//------------------------------// // To Hell and Back Again // Story: The Alicorn Ring // by Dull Mist //------------------------------// To Hell and Back Again The rest of the night passed by swiftly, and I don’t say that only because I couldn’t remember much of what happened the next morning. I was far too engrossed by both my nervousness of the Everfree that I would be returning to the very next day and by the delicious food that had been prepared by the surprisingly skilled little dragon. He had whipped up a delightful Prench onion soup that drew almost all of my attention away from any other conversation, especially since it took a good amount of willpower to not giggle at the pun on the word “French.” The more and more I sat there, often switching between eating and listening to the chatter of the ponies all while trying to fade into the background (a very difficult task considering my alien appearance), I realized more and more how eerily similar my world was compared to theirs. From ancient Latin language that we seemed to share to the ridiculously similar designs of common household items, it was almost if they were a culture designed by humans themselves, like the brainchild of a fantasy writer. “Or maybe they were the ones who designed us.” I thought to myself, sending a shiver up and down my spine. Now there was a scary thought. That so many human inventions, achievements, and cultural norms could be the creation of an ulterior species? It gave me chills just thinking about it. But of course, I eventually realized the impossibility of that theory. Not only was human technology years ahead of theirs, we had physical proof of the existence of human evolution from thousands of years ago. Unless these ponies knew something that I didn’t, the chances them foreseeing the creation of all human culture from the background like a shadowy puppeteer was very slim indeed. The night passed smoothly, something that I was greatly thankful for. There weren’t anymore outbursts or accusations from Rainbow Dash, and the Princesses hadn’t deemed it fit to throw my ass into a dungeon, and then throw that dungeon into a volcano, so I considered our little impromptu dinner party a roaring success. Fluttershy was adamant on sitting next to me, constantly asking me if I needed anything, more water, more salt, a blanket because apparently I must be cold not having any fur all over my body. She hovered around me like a mother hen, always checking up on me and looking out for me, and I was rather surprised at how little this surprised me. I was also surprised to realize how much I enjoyed the attention. It was comforting to know that she was looking out for me, if it did get a mite aggravating at times. I retired for the night earlier than I usually would, telling the assorted ponies and dragon that my weariness was starting to catch up on me again, when in reality, I couldn’t bare to be up too late knowing what was going to be in store for me tomorrow. I was a nervous wreck at the dinner table, constantly fingering the ring on my hand and as my eyes unconsciously flicked from place to another as though searching for hidden dangers and traps. Fluttershy, of course, was the only one who noticed, and she would occasionally lay a wing across my back to help calm my nerves, which thankfully, it did. The ponies bought my excuse instantly, although Applejack seemed a tad confused at my lie, tilting her head and looking at me strangely before dismissing whatever it was she was thinking with a shake of her head. Princess Luna notified me that the three of us, that is, her and Fluttershy and I, would be leaving first thing in the morning tomorrow. She also told me that she would make an effort make my sleep as restful as possible, whatever that meant. Sleep did not come easily for me, however. I was still pretty awake from my nap earlier, so I spent the next hour or so laying in the bed that was about a foot too small for me, stewing in my own nervousness and fear until all that remained was a twitching heap of a man. Thankfully, and somewhat ironically, all my worrying managed to completely exhaust me to the point where my body now had no choice but to surrender to fatigue, giving me a much welcome respite from the real world as I delved into the land of dreams. After what felt like nearly seconds after closing my eyes, I was suddenly awakened by a tremendous crash sounding through my small room, echoing from the walls and hammering into my eardrums with nearly enough force to rupture them. I bolted upright, my heart racing in my chest as I looked around uncomprehendingly. “Where’s the cannon?!” I blurted out stupidly, my mind fogged over by the remnants of sleep. “There are no cannons, Sir Kael. Indeed, tis only I, the Princess of the Night, who has come to wake you from your slumber so that we may depart!” announced a loud and emphatic voice that belonged to little more than a dark blue blur in my eyes. I rubbed the sleep away from my face and blinked hard, and the tall form of Luna came into view. Standing behind her, Fluttershy was trying to untangle herself from the alicorn’s long tail that moved as though caught in a breeze. She was trying to say something, but was continuously interrupted by strands of hair getting into her mouth. “Princess, we can’t just-” she spat out some hair with a soft pthew. “We can’t just barge in like this! We need to be gentle and quiet and-” Fluttershy paused as she noticed that I was awake. “Oh dear…” she squeaked. I raised an eyebrow at her before letting out a humongous yawn, not even bothering to cover my mouth as I stretched my arms out and arched my back, eliciting a few satisfying pops. Fluttershy untangled herself from Luna’s tail and was by my side instantly. “Oh, are you all right? Did you sleep well? How do you feel? Would you rather just stay in bed for the day?” I opened my mouth to answer, still reeling slightly from being woken up so abruptly, but was cut off as she turned anxiously to Luna. “Oh Princess, we can’t go to the Everfree forest, just look at him! He’s in no shape for anything so dangerous!” she wailed. The Princess arched an eyebrow at her before glancing at me. I gave her a pleasant smile. “Sir Kael looks quite alright to me.” She stated bluntly. The yellow pegasus whimpered pathetically. “B-but…” Taking advantage of the brief lull of conversation, I gently lay a hand on the back of her neck causing her to tense in surprise. She looked at me worriedly, her eyes wide and fearful, and at that moment, I understood. “You don’t need to come you know. I’ll be alright without you.” I said to her quietly. Her eyes widened slightly before she looked away, ashamed. I could feel her shiver under my hand, and for a moment, I thought she was going to take me up on my offer. Instead, she took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eye. “No. I promised I’d protect you, and I will.” she said with a conviction that surprised me. All of a sudden, it seemed as if her will had turned from a brittle little twig into a bar of solid iron, hard and unyielding. I nodded, partly in gratitude and partly in relief. Luna nodded in approval, stamping one hoof on the ground in satisfaction. “With that settled,” she declared formally, “it would be most prudent if we got ready to depart, the earlier the better.” I nodded, swung my legs over the side of the bed, and slowly started to stand up so that I wouldn’t get a debilitating case of head rush. It was strange, I felt more rested that I ever had before. It was almost as though I had slept for the combined span of 3 days. My aches and sores were all but gone, my muscles felt as good as new, and my mind was already wide awake. To sum it up in one word, I felt good, almost good enough to not feel nervous about the upcoming day. Almost. Breakfast was quick, curt, and silent, our thoughts and attention preoccupied by the unique situation we were in. It was a quick meal, no more than a snack really, of a small bowl of cereal and a few strawberries, that was consumed with an awkward silence between us. That is to say, there was an awkward silence between Fluttershy and I seeing as were weren’t in any mood to talk. The rest of the ponies on the other hand were as nonchalant and content as ever. We were joined by Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle who spent their time idly chatting with Luna as Fluttershy and I cast nervous glances at each other, never straying too far from each others side. Misery loves company after all. As it usually is with these types of things, time seemed to speed up so that at one moment I was kneeling at a table that was too low for me, and at the other I was walking down the path away from Ponyville towards the edge of the dark forest that lay next to it. The sun was still low in the sky, so there were not that many out and about, something I was thankful for as every pony that was out seemed dead set on gawking at me with open mouths. I would merely nod and smile weakly in their direction while unconsciously sidling towards Fluttershy. The presence of Luna with us was probably the only thing that prevented them from freaking out at my presence. We reached the outskirts of the forest in not time at all. Without faltering, Luna strode bravely straight into the forest, not even deigning to turn her head to the side as she was so focused on her task. I could detect a faint, grim look on her face that suggested her mind wasn’t in as much ease as she would have liked us to think. Emboldened at her display of courage, I squared my shoulders and walked after her. Fluttershy let out a small squeak as the dim light of the morning sun was replaced with a heavy blanket of shadow. I could see a hesitation in her step as she walked next to me, but it was overpowered by her drive to protect me, and she made sure to stick right by side the entire time. We had been walking for several hours by the feel of it. No words had passed between the three of us as all of our attention was focused on our surroundings, partly to make sure that we weren’t being stalked and partly to make sure we didn’t trip on any exposed roots and rocks that were unnoticeable in the dim light. Thankfully, everything had been smooth sailing up so far. The sounds of wildlife, some mundane like the chattering of squirrels and some disturbing like the sound of a hissing chicken were all around us, but we never actually encountered them. The only interruptions to our trek was from Luna herself when she would occasionally stop, lift her horn as high as she could while focusing for a moment, and abruptly switching directions. This happened many times, and I eventually worked up the nerve to ask her what the purpose for it was. “I’m tracing the magical signature of the ring.” She explained. “Upon your arrival, a magical anomaly was made, the faint remnants of which have the exact same signature as the ring.” She raised her horn once more, hesitated, and nodded before continuing. “The traces are faint, but there’s enough to lead us to where we need to go.” “Then what?” I asked without thinking. Even Fluttershy looked slightly curious, and she was pressed right up against my knee shivering in fright, something that I found odd considering I would be just as useless as her if we got into a confrontation with any dangerous wildlife. Luna didn’t answer for a few seconds, but when she did, her voice was emotionless and strained. “Then, I shall attempt to…identify the signature. Hopefully, Celestia and I will be able to track it to the pony responsible for it.” I nodded thoughtfully, not fully understanding the dynamics and intricacies of this magic, but understanding the meaning nonetheless. “And hopefully it shall not be to the pony We think it is.” Luna muttered under her breath, almost too quietly for me to hear. Fluttershy didn’t seem to notice it however, and since it seemed that I wasn’t meant to hear it, I didn’t reply. About half an hour later of more walking, I was starting to find myself wishing that something interesting would happen. I had almost completely stopped being completely afraid about an hour ago after my feet started to ache and fatigue set into my bones. Now, I was just nervous. As unnerving as the shrieks, snarls, and howls of the forest around us were, especially since they got louder the farther into the forest we went, I had started to tune them out. The fauna seemed to ignore us completely as we passed by their domain, likely because of the presence of Princess Luna. From the way she walked, with her head held high and with confident steps, I could tell that she knew her way around a scuffle, and the forest animals probably did as well. As long as I stayed around her, I was safe. As long as she was around, there was nothing to worry about. I only wished that Fluttershy shared this sentiment with me. While my nerves had calmed down a bit, hers seemed to be just as frayed as ever, maybe even more so. Every rustle of the leaves and snap of a twig underfoot caused to her squeak in fright and retreat to my side, something that confused me endlessly. Surely Luna was the one that she would look to protect her, right? What would I possibly be able to do? I really don’t think that dealing with any potential dangers the Canadian way by politely asking them to kindly not kill us would help if we ran into anything hungry enough to attack us. Nevertheless, I felt bad for the poor girl. More than that though, I felt guilty. It was because of me that she was putting herself through all of this, and I couldn’t help but feel responsible even though I knew full well that it wasn’t my fault. I tried soothing her with quiet words of consolation and reassuring smiles, but they didn’t help as much as I would like. If Princess Luna shared my feelings, she didn’t make it known as she was to busy leading us in the right direction. We often ended up turning around 180 degrees and walking in the completely opposite direction as she detected what I assumed to be trace amounts of magical residue in the air, muttering to herself all the while. Because of this, I was the only one that Fluttershy could look to for comfort. After one more jarringly loud howl from a creature in the distance, Fluttershy let off an unusually emphatic frightened yelp. I could see tell that she was very close to breaking down in tears altogether from the way that her eyes were screwed up and from how her body was trembling. Taking a risk, I reached down and gently stroked her mane. She tensed, but thankfully didn’t get frightened. “Are you alright?” I asked her quietly so as not to be overheard by the Princess. “O-of course.” She said hastily, hesitantly making eye contact with me. “I’m just p-p-peachy.” She attempted to give me a reassuring smile, but it only came off as sort of strained rictus grin. I raised my eyebrow dubiously, and her grin became more and more uncertain and forced until she eventually abandoned it all together. “No!” she blurted out loudly. “I-I’ve never been this far into the forest before, not even when we had to fight Nightmare Moon! It’s so-” A cawing noise that sounded like it came from a crow three times too large broke through the air. Fluttershy’s eyes widened pitifully and she hid behind her mane. Luna, of course, gave no indication that she noticed it. “…scary…” she whimpered. I gave her an understanding nod. “Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked hopefully. I didn’t know what I was expecting to do to ease her fears, all I knew was that I wanted to do something. Remembering the way that she consoled and calmed me down when I was at my worst brought a painful feeling to my stomach as I saw her in obvious distress. It was like watching a younger sister being tormented by nightmares and being powerless to stop it. She thought for a moment looked up at me with big round eyes. “Could you…um…sing?” I blinked. “Sing?” I asked incredulously. What the hell was she on about? She nodded hopefully. “Yes. When we were walking to Ponyville before, you were humming a lovely little tune.” She looked downwards, all the more reminding me of a younger sibling looking for the support of an older brother. “It might help me feel better…” she muttered, slightly ashamed of herself. I was torn. On one hand, I wanted nothing more to ease her pain as she did mine several time in the past few days, and on the other hand, she wanted me to sing, something that I never do outside the comfort of my own shower. I’ve never even done karaoke, my natural cowardice making it impossible to stand up in front people and actually sing. How then was I supposed to do it now? A rustling bush somewhere nearby caused the pegasus to shudder, and my mind was instantly made up. I was fairly certain that I had a singing voice that was at least tolerable, and I knew a plethora of songs from the days when my mom would sing a little tune when going about her business around the house, so I might as well if it will make her feel better. I quickly rifled through my mental file cabinet filled with songs that I knew all the way through, and picked a song that I thought would work well. I cleared my throat causing Fluttershy to look up at me expectantly, opened my mouth, and sang. “I was just the age of sixteen when I first went on the drive After six months hard labour, at home I did arrive. I courted with a pretty girl, it was her caused me to roam. Now I'm a river driver, and I'm far away from home.” It was a simple song, one that was played only with drums to accompany the lyrics, so I simply tapped out the beat on my thigh with my hand as I walked and sang. I'll eat when I am hungry and I'll drink when I am dry. Get drunk whenever I'm ready, get sober by and by. And if this river don't drown me, it's down I'll mean to roam, For I'm a river driver and I'm far away from home. Fluttershy looked up at me, all traces of fear on her face gone, with shining eyes wide with awe. Feeling heartened, I tried to put a bit more feeling into the lyrics. I'll build a lonesome castle upon some mountain high Where she can sit and view me as I go passing by Where she can sit and view me as I go marching on For I'm a river driver and I’m far away from home. I'll eat when I am hungry, and I'll drink when I am dry. Get drunk whenever I'm ready, get sober by and by. And if this river don't drown me, it's down I'll mean to roam, For I'm a river driver, and I'm far away from home. I could tell that Luna was listening with the way her ears were perked, but she didn’t acknowledge it. Instead, she stayed stoic, silently walking forward as the two of us followed. When I am old and feeble, and in my sickness lie, Just wrap me up in a blanket and lay me down to die. Just get a little bluebird to sing for me alone, For I'm a river driver and I'm far away from home. I'll eat when I am hungry, and I'll drink when I am dry. Get drunk whenever I'm ready, get sober by and by. And if this river don't drown me, it's down I'll mean to roam, For I'm a river driver, and I'm far away from home. I petered off into silence as my song ended to be replaced by the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. A soft breeze passed over me as I walked, sending a smattering of leaves tumbling around my feet and rustling my shirt against my skin. I sighed, strangely relaxed as tensions that I didn’t know I had slowly bled away. “That was lovely.” Fluttershy commented with an earnest smile. I grinned back at her, glad that I didn’t make a fool out of myself and that I was able to help her feel better. I even saw Luna give a small approving nod. “Indeed it was.” she said in a low voice as she stopped in her tracks. “But I don’t think we will have enough time for another one.” She turned to her head back to face me. “We’re here.” I blinked, realizing that I had not been paying attention to where I was walking for the duration of the entire song. Now that I had been brought back to reality however I realized that we were no longer surrounded on all sides by towering trees. Instead, we were standing on the cusp of a wide clearing that was bare of any plant life. Well, except for the grass of course, but I would hesitate to call it plant life as there didn’t seem to be anything that could be considered life. The grass, once green and thick was brown and shrivelled, looking for all the world like a thin carpet of straw had been laid down on the forest floor. More than that though, even the trees surrounding it seemed to be devoid of life. Whatever leaves that were still on branches were as dry and brown as though they were the victims of a drought. The leaves that had been blowing across the ground, I now realized, were no different. “What in the…” I muttered to myself as I gazed upon the sight that was both familiar and completely alien. Fluttershy gasped from beside me, bringing a hoof up to her mouth as her eyes widened, horrified. I glanced at Luna to ask her what had happened here, but my voice caught in my throat as I beheld her expression. As cutesy and innocent as these ponies generally looked, was surprised at how grim and dangerous she was looking right now. Her jaw looked like it was clenched hard enough to disintegrate rocks between her teeth and her eyes stormed with the force of a hurricane. She sighed and shook her head sadly before turning to face me. “This is where you arrived at Equestria, correct?” she asked, although I suspected that she was well aware that it was. I nodded hesitantly. “But it looked nothing like this.” Her expression remained unchanging. “I see.” She stepped away from the treeline and started to make her way into the clearing with slow and careful steps. “Well, there’s no sense lollygagging, I suppose. Let us conclude our business and leave this place with haste.” Fluttershy and I nodded, not quite willing to speak unless we absolutely had to or enter the clearing, letting Luna do whatever it was she needed to in peace. The pegasus was standing close by my side with her wings tucked close to her sides as her eyes darted from side to side. I noticed that her fur seemed to stand a bit more on end than usual. “Something feels wrong here…” she whispered, almost too quiet to hear. I looked down at her, and she met my gaze fearfully. “Yeah, something doesn’t sit right with me either.” I muttered back. There was a pervading feeling of unease that seemed to settle in the atmosphere all around us, making my body feel colder and heavier than normal. The pegasus shivered beside me and stood a little bit closer, pressing her side against my leg. I felt a little better at that, but not much. “It’s like…” she said quietly. “It’s like all the life in this one, small patch of forest just…vanished. I can’t even hear any animals anymore.” I looked behind me back into the mess of trees that I was standing on the cusp of as Luna did her thing, whatever that thing was. Currently, she was standing right in the middle of the clearing where the grass was the darkest and most sickly looking with a closed eye expression of focus as a dark blue aura surrounded her horn “And I’m not entirely sure that that’s a good thing.” I murmured under my breath as I scanned the foliage for any sense of life, finding it extremely wanting. I looked down at my hand and made a fist so that the ring glinted cheerfully at me in the sparse sunlight. “Is it because of the ring? Did it cause all of this?” I glanced over at the grim faced Alicorn. Maybe she would be able to shed some light on this situation? No, she definitely knew something that she wasn’t telling. Nobody, or pony for that matter, looks that grim for no reason, but as much as badly as I wanted some concrete answers, I knew I wasn’t likely going to get them from her. At least not now. “Hey Luna?” I called out to her. She turned her head slightly to indicate she was listening. “Is everything alright? I’m not gonna end up the same way as this patch of land, am I?” Fluttershy let out a small squeak from beside, and I instantly regretted my choice of words. Luna sighed and turned to face me. “The truth, Kael, is that you are-“ she stopped abruptly, an alert expression on her face as something imperceptible caught her attention. Her ears flicked straight up and here eyes started to dart from one direction to the next, finally settling on us fearfully. “To me! Now” She commanded. I blinked in surprise. “W-What are you talking abo-“ Boom A sound similar to a bomb being dropped in the distance behind me sounded through the forest, sending a mass of squawking birds scattering to the sky as I felt the ground tremor. Somewhere in the forest, I heard a tree crash to the ground. I whipped around to look behind me, my heart all of the sudden hammering in my chest. I couldn’t see anything behind the trees besides a multitude of forest creatures of various sizes scurrying for safety. “To me if you want to live!” Luna shouted, her face set with the fearful lines of somebody who had just been told that they were going to die, but not when or how. That spurred me to action, and Fluttershy as well. We immediately bolted out from under the canopy of the leaves the join the princess in the middle of the dry, flattened out clearing, the two of us anxiously looking around as the Princess looked dead ahead at the direction we had just came from. “What’s happening?” Fluttershy squeaked, placing herself between Luna and I making herself as small as possible. Before Luna could answer, the sound resurfaced. Boom “Something approaches.” Luna answered solemnly, her tone far calm for our given situation. “What do we do?” I asked quickly, my voice several octaves higher than usual. Luna regarded me with a glance. Boom “Let me handle this.” She murmured over the sound of squawking birds taking flight. “As long as you’re next to me, you’ll be fine.” She tried to shoot Fluttershy and I a reassuring smile, but it did little to soothe either of us. Fluttershy and I looked at each other with a wide eyed expression on our faces. I could see her panic, her distress that was moments away from completely shattering her vulnerable mind, and could feel myself mirroring it. I opened my mouth to try and say something comforting, but the abrupt noise of breaking wood and roaring made my words die in my throat. Boom My eyes, seemingly of their own will as I absolutely did not want to know what was making that thundering noise, was drawn back to the forest. A pounding, wailing roar assaulted me, hammering with on my eardrums like a pair of bongos. Just as the roar sounded, the edge of the forest exploded outwards sending shrapnel of wood flying in every direction. I winced as I was bombarded with hundreds of shards of sharp wood. What emerged from the cloud of leaves, wood, and dust was unlike anything I had ever seen, both in real life and in my nightmares. My first instinct would be to call it a bull, but that would be as egregious an understatement as comparing a candle to a bonfire. While it had the characteristics of normal bull, muscular body, long narrow head, and protruding horns that tapered to a deadly point, that was where the similarities ended. “It’s like the bastard child of a bull and a dinosaur.” I thought in awe as the creature shook itself free of leaves and wood chips. It was about 5 times bigger than the average bull, so big that it looked like it could flip over a tank if it had the inclination to. Its body was a mass of hard muscle, and its massive cloven hooves that tore at the ground looked to be only slightly bigger than my head, and it seemed capable of crushing it without even noticing that it had done so. Its eyes glowed with a fierce red light that left faint trails as it thrashed its head from side to side as though desperately trying to shake off a pesky mosquito. The most noticeable thing about it, however, wasn’t its size, but its colour. The bull, if that was truly what it was, was a dark blue, but more than that, it was translucent. I could just barely make out the line of wreckage that it had wrought on the other side of its body which, strangely enough, was filled with all manner of white points of light that shone and blinked as it moved. Fluttershy and I were frozen with equal amounts of awe and terror. “Well then, this is how I die.” The last rational part of me thought glumly. Luna however, didn’t seem to share our thoughts. Instead, she seemed almost relieved as a wide smile broke upon her face. “Taurus!” she exclaimed happily, taking a few steps towards the thrashing beast. “It’s so good to see you again!” The bull, Taurus, froze and levelled its gaze on us as though it had just noticed us. It snorted loudly, a plume of red fire bursting out of each nostril and scorching the dry grass. “Forget the dinosaur, this is the love child of a bull and a goddamned dragon.” I thought with wide eyes. I looked over at Luna who had a large happy grin on her face like a child who just came face to face with their new puppy. She didn’t seem to mind that the beast was glaring at her and pawing the ground angrily. It snorted again, more viciously this time, and it set the ground underneath it alight. “Stand down Taurus, stand down.” Luna said reproachfully as though chiding a mischievous child and not an angry bovine the size of a Hummer. “It is me, Luna, your creator. Do you not recognize me?” she glanced back and shot Fluttershy and I an I’ve-got-this-all-under-control wink. If it did recognize her, than that didn’t seem to change anything as it lowered its horns towards Luna and stamped, sending tremors throughout the ground as it did so. Luna’s smile faltered slightly. “I said stand down, Taurus.” she commanded more sternly. “I am Princess Luna Ab Noctis Et Gelu, the ruler of the Night, and your creator, and you will stand down or else I’ll-” Luna’s tirade was interrupted as Taurus let out a bone rattling roar that shook the leaves off of the half dead trees. Her eyes widened as the beast lowered its horns once more towards her and charged with all of its might. “Wha-?” she started dumbly before she was cut off yet again, this time by the screams that Fluttershy and I were letting out as the colossal bull got closer and closer to turning us all into paste. She looked back at us with surprise before her face hardened with grim lines of determination. Her horn flared bright for a second, and I felt the world quickly melt away to replaced by a cacophony of senses. For a moment so brief that I almost didn’t believe that it had actually happened, I was being thrown down a bright tunnel made entirely of bright lights of every colour, almost reminiscent of when a spaceship goes into warp in most cliché sci-fi movies. The world returned back to normal, and I had only a brief moment of time to reflect on the fact that I was now strangely about 6 meters to the left of where I had been standing previously. I looked around wildly, disoriented and dizzy, to find Luna and Fluttershy standing next to me, the former with an angry look on her face and the latter with a confused one that probably matched my own. “Taurus!” Luna yelled angrily, her wings flaring back threateningly. “What is wrong with you?! Why are you acting like this?” She was answered with another ear shattering roar. Before she could do anything, Taurus opened its mouth to reveal monstrous teeth moments before a jet of crimson fire flew out of its maw and flew towards us. Luna’s horn flashed brightly as Fluttershy and I screamed as the jet of flame raced towards us. Just before we were engulfed completely however, the stream split down the middle and passed us on either side. I winced as I recoiled from the wall of flame, its heat prickling at my skin uncomfortably. The fire quickly dissipated to reveal a very confused looking mutated bull and a very angry looking Luna. “THAT’S ENOUGH!” she yelled, stomping a hoof into the ground. Her voice, far too loud than any voice has any right to be, echoed throughout the clearing and, to my disbelief, made the bull flinch. Without warning, the princess stormed away from Fluttershy and I and approached the massive beast with fire in her eyes. “YOU ARE STARSPAWN AND I AM YOUR MAKER, AND IF YOU DON’T STAND DOWN THIS INSTANT, I WILL UNMAKE YO-” She was cut off by yet another roar as Taurus decided that Luna’s voice was starting to get annoying. With a final stomp, the bull charged forward directly towards Luna, its hooves thundering against the ground. There wasn’t enough time for Luna to do anything besides blink in surprise mere moments before the rampaging bull reached her, headbutting her with a loud thwack. It didn’t stop there, however. Instead, it kept on running with Luna’s body plastered against its broad head. Unfortunately, it was running in our direction, and it was moving very quickly. Without even thinking, I wrapped my arms around the pegasus next to me and dived out of the way of the charging bull, barely avoiding getting crushed underneath it. The ground vibrated as it passed us and brutally crashed through the trees, splintering them to debris, on the other side of the forest on the other side of the clearing and tore a path through them, not stopping for anything until it was well out of sight, not leaving anything but a trail of debris in its wake. I lay there, sprawled on my back for a moment, before slowly getting to my feet and looking around. Luna was nowhere to be found, and I felt a pit of fear settle in my stomach. She was the only one who could lead us back to Ponyville. With her gone… I shook my head and gazed at the wreckage of the trees she had been carried through, too numb to move or speak. I briefly considered running after it, as it seemed like the right thing to do and because I was reliant on Luna to keep me safe, but quickly realized how foolish that would be. Luna seemed to be pretty tough, but even so, getting hit by what must be the equivalent of a speeding train isn’t something that I could see many people, or ponies, surviving. I kneaded my brow with the heel of my hand and shook my head. “Fuck.” I mumbled to myself, still at a loss of what to say. “Just…fuck” The fact that I would be dead right now if Luna hadn’t teleported me to safety in that brief moment wasn’t lost on me. Had I been in a more clear state of mind, I would have reflected on the fact that I had just undergone a genuine teleportation, and I might have been a little bit giddy at the thought. With the way I was now however, I just felt cold inside, and it was only when the noise of whimpering reached my ears did I realize that I was forgetting something very important. I looked down and noticed that Fluttershy was laying on the ground in a trembling heap with her forelegs covering her eyes, but not enough to obscure the tears that were running down her cheeks. Her back legs and her wings were tucked into her as much as she could manage, and a whimper escaped from her every few seconds. “Oh shit…” I whispered to myself, too quietly for her to hear. As I had dived to safety, she must have fallen out of my arms, and I had been too preoccupied with my thoughts to check on her. I resisted the urge to viciously slap myself as I realized that I wasn’t the only one who was scared and that there were others who were more frightened than I was. “Fluttershy…” I said quietly as I bent down to lean next to the quivering pony. She didn’t seem to hear me, so I slowly reached out a hand and gently laid it on her shoulder, causing her to twitch violently. “No!” she cried out quietly as she jerked reflexively away from my hand, leaving my arm extended into thin air. She looked at me with wide, wet eyes, and I couldn’t keep a few tears of my own from forming as I felt my heart break. “Fluttershy, it’ll be alright, I promise.” I murmured soothingly. The pony was unresponsive. “It’s gone now, it can’t hurt us.” She blinked. Tears started to well up once more, even more than before than before. “Kael…” she whispered breathessly before letting out a choked sob and rushing forward to bury her wet face into my chest. I immediately wrapped one arm around her and started to stroke her mane with the other, instinctually reverting to what my mother did to comfort me when I was a distressed young boy. The pony cried senselessly in my chest for a good few minutes, blubbering inconsolably as she let it all out of her system. I occasionally caught snippets of what she was saying, “so scared” and “how terrible” being among them. Finally, when she was calmed down a bit, I removed my arm around her and held her at arms length. She looked like a mess, but I tactfully refrained from saying so. “Better?” I asked with a hopeful smile. The pegasus nodded weakly. “Good.” I said, giving her mane one more quick stroke, and before I could stop myself, I found myself leaning forward to give her a quick kiss on the forehead just as my mother did to me, eliciting a small smile from her. I gave her a pat on the back and said “Now come on, we should really get out of here before anything else shows up.” She gave me a worried frown “But…what about Luna? You don’t think she’s…she’s…” I didn’t let her finish the sentence. “I’m sure Luna is fine.” I said with as much conviction as I could muster, certainly much more than I felt. “She’s a princess after all, she can take care of herself.” I cast a quick look around us to make sure that we were still alone. “Right now, we need to worry about ourselves, and we need to become scarce before something else that breathes fire decides to make us dinner.” That was probably not the most tactful thing to say, something that became quite evident as Fluttershy flinched, but I needed to impress upon her the urgency that I felt. I could still feel that general aura of wrongness in the air, and it was only getting worse the longer we stayed here. My entire being was screaming at me to get away as fast as my feet could take me, and for once I intended to indulge myself in these more basic instincts. Fluttershy nodded fitfully. “I just…I just don’t understand!” she said tearfully. “Why did it attack us like that?” I gave her a bewildered look and shrugged. “Because that’s what wild animals do I suppose, I dunno.” I replied uncertainly. To my surprise, Fluttershy shook her head firmly. “No. Animals don’t attack unless provoked.” She bit her lip and looked back at the trail of wreckage the bull had left in its wake. I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at her. “Well then, why did it attack us?” I asked doubtfully. “The way it was moving…” she muttered absently to herself. “It looked so panicked, scared even…” She looked back at me with wide imploring eyes. “What could have possibly spooked it like that?” I raised my hands exasperatedly. “I don’t know Fluttershy, but we should really get going before whatever it was that scared it finds us.” I replied. I wasn’t entirely sure I believed her theory. It seemed to me to be a lot more angry than scared at us for intruding in its home, but I wasn’t going to argue semantics right now. Fluttershy nodded hesitantly. “Okay then, let’s get go-” she cut off abruptly, her eyes widening and her pupils shrinking as she locked her eyes on something over my shoulder. A soft eep escaped her as her entire body froze up. I quickly snapped my head around to look over my shoulder, my neck cracking uncomfortably as I did so, and what I saw made my blood run cold. Slowly emerging from the hole in the forest that the bull had burst through was several long, thin wolf-like creatures made of sticks, twigs and leaves sniffing curiously at the debris. There were 6 of them, and one by one, they trained their eyes, glowing and red, straight at us. We looked at each other for a long time, neither of us moving an inch, Fluttershy and I because we were incapable of doing so, and the wolves because they were sizing us up for their next meal. “Fluttershy?” I whispered as quietly as I could as my heart pounded in my chest. The little pegasus squeaked in reponse. “Will they attack us without being provoked?” One of the wolves slowly started to inch its way out of the bush and into the clearing, its body low to the ground as though it were stalking us. Fluttershy squeaked once more, more anxiously this time. I cursed under my breath “Alright Fluttershy, listen to me very closely.” I said slowly, making sure to enunciate my words so I would not be misunderstood. “I’m going to start running, and when the wolves are focused on me, I want you to fly out of here as fast as you can. Get to safety, and if possible, get some help.” I saw, and felt, the pegasus shake beside me as the wolves all started to leave the underbrush, spreading out onto the clearing so as to minimize our room for escaping. “No!” she whispered back frantically. “I promised I’d keep you safe, I’m not going to leave you!” I bit my tongue to prevent myself from cursing at her. “I know that Fluttershy,” I replied as calmly as I could. “but this is the only way the both of us will get out of this alive.” I resisted the urge to turn to her and give her a reassuring smile, knowing for a fact that the moment I turn my eyes away from the predators, they would attack. Instead, I tried force my voice to be clear and strong, as though I had everything under control. “Don’t worry about me, just get yourself to safety.” The wolves slowly started to walk forward, making a semicircle around us as they did so. The wolf at the lead, the alpha I assumed, bared its fangs. “No…I don’t want to leave you…” the pony whimpered from beside me. I felt my heart ache, knowing that there was nothing that I could do help her, knowing that the pain she was feeling was because of me… “Fluttershy…” I warned. The pony let out a choked sob. Knowing full well that there was no way that I was going to get away from these wolves, and that this was the only way that one of us could make it out of here alive… The alpha wolf growled. “NOW!” I shouted as I scrambled to my feet and started to run in the opposite direction. Behind me, I heard the surprised yips and snarls coming from the wolves as Fluttershy took wing and started to fly, and I was overcome with a sense of relief that she was going to get away safely now that she was in the air. Now I just needed to focus on getting far enough away that the pegasus won’t be able to see me as I get torn apart by the predators. Had I been in any other situation, I would have taken a brief moment to reflect on how odd it was that being aware of your imminent death made you see things in such a different perspective. Normally, I would be paralyzed by fear, but right now, all I could feel was relief that Fluttershy, the one who had been so kind to me, was safe. A high pitched cry pealed through the air, and I turned around for a brief moment to see one of the wolves that had started to give chase give make a mighty leap and crash straight into the airborne pegasus, barrelling her over and sending her tumbling back to the ground. I stopped, too horrified to move any farther. All the attention that was supposed to be focused on me was on her, and my breath caught in my throat as they turned away from me and started to close in on her from all sides as she scrambled to her hooves. The wolf that had knocked her down quickly righted itself as well. “Fly Fluttershy, Fly!” I yelled desperately, but it was no use. I didn’t think that she even heard me as she tried to back away from the predators, eventually ending up with her back pressed to the base of a wide tree. She looked around frantically for an escape, a pitiful moan emanating from her throat as she breathed heavily, and upon realizing there was none available, curled up into a protective little ball. I tried to yell once more, but I couldn’t manage it. I wracked my brain for ideas of something that could be done to distract them, but nothing presented myself. Finally, one thought, clear and concise, made its way into my mind. “I could just make a break for it.” a rational voice in my head said simply. I glanced behind me and saw the awaiting treeline of dried and dying flora. “They wouldn’t come after me.” I shook my head viciously and pounded the heel of my palm into my forehead. “No! I can’t just leave her! Not after all she’s done for me!” I anxiously looked back to where the pegasus was curled up in what I imagined to be the pony version of the foetal position with her legs pulled in tight and her eyes squeezed shut. I gritted my teeth together as my fight or flight instincts warred with each other. Fight for my friend? Or flee for my safety? “Damnit!” I growled between clenched teeth. The alpha wolf, apparently having heard my exclamation of frustration, briefly paused its advances to look back at me, its twiggy lips curling back into a snarling, dangerous looking grin. The message it was sending was clear: You’re next. A tremor ran through my body, almost stealing the breath right out of my lungs, preventing me from moving or even looking away from the promise of my soon to be demise. My body began to tremble, and sweat started to bead on my forehead as my breathing became deeper and more erratic. I was trembling, but something felt…off. My vision briefly turned hazy before sharpening into a clarity that I have never before experienced, becoming strangely tinged with a red hue. No movement, not even the slightest twitch, escaped my notice as the wolves commanded all of my attention. I could easily pick out the noise of their panting breaths and growls from the noises of the forest around me, and I could keenly feel every lick of the slight breeze against my skin. All of this happened within the span of less than a second. As the wolf turned back to its prey, to the quivering pony, I felt every muscle in my body tense. My hands slowly and unconsciously balled into fists, and I was completely overcome by a strange feeling, one that was foreign to me, but one that I welcomed as though it were an old friend of mine. And as I looked at the predators, I realized something that surprised me to my core. I wasn’t scared. I was just very, very angry. A bad day was, by definition, a period of 24 hours in which a multitude of unfortunate or unfavourable events occur. Fluttershy lay cowering in front of the wolves, letting frightened squeaks with each growl or snapping jaw as the wolves briefly enjoyed tormenting the mare before going in for the kill. As she lay there, awaiting the imminent feeling of fangs sinking into her flesh, Fluttershy realized that she was, by definition, in the midst of a very bad day. She cracked an eye open to peer out at the predators, and immediately regretted doing so. She was greeted by the sight of grinning muzzles baring pointy fangs, fangs that started to get a lot closer as the alpha wolf decided to put the mare out of her misery. As was nature for timberwolves, the alpha would be the one to get the kill, and the first to feed. Paws drummed against the ground as it bounded forward, leaping with its mouth open so as to easily slip around the pony’s neck. Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut once more as her death approached, forcing a few drops to escape her tear ducts and slide down her cheek. “I hope Kael will at least be alri-” Crack! The sound of wood snapping made Fluttershy’s eyes shoot open to see that her vision was obstructed by a tall bipedal figure with its back to her. A few metres to the right of it there lay the alpha wolf in a crumpled heap. Fluttershy noticed that the entire side of its wooden body was almost completely caved in as it struggled to stand. She blinked uncomprehendingly as she stared at the tall figure. “Kael?” she asked hesitantly. The figure glanced back at her over his shoulder, causing Fluttershy to gasp. His eyes that had been once a dark brown were now an ominous red that seemed to glow in the dim light. Kael gave her a quick reassuring nod before turning back to the dumbfounded creatures. “W-what happened to him?” The human standing in front of her was not one that she recognized. Where Kael had been a kind and gentle soul, one that seemed to be almost as shy and easily frightened as she was, something that had made her feel so protective of him since the moment they met, he now stood with presence of a king. His head was held high and his back was straight, giving him the aura of confidence and power. “This is your only warning.” he said loudly and evenly to the wolves, “Back off.” The creatures looked back and forth between the human and their alpha who had managed to stagger to its feet. It let out a brief bark and the wolves turned back to Kael and bared their fangs. Kael’s hands clenched into fists at his side, but he said nothing. A shining red light brought Fluttershy’s attention to his right hand. The ring was glowing brightly, casting a red light over her and the ground. Kael tensed, bending his legs slightly as he readied himself. A second passed. He moved at the same moment that the wolves did. “Fucker!” I screamed in my head as my fist connected with the snout of the first wolf that had made a jump for my neck. I felt jagged wood bend and crack underneath my hand, and the creature went flying backwards. The others were unfazed. The alpha wolf, now on its feet again, gave another loud bark. Two more rushed forward, one darting in low for my legs and the other jumping up high with its claws extended towards my face. I quickly dived to the side, claws and fangs just missing my skin, and rolled to my feet. I was outnumbered. The one that I had punched had regained its senses, and besides a bent muzzle, didn’t look too worse for wear. This meant that there five against me, considering the alpha doesn’t decide to join the fray. I grinned viciously as I eyed the lead wolf as it limped towards the trees. With the way I had thrown my shoulder into its side mid pounce, it wasn’t going to be going anywhere fast anytime soon. But as long as it was still there, it would be able to bark out orders, and that would make my life much more difficult. It barked again. My eyes widened as the entire pack rushed forward, yipping and snapping their teeth. I leapt away, managing to only get a few claws raked across my legs, and started to run as fast I could straight towards the crippled creature. The alpha yipped in surprise as I barrelled my way towards him. It barked a few more times, and I suddenly found that a strong pair of jaws had wrapped itself around my lower leg, many little sharp points puncturing the skin and muscle. I screamed and whipped around, my vision clouded by red as I my anger grew and grew. I looked down at the snarling creature that had affixed itself to me, and glared at it straight in the eye. Its snarl vanished as it whimpered around my now bloody leg. I grabbed it around its neck with both hands, my fingers barely able to reach around the entire length of wood. The wolf let out a frightened squeal, accidentally releasing of my punctured leg as I squeezed and lifted. It was smaller than the average wolf, and not as heavy considering it was made of wood, but it still weighed a good amount. In my fury however, it felt like it didn’t weigh any more than a puppy. I lifted the creature as its paws scrabbled into thin air. “Fuck…” With a quick twist of my hips and a throw of my shoulders, I turned and slammed the creature into the ground as hard as I could. “off!” To my surprise, instead of letting out a pained yelp or simply laying still, the wolf burst in a small explosion of twigs, sticks, and leaves. Shards of wood scratched and pierced my skin as the creature blew apart, but I was far too angry to care. I turned my glare back to the alpha, and was awash with a certain satisfaction as I saw its eyes widen in fear. It made a few more frightened commands, and before I could move to finish it off, my path was blocked by the remaining four standing in a protective line. I hesitated and let out an unconscious growl. “You guys are really starting to annoy me.” I snarled, keenly aware of the blood staining my pants leg. The creatures flinched at my voice, but did not move. I did, faster than they could react. By the time their eyes had widened, I my foot had connected with the chin of one of the predators in a vicious punt, sending it reeling backwards. The quick drum of paws on the ground made turn as I raised my arm to fend off the pounce that I knew was aimed straight at my head. Teeth sunk into the bare skin on my arm, and I roared as I flung my arm around, sending the wolf flailing through the air before it could get a strong enough grip. My vision burned red again, and without even thinking, I tackled one of the other two, knocking it over on its back as I landed on it. A snapping muzzle was inches away from my face, one that I quickly silenced by jamming my knee into the beast’s side, eliciting a satisfying yelp. Taking my advantage of its brief lull in focus, I held it down with my left arm, leaning the entire weight of my body behind it, and drove right fist into its knobby head until the creature burst in a shower of wooden shrapnel. My knuckles were split and torn as a result, but I didn’t care. I was in the process of turning around and getting to my feet when another bark pealed through the air, and I found myself knocked flat on my back as the remaining wolf, the one that I recognized by its bent muzzle to be the one I had first punched, landed on my chest. The creature was almost as long as I was tall, so I found myself effectively pinned by it. My eyes widened as its maw suddenly opened and dove forward to clamp onto my face. Faster than I knew I could react, I reached up and inserted my both of my hands into its mouth, one on the upper jaw and one on the lower, and held it at bay, preventing the mouth from closing. I could feel the jagged teeth dig into my fingers, breaking skin and spilling blood, but I held fast. The wolf growled and I could see its tongue moving inside of its mouth, eager to taste my flesh. Its paws scrabbled frantically at my chest, sharp claws tearing through my shirt and raking against my skin. I winced as my chest started to get cut to ribbons, but didn’t dare take my hands off of the wolf’s powerful jaw lest it go for my neck. The red started to bleed into my vision again, and I noticed something incredibly strange about the ring on my right hand that was positioned on its upper jaw. It was glowing now, much like how it did when I had first put it on, causing me to be transported to this world. A bright red light emanated from it, growing stronger as my anger at the creature currently trying to kill me grew, and as I became more and more enraged, the ring was temporarily forgotten. Because I wasn’t able to take my hands off of the predator’s maw, I did the next best thing. Gritting my teeth, I started to slowly pull its teeth away from each other, fighting against its powerful jaws as they worked to clamp down on me. Its eyes widened as it realized what I was trying to do, and its paws started to scratch me more frantically, this time in an effort to escape instead of to injure me. I felt the blood drip from my torn up fingers and onto my face. With each drop that fell, I could feel my anger fill me up more and more, making it more difficult to see straight. I soon found myself growling right alongside the wolf, my teeth bared in a ferocious snarl as everything became tinged with a blood red colour. The wolf let out a whimper, and I grinned. With a roar, I put every ounce of strength I had into pulling, and with a sickening crack, the creatures entire head split apart as I broke its jaw, its body soon following it as it became nothing but a pile of debris. I quickly sat up, wincing as my chest felt it was on fire. I heard the noise of whimpering and whipped my head around to come face to face the second remaining wolf. Its red eyes widened fearfully as I growled. “Aren’t you the one that bit my arm?” I asked with a murderous glare. The creature let out a yelp before quickly darting away into the trees with its tail tucked between its legs. “That’s what I thought.” I grunted as I got to my feet. Now there was only one thing that remained to be seen to. The alpha, the biggest wolf of them all, had made the same decision as its comrade and was in the process of slowly limping away towards the trees, a high pitched whine emanating from its throat as it tried and failed to run. “Oh no you don’t!” I growled as I scrambled to my feet and ran towards it. Sensing my approach, the alpha squealed and started to limp faster. Not fast enough, however. I quickly came up to it, and with a deft kick, I knocked it over on its back before firmly placing my foot directly on its throat. It stared up at me with wide eyes as I put some weight onto its neck and leaned down to look at it directly in the eye. “Now you listen to me, and you listen well.” I said threateningly, not entirely sure if it understood me or not. “If I ever see you again, in this forest or not, I will feed you to a campfire, one stick at a time, and use your spine as a fire poker.” I lowered my voice. “Are we clear?” Evidently, fire was these creatures biggest fears as the mere mention of it had it cowering under its paws. It nodded frantically, desperate to get away from me, and I smiled at it. “Good.” I said as I released the pressure on its throat. Immediately the wolf got to its feet and limped away with a new vigour, letting out pained yelps and whines as it did so. I watched it disappear amongst the trees, waiting a for a little while after it did so to be sure that it was gone. I was keenly aware of a dull throbbing throughout my entire body, mainly in my head, and my discoloured vision slowly started to change back to normal. After a minute had passed and the wolf hadn’t come back, I let out a loud sigh and collapsed to my knees as my legs gave out from underneath me, clenching my eyes shut and grunting as the bite on my leg burned painfully. I was still high on the adrenaline rush, I knew, and the pain that I felt slightly disconnected from would soon be hitting me full force. Hopefully I would be well on my way out of here by then with Fluttershy in tow. My eyes flew open. “Fluttershy!” I quickly looked over to where the pegasus had curled up in a helpless ball and sighed with relief to find her in the same place that I had left her. I scrambled my feet and rushed over to her, stumbling slightly as my damaged body and fatigue impeded my co-ordination. I fell to my knees in front of the pegasus who was staring at me with wide eyes. “Fluttershy, are you alright? Did they hurt you?” I asked hurriedly, looking for any signs that she was injured. As far as I could tell, she was in perfect health, but I could be wrong. She opened her mouth to answer me, and I waited anxiously. Before she could say anything however, her eyes rolled back into her head as she promptly fainted, her head hitting the ground with a solid sounding thud. I blinked, ran my blood stained hand through my hair with a sigh, and blinked again as a red light stung my eyes. A flash of realization hit me as I remembered noticing the ring’s odd behaviour during my struggle with the wolves, namely that it had randomly started to glow red. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was the outline of an alicorn that ran along the length of the ring was illuminated with a bright red light, not the ring itself. I stared at it curiously, idly clenching my hand resulting in it briefly flashing a little bit brighter every time I did so. “Damn it all.” I murmured. I was so sick and tired of this magic shit, and just sick and tired and general, that I didn’t bother paying it any more attention. Right now, there were more pressing things for me to worry about. I stood up and looked around as I considered my options. As far as I could see it, there were only two possible options, and neither of them were particularly attractive. I could stay here with Fluttershy and wait for Luna to come back seeing as she was my best bet at reaching civilization safely, or I could try to find my way back myself. Both option sent a small shiver of fear down my spine, but I hardly paid it any mind. For some reason, despite having just come face to face with a matador’s worst nightmare and fought off a pack of vicious wolves that defied nature only to find myself effectively alone in a very dangerous place, I felt a calm that I hadn’t felt in a long time. It could be that I was just so traumatised by these past events that I became disconnected from reality, but something told me that wasn’t it. This was the calm of a man who was in his element, one who knew what he was capable of, and what he was capable of was overcoming any obstacle that came in his way. The last time that I had felt this way was when I was still training martial arts when I knew without a doubt that I was in an environment where I was in complete control. Back to the problem at hand, I needed to make a decision. I briefly entertained the idea that Luna was going to come back for Fluttershy and I, but admonished myself for being foolish. As much as I had tried to convince Fluttershy of her safety, I knew deep down that her being safe was far from likely. I had seen what that creature was capable of, knocking over towering trees with a single charge, and I couldn’t see any way that Luna would be in any condition to help. This of course meant that it was up to me to get Fluttershy and I to safety. I glanced at the passed out pony and felt myself filled with determination. “No way am I letting her die.” I thought to myself firmly, and if we stayed here and waited to be rescued by a false hope, that could very well happen if something new and horrifying happened upon us. I took a deep breath and eyed my surroundings critically “Alright then, so if we entered the forest from there…” I muttered to myself, recalling back memories of traipsing through the forest with dad, him teaching me how to navigate the woods near our home and me not paying enough attention in favour of hitting inanimate objects with sticks. I looked up to the sky and squinted. “And if the sun has reached its peak…” I struggled to recall my dad showing me how to identify where you are by comparing the position of the sun at the present moment to its position a few hours earlier. It was a useful trick if you got turned around in a forest and don’t know which way you should be going, he had told me. “And if it was over there when we entered...” I trailed my gaze down, seeing an imaginary sun on the hidden horizon, silently thanking my inborn good sense of direction. “Then Ponyville is that way.” I muttered with finality as I adjusted my gaze to a spot several meters to my left. I grinned at myself before kneeling down and slipping my arms underneath Fluttershy’s limp body and lifted. She was lighter than I expected, something that I was pleased to find out considering I was probably going to be walking for a few hours. I held her horizontally to my chest, grimacing as the blood from the wounds on my chest and arms started to stain her coat. Oh well, that can’t be helped, and I’m sure she’ll understand when we get back. “If we get back.” I thought grimly as I set off into the trees, idly praying that I hadn’t been wrong with my calculations. Thankfully, my guesswork had been nearly spot on. I sent a prayer of thanks to my dad as I emerged from the forest a few hours later, dirty, dishevelled, and exhausted, holding the still unconscious pegasus to my chest. I had managed to come across a small trail that helped lead me to the outskirts of the forest bordering Ponyville, and I could now see my destination to be only about 20 minutes away. The walk had been long and uneventful, something that I thanked my lucky stars for. There were a few confrontations I had had with some of the wildlife, probably due to the fact that Luna was no longer here to encourage them to keep their distance through her presence. Every creature I had encountered however, from the average bear that almost gave me a heart attack to a snake that had the head of a chicken that left me more confused than frightened all fled the moment I locked eyes with them. Every time something crossed my path, I would feel a familiar trickle of anger seep into my body as my muscles clenched instinctively, causing red to bleed into my vision. This would result in the animals inexplicably turning tail and running in the opposite direction. So focused on my task of bringing the two of us to safety was I that I didn’t stop to wonder if anything was strange about me being able to frighten off a full grown bear just by glaring at it. All I could think about was moving forward, always moving forward to safety, not just for myself, but for the pony who lay unconscious in my arms. Spurred by my closeness to safety, I picked up the pace and started to half walk, half stumble my way down the bumpy trail. Every step was a chore, and I could feel my body failing with each passing minute as I lost too much blood. My wounds weren’t bleeding as much as I would have expected them to, something that I found curious, but they were still bleeding enough to make my vision slightly fuzzy and my movements unsteady. It was because of this blood loss that I didn’t consider how bad of an idea it was to walk straight through the town, torn up and bloodied, carrying a pony that wasn’t moving. Had I been in a better state of mind, I might have realized the conclusions that could be made by the ignorant observer, especially since a lot of the blood from my chest had stained Fluttershy’s coat, but I was far too focused on one thing, and one thing only: Safety. As I walked, dimly aware of the shrill screams of alarm as pony after pony noticed me and ran for their lives. One especially brave pony even tried to bar my way, angrily shouting at me in its language that I didn’t have a hope of understanding, but after a quick flash of red in my eyes, he recoiled in horror and ran away as fast as his legs could take him. Idly wondering what it was he saw, and why I kept seeing red, I walking through the town until I came across the place I was looking for. A small smile broke across my face as I turned a corner and found myself in front of the hollowed out library that I left earlier that morning. I quickly walked up the front door, but hesitated as I realized that my hands were too occupied to open the door myself. I could have just hollered for somebody inside to let me in, but I wasn’t exactly thinking straight, so I did the next best thing. Bang. Bang. Bang. I winced as I slammed my forehead against the top of the door frame, hoping that it would be loud enough to attract the attention of Twilight Sparkle or her little dragon assistant Spike. I heard some pony babble come from the other side of the door, and a smiling teal unicorn opened the door, at which point her smile vanished completely to be replaced by a look of sheer surprise. Not paying her any mind, I bent down and sidestepped the pony who quickly stepped out of my way with a gaping mouth. Twilight Sparkle, who had been lounging on a chair with a book in front of her looked up at me and gasped. “Kael!” she said, jumping to her hooves and rushing over to me. “Oh Celestia, what happe-” her eyes widened as she realized I was carrying a blood stained Fluttershy in my arms. “Is that blood?!” she asked loudly, her voice a few octaves higher. “Don’t worry,” I grumbled as I strode right past her. I quickly found a couch and, with a pained grunt, gently lay the pegasus down, brushing strands of her mane out of her face. “It’s not her blood.” “W-whose is it then?” Twilight asked, flabbergasted. I straightened and looked the unicorn square in the eye. “Mine.” I just managed to catch her eyes widening before I passed out.