Chapter One - Breaking free from the human Pit fights

View Online

Robert had been sitting in a dark and damp cage for a good while now, was it the better half of a week? Possible for a month? He’d lost count, having hunger pangs, having dulled his sense of time. Around him, other humans screamed and wailed like wild and rabid dogs, though he chose to remain silent, at least until he heard the sounds of hooves on stone.

A moment later a voice came along. "Shut up you dumb Primates!" A pony banged a Metal bar onto the cages with his magic, however, some cages needed a second or third clang to silence their inhabitants.

"These humans are pretty loud, guessing the Pits made them like that?" Another, female pony asked,

The first one, a Stallion, laughed."Yes, along with them going through withdrawals from the lack of the drug Cocktails we dart them full off; before each fight, however, once they get their fix they will kill the moment their feet touch the sands in the pit." before they arrived at the largest cage.

"What's in there?" The newly Recruited mare asked,

The unicorn stallion flashed a light spell inside, nearly blinding Robert. "See for yourself." He said,

'I know your tricks, you narrow-minded pony, this gives you the chance to Flirt with one of your kind and if that fails, you go for a human female to satisfy you.' He disliked, how they used him as a conversation starter.

The mare jumped nearly two feet away in surprise. "Where in Celestia's large flanks did you find a Giant?! I thought they were just a mere foal's tale?" She said startled,

The stallion laughed, "Not anymore apparently, the human hunters found this bugger in the Everfree forest." He said smugly.

'I’m not a Giant you four-legged off-colored Jackass.' but truth be told Robert didn't know what made him so large compared to the other humans,

The mare spoke up." Has anypony offered bits? For a night with this hunk of meat?" asked the curious mare.

'Of course, can I fuck him is your first question. And could you kindly never say hunk of meat again please, ' Robert mentally deadpanned.

"We were offered a Mountain of bits or a few under-hoofed guarantees, if we allowed a few Ponies of power a night of fun with this big one."

"Did you accept?" asked the female pony,

The stallion snorted.

Not too long after, he spoke up once his annoyance towards Robert had cooled slightly. "We tried, but this Meat for Brains doesn't find Ponies Inviting! It’s like he's never seen a mare or stallion before."

"What does he do?" she asked

"He just Pets them! They try to get him excited down below but nothing works, for Buck sake! I've seen Mare's try with their Wings, Hooves, Potions, magic, anything you can think of. And Not even a twitch they claim. And that's if they can get those dam pants off!" The stallion snarled.

"So the Giant who can make us near endless gold that could rival a Dragon's hoard, doesn't find ponies sexually pleasing or attractive! Have you tried using magic to remove his pants?" The mare said while holding back laughter

'Yes, not weird at all. If I had decided to screw a pony my friends would be rooting for me back home. However, One thing I will admit is that these talking Ponies here have Unbelievably soft fur, it's like petting a living cloud. That is a hill I'll die on.'

Robert thought, as a soft hue took to his face remembering the few times a lucky mare here and there, almost got his friend below excited. 'It was just a physical reaction nothing more I'm not really attracted to this Ponies.' Before Robert could mortify himself further, the second Jailer spoke again.

"Pfft, you have no idea what this abomination is packing, I think the boss allows him those pants just to keep Ponies focused, at the task at hoof." the Stallion remarked.

"Well, what about human females?" She asked while slowly trotting up and sticking her hoof inside his cage trying to touch him,

"Same as with Ponies."

The first jailer, said as Robert moved away from her as best he could, not wanting her flat limb to touch his body.

'You try getting an erection, in a room full of talking, randomly colored Ponies, along with fellow humans in cages, watching you. Tell me, how that pans out for you if the rolls were reversed.'

He wanted to shout, but instead bit his tongue, it's better they didn't know he could talk. In his mind, however, he can yell and scream as much as he pleases.

"He doesn't seem aggressive, is that normal?" she asked,

The stallion shook his head.

"Don't know, don't care. All I know is he's surprisingly the easiest to work with, out of all of them. But once he's drugged up and in the pits that's a completely different story. Who knew humans could be folded twelve times. By this big oaf." He explained, then continued into a rant about how Robert didn’t do much of anything,

The giant human tuned him out for about five minutes, not wanting to listen to the same old same old.

"Tonight he's going to make up the money he’s lost us by fighting in the pits." The stallion finished,

His coworker gently pulled her foreleg back while turning to face him, "Do you think he will make it?" She asked as they started to trot away.

"He’d better! I am betting a fortune that he wins tonight."

Robert waited a few moments after they left to make sure they actually did so before sighing, he wasn't too keen about tonight. Many others weren’t either, mostly the newer additions to the pits. He knew what was going to happen out there. From what he could remember, the owner of the pit fight didn't want anyone to harm the giant.

'If you lay a single hoof on him without a damn good bucking reason, I'll have your cutie mark on my wall, by sunrise!' Robert remembered those words from the owner. 'he doesn't want to permanently damage, or lose, a good source of income.' Robert summed up. the stallion of the pit fights nearly strangled, the mare who he had spoken the words to, she was too keen on abusing humans with whips and was about to whip Robert for just looking at her.

'What happened to her? I swear she found enjoyment, by beating humans.' Robert rubbed his chin for a moment before shrugging, it didn't matter anymore, she wasn't around as often.

His stomach growled, but there was nothing to be done about that, so Robert yawned and leaned back to sleep.'If what the Stallion says is true I'm gonna need it.'

If the last couple of nights were anything to go by they were going to make him witness his fellow man kill one another like animals in the streets then drug him up to finish off whoever was left.

The distant roar of a crowd had awoken the Giant human. His dreams were usually barren, so he wasn’t too upset about it. He realized his cage was currently floating towards the sand pits when the voice of that blasted announcer came from overhead.

"Fillies and gentle colts, tonight is going to be a special night! If you haven't heard the stories of giants before! Firstly, where have you been under a rock? Secondly, we all know that it's just a story to scare foals into behaving...” There was a pause, “Until now! I present to you. The Mountain!"

Before Robert knew what was going on, several ponies opened his cage with their magic, The large Cage was pivoted long ways. while dumping the large human onto the sands, the ground shook from his fall.

the announcer spoke again, "I give you this opportunity to Witness a first-ever Frost Giant!" The stallion shouted over the mic.

'I hope these Ponies know, they don't have to drop me like that, I could just walk in like a normal person.'

The crowd had fallen silent, most from shock, others from fear, and several from amazement. Robert slowly got back to his feet, studying the crowds of multi-colored ponies.

"It seems our Giant friend here is looking a little uneasy. Let's give him some Encouragement!"

They slowly began to stomp their hooves

"That's more like it everypony! I hope you all are comfortable with our big friend here because he's staying with us till the end of the night!"

The crowd started to cheer and the idea of the Giant spilling human blood.

"Let the games begin!" shouted the pony while other humans were heaved into the pit; all of them naked, though some had been given Weapons as an edge. Robert Watched as the seemingly mindless humans began to claw, tear, hack, slash, and bite at one another.

He stepped away from the carnage, watching them kill, or try to kill whoever was closest to them. 'Christ, this reminds me of the Gladiatorial games, in ancient Rome. Just with no clothes and apparently no rules.'

Over the course of several hours, Robert managed to make it to the top twenty humans left. That was expected though, as nobody dared to touch the massive man standing off to the side.

The announcer then spoke. "It seems our Giant friend here is no fool! Clever, isn't he? Let the others thin each other out before getting into the fray!"

Robert had yet to harm another human during this fight, nor did he plan to. He would much rather leave, not that he could’ve. The pit was surrounded by reinforced concrete walls, much too tall for any normal human to scale. To Robert, they only came up to his chest, and he would’ve already climbed out if it wasn’t for the blasted fence. The damn ponies had planned in case the Giant wanted to run from inside the pit; the fences that secured the upper half were magically electrified, though when guests asked the pit employees they claimed it was for their safety.

'Safety my ass,'

However, the pit fight workers decided that their Giant had wasted enough time and pushed their horns into slots, zapping him in the back. It felt like he was struck by half a dozen lighting bolts, making the enormous human stumble forward from pain, gritting his teeth.

'Son of a bitch that hurt!'

Some of the other humans turned their attention to his moment of weakness. Only one was foolish enough to actually attack Robert though, either he had lost all his self-preservation, or just was driven mad from his time being in so many pit fights. the man with a small rusty hand ax went for Robert, screaming in rage. This man thought he could kill Robert, that left him with only a few choices.

One, get his hands dirty, and kill another human being. Two, possibly disarm him and restrain him. Or three, toss him over the fence?

Reaching over and grabbing the small human, he held onto him with one hand while using the other to pull his ax out of his grasp. Robert held the now disarmed man in his grasp, tossing the ax away as the ponies above started to chant. The crazed man in his hands roared with rage, wiggling around and trying to escape.

"End him! End him! End him!" The crowd boomed, wanting to see the Giant human finally spill blood,

He refused, still holding onto the restrained smaller human as the announcer spoke,

"Let's give The Mountain some liquid Courage folks! It seems he still isn't willing to kill like the smaller members of his kin!"

Robert felt something close to bee stings on his left arm. Looking down he saw multiple darts with red feathers, sticking into his flesh. 'crap, here we go again.'

The newly appointed Lunar Commander Jasmine, along with a few dozen Royal guards, quite literally a mixture of night and day, sat in wait inside a warehouse. They had received a tip earlier from an anonymous source that one of the largest pit-fighting organizations had found a Giant and was currently hosting a 'Giant battle'.

However, Princess Luna didn't believe the anonymous tip. And sent the majority of her night guards to search, the Everfree forest where he was last seen. So Jasmine and a few other Lunar Guards, were all that was left to assist in the raid.

A familiar voice made its way into the Thestral’s ears. "Night Commander Jasmine, it's been a while." Shining armor greeted as he trotted into the room, standing next to her as she stared at the warehouse across the street.

"Captain,” Jasmine responded, not taking her eyes off their target, “to what do I owe this visit?"

"I'm just checking to see if your teams are ready, we're heading out soon."

She nodded, removing her helmet and gently shaking her mane, so it didn't cover her face. "We should be ready soon, just waiting on the scouts now, then we shall begin the assault," Jasmine said before lifting her hoof and flicking it,

Small blades shot out of her boots, and she inspected them for a moment to make sure they didn’t need to be sharpened or cleaned.

"I never liked those hidden hoof blades you Thestral's use," Shining Armor said, shaking his head. His horn glowed and he drew his sword to begin doing the same.

"Why is that? It's a perfectly reasonable thing to have. If you're unarmed, how do you expect us to fight without magic or the strength of earth ponies?" the Lunar Commander asked,

A gentle knock interrupted them.

"Enter," Jasmine called out, retracting her Blades and grabbing her Night-themed helmet.

Shining sheathed his sword as the scout entered, "Report." He ordered

"The Giant is inside.” The scout began, “And the pits are full tonight, both in viewers and combatants. Ponies are riled up because of the giant, but he appears to be refusing to fight."

This interested both Jasmine and Shining Armor.

The Thestral turned to face her day counterpart, "Have you heard of a human refusing to kill in the pit fights?"

"Never. But since when did Giants exist? I thought they were merely an old tale for foals."

Jasmine began towards the exit, "I think it's time to see." She said,

Shining Armor just shook his head. "You just love getting into fights, don't you, Jasmine?"

The Thestral giggled, "That as well. But I wish to see this Giant for myself."

Jasmine, along with her unit of Royal guards, finally arrived at the warehouse while the joint operation began. A few teams had already made an entry to quietly secure the upper levels of the warehouse. However, the center was filled with cries of excitement and other forms of cheer.

"How do ponies enjoy this? Watching Humans kill one another." Shining Armor asked,

"It's different for each pony," Jasmine answered,

Shining Armor looked over at her, silently asking her to continue.

She continued. "For some ponies, it's the thrill of battle, for others it's the death, watching the life drain from another Creature's eyes, and some ponies like to pick the last surviving human to have a night of rutting with. Why do you think there's so little pony-on-pony crime in the area?" The Night Commander asked, clearly displaying her knowledge on the subject,

Shining Armor remained silent.

"Because you can kill or Buck a human with little to no consequence. And from what I've heard human females feel just like a mare~" the Night Commander teased,

"You're disgusting for that last bit,” Shining Armor eventually responded,
"It was a mere jest! Captain, I know you aren't into that sort of thing. Though many ponies are, but enough about that, let's just enjoy this raid." Jasmine said, splitting off to one of the many entrances, several guards following suit.

Robert quickly swept the darts off his arm, but he was already feeling the effects. His jaw clamped shut, his muscles tensed.

his breathing quickened, his grip tightened, the man in his hand gasped. then fell limp, blood dripping from his fingers. Red overtook his vision, the crowd cheered, they finally got what they so craved, The Mountain threw the corpse to the ground, splattering it against the sand, and charged toward the remaining humans in the pit.

Thunderous footsteps rocked the arena, causing all that were in it, and quite a few out of it, to stumble. The first few in Robert’s way were quickly torn asunder, smashed, smacked, ripped apart, used as flails, stomped, thrown, crushed.

Newcomers to the pits soon found themselves turning away. some unable to keep their food and drinks inside their stomachs.

The sands of the pit were once stained with blood, now they were soaked in it, and most of the crowd reveled in it. By the time the pit population was cut in half, those that remained realized their imminent doom, and turned tail to run.

Robert gave chase, easily catching up to the fleeing opponents. He kicked the first one. sending him flying across the pit and into the fence, tearing a section loose, causing it to dangle into the pit, a moment later a charred corpse fell back to the sand.

The second runner was grabbed, then simply folded in half like a piece of paper. A third was able to dodge a swipe from the giant, and managed to jab a bent dagger into his leg, only for his skull to be crushed between Robert’s hand.

"See folks?! What did I tell you? The Mountain might be our new Champ!" The announcer shouted, smiling wildly at the carnage below.

What were initially cheers and shouts, for blood from the crowd turned into screams and yells of fear, as Royal Guards flooded in from every entrance.

"Horse-apples! Somepony sold us out!" the announcer said into the mic before they turned tail and ran, disappearing into the crowd.

Robert shook his head, the action above giving pause to his actions. His vision cleared slightly as entrails slipped from his hands.

Mass panic descended upon the crowd, many ponies tried to escape either through flight or teleportation; the majority of unicorns doing just that. While pegasi attempted to get through the roof's glass windows. Earth ponies had no such luxury.

In this panic, a young-looking pony was shoved, causing her to tumble through the hole in the fence and into the pit; the two remaining humans that were running immediately noticed, and ran towards the kid who fell in.

Having gained some control back, from the drugs forced into his system, Robert witnessed this, and a new kind of rage entered his system. . .

'The hell? Did she not even notice the kid fall in? I might dislike these Ponies for what they have done to me, but I'll be damned, if I let a kid die!' Robert thought before running towards the three.

The ground shook as he stomped towards the two humans who were just about to tackle the filly.

With their bent and rusty weapons, but before they could do anything to her, Robert’s large hands had stopped the inconceivable from happening to the young filly.

Seeing two rabid humans and one unstoppable Giant going towards her, scared her to the point that she curled into a ball. Her fear fuelled Robert’s rage as he grabbed the two humans in a death grip.

The small humans screamed in rage, mixed with fear while they began to slice at and bite his hands making him grit his teeth.

'I got you now! You little shits!' He grabbed the two offending humans tighter, nearly crushing the life from them before he flung them both with all his might like two twigs, against the far wall behind him.

The splats were covered thankfully, by scared ponies who didn't know where to go from the watching areas. His body blocked the sight of their lifeless bodies sliding down the wall, from the fillies sight, turning back around he found the young pony had soiled herself, no doubt from seeing him in the pits and being covered in blood.

In the meantime, the filly had uncurled herself and stood up in fear, getting ready to bolt at the smallest sign of movement, from Robert. This gave him a moment to study the small pony, she was breathing fast, her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and her ears were folded back. She was terrified of him. Slowly getting down on his knees he gently offered her his bloodied hand while blocking any chance for her to run.

"P-please Mr. Frost G-giant don't hurt me!!" She pleaded,

Pulling his hands back he attempted to clean the viscera on them by wiping them on himself. Then he offered her his somewhat free hands and spoke softly.

"You won't be harmed." His voice was deep, she pressed her back against the wall,

Robert inspected her more closely, looking at her sides; she was one of the flying ponies along with no mark on her rear.

"Y-you sure? My school teacher s-says we shouldn't t-trust strangers." The scared filly stuttered,

Robert nodded, "Well your teacher is very wise for telling you that." He said in a delicate tone, before inching his hands closer to the filly. "Can you tell me your name?"

She shakily nodded, "My name is Water L-lily." Water Lily seemed to be trusting him a little more the longer that they talked.

"My name is Robert see? We’re friends, we know one another now," he said, keeping his tone soft and even with her."Can you get into my hands?" He asked, gingerly setting his palm flat against the sand,

Water Lily slowly moved closer, her front foreleg barely making contact with his hand. "Like T-this?" She asked,

Robert nodded, "Yes, just like that, come on." keeping the soft tone, with her was difficult, and making progress was slow, but it was something at least.

Slowly Water Lily climbed up and into his hand, easily fitting comfortably in his hands.

"Water Lily," he asked, causing the young filly to look up. 'I need to be careful with her. I don't want her to fall again.'

Water Lily tilted her head, "Is something wrong R-robert?"

"No, nothing is wrong, I was going to ask if I could put you on my shoulders, are you alright with that?" He asked, she gave a shaky nod, "Now hang on tight this might be a bumpy ride for you. If needed, hang onto my beard."

He slowly got back to his feet, causing the young filly to cling to his thumb for dear life as he raised her up. After which he gently placed her onto his shoulder while Lilly spoke up.

"W-woah this is high U-up." She said,

Robert reached up towards the fence, "You scared of Heights?"

Water Lily shook her head,

"Why didn't you fly out?" He asked,

"I can’t, my t-teacher says my wings need to get a little stronger and bigger before I can fly."

"Close your eyes, and look away, Lily," Robert said, reaching up, and grabbing the loose fence. He winced as it shocked him, but the charge was fading, and a moment later he ripped it, out from their concrete placements. tossing the metal lattice off to the side, then went about redoing the process.

'I don't need this poor kid to spend the night in a hospital for debris in her eyes after I damn near made her heart stop.'

His actions certainly caught the attention of the Pit fight ponies.

"Sweet Celestia! It's tearing the fence, run for your lives!" A mare shouted,

"If he gets out we’re all going to die!" Another added,

Robert just shrugged, and continued at the task at hand. 'Do they think I'm some kind of mindless creature, who doesn't understand right from wrong? Another reason to escape this shit hole.'

Water Lily gripped harder onto Robert’s bare shoulder, pulling his hair slightly.

"Mr. R-robert?" She asked, nervous,

He turned his head, looking at the filly on his shoulder with confusion.

"Is what they say true? W-will you kill innocent p-ponies the moment you’re out?"

"What? Of course not." Robert shook his head as he pulled the last of the fence free, flexing his hand as the pain left. Reaching over he poked her gently in an effort to calm her, his reward was feeling her grip loosen slightly, Until pain shot up his leg. Looking down, he saw the bent and rusty dagger. Reaching down he grabbed hold if it, and pulled it out then tossed it away.

'Thank God, I got my shots before I got dragged here. Tetanus isn't getting me today,'

Getting back up, With the wall now clear, Robert heaved himself out of the pit, climbing up and over with the young pony on his shoulder.

Climbing out, and onto the stands, the metal stands began to bend and even Creek. From the sheer amount of weight, being placed onto them.

Staying hunched over, as to get Lilly off. Robert spoke to her,

"You are very brave Water Lily, remember that, you're the first to ride a giant," he said gently, trying to make the current situation seem more fun than dangerous.

He carefully lifted her off his shoulder and set her down among the stands. Before standing up to his full height, the warehouse giving plenty of space for him to do so.

"Thank you for h-helping me, a-and for the ride, Mr. Robert," said Water Lily, she gently hugged and nuzzled his thick leg, barely reaching above the ankle.

This little action made his heart nearly stop, from the sheer amount of gratitude that the little pony showed, a stark difference to his previous treatment, it even made him smile faintly. Watching her trot off, not aware of the other reason's why ponies were panicking.

'No problem kid.'

He thought before snapping back to reality, 'Now that the kid's safe I can leave this hell.'

"Giant!" Someone yelled, catching Robert’s attention.

He turned around to see a small group of both gold-armored, and lavender-armored ponies. The one in front stepped forward.

"You will come with us in the name of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia." She spoke softly, as if she was speaking to a cornered dog.

A few minutes before: Jasmine's POV

Jasmine was displeased, the reason being the lack of combat she found this raid had been a complete and utter bust, she loved to fight and the Ponies here giving up or fleeing weren't fixing her itch.

At least the anonymous tip was accurate, this place was full of humans. Some had been 'used', others beaten, and some both, if the Night Commander had to guess, for just minor offenses.

One of the Royal guards spoke up behind her. "Some ponies are savages." His comrades responded in the same manner

"The sad part is that the head of this whole Operation will only get a few days, maybe one or two weeks in the dungeons." Jasmine could care less, however,

Shining Armor did, however. "Cut the chatter, focus on clearing and securing these rooms soldiers." he snapped at them,

"This place reeks of death and sickness. . . and sex." Jasmine piped up,

Shining shook his head, to try and clear the horrid smell from his nose, "Please stop reminding me. I want to eat before bed tonight"

They found a few more rooms, some had humans, and one was a breakroom, empty of ponies and humans. Though the couch in the corner had a musky scent and 'suspicious stains' on it.

There were two rooms left, one had its door creaked open, and the closed door at the end of the hall was clearly the main prize, but Jasmine wanted to make sure no stone, was left unturned first. She could smell what was inside from all the way down the hall.

She turned and pointed to the door, "Captain, go clear that room, I got this door." She offered,

Shining nodded, trotting over and opening the door with his magic, immediately getting blasted, by a thick musk along with a few others scents.

"What in Celestia's royal mane, is that bucking smell?!" Shining said while he stumbled back, hooves covering his nose. He started coughing and retching.

Jasmine grinned, as she held back laughter, "You'll be fine, that's just a breeding room if that smell is anything to go by." She said, closing the door tight.

"Captain, are you alright?" one of his guards asked,

He took a moment to get his coughing under control. "I'm fine," he said, voice raspy, he took a deep breath before speaking again, "Let's continue,"

"Once the building is secured, we should contact the Special Unicorns Division for clean up." the Lunar Commander offered, while she checked the other room that was closed,

"See that it is carried out please." The Day Captain said, moving to the other side of the last door.

They opened it, peering inside quietly. It was an office, and there was a stallion currently struggling to open a safe.

"Come on you piece of crap!" He muttered to himself, using his wings as leverage,

Jasmine alerted him to their presence, "Ahem."

The poor stallion flew into the air, immediately fearing what he was going to see behind him. "You're not supposed to be here, how in Celestia's name did you get back here so fast!" He asked,

Ignoring his question, Jasmine trotted up to him. "Your little operation ends tonight. You will find I'm not as forgiving as my day counterparts." She spoke, baring her fangs, before opening her webbed wings and flying straight for the stallion.

In less than a second, she grabbed hold of the stallion, and tossed him to the ground, pinning him.

"I will ask only once, so you better listen closely. Where is the Giant?"

The pegasus pony began to stutter in fear, not knowing how to answer the Thestral.

She slowly raised a hoof, flicking the hidden blade out just inches from the stallion's face. Before Jasmine could do something Celestia or Luna would no doubt yell at her for the stallion spoke.

"He's in the f-fight pits! It's the lone door at the end of the hall! That will take you to the pits!" He stammered,

Jasmine nodded and got off him, retracting her blade and licking her fangs, "Thank you for your cooperation. Arrest him." She said,

A couple of Royal Guards stepped in and cuffed him, dragging him out of the room kicking and screaming. Jasmine and Shining Armor then left the office.

"Do you want to get court-martialed?” Shining Armor asked, “I would have gotten my head chewed off by Celestia if I did something like that."

"Well be glad that I wouldn't. I have ways of making ponies talk~" Jasmine said, grinning,

Shining Armor used his magic to close the door as he shuddered, "Don't remind me. But you wouldn't have killed that stallion, right?" he asked,

Not giving it a second thought, Jasmine hummed at his question. "Mmm let's just say I can get them begging for death if they don't give me what I want~"

The now smaller group of Royal guards began ascending the stairwell, then the sounds of more screaming echoed down the stairs.

The screams of terror, from ponies were almost everywhere, as they tried to escape the Guards. Eventually, Jasmine's green cat-like eyes fell upon the pits of sand, some places looked to be painted red. Dead humans and organs, littered the ground. Along with a healthy amount of body parts.

Their bodies were piled all around the pit before Jasmine's eyes, landed on a small group of fillies and colts cowering in the stands, most likely left behind by their family or friends.

'This is no place for children.' She thought as ponies were being arrested and dragged out.

"See that group of children, Captain?" Jasmine asked,

He looked in the direction she was pointing. "I see them."

"Make sure to get those fillies and colts somewhere safe."

"Will do."

The, in the corner of her eyes, she saw a filly get pushed into the pit by a careless mare.

'No!' Jasmine knew the poor filly would be dead the moment she landed. Even if the fall didn’t kill her, then whatever was left in the arena would. Jasmine closed her eyes in despair, at the loss of an innocent life, when suddenly the ground shook. The Thestral's eyes flew open, and she instantly spotted the large form of her target rushing over, his head bobbing up and down above the concrete walls.

For something of his size, that speed shouldn't have been possible, and yet he ran over to save the fallen filly from being torn apart by the other humans.

'Did he just save the filly?' Jasmine's eyes went wide with shock and awe.

Why would a Giant save the young fillie's life? She shook her head, focusing on her current mission, they needed to move. The Giant was right there, they just needed to capture it, never mind the fact that it just saved a filly.

She couldn't miss this opportunity, the only question was how? There was no way they could bring it down, though it wasn't 'battle-scarred' or showing signs of any mental stress, that could cause an aggressive outburst. He understood right from wrong. He knew how to end life but to also save it. No doubt he was unique,

"Maybe that explains why Princess Luna wanted him alive," Jasmine said to herself, finally getting a better view she could see him pulling the fences off the pit! "What are you planning, Giant?" She wondered closely watching the large human as he climbed out.

"Sweet Celestia, that thing is huge." Shining Armor said, popping up beside her,

"It's not a thing, it's male." Jasmine corrected,

Shining Armor stammered, "How the hay do you know that?" He asked,

"I can tell by how bulky he is. If human males are any indication for us then he's a male."

Shining Armor shook his head, "All right then what's the plan for him? We can't drag him, So there's no point in knocking him out, unless Luna or Celestia could help."

Jasmine rubbed her chin with her hoof, before an idea popped into her mind. "We simply talk to him, and walk him to the palace."

Shining face hoofed, "You’re kidding right?"

"Who said I was kidding?" Jasmine said, flaring her wings and taking to the air.

Followed by several of the Royal Guard, they closed the distance to the Giant.

'But I must be careful, if they drug the humans here they most likely drugged him as well.'

"I have a bad feeling about this." Shining Armor called out, trailing behind, even more Royal Guards behind him.

"Giant!" Jasmine yelled as she landed,

That definitely got his attention, and he slowly turned to face the group.

'Will this work?' Jasmine thought before gently speaking again. "You will come with us in the name of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia."

Back to present time: with Robert's POV

'The hell happened to Nightmare Moon? Did she get smaller after that blast? This might be my only chance to leave. Do they really think I would risk my freedom?' Robert said inwardly as he turned to face the small group.

The bat-looking pony moved closer and spoke again. "Come on big guy, let's take you to the palace."

Then a golden… unicorn? Spoke up, "Jasmine I don't agree with this plan in the slightest!"

She snapped at the golden armored pony. "Hush. If we convince him peacefully, he might follow us. Some humans do that. Plus I think he’s drugged, so us shouting might set him off." She silently hissed.

'Are you serious? She's talking about me as if I was an abandoned dog. Screw this, I'm out.' Turning back around Robert made it toward the wall, if he couldn’t find an exit, he would make one. The group followed him while more guards spread out to set up a small perimeter, around him.

"Where are you going? I'm talking to you." The newly named Jasmine spoke at Robert.

He ignored her, raising his arm and cocking it back, while making a fist. He punched the stone wall, sending shockwaves throughout the building.

"The bucking hell is he doing?!" Shouted a Guard,

The golden unicorn shouted, "He's going to bring that wall down! Just like in the stories!"

Robert heard flapping, the bat pony appeared to be flying near his head.

Still ignoring her, he punched the wall again and again till his hand went through it. Opening his fist, he began pulling chunks of the wall out and into the surrounding area.

"Come on Giant, there's no need to do that, just trust us and I can get you a nice warm meal." Jasmine pleaded, still trying to win him over peacefully, then she noticed the three pulsing red welts on his arm. "Sweet stars above! Everypony back up! He's been drugged!"

'I already gave you Ponies a chance. I've been bitten, stabbed, slashed, beaten, and whipped nearly again this week? starved, shocked, drugged, and was nearly raped several times. No thank you, but thanks for the late offer of a warm meal, I'll make it myself.'

Jasmine had fallen silent in amazement, watching from a distance at how the Giant managed to punch through a solid wall, a second time and now was currently tearing it open piece by piece. 'The stories were true.' She thought, she could only imagine what the Reserve Guards outside were thinking.

The wall was quick work for Robert, and he soon took a step back, and kicked the loose rubble, sending large chunks flying off, before he repositioned and kicked again, finally freeing himself from the pits. This snapped Jasmine out of her amazement, before she flew back to the newly made entrance, blocking the exposed city on the other side.

"Giant, I command you to stop this!" She said in a firm, commanding voice as if she was punishing a dog. "I need you to come with me,"

'My answer is still no.'

He simply reached up with a bloodied hand and pushed the Thestral mare to the side. Finally, he stepped through the broken wall, the reactions of the Guards outside were Priceless.

Turns out, there had been a short drop to his man-made entrance. So without a second thought, he jumped down, and the resulting shock wave made a tiny earthquake happen.

Which added to the terror, of the newbie Royal Guards upon seeing Robert.

'Damn I wish I could take a picture of some of these faces'

Breathing in fresh air, after what felt like years of being trapped underground was utter bliss. 'I did miss the nice breeze of fresh air. Now is the time to get the hell out of this city.'
Robert then felt hooves land on his shoulder, it was the same bat pony from earlier.

'Damn this one's persistent.'

"Royal guards hear me! Hold your Fir-" *THWACK*

Then a sharp pain entered his left side, just below the ribs. Which made him release a grunt of surprised pain.

Jasmine on her part, shot her head over. And with her cat-like eyes, began scanning his body looking for what caused him to make that sound. Slowly her distress grew as it gradually showed in the Thestral's eyes, as she processed what just happened.

Panicked, she quickly yelled at the group of guards the shot came from.

"You fools! He's been drugged with Rage Toxin!" The pony on his shoulder yelled,

Robert looked down, feeling his side with a hand, where a crossbow bolt had pierced his flesh. As his hand gently, touched the foreign protrusion.

'Those fuckers shot me!'

Angered, Robert ripped the arrow out, and making sure the crowd of guards were watching. Had snapped it between his fingers, the then destroyed arrow fell through his open hand.

'I'm gonna kill the little shit, who shot me!'

Looking over the crowd of guard ponies, he saw the one who fired the arrow. A stallion, his eyes wide as they locked gazes. Robert roared like he’d never before, in his life and charged.

"Don't just stand there. You idiots! Run for Celestia's sake!" Jasmine shouted, barely hanging onto his shoulder.

Unlike the humans in the pit, the guards immediately ran for their lives. Robert surged forward, grabbing the stallion who shot him, lifting him by his hind leg.

"Sweet mother of Celestia, it's got me!" The terrified guard yelled,

Grabbing hold of both ends, Robert began to tear the poor guard in two, the first thing that stopped him was the solid gold armor. Yet as he added more power into pulling, the high-quality armor became butter; soon the poor stallion's bones began cracking as he screamed in agony. And ultimately his flesh gave way. Flinging his separate ends to different ends of the street, his upper body landed near a group of Royal guards, splattering them with blood.

His lower half collided, with a restaurant banister bending the regal fence, along with giving it a new coat of red, in the process.

"In the name of Princess Luna, I command you to stop!"

'Alright, that's enough.'

Robert reached up and grabbed the Thestral, she immediately started to panic, wriggling around desperately. She saw him just rip a fully grown stallion in two, and she figured she was next.

Instead, he just kept walking, carrying the mare without much effort in his hand. She still tried to escape, but the Giant’s strong grip prevented her from doing much of anything. It was tight, but not painful, she wasn't being crushed. Jasmine knew what happens when you harm him so her teeth and hidden blades were a no-go.

Robert moved his free hand to the bat pony, and gave her stomach a gentle rub, trying to calm her.

This made her find her voice again. "G-giant! This is highly ir-regular. I order you to put me down at once!"

Then Robert found a spot on her stomach that made her produce a sound, he only heard a few times before.

"Aahhh!~ I order you to continue!" Jasmine yelled in surprise, her body slowly melting into the scratches and soon went limp.

Robert looked down in confusion, stopping. 'Did I kill her?'

Jasmine jerked in his grip. "Why did you stop?! You weren't told to stop!" she half shrieked, completely dazed.

'Can't argue with that kind of request.' Robert thought before he continued.

"Yesss~ Aahh~ right there!" Jasmine exclaimed, going limp again, from how good this Giant was rubbing her exposed barrel.

'Jesus, do all ponies have this?' Robert thought as they arrived at the exit to the City.

However, the guards at the gates didn't like the look of a Giant human, carrying something, followed by a regiment of Royal Guards.

"What in blazes is that!" Shouted a Guard,

"Sound the alarm! We need more hooves on deck for this one!"

A bell started to ring above the battlements.

"Sweet Celestia, it killed a Lunar guard!"

'Shit I'm going to need to move!'

Jasmine woke up from her stupor, "Huh? What?" The Thestral spoke while sitting up in his hand the bells grabbing her attention, right as Robert dropped her onto the gravel below, with a soft thud of her armor and body. "Ow! What the buck was that for?" She demanded, rubbing her head and barrel before hearing metal being forced to move.

Robert was currently lifting the Portcullis, of the gate. His fingers slotted into its holes, he lifted with all his might.

Metal screeched, gears broke, chains snapped, as he forced the gate up. The sound it made was making his ears ring, he only could imagine, how the ponies were handling it.

The gate slowly rose, then snapped upwards, crashing into the stone bricks above, cracking them. Now loose in his grip, he pinned the metal bars above him and ducked through, into the outskirts of Canterlot.

"he's going into the residential districts!" Jasmine shouted out, just to keep it safe and to stun those ponies for longer. Robert dropped the broken gate resulting in a loud metallic slam.

"What?!" Several guards yelled back from hearing loss.

Now being more or less, freed from the inner city walls, Robert ran past homes, a marketplace, and a park.

'I think I need a hearing test, after that dam gate, You gotta be shitting me. There's more than one damn gate?'

The few ponies that were outside were greeted by the sight, of a giant human running towards them, his footsteps made the ground below tremble. Which made Most of the ponies not take a second look before hiding in fear.

'How big is this dam city?!'

Robert nearly spoke as he sprinted at full speed, as a giant, he was trucking along like a train until finally, he found what he was looking for. 'Oh thank God! I found the exit.'

They were simple large wooden doors, easy enough for him to break.

'Better yet? I'm just going to charge right through them like a battering ram!' Robert thought.

Similarly, as before, warning bells rang out into the night from the stone towers.

"It's going to ram the bucking doors!" One Guard shouted, "Hit the deck and hold onto something!"

The force of Robert's body took the two large wooden doors clean off their hinges and shook the whole wall it was connected to.

Splintered wood and rubble rained down around him, besides pelting him with the small debris he stumbled a bit, needing to stop his large body from falling over along with the recently destroyed gate doors.

"Sweet mother of Celestia! It brought the doors down!"

'I'm out of this crap hole! Sweet God almighty Freedom! Zero out of ten would not recommend!' Robert continued to run while the Guards were unable to follow him, not that they wanted to. His breathing was still fairing surprisingly well.

"How far can I run?" He asked out loud, finally being able to speak after months of forced silence. And by god was it deep, no wonder why it scared Water Lilly.

And so he kept running, down the mountain face and into the plains, gigantic footsteps were left in his wake. Onward he went, further and further, from the mountain city behind him. He only stopped when a town came into view, the darkened buildings only lit up by sparse lights. Next to it were some dense Woodlands.

"Perfect,” Robert smiled, “the only downside to this is that town. But beggars can't be choosers." Keeping up his pace, he looked up at the night sky, adding up how much time he had left before dawn. 'I have four hours to get there before the sun rises, I need to keep moving.' He kept on sprinting.

"Christ, my legs are killing me," Robert grunted, looking back at how far he made it from the city on the mountainside to the outskirts, of the town. The giant had spotted a sign on the path he was following that said. 'Welcome to Ponyville!'

From that point on he stopped running and decided to walk. With each step, soreness flared in his legs and the drug cocktail he had been given had worn off, leaving him extremely drowsy and in pain.

"Ponyville? That's the town I'm walking towards? Sounds quiet enough." Robert mumbled, trying to distract himself, from the pain rising into his overworked legs, deciding to cut through the quiet and quaint-looking town to try and ignore his body's protest from working for a long period.

'Come on I'm almost to this God-forsaken forest then I'm done and can rest!' speaking in his head, in an attempt to rile himself up, while not waking up any of the town’s residents.

Spike had woken up at about roughly four in the morning. He tried for a few times to fall back asleep, going through all the necessary steps to do so, readjusting the pillow, 'check', finding a better spot to sleep on, 'check', having the ground shake slightly every other second.

‘check.’

"Wait, the ground is shaking!" The baby dragon nearly screamed, he quickly turned to the larger bed in the room

However, Twilight slept through his antics; she wouldn't be up till at the very least six. Climbing out of his basket, Spike decided to check outside. He opened the bedroom door and stumbled down the steps. Making it to the front door, Spike unlocked it, then pulled it open, before going outside onto the front step.

"The hay is making the ground shake? An earthquake?" He asked,

Right then Robert walked past, causing the baby dragon's heart to skip a beat, instantly making him wide awake.

He slowly backed into the library, doing his best to keep quiet. 'I-it hasn't noticed me, maybe Twilight might know what to d-do.' until his tail bumped the front door, causing it to creek loudly, the giant stopped right at the side of the tree house.

Spike threw caution to the wind, running and screaming for his life, to the second-floor steps, and towards their bedroom. "Twilight! Wake up!" he said, throwing himself onto her and above her covers, making the sleeping pony make a grunt of surprise in her slumber.

After the constant shakes and pressure she woke up "S-Spike what the hay are you doing up this early?" asked Twilight, using her magic to push him off to the foot of her mattress, so she could sit up a bit before he started his barrage.

"Twilight! Thank Celestia you're up! there's a Giant human outside!"

Rubbing her face with a hoof she sighed, "You know Giant humans aren't real Spike." She said, getting up and squinting in the dark,

"Please Twilight, I know what I saw! You gotta believe me!"

Sighing, the purple pony threw off her covers and got out of bed. "Fine, I'll check. But if I find nothing you better head back to sleep."

Her dragon assistant most likely had a nightmare, or possibly sleepwalked, and the front door that he opened made him think a 'Giant' was there. walking slowly down the steps, Twilight could see that Spike had left the front door wide open, letting in the cool night air.

She sighed, he knew better than to leave the door open. Stepping outside, Twilight ignited her horn, casting a simple light spell while walking around the Library. Looking around; she continued around again before stopping and sighing.

"As I expected, nothing is out here." She said, quickly making her way back inside, the light faded from her horn, and she locked the front door back up.

'Sadly only one did exist, but i think the force of him going threw the stone walls might have killed it, if not that landing might have.' Twilight said while her tail twitched, "Thank Celestia he didn't see the Giant poor Spike would have had nightmares about it for weeks."

Back upstairs, Twilight found her little assistant knocked out cold on her bed, making her shake her head.

“It was just a nightmare Spike, nothing more.” She whispered, using her magic to gently lift the sleeping baby dragon and place him onto his own bed.

Twilight didn't want to lie, to Spike, but he was and is a baby dragon, he needs his rest and him seeing a Giant human after the stories she told of what. giants did too bad foals and baby dragons, if they misbehaved so this was her fault in a way.

Robert had enjoyed the small town of Ponyville, but the moon was getting close to setting. If he had to guess, he had two hours of darkness left. He then stumbled upon a massive tree, way taller than he was. Walking around it a few times, he inspected it closely.

'The hell kind of tree is this?' He stopped at one of its sides, feeling the large tree bark.

Then he heard a door creak slightly, and a moment later a boy's scream.

'Shit! I woke someone up! And they saw me! Time to go!' he thought, stepping away as slowly as possible, then tip-toeing away so as to not wake up anyone else in the town.

Thankfully Twilight, wasn't able to see the Giant hiding behind a home that blocked her view of him.

'If anything, or anyone, is looking out for me in the great beyond, please throw me a bone here!' he mentally screamed as he peeked over the thatch roof. She walked around the tree house a few times before speaking.

"As I expected, nothing is out here."

Her words made him mentally rejoice, and sigh softly, 'Whatever deity heard me, thank you!' He didn’t dare move until he heard the door close and lock. Robert slowly peeked back out, seeing the owner of the female voice, was gone. 'Right now is the time to get the hell out of here!'

The trees of the woodlands, were just barely taller than Robert was, he had to duck just to enter the forest, but the further in he got the taller the trees became, allowing him to stand to his full height.

"This is it. Time to find some basic shelter." Robert said, continuing inside the Everfree forest.

There were many signs of life, from bugs making their calls, to small animals sleeping in their dens, or burrows, to the more Nocturnal creatures hunting and scavenging.

"I need to watch my step here, anything could be here for all I know."

Growling came from behind him, and as he turned he saw wolves made out of wood, which stunned him slightly.

"Why am I surprised? I have encountered flying, magical ponies who speak, this shouldn't surprise me."

The wolves lunged forward.

They went for his legs, seeing as that was the only thing they could reach. Robert simply grabbed hold of one, and gave a mighty yell, bellowing deeply. This scared the pack of wolves, and they all ran off, wooden tails between their legs. He shook his head, dropping the last wooden wolf onto the ground, it quickly followed its packmates into the foliage.

'I don't think they will bother me again, if I had to guess.' Robert shook his head again, a small smile on his face. He then continued into the dense woods, eventually finding a spot to rest, the Giant sat down on the uneven ground underneath a large tree and sighed.

"I'm gonna crash here for awhile.” He said to nobody, then his stomach growled, and the feeling of hunger returned, “I'm also going to need some food, but first, sleep."

Resting his head against a rotten log, it served surprisingly well as a pillow, and Robert soon found himself closing his eyes, and falling asleep in the middle of the forest.

Chapter Two - Meeting the other Resident of the Everfree forest and going back to we're it all began.

View Online

"What's taking them so long? My guards should have finished within the last hour." Princess Luna spoke, pacing around the throne room

She had canceled night court for that night, though it didn't seem to matter anyway, not many ponies ever showed up to her court.

Along with that, her nerves were getting the best of her, her wings twitched along her sides and her tail lashed occasionally.

Luna was desperately awaiting news about the raid in the 'Newport district'; the area itself was a storage zone. Massive storehouses, or 'warehouses', her little ponies now called them.

Truth be told, she didn't know why they changed the old Equestrian language to this modern version, all that did was confuse the blue alicorn, she didn't know how to respond to some pony's certain words.

Luna had slipped up a few times, to the point she’d accidentally called some noble ‘feather brain’ by mistake, thinking it was a term of endearment.

Sighing, she looked out one of the glass pane windows slowly, the memories of her time as Nightmare Moon were still fresh in the younger alicorn's mind, more importantly, what she had done to this giant human.

"Did I take him from his home, his tribe, or troop? Or was the corrupted nightmare right? Is he the last of the Giants? He must be so afraid, and alone."

Luna always had a small soft spot for humans, not compared to her older sister, but still, she never approved of the idea of fight pits for them, nor the poor conditions they were left in.

The throne room doors were flung open, making a loud clang which reverberated off the marble walls, Luna winced, then turned to see who it was. A wave of relief washed over her upon seeing her newest night Commander.

Luna trotted up to the golden throne and sat down on the puffy pillow below. She took a deep breath

"Commander Jasmine, did the raid go well? Where is the Giant?"

Her servant bowed, making the alicorn frown.
"Your Highness, please forgive me, but the Giant has escaped the city."

Now annoyed, Luna spoke, "How do you lose a Giant? They're not exactly hard to miss."

Jasmine kneeled lower, "Forgive me, your Highness, the Giant distracted me from my task."

This added to Luna's confusion, "Tell me then, what happened during the raid?"

Jasmine nodded, standing up, "After our entry into the warehouse, we found what the anonymous tip had covered. Almost 150 humans were being kept below standard living regulations. They were holding a pit fight during the raid, with the Giant being the main attraction."

Luna softly hummed, nodding her head. "Anything else you wish to inform me of?" She asked, sensing the tension coming from the thestral.

Jasmine winced, "The Giant was drugged with Rage toxins. It wasn't his fault, your Highness."

"Fault for what?" Luna asked, tilting her head to the side.

"He killed a Royal conscript, your Grace. After he escaped from the main pit area he destroyed a wall and walked out. That's when the poor private shot him with a crossbow bolt, that agitated the Giant and he tore him apart… literally."

Luna's heart stopped for a moment, and she lifted a hoof to rub her face. 'Sister isn't going to like what I have to tell her.' After placing the hoof back down she sighed then spoke again "Was anything else lost?"

"From what I witnessed your Highness? He destroyed a concrete wall, and two sections worth of enchanted fencing, the Portcullis for the inner city has been severely damaged. and the wooden doors to the residential wall are off their hinges. From what I can gather from the Royal guards, they are tracking his movements. He made it down Canterlot Mountain and his tracks are heading towards a small town called Ponyville."

The Night Princess was not looking forward to meeting her sister even more. The damages this giant caused wouldn't be cheap to repair, of course, the crown would cover such expenses, but it felt like this could have been avoided if recruits or inexperienced guards weren't the backbone of the Royal Guard now.

"I thank you for your honesty, Commander Jasmine, but one thing still confuses me." Princess Luna asked,

"Please tell me, your Highness." Jasmine bowed again.

"How did the Giant distract you?"

The floor suddenly became very interesting for the mare as she blushed like a blooming flower

"W-well um… You see, your Grace, I had landed on his shoulder to yell at the Royal Guards to run before he launched forward, killing the Private. I kept trying to grab his attention to try and bring him here, but instead, he grabbed hold of me. I feared for my life, thinking I was next, but he just held me, with little to no trouble on his part but…" Jasmine paused, trying to stop her tail from swishing back and forth.

"But?" Princess Luna raised an eyebrow at the display,

Jasmine cleared her throat, "He started with gentle strokes then scratches on my b-barrel, your Highness.”

Luna squinted. "Did he hurt you?!" She demanded while she stood up taller slightly

"No no no! Your Highness, you're mistaken!” Jasmine stood up in an instant, shaking her head. “He did not harm a hair from my mane! All he did to hurt me was drop me! But I hardly felt it."

The Princess's rage slowly dissipated; she gently sighed before sitting back down. "Forgive me, Commander. I acted on my emotions instead of thinking rationally." Luna bowed her head, "If that is all you have to report, then you are dismissed, dawn is soon approaching." She commanded,

Jasmine bowed one final time before leaving the throne room. Luna wasn't thrilled about the upcoming conversion between her and Celestia, slowly rising from the golden throne and walking down the red carpet-covered ramps, she left the throne room, heading towards the balcony to begin lowering the moon.

'Please not again, I don't want to remember that day.' Luna pleaded with her mind, but it seemed to be working on its own accord and against her will. Besides, it would be a long walk.

Two months ago: Nightmare Moon's POV

"Finally! I am free from my enforced prison on my moon!" The corrupted Alicorn screamed as she took in a breath for the first time in what felt like centuries. The air was cool, crisp, and most definitely refreshing, causing her to take a sigh of relief. Acting quickly she cast a spell to give the illusion that she was still trapped on the moon.

"Oh, how I’ve missed the feeling of the winds beneath my wings." She said, flying towards the Castle of the Royal Sisters.

Did she feel happy? Feeling the air rush through her feathers, fur, and mane, unaware of the state of the castle.

When she arrived, feelings of happiness were quickly replaced with rage and hatred. It only continued to build as she entered.

"How could she allow our home to fall into such disrepair!!" She snarled, continuing towards the throne room.

Nightmare Moon was fuming, she went over every crack, every broken window, every torn fabric. She slammed the old rotting doors open to the throne room with her magic and what she saw made her lose it.

"That's it! I need a Servant! Forever loyal to my cause!" She exclaimed, stomping her hoof and cracking the floor further. "She dares! Not even repairing where we first fought?!"

Nightmare grinned evilly, "It's time to summon an almighty champion~" she cackled, taking to the air and flying to where she planned on summoning her future follower.

It was the old audience chamber for foreign diplomats to meet with the young rulers all those years ago. Now it was nothing more than an empty room. In the event of her plan failing, which it shouldn't, this is where her last stand will happen. Nightmare Moon grinned as she began to remember spells of the 'ancient magic'.

That kind of magic was long forbidden, but due to her anger and rage towards her older sister, she couldn't care less. Planting her all four legs firmly into the ground while closing her slit eyes, she ignited her horn, and the magic flowed forth.

Soon her midnight magic changed blood-red in color. In her mind, Nightmare Moon searched throughout the world, looking for something big, with monstrous strength, and little to no thinking power, and the creature that slipped into this role perfectly? A giant of course. Yet from the Zebra lands to the frozen North, nothing came up, not a vibration, nor a heartbeat, not even a breath.

"NO! They can not be all gone! I refuse to believe it, I must dig deeper!" Nightmare Moon shouted as a tiny ounce of Luna within her slowly became emotional.

The creatures she had fantasies and heard stories about ever since her foalhood were extinct, and nothing, not even the ancient magics could get her what she wanted. A single tear managed to escape her closed eyes, rolling down her midnight-black cheek. The corruption used her pain and sadness to fuel her search, forgoing more and more of the specifics…

Until she heard it, a single heartbeat. The first pump of the heart startled her a bit as the steadily beating noise filled her mind.

"Yes! There's one left! The last of the Giants will aid me in my attempt to retake my throne! This inadvisable beast will see my cause as just!" Nightmare Moon wailed in the royal Canterlot voice before she tried to latch onto it with magical tendrils, "Now let's claim my prize~"

Something stopped her.

It was a barrier of some kind, solid, something on par with steel or marble. It was hard to say. Still, she pushed through and stuck her magic around it tightly before pulling onto the Giant to bring the legendary beast to her.

"By the stars it's heavy!" Nightmare Moon grunted, gritting her teeth as she pulled using her magic. Sweat started to appear on her brow.

"Come on, you oversized ape! Cease your resistance and aid me!" Nightmare Moon hissed out loud, pouring more and more of her magic into the spell

Robert's POV.

Robert was home at the current time the sun was bearing down outside the clock on his cell phone said it was roughly noon. Birds were singing outside along with the Occasional car driving by. He was currently outside in the backyard catching some sun along with maintaining his small garden. And the heat of Summer was at its strongest.

Pulling out some weeds and harvesting some fruits and vegetables, placing the newly picked fresh items into a plastic container. Before Robert gently wiped his face, clearing sweat from his forehead before he stood up taking his yield inside the cool air-conditioned home.

Heading towards the kitchen placing down the container he flipped the tab near the sink Robert began washing his homegrown food listening to a news station.

"In more recent news, the World Cup is a match between America and Cuba about, and currently it's seeming like a tie."

Robert scoffed at the news before shaking his head. "I never really understood the World Cup it's just a sport with people kicking a ball around and screaming their nation is better at it."

Before finishing up with his harvest, he was just about to put it away in his fridge before a sharp pain stopped him, then came a cold feeling in his heart.

He grunted in pain before he held his chest dropping the container down on the floor with a loud thud. As his homegrown food rolled out and all over the kitchen floor, the pain slowly increased "A-am I having a heart attack?" before his breath shortened "I think I a-am."

He dashed for his cell phone to call for help before slipping on a Carrot and hitting his head on the counter knocking him out…

Robert awoke to bright colors being flashed all over his pain had dulled slightly. "The fuck is happening to me! Am I dying? Or did I breathe in some kind of Hallucinogen without realizing it?!" he shouted into the Magical void tunnel he had been forced inside of.

Suddenly his body began to give a dull ache before slowly increasing into the point of feeling like he was on fire, accompanied by the worst pain Robert had ever felt in his life. It was all over his body and it wouldn't stop. . .

He couldn't hear for some reason. But he could feel it all happening to him and by God did it hurt. but after some time he could hear again the sounds of bones breaking and molding into something stronger, along with muscles and body parts changing or being added to by an unseen force making him almost vomit.

Nightmare Moon was a sweating mess, her coat was covered in it, her wings were also damp before a magical portal appeared as her 'champion.' fell out with a solid thud, the floor trembled from the beast's fall.

The Corrupted Princess fell to her knees panting, as she stopped, the magic from going into her horn, while the spell died. Along with the magical portal closed, she decided to rest for a little bit, That spell took a large amount of concentration and her horn was smoking.

Taking the moment of serenity, Nightmare Moon looked at what she had conjured before her eyes widened in surprise. 'By the Stars it's huge!' She studied the Massive beast before she grinned slightly at its muscle mass.

'No doubt, it can destroy gates! Or kill at least five hundred day guards!' However, one thing that confused her was why wasn't it moving. Did she kill it by mistake?

Acting quickly, her horn ignited before she scanned its body, before her magic reported back to her, along with her evil grin fading. . .

It was alive, just unconscious, breathing a sigh of relief. She went and continued to just relax, for a decent amount of time, before standing up and using her royal canterlot voice.

"Giant! I demand you to awaken!" nothing happened before she growled and yelled again. "Giant! Wake up!"

She snarled, losing precious time to her plan before her horn glowed using it to shock the unconscious giant.

"I demand you to awaken in the name of me! Nightmare Moon!" this seemed to have worked she saw it begin to move which made her Giggle evilly.

The giant struggled to get up. It was an odd sight till finally, he got it. Nightmare Moon couldn't tell the gender of her giant till she saw his. 'ahem' as a dark-themed blush appeared on her face. ' I see why some of my subjects had written some sexually themed tales.' Glancing away.

She ignited her large horn 'Firstly, getting him something to wear is a must. I don't want to constantly look up and see his male genitalia'

before making some basic fur clothes appear around his waist down to his flat feet. 'Now then since your private areas are covered let's begin convincing this giant~'

"Giant! I am Nightmare Moon! The rightful ruler of Equestria! And I call on you! To aid me in my quest to bring eternal night!" thinking for a moment trying to sweeten the deal she looked him up and down. Before placing her hoof against her chin.

'He's old enough to breed possibly?' before lowering it and speaking again.

"If we succeed! I offer my elder sister as your official Broodmare! Till the end of your days! Besides the Title of my champion! It'll allow you to eat anypony and rut, any strong mares you see fit! I am off-limits! However, I'll even allow you to have a human herd! With you as the soul male!" Nightmare Moon could have, no. Should have sentenced her sister Celestia to the same fate.

Banishment to the moon, but instead she saw giving her over to a giant male to be its official childbearing mare. Seemed more merciful fate than being trapped, on the moon for ten whole and long Centuries. With nothing but silence and darkness.

"And all you need to do Giant is Bend the knee to me!" Nightmare Moon was panting, by the end of her list of offers, she could and would give the Giant still he didn't bend the knee.

This made Nightmare Moon growl thinking he was mocking, the night Princess's offer. but then it hit her

'Despite their size and strength, Giants had the same level of intelligence as a human, But older Giants were slightly smarter.'

She sighed gently before her horn glowed, dragging the giant away, from two old stone pillars. He was using as supports, while She forced him to kneel before her, this made him struggle. "You will follow me, won't you?" she asked more gently, before trotting up to him and softly nuzzling his cheek and neck.

"if you're a good Giant. you'll be Rewarded~." nightmare had whispered gently releasing her magical hold on him. Still in a kneeling position she needed to be nice, to get what she wanted. before a small sentence from a griffon's tale crept into her mind. it was about a griffin king who had giant humans as his playthings and slaves.

It was about King Iron Talions, the Giant-breaker and the third king of the Griffin kingdoms. The tale was about how he managed to enslave the last holdout for isolated giants. 'Even a Giant can be made to kneel. But only if he wants a better crack at your head,'

Later, on in the tale roughly a few fortnight's later a giant pulled his Griffin head clean off.

Remembering this story made Nightmare Moon shudder, she had forgotten about that. Now she was frightened to move away from him in fear he would do just that and end her plans before she even had a chance to bring an Eternal night.

In the end, she managed to pull away with her head still on her shoulders as the giant male looked dumbfounded and confused, looking down at the alicorn pony.

Grinning evilly, Nightmare Moon stood there with pride thinking she had one last giant, under her Command. Her horn glowed one last time as a massive club appeared next to her giant. "take your Weapon and prepare yourself, my large Follower, ~ you are my last line of defense."

When the time came, however, her lunar Champion did help Luna by restraining Nightmare Moon down, before she and the giant were both blasted by the Elements of Harmony, purifying her.

Though the blast sent him flying through a wall and into the Everfree forest. And first, assumed to his death, did he know she wasn't herself at the moment in time?

Was it like normal humans and changelings? Are they able to tell when somepony isn't who they claim to be? Or did he have a higher intelligence?

"Luna? My dear sister, What bothered you so much?"

Celestia's voice had sliced through, the forced memory snapping out of the dazed-like state she was in. Was it caused by guilt? Or horror of what her evil self had offered to gain the Giant's favor.

Gently shaking her head, Luna spoke. "Sister I have just received the report about the raid for the Giant," Luna said while lowering the moon Celestia seemed ecstatic, almost excited, to see a Giant as she squealed in glee before jumping around in excitement.

"Ooh! Where is it? Did you transport it back to the Palace?" she was just about to gallop off the balcony and back into their room to leave before a blue wing stopped her.

"Sister the sun?"

Luna pointed towards the moonless sky, Celestia blushed from embarrassment. before she spoke up.

"Oh! Right. Apologies, sister I almost got carried away there." Shaking her head Celestia's horn glowed, and not too soon later. The sun appeared over the horizon marking the beginning of a new day,

"Now that the sun has risen, what did you want to tell me about the report?" Celestia asked before her rosiness, left her face Luna took a seat on a pillow. "You may want to sit for this one dear sister."

Celestia paused before looking over towards her younger sister, perplexed. "What happened that requires me to sit?" asked the Ruler of the day.

While her younger sister just pointed to the pillow with a hoof; sighing, the older sister did what her younger wanted her to do and sat down. "Alright, you got me sitting, now tell me what happened Luna."

She sighed one final time again before speaking.

"The Giant has escaped Canterlot along with leaving plenty of damage in his wake."

The White alicorn tilted her head more in curiosity, before speaking up. "What did he damage?"

The Night Princess sighed before rubbing her temples with her hooves. "Two enchanted fencings and a solid concrete wall. Along with heavily damaging the inner city gate along with the Portcullis. Lastly, the west checkpoint doors are off their hinges. " Celestia nodded, understanding what had transpired during her rest.

"I would be telling a lie if I didn't expect something to be broken during the Giant's escape toward freedom," Celestia said before looking out towards the blue sky deep in thought, but keeping an ear pointed towards her younger sister showing that she was still listening.

"He has also killed a Royal Guard." This made Celestia's head snap towards her sister in an instant

"He did what?!" shouted the day monarch, her white-furred Wings flared wide in an instant. In all her time, Celestia had been hardened by this world's Terrors.

From handling Lord Tirek, King Sombra, and the rest of the evil beings. Celestia had a certain aura she would produce during these excursions, even her completion would lose its warmth and softness that Celestia reserved for her Ponys along with friends.

Slowly her once warm and genuine smile changed into a face void of emotion besides judgment, and mounting anger. Something similar to an old comedy mask,

Despite not seeming angry on the outside, Luna could tell how upset her elder sister was becoming.

Celestia's voice sounded calm and collected but was as serious as ever, she merely said one word. "Explain." Her eyes had narrowed by this point, thinking the giant was going to be a taller and physically stronger version of her past foes.

Luna knew that gaze before she raised her Hooves in The giant's defense. "Tia! Stay your hoof! He didn't do it of his own free will! He was drugged with the Rage toxin! the fault is both mine and yours."

Luna said sounding defeated before her older sister snapped at the youngest. "How is it our fault a Guard died? Neither I, nor you, slayed that poor guard!" the White Alicorn shouted.

"Because we allowed Royal Conscripts on raids! They don't have enough experience to handle those kinds of Operations! They also break formation and rank faster, compared to regular troops!" Luna tried to reason with her elder sister before Celestia sighed her head hanging low.

"What else? Happened."

Her Elder sister asked expecting him to have leveled the mountain of Canterlot or had killed more of her little ponies by this point, before Luna gently spoke again. This time with some positive news,

"He saved a filly."

Celestia perked up at this, lifting her head in slight surprise.

"What?"

She said with confusion as her pinkish purple-like eyes widened as Luna repeated herself.

"The Giant saved a Filly. From being killed by two rabid pit-fighting humans. And took her out of the pits on his shoulder, once seeing she was out of harm's way. He simply released her. That's when Canterlot became his playground, so to speak."

Hope did grow within Celestia's eyes once more like before, however, confusion outgrew Celestia's hope. "Where could he have gone? And how in Tartarus did they lose him?"

Luna was prepared to answer Celestia yet she stopped her Before even giving Luna a chance to speak.

"When night comes again, you should pay your respects to the dead conscript, and I will send Compensation to their family. I'm going to make sure his family, if he even had relatives are cared for. Just be sure to not say anything as of now, I'll handle it. Go rest dear sister, we will see one another at nightfall."

Celestia suggested for Luna to do it once night came before getting up and walking towards the exit. "Thank you; Tia for giving him a second chance." her sister nodded,

"I only have one last question, dear Sister."She asked, stopping before the large double doors and looking back towards her younger blue-furred sister.

Luna gently tilted her head to silently ask what the question was. "How did you know it was male? Even after you were freed from your corruption, how did you know?" This made Luna blush hard as her ears folded back.

"I saw his Tool," Luna mumbled as the far wall became very interesting to look at while Celestia choked on some spit, before laughing at her younger sister's reaction.

"Careful, sister. I think you're growing quite red, For that Giant!" Celestia said, wiping tears from her eyes, breathing heavily from laughing so hard.

"Luna, please get some sleep, and don't let the press hear you say that. You'll have story writers coming from all over Equus To write all new lewd fantasy stories, of a lost Princess returning back home after a thousand years, trying to court a legendary creature." Celestia teased, yet her older sisters teasing caused Luna to hide her face in her night mane as she blushed, once more remembering what she saw, then pop! Her wings flew out and at attention while twitching softly.

That just made Celestia smile before closing the door behind her flowing mane. 'I think Luna will be going to bed late. This fine day!'

Several hours later. . . Robert had been sleeping rather peacefully in the dense forest canopy and after months of not having a dream, he finally had one. It was simple; he had dreamed about walking through a green grassy field, devoid of any kind of wildlife. Other than him. Soon, he found massive stones sticking out of the ground with holes in the top.

"What in the hell?" he muttered, and before he could get a closer inspection, he awoke.

The first thing he heard were birds singing. Robert was a tiny bit shocked hearing the small flying animals. Thinking it was all a dream, of him escaping the pits. Until he opened his eyes, the green leaves above him blocked the sun's direct blast.

"Holy crap, this isn't a dream," he said, opting to just lay in the position he fell asleep and listening to the creatures of the woods.

'God, I missed hearing birds, who knew you would miss it after hearing nothing but screaming and wailing for however long I was in that hell for.'

Roughly five minutes later, Robert remembered his somewhat, serious injuries from the night before. 'Crap, it might be infected.' Looking down, he saw the wound inflamed mildly, but nothing more than that.

after checking his left arm, The welts from the red darts had subsided early in the day, and now just looked like a few mosquito bites.

Sitting up slowly, his legs had lost all their soreness before he stood up. His head was among the tall thick trees, "Time to find some food," Robert said before walking deeper into the Everfree.

Eventually, he found a large river of clear-looking water with pretty big tasty-looking fish inside, going on with their simple existence, while the giant human rubbed his chin in thought.

'I have an idea.' Walking towards a tree and reaching up, Robert grabbed a branch, then he tore it off. moving to the water's edge, as gently as he could, as to not scare them, he started to look for a pretty big fish, after locking onto a target.

Robert acted, managing to spear it with brute force with his first try, pulling it out and onto the dry land.

"Yes!" He smiled, grabbing the still-alive fish. pulling it off the stick then slamming its head onto a rock, effectively killing the animal. He washed any dirt, from the rock off the fish's body before pulling it up and biting the fish's head off.

It tasted like, well, fish! His new jaw muscles and teeth managed to break apart the fish's skull and any small bones with hardly any trouble. The only downside was the loud crunching he was producing while eating it. 'It's like I'm eating a fish Granola bar.'

He swallowed the fish's head and began eating its body. However, once he got to the stomach area, he avoided it. Even if the guts could be eaten, that required time to do, and his body wasn't giving him that luxury as it demanded input. Currently, he was trying to fill that demand.

He spent most of his time eating recently killed fish. Robert ate approximately twenty, before the hunger pains finally decreased in strength to a minor, hardly noticeable pain.

The man was still hungry, but now it wasn't as extremely grueling. Instead, it had become more Manageable, tossing the half-eaten fish bodies back into the flowing River. He left the body of water, but he took away the large branch in his hands.

Now that his hunger was satiated, the main issue was clean drinking water. Continuing on his somewhat merry way, he stumbled upon a… Simple tree hut?

If the hanging masks were signs of either a warning? Or some kind of Religious items? To keep away bad spirits and creatures? Until someone spoke up from behind him.

"A creature of Myth? and Legend? From the Native land A tale you should be, and yet here you stand here to greet me."

Turning around, Robert spotted a Zebra. With golden rings around her neck, along with gold earrings, her left foreleg had some rings as well. The zebra gently removed two bags from her sides to appear smaller, before gently approaching.

"You will be alright, I Welcome you Giant-folk," she said, giving a gentle smile. Before she looked closely, seeing his lips were chapped before she grabbed her saddlebags that were full of herbs, and other types of plants. Then she headed towards her front door.

"Stay, Giant-folk, at my place. An elixir I will make to fix the issue you face." Robert rubbed his face as she disappeared into the tree home.

'Why the fuck is there a Rhyming Zebra? Did I eat a fish that is making me hallucinate?'

Before he could think back to what fish he ate, the Zebra appeared again from the entrance of her tree home, holding a big blue bottle.

"Open the bottle, then have a sip." Taking the decent-sized glass bottle and looking down before following her instructions, he popped the lid off and proceeded to down the contents of the blue glass bottle.

"One of your size surely does require more than one or two gulps. Compared to Pony-folk." The zebra giggled, watching the Giant human down the well water she had gotten from around back.

"Please take more water. It isn't normal to be this high in demand." She pointed to the back of the tree after he drank the bottle bone dry moving with haste.

Robert spotted the well, not even bothering to use the bucket attached; he fell onto his knees, for better access to the well.

Using his arm to force the bottle into the well. As Robert felt the cool water around his hand the air bubbled out and into his inner palm.

After the large glass filled with water, he pulled it out and began drinking the cold water while looking back at the Zebra. Who just gave an amused look towards the Giant human before shaking her head.

"Before It slips from memory, I am Zecora, shaman. of the Everfree, I live here away from the pony-folk of the town known as Ponyville because they fear my look."

Robert stopped drinking the life-supporting fluid, slowly he reached over to her, he gave her ear a nice good rubbing, as a thank you.

Zecora hummed in soft delight as her ear twitched gently against the large finger that gave physical affection. "Your display of thanks is most welcomed." Smiling, she looked up and saw his scars.

This made her frown. "A creature as Kind, as you should have more scars than this." The Zebra spoke her mind as she studied the scars. After some time she discovered these scars were human and pony-caused.

"On behalf of the Pony-folk, I ask you to look inside your massive heart to forgive them. Not all apples in that basket are rotten like the ones you met before."

Robert was going to respond to her, but a manticore interrupted him as the large beast approached.

Zecora's ears flattened; she didn't have any potions or weapons to fight the large multi-trait creature. "Beware! Beware Giant-folk! Manticores are no joke!"

Robert turned towards the oversized lion, then looked back at the zebra. 'Time to take a lesson from the humans here, Monkey see monkey do.' He grunted, getting her attention, before tossing her the opened bottle along with, rising to his full height.

Luckily, she caught it with her front hooves as it spilled slightly. Robert walked towards the manticore, seeing its massive stinger. 'I’m not too fond of being stung, but I have an idea.'

He reached down, acting like he was going to grab the oversized cat. Before it jumped up and clamped down its sharp fangs, on his hand.

'Yes, it took the bait.'

This made Robert release a battle cry, grabbing the feral creature's scorpion-like tail, stopping it from trying to pierce, into him. With one mighty pull, Robert tore its bug tail out, sending copious amounts of blood splashing around. 'It worked, I don't want to do that again.'

The action of pulling the Manticore's tail out made the beast release his hand. from its sharp teeth, and jaw muscles while it roared in pain. he grabbed its head, lifting it off the ground with one hand.

True, it was kinda heavy, but still holdable, before he grabbed its body after tossing the tail and twisting. The beast's head, The sound of its neck breaking was similar to a jar of pickles being opened.

Then he dropped it onto the ground. For good measure, he stomped the manticore's head when the sudden, sound of bones breaking, along with flesh being squashed, was heard. While the ground trembled from the force Robert was able to stomp.

'Sounds sloppy and wet.'

Turning back around, with manticore brains on his foot and skull fragments, he saw Zecora seemingly startled at how easy it was for Robert to dispatch the beast. She shuddered slightly before speaking. "Maybe my beware's should stay for the pony-folk. And not the Giant-folk," she said quietly, seeing the blood dripping from his bitten hand.

Zeroca placed down the glass bottle while waving her hoove invitingly. "Come, Giant, let's fix that gigantic hand," she spoke, then started to walk towards the front of her home and headed inside.

Robert grabbed the glass water bottle, before stopping at her front door, while he slowly sat down. being able to see inside somewhat.

He could see a large metal pot, bottles hanging from the roof, and plenty of different masks. 'Not a bad setup I guess?' Robert really didn't know what to say.

She returned with a little medical box. "Show me your palm." She hummed in thought, opening a small bottle, as Robert did as she asked. "This will not hurt a bit."

'Yes, it's going to. Every time someone says it's not going to hurt, it most usually does.'

She gently poured, the clear liquid onto his fresh wounds as it burned, making him hiss in pain. "Your choice was most unwise to attack a beast of that might. Yet, it appears you were of equal or even greater might."

He grunted again from the disinfectant, while Zecora just shook her head in slight disappointment from his reaction. At the same time still stitching his bite wound closed.

After that was finished, she gently wrapped it in a clean bandage before gently patting her flat hoof against his hand in comfort.

"My door is always open for your kind of Folk."

Robert reached out, and Zecora watched his hand move slowly towards her head before he gently began to scratch her, behind the ears. Earning a coo from the Zebra, she even moved closer to give him greater access, to the ear he was currently Scratching, she made happy zebra noises before he slowly got back onto his feet.

She waved to him. "Farewell, Giant-folk."

He gently waved back, before going to clean up the dead animal in her backyard. This little action stunned Zecora but she chalked it up to him copying her. 'Fast learner isn't he?' she mentally rhymed before seeing him again.

Carrying the dead manticore, and its tail, over his shoulder along with her largest glass bottle, he had refilled. stopping and picking the lid for the bottle up, he sealed the bottle so to not spill the safe water before continuing to walk.

Robert had found the experience with Zecora actually quite pleasant. She didn't try and scream the moment she saw him, instead treating him as a guest.

"I'll have to repay her somehow," he thought out loud while following the dirt path in the Everfree forest before coming to a crossroad.

Looking left, then right, Robert decided to go left. Spotting a creek, he decided to drop the dead manticore and began washing his bloodied foot, His foot wasn't hurting.

If anything, his left leg was just bloody and had Manticore's brains and skull bits stuck on it.

Once clean, he got out of the creek and picked up the corpse, and continued. This old dirt path was less maintained; it looked like someone had forgotten it was there, as weeds and other plants. Started to creep over to try and reclaim the disturbed earth over time.

He just kept walking down the old path before it disappeared.

"End of the line,"

He remarked with sarcasm before he kept going on the now rocky and uneven earth below until something caught his eye in the distance.

Lifting his free hand he blocked the afternoon sun out as best as possible. "A tower, is it? I have to get a closer look."

He traveled for a better half of roughly fifty minutes until he saw a familiar-looking castle he knew was old and unoccupied.

Maybe he can make it his home? Or a place to stay the night, but the only problem was there was a massive moat circling it, and he wasn't trusting the small little wooden bridge to hold all of his weight.

Dropping the corpse, onto the ground Robert stretched the shoulder it had been resting on, for all that time as his bones cracked and his skin was finally able to breathe.

"The sun is going down. I might as well stay here for the night." He went towards a tree and began pulling branches off. He preferred any dead ones, but seeing only live branches, so Robert took what he could get.

Sitting down, near a different path that led to the old Castle, he made a decent-sized fire pit and dragged the corpse over;

he used the hole where the tail used to be. and pulled the fur off the Manticore's body and got a fairly decent-sized pelt.

He Left the underside pelt on the body, so the earth below didn't ruin the meat. Now with no pelt stopping him, Robert got to work on a fire, using a rock, some sticks, and a big leaf to create a basic fire starter. Robert rolled the leaf up and placed it inside the pit.

Roughly five minutes later he had a roaring fire as he finished breaking down the dead Manticore to be a somewhat proper dinner.

Tearing off a leg, he held it over the fire, the heat not bothering him as much as he thought it would.

'Am I fire-resistant now too? What in God's name, did she do to me.' Robert mulled turning the leg around in his hand to cook its more raw side.

The smell was similar to beef but with a twist of some other animals, after reaching a particular and safe point of cooking meat, he took a bite and was confused by its taste. 'How do I even describe it?' he mulled, shrugging his shoulders.

'How about I just say it tastes like manticore and leave it at that?' While he ate, the meat pulled apart fairly easily. Even more so because of his new jaw muscles, and teeth.

He would continue to tear chunks off and roast them in his fire to be eaten. Once nothing was left but its organs, Robert merely pushed it off to the side with the new stick he had.

Robert looked out at the now-darkened sky, seeing all the stars above him before he saw a massive hill. Or something close to a mountain blocking his view of the stars.

Then an idea popped into his mind. 'I have a busy day tomorrow, better finish eating and get some rest.'

Now having an idle mind, the weight of his actions began to settle in. But this time there weren't any screaming, or wailing humans to distract him, from the truth.

'The damn drugs those pit Ponies used on me. The things I've done in the name of their 'Entertainment', the innocent lives I have taken, how many of those people could have been mothers, fathers, siblings, and even someone's kid.'

'What stopped me from killing Water Lilly? That poor kid should have been dead the moment I saw her fall into the pits, and yet… she's out there somewhere, enjoying life, while that stallion… Is dead. Ripped apart by my own hands.'

"I have no clue how to make this right, but I need to be ready to do so. When the time comes."

"Twilight, what the bucking hay do we need to be here for? it's getting late" Rainbow Dash winned, flapping her wings to stay in the air along with staying awake.

While Applejack spoke up. "Yeah, Sugarcube, I got plenty of chores to do early morning tomorrow," she said before the mare in question sighed.

"Princess Celestia, wanted us all together to hear what she needed to tell us."

Currently, Twilight and her five other friends were in the library having received two letters from Princess Celestia through Spike’s dragon fire before he went to bed. Along with Pinky Pie, who was sleeping under the library's main table. Twilight decided to read the first letter.

"My dearest student, Twilight. I wish to inform you that all ponies from Ponyville must stay away from the Everfree forest and whitetail woods. Within those woodlands, other than timberwolves, manticores, and every wild creature that calls those woods home, an ancient beast now lives. I do not know if he is dangerous or is more peaceful like us Ponies. So please stay away from the forest, until new instructions are given by me and me alone."

Looking down, Twilight saw Celestia's Ps — "I will be sending all the knowledge I have on this creature in the event he decides to attack Ponyville. You'll have every right to defend the town and Ponies who dwell there. The second letter is for the mayor, if she asks why Ponies are now forbidden to enter the woods for any kind of tradition or ritual."

Fluttershy had hidden her face with her pink mane, not wanting to show others how she was already terrified of it.

Twilight's ears perked up, at the thought of more books and being able to study a new but ancient creature.

"Hold on darling,” Rarity spoke up. “I don't think I heard you correctly, but did Princess Celestia, call it a he?" she asked, while the five ponies began looking towards another seeing if they heard Celestia right.

Stunned by this, Twilight did look back in the letter before she found it. "She did? Does that mean this ancient threat is a male creature?"

While Twilight and her friends talked about Celestia's letter a medium-sized wooden crate appeared, marked with Celestia's official seal.

"It's Books!" yelled Twilight, nearly flinging the paper away in her magic, before clinging to the box for dear life.

The five mares stood there, watching the leader of the group more or less hug a wooden crate before Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"Jeez, Twilight, stop being such a geek, and open it already." Rainbow Dash yawned before Twilight did just that with a blush of embarrassment on her cheeks.

Finding only a single book and a letter on top of it, Twilight was slightly disappointed. Thinking it was just more than one book, but nonetheless, she grabbed the new letter in her magic, gingerly she opened it and began to read.

"This book was written by Star Swirl the bearded! Before he disappeared!" she half shouted, before jumping all over the place in happiness; holding the old-looking book in her magical aura.

"Twilight? Maybe you shouldn't be jumping around with that old Book?" Fluttershy offered, making the Purple Mare blush before stopping.

"Oh, right."

"What even is that old and dusty book even about, anyway?" asked Rarity, before Twilight opened the book.

"The Forgotten Times before the three pony races." This piqued everypony's interest minus Pinky as she snored away. Even Rainbow Dash had landed to pay attention while Twilight gently cracked open the book to its first page.

This made Twilight continue her reading. "Long before the tribes of the three pony races formed and eventually became the 'Kingdom of Equestria', the land was full of many different beasts and monsters."

Her friends seem to sit around her listening to her storytelling.

"And one race that stood out among them all to the three pony races; was the Giants. Enormous Beings; roughly standing 9 to 12 feet tall, possessing the ability to fight nearly any beast, that dared attack them. Some Ponies from the times of old say that they were the ones who created the mountains and most other things like lakes and rivers. Others say they were the first creations of Faust, The goddess of creation."

Flipping the page Twilight continued. "Despite their size and strength, they lived rather peacefully with the other races, even going as far as to stay in seclusion from how shy they could become."

Fluttershy seemed to breathe a sigh of relief believing that her foe was shyer than her. Slowly, she grew more comfortable with the storytelling.

"A few Giants even aided in protecting the Earth ponies and Pegasi, offering those who they trusted, shelter from the strong winds and cold of the Wendigoes in their cave homes or underground dwellings. However, when the cold winds of winter fade, they protect the woodlands and groves they live in. Acting as a sort of guardian, "

"But. When they stop being shy they get angry. And when they're angry they can and have torn many creatures apart for disrespecting them for one reason or another."

And now Fluttershy was scared again, making Rainbow Dash roll her eyes at her shy friend's antics. "Flutters, he's probably shyer than you so it must take a lot of whatever to make the big guy angry." Rainbow Dash said while Twilight continued to read out loud for the group.

"The rare few Giants who formed troops, or sometimes basic tribes managed to live in groups of roughly 50 to 100 Giants. Only the strongest and Wisest were chosen for the role of their clan chiefs." Twilight gently flipped to the next page.

"However, to the far northeast and across the sea the recently united Griffen kingdom, believed them to be a threat to every living intelligent creature and declared war upon them. Even convincing some ponies and other nations to aid in the mass extinction event."

This made everypony in the room go silent thinking their great ancestors had something to do with ending a mythical and gentle race.

"Those who survived this war ran and disappeared from the continent. Those unlucky enough to escape were forced into permanent servitude by the griffons. And forcibly taken back to the griffon lands to build three monuments. Griffonstone, Castle Thorn, and lastly the old ruins of East Tower." Then Twilight saw a Quote by the 'United Empire' of the Griffons that made her stomach turn.

"Even a Giant can be made to kneel. But only if he wants a better crack at your head, so he can Tear it off." Thinking her friends had enough, Twilight gently closed the book thinking it was best for her to read alone tomorrow.

"Girls; I'm sorry about this, I didn't know about that part."

Even though a few faces were green from disgust and red from anger they nodded; Applejack spoke up. "I think everypony has had enough for tonight, Sugarcube. I certainly have, see you around." Applejack got up, while Rarity used her magic to pull still sleeping Pinkie Pie out.

"I must agree with Applejack on this one, Twilight. It's getting late, and we all need our beauty sleep. Even you need sleep. I'm going to take Pinkie home," Rarity said, taking Pinky pie outside and walking off into Ponyville.

Fluttershy was angry but decided to save her fury on the fly back. Saying her goodbyes, she flew home, thinking he was still too shy to come near her cottage near the edge of town, while also cursing and softly screaming.

"Good night everypony," Rainbow Dash said simply before zooming off to her sky home.

Twilight sighed gently, setting the book down, before locking up her front door and deciding to do more research the next morning. Heading for bed, checking on Spike, who was sound asleep in his basket as she gently petted his head smiling. Ceasing the head rubs, she left to rest in her bed.

However, back in Canterlot, news of yesterday's night raid on the warehouse began to spread like wildfire. Along with eyewitness accounts of a Giant human leaving Canterlot. Besides the damage Robert had left in his way while breaking out for freedom, the press would no doubt twist the truth in the newspapers that are to be published, and it will possibly damage the already flimsy reputation of 'The Mountain'

Chapter Three - Scouting the Apple Farm and forging a friendship with the Zebra

View Online

hampter three

Applejack was having a rough week, first, her brother had the bright idea to try and fix the rack that held the human metal collars on his own. Without telling her, or their little sister. So once the rack fell the weight of everything pinned him to the floor while also injuring him quite badly.

Secondly, the town wasn't faring much better, news had spread to Ponyville and the better half of Equestria. A Giant human had escaped the capital city of Canterlot and left immense destruction and death in its wake. It was last seen making its way to Ponyville, but apparently, its tracks vanished just outside the outer town.

'I reckon that big fella is still close, I knew he wasn't dead, something of his size wouldn't be killed by a fall like that.' Applejack mulled over in her head while heading to Ponyville Hospital to pick up her brother.

Her tail swished, as she walked, a faint blush grew on her orange cheeks. 'I can only imagine him on the farm, workin' day and night, and what about the breeding seasons? What kind of beast would he be; smelling a human female in heat? Or even me?'

Applejack shuddered, the pink hew left her face as she entered the hospital. Looking around, not many ponies were inside, just three sitting, in the lobby waiting to get checked into a room or just filling out some paperwork. Thankfully her paperwork was already done, so she was spared from the grueling task.

"How ya doing there Mac?" Applejack asked,

He refused to speak.

Applejack sighed before asking. "Are you still in pain?"

"Eyup," Big Mac nodded, grimacing, moving slowly due to the pain.

"The docs give ya anything for it?" Asked Applejack,

"I didn't ask for it, Sis." Her brother piped up

Making her way closer to her brother, she gently pressed her side against him. "I swear to Celestia's horseshoes you're more stubborn than I am!"

Big Mac shook his head."N-nope."

Applejack rolled her eyes, slowly helping her brother out of the hospital and back home.

"Sis, ya know it's almost apple-bucking season right?"

She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Horse-apples!" She shouted, groaning in dismay.

Her brother just shook his head, reaching over with one of his hooves and tearing a stalk of wheat from the spot in the front of their home.

"There's no way you can do this alone, little sis." Big Mac reasoned, sticking the wheat to his muzzle.

"Come on, Mac! You need to rest up and get yourself better! I haven't met an apple orchard yet that I can't handle!" Applejack proclaimed, jabbing her older brother in the bandaged areas.

He winced from the touch and used his rear leg to cover the area.

Applejack moved away, "Oops, sorry"

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Big Mac continued to look out over the orchard.

"I'll take a bite out of this job by day's end!" Applejack said,

Her brother offered her some older sibling wisdom, "Biting off more than you can chew is just what I'm afraid of."

Applejack scoffed, "Are ya saying my mouth is making promises my legs can't keep?!"

"Eyup." Big Mac said matter-of-factly.

"Why I outta!" The orange mare said, stomping her front hoof. "This is your sister, Applejack, remember!? The most loyal of friends and most dependable of ponies!" She sneered, getting into her older brother's face.

"But still only one pony, one pony plus hundreds of apple trees just doesn't add up." Big Mac reasoned.

"Don't you use your fancy mathematics to mutter the issue! I'm going to get every last one of those apples from those trees all by myself!" Applejack proclaimed, then she realized what kind of job now lay in front of her, making her gulp nervously.

Seeing that his younger sister needed to learn a lesson, Big Mac poked her side. "You better not use the humans we have, little sis, that would be cheating."

Applejack sneered at her older brother, "This was the point of having Humans on the farm in the first place!" She tried to reason,

Big Mack shook his head, his short mane softly moving from the movement "I know what you’ve been up to with the males, Applejack. I've walked in while they dog piled ya."

She blushed, "I'm a fully grown mare now! I have needs too!"

"Get a colt friend, sis." Big Mac simply stated.

Meanwhile, deep within the Everfree Forest, Robert was planning to do something very stupid.

'If I'm being honest here, I'm royally shitting myself.' He thought, pulling a few vines from the surrounding trees.

"What in name of all that is good am I thinking? This moat could be bottomless for all I know!" He said, tying the gathered vines into a makeshift safety harness, and connecting it to a large tree that could hold all his weight, hopefully.

Looking down, Robert saw nothing but thick fog below, the sunlight doing very little to ease his fear. Looking up towards the heavens he gently placed his hands together in prayer.

'God, I know I wasn't always a religious man, but please if this isn't as deep as I think it is I'll start praying more often I swear!'

Gently doing the cross sign, he jumped down into the moat. Robert’s heart stopped, feeling the weightlessness, as he fell he closed his eyes. 'This is it. This is how my dumbass dies.'

His feet then made contact with the ground. His eyes shot open and he looked around.

"Are you fucking serious? I was being a chicken over something that barely." He stopped to look back, seeing the top of the moat was just below his neck."Something that hardly went up above my shoulders!" The man was fuming

Climbing out using the vines, Robert removed the makeshift harness and lifted a finger to point at the sky.

"If you had anything to do with this, I swear," Robert began before lowering his hand and sighing in relief.

Looking towards the mountain-like hill, Robert stretched, his plan was still not ready to be made into motion. Rubbing his chin, he wondered what to call his project to rebuild a path towards this abandoned castle.

First, he needed to craft tools, and something to hold dirt. And small stones inside of, thinking as he rubbed his chin in thought before his brain gave a few ideas. "For my first trick, I need a bow!"

Leaving his makeshift camp, and headed back into the thick woods to begin looking for a tree sapling. "This will do," Robert said, grabbing one of the young trees and beginning to pull.

The ground began to uproot as it was pulled from the dirt, roots still fully intact. Robert measured the sapling and removed its leaves and sticks to smooth it out.

He hummed, 'I can't keep fighting with my bare hands, not everything needs to be solved with brute force. However, a well-shot arrow can do wonders.’ he grabbed a few smaller, thinner trees. "These should work."

Heading back to camp he got down to business, using some of the old stones he found to scrape off the bark, he began to smooth it out. Then he remembered one simple thing.

"Shit, I need rope."

Looking around, he began looking for something that would work, his eyes falling onto some vines. Robert shrugged, 'If these vines could hold me, I think they can handle being a bowstring.'

Making the arrows was surprisingly easy, and the bow, even though it looked crude, had gone through the necessary testing, all except the test fire.

Nocking the wooden arrow, which was just a sharp stick with a few tree leaves glued to the ends with hardened tree sap, Robert scanned for a simple target to fire at, finding a simple tree and deeming it worthy.

He took a proper stance, for firing a bow, thankfully the basics of archery were taught in his high school, 'who knew paying attention in school would be helpful in a survival situation.' While using the arrow as a sight he drew it back. The vine held taught, it didn't snap. Nor did the bow snap under the tension, taking a deep breath Robert closed one eye. And sensing he had the tree perfectly in his sight he released the vine.

The sound of the vine flying forward, as his arrow flew through the air at an impressive speed before piercing right through the target tree and embedding itself into the one behind it.

'Yep, this will work.'

Taking his five arrows and the bow in his hands, he would be busy for a few days gathering the needed furs and pelts to make sacks.

True, the ponies could have had some sacks, maybe even more, but Robert couldn't just sneak into town every time he needed something and steal it. Plus currently, he was probably wanted for leaving part of that city in ruins and killing that pony guard, so this at the moment was the safest bet for him.

*One Week Later*

Celestia and Luna had summoned their respective councils. The search had gone cold, but neither of them stopped looking.

Each council mostly consisted of high-ranking guards, like the Generals of the day and night armies, a nation-renowned human tracker, and a few of the higher nobility that held seats on the councils.

The white alicorn was amazed at how well-hidden this Giant was; he managed to keep ponies off his trail and constantly made members of the councils scratch their heads in confusion.

The main Everfree map before them had certain areas marked off with large X's to show no activity or areas, that they has searched fully, leaving them with only a few places left to look. The only place they weren't willing to look was the heart of the forest.

"Your Highness." Her master of tracking began,

"Yes?” Celestia tilted her head, “Easy Hooves, any word on the Giant?" She asked,

He shook his head. "No, your grace, but I think he knows he's being tracked," he said, "humans usually leave tracks or some other kind of disturbance, either bites or claw marks on tree bark or marking territory as theirs. This Giant human has done none of that.

"I assume you're aware of how he left Canterlot, your grace?" The tracker asked,

"I do, it's costing the crown a small fortune to repair the damages he’s caused," she said, raising an eyebrow at the ridiculous question,

"W-well, Your Highness, as you can see in these reports, the tracks from the Giant are large and easy to spot, but once it got near Ponyville, it became lighter on its feet."

"So what can be gathered from this is that he was scared while running through the city and down the mountain?" Celestia asked.

"But what scared the Giant so much to make him run, leaving tracks the way he did?" Luna joined in,

"He was scared of us," Easy Hooves answered. "Humans understand what makes us ponies different, the traits on our bodies, Unicorn’s horns, Pegasi’s wings, Earth Ponies’ strength."

"That doesn't explain why he was scared."

The earth pony nervously rubbed his chin "How many guards were there when the accident took place?"

"Nearly a hundred," Celestia answered.

"Yep, that did it, too many unknowns gave it stress and anxiety."

Before the Royal sisters could process what Easy Hooves said, Prince Blueblood shouted from across the room.

"For the love of the crown, just kill this bucking abomination and be done with it!" blueblood ordered, towards Celestia and Luna.

Luna went to retort, but a white wing stopped her.

"Blueblood,"

Celestia said with a stern and commanding voice. "You're not a part of the day or night council. I only allowed you to attend these meetings because you demanded to know what was going on," Celestia stated sternly.

"The only job of this council is to counsel us. Not to give orders!" Luna snarled, as her nostrils flared In annoyance. “You are forgetting who you are talking to, Blueblood.”

"Escort Prince Blueblood out of the meeting chamber, and back to his room, He's had a long day." Celestia intervened, probably saving Blueblood from a lot of trouble, motioning towards two guards.

While Celestia, narrowed her eyes at the snooty prince as he hurled insults at the guards, who were forcefully escorting him out of the room.

'I'm going to have to talk with Blueblood, on how to act in front of Luna. And the Councils.' suddenly, Celestia had heard Luna exhaling, before she walked to the balcony of the small chamber, and looked out over the blue bright sky, towards the direction of Ponyville.

Celestia followed her, as her midnight sibling began to cry silently. Seeing this, she gently unfurled a wing and wrapped it around Luna.

"Why do our subjects hate him so much?" she asked.

"They do not hate him, dear sister, they fear him. The ponies of today are not how they were two thousand winters ago, remember? It doesn't help that he killed a Royal guard." Celestia corrected.

'Along with the myths and legends that have sprouted up over the years.' Celestia added mentally, before using her golden magic to wipe her sister's tears away.

"You need to be strong, my dear sister, now more than ever. If you wish to prove what you told me about the Giant to the masses, you'll need to show no fear and certainly no breaking down."

"But it has been nearly a week. Humans don't last that long in the Everfree alone." Luna whimpered.

Celestia just smiled warmly, giving her a soft nuzzle. "Sister you keep forgetting, he's a Giant. If the tales are anything to go by then he is doing just fine in those woods."

Robert's POV

"I am not doing fine!" He half shouted as he was chased by a group of manticores. "Oh, sweet baby tap dancing Christ this is bad!"

He was out of arrows, it didn’t help that he needed more time to make said arrows. which these wild animals, weren't giving him currently, his thunderous footfalls were being tailed by many roars and growls of manticores.

Robert then realized something, "Zecora could help me!"

Making his way towards the zebra's tree hut, it just came into view as the manticores abruptly stopped.

Confused, Robert slowed down and stopped, turning around as the wild animals refused to cross some invisible line. Clearly, they feared something on the other side.

'They're scared of a zebra but not me, a very large, gigantic human?' Robert was dumbfounded by this motion, but he wasn't complaining. When something, or someone rubbed up against his leg.

"Mm, I see the Giant-folk is having an issue with Manticores." The zebra herself greeted, causing Robert to jump slightly. "My apologies, Giant-folk, I thought you knew I was about."

Reaching down, Robert gently scooped Zecora up, making her gasp in surprise.

Putting her onto his shoulder, Robert began moving back towards the manticores to see if they would come near him or his zebra companion. They moved away, but just as he was about to stick his foot past an invisible line, Zecora fidgeted in fear on his shoulder, before shouting out.

"Fool! They are not scared of me! It is the power of the poison joke they fear!"

'Oops, sorry.' Robert thought as he drew back, and set the zebra down on the ground.

"Come, I'll give you a blend that makes them flee." She said sternly as she walked off, lashing her tail,

Robert simply followed her, the manticores roared in rage before stalking the two from the trees. Until disappearing, back into the Everfree. Entering her hut, Zecora returned shortly with a small sack with a blue flower painted on it, wearing a cloak and other forms of protection.

"Beware this flower's pollen, even though it doesn't breed wrath. It definitely wants a laugh," she said gently, offering him the tightly sealed sack.

'How does a plant want a laugh? That makes no sense, does it mess with their minds? Like catnip?' Robert was about to turn to leave when a hoof shot out grabbing his bow.

"May I see your weapon of choice, Giant-folk?"

Seeing no harm in it. He gently lowered his bow down to Zecora and she took it into her hooves. She struggled under the weight, nearly dropping it as she quickly set it down, holding it up by the vine instead.

"Your craft is of decent design, your arrow, and quiver I wish to see next."

Shaking his head Robert showed he had no more arrows, the zebra rubbed her chin in thought.

"Ah. You were hunting Manticores when your arrows soon ran dry?" She asked,

Robert nodded, causing her to smile and chuckle. "Be wiser next time, and make extras, even though you don't need them at the current time, now what of your quiver?" She said, nudging his bow back towards him.

Bending down, Robert grabbed his bow and slung it around his shoulder, before showing his acquaintance that he didn't have a quiver, and mostly carried it under his arms, before waving her off, Zecora sighed in relief. "This is not the way I wished to spend my free day." She spoke, while heading back inside.

Looking through the trees, the coast seemed clear before Robert heard distant voices.

"Let's check this way and look towards the lake!"

'These Ponies come deeper into the forest every day.' Thinking quickly, Robert moved quickly and quietly to get out of sight, right as a small group of Royal Guards walked by. The patrols had been small, but they never went this deep into the woods.

'Were they expanding the search area?'

"Why are we even here? We haven’t found anything." Said a mare, stretching her armored-covered wings.

The leader of the group, a unicorn stallion, snapped at her. "Orders are orders. Don't question the Princess's decision, if they want this Giant our job is to find it. Once we accomplish finding it, we report the sighting." His voice was gruff and stern,

"But Sergeant, we've been in and out of this forest for nearly two weeks and found nothing!" The mare argued.

"Private Silver Wing, if you don't stop questioning orders, as your acting NCO, I will punish you the next time you speak, so keep your muzzle shut, and do what has been commanded of us!"

'Huh? Do these Ponies have a Hierarchy? So the ground Equines, Pegasi, and Unicorns all follow these Princesses? Why didn't I notice this earlier?' Robert mentally processed as the guards walked by, not appearing to notice him. 'They’d only need to look up to see I'm not a tree.'

After they had gone down the path towards the left, where a lake was, Robert stepped out onto the path and began making his way. Back to collect his arrows, and the last few pelts for some basic pelt sacks.

general third person of Ponyville POV

After Applejack's heroic actions in stopping a herd of cows from demolishing the town, Pinkie Pie and her four other friends, along with the rest of the town, had planned to throw a celebration, for the farming earth pony as a way to say ‘thank you’.

They all had gathered at the town hall, while the very few ponies who had brought their humans were made to stand, in the back to keep them separated, to stop any fights that might happen.

Twilight, together with Rarity and Pinkie, and even Mayor Mare, had been discussing the ceremony that would take place.

"Now, Twilight, you're sure Applejack will be on time?" Mayor Mare asked,

She nodded and was about to speak when Rainbow Dash cut her off.

"I haven't seen her all week, but she'll be here for sure. Applejack is never late!" The rainbow pegasus proclaimed.

This made the mayor uneasy. "Goodness, is she alright? If nopony has seen her, surely something must be wrong?"

"Don't you worry, Mayor Mare!” Pinkie Pie piped up. “She's super duper fine! I Pinkie Promise!" She smiled.

Mayor Mare just sighed while nodding her head."If you two say so, I'll take your word for it. Now, if you’ll please excuse me, I need to prepare properly." She walked off.

"Wait, has anypony been to her farm?” Twilight asked, “Or see any of the other Apple family members for that matter?"

Rarity raised a hoof to calm her. "Easy darling, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom met at school, Applebloom explained the situation, she's just been working herself too much." the element of generosity explained.

"Did Applebloom say how hard she was working? Or even sleeping?" Rarity was going to answer with her mouth hanging agape before gently closing. "Applebloom didn't say anything about that or if she was getting rest."

This made Twilight sigh, gently rubbing her face with the smooth soft underside of her hoof. "I have a bad feeling about this," Twilight remarked as her three friends just brushed off her concern.

Five minutes had passed, and still no sign of Applejack. This made Twilight uneasy on the inside but she suppressed it and trotted to the podium, a deck of flashcards following beside her.

Looking over, Twilight found them to be sticking out every few notes or so she decided to fix them before speaking."Welcome, Everypony! Today we are here to honor a pony we can always count on!"

Before Twilight could continue, Rainbow Dash slammed her notes, sending them everywhere, along with pushing Twilight out of the way as the rainbow-maned pony took charge.

"Did you see Applejack's sick moves out there during that stampede? What an athlete! Am I right, Ponyville? Next week, she's going to help me with a new trick I got cooking up! And it's going to be so awesome!"

Twilight was slightly ticked off by her brash friend's actions before she pushed the rainbow pony away to continue her speech. "and"

Then Pinkie interrupted the element of magic, making her grow a little more annoyed, but not furious just yet. "I get to run Sugarcube Corner on my own! For the first time!"

"What does that have to do with Applejack?" Twilight sourly asked as Pinkie answered.

"Oh? Applejack is one of the best bakers in all of Ponyville! And she is going to help me next week too! She makes everything great, so everypony can get a free sample!" This made many ponies in the crowd cheer.

Moving back, Twilight pushed the pink party pony away "Mm, ok that's great. Now if I can just make my points without being interrupted."

But then Fluttershy interrupted her, making the purple pony make a soft sound of frustration.

"I-i'm so sorry, Twilight, but I just wanted to say… T-that Applejack is also going to help me with the official bunny census. By counting up all the newborn bunnies with her herding s-skills. One week from now."

"Anypony else? Anypony? No?" Twilight said her ear slightly red from her anger. "Well then, as I was trying to say," — The unicorn mare was about to go back to her planned speech before the mayor appeared.

Growling in anger, along with her horn increasing in its deep purple color, before the slightly unneat flashcards were incinerated by her magic, she spoke in anger. "Never mind!" Spitting her words out, she walked off the stage to join her friends.

"Ahem, and so, without further ado, it is my privilege to give the prized pony of Ponyville an award. To our beloved guest of honor, a pony of the utmost trustworthiness, reliability, and integrity, Applejack!" The crowd cheered before some curtains were pulled back showing.

No orange farm pony, as the cheers died down, slowly one by one, the ponies soon saw she wasn't there. Slowly things became awkward, near the town hall as rumors began floating about.

"what if the Giant got her?" a mare whispered to her mare friend, "what if Applejack was its second kill we couldn't find?"

Spike heard the ponies gossiping, which made him latch onto Twilight's foreleg in fear. "Why Did you L-lied and say that G-giants aren't R-real!" This made the unicorn roll her eyes in response while answering his scared question.

"Because, the first time I told you a scary story about anything, you wouldn't leave my room for the better half of a month. So tell me Spike how in Celestia's name would you handle the truth of an ancient creature, that I told stories to scare you into behaving, somehow coming back to life?"

Before her little assistant could answer, the cowpony finally arrived. "I'm here! I'm here! Sorry for being late." Applejack slurred, stumbling towards the front of the town hall.

While the orange-furred pony stumbled forward, stepping on pony's hooves, and tails, by accident. Finally getting to the podium. "Miss Mayor!" along with pushing the older mare out of the way. "Thank you kindly for this award thingy." while she stumbled up to it, Applejack's five friends watched her simply be entertained by her distorted reflection.

"Girls, I don't think Applejack is doing too well?" Rarity said in a serious tone, while Pinky left to join her in the distorted reflection. Twilight knew that Applejack was acting strange, deciding to climb back onto the stage, To study her more closely in an effort to try and see the problem.

The purple mare was careful and slow with her words as she talked. "Ok? Well, thank you for saving us from the Stampede and always being there for everypony."

She yawned loudly before saying, "Yeah I like helping the pony folk." before promptly knocking out. In front of the crowd and her friends; awaking startled, forgetting where she was. along with speaking again slurred, "T-thanks for the shiny thing."

Applejack said before picking it up, in her muzzle, and dragging it off. "Was it just me, or did Applejack seem a little?" as the rest of the main five, added to what they thought was off about their friend. Lastly, Pinky Pie saw nothing wrong with her in the slightest.

' I'm doing something so damn stupid.' Robert mentally chastised, Instead of going deeper, into the woodlands these ponies feared, and rightfully so. he had witnessed many strange things, along with unusual plant life, in those woods. While the sounds of woodland birds, and small creatures slowly went quiet as he exited the forest.

Robert continued going outward, Closer to the pony town, and increasing his chances of being spotted. 'Maybe I can return the favor and scout them out for a change?' looking through the smaller Forest canopy, he could see the sun shining bright, and yet? The patrols didn't go this way. 'Was this area off-limits?' he presumed.

While he mentally tried to figure out the reason why, unexpectedly an apple landed on his head as it made a solid thud. 'Ow. Wait, was that an apple?' he mulled, as it rolled off his head and fell to the ground.

Looking downcast at the ground and by God, it was. Leaning over, Robert snatched the apple from the ground, While slowly getting back up to his true height. 'When was the last time I had a fresh apple?'

Moving the apple around, he inspected the bright red fruit, seeing it had been dirtied by the fall. He gently used his extra pelts, he decided to wear to clean the offending dirt marks off. The apple was now a near picture-perfect for a commercial.

Gently, taking a bite out of the fruit, the taste was like nothing, Robert had ever tasted before. This single Apple made the ones at home look like cheap knock-offs of apples.

'And the taste? How to explain it.' Before taking a much smaller bite try to savor the fresh fruit. 'I think. Perfection is a good way to explain it.' After finishing, the apple. Robert threw the bare core away and went for another.

This one was green, sighing softly out loud, believing he was alone then cleaning and eating the green apple.

It didn't taste bitter, and surprisingly was sweet, after housing the apple. And tossing the core away, he slowly began to enter the apple orchard.

Seeing many different trees, of all sizes producing mostly one fruit. 'Why the hell are they only growing apples? How do they even manage to make this profitable? Surely some apples go bad." looking before entering a new section.

The trees here had some or little fruit on their branches, not to mention buckets everywhere, some empty and others filled with tasty apples.

'The hell is going on? Are the trees sick? Or is someone harvesting them? ' looking one tree over, the bark was hard, and smooth, giving a gentle knock, as to test the bark on the inside of the apple trees.

The sound was solid. 'Alright, so it's the latter, not the former.' before he could step away a loud yawn echoed from below him.

"Aww shucks, I forgot to get this tree here some buckets!" said a feminine but southern-sounding voice.

Looking downwards, he saw what or who was speaking, 'it's the orange pony from that night a few months back. The hell was her name? wasn't it like cereal? And how the hell, dose she think I am a tree? Most of these Ponies think my legs are trees. Maybe because of my pants?'

He didn't dare move, as she walked around him placing decent-sized wooden buckets, then moving to the front of him. Before going into her stance, Applejack tried and failed to kick him.

Even almost falling over in the whole ordeal, 'is she drunk? The hell is going on?' Before he could express his confusion verbally. She bucked him right in the solid part of his leg.

Gritting his teeth, from the pain as he held onto the tree next to him. 'God, that hurt!' Robert said while a single tear fell from his eye caused by the orange mare below.

Applejack looked back before tilting her head in confusion. "Why isn't this gosh darn tree dropping its apples?" before shaking her head and getting ready to buck again.

'Maybe because I'm not a fucking Apple tree you off-brand cereal Named pony!' Robert mentally shouted his jaw muscles refusing to relax, before she just shrugged.

"Aww well, l better just buck the tree harder!" she proclaimed making fear rise up in his chest.

'Oh hell no! That first kick most likely gave me a black and blue! The hell kind of damage can she do with harder kicks?' just as Robert was about to act she bucked again.

His teeth felt like they were going to shatter if he kept adding more and more pressure to them, words couldn't explain the pain this very tired earth pony caused him.

"Come on! Ya old oak! Give me your Apples" she slurred getting ready to kick him again.

Before Robert could physically crush the tired mare. His mouth and brain worked far faster than his body. "There's one problem with your way of thinking, I'm not an Apple tree!" he snarled, grabbing and plucking, decent-sized apple from the tree next to him.

"That's an Apple tree!"

Then Robert reared back, and pelted the fruit at the back of the delirious pony's head. "And Here's an Apple! See your discrepancy?!"

"H-huh?"

Was the only word Applejack was able to get out, before the loud *CRACK* of the thrown apple connected to it's target. This made the pony mare stubble, and struggle go stand. Before collapsing this stunt made Robert's heart stop.

"Fuck! D-did, I just kill her?!" he moved close to her, gently picking up the limp pony, and holding her in his arms, and against his chest. Reaching over slowly he lifted one of his fingers near her nose, waiting for the orange mare to exhale.

She didn't. "This is bad this is very very bad! I just pulled a Isaac Newton on a fucking horse." Before he could panic even more, a loud snore broke through his hysteria. Causing him to breathe a gentle sigh of relief. "Note to self, don't throw Apples at a pony's head. Unless completely necessary. Or if they have armor on,"

Just as he was about to set the mare down, she nestled closer. As she latched onto him while humming in delight. "Mm~ I missed mah bed." she cooed, moving closer while Robert stood there dumbfounded.

'She thinks I'm her bed doesn't she?' Robert mentally deadpaned, along with trying to gently extract her from his primitive shirt.

"Mm!~ no Granny Smith! I don't want to make more Apple pies and Fritters." She groaned in her sleep having been pulled off of his fuzzy and warm clothes.

Now that the orange-furred pony was extracted, he gently settled her down against an apple tree. 'I need to make this look convincing.'

Slowly Robert took her hat and cleaned it. Gently wiping off apple bits, before placing the cowboy hat, back on her head. Along with moving the apples, he slowly spilled them back into her saddle baskets and took them. 'You won't be needing these anymore.'

Stepping back and looking at his handiwork, the mare looked rather peaceful, before he began gathering more apples to take to his campsite.

'I guess I'm going to feast on apples Unless there's more to this pony's farmland.' looking around while gently strolling, Robert would find a large red barn including white picket fences, and shockingly enough she was growing actual food.

Lettuce, bean stocks, celery stocks, hell even a few watermelons and carrots. Robert was acting like a kid on Christmas, so many foods that he didn't have or seen for months, now were in front of him and ripe for the taking.

'Finally a safe change from meat.' Robert didn't hate meat, but it did get kinda boring eating the same kind of meat every day with nothing to spice it up.

After stuffing the saddlebags, to the brim with produce, Robert stood back up. Taller than the apple trees; the height advantage allowed him to study Ponyville from a somewhat concealed position, as his head was the only thing peeking out from the tops of the trees. Currently, the town was teeming with multi-colored dots which he summed up to be ponies.

He was able to see a decent amount of the small to medium-sized town, now seeing the town of Ponyville in daylight changed the game completely.

'One thing to note, I haven't seen any ponies in golden armor or in lavender armor in Ponyville.' This confused the giant man because if the ponies in armor were their version of police and military, why wouldn't they be protecting a small town like this? Instead, 'they're looking for me in the forest.'

'I guess I really shook the hornet's nest, leaving a town so close to that forest defenseless.' Shaking his head, while stepping backwards the tall man heard a growl from behind him. thinking it was the wooden wolves Robert readied for a one-sided fight.

Looking down, the human spotted a dog. Not like the Timberwolves of the forest, but an actual living dog. "Oh, what's up little dog? It's been a while since I've last seen one. " Robert asked gently, getting down on one knee to try and pet the fuzzy canine. "Are you a good dog?" Robert asked gently,

The small dog leaped up and bit onto his fingers."Ow! You little runt!" setting the two saddle backpacks down along with using his now free hand. To pull the dog's lower half to try and make it let go of his fingers.

"Come on, you little mutt just let go." Robert tried to reason with the little dog as it growled more and sunk its teeth deeper into his fingers.

Gripping the dog's tail, as he pulled, made the dog yelp in pain, distracting her from the main task of biting him. To see what had pulled on her tail, as Robert shook the bitten hand.

"You're a feisty one aren't you?" Robert asked the dangling dog. While inspecting his bitten hand. 'E-yup that's a bleeder, I'm going to need to clean that once I get back.'

Before anything could be done, the dog growled, before starting to bark wildly. acting quickly, Robert lifted up the dog, along with using his free hand, to grab hold of its muzzle. and forced it closed, to stop the infernal barking. 'and this is why I hate small dogs.'

Just in the nick of time, as a tiny pony began walking around. "Winona! Come here girl!" said a young pony, meanwhile the dog named Winona wiggled more attempting to break free from the Giant's grasp.

Putting the dog's ear near his mouth, Robert was able to whisper to the canine. "Stop moving, Winona. I'm not in the mood to kill a dog, but if you keep it up I'll have no choice, but to tear your small head off, like a Kool-aid burst bottle cap. Capiche? However, if you're good. I'll let you go I promise." he said to the dog while she kept quietly growling, at the giant stranger.

Doing her absolute best to free herself to warn her pony family member, the tiny pony spoke up. "I guess she's just chasing squirrels again." said the young female pony slowly moving in an unknown direction.

Peeking to the right, Robert didn't see her, before crawling to the left, finally spotting the filly. With a pink bow on her head, red hair, and a cream-colored coat heading to a three-story wooden home.

The giant human watched the young filly go back inside. He assumed she gave up on the search, Robert released the dog as promised. But not before picking up the stolen produce along with the saddlebags that held them.

"Much appreciated Winona. Be a good girl and run along now." He said before the demon dog bit his ankle, not allowing him to leave.

Giving an annoyed grunt, Robert was done being the nice guy. "Alright, I tried to be nice you fuzzy demon ball," he said, picking the dog back up and tossing her through a window of the barn. Effectively locking her inside as a soft thud indicated, she had an easy landing.

While doubling back, the way he came before Robert sighed in relief. 'Thank God I didn't need to kill a dog.' The farm dog who he just spared, had began barking, and howling trying her best to warn her family of the large intruder.

'But now I wish that I had!'

He started to run, heavy footfalls made the earth below tremble, the Giant man still running like his rear was on fire.

Making it to the outskirts of the farm, he accidentally stomped onto the white picket fence, causing a loud wooden crack to echo forth, along with ducking as he stumbled back into the woods.

'Crap! Crap! They know which way I came from, I'm going to need to change the direction I enter the orchard from! Wait; I don't know if that dog can track me. To be safe I need to find a water source and fast!'

Darting, into the woods Robert fanatically searched for any kind of water, and luckily enough he had found a creek. Rushing into the cold water the man ran for all he was worth, trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and the apple farm.

In the distance, the little dog's yapping was heard making his larger heart race. Fueling his run, to give his chasers the slip. " I'm not going in there in the Everfree in my current state along with my sister and my little sister." said a distant but masculine voice.

A few minutes before Twilight's POV

After Applejacks, confusing display at the ceremony, Twilight decided to visit the farm pony. Walking up to the apple orchard, as she approached the main part of sweet apple acres Twilight was able to hear barking.

Following the howls, and barks, coming from the barn. 'Did Applejack leave Winona in the barn?' before using her magic to open the red and white doors, as the small dog flew out like she had gone rabid.

"Woah, they're easy! Winona!" Twilight half shouted as the dog ran right for her, acting quickly the mare used her magic to hold the dog off the ground in her magical grasp.

"Winona, it's Twilight you remember me don't you?" the purple mare asked cautiously before the dog slowly calmed down. ' what had her so riled up?' using her ears, Twilight tried to listen closely for movement or some other kind of disturbance until she heard it.

Heavy footfalls, along with wood snapping. something big, and heavy, was on the move, And it didn't want to be seen by the purple mare. Was it a manticore? Surely not a Hydra.

While she scanned through the trees, almost looking like a deer as she did so, Applebloom had come rushing out along with Big Mac slowly following. "Why do you have Winona like that Twilight?!" asked an angry Apple Bloom.

As she brought up a hoof to stop her bombardment. "Listen, do you hear that?" Twilight asked before she watched Apple Bloom's ears swivel to listen. Along with Big Mac, their faces filled with shock, and fear, gently placing the dog down. Before Winona shot off like a bullet barking like mad.

Following the bloodhound, along with Big Mac and Apple Bloom, they found Applejack sleeping against an apple tree. "Big sis!" yelled Apple Bloom as she ran over to her older sister.

And gently began to shake her sibling. "Huh? What?" Applejack said while Big Mac whistled, calling their dog back. Twilight moved close to the farm pony before her horn ignited, as she used her magic to check her body for any kind of injuries or sickness.

"What happened?" asked Applejack as she grunted holding the back of her head with a hoof, and Twilight would soon have the answer, "Somepony, threw something? At the back of your head."

This of course stunned all the ponies there, while the Unicorn of the small group began healing Applejack's head, "do ya remember anything little sis?" asked her older brother.

Grunting in pain, Big Mac helped his sister onto her hooves. "It's all a blur I can't recall," she said gently rubbing her face thankfully, she was more coherent this time compared to her earlier display in town.

"Maybe Winona can find who we were looking for?" asked Apple Bloom as Twilight responded. "Good idea, but let's focus on Applejack first."

"Let it go ya three, I have a job to do I can't let all those Apples go to waste," Applejack said before looking around her head pounding, the throb of pain making her grit her flat teeth.

"Applejack stay still, so I can heal your injury." Twilight tried to stop the earth pony from trying to return to her work, "Buck that, Twi just stop that fancy spell of yours and let me get back to work."

Thinking her orange-furred friend couldn't be trusted alone, she lifted her into the air. "Apple bloom Big Mac let's go." This made Big Mac nod before releasing the dog to find this pony.

"go get 'em, girl!" yelled Big Mack as Applejack began protesting, her purple friend's action "Twi! Ya better put me down!" yelled the upset earth pony.

"I don't trust you being on your own and after the display in town! You also have a minor Concussion. Your working days are done for now!" Twilight argued, as Applejack floated along with the group.

The four ponies followed the dog, who was barking and growling for them to follow, until they came upon the wooden fence that marked where their property ended, and Everfree began, seeing large footprints.

Twilight, however, noticed a difference — they didn’t belong to manticores or timberwolves, and surely in Tartarus not to an Ursa minor. These looked pretty similar to the Giant tracks outside of town that the Princess mentioned in her letter. This endeavor started to look dangerous, but Twilight was with Big Mac, who wasn’t in his best of shape, along with his sister, and Applebloom.

Their fuzzy companion was running for quite some time until it stopped at a creek. Wionna whined, showing she had lost its scent.

"I'm not going in there in the Ever-free in my current state, along with my sister and my little sister." Big Mac reasoned while Applebloom agreed.

"Y-yeah they can keep it, that forest is Dangerous!"

Twilight stopped, before she started to think. This thing was smart, in addition to the lack of support from her fellow ponies. Along with the state of their group, one filly, a healing stallion, and a concussed Applejack, Twilight had decided to forgo the pursuit.

Sighing, while turning around, then walking back towards sweet apple acres, Applebloom tried to cheer her hurt, older sister up.

"Come on big sis! Let's get ya patched up!" Apple Bloom grinned. thinking she would find her cutie mark in the medical field.

"I appreciate that sis, but I got work to do! I'm the only pony that can harvest these apples!" sighing Twilight would set her down seeing that arguing with Applejack was near impossible due to how naturally stubborn the earth pony was.

"Fine, but make sure to nap for at least a little while," Twilight said as her older brother helped her back to their homestead

"Nap? No way no how!" shouted the unstable mare before Twilight could object. "Oh, pony feathers, I need to help Rainbow Dash!" Applejack said, stumbling off towards Ponyville.

Robert POV

'There's no way I lost those Ponies by going into not even the very outskirts of these woods. I know for a fact there's no wooden wolves and Manticores within the first three hundred paces.'

Going from a jog, to a slow walk, Robert began to go over the spoils of his raid, on the farmstead; trying to do a headcount, of what could have fallen out. Oddly, all the food he shoved inside the saddlebags didn't fall out. Taking out a decent-sized, celery stalk he began to eat the unclean vegetable along with the dirt it had accumulated, while growing.

"Mmmm. Earth seasoning, my favorite."

Robert said sarcastically, before spitting out the dirt-covered vegetable, 'I need to wash these but not here, maybe near Zecora's?'

Following the creek, Robert determined that he would follow the small river a little bit longer before splitting off, and going towards his zebra friend.

' Does she even see me as a friend? Or just some tall, and strong, creature that lives in these woods.' Seeing a slightly smooth path out away from the creek the giant climbed out.

Looking around, to get a sense of direction, before heading west, toward the zebra's hut. Plus being in these woods with large, amounts of free time, gave Robert the ability to explore these woods and grow quite accustomed to them.

Soon the large tree hut appeared into view, but something was. . . Off, picking up the pace, before arriving at the front of the zebra's home. The place had been thrashed, the front door had been left ajar, and most of her things were on her wooden floor. 'what has happened here?'

The zebra herself was sitting on her front step. She seemed bruised, along with her golden rings gone, minus her earrings. Upon seeing the giant walking toward her home, she seemed. Scared? That wasn't how she normally acted, especially when they first met.

Arriving at her front door the zebra slammed her door shut before she spoke up. "The Giant folk are not welcome here! Your kin brings nothing but wrath and death!" the frightened female zebra shouted.

Deciding to sit down, with a soft tremor, and setting the stolen goods behind him just in case she tried something. Robert reached over and gently knocked on her cracked door. Before the zebra flung the door open and sprayed the giant with a green fluid from a container.

"I Warned you to leave Giant folk! Now my wrath you'll face!" The green stuff burned. It felt like tear gas mixed with pepper spray.

"What the hell?!" Robert shrieked, while it burned him. "This green stuff, it burns!!" he half shouted while grunting in pain, falling to the side holding his face.

Meanwhile, Zecora was too stunned to speak or act. A human that spoke! And a giant no less. Finally snapping out of her stunned state, the zebra rushed inside. Grabbing an unbroken purple bottle before popping the cork out and galloping outside.

She knew that if the venom of the black rose of the valley. was allowed into the eyes of any animal that tried to consume the rose or its venom. Would go blind. "Giant folk stop moving!" Zecora snapped, trying to fix the issue that she caused.

Roughly twenty minutes later, the pain had subsided for Robert and Zecora seemed, sheepish and apologetic, for her actions. "you can speak?" the zebra inquired, and shockingly enough not in a rhyme.

"Yes, I can. I have just one thing I've been meaning to ask Zecora," Robert said, his face red and puffy, from the green stuff she sprayed him with.

Cautiously, nodding her head "Proceed with the question."

"Why do you only speak in rhyme?" Robert asked, causing her to smile before answering.

"The language of Ponies isn't my native tongue. Back in the native lands, we speak a different tongue."

Tilting his head in complete confusion before answering his striped friend. "Forgive my foolishness, but what on earth does that mean?"

Rolling her dull blue eyes, before heading inside to get some paper and a quill. Returning while setting the paper down, Zecora wrote the issue out.

~I had taught myself how to write, and read Equestrian, but speaking is much harder. I find that rhyming aids me better than speaking normally.~

Reading the paper before looking, downcast at the zebra, Robert just shook his head. "Alright I guess that makes sense, but what happened to your home?" he asked, seeing her fold her ears.

Robert saw her tail flicking and lashing, while he gave the piece of paper back before she began furiously writing her reply.

~A small group of ponies had broken into my home, claiming I had been holding information about you, from the public. Instead, they stole my treasures from my native land, and when I tried to stop them they attacked me.~ Gently sliding the paper back towards her new acquaintance.

Picking the paper up he began to read the small paragraph she left him.

"So you mean to tell me these Hunters or these Thieves, broke into your home and stole things from you, And to add salt into the wound. They had beaten you," Robert asked while she simply nodded.

"Why haven't you contacted, Law Enforcement? Or Ponyville about this issue?" his rage was slowly building before the zebra spoke up.

"The Ponies of Ponyville fear my look and even if I could, my report wouldn't be given a second look."

This had pissed Robert off; his breathing grew more forced, before he stood back up. "Which way did they go?" before she simply pointed her hoof in the direction.

While giving a few words of wisdom, "If you wish to form a Friendship with the Pony folk, try to avoid killing and unneeded violence. To much will make then fear you, to little and they will try and protect you."

Departing with haste, Zecora had spotted his goods. getting up gently; she walked towards them before scooping the saddlebags onto her back and taking them inside.

'the least I can do is clean these up for him.' Zecroa smiled, gently shaking her head knowing those ponies who messed with her were about to get scared to the bones.

It Wasn't hard to find their camp. They seemed to be enjoying their spoils. The sun had gone down about an hour ago, and the last rays of the sun were replaced by the soft glow of the moon.

Robert moved slowly before his ears picked up a conversation near their roaring fire, "I can't believe we tricked that scum of a zebra to let us in! Now all these goods are ours!" said a psychotic-sounding stallion.

"If you want we can go back and enjoy some exotic marehood~," said a second depraved stallion.

'and here I thought people back home were this sick. But apparently, the ponies who work in those pits, and these crooks are the same.' Robert mulled over in his head, their words fueling his rage.

"Yeah! next we need to find that Giant! The human pit fights all over Equestria are willing to pay a fortune, if we find that idiotic creature even offering whoever a third of the profits of it in the ring! To the group who brings it in first!"

"Buck that! The big lad can wait, let's celebrate over our spoils!" Watching from the trees, Robert studied the small group consisting of two normal ponies, one flying pony, and three unicorns.

Moving closer, Robert began planning on how to acquire Zecora's things without killing or hurting these ponies, before an idea popped into his head.

'I don't have to kill them, but I can scare them' Acting quickly, he propelled himself through the large trees before setting loose a mighty shout.

This had worked in his favor: the group of ponies, a mixture of mares and stallions, were terrified; some had weapons, others weren't so blessed. "how in the name of Tartarus did it find us?!" asked the Pegasi holding a crossbow in her hooves while flapping her wings to stay in the air.

"I don't know! I used a masking spell to cover our tracks and smell to the point, a hydra couldn't find us!" yelled a unicorn before an earth pony spoke up. "We have a chance to make some serious bits here! Try not to damage this big lad!"

Robert simply watched them breathing heavily, but due to his size, it sounded like he was growling with each exhale.

"Now!" shouted a mare he felt big nets fall onto his upper body and waist, However, they didn't make it past his knees.

"The nets are not big enough! Run!" shouted the female Pegasi. Robert pulled the net off of his upper body, before snatching the flying pony from the sky, and tossing her into the net, she dropped the loaded crossbow.

The drop made the crossbow discharge, while the bolt buried itself into Robert's right leg, causing him to roar in rage.' Ow! Now You're not getting away that easily you thieves! And Rapists!' the Pegasi could have escaped but Robert didn't give her the likelihood.

For the rest of the pony hunters, they began to panic, while Robert just picked up the screaming and terrified ponies, and dumped them into the net. That was made with him in mind.

After all that was said and done, Robert tied the net closed, before he began looting their campsite. Besides finding Zecora's items that were stolen from her, they had been left in a small carriage, something he could make use of later.

"Let us go! you oversized Beast!" yelled a mare, from the tangled mess of her companions as another spoke, "Come on you idiotic human release us!"

Tuning the group of human hunters out, Robert began looting their campsite; Finding a few wooden chests. One had been locked. That was about to change, picking up the decent-sized chest, Robert gave it a good shake to hear what was inside.

It sounded like coins. Setting the wooden container against his chest, Robert grabbed hold of the lock and began adding pressure to the steel lock.

After a short while it snapped off, before he gently opened the chest, revealing sacks. Slowly reaching his hand in and grabbing hold of a fair-sized sack.

Removing the string that kept the cloth closed, Robert was able to see the inside. 'Hold on! This is all gold?!'

Putting the chest down, he poured the sack of gold currency into his free hand before seeing the money they used.

'I could probably buy a small house with this much gold, Back home.' Gently pouring it back into the coin purse he tied it up, before tossing it back into the open chest.

'I think it's time to leave.' Robert thought, picking up the gold-filled chest and loading it onto the wooden carriage.

Deep within the badlands

"My queen, I bring news from the pony capital city of Canterlot." a creature started earning the attention of his queen.

"mmmm?~ do tell, you certainly earned my attention." the dark figure spoke, turning her head to face her blue-eyed underling.

"A Giant has been found by the ponies." the bug pony responded, answering his queen the report. Made the queen Tilte, her head in confusion before growing angry.

"Do you think I am as foolish as a newborn Grub! Giants haven't existed, in centuries!" the bug queen hissed before her drone quickly back peddled.

"N-no, my queen! I swear I saw the large beast with my own two eyes!" said the terrified changeling, before his queen growled in anger, as she rested on her pointy throne.

"You have one chance to prove to me that you're not lying. If I find you to be untruthful, I will feed you to the dread malware's." with a flask of green magic, the shapeshifter turned into a large human.

Her slitted eyes went wide in surprise, studying the form her drone had taken, before he collapsed, unable to stand in that form. This piqued the queen's interest.

"why can you not stand in this form?" she asked slowly standing up, watching her fallen drone with. An evil grin on her face. "I am unable to stand my queen! I do not know why!" The disguised changeling struggled, to even get past one knee.

Shaking her head in disappointment, before waving her hole-ridden hoof. "I've seen enough, so you may return to your post." in another flash her drone appeared, bowing deeply, Afterwards turning tail and running.

Flicking her bug wings, the queen of the changelings released a pheromone into the air, before buzzing her translucent wings to make the smell flow through her hive;

Soon a battle-scarred changeling in full armor arrived, additionally followed by a more civil-looking changeling in robes, while carrying an ancient and dusty book. "general, head-Guardian of the Old knowledge." Bowing they exchanged pleasantries, "My queen, what is the reason you have summoned us?"

'The head-Guardian always knows what book she would need when I summon her, how strange.' Licking her lips, along with her fangs, she took to the air before landing gently on the hive-made floor.

"I've received a report that a Giant now suddenly exists, and I fear it may interfere with my plans. Head Guardian, what does the old knowledge say about these oversized mountains of flesh?"

Walking around the two changelings, while the one with the book hummed softly. Before a soft glow of magic was heard, the book would open rapidly, flipping through pages shortly, finding the page that her queen wanted.

"Giants, inhabited much of this region of the world, from the far east, to the frozen north. But after the 'great eradication' only a hoof-full remained. And the largest among them were the giants of the frozen North. Standing between eight feet tall to twelve feet tall."

"If I wanted a grub story, I would have asked for a nursery drone!" she snarled, startling the old female warrior class changeling.

"Apologies, my queen." reading quickly the changeling stopped a few pages ahead

"They are shy creatures. Who is fiercely protective of nature, and are aggressive towards humans, this is believed to be a remnant, left over from ages passed, when humans were used to track and attack Giant Holdfasts. Regardless, Elderly Giants have white fur or white streaks."

"That still doesn't explain if that creature will interfere with my plans!" her translucent wings flicked in annoyance before her general spoke up.

"My queen, I could send a Battalion of elite troops, to kill this creature." The bug ruler did think that option would have been best before her other advisor piped up.

"My queen, I must object! This Giant is extremely priceless! The old knowledge states, they aren't intelligent. Maybe it can be used to aid in your plan!" the guardian pleaded.

"Enough! I've made my decision; General, send scouts to study, and observe, the Giant. I want to know everything about it. After that is done, report back to me on what you find."

"At once my queen." Her general said bowing, before marching off to do the task she had given

"Head guardian, inform all available concealed drones, in Equestria, to send whatever humans they can buy, or steal, into the ever-free forest, and hold them there. Feed and water them, but when winter comes. Infect them with the black vine virus, The forest will take care of the rest."

"My queen, that is dangerous! True the virus does not kill the intelligent races of Equus, but can still make them incredibly unwell!"

Hissing loudly, like a snake she narrowed her slitted eyes, towards the last of her subjects. "Are you denying an order from the queen herself!"

Gulping the female drone shook her head in fear. "No, your highness, I'm Trying to express my concern for the Giant's safety."

"If what stories I've heard are true, you have nothing to worry about. Now, be on your way head-guardian; oh, and don't forget to tell all the drones to spread as much, false knowledge as possible. More unrest we have, the more positions we can infiltrate~ "seeing that her concern was getting her nowhere. The older female changeling left to also do what her queen asked of her.

'Everything is falling together nicely. This Giant might be a slight bump in the path, or if he passes this test~ I'll have plenty of uses for it afterward.' before she Cackled. Along with flapping her bug wings flying up and back onto her spiked and uneven throne.

Chapter Four - Acquiring some ruins along with catching a Griffin companion

View Online

Chapter four

Robert's plans had been proceeding very well, so far he had accomplished large amounts of progress toward 'Project Restoration'. After his little stunt back at the orchard, the patrols stopped completely the next day. That was roughly two weeks ago and not a single royal guard had entered the forest since.

"I guess I taught them a lesson, even though it's common knowledge, safe and unprotected food attracts anything."

To add insult to injury, he managed to steal some type of book from that purple unicorn mare. 'I think her name was Twilight, I think? I couldn't tell because Nightmare Moon was laughing her ass off when her friends showed up."

He hadn't investigated its contents yet, but the image on the cover made him curious, taking the book was the only issue, giving the cover a second look, this time in the light of the fire.

'The Forgotten Times: before the three pony race's.'

"Ah shit, my money is on this being a children's book, Which I don't mind, better than nothing to read, I suppose." Sitting down next to the fire, Robert remembered what he had done to poor Twilight.

"It's not my fault she decided to fall asleep on her balcony reading this very book. It was bound to happen."

Thinking back, the image had been burned into his mind. It was of Twilight, completely unconscious; her front left hoof propped up by a book, her face resting against it. And the rest of the books? They were made into walls, the only issue was not having enough books to complete that masterpiece.

"I would have given her a book roof and everything! If only I could have stayed, to see how she would have woken up. I could have sworn, I heard someone screaming in panic and confusion once I got back into the woods." Shrugging his shoulders, Robert began to read.

Something as basic as reading a book made him feel civil once again, 'we take things for granted back home, I certainly did, didn't I?'

One moment, he was living his life, simple and plain, the next moment he's in a world of magical creatures, where humans who bang rocks together were seen as smart. 'At least, I have a single friend in this vast and unknown world? Wait no, maybe two?'

Before he could debate this further, a foul smell reached his nose, making him gag and cough. "What the hell is that stink?" It didn't take long to find the source, Robert looked down at his fur shirt to be the cause.

The pelts, he wore without curing or drying them had rotted, making him nauseated. "Burn in the cleansing fire!" He shouted, tearing the furs apart, and throwing them to the small fire. Thankfully his only source of reading material wasn't affected.

'Great, now I need a fucking bath; then I need to find some more Manticores, second times the charm. Right? Hopefully, I get this time right, I don't want to burn my clothes every time they start to reek.'

Spike's POV

Spike was comfortable in his bed. It was the weekend, Twilight allowed him the morning to sleep in and relax, and he was taking full advantage of that.

He held a bucket full of gems while reading his classic comic book series, normally reserved for the weekends.

Spike was just about to consume a sapphire when Twilight shrieked fiercely, spooking him. He jumped out of bed, tossing his comic and snack into the air, then he rushed to see what had startled his caregiver.

He found Twilight on the balcony, books were thrown about with her magic as she panicked. "Where is it! Where is it!" She wailed, searching frantically. "Spike!” She snapped her head towards him, before tackling him. "Where is the book!" She demanded, shaking him frantically.

"MiNd TeLlInG mE wHaT BoOk?!" He stuttered out.

Twilight stopped, giving him a clear look of her face, she had a nice red hoof mark between her eyes. "The book that Princess Celestia sent me! There was only one copy! Where did it go?!"

With her messed up mane, along with her current appearance, Spike cracked up like never before.

"Spike!” Twilight whined, “This isn't the time for laughing!" She got off of the young dragon and went to look for the book again.

"Twilight, maybe you should fix yourself up first" Spike commented, making the purple mare stop, then stride over towards her bedroom mirror.

Soon she bore witness to the hoofwork, "What in Celestia?!" she shouted, her mane going from unkempt to straight on end. "Did you do this?!"

"What? No. I just left my bed! I thought you were already down in the library!" Spike reasoned, 'I need to be careful, she’s in one of those moods.'

"Twilight, I'll look for the book just relax," he said in a grubby manner, going onto her balcony to start looking for this special book, "Just when things are getting good, I get dragged off to do something," Spike muttered, while Twilight left the room to search the library.

Twilight POV

She searched in the main part of the library While the baby dragon searched for the book, the purple mare decided to calm herself in Ponyville's park, closing the library and taking her other favorite book with her.

'I'm so bucked! How do I write a letter to Princess Celestia without sounding like I had lost the only book that she didn't make copies of!'

She settled onto a bench and tried to begin reading in an effort to stop herself from freaking out. That's when a familiar pink pony arrived.

'Sweet Celestia not now Pinkie.' Twilight wanted to say but decided against it just as the bombardment started from the hyper pony.

Zoning out as she went on and on about a story, something of which was lost on Twilight, at the very least she had the courtesy to acknowledge Pinkie's rantings. Suddenly she ran off, and Twilight sighed, finally getting the needed time to think.

Rubbing her face gently Twilight hoped no pony could see the fading hoof mark on her face "This is so embarrassing. If Rainbow Dash ever saw this mark, I would never hear the end of it. " she mumbled

Fluttershy POV

Fluttershy was making good progress, the sun had reached its peak and currently, she was helping a family of ducks

"This way ducks, come along now we're almost to the pond." Fluttershy ushered, walking backwards and guiding the ducks before she gently bumped into somepony.

"Hey! I'm walking here!" Turning around, the shy mare came face to face with a Griffon!

"O-oh please excuse me." Fluttershy whimpered,

"Watch where you are going, weakling!" the female Griffon persisted,

Fluttershy slowly went into herself, as her shyness kicked in. "I-II-I," she tried to defend.

The Griffin roared, grabbing hold of the Pegasus mare and leaning in. "Get out of my sight, you worthless heap. You're lucky I didn't decide to eat you instead of some feral humans."

She shoved Fluttershy to the ground, tears filled the Pegasus's vision as she scrambled away.

Robert POV

Removing his fur pants wasn't as difficult as first anticipated, they were held on by only a few ropes and straps, once they were off he felt the warm summer breeze, it made him shudder.

'Time to clean up.'

Jumping in with a soft splash, Robert started to clean his body. The water was refreshing on this nice summer day, but one thing that he really wasn't looking forward to was the colder months.

'I might not be able to bathe, for all of winter till late spring,' Robert pondered, cleaning his body.

He needed this dearly, if the man was being honest with himself he stunk to high heavens. No doubt Zecora was being extremely nice, and wasn't saying anything, but sometimes he caught her scrunching her nose, every time he got close.

'I can take a hint, Zecora.'

She would need to be informed of that once he saw her again. After clearing away most of the dirt and grime, Robert's hearing picked up something or someone.

'Is someone crying?'

Moving slowly, snatching his pants that were resting on top of some rocks, he climbed out as silently as possible, likewise getting somewhat dry before throwing the covering back on.

'Who in their right mind would be out here and possibly alone?'

Looking over some bushes, he found the owner of the whimpering.

'Fluttershy, if I remember correctly.' She was the only one who didn't make a face of hate or disdain that evening. In Applejack's case; she was eyeing him up like a new piece of meat.

The soft look Fluttershy gave him, had actually kept Robert's morale up during his time in the hellish pits.

'It's time to return the favor.' Getting close was a challenge, so many sticks were around her, but after sitting down without making the ground shake, Robert reached over carefully and poked her back gently.

She went rigid, her breath catching in her throat. Fluttershy slowly turned her head, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "O-oh I'm so s-sorry for invading your home Mr. Giant,"

Fluttershy was going to bolt, Robert knew how her attempt would transpire, she would take into the air and escape, however, the Large man wasn't going to let that happen.

Reaching over he lifted her up. 'I had a flying pony like this before, you're not going, anywhere unless, I let you.' Robert mulled as he held the shy mare.

She squirmed, doing her best to free herself without seeming like a threat or confrontational. "P-please I need to go now." Fluttershy tried, attempting to escape again.

'Time to end her worries; with belly rubs.'

Gently flipping her on her back, barrel exposed, the shy mare reddened,

“U-uh,” was the only word she could get out before gasping in surprise as he scratched her underside.

The effects were almost immediate, the once crying, upset mare was replaced with coos and soft hiccups.

"Y-you're just an oversized angel aren't you?" Fluttershy squeaked.

Her wings relaxed, and Robert slowly loosened his hold, knowing she wasn't going to run now that stomach rubs were being used.

'I swear this is the skeleton key for all Ponies. I should get her out of here.' Robert thought, gently getting back up.

"Where are we going?" Fluttershy murmured, only slightly aware of them moving, but not opening her eyes to check.

Rolling his eyes at her reaction, Robert began carrying her to the edge of the Everfree. 'You're going home, these woods aren't safe.'

Finding an exit path was fairly easy, and gently setting the pink-haired Pegasus onto her hooves, she snapped out of her dazed state nearly instantly.

"W-what?" Fluttershy asked, looking around in confusion, she cautiously turned around and spotted the giant behind some trees. "Y-you took me out of the woods?"

Robert gave her a simple nod, and she softly flared her wings, "Can you come with me? I-if that wouldn't be too much t-trouble that is."

Robert thought over what Fluttershy just said. 'There's no way this is all staged, those tears seemed real; I'll play along for now.'

Gradually, he stepped out from the woods, having to bend down to do so. 'Damn these smaller trees, I should do something about them.'

"G-goodness you're big," Fluttershy mumbled, before speaking louder. "This way." She said, taking him not towards Ponyville, but in a different direction.

'This oughta be good.' Robert thought as he followed Fluttershy.

Celestia POV

This morning was like any other, Luna and her would meet in the 'Royal private chambers of the two Sisters.' which was a glorified meeting room, where they would both chat, then lower and raise their respective celestial bodies. And would just spend time with one another, when their schedules allowed it, However, this time the elder sister knew that her younger sister. was neither sleeping nor eating, enough and was staying up all day and all night for the past week.

'It is time to intervene.'

Before she could enter the hallway towards their chambers though, a guard stopped her.

"Your Grace, your presence is needed back in the throne room." the guard stated,

Celestia simply walked around her subject. "I'm sure it can wait. I have a very important, intervention I need to do."

The guard got in her path again, "It’s urgent your Grace, human hunters have encountered the Giant."

This made the Alicorn stop in her tracks, "Very well,” she sighed. “Send a guard to fetch my sister, she will most definitely want to hear this."

The guard bowed as she turned around, "At once your Highness," and he trotted off towards their chamber.

After arriving back at the throne room, the guards outside instantly opened the large wooden doors for Celestia. Once inside, she spotted a group of ponies as one of her guards proclaimed her entry.

"All kneel, for her Grace, Princess Celestia! First of her name, Ruler of the Sun, Supreme Sovereign of the Day army, Lady of the three Pony tribes, Co-ruler of Equestria, and Protector of the realm!"

Everypony in the throne room bowed while she walked past, ascending the ramp to the golden throne and sitting down.

"Your Grace, if we may?" Asked the leader of the group he seemed to be uneasy along with sweating, she gave a gentle nod, and they proceeded.

"We had established, our campsite inside of the Ever-free forest for roughly a few months, and one of our fellow hunters had gotten eaten by a giant human."

"I had made a public announcement to all nearby towns and villages that the woodlands near Ponyville, Appleloosa, to even Dodge City, were off-limits to the public. Why were you there?" Celestia asked, eyes narrowed,

"We were inside of the Everfree for the last five months, your Grace, we weren't aware of the new restriction. The main reason why me and my group were out there was to find lost or abandoned humans and bring them back to their owners, or to pounds to be cared for." The group leader said, sweating.

At this moment in time, Princess Luna entered through the main entrance, however, the guard didn't announce her entry, so they weren't aware of her yet. She seemed to be listening to their story, even though she had massive bags under her eyes.

"How does this involve the Giant?" Celestia asked, seeing her younger sister, but deciding to keep the questions rolling for this supposed. 'human hunter group'

"W-we had been tracking a small group of escaped humans that had been branded, they were heading west, when the giant attacked."

Celestia raised an eyebrow, watching the group for any signs of trickery. "Go on." She spoke,

"Star Dancer, one of our scouts had decided to check east, instead she led that monster, right to us. Shortly after that, he captured us in one of our own nets and began eating Star Dancers in front of us. There used to be ten of us, now there are only seven."

Luna's nostrils flared, and her wings slowly opened to their full extent. Princess Celestia knew what her younger sister was planning to do, so she discreetly raised her hoof to stop her.

'Not everything needs to be solved with threats and violence, Luna. When will you learn that?' She shook her head, "I'm very sorry that happened to your group. Do you know any of their families so that the crown can send compensation to their families?"

The leader of the group's demeanor changed like a switch, he averted his eyes, even more, and sweat came rolling off the stallion's coat as his tail twitched. "Star Dancer, never informed us if she had any family P-princess. Nor did the other two Poines of our group that were eaten." The stallion stuttered.

"Very well what about the other members of your group? Can you tell me their names? Possibly their families." Celestia inquired,

However this stallion, was less than forthcoming about the other two members of the group, it was as if they never existed.

"Something’s off about this story," Celestia mumbled to herself, looking towards her younger sister as they locked eyes, it seemed she noticed this as well.

"Your Highness?" Asked the leader, slightly more nervous than before.

"I apologize, my mind was elsewhere on a different matter. Do you mind telling me which human hunter organization your group is registered with?"

"We are m-mostly registered with Baltimare and Las Pegasus, your highness."

The Princess of the Sun nodded before speaking once more. "Thank you, Mr…?" She said, confused, realizing he hadn't stated his name.

"My name is Wild Thunder, your highness." The stallion said, bowing.

"Very well, Mr. Wild Thunder, I will get into contact with those agencies, and send whatever I can to aid Star Dancer’s family, including the other Ponies of your group. The hospitality of Canterlot is yours for the night. Guards, escort our guests to their chambers."

A small group of guards approached the ponies and escorted them past Luna, who looked like she was going to explode.

"They preach nothing but falsehoods!" Luna snapped as soon as the doors closed behind them.

Celestia got up from the throne and made her way toward her young sibling, "And how would you disprove what those Ponies claim, dear sister? True we may be the final authority, in most cases, but we must follow our own rules. If we didn't we would be tyrants."

This only made the night Princess even more irritated, "If these were the olden time's none of our subjects would question our judgments!"

"These aren't the old days, Luna,” Celestia shook her head. “We can't just make decisions and expect our subjects to agree with them anymore." Gently getting close she nuzzled her sister before continuing. "If you wish to prove their words false, I'll give you one night, before I permit the Royal guards to hunt and slay the Giant."

"How do you know they aren't speaking lies?" The young alicorn asked, her eyes fatigued, yet hardened with resolve.

"I don't, but I hope you can find substantial proof, Luna. I would rather not bring false retribution on a creature whose race has existed since before the Dawn age."

"Thank you, Sister. I will begin the moment the Sun lowers." Luna moved up, nuzzling her older sister before walking away with her horn softly glowing.

In a flash of blue light, she disappeared.

Robert POV

"When we get to my cottage I have so many things to give you! And so many woodland creatures for you to meet." Fluttershy went on and on while Robert just listened to her rambles.

'I swear, I remember her being more scared and shy when I first saw her those few months back. What changed her so much?'

As the two strolled, Robert was able to spot the Cottage that the shy mare, was talking about. After walking over a small hill Fluttershy squealed in delight, taking to the air and gently latching her hooves around Robert's hand. "This way, come on we're almost there!"

The action made the human smile. 'So this is how it feels to have a younger sibling, just getting dragged around most of the time.'

"Oh dear, how am I supposed to fit you inside?" The pony just now realized his height difference, like a bunny to a bear.

'I got this one Fluttershy.' Robert thought, moving towards an area devoid of animals, Robert took a seat with a soft thud, and Robert looked around while the mare went inside her cottage.

'jeez. There are so many animals here, I don't mind a few but there's just way too many. On a lighter note, How did I manage to miss this place when I first entered the forest?'

Before he could do much more in studying her residents, something light hopped into his lap, looking down, Robert spotted a rabbit.

'Why does this rabbit have two forward-facing eyes instead of the normal side-eyes? You know what? Forget I asked, I'm just going to roll with it.'

Reaching over he tried to pet the rabbit, only for it to leap up and bite him.

'What's with animals and biting my fingers?!' Just as he was about to tell the demon rabbit off, a familiar voice rang out.

"Angel! You leave him alone! He's done nothing bad to you!"

Looking up, the human spotted Fluttershy halfway out of her front door. Having been caught, the rabbit released the large fingers from his tiny maw before hopping away.

'You little fuzzball.' Robert hissed in pain, as the small wound started to bleed. 'Your lucky, I like rabbits, if I didn't I would have put your fuzzy little ass in a stew, or roasted you whole.'

While the large human shook his bleeding finger Fluttershy flew over. "I-I'm so sorry! Angel, doesn't do that for any other, wild animals I bring here, I'll make sure to straighten him out later." She gently placed a basket full of food onto his lap. "Stay here, I'll be back to fix your finger," Fluttershy said, flying off back into her home.

'I still can't believe that a rabbit of that size was able to make my finger bleed.'

Shaking his head, Robert began digging through the offerings, Fluttershy had given him using his nonbleeding hand. The basket held carrots, apples, and even a jar of honey and peanut butter.

'I have acquired the holiest of foods, peanut butter.' The jar itself was glass so he needed to be extra careful not to shatter it and ruin the protein-packed spread.

"You found my jars, those sadly aren't for you; they were for my bear friend if that's alright?" Fluttershy said nervously before gently wrapping her hoof around the bleeding hand and placing it against his lap so she can work on him. "Oh my, I didn't think Angel had it in himself to injure another creature this bad." She stammered.

'I need at the very least a bandaid, nothing more. Why is she making this more of an issue than it needs to be?'

She produced a bandage and a bottle of disinfectant.

"This will hurt for a moment." The shy mare muffled out, using her mouth to open the bottle.

'At least she's honest about It, I wish I could say the same for Zecora.' Robert mentally remarked as a sharp pain shot up his hand and arm before fading, Fluttershy gave a soft smile. "you're doing great." she said kindly, gently still working on the injury.

"There we go, good as new." She proclaimed, giving him a gentle smile.

he faintly smiled, his thick beard covering it, reaching up gently he began to pet her head, earning a sigh from the shy mare, while he started to dig through what the pony had gifted him when the giant heard someone approaching.

'The hell is that sound? Wait, I know that noise. I need to hide!' Getting up with much haste, poor Fluttershy, the basket, and the medkit tumbled off as Robert ran for cover going behind her cottage.

"Heya! Fluttershy! I wanted to invite you to the party I have planned for Gilda! It's going to happen this afternoon!" a new voice rang out.

Peaking over the grass-covered roof he spotted a pink pony, 'I think her name is Pinky Pie?' He glanced towards Fluttershy in the state he left her in. 'That doesn't look too pleasant.'

The poor Pegasus had been left on her back with medical supplies and food spilled all over the dirt path around her.

"I-I don't know if it's a good i-idea if I attend," Fluttershy muttered, softly kicking a small pebble around with her back leg.

Pinky jumped over, yes jumped before hugging the other mare. "Don't you worry about a single thing! I have everything covered!" She shouted in a happy tone before helping the downed mare up.

"Oh um, o-ok"

Pinkie Pie squealed, hugging her friend tighter before zooming off towards what Robert presumed was Ponyville. After confirming she had indeed left Robert slowly stepped out from hiding and walked towards Fluttershy.

'I need to show I'm sorry for what I did, you know being a dumb animal and all.'

Reaching down Robert gently grabbed the shy pony before giving her head a few gentle pets, this, of course, earned a coo and a few soft ear flicks.

"I-its ok I forgive you, Giant I was the same way when, I first met Pinky Pie, once you look past her hyper and loud side and really get to know her. She's rather very nice, I promise." she reasoned, gently opening her wings and taking to the air.

"I hate to cut this short, I need to clean up and prepare for that party. You know where I live, you're welcome A-anytime Giant, goodness I need new medical supplies too," she said before flying up close, giving his cheek and beard a gentle nuzzle, and flying back into her home.

'I will never understand these Ponies.' Robert had decided to clean up the mess. He made, the main reason why was to see if the jar of Peanut butter survived or not.

' I'm not sure if there's glass, so let's do this, Instead of having my hand full of glass shards.' grabbing a stick and using it to move the basket Robert inspected the damage.

"Life is beautiful," Robert muttered with a mouth full of peanut butter, then stuffing his face with more, Zecora just looked at the human, with an unamused look, watching him eat a jar of Peanut butter by dipping large carrots into it.

"Where did you acquire that jar?" she asked while the big human reached over, grabbing his glass water container, and gulping down water so he was able to speak.

"A mare, by the name of Fluttershy, had offered me a basket of goods. I'm not sure if it was for taking her out of the forest? Or maybe she knew one of her animals would dislike me; Either way, I have taken this jar as my own."

The zebra grinned while speaking again. "Compared to last time, your smell doesn't make the bile, of one's stomach want to; meet the world," she said, getting up and going inside to most likely do inventory of her goods and wares.

"I'll be taking that as a compliment, Zecora, and before I forget. If I smell, don't be intimidated to tell me." as if on cue, she popped her head out smiling.

"Thank the heavens! Your smell was so rotten even Flys, wouldn't eat you." she mock-fully joked, reaching down Robert grabbed a small rock before tossing it at her doorway.

"Quit being a smartass, Zecora, or I'll throw even bigger rocks." she would duck inside, then peek her head out of her window.

"One who lives in a home made of glass, shouldn't throw stones!" the zebra jokingly answered; after some time she came back outside. "Though one thing remains on my mind."

"Alright, then what's up?" Robert asked, leaning towards her slightly as she sat down back on her front step. "Have you completed your quest for trapping the Beasts of the Everfree?

"The trap's? Oh, you mean the surprise Traps?"Robert asked, Zecora nodded before pointing her hoof at him. "that is what I seek to know."

Rubbing his chin, Robert began thinking about his second Project, this one being not as significant compared to the first. "Oh, those traps! I've made roughly three of them and they are armed and ready to snap shut once the counterweight is removed."

She would get up, letting loose a yawn. "It is getting late and you need to start working on the issues you face," Zecora said, scooting close to Robert expectantly, waiting for something.

The human sighed, before scratching her behind the ears. "Each time you ask I'm putting an ear-scratching tax on you."

"How many bits?" she coo's while he gave a simple answer. "two bits?" he spoke out as she hummed in thought; then she pulled away. "Let me fetch your money."

"I was joking! Friends of mine don't need to pay." Robert stopped the zebra not wanting her to pay for him, messing around.

She huffed lightly, lashing her tail. "Your jokes will come back to you one way or another." Slowly he got up, "duly noted. Enjoy your afternoon and night Zecora, I'll see you around." Robert said, gathering the last of his things and heading out.

Finally, his task was done, it was long into the night but Robert had managed to get close enough to the main gates to jump inside. 'this will hurt if I mess this up.'

Stepping back a good ten pace's Robert went into a full sprint mode, the stone walls he had made were holding, along with the dirt and rocks he used to fill the path. 'So far so good, just keep this up.'

Fastly approaching, the small gap, now was the time to test his luck, by taking a leap of faith. He made it across, stumbling a good bit before falling over, his head landed against a tree that had taken up residents many years back.

"Ouch, that was a rough landing. But on the bright side, I'm in! Now to see what kind of living conditions I might have here in this castle, I need to decide carefully if there is nothing here I'm leaving." Getting back up, Robert had a slight groove in his step. All those hours, digging, and placing stones, had paid off.

Following a heavily grass-covered, and rock-covered mess of a path, Robert found the front entrance the doors once grand and refined, now wasting away forgotten.

"If only wood and stone could talk, I can only imagine this place in its prime." For the first time since the warehouse and his enforced servitude in the pits of that city. This was the second building Robert had been able to enter.

Climbing the steps was an interesting feat; his new feet made it difficult. Who knew losing your toes, for pillar feet, was a new major adjustment, arriving at the main wooden doors, he grabbed the rusty handles, before trying to open the doors.

Robert pressed the slightest of pressures onto the handles, that made them fall off their rusty hinges. "Right, so new doors are a must. Time to make a list of new things I need to acquire."

Walking through the halls Robert had heard nothing, only his breathing, and footfalls. 'This place surely needs to be cleaned up those holes in the roof however even I can't reach them.'

Coming upon two fairly intact but ruined doors he opened them, Robert managed to squeeze inside; finding a throne room.

The room itself was dark, the moonlight was leaking in from multiple holes in the ceiling. "If this is pony made, they did let this place go. Shame too, this Castle looked rather nice from what was left behind."

Releasing a large yawn, Robert made his way over to the ruined thrones. 'This Castle is large and I most likely entered through the front of it, so tomorrow, I have a busy day checking traps, and exploring the rest of this island.'

finding a smooth area, he laid down putting his head against the golden throne's old cushion, the slightly dusty pillow made him sigh. 'I miss having pillows, no doubt I'll need to snatch a few from Ponyville or make my own.'.

Reaching up he dusted the large cushion before getting comfy looking up at the stars. 'That's one hell of a view.' before drifting off to sleep.

Luna POV

The Princess of the Night was nervous, similar to a filly's fear of going to school for the first time. However it wasn't a classroom, she was going to enter, this was the sleeping mind of a giant.

'How do I go about this? To get the best outcome?' Luna pondered, walking around the throne chamber. Looking out one of the many windows, just before her blue horn glowed a soft blue, closing her eyes; "Has he fallen asleep?" searching for the creature that she needed to save.

Her heart nearly stopped, he finally slipped into the realm of Dreams. Her time to act was now, galloping towards the golden throne, Luna threw herself onto it before jumping straight into action.

The throne room faded to black, while stars started to appear everywhere. Soon she was within her realm, but she had lost the dream door.

"Come on, where is it!" Luna hated this part of entering the dream realm. She could always find ponies, but in this case, a giant's dream with magic no problem. Once she enters the realm, the always helpful tool for Unicorns, and Alicorns, sorta lose the door to the selected dreams.

It took some time but she found it, the door to the Giant's dream. "Who knew that Giant's dream? If memory serves me well humans don't but why can he?" shaking her head, Luna got back to the task at hoof.

His life was hanging in the balance, if she failed. The last giant would be killed, and this world would never see the mighty race again. Igniting her horn, she threw the door open entering his mind;

Within the dream, it appeared to be daytime, but this wasn't Equestria. There were massive Trees everywhere, the one that stood out to her the most was an extremely pale tree with blood-red leaves.

"Is the Giant dreaming of the Dawn age?" the Dawn age wasn't exactly Luna's department; she would need to ask Celestia, she was lucky enough to have grown up in the era along with their mother and father.

'I was only born near the end of the third age, while Tia, had experienced this for most of her childhood.' Luna muttered, disappointed, before spotting her target.

"Sweet mother, he is far larger than I remember."
This of course made her wings snap open, she blushed remembering, what the giant was packing.

He disappeared into the vegetation, and the Alicorn followed. 'I can't lose him, I need to test and build a chance for him!' diving threw the leaves and branches, Luna hesitated. Peeking her head out of the foliage, looking at the world around her. Almost like she was savoring it, before zooming off, through the trees.

She found him, and she saw what the youngest Princess had seen, in her studies long ago; there were graves, not of ponies, or griffins. But graves of Giants, Luna had found the truth behind the smooth and carved rocks, from the royal library all those years ago in her studies.

'I'm sorry, for what I have done to you Giant, and what needs to be done, for your survival.' Now that he was within range, Luna's horn came to life, before she zapped him, now it was time to take control of his dream.

Darkness filled the lush world, before her, now that Luna was in control. it was time to dispute the first set of falsehoods.

Robert had the same dream again, this time in greater detail, the stones he could never see, were now crystal clear. Even though they looked smooth, they were carved, something like Viking carvings. 'Every time, I have this dream I do not understand, what's being portrayed.'

Taking in his surroundings, Robert had been mistaken. This wasn't a field, as originally theorized, but in the heart of a massive woodland. 'Now that's impressive, If these trees were back home people would be losing it.'

Turning to look more, at the most standing out, tree of the area. it was alone, pale white like a birch tree, maybe even whiter. with red leaves, 'that surely is a tree I don't think I have ever seen before.' Robert couldn't do anything, else as a sudden zap, struck him in the back of the head;

He only could see darkness; until it slowly changed. Water had been dripping from the ceiling, looking up, Robert discovered he was inside some kind of cavern.

'I think I might be in a cavern or possibly underground.' truth be told, he fully believed he was alone until the giant heard a gagged whimper from behind him. 'What the?' slowly he turned to see what or who made the noise.

'What the hell is this?!' There were quite a few ponies, most of which had been tied down, with vines, muzzles gagged.

They had also been placed on tables atop flat wooden planks of wood like freshly roasted pig or boar, the very lucky few inside cages, we were still gagged but allowed to huddle close to one another, This was a new sight to Robert.

'This; isn't right, what the hell is with this world and the ponies, always being a target for one thing or another.' Stepping toward a Stallion, who had an apple inside his muzzle, with vines binding him. Robert began to contemplate the situation. 'If I'm going to free them, I can't just tear the vines away, I still don't know the limits of my body. Maybe something sharp can help here?'

Looking around the table he found a Sword, Next to a pitchfork, that was positioned as if someone set the table for one. Picking up the small blade, Robert gently grabbed the terrified Stallion, not in a death grip but to hold him still.

'Damn it pony, stay still.' Robert thought, biting his lip in concentration, while the terrified pony, threw himself about thinking the giant was going to slice him up alive.

After the ropes were cut, the giant took the apple out of the stallion's mouth, before going to free the other ponies, who had been left in daming positions, then those poor souls left inside metal cages.

Lastly, he heard a soft whinny, from behind him. Turning around, What Robert saw surely was a bizarre sight. It was a pony with both horn and wings. 'Long time no see, huh Nightmare Moon?' he mulled, walking towards her he only recognized her, from the space theme she had, upon closer inspection the pony was incredibly nervous at his approach.

Maybe holding a sword, like a toothpick, wasn't helping the case either, gently grabbing hold of the slightly larger pony, Robert began cutting away the vines, that bounded the alicorn.

Shortly after release, the blue-furred pony, She took to the air immediately, and slammed into his bare chest, with a soft thud only able to cover half, of his sloped chest.

Robert was stunned, to say the least, truth be told this was a new reaction toward him, gently reaching over, and beginning to pet and rub, her back She seemed almost giddy, at his touch.

'I guess she wants to thank me? Is that why she's hugging me?' She nuzzled deeply against him, almost enjoying him petting her back. 'What if i?' Robert thought, as he stopped petting her back, and moved up to her head giving her soft and gentle ear rubs.

Nightmare Moon seemed to enjoy that just like every other pony, he did it too she eventually cooed with satisfaction and delight. Until abruptly the dream stopped.

Opening his eyes, Robert had discovered it was daytime. "Time flies by, when you're saving pony lives, even though they see you, as less intelligent compared to a dog. " That made him chuckle lightly, before sitting up and getting back to his feet once again. 'Time to check on the traps.'

The side project was a success. It turns out Timberwolves, were pretty similar to wolves in a scavenger sense, "fresh Manticore did the job." Robert, Spoke while they barked their medium-sized heads off, trying to free themselves, from the giant's trap, even going as far as to bite or slash him.

The last trap was a good distance, away until a voice rang out, someone heard the barking. "Great! Just what I needed to deal with Timberwolves! Come on, you overrated beak picks! I'll show you what for!" This made the giant stop dead in his tracks. 'Did I trap a pony? Crap, I didn't think the Ponies could trigger my traps.'

Putting the caged Timberwolves down and off to the side, Robert investigated, moving around the trees silently, he spotted a creature. It had the head of an eagle and the body of a lion with Wings.

Making his way towards, the multi-trait creature from behind. She soon heard him behind her making her jump like a dime. Seeing him made her confidence drop before she spoke. "By the Holy seven, What have those lame ponies, in Ponyville, been feeding you? Hydra's?!"

Picking up her cage made her panic slightly. "You got another thing coming, if you think I'll let this oversized ape eat me!" taking a big deep breath, she roared at him, This did little more than make Robert give the female griffin an unamused look.

After finishing her attempt, at intimidating him she spoke. "Top that, you oversized Cattle!" she said her wings flared, taking a deep breath, and filling his lungs, to their max limit, before he let loose a mighty roar back at the griffin.

'Challenge accepted, I think this victory is mine.' That also knocked the cocky, griffin down a peg or two, the rest of the trip; she was silent back to the caged Timberwolves, even on the travel back to the old castle. 'Now how am I going to get them across?'

Celestia's POV

The sun Princess had awoken earlier than she would have liked, her mental clock said it was midnight, looking over towards her clock, to confirm the time, she was indeed correct.

Sighing, Celestia slowly made her way, out of bed deciding to get ready for her day rule, the Alicorn went towards, her refined dresser, before she could get the necessary things. To bathe suddenly, her bed chamber doors flew open almost falling off their hinges.

That startled her, snapping towards the door horn, glowing with a lethal spell ready to fire, upon seeing Luna the older Sister allowed the spell to cease, the gold glow leaving her horn.

"What is the matter, Luna? The last time you barged into my room like this, you had a nightmare many years ago." Luna latched onto her elder Sister tightly, giving a big tired smile.

"The Giant is innocent of all charges he's being accused of!" She half shouted, in the Royal Canterlot voice making her older sister cringe slightly at how close Luna was while using it.

"Lulu, it's too early to be using the Royal voice." Celestia reasoned, as the blue alicorn made a sound of embarrassment, "Apologies, Tia excitement overtook me."

Luna muttered, blushing faintly while the ground caught her attention. "So what evidence did you find? Within one night no less, I doubt my student Twilight could manage against your efficiency." Celestia joked while the blue Alicorn's horn began to glow.

"I have my proof in the dream realm, Sister allow me to show you." with a flash of blue magic, they both appeared in the realm of dreams.

"Firstly, the Giant can dream! How amazing is that older Sister?!" Luna exclaimed, this surprised Celestia. Her father never talked about them dreaming, nor mother, it didn't help that she never made it a point to ask her Parents.

"That certainly is most intriguing, Sister." The white Alicorn couldn't help but smile, at the younger Sister's display. It reminded her of herself in a way when she first met a giant.

Shortly after a blue orb appeared. "This is all of my proof that the Giant is innocent of all accused crimes!" Reaching up, Celestia rubbed her foreleg against her eye, trying to clear the sleep from them.

After that was done. She looked up and into the orb seeing the dream that Luna saved, "Luna!" Celestia half shouted, seeing the part where she tested the giant. "Do you have any idea how dangerous, that could have been?! If he wasn't peaceful?"

"Nay! Sister, I tested with pony phantom's before hoof, to confirm if he was confrontational. He wouldn't hurt a newborn foal, he was even gentle with me." Luna hadn't realized, what she just said. It was time for the older sister to joke with her younger sibling.

"My word! Sister, you laid with a Giant? I had my suspicions after your first heat, that my little sister would never find that special Stallion, but you proved me wrong. With that big, and legendary creature no less, his size would put all the Stallions of pony kind to shame. Maybe even a Minotaur or a Dragon! " Celestia said half seriously, to get a rise out of the younger night Princess.

"T-tia! That was not the purpose for me entering the Giant's dream!" Luna said utterly embarrassed, her blue-furred cheeks taking on a new shade of red.

Celestia had gotten what she wanted, softly grinning. She gently nudged her side. "I see you still haven't changed after well you know." that did sour the mood slightly bringing up the past.

Thankfully the orb showed the very forest that Celestia remembered all too well. "That's impossible! This very forest was burned at the start of the second age!"

The once wise, and kind, sun Princess was, eager and enthusiastic, like her teen self, all those years ago her tail swishing, and prancing about.

"I have so many fond memories in the Green Titan forest! One Time, me and some newly made friends decided to explore the woodlands, but one area was forbidden to enter. Even though I, the only Princess at the time, couldn't enter without my father or mother present."

"Why did you need our parents to enter?" asked Luna, her interest growing from this unheard-of story.

"Because that area was located in the thickest part of the forest, that sheltered a large clan of Giants, who knew mother and father very well, I think even mother had a friendship with a young giant. What name did she give him?"

Celestia asked herself gently, rubbing her brow in thought trying to remember the name. "It was Snowy Midnight."

Luna found the answer satisfactory, but one was still left. "Sister, what about this tree here?" she asked, pointing to the snow-white bark with the red leaves.

Upon seeing the old tree Celestia grew cautious in an instant. " Is that what I think it is? No, it can't be." This made the sun ruler, Unnerved. Taking a closer look, then a face of uneasiness washed over the day Princess.

Sensing this Luna moved close. "Tia, what is it?" snapping out of it Celestia responded. "I assume, you remember your studies long ago? about Giants." Celestia asked, making Luna nod.

"Yes dear sister, the old tales, have said how stubborn they are. And about their extreme resistance, to following another creature's rulings." Princess Luna answered.

Nodding Celestia continued. "You're correct Luna, Giants. Follow no other will, but their own, and if anypony tries, the attempt would fail. However, the only thing that has succeeded, in recruiting a Giant into service; is a Weirwood tree. They have existed for a long time, even before our mother, and father I think. They only went extinct only recently. Roughly near the end of the fourth age; Tell me, did he have a Giant timberwolf or normally callled 'Great wolves' with him? If I remember it correctly, that was seen as a sacred symbol sent by the gods of the forests. To them."

Seeing that this was a conversation for another time, Luna changed the subject. "Sister, Is this enough to stop you from commanding the Royal guards to march on the Last Giant?" Luna asked pleadingly, even giving her elder Sister the puppy eye stare in hopes of winning her over.

Shaking off the uneasiness, she studied the last of the saved dream memories. "Maybe, I acted too hastily. I'll even lift the Restrionions, to all surrounding forests. But ultimately, I have found the Giant innocent of what it stands accused of."

Before Celestia, knew what was going on she was back in her bed chamber, being tackled by her younger Sister. "Oh Thank you, Thank you, Tia!" Luna exclaimed, embracing her older Sister.

Igniting her horn, she grabbed hold of some papers, and a quill gently laying her head against Luna, in sisterly affection while writing to Twilight.

Just as Celestia was about to send the letter, she received one from her student; 'how odd.' She
never really sent letters, early in the day unless they were urgent.

Gently pulling Luna, off with her golden magic, she opened the newly sent letter.

'Dear, Princess Celestia, with a heavy heart, I must inform you that I have lost the book you entrusted to me, I stayed up all night looking for it. And in my efforts, I have nothing to show for the time I squandered. If I must return to Canterlot, to face punishment for losing, priceless records and stories. I ask for just a day to prepare. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.'

At the end of the Letter, Celestia could see wet spots, around the scroll; it appears that Twilight had started to cry, halfway through the scroll-writing process. Thinking it would be best to not respond, just yet, Twilight needed time to breathe, which might be the case.

Twilight was known for overreacting. The day ruler was so caught up with her student's woes that she forgot about Luna, turning her head to look toward the younger Sister.

It was quite the sight, Luna had fallen asleep on Celestia's plump and fuzzy carpet, "Goodness, what time is it?" Celestia looked outside seeing the moon was still high in the sky.

Putting down the quill, and scroll, Celestia closed her eyes, using her magic to lower the moon and raise the sun. ' I'm sure Luna wouldn't mind me taking over for her this time.'

Chapter Five - Found a Crystal tree and bringing back an extinct race

View Online

Chapter five

‘Those ponies in Ponyville can’t help but attract trouble.’ Robert thought, gripping the metal pot full of well water, then pouring it onto Gilda. Who openly protested.

“Pfft! Hey! Pft! What’s the big idea? Just because I need a bath doesn’t mean you pfft! drown me!” She squawked, just as more water washed over her body.

“I’m going to claw your eyes out once I’m out of here!” She decreed, only to remember the current situation, making her release a noise of aggravation. “Ah! Who am I kidding?! I’ve been stuck in this blasted cage for who knows how long!”

Robert turned to look at her, seeing now was his sixth time to shine. “You’ve been with me for three weeks, calm down, you’re acting like I don’t allow you to see the sun. I also give you three meals a day, including baths. If you want to try the pit fights, I’m sure I can arrange something with the ponies.”

After letting her drip for some time, her fur and feathers clung to her body in a damp mess. Robert placed the metal pot down, pushing in some small furs for her to dry herself with, however, she was currently dumbfounded to what just transpired.

“Am I going insane or did you feed me something that’s making me hear stuff!”

Robert loved messing with the griffin, the name he learned by asking Zecora the origins of his guest. “No, I’m going out for a bit of maintenance, you stay here,” he said,

“It’s not like I can go anywhere, even if I wanted to, you, freak of nature!” Gilda snapped at him.

This just made Robert roll his eyes. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me, Griffin.” He shot back before going outside of the castle to do some work on the courtyard and other open grass areas.

As he walked, Robert thought back to what he was able to witness the past three weeks: the elephant in the room, a giant bear-like creature with a see-through body from what the man could see.

It was floating in a lavender aura, holding some kind of animal he had never seen before. Robert saw that the beast had bloodied claws as it floated off.

The next event was smoke coming from a single mountain west of the castle and North of his small quarry.

‘Never a dull moment, in or around Ponyville I guess. I’m just glad I don’t need to help them. They handle themselves surprisingly well. If I’m being honest, I have no idea why they stay there if ponies are constantly being killed.’

Moving toward a tree, Robert gripped the base before pulling it upward, slowly uprooting it. Placing the tree on his shoulder, he carried it toward a corner he deemed as potential materials. Weeds and other forms of plant life were tossed into the cart he had acquired from the bandit ponies to be used as compost.

Right, I’ve cleared three courtyards. I swear if there’s a fourth I’m going to put gravel in my eyes.’

Going inside, Robert spotted a mirror. Though its frame of refined wood was rotted, the centerpiece was still reflective. Taking hold of it, Robert gave himself a once over.

‘My body isn’t cannibalizing itself, which is a massive positive. I think more muscle mass has grown too.’ To test this, he flexed his free arm, and it most definitely showed. ‘Shoot, I think Zecora needed me today, might as well walk over there to see if she still needs me for a few errands.’.

Robert grabbed his bow and quivered. He finally decided to make one after seeing the massive star bear. “The last thing I need is to run into that thing with no arrows.”

Lastly, grabbing his club, which was just a tree, he peeled the branches off and tied leather at the bottom to form a better grip.

‘Alright, that’s everything. Time to move.’ Robert traveled out of the ruined castle and headed toward Zecora’s hut

Soon the familiar-looking tree came into view and so did a zebra mare wearing a cloak. Getting close enough, Robert spoke up.

“What’s up with the cloak this time? You’re not handling a poison joke, are you?”

Zecora turned to face him, shaking her head. “No, I am preparing for the day’s travels. Why do you carry so many weapons of war? We are going into town, not battle.” Zecora chastised,

“You know why I don’t like the Ponies, Zecora,” Robert paused, setting down his club against a tree. “I told you what happened and the things I have seen, some of my actions were forced by ponies. True, I saved a child, but I took a life shortly after.”

Zecora nodded her head and simply walked over.

“Lay down.”

Seeing her request a reasonable one if only slightly confounding, Robert got down onto his knees and laid down. He listened to her footfalls or hoof falls, until he felt a pair of hooves pressing against his side; soon she made it on top of him. Looking down, he watched Zecora walk up the manticore fur that covered his chest.

She stopped at the upper part of his body, pressing firmly where Robert’s heart was, almost inspecting him like a doctor would in a physical check-up.

Slowly, the zebra laid down, pressing her head against his chest and listening. There was a long pause before she got back up.

“Your heart is of gold, Robert. Including its size, a large heart made of gold is bound for goodness and kindness in this world, so take my advice and leave your weapons here.” The zebra hopped off and trotted away.

Getting up, Robert spotted her walking down a path in the forest. “You can tell I have a kind heart just by listening to it?” He asked.

She nodded.

Sighing, Robert took off his quiver and propped his bow up against a tree, just to be safe, though he took his club in case they ran into trouble in the forest;

“So what kind of errands are you planning to finish today?” asked Robert as they neared one of the many exits to the Everfree.

“I need some roots, they do not grow in Everfree. The closest place to my home is the town of Ponyville.” Zecora rhymed out, making Robert deadpan.

“I don’t understand some of your rhymes, Zecora, and this isn’t one of them.” Robert softly spoke as they entered Ponyville from a park entrance. His response just made her lash her tail in slight irritation.

“Just zip up your mouth and follow.” Still following the zebra, Robert just shrugged. ‘Can’t argue with that kind of request now, can I?’

The town seemed completely abandoned, which was odd for a town this size. “You weren’t kidding, Zecora,” Robert muttered so only she could hear him.

She didn’t respond, she only lashed her tail more aggressively before finally speaking."Go ahead and explore. I’ll be near the far side of town. Do not worry the Pony-folk here will not bother you with me about."

Seeing this as a chance, Robert left the Zebra to investigate the town of Ponyville proper. ‘What in the hell are some of these buildings? Some of these aren’t even reliable Structures, Tents at most.’

The only thing that bothered him was the feeling of being scrutinized, by the hiding ponies while they silently studied, and judged him. He did the same to their town.

‘All this town needs is one wildfire, really any kind of flame and it’s going to smolder like a fire pit.’ not that Robert had planned to, but still these ponies don’t understand how a fire can spread. Soon he found the tree again where he found Twilight sleeping in.

‘Was she technically inside a tree or on it?’ Saving the question for another time, Robert lifted some leaves spotting the balcony. ‘Any more free books?’ He reached his hand up and over, feeling around in hopes of more books.

‘I see Twilight’s a fast learner, good for her, but bad for me.’ His hand grabbed hold of something metal. Pulling it out without trying to crush it, Robert discovered it was a telescope.

‘Never, took her for a Stargazer, She’s just full of surprises isn’t she?’ gently reaching back up, the giant placed the telescope back not in the same position mind you, but at least he didn’t drop it, and potentially break it.

‘Now, which way did Zecora go? I can’t exactly ask for directions.’ Looking around, there were multiple paths for him to take, seeing this as a wing-it moment, so he went left.

Traveling down the gravel path, Robert didn’t find much life. It was quite literally a ghost town. ‘On the bright side, this town is quite nice to stroll through during the day and not like some burglar under the cover of darkness.’

Looking ahead, Robert spotted a strange-looking house, picking up the pace, it soon became clear what kind of building it was. ‘Is that a fucking Gingerbread house?’ Not wanting to demolish some poor pony’s home just because of the design of another building.

He decided to squeeze through an alleyway that shouldn’t have been possible due to his bulkier build. ‘This is so stupid, but I can’t back out now. I’m halfway there; there we go slow and steady, don’t accidentally kill a pony by falling over.’

Finally, Robert made it past the two buildings, and, shockingly enough, he found Zecora digging at the ground. He made his way over, passing the Gingerbread house on his right, and heading toward his friend.

Upon reaching her, she jerked her head toward the Gingerbread House glancing towards him before softly smiling and going back to digging, she simply stated, “Somepony is watching us. From the dwelling at your back. But first, can you help me? My mouth is quite parched.”

Grunting, he gently undid the leather straps on his club. If Robert was going to help, he didn’t want to destroy his hard-earned leather. Moving Zecora while tossing the straps toward her to hold, he gripped both sides of the tree log and slammed it down into the disrupted earth below.

Holding it in place with one hand, Robert used the other like a hammer, before slamming it down hard onto the top of his club, going far deeper than Zecora ever could.

After a few heavy slams down, he would test the log to see if it was still loose. After that, Robert gripped both sides before pulling the dirt-covered club out of the newly made hole.

“Many thanks, to the creature of old,” Zecora said gently, sticking her head into the hole to drink the fresh groundwater, while he just gave a simple grunt to show he heard her.

“Time to leave. I have what I need.” The zebra mare said, licking her lips to clear any remaining water, then started to walk off. Robert merely followed, taking the leather from her back and tieing the straps back to give him a better grip.

Unrevealed to them, a filly was tailing them. Things came to a head when Robert and Zecora were walking past one large patch of Poison joke when a southern voice rang out.

“Applebloom! You get back here right now!” yelled a familiar face. Turning his head, Robert spotted Applejack and the other five mares. ‘I See you’re still alive after the thrown apple; which is a good thing of course I rather avoid killing animals that can talk, if I can.' Robert mulled.

Slowly turning his body toward the ponies, to protect Zecora while releasing a growling noise. 'that should keep them at bay, hopefully'

“Back off, you Freakishly large Thing! I’ll show you what! for messing with Ponyville and the Fastest flier in Equestria!” Rainbow Dash said, taking to the air and speeding toward him.

“Rainbow Dash, stop!” yelled Twilight, but it was already too late.

The cyan mare slammed her front hooves against his head, making Robert stumble a few steps back, the earth below shaking from each heavy foot fall. ‘Damn, that was a solid hit!’ While she went in for another attack, Flutter shyly tried to reason with her.

“Rainbow Dash, stop it!” Fluttershy pleaded. However, she was ignored.

She struck him again and again in the head repeatedly. His eyesight did go blurry, but Robert was staying in it despite her high speed. ‘If she keeps this up, I’m going to get a concussion. I need to stop her.’ Thankfully Rainbow Dash grew cocky, thinking she could strike him anywhere now because of how slow and big he was.

“Come on, you lumbering thing of myth and boring stories, fight back!” Rainbow Dash mocked, before she slammed into his chest, thinking that would hurt him. However, she was the one who got bruised.

“Stop your foolish mission! This is most unwise to attack the Giant-folk. Your actions will be your doom!” Zecora warned, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Taking this chance, Robert grabbed the rainbow-maned Mare firmly in his grasp. This made her gasp and struggle. He began to squeeze her. Not enough to break bones or snap Rainbow in half like a crouton, but enough to make her hard of breathing.

“C-can’t breathe! It’s C-crushing me!” Rainbow Dash coughed out. He was just about to release her, seeing Rainbow had learned her lesson before he was blasted in the face, with a beam of soft blue magic, blinding him.

“Unhand her, you ruffian!”

Rarity sneered with disgust and revulsion. ‘Oh, they’re just begging for a fight!’ Robert hissed mentally, dropping Rainbow Dash. With a thud, she started coughing and wheezing, for air. Finally able to breathe properly, while a lasso made it around his hand.

“How about ya try an earth pony on for size, partner!” muffled Applejack. She pulled his hand hard and Rarity kept blasting him with bright flashes.

“Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash! All of you, knock it off! You’re going to provoke him into attacking!” Twilight snapped, using her magic to undo the lasso, along with stopping Rarity’s magic casting.

Applebloom had gotten scooped up by her elder sister, during the brawl between three of the main six and the giant. Zecora finally interrupted the fight, trying to be the peacemaker.

“Beware! Beware! Pony-folk those leaves of blue are no joke!” Finally, being able to see again without feeling like he stared at the sun for an hour, Robert spotted the main six they all were standing in the poison joke patch, except Applebloom.

This made him grin inwardly, as one sentence filled his mind. 'Karma's a bitch, you all are going to learn that real soon.'

“You keep your mumbo jumbo to yourself, ya hear?! And take your Giant freak with ya!” While Zecora made her way deeper into the Ever-free, Robert tailed behind, and still, some of the six mares kept taunting the two.

Zecora decided to stop short. Being the nice zebra, she still tried to warn them. “Beware! Beware!” Unfortunately, they didn’t listen. ‘I think fear will make them see reason.’

Breathing in deeply, Robert filled his lungs with as much air as possible, before giving a mighty roar. That seemed to have silenced them. He even heard hooves running away.

‘You may have magic or wings or even strength, but all ponies are prey animals. I felt like I had to remind them’

Pain shot out from his head. Reaching up a warm liquid covered his fingers, and pulling his fingers down, Robert saw the crimson-colored fluid covering his fingers.

‘Crap, I need to see Zecora again, but I’m going to head back home first and get her something.’’

Arriving back at Zecora’s home, he gently knocked on her door afterwards he took a seat; after some time, she unlocked her door and stepped outside.

“Are you here for me to treat your ailments?” she asked while he offered her a horn.

“What is this you gift me?” she asked, not knowing the reason why he gave her a horn. He pushed the horn into her chest, reaching up, and she took the offered item.

“If those troublemakers show up, all you need to do is blow the horn once,” Robert said while showing her his wounds.

“Think you can patch me up this time, Zecora?” She gave him a gleeful nod. “Of course! For a companion like you, I can do many a healing trick!”

After getting his wounds treated, it turned out Rainbow Dash decided to give him a few stitches on his noggin. Rarity’s magic still left spots in his vision. And Applejacks lasso gave his hand rug burn. “I hope this vision blindness isn’t permanent.”

Deciding to explore deeper into the woods, those six mares seemed like the type to fight if it came down to it. The only problem was that, if Robert fought back with his full strength, he no doubt would kill them.

‘I need to find a second place to settle down. Better to just avoid confrontation with them.’ In his travels, Robert discovered a cave entrance. Surprisingly enough, it was adequately big for him, The only issue was him needing to duck down to enter.

Making it to the end of the cave, Robert spotted a large drop with faint glowing from the bottom. ‘The hell is that at the bottom? And how am I even supposed to make it there without breaking my legs?’

Feeling around, he found some stone steps way too small to hold him. ‘You gotta be kidding me.’

Getting to the bottom was nearly impossible for Robert, but when there’s a will, there’s a way. planting his feet firmly into bedrock, Robert looked up into the utter blackness above, finally able to stand upright.

‘This better be worth it. If I get myself down here for nothing, I’m going to flip.’ Entering the glowing cavern, Robert spotted — a tree. Not just any normal tree like those of the Everfree or in general. This one was made of crystals.

The feeling of Peace, and Tranquility, washed over Robert. Almost like nothing could or would, harm him here. Moving closer, to the glowing crystal tree Robert studied the strange form of life. “Is it even alive?” he muttered, and it seemed to glow brighter softly in response.

Reaching out slowly toward it, Robert would touch the outer shell of the tree before everything went black.

“Can you hear me?” asked a feminine-sounding voice. Opening his eyes, Robert found himself sitting down with a very glittery pony in front of him. She had a white coat, with neither wings nor a horn. “You can. I can tell intelligence when I sense it. Go ahead, speak, Freind. Your secret is safe here.” Seeing that the jig was up, Robert gave in and finally spoke to a pony.

“What’s going on? What happened to the tree, and who are you?” Shooting his questions out like rapid fire to her, the mare simply chuckled, answering each question back at lightning speeds, almost like the moment he stopped talking, she knew already what to say.

“You’re somewhere where we both can communicate easily. I doubt you would like seeing me glow brighter for yes, or dimming for no. I’m the tree if you couldn’t tell by now, and this pony is just a projection. I can change it into other ponies if you like. All you’ll need to do is describe them to me.”

“Hold on, you are the crystal Tree?” Robert asked, looking down at the mare who simply nodded, “Yes I am, I’ve been waiting for you to arrive here. I’m surprised it took you this long to find me.”

“Can Nightmare Moon enter this place?” Robert asked while the pony shook her head. “No. We have a physical link. The only way for her to join us is if she comes here physically. Then I could connect her to this mental state. And her name isn’t that anymore. It’s now Princess Luna.”

Stopping for a moment, the pony began to move toward Robert as a soft glow appeared on her back. Suddenly two wings appeared and she took to the air floating in front of his face.

“Would you mind lying down? Or at the very most kneel, You’re making my neck hurt.” Tilting his head to the side in confusion before shrugging, Robert lay down in the void. Soon, the pony slammed onto him, snuggling deeply into his fur-covered chest, giving a gentle sigh.

“I’ve missed the feeling of a Giant against me. Your kind knows how to care for a tree correctly,” she muttered, sighing. This made him even more confused.

“Can you tell me why you dragged me here?” Snapping out of her dream-like state, the pony got back to her hooves and started to walk across his chest to his head.

“Oh, of course! Forgive me, I don’t get many visitors down here. The last time someone visited me was; a long time ago.” Plopping down with a gentle thump, she looked down at him, smiling.

“I have a favor to ask of you, Giant,” she asked, looking over at him to see if he would allow her to explain. Giving a gentle nod, she proceeded.

With a gentle pop of magic, a seed appeared. Floating in the air while the tree mare spoke. “Long ago, I was asked by an old friend who isn’t of this world anymore. They had instructed me to give this seed to you. In their words: When the day came, and the Giants roamed the world once more, give this seed to them; they will handle the rest.”

“Can I trust you with this seed?” She asked inquisitively while tilting her head to the left.

“May I ask what it is?” Robert asked as she knocked the surprisingly hard seed against his head.

“This is a Weirwood seed, the last of its kind. It shares the same predicament as you,” she said solemnly before making the fake seed disappear.

“I need to know if I can trust you fully. How about a promise?” she asked. Just as Robert could make a response, the pony interrupted again. “Do you mind telling me your name, please? No doubt you have one.”

Seeing no harm in it, he licked his lips, then answered her. “My name is Robert. But why do I need to make a promise?” the giant human asked, as she simply chuckled nervously.

“I have kept that seed safe for so many years. I just want to see if I can trust you with this task. I’m laying out for you.” Seeing that as a good enough reason, he gave a slight nod that made her squeal in delight before a flash of light blinded him.

Now he was in a kneeling position. However, his hand was connected to the bark while her voice rang out once more. “I ask you. Robert, the last of the Giants, to swear by Earth and Water, by Bronze and Iron. and by Ice, and Fire to protect. and nurture this seedling I will impasse onto you?”

Giving a gentle nod, the tree continued, “Once the tree has sprouted, and it survives the cold of fall and winter. I will deem your promise fulfilled along with your reward.” Robert could almost hear the tree grinning at the last part. ‘I Don’t Like where this is going.’

With a few grunts and gasps, the mare spoke up. “The seed is in your hand. I wish you luck, and you might want to leave. You’ve been down in this cave for twelve hours.” Before Robert knew what was going on, he was back in the cave proper, with something round, smooth, and, thankfully, dry in his left hand. ‘Thank God, I thought it was going to be something more — physical.’

Twilight’s POV

“Shessppfft! Shssastew!” Pinky Pie half shouted while spraying spit everywhere, rolling her eyes as Rarity asked cautiously. “She stole your song?” The hyper mare nodded furiously,

“Pinky pie, that sounds nothing like your song.” Pinky looked toward the various members of their group, then she threw herself at Fluttershy, giving her puppy dog eyes and even giving a small pout.

Sighing, Fluttershy began to sing Pinkie’s song while sounding like sompony’s father. Shortly after finishing her song, Rarity piped back in, “Now that you saw those terrible things, now do you believe us, Twilight?”

Going over the facts, the bookworm mare started piecing things together, trying to think reasonably. “This does make her look bad, but what if she’s just making soup?” That, of course, was poorly timed, while Zecora hummed in gentle delight.

“The perfect temperature for ponies, I presume, now. Where is that Applebloom?” That single statement sent the main six into a frenzy after roughly five minutes. Rainbow Dash and Applejack slammed through the front door so hard it closed behind them.

However, using her body Twilight slammed the door back open, the element of magic and the rest of her friends could see what was going on, Rainbow Crash still. Couldn’t fly slamming into walls, glass bottles, and even into furniture;

Rainbow Dash crashed into, the metal cauldron, spilling out the mixture inside and causing her to crash land, into that very wall that held a sentry's horn. due to the force of Rainbow Crash’s landing.

She grunted, holding her head with a blue hoof, until the very same horn fell, and connected with her face, making an audible thudding noise, "Ow!" the cyan mare muffled out.

“You know not what you do! You went and spilled my special brew!” Getting close, Zecora seemed to be checking on the Liquid to see if it could be salvaged.

“We’re onto you, Zecora! I didn’t want to believe you were an evil witch in the woods, but the proof is substantial!” Just then, Rarity spoke up again. “You made me look ridiculous!” Shortly after Fluttershy added to it, “You made me sound ridiculous.”

“Pppfrtoff pttf!” Pinky Pie half stammered because of her enlarged tongue with blue dots. Twilight barged in pointing her head toward the zebra showing her flimsy horn. “You ruined my horn!”

Getting back onto her hooves, the zebra mare looked pissed. “How dare you! You come into my home and destroy my brew! And then accuse me of being a jerk?!”

From the other side of the main room, Rainbow Crash yelled, “You’re the one who put this curse on us! Now that we caught you, uncurse us!”

Putting her hoof down, Zecora snapped at them, “It is most unwise to go down this road, your actions will make my anger explode!” Stepping forward, Twilight prepared to charge the shaman.

“Where is Applebloom?!” she demanded to know as Rainbow Dash decided to get back onto her hooves.

“I’ll use the horn! Maybe we can find Applebloom that way?” The rainbow-maned mare offered as Applejack agreed with her tiny southern accent, “Do it, Rainbow, I got ya covered!” Zecora’s face changed, to one of surprise and dread.

“Ponies, do not blow the horn! Applebloom will not show!” Not listening to her pleas again, Rainbow ran outside with the horn dangling from her neck. Zecora moved to follow, but a lavender force field stopped the zebra dead in her tracks;

Soon, the first blast of the horn rang out. It was loud, making most of the main six’s ears hurt slightly, but Twilight remained focused on keeping the barrier up.

Robert POV

Ducking out of the cave before standing up, Robert looked down, seeing the seed still in his hand, deciding to head back toward his friend’s tree hut.

‘What the hell did I just encounter? A talking glowing tree in the shape of a pony, who forcefully snuggled me, and then made me promise to grow another tree for a reward later?’ Shaking his head, he kept traveling. Then he heard the horn blast.

‘Zecora is in trouble. Time to scare some cocky Ponies off!’ Soon, a second blast of his gifted horn was made, and Robert shifted into second gear, from a calm and orderly jog to running like a raging bull. His stomps made trees shake, leaves would fall from their branches, and small wild animals hid.

After approximately ten minutes of pure running, Robert soon was able to hear Zecora’s voice. “Maybe next time you first will take a second look, instead of judging by the cover of the book.”

“If you’re willing, Zecora, would you mind making another batch for us?” Hearing a soft chuckle, his zebra friend responded.

“Mix it up, I certainly will! But I’m missing something from Ponyville.” There were tiny hoof steps and suddenly, a new voice was picked up. “But every time Zecora goes into town, all the shops are mysteriously closed.”

“We can handle that.” Twilight’s voice rang out as hooves on wood left the tree and we’re back onto earth.

Grinning; Robert stood perfectly still, waiting for the Ponies to pile out of the home. Not wanting to lose the seed, he gently placed it into his shirt so it wouldn't get lost. ‘Just a little more. Come on!’

Moving quickly, Robert snatched Rainbow Dash off of her hooves while covering her muzzle. “What the?! -Mmmmm!” before the giant human pinned her against his chest, grabbing Pinky Pie and doing the same thing to her.

“What in Ponyville is that?!” That grabbed everyone’s attention fully as Twilight’s floppy horn instantly ignited, the sounds that were making a smile creep onto his face.

‘Poker face, Robert, keep your cool, you’re supposed to scare them, not make fun of a limp horn.’ creating a shield around them and a flash of lavender magic teleported Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie back to safety.

“We can not fight this, this monster!” Rarity said with disgust toward the large human. “I told Princess Celestia, what happened yesterday. She has informed me we aren’t allowed to attack him anymore, unless in pure self-defense. So no starting fights, Rainbow Dash. “

This didn’t sit well with the cyan mare, but she finally composed an answer to fire back with.

“Why not? He almost crushed me, Yesterday! And he tried again today!” Twilight was going to defend his actions, but Fluttershy beat her to the punch.

“Rainbow Dash, you attacked him! Everything he did was in self-defense, remember? You walked away with hardly a scratch on your coat, he left bleeding!”

‘Even though she sounds like a man, she’s still my verbal defender. Color me impressed, I guess she noticed my head bleeding before even I did.’

At this moment in time, Zecora stepped outside confused at the current scene in front of her. “Ponies, what is the meaning of this?” she asked, confused.

“Zecora, go back inside. The Giant is here!” yelled Twilight. This only made Zecora giggle while walking toward Robert’s side. “I told you before. It appears the lesson was lost on you.”

Getting to his feet, she gave a gentle pull to grab his attention, making the six mares and one filly gasp and for Applejack’s case, shake in fear, watching him bend down to pick up the zebra. “Never judge by the cover of the book.”

She stated before pressing her side against his shoulder as a silent signal, approving her request, he went under her cloak and began scratching at her fur.

“My tall friend here wouldn’t hurt a zebra or pony. Just manticores aren't not so lucky,” Zecora mumbled, the last bit as her tail began to gently swish about.

“I-it’s true when G-gilda was in town I had run for the E-ever free for safety, he f-found me and brought me out of the forest. If you don’t trust it, I’ll go out there. He’s an oversized Angel!” Fluttershy said, blushing.

“You did what?!” exclaimed Twilight. "You could have gotten hurt! Or worse! Why didn’t you tell anypony?"

“Because his trust toward me was more unpredictable than Angel Bunny. Even when Angel bit him! He stayed calm and gentle.”

‘I never thought I would be called an angel by a pony whose voice fits more in line with a football coach than a gentle mare of the woods.’ Soon the lavender field dropped and Fluttershy zoomed straight for him, planting herself, against his shoulder and beginning to babble.

“I’m so sorry for what happened! We were so focused on getting Applebloom back, that I forgot to check on you,” Fluttershy whined, teary-eyed, Making Robert simply reach over, to begin scratching her back.

Now that he was making two mares coo, one sounded like a stallion and making hums of delight, she spoke up again, this time not in a disorderly manner. “Sweet Celestia, how I’ve missed this.” The shy mare muttered, trying to get scratched almost all over her body.

‘I still can’t get over the fact she sounds like she’s able to host a pretty solid playoff party.’ After roughly ten minutes of scratching their backs, or stomachs; Robert placed Zecora back down, while the zebra started walking toward the group, then past them.

“Come everypony, we need herbs from Ponyville, then the hardship we can face.”

Just as Robert was about to move forward until a filly got in his way, much to an extremely tiny pony’s dismay. “Can I get a ride?” She asked nervously, giving him the biggest form of puppy dog eyes to complete this. She even pouted, completing the silent plea. “Applebloom, did you eat something you shouldn’t have? He’s too big for us to ride!”

‘Just to be spiteful, she gets to ride on my shoulder now.’ Reaching down, grabbing the filly who seemed ecstatic about riding him, and placed her on the now free shoulder, Fluttershy currently was hogging the other one, not wanting to leave his side or shoulder in this case.

‘Wait, I remember her. She’s the filly I hid from that day while silently threatening her farm dog.’ Placing her onto his shoulder, she squealed in pure happiness.

“Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, are going to be so jealous when I tell them I rode a Giant!” Rolling his eyes, Robert began to trek back to Ponyville following close behind the group of ponies and one zebra;

Arriving at the edge of the Everfree Robert gently lifted Fluttershy and Applebloom from his shoulders, placing them onto the solid earth. “Y-you aren’t coming?” Fluttershy said, saddened that he wouldn’t leave the forest.

“Leave him, darling, I think it would be best that thing, stays out of Ponyville. It also needs a bath, It makes my head hurt having to breathe in its smell,“ the massive ball of white fuzz and purple mane said, which annoyed him.

‘Ok Rarity, for being the element of generosity, you hate me an awful lot more than possibly Rainbow Dash.’ Giving Fluttershy and Applebloom a farewell head pat, Robert began to walk back to his haven;

Shortly after arriving, and checking the time by looking at the sun’s place in the sky, it was roughly late afternoon. “Might as well use the remaining time of day to plant this tree seed.”

Going toward the most recently cleared courtyard, Robert began planning out the use, of the inside patch of earth. “What if I planted the tree in the corner?” Looking over the corner it didn’t fit the idyllic spot, for a tree. Reaching up his hand began to stroke his beard in a thinking manner.

“Mm no, what about the far wall side?” Shaking his head that also took up a decent amount of space. looking toward the center, it would do just fine. “Perfect!” Walking toward the chosen area, Robert would go and use his club similar to how he gave Zecora water.

but after two downward strikes, he removed the log from the earth and dropped the seed in. “Good luck little buddy, I haven’t grown a tree before.” Now that he planted the seed, Robert went back into the main rooms he lived in.

“Gods! I thought you were dead!” Yelled a very angry female griffon, walking over to her. Robert grabbed her cage, lifting her up .

“Odd question. Is your name Gilda?” This confused the caged animal to growl in annoyance.

“Who’s asking?! Surely not you, Cattle!”

“I’m asking, so answer the question, or you won’t be getting fed.” As if on cue, her stomach growled at the thought of food making her groan in defeat;

“Alright! Alright! Fine! My name is Gilda. What’s in it for you?”

"Nothing, at all I just wanted your name." The newly named Gilda looked up at him expectantly. “Now, where’s food?” She even looked around his bulky frame to find the food that he talked about.

“We need to start storing food. Autumn is almost here and Winter is coming.” Robert reasoned, but she simply roared and bit his finger.

“Fuck that! I haven’t eaten for a whole day! Either feed me or let me go!” she muffled out at him

Biting his lip in pain, slowly he reached over with his finger and then flicked her forehead to stop her attempt at eating his finger. “How many times have I told you to stop trying to eat my fingers? You know I’m going to flick you each time, Gilda.”

“I will not deny, my instincts for hunting! Especially since you’re not feeding me!” she snarled, setting the cage down.

Robert went and tossed her the last of his goods. “Be careful not to choke.” He offered while she snapped at him again.

“Blow me!” she exclaimed, before tearing into the apples and other grown foods.

“Not willingly, no.” This annoyed Gilda, but since she had nourishment, she couldn’t care less.

Sitting down, Robert reached over grabbing
his. ‘Borrowed,’ book and gently flipped through a few pages going to where he last left off.

“Is the ritual ready to begin?” Asked the Queen of the Changelings walking into the large cavern, symbols, and incantations, carved into the many different stones While a Changeling nodded.

“Yes, my Queen, we have the remains.” Taking this as an incentive to proceed, her uneven horn came to life, sickly green magic, enveloped her horn while the mass of bones and rotting flesh glowed the same color.

The symbols flickered to life, circling the long-deceased remains; slowly they began to build the shape of a large human, using her magic as best she could to keep the powerful spell going while studying the undead creature.

It wasn’t moving, or breathing; it was just standing there, having old and long-since Rusted cuffs on its wrists. Even the neck had a collar, giving her head guardian a sideways glance. “Did you receive, the samples I asked for?” the old Warrior Changeling would nod.

“Are you positive? Infected humans won’t attack them?” Chrysalis asked, while a jar filled with black moss, and particles, was produced. Enveloping the jar within her magic, Chrysalis would open its Protective seal, before fusing the deadly virus into the half fleshless body.

“I’m most certain, my Queen, the necromancy spell doesn’t make the undead produce heat, if anything. The samples we have will act as a masker toward infected humans.”

Not a moment later, the remains were animated; it jolted every so often while the chains jingled ever so slightly with each move. Deeming this worthy, she gave her full attention to her advisor.

“Bring me the sword. The others will need to use a club.” She gave a nod, to the warrior who left to retrieve the stolen relic. “The test will begin soon, and that will determine the usefulness of the living Giant!”

Using her changeling magic, she casted a simple light spell. Upon seeing her creation, She frowned, disappointed at its height compared to the last living giant. “This one is far shorter than him. Is he a mutant Giant? Or is he a youngling?”

Thinking mother Equus was at work here. The female Queen, left this train of thought alone as her ears picked up, Metal screeching. Grimacing she turned her ears away, in hopes of reducing the ringing in her ears.

‘Useless grubs, don’t know how to carry a blade.’ Finally, they had entered the cavern, and deciding enough was enough, she enveloped the massive blade floating it toward herself, inspecting this ancient blade.

“Old Griffin steel. If the history lessons were correct, this blade can slice through nearly anything.” Such weapons were deemed priceless relics to the Griffin Empire.

Now that the Queen of the changelings possessed one, she figured since the last living giant had more of a brain then, these smaller and undead giants. ‘and this is why I’m giving them an edge~ or at least one of them.’

Floating the old blade toward her, Chrysalis produced some goo around its handle ‘now to attach it to the giant’s hand.’ Using her powers, the queen had managed to glue the blade to its left hand.

“I will raise the last two. Gather the drones for this one's transport.” She commanded while her transparent wings flicked in annoyance, watching the undead beast be magically guided toward the exit. Seeing that it was time for another dead giant to be resurrected, she repeated the same spell.

Shining Armor’s POV

Currently, the Captain of the Royal guard was doing the one thing he hated to do. “I hate paperwork,” he muttered in his office; from Canterlot as far as Appaloosa, ponies were reporting humans being stolen. The current number was unknown to the stallion, hence him doing the paperwork to find out. ‘I think the number is close to 80, maybe even almost a hundred.’

Getting up from the hardwood floor, Shining Armor made his way toward the small tower of files and reports needing the Captain’s review. ‘I think this might be another long night of working. Thank Celestia I’m given tomorrow off.’

Using his magic, he grabbed the oldest ones on the top before making a small outgoing pile and headed back to his desk. “I swear I should stash coffee in this office.” Out of nowhere, a familiar voice graced his ears.

“Working late again, I see.” This made him jump, dropping the significant documents. “Jasmine, how did you get in? The door was locked?” Shining asked the Bat Pony mare, she simply shrugged.

“True, the door was locked, but the windows were not.” The night Commander suggested, walking past him while he began picking up the thrown documents, her tail swishing, “Now I have a favor to ask you, friend.”

“Here we go again. Every time you ask for a favor, either A: somepony is sent to the Infirmary or B: I get yelled at for allowing it. Did you forget the last time I allowed you to train Day Royal guards with you and some Night guard officers? You nearly made half of them quit! Or they needed time in intensive care.”

Smiling, Jasmine chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head with her armored hoof, “It’s not my fault bat ponies are tougher than normal ponies.” Shaking her head, she spoke again, “But no, it’s not that kind of favor.”

Raising an eyebrow, she snagged him with interest. “Color me surprised, Commander Jasmine doesn’t have one of those kinds of favors to ask.” Sitting back down at his desk, Shining Armor arranged the folders before looking back up at her.

She gave him a deadpan stare, making the stallion sigh, and roll his eyes. “Fine, go ahead, and ask.” Igniting his horn, he lifted a mug on the far side of his desk closer over to him, with that inventive. Jasmine slowly walked toward his desk and sat down on one of the two pillows within the office.

“Princess Luna has demanded access to all documents regarding the Last of the Giants.” Shining wasn’t prepared for what the thestral was going to ask, making him send cold coffee into his windpipe instead of the other part of his throat.

Coughing for nearly five minutes, Jasmine sat there simply waiting for her day counterpart to stop; after getting his breathing back under control, the Stallion took a few deep breaths before speaking.

“I’m sorry I don’t think I heard you correctly. You said Princess Luna is asking I give her all documents regarding that tall thing?”

“It’s a Giant,” Jasmine Corrected, while Shining spoke again.

“Whatever.”

Rolling her eyes, she resumed. “So, do you agree to give me everything involving him?” the Captain of the Royal guards just reached up, rubbing his forehead and mane.

“I can not,” he simply stated, which made her narrow her eyes. “Are you refusing an order from the Princess of the Night?” Jasmine asked in a cold but calm tone. Shining armor knew that trick.

Wanting to avoid getting into a fight with Jasmine, he raised his hooves to stop her. “You’re mistaken, Jasmine. I can not give her documents. That’s because there aren’t any. The only report we have, you gave it to her personally, remember? It is like he vanished from the world.”

Leaning slightly closer, the mare studied his complexion for any kind of trickery. However, he was able to hide it from her, thankfully. ‘She may be an expert in extracting information, but not studying.’ Still, she was studying his face.

Shining started to sweat. ‘Hay-seed, this isn’t good if she sees so much as a droplet, I’m done for.’

Rolling her eyes, Jasmine answered his fears for him. “Drop the act, Shining, I know you are withholding information.”

A look of fear crossed his face while she gave him a toothy grin. “H-how did you know I was lying? I thought you only knew interrogation.”

Jasmine softly laughed, “Shining Armor, you and I have known one another for years. From being Princess Celestia’s ward, just like my predecessors before me, until Princess Luna’s return, you still keep mixing me up with another thestral mare whose name is Sky Star. Just tell me the truth. I don’t want to have to bend your forelegs in different directions or make your face meet the window.”

This stunned Shining, but quickly snapping out of it, he retorted. “Assaulting an officer of Princess Celestia’s Royal Guards is a serious crime, Jasmine.”

With that, she lifted her wing slightly, producing a scroll and offering it to the Captain of the Royal guard. “What is this?” Shining asked nervously while he took it into his magical grasp while the mare said only two words.

“Open it.”

Moving the scroll to face him, it had Princess Luna’s royal seal on it. 'I wasn’t the best history student, Twilight can attest to that, but isn’t this before her banishment?'

“Correct me, if I’m wrong, but this was her original seal, is it not?” Jasmine nodded gradually at the question.

“Her Highness wanted to keep the seal for traditional reasons. But I believe she just doesn’t know how to ask to make a new one. She speaks, old Equestrian when it’s her Officers and her, yes she tries to speak more modern, but nobles do not care nor some day Officers.”

Opening the letter, Shining began to read the contents inside.

“I, Princess Luna, hereby decree that all actions that my Night Commander has done are sanctioned.” To top it off, there was another royal seal confirming what the Princess had written.

“I’ll ask again; have you received anything about him?” Jasmine was flexing her wings gently, working them to be ready in the event she needed to. ‘Work,’ information out of him.

Seeing no other choice, Shining Armor had to spill the beans. “Princess Celestia received a report from Twilight just yesterday, that’s all I know.”

Seeing this as truthful, Jasmine rose to her hooves. “How disappointing. I wanted to fight with you. But alas, I have what I need.” She began making her way toward the door to the office.

“Jasmine,” Shining called out, making her stop and turn her head toward him, tilting her head at what he wanted.

“Do you think the Giant would willingly come here to Canterlot?” This just made Jasmine shrug while responding.

“If he doesn’t like Canterlot, there is the Royal Zoo in Manehattan, which is under the direct management, of a hoof-picked pony. By both Princesses; is that all, Captain?” the thestral mare asked as he shook his head.

“No, unless you want to help with some of this paperwork.” Using his magic, Shining Armor attempted to float a decent amount of documents to Jasmine, in hope's she would help, but Jasmine had other plans.

his office door was left open and said Bat Pony was nowhere in sight, signing and redoing the same process for the last four hours. ‘Seems everypony hates this part of being a Royal guard, doesn't matter which Princess you serve.'

With a flash Shining, calmly closed his office door along with shutting the clasps of his windows effectively locking them.

'Maybe I can sneak in a quick nap?' looking around he quickly moved the blinds closed, so no pony could see inside, and pulling out a spare pillow.

"Just a half-hour sleep and back to work." laying his head down Shinning armor drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Six - The lost Field trip and Babysitting or is it Foalsitting?

View Online

Chapter Six

Applebloom POV

"Alright class, today is a special day. I've just received word from the Mayor that we are finally able to do our field trip into the Whitetail Woods! Remember to stick with the buddy I've assigned you, and don't forget this field trip form. At the very most we will be back before the evening storms."

Cheerilee said while giving the fillies and colts pamphlets.

A filly in the back raised her left hoof. "Ms. Cheerilee, what is this piece of paper for?"

"That is an excellent question dear, the paper contains a list of creatures and plants we might run into on our journey through the woods. I do hope this encourages you all to do independent studies from class while being safe due to the dangers the forest might possess." She answered. Another hoof was raised, prompting her to call on the colt. "Yes err .. Storm Hooves was it?"

Looking over from her seat, Applebloom was able to see the colt nervously rubbing his other foreleg together. He mumbled his question, and obviously due to this Miss Cheerilee couldn't understand it.

Cheerilee moved a little closer to hear him better. "Would you mind repeating yourself? This time a little louder please."

Nodding, Storm Hooves slowly repeated his question, "What about the Giant Miss Cheerilee, will we run into it?" Said the young colt as he nervously chuckled.

Their teacher chuckled a bit while moving her left foreleg to signal the young colt to lower his foreleg. "It might be possible, but I doubt that he would mind us too much,"

This then triggered the class into talking about rumors they had heard.

"I heard that it takes ponies and makes them into soup!" Exclaimed one filly while raising her forelegs high.

"I heard it digs up dead pony graves and eats their remains." A colt with brown spots said nervously.

"I heard that it can destroy a mountain with a single blow!" Said a filly with braces as she jumped from her desk.

"My cousin from Canterlot said that the Giant was an escaped experiment from the Princesses because of them wanting better war humans."

Applebloom couldn't defend the giant if she wanted to. She never saw what he eats, or how he obtains food, so for all she knew, this was either true or just a massive witch hunt over nothing.

Thankfully her teacher seemed to think the same way because she spoke up. "My students, how do you know these rumors you’ve heard are fact? Or are they just unproven theories?"

"Just rumors." half of the class answered immediately.

Cheerilee shook her head, "What have I told you all countless times, rumors without evidence aren't fact. If I hear any more rumors about this Giant, all of you will have to write an essay explaining what we really know about them."

Like a switch, everypony stopped talking. Soon the bell rang and Cheerilee beamed a smile toward her class. "That's the midday bell, enjoy your recess class, and remember to get back here afterward so we can go on our trip."

All the fillies and colts began leaving the school, some left to head into the town, while others went to begin playing. However, Applebloom decided to wait for her friends who had stayed silent throughout the whole morning.

"What's wrong with ya two? I've never seen you so quiet before." Applebloom demanded,

After some time, Sweetie Bell piped up. "I'm just a little nervous. What if we run into Timberwolves? Or a Manticore!? What would we do?"

"Sweetie Belle, Ms. Cheerilee has told us countless times and even on our permission slips that Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, will be there as Chaperones," Applebloom rolled her eyes.

That caught Scootaloo's attention; "I'll be right back!" she shouted, darting off toward the market.

"What did she forget this time?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking over toward Applebloom.

She just shrugged.

General POV

Pinkie Pie was currently doing her best at planning a way to thank the giant for protecting them on their way out of the Everfree, however, something else started to spring up from their humble town.

Nasty rumors had begun sprouting up the day after news came down from Canterlot. To be honest, Pinkie Pie was responsible for most of them, but what she saw that day changed her opinion of him completely.

So instead of saying he would gobble up ponies if he caught them, or kill anypony, he managed to get his hands on, she changed it to him being a gentle, kind creature of the Everfree that would even help ponies on their travels through the forest if their cause was just. Something that showed kindness and had a gentle side in the forest was rare, but not impossible.

Pinkie Pie's mental brooding was cut short as Twilight entered the bakery, followed shortly by Scootaloo. "Heya Twilight! Heya Scootaloo! What brings you two here?" She asked,

Before either of them could answer, Rarity entered, catching their attention.

"Good morning ladies." She greeted.

"Good morning, Rarity, " Twilight responded,

"Heya Rarity! I'll be with you in a second!" Pinkie Pie shouted,

She simply waved her hoof. "Nonsense dear, I can wait for Twilight and Scootloo to go first,''

"I heard business at the Carousel boutique is spiking. I'm guessing that Ponies are getting prepared for fall and winter?" Twilight asked, looking back.

Rarity nodded, smiling. "But of course! Ponies grow and shrink as they age. It is only natural that they come to me this time of year."

Twilight then turned to Scootaloo, noticing that she was being quiet. "Hey Scootaloo, are you ok? Do you need help before the field trip?" She asked,

Scootaloo shook her head frantically, "No I'm good. I'm just trying to get something to eat before we head out! I also thought Rainbow Dash would be here, but I guess I was wrong."

"I'm sure we will see Rainbow Dash at the school, but you should get something to eat. We are going to be out there till mid-afternoon." Twilight offered before turning her attention back to Pinkie Pie, "Anyway, I'm here to pick up a few things before the field trip. Do you have what I asked for, Pinkie?"

She nodded vigorously. "I sure do! That will come down to twenty bits." She walked off to retrieve the pre-ordered items

Scootaloo looked up toward Twilight in confusion. "What did you buy?"

Rarity had taken a seat on a cushion to wait but she swiveled her ears to listen to their conversation.

"Just a few snacks I've decided to bring, that's all," Twilight said, however, her tail was swishing behind her.

Pinkie Pie knew what the real reason was, but their agreement stated that in exchange for keeping quiet. Twilight would do her best to try and lure him into town so that Pinkie could throw him a party.

'Those treats are just a sample of what he might get if he comes to a Pinkie party! I'm so excited! I could explode!' Pinkie Pie bit her lip to try and hide her growing smile.

"Pinkie, is something wrong darling?" Rarity asked, seeing her acting stranger than usual,

She giggled and covered her muzzle, "Nope! Nothing's wrong!"

Rarity didn't bat an eye at this average behavior.

Twilight then deposited the money onto the counter before grabbing the box in her magic and leaving the store.

"Goodbye girls, and Scootaloo, you might want to start heading back to school. I think recess is almost over."

"Scootaloo, it's your turn, what are ya in the mood for?!"

Snapping her head back, the filly seemed like she wasn't paying attention, "U-um I'll have a… Shoot, what time is it?"

Pinkie leaned back to look at the clock above her head, "It's noon, why?"

Her face sank. "An hour has passed! There's no way! I need to move!" She shouted, then she ran out like her flanks were on fire.

Robert's POV

Waking up to something or someone licking your face is most definitely something Robert wasn't used to. He grunted while opening his eyes, quickly finding the culprit to be one of the Timberwolves who was only just beginning to warm up to him.

'If only Gilda would do the same.' He thought, getting licked again. "Yes yes, hello Tank. Where is Athena?'' Robert asked while being nearly blinded again by the sun, 'I need to fix that damn roof.'

As if on cue, Athena slammed into him then rolled onto her back and whined.

"Alright, alright, I get the message, early morning belly rubs, got it." Giving his wooden canine, what she wanted he sat up trying to block the sunlight from his vision.

A loud snore broke through the panting from his two companions. Looking over to the cage, he didn't find Gilda there, oddly enough she was sleeping on the balcony that was closed off.

'Something about Griffin's liking to sleep on elevated ground makes them feel safer.' Smacking his dry lips, Robert looked around for something to drink.

Feeling with his hands, instead of opening his eyes, Robert soon found his vessel of water and promptly drank it. 'I would kill for some coffee right about now. What time is it?'

Opening his eyes, the human got up to his feet without much issue, this made him chuckle as his tired mind traveled back to his first time here. However, Athena didn't appreciate him stopping with stomach rubs. 'What? Not even a few months back and I couldn't even stand, now I can move like it's nothing.'

Moving over to Gilda's perch, he reached up and over, and gently poked the sleeping Griffin. "Hey miss snores-a-lot, wake up."

She, of course, didn't. Rolling his eyes, Robert picked her up and just threw her over his shoulder. If she didn't wake up now she wouldn't like what he had planned. Walking out of the main room carrying the griffon with two timberwolves at his back, Robert went to the courtyard that surprisingly enough had a fountain in the center; he didn't spot it until after he began cleaning the joint up. He placed Gilda directly in the sunlight.

'This outta work.' It was still warm out, but the nights were getting longer and cooler. 'Fall is almost here; then Winter.' Robert was not looking forward to those harsh cold nights.

To be safe, he began stocking logs and other forms of materials for fires, but the one thing they needed was food. It didn't help that there were four mouths to feed, he managed to 'borrow' two of Applejack's trees, so they had some food coming in, along with fresh fish, and the occasional Manticore here and there, but nothing stored for the winter.

Like a vampire to the rays of the sun, Gilda hissed and covered her eyes. "Close those damn curtains! Grandpa Gruff!"

Robert paused at this remark, "Last I checked, Gilda, I'm no one's grandpa, and my name isn't Gruff." he replied,

She shot up, pupils small as pinpricks. "What the fuck did we do last night?!" She demanded, taking to the air and getting in his face.

"Hold your horses. We didn't do anything, you're the one who ate that mushroom! I didn't know you had it in you. I'm surprised you're not dead."

Reaching over Gilda smacked him. "That's because I knew what type of Mushroom it was, dumbass! My only problem was you allowed me out of the cage when I told you not to!" She shouted as a pinkish hue took to her feathered cheeks, though she still looked pissed.

"What were you concerned about? You couldn't fly or walk. I needed to help you get to the balcony.''

This made her redder more in anger than embarrassment. "You dumb oversized Ape! Those mushrooms get Griffins extremely high, but also get them in the mood for fucking!" She hissed out before striking him again.

Robert blushed,

"I'll ask again! Robert! Did we do any kind of lovemaking?!"

Reaching up, he snatched Gilda from the air. "Gilda, I swear to God, we didn't do anything of the sort! If I'm being honest you tried once but I just ignored the attempt!"

She immediately relaxed. "Thank the Gods, I couldn't handle being a mother at this age."

Hearing this calmed Robert as well, though he still felt like yanking the Griffon's tail so he added to his original statement.

"Though, I doubt you could handle my size."

Gilda gave a sly smirk. "I knew your height was compensating for something, and you just confirmed it! From what I’ve heard every male griffin isn't bigger than a Leather waterskin. So I bet your smaller."

Robert's grin turned into a deadpan stare. "That's not what I was talking about Gilda, and if you wanted to know; I'm not really 'compensating' and let's leave it at that."

"Denial, is the first step to acceptance, Robert."

"I'm not in denial, Gilda, just merely trying to explain that just because I'm the size of a tree doesn't mean my package is small either."

"Yeah right, I bet you twenty bits that no Pony or Griffin, hell even a Dragon has seen it."

"Are you sure about that bet?" Robert asked, setting her down and grinning.

She nodded.

'Wrong decision.' Robert thought before offering his hand to her, "Where are my bits, Gilda?"

Confusion filled Gilda's face before changing slowly from bewilderment to bitterness. "There's no fucking way someone has seen that; I want a name!" She demanded, staying close by him as he worked on doing light repairs on the ancient walls.

"Her name was Nightmare Moon," he said, smiling.

Before he knew it the female griffin was latched onto his shoulder digging into his skin slightly with her sharp talons.

"There's no way in the seven hells, you had Nightmare Moon, 'The Fallen Princess!' A walking demon! See your package!"

Rolling his eyes, Robert continued to work while Gilda broke down. "Why is it so hard to believe?" He grunted, lifting a new rock and putting it back in the place where the old one fell out.

"I believe you! I just can't part with the bits!" She snapped at him.

Robert stopped to turn and watch her. "Are you done?" He asked,

She calmed down slightly but still wasn't ready to answer him. Shaking his head he reached over and scooped the Griffin up and placed her, on the old battlements.

"Speaking of which, I'd like to take a moment to say this, I don't mind you living with me but don't you have a family to go back to?" Robert asked.

"Yeah! I mean no. Yes. Maybe." Gilda said,

"It's a simple yes or no, there is no in-between, Gilda. Either yes you do, and if you don't you don't." Robert deadpanned.

She sighed before giving him the proper answer. "N-no, I don't, most young griffons who aren't born into privileged families or royalty need to either build their own home or live with a Griffin who's willing to board them for one thing or another."

'That would explain a fair bit.' even when he left her cage open one night. And yet, she didn't dare fly away 'after all. Where would she go?' Robert mulled,

"So you would have stayed with me even though you hardly know me?"

Gilda nodded. "It's better than living on the streets or joining a hen-house. Here I know I'll get fed, be kept warm, and have a solid roof over my head. And you haven't asked for sex, I think I'll take my chances here more than Griffinstone."

With a nod, Robert patted her head. "I wouldn't mind the company, Gilda, at least I can talk with you, unlike those little shits," Robert said, pointing to the two Timberwolves who were fighting over a stick on the far side of the courtyard.

Stretching, he began his trip back inside to retrieve a few things. "Do me a solid, and try to keep those two from killing each other, Imma head out for a bit."

Twenty minutes later

'I suppose I'm lost.'

Looking around, The once tall and massive trees of the Ever-free had shrunken to roughly his lower chest along with there being very little game for him to hunt.

'It's not like I can ask for directions now can I?' Robert did his best to find any kind of landmarks he made, or naturally made ones of the forest that he memorized.

Coming upon a river made him optimistic, knowing that if he just followed this river he would most likely find his way back or somewhere near Ponyville. 'If I don't find my way back then I'll just go back the way I came.'

"This way class, next up is the serpent of the river."

Stopping dead in his tracks, Robert scanned the area, listening closely, trying to spot whoever just spoke.

Currently, his position was on a hill behind some trees as a group of twelve smaller ponies and four normal-sized ponies appeared.

From what he could see they were down by the river banks. Robert only recognized four of the ponies.

"Twilight, would you mind calling the serpent here?" Spotting the owner of the voice, she was an earth pony mare near the front of the group.

Twilight then ignited her horn, and magic flowed toward the river, disappearing beneath its ripples.

Thinking it wasn't going to be more than a simple snake, Robert stood back, doing his best not to be spotted or make any noise. Slowly the river began to expand, coming close to flooding.

'This isn't a Flood zone, is it? I mean where they’re standing might be but I'm on a hill, so I shouldn't be affected,'

Soon an enormous reptile-like creature with orange hair along with a mustache appeared. Nearly choking on spit, Robert jumped into action, he pulled his bow from his back in a flash, nocked an arrow, and drew the vine string back.

'One wrong move, and you're going to meet whatever god or deity you worship.'

Robert knew he wasn't a master marksman with a bow, but its eyes were the size of a kiddy pool. At the very least one of his arrows would kill it if he shot it in the eyes.

However, instead of attacking them, the serpent seemed ecstatic to have visitors. "Ah! I remember that I didn't get the chance to thank you and your friends properly for helping me with my mustache! Please take these as a proper thanks!" It offered Twilight a handful of his scales.

"I will give them to Rarity, once I get back, I promise, but this isn't the reason why we have bothered you. We just have a few questions if you don't mind." Twilight asked, making the scales disappear in a flash of purple light.

"Of course! Please ask away!"

Robert kept watching from his hidden placement behind them, better to be safe than sorry he kept his bow pointed at the river serpent but without the string pulled back. He stayed quiet, listening for any other unknown guests like himself sneaking up on them.

'So many possibilities but one or two outcomes. Either it attacks, and I put my arrow through its skull, or it leaves peacefully once everything is said and done.'

The fillies and colts of the group seemed to be very interested in the giant snake, asking all sorts of questions from how old he was to what he ate and drank and so on.

Everything was going well until someone spoke from behind him,

"No way!"

Robert nearly snapped his neck from how fast he turned to look in the direction, the voices came from. He saw three other fillies, one of which he recognized was Applebloom.

"I thought you were joking about it, Applebloom, but you really found a Giant!" Proclaimed an orange filly, a bit loudly,

All the others by the river turned to look.

"Please excuse me,” Twilight said quickly, “I need to confirm what Scootaloo and her friends are seeing!"

'Shit, I've been spotted!' Robert turned and ran as fast as possible, with a Lavender mare tailing him.

"Wait! Stop!" Twilight shouted from behind him, quickly running after him.

Robert could hear the sounds of her horn igniting and a magic wall appeared in front of him.

'Damn, am I leaving her in the dust?' Running up to the wall Robert simply stepped on it, making it crack and eventually shatter. Looking back he saw her gritting her teeth.

'Did she just try to trip me?' He wondered while staying focused on running. 'I think Mrs. Flimsy Horn, over there really tried to trip me. Now I'm not stopping.'

"Twilight stop it!" Fluttershy yelled, landing in front of her, wings flaring to block her.

"Fluttershy move. He's getting away!" Twilight said as their voices started to fade.

"You're Scaring him!"

Slowing down, Robert took a few steps back to continue listening to the faint conversation.

"Chasing him, while using your magic to block his escape, is not how you go about chasing a wild animal of any kind!"

"But! I-i." Twilight tried to defend, but Fluttershy cut her off,

"No buts! You could have hurt any relationship he had with us. I will go find him, and try to smooth things over, for what you did."

'This might work in my favor if I play my cards right.' Hiding behind some vegetation and trees, Robert waited until a single set of hoof steps came toward his direction.

"H-hello? Are you out there?" Fluttershy called out,

Robert released a loud snarl that startled the shy mare, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"O-oh I'm sorry for my friend's actions, she didn't mean to upset you. She was just excited to see you again, that's all I promise!" Fluttershy pleaded, even daring to move closer by a few steps.

Taking this as an incentive Robert stepped out of his position and snatched the mare off of the ground. Firmly holding her in his hand and giving her a harsh glare, the shy mare became even shyer. Fluttershy avoided eye contact as best she could while not even saying a word.

'Smart, Fluttershy, very smart, avoiding eye contact to not trigger an aggressive response, however, I am not a wild animal.'

Sighing, Robert gently placed the slightly terrified Pegasus mare on his shoulder before walking back toward Twilight who was sitting on her haunches, ears folded.

'This isn't going to be good.' Robert mulled not looking forward to being a lab rat.

'Fucken worth it.' Robert thought, chewing on a whole cupcake,

Meanwhile, Twilight was studying the giant human. In exchange, he was given a cupcake here and an extra large cookie there to keep him sitting still.

"Celestia is going to love this report! So much raw information for the Royal libraries, I might even get my own spot, on a bookshelf there!" Twilight beamed softly, thinking loud noises also provoked the not-so-scary monster that she told Spike of.

Robert watched her as he swallowed the cupcake, currently, she was attempting to sketch his hand next to a much smaller drawing of a normal human hand.

"His hand dwarfs an average human’s. No wonder he's able to hold ponies and large tools.
Everything he has is scaled up, a bow made of an entire tree and vines, arrows made of sharpened saplings. Though primitive in design, they look remarkably effective. Intelligence will be looked into at a later date. Once proper equipment is available for testing. " As Twilight spoke she wrote her words down onto a scroll.

Currently, she had three of them, and looked like she was going to make a fourth if Robert had to guess.

'How much damn paper did this Pony bring? And that's an issue. I rather it not, be discovered that I am actually smarter. If not on par, with a horse.'

Watching her scribble away next to him, Fluttershy stayed perched on his shoulder, "Are you alright? We're just doing a simple check-up." She reassured while gently hugging his neck.

'I don't like liars.' Robert mulled before reaching up and pulling Fluttershy off, much to her disapproval.

"Come on! I just got comfortable on your shoulder." She whined, trying to reclaim her fuzzy perch.

Robert stopped her again and again until she finally gave up after the fifth time.

Looking down toward Twilight, Robert found her lying down with blank pieces of paper along with a quill and ink bowl, and other forms of light research equipment. Seeing this as progress with at least one fully grown Unicorn, Robert slowly reached over to her with his free hand.

'Last I checked this is my only peaceful interaction with any type of Unicorn, might as well.' Gently, he touched the purple mare's back, which made her jump in surprise.

"Gah! What the?!" She immediately rose to her hooves while Fluttershy stopped any kind of retaliation.

"Twilight, he's being nice, jumping away like that isn't a good sign to him, you're showing this sweet angel, that Unicorns are far more skittish than most other races." sighing, Twilight inched her way back as Robert began scratching her back and coat.

"T-this is new~" She cooed, her tail beginning to swish, along with releasing soft coos and groans of delight as Twilight spoke up again. "S-spike was never this good at back Scratching. I guess it comes with his N-nails?" she half mumbled as she fell into a dreamy state.

This went on for a while; Robert just sat there while just giving Twilight back Scratches. 'I'm going to take this now.' Robert thought, reaching over, and picking up the blue thin box of pastries and cookies.

Flicking open the lid, he was disappointed by what was left but wasn't complaining. Eating what was left he tossed the box away. Twilight was still blissfully unaware of her losing her confectionary leverage;

Fluttershy, in the meantime, was watching Robert eat all the sweets, not saying a word to her friend. Giving a slight smile knowing how good his back scratches could be.

This continued for some time until something caught Twilight's attention. Making her ears turn in the direction, of the river as a single pair of wings flapping, grabbed her attention.

It was faint, but soon Robert heard it, "Fluttershy! Twilight!" Rainbow shouted.

Fluttershy seemed to be confused at her cyan friend's worry, until her ears moved to listen more closely, as she began trembling like a leaf.

With a magical flash, all of the items that were used had gone into her saddlebags as a roar rang out.

"Fluttershy, Twilight, we need to move. A Cragadile is trying to attack the field trip! I got the Fillies, and Colts, somewhere safe for now but trees won't last forever; where the buck did you find that thing!"

'Found the food, I was supposed to get an hour or two ago, maybe it could be lunch Or even dinner?'

Getting up, Robert grabbed his things before stomping off toward the river. "Where is he going?!" shouted Rainbow Dash, as Twilight answered.

"I think he might be helping us?" Twilight said with uncertainty.

Soon Rainbow Dash was by his side. "Listen, I don't know if you can understand me, or whatever. But if you go anywhere near those kids, I'll make your head bleed ten times more than last time." Rainbow Dash warned, and this made him roll his eyes.

' Says the one, who was claiming she couldn't breathe when I didn't even use my full strength.' ignoring her threat Robert soon heard cries of fear and terror as his sights came upon a large reptile.

Turns out that this Cragadile, had managed to break the tree, that gave refuge to the younger ponies.

and most of them had scattered into the belly of the Everfree, which made Robert not very optimistic about their survival, and during his travels, a storm had started and it seemed to be slowly picking up.

'Once I drop this off I'll need to find them and get them home.' Arriving near his dwelling he heard faint, but fierce barking from both Timberwolves as something had riled them up.

"The hell's going on in there?" picking up the pace Robert entered through his reconstructed entryway while the rain started to fall, at most, it was misting but it was slowly picking up. He had been greeted by an odd sight, Gilda currently was having Tank and Athena surround the group of fillies and colts.

"Gilda! What is the meaning of this?" Robert asked, walking toward the group "Tank! Athena! Stop." Trudging over, Gilda spoke up.

"I found these Ponies near the main entrance! I didn't want them to run off, and bring more here so I had your Timberwolves, help me pin them in the courtyard," she said, eyes narrowed as the dogs kept the terrified kids in one spot.

"P-please we didn't mean to! Where lost and trying to G-go home!" This made Gilda snap at them. "Shut your mouths! Do not Speak, unless spoken to! If you speak again, I'll tear your throats out!" She snarled.

By this point it was bucketing down, as thunder and lightning began their slow approach, toward them, the griffin's actions had enraged Robert to the point of almost getting physical but he decided to be more logical before exploding on Gilda.

"Cool your jets, Gilda your threatening children." this wasn't the response the female Griffin was looking for as her head turned to him.

"What! Why are you telling me to calm down? They are trespassing on our grounds! What about all the things they have done to you? You're going to let that all go?" Robert released a growl she was getting on thin ice now.

"They are still Children, Gilda! I will not hold a child responsible for the depravities, of their fathers, or mothers! I thought I made that very clear when I informed you of my past; get them inside now! before they get sick."

Seeing she lost this argument, she begrudgingly took them all inside. Robert followed close behind, including his wooden wolves, however, upon reaching a certain room, that was always chilly.

Robert tossed the Cragadile body inside as a loud crash, from it hitting metal and stone was heard. 'that's going to be breakfast, Tomorrow.'

while the colts and fillies seemed to drift closer toward Robert, once the dead animal was gone.

'I guess they see me as their protector, from Gilda.' By this point, many of the ponies in his group were shivering along with dripping water from their small coats.

Calmly clearing his throat, Robert spoke up gently. "I'm going to build a fire in the meantime, huddle together for warmth while I make it." ducking down to enter the throne room he immediately got to work making it.

'I need to move fast, or these kids will get sick.' grabbing three tree logs he used a sharpened stone against the stick trying to make a spark.

'Come on you Primitive tech, give me this one.' After a few strikes, a fair-sized ember landed on logs making smoke appear, seizing this as his chance.

Robert threw small bits of bark, and other forms of organic matter at the tiny blaze; soon it evolved, into a roaring fire, and thankfully no wear near the holes in the roof.

as the rain was coming down far harder than ever before as thunder and lightning strikes were far more often now.

"Children come, I've done all that I can to prevent you from getting any colder. Do your best to warm up and dry yourselves."

Slowly the fillies, and colts, made their way toward the fire. While they moved Robert studied the group.

One had a tiara on her head. the other had a pair of large glasses and a pearl neckless around her neck yet, the rest didn't really stand out to him, yet the tiara-wearing filly spoke up.

"There's no way I'm going anywhere near that thing!" the first filly shouted, pointing her hoof toward Robert.

The man was going to try and reason with the objecting Filly, but Applebloom jumped in for his defense.

"That's mighty rude, coming from ya! Diamond Tiara, He took us in as his Guests! He could have turned us away, but he didn't. If you want to freeze your rear off, that's fine with us. But don't complain if you get sick once we get back." Seeing this as his chance he joined it.

"Tomorrow morning, once this rain stops, I'll take you all back. I would rather not run the risk of getting any of you sick. Now, stop acting like a fussy newborn and warm up, do not make me force you to."

Sighing, the two fillies made their way over. "Fine! But I'm not sitting near the blank flank squad!" This confused Robert as to what diamond Tiara was talking about.

'What the hell is a blank flank?'

Looking around Robert found that most of them if not all had a mark on their rears, but Applebloom and her friends. Who was sitting on his left, and far closer to him, Minus Sweetie Belle who was just out of his reach. But her two friends Applebloom and Scootaloo were right next to him.

"Yeah! Well, we get to sit next to him!" Scootaloo remarked, trying to annoy her classmates. Wanting to prevent a physical fight, between the ponies Robert whistled to get their attention.

"Are there any questions, you all have? No doubt at most a few of you have some." If his memory served him well, these kids were all on a field trip. Little did he know Robert just broke the dam.

The questions varied, from how old he was, to what his average diet consisted of. To even how long a giant could live. Granted, Robert didn't have the answers to all of their questions but he made do with what he had.

Eventually, the group of kids collectively ran out of questions to offer, now it was his turn to ask a few of his own.

Now that they had emptied their Questions, Robert saw this as a chance to learn something about this strange new world. But he couldn't make it obvious to them.

"Now tell me, what do you all plan to do once you're all grown up?" All of them answered, some were going to move away to other parts of this country called 'Equestria.' plenty of the fillies and colts were going to stay here in Ponyville.

But one Colt seemed to be less forthcoming, "Storm Hooves? Are you going to answer his question?" asked Sweetie Belle, but Robert stopped her.

"If the Boy doesn't want to tell his plans don't force him to, it's his business, not ours." Giving a few wines of disappointment they had no choice but to stop pestering their classmate.

"I-i wish to join the Royal guards! Maybe even become a knight!" This made the fillies and other colts go wild. "A Knight is the best of the best; their training is far more extreme than bat pony training."

"How many knights does Equestria have currently?" asked the Confused human while Gilda spoke up from across the room.

"From what I remember, having less than a thousand, their training is the hardest. They quite literally break the pony down, and rebuild them again, Rumors back home say. an Equestrian knight is worth two of the Griffin king's guards."

Robert wasn't aware of this, then again he was kinda living out in the middle of nowhere, and before that, he was stuck in a pit fighting ring so it wasn't his fault.

Not long after there was a gentle tug on his arm, looking down Robert saw the colt in question gently pulling to grab his attention. "What's up?" seeing that his mission was achieved, Storm Hooves spoke up.

"Can I T-talk with you alone?" he asked nervously,

Thinking nothing of it, he heaved himself up waving at him to follow. "Give us a moment, we shouldn't be too long," Robert said leaving the throne room, the colt followed close behind.

Traveling toward the exit, the storm was still going strong. As Robert sat back down, he picked the kid up, and onto his lap. "Right, so what's bothering you?" he asked while Storm Hooves was even, more nervous than before.

"Did something bad happen?" The man asked the colt who shook his head. "Did one of the others upset you?" another silent no.

"Then what's the issue?" slowly he mumbled his question, tilting his head Robert didn't hear him.

"Storm, if you want an answer to your question you need to speak up, it's only me and you I promise, Take a deep breath, and ask me." following his instructions Storm Hooves spoke up.

"How am I supposed to become a Knight of Equestria, if I don't even know, the first steps to becoming one? Let alone, when I'm of age my dad wants me to enlist as he did, and his father before him." he half shouted while using his hooves to cover his face in shame.

"S-so I thought I would ask you what is the best making of a Knight."

'Ah, a family tradition I see.' Robert began rubbing his chin in thought about the issue.

'Medieval Knights back home wasn't always seen as Saviors, or even good people for that matter. Maybe I can bend the truth for him. He is a kid after all.'

"Well, a Knight must be Brave, but also Just. They also must be willing to defend the innocent, don't forget a code of honor; that is what makes a Knight a real Knight."

"B-brave? How can I be brave if I can't even stand up to a bully?" Robert wasn't this colt's father; he couldn't just step in and help him but maybe some of his own father's wisdom might.

"Long ago, when I was very small, I was afraid to sleep in the dark. Seeing this, my dad sat me down. He asked me, how can a Colt be brave if he's afraid? That is the only time, a Colt can be, Brave."

Of course, Robert didn't remember this because of his young age, and more or less told a second-hand account from his grandmother.

Storm Hooves looked up in slight understanding. "So you're telling me being Scared is alright to show even as a Knight?"

"Well, yes and no, everyone can be frightened. But when the time comes they must try to hide his or her fear, to protect others. So how about you, make me a promise Storm Hooves."

Looking down at the young pony, Robert saw that his eyes were brimming with internal conflict and anxiety about failing this promise.

Reaching over and patting his head gently, Robert calmed his nerves. "It's not a big one, I swear. If you'd like I can wait for you to relax."

After roughly eight to ten minutes he gave a slight nod, Storm promoting him to speak up.

"I'm ready."

Robert cleared his throat before giving him this promise.

"Promise me, you'll protect the helpless and maybe one day, when I too am helpless, you'll come and protect me."

Bewildered by this Storm spoke up.

"You would need Somepony like me to protect you?" He asked, feeling uncertain of his capabilities.

'Time to boost that confidence, the best for child development.'

Giving a short nod, Robert agreed.

"Of course, you can achieve anything you put your mind to. And yes, even someone like me will need protecting one day."

They stayed there, listening to the rainfall, which made the poor Colt's head begin drifting downward showing how tired today made him.

'Had a long day I see, it's time to head back anyway.' picking him up, Robert got back to his feet while carrying the young colt back to the old throne room.

After arriving back, he found most of the field trip had fallen asleep, around the fire. Doing his best, Robert tried not to make the ground shake with each step and accidentally wake them.

Gently setting him down, Robert took off his Primitive shirt and wrapped them all in it to stay warm and dry.

"G-giant?" someone called out, looking back toward the group, he couldn't see who was calling out towards him.

"Mm? Who's calling for me?" Robert asked, looking over the group as a little hoof shot out, from Applebloom's area of his shirt.

Moving toward her slightly, Robert gently removed the filly from her bed, and soon after Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, followed.

"Now that we can see each other, what's up?" Robert asked the seemingly, tireless fillies as Scootaloo spoke up, her gaze downcast ears folded.

"Why does Rainbow Dash hate you so much? Every time she talks about you it's always so; negative."

The orange filly said looking up before speaking again, "She has you all wrong! You're actually, pretty awesome! Even on par with Rainbow herself! I just don't understand why."

Seeing this as a good enough moment to enter the conversation. Sweetie Belle piped up, slowly following Scataloo in keeping her head low, her ears also folding. "My older sister, Rarity, says an abundance of mean things about you."

This surprised Robert, to whom this filly was related. 'Jeez kid, I thought I had it rough being the youngest of three brothers but they weren't as much of a stuck-up Pricks, as Rarity.' shaking his head he quickly answered.

"I'm sure they have their reasons, as to why they dislike or despise me, I'm not angry or upset about that fact so it's not really affecting me."

After stating that fact, both Fillies looked up, fearful. Thinking they had lost their temporary place for the night, however, looking up they didn't see a face of anger or displeasure.

The last thing they expected to see was him just shaking his head. "You two, worry too much, but I will respect, and thank you. For your Truthfulness," Picking them up one by one Robert gently nestled them back into their spots.

"Get some sleep, you three we have a busy morning ahead of us." Nodding, they did as told while Robert slowly moved back keeping them close to the fire but not close enough to catch his shirt on fire.

"Well well well, looks like someone can be a good father." Gilda snickered, from her perch while he simply flipped her off.

"I'm not done with you Gilda and you are going to have a little discussion once this is all over." Rolling her golden eagle-like eyes she continued.

"Whatever old man, I'll see you in the morning."She mocked. while getting comfy in her spot,

'She just earned herself a dunk in the largest puddle when the sun comes up.' Robert thought getting comfy this time on the blue throne, this one not being surrounded by holes, therefore keeping him dry.

'Strangely, I haven't slept like this since my time in the pits.' looking down, it gave him deja vu, however, he wasn't forced to be in a cage now and by his standards was free, and not forced to kill because a horse wants him to.

'I feel like Someone or Something out there will try and revoke my freedom. I'll need to make plans to prevent that from happening tomorrow .' Releasing a covered yawn Robert slowly drifted off to sleep.

Luna POV

The Night Princess had discovered from her Commander's Report yesterday night, that her older sister was withholding information about the giant. "Why would, Celestia? My Sister! Do such a thing? I thought we were striving for a common goal."

Soon enough, Luna would be getting her answers, arriving at Celestia's chambers she spotted two of her sister's Royal Guards heading past them.

Luna ignored them, while she gave the door a light knock. 'She shouldn't be sleeping yet it's still early in the evening.'

After a few moments of waiting Celestia answered. "Who is it?" the sun monarch called out while Luna's tail flicked slightly in annoyance.

'how could she not think that I wouldn't approach her about this?!' The younger sister thought before she answered. "Tis, me Sister!"

Momentarily, the handle was surrounded in a familiar golden aura as it unlocked and then opened for the midnight Alicorn.

Seizing the moment Luna entered her older siblings' bed chamber speaking "Sister do you know why I have requested to be here tonight?" Luna asked in hopes that Celestia wouldn't try to hide what news she had.

"No, Luna, what has brought you to my room this time? you always seem to want to meet with me in my chambers." That very much displeased the midnight Alicorn.

Igniting her horn, Luna closed and locked her older sister's room so that her guards didn't interrupt. "Did the Captain of the Royal Guards inform you of what happened?"

Sitting on a lush pillow, Luna studied her elder sister's movements as the Alicorn mare in question was giving a small frown,

"I have not heard, would you like to tell me?" Celestia asked, sitting across from her sister, suddenly a small silver tray appeared holding a tea set with all the essential items.

'You do know, Or else this wouldn't have been pre-prepared.' Luna contemplated, while a golden aura made them both tea.

Soon the delicate but smooth smell of tea filled the room Celestia was busy making her cup the way she liked it. "Careful Tia, all that sugar will go to your posterior," Luna cautioned, giving her a knowing smirk.

"Hush! Can't a mare treat herself to something sweet once and a while?" Celestia remarked after a sixth sugar cube fell into her cup.

"But Tia, that is way too much sugar for tea, Mother has taught us two even three is sufficient." the Night Princess warned, however, Celestia didn't stop till her tenth cube.

"I Believe it's going to be one of those evenings, Sister, now tell me, what has happened to the Captain?" she asked, lifting up the cup with her magic and taking a long sip.

"You already know what happened, Celestia, or else this wouldn't have been readied ahead of my visit." Luna conveyed, showing she already knew what had transpired.

Swallowing the tea Celestia settled her teacup down along with using a napkin to clean any that still remained.

"You still remember the tactics I see, but alas I did hear what transpired. I'm not angry at your actions; Nonetheless, they were very much unnecessary."

"Unnecessary?!" Luna shouted in the royal voice.

"Luna, please turn down the volume," Celestia asked, her horn glowing faintly as she cast a sound barrier spell on the room.

Sadly she did not. "How can you say my actions were Unnecessary! I have been staying up well into the day and all night for information! While you have your student sending you personal reports and information that I have been waiting for!"

Celestia meanwhile was listening to her younger sister's bombardment Luna even reverted back to Old Equestrian from how aggravated she became.

"Luna, did you get it all out of your system?" Celestia inquired, watching the Midnight alicorn pant at the end of her anger.

She didn't respond,

Seeing that as reason enough, Celestia began her defense. "I didn't intend to keep it from you but you aren't sleeping, you're hardly eating as it currently stands. I'm more than willing to exchange the reports my student has given me."

Hope did grow, within Princess Luna's gaze but Celestia interrupted it. "Only, when you start eating and sleeping again consistently." narrowing her eyes, Luna opened her mouth to say something but promptly closed it.

'Have I been losing that much weight?' moving her head Luna looked at her sides and she indeed was becoming dangerously thin.

'Even my Officers are getting concerned about my lack of eating.' Turning her head back, towards her sister she nodded.

"You promise you'll show me all that your star pupil has found if I improve my current situation?"

Celestia gave a soft nod.

Seeing this as reasonable, Luna sighed gently, not wanting to wait more than needed but she spoke up. "I accept your terms Sister, many thanks for the Tea."

Standing back up, Luna moved toward the exit while the magical walls around the room slowly dissipated, "Lulu one more thing."

Stopping, Luna turned her ears toward her sister showing she heard Celestia, "To make sure you're not going to intimidate anypony into lying. I will assign a supervisor to the kitchens to keep track of how much you're eating."

Grumbling, Luna left her older sister's room to finish her night duties, 'I am the Princess of the Night. I do not need a pony that I'm thrice the age of, making sure I am eating correctly.'

"General, Report." The Queen of the Changelings called out, once the communication mirror was activated.

"My Queen, everything is on schedule, the Ponies are not aware of what we're planning."

She seemed almost giddy at their ignorance licking her fangs while her bug wings buzzed a few times. "Excellent work, now what of the dwelling of the Giant?"

"Some of our Warrior class drones have spotted him a few times but weren't able to track him to his lair, my Queen."

Frowning, she lifted her foreleg and began removing some unseen dirt from it.

"You have served me, Unfailingly. For many years now General, it would be a massive shame to dispose of you. For this minor offense, however. I need your Expertise, in the plans to come do not make me regret this act of Mercy."

Moving her hole-ridden foreleg away Chrysalis turned her attention back toward her General who seemed uneasy.

"Thank you, my Queen, for this Mercy. I swear not to squander this opportunity you have given me." Unfazed by his promises, she rolled her slitted eyes before waving her hoof at her subject.

"Before we end this meeting, how many humans have you stolen so far?" Chrysalis inquired, seeing if they had doubled the numbers from last time.

"On Hoof, currently we have two hundred and thirty humans. Do you wish for us to keep gathering more?"

"Stop, that should do adequately, General. Now continue the tasks, I have given for the Giant. Do not engage it, I expect this winter to be a very; Amusing one~"

With a quick, Salute her General spoke. "At once, my Queen." Seeing this as a good enough excuse, The Ruler of the Changelings terminated the transmission to the Everfree outpost.

"Now that that's covered, let's see how my spies are doing." as if on cue her Head-guardian entered the private audience Chamber.

"My Queen."

"Head guardian, I assume you know why you're here?" She nodded.

"Perfect, now Report," Chrysalis stated while her horn kindled a fire in the center of the room producing a green flame.

"Our spies, have been following your orders to a t. Twenty percent, of the Equestrian armies have been infiltrated; give the order and they will drop their false identities, to strike."

She gave a soft hum in thought. 'Plunging my future enemies into a state of confusion would be beneficial for us.' reaching up, Chrysalis moved some of her teal mane from her face as she brooded.

Roughly, four minutes later she shook her head. "Tell the drones to maintain their current identities, until further notice, for now, we can not mess this up. The Ponies believe we are myth and legend, and that foolishness, will be their downfall."

The ancient warrior drone nodded, "At once, your Grace, I shall send messages out Immediately."

Reaching up the Queen waved her front hoof showing that they had finished with the other free hoof Chrysalis rubbed her temples.

'Mother Equus is strange; she brought one Giant back from Extinction, and made most other races forget about the Changeling race. Maybe she's doing our species Kindness? Though I doubt it.'

Getting up Chrysalis, made her way out of the room. making her way toward the hatcheries, wanting to see how much her hoard was growing.

'Everything is going according to MY, plan. Soon we can begin, and we will never have to worry about starvation, for generations!' This made her chuckle softly, while a grin appeared on her face.

Chapter Seven - Returning what was lost and some compensation

View Online

Chapter seven

Robert POV

The human had been asleep for most of the night, the storm had provided excellent, background noise for Robert.

However, it wasn't made to last. Currently, he was in a state, between consciousness and sleep, Princess Luna didn't seem to intrude on his dreaming, but the fillies and colts had a different idea.

When the sun rose, the once quiet old throne room slowly moved to life, thanks to the four-legged multi-colored alarm clocks.

"Is he awake?" one filly inquired next to Robert's head, as another responded.

"I don't think so should we wake him?" said another.

Groaning, Robert slowly sat up while rubbing his face. "You already have. Who else is awake, at this time?" he questioned, seeing if it was just the two.

"Nope! We're all up and Adam!" Said Applebloom,
who seemed to be wide awake and full of energy.

Opening his eyes, Robert saw the current state of the throne room.

All of the kids were up thanks to Applebloom's persistence. However, a loud but familiar snore broke through the calm and slightly loud morning. The only one she wouldn't pester was the female Griffon.

Remembering his plan, the giant gave a tired sly grin. "You kids want to see a wet chicken?" he asked quietly, they all nodded eagerly, to see what the large human was talking about.

"Alright, but first I need you all to be very quiet." They nodded once more, getting up Robert made his way to the unsuspecting Griffon.

After scooping her up, Robert made his way out of the throne room and straight for the largest mud puddle outside. His entourage of fillies and colts followed close behind.

'Strange, where are Tank and Athena? Up to no good, if you ask me, those little shits are always trying to get in trouble.'

Shaking his head, Robert found a decently large pool of muddy water and without much issue tossed Gilda into it, resulting in a big splash and her sputtering to wakefulness.

"What in the seven Hells! I am going to claw your throat out Ape!" Said a very angry, but soaked Griffon.

Meanwhile, the children found Gilda's misfortune hilarious which added to her anger. "You know what? You're easier to attack than the youths! But now they will face my wrath first!"

"Youths? Look who's sounding like an old man. Or would it be an old hen?" Robert remarked smirking, which only pissed her off more, making the soaked multi-attributed creature go into a frenzy.

Getting out of the water, Gilda went straight for Robert, hitting and clawing his legs. It did little to harm him, but he picked her up once she started to draw blood from him.

Holding her like an ice cream cone, Robert held her with one hand. Watching her wiggle about trying to break free.

"You look like a wet dog," Robert remarked, while she attempted to free herself from the giant's clutches.

Seeing she couldn't escape or attack him she decided to shriek at him. "I wouldn't look like anything, but a Griffin If you didn't toss me into that puddle!"

Robert continued to hold the fuming Griffin, while she pecked at his hand, even going as far as to peck bite his fingers. In hopes of making him drop her.

Knowing Gilda by now, Robert spoke up."If I drop you it's going to hurt, there isn't any water here to break your fall." He warned but Gilda wasn't having it.

"I don't care if you shit gold! Put. me. down!" the wet Griffin demanded.

"As you wish." Leaning down, Robert plopped her down on the gravel path below, after getting back on solid ground she stormed off, meanwhile the kids had composed themselves from their laughing fits.

"Now! That was funny." Said the filly with a Diamond Tiara, on her head, seemingly pleased at one person's displeasure.

'Jeez, it wasn't that funny. I mean it was, but you didn't need to rub salt in the wound.' Dusting himself off Robert waved the kids over.

"It's time to leave children, prepare yourselves. Nothing has happened during my travels alone, but I am unsure of what might happen in a group."

Nodding the Fillies and Colts made their way toward the exit, Going back inside Robert had grabbed his Club, for protection.

Returning, Robert whistled to grab their awareness. He would need to go over some ground rules, for them to ensure their safety.

"Please, do not wander off. Stick with the main group, and if we run into anything please stay behind me, so I don't step on any of you by mistake."

The field trip of young ponies nodded in agreement. With that taken care of, Robert ducked down to leave threw the gate the group following close behind.

Twilight POV

The whole town of Ponyville was in shambles, Mrs, Cheerilee was currently having a breakdown over the potential loss of all her students.

"It's all my fault! I shouldn't have taken my class into the Whitetail Woods! We should have just gone to the zoo, or something else entirely!" Cheerliee sobbed.

While she wept, Pinky Pie and Fluttershy were by her side doing their best to cheer the distraught mare up.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Cheerilee! We will get them all back, I promise!" the hyper mare declared, however, this did little to calm her.

Twilight had been standing near the rest of her friends while they silently conversed. "If I'm being mighty honest with y'all this situation has me on edge."

Looking over, Twilight witnessed Applejack's tail flicking and twitching, if that wasn't enough she was hopping from left to right on her hooves. Turning her head right she saw Rarity wasn't fairing much better.

"Stay calm, Applejack and Rarity. I know Applebloom was on that field trip, same for Sweetie Belle. But we need to get ready to find them." Twilight proposed to her friends.

"If it helps you both relax the local, Royal guards have offered to help us find them. They also are bringing out some humans to assist in the search."

"Not to be rude, Twi, but how the hay are them, humans going to find my sister? Let alone a whole field trip! They should have brought bloodhounds!" Applejack reasoned, clearly showing, she wasn't thinking straight due to fear.

"Applejack calm down, we will get them home safe, ready to join the search teams? From what I was told they already began combing this side of the Ever-free."

Nodding they all entered the forest however, something seemed off. Her friends didn't seem to notice, so she decided to inform them of the issue.

"Girls, is it just me, Or does the Ever-free, seem? Bigger? It's as if somepony chopped the smaller trees but left the higher ones."

Slowing down, just a bit the main six looked about this made Rarity speak up. "Is that a bad thing, darling? The smaller the forest is the better." Commented, the elegant mare.

"Yeah, so what, Egghead? it's just a few trees, nothing more." Rainbow Dash tiredly remarked, having been woken up that early so she wasn't in the best of moods.

"U-um, Rainbow Dash. Many smaller woodland creatures use these trees for their homes. From what I could make out, from the critters, something Massive was tearing them down."

"Less talking y'all! More searching!" Said Applejack not wanting their time to be wasted, over the information she deemed at the current time pointless.

Following the route the field trip took, the main six including a few town residents, continued the search. Occasionally calling out names in hopes a response would be returned.

"This is pointless! Do you know how large the Ever-free is?" said a distant pony their friend shortly responded.

"True, but still we volunteered to help out. We can't just leave now just because the outlook seems bleak." Applejack and Rarity were on the verge of committing murder.

Their tails were lashing, along with their labored breathing. "Applejack, Rarity. Let it go, they are ponies, they have a right to mentally prepare, for the worst outcome."

"If they bothered you that bad, I can take care of it, Applejack and Rarity." Rainbow Dash offered but the farm pony shook her head.

"No, it's fine. I don't agree with it at all. But Twi's right about that."

Glancing towards Rarity, she finally spoke up. " It would be very unladylike, to attack somepony for their personal opinions, however. They did a poor job at picking the place, and time."

Twilight nodded, internally she breathed a sigh of relief, thanking Celestia for having her friends see reason instead of striking blindly.

"Maybe we should go even deeper! in the woods? Who knows! Maybe the Giant has them?" Asked Pinkie Pie.

Twilight nodded.

"I wouldn't go that far, Pinkie but it's the best we have currently. Does anypony have any objections?" Asked Twilight.

Fluttershy decided to quietly convey after all this time. "We really shouldn't go deeper. it's too dangerous for us, even humans wouldn't go there."

The shy mare muttered, not liking the idea of going into the heart, of the Ever-free, and neither did Rarity.

"Look, I know it's dangerous but I'll protect us," Twilight reassured while Rainbow Dash joined in to help sway the group.

"You have the fastest flier in all of Equestria helping you. I think we shall be fine!" The rainbow mare stated, her wings opened wide to prove her point.

Gulping, Applejack nodded. "Right, let's go then y'all." Gradually the group of six mares entered uncharted Ever-free territory.

Robert POV

Turns out, Applebloom had boasted about riding a giant weeks prior to the field trip. Which made her classmates jealous.

And what did they ask, the moment they left the castle of the two Royal Sisters, it was if they could take turns riding his shoulders.

The majority of them used their wicked pouting faces to force him to agree to it.

In the end, Robert agreed so for most of the journey he had either one or two fillies or colts, even three of them on his shoulder until they were satisfied.

"Are we there yet?" Asked a colt with brown spots around his body.

"No," Robert responded, while another spoke up.

"Are we close? We don't want to be here longer than needed, this place is eerie." This time, a filly with purple glasses spoke up, and again Robert answered.

"I am aware, you all find these woods scary but you shouldn't be so worried, nothing is going to attack any of you, while I'm here." The man reassured the field trip, which by this point did little to ease their nerves.

"W-what if something attacks us?" Asked Sweetie Belle. And again Robert answered.

"You have my word, nothing will happen to you all. I believe we all should play a game, wouldn't you children agree?" He asked as a small recourse of agreement was his answer.

"Perfect, how about the quiet game? The first err… Pony, to speak, will lose. Got it?" he asked and they nodded, however, Applebloom didn't agree with it.

"What do we win for staying quiet?" she asked, making Robert groan inwardly.

'For the love of all, that is holy. Just stop talking, how hard is it for them? I can't keep focused on keeping them safe if they keep on babbling.'

"I'll decide once we're out, until then please keep quiet."

Seeing that as reason enough, many of the fillies and colts. Kept quiet, making Robert celebrate his victory, of Silence. 'Thank God, I was about to toss these kids out instead of walking them.'

"Stay here, I'll just be over here for a moment to see where we are." Walking off from the main dirt path he found a ridge.

Robert simply walked up to it preparing to return to the main group, before he paused. something was off, a strange fragrance was in the air, it smelled like decomposition, mixed with the aromas of autumn.

He stood there for what felt like an hour before a voice spoke up. "G-giant? Are you ok?" Scootaloo asked, making him snap back to his current situation.

"Nothing, just something that caught my attention that is all." Robert dismissed, not wanting them to worry over that little issue.

Slowly, his knee began to hurt, not excruciating pain mind you. But just enough to be noticeable, the smell of rot was starting to make him light-headed. Turning towards the children he kneeled to be sorta eye level with them.

"Children listen closely to the message I am about to impass onto you, this is serious. Ok?" he asked, they of course all nodded showing they understood. Just how serious, this was. Even Diamond Tiara, and her friend named 'Silver Spoon.' had been listening to him not like they had a choice in the matter.

"Winter is coming. This one will be long, and dark things will come." Robert warned, which confused the young fillies and colts.

Luckily, Applebloom spoke up to ask the question they all had on their minds. "What do ya mean by that? Not trying to sound rude but winter isn't going to start for another month or so. Fall is already here. But how can you tell this winter will be bad?"

"I can feel it, even smell it on the wind; If I am telling the truth, I can not give an exact time of when it will transpire but tell them to be ready."

"I doubt they will listen to us, maybe you can talk to them instead?" Applebloom reasoned, however, Robert shook his head.

"They will not listen to me, so I ask you all to be my voice of reason." He asked, seeing that he succeeded this time Robert got back to his feet and waved for them to follow.

"What do we call you when they ask us about your identity?" The same filly asked Robert yet another question.

Thinking for a moment; Robert's brain received an idea. "Tell them, a Pony warned you all, of course, you all can decide, on the description of this pony but please. Keep it, realistic at the very least."

Eventually, they all nodded.

"Thank you, children, we are almost free of these woods." The human answered, carrying on the trees around him were starting to shrink.

Once above his head, the trees grew smaller and smaller till finally, he needed to bend down slightly to exit the forest. "As I promised, you all are out of the forest."

Glancing around, the young ponies seemed to be unsure of which way to go, this made Diamond Tiara speak up.

"Hey, meat for brains we don't see which way is Ponyville. How in Celestia's name, does that help anypony?" Applebloom and her two other friends were going to gang-tackle the filly for expressing her irritation.

"Not going to be a problem."

Looking around for a short moment Robert spotted the town before pointing in its direction. "Go that way, you'll be home by noon." He offered before waving them farewell.

"You all should be safe now, nothing should follow but to be safe. Stay ten steps away from the forest." After saying their farewells, the young ponies left the giant human. Watching them for a decent while to make sure nothing attacked them, Robert gradually turned to leave and headed back home.

"I don't get paid enough for this shit," he said, reaching up and wiping his eyes. Robert was famished, no doubt Gilda was too. They hadn't eaten anything since two days ago.

'At least she had the courtesy of not trying to eat me in front of those children. Or my fingers, these hands never get a break. I'm surprised she didn't even try to eat those Ponies.'

Making it onto the many unmaintained trails, the Ever-free had, Robert went in the same direction he led the field trip from. 'Finally, I can eat something, that won't frighten those um; fillies and colts. It's been too long since we had some meat.'

Traveling back at a brisk pace back towards his home. 'It's still coming along, after all this time I doubt it will ever be finished solo.'

In the distance, northwest of his position something was coming. 'What the hell is that?' entering some wilting shrubbery and standing beside a few trees Robert waited wanting the element of surprise for whatever was on its way.

"Admit it, Twilight we're lost!" roared a furious, but regal fashion designer who was standing beside her friends.

Groaning, The mare in question responded. "Rarity were not lost, the exit to the Ever-free is that way." she pointed back with a hoof, but it only made the situation worse.

"You said that last time and in a different direction! Darling," Rarity hissed as Rainbow Dash decided to pipe in.

"I'll get us a sense of direction, Don't kill each other while I'm gone."

Doing his best to stay perfectly still, Robert held onto the surrounding trees to steady himself. While the cyan-blue Pegasi, zipped past Robert, roughly a few minutes later.

Applejack called out to her blue friend. "Do you see anything up there Dash? More importantly the field trip."

"All I see is dying leaves and trees, and guess what Twi? We're lost. Near the middle of the Ever-free no less!" Rainbow Dash answered, trying to make the bookworm admit she had gotten them lost.

"You're not helping the situation Rainbow!" Remarked a slightly annoyed Twilight.

'Jeez, these Ponies argue a lot for being friends. I'm doing great, just keep still and they will trout right on by.' Robert's plan was simple, avoid them then stroll off.

'This is the longest game of hide-and-seek, I've ever played. It doesn't help that these Ponies suck at being searchers.' Robert inwardly commented until a familiar barking caught his awareness.

'I hope that isn't who I think it is.' he hoped the ponies who were currently trotting by. Didn't hear the Timberwolves

"Twilight, Darling. We got filthy Timberwolves on the way!" Rarity warned as Fluttershy uttered.

"Maybe we could A-avoid them?" She offered not wanting to harm them, regardless of the barking becoming louder.

"It's too late Fluttershy, they have our scent, and we have no choice but to fight." Twilight, determined before a blast of magic, rushed forth hitting the Timberwolf, causing it to howl in pain.

"S-stop Twilight!" Fluttershy pleaded.

However, the shy pegasi's plea was soundly denied, While another shot rang out.

'The hell is going on out there?' Peeking his head out of the trees Robert bumped his noggin against Something soft.

"Hey! Watch it." Yelled the Element of Loyalty which made her pause in trepidation.

Robert looked down; the cyan mare turned her head upwards to see what bumped her, spotting her magenta eyes shrink from their normal size down to pinpricks.

"T-twilight." Rainbow Dash faltered, attempting to grab her attention about their giant resident.

"Not now Rainbow, I'm trying to get a sense of direction. Because somepony made me forget where we were heading."

Before she could get another word out Robert nabbed the rainbow pony from the air. "Twilight!" She shouted this however grabbed the other's attention.

"It's the filthy Giant Brute! And it has Rainbow Dash." Rarity exclaimed, making Twilight finally look over.

'I have been spotted, I might as well get out of these trees. I also cleaned myself yesterday Rarity.'

Pushing through, Robert saw their faces once again.

However, a strange musk was in the air which gave him pause.

'So that's what a group of sweating mares smell like, their fragrances are Sweet? Odd.'

"Hello again. Do you remember us?" Twilight attempted the diplomatic approach, meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was thrashing about against his chest and hand.

"D-don't let him rend me in half!!" Rainbow pleaded while Twilight continued.

"Rainbow, it's kind of hard to do that when you're shouting," Twilight said with a forced smile, hoping her yelling wouldn't set him off.

"Uh, Fluttershy? Ya think you can use your way with animals on him?" Applejack asked, taking a few steps back from him.

Seeing that most of her friends were still wary of him, Fluttershy gracefully took to the air and shortly arrived in front of his face offering a small smile.

"H-hello again Giant, it appears we are lost and can not find our way back home; would you mind taking us back? If that wouldn't be too much trouble." The shy cream-colored Pegasi asked.

"And maybe put me down?" Rainbow Dash added with a huff, her hind legs, and tail being the only thing visible to her land-bound friends.

"Could you possibly put my friend, down as well? She doesn't like being held." Fluttershy softly reasoned.

Looking towards Fluttershy, he sighed gently, lowering Rainbow Dash down before plopping her down with a thud.

"Thank Celestia, I will never get used to that thing picking me up," Rainbow confessed, shaking out her cyan coat like a dog before troting back towards her friends.

Gently, Fluttershy landed on his shoulder going in for a quick nuzzle, not before long Robert took them out of the Ever-free forest.

'I'm not a taxi service, I doubt these Ponies have realized that.' Making it back home with a Sigh, Robert remembered how he cautioned them off.

grabbing a young tree and pulling it from the earth, and making a line border. 'I think I need to make it even more clear but first let me feed Gilda.'

Entering the old throne room Cragadile in toe, while the Griffon in question released a war cry and then slammed herself against his head.

"You Better tell me next time you bring strays in here!" Gilda warned while he rolled his eyes.

"This is technically my home, Gilda, you're just living here," Robert recalled making her hiss.

"Just shut your mouth and feed me, you oversized varmint." Gilda insulted him; however, it did little to bother him.

'Good to know she hasn't changed in the slightest.' Gently grabbing her with his free hand Robert moved her off before doing what she requested.

"Is this animal meat any good?" he asked her, making her look over towards it, shuddering slightly. Finally realizing what Robert had brought home,

"Only if you want to break your teeth! Cragadile meat is tough to eat, It takes hours before it can even be chewed. And don't get me started with the taste!"

'I need to prove her wrong. I can tenderize it no problem but I doubt there's much to do for its taste.'

Grabbing his club, Robert got to work breaking down the long-dead Beast.

General POV

Within a tavern far from Equestria and the Ever-free, a Minotaur was sitting at a table surrounded by his crew of mercenaries.

"You got a job for us, boss? The others are getting anxious." Asked a male Griffin this made the battle-scared bull chuckle, "I don't but our guest does."

Turning towards the far side of the old rundown tavern he waved over a cloaked figure. "Now tell me and my crew as to why you wish to, 'hire.' Our services? Make it quick, or I'll be painting my ax red with your blood." Asked the mercenary boss,

Unfazed, the cloaked figure removed their head cover revealing a gold necklace and other expressive jewelry, along with the owner of such wares, a female griffin. "We have heard you're the largest mercenary group within the whole Griffin kingdom."

Nodding the minotaur grinned while retrieving a dagger to begin shaving in front of her. "We sure are lassie, but what is a pretty little thing like you, needing our services for? If you wanted a night in the sheets you could have asked~" said the leader of the Mercs.

"I am not interested in your kind of ilk. The job is simple: travel to Equestria, burn the Ever-free till nothing remains. But ash and Cinder" This annoyed the merc, but he spoke up.

"Another war against the ponies I see; fine this is gonna cost you five hundred platinum coins." He offered grinning.

"Why are you price gouging? I've noticed, and heard you do jobs for way less." The female griffin snapped while he simply shrugged.

"Now, I've increased it to eight hundred platinum coins for your attitude. Come back with the money or don't come back at all," that was her ultimatum.

Growling, she stormed off leaving the tavern and re-equipping her head cover to hide her identity.

"Damn, mercenaries, the Prince was a fool to trust them." Reaching over she slightly grabbed her hidden blade.

"If he didn't need their aid, I would have sliced their throats out and fed their testicles to wild dogs for disrespecting a Knight of the empire."

Releasing her handle, she entered a hidden room connected to the Royal castle.

The unmistakable sounds of lovemaking were heard; not wanting to interrupt the Prince she knocked in the method he instructed her to follow before it slowed and eventually stopped, then a muffled voice spoke up.

"take your scraps of food back, Hen, I have some business to conduct." A few moments later the same male voice spoke up.

" 'The White Death' I've been waiting for you~ have the mercenaries agreed to the contract?" the Prince commented, all manner of Feathers all over the room, the room reeking of sex.

"My lord, they have not. Those filthy lowborns demanded more than the standard cost because I wouldn't 'amuse' them." She answered truthfully while the male griffin arose from the bed giving her a view of his physique.

Compared to a regular male griffon the prince was scrawnier looking and physically weaker. "What is the new price they request?"

Without missing a beat she answered. " They want eight hundred platinum coins as if we would pay for them."

"The king; My father is perishing, and I don't want my younger half-brother to steal the throne from me. Just because I was born out of wedlock. Pay them their damn coins, and I'll have the troops for what I plan to complete."

"My Lord, what that might be? Forgive me but you have left me in the dark about what you have planned. Why do we need to burn a forest that is so far from Griffonstone? It shouldn't be our hardship, if anything it is the Ponies."

Grasping, a golden engraved goblet the tiny male took a long hearty drink of its contents; with a content sigh, he looked back giving her a wicked smile, wine dripping off his beak.

"Very well I suppose I shall fill you in." Moving back towards the bed the bastard prince laid upon it stretching.

"Rumors claim the fallen Princess summoned a Giant to fight for her. This proves that their kind survived the mass slaughter in the very lands of their birth. Equestria, my plan is simply to burn the only place it could be hiding, and once the Ponies catch it. I'll steal it right from under their snouts. And that's when I can begin breeding Giant humans for war!"

The griffin knight wasn't a fool if she was, she wouldn't be a knight in the first place, but there were so many holes in the heir's plan. She thought about objecting but held her beak shut knowing he would throw a hissy fit for her simply showing he isn't a master strategist.

"Your Will be done, my Lord."

She answered bowing slightly, 'After I become his king's guard I can leave this fool and return to my father. This plan couldn't be more than ridiculous last I recall destroying a Giant's grove will attract their wrath; the last thing we need is an angry Giant tearing apart the capital.'

To be honest, she was only serving him to earn her White Cloak, and then depart, as agreed upon by her father.

"What are you waiting for? Give them their money so I can begin my master plan!" he demanded, making her sigh before nodding.

"As you command." Stepping over numerous piles of varying feathers to leave the room.

The White furred Griffin sighed, before leaving to acquire said money.

Robert POV

"What in the name of all the divine gods!" Gilda began chewing on the meat she found most unfitting to eat.

Giving a soft shrug he continued to cook his half. "No meat is impossible to loosen up, given time," Robert answered watching Gilda tear into her food with ravenous hunger.

"If I return home I'm taking you with me," Gilda mandated, through her chewing of the meat. Sparking the human to answer her,

"You'll need to run it by me Gilda, last I checked, I'm sorta not welcomed in a city especially those who have stone walls and iron gates," Robert answered truthfully while she made a sound of annoyance.

"Who said you needed to agree?" she snapped, looking over towards him grease and other meat fluids dripping down her chin and beak.

"I did; you forget Gilda If I say no, how in god's name are you going to make me? I'm far larger than you and stronger than you. Do I need to continue?"

Robert asked, showing how little control she had over him.

Thinking for a moment she spoke up. "I have wings so therefore flight!" Gilda beamed with pride even unfurling her large brown wings to prove her point further.

"Congratulations Gilda you have one thing over me. Which is flight," looking over towards her he clapped slowly to prove his point.

Huffing she went back to eating, seeing that argument as a fool's errand.

"How is the food?" Robert asked, bringing the hot metal container over and leaving it on the marble flooring next to his griffin companion.

"You have truly surprised me, I bet not even the royal chefs of Griffonstone can compete, Against your culinary ability."

This made Robert pause in slight confusion. 'I guess Griffin's never heard of tenderizing meat before. Then again why would they need to? Sharp claws and a hard beak work just fine, but would ruin the meat. For anyone else who wants any,'

"It was just a simple concept that me and others have agreed on, for making the most undesirable of meats more desirable."

"I need to meet your friends! Who knows what else you and your companions can achieve for Griffin Culinary! I could make a fortune from their work." Gilda mumbled the last sentence regardless of Robert hearing her.

'Guess I can add money motivated, for the Griffins of this world.' Picking up a decent-sized piece Robert took a bite of the oversized alligator meat.

The taste was indeed similar to Alligator but wasn't as chewy or hard to eat as his companion mentioned earlier.

Consuming it without much difficulty he and Gilda ate in relative silence;

Finally, the female griffin spoke up. "I might as well ask now because why not, but do you have any family?" her completion showed she didn't care but he knew on the inside she did.

At least somewhat.

"I do, well I had family, it was me, my three brothers, and our parents."

"Mm. How are they?" She asked, giving him a side-eye stare, her golden orbs looking him up and down.

"Well for starters, my father is no longer living, including my mother and two older brothers."

"Which means my grandparents took me in. I had to learn to read and Write back then."

'Crap should I even bring up the fact that I am speaking English? Or should I take a shot in the dark and call it Equestrian?'

She narrowed her eyes and that was enough to make him continue.

" I couldn't speak Equestrian well, neither and it didn't help living in a house and community where they spoke another language; But In the end, I learned."

"You didn't know how to read and write?" Gilda inquired.

"I did, but when I moved in with my grandparents they didn't understand the Equestrian language. I more or less had to teach them but I only managed to get a few words to a sentence before they gave up; both in speaking and penmanship."

Thinking for a moment Gilda grinned furtively, before speaking again. "Tell you what, if you can speak your primary language again I'll stop calling you ape, varmint, and cattle. Do we have a deal?"

Thinking for a moment Robert nodded and offered her his large hand.

"We do indeed." She took to the air and made her way over to him before shaking his larger hand.

"Just one issue, I might be a little rusty. I haven't used it in a few months."

She rolled her eyes and waved him off, "That's fine deewb, as long as it's understandable it counts."

Moving back toward her food she lay down watching him intensely.

"Testa di piume." He said simply making her tilt her head.

"What did you call me?" She asked not sure how to take it.

"I called you a feather-head."

She puffed her cheeks out somewhat proving his point but ultimately sighed in defeat.

"A deals a deal; By the way, a word of advice. Don't go around speaking both Equestrian and that language you have no idea how many hens and mares will be after you."

'Like that isn't already happening, don't forget most of this world's governments and science institutes. Wanting to do god knows what to me.'

She stayed silent for what felt like an eternity before Gilda finally spoke up again. "My apologies for your loss,"

Giving a soft grin Robert spoke up. "See? I knew you had a heart past all that toughness."

A blush appeared on her white feathered cheeks before she uttered. "S-shut up deewb!" the hue remaining on her face.

"Thank you for showing you care enough to ask."

Reaching over Robert gave her head a few gentle pats before finishing off his meal.

'Maybe not all griffins are bad. Maybe the same with Ponies? Still, I would rather avoid them all if possible.'

"Are you done eating Gilda?" he asked looking over, seeing she had eaten nearly half the cooked Cragadile.

"Hells No, I haven't eaten all day yesterday or it's dusk I will eat till my stomach hurts!" As if on cue she grimaced, moving a claw toward her stomach making Robert raise an eyebrow in amusement.

"I think you reached your limit," he warned but Griffins will be Griffins, and she kept trying to eat the meat she was given.

'Damn she's stubborn, but credit where credit is due. I did starve her for a day or two, so I'll take the fall on that one.'

"Once you're done, clean up after yourself I'm off to bed." Getting up Robert went outside to find some water to clean himself with.

Leaving the half-rebuilt stone gate he began cleaning himself up in the moat water a voice piped up from behind him.

"Ah, the Giant-folk I seek your assistance once more." Turning to look he spotted Zecora,

"Hello, what has happened for you to grace me with your presence Zecora? Do you have more errands you need to run in Ponyville, or do I need to gather herbs and plants from the heart of the Ever-free again?"

Shaking her head she moved closer.

"No Giant-folk, this trip was not about some endeavor."

"Then what was it about?" he persisted, making her sigh.

"The locals of Ponyville, wish to offer you tribute for being there during their time of need."

This made Robert hesitate thinking this was a form of trickery and they would track him because of it.

"Why didn't they come here and offer it in person? Or leave it at the edge of the Ever-free?"

Giving a soft giggle she answered. "They do not trust the forest's wildlife as predominantly compared to you, the gifts are at my humble abode, pick them up any time Giant-folk."

Nodding, he moved toward the entrance of the old castle and pointed inside towards the courtyard."If you want, you are allowed to stay with me. I just wish that you're not afraid of meat and wooden wolves."

She showed a face of surprise at the fact of him taming a Timberwolf, let alone two of them.

"You truly are full of surprises, Giant-folk. But nay I can not enter your dwelling for I have business back home." Zecora answered moving closer she nuzzled against his leg.

"Not a problem Zecora, remember you are welcome here anytime." Nodding, she conversed again.

"I will not overlook this proposal in the future, farewell friend." The zebra waved and Robert returned the gesture, he watched her walk off.

Robert kept watching till she disappeared into the darkness of the Ever-free.

Reaching up he gave his beard a once over, looking at it in the reflection. 'Jesus, I have an insane Santa Claus beard, going. I still have those Bandit Ponies weapons thankfully. But my beard will be handled tomorrow,'

Getting back to his feet, Robert went back inside.

Finding Gilda unconscious, her abdomen was bloated. 'She was acting like I was going to take it from her.'

Picking up the sleeping Griffin, he gently dumped her into her mattress of feathers and dead grass.

Laying down to sleep, Robert got comfortable as best as one could lying on a solid marble floor before sleeping;

Waking up the next morning he sat up stretching. 'Shit I need a real bed, this floor is killing me.'

Getting up and ignoring his sleeping companion Robert began his trip toward Zecora's home to retrieve these gifted supplies.

Walking towards the zebra's tree hut, he couldn't shake the feeling of being observed. 'This doesn't feel good, someone or something is watching me.'

Staying on track, he kept traveling with the sound of bug wings near him. 'How close to my ears is this insect? There's no way it can be that close but if it isn't close to me how massive is it?'

Moving faster the flying sound stayed right on his tail but never showed itself.

'Is there a goddamn massive hornet nest?! Oh hell no! I would rather fight that massive star bear. Over a Giant hornet's nest!' Deciding on sprinting, to save himself from being stung, Robert stomped through tree branches, and bushes, and almost crushed a family of field mice in the process.

Stumbling into the zebra's front yard made her appear. "What has you spooked? If it terrifies the Giant-folk I must certainly worry." Zecora piped up, her ears on a constant swivel listening for potential threats.

The buzzing had long since stopped, had the wasp lost interest? Did something else get close towards its hive? Regardless he was hiding behind Zecora despite the size difference.

"Who the hell was going to tell me Giant hornets live in these woods." He hissed trying to keep his tone low, so the flying hellspawn didn't hear him.

Giving a confused glance she spoke up. "Have you consumed purple or blue plants? I have dwelled in these woods for many a year and not once have I caught a glimpse of a Giant flying bee."

Looking down he scooped her up, making the zebra produce a sound of surprise. "I'll prove it to you," Robert decreed taking the annoyed Zebra toward this supposed massive hornet sighting.

Dropping her off at where the noises first began the zebra flicked her short tail, before looking around to find what frightened him so much.

"You followed this direction only?" she asked, looking towards him.

'Can't she see the snapped tree branches and the holes I left?'

Giving a nod she hummed, following the path glancing up trees and checking places here and there.

Zecora repeated this process until they finally arrived back at her tree hut.

"A conclusion I have made."

Looking down, Robert watched her as she was still trouting, not even looking back in his direction.

"Your hysteria is built on unsolid grounds. And you, are the only one who can stop it."

Stunned he opened his mouth to speak but stopped, she was right if nothing attacked him what's the point in freaking out the way he did.

"You're sure there's no Giant wasps or bees of any kind in these woods?" Sighing Zecora stopped then turned to face him.

"Raise me, with your hand."

Kneeling Robert gave her his hand, hopping up she pointed upwards with a single hoof; lifting her she stopped him upon reaching his face.

Standing up on her hind legs she attempted to squish his face. "There are no wasps of that size here. The only place that something similar may reside is in the jungle lands."

'Right, so avoid any jungles.'

Robert didn't mind bees or hornets despite their aggressive or curious nature but he honestly thought a Hornet the size of a two-person vehicle was chasing him, making him nearly crap himself.

Setting her back down she walked towards the side of her home. "Now that you have seen reason come and take the offerings of Ponyville."

Following her he discovered what the town had amassed to offer him.

Most of the goods were sealed in wooden boxes and barrels. "What is all this stuff?" Robert inquired while she simply shrugged.

"I do not know I hadn't emptied their items."

Moving over and kneeling Robert pulled the covers off revealing grub that was sealed and packed safely in the box.

"Expecting a food deposition mm?" she inquired, plopping down onto a rug that was hoof-made.

"I was not. Zecora, do you have enough food to last through winter?" looking back toward her she smiled.

"Most definitely, I Admire your consideration, my friend. But please take it all the town Ponies claim more is on the way and it is becoming an annoyance to stare at."

"This will be gone by today Zecora, you have my word."

Getting up she left tail swishing, "Then I should not worry." She responded, heading inside and leaving him with his small hoard of food.

'I should hide this where Gilda can't reach, true she's warming up to me but that griffon is a glutton through and through. Maybe somewhere in the castle; no she most likely wanders around it constantly; How about the tree cave?' Thinking for a few moments he shook his head.

'Not secure enough to store food or supplies no doubt Wildlife use that cave when I'm not around, especially in the colder months to hibernate. That leaves the mine I constructed. Animals, especially the predatory ones, probably have avoided that place like the plague. Because of my scent; just the scavengers are the issue.'

After giving it much thought, Robert had decided to use his mine as a Primitive underground storehouse until Gilda had agreed to cut down on her overeating.

Picking up the supplies all in one go was a pain but Robert had managed to balance it all in his arms. 'Why are there so many barrels of fluid? Do they think I can't find clean drinking water? If I couldn't find any I would be dead by now.'

Finally approaching the hill that held his excavation site, Robert placed the gifted materials outside of the giant mine before going in;

Confirming it was vacant of any Ever-free Creatures both Predator and prey, minus a few bats.

Spooking them off, Robert went outside to check what he had been gifted by the Equines. "Three wooden crates of dried apples, two Crates of hay, and five barrels of fluid. And one crate of dried flowers,"

Opening one barrel, a sugary yet sweet smell reached his nose, lifting the barrel he poured a small mouth full into his mouth tasting the sweet beverage. The taste was pure apple and natural sugars, and hardly enough alcohol contents to affect him.

"The hell is this stuff supposed to be a children's drink? Thank god I'm not diabetic, I hope they don't give this stuff to children this shit will make them into literal rockets for days."

However, an idea popped into his cranium. 'Sugar, plus yeast ferments into Booze."

Grinning, he sealed the barrel closed.

'I'm going to get shitfaced this winter, guaranteed. However, I'll leave those boxes in the field in front of the forest because I refuse to eat flowers and I would rather cut my hand off before I eat hay.'

Searching for something to cover the crater with Robert used some dirt and fallen trees, 'That is only temporary I'm going to need a big rock to seal it off. But first, I'm giving this back to the ponies.'

Twilight POV

Looking over the letter one last time, the lavender mare did a retake of what she wrote in her mind.

'Dear Princess Celestia, I wish to inform you that the Field trip has been found on the outskirts of Ponyville all of them claim different accounts some claim the Giant saved them. Others say a Pony Stallion saved them and a small percentage of the group have refused to say anything.

I have no idea what the Royal Guard report will state, but I wanted to tell you that in the event of it being the Giant, I have already taken the incentive and convinced my good friend Applejack to give some of the stores for winter to him. My goal is to try and lure him into town with food. I ask that if you can assist us in the matter we would greatly appreciate it. But I believe it was a Stallion or even mare, as humans and Giants aren't capable of speaking.

Signed your faithful student Twilight Sparkle.'

After verifying it was all factual the powerful Unicorn sealed the scroll before floating it off to Spike for him to send off to Canterlot.

With her ears, she heard her number-one assistant breathe his fire breath.

"Spike! Did you read that book I provided you?" Twilight called out to the other room. However, the baby dragon had snuck off not wanting to receive her wrath for not reading a book.

'Sooner or later he will read that book about obscure Unicorn history. Maybe I could lock him in the basement to read it?'

Rubbing her chin with a hoof she shook her head a few moments later seeing that as too extreme, true she never had any real reason to punish Spike.

The idea never really appeared in her mind. She did get irritated by his decisions at times but Twilight could never stay mad at him. He's at that stage in his life where dragons and juveniles make mistakes, it happens.

Sighing, the lavender mare went outside. Maybe a night stroll will clear her mind while she walked her hooves crushed dried brown leaves.

'I think this could have been a Stallion this whole time, Giants and also humans are incapable of speech.'

Entering the Park with Luna's moon lighting her way and the cool night air flowing through her coat made her sigh, she spoke the same words this stallion told the foals. "Winter is coming. This one will be long, and dark things will come. I can feel it, even smell it on the wind; If I am telling the truth, I can not give an exact time of when it will transpire but tell them to be ready."

Furrowing her brow, Twilight became even more confused by this pony's actions. Why wouldn't this stallion tell them directly, instead of using fillies and colts as a go-between?

What was coming?

Regardless of what it was, this Pony had stumped the prodigy mare. Sitting down on a park bench, made for Ponies in mind, she just decided to do some stargazing trying to decipher the message mentality, along with occupying herself.

By this point, the town of Ponyville had fallen silent and many homes were dark with the occupants asleep inside.

Getting to her hooves, Twilight began the walk back home Spike by this point was most likely asleep.

Stepping onto her welcome mat of the library, she magically unlocked the front door before entering, closing, and locking the door behind her.

Finding the baby dragon fast asleep on the first step going up towards the restroom and their bedroom.

Looking more closely at him Twilight discovered Spike had knocked out reading a book, upon closer inspection she found out it was the book she told him to read.

Giving a soft smile, she placed a green bookmark inside the book to show where he left off before putting it back on its shelf.

"It's time for bed, Spike." Twilight softly said lifting him in her magic and taking him to his bed to sleep.

Chapter Eight - A bloody Hearth's warming and a small promise to a Princess

View Online

Chapter Eight

Princess Luna had been ecstatic over the reports she had been given about the giant, pure their agreement between her and Celestia. Currently, she was munching on some flowers from her salad, setting her fork down.

And swallowing her mouthful of food, Luna gently lifted her cup of water with some of her magic, and took a soft sip, shortly afterward setting it down to re-read the letter offered from Celestia's pupil, as a reward for becoming a more proper weight for a mare of her size.

Finishing the scroll filled the younger alicorn with dread. She did enjoy reading them but they always ended sooner than she would have liked it to.

A gently knocked reverberated off of the door to her left making the night-themed mare shift to face the unknown guest, clearing her throat she spoke up.

"You have permission to enter."

Shortly after saying they could come in, the Captain of the guard followed by her elder sister entered the small dining room making Luna tense.

"I have not intimidated the Butler to tell a falsehood to you sister, why have you arrived?"

"Sister, why do you always think I'm always trying to discipline you? It's been a thousand winters since we shared a hearth warming. Have you forgotten? Back when you were still a mere filly you always tried to get me a gift all that time ago, what have you gotten me for this year?"

Luna's wings twitched at her sides, while her heart stopped beating at this revelation. How could she have forgotten? This holiday long before her banishment was the celebration she always waited for, offering her older sister a hoof painting or asking a member of the castle staff to purchase a gift so Luna could offer it to Celestia.

Of course, when she grew up Celestia told her she knew of her plans to buy or make her something with the crown's funds or when she requested paint and paper from the royal Quartermaster.

Offering a sheepish smile, Luna's ears splayed back. "Regretfully I do not, you have my most sincere apologies for not having anything to offer for this year." She offered

Smiling Celestia shook her head. "It appears we both are in a predicament, you don't have a gift for me and I have lost yours. But remember this holiday wasn't always about gifts, it was about making friends and spending time with family."

Celestia reassured, making Luna softly sigh in solace thinking she was spared from the humiliation.

"However," Celestia added, making the younger alicorn freeze.

"The greatest gift you can give me dear sister is your company today."

Giving a gentle grin Luna answered. "That I can do for you on this day." Before the two sisters could enjoy the holiday together, Shining Armor cleared his throat to grab their attention.

"I don't want to ruin the moment your Highnesses, but something has been brought to my attention," he said, not wanting them to forget he was just standing there.

"My apologies Captain, what was it that you needed to know?" asked the sun monarch,

"I've received a report of Lunar guards being stationed in Ponyville, may I inquire to what end? The town's garrison is nothing more than a police force. And the guard post there hardly equipped to handle fifty. How can it possibly hold a hundred of them?"

Celestia turned to face her with an amused expression. "Why was I not informed if this Sister, you are aware Ponyville does not have the housing capability for that many soldiers?"

"It is for the town's protection sister," Luna suggested, reminding Celestia of what Twilight Sparkle's letter warned of.

"Very well, Captain starting tomorrow. Begin their withdrawal from Ponyville, this Winter is almost over and so far nothing has happened."

Giving an annoyed huff; Luna shook her head in disagreement. But decided to deal with this later

"I shall send the necessary orders to them but for now rest sister." Luna countered, before Shining Armor could answer somepony from outside the room decided to slam into the door metaphorically.

The barrage of frightened knocking continued against the door. In hopes of grabbing their attention Shining Armor moved cautiously, igniting his horn and using his magic, to let the shaken Royal Guard inside.

"What's the problem, Corporal?"

Asked Shining Armor who grabbed the frightened NCO. "A large group of infected are moving towards Ponyville if they aren't stopped the town will be Massacred!"

Glancing towards Celestia, Luna gave a knowing smirk. "Apologies sister but my recollection has failed me, didn't you ask me to withdraw my forces from that village?"

In the corner of her eye, Luna watched Celestia's ear flick showing that she wasn't going to acknowledge her at this moment.

Seeing this as her time to shine Luna spoke up.

"Very well, since you won't acknowledge me on this. I shall defend Ponyville myself!" Proclaimed Luna, setting down the scrolls from her magic, much to Celestia's disapproval.

"Sister, Infected humans are difficult to eradicate, especially a gathering of that proportion, and you just only now recovered from your lack of self-care, let the guards handle it," Celestia suggested, making her nose flare.

"I've spent the last few months recovering, I have also not dueled or battled anything in that time so I will not! I am a Princess of Equestria. I cannot allow such a threat like this to go wild and terrorize and harm our subjects. No matter its origin, physical or in the dream realm. "

Leaving the room with haste, Luna made a mad dash for a window, or even a balcony that the night monarch could get through.

Before she knew it, she was in the air wings flapping with haste in the hope of arriving there quicker; at the town of Ponyville, with a detachment of day Royal Guards, whose goal was to reinforce the besieged town, struggling to keep up with her speed.

The first thing that grabbed her attention was the town bells going off, snow had covered the town. Yet the infected had changed its peaceful atmosphere into one of battle, and disease.

Blood was splattered everywhere, some pools and splatters looked fresh, others a black tar-like consistency. There were dead infected everywhere but smell of death filled the air.

'Stars above please aid me in this quest to protect my subjects!' Luna mentally implored, as she encountered her first infected human.

Currently, the undead beast was feasting on a not-so-lucky human who was left out, igniting her horn Luna attempted to blast the undead human into ash.

Her magical shot flew silently as if carried on an invisible wind current.

Before hinting its center of mass, incinerating the undead monster. It didn't even howl upon death, rather it gurgled into a heap of infected flesh and ash.

Landing, Luna took in her surroundings as best as she could. In the distance, she could just make out other spells being casted and even castle-forged steel slicing through rotten meat.

The thought of how easily their weapons tore through the infected, like how similar

"Princess!"

Shouted somepony to her left, Turning to see who it was she spotted a disheveled-looking earth pony mare who was rabidly running towards her.

"Please help, two of my students who didn't follow the orders of the Royal Guards are now trapped! Between a G-giant human! And a group of infected. First, I nearly lost them all in the Ever-Free forest, and now this?" She looked terrified at what she had witnessed.

Deciding on taking the more cautious approach Luna cleared her throat before speaking in a gentle but firm tone, "Loyal subject please tell me your name."

Thinking for a moment the mare had spoken up, "my Students call me, Miss Cheerilee your Highness."

Nodding Luna moved close to the alrighty frightened mare, "Please find safety lady Cheerilee, I shall bring this Colt and filly back to their senses. What are their names?" Luna inquired of the Identity of these brave but also foolishly Children.

"Storm Hooves and Apple Bloom." She whispered,

Being as close as Luna was she thankfully heard their names, Gently nodding. And opening her large blue wings she gave a few test flaps to see if her back muscles were ready.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I shall have them returned to you as soon as possible," Luna promised while a few Royal Guards landed maintaining a loose formation around the night Princess.

"Guards, get this mare somewhere safe," Luna commanded as she took flight

She knew the order she just issued would be followed so there was no point in looking back,

Circling the medium to large town from the air, Luna did her best searching for this little Colt and filly, until finding somepony she didn't think would be here.

'H-he's here?!'

Luna nearly fell out of the sky at this revelation and yet there he was running through the town of Ponyville, he trampled and even stomped some infected humans this activity made her curious about his plans.

"What is going on here?" Luna muttered watching from afar.

Soon lady Rainbow Dash was following him; which turned into her guiding him somewhere.

Deciding that watching from afar was the best course of action Luna did just that.

Chrysalis POV Half an hour before

The time was now to initiate her plan; the whole nation of Equestria, even town residents of Ponyville were currently celebrating 'hearth's Warming.' That being said, very few Royal guards were on active duty in the town to defend it; the changeling queen summed up that it would be a bloodbath.

Igniting her horn, Chrysalis activated the changeling communication mirror knowing her general would most definitely answer her call.

After some time the warrior answered the Queen's call. "My queen, we await your command." The battle-hardened changeling declared bowing before his queen.

"It is time, my loyal servant, to wipe Ponyville off of the map! Release them." She commanded, making the warrior drone nod."At once my Queen that town will be nothing more than a graveyard."

"Then make haste I wish to watch this unfold." With that being said she terminated the transmission and eagerly waited for her drones to connect her to the third communication device she made.

However, in the meantime, she idly sat on her throne, her teal long tail swishing lazily from left to right in this short time of rest, Chrysalis thought back to the last report of the giant.

From what the scout reported, the giant was fleeing away from the single drone making her grin. 'If one puny drone can scare him I doubt I ever need to slay it, all I'll need to do is fly and he'll go running; Maybe I will be the first to control such an unruly creature.'

This made her giggle malevolently until finally, her drones had connected to her device.

Looking through the mirror the changeling queen saw the minor town of Ponyville covered in snow. The village itself seemed quiet, and peaceful even, though soon it was all going to change.

"My queen, they are on the move." A drone spoke from the mirror, not daring to block her view.

"Excellent!" in preparation for the show Chrysalis found a cozy spot to watch it all unfold.

Robert POV

The days had grown shorter and the night lengthier, snow was covering the lands near his home along with Ponyville, and even the capital city of Canterlot wasn't spared from its soft blankety embrace.

In the meantime, Robert was not sitting on his hands and waiting; before even the very first snow flurry. He was hard at work preparing for the long and dark months ahead, even though Christmas was today, and the new year was just a few weeks away; he had finally finalized his plans for spring.

Even Gilda pitched in for a brief moment with the planning; along with agreeing to ease back on her Griffin gluttony. Allowing him to store their winter cache within the old castle walls.

Regrettably, Gilda wanted to return to her old home Griffinstone, to celebrate a holiday called, 'The Blue Moon Festival.' Robert summed up the holiday to be similar to his human holiday. While Zecora only visited sparingly, her reasoning was odd but had something to do with a sickness that sprouted up only in the cold months.

Waking up to the howls of winter going through the old royal throne room Robert begrudgingly sat up head pounding from last night's drinking binge, remembering what happened last night.

That night was a feast of high-alcohol beer and fish, his first time away from home or any friends he knew. While just eating seven different types of fish he caught the day before.

'I think I drank three barrels on my own.' Robert thought sheepishly while also thanking his zebra friend for going into town to purchase the required yeast to make the cider even better.

"I shall call it, Giant's Grog."

And with that, Robert created a fruity-tasting apple juice that had a larger percentage of alcohol and with a harder kick that normal pony cider could never achieve, and yes he did share it with his griffin companion a week before her departure.

Needless to say, she couldn't handle it too well, if her trying to seduce him and inappropriately rubbing against him was any correlation.

'I would have preferred to have her company non-sexually during this Christmas but I guess I'll be alone again. Plus I doubt Ponies would even touch this stuff. I'm not a professional in distilling or testing, but if I had to guess this stuff is 95 proof.' Moving over toward his wood pile Robert began doing inventory.

"My wood pile is running low. I might need to go and gather more, beforehand I'll get a small fire going for the other two and then gather more."

After periodic flint strikes against a sharp rock, a fire roared to combat the chilliness, subsequently, he went to check on his Timberwolves.

'Time to make sure I don't have frozen logs.'

Robert saw the heap of furs and other things he gave his Timberwolves to stay warm at night and to his astonishment, the wolves were using them among the mass of various furs one wooden head had been peaking through.

Reaching over and gently bobbing the head a soft growl reached his ears showing that they were indeed still alive.

Opening one green eye the wolf huffed before
burrowing deeper to hide away from the cold grasp of the wind. Shaking his head, he just shrugged even though they couldn't talk their message was clear.

~Too cold to help you sorry,~

"Well better than being completely alone, thank you for not disappearing on me," Robert added while they buried deeper trying to hide from Winter's embrace.

"Alright, I'll go and get the firewood myself so you both can stay warm in the meantime." He offered to his wooden companions, leaving the massive hall and heading for an exit. Once outside in the courtyard, Robert saw the state of it.

It wasn't spared by the soft blanket of snow and on top of that it was still snowing, making him smile softly as a boy.

He loved Christmas and right now he would love nothing more than to make a snowman, and now that he was 19 he could drink privately but due his current predicament human laws most likely didn't apply here.

Even though he boozed when he was far younger with his grandparents, who would offer him wine and other low-alcohol volume beverages during dinners, and other more important events.

"Huh, who knew I would spend my first ever white Christmas alone." He spoke, then slowly shook his head.

' Jeez Robert, That sounds depressing. Even for you,'

Regardless he had to get more wood first, his childhood awe could wait.

Stepping out from his stone gate he spotted a present resting on a veil to keep it from getting ruined.

Upon closer inspection, the gift was rather big with green and red wrapping paper, along with a pink bow on top sealing the contents inside.

'The Ponies know where I live now? Why would they give me a gift? I thought they saw humans and even myself as Stupid lesser beings. Or is this an attempt to lure me into a false sense of security with them, and boom! back into the pits, I escaped all those months ago.' Looking left, then Right, and not spotting a soul in sight. Robert bended down to pick up this gift, that's when he spotted the little note hanging from the top wrapping.

Gently flicking the note open, Robert began to read its contents.

~ A species who has existed before the power of the sun and moon, Favored by the gods of old. With a kind and gentle temper and not so easily angered, your time was cut short by the newer races of Equus, and we kindly ask for your forgiveness.

We have heard your heart's warming melodies, filled with such dismay and sorrow while others are narrowly cheerful and hopeful. We know this year will be quiet and difficult for you, with no friends, not even a lover's Embrace to ease the sorrow.

So we offer this present to ease this winter's misery. However, next year will most definitely be a much different and brighter story. ~

Flipping the note over, Robert saw three names written on the back of the note. Aurora, Bori, and Alice.

'Why are their names identical to the northern lights? And what do they mean next year will be a different story?' shaking his head Robert simply opened the box to reveal a massive drinking horn with a cover already inside of the Hollow inside.

Opening the horn he found another letter.

~Why are their names identical to the northern lights? And what do they mean next year will be a different story? And yes this was made to be attached to your pants.

Don't forget it cleans via magic so if you want it clean leave it empty for a day or two and it's good as new. I just hope you don't mind the dust that's been building for a couple of centuries! ~

However, the culprit named Alice left her name on the front this time, taking his gift inside. Robert would test its ability to be a useful vessel for holding water or liquor, beforehand he washed out the horn. Not wanting a mouth full of dust; oddly enough it held a worthy amount of his altered spirits.

Fastening it to his side, Robert looked at his other horn he had. True it wasn't a drinking horn but in his mind, it would complete the look just a bit by having both on him.

Picking it up, and attaching the other horn to his crude belt he reached over and grabbed the tiny mirror.

Looking at himself in the tiny mirror, he began to ponder.' I think it looks good on me, sadly I can't get a second opinion, so with that distraction dealt with time to get firewood.'

Heading back out, with the small gift in toe, did fill him with much-needed Christmas spirit. To help him through this holiday alone. While he walked, Robert decided to hum a Christmas song. 'Walking in a winter wonderland.'

Once done with that he continued down the list that brought him the most joy as a child while gathering wood, up next was 'Then Rockin around the Christmas tree.'

Stopping on one of many cliffs within the snow-covered Everfree, Robert had a clear view of Ponyville and with his free hand grabbed his brand-new horn undone the lid, and took a hearty gulp.

"God I love Christmas, especially with a stomach full of liquid courage!" releasing a heavy sigh, Robert smiled, he could faintly feel a tingle from his prized liquor.

'That should keep me merry, while I gather this darn wood.' Since it was Christmas, he decided to take a long way home just to enjoy the forest at this time of year.

It had no predators or prey awake for him to hunt or eat so those supplies the ponies gave Robert saved him this year, hopefully, next year he'll have something planned.

Nonetheless, entering one area he knew where plenty of trees had fallen or had lost their branches, Robert planned on taking as much as he could carry.

However, a small group of humans had blocked his path. 'The hell are Equestrian humans doing way out here? This is Timberwolf and Manticore territory. Last I checked, the humans of this world stay far from here if they can help it.'

Deciding to watch them from his current distance it was evident these humans were sick with something, setting down the lumber Robert had grabbed two sticks, and proceeded to clang them together, making them turn towards him.

However, they didn't approach, having been fooled into thinking a tree branch fell and wasn't knocked together. 'What the fuck, Are they even human anymore? They have more in common with zombies than people who are suffering from an illness.'

Their eyes, if you could even call them that, were yellow. And deeply sunken in, They also had Varicose veins, but instead of being in one area or even two, they appeared all over their bodies which could be a sign of decay. Not to mention their tongues had been sticking out and were as black as coal,

'I need to get my club or something to burn these things with if they attack me, whatever they are carrying inside of them I want no part of.'

Picking up his gathered resources with haste, he prepared to leave them when a raspy and rather forced scream, rang out to his right. Glancing over Robert spotted a teenage human who was suffering from the very same affliction.

'Shit.'

In an instant, she charged him shambling at first but it evolved into a full-on sprint, before he knew it the infected human was upon him climbing his leg; reaching his knee at frightening speed, she began biting down on his thick-furred pants, they weren't pierced, by her rotting mouth.

"Get the hell off of me!" he snarled, grabbing the small human and tossing it away not trying to hurt them.

However, it didn't have the desired effect, and instead, he had a group of five diseased humans climbing his body attempting to reach somewhere above Robert's legs, or trying to bite or claw him with their nails.

'I'm no doctor but These humans are showing signs of rabies. I could be wrong but I am going to treat it as such, don't you little shits bite or claw me.'

Not wanting to discover what their goals were, he tossed them off until he impaled one by mistake, the sounds of rotting flesh and bone being pierced on a tree branch, echoed forth grabbing his attention.

Watching it wheeze and cough a dark cloud, the undead man slowly struggled to free himself from the branch while its black viscous blood oozed out, all of those signs made it clear to Robert, that these humans had died long ago, just the body was being controlled by a virus or disease of some kind.

"This world has zombies now too, you gotta be shitting me!" throwing two off his pants with a great deal of force, he was finally done with trying to flee if they wanted to eat him or infect him, Robert wasn't going to make it easy for them.

He ripped one undead off of his pelt shirt and simply smashed his head, which required far less pressure compared to a healthy human skull. Dropping the recently killed horror, Robert did his best to kill them without trying to get bitten or scratched.

Once all of them were dispatched, decomposing end trails slid off his hands with a mucus-like consistency. The fragrance it produced was beyond Rancid, a cross between rotting food waste and road kill that had been out in the summer sun for too long.

'Mother of god that fucking stinks!'

Shaking them off, and rubbing the foul-smelling crap off onto neighboring trees, to remove it. The giant began checking his body for any cuts or bite marks that they might have caused; finding none he began his way back, not sure what to think.

'I'm not going anywhere without my club. If extreme damage can kill these things I would rather keep them at club length.' Following his tracts back, snow crunching below Robert's feet he forgot the main reason why he left his home in the first place; this new subject had completely shaken him to his core.

Arriving back at the ridge, Robert scanned the Ever-free for potential threats along with collecting his thoughts.

'Ok, I'll head over to Zecora's and check on her if she needs help. I can kill any that have made it to her tree home, another thing, I also have pretty thick clothes. After all, I may be the only one suited to handle this outbreak.'

Glancing westward, Robert spotted something moving towards Ponyville, from the bowels of the Ever-free something was advancing towards the town. As large trees had been knocked down or propelled out of the way.

'Whatever that is, they can't handle it on their own. Let's call a spade a spade, and say they need my help this time.'

Reaching over and grabbing his horn, Robert breathed in as much air he could fit inside of his lungs before blowing it out, his first blast did nothing from what he could see making him annoyed.

'Damn these Ponies are dense.'

Repeating the process two more times he tried his best to warn them of the situation but from what he could see no one believed his warning.

'To hell with this, I'm going down there myself.' Taking a few steps back Robert stored the sentry horn before quickly shifting into a sprint, while Robert stomped through the forest making the barren trees shuddered. Along with shedding there respective snow build-ups, from the force of his running.

Getting closer to the town his ears picked up the sound of bells tolling, followed by undead cries, pushing past the last few trees, Robert found what had attacked Ponyville.

Lunar guards and some day guards were doing their best at keeping the infected away, one attack that surprised even Robert was a night guard who stabbed a zombie through the eyes with hoof blades, effectively killing the undead terror.

'And here I thought, Ponies weren't capable of real violence.'

Despite their valiant efforts, the dead were pushing them back. The dead pushed into the town like a wave of destruction and terror watching from the tree line a voice from his left called out to him.

"I see you showed up, took you till the end of winter but in the end, you showed. Since you always avoid us, I wanted to tell you sorry for the mix-up of supplies." The feminine voice panted out,

'I recognize that voice.'

Turning to look at who was speaking Robert found Twilight who looked exhausted, her coat was a combination of infected sludge blood and normal red blood.

It covered different areas of her body, along with a few cuts and bruises, watching her for this short amount of time. He noticed that this mare was favoring her left back leg, instead of being on both rear legs.

He of course grunted, and bent down to scoop Twi up and on her part, she didn't resist. Looking up at him Robert saw her Violet eyes staring back as she slowly spoke up.

"Thank you, Could you possibly help me back to my home? I might have sprained my leg trying to fend off these infected humans. " She said, while he placed her on his shoulder to rest up.

'You're not done yet, drink this.'

Reaching down, Robert grabbed his drinking horn and merely popped the cover off, and offered for her to drink from it.

She most definitely smelled it, making her nose scrunch up as her ears folded. "N-no thank you Giant, but I don't drink, but I do graciously appreciate the offer however, "

'You look like you're in pain, have some liquid medicine.' He mulled while Robert kept insisting she drink his altered booze.

Twilight would keep refusing until she released an annoyed sigh. " Alright Fine, I'll drink it. You're pretty stubborn, aren't you? At least you, and Applejack, have something in common." Leaning in close, she took a few hearty gulps to make him stop.

'I wouldn't do that if I were you, too late now I guess.'

Pulling away, the mare swallowed what she had taken, making her cough and hiccup as Twilight became teary-eyed.

"How in Celestia's name do you drink that stuff?! Not even a Minotaur can handle such a spirit. It's burning my mouth and Stomach!" She continued coughing and even began dry heaving on his shoulder.

'Can't take her grog! Note to self, Twilight Sparkle is not a party-going pony.' Robert considered, sealing his drink vessel back up as another pony joined the mix rather forcefully.

Slamming into his chest with enough force that could make Canterlot Mountain shake, Jasmine gripped him as best she could.

"Why have you been hiding? We've been looking for you for months! It's almost like you didn't want to be found." Whined Jasmine, climbing up his chest to get to his other free shoulder.

'That's the point of hiding, I didn't want to be found. The book did mention real Giants of this world are masters at hiding in plain sight.' He mentally deadpanned, as the thestral nuzzled into his neck and head.

"You owe me so many stomach scratches," Jasmine crooned, making Robert uneasy.

'I regret wanting to help Ponyville now.' Robert inwardly cringed, he still wasn't used to them treating him as a lesser being.

"Ahem."

Twilight coughed grabbing both of their attentions.

"I don't want to spoil the moment Commander Jasmine, but the town is currently facing slaughter."

'Maybe I was wrong, she can handle that stuff.'

Grumbling, Jasmine got off of him and coughed to clear her throat. "Apologies, Twilight Sparkle. I am sorry for what came over me. I haven't seen this specimen in a long time." Jasmine commented, making Twilight produce a suspicious stare.

"I assume you've encountered him before?" Twilight Cautiously asked, making Jasmine nod.

"We have; he's a really good stomach scratcher. I've tried to substitute it with humans but they just can't compete! Surely he's given you some scratches before? Maybe back scratches even."

Jasmine remarked, towards Twilight who fell silent after taking care of her, Jasmine turned her attention back to him.

Giving him a big smile, she showed her small fangs off, to seem less threatening. "You gave her Highness a big fright, all that time you've been hiding, I must admit she almost believed you were dead, or even worse."

Jasmine snickered, her tail swishing left to right, while her bat wings lazily flapped to keep her in the air, Her head buried into his chest.

Twilight seemed to avoid Jasmine on that certain topic of back scratching, as her tail began swishing on Robert's shoulder, thankfully. Out of the bat pony's point of view regardless Robert felt her tail moving.

Deciding to change the subject and also gain back control over her tail, Twilight promptly picked a topic that was bothering her.

"From what Celestia has informed me her Sister wasn't in the best of shape has she improved?" Twilight inquired, making Jasmine nod still face planted into his chest.

Pulling her head back Jasmine replied, "Princess Luna, has greatly improved from her early predicaments, do not worry about it."

Turning left Robert saw something most terrifying: a human nearly his size shambling towards Ponyville with a group of infected following close behind as a log had been glued to its hand which made Jasmine tense up, her ear was pointed in its direction showing she was closely listening.

"Big guy, down here."

She calmly asked, looking upwards toward him. As she slowly crawled up his chest, until reaching his face.

After grabbing his attention, she gingerly pointed towards the lumbering undead giant, "That Giant is a very bad one, he hurts Fillies and eats them." Jasmine fibbed, trying to get his help and in turn, Robert saw this as his way in.

'Thanks for giving me a way to help your town without seeming intelligent.'

Giving a deep growling sound, that seemed to have frightened Twilight. Who had never encountered an 'agitated' giant before, as her tail when almost stiff as a rock, similarly to a cat being frightened.

As he gently grabbed Jasmine and placed her down another Lunar Guard arrived who bore even more bad news.

"Commander, the town is going to fall! Their numbers know no end and our troops are either injured or experiencing combat exhaustion. Or protecting the town residents,"

"It's alright Lieutenant, I just acquired some prominent support," Jasmine said sheepishly. Making her underling rub his face with his lavender-themed hoof guard.

"I mean no disrespect Commander, but how is an oversized dumb animal going to assist in Ponyville's defense? He doesn't even have a weapon on him."

The Stallion questioned, however, Robert made another deep growl this did make the Thestral stop. For a second, from his prey instincts.

'Buddy if only you knew. I feel dumb doing this but hey, it's working.' Robert pondered not amused.

As Robert stood there, the night themed guard stood there looking up and down at Robert. As if the stallion was mentally checking off boxes on Robert's combat ability.

"I know you weren't there during the raid on the Newport district Lieutenant, I have seen what he's capable of." She said pointing a hoof back towards Robert while she continued to speak.

"With his help, we might just survive the onslaught these infected are attempting to do; true he may not have hoof blades or sword's like us. But I've heard and seen reports from the detained pit-fight workers and some I interrogated myself. He's a one-Giant army, especially when he's pissed. So I riled him up, you also didn't looked into private 'Strong Waters,' autopsy report. I rather we not have a sequel to what happened in Canterlot, Inform every remaining Guard we have not to attack him."

Gradually her officer nodded. "At once Commander," he turned to leave but Jasmine wasn't done with her associate.

"Now tell me that messenger made it to Canterlot," Jasmine asked calmly, while Robert stormed off following the undead giant as Jasmine and her officer's talking became less audible to him.

"They did. We are receiving full support from Canterlot, we just need to hold out, ETA-" her lieutenant provided, making her rub her temples with her hooves.

'The way she was rubbing her face tells me were on our own.'

Robert entered the outskirts of the small town and pushed past a house he spotted the tracks it left, from the looks of it. The undead beast was barely lifting its legs, and if anything didn't seem to care about being tracked.

'This is going to be an easy kill.'

He mulled, looking around he saw the state of the town.

Ponies before the attack seemed to be enjoying this day with all manner of festive items, decorated homes, and businesses. One little cottage had a tree in the window with a pony holding a star perched atop it, and plenty of gifts some open, under the small tree. However, this is where the fun and tranquility ended.

Most homes had their windows covered to conceal the movements of the inhabitants inside. The silence was defying minus the wind blowing, Robert was about to start humming to add sound to the silence, before remembering who was on his shoulder.

'Forgot Twilight was on my shoulder, and here I thought I was going to have fun today.'

Coming upon the intended target made the mare on his shoulder tensed a bit, having never seen an undead giant before and credit where it was due never had Robert. The group of humans it traveled with had dispersed into Ponyville, so this was going to be a one-on-one fight.

Having heard him, the undead creature turned and locked gazes with him, with its rotting eye sockets before releasing a forced but guttural roar, its vocal cords straining to even work after a few thousand years of being frozen and slowly thawing into decay.

'Come on you undead sack of bones, and rotting flesh fight me.'

"C-can you put me down for Celestia's sake?!" Twilight begged terrified of the monster before her, as she tightly latched onto his shoulder.

Sadly, Robert couldn't grant this request as the rotting body charged with frightening speeds, lifting its large club and showing where it would attack from.

'Sorry Twi, but you're stuck until we're finished.'

Robert thought slightly feeling bad for Twilight who was debating if she could survive jumping off of his shoulder to get away.

Deciding on meeting the beast halfway, the monster tried to crush Robert's head with an overarch slam with the club. But seeing the mode of attack, from a mile away, he grabbed the club and pinned the log against his chest, making it so the undead giant couldn't use it.

Yet like a switch, Twilight changed her opinion upon spotting something as informational. "Wait, stop! This is valuable information I can gather."

Twilight pleaded momentarily beginning to study the two as she began talking to herself, "The undead Giant is far smaller than the living one; it only comes up to his middle chest area, maybe even lower? Which means that Giants have undergone some kind of evolution or possibly even devolved. If this is true, that makes the older generations even bigger than younger generations."

'Really?! You do this now? I'm now considering tossing you into that frozen fountain. Maybe the cold water will shock some sense into you.'

Robert contemplated, while the undead beast roared in rage trying to pull its weapon free from him, seeing that it wouldn't be returned, it lurched forward trying to bite him, making Robert shove the undead creature so hard it fell over, making the ground shake from its fall.

"I wasn't done!"

Twilight wined, showing that no matter the situation she still liked to study and document things. Remembering where she was and the situation they were both in. She quickly went quiet.

Watching it for a moment Robert watched how it struggled to even get up making him grin. 'Maybe I was wrong? If they can't even get back up on their own how is this even a fair fight?' '

Walking over with a few large strides, Robert needed to be quick for how he planned on re-killing this undead beast.

'Die Eldritch Horror!'

Lifting his left leg high, he simply brought it down stomping the dead giant's head in; the resulting crunch, and the cold decomposing brains and skull fragments covered his foot made him shutter. As it clung to his flat foot like rotten clumped-up gelatin.

"Sweet Celestia, I think I'm going to be sick!"

Twilight yelled out her face a deep shade of green as her cheeks puffed up with what he assumed to be bile.

Robert on the other hand was desensitized to it, as killing was nearly a common occurrence for him, but he did agree with her.

'That was pretty vile, but why is she disgusted by this? It's just how the world works. Things kill one another to survive, especially Carnivores and Omnivores, or it could be that Giant's grog I gave her finally kicked in?'

While he wiped his foot off in a mound of snow the rotting corpse of a giant merely fell apart, the magic that held it together was unable to fulfill its task after the death of its host.

His ears heard the sounds of Twilight struggling to swallow what came up, but once she got it down she spoke up. Her voice was raspy and hoarse from what narrowly Twilight avoided.

"S-sompony planned this? Who would do such a thing against the town of Ponyville." Twilight said, still green in the face from watching Robert's act of mercy.

'That's for you to figure out and decide, I'm just the added muscle because your town needs it.'

Reaching up, and setting her down on the solid earth below, her luck had run dry as it came up one final time.

However, being on solid ground Twilight was finally able to hurl, making him nod; grabbing the club from the dead hand of its previous owner. And decided to arm himself, while the Mare beside him emptied her stomach.

'Better out than in, I suppose. And I'm not in the mood to be puked on. So if Miss Sparkle, has anything left in the tank she is going to be hand-carried.'

Deciding on carrying the mare in his free hand instead of his shoulder, Robert scooped her up in his free hand and took her towards her tree residence. Along with seeing the carnage the undead had wrought.

He found many dead infected humans, some had two claw marks going through or fully around their heads, others had spears stuck into their skulls, others were slain via magic if the puddles of rotting flesh and ash were anything to go by.

'Damn, I thought those shocking spells were painful. Thank god I'm not on the receiving end of these spell casters, Glad they're on my side for a change.'

Finding the treehouse, Robert reached up and plopped the drunken Mare on the balcony; she seemed stunned, even surprised about making it home so quickly. "I-i'm home? I didn't want to go here, I wanted to go to the zoo!" Twilight drunkenly rambled which was starting to amuse Robert.

'Can confirm she is a lightweight.'

"Twilight what happened to you? If you had touched her, I swear I'll make you regret it!" Spike warned, but one deep growl from Robert, made the baby dragon quickly double back, forgetting his size to the giant.

"U-uh I need to go!" He stammered, grabbing Twilight who finally began to speak.

"Spike- *hiccup* take a note. *Hiccup*," she said as Twilight's word slurring slowly worsened, Robert had left to handle the more primary issue.

'Even though I find Twilight extremely entertaining when she's intemperate I need to help in the town's defense.'

Gripping his newly acquired weapon Robert made his way over to the more battle-contested parts of the town which was around the town hall and the nearby marketplace.

Turning the corner he found a horde of undead being swarmed by a mix of Lunar and day guards who were stabbing, shooting crossbows bolts and even casting spells in an effort to take the endless horde down.

"Why in Luna's horseshoes is he here!"

Hissed a Royal Guard while his unicorn companion spoke up. "Who cares? I'll take that thing over a standard human handler any day! If we had human support this would go much faster than currently, but that's the main host of the disease Lance Corporal." The mare called back, as her horn fired a spell that collided with an exposed skull making it explode in the process.

Lumbering passed them, Robert heaved the tree log up; then he brought it down with so much force those unlucky enough to be caught were crushed.

"Yeah! Just like that, Big guy! send them flying back to their graves! First class." The senior Guardsmare shouted, at Robert cheering him on.

'Well, if you insist.' He mentally joked,

Lifting it back up Robert swung the log as if striking for a low aiming baseball and the unfortunate zombies that were struck went flying, watching them for a moment. The poor sods that got hit went somewhere far off into the other side of Ponyville.

'Four points to Hufflepuff! And tally ho lads!'

He grinned, watching the undead knowing they weren't going to survive the fall, despite the current situation Robert was keeping count of how many zombies he was putting down making this into a game that only Robert was playing.

While he physically kept them at bay, more Unicorns and Crossbow welding Thestrals had arrived, shooting around him to avoid reproducing the same accident back in Canterlot.

"I don't wanna get on his bad side." Said a Crossbow wielding Thestral to his right who shuttered, watching the infected fall to their deaths.

This made Robert grin as he mentally responded, 'You're goddamn right you don't want to.'

Progressing forward to secure more territory for the ponies, he spotted something that made his blood boil, these undead bastards were eating humans alive.

'Sorry champs kitchens closed.'

Stomping forward Robert slammed the small group off of the human and crushed the undead into the wall of the cottage nearby.

Someone gurgling, reached his ears. It originated from where the undead were initially, from what he could see. The human those zombies were feasting on, was very much still alive and currently choking to death on blood.

'How is this person even alive?! They're turning the snow around them red for god's sake.'

The mauled man had a look of fear on his disfigured face, from what Robert could see. His right eye was ripped out and dangling; the person's stomach and chest area were clawed at, and chunks of flesh were missing. And blood was gushing out at an unnerving speed.

'I don't need a medical degree to tell me this man isn't going to pull through, the best I can offer, is a mercy kill.' Stepping over gently, Robert lifted his foot and quickly brought it down on the dying man's head.

'Better a quick death than a slow and painful one; But why the hell aren't these Ponies helping these humans? I figured they were better than Canterlot. Maybe Equestria Ponies are one in the same when it comes to humans, Uncaring and disingenuous.'

Taking a step off of the dead human below, he continued pushing forward. His previous Royal Guard companions had left him. Maybe they didn't dare push into this area for some reason, whatever it was Robert was going to find out.

This side of Ponyville was dead silent similar to a graveyard in the winter; the only company he had was that blasted wind it didn't want to stop so evidently.

Just then another familiar voice sliced through the never-ending silence.

"I'll take you all on!"

Shouted Storm Hooves, who were trying to fight three infected humans and one Undead giant, Robert soon heard Applebloom's response.

"Stop trying to be a hero! You're going to get yaself killed!" Apple Bloom pleaded, making Robert pick up the pace.

'What the hell is going on over there.'

Squeezing past the two-story cottage home. Robert was face to face with the small group of infected, however, one of them tried to get the drop on him.

Jumping onto him the afflicted human bit down on his exposed hand sinking, its rotting teeth into his club hand making him yell in rage. Grabbing the offending undead, with his free hand Robert snarled before speaking.

"Piccolo bastardo!"

He growled while rearing back and throwing the zombie across town he hoped wherever it landed the fall would end its miserable life.

Shaking his freshly bitten hand, Robert heard what he never wanted to hear; Applebloom was screaming bloody murder. Her screams had sliced through the howls of wind making his heftier heart stop slightly.

Turning to look to his surprise the infected humans had been killed, by none other than Storm Hooves. Regardless the poor kid's luck had run dry, as the undead giant without mercy had crushed the poor colt.

Storm struggled for breath, as his bones were crushed as it pulled him closer in an attempt to bite his little head off. In one final act of defiance, he managed to stab a dagger into its eye and from what Robert could assume the brain.

The giant roared one final time, starting to fall apart. Not wanting to let Storm Hooves fall, Robert rushed over and grabbed him from the disintegrating hand. As he meekly looked up blood coming out from his muzzle, Storm softly spoke.

"Everything hurts I can… Hardly B-breathe…W-was I brave Mr. Robert?" Storm asked as he coughed up blood. Acting quickly Robert dropped the log and then scooped up, Applebloom in the process.

'You got a lot of fucking balls kid, you got some set of Kastanyas on you, I sure in hell wouldn't have done what you did if I was your size today.'

Robert wanted to say that but instead, he just nodded and spoke more reasonably.

"Yes you were, do me two favors alright? Whatever you do, don't close your eyes ok? And don't go into the light; I-it's just a scratch. The doctors will give you a few stitches, and you and your dad will most definitely get ice cream to celebrate what you've done. " Robert comforted,

He began running through the streets like his rear was on fire looking for any kind of hospital, hell even a pony medic. This kid needed help badly, and he was slowly running out of time.

"Hey! What in hay feathers are you doing here? We're busy with something. " Shouted a prismatic Pony she easily kept up with Robert, as Applebloom answered.

"We need to get to Ponyville Hospital. Storm hooves is hurt plenty bad!"

That seemingly was the last thing Rainbow Dash expected, as she left his line of sight for a few moments before zooming back over. Her iconic rainbow trail followed her, to his left hand.

"Apple bloom?! What the buck are you doing out here? With him no less! Didn't you hear, Ponyville is under shelter in place."

"I know! But please in the name of Celestia look!" Apple Bloom pleaded, Robert's head was on a constant swivel. Looking for any markings that imply a hospital or clinic.

'Come on! Come on.'

"I'm going to break that big skull of yours! You oversized ape!" Rainbow Dash seethed, thankfully Apple Bloom stopped her.

"It's not his fault Rainbow Dash! He's trying to save his life. Lead him to Ponyville Hospital!"

Grumbling rather loudly she agreed;

'Thank god just take me there before this kid dies in my hand and you blame it on me!'

Time seemed to be moving slower, for Robert as he carried Storm Hooves. Who on his part was still alive, if only barely. The one thing that was worrying Robert the most, was him struggling to breathe. It started to get worse it even was on par with a death rattle.

Arriving at the front of the hospital, Robert saw the front doors were glass but had been blockaded by office items. Rainbow Dash did go ahead in an attempt, to get them to remove the blockade.

But once getting to where Rainbow had been standing, she rolled out of the way to avoid him as Robert simply kicked the glass doors, shattering it and dispersing the makeshift barricade.

Getting down on one knee, and leaning over, he thankfully didn't hurt the medical ponies inside. Without speaking or making any sounds, offered the dying colt to them, who in turn immediately got to work.

He also gave Apple Bloom over, sense this side of Ponyville seemed clear, getting back up Rainbow Dash was in the air blocking his path.

She seemed distrustful towards him now, way better than her previous encounters, with him which were all out of aggression. "I just wanted to say, Thank you. . .Pfft, what am I doing? You can't understand me for Celestia's sake."

'If only you knew the truth. Rainbow, but don't thank me just yet make sure that kid lives, to see another day.'

Getting in close, she landed on his shoulder and gave him a quick but thankful hug, Dash eventually spoke up.

"Don't tell anypony," she warned as Rainbow grimly laughed at her own joke.

Rainbow gradually pulled herself away before heading inside the hospital to do god knew what.

Deciding that his job was done if the sight of golden and lavender dots in the sky heading towards the town was any correlation he began his walk back.

Completely unaware of the blue Alicorn tailing him from the sky above.

Traveling through the Ever-free relatively unopposed, Robert was halfway home when a voice rang out in the winter-covered woodlands.

"Halt!"

A regal voice boomed from behind him, making Robert turn and look to see who followed him into the Ever-free.

To his shock, it was the Pony who brought him here. She seemed to be slightly more shy now that he was staring at her,

Taking a breath, she closed her eyes before composing herself, to begin what Robert believed was a thank you, little did he know it wasn't that.

"I Beseech you, Mighty creature of old, to accompany me back to Canterlot; There you will be cared for, and I will grant you protection. I swear this on the moon and stars. Let me repay the debts of Equestria's ancestors, tis true the betrayal they did to your kind was a truly unforgivable transgression."

Taking a risk, Luna began trotting towards him slowly, which made Robert step back. Making Luna stop dead in her tracks. "Please! I mean you no ill will; I merely wish to get closer. I have been liberated from the corruption that made me the Preacher of Nightmares."

Gradually, she continued her path towards him Allowing Robert to see Luna in better detail.

Her ears were folded flat, and her wings were twitching at her sides faintly. Despite the calm demeanor she had, that was the clear giveaway of Luna being anxious.

Soon the young alicorn was face to face with him, or in this case face to leg, the deafening silence made her speak up. "During my youth, Instead of doing my studies, I would read totems and scrolls of your kind, but they never readied me for this interaction."

'Alright, I got the message.'

Reaching down, Robert scooped The Princess up making her Release a soft gasp in surprise. Now holding the night-themed pony she clung to him like glue.

Something behind him began its approach growling and gurgling.

'For the love of all that is holy now what?'

Turning around while still holding the Princess he found one last adversary, making his hard stop.

'Who gave a zombie a sword?!'

Nearly dropping Luna for her safety, Robert backed up rather quickly which grabbed her attention.

"For what purpose, are you backing up?" She looked up towards him thinking he would be staring at her. Instead, Luna merely followed his gaze, making her freeze up as well.

"Giant please run! That is old griffon steel. It may look dull and rusty, but it is dangerously sharp!" Luna warned, as she unfurled her massive wings, then took flight Luna did stop to gently pushed against his chest to show he needed to flee.

Seeing that he wasn't leaving, she left to battle the creature making Robert want the sword even more now.

'I keep forgetting they think I'm as dumb as a pile of rocks.'

Having no time to search for a sufficient weapon, Robert decided to use his fists. Waiting for the window of opportunity he simply watched Luna, who in part was holding her own.

Luna had the speed and power, being able to avoid its slashes, and swipes from its free hand. Along with returning strikes to the beast with her might. It turned around completely, focusing on Luna giving him his opportunity;

Charging the beast, Robert steeled his right fist. Luna on her part, didn't know of his plan. So when she made the beast turn to confuse it, the creature thrust its sword forward, trying to skewer the alicorn but instead, it stabbed him in his right hand.

Releasing a pained howl, Robert reared up and punched it in the face. With his left hand, making it stumble a few steps back, the undead giant just wouldn't go down.

'I have an idea but I need something like quick clot to stop the major bleeding.'

"Stop this foolish mission! I asked you to flee, not help, and do battle against it!" Luna pleaded, as she used her magic to try and heal his hand from a distance which proved to be difficult.

Sticking his neck out he watched the creatures sunken in eyes lock onto the area in question.

The undead lurched forward, biting into Robert's neck but that sacrifice gave him the vantage point he needed.

Grabbing its cold hand he tore the sword away, and with the other he forced its old jaws open breaking them in the process, as blood ran down his neck.

'Got the sword. And what I just did was pretty dam stupid.'

Kicking the monster back, its grip on him was very weak to begin with, so getting free wasn't difficult. And with one final slash, he sliced the giant from head to waist.

Putting his free hand on his neck, to stop the bleeding Luna began her verbal foray.

"Why couldn't you heed my words! I was trying to protect you!" Landing on his shoulder she concentrated on a healing spell doing her best to patch him up.

Looking over, he saw that Luna was crying softly. No amount of magic could stop the disease apparently if her crying was any indication.

She stopped his neck from bleeding and disinfected it with magic, but a scar remained, gently picking her up and placing her against his chest he allowed Luna to let it all out.

They stayed there for a while, the young alicorn bawling her eyes out into his chest as he merely allowed Luna to calm down.

"I will stay with you T-till the end." She sniffled out, after what felt like an eternity of her crying, she looked up at him with her teary-filled blue eyes. Her blue orbs, shimmering with regret and sadness. Not to mention the whites of Luna's eyes were puffy and red,

Shaking his head, he gently walked back towards the exit before placing her down outside of the forest, showing that she should leave. Luna of course didn't take that well.

"I R-refuse! I am a Princess of Equestria, and I make due on my words!" she said, stomping her hoof on the snowy ground which made it rumble and crack.

Pulling the decomposing hand off his now new primary weapon, he drew a line across the snowy earth below, showing she wasn't welcome.

"P-please I ask that you reconsider!" Luna pleaded moving across the line he just made.

He pushed her back, this action made her release a shaky and uneven sound of frustration. Luna tried again and again until she released a whinnied out of frustration.

By the end of this, Luna was Looking at the ground, looking defeated.

'I think I can leave now.' Turning to leave grabbed her attention, that made her find her voice again.

"Please; if you survive, and spring dawns on the land, please leave a mark here." She softly begged, having a small glimmer of hope.

Sighing he returned and gave her head a gentle scratch showing he might.

Leaping up she hugged his chest tightly making Robert scratch her ears, making the mare coo in delight.

"These ear affections are far better in person, than in the dream world." She hummed, as the small ear flicked and twitched showing how Luna felt about them.

Determining that their interaction was over and that she wasn't balling her eyes out Robert gently pulled her off and placed Luna back across the line before disappearing into the trees.

Arriving back home Robert had the beginnings of a fever and other flu-like symptoms.

"I guess I'm in it for the long hull now."

Little did he know the next few weeks were going to be hell without any kind of medication or magic to aid in his discomfort.

'When Gilda gets back, I'll send her to get Zecora maybe she can lend me a hand here. Or maybe some advice on how to keep the fever down if it gets too high.'

The Griffin in question, wouldn't be back for at least three days, hopefully, he could trooper through it in the meantime.

Chapter Nine - The Path to Paradise starts in Hell.

View Online

Chapter Nine -

The distinctive, and obnoxious sound of a heart monitor was the first thing Storm Hooves had awoken to, his body was infuriated at his actions. If the dull pain was any indicator, slowly opening his eyes, Bright lights had blinded the poor colt. Resulting in him hissing in discomfort, trying to cover his eyes, and failing as Storm Hooves' limps seemed restrained.

'Am I dead, Is this the end?'

He thought, attempting to reach up to his face again with a hoof before a soft clang stopped him, and a mare's gasp broke through the constant beeping sound.

Sompony walked towards him, gently clearing her throat before speaking up.

"Can you hear me?" a soft, gentle voice called out but Storm Hooves couldn't see who it was.

"P-please turn whatever is blinding me off! l can H-hardly see." He hissed, clamping his eyes shut, from the bright lights while the same voice answered.

"Most certainly, don't worry about a single thing. You've been asleep for about two weeks, And if the first thing I saw when I just woke up was Celestia's sun, I would be burying my head back into my sheets too."

The kind-sounding mare piped up, her hooves clicking across the floor before a soft click echoed forth, and the blinds were closed slightly, giving Storm the ability to see.

A mare with a white coat and cotton candy-like mane stood their clipboard in hoof. "Before we begin, I shall tell you my name; I am Nurse Redheart. You are currently in the intensive care ward of Ponyville Hospital. We have you're file, thanks to your Friend Apple Bloom. And to be rather Frank, you're very fortunate to be alive."

Nurse Redheart said calmly, waiting for him to show that he understood. Once done with that, she proceeded to tell him what was wrong with his body. "Your Rib cage was broken all around; not to mention your internal organs were severely damaged, thankfully you got here just in the nick of time. If you hadn't we wouldn't be having this talk." Redheart informed, making his ears fold.

"And that's only some of your significant injuries, Mr. Storm, Your wings are shattered and must remain in a cast for at the very least two months, and Four before any kind of physical strain, same for your hooves. You're lucky surgery wasn't required, and whatever you fought didn't crush your neck." Shaking her head, Redheart decided to scold him soon.

"N-nurse, I don't understand." He spoke honestly.

Redheart simply moved closer to simplify it.

"Please be thankful for magic because it saved you." Reaching over she knocked her hoof against his forehead making him grimace at the action.

"Nurse, What was that F-for?" He inquired and she promptly answered.

"It was to knock some sense into you. What you did was very foolish, and you're lucky to have walked away alive and not carried out." She quipped, tail lashing, Slowly Redheart composed herself to begin asking simple questions.

The questions ranged from simple math that a pony of his age would know, to things like where he lived, how old he was, etc.

With a gentle sigh, Redheart nodded before stepping away and gently storing the clipboard on her back. "Your brain and mental state, from what I can gather, isn't affected by your injuries, I'll be right back Mr. Storm, so please relax in the meantime."

Turning to leave, Redheart walked towards the room door preparing to depart.

"Nurse Redheart," Storm said, grabbing her attention one more time.

"Yes?"

She said looking back and tilting her head to the side.

"Would it be possible for me to get something to eat? I am getting quite hungry."

Giving a soft shrug, the nurse answered back. "Your manuscript or your examinations didn't say anything about physical food, just yet. but to make sure you can indeed have it, I'll ask the surgeon and doctor just to be safe. Was that all?" She asked but he brought up another question.

"Why do I need a Surgeon? I thought you said I didn't need to do surgery." Storm Hooves added.

Shaking her head for a third time, Redheart replied.

"You almost needed surgery if magic failed to heal your wounds, the Surgeon would have stepped in to save you. Plus comparing a doctor to a surgeon, the latter is more educated on fixing internal organs, and structures."

Satisfied with the results of his own inquiries, Storm Hooves allowed his nurse to depart.

Leaving the room with a soft click of the door, Redheart left him alone with his thoughts, and that infernal beeping. As he tried to remember what had transpired, before being admitted into the hospital.

It took a while, but once the names appeared it made Storm jump up slightly in worry.

"Where's Applebloom and Robert!" The colt tried to leave his bed but the bandaged limbs refused to move; it appeared they were locked in place by metal stands to let his body heal. Not to mention how his limbs and body retaliated. The pain he was enduring was too much for Storm, as the young pony tried to stand or even at the very least sit up.

Soon his weak body buckled, making him flop back onto the bed with a soft thump, sweat all over his forehead and exposed parts of his mane and coat. Laying on his medical bed, he decided not to try and find them just yet.

The first three days without Gilda were extremely grueling, his immune system was forced into high gear making him hot to the touch instead of his normal temperature.

Not to mention him shooting out snot rockets the size of softballs and spitting mucus of similar volume, needless to say. Robert was grateful the moment his griffin companion returned, on the third day of his internal siege.

Explaining the situation in-depth to her as best as one with a zombie plague could, and that she should get Zecora to come here to help him. The last thing he expected was for her to be pointing a loaded crossbow into his face.

'For the love of god, if your going to end me make it quick.' Death wasn't something Robert would choose easily, but with the current state he was in he was considering it a great deal.

Yet she wavered, it looked like she was about to shoot him, and yet she didn't. "You should be dead. How are you even alive? Humans are the main carriers of this disease!" Gilda demanded an explanation encouraging the sick man to respond.

He struggled to answer her, the main reason was because of all the mucus taking up residency in his throat and mouth, and nose. "Y-your guess is as good as mine. . . I'm chalking this up to luck, and let's leave it at that; Look. We can quibble over the details all day. . . About me, being dead or how I should be a rotting reanimated carcass. . . Or you can do me a solid and fetch the zebra named Zecora, I would prefer you to pick that option as I've been suffering here for days."

Wanting to argue this further but seeing her landlord; and even friend, was suffering greatly the Griffin knew what her options were. Sighing she ruffled her feathers before speaking up.

"Alright fine, I'll go and get this Zebra, you're blabbing on and on about; but before I depart do you need anything? because, from where I'm standing you look like utter shit, dude. And in my honest opinion, the thing you need the most is a hot bath that surely will remove that damn stench off of you." Gilda offered, giving a massive sly grin, Robert on the other hand was less than amused by her joke.

"Bring me some water, Please. I haven't drank anything in days. . . I tried rationing it until you got back, but you can see how that turned out." Robert said before coughing up a glob of that infernal snot and spitting it against the floor to his right, where in turn the foul fluid splatted unevenly.

Appalled by this, Gilda turned away, shuttering slightly while storing the Crossbow over her side with its built-in sling, she lifted her claws up. "Easy killer, don't you spit that stuff on me, let me refill that glass bottle of yours." Taking it in her grasp and then flying off she left him alone once again to suffer in silence.

Returning roughly ten minutes later and with the bottle full of ice-cold water, the griffin offered it to him. "Sorry for any chunks of ice in there. I had to break the stuff on top, in order to get the water." Robert however didn't give a rat's ass, snatching the glass bottle he proceeded to begin downing its contents.

This surprised Gilda, but she didn't stop him, instead, she decided to joke around with her human friend. "Careful, I can hear you sizzling from how hot you are right now!" Robert didn't know at this point if she was either being a wiseass or just being honest with him; regardless he still drank the water.

Deciding her joke couldn't go unpunished, Robert had flipped her off, however, she returned the gesture in kind, which surprised him. "Right, back at you buddy," Gilda added, showing she knew damn well what it implied.

'I never flipped her off before, I guess Griffin's and humans are more alike than first expected.'

"Anything else dork, Or am I free to get Zecora?" She added. Showing she didn't like the idea of what this so-called 'Shamen,' had in store for her only real friend since the day Rainbow Dash blew off their friendship.

"That was all Gilda, please bring her here so that she can hopefully treat me," Robert informed, and without saying a word she took to the air with a few flaps, while the sounds of the Griffins flying became more distant Robert fell back into his unconscious state.

Robert's sleep was still sporadic, every time he fell asleep, the dark dreamless peace that it brought only lasted what felt like maybe minutes before he would wake up again, for the eighth time for the day.

This had happened so many times. Gilda and Zecora stopped telling him, how much time had passed, because every time, they told him he would just forget.

His joints were the main area of his discomfort, they were hurting constantly. While Robert's muscles weren't faring much better. Opening his eyes, and giving a few coughs he was greeted with a loaded rusty crossbow to his face.

"And a happy G-good morning to you too. I see, you're still not getting much sleep." Robert offered, before gurgling up a massive thing of mucus and spitting it off to the side. As it landed in the metal pot, Gilda was less than willing to talk.

"How do I know it's you? And not the Black Vine Virus, making you ramble!" She snapped, gripping the wooden handle slightly tighter, showing that she wasn't playing any games with Him, not to mention the large bags under her eyes.

"Test me,"

Robert said, his head pounding. Which made him grit his teeth, knowing what was about to come next, and that was a really bad headache. Gilda on the other hand seemed eager to begin.

"Very well, where did we first meet?" Gilda asked not moving the crossbow away, At its current distance, if fired, it could take out an eye and possibly stab his brain, yet he pressed on and made his case.

"You're the Half-wit, for getting trapped in one of my traps," Robert replied, gently pushing the griffin away and off of his frame, making her huff.

"I might just shoot you, for being a smart ass!" Gilda growled as he reached for his water bottle. Yet she stopped him again. Getting into Robert's way, effectively blocking his attempt.

Licking his dry lips he spoke up, displaying his annoyance towards her Inquisition. "What now?"

"Two more questions, then I'll let you drink." She said, smirking.

Sighing in defeat, he decided to snap back, at her. "Remember this when your Sick Gilda, I intend to give you the same treatment."

Irritated by his response, she stood her ground in front of him, wings flared blocking Robert's path further towards the half-frozen, drinking water. "Deewb, you're carrying an illness that kills humans within fifteen minutes, and the stronger stock a day later! I am hardly getting any sleep because of you."

"G-glad to see you still care."

Robert remarked as his head was still pounding and making him silently suffer, which made her scoff.

"More like I don't want to be eaten in my sleep!" Taking a moment to breathe, Gilda finally asked her second question.

"How did you and this zebra, Zecora meet?"

"We met at her tree hut. I found it while exploring the forest. And she discovered me upon her return from a herb gathering run." He answered the headache slowly taking full effect on him.

However, Gilda seemed to be more focused on the questions than his well-being. "How big were Nightmare Moon's flanks?"

That question nearly made his soul leave his body. As a soft blush took to his cheeks, thankfully his beard hid this reaction. "How the hell am I supposed to know that?! Do you think I was staring at her rear the whole time I was interacting with her? What kind of, person do you think I am?"

Robert asked, flipping the question around on her, making her smirk. "Just checking, to see how much of a pervert you are." She answered, giving a sly grin.

"You got what you wanted, Gilda end this little stunt, and let me drink some damn water. I'm dying over here, this isn't funny." Robert started getting annoyed by this now.

'I think Gilda is far more perverted than I give her credit for.'

Nodding she immediately left his path, allowing him access to his liquid salvation.

The first few times she did this, Robert saw this as Gilda getting back at him for embarrassing her in front of the field trip; but now, she was most likely being a ball-buster.

Snatching the glass bottle, Robert began downing it as if it dictated his survival, it cooled him down sufficiently, but not enough to end his headache.

'I would kill for a bottle of Tylenol right about now, hell. Even a bottle of Aleve could help me out here. This zombie plague is kicking my ass; but it isn't killing me, thank god for being constantly sick as a child.'

Robert chalked up his survival to his immune system being highly active in combating sicknesses, this one included. That or his body heat was slowing it down, Regardless Robert needed to cool himself down, and who better for this task than his companion, Gilda?

"Gilda, can you get some snow from outside and dump it on my forehead?"

Nodding, she stored the Crossbow on her back before going to grab a wooden bucket that Zecora left. "Sure thing, I bet five bits that it melts the moment Zecora put's it on you." She grimly jokes,

"I'm in a large amount of pain, stop it with these games," Robert said, dragging himself from his resting spot and moving towards the gaping hole of the throne room wall letting the cool late winter air blast his face.

The rigid air on his hot pasty face was heavenly, and Robert was content to just sit there until someone made their presence known, With a loud but tired yawn.

"AAhh~ you survived this night, Giant-folk. However your fever has still refused to vacate, thankfully I fetched a potion to remedy a certain issue you face, soon."

Looking in the direction the voice came from, Robert spotted Zecora, the savior of his second week of living through hell. "This damn Fever won't break, do you have anything that might help with that?" he asked as Zecora slowly trotted over.

"Mmm, Let's see if this potion works for a second time, if so be prepared to break some ice." Stepping over in front of him, Robert saw the zebra's attire She had on her black cloak, along with a mask covering her face he had never seen before.

"What's with the mask?"

he inquired, as she gently popped the cork out of the potion bottle.

"I've told you this before, but it appears your fever is making you forget. These clothes are for my protection, the illness you carry is far more aggressive." Zecora warned,

"Are you going to give up on me, Zecora?" Robert asked as Zecora made a sound of surprise.

"Never! You helped me in my darkest hour. Let me return what is owed, to a true friend in their hour."

Using a leather covering to protect her hoof, only when physically touching him, she aided him in drinking the potion. The liquid mixture tasted awful, the only way he could describe it.

Was a combination of rotting Watermelon, and gasoline. Robert could hardly even drink the stuff, but due to his current predicament, Robert drank it slowly and calmly.

Once it was all down he went into another coughing fit; Zecora had backed away in the meantime not wanting to be in the way of his coughing. "What did you just give me? That tasted awful, I've tasted dirt with a better flavor than that."

Arriving at a safe distance, Zecora removed her mask to speak unrestricted. "It was Ever-free herbs, mixed with a certain flower pollen that should decrease your pain."

Gilda returned with a wooden bucket of snow, and Zecora disinfected the articles of clothing. Before re-equipping them and taking the wooden bucket she began her approach, her hooves softly clacking against the old marble floors as she hopped up, And onto his chest.

"Just like old times right?" Robert asked but she stayed silent, focusing on breaking his fever.

Gently taking chunks of snow out one at a time, Gilda closely watched the female zebra place them on his head one chunk at a time.

The snow would melt within Ten seconds of landing on his head, stunning Gilda. "Zecora, did his fever go down?" She asked while the zebra hummed, and nodded.

Zecora would finish up giving Robert his requested snow, and she wouldn't speak until reaching a respectable distance away from him.

"My friend, your fever has dropped, it appears you might pull through after all." Zecora declared, glancing back towards him with a gentle smile, but it quickly faded.

"However you are not out of the woods just yet; given more time, you may be released from my care," Zecora spoke out, gently sitting down on a floor mat she made by hoof.

Robert didn't answer, but Gilda decided to ask for him. "And how long does he need to wait?" Gilda tiredly questioned, seeing that Robert wasn't a rotting corpse she did relax somewhat but not entirely.

Rubbing her chin with a hoof, Zecora determined how long he would need to stay there in isolation; Meanwhile, his joint pain had faded. Giving him the necessary relief to at the very most sit up.

"I would say, one week at the very minimum. But for a case like yours maybe even longer, it would be best to seek out the Ponies for help. I have limited resources, if you go, They might be able to assist you far better than what I can do."

Zecora suggested, making Gilda growl. "Those lame Ponies can't help him! If anything he's doing just fine here. At least if he stays here, they won't slice him open like a piece of cooked meat!"

"Griffin; you and I are hardly getting any rest, the bags under your eyes can be seen from the far
West," Zecora cautioned, but she would not have it.

Finally being able to stand, Robert stumbled his way outside, Gilda following close behind. "Robert, where are you going? You better not be going to Ponyville!" Gilda warned, making the sick human groan in annoyance.

"I'm trying to relieve myself! You know, number one? And number two. I can only do it after Zecora gives me that joint relief shit, so please go away. Unless you plan to wipe my ass for me? Or do you wish to experience me, 'changing flavors again?' "he said, an eyebrow raised.

Gagging at the memory, the female Griffin prominently departed. Not saying another word, leaving him alone, and finally allowing him to do his business in peace.

Once relieving himself for the day, Robert cleaned himself up in the moat water, before reentering the Castle courtyard. There, he would go back under the watchful eye of Gilda who had not parted with that loaded crossbow.

"You do know that Crossbow wouldn't be good after one shot right? If you think about it you'll need at least three, even five minutes to load another bolt into it, unless you're secretly a grand master in using crossbows, I don't see you getting far with it." Robert informed,

"You can't let me have any kind of safety, can you?"Gilda said, slightly annoyed.

And Robert only had one thing to say in his defense.

"No."

Huffing, she flew over and smacked him with the blunt metal end of the crossbow, Gilda again spoke up. "I'll be glad to bury this bolt in your skull if that's the case."

This grim game these two played, was his only form of entertainment during this sick period so he quickly reciprocated. "You'll be doing me a favor, just be sure to make it quick, and try not to make it an open casket burial, I would prefer a closed casket."

"I'll see what I can do, but no promises," Gilda answered, making him nod.

"Duly noted Gilda. Come on, let's not keep Zecora waiting."

Entering the shared throne room, fairly quickly Robert plopped himself back down just as the potion's potency lessened.

The not-so-welcomed discomfort returned, making him want to put his head through the marble wall to his right.

"Be back I will, and hopefully with an elixir to ease the fever's burden." Zecora quipped, giving a smile trying to raise his morale.

"Zecora before you depart, when will the sun rise?" He asked her, the zebra on her part looked outside, she silently began to add up how much time had passed.

"It is currently rising, dear friend, go back to rest. I will wake you when I have returned with your medicine."

Even though Zecora and Gilda were dead tired and borderline ready to end him. They stayed loyal till the very end.

"Thank you Zecora I owe you one."

Giving an exhausted nod, Zecora left the throne room to presumably return home. Leaving him alone with Gilda, who was barricaded behind some wooden placements she made. To hide behind, to sleep.

Laying his head down on a step, Robert simply got as comfy as humanly possible, before forcing himself to sleep which wouldn't be a good idea.

It took nearly an hour to fall asleep; Gilda's snoring helped him in this case, acting as a sortive, white noise machine for him. But when he did, Robert received an anticipated guest.

Opening his eyes within the dream realm, he found Luna waiting for him, in a way that she had been doing it. For the past three weeks when Robert was able to dream.

She was in her second, larger form. Wings flared and horn aglow, with what Robert assumed was a spell to blast him, in his dreams in case he was a zombie in this dreamscape.

"Friend? Or adversary!"

Luna boomed, gritting her teeth slightly hoping it was the former and not the latter.

Stepping back a good thirty paces, until her horn stopped shining, Luna began her approach. Every hoof step was deliberate and wary, she wanted to get closer. But the risk of him being undead was the main cause for these drastic safety measures. Her wings were still flared and ready, to get the Princess off of the ground if the situation called for it.

Thankfully his dream self wasn't affected by the virus, so Robert simply laid down on his stomach which was easier said than done.

Observing his behavior with curiosity, Luna gradually picked up the pace. "Most strange, demeanor for a creature that is supposed to be dead, along with having cravings for the living's flesh. " Luna mused,

Arriving in front of him she gently reached up. And touched her cool armored hoof, against his face, making Luna cringed, awaiting a negative response.

When it didn't come, she began poking him to see if that would trigger what Luna had been expecting. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, her poking him in his face with her flat limb.

'Yeah, this is getting annoying quick.'

Seeing that Luna wasn't going to stop, after the twentieth odd poke, Robert sat up and simply dumped the larger midnight Alicorn into his lap.

Luna wasn't expecting such quick movements from a creature of his size, if her gasping, and her sliding down his lap. Along with a loud, *THUD* as she connected with the dream floor was any idea.

"Warn me next time, when you do such an action!" Luna huffed; with one mighty flap, escaped his grasp, and decided to claim his shoulder as a landing zone.

Leaning over, and with all the strength she could muster, gave him a tight hug. To his surprise, the Night Princess was nearly strangling him, with all the raw physical strength she could gather.

"You're still alive! And you're still yourself, How is this possible?! I've conferred with every known human physician in Canterlot, even Manehattan. Both royalty-funded and Common doctors alike. And they all have verified, you should have passed by now!" Luna said her voice was almost hollow at the idea of losing him.

"However I may have left out some details about you from them." Staying close to him, the Princess did whatever was possible to embrace his neck. Fearing if she released him even just a little bit, he would disappear from her sight and never return.

'I appreciate your concern, but you're currently strangling the life out of me. So the virus you're fussing over will have the ability to accomplish its goal, with my corpse. So how about you just hug there instead?'

Reaching over with his other hand, Robert removed the clingy mare and decided that Luna could hug his chest instead.

"A-apologies, I didn't mean to use so much power. I was just very enthusiastic to see you alive. Would you forgive me?" Luna inquired, looking up at him with a look that could destroy an entire army through cardiac arrest.

Her blue orbs doubled in size and were shimmering as if Luna was about to cry, as her bottom lip quivered. Her ears were folded flat against her head, as some of her tears looked ready to leak out at any given moment.

'Sweet Jesus, she's pulling on my heartstrings; that face can cripple the morale of a battalion of soldiers.' Robert thought slowly reaching over and giving the Princess a soft rub on her helmet-covered head making Luna's ears twitch. And that was enough to set her off.

"We demand you to give thy more head pats to me, This is a Royal command!" Luna decreed in the royal Canterlot voice, to add that extra flare, she even flared her wings again. A large smile was plastered on her face, as her previous fake tears had all but miraculously vanished.

'Well; I'm convinced.'

Reaching up, Robert rubbed his ears to fix the hearing loss this overexcited Princess caused.

' I'm going to be stuck like this for a while. Hopefully, I can at least stand on my own without the help of Zecora and Gilda. When I wake up from this forced Petting and scratching session; I also wish I had ear muffs. Luna can be a little loud, especially at how close she is.'

Now that Robert was giving her what she so desired, Luna was humming and cooing, her tail was swishing left to right.

"Tia will be most envious of this~" Luna mumbled, as her body became puddy to Robert's large skilled hands.

'Let me guess, another pony who's going to nearly break my neck? Just what I needed, great.' Robert mulled.

Twilight had awoken fairly early, today this day was going to be a busy one after all, jumping out of bed. With enough speed that would even give Rainbow Dash pause, Twilight began brushing her mane and tail, as a jolt of discomfort reared its ugly head.

Grimacing at the twinge of pain, Twilight began to think back to a certain book that had warned her of infected humans.

'Due to the host being clinically deceased, the virus isn't limited by the control of the human's brain or the dying or dead immune system. Therefore It can push it to its very limit. Increased strength and speed has been reported.'

Another flare-up from her rear leg confirmed this medical study. "Y-yep it's been proven to be true in my opinion." Using some of her magic, Twilight simply conjured a spell to ease the pain, before going to the second bed of her bedroom.

Leaning over Spike, Twilight would nudge him gently to wake him, yet his dragon side was showing through as he refused to wake up.

Frowning, Twilight's horn suddenly came to life with magic as she simply made a large ruby appear near his nose, knowing it would wake him.

Spike twitched in his sleep, as drool began to form around the young dragon's lips, Soon his eyes shot open as he launched forward slightly trying to eat the prized rock; only for it to disappear before his eyes.

Falling to the ground with a soft thud, Twilight chuckled at his soft groan of annoyance.

Walking over and standing over him she beamed a big smile at him to jump-start his day. "Good morning, Spike. It's Friday! and you know what that means!" Twilight smiled at her assistant.

Yet he was less than willing to greet the day and Celestia's bright sun, "Shouldn't you be still recovering from that infected human that kicked you? The doctor said you must rest, he also emphasized the 'Rest' part." Spike grumbled as he began getting back to his feet, making Twilight back up along with reminding her about the medical check-up.

Twilight's face flushed red from embarrassment, she appeared to have forgotten her physician's edict. "I-i haven't! It's just there's so much to do, and me and the girls are the only ones who can do it." She offered, hoping that would persuade Spike to believe her.

"Sure,"

Spike said, clearly showing he wasn't believing in what Twilight had said.

"I'll go and start breakfast in the meantime, Please go and take a seat at the table, What would you like me to make you?" the baby dragon offered, rubbing the last bits of sleep out of his eyes, he began the slow stumble towards their bedroom door.

Opening it and going down the steps, Twilight followed him out of the bedroom but not down the steps.

Thinking for a moment, Twilight finally thought of what she wanted to eat. "Spike, if we have any more hay, for hay-pancakes. I will go for that! Also, hold off on making my plate just yet, I'm going to shower first." Twilight called down the steps making him nod to show he heard her.

Turning around, the mare entered her bathroom in preparation to clean her coat and other parts of her body.

Pushing magic into her horn, Twilight got to work making the perfect shower environment to clean herself, the window to the bathroom was shut and covered. So that any nosy male or female pegasi, that wanted to peek at her weren't able to.

But knowing her luck, it was just to keep Pinkie out. Like that one time, she somehow managed to climb through that very window during Twilight's, 'brain refresher showers.' After a large binge-reading, of one of her top ten favorite writers in Equestrian history.

Locking the bathroom door closed, she looked toward her bathtub. The tub itself was made with Ponies in mind, she used her magic to turn the water on, and to a warm temperature. Before jumping in and getting to work, she washed away all her troubles and worries, along with any dirt her coat collected during her sleep.

'Maybe I should gather Fluttershy, Applejack, and even Rainbow Dash. Then head to sugarcube corner? Hot chocolate sounds amazing for later today. If we go, I might as well get something for Spike. He deserves it after that little stunt I pulled on him.'

Standing there, in the stream of warm water Twilight remembered something, well not exactly something more like somepony. 'I wonder if the colt has awoken from his coma.' She thought grimly.

Lighting up her horn again, Twilight grabbed her shampoo, before working it into her mane and coat. The soft smell of spring flowers and lavender filled the room.

After letting it set into her coat Twilight simply washed it off with the stream of warm water before repeating the process but with a different cleaner for her tail.

Once that was accomplished, the Unicorn simply applied her heavenly knot undoing shampoo, to her tail and then washed it.

"There we go, my tail smells just like the rest of my body, but with no knots in it now." Turning off the water and climbing out, Twilight applied the ointment to her left leg like her doctor showed her.

Using magic to dry herself and then retrieved, a sterilized bandage, opening it, and wrapped it around her ointment-covered flank. With the sterile cloth as to not let it be smeared off, during the day. After that Twilight left her bathroom in a cloud of steam feeling refreshed.

Stepping into the hallway once more, She could smell Spike's breakfast. It appears he was hard at work making what he would eat, stepping down the steps, and making her way into the kitchen.

Twilight had discovered her little assistant had made her breakfast first instead of his which bewildered the pony. "Spike, I thought I told you to make your food first, why didn't you listen?" She asked while Spike looked back, not amused.

"I already know you aren't going to listen to the doctor's orders so I decided to just make you breakfast first to start your day. And what I wanted to make is going to take longer than simple hay flapjacks." Spike offered flipping the last pancake she had onto her small stack of a perfectly round stack of fluffy goodness.

Twilight could feel her cheeks heat up from her embarrassment, 'I guess Spike knows me better than I know myself sometimes.'

Sitting down with a soft thump on a pillow she dug into her food in relative silence, listening to Spike, who occasionally moved around the kitchen. To either clean something or flip what he made himself.

Twilight inquired to Spike, after swallowing her mouthful of food."What did you make yourself?" her answer was him, drooling at the idea of eating his creation.

Finally, he spoke up.

"Something new, I used the leftover pancake mix and some gems to make a pancake gem combination!" Spike tiredly said his long lizard tongue licking his mouth to stop the drool.

It was common for baby dragons to drool at the sight of certain foods, however, that behavior would fade away as they aged. So it was Twilight's reminder that no matter what she did to him, he was still a growing dragon who needed sleep and to eat.

Swallowing a mouthful of pancake with hay chunks she spoke up. "When you're done you can go back to sleep if you'd like Spike, you don't need to come along with me today, Plus tomorrow is the weekend."

But it seemed that Spike didn't hear her as a loud crunch of precious rock echoed through the small kitchen.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight finished her breakfast and Helped lessen the dish load for Spike by doing her dishes. Once they were done, she left to get ready to gather the necessary items for her travels in Ponyville.

Going back to her room she threw on a simple two-tone scarf, with yellow boots to protect her hooves. After that, she slipped her saddlebags on and put all manner of writing supplies inside.

"That should be everything I need, Let's make sure by doing a quick once over."

Twilight didn't find anything to be missing from her bags. If anything she found more room for things she could bring, now what should she bring to Ponyville Hospital?

'I should bring a children's book or two, that Colt must be going mad, just sitting there unable to do much of anything. That is to say, if he's even awake.'

Thanks to her association with Princess Celestia, and a certain older brother being Captain of the Royal Guards, Twilight was able to get filled in on the town after the shelter-in-place order.

A few businesses and homes were damaged, and surprisingly the infected didn't appear to make it towards the apple farm so the outbreak was contained in the left side and center of Ponyville.

And the few guards who had been wounded were minor and nonlife-threatening; except for one.

He wasn't exactly an official Royal Guard but still, his injuries were deemed the worst out of all those who were admitted.

If all that didn't make it obvious, a supposed, dumb creature saved the colt's life.

'We wouldn't have lasted as long as we did if he didn't show up.'

Twilight's tail twitched at her memory of that day, it was all a haze after a certain part something to with a horn. But she vividly, remembers their resident giant stomping the head in of one of its undead kin.

But the smell and taste of whatever was in that horn reared its ugly head, making Twilight lightheaded.

"W-with Princess Celestia's permission, and if I can get him here without the town going into a mass panic, I'll do my best at measuring his intelligence. But for now, let's find a book this colt might like to read. I think daring-do is the best choice."

Grabbing the aforementioned book with her magic, Twilight gently placed it into her saddlebag, before leaving her home and deciding to gather the three ponies she thought about earlier to help in this process.

The front door to the Ponyville Hospital was currently undergoing a restoration attempt, due to the giant's haste to get Storm into medical care.

"Do ya think the youngster is even awake? After all, he was banged up pretty good." Applejack questioned, snow crunching beneath her hooves.

Rainbow Dash interjected her answer. " After the magic healing, he fell into a coma. After that, they placed him in ICU so it's possible, he's not even up. It's been a whole week since I heard anything different." Her wing flapping kept Rainbow off of the snowy earth below, while she lazily followed the group.

Entering through a designated entryway made by the hospital, Twilight approached the front desk and gently coughed to grab the pony's attention behind the desk.

"Good morning. We're here to see Storm Hooves. Is he awake?" Twilight asked, tilting her head at the stationary nurse pony.

"I don't think so, but let me check in the system to see if anything has changed." Said the stallion nurse as he got up from the pillow and left, going through a door and into another room to check;

Returning after a few minutes the Stallion had a clipboard in his magic. "You're in luck, he woke up just before nine." This answer stunned everypony there.

Twilight's mouth felt quite dry at this revelation, but acting quickly she cleared her throat before asking a simple question. "Is he accepting visitors?"

Flipping through a few papers, he nodded. "It appears that the patient is allowing visitation. So if you all wish to see him he's in the intensive care ward; Room Fifteen."

Nodding, Twilight turned to leave. "Thank you, do you mind signing us in? We won't be too long anyway."

The stallion grinned before doing what she asked, Traveling down the many halls of the Hospital. All manner of hospital staff and equipment were moved around to stop the cold wind and possible germs from ruining its sterilized environment.

Rainbow Dash's wings grew tired and to give them a quick rest she softly landed, her hooves clicking against the two-tone flooring.

"There's the room," Fluttershy muttered while the group prepared to enter his hospital room.

Moving close Twilight gently knocked on the door to see if Storm was awake.

To their shock, the door opened outwardly and a nurse stepped out, closing the door behind her. Thankfully Fluttershy knew this earth pony mare.

"Nurse Redheart, how is he?" Asked Fluttershy.

Shaking her head the earth pony spoke up. "He's very much conscious, just the main issue is that Mr. Storm will need physical therapy to possibly fly and even walk again. I could be wrong and I hope that I am; But, it just usually isn't the case."

"Where are his parents in all this? Surely they gotta be worried sick about 'em." Asked Applejack,

"Sadly I am unable to disclose that information with any of you, you'll need special authorization about the whereabouts of his parents."

This action confused the small gathering of Mares however Twilight recovered first. "Do you think we could speak with him, Maybe even leave him a book to read?"

Redheart nodded a soft smile on her muzzle. "But of course! I'm sure he would love the gesture. The main issue is that Mr. Storm may need help reading it. His hooves aren't exactly available at this point and neither are his wings, but I need to ask you all one simple question." Redheart urged, stepping closer to the door not allowing them entry.

"Yes?"

Asked Twilight not sure what this question was going to entail.

"Have any of you had any interaction within the last week, with any infected humans or sick Ponies, Possibly even animals?"

Redheart examined each Pony of the group's facial expressions to see if they would be telling a lie instead of the truth.

"No ma'am, me and ma farm were thankfully spared from the attack. You can check me and my family if ya like." Applejack submitted, showing she wasn't going to be an issue.

Twilight shook her head, doing the same as Applejack. "I did assist in the town's defense, and I did get injured. But my family doctor has cleared me after a few tests and all I had acquired was a sprained leg and a few, but small cuts and a bruised side."

Flicking her ears to show she heard Twilight Redheart looked towards Fluttershy who began her case. "I-I never left my home during the Shelter-in-Place order. But to play it safe, I stayed indoors for three days straight to verify I wasn't infected."

Nodding Redheart Glanced toward Rainbow Dash, she appeared less than willing to answer, but everyone staring at her showed she had no choice in the matter, earning an annoyed huff from the multicolored pony.

"Gah, ok fine! I was also helping get Ponies to safety and I may have kicked an infected human in the head." Rainbow Dash confessed.

"Did any of its blood or any other fluids enter your body through cuts or deep lacerations?" Redheart contested,

Rainbow Dash, thankfully shook her head. "No, I wasn't infected, I'm more careful than that! I've experienced an outbreak before but not one with undead Giants in it!"

Satisfied with their answers, Redheart moved out of the doorway granting them entry. "All I ask, is if you're going to touch him, for any reason please use magic. If you have to touch him physically for any reason; please wash your hooves before hoof, other than that please leave any interactions with Miss Sparkle, just to be safe."

Finally gaining entry, the small group entered giving them sight inside the room. Glancing around, Twilight saw the essentials for a hospital room, especially one in intensive care, along with its soft peeps of the monitor including the bed and the pony they wanted to see.

"H-hello."

A small voice called out, the colt was wrapped in dressings. and half of his body was in a cast, and metal placements to aid in making sure the bones would heal in their proper places. Needless to say, Fluttershy had been deeply heartbroken by the situation of the smaller pony.

"May Celestia have mercy! What happened!"

Fluttershy softly shouted, nearly flying into the bed to get closer to the healing colt.

"Have they been dressing your wounds properly? Do you possibly need a drink or even something to eat or read?"

"I was told it was just a scratch. And I can't have solid foods not for a while anyway." Storm offered which made Rainbow Scoff.

"That's a little more than just a scratch kid, I'm surprised you're still ali-*whack* Ow!"

The resulting hoof hit to the back of Rainbow's head promptly silenced her, Looking over. Twilight saw her friend rubbing the back of her head from where she was hit.

"Don't ya mind Dash here, she's just overjoyed that you pulled through aren't ya Rainbow?" Applejack said, offering her cyan friend a side glare showing she shouldn't be talking like that, around an individual who's been admitted to this certain medical ward.

"U-uh yeah Yeah! I'm happy you're doing well." Rainbow Dash said, giving a smile to the colt.

Twilight stepped forward, moving toward the other side of his bed, Rainbow in the meantime shot a scowl at Applejack, behind a raised wing, for doing what she did.

Knowing Applejack and Rainbow Dash were silently killing each other. For something that was in the past, it made Twilight sigh inwardly, before pulling the cloth privacy barrier around them, blocking any view of her two friends in the event they challenged one another like the first time.

'I should have never asked them to come if I knew they were going to kill one another.' Taking a deep breath Twilight began a soft and warm introduction of herself and her friends.

"Good Morning, My name is Twilight Sparkle. This is a good friend of mine, her name is Fluttershy, and the two that are currently not inside of this privacy shield are Rainbow Dash and Applejack."

Twilight said, gently pulling Fluttershy away seeing her getting a little too close to him, which the nurse didn't advise.

"I remember you three from the field trip, minus Applejack but do you recognize me?" he asked, making Twilight and Fluttershy nod.

"We all remember you, But I want to keep this straightforward, and brisk. Many more Ponies are coming I bet, so us being here is just a warm-up."

Twilight eased, while in the meantime Rainbow Dash and Applejack stopped their silent war. And entered, adding even more ponies, to the little space provided.

"Do you mind answering some questions? I promise they're simple to answer and can be answered with even a yes or no." Magic flowed forth from her horn, as Twilight retrieved a quill. Some ink and paper to write with.

"O-ok."

Clearing her throat, Twilight was going to begin interviewing him when Rainbow Dash interjected by firing her own question.

"I'd like to know how the hay, you'd learn to fight like that! Your moves were impressive every time I saw you, you'd managed to take down some infected humans, and even a Giant!" She said Beaming, before quickly coughing lightly to re-compose herself.

"I'm asking for a friend of course," Rainbow added on to not make it obvious who this 'friend' was.

"My father taught me; he's a veteran Royal Guard who is an active Drill instructor. In Fort Dawnguard, and sometimes he sends me letters to see how I'm doing here in Ponyville with my aunt. The last letter he sent me was a few days before Hearts and Hooves Day, I'm not sure if he has sent me another one. During my time here."

The fort this colt spoke of, was in the top ten largest forts that Equestria had control over; it was able to withstand a siege for many months to even a whole year.

And if the conditions proved right, and if the defenders were well-stocked and had the hoof power they could survive even longer.

The fort's walls instead of being of common brick, and wood, like most modern Equestrian forts. along with outposts, it Was instead made of a strong paste when solidified, and was documented to be far stronger than concrete from the time of 'The Pillars.' However, it couldn't be replicated, and if it needed to be repaired a brick needed to be duplicated with magic.

"That's so awesome."

Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath, trying to hide her marvel at the old and rather large fortification.

"What about your mother? If you don't mind answering." Fluttershy asked as he fell silent, it seemed that this topic was a sensitive one for him as his quietness remained.

"If you don't want to tell us that's perfectly fine Remember, if you feel like not answering a question you can just tell us and we can drop that line of questioning," Twilight interjected, making him speak up.

"I would prefer that, thank you." Storm Hooves said slightly mournful of his mother. Now knowing that was a sensitive topic Twilight quickly changed the subject.

"No worries, now can you tell me your father's name? So I can tell my mentor and she can send word to him." Twilight calmly inquired, making him nod.

"His name is Lieutenant Strong Winds."

Writing the name down on a different piece of paper Twilight nodded, giving him another smile, "I have a gift for you." Twilight said, watching his ears perk up at the mention of a gift.

Even though he didn't say anything, the silent look he gave clearly said, 'What was it?' Opening up her saddle bag Twilight extracted the book with use of her magic.

"I don't know how long you'll be staying here but this is for you; I would have preferred to give you a book geared towards your studies to make up for the lessons you've missed in the schoolhouse. but I figured you wanted some action within your hospital room, even if it's just a story."

Showing him the cover Storm beamed a large smile and even attempted to sit to receive the gift, much to his body's continued protest. "T-thank you for the gift, M-miss Sparkle!" Storm Hooves said grimacing from the pain.

"P-please just stay lying down, your body is under enough stress as it needs to heal." Fluttershy reprimanded in her delicate voice, making him lay back down.

Gently placing it on the nightstand next to his bed the book itself was a copy of the first 'Daring-do' book in the series. "It's a good book, but I must warn you once you start reading you'll never want to stop! Remember once you finish that one I'll happily trade it for the next book in the series. I didn't forget you can't read on your own I'll be back later to get you started! " Twilight grinned.

After the gift was given, the interview continued well into the day Twilight now had her answers, but piecing them together was the main issue she faced now.

Deciding to leave the injured Colt alone for the rest of the day, Twilight and her friends decided to get something to eat themselves.

"I would fight somepony for a hayburger right about now!" Rainbow Dash mused aloud and it appears that Applejack agreed.

"I second that motion, Dash see sometimes you have ya moments," Applejack said giving her a teasing look that made Rainbow grumble.

"I was just being honest! Plus, isn't that your department AJ?" Rainbow sneered while Applejack's tail began to flick.

"Yeah, but there's a time and a place for it Rainbow Ya do well to remember that and maybe I wouldn't have to hit you the way I did."

"Girls, Please!"

Twilight interjected, breaking up the argument with her magic, locking the two mares' muzzles shut to stop them.

"If you two can't be quiet for five minutes so that I can write a report to Princess Celestia then I will depart and eat at the Library." Twilight snapped trying to focus on the important letter.

Finishing up the last of the letter in relative silence, Twilight teleported the report off to Spike who in turn would dragon fire the letter to her mentor.

Releasing a soft sigh, Twilight released her friends from her magical hold. "I'm sorry I just can't focus when you two are screaming at each other over something that happened nearly three hours ago."

"You're right Twi. Perhaps we should just apologize to one another and continue with our day." Nodding, the small group of friends traveled toward the center of town and instead opted to go to Sugarcube Corner as originally planned by Twilight, as the establishment they wished to go to was currently closed.

"Subject 3-J by himself, was able to launch four infected humans roughly, Thirty feet. Into the air with relative ease, nonetheless, Subject 3-J was fully able to handle and dispatch three out of four, undead Giants but at the cost of being bitten. It is possible that this Subject has survived but not very likely."

Currently, both Celestia and her sister were sitting through a military conference, and nearly all of the day and night, high-ranking officers were in attendance.

The meeting was about the possible benefits of conscripting the last Giant into the army of either Alicorn's service if he had survived his exposure to the virus. As the day and night officers did nearly anything and everything to convince the two sisters.

From reading reports of its abilities to the untold and pricey damage it did to the capital city, to even Pit fight documents describing how well he fought, they were doing their all for this attempt.

However, they seemed to be leaving out very few facts. Like him, being forcibly drugged with a serum, that was not recommended because of its high addiction possibilities.

'Strange; they are leaving out the fact that, of the drugs he had been drugged with, makes the user attack indiscriminately. Along with being highly addictive.'

Looking over towards Her younger sister who no doubt was tired, she seemed rather joyful despite it being noon, and yet her tail was swishing for most of, if not all of the meeting.

"I see your mind is elsewhere Luna mind telling me what has you in such high morale?"

Celestia inquired, but she seemed to be ignoring her, and yet her tail was still going left to right against her night-themed throne.

Making sure that Nopony was looking toward the to which normally was the case during these kinds of meetings, Celestia leaned over and discovered something.

Her sister was within her realm of dreams and had been for some time which amused Celestia.

'Couldn't sit through a nearly ten-hour meeting, huh Lulu? I think it's time her break ended.'

Her horn came to life and within moments, Luna returned with a Frightened gasp as Celestia more or less just ripped her out of the dream realm and back into the wakeful world.

"Good morning~"

Celestia teased as her younger sister's tail stood on end.

"Why did you do that!" Luna hissed, getting up before stretching as her older sibling answered.

"You've been in the dream realm for the whole meeting over the Creature you wish to protect and save, This is your opportunity to try and make it happen. Through the 'human handler division.' It would be the best option we could have hoped for, not to mention. We can assign more veteran handlers to him, once he is within Canterlot we can go over the greater details. Do not forget we aren't the only nations and empires interested in this legendary creature, so it is better we 'Claim' him before others do."

Celestia signified while Luna caught on, rather quickly. "You are correct sister, but what if Equestria is brought to war? We can not risk about his extinction."

"They are tougher than they look, sister, trust me. Equestria hasn't been brought to war since the Griffin Mountain conflict." The white Alicorn calmed before standing up herself.

"Officers of the Army of the two sisters, Hear me!" Celestia announced moving to the front of the room, along with cutting the meeting short.

"I and Princess Luna have decided that the last documented Giant will be added to the Equestrian army. But first, it needs to be brought here and must be checked if it is physically and mentally able to. Yet if it fails the physical examinations this will not be discussed any further. With that being said, I adjourn this meeting and ask that you all return to your expected duties."

While the senior officers departed Luna did as well with a loud yawn, a blue wing was covering her muzzle but it did little at masking her exhale.

"Thank you for resolving that Tia, I understand they are our Generals, and even best Commanders and trainers are the best in their respective fields. But they do act like foals sometimes," Luna said as she began her departure.

"I am off to bed Sister, I was having the time of my life before you so rudely interrupted me." She said huffing lightly.

"You need to give him a break Luna. I'm surprised it hasn't attacked you from how many times you've bothered it." Celestia commented following her sister,

"If he wasn't good at scratching, I would have stopped a Fortnight ago!" Luna remarked, which made her older sister the whole more curious.

'Time for some jokes, it is also time to see how my sister finds him.' Celestia mulled before speaking.

"Really now, I see your relationship has progressed well. Tell me, when will I expect you to be with foal? After all, I do wish to know when my younger sister's first child is born." Celestia winked at Luna which made the blue-faced Alicorn turn red.

"Tia!!""

Luna shrieked, completely embarrassed, At the accusation. "That is incorrect, and you know it! Human males, can not get a mare pregnant, nor can a stallion get a human female pregnant."

Celestia would have stopped torturing her younger sister if only her wings didn't become erect, and stiff.

"Which is explicitly true, sister. But what is to stop you from taking that male specimen to your chambers? Or possibly. Somewhere far more secluded,~ for some time in the hay mound.~ Maybe you'll try and offer yourself to him? All painted up in green offering symbols.~" She cooed.

By this point, Luna had turned so red that Celestia believed her younger sister would explode. Or even become a new star in the night sky.

A bright blue flash of magic later and she was gone, and that was enough to make her lose it again.

"Mother above that will never get old."

Despite teasing her younger sibling like this; Celestia had done it before when they were younger, like when she had her first crush on a Thestral stallion.

And another time when she was afraid of flying, and so on. Yet Luna was never the innocent one either as she found ways to get back at Celestia.

'Sister, you're just too adorable when this happens.'

Leaving the room finally after composing herself from a hearty laughing fit, Celestia made her way to the throne room no doubt many still sought, an audience with the sun Ruler.

'Hopefully, she can compose herself before the changing of the sun for the moon. '

Thinking while Celestia traveled through the marble halls of the Castle, what Luna had said finally made itself clear to her.

"That's cheating! She knows I grew up with those animals, I've missed those large hands the Giants were endowed with for ages. Next time, when I tease my sister I will not let up!" Celestia declared, her tail softly twitching.

Author's Notes:

Well, here we are! I am still very much alive.

You all may be wondering what why it is taking these chapters longer and even longer to make. Well, I start college in a week 💀 (fall courses)

And I'm honestly crapping myself, as my college campus is massive but I need to be up bright and early, to catch a shuttle over there.

I also have no idea what I want to study as I may only be there for three years so I'm kinda panicky on what to pick.

If you have any college tips I'll happily take them 🥲

Don't worry I plan to do spring classes next year instead of fall classes as I do not want to recreate the D-day landings with mountains of snow.

But enough about me and let's talk about this chapter!

If you find anything not grammatically correct or should be replaced by something more fitting, by all means, leave a comment and I will fix it when I can!

I'm not sure what to do for the next chapter but I wager an Idea will slam into me when I least expect it.

While I'm working on an essay or assignment most likely.

Anyway, I've kept you reading this note long enough I do hope you enjoyed this chapter I cannot wait to make the next one!

I'll see you all there! God's speed🫡

Chapter Ten - Finding some common ground with a certain rainbow pony through drinking

View Online

Chapter ten -

"One step at a time, just like that. See? You got this Storm." His physical therapist said calmly. Helping the young colt walk across the rubber mat with her wings keeping him steady.

The only nurse in the room was off to the side. A Unicorn was ready to catch him if his unsteady limbs buckled from this medical endeavor.

"The hospital doctors are very pleased with how fast your recovery is." His therapist added trying to boost his morale as they slowed down at a small bump that seemed to be put there on purpose.

Remaining steadfast, the shaky colt persisted. Making it to the end earning him a chuckle from a new voice.

"Now I know you are my brother's son. You have his determination, and resolve." Turning quickly, Storm saw his aunt, and Applebloom and her big sister watching from the hallway window.

"Aunt Snow berry!" Storm said, happy to finally see a familiar face and immediately he tried to make his way to her but the therapist stopped him.

"I don't want to ruin the moment, but you're pushing yourself too hard now. Please Miss Berries, can you tell me who else is out there?"

Nodding Snow Berry listed off who she knew outside. "A filly from his school named Applebloom, and her older sister. Along with a few of his friends including his teacher."

Flagging down the nurse in the room, she and the Physical therapy Pony switched places. And exiting the room the mare cleared her throat to grab all of their attention.

"A show of hooves to see who is for my patient." Watching the Mare counted up the group she began to speak again.

"I assure you all, he's very excited to have visitors but I am asking for Everypony to hold off till he's back in his bed. He's just finished his third round of Physical therapy. And it most likely drained his energy."

After his encounter and victory over the undead
Giant and infected humans, the town was very enthusiastic to thank him for doing what his father taught him to do.

Looking over towards his aunt, Storm raised a question. "Is Dad here? Or was he not informed yet."

Snow Berry shrugged, "If I know my brother, he's probably busy and hasn't received word yet of what happened. But when he does, he'll come to see you and possibly break your window if you don't open it fast enough." The mare kindly joked.

Getting levitated was an odd feeling, the same weightlessness as gliding. But that's where the similarities ended, soon Storm was floating through the clean and sensitized halls of the hospital, his entourage of a single relative and friends following close behind.

Arriving back at his hospital room the nurse gently placed him back down onto his bed getting him comfy before departing and allowing the small group in.

"How has it been, are you improving? The school paper would like to know." Applebloom spoke up.

Storm never thought he would be in the school paper and that made him slightly nervous."I-i am it's ju-" Storm tried to say, but Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo added onto Applebloom's statement.

"Yeah! You are the buzz of the school right now! Even around recess time, your name is brought up here and there. You might even be tackled the moment you walk in for class!"

This made, Snow Berry interject. "Girls, I'm sure Storm Hooves appreciates the info about what is going on on school grounds. But please, do not fill his head with granger. It will go to his head if you keep it up."

Blushing the three fillies stopped. Allowing for the more grown-up ponies to speak, this time Cheerilee was first to break the awkwardness.

"You'll be pleased to know Storm, You haven't missed much in the way of assignments and homework. But I do ask you, once you're able to. Begin catching up to the rest of the class, I'll even tutor you, once school is over to make your return easy and not too complicated." Cherrliee offered, with a warm smile.

"I'll take you up on that offer."

Storm proposed, making her nod her head at this reply, Cherrliee Moved over to his side of the bed.

Reaching towards her own saddlebags and retrieving a book she placed it down next to his third copy of Daring Doo.

"Impressive, you're on the third installment of Daring Doo already? Those books aren't exactly light reading either. Maybe I shouldn't worry then, if you're that fast of a reader just save all the questions you have, for when I Arrive to tutor you."

'More like I have nothing better to do.' He deadpanned.

Giving Storm a farewell hoof wave, Cherrilee left his room and presumably, the hospital. While Applejack seemed to brighten up the mood, knowing that school for a colt of his age was hard on them.

"Partner! You're doing mighty fine if I say so myself. At this rate, you'll make Big Mac come down here and ask you for help on the farm." Applejack said, trying to boost his confidence even further.

Despite the dull pain in his small body the hope his friends were giving him was enough to make him grin.

"I'm sure he would, wouldn't he?" Storm Hooves said making his aunt facehoofed slightly,

While she cursed Applejack for giving him a slight ego boost, the foals conversed about all the things they did today or the day before, anything they could think of; they talked about it.

Storm's aunt had left in need of using the bathroom leaving them alone with Applejack.

However, when the only Adult In the room wasn't paying attention, Storm pulled a fast one by grabbing Applebloom's attention so he could ask a persisting question that never seemed to dissipate, since first waking up in the hospital.

"How is Robert? Have you seen or heard anything from him?" he whispered.

Shaking her head, Applebloom spilled the beans in the same hushed tone.

"I can't say that I have, for all we know he's halfway through the Frozen North. I'll go check with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to see if Anypony else has heard anything."

Returning a few moments later she shook her head.

"They heard nothing," Applebloom responded, and somepony else responded in Storm Hooves's stead.

"Heard what?" Asked Applejack, making nearly all of their little hearts stop beating.

"N-nothing! We were just talking about the recent School paper! That's all." Sweetie Belle quickly covered, making her friend's older sister shake off her skepticism.

Deciding to quickly change the subject the three cutie mark crusaders did just that, "Did you hear about the Hydra that's been spotted near Appaloosa? Do you think it will attack the town?" Asked Scootaloo.

"The paper said it would be passing by, and that an attack wasn't likely as the Ponies there are being cautious of their movements."

Looking over towards Applejack she seemed to have lost interest in their conversation, seeing it as kids being kids.

Seeing this as an information exchange for a later time, they shook on it. And instead opted to just catch Storm Hooves up on what had transpired, after his discharge.

"Applebloom, It's time to head home. We need to help Granny Smith and you also have your chores and homework to do." Nodding her friends followed suit, stating their reasons for departing.

His loneliness didn't last long as his aunt finally returned giving a sheepish grin, "Sorry about that I didn't fall in, if that's what you're wondering. Just got caught up in some paperwork, for you that's all."

Giving him an apologetic smile his aunt sat down right next to him and gave him a big hug, being mindful of Storm's condition and casts.

"Now that's it's just you and me, can you please tell me why you ran out there? I thought I told you to come straight home or go somewhere safe when that bell tolls." Snow Berry berated.

"Please Aunt Snow, I've been told off for my actions so many times already. I don't want to hear it from you." Storm Hooves pleaded, making her anger dissipate.

"I'm not yelling at you Stormy, I just want to know the reason why you did it."

Thinking back to his time before he nearly got crushed to death, the reason popped into his head.

They were going to a secure zone but Applebloom was nowhere to be seen, and seeing that all of the Royal Guards were busy he decided to save her himself, and the rest is history.

"Those who've yelled at you are only trying to keep you safe. They also have a level head, Stormy. If the Ponies of this town didn't care, I think they might have even encouraged you to keep fighting."

Sitting up, she placed a hoof against his head. "You have a good heart, just like your mother." Before she flicked his nose and continued to speak.

"Just like your father, you sometimes forget to stop thinking with your heart." Snow Berry said, moving her hoof's location off his chest and moving it back to his head again. "And think with this more often."

'I-is hitting me, really necessary?'

After pulling her foreleg back she released a soft sigh.

"But in the end, I'm glad you're alright. All I ask is if you are trying to be a hero again, do it close to home. And not the other side of Ponyville, that has an active threat against it."

"N-noted."

He offered which made her smile.

Reaching over and taking hold of his favorite book that Storm Hooves wanted to read and she was more than ready to help him. "Are you ready to continue? Or do you think you can read on your own?" She asked, and the resulting nod was her answer.

"Let's see where we last left off, Shall we?"

Snuggling into his bed Storm Hooves patiently waited for the action-packed tale of Daring Doo to be continued.

While his aunt placed the book softly against his. Chest, Snow Berry got up and moved away. "Just let me know when you need me to flip the page." She said going off to a seat to relax. While her nephew, more or less dove into the book, an action that would make Twilight proud.

Robert POV

His head was pounding, slightly the world around him appeared to be in slow motion but Robert recognized the hell before him.

All around him the animalistic roars and wails from humans rang forth showing either bloodlust or drug withdrawals.

"Shut those bucking humans up, I'm trying to speak to our freak!"

'And there's a voice, I could have gone the rest of my life without hearing. Wait, I bulked up, maybe I can tear myself out?' Robert contemplated, before attempting to rise in order to try what he conjured up.

His body, strangely enough, refused to move like something or someone was holding him down and wouldn't let go.

'What the hell, why can't I move?'

Robert began to strain his own body, flexing his muscles, all in an effort to lift only one finger. His only reward for this monumental amount of effort was him violently shaking.

"There's my walking golden piggy bank! Did you have fun, you dumb rascal. Did you get it all out of your system?" said a Stallion with an expensive-looking twelve-piece suit for ponies. His face looked less than pleased,

'Oh great; a clown in a fucking clown suit, what does he want. Just my luck that he wants to visit me. Can today get any worse?' the stallion had taken notice of Roberts shaking, who in turn gave a grin.

"Somepony's a little cold I see~ here, let me help you out with that." Stebbing back a good eight steps, the evil glint in his eyes told Robert everything he needed to know, as the Unicorn's horn ignited and in a flash of orange light, the owner dumped ice water onto him. Once that was achieved he simply tossed the empty bucket away.

"There! Now you should be Freezing." He spat before going back to his original position, as the Owner leaned in close to make sure Robert heard him.

"If you ever Pull that shit again, I will cut your nuts off with a rusty pair of hedge trimmers. You don't want to end up like my last gold mine that lost its usefulness don't you bub?" the depraved pony affirmed with a look of pure disgust along with a sick and twisted smirk towards Robert.

Robert on the other hand was more than willing to pop him one, 'I'd like to see you try! If you do, I'll give you a slow painful death guaranteed.'

This back and forth went on for some time, the Owner making idle threats to disfigure him or remove most if not all of his little buddy.

Until a loud cry of a crowd grabbed his attention.

"It appears your time has come, get ready the crowd is seeking a new form of entertainment~ I'll make sure the 'little turds,' have something to at the very most cut you with."

Turning to leave the Stallion simply kicked some dirt at Robert with his back leg before departing.

'What a fucking prick, May god have mercy on him if I find him again because I certainly won't. There's no way I'm back in the damn pits, it's not possible, I remember falling asleep in the castle.' This concerned Robert greatly, if his recollection about him sleeping was wrong then he was in some deep trouble.

The roar of the crowd seemed to grow ever louder as they called for him, almost eager for his approach. Getting close, Robert could hear ponies chanting for him and proclaiming their own depravities.

"Tear their heads off, we want to see blood! And The sands filled with red!" Shouted a mixed group of Stallions and mares.

Yet, there wasn't the hum of magic to show he was floating. Nor the group of Unicorns that supervised in handling him, or transporting him to the pits.

'Something isn't right here, I may be wrong about the powers of Unicorns but they need to see said item in order to lift or move it. But I don't see any of them in the crowd,'

Looking through the bars, Robert scanned the crowd for any of the horned Equines with activated horns.

Yet he encountered a female pony who thought him glancing over her was reason enough to become flirtatious with a supposed dumb animal.

"Now that's a male, I would bet all of my bits on.~ I wonder if they will allow me to make him a 'salt lick.' Of course, I'll pay, if needed." The mare to his right hummed, her tail swishing left to right similarly to a cat finding its prey.

'Ok, stay far away from that Pony, specifically.'

Debating if being neutered was a better course of action than becoming a so-called 'Salt lick.' Robert was unceremoniously dropped into the familiar sands below.

Getting onto his feet he discovered something far worse than just humans killing one another, instead of the dumb more primitive humans of this world, it was children more specifically human children.

'These sick fucks want me to kill kids? Fuck that.' Before Robert could dispute if murdering adult talking ponies was punishable by prison time, a familiar voice sliced through the madness.

"Robert!"

Stunned, Robert again looked around trying to find the user of that voice, 'Gilda, Where the hell are you?' Looking left to right, up and down he couldn't find her.

She would shout again but this time everything changed.

"Robert! Wake your lazy ass up!"

This revelation caused the world around him to destabilize as it began to get darker and fuzzier as his friend helped break through the madness.

Waking up to a talon smack she seemed slightly pissed that he wasn't up yet. "Dude, what the hell. You usually wake up before me, did You Eat something you shouldn't have?"

Sitting up on his own Gilda slid off with a huff as Robert cleared his throat, before speaking.

"No? I was just having a nightmare; I haven't had one in a very long time, as a matter of fact."

Rolling her golden eyes, Gilda got back to her paws before speaking her mind. "Congrats you want a scone? A nightmare can't hurt you, Robert, even I knew that the moment I could read!"

Gilda proclaimed before jumping off of him and shaking herself out removing any loose feathers.

"I also expect compensation for not killing you, along with a little bit of 'interest.' in the Meat variety," Gilda said through her morning stretches. Even more loose feathers fell out in the process.

'I mean, I do owe her and Zecora.' But deciding he wanted to cause a little bit of problems with her Robert spoke his mind. "Holy shit you can read? And let me speculate, you can write to." Looking over at him Robert gave the griffin a shit-eating grin.

Letting out a completely fake laugh Gilda responded promptly.

"Hehe, Fuck you."

Gilda informed him along with showing she wasn't having it. "Now that you're up and your sense of humor is back, go out there and bring back some fresh meat!"

"Alright, Alright. Don't get your feathers in a twist. Why don't you tag along? You're smaller and faster, so you'll be able to get the drop on whatever I select to hunt." Robert offered,

Scoffing, Gilda told him outright.

"Robert I would like nothing more to hunt as much as the next Griffin, but you have to realize. I spared your ass, so this time you owe me. Remember all of that tender meat you were given? That was my Talon work,"

"Lazy fuck. And last I checked, Raw meat isn't exactly tender especially cuts of meat that are from working muscles."

Robert grumbled along Begrudgingly getting back onto his feet, then grabbing his bow and the accompanying arrows, and then his sword. Once all items were accounted for Robert left the old castle. Along with a certain pair of wooden wolves following close behind.

"At least you two always want to hunt. Better than feather brains in there."

Now that his body had a stronger immunity to the infection, Zecora wasn't visiting as much as she originally did.

Zecora might have been recovering from the very little sleep she was allowing herself, to help her giant friend recover. Gilda on the other hand was the same old Griffin but she was definitely growing on him.

'Does she want manticore? Or something else. Granted, I'm also peckish. So I might get something for both of us.' A bark from his left showed who else wanted something to munch on.

"Don't you two go crazy. I can only carry so much." It's not that Robert didn't want to kill a few wild animals, it's just his balance wasn't the best right now and often required him to use a tree here and there as a balance support.

Seeing that their pack leader was restricted, the Timberwolves decided to help Robert hunt.

They would start small and simply track things like rabbits, rats, birds, and even field mice.

"You too think, a mere Rabbit would feed any of us, you two included." He notified them, making his Timberwolves turn their heads panting back at Robert.

Tank and Athena proceeded to give him a look that said it all.

~ You are still too weak to hunt anything worthy.~

"Don't give me that look, I might be sick but I can handle myself now. We need a creature that's big enough so that everyone can eat."

Giving a soft howl, they immediately changed from weak and small prey to the larger monsters of the forest. The first few predator barrows they found were empty.

And the few that had a beast inside Robert didn't think it was worth risking life or limb over; and the most recent one, a dragon sleeping in a cave damn near made Robert lose it.

After getting halfway to another beast barrow he decided to go off on his Timberwolves.

"Are you two fucking insane? I am not taking on a fully-grown dragon! In this condition, need I remind you, Tank and Athena you are both made of wood. Dragons breathe fire. Fire burns wood; this is common sense. Something you two clearly are lacking today!"

Robert had heard about dragons, which fascinated him. When there wasn't much to think about, that fascination however went completely out the window entirely, upon seeing an adult dragon. With green scales and light, almost neon-green spikes that could have been the size of an apartment complex.

Growling back at him, the Timberwolves showed their frustration towards Robert prompting him to respond.

"When I said big, I mean the same size or even a little bigger than a manticore, not a creature whose own size should be killing itself! I wouldn't even fight that thing in my current state and with this inadequate equipment."

While he argued with his two wooden companions, the argument was one-sided and in his favor as Robert was the only one able to communicate.

Now that it was clear what their giant companion wanted to track, they quickly got underway searching with their strong sense of smell.

In the meantime, Robert took in the scenery of the Ever-free had changed, winter was at its end. And the forest was showing it, From snow melting away to even some small green spots here and there among the icy and cold landscape.

'I'm surprised I've lasted this far out here for nearly a year, and look how far I made it without being forced to serve as a plaything or some kind of tool for the Ponies, or Griffins. Or what other horrors are out there; '

Following the wolves into more dense woods he discovered what appeared to be remains of a battle of some kind. With stone chunks everywhere and a fresh blood trail leading off north.

'I mean it can't hurt to track this thing right? And if it's foodworthy, I'll kill it. Something already has it bleeding. I may as well finish the job unless it is pregnant. I need to spare animals with youngsters or newborns so that decent meat keeps rolling in.'

Determining the best course of action to follow, Robert did just that;

Finding a dead Manticore the creature was covered in blood. It was all around the beast, even in its coat.

Getting his sword ready Robert approached and gently poked the beast.

It didn't move.

Robert moved the beast over and found that it had a missing leg, and the remaining stump was broken stone. Blood seemed to be leaking out from the wound resulting in its demise.

"Poor bastard bled out."

Lifting the dead monster he discovered a smaller creature dangling from its maw, Pulling it free, Robert discovered what it was.

It had the head of a chicken, a scaly body with wings, a lizard tail, and Chicken legs.

'What the hell is this?'

Shaking it around the multi-trait creature it didn't move either. However, the Timberwolves had been less than willing to come any closer to the monster in his hand.

"Come on! It's dead, see?" Robert said, shaking the corpse and wiggling it about as the human showed his wooden companions the smaller monster's expiration.

And yet that didn't stop their fears, as their tails went straight up on end as they began to bark and growl at the lifeless Cockatrice.

Deciding to ignore their barks and growls of protest, Robert grabbed both bodies and managed to hold the blade without cutting himself on its sharp ends. And storing his bow on his back, his arrows would be carried by the Timberwolves. 'I need to get a sheath for that blade, along with a quiver. Before I join this Manticore's fate.'

Once he made sure it wouldn't slice his arms open, or any other vital parts of his body. Robert began the trip back home, much to the disapproval of Tank and Athena.

The whole trip back, they did anything and nearly everything to make him relinquish the smaller beast. They even attacked his legs which they had never done since their domestication.

'What has made them so spooked? It's dead, I shook it like a can of soda.'

Determining it was just their nerves making them both jumpy, Robert continued to traverse the Forest, having become so accustomed to it. Robert knew how to get to most points of interest, like Zecora's hut or that underground tree, and even Ponyville. Getting back home, however, was a trick he needed to work on.

Ultimately he found his way back and entered through his front gateless archway. 'I need to make a door too, once I start farming my food I don't need every animal and their siblings here eating my hard stolen work.'

Stopping and looking back, Robert began to brew ideas on what kind of door he should have. 'Should it be scary? Or maybe it should be plain, Granted. If I go down the frightening route, it would keep away certain creatures, in particular, prey animals; yet a simple door would attract all manner of critters.'

Dropping the manticore's body with a soft thud of its tail, he began to rub his chin in thought.

'Maybe a door that is wood but reinforced with metal? No; too costly and currently not possible to obtain at this moment in time.'

Having been torn on it for so long Gilda appeared and snapped him out of his internal debate. "What the hell are you doing? Snap out of it!" Gilda snarled, which did what she wanted it to do.

Looking around for a moment he discovered her on the path before him with a fatigued and yet pissed expression on her face.

"I was trying to decide on what kind of door I want for the front gate. If we decide to start growing food, animals will find out and eventually try to steal it. And what made you tired? I was only gone for a few hours at best."

Robert illustrated but Gilda just simply rolled her eyes before pointing back at the castle ruins. "That's great and all, but you better have brought something to eat that was of better quality than Cragadile; and from what I can see you got a fresh Manticore here~" Gilda stated, clearly ignoring the fact about her sudden tiredness.

'She just probably had a nap or something.' Robert watched her closely and would discover a drool trail going from the griffon's beak, down to her White feathers.

Shaking his head, he decided to inquire about some information about the 'dead' smaller creature.

"If you know so much about animals, tell me about this one then," Robert said tossing it towards her,

The reaction was something to surely remember, Before it even landed Gilda's pupils had grown exponentially before soaring away and squawking, in fright.

"Shit! Are you insane for bringing that thing here? Fucking kill it, Being turned to stone is a fate worse than death!"

This was enough to make him grin, even though he knew it was dead. It was time, To get back at Gilda. Walking slowly over to it, Robert began speaking.

"Gilda don't worry it's safe, All I gotta do is-"

Robert cutted himself off by picking it back up, and tossing the Cockatrice at her, making her panic further.

"I swear to the seven realms, fucking kill it NOW! before it kills us all!" Luckily she avoided it with her aerial skills. And doing her best to cover her eyes, fearing to even look at it.

After composing himself from his laughing fit his laughs were genuine and hearty. "Ok ok! You're such a chicken shit, Tank, and Athena included; it's dead already, it's been dead for some time."

"How did it die!"

Gilda snapped, still covering her eyes tightly.

"It was bitten by the Manticore you were just drooling over a moment ago," Robert answered, along with deciding to drop the dead Second animal he found instead of throwing it at her. While she shook her head.

"If it was a body bite, that's not how you kill them. You're supposed to remove the head and burn it! Now kill it before it comes back."

Just then the supposed dead animal released a soft but angry cluck, showing it wasn't dead as it began trying to get back onto its own two chicken feet. Prompting Robert, to respond appropriately.

"Well, shit."

Moving quickly, Robert grabbed hold of the live wild animal. The critter had struggled and even seemed panicked at the sight of Robert.

Having never seen such a creature before the fright or maybe awe is what stopped it from turning him into a fine sculpture.

"News flash buddy, this is my turf." Robert declared before snatching it by the tail.

Dangling it upside down, the animal gave him a harsh glare And a few Furious clucks as a retort. But Robert wasn't paying attention to it, as his feet felt heavier than usual, even sluggish.

Deciding that wasn't the issue, at this point, he grabbed its head and pulled. There was little resistance but Robert heard the Cockatrice's muffled wails of pain before flesh and bone were torn apart.

'Enjoy the free head adjustment. Courtesy of me, come back when your living again and I'll give you another.'

Now holding its severed head in his other palm, he looked over towards Gilda and cleared his throat. "It's done. Now get a fire going, would you? Let's see if we can teach an old dog some new tricks."

She still refused to look towards him, yet Gilda huffed at this joke but flew back inside to do what he asked of her. Yet she held the severed head facing down casted so it wouldn't stare at her.

'Gilda will argue about everything. But the moment it involves food she shuts her mouth; I guess she just loves tender meat, Wait till I find some Italian herbs. That will knock her socks off.'

He determined to clean up in the moat along with using the water-reflective surface to see how his trim job was. 'Damn, I still got that skill even after my college days. Thank you, Pete, for showing me how to trim up a beard with a pocket knife.'

Robert didn't have per say a pocket knife anymore, more like a dull sword he 'acquisitioned,' from those bandit ponies.

'Now that I'm all cleaned up, let's clean these kills.' pulling over the Manticore Robert got down to business, using his sword, and he made an incision into the belly of the dead animal.

Once done, he moved the sword away so as to not harm himself by mistake, Robert would pull open its belly and remove its internal organs. Tossing them into the moat for the fish inside to eat.

"Fish gotta eat like everyone else; though I would kill for some homemade sausages. Sadly that won't be for some time."

Once that was done, Robert pulled the coat off of the Manticore gradually. His reward was a large pelt that needed to be cured.

'Alright time for the little chicken that everybody is terrified of.' Removing the scales like a fish then its organs. Along with plucking its feathers, Robert was very much done.

Regardless, when he tried to stand he discovered he Couldn't.

"What the?"

Looking down and to his surprise, his lower legs were solid stone.

'I guess that's what Gilda meant by being turned to stone, I just figured it was a figure of speech or it would freeze you in place with its stare. Not literally turn things to stone,'

With the help of the sword, Robert got back to his feet along with the accompanying trial and errors that happened along the way.

Making it inside at his hampered speed Robert found Gilda was burning the head of the cockatrice. "So; Gilda, we may have a slight problem."

Groaning, she craned her head towards him.
"Now what? You fell into some Poison joke or something." She wasn't paying attention to his legs until he Gestured down to them, upon seeing his legs Gilda grew slightly concerned.

"You might want to bother Zecora about that Robert, we don't have a Unicorn who's well-versed in healing magic here. or any kind of magical items that heal or undo a Cockatrice's stare."

"I'll take care of it, just let's get the food done."

Setting the dead animals up in a place that wouldn't dirty the meat, Robert began removing the flesh and juicy meat.

Of course, Tank and Athena wanted their portions raw. And Robert gladly threw them what was owed,

"Eat up you two, after this I'll be traveling on my own for a bit. So stay here."

Disagreeing with this course of action, Gilda spoke up. "You sure that's a good Idea Robert? What if the stone begins to spread?"

"If it's going to spread then why am I standing here making food and wasting valuable time, that could be used to save my own life!" Robert said annoyed at the lack of information she was giving him.

"Sorry, I don't know how to read apparently," Gilda affirmed while laying there watching him panic; When Robert was paying attention to her Gilda lifted a claw to cover her beak, hiding her
soft giggling and growing smile at the look of anxiety on his face.

Having been entertained enough Gilda Spoke up. "Dude, chill out, You're fine. You stopped it fairly early just don't fight any more of those monsters or it will keep spreading. Right now, it's in an inactive state which means it can be treated fairly easily. But that doesn't give you an excuse to stop making breakfast!" Gilda warned her lion tail flicking from left to right as she watched the cooking flesh, like a hungry predator.

Releasing a sigh of relief at the idea of not becoming some kind of sculpture, Robert decided something needed to be done about this game She and he played.

"We need to stop this Gilda, this could have been serious I could have died," Robert interjected while she waved him off with a claw.

"Robert, I'm going to be Serious with you for a moment. If it was severe, I wouldn't be this calm right now. You'll know if something is bad if I need to be worried, and that." Gilda pointed to his half-stone feet.

"Isn't something you need to worry about currently, It might be uncomfortable at the very most, but blood is still getting to the necessary vessels and areas to keep the limbs operational. If anything, get ready for the worst pins and needles feeling of a lifetime."

Her medical knowledge surprised him, and deciding a question couldn't hurt while the food cooked Robert asked it. "How do you know so much about this topic? Were you learning to become a doctor?"

Shaking her head she answered. "It was a stupid assembly, I needed to attend during flight camp. They taught us what to do in the event of your human being partially turned to stone by a Cockatrice. Along with a few other things, I'm just applying the same logic for a human to this scenario."

Rolling his eyes Robert just continued making the food. 'That would have been nice to know thirty minutes ago.' He thought over, finishing up breakfast and giving Gilda her share. Robert dived into his meat with enthusiasm, after all at his size Meat was more significant than vegetables or fruits.

Standing while eating, Robert took a large bite out of the manticore leg he gave himself.

"This meat is amazing! It is extremely tender, juicy, and easy to eat. To the point, a newly hatched Griffin could consume it! You surely are an expert in cooking exotic meats Robert." Gilda complimented.

"Again, I can teach you how. But you'll need to hunt your own game for me to teach you, I refuse to be yours or anyone else's lapdog." Robert replied.

Nodding she finished up the manticore before hesitantly picking up the cooked cockatrice's meat.

Shakily Gilda took a bite and slowly became infatuated, by its taste. "Now this is a surprising change of events," Gilda seemed to be tasting the meat more than really eating which caught his attention.

"Is it bad?"

Robert piped up, resulting in Gilda shaking her head no. "Not really, but the taste is truly unusual."

Deciding Gilda couldn't have all the fun with this he grabbed his portion of Cooked cockatrice and took a bite.

The taste was on pair and even identical to deer meat, which made Robert smile. 'Well shit, all I need now is some tomato soup and I'm back at home.'

"You know this reminds me of a certain meat back home that hunters love, it's called venison."

Immediately Gilda perked up upon hearing of this new variant of meat.

"Now I gotta try it if others love it! What animal do you kill for it?"

Seeing no harm in it, Robert replied.

"It's deer meat."

The resulting silence and tenseness that followed, were similar to someone breaking an inexpensive piece of artwork. But once Gilda regained her voice she did so with a boom.

"You sick Fucker! Is that the real reason you've been keeping me here? To eat me whole!" taking flight and hiding in within the highest reaches of the stone ceiling.

Following her with his gaze, the griffin pinned herself against the roof. Talions unfurled and ready to strike.

"I would never eat you, or the Ponies Gilda. All I said is I would eat deer meat!" Robert called up to her which made her snap back.

"Deer here are as intelligent as a Pony dumbass! If you eat them, what's stopping you from eating a pony or griffion!"

Standing there Robert was perplexed by this information. 'Deers here are as smart or even smarter than a pony? Great. What's next? Cows can talk, and pigs are writing this world's version of Mozart or Beethoven.'

Shaking his head Robert began his defense. "Gilda please give me one chance to explain that's all I ask." Watching her closely; Gilda cautiously raised one finger.

"One."

Clearing his throat, Robert began his defense. "Back home, hunters kill deer for food, Which is true. But they share more traits with humans here than the deer of this world. In short, there wild animals."

Digging her claws into the ceiling Gilda weighed his words; it felt like an entirety of just silence minus the occasional movement of the timber wolves. And the soft crackle of the dying fire, eventually she spoke up, "You mean to tell me deer are just wild animals where you're from?"

She seemed dumbstruck by this answer but Robert confirmed. "I'm not lying I speak the truth, Gilda. I'll be heading out now, just relax and calm down, but if you wish to leave I won't stop you." Robert offered before leaving the room with the conflicted griffin.

The meal was good, yet the discomfort became more and more unbearable. So Robert departed into the Everfree to find help,

Zecora couldn't help him, in her words. "A Cockatrice's glare is something only the Ponies can remedy."

It could have been that she was still recovering from the constant surveillance of himself so Robert didn't press the matter any further. And now he was currently traveling towards Fluttershy's cottage.

'I can only hope she's still home, If not I'll need to head into town which I'm already dreading.'

Completing his voyage was no cakewalk, his feet had fallen asleep mid-way and each step felt like pins and needles. Walking passed the spot that Him and Luna made their arrangement, Robert simply grabbed a thick branch and slammed it into the earth to show that he did very much survive.

'When in Rome, I suppose. Plus no doubt Fluttershy and her friends will snitch on me to the Princesses, so I may as well do this now.'

Luckily the familiar cottage wasn't too far away and after a few minutes of walking. It appeared on the horizon, from what he could see Fluttershy was outside tending to some animals that had awoken this early on in spring.

'Thank god, just stay there Fluttershy.' Robert mentally pleaded, hoping she would hear him.

Yet fate seemed ready to torment him as Fluttershy nuzzled a squirrel before taking flight and flying towards town.

'You gotta be shitting me, You're not getting away that easily. I just hope this doesn't blow my dumb facade.'

Before she could get too distant, Robert pursed his lips and whistled. Which seemed to have worked as her ear flicked pointing towards him.

Turning to look over toward him a smile appeared on her face and Fluttershy floated over.

"O-oh! hello. I was just about to head into town. It's good to see you! I'm glad you survived winter, most animals that live in the Everfree usually don't." Fluttershy landed before him looking up at Robert.

'Isn't that the truth Fluttershy, I see why it's called the Everfree forest.' Robert mentally replied,

She seemed cheerful upon seeing him but the discomfort Robert had, was easily noticed by the animal-loving mare.

"What's wrong? You never stopped by, I figured you were hibernating till late spring." She pointed out.

Motioning down at his feet Fluttershy's complexion filled with worry.

"G-goodness! We need to get you to my cottage right away!" Fluttershy exclaimed, before immediately taking flight and latching her cool hooves around his hand. And beginning to drag him there.

Arriving at her humble abode, Fluttershy guided him down onto an area she made just in case Robert decided to visit.

The area itself wasn't special, just some land that had nothing he could break by mistake.

"P-please stay, I will get assistance in the meantime. if you're here by the time I get back you'll get a reward!" Giving him a quick nuzzle in hopes of keeping Robert calm, along with giving him comfort.

Fluttershy flew off, now with purpose. As her little frame zoomed towards Ponyville. Robert sat there waiting, 'If she is doing what I think she's going to do. I'm going to need a drink. To deal with two certain Ponies.'

Not even twenty minutes later Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Spike, Pinky Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy had arrived. Making Robert sigh inwardly,

"I can't believe Rarity wouldn't come with us! Why does she find him so appalling." Twilight said, sounding disappointed that her more regal friend wouldn't give him a chance.

"Come on Twi, you know she doesn't like em, especially him. She thinks he's a freak of nature." Applejack stated, which made Rainbow Dash join in.

"She's missing out if you ask me! This big guy saved Everypony's Flank. The least we can do is patch him up!" Rainbow Dash said through a shout, she even gave a pose to go along with it making him inwardly facepalm.

'Fantastic. Just what I needed today, and here I thought Rarity and Rainbow Dash wouldn't show, Guess I'm only taking three swigs, to handle one troublemaker.'

Grabbing the horn from his belt Robert popped the lid off and proceeded to take three shots worth of his spirits.

Yet a certain prismatic mare had taken interest in his horn, zooming over she watched him drink. " whatcha you drinking big guy? Smells like Apple Cider."

Twilight however knew all too well what infernal liquid it was, and promptly warned Dash. "Rainbow, Don't drink that stuff! It's too strong for anypony to drink! I theorize it could even kill a pony!"

Yet Rainbow shrugged off her concern, "I bet it can Twilight, but let's not forget how easy you can get drunk. You can't even handle two shots of Ram's Fury!" Rainbow playfully mocked before casually landing on his shoulder.

Gently poking him in the shoulder with her hoof, Rainbow gave him a large dopey grin, once gaining his attention. "You mind if I get a taste of that drink big fella?"

'Well I'll be damned, I never had a Pony willingly ever want to try this stuff. Ok, Rainbow Dash, the floor is yours.'

He offered the cyan mare his drinking horn and she immediately dove in, Gulping greedily.

'Jesus she's chugging that shit.'

To his surprise most of her friends were watching her go, Applejack began mumbling under her breath. Something along the lines of, "I knew she still had that Party pony inside her."

After her tenth gulp, Robert decided to cut her off much to her disapproval." Come on dude! I nearly finished it all! And AJ, you got to try this stuff. It will even get you tipsy!"

Looking inside, she was indeed correct. 'The hell is Rainbow Dash made off? I no wonder she attacked me she's pretty fucking ballsy and apparently liqueur proof.'

"Rainbow Dash, the point of us coming here to help was to treat a certain impairment for it, not to make merry, And drink." Spike reminded, not agreeing with the fact that he or any of his friends was still near Robert.

"Lighten up Grandpa. It's all in good fun!" Giving out a hearty belch, Rainbow Dash got closer and even, snuggled into his shoulder.

"You know; you're not as bad as I first assumed. You're cool, not on the same level of awesomeness as me. But still, pretty cool." While Rainbow Dash became slight tipsy on his shoulder, the Lightweight of the group approached him.

Striding towards him, Twilight began inspecting his feet, " This is most definitely the work of a Cockatrice. All we need to do is find the one that did it and we can reverse the effect."

'Yeah, good luck with that, me and Gilda kinda ate it.'

As if hearing his words Fluttershy piped up. "W-what if we can't find it? Isn't there a spell we can do to reverse it?"

Thinking for a moment Twilight nodded, "There is a spell that can reverse this. But I have never attempted to cast it, as there wasn't a reason to. But due to the current circumstances. I'll do my best. With that being said, that spell is for middle to high-level magic users."

Glancing up and locking eyes with Robert, Twilight waved back at Fluttershy with a hoof and whispered, "Fluttershy you said he liked; 'Peanut butter' Correct?" in turn Fluttershy nodded.

"He does, I don't know why but he and only a few other animals I care for like it. If I need to guess, it's because of the high protein content." Flicking her tail, Twilight cleared her throat and spoke loudly enough for him to hear.

"You might remember me, from that cold winter day Giant. I merely wish to help you now. So if you feel tingling or a fuzzy feeling do not worry I am merely making you better. And if you behave well You'll get peanut butter."

Robert didn't need to be told twice,

'Deal.'

Gently reaching over, Robert offered her the last of his booze to Twilight. Who immediately backed peddled, "N-no thank you, I learned my lesson the first time."

'And here I assumed, my Giants grog made you loosen up. I guess I was wrong.'

Rolling his eyes, Robert sealed the vessel back up and placed it off to the side. Once it was out of sight Twilight and Fluttershy drew closer.

Fluttershy went to his other shoulder as she normally did, and became his Emotional support. Whispering words of comfort, and even humming him a soft tune.

On the other hand, a soft murmur of magic filled the surrounding area along with what Twilight had stated earlier. A Tingling feeling engulfed his legs. Which was a far better feeling than the never-ending pins and needles he worked through.

He sat there unmoving, as the sounds of rock beginning to crack echoed forth, "I am almost through Fluttershy please keep him in the lull state."

"You're doing just great, Mr. Giant soon you'll be rewarded with your peanut butter."

'I'm not even in this so-called lull state I just want my damn peanut butter.'

Eventually, the outer casing had disintegrated, freeing his feet and allowing the aforementioned stumps to breathe. Meanwhile, Twilight was panting and her horn was a little smoky with purple smoke.

"There, piece of cake."

She panted out before Robert grabbed hold of her.

'Twilight looks like she's about to lose consciousness, so just to be safe.' Robert scooped Twilight up, and dumped her onto his lap.

And Twilight began her protest. "Hey! What's the big idea here," Before it could escalate any further Fluttershy disarmed the situation.

"Calm down Twilight, he saw you working very hard and just wants you to take a breather. There's no harm in it." Huffing, Twilight attempted to stand but her legs buckled and she promptly fell back into his lap with a soft thud.

"And maybe he was right," Fluttershy stated, looking at her with an amused expression.

Jumping over until she was arm's length away, Pinkie Pie with her massive smile began her hyper assault. "I'm so happy that you loved my cookies and cupcakes!!! If I throw you a party There will be cake! And balloons and all sorts of games!!! And Everypony here even Rarity will be invited!"

'Does this pony even know how to take a second to breathe when speaking?'

Leaning away a little bit, Fluttershy caught on instantly from being shy herself and directly stepped in.

"Pinkie, you're frightening him. You might want to knock it down a few levels, he's not used to you. So it would be best not to go full Pinkie on him yet."

Ceasing, Pinkie gave an apologetic smile. Before trotting closer. "I Understand you, Fluttershy was just like you before we met. Don't you worry I'll break through that shell of yours!" Pinkie calmly Proclaimed. Offering a large smile,

"Pinkie, do you have any Peanut butter? He kept his side of the bargain." Applejack inquired which resulted in a mischievous giggle.

"I never leave home without it! What kind of flavors should I give him?" Pulling a wooden cart out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie had Jars upon jars of the protein-packed spread.

Freeing Himself from a now sober Rainbow Dash, a tired Twilight, and a clingy Fluttershy was no easy feat.

Yet somehow Robert did it. And was well on his way, returning home with roughly thirty jars of peanut butter in toe, Robert was both amused and flabbergasted about Pinkie Pie.

'Firstly, I feel like those people from simple word problems. Who buys around nineteen dish soaps and I need to subtract X amount, Secondly. Where the hell was Pinkie hiding all of that? She didn't show up with it and if anything it just appeared out of thin air.'

Entering the castle, Robert made his way back inside, and to his surprise, he ran right into Gilda, who seemed far calmer than early. "I see you got your feet fixed up. How did it go? And is that; Peanut butter?" Gilda inquired, Robert on the other hand simply nodded.

"Yep."

Not satisfied with the answer she persisted, "Can I ask why you have thirty jars of peanut butter?"

Walking past her Robert told her what he thought. "Mind your damn business, Gilda."

Hiding his shit-eating grin, Gilda's confusion only grew. It even resulted in her following him, "So ignoring the fact that you have all this Peanut Butter, are you not going to tell me how you got patched up?"

Deciding his trolling needed to be Wrapped up, Robert went back to normal. "Zecora couldn't help me, so I had to seek Pony aid and the Peanut Butter was a treat. For being good, I guess it's Similar to getting a lollipop for being good at a doctor's office."

Shaking her head in disappointment Gilda facepalmed, "I just don't understand how they don't see you as intelligent. You act completely different from an average human."

"Hey, it's better that they think I'm mindless and stupid. It's bad enough Twilight wanted to test more on me after she healed me, thankfully she was too exhausted to attempt it. If whatever they deem as a government finds out I'm not idiotic, I'll be locked away in some lab and experimented on."

Looking up at him with a deadpan expression Gilda added onto her original statement.

"Robert buddy, they aren't that cruel. True they have human Fight pits which I think you're well-versed in. They however are illegal, if for whatever reason, you are taken to a research facility. There are rules and regulations, to protect and preserve a subject. Even more so if you are granted endangered status. So don't worry you won't get your balls chopped off if that's what you're fearing for."

Gilda half-heartedly joked near the end but she did her best to sound sincere toward her larger friend.

Seeing that he didn't want to talk about that if his quietness was any correlation. Gilda quickly changed subjects.

"I decided to stay by the way, Only on the condition you don't eat any intelligent creatures. More specifically me." Gilda added making him reply.

"I wasn't exactly dropped into this world with a fucking pamphlet, that tells me what is intelligent and what isn't Gilda. If this is your attempt at making me go vegetarian I must decline. And if I ever decide to eat an animal that talks, your the first name going onto my list Gilda." Robert added.

This made Gilda huff, "Firstly fuck you. Secondly, I wasn't asking you to abandon meat altogether, just ask me before you hunt something I'll let you know if it's ok to kill or whatever."

Nodding, she quickly changed the topic once more.

"So, After Winter wrap up, do you want to raid Applejack's farm? I would kill for some Pig and Chicken meat."

Looking back at Gilda as if she was a cannibal, made her perplexed. "What? I can eat chicken, it's not like I'm eating another Griffin."

Rolling his eyes and storing his peanut butter, he sat down. "I guess we can do another raid but let's wait until the farm is producing I refuse to raid it for just meat alone. I'll be glad to have a hand in this, unlike last time. I did that solo,"

Chuckling, Gilda brought up a point from his story on his first raid. "Didn't you throw an apple at Applejack?"

Nodding he recollected that moment in time. "I threw it so hard it became applesauce on her hat. But I'm amazed that it didn't kill her."

"If I know a thing about Earth Ponies Robert, it's that they have tough skulls. So if anything it was a headache at most. Plus, I think Rainbow Dash got lucky or cursed. She has the head of an earth pony and the body of a Pegasus." Gilda implied.

Deciding to make a fire while they chatted, Gilda and Robert talked and discussed whatever they felt like talking about, even cracking jokes. And overall having a nice time.

Turns out, Rainbow Dash was a Partygoer after graduating from the Pony High School in Cloudsdale. So it was no wonder why she was a ride-or-die kind of pony.

The fire was still going but so much time had passed Gilda had passed out, snoring near the fire.

Getting up, Robert scooped her off the ground and placed her in the nest she made.

'I might as well sleep myself, it's getting late.' The fire wouldn't spread so there wasn't a real worry over it.

laying down Robert went to sleep listening to a cracklingly fire surrounded by three creatures he could somewhat trust.

Chapter Eleven - One week before disaster.

View Online

Chapter 11 -

Currently, Luna was resting on her night-themed bed. After her duties, as the night Princess. Luna had been staying up well into the day reading books and sagas. Granted, even though the writers were long since dead,

She felt obligated to finish what her younger self couldn't.

After all, there wasn't much to do now. Winter this year in Canterlot was especially rough, a stark difference from when she was a young foal. If she wished, Luna could easily drift back to those moments in her mind.

Soft winds of snow, a snow fight with a much younger Celestia. A pleasant flare, of soft orange hues from a roaring fire. Snuggled up to her sister, surrounded by her wings. And even a story here, and there, to help her drift off to slumber.

The thought did make a smile appear on her muzzle but quickly Luna shook it off gently, taking hold of the page with her magic she flipped it.

'Such simpler times, I only hope the current ones can be so easy.'

Just then, a gentle knock echoed off of her door prompting her to close the old book she was reading. 'What could that be? Surely it isn't about the Griffin diplomats. I didn't say anything vulgar, did I?'

Getting out of bed and straightening some unruly fur spots, Luna quickly equipped her royal regalia before opening the door, to find a Day Guard waiting for her.

"Yes, My little pony?"

Luna said, trying to hide the tiredness from her voice.

Quickly the guard bowed, before conversing with Luna." Apologies for disturbing you, Your Highness. But Princess Celestia wanted to see you, sooner than expected."

The guard briefed, Making Luna want to slam the side of her head. Through the door, she was standing next to. Rather opting to just rub her eyes with a hoof,

'Of course she does.'

Setting the hoof back down, she gradually nodded.

"Very well, Thank you for notifying me. Please, resume your original duties."

Getting up and offering a quick salute, the guard departed. Luna decided to watch the stallion march down the corridor, before turning left. Meanwhile, She continued to stand there, using her ears to listen to his fading hoof falls, on the marble flooring.

The guard she was intently listening to, had finally left her range of hearing, which was fairly far honed.

"This better be worth staying up late for," Luna grumbled, commencing her long walk to the throne room.

Walking passed all manner of castle staff, from simple maids, and butlers. To the more combative castle staff, Like Royal Guards, and their senior guard staff. To even noncombatant members of the day and Night Guards.

Arriving at the throne room a guard stopped her from entry.

"A thousand apologies, Princess Luna. But Princess Celestia wanted to meet you at conference room three. Something about a private report, that both of you needed to hear away from the prying eyes, and ears, of nobles. Especially a certain Prince."

That was the last thing she wanted to hear.

'This was most definitely Sister's wording; very well. Time to go back the way I came from.' Giving an annoyed tail flick and ear twitch, Luna simply nodded again before making her way there.

Arriving at the aforementioned room, Luna overheard a confrontation between a Royal guard and a certain noble stallion.

"I demand entry! Do you not know who I am?" Prince Blueblood pressed, and thankfully the guard stood steadfast in his constant verbal attacks.

"I am well aware of who you are, Prince Blueblood. But Princess Celestia, has asked for privacy for an important meeting that you weren't invited to. She also highly expressed the point of this meeting being an, 'Invite only.' Sadly you aren't on the list."

The guard said, sounding exhausted from repeating the same paragraph multiple times. To this snooty royal.

'He truly is a stain on the higher class.'

Luna reflected, before she cleared her throat, just as the prince was about to throw another hissy fit.

"What the hay do you want?!"

He snapped, Not liking having been interrupted, making Luna speak up.

"Now this is highly improper of somepony related to me and my sister," Luna responded. Making Blueball's freeze.

Looking back, his pathetic malice ran for the hills. Upon seeing, and knowing, whose voice it was. While Luna's presence, put the fear of god into the young stallion. He tried to cover up what he just carried out.

"A-auntie Luna! Right on time as always. I require a favor of you." He said making the night sovereign show a completely unamused face.

"By all means. Enlighten me."

Luna quipped rather harshly, showing how fast she was with words.

While her sharp tongue showed through from pure annoyance at her nephew's presence, she still allowed him to make a case for this so-called 'favor.'

"W-well Auntie Luna, I Require your assistance in getting into that meeting. Do you think you could get me in there?" Blueblood pleaded.

Luna already had her answer, but she liked seeing this royal thorn squirm with anticipation of what he thought was going to be a yes. "Mmmm. You make an excellent point, Nephew Blueblood." Luna said, watching the devilish grin growing on his muzzle.

'Time for some retribution.'

She mentally buzzed at the prospect.

Clearing her throat, Luna began speaking again. "Sadly, my dear Nephew, I however can not let you in. My sister didn't inform me of allowing any plus ones into this very classified, and confidential, meeting. Now if you'll pardon me," Luna responded, studying his face and the reward was far worth it.

His intrigue-filled eyes, slowly and gradually filled with silent anger and fury, at his request being denied. However, Blueblood knew far better than to yell at Luna.

Not unless he had a death wish, she already disliked him from his behavior at the day and night councils a few months back.

Not to mention overhearing Royal guards, and even maids talking of his foul behavior on castle grounds. Not to mention, the hearsays of him doing more vulgar, and sickening acts to his pet humans, more specifically. The males,

Needless to say, Luna had nothing nice to say about her nephew. So it was better that they didn't stay in one room, or hallway, together for too long.

From the beginning, she could tell he was trying to use his inadequate Silver tongue to try and worm his way into this meeting. If anything, the only reason why he most likely wanted to go was to see if anypony was talking ill of him.

Seeing that he wasn't moving, Luna could have sworn smoke was leaking out of his ears. So she just stepped around him and entered the room.

The guards were kind enough to close the door behind her, which gave her the chance to release a soft giggle at irritating Blueblood.

'That should teach you, it also should serve as a warning dear Nephew. I do not allow those who abuse their standing for only slightly being related to us. To roam free and do as they see fit while I'm around.'

Looking around the luxurious hallway for a brief moment, Luna could make out her older sister's muffled voice. And a short reply followed by another feminine voice, from around the corner. This time, however, Luna was unable to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Walking over, and turning the corner. She discovered that a magical shield was blocking her Equine hearing from the two other members of her species.

Passing through the barrier unharmed and taking in the room. It was rather simple. But to her older sisters student, it no doubt seemed pricey to a non-royal.

Celestia glanced over to see who entered, and upon seeing her younger sibling. She gave a warm smile before speaking. "Sister, excellent timing; have a seat please." Celestia offered, pointing towards a vacant pillow with a hoof.

Thankfully. Due to the nature of this room, a high-level sound-canceling spell. Was built into its very walls, so wasting the magic to cast the same spell, every time wasn't necessary. But for now, the only noise that all parties could hear was Celestia and Twilight softly munching on some pancakes.

Giving a slight nod, Luna began walking towards the empty seat, her hoof falls were muffled thanks to an expensive carpet underneath her hooves.

Moving towards her chosen seat, Luna's suspicion festered. "Pretell why have I been summoned this late into the day?" she asked, making Twilight Sparkle shift back and forth anxiously in her seat.

Raising an eyebrow, Luna grew more and more apprehensive. Especially, sense the way Twilight was acting, wasn't helping her case. Thankfully Tia, broke this awkward stillness.

"Sister. You'll be pleased to learn, he has survived the winter. And if I am being honest, this year was worse than last year."

Luna's heart skipped a beat at this truth, This heart-stopping fact, made her wings twitch slightly from the leak of information. Yet, her eyes narrowed as suspicion won over her tired mind.

"You're sure it was him? And not some; beast. From the belly of the Everfree, looking for food? Or possibly another undead moving terror?" Luna questioned.

Twilight of course gently coughed, to grab the attention of the night monarch.

"I can confirm this, Your Highness. I saw him with my own two eyes. He indeed is very much alive and looking well, I fear he gets taller every day. He may get so big he might not possibly fit into Canterlot proper."

Twilight lightly joked, hoping that would brighten up this otherwise tense and uneasy atmosphere of the conference room. Yet a question festered forth from Twilight, this one aimed towards Celestia.

"Princess, I thought Giants slept through winter or, at the very most, stayed lightly asleep until late springtime. After all, it would make sense; a creature of that mass surely needs larger amounts of sustenance to survive. Of course, this is just a hypothesis." Twilight laughed reassuringly, not wanting to upset either Princess.

Celestia however chuckled, shaking her left hoof in a disarming manner. "Nonsense Twilight, you were making an educated guess. Regrettably, we won't know for certain until he's in our care."

Seemingly, the two other Ponies had forgotten about Luna. Which allowed her to mentally but tiredly brood, and understand the current situation.

'He lives. How can this be? That bite should have infected him one hundred percent; Unless He pulled through. And possibly has some kind of immunity against this otherwise fatal ailment. But that raises another issue, if he lives. Why can't I enter his dreams? Every time I attempt to I am denied entry.'

Luna couldn't believe what Twilight Sparkle reported and with her own eyes no less, Celestia thankfully noticed her sister's internal conflict and quickly stopped the young alicorn.

"Sister, relax. I'm aware of what transpired and that means his original value has gone up tremendously. Not just for preservation, but for medical research as well."

"If I may, Princess Celestia, I understand he's considered to be the last of his kind. But why has his value increased? Did something happen?" Twilight pressed, tilting her head to the side, hoping to gain details of what happened.

Celestia knew this wasn't her story to tell. And gently pointed to the midnight-themed Alicorn. "I would love to tell you Twilight, but why not ask her? It is her story to tell, not mine."

And Luna very much felt inclined to answer, Plus. Celestia's student did seem trustworthy enough, if only she could say the same for Blueblood. First a question.

"Tell me, Twilight Sparkle. When you encountered him was he hostile in any way? And showing signs of plague?"

Rubbing her chin with a hoof Twilight shook her head, before answering.

"Not to my knowledge he seemed rather peaceful, and even downright helpful. When I needed a break after healing his wounds. The sweet Giant held me on his lap to rest. He felt nice and warm against the early spring coolness, but I didn't think much about it at the time."

"Who in the Town of Ponyville found him first?" Luna pressed, wanting to know the skills of this mysterious Pony.

"Fluttershy did, Princess. She has a certain way with him, and from what I can gather so far is she is somepony he knows is nice and friendly. Plus, if they are isolationists, it makes sense he would seek Fluttershy first. She lives alone and away from the town's outskirts. I swear sometimes, he can be as Stubborn or even more than Applejack. But with the shyness of Fluttershy,"

Luna grew jealous at this revelation, but instead of pouting and showing her grumpiness, Luna decided to begin telling her own account of those events.

"Very well. Let us begin." Taking a deep breath, Luna began her tale,

"I was leading a group of Royal Guards to assist against the threat of Ponyville. When I spotted him near Ponyville Hospital, it looked like he had been returning home so I pursued him."

Yet as Luna was about to begin again, Twilight interjected. "Does this mean there is a possible military use for him?" Twilight cautiously asked, making the lunar Princess's eyes narrow.

"I was not done Twilight Sparkle," Luna said, slightly irritated by the interruption.

Sheepishly, She gave an apologetic smile allowing Luna to start again with her side of the circumstances.

Taking a slightly annoyed breath to steady herself, Luna did just that.

"The trees of the Everfree became too thick with branches, forcing me to land, and follow on hoof. He didn't seem to notice me so I decided to announce my presence to him, a move I would later regret; I used the Royal Canterlot voice in an unsafe area." Closing her eyes Luna remembered what the undead giant looked like, some parts of it. Looked ready to fall off with just the slightest of pressure, and other limbs smelled like late stages of decay, and rot, she could even see inside its rotting skull if she tried hard enough.

Deciding to skip the part that would surely embarrass herself in front of Celestia, Luna jumped ahead to where it happened.

"An undead Giant appeared from my shouting, then went on the offensive. I did my best to defend him, I even tried to make him flee many times. But he stayed, he aided in helping me dispatch the undead terror. But got infected in the process, and I did my best to stay with him. To comfort him, for his last day and possible night, but he forced me to vacate the forest. And I respected that wish,"

Celestia and Twilight did go silent primarily, out of sympathy for what Luna had gone through.

"I assumed he died somewhere peaceful at first, and his corpse was wandering the Everfree waiting for eternal rest. But after what you have stated. Twilight Sparkle, and clearly shows he was immune or built up an immunity to that fatal sickness. Was he aware of his immunity? Most definitely not, that is why his value has increased." Luna obviously, left at out the part of him being able to dream.

As that would surely spark a verbal barrage from Twilight,

'I'm glad he's well, I was starting to worry about me not being able to enter his dreams.'

Releasing a breath that she wasn't aware of. The fatigued Night Princess flopped onto the refined wooden table, not even bothering to ring a bell to call for a maid or butler for a second dinner for herself. "Sister, can I be excused? I need my rest for my responsibilities tonight."

Nodding Celestia gave her the go-ahead, encouraging Luna to depart. 'Sister might be able to eat like a young Filly going through a growth spurt. But I can manage with three meals a day.' Luna internally jested, but Twilight seemed to have one last thing to say.

"Princess Luna."

Turning back Luna gave a soft nod to acknowledge, she heard the smaller Unicorn.

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle? What is on your mind?"

Giving a large smile she gave the reply. "Me and my friends will do our best to find where he is living so you don't have to strain yourself, or royal resources." Touched by this Luna gave an ear flick of appreciation.

"And I am truly grateful for this assistance, Thank you. Was that all?" Luna inquired. But in good faith, she returned a smile of her own.

Shaking her head no, Luna saw that was all Twilight had to say, making her fully depart. She went through the magical barrier and back into the regal hallway, along with her nephew nowhere in sight.

'Thank Father he's gone, I swear I have no idea how Tia puts up with him. She truly has the patience of our mother, while I was blessed with our father's stoic nature. '

Walking with a slight spring in her step, The tired but delighted Alicorn returned to her bed chambers.

Slipping past the two guards as regally and calmly as she could muster, once inside her room the door was closed and locked. Luna's royal and eminent shell vanished, immediately her horn came to life and she snatched a pillow from off her bed and neighed happily into it. Thankfully, it muffled her cry of giddiness, she couldn't go to sleep now. Even if she wanted to, the excitement of knowing his survival brought about many things.

Firstly, the pit in her heart that seemingly never went away, after leaving him to 'die' in the woods, Finally left. Making her feel light and joyous, and more importantly, it made Luna relieved.

Secondly, She was finally able to keep her promise to him despite The last Giant not wanting her or any pony's help, minus the timid mare Fluttershy.

'I need to learn from her example, if I wish to have him trust me I must control my voice and not use the Canterlot Voice near him.' Seeing her books, Luna went back to reading with a new kind of gusto.

'I also believe it will be one of those late-days sort of nights. I haven't stayed up all day for a while now. Better yet let's see if I still got it without any magical assistance.'

However back in that very conference room, Twilight looked towards Celestia. Thinking that Luna was acting a bit bizarre.

"Princess, Is Your sister alright? She was acting a bit off." Twilight raised a question, Celestia on her part was halfway away from stuffing her muzzle with another forkful of fruit-covered pancakes.

Clearing her throat, Celestia answered back. "It's rather simple my student, my sister is preparing herself mentally for the future meeting with him. Nevertheless, I am thinking of more ways to embarrass my little sister." She softly giggled, before stuffing the magically encased pancakes into her muzzle.

Looking down at her own plate of Pancakes, Twilight began feeling bad for Luna who no doubt wasn't going to be prepared for the onslaught of Embarrassment that was to come.

Two weeks later Robert's POV

"Animals you can not eat are as follows: Robert. Cows, goats, Yak's, Deer," Gilda said, emphasizing the deer part. Before continuing.

"Zebra's, Ponies, Sheep, Mules, Griffin's, Donkeys, Minotaurs. Dragons, Diamond Dogs."

Gilda was giving off names of every species she knew which surpassed his expectations.

'I figured it was going to be one or two species. In general, not a whole fucking dictionary's worth of animals!' Deciding this needed his intervention, Robert spoke up.

"What the fuck do you want me to eat, Grass, And mushrooms? Because from what you're describing, it sounds to me like you are about to say I committed mass genocide. Against Manticores for wanting to have a decent meal."

Robert protested, as Tank playfully growled while pulling on the knotted vines, that Tank had his maw latched onto. Both he and Robert were currently playing tug of war, and Gilda was giving him the list of the intelligent species she knew of. And currently, to nobody's surprise, Robert had been winning.

But he did respect the attempt Tank was exhibiting, his Timberwolf kept on pulling trying to turn the match into the wooden dog's favor, yet Robert could have won easily, but out of pity, he was going easy on him.

"Hey! Do you want me to stay or not?" Gilda snapped showing that she wasn't playing around,

"Didn't you say, you'd come with me during a hunting expedition? And point out what I can or can't hunt?" Robert recalled, however, that Gilda. Being the lazy Griffin she was, had just shrugged.

"Meh, I changed my mind. Everybody does that sometimes."

Rolling his eyes he answered back.

"And this is why I call you a lazy happy meal. You're happy when getting a meal, but you don't want to do much of anything else."

Gilda landed on the snow-covered wall; she felt relatively spicy now and flicked some melting snow onto his back.

"And this is why no Females of any kind want you!" Gilda playfully cracked, comprehending how far they could go, Gilda always missed having these kinds of games with Rainbow Dash usually it never ended well.

But now she found someone who didn't care about it much.

"Gilda, if Equestria has a most wanted list for elusive creatures, I am in the top ten probably. From my time in the pits, I had nearly four mares a week not counting stallions. Trying to hit on me let alone trying to get me to do some, 'lovemaking.' With them, your claim of no female wanting me is invalid, plus I believe you're forgetting something. You have also tried to get me to screw you, Gilda. And that attempt was not very successful. You passed out halfway through your sweet talking."

Robert replied, giving her a large and prominent, middle finger.

Giving a scowl and covering her soft red hue with her feathers, she responded in kind. "Up yours, And you said you wouldn't bring that backup!!!"

She half shrieked, as her wings started to flare ever so slightly on their own.

"You just left me an opportunity to get back at you and I used it accordingly," Robert said flatly. Deciding that Tank had won he merely dropped the vines and shook off the snow.

Giving an annoyed sigh Gilda went back inside having had enough of her taller friend's antics.

"When you stop being a wing twister, You'll know where to find me." She said, having lost in their game of wits.

"If that was an offer for you to let me fuck you it was a rather poor one!" He called back as she walked away, flipping him off.

"I'm gonna cut your balls off!" She called back, making him laugh.

"Don't you dare tempt me with a good time." Robert joked watching her shudder at his response.

'I Still can't believe she thinks I love being hurt. I was joking for god's sake.'

Seeing that Gilda was gone, Robert decided to check on his little seedling for himself. To see if it even prevailed against the cold of winter and to his shock. The damn plant had germinated and even had grown within the hardened, snow-covered earth.

"Damn little dude you're one tough cookie."

Robert complimented the plant, bending down on one knee he reached a hand over said seedling and discovered something most bizarre.

The small plant was producing warmth, Greenarry could never perform what this plant was doing. And always required the sun in order to do most metabolic processes.

And yet, here it was thriving within the cold temperatures.

'Are you a late winter plant? Possibly, an early spring type of plant?' Despite his expansive plant familiarity, this little plant stumped him.

'I know of many different plants that have red leaves but none are similar to you. First off, you shouldn't have leaves to begin with off the bat, not until early March or late February, and that's pushing it; you also shouldn't be making noticeable warmth.'

Along with it being a nice little hand-warmer, Robert decided to leave it be for now.

'Let's leave it alone for now. I need to visit the Tree of Harmony anyway. She, no it. Should know what to do about this abomination of a seed it gave me.'

Looking back towards, Tank he waved at the timber wolf to follow. "You coming buddy? If so let's go."

Giving a happy yip at the notion he happily followed Robert.

The Tree of Harmony was something that confused Robert. Firstly, how could a tree be made of pure minerals mind you. That could speak, let alone employ the use of magic.

Regardless he needed to talk to it, not that the tree cared as it loved having visitors. It even makes him promise to come back now and then. Just to talk,

But something was off today he could feel it.

The air smelled similar to gasoline, and most of the animals were lying low not because of Robert, they had adjusted to him, as most of the ecosystem and food chain did. Even Tank turned tail and ran not wanting to be charred.

This was an attack of some kind, but Robert didn't know what just yet.

"Now Light it up boy's! Let's flush this oversized ape out!"

'Are these Ponies dumb?! This forest isn't something that will burn easily, especially with wet timber!'

Striding over he found the culprits, but they weren't Ponies. Well, most of them anyway.

The group consisted of Griffins, a few Minotaurs, and shockingly a few ponies.

"There's the oversized shit for brains! Kill the damn thing!" Shouted a furious Stallion.

His comrade on the other hand held him back, with a claw. "Where supposed to burn the Ever Free down not kill him, you idiot."

"Boss! What should we do?!" shouted another Griffin, this one being female and holding onto some throwing knives she had.

Studying the group with his eyes he currently counted, nearly twenty. Five Minotaurs, eight Ponies most of which were earth ponies of varying genders.

And the rest being Griffins.

'Where is the head of this snake,'

Robert studied the group.

"Magic users! Move up and burn the forest! We're sticking to the assignment. Those who are closest to him keep him away as best you can! " Shouted an ax-welding creature of legend better well known as a Minotaur.

'There he is, you and I are going to have a little chat once all your partners are dead.'

Robert was never one to call for someone's or something's blood for that matter.

But, they were threatening the forest, his sanctuary away from home, a shining beacon of hope and freedom. In a sea of darkness in this hellish world. Needless to say, Robert wasn't going to give it up so easily.

Taking a deep breath and releasing a deep roar, Robert stomped forward. The ground trembled at his march for blood and death.

"Oh, Buck! Incoming!!!"

Shouted a Pony before he got squashed underneath Robert's foot.

Despite Robert having no combat experience he remembered his time in the pits and tried to replicate it. Some poor unlucky Griffin was grabbed from the air and simply had their head crushed into the bark of a tree.

Now dead, he used its lifeless body as a flail, Until the force of him slamming the dead Griffin into a Minotaur's head tore the body in half. After that, Robert began ripping and tearing and even stomping his way through the mercenary group.

They fought valiantly, but the cluster of mercs didn't specialize in fighting Robert, and it cost them dearly. He had both wits and mass, a deadly combination in a battle that wasn't controlled with high-level magic casters.

Besides Robert's mass slaughter of these invaders, he wasn't unstoppable. They had thrown or shot plenty of knives or crossbow bolts into him, and some crazy Pony tried to stab him in his throat and eye.

Luckily he stopped the bat-shit insane pony from turning his face into mince meat and got away with relatively minor injuries.

And just like that, the battle was won. Pinning the merc leader against a cliff side Robert pinned him there with his size.

"Come and get me you freak of nature! I'll make you meet your ancestors soon enough!"

Mustering as deep of a voice as he could, Robert spoke to another creature besides his friends.

"You and I are going to have a little chat."

His battle prowess did unease the merc leader but he didn't submit. "Like Tartarus, I will! I would rather die with the weight of a weapon in my hand and on my two hooves, than on my knees begging for life!" He gruffly responded.

Scoffing, Robert acted quickly grabbing the slightly shaking weapon. "The choice is not yours to make." Grabbing the mythical creature by the head, Robert dragged him off towards the mine.

The male Minotaur struggled against the larger, stronger entity. Having had enough of this, Robert simply covered his mouth and nose until he stopped moving.

Effectively knocking out the legendary beast Robert began setting up for a long interrogation that would make his Grandfather proud.

Arriving at his mine, Robert got a fire going and tied up his guest to a barrel. And tied his arms to a spare tree log he had.

Seeing that he was fast asleep Robert began remembering something his Grandfather told him,

'You want to get information out of somebody? You gotta make them break. Don't kill them outright, just. Leave them ah little bloody is all. Just when you're done. Make sure to clean up that mess properly, or they will come back for you with retaliation. That's how they got Uncle Luca.'

Deciding he was done sleeping in, Robert didn't want to waste the water he had. That was going to be for Robert to drink, so he simply shook him up.

Looking around rather groggy, he began with verbal intimidation.

"Good. You're awake. The rules are simple, tell me what I want to know, and I won't hurt a hair from your fur. However; if you start telling lies. And trying to escape, I promise it won't be pretty."

"Go to Tartarus!"

The bull snarled, before spitting into his face making Robert shake his head.

Reaching up, Robert wiped the spit from his eyes before continuing. "I'll let that one slide, next time it will cost you," Robert warned before going into the first question.

"Who sent you to burn down the forest,"

he asked calmly and politely, however, the gruff bull didn't believe him or his words.

"The sad welts called Ponies did!"

'Horse shit, I doubt he's even being truthful yet, but just to play it safe let's test him.' Placing his hand near him, Robert waited patiently while acting like he was thinking over what he had told him. Thinking his plan worked, the minotaur tried to bite Robert.

"Why couldn't you just cooperate."

Reaching over he grabbed hold of the bull's finger before bending it backwards. The loud snap of bone-breaking overtook the sounds of a soft crackling fire, as he wailed in suffering.

"You want me to keep going?! You got seven more fingers!" Robert snarled, hoping his words would scare him into talking.

"Father above, You're fucking insane! Just relax damn it! We were paid to burn down the woods, that's all I know!" The minotaur sat there watching his Twitching and bleeding finger.

Seeing this as utter bullshit, Robert grabbed another finger and gave it the same treatment. And again made him wail in both anger and pain.

"Now you have six! I got all day and all night, So I hope you do too, because when I'm done with you. Your own mother won't recognize you!"

"Alright Alright!!! Old gods protect me! It was the Bastard born of Griffin royalty! That brown nose wanted you out of hiding, so he thought burning down the largest forest Equestria had would make that happen."

Robert wasn't trained in psychology or even psychological warfare. But he knew with this extremely harsh treatment, this Minotaur would break eventually.

It would take time, something Robert had an abundance of. Plus he needed to hone this skill of interrogation, for hopefully a future and clearer use.

By the end, the bull had all of his limbs broken and bent, his arms had been shattered. And his legs were broken beyond recognition and somehow, by the grace of god, or by some curse, was still alive.

"L-look I've told you what you wanted to K-know. You're going to let me go right?" He asked, pain evident in his voice.

' I've gotten everything I can out of Mr.Stout Step. He has one last job I have for him, shame I couldn't get those platinum coins though. If only this Idiota, didn't spend it all on food and whores.'

Clearing his throat, Robert grabbed the broken
minotaurs attention.

"Yeah, sure,"

Making a fist, Robert punched him square across his face knocking him out.

"Stupid fucking prick."

Undoing the strong vines from the grog-filled barrel, Robert took both vines and wounded Stout outside heading for the entrance to the forest.

'I need to send a message. One everyone should surely understand, don't fuck with this forest. I'll hang the fucker, but not near Fluttershys cottage. She's too innocent to witness this.'

Making a noose out of the thick vines, Robert tightened it accordingly and wrapped it around Stout's neck. Afterward, he left gravity to do the job.

The breathing of stout hitched, as he began weakly jerking about trying to make it so he could once again get air into his lungs but it didn't last long.

Robert left the corpse hanging from a tree, of course, it wasn't near Fluttershy's home. Robert wasn't that much of a monster, she was too kind and innocent to find such a grizzly sight so he strung him up somewhere far but still visible to Ponyville.

'My grandfather is most definitely rolling in his grave right now.'

Shaking his head Robert could hear his voice now, switching from broken English back into the old language of the old country. About how the weakest and youngest of his four grandsons became such a strong and brutal man.

~Finalmente mi sono fatto un paio di palle, vedo magro Roberto! e alla fine ho ceduto al modo di fare le cose della famiglia! Non preoccuparti, è normale per la famiglia. Mio nipote. Vai a pulire e prenditi da bere, te lo sei guadagnato.~

Deciding to translate, Robert did so.

~I finally got a pair of balls, I see Roberto is slim! and you finally succumbed to the family's way of doing things! Don't worry, it's normal for the family. My grandson. Go clean up and get yourself a drink, you earned it.~

'That is something he absolutely would say. Good thing I'm practicing my translation skills, who knew living in the woods would test you in more ways than one?'

Deciding. It is best not to tell Gilda what transpired, Robert got cleaned up in streams and began pulling out the knives and bolts. However, there wasn't much he could do for the magic burns.

"Darn it, I guess I might as well go see the cave tree. If only it didn't make me promise to."

He took his time and did his best to avoid getting into another fight, he avoided most Everfree monsters as best as a 14-foot tall creature could. Thankfully, that small group of mercs, seemed to be it, if not for now only.

Climbing down the stone steps as best as he could like before. Robert was soon face-to-face with a rather brightly shining tree.

However, it got a little too bright, making him raise a hand to shield his eyes. "Yes I know you're happy to see me, can you turn the lights down a bit? You're making me go blind over here."

Instantly, the bright glowing had nearly vanished and was replaced with a more dull hue to be easier on his eyes.

"Thank you."

Moving closer and deciding to stop the game of flash or no flash. Robert got connected to the private mindscape.

"You did it!!! "

A voice squealed, as a Pony-sized blob slammed into his chest hugging him tightly.

"Woah they're easy, you're going to hurt yourself. How the hell did you manage to make that jump?" He cautioned, catching the wingless Pony Mare that launched herself at him.

Realizing what she had done she quickly remedied it, suddenly two wings appeared on her back as she flew around him until she landed on his head.

She was about to nessle in before noticing his impairments.

"You're injured? Why hadn't you told me? Let me fix that."

While the tree of harmony dressed his wounds, Robert decided to bring up a valid point. "So do you mind telling me what was going on with the whole, 'you did it.' Masquerade?"

Its healing magic felt oddly pleasant, similar to warm soapy water running up and down his body.

"The seed has sprouted, I've already begun linking my roots to my old friend. He hasn't awoken yet but given time. I'm sure he will."

"Who is he?"

Robert pressed, making her softly giggle.

"I promise you'll meet him soon enough, trust me. He'll want to meet you after I have given him a run down over the last few eons he missed. Which thankfully will buy you some time, just a warning He's far more influential than I."

Thinking for a moment he asked another question. "How will I know he's awake?"

Humming softly, the Pony-shaped creature rubbed her chin in thought.

"Ah yes! He will begin to grow rapidly. Just like I did, but with less restraint, his power is also far older and stronger than mine, but he does not use his ancient blessings for good or evil."

"Will he attack if I attempt to communicate with him?"

Deciding to move from her perch on his head down to his face she shook her head no, her mane softly shaking left to right as she did so before claiming his shoulder.

"Certainly not! just like me, he loves visitors. If he tolerated being burned, and getting chopped down, Even allowing himself to die to stop being harassed. I doubt he would give any retaliation, though few can stand up to him, even fewer who are alive and free at this moment."

'Just who the hell is this guy?'

Looking over slightly as the Pony nestled into Robert's shoulder, he gave another question.

"Just what creature did you make me plant? "

Rolling her rainbow-colored eyes she made a raspberry against his ear. Before speaking up, "Blah, blah, blah. Go ask him later, you're here for me remember? And your reward~" she cooed, getting up and giving him a soft but firm boop on his nose with her sparkling hoof.

Rubbing His nose with a free hand, Robert gently cleared his throat. Along with getting some saliva back inside of his drying mouth before asking the question.

"What is my reward?"

he asked cautiously,

Giving a sinister giggle she leaned in far closer than ever before, he could feel her soft breath on his neck, somehow it slipped past his thick beard, and her pleasantly warm breath was hitting his skin. As she made herself breathless on purpose, to what end, he didn't know.

"Do you really, Really want to know?~" she purred, trying to spark a reaction from him.

Acting quickly on his feet Robert responded,

"If your reward was something sexual I am going to decline the offer. Ponies, kinda 'left' some rather, distasteful memories."

Huffing, she merely but playfully batted at his head with a hoof, for his foolishness. "Oh~ why didn't you say so? I know of many different species I can shift into, if Ponies aren't what you're attracted to.~" She said, with an alluring tone.

Robert's head was more or less going Blank at the tree's suggestion, of such a depraved act.

'Why the fuck, is everything in this world either A, trying to kill me. or B, trying to Fuck me. Or C, utterly scared shitless of me, Regardless of what option this is I'm declining.'

"Come on you big stud~ let's get freaky."She sweetly wined, trying to make him uncomfortable.

"I-i humbly dispute your reward, may I get something else? Perhaps something not sexual. I appreciate the proposal though," he answered, not wanting to offend the tree.

Expecting her fury Robert braced himself for the onslaught to come. But instead, it started as light giggling, and eventually full-blown laughter.

Stunned by this, he turned his head to face the colorless mare and she was indeed laughing at him.

"Your face was priceless!! I can't breathe! Please Faust above save me!" She said tears streaming down her white cheeks, from how hard she had been cracking up, her front legs were hugging her sides as well from her unrelenting amusement.

"You want to play that card huh?"

He enunciated, grabbing hold of the laughing mare and dangling her by her sparkling tail.

Giggling for a little while longer, the tree of harmony hung there till she finally got herself under control.

"Honestly, do you really think me and you could even attempt such a feat? I have a physical body, which is correct. But I can only perform asexual reproduction. And from what I remember, you're only able to do sexual reproduction. Which doesn't work for either of us, for someone with a large skull and brain. I'm surprised, you didn't catch on quickly."

She said, giving him a shit-eating grin,

"You're the worst."

he said dropping her, she on the other hand instantly corrected herself. With a flap of her outstretched wings, she went from free-falling, to floating in front of him.

"I'm sorry!! I just wanted to prepare you for the upcoming Estrus period for both Griffins, Zebras, and Ponies." She said honestly, which made him hesitant.

"What do you mean, Estrus?"

"To keep a long story short, The Ponies go through a heat cycle which gets them in the mood for breeding. Some use magic to cease these urges, until the end of Estrus week. Others use a more pharmaceutical approach. But others aren't so lucky, and that's how those three Races keep going!"

she chirped, giving a short but educational window into Pony, Zebra, and Griffin society.

"And this falls to me how? I mean I appreciate the glimpse into Pony society but what does this Estrus event have to do with me?" Robert asked, making her shake her head in disbelief.

"It will all make sense soon, but first your reward. Dear Robert, take a seat."

Slowly doing as she asked, Robert sat down. However, when the fake Pony tried to sit on him he promptly pushed her off.

Annoyed she didn't try it again but understood why he did it.

Sitting on her haunches, the tree of harmony began her tale.

"Equestria wasn't the peaceful and prosperous nation it is today. Before Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna, and even their parents. Queen Galaxia and King Cosmo. Ponies lived in fear.

Monsters were everywhere and life was very uncertain and bleak. During these times, many went hungry and many more died. Or far worse sold off as slaves,

Mares often had to bury their foals who had passed from starvation in the night, and often villages that seemed to have something of worth. Constantly found themselves at the business end of a sword. By the ferocious Griffin Tribes, or by monsters looking for a quick bite; or by the Diamond dogs, looking for new stock for their mines.

One day a Ram named, 'Grogar.' Who created a twisted and corrupted version of Ancient magics. Soon went mad with lust for more authority.

With this newfound evil power, he took control of the lands east of the mountain that would seat 'Canterlot' and there is where he began creating monsters.

Creatures like the Manticores, were made to scout and hunt in the dense woodlands for hidden pony villages and destroy them, to force them back to more watched areas.

Hydra's were given the capacity to regrow their heads and breathe deadly gas that would kill virtually all who breathed it in. Their purpose was to lay siege to any walled City that had strong defenses. And that dared question, or rebel against his rule.

There are so many creatures that Grogar had made, many of whom went extinct but the ones he found most useful were the humans. Not in the sense of what they could dish out, but being a good food source.

However, the main prize he wanted from them was Giant's blood.

The Giants population had been declining since after, 'The War of Tears.' And were considered extremely valuable to the early noble houses.

It took him many years but finally, he saved Giants from the brink of extinction. By creating a subspecies of Giants, they were Far smaller, more stubborn and even weaker, and overall less deadly. Grogar had one final, issue which was earning their allegiance.

Due to them being incredibly stubborn more so due to his foolish interference. The old ram never gave them the ability to use magic. Fearing they could overpower him, But he had forgotten to make it so they couldn't be a conduit for magic. Significance of these sub par Giants naturally do not have an ounce of magic inside their bodies. But it doesn't mean it can't be added in.

And after attempting to convince the newly brought back Giant race to fight for him. It failed, and instead he casted a powerful spell to make them obey. Thus they served as his shock troops for battling those who dared oppose him."

Knowing there was more to this story, Robert waved her on to continue. To which she surely did.

"After his defeat, by 'Gusty the Great.' The spell enslaving these hybrid half Giants had been broken.

Allowing them to return to a life of peace and tranquility. But after seeing what they were capable of, the Griffins kings hunted them down. And with the aid of Ponies, together they ended the gentle creatures.

Yet those who survived did so, by hiding deep within the Green Titan forest. Or by running, and with the help of the old Gods, and Weirwood trees, some managed to survive. But not for long,

Soon the 'War of Extermination.' Was nothing more than a faint memory to the Ponies, Now being far less frightened by Giants. Instead fearing Brigands and wild monsters, along with. Not having enough political power within their own city-states of Equestria. Or having enough gold in their purses,

Soon...Sorry, I always forget this part. But the Giants of the Frozen North, migrated down south. In an effort to reclaim there ancestral grounds, and their was. Mixed, results to word it Lightly.

Towns saw the usefulness of your kind, they kept away Monsters. And those who tried to raid cities and villages. In exchange for saving them, they would be given safe food to eat and even sweets. Areas for offerings were marked with green symbols."

Giving a devilish grin, she got to the part that would link it all together.

Which made Robert anxious.

'I don't like where this is going.'

"Yet when Estrus rolled around, the Single mares of the village or city. Would paint themselves up in the same symbols, and… 'Seduce.' Their Giant protector. They would leave with their breeding instincts calmed, and Estrus fulfilled. And a male Giant wanting more.~

but rarely, new life did happen between a Pony and a Giant. Resulting in rather interesting offspring, these Ponies were far larger. And stronger than regular Ponies, the only thing I fear. Is what creature a Northern Giant, and an Alicorn could make. Or one with a sphinx, The list can go on indefinitely see?"

Reaching the end of her anecdote she released an exhausted sigh, having been tired by this lengthy story.

Magically a drink appeared and she happily began sipping away at it, as Robert formed a conclusion within his mind, before speaking it to her.

"So what you're telling me is I need to neuter myself?"

Choking on the drink, the Tree of Harmony began coughing hard trying to clear the airway of her Pony form.

"That *cough* wasn't the point of the *cough cough cough* Story!" she coughed out, struggling to gain control over her throat.

"Well, you're telling me that Ponies are going to be actively trying to get me to screw them! What other point are you trying to get at?"

After getting her coughing fit under control she responded.

"I am merely trying to have you mentally prepare yourself for what you might see or hear. Lest you have forgotten Robert, you're the one wanting to retain the idea to the Ponies that you are a dumb beast. So they are going to treat you like one." She defended,

"When is this supposedly going to start?" he asked, wondering how much time Robert had left.

"A week from today."

She said simply, showing that he would need to put it into high gear if Robert didn't want any Mares busting down his door.

"And by the way just so you remember." She said grinning,

"Griffins and Zebras have the same estrus as Ponies. There are more but you won't meet them for a while."

'God damn it.' He inwardly groaned,

"I thank you for the story, sadly my time is short so I need to depart now. I need to plan on how to survive for a whole week without being attacked."

Nodding she waved him off with her sparkling hoof. "Farewell! Hope to see you soon!" she said cheerfully.

Now being freed from her crystal embrace, Robert ran back as best he could. Devising a plan on how to survive this upcoming week of horny Mare's one Griffin and a horny Zebra.

" I'm going to have to do my utmost best not to hurt anyone, and do my finest to survive this upcoming hell week. Gilda most definitely knows what is to come, so I'll need to sneak away a day before. Or lock her ass in a cage."

There was so much to be done and yet so little time for Robert to get these tasks done after all he was only one giant.

Chapter Twelve - A light Spring Estrus or Fighting a Hydra. Which could be possibly worse?

View Online

Chapter Twelve -

In that period, to word it lightly. Robert worked his ass off, organizing and stocking supplies for the week. Devising countermeasures in the event of being pursued by each member of the Pony race and so on,

Now it was time to see if his week-old defenses were up to the task of keeping Ponies, Griffins, Zebras, and god knows what away.

Gilda on the other hand was less than pleased about her current situation. “Robert! Let me out of this damn cage, I'm not in heat!” She howled, as a permanent blush was plastered on her feather cheeks showing just what she was going through. And Robert had only one thing to say to her.

“Hell, no. I wasn't born yesterday, Gilda. I know what is going on this week. So if you know what's good for you, you'll shut your damn mouth and keep quiet. Capiche?”

Groaning desperately, Gilda persisted.

“I told you to stop speaking in that language! It makes you so much hotter. get your ass over here!” she demanded, doing her best to claw through solid wood.

Shaking his head he began again.

“Gilda, I swear to god. You break out of that cage, and you and I are going to have problems. None of which are going to be the ones you want, guarantee.”

He replied putting a decapitated Manticore head on a wooden pike, as a deterrent to the equines. After all, Robert despite putting himself in this position of being a ‘dumb animal.’ He was using it to his full advantage.

“Let me out for fuck sake!”

She hissed, it had gotten to the point where she began slamming herself against the wooden bars.

‘I'm taking the bad and the good with this current stance. Besides that, I should have left Gilda back at the castle. And not carry her with me, if I knew she wouldn't shut up.’

Deciding to ignore her, Robert continued his plans they had been made straightforward yet easy, Animals more particularly predators. Had stomping grounds right? While this fact had been valid, Robert saw this as his key to frightening ponies away.

This tactic took the lives of many Manticores and Cragadiles alike, but Robert made sure to make each of their deaths quick and as painless as humanly possible. Despite how much damage they did in return to his body.

After their eviction from life, he would remove the heads. And forced them, onto tree logs.

‘This should serve as a ‘warning,’ to them. Not to mention they are all over the forest. Hopefully fear overtakes the desire to get railed.’

He had plenty of food to last, even longer if rationed. Robert knew most Ponies didn't have the stones to go this deep in the woods. Mostly those who had a brain, or we're trained soldiers only entered this dense part of the woods.

Or if you were these six mares who were up Zecora’s ass last week before Estrus had commenced. Robert had visited the zebra to inquire about any potions, she could make for Gilda to stop her heat.

And that's when he found them all inside her hut, from what he Could recall from his eavesdropping, they were looking for him.

Which wasn't a shock by this point, but the interesting part was that Zecora protected him and where he had been living for most of his time in Equestria.

Even as far as to lie to keep his whereabouts safe. The main six eventually gave up, thinking Zecora did not know Robert's whereabouts. Instead, they had requested some. 'Heat-stopping elixirs.’ To stop their growing primal desires.

In Rarity’s case, she demanded five of these time-consuming potions in the event of finding him.

‘Of course, the upper-class one wants to make sure a certain ‘foul beast’ doesn't want her. Don't worry lady Rarity, you aren't my type, it's been like that since the very beginning. So your chastity is safe, and to be honest? I wouldn't touch that if you paid me. For such a high-maintenance pony, going after a person like me, who has little to no money at all. Nor influence, it just doesn't make much sense, for a gold digger.’

Placing the last of the slain monstrous Beast heads on their wooden placements. He gave a tired sigh.

‘That should do it, now we play the long game.’

Shifting back toward the grounded griffin, Robert leaned down to scoop the cage up.

“Come on Gilda we're going home.”

“You better let me out!” Gilda snarled, doing her best to intimidate Robert into releasing her.

Unfazed Robert answered.

“Who the hell do you think you're talking to?”

He said, grasping both the top and bottom of the cage and began shaking it, with her inside the timber construct.

After a few shakes, Gilda did indeed go quiet.

She wasn't dead, Robert had done this a few times before, and she always sprung back.

To confirm he didn't just snap her neck, Robert peeked inside, to find her completely dazed.

Seeing no serious injuries on her, he began the long trek home. Giving Zecora's hut a wide berth, and cleaning up the forest in some places, an opinion crossed his mind.

‘Let's play this out for a second, I survived this, insane mother nature sex event. What the hell am I going to do if they find me? Once they know I'm living in some old ruins I'm gonna have to haul ass away to someplace else.’ Robert was somewhat getting tired of running, After all, who wouldn't?

Getting through his doorless gate he entered his home. And carried the imprisoned Gilda, back into her inside isolation corner, it wasn't that she couldn't see him or the outside world, far from it. She was just far away enough from him to not smell him, which eased her urges if only slightly.

'Who knew Griffin's had heat cycles. Does that mean they mate for life? After doing it, I mean.' Robert mentally probed, subsequently this question was still too sudden to ask. Leaving him without his answer, yet without it he spoke up anyway.

“I'm sorry Gilda truly I am, but this is only for the week and after the week is over you'll be as free as a bird,” Robert said, trying to keep her spirits up, her response was less than thankful.

“Go fuck a Hydras maw!” she snarled, knowing damn well he wasn't going to stick around.

Robert wasn't sure if that was her natural griffin behavior, or her heat cycle making Gilda act this way he however took it in stride.

“I make no promises, Gilda. But that isn't something on my to-do list. Nor, will it ever be,”

Grumbling in defeat, Gilda began pacing the cage knowing she couldn't go anywhere.

Walking back into the old stone halls, he calmly transited through them. He was ambling by additional winding halls, some of which had old or broken windows. Thankfully, the glass had been vacated by wind, rain, and snow. Robert understood where most of these hallways led to.

Some trailed to much smaller chambers, the corridor on his left went towards an old dusty library. Sadly though, Robert was only able to get into the main room of the ancient library. And any further exploration needed him to be just a tad smaller than he currently was.

Other than that, that's all he wrote about it. If it wasn't for his damn height, Robert would have been reading books or perhaps. Seeing what the additional old rooms had in store Gilda on the other hand was too chicken to go in by herself.

And his curiosity was reaching its peak, sadly for now. It was time to do something more trivial.

Going outside he discovered something that made his body freeze. One little filly screaming for him to be explicit,

"R-robert!!"

After a few moments, it happened again.

"Robert!!"

“What the fuck?”

Picking up the pace a bit and grabbing the sword by the two-way entryway, then stepping outside into the main courtyard, he found the Cutie Mark Crusaders, well one of them to be more precise. Upon seeing him like a savior from above. She began pacing in place, seemingly terrified.

“Mr. Robert!...*Pant*...Thank…*pant*...Celestia I remembered the way back…*pant*… here, we need your help!”

‘Her name was Scootaloo wasn't it?’

Placing his sword on his shoulder loosely, Robert nodded towards her.

“Take a breather first, Scootaloo. You look like you ran here from Ponyville,”

Nodding shakily, she promptly fell onto her knees primarily focused on this vital function for organic life.

“There you go, Scoots. Just breathe deeply, if you need water. I can certainly give you some” He said walking over toward her,

Being mindful of Scootaloo's far smaller size. Robert kneeled in front of her, keeping his blade pinned on his shoulder, so that if it fell off him, for whatever reason.

She wouldn't be harmed,

Robert watched Scootaloo breathe for a few moments. Her breaths had been horsed and extremely labored. Besides that, the young filly’s coat and mane had leaves and even a few sticks here and they're sticking out at odd angles, and a nice layer of sweat had taken over some parts of the fillies coat.

Even her hooves and lower body had muddy water staining her coat.

Once she had gotten the much-needed rest, she told him what was going down.

“Applebloom and Sweetie Belle didn't listen to me about the directions! And walked head-first into a Hydra!”

‘Great, that's just fantastic. Where the fuck are their parents! If they were my children, all three of them would have gotten the belt. Yet, for now, I need to save them.’

Robert calculated, along with reaching up and massaging his face, reaching a conclusion he released his temples and pointed at the resting filly.

“Stay here. And don't move,” Robert commanded.

Going inside his castle, Robert rushed into the main room, thinking about how he should deal with this ongoing crisis. ‘If this is the same kind of Hydra from Earth mythology, I'm going to need an open flame of some kind. Or superheat my sword, because it will just grow back any head I cut off.’

Robert placed his sword off to the side and grabbed one of many Cured Manticore pelts. Before wrapping it around his face, as a kinda mask, to deter the poisonous breath of this freak of nature, from killing him.

Luckily it was dense enough, he even experimented by trying to exhale through this makeshift mask. Discovering that it wouldn't go through, Robert decided to play it safe by double wrapping. And even triple-wrapping his face,

As he wrapped his face the audible noise of wings flapping told him who noticed his presence. And she was far less than pleased about his mad dash into the room.

“What's the big idea?! You could have gotten me killed!” She squawked, having narrowly avoided being crushed by falling debris for the thirty-odd time, of Gilda being locked inside the timber cage.

Moving over and opening the cage Robert spoke up.

“We got problems, Gilda, and not the fun kind. Grab a weapon, a few pelt slices to cover your nose and mouth, and lastly a torch.”

Rolling her eyes she crossed her arms.”And why should I? You've been a complete ass to me!”

Robert merely pulled her out of the wooden cage. Afterward, Robert’s calm but angry fit began. “Because I've more or less done more for you, and your comforts! You've done very little here. Or for me, Except, eat my kills and drink my grog, yet. You did help me when I was sick. And for that, I am grateful. But now is a good time to earn your keep here.”

That seemed to have worked, as she seemed rather conflicted. It took her some time, precious minutes they could have used to get started on their hike, but finally, she gave in with a heavy sigh.

“Alright fine, Let's kick some ass.”

Gilda asserted, going towards her nest dwelling and grabbing her weapons of choice. A new and far less rusty crossbow was her weapon of selection, along with its bolts and quivers. Next, was a small short sword, small in the context of Robert's hand size. That short sword was paired with a toothpick if anything,

She also grabbed the throwing knives he went back for some time back, now that their old owner sorta didn't need them nowadays.

“Damn straight, Gilda, I see why Rainbow Dash was friends with you. You're just like her, Ride or die.” Robert said, grabbing his full drinking horn, as that would be needed later.

Scoffing, Gilda was going to retort. Robert knew she would, but the annoyed, and slightly heated Griffin just wanted this to be done and over with.

Heading back outside with Gilda in toe, he spoke up to a more relaxed and not-struggling-to-breathe, Scootaloo.

“Take me to the spot, in which you and your friends ran into this Hydra, thereafter, once I save those two. You all are going to get a stern talking to, do you understand Scootaloo?”

Gulping nervously she shakily nodded, “Y-yes Robert.”

Learning of the foe they had to fight Gilda began her protests.

“By the name of the father! What fucking balls of steel do you have?! I'm not taking on a Hydra, those things are tough! Not even the Princesses would fight one alone.” Gilda began before he pursed his lips and whistled, to stop her from backing out.

“We're not doing this alone. I will be doing most of the heavy fighting, while it's distracted, your job is to burn the stumps of the heads I cut or tear off.”

“W-what about me! I want to help save my friends!” yelled Scootaloo from the ground below.

Robert looked down and merely Picked her up, and placed her on his shoulder. “You are going to do nothing, except hide far from the battle. This is an issue for grown-ups to fix. You've done enough, including your friends. If you want to help get them to safety, that's it.”

Scootaloo grumbled a few times but eventually agreed.

Now that the young filly couldn't escape him, even if she wanted to. Scootaloo accepted her fate, of her and her friends being disciplined in the not-too-distant future.

Robert gripped the long sword and if he was being honest? He wasn't too keen on fighting this legendary beast.

Applebloom POV

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle and been doing their very best not to be gobbled by the Hydra.

Despite its size, it was rather slow and lethargic. Yet neither she nor Sweetie Belle knew if this was just how they naturally were. Or it was toying with the two fillies before killing them,

Regardless of the truth, they were running through the swamps as fast as their little legs could carry them, the brownish water splashing around their hooves as they ran.

Applebloom was reaching her limit, and so was Sweetie Belle. They both knew it.

It was only a matter of time before one of its many heads chopped down on them, or worse, they would be killed by its deadly breath.

“C-come on Sweetie Belle! Don't give up now. H-helps gotta be on the way.”

Just as Applebloom made an effort to motivate her Unicorn friend, the Hydra chasing them bellowed out with two of its heads showing they weren't getting away easily.

“I-i’m…*Pant*...Trying!” Sweetie Belle’s exhausted response had been.

Applebloom knew this situation was bad, and was praying the whole time she and her friend were running for their lives.

‘Mother of Celestia, please. I pray somepony is coming to rescue us.’

But then again, who would have known the Cutie Mark Crusaders needed help? For all anypony knew they were in their treehouse. Plotting ways to get their cutie marks,

And it wouldn't be discovered they needed help until it was too late.

Applebloom’s lungs had been burning for some time now. But thanks to her being an Earth pony, she was made for running far past her exhaustion limit. Sweetie Belle, however, was less than fortunate.

Sweetie Belle needed time to rest, both of which weren't available at this given moment for the duo.

Looking ahead of them, while the world rushed by them, Applebloom spotted a swamp cave connecting it to a cliff side.

Celestia knows how deep the natural formation went, or if it was too tight of a fit for the Hydra but Applebloom knew it was too far of a desperate leap of faith.

‘We won't make it.’ Applebloom thought, before looking left.

There she spotted a Tree, unlike the more spindly kind of trees that populated the swamp. This one was like them but far thicker, and large enough for a filly or two to hide under.

‘B-bingo!’

She looked back toward her tired friend. Applebloom spoke up. “Sweetie Belle, Turn left! We're going for that Tree.”

Merely nodding, Sweetie Belle followed but at the cost of her speed greatly deteriorating.

Luckily, the Hydra lost sight of them from its four heads. Thanks to the hanging flora of the swamps and other vegetation.

Diving into cover as the Hydra Roared, it was clear it knew it lost them. But the Hydra wasn't going to leave until it found at least just one filly to eat.

Collapsing with a soft splash, Sweetie Belle was gasping for breath. Applebloom however had been more controlled in this manner,

“We should be fine for the moment, Sweetie Belle. Just focus on catching ya breath ok?”

Applebloom offered with concern clear in her tired voice.

While Sweetie Belle recovered from over-exhaustion Applebloom kept watch for the Tartarus-born monster just in case it found them again.

“A-applebloom.”

Her friend called out barely above a whisper,

Glancing back, Applebloom could see the tears building up in her friend's eyes, before finally falling free. Seeing that Applebloom was staring at herself, she continued.

“I-if I don't M-make it. T-tell Rarity I appreciate all she A-and Mom, even D-dad has ever done for me. And I'm S-sorry I can't make it back H-home.” She sniffled out.

Moving quickly but quietly, Applebloom moved to comfort her. “Hey now, who said anything about not making it? Nopony. That's what, and you don't have to tell me nothing, about your gratitude towards ya family. When you can tell them yourself when we get back.”

Applebloom Comforted, doing her best to calm down Sweetie Belle from this traumatic experience.

‘It probably doesn't help that this activated her old trauma regarding infected humans.’ Applebloom's young mind summed up,

While Sweetie Belle was having a mental break, time seemed to slow. Allowing them both to just breathe and relax.

“We can't stay here long Applebloom.” Sweetie Belle nervously offered, wiping the remaining tears away with a hoof.

“So what do you reckon? Do we just continue running? We can't stay here; both of us are just sitting ducks if we do.” Applebloom offered,

Watching her friend, Sweetie Belle’s eyes lit up at an idea that just popped into her head.

“What if we try to sneak away? It only has four heads, right? Surely there's a spot that is overlooked. We can use that to slip away and get back to Ponyville.” Sweetie Belle suggested,

Nodding Applebloom agreed, but raised a concern of this hurriedly crafted plan. “That's not a half-bad idea, But my question is, are you ready to start running again Sweetie Belle?”

Giving a shaking nod, the pair got ready to quickly bolt. “On three, One. Two. Three!”

Just as they were about to run, the tree Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had been hiding under. Was ripped out from the muddy earth below both root and stem.

The Hydra roared with its three free heads showing it had found the two little ponies. Its intent to eat them was clear, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

“So much for the stealth part of the plan, Sweetie Belle. Run!”

And now the two fillies were back into the run-for-life situation. Yet, this time they both had time to rest. Giving them just that extra push to keep going,

“Come on Sweetie Belle we got this! Let's just hope Scootaloo has made it back to Ponyville, sompony is hopefully on its way!” Applebloom shouted trying to keep her friend's morale up.

Just then, something large flew past them with a massive, *THWACK.* Having connected with one of the necks of the Hydra stunning it and even making it roar in pain.

“Why don't you pick on someone your own size!” Yelled a deep but familiar voice, as Applebloom knew who it was.

‘Aren't we glad to see you!’ Applebloom mentally thanked Celestia as she spotted him leaping off unfazed by the shortfall down to their level.

Like Celestia during the sun celebration, Robert had descended down from the cliffside followed by two Timberwolves, one Griffin, and one Scootaloo.

“Girls! I told you I was right!” Shouted the third member of their little close friend group.

Robert had picked her up and placed the young orange filly down, allowing the third Cutie Mark Crusader to rejoin her friends.

“Everypony ok?” Asked the orange filly towards the other too.

Nodding, Applebloom promoted a question of her own. “Now's not the time, Scootaloo! What does Mr. Robert want us to do?” Applebloom inquired,

Ears folding, she chuckled nervously as she gave her answer. “He wants us to stay out of this, and all three of us are going to be yelled at once this is done.” She warned, showing that they were going to be in big trouble once he dealt with the Hydra.

Groaning, Applebloom reached up with a wet hoof and began rubbing her face in dismay. ‘At least this can't get any worse somehow.’

Applebloom mused as they found cover. And hunkered down beside it, the fillies had front-row seats for a show that they wouldn't forget.

Robert POV

Now having the Hydra’s attention on him instead of three fillies, Robert watched as it merely heaved away an uprooted tree from its harmful maw and bellowed at him and Gilda with all four heads.

“F-father save me. Mother S-save me,” Gilda began to pray as Robert poked her side.

“You're not fighting this thing, me and these two are. Your job only is to burn the stumps of its neck, I'll be covering you so it's even possible.” Robert reassured,

‘Not that I want to fight this fucking thing, but hey I rather deal with four heads than nine.’

Before Gilda could reply Robert went in for the attack, leaving her to continue being a chicken shit over literally being near a hydra.

“You're still fucking nuts!”

She shouted as he brought his sword down, piercing its scaly hide and making it wail in agony.

‘There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in a storm, a night with no moon, and the wrath of a good man. I doubt I am a good man, but I'm not a sinner, nor am I a Saint. Possibly, in the middle?'

One of the three heads had made an effort to bite Robert's shoulder. As it latched down, sinking its sharp fangs into his fleshy limb.

Grimacing in pain, Robert merely punched it square in the face making it lose a few teeth for trying to take a chunk out of him.

‘I need to find the one Immortal head, if this thing even has one.’ Having now been freed, He pushed the advantage, driving his sword through the far left’s neck, cleaving it off, and giving Gilda her shot to do what was asked of her.

Robert slammed his sword into the back of the hydra as he restrained the three heads from stopping Gilda from burning the stump.

“For the love of God, Burn the fucking stump!” Robert gritted out, as the hydra thrashed its thick, and strong necks.

After being called on Gilda immediately flew over and pressed the burning torch into its oozing neck,

The smell was on par with roadkill, having been left out in the sun for five days, and its flesh wasn't red compared to a Manticore’s and instead was a vomit-like green.

Having burned its stump, dark magic leaked out, now unable to heal the stump. ‘Just in time Gilda, one down. Three to go,’

Seeing that his concept of burning the headless stumps of the hydra had worked, Gilda was beyond dumbstruck.

“How is this working?”

She questioned cautiously, but Robert wasn't able to answer back, as the Hydra forced him off of itself. Disarming him in the process,

Now having lost his Blade as it was lodged in the hydra’s back, he had to resort to more physical-based attacks.

Throwing a right hook, the resulting collision snapped her out of the current stupor, making Gilda fly back to a reputable distance. Not wanting to be crushed, Robert spotted something that made his heart freeze.

At the corners of each mouth, it was getting ready to blast him with its poisonous breath. Moving quickly, Robert held his makeshift mask tightly over his nose, and mouth and simply prayed.

Not a moment later, did the beast spray him with the breath that would and could cause instantaneous death to any who breathed it in.

Yet his preparations and careful planning saved Robert's life, as the deadly gas couldn't punch through. However, his vision did suffer as it felt like someone sprayed him with a strong grizzly bear spray.

‘I rather take the pain, than be instantly killed. But I gotcha now you bastard! You just lost your main form of attack.’

Grinning underneath the triple-layer mask, Robert simply waited for his turn to strike back, as his eyes became red and even started to sting from its bad pungent breath.

'I know where fighting and all. But Christ all mighty your breath stinks! Ever heard of mouthwash or breath mints? Promise you need them.' Robert wisecracked, towards the mythical now three-headed beast.

Slowly the deadly gas stopped, giving Robert his opportunity to strike back. Reaching back, and making a fist Robert gave the hydra a hard left hook.

And the reaction was worth it, from the shocked expressions on the other two faces it wasn't expecting him to have survived.

The head that got slugged was thrown rearwards and bounced off his impaled sword. Then going limp having been punched clean out of the battle.

"That's for trying to kill kids, you Figlio di Puttana!" (son of a bit*h)

The two heads growled in response but that didn't seem to be as threatening as before, pushing forward and pinning the two heads to his side Robert pushed the hydra till it fell over.

Now having greater reach towards his sword's well-worn handle, Robert grasped it and yanked it out.

It sliced outward satisfyingly, like a knife through butter. Unbothered by its scales and tough flesh underneath. While the recently uncorked wound began spraying hydra blood everywhere it turned the brown muddy water below them a reddish brown color.

‘Luna; sorry, Princess Luna. Wasn't lying about this blade, it really can slice through anything.’

Recalling back to a certain day a certain part of his hand was made into a shish kabob, earning a shudder.

The slight pain this sword caused, made the hand in question twitch slightly from the unpleasant memory.

Out of the three heads, Robert would target the Unconscious one, seeing as it couldn't defend itself from him, and neither could the conscious heads defend the knocked-out one.

Transitioning his restraining positions, Robert used his foot, pinning one head down while the other more unruly one got lucky, and bit him into his side sinking the sharp fangs for teeth it had into him. Thankfully it didn't break or splitter his hardened bones, nevertheless that didn't stop the wave of agony.

Resulting in Robert roaring in pain.

The sound was not very human in nature, but no doubt could definitely scare off many smaller animals to even Equines.

Looking down at the offending head, Robert Grabbed said head with his free hand, then he simply retaliated, forcing one of his large fingers into its eye socket and he used his big fingernail to cut and slice the living head's eye.

It felt damp in there, making Robert shutter from both discomfort and pain as the hydra-head finally released him, allowing him to cut off the knocked-out head.

‘I wouldn't want to be your fucking Ophthalmologist, once I'm done with you!’

Using his sword like a guillotine, Robert sliced the head clean off.

After French revolutioning, the unconscious hydra head. He then flagged down Gilda, who in turn burned the bloody stump as its blood and deadly breath leaked out.

“You are nuts for figuring this out, you know that?”Gilda grumbled, not liking the plan he made for the a group.

“It's not that I figured it out, if you're a good student of history you can often find any creature's weakness. The Hydra is burning its stumps to prevent it from growing new heads. I also swore they had nine heads, not four. But hey, I'm not complaining." Robert gritted out, having to hold two hydra heads instead of three.

A few times in the past, Robert relied on history to help him against one mythical creature after another.

‘Maybe history is useful after all, and not a boring subject like others believe it to be.’

Just as Robert was about to send Gilda away the hydra had learned of their rudimentary strategy and smacked the Griffin with its long lizard-like tail.

Making Gilda blast off again.

“Don't you die on me!”

He yelled as she flipped him off trying to gain Aerial control once again.

"Oh I don't count on it!" she hissed while soaring through the sky.

Still, her efforts would be in vain as she crash-landed into a different part of the swamp. And the Hydra focused solely on Robert, having finally gained the upper hand and pushed him away with a great deal of force.

He stumbled backward, and even almost fell over.

But thanks to a swamp tree blocking his path, has was able to stay on his own two feet. Instead of falling over.

Shaking off its vines and thick bush of leaves watched the Timberwolves go on the offensive.

Finally having their moment to shine the Timberwolves went in for the attack, clawing, and biting the hydra’s scale-covered underbelly and body but to no avail. As its scaly armor was just too thick for hardened wood to break through.

Giving a hearty but evil chuckle at their attempt at harming the stronger monster, the Hydra simply had crushed Robert’s timberwolves.

Splittering their wooden bodies all over the muddy and water-logged terrain.

‘You bastard! You killed my dogs! Now, this is personal.’

Now that he was beyond anger, the wounds he had seemed to have sustained hurt just slightly less than they should have as Robert went back on the offensive. Or at least tried to,

Just as he was about to turn the two-head remaining Hydra into mince meat, a Lavender wall halted him.

Looking back, he found the last group of Ponies he wanted to see at this moment in time.

‘What kind of Looney Tunes coincidence is this shit? So much for me being a taxi service for Applebloom and her friends again I only feel bad for them once they get back home their families are going to tear them limb from limb. Unless they stay hidden and I come back for them once those six mares depart. Regardless of which, as long as they stay out of my way, I don't need them to be getting in my path of a good old-fashioned Vendetta.’

Robert privately didn't mind that they had shown up, it saved the trouble of him needing to get the Cutie Mark Crusaders back home. But the one option he had thought up for them, to avoid punishment went completely out the window upon a little fillies shout.

“Big sis!”

Cried Applebloom, compelling Applejack, and Rarity to fling themselves around to see Applebloom and her two friends. Making so many questions, and even outrage flood out of the two older sisters.

“What in Tarnation?! Applebloom what in Celestia’s mane are you three doing far out here in the Everfree forest, Alone? With no Adults!”

“Sis, please! If you let us explain, we can clear it all up!” Applebloom tried to clarify, but Applejack was too upset at this moment. In time to listen to any kind of reason or excuses.

“All of ya! Shut your darn muzzles before you three never see Celestia’s sun for a whole month!” Applejack said seething with rage.

“I second that motion.”

Rarity said, her blue eyes narrowing at Sweetie Belle’s appearance. Rarity from what Robert could see, was bottling up her anger for when they had gotten back home.

‘Someone’s in big trouble when they get home. I guess, I don't have to punish these kids. There's no way this could get any worse.’

It did in fact, get worse.

“Dash?! What the hells are you doing here?” Shouted a confused Gilda who finally flew back from her hard landing.

“Wait. What are you doing here? Gilda, I thought you went back home to Griffinstone.”

Giving a nervous chuckle she rubbed her neck slightly with a talion, not knowing what to say.

“It's a long story.”

Gilda began, but Robert was less than thrilled for a blast through the past moment.

‘Could you all take this discussion somewhere else, please? I'm trying to kill this fucking Hydra here. I'm not here for a blast down memory lane.’

Robert mentally hissed, as the monster in question saw the mounting numbers against it, and tried to flee fueling Robert's rage.

‘Oh hell no buddy, you killed my Wolves. Try and kill three Fillies, You're not getting away that easy pal and you tried to kill me.’ Releasing an annoyed growl, Robert stabbed into the purple magic wall, however it did not have the desired outcome. As Twilight merely fixed what he broke,

Moving it up a notch, Robert began to slash and tear into its magical properties.

Twilight on the other hand or hoof, was now struggling to keep her protective barrier up and maintained.

“I-i can't hold it much longer! He can't possibly fight a Hydra all on his own.” Gilda on the other hand was displeased that Twilight was allowing the already weakened Hydra a chance at escape.

“Book for brains, let him go! He's got this.”

Gilda barked, watching Robert tear into the magical field.

Every time he sliced, or punched the magical wall. Twilight did her best to repair the force field, doing her hardest to keep Robert 'safe' from the hydra thinking he couldn't handle such a formidable beast.

As sweat began to build on her forehead and drip down, showing how much she was struggling to hold him.

“I told the Princesses I would find him and try to socialize him with P-ponies. But I can't do that if he is killed! Hydra’s are dangerous and he can't fight it alone.” She gritted out as Gilda landed next to Twilight.

“Yeah no shit, that's why I've been helping him!” Gilda stated, before suddenly offering her the torch that was unfortunately put out.

“Do you mind lighting this back up?” Gilda asked, trying to diverge Twilight's concentration.

Looking towards the two, Robert watched Gilda. Who on her part looked at him, and merely winked. Showing it was his turn to get the barrier down,

‘Gilda you devious dog. You're getting extra Manticore meat for this one,’ turning back and upon noticing the slightly weaker barrier Robert would rear back and kick it. Resulting in the magical barrier shattering, into magical pieces,

"N-no! Stop please!" Twilight begged, but Robert was more concerned on his target.

‘Your ass is grass, Hydra.’

Allotting a warcry, Robert stomped after the hydra. Pushing trees and low hanging vines out from his face, like a moth to a light. Gilda was close behind him, her gifted torch lit with a purple flame as she gave him a knowing beak smile.

“You're welcome by the way. Unicorns can't focus on spells if there concentration is split."

She said matter of factly, proving that It was to simply distract her to help him continue the path of killing this monster.

Giving a simple nod and a grunt, Robert followed the hurried path of destruction the Hydra had left in its wake of fleeing.

Pushing past the last few swamp trees, he found the target of his rage.

From what Robert could see, the hydra had been pinned by a large cliffside; the large drop could have even killed Robert, let alone the hydra.

Seeing that it was cornered the hydra went into a defensive position trying to protect itself from the unstoppable giant.

‘You aren't getting away that easy, pezzo di merda d’asino.’ (Piece of donkey shit)

Just as Robert moved to finish off the pinned hydra, A certain cream-colored Pegasus blocked his path.

“P-please, you've shown the Hydra its mistake. I doubt he'll ever cross paths with anypony, especially Y-you. But that isn't the reason why you fought this creature; is it? ” Fluttershy started, gently and gingerly she touched his face with a hoof. Trying to gain his attention,

Forcing him to glance upwards toward Fluttershy.

'Don’t start with me Fluttershy, I have a job to do and your Kindness shouldn't apply to this monster.’ Robert reminisced, reaching up and calmly trying to push the gentle mare away. Yet, she remained steadfast.

Refusing to move, Fluttershy continued.

“You instead fought for those three Fillies to protect them, and instead of letting them be harmed. You had been watching those three, ever since they stepped hoof into the Everfree.”

Fluttershy muttered, before finally moving away from his face and landing on his not bloody shoulder and gingerly, she embraced Robert’s neck, with a gentle but firm hug.

‘Firstly that's one hell of a stretch, Fluttershy. Secondly, it's estrus week. You think I would be anywhere near Ponyville or any kind of settlement for that matter? That includes the very edge of the forest.’ Robert mentally pointed out but Fluttershy continued.

“Well, you needn't worry yourself anymore. Me and the others will take care of Applebloom and her friends. I swear it; so there isn't a justification to continue with the violence.” Fluttershy persisted in saving the hydra, this action astonished Robert.

He figured even this kind mare would want a piece of this foul beast, for trying to kill her friend's younger siblings.

And yet, here Fluttershy was.

Pleading for Robert to spare this wounded, and legendary creature. Looking over toward her, Fluttershy merely gave him a soft smile showing that no matter the situation she would try to be kind, and forgiving.

‘God damn it Fluttershy, I will never understand any of these Six mares. Not everything can be solved through good deeds and charity, it's just not how the world works. This thing threatened to swallow the siblings of both Rarity and Applejack whole, and still. You defend it.’

Shaking his head, Robert calmly took hold of Fluttershy and placed her back down onto the rocky earth below. And since she said her peace, she didn't try to use him as a mobile cat post.

Gilda however, had something that needed to be expressed, taking a spot on his shoulder, the griffin began talking to Robert through hushed whispers, objecting the peaceable ponies.

“Don't listen to her, she's just a softy, who doesn't understand how this forest works. You do; if we let this Hydra go, it will come back and bite us in the ass. And I don't know about you big guy, but I don't want to be killed in my sleep by a two-headed Hydra.

That being said, she doesn't need to worry about it, nor what goes on within these cursed woods. She has the Royal Guards to protect her; we have nothing but ourselves in this forest.” Gilda said pointing out the apparent,

“I won't go into details about our current and even past struggles. But I vote to finish, what we started. But I won't contest the issue if you pick the Pony's choice. Just it will be your mess alone to clean up.” Gilda expressed, seeing that he needed a moment to decide, she got off his shoulder allowing him to think about this for a moment.

Robert stood there blocking the only plausible way the hydra could escape from, with his own physical body. Unless it decided to jump,

‘I have to decide? Shit, my choice will affect how the Ponies will see me. Because whatever I do here, they most likely will tell the Princesses. But not only that, how will Gilda see me? If I let it go,'

By this point, all but two members of the main six had arrived except Rarity and Applejack.

‘Guess they couldn't wait till they got back to Ponyville.’ Robert mused before deciding the most credible approach.

Showing mercy.

‘The only reason why I'm allowing this thing to walk is because Fluttershy and her gang are here. If they weren't, this thing would not be still alive, you get that? The bell saved your ass Hydra.’

Turning to depart, made Fluttershy ecstatic. On her part she took flight, and slammed into his side, she nuzzled and even embraced him tightly.

“Oh thank you! I knew you didn't like unnecessary and needless violence. G-goodness! You've been bitten a few times, let me get a closer look.” Fluttershy began trying to see how bad Robert’s wounds had been and if they had worsened, during his fight. And they in fact did,

Annoyed Gilda put the torch out by merely putting it into the dirt and smothering it.

Rainbow Dash however stopped Gilda before she could leave. “So, um do you want to talk about that day?” Asked a slightly nervous Rainbow Dash trying to piece back together the friendship they once shared.

“Not here,”

Gilda said flatly, not wanting the others to watch them reconnect as friends, if that would even occur.

“O-oh right.”

Said a stunned Rainbow Dash, both of whom flew off to somewhere in the sky to talk.

Now that the group was smaller, the hydra felt like it could take on the group and immediately charged them. Roaring, the hydra prepared to kill them all with its toxic breath.

‘Shit.’

Grabbing Fluttershy and pushing her off of himself, so she wouldn't be harmed. Then grasping his sword, Robert swung it around effectively cleaving one of the two heads off.

Making the hydra roar in pain, at the loss of its second head Gilda however, had returned upon hearing the commotion.

“Twilight! Burn the stump!” yelled Gilda who pointed to the bloody stump she however was less than willing to do so.

“That's not how you fight a Hydra! Magic is the only way to defeat them, and my magical ability isn't measured at the proper levels to fight it!” She fired back but Gilda wasn't having her bullcrap.

“I'm not asking you to fight the damn Hydra! I'm asking you to burn the stumps that he cuts off! It can not grow its head’s back once burned, Just do it!” Gilda pressed for Twilight to act.

Seeing that the group had nothing left to lose, Twilight’s horn glowed to life as she burned the stump, scrunching her nose from the stench in the process.

The smell was something that her stomach didn't agree with, nor did Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

Now with just one head left, the hydra was very much done for. Fluttershy wasn't going to save it and Robert now had a reason to end its already fleeting life.

‘I Think I've finally made a proper name for this sword, I shall call it. 'Hydra’s wail.’

Grasping his handle tighter, and giving it a few test thrusts and slashes, the name felt like it added more weight to the weapon. As Robert got ready to end this game of cat and mouse,

‘Sorry old champ but your story ends here.’

Lifting his blade Robert brought it down with a great deal of force, slicing the stunned Hydra’s head into two parts.

Afterward, he drew it back. Then cleaved the rest off, allowing Twilight to burn the wound close. And allowing him, to bury the head under something fairly heavy.

‘I'm not sure if that is heavy enough. But it will have to do.’

It wasn't a rock or boulder that would have worked, instead, it was a mere tree stump.

To make sure it stayed under, Robert stepped onto the tree stump crushing it into place and locking the last head away deep within the swampy lands beneath.

‘Better to leave it there than have it come back and. Try and kill me again.’

Seeing that its body was done for, Robert merely kicked it over the cliffside prompting Pinkie to speak up.

“Twilight! Doesn't this area seem familiar?” Pinkie Pie happily chirped, making the pony in question shudder.

“Do you mean if I remember the fact, I nearly died here? Then yes, yes I do.”Twilight said Shuddering.

Now that things were settled, Robert tried to depart, however, a certain Shy mare wouldn't let that happen with his current injuries. Fluttershy blocked his path, wings gently flapping to keep her in his way.

“Not so fast mister, you need to get checked and treated. No exceptions.” She scolded, making Robert want to facepalm at her over-caring nature.

‘I'm not a child, Fluttershy I can take care of this myself.’

Fluttershy was less then convinced. As she flew right up to his face and jabbed him in the cheek, to grab Roberts attention.

"Listen here buster, you just won a fight with a Hydra. I'm not taking no, ands, ifs, or buts. You will come with us back to my cottage, and you will let me patch you up!" Fluttershy said matter of factly.

Seeing no way out of this, he and Gilda were dragged back to Fluttershy's cottage. To get looked over by this apparent home doctor,

Turns out the Hydra roughed him up far worse than Robert anticipated. To the point, Fluttershy’s medical supplies had run out, and Twilight’s healing magic needed to be used.

'Compared to the tree of harmony's magic, hers is more physical. While the trees is more like bath of water,' Robert mentally documented, watching her heal away his bloody wounds.

Now being patched up, if a little sore for wear Twilight decided to make a valid point known. Seeing that she was standing on top of his chest.

Looking down at him, she began talking to him.

“We can't keep bailing you out of fights. One day my magic won't be enough, or Fluttershy's medical skills. Please just give Ponyville, or even Canterlot. The prospect of living there, you'll be safe from all manner of monsters none of whom can reach you there.”

‘First of all, I was doing very well in that fight until you all showed up. Secondly, I appreciate your offer of living in Ponyville despite how nice you make it sound. I must decline, especially this week no less I would rather be safe compared to sleeping. With something protecting myself down there, plus Mare's and stallions have cooties.’

It was obvious they didn't have such a false disease, he just didn't want to be someplace where all six of these mares lived. And any single and desperate mares that knew of his ‘new’ residence in Ponyville, would begin piling up to get with him. Even if just for a night,

Climbing up further, Twilight’s cheeks took on a shade of pink as she placed a kiss on his forehead.

“J-just food for thought in any case.” Twilight covered, as the other five mares including Gilda were stunned at her sudden forwardness.

‘Hell no. You just yelled at me, and now your brain flipped its internal switch because you watched me take on a Hydra more or less alone. Sorry lightweight, but I don't "put out" on first dates. Plus, if I'm a dumb creature like you've said I am. Why would you give a pile of rocks something to think about?’

Gently scooping Twilight up much to her displeasure, Robert placed the mare down next to Rainbow Dash.

Who on her part looked Jealous of what Twilight had managed to pull off.

“What the Buck Twi?! I was under the impression that you were to find him, not try and get mushy with him!” Rainbow Dash spoke out.

Being called out made Twilight flush even darker as Robert got back to his own two feet. And to be honest, he hadn't expected this at all from Twilight.

“My word Twilight, I never took you for loving the Bruteish kinds of humans. Then again, it did save my younger sister from that foul smelling Hydra. You have my gratitude for saving Sweetie Belle's life.” Rarity offered, not wanting to continue about that subject.

‘Estrus does make Mares accomplish some crazy things, Twilight was the last mare I thought would even attempt that. My money was on Rainbow Dash, hell even Applejack. I've seen how she looked at me sometimes, and I fully believe if alone with her she will try something more unfavorable. But Twilight? Completely out of left field with that one.’

Having his wounds patched up, Robert tried to make his escape but Rainbow Dash had other plans. Landing on his head, she let out a triumphant shout and rubbed her hooves into his head as if she were petting a dog.

“Dude! That was so cool! You took on a Hydra all by yourself, that is bucking awesome! No wonder why so many mares are after you. It's even getting to the point I bet there becoming obsessive. I still don't see what they see so special about you,” Rainbow Dash openly pondered before quickly switching subjects.

Yet Robert knew why; and inwardly recoiled. 'That's why I want nothing to do with any non-human society.' Robert responded,

“Anyways, do you have any more of that booze? I've been looking forward to drinking more of the stuff!” Rainbow Dash admitted, wanting more Giants grog to no doubt drink and possibly won't even get drunk off of.

‘Good thing I took my horn with me. Your a lucky mare, you know that Rainbow?'

Pulling the same horn out of its vine holder and undoing its lid. Robert offered the booze inside to the Rainbow Maned Mare, who happily cried out of it's glorious sight. Greedily she dove in and commenced drinking his brew.

‘Worst customer ever, she doesn't even pay for what she takes. Maybe if Dash gave me some bits for my home brew I can keep my grog flowing.’

“Dash! Save me some this time, don't hog it all!” Shouted an annoyed Applejack who very much wished for a taste.

‘I mean it's only fair, her apples did make this stuff possible so it's only sufficient that the farm pony gets a taste.’

Pulling it away from Rainbow Dash who opposed the loss of her favorite stiff drink. Getting down on one knee and offering Applejack a sip she merely tipped her hat at Robert.

“That's mighty kind of ya partner.” Applejack respected and leaned close to take a few sips of his liquor.

Tasting what he had, she merely swallowed and gave him an approving nod. “It's mighty strong, partner no wonder why it got Twilight so inebriated.” Applejack playfully mocked, as Twilight herself had decided to go inside following Fluttershy, along with avoiding the embarrassment her two friends were trying to do.

“You see what I mean AJ?! That stuff is good!” Rainbow Dash boasted, before gliding down to Applejack's side.

“If nopony has a use for him you gotta make him make this stuff! I would pay nearly any amount of bits for that firewater.” Making Robert mentally scoff,

Gilda on the other hand saw this moment to squeeze more bits out of the Ponies of Ponyville. Coughing to grab both Applejack’s and Rainbow Dash’s attention Gilda spoke her mind.

“Tell you what, If I can get him to make more. All I'll need is a supply of apples and barrels, and twenty percent of the profits, and me and you two can do business.” She offered tail swishing at the prospect of making money.

“I'll need to run it over with my folks, but I can't promise anything just yet,” Applejack conveyed, thinking twenty percent was a bit much for that hearty liqueur.

“We can go over the details later, but for now. Let me help him back, he's gonna crash harder than one of Rainbow Dash’s failed stunts.” Gilda said, trying to poke fun at her cyan friend,

Puffing up her cheeks in slight annoyance, Rainbow Dash had bit her tongue about that subject as Applejack laughed at her friend's misfortune.

“Understandable. You know your way to the apple farm, stop by so we can talk about some business.” Applejack said before pointing at Robert.

“Without him, of course. I don't need him tearing my farm apart, plus our spring harvest won't be for another week or so. It's better we talk now and plan ahead."

Nodding Gilda tugged on his bandaged shoulder trying to get Robert to depart. “Got it. See you real soon,”

Standing up, Robert grabbed his kit before entering the Everfree. Gilda resting on his shoulder,

“Please tell me you caught that meat for brains,” Gilda informed, hoping he did.

With a soft nod, Robert felt the Griffin's tail swishing left to right.

“In two weeks we can do the great raid on the apple farm! These Ponies ain't going to know what hit’em.” Gilda proclaimed, excited to do some raiding.

“We aren't brigands, Gilda. I'll allow light stealing but not to the point where the apple farm can barely support itself.” Robert confirmed making her groan in defeat.

“You're just too nice for your own good sometimes.” Gilda huffed,

“No, I just know how to keep a food source going. That's all,” Robert mumbled.

As he arrived back at their humble stone abode, Robert brought up a small point.

“Let's make a toast to Tank and Athena,” Robert offered grabbing his horn and offering for Gilda to go first.

“Screw it. I needed a reason to drink anyway,” She shrugged before taking a few hearty gulps.

Once she had her fill, Robert took his and decided to spend some time near the not-too-distant River to reflect, leaving Gilda back at the Castle to do so without any disruptions.

‘Poor bastards didn't deserve it. It's going to take some time to have me get over it.’

Lifting his drink one last time he offered some kind words for Tank and Athena.

“Tank, Athena, see you both on the other side.”

Downing what was left. Robert said his ending statement, “Mio Dio, abbi pietà di entrambe le vostre anime.” Getting up, after doing the sign of the cross.

'I'll make a spot for them tomorrow, it won't be pretty. But I'll do what I can,'

He wasn't an undertaker, but Robert knew how to make a grave look captivating. Going back inside Robert had to handle the most likely drunk Griffin inside.

Chapter Thirteenth - Round two with the apples. And unforeseen consequences.

View Online

Chapter Thirteen

“Is the coast clear?”

Asked a rather enthusiastic Gilda, who was shuffling in place on Robert's shoulder.

“Gilda, steady yourself. Just because it's late at night doesn't mean anyone isn't still up. They also have a dog, who barks at anything that moves. The last thing we need is for that whole farm to be lit up like a birthday party, over me breaking a tree branch or simply walking. All we need to do is get in and out, without attracting unnecessary attention. Do you remember the way back to the castle?”

Robert inquired and in the soft moonlight, Gilda nodded vigorously. “Sure do, but what's the plan again? I kinda tuned you out by sleeping through it.”

She admitted awkwardly, making him facepalm.

“Maròne, were you listening to anything I said at all?” Robert pressed, as Gilda merely shrugged.

“I turned my brain off not even halfway on you,” Gilda said repeating what was said previously.

Rubbing his face in slight Irritation, Robert went over their plan for the second time.

“Pay attention this time, Gilda, or else I'm doing this myself,” Robert enunciated.

Clearing his throat, Robert began going over the plan he made by himself. But since Gilda was acting like a child he chose to explain it, on a fourth-grade level.

Pointing towards the farm with his free hand he began to explain the scheme.

“We will enter that place, which grown-ups call a farm. Please try to be nice and quiet once inside, others of your grade level are trying to have their nap. Once you and I are inside that farm, we are going to put small things called seeds in these saddle bags. And you'll fly them back home to unload what we plundered. However, if we find barrels or sacks of food I'll be taking those by hand.” Robert ended, with his free hand softly ruffling Gilda’s feathers for an added measure.

Glancing over, he added to his statement.

“Did you get the plan now? I even dumbed it down, so your itty bitty bird brain could understand it.”

Giving him an annoyed scowl, she wouldn't allow him to make a mockery of her intelligence, so Gilda fired back, hard.

Shoving his hand off, Gilda started with her response. “Maybe don't be so damn boring next time! Your constant blubbering is perfect white noise. That includes the sounds of the Ever-free forest, with those two forces working together, overpowered my will greatly.” Gilda hinted with a sly grin forming on her beak.

Letting his arm fall back to its original position, Robert was less than surprised at her attempt to make him feel like a dunce. As she had done this, many a few times before, but he chose to be the bigger person. And this? This was one of those times Robert dropped it.

‘I’m going to just end this here, because if I don't. We will look like school kids killing each other in this damn treeline.’ Robert mulled, as she released a small giggle knowing she had won.

“You know when you go quiet like that, it tells me I've bested you. What's the matter, Robert? Can't out-think this dumb Griffin?” Gilda mocked, showing off her real intelligence.

‘You know what? You lost shoulder riding privileges, you oversized Bird.’

Releasing an annoyed grunt, Robert seized Gilda, and one surprised squawk from Gilda later, that being his answer to his successful snatch-and-grab method.

As he removed the slightly annoying griffin from his shoulder.

Holding her at eye level he spoke back to Gilda.

“No, you didn't ‘win’ anything. I'm ending this now before we verbally tear into one another. Let's do this raid first, then we can kill one another as we stuff our bellies with our spoils back home. Deal?"

Giving a swift nod, she freed herself from his loose grasp, and floated beside his head, the soft flapping of wings overtook the sounds of crickets and other more night-orientated prey creatures.

“I would love nothing more than to take a lit torch to that farm, but a freakishly tall creature, whose frame might be on par with a young adult dragon, is stopping me from doing so,” Gilda stated, giving his head an annoyed tail flick.

The feeling of Gilda’s tail fur was far more coarse and even a little bit dull. Due to the lack of proper upkeep for her fur and even feathers, regardless of her shortage of self-care, Robert pushed her floating form off to the side before continuing her statement. This time, with his own more rational Input.

“I've told you countless times. I do not wish to ruin their livelihoods if the apple farm is no more. We won't be able to steal fresh produce, I also rather take my chances here for stealing a decent meal than in Ponyville. Plus, far fewer witnesses; and I have done you the liberty of doing the math of how infrequent the odds are to be uncovered. So in strategy, we can almost rob them blind. But I won't condone burning it to the ground or bankrupting them. Got it?”

Aggravated, Gilda nodded in slight defeat.

“Ugh, fine let's just get started in twenty minutes, if not, I'm going home. If we wanted to sit here all damn night, Star gazing. The both of us could have stayed in the courtyard, you know that. Right?”

Deciding to just clown around with her for the current moment, Robert continued off of what she started.

“Which one? I remember there being four of them.” Robert guessed but Gilda was quick to correct him.

“Five. Equestrian Nobles back then believed the more land surrounded by their walls, the more power and wealth they could flex. To allies, and political enemies.”

Shrugging, Robert continued.

“Whatever the case may be, It was a pain to clean them all. Despite that, let's go over the list.” Robert began making Gilda groan in suffering.

“I swear to the Arbiter of Justice if you made a fucking list Robert. We're stealing from them, not shopping in the market!”

Gilda started, but Robert wouldn't allow this debate to continue much further.

“Listen, Gilda, I don't want to make this a constant habit of us going back and forth between the Castle and the Farm for supplies.

The more we steal, the more suspicious they will become. And even try to catch the person or creature stealing their hard-grown produce.

Ponies aren't fools, that I’ll give them. But it does take them a while before they connect the dots. And when they do, I fear we will be less than welcomed near the farm, or Ponyville. Before this happens, I want us to be as self-sufficient as physically possible.

And I don't want us to be caught with our pants down, so to speak. Not to mention, we are barely avoiding the Royal Guard patrols as it is;” Giving a light shudder, Gilda added to his statement.

“Don't forget about those cursed Thestrals! If we include the Lunar Guard patrols and add the Royal Guards, They have the forest on a near round-the-clock searching for us. Putting both of us in a tight spot. Sooner or later it's either going to be the ‘Bloodsuckers.’ Who finds us or some poorly paid conscripts, and I hope it's the latter that finds us.” Gilda admitted shuttering from what Robert assumed to be anxiety.

‘That's a shock, Gilda doesn't fear much of anything. Well, that's similar to her size I mean. Do Thestrals creep her out? That's a line of inquiry for another time though. Time to be Vikings for a day.’

Astonished by this sudden show of fear, Robert decided the wait was over; he decided to warn the Griffin before suddenly pushing her out of his way.”

“It's showtime Gilda, also watch out. Move or get pushed out of my way,”

Moving quickly she dodged his approaching form, making way for him. It was time to begin a second raid on the Apple farm, but this time. Robert would be getting help; using his large hands, Robert pushed past the tree Branches, as for the Bushes they provided little resistance. Robert began his slow march toward the apple farm.

“Remember this Gilda, we need seeds. Besides the obvious, If you find any grain or fruit they are integral to our survival. Fit as many seed packs or containers into those saddle bags that you can physically carry and get back to the castle. If there are any barrels of food, even sacks, show me and I'll carry them back.”

Giving a quick nod Gilda zoomed off into the Apple farm, disappearing into the horde of Apple trees. Like a ghost in the wind, Robert on the other hand, went for the more obvious and second objective of this raid.

‘Now where are the goods? Show me the money.’

Shuffling through the simple dirt pathways the Farm had, Robert did his best. Not to compromise this little stealth mission, just by simply moving.

Still thanks to it being spring, there was still a light nip in the air during the night. But it wasn't too harsh to stop plants from growing, which Robert was very delighted about.

‘My plan of going off the grid will be soon and fully self-sufficient in time.’

Yet Robert sighted a light down the main pathway and it stayed still unmoving. Was he seen, no. He couldn't have been, taking a closer look. He found that it was indeed a pony, more specifically a mare.

Thanks to either sheer luck or some divine protection, she hadn't been looking down the main pathway. And instead was looking in a different direction, leaving him in a pony’s natural blind spot.

‘Why is she up at this hour? I purposely postponed the raid until roughly two in the morning! Don't tell me they were all asleep and me and Gilda stayed up for nothing!’

Deciding to keep out of sight, he quickly but orderly dived back into the shadows of some orchard trees, Robert effectively hid himself from the apparently night owl pony.

Avoiding the lamp light’s warm orange glow, as if it would burn him. Robert moved cautiously and gradually among the orchard trees, thinking this pony could peer in his direction at any moment and spot his hulking frame.

Yet it seemed the oblivious mare hadn't heard his approach and continued shuffling in place, seemingly in need of certain assistance. Managing to wiggle closer, he had a better view of who it was.

Applejack for some reason, was out this extremely early and still she seemed anxious about something before trotting towards his direction.

‘Shit, shit shit. I'm going to be spotted! This whole mission is fucked! And I don't have apples to throw at her this time.'

Staying as still as humanly possible, Robert did his best to blend into the trees around him.

Still, the steady peace of hooves on dirt continued up to and passed Robert, if a little strained. But, Applejack had been muttering to herself despite it being muffled. It became more audible as she approached,

“C-Celestia damn mah Secondary heat cycle! Ah, can't sleep until it gone.”

To say he was bewildered by this had been an understatement.

‘Why would the tree not inform me of this? Let alone, Gilda! One of these times. I'm going to get killed or hurt because someone forgot to inform me. Or thinks I already know it, when I really don’t; what part of not from around here do they not understand?’

Besides being slightly ticked off, he did his best to keep his cool. To do this, he remembered what his Nonno always told him. After Robert started getting angry. ‘Don’t stay mad for too long, or you'll become a hot head. And when hotheads get mad, they get stupid.’

Taking a soft but deep breath, Robert held it for a few moments before releasing it.

Meanwhile, the ‘heated’ farm mare trotted by, Robert still chooses to remain still.

She apparently didn't hear his exhale, but he also caught a whiff of Applejack's second heat. The smell was; strong, to the point Robert felt like he just walked headfirst into a wall.

‘What the fuck Applejack?! You're choking me out while not even being close to me.’

Reaching up, once he was out of Applejack’s peripheral vision. He immediately tried waving his hand back and forth, attempting to get some fresh air that didn't have her scent dominating it.

But once it had cleared, thanks to her now being further away. Robert took a moment to get the precious air back into his lungs; now that he fulfilled this basic need.

Robert got himself ready to continue following, after that sudden assault on his senses.

Worming through trees and avoiding low-hanging branches, Robert continued to tail Applejack. But this time refusing to get so close so that her scent didn't hit him like a freight train.

Yet to his dismay, the trees around him began to thin out as they seemed to not have needed much of them in this area of the farm.

The trees got so thin to the point, that Applejack could glance back, and spot him without much issue.

‘Now I’m really in a tough spot. You know what? Fuck it. Risking it for the biscuit,’

Stepping onto the very same disturbed earth made him hesitate, watching Applejack as she continued walking to this unknown location, seemingly unaware of his presence.

However, the thing that stunned him was her obvious tunnel vision. Robert was creeping through the shadows, like a rat. And still, Applejack’s hearing seemed to be failing her.

Was it because of her heat? Was she half asleep walking, possibly? But Robert wasn't complaining, stealing a quiet glance at three, possibly four White buildings. One of them being her apparent target.

‘This is new, I don't recall passing by this on my last visit. Possibly I overlooked it. Regardless, time to figure out what's inside, hopefully, it's all the food we've been looking for.’

Taking a second but proper glance at the modern structures, it stunned him when comparing them to the whole low-tech farm. Astonished Robert if only slightly more about the equine world.

‘How the hell did I miss these Barns? They stick out like sore thumbs wrapped in glow sticks. I can only imagine what Gilda is finding on her side of the farm.’

Waiting he merely watched Applejack fiddle with some keys, before unlocking a pony-made door. And disappearing into one of the buildings,

With his path now clear, Robert walked up to the smallest of them, Robert attempted to take a peek inside. But thanks to it having a roof, he really couldn't see inside. Once that failed, he went for a more physical approach.

Getting down low, he looked through the window of the building to discover a kind of gym. With all its necessary testing equipment, like weights of varying sizes. And treadmills.

Glancing around the small room, Robert did not spot the items he so wished for.

‘No luck, on to the next one.’

Slowly moving towards the next one, Roberts' ears picked up the sound of constant shuffling to even chirps and other more soft animalistic sounds.

‘I don't think that's food, I guess Applejack has a petting zoo now? Or maybe some kind of repair section for her barn. If so, let's see her inventory of animals.’ Robert was in for one shock of his life,

Peeking through a slightly reinforced window Robert expected to see something related to the last barn. But instead of being spacious and full of exercise equipment. Or items needing repairs, instead. There were three wooden walls, well built but that itself wasn't the issue.

The last thing he expected to see was a human face staring back at him, her blue eyes wide in fear.

Glancing back, but instead of fear Robert's brown eyes held shock in them. Slowly and gradually reacking out, Robert tried to interact with the naked woman on the other side of the barred window.

She watched his approaching hand with fear and anxiety, until it finally reached the protected barred glass.

Gingerly he tapped on the glass, resulting in her fleeing from fear. Into a darker and covered side of the room,

‘I wouldn't blame her, so we're even on that.’

Now with his view unobstructed by the stunned woman, he viewed her living conditions. To which in his terms, were less than on par with his view on standard living.

‘Two maybe three walls, some hay to sleep on, and water?! That's all they fucking get. Shit, this is just like being in the fight pits but with more leg wiggle room.’

Crawling to another one of these apparent cell windows Robert had a similar encounter but with a young girl. Yet the same cell as the last,

‘What the fuck is this place?’

Getting up from his tiny adventure through the dirt, Robert didn't bother going to the next window. He didn't want to see just what the hell was in it,

He went to the next building, this one resulting in similar results. But instead of being human females, they were men.

‘I should burn this place to the ground. And leave nothing but smoldering ash,’ Robert by this point was angry, something rare to be sure. But when it happened it wasn't for without just cause.

Moving toward the last building, he heard multiple rather lewd Winnies escape from a hole in the metal roofing followed by Applejack’s pungent scent.

‘Found where Applejack went; I almost regret following her.’ Doing his best, Robert tried to tune out her constant moaning, but to no avail.

“That's it!~ Ya big Stud, Breed me! Ah~ right there~” Applejack's breathless voice wailed as the not-mistakable sounds of sex were heard.

Robert merely scrunched his nose in disgust, not wanting to constantly smell the thick odor being produced from this one mare and human tango.

As Applejack's moans and groans of delight continued followed by the deep grunts from the human male she had been screwing.

This two-creature tango didn't stop, it would regretfully trigger something, that Robert most preferred to be buried and forgotten.

‘That is bringing back very unpleasant memories that I'd very much liked to forget about.’

Despite being reminded of his time of being ‘flirted’ with; from his time back in the pits. Robert stayed away from the hole in the ceiling that in his eyes, housed such a detestable action.

Tiptoeing as best as he could manage, Robert instinctively made a fist, the sounds of intercourse especially the idea of interspecies breeding. Just didn't sit well with him, after all. It was wrong, Animals weren't people they couldn't speak or do things a human could do back home.

Yet in this world, everything he knew, everything that was right and wrong on Earth. Was flipped onto its head, here in the cursed lands of Equestria and possibly other parts of this planet. Mythical creatures could have sex with a human, kill a human. And not worry, about any kind of physical punishment or repercussion.

Making his way to the last White Barn, without trying to murder Applejack for her foul actions, Robert didn't find what this side quest was all about. Further fueling his anger.

‘Fucking fuck, I wasted nearly an hour, on my side of the Apple farm. Besides that, I had to listen to Applejack getting railed. For the better half of eight minutes For absolutely nothing?!’

However, not too far away, Robert could faintly hear Applejack’s wails of satisfaction slowly shift into sighs of relief, as she changed from throwing words of encouragement to her partner. Now, she was giving the male praise for helping this In-need mare.

The majority of her words, thankfully we're inaudible due to his current distance. This was a clear sign that now he needed to double time The hell outta there, and now wasn't the time to dwell on his past. Particularly out in the open near Ponyville. Or with a full-conscious pony who could walk out and spot him.

‘I’m going deeper into the apple farm. I refuse to leave this place empty-handed,’

Ultimately, sneak walking by the same White building. Robert could hear them starting up again, resulting in Applejack to begin moaning once more.

“B-bits well Spent! On this breed!"

Applejack screamed as the sounds of lovemaking started up again.

Only one word appeared in Robert's mind during this act of ‘nature.’

‘Gross.’

Moving towards his next and most obvious target, the large red storage barn.

Robert discovered a chain and lock around the door handles. Yet, that isn't what. Perplexed him.

‘Why do Ponies have a door with handles? Wouldn't it be more beneficial to have slots to put their hooves into, and simply push the door open or closed? Again, I never said they were the cleverest tools in the shed; scratch that, a few of them are rather bookworm-like or regal. But not many,’

During his trip back, Robert had cooled off, if only slightly. But still, he eagerly wanted to blow off some steam, how better than destroying something?

Gingerly lowering himself to not alert the rest of the farm's inhabitants, Robert took the rather large-looking lock into his hand.

Now holding this small lock, he merely added downward pressure onto said piece of metal; it resisted valiantly, as the groans of metal echoed forth, but ultimately snapped into two pieces.

Tossing the now useless lock away, the chain it secured fell loosely, clashing against its wooden door.

Besides it sounding like a warning bell to Robert, breaking something they owned. Felt oddly satisfying; it wasn't enough. But for now, it would stop his anger.

‘Shit, sssshhh!’

Robert mentally hissed as he slowly pulled the chain out, the linked metal moved as if it was a snake gently moving across a tree branch.

Once freed from the metal handles, he flung it away as if it was said branch, as it landed somewhere among the grass Robert pushed open the barn, and slowly got up. However, he remained in a crouching position so walking was still possible.

Entering the barn like a tall hunched back, he discovered large tools such as earth plows and simple wooden carriages.

Besides that, Robert found a near mountain of hay bales. But soon his eyes spotted his target, barrels.

‘Bingo.’

Reaching out and snatching a barrel, Robert gave it a light shake. And hearing nothing inside, he merely popped the lid off, only to discover it was empty.

‘No big deal, there's nearly thirty of these Barrels in here. One of them is bound to have something inside that's food-related.’

Robert’s hope of finding stored food grew smaller and smaller the more he searched, it had gotten to the point that he wouldn't even open a barrel. And instead would merely shake it, to see if anything was inside.

‘You gotta be kidding me, there's not even a crumb of food in this damn Barn. We're the fuck is the food stash?’

Backing out and looking around, Robert would see that his stealth mission had yet to be compromised; so without taking a moment to step back and relax, to think clearly. He instead decided to investigate behind the three-story home, yet. His only real concern was of the Apple family’s prized canine.

Robert didn't dislike Winona generally, but given the current situation, along with his current mood. He would have preferred her to be non-existent at this time.

Using the late-night moonlight as a natural flashlight Robert carefully and gingerly tiptoed his way toward the lone wooden house.

The closer he got, the more quiet the world around him felt. And to be completely honest with himself, Robert believed if he breathed wrong the whole house would be a light like a hornet's nest.

Robert could have sworn he saw the little demon dog in the window, which made his heart nearly stop. Prompting him, to try and level with what he thought was his greatest enemy. Or better yet, think towards it.

Keeping his movement slow, and nearly on par with a snail's maximum movement speed. Robert had his legs pointed slightly towards the direction of the Everfree, in the event a pony shouted. Or the dog started barking, Robert would have left immediately If Gilda hadn't caught on that the mission went south, Then she was screwed.

As he drew closer to the windows, he could have sworn he saw a still unmoving silhouette of his main enemy. The dog was unmoving, silently watching him,

This resulted in Robert's heart beginning to beat faster, his anxieties adding additional stress to Robert’s already pressured body.

‘Winona I know we got off on the wrong foot last time we met. But this time is hopefully our very final interaction before I go completely off the grid. So be a good pup, and don't wake anyone the fuck up!’

Making it past the large window, Robert gave the very window he thought he saw the pup’s still silhouette, the bird; like a child, Robert was going to scurry away back into the darkness. But his rational thought won back control and kicked in accordingly.

‘You Fottuto Idiota! Why the fuck would you piss the living Alarm bell off. Now everybody and their Mother is going to wake up!’

Robert’s rational mind screamed. Yet, for some reason, the dog didn't start barking her little head off.

‘Wait a second.’

Deciding to risk this whole stealth operation, Robert went back and did a double take. To confirm his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him,

He ultimately found out that they were. A simple but unnecessarily large purple hat with yellow spots was in the spot where his eyes saw the still outline of the dog.

Robert was less than happy about his fear and anger clouding his judgment, especially twisting his mind into seeing things that weren't there.

‘Fucking hat, who the hell would wear a hat that big? This isn't the desert, I see no practical use for it; that hat deserves to be burned.’

Robert shook his head at the unnecessary amount of fear caused by a simple misplaced hat.

Stealth walking away from the home and leaning against a tree for a moment. Robert took a second to stop his heart from drumming inside his chest; once getting it under wraps.

He continued past the home of the family he was currently robbing.

Upon reaching the back of the three-story home he froze for a second time. Spotting a light on within the first floor,

He followed the same tactics as before and entered the trees for cover.

Robert hid within the trees. Until getting passed the bright kitchen light, however, someone else was far less than stealthy to alert him.

Landing onto his shoulder, with an audible *THUD* Gilda gave him a light punch to the head so she could snatch Robert’s attention.

“Surprise!”

Gilda shushily added to her sudden ambush.

This resulted in her larger friend jumping, in surprise. And nearly sending his griffin friend into the dirt below, his reaction made Gilda confused thinking he had heard her flapping wings.

“Asshole. I thought I told you to go home first with the seeds!”

He merely snapped, back at her in the same hushy tone. Laning against a new apple tree, he tried to shake off suddenly getting jumped scared, causing her to wave away his concern.

“Yeah, yeah. I didn't follow your plan to the letter, cry about it. Anyway, I got all the varying seeds you wanted, I also found the food stash but it's locked up tight. You’ll need to break us in and then we can leave this dump.”

Giving a light scoff, Robert hushed his response to her. “I couldn't agree more, Gilda.”

Giving a simple but light grunt to show she heard him, Gilda simply stretched her tired wings out a bit. Trying to relax them,

Robert in the meantime continued to talk. “Where is it? Take me there. So we can be on our way,”

Sensing he was in one of those, ‘Don’t fuck with me and find out.’ Moods, Gilda sighed, before taking flight and guiding him to her selected side of the Apple farm.

Once there, he was greeted by another large red barn. And similarly like before, Gilda used his shoulder as a resting spot. Much to Robert's disapproval.

‘About fucking time. I need to blow off the rest of some built-up steam,’

Shaking Gilda off much to her displeasure, Robert studied the door and discovered it was similar to the last barn he failed at looting.

But after what he heard, and the prison-like conditions he saw Applejack’s humans in. Robert thought it prudent to show the farm ponies the error of their ways. How better than breaking this door,

The door also had a simple but large lock on its handle. Instead of breaking said lock much like the first one, he instead grabbed onto the closest of these double doors.

'Let me show them how a pony door should really look!'

Making a fist with his free hand, Robert punched the door with a heavy amount of force. Splitting it, but not completely breaking the wood.

However, he gave it another hard punch, but this time his hand went through. Pulling his hand out, and repeating the process for the other door. Robert effectively had two holes to pull the doors from.

Putting his arms through, he grabbed on before beginning to pull.

Its simple design had been its downfall as the wood around the hinges began to splinter all around the door, as Robert continued to pull it off the large wooden frame.

Finally, with a loud metallic snap, the doors slumped down against him. Pushing the broken wood away. And merely pointing to the inside of the barn, Robert spoke up.

“Find anything we both can eat and roll it out, or drag it out. I’ll carry it back,”

Nodding, Gilda went inside. But did her best to cool him down, how better than trying to joke with him? “A creature after my own heart! I knew you had a ‘Raider spirit.' Inside of you somewhere.” She joked, but Robert wasn't having it.

While she searched the barn, Robert picked out the splinters of wood that had gotten stuck in his hands during this food heist.

'That's a big piece.'

He grimaced, having to extract the fairly decent-sized chunk of wood himself. Thankfully, it didn't snap off during the extraction process.

Disappearing for a few moments, and popping her head back out Gilda gave a sheepish smile before telling him the bad news.

“I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but there's not much left in here food-wise.”

Giving Gilda an annoyed snort as her reply, Robert waited for a moment before he decided to use his voice.

“Then we're taking a third of what's left.”

Nodding a second later, and disappearing for a few moments. she began hauling out barrels and sacks of various foods that were ok for both parties to eat.

‘I should take it all, and let them starve. But I, no. We, need to be better than the Ponies. So taking only a third is more than enough, I just need to give a reason as to why we can't stay.’

Glancing down at the necessary goods, Robert felt like he was carrying enough supplies to last them until their own harvest.

‘Not a good enough reason.’

Looking skyward the slow yet silent moon was gradually setting, more than enough to end this raid. Besides, it was starting to get a little heavy. Clearing his throat to grab Gilda’s attention. Robert spoke up,

“We have what we came for, let's withdraw.”

Baffled at the current load of cargo he had, Gilda protested.

“But Robert! There's not much left in here. Why not just take the rest?” Gilda pressed, displeased at the current quantity.

‘Here we go with that Griffin greed again.’ Robert scowled,

“Because we have enough. To last, need I remind you, Gilda. The sun is soon to rise, and we won't make it back for another run. Not to mention this whole farm will be pretty hot with Guards the moment they realize what has happened.

Not to mention, the forest is still very full of Monsters, I need to either scare off or kill them; Kinda hard to achieve that with your hands full of barreled and sacked food you recently borrowed.”

Robert snarled, making Gilda cringe slightly having never heard him this ticked off before.

She looked afflicted for a moment but eventually spoke up. “Alright fine; let's go back,” Gilda responded. Not wanting him to turn her into a bloody stain,

The two left relatively unopposed as birds began to sing their morning songs, signifying the coming dawn.

For the most part, they traveled in relative silence until it was broken by Gilda.

“Alright; I'll bite, do you want to talk about what ticked you off so bad? I've never seen you like this before. Especially, one as level-headed as you.” Gilda asked, sticking close to his head as they traveled the bowls of the Ever-free.

Providing her a light scoff, Robert spoke up.

“Something you don't need to worry about.” He answered, but she simply Shrugged.

“Alright, now I know that's bullshit. You can't say that it isn't either, because of what you did to that barn door not too long ago.”

Releasing a sound of irritation, Robert just decided it best to ignore Gilda’s question until later.

“Fine, Don’t spill. I'll let you be a hardass on your own time. But before I fly on ahead and leave you to cool off, I just want to let you know why there aren't any patrols yet; currently, we are in a gray period. So therefore, no Royal Guards of any kind should be in these woods for another hour or so."

Giving him a farewell head pat, as if Robert was a dog. Gilda flew off a bit before looking back and giving him another jackass remark,

"Enjoy the walk home, hopefully, you cool off by the time you get back! Stay out of trouble." Now having stopped her little button pushing, Robert had the chance to cool off.

“fottuto coglione.”

Robert continued to walk until roughly halfway before stopping.

Taking a deep breath, and letting it out.

Robert put down the stolen food and just sat next to the small pile of loot. By this point, day-active animals were out and about doing their daily survival necessities. Such as foraging, or grazing.

He didn't want to give it to her, but he needed his alone nature time right now.

After that little run-in with Applejack’s attempt to beat her heat. It triggered an aggressive response from his body,

During his time in the pits, this false aggression would have usually kept mares and stallions away from him.

And for a while, it worked. Until it didn't,

The rare few who took the risk or were just so pent up, that they didn't care if he would kill them or not.

And those who found out that it was just a mere ruse to keep them all away, had broken the floodgates.

Instead of being the occasional one or two had tripled seemingly overnight moving forward. After each pit fighting match, it had gotten so bad that the pit workers had little time to wash the blood off of his weakened frame.

‘Those sick fucks, they will get what's coming to them!’ Robert inwardly seethed, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

He sat there for a few moments, his larger-than-normal hands still shaking like leaves in a wind gust. Robert on the other hand, was doing his best to calm himself despite his abrasive internal outburst.

True, they didn't know of his real intelligence.

But at the same time, they weren't innocent either. Most of those ponies who sought his company were often ones of a higher class or had been wealthy benefactors to said pit fights.

‘Then why did I have such a response toward her? Applejack from what I know, is nowhere close to being nobility. Nor does she have near limitless amounts of bits,’

Shakily reaching up and rubbing his face for a moment, he had been completely beside himself. As Robert never really reacted this way before, had it been some form of post-traumatic stress? Or some kind of behavior picked up from his time being treated like a wild animal.

‘I don't know. But, I think I know how to treat it for now.’

Robert pondered, before slowly reaching over and grabbing the ancient drinking horn.

Popping the lid off, with relative ease, Robert proceeded to down the alcoholic contents.

The burn brought Robert back to reality as the liquor eased his angered and shaking response and replaced it with merriment. Releasing a happy sigh, he spoke up.

“The devil will now be an angel.”

Getting back up, Robert merely shook his head at the statement he made about himself. After this episode, he merely stored his empty horn. Before picking up all of the dropped goods, he continued on his way back home.

“Now with that out of the way, Goodbye Ponyville. I hope to God I don't need to go back there, and hello embracing Isolationism.”

If he ever needed something from town, the goal was to hopefully get Zecora to go into Equestrian Civilization and procure anything Robert needed.

But for now, it was time for bed. Robert had been up all night and sleep sounded a lot better with a belly full of grog and a pleasant mood.

One week later.

Now with the needed Supplies, Robert had been hard at work making these old ruins just a tad bit more liveable.

The work was hard, Gilda for the most part just watched him slave away. This went on for the better half of this week, yet on Thursday things came to ahead.

After threatening to not give her any food for a month, she suddenly had a 'Burst' of energy to help.

'If the feathery happy meal wants to eat, she needs to work just like everyone else.'

Despite this small verbal disagreement, Robert even informed Zecora of his current plans and on her part, she dropped by a few times to assist, and give tips on how to keep certain crop-eating pests away.

Along with helping on making the place just a bit more safe, mainly from larger predators.

But after witnessing a few large spiders land on her cloaked frame.

That itself startled her Beyond Zecora's wits, yet after killing the few that landed on her she went to investigate their true numbers; needless to say, it wasn't anything good.

Hatchlings named ‘Star Spiders’ as both his companions called them, had begun hatching along with the older generations waking up after winter and had come out to play so to speak.

Needless to say, Gilda and Zecora were busy most of the week trying to decrease their numbers. And in Robert’s opinion, it was a losing battle.

While his friends toiled with the eight-legged insects, Robert was more focused on their more important matters, growing food was his only main focus now.

So far, each cleared courtyard has been focused on mostly one or two types of plants. As to not choke the land or drain it of natural nutrients and minerals too quickly,

The first plot’s main focus was to grow carbs, so cabbage and celery. We're sown into the land, along with flowers that Zecora suggested to keep bugs and small animals from eating them.

The flowers had been from the other side of the Ever-Free, where more insects had been known to reside.

But the more interesting fact about them was that in a pinch could be eaten by ponies or griffins, just the taste would be terrible. And if eaten in excess, it could be harsh on the gut.

Yet, if the natural repellent properties did work. There would be little reason for either to eat these blossoms.

The second plot’s main focus was going to be protein. but since most of the plant seeds Gilda grabbed weren't exactly high in protein-yielding crops, that left it fairly open to different varieties.

Instead of letting it go to waste and with Zecora's guidance, Robert changed it to be the medical plot, and with the help of Zecora, she planted the best-recommended herbs from Ever-free and Ponyville.

Most of them had been simple but effective medical herbs, something to stop a headache or runny bowels.

One could even slow a pony or griffin's rapid blood loss, or ease any swollen, or inflamed limb. While another, could act as a sort of organic-smelling salt.

Even a plant root, if allowed to reach adulthood and grind and brewed together with its cherry blossom like roses.

Could make an effective healing brew, just the taste was bitter if not allowed to age properly.
Zecora had been more than willing to make these brews on two conditions.

The first, Robert would supply her with bits or items to sell on his behalf in Ponyville, in exchange.

She would use a third of its profits to buy bottles to store the freshly made healing potions.

And second condition, for all her brutal labor she requested thirty-minute ear scratches.

Pretty fair deal if you asked Robert.

The last of the vacant courtyard had been planted with the same flower buds to keep any small pest away.

'All natural medical supplies, Are both good. But bad, as it doesn't have a stable shelf life, like say pills or other lab-made pharmaceutical products.'

Passing by a slightly small hallway, Robert saw a two-tone streaked tail.

Bending down to look, he found a rather exhausted Zecora in the hallway so he spoke up to her.

“You're going to war with these Spiders. Aren't you Zecora?” Robert asked the seemingly annoyed zebra.

Giving an annoyed Winnie she responded in kind.

“Their numbers know no end. Yet soon, they will face the end.”

Zecora declared, seemingly ticked off at the sheer number of these bugs. As her tail lashed rather sporadically,

Giving Zecora a nod and a wave she went back for possibly her tenth round with the pest bugs. As Robert got back up onto his feet,

‘I don't know why she's even bothering, they aren't dangerous. And I don't mind them. I find them rather nice to look at, if they mess with my crops then it will be a different story. But for now, I think the score is Star Spider five, Zebra zero.’

Going to the third strip of walled-in land, Robert had left it open for more physical and aerobic activities.

The fourth courtyard, better known as ‘Nightshade Hall.’ Had been plants that Robert believed he alone could eat.

Due to them being a part of the Nightshade family, things like tomatoes, peppers, and even Potatoes had a spot here, Due to how they were known back home to be dangerous and toxic to any four-legged friend to the point of death; or severe sickness.

No matter how many times Gilda and Zecora told him. That it was safe for both of them to consume, Robert didn't want to risk killing either of them or hospitalizing either one by mistake.

So to play it safe, and not accidentally poison Gilda or Zecora, he kept these apparent toxic plants away from them.

The idea was simple, the farther away these sprouts were the less likely chance it was for them to contaminate or spread to other plots. And risk someone getting sick or dying,

Now with the farming plots all set up, Robert and everyone else were at the mercy of the nature.

It hadn't rained at all, for nearly the rest of the week making him resort to improvising, which was just him hand-watering the lands he wanted to cultivate.

‘It isn't much, but it's honest work.’

Giving a nod to the prospect of the coming harvests in the future, Robert left to check on the seemingly last thing he needed to check.

Going to the first courtyard he ever cleared out, Robert first spotted its ever-red leaves attached to the bone-white sapling.

Moving around the fountain he moved by hand, for aesthetic purposes. Robert had big plans for this one specifically, Depending on how large the tree became.

He was going to splash out on designing this one up, and really spruce it up. First, Robert would need to work something out with a certain friendship tree about her old friend.

Grabbing his horn that had been filled with water, and removing the lid. Gingerly he began watering it despite it not needing it.

Soon the whispers became more audible, they always were ineligible ramblings. Something he alone couldn't translate just what the voices had been saying, this little piece of insanity and chaos threw off the idea of him making this specific courtyard special.

Shuttering at it for merely speaking in tongues, Robert finished watering the chaotic little plant before stepping away from it.

‘I hate being near this plant, I swear I'm going insane when I'm this close. I'm too sober for this, I miss my grog, the only way I can be near this thing is if I'm buzzed.'

Shuttering, Robert wasn't the only one who heard faint whispers near the apparent cursed plant.

Gilda wanted to burn it, and Zecroa wanted nothing to do with it. Under the pretense of the tree sapling being something not to mess with.

‘Whatever the fuck that means.’

Leaving the cursed plant, Robert traveled through the winding and still slightly dirty halls heading back toward his shared bedchamber it was time to visit a certain pair.

Passing by Gilda who had been using the star spiders as target practice, with her new collection of barrowed throwing knives.

Zecora looked like she was about to lay an ostrich egg from how frustrated she was becoming.

Gripping a long wooden staff firmly in her muzzle, she was smashing these spiders wherever she found them. Even those unlucky egg sacks that had yet to hatch weren't spared, and instead, we're sliced up by Gilda.

‘Geez you two, are going full guerrilla warfare on Spiders. That's something you don't see every day,'

Shaking his head at their antics he merely spoke to grab their respective attentions.

“I'll be back with you two, try not and break the castle ruins more than they currently are,” Robert suggested but with a simple.

“Uh-huh.” From Gilda, and one ear twitch from Zecora later.

Robert was off, to visit two friends.

Going back the way he came, but instead going for the exit and making a quick pit stop. At the ever-growing bone pile, Robert grabbed two Manticore ribs before arriving at Tanks and Athena’s burial sites.

Two wooden crosses marked where he laid them to rest, at best it wasn't their full bodies and instead was a just chunks of them.

The cold truth as he couldn't find their full remains, that blasted hydra had crushed them into bits. All he could find was mere small broken wooden pieces.

'That Hydra did show me the pecking order of the Forest. So wherever I am stationed, it's somewhere above a Hydra.' Deciding that wasn't the time to decide his station was, Robert merely.

Performing the sign of the cross, shortly after that he laid the bone offerings on each grave. Before moving in between them,

Gently sitting beside them, he was able to spot the castle and even Ponyville through the trees in the distance from this little sanctuary away from everything.

Deciding now was a good time, Robert opened up to those two.

“I don't know if you two can hear me; Hell. Maybe you can’t, but I'm just running with the impression both of you can, so let me make this short and quick; since you two aren't around the castle anymore. I thought I'd drop by, and give you two a run down.

Gilda is; well, still Gilda.

Not much changing her is there?”

Robert started, before giving a soft chuckle knowing how the mixed relationship was between her and these timberwolves.

“We've managed to do another raid on the Apple farm too, thinking back on it.

The whole thing seemed. Disorganized, sure we had a plan but not the numbers.

I wouldn't have minded having you two in that, but midway through the ‘great raid’ on Applejack’s farm, I heard something that I often don't like to think about. And I'm speculating that hearing it, triggered some kind of ‘traumatic episode.’ I'm not a psychologist, but I never had one before arriving here.

That was a week ago, I'm doing better now thankfully and we've gotten pretty established presently.

Farm plots have been made, and Zecora is also staying with us temporarily to remove a bug problem. She calls them a pest but I think they are pretty nice to look at,

Speaking of which, it hasn't rained for this whole week, not that either of you two cares now. And yes Tank, I know you loved rain Athena on the other hand doesn't."

Looking skyward for a few seconds, Robert would see nothing but the clear sunny sky.

Despite it being spring, it's hardly raining here. This is greatly concerning and I've resorted to hand watering virtually all plants, but I'm also not trying to overdo it so when it does eventually rain they don't drown. All I'm asking from you two is to do your best to put a good word with the man upstairs. I could use a miracle down here.

Deciding that now was the time to return, he heaved himself onto his own two legs.

Giving a light stretch, and the resulting pops were music to his ears.

Stepping over their makeshift graves, Robert stopped deciding he couldn't leave them hanging.

"I'll be back sooner or later, see you around little turds."

Gradually moving away from them. And going full steam toward the castle, Robert spotted rising smoke from his home.

He hoped no one could see the rising smoke at this time.

But thanks to it being windy, the smoke didn't stay too long.

'I might as well go see what those two are doing. If that building is on fire I swear, I’m gonna dump them both into Moat water. To get their common sense back, why is everything lacking sense in this world? Can I just have one day where everything is just normal, and not some topsy-turvy fucking mess?’

Choosing to just walk back instead of running back, Robert had begun betting on what most likely transpired.

Not even through his front gateless wall, he spied Gilda using an old spear. The said weapon had moon spiders impaled onto that stick,

While Zecora had been messing with a small but smoky fire, upon hearing his footfalls she turned to face him.

“Ah, returned at the perfect time you have. We just had gotten done, my most master plan.”

Zecora beamed, before pointing a hoof at the steamy fire burning the remains of the dead bugs.

Glancing toward Gilda she merely explained further.

“Zecora here decided to scare off the majority of the Spiders with smoking branches, the rest who stayed were merely massacred.”

Giving a light but hearty laugh, Robert spoke up. “I can gather as much; tell me. Did you both agree to no Quarter? For our spider residents.”

Both gave a victorious cry as his answer. Over the shared victory over the eight-legged bugs,

“We did indeed! We are just burning the small remains. The ash is very good at helping plants grow.”

On the other hand, Robert watched Zecora work, she merely took the spear from her griffin assistant, removed the large dead bugs from the taken spear, and tossed them into the roaring fire.

Scowling at her, Gilda Flew up towards him, Gilda then added onto her original statement.

“That's a Zebra belief, in Griffin lands we think that's bullshit and a complete waste of time. After all their culture is inferior and lacks backbone."

Reaching up Robert merely rubbed his face in disapproval.

‘Great. Now she's racist, can today get any worse? I refuse to have this under my roof, so I'm ending this needless schism here.’ Robert contemplated as the solution appeared in his head.

Reaching up and gesturing to Gilda that she should land she did so.

With a nod and a lazy flap, she did. But not close to her apparent temporary ally.

“Zecora, Gilda, pay attention to what I am going to say.”

Despite not looking at him, the zebra kept an ear swiveled in his direction showing she had been listening to him speak.

Gilda on the other hand decided to face him directly, tail lazily swishing left to right.

“This place is going to be a home, for those who don't have one or those who've lost everything to the point of feeling outcasted. That being said no matter their walk of life, great or small. Bloody or clean; big or small. Crude or logical. They are welcomed here if only they follow the rules.”

Sneering, Gilda launched a question his way. “Oh yeah? What kind of rules are we talking about here?”

‘Hardball huh Gilda? Alright, I’ll play.’

“Rule one, No matter a creature's past. Good or evil, they get a second chance here, a clean slate if you will.

And a chance to live peacefully no one here can judge them. For their culture, or religious beliefs, and of they have a notion for improving this happy home's current situation they are allowed to say it. That being said anyone here shouldn't be persecuted under this rule."

Giving a light snort, Gilda stayed quiet.

"Rule two, the first time they walk through that archway they are a Guest. And should be treated with respect, doesn't matter if they are royalty or a street sweeper. Everybody is equal here,"

"And lastly, no cursing on the premises in front of kids of any age. Theirs a million different words out there and if anyone has to resort to 'Fuck this,' or 'Fuck that,' is just ignorant and lazy."

But Zecora on the other hand, had her tail swishing. "Clever action from you, a healthy home you can definitely do.” Nodding her way Robert decided to wrap things up,

“We all can go over the details at another time but for now, I'm going to rest. I am beat.”

Getting up from the smooth stone below he merely went off to bed, hoping the one rule that he made would keep Gilda’s beak shut.

‘Knowing her it would take time if one thing she told me is true. Griffins take a grievous amount of time before they obey any rules.'

Entering the room that he and the said Griffin shared, he spied his rather large bed. It merely had been made from the extra Manticore pelts, meticulously tailored together and stuffed with dried leaves, and other soft and dried foliage.

Needless to say, the contents of this bed weren't the best of qualities. But Robert was happy enough to have somewhere to merely lay his head,

‘It's been a year, and I finally have a bed. I can only imagine what my bones look like on an x-ray.’

Laying down with a soft tremor, Robert got comfy for his much-needed rest.

Giving a light sigh, Robert closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Yet back in Ponyville, within the library, they had been talking about the earlier in the week raid.

Giving a sputtering laugh Rainbow Dash spoke.

“I can't believe that big guy would raid AJ’s farm! Who knew he had it in him?” Rainbow Dash commented through her laughing, as Twilight immediately stepped in on his behalf.

“Rainbow Dash, this isn't funny. But all that is currently known about him is that he's alive and a solitary creature who's very gifted in avoiding detection.

From either magical aid or pure talent, anything else is still currently unknown or hearsay at this time. But it may be possible, that he is a type of ‘opportunistic scavenger.' He must have seen either Big Mac, or Applejack entered the barn and possibly saw the food, or even smelled it.”

Fluttershy merely nodded in agreement, before softly speaking up. “It's true, Mr. Bear does steal other animal's food, from time to time, and when he does. I need to punish him, so I won't defend his recent actions. But girls do not go overboard if anything let me do it please."

To stop this constant rambling, Rainbow Dash merely produced a loud fake snore, to show how tiring this was evolving to. As she rested her head against her hooves.

Giving another snore, she merely stopped once everypony was staring at her.

“Who cares? I say we find’em and merely take it back!” Rainbow Dash offered as Applejack seemed all too willing to agree.

“Darn tooting, that varmint is going to learn not to mess with this family!” Applejack seethed, refusing to let him take even just one barrel of apples.

Fluttershy on the other hoof, didn't want to see Applejack or Rainbow Dash be grievously harmed. But the idea of them squaring off with a giant frightened the shy mare.

Seeing what Fluttershy was trying to get at, Twilight merely gave a nervous chuckle and stepped in again.

“Remember Applejack, he is possibly four times your size. So if you plan on getting physical with him there's not much that can stop him if you instigate an aggressive response. Need I remind both of you that, he took down a Hydra almost single-handedly?

And also stopped a hoard of infected humans from wiping Ponyville off of the Equestria's map." Twilight precautioned, as Applejack grumbled in frustration.

“Well if he wasn't so gosh darn big! Maybe I could have rough'em up, to the point he couldn't walk for a whole month.”

That ultimately made Fluttershy finally step in.

“P-Please Applejack, I know you're furious at him but please refrain from becoming violent with him. He is still, very much a wild animal who's been through some difficult months, I'm surprised he's even amicable to Ponies.” Fluttershy squeaked,

Having halted her apparent warpath, Applejack turned back towards Fluttershy not understanding what was said.

“What do ya mean Fluttershy?” she persisted, but Fluttershy’s shyness took hold forcing her to go silent.

“Applejack.”

Twilight called, deciding that now was the time to leak what Shining Armor and her dad had found out.

Glancing towards her she merely nodded waiting for the explanation.

“From what my brother has told me, including Dad’s connections. Our ancient friend didn't have the best of welcoming parties,” Twilight did her best to censor the more gory details. But that launched Pinkie Pie into a fit of distress,

“How could Anypony not have a good welcome party?! I'll fix this immediately!” She shrieked, but Twilight was able to grab her hyper friend before she zoomed out the front door.

“Not that kind of party Pinky,” Twilight said rather solemnly. Releasing her magical hold,

“Then what? Just tell us for Celestia’s sake!” Rainbow Dash huffed, as Rarity joined in.

“I must agree with Rainbow Dash on this, you can't leave us ladies hanging with that sort of cliffhanger. I still may dislike it, but now you've even piqued my interest.”

Rarity chastised, as the mare in question cleaned her front hoof with a simple brush, being held in blue magic.

“I will, but first. ” Twilight said, her head on a slow search looking for Sompony specifically.

Spotting her target she narrowed her eyes toward him.

“Spike head to our room. I don't want you to hear any of this,” Twilight made clear, but immediately he protested.

“But Twilight it can't be that bad! If Shining Armor told you! Including Grandpa Light. It surely isn't that bad,” Spike persisted.

“That is because I'm far older than you, Spike. Please just go to our room, do not make me force you to.” Twilight pleaded.

Giving a grumpy grumble, Spike complied with Twilight's request as he climbed up the steps of the library followed by the soft click of their bedroom door.

And to make sure he did, the same mare checked with her magic to see if he was either hiding in the hallway or had gone into the shared room.

Giving a defeated sigh, Twilight broke down the limited and least redacted info.

“In the rough few months that he was missing and assumed to be dead, he was subjected to the whims of human pit fights and inadequate living standards, along with starvation. But this was not the only thing the pit workers did; at first, they did private matches, with notable VIPs.

And slowly expanded into more public showings, Bit’s were rolling in, yet he often never delivered on what was expected of him. And so illegal substances were often used. As for his failure to obey, punishments were often severe and painful, he would be whipped and starved for long durations of time.

Or vile mares that sought his company behind closed doors would be allowed into his cage.”

Rainbow Dash sputtered at this, raising a question. “Wait, wait, hold on. You're telling me they whipped that big guy? How come he doesn't have any scarring?”

“The most plausible reason is he's hiding it, or they have an abnormal healing time. But now do you see why we can't attack him? If we do, that action will break any forming trust or second chance he's even humoring for all of Equine kind.” Twilight further explained as Applejack brought up another point.

“But Twi, he stole from ma farm. Supplies are one thing, but he also took two of my trees! To the apple family, that's like foal napping.”

Providing an empathic look, Twilight continued.

“I understand Applejack, but you'll need to think of a different way to punish him. Fluttershy, do you have any ideas, that she can do so without a physical altercation?”

Giving a gentle nod, Fluttershy interjected. “If you need to discipline him, do the same as if you were punishing a foal. Use your voice, not your hooves.”

Processing the information, before her Applejack decided that was enough. “Fine Fine. I won't lay a hoof on him, Yelling is all I’ll Do.”

The rest of Twilight's friends seemed to be stunned at this truth, Pinkie Pie’s once unruly and bubble-like mane deflated. As she truly pitted him,

Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to kick some flank, as her cyan cheeks grew red from anger.

Rarity on the other hoof, seemed sympathetic which was odd. Whenever Twilight and her friends talked about him she always left the room or ignored it.

But even she knew that was too far, and that giant didn't deserve to go through Tartarus and back.

“Now remember girls, what I have told you all does not leave this room. Not so much as a peep, got it?” a few nods, and even a pinky promise from Pinky Pie later.

With that being concluded, and seeing that no pony had more questions, Twilight went back and simply rescued Spike from the boredom of their room.

“With everything being settled, is everypony ready to enjoy this trip to the spa?”

Everypony seemed eager, all but one.

“Twilight the day I get anything spa-related, is the day I stop trying to join the Wonderbolts. You're lucky I’ll even enter one!” Rainbow Dash protested as her cheeks slowly went back go their normal cyan color, but Rarity was quick to speak up.

“You won't be saying that darling after your first hoofacure, you'll be heading back every other week to relax.” Rarity insisted as the group traveled out to enjoy this fine spring day.

Yet hidden forces were plotting and scheming, especially in the badlands.

“Operation RIAH is a green light my Queen everything is falling into place.” The spy reported, seemingly from the one-way changeling device.

Giving a devilish grin, Chrysalis merely rubbed her forehooves together. “Perfect, keep an eye on them. Very soon we shall commence the switch.”

Ending the transmission to her disguised drone, a changeling approached, unfazed and unbothered. She spoke to it, “I have told you countless times unless it is something worth hearing. Lieutenant General, do not bother me during my infiltration meetings," Chrysalis merely spat.

“My Queen, we have found his dwelling and yet, it seems far more intelligent than the dusty old books claimed them to be. As he appears to have a concept of basic construction, and irrigation, even some mastery of engineering.”

Surprised that her brood found the last of the giant's dwelling, she merely nodded her head in approval.

“Well done, for this I shall forgive the General's earlier transgressions against my crown. But now what to do about the last living Giant,” She hummed tapping her hole-ridden hoof against her chin.

“Shall we dispatch the forces to eradicate it? If it serves no purpose.” The large changeling drone offered, but she merely stopped him.

“I rather not waste a perfectly good and potential asset, Study and observe from afar. But do not interfere with what it does or handles things, I want to know how it handles itself.”

Giving a nod and a salute, the armored drone departed leaving her to dwell on her plans.

‘I’m glad we found him before those cursed, Alicorns did. Now I can not squander this home-field advantage. The sooner I know more, the sooner I can get that slightly narrow-minded brute on my side, and the sooner I can take all of Equestria!”

With a wicked laugh, she merely continued to plot against the old empire of Equestria.

Your human and You: The Giant of the Everfree Forest

by Death_wing

Chapter One - Breaking free from the human Pit fights

Chapter Two - Meeting the other Resident of the Everfree forest and going back to we're it all began.

Chapter Three - Scouting the Apple Farm and forging a friendship with the Zebra

Chapter Four - Acquiring some ruins along with catching a Griffin companion

Chapter Five - Found a Crystal tree and bringing back an extinct race

Chapter Six - The lost Field trip and Babysitting or is it Foalsitting?

Chapter Seven - Returning what was lost and some compensation

Chapter Eight - A bloody Hearth's warming and a small promise to a Princess

Chapter Nine - The Path to Paradise starts in Hell.

Chapter Ten - Finding some common ground with a certain rainbow pony through drinking

Chapter Eleven - One week before disaster.

Chapter Twelve - A light Spring Estrus or Fighting a Hydra. Which could be possibly worse?

Chapter Thirteenth - Round two with the apples. And unforeseen consequences.