Jim stared sternly down at Scootaloo, Sweetie and Apple Bloom. Any thoughts of avoiding the ponies had vanished from his mind the moment he heard their screams and now he wanted answers. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom could only look down at their hooves since they knew they had messed up again. Yet their glances toward the third member of the troublesome trio did not go unnoticed.
Firm hazel eyes locked with defiant amethyst as Jim stared down at Scootaloo, the most likely one behind the decision for the three fillies being in the forest. Jim narrowed his eyes, his arms remaining crossed. “Well?” he asked loudly.
Apple Bloom knew that tone and her ears pressed firmly against her head as she cringed. She caved in. “We were just lookin’ for you. Scoots said that we just had ta find ya.”
Jim’s eyes stayed fixed to the little pegasus and he watched as Scootaloo glared at her friend for ratting her out. Surprisingly though, she made no effort to rebuke the admission and she turned her gaze back to Jim. The two stared each other in the eyes for a time, neither one moving or blinking. The silence quickly became awkward for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, but they dared not speak up for they could tell that the werewolf was not in a good mood. The fierce glare he sported also made them feel like he possibly considered eating them as a suitable punishment.
Eventually, Jim clenched his jaw and sighed as he shook his head at them. “Why did you need to find me, Scootaloo?” he asked lowly.
Scootaloo’s ears fought against her instincts as they tried to fold back, but the brave little filly managed to will them to stay upright. She steeled herself before taking in a breath. “You should come back to Ponyville.”
“Why?” Jim asked bluntly.
“Because…” Scootaloo’s eyes drifted to her left.
Jim’s ear flicked in slight annoyance. “You’ll need more than that to get me to do anything with you ponies. I’ll ask again; why should I go back?”
Scootaloo’s eyes locked back onto Jim and she frowned. Her wings seemed to vibrate with a pent up emotion, but its meaning eluded Jim. “You should come back because… because you need to apologize to everypony.”
Jim sighed and looked away from Scootaloo. The sternness in his expression melted away as his regret bubbled to the surface. “There’s no reason for me to go back. Apologizing won’t undo what I did and I doubt anyone would want me near them after seeing what I almost did to you.” Regret bled into anger and Jim’s eyes glared to the side at the little pegasus. “Which brings me to another question. Why are you here? How could you even think it was a good idea to go looking for the very thing that nearly killed you?” he asked with a low growl.
Scootaloo swallowed the nervousness in her throat and flared her little wings. “Because you didn’t mean to hurt me! You scared me… but I could tell you were struggling. You never wanted to hurt me… in… in fact… you wanted me to help you!” she said, forcing out the end of her response.
Jim’s eyes widened slightly before he slowly turned his head back to face her. He was a little surprised that she knew that he had wanted to be saved from himself. No one had ever noticed that before.
“So come on,” Scootaloo continued a little weaker than before, “let’s go back so you can do the right thing and apologize to everypony.”
Jim’s eyes closed as his head lowered a little. It was definitely something he knew he should probably do, but was there any reason for him to do it? Why would he want to go back, to stand before Twilight and the others just so that he could say sorry? There was no point. He knew they’d never forgive him for almost killing Scootaloo. Even if they did, on the bizarre chance that they could somehow find forgiveness in their hearts for a monster like him, Jim could never forgive himself. He opened his eyes slowly, acceptance clearly written on his face. “No, Scootaloo. I’ll walk you three to the edge of the forest, but I won’t be going with you into Ponyville.”
Scootaloo’s wings buzzed angrily and she stomped her little hooves. “Why!” she demanded.
Jim shook his head gently. “Why would I? They shouldn’t forgive me for what I did. I’m a monster, Scootaloo. I almost killed you!”
“And I forgive you!”
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom suddenly leapt up and stood on either side of their friend, smiling up at Jim, determined. “We forgive you too!”
Jim’s throat tensed and denial fought with anger within his chest. How could they say that so easily? “How can you even say such a thing?” he asked, almost sounding dumbfounded.
The three fillies looked to one another for a moment before smiling back up at Jim. Scootaloo stepped closer to him. “Cuz that’s what friends do.”
Jim could only stare at the three fillies with his mouth slightly agape. These little idiots are actually serious… he thought. Yet despite their apparent foolishness, he slowly started feeling a little more relaxed about the idea. Maybe… maybe if it was really possible for Scootaloo to forgive him, then it could even have been possible for Twilight and her friends to forgive him, too. Jim snorted and shook his head as an uncontrollable grin spread across his maw. He couldn’t believe he was seriously thinking about doing it, he had to have lost his mind.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he felt an unfamiliar warmth on his leg. He looked down and his eyes widened when he spotted the little orange pegasus filly hugging him. Her face turned up and she smiled wide for Jim. That was the last straw for the werewolf. He bent forward and grabbed Scootaloo gently, lifting her up in front of him before he brought her in and hugged her. The little filly happily returned the embrace and nuzzled into the crook of Jim’s neck. Apple Bloom and Sweetie belle smiled at each other before they, too, joined in and hugged one of Jim’s legs as well.
A new feeling slowly started to build in Jim’s chest as he held, and was held by, the little ponies. He was unsure what it was, but it was warm and made him feel like everything in his world had finally turned up for a change.
~~***~~
It took roughly half an hour before Jim and his three little passengers arrived on the edge of the forest just outside of Ponyville proper. The group had just set foot outside of the tree line when Jim paused. He flicked his ears in a few directions and methodically scanned the area, an act that Scootaloo and even Apple Bloom mimicked. Much to Jim’s relief there didn’t appear to be any ponies nearby, but that did little to ease the growing tension in his chest. He was about as thrilled with meeting with Twilight and the rest as a prisoner strolling to their execution.
Scootaloo seemed to pick up on the tension in Jim’s shoulders and she gently reached forward to hug the back of his neck reassuringly. That brought a small smile to the wolf’s face, but it did next to nothing to stem his feelings on the matter. This would mark the first time that he would be speaking to those who had witnessed his darker side at work and survived. Even for someone like Jim, a person used to not really caring about the opinions of others, it was a little nerve-wracking just imagining what might happen when he finally met with them after so many days in seclusion.
It was in one of those moments of thought that Jim failed to see the swiftly approaching form of a cyan pegasus from above. Rainbow Dash landed firmly a few meters away from Jim and she eyed him with suspicion. Her gaze only drifted to the three fillies on his back for a brief instant before she narrowed her eyes. “So… what brings you back to Ponyville?” she asked with false casualness.
Jim returned a level stare her way as he chose his response carefully. He could tell that Rainbow was ready to spring forward at a moment’s notice and he was not about to do anything to provoke an aggressive response from her. “I’m here to discuss a matter of importance with Twilight and the rest of your friends. If you’d be willing, I would also like it if you would be present as well.”
Rainbow snorted and flicked an ear as she lowered her stance, though her eyes softened a touch. “And why would I let you get close to my friends? We haven’t forgotten what you nearly did to Scoots…” she said as her gaze shifted to the young pegasus. “I’m sure Applejack and Rarity won’t be too happy that you wound up brining them back from the forest that they were told not to go into. What makes you think we’d let you back into town?” she asked, though it seemed most of her ire was toward the three little ones instead of Jim for the moment.
Jim’s eyes closed and he lowered his head slightly. “Because even if you don’t like it, there’s something that I have to do. I’ve never done it before, but Scootaloo feels that it’s important enough to ignore your warnings just to come and find me – even at the risk of her own life… again. All I’m asking is for one last chance. You’ll never have to see or hear from me again after that, but I won’t turn away unless you all tell me you don’t want to see me,” Jim said and he lifted his head proudly, the display only slightly dampened by Scootaloo perching on his head to glare confidently at Rainbow.
Rainbow Dash eyed Jim and Scoots for a couple tense moments before she let out a slow sigh and her expression turned contemplative. She looked away for a moment before glancing between Scootaloo, Sweetie and Apple Bloom and finally looking back to Jim. There was uncertainty in her eyes as well as the tell tale signs of her pride. She was still struggling with how she truly felt about Jim and what she had seen him do. Rainbow wanted to get the three fillies away from him again, but the look in Jim's eyes and the odd feeling that the four in front of her had somehow bonded kept her from acting out. Still, she could not remove that fierce look of Jim's from her mind. However, there was that little part of her that wanted to fly forward and hug him and apologize for what had happened in the cave. But as things stood, Rainbow could not bring herself to do anything in either case so she simply lifted her head up proudly as well. “We’ll meet at Twilight’s castle. You still know the way, Jim?” she asked.
Jim nodded slowly. “Yes. I will be there shortly.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and went to lift off, but she paused for a moment to look back at Jim fully. Jim returned her gaze evenly as he studied her behavior. There was something more to her actions it seemed, despite how she was putting up an aggressive front in the beginning only for it to simmer down shortly thereafter. Even now, Rainbow’s mind was turning over her thoughts about him. With an affirmative nod, Rainbow launched into the air, leaving a chromatic trail in her wake. Jim watched her fly off toward the western edge of the town. Once she had left his field of vision, Jim let out a slow sigh. This is turning out to be quite the eventful day…
Careful movement on Jim’s back drew his attention and he looked over his shoulder, being mindful not to tilt Scootaloo from atop his head. Sweetie Belle had stood up and she gingerly walked closer to Jim’s face. She only stopped once she was nose to nose with him and her green eyes peered sadly at his hazel. “You’re not going to go away, are you?” she asked meekly.
Jim sighed softly as a tiny smile curved the corners of his lips. “I can’t answer that yet, Sweetie Belle. It depends on what Twilight and her friends want,” he rumbled softly.
Apple Bloom shifted closer to his head as well. “Please don’t go. You’ve been so nice to us and we hafta repay you for savin’ us,” she said as her ears folded back sadly.
“Yeah! Even if Twilight says so, you shouldn’t leave for good! What would happen if you weren’t there to protect us next time?” Scootaloo asked with a little too much enthusiasm.
Jim smirked up at the little pegasus. “You’d get eaten. You three really should learn not to go into such a dangerous forest. Just because I’ve been living in there doesn’t mean I’ll always be around to save you. For all you know I could have been beaten by something bigger in that forest.”
Scootaloo started giggling. “Yeah right, you’re too tough. I don’t even think a hydra would be a match for you.”
Cocking a brow, Jim asked what a hydra was. His answer, according to Apple Bloom, was a description of the odd lizard thing he had hunted in the swamp. When he was informed that the one he had eaten had been a mere baby, Jim found himself lucky that momma had not been nearby at the time. Just thinking about an encounter with a fully-grown hydra sent a wave of mild unease through him. Then again, he was unsure if it was better for him to face Twilight… maybe fighting a hydra would have been a better alternative.
Regardless, Jim was thankful to the three fillies; their little display of kindness and young perspective of him was welcome. He gently nuzzled Sweetie and Apple Bloom. “I appreciate your feelings, little ones. It’s nice that you like me enough to want me to stay, but I want you three to promise that you won’t fight their decision. If I’m no longer wanted then you’ll have to accept that.” Jim then looked up and gently pet at Scootaloo’s head since he could not nuzzle her. “And you’ll have to promise me to stay out of that forest – not until you can be as awesome as I am in there.”
Scootaloo giggled at Jim’s clumsy petting and sighed at his words. She drooped her head and wings slightly, but nodded all the same. “Okay… we’ll stay away from the Everfree. But you’ll have to promise to show us how to be as cool as you. I’ll sneak away and find you otherwise!” she chirped playfully.
Jim chuckled and shook his head. “You drive a hard bargain there, kid. I’ll see what I can do. First, we need to know whether or not I’ll even be allowed to linger nearby. Off we go, to Twilight’s castle.”