//------------------------------// // The Beginning {Chapter 1} // Story: The Hunter // by NoLongerSober //------------------------------// The library door slammed open as the small purple dragon rushed in, much to the purple alicorn’s irritation. “Twilight, you’ve gotta come quick! A giant cat appeared in the middle of Ponyville!” The mare opened her mouth to say something, but Spike interrupted, grabbing the mare’s foreleg and trying to tug her along. “There’s no time, you’ve gotta hurry! Applejack and Rainbow Dash are already there!” The dragon tugged even harder. “This better not be a joke, Spike, I’ve got important things to do.” Twilight chased after the dragon, who had let go of her foreleg, and sprinted out of the library as fast as his stubby legs could take him. *** “Now you ponies stay back! We don’t wanna get’em angry!” Applejack glanced over at the large black cat and then behind him at the even bigger pony. Even from this distance, it was clear that the pony was injured; his breathing looked shallow and pained and he had dozens of cuts leaking blood onto the ground around him. A pair of axes laid on the ground next to him, dried blood on them. “Fluttershy’ll be here any second!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she flew in and landed next to Applejack. “I hope she hurries, that pony there ain’t lookin’ too good. Spike should be back with Twilight any second now.” The orange mare bit her lip nervously. “AJ, Rainbow Dash!” The pair turned to see Spike and Twilight galloping up to them. “What’s going on?” Twilight slowed to a halt, glancing at the steadily growing group of ponies a short distance away. “Not sure.” Rainbow Dash turned to face the mare, hovering in the air as she spoke, “AJ and I were just talking when this big flash happened. When we could see again, there was this big cat and an even bigger pony on top of the Cabbage stand. They totally wrecked it!” “It didn’t take long for ponies to start screamin’ and runnin’ away. Dash went to get Fluttershy, an I sent Spike ta get you.” Twilight looked at the cat, which was hunched forward slightly, its ears flat against its head, teeth bared. It was a giant, being larger than a normal pony, and perhaps only slightly smaller than Princess Luna. It had a dark-grey coat with black stripes, and a pair of extremely intimidating white fangs jutting down past its lower jaw. As her eyes met the cat’s own amber eyes, she swallowed and tore her gaze away, looking at the giant of a pony behind the cat. The pony, much to her surprise, was even bigger than the cat, looking to be almost the same size as Princess Celestia from this distance. The stallion’s horn was long and slightly curved, tapering off to a vicious point while his coat was pitch-black and almost seemed to reflect light. His mane was a dark cerulean, the color reminding her of Queen Chrysalis from only a few months prior, at her brother’s wedding. In addition to that, there was a bow and quiver underneath him, with an empty sheath on his thigh, no doubt for one of the axes next to him. Perhaps most notable was the moderately-sized white fangs sticking out of the pony’s mouth, again similar to Chrysalis. “Oh, I’m hope I’m not too late.” Fluttershy galloped up to the four ponies, slowing as she neared them. “Rainbow Dash said it was an emergency, but I had to find Angel and tell him to watch over the animals until I got ba-” The mare’s gaze had drifted over to the cat and she gasped. “Oh my, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cat like that.” “‘Shy, do you think you can get it to move aside so we can get to that pony over there? He ain’t doin’ too well and anytime we try to go near him, that there cat cuts us off.” “Um, I don’t know. I can try, but I’ve never seen a cat like that before.” Fluttershy swallowed heavily and trotted forward slowly, making sure to keep her posture as nonthreatening as possible. “Um hello there, mister cat…could you um, please let us help that pony there, if you don’t mind?” The cat’s ears twitched slightly, registering the mare’s words. The cat locked eyes with Fluttershy for a moment before letting out a whine, his jaws opening wide and stepping off to the side, the tip of his tail curling slightly. “Oh, thank you. I promise we won’t hurt him.” Fluttershy fluttered back to her friends, a big smile on her face. “He was just protecting his friend, is all. He said he won’t hurt anypony as long as we don’t try to hurt him or his friend.” “Well, let’s get in there and help’im, then.” Applejack and Rainbow Dash took off at a light gallop towards the giant unicorn, both of them giving the cat a wide berth. “Fluttershy, you said you’ve never seen a cat like that?” Twilight had trotted up to the butter-colored mare, Spike on her back, between her wings. “Oh no, I’ve never seen a cat like that. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen one that big. I mean, there’s Mr. Manticore, but he’s only part cat. He sorta looks like a panther, but I’ve never seen one with stripes before. Oh, and there aren’t supposed to be any panthers in Equestria.” “I’ll be darned. This here fella’s got wings!” Twilight turned towards Applejack, who was holding up a near-translucent wing. With a grimace on her face, she turned to the dragon on her back. “Spike, we’re going back to the library. We need to write a letter. Fluttershy, can you go with them and try to make sure that the cat doesn’t hurt anypony?” “Oh um, sure. But I’ll have to go back home at some point. Angel Bunny can’t take care of the animals for very long.” “That’s fine. As soon as I write a letter to Princess Celestia, I’ll come and keep an eye on him while you go back home.” Twilight watched as Applejack and Rainbow Dash carted the giant unicorn off towards the hospital on a makeshift stretcher they had cobbled together out of the broken cabbage stand. With a subtle flare of her magic, she cast a reveal-spell on the pony, just to be certain. When her spell revealed nothing, she and Spike both vanished, Twilight having teleported them all the way to the library. *** After Fluttershy convinced the cat to let us help him, we discovered that in addition to his strangely-curved horn, he also had a set of translucent, almost dragonfly-like wings which were very reminiscent of a changeling. I cast a reveal-spell on him to make sure he wasn’t a poorly-disguised changeling, but nothing happened. Currently, he and the cat are both at Ponyville General Hospital. I’ll be there as well, to keep an eye on everything. Yours truly, Princess Twilight Sparkle Princess Celestia bit her lip nervously as she rolled the letter up. “Guard, take this letter to my sister and wake her.” She levitated Twilight’s scroll to one of the guards at the foot of her throne. With a salute, he trotted off, scroll floating in his magic. Taking quill and parchment in her magical grip, she began, Dear Twilight... *** “How bad is he, doctor?” Twilight stood outside of the mystery-stallion’s room, speaking with Doctor Horse. “Not that bad, actually. He had some nasty cuts that needed stitches and a few really nasty bruises, but nothing’s broken. As far as we can tell, he is fine, just suffering from exhaustion and some blood-loss. I’d say a good night’s sleep and he’ll be fine.” The doctor levitated a clipboard to Twilight. “Princess.” He tilted his head in respect before he walked off, leaving the mare on her lonesome. With a sigh, Twilight turned and trotted into the room. “Howdy, Twi.” Applejack tilted her hat as the mare entered the room. “Hey AJ, Rainbow.” Twilight noticed Fluttershy going over the cat with her hooves, no doubt checking for injuries. “Any change yet?” “Nah, the big guy’s been asleep the whole time. He didn’t even move when the doctors were stitchin’ him up.” “The nurse and doctor were dang nervous with that big cat in the corner, though.” The mare glanced at the giant cat, which was currently purring deeply as Fluttershy rubbed his ears. “Oh, he’s not that bad.” Fluttershy piped in, “he was just worried about his friend, is all. Nopony offered to help, so he just stood guard is all.” “Uh-huh.” Twilight’s eyes roamed to the pile of gear in the corner opposite of the cat. Both of the blood-caked axes were there, as well as both thigh-sheaths and the bow and quiver. Trotting over to it, Twilight picked one of the axes up in her magic, only to drop it when the cat growled menacingly, a single amber eye resting on her. “Oh, don’t worry, she won’t hurt them.” Fluttershy stroked the cat’s head, trying to placate him for a brief moment before she faced Twilight and nodded. Swallowing heavily, Twilight picked the curved axe up once more, examining it in her magic. The axe, as well as it’s sibling were both unlike anything she had ever seen. The haft was made of the same white-wood as the bow, where the axehead -vicious and curved as it was- was made out of some type of emerald-colored metal. prodding it several times with her magic informed her that it was far stronger than the iron utilized by the Royal Guard. Biting her lip, she glanced over at the large cat. “Oh come on, she gets to touch them but when I try you almost kill me!” Rainbow Dash complained to the cat from the door. “You were playin’ with’em Dash.” Applejack chuckled. “He probably just didn’t want you to hurt yerself.” “Um, Fluttershy? Is there any chance you could convince the cat to let me borrow one of these axes? I’d like to do some res-” The cat cut her off with another menacing growl. “Never mind, I think that answers that.” She chuckled nervously and put the axe back on the pile, trading it for the bow and quiver. “Well girls, I gotta get goin’.” Applejack headed towards the door. “Still got apples in the square to take home.” The mare tipped her hat and departed. “And I should go home and check on my animals.” Fluttershy turned to the cat. “I’ll bring you something to eat tomorrow, I promise.” She nuzzled the cat, and departed as well. “Eh-heh, I uh,” Rainbow Dash glanced nervously at the cat, who only stared at her with a single, unblinking amber eye. “I should go and prepare for the weather tomorrow. Will you be okay here alone with the cat, Twilight?” “Huh?” Twilight stopped her examination of the bow to face Rainbow Dash. “Oh, I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” “Right, I’ll see you at the picnic tomorrow then.” With that out of the way, the mare sped out of the room. Clenching her jaw, Twilight’s horn flared even brighter. Slowly, the draw-string on the bow began to pull back. Letting go of the magic, Twilight took a deep breath and sat the bow back down. “Well uh,” she faced the cat. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow? Um, please don’t eat anypony.” The mare chuckled nervously before leaving the room, never once turning her back to the cat, who like with Rainbow Dash, only stared at her with a solitary unblinking eye. *** Twilight walked into the library with a quill and paper in her hand, scribbling notes regarding the stranger’s weaponry. “Spike!” Twilight called out as she dropped her quill and parchment onto the table. “Did Princess Celestia ever write back?” “Yeah, I left the scroll on your bed.” The young drake walked out of the kitchen, a pot of soup held between his claws and a basket of bread balanced expertly on his head. “Lunch is ready, by the way.” “Thank you, Spike, it smells wonderful. I’ll be down as soon as I read the princesses’ letter.” Dear Twilight, I’m glad you chose to inform me of this matter… *** Even in the dreamscape, Luna couldn’t escape the weariness that plagued her. It was rare when she awoke before three in the afternoon, and she never awoke before noon, as she was now...sort of. Awake was a relative term, she supposed. To enter the dreamscape, she slept, yet remained conscious. She would then detect and project herself towards the dreams of ponies, helping them as needed. Luna hummed slightly to herself as her incorporeal form sped through the sky towards the small town of Ponyville in the distance, coming to a silent landing outside of Ponyville General. Gliding forward, Luna passed through the side of the hospital, her body phasing through doors and walls alike. Within moments, she found what she was looking for, her eyes roving over the mass of pony on the bed. Hovering over the bed, Luna jumped backwards as the cat suddenly shot upright. What the… The cat was staring directly at Luna, his eyes narrowed slightly. Can...can he see me? Luna had never met a creature that could see her in the dreamscape - she could, if she so chose, reveal herself in a dream, but never in the waking world with an incorporeal form. The cat’s eyes held several emotions, the foremost amongst them being fear and…respect? “We’ve no intent to cause harm, friend.” Luna spoke in a soft yet regal voice, the cat’s eyes telling her that he was a very intelligent creature. “We simply wish to understand him and discern whether he means harm.” The cat’s ears perked and twitched back and forth before a low whine escaped his throat as he carefully made his way over to the bed, sitting down less than a hoof’s-length from the bed. Figuring that was the closest thing to permission she would get, Luna bent over the stallion, her horn flaring to life as she entered his dreamscape. “Chrysalis!” Luna silently galloped forwards, approaching the first thing she had noticed in the stallions dreams - a broken and battered changeling-mare lying some distance away in the dream. She could hear what sounded like a foal crying. No, not Chrysalis...who are you? Luna observed the large changeling and the small foal that she was hunched over. The stallion… the mare mentally noted, her breath catching in her throat as another large figure -a shadowy alicorn, his wings spread wide- joined the mare. “We are sorry, but for the security of our race, you and your foal must die.” Though the figure was shadowy and no specific details could be made out, the voice was strikingly clear; deep and powerful. Not loud, but demanding respect none the less. It was…familiar, Luna noted, not quite able to place it. “No!” Luna audibly cried out when the stallion raised his hoof above the changeling’s head and brought it crashing down. Despite knowing she couldn’t physically prevent the event, Luna lunged forward nonetheless. With a flash of light, the quietly sobbing colt vanished and the dreamscape shattered into oblivion, sending Luna back to the world of the waking, as well as the stallion whose dream she had been watching. *** Luna awoke with a gasp of air, her breathing heavy. Trotting over to her window, she pulled the curtains open, letting the sunlight filter in. Judging by the position of the sun, it was maybe two in the afternoon. It’s strange, Luna mused to herself, time always seems to flow differently when I’m in the dreamscape. The mare trotted out of her room, turning herself towards the throne room, knowing her sister would be there finishing up the day court. “Day court is adjourned! Please file out in an orderly fashion.” The bored voice of a guard called out, followed by dozens of nobles filtering out of the throne room, past the Princess of the Night. As soon as the throne room emptied of the nobles, Luna trotted in. Celestia, noticing her sister’s presence, stood up from her throne. “Guards, leave us.” The guards in the room all saluted as one before trotting out of the room. Meeting her sister in the center of the throne room, Celestia nuzzled the night princess before taking a step back. “Is it as I presumed, then?” “It is indeed a hybrid of old. We do not know the specifics, but his dreams confirm his race.” “What was the dream about?” Celestia inquired. “I say dream, but we are fairly certain it was a memory. In the dream, it was a foal of no more than six months. It’s mother, a changeling monarch, managed to send the creature away in a burst of wild magic. Afterwards, the dream faded to black and both of us awoke. Tis a fairly safe bet to assume that the mother did not survive.” Luna’s statement tapered off and her gaze drifted to the floor. “You said that you both awoke when the dream ended?” Celestia was already levitating quill and parchment to her side. “Yes, the manner in which I was ejected from the dream can only mean that he has awoken.” Scribbling a quick letter to Twilight, the princess sent it off in a puff of magic. “Sister, what should we do? If the creature has memories beyond that dream, it may very well hate or even attack us, to say nothing of your student who is observing it.” “He, Luna. He is not a creature or an it, he is as much a pony as us.” “Of course sister, apologies.” Luna blushed slightly as she realized her mistake. “And for now, we’ll do nothing. Until we know whether he will react adversely to our presence, we shouldn’t appear before him. I’ll coordinate with Twilight from here and try to figure some of this out. Til’ then, continue to monitor his dreams.” “Of course, Tia. We’ll keep an eye on him to the best of our ability.” Luna began to walk away, stopping when she reached the door. “One other thing, Tia. The cat can see into the spectral realm. He was aware of my presence when I went to dreamwalk on the stallion. Tis a terribly intelligent creature, sister.” Celestia nodded, and trotted back up to her throne, plopping down on it tiredly. *** “Twilight, the princess sent another letter!” Spike waddled up the stairs towards the bedroom, letter in hand. “Thank you, Spike.” Twilight took the letter in her magical grip and rolled it open, reading through it quickly twice. “What’s it say, Twilight?” The dragon asked inquisitively. “It says that the pony is awake and for me to keep her updated on anything we find out about him.” It also told her to be especially careful and to be ready to teleport at a moments notice, though she omitted that part. Levitating a pair of saddlebags, Twilight quickly loaded them down with quills, parchments, and a few books. “How does the princess know that he’s awake?” Spike clambered onto Twilight’s back as she headed towards the door. “I don’t know, Spike, but if she says he’s awake then it’s worth checking out. I have so many questions!” The mare squealed giddily and sped up, almost galloping towards the hospital. *** Selas’ heart beat rapidly as his ears picked up the faint sound of clopping, a sound that for him, had been reserved to horses and himself. Desperately licking his dry lips, Selas swallowed heavily. A soft knocking at the door, followed by a purple mare walking quietly into the room. “Ishnu-alah.” the stallion spoke as Twilight entered the room, opening his eyes as he did so. Twilight flinched back slightly when her eyes met his; his eyes were a deep harlequin with pupils the color of a dull opal. Like his wings, his eyes were strikingly similar to Queen Chrysalis - possibly identical. Swallowing hard as the wedding ran through her mind once more -specifically how Chrysalis had been strong enough to overpower Celestia- she nervously spoke. “Um, hello…?” Mentally, Selas switched his language to the ‘common’ language the mare seemed to be speaking. The language was new to him, though luckily not foreign; he had only picked it up recently to more effectively communicate with his new allies, as had most of the night elves he associated with. “Good evening, miss…” His voice was deep and slightly scratchy, sounding as if he had a dry throat. Only now did Twilight notice that the cat was gone; this only served to make her even more nervous. “Oh, Twilight. Um, I’m Twilight Sparkle.” She chuckled nervously and glanced around the room again. “Um, not to be nosy, but where did the cat go?” Selas actually snorted, a slight chuckle escaping him. “Cat? Well, that explains why Lamp was in such an irritable mood.” He laughed again, shaking his head. “Ah, apologies. He’s always hated being referred to as a cat, so when people do it unwittingly it’s kind of amusing how huffy he gets. Lamp -the cat, that is- went out to hunt. It’s been nearly three days since he ate last.” “Uh, hunting what exactly?” Hopefully not ponies. “Dunno. Whatever is hanging around in the forest outside of town. Sec.” Selas closed his for a moment. When he opened them, they were slitted and amber, similar to how the cat’s eyes had been. “Horn, wings, scorpion tail…” “That sounds like a manticore.” Twilight already had a quill scribbling furiously against parchment, noting the shift in his eyes. “Guess he’s hunting a manticore, then. Well, I say hunting, really more eating at this point.” Twilight’s quill stopped, her eyes widening slightly. “Your cat’s hunting a manticore!” “Eating a manticore.” Selas corrected. “Apologies, I’ve not introduced myself. I’m…” He hesitated. “Apologies again, the name is a bit hard to translate to this dialect. Selas, I think. Selas...Nightwind. That sounds about right.” “Eheh, right.” Twilight swallowed uneasily at the thought of the giant cat killing and eating a manticore. Blinking several times, his eyes reverted to their natural color. “So, Miss Sparkle, I don’t suppose you can tell me where I am, can you?” “Oh, you’re in Ponyville. You and your cat appeared in the market. You were pretty beat up when we managed to get to you.” “Ponyville? Where in Kalimdor is Ponyville?” “Uh, I don’t know where Kalimdor is, but Ponyville is in Equestria.” Selas scrunched his brow up in confusion and muttered something in his native tongue, though Twilight only managed to catch ‘Elune’. “Forgive me if this sounds outlandish, but does this world house demons of any kind?” Selas rolled off of the bed and stood upright a short distance from Twilight. That’s a big pony. Twilight mentally noted. Now that she was up close, she could see that he was in fact slightly bigger than her mentor, standing nearly half-a-head taller. “Um, well, there are demons in Tartarus and a few exceptions, but…” “Ah nevermind. I think it’s safe to say your demons and mine are something different. Probably for the better.” The stallion began levitating his leather straps and weapons from their pile in the corner and onto his body. “So, you mentioned Kalimdor earlier? Oh, and you spoke in a different language!” Raising an eyebrow and smiling slightly, Selas chuckled and trotted over to the window, opening it with his hooves to let the bright sunlight filter in. Judging by the position of the sun, it was probably around nine or ten o’clock in the morn. “Kalimdor is the name of my…” His breath left him and his voice faded almost instantly. The last images in his mind were of the Temple of Azshara collapsing around him, as well as the Well of Eternity buckling in on itself. “Kalimdor was my home…I’m not actually sure if there is a Kalimdor anymore.” Where his voice had been deep and almost jovial before, it now sounded hollow and empty. “Just…” Taking a particularly deep breath, Selas rolled his shoulders and trotted away from the window, his magic flaring to pull the curtains shut and block out the natural light. “What do you need to know?” “Um, it’s okay. It can wait.” Twilight wasn’t really sure what to do. She didn’t know enough to really know what was going on, but it sounded as if something terrible had happened to his home. “Please. Just ask the questions. It’ll help focus my mind elsewhere.” Biting her lip with uncertainty, the purple alicorn sighed and nodded. “Alright, but if you want to stop at any time…” “I’ll let you know.” Selas promised, a ghost of a smile making it’s way onto his face. “Right, so what can you tell me about Kalimdor and that language you were speaking?” “Kalimdor is…was home. I’d rather not go into it beyond that right now. The language you’ve heard is of my native tongue, elven.” “Earlier, you said ishnu-alah? What did that mean?” “It was a greeting in elven. Most of the elven language doesn’t have exact translations and I’m no linguist, but it roughly translates to ‘Good fortune to you,’ I believe. It would be responded to with Ishnu dal-dieb, which translates to something similar.” While the pair talked, the quill continued to scratch furiously, almost as if it had a mind of it’s own. “And your weapons. The wood and metal are like nothing I’ve ever seen. What are they made out of?” “The wood is all made from fallen branches of Nordrassil, the world tree whereas the metal and engravings are thorium, a metal that forms naturally in Kalimdor. “And your pet cat?” A deep growl sounded from the door as the cat silently appeared behind Twilight, causing the mare to screech, go airborne, and throw her quill and parchment across the room in panic. “Lamp, you know better.” Despite his chiding tone, Selas couldn’t help but chuckle. “His name is Lamp, due to how his eyes shine in dark-places, and he is a nightsaber. They’re an extremely intelligent breed from Kalimdor.” Lamp laid down next to the window, where Selas was still sitting at. “He’s my friend and companion, not now and not ever a pet.” Another chuckle escaping him. “Miss Sparkle, can I ask a question?” Twilight, finally gathering herself, turned to him curiously. “Sure.” “What kind of creature are you? You remind me of something from a recurring dream.” *** “Six hours.” Selas groaned out in his native elven tongue as he flopped uselessly onto the bed, Twilight having left only moments ago. “Six hours, Lamp, why didn’t you save me?” The cat only growled in response, much to the stallion’s frustration. “Payback? I told you to run, you’re the one who stayed.” A low whine. “No, for the last time, you can’t eat them for calling you a pet or a cat.” Silence reigned for a brief moment before the stallion continued. “I’m scared, Lamp. I don’t know what to do.” The lyrical language rolled off of his tongue once more. “They’re very similar to me. They’re sentient equines, same as me. The purple one…Twilight Sparkle, the…alicorn as she called herself. She has different wings and is smaller, but the similarities are there. Especially with that dream...magic is easier to use here as well. It feels like I have...more than usual. All of these ponies are giving off emotions as well. It’s…frightening.” “Dinner.” A light knock issued at the door, followed by a white-coated mare with a pink mane walking in with a tray balanced on her back. “Shaha Lor’ma.” Selas responded on reflex, sitting upright in bed as he did so. The mare stared in bewilderment for a moment before the stallion realized he had spoken in elven again. “Er, thank you.” He took the tray in his magic. “Doctor says you should be okay to leave tomorrow, he just wants to keep you for observation.” “That’s fine, thank you.” “Right, if you need anything just hit the call button on your bed and somepony will be right in.” *** “These kaldorei sound fabulous.” Six mares sat around a picnic-blanket, discussing the latest information about their mysterious new visitor in the afternoon sun. “They’re fascinating!” Twilight all but squealed in joy. “Magic that we’ve never seen before! Their whole race is immortal!” Twilight emphasized the last part. “He might be as old as the princesses!” “I don’t know about all that but his pet was amazing! Oh, I’ve never seen a type of animal like that!” Fluttershy squeaked animatedly, causing her friends to giggle. “You might not want to call him a cat or a pet around them though.” Twilight chuckled nervously, thinking back to the cat. “Apparently they’re more like brothers than anything. Oh, and he doesn’t like being called a cat. He’s from a breed known as Nightsaber, and they’re…well, they’re large cats.” Twilight recited some of what she had written down earlier, snorting slightly in amusement. “Oh, I can’t wait to hear more about them.” Fluttershy happily bit into a pastry. “I wanna see that Nightsaber up close. He looks pretty cool from a distance.” Dash commented, watching as Pinkie Pie bounced up and down in place in…frustration? Could bounces have emotion? “Uh, Pinkie? You okay? You’re never this quiet.” The rest of the girls glanced towards their pink cohort, only now realizing that the most talkative member of their group had yet to say anything on the subject. “Okay? OF COURSE NOT!” Pinkie shouted exasperatedly, surprising the other mares. “Everypony but me has met the new pony! I was gonna throw him a party but I can’t throw him a party because I don’t know him, but I don’t know him because I didn’t get to meet him but I didn’t get to meet him because I’m not allowed in the ICU at the hospital but since I’m not allowed in the ICU I can’t meet him, but since I can’t meet him I can’t get to know him and since I can’t get to know him I can’t throw him a party!” The mare finished, breathing heavily with her forehooves thrust out in front of her wildly. “Um, Pinkie…” Twilight hesitated for a brief moment, “You know he’s out of the ICU now, right? He was only in there for like an hour while they gave him his initial check-up and stitched him up…” Silence reigned for nearly fifteen minutes before Rainbow Dash finally broke it. “Uh, Pinkie? Pinkie?” She waved a hoof in front of the mares face. “Twi, I think you broke her. Woah!” Rainbow Dash fell backwards as Pinkie Pie suddenly disappeared without warning. “Um, darlings,” Rarity spoke out, “should we be worried about Pinkie startling Mr. Nightbreeze?” “I’m sure it’ll be okay. He’s a really nice pony when you get past how intimidating he looks.” Twilight shrugged the concern off. *** “Mister Nightwind?” A voice, belonging to the nurse that had brought his dinner rang through the door, “there’s a pony here who would like  to see you, if you’re okay with a visitor.” Who could that be? I don’t know anybody beyond Twilight… “That’s fine.” He finally called out in response. No sooner than the words left his mouth, then the most obscenely pink thing he had ever seen appeared inches from his face, talking faster than he could keep up, going on about how she couldn’t throw a party or something of the sort. Lamp! You can eat this one! He silently eyed the cat, all but pleading for aid. After nearly ten minutes of non-stop talking, the pink mare finally took a huge breath and stared at him, waiting for a response. After a full minute of silence, staring into those unblinking blue eyes, he finally replied, smiling uncertainly at the mare. “Of course.” “Okie-dokie!” The mare bounced off of the bed and bolted out of the room, no doubt to terrorize some other unfortunate soul. “Oh sure, you complain about how I won’t let you eat the purple one, but when I okay the pink one you’re not interested.” With a grunt, he fell back onto the bed, levitating a book from the bedside table that Twilight had left him; it was an Equestrian history book. Flipping the book open, he frowned when he realized he couldn’t read the chicken-scratch that was pony writing. “Well, damn.” Glancing over at the slumbering form of Lamp, he sighed and deposited the book back on the nightstand and rolled over, mentally making a checklist of things to do. First and foremost on his list would be arrows, he decided. After that, he would have to decide what to do about life in this new world, assuming he was here to stay. *** “And yet, we owe him a price the can never be repaid.” Celestia noted sadly, her sister and her sharing a meal with each other. “Twas’ no fault of our own, sister. Hopefully he will understand that.” Luna spoke through a mouthful of toast and jelly. “Hath your student learned anything about this cre-” Luna stopped and corrected herself, “about this stallion?” With a golden flare, a lengthy letter appeared in the center of the table. “She asked him a number of questions. It seems he is from a place known as Kalimdor, and isn’t of this world. He carries weapons unlike any we’ve ever seen, and seems to know nothing about this world or its inhabitants. By his own admission, he was the only sentient equine on his homeworld. He also asked Twilight what she was, citing that she reminded him of a recurring dream, though he didn’t seem to have a terribly adverse reaction when she explained what an alicorn was.” Celestia levitated a muffin to her mouth, falling silent as she ate. “Tis’ promising news. How should we handle this situation, sister? Shall we observe from afar as initially planned, or approach him since he didn’t react aversely to young Twilight Sparkle? And if we do, then what do we tell him?” Luna levitated more strips of hay-bacon onto her plate as she talked “I will go to him tomorrow. If you could approach him in his dream and inform that I will meet him, I would greatly appreciate it.” Celestia stood upright from the table and yawned deeply. With a sad expression, she glanced at the rapidly fading sun, having started it on its path some hours ago   “And what will you tell him?” Luna asked from her spot at the table. Nuzzling her sister affectionately, Celestia approached the door, no doubt intending to go prepare for bed after such a long day with a longer day coming. “I intend to tell him the truth, Luna. Nothing more, and nothing less.”