I place a palm on the door to my house and push it open, stepping inside. Letting out a long sigh, I proceed to pop a few of my ligaments, each providing a satisfying crack. I decide something to eat sounds good right about now; I wonder if...oh, boy. My face twists into a frown as I open my icebox, peering at emptiness. I close the lid, stepping back and rubbing my face in thought. Can't even remember the last time my meal had any sort of meat in it...My gaze shifts to a window, and I step over to it, looking outside. I still have a good amount of daylight left, as the sun sits at around a forty-five-degree angle in the afternoon sky. Sighing again, I decide I have to do it.
Setting my jaw in a mixture of distaste and determination, I make my way over to and up the stairs, into my bedroom. Beside my bed lay my tomahawk and dagger; I walk over to them and retrieve them from the floor. Wiping the blades of each off on my shirt, I give the weapons a once-over; satisfied, I slip them into my belt loops, adjusting them until they are secure there. I traverse the stairs once more, then head out the door, preparing a mental checklist.
***
Some dust kicks up around my feet as I jog steadily along the very quiet road that leads from the town of Ponyville to the nearby Everfree forest. I look up and to the west, seeing that I still have plenty of time. Even so, I don't want to spend too much of it in the forest, and I certainly don't want to get caught in the dark. I carry a good-sized net over my shoulder; not Fluttershy's, given that I decided to get myself a net of my own to avoid bothering her too often. I found that a high-grade butterfly net also works well as a fishing net. A little on the pricey side at something like ten bits, but what's that old saying? 'Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime'? It seems to be relevant in some way.
I keep my pace, at this point passing Fluttershy's cottage, alone on the distant outskirts of the town. I don't think I could manage the existence that the timid, yellow Pegasus has. I like my solitude, quite a bit more than most, but completely separating myself from all contact except on a very minor basis would definitely be hard. Yet another odd contradiction I notice about myself; I both hate people in general, yet know that I need them and actually like a lot of them. I suppose that wouldn't really apply here, since I actually like ponies; most don't seem to like me very much, though. Easily understandable.
I feel something make contact with my back; I slow, looking behind me. I see nothing, just an empty road, Fluttershy's cottage, and the town in the distance, in which I can see a few ponies trotting about. Shrugging, I go to turn forward, when I feel the same tap on my back. Spinning around, I see nothing, again. Wait a minute. Another tap on my back; I make like I'm about to turn around, then spin forward again. I point a finger and grin at a sky-blue Pegasus, hovering before me.
"Aww, c'mon! I had you going, there," Rainbow Dash says, grinning back. She looks at my shoulder, then at my waist, then back to me. "What's up with the net, and your weap--oh, wait...you're going to the Everfree, aren't you? Getting fish to eat, right?" I nod in confirmation. Her smile widens. "I could totally come with you! We could kick some wolf flank!" I grimace. It's not as fun as it sounds. "C'mon, please?" she says, clasping her hooves together.
I look into her eyes for a moment. They're filled with her usual confidence and spunk, and a minor amount of pleading. Well, she can certainly look after herself. She's definitely stronger than I am. And Fluttershy did recommend taking someone with me into the Everfree...The thought of 'what if something happens to her' is there, but I decide to push it away. She'll be fine. She can fly, and could probably break my skull with one kick. I nod in submission to the rainbow-maned pony.
"Awesome!" she cries. "C'mon, let's go!" I smile, then start jogging along again as she pulls away excitedly. I reach the entrance to the Everfree within another minute, finding her waiting there for me. She is reading a few of the many warning signs outside the forest, then glancing into the shadowy forest. Rainbow seems a little more hesitant at this point. I give her a nudge, and when she looks at me, a look of question.
"I'm not scared, if that's what you're thinking. I've been in here loads of times," she says, attempting to look confident. She doesn't quite pull it off, though. I know she isn't going to back down, though, a fact that is probably due to my presence, and I still have no intention of wasting what daylight I have left, so I start walking in, waving for her to follow close. She does so, flying steadily by my side. The Pegasus is close enough so that her wings nearly hit me in the face a few times, actually. We quietly walk through the forest, past Zecora's hut, towards the fish-filled river.
I kneel down at the bank of the flowing water once we reach it, lifting the net off my shoulder and setting it into the water. I take a moment to scan around the area, listening closely for anything threatening. All I hear are some birds chirping in the trees above, though, so I focus on collecting fish.
A fair amount of time passes. "Ugh, this is boring," Dash complains. I look over at her and nod in agreement. Boring, but necessary if I want to remain a healthy omnivore. Looking back to the river, a fish starts to approach, traveling with the current. I wait until it's only a few feet away, then drag the net through and out of the water, capturing the fish. Glancing over at Rainbow Dash, I see her look at the fish as it dies slowly from suffocation, then turn away, looking a little green. After the fish is dead and is on the bank beside me, Rainbow peers around me, looking at the still fish. "They aren't too smart, are they?" I chuckle, shaking my head and dipping my net back into the water.
My luck turns around from there. The fish almost seem to jump into my net, and soon I've collected a four good-sized fish from the river. I lift a fifth out of the water; as it begins the process of dying, I look towards the sky, trying to see through the trees. The sky is starting to darken; I figure we ought to get going, soon. I turn my head, looking over to Rainbow Dash, who still looks sort of sickly. She manages a smile at me anyways. Her smile doesn't register for me, though; what does is movement behind her, quick, predatory movement.
Without much further thought, I spring out of my crouched stance, lunging for Dash. I tackle her square in the chest, grabbing onto her and twisting around mid-air so that I hit the ground first. I ignore her "What the hay?!" of surprise, gently but quickly pushing her off of me. As the mess of light blue and rainbow disappears from my view, I see more clearly what had just caused my last second or two of reaction.
A horrific beast of some sort skids to a halt on the bank beside the river. Upon first glance, it looks much like a grizzly bear, very stocky and covered in thick, brown fur. As the milliseconds tick by, though, more and more detail begins to register. I first notice the face of the creature; it has the snout and general facial structure of a bear. However, a set of horns protrudes from just before its ears, and a set of tusks extends from its jaws. The hind end of the beast is also very odd in appearance; it looks more like that of a bull, with much shorter fur and the thinner legs of a bull. On closer observation, I see the creature has cloven hooves on its hind legs, as well. Overall, it strikes me as a combination of three animals: a bear, a bull, and a boar. Three animals I have never had any desire to even encounter, much less fight.
Jesus Christ, you have got to be kidding me! My weapons are already in my hands; I'm not sure where Rainbow is. All I'm sure of is that she didn't get impaled by that charging bear/bull/boar. I watch motionlessly and completely silently as the beast sniffs the fish on the ground. Come on, just take them, leave us alone...It swipes the dead fish aside with a huge front paw, turning towards us, maybe just me; I still can't see Dash, especially with my increasing tunnel vision. It focuses on something to my right; I take a quick glance in that direction, and see the small, light blue Pegasus, eyes wide, seemingly as frozen as I am.
My attention returns to the unholy being before me; I start running through options at light speed in my head. Okay, can't outrun a bear, or a bull, probably not even a boar. Can't climb a tree, bears can climb. Dash can fly out of here, I can't. My only options are to fight or hope for a miracle. Fight a bear, bull, boar combination. God damn it. My grip tightens on my weapons, and I see my knuckles turn white in my peripheral. I take another look down to Rainbow Dash; her eyes remain locked on the creature a few yards away. I slowly reach down and lightly give her a tap on the shoulder with the butt of my tomahawk. She jumps a little, then looks up at me. She looks conflicted, as if she wants to do something, but she's too fear-stricken to do anything. I see the thing paw at the ground, lowering its head for another charge. I jerk my head away from the creature, signaling for Rainbow to go. She looks at me, then at the beast, then shakes her head, setting her jaw and narrowing her eyes. Damn it! I jerk my hand away from the creature this time, but again she holds her ground. God damn it, Rainbow Dash, go!
A roar tears my vision away from the sky-blue pony as the bear-bull-boar begins its charge. It nears at a ridiculous speed, and I barely have enough time to dive out of the way. I recover quickly, and spin around to see Rainbow also managed to get out of the way. Knowing my opportunity will be gone all too soon, I lunge for the creature while its back is turned. I near the neck, but it turns at exactly the wrong time, causing me to back off as fast as I can. I know that the only chance I have to kill it is the neck, given the general thickness and toughness of bears, bulls, and even boars.
It swings its head towards me, four horns aimed straight for my chest; I strafe out of the way, then throw my left arm towards it. The dagger hits flesh, then bone; I realize I've hit the shoulder. The beast rears back on its hind legs, those of a bull, raising its front paws in fury and letting loose a roar of anguish. Great, I've pissed it off. I attempt to take advantage of the opening that appears while it reacts from the wound, swinging my right arm up towards its neck; the thing towers over me by at least a yard when on its hind legs. It is just a little faster than I am, though, and swings a huge arm at my own. The tomahawk is thrown out of my hand, sticking into the ground a short distance away. Before I even have time to think, it brings its other paw around, smashing me in the chest.
I am lifted off my feet and the wind is knocked out of me. I hit the ground, hard, only a few feet away from my tomahawk. My dagger has fallen out of my hand as well. I inhale sharply, gasping in a breath as I try to get back to my feet; judging by the stab of pain in my upper-left chest, I think the creature may have bruised some ribs, possibly broken some; I'm lucky it didn't completely liquefy my torso. I quickly find my luck has run out, though, as my blurred vision catches the beast nearing me. It comes to a stance over top of me, bear's paws on either side of my shoulders, bull's legs and boar's hooves on either side of my legs. As its face approaches mine, I realize this thing's either going to try and spear my head or just start biting chunks out of it.
It comes towards me, jaws open. I'm able to get my hands up just in time to grab on to the horns protruding from its face; I get one hand on an actual horn, the other on a tusk. I push back with all my might, but know this thing is too strong for me to hold off much longer. From its throat comes a deafening roar of anger at my resistance; its breath smells of a scent I can only describe as death. My eyes dart over to one side; I see both of my weapons, fairly close to one another, and barely within arm's reach. My thoughts race, trying to determine whether or not I should risk letting go of its horns to attempt a grab at a weapon.
A blur of light blue slams into the side of the creatures face, causing it to stumble off of and away from me. Fairly stunned, I follow the beast with my eyes. For a moment I watch as Rainbow Dash darts around and over the thing, flying fast enough to create a rainbow trail around it. I can't tell if she's seriously trying to harm it or if she's just toying with it; it looks like both. Every so often she'll stop mid-air, giving the creature a hard buck to the head, back, or side. And every time she does, it gets angrier and angrier.
"Come on, ugly! Try harder!" Dash cries, giving the thing a swift kick on the nose. I'm back on my feet, knowing that it's past angry at this point. I retrieve my weapons, turning hard and dropping low as I aim myself towards the bear, bull, boar, whatever it is. I charge as quickly as I can towards where it and Rainbow continue to battle; I'm not fast enough, though. Swiping almost aimlessly through the air, a giant paw makes contact with the small Pegasus mid-air. I am filled with an unbelievable rage even before seeing the results of the attack; knowing this thing may have even ruffled Rainbow Dash's fur is enough to make me want to watch it die.
And I do watch it die. I swing my tomahawk as hard as I can towards its neck, lodging it in deep. As I tear out the ax-like blade, the creature lets out a roar of pure pain and surprise; the only thing I hear is my heart pounding in my ears, adrenaline blocking out everything else. My right arm swings down again, and again, and again; blood stings my eyes, but I don't care. Another roar, this one more of a gurgle as it begins choking on its own blood. I continue to hack at its neck, though, receiving almost no resistance from the beast. It falls away from me, hitting the ground; with all my might, I bring the tomahawk down hard into its neck a final time, then release my grip. I raise my right leg, stomping hard onto the opposite end of the small ax lodged in the creature's neck, driving it all the way through. I pull out the gory tomahawk, surveying my work for a moment; it's definitely dead, and nearly decapitated. The idea of overkill doesn't register. What does is the well-being of Rainbow Dash.
I look around frantically, spotting the light blue form only a few yards away. My entire body relaxes as I see she is standing on all four hooves, and doesn't look badly injured. I spot a red gash on her left hind leg, and her left wing looks a little bent out of shape, possibly scratched as well. I continue to do my visual check on her; she generally seems okay, except for her face. Her face isn't injured, but it's her eyes that create a spark of worry within me. She stares unblinking at the carcass of the bear-bull-boar creature, specifically at the particularly nasty neck area. Her gaze shifts a fraction of an inch, to the bloodied weapons in my hands, then goes back to the dead beast on the ground before me.
Without warning, she vomits. I drop my weapons, starting off in a slowly accelerating jog towards her. She collapses, hitting the forest floor with a dull thud. I sprint the rest of the distance to her, sliding down to my knees in front of the sky-blue pony. God, please, no...please be okay...I can't lose you, too...My head immediately drops down to hers, and I hold an ear near her snout as I bring a bloody hand to her neck, pressing lightly with my thumb against the bottom of her chin.
A slow, warm breath brushes into my ear, and I feel a steady tha-thump against my thumb. I nearly start crying with relief. Okay, she's just passed out. She's okay. Thank God, Celestia, Luna, whatever is watching over me and her. I gently set her head down on the ground again, standing up. Keeping ninety percent of my focus on the unconscious Pegasus, I pick up my weapons from the ground, wiping them on the fur of the creature as I pass by. I go to turn around and go back to get the pony, but notice something a short distance away. It's the small cluster of fish, still lying on the ground, untouched by anything as of yet. Shaking my head and smiling a little, I go over to the fish, tossing them into my butterfly-fishing net. These things are more trouble than they're worth, I think as I glance down at myself. My shirt is completely coated with blood that is not my own, as are most of my pants.
I walk back over to Rainbow Dash, still scanning the area for anything else. Everything, even the birds, seem to have gone into hiding; I notice that it's getting dark, as well. I set the net and the fish on the ground, slowly and carefully sliding my hands under the small, light blue pony. I'm grateful she doesn't weigh much, as I'm sure that if she were actually heavy, me and my likely-broken ribs would have to drag her out of this godforsaken forest. I manage to wrap an arm under her chest, grab the net off the ground, stand back up, and wrap my other arm under her. I look around for a moment, orienting myself before walking as quickly as I can manage back towards civilization.
I contemplate stopping by Zecora's or even Fluttershy's to seek some medical assistance, but I figure there's not really much either of them could do for us. Bruised, even broken ribs usually seem to heal on their own, I don't have any open wounds, and Dash's are fairly minor. Probably still need to clean them, though...I hope her wing isn't too badly damaged. I step up the pace as the shadows continue to grow.
I make it out of the forest as the last of the sun starts to dip below the horizon. Glancing down, I see that Dash remains asleep, her head now lolling against my chest. I gently shift her around a little, making sure none of her wounds make contact with my shirt; I don't want her getting infected by or having a reaction to the blood on my clothes. We pass Fluttershy's cottage, now dark and quiet. I muse for a moment the fact that ponies seem to run on a sunup to sundown schedule, and staying up much later seems to take its toll on them.
Thankfully, the roads are fairly clear, with only a few ponies milling about, likely trying to get home. Even still, I take as many alleys and shortcuts as I can, trying to steer clear of any attention. They're already scared, maybe even repulsed, by me, enough. Don't need them thinking I've gone and killed someone. I think I manage to keep myself concealed well enough so that I'm not spotted; the general darkness and emptiness of the night helps. I push in the door to my dark house, hurriedly setting down my net to free up a hand. As the door closes, I use the last outside light to find my way to the lantern and ignite it. A dim, yellow glow fills the room, giving it a very calm essence.
I grab the lantern, carrying it with me into the bathroom. Setting down the pony in my arms as carefully as I can, I turn the lantern on fully, lighting up the room. I observe Rainbow Dash for a moment; she sleeps peacefully, unaware of the blood, neither hers nor mine, that mats her fur, the cut on her hind leg that isn't bleeding very much, her injured wing that doesn't look broken, but still bends at an odd angle, or even the fact she's out of harm's way and in my house. Looking down at myself, I decide I'm probably not fit to try and clean her up, given my own state. I strip off my shirt and pants, leaving me in my undergarments,--hopefully she doesn't mind--and toss them into a corner, where I make note to clean them thoroughly later.
My mind starts to churn as I think out what to do next. I take a quick look at the unconscious Pegasus a last time, then leave the bathroom. I quickly make my way through my house, maneuvering up the stairs. I blindly stumble around for a while up there, searching for my other set of clothes. Wincing in pain as I bend down, I reach under my bed and grab the clean shirt and pair of pants, then hurry back downstairs. I decide to put on my pants, make myself at least half-respectable, but keep the shirt off.
I set the shirt aside as I re-enter the bathroom, where I pick up the small pony once more. I bring her over to the bathtub, setting her near the back so the water won't hit her immediately. I flip on the tap, getting the water fairly hot. Grabbing my clean shirt, I use it as a washcloth of sorts, wetting it down with the hot water before bringing it over to Rainbow.
Her face twists a little in her slumber as I wipe the shirt against the gash on her hind leg, being as gentle as I can. The creature in the forest hit her just below her cutie mark with its swing, as well as clipping her left wing. I clean the area as best I can, and notice it's already starting to scab over. I find it odd that a gash like that could heal that quick, but I suppose she is in excellent health, and decide to let my mind wander later.
My focus turns to her injured wing. There are a few cuts along the base; I rinse out the shirt and slowly move towards the wing. I place my free hand along its edge, intending on giving it some support while I clean it. The wing is amazingly soft, softer than anything I've ever felt; I pause for a moment, a little stunned by the texture beneath my fingertips. Shaking my head, I resume what I was doing. Carefully bringing the makeshift washcloth closer to her wing, I press lightly against one of the cuts.
Much to my surprise, Rainbow Dash jolts awake with a whinny of pain. She attempts to scramble to her hooves, finding that she can't get a grip on the slippery interior of the bathtub. Her eyes go wise with panic, darting everywhere, eventually landing on me; she blinks a few times, then relaxes. She winces, looking back at her wing. Seeing the rest of her, which is mainly covered in blood, she slams her eyes shut, the wince becoming a grimace. The Pegasus waves a light blue hoof towards me, gritting her teeth and letting me resume cleaning her wing. It seems to be pretty sensitive, given the occasional gasp or grunt of pain from her. I finish as quickly as I can muster while not beating her up too badly.
I eventually give her a tap on the shoulder, and when she opens her eyes, point towards the shower stream. She nods, and with some help from me, pushes herself to her hooves, stepping into the shower of hot water. Blood-tinted water runs down the drain, and soon her fur is back to its usual sky-blue. I switch off the water, then help her out of the bathtub. I grab a towel and dry her off, careful to avoid her injured wing. She complies with me the entire time, allowing me to dry her off and then tie my shirt around her leg as a bandage of sorts. I can't do much for her wing, given the general sensitivity of it.
I finish off the knot, hoping it will keep her from bleeding too much more and that it will keep her from being infected with anything. I crab-walk back in my crouched position, coming around to face her. She smiles gratefully to me, her rose eyes reflecting the light of the lantern.
On an impulse that comes from seemingly nowhere, I reach forward and wrap my arms around her in a tight hug, still avoiding her left wing. I pin her to my chest, pushing the side of my neck against hers; she feels warm and soft, that impossible softness that is hard to replicate in any way. I realize how close I came to losing her, how dangerously stupid it was for me to drag her into that. I realize I never want to lose her, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. I'm not going to lose her like I've lost everything else. I clamp my jaws together, trying to fight back my moistening eyes, but to little avail. A tear of happiness, sadness, determination, maybe all three, slowly rolls down my face. I'm not going to lose you.
"Uhh...it's kinda' hard to...breathe..." Rainbow Dash gasps over my shoulder. I release my grip, smiling in embarrassment as I quickly wipe off my face. "Hey, you alright?" she asks quietly. I nod, smiling to her. Her eyes search mine for a moment, then she nods, smiling as well. I stand up, picking up the lantern as I do. I see Dash look back to her wing and attempt to move it, resulting in a frown form her.
"Looks like I just sprained it real bad. It'll be good by tomorrow," she explains. I raise an eyebrow, a little confused; that fast? I decide I can ask in the morning, though. "Cool if I crash here tonight?" Rainbow asks, probably knowing my answer very well. I nod, smiling to her before beckoning for her to follow me. I lead her upstairs, helping her up the steps where I can, and offer my bed to her. I watch as she hops in, making herself comfortable under the blankets, then head back downstairs. I flop down on the couch, deciding I could probably fall asleep on the floor if I wanted to, and close my eyes.
***
"Hey, uh, Mark?" I open my eyes, letting them adjust to the darkness for a moment. Before me stands Rainbow Dash, tilted sideways from my perspective. I lift my head in acknowledgement. "I...uhm...I couldn't sleep." I see the reason why in her eyes, full of fear and repulsion at a bad memory relived as a dream. I immediately shift back on the couch, making as much room as I can for the pony. She gives a lopsided smile, seemingly both ashamed and grateful, then clambers up onto the couch with me. The sky-blue Pegasus curls up in front of me, her warmth radiating onto my chest and stomach. She smiles at me, then closes her eyes, burying her head in my chest, silky mane brushing against my skin. I carefully wrap my arms around Dash, pulling her close to me and letting sleep carry me away.