In the heart of the Everfree forest a lone stallion walked.
He’d lost his way ever since he lost track of the pony he was escorting through the forest. He started to get tired from walking aimlessly and possibly in circles for hours. It seemed the path he’d taken before had been covered up by thistles and branches that weren’t there before. In the sky, clouds started to gather over the forest.
The sound of thunder cracked through the sky and the forest floor became shrouded in thick mist as heavy rain poured down. Seeking shelter, the stallion managed to find a hollowed tree. The tree was old and withered; one of its branches broke off with a hollow crack in the strong wind.
The stallion crawled inside the arched hole he found in the bottom of the tree trunk. Lighting up his horn with a minor luminescent spell, he spotted a small puddle within the hollowed tree. He looked into it and saw his own reflection; his white coat and short spiky red mane drenched from the rain.
He glanced around the inside of the tree, investigating it. He looked up and spotted small black bats covering the roof of the tree like roiling pitch. He realised that he’d just crawled into a bat's nest so he slowly clambered back out of the tree and into the rain. The rain stung his eyes as he tried once again to navigate the shadowy forest.
The combination of the wind and the rain made the temperature extremely cold and debilitating. The mist hid his hooves from sight. Not knowing if anything dangerous was to be hidden in the gloom before him, he galloped in a straight line, dodging only the tree trunks visible in front of him and leaping over the visible parts of rocks. Soon, he slowed, completely spent. He wobbled for a few seconds, but regains his stature with a grimace.
The rain didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon, and if any change had occurred; the inclement weather had only worsened.
Navigating blindly through the Everfree forest one shaky step after another, he tripped over a tree root and fell heavily onto his stomach. He struggled to right himself, and due to the cold temperature, he missed the lengthy cut on the underside of his chest. Well and truly exhausted, he still managed to take a few steps forward. The injury on his stomach bled sluggishly due to the temperature, but his stance faltered nevertheless. Finally, the stallion collapsed on the branch-strewn ground, his consciousness fading.
Suddenly the ground beneath him started to crumble and then give way. Sliding down a steep incline, his body smacked against a few small trees in the way of his descent. Feeling the ground disappear beneath him, he felt himself free falling for a short time. The stallion landed hard, his body now motionless. The unforgiving weather of the Everfree forest slowly started to disperse.
______________
Hours later at the edge of the Everfree forest, a yellow Pegasus mare with a long flowing pink mane and tail darted around, tending to her animals. After feeding the last of her friends, she trotted over to a rabbit, sitting atop her windowsill, gazing out onto the storm-battered landscape.
“Come on Angel, let’s go and check on those animals in the Everfree forest. There was a huge storm last night and I want to make sure everything’s ok,” she said softly.
The bunny leapt off the windowsill and onto her head. She trotted past the many small animal habitats that situated the ceiling and floor of her cottage. She approached her front door and grabbed a pre-packed basket in her mouth.
The sun had reached its zenith, high above the Everfree forest, making the left over rainwater sparkle on the trees and plants. Old, dead tree branches scattered the path through the forest. Trotting through the Everfree, she cleaned up the debris left by the storm as best she could. Birds were chirping in sing-songy voices and flowers were blooming, so the mare paused to enjoy the scene.
Suddenly Angel tapped her head with his feet.
“What is it Angel bunny?” Angel leaped off her head onto the ground and pointed his paw to the right, just off the path.
“Oh my…” she gasped. She spotted a battered-looking shape on the ground next to a few small rocks.
She rushed over to it with her basket in her mouth. Setting down her basket, she observed the shape, finding it to be a pony. A white unicorn stallion with a short spiky red mane and tail lay on his side battered and bruised. His cutie mark, as far as she could tell, was of a sword with 3 red stars. She noticed a faint blood trail behind and under the stallion and following the blood trail with her eyes; she spotted a long cut on the stallion’s chest.
The slow rise and fall of his chest lifted the worry of death from the yellow Pegasus’s mind. Quick as a whip, the mare pulled out some bandages from her basket and expertly wrapped them around the stomach of the unconscious stallion.
Angel tried to wake him up by tapping at his head with his feet, but the unknown stallion still lay motionless.
“Come on Angel, we need to get this poor pony to the hospital," the mare cried, "but first I’ll need some help moving him. Angel, could you go and bring Applejack for me? She lives the closest from here.”
Angel nodded sharply and sprang off down the path to Applejack's farm. With Angel gone to get help, the yellow mare proceeded to bandage minor cuts and bruises on the stallion’s body.
While patching up the last cut, the stallion shuddered painfully, emitting a small sigh. This startled the yellow mare and she took a few hasty steps back from him. The stallion attempted to stand on his hooves, but he merely grunted in pain and slumped back onto the bloodstained earth below him.
“Careful, you’re still injured. I’ve bandaged your major wounds but you need to get to a hospital” the yellow mare said, soothingly. The white stallion looked at the yellow Pegasus and then to his bandages.
“Oh, thank you miss, I don’t know what would’ve happened if you didn’t find me. By the way, my name is Tal, what’s your name?” asked the white unicorn stallion, still woozy from his ordeal. The yellow mare hesitated for a few seconds before she spoke softly.
“M…m…. my name’s Fluttershy” she responded, barely above a whisper. “Why were you out in the Everfree forest during the storm?” she asked.
“It’s a long story, but I kind of got lost before the storm hit. It’s very hard to navigate when you can’t see your own hoof in front of your face... hehe….” he said, somewhat sheepishly.
Applejack galloped past Fluttershy’s cottage and into the Everfree forest. Up ahead in the distance she spotted Fluttershy, near a whitish stallion lying on the ground.
“Fluttershy! You needed help?” Applejack asked as she approached them with Angel clinging onto her back.
“Applejack, thank goodness. We need to get Tal here to the Ponyville Hospital.” says Fluttershy. Applejack walked up to the white unicorn.
“My, my, you’ve beat yourself up something fierce” said Applejack, with a trace of quizzical apprehension.
“I found Tal unconscious just off the trail. I’ve patched most of his wounds but he could also have broken something,” said Fluttershy in the momentary silence that followed.
“Well don’t you worry, we’ll have you to the hospital in no time,” Applejack vowed. Fluttershy and Applejack both helped to secure him on top of Applejack’s back.
As they walked through the streets of Ponyville, some onlookers met them. It’s not something the town sees very often; a wounded stallion on the backs of two mares. Once inside the hospital, medical staff rushed to meet Applejack and Fluttershy.
They started to inspect Tal, still on AJ’s back. A hospital bed on wheels rolled through the double doors, swinging them both open, and stopped abruptly beside Applejack. The staff gently laid Tal down on the gurney. The bed was then wheeled frenetically away back through the double doors.
“Will he be ok, Nurse Red Heart?” inquired Fluttershy.
“Well… I can’t say for sure but he is in pretty bad shape. It looks like he would have to stay in the hospital for a few days. But thank you for bringing him here, where did you find him?” asked Nurse Red Heart, conscious of her duties as a nurse.
“I found him in the Everfree Forest. He said he had gotten caught up in that storm last night” replied Fluttershy. Nurse Red Heart shook her head as Applejack walked up to them.
“Well, I’d love to stay and chat but I’ve got to get back to the farm. Nice seeing you Nurse Red Heart” says Applejack, turning towards the door.
“Oh, that reminds me I need to pick up Opalescence from Rarity’s. It’s good to meet you again Nurse Red Heart” says Fluttershy as she and Applejack walk out the door.
Tal's gurney was wheeled down a white corridor. Both of the staff pushed the bed into a room marked "12." A heart rate monitor sat in the corner of the room along with a small table and a small shelf of dusty-looking books. One window with light green curtains was located on the far wall. A clock above the door read 12:30 PM. The staff then secured Tal's bed in the far left corner of the room.
“The doctor will see you in a moment” one of the staff says before leaving the room.
While alone in the room, Tal then racked his dim memory to remember why he was in the forest. He had been given an escort mission to the eastern side of the Everfree forest. The royal guard captain, Shining Armor himself, gave the command. Strangely he didn’t remember the pony who he’d tried—and failed, seemingly—to escort. The pony mysteriously had disappeared just before the storm hit. One moment he was looking to the sky, and the next, the pony had vanished without a trace.
Just then, the doctor walked in, carrying a clipboard. He had a brown coat and a dark brown mane and tail with an hourglass cutie mark.
“You must be Tal, the one found injured in the forest, correct?” he asked.
“Yes sir” Tal replied.
“Well, you seem to be behaving alright for somepony who’s been badly injured,” stated the Doctor.
“Yes doctor, I am in the elite royal guard after all,” Tal said proudly.
“As resilient as you may be, I’ll still have to check those injuries,” replied the Doctor with dismissive finality.
Tal nodded and the doctor proceeded to check the major injury on his chest. The doctor pulled back part of the slightly bloodstained bandage and observed the cut with an expert eye. A few quiet minutes went by in the hospital room, until the doctor finished his diagnosis.
“Well Tal, your injuries will heal up nicely plus there are no broken bones. It seems you will be up and about in just a day or so, but for now you need a lot of rest.”
“Thanks Doc” Tal said, visibly relieved that he had no major injury.
The doctor exited the room leaving Tal by himself on the bed. The clock now read 1:30 PM and the sun had reached its zenith in the heavens. Tal’s stomach growled on account of not having eaten since before the storm. He swung his hooves out of bed and onto the floor. He felt a dull ache and pain on his chest. He heard somepony walking down the hall towards his ward so Tal leapt back onto his bed and layed down.
Nurse Red Heart entered the room with a tray that had a daisy sandwich on a plate and a glass of water.
“Here you go Tal, you’d need to get your strength up if you’re going back to duty tomorrow” she said, with professional gentleness.
“Thanks Nurse Red Heart, this looks delicious. I haven’t eaten in a while,” replied Tal gratefully. He began to bite into his sandwich when Nurse Red Heart turned to leave the room.
“I’ll come back later to collect the tray,” she said.
“That won’t be necessary Nurse Red Heart,” replied Tal with a grin on his face. Nurse Red Heart turned back around and saw the empty plate and glass.
“Oh, hehe, well in that case, just call if you’d need anything” she said sheepishly as she collected the cleared tray. Tal thanked her once again and she left the room.
Tal decided to get some sleep, since maybe he could be let out earlier if his wounds recovered enough. He pulled the white sheets over himself, shut his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep a moment later.
________
Fluttershy was tending to the last of her animals in her evening routine. She glanced at her clock above her front door. It read 7:30 PM, and she remembered that she’d invited all her friends to pay a visit to Tal; they were supposed to be there by 8 PM.
Fluttershy quietly left her house because some of the animals had already fallen asleep. She unfurled her wings, graciously lifted off the ground, and flew into Ponyville serenely.
From there, she gathered all of her friends. By then, it was 7:55 PM and they were all walking towards the Ponyville hospital.
“So Fluttershy, you said you’d found him injured in the Everfree Forest and his name is Tal?” asked Twilight as her face brightened up.
“Yes, why do you ask?” replied Fluttershy quizzically.
“Well, ever since Shining Armor has been in the royal guard, he’s told me about a unicorn stallion named Tal. I was just wondering if it could be him,” said Twilight with more than a trace of hope evident on her face.
The group of six entered the hospital, and Pinkie Pie soon slowed down behind the rest of her friends. Rarity turned around, catching Pinkie Pie trying to sneak in her party cannon.
“Pinkie, now’s not the time for that. It’s a hospital after all dear,” said Rarity, rolling her eyes in a very ladylike manner.
“But who’s going to cheer him up?” asked Pinkie worriedly.
“Just put that cannon away Pinkie, you can throw a party after he’s recovered” replied Rarity.
Pinkie Pie pouted, but pushed the party cannon out of the hospital. Applejack approached Nurse Red Heart behind the visitors' information desk.
“Good evenin’ Nurse Red Heart, we’re here to pay a visit to Tal,” said Applejack cheerfully.
“Of course, right this way,” Nurse Red Heart responded.
The six friends followed her up to room 12.
“Now I’ll have to ask you to wait here,” she pointed out.
Meanwhile, within the room Tal was in a light sleep. He heard hoof steps and voices at the door, and then the door latched open.
Feeling slightly better since midday, he decided to sit up in his bed. He saw Nurse Red Heart walk over to him with a smile.
“Tal, you have some visitors,” she said cheerfully. Tal looked at her, surprised and confused.
“Really? No pony’s ever visited me in a hospital before...” responded Tal softly. Nurse Red Heart invited the girls in and then left.
“Howdy Tal, how ya doin’ there sugarcube?” asked Applejack.
“I’ve been better, but thanks for asking and might I enquire, what brings you all here?” he replied. Fluttershy approached him with a confused look on her face.
“To see if you’re alright,” said Fluttershy.
“Well, I wouldn’t be if it weren’t for you, Fluttershy; you have my eternal gratitude,” replied Tal, a warm smile spreading across his face.
A slight blush appeared on Fluttershy face. Applejack coughed, and then went straight to introductions.
“Let me introduce you to my friends, Tal,” said Applejack as she turned to address each of her friends. “This is Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and…Hey, where’s Pinkie Pie?”
All of a sudden, the door burst open and Pinkie Pie walked in with her party cannon. Rarity brought her hoof to her forehead with an audible smack.
"Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie. Nice to meet you, Tal," she said brightly as she pressed a large red button on her "party cannon." Streamers, confetti and balloons flew out of it with a bang. Rarity glared at Pinkie Pie, her eyes pools of acid that could melt a diamond.
“Pinkie, what did I tell you?” said Rarity.
“Sorry, I just couldn’t resist” Pinkie replied happily.
“It’s fine Rarity, nice to meet you too Pinkie,” said Tal evenly. He shrugged the Pinkie Pie incident off without a second thought.
“So Tal, Twilight here says you know Shining Armor,” Rainbow stated, a question forming on her lips. Twilight’s cheeks flared up and she frowned at Rainbow Dash.
“Rainbow!” Twilight chastised her in a harsh whisper. Rainbow looked back at Twilight quizzically.
“What? You’re the one who wanted to find out and besides, you’ve hardly talked at all since we came in here, so I thought I’d ask for you,” she said defensively. Tal let out a tiny chuckle and nodded at Twilight.
“Yes, I do know Shining Armor. He trained me ever since I joined the Royal Guard. He’s your brother if I’m not mistaken?” asked Tal.
“Yes, Shining’s told me about how he trained you. It’s just I’ve never got a chance to meet you until now, I’m honored,” Twilight replied.
“Come on now, I’m not that interesting am I?” questioned Tal.
“How did you get into the royal guard anyway?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“I lived in a small town called Forest’s Edge, located on the southern edge of the Everfree Forest. My mother died when I was just a foal so unfortunately I never got to see her. My father was looking after me when...”
10 years ago
The beautiful warm sun shone through Tal’s bedroom window. The young foal woke from his crude wooden bed and walked out of his room, shaking off the soft grip of sleep.
Tal’s father was in their small living room getting ready to go somewhere. Tal walked in on his father and saw his father’s reflection in a small mirror.
His father was a unicorn. He had a brown coat and black mane with 3 yellow stars for a cutie mark.
“Daddy, where are you going?” asked Tal. His father turned around to speak with him.
“I’m going to get us some breakfast, there’s some delicious berries I discovered in the Everfree Forest yesterday” he replied, shifty-eyed.
“Can I come?” Tal asked excitedly. In his innocence, he failed to notice his father's guilty look.
“No son, the Forest is a dangerous place and I don’t want you getting hurt, now you stay here and I’ll be back soon” he replied with finality. Tal’s ears drooped as he watches his father walk out of the small house.
Tal grew very bored as an hour had passed by and his father still hadn’t returned yet. He stared out the window at the small town outside. Ponies were going about their daily business, although he could see very few outside.
Tal’s family only consisted of him and his father, and they were very poor. Ever since Tal’s mother passed away from an illness, money had become a problem. Hours passed by with no sign of his father returning, and Tal began to feel hungry. He hoped his father would return soon.
It was around midday when Tal heard a knock on the door, and a smile appeared on his face. Excitedly he rushed to the door and opened it, but instead of his father at the door, there were two armored guards in golden armor standing outside of the house.
One appeared to be a unicorn, while the other was a Pegasus. Tal could tell from their snappy attire that they were Royal Guards from Canterlot.
“Wow, Royal Guards at the front of my house! I’ve always wanted to be a royal guard,” he thought, still in an excited state.
“Is your name Tal?” asked the unicorn guard in a serious tone. Tal nodded slowly, his smile disappearing. The Pegasus guard on the right spoke up with a sigh.
“We regret to inform you, especially in this matter, but it’s about your father. He was found dead in the Everfree Forest not far from here with a deep gash in his neck. Suspicion is that the wound on his neck wasn’t some kind of accident,” he said.
Tal’s face changed instantly. All traces of his former smile vanished instantaneously, and shock and tears manifested themselves on his face as he slid to the floor. Tal could not believe what he was hearing, let alone what’d happened. His father was all he had left. The unicorn guard on the left kneeled down in front of Tal.
“However, the orders from the Princess are for you to be brought to Canterlot. The rest of the town will be in lockdown until the forest is deemed docile,” the guard said evenly.
Tal faced the unicorn guard kneeling down in front of him with a tearstained face. The guard took off his golden helmet revealing a navy blue mane, white coat and blue eyes.
“Hey, don’t you worry Tal. We’ll find out what’s going on, but for now, you must hop into this carriage,” he said comfortingly as he gestured towards a golden carriage behind him.
Tal slowly walked up to the carriage and jumped up on to it from the back. The unicorn guard, now with his helmet back on, stepped in after Tal and closed the small carriage door. He motioned for the Pegasus guard and another idle Pegasus guard to get ready to fly the carriage. Soon, the carriage was aloft and Tal was gazing out the small window at his hometown, which was filled with guards patrolling the borders of the Everfree Forest.
Present
“From that moment on, I showed interest in becoming a part of the royal guard and Shining Armor helped me achieve it,” Tal finished.
“What happened to your home town though?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“After a few weeks in lockdown, there were no further signs of hostility in the area so the lockdown was lifted” Tal replied.
“I’m sorry to hear about your father,” said Twilight. A stray tear slid down Tal’s cheek.
‘It’s all right Twilight” he said softly. The door at the back of the room opened and Nurse Red Heart stepped in.
“Alright girls, visiting time is over” she called out. The six friends filed out the door one by one, each saying their goodbyes.
After the visit, Tal lay back down, thinking about his past. He thought back to when his father was murdered and when the town was in lockdown.
If there weren’t any more attacks, whoever had murdered his father had a reason. Another possibility was that he could be next. Tal shuddered, aware of his irrationality but unable to shake his apprehension.
“This is a concern to take up with the Princess; I’ll have to ask Twilight to help me arrange a carriage tomorrow” Tal thought to himself as he drifted off into the solitary realm of dreams.
A/N: A special thanks to InfinityXanadu for editing the chapter (it was a huge improvement) I'd also like to thank Thunderhawk7865 for inspiring me to write!