The Forgotten Exile

by Echo 27

The Old Soldier

The morning broke in a hazy dawn of dirty grey. Twilight rose from her bed in a sleepy daze as her mind tore itself from her dreams.

“Morning, Spike,” she said groggily as she stretched out her legs, trying to rouse herself into action.

“Mff,” Spike mumbled, not even bothering to raise his head off his pillow. She assumed that he was suffering from the effects of last night.

A few minutes later she was in the kitchen, happily eating her breakfast of oatmeal. Spike came down as she finished, groggy and still looking unwell. “Say nothing,” he muttered.

Twilight giggled. “Not feeling better, huh?”

Spike sighed. “I’ll live,” he said, but growled under his breath, “Stupid raspberry flavor.”

“So what’s going to be on your agenda for today?” she inquired, and Spike looked up at her in surprise. “I’ll be helping you, as always,” he replied. “What else would I be doing?”

Twilight shrugged. “I don’t have much to do today,” she said. “You can have another day off, if you’d like.”

Spike looked up at her with an expression of utmost confusion. “What happened to the real Twilight, and how do I get her back?”

Twilight laughed airily. “Spike, nothing’s wrong. I’m just going to try to relax today. I want to show our new guest around, and I owe him for all his help yesterday.”

Spike gazed at her warily, looking uneasy. “Twilight, how well do you know him?”

Twilight paused, the spoon halfway to her mouth. “Spike, this has occurred to me, I promise.”

“But still, you need to be thinking about this, alright?” he pressed. “Just be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Spike, who says I like him?” she laughed, giving him a hug. “But I appreciate your concern all the same.”

Twilight went out into the morning to be greeted by a damp, chilly wind from the northwest. The skies were already turning dark grey, though it was still early in the morning. If she was to find Ocean Blue, she should do so before the weather broke.

To her great surprise, the first pony she ran into was none other than Rainbow Dash, who was up and about in a flurry of activity as she gathered stray branches from nearby trees. “Morning, Twi,” her multi-colored friend greeted cheerfully.

“Morning, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said just as cheerfully in reply, if not more so. Truth be told, she felt guilty about how she had acted (or at the very least felt) the day before, and wanted to do her best to make up for it. “Getting ready for today’s weather?”

Rainbow pushed her mane out of her vision, brushing the sweat off her brow. “Yeah, and it’s gonna be a doozy. Cloudchaser gave me a report from up north that it’s gonna be a bit stronger than expected, so be ready for some wind.”

“Well, thanks for the heads up,” Twilight replied. “Say, since you’ve been up, have you seen Ocean Blue today?”

“Yeah, he was up at the crack of dawn doing some exercise,” Rainbow Dash answered, suddenly appearing invigorated. “I challenged him to a race –I won, of course- and I found out he’s way fast for an Earth pony! It was awesome!”

Twilight’s insides went cold, but she did what she could to shake off those feelings. “Well, I’m glad you had a good time. Is he still around? I owe him some thanks for all his help yesterday.”

“Yeah, he’s over by the pond just outside of town,” Rainbow replied. “I think he settled down for the night there.”

“Alright, thanks. Bye, Rainbow!” Twilight said, already departing at a trot.

“Oh, uh, later!”

Not much later, Twilight found herself at the stone pool outside Ponyville, where Ocean Blue sat beside the waters, resting with his eyes half-closed.

“Morning!” Twilight said a little too energetically. You’re overdoing it, she cautioned herself. “Sleep well?”

“Well enough,” he responded, rising with a shake of his head. “Lovely day, isn’t it?”

Twilight gave a lopsided grin. “I know, it’s not the best. Sorry, but Rainbow Dash said it’s going to get even worse.”

“No, I really meant it!” Ocean Blue insisted. “Rain means I get an easy drink of water no matter what. Don’t have to go looking for a rock pool or anything.”

Twilight regarded him with a look of veiled interest. It was if he was intentionally laying these strange hints about his past without truly revealing anything. “Didn’t you live in a place where water was easy to find?”

“Depends on where I bedded down for the night,” he replied. “Could be the mountains one night, usually was the coastline, but always depended.”

“So you never really stayed in one place?” she asked.

“Not if I could help it,” he answered.

He’s being intentionally evasive, she thought to herself. Maybe this isn’t the way to get through to him.

“I’m gonna go get some breakfast,” he said. “I’ll see ya later, I guess.”

“Hey, why don’t I get you something?” Twilight suggested. “After all, I still owe you for all your help yesterday.”

Ocean shook his head. “Ponies help other ponies. It’s what we do.”

“But I promised I would,” she protested softly.

“And so I urge you to consider your promise fulfilled!” Ocean replied. “Twilight, you don’t owe me anything, and you never will. Let this one go, and I won’t think any less of you.”

“But-”

“But nothing, alright?” Ocean responded more forcefully. “Twilight, you’re a mare, I’m a stallion. If I hadn’t help you and your friends, I would have been at fault. It’s how it works.”

Twilight shook her head in defeat, rolling her eyes. He was stubborn. Polite, but still stubborn. “So, what ARE you gonna do for breakfast?”

“Look for something to eat,” he replied, glancing down at the pond ruefully. “Pity there’s no water lilies, they’re great for a quick snack.”

“You eat water lilies?” Twilight asked, amused. “Not much of a meal in those, is there?”

“I usually travel from water source to water source, you learn to eat whatever’s close. I prefer seaweed, but that’s harder to acquire.”

“Eurgh!” Twilight stared at him with a look of disgust. “That is so gross!”

“Hey, whatever keeps you going, right?” Ocean Blue said with a grin. “Twilight, I lived along the coastline for years. There’s nothing but palm fronds and seaweed, so you learn to eat what you can.”

“You need to learn what real food tastes like, I see,” she said slyly. “Come on, let me grab you something to eat and you stop eating food fit for the fishes.”

Ocean Blue gazed at her, his grin growing wider by the second. “You were just hoping for that to happen, weren’t you?”

As Twilight began to blush, Ocean Blue simply roared with laughter. “Fine, Princess, you win. Let’s eat, I’m as hungry as a h-”

Suddenly, a small white rabbit with a fluffy cotton tail darted out from the confines of a bush and dashed for Ocean Blue’s leg bracelets, grabbing one of them and rushing off.

“Hey! That stupid cotton ball stole my stuff!” And he raced after the small animal in a hurry.

“Wait up! Don’t hurt him!” Twilight yelled as she ran after him, hoping to catch up before he could injure the bunny. For she was fairly certain as to whom that rabbit belonged to, and was quite sure she would not be happy if her precious pet was harmed.

Twilight half-ran, half-flew into town as she caught up with Ocean Blue, finding him standing in the center of town, towering over a small bunny clutching his bracelet and the pink-maned pegasus that was its owner.

“That stinking thing stole my bracelet!” he snapped.

“And I’m sure he didn’t mean to steal it,” Fluttershy said shakily, gazing up at Ocean Blue fearfully. “Angel Bunny probably thought it was lost. Didn’t you, Angel?”

Angel shook his head and stuck his tongue out at Ocean Blue, whose nostrils flared with anger. “Oh, maybe he did mean to take it,” Fluttershy concluded.

“It was lying next to my saddlebags, he stole it,” Ocean Blue said drily. “May I have my bracelet back now?”

“Angel, please give the very tall, very big stallion his bracelet,” Fluttershy ordered, still crouching down on the ground.

Most reluctantly, Angel held up the bracelet, and Ocean Blue stuck his hoof through it, bringing it further up the leg with his other hoof. “No thanks to you, Fluffy,” he said cuttingly.

“Morning, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, trying to tear the timid mare away from the ground where she trembled. “Sorry about all this.”

“It’s OK, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied, still eyeing Ocean Blue nervously. “Angel Bunny was just being a little bit naughty.”

“Alright. Uh, Fluttershy, this is Ocean Blue, he’s new in town. Ocean, this is Fluttershy, one of my friends I mentioned yesterday,” Twilight said, trying to make her timid friend feel more comfortable.

“Ah, the animal lover,” Ocean said briskly, extending the mare a hoof to raise herself off the ground. “Nice to meet you.”

Fluttershy crept back inch by inch, her eyes locked on the stallion towering above her. Ocean Blue took a breath and rescinded his helping hoof, looking awkward and embarrassed.

“So, why does a pegasus such as yourself work with land animals?” Ocean Blue bravely attempted, taking a stab at making conversation.

Fluttershy looked down at the ground and said nothing. Twilight was feeling more and more uncomfortable by the second and was hoping her soft-yellow coated friend would overcome her shyness.

However, at that particular moment, two small unicorns dashed by the trio as fast as their small legs could carry them and screaming at the top of their lungs.

Fluttershy shrieked and leapt onto a nearby rooftop, clutching Angel tightly in her hooves.

“What in the-” Ocean Blue sputtered. “The hay is going on in this town?”

“Wasn’t that Snips and Snails- look!” Twilight yelled, pointing towards the direction from where the pair of unicorns had come running, and Ocean looked up to see Applejack rushing towards them, huffing and puffing.

“Timberwolves!” Applejack gasped, a hoof rubbing the stitch in her chest. “A whole dirty pack of them, biggest pack ah’ve ever seen. They’re headed straight for town.”

“Timberwolves!” Twilight echoed, but Ocean Blue cut across her.

“How many?” he asked, his voice sharp and serious.

“Ah dunno,” Applejack said hastily. “Ah couldn’t tell-”

“Give me an estimate, then!” Ocean barked.

“About twenty or so!” Applejack fired back.

“Alright, Applejack, listen to me,” he instructed. “I need you to alert the other ponies, get them all inside, we’ve got to minimize casualties at all cost. Once you’ve done that, try and find Rainbow Dash and tell her to find me and Twilight, we’ll need all the help we can get. Now go!”

The town was instantly in a panic as news of the incoming timberwolf pack spread. Mothers ran looking for their foals while others tried to help Applejack clear the streets.

On the border of town, near where the forest lurked, stood Ocean Blue and Twilight, watching the dust cascade into the sky as the enormous wolf pack grew ever closer. The vicious yips and snarls of the beasts already seemed deafening, and the creatures were still several yards away. Twilight could feel her heart pounding in fear, despite her cool head preventing her from panicking.

Ocean Blue, however, had practically transformed into a steel titan, his eyes ablaze and his posture set for combat. “Remember, aim for the throat, they have a sensitive windpipe. One good shot to the throat and the body should fall apart.”

Twilight nodded, trying to do her best to imitate his stance. It was flawless from hindhooves to forehooves; perfectly balanced, and spring-loaded for easy maneuvering in any direction.

“Twilight, relax, you can do this,” Ocean Blue assured her calmly. “We’re going to protect these ponies, and we’re going to drive them back. Ready… strike!”

The wolf pack was upon them, yipping and snarling as they set themselves on their prey, rushing for the two ponies-

Twilight fired spell after spell into the throng of vicious timberwolves, scoring a direct hit in the throat of a particularly large one, disintegrating the body in one fell swoop-

Ocean Blue leapt into the air and collided with another, the blow so powerful he crashed through the oak-layered body-

A lithe and crafty wolf snuck up behind Twilight and leapt for her wings, preparing to sink its teeth into the soft feathers-

Twilight spun and caught the beast with her hooves, sending a spell down its throat and blowing the wood to pieces-

Ocean soon found himself surrounded by multiple wolves, each preparing to take down the sea-coated stallion. He was on his hind hooves at once, punching down a wolf and crushing the maple skull beneath his hooves-

A second wolf leapt for his hindquarters and he slid underneath, planting his hind hooves on its belly and delivering a swift kick that sent pieces of it scattering across the fray-

Twilight, despite trying to focus totally on the battle at hand, could not help but admire his incredible skill of combat. He was landing each hit precisely, effortlessly, as if he had done this for years.

Another wolf lunged for her throat and she sent it flying with a blasting spell-

Ocean Blue was so focused on the action in front of him that he failed to notice a lone timberwolf slithering across the ground behind him, preparing to lock its jaws around his legs-

a blur of colors struck the sneaking wolf and sent the others flying backwards as the burst of air pushed them back. Rainbow Dash gave a yell of exhilaration and struck again, simply crushing another timberwolf beneath her powerful speed.

The wolves gave a yelp of fright and scattered into the town of Ponyville, the cries of frightened ponies erupting wherever the beasts now roamed.

“Quick! After them!” Ocean roared, already racing after one of the largest remaining wolves. “Don’t let them bite anyone!”

Rainbow and Twilight took to the skies in order to locate the remaining timberwolves, rushing up towards the gray clouds.

There were five wolves left when they scattered, Twilight listed off, trying to organize her scattered thoughts. Ocean Blue is tracking down one, Rianbow Dash and I can each take down another, so that leaves two unaccounted for-

The familiar cry of the local farm girl reached their ears along with the terrified cry of a defeated timberwolf, and Twilight peered down to see the wooden body of the wolf blast apart as Applejack kicked another rock that finished off the remainder of the oaken corpse.

“Nice shot, AJ!” Rainbow Dash yelled triumphantly, blazing a multi-colored trail through town in her desperate search for the remaining wolves.

Twilight flew higher and higher as she scanned the tiny village, looking for any suspicious movement to indicate one of the predators was out in the open.

There! Down at Sugarcube Corner was one of the wolves, scrabbling at the door in its efforts to enter and feast upon its inhabitants.

Twilight surged downwards in a perfect arc, trying to get in range and release the bolt of energy that would bring the beast down-

there was a tremendous Snap! and the locks on the door broke, letting the door creak slowly open and the wolf to enter with a snarl.

“No!” Twilight cried, increasing her speed and slamming into the ground with magnificent force, sending a rippling shockwave through the earth. Dashing in to the sweet shop, she was met with the horrific sight of the wolves lunging into a crowd of huddled ponies, finding the hind leg of a small filly and sinking its teeth into her flesh.

Zap! Twilight’s bolt of magic scored a hit on the hindquarters of the wolf and blasted it apart, with a second bolt searing through its wooden throat, finishing it off for good.

But the damage had already been done. The young filly’s leg was already covered in blood and the wound kept pouring out more as it seeped onto the floorboards.

There was a crash behind her –Twilight turned around expecting more wolves- and saw Ocean Blue right behind her, eyes wide and nostrils flaring in fear.

“Who was bitten?” he demanded. Noticing the bleeding pony, he dashed across to check the wound. “How long has it been? How long?”

“Seconds,” the filly’s mother sobbed, cradling her injured child. “It was on her in an instant, we couldn’t do anything to stop it-”

But Ocean Blue wasn’t listening. “Twilight, get me a glass of water, hurry!” he ordered. Turning to the Cakes, who stood by trembling, he said, “Grab me a cloth. A small one!”

Twilight raced into the kitchen, found an empty cup and filled it to the brim, though not at all sure why Ocean had asked for it. When she returned, she found him picking apart the remains of the timberwolf, picking out two dark green jewels from the wreckage.

“Cloth!” he managed to spit out, despite holding the jewels between his teeth. Once the Cakes brought the cloth over, he set the jewels down on it and crushed them beneath his hooves, continuing to do so until they were ground into a fine powder. “Twilight, you’ll be better at this than me. Pick up the cloth and pour the powder into the water, then stir it for ten seconds.”

Twilight did as she was instructed, heart hammering. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the condition of the injured filly was becoming graver by the second as sickly poisonous green lines appeared around her bite wound and began to make their way up her leg.

“Excellent,” Ocean breathed, his eyes set on the cup of powdered water which was now a light green. “Now, take it and pour it on the wound.” He turned and knelt down by the young filly, who was beginning to cry. “What’s your name, kiddo?” he asked, his voice soft and quiet.

“Twirl,” she answered, sniffling.

“Twirl, my name’s Ocean Blue,” he said. “Now listen, what Princess Twilight’s about to do is going to do will hurt but it will make you feel a lot better. I need you to be a brave girl and try not to move, OK? Can you do that?”

Twirl nodded, trying to ignore that her leg was almost completely purple, and the vile color was beginning to seep onto her flank.

“Alright, Twilight, pour it onto the bite. Slowly.”

Twilight took great care as she positioned the cup directly above the teeth marks and began to pour it precisely onto the wound.

Twilight had to give the young filly credit, for though her face spoke of excruciating pain, she did not recoil but instead allowed the colored liquid to flow gently onto the bite. Instantaneously, the sickly coloring that had so viciously overtaken the young girl’s body began to fade, retreating back to the area directly surrounding the wound. Twilight finished by shedding the last few droplets onto the bite, pleased to see the discoloration had all but totally faded.

“Thank you, Twilight,” Ocean Blue said, giving a massive sigh of relief. “OK, Twirl, listen to me. A timberwolf’s bite is poisonous, so you’ve still got some of the disease in you. But, we managed to keep you safe for a few more hours. You’ll need to go to the hospital, but you’re going to be alright. You hear me? Look at me and tell me you’re going to be alright.”

“I’m going to be alright,” Twirl said bravely, giving the stallion a watery smile.

“Atta girl,” Ocean said, rising to his feet. He turned to face Twirl’s parents. “Where’s the nearest hospital? Take her there and we’ll meet you in less than an hour with the cure. Twilight, with me.”

The pair of ponies rushed back out into the clouded day, sighting their colored pegasus companion soaring above. “Rainbow Dash, are there any wolves left?” Twilight yelled.

“None, AJ and I got ‘em all!” Rainbow yelled back.

“Excellent work, you two!” Ocean Blue roared. “Twilight, those jewels I gathered earlier-”

“They’re the eyes of a timberwolf, aren’t they?” Twilight guessed shrewdly.

“Right in one,” Ocean replied. “We need five of those jewels to have a permanent cure for Twirl, or else the poison will destroy her blood stream. Now let’s move!”

Two hours later, Twilight found herself outside a hospital room, waiting silently for Nurse Redheart to reappear and deliver the good news. Ocean Blue sat beside her, his eyes closed as if in a trance.

The two had run back to where they had first encountered the pack of timberwolves, shuffling through all the debris left over. It had taken them merely minutes to find all the jewels sufficient for the cure, but administering the proper dosage would take much longer. As Nurse Redheart had put it, “No one SURVIVES a timberwolf bite.”

That had been nearly an hour ago, and the Princess and her companion still waited for the nurse to emerge from the room. Twirl’s parents were nestled safely inside, and Twilight had heard nothing from inside to indicate either their grief or their joy.

“Twirl will be fine,” Ocean Blue said assuredly. “It takes atleast three hours for the poison from the bite to do serious damage, she got the cure in a third of that time. She’ll survive, she’s a tough little filly.

The door creaked open and Nurse Redheart crept out, looking exhausted, but very pleased. “She’ll be fine,” she said sweetly. “The doctor says she’ll be weak for a while, but you all brought the cure quickly enough to make sure she survived. Very well done, Your Majesty.”

Twilight squirmed uncomfortably, not only because of her official title being called into account, but also because the credit was not her due. “It wasn’t me,” she confessed. “I’ve never heard of anyone surviving a timberwolf bite, I didn’t know there was a cure. It was all Ocean Blue’s doing.”

For the first time, she saw the handsome stallion looked uncomfortable, distinctly embarrassed, even. He mumbled something about “Trying to help” and looked down at the ground.

“The parents are asking to see you both,” Redheart added, stepping aside to let the pair of them in.

Twilight proceeded first, Ocean Blue following slowly behind. Twirl’s parents looked up from their resting child and smiled widely, their eyes filling with tears. “How is she?” Twilight asked softly.

“She’ll be fine, thanks to the two of you,” Twirl’s mother said, her husband nodding. “We can’t ever thank you enough for what you did. Our daughter…” She became overcome by emotion and buried her face in a handkerchief.

“We were glad to help,” Twilight said warmly, giving a sweet smile in return. “But really, the person you should be thanking is-”

“Please don’t,” Ocean said, more embarrassed than ever. “You’ve got a brave little filly. That temporary cure we poured on her leg burns something awful.”

“How did you know that would work?” Twirl’s father asked, his wings held aloft, indicating his interest. Twilight turned to face the sea-coated stallion, as eager to know that information as the others.

“I’ve run into timberwolves before, that’s all,” he answered vaguely. “Some ponies told me the secret, and I always remembered. I’ll let you all rest, it’s been a trying day.”

He swiftly departed the bedside room and exited, turning the corner and walking out of sight. Twilight gave a sigh, said goodbye to Twirl’s parents, and followed after him. To her great surprise, she found Rainbow Dash and Applejack heading towards them, Snips and Snails walking alongside them.

“These two wanted to see Twirl,” Applejack explained in response to Twilight’s quizzical look. “And to explain what happened.”

“We didn’t mean for anything to go wrong!” Snips immediately cried, looking upset. “We were just traveling through the woods to go meet Zecora!”

Twilight slid down a little to be more on their level. “Start from the beginning, and tell me what happened.”

The story didn’t take very long. Zecora, a zebra who lived in the Everfree Forest, had been telling stories of her homeland at the local schoolhouse, by request of Miss Cherilee. Snips and Snails had been in attendance that day and had been spellbound by the stories the zebra have woven, and were more than eager to hear more. Having nothing to do this morning, they decided to go to her house in the forest and ask if they could hear more of her stories. About halfway through the journey, a massive pack of timberwolves had crawled out from the black of the woods and attacked. Snips and Snails simply turned tail and ran back the way they had come, but found the wolves were still pursuing them, and pursued them out into the open air.

“That’s when we ran into town,” Snails finished, looking down at the floor.

“We’re really sorry,” Snips added timidly, still distressed. “We were scared, and we didn’t know what else to do.”

“It’s alright, you were right to run,” Twilight said consolingly. “But I’ve never heard of a timberwolf pack venturing so far out into the open before. Are you sure you didn’t do anything to entice them?”

“Beyond running?” Rainbow added drily, but was silenced by a reproving glare from Applejack.

“No, we ran the moment we saw them,” Snips answered. “We don’t know why they came crawling out of the woods.”

“I think I do,” Ocean Blue said suddenly. He was staring at the two young unicorns thoughtfully. “Was it really dark in the forest today?”

As the two colts nodded, Ocean Blue gave a contented smile. “Then I know for sure. You see, timberwolves are usually nocturnal predators, and that’s why you rarely ever see them. They dislike bright light. Well today, it’s been dark and gloomy ever since morning because of the incoming weather, right? To the timberwolves, this was no different from their forest.”

“But we’ve been attacked by timberwolves before in broad daylight,” Applejack objected.

“Hmm…” the stallion looked thoughtful. “How close were you to the forest?”

“Well, right next to it, ah guess,” Applejack admitted reluctantly.

“And there you have it,” Ocean Blue said triumphantly. “A timberwolf is still a predator, so if there’s easy prey nearby, they’ll take it. Sharks would do the exact same thing in the same circumstances, its predatory nature.”

“A what?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Sea creature,” Twilight explained hastily, returning to Snips and Snails. “Twirl’s going to be fine, you two, so no harm done in the end. All the timberwolves are gone, and everyone will be just fine.”

“Thank you, Twilight,” Snips replied. “May we go visit Twirl now?”

“Last we saw she was asleep,” she replied. “But if you ask politely, her parents may let you in.”

The two unicorns thanked her and were off down the hall to visit the injured filly. A clap of thunder broke the silence, causing the four of them to jump.

Ocean Blue went over to the nearest window and peered outside. “Man, it is pouring buckets out there!” he said excitedly.

“Told ya it would,” Rainbow Dash replied smugly.

“And you were right on the money,” Ocean Blue said. “If you all will excuse me, I love a good shower.”

“Hold on a minute,” Twilight muttered to her friends, rushing to catch up with him. “Hey, Ocean!”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you,” she said simply. “For all that you did today. You helped save Ponyville with your actions.”

“I wouldn’t have done anything else but help,” he replied, turning to the side. “After all, it’s who my Mark tells me to be.”

Twilight didn’t realize what he was doing at first until she caught sight of it: his Cutie Mark, a beautiful dark-blue stormcloud in the form of a shield. “It’s like my brother’s,” she whispered. “I mean, he has a shield Cutie Mark as well.”

“Soldier?” he guessed. “So was I, a long time ago.”

“You were?” she asked.

“A while back,” he sighed, his expression distant. “Look, I’m gonna go, get some rest. See you in the morning.”

It took Twilight a moment to register his words. “Wait, you’re staying?” she asked incredulously.

Ocean Blue shrugged. “It’s late,” he said shortly. “Might as well just stay one more night, then go once people start coming in.”

“We’ll be glad to have you around,” Twilight said warmly, a soft glow like sunlight streaming through her.

Ocean Blue smiled, a true smile that displayed genuine warmth. “Tell you what, I get up early for a run every morning. Why don’t you join me tomorrow?”

Twilight was delighted and agreed to meet him just before sunrise, and with that he departed.

“Where’s he going?” Applejack asked, appearing behind Twilight and giving the lavender princess a quick fright.

“Leaving,” she said. “I think he’s a bit worn out from all that happened today.”

“It was a big deal,” Applejack replied. “How’d he know just what to do when those wolves came running? How’d he know how to cure Twirl?”

Twilight shook her head. “He just knows things like that, I guess.”

“Hey Twilight,” Rainbow Dash remarked suddenly, peering out the front doors. “He’s just standing out in the rain.”

“What?” she replied, somewhat incredulous. As she gazed out the front door windows, she saw him simply standing in the torrential downpour, a look of perfect contentment on his face. Taking a hoof to his bandana and tugging, the bandana fell and his mane fell out into the open air, soaking in the endless rain.

His mane was the same color as his tail, a mix of seafoam white and sea blue, but it was as if the rain had transformed it into a moving being, pulsing back and forth like the surf on the seashore. He laughed uproariously, joyously at peace as the rain soaked him and cleaned away his body.

"Have you ever seen anything like that?" Rainbow asked. "The way his mane moves... almost like it's alive."

Twilight said nothing but continued to watch hi, with a mixture of curiosity and admiration. She HAD seen something very similar to what was occurring before her, in only two other ponies. But for the life of her she had no idea why...

Because it couldn't be. He couldn't be... could he?

Comments

[Guilty King]

Soldier eh?
why is a soldier exiled...

[NobleValor]

4201996 Deserting?