//------------------------------// // Running Away - Bob Marley and the Wailers // Story: Extremely Loud, Intensely Bright, Drastically Tense, Exceedingly Tight // by h4ns //------------------------------// Chapter 76: Running Away - Bob Marley and the Wailers Bryce did as he promised. The next morning. He rose before the sun, dressed, and walked the distance into Ponyville. Once there he went about the town tossing papers to Rocksalt, who would then toss them onto the door mats and stoops of the subscribers they passed. To them, it was as if the week before never happened. When they finished the task for the day they took their usual route to Rocksalt’s home. When they reached a certain point in their trip, Rocksalt asked, "Bryce, can we go another way?" "Why, we always go this way," he responded. "Yeah, but, uh... Don't ya think we could do it different today, just ta be doin' it." "Why, Kid, this is the fastest way to your house." "Ah know, but Ah think another way would be better." Bryce looked down to the colt. "Kid, what is it?" "What do ya mean? All Ah'm sayin' is maybe tryin' something new ain't a bad idea." "Why would it be a bad idea to get you home, before school, and before your mother starts to worry?" Rocksalt drew a blank on the human's reasoning. "It wouldn't take any longer to go around." "Go around what?" "Uh... No- Nothing." Bryce looked the colt over once more, then turned about. "Come on, Kid, let's get you home. I still have to see the mayor for..." Bryce trailed off from there. Mayor Mare's sudden intrusion yesterday came as a surprise. He felt they would have met at some point by now—some point before he wrecked her town. There were many possibilities as to why they should meet this morning, and in each one he felt it was not good. He walked ahead. He would deal with the mayor when he came to her. For now, he needed to see Rocksalt home. The colt bolted for the human. "Bryce, wait a sec!" He yelled, low enough to not wake the neighborhood. By the time Rocksalt caught up Bryce rounded a corner. This part of town opened onto an open field, an area larger than the town square and often used for sports events and other highlights. It was the same field where many of the concession stands and games once stood for Nightmare Night. The field held nothing of the sort this early morning. Bryce came to a stop, not flinching when Rocksalt ran into to his calves. In the field there were tents; nowhere close to a hundred but more than fifty at the least. A couple of them lit up from the inside, with the shadows of the inhabitants running like shadow puppets across the exteriors. The rest were dark, with faint snores and sleeping mummers heard from within. Rocksalt was happy to find they were all zipped up. It nopony saw Bryce then maybe they could slip back unnoticed. "Bryce, let's just go around," he said through his teeth. "If we hurry Ah won't have ta gobble down breakfast." Bryce bit on his lower lip. "Kid, we're already here," He said back in a hushed tone. "Besides, they won't try anything. After what happened yesterday I’m sure they think better of me." Rocksalt cocked an eyebrow as his jaw dropped. He's not serious! He thought. When the human stepped forward inner voice shouted, Horseapples! The guy's serious! Instinct told him to run and leave Bryce to his fate, but Bryce would never do the same to him. He knew Bryce would not abandon him to ruin; he stood between him and the angry mob yesterday afternoon. With a heavy gulp Rocksalt trotted forward, being careful to watch his step and make as little noise as possible. They stopped after a certain point. From a tent at the edge of the encampment they heard shifting. From within, a mare groaned, "What gives, I'm trying to sleep here." "Sorry, but I gotta pee," replied a second mare. "Well go outside this time," the first mare moaned as she shifted into a more comfortable position. "But what if he's out there? Why would they give us a bucket if not to pee in for this situation?" "Why would Bryce be out this early; he's not the paper colt. And after you missed yesterday there's no way I'll let you go inside ever again. It's bad enough we share a tent, but if it happens again I won't forgive you. Besides, he won't try anything, even if he does come back" "Would you come with me, sis?" The first mare groaned in annoyance. "Too tired... Just go already... At the porta-johns!" Defeated, the second mare unzipped the tent's door. At least she tried to unzip it. About a third of the way up the zipper snagged. The mare began to tug at the zipper, threatening to collapse the cramped, cloth shack. Rocksalt tugged at the leg of Bryce's cargo shorts. "Come on, let's go already," he snarled. Bryce ignored him. He knew the one voice but could not place the other. There came a long, drawn out groan from the tent. "Here, let me," said the disgruntled mare. She pulled the zipper to the bottom. Then with a graceful tug she pulled the zipper up to the pointed roof. "There, now would you go alre-" "Sis, he's here!" The mare who spoke last was Cloudchaser. When she locked eyes with Bryce she almost let loose the contents of her bladder. The other mare—the one who managed to open the tent—straightened up at Bryce's presence, but she was not frightened. This was the first-time Bryce ever saw this mare, as he recalled, but he could tell they were sisters by the similar colors of their fur and manes. The latter on both looked in need of a good brushing. The three ponies and Bryce looked at each other for a minute. Cloudchaser made to wail, "Bryce is here!" She would have, if not for Flitter covering her mouth before she could sound out the first syllable. Flitter waved sideways at Bryce and Rocksalt with her free hoof. Bryce waved back. Their behavior confused him, but he felt it rude to not return the gesture. "You see, Kid," Bryce whispered to Rocksalt, "they understand now." Rocksalt and Flitter facehoofed in unison. Cloudchaser wiggled her way from Flitter's grip. She made to warn everypony but met the same result. "Get out of here, you boob!" Flitter stammered through her teeth. A few tents adjacent to their own began to rattle. "Bryce, let's get outta here," Rocksalt cried. Bryce looked down, thinking Flitter meant he left his chest uncovered. "What did she mean by-?" "Bryce, uh, Ah've got school in, like, twenty minutes," he lied. He looked to Rocksalt. "Oh, right." He waved to Flitter, then jogged off with Rocksalt at his side. They left the tents behind, with enough time to avoid making his being there known to everypony in the encampment. When he stopped to check the time on his watch, he said, "Kid, you can calm down. You've got about forty-five minutes." Rocksalt slowed to a trot, then stood still. He found it hard to believe the human could not see the severity of the situation. He looked back to Bryce. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. When he opened his mouth again, he asked, "Bryce, are you alright, you know, in the head?" "Well, Rocksalt, that's a broad topic. Do you think we have the time?" "No, I mean... What do you mean by...?" "Well, the short version is it's an odd mind placed in a standard body, if that answers your question." No, that actually raises more questions. Rocksalt shook away the thought. "Yeah, I guess." He and Bryce made for the colt's home. Back at the camp more ponies began to stir. When they found their way out of their temporary homes they converged on Cloudchaser and Flitter's location. Each one demanded the standard questions, "What's going on here? What's with all the noise? Do you have any idea what time it is?" In time a hush fell over the crowd, prompting Flitter to come up with a response. "It's okay, everypony, it’s okay. My sister here just needed to use the bathroom, and she couldn’t work the zipper. We all know how much trouble these zippers can be." She ended with a light-hearted laugh. A mummer came up from the dislocated ponies, with the verdict being they agreed with the mare. "There's no cause for alarm, everything is fine. You can all go-" "But what about Bryce?" Cloudchaser asked. A loud uproar came from the crowd. They each looked in one random direction after another. Flitter edged in close to her sister. "Chase, don't say anything else." "Flit, what about Bryce? Shouldn't we-" A mare noticed the pair talking. "Hey, what'd she say? Is Bryce around?" The crowd fell quiet once more. "Sis, just listen to me," Flitter demanded through her teeth. She laughed again before saying, "Come on, do you see Bryce? What she said was that we should go together. I mean, us two. You know, in case Bryce might be around. You know, have somepony to watch your back while you do... Well, you know." The crowd discussed this amongst themselves. "If he is then are we safe?" Flitter laughed this question off. "What, at this hour? I mean, he might be mean but even somepony like Bryce needs to sleep, right?" A few ponies went to contradict this assumption, but Flitter held them off with, "I'd like to stay, but my sister still has to pee. We may be blood, and all that junk, but I doubt anypony would want to sleep in a tent filled with their sister's pee." A few ponies grumbled, themselves victim to this from their own family members, older and younger. "So, if you could clear us a path." Flitter stepped forward with Cloudchaser close to her side. The crowd stepped aside as they past. Once they cleared the crowd the two blue-violet pegasi trotted for the porta-potties. It was not much longer until the ponies dispersed and headed for their tents. Questioning them on their outlandish behavior was one thing, but they would not dare stand by and watch as a mare relieved herself. That just ain’t proper. When her sister entered the small, foul-smelling, plastic cell Flitter let out a sigh. A few seconds later Cloudchaser asked, "Flit, why didn't you tell anypony about Bryce?" Flitter looked about to make sure nopony was within earshot. "I just think he has enough problems." "But shouldn’t they still know?" "I just think it's best for everypony that only we know. I mean, you heard what happened yesterday, didn't you? Some parents ganged up on him, and they ended up hurting a filly. After something like that I’m afraid of what they would do to me, and to you. Even if it wasn't on purpose... This whole thing I think's been blown outta whack." "Yeah, Thunderlane was saying the same thing to me the other day," Cloudchaser said as she finished up. "He told me Bryce would never have done anything like that. At least, not with anypony around." Flitter thought about her sister's last statement. "When did he say that?" "Last week." "No duh, which day last week?" "A couple days after Nightmare Night," Cloudchaser said when she pushed the door open. "After Nightmare Night? Are you sure?" "Yeah, I remember. I said something about how scared I was, then he said he couldn't believe Bryce did it in front of everypony, and then I said how he wasn't around for me to hold. I yelled at him for running off, too." "When?' "When what?" Flitter rolled her eyes. "When did Thunderlane run away?" "Oh, Nightmare Night." "He ran on Nightmare Night? When?" "You just said when: Nightmare Night." "No, Chase, when did he run on Nightmare Night?" "Oh. Well, remember when he left us with Rumble? It was about the time we were throwing balls at the dunk tank. He looked like he was running from something." "Did you see anything?" Cloudchaser shook her head. "No, but whatever it was musta been scary. I mean, like, Bryce scary. I yelled at him but he must not’ve heard me." Flitter ran this information through her mind. She could not place a hoof on it but she felt the events her sister described were connected in some way. Coupled with this was the sudden interest Thunderlane had in Bryce. She did not hear everything, but a few months back the slate grey stallion made the human out as some sort of ghoul. At times downright calling the human a savage brute who could kill a pony with his gaze. What she saw last week placed this statement in the realm of possibility, but she doubted Bryce would. She could tell the human was an odd fellow when they met a week back, but she could never imagine him to be this odd. She thought him odd, yet still a good person, not unlike a quirky uncle. What she knew now did not shatter this belief; still odd, a bit handsome for somebody who was not a pony, but not bad for one's health. Thunderlane, on the other hoof, was a different matter. She never trusted the pegasus. To her he was a pretty boy; some colt with more looks than brains. He thought his charm could beguile the most dimwitted of mares, with no offense meant to her sister. Thunderlane did not seem the type to let sleeping dogs lie. He would go on and on about how Bryce stole his flight from him. And last week he never brought up the subject. Nor did he this week when he met up with her and Cloudchaser. What Thunderlane did bring up with Cloudchaser was how Bryce 'would never have done anything like that. At least, not with anypony around.' He must have known something about Bryce. The question is how much. There was more to it and Flitter wanted to get to the bottom of it. "Cloudchaser," she said after a long silence, "what else has Thunderlane said about Bryce?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When Bryce and Rocksalt reached the latter's home they found Whipping Cream standing in the doorway. "There you two are. What kept you both?" "We just had a little detour, Mrs Cream," Bryce answered. "I saw someone I knew." "Oh, well, at least you got here okay," said the plump mare as she wrapped her son in a hug. "Yeah, Mom, great," he said without enthusiasm. The mother mare could feel something was wrong. By now her son told her how fast they finished the day’s route. Instead he did not look her in the eye. "Rocksalt, you feel sweaty. Why don't we go run you a bath?" "But what about breakfast?" His mother often waited until Rocksalt was inside. She wanted him to have a warm breakfast. "Well, I can take care of it," Bryce suggested. "Why that sounds fine," Whipping Cream said. "Come on, Rocky. I'll run the water and you tell me when it's hot enough." Bryce thought nothing of this as he made breakfast. Whipping Cream trotted down the hall with Rocksalt. When they reached the bathroom, they walked in and Whipping Cream shut the door. "Rocksalt, is something wrong? Nopony caused you any problems, did they?" "Nah, Mom, it wasn't what anypony did." "Oh... Well, is it Bryce?" The way the dull brown colt looked away all but confirmed the question. "Mom, does Bryce seem like he's actin' strange?" "Strange how?" She asked as she ran the faucet. "Ah don't know, it's like he believes some of the stuff he's sayin'. Like how he’s not ta blame for what happened on Nightmare Night. Yesterday it was like he didn’t know why everypony was mad at’m. And this morning some mare waved at us to get lost, and he thought she was wavin' 'hi'." "Okay, I think I understand," Whipping Cream said as she tested the water. " Rocky, he's in denial." "Yeah, that's it." He said nothing for a few seconds. "Mom, is Bryce alright?" His mother shut off the valves. "Well, Rocky, maybe he doesn't want to believe he did what he did. It's like when you were expelled from school. When your teacher told me what happened I didn't believe him. To me you were my little boy; my small, sweet little boy who could do no wrong." Rocksalt looked down to the bathroom tiles. His mother saw his downward gaze. "Rocky, don't feel bad. I'm not bringing this up to shame you, it's just an example. I’m saying Bryce may feel the same way. He knows what he did, but he doesn't want to believe he did it. That's denial; something everypony goes through." "What made it happen? He looks fine but he's... Whatever it is he ain't like Bryce." "Rocky, he needs to come to terms with this. I don't know when it will be, but when he does he may not be the same." This disheartened the dull brown colt. "So, he might not be the same guy who helps me with my paper route and my homework?" "No... I mean... Rocksalt, I'm sure he'll still help you in those terms.” For now, at least.. “If worse comes to worse I'll help you myself." "Yeah, Ah know. But what about when he does believe he wrecked the town? What'll he be like then?" With this the thought of her own life flashed before her eyes. She thought of the time during her and Rocksalt’s transition to Ponyville. It started with denial: she could not fathom her son—her and her husband's pride and joy—bullied other foals. The next was the anger: she and her husband were mad at anything and everything. They directed most of their anger at the school board, but all their yelling changed nothing. The Manehatten school board expelled Rocksalt from the school district. Afterwards she tried to bargain with the board. Her son was not a bad boy, his father was always busy with work and could not occupy her son’s energy. And when she came home she never had the energy to occupy him. She faced this on her own; her husband bargained too, but for her to take Rocksalt and move someplace else. He had work and could not be bothered to trouble himself with this now. The next step she fell into a deep depression. It started when she packed up her and Rocksalt's belongings. It grew worse with each passing day. Then worse with the move, then when they came to their above-ramshackle dwelling. She hoped the change in environment would change her son's outlook on life, but he continued to bully and harass the other foals. She told herself by the time he was in school he would go on the straight-and-narrow. This was the only thing she could do to get through the day. It became worse with the introduction of Bryce. She had yet to meet the human, but how could she tell the difference between what her son told her then and what she knew now? Her son became worse and worse with every passing day. Then it became known he bullied a filly—a tom-coltish filly but a filly nonetheless. It was enough for the dull brown colt to lose the only friends he had in Ponyville. The following weeks sent an arrow through her heart to see him come home and cry each afternoon. He would often not leave his room until the following morning. This went on until the intervention of Bryce. She expected Bryce to treat her son like any other number in a file system—much in the same way the Manehatten school board treated him. But he forgave Rocksalt. He held no ill will for her son, and when they met for the first time their friendship startled her. What frightened her worse was what they came to ask her. To raise her son’s confidence, Bryce thought it a good idea to find her son a job, and they had one in mind. It was for an outrageous hour, but Bryce encouraged her to say yes. It scared her to say this one little word, but the results... The results it had on her son were unbelievable. His self-esteem grew in a few short weeks, and he also gained a new pair of friends before school began. Her son tried to make her take his hard-earned bits but she would have none of it. Rocksalt earned the bits. Bryce helped, of course, but on the record it was Rocksalt's job. Whipping Cream did not know when, but at some point she found herself able to smile again. She was happy; happy for her son. She could not remember the last time she smiled, or when she was this happy. She wanted to compare it to her wedding day or the day she learned of her impending foal or when Rocksalt came into the world. But the day she found herself smiling was beyond comparison, because it was the day she knew her son was happy, too. After so long they were happy in this above-ramshackle in this foreign town with hundreds of ponies neither of them knew. The thought of it all made the heavyset mare smile then and there. "Mom?" Rocksalt asked, bringing her back to the present. "What is it, Rocky?" "I asked ya if Bryce is gonna be alright." She wrapped her son in a hug, surprising the dull brown colt. "Rocky, I'm sure once this is over Bryce will be better than he is now. What he's going through will be hard for everypony, but when he comes out he'll be a changed pony." "But Mom, he's not a pony." "It's still the same." She released her son and looked him in the eye. "I just want you to know, Rocksalt, what's happening to him now will get worse. He may one day say something to you he regrets later, but I want you to do the same for him as he did for you. Forgive him, Rocksalt. It will be tough, but it will take you both a long way." With her next statement, she looked her son straight in the eye. "You know I’m right." Rocksalt blinked a few times. The statement confused him, until he thought back on Bryce; on Bryce and how he forgave him. Rocksalt sighed. "Alright, Mom, I'll try. But can I get in the tub? I've got school in less than half an hour minutes." Whipping Cream blinked. "Oh, yes... Okay, Rocky, I'll give you some privacy." She turned and opened the door. She looked back to her son. "And Rocky." "Yeah, what, Mom?" She smiled and said, "I love you." The colt smiled and said back. "I love ya too, Mom." They allowed the phrase to sink in before Rocksalt said, "Now do ya mind, Mom?" "I'm sorry, you're right." Without another word, she exited the bathroom and headed into the kitchen. When she entered, Bryce said, "Hey, welcome back. I hope you like fried egg sandwiches, because I made fried egg sandwiches." The white cream mare looked to the table. Bryce had already set them each a place, complete with a full glass of milk and a half-glass of juice. "My, you seem to have this down packed." "Well, when you've done it as many times as I have it sticks." His face contorted into a smirk, but to the plump mare it appeared as a smile. She smiled back, though not a full one. She feared what Bryce was to go through. He might not go through the same stages she went through, but what might happen worried her. She did not believe the human would hurt Rocksalt on purpose, but if worse came to worse she hoped Bryce could contain himself. She knew Bryce had a long, twisted road ahead of him. The question lay in whether Bryce could make it to the end, and if everypony he knew would be there when he finished. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bryce sat in the city hall’s reception office. He wiggled his toes in his usual way, counting the opposing up-down motion on each foot up to four, time after time. His nervous tick often helped him to relax, but it did little this morning. The reception office made him remember when he was in school, when his misbehavior called for his parents' intervention. It was the same basic equation. The pony who sat at the reception desk was the same. Bryce at times met their gaze, which prompted them to shift their eyes onto some work they happened to find. Bryce was in trouble, he did not deserve the pleasure of a conversation. The principal—or in this case the mayor—was the same. She now left him to wonder what punishment she had in mind. With his record, a good chance for another expulsion, though this time it meant exile; banishment from the only town and ponies he knew in this whimsical world of sunshine and smiles. The only difference lay in his parents were maybe light-years away, or perhaps on another plane of existence, whichever the case. At least afterwards there would be nobody to further berate him into the dirt, or so he hoped. If anything, this recurring aspect of his life forced him to understand the strictness of his actions. The excuses in his mind grew more unbelievable and impractical by the second. He still held on to the hope others could see it from his perspective, but it looked bleak. When at last the door to Mayor Mare's office opened Bryce froze in place, with his toes stuck to their current rotation. The beige mare stuck her head out. "Mr..." She looked to a sheet of paper in her unseen hoof, "…Smales, please come in." Bryce did as she requested. He stood up, his feet feeling as heavy as lead. When Bryce entered the office, he found much of the room covered with boxes upon boxes of files and forms. There were many more along the desk. The only piece of furniture lacking any such piece of paper was a single, solitary stool placed before the desk. Mayor Mare motioned towards the stool. "Please, take a seat." Bryce did so. The mayor situated herself on the other side of her desk. She pushed a few files around. "Do you need any refreshments?" She asked, not looking up. "No, I'm fine." "Are you comfortable? If you want I can have something else brought in." "No, thank you." Mayor Mare said nothing else until she found the proper form. She held it out to Bryce. "If you don't mind, would you please fill in the blank spaces. And please, be neat about it." It was a form with his name at the top, titled J. Bryce Smales, followed by spaces meant for other information, such as birth date, gender, species, and other identifying information. Bryce took out a pen and filled in the needed information. He wrote in his birthday. Based on the calendar for this world, it came out as the 9th of Taurus, YC 976. After the space marked for gender there was the requirement for his species. There were four bubbles, with a descriptive name beside each one: Earth pony, Unicorn, Pegasus, and Other. After the one marked other there was a blank line. Bryce asked, “What should I put for species?” Mayor Mare thought on the question for a second. “Fill in ‘other’ and write in the proper name for your kind, if you know it.” Bryce did so, writing Homo sapiens on the provided line. As he filled in the rest of the document he looked to the other papers across the desk. Some were a list of building materials and their respective prices. Others were letters from ponies who tongue lashed the mayor for not taking care of the human problem. Two of this latter group were from banks, each one denying her request for a loan. Once he finished he blew on the form to dry the ink, then handed it back to the mayor. She looked the form over then placed it on her desk. "Thank you,” she said before placing the document in a folder. She placed it on her desk, then said, “I think you know why I called you here. Before you say anything, I want you to know you're not in trouble. Not with me, anyways." Well, this is new. "I'm sorry?" "Mr Smales, I called you here to discuss your actions last week, but not for the reasons you suspect. Normally I would have you taken off by the Guard. You would be in a jail cell right now, if an anonymous source had not given cause to stay that order. That, and we were unable to find you." Given his abilities it was probably for the best. With the state he was in I doubt any of the blacksmiths in Canterlot could construct a cell to hold him. "Well, who did it? Who, uh, got me off? I mean, who made you 'stay that order'?" "Well, Mr Smales, that's something I hope you can answer for me. This is probably a lost cause, but can you tell me anypony you interacted with on Nightmare Night?" "Well, I can't." Mayor Mare let out a sigh through her nose. "I was afraid you'd say that. I hoped you would remember something, but the nurse assured me you wouldn't. To answer your question, the source is somepony we can't find, nor is it anypony listed in the town census. The guard who received the evidence never got a statement. All he gave was a description: a young, earth pony stallion with a tan coat and black mane. He was last seen in a bandit's outfit; the kind from the movies with the sock hat, eye mask and black-and-white vest. Since it was Nightmare Night that kind of information is as good as pointless, for you at least. You wouldn't remember somepony even if they wore nothing at all." "What about his eyes?" "He couldn’t recall the color, but he did remember they looked bloodshot. Almost as if he had pinkeye. Why, do you know somepony who matches his description? Minus the bandit's outfit, of course." Bryce looked around the room before he settled on," No, I...can't say I do. I mean, there's gotta be, what, ten, twenty tan colored ponies. Even if you whittle it down to male earth ponies that's still three or four. Five at the most, right?" The mayor wanted to questioned the human on his strange behavior, but chalked it up to jitters. "I suppose so. I thank you for your honesty. If you can think of anything, please let my office or a guard know." "Likewise." Bryce stood up. "Wait, Mr Smales, I still have something to discuss with you." Bryce returned to his seat. "Mr Smales, about yesterday... I assume you were more the victim rather than the cause. I hope that's the case. Regardless, I can't have any trouble." Well, here it comes, Bryce thought. "Well, where can I go?" "Hmm?" "I mean, you're booting me out of town, right?" Mayor Mare laughed at the human’s inquiry. "What would give you that idea? No, I'm only warning you to try and stay out of trouble. In the few months you've been in Ponyville I've had no complaints, only rumors. I like that in a citizen of this fine town of mine. The no complaints parts. The rumors... Well, when they draw my interest… On a serious note, you're new to Ponyville, but you kept your nose clean. And that is one of the main reasons I haven't sent you packing." Mayor Mare stood up from her seat. "However, I can only overlook this sort of thing once, and only once. I've tried my best to keep the citizens at bay, but many feel you need to be in prison. I can keep them off, so long as you behave yourself." She trialed off from there, the message quite clear. "Well, I didn't try to pick a fight yesterday. They came at us. The kids and I." "I am aware of this, but I can't stop everything they do. I've placed most of them on my watch list, but my advice to you is to not let them get to you. Like I said, I base my opinion on a citizen based on the complaints I receive. And until now I had zero. I want to keep this opinion of you, Mr Smales, but if you refuse to hold up your part then I can't help you." Bryce fell silent. He understood the mayor's reasoning but the words twisted a knot in his stomach. He had a chance, and somepony who held such contempt for him made him lose this one and only chance. He wiggled his toes yet again. "Mayor... I understand, but there must be some way I can make this up." "If there were I would help any way I possibly can, but with the way everypony's tempers are right now you may just make their opinion of you that much worse. There is one thing you could do, however.” She smiled and scooted a small brass cauldron from behind her desk. “The Rebuild Ponyville Fund is in dire need of bits. I've asked the citizens for assistance but it's brought only a couple thousand." "Well, I have some money, but I was hoping to buy some land. Well, my friend and I wanted to." "Anything you could offer would help. And because of your reputation I would submit it as a donation from an anonymous source." "Well, I don't have much on me. Can I come by tomorrow?" "That would be fine. Every bit helps." With this said, Mayor Mare released the human. Once he left the city hall he scowled. Without another thought he headed down the road for the apple farm. He planned to donate to the fund, but first Bait had some explaining to do. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Deep within the Everfree Forest the catoblepas walked off from the last creatures to fall prey to its nightmarish gaze. As the pig-faced wildebeest walked about the grounds of the Castle of the Two Sisters a small pack of timberwolves had the misfortune to find him. Despite their number, four peons and a large pack leader, they fell. With each one’s death the life force which held their wooden trunks and limbs together sank into his being. It took little effort; killing such wild, untamed beasts was not a hard task. With one look into his deep red eyes the five wooden wolves feel into a deep slumber. With their bodies at rest and their minds in Onierios killing them equated to leaving an infant foal to fend for itself. It also helped when timberwolves were an easy lot to predict. The large-headed, malevolent monstrosity wished the human held the same predictability. The plan was simple enough: Golden Eyes poisoned the human, and Bryce—under the effects of devil's snare—caused as much damage as possible. With this plan, they estimated only enough to warrant everypony in the despicable cyst of a town to dislike the human. Enough for them to want nothing to do with him. It made the catoblepas happy to see everything go to plan, but what he witnessed through his enthralled pony was beyond imagine. There was a certain power in Onierios, one only accessible within the borders of the world of dreams. But he and Golden Eyes saw it used in the waking world, by Bryce, without effort. The wonton destruction and sheer mayhem made the catoblepas laugh with such delight when he saw what he could do, regardless if it went against their intended plan. It did dampen his mood, however, when the dust settled and none of the town's obnoxiously cheerful inhabitants fell victim to his rampage. This, and the ever-present mare who always ended his fun before it had the chance to grow and multiply. These he could look past. Only because their plan—his and his thrall—bore fruit could he look past this small hiccup. Ponyville hated Bryce, this was only the beginning; the first link in the chain wrapped around the human’s thick neck. Right now, Bryce incited fear into the hearts of the insufferable equines who knew him only by name. In time the same would happen to his so-called friends. He and Golden Eyes would make sure of this through any means, including murder if their plan warranted it. If it ended with the human forsaken by everypony who knew him by his nature it was worth their lives. This time when the dust settled there was to be at least one death: Bryce’s death. When the human was dead and no longer a thorn in the catoblepas’ side could the grotesque wildebeest return to murdering the repulsive pests of this damnable mortal plain one by one.