Dear Fluttershy,
I'm excited in writing this to let you know that the whole family is coming to Appaloosa to visit!
We got enough workers on the farm that we are able to visit for a couple days. We are coming tomorrow!
As much as I am happy that we can come, Twilight ain't coming over for now.
I'm sorry but Twilight's busy with everything thats been going on. Poor one has a whole lot on her plate these days.
But hey, at least we are coming to see y'all. See you tomorrow. Hopefully sometime after breakfast.

A . J

"Aww, that's great!" A white mare said as she expressed herself with a smile from behind her counter. "It's good to see another pony smiling during these crazy days."

The mare was vanilla white with long tomato red hair. The only article of clothing she wore was a dark green bandana on her head, stained with sweat that has been built up over the past couple of days. Her cutie mark was a simple yellow piece of salt water taffy with a streak of brown going down the center, neatly wrapped to perfection. The pony rested her hooves on the counter and leaned in to hear what her customer had to say with anticipation.

"Oh yes, I'm um...I'm so glad she's coming to town. I haven't seen her in...*yawn* in so long!"

A butter yellow Pegasus stood on the other side of the counter perched on her stool. When her mane was neatly shaped and pink, was now ruffled and stained with dirt. With dark heavy bags under her eyes, the timid pony yawned, and batted at her nose. Her tail hung to the floor, and dragged along the floor with very move she made. Every time she blinked, one eye slowly closed before the other.

The white Earth pony noticed her body language. She couldn't help but grow concerned. "You asked for...carmel? In your coffee? Carmel?"

"Tooth. Sweet Tooth at your service." Sweet Tooth finished for her as she reached out a hoof. The other pony shook her hoof. "And you are..."

Sweet Tooth nodded as she worked on her order. "Well Fluttershy, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you don't look so good. By golly, it looks like you haven't slept in days! Tell me, what has you so tired, my exhausted Pegasus friend?"

Fluttershy began to go into detail on what has kept her away from bed. She explains how after the first attack, a preservation center was put together for every species from all corners of Equestria. Now that wouldn't be so bad, considering that she was talented in the field of caring for animals. However, the problem is that there are over 250 kinds of plants and animals to care for. Other ponies with talents of gardening and botany would tend to the plant life, but Fluttershy is the only pony who is able to tend to the animals so far.

"So, you have to tend to ALL of those animals?" Sweet Tooth asked surprised, as she added the finishing touches to the Fluttershy's coffee.

"Oh...um yes." The yellow Pegasus responded with a whisper. "It's not easy to do, bu...*yawn* but I've managed to do it all on my own...without anypony's help. All I have to do is feed them, bathe them, brush their teeth, play with them, feed them again, read them a story, feed them dinner, play hide and seek, brush their teeth and bathe them one more time before I tuck them all into the bed. Simple things like that."

Sweet Tooth's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. She stared at Fluttershy in disbelief before she snapped out of it and slapped a lid on top of the cup, before pushing it over to the exhausted pony. The Pegasus counted out her bits from a small bag, but she was stopped by Sweet Tooth. Right before she was about to place the money onto the counter, the coffee was pushed her way a little further.

"Please don't." She said with a sympathetic smile. "It's on the house. On me. Take it."

Fluttershy sat there is silence, unsure of what to do. Should she pay anyway? It would be wrong to take it and not pay her bits. They both can get into trouble!

"Miss....Fluttershy, is it? You seem like a relatable mare. To me at least. You know, I was just like you when I was younger, and I've learned a thing or two since my graduation from school. That being said, I've reached the point that you are in once or twice. Fluttershy, there is no shame in asking for help from anypony if you need it. I would hire some assistants if I were you There are always ponies looking for jobs on the bulletin board downtown."

"Y-you aren't the first one who told me that. My friend Rainbow Dash told me the same exact thing."

"I rest my case then." Sweet Tooth announced, as she shooed her away with a smile. "Now go, skedaddle. Oh, and good luck."

Suddenly, the doors bursted open with enough force to make Sweet Tooth jump in surprise! Fluttershy nearly dropped her coffee at the sudden bang!

There was a middle aged stallion with an acne ridden face in the doorway. A news crier, a pony who would either deliver the daily current events to each house, or announce the news to any ponies nearby. He wore the blue uniform and all. Everypony gasped in fear and interest as the pony ran further into the store. The news pony dropped the sack on his back that held several dozens of rolled up newspapers. Every last one of them fell out, and rolled across the floor. Ponies swarmed to snatch up a news paper like vultures.

"Hey, gimmie!"

"That one's mine! I called it"

"Let go!"

These were but some of the cries that greedy ponies let out as they fought for their own copies.

Fluttershy managed to pick one up before the others got there. She removed the rubber band that held the roll together with her teeth, and the paper unfurled. Sweet Tooth flattened out the paper. Several ponies who weren't able to get a paper in time, huddled around them like how children would when an elder tells an intriguing story. Gasps were let out, as ponies feasted their eyes on the front page.

There they could see a clear shot of an abnormal human somewhere in an uncharted cave. The forth one so far. This one was a female, a great deal older than the last one that was caught. She was looking directly at the camera with a look of surprise on her face, squinting slightly due to the flash of the camera. This one wore more baggier clothing than the others. She wore what appeared to be a pair of dark grey sweat pants, as well as strange blue foot ware. They were thin, thin enough that ponies nearly mistaken her shoes as her actual skin. However, when they noticed the odd design for the toes, their thoughts were flipped on a dime.

They appeared to be normal foot ware, just with a thinner design, but there was a gap where the toes would be. The material was purposefully designed to leave space between the largest toe from the others without exposing any skin underneath.

The female wore a very strange top piece. It was thin and grey, just like her pants. However, there were no sleeves on this shirt. This shirt covered her abdomen and extended all the way up to her shoulders, only to have a single strap wrap around each shoulder. Since there were no sleeves, it revealed athletic arms that glared from the flash of the camera. Each hand ended with a pair of gloves on each hand with the ends cut off, exposing her fingers. Despite all of these details, her facial description was far more interesting.

She had short black hair that only stopped where the nape of the neck met the base of the head. The bangs were snow white and were parted to reveal two thin eyes. Eyes that showed remarkable resemblance of a pony for Haysia. Again like before, her eyes revealed that familiar shade of grey for her irises. The same exact shade as the others.

"Woah! Would you look at that." Sweet Tooth gasped. "She looks like she's one of them Haysian ponies."

"Her clothing seems to revealing to the cold out there." Fluttershy commented as she took a sip from her coffee. "She must be freezing out there!"

"I can't believe that another one was spotted. That's the fourth one this week!" A random pony exclaimed. "Did they catch her?"

"No."[i/] Another responded. "It says here that this one was extremely agile and quick. She managed to escape, but a watch is underway."

"Wow." Sweet Tooth stated with interest, leaning in over the newspaper. "Another one. I wonder why their eyes are all grey, instead of glowing green like the others? Wait...hmmm...it says here that she showed no hostile intentions. She just ran in the other direction."

"That is strange." Fluttershy said, as she took a small sip from her coffee. "Usually they start shooting when they spot you. I can only imagine what purpose they have. I wonder what is going through their heads right now?"

Our feet or paws are throbbing after walking for four strait hours with very little breaks in between. We were both limping through the desert wasteland. Nothing but dirt and a little more plant life than I remembered. I adjusted the bag hanging off of my shoulder as I groaned. My hand had a strong grip on the revolver in my right hand. My back ached. Everything that I was carrying was taking its toll. The rifle wasn't helping either.

Joel yipped with excitement. I looked down, and I saw Joel looking up at me. his ears were perked up, and his tail wagged with an uncontrollable amount of anticipation.

"What are you looking at?" I asked rather snappy as I shrugged. "What? You need some water?"

I looked around us. I searched far and wide for any sign of incoming danger. There was nothing to hide behind. Like I said before, there was only dirt and some desert weeds.

Joe hurried over to me, and sat in front of me. He was fidgeting is his spot, as if he was a puppy again, waiting to get a peanut butter treat that my Mom used to make for him. I looked through the camera bag and took out the canteen. I twisted off the cap, and took a small sip, large enough to fill the space underneath my tongue before I swallowed. After my turn, I carefully filled the cap to the rim, trying not to spill any. I held it out for Joel. He peered into the nectar of life, and sunk his tongue into the water.

A wet slapping sound was the only noise for miles around. All around us was a depressing frigid desert. There no animals on the ground. There were no birds in the sky. There wasn't even a breeze in the wind. It was just bitter and desolate.

I looked back at Joel, who was licking every inch of the saliva caked cap of the canteen.

I twisted the cap back on and placed it into the bag before zipping it shut. Reluctant to get up, mainly in my feet, I just sat there in a criss cross position like I was meditating. I reached into my pocket to pull out my phone. With doubt in my thoughts, I turned it on. Oh, what a surprise! No frigging signal.

I decided because I was sitting down, that we would have ourselves some food. Besides, I haven't even opened an MRE yet, and I was getting pretty hungry. We both were. I opened the bag again, and pulled out a packet. Ripping the thick plastic off, I opened to see what treasure lied inside. I pulled out another tightly sealed package. It was a brown package that had bold black letters on the top that read, ROAST BEEF.

I began to gnaw on it to create a hole, but I stopped. I figured that I'd rather save that for an actual meal. As much as I was hungry, I was still gonna have to conserve our supplies. You never know when you might need it. I reached my hand in again, and pulled out a bag of MnM's. A desert provided by the U.S Army.

I ripped it open, and a few came rolling out onto my palm. Joel whined as he leaned in to smell the candy. I moved my hand away from him, and he looked at me with puppy eyes. His ears were flattened against his head.

I popped a few, before I dug out the bag of dog food. Using the small red bowl that I found, I poured food inside to the halfway point. I placed the bowl on the ground in front of Joel, and he dug into the food like he hasn't eaten in days. He ate and I continued to pop a few MnM's every few minuets. After ten minuets of both eating and resting, I finished my snack, and Joel finished his.

As mush as I hated what I was about to say, it was unescapable. I packed everything up, and zipped up the camera bag. I threw it over my shoulder, as I rose to my feet. Already, my feet were begging me to stop.

Joel slowly stood up, and stood by my side. As Joel looked up at me, I gazed down upon what seemed like a never ending lonesome path. The lazy side of me asked if I was gonna have to walk that far. I replied with self discipline when I took my first step.

For another four hours, I have been doing nothing but mindless walking. Roaming the wasteland on autopilot. This time, I've been taking breaks more often. Every now and then we would take a sip of water from the canteen, but we just mainly walked. we haven't eaten anything else since then. Actually to be honest, I've been trying to keep my mind more occupied. Mainly by humming several tunes over and over again until I hated one I was currently humming. I didn't bother playing I-Spy with myself. I didn't even bother with trying to cope with what happened to us so far. It would only drive me insane with fear and paranoia. It is both pointless and idiotic. Childish even.

As time passed, there were more trees and plant life becoming more and more common than before. Some even had some green on them, but there were a few trees that were dead and on the ground. Not much more than that. The only other factor was the occasional eagle screech.

That was pretty much the routine for a while. If Joel wasn't paying attention, I would've missed a golden opportunity. We were shuffling along as usual. I was looking around at our surroundings. The sky was clearer than before. Still dark and grey, but the sun was shining brighter than before. The trees around us grew taller the further we went. Hundreds of green leaves were blossoming from their branches that swayed with the chilling breeze. I even spotted a few flowers as we wandered. Flowers from every color of the rainbow. It was about two hours till sundown and I was in a deep trance of mystification.

Joel barked, making me snap out of my auto-pilot state. I looked at him as I was about to snap at him, but I saw that he was looking at. Something to our left, in the direction of the sun. Looking in his direction, I saw the gift that God had provided us with.

Off in the distance, there was a black spot. Just a darker area far out. Curious, I walked in its direction, with Joel following close behind. I used my hand to block the sun out of my eyes. I could see that it was a cave. A large cave, large enough for me to stand inside. An excited smile began to spread across my face. We just found ourselves shelter!

Despite my throbbing feet, I ran over to the cave! It grew bigger as I drew nearer to it. I stopped right at the entrance to the inside. It was big enough for the both of us to fit. By far. It was darker inside, but I could see quite a bit further down. The floor of the cave was conveniently smooth, as well as the walls. They were curvy in areas, but we can made do.

Our voices rattled along the inside of the cave. I waited for a moment. Nothing. Silence. I looked at Joel.

I took the time to do an inspection of the cave. There were no secret passages or anything special like that. It was pretty much a strait shot, getting narrower the further down you go, colder too. The floor of the cave was still thankfully smooth, but then again, it is rock we're talking about. It's gonna be uncomfortable either way. After a few minuets of seeing if the cave was safe, I made my way back to the mouth.

I sat myself down against a smoother area on the wall of the cave and I sighed in relief. It was about time something was going our way after everything that has happened to us. I'm just glad that we've found shelter for the night. That being said, a thought came to my mind. It is going to get pretty cold once nightfall arrives, and I don't think we'll be able to make it till dawn with our own body heat. We're going to need a fire. I looked outside the entrance to the cave.

Outside, there were enough trees to gather a good amount of fire wood to the last us the night. However, one question came to mind.

I sat there and pondered on that question for a while as Joel slept by my side, curled into a ball and completely exhausted after a day of wandering through the desert. I was tried myself. Really tired. My feet were throbbing with a pounding pulse. I slipped my feet out of my shoes, exposing my feet to the cool air. Kicking back, I lied back while I stroked Joel's ears. With my phone in other hand, I checked to see if there was a signal connection. You probably know what the outcome of that was.

I rested my head against the cave wall, adjusting myself to the most comfortable position possible. I sighed as my eyes closed, hoping that I would be able to take a quick nap. For five minuets, I sat there against the wall with my eyes shut. My chest moved back and forth with each breath I took. For a moment, I really felt relaxed. I felt safe and relieved, despite everything that has happened. Resting in our newly found sanctuary, I felt myself drift off into the darkness of my own mind. The own sound of my breathing silenced to nothing but a whisper. I was asleep.

The cold air around me faded away until I could feel neither the chilling nip of Winter, or the pleasant breeze of Summer. Everything around me felt colorless and grey. I felt nothing. No happiness, nor fear. Yet, at the same time, I was aware of everything. I was in the same abyss of darkness that I found myself in before.

"I ammmm the mmasster of your faatee."

"I amm the captainnn of my soul."

I heard an ominous whispering in my head. The pitch and echo made it hard to tell who it was, or if it was male or female. It was distorted and alien.

"Forrrgive mee for what I ammm about tooo doooo."

Just then, an overpowering squeezing sensation crushed my lungs! I would've screamed, but several sharp objects was pressing itself against the inside of my left side.

An sickening series of cracks thundered in my ears! Several sharp objects were forcefully pressing themselves up against my skin! The pain grew, and the pressure in my side threatened to tear through my skin like soaked bread! As the air was squeezed out of my lungs, I could only suffer the oppressing torture of suffocation!

I could feel my six senses slam in consciousness like a freight train! My throat could only let out a desperate wheeze as my arms reached for anything!

A blinding blue light burned itself into my retinas! I was relieved of the pressure in my chest, as I could fully suck in air. With a giant hiss, the light was quickly drawn back to a single point in the center of my vision. With my sense of sight returned, I quickly recognized my familiar horrific surroundings!

I found myself looking down upon my own mangled body! My blood soaked shirt was ripped and torn to reveal my shattered ribs pressing themselves against my skin! I let out an agonized gurgle as I nearly vomited at the sight!

My head snapped up with no effort or pain whatsoever. I found myself back on the butte, with my limp body resting against the cold metal of my Uncle's Hummer! Same license plate and everything! My heart was racing. My eyes darted left and right!

I tried to get up, but my legs refused to work with the rest of my body! My torso defined my own commands as well! The only parts of my body that I could move were my own arms and head! I screamed to wake up from this horrid nightmare! My heart was pounding as sweat drenched my face!

Suddenly, out of my control, I found myself looking to the top of the butte far up ahead of me, and I winced in fear. Flailing and swinging about like before, I found myself gazing upon the very creatures that threatened to kill both Joel, and I! Giant, glowing tentacles towered above me, originating from the top of the butte!

They all stopped what they were doing, and they all slowly turned to me at once. Each and every one of them were aimed at me as if they heard my pitiful cry. They studied me, analyzing every detail of my battered state of health. It got very quiet. Deathly quiet. They stared at me and I stared back up at them, waiting for their next move. There was no sound around me. I wanted to shrivel up and die right there.

Before I could even react in time, they all lunged at me! All of them split and broke apart into several smaller appendages as they let out high pitched shrieks! I could barely let out a gasp as they all piled up on me! Everything turned into the white flash of light as they fell on top of me! My cries were muffled to the point where I could barely hear myself scream! I covered my eyes, trying to block the light out of my eyes. I prayed that I would wake up any moment! I didn't want to see this ever again!

My heart was racing in my ears. It grew louder and louder with each passing moment! My ears drums felt like they were about to burst! I clamped down onto my ears. Darkness was swallowing me whole.

Silence ensued. Only silence. No pounding in my ears. No darkness. There was light peaking through what I realized were the spaces in between my fingers.

I found myself with my hands gripped on my face. Joel was barking at me, trembling slightly. The phone that I set to forty five minuets, was ringing an obnoxious jingle. My T-shirt was saturated with sweat, as well as my forehead. No blood. Shaking uncontrollably, I lowered my hands to my side, as I struggled to steady my breathing. I felt my heart beating in my chest.

Joel inched over to me, stopping a few feet before me. He sniffed in my direction. I leaned forward, reached out a quivering hand, and ushered him over to me.

Joel moved over to me, and he poked at the side of my head with his nose before he whimpered quietly. Lazily moving my head to his direction, I sorta slapped my head against the head, and scratched him. His ears perked up slightly, as well as his tail, and he licked my cheek.

I checked my phone, and I nearly gawked at the how much time has passed. The alarm was still ringing its default jingle. I shifted my gaze to the outside world, and it was almost dark! I was asleep for almost two hours!? Two frigging hours!?

The air was much colder now. Cold enough to see a misty manifestation of my own breath. I slipped on my shoes, and I lumbered out of the cave. There was only a little bit of sunlight left, and it was fading fast.

With frantic movements, I spent fifteen minuets in the dim twilight of sundown, gathering twigs and sticks for a fire for both Joel and I. From tree to tree I went. After a five minuets, I wandered back into the cave with my arms full of fire fuel. I dropped it all onto the ground. The racket of sticks bounced off the walls of the cave. The sounds merged together to form a high pitched ringing sound.

I fell to my knees, and looked at my inventory of firewood. i picked out a large flat piece of bark and placed it out separate for the pile, as well as some twigs and bushy moss that I picked off of some trees.

Placing it on top of the wooden slate, I picked out a stick that was an acceptable size and thickness. I tested it, attempting to bend it across my knee. It remained sturdy and firm, and I tossed it onto the separate pile. An end of the stick clanged against the rock beneath. Resting my hands on my sides, I sighed.

I was gonna have to do this the old fashioned way, wasn't I? Well, this is gonna be a pain. Let's do it, caveman style.

Before I started, I had an idea. I hurried over to the bag and searched around inside for a moment. Moving things around. I found it and I held it in my hand. The tiny flashlight that I first found inside the bag. Running my fingers along its cylinder shape and I found the rubber switch.

I pressed on it, and it came to life. A bright light erupted from the opposite end, revealing the roof of the cave above. Relieved, I stuck the light into my mouth, and held it there. With the bright light, I saw Joel looking at me, his eyes reflected the light with a turquoise glow. Nodding at him, I knelt to the pile of twigs. I arranged them so I could get more effective results. I gripped the stick firmly and placed one end in the center of the pile.

With a sigh, I began rubbing my hands back and forth, each going in the opposite direction. My hands traveled down to the base of the stick, before I moved them back up to the other end. I did this again, and again, and again. Repeating the same process again, and again, and again. I did this for a while. I can't say how long I was at it, but there was only darkness outside now, and the air was numbing my hands. It made my hands difficult to move in any other motion than the one I was doing right now. Joel sat patiently by my side, watching me struggle to get a fire going the whole time.

I grew impatient after doing this repeated action for a while. I rubbed the stick faster.

Gosh, I know the voice was generous enough to give us supplies, but didn't she think to give me a match or two? That would've made this much easier! Yeah, instead of giving Trevor a few matches, I'll just give him a figging book on the history of Equestria! Awesome!

I was mindlessly doing it now, cursing myself. Many vulgar words ere running through my head.

"This is the life. Yeah...being beaten to a mangled mess, and abandoned to rot in the middle of nowhere? Yeah, that's great! Fantastic. What's its motive for all of this, anyway? Saying all of that stuff about the "Children of the Night" crap? What the hell is this all ab-"

I was interrupted by the barking to my side. I tuned to Joel extremely annoyed. His ears were perked up, as if he was glad about startling me. I was about to snap at him. That was, until I saw thin streams of grey smoke obscure the view between us. My eyes instantly darted to the source below me. There amongst the twigs and moss, was a thick blotch of grey smoke. I couldn't help but smile!

An idea popped into my mind. I rushed over to my bag, and dug out the book on Equestria. Throwing the book open, I gripped the first page and began to rip it out, but I stopped. I thought about what I was about to do. If I was in this Equestria place, then I would need to know information. If anything, this book could be a guide on what to expect out there. Hell, maybe it can even provide me with answers on how to get home! Instead, I flipped to the glossary, and ripped out every last page. Fifteen pages in total.

Letting the book drop to the ground, I rushed back to the smoke, and I crumpled a page to a small ball letting a corner stick out. I picked at the source and I cautiously placed the paper beside the smoke, blowing on it gently when I was finished. The smoke grew slightly as it swayed back with every breath I gave it. I continued to blow on the smoke softly. The smoke grew larger every time.

And there it was, a small patch of glowing orange embers. The embers latched onto an end corner of the paper, and a small flame appeared. The flame began to expand and spread!

Grabbing another piece of paper, I carefully placed another ball beside the first paper ball, which was being consumed with an orange flame. With growing anticipation, I watched the flame spread to the next paper ball! Quickly, I built an amateur pile of sticks, and I moved the paper balls onto that pile with another piece of paper. It wasn't long before the pile was swallowed by a crackling orange blaze.

i jumped up in excitement! Joel simply sat there and watched me dance like a moron.

After another few moments of celebration, I sat down on the ground, panting heavily. I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. There was no need to breath on my freezing hands. There was no need to worry about freezing to death. Not anymore. I moved my hands over to the fire. Overtime, my fingers were able to more freely, rather than the robotic motions that they have been suffering from for quite some time.

Both Joel, and I moved closer to the fire. I lied down right beside it, while Joel was curled into a ball at my legs. The fire continued to warm us with its presence. The light of the fire projected our shadows onto the wall of the cave behind us. They danced as the flames twitched. For a while we just lied there on the cave floor. Finally able to relax. Every now and again, I would add more sticks to the fire, before I got lazy. So I tossed on the rest of the firewood. Hopefully, it will last us for a good period of the night. Enough to where we won't get pneumonia.

For the final time, I lied down right beside Joel, who was trying to sleep. His eyes were nearly shut, and his ears twitched slightly. I didn't mean to be rude, but I had come to a unexpected realization. The awareness of it all made me feel guilty that i didn't see it before. As gentle as I could be, I moved Joel closer to me, and I hugged him tight. He was resistant at first, mainly due to the fact that he was abruptly awoken. He was tensed up for a brief moment before he loosened himself. For a minuet, I just clung to him, like a child would with his favorite toy or blanket. It didn't matter if he was a dog and that he couldn't understand me, I didn't care.

"I'm glad you're alright." I sighed, as I gazed into the fire. I was about to say something else, but I thought it was weird enough, so I just remained silent.

I didn't feel tired. I was alert and ready for anything! Well ok, that's a lie. I was exhausted. My feet were still unbearably sore, and I was scared. Scared for the both of us. I didn't know what lied ahead of us. All I knew was that we couldn't live off of sips of water or scraps of food forever. I'm scared when I'm awake, and I'll be scared if I fall asleep. I'll have another night terror like I did before, I just know it. I don't know what to do. Not a damn clue.

Already, Joel was fast asleep. His sides heaved in and out with every breath. It was making me even more sleepy than before. As reluctant as I was, I hoped that I would sleep without any sort of disturbing dreams or visions. In my head, I said goodnight for both of us, followed by each name of my family. I even added Clair.

With that, I lied there in silence, alone with my own thoughts that I could finally tend to. Maybe I'll fall asleep tonight. Maybe I won't. All I know is whatever comes our way, it couldn't be any worse than it is right now.

The Hunter: The Path of the Moonlight

by DJ Scratch21x

Chapter 7 Civilization