Equestria's First Human

by Ceehoff

Chapter VI- Love and Violence

The three cloaked ponies gathered in a small circle. One’s horn was glowing a sickly orange underneath his hood. He focused his magic on himself and his comrades.

“Tell Lord Hellfire about our new leverage to Celestia. I will meet up with you later,” said the third one.

"Right. Do what must be done to deliver the message..." the mare said before she and the other pony vanished in a flash of orange magic.

The third peeked through the window to glance at Twilight again. He squinted in the shadow of his hood. His eyes were barely visible except for the shimmering from the light reflecting off of the shimmer of the window.

“We will meet again soon, Twilight Sparkle. You and your little dragon will be of great use to us. However, if you do happen to be killed in one of our attacks, then we will still take Princess Celestia down without your help.”

His wings spread from underneath his cloak and he flew off. His wings were concealed underneath his cloak, so as he flew, he looked as if he was floating in the air like a red specter. His hood never blew back. It lay steadfast over his head, making him look like the Grim Reaper.

"Time to deliver the message," he smirked. He took out three, glossy, black, baseball-sized spheres from his sling bag hidden well underneath his cloak. Once he felt that he was in position, he shot his nose up into the air, tossing his body backwards into a backflip and cut down into a dive like a hawk preying on a rabbit.

One pony down on the ground happened to be bird watching. He gasped at what he saw in his binoculars.

“Omigawsh! A cardinal! Well, this is my lucky day! Celestia’s mane! Two cardinals! Can this day get any better? Ooh! That's a big one, too! Well, I'll be doggoned! This one's got yellow markings on it like...”

All the blood that resided in his face seemed to have spilled down to his stomach. He dropped his binoculars from his trembling hooves.

"DRAGONFIRE! A DRAGONFIRE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" he shrieked.

Everypony saw the red cloaked pegasus dive straight toward them. Blinded in fear, everypony pushed, shoved, and trampled over each other as they tried to find shelter from the attack.

“BURN IN DRAGONFIRE!” the red cloaked pegasus roared as he dove on top of them like a fighter plane. He swooped up, dropping the spheres.

Everypony was screaming as they saw the spheres close in on them.

Then, the street was covered in clouds of explosions. Three towering cauliflowers of fire and smoke sprouted from the street, resounding an ear-shattering blast.

The pegasus smirked, flew out of sight, and landed on the pire of town hall, gazing at his work in pride.

“So what made you think into doing this?” Spike asked.

Connor was plucking the strings on the dragon’s old electric guitar, making off-pitched notes.

“I just felt like it would be a good hobby. I always wanted to learn how to play the guitar. And if nobo—I mean, nopony in Ponyville is willing to teach me because they act so damn scared around me, I’ll just teach myself. Besides, I don’t really have anything else to do other than try to earn Ponyville’s friendship. Heck, I don’t even have to worry about homework! Thank... GOD.”

“I guess so.” He winced at the false notes. “Lovely song you got there.”

“Har har har…” the human rolled his eyes.

Even he was getting a little put off by the noise he was making. “I need to take this slower. What song is easier to play, yet still sounds so epic?”

The human sat and tried to think of a song, but was interrupted by Twilight, whose expression was full of surprise and terror.

“Guys! There has been another attack! Come quick!”

"An attack??" the human's eyes widened in surprise.

"Come on!" she said before she ran out of the door.

Connor and Spike ran after the worried unicorn out into Ponyville to the smoking street where the attack had commenced. Twilight gasped and covered her mouth with her hoof in absolute shock. Spike's jaw dropped as gazed in utter defeat at the site of the wreckage. Connor was speechless. He had no idea that something so ghastly would happen in a world full of happy, colorful, talking ponies. Twilight noticed one stallion being carried off to the hospital on a stretchbed. She ran up to the injured pony.

“What happened?” she asked with her eyebrows bunched in worry.

“Ungh..." he wheezed through the flying dust that still resided in the air. "A Dragonfire pony tried to bomb us into Kingdom Come. Arrgh! My leg!”

Twilight nearly lost her lunch when she saw the long shard of wood run directly through the stallion’s hind leg.

“I should’ve known they had something to do with this!” Spike growled. “Terrorizing innocent ponyfolk! The gall to do sort of thing!”

Connor said nothing, but his gaze turned from the injured pony back to the wreckage.

Terrorists? he wondered. In this world, too?? You've got to be kidding me...

He was right. This world was almost exactly like his.

The red-cloaked pegasus remained perched on the pire of town hall. He scoffed, unpleased. He was hoping for something much worse than just injuries. However, he knew he had to save the bloodlust for one certain somepony. He also knew Dragonfire’s one goal: to kill Princess Celestia and usurp the throne.

While eyeing the ponies down on the ground, he noticed one strange pony. That was, if it was pony. That pony stood on two legs and did not even have a coat of fur or a tail. He was all flesh and a mane. What the hell was with those ‘hooves’ of his? This pony really grabbed the stallion’s attention.

“That is one bucking ugly pony there,” he mumbled under his breath. Then, he chuckled coldly, “Still…this pony’s fate will be the same as everypony else.”

He flew away.

Connor stood, facing the wreckage in front of him. What kind of sick bastard would commit such a cruel thing?

A good number of ponies were on the ground, groaning in pain. Some broke their legs, some had shards of wood puncturing into their coats, some were knocked unconscious, but none of them were killed, thankfully. The rest of the ponies slowly came out of the houses and other shelters. They scanned the sky for the terrorist until they all agreed he was gone. On the street, one pony with a broken hind leg shouted to the sky, shaking his hoof in anger.

“Curse you, Dragonfire! Curse you, you mongrels! You will not get away with this!”

“Those cursed ponies are going to be the cause of our ruin!” a mare with a bobbing navy-blue and pink mane shouted angrily.

“I sure hope somepony stops those pricks! Then, that somepony can bring them to me, so I can knock their brains out of their heads!” growled a stallion.

Then, they all turned from their angry tirades and stared at Connor. The human shrank back a little to see all of the cold stares being thrown at him. To add onto the injury, they did not utter or breathe a word. They were silent as graves in a graveyard.

Then, they all started to clear the streets, dragging the injured along with them into the buildings closest to them. Connor looked in disbelief as they ditched him again. He heard one earth stallion grumble as he was carrying his unconscious son over his back.

“An anti-Celestia rebellion is terrorizing us, and a thing comes crawling into Ponyville. What's next? The Ponyocalypse? What a world...”

A ‘thing’? Connor clenched his fist. Was that blowhard implying that this was his fault? That prick, smart-ass son of a... Screw it. Connor did not bother to fight back. It would be no use to be angry at another pony. That way, trying to be friends with them would be even more difficult, and it was already difficult before. But then again, who said he should be angry back at them? All he had to do was to speak up for himself and proclaim that he had nothing to do with this debacle.

However, he wished to do nothing. He did not want to speak up for himself. What was the point? They were still going to be angry with him anyway. Even if he did speak, they would not even listen. That was what Twilight was there for, right? With her around, he wouldn't have to move a muscle just to get them to like him.

Did that sound kind of lazy? A little selfish?

The human pondered.

No, of course not. She said she was willing to help. It was not like she was being forced to help him...

However, Joshua's voice did not remain silent in his head. "You know I can't do all the work for you. You've got to do things yourself, too. Otherwise, you'll never grow up."

Damn... Why did it have to feel this hard?

A breeze brushed past his shoulder. He flinched in surprise. He saw Fluttershy fly past him to tend to the wounded, that was, if there was anyone left on the street.

She looked around for anypony to tend to, but nopony was present. She had her small first aid ready to go, but everypony was gone. The streets were empty as a cookie jar, except for the sprouting smoke and oblivion. By the way she had the look in her eyes and carried that first aid kit in her mouth, she looked so eager to help. She looked like a happy dog who just retrieved a stick for its owner after he or she ditched it. She landed on her haunches and hung her head, sighing sadly through the box handle in her mouth.

The poor thing flew away into the foliage of the forest. Connor looked toward the direction she flew. Twilight and Spike turned back towards the library.

“C’mon, let’s go back home. I don't feel safe out here,” the purple unicorn said.

“Yeah... You go on ahead, Twilight. I’ll catch up with you later,” he said.

Connor walked in a beeline straight toward the direction Fluttershy flew off. He pushed and shoved past low-hanging branches and bushes, not taking his eyes off of the shimmering slits of light just ahead of him.

The slits of light grew taller as he neared them. Just when he reached them, a bright cloud of light flooded his eyes, nearly blinding him. The forest was so thick, that it felt dark as sundown until Connor exited the foliage of trees and leaves. He blinked rapidly, comfortably adjusting his eyes to the light.

Ahead about fifty yards in front of him was a small cottage, decorated with birdhouses, big and small. A little bridge trailed over a little stream that snaked in front of her house. Frogs were lepaing to and fro, on and off of the lily pads that floated in the water. Animals were all over the place: birds, bunnies, squirrels, foxes, chipmunks; he could make a list of the animals he had seen near her house.

He had the growing notion that she was an animal lover. Connor did not mind animal lovers, but he did not like the kind of animal lovers who literally worship animals or treat them too much like humans or people and make themselves subordinate to them. “Hardcore animal lovers” were what he called them. That put him off so much. However, the look of his surroundings seemed to say that she just takes care of them. Nothing really extreme or hardcore. He crept up to the cottage, careful not to scare off the animals. The animals backed away from him, but never ran off. Pretty brave and less judgmental animals... He peeked through the window to see if the pegasus was inside. She was not.

The human sighed through his nose. Bummer. He was disappointed that he would not get to see her, but, maybe he could see her next time.

He turned back around to leave, until something caught his ear. It sounded nothing like a branch snapping or an animal chittering. No, it sounded much more lovely than that.

What is that? Connor wondered, mesmerized by the sound. He leaned around, trying to get a more in-depth sound of it.

It sounded like singing. No, it sounded like an angel singing. It was coming from behind another patch of forest. As he pushed through it, the sound grew louder and louder, filling his ears with vocal sweetness. He reached the light on the other side.

There, sitting on a small slope at the edge of the wood looking out to a vast grassy field was Fluttershy. Connor smiled because she was exactly who he wanted to see. The little yellow pegasus was sitting under the shade of a tree, singing to the birds with a really sweet voice. The human was attracted to it like a sailor to a siren, only the siren was sweet and gentle and not a man-eating demon. He walked slowly up to her. She was oblivious to the figure walking up next to her, because she was still singing away. Connor cleared his throat silently.

“Hey.”

"Eep!" she squeaked in surprise, startling the birds. They flew back into the tree, deep into the leaves and branches. She turned toward the voice and squeaked again. She ducked her head between her shoulders and blushed. Connor flinched in surprise.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t…I…um…I didn’t mean to scare you. I just-I just wanted to say ‘hello’, but I guess I came at the wrong time, so I guess I-I’ll just…”

Blushing, the human whipped around to leave, striking his forehead repeatedly. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! he screamed in his mind.

"No!" Fluttershy squeaked.

Connor whipped around in surprise. The yellow pegasus blushed.

"I-I mean, no. It's all right. I... I wasn't really doing anything at the moment. Well, I was, until you came. N-not like it's your fault, but, I... I... How polite of you to say 'hello'..." she stammered, whispering at the latter. She squeaked in defeat.

"Oh... Well, okay," the human replied.

Silence lurked between the two beings. The wind that blew from the open fields whisked past them like ghosts. Connor casually turned his head to gaze into the branches of the trees. Speckles of sunlight danced over his facial features, mentally tickling his face. He itched his shoulder with his other hand, even though there was nothing itching him to begin with. He did not want to stand there like a statue just looking at her. He feared it might make her uncomfortable. As for Fluttershy, she allowed the wind to whisk past her, gently making her long, pink, silky mane flow like a curtain. She gently traced the tip of her hoof along the edges of a nearby flower, trying to calm herself with its velvety softness. Even though they did not know that they did it in unison, they both took a deep breath.

"Can (Would) I (you) join (like) you (to join me?)" they both said, their words intertwining with each other.

They both flinched.

"Oh, sorry," they said in unison again.

They flinched once more.

Connor's nose wrinkled and his lips cracked a straining, amused grin. He began to snicker. Seeing the human's amused smile, Fluttershy smiled and blushed. A small giggle wormed its way out of her chest.

"Owe me a Coke," the human said.

"P-pardon?" Fluttershy asked with a curious tilt of the head.

"Oh, it's just a (ahem) a little saying when someone says something in unison with you. I don't know how it came to be, but... it just sticks," he huffed in humor.

"Oh... Okay," she said, smiling weakly.

Connor's nodding came to a close as it trailed off into nothing. "Sooo... Can I join you?"

"Y-yes," she said, hiding behind her shoulder.

He shuffled himself closer to her before slowly sitting down. The blades of soft grass whispered in the wind. He gazed out into the big grass field in front of him. He crept a look at the little pegasus sitting next to him. The way she was sitting on top of the grass made her look like a little sphinx, only her head was crouching bashfully between her shoulders. Her pink, long mane draped on top of her curled forelegs. Connor's eyes darted back to the scenery after he noticed Fluttershy's eyes looking at his. Fluttershy shifted gently in her place, shrinking down a little more.

Connor breathed through his nostrils steadily. Well, this was another opportunity to make friends on his own. Without any help. He felt like he could use it right now.

"Nice weather today..." he said simply.

"Oh, mm-hmm... Yes, it is. Rainbow Dash did a lovely job today arranging the clouds," she spoke softly.

"Yeah, she... did," the human's face twisted. Rainbow Dash made this weather today? M'kay, that's kind of odd. Since when did a pony get to be in charge of the weather? Eh, what the hell...

Silence.

"So, uhhh... Do you come here often?" he asked.

"Yes... O-often," she said, running her hoof through her mane. The hoof seemed to have disappeared into the long, silky strands of her mane like a head lying on top of a pillow.

"That's cool, that's cool..." he nodded.

Damn it! Why was it so hard to talk to her? It was hardly a problem talking to the others, but why was it even harder with her? Sure, she was shy so that it would be hard to engage in a plentiful conversation with her, but why was he struggling so much?

There had to be some sort of topic that would engage them in a longer conversation.

Damn, since when did making friends become this hard?

He pondered.

Then, he thought of what happened earlier, when he saw her fly in to help.

"Hey, uhh..." he said. "That was pretty cool what you did back there... you know, to help with the wounded and all."

"Oh! Um... Think nothing of it," she replied. "I just hate seeing other ponies get hurt, just as much as I hate seeing my little animal friends get hurt. I don't like it when ponies get hurt... No, I hate it when ponies get hurt. It's just so... hurtful."

The human nodded in understanding.

"And what confuses me the most," she continued. "... Is these Dragonfire ponies. Why do they want to hurt these ponies so much? What did we do wrong? Nothing! But... They're still hurting us. It's just so confusing..."

Connor's eyebrows bunched together. The way she emphasized her sentence made him think that that bombing from earlier today was not the first time that those Dragonfire ponies attacked them.

"I know I wish I could do something more to stop these attacks, but all I could do is help those who were hurt. I'm not strong or brave enough to face those awful Dragonfire ponies."

The human nodded in understanding once more.

"However," he said. "What I don't understand is... Well, don't take this the wrong way, but how do you do it? I mean, looking at you, you're really shy.How do you just automatically break out of it and help them like that?"

Fluttershy glanced at him in wondering. At first, she looked as if she offended, which made Connor cringe in discomfort, but instead, she shrugged.

"Well," she began, rocking upward to find a more comfortable position on the ground. "I don't know, really. It's just one of those things about me, I guess. I mean, I'm sure it applies to everypony, doesn't it? Whenever somepony is hurt or sad, you just have to help him or her, no matter what happens or who you are."

Connor's breath drew back silently. It was amazing what he just found out about her. Somepony so shy like her just switching off her bashfulness like it was a light switch whenever somepony was in dire need of assistance amazed him.

Then, he thought of himself back at high school. All of those moments when he would just hide away from the rest of the congregations and groups of schoolmates when he could have stepped out of it and asked to join them. He and Joshua knew that it was not healthy, but why did it feel so relaxing in wanting to be alone? He was hiding in the corner for so long, that everyone's opinion of him grew more negative by the moment. Either they were huge, arrogant blowhards or he was just scared. He was not sure anymore.

"I wish I could do that..." he said, bringing his knees up to his chest.

"D-do what?" Fluttershy asked.

"Approach people like that..."

"People?"

"Well... That's how we say on my world, but in this case, I wish I could approach pones like that. But, I feel like I'm just too big of a coward to do so. I just like being alone. It feels much more peaceful that way. However, it is said over and over that it's not healthy."

"And it isn't," Fluttershy bunched her eyebrows in consent. "That was how I felt before I met Twilight and the others. After meeting them, I realized that being alone is not all that bad at some times, but not all the time. And... and when I mean 'all the time', I mean, forever and ever. That's... a really long time."

"Yeah. It is."

The pegasus blinked before looking back into the patch of grass in front of her. "That is, um... if you don't mind my saying so..."

"Oh, no. I don't mind at all. That's... quite inspirational. Thank you," Connor smiled.

Fluttershy grinned, blushing.

He could feel sparks of hope sprinkle against the walls of his heart. He leaned more onto the slope of the hill and placed his hands firmly against it, bracing himself up with his arms.

"What the--?" he muttered aloud.

He noticed a white slip of smooth, glossy, card-like paper fall out of his pocket. It was folded over in quarters. He slid his finger into one of the lips and began to open it.

"What's this? I don't remember this at all. I--..." The paper was fully unfolded. "Wh--? Huh! I completely forgot about this. This was in my pocket the whole time?"

"What? What was?" the yellow pegasus asked, leaning toward him to get a look.

Imprinted in the piece of paper was a photo of a girl about 18 years of age. Her hair was brown and wavy, adding a wave of attractiveness to her swan-like neck, her smooth cheeks, her thick eyelashes, sharp eyebrows, and glossy lips. Her seductive sea-blue eyes stared into his soul.

"Who's that? Is that a girl?" the yellow pony asked.

"Yeah. She's from my school back at home. I thought I'd lost this."

Fluttershy's head leaned closer toward the image of the brown-haired beauty, getting a closer look. "She looks very pretty. She looks like she's nice, too."

A deep scoff whispered from behind Connor's teeth. "Yeah... 'Nice'."

Fluttershy shrank back after getting a glimpse of his cold stare. "I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't-- I didn't mean to make you mad. I just-- Oh, dear..."

The human snapped out of his cold stare after hearing her voice growing in fright. He waved his hands, coaxing her. "Oh, no! No! No, it's not you. It has nothing to do with you. It's just... really ironic."

He looked at the photo again.

"I thought she was the most beautiful of all the girls I have laid my eyes on. The hair, the body, the way she walks, talks, sits, stands... She looked fantastic. I was head over heels for her. I couldn't stop chasing after her."

Fluttershy nodded over the growing sadness in her heart. The way he was talking and fantasizing over this girl made her feel hurt. So much for hoping that he might like her back.

Connor continued. "I even thought, 'Hey! If she looks nice, maybe she is nice, too! I'll just go on right ahead and talk with her!'. Ugh... Was I foolish to even think that."

"What happened?"

"What happened repeatedly... After all of those times I've tried to talk with her, I realized she was nothing more than just an insolent, conceited bi--."

He stopped short of his statement. His eyes shifted to glance at the cuddly, yellow face of the little pegasus gazing at him. Her turquoise eyes were overflowing with delicate and fragile innocence, making it a real damn shame to break by uttering a profanity in front of it. He was sure as hell he did not want to do that. Not in front of such an innocent pony like Fluttershy.

"...Meanie," he finished. "Insolent, conceited meanie."

"Oh..." she lowered her head apologetically. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, it's fine. I had to find out soon enough. Otherwise, I would have been no better than her." He slumped over his knees. "Ugh, why do the really hot ones always have to be so ironic like that?"

Fluttershy stared at the ground in front of her. She felt pretty offended by his little theory. Her friends always said to her that she was pretty and beautiful, even though she would humbly argue that she was not, but she was definitely certain that she was not mean or whatever Connor said about that brown-haired girl.

"Well," she said, rocking in her place a little. "Not all pretty girls are mean. There are girls out there who are really pretty and really nice at the same time."

The human nodded, staring out into the fields. "That's true. Problem is, that they're so freaking rare."

"B-but that's part of the, um, journey, right? Finding the perfect one for you? Well, it-it may not be fun at times, but the end is always worth it. That is, um, if you mind my saying so. I'm just telling you what my mother told me when I was a little filly."

"I don't mind," he shook his head. "She's right. That's the kind of thing my mom would tell me as well. I was just too blind to realize it at first. Ugh... Why couldn't I meet her sooner?"

"I'm sure she'll come around soon," she smiled shyly. "It just takes patience. I know I'm pretty good at that. N-not like I'm bragging or anything, it's just... er... Mmyeah..."

Her head shrank between her shoulders as she squeaked.

"Oh, by the way," Connor said as he turned to face her. "I also want to thank you for what you did yesterday."

"For what?"

"For... Um... Tending to my arm. It feels much better now. Much better than it used to be yesterday."

The little butter-colored pony blushed, ducking shyly. "Oh! Well, um... You're welcome. I'm glad I was able to help."

The human shifted in his place to find a more comfortable spot on the ground to place his rear. "No, I really, really appreciate what you did. No girl has ever done something like that to me for such a long while. It felt really... refreshing."

"I'm glad I was able to help that, too," she smiled. Her entire face was focused on him.

She felt an urge to stretch her wings after they had been folded for so long. Once she opened them, they felt something stop them halfway. Startled, her head turned to her right wing to find it pressing against Connor's side. Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed in surprise. Since when did she sit this close next to him? She was sure she was about an open wing and a half away from him when he sat down next to her.

Connor was surprised as well. "Whoa, whoops. Sorry about that, I-I'll just scoot the other way to give you--."

"No, no, it's fine! Honest! I'll just scoot instead," she stopped him.

"No, you just stay there. I'll just move back a little."

"No, it's my fault. I just somehow..."

She felt something rub against her rump. Squeaking in fright, she hopped into the air and instantly shifted quickly to the human's side, wrapping her forelegs around him and shaking furiously.

"Wh-wh-what's that?? S-s-something touched me!" she trembled.

Then, she noticed a single leaf hover in the air right about where she was sitting. It fell harmlessly on top of the flattened blades of grass.

"Oh, thank goodness!" she sighed in relief. "I thought that was something different. Like a spider or a drag--."

She stopped to realize that her arms were still wrapped tightly around Connor. Her entire face grew pink and she let go instantly, crouching in shame.

"I'm sorry... I-I-I didn't know I was... Oh, dear! I feel so silly..."

The human was speechless.

She just hugged him.

Out of fear.

When was the last time a girl hugged him because she was afraid and in need of someone to be close to?

"Um, uh... Er... N-no problem," he stammered. "You're, uhh... Pretty warm."

"(Squeak!)" was all she could say at the moment. "W-well... Y-you're pretty warm, too..."

"Thanks..."

An awkward silence loomed in the air.

...

Connor's nose twisted. His lips trembled as a smirk grew on his face.

Fluttershy's frown slowly turned into a smile. Her cheeks grew tight.

"Heh... Heh heh!" the human chortled.

"Hm... hm hm!" the little pegasus tittered.

"Heh heh heh!"

"Hee hee hee!"

"Baha!"

"Hee hee!"

"BA-Ha ha ha ha ha!" the human laughed.

"Ha ha ha ha!" giggled the yellow pegasus.

The two were engaged in a battle and banter of laughter, which rung throughout the once peaceful, silent. gentle air of the solitary grass fields. Then, it died down into chuckles and titters, leaving a smiling couple of opposite beings sitting on a hill slope.

Then, the human had let out a mighty yawn. Out of all the laughs he had done, this one seemed to have completely wiped him out. He slumped his back onto the slope of the hill and folded his hands on top of his stomach.

Fluttershy blinked repeatedly, trying her best to keep them open. A coat of fatigue fell onto her shoulders, causing her head to nod. Her mouth opened to let out a silent yawn. She felt as drained as Connor did after all of that laughter. She rolled on her haunches, flipping herself over onto her back. Then, she rolled onto her side, facing toward the weary human.

From her eyes, two planes of darkness neared each other, trying to separate the human from her sight. She did not want to sleep just yet. Her wet eyes strained as they fought against the eyelids' will to close. She did not wish to take her sight off of the sleeping human.

He's wonderful. Even when he is not a pony... She'll come around soon? she thought with the remaining brain power she had available before her sleep. I think... I think she just did... Oh, I hope he thinks the same way...

Her mind soared away into her dreams.

What is wrong with me? Connor thought behind his closed eyes. Why am I feeling this way... around a pony? This shouldn't be happening... This is freaking crazy... This doesn't feel normal at all...

His breaths became deeper.

What the hell are you talking about? None of this is normal. This place... This populace... Fluttershy... It's not every day that a girl shows utmost interest in you. Plus, she's a really nice person, I mean, pony. You'd better embrace it while it lasts...

He nodded.

I might actually enjoy it here... he thought before his mind shut off into a deep sleep.

The red-cloaked pegasus landed in front of a dark forest. He walked past a sign that read “Everfree Forest: Danger! Enter at Your Own Risk!”

He pushed past low-hanging branches and vines, being careful not to tug his cloak on any of them. The air felt thick like oil from all the humidity.

As he continued to walk, a scent reached his nose. It smelled of noxious gas and really old and aged muck. He knew he was close. He brushed past the foliage until the passage opened, revealing a wide and vast swamp. Brown, haggard plants tickled the muddy surfaces of the muddy water. Dragonflies darted to and fro over the filthy water. One of them was caught by a frog.

"No way I'm going to be walking through this dump," muttered the pegasus.

Before he was about to fly over it, something erupted from underneath the surface of the murky waters. A creature with four heads and long serpent-like necks towered over the pegasus, who was standing calmly in his place. Its piercing roar cracked through the air, scaring away all of nature that was near it. One of the heads turned to see the stallion standing near them. The other heads followed suit. They charged at the pegasus, licking its chops.

Suddenly, the creature’s heads were stopped about one inch in front of the unfazed stallion. It growled frustratingly as it tried to inch closer just to get its prey, but it did not budge. It looked behind itself to find large chains attached to solid metal collars around each neck.

The stallion snorted and pulled out a slice of raw steak from his sling bag. He tossed it over to the creature and its heads fought each other, trying to get the biggest chunk out of the treat. The stallion spat out the raw juice of meat and flew over the thrashing creature to the other side of the bog. There, in front of him, was a cave entrance with two other red-cloaked ponies standing in front of it.

“You fed it?” the red-claoked mare asked.

“Yeah, but it isn’t enough. It would eat itself if it had to.”

“That’s the point. The less we give it, the more it craves for more.”

“Yeah,” the third grinned evilly. “More pony meat. It’s its favorite kind.”

“When we release it into Ponyville, it will eat plenty. Hopefully, it would still have enough room for the main entrée, after all.”

“Princess Celestia will be quite a tasty meal for him," the pegasus smirked. "I guarantee that she will. She is royal meat, after all.”

“That is, if we don’t reach her first.”

“If so we kill her first, we’ll just give him the rest of Ponyville. That’s going to be a lot of leftovers for later.”

They all chortled as they disappeared into the thick blackness of the cave.

As they reached the edge of the cave, there was a single stone that lied on the floor. It had an emblem of an eye engraved on it. The pegasus pushed it down like a button, and the wall opened up, revealing another entrance, which led to a long, cylindrical, stone tunnel with a orange glow coming from the other side. At the end of the tunnel was a vast, tall cavern with massive columns. In the middle of the cavern, a huge goblet of orange and red fire burned, giving the entire cavern its only source of light. At the other end of the cavern was a tall, stone throne. On it sat a tall pony with a blood-red cloak with a greater amount of golden flourishes. Plus, they made a more ghastly and whip-like design. His hood looked like the open maw of a dragon, looking more gruesome than the other ponies’. Two guards stood at both of his sides.

The trio of ponies stood in front of the throne and knelt on all fours.

“Lord Hellfire,” the pegasus spoke. “I’m sure that these two have told you about the unicorn, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Indeed,” the stallion said in a low, smooth voice. “So she has the ability to communicate with Princess Celestia personally. That is a good asset, indeed."

“Yes, my lord. It is. The better the assets, the better chance we get to achieving our goal, the one you had set up for this ring: to kill Princess Celestia and take the throne. Oh... Um, my lord. May I speak freely?"

"You shall."

"Yes," the pegasus said before clearing his throat. "Earlier today, over Ponyville, I saw something very peculiar. Something that I had never seen before. Maybe something that the world has never seen before even."

The other two ponies kneeling next to him subtly shifted their sight to their winged comrade in the middle in interest.

"Go on, Captain, unless this is just some unnecessary census information," Hellfire purred menacingly.

The pegasus continued. "I saw... a pony. Well, at least I think is it a pony. This pony stands on two legs, and it doesn’t have fur or scales. It’s just flesh. It has a mane, but no tail. I would like to say that it has claws, but there were nothing sharp on them. My Lord, this is unlike anything I've ever seen in my life. Even if it is a pony, I have to say it’s a really ugly one."

“Interesting…” Hellfire scratched his chin with his orange hoof. He sat silently in his throne for about seven seconds before he stood up. “However, it is not of importance. It won't do anything to interfere with our plan. Pony or not, its fate will be like the rest of the ponies in all of Equestria. As considerate as you are to notify me about this new creature, you mustn't frustrate me with useless details. Then again, that was what made you my captain. Always filled with details."

“Indeed, my Lord. It is a great honor to be serving you.”

“I am pleased to hear that.”

"So, Lord Hellfire," the stallion bowed again. "Now that we have known about our leverage, what of our next attack? When will it commence?"

The leader took out a small scroll from underneath his cloak and slid it up to the kneeling stallion. It stopped just in front of the stallion's sight and it unraveled, revealing a colorful poster with the image of Princess Celestia flying on a horse-drawn chariot.

"Princess Celestia's Annual Royal Visit will commence in two days. We will attack then."

“But, my lord, the royal guards will be extra vigilant. They know of our last attacks, sir, so they have gotten wiser. They will be spread all over Ponyville. Our chances will be slim.”

"Are you doubting me, captain?" he said menacingly as he slowly turned to the kneeling pegasus. "Are you assuming that I don't have a plan for this? You know how I feel about those who question me..."

Hellfire descended the stairs that resided in front of the throne, walking menacingly closer to the stallion, who tensed up in fear.

“It drives me…” he growled, unsheathing a sword from under his cloak with his magic. Its blade was long and coarsely jagged like it was struck mightily against dragon scales. It floated over the back of the captain’s neck, ready to spear down on top of it. The pegasus' breaths became more shallow.

“…To kill,” the merciless leader finished his sentence.

“I will…” the stallion gulped. “...Bite…my own tongue…my lord.”

“Bite it hard, captain. You will lose track of it... Or I will lose track of you."

His blade sung in the air as it turned back up from the captain's neck. The captain sighed in relief, thankful for his life being spared by his apology.

However, Hellfire did not want the lesson to go unlearned. He struck the butt-end of the sword handle on top of the captain's head, sending the captain sprawling on the ground in pain. The pegasus twisted and turned in pain.

The leader looked up to the rest of his subjects in the cavern in front of him.

“Princess Celestia will pay for her crimes and burn... by Dragonfire!" he roared.

The subjects shouted in response to his or her leader's call.

To be continued….