That's one way to wake up.

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Today was a normal day. I finished work, went to the store, hanged out with my friends, and went home to my new apartment. Today may have been a normal day, but the past year has been hell. My brother died in a plane crash, my girlfriend left me, and my dog died. I'm just lucky I had my friends to help me out. Anyway, I arrived at my apartment, went into my kitchen, grabbed a beer, and sat down in front of the tv. I smiled, turned on the tv, sat back, and relaxed. After a couple of hours of some well need rest, I began to grow tired and let out a exhausted yawn. "I should hit the hay, but I'm sooooo fucking comfy." I said closing my eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep.

I awoke feeling the cold air blowing past my face, and the wind whistling through my ears. I opened my eyes to see that I was in a dark tunnel with a bright light at the end. I felt calm, safe, and unstoppable. I felt like I have been freed from a prison that was made by the devil himself. I felt great! That is until I came to the end of the tunnel and went through the light. Once I exited the light I snapped back into reality and began to panic. "WHAT THE FUUUUUCK!!" I screamed. I tried to flap my arms and fly like a bird, but of course it failed and I continued falling. All I could see were clouds, and a couple of birds. Once I got pass the clouds I saw a very large forest. I feared the worst and closed my eyes. I felt a little happy for some reason. I don't know why, I just did. I awaited my fate, but soon I felt something surround me. I began to slow down, and opened my eyes to see that I was in a bright red sphere. I gave a sigh of relief, but I still had a bad feeling. Once I was a little closer to the trees the sphere disappeared and I started to fall again. Soon I smashed through giant branches. I finally made it to the earth with a hard slam. My vision was extremely blurry, and I felt insanely light headed. I laid on the ground for the pass two hours in pain, and finally slowly raised to my feet. "Well, that's one way to wake up." I said and chuckled. I scanned my surroundings and sighed. "I have a real bad feeling about thi- GAH!" Something heavy slammed against my head, cuasing me to fall down. "Motherfucker!" I yelled and pushed off whatever fell on me.

I looked at whatever fell on me. It was a huge hiking back pack. Confused, I opened the bag and pulled out a hunting knife, binoculars, box of matches, a K-5 Tactical Tomahawk, a med kit, a flash light, a black hoodie, a bandana, and a M9 pistol with ten magazines. I was even more confused, and a little surprised what this back pack had in it. 'Well, I got no clue where I am, and it looks like it's getting dark fast. Might as well take this shit, and find my way out of here.' I thought. I put on the hoodie, put the M9 in the back of my pants, and swung the back pack over my back. "Now, where to go?" I said. I decided to head north. "I got a bad feeling about this." I said and walked through the dark forest.

[Meanwhile at Ponyville]

Today was a normal day in Equestria, Celestias sun was full of life as it shined down onto Ponyville. Though, today isn't as peaceful for princess Twilight Sparkle. She was in her house with her assistant Spike, and her friends, trying to cast a new spell that Celestia had asked her to figure out. "Why isn't this spell WORKING?!" Twilight shouted, and sighed in frustration.

"Twi, maybe ya'll should take a break. I mean, ya been working on this for three days straight." Applejack said.

"Yeah, you even started snapping on us like a crazy dog, You need some rest." Rainbow Dash said.

"SLEEP! I cant sleep! The princess asked me to figure out this spell! I have to find out how to do this SPELL!"

"But your going to drive yourself mad darling, you need rest." Rarity said. "I mean, look at your self." Rarity raised a mirror, showing Twilights reflection. Her main was a total mess, and she had large bags under her eyes. Twilight was about to say something, but she sighed and smiled at her friends.

"Well, I guess I do need a little break." Twilight said smiling.

"Good, how about we all go and have a picnic by the lake and relax?" Applejack said. All of the girls agreed, and left to change their cloths. Spike started to pack the picnic basket, while Twilight went up stairs to fix her main, and get dressed. Once she returned, her friends were back, and Spike had readied the picnic basket.They left the house to the lake.

[Back to Jacob]

I walked through the forest for at least two hours, and felt like something was following me. How did I know this? I heard growling, and branches snapping behind me for the past twenty minutes. Nervous, I began to walk a little faster every three minutes until I began to jog. Soon, the sounds got louder, and I started to sprint. Out of no where, a giant mutant jumped out in front of me, and lashed out at me. I quickly jumped out of the way and rolled back to my feet. I looked at the freakish monster, and soon another one walked by it's side. They were some kind of lion fused with a scorpion tail, and bat wings.

I slowly reached for my M9, and aimed it at the right one, but before I could pull the trigger, the left one launched at me and attempted to slash me with his massive claws. I jump out of the way, but the monsters claw slashed my leg. I quickly fired 5 shots into it's rib cage, and fired one shot into it's eye. The monster roared in pain and fell to the ground. His friend gave a massive roar, and lunged at me. I quickly rolled to the left, and fired a few shots into it's legs. It roared in anger, and it's tail nearly hit me. I quickly pulled out my Tomahawk and slashed at it's neck. I made contact, and my Tomahawk was digging into it's neck making it roar in pain. I got a good grip onto it's wing and lifted myself onto it's back. Once I was on it's back, I pulled out my Tomahawk and repeatedly slammed it into the back of it's skull, making blood fly every where. Soon the monster started to get weak, and I my Tomahawk finally made it into it's skull, and into it's brain. The monster fell dead onto it's stomach. I stayed on the beasts back for a minute, breathing fast, and sweating bullets. I pulled out the Tomahawk, making a bone crunching noise. I fell off, and laid on the ground. "Fuck." I said panting. I slowly raised to my feet, and looked down to my injured leg. I cringed at the sight of my bleeding wound, and swung my backpack off. I opened it, and pulled out the med kit. "Damnit, I don't feel good." I said feeling dizzy. I was about to open the med kit, but I heard a low growl from behind me and sub around to see the other monster still moving. I grabbed my M9, and walked over to the creature. Once I stood over it, I saw that the creature had pain, and fear in it's other eye. I felt a little bad for it, and decided to end it's pain. I raised my M9 at it's head, and pulled the trigger.

The shot echoed through out the forest, making the birds from near by trees fly away. I stared at the strange creatures lifeless body with a cold look, and limped away to my backpack. I sat down by a tree, and opened the med kit. I pulled out some thread, a needle, and a small bottle of peroxide. I took a deep breath, and opened the peroxide. I slowly poured the peroxide onto the wound, and roared in pain. "AHHHHHHHHHH FUUUUUCK!!!!!!" I roared. The peroxide sizzled in my wound, and I placed the bottle near by. I picked up the thread, and needle, and began a very, veery painful process.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

[On the edge of the Everfree forest]

Twilight and her fiends were walking along the path that led to the lake. "So, Twi, what spell did Celestia want you to cast?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Oh, well it is a spell that even Celestia her self has trouble casting. It's a summoning spell that can bring any object from another world here to Equestria." Twilight said. Spike, and everybody seemed a little impressed, except Rainbow Dash who was hoping for something a little cooler.

"So ya can bring like alien things here?" Applejack asked.

"And even Celestia her self cant master the spell?" Rarity asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, and she as asked me to figure it out."

"Um, Twilight, can you possibly bring animals here." Fluttershy asked in a quiet voice.

"I suppose so."

"Wow, just imagine the different kind of animals!" Fluttershy squeaked.

"And imagine all of the new types of fashion." Rarity said.

The girls continued to walk to the lake, and without any clue what one poor soul was going through.

I fucking hate my life.

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"AHHHHHHHH!" I roared. I finally finished with the last stich, and cut the thread. I was sweating bullets, and panting heavily. I grabbed the bandage rap, and rapped it around the wound. I sat against the tree for awhile, and started to chuckle. After a couple of minutes of resting I raised to my feet, and grabbed my back pack. I continued through the forest. I was completely pissed by this whole situation, and just wanted to get out of this damn forest.

Not even ten minutes later, I heard more branches snapping from behind me, and more low growling. I decided to fight through the pain, and start jogging through the woods. Soon I was tackled by another strange creature. I quickly pushed it off and looked up. My attacker was a wolf made entirely of wood. Soon four more jumped out, and joined their friend. Clearly out numbered, I decide to make a fun for it. So I quickly spun around and ran as fast as I could. The wood wolfs were hot on my trail. I could hear the snapping of their jaws, and the loud barks from behind me. "FUUUUUUCK THIS GOD FOR SAKEN FOREST!!" I screamed. I pulled out my M9, and aimed it back at one of the wolfs, and fired. The bullet went through the wolfs head, and it fell dead on the ground. I continued to run for ten minutes and finally saw a light at the edge of the woods. I increased my speed, and ran a little faster towards the light. But before I could reach exit the woods, I was tackled from the back and me and the wooden wolf were launched out of the forest. I fell onto the a dirt road, and quickly elbowed the wolf off of my back. I flipped around, aimed my M9, and fired a full magazine into three wolfs, and killed them. But the last wolf jumped onto me, and bit down onto my shoulder. I roared and punched the side of the wolfs head. The blow caused the wolf to fall off. I jumped onto the wolf, pulled out my Tomahawk, and repeatedly bashed the wolfs wooden skull. The wolfs blood, which was sap, covered my Tomahawk and splattered every where. Soon the wolf stopped moving, and fell silent. I gave one more good bash, and stopped.

"I... REALLY... hate this place." I panted. I slowly raised to my feet and looked at the wound on my shoulder, and cringed. "Son of a bitch." I said. The wound wasn't that bad, but it just hurt like a motherfucker. Anyways, I scanned my surroundings, and saw that I was on a dirt road, and that there was a wide open space to my right. I decided to follow the road, and hope for the best. So that's what I did, I followed the road for about a half hour and came across a large lake. Thirsty as hell, I jogged to the lake and took large gulps of water. I choked a few times, but continued to drink the fresh, cold water. Once I was done drinking, I walked over to a near by tree, took off my back pack, placed it next to the tree, and sat down against the tree. I sat under the shade for about a few minutes, and finally drifted off to sleep.

[Twilight and friends.]

Twilight and her friends continued to talk about the spell Twilight was having trouble with, and stopped dead in their tracks. In the middle of the road, were four lifeless Timber wolfs. Fluttershy had tears running down her face, while the rest of the girls cringed at the site. "W-what in Equestria could have done this?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy sniffed and spoke.

"It could have been another animal, but I never saw wounds like these before. I've seen other animals get injured by other animals, but these wounds are just unnatural." Fluttershy said.

"Hey, look!" Pinkie said pointing at some strange tracks on the road. Everyone looked at the tracks with no idea what made them. Soon Applejack spoke.

"Look at this." She said. She picked up a small metal cylinder that was on the ground. "What in tarnation is this?"

Twilight levitated the small metal cylinder into her hand, and inspected it. "I have no clue."

"Sh-should we follow the tracks?" Fluttershy asked.

Twilight thought for a second, and nodded. "Yes, whatever did this could be dangerous to ponies." Twilight said. The girls agreed, and followed the tracks, while Rainbow Dash flew up a head. She soon returned.

"I saw a dark figure laying down at the lake. It didn't look like a pony to me." she said. Everyone began to start running towards the lake. Once they reached the lake, they saw the dark figure Rainbow Dash was talking about. With caution, they slowly walked up to the resting creature. Applejack pulled out her lasso, and focused on the creature. Unfortunately for them, the creature was aware of their presence.

[Jacob]

I tightened my grip on my Tomahawk, and waited for whatever was approaching me, and getting ready to strike, but before I could I heard female voices. "What in Equestria is this thing?" A tomboy voice said.

"No clue, but look, it seems to be injured. Fluttershy, do you think you could help it." Another female voice said.

"Well I could see what I could do, but I still don't feel safe around it." A small female voice said.

"I could tie it up with my lasso." A southern voice said. 'Oh hell no!'

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I said. I heard a few gasps, and looked up to see anthro... PONIES!? I've read those brony fanfics with those anthro ponies. They never end good. I just stared at them with total shock, but I didn't show it. Once I snapped out of it, I quickly jumped to my feet, and aimed my M9 at them. "Fuck off you freaks!" I shouted. They backed up a few steps, but the Rainbow one stood her ground. She wore small swimming trunks, and a swimming bra with rainbow stripes on it . I forgot her name, but I know these six are the main characters in that fucking stupid show. "I said... BACK THE FUCK UP!" I yelled ., and fired a shot into the air. She seemed to waver a bit, but still held her ground. Soon the yellow one who was wearing a loose skirt that you would see at the beach, and a yellow swimming bra, slowly came up, and spoke.

"Umm, mister creature, we mean you no harm. We just want to help you." she said in a quiet voice, and pointed at my leg. I stood there for a moment wondering if I should trust them. I soon decided to accept her offer, and lowered my M9. I mean, how tough can they be if they jump me.

"Fine, but I swear if you try anything, I'll make you regret it." I said in a low tone. She smiled, and nodded. I sat back down against the tree, and un-rapped the bandages on my leg. Once it was off, my wound was as clear as day. I looked up to see shocked, and disgusted faces from the six ponies, and little dragon. "What, never saw blood before?" I asked, and chuckled. The yellow one got closer, and kneeled beside me.

"W-what in Equestria happened?" She asked looking at the wound.

"In the woods, I was attacked by two freakish monsters. They looked like a lion mixed with a scorpion, and a bat." I said.

"You mean manticores?" The purple one asked. She wore purple swimming shorts, and a purple shirt.

"Yeah, I guess." I said. The yellow one touched my wound, and every mussel in my body tensed up as I clenched my teeth. She quickly pulled her hand back, and looked at me with sad eyes.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!" She squeaked. I soon relaxed, and looked at her in a annoyed look.

"Don't do that again." I said. She nodded and looked back to her friends.

"His leg is extremely injured, I need to get him back to my cottage and treat him there." She said.

"Hey now, I'm not going any where with you." I said. She looked back to me.

"Mister creature, if you don't come back to my cottage then your leg will get infected." She said.

"No it's fine, I put peroxide on it so it should be ok. Right?" I asked.

"Please, I want to make sure." She said. I sighed and nodded my head.

"Fine." I said. I got to my feet, and picked up my backpack.

"Well, there goes our relaxation time." Huffed the rainbow one.

"Come on now RD, this creature needs our help." Said the orange one. She wore jean shorts, and a white tank top.

"I don't need your... your... why is everything spinning?" I stumbled around a bit, and violently shuddered. I fell to my knees, and held my shoulder that the woodened wolf bit. My vision was blurry as hell, and I couldn't fell my mussels. I felt one of the anthro ponies holding my arm, and attempting to pull me up. I soon collapsed onto the ground, and began to shake violently. I tried so hard not to close my eyes, but they soon closed, and everything went dark.

'I fucking hate my life.'

GO HUMP A CHAIR!

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I felt something cold, and wet on my head, and I felt something warm on my left arm. I was about to open my eyes, but I heard the same voices from before. So I kept my eyes closed, and listened.

"Rainbow Dash, how could you say that? If he was a monster, than why didn't he attack us?" One voice said in a annoyed tone.

"Oh give me a break, I mean just look at him, he must have killed those timber wolfs." A tomboy voice said.

"It could have been self defense, timber wolfs are nothing but monsters." A southern voice said.

"Now hold on girls, Rainbow Dash may have a point, look at this creature. It's cloths are just dreadful." A elegant voice said.

"Oh, oh, I wonder if he likes parties." A hyper voice said.

"Girls, please, this creature needs rest. He had a large amount of poison in his wound. It looked like a Timber wolf bite." A small voice said in a quite tone. I had no idea what was going on, and felt the need to open my eyes and confront these voices. Soon I heard foot, or hoof steps leave the room. I slowly opened my eyes to make sure the coast was clear. Once I scanned the room and found nothing, I pushed off the covers, and slowly got out of my bed. I inspected the room a little more, and saw a opened window. "Well, that was easy." I chuckled to myself, and walked towards the window, but stopped when I noticed something.

"Where's my backpack?"

"What is this?" A voice said from the other room. I groaned, and rolled my eyes.

"Of fucking course they have it, why wouldn't they." I said. I slowly walked to the door, and easily turned the knob on the door. I slowly pushed open the door, and peeked through the crack. There they were, all of the ponies, digging through my things like assholes. 'How the fuck am I going to do this?' I asked myself. Soon, the yellow one got up and said something.

"I'm going to make sure that the creatures ok." She said.

"Ah leave him, he'll be fine." The tomboy one said.

"No, I should check, just in case." She said.

I quickly, and quietly dashed to the bed, while snatching a small, sharp knife of a small table. I ducked under the covers, and waited. Just as I went under the covers, I heard the door open, and the sound of hoofs hitting against the wood floor. I tightened my grip on my knife, and waited for the right moment. Soon the sound of hoofs got louder, and stopped right next to the bed. In the matter of seconds I felt a hand slid under my covers, and down to my... crotch!? 'What the fuck is this freak do... oh wait, I forgot, she's anthro, and every story I've read with anthro ponies they all have been horny little bastards. This is going to be interesting.' I felt her rub my no-no area for a short period of time, and quickly snap back. In my mind I sighed in relief, and relaxed. Soon I started to hear her whisper.

"What am I doing, this is terrible. I cant do this, it's not right, I take care of animals, not... pleasure them." She said. "But, pleasuring animals is like taking care of them, right?"

'NOT WHEN YOU WANNA FUCK EM YOU FREAK!!'

"But it's just so... tempting."

'THEN GO HUMP A CHAIR!'

"Maybe I'll just give it a try, just this once." She said.

'Of FUCKING COURSE!!'

I soon felt the hand return under my sheets, and back onto my crotch. My body froze while she continued to rub me. 'What the fuck am I doing? MOVE!' Soon my body un-froze, and I quickly grabbed her hand. She squeak, and attempted to pull back, but I was stronger. I pulled her onto the bed, and before she could scream for help, I covered her mouth. She squirmed and kicked to get free, but I rapped my legs around hers, and tightened my grip on her throat. Once I was in control, I put the knife against her throat.

"Stop moving you freak, or I'll tear that little throat out with my teeth!" I growled. She squeaked, and ceased moving. "Now, listen up you horny bastard, you and me are going on a little trip." I whispered in to her ear. Her eyes were full of tears, and fear. This made me smile, and I unwrapped my legs, but kept my hand over her mouth so she wouldn't scream for help. I slowly raised us both to our feet, and was about to push her forward towards the door, but soon felt something start hitting my left foot. I looked down, and saw a small little rabbit punching my foot. I raised an eyebrow, and kicked the fur ball into a mirror making it break into bits. I cringed, and cursed myself under my breath. The pony however, screamed something under my hand, and started to squirm more violently than before. As I tried to gain control of the pony, I began to hear several hoofs running towards the door. Sure enough, the door swung open, and the rest of the ponies came bolting in. They froze when they saw me holding a knife to their friends throat. I was about to say something, but I was interrupted by the pony I was holding captive. I felt her bite down on my hand like a wild dog. "SON OF A BITCH!" I roared, and pulled my hand away from her mouth.

"ANGEL!" She screamed. 'Angel?' I looked over to the mirror where I kicked the rabbit, and saw blood flowing out of the rabbit. She started to squirm harder, and harder by the second. I decided to calm this bitch down the fun way. I raised my hand in the air, made a fist, and struck the crying pony, and knocking her out. The others gasped, and soon looked at me with enraged looks. I put more pressure on my knife, and felt blood run down my hand. Their eyes went wide with shock.

"Back off, or this bitch dies! Understand!?" I yelled. They nodded. "Then get into that corner." I said, and pointed to a corner in the right side of the room. They obeyed, and quickly walked to the corner. I dragged the knocked out pony through the door, and scooped up my gear as fast as I could. Soon I pulled out my M9, and dropped the pony. I sprinted to the door, and smashed through the door. I wasted no time, and bolted away from the house. I didn't care where I ended up, as long as it's away from here, it'll be heaven for me.

"Why does all the crazy shit happen to me?"

[The main six]

"Fluttershy, Fluttershy, are you okay!?" Twilight yelled out. Applejack, and Rainbow Dash picked up Fluttershy, and carefully placed her on a couch. Fluttershys eyes slowly opened, and she looked around the room.

"W-what happened?" She asked.

"Shhh, relax darling, your safe." Rarity said.

"Rainbow Dash, fly back to the library, and tell spike to send the princess a letter saying we need help." Twilight said. Rainbow Dash nodded, and ran out of the house. Fluttershy stared at her friends with confusion, but soon her eyes snapped open, and she jumped off the couch, and ran into the next room. Twilight reached for her friend to try and stop her, but she was to fast. Fluttershy enter the room, and let out a high pitch scream.

"ANGEL!!" She screamed, and scooped up her little, bleeding friend. The others entered the room, and surrounded their friend. Fluttershy turned to her friends with tears overwhelming her eyes. "H-he's... dead." She said, and began to cry. THe others walked into the room, and began to comfort their friend.

"Twilight!" A familiar voice shouted. Twilight jumped to her feet, and ran to the front door. Once she reached the the front door, she was met by princess Celestia. Twilight was at first surprised, but soon she was relieved.

"Princess, your here! How did you get here so fast?" She asked. Celestia chuckled, and showed Twilight the letter.

"When I receive a letter from my number one pupil saying that she needs help, I will always drop everything, and come straight to your aid." She said. Twilight smiled, but soon her smiled faded. "Now Twilight, what happened?"

"Fluttershy was attacked, and her pet Angel was killed by a new creature we found by the lake. It can speak Equestrian, and is very aggressive." Twilight said. Celestia was quite for a moment, and looked to the ground.

"It seems this 'Creature' has left a track for us." Celestia said with a smile. She then looked to Twilight. "Twilight, inform Fluttershy that she will be staying with you until we capture this creature, and a few guards will be tending to her animals. Also, I do not want you, or your friends to attempt to track down this creature. Am I understood?"

"Yes Celestia, I understand completely." Twilight said. Celestia smiled.

"Good, go tend to your friend, she needs all of her friends right now." She said. Twilight nodded, and walked back into the house.

"Please be safe my number one pupil."

[Jacobs pov]

Two and a half hours have passed, and it is beginning to get dark, and I'm running out of energy. I soon stop running, and I leaned against a tree panting, and attempting to regain my breath. "Fuck, I hate this fucking place SO fucking much." I said. I scanned my surrounding's, and found a large cave. I sighed with relief, and started to make way towards the cave. Soon I began to here voices from behind me, and I decided to dive into the bushes. I pulled out my M9, and waited. As I waited, the voices got closer, and soon I could see five dark figures with weapons. I held my breath, and readied myself for action.

"The track ends here, but where is the creature?" A voice asked.

"Not sure, but the sooner we find him, the faster we can get back home." Another voice said.

"This is bull, why would the commander split us up in groups of five for one beast?" A female voice asked.

"Didn't you hear, this beast attacked the main six, and escaped." A young voice said.

"So, that doesn't mean anything. In my book the main six are nothing but a group of morons." The female voice said.

"They are not! They are the saviors of Equestria!" The young voice said with anger.

"Pfft, whatever kid."

"Will both of you shut up! If this creature is near, it will know we are here. So shut up, and stay focused." I hard voice ordered.

"Sir, look at this. Maybe the creature went into the caves." A voice said. I looked closer, and saw three of the figures move into the cave, and the other two waited outside. I cursed under my breath, and began to think of a way to slip away. Soon I felt something under my hand, and garbed hold of it. I lifted up the object to that it was rock. I smiled, and threw the rock into the opposite direction. There was a loud crack, and both of the guards were startled.

"What was that?" A voice said.

"It could be the beast, come on." Another voice said.

"Wait, what about the others?"

"Well we cant let the beast get away, so come on."

"Fine." Soon the figures began to run in the opposite direction, and I jumped out of my bush.

"Dumbasses." I chuckled, and started to run away from the cave. Once I was far away enough, I decided that I could hide in the trees. So, I climbed the highest tree I could fine, and laid back. "Fuuck, what a day." I groaned, and wrapped the bandana around my face, and pulled my hoodie over my head. My stomach growled, and I sighed. "I guess I'll go hunting tomorrow." I said, closed my eyes, and fell into a peaceful slumber.

[Somewhere in the forest]

"Damn it! It must have heard us." A royal guard said.

"I guess this armor gave it away, huh?" Another royal guard said.

"No, your breath gave us away." The guard snickered.

"Whatever, lets just head back to the cave, and meet back up with the oth..."

*CRACK*

Both of the guards jumped, and drew they're weapons. Soon a dark chuckle could be heard from all directions, and the guards began to panic. "W-who's there!?" One guard shouted. Before they could react, a loud war cry filled the air, and a large creature with a curved sword charged out of the bushes, and sliced the throat of one of the guards. The guard fell to his knees, and slammed down onto the ground. Blood sprayed out of his neck, and he crawled on the ground in attempts to escape death. The other guard was frozen in fear at the sight of his dying friend, and looked to the blood covered creature. The guard dropped his weapon, and begun to back away, but he tripped, and fell onto his back. Before he could get back up, the creature slammed it's foot into his chest, and forced him back onto the ground. The guard looked up in fear, and silently begged for mercy. The creature was covered in some kind of clothing. It wore a green shirt, and over that shirt was a brownish vest. It carried a curved sword, and it had some kind of object around it's back. It had dark jeans, and brown boots. A green hoodie was over his head, and a mask with a evil smile stitched onto it covered it's face. All the guard could see were soulless eyes that stared down into his soul. The creature reached for the mask, and slowly pulled it down to reveal a pale, furless face. The creature wore a evil, insane smile over his face as he raised his sword into the air.

"Here's Jack!" The creature yelled, and shot the sword down towards the guards head.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Easy pickings.

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My eyes slowly opened only to be attacked by the suns glare. I groaned, pulled down my mask, and rubbed my eyes. "Fucking sun." I said, and jumped off of the branch I was sleeping on. I rose to my full height, and scanned the area. Seemed clear, and I could hear running water close by. So I yawned, and headed towards the sound of the water. As I was walking, I noticed how quite it was. This made me both calm, and on edge. I liked the silence, but sometimes it means shit is about to go down. That's just my luck. Anyways, I finally came across a river with clear water. I smiled at the sight, and quickly walked over to the river. I knelt down, flipped my hoodie off my head, and began to drink the cold, fresh water. "Damn that's good." I mumbled, and dunked my head into the river for a few seconds. I then pulled out my head, and smiled. "Now that feels great!" I said, and chuckled. I rose to my feet, and wiped the water from my face. I flipped my hoodie over my head, rubbed my neck. "Now, where can a guy get some breakfast?" I said to myself. I shrugged, and began to walk down the river. As I was walking, I began to ask myself, what the fuck am I doing here? I don't remember doing anything before I came here, so why am I here? I sighed, and looked into the sky. "Probably should have been buddy, buddy with those freaks." I said, and shrugged. Soon I spotted a nest in the tree, and smiled. "Some eggs don't sound to bad right now." I said, and walked up to the tree. I rubbed my hands, and jumped onto the tree.

I started to climb the tree, and quickly made it up to the nest. "That was easy." I said. I reached for the nest, but soon my vision was blurred by something. I screamed, and fell from the tree. I slammed into the earth, hard, and started to roll around trying to get whatever was on my face. Whatever it was, IT WAS EATING MY SOUL! Soon I managed to pry off my attacker, and threw it against the tree. I quickly got to my feet, and saw a hawk flying towards me with blood in it's eyes. I ducked, and pulled out my M9. I rose to my feet, and searched for the flying rat, but it was no where in sight. I was about to walk back to the tree, but soon I felt a sharp pain in my ass. Soon that pain increased, and I roared in pain. I started to run in circles, screaming like a mad man. I quickly jumped in the air, and landed on my ass. But instead of feeling the hawk under me, I felt the earth and it's many small rocks jab into me. I cringed, and slowly rose to my feet. "Ow, my ass." I mumbled, and rubbed said ass. I quickly realized that the spawn of satan was still in the air. I looked all around me, but saw nothing. I smiled, and stood in victory. "Heh, pussy." I said. I was about to walk back t the tree, and claim my meal, but I froze to a sound of pure evil.

"CAW!"

I spun around, and only saw feathers. I raised an eyebrow in confusion, but felt my entire body scream out in pain. I quickly looked down, and my eyes widened with shock. The flying rat was biting my baby makers. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" I screamed, and started to attempt and pull the bastard off. I failed, and the prick started to bite down even harder. I aimed my M9 at it's head, but realized that I could blow off my pride in the process. I quickly scanned the area, and ran towards a tree. Without wasting a second, I began to violently hump the tree.

"CAW!"
*CRACK*
"CAW!"
*CRACK*

This went on for a few minutes, and the flying rat soon let go, and started to fly away. I quickly spun around, and fired a few rounds at the hawk. Luckily one hit the hawk, and it fell to the ground. I smiled, and ran towards my fallen enemy. "Got ya you bastard!" I shouted. I reached the motionless creature, and stood over it with pride. I was about to pick up my kill, but I heard something that made my balls shrink.

"CAW!"

I looked up, and screamed like a little girl at the site of a army of angry hawks. I quickly turned around, and sprinted away into the forest while screaming.

"FUUUUUUUCK MY LIFE!!"

[Ponyville, Twilight's house]

Twilight slowly open her eyes, and yawned. The suns glare shot through the window, and onto Twilight's bed. Twilight soon climbed out of her bed, stretched, and walked down stairs. Once she was down stairs, she saw Fluttershy wide awake on the couch with a depressed look. Twilight sighed, and smiled. "Morning Fluttershy, did you sleep well?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy didn't answer, and looked to the floor. Twilight walked over, and put her hand on Fluttershys shoulder. Fluttershy jumped a bit, and looked to Twilight.

"O-oh, Twilight, I didn't hear you there. S-sorry." She said. Twilight gave a gentle smile, patted her friend on the shoulder.

"Do you want some breakfast?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy soon gave a small smile, and nodded. Both of the friends went into the kitchen, and began to prepare breakfast. Soon Spike walked down from the stairs, and yawned. "Morning Twilight, and Fluttershy." He said, and sniffed the air."Mmmm, smells good. What are you making?" He asked.

"Just some pancakes." Twilight said.

"With blueberries?" Spike asked. Twilight chuckled, and nodded.

"Of course with blueberries." She said. Spike smiled, jumped into a chair, and scooted up to the kitchen table. As the girls made breakfast, spike noticed something, and blushed. Both Twilight, and Fluttershy were wearing small shorts that almost showed their entire rear ends, and it looked as if they had no tops on. But Spike saw the small tank tops under the aprons, and sighed.

'I really need to get use to being around girls, or I'll turn into a prev.' Spike thought, and shook his head. As time passed the girls had finished breakfast, and spike had managed to stop staring once the food was in front of him. They all began to enjoy the meal, and talked to one another. Spike, and Twilight steered away from what had happened the other day, and found happiness in their friends smile. Once they were finished, Spike asked for the girls to change. The girls giggled once they realized what they were wearing, and went upstairs to change. While the girls went up the stairs to change, Spike started to clean the dishes. Once Spike finished the dishes, the girls had finished changing, and came down stairs.Twilight was wearing simple jeans, and a long shirt with a star in the middle. Fluttershy was wearing a green skirt with butterflies, and a white shirt. Soon there was a knock at the door, and Twilight walked over to the door. She opened the door, and saw Rainbow Dash.

"Hey Twilight, how did ya sleep?" She asked.

"I slept well Rainbow Dash, how about you?" Twilight asked back. Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"Not good, I kept having these dreams with that creature in it. It kept me up for like half of the night." She said, and yawned.

"Then why don't you just sleep on you clouds?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"I would but I got a busy day." She said. "Hows Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash asked.

"She's better. To be honest I'm actually shocked at how fast she recovered from Angles death." Twilight said, and looked back to Fluttershy who was talking to Spike with a smile. "But I'm glad she's smiling." Twilight said, and looked back to Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, me to. Well I just came by to check on Fluttershy. See ya later Twi." Rainbow Dash said, and flew off. Twilight waved goodbye, and returned to the two laughing friends.

"So, what do you guys want to do today?" Twilight asked.

"I was actually hoping I could go, and help Rarity today." Spike said. Twilight shrugged, and nodded.

"Sure, why not." She said. Spike smiled, and ran out of the house. "Don't forget about tonight Spike!" Twilight shouted.

"I wont!" He shouted back.

Twilight looked to Fluttershy, and smiled. "So, what do you want to do?"

"How about we just walk around Ponyville?" Fluttershy asked.

"Sure, I have to do some shopping anyways." Twilight said, and both of the girls walked out of the house.

[Jacobs pov]

I laid against a tree, panting like a dog, and sweating like a pig. I relaxed for a few minutes, and rose to my feet. I wiped the sweat from my face, and sighed. "Well, I now know what I hate the most in this world." I said, and scanned my surroundings. Nothing but nature. I moaned, and shrugged. I just started to walk through the forest, and soon came across the edge of the forest. I hid in the bushes, and scanned the area with my binoculars, and spotted a farm. I noticed the field of apple trees, and licked my lips. "Now they look good." I said, and smiled. But as I scanned the farm even closer, I frowned as I spotted one of the six ponies I came across the other day. "Shit." I mumbled, and put away my binoculars. I started to debate whether or not it was good idea to take the chance of getting caught, or to just keep moving with an empty stomach. As I was debating, the pony from yesterday, a large red pony, and a old green pony walking away from the farm, and waving goodbye to a small child pony. I gave an evil smile, and rose to my feet. "Easy pickings." I said, and waited for the adults to leave. I quickly, and cautiously made my way towards the farm. I soon reached the large barn, and went around the left side. Once I got around the barn, I saw an open window on the second floor. I pulled my mask onto my face, ran to the house, and began to climb my way up to the window.

[Appleblooms pov]

I waved goodbye, and waited till Applejacks cart was out of sight. 'Almost, almost.' Soon the cart left my sight, and I jumped in the air with joy. "Woo-hoo! I'm alone! At home! I'm home alone! This is gonna be so awesome!" I said, and walked back to the house. Once inside the house, I pulled out Applejacks list, and started to get to work. But before I could get the first thing on the list done, I heard a loud bang from upstairs. It spooked me for a second, but I quickly shook that off, and went upstairs. "Somthin must have fallen over, that's it." I said to myself, and reached Applejacks room. I opened the door, and saw that a lamp was on the floor. I walked over to the lamp, picked it up, and placed it back onto her shelf. I smiled, and turned around to only bump into something big. At first I was confused, and backed up to see a large dark, scary creature towering over me. My confusion quickly turned into fear, as I backed away even further. The creature took a few steps towards me, and I felt my heart beat faster, and faster. "APPLEJAC-" I was cut off as the creature lunged at me, and covered my mouth with it's hand. I struggled to remove it's hand so I could scream, but it's grip got stronger, and it slammed me against the wall. I began to cry, and scream under it's hand, and started to struggle even more in hopes that it would help me break free, but nothing happened.

"Shut up!" The creature shouted. I froze, and stopped struggling and screaming. I only cried as the creature stared into my eyes. "Good, now you be a good little girl, and lead me to where you keep your food." He said, and pulled out a scary looking ax. "Or I'll do something that will make you cry even more. Understand?" He asked. I slowly nodded, and heard him chuckle. He grabbed me by the back of my neck, and I began to lead him to the food storage. As we were leaving Applejacks room, I remembered what Applejack had taught me when a stranger would try and take me away. I tightened my fist, and shot my left elbow backwards. The creature grunted, and he let go of my neck. I took the chance and sprinted for the stairs. "You little bastard!" The creature raored. I heard his footsteps grow louder, and closer. This only made me faster for I was filled with pure fear. Once I reached the stairs, I began to quickly run down them. But as I was half way down the stairs, I felt something slam into the back of my head. I soon tripped, and fell down the stairs, and slammed into the floor. My vision was blurry, and I felt something coming out of the back of my head. Soon my eyes closed, and everything went dark.

[Jacobs pov]

I stood at the top of the stairs, and stared at the bleeding little girl surrounded by several pieces of what used to be a vase. I was frozen in shock. "W-what did I do?" I said, and looked at my hand that threw the vase. Soon I gained control of myself, and quickly walked down the stairs. "Shit, shit, shit, shit." I said, and reached the little girl. I knelt down next to her, and checked for a pulse. Luckily there was one, but blood was still escaping the back of her head. I looked around, and saw curtains hanging above the windows. I dashed to the window, and ripped the curtains down. I ran back to the girl, and tore the curtains into bandages. I began to wrap the curtains around her head, and made sure it was tight as I finished. I picked up the girl, and took her into anther room where I placed her on a large chair. I sighed, and looked at the blood on my hands. "Fuck!" I shouted. "What was I thinking, she just a child. SHIT!" I yelled, and punched the wall. I soon gained control, and sighed. "Alright, alright, get a hold of your self, you came here for survival, so that means you have to do anything to make sure that happens. Right?" I asked myself. I shook my head, and walked out of the room. "Fuck it, I came here for food, and that's it." I said, and began to walk through the house in search for my objective.

[Half an hour later]

I managed to find a good supply of food, but I may have trashed the place in the process. At first I felt bad about the girl, but I came to the conclusion that it was kind of her fault. She should have listened to me, and played nice. But nooo, she had to be an idiot, and try to run away. pfft, whatever. Anyways, I have a good amount of food, and decided that now was a good time to make my escape. I was about to go out the front door, but I saw that pony from yesterday heading for the front door from the window. "Shit." I mumbled. I quickly sprinted for the back door, and smashed through the door.

"Applebloom!" A females voice cried out. I took this chance, and sprinted away from the house, and towards the forest. I can tell this was going to cause some problems, but I could really care less at this point. Soon I reached the edge of the forest, and continued to sprint through the forest until I was far enough. I started to slow down, and finally came to a stop. I panted, and leaned against a near by tree. I soon sat down, and laid against the tree. I pulled out an apple, and took a bite. Instantly my taste buds screamed with pleasure, and my eyes widened with shock at how good these were.

"Holy shit that's fucking good." I said, and took another bite. I chuckled, and swallowed. "So worth it." I said, and finished the rest of the apple. I threw the core into the bushes, and rose to my feet. For the rest of the day I roamed the forest, and found a cave that looked safe enough to stay in. I made a make shift camouflage net with a few bushes, sticks, and vines, and placed it at the entrance of the cave. Once I was done, I decide that apples weren't going to last forever, so I began to make some traps with sharpened sticks. I placed them around pacific areas around the cave. Night was slowly coming, so I pulled out my Tomahawk, and began to collect some fire wood. Once I had a good amount, I hauled them back to the cave, put the wood into a pile, and used my matches to get the fire going. Of course it was a bit annoying, but soon I got the fire going, and spent the rest of the night filling my stomach with food, and fell asleep with a smile.

[Canterlot]

Princess Celestias shift was at an end, and her sister Luna was now taking over. Mostly Celestia would be pleased at the time her shift ended, but since the reports of several royal guards being found dead in the Everfree forest she was on edge. She tried to relax by reading a few books Twilight had sent to her as a gift, but that failed. And it really didn't make things easier once she had gotten a report about an attack on Sweet Apple acres. After she had gotten that report, she sent a squad of elite royal guards to make sure Applejack, and her family were kept safe. Celestai reached her room, and flopped down onto her bed. She soon sat her self up, and changed into her sleeping garments. She sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "Is something troubling you sister?" The voice of Luna asked in Celestias head. Celestia smiled, and shook her head.

"It is nothing Luna, it has just been a long day." Celestia said, and stretched her arms out. "Hopefully some sleep will calm my nerves." She said, and laid down onto her bed.

"Well sleep well sister, I will watch over our subjects with care." Luna said. Celestia smiled, and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight Lulu."

That bitch.

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[Jacobs dream]

My eyes snapped open, and instantly I noticed that I wasn't in my cave. I was in the middle of a wide open field with tall grass reaching to my knees. It was night time, and the sky was brightly lit by moon. Thousands of stars filled the sky, and I could feel the wind blow against my face. I was confused at first, but soon I felt calm, and relaxed. I gave a small smile, and walked through the grass. As I walked hundreds, or even thousands of fireflies flew out of the grass, and filled the air. Soon the fireflies began to spin around as one, and begun to glow even brighter. Soon they calmed down, and flew away. But as they flew away, something new had appeared. It looked like a pony. It was clearly female with her, uh, chest size. Her fur was blue, and her hair was like nothing I've ever seen before. It was if it was the wind it's self. She wore a type of roman clothing, and had a crown with the moon on it. A gentle smile was on her face, and her eyes were filled with so much peace. I only stared at her for a few seconds, and spoke. "Who are you? Where am I? Whats going on?" I asked. She chuckled, and began to slowly walk towards me.

"I am princess Luna, goddess of the moon, and guardian of dreams." She said, started to inspect me. "Hmm, so you are the creature who attacked Twilight and her friends. She never mentioned how cute you were." She said. I blushed a bit, and backed up a bit.

"Uhh, I-I guess, uh, what?" I said totally confused. She giggled, and shook her head.

"My, my aren't you a nervous one. Anyways, I am hear to just talk to you." She said. I gave a small smile.

"Talk about what?" I asked. As soon as I said that, her face became serious.

"About the murders of several guards in the Everfree forest." My smiled disappeared, and I only had a look of confusion.

"What?"

"Don't play stupid with me! I know you are the cause of them." She said. Her face had gone from peaceful to angry, and she glared at me. "You are the one that has been taking the life's of brave young guards since the day your arrived here, aren't you?" She asked, and walked even closer. I backed up a bit more, and shook my head.

"N-no of course not, where the fuck did you get that from?" I asked. I was starting to get a bit pissed off, and clenched my fist. She lifted up her hand, and a few papers appeared.

"It says here that the guards found dead had strange holes in their bodies, and in those holes were small bits of metal, now isn't that what your devise does?" She asked.

"Yeah, but I didn't do it. The only thing I killed were animals that tried to kill me." I said. She seemed to get angrier by this.

"Do not lie to me!" She growled.

"I'm not you crazy bitch! I had nothing to do with it!" I shouted.

"You are the only creature in the Everfree forest that has the ability to do this, how are you not involved?" I was about to answer, but she cut me off. "I do not want to hear your lies anymore, creature. I only came here to offer you a deal." She said. I raised an eyebrow to this, and listened.

"What would that deal be?"

"If you surrender yourself to us, I will make sure you are treated with respect that all living creatures deserve." She said. I was quite for a moment, and looked into her eyes.

"Why should I trust you? Why are you offering me this deal when you think I'm a murderer?" I asked. She was quite for a moment, and then she spoke.

"I see some good in you. I do believe you are the cause of the murders, but I am willing to give you a chance to prove yourself, or to at least face your crimes." She said.

"Sorry, but I cant accept your offer. It sounds good and all, but I had nothing to do with the murders, and I don't want to be locked up for something I had nothing to do with. So with all respect, go fuck yourself." I said. She seemed angry, and shocked by my answer, and glared at me.

"Very well, I'm sorry we couldn't have ended this peacefully. Be ready, Jacob, I'll be seeing you soon." She said, and disappeared. Soon I felt myself go numb, and blacked out.

[Ponyville hospital]

Applejack sat by her sister who was laying quietly in the hospital bed. She held her little sisters hand with tears running down her face. Her eyes are red from crying the entire night, and her hair is a disaster. Now and a then she starts to whisper something to Applebloom with a soft voice, and even starts to quietly sing a song their mother sung to them when they were young. As the time went by, Applejacks friends, and family visited. Twilight was the first to enter. "Hello, Applejack?" She said. As she entered the room, everyone else entered, and surrounded Applebloom. Granny Smith begun to cry, but she took a deep breathe, and looked to Applejack who was still staring at her sleeping sister.

"Has she woken up yet?" She asked with tears rolling down her face. Applejack shook her head, and rubbed her sisters cheek. This made Granny Smith choke up, and cry even more. Big Mac placed a flower in Appleblooms hair, and kissed her forehead. He had the same face as usual, but his eyes were as red as Applejacks from crying. Pinkie Pie walked up to the bed, and placed a card onto the table near Appleblooms bed.

"All of her classmates wanted to send Applebloom a get well card, so they asked me to bring it to her." She said, and gave a small smile. Applejack kept her eyes locked onto Applebloom with out a word. Soon Big Mac took a deep breathe, and waled up to Applejack. He put his hand on Applejack's shoulder. She quickly shrugged him off, and Big Mac sighed.

"Applejack, I know what your thinking." He said. Applejack tightened her fist, and clenched her teeth. Big Mac shortly continued. "It's not your fault." He said. Instantly Applejack jumped to her feet, and spun around with tears raining from her eyes. She threw a punch towards Big Mac, but he quickly grabbed her wrist, and stared into Applejack's eyes. "Applejack..." She only threw another punch with her free fist, but Big Mac let this one hit. Applejack just glared at him with rage, and sadness. Soon, she spoke.

"How is it not my fault! I left my baby sister alone, and now look at her for Celestia sake! She hasn't even woken up yet damn it!" She yelled, and gave another blow to Big Mac's jaw. "I promised to be there for her! I promised to keep her safe!" She yelled, and slammed her fist into Big Mac's face. "I PROMISED THEM-"

"SO DID I DAMN IT!" He roared, and grabbed Applejack shoulders. Applejack only stared in shock at her big brother, and let the tears run down her face. "You think this easy for me!? Well guess what, IT'S NOT! My baby sister is laying in a damn hospital bed because I wasn't there! So don't you DARE only blame yourself!" He yelled. Tears were now flowing out of Big Macs eyes, and he just stared at his sister. "Me, you, and Granny Smith all made a promise to protect her, so it's all of our faults." He said. Applejack's lower lip began to quiver, and she quickly swung her hands around her big brother. She let out all of her sadness as she bawled like a baby with her face in Big Mac's chest. Big Mac hugged his sister, and stared at his smaller sleeping sister.

"I'm sorry baby, I'm so sorry." He whispered, and closed his eyes.

[Jacobs pov]

I awoke with a beating headache, and groaned as I lifted myself up. I started to think about my dream, and wonder if I chose right. Should I have accepted her offer? Did I fuck up? I shrugged both questions off, and sighed. "Fuck it" I said, and rubbed my pounding head. "Fuck me." I mumbled, and rose to my feet. I looked around the cave, and sighed. "And fuck this shit hole." I walked to the bag of apples, and grabbed a few. I took a bite, and walked out of my cave. 'Wonder if I caught anything.' I thought, and walked to one of my traps. I smiled to see struggling deer with a few sharp spears in it's side. It was weak, so it was an easy kill. I took out my knife, and cut it's throat. It struggled a few more times, and finally went limp. I ripped it off of the spears, only to have it fall on top of me. The wind was knocked out of me, and I pushed the bastard off of me. "Fat fuck, you better taste good." I said, and started to drag the prick back to my camp. It was hard, but I managed to make it back. I cut up the corpse, and attempted to cook it. As I was cooking, I started to wonder about the murders Luna was talking about. This made me question whether or not I was safe. And by the description of the dead guards, they had bullet holes in them. So that must mean there is another human here, and if that's the case this fucker is making me look like a murderer.

I was soon pulled out of my train of thought once I heard something snap, and jumped to my feet with my M9 ready for action. I aimed for the entrance that was covered by my make shift net, and waited for anything that had the balls to attack me. It was silent, and all that could be heard was the fire crackling as it cooked my food. Soon I began to slowly walk towards the entrance, an kept my M9 aimed at the entrance. As I reached the entrance, I slowly raised the net, and poked my head out to see nothing. I walked out of the cave, and scanned the area only to spot nothing. I was about to turn around, and head back inside, but before I could react I felt a sharp pain in my leg, and fell to my knee. I screamed in pain, and turned around to see a charging pony with a sword quickly making his way towards me. I let off three round into his chest, and he fell to the ground dead. I looked to my leg, and saw an arrow sticking out of it. I broke the arrow, and quickly crawled behind a tree. I was panting, and cringing from the pain in my leg, and just listened. It was quite, really, really fucking quite. I looked at my leg, and cussed under my breathe. 'Well, that was quick. And why the fuck does this world go after my damn legs?' I thought. I slowly peeked from my cover, and saw another arrow flying towards my face. I quickly pulled my head back, and the arrow zoomed pass me into another tree. "Shit!" I shouted. I was about to pop out of my cover, but I heard a snap come from my left, and aimed my M9 in that direction. I saw nothing, but I soon felt something grab me from behind as I was about to turn around. I was pulled out of my cover, and saw several armored ponies charging out of the forest. I started to panic, and fired wildly into the group of ponies. I at least hit three, or four of the pricks, but soon I used all of my ammo, and they all surrounded me. They pulled my gun away, and held me down. I struggled, and fought back, but there were to many, and soon I felt something smash into my head, and everything went black.

'That bitch.'

Shit...

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Luna sat at breakfast with a joyful smile, and awaited for her sister to join her. Soon enough she did, and Celestia instantly noticed Luna's wide, and slightly creepy smile once she sat down. "Is something wrong?" She asked as a servant delivered her meal. Luna quickly shook her head.

"No sister, nothing is wrong at all. In fact, today may even put the same smile as mine on your face." Luna said. Celestia chuckled.

"Oh Luna, how I wish I could have that smile of yours, but as long as that creatures on the loose I will be on edge." Celestia said, and took a bite from her fresh pancakes. As she swallowed, she could have sworn the whole table had shook from Luna's energy. "Luna, what has gotten you all worked up?" She asked. Luna leaned back in her seat, and gave a cocky smile. Celestia was a little more curious now because Luna has not made that smile in a while.

"Well dear sister, I have attempted several times to find the creatures mind, and last night I was successful!" Luna said with so much energy.

"What?! You did? That's wonderful Lulu! Let us send word to the royal guards immediately!" Celestia said with shock. Luna shook her head.

"Already done Sister, the guards have captured the creature not even an hour ago." Luna said, and took a large bite from her pancakes. Celestia's jaw dropped a bit, and Luna couldn't help but giggle at her sister's face. "The creature should be here by noon." Luna said. Celestia snapped out of it, and smiled at her sister.

"Thank you Luna." Celestia said. Luna nodded, and both sisters continued their breakfast without anymore more words. Only peace, and relief filled the room, and the two sisters enjoyed their morning.

[Jacobs pov]

I awoke with a beating headache, and a sharp pain in my leg. Soon I opened my eyes to see several ponies staring at me. Once my eyes were open, they all flinched a bit, and stared at me with shock. I looked around, and soon my eyes went up with a bit of shock. I was in the middle of a town. I looked up, and saw that I was hanging from my arms from a building. 'Shit.' I thought. I looked back to the crowd, and just stared. After a moment of staring, several armored ponies walked up, and saw that I was awake.

"Well, looks like the beast is awake." A pony said, and jabbed me with a wooden club. I swung a bit, and glared at the prick. He noticed this, and glared back. "Don't look at me like that you murderer!" He shouted, and smashed his club into my ribs. I gasped in pain, and cringed. The other armored ponies laughed. The prick who hit me turned to the shocked crowd, and raised his arms into the air. "There is nothing to fear everyone, this beast cant do a thing, everything is under control!" He shouted. I glared, and felt like saying something, but I decided to keep quite. Soon several people began to take pictures, and started to talk to the soldiers. I just watched as the soldiers stood proudly, acting as if they just saved the world. It all just made me angry. A few guards broke from the crowd, and walked up to me. Two young guards wore cocky smiles, while one large guard with a scar running down his face wore a straight face with zero emotion showing. Soon a young female guard spoke.

"So, your the bastard that killed two of my buddies that night, eh?" She said. Her smile quickly disappeared as she gave a quick blow to my gut, knocking the air right out of me. I coughed, and gasped for breathe. I looked at her face again to see that same smile on it. "Hope the princess puts you a zoo where you belong." She said, and chuckled. The other young male guard chuckled along, and soon his eyes widened.

"Hey, do you think we'll be able to meet the main six while we're here? Huh Sargent?" He asked. The female guard grunted, and looked to her fellow guard.

"You kidding me Ben? Why would you want to meet those bastards?" She asked. Ben glared at the female guard.

"Shut up May, they are not bastards, they are-" He was quickly cut off.

"Yeah, yeah, the saviors of Equestria. I've heard it a hundreds times Ben, just put a sock in it." May said. Ben was about say something, but soon the large guard spoke.

"Both of you shut it!" He barked. They quickly shut their mouth. I looked to the large guard, and just realized that he has been staring at me the entire time. His attention was fully on me, and his eyes sent chills through my spine. The four of us were silent, and the only thing that could be heard was the large crowd of ponies admiring the other soldiers. Soon the large pony spoke. "I wanted to get a very good look at you." He said with a hard voice, and began to walk around me. "How you killed my guards is beyond me, but none of that matters now. What matters is making sure you pay for what you did." He said, and walked in front of me again. We locked eyes. He showed no emotion, I showed no emotion. We just stared, and waited for something to happen. Soon I rolled my eyes, and spoke.

"Whatever prick." I said. Instantly his fist slammed into my jaw. I swung a bit, but he quickly stopped me by grabbing my throat, and pulled me in close. Again we locked eyes. He showed no emotion, but this time I glared at him with rage. I tasted blood, and felt it slowly fill my mouth.

"Show respect you bug! You are scum, a waste of space, a mistake that should have been killed off the second you came into this world. The next time you disrespect me I will slice your throat!" He growled. He was about to talk again, but I cut him off by spitting in his face. Blood covered his left cheek, and everything seemed to freeze. The crowd, and the guards seemed to stop what they were doing, and just stared shocked, and wide eyed at me.

"Fuck you!" I growled. He only stared at me with a emotionless face, but soon a small smirk appeared on his face. He then patted me on the cheek, and chuckled. He whipped the blood from his cheek, and delivered one hard blow to my gut. He then slammed his fist into my face several times, and gave another blow to my gut one last time. I cringed, and coughed violently. I lowered my head, and took in large gulps of air. The bastards blow felt like a fucking train! I think he even broke a rib. As I regained my breath, the prick garbed me by the head, and placed a dagger against my throat.

"What did I say?" He said with a smile. I glared at him, and felt sweat run down my face. My heart started to beat faster, and faster as he pushed the blade harder onto my throat. Time seemed to freeze as a voice filled the air.

"Stop!" A female voice shouted. The prick pulled his blade away, and turned around. All of the guards then bowed to their knees, and the bastard shortly followed. As he bowed, I soon got a good look at the source of the voice. It was that purple pony. She stood there with an angry look, and glared at the guards. Soon she turned my attention to me, and I could feel her anger flow into me. I gave a small grin, and spat out a mouth full of blood.

"Hey there, how ya been?" I chuckled. She only glared at me, and then glared at the soldier who was beating the shit out of me.

"Sargent, do you mind telling me why this creature is out in the open for everyone to see?" She asked. The 'Sargent' was silent, and just lowered his head. "Well?" She asked again. The Sargent sighed, and spoke.

"I gave the order for this creature to be put on display your highness." He said.

"So you put this creature up for display so you can violently beat him in front of the entire town?" She asked.

"N-no your highness." He said.

"Oh really now? So am I blind, and stupid now Sargent?" She asked in a annoyed tone.

"Of course not your highness! Please know I mean no disrespect!' He said. I chuckled at the site of the cowering badass who was about to take my life.

"What happen mister tough guy, drop your balls somewhere?" I laughed. He growled, but he didn't move. Soon the purple one turned her attention to me. Her glare sent chills down my spine, and I looked away for a few seconds before looking back. I gave a small grin, and chuckled. "What, you want some of this?" She kept a straight face, but I could see her blush a little. She kept her eyes on me, and spoke.

"Why is he here? Weren't you ordered to take him to Canterlot?" She asked.

"Yes your highness, but we are awaiting for the next train to Canterlot. It should be on it's way now." He said.

"Well until then take this creature to my library, I wish to-" She was cut off by a southern voice.

"Where is that bastard!" I scanned the crowd, and saw a orange pony pushing through the crowd. Soon I noticed the pony, and went wide eyed. She was one of the ponies from the farm.

"Oh shit." I mumbled.

Once she got through, her eyes set on me. Pure rage, and blood lust filled her eyes as she glared at me. "You! You put my sister in the hospital you bastard! I'LL KILL YA!!" She screamed and charged towards me. A few soldiers tried to stop her, but she only steamed rolled through them, and continued her charge.

"Applejack STOP!" The purple one yelled, but Applejack didn't listen. Soon several soldiers shot towards her, and tackled her to the ground. She struggled, and delivered several blows to a few soldiers that were holding her down. Every blow a crack filled the air, and two, or three soldiers got knocked out! They fell over, and laid motionless on the ground with blood running out of their noses, and large bruises on the sides of their faces. Luckily after they were knocked out more soldiers filled their places, and restrained her. In my mind I sighed with relief. I looked to the purple one.

"One of yours?" I asked. She was about to speak, but soon Applejack spoke.

"You son of a bitch!" She yelled. I turned my attention towards her, and saw that she was now crying. Her eyes were filled with anger, and tears, and dirt covered her face. Tears were streaming down her face like river, and she kept struggling like a wild animal against the soldiers, who seemed to be struggling themselves. "Ya bastard! Ya almost killed my baby sister, and now she's in a fucking coma!" She screamed. I felt like someone punched my soul, and just stared at her.

"W-what..." I said.

"Ya heard me, SHE'S IN A DAMN COMA! They don't even know when she'll wake up again!" She screamed. I opened my mouth a bit in shock, and closed my eyes.

"Fuck." I mumbled, and lowered my head in shame.

"Because of you, I may loose my sister! YA FUCKING MONSTER!!" She screamed. I opened my eyes, and looked at her with a regretful face. Soon she stopped struggling, and just laid there. She just started to cry, and laid her head on the ground. Her tears spilled onto the ground, and made small puddles around her face. I wanted to say something, but I just stared at her, and looked around at the crowd who glared at me with disgust. Silence filled the town, and all that could be heard was the sobbing from Applejack. Soon the other ponies I first met came running through the crowd, and stopped once they saw the sight of their friend crying, and being held down by soldiers.

"Applejack!" The rainbow one said. They all ran towards her, pushing the soldiers off, and tending to their friend. I looked at the group for a few minutes, and sighed.

'Why do I fuck up everything?' I thought, but soon a small smile crawled onto my face. 'Actually, it's not my fault the little bitch tried to fight me. She should have listened!' I thought, trying to convince myself that it's not my fault. As I was doing this in my head, I was soon snapped out of my train of thought by the purple ones voice.

"Guards, take him to my library, I wish to learn more about this creatrure until the train arrives." Three guards nodded, and cut me down, but once I landed on my feet a sharp pain surged through my injured leg, and I cringed. The guards noticed this, and chuckled.

"Good, hope it hurts." A guard said. They soon led me away from the crowd, and I could feel them staring at me with disgust. Soon one of them spoke.

"Your pathetic!" One of them growled. I was silent for a moment, but soon I replied.

"Yeah, yeah I know. I've heard it a million times dude." I mumbled. The guard growled, but kept quite, and we continued through the town. Soon we arrived at a large tree house, and we entered through the front door. Instantly the first thing I saw where hundreds of books perfectly lined up on shelf's. "Geez, this is a book worms wet dream." I chuckled. The guards pushed me onto a chair that felt like shit, and glared at me. I stared at them, and grinned. "Soo, you guys like porn?" I asked instantly wanting to punch myself. Porn? REALLY?! The guards seemed a bit cut off by my question, and looked at each other. Soon they just stared at me as if I was stupid.

"Porn?" One asked. I nodded.

"Heh, y-yeah." I said. Soon another guard shook his head.

"Great, not only is this thing a blood thirsty monster, but it's a damn pervert too." The guard said, and sighed. I shrugged.

"Whatever, like you guys aren't." I said, and gave a small evil smile. "Besides, I saw at least half of you stare at that purple one. What's her name?"

"Princess Twilight, and we were not staring at her!" A blushing guard growled. I rolled my eyes.

"So looking at her ass, and tit's are not staring?" I said with a even wider grin. They were now silent with blushing faces, and looked at each other. Soon one spoke.

"W-well, the princess does have a nice rack." A young guard said.

"Shut up, we don't talk about the princess like that!" A older guard growled.

"Well, he's kinda right. I mean I think almost any guard has at least stared at her once, right." Another tall guard said.

"You too!?" He shouted.

"Oh calm down Mike, like you haven't looked." The young guard said.

"W-well, I-I-I... maybe a few times." He said, and blushed even more. "The princess does have a awesome rack." He said. The guards chuckled, but soon a voice filled the room, and the guards froze.

"W-w-what?" I looked past the guards, and burst out into a fit of laughter. The guards turned around, to see non-other than Princess Twilight standing in the door way with cherry red cheeks, and covering her breast. I soon fell to the floor laughing from the guards faces, and began to cough. Soon I regained myself, and began to take in deep breathes.

"O-oh my GOD! You guys are fucked. You dirty perverts." I chuckled. One of the guards soon spoke.

"P-princess! I-I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to-." The princess cut him off by raising her hand, and closed her eyes.

"Just. Stop." She said. The guard shut up, and lowered his head. "Just go over there, and be silent while I talk to the creature." The guards quickly moved away from me, and I got up into the shitty chair. Soon Twilight walked towards me, and sat down in a better looking chair. I gave a small grin, and chuckled. She only sighed, and pulled out a notepad, and a pen. "Now, I want to ask you a few questions." She said.

"As long as you don't ask stupid questions, then go ahead." I shrugged. She nodded.

"Good, now first question. Why did you attack Fluttershy in the cottage." She asked. I thought for a moment, and soon I remember.

"Oh yeah, the horny one right?" Instantly Twilight's face turned into confusion.

"What? Fluttershy?" She asked.

"The yellow one right?" I asked. She nodded. "Yeah, the horny one. She wanted to fuck me, but I wasn't in the mood. So, I went hostile." I said.

"I see." She said, and wrote on her notebook. "Next question. What are you?"

"Human." I said. She nodded, and wrote in her notebook.

"Why did you attack Applejack's sister?" She asked. I sighed, and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Oh, that. I was hungry so I was going to steal from the farm, but she was there." I said. "She could have done it the easy way, but the stupid kid fought back." I said. Twilight only stared at me with shock, and a little bit of anger.

"So you attacked a child for food?" She said. I nodded.

"A guy needs to eat." I shrugged. She only shook her head, and wrote in her book.

"Alright, what sort of weapon was it you were using?" She asked.

"A gun." I said.

"A gun?" She asked. I nodded. "What is a gun?" I rolled my eyes.

"Something that will kill you." I said. She sighed, and wrote in her book. She was about to ask another question, but a guard cut her off.

"Your highness, the train is here, we must take the creature to Canterlot." The guard said. Twilight sighed, and nodded.

"Very well, but let me ask one last question." She said.

"Shoot." I said as I rose to my feet.

"What is your name?" She asked. The guards put chains around my wrist, and I looked to Twilight.

"Jacob." I said, and walked with the guards out of the library. We made our way towards a small train station, and I was led onto a train filled with soldiers. I was placed in a seat with several chains, and strapped down. Guards surrounded me, and the train soon left the station. I took a deep sigh, and looked out the window to see a large castle on the side of a mountain. I gave one last heavy sigh, and lowered my head.

"Great."

Behind the scene.

View Online

[A dark tunnel under the Everfree forest]

A grey mare sat in an old chair with a twisted smile planted on her lips, staring at two large screens that lit up the tunnel, one showing a sleeping human on a train heading for the city of Canterlot while the other a hooded human walking through the Everfree forest. She wore dark blue jeans with a few holes ripped in them and a snow white tank top that barely covered her torso. Her blue eyes shined from the reflection from the screens, the light interrupted only when she ran her fingers through her black hair. She laid her head on her fist and gave a small laugh as she shook her head. She raised her free hand to her face, smiling as two green flames appeared on two of her fingers. Her smile grew before she sighed as the sound of footsteps were heard behind her. "What a fun show!" she said while closing her hand, putting the flames out. "Don't you agree?" she asked, looking over her chair to see the god of Chaos. His face was an unpleasant one, his bad looks increasing when he crossed his arms.

"I knew you had something to do with this,” he said, walking over to the smiling mare.

She chuckled a bit before shrugging. "Oh Discord, don't go blaming me when you have no proof,” she chided.

"I don't need proof Anna, it reeks of forbidden magic. I swear, if you’re going to do this stuff, at least try to hide it,” he said, leaning against the tunnel wall.

"Look, I wish I could take credit for these two chaos machines, but none of this was my doing. I'm just watching,” she explained, releasing a forlorn sigh. "Oh how I wish I could summon my own humans,” she lamented, crossing her legs. "Oh well,” she muttered.

Discord huffed before he glared at the grinning mare. "Look Anna, with this amount of forbidden magic filling this tunnel, it's going to be almost impossible to hide you,” he stated.

"Aww, are you worried about me?" she asked with a grin.

"Nothing like that, I just don't want to get in trouble for hiding you. Celestia would put me back in that damn garden as a statue." Discord frowned.

"Oh come on, you look good as a statue,” she teased. Discord rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, I want you to stop summoning these humans,” he requested, irritation clear in his tone.

"Like I said, I didn't summon them."

"If you didn't cause this, then who did?" he asked with a hint of anger.

"Come on Discord, think. Who do you know of that can summon these kind of creatures,” she quizzed.

Discord was quiet for a moment, pondering her statement. His mind made an audible click and his eyes grew large.

"He's dead, I know he is! I made sure he was dead myself!" he growled. Anna laughed, her gaze dragging back to the screens. Anger and a bit of fear covered his face as he stared off into space. "How, how, how!? Even if he did survive, the seal should have kept him trapped in that ungodly pit!" he shouted. He stared daggers at Anna and growled, "Why didn't you tell me he escaped?!"

Anna shrugged, "I didn't have time, we were both catching up."

"Do you have any idea how dangerous he his!? He could send this entire world down the drain!" roared Discord.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, he's weaker since the last time you two met. I guess all that time shackled in that prison drained him of his powers,” she said with a depressed look. "Hard to believe really, he was the strongest out of all of us."

"Even if he is weak, he will soon gain back his powers and cause chaos,” he said worriedly.

"And that's bad? I mean, you’re the god of chaos aren't you?" she asked, an eyebrow quirking.

"Yes, but I've changed for the better, and I'm happy I left my old life behind me," Discord said with pride. Anna let out a loud snicker and shook her head.

"Oh please, you and I both know you don't mean that. I know you miss the sweet sensation of chaos," Anna said, rising from her chair with a seductive smile. She walked towards Discord and placed her hand on his cheek. "I also know you miss those long, cold nights where I needed company. You were always there to keep me warm, weren't you?" she asked. Discords cheeks lit up a bit as some of his memories ran through his mind. Anna then leaned in close to his ear. "Remember the chaos we caused those nights?" she whispered. She leaned back and gave a chuckle. Discord gulped and pulled her hand away from his red cheek.

"Trust me, I'm much happier now. And those long, cold nights were nothing, understood? There was a reason they called you the goddess of seduction," Discord defended. Anna giggled and winked.

"Oh come on now, you can't tell me you didn't enjoy these," Anna started to tease Discord by pressing her chest against his body. Discords cheeks were now bright red and he sighed as he gently pushed her away.

"Will you stop already? Every time I come here you do this. It gets very old, even if you are a goddess of lust and seduction," Discord said.

Anna sighed before walking back to her chair. "You’re no fun, you know that? I've been entertaining myself for nearly a thousand years, so the least you can do is amuse me," she muttered. Discord rolled his eyes.

"Back to the main subject. When was he here?" he questioned.

"Who?" Anna asked with a confused look. Discord stared at her with unamused eyes and tapped his foot on the ground. Anna rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, he was here three days ago. I hardly recognized him at first, but as soon as I saw his scars and heard his voice I knew it was him." She smiled as she rested her head on her hand. "Oh how the memories flooded back into my mind."

"What did he want?" Discord asked. She only shrugged.

"Hell if I know. He looked different, but his personality is still the same." She sighed. "He never did share his plans with anybody, not even with old friends."

Discord pondered this information before asking, "So why did he even show up?"

"He wanted information and details about what had happened in the world since he was imprisoned," she said responded.

"And you told him everything?" Discord asked incredulously.

Anna smiled and nodded. "Why wouldn't I? He's an old friend after all." Discord sighed and looked to the two screens showing the humans.

"I wonder what he wants with these two humans," Discord muttered. "Why these creatures? Do they hold some kind of power that he needs, or is this something bigger?" Discord mused to himself.

"It's probably nothing, maybe he just wanted to test out his powers," Anna assured.

Discord shook his head. "I don't know, but I have a feeling these two will be a problem in the future." Discord looked to Anna. "Listen Anna, you need to stay in hiding, so don't do anything that will get you caught by Celestia,” he commanded.

"Try not to worry Discord, I can handle myself," Anna said, laying back in her chair. "Now, if you’re not going to entertain me, then please leave me to myself," Anna said before she unbuttoned her pants. Discord blushed and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well you have fun with that. And if you see him again, let me know. I'm sure he wants to have a little talk with me," Discord said as he started to walk away from the blushing Anna. Soon a door appeared out of thin air and Discord walked through, disappearing from the tunnel. Anna smiled and giggled as she gently touched the surface of her black, velvet panties. But soon, before she could continue, she realized something and smiled.

"Oh yeah, he's gone,” she said, pulling her hand away from pleasing herself. A low chuckle filled the tunnel and a figure appeared from the shadows of the tunnel.

"Good, I was growing a little weak from hiding my presence. I'm just glad he didn't-" he stopped his sentence and saw that Anna couldn't help herself as she let out soft moan. The dark figure sighed. "Having fun there?" he asked. Anna giggled and pulled her hand away again. She gave a small smile and stared at the figure with a hungry look.

"I'd have more fun if you'd join me,” she invited with a devilish smile. The figure chuckled.

"Sounds tempting, but as you can see, I don't have a body,” the figure pointed out, sticking an arm through his torso. "See?"

Anna stuck out her tongue before she began to run her hand up and down her body. "Oh, how I wish I could feel someone's touch,” she pouted. "Oh well, I'll just have to feel my own touch," she said in disappointment. The figure floated over to Anna and crossed his arms.

"Well I think I can help you with that,” the figure said. Anna looked to the figure with a smile.

"Oh? Well please enlighten me," Anna said. The figure pointed to the two screens.

"I need a place for the humans to stay and you need another living creature to see to your needs,” he said. "So, what do you say?"

"Mmm, sounds interesting." She bit her lower lip. "Well, it's been a thousand years, and I'm getting tired of being alone. Some real company would be amazing." She smiled and nodded her head. "Fine, bring them here."

"I'm afraid that's your job. Use your power to guide them here and have, well, fun," he said.

Anna buttoned her jeans, and chuckled. "Alright, having two human friends around the tunnel should be fun,” she said.

"Actually, there's gonna be three,” he informed.

Anna at first had a look of confusion, but soon she caught on. "Why another human? Aren't these two humans you already summoned enough?" she questioned.

"Actually, I only summoned one human here,” he said, looking to the human who was captured and heading towards Canterlot. "That human was brought here by someone else, and I want to study him up close."

"Why?" Anna asked.

"I want to know who summoned him here and what he can offer me,” he said.

"Well what are you going to do with them?" Anna asked.

"Don't worry, I have a plan for these lost souls, but with my powers being drained over the years, it's very difficult to summon them to this world,” he said. "Ugh, I can even feel my powers draining now. I can't keep this form up much longer, so I'll have to use what I can to summon the next human. Can you keep an eye on him while I regain my power?" he asked.

Anna nodded. "Yeah, but how long will it take you?"

"At least two days,” he responded.

"Alright, sounds good, but what about Discord?" she asked.

"Don't worry, I've set up a wild goose chase for him. He should be busy for awhile,”he said before sighing. "I need to go now, I can't keep this up much longer. Talk to you later Anna." The figure started to slowly disappear. Anna smiled, and waved goodbye.

"Talk to you later, Michael," Anna said. Soon the figure disappeared and Anna was left alone once again. Anna sighed, leaning back in her chair with a smile. She stared at both of the humans on the screens and chuckled as another screen soon appeared above the first two. Soon a picture came up, showing the silhouette of a human in the middle of the desert. Anna chuckled and raised her hand. Three green flames appeared on the tips of her fingertips, Anna placing her fingers against her forehead. She closed her eyes and sunk deep into her thoughts, focusing on the humans. Once she could feel all three of the humans souls, she opened her eyes and spoke in soft, motherly voice.

'Come to me, and find safety.'

[Jacobs pov]

'Come to me, and find safety.'

My eyes snapped open and I shot up from my seat. "What the fuck!" I yelled. Sweat rolled down my face and I breathed heavily as I looked around the train to see several guards pointing their weapons towards me. Some of the guards stared at me with a bit of shock from my sudden outburst, but a few looked ready to gut me the very second I made a move. I raised my shackled hands and gave a fake smile. "Calm down, calm down," I said, but soon I noticed my hands and how violently they were shaking. For some reason I was feeling dizzy, fear crawling down my spine. I shivered from the feeling and stumbled back into my seat. I laid back in my seat and raised my shaking hand to my face, wiping some of the sweat off. I gave a heavy sigh and stared at the floor. "Wha- what was that?" I mumbled to myself. That voice... I couldn't explain what it was; it was a voice that sent several different emotions through my mind.

‘Maybe it was a dream,’ I thought to myself, but soon I remembered something before I woke up. I had seen a female pony, and she was giving me a warm smile, but her eyes were filled with hunger. ‘But who was that pony? I’ve never seen her before and her eyes sent chills down my spine, but the voice… her voice filled me with warmth and I couldn’t help but trust her. Why?’ I asked myself. I gave a mental sigh and shrugged it off.

“Fuck it,” I muttered and looked up to see several guards still pointing their weapons at me. The look of fear mixed with anger was plastered over each of their faces and they seemed ready to lunge at me if I made any other movements. I stared at them for a few seconds before smiling. "Geez, you guys are really annoying," I said, chuckling.

"Silence creature,” a guard in silver armor said. I rolled my eyes and looked out the window to see a large plain fly by the train. The grass was pure and a forest laid at the end of the plain. My eyes slowly drifted away from the earth and stared up at the blue sky with a few clouds lazily floating by. I sighed and started to wonder what was going to happen. Was I going to be imprisoned for life, or was I going to be killed? These questions worried me a bit, but soon boredom took over my mind and I seemed to leave my worried thoughts behind as I started to think of ways to entertain myself.

“This sucks,” I mumbled under my breath, looking

“W-what?” she asked. I lifted up my shackled hands and gave puppy dog eyes.

“Can I go to the bathroom?” I asked. Before she could answer, the silver guard stepped in front of her and gave me a death glare.

“I said be silent creature!”

“Go fuck yourself you pony freak,” I said and looked away out the window. I sighed once again and sank back into my thoughts. ‘These ponies are just so uptight and are total cockmunchers. I wonder if I could-’

*SLAM!*

*CRACK!*

Before I could finish my thoughts, I felt something smash into the back of my head and my face slammed into the window, leaving a crack. “FUCK!” I screamed, holding my broken nose as blood began to escape my nostrils. I clenched my eyes in pain and cursed several times in rage. I opened my eyes and looked back to the guards to see a smug silver pony. The others seemed a bit surprised by their friends attack, but most of them had huge smiles planted on their faces. I ignored the smiling guards and glared daggers at the silver guard while holding onto my bleeding nose.

He chuckled. “Have respect and know your place, worm,” he said. I took my hands away from my nose, and rose to my feet. The guards around the silver pony readied their weapons, but the silver dick raised his hands and smiled. “What, are you going to hit me?” he asked.

I gritted my teeth. “No,” I mumbled. “I’m gonna break your fucking face!” I shouted and shot towards him, but before I could get my hands on him my chains began to glow and I was yanked back into my seat. I struggled, but the chains only pulled harder and harder until I was unable to move at all. I growled and stared at the silver guard with intense rage. “You son of a bitch!” I hissed. He chuckled and looked to a guard to his left.

“If he tries anything else, teach him a lesson,” the guard nodded with a grin and the silver guard walked out of the car with a cocky smile. I growled and cringed from the pain of a broken nose.

“Fuck that hurt,” I whispered and looked over to the guards. “Mind loosening these chains so I can fix my damn nose?”

“No,” the guard said with a smile. “I think that look suits you,” he chuckled. I glared at the guard.

“Loosen my chains up, or I kick your ass!” I growled. This only made most of the guards laugh.

“Like you can do anything!” a guard laughed. Soon one of the guards horns began to glow and I felt my chains loosen up.

“Come on then, show us what ya got,” a guard said and gestured me forward. I chuckled and placed my hands over my nose. There was a quick snap and a smile crawled onto my face as I let out a small chuckle while I rose from my chair. Some of the smaller guards seemed to lose their bravery as they hid behind the larger guards, who were too cocky to realized how much they fucked up. I cracked my neck and glared at the biggest guard with anger.

“So, ya think you’re big shit huh?” I asked while getting into a fighting position. The guard’s smile grew even larger as he handed his spear to a fellow guard and cracked his knuckles.

“Try and touch me bug,” he chuckled. I clenched my fist and let out a warcry as I charged forward, but before I could even touch him the entire car shook and everyone fell to the ground. I stumbled a bit as I held onto the seats to stay on my feet, but soon the sound of an explosion filled the air and I felt the ground under me disappear as I slammed into the cars ceiling. I fell hard onto the floor, but before I could get back to my feet the sound of a train derailing filled my ears, and everything went black.

I groaned and opened my eyes to see a motionless guard laying ontop of me. I groaned once more and pushed the guard off of me. My head was pounding and every muscle in my body was on fire as I forced myself up. “Oh fuck me, why can’t I have a break?” I said and looked around the destruction that surrounded me. The bodies of several dead guards were scattered all over the place and I looked at my wrist to see that the chains had been broken to bits. I chuckled. “Well, I guess that had enough,” I chuckled and stumbled to my feet. I cringed as the pain in my injured leg shot through my body and I fell to my knee holding onto my injury. “FUCK!” I shouted with both rage and pain. I looked around and saw a dead guard with half of his body pinned down under a hunk of metal. Blood surrounded him and several cuts covered his body. The guard held onto his spear and an idea popped into my head. I rose to my feet and limped towards the body. I reached the body, knelt down, and pried the spear from his cold fingers, but as the spear left his grip the guard gasped for air. I stumbled back from shock, tripping over my own feet. The guard began to scream out in pain.

“Oh sweet Celestia help me!” he screamed. I stared at the suffering guard and felt a bit of pity, but soon I realized that it was the silver guard from earlier. I used the spear to push myself up and glared at the guard. My pity quickly evaporated and a smile crawled onto my face. He looked up at me with pleading eyes and I returned his look with a cold hard glare. He soon reached out to me. “P-please,” he begged. I chuckled and flipped him off.

“Fuck off pony freak,” I said and turned my back to him. I began to limp away and heard him screaming for mercy, but I blocked out his voice and made my way towards a large hole in the car. I stumbled out of the hole and took a deep breathe of fresh air. I chuckled and started to limp as fast as I could away from the crashed train and towards the forest.

“Come to my home for safety.”

The voice returned, but I rolled my eyes and sighed. “I heard ya the first time,” I mumbled.

‘I swear this shit gets more and more annoying.’

First friends?

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“Fuck me, why does life hate me?!” I shouted as I fell onto my ass and leaned against a tree. I flipped my hood off of my head and wiped the sweat from my forehead. I looked up to the sky only to feel the sun’s unforgivable heat and growled. “Fuck this heat,” I mumbled. I’ve been walking, or rather limping through this godforsaken forest for two fucking hours and I found nothing that can help me. They took all of my things and are still hunting me down because they think I’m a murder and now I’m really on their list since there’s a train wreck filled with several dead soldiers. I mean if I even had a fucking slim chance at proving my innocence it’s now down the shitter!

“GRAH!” I shouted in anger. “Why do I always get shit on by luck? What did I ever do?! I mean sure I held one of the main characters hostage, killed her pet then ran off into the forest, and sure I may have nearly killed a child by chucking a damn vase at her head, sending her falling down the stairs, but at least I didn’t leave her like that. And I may have stolen their food, but I didn’t even have the chance to eat it all since that Luna bitch sent her golden dicks after me. Plus why the fuck does my leg always get fucked!? Like for real, I came into this world with a fucked up leg and here I am again!” I shouted and slammed my fist into the dirt. I panted and closed my eyes, trying to compose myself.

I took a deep breath and sighed. “Calm down Jacob, calm down; you just have to find your way out of this forest and find a place to hide,” I said with a smile, but my smile soon died as the sound of a growling animal came from behind me. A little bit of fear mixed with anger filled my soul as my heart began to race. I tightened my grip on my new spear and slowly looked over my shoulder to see a snarling wooden… pup? It was a small thing, but it looked like a regular sized pup. A month old maybe. As I inspected the pup further I noticed a small deep scratch on his forehead. It seemed like an old wound, but it was easy to see.

“The hell?” I mumbled. I loosened my grip on my spear and stared at the wooden pup with confusion, but soon a smile formed on my face and I chuckled. “You scared the shit out of me little guy,” I said and scratched the bottom of his chin. He snarled and bit my finger. “OW!” I shouted and pulled back my hand. “Shit that hurt,” I said and glared at the pup. “Your lucky I like puppies because I would have turned you into a campfire by now,” I said and soon realized something. If there’s a puppy then where are its parents? I looked around but found nothing. “Strange,” I mumbled and looked to the pup. “Where’s your pack?” I asked. He only barked and lunged at my arm. He bit down as hard as he could but it didn’t hurt since I was wearing my hoodie. I grabbed the pup by the back of his neck and lifted him up into air. He let go and started to snap at me while struggling to get free. I used my spear to lift myself up and looked around once more until I saw what looked like a hole at the bottom of a large tree. I started to slowly limp over to the hole with the barking pup in my hand and kept my ears open for anything. I noticed how more violent the pup got as I was walking towards the hole and grew even more curious. Was he hiding something?

Soon I reached the hole and heard the whimpering of a small animal. I peeked into the hole and went wide eyed as I saw two other pups curled up against a motionless wooden wolf. As I stared at the sight the pup in my hand got free and fell to the ground. Instantly, he sprinted past me and jumped in front of the other pups. He snarled and got into a defensive stance. I didn’t move for a good thirty seconds as I stared at the pups and their dead parent. Soon I snapped out of it and cleared my throat. I lifted up a hand and smiled. “Calm down buddy I’m not here to hurt you,” I said in the softest voice I could make. The pup seemed to slowly lower his stance as he tilted his head to the left and gave me a confused look. I chuckled. "See, I'm not interested in hurting you or your family." The pup seemed to understand and slowly began to approach me with his head low, and ears down. As he approached me I slowly got onto my knee and extended my hand towards him.

The little pup finally reached my hand and sniffed my palm with a puzzled look. Geez, why is this little bastard cute? I chuckled as the pup looked up at me with what seemed like approval and barked while wagging his tail. I scratched under his chin and smiled. "So we cool?" The pup barked again and licked my hand. "Nice." I looked up at the hole and saw the other two pups slowly emerge with puzzled looks on their faces. My smile soon faded as I remembered the pups situation. What could have happened to the mother? Plus, what should I do with these guys? I could just leave them, but for some reason a voice in the back of my head keeps telling me to do the opposite.

I slowly started to get frustrated and rubbed the back of my head. "Geez, can’t anything be simple?" I mumbled, but before I could continue to think on my decision a low growl came to my ears. I looked back and saw nothing. "What the-" Before I could finish the growl could be heard again, but this time there were two low growls. I looked back at the pups and saw pained looks on their faces as they whimpered and curled up on the ground. "Was that you guys?" They gave me an answer as a third growl came to my ears. The pups whimpered and began to shake a bit. Damn, they just had to pull that didn't they? I sighed and rose to my feet. I winced at the sharp pain in my injured leg, but quickly brushed it off and looked at the pups.

"Stay here, I'll get ya something to eat." I mumbled. The pups looked up at me as if they understood what I said, and wagged their tails. "But don't get the wrong idea, I'm hungry to so it wouldn't hurt catching an extra meal for you guys." With that I began to look around at my surroundings and looked for any kind of signs of animal life. I started to venture off to find a meal for me and the pups.

[Celestia’s pov]

Celestia stood alone on her balcony staring silently down onto her city with a dark look on her face. In her right hand she held a report one of her royal guards had delivered an hour ago that had the names of the ponies that had died in a train derailing. The same train that was transporting the creature, Jacob, to Canterlot. Over fifty guards had been killed and only a few survived with serious injuries. In the reports the survivors had reported a large explosion as the cause of the derailing. Sadly it doesn’t end there. There were also reports of loud cracks that sounded like fireworks going off in the distance before a few survivors of the explosion had fallen dead to the ground. After further investigation by the medical teams they had discovered small pieces of metal in their bodies, like the other victims from the Everfree forest. In the end of the report it states the creature they had been transporting had escaped and is once again at large.

Celestia clenched her fist and closed her eyes. Why did they need to die without any real reason? Why couldn’t she be there to help her loyal subjects? Why!? Guilt had filled Celestia’s heart and mind ever since she received the report and had put off a few royal duties to compose herself. She didn’t want her subjects to see her in this state. She sighed and looked at the names one more time. She burned every name into her memory and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.” She whispered. After a few more minutes of silence there came a knock at Celestia’s door. “Please leave me alone for a few more minutes,” she said softly.

“Sister, it’s me.” The voice of her little sister came from the other side of the door. “Please, may I enter. We must talk.” Celestia sighed.

“Come in.” The door opened and Luna slowly entered. Once she was in the room she closed the door and and just stood there with her head lowered. The look of shame and guilt covered her face as she just stood there in complete silence for a few minutes, but Celestia broke the silence. “This can never happen again Luna,” Celestia said, looking at the list of names. Luna nodded.

“I know, sister.” Luna clenched her fist. “I won’t fail again.” Celestia looked up from the list with a mix of shock and surprise.

“What?”

“It’s my fault those guards are dead. I underestimated Jacob, and treated him as nothing more than a small captured animal. I was careless and because of that they were killed by that damn creature!” She clenched her teeth. “I’ve should have been more careful. I should have been there.” Celestia looked at her little sister and shook her head.

“Do not be so selfish.” Luna looked up with confusion. “Luna, we are both rulers of this country and it’s citizens. Whatever happens, we will both take up the role as rulers and face whatever troubles that may be in our path together. Neither of us had any control over what had happened to those guards, and we both underestimated him and now we both face the consequences,” Celestia said and walked towards her sister. “All we can do now is avenge those who have died and bring Jacob to justice.” Celestia placed a hand on Luna’s shoulder and smiled. “So please do not say it’s your fault when your sister is right here by your side.” Luna smiled and nodded.

“I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”

“Good. So is there anything else you need to talk about?” Celestia asked.

“Actually there is,” Luna said and walked towards the balcony. “After the attacks that had happened in the Everfree forest I began to feel a strange presence that seemed rather faint, but somehow familiar. I was wondering if you felt it as well.” Celesta began to think until a strange feeling had washed over her. It was weak, but as Luna said before it was familiar somehow. Celestia started to focus, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t figure out who this presence belonged to.

“Yes, you’re right. There is a strange presence that shouldn’t be here, but who could it belong to? Maybe the human?”

“Sadly no, when I entered Jacob’s mind he had a total different energy that was out of this world, which is safe to say that he was summoned here by someone. I have a feeling whoever did bring Jacob here is the same person that owns this strange presence,” Luna said with an uneasy look.

“Then maybe we should try to find this person and find out why he or she brought him here.”

“Actually I want to capture Jacob first, he’s too dangerous. Plus, if I can meet him in person, I may be able to track down the one who brought him here.” Celestia thought for a moment and nodded.

“Alright, let’s track down Jacob first and then find the summoner.” Luna smiled and began to walk towards the door. But before she left Celestia’s chambers she looked back to her sister.

“Thank you.” Celestia smiled and shrugged.

“Any time Lulu.” Luna chuckled and left Celestia’s chambers. Celestia sighed and looked back to the report in her hand. She shook her head and placed it on her desk before leaving her chambers. “Better get back to work.”

[Jacob’s pov]

I let out a heavy sigh and wiped the sweat from my face as I pulled my spear out of the fourth rabbit I had caught in an hour. “Geez, this should be enough.” I mumbled. I carried the four dead rabbits by their ears and began to walk back towards the hole the pups were at. As I was walking to the hole I started to think. Why the hell am I doing this? I mean it’s not my problem if they die out here, so why don’t I just go? As I asked these questions, the same voice in the back of my head nagged me to help the pups even if it was a bother. I sighed and shrugged. “I guess I could use some good karma.” I muttered.

Soon, I reached the hole and saw the same pup guarding the entrance to the hole like before. He was like a small statue. It was kinda cute. I chuckled. This caught his attention and as he looked towards me his eyes seemed to grow wide. He began to hop around, barking and wagging his tail. I smiled and raised my catches. “Yep, caught us some grub. Just need to get it ready.” I said. “Just need to figure out how to get a fire going,” I mumbled and looked towards the wooden pup with an evil look. “Wanna help?” He growled and barked. I couldn’t help but laugh and raised my hand to calm him down.

“Kidding, I’m kidding. Geez can’t ya take a joke?” I chuckled. The pup huffed and looked away. I rolled my eyes and placed my spear against a tree and laid the rabbits on the ground. I gathered a bit of wood and leaves. I put everything into a pile, and began to think of a way to start the fire. I looked around and found a few stones near by and smiled. “Perfect.” I never really tried to make a fire with stones, but I heard it worked and decided to give it a try. I kneeled over the wood and leaves and began to smack the stones together. The pup stood on the side with his siblings and stared at me with confusion. “Yeah, I know it looks strange to ya, but it should work,” I said and continued to get the fire started. Finally, after a few more tries, a small flame began to grow and soon a fire finally came to life. I laughed and raised my arms in victory. “I make FIRE!” I shouted and flexed my muscles. The pups barked and howled with joy along side me. I skinned and gutted a plump rabbit with the tip of my spear and began to cook it over the new man made fire.

After an hour of cooking our meal was finished and the pups howled with even more joy. I divided the pieces of rabbit evenly among the pups. They began to eat together and a small smile crept onto my face. Still not sure why I did this, but it kinda felt nice. I still hate everything in this shit world, but I guess these little pups aren’t bad. I took my share of the rabbit and sat against a nearby tree. I started to dig in and to be honest it wasn’t all that bad. Sure it was a little tough, but all in all it was alright. The pup who had guarded his siblings looked at me and barked with happiness. I grinned. “Good?” He barked two more times and wagged his tail. “Yeah it could use a few spices, but not bad at all.” I chuckled. I looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was setting. “Damn, lost track of time.” I looked back at the pups and saw them looking at me with puzzled looks. I can leave now, right? I helped them, and now I don’t need to stay, right? Again that fucking voice nagged me from the back of my mind, and I gave a mental sigh. “I guess I could hang with you guys for the night.” I shrugged. They all seemed happy and wagged their tails before continuing with their meals. I sighed and chuckled. “I better not be getting soft,” I muttered and continued on with my meal.

After finishing our meals the sun had completely went down and the forest was now being lit up by the fire. The pups had grown tired after their meals and two of them had fallen asleep next to my good leg, but the pup with the crack on his forehead had fallen asleep on my lap. It felt a little weird since they were made from wood, but it still felt nice. I looked down at the sleeping pups and chuckled. “I better not be getting soft.” I closed my eyes and began to fall into a deep slumber, but before I was fully asleep the same voice from before echoed throughout my head.

“Hurry to me and find safety little one.”

I mentally groaned. ‘Jesus you’re annoying.”

A night of loss.

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Luna gave a heavy sigh as she sat alone in the royal garden and stared into the night sky at her once lonely prison with a worried look. Ever since she had received the reports of the train derailment and deaths of the unfortunate guards her mind has been plagued with guilt. She had hoped that talking to her sister would have brought some comfort and help ease her guilt, but unfortunately her words did nothing and only made Luna sink deeper into her guilt. She attempted to hide it with fake smiles and felt a bit of relief as it seemed that her sister didn’t notice her true feelings. Luna knew it wasn’t healthy to hide her emotions, but worrying her sister wouldn’t help the situation. Celestia had enough to worry about, she didn’t need her little sisters guilty conscience weighing on her almost impossible schedule. To be honest Luna was surprised that her older sister hasn’t gone insane from the constant piles of work that continue to bombard her. Luna helps here and there with a few assignments, but Celestia handles everything else. She envied Celestia’s strength and tried her best to keep up, but she would always feel like dead weight that had always held Celestia back. Luna looked away from the moon and lowered her head to see her hands folded on her lap.

She sighed once more and closed her eyes. She began to focus her magic into her mind and felt her mind slowly slip into the dream world. It was a bit of a slow process to fully link herself into the dream world, but Luna never minded the wait. It was honestly blissful. Feeling everything melt away and be replaced with nothing but peace soothed her.. Every sin would be forgotten and the innocence from her childhood would once again return. Though all this never lasted forever she always loved that one moment of entering the dream world. She even temporarily forgot about Jacob and his crimes that had caused so many to lose a loved one. Unfortunately, as she was now fully in the dream world, the situation returned to her memories and the guilt had once again filled her mind. She slowly looked around and saw the usual dark void of the dream world and held up her hand. She focused her magic into her hand until a dark blue aura of magic floated in her palm. She gently blew the aura out of her hand and watched as it spread throughout the dark void of the dream world. Soon the void seemed to glow with life as small clouds of sparkling magic filled almost every inch of Luna’s surroundings.

Slowly visions of others dreams began to appear in several of the clouds and Luna felt a slight smile grow on her face. She loved seeing other dreams. They were always so peaceful. Some had a few nightmares and Luna only stepped in when they got too serious, but she would usually use her magic from the shadows to aid them overcome whatever obstacles that their nightmares had set up for them.

She scanned the dreams and smiled as she saw no nightmares for her to deal with tonight. She nearly gave a sigh of relief, but before she could she started to notice other dreams appear. They weren’t nightmares, but each new dream that started to appear almost leaked with sadness. She carefully examined the dreams and saw that they were filled with crying ponies. They all seemed to be remembering a loved one. Soon it hit Luna and the guilt began to eat at her again. These were the dreams of the ones in mourning of the train derailment victims. Pain, emptiness, lose, anger, and sadness was all Luna could feel from the dreams. She gritted her teeth and looked away from the dreams. She snapped her fingers and instantly all of the dreams had disappeared. Luna was now once again alone in the darkness of the void in the dream world. She lowered her head and glared at the darkness below her.

“Why… why must I be so weak when I need to be strong?” Tears began to blur her vision as she felt a lump form in her throat. She stood in the void trying to hold back her emotions with shaking clenched fists. “I should have been more careful. I should have at least been there to aid my subjects. I should have prepared them for that monster Jacob!” she growled and closed her eyes. Anger filled her heart as she saw an image of Jacob’s face fill her mind. At first he really seemed innocent and she wanted to help prove it, but now it was clear that she should have ordered his death on the spot! Now so many families suffer because of his actions… and it’s all her fault. She could have ended it before it continued any further, but her emotions caused her to make the wrong decision.

Soon after a few minutes of silence she opened her eyes and wiped the tears away with her wrist. She took a few more minutes to compose herself and took a deep breath. A determined look came across her face as she once again raised her hand and channeled her magic into her palm. Once magic had formed in her hand she closed her eyes and focused her mind on Jacob. She then gently blew the magic out of her hand and opened her eyes to see a sparkling cloud form in front of her. Soon an image appeared and Jacob could be seen sleeping in the woods with three young timberwolf pups around him. Luna was a bit confused and annoyed to be honest. For some reason she couldn’t enter his dreams. Something was keeping her from connecting with his mind, but she quickly brushed this issue off and sighed. At least she could locate his position. She stared at the sleeping human for a few minutes and gritted her teeth with anger. “How can you sleep? How can you look so innocent when the blood of the innocent are stained on your hands?” she muttered in disgust. She snapped her fingers again and in an instant the cloud disappeared.

Luna closed her eyes and felt herself slowly exit the dream world. Leaving the dream world wasn’t the same as entering, but it did feel refreshing. It was like dunking your head in a cool pool of water on a blazing hot day. Unfortunately Luna couldn’t enjoy this refreshing feeling once she came back to the real world. She opened her eyes and slowly rose from her seat with a determined expression. “Reveal yourself,” she muttered. Soon a Lunar guard appeared from the shadows and bowed.

“How may I serve you your highness?” the guard asked in a rough voice. Luna looked to the guard.

“Inform your troops that we will be departing from Canterlot and towards the forest near the recent train derailment,” the guard looked up with a hint of confusion.

“‘We’, your highness?” Luna nodded.

“Yes, I wish to lead my loyal guards in the capture of the human Jacob,” the Lunar guard nodded.

“Of course your highness, I shall also have my guards inform your sister of the operation before we depart.”

“NO!” the guard jumped a bit at his princess’ sudden outburst and gave a look mixed with confusion and surprise. Luna cleared her throat and gave an apologetic look. “Excuse me, that was uncalled for, but I don’t wish for my sister, or her solar guards to know about this. Please have your troops do their best in being concealed in the shadows.” the guard bowed with a smirk.

“Of course your highness, we shall be one with your domain,” the guard then spread out his wings and seemed to disappear into the night. Luna gave a heavy sigh and looked to the moon with an emotionless face. She knew her sister would be enraged with her decision to capture the human alone, but Luna felt as if it were her duty to capture Jacob and bring him to justice. Luna gave a heavy sigh and closed her eyes.

“This time, I shall bring you back myself.”

[An hour later, Jacobs prov]

I awoke to the sound of barking and slowly opened my eyes to see the moon and several stars around it shining brightly in the night sky. I gave an annoyed groan as I rubbed my eyes. "Geez, what the hell are you barking at?" I asked as I removed my hand from my eyes and pushed myself up onto my rear. I looked around for the pups, but to my surprise only one of the pups stood near me. It was the pup with the wound on his head. He whimpered and looked to me with lowered ears. “Hey buddy, where’s your-”

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"

I jumped as a blood curdling scream echoed throughout the forest. I quickly grabbed my spear and pushed myself up onto my feet. I winced at my injured leg and cursed under my breath as I stumbled forward. Once I regained control of my balance I began to hear several voices shout and scream from the distance. The sound of fighting was clear and the screams of pain echoed through the night. The pup who was still with me whimpered even more as his siblings howled and barked in what sounded like a desperate plea for help. I shook my head. "Fuck this, I'm not getting caught again," I said as I began to limp away from the commotion, but a few yelps and a loud howls from the pups caused me to freeze. I looked back into the dark forest behind me and heard the pups yelp and howl even more. I felt an urge to run towards the pups howls and help them, but I gritted my teeth and shook my head to get rid of the urge. What the hell am I doing? Why am I still here, I should be running! I helped the pups and now they got themselves into an even more dangerous situation. Plus, even if I did try to help them, I'd most likely get myself killed because of my leg. No reason for me to die for a bunch of dumb pups! Another howl echoed from the distance with several more shouting voices getting closer. I stood there and listened to the chaos in the dark forest, but over all of the shouting and screaming, the only thing I could hear was the pups howling and yelping. I then heard a small whimper and felt something tug at my leg. I looked down and saw the pup who stayed staring at me with a pleading look. I stared into the pups begging eyes for what felt like hours until I finally let out a heavy sigh and groaned.

“Fine, but this is the last time I’m helping you and your siblings. Got it?” the pup barked with joy and began to run towards the sound of his siblings howls. I sighed and started to quickly run after the pup. The pain in my leg began to surge through my body as I took every step, but I gritted my teeth and continued on. After a few moments of following behind the pup I noticed a dark shadow fly over the forest. I glanced up and went wide eyed to see several dark blurs shoot through the night sky. “Holy shit, what the hell is going on? Is this all for me!? Little much don’t ya think!?” As I glared into the sky with anger I felt my foot get caught on something and fell face first into the ground. I groaned in annoyance and slowly pushed myself up to my knees. "What the hell did I trip on?" I looked back to my feet and saw the remains of what looked to be wire netting. I raised an eyebrow and started to free myself from the net. I cussed as I struggled to free myself until I finally managed to escape. I looked at the net with curiosity. The wire netting was torn apart and blood covered the net.

"Wonder why this is here," I mumbled and attempted to get back up, but as I put weight onto my bad leg a sudden surge of pain filled my body and I fell to my knee. "Shit!" I hissed through clenched teeth. This leg was beginning to become a real pain in my ass. I sighed and shook my head. "Fuck it," I used my spear to lift myself up and winced at the pain. I looked for the pup I had been following and saw that he was already gone. I cursed under my breath and began to listen for more of the other pups howls, but I could barely hear what direction it was coming from thanks to the screaming and shouting. What the hell was going on? I shook my head as I knew I had to get to the pups fast. With a heavy sigh I began to force myself to run in what I could only guess was the direction of the pups. Every step was a bitch to deal with and I slowly began to regret my decision to help the pups. As a few minutes of running passed the screaming grew louder and louder. Soon a few loud cracks echoed in the air and were quickly followed by more horrific screams of pain. After a few more cracks I soon realized what those cracks were. "Gunshots?" I muttered under my breath. Since when did the ponies have guns? Did the ponies always have guns, or is there something else going on?

"This way! I saw the monster head this way!" I skidded to a stop and dived behind a fallen rotting tree as a rough voice shouted near by. The sound of armor and heavy footsteps filled the air as I heard a large group pass by. Once the group was gone I decided to wait for a few more seconds before finally coming out of my cover.

"Jesus, wonder who else pissed these assholes off," I whispered to myself. Soon the pups howls and barking returned to my ears and I gave a groan. "Right, the pups" I rolled my eyes as I began to once again run towards the pups howling. As I ran several more cracks rang out from the distance. After a few minutes of running I failed to see a slope in front of me and fell forward with a shout of surprise. "Fuck!" I began to fall down a small slope and landed hard against the cold forest floor. I winced from the pain in my leg and shook my head. "Seriously? Why can't I just stay on my damn feet tonight?" I mumbled as I grabbed my spear and pushed myself up, but as I was halfway off of the ground I felt something wet under my right hand. I lifted my hand up and saw a strange red liquid covering my hand. Instantly I realized it was blood and snapped my head up to see a motionless body laying up against a tree.

"Shit," I mumbled as I slowly rose to my feet with the help of my spear. It was obviously a pony, but this one was different. For one he wasn't one of the golden dicks that attacked me last time. He wore black armor and had bat like wings. I slowly placed the tip of my spear under his chin and raised his head. I cringed at the look of terror plastered onto his lifeless face. His yellow cat like eyes were dull and lifeless, but the look of fear sent a shiver down my spine. I removed my spear from his chin and let his head lazily fall and swing side to side for a few seconds before finally coming to a stop. "Damn, who did this?" I asked and looked in the direction of the gunshots that continued to echo throughout the night. An uneasy chill went up my spine as the screaming continued on. I shook my head clear and focused on my current objective. “Where the fuck are these little bastards?” I muttered as I started to listen for the pups.

Shortly their barks and howls returned to my ears and thankfully they sounded a lot closer than last time. With a heavy tired sigh I began to follow the pups barking and howls. As I continued through the forest the barking and howls began to die out and a bit of fear began to fill my mind. Soon I came to a small clearing and instantly I spotted one of the pups in the middle all alone. I gave a relieved sigh and started to walk towards the pup with a smile. “Jesus man, what the hell are ya’ll doing out here?” I asked, but I quickly noticed that the pup was just standing there with his ears lowered. I walked up to the pup and was about to ask what was wrong, but both my body and words froze as I saw what was bothering him. Laying motionless against a tree were two blood covered pups. The life from their eyes were completely gone and it was clear that they were far gone. Both pups had a hole in their chests. Whoever is using a gun must have done this. Sap leaked out from the chest wounds. They must have bled out. Shitty way to go. I lowered my head and gave a heavy sigh.

I saw the pup with the scratch on his head just stare at the bodies with large eyes. It was clear he didn’t know what to do. I knelt down next to the pup and attempted to place my hand onto his head, but before I could he started to slowly walk towards the bodies of his siblings. Once he reached them he began to gently nudge them with small whimpers of pain and worry. I stared at the scene with a bit of pity. “Poor bastard,” I thought to myself with a frown. The pup began to panic and whimper even more as he started to try and lift their heads up in attempts to wake them up, but his attempts were for nothing as their heads lazily fell back to the ground. After a few minutes of worthless attempts to revive his siblings the pup finally stopped and just stood their like a statue.

The sound of gunshots and screaming began to grow farther and farther away and a bit of relief started to ease my mind. At least I didn’t have to worry about getting into any conflicts. Unfortunately my small companion couldn’t feel the same way. After what felt like hours of silence the sounds of chaos was far gone and only the sounds of the forest filled my ears. I sighed and rose to my feet. The pup never moved an inch and a bit of guilt hit me. There wasn’t much I could have done for the pups, they ran off in the night like idiots and got themselves killed. This was all on them, but why did I feel sort of guilty? I gave a low groan of annoyance and scanned my surroundings until I saw a sizeable rock that could be used as a shovel. I picked up the rock and began to make a hole in the middle of the clearing. The last pup looked up at me with sad and confused eyes as I continued to dig his siblings graves.

Soon the pups must have caught on since he came to my side and started to dig another hole next to me. I froze for a second in surprise and stared at the pup. His eyes were still filled with grief and loss, but he seemed to be determined to lay his siblings to rest. After a few more seconds of staring I shook my head clear and continued to dig.

[Luna]

Luna soared through the night sky alongside a unit of her Lunar guards and scanned the dark forest for any signs of the human, but only found a trail of death. The bodies of the scouting units Luna had dispatched seemed to go on forever. She shook her head in disbelief and held back the tears that threatened to run down her face. How was he capable of this? All of his weapons were with the research team and he was outnumbered by several highly trained Lunar guards. How can he be capable of all this!?

Luna was pulled from her thoughts as a few cracks echoed through the air. Screams quickly followed and a shiver ran down her spine. “Down there!” a Lunar guard shouted and pointed towards a river that barely hid under the forest trees. Luna instantly saw several dark figures running across the river. Before the figures could pass the river a light from the forest flashed a few times and the cracks echoed once again. The figures seemed to crumple to the ground and Luna could only feel anger. She unsheathed her curved black sword and pointed it in the direction of the conflict.

“Let us ends this!” the guards around her let out a warcry and proceeded to follow their princess to battle. A few guards had moved in front of the princess to create a formation around Luna, but the instant the formation was made a crack filled the air again and a guard to Lunas left let out a cry as he plummeted to the forest floor. Luna clenched her teeth in anger and let out a roar of anger as she increased her speed. Her guards quickly followed, but in a matter of seconds at least three more guards had been picked off. Their cries echoed from behind Luna and fueled her anger even more.

Before they finally reached the river Luna aimed her sword in the last spot she saw the flash and let a beam of blue magic fire towards her target. A small explosion erupted as her magic smashed into the forest. “Did you get him?” one of the guards asked. Unfortunately his question was answered as he let out a scream of pain before falling towards the earth.

“Bastard!” a young guard shouted with rage as he and a few other guards rushed forward.

“Don’t break formation damn it! Protect the princess at all cost!” a higher ranking guard named shadow shouted after them, but unfortunately his orders were ignored by the guards as they shot towards the forest with incredible speed. They soon reached the earth and rushed into forest. Shadow growled in annoyance and looked to Luna. “Your highness, shall we go after them?”

“Of course, I don’t wish to lose anyone else. Let us hurry to their aid!” she shouted to her remaining guards and flew towards the forest floor. Her Lunar guards quickly followed behind her. Luna landed with ease and scanned her surroundings before her guards joined her. The sound of the forest filled her ears as Luna listened for any kind of activity that would lead her to Jacob. Shadow slowly walked to her side and spoke.

“Your highne-” he was cut off as Luna raised her hand to silence him. Silence continued to follow as the princess and her loyal guards stood there listening for any signs of conflict. Soon enough a few shouts could be heard in the distance. Luna quickly gestured her hand in the direction of the shouts and they began to move through the forest towards the shouting voices. As they moved Shadow had his guards surround the princess in defensive positions and stayed close to Luna’s side.

After a few minutes of shouting in the distance the shouts were replaced with screams. This caused Luna to jump a bit, but she quickly collected herself and pushed by her guards as she sprinted forward. “Your highness!” Shadow yelled for the princess, but his yell fell onto deaf ears as she continue to sprint through the forest. They attempted to catch up with their leader, but they were unable to keep up with her unnatural speed.

As Luna charged through the forest the screams came to an end and Luna felt her heart skip a beat as she began to fear the worse. With the mix of fear and anger filling her mind she continued through the forest until she came across a large opening to a cave. She halted and felt a bead of sweat run down her temple as she scanned her new surroundings. Instantly, she noticed the blood that painted the grass and clenched her teeth in anger. Where were the guards? She looked around for the guards, but found nothing but blood. Soon she noticed the blood begin to make a trail towards the cave’s entrance and tightened her grip on her sword.

With a deep breath Luna took a step into the cave and felt the strong smell of blood assault her nostrils. She winced at the smell, but continued her march into the darkness of the cave. Once it was completely pitch black she held up her sword and let her magic flow to the tip of the blade. Shortly, a blue ball of light came to life and lit up the cave. Chills went up her spine as she quickly noticed the bloody hand prints drag along the caves walls. She pulled her eyes away from the walls and kept them directed forward with the same determination from before, but a hint of fear of what was to come hid away behind her determination. She could not let her fear hold her back from capturing Jacob and saving what was left of her guards. She must make up for her mistakes.

Luna continued through the tunnel until she spotted a dim light at the end of the tunnel. She quickly killed the light on her sword and began to slowly approach the light with her sword raised. After what felt like hours she finally reached a small entrance. She looked to the ground and saw that the blood lead into the entrance. With a deep breath she ducked a bit to fit into the entrance and entered with her sword ready. The second she fully entered the smell of blood and death was stronger than ever and caused her to close her watering eyes and clasp onto her nose to block the unholy smell. With a grunt she slowly opened her teary eyes and felt her heart stop. Before her was a gruesome sight of dead guards that laid against the walls with shocked cold faces and empty eyes. Blood covered the walls, but the center of the room was clear of any blood. The blood seemed to form a circle in the middle of the room. On the other side of the room was a single dead guard that was pinned up against the wall with two spears pierced through both of his shoulders.

Luna could only stare in horror at the gruesome scene. How? How could he be capable of this? How could he do such a thing? HOW!? These questions filled her mind as she let her tears run freely down her face and continue to stare horrified at the corpses. “T-this is my fault…” she muttered and covered the right side of her face as she looked down. “I should have been more careful! I should have done this by myself! They didn’t deserve this!” she sobbed and felt her legs shake, but before she could collapse under her own weight she froze as she heard a cough. She snapped her head up with wide eyes and looked for the owner for the noise. Instantly she saw the guard pinned to the wall give signs of life. His chest slowly and faintly moved up and down and a low groan came from his mouth. In a heartbeat she lunged forward towards the guard.

She reached the guard and tried to figure out a way to free him from the wall without hurting, or worse, killing him. “P-princess…” he mumbled in a weak tone. Luna quickly noticed that it was the young guard who led the charge out of a fit of rage.

“Shh, be silent young guard. Save your strength, I’ll help you,” she said in a gentle voice to hide her panic. She attempted to calm her nerves and sheathed her sword. She began to look for any ways to free the guard without killing him since it was obvious there were no ways to avoid pain. Maybe if she could channel her magic into a single wound at a time she could-

“P-princess…” Luna was snapped out of her thoughts as the guards voice came to her ears again. Tears began to run down his face as he weakly lifted up his head to look at Luna. His eyes were full of desperation and worry. He seemed to struggle to speak so he motioned his eyes towards the corpses. Luna was confused at first, but soon she slowly followed his eyes and looked at the corpses. It took her a while to notice the problem, but she quickly saw that one of the bodies had been moved. Chills crept up her spine as fear once again started to fill her mind. As she stared at the bodies the nearly dead guard began to make a distressed choking sound. Luna quickly looked back to the guard and saw only fear in his eyes as he tried his best to speak; it was clear what he was doing. He was warning the princess. As she noticed this a low spine chilling chuckle filled the room.

“Finally joined the party huh?” Lunna spun around with her sword unsheathed and readied herself to face Jacob.

“Jacob you-” she stopped midsentence as she froze at the site of the new enemy. Standing their wasn’t Jacob, but a green hooded creature. It wore a brown vest and dark jeans. Blood covered nearly every part of its body and it held a curved short sword. A strange object was strapped to its back and finally the face was covered by a mask with a disturbing smile stitched into it. The creature was about Luna’s height. For several painful moments of silence the new creature tilted his head.

“Jacob? Is that the poor bastard you’ve been chasing all this time? Man I really owe that guy a drink,” the creature chuckled. Luan quickly snapped out of it and glared at the creature with rage. He gave a low chuckle. “Ya know, I will admit you ponies are as good looking as human women, but that nasty glare is kinda killin it. Reminds me of an old ex of mine. Jeez, was she angry when I told her I didn’t use a condom,” he chuckled again as he rubbed the back of his head. Luna’s glare grew even more intense as he continued to chuckle. The creature soon saw that he wasn’t getting Luna to laugh and sighed. “Fine, guess it’s down to business.”

Luna tightened her grip around her sword and got into a fencing stance. The creature shook his head and sighed as he put away his sword. “What are you doing?” Luan questioned. The creature shrugged and raised his hands into the air. Luna’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re surrendering?” she asked in disbelief. Once again he shrugged. Luna gritted her teeth and kept her sword pointed at his chest as she slowly inched forward towards the creature. As she made it into the middle of the room she stopped as the creature chuckled and shook his head. Luna growled and glared at the human in annoyance. “What is so funny!?”

The creature once again shrugged and snapped his fingers. “To easy,” before Luna could question him she saw the ring of blood erupt into a green burning flame. The flames grew larger and larger until the creature seemed to hide behind the wall of green fire.Luna expanded her wings and attempted to blow the fire away with a burst of wind. She was shocked as she saw the flames not even waver a bit. She gritted her teeth and fired a blast of magic into the flames only to see it be completely deflected. Luna ducked as the magic nearly hit her and she let out a grunt of annoyance. She glared through the fire and saw the creature from the other side staring with a bored look in his eyes. She growled and lunged forward with her sword in an attempt to at least plunge her weapon into the creature through the fire. Unfortunately, her sword seemed to deflect against the the wall of flames. Luna was pushed back a bit and growled.

“What is this fire!?” she shout in both frustration and anger. It was like a stone wall of fire. Soon the creature lifted up his hand and pointed his his two fingers towards Luna. Instantly the flames began to grow out of control and shot into the air like tendrils. Shortly, the tendrils of flames shot towards Luna with amazing speed. She attempted to dodge the tendrils, but to her shock she felt a burning pain pierce into the back of her neck. With a yell of pain she fell to her knees and snapped her head up to see even more tendrils of flames shooting down towards her. She attempted to dodge, but her body wouldn’t listen. Unable to move she could only watch as the tendrils pierced her body and to her horror forced their way into her mouth, nose, and ears. Tears of pain, fear, and confusion ran down her face as she could only watch in horror. Soon the tendrils of flames ceased their attack and Luna only sat there on her knees, staring at the ceiling with a frozen look of horror. Her body was numb and she could only hear the faint sound of laughter.

Soon the creature came into view and only stared at Luna. “Is he talking? Is he going to finish me off here!? Oh Celestia forgive me for my foolishness!” Luna shouted in her mind as the creature leaned in closer. Now that he was inches away from her face tears began overwhelm her vision. Soon the creature removed his masked and Luna felt her heart stop as she saw his large smile. It was a smile of pure insanity! He licked his lips and spoke again. Unfortunately Luna’s hearing had not returned, but it was clear what he had said.

“You’re mine now!”

Once he said this he raised his fist, winked at Luna, and shot his fist towards Luna’s jaw. She couldn’t feel the blow, but it sent her to the ground and she felt her world grow dark.

“Celestia, forgive me.”

[Jacobs prov]

I gave a heavy sigh and wiped the sweat from my forehead as I finished the last pups grave. I looked to my right and saw the surviving pup sitting close to me with tired eyes. Luckily the rest of the night had went by with ease and I was able to finish burying the pups. I cracked my neck and crossed my legs. I stared at the last pup with a bit of pity. He was alone now. His family was all gone and he had no one else to go to. “Well, he’s not completely alone,” I sighed and gently placed my hand onto his head. His ears folded back and he looked up at me with sad eyes. “Guess it’s you and me now,” I stopped for a moment and thought for a moment. I haven’t given him a name yet have I? After a few minutes of thinking I finally came up with a name. “Splinter.”

Splinter seemed to raise an eyebrow and tilted his head as I said his new name. I gave a slight smile and shrugged. “What, I’m not good with making names,” Splinter looked to have brushed off his new name and looked back to the graves with the same sadness from before. My smile faded and I slowly pushed myself up to my feet. The pain in my leg was a bit annoying, but I’ve gotten use to it. I looked down at Splinter and nodded. “Let it out, I’ll be waiting,” I said and walked away from the graves. After a few seconds Splinter let out a sad and pained howl. I lowered my head and walked over to a nearby tree. I leaned on the other side of the tree and let Splinter howl. I listened carefully for any other sounds, but luckily there wasn’t any other sound. I sighed and looked up into the trees. I raised an eyebrow as I noticed something hanging from a tree’s branch. I pushed off the tree and slowly walked towards the hanging object. Once I was under the object I instantly recognize it as my back pack! I quickly snatched the bag from the branch.

I opened the bag and felt a smile grow onto my face as I saw everything I had in there. I pulled out my M9 and chuckled. “How the hell?” I mumbled as I placed the gun on the ground. I continued to look into the bag and found a hunting knife, a pair of binoculars, a box of matches, my tomahawk, a brand new med kit, a flashlight, a bandana, two canteens of water, and eight magazines. Well looks like my luck has finally changed for the better! I grabbed the med kit and began to tend to my leg.

[An hour later]

With a smile I moved around my bandaged leg and felt a lot better. “Well that should do,” I said and noticed that Splinters howls have stopped. I walked back into the clearing with my bag on my back and saw Splinter laying on the ground. I walked over to him and knelt down to see him sleeping. “Howled yourself to sleep huh?” With a chuckle I gently picked up Splinter and watched as he slept peacefully in my arms. “Well, I guess I could get use to this,” I whispered and began to enter the forest with my new companion.

Just another problem.

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“Hey, paws off!” I shouted as I fought Splinter over a chunk of cooked meat. He growled and shook his head in attempts to pull the meat from my grip. I gave my own growl and narrowed my eyes. “I get the bigger piece because I killed it!” I said and tugged even harder for my portion. Splinter may have been a pup, but goddamn is he strong! Especially when it comes to food. After a few more minutes of fighting it finally came to an end once the chunk of meat ripped in two and caused us both to fall onto our backs. I groaned and slowly sat up to see Splinter already enjoying his meal. I huffed and looked at my smaller share. With a shrug I sighed and began to also enjoy my meal. It wasn’t much to begin with so I easily finished it in less than a minute. Though I was done I had still felt unsatisfied, but I knew it was enough to get me through till tomorrow. With a grunt I sat back with my hands holding me up and glanced over to Splinter who was still eating. I felt a slight smile crawl onto my lips as I watched him eat. This was the most he’s eaten since I’ve first met him. I looked away and stared up into the clear blue sky.

It’s been a week and three days since Splinter and I set out together, and to be honest it’s actually been kinda fun. Though we do have problems finding food, we always manage to scrape up something to keep us going. I even sometimes gave my share when there wasn’t much. I still have no idea why, but I guess I just didn’t want to hear his annoying whimpers. Splinter could never catch his own meal since he’s too small, but that doesn’t mean I’m the only one doing the work. He’s actually been real helpful when it came to tracking and sensing nearby trouble. Like other dangerous creatures and even the ponies when they came snooping around. I would have been caught real quick since the number of ponies have been growing rapidly, but thanks to the warnings from Splinter we would always avoid them with only a few close calls. I hated to admit it, but I started to really enjoy my time with Splinter, even though we get into a few fights here and there.

Yeah, it’s been real fun with Splinter, but I have been slightly worried since the night his siblings were killed. I could never figure out what the hell happened and to be honest I really didn’t look into it since a lot of ponies were in the forest that night, but something in the back of my head couldn’t shake off the worry. Who were they fighting, and who the hell was firing? Is there another human, or was there something else making that noise? No, those were clearly gunshots, but who did they belong to? I couldn’t find any answers to my questions, but I did know one thing. There’s no doubt that whoever fired those shots killed Spinter’s siblings. The whole situation frustrated the hell out of me, but I decided to focus on something more important. I needed to figure out where the hell we were going to head next. The forest has so far been great for cover, but with the number of soldiers increasing I knew it would only be a matter of time until we get trapped into a corner. Plus, I’m getting sick of this place. I was never much of an outdoors person I guess.

As I stared into the sky I was brought out of my thoughts by a few barks from Splinter. I looked over to him and saw that he was finished with his meal. A look of satisfaction was clear on his face and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Well, at least one of us is pleased with today’s meal. “Alright little buddy, ready to get a move on?” I asked as I pushed myself up to my feet. He barked with a small jump and I smiled. I quickly snatched my bag up from the ground and placed my M9 into my back pocket. With a grunt I cracked my back and began walk south west with Splinter. I have no idea why I choose this direction, but I felt something pulling me towards it. It was like a magnet really, but it wasn’t like I was being forced to head south west. I just felt a strange feeling that it was the safest place to go, even though I have no idea where I’m going. Hopefully it won’t be another one of Luna’s tricks. Though I haven’t seen her in a while, I was still sure she was out for me. I’m up for having a few crazy chicks come after me, but I’m not used to a goddess having me in her sights.

Whatever, just need to focus on avoiding the ponies and dangerous wildlife. We haven’t ran into anything serious, but we nearly did fall into a fucking manticore pit. Yeah, almost shit my pants when one of them woke up. Anyways, the less conflicts we get into the easier it’s gonna be to get to where we want to go.

I scanned my surroundings as we walked through the forest and kept my guard up. Even Splinter was on guard as he sometimes sniffed the air and kept his ears peeled for any sounds of trouble. As we continued on through the forest an hour passed without any problems, which was always good, but at the same time it made me a bit nervous. I’m usually not one to get paranoid, but I’ve been getting the feeling that I was being watched and I fucking hate the feeling! I’m not some sort of entertainment and the idea of being watched without me knowing actually sends chills up my spine.

Anyways, an hour has passed since we started to move again and nothing has happened. That is until Splinter gave a small bark. I looked down and saw him moving ahead of me. Guess he found something. I started to pick up the pace to catch up with him and saw the edge of the forest up ahead. With a smile, I reached Splinter who was waiting at the edge of the forest with a wagging tail. “So, what ya fi-” I stopped mid sentence as I saw a familiar sight. I was silent for a few seconds with my mouth hanging open a bit until I finally cleared my head and gave a heavy sigh. “Well shit,” I mumbled as I looked at the town I was captured at last week and four days ago. I think, I really didn’t think about that stupid town. Not the most pleasant visit.

I shook my head. “Nope, not going back there, I’ll surely get caught. I guess I’ll have to find somewhere else to…” I trailed off as I felt that same feeling pull me towards the town. But why there? Wait, no, it wasn’t pulling me towards the town, it was pulling me towards the forest near it. The place I started out most likely. Why though?

“Come and find safety in my open arms.”

Shit, should have known it had something to do with the voice. I groaned and shook my head. “Fuck it,” I mumbled as I lowered myself onto my left knee and pulled off my bag. After a few seconds of digging, I found a pair of binoculars and looked towards the town. I was a distant ways away from the town so I didn’t have any worries of being spotted, but to be safe I kept close to the tree line and scanned the town in the shade. So far it seemed the town lacked any real soldiers so that was a good sign. Less chance of a fight. The town also seemed to be peaceful and not a single person wasn’t smiling. I winced at this. It was just too perfect.

I continued to scan the town and stopped as I spotted a small commotion in front of what looked like a hospital. A small crowd of ponies, young and old, waited outside of the entrance with huge smiles and even a banner. I couldn’t read what was on it since it was facing the other way, but I was guessing someone was finally checking out. God, whoever it was, he or she must be popular. I decided to watch a little longer just to see who it was since I’m planning on moving towards the forest near the town in the cover of night. The forest I’m in now doesn’t seem to connect to the forest near the town so I have to move across the opening. Should be easy since most of the town should be asleep. Plus my dark clothing should hide me in the darkness.

As a few minutes went by I started to get bored and I decided to focus my attention somewhere else. I continued to scan up and down the streets of the town and saw a familiar pony. She was that princess that asked me a few questions before I was taken away onto the train. I think her name was...um, I think it was.... shit, what was her name? I remember the soldiers saying something about her rack, and how they got caught when the princess walked in. I chuckled at the memory. Her face was redder than a tomato and the guards nearly shit themselves. Wait I know! Twilight! Yeah, princess Twilight. God, the name is just annoying though.

I spotted Twilight walking towards the hospital with what looked like an oversized lizard who carried a small present. Guess they’re heading towards the hospital too. Wonder who it is. Must be someone important if a princess is going to meet them herself. Soon she reached the hospital and I had noticed the entrance was now open and several ponies seemed to be cheering. Even a hyperactive pink pony fired a cannon of confetti into the air. “Jesus, who the hell is-” I stopped as the confetti cleared and standing in the middle of the entrance was a small filly with a bandage around her head. Her red hair was a little long and a red bow was on the back of her hair. Instantly I figured out who it was. I didn’t know her name, but like a flash it came to me. It’s the child I injured when I went to rob that apple farm.

Her sister, I think, was ready to kill me in the middle in town when I was caught and kept screaming how I put her baby sister into a comma. A small wave of guilt washed over my mind as I frowned at the sight of the child. But soon the guilt was covered over by a bit of relief when she smiled with a few tears running down her cheeks. I couldn’t help but feel a small smile of my own crawling onto my face. At least she was okay. I watched for a few more minutes as the crowd surrounded her and saw the largest pony I’ve ever seen yet walk past the crowd and lift the child up and hug her. Quickly, the sister who nearly killed me joined the hug and in an instant the crowd let out even more cheers. I chuckled and lowered my binoculars. “Jeez, some checkout.”

I placed my binoculars into my bag and gave a sigh as I laid against a tree. I pulled my hoodie over my head and just stared at the distant town. Now I just need to wait until night time, and I’ll just pass right by the town and reach my objective. Whatever it was. Splinter gave a bark and I looked down to see him laying next to my leg. I scratched the back of his head and just watched the day go by.

[Twilight’s prov/ 30 minutes earlier]

“Spike, are you almost finished with Applebloom’s present!?” I shouted to Spike from downstairs. He was silent for a few seconds until he spoke.

“Yeah, just need to finish up the wrapping!” he shouted back. I smiled and laid back in my chair with a tired sigh. I haven’t had a good nights sleep ever since princess Luna’s hospitalization. I have no idea what happened to her, but apparently she and her personal guards went to capture Jacob. By the end of the night the remaining Lunar guards found princess Luna unconscious in the entrance of a cave. After they recovered her they began to sweep the forest for Jacob and any other survivors, but unfortunately they found neither. Over twenty seven Lunar guards were killed and Jacob had escaped. I had hoped that the bad news ended there, but my hopes were quickly killed.

The Lunar guard rushed their princess back to Canterlot hospital and after hours of treatment it was reported that she was in a magically induced coma. No one could figure out how to wake her, not even Celestia herself. Some unknown magic kept Luna from awaking and even injured a few doctors who attempted to enter her mind. As they were pushed out of her mind by the unknown magic it was reported that they saw a wall of green fire and even had a few burns on several parts of their bodies. Doctors and scientists from all over were at a lost of words. The entire situation was tragic and Celestia decided to hide this event from the population to ensure there would be no panic. Luna has since been moved to a private hospital located in the Canterlot palace where Luna is still being watched for any changes in her condition.

With Luna being in a coma it was no surprise that Celestia would become enraged and send her forces to capture Jacob. To keep the population hidden in the dark she had called this a large scale military drill to improve the Royal Guard. At first the population was a bit hesitant, but soon they began to believe in the princess and went on with their day without knowing the truth. To be honest I wish I could join them, but since I am a princess now I was informed of the situation. Only Celestia, Cadence, other high ranked military officials, and I know of the current situation. It pained me to keep this away from my friends, but I trusted Celestia and kept the secret to myself.

The search for Jacob still carries on and security has even been increased here in Ponyville. Several highly trained guards have been deployed here undercover to keep a low profile. It’s been quite annoying really. I can always see a few undercover guards following me everywhere I go. Even when I wish for privacy I am being watched. Though it is annoying I know they are only following orders and I trust Celestia’s decision. I just hope Jacob is caught and they can find a way to help Luna.

I sighed once more and rubbed my temple. At least a bit of good news has come up in town. Applebloom had finally awoken the other day and everyone is preparing to celebrate her recovery. I was relieved to hear the news and was even more relieved when the news reached Applejack. She never spoke to anyone since Applebloom was put in the hospital and was always working late just to avoid people. She even snapped at anyone who tried to pull her away from her work, including Fluttershy. We’ve all been worried for her health and thankfully once she heard of Applebloom’s recovery, she instantly broke down and rushed towards the hospital to see Applebloom.

Today she is being released and everyone, including me, feel a huge level of stress vanish as we celebrate her release. Though I still worry about Jacob, I feel that this will make me feel much better. Besides, Jacob is most likely far from Ponyville. I mean, what idiot would come back to the place he was captured?

I looked out the window and saw a few ponies walking towards the hospital. I smiled as they walked by with huge smiles, but as they passed I saw an undercover guard in civilian clothes standing on the other side of the road and frowned once he saw me. He seemed to notice and gave a sheepish smile as he looked away. I groaned, rose from my chair, and started to walk towards him, but I stopped as a knock came from the front door.

“Hm? I wonder who that is,” I walked to the door and opened it to see a gray furred mare. She wore fresh blue jeans and a slightly baggy green hoodie. Under her hoodie I could see a white T-shirt with what seemed to have my cutie mark on it. Her black hair was tied up into a bun, but a few strands hung over her face as she shyly hid her blue eyes behind her glasses. She held a journal with not only my cutie mark, but my friends cutie marks on it. I examined the mare and realized that I had been staring for a few minutes. I cleared my throat and smiled. “Um, can I help you?” I asked. She seemed to be surprised as she gave a yelp and avoided eye contact.

“I-I’m sorry princess Twilight, I didn’t mean to stare,” she said in a timid voice. I kept my smile as I looked at her. She reminded me of Fluttershy a bit. I chuckled a bit and shook my head.

“It’s fine, there’s no need to apologize. So, is there anything I can do for you?” I asked. A small smile came to her lips as she looked up to me.

“Well, I, uh… actually came to speak with you,” she said and quickly looked to the ground. “B-but if you don’t have time I can always-”

“No, no it’s fine. I have a bit of time left to talk. Please come in,” I said and gestured her inside. She seemed to brighten up as she gave a huge smile and quickly walked in with her journal pressed against her chest. I closed the door and began to walk towards the kitchen. “Have a seat, I’ll make some tea,” I said as I entered the kitchen and prepared some tea. Once I was done I brought out a tray with a few cups of tea. As I entered the room, I stifled a chuckle as I watched her gawk at the library like a child in a toy store. “Like what you see?”

She quickly snapped out of it and blushed a bit. “O-oh, yes. I would love to have this kind of selection back at my home.”

I chuckled and laid the tray on the coffee table as I sat across from her. “Well, if you like you can check a few of these books out,” I said and picked up my cup of tea. Her eyes shined a bit.

“Really, well I would love to, but I’m afraid I won’t be here long enough to browse,” she said with a bit of disappointment as she picked up her cup.

“Well, you could always come back and browse when you get the chance. Things have been slow so you don’t need to worry about any good books going out of stock. Well, instead of the Daring Do books; Rainbow Dash clears them from the shelves,” I chuckled. The mare chuckled as well and took a sip of her tea. “Oh, I nearly forgot to ask your name. I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s fine. My name is Lily Flower, but my friends just call me Lily,” she said and put her cup back onto the tray. I took a sip of my tea and spoke.

“Well Lily, it’s nice to meet you, but may I know why you’re here?” I asked.

“Oh right, why I’m here,” she said with a sheepish smile as she opened her journal. “Well I’m a huge fan of you and your friends and I was hoping to do a report on you for a project I’m doing for my school. Do you think I could possibly ask you a few questions?” she asked as she pulled out a pen from her jeans. I smiled and nodded.

“Well I would love to answer your questions, but can I ask how long it will be? I’ll have to leave soon for a special celebration that’s taking place in town,” she nodded her head with a smile.

“Of course, I heard what happened and I’m happy the little filly has made a recovery. I don’t have many really, so it should be quick.”

“Alright then, ask away,” I said and she began to ask her questions.

“So, first question! What was it like becoming a princess?” I rubbed my chin a bit and smiled.

“It was a great feeling of accomplishment. Almost every emotion ran through my mind and soul as I felt my very being link into the magical world and saw a vision of all of the friends I made together. It was truly an unreal moment,” Lily smiled as she wrote in her journal.

“Second question, do you think you could have become a princess without your friends?” I was a little surprised by the question and quickly shook my head.

“Of course not, without them I would have stayed in my home and only focused on studying. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love studying different things, but who would I have shared my discoveries with? Who would I enjoy my new findings with? Who would I celebrate them with? Back in Canterlot I always avoided social contact and kept to myself. Besides, without my friends I think I would have begun to think friendship was a waste of time,” I said and looked down at my cup with a smile. “No, without my friends I would be just another pony and I’m thankful for that.”

“Well I’m happy for you princess,” I looked up to Lily and chuckled.

“Please call me Twilight, I’m not really use to the whole princess title,” I said. Lily nodded and began to ask a few more questions. Ten minutes went by and she let out a sigh.

“Well, um, Twilight, that should be it for my questions,” she said and I nodded.

“Well I’m glad I could answer your questions and I should thank you for coming by. It was actually refreshing,” I said and rose from my seat. She quickly followed, but as I was about to lead her out she stopped.

“Actually Twilight, I was hoping you could answer one last question that isn’t part of my project,” I raised an eyebrow and saw her look a bit nervous.

“Yes?” I asked. She was silent for a bit before finally speaking.

“Well when I came to Ponyville, I overheard a few ponies talking about a creature that was captured a while back. Was the creature the one who injured the filly?” I froze for a bit before letting out a sigh. I was hoping this topic wouldn’t come up, but I guess I saw this coming. “I-if you don’t want to talk about it then I could always leave and-” I held up a hand and shook my head.

“It’s fine, I kind of saw this coming. This creature you heard about is in fact the one who harmed the filly who is in the hospital, but please don’t worry. He’s been captured and is secured in Canterlot,” I said and mentally winced from the lie. She eased up a bit and smiled.

“Oh that’s good news, I feel much safer now. Do you know what the creature is?” she asked.

“Sadly, no,” I lied and shook my head. Her ears lowered a bit and she gave a disappointed moan.

“Well that’s a shame,” she said and sighed. “Oh well, I should probably leave now. Thank you so much for your time Twilight,” I led Lily out of the library and waved goodbye as she walked away. I closed the door and sighed. Well that was nice until I had to lie about Jacob. I looked up to the clock and saw that it was almost time to leave. I smiled and prepared to head to the hospital.

[Everfree forest]

Discord laid on a branch with an upset face clearly painted on his face. He stared into the sky and huffed as he heard a branch snap on the ground. “Why are you out here?” he nearly hissed as he glanced over to see a smirking gray mare in a green hoodie and blue jeans. She took off her glasses and grinned with a seductive look at Discord.

“Oh you know, just stretching my legs after a thousand years of being in hiding. Wanna see how bendable I can get?” she giggled and winked. Discord rolled his eyes and sat up on the branch.

“I’m not in the mood for your games Anna. Why are you out here!?” he growled in annoyance as he glared at her.

“Oh, getting fired up huh? I like em good and hot headed,” Discord’s glare grew more intense and Anna finally chuckled as she shrugged. “Sheesh, what can a girl do to get some action. I’ve been hidden for a thousand years without anyone else but myself, though I’m not saying I haven’t been able to handle myself.” she said and wiggled her fingers. “They got the job done.”

“Enough!” Discord finally snapped and appeared right in front of Anna with an enraged look on his face. “Do you have any idea what Celestia would do if she found out I was hiding you all this time!? I can barely sense the forbidden magic oozing from you, but you can’t take any chances! Not now since some damn human is running around and pissing her off. She would sense you instantly if she was actually trying,” he said and continued to glare at Anna. She chuckled and walked by Discord while rubbing his arm.

“So sweet of you to worry about me Discord, but I can handle myself,” Anna said and began to walk through the forest. Discord huffed and began to float near Anna’s side with his arms crossed.

“Me worried about you? Ha, don’t make me laugh! The only reason I’ve put up with you is because I owe you. Nothing more!” he said and sighed. “But why are you out here?”

She shrugged. “With all of the stuff going on I thought it would be nice to get out. I was also going to see if I could have fun with some of the stallions in town, but they are much too soft. I like something a bit more tougher,” she said and winked at Discord. He cleared his throat and looked away.

“Yeah, I know,” he mumbled with slightly red cheeks. He sighed and spoke again. “Look Anna, you really can’t just come out like this, especially with him on the loose,” he said, hissing the subject of their current problems. Anna rolled her eyes.

“Discord, I doubt Michael is a threat and I highly doubt he would do anything to harm me.” Discord shook his head.

“I don’t care what you think Anna, he’s still a threat even when his powers are weak. Plus I know he won’t harm you, but I know he will use you somehow to get what he wants. I don’t need to worry about that will I?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. Anna shrugged.

“Not like I have a reason to help him in the first place. Besides, his plans were always too confusing. I could never keep up,” she chuckled. After a few minutes of silence they came to a clearing with a large pile of boulders in the middle. Anna chuckled and walked up to the largest boulder in the pile. She placed her hand onto the boulder and a few accent looking symbols began to appear around the boulder. Anna smirked and looked back at Discord.

“Well Discord, thanks for checking up on me, but if you want to do something a little more fun then follow me,” she purred and shaked her bottom. Discord forced himself to look away. Anna giggled and shrugged. “Then I guess I’ll talk to ya later. Good luck with that hunt by the way,” she said and closed her eyes. After a few seconds a bright light began to surround her. Soon she began to break down into several particles of light and shortly faded away into the boulder. Once she was gone the light disappeared and Discord was left alone in the forest. He stared at the boulder for a few minutes before sighing.

“I need a vacation.”

[Jacobs prov]

I watched the sun slowly go down in the distance and smiled once the moon replaced it’s spot. The stars shined bright and I kind of got lost in the sight. Splinter gave a yawn and I broke away from the stars to see him stretching his wooden limbs. A smile formed onto my lips and I looked down to the town. I dug my binoculars out of my bag and looked down to the town to see that they were starting to finish their party. Ponies started to go home one by one and shortly the child with the bow began to head home with her family. After a few more left I decided that it was dark enough and sighed as placed the binoculars back into my bag and pulled out my bandana. With a smirk I placed the bandana over my face and flipped my hoodie over my head. “Let’s get a move on buddy,” I whispered and put my bag onto my back.

Splinter gave a quick bark and began to follow me out into the open. I stayed hunched over a bit as I moved across the open field and kept my M9 out just to be safe. After a few minutes I started to get a little closer to the town and decided to move a bit slower so I wouldn’t get spotted. There were a few ponies left on the street and if I wasn’t careful they could possibly see me and I really don’t need any conflict. Splinter stayed close to my side and I was happy to see him be as cautious as me.

Soon I made it halfway across the field and spotted a dark figure in the sky. I picked up Splinter and looked for any places to hide. Luckily, I saw a big enough rock and scurried my way towards it. Once I reached the rock I felt my heart racing and steadied my breath as I hid behind the rock. I listened as the sound of wings flapping in the sky went over my head and waited a few more seconds before glancing up out of my cover. The figure was further away now and I let out a sigh. It was really an unfair advantage that they could fly and I couldn’t. Plus the magic’s a bit of a bitch too.

Splinter let out a small whimper and I looked down to see that I was sort of squeezing him. I let go and gave a sheepish smile under my bandana. “Sorry,” I whispered. He only huffed and made it clear he was ready to move on. I nodded and gave one more check to see if it was clear. Once I was convinced I came out of my cover and started to make my way towards the forest. After a few more minutes I reached the edge of the forest. A large grin formed under my bandana and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Guess my luck has-”

“Hey!”

‘FUCK!!’

I froze and Splinter hid behind my leg. I slowly peeked over my shoulder and saw a blue unicorn mare. She wore red sport shorts and had on a white T-shirt. Her short green hair was a mess and her eyes were half closed. She seemed to stumble a bit and held what looked like a flask in her right hand. Oh jeez she’s drunk. I cleared my throat and spoke. “Um, hey there.”

Her eyes narrowed and she slowly stumbled my way. A bead of sweat ran down my head and I felt my heart start to beat faster. “W-who are you? Never s-saw ya in town,” she said with a bit of a slur. I chuckled and kept my back to her.

“Hehe, well I’m not a real social type of guy,” she was soon a few feet away from me and stared at me with narrowed eyes. I readied my M9 that I hid in front of me and bit my lip. I didn’t want to kill her, but I don’t think I need any attention. We were both silent for what felt like hours until a wicked smile crawled onto her face.

“Y-yeah, same here. I just sat in the b-back while they celebrated some filly getting out of the hospital. Not really my type of party y-ya know?” she laughed. I chuckled and nodded my head. Her smile seemed to get larger and she got a little closer. “Ya know there are a bunch of weak ass stallions in this town, but you… you look like you can handle yourself,” she said with a devious smile. Soon she was right next to me and I felt my heart skip a beat as she pressed her chest against my arm. Ooooh shit. I peeked down and felt my face heat up as I got a good view of her cleavage. She inched her grinning face a little closer and I tried to look the other way and gave a nervous chuckle. This was getting a little out of hand.

“U-um well I, uh… I think I should-” I was cut off as she wrapped her arms around my arm and squeezed herself a little closer. Dude holy shit! Are ponies normally this horny when they’re drunk.

“Wow, I know you were way better than those stallions down in town. Though your muscles aren’t as big as that Big Mac guy, you sure are an improvement from the rest,” she whispered in my ear. I started to feel Splinter moving around my legs and glanced down to see him staring at me with wide eyes. Guess I’m not the only one that’s shocked by the situation. “Come on, let me show ya my cutie mark.” I choked a bit and cleared my throat.

“Dear god this is really happening,” I muttered under my breath. She chuckled and began to pull me into the forest. Good thing it’s dark and she’s drunk. I’m sure she would have noticed that I wasn’t a pony if she was sober. She pulled me through the forest with a wicked grin and after we were a few minutes in we stopped and she pushed me against a tree. I looked up to see a hungry look in her eyes as she inched closer to me. I looked past her and saw Splinter staring from behind a tree. Little bastard could be helping me right now, but I guess he’s having a good time watching me struggle.

“L-look maybe you should slow down a bit,” I said with my hands raised. She smirked and grabbed my hands.

“Sure, I’ll slow down,” she purred and pressed my hands onto her breasts. My eyes widened and my face was nearly steaming hot. “That is if you show me a good time,” she licked her lips. Fuuuck, this is getting way out of hand now. I started to think of ways to get out of this situation. That is until her head fell onto my chest and she seemed to slump over. Before she fell to the ground I grabbed her by the shoulders and kept her up. I stared at the unconscious pony for a bit and let out a sigh of relief.

“Well that’s one way to handle it,” I whispered and lowered the pony down. I placed her on her back and saw her sleeping peacefully. She looked a little cute actually, but I quickly shook my head clear and looked at Splinter with narrowed eyes. “Thanks for the help, buddy,” he seemed to have a smirk on his face as he approached us. I looked back to the sleeping pony and shook my head. “Really hope most ponies aren’t like this, it’ll be a real hassle,” I chuckled. I rose to my feet and placed my M9 into my back pocket. “Guess we should get going then,” I said and started to walk deeper in the forest, but I felt something tug at my leg and looked down to see Splinter pulling my pants. He growled and gave me a stern look. I was confused at first, but I then caught on and looked to the pony. She looked way too innocent and I gave a heavy sigh.

I don’t want to get close to town and it may not be a good idea to leave her at the edge of the forest. Not only could some hungry animal come and get her, but some freaky pony could get some sick ideas for an unconscious mare. After a few minutes of thinking I sighed and walked over to the pony with a frown. “This better not backfire Splinter,” I muttered as I picked her up in my arms. I looked down at Splinter and saw that he was happy with my choice. “Whatever, let’s just find a place to stay for the night. I would prefer a cave or something,” he barked, spun around, and started to walked deeper into the forest.

I quickly followed and heard a small moan come from the pony. I glanced down and saw her nestled into my chest like a child with a small smile on her face. It was kind of hard to believe that she was only moments ago a sex crazed pony. I smiled a bit and shook my head. Crazy ass ponies.

After a bit of time went by we seemed to reach a familiar area. It was the same place where I got captured. I saw the cave I had stayed in and sighed as I noticed it’s destruction. The camouflage net I built for the entrance was scattered all over the ground and the inside of the cave was cleared of anything I had hid away. “Well I guess this place should do for now,” I said and gestured Splinter to follow me into the cave. Once we entered I placed the pony down near the cave’s wall and felt a chill go up my spine as a gust of wind went through the cave. I could handle the cold thanks to my clothing, but Splinter and our new guest couldn’t.

I groaned and looked to Splinter. “I’m gonna get some wood,” I said and heard both of our stomachs growl. “And some food if I can find anything,” Splinter barked in approval as I exited the cave. I went into the forest to gather wood for a fire, but made sure to stay close to the cave. After a few minutes of gathering firewood I found a few berries and nuts. Not the most filling meal, but it should do. I mean it’s a lot better than bugs. I shivered as I remembered the taste of a few bugs me and Splinter found one night. I gathered a handful of berries and nuts and headed back to the cave. Once I returned to the entrance I chuckled at the sight of Splinter guarding the entrance. He was like a damn statue. I looked to him and gave a quick salute with two fingers. “Nice job soldier, I’ll take it from here,” I said in a deep voice. Splinter rolled his eyes and ventured a little deeper into the cave while sniffing the ground.

I shrugged and dropped a decent pile of wood onto the ground. I quickly set up the wood and swung my bag off of my back and laid it onto the ground. After a few seconds of digging I recovered a box of matches and smirked. Life’s been a lot easier since I got my shit back. Luckily, I still had a decent amount of matches back and gathered a few dry leaves around the entrance. I quickly placed the leaves around and under the wood and lit a match. After a minute I was able to get a good fire going. I groaned and rubbed my chin to feel a stubble. “Could use a shave,” I mumbled and looked to Splinter to see two dead lizards in his mouth. I smiled under my bandana and gave a thumbs up.

“Hey, nice catch buddy. I got some berries and nuts to go with that,” I said and pulled out a handful of berries and nuts from my pocket. I found two sticks and began cooking the lizards. It wasn’t long for the lizards to be finished and I gave Splinter his lizard and his portion of the berries and nuts. He instantly dug in and I quickly joined him as I pulled down my bandana. The meal wasn’t the biggest thing we’ve had, but it wasn’t the smallest meal we’ve had either. I finished and gave a sigh. “Not bad,” I mumbled and looked to Splinter. He finished his lizard and licked his lips with satisfaction. He was about to eat his berries and nuts, but a low moan came from the pony and we both looked over to see her curled up in a ball. She had a sad expression as she held her stomach.

I ignored it and started to eat my berries and nuts, but I guess Splinter had a different plan. With lowered ears he gathered his berries and nuts pushed them towards the sleeping pony. I raised an eyebrow and watched him walk back over to the fire. He sat down and watched the flames with flat ears. I was about to toss the last of my share into my mouth, but I just couldn’t break away from Splinters sad look. I sighed and placed the rest of my share in front of him. He looked up with confusion and tilted his head.

“What? Just eat, you need this more than me,” I mumbled and looked away. His confused expression quickly changed as he gave a happy bark and dug in. It didn’t take him long to finish and he wagged his tail. I looked over to the pony and back to Splinter with a questioning look. “So, any particular reason you chose to give your share to our guest?” I asked. Splinter looked over to the pony, then back to me and shrugged.

I stared at him for a few seconds and shrugged. I guess he has a soft spot for women or something. No big deal. I sighed, rose to my feet, and looked to the entrance. The camouflage net I had made before was scattered near the entrance, but it still looked like I could use it. I gathered the remains of the net and collected some more branches and leafs from the surroundings of the caves entrance. After five or six minutes I had completed the net and hung it over the entrance. With a satisfied nod I ducked under the net and entered the cave to Splinter yawning.

“Hey Splinter, get some sleep, I’ll stay up for a bit longer,” Splinter nodded and stretched his limbs before laying down near the fire. I smiled and stretched my own limbs until a few pops filled my ears. With a groan I looked over to the sleeping pony and sighed. I walked over to the opposite side of the cave laid against the wall across from her.

I watched the sleeping pony peacefully sleep and frowned. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to bring her, but the damage is done. I just need to figure out what to do with her. Not sure she’ll like waking up in a cave with a strange creature and his wooden pup. Hopefully I can convince her to not reveal us and take her back to the edge to let her go. If not though then I’ll have to keep her here until I figure out some other plan. I can’t let the town folk know that I’m back. It’ll only cause trouble and god knows trouble is the last thing I need. I groaned and pulled out my M9 as I continued to stare at the pony and listened to my surroundings.

“Come to my home for s-”

I groaned even louder and rolled my eyes. “For fuck sake, I know, just relax!” I swear this voice gets more and more annoying every time.

Finally catching a break?

View Online

A groan escaped my mouth as I dragged an old log towards the cave and laid it in front of some bushes I had placed around the entrance. With a sigh I wiped the sweat from my forehead and backed up a few feet to inspect my work. I smiled with satisfaction and cleaned some of the dirt from my face with my gray shirt. The entrance was barely noticeable now. I looked up to the sky and saw that the sun was starting to rise. “Shit, guess I lost track of time,” I chuckled while cracking my neck.

Last night I couldn’t get any sleep so I tried to keep myself entertained. At first I just worked out. A couple of push ups, sit ups and other types of shit people do to stay in shape. I quickly realized how much I hated working out and tried to find something else. After several failed attempts to find something entertaining I decided to get some work done around my new hideout.

Not feeling satisfied with my camouflage net outside the cave, I began to gather more leaves and branches to scatter around the entrance to hide any signs of movement in and out of the cave. Of course I would have to redo them once and awhile. I thought it would be a good way to hide our trail. Once I was done I decided that it wasn’t enough and started to dig up a few bushes to hide the entrance a bit more. It was a pain in the ass at first since I don’t have a shovel so I used my hands. After a few minutes I got pissed and looked around for anything to get the job done. Thankfully I found a rock that seemed flat enough to work. It was a bitch since I cut myself a few times, but I got the job done a lot faster. When I was finished digging up three or four bushes I placed them in front of the entrance. It looked good enough, but I had figured to add one last piece to my new camouflage. After an hour of searching I had found a decent sized log that would be a perfect addition to my new camouflage and dragged the heavy bitch back to the cave.

With a sigh I walked towards the entrance and made my way through the camouflage. As I entered I saw that Splinter and our guest were still sound asleep. Splinter was closely curled up next to the sleeping pony with my hoodie covering both of them. I sighed and rubbed the back of my head. “Damn, they look real peaceful,” I whispered with a bit of jealousy. Wish I could join them in that peace, but I knew we had to get the shit storm out of the way. I slowly inched my way towards Splinter and knelt down close to his ear. “Hey buddy, wake up,” I whispered and gently shook him. His eyes slowly opened and he let out a small yawn. He looked up at me and seemed to give me a little glare. I chuckled and shrugged. “Sorry, but we got some things to sort out,” I whispered and gently removed my hoodie from the two.

With a huff Splinter pushed himself up and stretched his wooden limbs with another yawn. I quickly threw my hoodie on and felt the warm fabric touch my cold skin. I shivered a bit and rubbed my arms to warm them. “Man, I didn’t realize I was that cold.” A soft moan came from below and I looked down to see the sleeping pony shifting in her sleep. With a sigh I looked to Splinter and smiled. “Hey, think you can find more of those lizards for breakfast? They weren’t too bad,” Splinter gave a happy bark as he ran deeper into the cave to search for breakfast.

I chuckled and collected some firewood that was left from last night. After making a pile I dug through my bag to find a box of matches. I pulled one out, lit it, and started the fire with ease. Thank god for these things. I chuckled and kissed the box of matches. I threw the box back into my bag and slowly sat down onto the ground. As my ass made contact with the caves hard stone floor I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of satisfaction. I guess I’m still a little tired from last night. It felt good to sit down after a night’s work. I smiled and stared into the flames.

After a few minutes of silence Splinter returned and stopped in front of me, wagging his tail in joy as he held not two, not three, but four lizards! A huge grin appeared onto my face as I laughed and rubbed Splinter on the head. “Hell yeah little buddy! Nice catch!” Splinter dropped our breakfast onto the ground and gave a happy bark. I rubbed my hands and licked my lips as I stared at our food. “Go get some sticks so we can cook these little bastards,” Splinter gave another bark and ran off to collect some sticks. He quickly returned and after a few more praises I impaled the dead lizards and held three of them over the fire, while Splinter held his own with his teeth. I was a little worried when he got close to the fire since, well, he’s made of wood. I don’t want my wooden companion bursting into flames after catching breakfast. Thankfully he didn’t and we both sat there with excited smiles as we cooked our meal.

The smell of cooked flesh began to hit my nostrils and I chuckled as I looked to Splinter. “Think they’re done?” I asked. Splinter wagged his tail and removed his lizard from the fire. After a few sniffs he looked back up at me and barked. I smiled and removed the rest. “Alright, let’s split this up buddy. Two for you and two for me,” I placed two of the larger cooked lizards down in front of him since he did catch them. Only seems fair that he gets the most out of this meal. After I licked my lips I grinned and raised my breakfast to my mouth. “Let’s eat!” I shouted, but before I could take a bite I felt something tug at my pants. I stopped halfway and looked at Splinter who was glaring at me. I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

He motioned with his head towards the sleeping pony. I looked over and saw that she was still asleep. “What about her?” I asked as I looked back to Splinter. He rolled his eyes and pointed one of his paws at my meal and gestured with his head towards her again. After realizing what he was getting at I sighed and lowered my meal to the ground. “Oh come on, didn’t you give her your nuts and berries. She’ll be fine,” Splinter shook his head and gave a hard glare. After a few moments of silence I groaned in annoyance. “Fine, how about we just wake her up and get this shit over with,” Splinter looked over to the pony for a few seconds and looked back to give a quick nod. With a roll of my eyes I lined our meal together near the fire and rose to my feet.

I flipped my hoodie over my head and pulled out my bandana from my pocket. After I had covered most of my face I looked over to Splinter who gave me a confused look. “What, don’t want her to see my face. Plus I don’t think seeing a strange creature and his wooden companion would make her feel any safer,” Splinter just shrugged and walked over to the sleeping pony. As he looked away from me I quickly checked my M9, and placed it in the back of my pants. Just to be safe.

As Splinter reached the pony he began to lick her face in attempts to wake her. She groaned and lazily waved her hand in Splinters direction. “Ugh, no, not now, just a few more minutes,” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms while looking at Splinter with a grin. He looked back at me and I only shrugged.

“Hey, you wanted to wake her up,” he gave me a glare and looked back at the pony to lick her face some more. After a few seconds she groaned again.

“Go awaaaay!” she growled and flipped around to show her rear to Splinter. I stifled my laughter as I saw Splinter glare in anger and annoyance at the pony. I gave a soft mocking clap and almost lost it when he snapped his head back at me and growled in frustration. Once again I shrugged and gestured him to continue. Splinter lowered his head, looked back at the pony and placed his two front paws on her shoulder. He began to gently shake her. Again she gave a low groan and nudged Splinter off of her shoulder. “Dear Celestia and her fat ass would you leave me alone!” she shouted as Splinter fell back onto his back. I snickered as I saw his shocked face stare up at the ceiling. After a few seconds of silence his glare returned and he shot up to his paws and got down into an offensive stance. My eyes widened as I saw where he was planning to strike.

“Oh boy,” I muttered with a chuckle. With a growl he shot forward towards the pony’s ass and bit her on the right cheek. I shot my arms up and laughed. “Goal!!” I shouted through my laughter. The pony screamed and shot up from the ground with Splinter still holding on.

“Ahhhh!! Owowowowowow!!!!” she screamed and shook her ass in attempts to throw Splinter off. Soon Splinter had let go and fell to the ground on his paws. Once he was off the pony fell to the ground and began to rub her ass with a few tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. “Ooow, why did you do that?” she whimpered and closed her eyes.

“Oh man, that was great buddy,” I chuckled and wiped a tear from my eye. I looked over to Splinter who had a look of pride on his face as he puffed out his wooden chest. I shook my head and looked back to the now fully awake pony who was still trying to dull the pain in her rear. After few seconds of letting her tend to her injury I cleared my throat. “Good morning, did ya sleep well?” the pony opened her eyes and glared up at me with puffed up cheeks.

“Seriously, is that how you wake someone up!? You could have just shook me harder or just… just…” she trailed off as she began to get a better look at me. I mentally sighed and got ready for the worse.

“Yep, here we go!” I thought to myself as I stared back at the pony. After what felt like hours of silence she finally spoke.

“U-uh, who are you?” she asked and looked around the cave. “And where am I?” I sighed and scratched my head. At least she’s not freaking out like I expected.

“Well, you don’t need to worry about my name right now, but to answer your other question, you’re in my, um, home I guess,” she looked around a bit more and winced before rubbing her head.

“Ooooow,” she moaned.

“Hangover?” I chuckled. She nodded and seemed to freeze. After a couple of seconds she looked at me.

“H-how did I get here?” she asked nervously.

I chuckled as I remembered last night. “Right, last night. Well you see I was having a midnight stroll and I ran into you drunk off your ass. After that well…” I trailed off and cleared my throat a bit as I remembered last night’s close encounter. Her eyes shot opened and her cheeks were crimson red.

“D-d-did we...” she whimpered in a shaking voice as she covered her chest with her arms. My eyes widened and I began to wave my hands franticly.

“W-what!? Nonono nothing happened I swear! You just passed out and I couldn’t just leave you alone!” Well I could have but the little wooden prick would have been pissed. “I swear nothing happened!” after a few seconds she slowly lowered her arm and looked away.

“Really?”

“Of course!” I rapidly nodded my head. She gave a small sigh of relief and nodded.

“Good,” I gave sigh and looked to Splinter who was giving me a stupid little grin. I narrowed my eyes and flipped him off before looking back at the pony who seemed to collect herself. “So, um, why am I here?”

“Like I said, you were drunk off your ass and passed out in the forest,” her ears perked up a bit as she gave me a curious look.

“Forest? You mean the Everfree forest?” she asked. I only shrugged.

“I guess, I’m not really from around here,” I said and looked to Splinter who had walked over to the pony and sat down on his rear with a happy look. The pony looked surprised as she stared at Splinter.

“Is that a Timberwolf pup?”

“Is that what they’re called?” she nodded.

“Yes, but why is he here?” she asked and looked up at me. “Is he yours?” I looked down to Splinter and thought for a moment. He wasn’t really mine, he was just a companion that I traveled with. He was more a friend than a pet. I shook my head.

“Nah, Splinter and I are just traveling buddies. Right buddy?” he looked back and barked with joy as he wagged his tail. “See?”

“Splinter huh? Clever,” she said with only a hint of sarcasm in her tone. I narrowed my eyes but ignored it. She scratched Splinter behind his ear and smiled as he moved closer and laid on her lap. Jesus, this is going a little better than I had expected. Like really well. She isn’t really hostile and she hasn’t freaked out too bad. Plus Splinter seems to like her. So yeah, this isn’t to bad! “So why were we in the forest?” she suddenly asked. I started to recall last night again and felt my cheeks slightly heat up under my bandana. Thank god she couldn’t see my face. I scratched my head and gave a nervous chuckle.

“O-oh, yeah. Um, well…” I cleared my throat and sighed. “You were real drunk and you sort of, well ambushed me near the edge of the forest.”

“Ambushed?” she asked with a tilted head.

“Well not really ambush, more like come out of nowhere and scare the shit out of me,” I said and chuckled.

“Oh, well sorry about that, but how did we end up in the Everfree forest?”

“Ah, that… well I’m not sure, but do you usually go into heat when you’re drunk, or is it all mares?” confusion covered her face for awhile until a bit of realization hit her.

“Oh no, did I try to…” I slowly nodded and her cheeks lit up a bit as she covered her face. “Not again!” I rubbed the back of my head and sighed.

“Yeah I was little caught off guard when you dragged me into the forest. Not really a normal thing for me when a girl wants to show me her, uh, ‘cutie mark’.” I swear I could see steam coming from her face as she kept it buried in her hands and shook her head.

“Oooh, I knew I shouldn’t have had cider vodka!” she whimpered and looked up at me with pleading eyes. “Please don’t tell anyone, I just moved here. I don’t want people thinking I’m some sex hungry mare that can’t handle her alcohol! I can handle my booze, but just not the hard stuff ya know! Oh I just wanted to ease my nerves not get drunk and make myself look like some sort of slu-”

“Easy, easy now, just relax!” I shouted as I raised my hand in attempts to calm her down. She looked like she was about to have a heart attack. I was actually starting to feel bad for the pony. “Look just relax, okay?” she breathed deeply and looked down to see Splinter staring back up at her with flattened ears. She nodded and stayed silent for a minute before finally speaking.

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” she asked quietly with lowered ears and started to scratch the back of Splinter’s ear. I chuckled and shook my head.

“Hell no, I never go near that damn town anyways,” I said, feeling a bit of relief when she looked up with a small smile.

“Thanks.”

“Sure, uh, what’s your name?” I asked with a sheepish smile under my bandana.

“Oh right, sorry. My name is Ace Spell, but you can just call me Ace,” I nodded and chuckled as I sat down against the wall.

“Ace Spell huh? Well Ace I’m gonna be honest with ya, I’m a little surprised at how you’re reacting to waking up in a stranger’s home. Does it happen often?” I asked with a smirk. She chuckled and shook her head.

“No, it’s just that this isn’t the strangest thing that has happened to me after a few drinks,” she smiled with a shrug. “I’m kinda use to it.”

“Same,” I chuckled and looked to Splinter. “Yo buddy, can we eat now? I’m getting a little hungry,” I said while rubbing my growling stomach. He jumped from Ace’s lap and barked as he ran over to me. I grinned and looked up at Ace to invite to breakfast, but before I could say anything I started to smell something. Something was burning. My eyes went wide in realization as my head snapped towards the lizards to see them burning to a crisp. Splinter and I gave a loud yelp as we jumped to save our breakfast, but as we scrambled to put out our meal it was already too late. The flesh was way to burnt and crumbled into black ashes the second we touched it. As we stared at our once perfect meal with slack jaws we hung our heads in sadness. As a few moments of silence went by Splinter slowly looked up at me with a glare and growled. I recoiled and raised my hands.

“Hey don’t blame me man, I didn’t know they would burst into flames like that. Plus you were the one who said you wanted to wake her up before we ate,” I said with crossed arms. He barked and scratched at our burnt meal. I rolled my eyes and huffed. “Well sorry, I didn’t want them to get cold while we woke her up,” he replied with a huff and whined as both of our stomachs growled. I sighed, rose to my feet and looked to Ace who stared at us with a little guilt on her face.

“Sorry about your breakfast guys.” I shrugged and chuckled.

“Don’t worry about it, lady luck is always screwing me over once and awhile,” I said and gave a groan as I looked down at Splinter. “Guess we’ll have to find a new meal buddy,” he lowered his head and nodded. Ace cleared her throat and I looked back over to see her standing up with a smile.

“Well I can help you with that,” I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms.

“How?” I asked. She smiled and placed her hand into her shorts. After a few seconds of digging she pulled out a small bag that made a clinking sound.

“Well since you had to deal with me last night, I thought I could at least treat you to breakfast. I just moved here, but I’ve been told there’s a good place called Sugarcube Corner. Hows that sound?” I cringed under my bandana and rubbed the back of my head.

“Look, thanks for the offer, but I’m not really, uh…” I looked down to Splinter for an answer only to see him shrug. I sighed and looked back to Ace to see a confused look on her face. “Ace, we’re not really social with the town and to be honest we’re not in the best of terms with the population.”

“Why not? Is it because you’re not a pony?” she asked. I froze for a second with wide eyes, but after a few seconds I chuckled and lowered my bandana with my finger.

“Guess I couldn’t fool ya huh?” I asked showing my smirk.

“It took me a few minutes, but I just noticed that you didn’t have a tail and that you have feet instead of hoofs,” she said as she pointed out the flaws. I shrugged and gave her a curious look.

“Again you surprise me with your reaction. You’re not freaked out about me in any way?” I asked. She smiled a little wider and shooker her head.

“Like I said before this isn’t the strangest thing to happen to me.” I shook my head and smiled.

“Well it’s a nice change,” I muttered.

“But seriously, why don’t you come with me to get some breakfast?” my smile disappeared and I sighed.

“Ace, really thank you for the offer, but I can’t be seen there and I really don’t want them to know I’m here,” she frowned and placed her hands on her hips as she stared at me with a slightly annoyed look. After few moments a smile came to her face.

“Fine, how about I bring it here then?” I raised an eyebrow and rubbed my chin.

“Why?” She had a confused look on her face.

“What do you mean ‘why’?”

“I mean why would you want to buy us food? We just met and you have no idea who I am. So why waste money on us?” She pursed her lips and glared at me.

“First off I’m not wasting my money on you, I just want to buy you breakfast since you did put up with me last night and you didn’t just leave me passed out in the Everfree. Second, we may have just met, but you seem like a cool guy so I don’t have a problem with it,” she said and chuckled as my stomach growled. “And third you sound like you could use a decent meal.” I frowned and rubbed my stomach before looking at Splinter who was also feeling the effects of hunger. After a few seconds of thinking I sighed and looked back to Ace with a stern glare.

“How do I know I can trust you not to mouth off about me?” She gave me a curious look.

“Why would I do that? You obviously don’t want them to know you’re here for some reason and to be honest I don’t really care what your reason is. Plus I still owe you for your troubles,” she said with a smile. I stared at her for a few seconds before hearing my stomach growl again. I sighed and shrugged.

“Fine, fuck it, maybe luck is on my side this time, but keep in mind if you screw me over you’ll regret it,” I said with a stern glare. She rolled her eyes and nodded as she placed the clinking bag back into her shorts.

“Yeah, yeah I’ve heard it before. Don’t worry I’ll keep my mouth closed.” I nodded, grabbed my bag, and swung it onto my shoulders.

“Good, now I’ll walk you back to the edge of the forest,” I said and walked towards the entrance with Splinter close by.

“Such a gentleman,” she smiled and followed me out of the cave. I rolled my eyes as I lifted the camouflage for her. She looked over my camouflage and chuckled.

“Nice set up.”

“Thanks, it was a bit of a pain, but I think it looks good,” I said, beginning to lead the way towards the edge of the forest. As we walked quietly through the forest I was starting to feel a bit worried. I glanced back at Ace and saw her looking away as she inspected the forest around her with a smile planted on her face. She seemed nice, but what if she hears about what I did? She may just rat me out and lead them to me. I clenched my teeth at the thought of being put back in chains by those damn ponies. All these ponies have done so far is try to kill, capture, or even rape me! Though the rape was a one time thing I still don’t like it! I may deserve a bit of an ass kicking, but I won’t let them treat me like some kind of freak!

“So, what exactly are you?” I was pulled out of my thoughts at Ace’s question and shook my head clear.

“Oh, well I’m a human,” I said.

“Human huh?” I nodded and looked over my shoulder to see her rubbing her chin. “I think I’ve heard of you guys before,” I raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah, where?” I asked. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and crossed her arms.

“I’m not sure actually. I think it was when I was in the Gryphon Empire,” she sighed and shook her head. “It’s not coming to me, but I know I’ve heard of your kind somewhere,” I chuckled and shrugged.

“Well it’s no big deal,” I said and looked forward. Silence quickly surrounded us as we continued to make our way through the forest. Half an hour had passed and the sight of the edge of the forest finally came into view. I gave a quiet sigh of relief and stopped near the edge behind a tree. I looked back to Ace. “Alright, we’ll wait for you here,” she nodded and began to walk towards the town, but before she exited the forest I grabbed her by the arm and stared into her eyes. “Remember, don’t fuck me over,” she stared at me for a few seconds before smiling and patting my hand.

“Just relax and wait for your food, I shouldn’t be too long,” she chuckled and pulled away from my grasp. I huffed as I watched her walk away towards the town and looked down to Splinter.

“Is this a stupid idea? I mean I know we always have stupid ideas, but is this one REALLY stupid?” I asked as I slid down the tree and sat on the ground. Splinter shrugged and laid down next to me as he looked towards the town. I soon joined him and peeked out from behind the tree to see it slowly come to life. Ponies of different colors and races walked down the streets in harmony and let off this happy and joyful vibe. I felt a shiver run up my spine and groaned as I continued to watch the town and it’s people. “Not use to this kind of place, right buddy?” I asked as I glanced down. Splinter nodded as he gave his own shutter.

With a chuckle I pulled out my binoculars to get a deeper look into the town to look for Ace. After a few seconds of looking I saw her making her way through the town. She looked like any other pony, but it was clear she was not a social person. She seemed to make it her mission to avoid others as she continued to hang her head low to avoid eye contact and buried her hands into the pockets of her shorts. No one seemed to even notice her as she continued to walk through the town. Soon she stopped in front of a large building made from pure diabetes. I cringed as I inspected the building. “Damn, someone has a sweet tooth,” I muttered as I pulled my attention back towards Ace to see her being stopped by another pink pony.

“Ah shit,” I mumbled as I quickly noticed the pony as one of the main characters. The pink mare wore a ear to ear smile as she spoke to Ace and pointed in my direction before waving at me. Wait, what!? My eyes went wide as Ace turned in my direction with a bit of shock and snapped back to the mare with her hands flying through the air in panic. The mare simply laughed, poked her on the nose and said something before pouncing away towards the house of treats.

At this point I was so confused at what happened and saw Ace slowly turn back in my direction. She shrugged and slowly followed the pink pony into the store. I rubbed my temple and groaned. This may have been a bad idea after all.

[Ace’s pov three minutes ago]

“Ugh, my head,” I mumbled as I rubbed my temple from the throbbing pain that pulsed through my brain. “Never again will I drink cider vodka. It’s too painful,” and the sound of a fully awake town wasn’t helping at all. I swear how these people are able to be this full of energy in the morning baffles me. I glanced around my surroundings and quickly felt my introvert self start to take over. A few ponies waved hello and I forced a smile as I gave a weak wave back. After a few more weak hellos I began to avoid eye contact and walked a bit faster so I could get to my destination a bit faster.

Luckily, I arrived to my destination without any problems and stopped as I stared at the large gingerbread house with a raised eyebrow. I know I just moved here, but how did I miss this place? I mean it stands out like a sore thumb. I shrugged and gave a small sigh. “This would have been easier if he would have come with me,” I mumbled to myself as I started to make my way to the entrance, but before I could even take a step forward I was blinded by a pink blur. I gave a yelp of surprise and stumbled back. As I got a look at the source of pink I was greeted by a smiling pink mare. She wore a pink striped shirt with blue jeans. Her hair looked like cotton candy and her body shook with what I would assume was excitement. I stared at the mare for a few seconds before finally clearing my throat and speaking.

“Um, hi, can I help you?” I asked. She shook her head and let her smile grow even wider.

“No, I just wanted to say hello since you’re new! You’re new in town right?”

“Uh yeah, I moved here three days ago,” she gasped and gave me a look of shock. Did I say something?

“Three days ago!? But I haven’t even noticed you! Is this thing broken?” she asked herself as she knocked on the side of her head a few times which made a hollow sound. “I swear I can tell whenever there is a new pony in town. Maybe I’m getting rusty,” a look of determination filled her eyes as she looked at me. “I’ll just have to make your party super duper amazing to make up for it!” I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“What?” I asked the strange mare. The mare giggled at my confused look, snatched my hand and shook it at a rapid speed. I swear it was nearly ripped off.

“My name’s Pinkie Pie, but you can just call me Pinkie. What’s your name?” I quickly recovered my hand and looked at Pinkie Pie with a bit of caution.

“Uh, Ace. Ace Spell, but you can just call me Ace. Now what were you talking about? Something about a party? What’s it for?”

“Why it’s to welcome you to Ponyville silly,” I was a little caught off guard and tilted my head in confusion.

“A party for me?” she nodded and smiled.

“Yep, you can even bring your friend.”

“My friend?” she nodded again and pointed behind me.

“Yeah, your friend who’s being a creeper and watching us from the Everfree Forest,” I froze and saw her wave in the same direction. I slowly turned and only saw a small shining glare of something from the edge of the Everfree Forest. I quickly snapped back to Pinkie and flailed my hands to block her view of the direction where the human was hiding.

“I-I-I don’t know what you’re-” I was cut off as she poked my nose and gave me a sly smile.

“Tell him it’s not very attractive to stalk mares, it gives off a creepy vibe,” she chuckled before spinning around and pouncing away towards the entrance of Sugarcube Corners. I only watched as she pounced away humming a song. I looked back in the direction the human was hiding and shrugged. I knew he could see me and I bet he was just as confused as me. With a sigh I turned back to the store and walked towards the entrance.

As I opened the door a small bell rung from above and I was greeted by the sight of a blue mare standing behind the counter with a smile as she saw me enter. “Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, I’ll be with you in a moment,” she said and directed her attention towards two other customers. With a forced smile I walked up to the counter and waited quietly for the other customers to finish their orders. After a few minutes they thanked the blue mare and walked to a nearby table with fresh cups of coffee. The mare looked back to me with the same smile as I walked forward to the counter. “Now, how can I help you?” with a forced smile I quickly scanned the selection of treats and glanced at the menu. Breakfast special for twenty bits? I mentally shrugged and pointed towards the menu.

“I’ll have your breakfast special with two coffees. Please put a few packets of sugar and cream with it,” she nodded and wrote down my order.

“Anything else?” I thought for a moment and quickly remembered Splinter. Could timberwolves eat sugary treats? I didn’t want to poison the human’s pet. He is already hesitant of me so killing his pup would surely throw out all of his trust out the window.

“Actually, this may seem strange, but do you have any treats for dogs?” I asked with a sheepish smile. To my surprise she nodded and pulled out a box from under the counter. I read the name on the box and felt my eye twitch as I saw that Pinkie character on the front wearing a slightly revealing dog costume with a doggy treat in her mouth. I felt like groaning as I read the name of the box.

“These are ‘Pinkie snacks’. Pinkie Pie invented them a few months ago for Applejack’s pet, but I guess she went a bit overboard with the baking. Especially with the strange get up on the cover,” she chuckled and handed me the box. “Pinkie already told me about you, though it was rather hard to understand since she spoke too fast for me to hear, I got the idea that a new pony had come to town. You are the mare she was talking about, right?” I nodded and took the box of ‘Pinkie snacks’.

“How much?” she shook her head and held up a hand.

“No need, you can have that for free since we already have too much,” I was a bit surprised, but smiled and placed the box under my arm as I dug into my pocket for my money. I pulled out the bag of bits, placed twenty on the table for the breakfast special, and five more for the coffee.

“Thank you, um, sorry but what’s your name?”

“Oh, sorry I nearly forgot. I’m Missus Cake, and my husband Mister Cake and I own this establishment. What’s your name?”

“Ace Spell, but you can just call me Ace.”

“Well Ace your order should be done soon, Pinkie Pie should be finishing soon so please take a seat and relax until then,” I nodded and made my way to an empty table in the corner of the room. I gave a heavy sigh as I sat in a surprisingly comfy chair and laid back in my seat as I stared at the ceiling. The throbbing pain in my head had somewhat disappeared, but a dull pain still remained. With a groan I buried my face into my hands.

“So were you at the party yesterday?” one of the customers from before asked his companion.

“No, I was too busy with work, but I wished I could have been there to see the poor filly,” the other customer asked as she sighed. “It must have been terrifying to have been attacked by a monster like that,” my ears perked up a bit and I slowly moved one of my fingers to peek at the two other customers. There was a light red stallion with black hair that covered a bit of his face. He wore a plaid green shirt and tan cargo pants. I inspected the mare and saw she was a light shade of pink with blue hair. She wore a normal white T-shirt under a purple un-zipped hoodie and dark blue jeans.

“Is that what happened?” the stallion asked with raised eyebrows.

“Oh right, you were out of town weren’t you?”

“Yeah, they thought they had found a new species in Zebraca and asked me to come and study it, but it turned out that a few zebras got drunk and made up a few sightings. Was a real pain, but forget that right now, what was that about a monster attacking the filly?”

“Well I don’t really know much of the details, but this weird looking creature attacked a filly in her home and hid in the Everfree. I guess the family had some pretty powerful connections because a group of Royal Guards came to catch the monster. They ended up catching it and dragged it back to town to show off their victory or something,” she said and took a sip of her coffee.

“Sounds kind of dangerous to bring a monster they caught into the middle of town just to show it off,” the stallion said.

“Yeah, I thought the same thing, but it was pretty beat up so it didn’t really struggle.”

“Well whatever, what did it look like?” the stallion asked with a bit of poorly hidden enthusiasm.

“At first I thought it was just some furless pony, but it was so… alien like. It was like some hairless ape. It’s face was a bit flatter than yours, it had no tail, it’s ears were smaller and lower on its head and it had this dull look in its eyes.”

“So it was just some scary looking hairless ape?”

“Well it wasn’t completely hairless. It had a small patch of brown hair on its head and a bit of a stubble on its face. Looked kind of gruff to be honest.”

“Well did anything else happen?” she was quiet for a moment and shrugged.

“Well the guards started to poke at it and making fun of it, but at that point I just wanted to get away from the place and headed home. I know it attacked the poor filly, but I started to actually feel bad for it. Being helpless like that never felt right to me, even if it was some monster,” she said with a frown as she stared into her cup. The stallion shrugged and laid back in his seat.

“This creature actually sounds interesting, shame I wasn’t here to see it,” the mare rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile.

“I swear, you’ll mess with anything that’s ‘interesting’,” the stallion chuckled and shrugged.

“I blame my father,” they both laughed a bit and continued to talk about something, but by now I was deep in my thoughts. Were they talking about the human in the Everfree? If so then… should I even go back? From what I hear he is dangerous and is not well liked by the government, but does that really mean he’s bad? I mean if he really was a monster then why did he even help me last night? He could have done anything to me, but instead he helped my drunk ass and brought me home. Plus, he doesn’t seem all that bad. I gave a heavy sigh and rubbed my temple. Maybe I should just keep my guard up a bit before I fully trust him. Besides, it’s not like he can beat me.

“Hey!” I jumped as a hyper voice appeared from thin air next to my ear. I looked over to see Pinkie standing close to my table with my order in a paper bag. “I have your order Ace!”

“O-oh, thanks,” I said and rose from my seat as I used my magic to levitate my order in a light blue aura.

“Hope you enjoy your breakfast, but make sure to tell that creeper in the trees to stop being creepy!” she shouted as I walked out of the store. I rolled my eyes and started to walk through the town. After a few minutes of walking I slipped into a nearby alleyway and looked around to make sure no one was looking. After seeing no one I built up my magic around my body, focused on the edge of the Everfree, and saw a flash of light blind me for a few seconds. Once the light had disappeared I was instantly met with a girly shriek and saw two blurs shoot up from the ground and into the trees. A few leaves fell to the ground as I looked up and saw the human and Splinter holding on tightly to a tree branch with wide eyes directed towards me. A smile formed onto my face as I covered my mouth to stifle my laughter, but I failed miserably. I fell to my knees and held my stomach as I laughed uncontrollably with a few tears escaping my eyes. Some monster.

[Jacobs prov]

I dropped to the ground and caught Splinter as he fell after me. I glared down at the laughing pony and felt my cheeks warm up as she pointed at me and continued on. I let Splinter down and crossed my arms as I waited for her laughing to stop. After a few snorts and giggles she finally seemed to calm down and picked herself up. “Ya done?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Y-yeah, I’m done,” she chuckled and wiped away a few tears. Her horn began to glow light blue and a brown paper bag levitated into the air. “I got breakfast,” she said with a smile. I sniffed the air and felt my mouth water a bit. A smile came to my face and I looked down to Splinter who gazed at the bag with wide hungry eyes. With a chuckle I walked past Ace and gestured her to follow me.

“Come on, let’s go eat,” Ace nodded and quickly followed behind me. Splinter gave a happy bark and ran to my right side with a wagging tail. After a few minutes of walking Ace walked to my left side with a grin.

“So do ya trust me yet?” I smirked and glanced over to her.

“We’ll see how the food tastes first,” we both chuckled and continued through the forest. After another four minutes of silence I glanced over to Ace again and saw her simply admiring our surroundings with a relaxed smile. I formed my own smile and looked to the clear blue sky. Maybe lady luck’s giving me a break.

Settling in. (Edited!)

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“My god that was good!” I exclaimed before releasing a loud belch. With a satisfied smile I leaned back against the cave’s wall and picked out a few bits of remaining food from my teeth. Ace chuckled as she took a sip of her coffee and Splinter gave a quick bark before tearing apart one of those treats Ace had gotten for him. Man was he tearing those things up! That’s his sixth one he’s had! Ace smiled as she watched Splinter dig in and looked back to me.

“I’m glad to see you guys enjoyed it. I have to admit that Pinkie mare can cook,” she said and took a bite from her half eaten muffin. I swear I could hear a slight purr as she chewed her food. I chuckled and drank the last of my coffee. Jesus I’ve missed you! I tossed the empty cup to the side and sighed in satisfaction as I noticed Ace finish her meal. She gave her own satisfied sigh and hugged her knees as we sat in silence. I watched Splinter with a smirk as he laid on his back panting in exhaustion from stuffing his face. With a chuckle I shook my head and patted him on the stomach.

“Good huh buddy?” he barked in agreement, rolled onto his stomach and laid his head on my lap. With a small yawn he closed his eyes and began to sleep off his meal. I chuckled and gently scratched his head. I heard a chuckle and I glanced up to see Ace smiling at me and Splinter. I raised an eyebrow and spoke. “What?” her smile grew a bit wider as she gave a small shrug.

“Nothing, just thinking you two look cute together,” she chuckled and laid her chin onto her knees. “So, can I finally learn your name, or do I need to buy lunch to?”

“Jacob,” she cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

“That’s it, just Jacob? No last name? Any nicknames?” I chuckled and shook my head.

“Nope, just Jacob. What, hoping I’d have something fancy?” I asked with a grin. She gave a mildly disappointed sigh and shrugged as she looked towards the deeper parts of the cave with a pouting look.

“A little to be honest,” I gave a small chuckle as I watched her pout. I felt Splinter stir a little in his sleep and looked down to see him nestled against my leg with a peaceful smile on his wooden face. A soft smile formed onto my lips as I watched him sleep. I haven’t seen him this peaceful since I first met him. We’ve been on the run for days with hardly half filled stomachs and only a few hours of sleep. Two and a half if we were lucky. I’ve been able to handle it since I’m more used to it, but Splinter’s still a pup. He needs more food and rest than me to keep going. I’ve tried my best to keep his stomach filled, but rest is what he’s really needed. He’s tried to hide his lack of energy, but I’ve seen him stumble and move at sluggish speeds. Only time he had much energy was when we ate whatever we could find.

A smirk came to my face as I remembered us fighting over a damn frog. Little bastard wasn’t even dead and slipped away into a nearby river. Had to eat a few berries and bugs that night. A shiver went up my spine as I remembered the awful taste and feel of the insects. Splinter didn’t mind at all and gobbled those little shits up. Nasty bastard.

“So, Jacob,” I was taken from my memory and looked back to Ace. “How long have you two been living here?” I looked around the cave and chuckled.

“Just moved in actually,” she smiled and raised an eyebrow.

“Was this an upgrade from your last home?”

“Well it’s no prize, but it’s definitely an improvement,” I chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck. “Though I wouldn’t mind a mini bar.”

“Then maybe next time I should bring you a drink or two,” she said with a grin. “That cider vodka is really strong.”

“Yeah, I saw,” I said with a smirk. Her cheeks turned red as she glanced away from me.

“Yeah, that wasn’t one of my finer moments,” she mumbled in shame with lowered ears. I chuckled and shrugged.

“It’s fine, not like I haven’t embarrassed myself when I got pissed drunk,” she rolled her eyes and kept her gaze away from me.

“Bet it wasn’t as embarrassing,” I cocked an eyebrow and felt my lips spread a bit wider.

“There was one time where I woke up hanging by my underwear on top of a gay bar and covered in lipstick with a wig barely on my head and some dude’s number named Big Tom written on my stomach in sharpy,” Ace’s eyes went wide and she tried to stifle her laughter, but failed miserably. She was in a giggling fit and fell onto the ground holding her stomach. I sighed and lowered my head with a small smile. Same reaction every time. Tears ran down her face as she now struggled to breathe. Shortly she somewhat regained herself and sat up with red cheeks and a huge smile.

“That can’t be real,” she chuckled. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

“Okay it wasn’t Big Tom, it was Papa Tom, but yeah that happened,” I chuckled and scratched my chin.

“How did that even happen?” I shrugged.

“Not sure, my friends would never tell me what happened that night.”

“Why?” I gave a huff and mentally growled.

“They couldn’t stop laughing,” I mumbled. Ace laughed and I felt my cheeks heat up a bit.

“Okay, I guess that is more embarrassing than last night,” she chuckled while she whipped away a tear from her eye. “So, did you ever call up that Papa Tom?” she asked with a smirk.

“Nah, I wanted to leave that night in the past,” I said with a smile. “You said you were new in town right?” Ace nodded and laid back with her hands holding her up.

“Yeah, not really used to small towns like this, but it’s part of the job,” she sighed with a small frown.

“Job? What do you do?” her frown was replaced with a grin as she spoke.

“I’m actually the mayor’s new assistant. The last one retired and since I don’t mind doing some desk work I applied for the job. It’s a nice change of pace actually,” she chuckled.

“What did ya do before?”

“Oh I mostly did small odd jobs and traveled all over the place. I mostly did a few archeological jobs with a few scientist and dug up some cool stuff. Seeing the amazing sights and bizarre cultures of the past was awesome and all, but it was also dangerous.”

“How was it dangerous? Did some fossil come back from the dead and chase you around?” she chuckled and shook her head.

“Nah, nothing like that. Most of the archeological jobs were out of Equestria so the surroundings and locals weren’t as, well, safe or peaceful as they are here,” I raised an eyebrow and scoffed.

“Peaceful and safe? Are we in the same Equestria or is there a better one?”

“Oh come on, this place isn’t that bad,” she said. I rolled my eyes and chuckled. If only she knew. “Anyways, most of the jobs had a few risks, but I would always get out in one piece. Though the money was nice and the jobs were thrilling, I just couldn’t stay happy. I guess I figured out that I wasn’t up for that kind of life so I looked for something my style. That’s when I found the job as the mayor’s assistant and snatched it up! It’s not an exciting job, but it’s something I know is suited for me,” I nodded and smiled.

“I guess it’s good you found something to do,” she nodded with a small smile.

“What about you? What do you do?” my smile slightly died but I kept it up to hide my uneasiness. I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed.

“I… I did odd jobs like you actually,” I said with a nervous chuckle. She raised an eyebrow and waited for me to continue. After a few seconds of silence she rolled her eyes and spoke.

“Like what? Come on I told you, so now it’s your turn,” I shook my head and chuckled.

“I just did small gigs okay. Nothing more and nothing less,” I said, hoping that she would get the idea and not pry any deeper. Thankfully she did and gave a heavy sigh as she pushed herself up to her hooves. She stretched her arms and let out a low moan as a few pops echoed through the cave.

“Fine, it’s no big deal I guess. Anyways it’s been fun and I hope we can hang out again some other time. Maybe when we’re both settled in our new homes. I can ask you a few more questions and bring some lunch or something. Sound like a plan?” I thought for a moment and stared at Ace. I’m still a little hesitant about the ponies. I mean my impression so far isn’t so positive and every pony I’ve met is sort of an ass. Though I’ll admit I may have deserved it a few times. But maybe they all aren’t dicks. Ace seems good and she hasn’t ratted me out, well not now anyways, but she seems like she actually wants to help me. Plus that food was the best thing I’ve had since I got here and that coffee? I swear I almost got intimate with that hot cup of joe.

Soon I came out of my thoughts and saw that Ace was still smiling at me, waiting for my answer. After a few silent moments I felt my own smile crawl onto my face and nodded. “Sure, sounds good. Plus I know Splinter would love to have more of those ‘Pinkie snacks’ ya got him,” a wave of relief washed over her face as her smile grew larger.

“Awesome! Well, I’ll head out now.”

“Want me to walk with you?” she shook her head and began to walk towards the entrance.

“Nah I remembered the path we took, I’ll be fine. See ya!” she said and lifted the net, but before she could leave I felt my voice speak.

“Wait!” she stopped and looked to me with confusion. My smile was still there, but it grew softer as I glanced down at Splinter and back up towards her. “Uh, I haven’t really thanked you for breakfast yet,” she smiled and waved her hand.

“No problem, I was just making up for last night. You don’t need to thank me,” I shook my head and looked down at Splinter.

“No I do, because you didn’t just feed me, but you filled up this little guy,” I looked back up at Ace. “He’s been a bit of a pain, but he’s pushed past his limits just so he could keep up with me. He could have left any time, but for some reason he stayed with my stupid ass,” a bit of guilt hit my gut as I thought about it more as I looked at Splinter. “He’s put up with a bunch of my shit, the least he deserves is a full stomach and a safe place to sleep,” I said and looked back at Ace. “Thanks for breakfast Ace.” her cheeks lit up a bit and she gave a sheepish smile as she rubbed the back of her head.

“Seriously it’s no big deal, I’m glad I could help,” she said and gave a nervous chuckle. “A-anyways I better get going, a few of my things should be arriving at my house soon and I want to make sure they don’t break anything. Later!” I gave her a quick nod and watched her duck through the net and leave the cave.

With a low sigh I laid my head back against the cave and felt my eyelids start to get heavy. Guess it’s from staying up all night. “Wonder if it’s safe to fall asleep,” I mumbled with a smirk. I didn’t want some golden dick sneaking up and dragging me back to town like last time. That’d just be embarrassing. I looked down to Splinter and smiled as I watched him sleep without any worries in the world. “Fuck it,” I mumbled as I decided to join him. With one last sigh I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

[Outside of Jacob’s cave]

"Hm? Looks like his guest is leaving," Jack mumbled as he chewed on a twig. He laid on the branch of a tree that was a few feet away from Jacob’s hideout. His leg dangled lazily as he watched the blue mare quickly walk in the direction of the town. Normally he would start to hunt the mare, but right now he had a job. That job was to watch Jacob and keep him safe for the boss. With a frown he laid his head back and stared up into the sky. "What a pain," he sighed and raised his hand up to his vision. He focused for a few seconds and felt a slight smirk form on his face as green flames enveloped his hand. He chuckled and watched the flames dance around his hand. "Never gets old."

‘Jack give me an update.’

Jack’s smile instantly died as he rolled his eyes and groaned as a familiar voice came to his head. ‘Shit it’s the boss.’

‘Yes it’s your boss, now have you avoided Celestia’s forces and kept up with the other human?’ the voice asked.

‘Yeah, those goons are still looking for me in the wrong forest and I’m right outside of that guy’s hideout. He had a guest, but she left.’

‘Is this guest a threat?’

‘Not for now I think.’

‘Well just keep an eye on the human and make sure he stays alive,’ the voice said and gave a sigh. ‘By the way, how are you adjusting to your powers?’ Jack looked to his flame covered hand and gave a wicked smile.

‘Still weird, but I’m getting used to it,’ he said and snapped his fingers. In a few seconds an image of Luna chained down by green flaming chains appeared in Jack’s vision and he let out a low chuckle. ‘Still got that princess trapped.’

‘Good, Luna would be the first to find out about me, so keep her imprisoned.’ Jack’s smile grew larger as Luna let out a silent scream of pain.

‘No problem boss, I’ll make sure she has a pleasant time,” he snapped his fingers again and the image faded from his vision. The voice let out a heavy sigh and Jack could feel a sense of annoyance. ‘Something on your mind boss?’

‘That damn sex hungry goddess,’ the voice mumbled to himself. Jack raised an eyebrow.

‘Boss?’

‘Nevermind, just don’t listen to that damn sex crazed mare and make sure the other human doesn’t either.’

‘Didn’t you make some deal with her?’

‘Well now that Discord is popping in more often it’s too risky. Keep the other human away from her lair and you do the same. Understood?’

‘What if she decides to come and get him herself?’

‘She may be filled with lust, but she’s not stupid enough to try something like that. She knows what will happen if she attempts to pull something. Just stay away and keep an eye on the human,' Jack sighed and gave a slight nod.

‘Fine, but can I at least go hunting? My trigger finger’s itching,’ he mumbled.

‘No! Until I say so you will not harm any of the locals!’ the voice growled with annoyance. Jack scoffed and gave a evil grin.

‘What’s stopping from hunting exactly?’ in mere seconds Jack’s left hand was once again covered in flames, but instead of his green fire it was now replaced with a pitch black flame. Jack clenched his teeth at the sudden burning pain that engulfed his hand and he let out a hiss of anger.

‘Do not forget Jack, your life no longer belongs to you,' the pain increased and Jack’s body seized up in pain as the flames threatened to spread up his arm. ‘It belongs to me!’ Instantly the fire simply died out and Jack let out a gasp. He sucked in air he didn’t realize had left his lungs and felt a coat of sweat cover his body. His limbs hung limply from the tree branch as he attempted to regain his breath. After a few minutes of silence Jack groaned and looked at his left hand to see it nearly scorched. He gave a low chuckle and attempted to shake away the remaining pain.

‘Right, got it. No killing till ya say so,’ he mumbled and shook his head. ‘All ya had to do was say so.’ the voice scoffed and Jack felt his presence slowly begin to leave.

‘Do not let me down Jack, it’ll be a real pain in the ass summoning a replacement for you.’ with that Jack felt the voices presence leave his mind and let out a low sigh.

“Geez, he’s such an ass,” Jack said and laid his head back against the tree. “Well, guess I could see what’s on,” he snapped his fingers and the image of Luna screaming in silence returned to his vision. A large smile spread across his lips and he chuckled as a wave of flaming chains began to assault the suffering princess without mercy.

“Man that never gets old.”

A coming storm?

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'Where am I?' that question echoed within my mind as I felt myself drift through the darkness that was... well I can't tell what this was. It was just a dark void. In normal circumstances I would shout out in annoyance, fear or just play around with the echo that traveled in my blank mind, but for now my emotions were simply dulled. I sensed all of my bodies nerves and muscles, yet they weren't there. It was all just, nonexistent. It felt like hours, days, hell even months that I floated in that darkness, but soon I spotted a light. 'Oh god, is this the part where I step into the light?' I thought to myself with the roll of my eyes. Well, I would have rolled my eyes if I had a body. Anyway soon enough the light grew close enough to blind my vision. As my vision returned to my control I was greet with a familiar scene. It was the streets of Chicago, the ghettos to be exact. It wasn't the worst part of town, but you would keep an eye open.

Confusion was the first emotion to return to my senses as I looked down my home towns streets. It was rather empty, no life was active outside and the sounds of the city echoed from the distance. I actually thought I was home, but I quickly remembered that I couldn't move and mentally sighed. This was getting on my nerves fast. Before I could stew in my new found annoyance my attention was caught by a few figures walking down my old streets sidewalks. They were a small, loud group of four that filled the once dead streets with laughter and a drunken banter between each other. A smirk would have been on my face as I saw the figures continue on towards me. As I wished that I could join them I saw a pair of headlights turned the corner behind them and began to slowly drift down the street, steadily creeping up on the group of four. The windows were darker than night and the feeling of dread hit me for some reason.

Soon one of the four out of the group glanced behind him and instantly the mystery car shot forward down the street towards them. It came to a screeching halt next to the group and without a second to think my eyes were blinded by the muzzle flashes and deafened by the many blast of gunfire. I watched with shock and a deep fear as the group ran, shouted and fell in a storm of lead and fear. As the last member of the group went down a voice shouted and the car made its escape around the streets corner. My sight was stuck upon the fallen group as I processed what had happen. As my mind tried to piece everything together in the nights silence a groan filled the streets. I scanned the four bodies and saw at least two of them barely moving. As they laid on the ground their groans turned into shouts, then into sobs and plead for help. After a few sickening seconds of hearing them I felt my body return to me and slowly fall onto the ground.

"W-what?" I muttered as I looked down to my body, but before I could continue with my inspection a shout for help once again caught my attention. I wanted to run to them, to help or at least call for help, but my body was tone, trembling stone. Confusion, fear and frustration filled my mind as I gritted my teeth, but thankfully I was able to began my slow walk to the injured group. With shaking legs I neared the closest man and held out a trembling hand. "H-hey," I managed to stutter. As I knelt down near the man I turned him over and felt my heart skip a beat. Laying down next to me, tears overflowing his eyes and grasping his bleeding gut while spitting up blood was a familiar face. Me.

"AHHHH!!" I screamed with new found horror. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think straight, god I couldn't even control my own limps as I scrambled back on to the ground, only to feel my hand fall into a wet puddle. I looked to my hand and found it nearly drowned within a pool of blood. I followed the trail of blood that formed the puddle and felt my terror deepen as the body of one men were now behind me. I looked around to see that my home streets was now gone and replaced with an endless sea of blood. The four bodies, mine included now surrounded me in the shallow sea of blood. Their groans, sobs and yells grew louder as they began to reach out form me. "W-what the fuck!?" I screamed as my very being was shaken to its core with horror. I shook my head and felt my warm tears blind my vision and run down my face as the sea of blood began to grow higher. I cried out in dread as I tried to rise above the blood, but I found myself being held back by myself and the three other blank faced figures that continued to beg, yell and cry for my help. As I struggled to free myself from this hell a chuckle came over the yelling and crying.

"My, my you have a few demons don't you?" I looked up into the dark sky and was only greeted by a massive pair of blue eyes with green flames surrounding them. A toothy smile spread under the eyes as they stared down at me with amusement. What my scattered and terrified mind was able to piece together was that the voice was female and somewhat dulled my fear, but not by much. "Well it looks like I finally found your mind, but the question is; Where in the bloody hell is your body?" the voice asked with a chuckle and a slight hint of hunger in her voice.

"What?" I asked with confusion before being pulled deeper into the blood. Before the voice could continue it scoffed and rolled its massive eyes.

"Damn, looks like my times up. I swear he never lets me have my fun," the voice muttered with a sigh. "Well no matter, we'll soon be together little human. We're going to have so much fun, so just try not to die till then," it chuckled before disappearing in a flash of bright green flames. As the stranger disappeared the flash seemed to consume me and my world. As the flash left me I was no longer within the sea of blood and once again drifting in the void of darkness. As my crippling fear steadily faltered I took a long mental breath and sighed.

"Fuck this place."

As I awoke I shot up and gasped for air. Sweat covered my body and my eyes darted in all directions as I sucked in air to fill my lungs. Once I regained my thoughts I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before reopening them with a sigh. I noticed that I was somewhat shaking from, well whatever that was just now. With a shaky hand I ran my fingers through my hair before feeling something rest on my left hand. I glanced to the left and saw Splinter resting both his wooden paws on my hand with a worried look and folded ears. He gave a small whimper and I quickly felt bad for causing his worry. I mustered up a small smile and gently scratched the back of his ear. "I'm good buddy, just a bad dream," I said in hopes to mask my uneasiness. He seemed hesitant, but Splinter soon stepped off my hand and rested his head in my lap while keeping his eyes on me.

I chuckled and rubbed his head as I looked towards the entrance of the cave. It was slim, but I could see a small sliver of light peek through the entrances foliage cover. "Looks like it's morning, better get ready for the day bud. Go and stretch your legs while I get up. Hell, catch a few lizards to munch on before we catch breakfast," I said with a grin. Splinter folded his ears back, he looked reluctant to leave my side, but he rose from my lap and trotted out of the cave. My grin dulled a bit as he left and I forced myself up from the ground with a grunt. After a few stretches and silent curses I began to gather my gear for the day, but as I checked my things my thoughts drifted onto that damn nightmare. It was by far no ordinary nightmare. It's strange really, but for some reason my interaction with those giant eyes felt, familiar. Soon it hit me, it was similar to that same weird dream with the blue Equestrian, Tuna was her name, I think. Well at this point I can care less about their stupid names, all I know is that my dream with her felt like this crazy one. Instead it was less pleasant and the perfect image of hell.

I gritted my teeth as a flash of that sea of blood came to my mind. On instinct I grasped my gut and mentally cursed for whoever put me through that. Making me relive that, that horrible night. Slowly I raised my lower shirt to reveal my gut along with its few scars. There were a few small cuts made by cheep knifes or glass, but the ones that stuck out the most were three old bullet wounds. I glared at the wounds before closing my eyes and lowering my shirt to throw on my hoodie. With the quick shake of my head I sighed, put on my backpack, placed my gun in the back of my jeans and headed for the entrance. The whole thing was crazy and irritating, but I didn't have time to think about it. For now I need to keep doing what I've been doing, and that's staying alive.

[Aces prov]

I gave a heavy sigh before taking a sip from my mug of fresh coffee. I smiled as I savored the taste of my work, it was no sugar cube corner coffee, but it still worked. I chuckled as I leaned on my kitchens counter top and watched out my window to see the town slowly wake up for the day. A small smile came to my face as I saw a few of the markets stall owners argue over a few inches of spaced that laid between them. This was the third time this week they've gotten into it, this time they're just looking something to argue about. Thankfully it never gets out of control and they just end up giving each other the good old stubborn silent treatment. I shook my head before taking another sip of coffee. As I continued to enjoy my morning my eyes slowly drifted towards the forest that peeked over the buildings.

"Wonder how he's doing," I mumbled with a small frown. It's been a full week since I've seen Jacob and his little pup. I've been trying to find time to visit, but with getting settled in my home and job I couldn't find the time. I mean they looked capable of handling themselves, but I just want to go and make sure. Hopefully I can fine time today to go and see them. With that thought I finished my coffee and placed it in the sink, but before I could leave the kitchen I heard a know on my window and turned to see a light pink mare waving from the outside with a small grin. I smiled and waved back before walking back to the window. I opened the window leaned against the counter top again. "Morning Dahlia, how's it going?" I asked with a friendly smile.

Dahlia was a rather short earth pony with blue hair that hanged down to her shoulders. She was wearing a simple yellow T-shirt and blue jeans and carried a bag with her work cloths in them. She was actually a nice girl and was the very same mare I saw in the sugar cube corner the day I went to get Jacobs breakfast. We met a few days after I met Jacob and she's been showing me around. She's even helping introduce me to her friends, that red stallion that was in the sugar cube corner as well is included. I felt a bit odd spending time with them since I sort of eavesdropped on them, but it wasn't anything that did harm so I shook it off and just enjoyed their company. Anyway, Dahlia leaned against the window sill and chuckled. "So far it's going good, though I have to head to work in a few," she said with a pout.

"Shouldn't you head there now since it's morning? Ya know, to make sure breakfast is ready?" I asked with a smirked. She rolled her eyes and pawed away the question.

"Hey those guys are pro cooks, breakfast ain't gonna slow them down with me being gone," she assured with a confident smile.

"Well yeah, but isn't the kitchens head chef supposed to, I don't know, help cook?" she sighed and rested her head in her palm.

"Yeah, but last night was a pain thanks to Pinkie. Throwing a party without even letting us know," she mumbled with annoyance. "I swear that mare is such an air head," she complained before giving a sigh. "But she does throw one mean party," we both chuckled before I gave my own sigh.

"Well don't feel to bad about work, I gotta head out in a few minutes. The Mayor wants my help with a few documents from canterlot. Something about a new construction," Dahlia raised an eye brow as she jabbed a thumb towards the far right of town.

"Is it about that new site surrounded by the royal guards?" I thought for a moment before nodding.

"Most likely, I'm just not sure what it is that they're building," I admitted.

"Well whatever they're building it must be important to have armed guards," she said before giving me a grin. I raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked as she chuckled slightly. She pointed towards me and shook my head.

"Is that really what you have in your closet?" she asked with a smirk. I looked down to my appearance and pursed my lips. I was simply wearing my white tank top with a short white opened sweater. As for what I wore below was my, well short shorts with several kittens scattered around it. It was sort of small on me and a bit tight, but I liked it enough to keep it around. I looked to her with a furrowed brow.

"What's so wrong with this look?" I questioned. She shrugged and held up a hand of defense while still smiling.

"Nothing, nothing at all. Just thought you had better taste," she joked. I rolled my eyes.

"My taste in cloths are fine, now go on and let me get ready for work," Dahlia chuckled and we said our farewells before I left the kitchen. As I walked through the living room I glanced to a small pile of boxes that have yet to be unboxed and sighed. I really needed to finish with that. As I shook my head I climbed the stairs, stripped myself of my cloths and slipped into more fitting cloths for work. Slim looking black pants, a comfortable grey vest and finally a light pink stripped buttoned up shirt, a few of the buttons towards the top undone because I wanted to actually breathe. As I looked myself over one last time I nodded in satisfaction and began my walk to Ponyvilles town hall.

The town was now up and ready for the day, some looked prepared while others wanted to crawl back under the sheets. I was somewhat excited for the day seeing as how I had no plans after work. Hopefully this time I can head to see Jacob and check up on him. As I walked through the town I spotted a small column line of royal guards making their way through the streets. I watched them march on from the corner of my vision and for some reason felt uneasy. They didn't look as if they were getting ready for some big fight, but the sudden appearance of the Royal guards were somewhat worrying for me. I've seen foreign militaries do the same thing from my past jobs and it mostly spells out trouble. I tried my best to shake off the feeling and continued on.

After a few minutes of walking I finally reached town hall and entered the building to see the mayor speaking with a guard. "I assure you lieutenant Spears, everything will be done on our part. I only ask that your men simply not make the town feel uneasy," she said as she straightened her green tie. I looked to the so called lieutenant Spears and saw that he was a rather large stallion. His fur was a dark brown and his hair was a dirty blonde with a few streaks of sliver running through it. He certainly looked like a veteran soldier with his slightly dented sliver armor and sword at the hip. He smiled at the Mayor and nodded.

"Of course, I'll make sure my troops don't shake the town, we'll only be here till construction is done," he said before glancing towards the front door to see me there. I gave a sheepish smile and gave a small wave. "Well I've taken up enough of your time, I'll be off now," he said with a curt bow and walking towards the exit. I stepped out of the doorway to let him through, but before he left he looked back to the Mayor and smiled. "Please do keep our conversation in mind Mayor," he said before placing his helmet on his head and leaving the building. The Mayor gave a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, before looking to me with a tired smile.

"Good morning Ms. Spells, I hope you've had a good morning so far," I nodded and walked to the front desk that she stood next to.

"So far so good ma'am, how's your morning been so far?" I asked with a small smile. She chuckled and gestured around the building.

"Busy as always," she chuckled before sighing. "But it comes with the job, so no complaining. Anyway," she says before gesturing towards her office. "Shall we get started on those documents? I'll need your help organizing them while I finish a new load of papers from the Royal guard," she said before walking towards her office. I followed with a raised eyebrow.

"Royal guard? If you don't mind me asking, why has there been so many guard here lately? Is there something happening?" I asked, but she simply shook her head and waved the worry away.

"I've no clue really, but I've been assured that there is no looming danger heading our way. It appears the military is simply expanding their roots a bit and setting up a small garrison here," she said.

"So it's safe to say the new construction is involved with their expansion?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yes, but like I said it's nothing to worry about. Just some new eyes to keep us safe. Honestly though I think it's because of that creature a while back," she mumbled as we entered her office.

"Creature?" I asked as I thought of Jacob.

"Hm? Oh yes that's right you hadn't arrived yet when it happened. Well it's nothing important, the creature has been captured and hasn't been seen since," she said before stopping at her desk and gesturing to another desk to the far right of the room with a stack of papers and folders. "Now, today all I need you to do is organize those papers from issues concerning the expenses of the new construction to the former land owners information. Very simple things, but when you're done all I need you to do is put the away. After that you're free for the day," I perked up at the news. Looked like my chances of visiting Jacob grew. I nodded and hopped straight to work.

[A few hours later]

As I placed the last folder into the box I sighed and gave a satisfied smile. "Finally done," I mumbled before putting the lid over the box and looking to the Mayor who was deep in her work. Her white hair was somewhat messy and she seemed to have loosened her tie and unbuttoned a few buttons on her white shirt to reveal her surprisingly generous gifts. I cleared my throat and gained her attention. "Ma'am, I've finished with the organization," she had the same tired smile on her face and nodded.

"Good, thank you for your help Ms. Spells. I'm mostly going to be neck deep in this paper work so you can head out now," she said as she gestured to the door. I thanked her and wished her luck before I left the town hall. With a sigh I stretched my limbs and smiled. It was just turning to the afternoon and I had no plans, looks likes I can finally pay Jacob that visit. 'First I'm going to have to get him lunch,' I thought with a chuckle before heading towards the nearest restaurant. 'Maybe I'll get him a drink to.'

[Between the boarders of Equestria and the Gryphon Empire.]

With an icy glare the dark figure stared down onto the gathered group of dishonest thieves to cut throat mercenaries of all races. Together they awaited within a camp centered in a ruined village that laid between Equestria and the Gryphon Empire. Around the village was a barely standing wall of stone with a few guards stationed on the top. The dark figure had two armored companions at his side. To his left was a rather tall minotaur with a heavy suit of armor and a hammer that could crush a bolder. He wore a helmet that hid his features, but his red fiery eyes glared from underneath. To the figures right was a female zebra with leather armor and a steel bladed spear. If one were to say, she is a rather attractive woman with golden earrings in her ears and a silver feather sticking out from her messy jet black hair.

The two stood silently with the dark figure as they awaited for the remaining thieves, bandits and mercenaries to arrive. Once they did the zebra stepped forward and stomped on the wooden stage that loomed over the small force. As she grabbed their attention she gave one last scan before looking back to the figure and nodding before stepping back behind him. The figure slowly walked forward and noticed the confused looks he received from the group. A moment of silence lingered in the air before the figure finally spoke.

"Welcome, it is good to see such a group of potential individuals in one place. Now you are all probably wondering why you have been summoned here and who I am," the figure paused as he held up and shadowy hand. "For who I am is of no concern right now, what is important right now is the opportunity that sits here before you," he said before raising his arms up slightly. "An opportunity to become something greater and an opportunity change the very world you live within," he paused again, but before he could continue a lone grey Gryphon in tattered clothing and light armor stepped forward.

"Oi, can ya just tell us what we're here for? I'm a busy individual," he asked with irritation. The figure chuckled and nodded.

"Of course, of course, I guess I should just get to the point," he said before folding his arms behind his back. "I am in need of an army, an army that will ask no questions and follow my lead without a problem. Now I can give you some noble cause for said such army, but I will be honest, my intentions are far from noble. In fact, they're a bit frightening, but I won't go into detail," he said before holding out one hand with a dark flame burning above his hand. "All I will tell you is that I wish to see flames sore high and make my arrival known to the world," he chuckled before closing his hand and killing the fire. Soon a thin diamond dog in leather armor stepped forward.

"What is it you want to set aflame exactly?" he asked.

"Everything," the figure simply stated. "I wish to take my forces across every country and let my long awaited fury scorch the land," he said with a fist. "To most I'm just another war hungry individual and I honestly can care less if they do. I simply want you all you to be one of the many who will help be spread my name across this world in fire," Gryphon raised an eyebrow and grinned as he crossed his arms.

"And what is your name exactly?" he asked, but before the figure could answer the heavily armored minotaur stepped forward and slammed his hammer onto the ground.

"He is one of many ancient gods of the past. The god of shadows and darkness, the being of another world and the one terror that haunted the goddesses of Equestria, Lord Michael!" he boomed with a mighty voice. The figure now named Michael chuckled and looked to the group.

"In shorter terms, this worlds new god."

Death doorstep.

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As I moved along the narrow path I had created towards the river a small sigh escaped me. With a frown I let my eyes continue scanning my surroundings in case something wanted to test me today, but in all honesty I was only focusing on my own pool of annoyance that flooded my mind. So far this day has been a complete let down. A few low quality traps I had set up a few days back were empty, destroyed and covered in blood! Apparently a few of the predators around the forest are to damn lazy to hunt their own food and decided to destroy my work while stealing my food! I pinched the bridge of my nose and groaned. If this was going to be an issue than I was going to have to find a solution to protecting my sources of meat because I'm tired of lizards and small squirrels.

"Hopefully we got something at the river," I muttered before glancing over to Splinter who walked by my side. He seemed as let down as me, but he nodded in agreement and kept his head on the swivel. We continued down the path, the trail seemingly going on forever and only letting his bad mood grow worse after every step. After what felt like hours we reached the river, the steady sound of running water oddly soothing my foul mood. Cautiously we made our way towards the running stream, inching my way out of the forests brush and watching my surroundings with an observant eye now that I was out in the open. I may have been a bit paranoid, but honestly you can't blame me can ya? Nearly everything I've encountered either wants to kill or rape me, I'm not taking any risk. After I felt confident enough I made my way towards the stream and knelt down next to the river while Splinter stood guard. "Alright then fishes, give papa some love," I muttered before spotting my homemade wooden fishing cage resting within the clear waters. It certainly looked cheap as hell, but it was still intact, though I will admit we haven't had much luck catching anything other than a few tadpoles.

With low expectations I pulled the cage from the cool waters and sighed as I predicted the outcome. "We may just have to look for some more li-" I paused as I felt something thrash around within the cage. My eyes widen as I paused for a moment in shock before returning to my senses and scrambled to pull the small cage from the waters. As I placed it on the ground I looked inside and felt my lips spread ear to ear. Inside was a fully alive and delicious looking trout! It wasn't the largest thing I've seen, but hell if I care. We caught something! I looked to Splinter who gawked at the catch with a watering mouth before shaking his head clear and looking to me with a wagging tail of excitement. "Ready to eat like kings buddy?" he quickly replied with a happy bark and bounced around with even more excitement. I chuckled before swiftly ending our meals life with a quick slit from my knife. With some vines I tied our meal to my waist and reset the trap in the river.

Splinters excitement was clear as we parted from the river and returned onto the narrow path. Honestly I could barely hold my own happiness back, we were actually getting lucky for once! The past week has been somewhat a struggle for food. It seemed that a lot of the animals have abandoned their usual spots and were replaced with more predators. Now we haven't spotted any said predators, but they leave a pretty noticeable calling card with their left overs along with the noises at night. Of course with my luck they decided to leave these calling cards the second I decide to set up traps around the forest. Basically I'm just helping them catch their meals at this point! Its all been incredibly frustrating, but I guess it's a good thing they haven't come for my neck yet.

Though I'll be honest, ever since I came back to this forest I've been feeling like I've been being watched. Actually, now that I think about it this feeling has been with me since that night I met Splinter and its only been growing by the day. I've tried to shake it off, but with that nightmare this morning it's almost impossible to ignore it. Was someone really spying on me? Were they a threat? If they were then why wait this long to strike? It all only ate away at my nerves and increased my paranoia. Though as my stomach growled my mind drifted towards our food and a small smirk came to my face. I could always eat away the paranoia.

A crack of a twig caused me to freeze in my tracks before swiftly snatching out my gun. Splinter let out a low growl as he inched closer to me and aimed his gaze towards the deeper parts of the forest to my right. Slowly I raised my weapon where he was facing and swallowed any fear or nervousness before glancing to Splinter. "Stay with me no matter what," I ordered in a low stern voice. He showed no reactions to my command, but his eyes narrowed and a part of me knew he understood. Another crack nearly made me jump before Splinter spun around to face behind us, his growl holding more hostility for what was behind us.

"Fuck," was all I muttered as I managed to hear a few more steps began to surround us until finally I spotted a pair of green eyes peeking out from the foliage. A chill ran up my spine as I remembered my first encounter in this world and chuckled nervously. "Back for round two assholes?" I muttered, though a hint of nervousness was clear in my voice. Mostly due to being outnumbered, but also with the fact that I'm not made of bullets. If I waste it all here then I'll never be able to take on any more of the golden pricks that come for my head.

Slowly I pulled out my knife and held onto it tightly with gritted teeth, ready to get personal if needed. Finally, before I could even react a blur burst from the foliage and I was on the ground within a blink of an eye, a pounding pain in the back of my skull. I scrambled to get up, but let out a shout of pain as I felt something clamp down onto my arm, digging and tearing into my flesh. A feral like growl escaped me before I used all of my strength to slam my fist into the side of the attacking timber wolf, wildly throwing punches in hopes to free myself. Of course it did more damage to me then it did to him as I felt my bare knuckles scrape against its hard wooden body, but my anger fueled me to continue giving blows until finally I felt it release me from its jaws. With a grunt I pushed myself onto my knees and shoved the bastard away. Unfortunately as I managed to free myself my attacker managed to dig its claws into my side, earning a shout of pain before I quickly held my side with gritted teeth.

With a growl of rage I scrambled to turn to face him and raised my weapon towards him before pulling the trigger. Three cracks filled the air, slightly muffling the yelp of pain from the wolf before seeing it fall to the ground with a heavy thud. It whimpered and yelped as it seemed to try and bite away the pain in his sides, but it did no good. I winced from my fresh wounds and felt the warm sensation of blood run down my arm and side. "Fuck," I hissed before rising to my knee and holding onto my side. Splinter hurried to my side, a concerned gaze directed to me before he turned around to let out a growl, readying himself to defend against any other attackers. I stumbled to my feet and took a deep breath before steadying myself enough to stay on my feet. This was turning into a real big shit storm fast.

The painful whimper from the timber wolf soon silenced as its body finally ceased its struggle and laid still, leaving the air around us deadly silent. The pain from my wounds spread through my body, the urge to fall back to my knees growing by the second. I winced in pain as a terrible stinging sensation erupted from my arm and seemed to travel through my nerves like a raging fire, but gritting my teeth I held my ground and glanced to Splinter. He stood guard by my side and seemed ready to dive right into the fight, but I frowned as he took a step forward. Splinter was more vulnerable than me right now, he's still just a pup. I tightened my grip around my knife before sliding my left leg in front of him, forcing him behind me and away from the fight. He looked up to me slightly shocked, but I only shook my head and huffed. "Don't do anything stupid buddy, can't end up alone again," I muttered before returning my attention towards our attackers and hardened my gaze as four more timber wolves emerged.

Out of the four one of them inched forward, most likely the leader of the group since it was the largest out of the group. It seemed older with moss hanging from different parts of its body and wore more scars than the others, the most noticeable one was the largest scar across its side. It even seemed more focus then the others, its gaze harder and more focused compared to the others who growled and snapped at me, simply wanting to tear me apart. I swallowed, an uneasy feeling rising in my chest growing as its intense green eyes locked with mine, almost as if it was planning something. Shaking my head clear of any doubt I kept my cool before growing more determined to survive this.

The urge to pull the trigger only grew by the second, but I knew I couldn't risk missing even a single shot. "Come on jackass, try and take a bite out of me! I'll turn you all into firewood!" I barked with venom in my voice. The top wolf only continued to hold his gaze with me before I noticed his eyes travel downwards. I arched a brow before glancing down towards where his attention was and gritted my teeth to see Splinter peeking out from behind me with glare directed towards the top wolf. My attention snapped back to the wolf and my glare only hardened. "Don't even try it!" I growled in anger before inching to the side to block Splinter from his view.

The wolf glanced back up to me with what looked like slight curiosity before looking to his fellow timber wolves and making a gesture with head. The others seemed hesitant, but with slightly lowered ears and pointed glares towards me they slowly crept back into the forest foliage. The top wolf soon followed them casually, but before it disappeared into the foliage it looked back to me, to the dead timber wolf then back to me. I paused for a moment, confusion mixing in with the other wild emotion filling my mind and slightly lowered my gun. Did he just smirk at me? Before I could confirm it he disappeared into the foliage and left the two of us alone, confused and flustered from the whole encounter.

It felt like a good few minutes before the pain within my wounds brought me back to reality and hissed in pain. I arched over, holding my bleeding side and gritted my teeth as the stinging pain only worsened by the second. "Shit, it's just like when I came to this shit hole," I muttered before remembering what happened last time I was bit by these pricks. I knew we needed to get back before I wasn't able to walk anymore. "We need to get back, now," I stated to Splinter before forcing myself to stay on my feet and limp down the trail. Splinter hurried by my side, concern clear in his eyes as he kept glancing towards me while keeping an eye out for any more trouble.

A small forced smirk came to my face as I glanced to Splinter. "Don't worry bud, I just need to rest is all," I chuckled weakly, trying my best to ease his nerves. It felt like an endless wave of pain flowing through my body, my limbs starting to grow heavy and exhaustion clouding my mind. I forced myself though to keep moving, determined to get to the only place that felt safe. After what felt like an eternity of walking we reached our hideout and a small shutter of a sigh escaped me, a mixture of relief and dread forming within my chest. It was good to be back on my turf, but I knew it was just a matter of time before my wounds would start kicking my ass. I stumbled into the cave and groaned before sitting down against the cold stone wall. With a wince I pulled off my bag and slowly peeled off my hoodie, biting back the urge to shout out in pain.

Sweat began to cover my skin as I felt my body gradually grow hotter by the minute, a stinging and blazing pain from my wounds growing by the second. Though it felt like my side was burning up a shutter of dread ran through me as my arm soon began to feel numb. "This ain't good," I muttered as I slowly peeled my bloodied shirt up to reveal the nasty gashes from the wolves claws. I couldn't see how deep it was, but it definitely needed stitches. Something I didn't have. All that was left of my medical supplies were a few bandages, but they weren't going to be enough to help, especially with the poison from the wolf's bite. A frustrated sigh left me, wishing I had watched all of those crappy survival shows on emergency first aid. Though I doubt they helped you with timber wolves poison. With gritted teeth I began to use the last of my bandages, gently wrapping it around my waist and covering the nasty gashes along my side. It wasn't much, but it should keep him together for awhile.

I felt Splinter nudge my arm slightly and looked to him to see a fearful look in his eyes. A small whimper escaped him as his paws impatiently shuffled below him, wanting to help however he could. A weak smile came to my face as I scratched the back of his ear gently and hushed his whimpers. "It's alright buddy, I just need some sleep is all," I said in a soft, yet weak voice. I knew things weren't looking good for me, but I couldn't help but attempt to ease my partners worries. "Listen buddy, I... I want you to do something for me while I'm sleeping. Find Ace, stick with her for a bit and follow whatever she says," Splinter whimpered in protest and pressed his head against my chest, muffled whining reaching my ears. I smiled softly and ran my hand along his back. "It's okay buddy, I'm gonna be fine. After some sleep I'll be as good as new," I attempted to convince him, but I should have known this little guy was smart for his age as he refused to leave my chest, pawing at my bloody shirt with defiance. Gently I pushed him away and locked eyes with him.

"Please Splinter, go find Ace, or anywhere that's safe. Those timber wolves could be tracking us down now I don't want you here when they find us," he explained before letting a small smirk come to my face. "I promise, I won't die. I can't protect the both of us though, I have a better chance alone," Splinter let out another whimper before lowering his head, seeming to understand my point. With a small smile I rubbed the back of his ear. "I'll come get you when I make sure it's safe," I promised before a distant howl echoed throughout the cave, killing my smile and replacing it with a small frustrated frown. They were coming. With a low groan I pushed myself up, stumbling a bit before taking in a deep breath. "Go, now. Look for Ace and stay safe. Don't come back until I come get you," I ordered him sternly before marching towards the caves entrance, every step feeling heavier than the last, but with determination to survive and protect my partner I pushed on.

Finally I emerged from the cave and winced as the sun blinded me for a second before regaining my sight, a small sigh of annoyance escaping me as an unwelcoming sight met my gaze. Near the edge of the foliage stood the old timber wolf, its green glowing eyes locking with mine the second I exited my home. Shortly Splinter came to my side and let out a small whimper of worry. A deadly silence filled the air and not a soul made a move. Finally I broke the silence with a scoff as I pulled out my pistol and slipped my knife from its sheath in one swift move. "Persistent pricks aren't ya?" I questioned with a weak chuckle, trying my best to keep up a tough face. The large timber wolf simply kept staring at me before to my surprise smirked in what seemed light amusement. Soon several green piercing eyes glowed from foliage before more timber wolves emerged into the opening, nearly about a dozen of them. A hiss of annoyance escaped me before I looked down to Splinter with a stern gaze. "It's time buddy, clear out," Splinter looked up to me with great fear and worry, but my hard gaze ceased any attempts to argue.

With a frustrated growl Splinter shot off away in the direction of the town, sprinting away as fast as his little paws could take him. A few wolves were ready to chase after him, but before I could raise my gun to stop them the large wolf gave a rough bark towards them, halting them before they could move. The wolves seemed hesitant to follow his orders, but after a low growl they obeyed and returned their sights on me. With a small sigh of relief I saw Splinter escape through the foliage and out of harms way. Now with him out of the way I took in a deep breath and looked back to the large wolf who met my gaze with a stern one of his own. A small smirk came to my face before I took a step forward and aimed my gun towards the pack of wolves. "Now, lets get to it!" with a howl from the large wolf his pack sprung forward, barking and howling as they charged forward towards their prey. In the distance all that could be heard were loud yelps and the cracking of gunfire.

[Ace's prove]

A pleasant humming escaped me as I strolled through the streets of Ponyville, a happy pep in my step as I walked on carrying a bag of warm food for Jacob and more of Pinkies dog biscuits for Splinter. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of the two and chuckled as I imagined their drooling faces to some real food. It's only been a week since they last met, but I couldn't help but sometimes worry about them. They were living out in the wilderness after all, what if something happened to them? I'd usually suggest looking to the town for help, but after overhearing what he had done in the past it was obvious why they couldn't come here for help. A low sigh escaped me as the thought put a damper on my mood, but at least she could help them, even if it was just bringing them some food. A small chuckle escaped me as I quickly realized they were technically the first friends I made since I moved here. Making friends with a fugitive and his timber wolf pup, it sounded crazy on paper, but then again I've done crazier things.

Just as I reached the edge of the town I was brought out my thoughts as a voice called out for me. "Ace! Hey Ace wait up!" with an arched brow I turned around and smiled to see a pink mare with long blue hair running after me, waving with a friendly smile. I waved back and stopped to let her catch up.

"Dahlia, hey! What are you doing here? I thought you had a full shift for the day at the restaurant?" I asked as she finally reached me. She took a second to catch her breath and chuckled before looking down to her rather messy chefs uniform.

"Oh yeah, well it was pretty slow today so they said I had the rest of the day off. I guess most folks don't want to go out and eat, must be paranoid with all of the guards around," she said and shook her head as she wiped some sweat from her forehead. "I swear this town would go into hiding if a stampede of rabbits rampaged through the streets," we both let out a chuckle before she let her smile shine again. "So, where are you off to? I was thinking we could hang out for a bit, maybe find Crimson and get a few drinks," she suggested. The idea sounded appealing for sure, but the urge to see Jacob and Splinter was too great.

"That sounds great honestly, but I, uh... already have something planned for the day," I said with a small smile and rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. Dahlia arched a brow in confusion before she glanced down to the food I was carrying. I swear I could see the gears turning in her head as she silently thought to herself before a sly smile came to her face and glanced back up to her.

"Oh really now? You gonna go eat all that food alone?" she asked before taking a step forward and holding her hands behind her back. "Or are you going to go meet a lucky stallion for a romantic meal?" she questioned with a mischievous tone in her voice. I could feel my cheeks grow warm before I instinctively hid the food behind my back.

"W-what? No, or course not. I just moved here and none of these stallions are really my type anyways," I stated, hoping to throw off her suspicion. It seemed to fail miserably though as he smile only grew and giggled.

"Oh come on Ace, you can't fool me when it comes to this stuff. A pretty mare like you would have half the stallions drooling and crawling after you within a heart beat. Now who's the lucky guy? Is he a hunk? Did you pack protection?" before she could go on I covered her mouth in a hurry with burning red cheeks, embarrassed by her words and even more embarrassed as her voice seemed to catch a few peoples attention as they passed us.

"Not so loud Dahlia!" I pleaded and earned an amused smile from her. She nodded and took a step back with a chuckle.

"I'm just having fun, relax," she said before crossing her arms. "But seriously, who're you going to meet? Is he the person you keep spacing out about?" she asked and took me off guard for a moment. Before I could question her she sighed and smiled. "Don't give me that look, every time we hang out you space out and look like your thinking of something. Somebody to be more exact," I was at a lost of words for a moment before looking away in slight embarrassment.

"It's... it's not anything big, just a friend I met last week," I said with a quiet voice. I jumped as she gave a quick clap and grinned.

"There it is! Knew I'd get it out of you!" she said with pride before noticing my embarrassment. With a smile she walked over and wrapped her arm around my shoulder and chuckled. "Don't be like that, I'm just teasing you. I'll stop prying into it," she promised with honesty. I glanced over to her and sighed in relief. "So where are you going anyways?"

"I thought you'd stop prying?" I questioned with a small frown.

"I'm not, I'm just asking where you're going. It looked like you were about to head over to the Everfree forest. Weird spot to meet up at. Does he live around there or something?" for a moment I silently thought of a response before glancing over to the Everfree.

"Sort of, yeah. He's just real busy so I'm bringing him something to eat," I explained, twisting the truth just a bit to feed her the details she wants. It seemed to work before she crossed her arms and looked towards the Everfree.

"Weird, I thought only Zecora and Fluttershy live around there," she muttered to herself before shrugging. "Whatever, I really don't pay that place much attention anyway," she said before looking back to me with a smile. "Well you should bring this mystery stallion around sometimes, we could have a few drinks and have a good time," she said before leaning forward with a smirk. "I could even help you make a few moves to get closer with him," she suggested with mischievous tone.

"Dahlia!" I shouted with red cheeks before she began to walk off laughing waving off my embarrassment.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! But we really should get together one of these day. Good luck!" she said before waving goodbye. With a tired sighed I waved back before turning away and continuing my way out of town. That mare was a handful to deal with sometimes, but she was fun to spend time with. With the rather embarrassing encounter over I finally entered the forest and began to search for the trail I had taken before. It may have been a week, but I thankfully found the path leading to Jacobs hideout and began to follow it. From what I heard being alone in the Everfree was the last thing you wanted to do, but I've honestly been through worse environments than this. It was more like a stroll through the woods than a deadly forest. Of course I still had an eye open for any troubles that may want to come my way.

I paused for a moment though, the sound of rustling leaves and rapid steps heading my way halting me in my steps. I felt a bit of nervousness rise in my chest before mentally preparing a spell in case something was about to pounce out at me. Soon a small blur shot out of the foliage and slammed into my leg, causing me to stumble a bit before taking a step back in confusion. With an arched brow I looked down and widened my eyes in surprise to see a familiar wooden pup laying down on his back in a daze. "Splinter?" I questioned before kneeling down to get a better look at him. "What are you doing? Where's Jacob?" I asked with curiosity. It took a moment before Splinter shook his head clear and looked over to me with wide green eyes. In an instant he sprung to his feet and began to frantically bark and whine, pawing at her pants and whine even louder. "Hey, hey what's wrong little guy?" I asked, beginning to grow worried by how panicked he seemed to be.

With a frustrated growl he quickly spun in a circle and began to sprint back towards the direction of Jacobs hideout. Dread began to fill my mind before I sprung to my feet and quickly ran after the frantic pup, worried for whatever made him act like that. As I chased him deeper into the woods I began to hear loud cracking noises, something like fireworks. My heart began to race before I picked up the speed, running as fast as I could. Please, please be okay Jacob.

[Jacobs Prov]

"Fucker!" I snarled in rage as I tore the jaws of a timber wolf from my arm before sticking the barrel of my gun down its throat and letting of a few rounds. My attacker gagged and yelped as it crumbled to the ground before it quickly fell still, making it the third kill out of the dozen surrounding me. With gritted teeth I spun around as I heard a pair of wooden paws quickly approaching from behind, but before I could face another attacker I let out a shout of pain as I felt a great pressure clamp down on the back of my leg, forcing me down onto my knee. With a feral snarl I twisted around and my shot my bloody knife down towards its temple. A muffled yelp escaped the wolf and only bit down harder, forcing a pain filled shout from me. With a few more brutal stabs I finally broke through its wooden skull and felt its jaws release as it fell limb next to me. I attempted to force my shaking legs up, but before I could another wolf tackled me to the ground and taking the air out of me. Wasting no time it began to snap its jaws towards my throat, but before it could deal the finishing blow I forced my forearm into its mouth, deciding it was better than letting it dig into my neck.

With a low growl I forced the wolf up a bit before pressing my gun against its gut and blasting a few rounds through its torso. Instantly it released me and scrambled away with loud yelps of pain. I gasped for air and groaned in pain as my body screamed out in pain, feeling as if I was on fire. Why me? Why the hell did I have to deal with this shit!? What did I ever do to deserve this hell? I may not have been a good person, but did I really deserve this shit? I low growl escaped me as I rolled over and slowly pushed my self up to my hands and knees. "Fuck this forest... fuck these wooden pricks.... and FUCK THIS STUPID WORLD!" I yelled in a mixture of pain and rage before coughing violently, holding my gut as it felt like a bag of rocks was rattling around inside. The sound several of claws scrapping against the ground brought me back to my senses and let out a low sigh before pushing myself to my knees. With a weak breath I looked over my shoulder to see the remaining wolves closing in, their leader remaining in the back with a watchful eye. The bastard looked pleased with himself.

Another violent cough erupted from before I covered my mouth and felt a warm liquid splatter against my palm. My heart began to race as I raised my hand felt dread fill my chest as my palm was covered in crimson blood. Without any warning I began to feel dizzy and gagged as my throat began to feel like it was on fire. "Jesus, this can't be it," I muttered weakly before looking back to my approaching attackers, my vision beginning to grow blurry. Was this really it? I'm gonna die here like this? No way. Was this... hell? As my body began to grow weaker so had my hope. It all looked so hopeless. I was alone, not a single person here to help me. Alone. I'll die alone. I hung my head low and gritted my teeth, ready to just accept it my unfair fate and closed my heavy eyes.

'What the hell are you doing?'

I felt my world slow down and weakly opened my eyes slightly, my clouded mind confused by the voice. Was that my voice. I wanted to reply, but I couldn't find the strength to speak.

'I said what the FUCK are you doing!? Did we really come this far to die? After all the shit we've been through in this shitty world do we really want it to end this way? No answers, no hope and alone like some chump? Are we really that weak!?'

"T-there's no hope... too much... poison," I weakly muttered to my inner voice with an empty tone.

'Poison? That's what's gonna kill us? After surviving a plummet into a monster filled forest, fighting some inbred fucking bat-scorpion-lion, wooden fuckin wolves, nearly getting raped by some horny fucking pony, ambushed, chained, beaten, train crash and fucking nearly getting raped again by a drunk Ace! All of that and some shitty poison is gonna be our downfall? Pathetic.'

I gritted my teeth in anger and slammed my heavy fist into the dirt. "Fuck off!" I hissed in annoyance, gradually starting to hate the sound of my own voice.

'What, getting angry? Annoyed? Good! That's what's kept us alive! Use it! Fight! We're not dead yet! We still have a promise to keep to that little wooden bastard! So get up! GET UP!'

A growl escaped me before I slowly forcing myself to my feet, my weak and aching limbs reluctantly obeying my orders. I can't die here, not after everything I've gone through. I refuse to die like this! With a pained grunt I rose to my full height and gulped in waves of air into my lungs before slowly turning towards my approaching attackers with a hardened glare, prepared to take them all on with my restored determination. "Come on..." I weakly muttered before stumbling forward. "Come on, you pricks are gonna need to earn your meal," I declared through gritted teeth and raised my gun towards the approaching pack. "I'm not... I'm not, done yet..." I muttered with determination. My determination would soon turn to confusion as I suddenly found myself on my knees.

'What? When did I...' my clouded mind couldn't comprehend that my body had finally collapsed, to beaten and exhausted to go on. 'No...no please not yet...' I silently pleaded with my body as I struggled to keep my eyes open. 'God please not like this... I can't die here, not yet!' before I knew it I fell onto my side, my body too heavy to move and numbness finally fully taking over. Through my slowly vanishing vision all I saw were the blurry figures of the wolves closing in, their green eyes glowing with hunger and satisfaction. Fear began to fill my heart as everything began to grow dark before everything finally went black. Within the darkness, with the final thread of consciousness I held onto I simply thought of my life and everything that will go unanswered. This wasn't fair, nothing in this fucking world was fair.

'Please... not yet...'

[Jack's Prov]

A large smile spread across my face as I watched the small show go on, the other human fighting for his life against a rather well coordinated pack of timber wolves. From the trees branch I swung my legs and chuckled as the man seemed to finally reach his limit and fall to his knees. "That it? Looked like he was gonna keep fighting," he said before letting out a small sigh and shaking his head. "Kids got heart, but that's about it," I muttered aloud before feeling a slight sting within my head. I rolled my eyes as I felt a familiar force invade my mind.

"Jack, what are you doing?" my boss asked with suppressed anger clear in his voice. I shrugged and cleaned out my ear with my pinkie.

"Just enjoying the show, nothing special," I replied before noticing the man fall to his side.

"Your job is to protect the human, not watch him die!" he barked with rage. I let out a heavy sigh and frowned as I watched the pack slowly close in on the fallen man.

"This kid is worthless, not even worth our time. Why the hell should I-" I was cut off as a piercing feeling filled my head and caused me to wince in pain.

"Do not question me! Do your job or I will tear your soul to pieces! Now!" his voice boomed within my head. A growl of frustration and annoyance escaped me before the pain finally vanished. This bastard was really starting to get on my nerves, but my hands were tied. I had to be a good attack dog for now. With a small sigh I swung my rifle from my shoulder and swiftly aimed towards the closest wolf near the man. With a bored frown I pulled the trigger and the wolf instantly collapsed with a hole in its head. The pack halted its advanced and looked around in confusion, searching for whatever killed their comrade. Another crack filled the air and a loud yelp could be heard as another wolf fell to the ground with a large hole through its torso. A wide grin spread across my face before I pushed myself from the trees branch and landed onto the earth with a heavy thud. Instantly the pack turned their attention towards me and bared their teeth in anger.

I couldn't help but laugh before unsheathing my curved sword and twirling it in my hands while my other hand began to flash with green sparks of toxic energy dancing around my fingers tips and palm. Slowly I glanced around the pack, sizing them all up and smiling under my bandana. "Well, at least I'll be warm tonight," I chuckled before taking a step forward, my confidence in winning at an all time high. Before I could get things started though a loud bark filled the air and I glanced over towards the largest wolf of the pack. It glared towards me with a hard glare, its eyes glowing a bright green before it looked towards his pack and barking again. With what seemed reluctance began to back away before retreating into the woods. I arched a brow and stared at the pack leader with a bit of interest and curiosity. I've seen organized packs of animals in this world, but this one seemed a bit to organized. It was odd really, but with a final hateful glare towards me the pack leader retreated back into the woods, giving me the victory. A very dull victory, but I have a feeling I'll be seeing them again.

With a disappointed sigh I sheathed my sword and made my way over to the fallen man, stepping over the wooden corpses and digging around in my satchel on my side. "Well that was boring, but at least I can get that prick off my back for awhile," I muttered with a frown before I finally reached the man and knelt down with a vial of red liquid in my hand. "Open up fucker, this'll deal with that poison," I muttered to myself before forcing the liquid down his throat and tossing the vial over my shoulder. The man weakly groaned and rolled onto his back with a grunt. I inspected his wounds and frowned to see that he was a bit torn up. "Great, more work," I said with slight annoyance. As I pulled out a first aid kit from my bag I heard a few footsteps closing in and arched a brow before looking over my shoulder to see that small timber wolf pup burst from the foliage and charge towards me with fire in his eyes. It lunged at me with a small bark, but I simply back handed it away with an unimpressed gaze. It let out a small yelp and as it jumped back to his paws another set of footsteps began to approach.

"Jacob!" a woman's voice called out before a blue mare with short green hair joined the party, breathing heavily and directing her attention towards me and the fallen man next to me. "Jacob!" she shouted before her horn began to glow with an aura of blue magic. I tilted my head in confusion to see a mare dressed like a secretary preparing a spell to use against him. Who was this? Soon I began to remember the mare from last week and chuckled to see her here, ready to help this man, Jacob apparently. "Get away from him!" she ordered through gritted teeth as she fell into a fighting stance. A small smile of amusement came to my face before a placed the first aid kit next to Jacob.

"Or what? You really want to test me, girl?" I questioned with a low growl. To my pleasant surprise she didn't seem to waver and held her ground with a hardened glare. I chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck. "Guts, I like it," I said before turning around and making my way to the forest. "Don't let him die now, it'll be a big pain in the ass if he did," I said with a lazy wave. I heard the two quickly run towards the fallen Jacob with urgency and a small whimper. Before I reached the foliage I paused as the mare spoke again.

"Who are you?" she questioned. I chuckled gave a simple shrug.

"Not sure, my names a bit hazy right now," I replied before looking over my shoulder and locking eyes with hers. "But I suggest you forget about me. It could be dangerous for him if you tell him about me," I said with a quick glance towards Jacob. "Also I real problem for you," I threatened before turning back to the forest and entering the foliage, leaving the rest of the work to the mare and pup. It may have been a better idea to kill them both, but then I'd be stuck patching that bastard up. I scoffed in amusement. "Screw that," I muttered as I entered deeper into the forest, my mind slowly beginning to think of the pack and its leader. Maybe it'll be a good idea to look into that strange pack.

I hate this world

by last of delta1

That's one way to wake up.

I fucking hate my life.

GO HUMP A CHAIR!

Easy pickings.

That bitch.

Shit...

Behind the scene.

First friends?

A night of loss.

Just another problem.

Finally catching a break?

Settling in. (Edited!)

A coming storm?

Death doorstep.