//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 - Now for the rest 
// Story: Hail to... MY Horde? 
// by Emo Rainbow 
//------------------------------//

I look back to the ponies passed out on the floor and sigh. This is going to take a lot of work, but it’s something that needs to be done. I turn my attention to the changeling and take a moment to look him over. He's definitely much shorter than the other changelings I’ve seen, and strangely enough he doesn’t seem to have any wings either. Other than that he looks no different from what I expected. He sat in the chair next to the tiny chips of wood left by the destroyed table we cleared out, and by the look on his face, I can tell that he thinks his whole life is over. It very well could be… unless...

Oh come on Ben, are you really feeling bad for this guy? After everything he’s done? You’re really contemplating a way out for him? He’s a stupid bug that survives by deceiving others and abusing their trust! I look over to his downtrodden face and sigh.

Well, I guess all I can say is… I can relate. That’s the thing with Schadenfreude, I always end up feeling bad afterward. There must be some way I can help him out, right? If anything, then at least for my own conscience. I can’t just throw him to the wolves like this.

I walk over, pulling up the second chair, and sit across from him while putting on my best look of understanding. “Hey man,” He slightly looks up at me with his big sad eyes. “What’s your name?” He doesn’t respond and just looks down again, but I’m not gonna give up that easily. If I was in his position I’d be hoping for a miracle, and right now I think I can deliver so long as he helps me in return. Besides, If I want to control these dogs right, then I’ll need someone who’s been doing it for a while. I’d rather make a friend than an enemy.

“I know I said my name is King Coigne, but my friends just call me Ben.” My calm voice seems to do the trick as he looks back up at me. I flash him a smile and I swear that I can see a glimmer of hope in his eyes. It’s only for a brief moment before he quickly shifts his gaze, but I know when I’ve got someone on the hook.

“So… what? Are you trying to say we’re friends or something?” He replies skeptically. 

I sway my head back and forth as if I’m giving it thought, but I already know where I want to lead him. “I’d like to be. I’ve always wanted to be friends with a changeling,” I smile even wider as my answer draws a slight chuckle from the bug. It seems the small interaction has gotten him to relax a bit, so now’s as good a time as any to strike my deal. “Listen, I know it’s tough out here these days. I’m not trying to get you killed, believe me. I just wanted to make sure everyone in this cave was safe before any fighting broke out.

“If you help me get the dogs on my side, then I guarantee you won’t fall into anyone’s hands. Not the dogs, not the ponies, and certainly not the changelings.” His smile drops into a frown as he contemplates my offer. He shifts in his seat uncomfortably and sighs with uncertainty.

“You promise?” He asks nervously. Hey, I’ll do my best with what I’ve got. If this guy scratches my back I’ll scratch his, species be damned. Call me what you want but I’m not racist.

“Hand to God,” I say while making the appropriate gesture. “We come up with a plan, your identity isn’t revealed, and you can stay here with us as long as you want,” I see the beginnings of a smile on his face, but it’s then that I remember something important, the expectations of my return. I narrow my eyes at him and stare directly into his. “So long as you remember who’s gonna be in charge from here on out.” You know, I thought I’d feel worse about throwing that in there, but it actually felt kind of awesome intimidating him like that.

The Changeling looks shocked for a second and goes rigid as he nods his head in an awkward robotic fashion. “Y-yes, sir.” I reach over and give him a comforting pat on the shoulder, but then I realize that it's less comforting for him and more terrifying as he flinches with every touch. You know, I should probably stop doing this... at some point... when I get bored... aaaaaand done! “Well… the name is Warble," He says with some slight hesitation after I finish scaring him. "What’s the plan boss?”

Well, ain’t that the million-dollar question. Now, what step was I on? Ah to hell with it, I’m going Darkside here. I look down at the unconscious ponies, my eyes lingering on both Derpy Hooves and Applebloom, and so far the only thing I can think of is how glad I am that he left their clothes on.

Come on, genius. You got yourself into this mess, now it's time to think your way out. Think back to your countless years of training Ben. Ever since you were a kid you've known how to deal with situations like this.

I start to nod my head as the next stage of my plan begins to form, a plan so crazy that it just might work. If all goes well then everything will have fallen into place by morning. The only things we’ll need is some solid acting, and the cornerstone of any great plan, a scapegoat.

I look over to Warble and point directly at him, gaining a flinch in response. “Alright Bugboy, I've got a plan. But first, do you know anyone in this den who would be perfect for throwing under a bus?” I wonder just how far I’m going to have to dig this hole, but so long as it ensures we get the den then I guess it’ll be worth it. The den is safe, and once they’re safe I can start finding a way home. There’s no telling how long I have until my luck runs out, but I certainly don't want to be here when it does.

“Uhh,” Warble starts with a bit of confusion on his face. “What’s a bus?”





Fluttershy and the scouting party were left laying down and staring at the stars as the minutes ticked by agonizingly slow. Their initial worry for the coming events had faded, and in its stead came a wave of boredom that threatened to make them  all pass out. Nearly all of them sat playing with rocks, drawing images in the dirt, or napping away before the time of battle. 

Fluttershy in particular laid back with her head against a log and continuously smacked a large stick in her hand against the dirt, creating a metronomic sound that further began to lull the ponies' minds. She was using it as a timer though, as every tap corresponded with another second passing by. If she had kept track as well as she'd thought, then they'd be coming up on an hour and twenty minutes in a few more taps.

"Hey,” Shamrock growled as he rolled over on his napping spot, grabbing Fluttershy’s attention. “Would you kindly stop that?" The light grey stallion said while not even attempting to hide his aggravation.

The mare narrowed her eyes at him and proceeded to tap on the ground faster. "Oh, I'm so sorry, is this better? Huh? Huh?" The taps got louder, and each one made the stallion's scowl deepen.

He turned over and tried to ignore it, but Fluttershy looked at his back and continued to tap even harder. Every time she did he flinched, and every time he flinched her smile grew wider. “You better knock that shit off before I break your fingers!” He said while turning over once again and pointing to her. 

“Well please do, it would help alleviate the boredom.” Fluttershy gave her candid response while slowly looking back up at the stars and tapping once again, albeit much more softly this time. That didn’t matter to Shamrock though as he quickly ran over to her, snatched the stick, and chucked it over the crest of the hill as hard as he could. He shot another aggravated glare down at Fluttershy who just gave him a deadpan stare. "Nice." She said, but Shamrock just scoffed at her and walked back over to his resting spot.

She let out another sigh of boredom and blew her hair away from her face. While that was certainly a welcome distraction, it had only lasted for a few seconds, and now she'd lost her track of the time. Feeling extra bored now, she looked over to Verus and noted his unchanged stance, the fabric portions of his armor around the legs jostling ever so slightly in the wind as he watched the den vigilantly. 

Her thoughts lingered back to the locust again, wondering just what was in store the longer they stayed with them. Although, that was assuming they even did after today. She'd had a lot of time to think about her actions, about the things she had done or planned to do. For the first time in a long while, she questioned if they were right.

There were always things to do, day in and day out, but in this brief moment under the stars, she finally had time to think about why she was doing things as opposed to what, when, or how. Did she have the right to say who deserved what? There was a time once where she’d argue no, but that felt like so long ago now. She’d learned from an early age that there were always two sides of a story, and no matter how just or righteous she may believe herself to be, she would always be the villain from someone else's side. She almost was the villain tonight if it hadn't been for a certain somepony.

She growled to herself and shook her head in disbelief. Of course, she was going to be a villain in someone's story. Those changelings probably thought of her like the boogie mare, and that was the way they SHOULD feel after everything they'd done. The dogs were no different in that regard. Ben's time was almost up, but she knew that he couldn't have survived more than a minute down there. He was so sure he could just waltz in there with zero repercussions, that 'peace' with those savage canines was just a couple of sweetened words away.

This was the real world, not some fairy tale. He was a fool to think any different, and she'd be one too if she ever let a poisonous thought like that cloud her mind again. Her ponies needed strength and a strong will, because she'd seen first hand what happens when you tried to approach things the peaceful way. She couldn't bear to let that happen again.

She remembered watching him walk down that hill, the silence that followed after his screams echoed down the den. The feeling she was left with reminded her too much of the day she saw those ponies leave the camp. The same day that Applebloom disappeared without telling anypony. It was a feeling she remembered all too well. She remembered wondering to herself if that was how Rainbow Dash had felt on the day everything fell apart. Watching helplessly as one of her friends made a terrible... terrible mistake.

Fluttershy closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, doing her best not to think back to those moments in her life. There were a lot of lessons to be learned from them, yes, but that didn't mean it didn't heart to try and comb through it all. She did her best to turn her mind to other things in her surroundings, and that's when she heard a familiar scratching sound coming from Verus' helmet. She turned to look at the Theron, her ears perking up in surprise, as a very familiar voice filtered out.

"Verus, we're coming out. Everyone hold your fire." Fluttershy gasped in shock and ran to the edge of the mound concealing them, with the rest of the party close behind. They watched the moonlit field below with overwhelming anticipation as the once flat earth started to rise like bread baking in an oven. Out of the newly dug holes came several diamond dog guards with their spears not in their paws, but on their backs. 

The guards totaled around twelve, and once emerged they all filed into two lines leading towards the hill. A final hole burst at the start of their line, a hole much larger than the others, and from it walked a confident king with a newfound crown tied to his waist. Alongside him as he walked was a tall husky diamond dog in a jacket. Finally, in the king's arms was… Fluttershy couldn't even believe it. As the king emerged from the hole he held an unconscious teenage filly in his arms. He had found Applebloom.

Before even waiting to be called, Fluttershy sprinted down the hill as fast as she could. She ran across the field and directly towards the king in a matter of seconds, and as she got closer she could see the stoic look on his face. Through it though, were cracks of sorrow he was trying to hold back. "I don't know what's wrong,” He said as she ran up. “She's breathing but she's not waking up." Lifting her a bit higher, he presented the filly to her. 

Fluttershy put a hand to her head and nearly teared up when she felt a healthy heat upon the girl's skin. "Give her here." The king obliged, relinquishing his grip on Applebloom. Fluttershy lowered her to the ground and held her while checking for her pulse as well as any exterior wounds. Not a thing had changed since the last day she'd seen her, and needless to say, it was surreal holding her again. She only wished that she was awake.

There were some crunches of dirt to her right, and as she looked to the source she saw the tall husky approach. "The others are inside resting at the infirmary," the husky said, his calm yet commanding voice catching her off guard. Just who was this? "Come, maybe seeing them will enlighten you to the problem." He turned and headed for the large hole just as the rest of their scouting party joined them, but Fluttershy was not in the mood.

"Hold on! What the heck happened down there? Who are you? What do you mean ‘the others’?" The dog had already descended the newly dug steps before she could question him, so instead, she just turned to the locust king. "What’s going on?"

The king shook his head and knelt beside her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It's okay, I know you're confused. I'll explain along the way, but for now, we need to go check on the others. Should I?” He asked while gesturing to Applebloom. Fluttershy shook her head and looked back to Shamrock, and with a shared nod she passed the filly onto his care.

He beckoned for them to follow him inside, and immediately after that, Verus ran right to his side with his weapons in tow. As they all walked forward the guard dogs from before began filling in the tunnel behind them to conceal their entry. As the King started reattaching his weapons to his armor, Fluttershy began the questioning. “So do you mind telling us what’s going on? Who are the others?” She asked while making sure to watch her step on the rocky and loose dirt beneath her.

“I came down here and started a conversation with their leader, Warble,” He said while taking two odd-looking balls connected to chains and stuffing them in a pouch on his leg. “He had no memory of a group of Ponies coming here. After doing some digging and proving myself in combat, he began to listen to reason.” Fluttershy had to pause for a minute as he mentioned that, and her eyes naturally traveled back down to the silver crown tied to his waist using one of the leather straps of his armor.

As she ruminated on that thought, they approached a heavily packed dirt wall where ‘Warble’ stood. “Warble, open it up already.” The king commanded. Fluttershy looked at the dog more closely, noting the stark size difference and just how strong he looked, but instinctively her appraisal of power began. 

Surely he couldn’t have been as difficult to fight as he seemed. Considering how long the king was down here it must’ve only taken a few minutes at most. She even gave herself a fair shot at taking him down. The Diamond Dog nodded and pounded his fist against the wall. There was a slight rumbling, and the densely packed rock and dirt began to crumble away like it was made of sand. It continued falling in the section he had hit for several inches until it broke through to another well-lit room on the other side.

“Thank you Warble,” Ben said with a curt nod.

“Of course, Alpha.” The dog dipped his head in quiet respect. Fluttershy’s jaw dropped momentarily, and she had to look to the ponies behind her to make sure that she wasn’t hallucinating. Sure enough, all of them shared in her disbelief. She quickly shook her head and filed this moment away for later, making sure to focus her attention on the task at hand before trying to wrap her head around this one.

They followed the king inside of the room, passing by the husky dog along the way, and once inside they saw several unconscious ponies laying on beds of varying quality with two female Diamond Dogs tending to them. Some beds were made of compact dirt with cushions on top, and others looked like they were pilfered from pony settlements and stuffed in here. On top of the beds were five very familiar faces, the faces of ponies that none of them ever thought they’d see again.

“Here they are,” The king gestured to an empty bed for Shamrock to place Applebloom down. “After our little spat, their leader helped me get the facts straight. We did a little searching and found them all encased in cocoons deep in the den,” There was a small echo of gasps from the ponies as he continued explaining the situation. “Oh yes. A changeling was hiding among them. We’re already working on finding them as soon as possible.”

He walked over to Twinkleshine’s bed and stood over her, looking down at the pink-haired mare with sorrow. “Until then though, we need to work on waking these ponies up. And that’s hopefully where you come in.” After the very long-winded explanation had died down, Fluttershy and the others quickly regained their bearings and got to work. Even if most of them had more experience with field medicine than anything else, they still needed to try.

Fluttershy quickly rushed over to Applebloom, while the others each began to look after a single patient. ”Amethyst, can you detect any changeling magic?” She asked their resident unicorn, hopeful that her limited magical repertoire would still give her something.

“Oh yeah, I can feel it. It’s been easier to tell after how much we’ve seen it.” She responded as she felt through the room with her magic. 

Sweetie Drops looked up from her pal Twinkleshine. “Do you know what’s wrong?”

“Uh… a little harder to say I’m afraid.”

“Well, keep looking,” Fluttershy ordered. Amethyst hummed for a moment and closed her eyes while giving a thumbs up. Fluttershy turned back to Applebloom and gently laid a hand on her forehead, a small pit forming in her chest as she watched over her. Her physical check gave her nothing so far, so all she could do was wait and see if Amethyst could pull something up. “Don’t worry Applebloom. You’ll be alright.” She whispered to her before attempting to back up. Before she could, however, she suddenly saw a familiar brown Stetson appear in front of her. She looked up and saw the king standing above her, presenting the hat with a somber expression on his grey face. 

“It was with her when we uncovered them. It looked important so… I held onto it,” He tilted it for a second and looked away bashfully. “To, you know, keep it safe.” She gulped for a moment and accepted the hat, placing it beside Applebloom's head. 

Fluttershy stared at the filly for a bit, but then glanced back over to Ben after noticing that he hadn’t left her side. Not wanting the moment to turn awkward due to the silence, she figured she should offer her thanks. “Hey,” He looked down at her curiously. “I’m… glad you’re okay. You had us going with all of that screaming for help.” She felt a bit peeved at her own choice of words for a moment, but even if it wasn't exactly the thank you she was going for, it was still a sentiment she meant to pass along.

The king laughed for a moment and rubbed the back of his neck cutely. “Yeah, well sometimes you have to act helpless to get an in,” She gave him an inquisitive look, and she thought she could see a few drops of nervous sweat on his brow. “B-but I certainly was still in control after all. That’s why I told Verus not to help unless it was on the comms.” He tapped the temple of his helmet and smiled widely, an action that made Fluttershy chuckle.

Now that she had gotten past that, it was time to finally stand up and thank him. She faced the king momentarily and stuck out her hand for a shake, to which he gratefully accepted. As they shook hands she opened her mouth to say thank you, but when she looked into his bright golden eyes something stopped her. They stood like that for a solid minute, with Fluttershy desperately trying to force the words out, and the king growing increasingly uncomfortable.

Once the minute had gone by, the king slowly retracted his hand and coughed into it. “Well, I should really check in with Verus. He’s probably already trying to discipline the guards and I do NOT want him breaking them.” He turned to leave, but she couldn’t let him until she said something.

“Hey!” She called out to him before he had reached the exit. He faced her once more, and again she froze without any explanation. The words got caught in her throat, and for a few more seconds she just stood there in silence. Pretty soon, she was even screaming at herself to get it over with, to just say what needed to be said. “You should… contact the others. Let them know it’s safe to come. Better than having them travel in the day and risk getting spotted.” Her heart rate increased out of nowhere as she said this, but thankfully it seemed as though he hadn’t noticed anything strange.

He nodded his head and smiled. “Thanks, that’s a good idea. I’ll contact them as soon as possible. If you need anything just let one of the dogs know.” With that he exited the room, leaving it in silence. 

Fluttershy cursed herself and clenched her fists, once again regretting what she'd said even if it was sound advice. She needed to thank him properly, and she promised that the next chance she had she’d do it, no matter what. She turned back towards the beds and froze when she saw the other ponies staring at her with expressions ranging from confused brows to coy smiles.

She felt her face heat up for a moment as she was suddenly reminded of how small the room was, and how loud she had been that entire time. “Sh-shut up!” She said while turning away from them, doing her best to ignore their muffled snickers.





Alright, glad that's over with. I don't think any of them suspected anything, so once again we get to live another day. 

Hold on, it's still the same day ain't it? Jesus I just want to get some sleep already. I'm pretty sure I'll pass out if I stop moving. I look back at the exit of the infirmary and shake my head in disbelief as I turn my thoughts away from all of those comfy looking beds.

What can occupy my mind right now? Oh! Fluttershy. Man, talking with her had to be one of the most awkward experiences I’ve ever had in my life. Seriously you’d think that with all this new fangled skull cracking, mass-murdering, group leading experience that Fluttershy would at least learn how to talk to people. I mean sure, once again, I’m no expert considering my most frequent social interaction is saying thanks to my delivery drivers, but at least I have my acting to make up for the pitfalls. That’s how I’m always able to convince other people that I’m alright. Which I am of course! I’m… totally fine.

And on the topic of thanks, at least that’s something I actually give to people who deserve it. I mean fuck me right? I only stopped her from committing a war crime, then tamed an entire den of diamond dogs to keep her ponies safe, then topped it all off by bringing back the ponies whose losses scarred her beyond belief. But no, no, I guess I’m just not trying hard enough right? Whatever, it’s not like I do this for attention anyway.

Haha! That’s a load of horseshit and you know it. Also, really Ben? Tamed an entire den of diamond dogs? You got lucky and you fucking know it, you idiot.

Ah yes, self deprecation. Always there to make me feel like shit no matter what I do. Can't live with it....... yeah.

As I travel further away from the infirmary I start to hear the hissing shouts of a familiar Theron around the corner. As I turn it I see a cave intersection where Verus has several diamond dog guards lined up. I guess I remembered way more about him than I thought because I guessed what he was trying to do before he even did it.

“You serve the greatest king on the face of the planet, and you will prove that you are worthy of such an honor!” He pumps a fist in the air triumphantly before turning to face the dogs who seem too confused to even register what he’s saying. “Look at you! Idiotic, undisciplined, you’re barely even worth the effort! None of you even confiscated the ponies’ weapons!” Jesus this guy needs to chill. We haven’t even been here for more than a few minutes and he’s already acting like I was just about to be assassinated.

I loudly clear my throat to gain his attention, and when he looks at me I silently wave him over to my corner of the room. “This conversation isn’t over. Dismissed.” He waves them all off, and after a second of confused babbling, the bulldogs shuffle slowly down separate halls. As he walks up to me I once again wave my hand, and this time he seems to stop himself before dropping to one knee. That’s what I call progress.

“Verus, while I appreciate your enthusiasm, let’s give it a bit of time before we start whipping the new guards into shape,” He gives a nod of affirmation. “For now, we must gather Roc and head back to the cave. We need to gather the others and lead them here before daybreak. Every moment we don’t they could be in danger.” I guess I could have delivered that line with a bit more urgency, but honestly I'm not excited to be going on yet another expedition tonight. At this point I am done, and I really don't give a fuck who knows it.

Verus looks at me strangely and slowly nods his head, but all the while he starts to shift uncomfortably. My apathy gets washed away as I see this, and I can tell that he desperately wants to tell me something. Did I do something wrong here? Did I make another misstep?

“My king…” He starts slowly and proceeds to shake his head. “Could you not just commune with Chorsus? He is a spotter. Isn’t that why you left him there?” Wait, is that something I can do? Bullshit I don’t remember Myraah doing stuff like that in the games. Well okay, there was that one time where she communed telepathically with General RAAM in the first game. Then there was the third game… its description of a spotter being the eyes of the queen. Jesus Christ I could have done that this entire time?

Well, now he’s giving me the stink eye. I had hoped I'd never need to use this, but it’s time to initiate ‘fuck you I’m the king’ mode. “Well of course I knew that! What kind of imbecile do you take me for?” Verus backs up, the edges of his mouth falling into a distraught frown.

“Forgive me! Please forgive me, my lord!” He shrieks frantically as he drops to one knee and avoids my eyes. Okay, crisis averted, but I’d like to keep these incidents to a minimum. I need to make sure I don't get sloppy, so it's best if I start remembering everything I can about the games ASAP.

I give a little grunt of disgust and roll my eyes. “Very well, I will look past your insult for now, but do go and fetch Roc so we may have everyone under proper supervision, General.” I deliver the sentence with a very haughty tone, but the moment that last word slips out I see a sharp change in Verus.

He lifts his head in one sudden motion and looks at me in what I think is disbelief. “Ge-.” He stops himself and looks back down, before slamming his fist against his chest. “Your General shall not fail you! That I promise on my life!” I have to stop myself from flinching as he attempts to shout loud enough for the people above ground to hear. Without another word he takes off down one of the halls in a flash, laughing the entire time. 

I’m getting a distinct sense of Deja vu here, because I think I just struck another promise that I wasn’t thinking about. Well I guess if anyone was fit for the role as general it was Verus. Kind of strange how he wasn't the general already though. Well enough about that, right now I need to figure out how to ‘commune’ with Chorsus as he put it, whatever that means. If I pass the information along, maybe I won't even have to go.

I slowly slide down the wall and cross my legs. I assume this is something like meditation, so let’s try that first. I focus inwards on my thoughts and try my best to ignore the sounds and smells surrounding me. I steady my breathing as a calm feeling washes over me, and suddenly it becomes much easier to block out everything else. 

Oh my god, am I doing it? I can’t feel my arms and legs anymore so I must be. Why can’t I see anything though? I can feel myself moving, but I’m not in control of it. I feel like I should be worried, but something about the  sensation feels... natural to me. Shortly after thinking that I feel the sensation of grass grazing against my arms. My vision and senses come back in full force, but they still seem to have a mind of their own. Almost as if I’m a passenger in my own body.

I look up to the right and glance at Zecora as she lies in wait with me, covered in mud, then look down at the boltok gripped tightly in my grey hands. I feel uncertainty as the ground beneath us thumps and shudders rhythmically. Once it pauses I look through the bushes I’m hiding behind and glare at the massive blue beast hunting us.

“Is that… what I think it is?” I say out loud, my voice echoing and ethereal. I flinch backward in fear as my voice startles me, and for some reason, I feel as though I speak with a second mouth.

“My king?” The voice comes out gravelly and tough, but the moment I finish speaking a roar in front of us breaks through the silence. The creature has spotted us once again, so we need to move.

My eyes shoot back open, and I let out a sputtering gasp as I return to my own body. I fall forward and nearly vomit on the floor as the nausea and aching quickly overwhelms me. Jesus, it feels like I have a power drill in both ears, and they’re trying to meet in the middle! 

“Ben? Ben!” A frantic voice yells from my right before rushing over, flipping me on to my back, and removing my helmet. Well would you look at that, it's Fluttershy. She's really pretty, and her lap is very comfortable. “Are you okay? Can you hear me?” Oh my god lady! Please shut the fuck up, I get that you’re worried but you don’t need to shout! Wait a minute… I saw something, didn’t I? Come on man, focus.

I reach my hand up, and she quickly grabs onto it. “The others…. In danger,” I stammer out while trying to catch my breath. Whatever this communing bullshit is, I do NOT want to go through it again. I feel like I’ve had the flu for five days. “We need to stop…. Help.” I push her away from me and slowly lift my head from her lap. I barely even make it to my feet though before I start falling back down directly into Fluttershy's arms..

“Woah, you’re not going anywhere,” She says sternly. You’re not my mother, I’m just fine. Wait, did I not say that out loud? I meant to say that out loud. “Yeah, you did.” She responds to my inner thoughts like the magical mind reader she is. I look back at her, and suddenly her worried face starts to get extremely blurry. You might want to get that looked at Fluttershy.

“O-others…” I stammer out one last time.

“Don’t worry,” Her voice echoes into the distance, and I feel a deep calm wash over me. Looks like I’m finally about to get some sleep huh? 

I just hope I don't wake up here in the morning.