//------------------------------// // Act II: The Home Field Disadvantage // Story: Human Nature // by Blank Page //------------------------------// “Hunter, come on!” As Fluttershy called my name, my legs finally became responsive.  I stumbled after her and her friends, leaving behind the chaos of stomping hooves, crashing wood, and sparks of magic.  But it was difficult to run. Though Redheart’s medication numbed the pain, there was still a dull throb deeper beneath the skin of my leg, like someone was taking a mallet to my tendons with every other step. As if only to add insult to my injuries, the girls were running faster than me, too.  They were leaving me in the dust, and I didn’t think they even realized it.  The best I could do was quickly hobble after them and pray that their bodies wouldn’t fully disappear into the strangling darkness of the forest. It still wasn’t enough. The distance between us continued to grow.  Even with the Princess and her Guard were holding the wolves at bay, I couldn’t help but feel like they were breathing down my neck, matching my own frantic panting. “Hunter!”  Fluttershy’s voice was a candle in the night.  I tried to run faster towards it, shifting more weight upon my leg only to grunt and stumble.  “Girls, come back! Hunter’s falling behind!” With a flurry of wings, Fluttershy’s form appeared before me in the faint moonlight as I slowed to a stop.  Or rather, two Fluttershys did, and both were staring at me with equal amounts of worry. “Hunter, are you okay?” they asked with the same voice.  “What’s wrong?” Through my labored breaths, I focused on them both and blinked until their images lined up.  “I… I’m fine… I just…” I wheezed. “Just faster than me… I just can’t move any…” Hoofbeats thundered up ahead, and Applejack and Twilight appeared next to their friend. “C’mon now, Hunter,” Applejack said warily.  “This ain’t the time for a breather. We gotta get outta here.” Panting, I nodded and pushed past them and broke into a jog, but I didn’t make it very far.  Through the heartbeat drumming between my ears, I could hear something up ahead. Twigs snapping.  Feet galloping. Heavy panting that wasn’t my own. Two timberwolves broke from the foliage to our left, landing on the trail and pivoting to meet us.  Their eyes glowed in the darkness around them with a ferocious intent, almost enough to distract me from their barred, crooked fangs. I stumbled to a halt before I could get too close, my fingers fumbling for the hatchet at my side. Before either of us had the chance to make the first move, a bright circle of purple ignited around them, the light rising as though it was solid and closing above them to make a dome.  Nevertheless, they lunged forward, only to collide with the purple light and bounce back into the center. Next to me, Twilight came sliding to a halt, her horn aglow with a similar light and her gaze locked on the wolves.  For the first time, her magic gave me reason to relax. Off to the left, the sound of scraping wood echoed from behind the brush.  Without wasting a moment, Twilight summoned a pane of purple glass and intercepted two more wolves as they leapt onto the path.  She pinned them down with the barrier and glanced frantically between her two conjurations. As the others caught up, more growls started to bleed from every plant in the forest.  How many more were there? “This isn’t good!” she called out.  As she quickly changed her focus between the two, I noticed the lights of the barriers flicker ever so slightly.  “I don’t think I can keep this up forever, not if there’s more.” As if on cue, a larger wolf lumbered out onto the path on the other side of Twilight’s dome.  It released a low snarl, sap dripping from the corners of its maw. Thorn must have planned for me to run away again.  The entire path back to Ponyville was probably littered with stray wolves waiting to pounce. A familiar string tugged inside of me, and I didn’t bother to question it.  “Come on,” I grunted, motioning for the girls to follow. “The trees. Thorn probably has the entire trail set up for an ambush.  We can lose them in here.” “What?  Are you sure?” Twilight asked.  She looked away for a second, but the magical pane that pinned the two wolves began to flicker, and they started to squirm out until she focused back on them. I was already at the edge of the trail, pulling back a layer of brush when I looked back.  “I know these woods like the back of my hand, Twilight,” I assured her. “You’ll have to trust me on this.” The larger timberwolf moved around Twilight’s magical dome, moving at me before getting caught in another one of Twilight’s tricks.  The beast levitated in the air, its momentum propelling it into a lazy cartwheel. I could see the task put a new strain on the unicorn, though.  She winced, and the flickering of her magic became more frequent. “Applejack, Fluttershy… go with him,” Twilight said, taking a backstep closer to us.  She tumbled the larger wolf between the others, as though she was trying to keep them all in her field of view.  “I don’t know why I’m having a hard time with this right now, but I can buy you all some time.” “Come on, Twi, this ain’t the time for heroics,” Applejack warned her, but Twilight didn’t listen. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll catch up before you get too far, promise.  Just go!” Applejack hesitated, giving her friend one last nod before grabbing Fluttershy’s hoof and dragging her towards me.  There was a moment of protest, but once they passed beneath the branches I held, it quickly stopped. I gave Twilight one last lingering look before disappearing after her friends. The wolves howled anxiously, realizing that their prey was once again slipping through their claws.  Twilight was actually able to give us a solid head start, though. Applejack and Fluttershy stayed close by as I guided them through the seemingly ever-shifting maze of trees. Navigating through the Everfree Forest at night was never a simple task, and this time was no exception. Silhouettes of branches and vines sprouted out of thin air, threatening to ensnare us or impede our progress. An anxious sensation was slowly creeping over me with each small turn we made.  In the dark, all the trees looked the same, shapeless obstacles with limbs that reached down as if to grab me.  I realized with horror that I had lied to everyone in an attempt to keep us moving, at least away from the wolves before us. Relax, Hunter, a voice cooed in my head.  I stumbled, not expecting to hear it again.  You are on the right path.  You know where you are, better than you think you do.  Just listen… listen closely. With nothing more to lose than a few more seconds of my life, I slowed my jog and strained my ears.  At first, all I could hear was my own drumming heartbeat and heavy breaths, but there was a fainter sound in the background, a white noise almost like a static.  It must have been a month since I last heard it. Could it have really been…? My concentration broke as a series of sharp pops echoed throughout the forest, some far away, others closer, as though someone lit single firecrackers and tossed them sporadically.  It wasn’t long after that one of them spawned in our path, igniting with purple sparks and leaving behind a frazzled Twilight. She hit the ground running in our direction and scrambled to a stop before we could collide. “Where… Where have you been?” she panted, looking around her. Applejack gave her a confused look. “What’s that supposed to mean?  We’ve been following Hunter back to Ponyville, just like you said.” Twilight shook her head, trying to collect her thoughts.  “What? No, I was teleporting back to Ponyville, and I couldn’t find you anywhere.  It wasn't until I started teleporting back into the Everfree Forest that I found you.”  She glanced up at me with almost accusing eyes.  “Where have you been taking them?” Honestly?  Just as far away from the wolves as I could.  I couldn't say it out loud, though. They didn’t need to know I was running blind these last few minutes.  “Somewhere safe,” I assured her. This time it wasn’t a lie. “I told you, I know these woods like the back of my hand.” She wasn’t impressed with my answer.  “How do you know it’s safe?” The mad barks of the timberwolves were growing closer.  We didn’t have much time to argue. Brushing past her, I began jogging towards the faint sound of water.  “Because,” I called behind me, stealing a look back. “It’s where I hid from you.” The girls shared a look between themselves and quickly galloped after me.  Memories flooded in with the sound of water, memories I had hoped were left behind to sink into forgetfulness.  It was strange; rather than the usual sense of discomfort that came along with remembering my first few months of this world, I was feeling hopeful.  Reaching out, I peeled back one last layer of branches and fought the urge to collapse into the bank. After all this time, I had found it again. The river. Now that we were free from the strangling darkness of the trees, the light of the full moon and stars was almost blinding.  The silver light reflected sharply off the dark water, and the dull roar of the moving current was almost enough to drown out the wolves behind us.  The castle couldn’t have been far now. All I had to do was find the tree I used to use as a bridge, and then I would be one bad balancing act and a short jog away from safety. “Where to now?” Twilight pressed, scanning the riverbank.  “This is a dead end!” There it was, a long silhouette to break the reflected moonlight, just before the river started to bend. “Don’t worry; we’re almost there,” I grunted.  A long howl pierced the air. It was close, close enough to make us all jump.  Even from here, I could hear the wolves sprinting through the brush and barking.  I pulled the hatchet from my side. I was exhausted from all the running and prayed I wouldn’t need it for anything more than the small comfort it gave me. In spite of my legs’ protests, I jogged across the riverbank.  “Come on,” I called after them. “We just need to cross that bridge over there.” Redheart’s medicine must have been wearing off; either that, or my body was in worse shape than I realized. By the time I reached the bridge, I had to double over to catch my breath as a fire raged up my right calf.  Fluttershy and her friends stopped around me, and I motioned to the other side of the river. “Use the tree to cross,” I panted, trying to keep my spinning head from rolling off my shoulders.  “It’s sturdy enough. I just… I just need to catch my breath real quick.” As I said it, I glanced back down the river and felt my stomach drop.  A timberwolf crashed out of the forest and onto the bank where we were before.  Its wild eyes glowed in the moonlight as it scanned across the bank before landing on me.  It began its charge, and over a dozen more spilled out behind it and followed its lead. Cursing under my breath, I shouted for the girls to move again.  Applejack was the first to react, jumping on the bridge and carefully balancing her way across.  Twilight was the first to reach the other side though. She blinked out of existence next to me with her magic, reappearing on the other end of the bridge in time to help her friend.  Fluttershy hovered in the air next to me and guided me up onto the tree. My muscles groaned as I shifted my balance, but there wasn’t any time for rest. By the time we made it halfway across, the wolves reached the bridge.  There wasn’t enough room for them to all cross at once; some of them seemed to fight each other to be the first to go.  I had hoped it would buy us some more time as I kept checking behind us, but just as soon as I made my wishful thought, the first wolf sunk its claws into the trunk and slowly pulled itself up. It moved shakily, as though it wasn’t used to moving on such a narrow surface.  Even still, it was easily closing the distance, and more were filing in behind it.  I picked up my pace, Fluttershy keeping me steady as I moved. As we reached the end, I leapt off the tree, spinning on the balls of my feet to face the wolves as I struck solid ground.  My grip tightened around my hatchet, and I readied myself to greet the wolves with it as they reached us, but the chance never came. Twilight jumped between me and the bridge, and her horn started to glow.  “Stay back!” she warned, and I soon realized she was speaking to me. The tree started to glow.  With the sound of a gunshot, it split down the middle, causing a wolf to lose its balance and tumble into the river.  Both ends rose vertically to meet in the center, and the wolves on each half struggled to hold on. For a moment, both halves of the tree hovered over the river like pillars before Twilight released her grip on them, and they crashed heavily into the river, its current carrying them and the wolves swiftly away. She panted from the effort, and on the other bank, the remaining wolves sang another chorus of growls.  I released my pent-up breath as a sigh, a weight lifting off my sore shoulders. We were safe, for now at least, and the wolves knew it, too.  After a few more seconds of menacing stares, the pack split in both directions, probably looking for a new path across.  A heavy cough racked my chest.  I could feel some of the last scraps of energy I had left leaving with it.  We weren’t much further from safety now, though. Soon I could rest, if even for a moment, but until we reached the castle, I didn’t want to waste any more time. I turned to the trees and trudged onward, trying to ignore my limp.  The others followed behind, albeit at a distance. I could hear them speaking softly behind me, but I didn’t have the brain function left to discern any of the words. “How much further do we have left?” Twilight eventually said, loud enough for me to hear. “No’ much,” I slurred tiredly.  My hatchet was loose in my fingers.  I dropped it back within the rope bound around my waist.  “Jus’ a lil’ more.” Even with how tired I was, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat excited.  It had been so long since I had last been here, my little home away from home.  As towers of stone began to peek through the branches of trees, something grew giddy inside of me, although whether or not it was me or my little interloper was difficult to tell. “Say, Twilight, ain’t this neck of the woods lookin’ a little familiar?” Applejack asked behind me. “Now that you mention it…  Yeah, it does. I can’t figure out why, though.  The last time we were this deep in the forest…” Her voice trailed, as if something had just dawned on her.  “Wait, it can’t be. Hunter, where did you say you were taking us again?” “I thought I told ya,” I said with a weak chuckle as we rounded the last bend.  The castle ruins came into full view, and I found that I had to stop, just to admire the sight again.  A content sigh pushed out of me. “Somewhere safe.” I stole a glance behind me, and my faint smile faltered.  All three of them stared slack-jawed at the ruins past me, like they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.  Twilight was the first to break the silence. “You’ve been staying here this whole time?” she asked incredulously.  “I never would have imagined.” “Yeah, yeah, I know,” I said, brushing her off.  “Not much to look at, but it’ll keep us safe.” “It… It’s not that, Hunter,” Fluttershy chimed in, never taking her eyes off of the castle.  “It’s just… How did you find this place?” “I, um…”  I coughed into my hand, looking away from her.  “I got lucky I guess.” Another howl echoed in the night.  It was far away, but still loud enough to remind us of the present danger.  I shook my head and motioned for them to follow me to the old, rickety bridge.  “C’mon, we can talk more inside. I’m dying for a rest.” I marched up to the start of the bridge and rested a hand on the stone pillars that the guide ropes were tied to.  A breeze rattled the old wooden planks, causing the whole bridge to sway. A quick look over the edge revealed nothing but fog.  I had never put much thought into how deep this chasm could have been. The strange fog obscured its true depth, but there wasn't a doubt in my mind that it was still a long drop.   I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and put my first step forward. The old planks groaned underneath my feet as I slowly walked across.  Even after countless days and nights walking over this very bridge, the fear of plummeting straight through still hung over me.  As the others began to follow, the bridge began to shift from the added weight. I crouched forward and led my hand across the guide rope, just in case. I waited patiently for Fluttershy and her friends to cross over after I stepped foot back on solid ground.  Their eyes still seemed entranced on the castle as they crossed, but there was a hint of unease in their stares.  Once we were all on the same side, I moved to the large double doors and, with a lot of effort, pushed them open. “Welcome to my little home away from home,” I said, gesturing inside.  “Go on ahead and wait in the foyer for me. I need to take care of something first.” They hesitated at first, but a faint chorus of howls motivated them to hurry inside.  As they passed through the door, I limped back to the bridge. Exhaustion had nearly taken over me, but there was still one more task at hand before I could rest easily. I knelt down carefully in front of one of the bridge’s stone supports and reached for the guide rope fastened around it.  My numb fingers danced over the knot, trying to find anywhere to loosen what was possibly centuries of stiffness. My eyes couldn’t focus on the rope before me, and the low light of the moon didn’t help.  More wolves howled in the distance; it sounded like they were getting closer. With an agitated grunt, I tried to will myself to focus. “What are you doing?” I nearly jumped as Twilight spoke behind me, much to my own displeasure.  “What does it look like?” I grunted, returning to my work. “It looks like you’re trying to trap us here,” she said accusingly. Something between a sigh and a groan slipped through my teeth, and I pivoted to face her.  “Not trapping us as much as keeping them out,” I corrected her.  “Might be hard to imagine, but I was being hunted by other four-legged creatures a little over a month ago, and I had to make a plan in case they ever found me.” Twilight frowned, displeased with my sarcasm.  I turned back and gave the resistant knot one last tug before resigning with a grumble.  I stood to my feet and pulled out my hatchet. “It’s not so fun, is it?” I muttered under my breath, swinging the hatchet.  It struck the support tower, cutting halfway through the rope. My body and the bridge shuddered from the impact.  Why did it suddenly feel so heavy in my fingers? I wrenched it back and hacked at the rope again. “Being cornered somewhere unfamiliar.  Not knowing if this is your last night.” My brow furrowed. “Wishing you could see your family, just one more time. Wondering if they’ll ever know what happened to you.”  With one last swing, the rope broke free and dangled into the bottomless trench, waiting for the rest of the bridge to join it. I turned and found Twilight standing behind me, giving me an uncomfortable look.  “Welcome to my life these last few months,” I offered, crouching down and working on the plank rope.  With a couple chops, it severed, and the bridge twisted sideways. I tried to stand, but fatigue was quickly creeping over my shoulder, and I found myself falling back to a kneel, staring down into the trench.  “Look on the bright side,” I added bitterly. “At least you have your friends with you.” “Hunter, I…”  Her voice trailed as she struggled to stitch together the right words.  I glanced up, and she couldn’t look me in the eyes. “I… I’m sorry,” she finally said.  “What happened to you that night… What we did to you…”  Her lips pursed together as her head shook. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that,” she said softly, finally looking up to me.  “Rainbow Dash thought she saw a monster come out of the forest when that wild storm hit Ponyville.  I thought she was just trying to pull a prank and scare us, but then you came knocking on my door.” Her eyes looked to the side, and she rubbed a hoof along her foreleg embarrassedly.  “Everything started happening so fast. I felt like I was struggling to keep up with everypony the whole time. I wasn’t thinking straight. I was panicking, and then… I saw you with Fluttershy, and I had never been so scared in my life.” She gave a weak laugh and wiped away the glistening wetness forming around her eyes.  “It was so stupid. We had faced Nightmare Moon together, beaten Discord and Chrysalis… but I had never felt so close to losing one of my friends until then.  And then it happened again the next morning. I just… I stopped thinking. I wanted to keep my friends safe from you, but I never stopped to consider that we were the ones that made you do those horrible things.  My friends helped me realize that, so did the Princess, but… I had never messed up that badly before. I was so scared I would just make it worse.” A second ticked by; it seemed to stretch for an eternity. “I’m sorry, Hunter,” Twilight said.  “For everything I’ve done to you. I really am.  If I could take it all back, I swear I would.” For a moment, I could feel myself tense; my knuckles squeezed tighter around my hatchet.  Something sparked inside me, but it died too quickly before I could ever figure out what it was, blown out like a fuze.  All that was left was a numbness that burned inside on dying embers. I took in a deep breath and let it out, watching as it hung in the air before slowly dissipating.  Twilight’s eyes followed it, too, and I could tell she wanted nothing more than to go wherever it disappeared to. “Well… we’re a little past the point of apologizing now, aren’t we?” I muttered coldly.  She looked to the side and sighed; I wasn’t sure if it was in agreement. We were wasting precious minutes.  I couldn’t sit here forever. I needed to get to the rest of the bridge… and then I could finally rest. “Just go back to your friends and wait for me,” I told her.  “I’ll show you where to go once I’m done.” Twilight looked back to me and opened her mouth to speak, but the words never came.  Her eyes shrank to pinpoints in the moonlight, focused on something just past me. She raised her hoof to point.  “Hunter? You should turn around.” The concern in her voice resonated within my chest, and a cold sweat ran down my back.  I dared to turn around. The stars had descended into the forest.  No, not stars… eyes.  Dozens of pairs of eyes.  All staring patiently from the other side of the bridge.  All staring hungrily at me. And the Everfree Forest shook with a growl.