Marly now sits somewhere in the Everfree forest. After the confrontation with Moonlight and Golden, she decided to make her way to a shack that Shadow built himself. However, she didn’t know the way from where she is, to the shack in question. Instead of getting lost more, she decided to sit down. Her thoughts have been on her husband for the longest time. Man, he was being an ass, she thinks calmly. She was mad that I left, then she got over it. She knew that she had to get used to my outbursts. She sighs softly, then lays down. Wind blows from the north and messes up her mane further.
“Well, this sucks,” She groans. “This really sucks. Lost in the forest I should have known completely by now. Let’s be honest here, no feral knows this forest completely. I don’t even think it’s possible.” Before she could continue her monologue, hoofsteps are heard. She also hears some mumbling. Her ears perk up, then flatten when she realizes how familiar it sounds. She stands, then trots to the source. It’s Shadow.
Shadow has been getting more irritable since he lost Marly. He hears hoofsteps, then turns to the aforementioned pony. He sighs, speaking with a rather cool tone. “Oh, it’s you. What do you want? Here to gloat over your coltfriend? Here to rub it in that you have a pony that cares about you, and I don’t? Save it… I don’t want to hear it.”
Marly blinks, then responds. “Shadow,” She begins with a sigh. “You know deep inside that I don’t want to gloat. Hell, I don’t gloat at all. Gloating is the last thing I would do. Why would I rub salt in the wound, when I can hug you?” She then promptly hugs him. Shadow will have none of that. He shoves her away.
“I can’t believe that. Marly, you know how I felt towards you… right?” He asks with a slight frown. He secretly hoped for a positive response. A sigh from Marly made that hope falter a bit.
“Shadow, weren’t you the one whose actions shoved me away? What did that colt think when he was trotting through the forest?” Marly asks somewhat unkindly. This wasn’t normal for her, and she knew that. She didn’t care though. “If it was a manticore, or a timberwolf, or anything less sentient, then I would be fine with it. But no, you had to go for the defenseless kid. Look, you know that’s not okay. You’re lucky that I forgave you, but that shot all chances of me sticking with you for life. I found somepony else now. Deal with it.”
Shadow winces, then sighs. He looks down, feeling some guilt now. However, Marly kept speaking. “Hell, I don’t think you know how important he is to me. Your actions didn’t make him or I feel welcome around you. Would a best friend hate somepony else that is close? Look…” She then kneels a bit, looking at him. “I know you’re jealous.”
The stallion blinks, not expecting anything she really said to him. He knew about his past actions, but he didn’t know he was hurting her now. He tended to think about his own actions, and how they were affecting him. He did give some thought about others too, given certain circumstances. However, he didn’t pay attention to others this time. He now felt worse. He isn’t sure what to say at all. His ears flatten when he realized that he, and not Marly, screwed up. He doesn’t hug her, stand up, or even acknowledge his mistake. He knew it was obvious. He then decided to apologize to her.
“Marly look,” He begins. “You know how I get. I tend to think of myself in the stupidest of times. I’m sorry.” He casts his gaze to the ground. “I’m really sorry, okay? I screwed up, and you know it.” He grunts when he notices that he just acknowledged something he didn’t want to. He couldn’t help it. “I really did. I hope you can forgive me.” Shadow looks away, hoping she can forgive him for what he did. Marly sighs, then hugs him gently.
“You stupid, lovable pony you. You know that I’m a little too forgiving sometimes. Eventually, somepony would do something extremely unforgivable,” Marly says. “Yet, you know I can forgive you. Can you forgive yourself though? I know it’s an issue for you. You can’t stop thinking about that colt, right?” A nod confirms her question. “Would you like to talk about it?” A pause, then she sees him shake his head. She sighs, then releases him.
“The memories are still fresh,” Shadow says. It was merely an excuse to get out of talking about that point of his life. He shivers as he remembers the struggle. He then shakes his head, growling a bit. Shadow hates the things that pop up unwelcomed. Shadow likes being in control of the things he can control.
Marly nods, then gives him one last hug. “I was going to check on you. I’m glad you’re fine. Do you want me to head on over to your place?”
“No. I wasn’t going over to my place. I was going to wash myself off in the lake,” the stallion says. He motions to his body, then frowns a bit. His body is dirty, bruised, and scratched up. He has been in a few fights. He sighs, then trots in the general direction of one of the lakes in the forest. He could have bathed in the river, but the currents were often too strong for him.
Marly follows him, having the general idea as to where he was going. She has been to the various Everfree lakes, and they all have been an oasis. To them, the forest is loud everywhere but the lakes. An outsider will find every part of the forest quiet. This was often deadly towards the outsiders. Marly’s gaze softens as she recalls the amount of ponies that went into the forest, but never came out. She considered herself lucky.
Marly left her home in Ponyville at a rather young age. She was always a pony that cared for her family, and she was always a pony that took care of herself. She took it personally when the schoolfoals didn’t take notice of her when she attended school. She didn’t strike up conversation with them either, but she didn’t see the problem in that at all. One day, after school, she was tired of the kids not noticing her. She decided to go into the Everfree to see if they, or her parents missed her.
The weeks passed, and her parents long gave up the search. They assumed she was dead. However, she didn’t think that leaving them like that was right. She went back home and explained the situation to them. They, like her, were understanding. They figured that the time in the Everfree taught her more life skills than they could impart, so they allowed her to live in the forest.
Back to the present, she blinks a bit more when she realized that she survived the forest. Out of everything scary that the ponies mentioned, she beat all the scary parts. She didn’t mind that the weather wasn’t under control by the pegasi, and she certainly didn’t mind how dark it is. She acclimated to the sounds of the forest a long while back. The timberwolves’ howls made her smile, and the roar of the manticore reminded her to not feel fear. She giggles, then trots up alongside him.
“You’ve been quiet,” Shadow says. “I have been talking the whole time. Is your head in the clouds?” He then nuzzles her cheek softly. It was something two friends would do, instead of two ponies madly in love. She then sighs.
“Sorry, I have been thinking,” She admits. “About how lucky I have been. How come most of the ponies that come here get mauled?” It was a question that was always on her mind. Unlike Shadow, she wasn’t too intertwined in the forest’s politics. She always wondered what he did in the times she was away. Shadow sighs a bit when he heard the question.
“To be blunt, most of the population is dumber than a sack of rocks, or boulders, or sand, or something small in numerous amounts,” Shadow says extremely bluntly. While the ponies that live in the towns can be more educated in methods that they will use later in their life, he thinks that those things are useless. Shadow has no need for mathematics, geography, or the history of how Equestria because Equestria.
“Not my Golden,” Marly says, always quick to jump to my defense even when I am not there.
“Golden is different,” Shadow agrees. “I don’t know why. I will have to ask him. I’m going off on a tangent here, am I? Oh well. Anyway, they don’t know how to survive here. That’s basically it. Either ponies never learn, or they are forced to learn. Most ponies let their fear consume them, so that’s how they attract the beasties. They then run. Normally, running is good. Running is what you should do. No, what they do, is they go right through their territory. This kills the equine. Do you remember the three main rules?”
Marly giggles, never being able to forget. “Don’t fear, don’t pick fights you can’t win, and do tread carefully.”
“Yes, treading carefully is one thing they didn’t do. They were appropriately punished for it,” Shadow says, some of his colder side showing. Below the warm exterior, he is still a feral at the core. He doesn’t care about what stereotypes he is seemingly promoting. He knew that he was nice to a certain extent. “I don’t care about what other ponies say. That’s what I believe.” They both then fall into silence. Nothing more was to be said.
After an hour of trotting quietly, with some scattered discussions, they arrive at the lake. It was as if all ambient sound fades. The sounds of the beasts and the wind all fade as they stop. What stretches ahead of them is a still lake, bathed in the rare sunshine. Shadow trots into the sun, then leans back and groans as his fur catches it all. He loved the sun and needed it right now. Light deficiencies are a huge problem for him, Marly, and other ferals. They didn’t get as much sunlight as the townsponies.
Marly then trots up next to him. She isn’t as sensitive towards the sun, but she does feel its warmth. She then lays down, sighing as she touches the ground. The sun warms her enough, and she then feels sleepy. “I… I probably have to find Golden,” She says, stifling a yawn.
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Shadow says. “He’s fine.” Shadow then rests his head on his forelegs, falling asleep. Marly can’t help but do the same. They weren’t aware that a storm has built up on the north-western edge.
Moonlight is sitting in another clearing, looking around. He wasn’t sure why he was told to follow the mare, and he was somewhat nervous about what could happen to him. The mare said that she had to go for a bit. She had to take care of something. Didn’t she? I hope she returns. Moonlight’s tail flicks a bit in anticipation. Who is she, by the way? She didn’t say her name.
In the corner of his eyes, he sees shadows dance in the tree line. A nervous feeling wells up in his chest, and he hates that. The mare then steps into the sunlight. She trots up to him, her eyes rather expressionless.
“Now, I don’t recall asking why a Changeling like you is in the forest. Aren’t Changelings supposed to be living in hives?” She asks, circling him. Moonlight’s eyes search for menace, but he finds none. He finds caution and confidence though, which makes him slightly more fearful. “Why do you fear me?” She asks. She stops her circling.
“I… I-I,” Moonlight stutters. “I don’t know. You were circling me. It was something the leading drones would do when they weren’t happy with me.”
“What made them unhappy?” She asks, frowning coldly at him. Moonlight looks at the frown. He has seen worse frowns from worse ponies.
“My methods weren’t to their liking. They say I get too involved. I just want to be loved,” He admits.
“Why,” The mare says. She trots up to him, looking into his eyes. She searches for any sign of lies, or any general dishonesty. When she finds none, she scowls. “You aren’t lying. Why aren’t you lying?”
“I’m not lying, because lying is bad. Lying is morally wrong, and I hate it,” Moonlight says. He sighs, knowing how absurd that sounds. Changelings don’t say they have morals. Why did I say that? His thoughts are interrupted by a giggle.
“They don’t just hate you, right?” She asks. “They kicked you out.” She smiles when he sees Moonlight step back.
“H-how did you know?” He asks softly. “Honest question.”
“Why… you went against the hive. You don’t go against the hive. Maybe you didn’t know that, or maybe you do know that. I can’t tell, because I can’t see it when I look into your eyes. You see, the eyes are merely a flag to me. They tell if a pony is lying. They tell if a pony feels fear or disgust. What do you think your eyes tell me? Go on, take a guess. I will be here all day long.” She sits down, then licks at her foreleg.
Moonlight falls into silence. He sighs a bit when he realizes that he can’t know the answer. “I don’t know what you see. You are a different pony, and they all see different things. Or, am I assuming too much? Who are you anyway?”
“One question at a time,” She snaps. She then stands and stares at him. She tilts her head a bit. “You are assuming correctly. You can’t know what I see. There is no mirror, and what you see can be different from what I see. As for who I am?” She huffs a bit, flicking her tail in agitation. “My name is Natalia. Don’t bother with the last name. And yours?”
“Moonlight,” He says. “Unlike you, I will bother with a last one. Moonlight Fang. As you can see, I am a changeling.” He then shifts into Marly to prove a point.
Natalia stares at that form for an uncomfortable amount of time. Her mind was whirring, putting pieces together, and tearing apart the ones that won’t make sense. Ah, that mare is connected to him. What a good thing to notice. Yes, you will be useful, and I have ways to make you stick around. She then shakes her head, storing those thoughts away to be accessed again. When Moonlight shifts back, Natalia nods.
“Tell me, do you need a home?” She asks, attacking a point he hasn’t raised yet. The mare figured that he looked that bad for that reason. A nod makes her smile ever so faintly. “Ah yes. This is good. Moonlight, follow me.” She then trots down a trail, and then he follows.
She leads him to another clearing. A few fires are blazing healthily, being fed by some earth ponies. Their cutie marks shouldn’t have placed them in the forest, but they were here either way. Natalia trots to the center of the clearing then sits down. Ponies glance at her, then nod, then continue on with their jobs. She then rests her head on her forelegs, beckoning Moonlight over.
Moonlight trots up to her, then sits next to her. He still feels somewhat uncertain, but that uncertainty fades when she licks at his cheek. He blinks, not taking that as kindly as other ponies would. He then stands, frowning a bit now.
“Why did you do that?” He asks, looking at her. The ponies around him halt, and the tension in the air skyrockets. He didn’t know what was wrong with asking a question. He then glances back to Natalia, but she was gone. He blinks, highly confused now. She was just here! His thoughts scream. Is asking a question so bad? What the hell?
Natalia then pokes at his neck. She is behind him. “Don’t ask questions until I allow you to, okay? The previous questions asked were allowed.”
Moonlight frowns a bit, sighing now. “Alright fine,” He grumbles. He then returns to the center of the clearing. Natalia joins him at his side, her tail flicking at his side again. Moonlight isn’t too comfortable with that at all, so he moves away from her. She mirrors that move, frowning now. Since continuing that is pointless, Moonlight stops doing it. The tension in the clearing fades, and the ponies go back to working.
“You look like a curious pony that wants answers,” She says. “Ask away.”
“Where is here, exactly? I’m not familiar about this part of the forest,” Moonlight says. He looks around, frowning more. Something felt wrong, but he couldn’t place the feeling at all.
“You could say that we are in the middle of a clearing. We’re in the forest, are we not?” She asks with a frown.
Moonlight isn’t happy with the answer, but he continues anyway. “Who are these ponies?”
“Members of my clan,” Natalia says. She stands, trotting over to one, then nuzzling at his cheek. “They’re kept safe, and they do things that I want them to do. Yet, it’s all fair. Much better than your hives, right? They forced you into doing things for the benefit of the hive.”
He sighs, then nods. “They gave no fucks about the individual. Follow the queen, follow the queen, follow the queen,” He says.
“No need to follow me religiously,” Natalia says. You leave, and you’re dead. She thinks coolly. She is thankful that her unicorns stopped anypony from spying on their little clan. Ponies just loved to try and get the upper hoof. She easily countered that by telling the unicorns to make sure nopony can know what she is thinking. It has been a great success too.
“How will you get me the love I need?” He asks, frowning a bit.
“Oh, my dear Moonlight,” She says with a giggle. She stands, then rubs a hoof down his neck. “I have my ways.” She then gets up, giggling softly. “In the meantime, rest. You certainly will need it.” She snickers, then trots to a unicorn. She then starts to discuss things with him.
Moonlight shrugs, then closes his eyes. He dozes off, thankful for the warm fires, and the promise that he would have the love he needs.