> Tales of Valor: A New Pony in Ponyville
>  by NobleValor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Attention Readers Old and New!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

To all readers of this work, I have a brief statement: I am putting this on a brief hiatus. I have not given up on it, not by a long shot. At the moment, I have my hooves full with other projects and real life. Until I can thin them a little, any work on this is getting put on hold. 
Also, if I'm going to be completely honest, I'm not entirely happy with how the story's progressing. When I wrote it, I had a vague idea concerning an earth pony main character as the hero (which, at the time, I did not see many of. Come to think on it, I still don't). In any case, since I've rounded out the active characters (in my head, if not on paper) the previous chapters are going to be rewritten. (Note: Nothing major will change, just maybe work on the wording and the setting up of the story). When I write the new editions of the chapters, they shall be reposted when they are finished. My thanks to all of you and have a wonderful day. 
> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noble Valor trudged along, feeling like the loneliest pony in all of Equestria. In truth, he probably was the loneliest pony in all Equestria. 'It's probably for the best,' he thought, 'I don't deserve the luxury of friends.'

In front of him laid the Everfree Forest, stretching as far as the eye can see on either side of him. The one place in Equestria where plants grew unaided, animals took care of themselves, and clouds moved on their own. One of the few places pony folk feared and avoided like the pony pox, especially since the last Summer Sun Celebration when it started invading Equestria.

"I'm sorry, Iron Clad," he said quietly, "You too, Lightning Joust. This is for the best." With those words, he entered into the dark brambles of the Everfree Forest, completely alone.

********************************************************************

"Well, that fills up this bucket," said the purple scaled dragon, "Done yet, Crusaders?"

The founding (and only) members Cutie Mark Crusaders lined up. They comprised of Apple Bloom, a yellow Earth pony, Sweetie Belle, a white unicorn, and Scootaloo, an orange Pegasus. Each one of them had a bucket full of multi-colored berries harnessed to their sides. 

"We're ready, Spike," Apple Bloom jovially replied.

"Yep," Scootaloo added energetically, "ready to take that bake sale by storm." 

"Thanks ever so much for helping us, Spike," Sweetie Belle said, smiling sweetly.

"Ahh, it's all right," Spike said with a wave of his hand, "I didn't have anything else to do seeing as how Twilight gave me the day off." 

'Besides,' he added silently, 'someone has to keep you three out of trouble.'

"By the way," he asked, "what are you guys gonna bake with these Everfree Berries?"

All of them answered cookies, muffins, and cake at the same time, eliciting confused looks from everypony there, including Spike.

"Well," Apple Bloom replied, undeterred, "whatever we make with them, it's gonna be delicious."

"Yeah, we're gonna rock that bake sale!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"It's gonna be so much fun!" Sweetie Belle squeaked excitedly.

Spike gave a small smile as he bent to lift his bucket, when he heard a branch snap. Apparently, the Crusaders had heard it too for they grew suddenly silent. Knowing the many dangers of the Everfree Forest, Spike warily glanced about, readying himself for action.

"Ewww!" Scootaloo replied, covering her nose, "what is that stench?"

The second he heard it, Spike caught a whiff of it. It was a foul smell, the smell that followed death and decay. He knew that smell he knew all too well. He turned with a start, seeing five pairs of red eyes staring at them. "Crusaders, run! Timberwolf!"

As the companions ran, five timberwolves exploded from the brush, howling as they bounded on their quarry. They moved in unison, their wooden limbs clacking as they loped across the terrain.

The Crusaders and Spike ran for all they were worth with Spike pacing himself behind the Crusaders. He turned to glance behind him, seeing the timberwolves gaining on them. A small flutter of panic bloomed in him, increasing his speed. He turned back and saw the Crusaders had stopped. A split-second later he saw why.

In front of them, a rock ridge rose from the ground cutting off their retreat. Spike skidded to a halt, taking inventory of the landscape around him. He hoped he could find another escape route, an improvised weapon, anything he could use. Seeing nothing, he turned to face the incoming wolves. 

The timberwolves fanned out in front of the ridge, leaving no gaps for escaping through. They stalked closer, obviously in no hurry now that the pursuit had ended. In moments, they would be close enough for Spike and the Crusaders to feel the putrid smelling breath on their scales and coats. 

Spike flexed his claws in anticipation. He knew, in the end, it was going to be futile, but he wasn't going down without a fight. Not with his friends lives on the line. "Stay behind me," he said, eyeing all the wolves in turn, "and if you see a chance, run for it." He inhaled deeply, preparing to unleash his fire breath.

Before anything could escalate, a loud cry pierced the silent air and a grey blur flashed overhead. All eyes, including the glowing red eyes of the timberwolves, were drawn towards the source of the movement. The figure landed between the timberwolves and their quarry, causing the red of their eyes to intensify.

Before anypony had a chance to react, the cloaked figure charged the timberwolves. Spike and the Crusaders stared, dumb-founded at what was unfolding in front of them. Nopony except for maybe Rainbow Dash would charge a timberwolf, and even she wouldn't charge a pack of them. 

But this pony was.

The timberwolves faltered for a second, their eyes shifting slightly. With a start, three of the wolves broke rank and ran. 'I'm seeing it,' Spike thought, feeling his jaw drop, 'but I still don't believe it.'

The two timberwolves left, however, weren't impressed. Their eyes flashed a brighter hue of red and bound headlong towards the charging pony. 

As the timberwolves closed, the cloaked figure veered left, pivoted on his front legs, and drew back his rear legs for a kick. As soon as they were in position, he rocketed his kick back, landing it on the timberwolves' muzzle. As the kick hit, it sent the timberwolf into a flying spin in the direction of the kick. Upon landing, it shattered, sending a puff of red smoke into the air.

'One down, one to go,' Spike thought, restraining himself from biting his claws.

The last timberwolf, taking advantage of the opportunity, closed the distance and leapt turned towards his opponent. The cloaked figure, recovering from his assault, managed to dodge the timberwolf but at the cost of his cloak ripping from the passing claw. Recovering from their actions, the two combatants turned to face each other, leaving Spike and the Crusaders temporarily forgotten. 

The timberwolf began circling the cloaked figure, looking for an opening he could exploit as the cloaked figure turned his body accordingly, keeping the timberwolf in sight. The timberwolf growled angrily, its narrowed eyes glowing redder by the second. As the two stared each other down, the timberwolf leapt towards the cloaked figure.

The cloaked figure charged the timberwolf, unfazed by the sudden attack it launched. Spike expected the cloaked figure to use the same move he used on the last one. Apparently the timberwolf did too, because when the cloaked figure was close enough, it made to grab it.

However at the last second, before the timberwolf was could close its claws around him, the cloaked figure ducked, allowing the timberwolf to pass harmlessly over him. The timberwolf shot a confused look before a look of realization slowly dawned on it. The cloaked figure brought himself up, brought his rear legs up, and launched them back at the wolf's posterior. The timberwolf went rolling across the ground, pieces of sticks and bark falling off as he landed. 

The cloaked figure sighed and pulled back its hood. It revealed a white stallion with a shimmering silver mane. He turned his brown eyes to Spike and the Crusaders, calmly looking at them as though he hadn't faced down a pack of timberwolves just seconds ago. "Have any of you been injured?" he asked, just loud enough to make himself heard.

Spike looked at the Crusaders, all of them shaking their heads in the negative. Seeing that, Spike followed suit with a relieved smile. The stallion's face relax, his relief obvious. "That's good," he replied, more to himself than anypony else.

Turning his eyes back to them, he gave them a small bow. "In that case," he began in the same volume, "allow me to introduce myself. I am N..." He trailed off towards the end, collapsing on the ground as he did.

Spike and the Crusaders ran towards their fallen savior, fear increasing with every step. Spike reached him first, placing his claws on the stallion's side. He felt a dampness on the cloak under his claws. Peering down, he saw the grey cloak's color shifting to dull maroon. It took only a second to realize it was blood.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Noble regained his consciousness, the first thing he noticed was how much pain he was in. It was a dull ache that seemed to come from all over his body. He probably would have an easier time making a list of the body parts that weren't hurt. The worst of it was the parched feeling he had in the back of his throat. 

"Oh good," an unfamiliar voice piped up, "you're awake! How do you feel?" 

"Thirsty," he croaked, placing a hoof to his throat.

"I can help with that," the voice replied, accompanied by the sound of pouring liquid. "Here ya go."

Noble pried his eyes open and saw a glass of water in front of him. He successfully resisted the urge to dive muzzle first into the cup and grabbed it carefully in both hooves. He lifted the cup to his lips and began to slowly drink. After finishing the cup, he sighed contentedly. 

"So," the voice piped in, "how do you feel now?"

"I'm not sure yet," Noble replied. He turned his head to the voice and discovered who he was speaking to. 

It belonged to a young purple dragon with green eyes and spines. He wore a big enthusiastic smile on his face as he looked at the colt. "Hello," he replied in a jovial tone.

"Hello," Noble replied, with a more subdued tone than his companion. "Thank you for the water. It helped a great deal."

"Happy to help!" the young dragon replied, enthusiastically and proudly.

A thought had occurred to Noble. "Weren't you the dragon getting chased by timberwolves in the Everfree Forest."

"Yeah," Spike replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "that was me." Noble couldn't help but smile. He liked the little guy already.

"Name's Spike by the way."

"Noble Valor," he replied with a slight bow of his head. He tried to sit up, getting a jolt of pain for his trouble. He lifted the blanket to look at the source of his current discomfort and noticed that his middle had been wrapped with a bandage, several times. 

"Spike?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah?"

"What happened after I lost consciousness?"

"Well..."

**************************************************************************

Spike's eyes bulged out at seeing the blood on his claw. He had never seen that much blood before ever, let alone coming out of anypony.

And the blood spot on this pony's cloak was growing.

Spike heard the collective gasp from the Crusaders and snapped out of his daze. This pony saved their lives and was losing his in the process. The reality of that hit Spike harder than anything else could have. He knew what he had to do and he didn't have the time to be shocked about it.

"Listen up!" he shouted, silencing the Crusaders, "I need you three to head back to Ponyville and find Twilight and the others. They'll be in the park. Tell them what happened and bring them back here as fast as you can."

"What about you, Spike?" Apple Bloom asked concernedly. 

"I'm staying with him to stop the bleeding as much as I can. And besides that, someone has to protect him if the timberwolves come back."

He saw them open their mouths to say something, but cut them off before they got the chance. "Don't argue! GO!"

They practically tripped over themselves to follow his orders. That just left Spike with the immediate task of finding some way to stop the bleeding.

He took off the pony's cloak, made it into a makeshift bandage, and tied it as tightly as he could around the wound. He also pressed against it to try and stop the bleeding. Now all he could do wait and hope the timberwolves didn't come back for round two.

He couldn't say how long he waited for his friends, but it felt an eternity, made all the worse with the constant danger of the Everfree Forest. When his friends did arrive, the little dragon couldn't have been happier. Together, they all carried the wounded pony to the Golden Oak Library in Ponyville, had his wounds tended to, and put him to bed. 

**************************************************************************

"That's about all of it," Spike finished.

"When did all of this happen?" Noble asked.

"Yesterday," Spike answered, "I've been waiting for you wake up since then. I don't mind telling you, you had us all kinda worried there."

"That was very considerate of you, Spike," Noble replied. 

"Well," the little dragon replied proudly, dragging a foot across the ground.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you that you worried for nothing."

"What d'ya mean?" Spike asked, his eyes growing with confusion.

"I mean I was never in any real danger, Spike. Sorry."

"But the bleeding..." 

"I received a gash from a timberwolf, but it wasn't near anything vital. I would've bled for a while, but it would have stopped on its own eventually. Aside from a slight woozy feeling from the loss of blood, I would have been fine."

"Well, what about the timberwolves?"

"A bit more of a risk than the last, but still hardly a threat. Any predator after getting seriously hurt will look for an easier meal elsewhere. Besides, wolves, as a general rule, prefer to hunt in packs, so they would have regrouped before doing anything else."

Spike had a confused and disappointed look on his face. "But... you collapsed."

"Yeah, about that. I had a bit of a long night before the timberwolves and was hungry on top of everything else. As a matter of fact, I was getting breakfast when I heard the timberwolves roar. I saw you and the fillies get cornered and..., well you know the rest. I hated to tell you, but I thought you deserved to know the truth. I'm sorry you worried for nothing."

Spike heaved a sad sigh and replied, "It's all right, Noble. I just thought I finally did something brave and heroic."

"You did, Spike," Noble replied calmly, favoring the dragon with a small smile.

"But..., you just said there wasn't any danger at all," Spike replied suspiciously.

Noble gave Spike a bigger smile, "I did and there wasn't, but you didn't know that. As far as you knew you were saving my life, both from bleeding to death and from the timberwolves. There aren't a lot of ponies I know who would do that, let alone for a complete stranger. You have earned both my admiration and my respect today, Spike of Ponyville." He gave his deepest bow to the dragon. "You have my sincerest thanks."

Spike was frozen where he stood. After a moment of staring, he started to blush a bright red and giggled quietly at the compliment, rubbing the back of his head again. 

At that moment, the door opened revealing a lavender alicorn trotting into the room. She had purple eyes and a purple mane and tail both streaked with pink.

"Twilight!" Spike replied with a start, "Guess who's up!" 

She favored the young dragon with a smile. "I can guess, Spike. How do you do? My name is Twilight Sparkle. And you are?"

"She's an alicorn," Noble replied to no one in particular.

"This is Noble Valor," Spike answered, "He's really nice and smart too."

"Well, that's nice to hear," Twilight replied, "So, how are you feeling?"

"You're an alicorn," Noble replied.

"Does he have a concussion, Spike?" she asked in an audible whisper

"Not that I know of."

"I'm sorry," Noble replied, snapping out of thought, "but, I am still confused at the fact that you are an alicorn."

"Why is that confusing?" Twilight inquired.

"I was of the opinion that only princesses were alicorns."

"That's correct," Twilight replied, "Only princesses are alicorns."

"If that's the case, then why, if you don't mind my asking, is an alicorn princess in a town called Ponyville."

"Learning and teaching the values of friendship," Twilight replied, matter-of-factly, "among other things."

The answer took a moment to sink in before Noble remembered he was speaking to royalty. He bowed his head as far as the bed would allow. "I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, I meant no offense."

"It's quite all right," Twilight giggled, "and please, just call me Twilight. After what you did for Spike and the girls, I consider us more friends than anything else."

Noble felt himself relax a bit, before answering, "As you wish. As long as you brought them up, what happened to the young fillies?"

"As far as I know, they went home," answered Spike with a shrug.

"Oh," he replied, "that's good."

A knock echoed in the room. Spike got up and opened the door, revealing the three fillies from the forest. "Is he up yet, Spike?" the earth filly asked with a country drawl to her voice.

"Yeah," Noble answered, "I'm up."

"Is it alright if we come in?" the pegasus asked.

"Alright," Twilight said after a moment of thought, "but, only for a little while."

The three fillies shuffled into the room, their little faces drawn in frowns. Even the earth pony's bow drooped in sadness.

"Hi girls," Noble replied with his friendliest smile. "We didn't get a chance to introduce ourselves properly earlier. My name is Noble Valor." 

"I'm Apple Bloom," the earth filly replied, "and this here is Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle." The others murmured their greetings.

"A pleasure to meet you all," Noble replied, his tone friendly.

The girls stared silently at the floor, looks of guilt plastered to their sweet little faces.

"None of you got hurt, did you?" Noble asked, concernedly. He thought he had been so careful with the timberwolves.

"It's not that," Sweetie Belle sniffled.

"We have something we need to tell you," Scootaloo replied.

"Well," Noble said, after a moment of silence, "what is it?"

The three girls looked at each other melancholically. At once, three of replied, "We're sorry."

"What crime could you three have committed to need my forgiveness?"

The three of looked to each other, silently debating who should go first.

"Well," Apple Bloom started, "when we had to face the timberwolves, all we did was shake like scared little fillies."

"Useless, scared little fillies," Scootaloo added. 

"And because of that," Sweetie Belle picked up, "you got hurt."

"We're as sorry as can be about that," Apple Bloom continued, "but we understand if you don't forgive us."

Noble closed his eyes and absorbed what they said in silence. He had to choose his next words very carefully. After a minute's deliberation, he spoke in a whisper.

"Girls, climb up here."

The three fillies shared a confused look before Noble slid back on the bed and patted the empty spot that was left. Scootaloo climbed up first, followed by Apple Bloom, with Sweetie Belle bringing up the rear. They stared at the covers on the bed, tracing the pattern of the weave with their hooves.

"I want you three to look at me." 

The exchanged a worried glance, but lifted their eyes expecting the worse. 

Noble remained calm, wearing a mask of neutrality on his face. "What happened in the Everfree Forest was not your fault."

The three of them widened their eyes in surprise at the same moment.

"Please don't say anything until I have finished," Noble continued, using the same tone as before. The three of them gulped and settled themselves in on the bed. Noble took a breath before beginning again.

"I say that because it is true. Perhaps you shouldn't have been there in the first place, but that doesn't matter. You three did the only thing you could in that situation. Nopony could've asked for more than that.

"As far as my injuries, if it's anypony's fault it's mine. The timberwolves were after you, you didn't go after them. I did though, and knew the risks involved. My injury is a result of underestimating them. You three just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." 

Noble saw tears form in the fillies eyes. "We still wish there was something we could do to make it up to you," Sweetie Belle squeaked, her tears spilling onto her cheeks.

"Then make me a promise," Noble replied solemnly. The three fillies looked up.

"I want you three to promise to do your absolute best to avoid situations where you need to be saved. Do you three think you can do that?"

They nodded their consent. Noble favored them with a small smile, "Then there is no need for us to speak on this again."

Their faces lit up in a collective smile as their spirits lifted. They rushed in for a hug, which he returned with equal vigor. 

At that moment, his stomach rumbled loudly. He then remembered how long it had been since he had eaten anything. "Sorry about that," he replied, smiling sheepishly.

"It's fine," Twilight replied, "It's close to lunchtime anyway. Spike, care to assist me in the kitchen?"

"Oooh," Scootaloo interjected, "Is it alright if we stay?" At that moment, the three of them gave the biggest widest pleading eyes ever.

Twilight only smiled, "Alright girls, but only if you promise not to bother Noble too much. He still needs his rest."

"We promise!" they shouted together, each of them excited.

"Oh," Apple Bloom cried in surprise, "we nearly forgot!"

"Forgot what?" Scootaloo asked, eliciting a glare that could turn milk sour from Apple Bloom. Her face lit up in remembrance, "Oh, yeah! Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle wore a confused look for a moment before she grinned and began rummaging in her saddlebag. She emerged with an envelope in her teeth, which she presented to Noble.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Open it and see!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, barely able to contain her excitement.

He opened the envelope and pulled out the contents. It was home-made card, decorated with construction paper, glitter, and ribbon. On the front, in clumsy child-like writing, was written the words 'Get Well Soon.' 

"Thank you, girls," Noble replied smiling, "that was very thoughtful."

"Open up the inside," Sweetie Belle squeaked, barely able to contain her excitement. 

He decided to humor them and opened the card. His face dropped when he read the words in them. He read them three times to make certain he wasn't misreading them, but each time they came out the same. 'From: The Cutie Mark Crusaders Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. To: Our Hero.'

"Is something wrong, Noble?" Sweetie Belle asked, concernedly.

"No," Noble replied, a smile dawning on his face, "everything is fine." 

With that, he ruffled each of their manes with a hoof, eliciting giggles of delight from the trio.

"One thing, I'm curious about," Noble remarked when he had finished, "What's this 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' business?"

**************************************************************************

"All right, girls," Twilight replied, gathering the dishes with Spike, "time to go."

"Do we hafta?" Apple Bloom replied, her eyes growing wider.

"Noble needs his rest," Spike replied, picking up where Twilight left off.

"AWWWW!" the Crusaders pouted.

"Go on, girls," Noble replied, giving them an encouraging smile, "you can visit again tomorrow."

"Really?" they asked in unison.

"Sure."

"Yay!" they cried, zipping out of the room.

"Looks like you have a fan club," Twilight replied, carrying the dishes in her magical aura.

Noble merely shrugged his shoulders, stifling a yawn with his hoof. With that, Twilight and Spike left him to his slumber.

Noble, once he was certain they were gone, tried to stand, testing the strength in his limbs. A wave of dizziness passed through him, taking away his focus. His legs quivered under his weight and he collapsed back onto the bed.

'Huh,' he thought after the dizziness had passed, 'those timberwolves took more out of me than I thought.' He settled himself back in bed, letting his mind wander before succumbing to sleep.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There," the doctor replied, "that wasn't so bad was it?" 

"For which one of us, doc?" Noble replied, stifling a groan.

The doctor shot a glare over his glasses. He then turned to Twilight Sparkle.

"Well, there seems to be no serious damage. As long as he does nothing to strain himself, he should be fine. Just change his bandages every twelve hours and see to it he receives plenty of nourishment and rest."

"All of which I told you hours ago," Noble muttered sourly, crossing his forelegs in front of him.

"It wasn't that we didn't believe you, Noble," Twilight replied, "it just sounds more official coming from him."

"Normally, I don't make house calls," Dr. Stable replied, placing his equipment in his doctor's bag with his magic, "but, this was a special case."

"Sorry you came for nothing, doc," replied Noble.

"Oh, nonsense. Better safe than sorry. While I'm here, do you mind if I ask a question, Noble?"

Noble raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Did you really fight off five timberwolves?"

"No, I fought two timberwolves. The other three ran away before anything happened."

"Fascinating," the doctor replied, gathering his bag in his magic aura, "Good morning all."

"Wait a minute," Twilight replied, suddenly shocked, "Is today Monday?"

"Yeah," Noble replied, "why?"

"Oh, no! No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no."

"What's the matter, Twilight?" Spike asked, entering the room.

"Well," Twilight began with a panicky voice, "with everything that has happened the past few days, I forgot I still had a ton of things I had to do."

"Why don't you do them today?" Noble inquired.

"I would, but somepony needs to tend the library and I'll need Spike to help me with most of them."

Noble thought for a moment, before replying, "I'm somepony."

"I'll never get those things done now," she replied, not hearing him.

"Twilight?"

"Oh, it's all ruined!"

"TWILIGHT!" Noble shouted, finally silencing the mare. She turned to him, eyes wide with shock.

"I could keep an eye on the library while you get your errands done."

Her eyes shifted from shock to wonder. "You'd do that for me?"

"Why not?" he shrugged, "I owe you at least that much for bedding me down in your library for the past two days."

Noble saw Twilight's eyes light up as she skipped around the room like a school filly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome," Noble chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"Noble," Twilight replied, as a thought had just occurred to her, "Can you handle running a library by yourself?"

"Well," Noble began sheepishly, "I've never done anything like it before, but I can do my best. Besides, it'll only be for an afternoon."

"What about your injury?"

"You heard the doc. As long as I don't strain myself, I'll be fine."

"Today being Monday means it shouldn't be too busy," Twilight thought aloud, "and you are close enough to the door to hear anypony enter. Alright, you can watch the library. Is there anything you need before we go?"

"Just a pitcher of water and a book to stave off boredom. Anything having to do with wildlife would work."

Twilight beamed at him, levitating a book from the shelf to his bedside. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, Noble."

"Really, it's nothing," Noble replied, hiding his blush.

Twilight's face changed to one of concern. "Are you certain you can handle this by yourself?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. After timberwolves, books should be a breeze."

She smiled again and looked at the clock. "I'll try to be back before one. Come on, Spike."

"But, Twilight," Spike replied shakily, "what if Noble needs something while we're gone?"

"I'll be fine, Spike," Noble replied, placing a hoof on the dragon's head, "I'm quite accustomed to handling situations when they arise. I'll be fine until you two get back."

Spike still looked doubtful, but nodded his consent. 

"Come on, Spike!" Twilight called, "We have a lot to do if we hope to get back in time."

He trotted after Twilight, glancing nervously back at Noble as he exited the room. Noble smiled at the little dragon's concern, admiring the little guy more and more.

Noble settled himself into bed, making himself comfortable. There was no point in leaving until he had a chance to heal. Besides that, he told Twilight he would watch the library. Noble had done a few things in his life he wasn't proud of, but he always kept his word. He picked up the book Twilight got for him, cocked an ear to listen for the door, and began reading.

**************************************************************************

Noble closed the book, rubbing his eyes with his hooves. He took a glance at the clock and read eleven-thirty off the face. Realizing he had been reading for two and a half hours, he decided it would be a good time for a break and try his legs again.

He rose out of the bed slowly, his joints stiff from disuse. After spending quite a few seconds of rising, he stood erect for the first time in two days. He waited a moment for the wave of dizziness he was certain would follow, but nothing happened. He breathed a sigh of relief realizing that he didn't have to go through that again.

Feeling confident that it wouldn't come, he decided stretch his legs. He carefully spread them before him, working the kinks out of his unused muscles. As he let himself up, felt better than he had a little while ago. Feeling bolder still, he decided to have a better look at his temporary dwelling.

He walked slowly from room to room, mindful of his steps as though each one were his first. He was certain he looked awkward walking the way he was, but, at the moment, it was more beneficial than having to pick himself up again. Thankful that nopony else was around to see him, he marveled at the dwelling that Twilight Sparkle had chosen for herself. 

Noble was surprised at how roomy it was. Even though he was certain it was done with magic, he had to admire how the architecture adapted to the growth of the tree. He was a bit surprised that an alicorn princess would live in such a humble place, however, from what he discovered talking to Twilight, he thought it fit her perfectly.

"Twi," a voice called while the front door opened. The voice had a very distinct country twang to it, a little like Apple Bloom's but more defined. 'Might as well see who it is,' Noble thought, making his way slowly to the lobby.

"Twilight," the voice called, louder this time, "Spike! Either of y'all here?!"

When Noble entered the lobby he spotted an orange mare with a blonde tail and mane wearing a brown Stetson on her head. She hadn't seen him yet and, not wanting to startle her, he cleared his throat upon entering the room. When she turned her grass green eyes toward him, a friendly smile emerged between her freckled cheeks.

"Well, howdy there, Noble!" she replied enthusiastically, "A pleasure to meet you."

"How do you do," Noble replied reservedly, bowing as he did, "Who are you, if I may ask?"

"I'm Applejack and I was one of the ponies that helped carry you to Ponyville."

The name caught in his memory. "You're Apple Bloom's sister."

Her look changed to one of pride as she replied, "Yeah, and she told me all about you."

"She told me about you, too," Noble replied with a smile.

"I hope she didn't give you too much trouble."

"No, she was a little angel. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, too."

Applejack favored him with a relieved smile. 

"Was there something I could help you with?" Noble inquired.

"Well, I was lookin' for Twilight. She around?"

"Not right now," Noble replied, "She and Spike are in town running errands. I'm minding the library until then."

Applejack's look changed to one of curiosity. "Are you sure you should be up and walkin' in that condition?"

"The doctor already saw me and said I would be fine as long as I don't strain myself," Noble informed her.

"Sugarcube," she replied concernedly, "you were attacked by timberwolves. You need to get some rest."

"I was in bed all of yesterday and a good portion of Saturday," he replied, "I think that's enough rest for anypony. Besides..."

"Noble," Applejack cut him off, desperation clear in her voice, "you don't need to prove you are a strong pony. We all know you are, but, even the strongest of ponies need to get rest. I had to learn that the hard way once. So please, sugarcube, for my sake, would you go back to bed and rest?"

Noble was beaten. He fought everything from timberwolves to manticores to cockatrices, but one thing he couldn't fight against were a mare's pleas. He sighed defeated. "Fine, I'll go back to bed and rest." 

A smile bloomed on her face, brighter and sweeter than sunshine on a rainy day. "Thank you. I'll even go and keep ya company."

"I'll go to bed," Noble replied, "I'm not going to try anything dishonest."

"It's not that," Applejack replied, chuckling, "I've got to talk to Twilight anyway, so I might as well stay. Besides, I would like to get to know you some more."

At that moment, Noble got nervous. He wasn't anxious for other ponies to learn about him, especially genuinely nice ponies like the ones he met so far. However, he did owe them something for the Everfree Forest rescue, if it could be called that. Reluctantly, he reached a conclusion: he wouldn't lie to them, he just wouldn't let them in on the whole truth. Hopefully, it wouldn't haunt him later.

**************************************************************************

"Noble," Spike shouted, "we're back!"

"In here, Spike!" Noble shouted back, "and we aren't alone."

Spike burst through the room at a jog, a smile on his face made bigger when he saw Applejack.

"Sorry we're late," Twilight replied entering the room, "I hope it wasn't too much trouble for you."

"Not at all," Noble replied, giving a small bow, "Fortunately, I had Ms. Applejack here to help."

"Just make it Applejack, sugarcube," Applejack replied chuckling.

"What brings you into town Applejack?" Twilight asked the farm pony.

"I need to talk to you about somethin' in private," she replied, placing gentle emphasis on the last two words.

"Oh," Twilight replied, her eyes widening in realization, "excuse us a moment."

With that, the two mares left the room, leaving Noble and Spike staring blankly at each other. 

"Girls, man," Noble replied bewilderedly.

"Got that right," Spike agreed, folding his arms over his chest.

Noble moved to pick up his book, but dropped it open on the floor.

"I got it," Spike replied, moving to pick up the book. He opened the book, blowing the contents from the floor off. He glanced at the page and lifted an eyebrow quizzically.

"Why are you so interested in woodland creatures, Noble?" he asked innocently, handing the book to Noble.

"No particular reason," Noble answered.

"Sounds boring," Spike replied with a shrug, "Want me to get you some more water?"

"Please and thank you," Noble replied, as Spike left the room. He instantly turned to the book, locating the area he was reading. He found it and continued to read the section concerning timberwolves.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Now Spike," Twilight began, "I want you to keep an eye on the library and make sure you finish your chores before you start reading your comics."

"I know, Twilight," the young dragon replied in an annoyed tone, rolling his eyes, "Sheesh! You act as though I'd never done this before."

"I know, Spike," Twilight replied concernedly, "It's just... I worry." 

Spike smiled understandingly and hugged the alicorn, which she returned happily.

Noble sighed quietly and turned his eyes away. At that moment, he felt like an intruder. He knew he was a guest and they were in his room, temporary though it was. However, there were some things in others lives that should remain private. 

"Noble," he heard Twilight ask, "are you alright?" 

"I'm fine," Noble replied, rubbing his eyes before turning back, "just thought I saw something over there."

Twilight raised an eyebrow with a knowing look on her face. 

"You could still go with her, Spike," Noble pronounced, changing the subject, "I did a fair job of handling the library yesterday, if I do say so myself."

"I still have chores I have to do anyway," Spike stated with a shrug, "Besides, I don't mind. I want to stay."

Noble eyed the dragon a moment. "Alright, Spike," he relented, rubbing Spikes head, "if you want to."

"I'll be back later," Twilight replied exiting the room, "keep an eye on each other."

"Well, I got things to do," Spike replied leaving.

"Would you mind telling me where the map section is?" Noble replied rising.

"What do you need maps for?" Spike replied hastily.

Noble stopped, surprised at the dragons boldness. "I want to find out more about the area."

"I could get them for you." 

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, Spike," Noble replied, smiling at the dragon's concern, "but you don't have to keep doing things for me. I'm not an invalid, in spite differing opinions. I was up and about for a little while yesterday and I was fine. And I also don't want you to feel like you owe me something either."

"It's not that," Spike replied, shyly, "I just like doing things for ponies I like, that's all."

Noble stared quietly at the dragon for a moment. He stood rocking back and forth on his heels with his eyes on the ground. Noble couldn't help, but smile. Spike reminded Noble of himself as a little foal. 'If it makes him happy,' he thought, 'what's the harm?'

"Okay, Spike," he replied, settling himself, "you win. Get the maps."

Spike bounded out of the room as though he were on a spring. Noble shook his head at the dragon's enthusiasm, wondering where he found the energy for it. He lied back in bed, placing his hooves behind his head. Staring at the ceiling, he asked himself, 'What would cause three timberwolves to run with the pack under attack?' He closed his eyes in contemplation, seeing only blood red eyes staring back at him.

**************************************************************************

"Well," he heard Spike reply, "I'm done until somepony pops in for a book. Did you find what you need?"

"Not yet," Noble replied, closing the map, "but I will." 

"What are you looking for?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with."

Spike sighed, his ego a little deflated. With that, he pulled out a glossy paper book from a drawer underneath the shelves. He popped up onto a chair and started reading, holding the book with his feet. 

"What is that you have there?"

"'The Adventures of the Power Ponies,'" Spike said with a flourish of his clawed hands.

Noble looked at Spike as though he had spoken a foreign language. Upon noticing the look, Spike shot a questioning glance at the stallion. "Seriously? You never heard of the Power Ponies?"

Noble shook his head in reply.

Spike smiled slyly at his answer. "Wait here a second."

With that, he darted from the room. Upon returning, he carried a stack of comics about as high as his chin. He staggered to the table, placed them down with a huff and stood on a chair. "Let's start at the beginning. Prepare to have your mind officially blown." Noble wasn't sure to be nervous or excited at the dragon's newfound enthusiasm.

**************************************************************************

"Well, I can certainly see the appeal of these," Noble replied, five pages into issue seven of 'The Adventures of the Power Ponies.'

"Yeah," Spike said, contentedly reading his own issue, "they are pretty great."

"Makes me want to be a superhero."

"Eh, it's okay," Spike replied with a shrug.

"What do you know about it?"

"Got sucked into a comic once?"

Noble lifted an eyebrow at the young dragon.

"It's true!" Spike exclaimed seeing Noble's skepticism, "Twilight and everypony else was there too." 

"Stranger things have happened," Noble replied, shrugging, "So which hero were you?"

"Hum Drum."

"Ouch." Noble winced in sympathy.

"It wasn't that bad. I even managed to save the day."

"Alright Spike," Noble replied, setting aside his comic, "you had my curiosity. Now, you have my attention. I want to hear this story." 

"Um, excuse me," a quiet voice replied. In fact, it was so quiet Noble almost didn't hear it.

They both turned to see a butter-colored pegasus standing in the doorway. She had a long, pink, flowing mane and tail. Her crystal blue eyes peered timidly into the room. Upon being seen, she shrunk back from their gaze.

"Oh," she replied, her voice matching her demeanor, "I'm sorry. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Eh, just enjoying some down time," Spike replied, placing his comic down, "Talk to me."

"Actually, I came to see how the patient was doing."

"I'm doing fine," Noble replied, "thank you for asking."

"Oh, I'm glad to hear it," she replied, seeming to shrink down further into herself.

Noble glanced at the little dragon, an eyebrow raised in a silent question.

"That's Fluttershy," he whispered behind his claw, "she's kind of timid around new ponies."

Noble nodded, rubbing his chin in thought. "Ms. Fluttershy," he replied after a moment, "I understand that you were one of the ponies that helped me in the woods."

She nodded her reply meekly.

"In that case," he replied giving a small bow, "allow me to offer you my thanks."

"I didn't really do much," she replied, a small blush creeping on her cheeks.

"I have to disagree with you, Ms. Fluttershy."

"Oh, no. It's nothing, compared to what you did with those timberwolves."

Noble felt himself start to blush. "I did what anypony else would have done. Even little Spike here was willing to have a go at them."

Spike lifted his comic from the table and hid his face behind it. This elicited a giggle from the shy pegasus.

"Hey guys," a strange voice appeared from the window, "What's up?"

Turning towards it, he noticed a cyan pegasus leaning in the window. She had the build of an athlete and her short-cut rainbow-colored mane only confirmed this suspicion.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash," Spike replied waving, "what brings you here?"

"Looking for Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash replied, flying in through the open window, "but, since I'm here anyway, I may as well see the new pony on the block."

She approached the side of the bed, her purple eyes scanning him from head to hoof. Noble had the feeling that bugs under glass went through the exact same thing.

"So you're the pony who took on a pack of timberwolves, huh?" she asked, skeptically.

"Technically..." he started.

"Well, I only got three words to describe that," she interrupted, leaning in closer.

"That...was...AWESOME!!!"

Noble felt his eyebrows raise at the last word.

"I heard all about it!" the pegasus replied excitedly, darting about the room. "You were all ZOOM! And they were all ROAR! And you were all WHOA! HOO-HAH! That sounded so epic!"

Noble felt himself start to blush even more under the pegasus' praise. "I didn't do anything that spectacular," he managed to stammer out.

"Are you kidding?! Even I won't charge a timberwolf pack and I'm amazing. You have to be like the bravest pony ever. What's your name, dude?"

"Come to think of it," Fluttershy replied, "I forgot to ask. I'm sorry."

Noble smiled, holding up a forgiving hoof to the shy pegasus. "Noble Valor."

"Well you know somethin', Noble. You're alright. I'd like to hang, but I got training to do."

Noble smiled, reminiscing about times long past. "I understand, responsibilities first."

"Come on, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash replied, pushing the shy pegasus, "I'm trying out some new stunts and I need you to time me."

"Okay," Fluttershy replied quietly, "see you soon, Noble."

"Yeah, see ya Noble."

Noble waved as they left the room, smiling as they left. 'The way those two act,' he thought, 'they remind me of...' 

He let the thought die, unfinished. He didn't have to finish it. He felt his smile leave as quickly as it had arrived.

"Is something wrong, Noble?" Spike asked, his voice filled with concern.

"No, Spike," he replied, "not a thing," He lifted the comic again, doubtful if he would enjoy it as he did earlier.
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"NOBLE!"

Noble snapped back into reality, hearing his name shouted that loudly. He turned to see a cross alicorn mare staring flatly at him. "Sorry, Twilight," he replied, sheepishly, "got lost in thought there for a second."

"I'm surprised, Noble," Twilight replied, "most ponies would be excited to get their bandages removed after four days."

"I am excited," Noble replied, "on the inside anyway." 

"I'm surprised you healed so quickly," Spike replied, his eyes staring at the spot that Noble had received his injury.

Noble glanced at it, noticing a faint pink line beneath the fur. It wasn't nearly as wide as he thought it was. With any luck, it would barely leave a scar. 

"So, now that you're healed, what are you going to do?" Spike asked.

This gave Noble reason to pause. In truth, he hadn't planned anything this far. Not having a better answer, he just shrugged, "For now, go outside."

"Are you certain that's the best idea?" Twilight asked, disapproval clearly in her voice.

"I've had worse ideas with better results," he replied honestly, "and after spending four days in bed, stretching my legs sounds like a wonderful idea." It was then a thought had occurred to him. "What happened to my cloak and satchel?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Your satchel is in our room," Twilight answered. 

"And," Spike continued, "Rarity has your cloak."

Noble raised his eyebrow, asking his question silently.

"Well," Spike started nervously at his expression, "Rarity took it home with her to wash and mend it."

Noble nodded in acceptance. "I see."

"You're not mad are you?" Spike asked. 

"No," Noble replied, shaking his head, "I'm not mad. This just gives me another reason to stroll about town. Get my satchel for me, would you Spike?"

Spike bounded from the room at a lope. "Are you sure you feel up to this?" Twilight asked concernedly.

"It'll only be a stroll," Noble replied. "Besides, I'm curious about this town called Ponyville."

"Here's your satchel," Spike replied, holding a well-worn satchel in his claws. 

After bidding farewell, Noble stepped outside the library and breathed a sigh of relief. While it was true he wanted to learn about Ponyville, his outing had the dual purpose of giving him a chance to clear his head.

He glanced up at the sky, squinting slightly at the brightness of the outdoors. After regaining his sight, he noticed the sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, all in all it was a beautiful day. So beautiful in fact, it would have been a crime to call the weather less than perfect. With that thought in mind, he turned and strolled down the street.

He trotted away from the library at a leisurely pace, taking in the sights of Ponyville. It was a quaint little town. The sight of quaint little cottages made of wood and plaster filled his view. The streets, while mostly empty, held the sight of ponies of all ages going about their business. He wouldn't have been surprised if it were the kind of town where everypony knew everypony else. The kind of town families and friends worked and played together. A happy town.

His thoughts were interrupted by a humming noise coming from behind him. He turned his head to find a pink pony bouncing along the walk behind him, humming happily to herself. Her fuchsia mane and tail were curly to the point of being puffy. Her eyes were closed and her mouth wore a smile that seemed glow on its own power.

"Good morning," Noble replied to the perky pony as she bounced by.

She came to a complete halt as she heard the voice. Aside from her blue eyes turning towards him, she remained still as a statue. Literally in this case, seeing as how she paused in mid-air to look at him. Before Noble could question the logic (or lack thereof) of this, the mare gasped and rocketed towards him.

"It's you!" she replied energetically, bouncing about in every direction. "I mean of course, it's you. You'd have to be you. You couldn't be somepony else. That would be kinda silly. But it's really, really, really you!"

"Yeah, it's me alright," he replied, nervously, "And you are?"

"I'm Pinkie Pie," she replied quickly, "What's your name, where you from, what's your favorite color, what's your favorite animal, do you like cupcakes?"

"Noble Valor, around Vanhoover, dogs, and yeah, I like cupcakes."

"Your favorite colors is dog?" she asked, genuinely confused.

Noble felt himself chuckle, in spite of himself. "No, it's blue."

"Oh," she replied, "Well, Noble Valor. What are you doing in Ponyville?"

"Well..."

"Ooh, can I show you around?" 

Noble thought for a second and replied, "There is something you can do for me."

Her eyes shone brighter and her smile grew wider in anticipation.

"I was looking for a pony named Rarity..."

"Ooh-ooh! I know where she is! Follow me, Nobie!"

Noble breathed a sigh of relief as he followed the pink pony. 'Wait a minute,' he thought, 'did I just get nicknamed "Nobie?"'

********************************************************************

Pinkie led Noble to a tall building colored in shades of pink, purple, and blue with gold trimming. As colorful as it was though, Noble had to admit it was tastefully done. 

"Well," Pinkie stated, pointing to the building, "here we are! Carousel Boutique!"

Noble found it hard to believe that anypony could have as much energy as she did. The entire way through town, she chattered on about... well, everything. She seemed to have a unique collection of knowledge about Ponyville stuffed into her bouncy pink mane. She didn't look or act it, but she knew a lot more than she let on she knew.

Noble favored her with a small grin. "Thank you, Pinkie Pie." With that he walked towards the building.

"Wait," Pinkie shouted, "I have something to ask you!"

Noble braced himself. So far he had met twenty-six ponies in Ponyville and all of them at some point had made some mention of the timberwolf assault. 'Looks like this'll be number twenty-seven,' he thought with a sigh, turning to face Pinkie Pie.

"What flavor cupcakes are your favorite?" she asked with a smile.

"That was what you needed to asked me?" Noble asked.

She responded by nodding her head. Having never been asked that question before, Noble thought about it a second before answering, "Chocolate."

Her face lit up in a gasp as she darted away quicker than anything Noble had ever seen before. Noble blinked twice and she zipped back in front of him. "Thank you," she replied, before darting away again. 

Noble stared after her for a few seconds after she left. His mind was more baffled than it was before he met her. He shook off his meeting with Pinkie Pie, deciding some inquiries were better left unanswered. With that behind him, he decided to enter the fashionista's abode.

A bell rang as he entered the door of the dress shop. "One moment please," a voice called sing-song tone. He decided to take the moment to look over what Rarity had created.

The shop was filled with dresses, each one prettier than the last. What truly made each of the dresses stand out was the fact they were covered in gems of every size, color, and description. It was plain to see that Rarity was more than a dress maker, she was an artisan of the craft.

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique," the voice called from behind him, "where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique."

Noble turned to find a white unicorn with a wavy purple mane and tail. If he had to pick one word to describe her, it would have been glamorous. She wore just the right amount of make-up to compliment both her mane and her sapphire blue eyes. There was no doubt in Noble's mind that this unicorn was Rarity.

"How do you do, Ms. Rarity," Noble started, being as polite as he could be, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Noble Valor and I'm the pony whose cloak you have."

A look of confusion crossed her face before dawning with realization. "Oh, the young stallion that faced those horrid timberwolves. I must say that was very gallant of you."

Noble cleared his throat, trying to draw attention away from the blush that was setting in. "Thank you. Now, about my cloak..."

"Oh, of course darling. Would you accompany me to the back and I shall collect it for you."

Noble nodded his consent and followed the charming mare to the rear portion of her shop. Their walk ended into what could only be the laundry room. Noble found an old familiar piece of grey cloth hanging along the wall.

"I meant to have it already cleaned and mended" Rarity replied, "but I have been filling orders practically non-stop since your arrival. I was lucky to have found the time to clean it."

"It's fine, Ms. Rarity," Noble replied, removing the article of clothing from its drying spot, "it's cleaner than it has been in a long time at any rate." 

"You must be joking," Rarity replied, disapproval clearly in her voice.

Noble folded the cloak over his foreleg. "You have my thanks, Ms. Rarity. I'll just give it a quick patch job and that'll fix that." He moved to leave, but his path was blocked by the unicorn wearing a shocked look on her face.

"A patch job?" she asked, as though the words sounded foreign to her. 

Noble nodded his reply, but was interrupted by the unicorn.

"Unacceptable!" Rarity replied, her voice raising as she flourished with her head and hooves. "I simply cannot allow any garment to be subjected to-" she shivered in disgust "-a patch job."

"Ms. Rarity," Noble replied, "I appreciate what you are trying to do. Really, I do, but it's just unneces..."

"Not another word," she interrupted, "You must allow me to fix this."

"It's truly..."

"You must."

"But..."

"You must."

"Ms. Rari..."

"You must." She placed an extra emphasis on the last 'st.' Rarity's sapphire blue eyes seemed to bore holes into his, made even scarier by the fact that her right eye twitched ever so slightly.

"If you insist, Ms. Rarity" Noble gulped, offering the cloak to the seamstress.

"Wonderful, darling," Rarity replied, her voice changing back to the more outgoing and friendly one it was earlier. "I shall have it done by tomorrow. Now off with you. I have work to do. Shoo, shoo."

Noble had never been 'shooed' out of anywhere, but considering what he had glimpsed in the seamstress, it seemed best to humor her. 'I charge a pack of five timberwolves,' he thought as the door closed behind him, 'and I get stared down and chased out by a dressmaker.' Noble placed a hoof on his forehead at that thought and trudged through town. 
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noble walked through the marketplace, surrounded on all sides by stalls, stands, and towns ponies. So far nopony had noticed him so far, which was an accomplishment in and of itself. It was just as well, he was never one for socializing at by any stretch of the imagination.

As though on cue, a scream pierced the air. Noble turned his heads to find a mother pony scream as a baby carriage started to roll downhill towards a cliff's edge. He saw her run after it, but even at a glance, he could tell she wouldn't make it. Without thinking twice, Noble dashed to cut it off before it reached the cliffs edge.

Noble ran through the marketplace, his legs pumping as the ground sped past him. He moved in leaps and bounds, veering from his course only to dodge Obstacles in his path.

He approached the carriage inch by inch as it careened its way towards the cliff. Even at top speed, he didn't think he would catch the carriage before it plummeted to the ground below. He had one chance to catch it and, by Celestia's mane, he was going to take it.

Noble leapt, his hooves rocketing forward him at a speed to make Rainbow Dash envious. The carriage drew near, coming within grasp of his mouth. Noble clutched the handle between his teeth and lowered his hooves to stop.

Noble felt the pebbles and dirt scrape and pull at his hooves. He dug his muscles in against the force of the carriage, pushing for all he was worth. When he felt the carriage come to a grinding halt, Noble heaved a sigh of relief through the handle.

He heard a squeal of delight from the carriage. He turned his eyes, seeing a baby earth pony making happy noises. "I'm glad to see you're having fun, little one," Noble replied, placing a foreleg on the handlebar to catch his breath. Upon hearing a set of galloping hooves approach, he turned his head to see the mother of the infant approach. 

She heaved several heavy breaths before speaking, her voice thick with worry. "Is he..."

"Having the time of his little life," Noble replied, lifting his free hoof to the carriage to placate her fears.

She lifted the infant from the carriage and hugged him close to her chest, her look of worry replaced by one of pure joy. Tears spilled from her eyes as she embraced her child.

Noble smiled at the scene, but his smile had a twinge of sadness. Without a word, he turned and walked away leaving mother and child to their happy reunion.

**************************************************************************

Noble stopped walking once he felt he was far enough outside of the Ponyville town limits. A peaceful quiet filled the air, with only the sound of woodland animals to fill his ears. He removed his satchel and laid on the grass with his face towards the sky and his limbs stretched out on the ground around him. Even though the bed in the library were comfortable, it felt good to be outside in the open air again.

He then put his thoughts to the matter on hoof: his stay in Ponyville. He had to admit, in spite of manner of his arrival, he liked it. From the ponies he had met and what he had seen, it seemed a nice little town. A place a pony would be lucky to call home. But...

Absent-mindedly, Noble reached into the satchel and pulled out a dagger. He ran his eye over the simple design, taking in its every detail as he had done countless times before. It was a simple design the whole of it slightly longer than his hoof. It was steel from tip to tip, weighing around six ounces. It curved only once, separating the blade from the handle. Even though it was plain work, nopony in Equestria could deny it was a fine dagger. 

Looking at it reminded Noble of days long since past, both of joy and of sorrow. It filled him with an aching longing, one that he knew with certainty would never be filled. He found himself wondering what Lightning would have made of Ponyville. He probably would've placed it under the 'Nice To Visit, but Not To Live There' category. He smiled briefly, but felt a stab of guilt hit him. 

He pushed those thoughts from his mind, focusing on the topic that had plagued his thoughts since the attack. He put his mind back to the events of the Everfree Forest. There was something off about those timberwolves, something that he couldn't put a hoof to. He knew their eyes were red while usually they were green, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

While most of the research done on wildlife was pretty accurate, Noble also knew that it was unreliable on some subjects of study. He recalled the failure at finding any relevant information on dragons that wasn't common knowledge. Maybe timberwolves fell into the category of being "too scary to study." Given his recent dealings with timberwolves, he couldn't say he blamed anypony for thinking that.

'Oh well,' he thought. 'it doesn't really matter. It was probably a freak occurrence brought about by the Crusaders when they went to pick berries. Fortunately, nopony or dragon was hurt.'

Looking up he noticed it was getting late. He had left around lunchtime and the sun was halfway down. He sighed heavily, moving to get up. He lifted the flap of the satchel to replace the dagger he had removed. Stopping halfway, he eyed a tree in the distance. At a glance, he measured it to be about twenty yards away give or take. He raised his eyebrow in a silent question and positioned himself. With a wave of his foreleg, he released the dagger at the tree.

It hit the tree with an audible thud. That was the only positive review he could give of the throw. He missed the spot he was aiming for and hit the tree handle first. "I never could get the hang of those silly things," he complained, moving to collect the thrown weapon.

As Noble collected the dagger, he heard the brush behind him rustle. With the unconscious motion of practice, he moved behind the tree his back flush against the trunk. He moved his head enough to glance beyond the tree into the grove around him. 

He didn't notice anything at first, but that soon changed. He noticed a massive leonine-like figure, but it also had a scorpion's tail with dragon-like wings sprouting from his back. Even though this was his first time seeing one, he recognized this creature to be a manticore.

Noble watched the creature a while, noting its movements. He noticed something was off about it. He couldn't place his hoof on it, but something about this animal seemed unnatural. 

The manticore stalked towards him, seemingly oblivious to his presence. It had a look in its eye that could only be described as murderous. Noble followed the manticore's line of sight, tracing it towards the creature's only possible destination: Ponyville.

He could run into town and warn the town of the manticore, but doing so would probably lure it into town all the faster. Images of destroyed buildings and injured ponies flooded his vision. He calmed his mind, willing images of what kind of damage a creature of that size could do to Ponyville and its inhabitants from his mind. 'It won't come to that,' he thought resolutely, 'I won't allow it to happen.' The only question remaining was 'how'.

He eyed the dagger in his hoof, quizzically raising an eyebrow in thought. After a seconds deliberation, he placed it into the satchel. Even if he had the skill to use it effectively, he had no desire to do so. Even though he could kill the manticore very easily, killing was simply not in his nature. Not when another option was present. He looked about the wooded landscape, an idea dawning upon him. Placing his satchel on the ground, he ran from behind the tree and bucked the manticore in the shin.

Upon getting hit, the manticore let out a roar that could have easily shattered all the windows in Ponyville. Once the pain subsided, the manticore glared at Noble, staring daggers at him. For a second, Noble thought he spotted a red sheen in the manticore's eyes. Not that it mattered at any rate. He accomplished his goal: Getting the manticore's attention. Now came the next goal: Getting said manticore away from POnyville. He only knew of one way to accomplish that goal: He ran away from the manticore.

Noble began to run at a good loping pace; fast, but not tiringly so. As soon as he was away, he heard the manticore give chase. Noble spared a glance behind to see how the manticore was keeping up. Upon looking he noticed a certain fact: While the book Twilight had given him was full of fascinating information, it had failed to mention how fast manticores were able to run. The enraged manticore was gaining ground. With new determination, Noble picked up more speed running as fast as he was able.

'Okay,' Noble thought, 'I managed to get the manticore's attention and lead it away from Ponyville. Now all I have to do is to get away from the manticore myself.'

Noble had been more concerned about getting the manticore away from Ponyville than he was escaping himself. However it didn't matter in the slightest. A Knight of Equestria was to ensure the safety of others before himself and make do with whatever he has on hoof. 

Unfortunately, the only things Noble had on hoof was a vague idea of the terrain and a really mad manticore. He had no weapons, no armor, no preparation time, and no help. However, he did have two tools he could use: his legs and his wits. 

His legs weren't much use as they were. Noble was no slouch when it came to running. When he was running for speed, he could outclass several earth ponies, and probably even a few pegasi. However, this manticore was managing to keep up stride for stride and had been for the past several minutes. Noble would have been impressed if the manticore wasn't trying to kill him. 

However, Noble had been holding back. While it was true he was running at full speed, he hadn't been trying to escape. It was time to change that. 'Let's see how well the manticore can maneuver,' Noble thought with a smirk.

Noble veered left and right through the forest, dodging trees as he ran. He plowed through bushes, brambles, branches, any obstacle he could find, hoping any one of them would buy him enough distance to outthink the manticore. He heard the manticore falling behind and looked behind him to check. The manticore was still managing to follow Noble's trail, but was having difficulty getting through the foliage. Noble turned back and felt his hopes of escape slip from his grasp.

Noble stopped, barely able to keep from hitting a giant stone wall that rose before him. He glanced up, seeing a mountain rise above him and cutting off his escape. He heard of not seeing the forest through the trees, but this bordered on the ridiculous. Not having the time to mentally berate himself, be faced about and began taking in his terrain.

The wall behind him was too steep to climb, the walls around him rose effectively blocking him in, and running out wasn't an option because by the time he got to the opening, the manticore would be there waiting for him. The gears in his head started to work allowing him two options. Both were risky, but what choice did he have at that point. All he could do now was wait for the manticore to show up.

When the manticore appeared at the mouth of the small canyon, he looked dirty and annoyed. Noble took a final breath to steady his nerves and spoke aloud. 

"Manticore, I have no idea if you can understand me, but this need go no further. I have no desire to harm you anymore than I have. We can end this now; you go your way, I go mine. What say you?" 

The manticore simply smirked, swiping a paw off to the side. His eyes gleamed red once more before he broke into a charge. 'Why does it always have to come to the hard way?' Noble thought sadly, 'Oh, well. I tried.'

The manticore charged forward, bellowing out a great roar. Noble knew that in a fair fight, he stood no chance of fighting a manticore. However, he had no intention of fighting fair. As soon as the manticore reached the point of no return, he made his move. 

He began running towards the manticore, gaining speed with every step he took. When he got within five yards of the manticore, he put every ounce of strength he had in his legs and leapt into the air. 

He felt himself being lifted into the air, watching as the world fell away from him. He rose ten feet into the air, sailing over the charging manticore. He watched as the manticore, unable to stop, charged straight into the wall Noble had been in front of moments before. As the manticore fell motionlessly to the ground, Noble landed quickly rising to his hooves. 

He heaved several heavy breaths, finnaly glad it was over. Even though he was exhausted, he had to admit it felt good being active again. After taking a moment to savor the sensation and catch his breath, he went to check on his fallen foe.

After a quick examination, Noble discovered that aside from a nasty bump on his head, the manticore was fine. With any luck, he would sleep peacefully for several hours, forgetting everything that had happened today. However, there was still one thought that plagued him. 

Feeling confidant that the manticore wouldn't be regaining consciousness for the next several minutes, Noble lifted the eyelid up to quell his curiosity. The eye of the manticore, although a bit dazed from the blow, was otherwise normal. Noble released the eyelid, allowing it to close on its own. 

"I don't envy you the headache you will have when you awake," he replied, his voice barely over a whisper, "but, in the meantime, rest well. For all it's worth, I'm sorry it had to come to this."

Noble rose, turning to walk away. 'First timberwolves,' Noble thought, 'Now a manticore. Perhaps it might be prudent to prolong my stay a bit and do some research.'
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Spike! Would you come into the kitchen for a minute?" Twilight called from downstairs.

"Coming!" Spike replied with a roll of his eyes. Without any ado, he hopped from the stepladder he was standing on and tossed his feather duster to the side.

"I swear that mare can't do a thing without me!" Spike muttered audibly.

"You know you love being needed, Spike," Noble replied, looking from his task with a small, knowing smile on his face.

"Yeah," Spike replied grudgingly, "but still, you'd think that anypony who eats as much as she does would be able to navigate through a kitchen."

Noble chuckled at the dragon's wit and returned his attention to his work. Before he could get started again, he heard the library door open. "I've got it!" Noble replied, tossing his tasks aside and going to meet the visitors.

Upon returning from his "excursion" yesterday, he decided to assist Twilight and Spike with their duties as town librarians. After about ten minutes, he discovered he was a poor librarian. While he could clean, carry and organize books with the best of ponies, he lacked the intimate knowledge that Spike and Twilight had with their library. However, he was determined to help out as best he could during his stay, however long that would be. 

'Why is it so dark in here?' was the first thought to enter Noble's mind upon entering the lobby. Either a fuse was out or somepony was pulling a prank on him. With that in mind, he began his slow journey into the dark.

Noble began cursing himself for not memorizing the positions of the light switches when he had the chance. The best he could do in this circumstance was to grope around in the dark until he found a window to open. 

He took several tentative steps down the stairs, hoping he didn't stumble on something in the dark. When he reached the bottom, the lights all came on at once. Shortly following it was the sound of several voices yelling one word in a rain of confetti: "SURPRISE!"

For a second, Noble thought he was in the wrong place. The lobby walls covered with balloons, streamers, and just about every kind of party decoration a pony could ask for. It wasn't until Twilight and her friends arrived that Noble's thoughts finally slowed down enough to sort them out.

"What is all this?" Noble asked, grabbing onto the first thought that popped into his head.

"It's your 'Welcome to Ponyville Party,' silly!" Pinkie exclaimed with a bounce. "Were you surprised? Were you? Huh, huh, huh?" 

"Yeah, I was surprised alright," Noble replied, calming himself. "Welcome to Ponyville Party?"

"It's a tradition that whenever a new pony comes to town, Pinkie throws a party for them," Twilight explained.

"This party is for me?" Noble asked genuinely confused.

"Eeyup," Applejack replied, "it sure is."

Noble sat heavily on his haunches, shocked at this bit of news. Before he had a chance to respond to that statement, a grey unicorn stallion with an ink black mane and tail approached the group.

"Excuse me, Mr. Valor? Might I have a word with you?"

"Yes," he replied, gathering himself once more.

The stallion approached, clearing his throat. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Printing Press and I'm with the Ponyville Express."

"Ain't you the fella that runs the newsstand in town?" Applejack asked, a small knowing smirk on her face.

Printing Press immediately began to blush a little and rubbed the back of his head with his hoof. "Well, uh...Technically, yes. But I really am with the Ponyville Express."

"In what?" Rainbow Dash asked, "The editing department?"

With that remark, Printing's blush deepened in hue and his eyes widened a bit. "Th-that's not important," he stammered out, "What is important is that we are in the presence of the story of the year."

"And who, pray tell, might that be?" Rarity replied with a flick of her perfectly coifed mane.

"Mr. Valor, of course," Printing replied, much to the chagrin of Rarity, Rainbow, and Noble.

"Look, Printing, was it?" Noble asked, receiving a nod of confirmation. "I don't know what you think, but I assure you there isn't anything interesting about me."

"I beg to differ, Mr. Valor," Printing replied, his enthusiasm undiminished. "I heard that you managed to fight off a pack of ten timberwolves."

'The number has gone up,' Noble thought, mentally facehoofing himself.

"There were only five," he replied, "and I only fought two of them."

"Be that as it may, Mr. Valor, I also know personally that you also managed to save an infant's life and the entire town from a manticore attack single-hoofedly."

"HE DID WHAT?!?" the six mares replied in shock. Noble actually did facehoof himself this time.

"It wasn't nearly as impressive as he described it," he replied, more to himself than to anypony else.

"How so?" Twilight asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, for starters it was two separate events not one."

"Maybe you better start at the beginning," Twilight stated.

"This is going to be good," Pinkie replied, sitting in a chair with a box of popcorn, pulled from who knows where.

Noble looked about seeing the six mares staring at him expectantly. He could probably fight his way out, but he hated to take things that far. "I don't suppose there's a way out of this, is there?" he sighed half-heartedly. 

"Nope," replied Applejack stubbornly.

Noble sighed once again. "Well, after I left Rarity's boutique..." 

**************************************************************************

"...And when I came back to town, I helped Twilight and Spike put the library in order and that's all to tell." 

He decided to leave out the parts about having the knives and the manticore's eyes. The former he left out because he wasn't in the mood to tell the story behind those and the latter because he didn't want to worry anypony unnecessarily.

"You not only managed to outrun a manticore, but also jumped over it in a single bound?!" Rainbow Dash asked incredulously, her eyes wide as the story was told.

Noble nodded his reply slowly, expecting not to be believed.

"So...awesome!" she squealed, placing her hooves on her cheeks. Noble blushed and shook his head at the outburst of his fan.

"I hope that poor manticore is okay," Fluttershy replied worriedly.

"He was fine," Noble replied, trying to console her, "Probably nursing a headache I don't even want to think about with a knot on his head the size of Spike."

"Who has a knot the size of me?" Spike asked walking up, carrying platter stacked with cupcakes.

"A manticore that Noble outran," Pinkie answered, swallowing three cupcakes in a bite.

"COOL!" Spike replied with wide-eyed enthusiasm.

"This story is even better than I imagined," Printing replied, finishing jotting notes down with a pencil and a pad, "When can I set up an interview?"

"There isn't going to be an interview," Noble replied in a matter of fact tone.

"Why not?" Spike, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, and Printing asked, their voice almost harmonized.

Noble tried to find words that they could understand, but only came up with three. "It feels wrong."

This earned confused looks from everyone there. Noble sighed, deciding to continue from there.

"I didn't perform my actions for any sort of recognition or reward for doing them. I did them for the knowledge that they were right thing to do. Getting any sort of benefit from my deeds just cheapens their worth."

Everyone nodded their understanding at his statement. However, when Printing Press did, he began to walk away dejectedly. Noble saw this, feeling a twinge of guilt. "Hold on a second there, Printing."

Printing looked back as Noble approached him. "Is getting my story really all that important?"

"More than anything," he answered.

"why?"

"Does it matter?"

"It might," Noble replied honestly.

"Since I was a colt, I was always fascinated by the written word. I always dreamed of one day seeing my name in that glorious black-and-white. The day I found out about the newspaper game, I knew that I was meant to be a journalist. However, due to circumstances, I got stuck being a vendor, but I know I could be a journalist if given the chance. And that's where you come in, Noble."

Noble raised his eyebrow, questioningly.

"Well, your something of an oddity. There aren't a lot of ponies who can do what you did. And, as crazy as this town is at times, ponies like you don't come along everyday. You are, perhaps, the only chance I got left to realize my destiny."

Noble could sympathize with the stallion. He knew what it was like, trying to live up to your potential and finding yourself falling short due to conditions beyond one's control. It was like having a piece of yourself missing, never being able to feel whole. He knew just how devastating that could be; he lived with that feeling everyday. 

However, as much Noble could sympathize with Printing Press, he did have his principles to uphold. However, one thing still bothered him. "How did you find out about the manticore?" Noble asked.

"I saw the rescue in town and followed you to the outskirts of town at a distance," Printing answered quickly, "Before I had a chance to talk to you, I saw you kick the manticore and run off with it at your heels. Following your path, I found the dazed manticore and you gone."

Noble lifted his eyebrows at the response. "Alright Printing," Noble replied with a sigh, "if I do this story, I want to make one thing clear: certain parts of my life will remain private."

"Really?!" Printing asked excitedly, "you'll do the interview?!"

"Anypony that can follow me without me knowing about it has earned it."

Printing's face lit up in foalish glee. "I cannot thank you enough, Mr. Valor," he replied, taking Noble's hoof and shaking it vigorously.

"Just make it Noble," he managed to stammer out. 

"Can we start right away?"

"Don't you think this is the wrong venue for an interview?" Noble replied, getting his hoof back and shaking the circulation back into it.

Printing looked about a moment and smiled sheepishly. "First thing in the morning then?"

"Any time after six works."

Printing went to rejoin the party with a bit more of a spring in his step than he had before. Noble smiled reluctantly and turned to find that the mares were looking at him with warm expressions.

"What was I going to do?" Noble asked, "Say no to the guy?"

"It was really nice of you," Fluttershy replied, smiling a bit more pleasantly than usual.

"Enough chatting," Pinkie snapped, unable to contain herself any longer, "Let's party!"

"You go ahead," Noble replied, leaning against the wall, "I'm fine right here."

"Shoot, we can't leave you here by your lonesome," Applejack replied, throwing a foreleg around his shoulder.

"You'd probably have more fun if you did."

"Whatever do you mean, darling?" Rarity asked concernedly.

"I'd feel...awkward."

"Geez, dude," Rainbow dash replied with a chuckle, "you'd think you never been to a party before."

When Noble didn't say anything, Pinkie was the first to speak up. "SERIOUSLY?!"

"Afraid so."

"How?" Fluttershy asked.

"Never had a reason to celebrate, I guess," Noble replied with a shrug.

"Well, you do now," Twilight replied smiling.

"I'll probably spoil your good time," Noble warned.

"Nonsense!" Rarity replied, her voice exaggerating her emotions, "You are attending this party and we are not taking no for an answer."

"But I don't even know what to do at these things." Noble replied, waving his hoof across the room.

"Don't worry, Nobie," Pinkie replied, pushing him towards the gathering, "We'll show you!"

**************************************************************************

"How are you feeling?" Fluttershy asked.

"Better," Noble answered, lying in his bed rubbing his sides. 

"I told you that the cupcake eating contest was a bad idea," Twilight replied.

"Can I help?" Pinkie asked.

"I believe you have done more than enough," Rarity chided.

"I'd like to know where she puts it all," Noble replied, shocked that Pinkie had bested him. 

"I really thought you had her at seventy," Rainbow replied.

"It feels like my stomach doesn't want to stay where it is," Noble replied, his stomach churning about for the umpteenth time since the contest.

"Don't you worry about it," Applejack said consolingly, "In the meantime, you just rest up until you feel better."

"Ooh," Rarity exclaimed, "before I forget..."

Her horn lit up in an aura of sapphire magic, causing a package to levitate in front of Noble. He sat up, letting go of his stomach, and took the package from Rarity. He opened it carefully as to not make a mess. 

Noble lifted his cloak from the box, looking over it with the fondness of familiarity. He began to examine the area that had been torn, unable to find any evidence that it had been damaged in the first place. 

"I took the time to fix all those ghastly little nicks and loose threads. Do you approve?" she asked, batting her lashes expectantly.

The cloak looked as it did when it was new. Better even. 'I can't believe that anypony would go to this much trouble,' he thought. upon finishing that thought, he lowered the cloak, his face dropping with it.

"Oh, my," Rarity replied, her voice slightly panicked, "Is something wrong? Did I miss something?" 

"No, Ms. Rarity," Noble replied unenthusiastically, "you didn't miss a thing. The cloak looks perfect."

"Is something else wrong?" Twilight asked, approaching. 

"Why did all of you throw me a welcome party?"

"Well if we didn't throw you a party," Pinkie started, her voice going faster than usual, "then you wouldn't feel welcome, and if you didn't feel welcome, then you'd be all sad. And we don't want our newest friend to feel sad."

Noble shook his head, surprised she managed to say that much that fast in one breath. Then what she said hit him. "Wait a minute. You... consider me a friend?"

They all gave affirmative answers, smiling sincerely as they did. Noble fell quiet, unsure of what to say to that.

"Oh," Rarity started, "but do listen to us ramble on. I'm certain you must feel exhausted. Come along, girls. You too, Spike."

"Coming, Rarity," Spike replied dreamily, jogging after them as they left the room.

Noble sat in the dark noiseless room, wrapped in his own thoughts. These mares, all of whom he barely knew, welcomed him into their town and their lives. He bit his lip, feeling ashamed of himself. He laid down on his bed, waiting for sleep to overtake him.
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noble woke up, knowing it was morning even though Celestia hadn't raised the sun yet. He rubbed his eyes with his hooves, knowing he would never find sleep again now that he was awake. He trotted over to the washroom to splash some water over his face. 

Upon returning to the room, he found the clock read four-thirty. 'I bet even Applejack doesn't get up this early,' Noble thought with more admonishment than pride. Knowing he didn't have anything better to do, he decided to get back to his research.

He pulled out a volume on the identification and effects of various types of plant. Before he could delve into it, he was interrupted by a dull thud. Bringing his eyes up, he noticed his satchel had fallen from its peg. Feeling slightly annoyed at the inconvenience, he walked over to replace his possessions to their original resting place.

Upon lifting the bag, a pair of books slipped from the pouch. Upon a brief examination, he noticed that he had failed to secure the flap. He rolled his eyes at his own carelessness and lifted the books from the ground, wiping any dirt that might have gotten on them. 

Out of habit more than anything else, he glanced at the titles, knowing what the books were before looking at them. The titles read, 'Laws and Traditions of Ancient Equestria' and 'Myths and Legends of the Equestrian Knighthood.' Looking at the pair of tomes he held in his hooves, he found himself reminiscing...

**************************************************************************

Noble had been walking since dawn, ever since he had hopped off the train. He was tired; his legs were tired, his back was tired, his eyes were tired, even his tail was tired. With a heavy mind, he began taking stock of his situation.

'I am alone in dark scary forest. It's nighttime and it's going to rain soon. I'm five years old, cutie markless, really tired, and really hungry.'

'Maybe if you got rid of the book...' the logical part of his mind replied.

'No,' he interrupted, 'I found this book. I'm going to keep it.'

'It's going to get wet in the rain because of the holes in your bag.'

'I have a plastic bag over the book,' Noble thought matter-of-factly, 'It won't get wet. Besides, you can't complain with what you find in the trash.'

'But you can't even read.' 

'I can read a little,' he thought stubbornly, 'I read that part about how k-nights are supposed to be protectors of the weak.'

'Like you tried to be?'

'Shut up!' he thought, tears welling in his eyes. Getting his mind off those thoughts, he began to focus on the landscape around him.

The trees of the Vanhoover Woods towered over him, looming threateningly. He wasn't looking forward to sleeping here, but he really didn't have a choice in the matter. He probably wouldn't have minded so much if he hadn't been so hungry. The only thing he had  eaten was some food off of a plate that somepony didn't finish on the train. That had been last night and it wasn't enough to satisfy his appetite. 

Noble felt his stomach growl in protest. For a second, he thought he could smell cooking fill his nostrils. Nobles eyes snapped open at that. While he been hungry plenty of times, he had never been delusional before. He began to sniff at the air, following the intoxicating aroma of food.

He followed the path his nose led him on, his short legs carefully making their way around the hazardous landscape. He walked cautiously, not wanting to lose the fragrance but hesitant to follow it. While he was hopeful at the prospect of food, he was anxious at the thought of coming across other ponies. However, for now, he had to satisfy his curiosity that he wasn't hungrier (and crazier) than he thought.

He came upon a small dwelling. It was constructed out stone with a wooden roof. A single light penetrated the darkness that laid around it. 

Noble had to make a decision about approaching it sooner or later. The air was getting slightly colder, meaning it would start raining soon. Besides, he was getting hungrier. With a sigh, he began to approach the dwelling cautiously.

As he approached the building, it seemed to grow larger with each step he took. It wasn't until he reached the window the light was coming from and he found himself looking up at it,  that he realized just how small he was. 

Starting to feel disheartened, he lowered his eyes to the ground. Out of the corner his eye, he noticed a barrel close to the side of the house. His face lit up slightly in a moment of clarity as he came upon an idea. Without a moment's delay, he ran to the barrel to push it to the window.

He gave the barrel a shove and found it was heavier than he thought it was. Not one to give up without a fight, he gave a firmer shove to the immovable object, feeling it give a little. He gave a determined smile, steeled up everything he had, and gave the barrel the biggest push ever.  

The barrel moved slowly, but eventually he got it to his goal under the window. Feeling the effects of his labor, he leaned against the barrel to rest and catch his breath. After a moment, he finally felt rested enough to hop on the barrel to look into the window. Upon looking up, he felt his spirit drop again. In his excitement, he neglected to see how tall the barrel was. 

'No,' he thought, his jaw tightening, 'I did not just push this heavy flanking barrel over here for nothing.' With that thought, he jumped up reaching his hooves to the lid of the barrel. 

He felt himself hit the ground, feeling slightly dazed by the impact. He shook his head clear and looked up at the barrel again. 'Okay,' he thought, getting on his hooves, 'let's try that again.' Gauging the height, he leapt into the air again.

Hitting the ground again, Noble was starting to feel annoyed. Although he knew he was getting closer, he still fell short of his goal. He took a few steps back to get a running start. With a breath, he galloped forward and leapt into the air. 

He closed his eyes, waiting for the impact of the fall. When it didn't come, he opened them finding himself gripping onto the edge of the barrel with his hooves. He felt himself smile at his accomplishment and pulled himself onto the top of the barrel. 

He approached the window, noticing two ponies sitting inside. One was an older pony and the other was a foal about his age. The foal, a pegasus, sat at a table reading a book while the older unicorn was stirring a kettle full of delicious smelling food.

Although the food smelled heavenly and the warmth of the dwelling was inviting, Noble's entire face dropped at the sight. Noble knew that, even though there wasn't much interaction between the pair, he knew they were comfortable around each other. 'There's no place in there for a dirty, little stray like me,' he thought, feeling his heart break a little. 

He turned and leapt off the barrel, hoping to leave the dwelling and the two ponies inside behind forever.

Fate, it seemed, had other plans for him.

Upon landing, he fell on a stick, filling the quiet air the loudest snap anypony ever heard. Not wanting to stay to see the results, he bolted away as though he had been shot from a cannon. He didn't even pause when he heard the words "HEY STOP!" called after him. He didn't stop running until he felt something strike his back, causing him to go into a roll. 

While rolling, his instincts took over his actions. Using the motion, he managed to get what was glommed onto him on his underside. Getting his hind legs between them, he pushed the obstruction away from him with his legs.

A yellow and orangish blur sailed away from him, colliding with a tree. The young pegasus Noble kicked shook his head clear from the impact of the collision. After getting his bearings, he turned to stare daggers at Noble with his green eyes. He pawed at the ground, his wings prepared for takeoff. He then started his charge.

"LIGHTNING JOUST!"

The pegasus stopped mid step. Both foals turned to where the sound came from seeing the older unicorn. He stood in the doorway, his shadow cast between the two of them. 

"You both got a hit in," he replied, as though he hadn't been shouting a moment ago, "Leave it at that."

The pegasus looked at his opponent as though he were debating it. Reluctantly, he folded his wings to his side and sat on his haunches, his eyes never leaving Noble. 

The unicorn turned his glance away from the foals to look about the grounds. Apparently feeling satisfied at what he saw, he began to approach Noble at a steady gait, in spite of the slight limp he had. His dark grey coat and midnight black mane made him an imposing figure in the darkness of the night. Once within three feet of each other, the unicorn stopped advancing. 

Noble, to spite the fear he was feeling, tried to make himself taller than he was and looked the unicorn in his dark blue eyes. The unicorn gave a lopsided smile and lowered himself to the ground to look Noble in the eye.

"What is your name, lad?" the unicorn asked in a deep, but soft voice.

Noble was genuinely surprised by this. In his dealing with older ponies, when they spoke to him at all, they rarely asked him questions and never lowered themselves to speak to him on his level. 

"Noble Valor," he answered after a moment of mental gathering, trying to hide his uncertainty.

At that moment, Noble's stomach growled audibly. The unicorn raised an eyebrow towards Noble, causing him to feel abashed. The unicorn turned his gaze towards the pegasus.

"Lightning Joust, when you set the table for dinner, add an extra place. And stir the stew a bit when you get inside."

The pegasus' glance shifted towards the unicorn, a brief flicker of disbelief on his face. It passed as soon as it was placed, leaving his customary scowl in its place. After a moment of staring, the pegasus named Lightning Joust trotted inside.

"You'll have to forgive his rudeness," the unicorn replied, turning his gaze towards Noble again, "he's a bit stubborn at times. I'm called Iron Clad, by the way."

Noble responded with a nod of his head, not removing his eyes from the unicorn.

"After dinner," the unicorn replied, standing, "I'll have Lightning fix up the guest room for you. In the meantime, you might want to use the washroom down the hall to clean yourself up a bit."

Noble looked down at himself, noticing the dirt and leaves that clung to his hooves and his coat for the first time.

The unicorn began to  walking towards the dwelling at the same steady pace he had used earlier. After a moment, he turned towards Noble and saw that he wasn't following. "Come on, lad," the unicorn coaxed gently, "I know you're hungry."

Noble began to weigh his options. He wasn't sure he trusted this Iron Clad. The fact he was a unicorn didn't help his case either. And he was willing to bet almost anything that Lightning Joust wouldn't be willing to forget what Noble had done to him, unintentional though it was.

However, he was hungry and he wouldn't get very far in the rain without food. Or sleep. 'It seems that, once again, I'm left with little choice,' Noble thought with a sigh. With even more reluctance than Lightning Joust showed, he began to follow the unicorn into the dwelling. 

**************************************************************************

Noble wiped a few stray tears from his eyes at the bittersweet memory. It was then that the memory of what he done came flooding back. That, along with the words that Pinkie and the other girls had said last night, caused his face to drop. 'If they knew what I did,' he thought bitterly, 'would they still be so willing to welcome me?' 

Absent-mindedly he glanced at the clock, reading five thirty-five off its face. Noble sighed, remembering the interview he was supposed to have with Printing later. Using care, he replaced the books in his satchel and made certain he secured the flap this time. 

> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noble closed the book with a thud, using more force than was strictly necessary. He heaved an annoyed sigh, trying not to let his anger get the best of him. 

Yet, how could he help, but be annoyed. He had been doing research every free moment he had since he regained consciousness and, regardless of how much he read, he still couldn't find anything concerning the timberwolves' and the manticore's strange behavior.

He knew enough about dogs and wolves to know that, regardless of what happens, one rule remains the same: the pack stays together. He also knew that any predator, when faced with a loud noise and an unexpected charge, will turn and run to find easier prey elsewhere. However, two didn't. And what's more, when Noble charged the timberwolves, they seemed more interested in him than the kids. 

The manticore only furthered his suspicions. Growing up in a wooded area, he grew accustomed to seeing and interacting with all sorts of animals. He had even tussled with his fair share of predators. All predators, except for the truly desperate, stayed away from areas full of ponies. The manticore he fought yesterday showed no signs of being desperate enough to enter into a populated town, yet he was. 

All of this, along with the eye color change of the animals, he found disconcerting.

On top of that, he had wasted an hour and a half of the morning on that stupid interview. While he was happy and eager to help Printing Press out, it still didn't change his disdain for self-promotion. 

Noble placed his head on the table in defeat, feeling the slightly cool touch of the wood on his forehead.

"Something bothering you, Noble?" Spike asked, entering the room.

"Maybe a little," Noble admitted, resting his chin on the table.

"Well, what is it? Maybe I can help." Spike volunteered, his voice expressing his eagerness to be useful.

Personally, Noble doubted the young dragon had any information on the topic he was searching for. But before he answered, he pondered in deep thought for a second. He came upon, what he felt to be, a brilliant idea.

"Spike, if you were having a problem concerning animals, who would you talk to?"

**************************************************************************

Noble trotted on the path that led towards Fluttershy's cottage. When he found out from Spike that she was the resident animal caretaker, he really wasn't all that surprised. From what he had seen of her, she seemed to have the perfect temperament for the job. He just hoped the pegasus could help him.

He didn't have any doubt that she would, if she could. From what Spike had said about her, she was possibly the single nicest pony in all of Equestria, including the princesses. However, given his limited interactions with the mare, he was uncertain if she would feel comfortable enough around him to help him without it being awkward. He just hoped it would work out as well as he hoped it would.

He finally spotted the cottage, finding it looked exactly like Spike had described it. It was a tree, much Like Twilight's, but closer to the ground and wider. It sat on a small rise with a little brook running under a bridge in the front. However, what truly made it stand out from every other house he had seen was the fact it was surrounded in small animal houses of every size and description. 

He approached the door and raised his hoof to knock on it. He stopped himself when he heard a faint musical sound coming from the back. Allowing his curiosity to get the better of him, he went around to the back of the cottage. As he approached the back, the sound became more defined with every step. So much so, he began to make out individual words.

"...And all around the music fills the sky 
There's music by the river 
And there's music in the grass 
And the music makes your heart soar in reply."

When he reached the back of the cottage, he found the most perplexing sight he had ever seen in his life. He even blinked a few time to make certain his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, but they weren't. He found Fluttershy, possibly the softest-spoken pony in Equestria, singing. And not only was she singing, but she was singing beautifully. 

She moved among the animals with an almost casual sense of ease. She flitted from one animal to the next; coming to each one with a smile, a caring presence, and whatever else was needed for them. She was happy, content, and at peace with herself and the world. 

As she finished her vocalizing, the animals present began cheering. Noble, waking from his dream-like trance, began to applaud along with them. Noticing the foreign sound, Fluttershy turned towards him with a look that could only be described as pure horror.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Noble replied, trying to put her at ease, "I just couldn't help but watch."

Silence stretched between them for a moment before either of them spoke. "Could you do me a favor?" Fluttershy asked, her usual soft voice managing to be even softer.

"What?" 

"Um...do you um...think you could...not tell anypony about that?" Fluttershy asked, her voice getting softer as she spoke.

"Certainly, but why?" Noble asked, "If you don't mind my asking, that is." 

"Well," Fluttershy began, "you see...I...I have....um..."

Noble waited patiently, knowing the mare would get to it in her own time. Although, he had a good guess where she was going with it.

"I have...stage fright," she finished, barely above a whisper.

Noble nodded inwardly, having a feeling that was the problem. Given what he had observed and what he had heard from Spike, he could tell her only real problem was that being the center of attention absolutely terrified her. "I promise not to tell anypony," Noble replied, smiling gently at her, "You have my word."

She glanced towards him, her face slowly lighting up in a small, but definite smile.

"Anyway," Noble changed subjects, "could I get your help with something?"

"Oh," Fluttershy began, remembering herself, "I would, but I have to take care of all my little animal friends first."

Noble nodded in understanding. "All right. How can I help?"

"Oh, I couldn't..." Fluttershy started, but Noble interrupted her before she could object further.

"Look, I have nothing better to do at the moment. Besides, the way I see it, I owe you something for accidentally scaring you earlier." 

"Well," she replied softly, "Okay...only if you really, really want to."

"Not only do I want to," Noble replied, giving her a determined smile, "I insist. What would you like me to do?"

"Well, I can't really think of anything for you to do," she answered, as though she were afraid of the response she would get.

Noble thought for a second, before hitting upon an idea. "Do you still have a number of animals to feed?"

She nodded her reply. "Then how about I carry the food for you? You can feed more animals that way without having to go back to get more food. Would that work?"

She thought for a moment before she smiled and nodded.

"Shall we?" Noble asked, gesturing with a hoof. 

She walked towards her cottage, Noble walking next to her. "Thank you," she replied.

"You're welcome," Noble replied, smiling a little. "And Ms. Fluttershy?" She turned to face him, her crystal blue eyes shimmering in anticipation. 

"For what it's worth, I think you sing beautifully," he replied. She turned her head back, smiling and blushing at the compliment. 
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noble rubbed his forehead in frustration, closing his eyes to the massive tome of print that laid in front of him. 

The trip to Fluttershy's cottage hadn't worked out as well as he had hoped it would. While he didn't get any useful information, the trip itself hadn't been entirely wasted: he managed to help a charming young mare and even managed to have some tea and cookies. Unfortunately, there was still the fact that he still had research waiting for him. 

He opened his eyes, skipping the side effects of the 'Mahogany Dandelion' to continue with the 'Maiden's Folly.' 

"Hey, Noble!" a trio of familiar voices shouted.

Noble turned to where the sound originated, finding the Cutie Mark Crusaders beaming up at him. "Hello girls," he replied, ruffling their manes, "How are my three favorite fillies today?"

"Oh," Sweetie Belle chirped, "We're fine." 

Noble noticed them sneaking sly glances at each other. "Okay girls," Noble replied, crossing his hooves across his barrel, "what are you three hiding?"

"What make you think we're hiding something?" Scootaloo asked in feigned innocence.

"Because you three look like the cat that got into the cream. That's why." 

"Well," Apple Bloom drawled, "we were heading to the clubhouse when we saw this!" She pulled out a rolled newspaper, unfurling it in front of him.

He glanced the headline, his eyes growing wide at reading 'Hero in Our Midst.' He took it carefully, scanning the story and realizing it was his.

"We were pretty excited too," Scootaloo replied at his expression, her eyes brightening.

'Not the first word I would have chosen,' he thought. As an afterthought, he glanced beneath the headline, reading the four words he was genuinely happy to see: 'Written by: Printing Press.'

"I bet you were amazing with that manticore!" Scootaloo exclaimed, barely able to control herself.

"Weren't you frightened by the manticore?" Sweetie Belle asked concernedly. 

'A knight of Equestria doesn't get frightened,' he thought immediately, 'then again, I'm not a knight.'

"Yeah," he answered, his ears lying flat as he did, "I was."

"So I was wonderin'," Apple Bloom started, "exactly how did you manage to outrun a manticore?"

Noble was about to answer when the words Printing Press had said to him the other day hit home. 'There aren't a lot of ponies who can do what you did,' he had said and he was right. Even Noble was a bit perplexed as to how he did it for as long as he did. 

"I'm not sure," he answered honestly.

"What do you mean 'you're not sure?'" Scootaloo asked incredulously, "How can you not be sure?!"

Rather than answer, he sat in thought. 'I wonder if my time in the Everfree Forest...' he thought, hitting upon an idea. "Girls, mind helping me with something?"

"Is there a cutie mark in it?" Sweetie Belle asked hopefully.

Noble thought for a second. "There might be."

**************************************************************************

"Well," Noble replied, seeing the rocky terrain, "this was better than I had hoped.

"Yeah," Scootaloo replied, buffing a hoof on her chest, "we're good like that."

Noble smiled at her confident manner. "And you three are certain that there isn't anypony else around?"

"Yep," Sweetie Belle replied cheerfully.

Noble nodded. "Well, thanks for bringing me here. You three can go."

"Ain't there anything else we can do?" Apple Bloom asked with big pleading eyes.

"Well," he replied seeing their faces light up in joy, "I could use some help searching for a rock."

"A rock?" Scootaloo replied her face dropping in disappointment.

"What'cha need a rock for?" Apple Bloom asked inquisitively. 

Noble was about to tell them, but the look of surprise on their little faces was too good to pass up. "It's a surprise," he replied jovially, seeing uncertainty pass between them. Seeing this, he instantly shifted his tone to one of indifference. "But, you don't have to. If you want to back out, you can. No hard feelings."

"Oh, no you don't!" Sweetie Belle squeaked with a determined look in her eyes, She hopped onto a rock, her face level with his, and began poking her tiny hoof into his barrel. "You asked for our help and you're getting it, buster!"

Noble looked to the other two, seeing them nod in agreement to Sweetie Belle's sentiments. He had to admit their devotion was pretty touching and absolutely adorable. "Fine," he replied with a smile, "and after this, we'll do something that you three want to do. Fair?"

The fillies smiled and began searching vigorously. That was until after a few seconds Apple Bloom asked, "Uh, Noble, what kinda rock did ya want?"

Noble, managing to stifle his laughter, answered, "It doesn't matter as long as it's big and heavy."

Several minutes and rocks later, they had finally found one to suit his purpose.

"So what did you need this rock for anyway?" Scootaloo asked, crossing her hooves in front of her.

"You'll see," Noble replied confidently. 

He began to examine the rock. He didn't know what kind of rock it was (aside from the fact its size qualified it as a boulder), but that didn't matter. He did know that it was a bit smaller than he was, even accounting for what might be buried beneath the hard earth. "Wish I knew how heavy it was," he thought out-loud.

"Given that it is sedimentary, it is approximately 300 pounds or 136 kilograms," Pinkie announced, arriving from nowhere. 

"Where did you come from?" he asked, wonder written on his face.

"From Ponyville, silly!" she answered, smiling her customary smile.

"No, Pinkie," he clarified, placing a hoof on his forehead, "I meant what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I check on the rocks once a week, whether they need it or not," she answered.

Noble blinked a few times, uncertain if he had heard her correctly. After a moment, he replied, "Well, thanks Pinkie."

"You're welcome," she replied, skipping away humming happily to herself. 

Noble watched her leave for a few moments, wondering what color the sky was in her world. 

"Where was I?" he asked, turning towards the Crusaders as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"You were gonna do something cool with the rock," Scootaloo replied, still doubtful about his claims. 

Noble remembered as a small smile appeared on his face. Without preamble, he walked to the boulder and sat on his haunches. He placed his hooves on either side of it and, With a grunt of effort, he began to lift it. It was a slow process at first, but as it become dislodged from the ground, he lifted easily over his head.

"Wow!" Sweetie Belle whispered.

Noble turned his head to find the three fillies jaws agape. "Would you say this was cool, Scootaloo?" he asked, a hint of humor in his voice.

The filly in question nodded her head eagerly in reply. He then smiled, retorting, "Then this should be, I think the word is, radical."

With that said, he turned and threw the boulder.  It sailed several feet into the air, landing several yards away with a heavy thud. 

"Oh, my gosh!" Apple Bloom replied excitedly, lifting her forelegs into the air, "That was amazing! Almost as good as my brother!"

Noble blushed at that. After hearing stories from both Apple Bloom and Applejack, he knew that was high praise. 

"How did you do that?!" Sweetie Belle asked, still in awe.

"Well," Noble clarified, "I guess, with all the time I spent living in the Everfree Forest, my physical condition improved."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders wore confused expressions with tilted heads. Noble smacked himself mentally, remembering who he was speaking to. "I got faster and stronger living in the Everfree Forest."

"Ohhhhhhh," the Crusaders replied.

"Okay," Noble replied smiling, "you three helped me. Now, it's my turn. What do you want to do?"

"It's probably a little late to do any crusading," Scootaloo replied, glancing at the afternoon sky.

"We could play tag," Sweetie Belle offered with a small smile.

"Boy, I haven't done that in years," Noble replied with a chuckle.

"There is one thing you should know before we start," Apple Bloom said with all the seriousness a little filly like her could manage.

Scootaloo turned a questioning look to Apple Bloom, who responded with a wink. Sweetie Belle, who watched the silent conversation, grinned mischievously.

"It's not something bad is it?" Noble asked, watching their expressions with caution.

"Of course not," Sweetie Belle chirped.

"But it is a secret," Scootaloo continued, her voice dropping in volume.

"Yeah," Apple Bloom continued her voice even lower, "so come close so we can tell you."

Noble lifted an eyebrow, but did as he was asked. He lowered himself so his eyes were level with theirs. Apple Bloom approached him cautiously, eyes darting from side to side. She took a deep breath and bopped him in the nose. 

Noble blinked and saw the trio running as fast as their little legs would carry them. Between the sound of little hooves running, he heard the sound of the three of them yelling, "You're it!"

"I can't believe I fell for that one," Noble berating himself. He straightened himself out and gave chase to the little fillies. 

> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noble entered the library, rubbing a hoof through his mane. 'Note to self:' he thought, 'Make certain that I keep the Cutie Mark Crusaders as allies rather than enemies. Those three are cunning!'

"Hello Noble," Twilight replied, looking away from her task of organizing books, "How was your day with the girls?"

"It was fine," Noble replied, "but do me a favor. Remind me to never ever teach those three to play poker."

"What's poker?" Spike asked innocently.

"Never mind," Twilight replied sternly, shooting a dirty look at Noble.

"I'll tell you later," Noble mouthed to Spike, who winked in reply, once Twilight resumed her task.

"Oh, Fluttershy came by looking for you." Twilight replied not looking away from her task, "She came by to thank you for helping her with her animals. I didn't know you were so good with them."

"I'm not," Noble admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, "To tell the truth, she handled most of them. The only animal I handled was a bear and he hugged me."

"So you got bear hugged by a bear?" Spike inquired, trying and failing to suppress his laughter.

Noble thought about it for a second. "Yeah," he replied chuckling, "I guess I did."

This sent the little dragon into a giggling fit, which in turn increased Noble's chuckling. Twilight tried to glare at their silliness, but its was ineffective due to her caving in to her own fit of laughter. 

'Okay Squire, it wasn't as funny as all that.'

Nobles chuckling died away, his smile dropping with it. He had heard Lightning Joust's chiding in his humorless voice, but didn't need to look about for the source. He knew that it was only his mind playing tricks on him.

Noble faintly heard another noise, its sound echoing as though it were coming from a tunnel. He refocused his eyes towards Spike and Twilight, knowing it could only be coming from them. "What was that?"

"I asked if you were all right," Twilight replied concernedly.

"Oh, I'm good. Today just took a lot out of me." Twilight smiled slightly, relaxing her tensed posture. "Do either of you mind if I take a bath? I'm little sweaty from running after the Crusaders." Hearing them give their consent, he trotted upstairs breathing a sigh of relief once he was out of sight.  

He waited patiently for the tub to fill with almost scalding hot water, taking the time to sort his thoughts out. His minded drifted to Lightning Joust and that nickname he had been given. He gave a small chuckle at that, remembering how uncertainly their relation had started. Strangely enough, it also started with a bath.

**************************************************************************

A knock on the door interrupted the quiet of the bathroom. "It's Lightning Joust," a voice called through the door. 

Noble was already in the tub and had been for several minutes. "What do you want?" he asked uncertainly.

"I got a towel, a washcloth, and a bar of soap for you. Mind if I come in?" 

"I guess so," Noble replied, sinking a bit deeper in the tub.

Lightning walked into the steamy room, carrying the items he listed on his wings. He glanced at Noble and snorted, "Calm down, kid. You were naked before you got in the tub."

Noble thought about it for a second. Seeing the logic of his claim, Noble rose his head out of the water a bit. "Here," Lightning replied winging the washcloth and soap to Noble, who took them hesitantly, "Iron also wanted me to tell you that dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes."

Noble nodded at that as Lightning turned to leave. "Lightning?" Noble called after him, causing the pegasus to turn his head. "Sorry I kicked you into the tree."

Lightning snorted his reply at the comment, leaving the room. Noble hadn't expected that. He had expected anything from acceptance of the apology (unlikely though it was) to scorn that it was given, but not dismissal of it altogether. Noble sank a bit deeper into the tub at this revelation and began the process of cleansing himself. 

After he made certain that he scrub himself completely clean, Noble dried himself with a towel. As he dried, he turned his mind to think about what to make of Iron Clad.

He knew, fundamentally, that unicorns weren't bad. At least, that was what he told himself. In fact, most of the adult unicorns that he met only cared about themselves. The only reason they did anything at all was to look after their own interests.

'Yet,' he thought, 'this one had taken me into his home. He is letting me take a bath and letting me keep my bag close by. He is even going to feed me the first real meal I've had in... how many days?' He shook his head clear, deciding it didn't matter how many days it was. The point was Iron Clad was helping him and, for the life of him, Noble couldn't see what benefit he got from it. He deserved a fair chance and he was going to give him one.

After finishing drying himself, he looked at himself in the mirror wondering if he looked 'presentable,' whatever that meant. Not seeing anything noticeable, he gathered his bag and went to join his companions.

He walked down the hallway, following the smell of food like he had earlier. Eventually, he found the kitchen, noticing the door was slightly ajar. He was about to walk in when he heard Lightning speak in an annoyed tone.

"Can't you take anything seriously?"

"I am. It is you that are taking this far too seriously."

"Somepony around here has to." 

"You aren't still sore that he kicked you into a tree, are you?" 

"This isn't about that. This is about you unwilling to see reason."

"Lad, I know you're smart for your age, but it's going to age you before your time. Don't worry so much."

"Look, I'm just saying, we don't even know why he's here."

"He is here because I invited him." 

"I meant in the woods."

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters! He might have been trying to rob us for all you know!"

"Probably. Unlikely, but probably."

"He might have been. I mean we don't even know anything about this kid."

"Kid? I doubt he's much older than you are."

"That's not the point."

"Then what is?"

"HE'S NOT OUR PROBLEM!" Lightning snapped, Noble's eyes growing wide at the response.

Silence stretched for a moment before Noble heard Lighting sigh. "The fact of the matter is we barely know this kid or what he was doing this deep in the woods by himself. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to contact the authorities to see if anyone is looking for him." 

Noble didn't wait to hear the rest. He didn't have to. He had heard enough of this conversation to know what was coming and he wasn't going to have any part of it. Without having to think about it, he ran as quickly and quietly to the door, running out into the pelting rain.

The rain blinded him as he ran out into it, stinging him left and right. The sound of the rain was deafening, even making it too loud to think. Not that any of that mattered. All that mattered to him was escaping. 

He ran for what felt like an eternity; the blinding, deafening rain obscuring all sense of time and distance. He might have traveled for a hundred miles or a few feet and he couldn't tell the difference. It all seemed to be like an eternity in the blinding deafening rain to the young colt.

When he felt himself trip, he realized exactly how fast he was moving. He felt himself skid across the ground, moving much faster than he realized he was capable of. He rolled down  an incline, feeling the painful tree roots, bushes, and thorns as gravity did its work. When he stopped he just felt content to lie there for a while.

He knew that he should get up and continue to run, but he just hurt too much. His body and legs hurt from the fall, the run, and the trek he made earlier today; his stomach roiled painfully in hunger; his head spun too fast for him to keep a coherent thought; and his entire being was too tired to care. He couldn't have moved if his life had depended on it. Eventually, he finally succumbed to the blackness of unconsciousness.

**************************************************************************

When Noble awoke, he was surprised that he no longer felt the rain pelting his coat. That thought struck him as odd, seeing as he could faintly hear it, but not feel it. He didn't quite as hurt as he had earlier, too. He was certainly aware of it, but it didn't bother him. He also felt the presence of heat around him. It was accompanied by a crackling noise and the smell of smoke. All of these curiosities caused Noble to open his eyes to learn what was around him.

The first thing he saw was a series of colored blurs in front of his eyes. Slowly, as his eyes cleared and began to focus, he saw that he was inside of a familiar structure. After a moment, he realized he was back in Iron Clad's lodging. 

He tried to get up, but his legs wobbled under his weight and he collapsed back on the bed. After the second try, he gave up trying and let his body sink into the bed. As though it were timed, Iron Clad walked into the room.

"Ah, good! Glad you woke up! I was worried about you."

'Yeah, right,' he thought wearily, lying face down on the bed. He heard the stallion step close to the bed and sit down next to it. 

"Here, lad. Drink this, it'll make you feel better." Noble turned his eyes to a glass filled with thick white liquid floating before him, making no move to grab it, in spite of his stomach. "Is there something wrong, lad?"

"What do you care?" Noble replied, "I'm not your problem, am I?"

Iron's face dropped at the reply. "Oh, that's it."

Noble only response was to flip onto his back and to stare at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry you heard that." 

"I'm not," Noble replied in a tired tone, "it just reminds me that I'm not wanted anywhere."

"Now that's not true," Iron replied.

"Sure it is."

"If it were, would I have invited you inside in the first place?" 

Noble shot a questioningly glance to the stallion, seeing a small smile on his face. If he were to tell the truth, he hadn't thought of it that way. He could only sigh as a response.

"Do you feel like drinking this now?" Iron asked, levitating the glass to Noble again.

Noble looked at the contents. "What is it?"

"Milk." Noble eyed the concoction curiously. "What's the matter, haven't you ever had milk before?" Noble shook his head that he hadn't. Noble saw Iron's eyes flash for a second, but was replaced quickly with a small smile. "Care to try it then?"

Noble took the glass in his hooves, feeling some condensation on it. He sniffed the milk inside it, looking for some idea of how it would taste. Not smelling anything, he hesitantly put the glass to his muzzle and sipped the contents. It felt cool, thick, and velvety on his tongue and the taste was unlike anything he had ever tasted before. Before he realized what was happening, he had drank the entire content of the glass, feeling all the poorer now that it was gone.

"I think it's safe to say you like it," Iron replied with a chuckle.

Noble looked at Iron shyly, twirling the glass in his hooves. "Is there more?" he asked quietly.

Iron smile got wider as he refilled the glass from a pitcher. "After this one, I think it would be wise to get some food into you too." 

As Noble had finished the second glass, he found a bowl of stew floating in front of him. A small amount of steam rose from the bowl as bits of vegetables and potatoes floated in the broth. Noble took the bowl, feeling warmth seep into his hooves as he grabbed it. With a renewed sense of vigor, he shoveled into it, much to Iron's surprise and approval. 

"Nice to see somepony who appreciates my bad cooking," he replied chuckling as Noble finished his third bowlful, "Now you should get some sleep. I imagine you had a big day."

Noble settled himself into bed, although he didn't feel relaxed at all. Even though Noble was laying in the softest bed he had ever been in and felt full for the fist time in... ever, he still couldn't get comfortable. Iron placed a hoof on Noble's mane, as though he could sense what Noble had been thinking.

"Don't feel too bad about what happened today, lad," Iron replied, gently ruffling Noble's mane, "We all make mistakes at times." Odd as it was, Iron's words and gesture were comforting to the little colt. So much so, that he let out a yawn. "I'll leave you to it then." With that, he turned and began walking out of the room.

A thought then occurred to Noble. "How did you find me in the rain?" 

Iron stopped at the door, turned around, and raised an eyebrow at the question. "How's that?"

"Well... it's just... I could barely see in the rain. So... I was wondering... how you found me?"

"I didn't. Lightning did." With that, he left the room closing the door behind him. 

Noble was literally speechless at that revelation. Somehow, he just couldn't picture a pony like Lightning Joust doing something like that, especially after what Noble had heard before. It seemed that there was more to Lightning than he had originally thought. With that thought, and several others, he fell into a deep sleep.

**************************************************************************

Noble turned the water off to the tub, having it filled to the appropriate level for him. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't had any milk in months. He made a mental note to ask Twilight for some the second he got out. With that thought in mind, he lowered himself into the tub, wincing a few times at how hot the water was, and began the process of scrubbing himself clean.

> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noble lied in his bed staring up at the ceiling, having reached the conclusion long ago that he wasn't going to be able to get to sleep. He wasn't surprised by this, nor was he particularly worried by it. Sleep would find him in good time. For now, it just gave him more time with his thoughts.

Thoughts that all led to the same question: What was causing the glowing red eyes? As far as his research went, he couldn't find anything about it. He had only one avenue of knowledge left to research, but it would take weeks, possibly months to research for an answer. And, on the distinct possibility that it was what he thought it was, by the time he found an answer, it might be too late. All in all, it was an undesirable situation to be in.

He glanced at the clock, reading ten p.m. off of its face. He felt more confused than ever. He knew he couldn't get any answers this way so he did the only thing that made any sort of sense: he got up to take a walk.

He gathered his satchel and his cloak, making certain he made as little noise as possible. Once finished, he made his way to the kitchen carefully as to not wake Twilight and Spike from their peaceful slumbers. Once there, he grabbed five apples from the cupboards and placed them in his satchel wrapped in his cloak. He left the library and walked into the night, but not before leaving a note on the table that read: 'Left before dawn. Back before dusk. NV.' 

The town of Ponyville was quiet and peaceful. Not that he really expected it to be any different, but it was nice to know anyway. Even though he had never been here before about a week and a half ago, he couldn't help but feel a certain amount of nostalgia about the place. 'Almost feels like home,' he reflected. 

But it wasn't though. He had no home, not here nor anywhere else. Such were the consequences of his actions. As much as he liked the town of Ponyville and the ponies who inhabited it, he had no place among them. More out of reflex than anything else, he quickened his pace to a canter.

He couldn't say what had led him there, but he found himself standing at the border of the Everfree Forest. As strange as that was, he didn't feel the sense of dread he felt upon entering the first time. It was there certainly, but not as strongly. If he had to put his feelings to words, it felt eerily familiar to what being greeted by an old friend felt like.

Turning his thoughts towards pragmatism, he pulled several thick, dry branches from a tree near the border and made four effective torches from them. He placed all but one into his satchel and, after a countless number of tries, he managed to get one lit. The fire crackled merrily as it slowly devoured its fuel. Feeling secure enough that he had everything to suit his immediate needs, he entered into the oppressive darkness of the Everfree Forest. 

As he trudged further into the woods, he held the torch aloft and marked his path. While most ponies did this with tools of various natures, he was always capable of doing so with his sight and memory alone. When asked if he was capable of this because of his training or his natural abilities as an earth pony, he always gave the same answer: "Does it really matter?" In truth, he wasn't sure either, but he wasn't one to complain about the convenience of a useful trait.

He couldn't say for certain how long he had been walking in the forest, but he knew it must have been for a while. He glanced at his hoof-made torch, which had burned about halfway down. He knew he would have to replace it soon or walk in the dark. He was debating about when he should do this when he noticed a strange noise coming from the forest. He quickly lowered the stub of the torch and smothered the flame in the dirt, obscuring his sight with darkness.

Noble closed his eyes, allowing them the time to adjust to the lack of light. With his sight completely shrouded, his other senses became filled with the sensations of the forest around him. He could hear the faint running of water nearby as well as the sounds of the animals either scurrying about or resting in their burrows. He felt the rich, spongy earth beneath hooves as the faint smell of dirt rose to his nostrils. The earthy aroma was barely noticeable when compared to the various smells of plant life, the scent of which so strong it practically overloaded both his sense of taste and his sense of smell. 

As he got his bearings, he became more aware of the unfamiliar sound. Upon closer listening, he began to think. 'Is it singing. No, it's not singing. It's not quite lyrical enough to pass as singing. Chanting, then? Yes, chanting!' Feeling satisfied at his choice of description, he opened his night-adjusted eyes and began scanning about. After a moment or so, he spotted a faint light glowing in the distance. Feeling more curious than anything else, he began to approach it cautiously.

He silently stalked forward, slowly approaching the light. The chanting became steadily louder, never wavering in volume. Images of ponies performing various rituals danced about in his head. He shook them off, knowing that ponies never did that sort of thing (except on Nightmare Night, for the additional creepiness factor involved). After a few minutes of creeping, he had approached enough to be able to see who it was that was chanting. He peeked over the hedge and felt his jaw grow agape at the revelation.

Carrying a lantern for light, the zebra mare scanned several patches of foliage. She alternated between humming and chanting in a foreign language. She seemed so immersed in her task that she was unperturbed about where she was. Noble wondered briefly if she knew that he was there watching her. 'Well, if she does, she obviously doesn't care,' he decided.

Noble then began to wonder why somepony would be traveling through one of the most dangerous places in Equestria in the middle of the night. He paused for a moment, coming to the realization that he was doing the exact same thing. Mentally chiding himself, he decided to quit spying on her and do the polite thing of introducing himself to her. With that, he stepped into the light and cleared his throat to get her attention.

Getting the intended effect, the zebra turned her head towards Noble. Her face lit up in an enigmatic smile "Well," she said, "be this a trick? A lark? Or is this a young pony I see in the dark?" 

"How do you do?" Noble replied, "I didn't wish to disturb you. I just heard your voice and saw your light in the distance, curious as to what it was. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Noble Valor. And Who might you be?"

"To my share of mystery I make my claim, but Zecora is my name," she replied, giving a small bow, which Noble returned. 

"I don't mean to be inquisitive, but exactly what are you doing here at night?"

"Near to here is my home and far from there I hardly roam. I look for plants to fulfill my trade; helping others and giving aide."

"You're a doctor?"

"Although I do my best to assist, the best term for me is herbalist."

Noble blinked for a second. "I don't wish to come off as overly inquisitive, but do all zebras make it a habit to rhyme?"

She chuckled at the stallion's confusion. "Some do so, as per tradition. I prefer to, as a matter of exposition."

Noble shrugged at that. "Everypony to their taste, I suppose."

Zecora nodded at that, satisfaction written on her face. "Now that I have revealed my task, what brings you into the night I must ask?"

"Couldn't sleep, decided a walk might help."

She raised an eyebrow at his explanation. Her expression said, 'I'm not buying it,' but she pressed no further than that.

Noble bit his lip nervously. "Do you get into town much?" he asked.

She shook her head as a response. "Once I find myself there, the crowd of townsponies is more than I can bear."

Noble knew he wouldn't get another chance like this. "Zecora, might I ask a favor of you?"

"Before I do this favor for you, I must ask what it is you need me do?"

"I need knowledge and I think you may have it. Will you help me?"

She peered carefully at the stallion, as if she were judging his worth. After a moment, she gave her consent in a nod. 

Noble took a deep breath. "It began when I noticed a pack of timberwolves..."

**************************************************************************


"And that's the whole affair."

"I make it a point not to assume," Zecora replied, her tone serious, "but there is more to this tale I presume?"

Noble nodded. "In both cases, the timberwolves and the manticore had a red sheen across their eyes. I've done research on my own, but cannot find any known source for it. So we come to my request: I need to know if there is any disease that can coerce animals to do what I described to you?" 

Zecora furrowed her brow in concentration. Noble lightly bit his lip in anticipation, trying to hide his worry.

He wasn't worried so much for himself. He was certain that, if it could affect ponies, he would have fallen under its effects long since. What worried him was the panic such an epidemic would cause. If anypony got hurt, and it was within his power to prevent it, he would never be able to live with himself. He kept himself from shuddering as darker thoughts came creeping in.

"I have dealt with many ailments," Zecora replied after a while, "this much is true. Yet, there little that I can tell you."

Noble gave her a confused look, before he puzzles out what she had said. "Does that mean what I think it means?" he asked hopefully.

She gave a nod. "The art of healing I can do with ease. And I can inform you, there is no such disease."

Noble felt his spirits lift. "Thank you."

"Good deeds are not meant for measure. It was, and is, a pleasure."

"Might I ask another favor?" he asked, reaching into his satchel. "Before finding you, I put my torch out to see who was here with me." With that, he lifted one of the new torches from his pack. "Might I?"

After getting his torch relit, Noble bid farewell to the zebra mare. Although he still had no idea what was causing the shifting eyes, just hearing it wasn't an illness was relief enough. He trotted further into the Everfree, practically skipping in much the same way Pinkie Pie does.

After about an hour, he slowed his gait to a walk and allowed his thoughts to catch up to him. While he was genuinely happy that it wasn't a disease, he was still at a loss for what was causing the red eyes on the animals. He racked his brain for several minutes, trying to find some sort of plausible explanation.

'It was probably nothing, Noble' he told himself, 'Face the facts. It's just a wild goose chase you sent yourself on to make yourself seem more important than you are.' He stopped walking and sat down as he sighed half-heartedly. He had never thought of himself as self-important, but it wouldn't be the first time he had been wrong. 

He lowered his eyes to the ground, noticing a set of hoofprints. At first he thought nothing of them, but found something strange about them. He moved the torch a bit to get a better look at the tracks.

Noble had heard of some ponies able to look at a set of tracks and be able to tell everything about the pony that made them. He wasn't even close to that good. The best he could do was guess at the ponies height, and that was due to Iron Clad's insistent instruction. Fortunately, Iron Clad was only mediocre himself.

Upon examination, the gait of the tracks put the pony that made them close to Noble's height. Noble knew that was unusual because, while he wasn't the tallest pony in Equestria, he had a good few inches on most of them. He didn't tower over them like the princesses, but he had to lower his head a bit to look them in the eyes.

What really made the tracks unusual was the fact that he had never been in this particular section of the Everfree before tonight. For a second, he thought they might have belonged to Zecora, but he dismissed it remembering having to look down slightly at Zecora. With his curiosity aroused, he decided to follow the tracks to find out where they led. 

After a few minutes of walking, he followed the trail to a drop-off. He planted the torch in the ground, several feet away from the edge. No longer having one of his hooves occupied, he approached the edge carefully.

Peering out into the darkness, he could barely see anything. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed a small clearing through the patch of forest. As much as he hated to admit it, while he hadn't been to the area where he was before, there was something eerily familiar about the area he was looking at.  

He removed the snub of torch he put out earlier and lit it off the torch that was currently burning. He approached the edge again, burning torch in hoof. As soon as he reached the edge, he threw the torch watching as it tumbled end over end into the darkness. As it landed into the clearing, he felt his eyes grow wide in shock, then narrow in rage. He knew exactly what he saw, but he wished to heaven and earth that it wasn't.

The clearing was filled with Everfree Berry bushes with a few buckets scattered about.

> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Noble reached the crest of the hill, he rested a moment to let his breath catch up to him. It wasn't as hard a climb as some he had been on, but it was taxing nonetheless. Any other time, he would've felt a small amount of pride in his accomplishment; this however wasn't those times. The only thing he felt was a rage so deep that it threatened to consume him.

He laid his back on the ground to stare up at the indigo sky above his head, the eastern edges tinged with the multiple hues of the approaching dawn. He stared deeply into the dark abyss, his vision blurring as his eyes became unfocused. Closing his eyes, he let his mind wander back to where his rage manifested, slowly releasing control of his anger a little at a time. 

**************************************************************************

Noble stood on the ridge staring down at the small clearing lit with the remnants of his used torch. He glanced down at the ground around the ridge again, looking about. After making note of everything, he left the ridge to go to the clearing, but not before he replanted his torch so it could be seen from below. 

Entering the clearing, he picked up the torch and tended the flame so it didn't die right away. Allaying that worry, he walked to one of the bushes near the border of the clearing. Upon arriving, he found Everfree Berries on the limbs and on the surrounding ground of the bushes. 

Seeing this, he still was not satisfied. Lifting the torch higher, he glanced about and found a trail of berry skins leading into the forest. He turned to follow it, hoping that he was sincerely wrong in this. 

Reaching the end of it, he saw that he wasn't. 

Noble found himself on the battlefield where he faced the timberwolves. Looking about, he spotted the faint signs of the scuffle that had taken place there: the misplaced bits of earth as the claws of the wolves had torn into it, the bent and broken branches in the directions he had kicked the wolves into, even a small pile of mulch containing the signs that it had once been berries near the ridge that rose from the earth.  

Noble closed his eyes and tried to retain his calm, in spite of the circumstances that had led him here. He wanted to turn around and forget this had been here, but he had to be certain. He forced his eyes open and turned towards the bigger ridge in the distance, seeing the glow of light from the torch he had left there.

Noble felt his generally calm demeanor pass by like a stranger in a crowd. It was all laid out in front of him. The torch, the buckets, the ridge; all of it pointed to one inescapable conclusion: 'Somepony had watched this!' he thought, feeling an anger so deep it could probably qualify as righteous indignation.

**************************************************************************

At the time, Noble couldn't help feeling anything but seething anger at the revelation of this. Somepony had watched as four children had been chased by one of, if not THE, most ruthless predators in all of Equestria and had not done one thing to prevent it. There were several things that confused the 'dichotomies of good and evil,' as Lightning had phrased it. Something like that though was just... wrong! There wasn't any other way to put it: It was wrong! Wrong at its basic and most primitive levels and it shouldn't be done ever!

Now though, Noble felt his serenity return. He was still angered, but he had control of it. Now he could function with it, draw upon it, or hide it at a whim. With this done, he forced on using his mind productively, mainly on puzzling who would watch something like that.

That question wouldn't be easy. He literally had at a town's worth of suspects to sort through and he still had no idea what....

On that note, his thoughts paused. He hadn't ever been the brightest pony in Equestria and he would never claim to be otherwise, but he did have moments of clarity if he thought about something enough. He got up and started pacing around, making certain that the pieces of this puzzle fit together like he thought they did. 

'Five timberwolves attack four children. All viewable from a ridge looking down with no tracks leading down. The timberwolves split company when attacked and the other three never were seen again. The manticore, a species never known to be outwardly aggressive unless provoked, was seen trying to come into town.'

Milling these thoughts around inspiration hit him like a rock on the head. He could have bucked himself for being so dense. Now that he knew what the problem was, he could begin with implementing the solution! All he had to do now was make certain of his facts and he could begin at the library. It was practically perfect!

Then his ears and face drooped in recollection. Before he could start with any of that, he had to find Pinkie Pie first. "Hammer and anvils!" he swore, facehoofing himself at the actions of early this morning.

**************************************************************************

After trekking through the Everfree Forest, Noble had to find some way to put aside his anger. He couldn't function with it like this, threatening to boil over. He needed to find somewhere to reign it in and it needed to be someplace with as few distractions as possible. After about an hour of searching, with the faint traces of dawn barely touching the horizon, he had found a hill.

It was a large hill outside the town limits. There was nothing nearby to cause the townsfolk to pass by it and it was steep enough to discourage anypony from climbing it. To put it succinctly, it was ideal for his purposes.

He soon lost that train of thought when high pitched voice pierced the silent air, greeting in a singsong "Hiiiiii!" He immediately lost all sensation of feeling as a pink blur rushed towards him, tackling him to the ground. Once his senses caught up to him, he felt an almost bone crunching hug wrapped around his barrel. All these facts gave the perpetrator away almost immediately. "Pinkie," he asked, lying on the ground, "what are you doing?"

"Giving you a hug," she answered, squeezing a little tighter.

"I can see that," he replied, barely managing to contain a growl, "but why?"

"Because hugs are funneriffic!" she answered letting him go, "Especially when you throw one around a friend!" As if to prove her point, she wrapped her hooves around herself, somehow going around her body a few times.

Shaking his head and sighing at her antics, Noble rose and brushed the dirt off himself. Noble wasn't surprised by her outburst. Not that he had expected her appearance, but the mere fact she did appear when he hadn't expected her just failed to surprise him anymore. Besides all that, he was too angry to feel any other emotions.

"So, whatcha doing out here?" she asked chirpily and apparently oblivious to his foul mood.

"Nothing," he answered as calmly as possible.

"Me neither! I was just gonna try a new recipe for cupcakes! Do ya wanna help?! Do ya?! Huh huh huh?!"

Noble suppressed the urge to answer with the first reply that came to his mind, deciding to answer more diplomatically. "I'm not much of a baker, Pinkie." 

"Ooh! Maybe we could find Rainbow Dash and watch her as she performs some super-duper-allley-ooper stunts! Wanna come?!"

"No, thank you," he answered, trying hard to contain his annoyance for the pink mare. Hoping that would be the end of it, he began walking away. Much to his irritation, he heard her bouncing behind him. She bounced suggestions off him while he denied them, each answer more stern than the last.

"Ooh, ooh! Maybe we could visit..."

"No."

"Okay, maybe we could..." 

"No." 

"But I was..." 

"No!"

"But..." 

"NO!" he yelled, having finally reached his breaking point. After his outburst, he turned to face Pinkie, who stared at him with confusion written on her face and standing perfectly still for the first time since he has known her. He succeeded in keeping his anger under control, but failed to keep it out of his voice when he spoke.

"Now you listen to me, Pinkie Pie. We are not doing anything. I plan to go to the top of that hill, alone. Once up there, I will stay up there for as long as I will be up there.

"I don't care about what you do or where you go. I don't care if you want to bake cupcakes, or watch Rainbow Dash, or visit whomever to do whatever. The only thing I do care about is the fact that you do not go up that hill. And, just to make myself clear, I'll repeat myself: Do. Not. Go up. That hill. For. Any. Reason!" Finishing that statement, he turned around leaving the stunned and silent pink party pony sitting on her haunches. 

**************************************************************************

Noble felt like the bottom rock in an avalanche. He had lost his temper for the first time in possibly ever and, what was worse, it was directed at one of the liveliest and happiest mares he had ever met in his life. Even kicking a litter of puppies couldn't make him feel like this.

As far as he was concerned, there was only one course of action to take: find her and try to apologize. He doubted if he could make amends, or even if Pinkie wanted to at all. Although if she didn't, he supposed he couldn't really blame her for it, but he had to at least try to undo some of the damage he had done. The main problem at the moment was in the finding her.

"Noble," a familiar high pitched voice called from behind him. Looking back, Noble saw Pinkie standing about four feet away. She seemed different somehow. Her mane had lost some of its poofiness. It was also the first time he had seen her manage to sit perfectly still. However that wasn't entirely it.

If he had to put a label on it, he would have to say that it was her smile that was off. While she still wore one, it wasn't her normal, giddy, ear to ear, face splitting smile. It was subdued, withdrawn, almost as though it was put on just sake of appearances and nothing more. Seeing that only made him feel worse, which apparently was indeed possible.

"I know you told me to not to come up here," she started before he had a chance to speak, "but before you say anything, I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Noble blinked at her, genuinely shocked that it was her saying it. "No, Pinkie. I'm the one that should be sorry. I had a long day yesterday and a hard night last night. I was grouchy and cranky and angry and I took it out on you when I shouldn't have. And for that, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Noble. I know that I sometimes come off as annoying."

If Pinkies last statement shocked him, that one flabbergasted him entirely. Noble had always thought the pink party mare lived in her own world only stopping by reality to visit. "You do?"

Her smile seemed to fade somewhat, as her eyes lowered a bit. "Sure I know. I realize that I sometimes overdo it with my over-the-top, super, hyper antics. I don't mean to do it, especially not to my friends. Sometimes though, it's just out of my control."

Noble blinked a few times before he found any words to respond with. "Do you mind if I ask you a question, Pinkie?" he asked gently, afraid he would hurt her more than he already had. After seeing her shake her head in response, he asked his question: "If you know you come off as annoying, then why don't you make any effort to change?"

She lifted her eyes to meet his gaze. Inside her eyes, he saw a wearied determination that somehow seemed to fit her as much as her face splitting smile. "Because, this is who I am. I like laughing and being happy, and I want all of the world to be happy and laughing with me. I know there are others who don't like that about me and that's okay. And what's more, I know it's impossible to make the entire world happy, but it doesn't matter. I like who I am and if I can make just one life happier by my having participated in it, then as far as I'm concerned, my life isn't being wasted."

"Pinkie Pie, I apologize to you," Noble replied after several moments of silence, "Truly, I do."

"You already did though," Pinkie stated, her expression shifting to one of slight puzzlement.

"That was for snapping at you earlier," Noble replied somberly, with a slight shake of his head, "This one is because I misjudged you. Very badly. Every time I came into contact with you, I was under the impression that you were just a random, hyper active, out-of-control, crazy party mare."

"But I am a random, hyper active, out-of-control, crazy party mare," she replied, giggling a little.

Noble smiled sheepishly before his face returned to its forlorn position. "Yeah, you are. But you are also a lot more than that too. I failed to see it and, for that, I am truly sorry." He lowered his gaze to the patch of earth in front of his hooves. "Can you forgive me?"

A moment of silence stretched between them before Noble felt a hoof on his shoulder. "Of course I forgive you, Nobie," Pinkie replied, sounding a little more like her old self, "Can you forgive me?" Noble shifted his gaze a little to see her smile was a little wider and genuine than it had been.

Noble felt his own relieved smile stretch on his face. "As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing to forgive, Pinkie," Noble replied. 

"Ohthankyouthankyouthankyou!" Pinkie shouted, her volume and speed reaching normal (for Pinkie) levels. Noble felt the crushing pressure of another hug wrap around him as soon as the words had left his lips. It was a good thing Noble was as sturdy as he was, otherwise he'd have been worried that Pinkie's hug might crack a few ribs. In spite of this, his smile hadn't diminish in the slightest.

Pinkie released her grip and threw her hooves to her cheeks, gasping audibly. "I nearly forgot about this!" With that she reached into her mane pulling out a single cupcake. The first question to pop into Noble's mind was how she managed to fit it in there at all, followed very closely by how she managed to pull it back out without getting any hair on it. However, the question he did ask was the one he feared the most: "We're not having another cupcake eating contest, are we?"

"No, silly!" she replied, giggling, "This is an apology cupcake." 

Noble felt his eyebrows rise at that. The cupcake itself was chocolate containing darker chocolate chucks that peered out every so often. It was also slathered with a generous helping of chocolate frosting, which in turn was covered with chocolate sprinkles on top. Noble soon began adding things together. "You made it for me, didn't you?"

"Well duh! I remember you saying you liked chocolate cupcakes, so I thought you might like them even more with more chocolate!"

Noble felt himself smile in spite of himself. Even with him as angry as he was at her, she had thought enough of him to bake to him a special cupcake for him. He it from Pinkie and split it in half down the middle, offering Pinkie the bigger half of it.

He saw her tilt her head in confusion. "You did say it was an apology cupcake," he explained.

In that moment, her smile shrunk but grew sweeter at the same time. She took the half cupcake from Noble and both of them ate it in a single bite, the overall chocolaty goodness spreading through their bodies.

"So now that the apologies are all done and everypony is happy again, do you wanna do something now?" she asked, as though nothing from earlier had happened.

"Pinkie," Noble began patiently, "As flattered as I am that you wish to spend time with me, I have to decline. As I said earlier, I had a long day yesterday and a hard night last night. I'm a little surprised I'm still conscious. So after I rest here a while, I'm gonna head back to the library and go to sleep."

Finishing that statement, he fell unceremoniously to the ground, his back laying on the soft grass as he gazed up at the sky. Suddenly his vision was filled with pink that was broken by two orbs of white and blue.

"Can I stay up here then?" Pinkie asked.

"Why do you want to do that?"

"Because, the view up here is super spectacular. Besides we can watch the clouds and describe what they look like!"

Noble couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. Had it been raining, Pinkie would have found some way of having fun with it. "Go ahead, Pinkie."

She plops down next to Noble and begins chatting about how she sees bunnies and chipmunks playing accordions. What was stranger than that was the fact that Noble saw it a bit too.
> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noble woke up, looking about in a place he didn't recognize. Then memories of what had happened last night filtered through, causing him to recall he was in Iron Clad's lodging. He had no idea what time it was, but given the lack of noise, he assumed it was still early. 

For a moment, he considered slipping back into the covers and going back to sleep. The idea was interrupted by a certain call of nature that even the mightiest of stallions couldn't ignore. With great reluctance and protest, he kicked the cover off and rose from the bed.

After seeing to his needs, he was sorely tempted to answer the call of the covers. Rather than answer it, he thought about which course of action he should take: whether he should explore his temporary dwelling or leave altogether. He was indecisive about his choice as both had advantages. The fact he was still a little sleepy didn't help much. 

He was brought out of his thoughts by a muffled lively sound from somewhere in the house. Curiosity getting the better of him, he followed it towards a slightly ajar door leading into another room. He pushed it open a bit more to have a look inside, finding an unusual sight.

He found Iron Clad gripping a strange wooden object in his hoof while dragging another wooden object across it. Noble was fascinated by this and the noise that it produced. In fact, he would even go so far as to call it enjoyable. 

All too soon in Noble's opinion, the noise ended causing Iron Clad to turn around with a surprised look on his face. "I didn't wake you, did I lad?"

Noble replied by shaking his head. Iron gave a small smile. "I assume by that smile you're wearing, you enjoyed my violin playing."

Noble raised his eyebrows, not realizing he was smiling until Iron had mentioned it. However, his smile didn't depart and he nodded his head in reply.

"That's pleasant news," Iron Clad replied cheerfully. "Most of the ponies I know don't share my appreciation for rustic music. 'Pedestrian,' I think was the term they used. It's reassuring seeing the younger generation take such enjoyment out of it."

Noble wasn't certain what he said, but it sounded pleasant at any rate. 

"Mind if I ask a question, lad?"

Noble tilted his head curiously at the stallion, but shook his head in reply. Iron turned to Noble, his dark blue eyes meet Noble's brown ones and his expression serious. "Do you plan on leaving again soon?"

Noble was taken back not only at the statement, but also in the way it was said. It wasn't stated as a demand, but rather it was asked out of a genuine concern to know. The fact he had been thinking on that very question a few minutes prior didn't help matters either.

Noble thought for a moment before answering honestly, "I don't know."

Iron Clad took this news with a gentle nod of his head. "In that case, I wouldn't advise going out until the weather passes. The weather ponies up here prefer to make it rain for days on end."

Noble raised an eyebrow at the stallion as he rose to put his violin back in its case. Noble wasn't sure what to make of this pony. Before any further thoughts could form, he stifled a yawn. 

"Yes, it is late- or early rather- isn't it?" Iron replied, putting his violin case on a shelf "We both need to get to sleep."

Noble nodded his reply, turning to leave the room with his head full of thoughts.

**************************************************************************

Noble found himself in bed, uncertain if he had slept any at all. He rose from the bed stretching the kinks out of his limbs. He listened for a moment, still hearing the rain as it landed on the roof. 

He noticed the smell of cooking filling the air. While he wasn't necessarily hungry, he had to admit the smell of food cooking was inviting. Opting to get out of bed, he once again sniffed at the air and followed the aroma. 

As he approached the dining area he saw last night from the window, he heard movement coming from the next room. Upon entering the room, he noticed Iron Clad bending over a stove with slight bit of smoke coming from one of the pans in his magical aura. When Iron turned around, he gave Noble a sheepish half-smile.

"I did warn you about my cooking," he replied, "The fact the stew came out as well as it did was nothing short of remarkable." He peered critically at the contents of the pan and finally gave up on the charred ruins of what he was cooking. "Looks like I need to get more groceries when I head into town. Fortunately, there's plenty of produce about the place." 

Noble eyed the contents of the pan, wondering if he could eat them. Growing up as he had, he learned to survive on items most would consider 'inedible.' The fact he was able to eat his fill last night allowed him to be a bit more discriminating. If he had been starving, he might have considered eating. Even though it was a waste of 'food', he left whatever was in the pan where it was. 

Looking about, Noble summed up his thoughts with a simple question: "Where's Lightning Joust?"

"In bed asleep, I imagine," Iron replied, removing several apples from a pantry, "Not that I can blame him. From what I saw, he had a full night."

When Noble heard that, the words Iron had said to him last night echoed in his head. "What did happen last night?" Noble asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well, after Lightning and I discovered the door to leading out open, we knew you had left. After calling you an idiot, Lightning grabbed his cloak and flew off into the rain before I could stop him. He came back about fifteen minutes later with you slung over his back, wrapped in his cloak. Both of you were soaking wet, but he got the worst of it. After dinner and a bath, I noticed he had a bit of temperature so I restricted him to bed. I doubt he caught anything, but I promised his parents I'd look out for him."

Noble had a hard time believing that. Given the amount of hostility Lightning had shown, Noble couldn't imagine him doing something like that. 'One way or another, I'll find out soon enough,' Noble thought.

Iron levitated three apples to Noble in his aura. When Noble made no attempt to grab them, Iron placed them in front of Noble. "They're there when you want them."

Noble sat, looking curiously at the apples in front of him. He had no idea how long he sat there before he finally heard Iron speak.

"Have you given anymore thought to leaving?"

Noble thought for a second before answering. He knew he couldn't lie to save his life, but he learned how to select his answers. "Yes, I have."

Silence stretched between them for several moments before Iron spoke again. "Either way you choose, you're welcome to stay here as long as you like."

Noble not only heard the words, but heard the genuine warmth in them. He looked up to find a Iron looking hopefully at him. He then turned his gaze back to the floor. 

"Why do you care so much?" he asked emotionlessly.

"You say that as though you hadn't a friend in the world."

Noble felt the sting of tears as they came to his eyes. Closing his eyes to distancing himself from the world around him, Noble simply answered, "I haven't."

Noble had no idea how long he stayed that way until a single hoof was laid upon his head. "That's where you're wrong," Iron said, his voice as calming as gentle breeze, yet stronger than stone. "To answer your question, the reason I care so much is because I feel that all life has value. Even one as small and seemingly insignificant as yours."

Noble lifted his gaze to the unicorn, his own muddy brown eyes met Iron's deep blue ones. Iron gave him a small smile that seemed to make his whole body illuminate in it's own light. "Believe me, no one wants the whole world as their enemy. Besides, at the very least, you do have one friend in me." 

Noble lowered his eyes, feeling more lost and confused than he had when he arrived. He wanted to trust this pony, even felt as though he should. Yet, he knew that he couldn't. Adults only care about themselves, no exceptions. In that moment, Noble became very aware of how little he actually was. 

Noticing the apples in front of him, he also became aware of how hungry he had grown. Tentatively, he reached out a hoof, as though he were afraid the apples would be 

taken before he got there. Much to his surprise, he grabbed one and began wiping it on his coat; partly to clean it and partly to make certain it was real. After he 

felt it was clean enough, he just looked at it. 

"Go on, lad," Iron stated, as though sensing his hesitance, "It's yours."

Needing no further prompting, Noble took a bite from it. As the juices ran down his chin, he found it was the tastiest apple he had ever eaten.

**************************************************************************

Noble stood outside the door, staring at it as though he expected it to open on its own. Every bone in him told him that this was a bad idea, yet he knew he had to do 

it. It was the right thing to do. Lifting a hoof, he knocked on the door.

"It's open," a sleep addled voice answered.

Taking a breath to steady himself, Noble pushed the door open. He saw Lightning Joust sitting in the bed with the covers pulled over his lower body, stopping at his 

stomach. His mane was bedraggled as though he had woken up only a few minutes ago. 

"Oh, it's you," Lightning said, sounding more alert than he had earlier. "Why do you carrying a basket of apples in your mouth?"

"Because I can't balance it on my back," Noble answered, setting the basket down. 

"No, I mean why did you bring it here in the first place?"

"Breakfast," Noble replied.

Lightning lifted an eyebrow. "Iron burned the food again, didn't he?"

Noble nodded his reply, not seeing any point in denying it. Lightning shook his head and snorted. "Figures." Lightning then turned a confused look to Noble. "But why are you bringing me breakfast?"

"I figured I owed you something," Noble replied, looking at his scuffing hooves, "you know, for last night."

"On that note, why did you do something as brainless as running out in the middle of a storm?"

"I heard what you said last night."

"Oh..."

As the silence stretched between them, Noble was the first one to act. Noble lifted the basket again and hopped onto the bed. Reaching Lightning's side, Noble placed the basket next to him.

Lightning was the first to break the silence. "Thanks," he mumbled, "So, whose idea was it to bring me breakfast?"

"Mine," Noble answered. 

Lightning lifted an eyebrow. "You don't say much do you?"

Noble shrugged in response. "Not much to say I guess."

Lightning shrugged in response, grabbing an apple from the basket and biting into it. "Hey, would you do me a favor and grab 'Understanding Medieval Equestria' from the bookshelf?" he asked, his mouthful of food. 

"Huh?" 

"I'd do it, but if Iron catches me out of bed, he'd chew my ear off. It's right over there on the bookshelf."

Noble looked at the bookshelf along the wall, seeing it filled with books of varying size. He hopped off the bed, hoping that the book in question might stand out a little amongst the others. As he approached the shelf, he saw that hope was in vain. He searched questioningly the endless tomes in front of him before Lightning snapped him out of it.

"What's the problem?" 

"Umm...could you maybe describe it?"

"What do you mean? It says it right on-" the words died on their way out "-You can't read, can you?"

Noble sighed, turning to the pegasus. "A little."

"Do you at least know your letters?" When Noble gave him a look as though he had started speaking a foreign language, Lightning's expression dropped. "You're kidding, right?"

Noble shook his head in response. Lightning put a hoof to his head, shaking it unbelievingly. "Sorry."

Lightning sighed before responding. "See that desk over there?" Noble gave a confused look. "That wooden thing in the corner-" Noble turned his head towards it "-Grab some paper and a pencil from it and bring them over here."

"Why?"

"I have to teach you letters somehow," he explained, as though that explained everything. Noble was puzzled, but did as he was asked. After grabbing the items requested, he walked over to the bed and hopped back on it. Taking both, Lightning began, "First thing, there's two kinds of letters: Uppercase and lowercase."

**************************************************************************

"Do you think you got it now?"

"There's twenty-six letters, each one with an upper and a lowercase?" Noble asked uncertainly.

"Right."

"And these get put together to form words?"

"Right." 

"Lightning, what are you doing?" Both foals turned their eyes to Iron Clad, who stood in the doorway with an amused look on his face.

"Teaching the kid here how to read," Lightning answered. 

"Why do you keep calling me 'kid?'" Noble asked curiously, "We're about the same age." 

"Only physically, kid," Lighting replied smugly.

Iron placed a hoof on Lightning's forehead. "You feel about normal," Iron explained, "but, I'd stay in bed anyway, just to be sure."

"Iron, I don't get sick," Lightning said with an unamused look on his face.

"Be that as it may, we're having lunch."

"What is it?" Lightning asked, his eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"Leftover stew from last night," replied patiently.

"In that case, I'm hungry." 

"How about you, lad?"

"I can eat," Noble replied meekly.

"In that case, you two better wash up," Iron replied with a wry smile, leaving the room.

"Why do I have to wash up?" Lightning complained as he hopped off the bed, with Noble close behind. "It's not like I've done anything to require washing my hooves for."

"I don't know," Noble answered sincerely.

"That question was meant to be rhetorical," Lightning replied.

"Oh. What's 'rhetorical?'"

"It means you don't expect an answer to the question," Lightning replied, turning on the sink. 

"Oh," Noble replied, thinking for a moment. "Hey, Lightning. Why are you showing me how to read?"

Lightning shrugged. "I was bored and you were handy. Besides, anypony who doesn't know how to read at your age is disgraceful." While Lightning was drying his hooves, Noble went to the sink to wash his appendages. 

"Noble?" Lightning asked when he was done, "You don't plan on doing something silly like leaving in the middle of a rainstorm, do you?"

"No," Noble answered honestly. 'Next time I leave, I'll make sure the weather is nice,' he finished silently, following Lightning to the kitchen.

**************************************************************************

Noble woke up, stretching his limbs as far as they would go. He glanced at the clock, reading six a.m. off its face. He smiled at the fact he was able to get eighteen hours of sleep at a stretch. 

'Of course, I still have to explain to Twilight where I was,' Noble thought amusedly. When he walked in yesterday, her mouth was firing off twenty questions in the course of a second. For a second, he thought Pinkie might've followed him in. He managed to buy sleeping time by saying that he would explain in the morning. He wondered briefly how she would take it if he told her he was in the Everfree Forest again.

> Chapter 15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You were in the Everfree Forest?! Again?!"

"She's taking it better than I thought," Noble muttered to Spike, who hid a grin behind his claw.

"This isn't funny!" she practically shrieked, placing her hooves on the table.

"Sorry, but I can't help but see the humor in it," Spike said with a shrug.

"Twilight," Noble said with the patience of an elder, "I don't understand what the big deal is. Need I remind you that I lived in the Everfree Forest for months before anypony was aware of my existence? I've proven that I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. Besides, life in the Northern Woods is more rigorous than you realize."

"I thought you grew up in Vanhoover," Spike said.

"No, I grew up around Vanhoover. Of course, 'around' in this definition means about forty miles away. The closest town to where I lived was Stony Creek."

"Where's that?" 

"It was about six miles away from where I lived." 

"Seems excessive," Spike remarked.

"Think so? Nearest neighbor was about ten miles away."

Spike whistled in response. Noble looked back to Twilight, who had something between a scowl and an annoyed look on her face. "Twilight, will you sit down and eat your breakfast now?"

She huffed a breath through her nostrils and sat at the table. Taking her fork in her magic, she pierced through the pancakes on her plate and bit into them. After chewing them for a moment, her expression softened as she smiled. "These are good, Spike," Twilight said after swallowing her mouthful, "but they're different than you usually make them. Did you try a new recipe?"

"I didn't make them," Spike said with a mouthful of pancakes, "Noble did."

"Spike, don't speak with your mouth full," she chided before turning to Noble, "I didn't know you cooked."

"I can't. Not really," Noble replied, smiling sheepishly, "The only reason I know how at all is through necessity. It's not as good as some pony's, but it's edible enough anyway."

Twilight smiled sweetly. "Well, I like it," she said, emphasizing it by eating a bigger bite than before.

Noble glanced at the contents of the table for a moment. "Think I made enough?" he asked Spike.

After a critical examination of the table, Spike's face lit up in childish glee. "For an elephant, certainly. For Twilight, maybe."

Spike made no effort to contain his chuckles as Twilight glared at him. Noble was glad her attention was directed at Spike. He would hate for her to see that he had to cover his mouth with his hoof to hide his smile. After a second or five, Twilight broke down and began laughing at herself.

**************************************************************************

Noble held the dustpan in his tail for Spike as he swept the contents from the floor into it. "Okay Spike, let's review."

"Hearts is the lowest suit, followed by clubs, diamonds, and spades."

"Good. Now, start from the bottom and describe the hooves rankings."

"Lowest you can get is nothing," Spike answered, receiving a nod from Noble as he continued, "then it goes a pair, two pair, three of a kind, and uh.... a flush?"

"No, Spike," Noble said patiently, "It's a straight then it's a flush."

"Straight, right. Sorry."

"It's alright. I get confused around that area myself at times. Now what does a straight consist of?"

"Cards that fall in a sequential order."

"Very good. Continue from where you left off."

"Flushes are all cards of the same suit, then it's followed by a full house which is a pair and a three of a kind in the same hoof, then a four of a kind, and a straight flush, which is a straight and a flush!"

"Aren't you forgetting one?" Noble asked knowingly.

Spike thought about it for a moment. "A royal flush!" he said excitedly.

"Wonderful!" Noble said excitedly, "You've got the basics of poker down." 

"Sounds easy," Spike commented.

"Ah, but that's where bluffing comes in."

"Bluffing?" 

"Okay, the really good hooves, you're not likely to get them when you want them. So, you have to make your opponents think you've got a better hoof than they do and it's called bluffing."

"I'm confused," Spike admitted. 

"Okay, let's say that you have a flush and I have two pair. You can beat me, but I have make you think that I can beat you. And that's where the challenge comes from."

"Hey, guys!" a voice cried from the window. The tone and pitch of the voice gave away its owner. The fact it came from the window didn't hurt either. 

"Hello, Rainbow Dash," Noble greeted, followed by enthusiastic waving by Spike.

"What you doing?"

"Just corrupting the youth," Noble answered with a wink to Spike, who was giggling into his claw, "Why do you ask?" Noble had an idea what she wanted, but he would find out for a certain in a second.

"I was wondering if you'd like..."

"Rainbow," Noble interrupted, "if you're coming by for the same reason that brought you yesterday, then my answer is still no."

"Why not?" she whined. 

"Because, I'm in good enough shape as it is," Noble explained.

"What are you two talking about?" Spike asked obviously confused.

"For the past few days, this character has been wanting to train me to get into what she called 'fighting shape.'" Noble turned to face Rainbow Dash, who was still hovering at the window. "I beat two timberwolves and outran a manticore. How much more 'fighting fit' do I have to be?"

"I also heard that the Crusaders ran circles around you playing tag," Rainbow provided smugly, nonchalantly rubbing a hoof on her barrel.

Noble felt his eyebrows raise a little. "You do realize I was holding back for the girl's sake?" he asked the mare, "Granted, they were a little quicker than I had anticipated, but did you really expect me to go full tilt against little fillies?"

"All I know is it must be pretty embarrassing getting bested by three fillies."

Noble was about to respond, but he forced himself to stop and think. He knew that Rainbow was just trying to get under his skin and, if what he heard about her was true, she wouldn't quit so easily. After a moment, he came upon an idea of how to prove his point and get Rainbow off his back. "What would you say to a wager?"

"What kind of a wager?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You and I face each other in a challenge of my choosing. Should I win, you let go of the notion that I need training of any kind."

"And what do I get when I win?" she asked with a smirk. The moment she said those words, he knew he had her.

"If you win, you get to put me through the most rigorous training you can think of. And to sweeten the pot, I won't complain, whine, or try to back down in any way."

Her smirk blossomed into a full blown smile. "You're on! What's the challenge?"

"Well, since you asked..."

**************************************************************************

"I don't know, Nobe," Rainbow said skeptically, "This sounds too easy."

"It's harder than it looks. Trust me on this." 

"And the idea is for me to get one of your flags before you get one of mine?" she asked gesturing to her harness, which consisted of a rope belt with two pieces of cloth tied to them. 

"Couldn't have put it better myself," Noble replied smiling.

Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. "Still though, it doesn't seem quite fair."

"What's not fair about it?" Noble asked confusedly. 

"Well, I can fly and the last time I used my wings to win something, things got a little tense for a while."

"Yeah, I heard Applejack mention something to that effect, but that's the beauty of this. Regardless of what you do, you still have to get close enough to me to grab my flags. Besides, you are doing so on my request."

Rainbow looked uncomfortable. "Well...alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." She took to the air and flew towards Noble at a running pace. Noble cracked his neck and waited. Effortlessly, he sidestepped the mare as she passed by, grabbing one of her flags with his teeth. 

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to win, Rainbow Dash," Noble said, spitting out the flag in his hoof and tossing it to her, "Remember, first to five wins. However, since you're new to this, we won't count that one."

"Oh, no you don't!" she said, glaring at him, "That score will catch up real quick!"  

Noble smiled, knowing he had pressed the right button. "Prove it then."

"Ooh, the gauntlet has been officially thrown, fillies and gentlecolts!" 

"Who you talking to, Spike?" Noble asked the young dragon, who was standing on a barrel carrying a leafy branch in his claw.

"Them," Spike answered, gesturing to the small crowd of ponies that seemed to be growing every second. Somehow they had built stands without him noticing. He began wondering for a second if Ponyville Park ran on the same magic whatchamacallit that gave Pinkie her uniqueness.

Noble sighed. "Ready, Rainbow?"

"Ready!" she answered, a steely glint in her eye as she took to the air. 

Noble saw the charge coming before it happened, ducking under it and grabbing another flag with his hoof. Noble had to push her further. "You know, for a pony named 'Dash,' you move kinda slow," he said smirking, hearing her muttering her replies. 

Twice more she charged, each ending up with him dodging and grabbing her flag as she passed by. Noble still knew she was holding back. It would've been admirable, if not for the circumstances. Internally chastising himself for doing this, he took a deep breath. "Seriously," he shouted loud enough for the ponies in the crowd, which had grown considerably, "this is the best you got?! I thought you were Wonderbolt material!"

"Sugarcube," Applejack whispered audibly from the crowd, which had developed a hush, "you might wanna stop now."

Ignoring her, Noble chose to keep going. "And you wanted to train me?! That's almost too funny! From what I've seen, you couldn't out fly a flamingo if you had a five minute head start!"

That did it. He heard the inaudible snapping of her self control as she growled, glaring daggers in his direction. Without uttering a word, she flapped into the air and flew at him with all the speed of an approaching train.

Noble felt his eyes widen as she flew at him. She always claimed to be the fastest pegasus in Equestria and now he almost believed her. He was barely able to dodge to the side as she flew past him. 

"Still think I'm slow?" she asked smugly, carrying one of his flags in her mouth.

Noble felt himself genuinely smile. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash," he said, dusting himself off, "Thank you for finally taking this seriously. I'm sorry I insulted you like I did, but it had to be done. I didn't want to win without you giving me everything you had to give." He reattached the flag to himself, taking five paces back. "Now, we can begin in earnest."

Rainbow blinked at him for a second or two until she crouched into a ready stance. Noble got into a stance of his own. "Do your worst," Noble said with confidence, "for I certainly will do mine."

Rainbow smirked in response, eliciting a cheer from the crowd. Noble could make out several voices cheering for Rainbow Dash and even a few for himself. With a mutual agreement in silence, the earth pony and pegasus headed towards each other using every bit of muscle power at their disposal. 

Noble watched her wings as the adrenaline in his system gave the impression of the world slowing to a crawl around him. He saw how the individual feathers ruffled in the wind, how the muscles tensed and relaxed as she flapped, but most importantly, how the tendons and bones turned ever so slightly, causing her position to shift in the air. Deciding on a course of action, Noble leapt into the air. 

Noble shifted his weight, causing his body to turn in midair. He turned so that his stomach and the flags he wore would face upwards and away from Rainbow's grip. This also gave Noble a better vantage point to grab Rainbow's flags as he passed over her.

Rainbow must've seen though this because she lowered her altitude enough to be out of Noble's reach, causing Noble to smile. He realized in that moment that she was indeed taking this seriously. Already knowing his plan of action, he twisted his body once again so that he could land on his hooves running. 

Feeling the dirt beneath him once more, he bolted forward using his momentum to give him a head start. Knowing Rainbow Dash would take a second or two to give chase, it gave him time to plan a further course of action. Not having anything further planned, he ran full speed ahead heading for the trees in the Whitetail Woods. 

The shade of the trees fell over him, the sunlight occasionally flittering through the branches and onto his coat. He twisted and turned on a path of his own making, ducking branches and jumping roots as he ran. His ears twisted behind him, hearing the mutterings and flapping of the pegasus known as Rainbow Dash.

Deciding to test her cornering abilities, he threw himself toward the tree in front of him. Maneuvering his body, he landed with his legs on the trunk and pushed himself off into a new direction. He felt himself smile when he heard the grunting grumblings of Rainbow Dash as she tried to fly to meet him. It gave him time to work on a plan of action. 

He knew he couldn't keep this pace up forever. It would only be a matter of time before Rainbow could catch him. He could probably run from sunrise to sunset, but it would do little good against somepony who could speed past him. Feeling his smile widen, he slowed his pace slightly and let the wind catch back up to him.

He heard the sound of wind behind him, knowing Rainbow was the cause of it. Looking about, he spotted an obstacle that was perfect for what he had in mind: a single branch that was just above his head. Picking his pace up a little, he ran for it and leapt into the air. He cleared the branch, feeling and hearing Rainbow as she rose to match his lift. As gravity took hold of him again, he fell to the ground, his front hooves hitting the dirt.

Rather than use his momentum to carry himself forward, he crouched his front legs and springed them back. This had the desired effect of launching himself backwards and underneath the branch as Rainbow passed over it. As Noble's body moved back the way it came, his body turned midair, his back falling towards the earth while his front lifted away from it. When his back legs hit the ground, he used his momentum and muscles to rocket himself further from his opponent. Using his advantage, he ran back the way he came and headed for the clearing that was Ponyville Park. 

He ran into the clearing and the sunshine, slowing only a little to keep Rainbow honest. He ran about thirty five paces until he heard the thrashing of branches that was Rainbow emerging from the forest. Noble turned back, seeing her face was a combination of anger, annoyance, and determination. He had to admit that Rainbow had spunk to spare.

"You have to be faster than that, Dashie!" he called back tauntingly, sticking his tongue out a little for effect. It worked as Rainbow picked up speed and flew towards him with nothing held back. Once she was within six yards, Noble made his move. 

He leapt up, turning his body to face her assault. He moved her hoof to the side so it passed by his head harmlessly, using his other hoof, to cushion the blow of her body mass against his. As gravity proved to be his better again, he fell to the ground, rolling several times before rising to his hooves. Trying to ignore the dizzying effect his landing had, he faced Rainbow as she landed not five yards in front of him and glared at him.

"So," she said catching her breath, "you done running?"

Noble took a second to catch his breath before answering. "Yes, I am," he said, moving his tail to reveal it had Rainbow's flag attached to it. The crowd immediately began to cheer, much to Noble's dismay and embarrassment. He immediately began shrugging and wiggling his way out of his harness. 

Rainbow looked at the sight in shock. As if uncertain she believed it, she looked back to her own flank to see where it had been removed from. She repeated this process of looking between the two several times before she finally asked. "How did you do that?"

Noble grinned at her inquiry. "I grabbed it when you crashed into me. You were really good, but you were so focused on catching me that you completely forgot about your objective."

She stared intently at him for several seconds before she snorted a laugh, her face lighting up in a grin. "Humbled and impressed in the same day. That doesn't happen often."

Noble felt himself smile a little wider. "Done with all this training nonsense, Dashie?"

"Are you kidding?!" she asked excitedly, "I'm hoping you could teach me some of those moves!"

Noble couldn't help, but rub the back of his head , closing his eyes sheepishly at her remarks. Opening them again, he found Lightning Joust standing where Rainbow had been, glaring daggers at him. He stood unwavering, staring into Noble's soul with his accusing green eyes. 

"Hey, Nobe? You alright?"

Noble blinked a few times, seeing Rainbow Dash and a few others had gotten closer. They stared at him, concern and worry plain on their expressions. However, he wasn't looking for any of that. He quickly glanced though the crowds and the sky, looking for any sign of yellow or orange.

"I-I'm fine," he answered, "that tumble knocked me around a bit more than I thought."

Seeing their expressions soften, Noble knew he had to leave. "Listen, this was fun, but I gotta be going. Bye!" He left the park, not so much as taking a glance back. 

'The big picture, Valor,' he thought, 'Remember the big picture.'

> No more updates from this author
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Readers one and all, I'm afraid I have some sad news. Having made some recent revelations in my life, I have decided that MLP fanfiction isn't that important anymore.
As far as I'm concerned, if anyone wants this story or any portion of this story, they can have it with my blessing. My only regret is that I couldn't finish this.I wish all of you all the luck in the world.
Good luck and goodbye,
Noble Valor