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The Key to Chaos986 words
Choosers can't be Beggers1,428 words
Diamond in the Rough1,377 words
The Monster in Your Head1,931 words
Guilty Until Proven Innocent1,878 words
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Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Chapter Five
Guilty Until Proven Innocent

The streets of Ponyville were silent as the many ponies that inhabited the town slept, blissfully unaware of the disaster on the horizon. Of all the homes in the small town, only a few were lit as most ponies had retired early in the night. There was usually no reason for the town’s residents to stay up late, especially since many of them had to get up early the next morning to go to work. Whether they were farmers, schoolteachers, or bakers, each pony had their own respective job to take care of.

However, one particular dragon was pacing the inside of the town’s library, twiddling his fingers together anxiously as he thought about what had occurred only three hours previously.

Come on, any second now…

His recent deal with Rainbow Dash had left him feeling excited at the possibility of receiving the prized Emerald Crystal, yet as the hours progressed, he felt a deep discomfort in his stomach. He tried blaming it on the stale hayfries he’d swiped from the cabinet.

“Where the hay are you Rainbow Dash, I thought you were fast!” Spike said out loud, doing his best to tempt fate. He fully expected the prismatic mare to burst through the front door and defend her speed. Alas, Rainbow did not appear, and Spike continued to worry.

Darn it Spike, what were you thinking? What’re you going to tell Twilight when she gets back? Ugh, this couldn’t possibly get any worse!

This time, karma decided it’d had enough, and in that moment the dragon belched up a brand new letter from the princess. Eyes wide in anticipation, Spike unfurled the scroll with his two claws and began reading it to his self.

Dear Spike,

I must admit, I was surprised at your request for a ticket to the upcoming Wonderbolts show. Then I realized you must be doing this as a favor to a certain friend of yours. In light of your generosity, I was willing to send two tickets along so you might enjoy the event with her as well. Unfortunately, something of importance has come up that needs to be addressed.

In fact, due to the nature of what has occurred, I have canceled the performance of the Wonderbolts. As you know they are also a military team, whose expertise may regrettably be needed if my suspicions are correct. I request that you also give this letter to my student Twilight if she is not already reading, so that she can gather the Element bearers in case they are needed. Please notify her that I am to arrive at the outskirts of the Everfree Forest at half past midnight along with the actual Elements of Harmony.

As for the performance, I will properly decide when to reschedule the event after all of this blows over.

Your Princess,

Celestia.

Spike glanced up from the letter with wide eyes, before briefly cursing to himself about having tempted fate. Then, the shock set in, as he realized the graveness of the situation.

Oh no… Rainbow Dash is an element bearer. They can’t use the Elements without her!

Then his eyes turned to pinpricks as another daunting fact hit him like a freight train.

The princess wants to meet outside of the Everfree Forest, which means whatever is going on is probably happening there, which means I just sent Rainbow Dash into danger… by herself…

Spike’s face paled as he slammed the door to the Golden Oaks library open and ran out into the streets, gripping the scroll in his hand and sprinting toward Sugarcube corner where Twilight was staying the night.

“TWILIGHT!” he cried, waking up the sleeping ponies in the homes around him. One or two of them stepped outside grumpily to tell him to keep it down, but he paid them no attention. He was too overwhelmed with fear and guilt to even notice the racket he was causing.

I-I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, he thought as tears began to fill his eyes.

Then they widened in horror.

Oh Celestia, she’s gonna kill me…

Holy crap, it’s a pony!

That was the thought running through the mind of the young talking monkey sitting on a rock behind a crackling fire. What he was seeing could not be described any other way, and it wasn't entirely accurate at that.

The boy was observing the “pony” he’d tied to a tree a few feet in front of him using rope he kept in his pocket. As he warmed his hands, he never took his eyes off of it, watching it breathe in and out and constantly checking if it was conscious. He couldn’t deny that it’d saved his life, though he did wonder why. He’d never heard of a wild animal saving the life of a human before. Then again, he’d never seen an animal quite like this before.

He’d seen ponies in his life. He’d even ridden one or two. But even though the creature in front of him was most certainly an equine, there were definitely a few things that seemed way off about it.

First of all, it had enough colors on it to make even the fiercest predator think twice about eating it. He’d never even seen a horse with a blue coat in his life, or one with as small or angular of a muzzle before. Not to mention its freakishly huge eyes. But none of that was what really bothered him. What really freaked him out was its rainbow-colored mane. He’d never seen anything like it, it practically looked edible!

And then there were the wings.

The fact it even had wings suggested it was a pegasus from ancient Greek mythology. They were small things compared to its overall size, and he’d done what he could to preserve the one that seemed to have broken when the creature saved him from an untimely death. Though he wasn’t surprised, it was a wonder how the creature could fly at all with wings that small.

The splint he’d created from bamboo and rope was a crude one, but it had managed to prevent the pegasus’s wing from further getting damaged, though he could tell it was experiencing pain due to its heavy breathing. He’d done what he could to relieve the pain and make the creature comfortable, without letting the thing simply run away when it woke up. After all, this was the first time that anyone had come across a real live winged horse. No one would believe him if he didn’t bring it back with him.

As to how he was going to convince it to follow him back to civilization… well… he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. Not to mention he didn’t know where he was or how he’d managed to get stranded in a forest out in the middle of nowhere.

Suddenly the pony began to stir. The sudden movement caused the boy to shuffle backwards a bit from fear. That seemed to fully awaken the creature, which now had two large fully alert eyes aimed directly at him, and both ears pointed straight up in alarm.

It simply stared at him, ears twitching slightly, as it lay there in front of the large oak tree as if waiting for him to do something. There was something about the pony that was unnerving; its expression seemed far too… human for a horse. In fact, it seemed the thing was staring at him with the same expression he was giving it: Cautious curiosity.

After several moments, he decided to risk getting a little closer to the thing. He got onto his knees and shuffled forward a little, causing the light blue pony to flinch a bit, but otherwise continue to stare at him with no difference. He took that as a good sign, and continued forward inch by inch, until he was past the fire and only three feet away from the creature. At this point, it seemed to be attempting to hide any fear it might possess behind its narrowing eyes and suspicious glare, an action that seemed quite odd to him.

Suddenly the pegasus got up onto its hooves and began to back away, as if finally deciding it didn’t trust the creature that was approaching it. However this only caused it to land on its belly again and yelp in pain while turning to look at its broken wing. He could easily see the fear etched in its features as it stared at its damaged appendage, which slowly changed to confusion as it noticed the splint encasing it. It snapped its head back toward the boy when it noticed he’d approached closer when it wasn't looking.

Now, the boy in question was not an expert on horses. In fact, the little experience he had with them were not with wild ones, not that it’d likely matter in this situation. But something told him to put both his hands up in a sign of good intentions, as well as to speak in soft hushed tones.

“D-don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.”

The colorful pony’s eyes widened at that, its irises revealing a deep rose color that reflected the flames of the fire. This animal was definitely a free spirit, one that might not take too kindly to being tied to a tree when it realized that particular fact. But at the moment, the boy was focused on making a good first impression. As slowly as he could manage it, he moved his left hand down to his side while simultaneously moving his right arm towards the pony’s muzzle. Its pupils immediately focused on his hand, observing the advance warily yet not moving an inch. He waited with bated breath as his hand moved closer.

Ten inches…

The pony kept its eyes locked on his fingers, observing and scrutinizing each one. It too seemed to be holding its breath.

Five inches…

The tension in that moment was so thick, the boy no longer took notice of the cold air around him, or the fact that the fire he’d started was now starting to die off. He was completely determined to not mess up this moment.

One inch…

Suddenly, he made contact with the incredibly soft fur of the pony’s muzzle. He released a breath he’d been holding and closed his eyes in relief, as the tension disappeared. He’d done it; he’d made physical contact with one of the rarest creatures in existence. If only his father could see him now.

“Dad, I think even you’d be proud of me for once.”

Though maybe he spoke too soon, or maybe he should’ve been paying attention, because at that moment a sharp pain ran up through his arm. He shot his eyes open to see a row of white pony teeth clamping down on his fingers.

In that moment, he did what any self respecting person would do.

He screamed like a little girl.

Reviewed by Tofty

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