The Everfree Forest
The sky was filled with a bright orange glow as the sun continued its slow descent, foretelling of the darkness of night that would soon engulf Ponyville.
After Applejack’s frantic appearance in front of Tacitus’s home, the three of them had rushed to gather a search party. Applejack had gone to fetch Rarity and Rainbow Dash, while Twilight and Tacitus went to collect Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Tacitus waited with them at the edge of the Everfree Forest, Applejack still yet to arrive with the rest of their group.
Tacitus himself stared with wide eyes at the creature that had accompanied Fluttershy when they had told her what had happened. He was a collage of various different animal parts all combined into one strange-looking creature that he believed was called a draconequus. He’d heard that Discord, the spirit of disharmony, had been reformed and was living in Ponyville, but he was still shocked to actually see him.
Discord observed Tacitus with an over-sized magnifying glass, studying the unicorn like a scientist studies a new germ. With a snap of his fingers, the magnifying glass disappeared and he put his bird-like hand to his chin in thought, a smug grin on his face.
“Hmmmm. So this is the pony you were telling me about Fluttershy. You were right. He does look positively miserable.”
Discord snapped his fingers, which caused the make-up of a sad clown to appear on Tacitus’s face, complete with fake tears. Tacitus shook his head to remove the face paint.
“Tacitus, was it?” He stuck out his lion paw. “Discord, spirit of chaos, at your service,” he said with an exaggerated bow.
Tacitus took the paw in his hoof and shook it, but the paw then became detached from the rest of Discord’s body. With a shriek, Tacitus let the paw drop on the ground. The paw proceeded to walk on its fingers back to Discord, where it re-attached itself, Discord laughing the whole time.
“Oh, the look on your face! Priceless.”
Twilight glared at him and spoke angrily. “Discord! Now is not the time for jokes! The girls are missing and all you’re doing is pulling pranks?”
Now Discord glared at her. “Now wait just a minute. I’m just as worried about them as you are. If anything happened to those undefined equines, I don’t know what I’d do.”
Discord snapped his fingers again, this time causing a cape that looked just like the one the Crusaders were wearing to appear on his back. He looked at it affectionately, the memory of when the girls made him an honorary member of their club causing tears to well up in his eyes.
“Don’t worry Discord,” Fluttershy said as she put a gentle hoof on his shoulder. “We’ll find them.”
Discord gave her a smile as he placed his hand on her hoof, grateful for her comforting words and constant friendship. A look of determination spread across his face.
“That’s right!” he declared before his appearance changed to that of an explorer, complete with binoculars and a pith helmet. “I’ll search every crack, crevice, and crater if I have to!”
As Tacitus watched the bizarre scene unfold, he spared a glance at Pinkie, who had been relatively silent since they had gotten her. He quickly looked back at the ground when she noticed him. He still felt awful about the way he had shouted at her, and was still trying to devise a way to make amends.
As he thought of this, he felt a hoof on his shoulder. He looked up to see Pinkie giving him a warm smile, her eyes full of forgiveness. He was about to apologize again, when the sound of galloping caused all those present to turn their heads toward the sound.
Applejack was fast-approaching, along with Rainbow, Rarity, and Spike, who had been assisting Rarity with a new line of clothes when Applejack had come to fetch her. The four of them joined up with the others, as Twilight stepped into the center of the group to address them all.
“Alright, we’re all here. Now we need to move quickly, it’ll only be harder to find them when it’s dark. We should divide up so we can cover as much ground as possible. Discord, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash: you three will fly over the forest and see if you can spot them from the air. The rest of us will go into the forest and look for them on hoof. If one of us finds the girls, we’ll send up a flare to tell everypony else where we are. Pinkie has fireworks we can use for flares.”
Twilight nodded to Pinkie, who pulled four rocket-like fireworks from her mane and handed them to Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, leaving the last one for herself.
Twilight continued. “The rest of us can use our magic for the flare. Spike, I want to go with Rarity.” Spike nodded with conviction. “Okay everypony, the girls need us. Let's go bring them home.”
The three designated fliers took off into the sky, while the rest bolted into the forest. They ran together for a few dozen feet. Tacitus could hear Rarity mumbling under her breath.
“Please be okay Sweetie Belle, please be okay.”
Applejack seemed to be making similar requests, but Tacitus couldn’t hear her. He looked at both of them, and at the rainbow streak that flew above him, with concern and sympathy. Twilight had explained to Tacitus the three fillies’ relationship as their younger sisters. He knew what they were going through, and he was determined to prevent them from discovering the pain of lost family. A pain he knew all too well.
After a few more feet traveling as one, they separated, going alone in five different directions, with the exception of Spike and Rarity who continued to stay together. Tacitus himself veered off diagonally to the left. He had no idea where he was going; all he was concerned about was locating the fillies he had met earlier that day.
Everything in the forest looked the same to him. He thought that it was no wonder that somepony could get lost in here. He started to panic as he heard growls that seemed to come from every direction. He kept running, kept searching, his eyes darting every which way looking for some kind of clue or sign.
He didn’t know how long he’d been running, but the sun was now almost completely set, the last rays of golden light being overtaken by a blue blanket of night. The growls only grew louder and he swore he saw crimson eyes peering at him from the bushes. He didn’t care at this point. He’d look for weeks if he had to. He wouldn’t let such sweet foals be lost in this horrible place.
Suddenly, a new sound assaulted his ears.
It was screaming. Terrified and desperate screaming.
He changed his course and headed towards the screams, diving through a thick wall of bushes and vines which obstructed his view as he pushed through them.
When he was finally through the thick bramble he looked in horror at what he saw. In the distance, he could just barely make out the tiny figures of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The three of them were sitting in one of the upper branches of a very sick and unstable tree. And at the base of the tree, was a pack of Timberwolves.
Two of the Timberwolves were jumping and snapping at the branch the three fillies sat on, while the third was pushing with all its might against the trunk of the tree. Suddenly, the tree gave way and began to fall.
“NO!” Tacitus shouted as the tree toppled over. Luckily, the fillies jumped off at the last second and ran as fast as they could away from the Timberwolves that gave chase.
Tacitus ran after them, his obsidian mane flying behind him. He was running so fast, his hat slipped of off his head and was carried by the wind almost a dozen feet away. He stopped when he felt the treasured possession leave his head, and began to make his way back to retrieve it, when he heard another scream. He hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth between the hat and the direction of the girls. He cursed silently before continuing to chase after the wolves and the fillies, leaving the hat behind.
His legs ached and his lungs burned, but he pushed himself to run faster, desperate to close the gap between him and the girls. His teleportation spell had a limit of between 15 and 20 feet. If he could just close the gap a little more, he could get between the Timberwolves and the Crusaders.
He looked in horror as he saw where the fillies were headed. The Timberwolves were forcing them to run straight into the side of a large rock formation. Even now, the wolves began to form a semicircle, preventing the girls from turning left or right and escaping.
The fillies reached the rock side and tried desperately to climb over it, but to no avail. The girls held each other closely, cowering and shaking like leaves in a thunderstorm. They clenched their eyes shut so that they couldn’t see the approaching Timberwolves, but they could still smell their rancid breathe. The ravenous pack licked their lips as they slowly approached the fillies, ready to pounce.
“Just a few more feet,” Tacitus thought desperately as he neared them. “Now!”
With a loud CRACK and a flash of dark blue light, Tacitus vanished. He appeared not a moment later, standing tall between the wolves and the fillies. As he reappeared, he unleashed a wave of magical energy, knocking back the Timberwolves.
He shot a venomous glare at the Timberwolves. “Don’t you dare touch them!”
The wolves just roared in response and continued their advance toward the ponies, seeing Tacitus as just another part of an easy meal.
Tacitus’s horn lit up with a brilliant aura, and a dark blue beam of magic shot out and struck one of the Timberwolves, causing it to fall to pieces. Tacitus’s victory was short-lived. The shattered remains of the wolf put themselves back together and reformed the Timberwolf, which growled angrily at Tacitus.
Tacitus shot out several more beams and even an energy ball that exploded on contact, but the wolves just kept putting themselves back together. All he had managed to do was knock them back a few more feet, but they just kept coming.
Tacitus’s mind raced, trying to think of something he could do to stop them. Then it hit him. He remembered reading about a spell developed by an ancient wizard when he was researching the Roamen Empire.
His eyes and jaw were clenched shut as he strained in concentration. His horn glowed brighter and brighter, beads of sweat appearing on his brow. He pointed his horn at the wolves and silently prayed that it would work.
Suddenly, one of the Timberwolves exploded into flames, reducing it to ash in a matter of moments. The other two Timberwolves were caught in the blast and were engulfed in flames, parts of their bodies being burned off, unable to be put back together. They yelped and howled as they retreated back into the forest, leaving the stallion and the three fillies alone.
“It’s a good thing…I studied…Incendius the Pyromancer,” he said between breaths, exhausted by the effort the spell took.
He turned around and looked at the fillies that still held tightly to one another. Their capes were torn and filthy, and some bruises were visible on their bodies. But aside from that, they seemed to be unharmed.
He looked at them with worry evident on his face. “Are you girls alright?”
They didn’t respond. They just threw themselves at Tacitus, wrapping their arms tightly around him as they began to sob.
“We were so scared,” Apple Bloom said between sniffles.
“We thought we were going to die,” Scootaloo added.
“Thank you Mr. Tacitus,” Sweetie Belle finished. The girls then resumed crying into his chest.
Tacitus didn’t know how to react for a moment. But then, he wrapped his arms around them and held them close, doing his best to comfort them.
“Shhh. It’s okay. You’re all safe now; it’s going to be okay.” The fillies tightened their grip on him, burying their faces in his coat.
Tacitus once again lit up his horn and sent a ball of light high into the sky. It exploded with a loud bang and a blinding flash of light that illuminated the now pitch-black sky. It wasn’t long before Twilight and the rest of the search party found the source of the flare and were in sight of Tacitus and the girls. They called out to them.
At the sound of their sisters’ voices, the fillies finally let go of Tacitus and ran into the embrace of their respective sisters, tears of joy on their faces as they were reunited.
“Oh sugarcube, I’m so glad yer safe. I was worried sick about you,” Applejack pressed her younger sibling to her face, their tears melding together.
“Don’t ever scare me like that again Sweetie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Rarity’s face was black with the mascara that had been running down her cheeks as she smothered Sweetie with sisterly kisses.
Even Rainbow Dash was in tears. “You had me worried Scoots. Where would I be without my number one fan?” She hugged her adopted sister close.
All of the ponies, and Spike, and Discord were overjoyed to find the fillies safe and sound, and were embracing the girls as well.
The Crusaders began to explain how they had gotten lost after going deeper into the forest, how they had been attacked by Timberwolves, and how Tacitus had saved them.
As he watched the touching reunion from a distance, Tacitus began to turn and walk back home through the forest. However, he wasn’t fast enough. Twilight saw him leaving and ran up to him.
“Tacitus, wait. I think this belongs to you.” She levitated his hat, which she had found on her way towards the signal flare, and presented it to him.
Indescribable relief swept through him as he hastily took the hat and set it reverently back on his head, incredibly grateful that it was undamaged and back in his possession.
“Thank you Twilight. You have no idea how much this means to me.” He absentmindedly put a hoof on the hat, as if worried he might lose it again. “I’m glad they’re safe, but I should be going now.”
“Not so fast.” It was Applejack who spoke. She walked up to Tacitus and embraced him tightly. “They told us that you were the one who saved them. Thank you so much.” She released him from the hug, only for Rarity to take her pace in embracing him.
“If it weren’t for you, we might have lost them.” She gave him a small peck on the cheek after she let him go. Then Rainbow hugged him.
“You’re a hero. Maybe even a bigger hero than me.”
Pinkie popped out of nowhere and began jumping around excitedly.
“We need to throw you a ‘Hero’ party. I can even make hero sandwiches. I promise it’ll be the biggest and bestest party I’ve ever thrown.” She looked at Tacitus’s face, which still bore a depressed look, and settled down. “Or we could do something else, I guess.”
“There’s no need for any kind of thank you or celebration. I’m just glad they’re safe. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going home.”
“But there has ta be some way we can repay ya. Like Rainbow said, yer a hero and you deserve some kinda reward,” Applejack said.
Tacitus looked at the group, but focused mainly on Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow, with a mournful gaze.
“If you really want to repay me, then promise me this: protect your family. Love them, treasure them, keep them safe. ‘Cause in the end, they’re all you really have.”
He turned away from the stunned group and began to make his way home, but stopped when he heard Twilight call his name. He didn’t turn around.
“Tacitus, I didn’t get to speak with you before this whole search started, but I feel that I need to speak now.” Twilight waited for him to respond, but he just remained quiet and still.
She spoke anyway. “I don’t know what it was, but I do know that something is hurting you Tacitus, something that makes you afraid of friendship. You may think that being alone will help, but I promise you that it won’t. I didn’t discover friendship until later in my life, and it has been the biggest blessing in my life. No matter what you say, I know that friendship brings overwhelming happiness, and I also know that it can take away pain. And that’s what all of us want to do Tacitus. We want to be your friends and take the pain away.”
Tacitus was silent for a moment, and then he sighed loudly. “Twilight, nothing can take away this pain. I’ve learned that no matter what I do, no matter where I go, this hurt will never go away. I’ll always feel it, for the rest of my life. All I can do is try to keep myself from being hurt anymore than I already have. I don’t want friends because, one way or another, they’ve brought me pain. *Sigh* Maybe if you knew you’d understand.”
He thought on this for a moment before turning to look at them. “Follow me back to my home. I’ll explain everything there.”
He once more began to walk away. The group of friends exchanged concerned glances at each other before following him.
A strange and somber parade began marching through the dark forest in silence back to Ponyville, with Tacitus at its head, the most somber of them all.
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What will hapend next
4806021 You'll find out soon
Damn, Tacitus is a badass.
And hooray, backstory next chapter!
4806136 Ohhhh yes. This chapter and the one following are the ones I've been most looking forward to writing. Tears will be shed my friend.
In spite of the obvious self insert (which traditionally, to be blunt, are usually complete shit with a Mary Sueish MC), I read this anyway. However, since you seem to avoid the Mary Sue trope, I'll stick around for now.
Ohh, your OC just happens to be famous...
Is it wrong that I want this to end in tears? Just checking.
Hey look! It did end in tears.
I need help.
IMO, seems a bit OOC for Rainbow.
Also, I appreciate the historical puns. I personally enjoy them.
4807271 I feel a personal relationship with this character and a lot of him is based on me, but I understand the reluctance to read because of typical Mary Sues. I tried to stay away from anything that may seem Mary Sueish, but the whole "being famous" thing actually has a big part on his past and why he became the way he is. As far as Rainbow goes, I was trying to show her in a more humble light. Surely after four seasons of learning lessons she can give credit where credit is due, but you may have a point.
I strive to make a good, interesting character and gripping stories, but I'm new and I make mistakes 
I hope you enjoy this stories and the others I have in mind 
4810090 Any tips you can offer?
4810881 Thanks, I really appreciate it