The Wild Man

by Luckless

Chapter 4

Brian

The fire swarmed me, burning away everything that I was. My eyes melted in my skull, my skin charred and fell away from me in ash. My bones lasted only a little longer, before they too turned to ash. Then, again I was back to my own body, suffocating under the heat and smoke that choked my lungs.

"MOM! DAD!" I coughed heavily, spitting up a piece of my lungs. I stumbled around the burning room. Said room was devoid of detail, walls grey, and certain areas about the room appeared distorted in a static that you'd see on a tv when the channel you're looking for wasn't there. I stumbled to the door made of plain planks.

The voices came. NO! PLEASE! LEAVE ME ALONE! I cried. These voices taunted me, scorned me, laughed at me, and made all sorts of cruel jokes.
All of which, I'd heard while in that infernal Catholic orphanage and that damned school. Memories of being pricked with needles, held down by students to be burned with lighters and matches, thrown out of bed in the middle of the night to be beaten, being thrown down stairs, beaten in mob fights, and robbed of my every belonging. You've had your fun with me! Now leave me be!

I tried to open the door, but it refused to move.

"Oh, but Brian, don't you miss us? After all, we had soooo much fun together!" Father Kimberly growled out.

I bashed the door with my shoulder, and it fell away just slightly.

NO! You made my life a living hell you bastard! You helped those monsters torture me! You took part in it! You discredited me to the police so they wouldn't investigate! YOU BROKE ME!

He chuckled evilly, "Oh no! You've been insane for years, BOY. Long before we came to meet. I just gave you that little... push."

I rammed my shoulder into the door again, and what I'd done came flooding back to me again sa the door flew open to reveal my parents, buried beneath the burning rubble, screaming in agony as the fire burned them away.

My memories took me back to the Orphanage, when I'd truly lost my mind. How I crippled Father Kimberly, stole his money and alcohol, his valuables, and set his study on fire with him in it. How my plan with the bomb, how... My dream shook violently as I screamed, and it fell away just as the roof cave in.

I woke in a cold sweat, sitting up quickly and screaming at such a volume I didn't rightly think I could reach. My nightmare had seen fit to torture me in the waking world as well, the violent movement disturbing my bruises, and rejuvenating my splitting headache. I grabbed my head, and fell off the bed in a heap on the ground, worsening my pain.

But it didn't matter, I was crying. Oh dear God, why did I do that? WHY?? Please, if you're listening, if you're even here in this messed up world, please... forgive me! I laid on the ground for hours, balling my eyes out, hating myself and regretting my horrible crime. The government was right to want to capture me. Right to deem me deserving of the death penalty. Right to want me dead in every sense of the word. Right to give the bounty for death. They were right.

A little voice inside me spoke up, "Then why don't you die?"

The voice stopped me. It stopped my thought, it stopped my breathing, it stopped my heart from beating for a second. My eyes crawled over to my collection of guns. "It would be so easy. Just one trigger pull, and you would've paid your penance." My imagination drew me to crawling over, getting the Colt M1911 pistol I'd stolen from a gun store, pressing it against my-

FUCK! What the hell is wrong with me?

"Besides the obvious?"

SHUTUP!

I slapped myself across the face, which... was incredibly stupid. My hand not only agitated my bruises, bringing fresh waves of pain, but my hand had gone across my nose, bending it out of place again.

You idiot! Now you have to do it all over again! I forced myself into a sitting position, and took my nose in my hand. Ugh, fucking ponies. I twisted my nose back into place, and screamed again.

I panted heavily, and my stomach chose this moment to remind me of my missed meals. Ok, insanity pending, I think it's high time for me to eat something. My stomach agreed with a happy growl.

Meanwhile, at Sugarcube corner: Applejack

We'd recovered from our severe flank-whooping only minutes after the creature left with ice-packs on our heads, and laying on the couch, courtesy of Fluttershy and Spike. After she woke up, Rainbow took flight and was nursing a very sore jaw and a loose tooth, I was fretting over my pride, and Twilight was trying not to go cross-eyed over her new lump between her eyes.

"How did that thing beat us so easily?" Rainbow asked through her discomfort, "I mean, we kicked its' flank at AJ's farm!"

I groaned, "I think we surprised it. Plus, we didn' have yer lightning to knock it out."

Twilight's head audibly snapped to face us, "WHAT!??!"

Rainbow recoiled, "Yeah, uh, I hit it with lightning?" she smiled unsure.

Twilights' eliquinte response was a bunch of sputtering, "B-b-but his magic should've protected him! How could it knock him out?"

Rainbow shrugged, "Heck if I know. Only things I know that are sensitive to lightning are water creatures. Griffons are too, but you already about that, don't you?"

"Yes, but..." Twilights' face morphed into horror, "Oh sweet Celestia!"

I'd never seen such a look on Twilight before, and that worried me. Keeping my voice as level and soft as possible, "What is it Twi?"

"Those black lines and patches on its' skin, I don't think that's natural. I think those were elctro-shock bruising!"

Everypony except Fluttershy, who gasped in horror, stared blankly, "And what's that?" Rainbow asked.

"There's an incredibly rare genetic and magic disorder that doesn't shield creatures from lightning. This is especially common among the lizard people in the farthest reaches of the badlands. In layponies' terms, the lightning short circuits or overloads the nervous system causing organ failure and death at worst-" everypony sucked in a breath, "-or causes the blood vessels in the body close to the skin burst. With the lizard people and their scales, the only visible signs of this are some discolored scales, and our fur covers the damage. What we saw was the uncovered effects of Fulgar Nascendo Syndrome!"

We couldn't breathe.

Rainbow Dash wasn't flying anymore, "So... I almost..." She couldn't finish, but she didn't need to. We knew what she meant.

I put a hoof over her shoulder, "Don' feel bad Sugarcube, ya couldn't have known that would happen."

She looked down, and whispered so quietly that I barely heard, "But I still feel bad about it."

"But that wasn't the only pain he was in." Fluttershy's voice surprised us with the moroseness that bled from her words, "After he beat you three up, he put on it's clothes, and looked in the mirror. He didn't like what he saw. His nose, you remember how it was turned weirdly, and that red liquid was pouring out of it?" We nodded, "It wasn't supposed to look like that." She let those words sink in, and comprehension collectively dawned on us, "It's nose was broken. When he twisted it back into place, he nearly collapsed in pain. I think that was blood coming out of his nose. That means that it was broken very recently."

Rainbow looked even more guilty, "So I broke his nose too? With one little bolt of lightning?" That didn't sound very likely. As strong as lightning seemed to react with the creature, I doubted that lightning would do that much.

Fluttershy shook her head, "No, he had to be hit really hard in the face, probably a glancing blow that he couldn't dodge out of the way from." My heart stopped. So that's what that cracking sound was. I broke his nose!

"I-uh... I think that was me." All heads turned towards me. I gulped, "I heard a knock on the door, so I thought that somepony had gotten caught in the rain. I wasn' expecting him to be there, and I... panicked."

Nopony said anything, so I finished, "I bucked him in the face, but he sorta fell away from it. Almost thought I'd missed him until I heard the crack. I thought that was just the sound of a hoof hitting him." I felt so bad over that. Because I panicked, I broke his nose. Because I panicked... I led Rainbow to think he attacked me. And that got him really hurt, almost dead.

"Oh, Celestia, this is my fault."

Twilight cleared her throat, "Ok, well, let's change the subject! Fluttershy, what can you tell us about him?" Twilight sounded nervous, obviously uncomfortable over this strange new territory for her.

"Well, to start, I'm pretty sure that he had been set on fire once. His skin appeared to have scars akin to what burns leave, and if I had to guess, it healed poorly and without any magic. When it was healing, the skin set in a way that made it look stretched, while building up in some areas over others, and was a very angry red. When I first looked into his eyes, I saw terror. He was scared of us all. He didn't know where he was, and he knew he was trapped. He didn't trust me when I said he would be alright. I had the nagging suspicion that he was intelligent, but I couldn't be sure. I couldn't see enough from him to find out. After he beat you girls up, he put his clothes on, but he moved stiffly. I think his bruises were bothering him." Rainbow suddenly found the ground very interesting, "He always kept an eye on me and Spike and kept that strange stick close to him. At first, I thought he was still scared, but when I saw his face, my suspicion seemed much more realistic. He was being methodical, thinking out every action he did.

"He went up to the stairs, and he, told us to get out of the way. He scared me, so I did, but Spike stayed in place, and yelled at him. He picked Spike up like a doll, and dropped him to the floor and started to walk up the stairs with some difficulty. Spike grabbed his leg, and the creature fell. Then, he spoke. He was angry but trying to hold it down. But as he spoke, he slowly failed at keeping his voice down. From what he said, I know he's lost and that he's never seen ponies before. He thinks we're freaks of nature. He threatened Spike to let him go, which Spike did, and he stood up. Then he said... goodbye, I guess, and cursed at us."

"He laid a curse?" RD asked, now confused.

Fluttershy shook her head, "No, he used one of those words your not supposed to say." She hesitated, looking back and forth, before very quietly whispering the word.

Uh, ok.

"I'm, not sure what to say about that." Twilight said, and we all nodded in agreement, "Anything else?"

"He left. He didn't take anything, and didn't say anything else. He just, left. I think he went back to where he had found shelter."

It needed to be said, so, I morosely spoke up, "I think we owe somepony an apology." We owed him that much, and everypony nodded in regretful agreement

Brian

I was miserable. I was suffering from withdrawal from the cigarettes, my bruises and muscles aches, and my nose still hurt. The meat was taking forever to cook, and my stomach was beginning to start a rebellion against me. I didn't feel up to smoking and appeasing the addiction and the smoke made cooking food smell funny, I didn't want to waste any alcohol or painkillers on pain that I could tolerate, and I didn't really have anything to satiate my hunger until the meat was cooked, so I was left to my physical ails.

Having little to do, I checked on the moose skin, fearing the worst. I must be one of the most unlucky people in existence, because I'd left the skin in the water for too long without retreating it with salt. The skin had become weak, and ripped apart in my hands, while the fur easily fell off. The skin was ruined. Worthless.

I dumped the garbage can full of waste and bad water into the brush, and tossed the can at the van. Nothing can ever go my way, can it? I asked myself rhetorically. At least the meat is still good.

I sat down heavily on the log by the fire, and turned the meat over. The large slab of meat was starting to brown nicely. If it kept up like this, it would be ready in a few minutes.

*Rustle Rustle* The bushes shifted, and I instantly had my knife in hand and in a combat ready pose, regretting that I didn't have a gun on me.

"Who goes there!?" I demanded.

Out from the bushes came a pony, and my mood was further soured. I cut it off before it had a chance to say anything, "The hell do you want?"

The pony stopped moving, and stared at me. Despite being a completely different species, I could see the emotions and thought process cross its' face. I saw surprise, confusion, a tinge of fear, uncertainty, and finally rested on curiosity. While the pony thought up a response, I studied it.

The pony wasn't a pegasus or a unicorn, so it was like the orange one that broke my nose. It's coat was between a light brown and tan, and it's mane was deep blue with streaks of black in it. It was actually a really good color combo and assorted nicely with the long hair. The ponies eyes were extremely different from the other ponies I'd seen. Whereas my captors had round iris's and bright eye colors, this one had a dark, blood-red eye coloration with a cat-like slint for an iris. The pony was actually kinda pretty in an artistic sense.

The rest of the pony wasn't really much to say about. The pony was a little thinner than the ponies who'd held me captive. The rainbow pony was thin, but lithe, the orange one had been muscular, and the other two had been neither of those. They didn't look strong, thin, or fat. This one looked slightly malnourished. Not to where it was ridiculously so, but very noticeable. The skin underneath the fur was very close to appearing tight. The last few details were even more trivial than my observations on it's body type. Her tail matched the same color pallet and pattern as the mane, and was long, while the pony wore large... saddlebags for a lack of a better term.

The pony responded just as I finished observing it, "Nothing, really. I smelled the meat cooking," the voice was feminine, and she pointed at the makeshift grill, "and I wanted to see who would be cooking it. Not many ponies eat meat." She paused to think for a second, "Um, what are you? What's your name?"

My suspicion of the pony dissipated very slightly, enough for me to sit down. I found it highly unlikely that someone besides me would be out in the middle of the forest after a rain unless it was about me. Still, she hadn't done anything yet, and seemed genuinely curios.

Might as well indulge her. "I'm a human, name's Brian."

"Nice to meet you Brian! My name's Midnight Star! What are you doing out here?" She sounded friendly, no sign of deception or malicious intent.

"Living. And right now, trying to cook my..." I looked up at the sky. It was a cheerful blue, and the sun appeared to be nearly straight above me, "Lunch. Wasn't able to eat yesterday." As if to punctuate my statement, my stomach rumbled. And as if by providence, her stomach rumbled too. It was louder, but didn't have the same "I haven't eaten since yesterday" sound to it. More of a "feed me something good damn it!" kind of rumble.

She laughed nervously, "I don't suppose you have enough for two? I skipped breakfast." she shyly put a hoof to her belly.

Well, she seems friendly enough. Hasn't done anything yet either. No reason to be inhospitable. "Sure, how much would you like? I've got plenty, enough to last me a month before I have to go hunting again."

Her face brightened, and she looked at the cooking meat in front of me, "Could I have a bit more than that?"

More than... that? I looked back at the slab of meat. Most of it I was actually planning to save for dinner the piece was so big. And she wanted more?

Apparently noticing my look of surprise, she chuckled again, "It's not often I get to eat meat. Most ponies look down on it, and it's painfully hard to get. I want to enjoy as much as you're willing to part with. As you can see," she turned slightly to show her side to me, and patted her belly, "I've got the room for it." She was smiling good-heartedly. Ok, so she is really thin by pony standards. Don't really know why she had to emphasize that. Maybe she was trying to break the ice?

I gave her an amused smile, but didn't say anything about her choice of words, "Sure. I'll get a table out and let you take your pick." I swiftly stood up, sheathing my knife, and went over to the van. Tied to the side was a folding table covered in a tarp to protect it from getting dirty. Rapidly, I took it off the van, and set it up a couple yards away from the fire. I grabbed a bucket that had some of the larger cuts of meat, and set it down next to the table. I peeked over at the meat on the grill, which was turning into that perfect coloration. I produced my one and only plate and a fork from the van, and retrieved the meat from the grill, and left it on the corner of the table.

Midnight trotted over to my side as I pried open the meat bucket, and grabbed a few slabs of meat. They were bloody, and relatively the same size of the meat I'd cooked, about 2 inches thick and almost 2 feet long. Yeah, now that I thought about it, that meat was going to be tomorrow's breakfast too, maybe lunch too.

I slapped the two pieces of meat on the table, and turned to Midnight, "Just how much bigger than my piece would you like?"

Midnight was staring at the meat, drooling, "Huh, wha? Oh! Sorry, uh... could I get another half size of one of either piece?" She was looking longingly at the meat, and I could see the pure desire she had for it. I nodded, and grunted in affirmation.

"Hey, I'm not asking for too much, am I? I mean, it doesn't look like you have much."

I blew a raspberry, "Nah, it's fine. I've got more meat in more buckets. They're hanging in the trees. Besides, a good host provides amply for guests, and you, Midnight, are my guest despite the lack of a permanent house." I drew my knife, and admired the long blade. The Marines made a good choice in knives when they chose the KA-BAR knife. I sank the serrated black blade into the raw meat, and started cutting, putting my weight into each sawing motion. My bruises ached, my muscles ached, and the exertion the cutting motions were requiring was a little unexpected. A minute later, and I had cut one of the slabs of meat roughly in half, leaving it slightly lopsided. I tossed the slightly smaller piece into the bucket, and closed the lid. I figured that if she couldn't finish it all, it would be a good snack to take with her for later.

"Sorry, but I don't have any spices for the meat. Ran out a week ago, and haven't stopped at a store to get more." I said as I placed the two pieces of meat on the grill. They barely fit, but they did.

I looked back at Midnight, who had a happy grin, "Well, good thing I was out gathering! I've got some nice natural herbs that taste wonderful!" I gave a smile to be polite.

"Then I'll bet you'll be getting a real good meal, eh?"

She grinned toothily, "One in a lifetime!" I saw her teeth, which were much different than what I had pieced together should have looked like. Her teeth were very sharp. It was an interesting detail, but I decided against asking about it at the moment.

I ate as much of my food as I could while keeping an eye on the new meal being cooked. Which was about two bites. The meat was good, don't get me wrong, but there was just so much of it! Then I tended to Midnights' food. She handed, or hoofed (I guess), a stalk of plant life, which reminded me of Oregano or something similar. I held it over the meat, and crumbled it up, spreading the small bits evenly over the steaks and rubbed it in.

I recalled an especially good seasoned tenderloin steak I once had, "Man, these would be really good with some lemon-pepper."

I was suddenly aware of Midnight being right next to as she gasped, "You're right! That would be perfect with this!" She paused, "By the way, what is this? I mean, it's so thick and big."

I shrugged, "Moose. Big old bull."

Again, she gasped, "You took down a MOOSE! How? No offense, but you're kinda small and scrawny to take down something that big."

I smiled. For whatever reason, I found that statement kind of funny, "You're right, I am a bit smaller than a moose, but it's not like I killed it with my bare hands. I had my gun with me."

"A gun?"

I shrugged, "Yeah, uh, do you ponies have any projectile weapons?"

"Yeah, we have crossbows."

"Ok, good, I've got a comparison then. Think of a gun as several times more powerful than a crossbow, and many times more accurate too."

I looked over to her, and she seemed entranced in awe. Heh, she looks kinda cute like that. Actually, she looks pretty cute in general. Like a big teddy bear.

"Wow, I'd like to see it in action sometime! Maybe I could go with you when you go hunting next?"

I smiled, "I don't see a problem with that." I turned the meat over, and asked for more of that spice, and she handed another stalk. I broke it in half, handed one back, and crumbled the herb over the meat and rubbed it in as well.

Having finished most of the work for now, I sat down on the log to watch. Midnight took a seat next to me, kinda close too. Closer than I was used to.

Don't think about it too much. You're a social outcast, you don't know the first thing about human norms, so what makes you think you know anything about pony norms? Just act like there's nothing wrong.

"So where you from?" She asks as cheerful as ever.

Oi. "Hope you like stories, it's a long one."

Half an hour later

"Ok, that's the whole of it. Oh, the meat's ready." I grabbed the tongs next to the grill, and used them to carry them over to the table, "Soup's on!"

Midnight squealed in delight, and rushed over to the table with a manic grin. "Would you like a fork and knife?"

"Please." Her eyes were drilling holes into the meat, and her tongue lopped out, licking her lips.

Damn that's a long tongue. I wonder how her teeth don't rip it apart? I thought as I took out my KA-BAR again, and handed it to her handle first, only to realize that she didn't have any hands to hold it. That didn't stop her though, her hoof grabbed the knife, and she got to work cutting the meat while I fetched a fork. I only had my back turned for maybe 10 seconds, and when I turned back, she'd gotten all of the meat cut into manageable pieces, and was eating off the plate without the use of her hooves, knife abandoned to the table.

"Would you like that fork now?" I asked, somewhat in awe with the speed she was eating.

"Uh unge muh mund!" She mumbled through her food. I'll take that as a no.

Seriously, she was inhaling the steaks. It was going very quickly. Uh... I'm going to get her something to drink. Water, let's go with that. Seeing as how she was a pony, and likely needed more than I did, I grabbed a few tall glasses, and set them in the stream. I'd already drank out of it the first day I woke up, and I wasn't suffering from any adverse effects, so I figured it was ok to drink.

I got back to Midnight just as she was finishing up the last of the steak. She had juices dripping down her chin, and she had a euphoric grin plastered to her face. I offered her the water, which she puffed out a, "Thanks" and quickly downed the water.

She placed the last glass on the table with a great gasp for air. She looked over at me meekly, "I don't suppose you have any more I could have? That was really good, and I really want some more."

I stole a glance at her belly, which was now hanging with a significant bulg. I shrugged, "If you think you can handle it. Honestly, I'm still surprised you managed to eat as much as you did." I handed her my piece.

She giggled, and proceeded to dig in with as much vigor with what had been my plate as she had with her first meal. Again, the moose meat disappeared down her throat. When she finished, she sighed, content.

"Oooh! I've never been able to eat like that, and it was absolutely amazing!" She looked around the campsite, and apparently didn't find what she was looking for, "Do you have something I lay on? I'm really full, and I would like to lay down."

I nodded. I knew exactly what she'd like. I got back into my truck, and brought out my bean-bag-"bed". Basically, a giant bean-bag-chair that I only ever slept in when I got wasted or had been having trouble sleeping. I set it down a yard away from the fire, and beckoned to it.

She smiled thankfully at me, "Thank you." She eased herself into it, and laid on her side facing me. I sat down on my log, and stretched my legs a little.

"So, an alien, hmm?" I nod. She grinned, "I bet you've got questions. I know I do."

I nodded, "Yeah. For a start, where am I?"

"You're on Equus, in the Everfree forest of Equestria."

I nodded, drifting my gaze off to the forest, "So, why's it so hard for you to get meat?"

She shifted, "Well, it's kinda complicated. Have you seen any other ponies yet?"

Have I ever. "Yeeah. Let's just say that we didn't meet on good terms."

"Well, most ponies are herbivores, so they don't eat any meat. My dad is an earth pony, and my mom was a bat pony. That's where I get my eyes and diet. Bat ponies are omnivores, but they need a healthy amount of protein which they can't get from most plants. Since nearly all bat ponies make their living in the guard, so the crown pays for their diet. But I'm not eligible to enter, so I can't get any meat unless I want to spend huge amounts of bits on imported food from Griffonstone. Oh, and bits is what we call our money, by the way. Even when I can afford the meat, most ponies look down on eating meat, so I can't really eat it with my friends. So, that's the reason why I look so thin most of the time, and why it's so hard."

I could sympathize with her. Not being able to eat what you need to be healthy must be making her miserable. I felt... compelled to help, "You know, I could help out with that if you want. I've got a lot of food myself, and I can always go out and get more."

Midnights' smile melted my heart, "You would do that? For me?"

I smiled goodheartedly, "Hey, we omnivores need to stick together. Besides, I like your company."

Somehow, she smiled even more warmly, "Thanks. That's really nice." Then she smirked, "But you do know I'll have to pay you back, right?"

I snorted, "Details. Anyhow, I got another question. Why were you out here?"

"Well, I was hoping to come across some beehive or some recently diseased animal I could eat. But I got distracted gathering some herbs that I could use to spice up my meals. Then I smelled your little barbecue."

Huh, didn't know a vegetarian culture would know what a barbecue was.

"Any more questions?" I thought for a moment, and shrugged. Without thinking, I looked up at the sky, which was starting to darken.

"Damn, we've been here for a long time. It's already getting dark." Midnight went rigid, and her head jerked up to face the sky, and she immediately blanched.

She gave a hesitant laugh, "I don't suppose you'd mind me staying for the night? I may be half bat pony, but the night vision didn't cross over."

I gave her a warm smile. It was amazing how such a short amount of time it would make me like someone, "Sure thing, you can sleep in the bean-bag-bed. Come on, let's get inside." I put my things away, making sure to put the bucket back into the tree, and opened the door to the van. With a smirk, I beckoned to the truck, "Ladies first."

She giggled, and hopped up into the van bed. I tossed the bean-bag-bed into the van after her, and came in closing the door behind me. Inside, Midnight was looking intensely at my bed.

With a hoof, she pointed at it, "What's... this?" She almost sounded disgusted at the sight of it.

I shrugged (I seemed to being doing a lot of that lately), "It's my bed."

She slowly turned her head to face me, "No, really. What is it?"

Where was she going with this? "My, bed."

She shook her head, "That isn't a bed! It looks more like a short, rotting shelf! How can you sleep on that?"

"Quite easily."

She harrumphed dramatically, where I thought she was doing it for a comedic effect, "Do humans normally sleep on wooden boards with blankets that are falling apart?"

"Well, no, not really. I've actually been meaning to fix that, but I've never been able to get enough furs to make a mattress or new blanket. I use it more to keep my back straight, and I only sleep on my bag when I'm really drunk, in pain, or when I'm having trouble sleeping."

She raised an eyebrow, "Well, while I'm here, you are not, I repeat, ARE NOT, sleeping on that thing." She gave me a snarky grin.

I gave her my own sly smile, "Then where would I be sleeping?"

"The bean-bag-bed." She said automatically.

"Ok, where will you be sleeping then? The 'shelf'?" I let her think about it, expecting a harsh realization. That didn't come though.

"On the bean-bag-bed with you. I mean, it's really big, enough for the both of us." She sounded like there wasn't anything wrong with that.

"Uh, question. Is there no, stigma, about peo, eh, ponies sleeping together?"

She shook her head, "No, besides, even if there was, we're not doing anything, and we're out in the middle of the forest. Nopony would wonder in on us anyhow." She grabbed my shirt sleeve, and through clenched teeth, "Come on bigh ghuy! Leth get to sthleep."

I wrenched my sleeve out of her grip with a weak twist of my arm, "Not yet, I want to get into something more comfortable."

"Yeah, that reminds me, why all the clothes?"

"Eh, it's a big social taboo for humans to go around nude. Usually, it's something reserved for lovers or for... explicit things." With that, I took off my shirt, and tossed it in the corner, "I don't really care either way. It's mainly a comfort thing for me, and it's decent."

I looked back over to Midnight from the corner with my shirt, and I saw Midnight staring at my torso. I knew exactly what she was staring at. Years of experience taught me what people, and now ponies, were thinking when they saw the scars. She took hesitant steps towards me. When she was only a foot away, she raised a hoof up, and felt my scarred skin. The nerves under the damaged skin were long since deadened to touch on the surface, and quite frankly, I was surprised I was able to feel my bruising. Needless to say, I couldn't feel her hoof going over my skin.

Her eyes were glistening, "What happened to you?" She looked up, and my heart clenched.

Reluctantly, I told her, "I was caught in a really bad fire when I was a kid. Needless to say, I didn't get away unscathed. I got this in the same incident." I point to the scar on my face.

I was not prepared for what she did next. She reared up on her rear hooves, and hugged me. She had been taller than me when all fours, and when on her hind hooves, the height disparity was even more prominent, as I was being pressed against her bulging belly. I could actually hear her stomach churning.

"I'm so sorry Brian. That must have really hurt." She said somberly.

I smiled, even though I knew she couldn't see it, "It's ok, it was a long time ago." That may have been a lie, if my dreams and all the abuse I'd suffered over the years for it counted.

Midnight lowered herself back down to all fours, though she left a hoof on my shoulder, "How much of you was burned?"

I fiddled with my pants' zipper, and let it drop, "From the bottom of my feet to my collarbone. My, eh, delicates were spared though from the extra layer of clothing." I kicked my pants over at the corner my shirt was in, grabbed my pajama shorts, and put them on.

When I looked back to Midnight, she looked to be hurting really bad, and a tear managed to drip down her cheek. I smiled softly, and wiped it away with my thumb, "Come on now, no use crying over the past. I'm ok now."

"I know, but for somepony to go through so much suffering is terrible, and I feel really bad for you. I mean, you may be a bit jumpy, but you're a good stallion."

I chuckled at her word choice, and smiled warmly at her, "I'm not exactly a pony, or a stallion, but thanks. That means a good deal to me." I meant it. Already, in one day of knowing her, I was valuing her word, and deeply appreciated her concern and care.

Her face screwed up in confusion, "You're a mare?"

I laughed deeply, "Pffft! No, I'm a man. It's a pony equivalent to a stallion though."

Her lips quivered in a smile, before laughing herself, "You humans are a weird bunch." Don't I know it. "Come on, let's go to sleep." She gave me a prod towards the bean-bag-bed, and I complied good naturedly.

I laid down on the side of the bag, and Midnight followed. Once she was comfortable, she reached out to me, and pulled us towards each other for a hug, "Goodnight Brian." She yawned, giving me a show of her sharp teeth, snuggled her head into the bed, and promptly fell asleep.

I quietly snickered, "Goodnight Midnight."

Comments

[PrototypeJ]

Great chapter, I can't help but feel bad brian he didn't deserve to be attacked like that and I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't forgive mane six for what they did to him and wouldn't blame him either.

[Luckless]

You'll just have to wait and see :)

[No0one]

Please continue

[Luckless]

8902702
I am, I am. Just trying to think everything through and make it interesting to read. I'm doing one chapter for another of my books, then switching to this one, and back again.

[Theresa]

8902255
What i can't understand is their reasoning for trying him up and taking him to twilight house. He didn't do anything to them so why tie him up.