Days passed, and it wound up being Wednesday pretty quickly. He didn’t work on Monday because Rarity had to go out of town to talk design with some other ponies. She left him a note, though.

Dear Ryan,

I am afraid that I can’t be home today; I am busy in Trottingham with Photo Finish, doing some special designs. You won’t be working today, I’m afraid; the boutique is all in order and won’t need any tending to. You could certainly go to that gym, or find any assortment of things to do while I’m away. Maybe Twilight would like to learn more from you?

Anyway, I wish I could talk to you now. I have something important to talk to you about. It will simply have to wait until I return.

With love,
Rarity

He wasn’t sure what she meant by “something important”, but he was sure that it wouldn’t amount to much. Rarity tended to exaggerate things a lot.

He decided to spend that Monday figuring out some things about the Everfree. The first place he went ended up being the library to talk to Twilight. When he showed up, she was surprised at his visit. “Ryan! What, uh, brings you here?” She was still uncomfortable around him, evidently. To keep it short, Ryan just asked her about the Everfree and the dangers that might lurk within. What she told him was almost comical: The ancient Greeks would have a field day trying to hunt the stuff out there. The general conclusion for Ryan was that he should bring his firearms out there if he decided to explore.

He left soon after to go and look for supplies for the trip he knew he would have to take. The first thing he looked for was a map. After two hours of searching, he finally found an intensely sketchy store that sold maps to more than just the center of a forest. Ignoring the other features of the store, Ryan purchased the map and went to leave.

“Beware of the forest. The dangers within are great, even to one such as yourself.” the shopkeeper told him. Ryan just looked at him one more time and left.

He knew that he would need a better jacket before he went out there, and made a note to have Rarity make one. Plus better pants. And maybe shoes, and socks. He would need a good forester outfit. He might also need a hat or mosquito net. Though from what Twilight told him, Ryan wasn’t too sure he would be safe if he had a cargo net to stop those things.

From there, he went back to his ditch and just sat, counting his items and making a mental list of what he would need.

And now, it was Wednesday, and he was sitting in Twilight’s library, moving books around. Twilight hadn’t asked him much; she was still scared of him. Just as well. Ryan didn’t want to answer anything anyway.

He used Spike’s magical fax abilities to send a note to Rarity about the clothes that morning, which Spike seemed all too happy to do. “Anything for my bro.” he had said. Just then, Twilight walked into the room, reading something.

“Well,” Ryan began mischievously. “I’m glad to hear that. And who knows? Maybe you’ll get to talk to your crush.” Spike’s eyes shot wide, getting Ryan to smile. “Maybe she’ll fall for you. I’ve seen stranger things happen.”

Spike looked around, distressed by Ryan’s knowledge of his crush. “I only ever told a few ponies about my crush! Who told you that I have a crush on Rarity?” he asked. Ryan blinked twice; he was implying Sweetie Belle.

“You did. Just now.” Ryan said evilly. Spike’s pupils became pin pricks, and he looked up with great fear. “No worries.” Ryan assured him. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

Just then, Twilight appeared on the staircase, looking at the boys with great interest. “What secret?” she asked. The two males looked at each other, then back to Twilight. “Well?”

Ryan smirked, and Spike saw it and couldn’t help but snicker. “Well, we certainly can’t tell YOU. Trust me, you are the last pony we want knowing this secret.”

“What?” she said. “What’s so secret that my number one assistant can’t tell me?” Ryan made a zipper pulling movement over his lips. “Oh, so you think that I won’t know eventually?” she asked with an evil grin. “I have ways of making you talk.”

“I’m sure that you have ways of making me SING, but I’d rather you not say them in front of the little one here.”

Twilight blushed furiously, and Spike lost it, falling to the ground laughing. She looked resentfully at him, then contemplatively back at Ryan. “Well, I bet that you would have a soothing instrumental section with it.” The attempt was weak, to be honest. Ryan cocked an eyebrow at her, thinking about how easy this would be.

“Oh, it might have some soothing sections to it. But most of it will be fast-paced, action packed, and unlike anything anypony has ever heard or seen!” He threw his arms out. “It would be an epic poem, a powerful song; it would have gusto, speed, and it would be the loudest piece of primarily vocal and drum music ever heard!” He ran and jumped up onto a table. “The drum beats would be rapid and powerful, the sticks pounding that thin barrier, it barely holding against them.”

Twilight looked shocked; Spike was down for the count. Twilight tried to think of something to counter with, but alas, she was too slow.

“The drums would be flipped; both sides need to get a good pounding. The vocalists would shout out their song, screaming it to the heavens. Or Celestia. Whatever you use for that metaphor here.” That was it. He finished, and hopped off the table.

Twilight was stricken with a case of speechlessness. She had no way to counter; she was stuck. Her left eye was twitching, and one would swear that she had always been a red-coated pony, not purple. “I think I broke her.” Ryan commented, approaching her. He poked her head twice and snapped his fingers, but she didn’t move.

Spike finally got up. “Yeah, I bet you did!” And then he fell back over.

Twilight finally moved in the form of shaking her head and leaving her dazed state and starting at Ryan. There was a mix of anger, embarrassment, entertainment, confusion, and horror in her expression. She moved her hooves one at a time, being very deliberate in her movements, and walked right up to Ryan.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met a pony anything like you.” she stated.

“Trust me, girl. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

From that moment, things got a little more normal. But Twilight was intent on learning the secret. “So, what is that secret that you don’t want to tell me?” she asked. “I can’t imagine what it would be that Spike wouldn’t tell me.”

Ryan looked at Spike. Odds were, he had told Twilight about his crush, but this was all purely to mess with her mind. “Well, I can give you a hint.” Ryan said. He gave a quick glance to Spike that told him, Pretend to be distressed about this. “It’s an incredibly personal matter that Spike can really only tell other males. Females simply wouldn’t understand.”

Spike did exactly as he was silently told and pretended to freak out. It was pretty good, too. “Dude!” he shouted. “That is NOT COOL.”

Twilight looked back at Spike, then back at Ryan. Ryan shrugged and looked away. She turned back to Spike. “Spike, if this is a ‘special problem’, I can definitely help you a lot more than him. I’ve studied anatomy and related medicine...”

She caught herself too late. “I bet you have studied anatomy extensively.” Ryan said, hanging on the word “extensively”. “In fact, I would bet that you know even more about it than either of us does.”

Twilight shot a glare at Ryan, who put his hands up and walked aside to evade her wrath. “Spike,” she began. “Please, trust me. I can help you, if you need it.” She sounded one fifth sad, four fifths annoyed that she couldn’t hear the secret. “What kind of troubles are you having?”

Spike looked to Ryan, begging silently for help. The prank was in jeopardy; Spike wasn’t capable of saving it. Ryan glanced at him and noticed his pleading eyes, then chose it as the time to deal the final blow.

“Fine, I guess you can know.” Ryan said. Twilight turned to him, looking excited. “He wanted to ask me about the best stuff for jerking around and having fun.”

“He asked you for pranking advice?” Twilight asked. She was totally oblivious; Spike looked nervous. It was hard to say where this would go.

“No, no.” Ryan replied. “He wanted my advice on whacking meat.” Twilight was more confused; Spike looked all out scared. “Hmmm... He wanted to know how to choke a chicken.” Twilight looked terrified, then shot a very poisonous glare at Spike. “No, no, that’s not what I meant. I meant that he needed words of wisdom on yanking his chain.”

Twilight still didn’t get all the phrases coming from Ryan’s mouth. She just looked at him, terribly confused. Spike took this moment to run away and hide upstairs to hide from the proverbial shitstorm that could very well become the library.

Ryan deadpanned, “He asked me about masturbating.”

Twilight’s eyes shot super wide, and her pupils outright vanished, leaving almost purely white eyes in their absence. Her face turned red again, and she started taking some steps back. “Ummm...” She looked around; Spike was nowhere to be seen. “I’ll just leave you to that.” With that, she ran out of the library, unsure of how to proceed.

Ryan watched after her, waiting until she was out of earshot completely. “Yo, Spike!” Ryan shouted. “She ran off, it’s safe!”

Spike trudged down the stairs, clearly feeling lost with the whole situation. “Do you even know how awkward it’s gonna be while I try to explain that this whole thing was a joke? As soon as she sees me, she’s gonna be all like, ‘Now Spike, It’s perfectly natural. Just make sure that no one catches you and blah blah blah and always clean up after yourself and blah blah blah and for the love of Celestia never let Rarity find out.’” He walked over to Ryan and looked up at him. “It’ll be even worse when I explain that it was all just a joke.”

Ryan smirked at his draconian friend. “And that’s why you live with her, not me. So I don’t have to explain awkward things to her.” He ruffled Spike’s head-spine thingies and went to the kitchen.

Spike remained in the library, doing whatever, and Ryan raided the fridge for a snack or two. He was able to find milk, so he went and made himself a sandwich to go with it. Rather than eat in the kitchen, though, he took his food into the library and set it on a table. He had to find a specific book. “Now, where is...” He was looking for a book about more than just the creatures of the Everfree. He needed to know about the magics within the forest.

After a bit of searching, he finally found his book and sat down with it next to the table with his food. He took a bite of the sandwich and a swig of milk and got to reading. “The magics of the forest are vastly unknown to ponykind as of yet.” Ryan read in his head. “They are very different from any other natural magic in the world, likely because the princesses used to live in the castle there and that was where they fought just before Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon.” Ryan wasn’t reading for a history lesson, so he skipped to the table of contents and looked for the chapters he would need.

The first chapter was chapter four, The Magic in the Soil. That would no doubt be important. “The very ground in the Everfree Forest is magical and unpredictable. One such example is the Poison Joke, a blue flower that has the magical effect of disrupting other magics and everyday life. When encountered, it is like one is being pranked excessively and maliciously by little fillies and colts.” He read on, being sure to note anything that might be important, like that Poison Joke stuff. He read up on which plants were safe to eat and which might kill him. Only a few were edible, but at least one had beneficial magical effects.

Toward the end of the chapter, though, he read something odd. “Timberwolves are among the most dangerous things one might encounter in the forest.” it read. “No one is sure of where they come from or even how, but they are wolves made of wood that eat like normal wolves. If you encounter a group of them, it is recommended that you climb a tree or get into water as soon as possible. Little is known other than that they are dangerous and deadly, so stay away from them as much as possible.”

It was certainly odd, to say the least. Wolves that were considered plants? At first, Ryan almost didn’t believe what he was reading, but then he remembered. “Magic.” he groaned. He wasn’t a very big fan of not understanding things that might be relevant in the near future. He could see Twilight now: “It’s magic; I ain’t gotta explain shit.” Though she would probably not use such language as that.

He skipped through some other parts of the book to get to the creatures of the forest. The Timberwolves made another appearance, but there were some other things that caught his attention too. Namely, the Manticore, the Shadow Hornet, a huge black hornet that might impale him, and something only named Spirits. The description read, “Spirits are amorphous balls of light that can take any form they need in order to survive. Nothing is known about them, even less than the Timberwolves. Some are friendly, some are NOT. They do not seem to be able to speak in different forms, but this has yet to be confirmed or studied. Few have seen them in their natural form, a ball of dim yellow light, and those who have been in direct contact have been either positively affected or irreparable altered in the mind.”

Overall, it sounded like a fine place for Ryan to be staying. In that hellish forest, few if any ponies would ever come by to pest him, and he could live out his days in silent misery where he might eventually forget everything. Or die. Either and or both.

Ryan continued reading for a bit, then finished his food and drink and put the book back. After bringing the glass back to the kitchen to clean it, he grabbed his things and set out to find anything else he might need.

“Ryan!” Spike called. Ryan sighed and turned around to face his scaly acquaintance. “Where are you going?” he asked.

Ryan took out his map and took a look at it, trying to discern where a good starting point might be to explore. “Since Twilight seems to have left, I’m going to head out into the forest to explore a bit, see what and where I can find.”

Spike blinked once, then twice. “WHAT!?!?” he shouted, prompting Ryan to stick a finger in his ear. At this rate, he would get Tinnitus from these ponies and friends. “Why would you go out there? Don’t you know how dangerous it is? How will you even find your way back-”

“Relax, dude. I know what I’m doing, and I know what’s in there. I need to go in, though.” He thought hard about something he could use for an excuse to go. “Whatever brought me into this world is somewhere in there. I aim to find it and ask it why.”

“But why does that matter?” Spike asked. “You’re here, and you can live peacefully. Doesn’t that count for something?”

“It does. But that doesn’t change the fact that I did some things that don’t quite align with this gift. I need answers.” Truthfully, he did hope that Discord was in there somewhere. He could actually get some answers from him if he were.

Spike sighed, then went over to a coat rack and grabbed a little jacket. “Fine, but you aren’t going alone.” Ryan was about to protest, but Spike had a reason. “I need to get something from Zecora anyway. It’s for a gift for Twilight, since her birthday is in a couple of weeks.”

Ryan thought a little. He could protect Spike if necessary, guns and knife ready to kill. He looked at his weapons, figuring he could just chamber a round in each before they went in. “Alright.” he relented. “We’ll go together. But when we get there, you talk with this Zecora for a while so I can explore.” Apparently, he was going to meet Zecora.

The two went off, deciding to get a move on so that they didn’t burn too much daylight on the way. Nopony questioned them as they left, though Ryan could tell that they wondered why Spike was out with him and not Twilight. Thinking about it, Ryan wondered where she had run off to. “Where could she even go where she wouldn’t end up talking to somepony about that?”

They were on the edge of town, toward Fluttershy’s cottage, when Ryan heard the last thing he wanted to hear. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ANIMAL HELPERS!” He groaned loudly, wishing that this wasn’t about to happen. He could run or hide, but these girls would find him and probably want to go too. And he was right.

Scootaloo was the first to spot him from Fluttershy’s window. Throwing it open, she shouted, “Hey Ryan!” He waved. “Whatcha up to?”

Before he knew it, all three were jumping out of that window and running down to him to greet him. Up in the cottage, the door opened, revealing a curious Fluttershy. She came down, too.

“I’m escorting Spike to Zecora’s.” he explained. “He needs to talk to her about something relating to Twilight.”

The girls all looked at him wide-eyed, and were joined in their awe and fear by Fluttershy. “What?” she asked, distressed. “B-b-but you don’t have experience in there! You might get hurt, or-”

“Imma cut you off there. I’ve been in forests as dangerous if not more so than this one, and... sort of lived through it. Plus,” he tapped his weapons, even though he was the only one who knew about them. “I’m more dangerous in a fight than anything in there.”

The girls looked astonished, but Fluttershy looked terrified. “Can we go?” Applebloom asked. Ryan shook his head vigorously. “Pleeeease?”

“I’ll go along too.” Fluttershy interjected quickly. “I can’t let you all go in there all on your own.”

Ryan sighed. His escort job just became much larger... but Fluttershy could probably take them all back if Ryan didn’t come back before dark. He considered this. “Alright. But Fluttershy, it might be up to you to bring them all back.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because I’m gonna be doing some stuff in there, looking for something important. It might take a while.”

Fluttershy looked worried, but she let it go and agreed. The Crusaders would also be coming along, doing God knows what. But that wasn’t Ryan’s concern. “Ready?” Ryan asked. “Let’s go.” And they entered the forest, an unknown landscape of unknown dangers.

In the forest, Fluttershy took the lead, and Ryan took the rear. He explained that he had to do that in order to cover the rear, prevent an attack from that direction. He chambered a round in each of his guns and kept the safeties off, ready to shoot at a moment’s notice.

The walk to this Zecora’s home was actually pretty short, maybe half an hour. The whole way there, the fillies and dragon and mare were scanning about, fearfully checking for dangers lurking in the shadows. Ryan was scanning, too, but he wasn’t nearly as scared. He was more afraid of tripping and falling on landmines, something he had already had the misfortune of doing.

Fluttershy stopped and heaved a massive sigh. “We’re here!” she announced. Before the group was a hut, carved into a tree like Twilight’s and Fluttershy’s homes, with a bunch of very Central African decorations around it. There were large decorative masks, gnarled bark shaped into strange items, and lots of leaves used on the windows for shutters.

“Smart.” Ryan thought. He might have to ask her for help later.

Fluttershy approached the door with the little ones and knocked several times. “Zecora? It’s Fluttershy! I have Applebloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Spike with me! Oh, and a new friend.”

The door opened, and out from it walked a Zebra wearing those funky metal rings from that group of people somewhere in Africa. “Ah, yes, it is good to see you!” she greeted as she looked around at the little ones. “And as for this friend, might I ask who?”

Fluttershy pointed back at Ryan, who walked forward out of some shadows and extended his hand out. “Ryan. Good to meet you.” This time, he was actually a little bit genuine.

Zecora looked intrigued, but stayed her tongue and put her hoof in Ryan’s hand. “Please, now, the pleasure is mine. Few ponies have met one who walks with a straight-up spine.” Those rhymes might get annoying. “Please, come in, make yourselves at home. For your trouble, I am sure that I have treasures shiny like Chrome.”

Everyone entered, Ryan going in last, and sat around. Ryan took in the room; there was a big boiling pot in the middle with some freaky blue colored liquid bubbling in it. Around the room were more masks, and there were all sorts of plants around. Bookshelves were in a few scattered areas, probably with recipes for stuff like what she was cooking now.

Ryan sat off to the side and listened in, deciding to wait to leave. “Zecora, I need your help.” Spike said. The crusaders were walking around, looking at some things, not really paying attention. Fluttershy had found herself a cup of tea. “I need some old tomes that are really rare to give Twilight for her birthday.”

Ryan lost interest and decided that he would look around for a bit, then leave. He stood up and walked around quietly, observing each plant, trying to figure out what looked dangerous. It only took him about twenty-five minutes to finish.

He looked to Zecora and Spike; they were still talking, Spike trying to get something from her. Fluttershy was watching Ryan, and when he noticed, she quickly spun her head another way. The crusaders were still looking around.

Ryan walked over to Zecora. “Well, I wish I could stick around, but I have to go look for something.” he said. Spike and Zecora turned to him. “It’s somewhere out here, and I’m gonna find it. So I guess I’ll see you later.”

Ryan turned to leave, but Zecora rhymed at him before he could. “One should not travel alone in the forest, new one. If one does, they could be done.” The zebra went into another room and grabbed a bag. “If you are to explore, I shall come along. That way, less is likely to go wrong.”

Fluttershy stood as well. “Umm, I guess that I can take the girls and Spike back then.”

They all groaned loudly and with a very whiney tone, then looked pleadingly to Fluttershy. “Please, can we all go too?” Sweetie Belle asked with a pouty face. “If Ryan and you and Zecora are around, it can hardly be so dangerous.”

Fluttershy looked to Zecora, who shrugged, then to Ryan, who also shrugged. “Okay.” she relented. “But you CANNOT leave our sides! Oh, if that happened...” And she went off quietly listing all the things that might go wrong, which Ryan paid no mind to.

Zecora went to the door. “Spike, if it is old tomes you seek, the old castle will be hard to beat. We can go there first, for it will take some time. But not long to stay, for night is the creatures’ prime.” Ryan decided not to argue that, since that was a great place to start for everything. He needed a place to call home; maybe that castle wasn’t so bad.

They all left the hut and went off the path into the forest, Fluttershy trembling the whole time and falling in next to Ryan as Zecora took the lead. The little ones all stayed in a tightly packed group in between Ryan and Zecora, with only a foot or two of space on either side. Ryan was constantly scanning the area; what gave him some pause was the eyes. Everywhere he looked, pairs of yellow, catlike eyes were staring at them, watching their every movement. None were big enough to be Manticore eyes, but still.

Rather than wait for something to happen, Ryan pulled out the Automag and held it in his hand and pointing at the ground. Fluttershy saw him pull it out and found herself distracted by its presence. “What is that?” she asked.

Ryan didn’t stop scanning. “Insurance.” he said. “Something to keep safe with.”

Fluttershy was satisfied with that answer, and she huddled closer to Ryan’s leg. She must have felt safer with his words or something. “Eww.” he heard one of the girls whisper. He noticed that they were all looking at the two adults in the back and making faces. As much as Ryan wanted to do to them what he did to Twilight, he couldn’t violate the minds of children. Or Fluttershy. It would simply be an uncool thing to do.

After thirty-five more minutes of walking, Zecora finally announced, “Here we are, at this old scar.” The castle was just like Ryan remembered it, only the bridge had broken when he left. There was no way across.

Scootaloo was the first to notice this. “Aw man!” she complained. “How are we gonna get across now?”

Ryan stepped forward and walked over to the abyss trench thing. Swallowing hard he took a glance over the edge, hopefully prepared for whatever torment it had for him this time. Nothing came. “Phew.” he said. Nopony knew why, though. He turned to them. “Fluttershy, can you fly across?”

Zecora answered for her. “No, it is dangerous to go over the abyss as a pegasus. Ever since Rainbow Dash flew in and out, it has decided that it doesn’t like us. The only way to get across would be to go and get the bridge back and retie it. And I do believe to this it did commit. ”

Ryan looked back at the bridge and thought about his options. If he were to get in there ever again, and do it multiple times, he would have to fix the bridge. Or he could leave it and try his luck elsewhere. “Why the hell not?” he thought. He turned back to the group. “I’ll just climb down, go across, and then climb back up. You can gather up the bridge and toss it to me from this side.”

Fluttershy and the little ones all looked horrified, but Zecora actually seemed to be considering it. “What are you?” she asked. Ryan answered with his species’ name. “Hmmm...” She walked up to him and scrutinized him from top to bottom. “Yes, that might work. Just be careful, for creatures down there do lurk.”

Ryan stepped away and looked at the rest of the group, gauging their expressions. None looked too excited. “I’ll be fine.” he said. “It might take a while, since we don’t know what’s down there, so don’t fret.” He turned around and walked over to the broken bridge. Thankfully, it had come off completely at the other end, so it was still intact. “See you on the other side.” And he put his hands and feet on the boards and climbed down the bridge like a ladder.

As soon as Ryan’s feet hit the ground; he had to fall the last eight feet, he spun around and pointed in all directions with the Automag. Nothing was there. “Hmmm...” He kept his gun up and ready for anything.

The gorge hadn’t seemed that big from up top, but from down here, he could only barely tell that there was more to it than met the eye. There were random pools of green gunk and strangely colored plants, oddly hued rocks and metals jutting from the ground. Bones were strewn about, and some rotting Timberwolf carcasses lay nearby. It reminded him of Dagobah in Star Wars.

Ryan tread lightly, unsure of how stable the ground might be or what might hear him walking by. One of the pools had a little black tentacle coming out of it that was swishing about, looking for something. To test it, Ryan tossed a bone its way. When it found the bone, the tentacle disappeared into its hole with the bone. “Avoid the puddles.”

He continued along, prepared for the worst, keeping an eye on everything. No sounds came from up above; none from where he was either. It was an eerie silence that reminded Ryan of when he made his way through Narendra’s personal home in Vietnam.

The fog was fierce; toward the middle, he couldn’t see in any direction for more than five feet. The only saving grace he had was that he had been leaving footprints in the soggy ground.

Snap

Ryan spun around, hearing the sound from off to the side, gun aimed forward. The fog was blocking whatever it was that made the sound.

“Show yourself.” Ryan ordered. There was a deep, throaty noise from the fog. “Show yourself or I will open fire.”

“Oh, but we remember how well that worked last time, don’t we?”

Ryan turned again to face his original direction; there, before him once again, was the Wraith. “Well well. Look what the cat threw up.” Ryan greeted. “Tell me, what’s it like, living in a bog?”

The Wraith smiled, closed his eyes and shrugged. “It treats me as well as it did you.” he responded casually. “How’s society working out?” Ryan did not respond. “Come on, you can at least pretend to be happy that this is happening down here, not up there?” Ryan grunted. “Good.”

He lowered his weapon. “Well?” Ryan asked. “Why are you here?”

The Wraith stuck his hands in his pockets. “I’m just traveling, learning. I’ve been reading this incredible book while I travel around Equestria; It’s fascinating. You know what it’s titled?”

“No. What?”

The Wraith responded by stating Ryan’s full name, turning his blood cold. “At first, I thought it was a blank book, ready to be written in. But I should have known better; I got it from the library in that very castle right after I knocked you out there.” Ryan growled. “You see,” The Wraith began, smirking widely. “This book is magical, like most in there. It was totally blank when I found it, yet had hundreds of pages. No matter how many times I turned the pages, it never ended. I decided that I would write your name on the cover so I could write your story. But when I did,” He reached behind himself and pulled out the book in question. “It wrote itself. Everything, from your early childhood to whatever is happening right now.”

“Bullshit.” Ryan replied angrily.

“Oh, but it does.” The Wraith opened up the book and flipped to a recent page. “Earlier today, you were making a certain lavender unicorn feel very uncomfortable by talking openly about sexual topics. And you know I wasn’t there for that.”

“I also know that you never needed to be.”

The Wraith shrugged. “I’ve always had this book, you know. Ever since I was born. So no, I never needed to be present.”

Ryan scowled and looked past the Wraith. The fog was clearing, and the wall was visible. “Well, I’d love to stay and chat, but I have some things to do.”

The Wraith stepped aside. “Alright. I can take care of you another time.”

Ryan walked past the smiling Wraith uneasily, eying the book and the Wraith’s face as he passed. It was unsettling, how calm he was. And that book... that book was dangerous in his possession.

As soon as Ryan was past the Wraith, he ran to the wall and looked back, bringing the gun back up. The Wraith was gone. “What the hell is he?” Ryan tried to forget it as he scaled the rocky cliffside back up to the world aboveground.

He did not take too much time getting back up, and when he finally got all the way, he heard great rejoicing from the other side of the cliff. “Woohoo!” “Yay!” “I knew he would do it!” “Excellent.”

He turned back to them. “Yo, send over that bridge!” They had gathered it up while Ryan was in the gorge and had it piled up. Fluttershy picked up one end in her mouth and flew up high and back. When she was ready, she flew forward, faster than Ryan would have thought she could, and dropped the bridge like a dive bomber. Ryan had to lean over the edge to catch it, but he did get it, and he made to tying it back to the posts. “We’re good!” he shouted when he finished.

Everypony walked across confidently, even Fluttershy, over to Ryan. “That was awesome!” Scootaloo shouted. “I had no idea you were so fearless!”

Ryan chuckled and ruffled her mane. “Well, when you’ve stared death in the face more than once, it tends to lose its shocking effect.” He turned back to the castle. “Let’s get inside.” And they all entered the great castle of olden times.

They waltzed in like they owned the place, with Ryan taking the lead. He had seen most of this place before, he just had to be sure it was structurally sound. He got his answer when Zecora shut the door behind them a bit too hard and a brick came falling from the ceiling. “Well that took no time at all.” he thought.

Scratch this place, he would have to look elsewhere another day, probably on a weekend. In the meantime, he could stick with these ponies, get strength in numbers. He also had no idea how to get back to Ponyville.

“Where’s the library?” Spike asked. No one seemed to know the answer, but Ryan remembered where he had gone to find that information on the lands and Luna.

“I can show you the way.” he said. He took the lead again and led everypony through the corridors and to the library.

They approached the big doors, the intricate drawings seeming much brighter than the least time Ryan was here. The mares, Celestia and Luna, he now knew, were much more brightly colored, and the other features of the door were more prominent as well. The contrast was much greater, and the carving lines seemed much deeper than before. The door was also slightly ajar.

“Hold on.” Ryan ordered as he took several cautious steps forward, Automag at the ready. Slowly, he approached and opened the door, checking for anything on the other side, waiting for them. The Wraith was the last guy he wanted the ponies to meet right now. But there was nothing. “Clear.” he said, throwing the door open and strutting in. The ponies followed behind him as he walked in.

Ryan putzed around the library while Spike and the others looked for books to nab. Fluttershy timidly removed each book from the shelf, seemingly expecting something to jump out every time. Once, she saw a book with a picture of a freakish bird on the cover. Interested by the cover, she removed it, and out from the other side, came a certain orange pegasus filly. “BOO!” Fluttershy fell back, nearly petrified.

Ryan sighed and walked over to help her up. “You know,” he started at Scootaloo. “It really isn’t wise to terrify your escort out of the forest.” Scootaloo smiled sheepishly and ran off, apologizing. “You alright?”

Fluttershy nodded and went back to looking around for more books, probably on animals. Ryan decided that he might as well join in and explored the library. As he often did back home, he found himself gravitating to a very military oriented section. There were books on very ancient battles and weapons, old unit and army tactics, and the roles of different ponies. One book caught his attention; Nighthawks; Protectors of Old. He pulled it off the shelf and decided he would read it later.

The ponies were still looking around, but the books that they wanted were already in hand by the looks of it. When Ryan returned to them, The fillies looked tuckered out and Spike had to try hard to stifle a yawn.

“Ah, yes, you have come back. Are you ready to leave so that we don’t become a creature’s snack?” Ryan had to do his best not to be annoyed by Zecora’s constant rhyming.

“Yep. Let’s get moving.”

The fillies stood up and huddled close again, but this time, they stuck really close to Fluttershy. Spike decided to walk by Ryan’s side, and Zecora took the front. As they left the library and the castle proper, they all became alert once again. No one wanted to be eaten tonight.

It was clearly nighttime because the sun had gone down; they had spent more time in there than expected. “Be careful in the forest at night.” Zecora warned. “For this is the time of the creatures of fright.”

She took the lead across the bridge, followed by Fluttershy and the fillies, then Spike, and then Ryan. He made it halfway across the bridge before the gorge came back. “Failed us... killed us... murderer...” He had to stop to collect himself in the middle of the bridge before he could continue. Closing his eyes and focusing hard on the feel of the rope of the bridge in his hand, he was able to drown out some of the voices.

“Dude, you alright?”

Ryan opened his eyes again and looked down at Spike. He looked worried. “Yeah, fine.” Ryan listened; the voices were all gone. “Just a bit uncomfortable on this bridge. I was on it when it collapsed that time recently.” Spike nodded his understanding and kept on moving. Ryan followed close behind, eager to get off the bridge.

Once across, and back behind the tree line, everything became very dark again. Spike actually had to pick up a stick and light it with his breath in order for everyone to have enough light to see. He lit several, giving one to Zecora, one to Fluttershy , one to Ryan, and one for himself. The fire was green, and illuminated the area as such, but like green glow sticks, it burned the brightest. It was great for seeing in the dark.

The problem, though, with making light to be able to see? Other things can see you better than you can see them.

“Zecora, how much longer until we get back to your hut?” Ryan asked, an uneasy feeling suddenly taking him over. He felt the same way that he did right before Narendra’s men shot up and totaled his friend’s car in Australia.

“We will be there in less than twenty minutes, but do not hold your breath. We must go slow and quiet in the dark, or we may risk death.” The fillies all gulped hard when they heard that, but Fluttershy comforted them to the best of her extensive ability.

Spike tugged on Ryan’s pants, eliciting him to bend down to hear the dragon’s words. “Hey.” he started, sounding scared. “You, uh... you ever get that feeling that you’re being watched?” he asked.

“Spike, I know exactly what it feels like to be watched and for that feeling to be correct. It’s different from when you think you’re being watched, but you aren’t.” Ryan looked around, but still only saw all the yellow eyes. “And I’ll tell you; we’re being stalked.” He straightened his back and kept his eyes roaming. “Scan your sectors and keep a close watch on everything.”

Spike started frantically looking around, desperately hoping that nothing was there. Ryan stayed much more calm than his walking partner and pushed Spike forward a bit so that if they were attacked, he would be out of harm’s way. Spike decided to get in close to the fillies and be a part of that group, next to Fluttershy.

Ryan kept his eyes moving nonstop, and his finger was growing itchy on the trigger of his gun. He was tense; it took every ounce of discipline he had not to raise the gun and start shouting for the creatures to come out and show themselves. Thank everything that he had done Karate since he was four.

It grew quiet after a couple of minutes. The nighttime birds weren’t chirping, the crickets had stopped, and the rodents seemed to disappear. Nothing moved, nor made a sound. And regardless of where you live, that only means one thing.

And that one thing was made very clear by a low rumble behind Ryan.

“Don’t. Move.” he ordered in a loud whisper to everyone in front of him. They all stopped dead in their tracks. No one even blinked. Slowly, Ryan began to turn, already planning out what he was going to do. If it was a Manticore, he would have to distract it since he could never fight something like that. If it was a Spirit, they were all fucked if it wasn’t friendly. If it was a Shadow Hornet, he would just shoot it.

When he turned and saw it, it wound up being none of those things. There, not ten feet behind him, was a Timberwolf, growling and snarling at him, sap that served as drool oozing from its maw. The teeth were wooden, as was everything else on its body. The wolf looked like it was constructed by a ten-year old child. The ears were just longer sticks, and they had eyebrows made of leaves. The eyes glowed a bright yellow in the night.

Ryan only saw the one, though. And according to that book, they always travelled in packs. “Guys,” he said, no longer whispering. “Keep an eye on your sides.” Behind him, he could hear the ponies huddling together and moving. They were probably getting up against a tree. On the way, they dropped their torches, which extinguished in the dirt. Ryan dropped his as well.

Barely able to see, Ryan got into a low crouch and kept his pistol down, hoping not to agitate the wolf. “You want a piece of me?” he asked. “Bring it, bitch.”

The timberwolf lunged forward, faster than Ryan would have thought, and extended its claws at him. He was barely able to dodge it, but he wasn’t able to get his pistol around before it came at him again. As it closed in on him, he thought back to something a police officer once told him when he learned about Ryan’s Martial Arts background.

“At the police academy, we learn to avoid getting within twenty feet of suspects without our weapons out. It’s been studied that if someone is trained, they can close the twenty feet before an officer can pull out his gun and fire.”

He wished he had remembered that and pointed his gun at the wolf, but it was too late now. The wolf was right next to him, bringing its head down to clamp down on Ryan’s throat. Before it could, Ryan brought the Automag around and whipped the wolf across the face, splintering the wood. The wolf fell back to recover, but Ryan wouldn’t give it the time.

He pointed the .44 Magnum at the wolf and let a bullet rip out of the barrel and into the wolf’s head. It had been standing perpendicular to him, so when the bullet slammed through the wooden head, it kept on going through the entire thing, and exploded out the other side, creating a mess of sap and wooden body sections all over the ground behind. The muzzle flash had almost blinded him and likely everything else around, and the loud boom drew a scream of terror from the fillies and Spike.

Ryan squinted in the dark to see his kill, which was sprawling out on the ground in several pieces. Unphased by the almost comical nature of the dead creature, he turned around to address the ponies in his care. “You good?” he asked.

He got his answer in the form of more growls from the darkness, right around the ponies’ tree. They all flipped out and sprinted from it, getting behind Ryan for safety. He kept his gun up and ready to fire. “Come on out, little doggies. Papa’s got a toy for you.” he said darkly.

Three wolves came out of the darkness, low and bearing their splintery teeth. They advanced in an even line, preventing Ryan from being able to fire. If he fired his gun, the recoil would take away his ability to get a quick follow-up shot, and he would almost certainly be taken down.

The wolves suddenly stopped about twelve feet away and glanced at each other. All was still. Ryan could hear his own heart beating, the breathing of the ponies behind him. He took in a long breath, then released it slowly, getting into a state of Mushin. His heart rate slowed down, his breathing calmed, and his muscles relaxed. The wolves took notice and hesitated.

Then, it all happened at once. Two of the wolves lunged at Ryan, leaving one to go after the ponies.

As the two tried to close in on Ryan, he brought the gun around and shot one square in the face, sending it spiraling back into the earth from whence it came in pieces and sap. The other was on top of Ryan before he could bring the gun around and it bit his gun-toting arm hard. He dropped the pistol as he fell to the ground.

The wolf was trying to rip apart Ryan’s arm by thrashing its head wildly with his flesh in its mouth, but Ryan was to have no part of that. He grabbed its head with his other arm and brought it closer to his own center of mass, enabling him to flip over and be on top of the wolf. As the wolf cried out under Ryan’s much greater mass, Ryan tore his arm out of its maw and elbowed it in the neck, several loud cracks being produced.

He looked up to the ponies to see them being cornered by the third wolf against a large rock. Fluttershy and Zecora stood in between the wolf and the little ones, ready for a fight.

They would get no such fight, though. Ryan rolled off of his opponent and grabbed his gun off the ground, pulling it up and taking aim at the attacking firewood. With a carefully placed shot, he sent a bullet ripping through the top of the wolf’s back toward where its spine hopefully existed. He got a lot more than he asked for from the shot; the entire top of the timberwolf was shorn off by the force of the bullet, sending it spinning and rolling off to the side, very much dead.

Ryan turned his attention back to the last wolf and found it standing about eight feet from him. He brought up the gun. “Goodnight, Fido.”

Click.

“Well, shit.”

The Automag was out, and as soon as the click was heard by the wolf, it leapt up at Ryan to kill him. Ryan dropped the gun on purpose this time as he prepared to grapple.

The wolf grabbed Ryan by his left arm this time, but failed to bring him to the ground. Ryan had allowed it to get him this time, seeing it as an opportunity to end the battle. “You think you can take me down!?” he shouted. Ryan reared his right arm back and shot it forward in a punch, right in the wolf’s gut area. His arm smashed through, going all the way in and touching the other side.

He gripped something that felt long and knobby. “I’m more dangerous than anything in this damn forest!”

He got a strong grip on whatever he was holding and tore his arm out of the wolf. Out with his arm came a long stick resembling a spine, with all the little wooden vertebra and sinews coming off of it. As Ryan’s arm exited the body of the wolf, the glow in its eyes vanished, and he dropped the timberwolf, a muffled thud emanating from it as it hit the ground.

Ryan took a look at his forearms; they were bleeding. The bites had been pretty deep, but nothing terribly dangerous. “Hurts like a bitch, though.” he said to himself. He turned around to see the ponies huddling together in fear, but safety. “You good?”

Fluttershy shot forward and wrapped herself around Ryan’s legs, crying and shaking. “I was so scared!” she said. The fillies ran forward and hugged him as well, all of them crying away their fears and anxieties of the short battle. Spike walked forward and looked up at Ryan in awe.

“That was intense.” he commented, almost unable to speak.

Ryan looked at all the bodies. “Trust me, boyo. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

As Ryan removed the mare and fillies from his legs, Zecora walked over to him as well and grabbed his forearm. “Eventually,” he said as he removed the last filly. “You guys need to tell me how that works.”

Zecora ignored him. “Your wound is deep and bleeds quite a bit. Maybe you should learn to fight more with wit.” She looked up and smiled at Ryan. “But alas, it matters not. You need bandages after a battle well fought.” She turned around and picked up a stick, then had Spike light it. “Come home with me, all of you. I will treat your friend, then home you will go to.”

Zecora led the way again, this time moving much faster in order to avoid another encounter. It took very little time for them to arrive at her home, and when they did, they shut the door and locked it.

“Thank Celestia that we were able to get outta that!” Applebloom commented. “Ah was sure we were goners.”

Ryan was lead by Zecora to a little table and instructed to put his forearms on it. “Yeah, I thought we were wolf chow for sure.” Scootaloo said. Ryan listened in as they all talked about their harrowing experience. “Good thing we had Ryan to save us.”

Zecora disappeared for a moment, then came back with some white bandages and tweezers. She also brought a bottle of disinfectant, by the looks of it. Zecora got to work with the tweezers, removing splinters and setting the bloody bits of wood to the side. Ryan twitched a few times with the removal of the wood, but kept his composure for the little ones.

They all went on talking, with Fluttershy sitting next to them very close. Except Sweetie Belle. She was sitting away from them, huddled up in a ball, shaking violently. “Hey.” Ryan said, catching her attention. No one else noticed. “You alright?” he asked.

Zecora stood up to go and get another pair of tweezers. The current pair was too small for one of the splinters; it was about an inch long and really lodge din there. “Y-yeah.” Sweetie Belle responded in a lie.

“I can tell you’re lying to me.” Ryan replied. “What’s on your mind?” He always hated seeing little kids cry, even now. It was something that would never change about him. But when he finally left this place, he would never see anyone else cry ever again.

“I-I-I was really scared.” she said. Ryan stood up and walked over, picked her up, then sat back down. He was careful not to bleed on her. “I thought they- they would get us.”

Ryan shook his head. He had never been good at consoling kids, but he always tried. “Well, they didn’t get you. You know why?” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Because I was there to protect you. And if you ever go in here again, I’ll come along to protect you. You’re safe with me, and if you ask, I’ll stick with you.”

Sweetie Belle sniffled, then looked at Ryan with a smile. “Really?” she asked with hopeful eyes.

“Really.”

She huddled a little in Ryan’s lap as Zecora came back with her mega-tweezers. “Mother of God.” Ryan said upon seeing them. Zecora ordered him to put his arms back on the table, and he obliged.

Sweetie Belle fell asleep in his lap, and when he looked to the other little ones, he noticed that they were asleep, too. Fluttershy had them all in a basket; not sure though how she did that. She walked over to Ryan and went to take Sweetie Belle. “I’ll take her.” he said.

“Oh. Okay.” Fluttershy watched as Zecora finished the last splinter, the table actually covered in blood from Ryan’s arms. It did not bother her, though. “Well, I guess we can head back once you’re done.” she said. Ryan nodded. “But umm...”

“Yeah?”

“What was that thing that made the flash and noise?”

Ryan hesitated. “It was what I used to save you.” Nothing more was said on the matter.

Once Ryan’s arms were bandaged up and cleaned, and he helped to clean the table, he and Fluttershy said their goodbyes to Zecora and left for Ponyville, leaving behind more than one bit of darkness in that forest.