological creatures. In one day, I went from worrying about the upcoming calculus test to worrying about my next meal. I remember how the only thing keeping me going was the hope that I might find a way home. Little did I know that some deities had other plans in store for me.

I remember all the promises I made, both those kept and betrayed. I remember the friends I made on my little adventure; the same friends I threw away when everything came crashing down. Oh, the memories I made... Oh, the memories I am now forever cursed to remember.

I suppose this is a just punishment. My only regret is that my friends may never hear my side of the story.

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Set between Seasons 2 and 3 // Alternate Universe tag is only to cover any deviations from canon post-season 2.

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Pre-read, Cover art, and Audio Reading provided by: Skijarama

Prologue: Flash-forward

It was yet another beautiful day in the Canterlot garden. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the branches gently rustling in the cool spring breeze. It was all perfect... but unfitting for today.

I leaned up against one of the many trees in the garden just out of sight from the gathering of ponies. They were all mindlessly milling about, every now and then exchanging small talk with one another. A large white tarp shielded a mysterious structure in the middle from view. I could tell from the marbled base and odd positions that this was yet another statue for the garden's collection. A multitude of chairs stood their ground before it. There were just enough to seat all of the guests. A snack bar was stationed off to the side next to some bushes. Fruit punch and cupcakes were being served to lighten the mood. I would have retrieved a few of the pastries, but I wasn't exactly in a hungry mood. Besides, I was, as usual, too comfortable in my seclusion to socialize.

I spotted a few familiar characters in the sea of faces. Pinkie Pie's mess of a mane would occasionally pop up. I could only imagine that she was bouncing around in her usual manner, trying her hardest to keep everyone cheered up. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy were sitting in the grass, sipping away their punch and engaged in conversation. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were playing another one of their games. It was highly inappropriate when considering why they were here, but I could understand why they were trying to get their minds distracted. Only one pony was missing from this picture.

"Where are you, Lyra?" I whispered. I didn't expect her to hear me. In fact, I hoped she didn't.

A few ponies parted from the line of sight between me and the hidden statue. Only one unicorn stayed. Her mint-green body was firmly planted where she sat. From the angle of her scruffy green and white mane I could tell that she was staring at the tarp. There was an invisible circle around her where nopony dared invade. The sight was almost enough to make me leave the tree. Almost. "Move," I pleaded. "Walk, talk, hang out, socialize. Do something." Of course, she still hadn't heard me.

A trumpet sounded, signaling the arrival of the princesses. The ponies shuffled to the empty chairs. Lyra's friends managed to move her into a seat. I caught a glimpse of her face. It was emotionless. She was trying her best to hold something back. Maybe I should go

"No," I thought out loud. "I can't. I need to stay here. Out of sight. Alone. All by myself."

"Oh, don't be like that," a voice said next to me. An eagle's claw patted my shoulder. "You still have me, after all."

"Yes, and I am overwhelmed by my good fortune," I sarcastically snapped.

The figure withdrew his talon. "Now, now, Hunter, there's no need to be a spoiled sport. Just think of it this way: now we have all the time in the world to come up with knock-knock jokes!"

"Oh, joyous rapture," I replied without emotion.

"Bah, now you're just being no fun," he complained. "If you need me, I'll be trying to steal some punch." The towering figure made his way to the snack table, his red snake-like tail flicking in agitation.

I redirected my attention to the ponies. Celestia and Luna had appeared, accompanied by many of royal guards in their decorative uniforms. One of them I recognized as Twilight's brother, Shining Armor. With a single nod of her royal head, Celestia beckoned the guards to disperse. Soon, only Celestia and her sister were the only two ponies left standing before the tarp. A silent message was exchanged between the sisters.

Celestia took a step forward and cleared her throat. "My little ponies, I have gathered you all here today in memory one of Equestria's recent fallen hero."

"Hero," I snorted. "More like a lucky fool if you ask me."

Celestia continued her droll speech. "He has been through many hardships in his time here. I deeply regret that I was one of them. In our hour of need, he so boldly left the sanctuary of his home to aid us."

"He was a coward," I corrected. "He only returned to clear his conscience."

"Through his valiance, he overcame his greatest enemy and aided our efforts in returning Equestria to order."

"But all of it was his fault," I growled. "None of this would have happened if it wasn't for him."

"I believe I speak for both my sister and I when I say that we only wish we could apologize to him formally instead of at a ceremony he could not attend." I bit my tongue to keep me from what I was about to scream. "And so, without further delay, it is my pleasure to commemorate this statue in his honor." Luna pulled down the tarp. A thunderous applause echoed through the garden.

The statue was a perfect replica of the "hero's" final moments. In stone, the two figures locked in combat were frozen in place. The "hero" appeared to be easily overpowered by the mighty Draconequus before him. Their hands were locked together as the stone cold figures looked deeply into one another's eyes in pure hatred. A gold plaque was mounted on the marble base. Only one word was engraved on it.

"SACRIFICE"

"A lucky fool, indeed," I glowered.

"I was never given a ceremony like this," the figure pouted as he reappeared. "Are we done here? I'm getting bored."

"Ah, Discord. You never were the patient type," I sighed.

"What can I say? It's in my nature."

I gave the crowd one last look. The ponies were dispersing. Some returned to their original cliques. Many exited the garden, probably wanting to go somewhere less... depressing. A few moved closer to the statue to admire it better. A single green unicorn remained in her seat, head hung low. I felt a pang of guilt.

"I swear I will find a way to return, Lyra," I muttered under my breath. "And this time, I intend to keep my promise." Her friends came and herded her away from the garden, each bearing their own form of depression. I craned my neck to meet the Draconequus' crimson pupils as the last of them disappeared behind the bushes. "Alright, let's cut a trail."

Discord grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the pitiful scene. "Come on, there's so much I want to show you. Ooh, we could go wreak some minor havoc in Las Pegasus. If we can find a way to tamper with their power grid in the middle of the night Oh! Or we could go pay Chrysalis a visit. I bet you'll never guess what she does when she thinks she's alone. Maybe we could "

I stopped listening to his list of mischief. Why I thought it was a good idea to hang out with the Spirit of Chaos was beyond me. I was sure to be driven mad by the end of our adventure. Then again, I would probably be driven insane if I didn't have anyone to talk to. Perhaps it was just a matter of which way I wanted to lose my mind.

To think that this all the result of a family camping trip gone wrong still boggles my mind. What was it like when I first arrived? Oh yes, I remember.

"Hey, Hunter," Discord said, trying to stifle a laugh.

"What?"

"Knock Knock."

Act I: Extreme Camping

It was my family's first time to go camping, so it was only natural for us to be excited. I mean, it's camping, right? As an added bonus, I was going to miss a full week of school. Yep, it was no one other than the Gray family: my mom, dad, and two younger brothers, Tanner and Brandon. After months of planning this trip, we were finally prepared to tackle whatever Mother Nature had in store for us. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

We arrived at the clearing in the forest that would soon become our sanctuary from the elements for the next few days. We piled out of the RV we rented for the trip and almost immediately began constructing what was sure to be the greatest campsite ever. A few painstakingly long hours later, the campsite was made. Well... mostly made. The fire was already dying into a smoldering pit of ashes and the tents looked as if they were ready to fall apart at any moment. Cut us some slack, it was our first go at it.

Our pitiful condition wasn't unknown to us and my father decided to take command. "Alright, may I be first to say that this camp looks like crap." Good ole dad. He always knew the right thing to say. "We need to step up our game, pronto. Honey, you, Tanner, and Brandon get to work on fixing those tents. I'll get the grub cooking. Hunter," he directed his attention to me, "I want you to go get some more firewood. Here, take this, too," he handed me a hatchet, "just in case you have to break some wood."

I held the hatchet in my hands. It was a tad bit heavier than I anticipated. The blade was much sharper, too, which would definitely help. I lazily swung it down to my side. "Yeah, I can do that."

My father planted his hand on my shoulder. "Good, don't let me down."

As I left the campsite and entered the woods I could hear my mom trying to convince Dad to trade jobs with her. I silently prayed that she was successful; remembering the last time Dad tried making a meal from scratch. A shudder ran up my sign as I remember the "Man stew's" bitter taste.

After a few minutes of wandering around, I had collected a decent amount of firewood. As I headed back to the camp a movement to the right caught my eye. Now, I've seen my fair share of horror movies to know what was about to go down, but my logical self assured me I was just seeing things. I continued to the campsite. This time, though, with a quicker pace. Another movement; this time to the left. I could have sworn I heard a dog panting. I quickened to a jog. Something snapped behind me. I whirled around to face the cause of the noise. Nothing was in plain sight. Fear pulsed through my mind as my imagination began to play with the environment. I could have sworn I saw two yellow, glowing spots in a bush. They almost looked like eyes. Eyes that were staring directly into mine. A chill ran through my veins, causing goosebumps to line my arms. I was officially terrified now.

I sprinted to the camp, adrenaline coursing through my body. The ground suddenly pulled itself up to greet my face. I must have tripped over a root in my rush. Or was it a demonic hand trying to drag me into a deep, dark abyss? Maybe it was the tail of a carnivorous beast that could easily swallow me whole? Perhaps it was a tripwire that was slowly setting in motion the contraption that would ultimately end in my untimely demise? Would I dare look?

It was a branch. Just a silly old branch. I chuckled at how stupid I was to think that an ordinary branch could have possibly

It started moving. The branch rose up from the dirt on four legs made of twisted vines and branches. A closer look revealed its entire canine body was fashioned in a similar manner. As it slowly turned its wooden skull towards me, I could see its pure, yellow, glowing soulless eyes. It growled. Oh, sweet mercy, I'll never forget that growl. It sounded as if somebody took a large branch and scraped it across pavement as slowly as possible. I heard it behind me, too. I shot up from my prone position and twirled around to find six others between me and the campsite. To my displeasure, they were large; each one rose at least up to my stomach in height. They looked angry... and hungry.

Every fiber of my being screamed at me to run. My eyes darted from left to right, desperate to find an escape. The abominations were everywhere... except there! There was a small gap between two of them. The path would lead me further from the campsite, but I would prefer it rather than become dog/plant food. I tightly gripped my hatchet, my sole tool of defense, and charged to the gap. The two creatures, or “timber wolves” as I decided to dub them, leaped up to meet me. I instinctively ducked down in mid-sprint. Their claws barely grazed my back. Though they didn't apply enough pressure to rip open my back, I could tell that the claws were sharp enough that it wouldn't require much for them to do so. With a clear exit, I ran like my life depended on it. Heck, my life did depend on it.

The chase began. As I ran deeper and deeper into the forest, the timber wolves were right on my heels. I was running for what felt an eternity until I entered an open field in the woods.. I glanced behind me to discover the amount of my pursuers had doubled. I made it halfway across the clearing when I was assaulted by an invisible force. I fell down on my back, dazed by the abrupt stop. The timber wolves had me surrounded. I scrambled as far away from them as I could. My back hit the unseen resistance.

Colors warped around me as the barrier caved inward. With my hand that didn't have a death grip on the hatchet I felt the strange substance. It was smooth, like a silky fabric. It was thin, too; almost as if I could cut through it with something sharp.

Something sharp...

I turned around and slashed the hatchet through the barrier. The result was very... interesting. It was hard to describe, really. Through the gaping hole I created was just, well, a hole. There was nothing there. Randomly colored lights arced around inside every now and then, giving it the appearance of a storm. I could feel a part of me longing to enter the hypnotic enigma.

A screeching howl jarred me back to reality. The timber wolves were writhing in agony. One of the beasts lifted its eyes to meet mine. I saw many things in those eyes: anger, pain, hunger, hatred, and despair to name a few. The others slowly rose and advanced as quickly as their trembling bodies would allow. I took a step back, knowing full well that they were still a threat. They started that accursed growling again and closed in. I backed up involuntarily, causing me to fall into the hole in reality.

A loud crack filled the air as if lightning had struck nearby. Colorful arcs of lightning flashed around me as I hurtled though the nothingness. My body heated up as if I was suddenly stuffed in an oven. My jacket and jeans were no help to me whatsoever. A horrible headache threatened to split my skull in two. I was beginning to sweat through my grey t-shirt when another crack sounded. My body started to cool down as the cold earth absorbed my warmth. I thought I was deposited back in the forest. That was quickly changed as I started to take note of my surroundings. I was definitely in a forest, but not the forest I had left.

The trees, the dirt, the sounds, the colors… everything was different. Everything felt different. The air itself felt as if it was rejecting me. Unfortunately, one thing managed to stay constant throughout the change.

The noise of scraping wood sounded all around me. Timber wolves emerged from the shadows, eyes glowing demonically. I needed something to defend myself. My hatchet was lying at my feet. I quickly scooped it up and braced myself for the impending attack. One of the larger pounced. My brain went into overdrive as I connected the blade of my hatchet to the side of its head, quickly becoming stuck due to the force of the impact and the sap pouring from the wound. Needless to say, it died immediately. I was flooded with mixed emotions. I was awestruck, confused, excited, and depressed at the same time. I killed another living being for the first time in my entire life. It was so easy… And now I had a fighting chance.

I yanked my hatchet out of the newly made carcass and prepared for another attack. The wolves backed up with uncertainty on their faces, which I was happy to use to my advantage. I charged forward ready to hack down anything that got in my way. Once they realized the tables had turned they scattered, giving me a clear exit.

I ran and ran until the sun began to set. There was no way of knowing whether or not the wolves chased me, or for how long if they did. I was tired, hungry, and had no shelter. I had cuts and bruises everywhere from my journey. The only thing that could make this worse

CRACK! Thunder rolled throughout the darkened sky as rain poured down.

was this. It seemed as if this strange place was out to get me. I pulled my dark blue hood over my head to shield my eyes from the downpour.

Fortune smiled upon me that night as I stumbled upon a village. I was so overjoyed to see civilization that I ran/stumbled through to the town. Not a single light was shining from the buildings. My only source of illumination was the occasional strike of lightning.

Strange... I couldn’t think of a better word. Not just the eerie silence, but the buildings themselves. It was as if I had wandered into a Renaissance fair. The buildings looked fairly new but their design was far too old for this time period. I even spied a few circus tents in some areas. Out of all these sights, nothing was more outlandish than the four-story, life sized gingerbread house. I probably stared at that structure for at least half an hour before another clap of thunder jarred me out of my trance. I walked away from the building, looking back every now and then to see if my eyes were working correctly.

I soon found myself in a marketplace with various produce. Fresh produce, as it appeared to be. There was not a single spoiled fruit or vegetable in sight. I approached a wooden stand loaded to the brim with apples and apple related products protected from the raging storm by a green and white striped canopy. My stomach growled at the sight of all that beautiful food. In fact, it looked almost too beautiful. My hand hovered above a shining red apple. If it was real that would imply it was recently picked; which meant someone would’ve had to pick it. It would also mean that people were recently here. But where would they be? Unless if the food was plastic; in which case this place was either a closed or abandoned theme park. There were too many possibilities and only one way to narrow them down. I grabbed the apple and took a bite.

It was delicious! I’ve never tasted anything like it before. It had the perfect amount of juiciness, crunchiness, and sweetness. I nearly cried when I finished. I needed more! I stuffed myself with various apple products (which probably wasn’t the best of ideas) until I was filled. My hunger satisfied, I picked up my hatchet I dropped during my apple galore and moved on.

The revelation of the fruit changed everything. If the food was real, then somebody had to pick it. But where was that somebody? It wasn't like someone would dump piles of food in the middle of nowhere and then leave, right? The silence was making me paranoid. I could practically feel eyes watching my every movement from the black windows. Silently judging me. Studying me.

I needed to find shelter; the rain wasn't exactly giving me an easy time. After a close survey of my immediate surroundings, I concluded that the best structure that could shield me from the rain was a large tree house. I say "tree house" solely because I couldn't think of any better way to describe it. It wasn't your run-of-the-mill tree house; this was literally a house made out of a tree. I knew that it wouldn't provide much protection, especially with leaves and branches being my cover, but it was the best I could afford.

The air became richer and richer with tension as I approached the odd structure. A shadow flashed across one of its many windows. I abruptly froze. There were definitely people here; more specifically, in the house. I slowly snuck up to the tree. My back against its... bark... I positioned myself in front of the door (if people really were present, and it wasn't just my imagination, there would be no point in scaring the living daylights out of them by peaking through the window). It didn't even occur to me that the door was a few inches shorter than me. I lifted a fist up to the door. This was it; the moment of truth. I knocked on the door.

"It's coming in! Hide!" a hushed voice squeaked from the other side.

This was ridiculous. I not only had proof that people still occupied this village, but now I knew they were deliberately hiding from me. Sure, seeing a stranger waltz into town wearing a hood during a storm wouldn’t bring out the best impression, but that was no good reason to hide. I’ve been through plenty today running for my life, defying the laws of reality, and going all-out survivor in that stupid forest, and a bad first impression wasn’t going to be another. And don’t even get me started on the whole calling me an “it” thing. I pulled open the door and ducked inside.

To say that I was confused would be the understatement of the century. There, before my very eyes, was a bright pink horse. Now, I use the word “horse” loosely. It had the general build of a horse, but it was smaller, probably just over half my height, and, well, cartoonish. Her darker pink mane (I assumed it was a she) was a frazzled mess. Her brilliant blue eyes narrowed in my direction. She was “standing” behind a cannon locked onto the doorway; which meant, to my displeasure, it was also locked on me.

"FIRE AT WILL!" she screamed.

Act I: The Unwelcoming Committee

"FIRE AT WILL!"

"What the " I started.

The pink oddity fired its cannon, unleashing a colorful ball of unknown terror upon me. I was knocked out of the house as the ball connected to my chest and exploded, and I fell on the dirt road covered head to toe in confetti, streamers, and various small party decorations. The streamers were instantly soaked in the rain, making them easy to rip apart, but there were so many that they began to cling to me. I groggily rose up and immediately stated clawing away at the paper decor that had suddenly wrapped around me.

A sky-blue missile blasted out of the house, a brilliant rainbow trailing behind it. I braced myself for another round of the pink one's confetti barrage. Unlike the first projectile, however, this one was much more... solid. It impacted my diaphragm, effectively knocking the wind out of me, and propelled me down the street. As it carried me, I managed to examine the colorful missile. Two wings protruded from both sides, each flapping frantically to keep us moving forward. The spectral mirage that trailed it was an echo of its similarly colored hair like material at its front and end. I glanced down at my chest to see two appendages branching off of the main body. It was definitely an odd shape for a missile. It wasn't until I saw a contorted face on a rounded head that I realized it was organic. But if it was organic... then it could feel pain...

It was time to test its limits.

I grasped its wings near the joints and twisted us into a frenzy of barrel rolls. I heard it, well, her, cry out in fear as she lost control. We crashed into the ground, hard. Thankfully, at the last second, I maneuvered us to where she hit the earth first with me "surfing" on top of her. She weakly groaned as our ride came to a sliding halt.

I propped myself up on my hands and knees above her and struggled to regain my composure. There was a sharp pain in my right knee where I could feel the skin touching the mud. My jeans must have ripped over the leg when we crashed. I winced as fire shot up my leg when I shifted some of my weight to the right. It would definitely become a problem if this madness carried on much longer.

The blue missile groaned again underneath me. I glanced down in curiosity and took the chance to better inspect her. She had a similar equine structure as the pink horse-thing from the tree house. This one in particular, however, had wings sprouting out of her back, giving her the appearance of a pegasus. Her eyes were screwed shut in pain. She lifted a blue foreleg up to her head and moaned, "Ugh, my head."

I zoned out as my mind struggled to comprehend what I had just heard. My eyes focused on her mouth, waiting to see if she would say something again, but nothing else come out that was comprehensible.

"Hold on, Rainbow! Ah'm a-comin'!"

Before I could turn to meet the new voice, there was a sudden constriction around my torso and upper arms as a rope slithered itself over me. A force dragged me backwards and away from the blue pegasus. When I managed to get up to my feet, I whirled around to discover an orange horse with a blonde mane and a stetson hat standing a few yards away with the other end of the lasso in her mouth. She gave the rope another tug to pull me further away from her fallen companion.

"Stay away from my friend," she growled, muffled by the rope in her mouth.

I planted my feet in the ground and tried to resist the pull of the rope, which was no easy feat. Whatever this thing was, it was strong. My leg screamed in pain as I exerted too much weight on it, but I tried to tune it out. This wasn't the time to worry about physical discomforts.

"Let me go," I demanded as I struggled with the mare.

"No can do," she said in a strained tone. She gave another strong pull, and I lost a few feet. "Y'all ain't goin' anywhere 'til my friends get here."

Her words hit me like a brick wall. As fear began gripping my heart, I prayed that I had simply heard her wrong. If there were more of these things coming, then I needed to get out of here. This place wasn't safe.

I grasped the rope with both hands and summoned all the strength I possessed into one swift yank. The orange mare flew at me with its mouth still clenched on the rope. She landed at my feet belly-up and eyes twirling in different directions, betraying her disorientation. I planted a foot on her stomach to pin her down long enough for me to undo my bindings.

A cannon's blast filled the air. Once again I found myself knocked down on the wet earth, covered in quickly dampening streamers and confetti. Off in the distance, I could make out three equine silhouettes barreling towards me through the heavy storm; I identified the one in the middle as the pink horse from before and her cannon. Her dark pink mane and tail were significantly straighter in the rain.

"Stay away from Applejack, you big meanie!" she screeched as she fired another round. This time, however, I saw it coming and rolled out of the way. A pile of party preparations erupted where I had been a few moments ago.

The three creatures were still getting closer. I scrambled up to my feet and fled as fast as I could from the scene. I shot a glance behind me to see if they were chasing me, and to my relief they had stopped to check on their companions. A ghost of a smile formed on my lips at my fortunate head start, and I ran for all I was worth.

It had only been a few minutes of running when an awful truth dawned on me. I was lost in an unfamiliar town, running around in the middle of a storm. I had no idea where to find safety. As I ran through the muddy streets, panic slowly began to overtake my mind. My eyes darted around frantically between the buildings as I passed them by. Suddenly, the sensation of eyes watching me became too realistic for me to handle. I could already imagine more of these creatures waiting inside the structures.

A small headache began to form in the back of my head. My legs were filled with lead, and my lungs felt as if they were ablaze. I wouldn't be able to keep running like this. I needed to slow things down and think this through.

An alley came into view up ahead. It was as good of a place as any to rest for the moment. I stumbled over to it as fast as I could and collapsed on the cool, damp earth once I was inside. A part of me just wanted to lie down there for the rest of the night, but I knew doing so would just put me in danger. I sluggishly crawled up to a metallic trash can near me and rested with my back against the alley wall. The rain pelted my body randomly. I closed my eyes and tried to think.

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. My mind was in complete disarray. Nothing was making sense. These creatures, these... ponies were a threat. I needed to get away from them. But how? Everywhere I turned, more and more of them seemed to pop up. This whole town could have been infested with them for all I knew.

My right knee was still stinging from my little crash landing with the pegasus. I took the opportunity to better inspect the damage. My jeans were definitely torn; a large hole exposed my skin to the world. My knee was drenched in a strange, dark liquid. It was hard to tell exactly what it was, but even in the low light I caught the faint glint of crimson here and there. I experimentally tried to wipe the grime off with my hand, only to quickly retract it as a sharp pain erupted from my knee. There was no mistaking it; my knee was bleeding horribly. I needed to get out of this town now before it became any more of a handicap.

"Come on, girls, I think I saw it go this way!" The blue pegasus with the rainbow mane landed in the street just outside of the alley. I hid myself behind the metal trash can but couldn't resist the urge to poke my head out and watch. The mare was searching the area impatiently. She whipped her head back and called, "Hurry up! That thing could be getting away."

"We're running as fast as we can," a voice called back. Four more ponies came into view; two of which were the orange and pink ponies, the latter having her sick joke of a cannon in tow. One of the newcomers had a white coat and a long purple mane that appeared to be curled at one point but was now limp in the rain. The other had a light purple coat and an indigo mane with two pink and purple streaks. A horn protruded from both of their heads, making them look like unicorns.

"Are you sure it went this way, Rainbow Dash?" the purple unicorn asked, scanning the vicinity for herself. "I don't see it anywhere."

"I'm totally sure," the pegasus, Rainbow Dash presumably, assured. She suddenly cringed and massaged her head with a hoof. "Well, mostly sure," she corrected. "I was flying blind for a few seconds, and then it just vanished."

"Well, it couldn't have gotten too far," the orange pony pointed out. "That thing shouldn't be too hard to spot, either; it stands out like a sore hoof." She hesitated for a second. "Ah've never seen anything like that before, Twi. What was it?"

The purple unicorn shook her head. "I don't know, Applejack; I didn't get a good look at it. But it's imperative that we find the creature and contain it. There's no way of knowing what it can do, so everypony needs to stay together."

I shifted uncomfortably at the ponies' conversation. The thought of being captured by them didn't settle well with me. I needed to get out of here soon, but first I needed to retrieve my hatchet. It was the only way I could defend myself at the moment. Once I got my hands back on it, I could leave. But I wasn't about to go anywhere until these ponies left; the last thing I wanted was to attract any unwanted attention while they were still close.

"Hold on a minute," the orange pony said, Applejack if I interpreted the name correctly. "Where's Fluttershy?" she asked worriedly.

"The monster must have gotten her!" the pink one gasped.

"That would be unlikely," the white unicorn commented while flipping some of her limp purple mane out of her face. "I do believe she is still in the library. She never came out with us when we left to help Rainbow Dash."

"Could you get her, Rarity?" the purple one asked. "It would be beneficial to have her expertise on wild animals at the moment."

The white unicorn was already trotting off. "Anything to get out of this dreadful weather. Just look at what it's doing to my mane," she complained.

"Pinkie Pie, why don't you go with her?" the purple one asked. "Just in case she runs into the creature on the way."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" the pink mare saluted. She dragged her cannon around and began following Rarity. Just before she left, though, she hesitated and turned back. "Are you sure, Twilight? What if it comes out and attacks you? My knee's still pinching, and "

"I can assure you that we will be perfectly fine," Twilight interjected. "Besides, even if it does show up, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and I are more than capable of subduing it." The pink mare didn't appear very reassured, and with an uneasy expression and a shrug, Pinkie departed along with her cannon.

By this point I was becoming antsy. Only three ponies remained, and, by the looks of it, it appeared as if they too were prepared to leave. In my eagerness to leave, I was already shifting behind my hiding place to get ready to bolt out of the alley. Unfortunately, I accidentally kicked the trash can during my shuffle, causing an audible clang to echo through the storm.

My heart stopped as all three of the mares' heads snapped to the alley where I hid. Fear had me paralyzed in hopes that they would disregard the sound as some random rodent. Ice pumped through my veins as Applejack cautiously made her way to the alley. Her eyes were locked in my general direction, but I couldn't tell if she could see me in all the darkness. Each step she took closer put me more on edge. She only hesitated when she reached the edge of the alley.

A bolt of lightning arced across the sky. The entire alleyway was bathed in white light for a brief second, me included. Applejack's eyes widened in shock. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind that my fears were true. I had been spotted, and the chase was about to begin.

Rainbow Dash flew into the air and directed a hoof towards me. "There's the monster!" she exclaimed. "Get it!"

When the ponies charged into the alley, instinct took over, and I bolted in the opposite direction. I tore down anything and everything I could to impede my chasers' progress. Trash cans, soggy cardboard boxes, random stacks of debris; if I could get my hands on it, then it came crashing down. A small smirk managed to find itself on my face as the ponies tripped over the obstacles I was creating, and it slowly grew as the exit came closer and closer. I soon burst into the streets and immediately took a sharp right. I may have had a head start, but I still needed to shake them off my tail.

The powerful beating of wings sounded behind me as I ran. A sudden mass rammed into my back and drove me into the earth, causing my exposed knee to slam into the ground. I would have been screaming in agony, but the only sound that escaped through my clenched teeth was a strangled groan. The mysterious weight jumped off of my prone body and landed before me.

"Ha! You're going to have to do better than that if you want to outrun me," Rainbow Dash's voice proudly announced.

I grunted and slowly lifted my head out of the mud. The blurry image of the blue pegasus appeared a few yards before me. I struggled to pick myself up but couldn't find the strength. After all the running and hiding tonight, my weary body was yearning for rest, and the ground was so inviting. It was so tempting to just lie there.

The sound of hooves trotting across the wet earth could barely be heard over the rain. I craned my head back to see that Twilight and Applejack had caught up to us. They came to a stop a good distance from me.

"Good job stopping the creature, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said. "Now all we have to do is keep it here until Fluttershy arrives. I'll try to put a force field around it. If it tries to move, you two try to stop it."

A small shower of sparks erupted from the unicorn's horn. A lavender mist rose out of the ground around me in a ring, and a glassy, purple wall began to quickly sprout out of it. I laid there mesmerized as the strange wall ascended and curved inward, making a dome around me. As it came to its completion, the newly-made purple dome slowly faded until it was nearly transparent. I could see the storm raging on outside of it, each raindrop lighting up in a faint purple glow as it splattered across the dome's wall.

I slowly lifted myself up to my hands and knees, wincing slightly at my angry protests of my muscles. Applejack and Rainbow Dash tensed up at the sight of me moving, but Twilight interjected.

"It's alright, girls," she assured. "That creature isn't going anywhere. That force field should hold it until everypony else gets here." The other two mares relaxed, but only slightly. Applejack trotted up to Twilight and began talking in her ear, never taking her eyes off of me. There was little doubt in my mind as to what they were discussing.

I groggily rose up to my feet, wincing as a sharp pain erupted in my knee. My eyes immediately dropped down to my legs, and even in the low light I could see the dirt and grime that had accumulated over my exposed knee again. I gingerly tried to scrape it off with my hand, only to be rewarded with another sting as more crimson spilled out of the wound. I hunched down and covered my knee with my hands in hopes of stopping the flow, succeeding only in painting my own hands red.

This wasn't the time or the place to tend to my wounds. If I heard the unicorn correctly, then there would soon be other ponies joining us. I couldn't let that happen. I refused to allow them to corner me into submission so easily. If they wanted me so badly, then they were going to have to work for it.

I glared at the strange purple wall that surrounded me; the one thing that was preventing me from escaping at this very moment. It was only built in a matter of seconds; surely it couldn't have been too sturdy, right?

I staggered towards the wall. The three ponies' eyes were locked onto me, but I paid them little attention. I outstretched my hand and pressed it against the barrier. It was smooth; its texture reminded me of the same barrier in the woods. Maybe this one would be just as easy to break through.

It was then that I noticed the smoke leaking out from between my fingers. I instinctively pulled my hand back to find the source of the smoke, and a cold shiver ran down my spine at what I discovered. It was my blood. My blood was sizzling away off of my bare hand.

"Twilight, it's doing something," Rainbow Dash warned. I glanced up to the force field and saw my crimson hand print slowly eating a hole in the barrier.

"T-T-Twi?" Applejack asked, voice lined with fear. "Is it supposed to be able to do that?" I could practically see the anxiety radiating off of Applejack. Rainbow Dash must have caught it, too, considering how badly she was shaking on her legs. I was pretty spooked myself. After all, it was my blood that was disintegrating.

The bewildered unicorn shook her head. "No."

At that point, a perfectly hand-sized hole was made in the barrier. I didn't wait for the ponies to come back to their senses. I shoved my hands through the hole, grabbed onto the wall the best I could, and pulled back for all I was worth. The wall was sturdy, much sturdier than I had anticipated. The only way I knew I was making any progress was by the lavender cracks slowly branching out from the hole. My hands began smoking again as my tortured blood sizzled into nonexistence.

Twilight was first to recover. Her horn lit up once again in a violet aura, and the wall began mending itself. It finally hit me that she was doing this. I didn't know how, but somehow she constructed this wall around me and was sustaining it. Her friends watched helplessly from the sidelines, unsure who the victor would be.

The barrier was mending faster than I could break it. Soon the cracks were gone and my fingers were being crushed by the healing shield. I had to rip my arms away before my fingers could be severed. With her barrier whole once again, Twilight plopped into the soaked dirt.

“There,” she panted. “See? Nothing to it.” Her head fell heavily from exhaustion after uttering the last syllable.

If there was ever a time for me to make a move, I couldn't think of one better than then. I had a weapon against the barrier, its power source was too tired to even stand, and the two others were busy trying to keep her awake. I pressed my hands against my bleeding knee, trying to gather as much blood as I could. Once they were bloodied enough, I painted a crimson circle on the wall. As planned, the shield began deteriorating. I clasped my hands together and swung with all my might at the weakened section of the wall. A web of brilliant lavender flared out around the source of impact. I backed up a few paces and prepared to charge.

"Twi, it's goin' at it again," a worried Applejack said. She started shaking Twilight violently, trying in vain to awaken her to the problem at hand, but the tired unicorn wouldn't respond.

I rammed my shoulder directly in the center of the web of cracks. The space around me was suddenly filled with falling water and a cascade of purple shards as I tumbled back into the storm. The second my feet hit the mud, I made a mad dash away from the scene. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were too occupied with Twilight to give chase, allowing me ample amount of time to lose them.

The storm had reached a crescendo. The deafening drone of rain filled the air, drowning out all other noise save for the occasional clap of thunder. The heavy drops of rain pelted my head as I ran. I needed to get out of this town, out of this storm, but I couldn't leave without my hatchet. It was all I had to protect myself. Without it, I was as good as dead.

After a few minutes of stumbling around, the tree-house came into view in the distance. The front door was left ajar, bathing the opening with light from the inside. Three figures stood before the opened doorway; two of which were equine, and the third was a small, oddly-shaped creature.

I slowly drew closer, sticking to the shadows of the buildings as I moved, and soon realized that retrieving my hatchet would be a more difficult task than I thought. The tree-house was isolated from the other buildings, surrounded instead by a vast empty space. It was impossible to get any closer to it without being out in the open for the ponies to see.

Disgruntled by my new situation, I hid myself by the nearest building and decided to wait until the three figures left before making any moves. Now that I was closer, I recognized the two equines as the white unicorn and pink pony. The third figure appeared to be some sort of bipedal lizard with purple scales and a green spine. I could just barely make out my hatchet at the feet of the lizard. They were in the middle of a conversation, but it was nearly impossible to hear what they were saying over the storm. I strained my ears to try to listen in on what they were saying.

"Come on, Fluttershy," a young male voice spoke. "There's nothing to worry about. With Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight searching for it, that thing is as good as caught. Heck, they probably already have it caught by now." The male voice perked my interest. Up until now, everything I've met was female, or at least sounded female.

"Spike is right, Fluttershy," the white unicorn cajoled. "There's no need to be afraid of that atrocious beast. Besides, we need your help. Who better could tame a wild animal than you?"

There was a brief moment of silence. Whatever response was made was drowned out by the rain.

"Nonsense, darling, you're much more qualified than all of them. Besides, most of them aren't even here. Now come on; it would be impolite to keep our friends waiting."

As if on cue, Rainbow Dash flew pat my hiding spot and landed in front of the group. The words barely stumbled out of her mouth as she stopped. "Guys, we have a problem. We found that creature again and managed to catch it, but it broke loose. Twilight's out cold, and Applejack's watching over her while she recovers."

An uproar of questions erupted from the trio. I couldn't discern anything in the rush of words from my distance.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash shouted over the crowd. "Twilight said we need to find this thing before it causes any more damage. We gotta hurry; every second we waste standing here is another second that thing is on the loose."

Her speech managed to quell the uproar, and there was a small moment of silence before the white unicorn took a step forward. "Well, I for one agree with Rainbow Dash," she explained. "We simply cannot have this creature running amok in our town. If we split up, we should be able to cover more ground."

"Split up?!" the lizard cried. "Are you nuts? That's exactly what the monster wants! Everypony knows that."

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. "We can't split up. That's, like, the worst idea in the history of bad ideas! If we do, then the monster will be able to slowly pick us off one by one until there's nopony left." Her voice was rising with panic. "And everypony knows the monster always goes for the funny one first!"

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Look, if it'll make you two feel better, we'll split up into groups. Pinkie, you can come with me. Spike, you stay with Rarity. Fluttershy " The front door suddenly slammed shut. Rainbow Dash let out a groan. "Fine, Fluttershy can hold down the fort. Now if everypony's ready, we have a monster to catch." After exchanging a few farewells and good-lucks, the four split off into their respective pairs and took off in opposite directions.

I hesitantly emerged from my hiding place. There may have not been any ponies in sight, but I still had to worry about the one that was still inside the house. Lights were still pouring out of the windows like a searchlight. I had to be careful not to get too close to them as I sneaked closer to where I last saw my hatchet.

"Oh, no," I whispered. I stopped dead in my tracks and searched frantically for my hatchet across the ground. It was nowhere to be found. "This can't be happening," I muttered under my breath. "Not now." I mentally beat myself up for not paying more attention. There it was, laying at the feet of that bipedal lizard, and next thing I know, it disappears. It couldn't have just vanished into thin air; something had to have picked it up. A pony couldn't have picked it up; they didn't have the right appendages. The lizard, on the other hand...

I froze. Thoughts began to quickly form in my head. I stared off where I last saw the lizard and pony. The lizard was the only thing that could have taken it. I had to get it back; it was my only sword and shield in this mad world.

"Just grab the hatchet and run," I thought out loud. "Simple as that." Gathering as much nerve as I had, I took off in the direction they departed.

After a few minutes, their figures appeared in the rain. They were walking close to each other, deep in conversation, but it appeared as if the lizard was lagging behind Rarity a bit. I could make out my hatchet in his claws. A small smile threatened to show on my lips. This couldn't have been more perfect. I stalked closer toward the pair, trying to remain as quiet as possible despite the deafening sound of the storm around us.

"So, Rarity," the lizard began. "What exactly does this thing look like?"

"Oh, it was the strangest thing I have ever seen," Rarity explained. "Unfortunately, I never got the chance to get a good look at it before it took off. It was quite tall, and thin, too. Like a lanky minotaur, or a diamond dog with short arms. It was rather interesting, actually. The most peculiar thing, though, is that it was covered head to hoof in clothing. I have no idea what it really looks like."

"What was it doing? When you saw it, that is."

"It was standing on top of Applejack with a rope in its hands. I believe it was leaning over her when Pinkie Pie shot it with her party cannon."

The lizard hesitated before continuing. "What do you think it was going to do?"

"I'd rather not think about it," Rarity deadpanned.

"Um, yeah. Me, too." The lizard cast a glance in the other direction. I could see a sliver of his white cornea before he snapped his head back to Rarity. "But I can’t help it. What if it was trying to steal her, or hurt her up, or… or…” Spike let out a gasp. “What if it was going to eat her?!”

Rarity gave a nervous chuckle. "Spike, please. I'm pretty sure it wasn't going to eat her. I don't even think it could have if it wanted to."

"But you said yourself that you couldn’t see its face. What if it has huge jaws with loads of sharp teeth-"

“Spike…”

"What if it has a hundred eyes that stare into your soul so you can’t scream-"

“Spike.”

“What if… What if it doesn't even have a face?”

“Spike! Honestly, you’re going to give me nightmares. Would you please stop?”

I was practically right on top of them. It was now or never. I covered the lizard's mouth with my left hand and hoisted him up to my chest. He let out a muffled scream as I pried my tool from his claws.

Rarity turned around and sighed. "Spike, what is it n-n-n-aah!" Her voice escalated into a shriek as she beheld me holding her companion. A burning sensation enveloped my left hand as a bright green light erupted between my fingers. A cry of agony escaped my throat as I released the lizard – no, the dragon from my newly scorched hand. I clutched my wrist and buckled down to my knees as the dragon scampered off.

"Take this, you ruffian!"

I only had enough time to glance up as a white hoof connected to the right of my head. The entire world flipped underneath me. Colors flashed across my line of sight, most of which were red. My senses numbed, but I could feel a warm trickle curve down my face. The fabric of my hood stuck to my head. The headache intensified. The pain… so much pain…

What are you waiting for?! a voice screamed in my head. Fight back! Kill them for all the pain they have given you! I recognized the second voice as my own, but at the same time it sounded so... alien. Still, its reason was sound enough for my broken condition to accept. I had had enough of all this running. It was time to retaliate.

My fingers brushed up against the wooden handle of my hatchet and tightly curled around it. A new rush of energy washed over me. I slowly raised myself to my hands and knees. My aching body shouted in protest to the movement, but I ignored it. I wasn't about to let anything hinder me from getting my revenge, not even a little pain.

"R-Rarity," a young voice called behind me. "It's getting back up."

When I finally managed to get up to my feet, a blunt force rammed into the back of my head. I stumbled forward a few steps from the momentum and turned around to find the source of the blow. My eyes fell on a white, pony-sized smudge that brightly contrasted the darkened world around it. A small patch of earth near it glowed light blue and hurled itself towards me.

I took another blow to the shoulder and felt some mud splattered onto my face. It didn't hurt, but the force behind it was enough to nearly knock me off balance. A grimace formed on my face as I wiped the grime away from my eyes. My grip tightened on my hatchet. I was ready to end this.

I charged forward and haphazardly swung my hatchet at the unicorn. She quickly leaped to the right before I even began to swing, causing my weapon to hit nothing but air. Another muddy projectile struck me in the hip. I growled in frustration and attempted another strike, trying to be more accurate. Once I was nearly upon her, I swung my weapon downward as hard as I could onto the pony, but once again she dodged my attack. My blade buried itself deep into the earth, and before I could dig it back out, the earth underneath me shot upward and rammed my stomach.

My hands released their grip on the hatchet and instinctively retracted to cover my stomach as I tried to catch my breath. This wasn't cutting it; I needed a new tactic.

A brief thought flashed through my mind, and I glared at the pony with a twisted smile tugging at my lips. She must have caught my crazed expression as she tried to scramble away again. I leaped forward and outstretched my hand, clamping my fingers down on her tail the moment they made contact. The unicorn gave a surprised yelp as I pulled her back to me, and I swung my foot as hard as I could at her underside. She crumpled to the ground from the force of the kick, causing a small wave of mud to ripple away.

I pinned her down to her back before she could scurry off, raised my burned hand, and brought it down on her head as hard as I could. She went cross-eyed immediately, but she was still conscious. I struck her a few more times until she completely blacked out.

"Hey!" Something small hit me in the back. I rose up from the dazed unicorn and turned around on the tilting earth to find the young dragon standing boldly before me, holding a few rocks in his claws. "Stay away from her, you... you freak!" he shouted.

I took a few staggering steps towards the dragon. A panicked expression flashed across his face as I got closer, and he retreated a few steps in return. A brilliant jet of green flames erupted from his maw towards me, blinding me with its intense light. I stumbled back away from the fire and tripped backward, landing on my back.

I crawled up to my feet and searched the area around me, expecting another attack, but none ever came. I rubbed my eyes to clear out the afterimage, and once it faded all I saw were the darkened streets and houses of the town. The dragon and pony were nowhere in sight.

Cowards, the voice growled in my head. Hunt them down. Make them pay.

I shook my head. "No," I breathed. "Not worth it." My eyes fell upon my hatchet, still buried in the mud. I staggered up to it and wrenched it out of the ground. "Besides," I added, musing over the feel of the tool in my hand, "I got what I came for. I'm ready to get out of here." I chose a random path and began lumbering through the town, knowing that if I kept going straight, I would eventually find an exit.

As I traipsed down the empty streets, I felt another pang where the white unicorn kicked my head. A warm trickle slid down my face, reminding me of my broken condition. Colors were starting to blur together. I needed to get out of this mad town before I blacked out entirely. No more fights. No more stumbling around. Stealth was key to success.

I stuck to the shadows as I weaved through the labyrinth of houses. Eventually, an exit came into view, and I soon found myself in what I assumed was a park. A few trees dotted the area, and the forest stood on the other side. I hesitated as memories of the timber wolves resurfaced but quickly dispelled them. I must have lost them a while ago considering that they didn't follow me into town. For all I knew, they had lost all interest in me, which made the forest my best bet to find safety.

Three pony-sized blurs soon appeared ahead of me. I tried to make out the distorted images, but my eyes refused to cooperate. Not wanting to attract any attention, I hid behind a nearby tree and silently waited.

Minutes slowly ticked by. Two of the colorful blurs eventually departed, leaving the third all alone. It was clear that it wasn't going to be moving anytime soon, and it was impossible to bypass without causing an alarm. I silently cursed as the inevitable became clear. If I wanted to escape, this pony would have to die.

I slowly stalked closer to my prey, moving from tree to tree, silently hoping that it would scurry off before I could get to it. Not that I wouldn't have minded blowing off some steam, but the last thing I needed was for the ponies to know where I left. To my displeasure, the smudge of a pony was still there by the time I was halfway across the park. I waited for my eyes to correct themselves before going any further, knowing that running in semi-blind at an unknown enemy would be suicide. They adjusted enough for me to barely make out the situation. The pony was positioned next to a tree a small ways from the forest opening.

I would have to be more careful now. My body was in no condition to fight, and there wasn't a doubt in my mind that the pony would attack if it saw me, or at least call for reinforcements. I needed to find a way to sneak up on it. If I could break the line of sight with the tree next to it, then I should be able to get close enough to the pony to take care of it before it raises any alarm. It was my best bet. I slowly trudged through the rain until the tree came between me and my prey before I advanced.

I was shaking with anxiety as I drew closer and closer to the tree. It wasn't too long until I close enough that one small slip would ruin everything. If the pony so much as moved, it would undoubtedly spot me. My rain-soaked hands were beginning to get sweaty as I approached the tree, and I had to readjust my hold on my hatchet.

I pressed myself against the bark and slowly revolved around the tree. I craned my neck around the edge to my target. Through my hazy vision, I could see the pony’s frame shivering violently with its back turned to me. A small, twisted smile began to tug at my lips. This was going to be an easy kill.

I tightened my grip on my hatchet. Sweat mixed with my scabbing blood. I left my cover and ever so slowly snuck up behind it. I was mere feet upon it when lighting cracked the sky behind me. The startled pony spun around and started shaking harder than before. I pounced before it could scream. In one motion, I knocked it down on its back and pinned it down with my blistering hand wrapped around its neck and my body crouching above it. It struggled underneath me, but to no avail. I constricted its airflow with a quick squeeze. It gave one last spasm before falling still.

I elevated my hatchet as high as my tired arm would allow and sent it hurtling down on my prey's head. It would have hit its mark, too, if it hadn't been for another clap of thunder. The sudden noise startled me, and my aim suffered for it. I missed the pony's head by inches. My blade was buried deep into the earth along with some severed strands of the pony's long, pink mane.

My vision finally cleared enough for me to see details. The pony had a long pink mane and tail, probably once smooth but now ruined by the rain and mud, accompanied by a faint yellow coat covered here and there by crimson blotches from the blood dripping from my body. It had two wings with feathers matching the body in color. My heart nearly stopped when I saw its face. Its eyes were clamped shut, and tears rolled down its cheeks. A quiet sobbing emitted from its mouth, cut off every now and then by random coughs.

My headache slowly intensified. Once again the strange voice made itself known. Why are you hesitating? it asked. You can kill it right now and get it all over with.

I shook my head. I couldn't do it. No matter what, I couldn't bring myself to lift the hatchet. My eyes were glued to the pony's face. It was unsettling to see it crying. Every other pony I've come across always tried to attack or intimidate me; this one, on the other hand...

This pony wasn't like the others. It could feel emotions just like me. It could feel fear just like me. It could cry just like me. It wasn't an "it," either; it was a she. She was a she. She was more human than I thought, and I almost murdered her. She was mortally terrified and I was the cause. I didn't recognize her as one of the ones who attacked me. She never tried to impede my escape; she was just standing here. She never attacked me; she never tried to hurt me. She was... innocent.

I relinquished my grip from her throat and simply hovered over her. She cringed once my hand left her and turned her head to the side, the severed strands of her pink mane partially covering her face. Even now, with nothing holding her to the ground, she still didn't scamper off and flee. It was as if she was completely paralyzed with fear.

"Fluttershy!" The yellow pegasus's deep teal eyes shot open. She stared up at me, tears still rolling down her cheeks; her cry much softer, almost inaudible until she coughed. It was impossible to tell if she could see my face through the shadows my hood gave. We stayed there, frozen like statues until the familiar voice cried again. "Stay away from her!"

With my body still crouched over the pegasus, I turned around to see the source of the noise. The five ponies and dragon from before were back, each looking prepared to tear me limb from limb. What was I going to do? It was six on one; there was no way I could win. I could easily run into the forest, but that would only delay the inevitable. I needed an advantage over them; something other than a silly hatchet. Something that would discourage them from following me. Something... like a hostage.

My eyes drifted back down to the pegasus underneath me. She looked back up with fearful eyes.

I couldn't...

It's either your life or hers, the voice whispered. The choice is yours.

The pegasus struggled to free herself, and at that moment, my choice was made. I grabbed one of her forelegs and pulled her up. She tried to fight back, but it was in vain. Even in this state, I was stronger than her. I hoisted her up to my chest, tucking my left arm under her forelegs to keep her pressed against me. With my right, I wrenched my hatchet out of the mud and rested the edge of the blade under her chin. As expected, the other ponies' eyes lit up with shock.

"Listen up," I shouted over the pounding rain. "I've had enough of this game of chase. I am going to walk into that forest, and none of you are going to follow me. Got it? If any of you do," I tilted the blade to expose Fluttershy's neck, "well, I hope you're smart enough to figure out the rest." I slowly began backing into the forest. Rainbow Dash started to make a move, but Twilight quickly cut her off. "I'll let this one go when I'm done," I assured.

Fluttershy tried to shift in my arms. I pressed the hatchet closer to her neck to discourage her. "P-P-Please!" she desperately cried out to her friends. "D-Don't let him take me!"

This time Twilight took a few steps forward. The others cautiously followed her lead. I halted and made it appear as if I was prepared to slice Fluttershy's throat. "Don't think I'll hesitate," I warned. It was a hollow threat, but thankfully the ponies bought it and hesitantly backed up.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy," Twilight called, her voice verging on cracking. "Everything's going to be fine. You're going to be okay; I promise."

The canopy of the forest soon covered me and my hostage. I gingerly retreated deeper and deeper, casting frequent glances behind to make sure I wouldn't stumble on anything. Ever so slowly, the storm began dying down. Eventually, the entrance disappeared from sight.

As soon as I was sure that the others hadn't followed us, I dropped her on the ground. Immediately, she curled up on the ground and buried her head underneath her forelegs. Her entire body was trembling. "P-Please don't hurt me," she begged.

A crater was beginning to form in my chest, quickly becoming filled with guilt. I could only shake my head, disheartened by her first words towards me. Words were failing me at this point. Did she really think I was going to kill her after all of this? Was I really just a monster in her eyes? I sighed and finally managed to get a word out.

"Go."

For a second, Fluttershy stopped shaking. She lifted a hoof to reveal a tearstained eye. "Wh-What?" she asked uncertainly.

"I said go!" I snapped. I cringed at the unintended harshness of my own voice. Nevertheless, she received the message. After scrambling up to her hooves, she darted away, back to the town. A sigh escaped me as the sound of galloping hooves faded off in the distance, and I began stumbling aimlessly through the forest.

The storm had lifted. Every now and then large drops of collected rain would hit me from the leaves up above. As I stumbled through the trees, my mind struggled to comprehend everything that had happened. Everything felt so unreal, like it was just one bad nightmare. To think that in one night I changed from an average high school student to a psychotic survivalist sent a shiver up my spine.

My wounds began taking their toll. My vision was fading in and out, causing me to walk blind every now and then. I felt light headed, and the all too familiar taste of bile formed in the back of my mouth. My muscles felt ablaze, aching for relief. I tripped over a root but didn't have the drive to get back up. I only had enough energy to roll over on my back to breathe better. My pain slowly melted away as sleep’s sweet embrace covered my mind.

You have given us a taste of life... We hunger for more...

Act I: A Mostly-Safe Haven

The sound of footsteps snapped me back into reality. Through my peripheral vision I could see the orange rays of the morning sun leaking through the trees. The gentle melodies of birdsong filled the air. Everything was so peaceful, so calm. A part of me wanted to believe that yesterday was just a bad dream, but the dull ache that spanned across my body dashed all hopes of that being true.

The footsteps were getting closer. They couldn't have been from another human. The tempo was too fast, and each step was accompanied by another about a split-second off. It had to be a pony; there was no doubt in my head. They must have come searching for me after their friend returned to them. I couldn't stay here much longer; I wasn't ready for another encounter.

I struggled to raise myself to a sitting position. My muscles ached and groaned in protest, and I tried to tune them out. A sharp pain spread across the palm of my left hand as it barely skimmed across the earth. I quickly cradled it against my stomach and cringed when I caught sight of the wound. My discolored palm was covered in blisters, and a weak trickle of scarlet blood was still seeping out of the wound.

I slowly lifted myself up to my feet, trying carefully not to agitate any other wounds I had accumulated yesterday. An overwhelming sense of vertigo welcomed me as I reached my full height, accompanied by a painful headache. Colors began to blur for a moment, turning the world around me into a strange green and brown canvas.

A twig snapped behind me. I whirled around to the sound of the noise to find a grey pony standing just a few yards away. With a surprised yelp, I scrambled back until my back ran into a nearby tree.

A brief moment of silence passed while we just stared at each other in shock. I gave the area a quick glance to see if there were any other threats, but all I could see was this one pony. Although, to call it a pony might have been incorrect. With the dark grey stripes that spanned across its body, it looked more like a zebra than anything else. Golden rings wrapped around its neck and one of its forelegs.

"Forgive me for startling you," she started, breaking the silence with her African-esque voice, "I knew not you were here. Please, accept my apology; there is no reason to fear." She put on an apologetic smile at the end of her rhyme to add to the sincerity.

To say that I was caught off guard would have been an understatement. I didn't expect her to talk to me, much less apologize for sneaking up on me.

"You're fine," I finally managed to answer, trying to sound as nonchalant as I could. "I just... didn't expect anyone to drop in on me." I regained my composure and realized I didn't have my hatchet on me. My eyes quickly searched the ground for my missing tool and found it laying dangerously close to the zebra. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't risk getting too close to her; there was no telling what she would do when she saw me approaching.

The zebra followed my stare to the hatchet near her hooves. She craned her neck down, picked it up with her mouth, and trotted up to me. My body tensed up as the zebra drew closer. My eyes were glued to the grimy blade of the hatchet.

What are you standing there for? a voice demanded in my head. It could still be a threat. Move!

I took a wary step back, unsure of what to do. The zebra continued with a disarming look in her eyes and came to a stop before me. She didn't make any hostile movements; she simply stood there stretching her neck toward me with the hatchet in her mouth. An awkward second passed before I realized she wanted me to take it.

"Um, thanks," I said, gingerly retrieving my hatchet from her mouth.

"Thank me you need not," the zebra dismissed with a smile, waving a hoof. "The deed was not a lot. I merely wanted to extend a helping hoof to a friend." She gave me a closer look, and her smile faded into a small frown. "May I ask what made you so sore?" she asked. "To obtain such wounds, you must have had quite a chore."

"I had a hard night. Let's just leave it at that," I replied. I lazily swung the hatchet down to my side. "Actually, it would be a good idea if I kept going. I'm kinda busy with... stuff. So, if you'll excuse me." I skirted around the mare and set off in a random direction. My joints moved like rusty gears, grinding and screeching as I moved. I tried to hide my discomfort behind a blank stare. I didn't make it very far before the zebra put herself before me.

"Please, this is a most pitiful sight to see. Allow me to assist and come follow me," she implored. "I can offer a remedy for your ails; after which I will send you on your trails."

I hesitated. The sound of a remedy was very appealing to my sore body. The zebra appeared sincere about the offer, too. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to have a quick rest before I set off.

What if it's a trick? The question seemed to bounce around a few times in my head before the strange voice continued. She's still one of them. She probably knows of last night. She could be leading you into a trap.

I shook my head to dispel the foreign thoughts and glanced at the zebra. She seemed legitimately concerned, but my mind was already made.

"Thanks for the offer," I said, "but I think I'll live for the moment." I started walking in the other direction, hoping that the zebra would take my word for it. "Besides," I added, "my mother warned me about accepting help from strangers."

The zebra jumped in front of me before I had a chance to register it, and I nearly trampled her in my attempt to stop. She gave me a stern look, and I tried to keep my composure.

"Now is not the time to be proud," she warned. "Your integrity is hardly sound. There are creatures here that can gobble you with ease, so let me help you, my strange friend. Please." Her expression softened, and I thought I saw genuine worry in her eyes.

I sighed and shook my head. "Look, I'm not trying to be rude here, but why do you want to help me? I'm just a stranger to you. I can't give you anything in return."

The zebra put on a knowing smile. "I once walked the same road as you; I was scared, alone, and my friends were few. When I first came here, I received many frightened looks, until some ponies decided to open my book. They showed me kindness and asked for nothing in return. To offer the same help to you is all that I yearn."

You are more than capable of surviving by yourself. The words seemed to echo louder in my head, and the headache had returned to add to my list of ailments. Where was it coming from? You don't need her help, the voice persisted. She could be toying you, taking advantage of your weakened state. You could be walking right into her trap.

My grip tightened on my hatchet. Maybe the voice was right, but who's to say that the zebra wasn't at the village last night? I did recall travelling deep into the forest last night. For all I knew, she could have been from somewhere else, somewhere far from the village where I could rest for a while. The mere thought of it seemed to relax my body. Besides, the zebra did appear genuinely concerned for me.

"Alright," I said, hesitantly. "You win. Just lead the way, and I'll be right behind you."

Her expression brightened significantly, and without wasting any more time she set off into the nearby foliage. I quickly lumbered after her. My eyesight was still a bit hazy from my abrupt awakening, but it was easy to follow the grey smudge of the zebra through the vibrant greenery. She introduced herself as Zecora, in rhyme of course. Come to think of it, everything she said was like a small poem. It was pretty interesting, and seemed kind of fun, like some sort of game.

When I asked where we were going, she explained that she lived alone in the forest. The news damped my earlier hopes of resting, but I tried not to let it get to me. Besides, I was still going to get some time to rest while I was there. And perhaps it might have been better after all if I found shelter by myself; I didn't want to risk another reaction like last night.

A low growl interrupted Zecora in mid-sentence. She immediately came to a halt, and her ears perked up as she tried to find the source of the menacing sound. I instinctively put my hand over my stomach, as if doing so would help fill the emptiness that was slowly growing inside.

I weakly chuckled. "Sorry about that," I apologized. "It's been a while since I've had a decent meal."

Zecora gave me an incredulous look and gave her own half-hearted smile. "My, my. Whether that was a beast or not, I could not tell," she chuckled. "It seems that somepony has a hunger that needs to be quelled."

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I'll be fine." My stomach, though, was quick to give its noisy rebuttal.

This time the mare couldn't hold back as a small burst of laughter escaped her throat. "I prepared some soup before I left for my morning walk," she explained through a contagious smile. "You may have what is left, and then we can talk."

I shook my head in disbelief and exhaled. "Thanks," I said, as a small smile pushed its way up to my lips. "That's really generous of you." My stomach grumbled in agreement.

"There's no need for thanks, I have plenty to spare," Zecora said, waving a hoof dismissively. "And fortunately for your stomach, we are almost there."

We pushed further through the foliage until a gnarly tree came into view. Various glass bottles hung from some of its knotty branches, and bizarre wooden masks littered the ground surrounding the house. A faint yellow glow radiated from two holes cut out of the tree. I hesitated as Zecora walked through the front door. I was beginning to get second thoughts about following this zebra.

You can still run, the voice suggested. It probably wasn't too bad of an idea. After all, I barely knew anything about this mare. She could have been some sort of psychopath. Who knew why she lived in exile in these woods? I took a hesitant step back. Most of my wounds could heal over time, I was sure.

It was then that the smell hit me. A sweet aroma wafted from the tree, filling the air around me. It sparked a small inkling of a memory inside of me; one of my mother's homemade chicken and noodle soup that she hadn't made in ages. I wasn't sure if that what was awaiting for me inside, but whatever it was, it nearly had me drooling. My stomach groaned at the thought of being so close to nourishment and seemed to berate me for even thinking of leaving.

Zecora popped her head out of the doorway and gave me a quizzical look. "What are you standing there for?" she asked. "Did you know not I had an open door?" I snapped out of my trance and apologized before continuing toward her house. "Come and get it while it is nice and hot," she called as her head disappeared. "Celestia knows I alone cannot eat the whole pot."

I carefully ducked through the zebra-sized door. A dull pain racked my nerves. My legs screamed in protest, and my back threatened to stay locked in place. I winced and fought against the urge to collapse onto the floor. I desperately hoped Zecora knew what she was doing.

The entire "house" was comprised of one, small circular room. More wooden masks were on the inside. Glass bottles either hung from the ceiling or lined the various shelves. A small bed was stationed in the back, and a cauldron filled with water dominated the center of the room. Near the back rested a pot filled with steaming soup.

Zecora trotted around the lone room, examining the bottles as she passed. With each vial she inspected and passed, the more discouraged she seemed. After putting the last bottle down, she grabbed a wooden bowl, scooped some soup from the pot in the back, and brought it to me. I gingerly accepted it and felt the warmth seep through the bowl and into my hands.

"Your potion's creation will soon be underway," she explained. "Please relax yourself, and enjoy your stay." She lit a fire underneath the cauldron and began tossing seemingly random ingredients in.

I sat myself against the wall a few paces from the door, hoping I wouldn't get in the way, and set my hatchet down next to me. I stared at the bowl in my hands. The soup had a bit of a greenish tint to it. It was hard to tell what was in it, but I could easily tell it wasn't chicken or noodles. It didn't appear as appealing now that I saw it, but it still had me ensnared in its aroma. After realizing I didn't have a spoon, I put the bowl up to my lips and drank it.

I nearly choked as the steaming soup burned a trail down my throat, but it was a welcomed sensation. It tasted as if it was made out of some sort of vegetable, but I couldn't tell which one or ones exactly. As soon as I became used to the temperature, I began greedily gulping it down by mouthfuls. When I put the bowl back down, I noticed Zecora staring at me in amusement.

"You certainly have quite the appetite," She smiled. "I hope I have enough soup for you. Wouldn't it be a fright?"

I gave an apologetic smile and stared at what was rest of my soup. There wasn't very much left, just enough to barely fill the bottom. I began to slowly sip away at it, trying to savor the taste. Zecora returned her attention to the contents of the cauldron, stirring them with a large wooden stick. A sickly green liquid sloshed up the side, making my stomach turn. Was I really supposed to drink that?

I rested the bowl in my hands once I was finished and glanced up in time to catch Zecora staring at me in curiosity. Our eyes met for barely a second before she quickly averted her gaze back to her work.

"See something interesting?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"Pardon me for staring," she apologized, a mild blush of embarrassment showing on her face. "I just have so many questions for you. But that topic can wait for later." Her eyes darted to my empty bowl. "For now, allow me to feed you some more stew." She trotted up to me and picked up my bowl. I offered my thanks again, and she simply nodded as if it was nothing and went to fill it back up.

An odd scent wafted from the middle of the room. The fire underneath the cauldron seemed to be put out a while ago, but the liquid inside was still steaming. When Zecora returned the newly filled bowl to me, she retrieved an empty vial nearby and dipped it into the cauldron.

"Take this potion and you shall be healed within the hour," Zecora explained as she handed it to me. "I must warn you, however, it will be quite sour. Before you take it, though, you might wish to wait a while. While it is still warm, the potion will taste quite vile."

I was about to give her a proper thanks until an erratic knocking at the door cut me off.

"Zecora? Are you home?" a familiar voice called. A chill went up my spine at the sound. The door glowed in an odd purple color and swung wide open. "Oh, thank Celestia you're here!" The purple unicorn from last night trotted into the room, having an urgent air around her. "There was a strange creature that invaded Ponyville last night. We couldn't tell what it was, but we were hoping you might be able to help us. When I saw it run into the forest, I figured it would be a long shot, but —"

Twilight cut herself off with a gasp the moment she saw me.

We all stood there like that for a moment: Twilight staring at me in disbelief, Zecora looking between us in confusion, and myself paralyzed in shock, trying desperately to convince my legs to run. Twilight's face morphed into a scowl. She craned her neck down, and her horn began to glow. I wasn't about to wait for her to perform another one of her tricks.

In one fluid motion, I pocketed the vial and sprang up to my feet. She didn't have enough time to react as I quickly covered the distance between us and threw the still-steaming contents of my bowl into her face at point-blank range. She let out a pained yelp as her concentration broke, causing her horn's glow to fade away.

While she was busy rubbing the stew out of her eyes, I darted for the front door. It would have been a clean escape, too, if it hadn't been for the four mares in the doorway. They tried to scramble away when they saw me hurtling towards them. Most of them succeeded, too, save for one: a yellow pegasus with wide eyes and an uneven haircut.

She stood there with an expression of absolute horror as I advanced. Out of horrible coincidence, I stumbled over a root jutting out of the earth and fell directly on top of her. We collapsed onto the ground together with most of my weight pinning her down. Our foreheads connected painfully, sending us both into a daze.

"The monster's going to gobble up Fluttershy!" the pink pony shrieked.

"Not on my watch!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. I heard the rush of wings behind me as something clamped onto my jacket and launched me skyward. Out of instinct, I grabbed the nearest thing to me in hopes of staying rooted to the ground. Unfortunately, at the time, the nearest thing was Fluttershy.

The world shrank beneath us as we ascended higher and higher. The sudden rush of vertigo threatened to bring the stew back up. I could already taste the acidic bile forming in the back of my throat. As we came to a stop, I felt as if I was literally hanging on by a tread as the jacket stretched against the weight it was never meant to carry. I still had a death grip on Fluttershy's forelegs, who gave me a look of terror with eyes the size of pinpricks. I shot a glance upwards to discover Rainbow Dash wildly flapping to keep us in the air, my jacket clenched in her strained jaw.

A moment of dread washed over me at the sheer height I was dangling from. Already I was getting mental pictures of a splattered mess of blood, bones, and clothes on the forest floor. My eyes shot to the horizon, trying to get the image out of my mind, until something caught my eye. Off in the distance, a lone structure broke through the vast forest canopy. It appeared to be a tower, a strange beacon that seemed to call out to me. I could feel it beckoning me, as if it promised to harbor me from this mad world.

A safe haven, the voice chimed in. Find a way down and go to it.

"Et oh uv Vudderhi!" The muffled shout jerked me back into reality. I glanced up again to see Rainbow Dash glaring down upon me. A small idea formed in my head.

"What did you say?" I asked, trying to feign confusion.

"I hed, et oh uv Vudderhi!" she repeated, voice rising with temper.

"I can't understand you with that jacket in your mouth," I shouted. Of course, I did know what she was trying to say; I was just hoping that she would fall for it.

Rainbow spit my jacket out of her mouth. "I said—"

The rest of her sentence was lost in the wind as Fluttershy and I entered free fall. The deafening wind whipped around me. The canopy was quickly coming up to meet us. It was time for the next phase of my plan. I looked ahead of me where the yellow pegasus fell, wings still pinned to her sides.

"What are you waiting for?" I shouted. "Start flying!" She gave me a frightened look and whispered something inaudible with the wind. "Speak up!" I hollered. "I can't hear you."

"I can't!" Fluttershy shouted in desperation.

My body froze as terror began to seize hold of my heart. This wasn't good. If she didn't start flying, then we would hit the ground at full force. A shudder ran through my system as I recalled the disturbing mental image from before. "Look," I tried. "If you don't start trying, then we're about to be nothing more than a splatter mark on the dirt."

It seemed to be the motivation she needed to hear. With a newfound energy, Fluttershy began flapping her wings like mad trying to sustain our elevation. The ground was still approaching too fast. At this rate, we would be lucky to die with our insides still inside.

"Come on, you can do it," I muttered under my breath. "Just a little bit more."

We were approaching the canopy at an angle. It would only be a few more seconds until we hit it. Our descent was slower, but only barely. I closed my eyes before we hit the trees. This was going to get rough.

I lost my grip on my falling companion as the branches swatted us this way and that. A vine caught itself around my leg, causing me to flip forward and bash my wounded knee against the tree. I felt a painful pop in my right ankle where the vine was ensnared. Something came loose, and I was sent falling again. Leaves and thorns cut at any exposed skin. A branch sprouted out of nowhere and rammed into my stomach. I hung there breathless for a moment before the weight of my legs pulled me backwards. I reached my hand out to grab something, anything that would put an end to this painful descent. A vine found its way into my hand, and I clamped my fingers around it for dear life, giving me a rope burn as I slowly slid down. The ground was only a small drop away now. I released my grip and landed feet-first, only to crumple into a heap as the pain from new and old injuries attacked my brain.

My vision was fading in and out. There was a loud snap somewhere above me. My eyes flickered up in time to see the form of the yellow pegasus falling from the trees. My eyes struggled to make out the horrid scene before me. Cuts and bruises covered her body, and her wings were splayed in an unholy manner. She let out a sharp exhale when her delicate frame hit the unforgiving earth.

The world was silent. Too silent. I couldn't tell if the pegasus was moving or not. I managed to prop myself up on my elbows to get a better look at her, and my broken body was quick to protest. Her scraped back was facing me, rising and falling in sync with her ragged breathing. I let out a sigh of relief; she was still alive.

I struggled to get up, but the moment I put pressure on my right foot I collapsed with an inhuman yelp. A sharp throbbing pulsed inside my ankle. A frustrated growl emerged from my throat. I was in no condition to move. And neither was the pegasus, from the looks of it. We were stuck here to rot without any help.

I shifted myself into a sitting position and rested against a nearby tree. "Well, isn't this just perfect," I grumbled.

As if on cue, a mysterious vial fell out of my pocket and on the ground, its contents sloshing around inside it. I stared at it confusedly before my brain finally clicked in. It was the potion Zecora had made! I snatched it up off the ground and studied it. There probably wasn't much of the potion inside, only just a few mouthfuls. If what Zecora said was true, though, that wouldn't matter. I ripped off the cork lid and stared at the green liquid inside.

"Well, this is it," I muttered, hesitantly putting it up to my lips. "Here goes nothing." I poured some of the potion into my mouth and nearly retched the moment it touched my tongue. Zecora wasn't lying when she said it was sour. I was having a hard time finding the will to not spit it out.

I leaned back and stared in awe as the potion worked its magic. Cuts and wounds began closing themselves up. Bruises started disappearing. My broken foot seemed to pop itself back into place. I glanced at my left hand to see that the charred skin was falling off and being replaced by a new, rapidly growing layer of skin. After a while had passed, I was back on my feet again, feeling fully recovered.

Incredible. There wasn't a better word to describe what I had just witnessed. It was impossible, and yet the facts were staring at me in the face.

A weak groan brought me back into reality. I stared over my shoulder where Fluttershy lay.

Leave her, the voice said. Helping her will only slow you down. Let her friends come to her aid. You have no reason to aid her. It was wrong, though. I was the reason she was here right now, the reason she was even in this state. I couldn't leave just yet; I had to help her.

I rushed up to her side. Her condition was much worse than I originally thought. There was a large gash in her side that was spilling blood everywhere. It was getting harder and harder for her to breathe. "It's going to be alright," I whispered. "Just hang in there." I sat down beside her and propped her head up on my lap. My fingers accidentally brushed up against her wound as I shifted her, and her breathing became sharper. "It's okay," I cooed. "Everything is going to be okay."

I opened Fluttershy's mouth and started pouring some of the contents in her mouth. The little pegasus coughed, probably not expecting to be assaulted with a sour flavor. A small dribble leaked out of the corner of her mouth. "Now, now," I whispered as I tried to wipe it off, "you need to drink your medicine. How else are you going to feel better?"

She silently obliged. Once I figured I had given her enough, I put the potion back in my pocket and watched the scene as her wounds began mending. Her feathers and wings rearranged themselves. The gash ceased bleeding and began to slowly close. Her mane even grew back to what I assumed was its original shape.

A distant voice echoed throughout the forest, but I didn't catch what it said. I strained my ears in case it called out again, and, sure enough, the voice cried out again.

"Fluttershy!"

The others were getting closer. I glanced back down at the pegasus in my lap. They wouldn't be able to find her if I left her here. I would have to leave her on the path somewhere. It might be risky, but if I was quick enough I should be able to drop her off and then split before her friends showed up. Her body was still healing, but I doubted that would be too much of a problem.

I slithered my arms underneath her body and lifted her up. She wasn't as heavy as I gave her credit for, roughly the same weight as a dog about her size. Surprisingly, she was still fast asleep, too. Her injuries must have knocked her out cold. I forced my way through the thick greenery that surrounded us, shielding the sleeping pegasus as best as I could. We weren't too far away from the path when we emerged.

The callings were getting much closer now. It wouldn't be too long before they got here. I quickly jogged into the path and stowed her next to a tree where her friends could easily find her. I lingered behind the tree until I saw Twilight's purple coat emerge from the trees before leaving.

Thoughts of the tower consumed my mind. I needed to find a way there. Right now, it was my best bet to find shelter. Once I was there, I could relax and think things through. But first, I needed to take a small detour.

Thankfully, the trek was uneventful. Even though the fall had disoriented me, I knew the general location of the hut. Pretty soon I caught sight of one of the colorful wooden masks that marked her house. The door was left wide open. Not a pony or zebra was in sight. I peeked my head in.

It was exactly the same as when I had left. I retrieved my hatchet from the floor where I left it and refilled the vial with the medicine in the cauldron; there was no telling when I would need something like that again. I grabbed a string and fastened the vial to the belt loop of my pants and was about to walk out of the door when the wooden bowl caught my eye. There was still a little bit of stew left inside of it. I gingerly picked up the bowl and tried to savor the taste as I drank what was left of it, knowing that it was probably going to be the last decent morsel of food I would have in a long while.

I exited Zecora's tree and headed off in the general direction of the stone fortress. I was careful to avoid any paths or trails along the way; the last thing I wanted was another run in with the ponies. I couldn't tell how long I was walking; it could've been anywhere from a few minutes to half of an hour. I was beginning to worry that I had gotten off course. I quickly dispelled those thoughts though. Nothing good would come from that sort of thinking at the moment.

As I trekked deeper and deeper into the trees, the faint sound of roaring water grew louder and louder. I desperately pleaded that it was purely just a coincidence. Unfortunately, all hope was shattered as a wide river took the place of the trees. Not a single bridge, natural or built, could be seen in either direction. I sighed as I realized that crossing it would be inevitable if I wanted to reach my sanctuary.

I hesitantly put a foot in the river, cringing as cool water seeped into my shoe and drenched my sock. With each step I made further into the river, the higher the water crawled up my legs. Not even a quarter of the way across and I was already soaked up to the stomach. At one point, I had to put the hatchet's wooden handle in my mouth so I could swim more efficiently. Needless to say, I was completely drenched as I emerged from the other side. I tried my best to wring out my clothes before carrying on.

After a few more minutes of walking, a stone wall emerged between some of the branches and vines. I couldn't believe my luck. I made it! My safety was just beyond the trees ahead of me. I jogged into a clearing of the trees and caught my first whole glimpse of the colossal stone structure.

It was in ruins. Glass fragments and gaping holes dominated the space where windows should have been. Chunks of walls were missing everywhere, along with most of the roof. I could spot a handful of spires, but even they appeared to be as skeletal as the rest of the castle, showing their internal parts. The two large wooden doors at the entrance seemed perfectly fine, though.

Still, this shelter was better than no shelter, and the only thing keeping me from it was a rickety, wooden bridge. I put my foot on the first plank, cringing as it groaned beneath my weight. The next step wasn't as bad, but I knew there were plenty more ahead of me before I reached my destination. I made the mistake to cast a glance below the bridge. A thick fog obstructed my view of the bottom of the chasm, making it appear as if it went on for an eternity. I gripped the rope support beams for dear life, knowing the next step could very well be my last. Thankfully, the bridge was sturdier that it made itself out to be in the end.

I opened the heavy doors of the castle and took in my surroundings. The ceiling in the first room was completely gone as well as most of the windows. Plant life sprouted here and there through cracks scattered across the walls. Near what was left of the back wall rested a moss covered sphere on a pedestal. Five smaller platforms branched out underneath it. It had a sacred air about it, as if it once held a great treasure that had disappeared.

My eyelids were getting heavy, and I stifled a yawn. Looking up through the hole where the ceiling was, I saw that it was barely noon, not that it helped my drowsiness whatsoever. Through one of the shattered windows I thought I could see the spire I had spotted earlier. It seemed mostly whole, at least more whole than any of the others, and it seemed as good of a place as any to get some rest.

After finding my way through the maze of corridors, I found the stairway that led up to the top. I was pleased to find that the room was much more whole than the rest of the building. Glass covered most of the windows. There was much less plant life covering the stone room. Best of all, the ceiling in here was still intact. A throne sat on a raised platform in the back. It was missing a few chunks here and there, but it was whole where it counted. I was careful to avoid the shards of blue armor that littered the base as I drew closer to it. The throne was cushioned, much to my enjoyment. I placed my hatchet and the sour elixir next to the base of my seat.

I heaved a sigh that I've unknowingly held all day. There I sat; alone in a strange new world. No one to talk to. No one to guide me. No one to take command and let me follow. I was completely alone. A hole began to grow in my chest and was quickly filled with fear and grief. I doubled over, pressing my hands against my chest in hopes of repressing the pain. A few choked sobs managed to escape my throat. I screwed my eyes shut as a few tears burned their trails down my cheeks. I was never this alone in my life. The very concept of my condition scared me. What was I supposed to do? How would I survive? Where would I get my food?

Hunt for your food.

My sobs were instantly cut off. I slowly raised my head and stared at the room before me, the large, empty room. I was all alone, and yet I could hear that strange and familiar voice echoing in my head clear as day.

I sniffed. Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad of an idea. Hunting wasn't exactly my forte, but I was sure I could work something out if I got enough time. I would need an alternative plan, though. It would take some time before I got used to hunting for my food, and I doubted Zecora would help me after what occurred this morning.

Steal from the ponies, the voice pitched in. They are sure to have plenty.

I was reluctant to go anywhere near "Ponyville" again, but the more I thought of it, the better it sounded. I had a good generalization of where the marketplace was in the town, and I thought I saw a barn when I was wandering through it. If I could find a way to access those easily, I would be set for a decent time. I wasn't about to go out in broad daylight, though. No, that would just be suicidal. It would be best if I went under the cover of the night.

A feeling of satisfaction washed over me. I now had a plan, more or less, and the means to do it. All I needed now was rest. It was beginning to get harder to keep my eyes open. I would take a quick nap until night and then get to work. It didn't take too long before drowsiness subdued my roaming mind. I had just enough brainpower to utter one last word.

"Goodnight."

But of course, my only answer was silence.

Act I: The Thief in the Night

I took in a deep, refreshing breath of the cool, autumn air, letting it rejuvenate my system. The moon shone brightly in the night sky, bathing the castle in its silver light. As I navigated the darkened halls, I tried my best to memorize my path. There was no telling how long I would be stuck here, and with this castle being my only haven at the moment, it would be a good idea to know my way around it.

A cold breeze blasted from one of the many holes in the corridor. A shiver coursed through my body as I adjusted my jacket. I let my hatchet swing lazily in my fingers, its handle cool to the touch. A few minutes passed before I found myself back in the entrance hall. The only thing standing before me and my quest was two large heavy doors. I took in a deep breath to clear my head and pulled the doors open.

A dark ocean of trees surrounded the castle to greet me, gently swaying in the midnight breeze. I took a few steps forward and shut the door behind me, and the resulting thud seemed to carry throughout the forest. Was I really going to do this? A thousand scenarios ran through my head, a thousand ways this could go horribly wrong. Maybe this wasn't the best idea. I could probably wait another day or so and come up with a better plan.

My stomach groaned in protest, urging me to move forward. An uncomfortable pit had formed in my gut, making it feel as if my stomach was eating itself. I winced, covering my stomach with a hand and looking back into the forest. It would definitely be a long shot.

But think about the reward, the voice inside my head coerced. You will be fed. Not to mention if you succeed, you can surely do it again.

I took in a deep breath to clear my thoughts and shook my head. The benefits outweighed the risks. No matter how this night turns out, it would be the archetype for my new lifestyle until I found a way home. A life of hiding in fear. A life of stealing from ponies to keep myself alive. Or a life of who knows what if I failed.

A new life... I chuckled weakly at the thought and began my trek.

The thick branches of the trees above made the trail nearly impossible to see despite the brilliant light of the full moon, but I managed to guide myself without tripping over too many obstacles. The large silhouettes of bushes and trees surrounded me, their amorphous shadows putting me on edge. I suddenly remembered Zecora's warning about the predators that inhabited this forest, and the grip on my hatchet tightened.

The path was slowly getting wider and wider. I couldn't be too far from the edge now. Some of the trees were starting to look familiar, albeit vaguely. As the path bent around a large tree, I could see an opening in the forest. The town could be seen up ahead, a few soft lights dotting the area here and there. Most of the town would have been asleep by now. If I was careful, I could probably skirt around it and find the farm without causing another alarm like last time.

There were barely any trees between where the town and where I stood at the edge of the forest. I must have been in the park from the previous night. A quick scan showed no sign of the farm on either side of the town from this angle. There was no telling how large the town was, either. If I were to circumscribe the town to find the barn, I probably wouldn't have enough time to get anything before the sun rose.

There was always the marketplace. It wouldn't be too hard to find again. If I remembered, it was in the middle of town. I studied the town again. Most of the lights in the villages were off. Assuming that the ponies were fast asleep in their homes, getting food might be as simple as navigating through the darkened streets.

And what if they're awake? the voice asked.

Then I'll handle it however I can, I replied. I made it out last time, didn't I? There wasn't a response, although I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

I fixed my eyes on the nearest tree and crept towards it. Even if there weren't any ponies around, I didn't want to take the chance of walking out in the open. I moved from tree to tree, getting closer and closer to the village. I nearly let my guard down until I noticed a group of figures up ahead.

They hadn't noticed me yet, and I decided to take the advantage and move to a closer tree to study them. There were seven of them, three of which were much smaller than the others. They appeared to be stuck in the middle of an argument.

"But Twilight," one of the smaller ones piped up. "We want to help catch the monster!"

"Yeah, maybe we can get our Cutie Marks as monster catchers!" another small one exclaimed while jumping in the air. The frantic buzzing of her wings managed to suspend her in midair for a few seconds.

"No. Like I said, it's too dangerous for fillies," one of the larger ponies, Twilight by the sound of her voice, said with finality.

"Aww," a chorus of three moaned. I could see the three small ponies' heads drop.

"But how come y'all get to go," one of them asked. From the faint light of the moon, I could see a pink bow in her mane. "It ain't fair! We wanna help, too."

"Oh, we know, sugarcube," another larger pony said. Judging by the hat, it must have been Applejack. "But we're only doing this to protect ya. Do y'all know what that thing did to Fluttershy?"

"Yeah, yeah, we know," the second small pony explained. "It attacked Fluttershy and now she's too chicken to come out of her house now."

"But that's why we want to help!" shouted the first little one. She sounded as if she was on the verge of tears. "That thing hurt my sister, too!"

Twilight tried to calm her. "Yes, and that's why we're trying to find it. We're going to find out just what this monster is and send it back where it came from. But we can't have any of you in harm's way."

"But, but, but—," the trio harmonized.

"Sorry, squirts, but we don't have any time for this," another of the larger ponies said impatiently. She elevated herself with two wings. "I have a score to settle with that monster."

"Rainbow Dash, we're not doing this for some contest; we're doing this for the good of Ponyville," Twilight said. "You three need to head home. We'll be back as soon as we can. Promise."

"But where am I supposed to go?" one of the fillies squeaked. "Rarity's still recovering in the hospital and my parents are on another of their vacations! I don't wanna be home alone!"

"Y'all can stay at my place," the pink-bowed pony said. "You can come too, Scootaloo. We can have a sleep over at the barn!" I focused on the three smaller ponies. Perhaps finding the barn would be as easy as following three fillies.

"That sounds like a good idea," Applejack said. "Y'all three head on up to the farm for tonight, and we'll come back later and join you."

"Yeah, hopefully with that monster, too," Rainbow Dash added.

"But first," Twilight interjected, "we need you ponies to not follow us. Am I clear?"

The trio let out a sigh of defeat. "Yes, Twilight."

"Good." Twilight turned to one of the other ponies. "Pinkie Pie, did you get the lights?"

"Yep! You're not going to believe how hard it was for me to find these Hearthswarming lights." The area was suddenly illuminated in shades of red and green as the pink mare lit up like a Christmas tree. String lights coiled around her body and were tangled in her mane. She bounced excitedly in place, making the contents of her saddle clatter. "I also got some flashlights and torches! This is going to be the best search party ever!"

With that, she started hopping in the direction of the forest. I scooted around the trunk to keep away from the intense, multicolored light she was giving off. After reminding the smaller ponies to stay safe, the other three followed her lead. As the last of them disappeared through in the forest, I turned around to find the ponies I would be following. They were already heading deeper into the town, which was my cue to move.

By the time I had reached the first house, they were already halfway down the main street. I stayed behind the line of houses and moved as quickly and quietly as I could to catch up to them. The houses blocking my line of sight made tracking them difficult, but the sound of their voices kept me on their trail. The distance between us muffled their conversation from me, making it hard to decipher what they were talking about.

Every now and then their voices would fade away as an intersection appeared, and I would have to emerge from the alleys to find them and readjust my course. I stuck to the shadows as often as I could during those moments. There weren't any light's coming from the houses, but I didn't want to stand out in the open and risk another fiasco like last night.

At one point their voices died out all together, and for a second I thought I had lost them. I was about to go back out into the street when they walked right in front of me. I froze like a statue as fear gripped hold of me. If they saw me now, then my whole plan would be ruined. Not only would I not find the barn, but they would probably alert the whole town. And I was too deep in to make another escape. To my surprise, however, they didn't even notice me.

I realized this was the first time I saw them up close and took the opportunity to study them as they walked harmlessly passed by. They were walking in a straight line. The nearest one had a bright yellow coat and a neat red mane with a large pink bow. In the middle was a small orange pegasus with scruffy purple hair. They both wore blank stares as they walked ahead, as if they either didn't know what to talk about or didn't want to talk about something. The third was a white unicorn with a curled pink and lavender mane and tail. She was slightly trailing behind the other two, her light green eyes dully staring at the earth along with the rest of her downcast head.

I poked my head out into the street as they walked on in silence, wondering what had happened. When I realized how far they had gone, I ran back behind the houses and tried to maintain a closer distance.

"So," the pink-bowed filly said after a while. "What do y'all reckon this thing they're after looks like?"

"I don't know," the orange pegasus replied. "Rainbow Dash said it was, like, twenty feet tall or something, and it was really weird looking, too. She said it kept running around on its hind legs."

"Do you think they can handle it?" the first one asked.

"Are you kidding? Rainbow Dash is with them! I'm sure they'll do fine," the orange one assured, but the slight tremor in her voice betrayed her true thoughts.

An awkward silence hung in the air.

"You alright, Sweetie Belle?" the pink-bowed filly asked.

"Yeah, you've been kinda quiet," the orange one chimed in.

The unicorn let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, girls; I just can't stop thinking about what that thing did to my sister. Why would anypony ever hurt Rarity? How could it be so mean?"

"Don't worry about her, Sweetie," the pink-bowed filly soothed. "The doctor said she would be as healthy as a horse in a few days."

"Yeah!" the other piped in. "And when they find that monster, Rainbow Dash will make it sorry it ever stepped hoof in Ponyville!"

I felt a little uneasy with the direction of the conversation, wishing that I hadn't eavesdropped in the first place. I had no idea that my actions would have had this kind of effect, and on a child especially. I lagged behind a bit until their voices returned to an incoherent mumble and trudged on.

After a few more minutes of stalking, the barn came into view. I slowed down to a halt as the trio of fillies passed the entrance gate. Whoever owned this farm had plenty of food; more than enough to go around, in fact. Just from where I was standing, I could already spot rows upon rows of corn, massive gardens of various vegetables, and a stone well near the front. Behind the barn I could make out the silhouettes of trees that must have been part of the forest.

A bright light radiated from the barn's front door as the three fillies approached it. The form of a large pony stood in the doorway waiting for the fillies to enter before shutting the door. My eyes lingered warily at the barn. That pony was much larger than the ones I had met before. It seemed to be much stronger, too. I wasn't sure if I could hold my ground against it if we crossed paths.

I put those thoughts out of my head. This wasn't the time to think about that; I had a job to do. I cautiously crept through the gate's entrance and made an immediate turn for the well. Water was my priority at the moment, whether my stomach liked it or not.

The well was lined with a stone wall and covered with a small wooden roof. When I arrived, the bucket appeared to be deep inside the well. I smiled at my own luck. It was probably already filled with water. All I had to do now is reel it back up. I set my hatchet next to the well, gripped the reel's handle, and began to turn it. A high-pitched mechanical whine filled the air as the rusty metal turned against itself. I winced at the sharp noise but continued reeling nevertheless.

A light flickered on in one of the barn's upper windows. I quickly hid behind the well as an elderly voice pierced the night. "Ya darn rascals! Stay out of our farm, or I'll call Winona on yer sorry hide!"

I peeked my head out in time to see the elderly mare stick her head back in. Once the window became dark I emerged from my hiding place. With that rusty reel acting like an alarm against anyone who uses it, the only way I could retrieve the bucket without waking the farm's residents would be by pulling it up by the rope. I rubbed my hands together and started my menial task.

Unfortunately, the bucket was bone dry. I looked down the well with a discontented frown. The water was probably deeper in the well. I tapped the metallic shell of the bucket to gather my thoughts. I couldn't afford to risk sending the bucket down deeper into the well to get some water; the racket from the gears would wake up the entire barn. If I just took the bucket, however, I could use it to gather the water from the river. It wasn't the most hygienic source, but it was better than nothing.

I was starting to unfasten the bucket from the rope when I noticed how much slack I pulled up. There must have been at least fifteen feet of rope. It would probably come in handy later. Besides, I was already planning on stealing the bucket; it wouldn't make much sense to leave the rest of the rope.

Do it.

I set the bucket down, stretched out the rope, and retrieved my hatchet. It was rather thick, but after a few minutes of hacking at it, the rope finally severed. I wrapped it around my torso like a sash, picked up the bucket, and carried on to the fields.

Gathering food was much simpler than I originally thought. I moved from garden to garden, gathering a random assortment of fruits and vegetables. The only problem was the windows of the main building that stared into my back as I worked. I kept glancing over my shoulders, worrying that I would find one of the windows lit up with a pony in it, but thankfully that never happened.

The bucket made an excellent basket throughout the process. My hands were already growing used to pulling some of the plants out of the cool earth, and my hatchet helped cut off any inedible parts. After an hour passed, I had already harvested a handful of carrots, a few ears of corn, some potatoes, and a few other plants that appeared semi-familiar. I could see myself doing this for some time. I'd have to come up with a new food source after a while, though. The ponies would eventually catch on that there food supply was dwindling, and winter was going to come up in a few months. But I was sure I would come up with something by then.

I eventually found myself near the chicken coups. There wasn't much I could do here. I couldn't cook any eggs or chicken without a fire. Not to mention that the noise I would create trying to obtain either would surely wake the barn up. I glanced back into my bucket. It wasn't quite full yet. I could still fit in a few more foods. I started to head back towards the fields until a headache struck me.

You have more than enough for now, the voice said. Leave before you get caught.

"Just give me a second," I shot back. "I can still get a bit more."

You don't have another second, it argued. You're too close to the barn. It's time to go.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I started to say, but a loud squealing cut me off in mid-sentence. I shot a glare in the direction of the disruptive sound and found a pig running around in a nearby pen, trying to get away from me. It didn't take too long for its cries to wake up the rest of the animals in the area, and the air was soon filled with the sound of a thousand squeals, clucks, and bleats.

The lights to the barn snapped back on, and a few seconds later the large doors swung open. Three forms stood in the doorway, two of which were pony-shaped while the third was canine.

"Don't say Ah didn't warn you," the elderly pony called out. "Sic 'em, Winona!"

A high-pitched yapping suddenly filled the air as the dog bolted towards my direction. I gathered my harvest as quickly as I could and sprinted to the trees in the distance, hoping to lose them in the forest. It wasn't until I got closer that I realized I was horribly wrong.

There might have been trees everywhere, but this was no forest; it was an orchard. I had no idea how to get to the forest from here, much less the castle. The dog was getting closer, and there was no way I would be able to outrun it. In a desperate attempt to escape, I gripped the handle of the bucket in my mouth and climbed up the nearest tree. By the time I had safely retreated into the branches, the dog was already at the base of the tree, barking like mad.

I spat the bucket out of my mouth and leaned back against the tree, processing my situation. The trees here were evenly spaced, and all too far apart for me to jump from one to another. If I could get back down, I could probably find my way back to the forest. The only problem with that was the dog.

I glanced back down to the bottom of the tree where the dog was still yapping. It was smaller than average. Brown fur covered its body, save for a few white patches on its feet, tail, and muzzle. If I could just get rid of it...

My eyes shifted to the hatchet, clenched tightly in my right hand.

I screwed my eyes closed and shook the mental images out of my head. "No," I muttered. "I'm not doing that."

Why not? It was simple with the timberwolf. You didn't show hesitation then.

"That was a reflex," I argued. A moment passed before I realized what I just did, and I shook my head in annoyance. The dog continued yapping as if nothing had happened, each slicing through my train of thought. "Oh, just can it already!" I barked over it.

A deep voice suddenly cut through the noise. "That's enough, Winona. I can take it from here." Through the branches of the tree I could make out the large, muscular pony from before. I could barely see the red hue of his coat and his orange mane with the moonlight. He turned his attention to me with uninterested green eyes. "Now, are you gonna come down from there, or am I gonna have to make ya?"

I grabbed on to a nearby branch to steady myself as I stood to get a better look of him. He was the only pony in sight, and he didn't have any tools save for the harness around his neck, if that even counted. The situation was almost laughable.

"Oh, really?" I smiled. "You're going to make me? Just how do you plan on doing that?"

Rather than answering my question, the pony simply turned his back to me. With a swift kick from his hind legs, the tree shook with great intensity. I lost my footing and fell out of the tree, accumulating a good beating from the branches during my fall. An audible thud punctuated the end of my fall. A loud clatter surrounded me as my possessions fell around me. I managed to pick my head up off the earth in time to see four red tree trunks for legs standing in front of me.

I propped myself up on my elbows and glanced up to see the large pony giving me a dissatisfied glare. "You're in a heap of trouble, mister," he said. Things were definitely not looking good for me. This pony had easily proven his strength. I was still trying to wrap my head around how he managed to knock me out of the tree by a simple kick to the trunk. I pushed myself up to my knees. We were roughly at eye level with me in this stance. He gave me another stern look, and I decided it would be in my best interest no to go any higher.

Through my peripheral vision, I noticed that the bucket had landed next to me, half of its contents spilled across the ground. The hatchet was within an arm's reach to the right, but I doubted I would have enough time to grab it before the pony reacted. I was completely at the pony's mercy.

"Well, I'll admit, I didn't expect that to happen," I said after a moment of silence passed. My mind was racing with a hundred different scenarios. I kept my eyes locked on to his, looking for a window of escape or some sign of leeway, but all I could find was his glare.

"Big Macintosh!" a young voice cut through the night. "Is everything alright?"

The large pony's green eyes widened in shock, and he turned his head around as the three fillies from before ran toward us. I noticed the small window I was presented, and lunged for my hatchet.

"Applebloom? What're y'all doing—" He didn't have enough time to finish his sentence. The pony's heavy frame crumpled to the ground as I struck him in the back of the head with the butt of the hatchet. His sudden collapse startled me. The blow wasn't intended to kill him, just knock him out. I was relieved when he let out a low groan.

"Big Macintosh!" the filly with the pink bow cried out.

Sweetie Belle pointed a shaking hoof to me. "It's the monster!"

The three fillies came to a sliding halt before me. I towered over them and the crumpled form of the larger pony, nearly four times their height. I could almost see their minds racing in their eyes. The larger pony was beginning to stir at my feet, signaling that it was time for me to go.

I bent down and hastily tossed as much food as I could in the bucket. The pony was nearly up to his hooves. If I didn't leave now, I wouldn't be able to escape. There were still a few vegetables left on the ground by the time I left, but it didn't matter; I would be able to come back later if I escaped.

I fled deeper into the orchard, the heavy hooves of the pony thundering behind me. I stole a quick glance behind me to see how far my pursuer was. He was close, probably only a few feet behind me, but he was starting to lag behind. His eyes were coming in and out of focus. At one point the thunder calmed down to a faint rumble, and I looked back to find my chaser leaning up against a tree for support. Even in the moonlight I could catch the intensity of his glare.

I kept running until my legs were filled with lead. Time seemed to slip by without me knowing, and I didn't know how long I was running. My lungs were gasping for air. My vision was flickering in and out of focus. I couldn't tell where I was. All I could see were trees and trees and trees.

I slowed myself to a jog, my body aching from overexertion. My mind was on the verge of collapsing, its internal clock out of whack. I wasn't going to be able to go much further, not like this. I needed to get some rest if I wanted to keep moving.

Don't rest, the strange voice urged. Keep moving. It's too dangerous here.

It was a conflict between mind and body, and both sides pressed good arguments. My body was begging for rest, but I knew that if I stayed out in the open I would surely be found. The cries of my body ultimately won, however, as a strange structure appeared in the midst of the trees. I staggered up closer to it to get a better look of it.

It was a treehouse. Not a strange house-tree hybrid like before, but an actual run of the mill treehouse. It appeared to be well built. A single structure sprouted out of a raised platform around the tree with a sturdy ramp leading up to the doorway. I could stay here for a few minutes and catch my breath.

I shuffled up the ramp and entered the building, closing the door behind me slowly. It was difficult seeing outside under the light of the moon and stars, but in here, with no natural or artificial light, it was near impossible to see anything inside the treehouse. I held out a hand to help guide myself across the room. A series of crunches and snaps erupted beneath my feet as I accidentally stepped on the numerous knickknacks that littered the ground.

Something brushed up against my fingers, and I instinctively grabbed on to it. It was a ladder. I maneuvered myself in front of it and started climbing to the upper room. It was much smaller than the first; I had to crouch down to not scrape my head up against the ceiling. Nonetheless, it was a safe place to hide for a while, which was exactly what I was looking for.

I sat down with my back against a wall, putting the bucket and the hatchet down next to me to relieve myself of the extra weight. I could see the night sky from the window in the wall opposite of me. Just a few quick minutes of rest, I told myself. I pulled an apple out of the bucket and began nibbling on it to keep myself awake.

My body slowly began to relax, finding a comfortable spot in the hard, wooden walls. I stared out the window at the stars, trying to focus on anything but the dark room, but even they began to slowly wink out as my eyes became heavy. My arm fell to my side. I thought I heard something roll from my fingers. My head rolled to my chest, too heavy for my neck to support. I closed my eyes, telling myself I would open them in just a few more seconds, and slowly surrendered myself to sleep's comforting arms.

Act I: Horseplay

I could feel the sun’s bright rays behind my eyelids. I tried screwing my eyes shut tighter to block it out, but the light was being too stubborn. I grumbled as I rubbed my eyes and began to stretch. When I opened my eyes, I was a little confused when I saw the wooden walls around me, but once the memories of last night flooded my mind, I was immediately gripped with terrified shock.

I shot up from my sitting position, only to hit the low ceiling and fall back down cradling my head. I managed to crawl up to the open window to get a perfect view of the sunrise.

“Shoot,” I muttered under my breath. I overslept horribly. I turned my attention back to the room to gather my bearings. My hatchet and the basket were lying scattered across the floor along with a half-eaten apple. I tossed the fruit out the window in disgust and began packing up my belongings.

Walking out in the broad daylight put an uneasy feeling in my gut, but I had very little say in the matter. This treehouse was still on the barn’s property, after all, and I didn't want to come across that behemoth of a pony again. Something told me that I wouldn’t get another lucky shot if we ever crossed paths again.

I slowly rose back up to my feet, careful not to hit my head on the low ceiling again. Sunlight poured in through the windows, making the room much easier to navigate. I gathered my supplies, running through a quick mental checklist, and crawled back down the latter.

The main room looked much more different in the light. Now that I could see, I was careful not to break any more of the toys that littered the ground. A few drawn posters hung on the walls. This place must have been some sort of hangout for some kids. I was about to reach the door when an odd sound hit my ears. I hesitated, my hand hovering above the handle, straining my ears in case I heard it again, and I didn't have to wait long.

It was a brief, sharp noise, lasting not even a second. It sounded faint, but there was no mistaking what it belonged to. I rushed to the nearest window and looked out to see a small, brown canine walking through the orchard with its muzzle to the ground. It lifted its head up to release another bark, and two other ponies appeared behind it. The first had an orange coat with her blonde mane and tail done in a ponytail and a stetson resting on top of her head. The other was a large crimson pony with a short orange mane and tail. A thick lasso was wrapped around his body.

"Ah, crud," I breathed. "Not now." They were getting closer to the treehouse. It wouldn't be too long until they were upon me.

You need to escape.

"Really?" I asked in mock shock. "I thought I was just going to sit here so we could negotiate." A dull ache formed in the back of my head; I thought I could sense the agitation of the voice. A small smile managed to form on my mouth despite the situation.

I glanced back out the window and weighed my options. I doubted I could outrun the ponies, much less the dog. If I tried to make a break for it right now, it would be a matter of minutes before I was caught. There had to be some way to stall them long enough to get a better head start. I turned around and scanned the room for anything useful.

There wasn't much to work with. The whole room was practically one big mess of small toys and drawings. My eyes fell upon a small table set across the room, and an idea flashed in my mind. I quickly ran across the room, trading my belongings for one of the chairs, and sprinted back up to the door to wedge the chair between the door handle and the floor. It seemed to be the right size to jam the door. Without wasting another second, I pulled the chair back out, gathered my belongings, and noisily clattered up the latter.

I raced up to the sole window in the upstairs room. It was small, but appeared to be just large enough for me and the chair to fit through if I curled my body up. If memory served correctly, this window should be directly above the front door, too. I ran the plan through my head a dozen times, gradually feeling more and more confident about myself. I might just be able to pull this off.

A loud bark broke my train of thought. I looked down from the window to find the dog in front of the ramp flanked by the two ponies. Its muzzle was earthbound again, sniffing at the apple I had thrown out just moments ago. I hid myself behind the wall, peeking my head out just enough to watch the scene play out.

"Good job, Winona," Applejack said as she trotted up to the half-eaten fruit. "This here apple still looks fresh. The creature must've been through here recently."

The large pony observed the apple and gave an approving nod. "Eeyup."

"Come on, we must be hot on his trail," Applejack said, a newfound energy seeming to surge through her. "Let's see if we can catch this varmint." She let out a sharp whistle. "Come on, Winona. Time to go." Her words were ignored, though, as the dog raced up the ramp and started clawing at the door. The two ponies stared at it in confusion. "Winona," Applejack called, a little louder this time. "We need to hurry. That trail's probably cold." The dog responded with a loud bark and continued scratching away at the door with a small whimper.

"We're never going to find that thing at this rate," Applejack grumbled. "It's probably gone by now."

"Unless it never left," the larger pony suggested.

A brief moment passed where they simply stared at each other, then they both carefully crept closer to the treehouse. I pulled my head back and closed my eyes, mentally preparing myself. I could still hear their heavy hooves hitting the ramp as they ascended. The scratching suddenly stopped, and an eerie silence fell on the orchard.

"I'll go in first," I heard Applejack whisper. "If it tries to jump me, I want you to rope it up."

The door creaked open, the sound deafeningly loud in the still building. I could hear Applejack's soft, cautious footsteps underneath me. There were a few seconds of silence where all I could hear was my racing heart. A series of heavier footsteps soon followed. I stole a glance out the window in time to see the large pony's scruffy orange tail enter the doorway. I took in a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

"Sheesh, it looks like a twister went through here," Applejack commented.

"Or a monster," the other added.

"Well, with our little sister and her friends, it'd be pretty hard to tell," Applejack replied with a forced laugh. "Do you reckon it's still here?"

I gathered up my supplies and wits, deciding that now was as good of a time as ever to make my move. I drew my hatchet back and swung it at the window with all my might. The blade sunk straight through, causing a spiderweb of cracks to erupt across the glass with an earsplitting shatter. I bit into the handle of the hatchet and hugged the chair and bucket close to my chest. I barely had time to register the loud "What in tarnation?!" from below as I rolled through the broken window.

I landed on my feet with a myriad of glass shards around me. Without thinking, I slammed the treehouse door shut and thrust the chair underneath the door handle. I gave two swift kicks at the chair's legs to wedge it deeper into the door and took off into the orchard. There was a loud thud behind me, but when I craned my neck back the chair appeared to be doing its job. There was no telling how long it would last, though, so I took as much of an advantage as the head start would allow me.

It took a few minutes of running for me to realize that I still had no idea where I was going. This farm could have gone on for acres for all I knew, and I was probably nowhere near the edge. There was a large hill not too far from me, and I readjusted my course to climb it. Maybe once I reached the top I could find out where I was going.

I steadied my pace into a jog going up hill, not wanting to tire myself out. I was beginning to sweat a little, but the cool air was helping to cool me off. There weren't as many trees up here as the rest of the orchard, so the view was fairly clear. Rows upon rows of trees spanned out in every direction. Off in the distance I could see a few of the town's buildings poking out from the tree tops. My gaze shifted to the left and saw nothing but trees; however, the trees further back didn't look anything like apple trees. A wave of relief washed over me at the sight of the tall, dark trees. I didn't think I would ever see the forest again.

There was a faint bark from the direction of the treehouse. The ponies must have escaped. I glanced down the mountain where I came from but didn't see anything. It didn't mean much, though; they were probably still on my trail, which meant I needed to get a move on.

I raced down the hillside toward the forest. There was a straight stretch through the trees roughly half of a mile, and a small white fence marked the end of the farm. I steadied myself at a quick jog, keeping my eyes trained on the fence. A countless number of trees passed by me, and I was already starting to pant about halfway through. By the time I reached the fence, I was fighting for my own breath, but knowing that escape was right at my fingertips pumped my system with more energy.

The fence was barely half my height, making hopping it a simple task. I stole one last glance behind me to check my pursuers' progress. They had already reached the base of the hill and were chasing me in a dead sprint. I crossed the small dirt path that separated the fence from the forest and gave them a cocky smile and wave before slipping through the bushes.

As I weaved through the trees and bushes I could barely contain my excitement. I did it. I actually did it! The food I had gathered would probably only last me a few of days depending on how I rationed it, but even that little fact didn't faze me. I felt invincible. I had to fight back the laughter that was threatening to escape from my wide grin, and even then a small burst of it managed to break free every now and then.

After a few minutes of wandering around, I finally stumbled upon a trail. It was narrower than the path I took to the town and didn't even seem remotely familiar, but I was sure that if I kept following it then something would click. I slowed my pace down to a casual walk, thinking that there was no way the ponies would be able to catch up to me now.

A fork eventually came up in the road, both paths leading in completely opposite directions. I stood in the middle of the intersection and looked down both ways. They both appeared to curve in the same general direction after a while, which didn't help my case in the slightest. I found a small, flat rock at my feet and covered one side with a thin layer of dirt.

"Heads I go left; tails I go right," I muttered to myself. I balanced the rock on my thumb, flicked it into the air, caught it, and slapped it on my wrist. I studied the face and shrugged. If chance said that I was to go left, who was I to argue with her?

The trail was no different from the one I had just traveled. I didn't know what I expected though, perhaps a large sign that would point me where I wanted to go. After a few minutes of traveling, the trail I was on showed no signs of merging with any larger paths, and I was beginning to question if I was going the right way. I was about to turn back around when a faint sound caught my attention. I froze in mid-step and waited until the noise came again.

There was a heavy rustling in the bushes up ahead. It sounded like something big was coming. I dashed behind the nearest tree and stared in shock as a lion emerged from the bushes. Or, so I assumed. As it took a large, deep yawn, two monstrous, leathery wings unfolded from its sides. It flexed it scorpion-like tail, and my eyes were glued to the large stinger at the end.

It froze in the middle of the path and sniffed at the air. A low growl escaped from its clenched teeth, causing a chill to course up my spine. I retreated further behind the tree as it swept its gaze in my direction, and I feared that my beating heart would give away my position. When I managed to work up the nerve to look around the tree again, however, I couldn't find it anywhere.

My mind was going into overdrive. That thing shouldn't exist. It shouldn't be possible for it to exist. Manticores belonged in stories of myth, not in reality. Then again, neither should unicorns or dragons or pegasi. I shook my head in disbelief. Regardless of the details, I couldn't stay here any longer; it wasn't safe. I still didn't know where it was, though.

A thought suddenly flashed through my head, taking most of my breath away with it.

I slowly bent down, stashing the bucket of food beneath the cover of a nearby shrub, and crawled back up to my feet. There was a soft crunch somewhere off to the side, just barely audible in the stillness of the trees. I could feel cold sweat racing down my back, sticking to my shirt. My grip tightened on my hatchet, which was already getting slippery from sweat. My eyes flickered up to the tree in front of me. The lowest branches weren't too high up. If I jumped they would be within arm's reach. I tensed my legs, crouching slightly, and in one fluid motion leaped for the nearest branch.

There was a loud crash behind me. A deafening roar resounded throughout the forest. The moment my fingers wrapped around the branch I used my momentum to carry me to the next. The tree shook beneath me as something struck where my foot had just been. I cried out in shock. By the time I had climbed the fourth branch I pressed my back against the tree and stared down.

The beast was staring at me with eyes filled with animal hunger. It stood on its hind legs, using its front to prop itself against the tree. A splintered stub jutted out of the tree where the lowest branch had once been. It let out another roar, and my hands suddenly clamped over my ears. I could feel something wet on my hands sticking them together.

The manticore slowly crawled back down on all fours. A small wave of relief washed over me, and I allowed myself to breathe a bit more normally. The relief suddenly morphed into dread though as the beast snapped out its two large wings.

"Ah, shoot!" I jumped to a nearby branch and used it to swing across to the other side of the tree. The branch I had previously occupied shattered as the hulking yellow mass of the manticore slammed against the tree. I scurried up to the higher branches, trying to put as much distance between myself and the chaos beneath me.

The tree shuddered with the weight it was never supposed to bear. When I looked down I saw the manticore thrashing against the branches. There wasn't enough room for its wings to work, but it was still determined to find a way up to me. It clawed at the tree for all it was worth, snapping branches in the process, but no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't find any purchase.

It scrambled back down to the forest floor, glaring at me with annoyed eyes. I was busy holding onto the branch next to me for dear life. I could still feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. The beast let out one last roar before it turned and walked away, its tail flicking in agitation.

I sat there for a while in shock as my senses slowly came back to me. The first to come was a dull pain in my hands. I glanced down to find them scratched up and covered in blood. I must have scraped them when I was swinging across the branches earlier. I was beginning to feel lightheaded, too; although I wasn't sure if that was from the recent attack or my height. I rested my head against the tree's trunk until my pulse calmed back down to a steady pace and took in a deep breath.

"Alright," I said to myself after a few minutes passed. "Let's not do that again."

As I rested on the branch I stared out through the leaves. I realized that I had made it nearly halfway up the tree in my flight. I could almost see over the tops of some of the others already. A sudden curiosity took me over, and I found myself climbing further up the tree with the hatchet clamped between my teeth. My hands screamed in pain as their raw skin had to grab onto the rough branches again, but I ignored them. This would be better for me in the long run.

I climbed as far as the branches would allow. The branch I stopped on was a bit too thin for my comfort, but it was holding my weight fairly well so far. I was high enough to see over most of the forest now, but I wasn't sure if that would be enough. A heavy breeze shook the tops of the trees, and I hung on to my tree for dear life.

"Come on," I muttered as I scanned the top of the forest. "Where are you?" They swayed again, and something grey poked out of the vast sea of green in the distance. It was only a little larger than a spec, but the longer I stared at it, the wider my smile became. "There you are," I smiled at the small tower.

My eyes lingered on it a little longer as I memorized its location. I climbed back down as carefully as I could. The manticore knocked many of the branches off during its frenzy, making footholds near the bottom of the tree hard to find. I hesitated when I hit the last branch and searched the area for any signs of the beast. It wasn't anywhere in sight, but that didn't help ease my mind. I counted five minutes in my head before I dropped down to the earth.

I went to the shrub where I stashed my food and let out a sigh of relief. It hadn't been touched during my absence. I pulled it free from the shrub and was about to leave until something moved in the corner of my eye. I whirled around on the spot to find Applejack galloping toward me. She came to a sliding halt a few meters away.

We stood in silence, sizing each other up. She stood alone with none of her companions in sight. She looked the same as the last time I saw her, the only difference being the lasso that was draped across her back. Her friend must have given it to her.

"Y'all got a lot of nerve stealin' from my barn," she accused, breaking the quiet.

"And you have a lot of nerve waking me up," I retorted. The trail we were on was thin, but there were numerous places to hide off to the sides. I shot a quick glance across the trail to see if there were anymore threats, but she was the only pony in sight. If it was just her, I could probably handle the situation. "So, where are your friends?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Don't matter," she spat. "Ah can handle a no-good, two-bit thief myself. Now, you're gonna return what you stole and come back with me to Ponyville. Am Ah clear?"

"You know, it's not exactly wise to hunt someone down on your own, especially when they're armed," I pointed out, twirling the hatchet between my fingers for emphasis. The mare didn't seem fazed, however. "But if you want the food so bad," I added, putting the bucket down behind me, "by all means, come and get it."

The birds above us continued to sing their songs, unaware of what was unfolding beneath them. Time seemed to slow as we stared at each other. She whipped her tail out, and the lasso, which appeared to be tied to the end of her tail, followed as if it was an extension of her body. I shrugged off the rope that was draped over my body, feeling liberated without its constant weight on my shoulder, and it fell to my feet with a soft thud.

She crouched down, and her tail began to rotate quickly in a tight circle, the lasso mimicking the motion until it was high in the air. I drummed my fingers on the handle of the hatchet in anticipation. The trail was too thin to maneuver around easily. It would be hard to dodge her lasso, but perhaps I didn't need to.

Applejack flicked her tail, and the lasso whipped forward at frightening speeds. I shot my left arm in the air and pulled it to my side the moment it fell over my arm. There was a slight jerk as the rope tightened around my left wrist. I flashed Applejack a toothy smile and lunged at her with my hatchet at the ready. She dodged to the right as my hatchet dug into the earth, and she raced past me. There was a sharp tug on my left hand, and before I knew it the world was sent spinning as my arm twisted me around to keep up with the rope. I stumbled forward to keep up with the momentum as Applejack came to a sliding halt. A knowing smile formed on her lips.

Our fight quickly became a game of tug-of-war. We stood as far apart as the rope would allow, each trying to find some sort of leverage to gain the upper hand. Applejack craned her neck back to grab the rope with her mouth and gave it a strong tug. The sudden force was too much for me, and I began tripping in her direction. She took advantage of my sudden lack of balance and went on the offensive.

In three bounds she quickly covered the distance between us. As her forelegs touched the ground, she spun a full one-hundred eighty degrees and compacted herself to unleash what was sure to be a powerful buck. There wasn't much time to dodge it, and I was falling straight into it, so I tried to angle myself to the side as I fell. One of her hind legs grazed the right side of my chest. A sharp pain flared at the contact, but it could have been much worse.

I scrambled up to my hands and knees and lunged at her as she tried to regain her balance from her attack. I managed to pin her down to the ground and struggled to keep her in place. She squirmed around beneath me, trying to kick at me with her legs. Every now and then one of her hooves would make contact, but she didn't have enough force behind them to do any damage. I flashed her a smirk, which she quickly matched with a scowl.

"Ah'll have to admit," Applejack said with a strained voice. "You're a lot tougher than you look."

"Right back at you," I returned, struggling to keep her in place. "Bet you're regretting coming here alone."

A faint howl filled the air, catching us both off guard. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember why. Applejack gave me a knowing smile. "Not just yet; it looks like the cavalry has arrived." She took in a deep breath and shouted with all she had, "We're over here!"

I quickly moved my hand to cover her mouth, but it was too late. Her echo carried off in the trees. A blanket of eerie silence fell upon the forest.

Another faint howl quickly sounded. Then another, and another. It wasn't long until the air was filled with a dozen different howls. A wave of realization struck me, filling my veins with ice. It had only been a couple of days since I'd heard those howls, but everything that had happened in between made me nearly forget.

It is time to leave, the voice said, cutting off my thoughts. Finish the pony and run.

I stared back down at Applejack, whose eyes were just as wide and frightful as mine. Before I had a chance to do anything, she grabbed onto the collar of my t-shirt with her free foreleg, and before I knew it our heads were on a collision course. Pain erupted from the front of my skull, and stars darted in what was left of my vision. I staggered up to my feet and back away from her, my hands were clasped around my pounding head. Something sparked in the back of my mind.

I was already back on top of her before I realized what I was doing. My hands snaked underneath her still-stunned body and hoisted her off the ground. I threw her back to the earth with a primal cry, and her green eyes widened in shock as her body struck the ground.

My vision quickly began to clear up as the headache subsided to a dull throb at the front. Applejack remained on the ground, her body splayed across the dirt and gasping for breath. I took advantage of her stunned state and rolled her over to her side. Her lasso was still tied to her tail, and I quickly began to wrap it around her. She didn't offer any resistance at first, but after a few seconds passed she seemed to realize what was happening and offered a weak resistance. It didn't matter at that point, though, as she was nearly fully restrained. I tied the final length of the rope around her back and dragged her to the base of the tree.

"You ain't gonna get away with this," Applejack spat out as she struggled.

"I'm pretty sure I just did," I dully pointed out. I stood back up to my full height and walked back to the bucket of food a few yards away.

"Big Macintosh'll find you!" she called out. "And when he does —"

"I think he'll be more concerned about saving his friend," I cut her off. I examined the contents of the bucket carefully, making sure everything was still as I left it. "Speaking of which, just where is he and your mutt?"

"Don't matter," she retorted.

I quickly covered the distance between us and bent down to meet her. My hand grabbed her by the jaw and forced her eyes to meet mine. "Actually, it does matter," I snapped. "Because as much as I would love to save my own hide, I want to make sure yours doesn't become dog chow first. Am I clear?"

Applejack stopped struggling for a moment and studied my eyes. Her body relaxed, but the steely look in her eyes stayed constant. "We got separated a while back," she finally admitted. "We heard the manticore before we saw it, but it didn't help us prepare. It scared Winona off as Big Macintosh and Ah were wranglin' it. Ah told him to go get her while Ah kept searchin', and it wasn't too long until you climbed outta that there tree. He should be back any minute."

"See? That wasn't too hard, was it?" I asked. Appljack let out a grunt and began struggling again. I reached for the bucket and pulled out a bright red apple. "Now, don't take any of this personally," I started. "But I can't have you telling your friends where I'm going."

I pried open her jaw and shoved the apple inside. A surprised squeal escaped from her mouth, but the apple was lodged in before she could make too much commotion. I dragged her squirming form out of the trail and rolled her onto her stomach. "If I were you," I whispered as I leaned close to her ear, "I would be very selective about how much sound I want to make. There's no telling how close those wolves are, and I'd rather not come back and find that you had become worm food."

She stopped struggling but whipped her head back to give me one last glare. I hid her behind a tree, making sure her body was as concealed as possible. Once I was satisfied with my handiwork, I made a beeline for the castle. A small pit of guilt formed in my chest for leaving her tied up like that, especially after hearing those bone-chilling howls, but it had to be done. Hearing the timberwolves' howl had set me on edge, and the sooner I got back to the castle, the better. Besides, I was sure she would be alright. After all, she said her friends weren't too far behind. Perhaps they would stumble upon her first.

I pushed my way through the dense foliage of the forest, hugging the bucket close to my chest. I kept my ears perked to catch any more odd sounds, but the cacophony of leaves slapping against me and soil crunching beneath my feet drowned out any other noise.

I stumbled upon another trail and allowed myself to catch my breath. Overexerting myself wouldn't be in my best interest, especially now. I tried to visualize a map in my head. If I were to pace myself, I should be able to get to the river at least in about fifteen minutes. A small sigh escaped my system. I needed to get moving; I was ready to get some rest.

The sound of a growl behind me dashed all hopes of rest, though.

My blood froze in my veins, and my body became rigid. A faint rustling sounded behind me. It was close. I turned around in time to see a brown form erupt from the bushes, and before I even had time to register it, my body was already on the run.

A loud, familiar yapping echoed through the woods as the creature chased me. I was struggling to keep up with my feet as I ran. The bucket of food was weighing me down, but I was too terrified to think about dropping it. I felt something snap at my leg, and before I knew it, the earth was rushing up to meet my face.

Something clamped onto my foot, and a surprised yelp escaped me. I could feel the sharp teeth trying to dig into my skin, but my shoe took the brunt of the damage. I twisted my body around, expecting to find a living mass of vines and wood at my feet, but what I found was no timberwolf. It was canine though.

"What?" I asked in disbelief, anger festering up inside of me. Winona didn't seem to notice, though, and continued to chew away at my shoe. "You scared the heck out of me!" I shouted. I wrenched my foot out of its mouth and gave it a good kick to push it away. It stumbled backward in shock and started barking through a feral snarl. I wasn't paying it much mind, however, and I turned my back to it to think.

So, that's two of my chasers found, I thought to myself.

Where's the third? the voice finished.

There was a faint rumble in the forest, like heavy feet trampling the ground. I didn't notice it until it was too late. By the time I turned around, I barely had enough time to see the red pony before he plowed into me.

The world became a flurry of motion as I spiraled across the trail, only coming to a halt when my body connected with something hard. I felt as if I had been hit by a car. My body was sore from where it hit the tree. It took me a moment to realize I was sprawled across the forest floor on my back. When I tried to roll over, though, something pushed me back down on my back and pinned me to the ground. A red stallion's face loomed over me with a disgruntled frown, and a pressure began to build on my ribs.

"Big Macintosh, I presume?" I wheezed under the weight of the red stallion's hoof. I locked my hands around it and attempted to lift it off my chest, but it wouldn't budge. "Something tells me there's no second guessing as to how you got your name," I added with a smile. The pressure on my chest increased, and I winced in pain. "Not in the mood for jokes today?"

Macintosh shot me a look, and that was all the answer I needed. I released my grip on his hoof and held my hands up in surrender. Without taking his eyes off of me, he addressed the dog.

"Winona, go find Applejack and bring her back," he ordered. "He ain't gonna run off this time." The dog let out a small whine but obeyed nonetheless and jumped into the bushes. I tried to squirm my way out from under Macintosh's hoof again, but it was pointless. I needed a different strategy.

"You know, if you really want Applejack here, you might want to send more than that mutt of yours," I pointed out. "Last I saw her, she kinda had her hands tied." I coughed as Macintosh put more of his weight on me. If I didn't have his attention before, I definitely had it now.

"What did you do to my sister?" he growled.

"Sister?" I asked. I supposed I should have guessed. It made sense, after all, but that didn't stop the stakes from rising any higher. I felt a crack somewhere in my ribs, and my vision blurred with pain. "I didn't do anything to her. We had a little fight in the woods. At most I only left a few bruises on — Ack!" I was starting to see stars where his head should have been. I could hear a few more pops in my chest. "Okay, okay! Poor choice of words!" I cried out. "I left her tied up by a tree to buy myself some time!"

"Time for what?" Macintosh pressed.

"To escape!" I spat. "You must've heard the howls, too. I know they're coming, and I don't want to be anywhere near those wolves when they get here."

I could see the cogs turning around inside his head as he thought. Fighting to escape from under his weight was pointless, and now I was battling to suck in a breath. This couldn't keep going on for long.

"You're coming with me," he finally said, lifting his hoof off of my chest. It didn't do anything to help my breathing, though. It felt as if something was pressing against my lungs. I wasn't even sure if I could stand up. "Tie yourself up, too," he ordered, waving his hoof at the rope that was still slung across my torso.

"Are you kidding?" I asked with a faint laugh. A small flare of pain erupted from my chest. "I'm not going back there. I'd rather die by you crushing me than become dog chow."

The earth seemed to shake beneath me as Macintosh stomped back up to me, and for a moment I feared that that was exactly how it would end then and there. He put a hoof on my shoulder, pressed down, and leaned his head in close. "Either you're coming voluntarily, or I'm gonna make you," he said.

I was about to make another retort until I saw the fire burning in his eyes. It wasn't filled with the rage I expected, though, but with fear, the fear of losing his sister.

"Look," I sighed. "I'm not coming with you, no matter what you say. And you know I'll only slow you down if you make me." I lifted a hand and pointed into the trees. "She's in that direction. You better hurry, though. Her clock is ticking."

He didn't respond at first but instead searched my eyes for any sign that I was lying. There wasn't any, though, and when he realized that, he lifted his hoof off of my shoulder. "So help me," he warned. "If I get there and she isn't where you said..."

"Then you're free to do whatever you want next time you catch me," I cut him off. He hesitated one last time and drove his hoof into my shoulder. I swore loudly as white hot pain erupted from my shoulder. My hand shot up to grab it as if squeezing it would somehow numb the pain. In the background, I could hear Big Macintosh thundering in the direction I had pointed. I was alone again.

I slowly crawled back up to my feet, careful not to agitate any of my new wounds, and retrieved my hatchet and bucket from where I dropped them. My breathing was shallow. Every time I tried to take in a deeper breath, I felt a pain in my chest. I had to reach the castle now if I wanted any chance of healing.

Why did you help him? the voice rang in my head as I trudged through the trees.

"What?" I asked. The sudden question caught me off guard. I shook my head, trying to remember it. "He was scared of losing his sister. I didn't want him to go through that."

Why? it persisted.

"Because I might not know what it feels like to lose someone in my family, but I know some people who might," I answered. My thoughts drifted to my family, wondering how they must be dealing with my sudden disappearance. "I don't care who they are," I added. "I don't want to put them through whatever my family is going through."

The voice didn't seem to have anything to add, and I carried on the rest of my trek in silence.

The gentle sound of flowing water soon filled the air, and it wasn't much later that I broke through the trees to find the river. A wave of relief washed over me, and I dropped to my knees before the peaceful river, dipping my hands into the water to wash the grime off. A sharp pain shot up my arms as the torn skin of my hands rubbed against each other, but the coolness of the water seemed to numb the rest of my hands. A dull ache pulsed through the rest of my body, begging to be soothed as well. I felt as if I could just lay down and float wherever the current took me.

The small moment of peace had to end, though. I still wasn't safe on this side of the water. With much reluctance, I gathered my supplies and crossed the river. It was difficult keeping the food above the water level, but I managed to reach the end without dropping anything in the river. I made a mental note to find some way across the river without having to swim. Getting soaked every time I wanted to go somewhere probably wasn't good for my health.

Like last time, it didn't take long to find the castle. A small smile crept up on my lips at the sight of it, and it only grew the closer I got. I pulled open the large wooden doors and made my way to the tower as if I had walked through the halls a thousand times. I raced up the steps, stopping only when I reached the door to the throne room at the top and breathed in the autumn air.

This was it; this was my new life. A life of sneaking off in the middle of the night and stealing food whenever needed. I opened the doors and crossed the room to meet the ruined throne. A life of survival. A life where all odds were stacked against me. I turned around and surveyed the throne room. A life of solitude.

I sat down on the throne, my smile a fraction smaller than before. I never really was the sociable one in my group of friends, and they used to joke about it. Of course, I always knew they were joking and laughed with them, but I really did enjoy their company. And now I was all by myself in a large ruined castle with no one to talk to.

I shook the thoughts out of my head. Now wasn't the time to start thinking like that. I was still going to search for a way back home; there was no telling what was going on with my friends thanks to my sudden disappearance, or my family for that matter. I had to find a way back, not just for their sake, but for mine as well. But now wasn't the time for that. Now was the time to celebrate.

I grabbed the vial of potion Zecora had given me from the base of the throne and lifted it up in the air as to make a toast.

"Cheers. To my new life," I announced to the empty room. "A life of stealing under the cover of night and searching for a way home during daylight." I took a large swig of the potion, shuddering as the sour liquid sloshed down my throat and worked its magic.

To our new life, the voice chimed in. I eyed the bucket thoughtfully and withdrew an apple.

"And to the strange voice in my head!" I added with a smile. "Who knows where I would be without you?"

A chuckle rang throughout my head. A good question, indeed.

"I'm sure this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship," I said as I took a bite out of the apple. The rest of the day was spent rationing my harvest. Every now and then I would pull out a random vegetable from the pile and nibble away at it. I eventually struck up a conversation with the voice in my head. I no longer cared if I was going insane; I had someone to talk to now.

A new life... One filled with insanity and misadventures. I had a plan. Now all I had to do was survive.

Act I: The Beast of the Everfree

This idea is stupid. Why are you even doing this?

I readjusted myself in the tree to get more comfortable on the branch. Through some of the leaves, I could see the sun rising over the forest canopy. "Well, it's always a good idea to learn as much as you can about your enemy," I reasoned. "So, I figured this would be the perfect time to learn what I could about the ponies."

True, but did you have to pick a tree so close to the village? the voice persisted.

"'So close to the village? If I was any further from it, I'd practically still be in the forest," I pointed out. In all honesty, we were both being a little overboard with our judge of distance. I was camped out in one of the biggest trees I could find, which happened to be near the middle of a park. I sneaked in during the middle of the night while there were few to no ponies around and camped on of the tree's higher branches up to this point. It took a while to get comfortable, but I eventually managed to turn the hood of my jacket into a semi-soft pillow against the harsh bark.

It had been a little over a couple of weeks since my first raid on the "Apple family" barn, and on more than one occasion I returned to harvest more food. The raids were becoming progressively easier. I eventually memorized the path that connected the forest to the orchard. Even as the Apple family caught on to my little act, it was still four ponies and a dog covering a large plot of land, and one of them was too old to stay up into the night. Sneaking past them was becoming as simple as studying their guarding habits.

A nasty cough wrecked my train of thought, rattling my whole system in the process.

You aren't even in your best health, the voice accused. If you get caught—

"I'm not going to get caught," I interjected through a hoarse voice. The coughing had just started yesterday. At first I thought it was nothing, but as the day drew on and the coughing became more severe, I began to worry for my health. With no human doctors around, there was no chance of any cure to whatever I caught. I gave another cough to clear up my throat. "And besides, you know what my plans are if worse comes to worst."

Yes, and it was full of holes, it commented dryly. I rolled my eyes. The voice must have realized that the conversation was over and begrudgingly receded into the back of my head. It never was too keen on the idea of me spying on the ponies when it first popped into my head a couple days ago, and ever since then it seemed to only become much less fond of the thought. No matter how many times we argued about it though, I was still adamant in learning as much as I could about my new neighbors, and it must have understood that it had no power to change my mind.

A faint murmur filled the air as a few ponies began entering the park. The ponies are coming, the voice pointed out. Stay silent.

"I know the drill," I said annoyed. I let out one last cough to clear my throat and sniffed back the mucus running down my nose.

Truth be told, I didn't know what I was looking for, whether it was some sort of weakness or simply to understand them. I supposed I was really there for the benefit of my curiosity. From my perch, I could see ponies leisurely walking through the park, some alone and some in groups, completely oblivious of my presence. I could hear some ponies laughing next to my tree as one of them told a joke. In the distance, some of the small ponies, foals, as I've come to know them, played games that varied from catch, tag, kite flying, and hide and seek. It was surprising, almost unsettling, how closely they acted to humans.

As the sun reached its peak in the sky, the number of villagers began to dwindle. I guessed even ponies had to eat lunch. I took the moment as my cue to start eating and pulled an apple and a few poorly cut carrots out of my jacket pocket. Truth be told, I was starting to get sick of apples, but I had little say in the matter. So far they were the only thing I could prepare well, and even that was a stretch considering the only thing I had to wash them with was river water. Come to think of it, poorly washed food might have actually been part of the cause of my sickness. I stared at the carrots in my lap and the half-eaten apple in my hand. They were all probably infecting me with who knows how many diseases, but my stomach kept arguing it was better to eat what I had than to starve. I was going to have to pick my poison, and with a sigh I took another bite.

My whole body was tense and sore. I had been sitting still for hours now, save for the occasional shifting. It would have been a considerable feat before I came here. By now, I normally would have fallen asleep, but the fear that I might be spotted at any second kept me on edge.

I started hacking again. My dry throat was killing me, and this runny nose was clogging my airflow.

Still think this was a good idea?

I cleared my throat one last time. "Of course..." This time I sneezed; much louder than I would have liked, too. "Maybe..." A soon as I was sure that none of the ponies were looking, I chucked a useless apple core as far away as I could.

Using my hood as a sort of pillow, I rested my head against the rough bark of the tree. I realized then how poorly camouflaged I was. My dark blue jacket contrasted the orange and red leaves that were sprouting off of the branches. I guessed that I was lucky that most ponies didn't look up.

I took in a deep breath. The air was slowly starting to warm up again. My plan was running as smoothly as I had hoped. Everything was perfect.

"Rainbow Dash!" a loud voice shouted.

Was perfect, at least. I shifted around on my branch in an attempt to find the source of the disturbance only to find Applejack staring rather angrily at the sky. "Rainbow Dash, I know you're up there!"

A guilty looking blue pegasus stuck her head out of a low cloud. "Oh, hey, Applejack," Rainbow chuckled nervously. "Uh, what brings you here?"

"You know darn well what brings me here! You were supposed to help me guard the farm last night from that no good, thievin' monster!"

"Oh," Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head and gave an apologetic smile. "Was that yesterday night?"

"Yes, it was yesterday night. And you never showed," Applejack growled. "Now, because of your laziness, that thing made off with more of my family's food!" I tuned out the rest of their heated argument.

"Oh, yeah..." I reminisced. "Last night was crazy."

You almost got caught, the voice commented.

"Almost, but didn't," I pointed out.

That is beside the point, it ranted. You're becoming too cocky and letting your guard down. If it wasn't for us, you would have been captured a long time ago!

"Exactly!" I winced, realizing how loud I had gotten. "You're like my sixth sense, my own little 'early warning system'. You always seem to know how to get out of whatever situation I get myself stuck in. I have nothing to worry about with you in my head."

That is not part of the plan! the voice shouted. It fell silent. I could feel it buzzing in the back of my head, like it was in disarray. I didn't speak a word, fearing that doing so would make the voice retreat again. The minutes slowly ticked by. I was beginning to think it had left me, until it added one last comment. You're becoming too reckless, Hunter, and we cannot guarantee your survival if you keep throwing yourself into these situations.

I laid back in the tree, scatterbrained with too many thoughts. The next few hours seemed to drag on. The ponies weren't doing anything interesting to grab my attention. I had nearly forgotten what I was doing here to begin with.

It was deep into the afternoon when the smaller ponies started appearing across the park. It struck me that I hadn’t seen very many of them until now. I couldn’t imagine why there was a sudden influx of foals. Some of them had saddlebags over their backs, and a couple even pulled books out of theirs and began reading. I started to wonder if these ponies had a school system.

"Can you believe Miss Cherilee is still going to do that field trip through the Everfree forest?" a young voice spoke underneath me. I jumped at the sudden noise and looked down to find three fillies sitting under my tree; the same three fillies I had followed to the farm.

"I know, it's crazy," the orange one, Scootaloo, said while chewing on a sandwich. "With that monster still running around, we're going to have to be extra careful." She gave her two friends a sinister smile. "In fact," she added with a spooky voice, "we might just get eaten!"

"That's just crazy talk, Scootaloo," Applebloom bluntly said, unamused at the attempted scare. "Miss Cherilee wouldn't take us through the Everfree unless she knew it was safe. Besides, Zecora's comin' with us, and she knows that forest better than anypony."

"But what if the monster does show up?", Sweetie Belle asked nervously.

"Then Zecora'll do some of her fancy-shmancy potion stuff like she always does," Applebloom replied, waving a hoof dismissively.

Scootaloo let out a small snicker. "Yeah, and maybe we can get Big Macintosh to help, too."

Applebloom stomped her forelegs to the ground and and glared at the pegasus. "Are we gonna have to start this again?"

Sweetie Belle let out an annoyed groan, as if this happened on a regular basis. "Please don't," she begged. Her friends seemed too caught up in their own sprouting argument to hear her, though.

"I still can't believe that thing outran Big Macintosh," Scootaloo smirked. She must've been referring to last night.

"It did not outrun him!" Applebloom exclaimed defensively. "The monster just got a head start on him, and it was dark out."

"Oh, just admit it, Applebloom," Scootaloo lightheartedly teased. "We all saw it. That that thing totally creamed your brother in a race!"

Applebloom stood up on all fours, ready to defend her family's reputation. However, before any conflict could erupt between the two, Rainbow Dash flew overhead. She called out in a loud voice, "Attention, everypony! Attention, everypony! Twilight and the Mayor are holding an important meeting at Ponyville town hall!"

The ponies scattered around the park looked around in confusion and began shuffling back towards the town. Sweetie Belle appeared more than eager to use the interruption to her advantage. "Hey, girls, how's about we go to that meeting?"

Her friends looked at her as if she had sprouted a fifth limb. "Ugh, a meeting?" Scootaloo asked. "Why do you want to go to that?"

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to agree with Scoots on this one, Sweetie," Applebloom chimed. “That sounds more boring than Miss Cheerilee's history lesson this morning.”

"Come on, you heard Rainbow Dash," Sweetie urged. "It's really important. It could even be about the monster!" Appleboom and Scootaloo seemed uncertain at first, but with a quick glance at each other and a shrug, they eventually agreed. The three fillies packed their things and took off into town. The few ponies still in the park began heading that way as well. It seemed everybody in Ponyville was going to that meeting; a meeting about me...

Don't even think about it.

"Too late." I hopped off of my perch to the branches below. I kept low as I hit the ground, searching for any stragglers.

This is exactly what we warned you about. You are being reckless.

"No, this is exactly what I came here for," I pointed out. After I was sure the coast was clear, I jogged to the town. "Look, odds are this meeting is about me. For all we know, they could have found a way to track me, or maybe they have some fancy new plan to catch me or lay a trap. I might not have another chance like this."

To get yourself caught? the voice asked cynically.

I reached the first building and pressed myself against it. "To get another step ahead of the ponies," I corrected. I stole a quick glance around the corner. The street was empty as far as I could see. "Whether they're talking about beefing up security or discussing what they know about me, I can use it to my advantage, change my tactics, or even figure out what to look out for in the future." I waited for the voice to pitch in it's own two cents. It seemed hesitant for a moment, but it reluctantly agreed.

Perhaps you have a point. In and out, though. The moment we have what we need, we leave.

A sly smile spread across my face. "Not a problem." I left my cover and made my way into the town. I stayed close to the buildings, careful to stay out of sight. It wasn't too hard to accomplish. The town appeared devoid of any ponies, just like when I first arrived. It didn't bring back many fond memories, either. The air was eventually filled with the dull murmur of a large crowd. I followed the noise until a mass of multicolored ponies appeared around the corner of a building.

I quickly retreated back behind the building, heart racing. There were more ponies in this town than I expected. None of them were screaming or wreaking havoc across the streets, so I guessed that I hadn’t been spotted yet. I took my chances and darted across the street and into a shadowed alley. Still, the ponies didn't react. My heart calmed down slightly, and I allowed myself a chance to relax. I found a small gap between two buildings with a perfect view of the stage before the crowd. The only thing left to do now was wait.

After a few minutes, a tan pony with a silver mane and half-moon spectacles appeared onstage and stood behind a wooden podium in the middle. She cleared her throat and started to speak.

"Citizens of Ponyville, I am sure you are all wondering why I called for this emergency town meeting. We are here to discuss an issue that has been brought to my attention by our local librarian, Miss Twilight Sparkle. We are here to discuss the matter of the monster that appeared a few weeks ago." There was a small moment of unrest in the crowd as the pony mentioned me, and a tension began to fill the air. I shifted uncomfortably in the shadows. "Miss Sparkle and I have had an interesting discussion on the topic and believe that now is the time for action. And now, without further ado, here is Miss Twilight Sparkle." At the end of her speech, the tan pony stepped off of the stage, allowing a nearby Twilight to take the spotlight.

"Thank you, Mayor," she nodded and turned her attention to the eager crowd before her. A stack of papers floated next to her surrounded by a purple aura. "As the Mayor said, we need to talk about the strange new creature that came to Ponyville over two weeks ago. Over the past seven days, this creature has raided Sweet Apple Acres multiple times. Each time it steals more and more and becomes better at doing it. It has even shown to be growing bolder in its raids. Just yesterday, it attacked Sweet Apple Acres before the sun fully set, something it has never dared before. Who is to say that the creature will not eventually become brave enough to venture into the town again? What will we do then, when it is right at our doorstep?" Twilight looked expectantly at the crowd. There was a slight murmur in the sea of ponies, but no one dared to speak up.

Twilight continued, "Nopony knows this creature's full potential. Who knows how dangerous it can get if we give it too much time. However, we were able to drive it off on its first appearance. If we all work together, maybe we can catch it before it get’s to that point.”

The crowd lightened up at the idea. The sound of the whole town against one monster seemed to go well with them. I, on the other hand, was beginning to feel a sense of unease form in the pit of my stomach. Twilight smiled in delight. “I know it might seem scary, but I know we can do this if we stand together. I propose that we go into the Everfree and —”

An uproar from the crowd cut her off before she could finish.

“Go into the Everfree? Are you crazy?”

“Why should we go to such an unnatural place?”

“The monster will get us for sure if we go in there!”

"Everypony, calm down," Twilight tried. The crowd was still in a frenzy. She tried to calm them again, but they only got louder and more rowdy. "Quiet!" The crowd suddenly became dead silent. "Now, let's get one thing straight," she cautiously started. "I am not forcing anypony to go into the Everfree Forest. I would never want to put any ponies in harm’s way. However, I still need volunteers. My friends and I can’t do this by ourselves. We won’t stand a chance at catching this beast without your help. And if we don't stop this problem soon, it could get out of hoof very fast."

The crowd was silent as Twilight watched them. A lone hoof shot out of the crowd. “I volunteer!”

Another rose from the far side. “Me, too!”

Twilight gleamed as the number of volunteers grew exponentially. It seemed like nearly all of Ponyville was willing and rallying to hunt me down.

“This is perfect!" Twilight exclaimed. "With this many volunteers, we should have the monster captured within a week!" Cheers erupted throughout the crowd. Twilight barked out orders as the crowd became a chaotic blur of swirling colors. "I need everypony to get into one of three groups. We need as many pegasi as we can to take to the skies and look out for any signs of this monster. If any pegasus sees anything suspicious, report to Rainbow Dash. Applejack, Big Mac, and Pinkie Pie, try and gather some ponies to defend the town while we're gone."

“Y’all can count on us Twilight!” Applejack yelled over the commotion. The scene was growing more chaotic by the second as pegasi began launching into the air.

“Right,” Twilight nodded. She turned her attention to the rest of the crowd. “Everypony else, we're going to the Everfree! Use the buddy system. Don't go anywhere by yourself. Are we ready to catch ourselves a monster?"

The crowd erupted with a resounding “Yeah!”

I shrank deeper into the alleys. “Oh, this isn’t good,” I muttered to myself.

What? Are you not going to go out there and fight them? the voice asked sarcastically.

“I can go without the snarky attitude,” I hissed back.

Then we suggest you start running.

“Yeah, that sounds —” A loud crash echoed through the alley as I backed into a metal trash can. I was frozen in place, fearing that moving anymore would attract any more attention to my hiding spot. The town as disturbingly quiet. A part of me wanted to believe that the ponies had already left.

My eyes were glued on the small gap between the two buildings. A shadow of pony cautiously emerged. My brain screamed at my legs to move, but they were being uncooperative. The pony stuck its head across the corner, and the moment we made eye contact it let out a scream.

“It’s the beast of the Everfree!”

I darted out of the alley and sprinted through the town. Thundering hooves and flapping wings filled the air as the ponies gave chase. I glanced behind me to see my odds, and didn't like what I saw. Nearly all of the ponies from the rally were on my tail. I could have sworn I saw pitchforks gleaming in the sunlight. Several pegasi were flying above the bulk of the ponies. I attempted to shake them off by taking every turn imaginable, but they were too stubborn for a few turns to throw them off.

I exited the town and entered the park. My pursuers were catching up to me. Now that we were out in the open, I couldn't take any sharp turns without being easily cut off. My only hope was to make a beeline to the forest and pray that I could outrun the ponies for just a little bit longer.

The trees were so close. I was only a few yards away when one of the pegasi dive-bombed me. I was given a mouthful of soil as Rainbow Dash pushed me to the ground. My hatchet fell out of my hands as I fell. There was a loud thunder as the rest of the ponies caught up. I felt Rainbow Dash's weight leap of me and let out a low groan. I lifted my head, and through my dazed vision I could barely make out my hatchet lying between me and a forest of multi-colored legs. My hand shakily reached for it, but someone in the crowd shouted something, and before I could make sense of it a pony sprinted to my hatchet, picked it up with its teeth and retreated into the crowd.

I pushed myself up to my knees and scanned my audience. I was completely surrounded. The ponies had made a thick ring around me, and they all seemed pretty ticked off that I paid them a surprise visit.

Still think it was a good idea to spy on the ponies?

"Can it," I snarled. I rose from my kneeling position, and the crowd gasped when I reached my full height. There were no visible holes or weak links in the thick ring of ponies around me. They all seemed evenly distributed. I took a step forward, just to test how they would react. Many ponies backed up in fright, and regained their composition shortly after. They were scared of me. To them, I was a strange creature not to be trifled with.

Before I could use their fear against them, though, a lasso attached itself to one of my wrists. The owner of the rope, Applejack, gave it a sharp tug, causing me to stumble in her direction. Another rope swiftly latched itself onto my other wrist. I glared at the other end of the rope at Big Macintosh, who glared right back. The two ponies pulled in opposite directions, immobilizing me and dealing a serious amount of pain to my arms. I struggled to free myself, but the ropes dug into my skin every time I tried to move. The sudden realization of my situation filled my heart with dread. I was caught.

"Well, that didn't take as long as I thought at all." A section of the ring parted enough to allow a very smug looking Twilight through. "Truthfully, I expected a bit more resistance."

"Sorry to disappoint," I spat. "I'll be sure to try harder next time."

"Oh, no," Twilight scoffed. "You're not getting away this time. We're taking you back to Ponyville, and we're finally going to find out just what you are." She walked around me a few times, as if by observing she would unlock my secrets. I could feel the tension in the air. The crowd seemed ready to run away or lunge at me with all they had at a moment's notice. A few foals stuck their heads out to get a better look at "the monster", but their parents quickly shooed them away.

This is degrading! the voice shouted in my head. They stare at you as if you were a toy on display! An animal in a zoo! Fight back at least! Remind them why they fear you!

I struggled against my bindings. My sudden movement caught Applejack and Big Macintosh off guard, but they quickly came to their senses and pulled tighter on the ropes.

“You know, now that you’re out in the sunlight, you don’t actually look all that intimidating,” Twilight said bluntly. Out of all the ponies in the crowd, she seemed to be the only one that was calm. “No matter, though. You have committed crimes against the town of Ponyville, and it is time you paid the price. With a quick teleportation spell, you'll be sent to the local prison where a cell will be waiting for you until we find out what to do with you."

Her horn started glowing, and a warm sensation spread throughout my chest. It quickly became hotter; so hot, in fact, that it felt as if a fire was raging inside of my body. I dropped to my knees in pain and started coughing. My heart had become a living, beating furnace, spreading the flames wherever my arteries traveled. I desperately tried to grab at my chest as if it would quell the pain, but the ropes still had my arms outstretched. It was unbearable. I screamed until my lungs were too empty to vent my agony.

A brilliant white light erupted around me. My trip through that strange tunnel weeks ago felt like a walk through a freezer compared to this. Then, it suddenly vanished. I collapsed onto the cold earth. My body was smoking. The fire had disappeared, but the pain still lingered in my chest.

"Well," I heard Twilight say in a surprised voice, "that wasn't supposed to happen..."

Do it, the voice cooed. We know you want to.

I slowly stood back up. The ropes that were once tied to my wrists now lay on the ground, ends smoldering as if they were burned by a fire. My eyes locked onto the purple unicorn in front me. The ring of ponies was completely silent. The only noise that could be heard was the rustling leaves and my heavy breathing.

Twilight gave a nervous laugh. "Let's try that again, shall we?"

You know you want to, the voice persisted.

Her horn began to glow again. Fueled by rage and fear, I brought up a foot and kicked Twilight square in the face with all that I had. An audible gasp erupted from the crowd. The vast majority of them took several steps back while others stood frozen in shock. All eyes were on me.

"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack broke from the crowd and rushed to their friend's aid. Twilight was in a daze, but managed to slowly get back up.

"I'm fine, really," she coughed. I could see a trickle of blood coming out of her nose though

I turned to face the ponies standing between me and the forest. They stared at me in horror and retreated a few steps further. My eyes locked with the mare that had my hatchet in her mouth and charged towards her. Her eyes shrank to pinpoints as I rapidly approached, and she quickly dropped the hatchet from her mouth and sprinted out of the crowd, making a small commotion as she ran. The rest of the ponies in front of me quickly scattered out of the way, giving me ample room to retreat, scooping up my hatchet along the way.

Over the panic I left behind me, I heard Rainbow Dash yell, “Don’t let it get away!”

Thankfully, the ponies were slow to react. I had a few seconds of a head start before the ponies finally gave chase. Cries of outrage sounded through the forest as I sprinted through the trees. There was one thing these ponies didn’t seem to understand, though; they were on my turf now.

After a while of running, I diverged from the path and into the dense foliage, hoping it would provide me with cover from the ponies. I stayed low to the earth, allowing the bushes and wild grass to hide me as the sound of my pursuers slowly dwindled.

I counted the minutes as they ticked by. After a long silence passed throughout the trees, I carefully emerged from my hiding place, my grip tight on my hatchet. The game had changed. Nearly an entire town of ponies was between me and my castle. This would definitely complicate things.

My heart was pounding in my chest so loudly that I feared it would give away my position. I was starting to feel antsy, the slightest noise causing me to jump. I had to find some way to sneak past the ponies and get back to the castle. Once I got there, I could start working on building up my defenses.

As I progressed deeper into the forest, I slowly let my guard down and started using the trail. I would cast a few glances behind me to see if I was being followed, but each glance proved my paranoia wrong. It appeared as if I had dodged the bulk of the ponies. I easily recognized this trail as the one I used during my raids on the Apple family farm. I knew practically every inch of this small path from the many times I had taken it. So it was only natural for me to be confused when a rather large obstacle came into view.

"This can't be right," I muttered to myself as I walked up to the gaping hole in the earth. It took up most of the trails width and ran a length of roughly ten feet. I crouched down to get a better look at it. It looked deep enough to fit two of me, one on top of the other. What really struck me as odd was the texture of the walls. The dirt was smooth to the touch as if it was cut.

A sense of unease came over me as a thought came to my mind. If somebody dug this hole, then they probably had a purpose for it. Given its dimensions, I had a sickening feeling what it was.

I shot a glance behind me, my paranoia rising when I thought I heard a noise. It proved to be nothing, but I didn't want to stay here any longer than I had to. This path was the most direct route to the castle, though, and the hole was still blocking the majority of it. I cautiously skirted around it, giving wary stares behind me. Halfway across the pit, some of the bushes next to me began rustling.

"Gotcha!" A mint green blur erupted from the bushes and latched onto me. I backpedaled away from it, and before I knew it the world began spinning as I tumbled into the pit.

Act I: Pick my Poison

I let out a surprised yelp as the projectile and I fell into the pit. It was definitely a pony, a unicorn to be exact. Its face seemed to be frozen in delight. The bottom was coming up fast, and I had no time to maneuver myself. I braced myself as best as I could, screwing my eyes shut.

My back took the brunt of the impact. It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if it wasn't for the added weight of the unicorn. The sudden stop caused our heads to collide, sending me into a daze. The wind was knocked out of me, and I found myself forcedly trying to breathe in air.

I cracked my eye open. A white and teal canvas covered my blurred vision. The unicorn lifted her head up and looked at me with unfocused, golden eyes. She had a mint green coat, and her mane was mostly a bright teal color, save for a streak of white running across the side of it. After staring at me for a few seconds, she shrieked and scurried off of me, pummeling my torso with her hooves in the process. I propped myself to a sitting position and watched as she tried desperately to scramble up the walls and cried out for help.

"Did y'all hear that?" a young voice asked from above.

"It sounds like it came from our trap!" an excited voice replied.

The unicorn's ears perked up. "Help!" she cried out. "Down here! Please, help me!"

Three fillies poked their heads over the edge of the pit. "I don't believe it. Our trap worked!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"Ah, does this mean we gathered all those leaves for nothing?" a disappointed Scootaloo asked.

Applebloom's eyes lit up with excitement. "Do ya reckon this means we got our cutie marks?" The fillies' heads disappeared for a moment, and an audible groan was made. The trio returned over the edge, looking a little let down.

"Hey! Are you going to help me or what?" the unicorn demanded.

"Lyra? What’re you doing down there?" Applebloom asked. "This trap was made for the monster."

"I don't care!" the unicorn exclaimed, nervously trotting in place. "Just get me out of here!"

Sweetie Belle let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, funny thing about that. You see, we didn't really think we were going to catch a pony, so we sorta kinda didn't really make a way out." Lyra's jaw nearly hit the ground.

"But don't you worry. We're gonna get some help," Applebloom smiled nervously.

Scootaloo piped up. "Yeah, in the meantime, you can, uh —" She disappeared for a second. I heard some wood snap somewhere, and Scootaloo returned with a branch in her mouth. “Yoosh thish,” she said, muffled by the branch. She tossed it into the pit between us.

Lyra looked dumbfounded at the limb. “A stick? You expect me to protect myself from a monster with a stick?!”

“Don’t you worry” Applebloom quickly said. “We’re gonna find somepony to help. Come on, girls.” The three fillies scampered off to who-knows-where, leaving me and Lyra to ourselves. Lyra tried to call them back, but it didn’t seem as if they heard her.

She took in a deep breath as if to calm herself, and a golden aura encompassed the branch as it flew over to her. Lyra turned to me, putting on a brave face, but the look in her eyes and the quaver of her voice betrayed her fear.

“Alright, you,” she snarled, attempting to intimidate me. “You’re just gonna stay over there until my friends arrive, got it?” I rolled my eyes and started getting up. Lyra began shaking and put the broken limb between us. “I-I’m warning you. I have a stick, and I’m not afraid to use it.” Her eyes shrank to a pinpoint as I reached my full height, and the branch swooped over and started beating me over the head.

“Hey! What gives?” I demanded, shielding myself with my arms. The bombardment of thin wood and leaves wasn’t hurting me in any way, but it was an annoyance nonetheless, and Lyra didn’t show any signs of stopping. “Will you quit that?” I grabbed floating branch and struggled with whatever was holding it in place.

The branch snapped between the opposing forces, causing me to stumble back and the golden aura to disappear. I quickly scooped up the pieces and chucked them out of the pit before the unicorn could use them. She backed into the far corner, staring at me with a frightened expression. Her eyes shot behind me, and her horn began to glow again. I glanced behind me to see a golden light flickering around my hatchet.

Stop her! the voice screamed.

Without thinking, I lunged towards Lyra, grabbed at her horn, and pinned her head to the ground. Her horn was hot to the touch, but I refused to let go. Lyra shrieked and tried to pull away, but she was already backed into the corner with nowhere left to go.

“I’m sorry!”she cried out. I could feel her body shaking. I tightened my hold on her horn and pushed it down further into the earth. “I-I’m sorry, I won’t do it again, I swear! J-Just don’t hurt me, please.” Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

The sight was unsettling to look at. I saw a yellow and pink pony cowering in her place. I shook my head to dispel the mirage, but the guilt managed to linger.

My grip around her horn slackened slightly. The burning sensation had left when Lyra began pleading. I realized my fist was raised, prepared to deliver a blow if needed. I slowly lowered it, keeping a wary eye trained on the mare, fully released her horn, and took a few steps back. A dull pain grew in the back of my head.

What are you doing? the voice demanded as I backed away from the mare. It could still be a threat.

A threat? I scoffed. I focused on Lyra, who was trying to calm herself down with deep, ragged breaths. Look at her! What is she going to do, drown us in her tears? I scared her half to death. She isn't a threat to anyone. I tore my eyes away from her, not wanting to look at the pitiful sight any longer. This isn’t right.

Is this not what we wanted?

What we wanted? I just want to survive this mad world; I want to go back home. Hurting her isn’t going to help anything. It’s not going to get us anywhere, and it doesn’t feel… right. The voice fell silent for a moment, although I could tell it wasn’t exactly happy. The back of my head felt as if it was burning, but I tried to ignore it. I drummed my fingers against my side, waiting for a response. “Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way,” I muttered under my breath.

One problem at a time, Hunter, the voice insisted. My gaze shifted to the top of the pit as if it was led. It wasn’t as deep as I originally thought, but the walls were still too tall for me to jump and climb out. I rattled my brain, trying to think up some way to escape, but nothing seemed to click.

Any idea on how to get out of here? I asked, finally giving up.

Give us time, the voice snapped. Finding a way out of your mistakes isn't always an easy feat.

I let out a heavy sigh and knocked on a nearby wall with the side of my fist. I shot a glance behind me. Lyra was still huddled in the corner. She looked like she had calmed down considerably, although she kept giving me a weird look. I wanted to ignore it, but her eyes kept boring into me. It was driving me nuts.

“What?” I snapped. The pony jolted at the sudden attention.

“Um… aren’t you… you’re not going to hurt me?” she asked, trying to recompose herself.

I let out a half-hearted laugh and shook my head. “Hurt you? I think I’m in enough hot water as it is. Why would I want to do that?” A sharp pain spiked in the back of my head. I pinched my brow and tried to massage my temples to soothe it away. “I mean,” I heard myself continue, “it’s not like you completely ruined everything I had planned by tackling me into my own grave. And for what, some big heroic sacrifice to catch the ‘Beast of the Everfree’?”

“Hey, hold on,” Lyra said defensively. “If you weren’t standing next to the pit, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Oh, so you’re saying it’s my fault that we’re down here?” I demanded.

We were both at our feet, voices starting to raise.

“I was just following you!” Lyra exclaimed. “I wasn’t paying attention to why you were just staring at the ground!”

“Well maybe you should start paying more attention,” I shot back. “None of this would have happened if you weren’t stalking me!”

Lyra jabbed a hoof in my direction accusingly. “And if you hadn’t attacked Ponyville and started all of this, I wouldn’t have been stalking you in the first place!”

My face began heating up. “‘Attacked’, huh? Is that what they’re calling it? Me stumbling around, looking for shelter, and then getting run out of town by five deranged ponies? If anything, you attacked me like I was a rabid animal!”

My outburst must’ve thrown Lyra off; her face shifted from anger to confusion. “Wait… What?”

“I was running for my life!” I continued. “If you stupid ponies would have at least tried to show an ounce of kindness instead of attacking me, I would have reacted differently. But no. Because of you ponies, I’ve had to isolate myself in the middle of nowhere just to keep a safe distance from everything trying to kill me. Because of you ponies, I’m starving myself at day and have to resort to stealing my food at night.

“I mean, do you even know what it’s like? My life was all peachy keen until a couple of weeks ago. I never had to worry about my next meal, or how I should ration whatever scraps I managed to collect; I had a whole fridge stocked with food! I had a stable roof over my head! There was never a problem of rats or birds swooping by and taking off with my rations. I never woke up and wondered if it was going to be the last morning of my life.”

My vision was blurring with water. I leaned my back against the wall for support and collapsed to a sitting position. Lyra stood at the other end, speechless.

“I was ripped away from my family and my home.” The words were starting to catch in my throat. “I am alone, and the whole world seems to be out to get me. There’s no one I can lean to for support. I’m lost and starving and scared for my life… And I’m never going to see them again.” My throat was getting sore. I coughed again, only to succeed in making it worse. I slouched forward as a pair of streams burned their way down the sides of my face. When my throat began to clear up I continued talking.

“You know, today I spent the whole morning at the park in Ponyville. Do you know what I saw?” The mare was silent. I took it as my cue. “I saw you ponies... playing around, laughing, talking to each other.” A small laugh found its way out, but died as quickly as it came. “And I’ve never been more jealous. This whole morning, I kept wondering what it would have been like if that first night just happened differently. Maybe I could have found some help. Maybe I wouldn’t be so alone. Maybe I could have found my way back home. Maybe…” I couldn’t keep going. I buried my head into my knees, trying desperately to hold myself together.

A gentle touch patted my shoulder. I looked up and found Lyra next to me trying to give a reassuring smile. “Hey… It’s going to be okay…”

Surprising even myself, I reached out and pulled her into a hug. Her body went rigid at first, but she eventually relaxed and returned the gesture. I must have looked pitiful crying into her mane like that, but I couldn’t help it. My body was shaking from the torrent of bottled up emotions forcing themselves out, and she gave me a few awkward pats on the back to help me let them out.

It was hard to tell if she really cared or not, but even trying to act like it meant so much to me. It had been so long since anything had been this close to me without trying to kill or capture me. To be able to simply talk was relieving, even if it was only for a few minutes.

The sound of multiple hooves hitting the ground could be heard above us after a few minutes passed. A young voice cried out, “Come on, we left ‘em over here!” My heart sunk as the galloping sound drew closer to us. Lyra pulled away and made her way back to the other end of the pit, her mane still stained with a few wet streaks. I wiped my eyes and tried to recompose myself. This may have been the end for me, but I was bound to face it with whatever dignity I could still salvage. The hoofbeats came to a halt above us, but I couldn’t bring myself to face them.

“Pure coincidence it cannot be, for me to be led here by you three.” The rhythmic Africanesque voice sounded all too familiar. I looked up in surprise and sure enough found a zebra staring back down at me. Zecora smiled as our eyes met, and I could feel my spirits begin to lift. Maybe I wasn’t doomed after all. She turned back to face where I assumed the three fillies were waiting. “Thank you for bringing me here, Applebloom. Your timing could not have been more opportune. But now I’m afraid I must ask you to leave, if you want me to bring your friend out with ease.”

“What are ya tryin’ to say?” Applebloom demanded. She sounded slightly hurt at Zecora’s request.

“What if something goes wrong and you need our help?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah, what if the monster escapes?” Scootaloo chimed in. “You’ll need us to catch it again.”

“I can assure you, he will not be hard to control,” Zecora laughed. “But right now, this isn’t the place for a trio of foals. I appreciate your offer for a helping hoof, but there are many strange things that are still afoot. Return to the town and wait for me there, and I will deal with the beast and the mare.”

The three fillies were still reluctant, but with a little more encouragement, they eventually left us. Zecora returned over the edge with a content smile.

“Zecora?” I asked. “Is that really you?

“Yes it is, my strange friend, and it appears that you are in need of a hand.” She laughed at her own joke and managed a small chuckle out of me.

“You have no idea—”

“Hold on a minute,” Lyra interjected. I almost forgot she was there. “You two know each other?”

“Hardly; we ran into each other once before, but he ran off before I could ask much more,” Zecora answered. “I told him nearly everything about me, yet still have no clue as to who he might be.”

“Hey, if you get me out of here, I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” I promised. “Besides, I kinda owe you for that potion.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Lyra shook her head. “Can somepony tell me what’s going on? Just how did you two meet?”

“Look, we’ll tell you later,” I simply said. “Let’s get out of here first.”

We had a difficult time trying to find a way out. Zecora couldn't drag me out by herself, and I was too skeptical to allow Lyra to go first. It's not that I didn't trust Zecora, but after what happened during our last encounter, I wasn’t too sure what was going on inside her head. There was an argument about my cynicism, and I reluctantly let Lyra out first to help me later.

“Okay, give me a second,” I called as Lyra scampered over the edge. “I have something we can use as a rope.” I shrugged off my jacket and tossed it up to the waiting mares. Zecora made a move to grab it, but Lyra stopped her. The zebra stared at her in confusion, and Lyra simply motioned for her to move closer. They started whispering to each other.

A sharp pain split the back of my skull. They’re betraying you. How did you not see this coming?

My mind started racing. No, surely not. We had a deal. My eyes darted across the walls of the pit, hoping to find an alternative route just in case, but had no luck. They returned their attention to me.

“Alright, beast,” Lyra started. She poked an accusing hoof at me. “Spill the beans. Who are you? Why are you here? Is it true you eat ponies for breakfast? What are your plans for invading Ponyville?”

I stared blankly at her, trying to process all the question. “W… what?”

“I apologize for this, but it is the only way,” Zecora explained. “I hope we can continue without much dismay. I know you are desperate for rescue, but first we require some answers from you.

“Last I saw you, you left me quite perplexed. You were there one moment and gone the next. Out through the door like a criminal who was caught, and when outside it was my friends you had fought. And in your absence Twilight spun an incredible tale about your visit to Ponyville and all that entailed. What troubles me most is when we first met, you were not the monster my friends called a threat. All I wish is to hear your side, before who to trust I come to decide.”

“My side?” I asked. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything, from when you first arrived here, to how you became the beast the ponies came to fear.”

My memories drifted back to that first night. I had tried to forget a lot of it, but some of the memories were still as sharp as if they had happened yesterday. “Well, I didn’t necessarily stumble into town,” I started. “I was kind of chased by this weird pack of wolves…”

I carried on giving them a rough summary of my first night, starting with my family’s camping trip and ending with where Zecora first found me. Zecora listened intently to every word I said. Lyra, on the other hand, still appeared a little skeptical, but as my story progressed she seemed more and more unsure. It felt good to finally talk about what had happened, to get it all off my chest. I was very careful trying to explain holding Fluttershy hostage. I put heavy emphasis on how I never actually intended to hurt her, that it was just a bluff to get the others away from me, but even then it still didn’t seem to settle well in their minds.

“Look, I don’t know why I’m here,” I said as I started wrapping it up. “But I never wanted any of that to happen. I was just trying to make it out alive.” I turned my attention to Lyra. “I don’t have any plans for invading Ponyville. In fact, I’m trying to get as far away from there as I can. I just want to get back home to my family and be done with all of this.”

Zecora nodded, still processing all I had said. It looked as if she approved it, although that was probably just me being hopeful. “And where were you that fateful night?” she turned to Lyra. “Perhaps you can offer some more insight.”

The mare gave a nervous chuckle. “Funny thing about that,” she started. “I was actually in Canterlot at the time. I just returned a week ago. Bon Bon had to fill me in on what happened, and even then, she didn’t know everything.” She paused, lost in thought. “Come to think of it, a lot of ponies don’t really know what happened that night. All we know is another monster came out of the Everfree during a freak storm, and Twilight and her friends saved the town again.”

“Surely you can find it in your heart to give this ‘monster’ a second start?” Zecora asked.

Lyra shot a quick glance at me and looked back at Zecora’s sincere smile. She had a torn look on her face, and she disappeared from the edge of the pit. I started to get a little worried. Even Zecora looked confused at first. Lyra returned with my jacket in tow. She dangled it over the edge of the pit.

“Alright, beast,” she smiled. “Let's get you out of there.”

I grabbed hold of my jacket, and the two mares gripped the other end with their teeth and pulled. “Let’s get one thing straight first,” I said as I strained to pull myself out of the pit. “My name isn’t ‘the Beast’ or ‘the Monster’ or ‘the Creature’.” My hand grabbed the top of the pit, and Lyra and Zecora helped me scamper back up. I rolled over to a sitting position as our breathing returned to normal and held out a hand. “Name’s Hunter. Hunter Grey.”

Lyra eyed my open palm warily, but Zecora was quick to shake it.

“So, I have to ask,” I said, turning to Lyra. “Do you guys really think I eat ponies for breakfast?”

She blushed and tried to give me a smile. “Well, about that… Pinkie Pie kinda made a little jingle about you after everypony starting asking what happened. I guess some of it was a little overdramatic, but it still kinda stuck.” She scratched the back of her head innocently. “It’s actually pretty catchy. You should hear it sometime.”

“It does sounds like the pink mare to come up with a tale and set it aflare,” Zecora laughed.

“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass,” I chuckled. I laid back on the dirt path with my feet dangling over the pit, enjoying my renewed sense of freedom.

“Wait, so does that mean you really don’t eat ponies?” Lyra asked.

“What? No! I couldn’t eat you even if I wanted to. Not saying that I would want to,” I explained. “You ponies act too much like humans. It would feel like cannibalism or something.”

“Humans?” Lyra and Zecora gave me an odd look, as if they were unsure how to respond. “Is that like… an insult or something?”

I sat back up, propping myself with my arms. “Come again?”

“You said human…” They still had that confused look on their faces.

“Yeah, you know, human,” I gestured to myself. The gears in her head slowly turned as Lyra finally caught onto what I was implying. It was unsettling how long it was taking them to understand. “Wait, have you two never seen a human before?” I asked worriedly.

“The species of Equestria are very diverse,” Zecora explained. “But of your kind, I believe you are the first.”

“Oh.” A pit formed in my stomach. I had hoped that there would have been a town or a village or a tribe at very least of other people. I started feeling a little more alone in this world. I tried to change the topic to help get my mind off of it. “So, this is going to sound a little odd, but…” My voice trailed off.

“What?” Lyra asked.

I struggled to find the right way to word it. “You’re a… um… unicorn, right?”

She blinked. “Well, of course,” she replied. She pointed a hoof to her head. “Don’t you see the horn on my head?”

“No, no, I do,” I said quickly, blushing at my own stupidity. “It’s just I didn’t know if that was what you called yourselves.” An awkward silence filled the air. “And the ones with wings… They’re called pegasi?”

Zecora was trying and failing to stifle a small laugh, and Lyra gave me an odd look. “Are you… slow in the head, or something?” she asked.

“No; I just want to make sure I’m using the right terms is all,” I defended. It was starting to feel a little hot out here. I glanced at Zecora, who was still struggling to contain herself. “I’m not even going to ask. I think I already know what the answer is.”

She grinned and nodded, seeming to have gained control of her giggling. It was still burning the back of my head, though. I wouldn’t want to offend her if I was wrong.

I sighed in defeat. “Zebra?”

They both started laughing this time, and I couldn’t help but join them. I shook my head grinning and rose to my feet.

“Well, I think I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one day,” I smiled, throwing my jacket back on. “I better start heading back to my little safe haven. With most of the town out here, it’s going to be kinda tricky. Thank you again, so much. You two are the best. I’ll try to lie low for a while, not cause you ponies too much grief.” I gave them a wave and started my way to the castle. I would have to get off the path soon to not attract more attention to myself, but for now—

“Hunter, wait!” Lyra called out. “What if you gave us a second chance?”

I stopped and looked over my shoulder in confusion. “What?”

“This is all just one big misunderstanding,” Lyra pointed out, “but nopony in town knows that. To them, you’re just another scary monster that lives in the Everfree forest. If we could show everypony who you really are and convince them to give you another chance, then maybe we can fix this whole ‘the monster in the forest is evil and needs to be destroyed’ business.”

"It is possible that Lyra is correct," Zecora pitched in. "If you go to the town, then the ponies' thoughts might defect. Twilight told me what happened that night, and it's no wonder the ponies are in such a fright. The only way you can hope to make amends is to go into Ponyville and make some new friends."

You’re not actually buying this drivel, are you? the voice scoffed.

“I don’t know,” I answered to both.

“Look, Twilight is still in Ponyville helping the Mayor coordinate everything,” Lyra explained. “She’ll listen to us if we all three go together. We can resolve all of this without dealing with an angry mob.”

They want to bring you to Twilight? As if you do not know how that will end.

“Is something wrong, Hunter?” Lyra asked. I noticed I was shaking slightly.

“No, I’m fine,” I gave a weak chuckle to reassure myself. It wasn’t working. “It’s just a really big decision, is all, and I’m a little nervous… Are you sure it would work?”

“Well… no,” she admitted. “But we’ll stand by your side until everypony believes you’re safe, I promise.”

They don’t even think this is going to work, and they are the ones insisting you go. Their lives aren’t being put on the line; yours is. Why should you take any chances?

I couldn’t think. Lyra and Zecora seemed ready to put everything down to help me, and I had only known them for a short time. This was the first time Lyra and I had even met, and already she trusted me. But did I trust her?

Of course not! Did you forget she was hunting you to begin with?

But Zecora—, I started.

What about Zecora? The voice demanded. If we remember correctly, you stole from her and ran away like a convict. How could she trust you? She’s probably working for Twilight, deceiving you to let your guard down so she can bring you to her. You and we both remember the nightmares you’ve had of that encounter.

I cringed. I did remember those nightmares: the darkened halls, the gore splattered on the dimly lit walls, Twilight blocking my only escape with that unnatural look in her eyes, the inhuman sounds echoing in my head. Some bile found its way in the back of my throat.

Do you really want those dreams to become a reality?

I took a half-step back, shaking my head.

“Hunter, are you sure everything’s okay?” Oh, the sincerity in her voice. Could it really be lying?

Are you willing to take the chance?

“No,” I mumbled, taking another step back.

“What?” Lyra asked.

“No,” I repeated, louder this time. “Sorry, I just… I can’t.” I started retreating back into the foliage lining the path.

“Hunter, come back,” Lyra pleaded. “Everything will be fine.”

Lies! the voice erupted. A massive headache threatened to split my skull in two. I fell to my knees and clasped my hands on each side of my head to suppress it. You are a criminal in that accursed town! Twilight even said so! You retaliated against them, stolen from them, spied on them. Why would they accept you? You are nothing but a monster in their eyes. You are the Beast of the Everfree!

I could hear someone shouting over the ringing in my head. A couple of pairs of hooves helped me back up to my feet. Zecora and Lyra watched me carefully with worry evident in their eyes. My body was trembling. A rift tore my mind in two; one side telling me to go with them, and the other telling me to stay.

“Sorry,” my quavering voice managed. “Not today. But… someday, maybe. Whenever everything cools down for a bit.” I turned and walked deeper into the forest.

“Wait!” Lyra called out as she rushed up to me. She hesitated when she had my attention. “Just promise me something, okay? Promise you wouldn’t hurt anypony.”

I stared into her golden eyes, and knelt down in front of her. “I’ll never try to hurt another pony. Promise.”

Her eyes brightened. “Really?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” I smiled weakly.

Lyra gave me a bright grin before rejoining Zecora. “Don’t worry, Hunter! We’re going to get things straight!”

“We shall go into the town and tell your tale,” Zecora added with a confident smile. “We will not back down until we prevail!”

I stood there dumbfounded as they galloped back to town. As their footsteps echoed in the forest, I felt the corners of my lips twitch up a bit. I shook my head in disbelief and trudged through the forest, deep in thought. Why was I so scared to go with them? It would have been a monumental change for me, but the thought that the outcome would be positive was preposterous considering our history. After all, they were just two ponies against an entire town. Well, one pony and a zebra. There was no way they could sway all of Ponyville.

Or could they? A genuine smile broadened across my lips. Something sparked inside my chest that I hadn't felt in an eternity. I felt hopeful again. This might just play out in my favor.

That was a cute little lie you told that unicorn.

The voice's sudden comment broke my chain of thought. “What?”

You know what we are talking about; when you said that you would never hurt another pony, it gave an unsettling chuckle. We got a good kick out of that.

“That wasn't a lie,” I protested. “I was being serious.”

Do not try to lie to us, the voice interjected. We felt the rush you had when you struck Twilight down. We know of your little habits; how you always bottle up your emotions. We know how you snap when the tensions rise. We know everything about you, Hunter. We are you.

A chill ran up my spine. The voice had never said anything like that before. I walked silently in case it continued, but it didn’t speak for the rest of the journey.

I shook the thoughts out of my head. My internal clock was telling me it was time to rest, and my body agreed. My castle soon came into view, much to my pleasure. I slowly made my way up to the throne room and surveyed its appearance, as I always did. There was never anything different about it than the countless other times I checked on it. Call me paranoid.

I plopped down into the cushioned chair. My eyelids were getting heavy. As I slouched into a more comfortable position, the voice's last comment rang through my head. We are you.

It was a bit disturbing, really. I never put too much thought on the subject. The voice always gave me advice, and I would usually follow it. I had always assumed it came from me, but the way it said it just sounded so... wrong.

Sleep beckoned me with open arms. My thoughts were muddied as I ever so slowly slipped away from the castle. I threw myself into whatever crazy dream was waiting for me and silently prayed that it would be pleasant tonight.

Goodnight, Hunter.

“Goodnight…”

Act I: A Royal Mess

"Alright. Bow test number twelve," I announced as I readied myself to fire my makeshift bow. I felt proud. I had managed to gather a few branches and vines and manipulated them into a lethal weapon, sort of. So far all of my attempts have been horrible fails, but I had a pretty good feeling about this time.

I placed the twig that was supposed to represent an arrow against the vine and aimed at the target, my water bucket. I pulled back, and the branch bent as the tension built on the vine. It was handling well, and I couldn't help but smile a bit. It was going to work.

SNAP!

The bow split into two complete halves. The upper limb flew back and slapped me in the face. In shock, I dropped what was left of the bow's remains. I stumbled back and massaged my face. "That's it. No more bows."

Oh, but you were doing so well, the voice mocked. Perhaps if you tried again—

"Forget it," I grumbled. "You said that seven tries ago." I rested on a nearby rock surrounded by all of my other failed attempts at making weapons: shattered bows, broken slingshots, chunks of tree bark made to be shields that were too bulky or too oddly cut to use properly, backup hatchets with blades either too dull or too loose to be of any use.

I fell under another coughing spell. My sickness had become remarkably worse; so much so that my mood was being affected, too. "This is ridiculous!" I griped. "I practically have a bounty on me head, everything in this forest is still out to get me, and all I have to defend myself is a hatchet and some rocks!"

What about those spears you made?

I glanced tiredly towards the tree I rested said weapons on. They weren't much to look at, just a few exceptionally long branches I found that happened to be semi-straight. "Ah, yes. Pointy sticks," I said dully. "That'll help me hunt for food. Especially considering my aim is about as straight as a curly fry." My stomach let out a low groan at the sound of food. "Oh, shut up," I answered irritably. "I know you're sick of fruits and veggies."

I hung my head in defeat. The game for my survival had changed three days ago, and I was still struggling to adapt to the new rules. I never used lethal force against the ponies before, but I never really had to while I was in the Everfree. But after the fiasco that happened a few days ago, ponies were bound to start flooding the forest. If I couldn’t find a way to defend myself, I was as good as dead, but if I hurt any of them, my deal with Zecora and Lyra would be off.

Keep the spears on you, the voice recommended. You don't have to throw them well, just look like you can.

"Yeah, I suppose that might work." I stood up, grabbed my hatchet, and stuffed it inside of the rope belt I had recently made. I walked over and examined one of my better spears. It was surprisingly sturdy considering how thin it was. I was able to fit my hand around it comfortably, and it stood just below my chin. I wasn’t sure what type of wood it was; the trees here were still so alien from the ones I had seen back home, but it was able to take some punishment and still hold. There was a natural bend to it, making it unlikely to be thrown well. As good as it was, I couldn’t help but be disappointed that this was the best I could come up with so far.

"This shouldn't be this hard,” I sighed. “Three days. Three days to get my act together, and I've got nothing to show for it other than a migraine and a bad cough.”

Perhaps the ponies will stay away for fear of catching diseases, the voice suggested.

“Oh, hardy har har…”

I couldn't stand the sight of all of my failures anymore. With a grunt of frustration, and a nasty cough, I left the small clearing and went for a walk through the trees. My body wasn't taking the lack of available food very well, and I found myself losing more weight than I would have liked. The fact that I was constantly working off whatever food I ate didn't help much either, and my recent sickness only added to the fun. I tried to get my mind off of my declining state and enjoy the scenery.

It was actually a fairly beautiful day. It was well past noon, and I had yet to run into any trouble with any of the wildlife or ponies, so that was a plus. The sun was barely able to break through some of the leaves of the trees, providing some warmth against the cool breezes. It was odd, really; the trees. They weren't any evergreens that I knew of, but they still managed to keep their green color despite all of the others changing with the season.

This is a waste of time. You should go back to making weapons.

"Yeah, 'cause we all know how well that turned out,” I scoffed.

It was merely a suggestion. We just do not think that it is a good idea to be wandering around the forest unprotected.

"Thanks for voicing your concern, but I'm pretty sure I'd be just as unprotected back there. I can handle myself well enough to go for a stroll."

Really? the voice asked in a tone that was borderline mocking. Do we need to remind you that you were easily trapped by two ponies with rope? Or how about Twilight’s strange powers and how they seem to be able to bring you to your knees? Even Lyra, a lone pony, managed to tackle you into that pit! Nearly every encounter you have had with them ended with a narrow escape.

"Okay, okay, you have a point," I griped. "Still, I've wasted too much time on those pieces of scrap. I need to put my mind on something else for a while."

I continued walking in silence. My only companion was a small rock I had been kicking in front of me for a while now. The wind slowly rustled the leaves. I paused and took in a deep, refreshing breath. The cool air filled my lungs, rejuvenating my system. For a moment, all of my fears, all of my troubles, just seemed to melt away at the sheer beauty of this scene. There wasn't anything that could ruin my walk, not even the frequent coughs and the pains that came with them.

A chill coursed through me as a colder breeze swept by. I fumbled with my jacket's zipper with numb fingers until I had completely sealed off my shirt from the wind. That breeze carried me out of my peaceful trance and into a newer, more solemn, one. Winter would be coming in a couple of months at most. Each night was getting colder and colder. With winter approaching, my days of wondering around the forest would become limited. I needed to find a better way to keep myself warm if I wanted to survive the winter "wonderland".

You could always leave, the voice suggested. Skirt around the town at night. Try to find better shelter. Look for the portal.

I staggered in my walk for a second. "No," I answered heavily. "Too risky. No telling how many other villages are around, how far away they are, or whether or not they've received word of me. I'm just going to have to wing it. I could keep working on making a fire, maybe even try fishing for a change. And the portal…" I didn't know how to express it. I wanted nothing more than to go home, but the fear of running into the timber wolves kept me at bay. True, me risking being caught by the ponies was by no means a good alternative either, but at least then I'd still be alive, hopefully.

"I just want a bit more experience under my belt until I try going after that. Won't help my family much if I'm dog chow on another world," I joked halfheartedly. I gave the rock a slightly stronger kick, and it flew into the forest's tangle of bushes and grass.

I snapped back into reality as the faint sound of voices filled the air. Someone was coming. A small panic seized me, and I dashed into some nearby bushes for cover.

"I still can't believe she set herself up to be humiliated like that." A cream colored mare with a mane of three shades of red was first to emerge from the dense foliage, tailed by two other brightly colored mares. One mare with pink fur had a disgruntled look on her face as she brushed some twigs and leaves out of her long, golden mane and carefully readjusted the lily next to her ear. The other had a much lighter hue of pink for her coat with a bouncy, lime green mane.

"I know!" the pony with a lily chimed. "Poor Lyra. She must have lost it."

"I just can't believe she was standing up for that… that monster," the cream colored mare continued. "She was practically putting herself up for that kind of response." Her friend nodded in agreement.

"Do you think she actually talked to it?" the green haired mare asked suddenly.

Her friends paused and looked at her. “Why does that even matter?” the second pink one asked. “Wait, Daisy, don’t tell us you believe her.

Daisy looked to the earth and prodded at a rock innocently. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I mean, if what she said was true, then maybe the monster isn’t so bad after all. It could’ve hurt her, but she walked off with barely a scratch.” She looked back up to her friends with a small smile, and I felt one creep up on my face, too.

“Yeah, but she also said she was stuck in a pit with that thing, too,” the cream pony pointed out. “And you heard what Twilight said: that creature is dangerous. Even she doesn’t know what all it can do. For all we know, it probably brainwashed her with Everfree magic or something.”

My smile vanished along with Daisy’s. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I don’t know what I was thinking,” she said, waving a hoof dismissively. She gave a reassuring smile and tried to change the subject. “Hey, maybe we can still make it to the Running of the Leaves if we hurry this patrol.”

“As if,” the pink one huffed. “Stupid monster, making us miss an important event like that. This ‘monster patrol’ is really cutting into my schedule. This is the worst day of my life, by far.”

“It’s okay, Lily. I know exactly how you feel,” the cream pony said. The trio started walking closer towards my hiding spot. “You know what? How’s about when all of this silly ‘monster hunting’ is over we go to the spa? My treat!”

I accidentally stepped on an old branch trying to edge away from the ponies. The resulting snap might as well have been a gunshot or a flare. The three ponies stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the bush that was hiding me. They must have seen something, considering the look on their faces.

“That sounds like a great idea, Rose,” Lily agreed. “In fact, let’s just cut this patrol short and head over there now.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rose replied hurriedly. “Daisy, what about you?”

Daisy chuckled nervously. “But of course! After you.”

With that, the three darted back the way they came. As their hoofsteps fainted away, I rose from the bushes, silently cursing that branch. I probably could have learned some valuable information on what was going on in town. “Well, at least I have an idea on how Lyra’s doing on her side,” I said.

Yes. And she doesn’t seem to be doing too well, does she? the voice remarked.

“I don’t know. That one pony looked like she seemed interested.”

One out of three, the voice scoffed. And you saw how quickly the others managed to change her mind.

“Give it time,” I replied. “It’s practically two versus an entire town right now.”

Which makes the effort all the more futile.

An exasperated sigh left me. “You and your cynicism.”

I gathered my bearings and wandered off in a random direction. Lyra and Zecora were trying their best to tell the citizens of Ponyville that I wasn’t the bad guy. I could only imagine how she looked standing up for me. I wondered, well, hoped is the better term, that she managed to catch a few ponies that would actually listen to her. It would certainly make things easier on my front.

All things considered, she seemed to be doing well for only a few days worth of work. I chuckled at how I had so eagerly placed my life in the hands of a pony I had just met. In retrospect, maybe it would have been a good idea to go with her and Zecora into Ponyville. Seeing me casually walking with their friends could have alleviated some of the ponies’ fears.

Yes, and then we could have frollicked to the town where the ponies would be waiting to whisk you away to a life of sunshine and happiness, the voice mocked. It is time you faced the facts, Hunter. You are not now, nor will you ever be allowed in that town. The ponies will not accept you. You are too alien to them. You’re in the right to try to avoid them.

I grit my teeth. My head was pounding. I hated to admit it, but the voice was convincing. I sighed in defeat and massaged my pulsing temples.

My troubling thoughts brought me to a foreign area of the forest. The green leaves were long gone, as it seemed, and were replaced by vibrant shades of gold, crimson, and orange. I had a thought to go back to more familiar waters, but my curiosity got the better of me. The colors were beautiful, and I had realized that I had yet to legitimately enjoy the autumnal scenery. The colors were always my mother's favorite part of fall; she would always corral the family into going to the park to take family photos. A part of me wondered if my family was going to carry on the tradition despite my absence.

I shook my head, trying to derail my train of thought. I'll get back in time, I told myself. I'll find my way back soon, and it will be like I never left.

I stumbled upon a dirt trail and mindlessly followed it. The trees became less dense the further I walked, and the sun shone much more brightly because of it. It felt more peaceful out here, and I felt as if I could wander out here for hours.

I realized just how long it had been since I started my walk. My legs weren't very happy about it either. I turned around and retraced my steps. After a few minutes, I realized I was lost. Horribly lost. I was beginning to regret going further into this part of the forest instead of staying in the more familiar Everfree. I sat down in the lush grass for a rest and tried to map out as much of this forest as I could in my head.

A faint rumbling in the distance caused me to lose my train of thought. I could easily recognize it as the sound of hooves pounding on dirt; I had too much experience associated with that sound to think otherwise. But why would the ponies be here of all places? Did Daisy and her friends already manage to tell Twilight of me? I couldn’t have been that close to Ponyville.

The sound was getting louder. I dropped my spear and climbed a tree. My clothes' darker colors were sharply contrasting the reds and yellows of the leaves, and I couldn't position myself any higher. I would just have to pray that the ponies wouldn't look up.

Dozens of multicolored ponies galloped by. As they passed, the trees started shaking and the leaves began falling off. I cursed my bad luck. Why did the leaves have to fall off now of all times? I was completely exposed to the ponies below.

However, despite my sudden lack of cover, none of the ponies seemed to notice me. Their eyes were all focused forward. I noticed that they all had papers with numbers on their flanks. It seemed as if they were running a marathon.

A large shadow passed over me. I shielded my eyes as I looked up to better see the pink hot air balloon gently floating in the same direction as the runners. Inside the basket were Pinkie Pie and Spike. They seemed to be giving comical commentaries over the race through a rather loud megaphone.

When the last of the ponies ran by, I jumped off my perch and retrieved the spear. I stared off in the direction the ponies ran, transfixed with conflicting thoughts. The marathoners could very well be running away from Ponyville as much as they could be running towards it. Nevertheless, they would have to return to the town eventually. I bet that if I followed them, they would lead me back to the town and ergo lead me to a more familiar part of the forest.

The walk was uneventful. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was that all the leaves had fallen fallen to the ground. It was odd. Not even an hour ago they were still attached to the now barren trees.

I deviated from the trail as a mass of ponies came into view. They were all chatting amongst themselves; some cheering, some patting each other on the back. A small part of me longed to join them. My isolation was starting to get to me, Just the taste of social interaction a few days ago was making me want more. A small headache and a heavy cough derailed my thoughts, and I went back to scanning the crowd.

One pony stood out from all the others. It wasn't simply because she was the tallest or that her pure white coat seemed to reflect the sun. It wasn't the fact that she possessed both a horn and a pair of wings, either. Her long, colorful mane that billowed in waves like a flag wouldn’t have made a difference. Not even the air of power that accompanied her that made all of the smaller ponies bow down when she passed by would have made her stand out to me. No, it was the fact that her one deep, purple eye that wasn't covered by her majestic mane was staring directly at me.

I froze.

The large pony leaned her head down, never taking her eyes off of me, and said something in Twilight's ear, who happened to be next to the regal pony. Twilight glanced in my direction, and her eyes instantly widened as she quickly nodded. The large pony then turned her head to two other white ponies, each bearing a pair of wings and golden armor. A silent message was relayed, and the two armored ponies took flight and darted in my direction.

Now would be a very good time to run, the voice suggested.

I didn't have to hear it twice. I bolted away from the pegasi, weaving through the sparsely packed trees in hopes of buying a few more seconds. One of them slammed into the earth before me and snarled menacingly. Before I could turn tail and run in the opposite direction, my other pursuer appeared obstructing my escape.

"Give up, creature," one of them growled. "You're out numbered and you can't outrun us!"

I took a few steps to the side so they could both be in my line of sight. They watched me with careful eyes and drew closer to each other, wings flared out.

“Let’s take it easy now,” I started cautiously. “Just let me go, and I’ll get out of everybody’s hair, alright?” They didn’t seem too keen on listening. One of them lowered his head and pawed at the ground as if to charge. This wasn’t going to end without a fight. I set up my stance with my spear pointed at them in defense. My opponents smirked, and then busted out in laughter.

“A… A stick? You honestly think you can beat us… with a stick?” one of them howled. His companion was doubled over trying to catch enough breath to continue laughing.

I scowled at the howling stallions. “Oh, I’ll show you what I can do with just a stick.”

My body went into autopilot as I lunged forward. My grip tightened around the shaft of the spear as I swung it like a bat towards the first guard. A sharp crack echoed in the trees as the wood broke over his head, sending him into a small daze. I silently cursed and dropped the piece in my hands.

I covered the distance between myself and the other guard before he had a chance to react. I clapped my hands around his head and drove my knee into his muzzle. His head reared back from the impact, a few beads of blood trailing from him. I swung a left hook for good measure, and he stumbled to the ground.

The first armored pegasus recovered quickly and lunged. I sidestepped and tore him out of the air by his wing. Something popped in my hands as he hit the cold earth, and he tumbled across the ground as I released my grip. His wing was limp when he rolled to a stop, and I could tell he was biting back a scream. I sprinted up to him, kicked him onto his back, and drove my fist into his exposed underside.

The world spun out of control as something collided with my side. The second guard must have come back to his senses, and we rolled across the ground trying to get the upper hand on each other. Hooves pounded against chests and heads as hands constricted throats and grabbed at faces.

“That is enough!”

A golden aura encased me and my opponent and separated us. My body temperature skyrocketed as the aura flicked and tried to tug me back. My body contorted itself in as many ways possible to channel the pain out of my system. When it faded, I collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. I glanced up and could see the fuzzy image of that large white pony. She was much more opposing up close.

I tried to crawl backwards, my eyes locked onto the regal pony, and she followed closely. Everything in me was screaming at me to run, to try and escape despite all odds, but my body was aching all over from the fight with the guards, and my legs refused to listen. I was lucky to even be able to crawl at the moment. My back hit a tree, and I froze.

The two pegasi scrambled between me and the tall one. “Stay back, Your Highness! This one’s dangerous.” The guard froze and sheepishly turned around. “Er, with all due respect, that is.”

I sneezed in their direction. The guards snapped into action and pinned me against the tree.

“You dare attempt to taint our beloved princess’ health with your foul disease?” the one with the broken wing screamed. “You shall pay for your treachery!”

He raised his hoof, but before he could strike, the princess spoke up. “Guards, stand down.”

The two froze and whirled around. “But, Princess—”

“No ‘buts’. I assure you I will be quite fine,” the princess replied in a kind but firm voice. “I have a few plans for dealing with the beast, and it requires I be alone. Return to Ponyville and tell everypony that the situation has been resolved.”

The two guards were stunned. “Er, yes ma’am. At once.” They bowed and reluctantly retreated.

The pony princess lowered her head and narrowed her eyes once we were alone. I gulped and tried to make myself as small as I could against the tree. Her long, sharp horn started to glow a light golden color. I braced myself for whatever horrid torture I was about to endure.

"Are they gone?"

I cracked open an eye. The princess no longer had her lethal horn pointed at me, but instead was staring down upon me with curiosity from a casual stance.

"Are they gone?" she asked again.

"Um, I-I..." I stuttered.

The princess smirked. "You know, you're not doing a good job representing yourself." I stared at the towering pony in shock. Her small smile faded as she gave me a curious look. "Here, allow me to start. My name is Princess Celestia,” she began, gesturing with a hoof exaggeratedly. “I live in a castle back at Canterlot and I am one of the co-rulers of Equestria. Who are you?"

I was still speechless. My mind couldn’t comprehend what was going on.

“Hmm… Both Twilight and Lyra said you could talk,” Celestia thought outloud. “Perhaps I have the wrong creature.”

“Hunter!” I blurted out. The princess stared at me with a slight worry. My words were barely stumbling out. “My name, I mean, is Hunter. Hunter Gray. Um, sorry about the, er, everything. It’s just that I, um, —”

“There, there,” Celestia hushed. “I figured I had the right… Oh, what was the word Lyra used? Humid?”

“Er, human,” I corrected sheepishly.

Celestia nodded. “Right. Well, human, Twilight has been sending me quite a few letters about you.” I gulped. This wasn't going to end well.

“When I came here to watch the Running of the Leaves, I had full intentions of capturing you. However, when I came to town, one of my subjects, Lyra, tried to convince me that there was good in you. Now, normally I would put full faith into my student, Twilight; however, Lyra did have a bit a small crowd rallied behind her and her cause.” A faint smile found its way on my face. Lyra was actually making a difference. “So, I am... conflicted about what to do with you. I could have you arrested for your crimes, or I could listen to Miss Heartstrings and her friends and give you a chance to prove your character. Which would you rather have?”

“The, uh… the second choice would be nice,” I managed to say, still shaking in her presence.

“I thought so,” Celestia grinned as she leaned in close. “Allow me to let you in on a little secret. I have heard that a Miss Cherilee is going to be taking some students from the local school to the Everfree Forest for a biology lesson in exactly one week. As I’m sure you are aware, the Everfree can be full of dangerous creatures. I would like for you,” she directed a hoof at me, “to offer some protection. Does that sound reasonable?”

Words were still struggling to form. Nodding was the best I could do.

“Very good. I will inform my subjects that you should no longer be a problem to them. You will no longer be a problem, I trust?” she asked sternly. I nodded my head as quickly as my neck would allow.

“Excellent,” she smiled. “I hope to hear great things of the field trip. Farewell, Hunter the Human.” With that, she turned to leave. Something was still bothering me, though.

“Wait,” I called out. The princess halted and tilted her head towards me in curiosity. I stood up and dusted myself off. “Why are doing this for me?” I asked.

Celestia turned to face me. I noticed we were roughly at eye level with each other. “Like I said, Lyra and her followers seemed very adamant that you were not a monster in spite of what everypony else believed. However, you did not prove her point well in that little skirmish with my guards, although I suppose we could say it was in self defense.” She paused, trying to gauge any reaction from me. “I am giving you this chance as a test to prove how much good is in you,” she continued. “And, if you can keep a promise.”

“I’ll do my best,” I swore.

She gave a content nod and walked off again.

“Wait!” I called out again. Celestia paused and glanced at me with a smile. “Um, sorry,” I nervously chuckled. “I’ve barely been able to survive on my own. How am I supposed to protect a bunch of kids? I need help.”

“I am sorry, Hunter Grey, but I cannot provide any. You will have to do this on your own. I will not deceive my little ponies into believing you are safe when I myself am not sure. You must understand that the nature of this deal could be misinterpreted easily, and I cannot have you using it to cheat your way into my subject’s trust. That being said, this agreement will only be known between you and me, or anypony else you choose to tell.” Celestia’s horn glowed, and the shattered halves of my spear floated over to me.

“And as for the foals, I’m sure you will find a way to help them. I have heard you can be very resourceful at times.” She gave me a wink, snapped out her wings, and shot into the sky.

I stared blankly at the spot she once stood. My gaze fell on the spear in my hand and shifted to my hatchet a few yards away. Thousands of thoughts crashed through my mind. Slowly, ever so slowly, they manifested into one great idea. A grin split across my face.

What are you thinking, Hunter?

“Many things, my friend. Many things.”

Wonderful...

Act I: The Road Less Traveled By

Sunlight broke through the forest canopy, bathing the trail with its light and the back of my neck with its warmth. It offered a slight relief from what would have otherwise been an uncomfortably cool evening. My eyes were trained on a map of the trail I had been walking for the past hour and a half, but my mind was distracted by the desynchronized steps between my heavy feet and the soft trotting of Zecora’s hooves next to me. She lent me the map and agreed to help me study the trail for the school’s field trip I was going to be watching over in six days.

It had taken me a while to find her after the princess gave me my task. I had only been to her hut once before, and that felt like a lifetime ago, back when I was still so confused about the world I had found myself in. She was more than happy to offer a helping hand when I asked for her assistance. She invited me into her home, and we discussed the best way for me to carry out my royal assignment. She even made me a meal; the first decently cooked meal I had had in ages.

To keep the mood up, we decided to play something of a game to get to know each other better. We would ask each other questions, usually about our hobbies and our pasts. Once one of us answered, it was their turn to ask a question. I was poorly stifling my laughter as Zecora recalled one of her times in Ponyville.

“Okay, okay, back up real quick,” I laughed. “What happened to Twilight’s horn again?”

Zecora rolled her eyes with a smile and continued. “After the confusion, I finished my brew, and back to the town we quickly withdrew. It was a simple remedy to cure the foul joke, and in no time I was accepted by the pony folk.”

I was still smiling at the bizarre conditions that fell on Twilight and her friends. They sounded too comical to be true. A part of me wished I could’ve been there to see it for myself.

“I’ve told you my journey here and all that entailed,” she pointed out. “Now it is your turn to tell me of the land which you hail.”

I folded the map and stuffed it back in my jacket pocket, suppressing another laugh with a large grin. “Why do you laugh when it’s your home I inquire?” she asked with a hurt look on her face. “We can stop playing if that is your desire.”

“No, no, it’s not that,” I hurriedly explained. “It’s just an interesting question is all. I’m not used to telling people about it ‘cause they already know about it.” I thought of how to answer her question. It was pretty broad. She could have meant anything from my hometown to Earth as a whole.

“Well…” I started. “I come from this town kind of in the middle of nowhere.” I tried to the best of my ability to describe everything I could about my home, from the small town I grew up in to what I knew of my state and all the sights I’ve been to. I gave her a brief history lesson about my country, although I was sure I missed a few key points here and there. She was hooked on my every word, pressing for details especially when I talked about the geography.

“If all you say is indeed a fact, I can undoubtedly see why you want to go back,” Zecora smiled. “I’ll help you return and hopefully pray that perhaps I can visit for at least a day.”

“Yeah, that would be nice,” I sighed. “I’d love to show you some of the parks. We have hundreds of them. Plenty of hiking trails, too. You could lose yourself in the forests if you wanted. Kinda wish I went to them more. Fewer things tried to kill me back home,” I added with a laugh.

Zecora nodded. “Yes, despite its magnificent features, the Everfree is still home to many dangerous creatures.”

“No kidding. Timberwolves made of actual timber, manticores that’ll make a meal out of you as soon as look at you, dragonflies that actually breathe fire,” I listed. “It’s a wonder why Cheerilee is even thinking about taking the foals through here to begin with.”

“The path is well trodden and for the most part secure,” Zecora explained. “And I am not the only help Miss Cheerilee procured. An expert with animals in a field of her own. She has tamed many beasts through sheer kindness alone.”

“Well, I hope she knows what she’s doing.” We continued to walk in silence as questions rolled around in my head. There were still so many things I could ask Zecora about this place, about her and the ponies. It was impossible to choose.

“Alright, here’s one,” I started. “Now, I have nothing against it, in fact, I think it’s pretty cool, but do you always have to speak in rhyme?”

Zecora paused. This was the first time she had hesitated in answering a question. She usually had a small poem ready on the spot. I caught a small hint of glee in her eyes as she responded.

“You’re not the first to ask; don’t feel like a fool,” she answered rhythmically. “As for your question, I cannot think of a time.”

“Aha!” I exclaimed. I whirled around to face her. “I knew you could speak normally!” She gave me a knowing smile, but said nothing else as she walked past me. Something was wrong. I ran through what she said, and my hand nearly hit my forehead. “Hey, rhyming off me doesn’t count,” I called as I caught up to her.

“Whatever you say, Hunter. There is no reason to pout,” Zecora teased.

I huffed jokingly and shook my head. We picked up our game as we continued down the dirt path. The sun was starting to hide behind the thick wall of trees and bushes, signalling that my tour through the trail was coming to an end. We were just about to finish our last lap when something caught my eye.

I deviated from the path to inspect the odd, blue flower. The last few rays of sunlight managed to make it stand out from its surroundings, but even without it I couldn’t believe I had looked over it so many times. The entire plant was blue, from the elongated stem to its flared anthers. Its petals seemed to glow in the last few minutes of the sun. I had never seen a flower like this before.

“Hey, Zecora, what is this?” I asked, cupping my hand beneath its petals. The entire plant shook, dropping its pollen over my exposed hand.

Hoofsteps thundered up to me, and before I knew it a hoof swatted at my arm, causing me to drop the delicate plant. “Stay away from that flower!” Zecora shouted. “You know not its true power!” I jumped at her sudden outburst and gave her an incredulous look.

“That flower was the poison joke,” she explained. “The very same that bred trouble amongst the pony folk. Though at times its pranks can be weak, it can be the agent of more severe things. This plant alone can bring the strongest to their knees; the bravest adventurers cower from what it brings. Capable of tearing one’s sanity apart, this is truly a plant after Discord’s heart.”

Poison lined her words at the end of the poem, and she glared at the plant in disgust. I inched away from the flower. When I looked down, I saw that my hands were still covered in its pollen, and blue polkadots were slowly starting to form. I recalled the tale Zecora had told about Twilight and her friends, and fear gripped me like a vise. Who knew what was going to happen to me?

Reading my mind, Zecora trotted up and inspected my hands. “Do not worry, Hunter, there’s no need to fret. The poison joke has not pranked you just yet,” she said, rolling my hands over with her scrutinizing eyes. “We should return to my home, as it is already late, and I shall give you the cure that can stop the joke’s fate.”

“Thank you,” I sighed. She led me back to her hut, and I kept my hands away from me, not wanting to spread any leftover pollen. “Sorry about all of this,” I said as we walked through the dense greenery. “I should have known that was the flower you were talking about earlier.”

“No need to apologize. It was an innocent mistake,” Zecora assured. “You are new to the Everfree, and there are still faults to make. Most beasts are wary of the flower of blue, knowing the chaos that often ensues. But as I said, you aren’t the first with this fate. Luckily, the cure is simple to create.”

We broke through the last lines of bushes and found ourselves in Zecora’s front lawn. I ducked into her house and sat patiently against the wall. A smile found its way to my face as a sense of déjà vu came over me. As Zecora poured ingredients into her cauldron, an idea suddenly struck me.

“Zecora, you said the other creatures stay away from this flower, right?” I asked.

She paused her stirring. “Yes, they avoid it for fear of what will transpire. Why do you ask, if you don’t mind my inquire?”

“What if we planted some around the path of the field trip?” I offered. “That would help scare off a lot of the predators.”

Zecora pulled a wooden washbowl from underneath one of the many shelves and dropped it before me. “While you are true, it would keep the large ones at bay, it would also scare the innocent animals away. The field trip was meant to be adventurous by design, and the foals are to study the Everfree’s creatures. If the wildlife was to be scared off and resign, their notes will be filled with simple plant features. Besides, the poison joke would not grow so soon. To reach its full potential would take many moons.”

She grabbed a large jug from the other side of the room, stirring the brew in the cauldron occasionally as she passed it. She ripped the cork off of the top and allowed the water inside to flow into the washbowl.

“Alright. What if we just gathered the pollen instead?” Zecora gave me a confused look. “Think about it,” I continued. “We can get a bag full of poison joke pollen and drop some whenever there are too many predators. It’ll scare them off, keeping the foals safe, and it will be a controlled release, so the the other critters will still be around to be studied. It’s a win-win.”

Zecora rolled the idea in her head a few times as she dipped a ladle into the cauldron. She poured a spoonful of its contents into the water before me.

“It is possible that plan could work out the best, but gathering the pollen would be a long and dangerous quest.”

“I still have the better part of a week,” I pointed out. Zecora carefully pulled my jacket sleeves up, watching with a careful eye to see if the joke had spread. I noticed that my hands were starting to feel a little numb. “It shouldn’t take any longer than that.”

“If you are truly adamant, then take me with you, please,” she said as she led my hands into the water. “I will take the antidote so we can be cured with ease.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” I smiled. I watched in amazement as the spots on my arms melted off. My fingers flexed as if they had gone stiff. I led the water up my arms for good measure.

We spent the rest of the evening in her hut, discussing the field trip again. Zecora claimed she had a few ideas on catching poison joke pollen. I mentioned a couple of other thoughts I had; traps meant to ensnare or fend off any attackers. They were elaborate, but I had a concept on where to start.

We shared a few last laughs before I decided to leave. She offered a place to rest at her home, but I insisted. I couldn’t explain it, but something kept tugging me back to castle at the end of the day. We agreed to meet the next day before noon and get to work.

“Hey, I was wondering…” I started as I ducked through her front door.

Zecora stood in the doorway and looked at me expectantly. “Yes?”

I struggled to find the words. “Would you and Lyra like to come over to my place before the field trip?” I asked. “Just to hang out for a while. I haven’t really seen you two since you saved me from the pit, and I just want to show how much I appreciate all you two have done for me.” A nervous chuckle escaped me. She probably thought it was stupid.

“My, my, Hunter, what a wonderful proposal!” Zecora beamed. “I’ll have to ask Lyra, but I’m sure there will be no refusal.” My spirits started to lift with hers. “Just tell me where it is you stay,” she continued, “and Lyra and I will head that way.”

“It’s pretty deep in the Everfree,” I explained. “Do you know where the river is?” She nodded enthusiastically. “Meet me there, say, the day before the trip at sundown. I’ll take you to my place from there. I’ll try to clean up the best I can and set up a campfire. You might want to bring your own food though,” I added, embarrassed. “I’m kinda living off leftovers from my last raid a while ago.”

“No need to fear, Hunter my dear. I can bring enough to last you the year,” Zecora offered. “And if you are ever in need of food or more, you’re always welcome here. I have an open door.”

“You’re too kind,” I smiled, barely containing my excitement. This was going to be great! I almost couldn’t wait to have them come over. There was so much I had to do, so many things to prepare before guests arrived. I couldn’t remember the last time I had guests come over, much less being this excited about it.

We said our farewells, and I continued to the castle, grinning from ear to ear.

I sat patiently in a tree on the ponies’ side of the the river. The sun had set a little over half an hour ago, and the moon rose on the opposite horizon, illuminating the river with its soft, blue light. A part of me worried that I hadn't given Zecora specific enough directions. After all, this river wound through a good portion of the forest.

“Hunter!” a familiar voice called out. It didn’t take too long to remember who it belonged to.

“Lyra?” I answered. A pony broke out of the treeline a ways down the river. She turned her head in my direction and called again. “I’m over here,” I shouted. “Give me a second, and I’ll be right down.”

I stood up on the branch I was reclining on and stretched. Lyra motioned to the trees, and three more ponies emerged. I stopped. My math might have been wrong, but that definitely looked like two more ponies than I invited.

Four ponies against one man, the voice noted. Hardly a fair fight.

Nobody’s fighting, I snapped back. My eyes flickered to the uninvited guests. One of them was slightly larger than the others; a stallion, I noticed, as the group came closer. Zecora tailed behind them with full saddlebags on each side and a small metal pot on her back. Lyra and her companions had saddlebags of their own as well; although theirs were not nearly as full. The third pony had a flashlight in her mouth and was shining it at the nearby bushes. “Nobody’s fighting,” I repeated, more to reassure myself.

I dropped myself to the lower branches and began my descent. The group came to a sudden stop as the tree before them started shaking. I hung off the last branch for a second and let myself drop. The two unfamiliar ponies screamed and hid behind Lyra as I landed before them.

“Hey, Hunter!” Lyra greeted. “Long time, no see.”

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” I smiled. I nodded my head towards the ponies behind her. “Who are these two?”

The two ponies slowly stepped out from behind Lyra. The stallion was solid blue, save for his golden eyes. His coat was only a slightly lighter shade than his mane.

“I’m Noteworthy,” he introduced himself. He held out a hoof, and I gave it a quick shake. “It’s an honor to meet you. I didn’t believe it at first when Lyra told everypony that she met you, but I went to all her meetings, and she sure painted you in a good light.”

“Nice to meet you. Hunter Grey.”

I turned to face the other mare and found a familiar pink pony. Her curled, light green mane bounced slightly as she looked up to my full height. Her green eyes shrunk to pinpoints as she gave a nervous smile.

“H-Hi,” she said, shaking. “My name is Daisy. Sorry, I knew you were tall, but I just didn’t think you’d be this big.”

“You’re fine,” I assured her. I turned my attention to Lyra. “So, not to sound rude, but I kinda thought this was going to be just you, me, and Zecora.”

“I can explain,” Lyra started. “Ponyville has kinda been on lockdown since your last visit. Nopony really comes in or out of the Everfree without Twilight and the Mayor knowing about it. The only way to be out here at night is to volunteer for a patrol shift. Twilight wasn’t too keen on letting me go when I asked to for a shift tonight. I’ve been pretty vocal about you since we last met, and she thought I would try to sabotage the patrol. So I found two ponies who Twilight trusted and wanted to help you and kinda—”

“Sabotaged the patrol,” I finished.

“Maybe just a little bit,” she blushed, rubbing the back of her neck.

I glanced between Noteworthy and Daisy. They looked back at me almost expectantly. “So, you trust them?” I asked. Lyra nodded in return.

I took a deep breath to calm my antsy nerves. “Alright then, follow me,” I beckoned to the new ponies. They were a little shocked that I had singled them out, but followed anyway. Zecora and Lyra trailed behind.

“I’m so excited, I feel as if I’ll explode,” Zecora mentioned enthusiastically. “I cannot wait to see your abode.”

“I hate to say it, but we still have a bit of a walk ahead of us,” I admitted. I found the tree I was looking for. It was old and dead, and a large chunk was missing out of its side. “I was hoping to finish this before you came,” I explained. “But unfortunately my hatchet was starting to get dull. It looks like it ought to be tall enough to bridge the river.” I positioned myself behind it so that I was facing the river. “I don’t want to be a bad host, but could you two help me push it across?”

The two earth ponies shared a look between each other before joining my side. Together we pushed against the dead tree. The groan of old wood echoed in the forest, and a sharp pop sounded as the tree snapped and fell into the river, creating a large splash as it did. Its frame shuddered as it struck the other shore, and many of its branches splintered on impact, sending little pieces of wood flying.

I gingerly planted my foot on its trunk and tried to give it a shake. It seemed sturdy enough. I cautiously tiptoed across the new bridge, waving at my guests to follow when I made it halfway. There were still branches reaching for the sky, but I managed to hack off any that stood in the way.

They followed close behind me as I led them to the castle. Daisy’s flashlight lit up the path, albeit shakily. Every time a cricket chirped or some leaves crunched she jumped and shined her light in its direction. Luckily, I had walked this path enough times to go through blindfolded.

As the stone walls of the castle peaked through the low branches and bushes, everyone around me gasped.

“No way,” Lyra said excitedly as it came into full view. “The Royal Castle of the Two Sisters? You’ve been living here this whole time?”

“I guess I have,” I smiled. “Do you guys want to check it out?”

“Do we?” Noteworthy laughed. “Come on, let’s go!” He broke off from the group and trotted up to the old rope bridge. Everybody seemed eager to cross, even Daisy.

“Be careful crossing that bridge,” I warned. “It’s not the sturdiest thing out here. Some of the planks busted when I tried to carry some wood across.”

The bridge swayed and groaned as it supported our collective weight. There was a missing section about halfway through where my feet had fallen through a few days ago. It wasn’t too large for the ponies, but I stayed over it to ferry them across it.

The ponies stood in awe at the sight of the castle as we all made it across. I couldn’t help but smile a bit.

“If you want, you can leave your bags over here,” I said pointing out the small fire pit I made for the occasion. A tepee of branches and sticks stood in the middle, its base littered with dry leaves and grass. Small chunks of the old castle walls encircled it to keep the fire contained when it started. Three benches that had once been the shattered trunks of dead trees sat around the pit, making an oddly shaped triangle.

“Sorry there’s not a lot of extra room. I was only expecting two guests,” I admitted with a blush. “Some of us might have to share benches.”

“Hunter dear, we are not foes,” Zecora reminded me. “We do not mind being a little close.”

She, Noteworthy, and Daisy made their way to the pit and unloaded their bags. Noteworthy and Daisy rested their bags against the same bench and helped Zecora unload hers on another. Her metal pot slid off her back and onto the ground with a soft ring. She wasn’t kidding when she said she could bring food. Her supplies nearly took up the whole bench.

“This is a nice setup you have here,” Lyra commented next to me.

“You think so?” I asked. “I know it’s not the best, but I didn’t have a whole lot to work with.”

“It’s perfect,” she smiled. “Thanks for inviting us.”

“Thanks for coming. I hope this isn’t cutting into anything important.”

“Pssh, nah,” Lyra waved a hoof. “My schedule’s been pretty free lately. Nopony wants to hang out with the crazy, brainwashed unicorn ranting about humans.” She gave a halfhearted laugh.

“Well, they must be crazy,” I said. “You’re an amazing friend. I can’t think of anyone who’s ever gone the same lengths as you to help someone they hardly know. And these ‘humans’ sound pretty interesting. I’d love to hear about them sometime.”

“Oh, I bet you would,” Lyra smiled with a roll of her eyes.

“Here, let me take those off you,” I said, reaching for her saddlebags. Her horn lit up, and the buckle holding her bags in place unfastened itself. She thanked me as I took it off her, and we walked to the last bench.

The others had finished unpacking as we arrived at the pit. I told them that they could look around the castle for a bit while I started the fire and that I would call them once everything was ready. “Just be careful with some of the rooms in there,” I warned. “Some of the ceilings and walls are really weathered down.” They excitedly trotted up to the castle’s heavy front doors, but Lyra stayed behind.

“Need any help with the fire?” she asked.

“Nah, I should be good,” I waved her off, pulling a stone out of my jacket pocket.

She eyed it curiously. “What’s that supposed to be?”

“It’s flint,” I explained. “I found it a while ago while I was looking through the castle. I read that you can start a fire if you strike it against steel, which the head of my hatchet is made of. I gave it a try earlier and actually got a few sparks.

“It’s kind of exciting, really,” I said as I pulled out my hatchet. “I studied so much about camping before I came here. My family had so many plans. I guess, in some weird way, I’m finally going to have the vacation we were supposed to have. Just a few weeks too late, huh?” I added with a weak grin.

I held the head of the axe in my left hand and struck the top of it with the flint towards my tinder. Lyra looked over my shoulder with a curious eye. It took a minute, but a spark finally managed to shoot out and land in the pit. The dried grass and flint shavings caught fire around it, and I had to restrain myself from jumping with excitement. I carefully fanned the flame and watched as it grew. I did it, I made a fire!

Lyra must have seen my beaming face. “Congratulations, Hunter. Now let’s see if we can find everypony and get this party started.”

It didn’t take too long to find them; they were all in one of the grand halls, admiring the ancient ornamentations. I escorted them back outside, promising to show them through the rest of the castle once the fire had died down.

The fire cast a warm glow over everyone. Zecora set up her pot above the fire and began adding ingredients after filling it with water. Noteworthy pulled large bags of marshmallows and a handful of roasting sticks out of his saddlebags, and Daisy produced bars of chocolate and crackers to complement them. Lyra brought juice boxes and something called daffodil sandwiches. After noticing the flowers inside the bread, I politely refused. The ponies struck up a conversation about their everyday lives, and I listened contently as I made sure the campfire was well fed.

“So, what’s it like where you’re from?” Daisy suddenly asked me.

I looked up from the fire and noticed everyone was staring at me eagerly. I felt myself shrink under their eyes. “Oh, it’s nothing too special, really,” I waved dismissively.

“Baloney, Hunter. You do no justice to your land,” Zecora accused. “When you explained it to me it sounded quite grand. Hills and valleys, forests and rivers; the imagery alone excites me with shivers.”

“Well, there’s a little more than that,” I pointed out. “We’ve got a lot of cities and towns, too. That’s where humans normally live. But I rarely traveled outside of my own state except for vacations to the beach, and even then, I wasn’t really paying much attention during the trips.”

“Tell us what you know then,” Lyra pressed. “Surely you have some stories about your home.”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t really all that adventurous,” I admitted. Everybody kept egging me on to talk more. I held up my hands to calm them down. “Alright, alright,” I smiled. “I guess I have a few good ones.”

The air was filled with howling laughter from my audience. Hours had passed from storytelling from both sides. I stood up from the bench and started reenacting a moment from one of mine.

“So, there I was, flailing my arms around like a complete maniac, trying my hardest to just stop. My classmates are scrambling out of the way, trying to not get plowed over by the class nerd. My friends are already practically on the other side of the rink, my stomach hits the railing, and I double over and fall headfirst to the concrete foundation a good four or five feet down.”

The laughter died as everybody gave an audible wince. “That had to have hurt,” Daisy commented.

I shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I was out cold the moment my head hit the ground. Luckily I missed all the machinery and cables used to keep the rink frozen. I’ll never forget how I woke up though.

“I kept hearing this guy asking, ‘Hey, kid, are you alright?’ When I finally came to, I told him I was fine. And he said, ‘Good to hear. I saw you flip over the rails about fifteen minutes ago, but you never came back up. Just wanted to make sure you’re alright.’”

Their jaws dropped. “Fifteen minutes?” Lyra echoed.

“Oh yeah,” I nodded. I sat back down on the bench next to her. “And the best part is, he left me to pick myself up. Took me a few minutes to get out of there. Never went ice skating again after that.”

“That was one heck of a story,” Noteworthy said, chuckling in disbelief. He pulled another marshmallow out of his bag, stuck it on his stick, and held it over the crackling fire.

“So you’ve never tried skating since then?” Daisy asked. “How long ago was that?”

“It was a pretty good while,” I replied, struggling to remember. “I want to say about ten years ago, give or take. And I gave rollerskating a shot a few months ago actually. But according to my friends, I have the grace of a cross-eyed, newborn giraffe whenever I’m on those deathtraps.”

“You are indeed a stallion of many talents,” Zecora laughed. “But it sounds as if you still need to work on your balance.”

I shrugged innocently and picked up my bowl of soup. With a few gulps it was emptied again, and I went to refill it. Noteworthy and Daisy had branched off to their own conversation, and Zecora began singing softly in a language I didn’t understand.

As I went to sit back down, a couple of juice boxed floated out of Lyra’s bag. One of them hovered up to me as if to offer itself, and when I touched it the golden aura around it flickered off as it fell in my hand. I turned the little box in my hand, curious about how she managed to make them fly up to me like that, and Lyra started giggling next to me.

“What’s so funny?” I asked with a smile.

“Oh, nothing,” she answered, waving a hoof dismissively. “It’s just nice to see you happy. Zecora told me how hard you two have been working. I bet it’s nice to be able to finally relax for a while.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” I explained. I tore the straw off of the side and pierced the top of the box. “Tonight’s been great. We’ll definitely have to do this again sometime.”

“Maybe we can soon,” Lyra said hopefully. “If everything goes well tomorrow, Princess Celestia might agree to help. And if you get her approval, then a lot of ponies in Ponyville oughta warm up to you.”

“You think so?”

“I know so,” she beamed.

I took a sip out of the box, which nearly drained all of it, and paused as a solemn thought surfaced. “What if things don’t go well?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll do fine,” she assured. “Miss Cheerilee recruited me yesterday to help with the field trip. She’s been on the fence about you lately. She isn’t sure whether to listen to me or Twilight. But she figured that if you ever show up, I’d have the best chance to keep you calm and away from the foals.” She nudged my side with her hoof. “So, I’ll have your back the whole time.”

It was comforting to see her so confident. She made me feel like the field trip would go by like a breeze. I was lucky to have a friend like her.

I stopped and looked around the campfire at all the ponies that showed up. Noteworthy and Daisy laughed as they shared another joke and made some s’mores. Complete strangers who have only heard about me, and despite what all the other ponies thought of me, they still wanted to help. Zecora gave me a content smile as she continued to sing. She was the first one to offer a helping hand without question. She healed me, fed me, more than anybody else has out of the kindness of her heart, and she asked for nothing in return. Lyra sat next to me sipping at her juice. We may have been at each other’s throats when we first met, but we’ve made a lot of progress since then. A part of me liked to think we bonded a bit because of it.

A smile crept up on my face as I took it all in. I realized I had made four new friends in this world. Everything felt so right. For a moment, I started to feel like I actually belonged here.

“Hey, Hunter,” Lyra called, breaking my train of thought. “Whatcha smiling about? Remember another story?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted with a content sigh. “I guess I’m just enjoying the moment.”

The party continued for another hour. As the fire began to die and fade, so did everyone’s energy. Yawns were becoming more and more contagious around the fire pit, and it wasn’t long before Daisy started to doze in and out of sleep.

Noteworthy recommended that they started making their way back to town, pointing out that they were technically still on patrol and had to check in soon. I offered to escort them back, but Lyra shook her head. She said that the walk back would help wake them up and that the last thing we needed was for somebody to see me and set everything back to square one.

It kind of hurt to see them all leave. We were having such a great time. I knew the chances were slim, but I really wanted to do this again sometime. I would just have to do my best on the field trip.

I made sure the fire was fully out and made my way to the throne room. This place suddenly felt much more empty than it used to. My fingers brushed against the cold, stone walls as I ascended the staircase. My throne sat patiently at the other side of the room.

Just one more day, I thought to myself as I reclined against the ancient chair. Just one more day, and everything will change for the better.

And if it doesn't? The voice asked unexpectedly, almost making me jump.

“It will.” I replied, closing my eyes to get some much needed rest. There was a brief silence in my head before the voice uttered one last response for the night.

… We’ll see.

Act I: From Hunter to Shepherd

I met up with Zecora the next morning on my way to the forest entrance. We reviewed as many details as we could about the upcoming field trip. She seemed a little uneasy when my coughing kept cutting her off.

“Perhaps you should not watch over us, friend,” she suggested. “You do not look as if you’ll see to the end.”

I paused to clear my throat again, leaning on one of the larger homemade spears I had brought for support. Two more were slung across my back, the blunt ends dangling low on my right side. It had taken a while to make an effective sling for them. My rope was too thick to tie around them, so I wound up using some sturdy vines. There was enough slack for me to fit it over my chest, but it was tight enough so that it wouldn’t swing around and snag as I carried them.

“Don’t worry about me,” I waved her off. “It just started this morning; I’ll be just fine. Besides, if all goes according to plan, I shouldn’t have too much to do.”

Zecora didn’t seem reassured, but she allowed me to follow anyways. As the forest entrance came up, I let her go ahead of me to join the mass of ponies stationed at the front.

There was a decent sized crowd standing around. The number of older ponies nearly doubled that of the foals. I assumed they were the parents. The foals were playing, each bearing a miniature saddle bag on their backs. The adults were chatting amongst themselves as they watched their children horsing around. Zecora met up with Lyra and a magenta pony I hadn’t seen before. I figured she must have been Miss Cheerilee.

After a few minutes, the foals waved goodbye to their families and followed Miss Cheerilee to the edge of the forest. I retreated deeper into the foliage, but before I completely hid myself away, I noticed a yellow and pink pegasus standing in the crowd of foals. A guilty pit formed in my chest.

“Oh, no,” I breathed. “Not her.”

“Alright, class, gather around,” Cheerilee called in a cheery tone. The foals congregated around her and waited attentively for instructions. Lyra, Zecora, and Fluttershy were taking a headcount. “Does everypony have their pencils and paper?”

The class hurriedly got out the items and proudly displayed them to the teacher.

“Good! Now remember fillies and colts, the point of this field trip is to survey some of the unique flora and fauna of the Everfree Forest. Your assignment is to choose something you find today and write an essay based on your observations. Are there any questions?”

A brave orange unicorn with a short teal mane raised his hoof.

“Yes, Snails?”

“Uh, what’s flora and fauna?” he asked sheepishly.

“That is an excellent question, Snails,” Cheerilee smiled. “Flora and fauna are the plants and animals that inhabit a specific ecosystem. In laypony’s terms, they are the things that live in an area. For your assignment, you can choose anything from the unique flowers and squirrels to the more dangerous subjects such as bears and poison joke. Fluttershy and Zecora will be more than happy to lend a helping hoof if you need it.” The mentioned mares nodded in agreement. “Any other questions?”

“Oh! Oh! Me me me!” Scootaloo shouted as she frantically tried to get her teacher’s attention. “Pick me!”

“Yes, Scootaloo?”

“Does that mean we can do it on the Beast of the Everfree?” the filly asked with a bright smile.

Cheerilee hesitated. “Well, I suppose if we see it, then that would be alright…”

Scootaloo jumped in the air. “Yes! I call dibs!” A few disappointed groans sounded from the group.

“However,” Cheerilee interrupted. “I don’t think we will be seeing it. Nopony has seen or heard from the monster lately, and Twilight gave me explicit instructions on what we are to do if we run into it. We are to end the trip and come back.” The foals groaned at the news, and their teacher seemed to crack. “But… I guess if the monster is far enough away, then maybe we won’t have to cancel it. Any last questions before we leave?”

The answer seemed to satisfy many of the students. After Miss Cheerilee made sure there were no more questions left, they set off. I slung my spear across my back and followed close behind.

An hour passed by. The school was slowly trodding the path. Zecora helped identify some of the plants, Fluttershy showed some of the foals the wildlife from squirrels to birds, and Cheerilee and Lyra made sure no one was being left behind. Some of the foals had already chosen their research topics. Others were waiting for something a bit more interesting to write about.

I stayed mostly in the trees, using the canopy’s network of branches where I could to keep a bird’s eye view of the situation. The dense, dark green leaves helped camouflage me from the foals’ curious eyes. Everything was running smoothly. I only had to drop a couple of the pouches filled with poison joke from my waist to some unsuspecting predators to shoo them away.

I almost looked over one. It’s wooden body seemed to meld with the roots of the tree I was in. It wasn’t until the timberwolf shifted that I realized what it was. I hurled a pouch at its head, at it erupted in a puff of blue smoke. The wolf whined, scratching at its muzzle. It looked up and glared at me with sickly yellow eyes before scampering off to wherever it came from. A chill ran up my body as an aftereffect of its stare. A part of me doubted I would ever get used to that. I made sure to keep a watchful eye out in case any more were lurking.

After another hour, the group entered a more open area of the trail, and a deep rumble emitted from behind the trees, and a large bush shuddered. A manticore emerged, snarling at the children with bared teeth. A chill fell over me as I recognized it as one of the more territorial beasts Zecora and I had encountered.

I rushed through the branches to my nearest trap, making sure the manticore was lined up. My hatchet found its way to a tensed vine. If that beast made one false move, so much as twitched in a way I didn’t like, I would sever the vine holding a horizontal log in the air, causing it to swing down and sweep the beast out of sight. My body tensed up in anticipation.

And Fluttershy calmly floated to the manticore, as if unaware of the danger.

“What is she doing?” I hissed. “She’s going to get herself killed!”

She was directly in my trap’s effective range. If I triggered it, I’d be putting her life at risk again. I slowly moved my hatchet from the vine. For her sake, I hoped Fluttershy knew what she was doing.

“Hush now, it’s okay,” she cooed to the beast. “We’re on a school trip. Would you mind if some of us took a look at you? I’m sure there are many foals here would love to write a paper about such a large and majestic creature like you.” She gave it an innocent look that could’ve melted a heart of stone. The manticore looked hesitant, but it nodded in agreement. My mouth hung open in shock. Did I really just see what I think I just saw?

“Thank you very much,” Fluttershy smiled. She stroked at the monster’s mane and turned to the school, who was just as surprised as I was. “Did anypony want to write about the manticore?” A pair of hooves shot up; one from the tall, orange colt from before, and the other from a short, teal colt. They looked like exact opposites of each other.

They hesitantly approached the manticore, which seemed equally wary. With Fluttershy’s assistance, the two studied the creature, taking notes, drawing pictures, and stroking its fur occasionally.

Well, that was anticlimactic, the voice mused.

I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding in. “I’m just glad they’re okay.” After taking another look at the manticore to reassure myself, I climbed down the back of the tree and decided to scout the area up ahead. It was going to take some time for those two unicorns to collect their information, so I figured it would give me some time to think.

What Fluttershy did was absolutely amazing. I had never seen a manticore so friendly before. Whenever I ran into one, it always snarled and threatened to give me a new haircut. I could see why Cheerilee wanted her to come along.

The foals appeared much more calm with the manticore before I had left. The fact that some of the foals were actually willing to approach it after everyone was ready to run back to town baffled me. Fluttershy must have truly been an expert. If she was able to convince everyone to stay for the manticore… would it be too farfetched that she could help me, too?

“Cool!”

I snapped back to reality and found myself in the middle of the dirt trail. My body was paralyzed, panicking that I had been spotted. I slowly turned around and found that my fears were true.

Standing a small ways down the trail was Scootaloo. Her eyes were wide with excitement, and she quickly pulled out a pencil and notebook. “Just stand still for a moment,” she muttered under her breath.

I bolted in the other direction.

“Wait! I wasn’t done yet!” she screamed. The faint pitter-patter of her tiny hooves was barely audible to my rapid stomping. I made a sudden sharp turn into the trees and continued running. Scootaloo's shouts were beginning to fade, and she was nowhere in sight, so I figured I had lost her.

I slowed down to a halt and doubled over, coughing up whatever was clogging my airflow. My breathing returned to normal. My heart, however, was still beating like mad. It took a few seconds to calm myself back down.

“That was too close for comfort,” I muttered under my breath.

We agree. It was unwise of you to wander like that.

“I didn’t mean to,” I tried to defend myself. “It’s just that—”

A shrill shriek cut me off. I shot back up. My heartbeat spiked again. I searched wildly for the source. It sounded like it came from behind me, back where I left the school of foals.

“Scootaloo, don’t move!” a young voice cried.

Scootaloo’s shaky voice was quick to reply, “Why the hay would I?!”

I swore and made to move, but a migraine stopped me in my tracks. We know what you’re thinking, Hunter, the voice said in a disapproving tone. Let the ponies solve the ponies’ problems. There’s no reason to make a scene.

“What did I come here for if not to watch over the foals?” I argued back. I tried to shake the pain away and trudged forward. “With our luck she’s probably just stuck in one of those briars off the path.”

I arrived back to where I had left the foals, careful to stay behind the trees. Scootaloo’s orange coat eventually appeared between the green bushes and grass. I crept closer to see what the problem was.

Scootaloo was sitting down, shaking horribly with her eyes sealed tight. A few steps closer revealed the rest of the foals further away, shielding their eyes from the filly’s direction. I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Then I heard a chicken’s clucking.

Between the two parties was something I had never seen in my life. It had the general build of a chicken, but only the head truly resembled the bird. The rest of the body was covered in green scales, giving it a strange, dragonesque resemblance.

“Somepony get Fluttershy!” Miss Cheerilee demanded. “Tell her we have a cocktrice!”

Cockatrice… I remembered Zecora warning me about them. We hadn’t seen one when we made our rounds through this section of the trail, but if what I remembered was right, then Scootaloo was in deep trouble.

The monstrosity was circling around the poor filly, trying to get her to open her eyes. I had to do something, but I didn’t have any traps set up here. Sweat started dripping off of me. What was I going to do? There was no way Fluttershy was going to make it in time!

Don’t do it, Hunter, the voice warned. You’ll be putting yourself in danger.

At that moment, I didn’t care. Scootaloo needed help, and she needed it now.

I burst out of the bushes. Scootaloo and the cockatrice were directly in front of me. The audience of ponies was to my left with most of their eyes still shielded. The cockatrice was too focused on Scootaloo to pay any lick of attention to me. I covered the gap between us and kicked it like a ball into the bushes and trees.

As it flew squawking into the forest, I hoisted Scootaloo into my arms and hurried her to her classmates. Her eyes snapped open, trying to find out what was happening, and she was more than surprised to see me.

“M-M-M-Monster!” she squealed. She kicked around in my arms, striking my chest and making it near impossible to carry her. I dumped her on the ground before I could even make it to the crowd, who was staring at me in pure horror as I thundered closer to them. Scootaloo gave me one last accidental kick to the stomach as she fell and scurried off behind the school.

I wheezed as I doubled over and fell to my knees. The ponies cautiously backed up.

We told you they would never accept you. A migraine ignited in the back of my head. You are a monster to them, nothing more, nothing less. I glanced up to the ponies and found Cheerilee standing her ground between me and her foals. She held out a protective hoof to keep them back, but even she was shaking at the sight of me.

I slowly picked myself back up, and the foals cowered behind their teacher. Some of them were looking over Scootaloo to make sure she was alright. She waved them off, still shaking from the rush and casting a few frazzled glances at me. Further down the trail Lyra emerged panting. Our eyes met, and she read me like a book. She started to say something, but I shook my head. I had seen enough. I backed away from the terrorized foals, covering my bruising chest. Maybe this just wasn’t meant to be.

Something moved in the corner of my eye, creating sharp, agitated noises. It leapt out of the bushes, and I reached out and grabbed it on instinct.

The cockatrice returned, angrier than ever, and unfortunately for both of us, I had my hand wrapped around its neck. It squawked and flapped its green wings loudly. Its talons dug through my jacket and into my skin. I wanted to let go, but the pain in my arm forced my fist to stay clenched. I tried shaking it to wear it down, but that only succeeded in making it angrier. And then I saw its eyes.

Oh God, those eyes. To say it was horrifying would be an insult compared to what was buried in those blood red beads. It felt as if they managed to grab all my fears and forced them down my eyes through a needle. Its stare burned into my brain, and I found I couldn’t look away from it.

The world turned to gray around the cockatrice as it struggled in my grip. Only its eyes retained their color. I found that I couldn’t let go, couldn’t turn away from its stare, couldn’t move, couldn’t feel. The world was numb to me, even as it tilted and buried half of my face with earth. I couldn’t even feel the impact of the fall.

A deafening silence had fallen over the forest. As the cockatrice thrashed around on the earth in my grip, I couldn’t hear it. Its mouth opened as it cried out, and I couldn’t tell if its squealing came out as a whisper or if I just imagined hearing it. Even as it moved, it slowly became a blur of motion, as if I was seeing everything through murky water. Dread gripped my silent heart with a vise. What was happening to me?

“The cockatice turned the monster to stone!” a voice whispered.

“Somepony get Fluttershy, now!” another replied. It sounded like Lyra, but I couldn’t be sure.

Was this it? Was this how I died? Not through starvation or freezing, not at the hooves of the ponies or the maws of the wolves, but by spending the rest of eternity as a statue?

A cackling filled the air, clear as day, cutting through the polluted noise of the world. “Oh, did you see the look on his face when he grabbed the cockatrice?” a deep voice chortled loudly. I thought I could see colors flicker in the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t move to see it. “Priceless!”

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” a second voice growled. It sounded familiar. “We spent too much time and effort on this one.”

“Oh, you know what they say, ‘There are plenty of seaponies in the sea.’” the first voice said. “I just hope this doesn’t put a damper on our little deal.”

“You’ll be freed in due time,” the second assured. “But our host must remain alive to do so.”

There was a small flap of wings, and a large yellow talon ripped through the sea of gray and knocked on my forehead. “Well, the human won’t be doing us much good like this,” the first commented. “Take my word for it, there isn’t much you can do when turned to stone. You’d be better off looking for another poor soul.”

There was a soft series of tapping that filled the silence. It sounded like it was getting closer, if only barely so.

“You do not put enough faith in our host,” the second voice said amusedly. “Humans are built to survive. And it appears as if an opportunity has presented itself.” I could hear a high pitched voice yelling, but it was so faint it might as well have been miles away. The cockatrice turned rigid in my hand and was looking past me with wide eyes.

“Oh, my. I must admit, it’s a little unsettling seeing her act like that. You would not believe the trouble I went through just to get her to act even close to this.” There was a slight pause as the quiet shouting continued. “Do you think he can hear us?”

“It’s hard to tell. Our connection has been severed. But don’t worry. We know how to make Hunter forget.”

A scarred, stone gray hand reached down to my face. I watched helplessly as a finger extended towards me, and I silently screamed as the world erupted to white.

A voice pierced through the white noise. “Hunter? Can you hear me? Hunter, say something!”

I struggled to open my eyes, but they were sealed shut. All I could manage was a weak grunt.

“He’s alive! Thank Celestia, I was so worried.” Something pulled me up and wrapped itself around me into a constricting hug. I wished I could open my eyes, or at least talk for that matter.

A soft voice piped up, “Um, Lyra, I think you’re crushing the poor thing.” I groaned in agreement.

“Oh, right,” Lyra’s voice chuckled as I was lowered to the ground. “Sorry, Hunter.”

My eyes fluttered open and were instantly attacked by the vibrant colors of the forest, forcing them to close again. I took in deep breaths of the cool air to try to wake myself up better, but my throat clogged, and I started coughing. I rolled over onto my elbows and knees, trying to force out whatever was inside of me. It tasted like dust was coming out of my lungs.

“It’s okay,” a soft voice cooed. “Just lie down and rest for a bit. You’re safe now.”

I opened my eyes again. Everything was still out of focus, but I could still make out two blurs of colors above me, one mint green and the other yellow with a pink top. As the details began to sharpen, I could make out Lyra and Fluttershy’s figures staring at me from above.

“What… What happened?” I croaked.

“You should have seen it, Huner!” Lyra bounced excitedly. “When the cockatrice turned you to stone, one of the foals went off to get Fluttershy. It was still trying to get out of your hand, but you had it in your grip when you turned. And then Fluttershy came and practically exploded on the thing! I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do anything like that before! She somehow convinced the cockatrice to turn you back, and when it did you were all knocked out. We’ve been here trying to wake you up for the past, like, ten minutes.”

Fluttershy blushed and shrank back throughout Lyra’s rant. “It wasn’t anything, really,” she whispered. “I just didn’t couldn’t leave you as a statue is all.”

I had a hard time digesting all of the information. I couldn’t remember anything that happened after grabbing the cockatrice. If what Lyra said was true, then it seemed as if I owed Fluttershy my life. The same pony I had threatened to and nearly succeeded in killing went out of her way to save me. She was surprising me more and more.

With a grunt, I slowly sat up and crossed my legs. One of the spears fell off my back, shattered in half from when I fell as stone. I sighed and tossed the useless pieces into the forest. The two mares gave me my space, letting me come back fully to my senses. I didn’t say anything simply because I didn’t know what to say. Too many thoughts were bouncing around in my head for me to think straight.

You should leave; return to the castle, the voice said, eager to throw in its two cents. Every second you are out in the open will only put you in more danger. You are in no condition to keep going. Leave and let the ponies fend for themselves. You have already done your part to protect them.

I sighed in defeat, it was as good of an idea as any. The ponies had proven they could handle themselves, and my body was weak. I didn’t feel like I could keep going for much longer. I moved to get up, but Lyra put a hoof on my chest and gently pushed me back down.

“Whoa, now. Take it easy for a bit,” Lyra said. She watched me worriedly. “I don’t like that look on your face. What’s the matter?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. But after all that just happened, I think it would be best for me to head back to my own little neck of the woods.”

“What? No!” Lyra exclaimed. “Zecora and I just convinced Miss Cheerilee to not cancel the trip. Everypony’s a little ways down the trail waiting for me and Fluttershy. This could be our big chance to get everypony to like you.”

“And I know Scootaloo said she wanted to write that report about you,” Fluttershy chimed in. I looked up to the pegasus, who shrank behind Lyra in return. “That is, if you’d like to,” she added. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

It was still unsettling seeing her. I tried to avoid eye contact, but it didn’t change the fact she was still there. A kernel of guilt was growing in my chest, quickly becoming heavier and heavier. I owed her too much after everything I put her through.

Don’t listen to them, Hunter. You need to rest. Return to the castle.

“I… I can’t, really,” I explained, trying to ignore the small headache that was slowly building. “I tagged along on this field trip to watch over the foals, but you guys seem to know what you’re doing more than me. It’s been a long day; I’ve been turned to stone, my body hurts, and I have a headache. I need to rest.”

“You can rest with the school,” Fluttershy offered. I noticed she was using the same tone as she did with the manticore. “I promise the foals won’t be too much of a burden.” It was getting difficult to say no as she stared at me with big eyes.

“And I’ll be with you the whole time if it’ll help,” Lyra promised. “Nopony’ll panic.”

“You sure about that?” I asked doubtfully.

“Okay, maybe they will at first,” Lyra admitted with an innocent smile. “But Zecora and I can calm them down. It’ll be a piece of cake after that.”

She held out a hoof for me to grab, and I eyed it warily. A storm raged in the back of my mind, pushing me to leave. I took in a deep breath and grabbed her hoof.

“Alright, I’m trusting you,” I said as she helped pull me up.

Her face beamed with excitement. “Really? This is great!” She pranced excitedly in place. Fluttershy watched with a content smile. “Come on, let’s hurry back before everypony decides to—”

A shriek pierced the air, cutting her off. We froze on the trial, staring where it came from. It sounded young. I shot a glance at the two mares.

“Was that—”

“The foals!”

Lyra and Fluttershy broke into a sprint, and I struggled to keep up with them. My body still ached from being encased in stone, but even as lead filled my legs I was determined to keep pushing forward. A chorus of shrill screams sounded from our destination, impossible to miss.

The mares skidded to a halt as the trail widened into an open area. I fell in close behind panting and stared at the chaos unfolding before us.

The fillies and colts were scurrying around, wildly trying to find their own safe haven as creatures of wood and vines weaved among them. Zecora stood her ground before Cheerilee on the other side of the trail, trying desperately to fend one of the attackers off with a branch.

The timberwolves were back.

I tried to digest the situation. It didn’t appear as if any of the foals were being harmed, just herded, although that didn’t settle well with me either. We needed to keep the wolves busy so that the foals could escape. Having two more pairs of hooves would be extraordinarily helpful. “Let’s get moving,” I said quickly. “I’m going to help Zecora. You two try to round up as many foals as you can and get them far away from here.” The mares gave a brisk nod before splitting off, and I threw myself into the chaos.

My heart was pounding in my ears as I charged past the stampede of foals towards Zecora’s wolf. I unshouldered one of the spears off of my back as I drew closer. With a running start, I leaped into the air and threw my weight behind my spear. It plunged deep into the wolf’s lower back. It yelped and crumpled beneath the force.

With her attacker powerless, Zecora swung what was left of her branch and clocked the beast on the side of the head. A sickening snap of breaking wook sounded on impact. Zecora’s branch had shattered. It wasn’t a complete loss, though, as the timberwolf seemed stunned from its sudden injuries. I ripped my hatchet out of my belt and landed the final blow to its head.

“Hunter, friend, your timing is most opportune,” Zecora panted. “If not for your help, I may have been overcome soon.”

“Anytime,” I heaved and nodded. Cheerilee gawked at me behind Zecora. I tried my best to shrug off her panicked eyes. “Lyra and Fluttershy are trying to get the foals out of here. They could use your help. I’m going to try to buy you some time. Just rush them out of here as fast as possible. Got it?”

Zecora looked troubled, but nodded. “Yes, I understand what to do, but Hunter, what about you? You are still outnumbered three to one; I cannot see how you will overcome.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll… handle the details,” I waved off. “Just do your part, and I’ll do mine.”

She wished me good luck and galloped off with Cheerilee close in tow, and I threw myself back into the fray. It was uncanny how easy it was to get the wolves’ attention. The moment they caught sight of me they broke off from the foals. Fortunately, it gave the older mares plenty of time to herd the school. Unfortunately, I had just realized how much of a mess I had gotten myself into.

Fending off the wolves was becoming more and more of a challenge. I started with my last spear, prodding at them to keep them at bay. As they tried to encircle me, I tossed a few pouches of poison joke on the ground to break them up. They attacked one at a time at first, trying to divide my attention between two of them while the third would try to sneak up from the rear. I whirled around and moved to press it back, and it easily dodged to the side. Another would attempt to attack, and the dance would repeat itself. They were toying with me.

One made a lunge at me, and I thrust my spear into its shoulder. It cried in pain as the weapon sank into its rough skin, but it clamped down on the shaft and pulled back as the other two advanced. I gave it one last push before releasing my spear and pulling out my hatchet. I wouldn’t last very long against them this close. My free hand searched my waist. Only one more pouch of joke remained.

My eyes darted across the area as I retreated backwards. The mares seemed to have corralled all of the foals. Zecora cast a worried look at me, and she moved to leave the school.

“No, get the foals out of here!” I shouted over the growling wolves. “Make sure they’re safe. I’ll be right behind you.” She hesitated, but with a nod she returned to the group and galloped back to Ponyville.

I returned my full attention to the wolves. They were fanned out, pressing forward until my back was at a tree. My heart was pounding with adrenaline. My fingers drummed across the hilt of my hatchet. Just a little closer…

My last bag of poison joke erupted between the three wolves as I threw it with all that I had. The wolves recoiled from the resulting cloud, giving me enough time to whirl around and bury my hatchet into the tree behind me, severing a strained vine. With the tension released, the upper portion of the vine shot into the canopy, and the low groan of wood echoed through the forest as a log sailed through the air like a pendulum.

The pollen-covered timberwolves were swat to the side as the log barrelled into them. The crunch and snap of shattering wood filled the air as they collided back to the earth, and the pendulum swung lazily. As they struggled to pick themselves back up, I sprinted to where the ponies left.

I nearly made it to the first curve in the trail when a sharp pain flared around my right leg. My momentum threw me to the ground as I screamed. I pushed myself up to my hands and knees. Something was crushing my right leg and pulling it back. Two of the three wolves had recovered and tackled me from the front; their splintered claws dug into my shoulders. I toppled backwards and tripped over a fourth wolf that had its teeth buried in my calf. The bastard must have snuck up on me after I dealt with its friends.

The two that had tackled me clamped their jaws on my already bleeding shoulders and dragged me across the earth and up to a tree. My skin ripped in their teeth as their broken legs caused their heads to jolt up and down. I was pinned into a lounging position, too afraid to move. A third wolf laid broken on the ground still, whimpering for attention. The newcomer casually approached.

It was much larger than the others, I noticed. Its frame was thin, though, as if malnourished, yet it stalked closer with an air of power. Splotches of moss covered its body, giving an ancient appearance to it. Its eyes still radiated that same sickening shade of yellow, drawing a primal fear out of me, but something was wrong. I thought I could see intelligence behind its eyes.

It paused at the whimpering wolf and extended a paw to it. The wood and vines shifted in its wrist, and its claws glowed a deep green as they touched the wolf’s muzzle. A series of pops and snaps sounded as the injured wolf’s body contorted back to its original shape. It bowed sheepishly once it was healed and scampered off, and the new creature stared back at me. A feral growl emitted from its throat.

“There you are,” it growled hungrily through bloodied, wooden teeth. Its voice sounded as if someone was grinding two rocks together. The furious gaze in its glowing eyes was enough to paralyze me. “You have overstayed your welcome, beast. It is time you paid for your trespassing.” It crouched mid-stride and leaped.

I ripped myself out of the wolves’ mouths out of instinct. I screamed in agony as skin was ripped out and tried to crawl away. My calf flared as I tried to push my weight with it. My hatchet laid on the grass only a couple feet away. All I had to do was reach it. Then I could—

A heavy force rammed into my back, knocking the wind out of me and causing me to crumple face first into the cold earth. I refused to let it stop me. Against my shoulders’ screams of rebellion, I tried to drag myself across the dirt to my only weapon of defense.

“I must admit,” the timberwolf commented in his grinding voice. “Despite the trouble your kind causes, you never fail to make for a good hunt. It has been far too many years since I have had prey run for this long.” He dug his claws into my arm and rolled me over to my back, pressing a foreleg down on my chest. “But why do you continue to struggle when you know you are dead?”

“I haven’t survived this long by giving up,” I spat. He added more pressure to my chest, and I wheezed. I glanced to my hatchet, which was now barely within arm’s reach. My fingers brushed against the handle and gripped it like a vise. I brought it up and buried it into the creature shoulder.

“Insufferable vermin,” he screamed in pain. His leg came off of me only for his free paw to grab and throw me across the trail. I came to a rolling stop against a tree, the world still spinning. I thought I heard a couple of faint gasps.

The timberwolf pried my hatchet out of his shoulder and glared at me. “I’ll never understand what Starswirl saw in your kind,” he grumbled to himself. He made to move at me but paused, staring at the hatchet still in his grip. A faint glow of green sputtered across his claws, and he growled.

“What manner of magic is this?” he asked in a distant tone.

I was still in a daze. I couldn’t tell what he said or to who. “What?”

“How did you create this?” he erupted, throwing my hatchet at me. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest as the blade sank into the tree a few inches above my head. The two wolves flanked him, snarling at me.

I scrambled to get up and pulled desperately at my hatchet, but it was wedged too far into the trunk of the tree. The timberwolf quickly closed the gap between us and pinned me to the tree by the neck. His claws shifted and wrapped around my throat, digging into my skin. My hands were locked around his wrist. I felt so small compared to him.

“What do you want with me?” I choked out.

“I want you gone and forgotten, as all accidents should be,” he snarled. “This world is in harmony, and I will not allow you or your unnatural magic to change that. Now tell me…” His grip tightened around my throat. My skin burned around his claws. “How did you create this weapon?”

“I-I didn’t,” I stammered. “I just brought it with me, I swear.”

The timberwolf’s body shuddered and shifted as he rose to his hind legs, dragging me up the rough bark of the tree as he reached his new height. I pulled myself up on his foreleg, trying to alleviate the pain around my neck. “What more did you bring?” he pressed threateningly.

There was a fire in his eyes, and something clicked in my head. “A few things,” I bluffed, praying he would go for it. “Nothing big, though.”

The pressure around my throat tightened. Something warm trickled where splintered claws met burning flesh. The wolf leaned in and uttered, “Where?” His breath reeked of rot.

I took in a shaky breath to calm my nerves. “Maybe we can reach an agreement,” I struggled to say. The wolf snarled. “You and I both don’t want me to be here,” I hurriedly explained. “Let me live, and I’ll take everything I brought with me and leave.”

“And what is to stop me from putting you down and searching for them myself?” he demanded, giving me a bloodied grin as I hesitated.

“You don’t know what or where they are,” I reasoned. “But the ponies do. A few of them know me, and they’ll be searching for me if I disappear. They’ll find my things before you, and you’ll have that much more trouble to deal with.” He paused, and I cautiously continued. “Let me live, and I’ll save you the trouble of searching. I just want to go home.”

The wolf had a distant look in his eyes, as if he was lost in thought. His body slackened slightly for a second, but it went rigid almost immediately after he snapped out of whatever trance he was in.

“Come to the eastern riverbank before nightfall, and bring all you have brought into this world; nothing more, and nothing less. Then you shall be sent home to your kind,” he grimaced. “Have haste, though. Otherwise, if you are late, or if I discover you have left something behind, I shall unleash my pack on you and hunt you down like the animal you are,” he growled.

He dropped me back to the ground. I was too stunned to react. Instead, I laid there and watched as he fell back on all fours. After giving me one last glare, he and his wolves retreated back into the forest.

I stared at the sky, trying to find the willpower to get back up to my feet. The sun was already beginning its descent. A sudden burst of energy flowed through me at the realization. I didn’t have too long before the deadline. I had to move, now.

It could be lying, you know, the voice muttered bitterly. The moment you reach the portal, you could be slaughtered.

I paused as I tried to pull myself up. “What do you recommend I do?” I breathed quietly.

This pack leader believes you are broken and defenseless, an easy prey to overcome, it started. Prove it wrong. Return to the castle; heal and arm yourself with all that you have. This could be our only chance to return home. We cannot afford to fail.

I winced as my torn body stood up. My right leg was fragile from the bite; I couldn’t put much weight on it without receiving a rebellion of pain in return. I brought a hand up to my sore throat, and it returned slightly stained red; nothing fatal. My shirt was sticking to the blood from my shoulders.

“I’m not sure if that’s one your best ideas,” I strained as I finally wrenched my hatchet out of the tree. I placed it back in my belt and leaned against the rough trunk for support. As much as it didn’t settle well with me, though, the voice had a point. This was my first free ticket home, no matter what the strange wolf’s intentions truly were. I couldn’t afford to throw it away.

A pit formed in my stomach, though. I barely survived this encounter through luck and bluffs. How could I hope to survive against the full pack and their alpha?

Have faith in us, Hunter, my inner voice assured softly as it receded. We will not let them touch you. It was soft, not even a whisper. I wasn’t even sure if I heard it right.

A renewed sense of calm washed over me; one I hadn’t felt in a while. The trail was motionless save for the bushes and leaves that rustled in the fall breeze. I spotted one of my spears still protruding from wolf that was terrorizing Zecora and Cheerilee earlier and hobbled over to it. Its body was brittle; when I knelt down to pull out the spear, chunks of bark broke away with ease. A part of me wondered why the alpha timberwolf didn’t stop to heal this one.

Using the spear as something of a crutch, I slowly trudged back to the castle. Everything was planned out in my head. There should be enough time for me to take a swig of Zecora’s potion and make it to the riverbank if I hurried. All that was left to do was arm myself to the teeth and hope for the best. This was the most important moment in my time here so far. I couldn’t afford to mess this up

A twig snapped behind me.

“Careful, Snails!” a hushed voice hissed behind me. “The monster could’ve heard that!”

Act I: Deadlines and Deadends

“Watch out!” a quiet voice hissed. “You almost tripped me.”

“It’s not my fault! Applebloom let go of the branch, and it nearly hit me in the face!” an equally hushed and angry voice retaliated.

“Don’t y’all start blamin’ this on me. It’s Scootaloo’s fault we’re followin’ this thing in the first place.”

“Hey, I never said you guys had to tag along!”

“What else were we supposed to do; leave you chasing the monster by yourself?”

“Why’s everypony whispering?” a slow, male voice blurted out.

“Because, Snails, we’re following the monster,” was the hushed response. “Now do us all a favor and whisper before you get us caught!”

“Oops, sorry…”

One hour. One long hour of listening to their nonstop bickering. One hour of painfully slow limping through the woods. One hour of torture from my wounds. One hour of silence on my behalf.

It was alright at first; the foals were fairly silent to begin with. I hadn’t said anything or so much as acknowledged them in hopes that they would get bored and return to Ponyville on their own, but it was becoming more apparent that that wasn’t about to happen. Their conversations slowly escalated into this mayhem, starting with petty apologies, then irksome complaints, and eventually ending with this chaotic criticism. These foals were driving me insane.

“You’re just lucky the monster isn’t very good at hearing. Otherwise we’d all be done for.”

And that was the final straw.

“Alright, that’s it!” I announced as I spun around mid-stride. The foals following me were frozen in shock. “I’ll have you know, the ‘monster’ can hear perfectly fine and has had to listen to your constant complaining for a while now, and you’re starting to give the ‘monster’ some serious migraines. The ‘monster’ has a lot on his mind right now and would really appreciate some peace and quiet!”

There were five foals, all in all; each still with their saddlebags on their backs. I recognized Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle among the group, unsurprisingly, along with the two unicorn colts who chose that manticore for their report. They were speechless with that deer-in-the-headlights look still in their eyes.

I sighed. “Look, I didn’t mean to shout,” I apologized. “It’s just… I’m kind of under a lot of stress right now. I’ve got wounds to heal, plans to make, deadlines to meet. So if you guys can just… I don’t know, shoo, please?” They didn’t move. I turned back around and continued hobbling to the castle. It couldn’t be too far away now. I thought I could hear the river.

The faint sound of the foals’ hooves stayed close by. When I turned around again, my followers were standing around avoiding eye contact. This ritual began to repeat itself a few times before I finally asked the obvious. “Shouldn’t you ponies, you know, be heading back to Ponyville?”

The fillies chuckled nervously in response. “Well, funny thing ‘bout that,” Applebloom started. “We, uh, don’t actually know how to get to Ponyville from here.” The yellow filly tried to give me an innocent smile.

“Wait, what?!” the short teal unicorn shouted. He planted his hooves on Applebloom’s shoulders ands shook her. “Do you mean you girls have no idea where we are?”

“It’s not our fault,” Sweetie Belle piped up as Applebloom recovered. “We didn’t even realize everypony had left! We were too scared to leave our hiding spots.”

“And Scootaloo still wanted a drawing of the monster, so we decided to follow her,” Applebloom confessed. She shrank under a leer from the pegasus and turned to me with an innocent smile. “Well, that and we kinda thought y’all would help us get back. Zecora told everypony you were actually pretty nice for a monster,” she added. “So… would ya?” She and Scootaloo scrunched together, looked at me we pleading eyes, and sang a chorus of “Please?”

I hesitated. “Sorry, but I really can’t afford any detours. My work’s cut out for me as it is, and I’m kinda on a deadline.”

“Wait, you can’t just leave us here by ourselves!” Sweetie Belle shrieked. “We’ll be lost in this dumb forest forever!” The other foals shouted in agreement.

I held my free hand up defensively. “Hey, don’t get me wrong now. It’s not that I don’t want to help. I’m as lost as you are, and I’ve finally been given a free ticket home… kinda. The details are a little fuzzy right now, but I can’t pass up the opportunity to see my family again. They’ve probably been worried sick, thinking I’m either dead or… lost… in a forest…”

I looked at my followers again. They were just kids, with families and friends waiting for them to return home like mine.

They are just ponies, Hunter, the voice reminded. You will not have enough time to help them and save yourself. Think of your family. Think of the burden your absence has placed on them.

A heavy sigh pushed itself out of me. “But I can’t shift that burden onto five other families,” I replied, feeling defeated. “Ponies or not, that wouldn’t be right.” I shook my head as a war raged in my mind. I stole a glance at the sun, which was slowly inching closer towards the horizon.

“Alright, come on,” I waved to the foals as I limped to the river. “I’ll take you back to home, but I need to make a pitstop first.”

“Really?” Applebloom asked as she hopped to my side. “Thanks, Mister! Maybe we can help you get home, too. We can get our cutie marks in… um… Monster Helpers!”

Scootaloo appeared on the other side of me. “Monster helpers? Really? Who would want a cutie mark for something like that?”

“Well, I couldn’t think of anythin’ else!” Applebloom said defensively.

“Oh, oh!” Sweetie Belle piped up behind Applebloom. “We could get our cutie marks as navigators!”

“Yeah, or adventurers!” Scootaloo jumped excitedly, buzzing in the air for a quick second.

“Just like them fancy Darin’ Do books!” Applebloom chimed in.

The trio ran up ahead and shouted, “Cutie Mark Crusaders Adventurers, yeah!”

I couldn’t help but smile at their enthusiasm, even if I didn’t understand what they were talking about. I shuffled past them as they planned excitedly amongst themselves and forgot to pay attention to where I was walking. The bottom of my spear connected to a root sticking out of the earth, and without my stable crutch I collapsed onto the trail with a yelp. The fillies quieted quickly and watched uncomfortably as I slowly pulled myself back up.

“Um, Mister Monster?” Scootaloo asked behind me. “Why are you limping like that?”

I turned to face the foals with confused eyes. “Wait, you kids don’t know what happened?” The three fillies shook their heads innocently. The two colts, however, look as if they were about to explode.

“Oh! Oh! Snails and I saw everything!” the plump, teal unicorn squealed.

“Yeah, it was awesome!” his counterpart, Snails, slurred excitedly. “When the timberwolves attacked, Snips and I hid behind a really big tree. Miss Cheerilee started freaking out and everything and Zecora tried beating the wolves back with a stick, which was pretty cool. And then Lyra and Fluttershy came back with you, and you ran straight at the wolves!”

“Yeah!” Snips exclaimed. “Then you beat up that wolf that was bothering Zecora and went into an all-out flank-kicking on the other wolves!” He added some kung fu looking motions to help his point. “And when they tried to gang up on you, you used your cool Everfree magic to send a tree flying down and crush them. But before you could escape, another really big wolf jumped out and attacked you when you weren’t looking.” The fillies gasped in shock. Snips and Snails nodded in affirmation.

“Yep, we saw it with our very eyes,” Snails picked up. “The wolves pounced on the monster and pinned him against the tree. The big one started talking as it got closer, and—”

“I think they get the picture,” I interjected, not wanting to relive the moment. The colts were deep in their story; they seemed to forget that one of the characters was with them.

“How bad is it?” Applebloom asked. “Is there something we can do to help?”

I shook my head. “Doubt it. I’ve got something that ought to help, though.” We had finally reached the river. The bridge shouldn’t have been too far down the way. I glanced down at the large, dark stain around my right calf, and a sense of unease fell over me. I wasn’t sure if I could cross the bridge with my new handicap. “But maybe checking on it isn’t a bad idea,” I confessed. I slowly, and painfully, knelt down and pulled up my right jean sleeve.

The foals gasped. The timberwolf’s teeth definitely penetrated skin. It was a gory mixture of crimson streams and scattered scabs around bleeding holes configured in a bite mark.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Sweetie Belle mentioned before plugging her mouth with a hoof. None of the other ponies looked much better.

I cursed myself for not checking sooner and ripped off my shoe and shimmied my sock off my bleeding leg. It was riddled with holes and stretched past what I thought its limits were after weeks of constant use, but it was whole enough for what I needed. I carefully applied it to the wound and wrapped it around my calf once, tying a knot across the shin. It wasn’t a perfect bandage, but it worked where it counted. I rolled the sleeve back down carefully to not shift the new bandage and carefully stood back up.

The foals’ faces were still drained of their color, and I tried to pick up the mood. “Hey, we’re almost there. I bet you kids’ll love to see my little home away from home.” They hesitated but followed as I started hobbling along the river.

It took longer than I would have liked to reach the river. The sun had completed a little over half of its descent to the horizon. I prodded the old tree with my bad leg and tried to give it a shake. It was still as sturdy as the last time I crossed it.

“Wait, we’re not crossing the river on that, are we?” Snips asked worriedly.

“Well, yeah,” I answered, turning to the colt. “Unless you feel like swimming.”

“It doesn’t look very safe,” Sweetie Belle pointed out.

“Hey, I’ve used this bridge hundreds of times,” I exaggerated. “It’ll hold, trust me.” The foals still didn’t seem convinced. “I mean, it’s either that, or you can stay here and wait for me to come back.”

The alternative didn’t seem to settle well with them, and they quickly lined up behind me. It was tricky stepping up with my handicap, and even more difficult crossing the narrow bridge with a crutch. Applebloom and Scootaloo followed closely behind, tailed by Snails and Snips with an uncomfortable Sweetie Belle in the rear. The old tree dipped under our collective weight, and the river crashed into its underside. We were only halfway across.

I paused as a remnant of a branch obstructed my path, trying to figure out how to best move around it. Applebloom nearly ran into me, and behind her could only be described as a horrible train wreck. Heads ran into tails, and hooves scrambled to hold their ground.

One of the colts yelped, and I heard a splash.

“Snails!”

I whipped behind me to find the four foals staring anxiously in the river. I followed their eyes and found the orange unicorn being pulled away by the current, screaming for help. I swore under my breath and dove after him, dropping my crutch in the process.

The river felt as if it was made of ice. My clothes were drenched immediately, and their weight threatened to pull me down to the riverbed. The force of the current propelled me forward, and against the pained cries of my body’s wounds, I pushed myself along it.

The unicorn’s head bobbed up and under the water. Through the small, crashing waves I heard one last choked cry before his head fully submerged. It wasn’t coming back up.

I took in one last gasp of air before plunging beneath the river. My limbs were filling with burning lead. Through the murky water I could just make out a limp, orange form being tugged by the current. I reached out with numb fingers and grabbed its hoof.

My lungs were ablaze and my mind started to cloud as I pulled our collective weight to the surface. The breath of fresh air did little to rejuvenate my energy. I swam to the shore against the downward pull of Snails’ limp body in my arm and the perpendicular force of the current.

“Don’t you give out on me,” I growled through clenched teeth. My shoes brushed against submerged sand. My leg flared as I crawled back to the bank, earning a grimace from me. Snails lolled in my arms as I dragged him next to me, motionless..

I threw him ahead of me as we reached relatively dry land. He rolled once before coming to a halt, still not moving. I cursed and scrambled up to him, hastily examining his condition. His chest wasn’t rising or falling, and I didn’t have any idea how to check for a pulse. I began assuming the worst.

I rolled him onto his back with my hands on his chest and began the compressions. My mind was moving a hundred miles per hour, screaming mismatched instructions and cycling through old memories in an effort to find anything that could help. I wasn’t about to let this colt die on me after all of this, not if I had any say in it.

Still no movement. I tilted his head back and opened his jaw, but then I hesitated. I wasn’t even technically certified for this. Would it even translate to a pony? I shook my head and went back to the compressions one last time.

“So help me, Snails,” I said, punctuating each word with another press. “If I have to give you mouth to mouth, I am going to make. You. Wish. You. Drowned!”

Water spewed from the unicorn’s mouth on the following press, his eyes shooting open. He rolled himself over, coughing roughly. I leaned back on my knees, looking up to the sky, relieved and exhausted.

“Snails!” The soft stomps of four foals filled the air as the others galloped to where we rested. Snips was practically glued to his friend’s side as he slowly came back to the land of the living. The three fillies stood by making sure Snails was alright. Sweetie Belle shot me an angry look.

“I told you it wasn’t safe,” she accused, jabbing a hoof in my direction.

I nodded numbly, not fully aware of what she said, and tried to stand back up. The world seemed to shrink beneath me as I shot into the sky. I blinked as my mind settled back into its body. A dull pain blanketed me, smothering me almost. I felt like I was back in the river, an invisible current pushing me forward, but my feet were anchored in place. The earth tilted to meet me. I had just enough time to throw up my arms in front of my face before collapsing to the ground.

My body was numb. I rolled over to my stomach and closed my eyes. I could hear the foals consoling Snails, but I couldn’t find the strength to lift my head and check. I took in a few deep breaths, hoping it would help with my lightheadedness.

“Mister Monster? Are you alright?” Scootaloo’s voice asked, concerned.

I nodded my head against the gravel, wincing and regretting it slightly as the small rocks sent a small spike of pain through my otherwise unfeeling face. I gave a half-hearted thumbs up. “Jus’ gimme a minute,” I slurred. My eyes fluttered open. The sun was continuing its slow crawl to the horizon, indifferent of my situation. It was nearing the tops of the trees around us. We didn’t have long.

“Maybe we should just stay here and rest for a while,” Applebloom suggested. “You ain’t looking too good, Mister Monster."

“Don’t— Please don’t call me that,” I said tiredly. I sat up and faced the small crowd before me. “My name’s Hunter. And we don’t have time to sit around here. We need to move.” I carefully pushed myself up on my feet, not wanting a repeat of last time.

“What’s the matter?” Snips asked, catching on to the urgency in my tone.

“We’re running late on a deadline,” I explained as I struggled to stand back up. “We have a couple hours before things start getting a little tricky.” The river’s current pulled us far off course. It was slim, but if we made it back to the castle in time, there might still be a chance for us to escape before the hunt began.

“What do you mean ‘tricky’?” Sweetie Belle pressed, worry evident in her voice.

“It’s… just going to be harder moving through the forest in the dark.” It wasn’t a lie, I told myself, just an omission. I frowned; I wasn’t going to be able to move as fast as I could without my crutch. “Has anyone seen my spear?”

“You dropped it in the water when you went to save Snails,” Snips explained. I mentally slapped myself for not putting it somewhere safe.

“I’m really sorry about that,” Snails apologized.

I rested against the tree and looked back. He was tailing a little further behind the group, eyes glued to his own hooves. His bags were gone, I noticed; probably lost in the river. I sighed. “Hey, don’t worry about it,” I said. “I’m just glad you’re all safe.”

For now, at least, the voice added. You wasted precious time and energy with that stunt.

What was I supposed to do? Let him drown? I argued.

You could have pointed them towards Ponyville and carried on with our plan. I grimaced and trudged on as the voice berated me. I didn’t need this right now; I had enough on my mind as it was. These ponies are making you put yourself in danger for them. They don’t deserve your help.

At the moment, I couldn’t think of a rebuttal. I simply shook my head and trudged on. The sun had disappeared behind the thick wall of trees minutes ago. There was still plenty of light before the sunset began, but we were still moving at a snail’s pace, much to my disappointment, and some of the foals were starting to become tired.

“Come on, we’re almost there,” I said, trying to pick up the dying moral of the group. “I think you kids are really going to love this.”

A few questions started to rise from the group, but they quickly died down as the old castle walls broke from the branches and trees. Confusion turned to awe, which quickly turned to excitement.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” Scootaloo pranced in place. “You’ve been living here this whole time?”

“You better believe it,” I smiled weakly. “How would you guys like to check it out?”

“I bet I can beat you to the castle,” Snips challenged his friend.

“You’re on!” With that, the two foals raced ahead of us.

“Hey, be careful on that bridge!” I called out to them, but they were too busy galloping across it to pay me any mind. I sighed in relief as they crossed without a problem. “Let’s hurry up before those two decide to get lost in the castle,” I said to the rest of the group.

I stayed over the bridge to help ferry the fillies over some of the larger gaps. Scootaloo and Applebloom made it across without any problems. Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, was giving me a hard time. She was nervous when I reached for her, backpedaling away from my hands. I didn’t want to push her, but this was starting to take more time than I would have liked.

“C’mon, Sweetie,” Applebloom called from the other side. “Hunter ain’t gonna bite ya.”

Sweetie Belle muttered something under her breath that I couldn’t catch, and before I realized it she took off past me, galloping across the bridge. She jumped the gaps and collapsed on the other side with her friends, who were as equally confused as I was.

The two colts were arguing at the door. Apparently they had tied, although neither was willing to admit it. I carefully skirted around the heated debate and pushed open the heavy wooden doors. They squealed loudly on their hinges, drowning out Snips and Snails and leading the way for the silence that ensued. I turned around to find the foals staring at the entrance with uncertainty, and a small hint of fear.

I tried to lighten the mood with a smile. “Where’s my hospitality? Come on in. Make yourselves at home.” My offer didn’t have much of an effect at first, but Scootaloo bravely stepped forward and entered the castle. Her friends followed soon after.

I shut the door as the last of the foals entered. The stood gawking at the first room. Some of their eyes drifted to the nonexistent ceiling and empty windows. Others were focused on the greenery that littered the area. “Sorry about the mess,” I apologized. “I wasn’t exactly expecting visitors again so soon, and it’s a little difficult to—”

“Is that where the Elements of Harmony were?” Sweetie Belle asked, pointing to the strange pedestal and sphere in the back of the room.

“Elements of… Harmony?” I hesitated. It went unnoticed however as the foals were too busy rushing up to the monument to pay me any mind.

There were plenty of “oohs” and “aahs” going around the group. They were practically drooling on it as they tried to climb up the platforms. They inspected each tiny crack and chattered excitedly amongst each other.

“Do you think this is really where they were?”

“How cool would it be if they were still here?”

“Do you think this one is where Rainbow Dash’s was?”

It was interesting how much they seemed to know about its history, even though all they did was ask questions about it. I decided to let them have their fun though. The world was starting to spin lazily again, and I needed to get to work.

“I’m going up to my room,” I called to the foals. “You kids have fun. I’ll be down in a bit.”

“Your room?” Scootaloo echoed. “Can we see it? Please?” She looked at me with hopeful eyes.

I hesitated. The sun was inching closer to the horizon by the second. We probably only had a little over an hour, if even that. Given how long the potion took to heal, the best we were looking at right now was a head start on the wolves. I wasn’t sure if we could afford any extra delays. But I couldn’t bring myself to say no to those eyes.

“Sure,” I finally said. “Just don’t mess with anything you’re not supposed to.”

The foals burst through the throne room entrance when we reached the top of the tower, eager to examine the new environment. I was lagging behind, winded from the climb and still feeling fairly dizzy. As I rested in the doorway, they scurried around the room, looking out the windows or playing between the columns. The throne was a straight shot through a minefield of children. I pushed myself off the wall and hobbled across the room.

The cushioned throne was a much needed relief. I had to refrain from melting in it as soon as I sat down. The dull throb of my wounds begged for attention. The potion rested to the right of my feet, and a bucket of water was to my left.

I shrugged off my jacket, laying it on the short armrest of the throne, and went to work. I rinsed my hands in the bucket of water, my shoulders groaning at the small effort. After giving them a quick shake, my hands pulled up my right pant sleeve, exposing the poor, makeshift bandage bound around my leg. The cloth was badly stained where it touched the wound.

I unfastened the knot and carefully removed the sock, wincing as scabbed layers of blood ripped out of place. It was looking better now than it was to begin with, although it was beginning to bleed again. I discarded the further ruined sock to the side and started taking off the other.

The foals cast a few curious glances at me every now and then as they pranced around the room. At one point, Scootaloo broke away from her friends and sat down a few yards in front of me, examining me for a few seconds. She then pulled a sketch pad and pencil out of her saddlebag and began doodling in it, throwing a few inquisitive looks at me as I worked.

I wadded up the relatively cleaner sock, dunked it into the water, and wrung out the excess. I cautiously pressed it against the wound, hissing at the pain. It had to be done sooner or later though. The potion worked wonders closing wounds, but I wanted to ensure there wouldn’t be anything enclosed in my skin after taking it. The ritual repeated itself a few times. Dunk. Wring. Press. Rinse and repeat.

Satisfied with my work, I moved to the shoulders. My shirt was torn around the area, and what was still there was stained heavily. Dried blood turned the gray cloth nearly black, and a thin trail snaked down past one of my sleeves. I winced as scabs began to pull when I tugged at my collar.

Come on, Hunter, just like a band-aid, I told myself. I took in a deep breath, counted to three, and bit back a yelp as I threw my shirt off. The blood was starting to gush out. I dabbed at the wounds with my wet sock to slow it, occasionally scrubbing the dried blood around it.

A sharp pain flared on my left shoulder as I cleaned it. My fingers danced around the wound until they fell upon something wooden. It felt as if it was digging into my skin as my fingers tapped against it. One of the timberwolves must have lost one of their teeth. I reached over and retrieved my hatchet, biting into the handle as I grabbed the tooth and pulled. It was warm and slick. I found it difficult to get a decent grip on it, but after a few tries and a muffled yelp, I was able to pry it out.

An uncomfortable silence had fallen over the room. I looked up and noticed all the foals were staring at me worriedly; some of them looking slightly nauseated. I spat the hatchet out of my mouth and flicked the tooth to the side. The sound it made as it landed seemed much louder than it should have been.

“Sorry about that,” I started. I picked up the potion bottle and popped the cork off. “Not too used to having company when I do that.” I paused as the bottle touched my lips, trying to mentally prepare myself before downing some of the drink.. I had to resist the urge to retch the moment it touched my tongue. It tasted worse than the last time I remembered taking it. I started to worry if it was possible for the potion to expire.

A low growl echoed in the room. My body tensed as I bent down to grab my hatchet. Were we being followed by the wolves this whole time? We all stared at room’s sole door, save for a rather embarrassed looking Snips.

“Sorry, I haven’t eaten since lunch,” he explained sheepishly. “I’m really hungry.” As if on cue, a small chorus of whines and grumbles sounded out of the other foals’ stomachs.

A faint smile pushed itself to my lips, and I chuckled in disbelief. “Well, you all are in luck,” I said as I threw on my jacket and strained to push myself up to my feet. My hand anchored itself on the broken throne and helped push me further back in the room where a light green saddlebag waited. My calf groaned as I knelt down to pick it up. “‘Cause for the first time in a long time,” I continued as I made my way back to the foals, “I have more food than I know what to do with.”

I collapsed into the cushion and fiddled with the bag’s flower-shaped buckle. The foals inched closer in curiosity as I revealed the leftovers from last night.

“Say, ain’t that Daisy’s bag?” Applebloom asked. I looked up and found them staring at me suspiciously.

“Hold up, it’s not what it looks like,” I started.

“You’re not stealing stuff from other ponies now, are you?” Sweetie Belle asked with a disapproving look in her eyes.

“No,” I sputtered. “It’s just—”

“Then how’d you get it?” Snips pressed.

I hesitated, not wanting to sabotage any of the friends I had just made. Getting the kids to trust me would be difficult otherwise, though. I sighed, “Look, don’t tell anyone about this, but some ponies came over and visited the other night. They brought some food and gave me the leftovers ‘cause I kinda needed it. It’s hard to come by decent food out here.”

Scootaloo tilted her head to the side. “And Daisy was one of them?”

“That’s not important,” I stressed. “This is a pretty big deal, and I’d hate for them to get in trouble over this. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf here, and they’re being really helpful. Just promise me you all will keep this a secret for now.”

They were unsure at first, but they eventually nodded. I breathed a sigh of relief, and started passing out the food. “Thank you. You guys can have as many of these daisy sandwiches as you want. I can’t eat them.”

“What’s wrong with them?” Sweetie Belle asked skeptically.

“Nothing’s wrong with them,” I shook my head. “My kind just can’t eat flowers. It’s bad for us.”

Scootaloo was scratching her pencil in her notes, balancing the end of it between her teeth with her sandwich resting in her hoof. She paused to take a bite and looked at me. “So, wait, does that mean there’s more of you?” she asked, crumbs falling out of her mouth and onto her paper.

“Oh, yeah; loads,” I chuckled. “A whole planet-full even.”

“Wait, if there’s so many of ya, how come we ain’t ever run into your kind before?” Applebloom asked.

“Probably because I come from a whole different world altogether,” I offered. It felt odd saying that; I never imagined myself saying that string of words honestly in my life. After all that had happened to me since I came here though, I had pretty well come to terms with it.

My train of thought was cut of with a loud gasp. I looked up to Snails, who stared back at me with surprised eyes. “Does that mean you’re like an alien?” he asked in awe.

I blinked, trying to process what I just heard. A small laugh found its way out of me, and it quickly grew. “You know, I never really thought of it like that,” I smiled. “But yeah, I guess I am an alien, in a way.”

“That’s so cool!” Snips and Snails exclaimed in harmony. They jumped around excitedly, asking questions that ranged wildly from homeworlds to motherships. Scootaloo was scribbling frantically in her notes, and Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and I were struggling to keep up.

“Alright, let’s slow down a bit,” I tried to calm them.

“What are you doing here?” Snips asked, carrying on the assault of questions. “Are the rest of the aliens trying to find a new homeworld?” He cut himself off with a loud gasp. “Are you planning on taking over Equestria?”

“No, no, nothing like that at all,” I shook my head in exasperation. It was getting more than a little tiresome answering these questions.

“Did your ship crash land here after an epic space battle?” Snails shot back excitedly.

“No. Well, kind of, just not that exactly.” An idea popped into my head, and a faint smile broke my face. I decided to let them have their fun and give in to their fantasy. I sat down on the throne and leaned forward.

“It all started when my family decided to… take a vacation from our homeworld,” I began, trying to weave a sci-fi spin into my own life. “We were bored with civilization, and decided it would be relaxing to spend some time in the uncharted wilds of deep space. Things were going smoothly until our ship began running out of fuel. I was chosen to leave the mothership in search of raw materials to power the engine. I came here to begin my search when I was suddenly ambushed.”

I paused to see how my audience was buying it. Snips, Snails, and Applebloom were staring at me with eyes wide and jaws agape. Sweetie Belle was watching me skeptically, and Scootaloo was writing on a fresh piece of notebook paper trying to keep up. A part of me felt bad for lying; she was probably going to take these back to tell to the rest of the class all the misinformation I was feeding her. But at least the colts were quiet for the time being.

“My ship crash landed deep in the Everfree,” I continued. “Communications were down; I had no way of sending a message back home. All I could salvage from the broken remains was a simple tool. As I left the crash sight, I was greeted by ferocious creatures of twisted vines and wood.

“They chased me through the whole forest, their teeth hot on my heels. I eventually managed to shake them and fled from the forest, only to find myself near a peculiar town. A terrible storm raged overhead, and I knew I needed to find shelter. There was an uneasy air about the town, but I pressed on hoping to find help. I rested underneath a large tree with a house built into it and thought I heard voices inside. I cautiously opened the door, only to be attacked.”

“That’s not what happened at all!” Sweetie Belle interjected. Her disgruntled look wiped the smile off my face, and I pressed my lips together. No one spoke a word.

“Alright, then...” I finally said after an unbearable pause. “Why don’t you tell me what actually happened then?”

All eyes were on her. She shrank slightly, but that defiant flare was still in her eyes. “Rarity told me everything. She said you were trying to break into the library!”

“Trying to break into the—” I echoed in disbelief. I shook my head. “You know what? Sure, in hindsight, I guess I was trying to. But I don’t think that warranted getting shot point blank with a confetti cannon.”

“They thought you were a monster,” Sweetie Belle defended.

“I thought they were monsters,” I exclaimed. “I thought I escaped the maws of a bunch of bloodthirsty animals just to stumble into nest of more bloodthirsty animals. I was lost and separated from my family and scared for my life. I heard voices and I thought there were people who could help me. If I would’ve known what would have happened, I wouldn’t have gone anywhere near that tree.”

“You didn’t have to stay,” she leered. “Why didn’t you just run away if things were so bad?”

“I was trying to run, but your friends kept trying to catch me like I was a wild animal. They were starting to wear me down; I couldn’t let them chase me forever,” I argued.

“That doesn’t mean it was okay for you to hurt my sister!” she practically screamed at me.

The cards were on the table now, and a heavy sigh found its way out of me. Her sister was one of the ponies chasing me that night. I forgot that little detail. She was the one I snapped on, too, if I was remembering correctly, and I prayed I wasn’t remembering correctly. I could only imagine what was running through her mind about me.

“Look, Sweetie Belle,” I started cautiously. “There were a lot of bad decisions last night, on both sides. We were all scared, and when people get scared, they do things they wouldn’t normally do. Your sister was worried about her friend, so she tried to save him. I was scared for my life, so I ran, and when I couldn’t run anymore, I tried to fight.” I met her green eyes. They were getting watery from the shouting and anger, but she didn’t dare let a tear drop. “I’m sorry I hurt your sister, but I’m not sorry I defended myself.”

She huffed, but otherwise didn’t say anything else and turned her attention to her sandwich. The morale of the group was plummeting, and I was at a loss thinking of how to save it. “You kids finish eating,” I resigned. “You can have more if you want, but we’ll need to be heading out soon.”

I separated from the group and hobbled to a window to check how much time we had left. The sun had just touched the horizon. If we left now, and were quick about it, we should be able to make good distance before the pack was unleashed on us. My eyes glanced at the foals, still eating next to the throne. I didn’t want to rush them, especially after that argument. I heaved a sigh and watched as our time slowly ticked away, trying to plan the trek in my head.

Hunter, you cannot be serious about this, the voice piped up.

“Should’ve figured you wouldn’t be onboard,” I said under my breath. A few low-hanging clouds clung to the horizon towards Ponyville. They looked dark, but that could’ve been thanks to the setting sun. “What do you suggest I do, then?”

Anything else, the voice exclaimed. Go to the wolves before the deadline. Fight your way home. Or stay here; hold them off. We know this fortress, Hunter. We can survive here.

“Not for long,” I pointed out. “This is a lot of ground for one man to cover. And we’ll run out of food eventually.”

The foals don’t have to stay here. More food for you.

I frowned. “You know I won’t do that.”

Think about this, Hunter, the voice pleaded, somewhat agitated. What you are planning is a suicide run, a one-way trip. There will be no coming back to the Everfree after this.

A sigh escaped me. You’re probably right, I started, breaking my eyes away from the setting sun and looking over to the foals. They were quietly talking amongst each other; some were occasionally casting a few glances at me. But my decision is final. I’m taking them back home. Even if it kills me.

That is what we are afraid of…

The soft rain gently pelted my head. I raised my hood to shelter my eyes from the water as I carefully navigated through the dense plant life of the forest. I was running, well, walking, for my life from a hidden enemy. There was no way of knowing where they were or when they would strike, for certain. They could be behind the brush up ahead of me or be as far away as the castle. My only hope of safety was to reach the town at the end of the forest. Déjà vu.

“Couldn’t we have just stayed the night at your place?” Scootaloo complained. Behind me lagged the five foals. They were struggling to stay awake despite being on the move for an hour now. The sun had fully set a while ago, and it was quickly getting more difficult to see. I never told them the reason for our hasty departure, just that it was urgent and we needed to go as soon as possible. So far we made it past the river without any trouble and were making good time. Ponyville was probably only a half-hour away.

“No, I think it’d be best to get you all home as soon as possible,” I answered. “Don’t want people to start thinking I kidnapped you.” A twig snapped to my left. I halted, much to the displeasure of the foals following me, and listened for anything else. Nothing other than the rain and the occasional coo of the nocturnal birds could be heard. I coughed and continued forward.

“Somethin’ wrong, Mr. Hunter?” Applebloom asked with concern. I stole a quick glance at her. She was so small, so young, so innocent. I shuddered as I thought of what might happen to her if I failed. I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t let that happen, to any of them.

“Everything’s fine,” I lied in an attempt to reassure her. “I’m just a bit jumpy.” Some bushes up ahead rustled. I put myself in a stance and prepared for whatever creature was about to spawn before us.

A rabbit… Just a rabbit. I sighed in relief and mentally slapped myself for being so paranoid.

Do not be too harsh with yourself, Hunter, the voice said. Your paranoia and instincts have kept you alive this long. Do not let them go.

It wasn’t entirely happy with my plan, especially since I was putting my life at risk for the foals; even less so when it found out I didn’t intend on arming myself to the teeth with all that I had. I figured that carrying all of that would have slowed me down. Not to mention it probably wouldn’t have sent the right message to the ponies if I walked into town armed with spears. My hatchet bounced off my thigh as I walked with a half-limp, my only defense in case things went wrong. I prayed that I wouldn’t have to use it, but my mind was plagued with scenarios of all that could go wrong. In spite of it all, though, I was adamant to see my plan through.

“Does this have anything to do with you missin’ your deadline?” she persisted. Deadline… What an appropriate term.

“Yeah, I suppose you could say that.”

“We’re really sorry we made you miss it,” Scootaloo chimed in.

I sighed. “It’s not your fault. It’s all water under the bridge now. We’ve got bigger problems to worry about.”

“Problems?” Sweetie echoed. “What kind of problems?”

I cursed myself for letting that slip. Should I tell them? No, that would probably only complicate things. “Don’t worry. Everything should be fine, if we’re careful...” I assured, but they didn’t seem to buy it. I could hear the foals whispering nervously amongst themselves.

The closer we drew to the end of the forest, the more my fears shifted. I was no longer afraid of the timberwolves as much as I was the ponies. Would they accept me after I brought back the missing foals? Someone might have concocted some wild idea that I had kidnapped them. I wouldn’t be able to retreat if things went south during this trip. The forest was no longer a sanctuary. It had become a deathtrap.

Another twig snapped. It was probably just the wildlife again. But the panting, too? No, I must have been imagining that. I had to be imagining that. We were too close for them to have followed us this far… right?.

“Let’s pick up the pace,” I said. “We’re getting close. Just a few—”

The wind was knocked right out of my body. I was barely aware that the world had turned upside down. Through the harsh ringing in my ears I heard one of the foals cry out my name. Before I had a chance to come to my senses, sharp claws dug into my shirt and pushed me against a tree.

As my vision slowly sharpened, the blurry lines of the brown canvas before me formed twigs and vines in the snarling face of wolf. His eyes were fixed with mine, glowing with yellow, fiery ferocity. I grabbed at his foreleg in an attempt to pull myself away, but to no avail. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the foals huddled together as a trio of timberwolves encircled them.

“Coward!” the alpha wolf growled. “I promised safe return to your home world, so that you would no longer interfere with the course of events here, and you have the nerve to spit in my face and hide behind five foals?” His grimace slowly turned into a sinister smile.

“Oh, you have made a grave mistake, human.” He threw me in the middle of the path, forcing a pained gasp to escape me upon impact. One of the wolves broke away from the foals and pinned its paw on my chest, daring me to move with a snarl of wooden teeth. “I am going to ensure your end is slow and painful. A fitting end for worthless vermin like you.”

The alpha wolf slumped forward so that he was back on all fours. He prowled back to where we came from. “Do what you wish to the human, but bring him back to me alive,” he growled. “I will follow his scent and discover the hole he has been hiding in and ensure there is no trace left of him.”

The wolf above me whimpered, and the alpha wolf paused. “The foals?” he asked. He hesitated, as if he was uncertain, and then craned his head back to face us. “The human might have infected them. Bring them to the pack for cleansing.” Without another word, he stormed down the trail, leaving us with his pack.

The wolf above me opened its maw and lunged. I brought my arm up, and it clamped down on my left forearm. I yelped and braced my left arm with my right for support. It shook his head wildly, and I screamed as it ripped through my skin, sending blood splattering across my face and into my eyes, turning the world crimson and blurry. My hatchet rested on my left side, and I couldn’t reach it without losing whatever ground I was desperately holding onto.

There was a shrill shriek off to the side. The other wolves were closing in on the foals.

“Leave them alone!” I cried out to the wolves, desperately hoping they could understand me. “I didn’t do anything to them, just please let them go!” My wolf snarled and pulled back at my arm. I screamed as I struggled to keep it locked in place. It had me pinned, and all I could do was watch the foals hopelessly.

Their timberwolves rallied them in a tight circle. They were shaking like leaves. One of the wolves made to move at them, and everything fell apart. The foals screamed and scattered, leaving their captors clueless. A wolf lunged for one of the foals, and time slowed to a crawl.

It probably took less than a second, yet it seemed to stretch out for an eternity, burning every last detail into my mind like a branding iron. Wooden jaws clamped down on the runaway filly’s lower back; its teeth digging into her white coat. A shriek pierced through the screams and snarls in the air as the filly was ripped from the ground. The wolf shook its head once before tossing the dazed filly back to the cold dirt, a dull thud accompanying the impact.

The earth was shaking. Something ignited in the back of my mind, and I cried out with all I had as if it would turn back the clock. “Sweetie Belle!”

The filly was motionless, unresponsive to my cries. The world seemed to fade around her still form, behind the chaos thrashing inside my mind. I glared up to the wolf attached to my arm, and We wanted nothing more than to watch it burn.

Before I even realized it, I became a puppet; a passenger in my own body. A primal scream escaped my lips as I threw the wolf off of me and rolled on top of it. My hatchet was already in my hand and connected with the startled wolf’s head. A string tugged my hand into the air, and the wolf resisted against the bleeding arm that held it in place as the tool was wrenched out of its skull. My arm seemed to rise and fall on its own accord, over and over and over. I didn’t know what was happening, but I didn’t want to stop.

Something latched onto my back and hurled me to the side. A new mass of wood landed on top of me. My vision was tunnelling around it. Despite the dull ache in my body and the pounding of my heart in my ears, a surreal calm washed over me. A voice whispered in my mind, lulling me to sleep.

They hurt you, and through you, Us. We will not let them hurt you again. They will die and burn.

Something was wrong. My grip on reality was slipping, and I was scrambling to find something real and tangible to hold on to. One moment a wolf was on top of me; the next I was crouched before two, one with a limp; another I was grabbing at a prone wolf’s head with bloodied hands.

I was… forgetting. The intervals of nothingness were ousting those of consciousness. A cloud was forming around my mind, pressing me further into sleep. It was excited and frenzied and hungry. And it wasn’t welcome.

Another glimpse of consciousness came. I grabbed it with all I had, but something was trying to push me back. A scream broke through static of my mind, and I recognized it as my own.

The first thing to greet me back to reality was an overwhelming sense of nausea. My vision was hazy as the world spun around me. A dull pain conquered my body, which felt as though it was filled with lead. My breathing was shaky and uneven.

There was a whimpering not too far away. A wolf appeared a few yards away as the world came back into focus. Its wooden jaw was unhinged on one side, and its fur oozed golden sap. It struggled to stand on a foreleg that bent in an unspeakably disturbing angle. It scampered back a few more paces before turning and limping away with its tail between its legs.

My arms were warm. I realized I was hunched forward on my knees. I looked down and felt the blood drain from my face. My left arms was planted on top of a wooden carcass. It was numb, and dark trails of crimson leaked from the cuff of my jacket sleeve. The wolf I was over was turned to its back, and my arm disappeared into its abdomen past the elbow. It was pulsing… or something was pulsing around it; I couldn’t quite tell. I carefully retracted it, revealing my bare, sap-coated forearm. My fingers and palm were smothered in hues of crimson and yellow.

I couldn’t hold it back anymore. I doubled over and retched from the nausea and stress. I tried to recall what had happened, but my mind was drawing blanks. A dull pain was receding in the back of my head. I wanted nothing more than to just lie on the damp earth and let the sprinkling rain wash over me, but as I started to fully regain my grasp on reality, more memories started to flood in.

“Sweetie Belle!” I shouted, straightening back up on my knees. I scanned the trail but couldn’t find her, or any of the foals for that matter. Was I too late? Had more wolves come and taken them during my blackout? I struggled to pull myself back up to my feet and called again. “Sweetie? Scoots? Snails?” The earth tilted beneath me, and I stumbled to a tree for support. My heart was racing. “Applebloom? Snips? Please tell me you’re alright!”

Through the ringing in my ears, I thought I heard a response nearby. I limped towards it, away from the trail and a few yards into the brushes. My hands peeled away at the leaves until I found the foals. My relief, though, was short lived.

“Don’t you worry, Sweetie,” Applebloom said in soothing tone. “We’ll get you back to the hospital, and you’ll be fit as a fiddle in no time.”

I pushed through the small crowd and stared at the little filly in dread. Her white coat was stained red around the side of her body. Her tears mixed with the rainwater as she cried and screamed loudly. Her mane was covered in grime.

“Where is it?” I turned to Applebloom.

“The hospital?” she asked.

“It’s all the way in Ponyville,” Snips answered, never taking his eyes off of her. “But I don’t know if we’ll make it in time.” Scootaloo lied down next to Sweetie Belle, trying to calm the filly’s sobs despite being unable to hold back her own. Snails stood worriedly to the side, unsure of what to do.

I threw off my jacket, making it into a makeshift cradle, and gently moved Sweetie Belle inside of it. She wailed in protest as I tightened the sleeves around her wounds to slow the flow of blood. With great caution, I cradled her fragile body in my arms. Her head turned over, revealing the agony in her face as she buried it in my chest and cried harder.

“We aren’t giving up without trying,” I said, a small flame of determination beginning to burn inside me. “Let’s move!”

I barely gave them enough time to follow me as I thundered through the forest. My muscles ached from the exercise. I realized that more had happened to me during my blackout than I had originally thought. My left leg was set ablaze with each step I took. A small trickle of blood stained the small tears in my jeans. My right arm was bruised, and its hand almost felt numb. It ached from the weight of the small unicorn in my arms. Wooden teeth splintered out of my left forearm, pushing in deeper and deeper as I ran. I was surprised I hadn’t tripped yet from the small moments of blind running due to the pain in my head.

“It huuuurts,” Sweetie cried again. “Just make it stop!”

“Don’t you worry,” I tried to soothe her. “Everything’s going to be alright. It’ll be better before you know it. I promise.” I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep that promise, and the fear of failing to do so was more immense than I can describe.

We burst through the forest border. The storm had begun to pick up. The rain was heavier, and the wind seemed to push us back. Ponyville was in sight, just ahead.

It was at that moment I realized how half-baked my plan was. I had no idea where the hospital was, and I had accidentally left the foals behind. They were the only ones who could direct me to the hospital, unless I felt like running around blindly through the village. No, I couldn’t do that; not with Sweetie Belle’s life on the line.

A tiny voice piped up from my arms. “Hunter?”

“Yes, Sweetie?”

The little filly coughed in my chest. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier. For a monster, you seem really n-nice.”

I couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. I pulled her closer to my chest, as if through some miracle it would help her. “It’s going to be okay, Sweetie. I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you.” It was getting harder to breathe with the lump in my throat. This wasn’t fair. She wasn’t supposed to be like this. I was.

“Hunter!” an urgent voice cried behind me. I tore my eyes from the filly in my arms. The other foals had finally caught up to us. “What do we do now?” Scootaloo asked quickly, despite her shortness of breath.

I stood back up, recomposed myself, and stared at the village. There were probably still some pony stragglers outside, and for all I knew the hospital could have been on the other side of the town. Even if we made it in time… When we made it in time, running through the town would be sure to cause a riot. My eyes shot down to the filly in my arms. To save her, a riot might just be worth it.

“Alright, listen up,” I announced. “I have no idea where the hospital is, but you do. I’m not sure how much time Sweetie has, so we’re going to have to be quick about this. Applebloom, Scootaloo; you girls try to find any of Sweetie Belle’s friends, family, whatever. They’ll want to know what happened. Snips, Snails,” the two colts saluted at the sound of their names, “You two are going to lead me to the hospital. You guys know your way around town better than me. Everybody clear on what to do?” The foals erupted into affirmative shouts. Sweetie Belle weakly groaned.

We immediately split up. I followed Snips and Snails with ease. They were fast, but slower than I would have liked. I wished I didn’t have to rely on them for directions. Ponies became more and more frequent as we drew closer to the village, as did their shrieks of terror. By the time we entered Ponyville, everything had fallen into chaos.

“It’s the monster!”

“Everypony run for your lives!”

“The horror! The horror!”

“What did it do to that poor filly?”

“Is that blood?!”

“It’s chasing those colts! Somepony do something!”

Snips and Snails skidded to a stop at an intersection. I nearly trampled them.

“The hospital’s that way!” Snips yelled, pointing his hoof down one of the paths.

“No, it’s the other way!” Snails retaliated, pointing his hoof in the complete opposite direction.

I stared between the two in disbelief. Were they arguing about this now of all times? How could they not be sure where the hospital was? They lived in this mad town! Maybe I should have told the others to lead me instead.

Sweetie Belle groaned again. “Make it stop,” she pleaded weakly. With no idea which colt was correct, I blindly chose one of the paths, praying it would be the right choice. As I stormed down the streets, the ponies were eager to make way for me. “Hunter, I’m getting tired,” Sweetie coughed. “Can we just rest for a bit?”

“No, don’t go to sleep!” I shouted desperately. “You are not giving up on me! You hear me?! I promised you I was going to fix this, and I’ll be damned before I break a promise!”

Up ahead I could see a large building roughly three stories tall. A red circle with a white cross marked its roof and the sign before it. It had to be the hospital. Without missing a beat, I raced to the front doors, shifting slightly so as to not jostle Sweetie too much. There was no time to enjoy the break from the downpour; I had a sickening feeling the true storm resided inside.

I flung the glass doors open and sprinted inside. My soaked shoes slipped on the slick floor, launching me forward. Sweetie Belle fell out of my hands as I stumbled, screaming in pain as she skidded to a stop before the receptionist’s front desk.

The cold tiles came up to kiss my face. Stars exploded in my eyes on impact. I was dazed, but I couldn’t let that stop me. I sluggishly reached forward to drag myself towards the wounded unicorn, but found no purchase. My wounds and fatigue were starting to take their toll. I could feel something warm and thick pooling in my mouth, and crimson splattered the once-white tiles as I spat it out.

“Somepony help!” the nurse at the front cried out. “This foal is hemorrhaging badly. She needs medical attention, now!” Three ponies rushed into the room. Two of them untangled Sweetie Belle from my jacket and rushed her off. The third stayed behind with the nurse.

My surge of energy disappeared with the crying unicorn. I pushed myself up to my hands and knees and allowed myself to breathe. Everything was sore. My eyes were still going in and out of focus. Despite all the pain, though, I smiled. I did it. I saved her. She was going to be alright.

Something punctured my shoulder, something small and thin. One might dare say needle-like. I froze in horror as it ignored my shirt and plunged into my skin. I didn’t dare move, not even when liquid fire burned in my arm around the point of contact. I silently screamed inside. When it withdrew, I turned to face it.

There stood a white pony with her pink mane done neatly in a bun. She stared at me with wild and frightful blue eyes. In her mouth rested a syringe, barely filled with a peculiar green liquid. She was shaking worse than I was.

I turned, fleeing out of the hospital and back into the raging storm. The pony injected something inside of me. I didn’t know what, but I was fearful to find out. It could have been a poison. It could have been something to paralyze me. It could have been something that would eat me from the inside out. My imagination ran rampant at all of the possibilities.

Most of the ponies had vacated the streets. I stumbled around trying to put as much distance between myself and the hospital as I could possibly manage. My body was heating up, and I was feeling light-headed. My vision was failing yet again, but this time it didn’t seem to be returning to a working state. My sense of balance was thrown off as my mind began to muddle, and I soon found myself on my hands and knees.

“Well, well, well. Look who we have here.” A light blue mass materialized in front of me. There was a soft thump like a fist hitting an open palm. “It’s payback time.”

Run. I tried to scramble away on my hands and knees, but something bound itself around me neck. I gasped for breath and clawed at the lasso as it constricted my airflow.

“Nowhere to run to now, partner,” a second voice said. Despite the familiar sounds, I couldn’t find the brainpower to connect the voices with names.

I reached for my hatchet and pulled it out. Thunder exploded next to me, and the hatchet was struck out of my hand. The impact sent me spinning, and the noose pulled me to the ground. Through my blurred vision I could make out confetti clinging to my soaked and sap-covered hand. A large, silver blur positioned itself over me, and I could barely make out the pink blur behind it. “Sorry, Mister Monster, but we can’t have you making any more party fouls,” it said in a singsongy manner.

No, not like this, the voice growled. You will not be defeated in such a pathetic manner. We spent too much time… Stand and fight!

I tried to obey, but my muscles refused to listen. I was slipping out of focus again.

“It’s okay, girls. Nurse Redheart informed me that she drugged the beast with heavy sedatives. It shouldn’t pose as too much of a problem.” That voice… That voice I could definitely remember. It was the same voice as the pony that plagued my nightmares.

A purple blur stuck its head above me. For a second, my eyes refocused to allow me to a very happy Twilight staring down at me. “Isn’t that right?” she cheerily asked. I tried to lift an arm but only succeeded in raising it halfway before it limply fell back to my side. “That’s what I thought,” she nodded. “You and I are going to have a busy day tomorrow. I can’t wait to get to learn more about you!”

Twilight’s grinning face was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

Act II: A Dream Come True

The snarling reverberated off the sterile, white walls of the maze. I tried to escape it, but each turn I took led to more and more corridors. How long have I been running? Minutes? Hours? It felt like it would never end.

Nearby doors would slam shut as I approached them. I pounded on them with my fists, begging for help, but there was never a response on the other side. Each stop cost me precious time, but I was desperate. I knew what would happen when the beasts caught me, and any chance to get away from them was worth the risk.

I dared to steal a glance behind me. They were getting closer; beasts made of twisted wood and shadows. Their sickly eyes radiated in an animal hunger. Their teeth gnashed at my heels between snarls.

“You could have prevented this,” the world rumbled around me. I struggled to keep running as the walls trembled and the floor shook beneath my feet. My chasers seemed unphased. “You could be home now. You could be safe. We would have protected you.”

Another turn. Another hallway. More closing doors. This maze was endless, and I was quickly running out of hope. I was going to die here.

The sound of snarls slowly drowned in a sea of thunder. I stole another look behind to see the beasts changing. Their glowing eyes grew to grotesque sizes. Dark manes sprouted out of the backs of their heads, and their sharp claws were replaced with rumbling hooves.

“But you sacrificed yourself for a bunch of animals,” the world continued in disgust. The hallway seemed to stretch for miles, and I couldn’t find another turn. This path was a dead end, but I kept running, hoping to buy more time before my pursuers caught up to me, even if it was only a little. “You traded away your home, your friends, your family, just so a handful of ponies could make it back to theirs.”

The end was approaching fast. A single door at the end was my only chance of escape. I charged forward and rammed into it with my shoulder, but it didn’t even budge. I pounded on it with my fists, begging whoever was on the other side to open up, but there was no response. I pressed my back against the door, watching helplessly as the dark horses stalked closer.

Something was wrong. There was another figure behind them all. It was hard to see it, and every time I tried to focus on it, the world began to shake. It had an unsettling air about it, like an uninvited guest.

“But far be it from us to make your decisions for you,” it said, throwing up its arms. The horses were getting closer. I shrank down into a corner, hoping that by some miracle I would disappear. “Let us hope you can adapt to the consequences of your actions. Welcome to your new home, Hunter.”

The horses lunged forward. I barely had time to shout.

White light flooded my vision. It was so abrupt, I was blinded for a few seconds. Voices were shouting to each other over a primal scream, which I soon realized was coming from myself.

“Doctor, the creature is awake!”

“I can see that, nurse!” a tense voice replied.

There was a weight on my chest, anchoring me in place. My body felt numb to the world. My thoughts flickered back to the nightmare, and I thrashed around in the bed against the pressure. It refused to budge, but that didn’t stop me from trying to rip it away.

“Everypony, get out of here,” a voice barked. “Somepony call security!”

“Where are Nurse Redheart and the sedatives?”

By then my eyes had somewhat adjusted to the harsh light. Though everything was still hazy, I could tell I was in a hospital room. A rough strap constricted my bare chest, and another was loosely around my ankles. Multicolored blurs surrounded me, running around, barking orders, or trying to put as much distance between me and them as possible.

My fingers danced across a buckle on the strap across my chest. Something bit into my right arm as I worked, but escape was all that was one my mind, and all I could afford was a strained yelp. I hurriedly unfastened it and shot up to work on my ankles. With my restraints gone, I scrambled off the stiff mattress and fell on the floor. Jolts of pain raced through me as bare skin collided with cold tile.

“Quick, get it while it’s down!”

Heavy objects piled on top of my back. My forearms were ablaze from the added weight. Despite the raging fire, I pushed to the side and rolled on my back. A small chorus of grunts punctuated the end of my fall as I slammed into something soft and hairy.

A metallic cart towered over my left. A pair of arms reached out and anchored themselves onto it. I managed to pull myself up halfway until it toppled beneath my weight, spilling its contents on me as I fell back on my captors. They gasped for air as my body rammed into them.

A scalpel landed on my exposed chest. My right hand gingerly picked it up, and as it pulled away I noticed the river of scarlet that was growing and weaving around my forearm. Fresh blood pumped out faster and faster to the panicked cadence pounding in my ears. My left hand clamped down the wound, trying to slow the flow, but I could still feel it oozing beneath.

A migraine was pulsing through my head. A single thought looped in a seemingly endless mantra. Run. Invisible strings tugged at my body, trying to pull me up. I rolled off the ponies, careful not to fall on any of the medical equipment that now littered the ground, and pushed myself back to my feet. The room pitched and spun beneath me, but I managed to shamble over to the door.

The ponies were recovering quickly. I threw the door open with a bloodied hand and found myself back in my nightmare. A cold, sterile hallway greeted me as I slammed the door closed behind me. Both ends branched off into what felt like the beginning of an endless maze. I could hear voices and movement on the other side of the door behind me. The ponies had come back to their senses; I needed to move.

I took off in a direction I could only hope led to safety. As I half-ran-half-hobbled through the halls and my thoughts became clearer, I started assessing my condition. The sound and feel of my bare feet slapping against the tiles nearly made me stumble in my tracks as a realization struck me. My clothes were missing. Other than my worn boxers and a few bandages, I was completely exposed.

The scalpel was still in a death grip in my right hand. As impractical as it was, it was the only protection I had now. The rivers of red pouring down my arm had dried and scabbed over. I found the small hole in my forearm responsible for the bleeding and kept it plugged with a thumb. Another bandage was wrapped around my left forearm. A dull pain burned beneath it, and a brief memory flashed of a timberwolf’s jaws locked on my arm. My left calf was bound in gauze. I couldn’t see what was wrong with it, but I could definitely feel what was with each step I took on it.

I found a metal door at the other end of a hallway. The sign above it glowed a red “exit”. My hopes began to lift, only to be dashed away at the sound of voices and heavy footsteps behind me. They were close.

I ran with all that I had. My head was getting light, and the hallway stretched for miles. My eyes were burning to stay opened. The hallway was flickering in and out of focus before it blinked out entirely. I could’ve sworn it was only for a second, but by the time my eyes managed to open again, I was on a collision course with a wall at the other end. I rolled my shoulder into it to take the brunt of the impact.

My breathing was heavy, and it felt like the only thing that was anchoring me in this world. I doubled over, hoping it would help keep my body together. It felt like my head was about to roll off. What did these ponies do to me?

Thunder reverberated off the walls. I could hear shouting, but I couldn’t make out the words. I looked up in time to see three ponies coming to a halt; a stallion and two mares all garbed in doctor and nurse’s attire. The stallion, a unicorn with an orange coat and a wavy, brown mane, was at the head of the pack. He took a couple cautious steps forward.

“Stay back,” I growled slowly through grit teeth. I pointed the scalpel in their direction. Blood was slowly dripping off my arm to the sterile floor. My left arm was too busy supporting myself on the wall to plug it.

It was three on one. I was wounded, my back was against the wall, and I felt like I was going to pass out at any minute. They had a unicorn and the strange power that came with it, but they didn’t appear confident in spite of their advantage. They had a wary look in their eyes, like they had just cornered a rabid animal, but I doubted their fear was going to keep me free forever.

The door was just a few paces to my left, but it might as well have been yards away. I inched closer towards it, and the ponies took a few more steps forward.

“I said stay back,” I snapped. I wondered if they caught the desperation in my voice. They recoiled slightly, but held their ground nonetheless. The stallion braved a few more steps.

“Now, now, let’s all calm down and think for a minute,” he started slowly. My eyes and scalpel were locked on him. “You’re hurt,” he pointed out. “And you’ve lost a lot of blood. You won’t make it very far in your condition.”

“Watch me,” I growled. I was nearly in front of the door. My hand felt the handle.

“You need to stay here,” the doctor protested. “By the looks of it, you’ve already reopened one of your wounds. We’re the only ones that can help you right now.”

I barked out a short laugh. “‘Help’ me? Oh, no. I don’t know what you’ve done to me already. I’m not staying in this mad town any longer.”

My fingers found the handle and grabbed at it. It quickly burned my hand and turned by itself, and next thing I knew it flung backwards with me still attached to it. I fell inside the base of the stairwell, dazed, and heard a sharp gasp.

I looked up to find an equally shocked Twilight staring back at me. We froze for a moment before I tried to scramble back up to my feet. Her horn hummed to life, and a scalding, purple wind knocked me out of the stairwell and back into the hallway. My head connected to the hard tile, and my hands shot up to cradle it while I tried to come back to my senses. Heavy weights fell on top of me, pinning me down, and I couldn’t find the strength to push back.

“Redheart, the sedatives,” a strained voice said above me.

“On it.” A pair of white hooves pried one of my arms away. I tried to pull it back in, but the moment if felt the needle puncture skin, I froze. The medicine burned its way through my blood. Once the needle retracted, the ponies jumped off, leaving me curled on the floor.

“Miss Sparkle, if you would?” the doctor asked. Twilight nodded, and as her horn ignited again, a small purple dome formed around me. The ponies had visible relaxed, although they kept their wary eyes glued to me just in case. The doctor turned his attention to Twilight, and his voice came in slightly muffled. “Thank you for your help, it couldn’t have been timed better. It would have been troublesome to catch the creature otherwise. Although next time, could you be a bit more gentle? We have our hooves full enough trying to patch it up as it is.”

Twilight’s ears bent back, and she gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry, it startled me; I may have pushed it back a little harder than I intended to.” I rolled over and managed to push myself to my hands and knees. My head was pounding, and everything was starting to take its toll on my body. “How did this happen?” Twilight asked, redirecting her attention to me. “I thought you said you had it contained.”

It was the doctor’s turn to look embarrassed. “We did,” he explained. “We had it sedated, but it woke up earlier than we anticipated. I’ll be sure to add more security this time.”

Their voices were starting to devolve into meaningless sounds as the drug began to take over. I tried to stand, but my cage wasn’t tall enough. The best I could manage was a kneel. I planted a hand against the translucent wall. It was warm, almost burning, and I could feel whatever blood was left sputter and pop against the barrier. The ponies paused and gawked, and their wary eyes were all trained on me. My body was lulling me to sleep. I tried to fight back, but it was a losing battle.

My eyes were heavy. I wasn’t sure when I fell back to the ground, but the cold tiles suddenly felt very inviting. “You’re all monsters,” I grimaced, and my last grip on reality began to slip.

I couldn’t tell how long I was asleep; just that it seemed to stretch for an eternity, which made the nightmares seem to last forever. The nightmares were always the same, and they seemed to play on a neverending loop. I lost count of how many times I had ran through the cycle, but I had stopped trying to keep score a long time ago.

One night the continuity broke. I assumed it was night; there were no windows in my room, but the lights were turned off. I took in a few shaky breaths to calm myself from the nightmares. A hot stream burned its way down the side of my face from the corner of my eye. I stared where the ceiling should have been, my body unable to shift due to the new restraints.

I cherished the pause in the madness and enjoyed the first few relaxed breaths I had had in a long time. A faint smile broke my face; in spite of it all, I managed to find some sort of peace. Soon even the small itch on my nose didn’t even phase me. But the sudden change brought only questions. Why was I awake? Was this planned, or just an accident on the ponies part? How long had I been here for? Days, weeks, months?

“So, how is the creature’s behavior?” Twilight’s muffled voice asked. For a second, I thought I was still in my nightmare. Light from the hallway leaked into the room. I laid still and closed my eyes, not wanting to attract unwanted attention. “Princess Celestia is very eager for updates about our visitor.”

“It’s hard to say, I’m afraid,” a male voice replied. There was a soft click, and the room lit up in artificial light. I dared to crack open an eye and spied Twilight and the orange unicorn in doctor’s apparel standing near the door. “Ever since it tried to escape, we’ve kept it constantly sedated. It helps with the procedures, but we always have somepony from security with us while we work just in case. We only recently took it off its medication for tomorrow.”

Twilight moved closer to the bed, and I quickly closed my eyes. “Why not just keep security posted here at all times?”

“We only have a hoofful of guards, Twilight,” he pointed out. “Although we’re looking into hiring more for just that. We try to keep at least one down here at all times, but you never know when somepony might try to sneak in and steal another book.”

An apologetic laugh came from Twilight, and she changed the subject. “So, how far are we in classifying it?” I heard her hooves move away from the bed and hesitantly opened an eye.

“I wish I had better news for you,” the doctor started, “but this creature has stumped us at nearly every turn. It’s a bipedal mammal, and that’s the most we have on it.”

“Really?” Twilight asked in disbelief. “That’s it?”

“This is a hospital, Miss Sparkle. We work mostly with ponies, not creatures that come from the Everfree,” the doctor deadpanned. “But even if we did, I’m sure we would still be at a loss. Here, let me show you.” They moved to the other side of the room, which was barely still in my field of vision. They stopped at a counter, and various papers and vials glowing teal floated up to greet them. “These are a some of the x-rays we have on the subject,” he explained. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“But, it’s a hand,” Twilight pointed out confusedly. “We’ve seen plenty of those. Spike even has something similar.”

“Yes, yes, I understand that, but look at it,” he stressed. I thought I caught a hint of fascination in his voice. “It’s just so much more… elaborate than any other skeletal system I’ve seen in Equestria. Look at all of those bones in the wrist; they look as if they were just thrown in there, yet they fit together perfectly. Not to mention the bones themselves look so bizarre in structure.”

“This is all very interesting, doctor, but how does this help us?” Twilight pressed. The x-rays floated closer to her and traded their teal glows for purple as they moved closer to the ceiling lights.

“Well, it doesn’t,” the doctor admitted. “Like I said before, I’ve never seen anything like this. But trust me, this is all leading to my hypothesis.”

Twilight tore her eyes away from the images and cast him a glance. “You said you wanted to show me something about its samples?" she asked with interest.

“Yes, I couldn’t describe it accurately enough during our last meeting, I’m afraid. Please, this way.” The two unicorns moved yet again, this time somewhere just outside of my vision. I found a mirror hanging on a wall that luckily reflected their image clearly, albeit small. A vial filled with a dark liquid floated to the doctor as they stood next to a cart with a metallic tray on top. “Forgive me for the lack of professionalism, but,” the lid of the vial popped off, and it tilted over, spilling a few drops into the tray, “would you mind cleaning this up?”

“Excuse me?” Twilight demanded confusedly.

“Please, Twilight, you’ll understand soon enough. It’s difficult to explain; I just want you to see for yourself,” the doctor explained. “Do you recall what you told me about your first encounter with the monster; how it managed to break through your force field?”

Twilight cast a couple uneasy glances between the stallion and the tray. “Yes…”

“Well, I decided to conduct an experiment of my own,” he started. “I noticed something peculiar whenever we were trying to patch it up. It’s body seemed to reject any healing spells, so we decided to take some samples for testing. I’m not sure how much blood the monster can lose, so we are always very careful whenever extracting it. I accidentally spilled some the other day and tried to pick it up. However, whenever I used my magic… Well, you should probably see for yourself.”

She gave him an odd look and directed her attention back to the tray. The vial floated closer to her and glowed purple. Her face twisted in concentration, and her horn grew brighter. She looked perplexed at first, then, after repeating the ritual a few more times, became more agitated. “Why isn’t this working?” she demanded as her horn fired up one last time.

A puff of crimson smoke erupted before her face, causing the frightened mare to scream and reel back. The glass vial fell to the floor and nearly shattered before the doctor dove for it. “What just happened?” Twilight sputtered.

“That’s just it, I don’t know,” the doctor admitted. “We’ve ran tests on the beast’s blood, its hair, its skin, its claws, even the rags it was wearing, and they all show either violent reaction or an unnatural immunity to magic.”

“But— How is that even possible?” Twilight demanded. “Magic can’t just be… ignored like that. Are you certain there’s nothing else that can be causing this phenomenon?”

“We’ve checked for any contamination in the samples that would lead to these results,” the doctor assured. “But other than an old strain of hay fever we thought was extinct, we can’t find anything wrong with the creature. I’m afraid we just don’t know how or why, but the monster is just immune to magic.”

Twilight started pacing in and out of the mirror. “But that just doesn’t make any sense,” she muttered to herself. “Everything in Equestria has some kind of magic inside of it, no matter how small. It’s what keeps everything connected to each other. But the fact that the monster rejects magic… That would imply that it doesn’t have any magic.”

The doctor followed the pacing mare with his eyes. He looked like he was building the courage to speak up. “Er, Twilight?” he started. Twilight stopped in acknowledgement. “I realize this might sound a little farfetched, but…” His brows furrowed as a scowl formed on his lips.

“What is it?” Twilight pressed.

The doctor hesitated. “What if this thing isn’t Equestrian?”

Twilight gave him a confused look. “What do you mean?” she asked skeptically.

“I don’t know, it’s just a hypothesis,” the doctor said. “It’s just so bizarre… We have no documentation of anything like it. What if the monster isn’t originally from Equestria? Or what if it is the beginning of a new… Oh, what’s the word I’m looking for?” His mane bounced back and forth as he shook his head. “What if it is a new spirit? I know it is a radical proposal, but with all of its abnormalities and oddities, all of its unnaturalness… this could very well be a spirit of the Everfree rather than a beast for all we know.”

Twilight looked unsure, but shook her head. “I don’t know. That might be too extreme, but, still…” I closed my eyes as she cast a glance at my body.

“Thank you for your time,” she said, her hoofsteps moving across the room. “This information has been very useful. I’m sure the princesses will love to hear it.”

“I’m glad I could help, Miss Sparkle,” the doctor replied. “Are you sure you still wish to begin the interrogation tomorrow?”

“Most definitely,” Twilight answered. “This creature, or spirit, has been here long enough, and it is high time it started answering some questions.”

There was a soft click, and the room was bathed in darkness again. I looked up in time to see the door closing behind them, and I was once again left alone in the dark. As the sound of their hooves faded away, Twilight asked one last audible question before their voices became too muffled to hear, “So, how is Sweetie Belle recovering?”

Act II: Guilty until Proven Innocent

I fell into a light, dreamless slumber that night until a voice cut through the tranquil silence. “Time to wake up.” My world shook, and I soon found myself back in the land of the living. Artificial light burned my eyes. I squinted and tried to wipe the drowsiness away, only to find that I was still in my restraints.

I tried to stretch my body to find my limits. A pressure around my chest held me firmly to the cold bed, and another belted my waist down. My wrists and ankles were tightly cuffed as well, the bindings digging into my skin. Only my head was free to swivel and crane as much as I wanted.

“I see you’ve discovered your new restraints,” the doctor noted.

I used what little freedom I had to look up and throw him a glare. He held his ground, unphased, and strode to the door. “I believe it is ready, Miss Sparkle,” he announced as he opened it. Three mares appeared on the other side. I recognized Twilight and Applejack immediately, but I could barely recall the white unicorn with them with the long, curled, purple mane. She still had a faint bruise over her temple where I remembered a fist connecting to at one point, and a knot formed in my stomach as memories resurfaced of storms and mud and rage. The look on her face proved that she hadn’t forgotten, either.

A quill and a notepad floated close to Twilight, humming soft purple lights. “So,” she started, and the quill began scratching on the paper. “We have a few questions for you. If you choose to comply and answer them, then this little chat of ours will be over in no time. Okay?” I didn’t respond; instead I only shifted underneath my restraints. Twilight hummed in thought. “How’s about we make you a little more comfortable?”

The straps over my body grew warm and started shifting. “Twi, are you sure this is a good idea?” Applejack asked. I didn’t hear a response; I could only assume she nodded.

The restraints floated lazily off my body and nestled themselves next to me on the bed. I cautiously sat up, skeptical of my newfound freedom, and felt something metallic digging into my wrists. Short cuffs had me tethered to the bedrails. I realized I was still barely covered and scooted as far back as I could on the bed and crossed my legs, trying to hide as much of my body as I could.

“I think it would be best to start with the simple questions,” Twilight chirped, flashing me a practiced smile. She leaned forward, and the paper and quill mimicked her. “Do you have a name?” Her eyes were eager. My teeth were grit, and my mouth was sealed shut. A small migraine burned in the back of my head as I stared between the three of them.

Twilight’s smile faltered, but she tried to keep her optimism. “Where are you from?” she pressed. I still kept silent. I wasn’t sure why; maybe that in all the ponies I’ve met since I’ve been here, Twilight was the last one I wanted to talk to after waking up here. Her smile flattened out as she pressed her lips. The curiosity in her eyes had died out and were replaced by a small flicker of agitation. “What exactly are you?” she demanded.

“Maybe it’s one of them changelings again,” Applejack offered, keeping her skeptical eyes pinned on me. “Kinda makes it difficult nowadays to know what’s real and what ain’t. Y’think there could still be some lingerin’ around after the wedding?”

“I don’t think so,” Twilight shook her head. “We may not know much about them, but so far they only seem to be able to mimic what they can see.”

“Which only begs the question, where would a changeling even find such a grisly creature?” Rarity added.

Twilight looked back to me with steely determination. “This silent treatment isn’t going to get you anywhere,” she pointed out. “We know you can talk. The longer you hold off our questions, the longer we’re going to be here.”

I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. My eyes connected with hers for a second, and I shook my head. “I want my clothes,” I finally said.

It caught them off guard, to say in the least. They had a stunned look in their eyes, almost as if they weren’t expecting me to actually talk. Twilight recovered quickly, and the curious spark reignited in her eyes as the quill began scratching away feverishly. Applejack readjusted her hat and gave me a look.

“Er, beg yer pardon?” she asked.

“My clothes,” I repeated, trying to curl up tighter. “I want them back.”

“Ah don’t see what that’s got to do with anything,” Applejack pointed out. Rarity’s face was turning slightly red as her eyes began to widen, and her lips were pressed tightly together. “You’re just dodgin’ questions now.”

“I’m not,” I swore. “It’s a little taboo for people to not wear clothes, and it’s making me really uncomfortable being near naked. Not to mention it’s a little cold in here.”

“Interesting,” Twilight trailed. “So there are more like you. Is there anything more you can tell us about your species?”

“Look, just give me my clothes,” I groaned.

“We will, but first I just have a few—”

“Oh, for Celestia’s sake!” Rarity shouted. Her face was ruby red, and she snapped her attention to a counter with linens resting on top. They sprung to life and flew across the room, unfolding themselves in midair before landing over my lap.

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had pent up and relaxed slightly, adjusting the blanket over my legs with what little mobility the cuffs gave me. My eyes flickered up to hers before breaking away almost immediately, and I muttered a quick “thanks” under my breath with a nod of the head. She turned her head and huffed, eyes glued to the ceiling and face still burning.

“Well…” Twilight carefully started after a small silence. “Now that that’s covered, perhaps we can move on to answering some of my—”

“I want to talk to Lyra,” I cut in.

There was a pause, and Twilight gave a short, incredulous snort. “Oh no. That’s not happening. I don’t know what you did to gain such a large influence on her, but I think it would be best if we kept you two separate for a while.”

“Hey, I didn’t do anything to her,” I swore. “All we did was talk. She chose my side by herself.” My mind trailed off. What was I doing talking about ‘sides’? All it was doing was deepening the very divide Lyra was trying so hard to close. The back of my head burned, and the cuffs prevented my hands from investigating it.

“I find that hard to believe,” Rarity commented. Her blush had calmed down, but she still refused to look at me. “From the times we met and all the stories I’ve heard, you hardly strike me as much of a charmer.”

“I wasn’t trying to charm her. We just talked,” I stressed. “And… it was nice. It was the first conversation I had in a long time, and it made me realize that maybe I was just going about this wrong way.” I paused, trying to gauge the mares. Applejack and Rarity seemed unsure, either of themselves or where I was going with this. Twilight was watching me closely with scrutinizing eyes. I couldn’t bring myself to meet hers. “Look, winter is coming up in a couple of months,” I sighed, “and there’s no way I can survive out there. I figured if ever there was a time to bury the hatchet, now would be as good as any.”

“So, you not raiding my family’s farm was supposed to some sign of good will?” Applejack demanded incredulously. She leaned in to press her point. “Do y’all even realize how much you stole from us?”

I flinched as my brain rattled inside my own head. Why are you letting them talk to you like this? the voice demanded. They are a bunch of horses; why should you explain yourself to them?

Shut up, I bit back. It’s hard to think when you’re talking.

You saved one of them, the voice continued, its tone escalating. If nothing else they should be praising you!

I grit my teeth and looked off to the side, as if doing so would help me focus on the migraine. I said shut up. I’m trying to work my way out of this, and I can’t think straight with these headaches.

“Was that what the field trip was?” I snapped back to reality. Rarity was staring at me with a quizzical face, like she was piecing together a puzzle in her mind. “Just some stunt you were trying to pull to get on our good side?” she continued. I hesitated, unsure of how to answer, and that was all she needed.

She threw her hooves on the foot of the bed and stood up on her hind legs, leaning in as close as she dared. A fire raged in her blue eyes. “So help me, if my Sweetie Belle doesn’t pull through because of your… popularity stunt…”

“I didn’t ask them to follow me!” I defended. The other mares flinched back as the tempers rose, but Rarity stood her ground unphased, her eyes threatening to burn through me. “I didn’t ask for any of this! They were suppose to escape with the rest of the school while I fended off the wolves. By the time I realized they were following me, we were too deep in the Everfree. I tried to get them back as fast as I could.”

“The wolves?” Twilight pressed.

Applejack managed to tug Rarity away from the bed, and I took in a few breaths to try to calm myself down. “Timberwolves,” I corrected. I watched as the quill scratched against the parchment. The noise was grating, like it was etching against my ears. “They attacked at the field trip,” I explained. “And another time when the foals and I nearly reached Ponyville.”

“There hasn’t been a single case of timberwolves moving that close to Ponyville in years,” Twilight pointed out. “They’ve always stayed deep in the Everfree. Why would they change that now all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know,” I confessed. This was going nowhere fast, and the growing headache wasn’t helping. “Why is it so hard for you to just trust me?”

The scratching stopped for a second. A deafening silence fell on the room like a blanket. Twilight locked her eyes on me.

“You want to know why I don’t trust you?” she asked slowly. “Maybe because in the short couple months we’ve known you, you hospitalized Rarity, constantly stole from Applejack, and threatened to and nearly succeeded in killing one of our best friends!” Twilight accused. She slowly trotted up to the end of my bed, a righteous fury burning inside her eyes. “You’ve done all these horrible things, and then all of a sudden, you stop, and Lyra and Zecora are out in the streets talking like you’re some kind of misunderstood saint. They completely ignore everything we try to tell them, everything we saw, and expect us to just trust you in spite of everything you’ve done.

“Your very existence is a crime against all laws of magic. It’s as if you’re not even from Equestria, and I can’t even begin to wrap my head around that.” She leaned in close, resting her forelegs on the foot of my bed. “You want to know why I don’t trust you? It’s because you’re one of the most violent creatures I’ve seen and you don’t make any sense. You’re no better than any of the other beasts that come out of the Everfree.”

I lurched forward as far as the cuffs would let me go. My face stopped inches from hers, our eyes locked. “I don't exactly remember a red carpet welcome either,” I growled. “I wasn’t the only 'monster' that night.”

The room was silent. The quill had stopped scribbling halfway through Twilight’s rant. Nobody spoke a word.

The door silently squeaked open, but it might as well have been a siren. Behind Twilight, a small, yellow head with a long pink mane slowly pushed itself out. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy apologized before retreating slightly back behind the door. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“No,” Applejack said carefully as she looked between me and Twilight. She turned and flashed her friend a warm smile. “Not at all. What’s up, Sugarcube?”

Fluttershy slunk into the room. “I was sent to tell Hunter his lunch was coming soon,” she explained. “If you’re not too busy, of course,” she added quickly. The tiles suddenly became very interesting to her. She pawed at the floor with one of her hooves and tried to make eye-contact with me.

The three mares paused and looked at her. “Hunter?” Twilight echoed. “Wait, do you mean…” Her voice trailed as her eyes fell on me.

Fluttershy nodded almost excitedly. “Yes, the human.”

“Er, human?” Applejack repeated. “Ya lost me, Sugarcube.”

“Wait, darling, you haven’t been attending that poor Lyra’s rallies, have you?” Rarity asked with concern.

She retreated behind her long mane and looked up to Rarity. “Maybe a few,” she admitted softly. “Was I not supposed to?”

“It’s fine,” Twilight said, waving it off as she trotted to the door. The quill and parchment followed. “I think we’ve gotten as much as we can out of this meeting. Let’s leave the… human?” Fluttershy nodded. “Right,” Twilight continued. “Let’s leave the human to his meal. Come on, girls. Let’s go to Sugarcube Corner; my treat.”

Rarity followed close behind with her head held high. “Some sweets do sound delightful right now. The air here is a little too bitter for my taste,” she huffed.

Applejack hesitated, scanning over me with a scrutinizing eye. “Y’all go on ahead without me. Ah wanna ask this fella a few more questions.” Twilight paused, but after sharing a look with Applejack, she nodded in understanding and trotted out of the room with Rarity in tow.

Fluttershy watched her friends pass with a lost look in her eyes. She looked to me as if for answers, and I huffed and shook my head. I could see a conflict raging behind her eyes. Her ears flattened, and she turned and called to her friends. “Wait, we need to talk!” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Applejack closed the door behind her, muffling whatever else she might have said.

The room was thick with an uncomfortable silence. I didn’t dare break it. I shifted on my elbows, and my eyes tracked the mare as she moved across the room to pull up a chair next to me. She straddled it and leaned forward with her forelegs resting on its back.

“Applebloom’s been spinning quite the tale ‘bout you lately,” she eventually said.

I leaned back and exhaled. “So, you did talk to the foals,” I commented without looking at her. “What have they been saying?”

“A lot of things,” Applejack said, nodding at nothing in particular. “Mostly how you’re actually a ‘nice monster’ and how you helped them find their way home after the field trip.” She sighed and leaned forward, staring off in the distance. Her brows furrowed. “It’s gettin’ real hard telling what’s the truth and what ain’t these days, and Ah don’t rightly appreciate that.”

“Would you really believe me if I told you?” I asked. “Your friends seem pretty dead set on their thoughts about me.”

“They have their reasons,” Applejack defended. “And Ah had mine. That is until y’all came back with the foals after everypony coulda swore you foalnapped them.” A pause filled the air. I was too curious to see where she was going with this to interrupt her.

“Y’know, Ah actually talked to Miss Cheerilee after they all got back,” she continued, putting her full attention on me. Her deep green eyes bored into mine, as if they were searching for something. “Wasn’t expecting them to get back so early; Ah was just passing by in the park. She was a little frazzled; the other adults had to do a headcount for her. That was when we found out we had five fewer foals than we started with, mine and Rarity’s sisters included.

“Now, an interesting story was floatin’ around about you,” she directed a hoof at me. “And it’s got me more turned around than a stampede in a twister.”

My brow furrowed. “What kind of story?” I asked.

“Miss Cheerilee overheard you talkin’ to Zecora, and by the sound of it, you were willing to risk yer life to get the foals out of there. Some of the foals even pitched in; made it sound like it was some over-the-top ‘monster battle royale’.” She studied me, looking for some sort of reaction.

I took in a breath and slowly let it out. “Did you believe it?” I asked after a short pause.

“Not at first,” she admitted matter-of-factly. “Y’all ‘visited’ my family’s farm more than enough for me to get my own image of you. Ah trust you ‘bout as much as Ah can lift ya, and Ah found it hard to believe that you suddenly became some saint with a sound sense of right.” She forced a short laugh. “You can only imagine what was going through my head when Lyra tried consolin’ me, saying my sister was probably with you.”

I didn’t share her laugh. Lyra and Zecora had been sticking their necks out enough for me. Just thinking about all that they could have been going through because of me was enough to make me feel guilt-ridden. I slumped in the bed, and Applejack seemed to take note.

“But then you came runnin’ into town with the foals, causin’ quite a commotion while you were at it,” Applejack continued. “After we got you all wrangled up, Applebloom started spinning her side of the story, along with some of them other foals. Ah don’t reckon anypony else paid them much attention, what with Twi writing to the princess and Rarity stayin’ next to her sister night and day, but Ah learned the tough way to listen to my little sister every now and then. And they started painting you in a new light. They went on a wild spiel, saying you were some alien from space that got stranded from yer family.”

Eh, that’s mostly true,” I interjected. “The whole ‘alien from outer space’ bit was just a story I made up for Snips and Snails. They all seemed to enjoy it, but it wasn’t exactly true.” A memory popped into mind, and I turned to face Applejack. “Oh, could you tell Scootaloo that for me? She was doing her report on me, and she was taking notes the whole time I was talking, and I felt kinda bad feeding her the misinformation. I mean, I know there’s no way Cheerilee can really check, but—”

I trailed off as Applejack stared at me with a raised eyebrow. The smile that had unknowingly formed quickly faded. My lips pressed together to stop myself from saying anything else, and my eyes suddenly found the ceiling to be very interesting. “Sorry,” I eventually said. “Did they say anything else?”

“Just that they thought you were some sort of hero.” I blinked and sat back up to look at Applejack. She was serious. “They said you gave up your only chance to go home to help them return to theirs. And then…” Her voice trailed. I could see she was agitated, even if only a little. She stood up from the chair and started pacing the room. My eyes followed her as she moved.

“And then Ah started doubtin’ myself,” she shook her head. “With all the times we ended up buttin’ heads with each other, Ah was pretty confident Ah had you figured out. Ah figured you were just a no-good varmint trying to steal an easy meal; a smart one, mind you, but a varmint nonetheless. I knew Pinkie was just making tall tales saying you could brainwash ponies or use ‘Everfree magic’. If you could, you’d’ve used it a long time ago on me and my family so you could steal our harvest easier. Ah figured you were just spinning sweet lies to Zecora and Lyra, trying to get them on your side.”

She stopped at the side of my bed and returned her attention to me. “And then the field trip happened, and everypony is paintin’ you in different colors, and they’re all different from the snake Ah’ve known for the past couple months. When Twi asked if Ah wanted to help with this little interrogation, Ah was more than happy to oblige; figured Ah’d finally be able to prove just which story was the truth. And then you started talking… and Ah found out none of them were true.

“You’re not just some varmint,” she explained. “But you ain’t a saint either. Wouldn’t go near as far as callin’ you a hero. You’re still a thief, but Ah reckon you might have a heart after all.” Another pause. She looked me over expectantly again. When I didn’t press, Applejack took it as her cue. “Ah think you’re just some poor fella who’s down on his luck and making a whole lot of poor decisions along the way.”

A short laugh managed to break free from me. “That’s the understatement of the century,” I grumbled. “Tried to save one of the foals after the ambush, and look where I am now. I should’ve pointed them to Ponyville the moment I knew they were following me.”

“Why didn’t you?” Applejack pressed. She strode across the room back to her chair.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted.

She snorted, “Well, that’s a lie if Ah’ve ever heard one.” I threw her a look as she sat down, but she was unphased. “Why did you decide to help them?” she asked. “Or anypony on that trip, for that matter.”

“It’s… complicated,” I started.

“Ah have time,” Applejack explained as she leaned back.

Your princess told me to, I wanted to say, but my doubt held me back. Would she believe me? It sounded so farfetched to say; I could barely believe it happened, and I was there for the deal. Applejack seemed to be trusting me, even if only barely. Would dropping the weight of the princess’ deal break whatever flimsy bridge was forming between us now?

“When we got the tip about the field trip, Lyra and Zecora wanted me to jump for it and help,” I eventually said. “They figured it would give me a chance to prove who I really was to everybody. And if we’re being honest, I didn’t really care about proving my character to any of you; I didn’t feel like I needed to. But I decided to go along with it anyways because they wanted me to.

“But then, the night before the field trip, I invited Zecora over to where I was hiding; just to hang out.” A faint smile broke my face as my thoughts drifted back to that night. “And she brought some extras with her. I didn’t trust them at first, but she did, and that was enough for me to at least try. As the night went on, we all eventually became good friends, or I’d like to think we did at least.

“After being here for so long, I almost forgot what it was like to be able to talk and laugh with other people, and it got me thinking. If these strangers were willing to give me a second chance despite everything they’ve probably heard of me, then maybe I could try giving the rest of you a second chance, too.” I looked the mare in the eyes. “I watched over the foals on their field trip, not because I felt like I had to, but because I wanted to. I wanted to believe you ponies weren’t all as crazy as I thought.”

I raised my hands as far as the cuffs would allow. “Although, I probably shouldn’t have been too hopeful in hindsight,” I added.

“And that’s the truth?” Applejack asked after a pause.

“The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but,” I nodded.

Applejack nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer, and without a word she stood up from the chair and moved to leave. She opened the door and paused, looking over her shoulder at me.

“Ah’ll tell my friends you were tellin’ the truth, and Ah’ll see what Ah can do about you getting yer clothes back, too.” She hesitated, and the steely look returned in her eyes. “But after that, we’re even,” she continued, pointing a hoof at me. “You may be telling the truth now, but that doesn’t mean Ah trust you just yet. You’re still a low-down thief in my book. But while Ah have mah doubts, Ah think ya might be able to turn things around for yerself.” She hesitated. “Don’t make me regret sayin’ that,” she added.

I sighed and nodded, “I’ll try my best.”

She lingered for a moment, her eyes focused on something only she could see. She let out a breath and shook her head. “Thank you for keeping my sister safe,” she said quietly. I blinked, and the door closed behind Applejack before I had a chance to respond, leaving me alone to my thoughts.

Author's Notes:

Hey, just want to give a head's up to everybody following this. I'm going to be "going away" for a while, but I'll still have access to my phone and a computer (I think). I kinda split this chapter into two so I could post something before I left. I have everything explained in a bit more detail in this blog post, but this is pretty much the tl;dr. Thanks for reading!

Act II: Trojans and Gift Horses

I wasn’t given much time to myself before there was a knocking at the door. A metal cart rolled in, pushed by a familiar white nurse with her pink mane done in a tight bun. I noticed an even more familiar pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt folded neatly on her back. Two security guards flanked her as she entered. They froze and gawked at me. It took my mind a second to realize it, and when it clicked I held my hands up in surrender.

“Twilight removed some of the restraints,” I swore. “It wasn’t me.”

“I see…” the nurse said cautiously. Her eyes flickered down before training back on me. “And the blanket?”

“Rarity,” I explained.

She seemed to buy it. “Well, I suppose that explains why Applejack wanted me to bring these.” The nurse moved to the foot of my bed, and I moved my legs to make room as she dropped off my clothes. She nodded to one of the guards, a unicorn mare, and she slowly approached, her eyes trained on me.

“Don’t try any funny business,” she warned as a key floated from her uniform. I held up my hands in cooperation and watched as the key lazily flew to each cuff. My body stiffened as the last restraint fell, and my eyes flickered to the exit. The other guard, a large stallion, stood in front of it, his eyes daring me to try.

You can take them, the voice tempted. The unicorn and the nurse don’t appear to be any fighters. The stallion would be the only trouble.

But how many more are on the other side of the door? I asked. Applejack’s parting words still rang in my head. Let’s wait this out for a minute, I thought. Test the waters.

I reached for my clothes slowly. Everybody’s eyes were pinned on me. The unicorn returned to the nurse’s side. The stallion was as tense as ever. I unfolded my shirt and inspected it. Same number of holes, same number of stains. The nurse watched curiously as I threw it over my head and let it slide onto me.

I shifted to the side of the bed. The guards snapped into a ready position. “Just standing to put my pants on,” I explained, holding up a hand to calm them. They relaxed, albeit slightly. The blanket fell off as I stood up. I tried to ignore the ponies’ eyes boring into my back as I slipped my feet into each leg. A content sigh escaped me when I finished. It was nice feeling less exposed.

“Alright, back on the bed,” the stallion ordered. The rest of my clothes were nowhere to be seen. I gave a quick stretch to test my wounds, and my body ached in complaint beneath my bandages. I didn’t feel like pressing my luck just yet. I sat back down on the bed with my back leaning against the wall. The unicorn’s horn ignited, and the cuffs came to life, tethering themselves to my ankles and wrists. They burned as they tightened around me, but as the magic dissipated, so did the heat.

The nurse rolled the cart up to me, and for the first time I noticed its contents. A single tray rested on top, along with a glass of water. I spied what looked like mashed potatoes and peas, an orange cube of jello, and a couple of flowers that looked like tulips. My stomach turned at the sight of the apple, and my eyes lingered at the odd green mush on the side.

She carefully picked up the tray with her teeth and moved it to my lap. Whatever the mush was reeked. The cart was kept close for me to grab the water, thankfully. I picked up the spoon, the only utensil given to me, and eyed the food, unsure of where to start.

“Are you gonna eat it or stare at it?” the stallion asked in a bored tone.

I tugged at the cuff around my right wrist. “Think I can get this one removed so I can eat?” I turned to the nurse. She hesitated; my question seemed to catch her off guard. But she nodded to the unicorn.

The mare sighed and drifted the key to the lock, reminding me again, “no funny business”. I slowly picked at the food, starting with the potatoes. I was sure to stay clear of the green mystery food. After accidentally poking it once, my nose was filled with the odd smell of freshly mowed grass.

It was uncomfortable; being the only one in the room eating. The stallion looked as if he didn’t want to be there, his eyes constantly darting between the watch on his fetlock and the door. The nurse gave me the occasional curious glance as I ate. She had seated herself next to one of the counters and was flipping through a few documents she had procured from one of the drawers. The unicorn was indifferent, sitting in Applejack’s chair and making her keys float and dance in the air before her as she rested her head in her hoof.

The meal tasted stale, much to my contempt. It felt as if it was missing something. When my brain figured it out, my stomach grumbled in complaint. All eyes shot to me.

I gave an apologetic chuckle. “Say, I don’t suppose you ponies have any…” My voice trailed off as I tried to find a way to tell the herbivores gently.

“Meat?” the nurse offered. I blinked in surprise. “I’ve seen your dental report,” she explained, waving a hoof dismissively. “It screams omnivore, and you’ve been picking at your food a lot. I tried making a meal based on that and what you’ve taken from the Apple family.” My eyes fell back down to my tray. Something told me that little detail was going to follow me for a while.

“We don’t have any meat stocked,” the nurse explained. “We don’t exactly have many patients who eat it often, but we do have the rare occasion. I can place an order for some fish, if you’d like.”

I blinked and turned to face her. “Really?” I asked, doubt heavy in my voice. She nodded in return. “That’s… um… that’s oddly kind of you.”

“We received instructions from the princess,” the nurse waved off. “She wanted to make sure you were comfortable and well fed.”

“Doesn’t make sense, if you ask me,” the unicorn interjected. The keys floated back to her side. Just outside of my reach. Too many eyes. “The deal was we patch the beast up and then hand it off to the mayor so she could send it off to a cell until Princess Celestia arrives. It looks fine to me, but now she wants us to keep it here. Why would she change her mind all of a sudden?” She shook her head and stared at me skeptically. "Something feels off about all of this."

“I’m not sure, Silver,” the nurse admitted. “Although I don’t think the princess did change her mind. That letter was the only set of instructions sent directly from her.”

“And far be it from us to argue with the princess,” the stallion added matter-of-factly. “Personally, I’d feel more comfortable with this thing behind bars, too. But if she wants it here, she must have her reasons.” He looked over to me and nodded at my tray. “You done with that?”

I glanced at what was left. The flowers laid undisturbed; something I wish could have been said about the green slop. While the ponies were talking, I tried a spoonful and immediately had to chase it with half of the glass of water to keep me from retching. The stallion was the only one to notice, and that was the only time I saw him come close to a smile. Half of the apple wobbled back and forth, mocking me. I had had more apples in the past couple of months than I had in my whole life. It was a chore eating as much of it as I did. I could have eaten more, to be honest, but there was nothing left on the tray I could stomach.

“Yeah,” I resigned. “I think I am.”

The nurse picked the tray off my lap and set it back on the cart. “I’ll see what I can do about ordering some fish for you,” she promised. I nodded in thanks. The cuff found its way around my free wrist thanks to the unicorn’s magic, and the guards began filing out with the nurse in tow. A question was burning in the back of my head; one that was haunting me ever since I stepped foot in this building. I took in a breath and gathered my nerves.

“Nurse?” I called. She was halfway through the door when she paused and craned her head back to see me. “Can I ask you a quick question?”

She glanced down the hall and nodded before returning her attention to me. “As long as it’s quick,” she stressed.

“How’s Sweetie Belle?”

She looked at me with unsure eyes. “It was a close call,” she explained. “She had lost a lot of blood and was still bleeding. We were lucky we got to her in time.”

“So, she’s going to be alright?” I pressed.

“She’ll be fine,” the nurse assured. “Sweetie’s feeling a little weak, but she’ll pull through. When she finally came to, she started asking a lot about you though.” She hesitated, looking at me as if she was seeing me for the first time. “Maybe I should say we were lucky you brought her to us in time.”

An immense weight lifted off my chest. I laid back and gave a relieved sigh, “Thank you.”

Her expression softened, and she gave me a small smile. “You’re welcome, Mister— I’m sorry, what was your name again?”

“Hunter. Hunter Grey.”

The nurse nodded. “You’re welcome, Mister Grey.”

I gave a short laugh. “Just Hunter, please,” I said, sitting up. My eyes met hers. “Mr. Grey is my father.” Her smile broadened. I almost got a laugh out of her. “I don’t think I caught yours.”

“Redheart,” the nurse introduced herself.

Memories started clicking back in place, and a ghost of a smile formed as I shook my head. “Ah, so you’re the one who’s been drugging me.”

“That does seem to be my job lately,” Redheart admitted. “Which reminds me; I’ll be seeing you tonight. Try not to break out again.”

I leaned back with a sly smile. “No promises,” I said.

Redheart rolled her eyes and shook her head, her smile all but gone. She disappeared behind the door, and just as it was about to fully close, it stopped, and Redheart pushed her head back in. “I’ve been meaning to ask,” she admitted. “What exactly did you say to Applejack to convince her to give you your clothes back?”

I shrugged, not entirely sure myself. “I don’t know,” I confessed. “I just told her the truth.”

It wasn’t much of an answer, but Redheart seemed to take it with much more weight. She nodded and disappeared again, a soft click signaling she had left. A faint smile crept up on me despite my situation. Although I was a prisoner in a hospital, the news of Sweetie Belle’s recovery helped lift my spirits. If nothing else, I found some solace in the fact that I was able to save her after all.

The meal was probably the highlight of my life for the past couple of hours. Well, it was hard to tell how much time had actually passed in the room I was held in. There were no clocks or windows to give me any definition of time. And thanks to my restraints, I was forced to sit in my bed and do nothing.

I tried whatever I could to pass the time, but nothing was very successful. Counting the tiles on the floor and ceiling only lasted so long. I tried to keep a tune going with the chains on the restraints, but it eventually started to drone as my wrists began to chafe.

There was a soft knocking at the door that pulled me from my bored trance. Although it seemed to be out of mock courtesy as the door nearly flew off its hinges in the next second, giving the two mares on the other side ample room for their dramatic entrance.

My body tensed as my original welcoming committee walked in. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash split up almost as soon as they entered, going to each sides of my bed. Neither of them spoke a word or so much as looked at me, which only succeeded in making me more uncomfortable. A black suitcase was somehow balanced expertly on Pinkie’s curly tail, bouncing slightly with each step while managing to keep its perch.

“We heard you were being real stubborn lately, Mister Monster,” Pinkie said on my right. “You’ve refused to answer a few questions. We’re here to fix that.”

“Look, I already told Applejack everything she wanted to know,” I started.

“And now you’re going to tell us everything we want to know,” Rainbow pressed. “And don’t think you can skirt around the answers like you did with Twilight. We have ways to make stubborn fellas like you talk.” That sounded like a threat if I had ever heard one.

“Oh, yeah? What are you going to do?” I asked, challenging her bluff. “Shoot me point blank with a cannon again? Fly me down an entire street and crash me into the ground?”

Pinkie snickered. “No, silly,” she said, waving a hoof. Her tail launched the briefcase in the air, and it fell on her mane like a spring before flying in the air again. The lid sprang open as it landed, revealing a dozen neatly made and miraculously unharmed—

“Cupcakes!” Pinkie exclaimed, finishing my thought. She rubbed a hoof against her chest and held it out admiringly. “Made them myself,” she said with a proud smile.

“Nopony can resist Pinkie Pie’s famous cupcakes,” Rainbow Dash said triumphantly.

I eyed the desserts cautiously. Something felt off about this. From what I’ve seen, the pink one was crazy, which only made this random offering all the more unsettling. “No thanks,” I said, pushing the case away with my foot. “I’m not hungry.”

“What’s the matter? Stomach full of guilt?” Rainbow challenged.

“I just had lunch,” I deadpanned.

“Which means we’re just in time for dessert!” Pinkie reasoned as she pushed the case closer to me.

My eyes darted between her and the pastries. There had to be something wrong with them. For all I knew, they were probably poisoned. “What’s in them?” I asked skeptically.

“Three quarters of a cup of sugar, two cups of flour, one cup of milk,” she listed. Her eyes lit up with excitement. “Oh, and one of them has a chili pepper inside!” I gave her a look that could only beg why. “I figured we could make a game out of it,” she giggled. “First one to find the pepper wins! I like to call it Pinkie Roulette.” She pulled out a cupcake, balancing it on one hoof and waving it seductively. “And all these can be yours if you just choose to cooperate,” she promised.

It took me a second to process everything, and I eventually shook my head. “I’ll pass.”

Pinkie shrugged and tore off the cupcake’s wrapper in her hoof. “Suit yourself,” she said as she tossed it in the air. She teetered back on her hind legs and swallowed the cupcake whole. The mare fell on her back in a fit of giggles until her eyes widened in shock. Her face was quickly turning red as her eyes began to water. “Found it,” she coughed, a dark puff of smoke escaping her mouth. “I win,” she smiled weakly.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and slammed her hoof on the bed to get my attention. “Alright, spill it,” she demanded, pointing a hoof at me. “Why are you here? What are your plans?”

“You know, I’m getting real sick of answering that same question,” I snapped. “I don’t know,” I said slowly, leaning in for emphasis. “I stumbled into this place by accident; no bad intentions. I’m just trying to find my way back.”

“For somepony just trying to find their way back, you sure have been showing your face a lot,” Rainbow pointed out. She nudged my shoulder. “So what is it?” she demanded. “Are you trying to go home, or are you just trying to bug us?”

“I’m not sure if you noticed, but that forest is pretty big,” I retaliated. “Not to mention there are predators lurking behind every other tree. Finding my way around it isn't exactly a walk in the park.”

“Then what’s the deal with Lyra?” she pressed. “She’s talking like you’re going to be sticking around for a while.” A flap of her wings sent her airborne. She tilted back and crossed her forelegs to make it look like she was leaning back. “And since we’re talking about her, what did you do to Lyra. She’s been getting a little fanatical about you lately.”

I groaned, “For the last time, I didn’t do anything to her! I’d ask why everybody keeps thinking I brainwashed her, but then I remembered the culprit who started all those rumors is sitting right there.” I motioned to Pinkie Pie, who was chugging down a glass of water.

She finished her gulp and gave an apologetic grin. “Sorry; couldn’t think of another word that rhymed with ‘dwell’ at the time,” she explained. “‘Deep in the Everfree is where the beast dwells; if you wander too far, you’ll fall under its spell’. The jingle’s still a work in progress. It’s still really catchy, though.” She cut herself off with a gasp. “Ooh, wanna hear it?” she asked with a hopeful smile.

“No!” I exclaimed incredulously. “Look, we literally ran into each other and talked,” I swore to Rainbow Dash. “I didn’t put her ‘under my spell’ or anything.”

“Yeah? Well your ‘friend’ has been turning a lot of ponies against each other,” Rainbow accused. “In fact, it’s starting to feel like that was your plan all along. Convince a few ponies that you’re not so bad, and then when everypony’s fighting with each other, you pull the rug out from under all us.”

I blinked. For the first time in a while, I couldn’t find any words to say. “That…” I struggled. “I couldn't have come up with that even if I tried. You're just making up stuff to pin on me.”

Rainbow Dash floated in closer. “Oh yeah? Then what is your plan? ‘Cause I have a hard time believing you woke up one day and decided to be friendly with everypony. Tell us what your endgame is.” She poked her hoof accusingly in my side, right in the soft spot beneath the ribs.

My body flinched from the contact, and I struggled to suppress a snort. The reaction didn’t even last a second, and even though I quickly recomposed myself, it didn’t go unnoticed by the ponies.

“What the hay was that?” Rainbow asked with a weird look. I closed my eyes and grit my teeth, hoping that through sheer will I could turn back the clock.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” Pinkie gasped. She hid a smile behind her hooves. “Are you ticklish?” My blood ran cold at the trick question. I knew what was coming no matter what I answered. My lack of a response only made her giddier, and she stretched out a hoof to pull her friend out of the air and next to her.

The two started whispering to each other with their backs facing me. The longer it went on, the deeper my sense of dread became. Rainbow Dash stole a confused glance at me and turned back to Pinkie, who gave an enthusiastic nod. I could just barely see the corner of a mischievous grin forming on the pegasus’ face before they turned back to whispering.

Ah, hell, I thought as I shrank in the bed. I tugged at the cuffs, praying that through some miracle they had suddenly become weaker.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Pinkie Pie landed on the bed above me. The crazed, happy look in her eyes and her unsettling smile confirmed my fears. I tried to shrink further into the mattress, but there was no hope of escape. Rainbow Dash floated above, her hooves failing to stifle her snickering.

“Y’know, Mister Human,” Pinkie started in a cheery tone, “I think we’ve been going about this the wrong way.” She crouched low, like a predator ready to strike. “Let’s start this over from the beginning. Now… what are your plans with Ponyville?!” she screamed as she pounced.

… Shut up.

We didn’t say anything, my inner voice seethed.

You didn’t have to. I can feel what you’re thinking, I pointed out.

The last hour was a complete waste of time. They kept asking questions that I didn’t have answers to. The ones I knew, they wouldn’t believe me at first when I told the truth. No matter what I said, it led to more and more torture. My jaw and sides were aching from all the laughing. My face was still burning from embarrassment.

I just can’t believe that really happened, I thought.

The tickling, or the pink one's lunacy? the voice asked apathetically.

The tickling, I answered, pulling my body close. Well, both, really.

Their attacks were relentless. My restraints made it impossible to defend myself. It felt like it stretched for ages, and they only let up to let me answer or catch my breath. When they decided that they couldn’t get the answers they wanted out of me, or they finally got bored, they eventually left, promising to return the next day.

I feel violated…

Perhaps next time you should just feed them the lies they want to believe, the voice suggested.

And what would that accomplish? I asked.

For starters, it will prevent another embarrassing moment like what just happened.

My inner voice wasn’t the happiest about the unorthodox turn of the interrogation. I could feel it burning in the back of my mind the whole time, constantly telling me to pull myself together. Nothing I tried though offered any help. I was completely at their mercy. And the voice did not like that.

Maybe it had a point. Maybe if I lied, it would make things go smoother for me. But my mind trailed to all the friends I had made. It wouldn’t be fair of me to give them up; I knew they were trying their hardest to clear my name. I thought of the progress I had made with the others; with the foals, with Sweetie Belle, with Applejack even. I could feel that I was making breakthroughs with them. I couldn’t afford to throw that away for my own comfort.

Some friends they are, the voice remarked. How long have you been here, Hunter? How long have you been locked in this room? Why haven’t you heard from them?

Shut up. They’re trying.

They haven’t come for you yet, it pointed out. What’s the use of thinking they ever will?

They aren’t allowed near me, I reasoned. But they’ll find a way.

What if they already tried? They could have failed. You could be all alone.

I stared at the ceiling, trying to ignore the thoughts bombarding my mind. What if it was right? Was I doomed to stay here until they deemed fit? The princess knew I was here. Surely, she would help.

But who could have told her you were locked away here?

My heart sank. My only chance of salvation rested on Twilight’s shoulders, and I doubted she painted me in a good light. Would the princess decide to visit, to hear my side of the story? If she did, would she believe me? A sense of dread washed over me. If the princess decided my fate was to rot in a cell, it was possible I might be stuck here forever. I might never make it back home.

You could have been home now, the voice reminded me. You could have been with your family. Your real friends.

… Shut up.

Time passed at a crawl. I was officially out of ideas to speed it by. I tried closing my eyes in hopes of having a decent nap, but sleep was constantly just out of my reach. The best I could manage was a light rest with my head full of thoughts I couldn’t escape.

There was a gentle knocking at the door. A metal cart squeezed in, pushed by Nurse Redheart yet again and tailed by the same two guards. The meal changed, thankfully. The slop and flowers were replaced with a small pile of corn, and an orange stood in place of the apple. Still no meat, but I wasn’t in the mood to complain.

I ate in silence. The nurse took her old station by the counter as last time. She seemed to have more interest in me. I could feel her eyes boring into me, but I tried to keep mine glued to my meal. The unicorn joined the stallion at his post next to the door. I could hear them talking, but I didn’t really care what it was about. As I picked at my meal, something kept catching my eye: a syringe filled with a green liquid resting on the cart. It was close enough to grab, if I stretched.

Grab it, the voice cooed. Grab it when the nurse moves to take the tray. Hold her hostage. Demand a way out. Don’t let yourself rot in here.

Redheart trotted up to me, almost on cue, but she was dragging her chair along with her. She stopped near the side of my bed and sat down.

“So, Lyra stopped me today while I was on my lunch break,” she said. A quick chuckle escaped her. “Well, cornered me, really. She wanted to know how you were doing. I hope you don’t mind, but I told her you were fine and still threatening to break out.”

She managed to pull a halfhearted snort out of me. “Oh, really?” I asked as I took another spoonful of peas. “How’d she take that?”

“I’d like to think she appreciated it,” Redheart answered. “You know, she’s been trying her hardest to get in here ever since you ‘checked in’. It started with her trying to just walk in and getting escorted out, and then she started lying about visiting somepony to try to find you. Yesterday she even went as far as faking a sickness to get in. But today…” she sighed. “Today she just begged. Not the teary-eyed, got-on-her-knees kind of begged,” she clarified. “Just the asking-and-pestering-a-lot kind of begged.” She paused for a minute. I found I was losing my appetite.

“She’s really worried about you,” she explained. “I had to explain more times than I’d like to count that we’re keeping you healthy and well fed. I’ve heard all the rumors around town about how you put her under your spell, but the more she talked to me, the more I realized she’s just looking out for her friend.”

Redheart looked down to my tray and motioned to it with a hoof. “Haven’t touched your food in a while. Want me to take it off your hooves?” I hesitated, but after realizing I didn’t have the appetite for it, I eventually lifted it off my lap to her. She picked up the other end with her mouth, set it down on the cart, and motioned to the unicorn. “Think you can fully lie down for me?” she asked me.

I reluctantly complied, knowing full well where this was going. The unicorn’s horn ignited, and the restraints came to life. I laid still as the strap wrapped itself tightly around my chest and the cuff returned to my wrist. When the spell dissipated, Redheart nodded to the unicorn. “Thank you, Silver. I can take it from here if you two want to head back upstairs.”

The two guards looked at each other. “You sure about that?” the stallion asked.

Redheart waved her hoof. “Of course. All that’s left is the sedatives, and that shouldn’t take long. I just want to be sure he falls asleep.” The guards shared another glance and shrugged before walking back into the hallway.

The nurse watched as the door closed and waited for the soft click before continuing. “You know, I knew Lyra back when I was studying in Canterlot. We weren’t exactly best friends; more like friends of friends, but we used to hang out a lot because of it. She was always a bit… spontaneous. And a little stubborn. In fact, most of her advice usually ran along the lines of ‘charge in headfirst and tackle the problems as they come up’.”

She chuckled, “But she had a good heart, and she still does. Lyra was the kind of pony that really cared for her friends, and she’d always go to whatever lengths she could to help them. So I asked her how she knew you and why she wanted to see you so bad, and she told me everything.” She let out a heavy sigh. “You sure have been through a lot, Mr. Grey.”

“Just Hunter,” I reminded her with a weak smile.

“Right,” the nurse nodded. “I’m sorry I can’t let her in to see you.”

“Why can’t you?” I asked. “You work here, don’t you?”

“Yes, but it’s because I work here,” Redheart explained. “We have strict instructions from the mayor to keep you two separate, and while I don’t think that’s necessary, I also don’t want to lose my job over it.”

I snorted, “Fair enough.”

I felt a hoof touch my shoulder. “Hey, she hasn’t given up trying just yet,” Redheart consoled. “I’d love to help, but my hooves are tied. She needs to stay outside the hospital and you need to stay in.”

Her hoof withdrew, and she retrieved the syringe from the cart. My body locked up as my eyes traced the end of the needle. “Let’s just get this part over with,” the nurse said sadly.

“Think we could skip the drugs for tonight?” I asked

She hesitated. “Can I trust you’ll go to sleep on your own?”

I gave a relieved sigh and nodded. “Yeah. Thank you.”

Redheart smiled. “Alright,” she said in a soothing tone. “Try to get some rest.”

As she trotted to the door, a thought surfaced in my head. Well, more of a hope. “Um…” I cut myself off and shook my head. I couldn’t think of how to say it.

Even though the sound I made was barely audible, it was enough for the mare to pause and turn to me. “Did you need something, Hunter?”

“Well, kind of,” I struggled to say. The nurse left her cart and returned to the bed, eyes full of sympathy. Would she trust me enough to let me try? “Nurse Redheart, could you… do me a small favor?”

Act II: Keeping Broken Promises

I silently stalked behind the nurse through the hospital. It was nighttime, and most of the workers had left for home to get some rest. There were, however, still some guards on patrol in the halls, armed with flashlights. Nurse Redheart would always cautiously check behind each corner to see if anybody was coming, and I would keep an eye on our backs to make sure we weren’t spotted from behind.

We should have been much further than we were. Sweetie Belle was on the third floor, and we were still trying to climb up the stairs. Things would have been moving along much faster if I wasn’t bound around the ankles and suffering from lightheadedness. I couldn’t blame Redheart. I was still a prisoner, and letting me roam across the hospital freely wouldn’t have flown well with her. Still, it was obvious that the cuffs tethering my feet together were meant for a pony’s much shorter legs, resulting in me taking less than half-steps with each stride.

“I still can’t believe you talked me into this,” Redheart hissed.

“I can’t either,” I whispered back. “To be honest, I thought it would take a lot more to convince you to let me do this.” It wasn’t a lie, even though it took the better half of an hour and more bargaining than I would have liked just to get her to think about it. I was left in the room for a couple more hours until she came to a decision.

She threw me a look, and I didn’t dare say another word.

We reached the door that connected the stairwell to the third floor. Redheart carefully opened it, peered inside, and gave me the all-clear. Once inside, we were met with another maze of hallways and doors, but the nurse guided through expertly.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she continued. “If we get caught… I could get fired! What will I do then? I’ll have no job, no money! I’ll never work in a hospital again! All those years of medical school, gone to waste! I—”

“We won’t get caught,” I cut her off. She gave me a worried look, unconvinced. I let out a sharp sigh and stared to the ceiling for answers. There weren’t any. “Look, if we do, I’ll take the blame for it,” I offered, glancing back to her.

“How?” she asked incredulously. “What could you possibly do that will make everypony believe that you are in charge of this?” She stopped suddenly at an intersection, and looked both ways anxiously. “Maybe it would be better if we just turned around now,” she added nervously.

A few seconds of silence ticked by. “I used ‘Everfree magic’ or mind-control or whatever you ponies are convinced I have,” I explained. “With the rep I have around here, I’m sure it’ll be believable enough.”

Nurse Redheart paused. “Really?" she asked, turning to me with grateful eyes. "You would do that for me?”

I shrugged. “Like you said, if you get caught, you’ll be fired and left with nothing. I’ve already got nothing to lose. What’s the worst you guys can do, put me down?” I chuckled at my small joke, but the look in Redheart’s eyes wasn’t reassuring. “Um… You guys wouldn’t really do that, right?” She said nothing and continued to walk down the hall. I staggered for a second and rushed to catch up.

We continued in a tense and uncomfortable silence. Neither of us dared to break it in fear of any eavesdropping ears until we reached the last corner. Redheart peeked around the edge, and her ears shot up in alarm. “Hunter, hide!”

I wildly searched the hall for cover, but couldn’t find anything that could easily hide me. The closest protection I could find was a potted plant, and even that was a stretch with its long, thin stems. “Where?” I hissed.

Nurse Redheart spun around and scanned the hallway. “Um, there!” she pointed at one of the rooms a few doors away. “It should be vacant. I’ll try to distract the guard.”

Without wasting any more time, I hurriedly shuffled to the door and snuck inside. The light of the hallway quickly disappeared as the door was cautiously closed, plunging the room into darkness. Before it fully closed, I could hear gruff stallion’s voice. “Nurse Redheart? What are you doing up so late?” The rest of the conversation came through muffled.

My bound hands were pressed up against the door, my head resting on top of them. My heart was racing in my chest. That was too close for comfort. My breathing steadied as the ponies’ conversation carried on outside, and I observed the room I found myself in.

Moonlight filtered in through the curtains of the room’s only window. I realized how long it had probably been since I had seen the outside world, and I found myself drifting towards it. My hands pulled back the fabric, and the room was flooded with a soft blue glow.

I could see a large part of Ponyville from the window. It was so quiet, so peaceful, so… different from every other time I had seen it. A ghost of a smile found its way to my face as I watched the simple houses. This village wasn’t too bad if I forgot that the residents were holding me prisoner.

Something moved in the corner of my eye, and I jumped when I found a tall figure staring at me from across the room. My heartrate dropped close to normal when I realized it was my own reflection in a mirror. I quickly covered the distance between to investigate.

“Damn,” I breathed. It had been too long since I had seen my own reflection, and it showed. My hand moved around my body experimentally, and my eyes tracked it in the mirror, proving that what I was seeing was real. It was no wonder the ponies thought I was a monster. After looking at myself for a little while, I felt like I was one.

A large tear in my jeans exposed my right knee, and slightly lower the rest of the leg was all but shredded to ribbons. A layer of gauze showed between the holes in the left leg where skin was supposed to be. A hazy memory of timberwolves resurfaced, and I tried to push it back down.

My gray t-shirt had seen better days. It fared better than most of my other clothes, but even still, it bared some scars from my time here. Holes rested on top of my shoulders, exposing skin to the cool, sterile air. Another tear was found on the left side, courtesy of a near-miss escape from one of the Everfree’s seemingly endless number of predators.

My left forearm was still bound from elbow to wrist in bandages. A dull throb of pain emanated from a few small splotches of dried crimson near the middle, and flashes of teeth and mulch tearing into skin burned in my head. It was tender to the touch; I winced with each testing prod.

A single strip of gauze was tightly wrapped around my right elbow; another compromise between me and the nurse. She wanted to help, but she still didn’t fully trust me. I wasn’t sure if concentration was lower or if it was just a different sedative altogether, but she insisted I would stay awake long enough to do what needed to be done. Although it was hard to tell if it was going to work sooner than expected or if Placebo was playing tricks on me. My body tensed and I turned the other way as she pushed the sedative in my body. It worked in her favor one way or another, even if she didn’t mean for it. Even if I wanted to double-cross her, I doubted I would make it far without passing out. Still, a little prick and some drowsiness for a clear conscious sounded like a fair deal at the time.

I tried to avoid the face of the man staring back at me in the mirror, but it was inevitable. I couldn’t recognize myself. Above my grime and dirt-caked face was a rat’s nest of brown hair, disheveled and unkempt from weeks of neglect. A mangy beard was starting to grow thanks to weeks without any sort of shaving equipment. A small scar formed on my bottom lip from my first visit to the hospital. A couple of layers of bandages held a fold of dirtied cloth in place on the side of my head. I couldn’t bring myself to look at his eyes out of fear of what I would see. Gone was the high school senior with a life back on Earth. The thing that stood before me, mirroring my every move, was the Beast of the Everfree.

I shuddered, and the beast mimicked me.

“Mr. Grey?” I snapped back to reality and turned towards the open door where Nurse Redheart waited patiently. “We should be alone now. The room is just around the corner.”

I nodded in thanks and followed the mare out of the room, around the corner, and down the hall. We stopped before an ordinary wooden door at the end. Nobody would have paid it a second glance; nothing about it was unusual. But to me, the simple door held an odd gravity, one that beckoned and repelled me at the same time. I stared at that door for minutes trying to work up the nerve to turn the handle.

“Here, allow me,” the nurse said as she stepped forward and opened the door. The room was dark. It was hard to decipher the shapes of the silhouettes from where I stood. “Take as much time as you need, but remember we’re a little pressed,” she said. “After you.”

I carefully crept into the room. It took my eyes a second to adjust to the low light from the windows as Redheart closed the door behind me. I tried to not make too much noise as I moved and winced as the chains between my ankles rattled, fearing it would wake the room’s sole occupant. The room was like mine, albeit slightly larger, and the moonlight pouring in through the window bathed everything in a soft blue glow. Redheart sat in one of the chairs lined against the far wall and waited patiently.

I navigated through the dark to the only bed stationed in the room. My eyes lingered on the nightstand with rows of cards reading “get well soon”. Resting on the bed was a small filly wrapped up in blankets, her white coat reflecting the moonlight. I smiled and carefully sat down next to the filly, wincing as the mattress groaned in protest. The little filly didn’t even stir.

A heavy sigh escaped my system. All my guilt was starting to creep up on me the more I looked at her. “I’m so sorry, Sweetie,” I whispered. I leaned forward on my knees and rested my head on my hands. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I should have been more careful.”

A weak voice interrupted my self-pity. “Hunter?”

I glanced at the little unicorn, and tired green eyes stared back at me. “Sweetie Belle?” I whispered in shock. My eyes darted to the shadows where the nurse waited. “You were supposed to be asleep,” I commented with a faint laugh.

“I couldn’t,” she yawned. My heart sunk as she stretched, revealing the bandages wrapped tightly around her back. “I’m not tired.” She blinked a few times, looking me over in confusion. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the Everfree Forest?”

“Not exactly,” I chuckled. I held up my hands for her to see, and my wrists pulled at the cuffs. “Got a bit of a change in residence nowadays,” I joked.

“You were caught?!” Sweetie cried out in disbelief.

“Hey, hey, quiet now,” I hushed. My eyes cast a furtive glance to the door. “Don’t be hollering like that. I’m not supposed to be up here right now.”

“What happened?” she demanded. “Did you escape?”

“Um, not really. It’s complicated,” I explained. “Enough about me, though; I came up here to check on you. Feeling any better?”

Sweetie Belle nodded her head sluggishly. “Yeah, the doctors said I’ll be fine. I should be good to leave in a couple days.” Her eyes lingered on my chains and fell to my bandaged arms. “I just don’t understand. Why did they catch you? They’re not hurting you, right?”

I sighed. “Nothing worse than a few migraines,” I joked halfheartedly.

She fell silent and looked down, her hooves suddenly becoming very interesting to her. “I’m really sorry I was so mean to you before,” she glumly apologized. “You were only trying to help; you even saved me, but you got caught because of it… because of me.”

“Hey, don’t be like that,” I tried to calm her. “This isn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known the wolves were chasing us.”

“But I can’t even help!” Sweetie protested. She struggled to sit up on her bed. “I’ve been trying to tell everypony that you helped me, but they won’t listen! They keep telling me I need to rest, but I’ve been doing nothing but resting since I’ve been here. Even Rarity isn’t listening! She keeps thinking you did this to me.”

It was easy to tell she was distraught; although, who could blame her? She knew the truth, or most of it rather, and nobody cared enough to pay attention. Seemed to be a recurring theme for the ponies that knew me.

I wanted to help, but I wasn’t sure how. At least, that’s what I told myself. I grit my teeth and let out a heavy sigh, thankful that the darkness of the room blanketed my tension. Something about defending a pony that threatened to tear me apart didn’t settle well with me, but Sweetie Belle needed something to help her.

“Hey, don’t worry about Rarity. She’s just being a big sister,” I said through a forced smile. “Believe me, if anything like this happened to one of my brothers, I’d probably be out for whoever I thought did it, too.”

Sweetie Belle tilted her head. “You have brothers?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah,” I laughed. “Two of them. They’re a bunch of rascals and pains in the rear.” I sighed, “But I love them anyways.” A memory floated up. A part of me figured it could help, even if it was a little embarrassing. But maybe Sweetie could go for a small laugh.

“You know, way back in elementary, there actually was someone who was picking on my brother,” I started. “Apparently, someone thought the whole ‘stealing your lunch’ cliché was cool and kept taking his. Now, nobody really knew about it until Tanner came home without his lunchbox one day; I guess the bully decided he’d up the ante.

“Tanner brushed it off saying he just forgot it somewhere, but I knew better. He loved that lunchbox, had his favorite superhero on it and everything. I asked him about it later, and he eventually told me that Ethan was stealing his lunch.” I paused and chuckled. “Now, I had no clue who on earth Ethan was,” I admitted. “Just that he was hurting my younger brother, and that was enough to get me interested. I did what any other big brother would have done at the time and started looking for him.

“After asking around for a while, I finally found him. When I confronted him about it, he denied everything, and things got a bit…” I clicked my tongue as I thought for the right word, “physical. We eventually ended up trading a few bruises before the teachers finally pulled us apart. I wound up getting suspended for a week and grounded for three.” I laughed to myself, “Probably not the smartest thing I’ve done in hindsight.”

“It was really sweet you tried to help, though,” Sweetie Belle offered with an uncertain smile.

“Yeah, well tried is the key word there,” I pointed out. “Turns out there were two Ethan’s in Tanner’s grade, and I accidentally tracked down the ‘destined-to-be baseball star’ Ethan. The real culprit was the ‘sits-in-the-corner-of-the-cafeteria-by-himself-practicing-the-recorder’ Ethan.” There was a hint of a genuine smirk before Sweetie covered it with a hoof.

“Point is, us bigger siblings are real protective of you little ones,” I continued. “Tanner actually tried to stop me before I ‘talked’ with the wrong Ethan, but I brushed him off trying to handle it on my own. I’m sure once Rarity calms down a bit, you’ll be able to get through to her.”

There was a small paused before the filly sighed. “Yeah, I hope so.”

You and me both, I thought to myself. If Rarity ever calmed down enough to listen to her sister, it would make things easier on my front; one less pony out to get me.

There was a short cough at the other end of the room. Sweetie Belle shot up, trying to look deeper into the shadows from her bed. I knew it was the nurse, though, and that it was my cue to start wrapping things up.

“Alright, it’s time for you to get some rest,” I whispered.

“But I’m not tired,” Sweetie protested, but the look in her eyes betrayed her.

A small yawn escaped her, and I couldn’t help but smile. She reminded me of Brandon, always trying to stay up past his bedtime. I rolled an idea in my head and gave her a knowing smile. “Would it help if you had a lullaby?” I offered. She hesitated, but a small grin quickly showed. She nestled herself back underneath her covers and looked to me expectantly, eager to hear a monster’s lullaby.

A familiar tune ran through my head, one I hadn’t heard in what felt like lifetimes ago. Memories of easier times resurfaced with the lyrics; memories of my family, my mother. I started with a faint hum and let it grow as the words came back, and Sweetie Belle waited patiently. When my confidence finally came, I started with a whisper.

“Angels watching ever round thee, All through the night. In thy slumbers close surround thee, All through the night. They will of all fears disarm thee, No forebodings should alarm thee, They will let no peril harm thee, All through the night.”

It was an old lullaby I learned from my mother. I felt as if I wasn’t doing it much justice compared to her, though; it was beautiful the way she used to sing it. Sweetie Belle’s eyes were struggling to stay open by the next verse, but they were fighting a losing battle. I couldn’t remember all the lyrics and eventually had to resort to humming, but by that point it was already over. Sweetie was lost in a peaceful sleep.

There was movement across the room. Redheart was quietly making her way to the door, motioning for me to follow. I gave one last look to the sleeping filly. A weight had lifted off my chest seeing her safe, and it helped ease the thought of being stuck here. I silently drifted over to the nurse, hoping not to disturb Sweetie’s rest. She carefully cracked open the door, and we snuck back outside to the hallway.

“I have to admit, I’m a little impressed,” the nurse whispered. “I don’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that. What was that little tune?”

“Just something my mother used to sing to me and my brothers when we were real little,” I waved off. “My youngest brother is actually still young enough for my folks to sing him to sleep; sometimes I hear them next door.” I offered an embarrassed smile. “Can’t remember all of the words though.”

“Well, whatever it was, it was really sweet of you,” she commented.

I shrugged innocently. “Guess the monster still has a heart,” I joked.

It won a small smile out of her, and we continued navigating through the halls. “Okay, we should be able to make it back to the basement without any troubles,” she explained. “All we need to do—”

DONG

A frying pan connected into the back of Redheart’s head. The nurse took a few wobbly steps forward before collapsing into a heap on the sterile floor. I stared dumbfounded at the floating pan, unsure of how to respond. It twisted, as if to face me, and I held my bound hands up in caution.

“Hey now, let’s think about this,” I tried to bargain.

“Psst! Hunter!” a hushed voice hissed. My eyes were still fixed on the flying pan before me. “Hunter!” it tried again. This time it caught my attention. “Over here.”

My eyes followed the frying pan as it drifted to one of the hospital rooms with a door left ajar. A mint green unicorn stepped out of the shadows, her golden eyes scanning the halls for more prey.

“That was close,” Lyra said. “Come on, Hunter; before any more of them show up.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I shook my head, trying to catch up with what was happening. “Lyra? What are you doing here? Twilight said you weren’t allowed anywhere near this place.”

She waved a hoof dismissively. “I’m not. I busted myself in, and now I’m busting you out,” she announced. “Now come on. There hasn’t been too much resistance so far. If the guards downstairs are still unconscious, then I’m pretty sure we have a safe route out.”

“What about Redheart?” I asked. “She risked her job doing this favor for me. We can’t just leave her here.”

“Redheart?” Lyra echoed. She looked down to the nurse and winced. “Ooh, sorry, Red,” she apologized to the still unconscious pony. “I doubt anypony will figure out she tried to help you,” she said, turning to me. “Besides, we’re on the third floor, and you were supposed to be in the basement.” The sound of hooves against tiles filled the air and was quickly getting louder. A figure appeared at the end of the hall and galloped to meet us. “Which reminds me,” Lyra said, unfazed at the new arrival.

“I thought you said Hunter was in the basement,” she hissed at Noteworthy as he came to a sliding halt.

Noteworthy flinched, and he gave an apologetic smile. “Oh hey, you found him!” he said quietly, trying to change the subject. I noticed he had a bandage wrapped around his head, covering most of his mane.

“What happened to you?” I asked in shock.

He gave me a confused look, and his eyes widened as he looked up. “Oh, that,” he chuckled. “Nah, this was just for show,” he explained as he unraveled the bandages. “Lyra wasn’t allowed in the front door, so we had to sneak in and literally open a window for her.”

“Yeah, a second story window,” she reminded him with a glare.

Noteworthy shrugged apologetically. “It was out of my hooves,” he pointed out. Lyra huffed and rolled her eyes, obviously still upset about whatever it was I missed. “Let’s just get Daisy and get out of here,” he sighed in defeat.

“Daisy’s here?” I asked incredulously. “How many ponies did you rope into this?” I hissed to Lyra.

“It’s just us,” Lyra promised. “And nopony’s ‘roped’ into anything. We all chose to do this. We wanted to help.” I shook my head; my mind was still reeling. Everything was moving so fast. Was this really happening?

Lyra picked the keys off Redheart’s unconscious body and unfastened my cuffs. They silently led me down the hall. I stole one last glance at the nurse, left so unceremoniously on the floor, before we turned the corner. My eyes were getting heavy. The sedatives were kicking in. As long as I kept moving, though, it felt as if I could stave it off, but everything felt disconnected. My hands had death grips on the handrails as we descended to the second floor, trying to anchor me from falling from the stairs and into sleep. I shook my head to dispel the drowsy fog that was smothering me as we crept through the second floor. Behind the darkened windows to the rooms, the Beast of the Everfree clumsily mimicked me.

Not exactly Our idea of a ‘grand escape’, it commented groggily each time it appeared. But it will do for now.

We reached the end of a hall, and Noteworthy paused at the last door. He lifted a hoof and quickly knocked twice before carefully pushing through the door. I followed closely behind. His ears shot up, and he suddenly ducked, giving the vase ample room to swing into my gut.

I clutched at my stomach, gasping for air as I crumpled to the cold tiles.

“Hunter?” a familiar voice whispered in shock.

“What the hay, Daisy?” Lyra demanded. “We’re supposed to be saving him from the hospital, not keeping him here.”

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry.” I heard hooves scampering off the counter and stop next to me. “Are you alright?” Daisy asked. “I didn’t hit you too hard, did I?”

“C’mon, Daisy, we went over this,” Noteworthy groaned. “Two knocks meant it was safe.”

“Oh, do you even know how generic ‘two knocks’ is?” Daisy hissed. “I thought somepony came looking for the doctor we stuffed in the broom closet.”

“If it’s so bad, then why didn’t you say anything?” he demanded, a hint of hurt in his voice.

“I did,” she stressed. “But you two ran off before I could finish!”

“Worst. Rescue. Ever,” I wheezed.

I felt a hoof on my shoulder, and it rolled me to my side. Lyra’s face appeared with an apologetic wince. “Holding together alright?” she asked hopefully. My head nodded against the tile, but my eyes were getting too heavy. The hoof shook me, and my eyes fluttered open to reveal a much more worried Lyra. “Hey, what’s the matter with you?”

I took in a deep breath, hoping it would give me some energy. “Um, Redheart… sedatives,” I barely managed to say. I was slipping, trying to find anything to anchor on to.

“Shoot,” Lyra swore. She and Daisy helped me up and led me to the open window. “Come on, stay with us just a little bit longer,” she begged.

I propped myself up on the sill and peered out the window. It was a drop. Not far enough to hurt too much, but not short enough to feel too great about either. A rope of linen dangled out of the window next to my hand. It led about a third of the way down the wall. My eyes traced it back into the room where Noteworthy stood confidently.

“Don’t worry, I can hold you,” he promised. My eyes shot to Lyra, and she gave a quick nod. I took in a breath and shook the sleep out of my head. “I can hold you,” he echoed quietly, as if to assure himself this time.

Noteworthy gripped his end with his teeth and braced himself, and I crawled out the window and began my descent. The rope jerked slightly downward the moment I put my full weight on it, and my heart leaped out of my chest. It was good. It was keeping me awake, and the cool breeze helped by sending tiny pricks against my skin.

I was dangling by the last inches of the bed sheets. My feet propped against the wall and pushed me back as I let go. The grass crunched beneath my toes as I rolled back. My body ached from the fall; my wounds screamed in rebellion. My hands clutched around my left calf, trying to calm it down. I hissed out a breath and stared up. And in spite of it all, a smile formed and quickly grew. The moon and stars looked down at me from the night sky as if to greet me. I did it. I escaped.

We moved as soon as everyone made it out. Noteworthy and Daisy stayed a good distance ahead to scout the streets as Lyra and I stayed close to the buildings, taking the alleyways whenever we could. My eyes kept darting to the darkened windows of the moonlit houses. I felt so exposed. Anytime we had to leave the shadows and enter the moonlight, my mind would run rampant with fantasies of someone seeing us. I didn’t have the energy to run away this time.

The cold was starting to lose its effect on me, and I found myself leaning against the Ponyville homes for support. My feet stumbled more often than I liked. I could feel small rocks poking and prodding my skin and my wounded leg flaring with each step, but it still wasn’t enough. My body felt like it was being dragged to the earth, and there was nothing I could do but press on and hope I wouldn’t fall under the weight of the drug.

I accidentally ran into something while I was on autopilot. Or, someone, rather. My eyes fell to find Lyra staring back up at me expectantly. I realized she asked me a question.

“What was that?” I asked, my voice barely breaking a tired groan.

She rolled her eyes and huffed in agitation, obviously not happy with my response. “I asked how you were holding up,” she repeated. “But I guess that answers that.”

I shook my head and leaned against the wall of a house, sliding down to the cold earth. “Sorry, I’m trying my best,” I swore. A yawn took over me, and I couldn’t find the strength to open my eyes again.

“Don’t you give out on me just yet,” she warned. I could feel her get closer. “We’re almost there. We just need to cross this street, and the rest of the trip will be a breeze.” I rolled the thought over in my head, and my head followed it lazily. A hoof nudged against my arm. I took in a deep breath as my eyes fluttered open. There was Lyra again. Even in my drowsy state, I could still see her worry. “Just a little bit longer,” she begged.

I tried to shake the drowsiness out of my head and held my hand out to Lyra. She grabbed it with a relieved smile and pulled me to my feet. I peeked out of the cover of the houses to get the lay of the land.

The street was wide. A few of the houses still had lights on, which meant some of the ponies were still awake. They were far enough down the road to make it difficult to see me, but that didn’t mean I could just throw caution out the window. A familiar tree stood at the end of the street; one of its top windows shining like a beacon. It brought bad memories back with it, and I wanted nothing more than to get as far away from it as I could.

Two figures trotted across further down the way. It could have been Note and Daisy, but it was hard to be sure, and I didn’t want to take the chance. If I crossed the street as slowly as I’ve been walking this whole time, I could get caught. I could run, but as I shifted my weight to my left, my calf flared in protest. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with it, or what the ponies did trying to fix it, but my gut told me that it wouldn’t take to kindly to a quick sprint.

“Just straight across, right?” I asked.

Lyra nodded. “Yeah, and after that, it’s practically a straight shot to my place. You can get some rest there.”

I rolled my options around in my head and sighed. My eyes fell back on the tree, and I wanted nothing more than to just get this over with. “I’m going to hate myself for this later,” I grumbled, lowering myself to a runner’s stance.

“What are you doing?” Lyra asked.

“Oh… something stupid.” I took off with a sprint across the open street. The nerves in my leg caught fire with each pounding step I took. My body threatened to collapse halfway across. When I reached the other side, I crumpled and rolled into the alley.

I laid on the hard, cold ground, clutching my throbbing leg and silently screaming. Something warm was spreading beneath the bandages. My trembling hands pulled back the pant leg, revealing the padding and gauze. Even in the shade from the moonlit sky, I could see a dark stain growing beneath it and cursed under my breath. On the bright side, I was awake now.

Lyra came galloping up to me. “Oh my gosh, Hunter, are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied. My body shook as I pushed myself up, using the wall of the nearby house for support. I took a step forward and nearly crumpled. “How much further do we have?” I hissed through the pain.

“Not too far,” Lyra answered. She eyed my leg, noting the growing stain, and shook her head. “But you’re not going to make it on that leg.” She paused, trying to come up with some sort of plan. Something sparked behind her eyes, and she trotted up next to me. She carefully stood up, balancing herself on her hind legs, and wrapped her forelegs around my waist. “Just lean on me when you need to,” she smiled as she looked up to me. “I’ll have your back.”

We were able to slowly trudge through the Ponyville streets. Lyra’s legs quivered under my weight whenever I’d lean on her for support, and mine still ached with each shaky step we took. We stuck close to the buildings, trying not to expose ourselves in the moonlight. I realized that I didn’t know where we were going. I had never been this far into Ponyville; at least, not since my first night. A part of me could have sworn the forest was the other way.

“So, where are you taking me anyways?” I asked as she led me around a corner.

“My place,” she explained in a strained voice. “Zecora’s waiting there to take you back to the forest where it’s safe.”

I snorted. Safe. With the timberwolves still on the hunt for me and the ponies trying to keep me locked up in a basement, I wasn’t sure anywhere was safe for me now. “I don’t think that’s the best idea,” I pointed out.

“You’re right; Zecora will have a hard time taking you back in this condition,” Lyra thought aloud. We were on two different pages, but if it stalled me from returning to the forest, I didn’t feel the need to correct her. “I think I have an idea,” she hummed in thought. “Let’s just get you there first.”

As we shuffled around another corner, two ponies were revealed in the broad moonlight next to one of the houses. I tried to pull us back in the shadows, but Lyra kept tugging me forward. The strangers saw us and waved, one of them galloping up to meet us halfway.

“What took you two so long?” Noteworthy greeted us with a hiss. “Daisy’s been worrying sick, and I’m not just saying that. She’s looking as green as her mane out of stress.” He paused and gave us a once over, and his aggression melted into shock. “Oh wow, are you alright?”

“Yeah,” I strained. “Just went for a little jog.”

Noteworthy glanced between the two of us and shook his head in disbelief. “Here, let me help you,” he offered. He reared up on his hind legs, one of his forelegs balancing on my side and the other gently pushing Lyra back. “You go help Daisy. She’s a mess, and she could use the comfort.” Lyra nodded and switched, galloping off to the other stranger.

I could move a little faster with Noteworthy’s help. His legs were sturdier than Lyra’s whenever I leaned against him. The closer we drew to the house, the more I could see how badly Daisy was shaking. She gave us a frantic smile as we approached, Lyra trying unsuccessfully to calm down her jitteriness with a supportive hoof on her back.

“Oh, thank Celestia you made it,” she sighed in relief. She turned to Lyra hopefully. “Can we go inside now?” Lyra nodded, and before we knew it Daisy had already burst through the door, leaving Lyra and Noteworthy helped me limp inside.

“Bon-Bon, I’m back!” Lyra called as we entered. She and Noteworthy allowed me to prop myself against a wall to relax. “And I brought Hunter with me, too!”

“Just a minute!” a voice sang deeper in the house.

The inside was simple, but nice, in my opinion. When we entered the door, we were immediately in the living room. There was a staircase on the right wall that led to the second floor, which had a simple hallway guarded by a wooden rail. In the living room, Daisy was sprawled out on her back on the green couch that rested against the wall of the staircase. Two chairs sat opposite from the couch, facing the wooden coffee table in the middle of the room. Between them sat an old phonograph with a small bookshelf filled with records next to it.

The entrance to the dining area was straight across from the front door. A sweet aroma wafted into the living room, promising homemade muffins. Two mares came into view and entered from the kitchen, one a very familiar zebra that greeted me with a smile, and the other a cream-colored mare with a blue curly mane and a bright pink strip.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Hunter,” the stranger greeted. “Lyra’s told me so much about—” Her body went rigid; her teal eyes locked on me. I watched as they slowly filled with confusion and then shock and finally shrinking with fear. “It’s the monster!” she screamed, backpedaling a few steps. Her head darted around wildly for an exit. “Somepony call for help! The monster is in my house!”

Lyra shot forward and tackled the mare, trying to calm her down. We watched in shock as the two mares struggled for control across the floor. Zecora had a worried look on her face, but she inched away from the mares, trying not to get sucked in. Bits and pieces of screamed conversations escaped the mangled mess of mares. Their audience stared at each other in concern. Were we supposed to do something?

It eventually ended with Lyra pinning the screaming mystery mare on the ground. They were both out of breath, but at least the commotion had died down. “Bon-Bon,” Lyra panted, looking up to me. “I’d like you to meet my friend… Hunter.” Bon-Bon followed her eyes and craned her neck to see me. I cautiously raised a hand and waved, nervous that moving too quickly would set her off again.

She forced a strained smile and looked back up. “Lyra?” she asked through her teeth. “Could you please tell me what’s going on here?”

“Well… I might have just busted Hunter out of the hospital to help him escape back into the Everfree,” Lyra explained, waving a hoof dismissively. “But you see, he’s a little hurt and needs a place to stay and rest for the night. So, I was wondering—”

“No.”

Lyra blinked. “What?”

“No,” Bon-Bon repeated. “The monster is not staying in my house, Lyra.”

“He’s not a monster, Bon-Bon,” Lyra snapped defensively, her nostrils flaring. “And why not?” she demanded. “You were perfectly fine with it when I asked you this afternoon!”

“Yes, but you left out the fact that Hunter was the Beast of the Everfree!” Bon-Bon retaliated. “Besides, when you told me about him, I thought he was a nice stallion you met at the park. I thought he was going to stop by for dessert, not for the night and then some.” She glanced down and back at Lyra. “And could you please get off me?” she groaned.

Lyra rolled her eyes and complied, helping Bon-Bon back up to her hooves. “Look, he’s hurt,” she explained. “I’m not asking for him to stay forever, just until he’s better.”

Bon-Bon’s eyes narrowed as they shot to Zecora. “You were in on this, too, weren’t you?”

“Forgive me, Bon-Bon, I meant not to deceive,” Zecora apologized. “I hope there is a way I can make you believe.” She looked over me, and I realized I was standing a little slumped. I tried to straighten myself out and winced as my weight fell on my left again. “Originally our plan was to take him away, but seeing his condition, it’d be best if he stayed. I do hate to trouble you, I hate to be a pest, but I cannot take him now, Hunter needs to rest.”

Bon-Bon’s eyebrow rose. “Just one night?” she clarified, looking between Lyra and Zecora. “And then he goes to the forest?” They glanced at each other and nodded their heads. She gave me a distrustful look. “Let’s continue this in the kitchen,” Bon-Bon said, not taking her eyes off me.

“Really?” Lyra gasped with hopeful eyes. A wide grin threatened to split her face. “Does this mean—”

“Maybe,” Bon-Bon cut her off. She took her eyes off me with a sigh and turned to Lyra. “If it’s going to stay here, then we have a lot to discuss.” Her eyes darted to Zecora. “You, too.”

Zecora nodded in understanding and relaxed slightly, as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders. She threw me a reassuring smile and trotted back into the dining area. Bon-Bon put a hoof on Lyra and pushed her to follow.

“Um, don’t worry, Hunter,” she called as she was forced deeper into the house. “We’ll come up with something. In the meantime, make yourself at home!” Bon-Bon gave her another shove behind the doorway and gave me a glare. She brought her hoof up to her eyes and traced them back to me before disappearing as well, leaving me alone with Noteworthy and Daisy.

Daisy somehow managed to melt even further into the couch, her face buried in her hooves. Her body was still shaking, but it wasn’t until I saw her wide grin that I realized that it was out of excitement rather than anxiety.

“Oh. My. Gosh!” she exclaimed. She sprung up and looked between me and Noteworthy with thrill in her eyes. “I can’t believe we did it. We actually pulled it off!” She leaned in towards Noteworthy, planting her hooves on the coffee table. “Did you feel it? That rush? We could have gotten caught at any time, but we did it!” she squealed in delight.

Her excitement must have been contagious. Noteworthy was already prancing in place. “I know!” he exclaimed with a broad smile. “My heart was racing the whole time. It felt amazing! We need to go on adventures like this more often.”

I couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Maybe, but not too soon,” I offered with a chuckle. “I don’t think I have it in me to bust out of a hospital again.”

Daisy’s ears shot up. “Oh, Hunter!” She made room and beckoned me over to the couch. “Sorry, I forgot you were hurt. Get off that leg and get some rest.”

“Geez, Daisy, took you this long to remember?” Noteworthy teased as he sat in one of the chairs.

“Oh, shut up,” she shot back with a smile. It seemed like nothing could get her out of her bubbly mood. Daisy turned to me as I hobbled over to the free seat. “So, do you think we could tag along tomorrow when you and Zecora go back to the Everfree?”

“You want to tag along?” I asked as I collapsed next to her. She shot up an inch as the cushion launched her. My hands helped my leg find its way to the coffee table and let it rest there. “Weren’t you the one literally getting sick from stress a few minutes ago?”

She tried to wave it off with a hoof. “Yeah, but that’s why I want to do it again!” She looked me dead in the eye. “I spend all my time behind a flower booth in the marketplace; all day, every day. This was the most excitement I’ve had in years! Well, the fun kind of excitement anyways.” She hummed in thought as her mind trailed. “Oh, I wonder what Rose and Lily would say if they knew what we did tonight.” She leaned back on the couch and let her head roll back, the goofy smile still plastered on her face.

“Is this what it always feels like?” Noteworthy asked excitedly. I gave him a look, asking for more clarity. “When you’re in the forest,” he explained. “When you’re out there by yourself doing whatever dangerous stuff you do. Is this the kinda rush you normally get?”

I hesitated for a second and shook my head and smiled. “I don’t think this goes up there on the list of ‘dangerous stuff’ I’ve done,” I explained. “A lot of crazy things happened while I was out there.”

“Like what?” he pressed.

He was eager, I could tell that much. Like Daisy, this was probably one of the most daring things he had done in a while. I wasn’t sure if he realized how deadly the forest really was for me, how every day was a fight for survival. Even still, the good mood in the air was contagious, and I was quickly falling under its symptoms.

“Tell you what,” I offered, leaning forward a bit. “When this all blows over and things calm down enough, come over to the castle sometime, and I’ll tell you about the time I ran into a space bear.”

His eyes widened as his jaw dropped. And slowly, ever so slowly, it morphed into the biggest grin I had seen yet. “Deal!” he laughed.

“Yes!”

We all turned our attention to the dining room where the excited voice came from. Lyra hopped into the room with a broad smile on her face, practically dancing. She leapt into the air and landed between me and Daisy on the couch. Bon-Bon walked in soon after in a much calmer manner. She seemed a little worn out as she dragged herself into the room and climbed into one of the chairs. Zecora followed closely behind, an amused look in her eyes.

Bon-Bon let out a deep sigh. “Alright, Hunter,” she started. I was surprised she called me by name. “After a long and very tedious discussion, Lyra and I have decided—” She buried her head into a hoof in defeat. “You can stay for the time being.”

Lyra shot up, pumping her hoof into the air. “Aw, yeah!”

“But I expect you to behave yourself,” Bon-Bon added with a hardened look. “So help me, if I have to clean up any messes you make—”

“I’ll be sure to keep everything as clean as possible,” I promised, holding my hands up in defense.

She nodded tiredly and hopped off the chair. “Alright then. Everypony, it’s time to go to bed. It’s nearly two in the morning, and I have a busy day tomorrow.” She turned to Zecora. “No offense, but my house is a little full at the moment.”

“I understand,” Zecora nodded. “No need to feel impolite.” Her eyes flickered to me before she gave a smile. “I’ll return for Hunter by tomorrow’s night.”

Noteworthy and Daisy were already on their way out the door, wishing me a good night’s rest. Zecora waved goodbye, and I returned it as she disappeared through the front door. Bon-Bon trotted up the stairs to the second floor, and I heard a door close.

Lyra hopped off the couch and tugged on my arm. “Come on, Hunter. You could use the sleep more than any of us.”

I laughed, “Not arguing that.” I waved her off though. “The couch is pretty cozy though. I can crash here for tonight. Don’t want to be too much trouble.”

She shook her head. “No way. You’re my guest, and you are not sleeping on the couch. Besides, what if somepony walks through the front door and catches you sleeping?” she asked. “You’ll get caught, and I’ll have to break you out of that hospital again.”

It was clear she wasn’t planning on letting up, and I was too exhausted to argue where I was supposed to sleep. With a sigh and a grunt, I pulled myself up and trudged over to the stairs. My leg could carry my weight a little better; either that or it was just growing numb to the pain. I still had to use the rail for support.

When we reached to top of the stairs, one of the doors glowed and swung open, and I followed Lyra as she trotted inside The lights came on with a soft click. It was a nice, simple room. A large bed with an ornate headboard jutted out of the middle of the right wall. A dark green rug laid on the floor before it, and two nightstands flanked both of its sides, one of which had a lamp that illuminated the room.

There was clutter lying around everywhere. Wads of crumpled paper were haphazardly tossed to the trashcan next to the desk in the corner. A lyre, music stand, and chair rested in the other corner, musical paper littered around it. I noticed there were posters around the desk, all having crudely drawn pictures of a human with ponies. I blinked as I realized whose room this was.

“Sorry about the mess,” Lyra apologized as she trotted further in. “I didn’t think I was going to have company tonight.” Her horn ignited, and her bed began making itself. The sheets tidied themselves, and decorative pillows fell into position. Once the ensemble was finished, the covers peeled back from the side as if to invite me. Lyra gave a satisfied smile as she turned to me. “Bed’s all yours,” she explained. She took one of the pillows and summoned a blanket from the closet, settling down on the rug at the end of the bed.

“Hey, I’m not too comfortable kicking you out of your own bed,” I said. “Let me take the floor.”

She shook her head defiantly. “Oh, no you don’t. You’ve been through way too much these last few days,” she explained. “You deserve a bed worth sleeping in. I’ll be here if you need anything.” I tried to argue, but she refused to even acknowledge me, laying her head down on the pillow and turning her back to me. I snorted and shook my head in disbelief. Redheart’s words rang in my head. She definitely was a stubborn one.

I tried to seem begrudging as I hobbled to the bed, but truth be told, I was ready to collapse into its open arms. My body melted as I laid into the bed. It was comfortable. Really comfortable. It easily beat the hard mattress at the hospital. I had forgotten how nice it was to bury myself beneath the sheets and comforter. My grin wouldn’t fade, even as I drifted closer and closer into sleep.

“Hey, Lyra?” I called in a whisper. She hummed in response. “Thanks for busting me out.”

I heard her chuckle. “You kidding?” she asked tiredly. “Breaking friends out of trouble is what friends do. Goodnight, Hunter.” There was soft click, and the room was plunged into darkness.

I smiled in disbelief and felt a yawn take over as I began to drift. “Goodnight, Lyra.”

Act II: A House Divided

I found myself stuck in that strange stage between dreams and awake. A dull ache blanketed my body. I struggled to find the willpower to open my eyes, but I was too comfortable in my half-sleep to return to the waking world. My body shifted, and I felt a weight on top of me. Covers. I smiled lightly and pulled them closer. Actual covers. Sheet and comforter and all. What did I do to deserve this small blessing?

I took in a deep breath and smelled food. Actual food. My smile deepened as my eyes fluttered open. I couldn’t remember what the smell was, just that the taste was even better. I blinked a few times, and as the room came into focus, my heart stopped.

Where was I?

I shot up in the bed, much to my body’s contempt. I had to force myself to ignore its complaints as my eyes darted around the room. Memories of last night came flooding back with each small detail of the room, and a sigh of relief escaped me. I was safe. I was free.

The early morning sun was just barely peeking into the room, lulling me to go back to sleep. I allowed myself to fall back in Lyra’s bed and stared into the ceiling. The bed was so welcoming; I nearly dozed back into a light dream, but as my body slowly woke up, so did a faint throb. Curious, I reluctantly peeled away the covers and winced at what I found.

Blood. Just a stain, but blood nonetheless. The blue denim of my jeans had been painted an ugly brown around my leg. There wasn’t much, but it was still noticeable. I searched the sheets around it and was relieved to find that it didn’t spread.

A defeated sigh escaped me. The smell of food and the sight of the stain chased off any hopes of rest. My body groaned and popped as I stretched, trying to anchor myself back into the waking world. I carefully swung my legs off the bed and stood up.

“Yipe!”

Only to jump out of my skin as the unicorn shouted beneath me.

“Shoot! Lyra, are you alright?” I winced, my heart racing. I was back on the bed, clutching my chest with a hand to calm myself down. One night of being back in a “normal” home, and everything was already spiraling out of control.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Lyra waved off with an embarrassed smile. She went back to inspecting her tail, combing it with a hoof. “It just… surprised me more than anything,” she offered with a weak chuckle.

My hand wiped away the last traces of sleep in my eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t even see you there,” I explained. “I thought you were on the other end of the bed.” My heart sank a little deeper as she kept focusing on her tail, brushing out stray hairs. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Lyra stopped and offered me a smile. “Hunter, I’m fine,” she promised. Her eyes looked to the side as an embarrassed blush took over. “And I was on the rug, but it sounded like you were having trouble sleeping.”

“Oh, no, I was out like a light,” I chuckled, hoping to lighten the mood. “The bed was great. I just toss around a bit in my sleep.”

“Yeah, you talk a bit, too,” Lyra added sheepishly.

“Oh.” That was news to me. My mind raced back to my dreams, trying to remember where my subconscious went, but the memories were already fading. “I, uh, hope I didn’t say anything too embarrassing,” I prayed with a self-conscious smile.

Lyra waved a hoof. “Don’t worry; it was all mumbled anyway.”

The door crashed open, and my heart leapt out of my chest again. Our heads snapped to greet the cream-colored mare panting in the doorway. “I heard you scream,” Bon-Bon explained as she looked frantically around the room. Her eyes locked on me and narrowed. “What did you do?” she demanded.

I held up my hands in defense and opened my mouth, but Lyra beat me to it. “Everything’s fine, Bon-Bon,” she promised. “Hunter just accidentally stepped on me. No harm done.”

Bon-Bon’s eyebrow rose. “‘Accidentally’, huh?” she asked, although it sounded more like a challenge than a question.

“I was half-asleep,” I explained, the words stumbling out of my mouth. “I didn’t see her, but I’m wide awake now. No more accidents.” I tacked on a smile, hoping it would add to the sincerity, but the nervous sweat may have made it unconvincing.

Bon-Bon’s glare lingered before her eyes fell off me and onto Lyra. The steely look melted away, but the caution was still in her voice. “I made you some pancakes, Lyra. They’re blueberry; your favorite. I need to leave soon; Gum Drop doesn’t like it when I’m late.” Her eyes flickered back to me. “Are you sure you’ll be alright by yourself?”

Lyra nodded confidently. “Don’t you worry; Hunter and I’ll hold the fort,” she grinned.

Bon-Bon didn’t appear to appreciative of the answer, but she also didn’t seem to be in the mood to argue. “Just be careful,” she sighed. “Okay?”

With a reassuring smile from Lyra, Bon-Bon reluctantly turned and left us to our devices.

“Well, she seems to be warming up to me just fine,” I commented as the door shut behind the mare.

“Just… give her some time,” Lyra offered with an apologetic smile. “She just isn’t used to you yet. Once all of this ‘monster’ business blows over, and if I can convince her to visit, I’m sure you two will get along.” It sounded more like she was giving wishful thinking, but I didn’t want to crush her hopes. I carefully stood up again, allowing my body to stretch. There was a dull throb in my leg, but it was livable. Lyra noticed and looked me up and down. “How’s your leg?” she asked hopefully.

“It’s been better,” I said; the understatement of the century. “Still aching a bit, but at least I can stand on it.” I tried to prove my point by shifting my weight and bit back a wince. “Well, mostly, that is,” I hissed, gingerly lifting it off the floor.

“Maybe we can get Zecora to take a look at it before you leave,” Lyra suggested.

I nodded. “Yeah, that would be nice. The sooner, the better, too. Maybe she can whip up another miracle potion,” I joked. I took another whiff of the air. The smell of food was intoxicating, and my stomach voiced its complaint. My hand shot to cover it, and I offered Lyra a meek smile. “So… how about that breakfast?”

Lyra giggled. “Go on ahead; I’ll meet you down there.” The sheets on the bed began to float and rearrange themselves. A part of me wanted to stay and help, but the promise of food lured me back to the door.

I followed the scent across the second floor towards the stairs and paused. Bon-Bon stared at me from below at the front door. She raised her hoof to her distrustful eyes and traced them back to me. She stepped out without a word, and the soft slam of the door seemed to echo. I released the breath I was unknowingly holding and silently prayed Zecora would arrive sooner than planned. Today was going to be long and uncomfortable with that mare otherwise.

I trudged down the stairs, pushing Bon-Bon’s glare out of my head. The scent carried me into the kitchen, and my stomach groaned longingly to the small banquet that waited for me. Pancakes, hash browns, biscuits, fruits, leftover muffins… My mouth was watering. How long has it been since I have had a real breakfast?

Without wasting any more time, I moved for the nearest plate and began greedily loading them up. Half of the stack of pancakes found themselves on my plate and drowning in syrup. Hash browns were thrown sloppily to the side, and my hands grazed over the bowl of apples before claiming a pair of muffins. My parched tongue led me to the fridge, and I helped myself to a glass of orange juice.

Satisfied with my harvest, I moved back to the dining room, where a new problem presented itself. The dining table was too small; its top barely reaching my knees. The chairs were even worse. Sitting in them might as well have meant sitting on the ground. It almost didn’t sound like a bad idea, but I was Lyra’s guest, and my parents would scold me if I didn’t act like it.

I could hear Lyra coming downstairs as I sat down, and she appeared in the doorway as I finished stuffing my legs beneath the table. She hummed an odd tune as she entered the kitchen, and a plate followed nearby, collecting her breakfast as it drifted in the air. My eyes couldn’t help but watch curiously as I sat patiently. Something about unicorns and their magic… it felt unreal to watch.

“Oh, were you waiting for me?” I blinked and realized she was staring back. My stomach answered before I had the chance to. My hand moved to cover it, as if it could pull back the sound, and I offered an apologetic smile. Lyra chuckled lightly, “You don’t have to do that; I can tell you’re starving.”

“Oh, yes I do,” I snorted, turning back to my meal and prodding at it with a fork. “My folks wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if I ate before everyone was seated. Drilled it into me since I was a kid.”

“Sounds nice,” she offered.

A faint chuckle escaped me. “You and I have very different definitions of ‘nice’,” I pointed out. She seated herself across from me, and I let out a sigh. “It… was nice, though,” I admitted softly.

Lyra adjusted herself and gave a warm smile. “Well, I think you’ve been waiting long enough. Dig in!”

I didn’t have to hear it twice. I plucked up the knife and quartered the stack of pancakes. They had been sitting long enough to absorb the butter and syrup that had originally slathered them, and it only made me all the more eager to steal a taste.

I had to restrain myself from swallowing it whole. My stomach waited in greedy anticipation as I rolled the food in my mouth, trying to savor every second. I eventually gave in and swallowed, and, with a sigh, set down my fork and stared at the rest of my breakfast.

“How do you like it?” Lyra asked hopefully. I didn’t answer immediately. “Hunter?” she pressed, a sliver of worry lining her voice.

“This has to be a crime,” I deadpanned, looking up to Lyra. She stared at me, dumbfounded. Her mouth moved, but she didn’t know what to say. A few seconds ticked by before I couldn’t keep the charade up any longer. My grin was starting to break free. “These pancakes are better than my mother’s.”

Lyra blinked. The gears in her head slowly turned. And as I hid my grin behind a hand, realization fully struck her. She picked up her napkin and threw it at me playfully. “You jerk,” she accused, but she couldn’t help her own smile. “You had me worried for a second.”

The air quickly lightened as we laughed. Lyra summoned her napkin back, and I was already scarfing down the rest of my pancakes. “In all seriousness, though, this food is incredible.” I gestured to what was left of the stack with my fork. “Bon-Bon made these?”

“Yeah, she’s quite the cook, isn’t she?” She chased down a bite of blueberry pancake with a sip of orange juice. “I’m real lucky to have a friend like her. Celestia knows where I’d be without her.”

I smiled. This was nice; sitting here, eating a normal breakfast with someone, enjoying the small talk. It was a pleasant relief from waking in the cold and lonely castle with only scraps of fruits and vegetables to make a meal of. The danger of being caught still hung in the air over me as I ate, but it was comforting having company to talk to rather than my split conscience. It allowed me to think of my situation from another view… and think on it some more. A small laughter bubbled inside, and I couldn’t restrain the unbelieving grin growing on my face.

“Y’know,” I started, trying to hold back the chuckle escaping me. “If you would’ve told me a couple months ago that I’d be sitting here, in a town full of ponies and eating breakfast with a talking unicorn, I would’ve called you crazy.” I got to work on my last muffin. “It’s funny how Life’ll throw you a curve ball like that.”

“Yeah,” Lyra giggled. “And if somepony told me I would befriend an alien fugitive and let him in my home, I’d say the same thing."

Everything was at ease. There was no tension in the air. Nothing felt out of the ordinary. It just seemed so... normal. This breakfast could very well have been at home or at school and I would barely recognize the difference; well, outside of the obvious.

I watched Lyra’s fork twirl in the air with an amused smile. I knew unicorns possessed some sort of an uncanny power. Too many weird things happened around them for me to think otherwise, but I never really had a word for it until that fateful night at the hospital. Magic.

It made sense… in the sense I couldn’t explain it otherwise. I never had much time to sit and think about it until now. A part of me always joked that it was magic back then, but now, sure enough, in the land of unicorns and pegasi, talking ponies and mythological creatures, magic was also real.

I guessed I shouldn’t be too surprised by now.

My fork dragged the last bite of pancake across the empty plate, trying to sponge up what little syrup was left. My stomach ached, but it was a much more welcome sensation than usual. The last time I had this much food was the night before the camping trip.

My empty plate lifted and drifted next to Lyra’s. “Why don’t you put some music on?” she offered. “I can handle the dishes. Phonograph’s in the living room.”

I rose from the table and stretched my legs. “Anything in particular?” I asked on my way out.

Lyra disappeared into the kitchen with the dishes and called out, “Surprise me!”

I knelt in front of the phonograph, trying to ignore the dull pain in my leg. A faint smile grew as I searched through the records in the bookshelf next to it. This brought back old memories; old memories of much simpler times. My fingers flipped through album after album, and I quickly realized I didn’t know any of these artists. Sapphire Shores. Blue Note Blues. Andante & Allegro. Now that I thought of it, I wasn’t sure why I was surprised I didn’t.

The list was unending, but I eventually narrowed it down to a couple of choices. I wasn’t sure who Sapphire Shores or Blue Note were, or what their music sounded like. The list on the backs of their albums didn’t offer much help. The covers were colorful, enough to catch my eye and pick them out, but I was still going in blind; or deaf, I supposed.

I sighed. “Sorry, Blue. I’m a sucker for sax, but it’ll have to wait for another day.” I retired his record back to the shelf and carefully pulled Sapphire’s vinyl out. It still had a nice shine to it; a pleasant little surprise for me. I was so used to holding them as if they would turn to dust in my hands. The record was set, spinning in place and waiting to be heard. I led the needle over it and gently let it down.

There was a soft static, and my head recoiled as a woman’s voice sang loudly in my face. I chuckled in amusement and lowered the volume before moving to the couch.

“Ooh, this is one of Bon-Bon’s favorites!”

Lyra was grinning from ear to ear as she trotted into the living room. She crawled up to the couch and, after studying how my legs rested on the coffee table, mimicked me. Her hooves had to stretch to just barely reach the coffee table. She leaned her head against the back of the couch and rested her hooves on her chest. She hummed in thought and looked up to me. “This ain’t too bad,” she smiled.

We burst into a fit of giggles, Lyra pulling her hind legs into a more comfortable position. I took in a breath and was about to release a content sigh when a scent caught my attention. I sniffed the air, trying to find where it was coming from, and looked down. Hesitantly, I pulled up my shirt and took another whiff.

“Oh God, is that me?” I asked as I recoiled.

“Is what you?” Lyra asked innocently.

“That smell!”

Lyra blinked. “Wait, so you’re not supposed to smell like that?” she pressed cautiously. I shook my head. “Oh, thank Celestia,” she sighed in relief, melting back into the couch. “I was going to say something, but I didn’t want to offend you or anything. There’s a shower upstairs if you want it.”

“You wouldn’t mind?” I asked.

She waved her hoof dismissively. “Go ahead. There should be some spare towels down in the cabinet.”

“You’re a saint!” I called, already on my way upstairs.

Everything was smaller than I expected. Although to be honest, I wasn’t sure why I expected otherwise. My head went well over the mirror. I crouched down to get a better look at myself, and the Beast of the Everfree came down to greet me. Grime still smothered my face, buried into my mangy, patchy beard and rat’s nest of hair. I realized in embarrassment that I had spent all morning looking like this.

I barely recognized the eyes in the reflection, and they bored into mine, searching for some familiarity. Something familiar burned in the back of my head.

You’re growing complacent, my inner voice warned.

“I’m about to shower,” I pointed out in a whisper. “Sorry for not being on edge.”

My reflection scoffed. This pony is making you soft, it accused. It’s not safe here.

I rolled my eyes and turned on the water, hoping to drown out the conversation from any eavesdroppers. I tore off my shirt and made my way back to the mirror. My reflection leaned in, resting its hands on the sink’s countertop.

“I’m safer here than anywhere else,” I argued, glaring into its eyes. “What, would you rather I go back to the Everfree? The wolves will kill me before I make it ten feet in there.”

You wouldn’t even be in this mess if it wasn’t for her, it hissed. You were doing so well before she came in. You weren’t scared of hurting any of these ponies. And now you’re throwing away opportunities to save yourself time and pain by saving ponies from a town that hates you. And after all they did, she is still trying to make you friends with them.

“She saved my life,” I reminded it. “After all that talk of survival, I would have thought you’d appreciate that. Why don’t you trust her?”

Why do you trust her?

“She’s my friend.” I paused to let the fact settle in. “She risked herself to free me from the hospital, just like she’s been risking herself to convince everybody to give me a second chance.”

You may need to rethink your ‘friends’. We recall a few humans back on Earth you were attached to.

I grit my teeth and pushed myself away from the mirror. “We’re done here,” I growled with finality.

I bit back a wince as a headache pulsed. Oh, no we’re not, the voice pressed. You’re getting too comfortable around your enemy.

Why do they all have to be my enemy? I demanded. What’s wrong with wanting some friends in this twisted world? Why do I have to be alone?

It didn’t reply, but I could still feel in lingering in the corners of my mind. I took in a breath and slowly let it out. I was wasting Lyra’s water.

I pulled a towel out of the cabinet and stripped off my jeans and boxers. The water was scalding. My hand moved to the cold-water valve but paused as a realization struck me. I haven’t had a hot shower in over a month.

I stepped into the burning tub and waiting to adjust to the heat before cleaning. A small shiver went down my spine. After over a month of bathing in the cold river water, it was wonderful to feel this burning over my body. I ran my hands over my face and through my hair and watched as the caked-in dirt washed down the drain, as if the grime was the Everfree itself.

The thought lingered, and I began scrubbing the rest of me, searching wildly for some soap. The Everfree ran down the drain in dark rivers. I peeled away the bandages over my body, exposing the wounds and stitches to the purifying heat. Faint crimson streams trailed down to merge with the Everfree, and with each river that disappeared, I felt more and more at ease.

Author's Notes:

So, confession time, had to break this chapter in half because it was breaking 11k, and I didn't want to make you guys have to sit through that, and it's been a solid minute since I've updated . It feels a little small, but it was the best place I could think to place the cut. On the plus side, I have a huge head start for the next one, but I'm still working out the kinks to it. It ought to be up relatively sooner.

Hope you all enjoyed this little slice!
Coming Soon: Act II: Trials and Errors

Act II: Trials and Errors

Over the roar of the showerhead, I could barely hear a conversation downstairs. A very loud conversation. The two voices were uncomfortably familiar. I quickly cut off the water and reached for the towel, fearing I was starting to overstay my welcome.

“—can’t stay here, Lyra,” Bon-Bon’s voice cut through the air.

I quickly dried myself off.

“Where else is he supposed to go? He can’t walk outside in broad daylight!” Lyra shot back.

I threw on my boxers and jeans, scrubbing the towel against my hair.

“You should have thought of that before you let him stay!”

The t-shirt fell over my head as my arms slipped through the sleeves. My fingers combed through my hair, and my new, clean reflection stared at me with those same, old eyes.

Trouble in paradise?

“Can it,” I muttered as I threw open the door.

“Bon-Bon, that isn’t fair! He hasn’t had enough time to rest,” Lyra’s voice shouted from downstairs. “We can’t just kick him out.”

“Yes, we can!” Bon-Bon argued. “The Princess is coming today, and Twilight is starting to panic. Were you even here the last time that happened?”

“Th-That doesn’t mean he has to leave.” Lyra was losing her ground.

“Yes, Lyra, that’s exactly what that means,” Bon-Bon pressed. Their voices had calmed down, albeit slightly. “As far as everypony knows, he’s a criminal. What do you think is going to happen if we’re caught harboring him? Everypony’s going to think—”

Her voice trailed off as Lyra stared past her, frozen in a wince. She followed her eyes and found me waiting at the base of the stairs, trying to look anywhere but at the two mares.

“Oh.” The silence hung in the air, heavy and uncomfortable. I built the courage to meet Lyra’s eyes. Her lips moved, but opted to clamp shut as she couldn’t find any words. Bon-Bon dared to break the silence. “How much have you heard?”

“Enough,” I said to the floor beneath her hooves.

“Then you understand the situation?” It sounded more like a fact than a question. I took in a breath and sighed, nodding my head.

“Hunter, wait,” Lyra begged, stepping out of the dining room. “It-It’s not as bad as it sounds. You don’t have to leave just yet. Twilight doesn’t know where you are.”

“But she has an idea of where to look,” Bon-Bon interjected. “She came into the shop and asked where you were. I told her you’d normally be in the park by now or grabbing lunch, but that’s only going to hold her off for so long.”

“Wh-What?” Lyra asked incredulously. “Why is she looking for me?”

Bon-Bon rolled her eyes. “Seriously?” she huffed. “Maybe it’s all those rallies you held about him. Maybe it’s all the posters you made. Maybe it’s the fact that you’re the only pony in town that even cares about him!” She froze, realizing what she had just said. Her eyes darted to me, but rather than the usual daggers they had a wary look. “That… was out of line,” she admitted, the floor suddenly becoming very interesting to her. She prodded at it with a hoof. “My apologies.”

I started to say something, but all that came out was a defeated sigh. I shook my head and turned to Lyra. “I think I’ve overstayed my welcome here.”

“Just wait,” Lyra snapped. She glared at her housemate. “She didn’t mean it,” she challenged Bon-Bon, who refused to look her in the eye. With a satisfied nod, Lyra returned her attention to me. “Come on, Hunter, just think about this,” she pleaded. “If it’s really as bad as Bon-Bon said, you can’t go outside; you’ll get caught.”

“If I stay in here, we all get caught,” I countered, leaning towards her on the stairs’ guardrails. “And I’m not about to drag you two down with me. You’ve been through enough trouble putting up with me already.”

“I haven’t been ‘putting up’ with you,” Lyra said incredulously. “You’re my friend, Hunter. I’m not going to let you throw yourself out to the wolves.”

Well, if we’re being honest, I’m being thrown to the ‘wolves’ either way, I thought darkly. I suppressed a frustrated groan with a sigh and massaged the stress out of my head with a hand. “Alright. But I’m not going to stay here and get you in trouble,” I said with finality, looking to her. “What’s your plan?”

Lyra hesitated. She didn’t have a plan; I could see it in her eyes, but she was too stubborn to admit defeat. She turned to Bon-Bon, who had opted to rest in a chair as we talked. “Find Daisy or Noteworthy,” she said. “Tell them to get Zecora as fast as possible, and bring a wagon, too.”

Bon-Bon deflated and climbed back to the floor. “I guess it’s time for my early lunch break to end anyways,” she sighed in exasperation. She paused as she approached the door and turned back to Lyra. “I’ll send your message, to both of them if I can. In the meantime… just try not to attract any attention here, either of you.” The door closed softly behind her.

Lyra and I shifted under the uncomfortable weight of silence that filled the room. An inkling of fear flittered in the back of my mind. This could be the last time we see each other. The wrath of a Princess fed with misinformation was waiting for me in the town, and Twilight was bound to find me eventually. If Lyra’s half-baked plan worked, I’d be delivered back to the hungry maws of the timberwolves.

This very well could have been my last few hours.

The revelation hung over my head. I suppressed a nervous shudder and looked to Lyra. She laid on the couch in defeat, face buried into a pillow. My eyes flicked to the phonograph, its record still with the needle sitting patiently in the middle, and built up my determination.

This very well could have been my last few hours; I might as well make the most of it.

With the flick of a switch, the machine hummed to life. A song sluggishly pushed through the static, eager to play its soothing melody after being rudely interrupted.

I stole a glance behind me. Lyra pulled her head up from the pillow and looked at me tiredly. “That’s a little better,” I offered. I tried to smile, but it died before it ever touched my lips.

Lyra gave a weak smile. “You know, I was kinda surprised you knew how to operate that,” she admitted. “I bought it new from Canterlot. Are humans normally good with machines?”

“You could say that,” I chuckled halfheartedly, sitting down in the chair next to it. “My grandfather has one kinda similar from way back when. He always let me and my brothers take it out whenever we visited.” I reached over and flicked the switch, and the record came to a stop. “They don’t make these anymore back home; found better ways to record and play music. But it’s still nice going ‘back in time’ every now and then, you know?”

“You haven’t really talked much about your home,” Lyra pointed out. “At least, not outside of your stories. What was it like? How was your family?”

I hesitated, and a weak smile forced itself out. “Oh, I… They were great. Are great,” I corrected myself. “I could tell you stories all day about my father’s misadventures in cooking or the days I was in my mother’s class in junior high or how my brothers always find a way to get under my skin. But…” I shook my head. Memories were threatening to come back, along with the longing heartbreak that tailed them.

“Thinking about it all has been making me real homesick lately.”

Lyra didn’t say anything. For a moment, I thought that heavy silence was going to return, but she rose from the couch and gave me a bright smile. “Come on, let’s make some cookies.”

“What?” I asked in disbelief.

“Let’s make some cookies,” she repeated, already on her way to the kitchen. “It’ll be fun. And it’d be nice to give our friends something when they come to pick you up.”

I saw what she was doing; trying to give us something to do while we ignored the elephant in the room. But I couldn’t have been more grateful. “Right behind ya,” I chuckled, standing up from the chair.

Lyra hummed in thought from the kitchen. “Chocolate chip or peanut butter?”

I laughed. “You say that as if there’s a choice!”

I was down on my hands and knees, busy scrubbing the flour-covered floor. It looked like a tornado had ran through the kitchen… twice. A fine film of flour coated the floor and countertops. Eggshells and yolk were splattered around the sink. We even spilled a carton of milk, which we spent an appropriate time mourning over.

And we were laughing the whole time.

“I swear, this has never happened to me before,” I explained.

Lyra scoffed jokingly, “Oh, I bet you say that to all the mares.”

I struggled to suppress a laugh, but a snort managed to escape. We weren’t sure how it started. Lyra would pin it on me for accidentally bringing an early winter while attempting to open a new bag of flour, but I would place my bets on the moment she “accidentally” spilled a second teaspoon of vanilla on me. Regardless, the room was a mess, along with us. There were still splotches of flour matted into Lyra’s coat, and my shirt still smelled eerily of vanilla. Lyra suggested we clean as much as we could while our spoils of war were still baking in the oven.

The sweet scent of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies hung in the air, replacing that horrible silence we chased away with our laughter. Even as I scrubbed at the tiles, I found myself asking the universe to let this last just a little longer. Just a little longer to delay whatever plans fate had waiting for me. Just a little longer to stay here with my friend and laugh and joke and not have a care in the world.

The oven buzzed, and we decided we had cleaned enough. I went searching for some oven mitts, but a metallic clang cut my journey short. I turned to find that the tray had “magically” moved from the open oven to the countertop. Lyra hummed happily as the cookies drifted into the air and arranged themselves neatly on a small plate.

“That magic sure is starting to look convenient,” I joked. “Picking up a fresh pan of cookies without getting burned and moving them to a plate so quickly. The possibilities seem endless.”

It won a giggle out of Lyra. “Come on,” she said, trotting out of the kitchen with the plate following close by. “Let’s move this to the living room.”

She didn’t have to say it twice. The plate drifted down on the coffee table, and we threw ourselves onto the couch and dug in. They melted slightly in my fingers and burned my tongue, but the peanut butter and chocolate taste was addictive. I had to force myself to hold back after the fourth, telling myself I was spoiling my lunch. But as I looked to the clock hanging on the wall, I realized this might very well be my last lunch for a while. As the somber silence crept back in my mind, I allowed myself one more cookie to chase it away.

A trio of sharp knocks echoed throughout the house. Lyra and I froze, staring at the door. The curtains to the front windows were still closed. We had no way of knowing who had won the race for my fate.

“Go to the kitchen,” Lyra whispered. “Just in case. Use the back door if you need to.”

I nodded and moved, my heart racing. I stole a glance behind me from the dining room, and Lyra tried to give me a reassuring smile from the front door. The knocks rang out again. Lyra took in a deep breath and turned to the door, and I hid away in the kitchen, praying for a miracle.

“Oh, hey, Twilight!” My heart stopped. “Want a cookie? I just made them,” Lyra announced proudly.

“Oh, thank you! I would love one,” Twilight replied. Her cheery tone put me on edge, but I didn’t dare attempt to steal a peek to the front door. “So, have you been here all day?” Twilight asked through a bite of cookie. “I didn’t see you at the park this morning. You normally have your little get-togethers on Thursdays.”

“Yeah, I figured I’d have a lazy day,” Lyra explained. I noticed a faint waver in her voice. A part of me knew Twilight caught it, too. “I’ve been having a hard time coming up with new ideas, but I think I have something planned for later this afternoon. Ooh, thinking about attending this time?”

I crept to the backdoor between the kitchen and dining room, careful not to make myself visible from the front.

“You know, after everything that’s happened these last couple days, I think I might just check it out,” Twilight said, her voice dripping with ulterior motives.

I pulled open the door and stepped outside—

Only to nearly stumble into Rainbow Dash. We stared at each other in shock, not sure we were really there. A second ticked by. I slowly stepped back in, never taking my eyes off hers, and shut the door, switching the deadbolt as an afterthought. Maybe she didn’t see me.

There was a heavy thump as something rammed into the other side of the door. I cursed under my breath.

“What was that?” Twilight piped up from the front door.

“O-Oh, that?” Lyra stammered. “Well, I, um…”

“It’s here, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted from the back end of the house. The front door slammed shut. I ran back to the living room to find Lyra standing on her hind legs and propped up against it.

“We have a problem!” she exclaimed.

“I noticed!” I shot back. I whirled around the living room, looking for something to defend ourselves with.

“I may have slammed the door on her muzzle,” she squeaked. “She’s not going to be happy about that.”

A hoof pounded on the front door. “Lyra, open this door now!” Twilight’s voice filled the house. “The Princess is in town and wants to see the human. Let us in, and you won’t be in any more trouble than you already are!”

“You’re not laying a hoof on him, Twilight!” Lyra shouted back. “You’ve given Hunter enough trouble. Just leave him alone!”

“I don’t think egging her on is going to help,” I pointed out worriedly.

Another wave of pounding from the other side of the door. “Don’t make us break down this door, Lyra!” Twilight warned. “I’m giving you to the count of three!” I stared at Lyra in desperation. The look she gave me wasn’t very reassuring.

“One…”

There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

“Two…”

We had nothing to defend ourselves with. This was it. This was the end.

“Three!”

Lyra and I stared at each other for one last second before it all fell apart.

The door exploded in a torrent of wooden fragments as a blue missile shot through. Rainbow tackled Lyra with her momentum and pinned her to the floor, leaving her in a daze. Twilight leapt inside, and her crazed eyes locked on me. Her mane was a frazzled mess.

“There you are,” she sneered. “Rainbow Dash, go get the rope and a taxi. This won’t take too long.” Rainbow cast an uncertain look between her friend and the unconscious mare beneath her, but with a brisk nod she darted back into the streets of Ponyville, leaving me alone with Twilight. “I’ve been looking all over for you,” she said coldly. “Princess Celestia wants to see you, now.”

This is your chance, the voice whispered eagerly in my mind. Twilight took a step forward. I took one back. After all she has put you through, after all you have suffered; this is your chance. Don’t let her steal this from you, too. Stand and fight!

My heart raced excitedly. I bolted towards Twilight, and she dodged to the side. Leaping over the couch, I vaulted over the guardrails to the stairs, ignoring the flare in my leg as I raced to the top. With a loud pop, Twilight appeared at the top in a spray of purple sparks, crouched low to pounce.

My body moved on its own, driving my knee into Twilight’s muzzle as I reached the top. She sputtered and fell back, giving me enough time to tackle her to the floor. I raised my fist, and it struck against wood as she disappeared beneath me.

Purple light flashed at the end of the hallway. Twilight’s horn ignited, and I barely managed to roll away as a beam of light erupted from her horn. The wall behind me groaned against the impact, a small dent molded in the drywall where the magic struck.

Her horn was charging again. I thundered down the hallway, hoping to reach her before the next blast, but she fired before I was ready. My legs flew out from under me as my chest took the brunt of the blast, and I struggled for a breath as I landed on my back.

Her hooves stamped across the wooden floor closer to me. I came back to my senses in time to see her standing over me. “We don’t have time for this,” she reminded me with a frown. “Are you ready to give up yet?” She relaxed slightly, but I still had some fight left in me.

I pivoted on the floor, sweeping my legs beneath hers and spinning to a prone position. She let out a surprised shriek and she fell and scrambled to recompose herself. By the time she was back on her hooves, though, she was already too late. I was low on all fours and lunged to tackle her.

She didn’t have time to react. My arm wrapped tightly around her neck, and I rolled us to the ground. She wheezed and kicked out against the open air, searching for leverage. Her head was locked in my arm as I pulled myself back to my feet, and her forelegs grabbed desperately at it as she dangled in my grip. My head was pounding heavily.

After all this time, the voice cooed. She finally found her Beast of the Everfree. Finish this.

“You just had to keep chasing me, didn’t you?” I hissed in her ear. “Why couldn’t you leave me alone?!” My arm tightened around her throat. She gave a panicked choke. Her horn ignited one last time, and my body felt as if it had burst into flames.

I stumbled back, numb to the world around me. Stars danced across my vision, and a sharp ringing drowned everything out. I kept my arm locked around the mare’s throat as best as I could, even as the world pitched backwards as guardrail pressed against my legs.

I fought for my breath as my back slammed into the first floor. Twilight fell out of my grasp as we landed, rolling to the couch that felt miles away. Everything felt so distant. The heavy crash of a door broke through the sharp ringing in my ears. My head rolled to the side to find Rainbow Dash helping Twilight back to her shaky hooves.

I had to move. The world shrank beneath me as I rolled to my hands and knees, and everything fell out of focus the moment I stood. There was shouting. Distant, but there. The world tilted back and suddenly lurched forward as I struggled to keep my balance. I stumbled forward and grabbed onto the coffee table for dear life as I fell on top of it. My breath was coming in shallow gasps again. I needed to focus; anchor myself back to the world before it all slipped away.

Something moved across my body, trailing around like a burning snake. It coiled around me tightly, binding arms to my body and my wrists together. I weakly thrashed against it, falling to the floor in the process.

An invisible force dragged me to the front door. Twilight walked next to me, exhausted, her horn faintly glowing. Rainbow Dash hovered anxiously over Lyra as we passed, prodding her shoulder testingly. A new wave of energy surged through me, and I kicked out, digging my heels into the ground as the wooden floor turned to well-trodden dirt.

An open carriage waited for us outside, painted a taxi yellow. The stallion at the front stared at me in shock and turned to Twilight, suddenly aware of his cargo.

“Town square, please,” Twilight requested tiredly. My bindings struggled to lift me with the invisible force and tossed me in the back. Twilight hopped in after me, and the carriage lurched to a start.

The carriage rattled with each rock and divot that struck its wooden wheels, and I felt every shake. I tried to sit up, but with a glare and a glow of her horn, Twilight pulled me back down by my restraints. I caught a hint of satisfaction in her eyes; she seemed to have found a loophole for her magic.

Ponies gasped as we passed by; some even cheered. The deeper we moved into town, the louder a murmur grew behind us. We were attracting a crowd.

Or a parade, the voice spat.

And Twilight has made us the guest of honor, I chimed in darkly. How sweet of her.

There was already a crowd congregated at the town hall when we arrived, and their numbers only grew as our followers flooded in. Two ponies stood on a raised stage, one of which stood out above them all.

Princess Celestia watched us quizzically as the taxi drew closer. I studied her, trying to read her thoughts. A part of me worried that she had forgotten our deal, or that she simply no longer cared. Our eyes locked for a moment, and hers seemed to ask for an explanation.

The crowd was antsy upon seeing me. The cheering began to spread for my punishment, and the pit of dread began to eat away at me. I was defenseless; nowhere to run or hide, even if I could.

I was ejected from the floor of the carriage and onto the stage at the Princess’ hooves. Twilight took her place by the Mayor’s side, brushing a few stray strands back into her mane. That glint of pride never left her eyes, and it made me sick in my stomach.

The Princess took a step back as I landed, regarding me with that same, confused look. “I must admit, I was hoping to see you under better circumstances,” she confessed, looking me over. “Is there a reason he’s… all tied up?”

“He was resisting arrest,” Twilight explained. “And he’s still dangerous. I didn’t want him to run away again.”

“Dangerous?” the Princess echoed. She threw me a cautious glance. “I thought he wasn’t going to be a problem,” she said, more directed to me.

“I wasn’t,” I growled, glaring daggers at Twilight. “Didn’t stop Twilight from making me one, though.”

“What was I supposed to do, pretend you weren’t still out there?” Twilight seethed. “After antagonizing all of us for so long? After stealing from my friends? Some ponies here can’t even sleep at night because they’re scared of you!” she exclaimed, throwing a hoof to the crowd. “And they’re all looking up to me to put an end to your reign of terror.

“You might have been able to trick Lyra and Zecora, you might have been able to fool some of my friends, but I know what you really are. You’re evil!” she declared, jabbing an accusing hoof at me. “And it’s high time you paid for it!”

The crowd cheered her on, and the conviction only burned brighter in her eyes. My vision tunneled around her as I grit my teeth. The nerve of her, acting so high and mighty after everything she had done to me. I stood to my feet, and the Princess put herself between me and Twilight, looking between us and the crowd as they cried for my downfall with a lost look in her eyes.

“Wait!”

Something ran into my side and wrapped her hooves around me. I nearly tipped over from the impact; the soft flutter of her wings was all that let me keep my balance. After shaking away the pink curtain that covered my eyes, I saw Twilight and the Princess staring at me and my assailant in shock. The crowd was silent.

“Please, you can’t do this to him!” Fluttershy pleaded. “You have it all wrong; he doesn’t deserve this!”

“Fluttershy?” Twilight spluttered, gawking at her with wide eyes. “What are you doing?”

“He isn’t evil! He’s not some terrible monster!” Fluttershy exclaimed, clinging to me closer.

“What?” Twilight recoiled slightly, her gaze flicking between us uneasily. “What are you talking about? After everything that’s happened, how can you really believe that?”

“He was just scared!”

“Of what?!”

“Us!”

There was a moment of silence as her words seemed to sink in. She took a shuddering breath and continued.

“That night, when he first showed up, I… I saw it in him. He wasn’t out for blood; he was looking for a way out. He was lost and scared and had no idea what was happening!” She let herself off me and put herself between me and Twilight. “And then, when we followed him into the Everfree forest, we fell from the sky and… and I got hurt. He actually helped me!”

“Then what about all of the thefts? Stealing from Applejack?” Twilight demanded, gesturing her hoof at me. “That wasn’t exactly ‘good’, was it?”

“He was starving!” Fluttershy countered with a frown. “I’m not saying what he did was right, but he was only doing what he felt he needed to survive! And besides,” she shot me a small smile before going on. “He defended the foals at the field trip a week ago. I was there, I saw how hard he was working to keep the foals and the rest of us safe from the timberwolves! I spoke to him, too! He isn’t a monster! He’s just… lost.”

A voice spoke up from the crowd. “She’s right! I’ve talked to him, too!” Daisy’s head poked up from the onlooking sea of uncertain faces. She pushed through the crowd with a courage I had never seen in her before and climbed onto the stage, taking her stand next to me. “He invited me and some other ponies to his place the night before the field trip. We talked and laughed and he told us stories about his home. He isn’t evil, trust me! We just need to give him a chance.”

Twilight looked desperately over the uneasy crowd, her support crumbling around her. Another mare broke from the crowd, and for a moment, Twilight seemed hopeful. But as Applejack trotted up to the stage and pulled her in close, she began whispering something in her ear. Twilight took a step back, and then another, looking as if something horrible had just dawned upon her.

Applejack looked heartbroken. She gulped down whatever fear was weighing down on her and looked to Celestia. “Princess?” she asked sheepishly. She pulled down her hat, resting it respectfully against her chest. “Ah think we may have made a mistake.”

The Princess rose a curious eyebrow. “Care to explain?”

She hesitated, turning to me and then the confused crowd behind her. With an absent nod, she cleared her throat and replaced her hat on her head. “Hunter ain’t the varmint we thought he was,” she opened, looking to her princess. “But… we never gave him the chance to prove it. When that storm rolled in from the Everfree, nopony knew what was going on. Rainbow saw him stumblin’ out of the forest while she was makin’ sure everypony was safe and indoors. We thought he was another crazy critter that lived there; figured he’d just go back after a while. But makin’ him out to be a monster and treatin’ him like that…” Her voice trailed off. I glanced up, and our eyes met. “We may have forced y’all to act like something you ain’t.

“Applebloom and her friends told me everything ‘bout the field trip,” she continued. “Hunter here threw himself in harm’s way just to keep ‘em safe. Hay, he even gave up his chance to go home just to make sure my sister could come back to hers.” The crowd murmured to itself behind me in confusion. Celestia and Twilight looked surprised, and the latter took a step back in shock.

“Ah think Hunter has some good in him; he’s just been down on his luck, is all,” Applejack explained. “If we give him a second chance, and if he gives us one, too, Ah think we’d all get to see that.” Daisy gave me a nudge and a proud smile, pulling me out of my surreal trance. Was this really happening?

“I see.” Princess Celestia kept her calm composure as the truth violently unfolded before her. She looked upon me with a new, softer regard, and her horn began to glow. “I don’t believe these are necessary anymore,” she said matter-of-factly as the ropes binding me unraveled themselves. I was speechless, looking between her and the mares that stood up for me.

“Twilight, could you gather your friends and the mayor and wait for me inside the town hall?” Princess Celestia requested with a warm smile. “I feel there are some things we need to discuss.”

“But-But, I…” Twilight sputtered.

“Now, my faithful student,” the Princess pressed, her smile faltering just a hair.

Twilight reeled back. There was a flash of light, and the mare disappeared in a shower of purple sparks. Applejack looked between me and the Princess uncomfortably before lowering her head and heading to the building behind us. Celestia stopped her with a hoof as she passed.

“Not you, Applejack,” she said softly. “I believe you have learned your lesson. You and Fluttershy are free to go.” Applejack hesitated, her eyes lingering to the building her friend disappeared to. But with a nod, she stepped down from the stage and vanished behind the anxious crowd. Fluttershy and Daisy stood their ground next to me, a slight tremor coming over them. With a reassuring smile from the Princess, though, they recovered and helped me back to my feet.

Celestia turned to the crowd, who watched her expectantly. The confusion in the air was overwhelming. Here they had arrived expecting for a monster to face trial. I supposed they were simply shocked as to who the monster came to be.

“My little ponies,” the Princess opened regally. “I am so thankful you have all gathered here today. Since the three pony tribes founded this great nation, Equestria has become a beacon of Harmony and acceptance, and I fear we may have forgotten our roots. This human has been torn from his home, and when he came to us in need, we turned our backs upon him, going against the very foundations of our nation. He has wrongfully fallen under many hardships here.” She paused, turning to me with sorrowful eyes. “And I fear I may have been among them.”

The crowd gasped as their princess gave me a short bow. “I can only hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us,” she said softly. The Princess rose and faced the gawking crowd. “Let it be known that on this day, Hunter the Human has been pardoned of any ‘crimes’ he has committed against this town, for we have unjustly committed crimes against him. If anypony objects, please speak now.”

The town murmured uncertainly amongst themselves, but no one dared speak out. With a satisfied smile, Celestia spoke again. “Then I am happy to conclude this impromptu trial. I hope everypony has a wonderful day.”

The crowd began to disperse, albeit hesitantly. I don’t think any of them were certain of what they just saw. Hell, even I was struggling to keep up with the turn of events. The Princess turned to me with an inviting grin.

“Could you join me for a small walk?” she asked hopefully. I looked to Fluttershy and Daisy for support, and they offered timid but reassuring smiles. Taking a breath to compose myself, I nodded and followed Princess Celestia as she stepped down from the stage.

I wasn’t sure how walking with royalty was supposed to work. I waited for her to speak first as I self-consciously overthought each step. Tiny rocks bit into my bare feet, but I restrained my winces of discomfort. Walking out in Ponyville in broad daylight was putting my nerves on end. The ponies’ gawking as we passed by did little to help; even less so when they bowed to the Princess. I noticed something was troubling her, but it wasn’t my place to pry. After all, she invited me for this walk; I could only imagine it meant she had something on her mind.

She sniffed at the air, and then sniffed again, slowly leaning closer to me. I respectfully inched away with a couple of strides. “Is that… vanilla?” the Princess asked, pulling her head away.

I blinked, and as memories slowly clicked back in place, I bit back a groan and inspected my shirt. “What? I thought I washed that all out,” I hissed to myself. Sure enough, the faint smell of vanilla lingered over a nearly invisible spot. The Princess regarded me with an amused and questioning smile, and I tried to hide my embarrassment behind a nervous chuckle.

“I was, um… making cookies with a friend a while ago,” I explained. “I guess baking never really was my strong suit.” If we weren’t walking, she might have suppressed a giggle with a hoof, but for now, her grin would have to suffice. “We still have some left over,” I offered, remembering the royalty that was my company. “Um, you can have some, if, y’know, you want.”

The Princess chuckled and nodded her head. “Thank you,” she smiled. “I might need something sweet after I speak with my student.” That somber silence began creeping back in, stealing away Celestia’s smile until it was all but gone. It seemed to be following me lately, and it loomed over our heads. I couldn’t find the courage to break it, and the Princess appeared to be struggling underneath its weight as well.

“Where were you this morning?” the Princess suddenly asked. “You weren’t at the hospital when I arrived. Was something wrong there?”

I nearly tripped. “What?” I asked, unsure if I heard her correctly. Did royalty have a sense of humor? “You’re… You’re joking, right?”

We paused, and she gave me a look of innocent curiosity. “It was difficult to find an explanation with the staff,” she explained. “They seemed a little… embarrassed when I tried to pry. I was hoping you could shed some light on the situation.” She leaned in slightly with interest, cueing me to continue.

“I was locked in the basement,” I continued cautiously. “Drugged to sleep most the time there. Woke up and found myself chained to the bed. I… honestly don’t remember most of it.”

Whatever smile was left on her face vanished as I spoke. She blinked in disbelief. “You weren’t,” she said, as if saying so would have made it true. I didn’t reply, and she shook her head. “No, you couldn’t have been. I told them not to…” Her voice trailed off. “Twilight wrote to me of her plans to move you in a cell when the hospital was done with you. I told her to keep you there, that I wanted to see you before any verdict was made,” she explained. “I didn’t want you to leave, but she wasn’t supposed to turn the hospital into a prison.”

She deflated slightly and continued walking. I followed next to her side, a small distance away. “This was never meant to go so far out of hoof,” she sighed. “I should have told my student of our deal; I hoped she would solve this situation more peacefully. She has grown up so well since I sent her here. All the friends she’s made, the lessons she’s learned; I thought they would have helped.” Whatever ghost of a smile that had formed as she reminisced disappeared from her. “Maybe she isn’t ready just yet,” she said softly, more to herself.

She straightened up, taking a breath to collect herself. “I intended for this to be a test for her, to see if she could forgive. It was wrong of me to use you as the test, though. That was my mistake, and you have my deepest apologies for it.” She paused expectantly, searching me for a reaction. I buried my hands in my pockets and kept my eyes glued to the ground, not wanting to promise anything I didn’t mean. She sighed in defeat, discovering I wasn’t going to reply. “Were you at least treated well?” she pressed.

“Besides the ‘chained to the bed’ part?” I asked, earning a wince from the Princess. I bit my tongue, hoping to not let any more venom slip out. “The staff was… alright,” I admitted, thinking of Redheart. “One of the nurses risked her job to help clear my conscious. That was nice of her.” I kicked a rock along the path with us for extra company. “The interrogations could have been better, though.”

Though my eyes were focused on the stone, I could feel hers boring into me, searching for answers. As memories from yesterday flooded in, I gave the rock a stronger kick than intended, and it veered off to the side, abandoning me with the princess of this world. “Didn’t know tickling could actually turn into torture after a while,” I said bluntly.

She stopped dead in her tracks. “They didn't.” I paused a few steps ahead of her, trying to look anywhere but at her incredulous eyes. She shook her head in disbelief. “Hunter, you have my word, this will not go unpunished; they will understand what they did wrong. Nopony should have to go through what you have during your time here.”

Something stirred in my chest; something I didn’t know how to react to. What was I even supposed to say to that? As satisfying as it was to hear that Twilight and her friends were going to be punished for what they did, it still didn’t change the discomfort in the air, in the eyes of the ponies watching us from the streets, from their homes. It still didn’t change the fact that it all happened in the first place.

The Princess seemed to read my mind. “Allow me to offer compensation for your troubles,” she said as we continued, although it sounded more like an order than a request. “Whatever it takes to make your stay here more comfortable. You have more than earned it.”

I couldn’t hold back the look I shot her. “My stay here?” I echoed in disbelief. I shook my head. “No offense, Your Highness, but I don’t want to stay here. I’ve got too many bad memories of this place. Isn’t there… I don’t know.” I tried to look anywhere but at her, and all that greeted me was the wary eyes of Ponyville. I shook my head and turned back to her. “Isn’t there somewhere else?” I asked, wincing at what I was about to say. “Somewhere without, well, ponies?”

Celestia frowned. “Please, I want you to understand, this was all one horrible misunderstanding; one I could not apologize enough for, but Twilight’s actions do not reflect the rest of Ponyville.” She gave a knowing smile and added, “Something I feel you have already learned.”

I hesitated, but figured I’d bite. “What do you mean?”

“You have found friendship here,” Celestia said, almost in wonder. “Despite the thistles of fear and hate my student has sown, you planted a seed of friendship, and it has blossomed beautifully; in the mares that stood up for you so bravely when everypony else stood against you; in a nurse from the hospital that imprisoned you.” She paused, then added, “In the ponies that have been following us since the trial.”

I hesitated. “What?”

We stopped again, and the Princess motioned her head back. I found a small group of ponies peeking around one of the buildings. They froze as we made eye contact, and Daisy, Noteworthy, and Fluttershy timidly ducked back behind the building. Lyra and Zecora lingered, offering nervous smiles and waves, as if they had been caught with their hooves in the cookie jar. The corner of my lips tugged up, and I waved back.

“How did you know?” I asked, not taking my eyes off them.

“You do not rule over a country as long as I have without knowing when you are being followed,” the Princess pointed out, turning to smile at our followers. She pulled in a breath and let it out contently. “They would miss you if you left so soon, and I feel you would, too.”

I hesitated, looking between her and my friends. A defeated sigh overtook me. “I would,” I admitted. “But I have to get back home, too. My family…”

The Princess extended her wing and rested it on my shoulder. “I know,” she nodded. “I will do everything in my power to help you return. I will send my guards out to the forest in search of this… space ship, I’ve heard?”

It took me a second to process what she said, and a small chuckle escaped me. “No, no, it’s not a ship,” I shook my head. “It’s… it’s a portal, I think. Somewhere in the Everfree.”

“Ah, my mistake,” Celestia smiled, retracting her wing. “Do you remember where?”

“I can’t say I do,” I admitted with a shrug. “It’s been so long. I remember… I think it was bright; a lot of colors flashing when I came through. You can’t miss it.”

“Well, that might complicate some things, but the information will help,” Celestia confessed. “Don’t worry, I will send my best to search for it. The Everfree is vast and dangerous; it will take time, but if you stay here, I can arrange an escort the moment I hear something.”

I sighed in relief. For the first time in a long time, I was starting to feel hopeful again. The promise of returning home never felt more real. “Thank you,” I smiled. “You have no idea what that means to me.” Celestia grinned, but it looked as if something was still troubling her. I decided to bite the bullet and ask. “Something wrong?”

She didn’t answer immediately, carefully trying to word it in her head. “Would you want to be present for my… talk with Twilight and her friends?” she asked. “Your input would be valuable. After all, you know more of what they did than me.”

I hesitated. The thought of sweet justice was tempting, but my eyes trailed back and found my friends again. There was a tug at my heart, and I let out a sigh.

“I would love to,” I confessed. “But I think I’d rather be with my friends right now.” A grin was creeping up on me. “It’s been a long day, and I think we have some celebrating to do.”

The Princess nodded solemnly. “Of course. Don’t let me keep you.” She took a step forward and turned to me. “Enjoy your time with your friends, Hunter,” she winked. “You’ve earned it.”

Author's Notes:

I know a lot of you guys were looking forward to seeing Twilight and her friends being punished, and don't worry; you definitely will. But for now, after everything that's happened to him so far, Hunter has more than deserved his break from them. I'm working on a side chapter, something along the lines of an optional bonus revolving entirely around it. If enough of you guys really want it, I'll post it, but only after a certain chapter. I want Twilight's punishment to be a bit of a surprise until then.

That being said, I know a lot of you guys have been asking for Rainbow and Pinkie to be punished specifically due to the tickle torture. To be honest, that kinda came out of the left field for me; last time I 'posted' that chapter, people laughed about it, not putting too much thought about it. I already have an idea for Rainbow, but due to you guys' demand for it, I'm starting to feel Pinkie's is a little lackluster.

So, if you all have any ideas, I'd be more than happy to hear them. I'm actually a little curious to know what you guys think can give Ponyville's Premier Party Pony a taste of her own giggling medicine. All of the punishments so far are revolving around the idea "losing something you care about" so they can understand Hunter's situation better. Unfortunately, jailtime won't be an option because of this, but if you guys have any ideas, feel free to share!

Act II: No Man's Land

The clicking from that typewriter was deafening in this silent room.

It had been four days since the Princess had pardoned me and deemed me fit to walk among her subjects. Nobody in the town, myself included, really knew how to handle the news. Ever since, my friends had taken it upon themselves to help integrate me into Ponyville society. They all had their turns showcasing me around town, trying to prove how normal I could be. It did little to help the cause, though.

Did the receptionist have to keep glancing at me like that? I fidgeted uncomfortably beneath her eyes.

The citizens were still tense whenever I walked by. Casual conversations would turn to hushed whispers and darting eyes. Laughter would almost always die down. I was always given a wide berth as I walked through the streets as everyone was quick to back out of my way. It didn’t help that I felt uncomfortable around them as well. After all we had been through, it almost felt so… wrong. Like a bad, town-wide case of whiplash.

I kept my eyes glued to the wooden floorboards, but it didn’t stop the occasional glances from boring into me.

I had been trying to get a job lately, hoping to find some sense of normalcy during my time here. Bon-Bon was gracious enough to give me a mercy period for rent, but I still had to find a way to make money, or “bits” as the ponies called it. The Princess had given me compensation to pay for my troubles, but I didn’t want to rely on it. It kept reminding me of why I received it. Lyra offered to cover my rent, which was where I had to put my foot down. I didn’t mind all the help she had given me, and I knew I had a long way to go before life in Ponyville started running smoothly, but I wasn’t about to become a charity. I wanted to prove that I could take care of myself.

This wasn’t going to work out. I should just leave. Everywhere else was a flop.

I rose from the bench, ready to go, and the door to the mayor’s office swung open. A mare exited the room, her curious eyes lingering on me as she marched down the hall. The receptionist looked up from her typewriter with a practiced smile.

“The mayor will see you now, Mr. Grey,” she announced in a cheery tone. I hesitated, but nodded in thanks, ducking beneath the small doorway and entering the office.

A grand desk dominated the center of the room. The mayor sat comfortably behind it; a feather quill clenched in her teeth as she scribbled signatures on an official looking scroll. Natural light flooded in from the room’s sole window, its tall, green curtains peeled back to greet the sunlight. Towers of bookshelves stood guard behind her, boasting literature that would have gone over my head. I caught my reflection in the mirror on the wall behind her and combed my fingers through my hair, hoping to look a little more presentable. I sat patiently in one of the two chairs positioned before her, waiting for her acknowledgment.

She looked up from her half-moon spectacles and let out a gasp. “Oh, Mr. Grey! I didn’t hear you come in,” she explained, spitting out her quill. She subtly adjusted the papers and knickknacks on her desk. The mayor rested her hooves on the desktop and stared at me expectantly. “So, how are you adjusting to your stay here in Ponyville?”

“It’s going alright,” I shrugged, not looking her in the eyes. “Slow going, but still going. Friends are helping out, so that’s… well, helpful.” I grinned slightly, “They’re actually trying to help me find a job.”

“Oh?” The mayor cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrow. “I’m sorry; I’m not sure I understand,” she admitted. “Was the Princess’ compensation not enough? If you need more bits, I’m sure she would be more than willing to—”

“The compensation was more than enough,” I quickly cut in, tacking on a thankful smile. “It’s not so much for money as much as it is just trying to make everyone get used to seeing me. Also to help me find some sense of… normalcy here until I get back home,” I explained. “Not to mention doing absolutely nothing all day is driving me up the walls.”

“Ah, I see,” the mayor grinned. “Have you applied anywhere so far?”

“Yeah, a few places,” I nodded. “Lyra and I were chasing ‘help wanted’ ads all day yesterday. Daisy even let me try working at her flower shop with her friends.” I shook my head, a ghost of a smirk forming. “I’m not sure if it’s my intimidating good looks, but everybody seemed to keep their distance until that shift ended,” I joked. The mayor struggled to keep her smile up. I offered a disarming shrug. “It’s fine, though. Never considered myself much of a salesman anyways.”

“Have you had any luck other than that?” she asked hopefully.

A small sigh escaped me. “No, not really,” I admitted in defeat. “Don't suppose you know anyone around town desperate enough to hire the human?”

She offered a sympathetic smile. “I think I can find somepony,” she promised. A small silence filled the air, and the old clock in the room counted the strained seconds as they ticked by. I was having a hard time finding the words to say. The mayor offered to break the silence. “So, will that be all for today?” she asked.

Well, it was now or never. “I was actually hoping you could help me with something,” I confessed, finally looking up to her.

Her ears perked up, and she sat a little straighter. “Of course!” she chirped. “After all, the Princess did task me to make sure your transition to Ponyville goes as smoothly as possible. What seems to be the trouble?” she asked, leaning in slightly.

“Do you know where I could find some… school books?” I asked.

“School books?” she echoed.

“Yeah, I’m still attending school where I’m from,” I explained. “I’m not sure if our, well, ‘worlds’ have the same education, but something tells me I’m gonna have a lot of catching up to do when I get back,” I joked. “Might as well try to catch up while I can.”

“Well, my first guess would be the Ponyville schoolhouse,” the mayor thought aloud, tapping her hoof to her chin. “But that all depends. What subjects were you studying?”

“Just some basic classes,” I shrugged. “I doubt you have American history or anatomy, but if I could get my hands on a calculus or a fundamental physics textbook just to brush up on, that would be great.”

She stared at me for a second, leaning in as if she hadn’t heard correctly. “Maybe the schoolhouse won’t do after all,” she said, more to herself. “You’re a little ahead of the classes, I’m afraid. The library might be your best bet.”

A small pit formed in my stomach, and I tried to gulp down the lump in my throat. “Thanks,” I nodded. How badly did I really need those books? “I’ll try to swing by there sometime.”

“Any way I can help,” she beamed. I stood up, and she reached her hoof out for me to shake. I gingerly accepted it. Four days… Four days, and this sense of surreal still lingered. Behind my practiced smile, my mind reeled at the touch of her hoof in my palm, as her large eyes stared into mine and her protruding muzzle grinned. It had been over a month since our ‘first contact’, and barely less since Lyra and Zecora had taken me as their friend. Why did it feel like I was just recently starting to really look at them?

Because they aren’t normal, a voice hummed in the back of my head. At least, not to us, are they?

“Now, is there anything else I can help you with?” the mayor asked in her usual, cheery tone. “Nopony’s giving you too much trouble?”

“Hardly anypony is giving me the time of day, much less giving me trouble.” I blinked, realizing what I had just said. My fingers instinctively pulled the rubber band around my left wrist and let it snap back against the skin.

You’re starting to talk like them now, my headache warned.

Just a slip, I assured it. “I’m running a bit late, though,” I explained to the mayor, who eyed me warily after my odd display. “Told my friends I’d meet them at Daisy Chain for lunch. Don’t want to keep them waiting.” I flashed her a reassuring grin. “Thanks for the help, though.”

“A pleasure, as always,” she nodded as I moved to the door. “Same time tomorrow?”

“Like I have a choice,” I teased.

“You know you do,” the mayor reminded sternly.

I paused at the door, hand already twisting the knob. A small sigh escaped me, followed by an even shorter chuckle. “Yeah, I do…” I turned and gave her a nod. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As I passed through the doorway, I remembered a small thought, and my hand grabbed the door to keep it from closing. I peeked my head back in with an embarrassed smile. “There was… one more thing,” I said sheepishly. My bare toes drummed against the hardwood floor outside the office. “About the rest of my clothes…”

The mayor blinked in confusion. “The rest of your… Oh!” She tried to hide her embarrassed blush behind her laughter, and her eyes seemed to want to look anywhere but me. “Yes, you did have more clothes when you came here, didn’t you?” she chuckled nervously. She shuffled quickly through the papers on her desk and flipped through the stacks hiding in her drawers. “I believe they should still be in the hospital,” she explained, looking up from her paperwork. “But I’ll have to check. How badly do you need them?”

More than you’d think, I thought, glancing down to my sore feet. “Don’t worry about it; I’ll check for you,” I offered. I gave the doorway a light knock as I turned to leave again, and this time it was the mayor that called me back.

“Oh, Mr. Grey?” I stopped in mid-stride and poked my head back through the door expectantly. The mayor offered me a sheepish grin. “I just wanted to say I liked your new manecut. It makes you look much less…” Her voice trailed as she looked for the appropriate word. “Wild,” she offered with a sincere smile.

“Yeah, well, back to civilization, and all,” I joked, swinging my arm in a sarcastic gung ho. “Might as well start looking human again.”

I turned out of the room and found my way to the exit. The walk from the town hall to the Daisy Chain restaurant wasn’t long, but the eyes that followed me made it seem to stretch for an eternity. I stayed close to the edge of the dirt roads, and everyone went out of their way to move to the other.

I pushed my hands into my pockets as my eyes focused forward. The air still felt volatile whenever I walked outside. My small circle of friends was trying their best to diffuse it. They were working so hard to help the rest of the town feel comfortable around me, and me with them. But it was becoming obvious that it was an uphill battle for both ends.

The door of a nearby house opened next to me as I passed it. The mare made it halfway out her door before seeing me, letting out a frightened squeak, and retreating back to her home. I deflated with a sigh as her door slammed shut and the curtains quickly closed. My reflection watched me through the darkened windows.

What’s the matter? it asked. Isn’t this what you always wanted?

I didn’t dignify it with a response.

The Daisy Chain eventually came into view. My small circle of friends sat in our usual spot, outdoors and close to one of the fenced corners. Noteworthy was the first to see me and flagged me over, and the rest greeted me with warm smiles to chase away the numb cold in the air. Oh, how nice it was to see friendly faces in this town.

“Hey, roomie,” Lyra chirped. She looked me over and patted the empty seat next to her. “I see you got your mane cut.”

“Did you see Clips like I suggested?” Daisy asked.

“Yeah, I don’t think she did too bad,” I offered as I sat between her and Lyra.

“Ah, good ol’ ‘Close-Cut’ Clips,” Noteworthy sighed as he leaned back. “I ought to see her sometime; it’s been a while since I’ve gotten my mane cut, too.” He flipped the forelocks of his mane with a scoff. “I mean, look at it; it’s almost as bad as yours used to be.” I snorted and picked up my menu as Daisy threw him a playful punch. He shrugged it off with a grin and took a bite out of his half-eaten sandwich. “So, how did that go anyways?” he asked in between bites.

“Oh, about as well as you’d think,” I chuckled as I looked over the menu. I wasn’t sure why I bothered; I got the same thing every day. Maybe I could mix it up this time. “She had the ‘Beast of the Everfree’ in her shop. I had magical scissors flying around my face,” I explained with a roll of my eyes. Zecora and Lyra covered their grins with their hooves, but Noteworthy struggled to suppress his own smirk.

“We softened up to each other eventually, though,” I continued. “Small talk in a barber shop is a strange thing. Apparently, I saved her son; I told her how excitable he and his friend were during the field trip, and I swear, she nearly busted out a scrapbook of him.” I shook my head with a faint smile. “We got comfortable enough with each other that she actually tried to talk me into getting a whole different haircut. Apparently I have such a ‘nice, natural wave in my mane’ that cutting it any shorter would have been a crime.”

“And it appears that your demise was an inability to compromise,” Zecora teased. “I visited a salon once, hearing stories of good delight. But every time I left, my mane was not quite right.”

“It does look nice this way,” Fluttershy offered meekly from the other side of Lyra. “I think Clips made the right call.”

I returned her timid smile with a nod and focused back on the menu, trying to get those innocent eyes out of my head; the same innocent eyes I nearly killed twice; the same innocent eyes that saved me twice. I hoped she didn't take it the wrong way. It wasn't that I was ungrateful; it just felt so… uncomfortable; like I owed her, more than I could ever repay. And I was reminded of it every time I saw her.

My collar felt like it was strangling me. I tugged at it with my fingers. “Yeah, well this was the compromise,” I explained, jumping back to the subject. “Clips wanted to take it a step further and dye my hair, too.”

The table burst into a small fit of giggles. “No way,” Lyra laughed.

“Oh, yeah,” I nodded. “I slammed some bits on the counter and ran out of the shop when she went to the back to look for colors.”

“Oh, you should have done it, though!” Daisy exclaimed, giving me a friendly push. “It would have looked so cute.”

“Are you kidding?” Noteworthy demanded. “Hunter’s a stallion. Well, in a manner of speaking. He doesn’t need his mane dyed for everypony to like him.” He leaned towards me in front of Daisy and held out a hoof. “Don’t worry, buddy, I got your back.” I grinned and knocked my knuckles against his hoof.

“I’m serious,” Daisy pressed. “Highlights are in nowadays. It wouldn’t hurt to jump in on the trends while you’re here.” She turned to Noteworthy with a sinister look in her eyes. “In fact, I think you should try it, too,” she teased.

Noteworthy reeled his head back. “Oh, no,” he shook his head. “Not on your life.”

“Come on, it would be cute, though!” she egged him on, tracing a hoof down his forelocks. “I can see it now, just a single white stripe.” Noteworthy swatted her hoof away in disgust. “It doesn’t have to be a big one,” she giggled.

I rolled my eyes as the two continued their banter. Zecora eventually joined in, bearing down on Noteworthy with Daisy, and when the zebra began explaining to the pony how good he might look in stripes, a small fit of giggles erupted around the table.

The waitress finally came and took my order. Her voice still shook slightly when we talked, but it was an improvement from the jittery mess she was when I first started eating here.

“So, that was one peanutbutter and jelly sandwich with a salad on the side,” she read off her list. It was the same as every other time I ate here. I wasn’t given much choice; most of their meals involved flowers or hay, and they didn’t serve meat. Nobody in this town did, actually; much to my stomach’s contempt. “Did you want the tulips in your salad?” she asked.

I was about to decline until something nudged me in the side. I didn’t even have to turn to know what Lyra wanted. “Um, yeah,” I nodded. “Extra, too, if it’s not too much trouble. Thanks, Strawberry.”

“You’re the best,” Lyra whispered in delight as the waitress left us. “The tulips here are the best.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” I chuckled.

She looked past me to the waitress as she entered the restaurant. “Shortcake seems to be warming up to you a bit,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, I’d hope so. I see her just about every day now,” I explained, taking a sip from my drink.

A faint gasp grabbed our attention, and we turned to Fluttershy. A happy sparked gleamed in her eyes as her wings unfurled slightly. “That’s it!” she announced softly. “We've been going about this all wrong. We can't expect everypony to like you because they see you everywhere. We just need a chance for you to talk to everypony!”

I paused, setting my cup back down. “I'm not following,” I admitted.

Lyra seemed to catch on quickly, though, and her eyes widened in amazement. “Oh my gosh, Fluttershy; you're a genius!” The pegasus gave a soft but proud cheer, and Lyra turned to me. “Think about it,” she said excitedly. “Me, Zecora, Noteworthy and Daisy, and now Strawberry and Clips! Everypony who got a chance to just sit down and talk got to know you, the real you, and they found out you’re not the ‘beast’ they’re still afraid of. What if we gave the rest of Ponyville that chance, too?”

I sighed. These quests to convince the ponies that hunted me to like me was getting… exasperating. But I owed it to my friends to at least try. “And how do you suggest we do that?”

She started to say something, but cut herself off. “I don’t know,” she admitted, slouching over the table.

“What if we threw you a party?” Daisy suddenly pitched in.

“A party?” I echoed.

“Yeah!” Lyra chimed in. “Nothing like a proper Ponyville welcome to warm everypony up to the new guy.”

I looked between the two excited mares in disbelief and shook my head. “Girls, I’m gonna level with you; that sounds like a silly idea,” I said. “Who in their right minds would go to a party thrown for—”

“Did somepony say party?!”

“Jesus!”

A pink blur shot up in the small gap between me and the table. I stumbled back in shock and fell to the ground. My hands cradled my head from the hard landing, and I shot a glare up to our uninvited guest.

“No, Pinkie, please take my seat; I insist,” I muttered sarcastically.

Her ears flicked in acknowledgement, and she turned to me with a bright smile. “Oh, don’t worry; I won’t be here for long. I just heard the magic word and decided to drop by. Thanks for the offer, though!” I bit my tongue as she turned back to my friends and pulled my chair up next to her. As annoyed as I was, though, I couldn’t help but notice that something was… off about her. “So, what’s the party for?” she asked. Her forelegs tapped excitedly on the table as she stood on her hind legs.

“We were just thinking about throwing one for Hunter,” Lyra explained through an uneasy smile. “Nothing’s set in stone, though. It’s probably not even going to happen.”

Pinkie cut her off with a gasp. “What? No party?” She slammed her hoof down on the table, and everyone jumped. “Blasphemy! Nothing says friendship and laughter like a good party, and nopony can throw a party as good as me! So...” She blinked and froze as her voice trailed. “S-So, if you ever need any advice, you know where to find me,” she chuckled nervously. Her hooves tugged slightly at her mane as she ran them through, and it finally clicked.

“Pinkie, did you… straighten your hair?” I asked.

“What?” She stopped playing with her mane and turned to me with a confused look. Pink curtains covered her eye as she cocked her head to the side, and her eyes followed it as it swayed back and forth before her. She gave a nervous laugh, looking off to the side. “Oh! Not exactly, my mane kinda has a mind of its own,” she explained, waving a hoof dismissively.

She turned to Lyra, who quickly pinned her uneasy smile back on. “I have a list of some really good party stores,” Pinkie said excitedly. “You should stop by Sugarcube Corner sometime. If anypony knows how to make somepony feel welcome, it’s me!”

Pinkie flinched away slightly, either from realizing the dark irony of what she just said or noticing my slight glare through her thick curtain of hair.

“A-Actually, I’ll get out of your manes,” she resigned, her voice cracking slightly. She shrank back with a few steps and showed a hopeful smile. “If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me.” It almost sounded directed to me.

She trotted away from our table with a dying spring in her step. I leaned over the rest of my food, trying to get her out of my head. She wasn’t going to guilt trip me; not after what she did. But as I looked around the table, the look on her face seemed to burn in everyone's mind as they looked guiltily at their food, and I lost my reason to relish it.

“I should go check on her,” Fluttershy announced worriedly, standing up from the table. With a quiet flutter of her wings, she lifted to the air and flew to her disappearing friend.

The table sat silent as a somber air loomed over. The waitress arrived with my food, and I stared at the plate, suddenly disinterested in eating. I slid the salad bowl next to Lyra, golden tulips resting on top; her favorite. With a defeated sigh, she pushed it away, propping her head in her hooves.

“I should probably get going, too,” I admitted. I tore off a piece of my sandwich for the road, and my friends looked up to me as I stood. “I need to run a few errands, see if I can get my clothes back before it gets any colder,” I explained.

“I’ll go with you,” Lyra offered, giving me a small grin. I held back a small sigh of relief, thankful for her offer. Everything felt a little easier to handle with her around, and she had an uncanny ability to keep me busy from whatever was on my mind.

“Thank you for this lunch yet again,” Zecora nodded. “It is always welcome treat. But for now I have a brew to attend, and to my home I should retreat.”

“Yeah, I probably need to get back to Lily and Rose at the flower stand,” Daisy pointed out.

“And I should get back to the park,” Noteworthy chimed in. “Hey, you should stop by sometime in the mornings; I could probably add you to the performance. You said you can play an instrument, right?”

“He’d have to wake up in the mornings first,” Lyra interjected with a playful snark.

“Hey, I’m getting better at it,” I defended. “The Everfree just made me a little nocturnal, is all.”

Lyra giggled, “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”

We laughed lightly, chasing away the somber atmosphere from earlier. It made me glad; I always hated leaving on a sour note.

“You still owe us a story of one of your adventures,” Daisy reminded me. “When are we gonna get it?”

“Well, I’ve been a little busy,” I joked. “But… let’s shoot for tomorrow. I should have a good one by then.”

They seemed satisfied with the response, and very eager. We gave our farewells and went our separate ways. Lyra trotted closely next to me, a small spring in her step. It offered me some comfort despite the dread that was slowly taking over. I hadn’t visited the hospital since I escaped; too many memories discouraged me from even thinking of checking in. With Lyra by my side, though, I finally felt brave enough to confront them.

“I still can’t believe they just gave my clothes to her,” I seethed.

The hospital was a bust. Apparently, Twilight beat me to the chase and grabbed my remaining clothes days ago. Why the hospital staff decided it was a good idea to give my clothes away to anyone but me went over my head.

“Maybe she was going to return them to you; just waiting for the right time,” Lyra offered. She did her best to counsel both sides. I was keeping a level enough head on the outside, but she knew the thoughts running through my head.

The staff was either too embarrassed or nervous to give an answer upfront, stumbling over their own words as they tried to explain. I was more than thankful that she was able to coerce the explanation out. My nerves were on edge the moment the hospital came into view, and being inside only brought back more unsettling memories. I wouldn’t have been near as patient.

“Oh, please, that’s a laugh,” I scoffed. “That pony has been a pain in my side ever since I stepped foot in this town.”

I winced, realizing how much venom I let slip into that word. Lyra seemed to notice, too, and she didn’t look happy. I snapped the rubber band against my wrist again with a grimace.

“Look, we don’t have to see her today,” Lyra huffed. “Heck, maybe you don’t have to see her at all. I’ll talk to her about this and get your clothes back for you.”

“No, you’re not doing this for me, too,” I sighed. We paused at a store, and I rested my back against the wall, allowing myself to slide down into the street. “Sorry; I’m just a little bit… stressed,” I confessed. A faint snort escaped me as I corrected myself. “Well, a little bit of a lot. The hospital was hard enough as it was. Seeing Twilight, too, and in the same day…” My fingers ran through my hair and cradled the back of my head.

Her expression softened, and she joined me in the dirt, sitting close to my side. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it,” she said softly. “I’m sure things are still a little hard. I can’t imagine what this must be like for you.”

I shook my head. “It just all felt so unreal. I could feel myself shaking when we walked through the doors. Thought I was going to wake up in that basement again, like everything that happened was all just a dream.”

She said nothing, allowing me to speak my thoughts, but when my words stopped coming, she shifted closer, leaning against me slightly. It was comforting, and I felt myself relax. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and rested my head against the wall, exhaling slowly.

“Kinda wish Redheart was there,” I eventually said. “Still need to apologize to her.”

“I think I know where she lives, if you want to stop by,” Lyra offered, looking up to me.

I hesitated. A small pit was forming in my chest, quickly filling with dread. A part of me wanted to get it over with, like ripping off a bandage, but another feared the encounter. The same reason I wanted to see my old nurse was the same reason I wanted to avoid her. Guilt. “Maybe later,” I said quietly.

A few seconds passed before she nudged me, and she gave me a small grin. “Hey, wanna just head back home?” she asked. “Just go back and skip the rest of the day? We still have some leftover cookies.”

I snorted. “I don’t think cookies is the answer to every problem,” I joked.

“Not with that attitude,” she countered with a sly half-smile.

We chuckled lightly. The offer was tempting. I was finally back at ease; or as “at ease” as I could get at the moment, at least. But I still had work to do. Maybe Twilight could wait for another day; I could hold out a little while longer without my jacket and shoes. I remembered what the mayor said about the school books, and the library didn’t sound like a bad idea. It wouldn’t hurt to have something to study and keep my mind off things, and it was a good enough excuse to avoid Twilight while still doing something productive.

“Let’s stop by the library first,” I suggested.

Lyra pulled back and looked at me in surprise. “Really?” she asked.

“Yeah, I need to grab some books anyways. Might as well knock that out.” I stood and stretched my legs. The library wasn’t too far away, just a few minutes of a walk.

“I’m… kinda surprised,” Lyra chirped happily as she joined me. “In a good way,” she clarified. “I know you have some… bad memories there, but it’s good that you’re trying to get over them.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like there’s much to do here anyways,” I chuckled. “No internet, no television, no phones,” I listed off my fingers. Lyra raised an eyebrow, which only made my smile a little broader. Teasing her with human words she didn’t know was becoming a fun, small pastime for me. “I feel like I’m gonna be visiting the library a lot. I’m curious what kind of stories there are in a world where magic isn’t just a fantasy.” I snorted, “I’m sure some of your history books might be more interesting than some of my world’s fiction.”

“Oh, if you’re looking for something good, I know a few books that’ll hook you,” Lyra pitched in.

That familiar tree from my first night eventually came into view as we traded stories from our worlds. Lyra’s words were drowning out to memories of midnight storms as we drew closer. I never would have guessed that it was a library all along. True, it was large, and I never got a good look inside, but it was still a tree. I always imagined it was something like Zecora’s hut.

Something in the back of my head tugged at me to turn and walk away. I had to remind it that it was only that night, though. The odds of any of those mares being in the library again were slim to none. And who knew? Maybe the librarian would be friendly. I never knew a bad one.

I hesitated at the small, simple door, staring at the handle. Despite the cool breeze, small beads of sweat trailed down my brow and palms. Lyra reached up and knocked on the door, and I gave her a curious look.

“What?” she asked innocently.

“Isn’t this a public library?” I asked.

“Yeah, but it’s also her home,” she waved dismissively. She nudged my leg and grinned. “I’m really proud of you by the way,” she added. “I know you said you didn’t want to do this earlier. It’s good you’re taking these steps.”

Before I could ask her what she meant, the door opened. A small, vaguely familiar lizard opened stood on the other side, looking at me with wide eyes. No, a dragon, I corrected myself, remembering the fire.

“Oh. Um, hey, Hunter.” He scratched the back of his head and looked anxiously back inside. “It is Hunter, right?” he asked with an uneasy smile.

“Yeah,” I nodded, struggling with my memories. “And it’s… Spike?”

He grinned approvingly. “So, what brings you here?” he asked, looking between us.

“We’re looking for some books to rent,” Lyra said.

“School books, mostly,” I specified.

“Oh! Well, come on in,” he urged, holding the door open invitingly.

We stepped inside, and I took a second to take in the room. The whole tree was hollowed out, making ample room for the full bookshelves carved into the walls. I was surprised the tree still looked alive outside, but then I remembered: magic. A wooden bust of a horse’s head rested on a pedestal in the middle with a few open books. A staircase hugged the back wall, leading higher up to the branches.

“Here, let me go get Twilight; she knows where everything is.” Spike scampered to the back and ascended the flight of stairs, calling her name as he disappeared.

My heart froze as the pieces fell together, and I turned on the spot and moved to the door. “Come on,” I hissed to Lyra under my breath.

“What?” she asked incredibly. “Whoa, whoa, hey!” Something grabbed at my left wrist and tugged, causing me to jerk to a halt. The rubber band wrapped tightly around glowed in magical light. Lyra offered an apologetic smile and released me, and a restrained shudder came over me. “Sorry. Where are you going, though? Didn't you want to see Twilight?”

“Of course I didn't! Why would I want—”

“Welcome to Golden Oaks Library!” Twilight chirped as she followed Spike down the stairs. “We don't usually get customers, but I'm sure we can help you with… whatever you…” Her voice trailed as our eyes met.

The room fell silent as we each held our own breaths. Twilight was the first to crack, vanishing behind a flash of sparks. There was a soft pop higher up in the tree. Spike looked between us and the source of the noise and chuckled nervously.

“I’ll be right back,” he promised. He scurried past us and ran up the stairs.

“Alright, let’s split,” I whispered, leaning down and pushing Lyra to the door.

“What? No! What’s gotten into you?” she demanded, digging her hooves into the hardwood floor. “Why are you changing your mind all of a sudden? I thought you wanted to go to the library.”

“Yeah, and that was before I found out Twilight lived here,” I pointed out, giving her a harder push.

Lyra stumbled forward a few steps before finding purchase on the doorway, and she braced herself against me. “How did you not know that?” she hissed.

“Lyra, I’ve lived here for four days,” I strained as I pushed against her. “I don’t know where anybody lives in this town except for you and Applejack.” It was clear she wasn’t going to budge. With a groan of defeat, I laid off, retreating a few steps for Lyra to compose herself. “Why are you doing this?” I hissed, crossing my arms. “You know what she did to me.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but only a sigh escaped. “Look, I know you don’t like her,” she started. “And honestly, she’s hurt me, too. It’s going to be hard to forgive her, but Fluttershy’s worried about her, about most of her friends, really.”

“If you think I’m about to just brush everything she did under the rug,” I interjected.

“I don’t,” she confessed. “But this tension between you two is going to get out of hoof if you don’t find some closure. I’ve already spoken to her.” She hesitated, looking up further in the tree where Twilight had run away. “Things aren’t ever going to be the same between us. We used to be friends, but now…” She shook her head, not wanting to admit the words she was about to say.

“I don’t care if you two become friends,” she said, looking back to me. “Hay, I’d be surprised if you ever do. But you can’t keep bottling up this tension. Sooner or later, it’s going to break, and it’ll be easier on everypony if you settled this now before anypony gets caught in the crossfire.”

A series of hoofsteps announced Spike and Twilight’s descent, and the latter had a forced smile plastered on her face. Faint beads of sweat formed on her brow as her eyes looked just past me. I went rigid and forced a smile of my own, watching as Spike led Twilight before us.

There was that tension again, hanging over us as we stared anxiously at each other. Spike braved to break the silence.

“So, what brings you guys here again?” he asked.

Oh God, this was a mistake. Look at her, just standing there. I could see the restraint in her eyes as we stared each other down. I imagined she wanted nothing more than run or scream, maybe both; just like me.

“We’re looking for some books,” Lyra answered for me.

She left it open for me to explain, but my jaw was clenched tight. Twilight’s ears flicked to Lyra’s voice, but other than that, she showed no signs of acknowledgement.

A few uncomfortable seconds ticked by. “What kind of books?” Spike pressed.

Lyra looked up to me hopefully, and when I didn’t answer, she huffed and prodded my leg. “Oh, for Celestia’s sake, Hunter. I’m not playing your messenger.”

“School books,” I said, releasing the breath I was holding. “Calculus and physics, mostly.”

Twilight blinked in shock. “Calculus?” Spike nudged her side, egging her to keep talking. “Why do you need a calculus book?” she asked carefully.

Lyra and Spike shared an excited look between each other.

“I’m still in school back home,” I explained. “We were working on derivatives in class, and I don’t know if ‘literally falling off the face of the Earth’ will be a good enough excuse for my teacher.” I surprised myself with a short chuckle. “You know how they can be.”

Twilight actually smiled. “I didn’t think you would still be in school. Or… that you had a school, for that matter,” she added sheepishly before wincing away from the look I gave her. “Here, let me get those books for you.”

“Oh, I’ll get them!” Spike exclaimed. “Don’t worry, we rearranged the bookshelves last week. I still remember where they are.”

“I’ll go with you,” I offered.

“Oh, don’t you worry about that,” Lyra interjected slyly, trotting after Spike. “I’ll be sure he finds the right stuff.” I watched in disbelief as the two left us, sharing a hopeful look with each other. Why those conniving…

Twilight coughed, returning my attention to her. “So… calculus, huh? That’s a pretty advanced subject.”

“It’s more of a prerequisite, really,” I explained folding my arms. My eyes followed my friend as she followed the dragon. Surely it wouldn’t take them too long. I noticed my foot was impatiently tapping the floor.

“A prerequisite for what?” she pressed.

My jaw clenched to bite back a groan. “College classes.”

“You were going to go to a college?” she asked in disbelief.

“You sound real surprised that I was trying to get an education,” I shot. Twilight retreated a step, rubbing her foreleg as she tried to not look at me. “Yeah, I was. Well, still am,” I corrected myself. “It’s just going to take a while to readjust to everything when I get back after… well, after all this,” I gestured to nothing in particular.

“I would bet,” Twilight nodded. “Our… lands seem so different from each other.” Something about her words sounded off, and she caught onto my skepticism. “I-I've been studying your clothes,” she explained nervously. “They seem to share the same unique properties as you with magic. I can only assume everything else from… wherever you're from is the same.”

She paused, searching for a response. Although, the look I gave her probably wasn't what she was expecting. “Purely for research purposes,” Twilight assured me. “After, well, everything happened, I still had so many questions. I-I didn’t want to bother you for any more samples, so I—”

“Where are my clothes?”

Twilight blinked, surprised at my interruption. Through her grit teeth, she managed to press a smile. “I don’t think you understand; your clothes are made of rare materials.”

“Rare materials?” I echoed. “They’re made of cloth! With rubber on the shoes and a bit of metal on the zipper.”

“But they’re not magical,” she stressed. “Or they don’t have magic in them, rather. Don't you know what that means? This could open a whole new realm of possibilities for the studies of magic! If somepony were to somehow replicate this—”

“I don’t care if you found the cure to the common cold in them,” I interjected. “The wind is near freezing outside, and I’ve been walking barefoot so much for the last few days, my feet are raw.”

“Whoa now, simmer down, you two.” Lyra and Spike got between me and Twilight and tugged us apart. “That didn’t sound like closure,” she hissed under her breath. “What happened?”

“Twilight’s trying to keep my own clothes from me,” I said, glaring accusingly at the mare.

“It-It’s not like that!” Twilight tried to defend herself, looking between our arbiters. “His clothes have a powerful magic. I mean, a powerful not-magic. I mean…” She shook her head. “I just need to understand how.”

“Twilight,” Spike complained. He crossed his arms and gave her a disapproving look. “Did you forget what the Princess said?”

“No,” she sputtered. “I wasn’t trying to… I didn’t mean to…” She looked between him and Lyra. When it became obvious that she was alone in her argument, she grit her teeth, and a small groan just barely slipped out. “Fine,” she spat, disappearing in another flash of sparks.

The sound of hooves trotting sounded beneath us as Twilight ascended from the basement, this time with a blanket holding my clothes resting on her back. The blanket magically lifted by its corners, floating across the room to rest at my feet. I knelt down to inspect the contents. Jacket, socks, shoes, hatchet; check, check, check.

I threw my jacket on, thankful for the small sense of comfort it gave as it wrapped around me. The socks and shoes could wait until we left. I didn’t want to be here any longer than I had to.

“Thanks for the help,” Lyra nodded. She motioned to the book in her hoof. “How much do we owe you for the book?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Twilight sighed. “Hardly anypony visits enough for this place to be a practical business. I know you’ll bring them back when you’re done.” Lyra nodded in appreciation, but Twilight’s eyes lingered as I inspected my hatchet. “I… don’t suppose I can convince you to at least leave the axe with me?” she asked hopefully.

“This was the last thing my father gave me before I was torn from my family,” I said quietly. There were a few chips in the wooden handle, and the blade looked more worn than I remembered. Then again, maybe it had been too long since I had seen it. “You’re not keeping this.”

Twilight flinched as if I had struck her. She rubbed her foreleg and looked away. “It was nice seeing you again, Lyra,” she murmured.

Lyra took the cue and tugged at my arm. “Yeah, you, too. Come on, Hunter.”

I ducked beneath the doorway behind Lyra, pausing just outside to put on my socks and shoes. I sat against the trunk of the large tree as I worked, and Lyra waited patiently with a joyless look in her eyes as she flipped through the pages of the levitating book.

“I think I'm ready to take you up on that offer,” I finally said as I laced my shoes. “Go back and ‘skip the rest of the day’ with a plateful of cookies, right?”

Lyra chuckled halfheartedly, and the book floated back into her hoof. “Yeah,” she nodded. “This has been a long day.”

Eyes followed us as we walked through the town. Well, more on me, really. As I looked over the hatchet in my hands, I found that most ponies were fixated on it, a hint of fear lining their stares. I gave it a quick twirl in my hand. Integrating to the “pony lifestyle” would be difficult if everyone thought I was carrying a weapon. It didn’t exactly scream “normal” to carry it around all the time, either.

Still, it was comforting holding it again; like I had collected the last piece of my former self and finally became whole. I was sure Lyra wouldn’t mind me storing it in our room. It’s not like I brought anything before when I “moved in”. Maybe I could put it on the dresser on my side.

The house came into view just down the road, and already the stress of today seemed to melt away. No more hospitals, no more libraries. I could probably get to work on teaching myself calculus.

I smiled. I was probably the only person in the world, or worlds I supposed, willing to make my own homework and do it during an extended vacation. Man, my friends back home would laugh if they ever found out.

“Hunter, duck!”

“What?”

Something heavy slammed into my head, sending me face-first into the dirt road. Whatever it was quickly scrambled on top of me and lifted.

“Oops; are you okay?” Two pairs of hooves helped pull me up, and my assailant gave an apologetic smile as she hovered in the air. “I didn’t hit you too hard, right?”

“Man, this is the third time this week,” I groaned, massaging my head. I glanced at the mail bag slung over her shoulder. “Didn’t you already deliver the mail this morning?”

Our mailman gave an apologetic chuckle and rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah, but I was told this was important,” she explained. “To be delivered a-s-a-p.”

She reached her hoof in her bag, going into a lazy somersault as she bent over, but she didn’t seem to notice. She let out a small cheer as she fished out her prize, a small envelope addressed to Lyra. With a small wave, she fluttered away, tripping over our mail box mid-air in the process.

I winced, leaning in to Lyra. “She seems a little…”

“Derpy?”

“I was going to say ditzy,” I shrugged. Lyra’s letter floated in her magical grasp. She already opened it and was pouring into each word, and excited grin threatening to show. “So, whatcha get?”

I was answered with an earsplitting shriek of delight. “I’ve been accepted to play in the New Year’s Masquerade!” she squealed.

My ears were ringing, but I didn’t let that put down the mood. “Um, that’s great, Lyra. Congratulation on…” She didn’t seem to hear me, though, and was too busy prancing around me with the biggest grin I had ever seen. “So, what is that, anyways?” I tried to ask.

“I need to tell Bon-Bon!” she exclaimed, the words nearly stumbling out. She raced into the house, throwing open the door in the process and leaving me in my confused daze. Excited chatter slipped out from inside, followed by a duet of shrieks.

I shook my head in wonder. Despite my ignorance, I still couldn’t help but feel happy for her… for whatever happened to her. I took in a breath of the nice, calm air and entered the house, eager to fall under this contagious excitement.

Author's Notes:

Hey, everyone, just a quick update/explanation for those who've read one of my previous blogs. I know these updates have been coming out slowly. I wish I could help it, but my training has really been picking up lately. I'm going to have even less free-time to write, maybe only a few hours a day excluding weekends. Training is obviously going to take precedence over my writing, and I'll probably have to work overtime so I don't fall behind. That, and the fact that Destiny 2 recently came out, well... (Oh my gosh, it's so fun, too)

The next few updates are going to take even longer to churn out. I'll do my best to get them out as fast as I can, but I hope you all understand.

Thanks for reading! See you all in the next chapter:
Act II: Pony Tales

Act II: Pony Tales

“I woke up to a midnight sky as the sun rose at the mouth of the cave, and it stared back at me with feral, crimson eyes. The cave reverberated with a beastly growl, and I realized I had overstayed my welcome.

“I jumped to my feet and broke into a dead sprint to the mouth of the cave, scooping up my hatchet and stolen salvage in my hasty exit. The ground shook as something large gave chase, but when I looked back, all I could see was that galaxy of stars. Those same red eyes burned like suns, and a dark maw of teeth formed from the void, each tooth as large as myself.

“My heart was pounding. My feet couldn’t carry me fast enough. That morning, I knew, was the last I’d ever see. I was about to become the breakfast of a beast I had never seen in a land far, far from home.

“The stars roared, and the earth shook beneath my feet, but I didn't dare trip. I didn't know where I was going, just that I couldn't stop, even as my legs filled with burning lead. The trees I wove through bent and shattered to the sheer force of the beast as it gave chase. They didn't even slow it down.

“The celestial beast was right on top of me. Its breath was hot and heavy against my back; its putrid smell threatened to suffocate me as I ran. It let out another earsplitting roar, and I felt my own bones rattle from the force. I lost my footing and stumbled to the ground, my foot caught in a root.

“I twisted on the ground to get at least one last look at my demise. A bear, larger than any I had ever seen; twice the size of a house. Its dark fur glistened like stars on a moonless night. It brandished its teeth above me, that hungry look still in its eyes, and for a moment, I felt myself paralyzed.

“The beast opened its maw wide and—”

“Mister Grey, will you please get off the table?!”

I froze with a wince. Strawberry Shortcake stood at the entrance of the restaurant, tapping her hoof impatiently. I gave her a sheepish smile and wave. “Um, sorry, Strawberry!” I called back and quickly hopped off the tabletop. “Won’t happen a third time, I swear.”

The waitress huffed and rolled her eyes, but as she turned back to work, I caught a hint of a smile. I couldn’t help but feel my own quickly growing. She could deny it as much as she wanted, but I knew she was eavesdropping ever since I started retelling my tales from the Everfree.

It originally started with me keeping my promise with Noteworthy and Daisy. Zecora was staying in the Everfree today, and Lyra was… well, she didn’t say; just that she would be busy until dinner. But Daisy brought Lily, and Noteworthy dragged in Carrot Top, and now my audience was the better half of a dozen and slowly growing.

The manager didn’t seem to mind my storytelling; in fact, she almost seemed delighted by it. My audience was potential customers in her eyes, each ordering a light snack as they listened to my tales, and the more ponies I reeled in, the more bits she made. Admittedly, I didn’t care one way or another; I was becoming engrossed in my own storytelling. I never was adventurous back home, and no one really cared about the day-to-day stuff. It was almost exciting having something to actually talk about for a change.

“Well, what happened next?” Noteworthy pressed, leaning into the table with eager eyes. A couple of voices piped up in my audience joined him.

“Alright, alright.” I held up a hand to calm them down and picked up a glass of water, but my mind drew a blank. “Oh, where was I again?” I muttered to myself.

“It was the morning after one of your raids,” Daisy piped up excitedly.

“You woke up to an Ursa Major,” Noteworthy added.

“And it was about to eat you!” another stallion added.

I poorly repressed a shudder as my memories caught back up. Something about staring into the gullet of an infinite abyss ready to swallow me whole still had me rattled after all that time. I wasn’t going to get over it anytime soon, either.

“Right,” I smiled. I set the cup down and took in a breath, and the two tables of ponies leaned in. “The beast opened its jaw wide, eager to make me its meal. I couldn’t let this be the end, not after all I’ve been through.

“With a sickening pop, I freed my foot from the roots and rolled off to the side as beast lurched forward. I could feel the earth drop beneath me as its powerful teeth tore into the earth. It glared at me with red eyes. My ankle was throbbing. My heart was pounding. But I was still alive, and I had to run.

“I was lost, horribly lost, and I knew it. My foot threatened to pull me to ground with each step. My lungs felt like they were about to explode. I couldn’t stop though, not yet; not until I had lost that beast.

“The air was growing heavy with humidity, and the earth was growing softer beneath my swelling feet. It occurred to me that I probably wasn’t in the Everfree anymore, but my predator didn’t seem to mind. The strange evergreens were replaced with gnarled dead trees.

“I took another turn in vain to desperately throw it off my tail, but the earth quickly became a sludge, grabbing at my heels with cold hands and trying to pull me under. I fell to my hands and knees, and the bear thundered over and past me and slid to a halt, kicking up the water and mire of the open marsh we had found ourselves in. It let out a thundering roar, challenging me to run again, but I had had enough.

“My body was numb, save for the pounding headache screaming for me to run. The sludge sapped away the last of my energy as I slowly sank into it. I hung my head in defeat. I wasn’t going to run from the inevitable anymore. I was ready for it to end.

“But I wasn’t ready for how it did.

“Something moved in the marsh behind the bear; a serpent, large as a tree and dark like the waters it hid beneath. It rose from the waters, and a second soon joined it. Their emerald eyes were filled with hunger, but I was relieved to see they weren’t trained on me. They released a low growl, a wet, thunderous gurgle in horrifying stereo, and for the first time since our chase, my hunter paused.

“If I blinked, I would have missed it. As the galactic bear turned, two more serpents burst from the waters to meet it, their teeth latching on to its hide. The waters shook and the earth quaked as a body erupted from the mire, and to my horror, I realized these were no mere serpents, as large as they were; they were heads of a hydra, a creature from Greek legends of old.

“The bear bled silver into the serpent’s mouths and bellowed in defiance. It swiped at one of the hydra’s necks, its claws digging beneath the dark scales, and the entire creature reacted in pain. The bear shook off the teeth and reared on its hind legs. I never thought it could move with such ferocity. It clamped its jaws on one of the hydra’s neck and pulled, pushing against the body with its powerful forelegs. My ears threatened to go deaf as the hydra wailed, and the other heads latched back onto the bear around the torso and shoulder.

“I was awestruck at the display. I had never felt smaller in my life than when those colossal beings fought. I recognized my window, though, and quickly pulled myself out of the sludge to run.”

“What?!” Noteworthy interjected. All eyes suddenly shot to him, most of them glares for the interruption. He blushed from the attention and looked around innocently. “I, uh, I mean, come on,” he chuckled nervously. “I thought you were going to fight it.”

I snorted, thankful that I hadn’t taken a sip from the water in my hand. “Fight it?” I echoed. “I don’t think you understand, Note, these things were titans, forces of nature. They were fighting for a full-course meal, and I was the dessert. Needless to say, I didn’t stick around to see who won their prize.” A light chuckle fell over my audience, and Daisy threw a playful punch at Noteworthy to keep him quiet.

I shook my head as the crowd looked to me expectantly, a faint smile still on my lips. With a shrug, I set my glass back down and continued. “Last I saw them, the hydra had the bear entangled. It had more mouths and teeth, but the bear had brute force on its side, and one of the hydra’s heads was already limp, lifeless. I didn’t stay to see who won; once I pried myself out of the mud, I didn’t look back.

“My harvest was ruined from the chase and the battle at the marsh. Most of the few vegetables I had left were covered in sludge, and no matter how many times I washed them in the river, I couldn’t convince myself to eat them. I hobbled back to the safety of my castle on what I hoped wasn’t a broken foot. It flared with each small step it gave; I knew I was going to have to tend to it soon.

“The sun was at its peak in the sky by the time I returned. After all I had been through, it felt like the hardest thing that morning was walking up those old stairs. I dropped my belongings at the base of my throne and collapsed onto it, never before feeling so undeserving to sit in it. But in spite of it all, a ghost of a smile still found its way to me. I had survived another morning in the Everfree forest. Sleep was beckoning me with open arms, and I was ready for some much-needed rest.”

I picked up my water and gulped the rest of it down, cuing to the others that I had finished. Daisy and Lily clapped their hooves together, and the more unfamiliar faces turned and talked to each other almost excitedly. I breathed a content sigh as I sat down with my friends. Strawberry trotted over to refill my glass, but I held up a hand to stop her.

“That was amazing, Hunter,” Carrot Top piped up. “I can’t believe you came face to face with an Ursa Major. I remember when one stumbled into Ponyville in the middle of the night a couple years ago. It was absolutely terrifying. It must have destroyed at least three homes before Twilight managed to lure it out of town.”

“Wait, Twilight did what now?” I frowned.

“Oh, yeah! We were there for that!” Lily added proudly, prodding at Daisy. “She used a spell to put it to sleep and carried it out of town with her magic.

I leaned back in my seat and folded my arms across my chest. It was hard thinking of Twilight like a… well, like that. I wasn’t sure how to handle that information. “Do you guys normally have a problem with things coming out of the Everfree?” I asked, changing the subject.

The table looked to each other uneasily.

“Not as often as you’d think,” Daisy offered, although it sounded more like a question.

“But definitely more often than it should,” Noteworthy quickly added, to which everyone nodded in agreement.

I shook my head in bewilderment. “Wow, that’s… wow. I know I haven’t been around for long, but what I’ve seen in the Everfree makes me surprised people still live here if it happens that often.”

“Well, like we said, it’s not that often,” Noteworthy reminded me.

“And it’s not always something scary,” Lily chimed in.

“Doesn’t stop you from overreacting, though,” Carrot said off to the side, just loud enough for everyone to hear. “Didn’t you freak out over a herd of bunnies once?”

“Hey, rabbits aren’t all as cutesy as they want you to believe,” Lily said defensively. “That’s how they get your guard down. You take a couple in off the street at night to keep them out of the rain, and just when you think they’re the most adorable little critters and feel all warm and fuzzy inside; boom, entire flowerbed, gone by the morning. And the little devils were nowhere in sight.”

Noteworthy struggled to hold back a laugh, but a snort managed to escape. Daisy tried to match her friend’s seriousness, but I could spy the corners of her lips threatening to crack into a goofy smile.

Carrot shook her head and turned back to me. “Well, like we were saying, you kinda got the worst of the Everfree, not that I think there’s much of a good part of it. In fact, I’m willing to bet you’ve seen more of the Everfree than everypony in Ponyville combined; well, outside of Zecora.

“Speaking of which, what was that even like?” she asked, leaning forward as she rested her head on her hooves. “I can’t imagine the Ursa was the only thing you ran into out there.”

“Oh, I’m sure you don’t want to hear my day-to-day when I was out there,” I waved dismissively. “A lot of it was pretty boring actually.”

“You know what we mean, Hunter,” Daisy pressed. “Surely you have to have more stories.”

“Oh, trust me, I have plenty,” I chuckled. “Not every day out there was an adventure, but I had my fair share of… experiences. Tell ya what; come back tomorrow, and I might just tell you all about the time I rode a manticore.” Everyone’s eyes widened just a hair with excitement, and I returned them with a sly smile. “And trust me, it was just as terrifying as it sounds,” I added.

“Come on, Hunter,” Daisy complained. “We have all day. You can tell another one.”

“I mean, hey, don’t get me wrong; I have nothing against telling another story,” I explained with an innocent shrug. “But if I told you all my good ones, you wouldn’t have a reason to hang out with me anymore.” A light chuckle fluttered over the table, and Daisy shook her head with a knowing smile.

“And anywho, I’ve been meaning to talk to someone for a while,” I continued. “And with everyone I know being busy today, I might as well see if I can catch her. Now, if you'll excuse me, you all have been a great audience. I’ll see you all tomorrow; don’t forget to bring your friends and all that jazz”

“Hey, Hunter, wait up!” Noteworthy hopped out of his seat as I waved goodbye to the group and trotted up next to me.

I slowed my pace to let him catch up and glanced back. The crowd I had mustered had already dispersed for the most part. Daisy looked up from her friend as they were preparing to leave and gave me a smile and wave, to which I returned with a nod and returned my eyes to the road. A content sigh escaped me as Noteworthy finally caught up. “What’s up, Note?”

“Oh, just wanted to congratulate you on that story,” he said before giving me a nudge. “Even though I still think you could have used your creative license a little more freely.”

“He still thinks I should have fought it,” I sighed as I rolled my eyes to no one in particular. “I don’t think you realize just how big it was, man. I mean, it was massive. There’s no way I could have fought that space bear, much less convince someone else I did.”

“Space bear,” Noteworthy chuckled to himself. “I still can’t believe you thought an Ursa Major was called a ‘space bear’.”

“Okay, for starters, we don’t exactly have those back home for me to have made a reference,” I pointed out defensively. “But next time I run into a bear the size of a building that looks like it’s made of a galaxy of stars, I’ll be sure to remember the name while it’s chasing me for dinner.” Noteworthy still had that contagious grin on his face, and I caught myself smirking, too.

“Well, anyways,” he continued. “What I was getting to; I actually know a guy, a travelling storyteller. He swings by Ponyville every now and then when he makes his rounds. I know you’re still looking for a job, but I think you have a bit of a knack for this. At least, you looked like you were enjoying yourself, more so than I've ever seen you anyways. I think you should try looking into it.”

“Storytelling?” I echoed. “I don't know. Doesn't really sound like a job.”

“Excuse you, but my friend would beg to differ,” Noteworthy scoffed jokingly. “My friend gets to travel wherever he wants, and he gets to tell everypony all these amazing adventures wherever he goes, some even about himself. If you’re really having fun with it, I’m sure he’d love to meet you and offer some tips.”

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly color me or my stories ‘adventurous’,” I began. The thought rolled in my head, though, and I couldn’t suppress the smile slowly forming. “When did you say he was coming by?”

Noteworthy shrugged. “It’s hard to say,” he admitted. “He normally swings by a few times a year. Last time he visited was before you arrived, so…” He hummed to himself in thought. It took a few seconds before he could come up with an answer. “By the end of next month,” he offered, but it sounded more like a question. “Maybe?”

I hesitated and slowly shook my head. “I mean, if I’m still around, yeah, that would be cool,” I offered with a shrug.

The heavy silence filled the air, weighing down on us as we walked. He wanted to say something, I could tell, and I didn’t want to pry it out or change the subject. “So, you’re really thinking about leaving?” he suddenly asked.

His question threw me off. I glanced down at him, and he looked back to me in seriousness. “I mean… yeah,” I admitted, shoving my hands in my pockets. “I can’t stay forever. I have a family back home.”

“I know, I know,” Noteworthy interjected, waving his hoof dismissively. “And I don’t blame you. I can’t even begin to imagine what this must have been like for you. It’s just… It’s just gonna be different when you do, y’know?”

I opened my mouth, but ended up closing it and resorting to a nod. “Yeah. It’ll be strange for me, too. Never gonna forget this place.”

“You know, I never even knew Daisy or Lyra or Zecora before you came here,” he chuckled to himself. “And now it feels like we’re all the best of friends, like nothing could ever tear us apart.” His smile quickly faded, though, and his brow furrowed. “‘Never going to forget’?” he echoed. “You’re going to visit at least, right?”

When I didn’t answer immediately, he shook his head. “Now, I’ve only known Daisy for a short time, but I’m sure even you’ve noticed she can be a bit… dramatic. If she catches wind that you’re not planning on stopping by for the holidays…” He cut himself off with a click of his tongue and a low whistle. “You better at least write,” he warned. He looked up to me with a dead seriousness in his eyes. “Because if you leave me to deal with all that emotional baggage, I’m gonna personally find that portal and drag you back for her.”

Noteworthy couldn’t hold his face forever, and a smirk eventually cracked through. I snorted and shook my head, and the air lightened up as we laughed away the future’s problems. “Hope you don't take offense when I say I hope the Princess takes her time finding that portal,” he said. “You’re good company to have, even if most ponies won’t see it. A lot of us are gonna miss you.”

“Well, I’m not exactly packing my bags at the moment,” I pointed out. “No harm in making a few more good stories for the road, eh?”

“Now you're talking,” Noteworthy smiled in agreement. He paused for a moment, looking further down the road. “Hey, is that Lyra?”

I followed his eyes down the way. The marketplace was becoming a little crowded at this hour, but thankfully my height gave me a bit of an advantage. Sure enough, there she was with full saddlebags, checking a list that floated just by. “Well, I'll be,” I smiled to myself. “I haven't seen her all day. Hey, Lyra!”

She jumped as I called her name, but she quickly broke into a smile and waved as she saw us. The list tightly rolled itself up and vanished into her bags, and as Noteworthy and I shuffled through the crowd, I noticed she still had a hint of surprise in her eyes. “Oh, hey, guys!” she chirped. “What brings you two here?”

“Just passing by, figured we'd bump into you,” I explained. I glanced past her to the infamous bakery she had just left. Well, infamous to me, at least. As soon as I discovered who often worked the front register of Sugarcube Corner, I usually went out of my way to avoid it. Through the window, I could see Pinkie Pie at the register, busy with a customer. She didn't seem to notice me, and I inched further back from the window to break the line of sight. “What have you been up to? You kinda ducked out on me this morning before I could ask.”

“Oh, just running some errands, nothing too exciting,” Lyra dismissively. She tacked on an overly-assuring smile, almost as an afterthought; a quirk I had become familiar with after living with her for a few days. Her eyes traced mine as I glanced suspiciously between her and the door to Sugarcube Corner.

“Alright, fine,” she sighed in defeat. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but I was checking on an order I placed this morning. I thought cupcakes would be good for tonight. You said you like strawberry, right?”

“Oh, no, cupcakes?” I chuckled in disbelief. I rested a hand over my stomach and shook my head. “Lyra, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to kill me with all this sugar.”

Lyra held her hoof to her chest defensively and looked at me with faux shock. “Moi?” she asked innocently. She let out a playful scoff and waved a hoof. “Phooey.” Noteworthy snickered behind a hoof, and I struggled to hold back my own as I folded my arms across my chest. “Besides, I do have other errands I need to run before tonight,” she continued. “I’ll catch you later?”

“Hey, if you’re a little overloaded, I can take some of those errands off your hands,” I offered. “I mean, I’m not doing anything too important.”

“Weren’t you on your way to see somepony, though?” Noteworthy asked.

“Well… yeah,” I shrugged. “But it’s not life-or-death. I can talk to her another time.”

“Hey, no worries,” Lyra waved off. “If you already had plans, go right on ahead. I can wrap this up easy. Besides, you’ve had a busy last few days, settling in and looking for jobs and all. This’ll be a good opportunity for you to unwind, do whatever you want to do, take hold of the reins, so to speak,” she added with a snide wink.

My mouth struggled to form words. When I finally consented to defeat, I threw my arms in the air and walked off a few paces, only to return while shaking my head. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” I asked in disbelief.

Lyra giggled and shook her head. “Oh, you better believe it,” she returned, grinning cruelly from ear to ear.

“I— What?” Noteworthy stammered, his face overcome with a blush as he looked between us. “I need some context.”

“It’s a long story,” I assured him.

“Don’t you lie to him,” Lyra accused me. “Either you’re telling him, or I am. And I’m going to make it sound so much worse.”

I froze again. I had lived with Lyra long enough to not mistake her threats for bluffs, and her sinister smile wasn’t reassuring.

“Okay, okay,” I quickly said, trying to calm her down. I turned to Noteworthy, whose incredulous face demanded an explanation. “So, ‘taking the reins’ is an expression back in my home for taking charge of something,” I started slowly. “Got it from, say, taking over the reins of a… mule drawn carriage.” My hands scratched at the back of my head as I flashed what I hoped was a reassuring grin. “I said it last night, and I didn’t realize that here reins were considered a little, well…” I struggled to find the right word to say. “Raunchy,” I coughed.

“You should have seen Bon-Bon’s face when he told her that last night,” Lyra wheezed. She wiped an eye with a hoof and flicked away a tear. “Oh, Celestia, I’m still crying.”

I took in a breath to retort, but all that came out was a deflating sigh. Noteworthy was already taken over by Lyra’s fit of giggles. “Alright, well that’s enough embarrassment for one day,” I announced. “I’ll see you tonight, Lyra.”

Lyra calmed down, if only a hair. “Yeah, I’ll see you around,” she giggled. She flagged Noteworthy to follow her, still with that devious grin. “Hey, come on; Hunter left out some of the good parts.”

“Lyra,” I groaned miserably.

But she was already prancing down the street. “Don’t worry, Hunter!” she called back. “I won’t tell him about the saddles!”

I could feel my blood rushing to my face, and I just realized how warm it was outside in spite of the cold breeze. I looked to Noteworthy in desperation, my last hope to save me from further embarrassment. He was already slowly backpedaling towards Lyra, an apologetic smile on his face.

“Now, nothing personal, buddy,” he said carefully. “But that does sound like one of those good stories we were talking about.”

He turned on a dime and galloped to catch up with Lyra, leaving me alone in the marketplace. My hands rested on my hips as I stared at the empty space he had left. A scoff found its way out of me. “Well, time to find new friends,” I joked to myself.

I turned back to my original course, and something heavy thumped against the window of Sugarcube Corner as I passed by. I screwed my eyes shut after catching a glimpse of pink and forced myself to keep walking.

Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. In spite of my own inner mantra, I braved a glance back to the bakery. Pinkie Pie had most of her body pressed against the window, wearing a smile that was more excited than it had any right to be. Through the thick curtain of her mane, her eyes locked onto mine with an uneasy amount of joy. I swore under my breath and returned my attention to the road.

“Hey, Hunter, wait up!”

“Can’t stop and talk, Pinkie,” I called back, keeping my eyes forward. “I’ve got somewhere I gotta be.”

“It’ll only take a couple seconds!” she promised.

“I’m busy,” I reiterated. I stole another glance behind me, but the mare was nowhere to be found. The door to Sugarcube Corner swung lazily to the street. Maybe Pinkie finally learned how to take a—

“Whatcha busy with?”

“Sonuva—”

I nearly tripped over her as she spawned in front of me. The little devil was sitting directly in my path; I had to jump over her to avoid hitting her. Her neck craned back as her eyes followed me, and by the time I landed, she was still looking at me upside down.

“Ooh, nice save,” she giggled.

I stood doubled over, hands resting on knees as I recovered from my near-heart-attack. I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. No need to make a scene over this. Just had to keep my cool; it's what Lyra would want. I sighed, “What do you want, Pinkie?”

She turned back around to fully face me. Her mane rested limp on one side, but she pushed a bright smile despite it. “Just wondering what you were up to,” she chirped.

My head shook on its own accord. I couldn’t believe this. Should I even tell her? Would she leave me be if I did? “Sweet Apple Acres,” I admitted. “I was hoping to catch Applejack there.”

Pinkie took in a sharp gasp. “No way! I was totally hoping you were going that way!” she said excitedly. She pulled a small box out of… somewhere. I blinked. Maybe my eyes needed to get checked. I could have sworn she didn’t have it earlier. “I’ve been meaning to give this to Applejack all morning, but I’ve been really, really busy,” she explained. She held it up, as if to offer it. “Think you could take it to her for me?” she asked with hopeful eyes.

I looked between her and the package in disbelief and shook my head. “Pinkie, I’m not your mailman,” I deadpanned. Her smile broke as I turned back to the road.

“W-Wait!” She scampered ahead of me and stood on her hind legs, propping her forelegs against my stomach to keep me from moving. “Pretty please?” she begged. “Mr. and Mrs. Cake had to take little Pumpkin and Pound to the doctor because they’re having a really bad case of the sniffles and they asked me to watch over the shop and I was like ‘Of course I can!’ because business has been really slow but then we got a really really big order this morning which I’m super excited about but it’s putting me behind on all my other orders!” She took in a gasp, and I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could even squeeze a word in she was already at it again.

“And I promised Applejack I’d bring this package to her by this morning and I’m already late on that and I don’t want her to think I'm a bad friend because of it because there’s already a lot of ponies upset because I’m behind on their orders, and it’s really hard to smile and keep everypony happy ‘cause I haven’t seen a shred of confetti in a wee-ee-eek!”

Her voice broke down into a wail as she buried her face into my jacket. I tried to take a step back, but her grip on my clothes tightened as she tried vainly to cover her teary eyes. Passersby in the market gave us odd looks, and I returned with reassuring, toothy smiles. My front was quickly becoming damp with Pinkie’s tears, something I knew the cold air would quickly take advantage of. I needed to fix this.

“Hey; there, there, Pinkie,” I cooed through grit teeth. “I’ll take that package to Applejack for ya.”

She calmed down slightly and looked up to me, my jacket still tight in her hooves. “R-Really?” she sniffed hopefully.

“So long as you get out of my hair for the rest of the day,” I whispered.

It was like someone had hit a switch. Pinkie broke into a bright smile, and before I could defend myself, I was pulling into a bone-crushing hug. “Thank you so so much!” she squealed. “You have no idea what this means to me. I know! I’ll have to make you some special cupcakes later, on the house! What’s your favorite—” She cut herself off with a gasp. Her body twitched, her ears stood to attention, and her grip around me seemed to tighten even more.

“I left a bun in the oven, and it’s about to burn!” she shrieked. Pinkie launched herself off of me and bolted back to the bakery, leaving me doubled over and gasping for breath. In her haste, though, she forgot a small detail.

“Pinkie, wait!” I called after her. It was too late, though; she was already back inside the bakery. “What about the…” My voice trailed as I looked back down to my feet where a small box rested in the dirt. “Package,” I finished.

I knelt down to inspect it. It was barely smaller than a shoebox, and when I picked it up, it felt just as light. I turned it over in my hands, and on the other side was a crudely drawn trio of apples, colored in with red crayon, leaving few questions to the recipient.

I looked up to the sky and suppressed a yawn. It was still early in the afternoon, but my internal clock was still kicking me for being up in the daytime. I silently prayed for the readjustment to go by quicker. Between the early start in the morning, the story at lunch, and all that happened in the last ten minutes, I was exhausted; physically and socially, though mostly the latter. Hopefully the rest of the day wouldn't be too exciting.

Author's Notes:

Merry Christmas, everybody! Hope you enjoy
(Sorry for the late update, have a festive Lyra)

Act II: Rest and Reconciliation

I paused at the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres, Pinkie’s parcel still in hand. My eyes read the sign above the front gate over and over again as my mind tried to register what I was doing. How many times had I come here under different motives? I shook the thought out of my head; this was a new life… for the second time, and it was time to mend some scars left by the last one.

Old habits set my nerves on edge as I walked through the farm. Seeing the orchard in the daylight felt so strange, and so wrong. I had never braved my way to the farmhouse itself before, and every ounce of instinct I had was screaming at me to turn and run.

I took in a breath to settle it down. This was a new life, I reminded myself again.

I didn't even realize I was standing at the front door. The package was weighing heavy in my hands. With one last breath to gather my nerves, I raised a hand and knocked.

Barking erupted from the other side, causing me to jolt. Memories quickly resurfaced, and I had to force myself not to instinctively run at the all too familiar sound. A muffled voice tried to calm the beast down, and the front door cracked open to reveal an even more familiar mare.

“Now, Winona— No; sit. Winona!” Applejack slowly backed out of the door, keeping it close as to not let her dog slip out as she stared it down. She stole a sideways glance and flashed a brief smile. “Oh, howdy, Hunter! No wonder Winona’s in such a hissy. Ah’ll be right with you.” Winona had some choice words to share as well. Although, given the tone, I was glad they were lost in translation.

Applejack wiped her brow and sighed in relief when she finally shut the door. On the other side, Winona continued shouting obscenities and scratched at the wooden door, to which Applejack gave an apologetic smile.

“Ahem, so, what brings you here, Hunter?” she quickly asked.

“I was just, uh, in the neighborhood,” I shrugged. “Figured I’d swing by and chat if you weren’t too busy.”

She raised her eyebrow and gave me a look. “‘In the neighborhood’, huh?” she asked knowingly.

I glanced around us and noticed the distinct lack of other buildings in the area and coughed. “Well, with a loose definition of ‘neighborhood’,” I explained sheepishly. “Oh, and, uh, Pinkie wanted me to give you this,” I added as I handed over the package.

She accepted it with a hoof and inspected it curiously. “Huh, wonder what this is,” she said absently.

“Well, Pinkie was freaking out about it earlier,” I offered. “Said she was supposed to bring it to you this morning. She got real worried that you’d think she was a bad friend or something for forgetting it.”

“A bad friend? Pinkie?” Applejack asked incredulously. “Shoot, she’s one of my best friends! Ah’d never think so low of her.” She looked at the package again with a new regard and chuckled. “Y’know, Ah can’t even imagine what this could be that’d make Pinkie so wound up. Now, let’s see here…”

Applejack bit down on one of the ends of the package and tore it off. After peeking inside, she reached in and pulled out a letter. As her eyes skimmed over the lines, her soft grin slowly faded. Her brow furrowed, and she glanced up to me once before reading again. Before I could ask what it was, though, she stuffed the letter back into the box and snapped on a smile.

“Whew, thanks for deliverin’ this, Hunter,” she quickly said. “Pinkie gets real serious about our pets’ birthdays and all. Winona’s must’ve been sneakin’ up on me; Ah completely forgot about it. Ah’m sure she’ll like these biscuits Pinkie got her, though.”

“Bless you.”

Applejack blinked. “Er, beg pardon?”

“Oh, sorry,” I stammered. “I thought you were about to sneeze. Your, uh… Your nose started scrunching a bit there.”

“My nose?” she echoed. “Oh, right. Ah guess it just got a bit of a tickle. Oop, there it goes again.” She touched her hoof to her muzzle and gave a nervous chuckle.

“So, what was it that brought you here again?” she asked. “No offense, but Ah doubt you decided to just come out here to help Pinkie outta the goodness in your heart. Ah know things are still a little, er, tense between you two.”

I scratched the back of my head and tried to avoid eye contact. “Um, right. I just wanted a chance to talk about some things. Things are still a little weird now ever since… well, ever since the trial, and we haven’t really talked since then.” I started choking on my own words as I realized how awkward this probably was. Maybe there was a way to double back. “But I’m sure you’re busy,” I brushed off. “My grandfather owns a farm up in Missouri, and I know the work’s a hassle to get done.”

“Oh, nonsense,” Applejack waved off. “We had an early harvest this year. Kinda had to to make sure they wouldn’t get stolen by…” Her words trailed off, and she coughed into her hoof. “To make sure none of the varmints would get to them,” she rephrased.

We stood there uncomfortably, trying not to meet each other’s eyes. Inside the farmhouse, Winona filled the silence with her barking as she scratched at the door, desperate to save her owner from the Beast of the Everfree.

I shook my head. “Sorry, this was a mistake.” I took a few steps backwards and shoved my hands in my jacket pockets. “I’ll, um… I’ll see you around, Applejack.” I turned on my heel as I took another backstep and made my way back to the gate, but I didn’t make it far before Applejack called me back.

“Hunter, wait!” I paused and glanced back; Applejack had covered half the distance before slowing to a stop. Her mouth hung open as if she meant to speak, but her eyes fell to the earth beneath my feet as she rubbed her hoof against her foreleg.

“Ah think you’re onto somethin’,” she confessed. “About the talking, that is. Well, maybe a few other things, too. Things have been feelin’ weird around town.” She paused, taking in a breath and letting out a heavy sigh. “Hardly anything’s changed, but it still feels like everything’s been turned upside down. And Ah feel it’s gonna stay that way until somepony does somethin’ about it.” She looked up to me and gave a sincere smile. “And maybe talking would be a good start.”

A rush of relief came over me, and I returned her smile and looked past her at the farmhouse. Winona had found her way to one of the windows and continued her rant with added ferocity. “Don’t suppose we can take this somewhere a bit quieter?” I asked hopefully.

“Well, of course,” Applejack chirped. “Here, Ah don’t reckon she can bother us over by the well.”

I followed Applejack as she walked down the dirt path away from the farmhouse, and all the while my eyes kept flickering between her and the orchard to our left. No matter how many times I tried to shrug it off, everything just felt so strange, like an itch in the back of my head I couldn’t quite reach.

“Sorry about Winona,” Applejack apologized, derailing my train of thought. “She’s usually real nice, but me and Macintosh may have trained her to not be too friendly with you. It’s gonna take her some time to readjust to everything.”

“Yeah, she’s not the only one,” I chuckled halfheartedly. We reached the well at the front of the property, and I sat on its stone wall. A memory sparked to life, and I inspected the rope behind me leading deeper into the well. My hand reached out curiously and tugged upward on the rope, and I was surprised to feel a small weight trying to pull back down. “Oh, you replaced it,” I said absently. “I was actually going to offer to buy a new one for you.”

Applejack waved a hoof dismissively. “No, don’t you worry about that. The last one we had was old anyways; Ah’ve been tryin’ to convince Granny Smith to replace it for years now. No permanent damage was done.”

“Well, that’s good to hear at least,” I lied. Somehow her words weren’t as comforting as she had hoped. I took in a breath and tried to build up my courage. “Look, I… I really appreciate what you did for me a few days ago. I know it must’ve taken a lot to go up in front of everyone, in front of your princess even, and say, well… and say the things you said. I know plenty of people who would have tried to save their own skin if they were in your shoes, and I just wanted to say—”

“Hunter, Ah really appreciate this,” Applejack cut in with an uncomfortable look. “But Ah wasn’t the only one who stood up for you that day.”

“No, but I’ve already thanked Fluttershy and Daisy more than enough,” I explained. “And besides, after all that you did to help, it made me start thinking about everything I did to you before.” I scratched the back of my head, feeling too guilty to look her in the eyes. “I harassed you and your family a lot and was, well… I was a bit of a jerk. I wanted to thank you and apologize for it all, so… Here.”

I reached for my side where a small pouch was tethered to my beltline and offered it to Applejack. She looked surprised but held out a hoof to accept it. However, when she felt the weight of its contents, her expression quickly changed, and she eyed it fearfully as if it was a disease.

“Hunter?” she asked warily. “What is this?”

“Fifty bits, give or take. I… kind of lost count,” I admitted. “I know it’s not enough to pay for everything, but it was all the pouch could carry. I can head back to the Bon-Bon’s and—”

“Where did you get this?” Applejack pressed.

Her interjection threw me off guard. “It was, um, part of the Princess’ compensation,” I explained. “If we’re being honest, I don’t really need the money; I’m going to be leaving soon. I kept telling her, but she kept insisting, so I figured—”

“Ah can’t take this,” Applejack quickly said, pushing the small bag back into my hands.

I looked between her and the bag in confusion. She looked guiltily to the side, heavily trying to avoid looking directly at me. “I… I don’t think you understand,” I said slowly. “I don’t need this money. I tried to tell your princess; it’s kinda wasted on me. I just wanted to go home. I don’t even know what to do with all the money I was given.”

She paused. “How much were you given?” she asked cautiously, as if she didn’t truly want to know. I hesitated, but motioned for her to lean in and whispered in her ear. She pulled back and let out a low whistle. “That’s, er, that’s a real generous amount,” she said with a strained smile.

“Enough to buy a small house,” I nodded. “Or enough of a cushion to make easy payments; I can’t remember what Bon-Bon said. Finance was never my forte.” I held the money out one last time for her, and she shook her head sharply in refusal. With a heavy sigh, I tied it back to my beltline and slumped on the wall.

“Why don’t you just spend it for yourself?” she offered. “If you ain’t planning on staying forever, you should get something to remember all your friends by, and something for them to remember you.” I perked up a bit at the thought. It didn’t sound half-bad. “And Ah ain’t much one for fashion, but Ah’m sure you ain’t wearing these raggedy old clothes for their looks,” she added, motioning to my tattered pant leg. “Ah know Rarity would be right happy to fix them up for you. Hay, she can even tailor you some more if you asked.”

I hesitated. “I don’t know. Sweetie Belle’s been trying to get us to talk to each other more. We tried once, for her sake.” I frowned. “Not exactly one of my most comfortable dinners. I know Sweetie Belle meant well trying to cook for us, but it didn’t help that she charred it. It led to a lot of awkward silences and uncomfortable small talk while we picked at it. I think Rarity’s still a little cross with me after… well, you know.”

“Y’know, it’s kinda funny,” Applejack smiled softly. “Ah remember her telling me about that dinner, and she told me the same thing about you.” She paused to let the fact settle in, and after a minute I snorted in disbelief and shook my head. I swung a leg over into the well to straddle the wall and leaned against the wooden post.

“A lot of my friends feel that way about you, too,” she eventually continued. “They all know they’ve done you a lot of wrong, and they want to make it up to you, but a lot of them are too scared to confront you because they think you hate them.”

“Well, some of them have good reason to,” I muttered under my breath.

“Oh, come on, Hunter. Ah know you don’t really mean that,” she said hopefully. My look must have not reassured her, though, and her expression fell. “Hunter, Ah know you don’t really mean that,” she said more sternly.

“Really?” I asked flatly. “What do you want me to say, Applejack? They organized a town against me, they tackled me at the speed of a bullet, they shot me point blank with a cannon; twice, I’d like to add on that last one,” I listed off my fingers. “And that’s not even including what they did to me last week, where they imprisoned me in a basement and interrogated and borderline tortured me for saving a bunch of kids!”

“And Ah seem to recall Ah was there, too,” Applejack shot back. “Ah helped run you out of town when you first got here, and Ah helped put you in that basement. When you came to my property looking for food, it was me and my family that chased you down. Hay, we even went as far as hunting you down in the Everfree. When everypony else went to sleep, Ah stayed up plotting and scheming against you. Ah…” She stamped her hoof into the earth and exhaled the rest of her tension. “Ah thought things about you, Hunter,” she said, deflating. “Things Ah ain’t proud to admit. Ah wanted you hurt and… and a lot worse for everything Ah thought you did.”

Silence crept in as her words settled like dust. “But here you are,” she eventually said, a hopeful smile threatening to show. “After everything Ah did to you, after everything Ah wanted to do to you, you’re still here, wanting to set things straight between us.”

A second ticked by as I tried to gather my thoughts, and I shook my head. “You’re different,” I said simply, and she gave me a look that demanded an explanation. “You stood up for me… when it counted,” I continued. “Despite all that your friends thought, you decided to believe in me and gave me a chance.”

“Because you gave me a reason to,” Applejack reminded me. “Ah could’ve sworn you were no better than a low-down thief, but you showed me there was good in ya after all.” Applejack climbed up the side of the well and rested on its wall with me. “You showed me who you really were back in that hospital. You didn't have to watch over that old field trip, and you sure didn't have to bring the foals back, but you did. You were willing to give us a second chance, despite how we've treated you for so long. Ah figured it was only fair to give you one, too.

“But my friends? They only ever saw the bad in ya, like Ah once did, and they did a lot of wrong by you because of it, but Ah want you to understand, they’re good mares,” she pleaded. “Y’all just kept getting off on the wrong hoof is all. If you took the time to get to know them, like you did with me, Ah’m sure you’ll come to learn that, too.” She fiddled with her hooves, working to build her courage.

“Now, Ah don’t know what you think of me, but Ah’d like to think of you as a friend,” she admitted. “And Ah don’t like seeing my friends hating or fighting with each other. So if you would, just… give them another chance; please?” she asked, meeting my eyes. “If not for your sake or theirs, then for mine?”

I sighed. As much as I wanted to make things up to her, I also didn’t care to meet with her other friends. Still, after everything that had happened, between her sticking her neck out to save mine and myself working up the nerve to come here in the first place, I figured I was obligated to meet her half way, at very least. “I’ll give Rarity another shot, alright?” I finally conceded. “For your sake. The others, though… Don’t get too hopeful.”

Applejack took in a breath to retort, but she cut herself off with a grim nod. “Fair enough,” she sighed. “Ah suppose Ah can’t force ya, but… Ah appreciate it.”

My eyes fell into the depths of the well and my foot that swung lazily in it, and I realized just how badly I wanted to get out of here. I swung both my legs across the well and hopped off onto the grass. “I’ll catch you around, Applejack,” I offered. “If you’re ever in town, feel free to stop by. I’m sure Bon-Bon wouldn’t mind.”

Applejack blinked. “O-Oh, you’re leavin’ so soon?” Her eyes darted back to the farmhouse, and the package she left at the front door. “Why don’t you stay a little while longer?” she offered with a hopeful smile. “Granny Smith has an apple pie cooling off on the sill; Ah’m sure it’s nice and ready by now.”

“Oh, no, I can’t,” I shook my head, holding a hand over my stomach. “No offense, but I think I’ve had my fill of apples for the rest of the year.”

It won a light, knowing chuckle out of the both of us, but Applejack wasn’t deterred. “Well, if not for that, then what about Applebloom?” she asked. “Ah think she said she was wanting to see ya. She and her friends oughta be out of school any minute now.”

Her nose scrunched, and I paused for the sneeze that never came. “Oh, I don’t want to impose and stay while I wait,” I explained carefully, hoping she would take the subtle hint.

She didn’t.

“Oh, nonsense, Hunter. Won’t be any trouble at all! Here, Ah’ll even get my brother to tidy the place up while you’re here.” Applejack called back to the farmhouse, “Macintosh!”

The front door opened, and as the stallion called back to his sister, a figure darted out from beneath him. It barreled closer and closer to us, its yapping growing louder and louder, and it took a moment for me to realize what was really happening.

I swore under my breath and raced to the fence line, leaving Applejack in a confused daze. As Winona darted past her, though, she quickly came to her senses. My instincts were kicking back in. I couldn’t outrun the dog; I was too out of practice to even try. The orchard was too far away, but that didn’t leave me completely out of options.

I made it to the fence and climbed on top of one of the posts, slightly holding out my arms to balance myself. Winona came crashing beneath me, snarling as she tried to jump for my feet. Thankfully, they were just outside of her reach. Applejack slid to a halt and pulled Winona away by the collar, trying unsuccessfully to calm her down.

“You know… it’s a real shame,” I panted. “I used to really like dogs.”

Applejack could only offer an apologetic grin.

A cold gust of wind tore through my tattered clothes as I rested beneath a tree in Ponyville’s park. After the impromptu game of chase with Winona, I figured I had had enough excitement for the day without the childlike antics of Applebloom and her friends, and my body was begging me for rest. Besides, if they really wanted to see me, I wasn’t exactly the hardest person to spot in a crowd in this town.

It took an odd amount of time to convince Applejack I was just going to the park, and even when I did, she looked like she still had an itch in the back of her mind as I left. I originally assumed she was just making sure so she could send her sister after me, but as time drew on and my rest went uninterrupted, I began to have second thoughts. I couldn’t imagine why Applejack made such a fuss to make sure I was staying in the park otherwise.

Another gust of wind tore me from my thoughts. I grit back a small shiver and pulled my legs in closer. Maybe I could ask Bon-Bon if I could use the sewing machine in her room to close up some of these holes. I had been meaning to ask for a while now, but the air still felt a little strange whenever we were together. That, paired with last night’s… uncomfortable happenings… Maybe it would be best to wait a couple more days before bringing it up.

My eyes fluttered open, and on the other side of the park, the Everfree loomed darkly in the low-hanging sun. Through the swaying of the branches and thickets in the breeze, my imagination saw the eyes of beasts; manticores and bears and timberwolves. I scowled back at them, wondering how the Princess’ Guard was faring.

You should be out there looking for home. Not them.

I blinked in surprise; these conversations were coming fewer and further between ever since my trial, probably due to my lack of responses lately. Talking to others was always more enticing than to myself. I drew in a breath and let it out as a sigh.

I’ve had my share of adventures in there, I pointed out. It’s time for someone else to endure that hellhole of a forest while I get some much-needed R and R. Besides, with the timberwolves hunting for me, I wouldn’t make it three feet in there. The Princess’ Guard will be better equipped to survive the Everfree than I could ever hope to be.

They don’t know where to start looking. You do, it argued. The Everfree is vast. We’ve only seen a fraction of it.

“What would you have me do, point it out to them on a map?” I grumbled.

You should be leading them.

“Lead them?” I scoffed. “Ha, that’s a joke. We both know I’m no leader. I couldn’t lead a handful of foals through that forest without two of them nearly dying.”

You’re evading the point, it said sternly. You can’t hide in this town forever.

“Who said I was planning on it?” I bit back. “I don’t want anything more than to go back home.”

Then start acting like it. I bit my tongue at its sudden bitter tone, daring it to go further. You’re living in the same town of the creatures that wanted you dead not even a full week ago, it continued in spite of me. You live in one of their houses; you wake up with them, you eat with them. You always assure them you are about to leave, but you never do anything to prepare!

“What, do you want me to pack the one thing I brought with me?” I demanded. “Oh, wait, I’m already done! It’s sitting on the nightstand next to the bed, ready to go.”

And what are you doing? I winced as my head rang with a headache. You’re sitting here fantasizing of returning home, but rather than taking control and finding the door yourself, you are willing to leave you fate in the hands of the creatures that once saw you as their enemy. How much effort do you really expect them to put forth to find a stranger’s home?

“As much effort as the Princess told them to,” I growled. “And she wanted me to stay here. I trust that she sent some of her best to look for the portal.”

Oh, you trust her? the voice echoed sarcastically. The same princess that could have made your life easier so much sooner rather than testing you with a suicidal errand? The same princess who hoped her little social experiment with Twilight wouldn’t have gone ‘so far out of hoof’? The same princess that compensated you enough to purchase a house while her errand boys searched for your real home?

My tongue was stuck in my throat. Even if it wasn’t, I wasn’t sure if I could come up with any words to say.

It sure seems this ‘princess’ likes her games and tests… What makes you so sure this isn’t one either?

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” I muttered under my breath.

Yes, there you go, the voice snarked. Take the coward’s way out. You’re so used to it by now, aren’t you?

“You son of a—” I picked up a stone and chucked it at the forest; it was all I could think of as a target. It couldn’t even make it a third of the way before returning to the earth. As my breathing calmed back down, I closed my eyes and fell back against the tree, uncaring of the sharp bark that dug into my head from the force.

“Hunter?”

My blood froze to the familiar voice. I looked up into the tree above me and found Rainbow Dash stretched along one of the higher branches. She yawned into her hoof and let it dangle limply over the edge. Her colorful mane was a mess, but the more I thought of it, it always was. She blinked a few times and squinted at me, unsure if I was really there. “What’re you doing here?” she asked groggily.

I sighed and leaned back against the tree. “I was resting,” I muttered under my breath. So much for that.

The branches above me rustled as she wiped the last of sleep from her eyes. She scanned the base of the tree as if she had dropped something. “Is… somepony else here, too?” she asked, scratching her head. “I thought I heard you talking.”

“I was,” I said bluntly. The back of my head burned. “Just thinking out loud, though. I’ve been sitting by myself for a while now.” I frowned. Why was I putting up with this? I came out to the park to relax, not play twenty questions. Rainbow’s voice wasn’t exactly the definition of relaxing, either. I stood up and brushed off the seat of my pants and started searching for another tree.

“Wait, ‘a while’?” Rainbow echoed. “What do you mean ‘a while’? How long have you been out here?”

I paused, against my better judgement, and groaned. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “An hour, maybe two? Maybe more? Hard to tell when you don’t have a watch.”

“Two hours?!” Whatever hope Rainbow had of going back to sleep was dashed away. She balanced herself on her hooves as she looked around wildly. “No, that can’t be right,” she argued. “I-I just closed my eyes for a few seconds… Oh my gosh, Rarity is going to kill me.”

She eyed the branches beneath her warily, and for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to look away from the show. She gently jumped off her perch to the branch beneath her, and then to the next. But just as her confidence grew, her hoof slipped off the third and sent her tumbling. She miraculously managed to miss some of the branches in her graceless descent, but what she hit, she hit hard.

I caught myself wincing as a limb stuck her barrel. Her body folded over it before falling back, and the back of her head collided with another. As if to add insult to injury, just as she was about to be free, her hind leg snagged against the last branch, sending her somersaulting to the ground where she crashed into a heap.

I stood there dumbfounded from the tragic display I had witnessed and poorly bit back a smile.

“Well, try not to beat Rarity to it,” I snickered.

She let out a groan and rose uneasily back to her hooves. She glanced up to the sun and teetered off to the side a few steps. “I… I gotta go,” she explained, taking a few wobbly steps forward. “You should, uh, stay here, though,” she added with an unconvincing smile. “Just for a few minutes at least.”

I threw her a look, but rather than explain herself, she broke into a gallop back into town. I brushed her off with a roll of my eyes and returned to the base of the tree. With neither Rainbow Dash nor the Beast of the Everfree around to pester me, I was eager to return to my much-needed rest and relaxation and enjoy the peace and quiet.

It wasn’t until I sat back down and closed my eyes that I realized just how peaceful and just how quiet it actually was. My eyes cracked open and squinted at the sun. It was late in the afternoon, nearing on the evening hours. Most of everyone was out of work by now, and the children would have been well out of school. The park was a popular get-together for them, but no matter how hard I strained my ears, I couldn’t hear anything other than birdsong; no shouting of horseplay or make-believe adventures.

I sat up to confirm my suspicions, only to find that there weren’t any adults around either. I was the only person in this wide, empty park.

I shuddered. The Everfree Forest suddenly felt much closer. My blood ran cold with the wind as I scrambled to my feet, nerves on end as I stared the forest down.

Maybe it was just a holiday. Yeah… I never bothered to ask if any were coming up. Maybe everyone was just back in town. Maybe Lyra could explain everything.

I walked back to town at a brisk pace, stealing frequent glances behind me to make sure the Everfree stayed where it was. I clamped my mouth shut to stop my teeth from chattering. A pit was forming in my chest, and as I entered the town it only grew deeper.

Once-busy streets were now desolate. I quickened my step as memories of dark storms rolled in the back of my mind. My paranoia was rising. Rainbow’s words rang in my head. She was off in such a hurry. At the time, I didn’t care to ask where she was going, I was just glad that she had left, but now it was all I could think about. This couldn’t have been a coincidence. What was she up to?

“Hunter!”

My paranoia melted away with a simple call of my name. I turned, and down the road to the marketplace, Lyra stood waving with an eager grin. I chuckled, mentally scolding myself for jumping to such wild conclusions, but as I glanced around once more, I noticed we were still the only two in an eerily empty street.

I took a few steps towards her. “So, what’s, uh… How’s it going, Lyra?” I tried to ask nonchalantly. “Haven’t seen you since lunch. Didn’t miss anything too big, did I?”

Rather than answer, her smile simply broadened before she turned and galloped off. She passed two streets before disappearing into another, leaving me in a vulnerable confusion.

With only a small hesitation, I broke into a jog after her. I wasn’t in the mood for this. As I chased after her, I felt the stares of eyes digging into my back from the darkened homes around me, but I didn’t dare check to confirm my suspicions.

I turned the corner just in time to see Lyra wave and disappear behind another. “Lyra!” I groaned.

“Come on, Hunter!” she called back. “You’re running late enough as it is!”

“Running late for what?” I demanded, jogging after her again. It was pointless, though; she had probably run far enough ahead to not hear my shout.

It was like a game to her. She would wait just long enough for me to catch up to the last turn before taking another. Lyra’s four hooves had an advantage over my two feet, and she knew it. She was leading me somewhere, that much I was sure of, but to where and why was beyond me. I chased her through Ponyville to the town square, and by the time I reached the bridge that crossed the small creek running through the town, she was already waiting patiently for me at the front doors to the town hall.

She flagged me to follow her and disappeared inside, closing the door quickly after her. I allowed myself to slow down to catch my breath. As the building loomed over me, I couldn’t help but wonder why Lyra led me here and what waited inside.

I shook my head. “It’s Lyra,” I reminded myself. “What’s the worst it could be?” I thought of what I said, though… and who I said it about, and I took in a breath to brace myself. Gathering my nerves, I reached out to the handle and pulled the door open.

It was dark. The last orange rays of the sun barely crept inside, offering me no help. Against my better judgement, I crept inside, waiting for Lyra’s trap to spring. It was black as pitch; someone had blinded the windows, making sure no light trickled in. If I strained my ears, I thought I could hear whispers.

“Um, Lyra?” I called nervously.

I jumped as the door slammed behind me. Something loud popped overhead, and the lights sprang to life, assaulting my eyes with a vast array of color as a multitude of ponies were revealed. In the middle of it all stood my small circle of friends, each sporting a smile brighter than all the others. I fell to the seat of my pants as the atrium full of ponies sang out a single word.

“Surprise!”

Author's Notes:

Obligatory party chapter is obligatory. Don't worry, I'll make it painless.

Jokes aside, though, I know this is pretty cliche, even for when I first posted it. But it was part of the original version, and I had so much fun with it, it would have felt wrong to leave it out. It's going to go under heavy reconstruction to fit the new narrative; in fact, I'm going to be tearing it apart and working from the ground up for most of it. I'm gonna keep it short and to the point, and as recompense for all the torture, I figure it's only fair to pay it back to Twilight and her friends. This infamous "punishment" chapter will be release along with the next; it will most likely be nestled in between Trials and Errors and No Man's Land. To those I've asked to check it out before I fully post it, I haven't forgotten about you, and I hope you all are still up for it after all this time

Coming Soon:
Act II: Party Foul
Side Chapter: Pony Paradigms

Act II: Party Foul

“Surprise!”

Thunder boomed overhead as lightning ignited the sky. I found myself gasping for breath as my back collided against the cold earth. Rainwater was pooling on my brow. No… It was just sweat. The confetti falling from the sky was real, though.

I blinked, and the clouded, grey skies were replaced with a high ceiling and artificial lights. I found that the pressure against my chest was my own palm, clutching at my sporadic heart to vainly calm it down. As the confetti settled around me like dust, I noticed how painfully quiet it was in the room packed with ponies.

“Um… well, come on, everypony; Hunter’s here!” Daisy called. “Let’s get this party started!”

Further back in the room, a band filled the air with lively music, and a dull roar accompanied it as the citizens of Ponyville began to mingle. I was left on the floor and took the opportunity to wipe my face of the sweat and confetti starting to stick to it. It wasn’t long until the familiar faces of my friends appeared above me.

“Congratulations, Lyra, you broke him,” Noteworthy deadpanned.

“Oh, shut up,” she hissed back, but as she looked back down to me, her expression quickly melted into worry. “Hey, you feeling okay?” she asked softly.

“Yeah,” I lied with a croak. “You just… surprised me is all.”

“Are you sure?” Daisy asked skeptically. “You look pale. Like, really pale.”

Everyone nodded with her, and I tried to give a reassuring chuckle. “You, uh, really surprised me,” I smiled, hoping to pass it off. They still didn’t look convinced. I sighed and held up a hand. “Here, just help me back to my feet.”

Zecora and Noteworthy reached out and pulled me up. Fluttershy hovered overhead with a guiding hoof and a worried look. ‘It wasn’t too much, was it?” she pressed. “Oh, I knew we shouldn’t have turned off the lights. Those kinds of surprises scare me, too.”

“Fluttershy, I’m fine,” I assured her as I got back to my feet. “And I wasn’t scared, just… startled is all.” My friends backed away a few steps to allow me to gather my senses and take everything in, and even then it almost wasn’t enough. How many ponies were in here? I couldn’t count; there was almost enough to fill the entire auditorium. Some were even in the balconies high above, and pegasi darted across the air, some even sat together in the rafters. “What… What is this?”

“It’s your party!” Daisy chirped.

“It’s practically a Ponyville tradition at this point,” Noteworthy chimed in. “Newcomers always get a welcoming party. Since your first visit was, well…” He coughed into his hoof and tried again. “Since you never got your proper welcoming party, we decided to throw one for you.”

“And this many people decided to come?” I asked skeptically.

“Do not be so surprised of the display before your eyes,” Zecora pitched in. “I’ve told you before the stories of my early days when my visits to Ponyville were met with frightened craze? Once the truth was uncovered, and we rooted out all misconceptions, I was greeted with the warmest of receptions.”

“Like Noteworthy said, it’s kind of a tradition,” Lyra added. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what anypony once thought of you. These parties are special. They’re meant to bring everypony together.” She studied my face and rolled her eyes. “Come on.” Lyra’s horn glowed, and I felt something tug on my wrist.

She walked into the crowd of mingling ponies, her eyes never leaving mine with that knowing smile. The rubber band around my wrist tried to follow, pulling my arm towards her. I looked back to my friends for support, and all they offered were parting smiles as they went off to mingle. Realizing I was alone on this front, I allowed the rubber band to guide me, trying to ignore my skin crawling around the magical force.

We paused deep in the crowd. The band was playing not too far from here, and the ponies nearby were moving more to the rhythm.

“Why did you bring me out here?” I called over the music.

“So you couldn’t sneak away,” she answered with a smirk. She gave my leg a prod. “Don’t pretend like you weren’t thinking it; I saw that look in your eye. This is your welcoming party. It wouldn’t make much sense to throw it if you weren’t here to enjoy it.” I must have looked as willing as I felt, and she sighed. “Look, I don’t want you to feel like you have to be here.”

It sounded like a lie, or at least as though there was more to it. I raised an eyebrow, “But?”

Lyra hesitated. “But… we did work really hard on this,” she admitted with a sheepish smile. “Like, you will not believe the trouble I went through to plan and throw a party this big in one day.” She glanced behind her towards the band and looked up to me with excited eyes. “Come on, let’s go dancing!”

“Oh, no no no,” I waved my hands as I backed away. “You don’t want to see that; I have two left feet. You… go ahead though; have fun. I’ll just hang around.” She looked at me with disappointment in her eyes as she tried and failed to press a smile. “I promise, I’ll try to stick around and have fun, okay?”

Lyra sighed and shook her head, but this time a more genuine smile showed. “Fine. I guess you lead a human to a party, but you can’t force him to dance.” She slowly started backing into the crowd, her body already subtly moving to the music. “If you ever change your mind, though, you know where to find me.”

Something inside me tugged after her as she left, but my feet were anchored in place. Dancing sounded fun, it really did, but I didn’t need all these eyes staring at me as I made a fool of myself. I was already starting to gather a few looks.

I ran my fingers through my hair and turned to search for a familiar face. Noteworthy was sitting at one of the tables close to the buffet of sweets, talking to another stallion and mare. He saw me and smirked, obviously catching on to the desperation in my eyes, and waved me over to join them. With a sigh of relief I began to wade my way through the crowd. There were too many waist-high bodies. I felt like I was going to trip at any moment.

“Hunter!”

“Sweetie!”

I lunged forward as the filly scurried beneath. My heart was beating like a drum, and I doubled over to help it calm down. I glanced behind me and found a very apologetic looking Sweetie Belle. “Please don’t do that again,” I groaned. “I nearly stepped on you.”

“I agree.” Rarity squeezed past two ponies to catch up with her sister. “You know better than that, Sweetie Belle,” she chimed in with a scold. Sweetie’s ears feel back as she looked to the ground and mumbled an apology.

“Oh, there ya are, Hunter!” Applebloom and Scootaloo wedged themselves into the circle that was apparently forming around me. “Ya know, for a tall feller like yourself, you’re pretty hard to find,” Applebloom chirped.

“Doesn’t help when he falls on his flank when we scare him, either,” Scootaloo snickered.

“Alright, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You startled me,” I corrected.

“Regardless, how are you enjoying your party?” Rarity asked. Her smile seemed genuine. “It’s not too much, I would hope.”

“I, uh, I mean…” My hand scratched the back of my head as I hesitated and tried to take in my surroundings again. The movement and music and chatter was overwhelming. “It was, at first, but… It’s good. They definitely didn't hold back.”

“Well, of course it’s great!” Sweetie piped up with a beaming and proud smile. “Rarity spent all day working on it to make sure it was perfect! She even closed the boutique to work on it.”

“Oh, Sweetie, please. You’re giving me too much credit,” she waved a hoof as she chuckled nervously. A strong blush was beginning to show through her pale white coat. “It was a group effort, really. Lyra was the true mastermind; it was her idea, and she found everypony to help with this. And if Pinkie Pie hadn’t told us where to find the party supplies, we would have been much further behind.”

“These little rascals giving you trouble, Hunter?” Noteworthy squeezed himself into our group with a playful smile, putting himself between me and Rarity. The foals began protesting, and he calmed them down with a wave of his hoof. “Hey, just joking, just joking,” he assured with a laugh.

“Nah, we’re just catching up,” I replied. “Honestly, it’s nice to see a few more familiar faces.”

“Hey, I know! Wanna play some party games with us?” Applebloom asked hopefully.

“Party games?” I echoed.

“Yeah! Come on, Rainbow Dash has been working all day on them,” Scootaloo said excitedly. Red flags fired up in my head. As she jumped up and buzzed her wings and tried to pull me with her, I looked to the back where the games were set up. Sure enough, a rainbow colored mane was bobbing up and down in the crowd, watching over the others as they played.

“Psh, please, more like half of the afternoon,” Rarity waved off disdainfully. “I still can’t believe she was almost late to this. We had been working all day, and she almost ruined it.”

My eyes still hadn’t left Rainbow since I spotted her. “I think I’m good,” I quickly said. “I’m a little too old for ‘pin the tail on the donkey’.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sweetie sounded a little hurt. “That’s one of my favorites.”

“Oh, you’ll understand someday when you’re older, Sweetie,” Rarity assured her with a smile as she pet her mane. She hesitated, though, and looked back to me. “Although, maybe you should go with them. It could be… relaxing,” she offered.

“I’m sure it would be, but he can’t,” Noteworthy interjected. He put himself more between me and Rarity and looked up to give me a reassuring wink. He must have caught on to my growing discomfort. “He already said he was going to tell me and some friends another story about when he was in the Everfree Forest,” he explained, looking back to her. “Something about the time you rode a manticore, right?”

“Wait, you rode a manticore?” Applebloom asked excitedly.

Scootaloo began jumping in place. “That’s so cool! Can we hear it, too?”

I held my hands up in defense as all three of the kids began to swarm me with questions. “Hey, hey, it wasn’t as daring as it sounds,” I chuckled. “Honestly, it was kind of embarrassing looking back; I was scared half to death most the time. It, uh…” I snapped my fingers a couple times to collect my thoughts and motioned to Applebloom. “It was actually that night your brother almost caught me when I was, erm, visiting.”

“Hey now, let’s wait until we’re with my friends before we start story time, eh?” Note offered as he nudged my leg. “Besides, they haven’t heard the story about your run-in with the Ursa, and they won’t stop bugging me about it.”

“My word, you actually ran into one of those dreadful things out there?” Rarity gasped.

“Actually, I think ‘ran from’ would be a better choice of words,” Note snickered.

“Oh, har har,” I scoffed, but I couldn’t help my own smile.

“Hey, we want to hear it, too!” Sweetie Belle piped up.

I glanced between the kids and Noteworthy, and all he offered was an indifferent shrug. “I mean, the more the merrier, eh?” he suggested.

I chuckled and shook my head, motioning for the girls to follow. Their eyes lit up, and they trotted after me and my friend, with Rarity distantly in tow. “Let’s make sure we get a big enough table this time.”

We didn’t find a big enough table.

The party was officially in full swing, and what initially started as a small group of Note’s friends quickly grew into a large chunk of the party over the course of an hour. From eavesdroppers at nearby tables getting sucked in to minglers telling their friends, everyone seemed to want to listen to the adventures of the Beast of the Everfree. I wasn’t used to this many eyes being on me. I was shaking from the attention, but even as anxiety ate away at my nerves, a smile broke through. I was actually having fun.

At the end of one of my stories, Noteworthy would jump in to give me a break. He noticed I was stammering and getting a bit skittish as more ponies started showing up and thought it would be best for me to take a breather every now and then. I couldn’t have been more grateful for it.

It didn’t take long until Zecora found us, or rather the crowd surrounding us, and her presence was both a blessing and a curse. While she provided helpful insight with her experience in the Everfree, I could also tell she was enjoying the stories of my misadventures in the Everfree a little too much, and she wouldn’t hold back the occasional tease.

But for now, all eyes were on me. I stood atop a table above a swamp of eyes, all leaning in to catch every detail, and there wasn’t a waitress to stop me.

“So, there we were, twenty feet up in the air. Now I had never been to a rodeo before, and something told me it was this manticore’s first time, too. Shoot, I was barely even used to bareback riding, er—” Can’t say horses, can’t say donkeys, can’t say cattle. Everyone’s eyes were on me, and I tugged on my collar and coughed. “Well, anyways,” I chuckled and looked to the side, earning a few snickers for something I definitely should not have left up to interpretation.

“My legs were wrapped around its torso, just behind its wings, and I had a deathgrip on its mane for dear life,” I continued, acting out my memories. “And all the while, my eyes are just pinned on the stinger at the end of its tail, just waiting for the manticore to remember that it’s there. Unfortunately for me, after realizing it couldn’t shake me off, it did remember. Unfortunately for it, though, I am much more scared of stingers than I am of falling.”

I squatted low to be closer to my audience, and they all leaned in because of it. I nearly froze from the reaction, but I quickly had my train of thought back on track. “I pushed myself to roll off the manticore’s back as the stinger came down, but the moment my brain realized what I was doing, I started locking up. My right hand closed around its mane as I started to fall, and the stinger, I kid you not, struck the manticore in the back, right between wings. Now, I don’t know which hurt more, getting stung by your own stinger or having the full weight of a teenager suddenly hanging on to the hair around your neck, but we were starting to plummet, like, fast.”

“A manticore’s toxin is truly quite frightening,” Zecora added, leaning into the table and looking to the other ponies. “A paralyzing agent that works fast as lightning. One prick is enough to stop a dozen foals, at which point it usually swallows the victim whole.” She turned to me with a knowing smile. “You were lucky to be quick as to avoid such a demise. I’m sure tricking the beast to stinging itself came as quite the surprise.”

“Yeah,” I squeaked. A cold film of sweat covered my back as I realized just how narrow of an escape I had made so many weeks ago.

“You doing alright there, buddy?” Noteworthy laughed.

I coughed into my hand and tried to recover from the voice crack. “I, uh, yeah, yeah. I just didn’t know that.” I sat down on the tabletop and looked above the crowd to some imaginary place. “You know, it just has me thinking, if I had a bit for every time I ran into a manticore… well, I could probably buy myself a chocolate bar,” I shrugged as I thought aloud. “Which, like, isn’t a lot of bits when you really think about it, but it’s definitely more than I would have liked.”

I laughed at my own little joke as a chuckle came over parts of the crowd. It struck me again how many ponies had gathered around, but most notable was how they looked at me. Instead of the usual distrustful eyes, many of them seemed content, happy even, to hear me talk. I smiled to myself and got back on my feet.

“So, where were we? I was falling, right? Yeah. Well, lucky me, there were plenty of branches to break our fall. I managed to catch a few of them before I got wrapped around one, but the manticore?” I whistled and made a downward motion with a finger. “Straight like a rock down into the brush beneath.

“So there I was, back at square one. Only this time, instead of the Apple sisters’ wonderful older brother, I now had a man-eating beast beneath me; that I didn’t know at the time was probably knocked out by its own poison. I figured I'd take my chances and stick around in the tree for the rest of the night. Finding my food could wait until morning.”

I clapped my hands together, drawing my story to a close. “And there you have it, the time I rode a manticore. Piece of advice; if you ever think about trying it out yourself, don’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m a little parched after all that talking. When I get back, I might tell you guys about the time I decided to go fishing in the river that runs through the Everfree.”

“Hearing your tale reminded me of the first time I ran into the beast,” Zecora smirked into her hoof. “But to be fair, it wasn’t as daring as yours in the least.”

All eyes shifted to her as I stepped down from the table, and I felt the weight lift with them. I nearly collapsed as I broke free from the crowd. As I skirted around the edge of it on my way to the snack bar, my eyes couldn’t help but linger on Zecora as she spoke. She was so confident, never stuttered in her words for a moment, and the natural rhythm in the way she spoke was captivating. It was amazing how comfortable she was around everyone, even with the cold reception she originally had like mine. A part of me hoped that I could get to that point someday.

The cupcakes were next to the punchbowl when I arrived at the snack table, and I was more than willing to give in to my temptation. There weren’t very many left, but it looked like somepony was coming to restock the sweets from the kitchen…

I blinked and snapped the rubber band around my wrist.

Slip of the tongue, or thought, I reminded myself. I didn’t want to make a habit of it when I returned home. Still, something festered in the back of my head as the sole, uninvited guest noticed my slip. Oddly enough, it didn’t say a word, although a strange, almost sour taste began to linger in the back of my throat. With a grimace, I threw back a shot of punch in an attempt to wash it away.

“O-Oh, hey, Hunter! Do you like the cupcakes? I told you they were pretty good, didn’t I?”

“Wha- Pinkie!”

“Hey, watch it!” a pony protested as I backpedalled into him. I hastily apologized as the stallion left with his punch, and my eyes shot back to the mare who had been restocking the sweets. How I managed to overlook her bright pink coat is beyond me.

Pinkie Pie lifted a fresh tray of cupcakes off her snack cart with her teeth and placed it on the table. She stole a sideways glance at me, and her hoof brushed away her curtain of a mane to reveal a small smile.

“I… I didn’t realize you were here,” I admitted.

“Oh, you mean the party, right?” Her hoof trailed in a lazy circle, and she glanced behind her with a small, dying hint of glee in her eyes. “Gee, I wish I was,” she said in a longing voice. “Lyra and Rarity really went full swing, didn’t they? Just look at all those balloons and confetti…” She paused for a second before shaking her head and returning to work. “But nope; I can’t. I’m a busy bee: busy busy buzzy.”

Pinkie noticed my look from her half-hearted attempt at a pun and coughed in her hoof before continuing. “I’m not technically allowed to attend any parties for a while. The Princess said I need to learn to be more serious about… well, about a lot of things. But it’s not technically attending the party if I’m stuck in the kitchen all the time. I ran it through Twilight, and she ran it through Princess Celestia, and she decided to give me a new friend to make sure I didn’t try to mingle while I restock the party favors!” She accentuated her last line by waving towards the kitchen. My eyes followed and found a rather large stallion sitting next to the kitchen door. I wasn’t sure if it was the stoic demeanor that contrasted the air around him or uniformly kept mane that no other stallion had, but even without the golden armor I could tell he wasn’t the average partygoer. From across the atrium, he locked eyes with Pinkie and made a tapping motion against his fetlock. Pinkie withered slightly at her response and quickly turned back to work.

I saw my open window, and I took the leap. “Well, you seem pretty busy, and I’d hate to get you into any trouble,” I lied, snagging a cupcake as slowly backed away.

“Oh, it’s no trouble!” Pinkie waved obliviously. “Maybe next time we can have more time to talk?”

It’s your party. You told Lyra you’d have fun, I reminded myself. Breathe. Don’t get snappy.

“Yeah, maybe,” I conceded, turning on my heel.

“Oh! Hunter, Pinkie, what a lovely surprise!” Rarity chirped as she approached from the table. “I was hoping I could catch you both at the same time.”

“Oh, hey, Rarity,” Pinkie greeted timidly, looking up from her work once more. “This isn’t really a good time, remember?”

“Oh, nonsense; I’m sure Mr. Bastion over there won’t mind you staying out for just a few more minutes than usual.” Rarity waved at the guard across the room with a bright smile, faltering slightly when she received the same response as Pinkie. She coughed into her hoof. “Right, well… I was really enjoying your stories of your time in the Everfree. Pinkie, I think you would love them, too. Such adventurous tales!”

“A little more adventurous then I would have liked,” I added under my breath.

The two deflated slightly, both having heard my small jab. In the short pause, I looked back to the table full of my friends and realized that Rarity was standing directly in my path. Pinkie was still blocking off one of my sides. Maybe I could use the opportunity to squeeze out the other way. Back towards the table, I locked eyes with Noteworthy, hoping he could play lifesaver for me one more time, just in case. He leaned over next to Fluttershy and tapper her on the shoulder, motioning in my direction.

“Hey, there you are, Hunter!” A cold chill ran down my spine, and the cupcake dropped out of my hand. Rainbow came cantering to cut off my only exit. I was surrounded. “I’ve been looking for you all night,” she continued. “Why haven’t you checked out any of the party games yet?

“Ah, Rainbow Dash, perfect!” Rarity chirped, quickly recovering from earlier. “I was just about to send somepony to get you.”

I backed into the table, my fingertips brushing over its top. It was getting hard to hear my captors over the scattered thoughts that screamed white noise into my ears.

“Yeah, Scootaloo found me and dragged me over; told me about Hunter’s stories and I wanted to hear them for myself,” Rainbow said, turning to me. “No offense, I knew you had a bit of fight in ya, but if anything Scootaloo said was true, I think you had a lot more than I gave you credit for.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity snapped. “That is hardly appropriate!”

“What? He knows I’m just being playful. Ain’t that right, Hunter?” She took a step towards me, and I instinctively lurched pack.

The crash of the table and shattering glass rang in the air, dampened by the music. Most of the party didn’t seem to notice, but I suddenly felt more pairs of staring eyes than the three before me. Pinkie, Rarity, and Rainbow froze with wary looks, and my eyes darted wildly between them, waiting for another to make a move.

“What in tarnation is going on here?” Applejack demanded. A flood of relief came over me as I found her approaching behind Pinkie. Maybe she could get me out of this.

“Nothing!” Rainbow said defensively. “We were just trying to talk, I swear.”

“By backing him into a corner? Again?” Applejack pressed. “Don’t you think we’ve done that enough to the poor stallion?”

“I— That wasn’t— We weren’t—,” Rarity sputtered, trying to wrap her head around the situation. She looked between me and Applejack, seemingly coming to the realization of how close she actually was, and took a few steps back. “I swear, that wasn’t our intention,” she pleaded to me. “We weren’t trying to make you uncomfortable.”

“You could have fooled us,” Noteworthy interjected as he put himself between her and Rainbow. Fluttershy floated in the air close by him, her hooves folded anxiously against her barrel as she watched the scene play out before her. He put a hoof in front of Rainbow and pulled her back. “Seriously, as if the guy ain’t traumatized enough, you three have to hound him at his welcome party, too.”

“Hey, watch it! Last I checked, we’re the ones that helped throw this party,” Rainbow snapped.

“That doesn’t give you the right to crash it,” he shot back.

“I-I wasn’t trying to crash it, honest!” Pinkie protested with a quivering voice. Her hooves tugged at her mane anxiously, and her eyes looked a little wet as she stared at me. “I just wanted to restock the cupcakes. I didn’t want to make you feel any worse!” She tried to worm herself out of the circle she had found herself in, but a bright blue aura trapped her tail and held her in place.

“Pinkie dear, you’re starting to give me anxiety over this,” Rarity said. She tugged her head, and Pinkie’s tail followed the horn. “If everypony could just quit making accusations for one minute, I—“

“Girls!” Everyone flinched from Fluttershy’s sudden outburst, and all eyes were on her. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m sorry, but this just isn’t the right time for this,” she continued as she floated over to me. Her hooves wrapped around my arm and tugged. “Come on, Hunter, let’s just go back to everypony else.”

I numbly nodded at the idea and allowed her to lead me through the minefield of eyes. My heart rate calmed with the tension in the air. Nobody spoke a word for a while. It wasn’t until we were a few steps out of the group that Rarity called after us.

“Fluttershy, wait!”

Fluttershy paused, and I with her. She looked past me to her friend.

“If this isn’t the right time, then I fear there never will be,” Rarity admitted. “These last few days of avoiding each other is only helping so much, and if we keep it up, it’s only going to make any actual confrontation later all the more difficult. Just, please…” Her eyes flickered to mine before returning to my friend. “Just a few minutes, that’s all I ask.”

Fluttershy’s grip tensed ever so slightly around my arm, and she looked to me expectantly. I was reminded that these were her friends, too. This must have been painful for her. A part of me remembered that I did still have some debts to pay off from her. I took in a deep breath to calm my nerves, and it escaped as a heavy sigh.

“Sure,” I shook my head. “Just a few minutes.”

“And I’m staying with him, too,” Fluttershy added by my side.

A hopeful smile showed on Rarity’s lips. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said to her friend. She motioned for her friends to come closer; Rainbow brushed past Noteworthy to join her side, and Pinkie’s tail needed a little more motivation to drag the rest of her over. “Well, I suppose it would help to admit that we may have had some ulterior motives for throwing this party for you,” she began.

“Don’t get us wrong, though, this is still your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ Party,” Pinkie quickly added. “But it’s also a bit of a ‘We’re really really really sorry for running you out of town and being a bunch of meanies’ Party, too.”

“We messed up,” Rainbow chimed in bluntly. Unlike the others, she seemed to have a hard time lifting her eyes off the floor. “A lot. Some of us a little more than others.”

“What we did to you was horrible, and there is no good excuse for it,” Rarity continued. “After the Princess spoke to us about your situation, it… it gave us a new perspective. To be torn from your home and family, and then to find a safe haven only to be run out of it and forced to live in the wilderness… I can’t even begin to imagine what you must think of us.”

“But we wanted to show you that we aren’t all like that,” Pinkie interjected. When our eyes met, she hesitated, and a look of guilt pulled her stare down to my shoes. “I noticed you were having a hard time making friends around town, and that was probably my fault from all the rumors before. So when I overheard you and Lyra talking about a party, I thought it was a great idea! After all, that’s how I got to meet most of my friends,” she added with a weak smile.

Rarity took in a deep breath and paused, searching for the right words. “I know it’s a long shot, but we wanted to let you know how sorry we felt. Do you think you could ever find it in your heart to forgive us for what we did to you and give us a second chance?”

I didn’t speak right away, and even with the party music still ongoing, my own silence seemed to drown it out in this little group. All eyes were on me, yet I couldn’t bring myself to meet any of them, not even Fluttershy’s hopeful pair next to me.

“I… I don’t know.”

“Wait, what?” Rainbow asked.

“Rainbow Dash, please,” Rarity said in a hushing tone. “It’s not like we’re owed any forgiveness after all we did. We’re lucky he even agreed to talk to us.”

“Look, I… The things you all did to me…” I was struggling to think. I should have been angry; or, more upset than I was now, rather. Here before me were three of the ponies that made my life a living hell, who turned the entire town against me. But when I looked around at the party they threw, the very same ponies I hated, my head was tossed back into a sea of doubt. “I can’t just say ‘forgive and forget’ and then brush it all under the rug like it never happened,” I continued. “It’s going to take a lot more than a party to set things right, if they even can be at this point. But as far as apologies go… This is a pretty good one. I don’t think anyone’s ever thrown a party this big for me, much less to apologize for something. It’s a step in the right direction. So…” Why was it so hard to say? “Thanks. It… It really means a lot.”

I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off them. Before I knew it, Pinkie had closed the distance and had me wrapped up into another bone-crushing hug. My t-shirt was quickly growing damp again, but her cries sounded much happier this time than the last. It looked like part of her mane even sprang up to its usual self a bit.

“Thank you!” she sniffed with a hopeful squeeze. “I’m gonna make this all up to you; you’ll see!” A tremor came over her body, and she pulled herself away with a gasp. “The cake! I need to get it out of the oven now!”

She launched herself off of me and soard over the heads of everyone in the crowd between us and the kitchen, even the head of the guard who had just squeezed his way to our little group. He stood there dumbfounded like me, looking between us and the kitchen entrance. With a groan, he turned back and tried to worm his way through the partygoers once more.

“Hey, I think Zecora finished her story,” Noteworthy pointed out, breaking our silence. He started walking back to our table, but stopped to give me a playful nudge as he passed. “Looks like she’s winning them over. Hope you can one up her mystery story if you’re planning on still being the coolest pony to live in the Everfree.”

It made me feel good, seeing him lighthearted again; it managed to lift my spirits with him. “Come on, no one ever said it was a competition,” I called after him.

“Oh, now this Ah gotta hear,” Applejack chuckled. She gave me a nod as she followed. Fluttershy finally released my arm, and as her hooves touched the floor again, she broke into a prance after her friend with a satisfied spring in her step.

As Rarity tailed after her friends, Note’s words were still hanging in my head, and I was beginning to doubt my coming story. Should I go on with the fishing tale like I said? Sure, accidentally snagging a giant purple sea serpent is impressive by human standards, but I didn’t think that the ponies would be entertained with another story of how I bravely ran away from a monster again. Maybe I could make something up or use something I saw in the movies before, or just tell them a story from my world.

“Hey, Hunter?”

My train of thought crashed, and I looked behind me to find Rainbow still standing by the snack counter.

“Oh, you’re still… here,” I worded carefully. It looked like something was on her mind. I didn’t care to pry, but I didn’t want this to drag out, either. “Something you need?”

“Do you think we could talk about… things sometime?” she asked.

My brow furrowed. I didn’t like the vagueness of that question. “Depends on the things,” I said bluntly. “Couldn’t have brought it up when everyone else was here?”

“Everypony else already knows about it,” she admitted. “But they keep egging me to tell you, too. I just… I don’t know. I don’t want to do it here because I’m worried you’ll make a scene over it.”

That grabbed my attention. “Is it something I should be making a scene about?” I demanded.

“What? No, look, I…” She threw both of her forelegs to cover her face and released a frustrated groan into them. Her hooves fell back to the floor, revealing exhausted eyes. “Look, just whenever we get the chance, I need to get this off my chest, and then you can be as mad with me as you want; deal? I just don’t want anypony else to try and drag themselves into it; it’s just between us.”

I didn’t appreciate the secrets, but I was also done trying to fish this out. “Deal,” I sighed. “Sometime, somewhere, somehow… maybe. Can’t make any promises.”

She didn’t look happy with the answer, but she didn’t look like she was going to press, either. “Alright,” she nodded, turning back to the crowd. “Well, I better make sure the foals aren’t drowning in the apple bobbing bucket. Try to enjoy the party. Rarity put a lot of effort into it.”

I watched her trail off and disappear into the crowd. Something wasn’t sitting right in my head, and I racked it to think of what this mystery topic could have possibly been about. After a few seconds passed, I decided to dismiss it. After all, as I looked back to the full table of friends, I realized there were more important things for me to worry about during my own welcome party.

Noteworthy saved me a seat next to him, and a weight was lifted off my chest as I sat down with my friends. Suddenly, it felt as though my little run in with Pinkie and Rainbow earlier was already ancient history. Daisy snuck up from behind and playfully bumped into me before taking the chair to my left, and we laughed together as I caught her up on the stories told so far.

She teased that I was telling all of my good ones too early, hinting at our conversation from earlier today. But I assured her that I was saving the best story for last, whenever then might come, and her interest was piqued, enough to keep her and Noteworthy prying to find out what it was.

They almost had me convinced to tell it then. Luckily a new attraction pulled everyone’s attention away from the table. As the music began to die down, all eyes were pulled to the main stage and quickly gravitated to the monster of a cake that towered over everybody’s heads. I felt a light jab to my side, and Noteworthy waved for me to follow as he leapt from the table and into the quickly growing crowd around the cake.

The towering beast stopped in the middle of the atrium for all to see. I was almost worried it would tip over from the sudden stop. An exhausted Pinkie Pie sat next to it, scanning throughout the crowd. When she locked eyes with me, a bright smile split her face, and she flagged me to come closer. The air was filled with a lively buzz as I waded through the crowd. One thing was the subject of everybody’s thoughts, my own included: that was one delicious looking cake.

I stepped into the small ring the ponies had created around the cake and looked at it with new marvel. It was easily taller than me, even without the cart Pinkie pushed it in with, and stacked like a pyramid. There might have been enough for the entire party to have seconds with generous slices.

“Alright, everypony, you know how it goes!” Pinkie exclaimed over the excited buzz of the crowd. “Guest of honor gets first slice, as big as he wants!”

If they weren’t before, I could tell all eyes were on me now. I approached the cart and reached for the knife, and as I picked it up, I heard Pinkie whisper. “Psst, Lyra told me your favorite is strawberry, so I made the whole base strawberry just for you.” I paused and chuckled, entertaining the idea of just cutting out the base for myself. I dug the knife into the cake, feeling slightly guilty for tarnishing the perfect layer of icing. As I pulled it out and began to work on the second edge, a chorus of gasps erupted around me. For a moment, I had worried that I had cut a piece too generously by their standards, but when I glanced up, the top of the cake was tilted towards me, and it’s whole was sliding far too quickly. I barely had enough time to make one shocked step backwards.

“Oh, sonuva-“

The behemoth collapsed on top of me, and I was poorly prepared to take on the sudden weight and crashed onto the floor with it. The cake had me buried from my knees to well past my head. The only thing heavier that it were the stares I suddenly felt on me. Only one voice dared to timidly break the heavy silence.

“Oops…”

Her voice was all too familiar. After gathering my senses and dignity from the shock, I slowly sat up. Chunks of cake cling to my clothes while larger pieces sifted away. With my cleaner hand, I wiped away the frosting around my eyes, and the world gradually blinked into focus. On the other end of the crashed cart stood a heavily blushing Lyra. The partygoers around her had backpedalled away to leave no doubt in my mind.

“I… Sorry, Hunter. I was trying to squeeze through to see you, but… Well, I guess I squeezed through a little too well,” she apologized meekly as she trotted around the cart. She stopped next to me and held out a hoof to help me up. “Didn’t mean to knock it over on you. This one’s on me.”

Everybody’s eyes were boring into me. It felt as though I was set back to square one, with everyone wondering what the Beast of the Everfree was about to do next. As I had I glanced to Lyra, and in her eyes, I could tell she realized what her little accident caused. As my gaze fluttered between her eyes and her outstretched hoof, a sudden urge came over me. Perhaps it wouldn’t resolve the situation, but it would make me feel a little better.

“Nah, this isn’t on you yet,” I said in the most disarming tone I could muster.

“Yet?” As my hand clasped around her hoof a little tighter than she expected, her look shifted from confusion to dread. “Wait, no!”

It was too late. I dragged her into the remains of the cake with me and smeared a layer of frosting into her mane. Her surprised squeal drowned out the onlookers’ surprised gasps. I quickly pushed myself off the ground and left Lyra behind as I took a few teetering steps away. She eventually pulled her head out of the cake and gave me an incredulous glare, but even beneath all the frosting, I could see the corners of her lips pulled up.

“Now this is on you,” I laughed before looking down to see the damage dealt. There was more cake than clothes covering me. My chuckles died down as I tried to wipe some of it off without staining it in. “And me, and my clothes,” I admitted, resigning to taking at least my jacket off as damage control. A narrow strip of cake still ran down my gray t-shirt, but it was better than what I had to begin with. “Good grief, this is going to take forever to get out. Don’t suppose anybody has a spare napkin… or twelve?”

Something soft and heavy slammed against the backside of my head and stuck as I turned around. I scoffed, already knowing all too well what it was, and pulled the cake out of my hair. For a moment, I stood there staring at the cake in my hand before turning to face Lyra, standing defiantly still where I left her. The few snickers fluttering among the crowd around me only fueled my response.

“Alright, Heartstrings, I’ll play your game,” I challenged with a sneer. I winded up and lobbed the cake back at her. She was quick on the dodge, though, and my projectile found new targets in the crowd behind her.

I winced as it struck and their peers laughed. A unicorn who had taken the most damage stepped forward, horn aglow. Three hefty chunks of cake rose around Lyra, and the nameless unicorn’s eyes stared daggers into me.

“Hey, that’s— that’s cheating,” I squeaked.

My words fell on deaf ears, though. I barely had time to drop to the ground. One of the projectiles still struck my shoulder, and the other two went soaring back into the crowd, provoking a chorus of objections.

The party stood still. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut. Everyone eyed their neighbors maliciously while flicking their gaze back to the ruined cake. Lyra and I suddenly realized we were caught in the eye of a fast-brewing storm.

“Alright everypony, let;s all settle down,” Pinkie tried vainly. “Let’s get this mess all cleaned up, and I can bake another—”

Her attempts to quell the crowd were abruptly cut short as a pie exploded in her face. Near one of the snack tables, Noteworthy shouted at the top of his lungs, “Everypony for themselves!”

Chaos erupted within the town hall as a stampede of ponies rushed to whatever pastries they could find. Lyra and I were swallowed whole in the ocean of bodies as many of them rushed to the cake for ammunition. I fought against the current, knowing full well that ground zero was about to become a no man’s land. If I wanted to survive the night, I needed allies.

Pastries were already flying overhead before I made it even halfway to the snack table where I last saw Note. I hoped he was still there somewhere; I lost sight of him among the moving bodies. It felt as though I had a target on my back with the amount of food thrown directly at me. It was hard to tell if this was what the proper Ponyville welcome was after all, or perhaps everyone just wanted to see if they could snag the Beast of the Everfree to brag about it later. I had never seen them all worked in so much of a frenzy. It was terrifying, and yet I couldn’t help but share the contagious smile that so brightly showed on everyone’s faces. I was actually having fun.

By the time I had reached the table, most of the desserts had disappeared, save for a raspberry pie already missing a slice and a handful of cupcakes. I couldn’t find my friend anywhere, but I didn’t have time to stand out in the open. Grabbing the pie, I vaulted over the table and hid on the other side to give myself a chance to think.

What was I doing? Did I have a plan? A part of me was hoping to have back up, but it seemed as though I was running solo for the rest of the fiasco. I looked at the pie and tried to think of a good face for a target.

Daisy? Maybe; I couldn’t think of anything she had done to warrant singling her out. Zecora? Was she close? I peeked over the table and had just enough time to spot her black and white stripes before having to duck back down from a flying cupcake. She was close, and I could already come up with a few good jokes for it later. I sat there for a few seconds trying to psych myself up, but my concentration broke as Lyra slid beneath the table and stopped next to me.

“Oh, hey!” Lyra panted, sounding just as surprised as I was. “I was wondering where you went. How’s the cake?”

I snorted. “Oh, it tasted great. Pretty sure I saw a hair in it, though. Don’t recommend it.”

“You sure it wasn’t yours?”

I waved her off with a hand. “Details.”

We laughed for a moment, and she shook her head. “Real sorry that had to happen. That cake sure looked nice, a lot nicer than I was expecting.”

“Yeah, well, we humans have a saying about having cakes and eating them,” I shrugged. “Albeit a weird one if you asked me.”

Lyra fidgeted. “So... you’re not mad?”

“Mad?” I chuckled. “Why would I be mad? It was an accident, right?” She didn’t respond, and when I looked to her, her guilty eyes were trying desperately to look anywhere other than me. “It was an accident, right?” I pressed.

“More or less,” she said dismissively. When she caught on that I wasn’t satisfied with her answer, she quickly continued. “I haven’t seen you at all since you left. I checked the games, and Rainbow said she never saw you there. I was worried you were having a hard time getting everypony to know you better, so I took a page out of an old book and tried to recreate my welcoming party with you.

“Pinkie rushed the cake out during mine, and it spilled right on top of me when she stopped. Everypony laughed, we had a few jokes about it, and it felt like I grew a lot closer because of it. But when I did it to you…” She rubbed her foreleg embarrassingly. “Well, there wasn’t a lot of laughter going on. I realized I made a big mistake. So…” She finally gathered the nerves to look me in the eye. “Not mad… right?”

Seeing her like that made my heart drop a bit. I playfully slugged her in the shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. “Hey, come on. Quit acting like you don’t know me. I can take a few pranks gone sour,” I reminded her. “I’m not mad at ya.”

Her classic smile quickly returned, and she reached out and pulled me into a quick embrace. “Thanks,” she said with a small squeeze.

“Don’t mention it,” I chuckled as we pulled away. A pony squealed on the other side of the table, reminding me of where we were. The raspberry pie was still in my hand. “Besides,” I continued nonchalantly, “I’m sure you’ll get your just desserts for it sooner or later.”

Lyra was peeking over the table as I spoke, but she blinked and looked back to me. “Wait, was that supposed to be a—”

Her question was abruptly cut off as I swung the pie into the side of her face. I didn’t give myself time to relish the aftermath of my handiwork and quickly vaulted back over the table. It must have taken Lyra a second to come back to her senses, and she soon called after me.

“You’re dead, Hunter!”

A childlike giggle escaped me. I was probably in more trouble than I was willing to admit. I spotted Zecora where I had last seen her, along with Daisy. They were both hiding behind a couple of chairs, throwing their own stockpile of desserts deeper into the battlefield. If ever there was a chance for allies, they would be my best bet right now.

I slid to a halt behind them, plucking up one of their cupcakes for myself. “Guys, I need your help.”

“Hunter!” Zecora jumped. “We’ve been looking for you! After the cake fell, you disappeared from view.”

“Where have you been?” Daisy chimed in.

“Look, I can explain everything later,” I said quickly. “But right now I need more firepower. Lyra’s gone crazy, and I’m pretty sure she—”

“Gotcha!”

The wind was knocked out of my lungs as Lyra tackled me into the ground from the side. I glanced up and struggled to contain my laughter. Half of her face had disappeared behind a layer of raspberry filling and chunks of pie crust. She gave me a malicious smirk and held a hoof out behind her. “Daisy. Pie.”

“Wait,” I wheezed. “No, no, let’s talk about this!”

No sooner than when Daisy put the pie in Lyra’s hoof did she swing it into my face. The world suddenly had an eerie smell and taste of pumpkins. Her weight rolled off of me, and as I peeled the aluminum pan away from my face, she laughed next to me.

“Alright, now we can be even,” she smiled.

“Fine, fine,” I chuckled. “You got me good. Truce for the night?” I asked, holding out a hand. She reached out and shook it, still giggling to herself, and her laughter was contagious. Zecora and Daisy stood over us, giving each other a knowing look and smile. I could only shake my head. “It’s been a long night.”

The food fight eventually died down, with all ammunition and energy fully spent. The party slowly began drawing to a close with it. Some ponies had already began leaving, admiring their “battle scars” with their friends as they tiredly shifted out. It seemed as though no one was left unscathed, not even Pinkie’s stoic overseer.

Zecora was the first of our little clique to suggest returning home, and I couldn’t blame her. I had spent enough nights in the Everfree to even think about treading its hazardous trails. The thought of getting a good night’s rest seemed to resonate in all of us, too, and we decided to accompany her on the way out. Only Fluttershy stayed behind, offering to help her other friends clean up from the mess the town had made in the hall. If I had any energy left, I might have offered to help, too.

A clear, starry night welcomed us back into Ponyville, accompanied by a cool breeze. My jacket was draped over my arm like a soiled rag, and after tonight, I feared it would soon become just that. Daisy offered Zecora a room in her house for the night, to which Zecora seemed more than grateful. They were the first to depart from out group, and soon Noteworthy bid us good night as he left for his home.

“I can’t wait to get some sleep,” Lyra yawned once we were alone.

“Yeah, me, too,” I nodded lazily. I glanced at my jacket and chuckled lazily, holding it out. “Think I might need to borrow a pillow though.”

Lyra snorted and shook her head. “Just borrow half the bed while you’re at it,” she offered. “I don’t think either of us could use the hardwood floor after tonight.”

“I don’t think I could argue even if I wanted to,” I said tiredly. “Still, I’d hate to get cake on the sheets.”

“You think it’d be any cleaner if it was just me?” she challenged. I glanced her over and realized she was just as bad as I was. Raspberry filling kept her mane matted down in some areas, and though she had brushed away most of the crumbs, her coat was still covered in a patchy layer of frosting.

“Eh, touché,” I chuckled.

“Besides, I was already planning on changing those sheets out anyways,” Lyra continued dismissively. We carried on for a moment in silence, and she eventually looked up to me. “So, good party?”

I smiled to myself and looked up to the full moon with heavy eyes. “Yeah,” I whispered tiredly. “Best night ever.”

Author's Notes:

Time for everyone's favorite game of "Oh fuck, that one story posted again. Better re-read everything and remember what happened!"

In all seriousness, thank you guys for your patience (and lack thereof in some cases); it really helped me come back and push through again. I have a lot of good news and bad news with my re-re-return from the dead (just in time for Sp00kmas, too). I have enough chapters to post once a day from today to Halloween, and I plan to do just that to make the wait up to you guys. I'm currently working on the fourth update as well, though it will be taking longer and will be posted before the year's end. After the fourth chapter is posted though, I am going to be taking a "break" from this story and devote more of my time to Their Very Own Suns, which has also suffered from my sudden disappearance. The goal is to post these three and focus the rest of the year on Suns, and by New Years, I will begin working on both evenly again.

I know I promised that I would deliver on the "punishment chapter" in the last update, but to be honest, and I'm quite ashamed to admit it after all the build up, I'm afraid I won't be posting it until much, much later, if at all. It was the main reason for my delay, as I did not want to post this chapter without it, and I struggled finding a way to write it in a way that I enjoyed. I hope you don't mind, but I will instead be sprinkling hints (some more obvious than others) about what they were.

Confound these ponies. They drive me to write, even when I try my best to stay away from them. Hope you all enjoy!

Happy Nightmare Night,
- Blank Page

Act II: The Princess of the Night

Sapphire Shores sang a sweet melody from the phonograph in the living room as I scoured the kitchen for something to eat. My bare feet couldn’t help but tap to the tune as I looked through the cupboard. Bread, chips, peanut butter, flowers… My stomach grumbled, and I agreed with it; a sandwich sounded amazing right now.

I moved to the fridge in search of jelly, a slight spring in my step as Sapphire broke into her chorus. I realized how few pop songs I had listened to when I was home. The only time I ever listened to the radio was whenever I was in a friend’s car, and she seemed to know them all by heart. Still, it was easy to see why this album had become so popular here, even if it was ‘alien’, I thought with a chuckle. Like back at home, the tune was catchy and already worming into my mind, and Bon-Bon had played this particular record enough for me to have learned most of the words. If it wasn’t for my own self-control, I might have sung along with the music. Then again… I did have the house to myself at the moment, and the tune was pretty catchy.

As usual, Bon-Bon had left early for work at one of Ponyville’s many sweet shops. I swore, sugar must have been part of the ponies’ food pyramid from how much business she supposedly had. Lyra was out running errands, to include a personal favor of mine.

When we woke up after the party, I quickly realized just how messy of a situation I had found myself. We were both covered nearly head to toe in icing and cake and filling. For her, removing the stains was as simple as taking a shower, albeit a very long one. I, however, had it caked into my clothes as well as my hair, and it was far worse than the bed top. The time I had feared was upon me, and I was so ill prepared. My clothes needed to be washed.

It was my own paradox of modesty. As much as I hated the stench of the Everfree that clung to them, I had nothing else to change into while they were being cleaned, and Bon-Bon didn’t have a personal washing machine to allow me to stay outside of the public eye without any spare clothes.

Thankfully, Lyra said she knew somebody, and while I took my shower, I set my clothes to the side and let her take them away to be cleaned and, hopefully, stitched up. That was a few hours ago. I wasn’t certain how long it would take to clean them, and it didn’t help that Lyra couldn’t fully grasp the necessity between humans and clothes. I very well could have been stuck in the house all day.

I supposed it wasn’t such a horrible thing though, all things considered. After a very eventful yesterday, I needed something of a lazy day to unwind. Besides, no real plans were being missed today. Job hunting could easily be picked back up tomorrow, and for my daily check-ins with the mayor, I was certain that even she was having a late start to her morning, her workplace having been used to stage last night’s fiasco.

Now, freshly cleaned from the shower and with a towel wrapped tightly around my waist, my hunger and boredom led me to the kitchen after setting a record to fill the silence. I eventually gave in to music, starting with a small, slightly off-key hum that quickly evolved into full singing as my confidence grew. I moved through the kitchen with a spring in my step to match the beat, and even as I put the finishing touches on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, my feet still tapped along. I twirled on my heel to enter the dining room, just in time for Sapphire to reach the last chorus.

“Ey! Just gotta spread your wings and— Bon-Bon!”

I yelped in surprise and nearly dropped my lunch as my secret audience revealed herself. She couldn’t contain herself any longer. Bon-Bon’s poorly contained grin broke into hysterical laughter, and she collapsed to the floor and rolled away from the living room doorway she was using as cover.

“Hun-Hunter?” she cackled loudly. “What were you doing?!”

I could feel the blood rushing to my face, and I moved behind the counter in a poor attempt to hide away. “What are you doing here?” I demanded, but my desperate tone only fueled her laughter.

“I live here!” she pointed out through her giggling. She calmed down a hair, if only for a second. Her eyes glanced downwards before meeting mine again, and she threw an accusing hoof and burst into another fit. “Why are you wearing a dress?!”

“It’s a towel!” I shot back to defend myself.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she wheezed as she climbed back up to her hooves. Bon-Bon fell onto the doorway for support and leaned in closer to me. “Let me rephrase that, then. Why are you wearing a towel as a dress?”

I ran my head into the counter, and my fingers combed through my hair. “Oh my God,” I groaned under my breath. As the record reached its end, Sapphire left me to fend for myself, and only Bon-Bon’s dying giggles filled the air. Despite my burning face, I dared to look up pleadingly to the mare. “How much did you see?” I asked desperately.

“Oh, more than enough,” she snickered. “But don’t let me stop you from… oh, what was it you were singing?” She shook her hips teasingly. “‘Dance like nopony’s watching?’”

So, for a while. I buried my face back into the granite countertop and scrunched my eyes, hoping that by sheer force of will I would be anywhere but here. “What are you even doing here?” I whined. “You don’t get off work until five.”

“I’m on my lunch break,” Bon-Bon explained, wiping a tear away from her eyes. “I was going to go out to eat, but… Oh, Celestia, I’m so glad I came here instead.” She burst into another short fit of giggles and entered the dining room, making her way to the kitchen.

I grumbled beneath my breath and slid my sandwich across the countertop to her. “Might as well take my lunch,” I offered. “Kinda lost my appetite with the rest of my dignity.”

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Bon-Bon teased. I stood back up and tightened the towel around my waist as she entered the kitchen with me. “I didn’t mean to stare; I just haven’t seen you like this before.”

“What, half-naked and singing in your kitchen?” I asked as she opened the fridge.

“I meant happy,” she said with a smile. “It’s a nice change; refreshing, almost.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I challenged. “I’ve been in a good mood around you before.”

Bon-Bon shook her head and chuckled. “Not like this. You’ve come a long way out of your shell from when we first met.” She paused and looked up to me, almost embarrassedly. “Although, I suppose I wasn’t much help with that, was I?”

I snorted. “Yeah, what was the first thing you said to me?” I cleared my throat and gave my best impression, “‘Help! The monster is in my house!’”

An open napkin flew into my face, cutting me off. I snatched it away with a hand and found Bon-Bon giving me a playful smirk. “Cut it out, I’m trying to apologize to you.” I smiled and reached for my sandwich, taking a bite to leave the stage open for her. She shook her head and looked off to the side with a fading grin, and a heavy sigh escaped her.

“I know I’ve been a little… cold to you since you first showed up,” she finally said, rubbing a hoof against her foreleg. “It wasn’t anything against you, or it wasn’t intentionally. I mean…” She sighed again as she failed to find the right words. “Lyra’s a very compassionate mare, but she’s also very compulsive,” Bon-Bon explained, looking up to me. “Somepony has to watch out for her; Celestia knows she won’t. With all the rumors I had heard around town, I was very… suspicious about you, and worried for her.

“I’m glad I was wrong about you, though,” she smiled. “And I’m sorry I was to begin with. I should have taken Lyra’s advice and gotten to know you rather than listen to everypony who hadn’t; because just a few minutes ago, I could have mistaken you for any other pony in town. Some days it’s hard to tell if Lyra’s rubbing off on you or if that’s just the kind of pony you already were.” She caught what she said and chuckled, “Well, in a manner of speaking.”

“I… wow.” I set the half-eaten sandwich back down and leaned against the counter, almost at a loss for words. “Thanks, Bon-Bon, that… I really appreciated that.”

A brief moment passed, and I drummed my fingers against the countertop, wondering if I should press my luck. “So… I don’t suppose this means you won’t be telling Lyra about that little… thing earlier?”

Bon-Bon’s composure broke with a snort. “Oh no, I am so telling her.”

“Come on,” I groaned. “I really don’t think she needs the extra ammunition against me right now. Please don’t tell Lyra.”

“Don’t tell Lyra what?”

My tongue got caught in my throat. I looked up to find Lyra standing in the doorway to the dining room, my clothes resting on her back. She paused when she saw me, and her confusion quickly morphed to twisted glee. She brought up a hoof to cover her snickering face.

“Hunter?” Her voice had more control than it had any right to. “Why are you wearing a dress?”

“Oh, for chrissake, it’s a towel!”

I had never been more thankful to have been raised with brothers. My face was still burning from embarrassment, even as the cool autumn breeze brushed against it as I walked through Ponyville. Apparently, the mayor was looking for me, and as soon as Lyra told me, I took the chance to throw on my clothes and get out of the house and away from the humiliation. But as much as I wanted to pull back the clock and save myself from the embarrassment, a small part of me couldn’t help but laugh with them, too.

The walk to the town hall was always long. It was only a few minutes away from Lyra and Bon-Bon’s house, but the stares from passing ponies always seemed to make it drag out longer. But today felt different.

Eyes still lingered on me from time to time as I walked through town, but they weren’t of their usual, distrustful nature. Some of them came with a smile, a small warmth to help chase away the cool breeze. A couple even waved as I passed by, familiar strangers I thought I recognized from last night. I sheepishly returned it, after looking to make sure it was me they were waving too. They chuckled with each other, but somehow a part of me knew it wasn’t meant to scorn.

I paused halfway across the bridge to the town square and took in a refreshing breath. The town hall waited patiently at the other end. It was still early in the afternoon, and many ponies were milling about. My presence earned second glances from most of them, but that was the end of it. There were no suddenly hushed conversations paired with the cursory glances; no one hurried along at the sight of me. It was as if I wasn’t the Beast of the Everfree in their eyes… and since last night, for the first time they weren’t the town that wanted me dead in mine. Everything felt so… normal.

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought, but the more I dwelled on it, the more something gnawed deep inside. As I watched the ponies go about their lives, my soft grin started to fade. This wasn’t really normal, was it? Normal was home. Normal was with actual people, with friends, with family. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, the truth was always glaring me in the eye.

I blinked and wiped my hand across my brow, and my eyes lingered on the film of sweat it collected. Where did that come from?

I tried to shake my head from the thought, but it lingered with me as I continued down the bridge. My mind kept wandering home. Was my family doing the same as me; pretending everything was normal, hoping that someday it really would be? It almost felt unfair being here, in the relative safety and peace of this town. They probably thought I was dead, and I was stuck here while they were all worried sick.

Oh God, what was I doing to them?

I had the handle to the town hall’s front door clutched in a death grip as it barred my path. My heart felt as though it was skipping a beat. I took in a breath and slowly pushed it out, forcing these thoughts back wherever they came from. Any day now, I told myself. Any day now, and the Princess would return with good news. Any day now, and I would be back home, and it would be like nothing had ever happened.

My grip around the handle slackened as I calmed myself down, and I started thinking about what waited for me on the other side. A part of me hoped that this meeting with the mayor wouldn’t be as mundane as Lyra made it out to be; I needed something to keep my mind occupied for a while. I took in one more breath to recompose myself and pulled open the doors.

I wanted to say the first thing I noticed was how clean the atrium was or how the mayor was already there as opposed to her office, but it was the company she had with her that stole my attention. Two stallions, clad in dark armor, one of which had featherless wings much unlike normal pegasi. They tensed when they saw me, but I couldn’t blame them; old habits were resurfacing for me as well. One of the strangers stood above them all, quite literally as well.

She was tall, maybe only a head shorter than me, and had both wings and a horn. Ornate, silver shoes covered her hooves, and a large, black necklace clung to her neck, depicting a crescent moon. Spots of silver peppered her deep blue mane, and it moved to a nonexistent breeze, giving it the appearance of a living galaxy of stars. I couldn’t help but remember the last creature that looked the same. Her teal eyes locked on to mine, and her soft smile faded away as whatever conversation I walked into quickly died off.

The mayor was gracious enough to break the silence before it drug on.

“Ah, Hunter, I wasn’t expecting you so soon,” she chirped.

“I, um…” I tore my eyes away from the taller mare. “I heard you were looking for me,” I explained. My eyes flickered back. “But, um, it looks like you’re busy. I can come back another time.”

“No, stay; we insist. We were just speaking of you,” the stranger explained with a silvery voice. “My sister sends her apologies. She meant to be here herself, but her duties called her elsewhere, and she sent me in her stead.” The guards relaxed at her tone, but it only left me with questions.

“Your… sister?” I asked.

“Oh, you don’t know,” the mayor said absently, as though something just dawned on her. She quickly shook her head and smiled. “No, of course you probably wouldn’t. Allow me to introduce you. Hunter, this is Princess Luna, Celestia’s younger sister and Princess of the Night.”

The Princess looked up to me and nodded her head. “A pleasure,” she smiled. “My sister has spoken much of you.”

My words were caught in my throat as my mind reeled. How did I not notice that crown? I scolded myself, finally seeing the small black tiara nestled between her horn and mane. “I, um, Princess— I mean, Your Highness, I didn’t mean… I didn’t realize that—”

“Ah, there’s the silver tongue my sister warned me of,” the Princess said teasingly. “I was wondering if I would have a chance to hear it.”

“Oh, she’s got jokes,” I chuckled painfully to myself. Her guards snickered over my stammering, and I took a step back and looked away, hoping to hide some of my embarrassment. “I don’t suppose the Princess— I mean, your sister had any more to say about me other than that?” I asked hopefully.

She chuckled, but it quickly died with her soft grin. “Yes, she has,” the princess said more solemnly. “She told me of your plight since you first arrived… and I cannot apologize enough.”

“Please, don’t,” I cut in, holding up a hand. “You had nothing to do with it.”

“All the same, you have my sympathies,” she assured me. “I know it can be… difficult integrating into a new culture. It was a pleasant surprise to see the progress you have made. Unfortunately, I wish my sister sent me with better tidings. The search for your home is still ongoing. Our finest have already combed through half of the forest, if the reports are true. My sister suspects it won’t be long now until we find your home.”

What a pleasant way to say they can’t find anything, a voice rattled in my head.

I fidgeted uncomfortably but managed to force a gracious smile. “Thank you. I’m sure they’re doing everything they can,” I added, more so to my own little interloper. I retreated back a small step. If there was about to have another mental argument, I didn’t want it to be here. “Was that all you needed me for?”

“There was one more thing we wanted to discuss,” the mayor said. “Have you heard of Nightmare Night yet?”

I frowned. “Um, yeah, once or twice in passing with my friends. I’m not too certain what it is, though. It’s a holiday, right?”

“That’s correct!” she chirped happily. “It’s one of our most popular celebrations, as a matter of fact. For hundreds of years, we’ve celebrated it to…” Her words trailed, and she glanced to Princess Luna, looking somewhat embarrassed. “Um…”

“To celebrate,” Princess Luna cut in quickly. “And to have fun! We’d hate to bore you with the history of it, truly.” Why did it sound like that last bit wasn’t directed to me?

The mayor coughed into her hoof. “Of course, Princess. But in case you haven’t heard yet, Hunter, it’s a night where ponies dress in disguises and give candy to the foals. I’m sure that must sound like a strange tradition to an outsider like yourself.”

I blinked. The similarities this holiday had with another back home was surreal. “Not necessarily,” I shook my head.

“That is pleasant to hear,” Princess Luna smiled. “We were hoping you would like to partake in the festivities.”

“As a chaperone to one of the attractions,” the mayor added. “The haunted wagon ride, specifically.”

“‘Haunted’? You want me to be a part of an attraction meant to scare people?” I frowned. “Doesn’t that sound a little… counterproductive?”

“On the contrary, ponies like being frightened on this night,” the Princess offered with a smile. “They think it’s fun!”

“Princess Luna and I were discussing the possibility before you walked in and agreed it would be a wonderful opportunity to get you involved in some of our local traditions before you leave. That, and we were hoping your expertise would make everypony feel more comfortable.”

I held up my hands to slow her down. “Hey, with all due respect, I appreciate you thinking of me, but I’ve never chaperoned a haunted hay ride before.”

“What? Oh, no, not that,” the mayor chuckled. “I was referring more towards your experience with the Everfree Forest. The path of the haunted ride traditionally goes through a small section of it. It would be nice if—”

“No.” My blood ran cold at the first mention of the forest. My jaw had only just then unclamped itself. “Look, if you want my technical expertise about that forest, just… just stay away from it. Nothing in there is worth the trouble.”

Not even home?

I shuddered. You know that’s not what I meant, I bit back.

The mayor looked disappointed. “Hunter, I am aware that you probably don’t have the best of memories there, but I can assure you, this section is well trodden and has been used for this very attraction for as long as I can remember. If ever there was a safe area of the Everfree, this would be it.”

“Should it ease your troubled mind, I would send some of my guards to ensure its safety,” Princess Luna assured me. The guards behind her didn’t appear too enthused about the idea, but they did not make any complaints. My head was still reeling, looking for any excuse to weasel my way out of this politely.

“There has to be someone more suited for this than me,” I tried to reason. “Zecora.”

“She has already agreed to be a chaperone as well,” the mayor nodded.

“Along with two other capable mares,” Princess Luna added. “Not to mention myself.”

“All you would have to do is drive them a short distance into the forest with Macintosh, drop the foals off in a designated spot, and return with the wagon,” the mayor continued. “The other chaperones will lead the foals back on hoof through the haunted maze we have already set up.”

I fidgeted uncomfortably on the spot as they searched for an answer. I wanted to say no; I really did, but it felt like I was outnumbered, and the authority of the Princess’ crown was overwhelming. A part of me felt it wouldn’t be wise to refuse a request of one of the leaders of the kingdom that took me in, either.

My hand shot up to cover my mouth to keep me from saying anything I wasn’t fully committed to. My eyes darted over to the guards behind Princess Luna, and I remembered the ones that accompanied her sister. If one of their princesses was going to partake in the attraction, surely they would do everything in their power to ensure her safety. The thought did give me a small comfort. With Zecora there as well…

I let my hand fall as I took in a deep breath and sighed it out. “Sure. I mean— Yes, Your Highness, I can help with it.”

The mayor appeared relieved, and a smile graced the Princess’ face. She extended a wing out to me; the feather tips lightly brushed against my shoulder.

“Thank you, Hunter Grey. I can tell that this is not a decision you made lightly,” Princess Luna noted. “Again, I would like to assure you that your safety is of the utmost importance to me, as is your enjoyment of the festivities.” Her wing retracted back to her side, and she stood a little taller. “Until then, I will bid you a good day. The mayor and I still have much to discuss of the celebration. Should I hear of any developments of your home, I shall send for you personally.”

“Feel free to come by tomorrow if you want to continue our little meetings, Hunter,” the mayor added. “Nightmare Night won’t be for another week, but if you would like to help with decorations, I might have some jobs for you.”

“I… Of course,” I stammered. With an awkward bow to the Princess, I retreated to the front doors of the town hall, trying desperately to keep a modest pace in spite of the beating drum in my chest. Maybe I was just in desperate need of fresh air.

I pushed the door open and gasped for breath. The pounding in my ears wouldn’t silence. My gaze was lured towards the Everfree Forest. Though half of the town obscured it from view, I could still feel its presence, like a thorn stuck in my side. I could feel it crawling toward me, or was something in me crawling towards it?

My eyes screwed shut, and I forced myself to breathe. Slowly, ever so slowly, the cadence began to fade. I was safe, and I was going to be safe. When I opened my eyes, I found myself far away from the manticores and the hydras and the timberwolves, though there were a few curious stares from the ponies. I took in a deep breath and released it with a snort. Overthinking was going to be the death of me.

As I turned and walked away, a voice whispered in my ear.

Home is calling us, Hunter.

Act II: A Nightmare of a Night

“Hunter, wake up.”

I grumbled and rolled further into the couch, hoping the noise would go away. Lyra had recommended that I take a nap before the haunted hayride, just to ease my nerves. She noticed how jittery I was becoming as tonight drew closer, and I was all too eager to agree. Unfortunately, most of my rest was spent fending off nightmares. It wasn’t until recently that they finally settled.

“Hunter,” the voice persisted. A hoof pressed on my back and gave me a small shove. “You need to get up. The festival’s going to start soon.”

I grumbled again and opened a tired eye. Bon-Bon’s blurry figure appeared horizontally before me. My second eye opened, and her image became sharper. Two fangs protruded from the corners of her lips.

“Alright,” I yawned. “Gimme a sec.” I pushed myself up and swing my legs back off of the couch. My head was murky from the rest, so I shook it until I had a firmer grip on reality. “Where’s Lyra?”

“She left a while ago to pick Sweetie Belle up from the Boutique,” Bon-Bon explained. “She asked me to wake you up before the Nightmare Night festival.”

“She told me she was going to wake me herself before she left.” I rubbed away the last of the sleep from my eyes. “Thanks, though. Is the face paint still in the bathroom?”

“Yes, it should be right where you left it,” she nodded. “Do you need any help with it? I remember you said you’ve never really used it before, and I’d hate for you to be tardy trying to get your costume on.”

I hesitated. “Um, yeah, that might be smart, actually. You’re a bit more of an expert on this stuff than I am.”

“A little more complicated than dresses, isn’t it?” she teased.

“Somewhere between that and saddles,” I added without skipping a beat.

There was a pause, and Bon-Bon snorted. With a contagious smile and a shake of her head, she began retreating back into the kitchen, where a sweet aroma was beginning waft from. “Go ahead and get started,” she said with a chuckle. “I need to check on the sweets; no telling when the foals will start knocking. I’ll be up there in a bit.”

I allowed myself a quick stretch as I stood and began my march upstairs. Each step helped jar my head just enough to shake away whatever drowsiness I still had. The light was left on in the bathroom, and the chair I had carried up earlier in the morning was still in the corner I had left it. I pulled it up to the sink where an array of makeup and brushes sat patiently and set to work.

Bon-Bon had given me tips the other night on how to start. It wouldn’t be too difficult, she claimed, trying to make myself pale as the undead, but should I manage to mess up, a few errors and discolorations would probably work in my favor. I started at the base of my neck, hiding away any traces of life with a layer of gray paint, and worked my way up. Before long, Bon-Bon appeared next to me in the mirror and offered to cover the back of my neck and add a few extra details. A touch of blue and some splashes of red created new bruises and gouges, and soon the only sign that I hadn’t died from a tragic accident was the life still shining brightly in my eyes.

“Wow, you’re actually really good with this,” I commented as she added one last shade beneath my jawline.

“Thanksh.” She plucked the brush out of her teeth and tried again. “Thanks; I ran a face painting booth on Nightmare Night for a while. Most of the time, foals just wanted something simple like a manticore or a rodent, but every now and then somepony wanted something a little more sinister.”

“Well, color me impressed,” I added as the corpse in the mirror mimicked my movements. “I think you really outdid yourself.”

Bon-Bon allowed herself a proud smile. “I appreciate the praise. Now, up you go. Count Bon-Bon needs a few finishing touches herself, and you need to hurry to the festival. I’m sure they’re going to start the hay ride any moment now.”

My heart nearly skipped a beat as I glanced at the clock. She was right. I darted out of the bathroom and made it halfway down the stairs before remembering something on my mental checklist. Doubling back up the stairs, I jogged into Lyra’s room where my hatchet waited for me on the nightstand. In spite of everyone’s assurance that the path through the Everfree was safe, I couldn’t shake the dread of returning to that forsaken forest. My hatchet offered me a small comfort, knowing I had survived for so long with it since the beginning. As I tethered it to the rope belt around my jeans and its familiar weight tugged against my waist, I felt a burden lift from my chest, and a part of me felt as though I had regained a sliver of control.

With one final check in Lyra’s personal mirror, I set out to leave the house. “Alright, I’m heading out!” I called out to Bon-Bon.

“Alright, be careful, Hunter!” she replied from the bathroom. “Have fun!”

I opened the door and entered the darkening streets of Ponyville. With the sun retreating behind the hills on the horizon and its last rays of light dying out, the shadows of the town began to stretch, beckoning the creatures of the night into its cold streets. Everyone, young and old, was in costume, ranging from bedsheet ghosts to juggling clowns to even other bloodied zombies. The decor for the festival seemed to now be in full effect. Silly looking spiders looked much more real in the shadows, and the cobwebs had a better impression in the moonlight.

Games were strewn all across Ponyville, centered mostly within the town square, attracting most of the kids who weren’t too busy harvesting candy. Many of the adults had gathered before a stage with a live band performing. Some outdoor snacks were supplied near the stage, and I thought I saw Applejack managing them. I remembered the last time I had been near so many desserts, though, and with a smile, I decided it was best to not take a short detour.

My faint smile was short lived, however. As I entered the park and the number of ponies began to dwindle, there was little to take my mind away from the Everfree Forest that loomed on the other side. Its dark trees swayed in the sun’s dying light with the breeze, making it appear more alive than it had any right to. Despite my friends’ constant assurances that all would be well, I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in my gut that something would go wrong.

The carriage I would be spending the next few hours with waited for me at the edge of the forest, along with the silhouettes of the other volunteers. My heart lifted when I recognized Zecora hiding beneath a burlap cloak, but it sank just as quickly when I saw the rest. Tufts of puffy, pink hair peeled out of the jaws of a bright green alligator that hopped excitedly around the carriage. Pinkie’s demeanor had been steadily improving since the party a week ago, so much so that I almost preferred her when she was moping. She was relentless in her crusade to “make everything up” for me, and though my friends didn’t mind receiving the sweets she had given to me for free, I couldn’t help but dread whatever she might have had in store for tonight.

A mummified Macintosh was settling into the reins of the carriage, aided by an all too familiar and colorful pegasus. I realized the last time I had seen the stallion was long before I came to stay in Ponyville, even longer since we last spoke, and those words were as cold as the air tonight. With the one exception, I made a point of not visiting Sweet Apple Acres, mostly out of guilt or embarrassment. I was convinced it was sheer luck that his sister and I were able to bury the hatchet so well, and I could only hope that Applejack had been able to put in a few good words for me since.

Most of Rainbow’s mane was stuffed away beneath a pith hat as she worked to help Macintosh with his harness, and one of her wings was bandaged and pinned against an olive-green vest. I couldn’t help but frown. Not much had changed between us since the party, aside from the fact that now she too seemed to be avoiding me at all costs. A part of me assumed that it was due to her “confession” that we still hadn’t spoken of since the party, and I began to wonder if she even knew that I would be here.

I paused before meeting the group. One person was missing, the same one responsible for orchestrating this event. Where was—

“Hail, Hunter Grey!” a voice like thunder boomed next to me, and I nearly jumped out of my own skin. I doubled over in an attempt to calm my beating heart, which was pounding so hard it threatened to leap from my chest. “Oh, forgive my excitement, Hunter,” Princess Luna continued; this time in a much more acceptable volume. “‘Twas not my intent to frighten you.”

“Startled,” I squeaked out, trying and failing to salvage my dignity. I sucked in a deep breath and stood back up, only to sigh it out as Zecora and Pinkie giggled to each other. “Just startled me,” I insisted.

The Princess had a playful smile as she passed me, and I slowly followed in tow as she approached the group. “Now that everypony is here, the merriment shall finally commence! Do we all remember our parts?”

“Yeah,” I nodded as we all formed a circle around the carriage. “Macintosh and I are in charge of getting everyone into the forest and dropping them off.”

“From where we take our gathered creatures of the night and lead them through the forest maze of fright,” Zecora added.

“Where myself and some of my guards will be waiting to give the foals a quick scare before they are sent back to Ponyville,” Princess Luna finished contently. “And not to worry, Hunter, I have plenty of guards watching over the trails both leaving and returning to Ponyville, and they know where I am. Should they believe for whatever reason that the forest is unsafe, they will let me know immediately, and the attraction shall close.”

I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding with her words. One last bit of encouragement didn’t hurt my nerves. They were already on edge from being this close to the forest.

“Now, let us embark on our adventure of mischief and fright!” she continued. She directed a hoof to Big Macintosh. “Macintosh, art thou ready to proceed?”

“Eeyup.”

“Then let us entertain the masses!”

A small cheer broke out from the group, and Pinkie grabbed Rainbow and pulled her out towards the town. “Come on, Dashie! The sooner we gather some foals, the sooner we can start!”

Rainbow Dash chuckled fiendishly. “Yeah, and the sooner we get to give them a scare. Oh, do I have some ideas.”

Zecora smiled to herself and followed after then. I only wished I could share her enthusiasm. With the mystery chaperones revealed, tonight was bound to be a test of my nerves. As Macintosh wheeled the carriage around and left me and the Princess alone, I cleared my throat to grab her attention.

“Um, Princess?” I coughed. “If you don’t mind me asking…”

“Not at all, Hunter Grey,” she replied, facing me with curiosity. “Please, what troubles you?”

I struggled to find the right words to say. “It’s just… Why Rainbow and Pinkie?” I asked bluntly. “Not to insult you or anything if this was your call, but… Well, we’re still not exactly on the best of terms.”

Her faint smile faded away, and she nodded solemnly. “Ah, yes. I am aware,” she confessed. “Pardon me, Hunter; I meant not to deceive you if those are your thoughts, but there are few I trust more than them. My original intention was to bring Twilight Sparkle. However, I was told the relations between the two of you are much more… volatile.” She paused, as if to study me for any reaction. I didn’t look her in the eyes. It had been a long time since I had seen Twilight, even just around the town. I couldn’t have been more grateful of the fact, but it did little to help my festering thoughts whenever she was brought up.

“Besides, it would appear as though she would have been unable to come regardless,” Princess Luna continued. “She was far too busy with a project tasked by my sister; though I fear her deadline is fast on approach.”

“Project?” I frowned.

“So it would seem, but it is not my place to speak of it. Perhaps you could ask her yourself.” She left her comment open, seeking for a response, but in my following silence, she accepted that I wasn’t going to continue to pry.

“Very well,” she conceded. “I suppose it is time for me to hide. Please remember though, Hunter; this is a time for enjoying yourself. Do not allow your thoughts of Pinkie and Rainbow steal from the merriment. All will be well. Now, where did I put those fangs? Ah there they are.” She put a pair of plastic vampire teeth in her mouth and moved her jaw experimentally. “Until next time, Hunter Grey. Fare thee well!”

As she trotted towards the forest, her body was illuminated by a brilliant white light. After I blinked the flash away, I was surprised to find that the Princess was gone. A much taller pony with a jet-black coat and a blue, ethereal mane stood in her place. White specs floated freely inside her mane as if underwater. Blue armor covered her hooves. A crescent moon marked her mantle, and a slick, blue helmet covered her head. She paused at the edge of the treeline and gave me a quick wink and a smile before entering.

I stood dumbfounded for a moment, and an impressed chuckle escaped me. “Now that was a costume.”

Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Zecora managed to corral an impressive crowd for the ride, and it wasn’t just foals. Some mares and stallions that seemed to be looking for a good scare, too. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and climbed into the carriage. For a moment, I couldn’t tell what I was more nervous of, the Everfree or the crowd.

Throughout the night, the ponies boarded the carriage in groups of eight, and the chaperones took rotating turns watching over them. Zecora was the only break I had for my sanity, and I felt more at ease when she was in the carriage with me. We were able to play off each other and set the atmosphere together, preparing the other ponies for their long march back to Ponyville.

After her would always follow Rainbow Dash in the next group, and our chemistry couldn’t have been any more of a stark contrast. We hardly spoke, but the ambient sounds of the forest were able to pick up our slack and put the ponies on edge. I could tell she wanted to be in the carriage with me no more than I wanted to with her.

I had the opposite problem with Pinkie; she wouldn’t quit talking. It wouldn’t have been near as much as a problem if she could remember that the point of the ride was to scare them. She was too much of a comedian, yet oddly enough, whenever I saw her groups emerge from the forest as I waited for the next to load up, they always seemed to be screaming the most. Perhaps it was just luck.

We were deep into the night, and so far, every ride had gone without a hitch. My paranoia of the forest slowly died with every safe return, and the hatchet that rested lazily against my waist felt lighter and lighter because of it. The foals were enjoying themselves. The adults were enjoying themselves. Even I was enjoying myself.

I had lost track of how many groups we had run through. Pinkie Pie was currently chaperoning a smaller group of six, of which only one was an adult. As usual, she spoke more than enough for the both of us, but near the end, she began complaining about a sharp pain in her knees. She kept stealing confused glances behind us, as though she was expecting something to be there, only to return to massaging and complaining once again.

“My humble apologies, fillies and colts, but I'm afraid this is as far as we take you,” I announced, reciting the line Zecora and I had been working on the last few rotations. Pinkie hopped off the carriage and herded everyone else off. “You are going to have to take the rest of this journey on hoof. Beware of the creatures that lurk in the shadows, and stay close together; it would be such a pity to lose one of you.” The foals were shaking like a leaf, their eyes darting to any shadow that moved in the cold, midnight breeze.

“Until we meet again,” I called as Big Macintosh turned the carriage around. “That is, if you survive!”

Macintosh reared up on his hind legs and sprinted forward, carrying us away from the terrified foals. We raced through the Everfree, the cold wind feeling like sharp pin pricks against my face. Only when we broke the treeline did we slow down.

“Hey, good job again, man,” I praised him as we wheeled around to the next group. “Need a break or anything? You’ve been going nonstop all night.”

“Nope.”

I winced a bit. He hadn’t spoken much all night, save for the few single word responses. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking about, especially towards me. I tried to push it out of my mind though. It was going to be a long enough night as it was without worrying if Macintosh and I had buried the proverbial hatchet.

There was a large line eagerly waiting for their turn on the haunted hayride. Zecora stood patiently at the front, flanked by the next group of passengers. As Big Macintosh brought us to a stop, she helped some of the younger foals onto the carriage. I scanned the crowd of costumed ponies, and something felt missing.

“Zecora, where’s Rainbow?” I asked. The pegasus wasn’t anywhere in sight; neither was her party of foals. She should have returned by now.

“Her exact location? I am not sure. Perhaps she is taking a small detour,” Zecora offered.

“This is the third time,” I groaned. “I have half a mind to tell her off next time I see her.”

“She is giving the foals some extra fright,” Zecora pointed out. “After all, this is her favorite night. Just give her another minute or two, and I’m sure she will come back from the blue.”

I huffed and looked back at the waiting ponies. There was nothing that could be done about it. Rainbow did seem to take some twisted pleasure in going the extra mile to frighten everyone in her groups. All I could do was run this group through the forest and hope she was back when I returned.

With a shake of my head, I returned my attention back to the new group. Zecora was helping the last foal in, and there was no point in waiting any longer. “Alright, Mac, looks like they’re all in. Let’s cut a trail.”

The carriage lurched forward as Macintosh started pulling. As we neared the forest, I gave the crowd one last look, hoping Rainbow would get over herself and arrive on time for once, but as we entered the trees, she was still nowhere to be seen.

The canopy of branches strangled the moonlight trying to reach us; our only reliable source of light was the lantern that shook and swayed with the carriage. Most of the ride had been completed in silence, which was unnatural for me and Zecora. She must have noticed my head was somewhere else.

“So, have you kids been enjoying yourselves this frightful night?” I asked the group, trying to keep my mind on track.

“Totally!” a colt dressed loosely like a conquistador exclaimed. “This is one of the best Nightmare Nights so far. I got so much candy; I can make it last for weeks!” I stole a glance back and found him proudly displaying a small bucket filled to the brim.

Zecora chuckled fondly to herself and leaned forward, allowing the lantern light of the carriage to mark her face with deep shadows. “My, my, so impressive you’ve gathered so many sweets this soon,” she said hauntingly. “I am sure they will make an excellent gift to Nightmare Moon.”

The colt gulped and held his treasure closely against his barrel. “D-Do you really think… Is Nightmare Moon really here?”

“Oh, there’s all manners of beasts and monsters out tonight,” I commented. “Far more than I’ve ever seen in my time here. There’s no telling what you might find hiding in the trees.”

The little conquistador began shaking in his boots, wound so tightly that he might have jumped to the slightest “boo”. The carriage hit a divot in the path, and with the sudden jump, the foal snapped. With a squeal, he sent his bucket of candy into the air, and we all watched as it sailed before falling far behind us.

“My candy!”

“Hey, hey, calm down,” I said, covering the distance and grabbing him as he tried to clamber over the railing. With a poorly stifled chuckle, I sat the colt back down and called to the front of the carriage. “Macintosh, slow down a bit. We have some sweets overboard.”

As the carriage began to slow to a halt, I placed my foot against the back rail and hopped off. A small chill came over me; this was the first time my feet had touched Everfree soil in a long time. Just grab the candy and get back in the cart, I told myself.

I could just barely see the bucket at the edge of the carriage’s lantern light. Behind me, the ponies whispered ominously, but the deafening silence of the forest threatened to drown them out in my ears. Weren’t there crickets before? And owls and small rodents, too? My hatchet began weighing heavily against my side, but I didn’t dare touch it and verify my paranoia.

My hands couldn’t move fast enough as I dropped to a knee and scooped the lost candy back into the bucket. There was probably more dirt than candy shoveled back in during my haste. As the last gumdrop fell into the bucket, I snapped back up to my feet and rushed back to the cart. As I left, I could have sworn I heard a noise, and I froze stiff.

The forest was still. Even the ponies in the carriage had stopped speaking to eye me with concerned curiosity. I felt my hand reach down, ever so slowly, and grip my hatchet just beneath its cold head. My ears strained to hear the sound again, any sound, to deny the suspicion growing like a lump in my throat.

A second passed.

A minute.

There was a cough, ragged and strained. It couldn’t have been from an animal, but that only helped my nerves so much. Why was someone hiding off the beaten path of the trail?

“Hunter?”

My eyes flicked back to the carriage. Zecora looked like she was about to climb out after me. I held out a hand to stop her and moved cautiously to the brush.

Don’t pretend to be naïve, Hunter, a voice whispered in the back of my head. I dropped the bucket at my feet and pulled the hatchet out of its makeshift sheathe. You know firsthand how dangerous this place can be.

“Someone there?” I asked quietly.

I almost heard a word, but it was quickly cut off by another fit of coughs deeper into the trees. I held my hatchet close to my chest, and my free hand pushed aside the brush. Zecora called my name once more as I delved deeper into the Everfree.

The infrequent coughing became my guide as I slowly crept further into the trees. I thought I could hear a faint thrashing sound in between. For a moment, the noises fell silent, and I began to worry that I had lost the source. I gathered my nerves and offered one more call as I pushed aside the brush in front of me. “Hello?”

A wet cough sounded next to me. My eyes snapped to the noisemaker, and I nearly jumped when I saw the mangled guard lying under a tree

He looked as though he had gotten into a fight with a bear and lost. Dozens of claw marks glinted across his mantle in the moonlight. His hindleg was shredded and covered in bites, and his leathery wings were tattered beyond use, staining his armor crimson. The dark helmet on his head was dented, and its plume was disheveled. A dark stream wound down his face, its source hidden beneath the helmet. His forelegs were wrapped tightly around a knot of roots clustered around his throat.

And the roots began to snarl and shift.

The guard’s eyes fluttered open and landed on me. His breathing became more labored as he struggled to inhale through the wolf’s jaws clamped around his neck. He moved his lips to make words, but all that came out were wet coughs and weak grunts. He closed his eyes, took in a deep, ragged breath, and shouted at the top of his strained lungs.

“There’s more! Run!”

Ice raced through my veins. Two sickly, yellow eyes glared at me from the guard’s neck, and with a snarl, it clamped tighter and thrashed. My mind was in overdrive. My body couldn’t interpret the torrent of orders my brain was screaming at it. Only as a branch snapped next to me did my legs finally decide to work.

I raced through the trees as fast as I could. A ragged panting chased after me, accompanied by that accursed growl I prayed I would never hear again. A shadow flashed to my left. I barely caught the mangled silhouette of a timberwolf.

My heart pounded like a drum. My eyes were darting for some sign of familiarity while I sprinted. I couldn’t have been too far away from the trail. Maybe if I just took this next turn.

I broke through the trees and fought against my momentum to stop. The carriage was off to my side, its passengers staring at me with confused and worried eyes. I heard the timberwolf growling again, and another chill washed over me.

“We need to get out of here now!” I yelled as I raced to the ponies. The foals were beginning to panic. As I dashed to the front, I could hear them murmur amongst themselves in hushed, frightened voices. “I said now, dammit! Move your ass, Mac!” The large stallion was about to protest, but as he turned to glare at me, his eyes widened at something behind me. I barely had time to get in the carriage by the time he sprinted away with it.

The carriage was in chaos. The foals were shrieking for Macintosh to run faster, and Zecora was trying vainly to calm them down. I was trying desperately to anchor my mind to the rest of my body. We were going the wrong way, I realized with horror. Macintosh never had the time to turn around. We were going deeper into the Everfree Forest.

I dared to steal a glance of our pursuers. A pair of timberwolves, not too far behind, were keeping pace with us and inching closer ever so slowly. Their wild, luminescent eyes were trained on me, and their rabid barks were only rivaled by the foals’ screams. Sooner or later, they were going to catch us. Macintosh would tire out eventually from the weight of the carriage and its passengers, and we would all be dead meat within minutes.

Unless Macintosh had a diversion.

“Hey, get ready to turn around,” I called over his pounding hooves.

Don’t do it. You will get yourself killed.

I stood from the front of the carriage, struggling to keep my balance on the uneven path. Look, I’m still trying to convince myself to do this. You’re not helping.

Good. It’s a horrible plan, it spat in my head.

If I don’t do this, everyone will get killed, I argued, carefully stepping past the ponies to the back. It’s me they’re after.

“Hunter, what do you think you’re doing?” Zecora called after me. My foot was already at the edge of the carriage. I twisted around, and our eyes met. My heart hesitated. “What horrible plan are you brewing?”

You do not owe them anything, the voice persisted. It was their plan to come out here in spite of your warnings. Let them reap what they have sown.

My body was shaking harder than the carriage. I thought I was going to throw up. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Zecora, who kept shaking her head and mouthing the same word over and over; “Don’t”. It took all my willpower to close my eyes and look back to our pursuers. There were only two of them. I could keep them busy for a while.

You said it yourself. You’re not a hero.

“Shut up,” I hissed. My body tensed forward. Of the two wolves, one was much smaller and scrawnier than the other. The larger wolf might have had a harder time coming to a stop if I surprised them. My hatchet jumped anxiously in my hand, and my nervous mind couldn’t quell it.

I told myself I had to do this, that there was no other way. I told myself I could take them, that I would survive and meet back with Zecora and all the other foals I would save once this was done. No matter how many lies I told myself, though, I couldn’t believe them, and second thoughts began chipping away at my resolve.

My broken nerves festered inside, until I let them out with a frightened shout.

The wolves never saw it coming, and to be fair, neither did I. I leapt out of the carriage and twisted my body, bringing both my feet forward to meet the scrawnier wolf’s muzzle. There was a sickening crunch as its wooden frame snapped and caved slightly in. My unguarded back slammed into the dirt after the sudden collision, and I was left gasping for breath. Zecora cried out my name as they sped off, but it was too late; my fate was sealed.

The larger wolf fought against its momentum to stop and double back. The wolf I struck whimpered as golden sap poured from its broken muzzle, and it shook its head wildly to dispel the pain. I had a short moment to recover, and I rolled onto my feet, hatchet ready.

The large wolf was barreling towards me, barking like a rabid dog, and I readied myself to challenge it. I lurched forward to meet it and swung my hatchet. The wolf was charging into its path, and the swing should have connected, but at the last second, it pivoted on its forelegs and darted off the path and back into the trees. I stumbled in surprise, my eyes pinned on the brush it disappeared into, but I did not have to wait long before it showed itself again.

Further down the path, my target reappeared, its sickly eyes pinned on me as it trotted across the path. I took a few steps after it, and it responded with a snarl as it retreated back the same distance and resumed its trotting. What was it waiting for?

I heard my answer before I had much time to react. The scrawny wolf I had left behind was galloping towards my open back. It sank its teeth into my left shoulder, and the sudden weight caused me to drop to a knee. Its splintered teeth pierced through my clothing and into my muscle, and as it thrashed its head along my shoulder, I couldn’t restrain my pained cry.

In my shock, I nearly forgot about the wolf before me, and it had already taken its window to charge once more. Something told me that this time wouldn’t be a fake, though. My hatchet was lying on the cold earth by my foot; I must have dropped it in my surprise. There wasn’t enough time to scoop it up and defend myself. The wolf had stopped low, and its eyes were focused on something beneath mine.

It lunged upward, jaws wide, and I instinctively threw my left arm between it and my throat, ignoring the pain in my shoulder. The larger wolf clamped its teeth around my wrist, and the force of its leap nearly pinned it to my throat. We were eye to eye, and its was filled with such a primal aggression. Its claws began scratching at my body, and the coolness of the air was chased away as skin broke and released streams of burning crimson.

My vision blurred with a sudden, splitting headache. What were you thinking? the voice boomed in my head.

I winced, and the larger wolf began to tear deeper into my arm. “Bad timing,” I growled. “Less yelling, more helping.”

One of the claws raised up high. I watched helplessly as it fell down upon my brow and tore downwards. For a moment, the only thing that could drown the wolves’ snarling was my own screaming.

Its claws anchored into my chest, and the larger wolf began to pull. The mind-numbing pain was beginning to spread through my arm. Though I was already half-blind, my vision started to tunnel around it. This was not going to be the end; not like this.

I pulled my right hand away from my bleeding arm and swung it back as a fist to meet the larger wolf’s head. It connected on its side, and I could feel the skin scrape away at the knuckles against the wooden frame and wooden teeth shake in my arm. I reared back and delivered it again. And again. And again. My bones cracked and crunched against its temple, and soon all the pain was rewarded. It recoiled away, releasing my arm in the process, and with my newfound freedom, I reached over to grab my hatchet at drove it into the beast’s side.

For once, it was the wolf’s turn to yelp. As I pulled the hatchet from its side, it crumpled onto the path. I could feel its friend’s teeth sink deeper into my shoulder in response, and the claws in my back were beginning to break skin. I threw the blade over my shoulder where its head should have been and heard it strike. Its teeth dug deeper into my shoulder on impact, and I winced. A second passed, though, and the rest of it body became limp.

Up ahead, a rumbling echoed along the path. With my fading vision, I thought I could see a light shaking wildly, and before it a figure galloped towards me. The carriage. I slowly stood up to my feet, shrugging the scrawnier wolf’s carcass off my back. My head felt light, but still I had a plan. My feet carried me away from the carriage as it drew closer, slowly building up to a jog. If the ponies lent me a hand, I could probably hitch a ride back to Ponyville with them, and we could stop this ride and the entire festival before things went anymore out of hand.

The carriage was getting closer. It was getting harder to keep my balance. Nevertheless, I held out a hand in hopes someone would take it as they passed.

“Hunter, watch out!”

Something tore into my right calf and pulled back, and I fell from the sudden jerk to a halt. The carriage thundered by as I slammed into the earth; my last hope of an easy salvation gone in an instant. I glared behind me and found the beast responsible. The larger wolf had recovered, though sap was pouring freely from its side.

Something between a sigh and a growl escaped me. Its teeth were sunk into my right leg, and it was obvious it wasn’t going to let go anytime soon. I reared back my left leg and ran my heel between its eyes, biting back the pain as its teeth tore deeper into my skin.

“Dammit, let go!” I growled, punctuating myself with another stomp. “Let go! Let go! Let go! Let go!”

With one final kick, the timberwolf’s head caved in. My foot became wedged into the hole I created, and sap began pouring into my shoe. My body was exhausted, and I felt like I was on the brink of passing out, but I did it. The air was still; not even a cricket dared to break the silence. And in spite of the ache that blanketed my body, I found a reason to smile.

“And you said… I couldn’t do it,” I chuckled weakly.

Yes, we did… And you almost died trying to prove us wrong.

“Almost,” I pointed out, rolling over to see the stars. I hissed as the claw marks on my back pressed against the ground. “Almost, but didn’t— agh!”

Stop pretending that this is a game! the voice shouted in my head. How many more times are you going to throw your life away just to prove a point?

I sat up in spite of my body’s protests, my hands clamped against the sides of my head as though it would stop it from splitting. “Shut up,” I spat frustratedly. “My friends were in danger. What else was I supposed to do?”

Your friends are safe, just as they always have, but still they worry about young Hunter Grey who went missing on his family’s camping trip. For all they know, you’re dead, and you’ve been trying your best to prove those rumors true.

“Leave them out of this,” I growled, climbing to my feet.

Someone has to bring them into this, it retaliated. It seems as though you’ve forgotten of them. You should be focused on staying alive, not playing hero for a bunch of animals!

“Fuck, get out!” I staggered forward. The world seemed to tilt as the headache continued. The forest path dimmed as the moon hid away from our argument behind a cloud. I could barely make out the trees ahead of me. Which way did Zecora go? Was it still behind me?

Where do you think you are going? Do you think this is something you can walk away from?

“I’m finding Zecora,” I growled. “At least you seem to shut up whenever there’s someone else to talk to.”

And what will you do when you find her? it demanded. Prepare to play martyr again?

“Maybe I will!” I snapped. “Maybe I won’t! Maybe I’ll just enjoy the peace and quiet in my head whenever she and the others are around! I swear, everything became so much better when my delusional ass finally had someone else to talk to.”

You would have been dead twice over without Our help! it retaliated. You were unprepared for this world. You gladly listened to anyone or anything that could offer you guidance, and our plans only started to fail when you began making decisions for yourself. Now that there are ponies and princesses and pretending friends, you became soft and misguided. You let them become your crutch!

“Why don’t you say that to my face?” I shouted to the trees.

Its voice grew softer and dark, coming out as if a growl. Why don’t you say it to Ours?

I whipped around; fist raised to strike something I knew wouldn’t be there. But as the moon peeked out from behind the stray cloud and softly illuminated the path, I could have sworn I saw a face in the darkness, with eyes of stone sculpted into a furious glare.

The headache snapped away, along with the rest of my consciousness. And the last thing I felt before falling to dreamless sleep was collapsing into the unforgiving earth.

Author's Notes:

Happy Nightmare Night!
Hope I didn't spoil y'all too much posting three days in a row. Like I said a couple chapters ago, I'm going to be shifting my focus on another story of mine for a while and catch it up. Hope y'all enjoy!

Act II: Whose Bite is Worse than his Bark

My body was aching. It felt as though it was burning and freezing all at once, though I couldn’t remember why. All I knew was that every time I tried to move, a new pain surged through me. My hand twitched, and I could feel earth being raked around my fingers.

Hunter, wake up.

My left eye fluttered open, though my right seemed to struggle. I was surrounded by dark trees, softly illuminated by the moonlight. My memories slowly began trickling back, albeit blurred.

“What happened?” I croaked.

What do you remember?

I coughed, a new pain added to the quickly growing list, and raised myself to my hands and knees. My entire left arm felt as though it was on fire, and I felt something warm running down my wrist and shoulder.

“I… Shit…” I shook my head, still trying to make sense of everything. “The festival… We were helping the haunted hayride, and then…” I glanced behind me to confirm my memories. Sure enough, two twisted corpses of timberwolves laid still in the dirt path, my hatchet sprouting out of one of their heads. I coughed again and shook my head. “Things get a little smudgy after dealing with the second one,” I admitted. “Did… Did something happen?”

You lost a bit of blood, the voice offered. It’s possible you just succumbed to your wounds. You’re lucky to have recovered so quickly.

“I… Yeah, I guess so,” I mumbled. I winced as I rose to my feet. My left shoulder was stiff, and a pain shot from my right calf whenever I put my full weight upon it. I needed to get help. Ponyville felt so far away, though. My eyes turned to my hatchet lodged in the timberwolf’s head, and I hobbled over to it.

I had been in a situation like this before, I told myself. Loosely speaking, at least. The hunt for me had begun anew, or maybe it never stopped and the alpha wolf had just been biding his time. They had caught me off guard once already, and I was worse for wear from it, but I was keen on not allowing it to happen again.

I reached down for my hatchet and pried it out of the head of the timberwolf. Its edge was dulled with hardened sap, and I had no way to clean it just yet, especially not in this condition. It gave me a small comfort though; even if I knew deep down I was still defenseless with it.

Staying on the path would have been suicide. Though it would have been easier to travel on with my limp, it would have left me exposed, too. Traveling through the brush just off the beaten path may have taken longer to navigate, but the cover provided me with comfort. As I made my march to Ponyville, though, I felt something stir in the back of my head.

“You’re not a fan of this decision, are you?” I whispered.

No, We’re not, it admitted.

“Well, what better idea would you have?”

What’s the point? it asked in an uncharacteristically defeated tone. You will refuse to listen, as you always do. Arguing only seems to lead to… complications, for both of us. Better to save Our breath and let you learn from your own mistakes.

I frowned. Something definitely didn’t feel right, but the more I tried to dwell on it, the more blank thoughts seemed to cloud my head. A sigh escaped me; though it was hard to tell if it was from defeat or exhaustion. All I needed to worry about at this moment was making it back to my friends.

I paused next to a tree as more memories began to trickle in, and I began inspecting the base. “There… There was a guard here, right?” He wasn’t anywhere to be found, nor was his body. I thought I was going crazy until a glint of metal caught my eye.

An armored horseshoe, with not a soul nearby to claim it.

A chill washed over me. I wasn’t crazy. The guard was here, so was the wolf around his neck.

Perhaps he managed to return to his princess, the voice in my head offered, an obviously hollow attempt to calm my nerves.

“He wasn’t in any condition to move,” I breathed. A ringing filled my ears as I strained to listen for anything other than crickets and owls. That wolf could have still been on the loose.

If you truly are adamant about going to Ponyville, you would do best to not wait here for an answer to your questions.

It was right, though I was reluctant to admit it. I pushed the mystery to the back of my mind and continued on. Regardless of the guard’s wellbeing, I couldn’t remember if the wolf around his neck was one of the two that attacked me. I didn’t want to risk getting caught, especially like this.

A lone howl pierced the night. It was distant, which should have brought some slight peace of mind with it, but as it dragged and I listened more closely, I couldn’t help but realize a terrible truth: it was coming from the very direction I was heading.

I couldn’t have been far from the forest’s edge, with Ponyville just slightly further of a walk. I remembered being told that the wolves never strayed from the forest, though. If that howl came from where I thought it did…

I hurried my pace, trying to ignore the pain that shot up my leg with each step that I took. A new fear began to take command. I hoped that it was wrong, but as I drew nearer to the edge of the forest, the faint howling that rose to answer it up ahead only confirmed it. I burst through the tree line and stumbled to the nearest tree for support. My head was spinning from fatigue. I strained my eyes to focus on the moonlit village, and my heart quickly dropped.

The wolves had invaded Ponyville.

Two warm glows burned brightly deeper into the town. The silhouettes that danced in the light were far too savage to be ponies. The attractions in the park that once hosted the creatures of the night had been long abandoned to make way for the true monsters. Over the chorus of howls, a solitary scream pierced the night sky.

“This… this can’t be happening.” I retreated behind the tree I leaned against, hoping to hide myself before any sickly eyes turned my way. “I-I don’t… When did…”

Just turn away, the voice urged in the back of my head. There’s nothing you can do here; surely you can see that now. It’s safer in the forest, safer in our castle. Just turn away.

I rolled across the trunk so that Ponyville was to my back, wincing as my shoulder grazed against the bark. The Everfree Forest stared me down. I felt like I was pinned. “I won’t last any longer in that forest than I would in there,” I pointed out. My eyes fell down to my left arm, hanging limply next to my side. The blood had long dried, staining my hand and matting my sleeve against my wrist. An uncomfortable sense of numbness was spreading down my palm, broken only by the pain brought with each experimental twitch of my fingers. I tried to tell myself that my body was just ignoring the pain. “I need to get these wounds treated, or find some help.”

I stole another glance around the tree, forcing both eyes to open and focus on the sieged village. Surely, there had to be some way in that wouldn’t get me killed.

You’re blinding yourself from your options. Think, Hunter. What a wonderful window of opportunity this presents. I screwed my eyes shut, just for a second, trying to think of anything other than that tempting voice. The enemy wastes their time looking for you in a place you’re not. Who knows how long this will last? Slip back into the forest they have abandoned; find home.

“There,” I grunted. A faint trail of smoke almost glowed in the moonlight over the horizon. It was far from the town. In fact, it almost looked like it was on the edge of the Everfree forest. Could it have been from a chimney? Who could have been crazy enough to live so close to the forest? My eyes were pinned on its source, obscured by low hills and trees. It was far away, but it was much closer than the old castle and much safer than limping into the town.

What assurance do you have that it is a home? The question rattled in my head as I pushed myself off the tree and back into the forest. What if it is just another fire on its last few embers? Why gamble your safety for merely the chance to have hope?

I moved slowly along the treeline, hiding myself away in the thick underbrush from the village. My right eye swelled back shut, but my left was pinned on the smoke. “I can’t run away from this,” I breathed. “The timberwolves are here because of me. It has to be help. I can’t fix this on my own.”

After what felt like an hour of shambling, salvation came in the shape of a small cottage near the outskirts of the forest.

The thick foliage that covered the roof nearly camouflaged it from sight. There were no signs of life in any of its many darkened windows, but a thin trail of silvery smoke escaped from the chimney. Surely, the smoke must have meant someone was there to tend the fire, right?

Something buzzed in the back of my head, probably my little interloper. Whatever words it said bounced incoherently in my vacant mind. The creeping numbness had spread through my arm, my body, my face. Between the growing nausea in my throat and the ever-tilting earth beneath my feet, it was all I could do to focus on the cottage as I limped out of the Everfree Forest.

The closer I drew, the more details I began to notice around the cozy-looking home, namely the small fence I knew I would have to hop. On the other side, a slew of vacant pens and silent chicken coops dotted the yard. This mystery pony must have tended to animals, similar to the Apples, yet the only signs of animal life were the distant howls of timber wolves and the soft chirps of insects by the stream that divided the cottage from the town.

As I crept through the yard searching for the front door, I couldn’t help but feel so vulnerable. My spinning head was having difficulty discerning shapes in the moonlight, and my body felt as though it was all but fully drained of strength. When I found my prize, I paused and leaned against the doorway, closing my eyes to ease the nausea and praying that by some miracle whoever lived here could help. I took in a heavy breath and dared to look back at Ponyville, and as the details slowly sharpened, my blood quickly froze.

Seconds of dead silence ticked by. For a moment, I thought it didn’t see me. Across the stream and along the path back into the town, shadows began to shift beneath a distant tree. The timberwolf stepped out of its shade and into the moonlight. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Was something glinting on its head and back?

It didn’t move any closer to me, although a small part of me wished that it did. Instead, it raised its head and released a piercing, broken howl. The cry echoed in the night sky, and the distant howling in the village quickly died down.

I swore under my breath.

My knuckles rapped against the front door of the cottage. I winced as raw skin scraped against its wooden frame, and no sooner than when I pulled my hand away did I receive my response.

“Go away! No candy here! Visitors not welcome on Nightmare Night!”

I jumped, not necessarily from the sudden shouting, but rather the voice. That couldn’t have been who I thought it was. What was she doing here?

I raised my fist and banged it against the door again. “Fluttershy? Was that you?”

A tense second of silence passed. The door creaked open slowly, and a yellow head poked out into the night. “Hunter?” Fluttershy asked. “What are you doing here? I thought you were helping Big Macintosh with— Oh my goodness, what happened to you?” Her teal eyes widened in shock as she took her first good look at me. They lingered on my face for only a moment before glancing past me. “What happened to Ponyville?” she cried.

Another broken howl called out. Fluttershy was frozen in the doorway. We were wasting precious seconds.

I stammered out an apology as I pushed myself through the door and dragged her in with me. The room was quickly plunged into darkness as I slammed the door shut with my shoulder. My hatchet slipped through my fingers and fell with a heavy clack against the wooden floor. The only source of light was the silver moonlight that peeked through the windows and the dying embers in the fireplace. My breathing quickened as I slowly slid down the frame; the lightheadedness was setting in again.

“ I— Hold on, let me get the lights.”

“Please tell me you’re not the only one here,” I begged. I couldn’t rope her into trouble again.

“N-No, my animal friends are here, too.” I could tell my tone wasn’t too soothing. “Why? What’s going on?”

“It’s a long story… I think.”

There was a soft click, and the living room was flooded in artificial light. It took a few blinks for my eyes to adjust, and once they did, I froze.

There was a bear in the living room.

More than just it, I realized, after the movement around the room caught my eyes. Fluttershy had a rodent problem, not just rats, but squirrels and chipmunks and rabbits, too. Birds of different feathers had taken residence in the many birdhouses that lined Fluttershy’s walls. They all looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights. I imagined I didn’t look too different, either.

“Hunter!” Fluttershy’s gasp pulled my attention to her. She was floating by a lamp next to a couch in the corner of the room, eyes wide in shock. “Are you— I mean… How— What—” She was stammering for the right words. Did I really look as bad as I felt? “Harry, help me get him to the couch.”

The bear jumped in surprise. Its eyes flicked from Fluttershy to me, and mine quickly did the same as it began lumbering to me on all-fours. I kicked myself further into the door, ignoring the throbbing pain in my shoulder and back. I could have sworn I saw stars glinting in its coat, red suns burning in its eyes.

“Hunter, please; Harry’s not going to hurt you,” Fluttershy said softly. I felt my body relax, though I wasn’t sure why. The bear slipped its front paws beneath my legs and behind my back and lifted me up, teetering awkwardly on its hindlegs to the couch next to Fluttershy. If it wasn’t for more pressing concerns at the moment, I would have been panicking for a different reason.

She was in an argument with a rabbit that seemed adamant about staying on the couch. It wasn’t until the bear began to lay me down that the rabbit scurried out of the way. It made its new nest in the chair next to the couch, and I could have sworn its beady eyes were glaring at me.

The lamplight was shining directly in my eyes, and Fluttershy hovered over me, her forelegs held nervously against her barrel. A steady mantra of “oh dear” and “oh my” whispered through her lips as she inspected my face. Her hoof guided my left hand up, and in the light, I could better see just how far the stain had spread on my already dark jacket.

“This… This is a lot of blood,” Fluttershy finally said. She looked up to the animals still watching me with wide eyes. “Can you help me, please? I need water and some towels.”

It was like someone hit a switch. In a flurry of motion, the animals in her house scattered to every corner. It wasn’t long before a large bowl of clean water and a few white rags were brought to the coffee table next to me. She gingerly picked one of the rags up and dipped it into the water. “I’m really sorry, but this is might hurt,” she explained. “There’s a lot of dirt in your…” She swallowed a lump in her throat. “... in your face. We need to keep it clean.” As she lowered the damp towel just over my eye, she paused. “You might want to grab that pillow.”

My hand reached for the spare cushion and grabbed it in a vice, and I nodded my head. As the towel pressed against raw skin, I hissed in a breath and shakily let it out. Fluttershy was trying her best to be gentle; she apologized for nearly every wince I made.

As she worked, her questions from before came back up. I offered the best explanation I could with everything I could remember about my history with the wolves. I told her of the strange alpha wolf and its stranger vendetta against me. She looked concerned when I spoke of it. Perhaps talking animals were less common around here than I had thought.

“And then I woke up,” I explained, wrapping up my story of the hayride. “I don’t know how long I was out for. Zecora and Macintosh should have made it into town before all this happened, though.”

“What about Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy asked worriedly. “Or Rainbow Dash? Are they safe, too?”

I blinked. They hadn’t even crossed my mind when this all started. “I… I don’t know,” I admitted.

A heavy silence fell over us as Fluttershy pulled the rag away one last time. There was something behind her eyes, but she kept it firmly under wraps. “I cleaned it as best as I could. I really think you need to see the hospital, though.”

Her voice had more control than I expected. “I don’t think I have a choice, even if I wanted to. There’s no telling how many wolves are between here and there.” I paused, thinking back to the one I saw earlier. “Listen, I… I think one of them saw me come here.” My eyes had a hard time meeting hers. A voice whispered in the back of my mind, and a defeated sigh slipped out. If it was anyone else that lived here, I might have had a chance.

“It’s probably not safe here anymore. I don’t know how much time we have, but we probably can’t stay too long. There’s this... I know a place in the Everfree; it’s safe, secure. We can wait this out until the Princess straightens everything out.”

She gasped, “Hunter! I can’t just abandon my friends!”

“Look, I don’t want to leave mine, either,” I quickly said. “But there’s nothing we can do! I’m too beat to risk running into them again, and you…”

My words hung in the air, long enough to dwell. I wished for nothing more than to take them back.

Fluttershy crossed her forelegs across her barrel and floated further away from me. “What about me?” she pressed. There was a hit of hurt in her voice, in her eyes. It only caused the pit in my gut to grow deeper.

“I… I don’t want to get you hurt again.”

”What?” She blinked. The hurt never left her eyes, but she looked to me with a new softness. “Hunter, is that why you’ve always been so… Did you really think that—”

A broken howl cut her off. It was close. Too close. Just outside of the walls close. A chorus of howls answered it all around us, drowning the air in blood-curdling surround sound.

Three heavy knocks rang from the door, and a voice like crunching gravel spoke, one I hoped I would never hear again.

“My dear, little pony, I ask you come outside,” it growled in an almost singsong tone. The inside of the cottage was still. Not even the animals dared to move and make a sound. “I’ve no quarrel with you, but the vermin you hide.”

“Everypony upstairs, now!”

The room erupted into motion as the animals scurried up the stairs on the far side of the room. The tiny rabbit on the chair bolted to the front door and leaped up to move the single sliding lock shut on the way. It was a small comfort, but I doubted it would offer much protection if the timberwolves really wanted inside. Fluttershy helped me up to my feet, and as I hobbled to the door and retrieved my hatchet, my eyes glanced to a nearby window. Hungry pairs of sickly eyes stared back.

“Do you know the creature you hide from me?” the alpha wolf called as I scrambled up the steps. “No; how could you? My pack normally does so well keeping them within the confines of the forest. Such a shame this one had to slip free and cause this mess.”

A soft light beckoned at the top of the stairs, a false comfort to chase away the rabid darkness that surrounded us outside. The end of the stairs opened into a cramped bedroom. In the far corner, a lamp illuminated the room from a bookshelf. The bed next to it was made into a nest for the rodents, all chattering anxiously. Fluttershy did her best to soothe them, but even the bear looked as though it was shaking in the corner as it looked out the window. If whatever was outside was enough to make a grizzly tremble, I worried about our chances.

I rested my shoulder against the chimney stack that rose through the room. This was it. There was nowhere to run. Fluttershy looked up from her futile work, and my stomach dropped as her eyes shared the same look of dread.

“It is not of your world. Like oil in water, it never belonged here to begin with. Surrender it unto me, and you can return to your simple life.”

Fluttershy shot to the window, much faster than I anticipated, and threw it open. “Just leave us alone! What did Hunter ever do to you?”

There was a pause. Just as I was becoming impressed with her sudden, fiery courage, she let out a timid squeak and retreated slightly from the window.

“It invaded my world and slipped from my watch,” the wolf growled clearly from beyond the window. “It meddled with our affairs, and now I have an entire town to cleanse. You are still so young, child, but I shall hesitate no more.” Its voice slowed, making each word deliberate. “Deliver the beast to me.”

Fluttershy’s wings had failed not long after the wolf began speaking. She stood with her forelegs resting on the window sill, and I could see her form shaking like a leaf. “N-N-No, I won’t,” she stammered with finality. “He’s my friend, and I won’t let you hurt him!”

I didn’t hear her response, but as mad barking filled the air and heavy crashes rang downstairs, I knew our fates were sealed. My fist had a white-knuckle grip on my hatchet as I turned and stared deep into the darkness down the stairway, waiting for a pair of glowing eyes to race up at any moment. Glass shattered somewhere downstairs, and I found myself praying that the wolves wouldn’t find a way to squeeze through any of the tiny windows.

“Enough!”

A voice like thunder boomed in the sky. In the window to my back, something flashed brightly, and the earth shook as something heavy landed just outside. Inside, the animals broke into a frenzy, but Fluttershy made no attempt to calm them. Her focus was pinned to whatever was going on outside.

“This treachery ends now! Vile fiends, We know not what powers led you here, but you have ruined a most special night. Return to your forest now, lest you suffer Our wrath.”

The voice was all too familiar. I shot Fluttershy a look. “Was that—?”

“Princess Luna!” she called out the window, hope burning brightly in her voice. “You have to help! Hunter’s up here, and he’s hurt really bad! I think the timberwolves are—”

She cut herself off with a squeak and ducked beneath the window. As she turned around, I saw that the hope had disappeared from her eyes. She looked to me, almost in shock. “Oh my goodness. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that mad before.”

Curiosity had gotten the better of me. I hobbled over to the window with Fluttershy, and we both looked down at the scene unfolding in her backyard.

The earth beneath Princess Luna’s hooves had upturned from her impactful entrance. Though her back was to us, her neck was craned back to watch us reappear in the window. In the moonlight, her furious eyes looked almost as if they were glowing. Her attention hung on me for just a moment before turning back to the wolves before her.

She was surrounded, back to a wall with well over a dozen wolves on all sides, within and beyond the small fence and pens. More still were slowly filling in from the other side of the cottage. Nevertheless, the Princess stood her ground; she didn’t so much as falter. Her wings were spread wide, making her appear much larger than I remembered.

A few yards before her, the grass began to shift. The alpha wolf slowly rose back to its feet. A twisted sound of something between a bark and a short laugh escaped from its maw. “‘Vile fiends’? You wound me with such words, young Luna.”

As it reached its full height, I realized just how large it was compared to her. It was only a head shorter than Princess Luna, but its malnourished form seemed to stretch longer than her. The Princess’s wings fell ever so slightly with her defenses. Why didn’t she just blast it where it stood?

“Thorn? Is that... By the stars, is that you?” Princess Luna retreated back a step, her focus pinned on the alpha wolf as it lazily drifted to her right. The hostility in her voice had melted away, but I could still see the intent dripping from the wolf’s glowing eyes as it glanced up to me in the window. Its ears bent back, and it snarled a sound like creaking timber. The Princess put herself between us again. “What happened to you, Thorn? What is the meaning of this?”

The wolf paused as our line of sight broke, and it barked out that unsettling laugh again. “I am touched that you remembered me, young princess. It has been so long, I wondered if all had forgotten and left the forest to consume me.” The wolf shuddered and began pacing to her left. She followed, trying to keep herself between us. “But I survived, through death and rot and time; e’er vigilant to right our mortal crime.”

“And this is you making ‘right’ for what happened?” Princess Luna challenged, unfazed by its sudden singsong tone.

“The end justifies the means,” it countered. “Better one village than the entire kingdom.”

“You overstep your boundaries, Thorn. That is not your decision to make. Call off this attack now, and my sister and I will show leniency.”

Thorn finally paused, and for the first time, he pulled his full attention to the Princess. “You forget; I do not fall under your jurisdiction, young Luna,” he reminded her with a growl. “I serve to safeguard this kingdom, for if it falls, so too will others. I shall not neglect the final duty I have been given, the final curse I must suffer.”

Inside the room, the animals were growing restless. Their chattering was making it difficult to hear the conversation below. I leaned deeper into the window, straining my ears to listen.

“Your isolation has impaired your judgement. You are not thinking clearly,” Princess Luna reasoned, shaking her head. “We will solve this problem together, remove whatever this curse is that ails you.”

“Oh, what sweet irony, preaching to me of the dangers of isolation.” Across the yard, the pack snarled like a sinister choir, and their morbid song rattled the air. “Do not impose the experience of your banishment upon my chosen solitude,” Thorn growled. The pacing began again. This time, the Princess didn’t follow. “Your vanity once cost you your throne, and upon your return, you proved you learned naught but pride and malice. I learned patience. I learned duty. I learned sacrifice.” He came to a halt, his claws digging into the earth, and his eyes shot to me. A wicked grin split his moss-covered face. “And I have my goal within my grasp.”

The animals in the room were in an uproar, and beneath their frenzied calls, a low, broken growl sounded behind me. Fluttershy gasped, and as I turned, the timberwolf pounced from the stairs.

It collided into me, and we tumbled out through the window. As shadows shifted and moonlight covered us in our descent, I recognized this wolf as the one that spotted me outside the cottage, and I realized with horror that my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me earlier.

My back collided against the earth. My shoulder throbbed, but all I could focus on was the wolf’s twisted face. Vines and branches tried vainly to wrap around a dark helmet embedded in its skull. A dented, purple fin ran across its top. A hazy yellow film covered its eyes, but I could still see the guard’s irises staring hungrily into mine. It opened its maw, a mangled mess of teeth and thorns, saliva and sap, and lunged for my throat.

I closed my eyes and prayed it wouldn’t hurt as much as I feared.

There was a scorching heat above me, there for an instant before flashing away with the weight of the timberwolf. As the ringing in my ears began to fade, I could hear a string of curses slipping through my mouth. I dared to peek open an eye and found the timberwolf gone, with only a splatter of sap, cinders, and warped metal on the cottage wall as the only reminder it was there to begin with.

“Hunter!” Fluttershy leaped from her window, and her wings let her glide quickly down to me. Her hooves slid across the grass, and her head stopped upside down just above mine.

“Are you okay?! Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even know it was there. Did it hurt you? Is it still—” She cut herself off with a gulp as her eyes trailed past me and found the new stain on her wall.

“Fluttershy, Hunter.” Our attention was pulled to the Princess as she galloped towards us. Behind her, the wolves clawed at a dim blue barrier. “What a relief it is to find you both. My apologies for not coming sooner.” She winced and shook her head. “We mustn’t delay. My guards are holding town hall safely, and holding the barrier both there and here is proving rather strenuous to me. Hunter, rumors tell me you do not do well with magic. Are they true?”

“You could say that,” I grunted as I sat up. The urgency in her eyes told me she needed more than a simple joke for an answer. “No, I don’t mix well with it,” I quickly added. “Or at all, for that matter. Apparently every time someone’s tried to use it on me… well, I don’t know. It doesn’t work on me or something.”

Princess Luna sighed, but it was hard to pin whether or not it was from disappointment or exhaustion. “Very well. In that case, Fluttershy, we will meet you at town hall. Tell my guards to prepare for my visit.”

The pegasus blinked. “What? No, I can’t just leave Hunter like—”

And with a soft pop and a shower of sparks, she blinked out of existence.

The Princess helped me up to my feet and exposed her side to me, extending her wing downward. She made a motion with her head. “Quickly now. The sooner we leave, the sooner you can rest.”

I hesitated. “Are you… You want me to climb on your back?”

“I would let you walk if you so prefer,” Luna replied with an unamused tone. I didn’t need any more encouragement.

I hobbled to her and awkwardly swung my leg across her back. She lowered herself slightly to help but otherwise showed no strain as I put my weight above her. My legs straddled against her sides just behind the wings, and I leaned forward, pressing my hands just above her shoulders. It just occurred to me that my only experience with this was the manticore. I hoped I was doing this right.

“Luna!”

The Princess craned her neck back and looked past me. There was a softness in her eyes, and she hesitated. Behind us, Thorn paced back and forth beyond the barrier as his pack continued to claw and growl. His glare burrowed into me.

“You know not the forces you meddle with,” he warned. “I have devoted my life safeguarding Equestria from his kind. Deliver him to me, and this wretched night can end.”

She took in a breath and slowly released it. Her eyes flicked up to me, hardened with new determination. “Stay low and hold tight, Hunter,” she said, looking forward. “I would so hate for you to fall off.” Her wings snapped open, and she crouched low. I pressed my chest against her back, and my arms quickly wrapped around her neck for support. Not a second later, we took flight.

My stomach lurched as we took off. I buried my face into the back of her neck and closed my eyes for dear life. Her mane swallowed my head whole, and I could feel the wind billowing against it as the mane brushed against my ears. I could feel my heart skipping beats with her wings, and with every tilt and bank, I feared I would fall off.

The Princess eventually steadied herself, and I could feel us slowly descending. I dared to peek open an eye and found myself lost in a galaxy of stars. As I pushed myself off of her neck, her mane peeled away like a curtain, and I found Ponyville sprawled out beneath us.

We were just barely above the roofs of most of the buildings. The streets beneath were abandoned, not a pony or wolf in sight. From here I could see the stage from earlier in the night, set ablaze but slowly dying down. It didn’t look like it was going to spread, and I couldn’t even find the other fire I saw from the Everfree. My gut twisted at the thought. The timberwolves were doing all this to get to me.

The town hall was just ahead. A large, transparent, blue dome engulfed it, and just inside I could see Fluttershy waiting with a couple of guards. A stray howl split the night, but as I looked around, I couldn’t find any sign of the wolves. My heart was racing, and as we descended, I couldn’t help but feel more and more vulnerable.

We dropped beneath the rooftops and glided just over the ground. As we reached the small bridge just before town hall, Princess Luna’s legs connected to it, and she broke into a gallop. The transition was jarring, and I kept myself low against her to keep my balance. A hole opened up inside the barrier wall, and with a leap, the Princess sailed through it and came to a sliding halt.

Fluttershy and the guards rushed us with a stream of questions. I swung my legs off the Princess and collapsed onto the frigid earth, face down and exhausted beyond comprehension. My body was quickly becoming drenched in sweat, and the throbbing ache was returning, but at the moment it didn't matter anymore. A small smile crept onto my mouth, followed by a quiet chuckle.

We made it. I was safe.

Author's Notes:

I feel like it's getting to the point in the story where I need to make a disclaimer that I started writing it between seasons 2 and 3. While it hurts my soul to admit it, it's also extremely important for what's about to follow.

A lot of things have happened in the show since season 2, many of which explain the histories of certain characters and locations, and I'm still running with the same 7-year-old outline from when I first started writing this, back when there were still speculations about a lot of things that later became clarified. I am going to try my best to adapt the story to reflect as much of the show's canon as possible, but certain backstories I've made up for certain characters and places are so ingrained into the story that I can't pull them out without rewriting the whole story for a third time (and being so close to where I left off in the first iteration, I really don't want to have to do that (and I'm sure the veterans of this story don't want that, either)). Unfortunately, it's going to end with me cherry-picking what backstories remain true to the show and which ones I keep true to my notes.

I hope you all don't mind. It's a frustrating situation for me as a writer, and I'm sure it will be just as frustrating for you as a reader to play the guessing game as to what's canon for the story or not. I'm torn over compiling a list of everything that's different for fear of spoilers of certain characters and their motives. I'm not familiar with anything that happens past the first half of season 7, but I'm taking 'spark notes' from friends who've seen it all. Everything from seasons 1 & 2 will without a doubt be reflected within this story, though, for whatever relief that offers.

On a side note, does anyone know at what point this situation applies for Alternate Universe status, if at all?