Things were not going as well as they should have. Twilights search with Fluttershy had turned up very little, and what it had turned up, was not good.
They had begun their search as soon as they had arrived back at Ponyville, but the trip to Canterlot and back had already wasted much of the day. After stopping at Fluttershy's cottage for some bare essentials, the two ponies had walked reluctantly into the Everfree. Their first stop had been at Zecora's home. Upon Approaching the yard in front of Zecora's hut, an explosion went off on the pathway. Twilight had promptly thrown up a shield, while Fluttershy hit the floor in the absence of any cover. The explosion hadn't done any real damage, there was a scorch mark where it had gone off and colourful smoke in the air.
Suddenly, there was shouting from Zecora's window.
"Run away you filthy beast, You will not find here an easy feast!". The front door of the hut slammed open, and from inside came an angry Zerba armed with bottles that smoked and bubbled.
When Zecora saw who was at her home, her deminer changed immediately. As Zecora began to carefully put down the bottles she held, she talked to her slightly shell-shocked friends.
"I'm glad to see with my eyes, dear Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy. Why would you be out this late, unless you're trying to be monster bait?"
Twilight dropped the shield as Fluttershy picked herself from the ground. "Zecora, what was that?"
Zecora smirked and picked up one of the vials she had put down, before tossing it into the distance. A thundering boom and a small pink cloud erupted where she had thrown the vial, making Fluttershy drop to the ground again.
"Some Creative toys I've had to make, for all of the attacks as of late. My next question must be clear, what in Equestria are you doing here?"
Twilight slowly walked up to Zecora while noticing all the new traps and defences. "We need to find something in the forest, It would have shown up thing morning"
Zecora put a hoof to her jaw as she thought about something, "While something has been causing a ruckus, I feared it was just one more thing here to buck us."
Zecora shook her head, her expression darkened.
"To search the forest now is unwise, you will only find your own demise."
Twilight didn't like the sound of that one bit. "Zecora, what's wrong, what did you see?"
"I did not see what it could have been, but it was very big and very green."
Fluttershy spoke up "Twilight, maybe we should come back in the morning, and maybe a few guards as well."
Twilight mulled it for a moment before making her decision. "No, whoever is out there could be gone by then. If we are going to have any chance of finding them, it needs to be now"
Zecora picked up one of the explosive bottles, "Then please take this with you, it's the least I can give you."
Using her magic, twilight put the bottle carefully in her bag. "Thanks, Zecora."
With that, Twilight and Fluttershy began the trek into the heart of the forest.
The trek into the deeper forest was uneventful. As the low sun gave way to nightfall, the sounds of the forest began to stir.
Fluttershy stayed close to Twilight's side and watched the world around her for any sign of danger.
"Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, her voice quiet as her eyes tracked everything they could see.
"Yes, Fluttershy?" Twilight responded as they kept moving forward.
Fluttershy stopped watching the woods to face Twilight.
"We should leave, It's nighttime and the nocturnal creatures will be here. They're not the friendly kind."
Twilight scrunched her snout in confusion. "But we've done this before. The day we met, we were here when nightmare moon was keeping it nighttime, A manticore attacked us!"
Fluttershy frowned at Twilight "Twilight, you know that Manticore was hurt, and probably scared. The animals of the Everfree Forest use day and night cycles as much as we do, they didn't know why the sun was missing. Most of the nocturnal animals were probably going to sleep, or trying to."
Twilight had not thought of that, outside of that one event, she had never seen the Everfree at night. It also occurred to her that this was the first time off any beaten path. She felt her confidence begin to slip. She stopped walking and stood still, Fluttershy noticed and stopped in front of Twilight, turning around to face her.
Twilight stood for a moment, and after a deep breath, she came to a decision.
"We should go for a little longer, if we find nothing, we'll turn back. If we don't find them soon, I don't think we will be able to find them, they would have gone too far."
Fluttershy nodded at Twilight's conclusion and fell back beside her as they spent a short while looking for any sign of their goal.
After a time, The forest was getting to twilight. In small numbers, the forest would begin to play with the mind. Sounds and sights would appear, and the constant feeling of being watched.
"Twilight, we should leave, now" Fluttershy squeaked as the feeling of being stalked became overwhelming.
Twilight pulled her head around to respond when the rustling of a nearby bush stopped both of them dead. Twilight slowly approached the bush to the objections of Fluttershy, before pushing her hoof into the bush. Both of them screamed as something shot out of the bush. Once it landed on a branch in a nearby tree, they both realised it was an owl. It looked like Owlowiscious, except she was white.
"Sorry, miss owl, We didn't mean to scare you" Fluttershy apologised to the owl. Twilight felt that it was the other way around, but did not voice this opinion. Instead, Twilight prepared to throw in the towel.
"Let's head home, we're not going to find them. The forest is just too big, how are we supposed to find something out of the ordinary in a place that is so out of the ordinary?"
"Hoo"
Both ponies looked up at the owl, and Fluttershy responded to the statement. "You've seen something strange?"
"Hoo"
"It was big?"
"Hoo"
"And green?"
"Hoo"
Twilight didn't know what was being said, but she did remember what Zecora had said.
Twilight spoke up "Can you show us where?"
The owl nodded before taking off again, Twilight and Fluttershy followed the owl.
After a short run through some denser trees, the owl stopped on a branch. As Twilight finally caught up, she could see light in the opening ahead. Once Fluttershy had also arrived, the owl had taken off, quickly. They didn't say a word as they stealthily crept up to the warm glow. The first thing to hit them both was the smell, it was horrendous. The sounds of talking from the area ahead were low as they found a place to spy from. Staying behind a low covering of rock and shrubbery, Twilight peeked at the source of the glow.
A fire was roaring was burning, and a giant slap of what was once a monster of the Everfree was impaled on a large branch and hung over the fire. There, surrounding the firepit were three beings. Compared to anything else in Equestria, they resembled the new humans the most, but that similarity was thin at best. They walked on two legs, had two arms with hands and all the other basics down. But they were huge, they were green, they were covered in muscles and had non of the fitness Nate had shown when walking. The only thing that had less finesse was their speech.
"I'M HUNGRY, I WANT FOOD" one shouted, another responded.
"THIS MEAT IS MINE. IF YOUR HUNGRY THEN GO FIND YOUR OWN FOOD"
"THE PREY HERE IS COWARDLY, IT RUNS AND IT HIDES"
"YOU'RE JUST STUPID, DON'T KNOW HOW TO HUNT"
"SHUT UP"
Twilight ducked back into the safety of the foliage.
"We should leave" Twilight stated
"But shouldn't we try to talk to them, we talked to Nate and he seemed nice." Fluttershy countered though it seemed she didn't believe her own words from the fear that was growing on her face.
"I don't think that's a good idea, we should leave, now"
As both ponies turned to leave, Fluttershy's hoof was caught by some sort of rope. All Fluttershy or Twilight could do was let out an eep of shock as they were slung into the air as the net beneath them shot up.
In the disorientation, the Shouting green monsters surrounded the hanging net.
"WHAT HAVE WE CAUGHT, THEY LOOK LIKE DOGS"
Feeling a little offended, but mostly terrified, Twilight shouted back.
"We're not dogs, were ponies!"
The Monsters were not expecting that, evident by the shift in expression and lowering of what crude weapons they had.
"THE DOG TALKS?"
Twilight used the pause to teleport both Fluttershy and herself onto the ground.
"We're ponies, we mean no harm, we just want to talk. who are you?"
One stood forward and slammed a fist on his chest.
"WE ARE SUPER MUTANTS, THIS LAND IS OURS NOW"
Twilight flinch from being shouted at, She wasn't sure if they were furious at her, or if shouting was just how they talked.
Fluttershy tried to step up to the challenge as Twilight fell back.
"We're sorry for being on your land, we only wanted to find someone, we will leave you in peace."
There was a short pause before one of the Supermutants spoke up, In a comparatively lower voice than before.
"I'VE NEVER TASTED PONIES BEFORE"
At that statement, both Twilight and Fluttershy made to break for it, only to notice the other super mutants began to flank them.
One Supermutant charged at Them from the side, bringing down some sort of plank. Twilight quickly conjured a shield that met the plank, causing it to explode into splinters. At the display, the super mutant ran to the campsite. Another was using some sort of metal machine that made loud noises. The shield was being struck by multiple small objects, each one having enough force to test Twilight's shield to a level that would impress her brother. When the small attacks began to stop, one of the super mutants took to the shield with a large pipe, each swing visibly bringing the shield down into the earth.
"MOVE"
The mutant that had run away was back with another strange mechanism, but this one looked like a long box.
As soon as the other mutants had cleared from the space between the mutant and the shield, the mutant used the box.
A violent red beam shot out of the box and struck the shield. The Space inside the shield began to warm and the pressure holding the shield in place began to grow. The heat, was this the weapon that had to manage to injure the princess? At this level, it would explain the burns, this much heat would kill a lesser pony let alone an alicorn.
After multiple sustained shots, the pain and exhaustion finally began to reach Twilight, the mental exertion blurred her senses. After repeated shots hit the shield, the inside was feeling like an oven. The assault of beams slamming into the side of the shield ended, Twilight herself bordering on unconsciousness.
The Supermutant armed with the pipe brought it down one last time, Instantly shattering the shield. Fluttershy, seeing her friend about to be beaten to death, pounced out and bit the mutant on the leg.
The super mutant responded with annoyance rather than pain at the small creature who was crying profusely as she tried to defend her friend. The mutant swung his leg and watched as the yellow blur smashed into the trunk of a tree, crumpling below it. It then stormed over to Fluttershy, who raised her head to see the green horror approach,
With no way of escaping the Supermutant's weapons and no way to save Twilight, Fluttershy covered her head, as she heaved with pure adrenalin and fear, she waited for the inevitable.
The mutant raised the pipe over his head to bring it down on Fluttershy's.
"YOU DIE NOW"
Fluttershy braced herself for the pain, but instead heard a sharp BANG, flinching at the sound.
After a moment she realised, she was still alive. looking back up at the Supermutant, she saw the giant fall over backwards. Blood splattered outwards from where his head had landed, a clean hole through the side.
The three super mutants looked around for their new attacker until one was hit in the leg, the two armed with the machine and box fired at the area the bang had come from as the third cried out in pain.
The Box that fired the red beam was hit by the unknown attacker, snapping it in two. The Mutant dropped the broken box and sprinted back towards the two frozen ponies, ripping the pipe from his dead comrade's hands.
The mutant turned around to find the unharmed mutant backing itself towards a small earthen outcropping, using it to guard his rear. As the super mutant aimed his metal machine around looking for the attacker, something dropped from atop the outcrop. A human plugged a large knife into one of the eyes of the super mutant, rolling as the human hit the ground, it aimed a long metal pole that was slung to its body. The pole made a flash at the end and the super mutant that had been trying to remove the knife from its head dropped to its knees and then to the ground.
The Now pipe armed super mutant charged that the human, who in turn aimed the long weapon at their new target. The Weapon failed to do anything, causing the human to look down at it and back up at the super mutant. The Mutant charged into the human, knocking them to the ground and throwing their weapon.
Before the mutant could land a killing blow, a purple light flashed on its back, to which the super mutant responded with a roar of pain. As the super mutant swung round to face his new combatant, the human pulled themself off the ground and located and aimed the machine the Now dead Supermutant was using. With a pull of the trigger, the Supermutants head slowly turned into a bloody mess.
Once the super mutant's body hit the dirt, the human stood up and walked to the Last super mutant, who was desperately crawling away. Tossing aside the dead mutant's weapon, the human picked up their original weapon from the bush line, the weapon having been thrown. The long metal pole was pushed against the mutant's head.
Bang.
At some point, Twilight regained consciousness. She had awoken in time to see someone fighting off the super mutants, to which she managed to fire off one shot to help near the end.
Though exhausted and hurt, she was watching the human with a mix of terror and awe. Was this what it took to survive where they came from? Twilight had seen Nate, but not how he fought. She had so many questions, what are these weapons, do all humans fight like that, how did they know she and Fluttershy weres in trouble? And the biggest question of them all, is this the one they were looking for?
Before any of those questions could be answered, Panic set in as the human now approached twilight herself. With no energy to spend, Twilight observed the human heading towards her.
If Nate was anything to go off of, It's was male. It had messy brown hair and a bushy beard. Its clothes were a patchwork of materials that at one point looked like it was some blue uniform, repaired over years with new material. His Weapon looked a lot like Nate's except thinner and with a metal core. As the man finally reached Twilight, he knelt down in front of her. His face was worn, with a cold reserved look. his eyes, hazel in colour, looked tired.
Before Twilight could think of something to say, The man put his hand on her face and forced open an eyelid. She froze in fear, not having the strength magically or physically to fight him off. He shifted her head multiple times, looking into her eyes. It felt like he was trying to stare into her soul.
"No visible signs of trauma, must be fatigue." The man said to Twilight's surprise. She, in kind, decided to respond.
"I'm ok"
The man shot away in surprise. after what Twilight could only describe as the man shaking the disbelief away.
"Considering everything that's happened today, why is this what surprises me?"
The man knelt back down and started examining Twilight.
"Now, I'm working outside my experience here but let me know if there is any pain." The man said as he searched for signs of internal damage.
"I'm fine, it's just burnout. What's your name?" Twilight asked, trying to learn something about this man.
"That's not really important right now" he responded, finally done examining Twilight. He stood back up and began to walk away from her.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle" Introducing herself, Twilight forced herself to her hooves. Twilight then noticed where the man was going.
"Fluttershy!" She exclaimed, slowly pulling herself to her friend.
The man visually examined Fluttershy, as Twilight came close he put up his hand, motioning her to stop.
"She's breathing rapidly, She's also shaking violently, I think she's in shock. Be careful, there's no telling how someone reacts in this situation."
Twilight struggled to decide what to do, putting her hoof close to Fluttershy's body only to pull it back slightly. Eventually, she placed her hoof on Fluttershy's side.
Fluttershy's reaction was heartbreaking, Fluttershy kicked and screamed at Twilight, in a complete state of panic. Twilight, against her better judgment, used her magic to restrict Fluttershy and give her a hug. Even as a rouge hoof would hit Twilight, she refused to let go.
In time, the Screams became bellows, the bellows became sobs and the sobs became whimpers. Finally, Fluttershy went silent as she ran herself dry.
The man sat there, waiting until Fluttershy was asleep to comment.
"In this state, there's no telling what harm has happened, without intensive care I don't see her doing so well in the long term. Both mentally and physically.
"She has a cottage just outside the forest, but I can't bring her there," Twilight responded, still holding her friend.
The man then got to his feet and made a subtle push between Twilight and Fluttershy. Twilight understood the intent and let Fluttershy go. The man then carefully lifted Fluttershy from the ground. Twilight gathered her bearings and made towards the vicinity of Ponyville, The man followed closely behind.
"John," He said as he walked, Twilight was confused by the statement.
"What?" Twilight asked, looking back at the man.
His face had softened from before, he no longer looked reserved with tired eyes, he now just looked tired.
"My name, It's John"
Nothing more would be said until they reached Fluttershy's cottage.
Twilight had to initially lock Angle in a small cage when he had seen the state Fluttershy was in, eventually, they both settled for Putting Fluttershy in her bed to rest while Angel let no one upstairs. After most of the animals had had their bouts of fear and aggression at John, they had all chosen to avoid him. Twilight took a few minutes to rest before making her way to Ponyville General to find a doctor, This had proven difficult considering it was past midnight and everyone was at home. Fortunately, Dr Patches was working late. With a Medical professional at hoof, Twilight made her way back To the cottage.
On the trip back, she attempted to prepare the doctor for meeting John, as well as what happened to Fluttershy based on what John had seen. Dr Patches, holding a medical bag in his mouth, listened attentively.
As Twilight and Dr Patches briskly reached the gate, Twilight stopped the Docter with her hoof and walk in front of him, stopping him from entering the cottage.
"Now, Remember, He's probably going to be a bit aggressive, just stay out of his way and you should be fine." Twilight reiterated.
Dr Patches looked over Twilight's shoulder and back at Twilight. Putting the Medical bag down, he responded.
"If 'John' is that dangerous, why did you leave him in there?"
"I was talking about the bunny" Twilight countered as she opened the door and walked in.
John was still sitting on the couch since Twilight left. Moving to the side to allow Dr Patches entry, Twilight pointed the doctor up the stairs. The Docter, with his medical supplies, made his way up the stairs. Twilight, deciding to give the Docter the time and space to help Fluttershy, walked over to the couch.
Twilight struggled to find a way to start the conversation, John didn't seem interested in small talk, but she could see him waiting. It was obvious to John she wanted something, to him, everyone always did.
"So, John" Twilight started, but the lack of follow-up left an awkward silence. where to start, her questions, her quest? Before noticing Fluttershy, Twilight had so many questions, but now she was just concerned for her friend. If it hadn't been for John would either of them still be alive? Twilight had her opening.
"Thank you"
John's brow lifted at the words, Twilight continued her words.
"If you hadn't been there, I would be dead. Fluttershy would probably be dead, I drag her into danger even when I knew the risks. You didn't have to help, but you did, so Thank you."
John's posture softened at the apology, and he responded in a soft manner.
"Don't beat yourself over it, you couldn't have known the bastards would be there"
Twilight's eyes and ears fell at the statement, she had known something was in there but had elected to ignore it. Whatever happened to Fluttershy, it was her fault. Those Super mutants, were horrifying. Maybe John knew about them.
"Those things, those, Super mutants, what are they?" Twilight asked.
John leaned back into the couch, closing his eyes. "I'm surprised you don't want to know what I am."
Twilight lifted her hoof to rub the back of her neck, "Actually, we met a human earlier, His name was Nate. I was wondering if you knew him"
"No, I don't know many people these days," John said decisively. Opening his eyes and leaning forwards, John's eyes locked with the floor as he tried to best answer Twilight's inquiry.
"Supermutants, were once people, humans, but they were exposed to the FEV Virus. it changed them, made them forget who they were, made them angry, and violent."
John's eyes became level with the world.
"Not all of them mind you, I knew a super mutant or two who were nice enough, one even saved my life. He was a good friend and never did care about the loss of his past life. I sometimes wonder where he is now..."
Twilight waited to see if John would continue but seemed to have become lost in thought. She decided to keep prompting him.
"So how did you find us in the woods?"
John's eyes centred on Twilight.
"You weren't that hard to find, with all the noise you were making. It also helps I was waiting to ambush those mutants for a good hour."
Twilight wanted to know more, however, the sound of somepony coming down the stairs required greater attention. Before Dr Patches could make it to the room, Twilight had met him at the bottom of the stairs.
"Is Fluttershy going to be ok?" Twilight asked with urgency in her voice.
Dr Patches held a professional manner as he explained Fluttershy's condition.
"From what feedback she could offer in her unconscious state and from a series of non-invasive examinations, she not in immediate danger. Nonetheless, she should be moved to Ponyville general as soon as possible. The tests I could perform are not as effective as the ones down in a clinic and could easily have missed something. The Emergency team at the Hospital should move her, I don't want any complications to arise if there is something more serious. I'll head over now and organise the transfer."
Twilight nodded in agreement and made to return to the other room.
"there's something else." Patches announced.
Twilight stopped and faced The doctor once again.
"From what you have told me, Fluttershy has gone through quite the ordeal. She's going to need friends and family to help her through this." Dr Patches explained.
"Thank you, Doctor," Twilight Responded, Doctor Patches the left through the front door.
Once again heading back to the next room, Twilight noticed John walking towards her with his things.
"If everything's in good hands, I'll be leaving" John stated, continuing to the exit.
Twilight began to beg, "You can't leave!"
John reached the door and reached for the handle.
"I'm sorry but this has taken too much time as it is, I have an important mission to complete"
John opened the door and took the first step out the door.
"But you've only been here for less than a day!" Twilight retorted
John froze, and Twilight waited.
After a moment had passed, John took a step back and softly closed the door. When he turned around, Twilight saw murder in his eyes.
"How did you know that?" John demanded, yet his voice was quiet.
Twilight could guess what he would do if she answered wrong.
"I was sent by my teacher to find you, The have been sightings of strange beings appearing all over and we don't know why. We were able to find the locations of a few using magic, ones who could help us."
John stared into Twilight's eyes as if looking into her very soul, she partially cowed at the threatening look.
eventually, John relented. Looking away, he finally spoke.
"I need to find a way home, I have a job I need to finish"
As he once again made for the door, Twilight responded again.
"We can help you"
Johns's hand didn't even reach the handle before he spun around.
"How?" John asked impatiently.
Twilight decided it was best not to mention how they brought him here, and thus could potentially send him back.
"My teacher is Princess Celestia, she has the resources to help, and I will research the problem myself. Please, Just come with me to meet her. Listen to what she has to say and I promise you, I will do whatever I can to help you get home."
John stood there thinking about what he had just been offered, eventually coming to a decision.
"Fine, I'll go, and I'll listen, but after that, I go back to my world. Deal?"
John put his hand out, and Twilight quickly got the meaning.
"Deal," Twilight said, putting out her hoof to meet the shake.
"We leave first thing in the morning after Fluttershy is taken care of. The girls are going to want to hear about this."
John stood for a second pondering something
"Do you think she would mind if I crashed on the couch?"