//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: The Blessing and the Curse // by Equestria Buck Yeah //------------------------------// Far below Rainbow Dash sat her friends, camped out beside the Blazer and its domicile. Matt was still showing what his phone thing could do for the uninitiated. While she was curious if he was explaining to them anything she hadn't seen yet, she needed to keep an eye out for the Princesses. It had been about a half hour since Twilight got in touch with them at the library, stressing the urgency of the situation and where they could find her and her friends. A few minutes later, a long pair of figures, seemingly on their way to the heart of town, took shape in the distance. Certain it was them, Rainbow sped off to meet them halfway. After a moment, sure enough, two chariots, its riders and their royal guards came into clear view. "Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!" "Rainbow Dash! So nice to see you," Celestia said with a smile. "We received Twilight's letter." Luna spoke up. "She said something dire was the matter but she didn't go into much detail. What seems to be the problem?" The young pegasus cocked her head back to the house. "It's over this way. Follow me." The guards banked softly to the right, following Rainbow Dash several paces behind. While the chariots trailed, the Princesses glanced to the ground, looking for any strange developments but fortunately finding none. The mysterious house eventually appeared before them, but the sight of it wasn't what caught them off-guard – the odd, red chariot beside it did. As the royal guards circled around to land, Matt and the girls got to their feet with Rainbow landing beside them. The royal sisters dismounted and trotted over to their subjects, who had taken the time to bow as they approached, including Matt. Though it had been a little while since he had seen either of them, he still felt it necessary to follow the standard customs. "Come now, girls, you know you don't have to do that. Nor do you, Matt," Celestia declared. "Oh, err...sorry," Matt mumbled. "No need to apologize." Luna stepped around their hosts and up to the vehicle, running a curious hoof along its side. "Is this what you were referring to in your letter?" "Not entirely," the human interjected. He held the iPhone up for the Princesses, allowing a midnight blue glow to take it from him. "A.J.'s little sister found that outside of school a few days ago. Now the house here is the newest thing on the list." Luna and Celestia shared a concerned look and skimmed over the building. "What exactly do you mean?" the dark princess asked. Matt pursed his lips. "These things are...from my old home, the house and that thing you're holding. I have no idea how they got here or why they're here to begin with." "You don't think that he's...returned, do you?" Luna muttered to her sister. "I don't think so," Matt answered for her. "It's what I thought too, but if it was him, we'd know. Plus...well, sharing a mind with him, even if it was only for a few minutes, was...educational, to say the least." "How so?" "I know for a fact that when Discord brought me here, there wasn't a back door or a plan B involved anywhere. The main reason I don't think this has anything to do with him." The phone slowly spun around as the sisters meticulously examined the foreign object, thinking hard on what Matt told them. They had been well aware of what he went through months ago after everything had been said and done. While they had known Discord and his methods for millennia, no one had a more hands-on experience with him as their human friend did. "That does make a lot of sense," Celestia said. "I still can't imagine what an ordeal that must have been for you. Do any affects...still linger at all?" Luna timidly asked. She understood all too well what it must have been like for Matt to have been pushed to the brink of madness. He sighed under his breath. Even thinking about such things after so long made him uneasy. "Here and there. Mostly memories, a few bad dreams. Nothing I can't deal with." "Are you sure, Matt?" Celestia asked, an almost motherly concern in her eyes. "You know if something is ever troubling you, you don't have to be afraid to come to any of us here for help. It's the least we can do after everything that's happened." "I know. Thanks." With a pair of warm smiles, the sisters returned their attention to the unusual object floating before them in Luna's magical grip. "What exactly is this anyway?" "A long-range communication device among other things." "And it was found outside the school in town?" "Mhm. I went down there to see if there was anything weird going on but there wasn't. Twilight looked it over for me too to see if there were any traces of magic or something on it. She didn't find anything," Matt explained. "Maybe you two can?" "I suppose we can try," Celestia said. She and Luna turned to each other and nodded. The Solar Princess' horn lit brightly beside her younger sister's, and their eyes turned wholly white. They focused their magic on the phone, causing it to glow as they cast a spell similar to the one they used when confirming Discord's spirit had been purged from Matt's body so many months ago. A moment went by before their magic dissipated and their pupils returned. "Any luck?" "I'm sorry, Matt. I couldn't find anything," the elder sister replied. "Nor could I," Luna added. "Eh, was worth a shot." The Princesses returned their sights to the face of the device, noting the names of the small pictures on it. "Calendar, map, compass, photos, reminders...this thing seems like it could be quite handy," the young alicorn commented, giving it back to its adopted owner. "Heh, you have no idea. I don't suppose you could check the car here, could you?" he asked, thumbing over to the Blazer. Like two sharks closing in on their prey, Celestia and Luna cautiously circled around the Chevy, studying the unusual contours and designs. The white alicorn noted the large wheels, asking, "I take it that this is a form of transportation?" "Yep. I don't suppose you want to go for a spin?" Matt joked. He looked in through the window, remembering how crammed in Applejack and the rest were. "Could you even fit inside? I mean, you are a bit bigger than the girls here." Celestia lifted an eyebrow and smirked at the human. "Are you implying that I'm fat?" He rolled his eyes. "Yes, that's exactly it. If you got any bigger, I could play a movie on your flank," he said dryly. "Matt! You don't say something like that to the Princess!" Applejack scolded. "I've been telling her that for months myself," Luna wisecracked. The solar princess couldn't help but let out a chuckle, coming to a stop by the passenger's side of the vehicle opposite her sister. "Oh, it's alright, I know he's just teasing! In all seriousness though, there are more important things to worry about right now than going for a spin, as you put it. Shall we, Luna?" Nodding, their long horns came alive again, bathing the Blazer in a soft light. Several minutes ticked by as the Princesses did a detailed search over every inch of the SUV. Eventually, the shine died down, the overhead sun being the only reason any light was still shimmering off the car. "Any luck?" The Princesses shook their heads, making Matt grunt in annoyance. "I guess we should double-check the house then. I gotta warn you," he said as he headed toward the front door, "it's hot as Hell in there. I don't suppose any of you know how to make it snow indoors?" "As useful as that may or may not be, we'll probably be too focused on trying to find the possible source of the problem to be concerned with the temperature," Twilight spoke up, glaring at Matt. "I'm afraid she's right," Celestia added. "If something's suddenly causing things from your old home to arrive here in Equestria – especially without Discord being the culprit – we have to be thorough in our investigation. There could be something even more serious going on now than when you first arrived here." "Eh, okay," he grunted. "Oh, Twilight, can I ask a favor once we're inside? I had to bust a small hole in the window there in order to unlock the door. You'll see the glass on the floor. Are you able to put it back together by any chance?" "Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem." "Alright, cool." As Matt opened the door, he pointed to the debris on the floor for the mares. No reason for any of them to step on the shards and hurt themselves. "Here, watch out." As he stepped over them, the fragments sparkled purple and floated over to the hole he mentioned, eventually putting themselves back together like pieces of a puzzle. With the immediate but simple threat out of the way, most of the group headed straight for the entertainment center, just as fascinated by it as Rainbow originally was though not everypony was as equally interested in the gadgets. "Yeesh, you weren't kidding. It's incredibly stuffy in here," Rarity complained, popping a small fan into existence to fight off the beads of sweat already forming on her slender neck. "I don't suppose this place has a refrigerator with some cold drinks in it, does it?" "They're not cold anymore, I can tell you that much," Matt replied, forcing a whine from the posh unicorn. Celestia and Luna crept by the strange electronics, their regal horns shining prominently in the shaded living room. They too were curious and intrigued by the technology surrounding them, but first things first – check for any unusual magical activity. Twilight had also stepped up to help scan over the residence now that the window was fixed. "Princesses, if you want, when you're done here in the living room, we can check the bedrooms and such, see if you find anything there," Matt suggested. "Twilight, want to check the dining room and kitchen in the meantime?" "Sure." "Cool. Rainbow, while we're doing all that, you think you can answer any questions about this stuff they may have?" "I can try," she said, rubbing her hoof on her neck as she flew in place. "I mean, you really didn't show me everything." "Eh, you'll be fine. If it's about something you don't know, just tell me when we're done." "Okay." With that settled, Celestia took the lead down the hallway, heading straight for the master bedroom at the end of the long corridor while Luna inspected the bathroom and linen closet only a few steps away. Matt decided to stick with the lunar princess, who quickly found nothing and decided to move on. Once the two arrived in the son's room, Luna grimaced as she looked around at the numerous machines and electronics. The small room looked to have even more stuff than the main living area. Matt sat on the bed and played with the guitar again while Luna gradually glossed over everything in sight. She picked up what she thought to be the most unusual item in the room – the son's PlayStation 3 controller. She had already seen a few things that had screens just like the small device Matt carried with him, so she paid them little mind at this point. The computer's keyboard looked similar enough to a typewriter that she assumed its purpose, and while the stereo didn't have a turntable like the one the DJ used at the royal wedding some time ago, its speakers told her enough of the story. She wanted to ask her human friend what all the little sticks and buttons were for but decided against it, setting the plastic thing back down and resuming her search in the closet. In the meantime, Twilight's examination of the dining area and kitchen was proving just as fruitless, and her friends' interests had spread out to other parts of the house. Pinkie Pie and Applejack took to the kitchen appliances mostly, curious as to how different things were back where Matt came from. Strangely, there were only a few things they didn't recognize, such as the microwave. Rarity and Rainbow Dash had stepped outside to get out of the sweltering heat for a few minutes. Fluttershy poked at the fake plants in the corners of the room, puzzled by how and why somepony would make such things. It didn't take long for Pinkie to get bored of looking at ovens and refrigerators that she already knew about, so she decided to check out the pantries. A shiny aluminum bag stuck out in the first one she opened. The crinkling sounds it made as she pulled it out told the pink mare that she may have found some chips. She slid off the strange plastic clasp and unrolled the bag. "Dor...eye-toss Cool Ranch," she mistakenly read. As Pinkie popped it open, the delicious scent raced up her snout and hit her like a freight train. "Whoa! Applejack, smell this!" "Uh, what?" Her friend's ear-to-ear grin gave her pause, but Pinkie did know a thing or two about tasty treats. Eh, what harm could taking a whiff do? "Hm, that does smell pretty good." The two reached in and each took out a single, triangular chip, eyeing the red and green specks curiously. With a shrug, they tossed the snacks into their mouths. "Wow, that's some good stuff!" Pinkie Pie, however, was not so talkative. Her eyes had ballooned to ridiculous proportions after only a bite, an orgy of flavor dancing along her tongue. She needed more! Before her country friend could ask for another, she buried her face in the bag, gobbling up everything in her greedy mouth's path. While Pinkie was receiving a glare for her inconsiderateness, Twilight had opened the door to the dark garage, barely able to see more than a few feet in front of her. "Uh, Matt? You got a second?" she hollered. As he arrived from the hallway, he immediately noticed what the unicorn was up to. "Ah, yeah. Stay right there, be just a minute," he stated, heading to the front door and leaving a perplexed Twilight standing there waiting. Before long, a loud, squeaky groan made her jump in surprise only for a blast of sunlight to reveal the inner workings of the garage. The bizarre noises attracted Pinkie, Applejack and Fluttershy over as well. "I'm assuming this is what you needed?" "Yes, thank you. I didn't feel like tripping over anything in here if I could help it." "Yeah, I already did that once today myself," Matt muttered. "I'm going to go see how the Princesses are doing. Let me know if you need something else." "Will do!" As Matt stepped back into the kitchen, he noticed the bag of chips crumpled into a ball on the counter. He knew he saw it in the cabinet earlier when it was just Rainbow Dash and himself wandering through the place, but he didn't bother to have any at the time. His stomach decided to take that moment to remind him that he hadn't eaten anything yet, even though the blue bag had severely tempted him. "Hey, what happened to the Doritos?" he called out, not receiving a response in return. A bit annoyed now, he marched back to the doorway with the bag in hand. "Girls, this was half full before. What happened?" Though it was difficult for her to make eye contact, Pinkie eventually gave the hungry man an apologetic smile. He was not amused. "You ate them all, didn't you?" When she regretfully turned away, he stomped back inside mumbling, "Goddammit." With a toss of the trash back onto the counter from whence it came, Matt proceeded to the hallway again. Hopefully the Princesses would be nearly finished with their tasks. His concerns were answered when he found both of them examining the guest room. "Anything?" A silent moment went by before either replied. "I'm afraid not," Celestia said, frowning. "I found nothing either." "Great," Matt sighed. "I don't think Twilight's had any luck either. She hasn't said anything, at least. You have any questions as far as any of the technology you saw?" "I had a few, but they can wait for now," Luna said. "Is there anything else that needs to be done here?" "Mmm, not really. Let's just head out. No reason to stay now." The royal sisters followed Matt through the house and back out the front door, nervously looking over their surroundings as they went. The fact that they were unable to find any answers to this new, strange occurrence troubled them deeply. They'd seen many odd things over their long lives, up to and including the introduction of a new alien species to their home, but even Matt's appearance had an explanation after a while. Being at a complete loss was a foreign concept to the Princesses, one they hoped they wouldn't get used to. Celestia closed the door behind them as the trio stepped outside into a refreshing gust of wind. Beside the Blazer sat Twilight and the others, the young student seemingly finished with her own inspection of the grounds. After a quick double-check that everypony was outside, Matt sauntered over to the garage and sealed it up. "No luck?" he asked Twilight. She shook her head. "No luck." He leaned with his back against the car, put a leg up and rubbed his forehead, a frustrated groan escaping his lungs. "Another dead end. I really hope that doesn't continue to be the case if even more things start showing up." A moment of silent contemplation later, Fluttershy asked what was on all their minds. "So, what do we do now?" "We keep in tight contact and inform each other if more objects from Matt's old world appear. We couldn't determine the source of this problem here, and until we can figure out what's going on, I suspect things are only going to get worse before they get better," Celestia suggested. "I would also recommend that, no matter how large or small the things may be, you give them a thorough examination, Twilight Sparkle," Luna remarked. "Just because we haven't found anything now doesn't mean something else won't reveal the solution later." "It would be nice if we actually had the opportunity to see something appear right in front of us. Maybe there would be enough residual energies leftover for us to examine, provided there's any to begin with." "Maybe. In any case, don't be hesitant to ask for our assistance if you need it. We'll also let you know if we need to see you about something," the solar princess declared, turning to Luna. "We should probably go through our archives again just to see if we missed something from when Matt arrived." "Indeed." She addressed her sister's young student. "It would be wise for you to do the same." "That's what I was thinking too. We should get started right away," Twilight said as she got to her hooves. "That we should. It was nice seeing you all again." With a smile upon their cheeks, despite the pressing situation, the Princesses turned to their patiently-waiting chariots only for Celestia to stop after a few paces. A sudden question nagged hard on her mind as she pondered a few potential solutions on the way to her ride back to Canterlot. "Matt? May I ask you something before we go?" He only had the chance to open a single car door before he was interrupted. Applejack was halfway to her seat but hopped back out anyway. No reason to sit in the car without that wonderful air conditioning cooling her off. Besides, when Celestia spoke, one tended to listen. "Yeah, what's up?" The elder alicorn sat down gently on the grass, her question giving her obvious pause. It was a simple question that she had, just one that was difficult to put into words. "Let's say that...we figure out what's going on. There's a...hole or portal linking our worlds and a simple spell can fix it, but...the things that are here now need to have this spell cast on them in order to send them back as well." "I think I know what you want to ask," he interrupted. "We know it was Discord the first time. If this is actually something you can fix on your own...would I want to go back?" Relieved that she didn't have to take fifteen minutes to get to the point, she nodded. Up until then, Matt really hadn't thought about such a thing. Ever since he saw the iPhone, he was more concerned with how and why everything was happening then instead of when he first showed up more than anything. He shook his head and shrugged at the Princess. "I don't know. I'd gotten kind of used to not having all these toys and stuff around–" He nodded over at the house. "–and I'm not going to deny that, with it being here, that I haven't wanted to play with it all. At the same time...well, I've probably been declared dead over there. If I went back, I can't imagine how difficult it'd be for me to get my life back in order. Yeah, my friends and family are there, but what do I tell them when they ask where I've been? I got sucked across time and space by some mutant-looking thing to a world with talking ponies? Pfff, I'd be locked up so fast, it'd make your head spin. "Let's face it, you've all been really good to me and, well, after being here for so long I think I can say that, aside from him, things seem a hell of a lot nicer here than they were back home. I don't know, maybe it was just the way they did the news or something, but every other day it sounded like some idiot was doing something stupid that made you want to punch him in the face. I'm not saying shitty stuff doesn't happen here from time to time, but you guys seem to be able to deal with it and move on with your lives instead of dwelling on it like most people tended to, and I like that." "But it is still technically your home," Celestia added. "Yeah," he sighed. "Perhaps what you need is just the right reason to stay, hm? You know, something you haven't thought of," Rarity remarked, nudging him on the leg. She then smiled at Applejack, who she correctly assumed was looking straight at her after saying such a thing. The farmer's big green eyes begged her not to say anything further. "Heh, like what?" "Err...oh, I don't know, but it's possible something you just can't say no to will come up eventually." He rolled his eyes at the unicorn and turned his attention back to the Princess. "We'll see. Anyway, I think it's probably best I worry about that once we've figured this all out." "I understand. Just know that, whichever way to decide to choose, you've been a welcome addition to Equestria, and we appreciate everything you've done for us," Celestia said, smiling warmly. "Jeez, cut out the mushy stuff, will ya?" he moaned in embarrassment. "Curious, what happens if you can...plug the hole or whatever but what's here now is stuck? You think you'll have some of your scientists try and duplicate the stuff?" The ivory alicorn stood up tall and shrugged. "I'm not sure. The technology in that house would be quite the radical advancement for Equestria. I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." "Fair enough." "Well, we should be going. You all take care. We'll be in touch." As the royal sisters trotted over to their chariots and headed back to Canterlot, Matt and the others hopped back in the car. "You guys want me to drop you all off back home?" "Yeah, that works." "Sure." "Okay." "Alright, I'll start at the library and work my way around town. Oh, if you have any questions about any of the stuff you saw in there, feel free to ask." ----- The rest of the day and the following evening came and went without incident. As much as he tried, Matt couldn't help but worry that Twilight was about to come banging on his door at any minute with some more bad news. He was able to distract himself for a while by organizing the CDs, but once he was done, aside from the fact that it was getting close to dinner, his nerves made his stomach ache. His food hadn't sat too well with him until long after he was asleep – not that his stress levels allowed him to eat much to begin with. His last minute shower before bed did little for his as well. Just like the previous day, he had forgotten to have his alarm set to go off, resulting in another late start. Fortunately, being Saturday, he didn't have any scheduled jobs to take care of; the soonest one he had was on Tuesday when Sea Swirl needed a foalsitter and couldn't get anyone else. Either way, that night he had plans and no doubt they'd help ease his troubles away. As he finished up in the bathroom and began getting dressed, there came a knock at the door. After clumsily hopping into his shorts, he hobbled half-awake to see who was paying him a visit. As soon as he saw his three broadly-smiling guests, he knew exactly why they were there and perked up instantly. Even though he looked more forward to that night, this would certainly be a good way to start the mind-clearing process. He invited Rainbow, Pinkie and Vinyl in and excused himself to grab a shirt, offering them full access to the fridge in the meantime. With his shoes and socks on, he poked through his borrowed music collection and selected several discs he thought his guests would like. Satisfied with his choices, he grabbed his wallet and keys and they stepped outside to where the red machine sat. Not wanting to suffocate in the car, he popped the tailgate and all the doors to let any cool gusts of wind through. Even though the air conditioning would be great, he'd have to turn the engine on to get the full effect and conserving gas was one of his top priorities. He knew eventually he'd run out, but the longer he could stretch it out, the better. Vinyl insisted they go out to grab lunch at her expense. Despite not wanting to drive there, it didn't take much convincing on the DJ's part. After all, they could listen to more music on the way! Ah well. So much for conserving gas. At least he was allowed to shut the engine off while they sat and talked. Once lunch was over, they had returned back to Matt's place to listen to some more tunes in relative peace though not all the passersby held the same enthusiasm for the ruckus blaring from the speakers. It felt like only a few minutes went by by the time Matt realized half the day had disappeared. Yikes! He had to start getting ready for his early dinner with A.J.! After the final track had faded away, he ejected the disc and killed the power to the stereo, much to the disappointment of the loud trio. "Sorry, girls. I got some plans tonight. Need to get started on them," he explained. "Awww! Oh well. As much as I'd like it to, the fun can't last forever!" Pinkie said, bouncing out of the tailgate. "I gotta say, that 'fight for your right to party' song was great! Mmph, yeah, those guys know what I like!" "Hay yeah, it was! We gotta do this again soon!" Rainbow cheered. "Let me look over my calendar and I'll see what I can do." "Awesome!" "Matt, matt, come here," Vinyl said as the others headed home, resting a hoof on his back. "Listen, bro, it ain't hard for me to listen to something a few times and get the beat down in my head. Hearing that stuff over the speakers down at the club would be so off the hook! You provide the music and I'll remix it like a pro! We could make such a killing off the record sales, you'd never have to work another day in your life again! We split the profits right down the middle, fifty-fifty! What do you say?" "What about the people who made the music in the first place?" She lowered her glasses and smirked at him. "Hey, how're they going to know?" He pursed his lips after a moment in response. As long as Los Angeles didn't land in their lap, he supposed there was no harm in it. "Ehh, let me think about it, okay?" "Dude! What's to think about?" "Come on, Vinyl." "Haha, okay, okay! Just let me know when you're doing this again, I'm so there!" "I'll have Pinkie remind you." "Sweet! See you then!" With a wave goodbye, the wild DJ headed home, likely to gush to her roommate about the amazing time she had. Now that his impromptu concert was complete, he needed a shower. ----- Once he was out the door again, he suspected that he'd find Applejack down at the market getting ready to put away her produce for the day in a little while. Needless to say, he knew her pretty well. Plus, being able to park the car basically anywhere he wanted was pretty cool too. A distinct growling sound made the farmer turn her head. Several feet away, the Blazer came to a stop, making her stomach turn yet again. It had been a while since the two of them had gone on what Rarity would probably call a date. She had thought about their...get-together that night for most of the day, having painted various pictures in her mind about what she figured they'd do and, in some cases, what she wanted to do. As he stepped around the car, the cowgirl begged for some kind of distraction. With their dinner not far away, it would be nice to not make herself sick beforehand and ruin their evening. Fortunately, she saw a familiar pair not far off and waved them over. "Hey Fluttershy, Twilight." A soft flick on the back of her hat made her giggle. "Hey, you." "What's going on, Applejack? How've sales been today?" Fluttershy asked. "Not bad, not bad. Looking to duck out a little early today and bring the goods home soon honestly." "Was going to ask you about that, if you wanted me to just follow you home and then we'd head out or whatever," Matt said. "Yeah, that should work." "Oh, you two have some plans tonight?" "Yeah, we're going to grab something to eat and catch a movie after," the earth pony said, smiling at her tall friend. "Sounds fun!" Twilight chimed in. "What are you going to go see?" "We were thinking about–" A shriek on the other side of the square grabbed their attention. Great. Now what? Several ponies suddenly bolted past the numerous grocery stands, knocking barrels and bushels all over the place. The small group looked toward the source of the panic. Finally, it revealed itself in the form of a large, slender, tan-colored cat. It hissed at any nearby ponies and took a swat at a few as they ran for their lives. Once what it felt were immediate threats were gone, it crept along, sniffing and sniffing at the ground, searching for something the ponies couldn't figure out. "What is that?" "It looks like a...mountain lion," Matt said, just as confused as the cat. "Are those things native to the area?" "No! They live at least a couple hundred miles from here," Fluttershy replied. "Then what's it doing here?" "I'll go ask." The yellow pegasus glided the ten yards over to the aggravated animal, hovering just a foot off the ground. "Um, excuse me, I don't recall any big cats living anywhere near here. Did you get lost somehow? Cuz if you need some help getting back home, maybe I can be of service." It folded its ears down, snarling and spitting at its newest tiny target. It bared its terrible fangs more and more with each passing second, insisting that the pony leave it alone. The pegasus blinked in shock when she received no answer. She had dealt with upset critters before, but something was off here. "Um...h-hello?!" In a the blink of an eye, the furious feline took a swing at the mare, missing by mere inches. Her friends heard her terrified squeak as she barely dodged out of the way. With another narrowly-missed swat of the cat's sharp claws, the animal lover flopped to the ground, forgetting to flap her wings. Her shaking limbs barely allowed her to crawl away as the cougar took another predatory step. Horrified at the turn of events, Matt grabbed a few apples and ran toward the beast. "Twilight, get her out of there!" Teleporting ahead of him, she snagged the petrified pony in her purple magic and yanked her away just as the panther went in for the kill. With Fluttershy out of immediate danger, Matt launched one of the fruits as hard as he could at her attacker, hoping to scare it away. The first of the apples nailed it square in the shoulder. The second missed its mark and the third hit its flank as it turned to the new threat. Unfortunately for Matt, running off wasn't what the cat had on its mind. It charged hard right for him, closing the gap in seconds. Without having the time to think up a plan, Matt kicked a cloud of dust into the air, blinding and choking the rampaging beast only a few feet away. "Stay back! I'm going to try and chase it off!" he yelled to the girls. Twilight took Applejack and Fluttershy in her magic and blinked the three of them several feet back. "What're you doing?! He needs our help!" the country girl shouted. "Matt–" "Stay back!" Finally cleaning its eyes out, the angry animal growled and dove for its antagonist, who jumped behind a nearby, half-empty basket of apples. Quickly grabbing hold of it, Matt hurled the crate at his foe, smashing it against its forelimb. All it seemed to do is enrage it further. Matt slid behind the stand, trying to keep his distance from the hissing menace, but the panther was determined. With another leap backwards, Matt barely missed getting his leg slashed open. Landing in a more open area, he backed off several feet and the two started circling each other, daring each other to make a mistake. Hoping to intimidate the cat by faking being larger than he was, he threw his arms up and growled and shouted at it repeatedly, but the beast wasn't budging. A tiny wave of fear started to creep up on Matt as he danced with the killer. He was running out of ideas on how to get rid of the thing, but he couldn't really blame it for wanting to sink its teeth into his neck. He was hoping to avoid what just occurred to him, but there seemed to be little choice at this point. "Twilight! Run back – whoa! – run back to my house and get my knives!" "Which ones?" "The ones on the wall!" Her horn lit up and in a flash, she was gone. Barely a minute later, she reappeared, the blades Matt used to miraculously finish off the Ursa Major floating beside her. They glided over to the battleground and waited to be claimed. "Oh, I wish he could have thought of a better way to handle this!" Fluttershy pouted, fearful tears cascading down her cheeks. "Fluttershy, he's gotta be able to defend himself! That thing could kill him! If he can get it to run away, he's not going to chase it down!" Applejack fired back. "I hope you're right!" As Matt strafed by the purple blades, never taking his eyes off the cougar, he carefully gripped them in his hands and loosened up his shoulders. Now he was capable of standing his ground. He fought back a quick swing of the cat's paw with a jab of his own, not wanting to seriously hurt the animal if he could help it. Maybe if he got the message across that the kitty wasn't the only one that had claws, it'd leave him and the town be. The two traded another swift pair of attacks, neither backing down nor making contact. Feeling bold, the beast pounced high, aiming his talons for Matt's face. Even though he was able to lean back to dodge it with little trouble, he veered too far and lost his balance. The knives fell from his grip as he landed on the hard ground and the lion was on him in an instant. "Matt!" Applejack and her friends wanted desperately to charge in and get the animal off their friend, but fear and shock had frozen their hooves to the ground. A well-placed – and well-timed – knee to the monster's ribs was the only thing keeping its full weight from falling on top of Matt, but the multitude of fangs and claws barely being held off at arm's length took priority. He futilely tried to push the animal's right leg off-balance in an effort to get away, but the cat was too strong. He did everything he could to squeeze at its furry throat with his own right hand and hurl it back while knocking away a frantically swatting paw with his arm. However, his luck was only able to take him so far, and the panther managed to slash open the side of his head. "Aaagh!"