The Problem With Magic

by deathtap

Day 11: Home Sweet Home

My eyes opened up to a beam of light that happened to land exactly where I was sleeping. Shifting my face to get out of the light’s path, I found myself having great difficulty getting back to sleep. There was nothing for me to do, except sleep. Thing was, I couldn’t! Usually I’d relish any excuse to remain in bed, to continue to snooze through the morning waking up just in time for lunch. Then again, that was before I got here, before I came to this magical land.

Lugging my ass out of bed, I moseyed over to the giant windows pushing them wide open. The air here was different. Not only was it cooler, but it had a crisp moist flavour as well, like fresh rain but not as obvious.

“Oh, you’re awake?” A voice said behind me. It was the doctor and his gigantic moustache, which seemed to be combed back, “I was about to check on you.”

“Hello, doctor.”

“Mind if you hop back onto your bed so I can look at your wound?” He asked, patting the bed with his hoof. I lay on my side as the doctor checked and after a bit of poking (around the wound) he nodded approvingly, “Well, Forest, it’s healing well. But you’ve lost a significant amount of blood, so I would like to do a blood transfusion. I’ll need to take some blood to find the appropriate donor…”

“You could just wring out one of my old bandages,” I muttered, “There’s enough blood there for a sample… or ten.”

“Well, yes,” The doctor coughed, “But we threw your old bandages away.”

The fact that he actually humoured me about that was certainly amusing. The only reason why I had suggested it was to avoid the inevitable needle. Despite all their magic, they still used needles. What is it about needles that make me shudder? Some are indifferent to them, while others absolutely abhor them! Like me.

I closed my eyes as I felt the tiny prick on my flank – wait, that doesn’t sound right.

“All done,” The doctor said, “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

“I guess not,” I lied.

“I will see you later,” And with that the doctor left.

And just like that I was again all alone in the ward. That was really starting to bother me. This was a huge room! Why was I the only one in here? Trying to push the nagging feeling that something was amiss, I once again got out of bed and sat near the large window. From my vantage I could see down one of the main streets of Canterlot, its citizens going about their own businesses. In a way it was actually quite therapeutic, and by that I mean extremely boring. Compared to the events that had transpired over the past few days, doing nothing was exhausting! I needed to do something! Anything! But I also understood that I needed to rest.

After a while of ‘Pony-gazing’ out the window, I explored the large room. There was not really much to see. The curtains that were used to give patients privacy were all pushed together against the corner opposite from my bed. High up along the walls were pictures of various Ponies, under each was that same writing I’ve multiple times before, but couldn’t read. It looked as if I was shoved into this room at the last minute; everything else looked as if it had been here for a long time with the exception of my bed and the furniture around it. Two chairs, a bedside table and a reading light. That was when I spotted the book. It lying on the bedside table, how had I missed that earlier? Picking it up, I glanced over the title. It read ‘The Complete History of Equestria’ and I could tell that it had been recently dusted by someone in a hurry – he or she had missed a few spots. There was only one Pony that would do this and as I looked over the book I noticed a piece of paper folded in half sticking out between the pages near the middle of the book, like a bookmark. I pulled it out and opened it to discover it was a letter, written very hurriedly.

Forest,

I hope that you really forgive me for what happened. I wanted to give this book to you myself, but I had to run and catch my train which leaves in less than ten minutes. I’ve asked Aiden to drop this book off for me.

I noticed that you were keenly interested in the history of our country. I hope that this book will shed some light on it. It’s from the library, so please take care of it. When you’re done with, just drop it off.

Thanks,

T. Sparkle.

I read the letter a couple more times, and smiled. She really did care! Putting the letter aside, I picked the book up and walked over to the window, and opened the first page. Instantly I got a little annoyed. This was a history book for children! There were little to no words. And what was up with all the illustrations? Beautiful as they were, I wanted to know more about the actual history! Flipping the page over, I noticed that the pictures fed into one another. In was literally a graphic novel – without words.

Surprisingly, I found myself actually understanding bits of it. It went something like this…

A long time ago, perhaps even eons, there were three kingdoms, one here, another above, and one below. Typical heaven, earth and hell type of structure, and yet there was something different about this. As I read on, the world above and the world below had a war, a terrible war that slew many, and left the middle world in desolation. This was extremely bad because it led to famine and other dastardly things. In order to save themselves, the world above and the one below agreed to forsake their homes and move to the middle world bring the two halves together. And thus, the world was born!

But there was more! It went on about how magic was discovered (I had no idea how I knew that, nor did I fully comprehend the story about it), but what I did know was that over time there were three races of Ponies that had their own kingdoms. They consisted of Earth-Ponies, the Pegasi, and finally Unicorns. The three races fed off of each other, not working together and only for each one’s benefit, which led to wars. The Pegasi controlled the weather, which the Earth Ponies needed to grow the food, which each Pony needed to live, while the Unicorns controlled the rising and setting of the sun. Then some frosty horses came along and ruined this system.

The frosty horses rang a bell. Recently I had come across them. Windigoes! The dagger that Spike gave me had a vial of it in the middle of the blade. The blade! My bag! My eyes scoured the ward, and hanging on a hook on the far end of the room was that bag-belt Spike had given to me. Walking over to it, I checked the pockets. Everything was where it should be, including the dagger. Taking it down, I slipped in on.

I was about to return to my reading when I heard voices in the hallway.

“Impossible,” It said in a loud whisper, “That’s not possible. Run the test again!”

“Doctor, we’ve run the tests several times. He’s got zero matches,” A second voice said.

“That is impossible? We’re the biggest hospital in all Equestria! We have blood for every creature under Celestia’s sun here!” He growled.

“Well, there is a very close match… but it’s…”

“What, speak up?”

“The close match is from the human, doctor. The only blood that comes close to matching Forest’s is the sample we got from Brian Dash when you did the operation to remove his wings,” The nurse whispered.

“What did you say?” The doctor was visibly stunned.

The blood in my face drained. Oh. Shit!

“We need to report this to the Princess,” The doctor took the clipboard and scanned it, “Run another test, while I confront the patient regarding this.”

No time to think! I had to get out of here! Why? No idea. Panic was slowly encroaching on my common senses and I just couldn’t think straight. I needed time to process this new knowledge. I needed… to hide! To get out of here and hide! But the only other way out was… the window. Leaning over the ledge I looked down at the grass below. Not a good idea. I’d break my legs and then I’d really be screwed.

The doctor was about to come in, my heart thumped in my chest and I dove behind the patient curtain privacy things that were right next to the window. I squeezed in between two of them hoping that the doctor didn’t bother searching for me there.

“Nurse, where is the patient?” The doctor barked.

The poor nurse entered the ward and instantly saw me missing, “I don’t know, doctor…”

“Go find him! We cannot let him out of this hospital! If the tests are accurate, then he is an imposter! For all we know he might be a… a Changeling!” The doctor exclaimed.

Changeling? You’ve got to be kidding me!

“What’s going on?” A voice asked. I recognized it instantly.

Aiden!

“Never mind, young lad. Looks like our friend here has decided that he doesn’t want to take my advice,” The doctor sighed, “He’s run off again.”

The doctor at least had the decency to hide the fact he thought I was a…

“Or he might be a Changeling.”

Son of a bitch!

“What? How can you possibly think that?” Aiden asked, his voice sounded bemused.

“His blood type does not match any we have. Either he’s entirely new creature, or he’s a Changeling. I task you with the job of finding him,” The doctor said.

“Sir, I’m retired. I…”

“I’m un-retiring you! I am placing you in charge of getting the fugitive Forest Fire back here, do you understand?” The doctor’s voice faded as he started barking orders to other individuals.

“Forest? If you’re here, come out. You cannot hide from the Royal Guard. Trust me,” Aiden shouted, “If you surrender yourself, I will guarantee no harm will come to you.”

My mind raced through every possible scenario, every outcome. Didn’t I already decide that fleeing was pointless? But what could I do? My blood gave me away…

But what am I still doing here?

That would mean… the bet hasn’t been lost! Not yet! Gulping, I poked my head out of my hiding place and spotted Aiden standing near the bed.

“Aiden!” I whispered.

He turned his head to see me, “Forest?” He walked closer, “What’s going on?”

“I need to get out of here,” I replied, “Something unexpected showed up on my blood test.”

“What? Like that fact that you’re not a Pony? You should have told us the truth! You should have told Twilight the truth! How could you lie to her like that?”

“I don’t… I don’t remember anything!” I said defensively, “And I didn’t lie.”

“The doctor seems convinced you’re a Changeling,” He whispered.

I wish. “Look, I know it’s asking a lot, but I need time to prove that I’m not a Changeling. Just help me get out of here.”

“You think that I’d betray my Queen and my friend for you?” He had a point.

“I saved you. You owe me,” I replied through gritted teeth.

That made him pause. He looked at me, “You protected Twilight, and for that I will help you.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

“But after I help you escape, I’m coming after you,” Aiden said, “I’ll give you a few hours head-start before I hunt you down.”

“A few hours?”

He gave me a look.

“Fine, that’s fair,” I grumbled. I didn’t really have a choice.

“Or, you could just let Princess Celestia change you to your normal form,” Aiden said, “She’s the only one with the power to change a creature from one form to another. I know that for a fact.”

“Yeah, about that… it didn’t work the last time she tried…”

Aiden looked at me funnily, “What do you mean?”

“Twilight didn’t mention it? We were here to do just that. It didn’t work. The process nearly killed me instead,” I pointed at me chest, “That is how I got this wound.”

He looked slightly confused and angry that I had said that, “The Princess would never hurt anypony – not even you.”

“It wasn’t as if she had a choice, Aiden. She had no idea. None of them did, okay? I’m not angry at the Princess or Twilight,” This moron was wasting time!

“Forest!” A voice yelled from behind us, “There you are!” Spinning around I spotted the doctor, and with him both Princess Celestia and Luna.

Shit.

“Forest,” Princess Celestia asked, “What’s the meaning of this?”

“Meaning of what?” I asked.

“The doctor says that you’re blood test says that you’re… you’re…” Princess Celestia was not very pleased.

I backed up towards the window, “I’m what?” I asked trying to play dumb.

“A human,” Princess Celestia’s voice was hushed, “You lied to us! You lied to us.”

“What?” Aiden asked, his eyes wide open, he had expected the Princess to accuse me of being a Changeling, not a human. And I wish that she had said that too.

“Yeah… about that, would you believe me if I told you I have no idea what you’re talking about?” I grinned nervously.

“But how are you here?” Celestia replied walking forward slowly toward me, “It isn’t possible!”

“I still have trouble understanding what you’re talking about,” My only chance was to continuously play dumb. I wanted to back away some more, to gain some distance between the Princesses and myself, but my flank press against the window sill. There was nowhere to go! Or was there?

“My sister demands truth, as do I!” Princess Luna’s horn began to glow, “You will tell us the truth!”

“Luna, no!” Princess Celestia shouted, but it was too late. A bolt of purple light hurled its way towards me.

Not wanting to suffer the agony of another one of those crazy spells, I turned around and leapt out of the open window.

I felt my body hit something soft and cushiony, and as I slowly opened my eyes I found myself in a disturbing yet familiar place. I knew where I was.

“I guess you’ve won then,” I said aloud.

“Actually, I haven’t,” Tutela walked over to me, and placed her hoof on my shoulder, “You haven’t lost yet.”

“What do you mean? Princess Celestia over there said I was a human,” I pointed with my hoof towards where it looked like I had come, the large window to my ward where just seconds before I had leapt through was clearly visible in an oval of shaped bordered by a faint neon-green light. It was like watching a TV. Whatever it was, it was clear that I was no longer in their world. I was no longer in the land of magic and Ponies. I could see Princess Celestia and Luna talking heatedly with each other while a bewildered Aiden and doctor kept looking down and around to see where I had gotten to.

“Doesn’t that mean I lost? And if not, why did you bring me here?”

“Because, Forest, if I had let you hit the ground with that wound, you wouldn’t be walking again,” Tutela smiled. Her fangs were gone.

“You… saved me?”

“That’s right. But I can’t do it often, and you made me do it in front of both Princess Celestia and Luna as well. If Luna’s spell had not blinded everyone in that room then this place would have surely been discovered. You really are a hoofful.”

“So… what now?”

“Celestia suspects that you’re a human. It’s up to you to convince her otherwise,” Her green eyes narrowed as she stared at me, “Our bet is you remain in Equestria until you get discovered. Otherwise you lose and stay here with me.”

“Do you have any ideas?” I asked. Look at me! Asking for her help! Was I mad or what?

She grinned, “Yes, I do. But I’m not going to tell you.”

“Figures,” I muttered, “Okay, so you’re sending me back?”

“Yes,” Tutela frowned, “But I can only send you back to the same place as last time.”

“Oh joy. Back to the Everfree Forest! Yay!” I cheered sarcastically.

“Oh, and one more thing, your wound,” She pointed to it, “I’ll help heal it for you, but no more freebies.”

“Okay,” I replied, “Oh, and Tutela on more thing. Thank you.”

Her face changed color slightly. Was she blushing? Before I could say anything else I felt a pull in my gut and Tutela became a tiny figure as it felt like I was rushing backwards through a vortex. My vision tunnelled and then blacked out.

My body hit the ground and I came sliding to a halt. Pushing myself up, I shook my head and waited for my vision to clear. Indeed, there I was sitting in the exact same place from when I first came to Equestria. I looked myself over, and using my hoof, took off my bandage. The wound was indeed healed! Only the scar remained.

Well, that’s convenient. I poked the scar a bit to see if it was still tender.

Somehow I had to convince everypony I wasn’t a human, then get back to Canterlot, and because I was now a fugitive I had to do all this without being seen. Who knows what complications might arise if I was found back in Ponyville, I couldn’t let my new friends take any flak on my behalf no matter what the end result. I may not have written in stone, but I didn’t want to see any of them get hurt because of me.

Now with a mission all planned out, I quickly searched for Zecora’s house. It was not hard to find. The exit for the gateway, portal - whatever you call it, was actually fairly close to her home. But first I had to make sure that she did not see me. So I hid in the thick bushes and walked around until I came across the main path.

At first it seemed like a great idea! But as I edged around the clearing between Zecora’s home, I got tangled in some vines that tripped me up and I came crashing into a bush full of bright red fruits, the goo turned sticky and it was a struggled to get untangled from everything. Angry, annoyed and frustrated I screamed in exasperation and bolted out from the bushes towards the main path, but a vine wrapped around my hooves tripped me up and I ended up face-planting against a tree.

The impact had dazed me, so I tried to shake my head to get rid of the stars that I was seeing. My head refused to budge. I was stuck. The goo from the berries had acted like an adhesive and I was completely stuck.

“Are you kidding me?” I shouted to myself. After a minor struggle the bark of the tree gave way as I managed to pull myself free using my hooves. Now the problem was the position of my new facial ornament. It blocked my view making it impossible to see straight ahead. No matter how hard I tried ripping it off my face it would not budge. Angry and annoyed, I pulled the edges of the bark down in an attempt to break it in half. Two pieces did break off, but they firmly fixed themselves on either side of my muzzle. Now it felt like I was wearing a mask. Frustrated, I let it be; at least now I could see.

As I walked out of the Everfree Forest, the first thing I saw was Fluttershy.

Can this get any worse? I muttered to myself. If she spots me I could get into a whole load of trouble. Couldn’t risk it. I quickly tried to move away but something was snagging on something else. When I turned to look, one of those vines stuck to my body was now snagged against a root of one of the nearby trees.

Fluttershy was outside her house checking her mail when she heard the noise I made trying to pull myself free. As she peered over my way, I ducked behind some bushes in a futile attempt to hide. Without breathing, I waited for a long moment before I peeked out from my hiding spot to find that she had gone! Was I in the clear?

“Um… hello?” A voice quietly called from just above me.

Aw, man! Fluttershy looked down at me, her wings gently beating keeping her aloft.

“I’ve never seen you before,” She said, landing in front of me. Wasn’t she being really friendly? I barely talked to her. Did my encounter with her… “You’re a strange looking creature.”

Creature? She thinks I’m a creature and not a Pony? Then it hit me - much like the tree from before. The wood, the vines, the ensemble that had stuck onto me and also the place where I was coming from all contributed to my disguise – I was a creature of the Everyfree Forest! As much as I hated fooling her, I ran with it.

“Are you hungry?” She asked, “Come, I’ll give you something to eat.”

Not really knowing what to do, I followed Fluttershy to her house. There she put a bowl of food on the floor for me – chopped carrots and some other greens. To be honest, I was kind of hungry, so I just started munching away.

“Fluttershy, what in tarnation is that thing?” A familiar voice asked from the doorway.

I nearly choked on my mouthful of food. Applejack!

“Oh, I don’t know. I saw it coming out of the Everfree Forest, and it looked hungry,” Fluttershy stated.

Fooling Fluttershy was one thing, but Applejack wasn’t easily fooled. I kept my head down and continued pretending to eat.

“Well, okay. As long as you think it’s safe, I guess. Are you ready?”

“Hm? Oh yes, I forgot that it was my turn to stay with Rainbow Dash tonight,” Fluttershy walked to the door and paused, “Nice meeting you, strange creature.”

I glanced over in their direction careful not to reveal any Pony-like traits. As they closed the door, I rushed to the window and peered out of it carefully.

“Brian’s really excited to see you, Fluttershy,” Applejack said, her voice muffled, “He wanted to talk with you…”

So, they were headed to the hospital. That was good. It bought me some time to think and create a plan to get out of this place. First thing I needed to do was get the debris from off my body.

Suddenly I saw this huge creature standing next to me in the room. It took me a second to realize it was my reflection. I looked like a fat bison! This disguise was perfect! You couldn’t see any real part of me hidden under all those leaves. After a moment of adjusting some vines, I exited Fluttershy’s house and walked along the path back towards Ponyville.

Wait! I screamed at my brain, Brian!

Of course! Why didn’t I think of it before? The doctors compared my blood to Brian’s, the only human in all of Equestria – apart from myself. Therefore there was something that matched between his blood and mine, something that stood out. That would mean I would have to break into the hospital and get a copy of Brian’s blood report, then get my ass over to Canterlot and do the same thing with mine, then compare the two together and see.

“Hi!” A Pony screamed in my face bringing me back to the present, “Who and what are you?”

Pinkie! Taking a step back I tripped on one of my stray vines and fell on my rear.

“Are you a wild animal? Are you, are you?” She said leaning forwards on her fore-hooves and looking straight at me.

I nodded. What else could I do?

“A wild animal! Ohmigosh! Are you… dangerous?” She asked with her eyes wide open.

I shook my head.

Pinkie wiped her brow overdramatically, “Well, that’s a relief. Okay, bye-bye, wild animal!” And with that she bounded off.

I sighed. That was Pinkie for you. Despite my current predicament, it was good seeing her. For a moment I just watched her bounce off into the distance before realizing that she was heading the same direction I wanted to.

Walking towards the hospital, I decided to scout out the area for a bit first. Of course, being a strange animal that none of the Ponies had ever seen before made them all stare at me, but at least they didn’t run away in terror. Using my disguise as an advantage, I circled around the hospital looking for another way inside. At the rear I spotted a backdoor that opened up onto a small pavilion where some patients were getting some sun. They all looked at me with a mixture of confusion, amusement and maybe a little fear, which slowly grew as I got closer to them.

“Oh no, Mr Wild Animal, you can’t go in there. The hospital is for Ponies only,” A hushed voice said.

I looked up and saw Fluttershy hovering over me again. A few moments later Applebloom and her sister appeared.

“What is that?” Applebloom exclaimed and rushed over to me, “What is it?”

“Careful, Applebloom,” Applejack said, visibly worried as her younger sister trotted over to me.

“Oh, don’t worry, AJ! He won’t hurt Applebloom,” Pinkie grinned at me, “He’s a good wild animal!”

“She’s right, Applejack,” Fluttershy said, landing next to me. She began to pet me, so I played along and pretended to like it by rubbing my head against her hoof.

“What is that?” Twilight asked, I looked and saw her standing next to Pinkie.

“It’s a new hairy animal from the Everfree Forest!” Pinkie replied, “But don’t worry, he’s safe!”

“How can you know that?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“’Cause he said so!” Pinkie grinned back.

Before Twilight could answer back, she heard her name being called.

“Twilight…” Spike’s voice shouted, and he came running out of the hospital door, “Twilight! You’ve got a letter! You’re not going to like it. It’s from Princess Celestia regarding… Forest?”

Shit! Did Spike just recognize me? I shook my head when the girls weren’t looking, their attention now focused on Spike holding the letter between his fingers.

Spike seemed to understand, and he looked from me to Twilight, “This letter… is about Forest.”

The familiar purple magical glow formed around the piece of paper and she read. Her eyes grew wider and wider, “This can’t be… I was there… the magic didn’t work…”

“What’s that, darlin’? You’re not makin’ sense,” Applejack replied.

“Girls, come with me for a moment,” Twilight led them all away from the other Ponies on the pavilion and were now standing a few feet away from me. Not wanting to seem out of place, I started pretending to graze. “Girls, it’s about Forest.”

“Well, what about him?” Applejack asked.

“Applebloom, I think you shouldn’t be hearing this,” Twilight said quietly.

“Aw,” She moaned, “Why not? I want to know too!”

Twilight’s eyes met Applejack’s, who nodded.

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Twilight spread the letter out in front of her and began to read. “Dear Twilight, I apologize for this sudden letter, but we seem to have come across a couple of problems. This morning I received some disturbing news that your friend Forest’s is in fact not a Pony. After seeing the results for myself…”

“What, Twi? What about Forest’s results?” Applejack asked.

“He’s… human,” Twilight said looking at Applejack’s eyes.

“What? But you said that weren’t possible! You were there! You said that the spell nearly killed him!” Applejack exclaimed.

Twilight nodded her head, “I know, but we didn’t know anything about him then and we know nothing about him now. He just suddenly showed up one day… anyway, that’s not important right now. There’s more.” Twilight cleared her throat, “This morning, there was an incident. Forest leapt out of the window in the hospital… and vanished?”

“Vanished?” Applejack asked.

“That’s what it says right here. Vanished. Gone,” Twilight turned to Spike, “When did Princess Celestia send this?”

“Just now, Twilight. A few minutes ago,” Spike replied, stealing glances in my direction. It didn’t take a genius to see that he was pissed.

“Okay, I’m going to write a letter back to the Princess. Applejack, you stay here with Pinkie and Fluttershy. Applebloom, I want you to go to Rarity’s house and tell her to meet me at the library,” Twilight then looked over to me; I munched a lot more vigorously on the grass, “What about that thing?”

“Leave it. He seems harmless,” Applejack lead the way back into the hospital. Pinkie bounced along behind her, while Applebloom followed Twilight around the outside of the hospital towards the road that led back into Ponyville.

Spike had lagged behind purposely and walked over to Fluttershy who was keeping an eye on me, “Hi Fluttershy, do you mind doing me a favour?”

“Oh, sure Spike.”

“Can you go ask Twilight if she needs me?”

“Okay,” She turned and hovered off.

I waited until Fluttershy was far enough away before talking. “I can explain!” I said before Spike could say anything.

“You better, Forest,” Spike replied angrily, “Twilight told me about yesterday and how you got badly hurt but you look fine to me. How did you get here so fast?”

“Look, I’m going to level with you. There’s something wrong, but please believe me when I tell you that I’m not here to harm any of you. I just…”

“You can’t remember.” Spike glared at me, finishing my excuse off for me.

I had to admit that lying to him made me feel terrible, but I had no choice! It was frustrating that I could not tell any of them the truth.

“Please listen to me, Spike. Right now I need Brian’s medical files, okay? I can’t go like this… wait, how did you recognize me?”

“That’s not really that great of a disguise, you know?” Spike shrugged, “I can’t believe that you fooled Twilight and the others.”

A sudden overwhelming sense of panic struck me. What if I didn’t fool them? What if they knew? Would that mean they were actually helping me? That brought a tear to my eye; they really cared. Either that or maybe my disguise did actually fool them.

“Spike, can you get it for me?” I asked, “Brian’s files, I mean.”

“No, Forest. Not ratting on you was my favour for you; you don’t get to ask anything more from me.”

“I suppose,” He had a point. Asking him for his help was already too much, and if Spike did help me and I was found to be guilty he might get punished for it. I could tell he wasn’t impressed with me, which made the dagger incident even more mind-boggling. Reluctantly, I nodded, “You’re right.”

As if in cue, Fluttershy flew back to us, “Spike?” She said gently, “Twilight said that she needs you.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy,” Spike said still giving me a venomous glare. After a moment he turned and ran the same way Twilight and Applebloom had gone.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said, landing next to me, “Your vines are falling off.”

What? Turning to look behind me, she was right! Large parts of my disguise were now on the ground having fallen off. It took me a second to realize what had happened. The goo was getting dry! Dry go meant no stick. No stick meant… no disguise! This was perfect. Just perfect.

No time to think. It was all about action now.

Running past Fluttershy, I headed straight for the hospital’s rear entrance. Once inside, nurse Redheart let out the loudest scream I had ever heard in my life. Two large orderlies opened a door to my left, and did a double-take when they saw me.

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy was pretty quick, “Mr Wild Animal, you cannot be here. This place is for Ponies only.”

“Sorry, Fluttershy, but I’m not a wild animal,” I replied.

She floated there with her mouth wide open, clearly in shock. A part of me felt bad for surprising her like that but I could not let her get involved with me anymore. Not until I resolved this issue. She might get into a lot of trouble.

Using the skill I had learnt yesterday, I put my head down and used the explosion of speed against the two orderlies, knocking them back into the room they had come out of, and knocking the air out of them. They groaned in pain as I picked myself up and rushed past Nurse Redheart (who screamed again) and headed for the stairs.

Pain!

Turning around, I saw that one of the orderlies had grabbed a stray vine, but my momentum was too fast and the vine had ripped itself off. I don’t know how I did not have a bald-patch there. All the vines along my sides were gone, the leaves lay scattered around behind me.

No time to loose! Up the stairs! I screamed to myself.

At the top of the stairs, the commotion from below had gathered everyone’s attention. Ponies were now peeking out of their selected wards wondering what was going on. As I reached the top of the stairs at the end of one of the halls a few Ponies screamed and ducked back into their rooms.

“What the hay is going on?” A familiar voice shouted.

A cyan Pegasus, a Pink Pony and an Orange one all poked their heads out of a room at the far end of the hallway. That was Brian’s room. That was where I would find what I needed. My mission was clear. Go to Brian’s ward, and steal his medical papers, then escape. Simple, right?

Wrong.

“There he is!” A voice shouted from behind me, “Get him!”

Nurse Redheart looked kind of scary. So, I bolted heading straight towards the three Mares.

Rainbow bounded into the hallway, and lowered her head, “Come on!” She taunted.

Pinkie bounced into the hallway too, and got into some sort of fighting stance on her two hind legs, while Applejack just stayed where she was with a look of amusement on her face. But there was absolutely no way I was going to rush those three. Hurting random orderlies was one thing, but I wasn’t going to hurt the girls. Coming to a halt at an intersection, I dove to the right, making it seem that I was running down the hall in that direction. Instead, I pressed myself against the wall. If Rainbow was as tough and aggressive as she made herself out to be, she would fall for it.

A rainbow colored blur zoomed past me as Rainbow completely fell for my trick and charged past me and down the hall. Of course, she realized that she had been had, and using her wings turned herself around. But that delay was all that I needed.

Rushing around the corner, Pinkie yelped in surprise to see me running straight for her. She bounced up in the air, and over me. Too bad I tripped on something and slid on my face right into Brian’s door, knocking a clipboard off a hook which fell right onto me. Brian’s file! Here it was!

I heard a gasp and looked up at Applejack whose eyes widened in surprise, she was staring straight into my eyes.

No! Can’t let her recognize me!

Gripping the clipboard tightly in my mouth, I got up and turned to face the entire hospital staff. Rainbow was at the front of the pack.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Rainbow said, looking at me. I felt the vines on my back slowly slipping off of me. My disguise was falling apart. There was absolutely no way for me to get past them all; Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack, two large orderlies, a mean-looking Nurse Redheart and a few more Ponies behind them.

Backing up, I felt something press against my flank. A window.

Not again.

Then again, I didn’t really have a choice. As I jumped through the open window, I wondered if Tutela would teleport me to safety again. My answer came as I felt the ground beneath me greet my chest knocking the air out of me. Two stories straight down. It hurt, and I couldn’t breathe. Still, I had no time to think. I had to go. Rainbow was a Pegasus, she could easily…

“Hey! Give that back!” Her voice shouted at me from above.

Looking up, I saw her glaring down at me as she was floating just outside the window. Looking ahead of me, I spotted some woods just ahead not as thick of dense as the Everfree Forest, but I might be able to lose her if I could reach it.

Standing up, I got ready to run before I felt something hit me hard on my back forcing me to lay flat on the ground. Rainbow had just landed with her full bodyweight on her back. She wasn’t that heavy, but she must have used her speed. I let out a gasp of agony and released the clipboard from my mouth. It landed in front of my face on the grass.

No! So close!

Reaching for it, I spotted something lying written in red.

MA = 0.

“Rainbow,” A voice said suddenly, “Don’t hurt him!”

Was that… Fluttershy?

“Don’t hurt him? Did you see what kind of trouble it caused in the hospital? Plus it stole something!” Rainbow furrowed her brow, “What is it anyway?”

“He’s a…” Fluttershy looked at me, I turned my head slightly and peered at her from the corner of my eye, Rainbow Dash still sitting on me, “He’s a wild animal.”

Did she just lie on my behalf?

“Well. Okay. But you shouldn’t bring your pets into the hospital, Fluttershy, it causes problems for everypony,” Rainbow Dash flew back through the open window with the clipboard. She popped her head out of it a second later, “Are you coming?”

“Oh yes, I’ll be right behind you,” Fluttershy replied. When Rainbow again disappeared into the upper-floor window, Fluttershy leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I don’t know who you are, but if you ever hurt my friends again, I’ll… I’ll…”

“Thank you, Fluttershy,” I whispered, “But I’d never hurt you or your friends.”

Before she could respond, I heard an angry Nurse Redheart demanding that my hide be tanned – not literally, of course… maybe. Well, I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. I darted out of there as fast as my legs would carry me, but not too fast to cause the ground under me to catch on fire. Couldn’t let the Ponies see that, they’d know my identity instantly.

As I entered the woods, I felt the vines on my back drop off. That was way too close. If the vines had dropped sooner my disguise would have been… oh, who was I kidding? I didn’t even know if my disguise fooled any of them in the first place.

But I couldn’t sigh in relief just yet. My mission was a complete and utter failure; the fact that I didn’t get Brian’s report made that abundantly clear. And I had the damned thing in my hand – hoof! I had the damned thing in my hoof! The only thing I had to go on were those letters circled in red. What were they again? MA! That’s right.

But what did MA mean, and why was it circled in red?

“There you are!” A kind voice said behind me, “Why do you keep running away? Who are you? And how do you know my name?”

For someone who was supposed to be shy, she was pretty assertive; a completely different Pony from before. I supposed this was her usual self. But another question was bothering me, why was Fluttershy following me? And how did she keep finding me?

“Um… well, that’s a funny question,” I felt another large lump of foliage drop off my right side. That was the last vines stuck on my body.

“Wait. I know you. I know that voice,” Fluttershy narrowed her eyes.

Quick! Think of something!

“Wow! Look, a flying octopus!” I shouted pointing with my hoof behind Fluttershy.

A flying octopus? What the fuck is wrong with me?

“Where?” She asked, gazing at the sky behind her.

Without thinking, I darted away. I was not sure whether Fluttershy was taking me seriously or if she was just joking, but with her attention diverted the distraction was enough for me to slip away. Somehow I managed to sneak back into Ponyville without getting spotted. Or if I was spotted, nopony really thought anything about it.

What was I going to do now? What could I do?

I’m a dumbass! The answer was so obvious! What I needed to do was to go to a damned library and find out what the words MA meant! If it was circled in red, then it must be something important, and if it’s important it might help me resolve this… mess!

“… I can’t believe it!” Twilight shouted. Her voice was close, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner, Spike!”

I sneaked a peek from my hiding place and saw Twilight with Spike.

“I’m sorry, Twilight, but I wasn’t sure,” He replied defensively.

“I knew there was something really strange about that creature!” Twilight stopped, and spun around on the poor Dragon, “I can’t believe he was right there and he didn’t say anything!”

“I’m sure he must have his reasons.”

“There’s no reason! He lied…”

“He didn’t lie, Twilight. He just… didn’t say anything.”

“That’s still lying to me, okay? Then he has the audacity… wait, that can’t be right. Princess Celestia sent this letter less than an hour ago. Even if Forest took the train here, it would take him at least five hours to get from Canterlot to Ponyville. If that’s the case, then you can’t have seen him,” Twilight looked at Spike, “Even with teleportation that distance is too far, and Forest can’t teleport because of his condition.”

“It’s him, Twilight.”

“How do you know?” Twilight asked, her sharp gaze aimed at Spike.

Spike played with his claws, “Because… I sorta… talked to him…”

That look on her face scared the shit out of me.

“You talked to him? Is that why you sent Fluttershy after me?” Indeed, she had hit the nail on the head that time, “And here I thought you didn’t want to come to the library to avoid meeting with Rarity.”

“Actually, that was one of the other reasons…” Spike grinned nervously.

Suffice to say, Twilight was not amused.

“Twi! Twi!” Applejack shouted running towards Twilight, Pinkie bounced along behind her, “That wild animal…” She panted, “I think that it’s Forest.”

“It is Forest. Spike here had a good talk with him, didn’t you?” Twilight growled shooting daggers at him.

“Why didn’t he just tell us it was him?” Applejack asked, “If he’s got nothin’ to hide, why hide?”

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out! Where is he?” Twilight’s fury made me shudder, “What makes this strange is how he’s here so quickly!”

Applejack told Twilight of my antics in the hospital, and how Rainbow Dash tackled me after I leapt from the window. If she was mad before, she was livid now. There was practically steam coming out from her ears!

“There you are!” A voice stated behind me.

I jumped. Fluttershy had found me again! How did she keep doing that?

“That wasn’t very nice, Mr Stranger, tricking me like that,” She frowned at me.

“Mr Stranger?”

“Well, you won’t tell me your name,” She landed next to me, “So I don’t know what to call you.”

“You… you really don’t remember me?” I asked a little hurt.

“No. Is that bad?”

“Not at all,” I stared at her as she tried to peer past my ridiculous mask, “But we’ve met before.”

“Can you take that mask off?” She pointed at my face.

Why won’t you leave me alone! I wanted to scream at her. Maybe she’ll fall for another ‘look-behind-you’ ploy.

“… well, where do we look?” I heard Applejack’s voice asked, “He could be anywhere now.”

“I don’t know, but why would Forest want Brian’s medical files?” Twilight pondered for a long while before continuing, “It might be worth going back to the hospital and seeing Brian in case.”

“No way! Forest would never hurt Brian, or anypony,” Again Pinkie defended me and my actions.

“We don’t know that for sure anymore, Pinkie. Besides, I know you girls want to trust him, but he is a stranger we know nothing about. We need to be careful, okay? First, we need to find out what he’s doing back here and how he got here so quickly,” With that Twilight led her friends back towards the hospital.

“Aren’t you going with your friends?” I asked Fluttershy.

“Oh. No,” She smiled at me, “I said that I’d take care of you, and I will.”

What was up with their smiles! They were so disarming. Pony smiles were my Kryptonite! There was no way I could be mean to them if they smiled at me like that. Seriously, it just wasn’t fair!

“Look, Fluttershy, you could get into a lot of trouble coming with me,” I warned.

“Why?”

“You… you don’t even know who I am, and for all you know I could be a very bad Pony,” I said, checking my surroundings before quietly heading for the library.

Fluttershy just floated along behind me, easily keeping up with me and completely disregarding my attempts at being stealthy. “You’re a Pony?”

Her voice was strangled now. Was she scared? Of course!

“Yep, and not only am I a Pony, I’m a Stallion.”

She backed away from me. Apparently she wasn’t confident around male Ponies. Not willing to wait around for her to grow accustomed to my presence, I once again darted away from her, this time making doubly sure not to leave a trail for her to follow.

Peering at the library, I noticed that the door was wide open, and sitting on the doorstep was Applebloom. That meant that Rarity still had not arrived at the library, which meant that at any moment the entire group of the Elements of Harmony, their friends, and maybe a purple Dragon could show up at any given moment. That translated to; no time, gotta hurry.

“Why do you keep running away like that?”

I whipped around and saw Fluttershy fluttering behind me a foot off the ground again, “But how! How do you keep on finding me?”

“Oh, I’m very good at hide-and-seek.”

“You…” I grumbled, “Please, can you go away? I have something important I need to do…”

That face. How is anyone supposed to be able to be mean to that face! The way her smiling, bright face just turned into the saddest thing I had ever seen in my life. I was a monster! How could I make her frown that way, and were those tears? No fair! No fair! She was playing dirty.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, please don’t cry,” I said trying to pacify her at the same time as not be seen by Applebloom. I failed miserably. She spotted Fluttershy and came walking over towards us.

“Hello, Fluttershy,” Applebloom looked into Fluttershy’s eyes, “Are you cryin’?”

Fluttershy burst out into a crying fit, and zipped away. She could be really fast when she wanted to be. I turned to Applebloom and grinned nervously, I could feel the sweat pouring down my face.

“Forest?” She asked, her eyes opening wide, “What’re you doin’ here? Why’re you here? How’re you here? And why’re you dressed like that?”

“How did you recognize me?” I asked.

She pointed to my rear, “You’re a Blank Flank, like me, remember? Nopony else I know your size has a Blank Flank.” She gave me an angry look, “What did you say to Fluttershy?”

“I asked her to go away. I was trying to be all sneaky and get into the library. Guess the gig’s up now.” I frowned, “Are you going to tell Twilight and the others?”

“Aw, shucks, Forest, you can’t be mean to Fluttershy! She’s supper-sensitive.”

“I didn’t realize she was that sensitive. I’ll have to tell her I’m sorry later, but right now I’ve got to get to the library. Wait, why aren’t you more surprised to see me?”

“I knew it was you when I saw you pretendin’ to be that wild animal,” Applebloom giggled, “I wanted to point you out, but Twilight looked awful angry, so I just kept my mouth shut.”

“Somehow I think my disguise didn’t fool anyone. Can… can I go to the library?”

“Well, I ain’t stoppin’ you,” Applebloom’s smile faded, “But Twilight made it out that you did something bad.”

“I… I guess in a way I did. But it wasn’t intentional, and I promise to set things right, please believe me when I tell you that.”

Applebloom thought about it, and then gave me her super-cute smile, “Okay, Forest. I’ll believe you…”

“Thank you, Applebloom. Thank you, thank you, thank you…”

“On one condition,” She still had that smile on her face.

“Okay…” I replied hesitantly.

Her smile turned from super-cute to super-cute-and-black-mail-like, “You’ve got to take Applejack out on a date.”

“Wha-what?” I stuttered.

“You promise me that, and I’ll help you,” Applebloom grinned again.

My head spun. The heat grew in my face as I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks. Was she trying to extort a date out of me for her sister? The question caught me completely off guard, “B-but… me? B-b-but I’m in trouble!”

“You said that you’d set things right, right? So, after you’re done, I want you to take my sister out on a date, like you did with Twilight.”

“Beg your pardon?”

“Twilight said that you went on a date, I overheard her talkin’ to my sis yesterday. She said that you and her went to all the nice places in Canterlot,” She walked around me, “So, promise me you’ll take Applejack out, and I’ll help you.”

“B-b-b-but…”

“No buts! That’s my offer,” She waited for me to reply.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to take Applejack out, but wouldn’t she prefer somepony she liked asked her instead? But I needed to get into the library and if I had to do this then so be it. As embarrassing as it might be later, right now I needed to go along with Applebloom.

“I’ll do it,” I said quietly.

“What?”

“I’ll do it!” I said a little louder.

“What did you say, I can’t hear you.”

“I said I’ll do it! I’ll ask Applejack out!” I shouted, closing my eyes while I did. My face was burning.

She grinned at me, “Great! Now, let’s go.”

We both trotted to the library, and I checked to make sure that the coast was clear before going inside. Applebloom poked her head in after me, “Remember, I can’t stall ‘em for long! I’ll try, but if I can’t go out the window.”

What was up with me and windows today?

“Alright, and thanks for this, I owe you,” I went inside.

“Just remember our deal.”

As soon as I entered, I started searching for medical books or any books about medicine. But with the amount of books Twilight had in her library, I was overwhelmed with the selection. Where would I start? Was there a list, or some sort of index I could go by? I let out a grunt of frustration and started going through the books, but found nothing to do with medicine.

Then I walked upstairs. Here I spotted a small study, and a bed. Oops! This was Twilight’s sleeping area, her room, but there were books up here as well. Without pausing, I started looking again.

“Hi Rarity!” Applebloom shouted, being a little too obvious, “What? I’m not shouting. I was just talkin’ loudly because I want to!”

“I don’t know why you’re being so loud, Applebloom. I’m not deaf. Now, where is everypony?” She asked entering the library and looking around.

No time to stop, got to keep looking.

“Everypony’s gone to the hospital,” Applebloom said, grinning, “We should go there.”

Good ol’ Applebloom! She really was trying to help me.

“Oh, hello, Rarity, Applebloom, have you seen Mr not-a-Wild-Animal around?” Again it was Fluttershy! She floated into the library and landed next to the white Unicorn.

“Who?” Rarity asked, understandably confused.

How? How does she manage to keep finding me? I asked myself peering over the ledge to the upper floor at Fluttershy. But I couldn’t delay anymore and continued to search around for a medical book, but having to make sure that I wasn’t seen nor make any noise made the search slower and harder.

Nothing! Not a damned book about medicine! Frustrated, I headed for the window past Twilight’s sleeping area when I spotted a large book on a desk. The cover had a large red cross and the words Equestrian Guide to Medicine. Of course! Twilight was visibly upset about what had happened to me, so of course she’d have studied up on my condition. Why did I not think of that, and why did she care so much?

My mind remembered those feelings from the day before. No! I had to remind myself that it wasn’t that kind of affection. She pitied me, and I only reacted to it.

First thing I did was go into the glossary at the back of the book. Luckily it was in English. It didn’t take long for me to find the page and reference. Quickly flipping through the book as quietly as I could I finally found it. There it was, clearly marked and circled in red, like the letters on Brian’s report. MA.

MA stands for Magical Affinity, the higher the number the more likely you are to be able to use and manipulate magic. The average MA count of a healthy Pony average around 500, while those with strong magical powers can reach much higher numbers…

That was it! No wonder my blood and Brian’s matched. We both had the same MA levels! In other words, we have no affinity whatsoever with magic! I continued to read on.

In order to transfuse blood from patient to patient, the MA level must be within 100 points of one another…

Well, that was great! That means that it wasn’t my DNA, which was what I assumed was how they determined my human-like blood! What gave me away but my lack of Magical Affinity, which only matched with the one other being that could not use magic – Brian Dash. At least, that’s what I understood.

Individuals with incredibly low MA can usually have adverse effects when magic is involved, and in some extreme cases can lead to deadly reactions…

Deadly… reactions? The weight of those words felt heavy on my conscious and I backed away from the book, I accidentally heard a loud ‘bang’, and spun around to find that I had accidentally knocked over the trashcan! Why? Why was I so stupid?

“There you are!” Fluttershy said, pointing at me.

Now, to be honest I was not sure why I did what I did, considering I came to the library and found the answer I sought, but I turned and dove out the window, landing with a splat on the gravel below me. Fluttershy was not going to lose me that easily, and charged right after me. Forcing myself up to my feet, I started to run when I heard a voice scream for me to halt.

Rarity stood to my right, her horn glowing blue.

“Rarity, no!” Twilight’s voice screamed from behind her.

It was too late. She fired a bolt of whatever magic she had conjured up. It flashed at my face, and… do you know that feeling when you stick your hand into a power socket? That sudden jolt of electrical current that paralyses you? That’s what I felt. The blue magic weaved itself around me then over my fur before changing direction heading straight towards the clock-tower. The explosion knocked me backwards past Fluttershy as the magic hit the base of the clock tower in a blue burst of blue energy. The tower started to sway, then fall. Towards me! Towards us!

“Fluttershy,” I screamed, “Get out of there!”

Fluttershy, who was looking at me, turned around and saw the tower falling towards her. She just stood there frozen in fear. Why did she not dodge?

“Move!” I shouted, but she was not paying attention to me. Without thinking, I rushed towards her and shoved her as hard as I could to the side just in time, “Shit.” I said quietly to myself as the entire tower collapsed right on top of me.

There were two things I expected to happen. One was Tutela saving my ass. The other was me being dead. However, neither one of these things happened. Instead, I was surrounded by a yellow aura, not directly on me, but around me in the form of a semi-circular bubble.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight voice shouted, “He’s… he’s…”

“I’m fine!” I shouted.

I was not sure, but there was a long period of silence before I heard voices again.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Forest?” This time is was Applejack.

“Yes. I’m fine,” I shouted, “Just a little dazed. How’s Fluttershy?”

“She’s safe,” Applejack replied, “Hang on; we’ll get you out in a jiffy.”

Light streamed in as the rocks were slowly removed from on top of me. The yellow glow around me had saved my life! I may have been immune to magic, but that didn’t mean that things around me couldn’t manipulate magic. Princess Celestia stood to the side, her horn was glowing and a very pissed off Luna stood to her right eyeing me with malice. Behind them were a sizable number of Pony guards in armor.

I gulped.

Suddenly Applejack rushed through the barrier and gripped me in a tight embrace, “Oh, thank Celestia you’re safe!”

“I was planning to, Applejack,” I said trying to breathe.

The Princess walked closer to us, “Forest, how did you get here so quickly? And why are you here?”

“I woke up in the Everfree Forest after Princess Luna’s attack,” I said bowing, “I didn’t mean to cause any panic.”

“First of all, I wish to apologize for that, Forest. I had no idea what Princess Luna was going to use her magic on you like that.” Princess Luna harrumphed at that, “But this is very strange. I’m afraid that until further investigation we will have to place you under arrest.”

The bark from the tree was still stuck to my face, so I tried to remove it but failed. The gooey stuff still held it firmly in place. When I stopped struggling with the mask I noticed that the Pony soldiers had surrounded me. Behind them I could see the local Ponies wondering what was going on. I seriously wanted to hide myself, but I did not want to touch the dome around me.

Aiden was standing next to me, “You okay?”

“Fine. How’s Fluttershy?” I asked.

“The yellow Pony? She’s fine. A little shaken up, but fine. You saved her life,” Aiden smiled, “I think I might have misjudged you. No Changeling would ever sacrifice themselves, unless it’s for their queen and I highly doubt that she’s Queen Chrysalis.”

At that moment the yellow bubble that surrounded me disappeared and Princess Celestia relaxed. Princess Luna was still glaring at me but after nearly being crushed to death I didn’t really feel like putting up any resistance. I was just really happy that I was alive.

“Forest! Omigosh! Are you okay?” Pinkie Pie asked.

She was stopped by three guards before she could reach me.

“Hey! He’s my friend!” Pinkie protested, “Ow! You’re hurting me!”

My blood exploded in rage, “Don’t touch her!”

The guards all looked at me, then they let Pinkie go, but didn’t let her get past them. At least they weren’t hurting her anymore.

“Sister, must we continue with this farce? Surely he is not a Pony and should be locked away in Canterlot’s dungeons,” Princess Luna said to her sister, I think she was meant to be whispering, but I could hear her clearly.

“You forget, dear sister, he stopped to save the life of another. Surely this earns his some reprieve?”

“Your majesty, please listen to me,” I said, “My… test… I have an answer.”

The Princesses looked at me, but said nothing. Taking that as a sign, I continued, “The reason why you thought that I was a Changeling, or a human, or whatever was because of my blood. After investigating I have found that the answer lies in the MA count.”

“Your MA count?” Princess Luna looked at me confused.

“Magical Affinity,” Twilight cut in for me, “It’s used to judge the strength of a Pony’s ability to use magic. Forest can’t use Magic, and nor can Brian.”

“That is why my blood and Brian’s matched. We’ve both got no affinity… to magic…” That made sense. No matter how I thought about how the events transpired, I was incredible lucky that it ended up this way. I might have bitten off more than I could chew, but at least I had replanted the seed of doubt in Princess Celestia’s mind..

“Twilight, can I talk with you?” Princess Celestia and Luna took Twilight aside and they started talking amongst themselves.

After a few minutes, they returned, “Very well, Forest, you have proven that you’re neither a human nor a Changeling. However, it still doesn’t explain that disappearing trick you performed.”

“I… don’t know. After Luna cast that magic, and I jumped from the window I found myself in the Everfree Forest,” That was true, for the most part.

“As I said before, until we understand more about this unknown power we cannot leave you unattended. But we are not without compassion, and we have been unkind towards you. Therefore we’ve decided to assign a Pony to monitor you as a soldier and also as a friend. Aiden?”

“Yes, your majesty?” Aiden bowed to Princess Celestia.

“Aiden Fomaio, will you accept the task of guardian to Forest until such a time as I judge he no longer needs one?” Princess Celestia asked.

“To watch over him, and ensure that he does not bring danger nor harm to others?” Princess Luna stated right after her sister.

“I shall, my princesses,” Aiden bowed lower.

“Then rise, Aiden Formaio, you will live where Forest lives, and watch over him,” Princess Celestia nodded, “Do not disappoint me again, Forest Fire.”

“Yes, your highness!” I bowed low, glad that I didn’t have to go to the dungeons.

Princess Celestia and Luna then got onto two large chariots pulled by Pegasi and were off before I could thank them. Aiden walked over to me and shook his head, “You’re a lucky Stallion, Forest.”

“You have no idea. So, you’ll be living in Ponyville now,” I said grinning – my legs were still shaky from that near-death experience from before, “Isn’t that great?”

“I suppose, but like I said to you earlier, small towns aren’t really my thing-” Aiden was instantly cut off by something.

A pink blur zoomed past him and collided with me making me roll on the ground, “Forest! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine Pinkie,” I said lying on my back on the ground. Even when Pinkie knocked me down, I couldn’t be mad at her, “How have you been?”

“Great! Can I throw you a welcome home party and invite everypony?” Pinkie asked her eyes growing bigger and bigger at each passing second.

“Not tonight, please. I just got home. I need to relax,” Did her hair just deflate? “Don’t worry, Pinkie, we can have a party. Just not tonight.”

“Okee dokee lokee!”

“Well, well, guardian now?” Twilight smiled at Aiden, “So you’ll be living here?”

“For a while, yes,” Aiden laughed nervously, “Do you know of any place I can stay?”

“There’s the hotel. Forest stayed when he first got here.”

“Where does he live now?” Aiden asked.

“I live in Sweet Apple Acres, in a clubhouse,” I grinned, but when Aiden gave me a strange look I got a little annoyed, “It’s nice and cosy, okay?”

“Of course it is,” Aiden replied humouring me.

Ahem! I heard a cough behind me. Turning around, I saw Applebloom there. She gave me a look.

“Now?” I whispered.

“Yep,” She replied stifling a giggle.

“But… now?”

“Forest, you promised,” She pouted.

“But everypony’s watching…” I said to her in a hushed tone.

“We made a deal!”

She was right. Slowly, I stood up and pushed Pinkie to one side. She looked at me slightly confused as I walked towards Applejack, who was pacifying a visibly shaken Fluttershy.

“Uh… Applejack… can I talk to you for a moment?”

She turned to look at me, and her face exploded in a bright pink hue. It didn’t help. I could also feel my face heating up at the same time. Why was she acting like this? It was so awkward!

“Sure, Forest. I don’t mind,” She said barely meeting my eyes.

I felt a nudge on my flank. Applebloom grinned at me and nodded.

“I was… wondering… would you… like to… go out some time?” My cheeks felt like they are were on fire! I felt the blood flood my face. Why was this so embarrassing?

Applejack didn’t say anything. As our eyes met again my face exploded again! This was too much. Maybe it had something to do with the near-death experience coupled with the relief of being able to stay here…

Applejack looked into my eyes, “Forest?”

“Yes?” I answered nervously.

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were? Didn’t you trust us? Didn’t you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you, Applejack! I trust you all, more than anything. I didn’t want you to get in trouble. If you had been caught helping me and for some reason things didn’t go the way they did today, I didn’t want you to get hurt. I’m sorry for not telling you who I was.”

“You still shoulda told us, Forest,” Applejack looked away again. Oh my god! Too cute… wait! What’s going on with me? “You’re our friend.”

I was dumbstruck. She was right! And there was nothing I could say.

“You know what? No. I don’t want to go out with you,” Her words stung so much. A part of me felt that I should have been relieved, but no, her words really hurt. She turned and marched away leaving me feeling rather stupid.

Applebloom was also visibly shocked.

“Well, it looks like your sister doesn’t want to go out with me tomorrow, Applebloom,” I sighed, why was it still hurting so much?

“I’m sorry, Forest. I didn’t think she’d be that upset.”

“I’ll go out with you, Forest!” Pinkie said, “We can dance, bake and party!”

The awkward embarrassing feeling I had evaporated the moment Pinkie opened her mouth, “Sure, Pinkie. Why not?”

“Great! So… what do we do?”

“I guess we could…” I was cut off by an angry looking Mare who literally walked right up to me and pressed her face against mine.

“And where have you been?”

“Lavenderhoof! I’m so sorry, I completely forgot about our training…” Give me a break, I’ve already have a shitty day as it was.

“No excuses! We’ve got a huge race in nine days, and we need to be in tip-top shape! We need to teach you how to swim properly! Tomorrow, at dawn, the lake, understand?”

“But…”

“Understand?” She growled.

Wow, she was vicious, “Okay, okay. I promise.”

She whipped around and walked off in a huff.

“Sorry, Pinkie, maybe we can get dinner?” I asked, “After my training?”

“That sounds like fun!” Pinkie grinned, “Then I’ll meet you at the lake after your training?”

“Sure. Are you going to see Brian now?”

“Yep, I’ll see you tomorrow, Forest,” And with that Pinkie bounced away.

I smirked at her. Pinkie was so ridiculous.

“Forest! That’s not fair!” Applebloom moaned, “You can’t go on a date with Pinkie!”

“We’re not going on a date, we’re just having dinner.”

“That’s a date, you dunce!” Applebloom shook her head, “You really know nothing.”

I was about to reply when I was cut off by Rarity. If I had thought Applejack was pissed, Rarity was beyond mad. She walked right up to me and started going on a tirade about how I caused the tower to fall, and that it was my fault.

“I allergic to magic,” I said after she calmed down a bit, “That’s the problem; I can’t use or have magic used on me. So, I’m immune to spells – to some extent.”

“Yes, yes, I know. Twilight said that you were in agony last night,” Rarity rolled her eyes, “But you seem to be fine now.”

“Well, I have a good recovery rate, I guess. And besides, I had some of the finest doctors in Canterlot examine me.”

“Speaking of finest, Twilight said that you went and ate The Lunar Sun, is this true?”

Wow, talking about switching subjects, “Yes…”

“And?”

“And… what?” I asked, not knowing what she was asking.

“How was it?”

“The food was good, the ambiance was nice, but I think that it was the company that made it enjoyable. Why?” I tilted my head to one side, “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t believe that Twilight took you to the finest restaurant in Canterlot! I haven’t been there yet.” She pouted.

“Well, she did feel really bad about what happened to me, so I guess it was her way of saying sorry. I’m sure that she’ll take you the next time.”

Rarity’s eyes widened open as she looked past me. I turned around and saw Spike trying to not look in our direction. After a few more seconds of this, he summoned enough courage to come over, “Hi, Rarity,” He mumbled.

“Hello, Spike. How have you been?”

Spike smiled. He looked at Rarity with so much affection in those eyes that I began to feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, “I’ve been fine. Yourself?”

“I’ve had better days,” Rarity could not meet Spike’s eyes. I couldn’t blame her, I could barely stand it as well, and he wasn’t even looking at me. Her face slowly started turning pinker and pinker as the silence between them grew. Eventually she could take it no more, “Excuse me, Spike.”

Rarity walked away, “Eyes over here, Spike,” I said quietly.

Spike turned to me grinning nervously, “Sorry.”

We both shared a short laugh. Applebloom was still fuming away behind me.

“What’s wrong, Applebloom?” Spike asked.

“Forest said that he’d ask my sister out…”

“I did! She said no, remember?”

“Then he asked Pinkie out.” Applebloom continued over me without listening.

“I didn’t ask her out!” I protested.

“You asked her to go with you for dinner, that’s askin’ her out,” Applebloom stated angrily.

She was right, but she was wrong!

“Now, go and apologize to Applejack. She was really worried about you, Forest,” Applebloom shook her head, “She’s just angry that you didn’t come to her when you needed a friend.”

Oh man, did I feel guilty or what? She was right! What was wrong with me?

“Fluttershy,” I walked over to her, “Can you please help me?”

“Oh…” She squeaked, her voice getting really quiet.

“Please, I need you to help me find Applejack. I need to tell her I’m sorry,” I smiled at her, “You said you were really good and hide-n-seek, right? I need your expertise.”

Fluttershy raised her head and looked at me, “Okay.”

Saving her life was probably a large contributing factor for her wanting to help me, “Lead on!” I grinned.

And we were off.

“Forest! Wait!” Aiden shouted, but I ignored him.

Fluttershy led me to the center of town before zipping straight up into the air. There she held her altitude, turning around. I guess that was how she found me so many times, I never looked up! I made a mental note for the next time. Then she descended gently in front of me, “She’s heading towards the hospital.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy.” And I was off.

“Applejack!” I called. She paused, turned to see who it was, but when she saw me, she continued walking away, “Applejack, wait! Please!”

“I’m not talkin’ to you, Forest,” She said looking away from me.

“Please, Applejack, I’m sorry. Really, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just wanted to protect you,” Was I… begging?

She stopped and whipped around on me, “That ain’t a reason to not ask us for help, Forest. Especially me.”

At once I knew that I had gone too far. She was right, I should have trusted them. I should have come straight to them. They had trusted me completely without question from the very beginning, going out of their way to help me at every step of the way. Originally I had thought that by not getting them involved with my shenanigans they wouldn’t be accountable for me actions, but I didn’t see it from their side. I had betrayed them. Even if I had wanted to protect them, I was being selfish.

“You’re right,” I looked down at her hooves, “I had just wanted to protect you all, but in the end all I did was cause you all headaches and grief. If I had come straight to you…”

I looked up at Applejack.

“It’s alright, Forest,” She sighed, “I forgive ya, just don’t let it happen again.”

“And… about taking you out…”

“I overheard your deal with Applebloom,” Applejack said looking away, “I was headin’ back to the library to wait for Rarity when I overheard you two talkin’.”

My face burned with embarrassment, “To be honest, Applejack, I would really like to take you out for dinner sometime, on me. Not as a deal with your little sister, but as a thank you for everything you have done for me.”

“So… not like a date, just going out as friends?”

The way she said it made it sound so… un-climactic. Did she really want to go on a date with me?

“Well, if you want… then a date does sound like a lot of fun,” I grinned.

The way her eyes lit up… oh my god! She really did like me! Relax, Forest. Relax. Deep breaths.

“Well, tomorrow I’ve got swimming lessons with Lavenderhoof – for the big race, and after that I promised Pinkie I’d take her out for dinner. As a friend, not a date,” I cut in before she got the wrong idea, “But I’m free now…”

“It’s kind of last minute, don’t ya think?” Applejack asked, tilting her head to one side, “I mean, there’s really nothin’ goin’ on tonight.”

“What about… what about Sweetie Belle’s singing? Applebloom says she’s the best. After that… we can grab dinner somewhere.”

“Well, why not! I haven’t seen Sweetie Belle sing in some time. But first, I’ve got to drop by and visit Rainbow and her dad. You wanna come?”

“I would love to, but I want to get these things off my face,” I said gesturing to the pieces of bark still stuck to my head.

“Oh, that? Just go and soak your head in hot water. Sticky-berry juice will wash right out.”

“Then, I’ll go home and get ready, then I’ll meet you at this hospital?”

“Sounds good, I’ll see you there,” Applejack turned and walked away. I waited till she was a good distance away before turning the opposite direction and headed for Sweet Apple Acres. For some strange reason I was actually really excited!

On the way, I ran into Applebloom walking back home as well.

“Hi, Applebloom.”

“Hi, Forest. Where’d you go? And why’re you so happy?” She asked.

“Hm? Am I happy?” I was. I had a huge grin on my face.

Applebloom stopped, “You’re actin’ mighty strange.”

“I am?” I tried to stop having that huge smiled, but I couldn’t.

“You’re really strange, Forest,” Applebloom shook her head and we walked together the rest of the way making small talk.

As soon as I reached, I ran to the barn and started washing myself with hot water. The Sticky-Berry goo turned into a blue-colored sludge and that washed off me quite quickly and easily. A strong scent of berry exploded in the bathroom. After a few more minutes, the bark on the sides of my head and my face came loose! Free at last!

Clean, and ready, I started my trek back towards Ponyville and towards the hospital.

On the way I spotted Aiden and Twilight at the local café.

“Hey, you two,” I said walking up to them.

“Forest, there you are! You need to wear this.” He handed me a large circular object, “It’s a magic absorber. If you get hit by magic, instead of strange and maybe dangerous reactions taking place, this bracelet will absorb the magic. Of course, it won’t absorb it all.”

I stared at it confusedly for a moment.

“It goes on your hoof…”

“I knew that,” I put it on my wrist – or its equivalent.

“How does it feel?” Twilight asked,

“Hot. It’s burning… ow!” I tried to pull it off, but it didn’t budge.

“Aiden, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know! This hasn’t happened before!” Aiden leapt off his chair and over to me and tried to pull the bracelet off. He let it go suddenly, “Ow! That’s hot!”

“Okay! Okay, it’s starting to subside. The pain is going away.”

“Sorry, Forest, I didn’t know that would happen…” Aiden stated looking at the bracelet. It had shrunk in size and was tightly gripping the area just above my hoof.

Aiden poured some cold water on it. It helped a little bit.

“Shall we test it?” Aiden asked.

“Test it? As in, you cast magic at me?”

Aiden nodded.

“Why do I not feel like that’s a good idea?” I moaned.

We walked away from the café and towards an open space near the library. Twilight stayed behind Aiden and I gulped as he cast a spell at me. In retrospect, Aiden was probably the better choice out of the two considering his magic was not as strong as Twilight’s, but I still would have preferred Twilight testing the magic out. The magic hit me and my wrist burned! But not as badly as before, but I could definitely feel the heat.

“So?” Aiden asked.

“A slight burn, but nothing I can’t handle,” I shouted back, “Try a little bit stronger spell?”

Aiden cast another spell, this one as little bigger and brighter than the previous one. As soon as it hit me, the bracelet burned again, but nothing like the first time.

Walking back to Twilight and Aiden, I nodded, “It hurts a bit, but nothing like the first time. What does it do, anyway? I know that it absorbs the magic, then what?”

“Nothing. The bracelet will absorb magic and slowly dissipate it over time. Just to prevent it from harming you, and others.” Twilight grinned, “It’s something that I made for you.”

“A present, for me? Thank you!”

“Are you being sarcastic?” Twilight asked pouting a little.

We all laughed.

“You don’t know how glad I am to get that out of the way,” I sighed.

“Forest, why is such a big deal to you? To prove that you’re not human, you’ve been extremely defensive about it right from the start.”

Again, I had to admit it. Twilight was really brilliant. She would be a great detective.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged, “It might have something to do with the… tension, I suppose. You did say that Brian being here really upset Princess Celestia, so maybe I didn’t want to get on the Princesses’ bad side?”

“I guess that makes sense,” Twilight looked at Aiden, “What do you think?”

“No clue. As far as Princess Celestia is concerned, you’re still considered dangerous. I’m here to protect the citizens from you, and you from yourself.”

“Why you?” I asked.

“My not-so-weak magic,” Aiden said without shame, “I guess in a way my accident has become a blessing in disguise. Strong magic will kill you, weak magic won’t harm you. My magic might be enough to do neither.”

“Okay, I got to go, I’ve got to… meet somepony,” I grinned and started to walk away.

“Who are you meeting?” Twilight asked, trotting up next to me.

“Applejack,” I said, surprisingly my face felt hot when I said her name, “I’m meeting her at the hospital now.”

“Great! I’ll walk with you,” Twilight turned back to Aiden, “I’ll see you later, Aiden?”

“Probably not, but if I have time I will stop by the library,” With that Aiden turned and walked away.

“Does he seem… angry?” I asked.

“I think so. I just don’t understand him. He’s always so friendly in the café in Canterlot, but I heard that during the Changeling invasion he and two of his friends were badly wounded defending the Canterlot nursery,” Twilight sighed, “Nopony knew there were still fillies in there, and Aiden stood his ground against all odds.”

“It’s hard to imagine,” War in Equestria? Just couldn’t picture it.

Our walk to the hospital consisted of me replaying the events of my idiocy. Twilight laughed at my description of ‘attacking the hospital’ and how Fluttershy could find me no matter how clever I thought I was at hiding. We reached the hospital during the late evening, and walked up the stairs to Brian’s private room.

Twilight explained to me that Brian had special privileges given to him courtesy of Princess Celestia. One of those was that his daughter, Rainbow Dash, got to live with him in the hospital. That suited everypony just fine. Rainbow usually used the window to come and go instead of the door to do her weather duties, which was strange – she was rich and famous now, she didn’t need to. Twilight had a theory that Rainbow only performed these duties as an excuse to stay in Ponyville.

“Why would she need an excuse to stay?” I asked.

“You have to understand that there’s more to Brian that him just bring a human. In his world, we were something called a ‘cartoon’,” She explained to me what cartoons were, and how that he had grown to love the show over time. How a grown man like him did that was beyond me, but who was I to judge? “Anyway, the reason why Dashie stays in Ponyville is because of Brian’s love for this town because of that show.”

“I see.” It made perfect sense, “Have you seen the show?”

Twilight shook her head, “I wouldn’t want to.”

“Neither would I,” I replied as we stopped outside of Brian’s room.

“Are you coming in?” Twilight asked.

“Not this time,” I replied.

Twilight didn’t press me, and I secretly thanked her for that. As Twilight walked in, I saw Applejack sitting on a sofa in front of the door. She looked over at me, and smiled.

“Well, I’ll be goin’ now,” Applejack said standing up.

“Enjoy your date,” Brian’s voice stated.

My face exploded as soon as I heard that, and Applejack’s did as well, “T-t-thank you,” She replied avoiding my gaze.

The fact that she acknowledged it was a date made me almost die with embarrassment.

“Forest! Get in here!” Brian shouted.

I gulped, and walked in. “H-hello…” I said quietly.

“I heard you were making a nuisance out of yourself earlier today,” Brian was sitting on his bed, his arm had drip in it. Rainbow was lying on the bed with him, her head on his shoulder, and a book in his hands. It was clear they were reading it together.

“I was,” I replied, “Sorry about that.”

“Are you kidding? Thanks for the distraction!” Brian laughed, “I would keep away from Nurse Redheart for a while, though. Once she found out it was you… well, let’s just say she’s not very pleased.”

“Thanks for the warning,” I replied.

“Okay, you two. Have a good time,” Brian then turned his attention to his daughter, “Where were we?”

“We were when Daring Do got caught…” Rainbow’s voice continued excitedly as I left the room with Applejack.

“That was… nice,” I said stopping outside the door as Applejack closed it, “He wasn’t… he didn’t…” It was hard finding the right words. I was overwhelmed by his friendliness.

“Forest, Brian doesn’t care anymore. All he wants is to spend as much time as he can with Rainbow. As long as he can do that, then I’m sure he’s happy with you bein’ a friend.”

Even Brian was supporting me now. The more they believed me the more of a scumbag I was becoming. Lying to them was wrong, there was no denying that, and the fact that they still accepted me for who I was made just killed me.

“Are you okay, Forest?” Applejack asked, “We can postpone…”

“No! No. Sorry, it’s just… I’ve been overwhelmed. A lot has happened to do. I’ve had more close-calls than I can count, and if there is one thing I need it’s to have a little fun.” I smiled at her, “So, let’s go. And if possible, avoid Nurse Redheart.”

Applejack grinned, “Well, then let’s head t’wards the theatre.”

As we descended the stairs, we ran straight into Nurse Redheart.

“Forest!” She screamed in fury, “Get back here!”

Applejack laughed and pulled me along with her and out the front door of the hospital.

“Sorry!” I yelled.

Nurse Redheart was not amused, but she probably had other things to do because she turned back into the hospital.

Applejack stopped after a while, and we shared a laugh again.

“Whew. That was close.” I commented.

“You know you’re gonna have to apologize to her, right?” Applejack said, pausing her laughter for the moment.

“I know. But right now, let’s just enjoy the evening.”

We walked and talked back to Ponyville. Applejack told me about Twilight regaling her version of our ‘date’ (which I explained wasn’t really a date), how we went to the club and the fight with the angry Pegasus in Aiden’s café.

“Sounds like you had a really swell time.”

“It was fun. But it was also nice to get to know Twilight, she’s really smart, but something tells me she’s awkward around others…”

“You have no idea!” Applejack giggled and she proceeded to tell me about their first time meeting one another, and the first few months when Twilight was still learning about herself and what it meant to be a good friend, and then she told me about how each of them in turn learnt the true value of friendship towards one another.

“You guys are more like sisters than friends now,” I said, “But then that brings me to another question. When I first arrived, you guys accepted me practically without any hesitation. You’ve gone even as far as giving me a place to live. Why?”

“I dunno. I just like helpin’ others,” Applejack smiled, “And not to cause offense, you did look kinda pathetic when you first arrived.”

“W-what? Pathetic?”

Applejack just laughed at my expense. What could I do, whether or not she was serious, she had become a real good friend to me.

The sun was setting over the horizon by the time we arrived in front of the theatre. A lot of Ponies were standing in a line. Everypony there was staring at me and Applejack, grinning and whispering amongst each other.

“Methinks we’re the talk of the town,” I said leaning in and whispering in Applejack’s ear.

She laughed, “It’s a small town. Things like this spread really quickly.”

I had tried to buy tickets for the show, but a grinning Scootaloo just let us go in for free. We sat near the middle – the theatre wasn’t that full and there were plenty of empty seats, but it seemed that everypony sat in such a way as to get a clear view of us, rather than the stage.

“I feel… slightly exposed…” I whispered to Applejack.

She held back a laugh, “I’m so sorry, Forest. I had no idea it’d be this weird.”

As the lights faded, we turned the stage. There a spotlight beamed down on Sweetie Belle. She coughed, and inhaled some air then started to sing. I have never heard anything so beautiful in my life. If angels were singing, Sweetie Belle would put them to shame. Her voice was pitch-perfect, and she sang with pure emotion that you could not help but get enveloped by her music.

When she finished, I had to give her a standing ovation. Applejack had the same idea and stood up and stomped on the ground. It looked like fun, so I did so as well.

“Thank you, thank you. You’ve been a terrific audience. And now…” Sweetie Belle grinned, “A special song for two special love-birds.”

My hooves literally froze in mid-air, as did Applejack’s. We both looked at each other and sat down feeling somewhat strange being the center of attention.

“I’m so sorry, Forest,” Applejack whispered, “I didn’t think that this’d happen.”

“N-n-no harm done… just – er – feels strange…” I waved to some Ponies staring at us grinning. A few waved back.

Sweetie Belle began her song. It was even more beautiful than the last one. Her voice carried with it a sense of hope, happiness, and warmth. It felt inspirational and exciting, tender and caring at the same time. She really did have a special talent when it came to music.

When she was done with ‘our’ song, Applejack literally dragged me away before anypony had the chance to stop us. Outside, Scootaloo giggled at us, “Enjoy the show?”

“Very much,” I replied, “Thank Sweetie Belle for me…”

Applejack nudged me, “What you wanna eat?”

“That’s something I should ask you,” I replied.

We walked towards Ponyville, most of everything was already closed and the only place that was open was Sugarcube Corner. So we headed there.

As we entered, Mr and Mrs Cake instantly showed us to a table. There was a little bit of tension between the Cakes and us, for some reason, but that quickly evaporated. Pinkie arrived halfway through the meal and joined us. At first I had thought that Applejack would have gotten annoyed with her friend, considering that this was supposed to be a date, but she welcomed Pinkie without so much as a peep.

Pinkie was telling us about Rainbow and Brian reading Daring Do, apparently a character from a series of books, and Brian would read the part of the villains, while Dashie would read the part of Daring Do herself! It was amazing how excitable Pinkie could get over the simplest of things. After dinner, it was a real struggle to get the Cakes to accept payment! They insisted it was on the house, but Applejack would not accept that and I couldn’t let her pay. In the end, we played along with them then left the money on the table when we left. When Mr Cake tried to chase us and give us back the bits, we quickly ran down alleys and lost track of him.

We ended up near Carousel Boutique, and standing on the bridge next to it was a purple dragon.

“Spike?” Applejack asked walking up to him, “Are you okay?”

“Oh, hi Applejack,” He saw me behind her, “Hi Forest, glad that everything’s worked out for you.”

“What are you doing here, guy?” I asked, trying to sound friendly.

“I was going to talk to Rarity, and explain that I will be going,” Spike looked at us, “For a short while. I need to. It’s been really awkward here and I think I need to get some time away to think.”

“Have you told Twilight?” Applejack sat next to Spike.

Spike nodded, “She insisted that I talk to Rarity first, which is why I’m here…”

“Spike, you can’t go. You’re part of our family,” Applejack said gently.

“I know. I’m not going because I want to leave, Applejack. I need to find out who I am. I’ve spend years serving as Twilight’s assistant, but I want more for myself. I want to discover who I really am. I can’t do that here.”

“Where will you go?” I asked.

Spike looked at me, “North, that is Dragon country. Who knows?”

“Tell you what, Spike, why don’t you give it some time and think about this. Till after the big race at the end of the month. If you’re still dead-set on leaving then… I’ll go with you,” I didn’t meet Applejack’s eyes when I said that.

“Really?” Spike asked, “You’d come with me?”

“That’s what friends are for,” And I found that I actually meant those words, “So, think about it long and hard for the next week.”

“Thanks, Forest. I appreciate it. And I’m sorry about before…”

“Water under the bridge, no apology necessary,” I patted him on his back.

Applejack waited till he had gone a ways before talking to me, “Will you really leave with him, Forest?”

“If he does decide to go, then I will. But I doubt he would. He has the biggest crush on Rarity, the longer he stays the weaker his resolve will be,” I smirked and leaned in closer, “Why? You planning on following me?”

Applejack blushed. Even in the dark, I could see her cheeks getting rosy.

I found myself unable to react to the situation, so I leaned away and felt bashful too. Me! Bashful! Ha! But, I was. I really, really was. It didn’t help that she had such a tender smile.

“Let’s go somewhere more… private,” Applejack suddenly said.

My face exploded again. That was happening a lot with her. She blushed too seeing my reaction, but she pointed with her hoof behind us. There were at least three Ponies ‘hiding’.

“Really?” I asked no one in particular.

“Follow me!” Applejack was already bolting away.

Not to brag, but for someone with my speed it was not difficult to keep up, and we both headed away from Ponyville. Our pursuers gave chase for a while – there were a lot more of them than I had originally thought, but we lost them fairly quickly and found ourselves near the lake.

“I’m sorry, Forest. I don’t know what’s gotten into them,” Applejack sighed, “They never were like this before with other Ponies I dated.”

“You’ve dated a lot before?” I asked walking towards the shore of the lake and letting the water wash over my hooves.

“Now, I don’t want to sound mean, but there ain’t much of a selection here. My cousins from all over are always tellin’ me I ought to come visit them and find that special somepony, but I’ve… I’ve never had time,” Applejack joined me in the water. She shuddered from the cold.

“Well, now you have all the time in the world,” I said looking up at her.

The moon’s glow bounced off the water’s surface, and the shimmering effect seemed to twinkle in Applejack’s eyes. Strangely, I felt really attracted to her. Why? Because I was a human-fucking-being! She was a Pony! She was just a… no, she wasn’t just a Pony. She was a kind, honest, gentle, caring individual, and I was a lying sack of shit. She didn’t deserve me, she deserved someone better. Someone who could appreciate her for the kind of Pony she is.

She must have caught me staring because she coughed and looked the other way.

“I do have a lot of time, thanks to you and that harvester you made!” Applejack laughed, “It’s so good my brother can do half the farm by himself in one day!”

It was starting to get weird again, so I did the only thing I could think of; I splashed her. She let out a high pitched squeal as the cold water landed on her.

“Yer gonna pay for that!” Applejack laughed, and started soaking me with the freezing water.

Not wanting to get anymore wet than I already was, I intercepted her hoof by grabbing it. She struggled to get herself free from my grip, but my rear leg slipped on something and I fell forwards pushing her down into the shallow water.

She looked up at me, her eyes staring into mine. My heart began to race. Her lips… were so close. I started to lean forwards, and she started to close her eyes.

“Ow!” I said and looked at my wrist.

“Ow?” Applejack asked, confused.

My bracelet felt really hot again, and then it began to glow.

“What’s going on?” I asked, staring at it. The bracelet’s glow got brighter and brighter, until I could no longer look at it.

“Are you okay, Forest?” Applejack asked, looking at me in surprise.

“I don’t know!” I shouted. What was happening?

The bracelet was making the wind around us spin like a weak tornado, but I still had to shout in order to be heard. Then, it fired a beacon of light straight up into the sky.

We stared at it in surprise, looking straight up the bright light.

“There you are!” Aiden said running over to us, behind him followed half the town.

As soon as we saw them, Applejack and I quickly stood up and moved two paces away from each other.

“Wha-what happened?” I asked as Aiden took my arm (or leg) and placed his horn on the bracelet. As soon as he did, the light cut off.

“They said that you were missing, or lost,” Aiden gestured to the townsfolk, “So, I used the signal spell on the bracelet to find you.”

“I have a signal spell on this thing?” I asked annoyed.

Aiden shrugged, “You didn’t let me explain how it worked! You were such in a hurry to get to your date that you utterly ignored me.”

I snuck a peek at Applejack who was now talking to several other Ponies, who were obviously asking her really embarrassing questions considering how she was acting.

“I’m so sorry to have ruined your date, Forest. It’s just they made it sound as if you were in a lot of trouble,” Aiden muttered, “But the biggest culprit of them all is…”

“Me. I was just worried, okay?” Twilight muttered, “I had no idea it was going to be such an obvious signal.”

“Why are you dressed like that?” I asked. Twilight was dressed in dark pants, and shirt that covered her entire body.

“Well… I was… keeping an eye on Spike when you two showed up on the bridge. He had been standing there for nearly an hour. After you left, he went home and… I followed you. To my surprise, I wasn’t the only one.”

“Indeed.”

Applejack walked over to me, “Well, it’s been fun, Forest. But I think I’ll go home now.”

“I’ll come with you. After all, I do live next door.”

We both laughed at that, and all of us, including half the population of Ponyville headed back towards the town. As we returned, the others went about their business, Aiden walked Twilight back to the library, and Applejack and I headed back to Sweet Apple Acres.

We walked back in silence, not really knowing what to say.

“I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“Me too,” Applejack blushed, “Don’t forget to dry yerself this time, k?”

“Aw, you don’t want to soak me in an ice-bath again?” I laughed.

“As fun as that was, it’s a waste of perfectly good ice,” Applejack countered.

“Ouch.” I replied laughing, she was pretty good at dishing it.

“Forest, can I ask you somethin’ that’s been botherin’ me?”

“Of course.”

“Who’s Tutela?”

My heart froze, “What?”

“Tutela? Who is she?” Applejack looked at me, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“That name sounds really familiar,” I lied, “Where did you hear it?”

“When you were sick and delirious, you asked me if I was Tutela.”

I did not remember that at all, “I’m sorry, but I just can’t recall…”

“Well, let me know if you do remember, it’s been bothering me for the longest time.”

As we walked up the driveway to her house, we spotted Applebloom sitting on the rocking chair, her eyes wide open and huge smile across her face. She jumped off the chair without saying a word, gave me the biggest wink I’d ever seen, and went into the house closing the door behind her.

It would have been a cute gesture, but the three Apples were peeking at us from the living room by pushing the curtain aside. It was rather comical seeing the three of them staring at us expecting something.

“So… good night?”

“Good night, Forest.” Applejack turned to go in, “We should do this again.”

“Anytime.”

And she closed the door behind me. I thought I heard Applebloom shout ‘why didn’t you kiss him!’ but I was a little too distracted by the embarrassment I had felt from the lake. I really was going to kiss her, there was absolutely no doubt it. I had actually wanted to. Still did.

Sitting on the sofa, I stared at the laptop still hanging on the door. I was in no mood to talk to Tutela, because I was exhausted. Learning from my previous mistake, I took the towel and dried my soaking wet body before grabbing a blanket and draping it over myself on the sofa.

“Good night, Tutela,” I whispered, then blew out the candle and drifted off.

It was good to be back home.

Comments

[PonyManne215]

Lol First!

But a 17k chapter...........

narwhaler.com/img/34/w/oh-my-god-shocked-spiderman-34wkvX.jpg

[PonyManne215]

Okay, just finished.

Firstly, that Fluttershy....
Second, I like his comment with the falling tower "Shit."
Third, thank you for adding Scootaloo! This made this entire chapter perfect for me now.
Fourth, Damn you! You interrupted the kiss you tease you.
Finally, oh shit! She knows about Tutela!?!?

[treborabc]

I love it.
702463 You should try reading Background Pony. One of its chapters is 35k, and the rest are at least 10k.

[PonyManne215]

702920
That's the funny thing, I did try. I read the first two and stopped because the story has so much for me to take in. I would probably be able to read it if the author made the first two chapters below 10k and then built up from there. That's why I was okay with this one because deathtap built up to it.

[Ninjuto]

Yay 7k chapter!!

So Forest is officially a player. The girls that like him are as following:

Tutula
Twilight
Pinkie
Applejack

Lucky basterd.

Very good chapter btw

[SwordBearer91]

This story is just bucking GREAT!!! Everypony should read it!!!

[Shadow Morph]

you should have them figure out about the bet and help him get out of it

[Teslakana]

what would they do if he told them he WAS human?

[Shadow-Dancer]

all he needs to do is destroy the laptop LOL then even though he can't go to earth he can stay and keep his freedom

[darkjackal248]

2279187

Well if don't remember here's the Rule dude.

1: find out the meaning to friendship and tell Tugela

2: DON'T TELL anyONE not anypony anyone and that means all beings

3:Don't die

[straywriter86]

2827147 Actually that would not work because that would only prevent from getting home. Tutela could still take Forrest into her limbo world even without laptop around just like she did when he jumped out of the window in Canterlot.

[Hoppa_21]

“Then rise, Aiden Formaio, you will live where Forest lives, and watch over him,” Princess Celestia nodded, “Do not disappoint me again, Forest Fire.”

I'm downright livid! Celestia treats him like a criminal and I just can't see why!

Let's just think back about what happened. First, Celestia almost killed him with a spell. Second, he protected Twilight from Tiny. Third, he was accused of being a human, because of some insufficient information and Celestia didn't even THINK about checking if it was sufficient in the first place! Fourth, Luna blasted him with a spell who could have killed him, if Celestias spell prior was any indication to the harm spells could do on him. Fifth, he saved Fluttershy's life by willingly sacrificing his own! (Yeah, he survived, but this doesn't make this deed any smaller.) Sixth (the present), they are treating him like a criminal, even though they were wrong (in their eyes) all along! Seventh! ... Ok! I don't have anymore points, but I hope author you understand why I'm hating Celestia's and Luna's guts here.

“Of course I trust you, Applejack! I trust you all, more than anything. I didn’t want you to get in trouble. If you had been caught helping me and for some reason things didn’t go the way they did today, I didn’t want you to get hurt. I’m sorry for not telling you who I was.”

What didn't he tell her? Nothing new was found out about Forest, besides the zero MA thing. I mean, they still think he is a pony and has amnesia, right? I'm confused.

Phew! I'm feeling better now. A lot calmer. I just wanted to get this off my chest. Even though I have to admit that I would like a response to this comment, author. I would like to know how you see this and maybe explain to me, why Celestia treats him like that, even though she is constantly harming him, while he is constantly protecting/saving her ponies. Also the second point, but I already packed this into a question, so there is that...

Well, I'm already thrilled to read your response. You really got me curious and furious here!