> Heart Without a Beat
>  by BronzeUnicorn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Found
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sounds of thunder and lightning played all through Equestria as a huge storm engulfed the land. This was supposed to be the biggest storm in Equestrian history. The reason for it was to make up for all the storms and downpours they had missed the past few years. They warned everypony to stay in doors for the next few weeks as it passes, but not all were able to. 

A young colt named White Mark trudged through the storm as his head hung low. He couldn't care less what happened to him. He had lost everything. His friends, his family, his home. All gone. It had been a few years since he moved away from Neighton and they had been some of the best of his life. But now, it was all over and gone. There was nothing he could do now to get it back. 

He kept trekking through the mud as the rain pelted against his back. His brownish gray coat, which used to be a radiant white, was soaked and dripping, chilling him to the bone. His black mane and tail sagged from the amount of water each were holding. His dull red eyes, which were bright, ruby red at one time, became puffy and more red than they already were from the burning tears and rain whenever it flew into them. 

When White Mark finally brought his head up to look at his surroundings, he noticed he was near the edge of town. He looked at the line of small houses the lined the street beside him and saw a discarded blanket laying on one of the porches. He quickly trotted over to it and grabbed it into his hooves and nuzzled it. It had certainly been a while since he felt the warmth of a blanket, or anything for that matter. 

He quickly look around for somewhere to rest for the night. He saw an abandoned alleyway that looked like it hadn't been touched in years. he smiled weakly at the shelter from the rain and cantered towards it. After looking it over, he found a bigger blanket and a few items to make a small tent to sleep it. Within ten minutes, he made a makeshift bed and tent from the surrounding items. He laid on the bed and pulled the blanket over his small body. He sighed with content as he found a comfortable spot. 

After a few moments, the thoughts from earlier returned and bombarded his mind, not allowing sleep to embrace him. He thought about his first day of school, he thought of his parents fighting about him being worthless, he though about that horrible day when he lost everything he held dear. 

Tears began to fall as the horrible memories from over two weeks ago returned with vengeance. His mind began to race and scramble with all the memories, questions, threats, and comments he had faced since then. He gripped his head with his hooves and sat up against the wall of the building, which he had set his tent against. His body began to shake violently as his mind continued to race unrelentingly. His breathing turned from calm and collected to ragged and strained. His eyes shut tight and he bit his bottom lip making it bleed. In a sudden burst in his mind, he screamed at the top of his lungs. It was one filled with pain, anger, sorrow, betrayal, and sadness as it bounced against the surrounding buildings. It was probably heard from a few miles out.

White Mark's body trembled from the deafening outburst as tears flowed down his face. He breathed heavily as he listened to the sound of his outburst faded into the distance, echoing every so often until it faded completely. After a few minutes, he crawled back into his makeshift bed and curled up into a ball of limbs, beginning to cry and sob uncontrollably. Years of pain and suffering now let themselves be known as they were released threw the tears that now formed a small pool on the bed. Hours seemed to pass this way, it became darker as the sun had retreated behind the clouds. It was impossible to see the sun through the very dark clouds, but if one looked closely, they could tell it was now darker than it had been an hour ago. 

Eventually, exhaustion won over White Mark's body and mind as he cried himself to sleep. Sleep that wouldn't provide the pleasant and lucid dreams where anything was possible. It provided nightmare where the worst monsters and disasters plagued the mind and prevented any kind of useful sleep. Hours and hours passed by this way, until the pony woke up feeling unsatisfied and exhausted still. White Mark was used to this. It had plagued his mind since that horrible day. Even if it was weeks ago, it still effected him in the worst ways. Most of which was sleep. 

He suddenly woke up with a start as he sat up under his makeshift tent. His heart was pounding painfully and his body and bed was covered in sweat. Tears were also present on his face, matting his coat as they slid down in a flowing fashion. He looked around t make sure none of the nightmare was real, and to his relief, none of it was. He sighed and laid back down to let the restless sleep take him again. 

His eyes suddenly shot open as he heard hoofsteps coming towards him from beyond the alleyway. He quickly sat up and looked out into the foggy and rainy night, only to see a figure approaching the alley. He started shaking as he quickly ran back to his tent to hide under his blanket. He cringed as he listened to the steps coming closer and closer. He was shaking and quietly crying, praying to Celestia that it wasn't the one from his dreams. The hoofsteps finally stopped in front of the alley. He could heard the breathing of the pony as the hoofsteps began again. They came right up to his tent and he felt the pony's breath on his head from under the blanket. He was shaking so hard that he struggled to keep the blanket over him. Then, he noticed it wasn't his shaking causing the blanket to fall off, it was the pony above him! His body shook as more and more of the blanket was pulled off of him. He felt the cold air on his skin as he cried softly and brought his hooves up over his face. The pony gasped as they gazed upon him, but White Mark dared not look at them. 

After a few moments, he felt a gentle hoof touched one of his forelegs. He shuddered and shook as the hoof was quickly withdrawn. Soon after, the hoof touched him again, but on his back as he was brought close to the pony. He felt the hoof start to rub his back soothingly and a soft, gentle, and caring voice speak to him. "Ssh, sssh. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." White Mark could tell it was a female and by the sound behind her, she was a pegasus. The hoof on his back kept rubbing in soothing circles, bringing his body to relax slowly. 

As his crying began to stop, a hoof came to wipe the remaining tears away, pushing his hooves away in the process. He slowly opened his eyes to look up and the pony who now comforted him. He gasped when his gaze fell upon one of the Princesses of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle. He gasped and his eyes went wide as he beheld her in all her glory. 

"You... you're... you're Princess Twilight S-Sparkle." He said, his voice cracking a bit.

"Yes. I heard your scream from in my tree house. I came to find out what's wrong, but I think I already know." She said with a weak smile as she nuzzled the side of his head affectionately. "You're coming with me. We're going to get you all cleaned up." She magically lifted White Mark and put him on her back. She quickly cast a protection spell over them, so the rain wouldn't get to them and turned to walk back to her library. "Its a good thing I found you," She began. "You could've died from hypothermia from how cold its supposed to get tonight." The only response she received from the colt on her back was a soft snore. She turned and giggled, seeing him fast asleep on her back. Smiling at the cuteness of him sleeping, she turned and continued the walk back to her home. 
> Comfort
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight finally reached her tree house after what seemed like hours. She quietly opened the door, as to not wake the sleeping colt on her back, and stepped in, taking in the warmth of her home. She shut the door a little too loudly behind her, which made the colt stir slightly in his slumber. She giggled looking back at him and walked over to the couch, lifting him with her magic and setting him down gently onto it. He would soak the couch with how much water his coat absorbed, but it needed cleaning anyway. 

The Princess walked across the room and opened it with her magic. It was the downstairs bathroom, which she would use to clean the colt and make him feel better. She walked to the tub and turned the water on, waiting for it to warm up enough. When it was warm enough, she let it run for a few minutes until it was half full. She turned the water off and went out of the room to fetch the colt. 

Walking in the room, she noticed he was still fast asleep. She smiled at the cuteness of the scene as she walked to him and stood beside the couch. She nudged him with her muzzle to wake him, saying, "Come on, little one. Wake up." Within a minute, the colt woke up. He looked around the room confused. "Its okay. You're safe here." Twilight said as she used her magic to lift him onto her back, walking to the bathroom.

She entered it and sat the colt down beside the tub. She looked him up and down to check if he was harmed in any way. She stopped when she noticed a few decently big scratches on both sides and his right foreleg was shaking. She looked a little closer and noticed it was misshapen. Twilight gasped as she slowly took the foreleg in her hooves, immediately earning a whimper and a yelp from the colt as he jerked it away. She looked at him curiously as him kept it risen above the floor with tears beginning to form in his eyes. "That hurt." He said, blinking away the tears.

"How long has that foreleg been like that?" She asked with concern. 

"Its been that way for a while. Ever since I broke it falling off a small cliff. You see, I was running away from a scary creature and I didn't see the cliff. When I saw it, it was too late and I fell. I hit my head and broke my leg that day and it was raining too. I almost drown in the in that little place too, but I managed to escape." He finished the story with a frown on his face.

"We need to get that checked out, but after I clean up those scratches and give you a bath." She made a mental note to take a good look at the leg later. She quickly got some medical supplies out of the cabinet and cleaned each scratch. "There. I'll have to put a bandage around you torso after your bath, but they should be fine for now." She made a mental note to do so later. 

"O-Okay." The colt said as he was helped into the bath by the Princess.

"Okay, let's get you all cleaned up." She used a small bucket and scooped up some water to pour on his head. When she did, the colt jumped at the surprise of warm water. He wiped his eyes and looked at the Princess. She giggled at the look, which made the colt laugh in return. She continued to pour water on him until he was good and wet. She, then, began to wash his mane and tail, making sure to get all the mud, gunk, and grime out of them. After that, she grabbed a brush from the counter and poured water and soap onto it. She began to brush his coat with some pressure, getting the deepest part of the coat. The colt couldn't help, but moan at the pleasing feeling of being brushed. He never got to brush himself, let alone somepony else do it!. After a few minute, she had managed to get all the grime out of the coat, making it shine as it was returned to its pearly whiteness. She pulled the plug from the drain, making the filthy water go down. As the tub emptied, she rinsed him once more to get the final shine out of his look.

After getting out of the tub and drying him off, she brought him back to the main room to get a good look at his right foreleg. She told him to sit on the couch while she went to get some things and make some tea. When she came back a few minutes later, she was levitating a tray with a kettle and two cups, and some things the colt had never seen before. She laid the tray down on the coffee table and poured him a cup. "Here. Be careful, its hot." She said while pouring one for herself. The earth colt nodded his thanks and sipped gently, so not as to burn his tongue. He relished in the wonderful flavor of the tea, he didn't even notice the Princess move to sit in front of him with the strange objects sitting next to her. 

"So, what's your name?" She asked as she took a sip of her tea and picked up one of the objects.

"My name is White Mark, your Majesty." He said as he took another sip of his tea. 

"That's a nice name. Where are your parents?" She said as she began to inspect his foreleg. Noticing his lack of response, Twilight glanced up at the colt. He was looking away with a sad expression on his face. "Do you even have parents?" She asked in a soft, caring tone. White Mark shook his head as he looked down. 

"My parents abandoned me a while ago. I don't even remember what they look like. I've been on my own for as long as I can remember." Twilight was shocked by this. This young colt has been living all this time on his own for years, probably since he was very little. "I've been just fine up until recently. I had made friends and went to school in Neighton, but I did something bad and they drove me out of the town. I had lived there all my life, but now I have no where to go. I finally found this town and found the alley where you found me. I thought I could-" The colt was stopped mid-sentence as he went into a coughing spell. He gripped he sides after the spell had ended, groaning.

By this time, Twilight had finished her inspection and was listening intently to his sad story. "Are you alright?" She asked, wincing as she though of many different reasons why the colt held his sides after coughing. 

"Yeah. I've been dealing with that for a while now." He said. "I don't really wanna talk anymore." He said as he tried to clear his throat. 

"That's fine." Twilight said, returning to him. "You don't have to if you don't want to. Now, What I'm about to do will hurt, but I will keep your leg straight until we can take you to a doctor to get it fixed." The colt nodded and prepared himself. Twilight wrapped the bandage around his torso and pinned it shut. 

"Was that it?" The colt asked, looking a little confused. 

"Oh no, that wasn't the part I was talking about. This is." She said as she took his foreleg in her magic and began to wrap a different bandage around it. The colt winced and yelped as he felt the pain instantly. She kept wrapping until she pulled it tight a piece of metal around it. The colt was tearing up now from the intense pain. Twilight noticed this and finished adjusting the metal cast to his leg and snapped it in place. White Mark yelped one more time as a whimper and sobs broke free. Twilight quickly put the medical supplies away and climbed on the couch to comfort the whimpering colt. 

"T-That hurt a-a l-lot." He managed through the sobbing. 

"I know, I know. It had to be done, so your leg won't get worse. I put a spell on the cast, so that it'll take the pain away.  It should work in a few minutes." She said, holding him close and nuzzling him affectionately. After a few moments, the colt felt the pain ebb away and he sighed with content. "Better?" Twilight asked noticing the sudden release of tension. The colt nodded and yawned. Twilight giggled as she lifted him on her back. "Come on, Whtie Mark. Its time for us to get to bed." The colt merely nodded and wrapped his hooves around the Princess's neck. 

After getting upstairs, she noticed him drifting fast, so she laid him down in the guest bed and covered him up. He seemed to smile in his sleep as she did this. Twilight smiled to herself and lifted the covers of her own bed, getting in and finding a comfortable spot. She began to drift off, listening to the White Mark's breathing.





A few hours had passed as the two slept. White Mark had slept well for the time, until the nightmares came again. He began to toss and turn in his bed, mumbling and saying incoherent things. Tears began to fall down his face and he began to yell a little loudly. Twilight awoke to the light yelling and managed to wake up enough to see White Mark thrashing in his bed. She gasped and ran over to him. She shook him frantically, trying her best to wake him up. The yelling turned to screaming and within a few moments, he sat straight up in his bed to see the Princess looking at him with deep concern. Tears were streaming down his face as he looked back at her. He looked down and began to sob softly. Twilight quickly climbed onto the bed and wrapped him in a light embrace. He cried into her chest as he let out the intense emotions from the nightmare.

After a few minutes, his crying finally ceased and Twilight pulled away. "Are you alright now?" She asked. The colt just nodded, wiping the remaining tears from his eyes. "How about you sleep with me? Maybe that will help you sleep." She said. The colt nodded slowly as a big yawn escaped his mouth. Twilight smiled and brought White Mark to her bed. She laid him down and climbed in beside him. She pulled the covers over them and brought the colt closer to her. 

"W-What are you d-doing?" He asked as the Princess brought his back to her chest and wrapped her hooves around him. 

"Making sure you feel safe and protected." She said as she nuzzled his cheek and neck. White Mark moaned softly at the affectionate contact and smiled as he closed his eyes.

"Could... could you... uh...nevermind." He said as he decided not to ask. 

"What? Could I do what?" Twilight asked. "I'll do anything to make you feel better." She added.

White Mark considered this and began again, "Could you wrap me in your wings and rub my belly and chest? You don't h-have to, but I always thought that mothers would do that to sooth their foals." He was blushing intensely as he asked this.

Twilight smiled at this and giggle lightly. "Sure. As long as it makes you feel better." She lifted the covers with her magic just enough to unfold her wings and wrap them around him, then she used her right hoof, which was under him, to rub his belly and chest just like he asked. Again, he moaned at the wonderful contact and sighed contently.

"Thank you. For everything." He said sleepily as sleep began to take him. 

"You are very welcome." Twilight said as she continued the pleasant contact. After a few minutes, she heard the colt breathing softly and decided it was her turn. She yawned and let the sweet embrace of sleep take her to the land of dreams. Before she was fully asleep, she felt the colt beginning to stir once again, so she rubbed his belly and chest again, making him sigh and sleep peacefully again. At last, sleep fully took her in and comforted her with its pleasantness. 


> Plans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the sun shown through the light curtains of Princess Twilight's room, she slowly regained her senses to begin the day. She sighed with content as she felt the warmth of the blanket and the small heater next to her. Wait? Small heater? Twilight lifted the covers to find White Mark facing her, cuddling into her chest, and wrapping his small hooves around her mid-section with a content smile upon his lips. Somehow, during the night, they had both moved positions to accommodate the more comfortable position. She decided not to question it and just leaned down and nuzzled him affectionately, making him giggle and turn over in the bed, still half asleep. 

Twilight took this opportunity to get out of bed, careful not to wake him, and head downstairs to make breakfast. She knew she had to make it herself since Spike was away in Canterlot on official business. She didn't mind anyway, she knew how to make the basics of a good breakfast. If she didn't, she could just get one of the many cook books in the library to make something to suffice. 

She decided to make the colt some as well, which he could have when he finally woke up. He had been exhausted from his outburst that he fell asleep within seconds of hitting the mattress and pillow. Twilight could tell he was still in pain from his injuries, so she needed to apply the pain-killer spell to his cast and bandage again. It didn't work as well on the bandage as well on the cast, but it was better than always feeling the pain from either. 

Bringing herself from her thoughts, Twilight grabbed the correct ingredients to make some oatmeal with carrots and celery on the side. She gathered the container of oats, began boiling the water, and grabbed the bag of carrots and the bag of celery. She decided to let the water boil and wait until it was done to finish the dish, so she went back into the main room and grabbed the book she had been reading last night before hearing the colt. She had been so enveloped in the book recently. It was called, "The Homeless Chronicles". It was a sad romance novel about a young foal who lives alone for most of his life until he meets the right mare and falls in love. She read a review saying it had an interesting ending, but never gave clues as to what happens. She was almost finished with it, so she was determined to find out the ending. 

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door, which Twilight sighed and reluctantly got up to answer. Upon opening the door, she was met with one of her best friends, "Well, howdy, Twilight!" The Earth pony mare known as Applejack said as she gave a warm smile in greeting. 

"Oh, hello, Applejack! What are you doing here, so early?" The alicorn princess asked, genuinely wondering why. 

"Well, today's my day off and it has been a while since we hung out and Ah thought it'd be nice to pay ya a visit and catch up on things." 

"Sure. I''d love to! Come on in! I making some oatmeal with celery and carrots, if you'd like some." Twilight said as the orange mare walked in, passing her and looking around. 

"Sure, Ah'd love some! Ah haven't had my breakfast yet, so that'd be just fine!" Applejack said as she took a seat on the sofa. 

"Would you like something to drink while we wait for the oatmeal?" Twilight asked before heading into the kitchen. 

"Sure, Ah'll take some apple juice if ya have some." She said readjusted the stetson hat on her head. 

"Okay, coming right up!" Twilight said as she went to fetch their meal. 

Applejack just sat on the couch in silence, waiting for the delicious meal that was going to be her breakfast. As she began to relax, she heard a light crash, thump, and rustle coming from the second floor. She immediately became tense from the unexpected interruption as she looked towards the stairs that lead to the strange sounds. "Uh, Twilight? Isn't Spike away on royal business?" She asked, not breaking eye contact with the stairs. 

"Yeah, why do you ask?" She said as she brought their meals into the room, setting them down gently with her telekinesis. 

"Because there might be a intruder upstairs." She said as she narrowed her gaze at the stairs, as if expecting it to catch fire.

Twilight scoffed at this and waved a hoof dismissively. "Don't be silly Applejack! No pony would ever do anything like that! Just don't worry what's upstairs, its nothing to worry about." Twilight floated a spoonful of the oatmeal into her mouth and sighed with content from the enticing flavor. "Try the oatmeal, Applejack! Its great, if I do say so myself." She giggled at the self-complement. 

Applejack took the spoon with her hoof and brought it to her mouth. As she began to chew, the waves of flavor began to take over her mind, instantly making her forget about the strange sounds from upstairs. She moaned slightly and smiled as she swallowed the food, quickly scooping up another spoonful, bringing it to her mouth, and swallowing it with the same contentedness. 

Within an hour, the two had finished their meals and were chatting about recent things that had happened in each other's lives. Each just revealing in the pleasant company that the other provided. After another hour, the two had finished catching up and were preparing to go their separate ways, until a certain colt came down the stairs, unbeknownst to Twilight. Applejack immediately saw the colt behind her and just gawked at him. Twilight kept rambling until Applejack tapped the alicorn's shoulder and pointed behind her. Twilight looked to see White Mark standing there, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

After a few moments of silence, Applejack finally spoke up, "Twi, why is there a young colt in yur house?" There was no frustration or or anger in the question, just confusion lined with curiosity. 

Twilight just smiled and walked over to the colt nuzzling him affectionately. "This is White Mark. He will be staying with me for a while. 

Applejack immediately jumped to conclusions and spoke before her mind could stop the words. "Is he yours?" 

Twilight's eyes widened suddenly at the question, making her flush with embarrassment. She shook her head and giggled a bit. "Does he really look like he's supposed to be mine? I would've had to have him years ago!" White Mark just stood there quietly as the two mares talked. 

"Well, you could've kept him a secret, but I guess its not really possible." The farm pony shrugged and walked over to the half awake colt. "Well, where'd he come from?" She asked, looking him over.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure, but I found him in the alleyway in between Allie Way's and Pokey Pierce's houses. He's homeless and hurt pretty bad. I did what I could last night, but he still needs to be taken to the hospital to be examined." Twilight put a hoof around his shoulder as she saw him wince from the pain coming back into his body. 

Applejack was shocked at hearing this, but not from the sadness of the story, but the way he had survived when he was only about 12 years old now. "How old is he anyway?" She asked after getting over the initial shock. 

"I'm not sure. He didn't tell me that last night." Twilight said as she leaned down to ask him. 

"I'm 12 now, I think. I don't exactly know my birthday, so I just assume that's how old I am." He said before the alicorn could ask. 

Both mares were shocked by this. How could a pony not know their own birthday? That just seemed impossible. "Okay." Twilight said before an awkward silence could claim them. "Let's get you some breakfast and cast the pain-killer spells again, hm?" Twilight said as she lead the way to the kitchen. 

"So, are you just gonna take care a him for now?" Applejack asked, pulling Twilight back into the main room. 

"Yes. Who else would? He would've froze to death last night had I not found him when I did!" Twilight stated. The worry and concern for the colt were visible in her eyes. "I also think he was abused when he was younger. When I tried to pick him up, he just pushed my hooves away and just shook more than he already was. I am determined to find out what happened to him and I want to help him get a better life than what he had before." The determination was contagious as it spread to Applejack. 

"Sounds like a plan ta me! Count me in!" The orange mare said as said smiled with the same determination. 

"Great! It'd be helpful if the other's knew about this. We'd have a better chance to find out things with all of us working on it." Twilight brought a hoof to her chin in thought. 

"Oh! Ah could go tell em! It is my day off after all!" The Earth mare said as she turned to leave. 

"You don't have to waste your day off doing this-" She was cut off with a hoof being brought to her mouth. 

"Like Ah said, Twi, Ah'm in this too. Now, Ah'll go tell the our friends, you get him ready and take him to the hospital, and we'll all meet ya there. Okay?" Applejack put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder in reassurance. 

"Okay," She said. "I'll see you at the hospital." She hugged the mare and thanked her for helping out as Applejack left in a brisk trot. Twilight shut the door and walked into the kitchen. "White Mark, we're leaving soon, so we have to hurry." THe colt only nodded as he finished his oatmeal that he got himself and followed the Princess to get ready to leave. 
> Complications (Revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Getting White Mark into the hospital was more than a challenge to Twilight. Before they left the tree house, Twilight told the colt where they were going. Upon hearing this, the colt's eyes grew wide and he quickly galloped out of the room, making Twilight chase after him. When she entered the main room, he was no where to be seen. It was like he just vanished into thin air. But, when she hear so noises from upstairs, she knew where he was.

When she entered her room, she didn't see him anywhere. When she was about to turn and head back down stairs, she heard some muffled coughing from under her bed. She smirked as she walked over and began to lift the covers. Before she could do so, the colt crawled out from under it to run right past her to try to get away, but when he noticed a purple aurora around him, he stopped fighting and gave in. "Are you done?" She asked as smiled smugly at her victory. The colt reluctantly nodded and hug his head in shame.

The rest of the way proved to be just as hard, if not harder. She had to put an immobilization spell on him just to make him stop. He had tried everything to get away, but the Alicorn Princess would not allow it. He needed to see the doctor whether he liked it or not. Now, however, they were waiting in a small room for the doctor to arrive. White Mark had stopped whining and complaining an hour ago. He had finally accepted his fate and was now laying on the examination table, laying his head on his crossed hooves. He was completely silent, aside from a coughing fit every so often, which was followed by him gripping his sides and groaning slightly.
Twilight knew this colt was hurt, but gasped when she thought she saw a trickle of blood from his mouth. Before she could get a good look, he sucked it back in his mouth like it had never happened. That little display caused he to become even more concerned for him.

After a few moments, the doctor finally entered with a warm smile on his face. "Well, good afternoon, Miss Sparkle, or should I say, your Majesty." He paused for a moment to bow to the purple alicorn.

"Oh, its fine, Doctor Aid. You can still refer to me as Miss Sparkle." She smiled as the doctor nodded his head.

"Very well. So, who do we have here?" He asked as he turned to White Mark.

"His name is White Mark. I found him in an alleyway and decided to take him in. I've already looked over him and he's not looking very good, as you can see." She began to explain all that she had figured out while inspecting him last night and the doctor listened intently.

"I see. Looks like we will need to get an X-ray and a MRI scan. It so we can see what's going on inside his little body." The doctor stopped to write down a few notes before gesturing for them to follow him.

Soon enough, they came upon the X-ray room. They had White Mark hold a thin object over different parts of his body as the took the pictures. After it was over, Doctor Aid led them to the MRI scanning room and began to question the little colt about medical history. Of course, he found only small things and none of the things he really needed to know.

After leading White Mark into the room, he helped him get onto the table and helped him get situated. An hour passed before the scanning was finished and they were ushered back to the room where they had started. They were now waiting for the results of the tests.

While Twilight sat in the chair next to the examination table, she decided to take a quick glance at the white colt. He was facing away from Twilight with his face buried in his hooves. He wasn't crying, but he was shaking slightly. She sighed and stood up to try and comfort the colt. She ran a hoof along his back and began slowly rubbing it in smooth circles. She quickly noticed his shaking slow a bit and he looked up at her, his eyes brimming with tears. She frowned and wiped a few away as they began to slide down his cheeks.  "Its okay. I'm sure that there's nothing seriously wrong with you." She tried to assure him, only making more tears fall.

"T-Twilight, I'm scared..." The shivering colt whimpered.  

"I know, but there's nothing to worry about. Dr. Aid and Nurse Redheart are going to take good care of you. I promise." The lavender alicorn smiled, trying to assure him as she rubbed his back soothingly. 

"Alright!" Dr. Aid began as he walked in the small room and laid the folder down near the sink, releasing it from his magic. "Sorry about the wait. There was a problem with the printer. Anyway, let's see what this little guy needs." He immediately opened the folder, flipping through the pages inside. "Okay, it seems the X-ray shows his right foreleg is quite broken and needs to be realined, his skull also has a small fracture, but that can be easily fixed, he has a minor laceration on his abdomen, which will need to be sewn up, and finally, he has the beginning stages of pneumonia. He'll have to stay here for a week to be treated for it. All the rest are just minor injuries." 

"S-So, I will have to st-stay here?" White Mark asked, voice cracking. 

"Unfortunately, yes. If the pneumonia isn't treated soon, it will get worse and could very possibly kill you." Twilight gasped at that, but the doctor continued. "Forgive me for being blunt, but I simply need to stress the seriousness of his condition. A nurse will be in here shortly to check you in and lead you to your room. I will be there as soon as you are checked in to begin the treatment. Miss Sparkle, visiting hours will be over soon, so you will have to say goodbye after he's checked in. You may visit him all this week, though. I must go prepare, so I'll leave you for now." With a nod, he left and a nurse showed up a few moments after. 

Once White Mark was checked in, Twilight was able to say her final goodbyes for the night. "I wish I could stay, White Mark, but I can't. I promise I'll visit you everyday this week until you are better."

"I... I don't want you to leave! I don't want to be alone again... I'm scared..." Twilight frowned slightly and hugged him again, letting him use her shoulder. 

"You won't be alone, never again. Nurse Redheart will be here, like I said before. She's really nice and she will make sure you feel safe. I heard she gives the best hugs and nuzzles too." Twilight said, smirking when the colt perked up and blushed. 

"Okay. I guess I can stay here. I have stayed in worse places." He giggled lightly and smiled. He looked so much better with a smile on his face, Twilight noticed. She definitely wanted to see that again, it was positively adorable!

"That's good. I'll be here first thing in the morning when you wake up. My friends should be there too, they really want to meet you." The blush rose into the colt's cheeks again, making him giggle nervously. "They're all really nice, so you have nothing to worry about. Well, goodnight, White Mark." Twilight smiled and gave him one last hug, lightly kissing him on the top of his head. The colt smiled and nuzzled into her chest, enjoying the last loving moment for the night. 

Twilight left after that and the doctor came in to discuse what all needed to be done. He gave the colt some medicine and worked on the smaller things first, sewing up the cut on his stomach, using magic to fix his skull, and rebreaking the bones in his leg. It hurt quite a bit, but the medicine took most of the pain away. For the pneumonia treatment, he needed to be asleep. Nurse Redheart soothed him, which made him realize that Twilight was right, she did give good nuzzles and hugs! Once he was asleep, they began. He was going to be very sore tomorrow and very tired, but at least he was finally going to get better. 
> Sleeplessness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Its dark. Nothing, but utter nothingness was seen. The last thing White Mark remembered was Dr. Aid giving him medicine to sleep through the procedure and then, nothing. Maybe he was still asleep and it was over? That could be true, but how does that explain where he is now? 

"White Mark..." What? Did somepony say something? His ears twitched and swiveled around, trying to get a lock on the sound. 'Hmm. I guess not.' He though to himself. 

Suddenly, he was pushed forcefully. He yelped as he toppled over into... grass? Soft, wavey grass? He watched as the scene around him changed into one of complete peace and relaxation. He was now in a field of grass, light patches of trees dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see. Only one tree sat alone, on top of the tallest hill, overlooking the gorgeous scenery. 

'Wow...' the white colt thought to himself as he gazed upon the beautiful place. He trotted over to the big tree, which seemed to be oak, and laid against it. Maybe now he could finally get to relax. He closed his eyes and just listened to the gentle breeze flowing through his mane and coat, letting his mind go blank and his thoughts move slowly. 

Everything was calm as the young colt opened his eyes again. He smiled to himself as he watched the Princess's sun begin its descent below the horizon. Then, the world seemed to glitch for a second. The face of somepony formed into the sky. He couldn't recognize it at first until he heard a soft voice in his head, "White Mark..." He squinted his eyes, only to gasp at the now readable face of Princess Twilight Sparkle. 

"You guys! I've got him! I see him in the dream now!" White Mark's eyes shot wide open. He was in a dream? He couldn't be... This all seemed so real... Too real... 'How is this...?' He didn't have much time to think as the world began to collapse on itself. The land crumbling as if it were a cookie in a young foal's hoof. He suddenly was dropped into darkness, falling endlessly...





The suddenly became bright. White Mark's eyes shot open as he sat straight up in bed, right into somepony's forelegs. he was panting hard and was soaked in sweat. He also noticed that his fur was mated under his eyes and that tears were forming and sliding down them freely. What had happened?

"Oh, White Mark!" The pony holding him gasped, sounding worried and distraught. "We thought you'd never wake up!" 

Wake up? Had he been asleep the entire time? What has happened? The pony finally released him, sniffling slightly. Twilight had been the one holding him? She wiped his tears and some of her own. She must've noticed the colt's confused face. "After the treatment for pneumonia, you had a bad reaction to the procedure. You went into shock and went into a coma for the past two weeks." Two weeks?! He had been out for two weeks?! It only seemed like a few minutes or possibly hours...

"Since then, I have been trying my best to get you to wake up. I've used up a lot of magic trying to get through to you and it has finally payed off!" The now sobbing alicorn hugged him again. This must have been hard on her. It looks like she hasn't sleep or bathed in a while. White Mark just sighed and hugged her back. 

"Ya gave us quite a scare, sugarcube." A familiar, accented voice said. "Poor Twi, here, has been here since hen trying to help ya. We've tried to get'er ta go home n' rest, but she's too darn stubbarn." The farm mare said, walking up to the bed and putting a hoof on the crying alicorn's shoulder. 

"Its true, darling. The poor dear hasn't slept since then and simply must get home and get some much needed rest!" An elegant, white unicorn stepped up and began to help Twilight off of the bed, with the help of the orange mare. 

"Wait!" She shouted, making everypony in the room wince. "Just one more goodbye." The two mares beside her nodded and let her go. She walked back to the bed and wrapped the shivering colt in an affection hug, nuzzling his neck soothingly. "I'll be back soon. I'm just, really happy you woke up." She pulled back and smiled, giving him a kiss on the forehead before turning around and leaving with her two escorts. 

"She was really worried about you. She refused to stop until you woke up." A shy-sounding voice spoke up. White Mark turned his head to see a cream yellow, pegasus mare standing on the other side of the bed. 

"We were all worried about you, but she definitely was way more!" A cyan, rainbow-maned pegasus mare added, hovering above the other pegasus. 

The pink-maned pegasus looked at her for a moment before turning back to the colt. "If Twilight is worried about somepony, we're worried about them too. She seems to think that you are very special. We all came to help her find you a home. She also wrote a letter to the Princess about all this. She wants to meet you soon." White Mark's eyes widened as his mind tried to process all of this information. 

Why had all of this happened? Why to him? He had done bad things in his past, but it seemed like living on the street for most of his life made up for that. And why would the Princess of Equestria want to see him? Was what happened really that important? It must be if the Princess personally requests an audience. 

He mind slowly slightly as he felt soft, gentle hooves rubbing his back. "Its okay, little one. You're safe here. I'm sure the Princess just wants to help as well." The yellow pegasus assured with a smile as she applied pressure to his back, making him relax. 

A familiar white Earth pony entered the room along with a familiar doctor. "Alright, everypony. Visiting hours will be over soon. Plus we need to speak with the patient. Just examining him and how he feels, or rather, a simple checkup." Dr. Aid said as he gestured to the door. The two pegasi nodded and gave the colt a smile before heading out the door. 

"C-Can Princess T-Twilight come b-back and stay with me?" The colt spoke up finally, wincing as his voice cracked with slight pain. 

"I'm afraid not. I'm sure she has her own things to do and she needed to rest after being here for two weeks straight. We even called security on her, but she threatened to knock everypony out just so she wouldn't leave you. She truly cares about you. I hope you know that." The colt nodded as the doctor approached. "Now, say 'Ahh'." He did as he was told as the doctor put a small, wooden stick into his mouth, making him gag slightly. If the Princess of Magic truly cared for a colt like him, what could be so important that she wrote the Princess for?
> Insecurities
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next three days after waking up from the coma were the fastest ones White Mark had ever seen. They came and left with nothing truly memorable happening. He met some of Twilight's friends and most of the Elements of Harmony, discussed what needed to happen for him to remain healthy, and took some magic lessons from the Alicorn of Magic herself. 

Today, however, was completely different. So far, Twilight had been teaching the colt about the history of Equestria and Magic, a few of her friends stopped by, and Nurse Redheart came in to check on him and give him his late lunch. The hospital food wasn't that good, but was definitely better than old, rotten food from inside a dumpster. 

As he began to eat, Nurse Redheart let him know that he had a visitor. He asked who it was, she said it was the only Element of Harmony that he hadn't met yet. The colt looked confused at this, but told her to let the mare in. He jumped as a flurry of pink rushed into his vision, scaring him enough to hide under the covers from the sudden entrance. 

After a moment, he risked a look outside his warm bunker of blankets, only to find a pink coated, pink maned Earth pony mare standing above him and staring down at him with her ocean blue eyes. He shrank back under gaze and whimpered silently. "Hi! My name is Pinkie Pie and you must be new because I've never seen you in town before, which means I need to throw you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party! And I'll invite everypony, so they can meet you and you meet them and you can become friends and even best friends! Maybe you'll even meet your special somepony! *GASP* Then I'd have to throw you two a 'Happy New Couple' party, then you'd get to have more cake and muffins and cupcakes and, oh! Cupcakes! I need to make some! Did you know there are many different types of cupcakes and that I know how to make every single one?! Maybe I should make you some, then I can make some for Twilight and Rarity and Fluttershy..." 

White Mark began to tune her out at that point. He began rubbing his temples with his hooves to try and relieve the new migraine. She just wouldn't stop talking! On and on and on and on! What was she even talking about now? He didn't have time to try and listen when the pink mare suddenly gasped and rushed out the door at speeds that would make Rainbow Dash proud. 

He sat there for a moment, holding his head from the intense pain that now flooded it. He even noticed a few drops of blood fall from his nose. He could barely move from the intensity of the pain. He sighed and strained to reach the call button. Hopefully Nurse Redheart could take the pain away like she usually could. Maybe she'd even allow him to cuddle with her again?





Finally! After three whole weeks of being in the hospital, it was time to be released. The hospital staff had been very nice and considerate of White Mark, but Nurse Redheart was always the nicest and most caring. He would definitely miss her, but he was glad to be out. Even if he had been in a coma for most of his time there, it still seemed like he had been couped up in the forever!

As Twilight finished the final sheet of paperwork, he was wheeled toward the front entrance in a wheelchair by his favorite nurse. As the reached it, White Mark could smell the fresh air as it filled his lungs, making him feel in pony heaven for a few moments. As he stood up from the wheelchair, he turned to give the white mare one more big hug and nuzzle before heading back to the library with Twilight. She smiled and returned the affectionate gesture before kissing his cheek and turning back to the hospital, putting the wheelchair back in its position and resuming her duties.

Twilight laid her right wing over his back and pulled him close to her, giving him her own afectionate nuzzle and sighing contently. "How's it feel to finally be out of the hospital?" She asked after a few moments, keeping her wing on his back. 

"It feels great! I'll miss Nurse Redheart, but I'm definitely happy to be out of there." He returned, watching as the entered the small town. Ponies didn't seem to notice or care about him at the moment. They were just minding their own business. 

"Good. Pinkie Pie has been telling everypony about you." Pinkie Pie? Was there something that he was supposed to remember today? If it was important, he'd remember it, right? "She said that there's a big surprise waiting for you at the library, though. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but I was told to keep you away until three o'clock." This wasn't sounding good. 'What gift would the pink mare have for me' White Mark thought as he looked at the town clock. 

"But, its only one-thirty. What are we gonna do for an hour and a half?" He asked after thinking a bit. 

"Well, we could get some lunch. I bet you're tired of eating that hospital food, right?" She asked, knowing the answer already. The colt nodded rapidly and smiled. "We could get something to eat before heading to the library. How does that sound?" The white colt was literally beaming at the lavender alicorn as she spoke. 

"Really? Can we?"He asked, practically jumping out of his skin in anticipation. 

"Yes, we can." She smiled and giggled as he start jumping up and down, completely excited about getting to eat something beside garbage and hospital food. Twilight just laughed at his antics as he tripped over himself and into a bush. He crawled out a moment later, smiling sheepishly. "Come on, you silly colt." She said, leading him to the nearest resturaunt.





After filling their stomachs with hay burger and hay fries, the couple was finally heading back to the library. They kept the conversation from the resturaunt going as they neared their destination, laughing every so often about the funny things that had happened the past hour and a half.

After arriving, standing in front of the door, they talked for a bit longer. White Mark was starting to get suspicious. It seemed like she was stalling or keeping him from the library. Everytime he asked if they could just head in already, she shot back with an already used topic or something else that seemed distracting. 

Finally giving in, Twilight let him open the door and head inside. It was a lot darker than he remembered. How was it even this dark during the day? Suddenly, the lights were turned on, blinding the colt for a few moments before a defening chorus sounded saying, "Surprise!" He jumped and yelpd as he was suddenly surrounded by ponies of all different sizes and colors, most of which he had never seen or met. His eyes grew wide as he looked around, beginning to sweat a bit. 

He relaxed whe he saw the other Elements of Harmony shift their way through the crowd towards him. The pink mare was included of course. "Hey! I told ya that I'd throw you a great big party! What do ya think?" She asked excitedly, gesturing to the scene around them. The colt just smiled and chuckled nervously, the walls closing slightly. 

"Well, c'mon then! There's a whole bunch o' ponies just waitin' to meet cha!" The orange farm mare said, grabbing his hoof and leading him to a small group. "White Mark, this here's Lyra Heartstrings, Bon Bon, Derpy Hooves, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia Melody." She gestured to a mint green unicorn mare with a white and slight less mint colored mane, a very light brown Earth pony mare with a pink and indigo mane, a gray pegasus mare with a yellow mane, a white unicorn mare with an electric blue mane, and a charcole Earth pony mare with a darker colored mane. All of their tails matched their manes. Each one smiled to the young colt as he nodded back, giving his best smile also. 

The mares began to talk, giving the, now shivering, colt time to slip away and find someplace to calm down. That's what he was supposed to remember! That pink mare had said she'd plan him a huge party and she hadn't gone back on her word. He kept dodging between the big crowd of ponies, looking for a spot to hide, beginning to panic slightly. 

The colt finally spied a small corner near the back, the buffet table hid it well, so nopony would find him there for a while. As he made his way through the crowd, he heard somepony begin to speak through a megaphone. "Alright, everypony!" It was the Element of Laughter! "Its time to meet the pony who this party is for! Give it up for the young colt, White Mark!" As soon as the spotlight flashed upon him, the crowd went silent. Where had she even gotten a spotlight that big? Better yet, how did she get it in here?! 

Suddenly, all attention was on him. Hundreds of pairs of eyes were watching his every move. His eyes widened as he looked around. It was so silent that one could hear a pin fall to the floor. Then, the world began to spin, everything around him bled into something completely diffent. In a monochrome setting, he was looking down at a younger version of himself. he was being laughed at and teased at a school play. he had messed up the line and everypony was laughing at him. 

Reality suddenly returned to him in full, everypony still staring at him. he now noticed the concerned looks on their faces. He felt something warm and wet slide down his face and something else slide down from his nose and further to nis neck. He was suddenly aware at how hard his body was shaking. It was like he was hooked up to a vibrating device that was set on high. 

"White Mark?" A voice sounded to his left, bringing his attention from all the ponies staring back at him. He suddenly felt his legs wobble as hoofsteps approached him. They suddenly gave out, sending him to the floor with a thud and dull pain and numbness. Rapid hoofsteps came shortly before a pair of hooves slowly pushed him onto his side. The warm wetness was still there, now spilling onto the floor, forming a puddle of clear mixed with a dark red. 

Everything and everypony became a blur as his senses faded, everything fading to black slowly. He felt exhausted all of the sudden. It was as if he hadn't slep in weeks! Technically, he hadn't slept well since he was chased out of the town he used to call home, but this was the worst he ever felt it. Soon, the blackness would envelop him, sending him to unconsciousness in seconds. He could only watch the ponies above; Twilight was trying her best to get him to focus on her, Fluttershy wiping the puddle below his head, Applejack talking to Rainbow Dash, before she flew out of sight, and other ponies just watching with concern and worry. White Mark suddenly felt the exhausting gripping him, his eyelids slowly shutting. The last thing he heard, with the last of his senses to leave, was the sound of Twilight's frantic pleading to get him to stay awake. Then, everything faded to black nothingness...
> Interrogation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The world was spinning wildly as the colt slept. What had that been? Where id it come from? It hit him like a snowball full of rocks from thin air! He knew the memory that he'd seen. It was before his parents left him. They were normally too busy to come and see stuff like that. That had been one of the worst days of his life! 

Today, however, beat it without a fight. All those ponies watching him, judging him. He didn't get the chance to tell Pinkie Pie that he couldn't be around crowds, or strange ponies for that matter. It had terrified him to his very core. And now, he scared everypony who was present half to death! What would they think of him now? As some kind of freak or possessed pony? It didn't matter anyway. Now, he was probably laying on the floor while somepony fetched the doctor. Great start to the first day out of the hospital. 

Suddenly, his hearing came back. He couldn't hear the talking or whispering of voices from before. That must mean the party was over. Now, however, he could hear two ponies talking. "Can you just tell me what made him do that, please?" That was Twilight's voice. How long had he been out?

"Yes. He was under too much stress, which caused his mind to go into overload. The bloody nose was from his mind running so hard, so fast. The tears, though, I can't explain. You'll have to ask him about that yourself. Now, with much rest and relaxation, he should be fine. I must take my leave. Have a good rest of the day." That must've been the doctor. There ws the sound of a door shutting, then silence. 

Listening further, White Mark heard a soft, but strained sigh. 'This probably put a lot of stress on Twilight.' The white colt thought as he heard hoofsteps walking back toward him and stopping just in front of him. He felt pressure on the other side of the couch, coming closer to where he lay. He soon felt a soft muzzle against his neck and a pair of hooves holding him against somepony's chest. By the smell of the fur, which was lavender, it had to be the Alicorn of Magic herself. 

"I can tell you're listening, White Mark. you really scared everypony today." She spoke softly as she moved a hoof to his back and rubbed it in smooth circles. The young colt moaned a bit at that and sighed. 

"I'm sorry I scared everypony. I didn't mean to. I just... I don't like crowds, especially if they're all ponies I don't know. It reminded me of something from my past that scared me horribly and I couldn't held, but get scared by it. The fact that everypony was staring at me only made it worse. I wanted to tell Pinkie Pie now to invite everypony, but she didn't even give me a chance back at the hospital. Now... I just look like a weak, defenseless pony to everypony else..." Tear began to fall from his eyes as opened them and shut them tightly again. 

Twilight frowned and wiped some away. "Hey, its okay. Some may see you that way, but I certainly don't. All I see is a sweet, caring, hurt colt that just need tender love and care to feel better. My friends agree with me on that." She just held him closer as she said this. The colt took that opertunity to snuggle into the alicorn mare and unleash his sorrow. Twilight just held him, letting him know that everything will be alright and nopony will hurt him. 

After a few moments, the colt dried his tears and sighed weakly. "Twilight? I know this has nothing to do with what you want, but... can I have something to eat and drink?" He asked inoccently. 

She giggled at his cuteness. "Of course you can. I'll just go make us some dinner and we can talk more about it later tonight. The doctor said you need much rest to recover from this, so don't bother to get up. I'll be back in a few minutes." The colt nodded as she got up and trotted to the kitchen. He shivered as the warmth left his body, immediately wishing she hadn't left him. 







Ten minutes passed as White Mark waited. 'What was taking her so long? With how late it is, wouldn't she've just fixed sandwiches or something?' He thought as he continued to lay in the same spot on the couch. 

Suddenly, a throaty growl came from the kitchen. The young colt pointed his ears towards it to listen better, but heard nothing. He shrugged and slumped back against the cushion. A few moments later, the door slowly opened with a creaking sound. This was starting to seem very familiar. "T-Twilight? Is that you?" He asked shakily. The only reply was the door continuing it's creaking path. 

"Tw-Twilight? This isn't funny... You're scaring me..." He whimpered as the door  finally opened. He gasped when he noticed two bright yellow eyes staring at him from the darkened kitchen. Tears began to flow down his face as he recognized this scene. "No... N-No! Please, no!" He suddenly found that he couldn't move. He was frozen in place! He began to cry out and sob loudly as the creature showed itself, walking slowly out of the shadows.

"Wha... That's not possible!" He screamed as he gawked at the abomination. It looked somewhat like Twilight, but it had many rows of razor sharp teeth in its mouth, bloody claws coming out of its hooves, and cat-like eyes staring at their prey. It was drooling at the sight of it's late night snack. White Mark began to scream as the creature got into a pouncing position. Within seconds, it pounced, the poor colt screaming as he watched his short life flash before his eyes. 

Moments went by before he noticed the lack of pain. He immediately looked up at the creature, only to find Twilight staring at him with a concerned  frown. She was standing over him on the couch while her horn glowed a gentle violet. In the span of miliseconds, the colt broke down, crying and sobbing as Twilight grabbed him in her forelegs, holding him tightly. "Its okay. The nightmare is over. You'll be okay." She spoke softly. The colt couldn't stop now, that was the worst one yet. 

"I-It was horrible! It was l-like I never l-left! Y-You became a-a m-monster when y-you went in th-the kitchen! Y-You tr-tried to-" he was broken off by a sudden coughing fit. 

"I know. I saw it and I used a spell to stop it. You won't have another dream like that if I have anything to say about it. Speaking of dreams, would you like to try and go to bed? I'll be there with you, so that won't happen again." She asked, trying to sound reassuring. The colt just nodded with a yawn. Using her magic, the young alicorn put the exhausted colt on her back and trotted toward the stairs. "If you hadn't started screaming, I wouldn't have known that was happening." She said when they reached the stairs. She only got a shiver and a nod back. 

Reaching the stairs, she floated the colt to her bed. "You just stay there and I'll be right back. I'll keep the door open, so you can see me, okay?" She gestured to her bathroom. White Mark nodded as she went. He blinked once and she became the monster again. Gasping loudly and whimpering, he put his hooves over his eyes, hoping to stop it before it happened. A hoof stirred him as he looked up to see Twilight, normal this time. "It happened again?" He nodded and wiped the tears away before they could fall. 

"Okay." Twilight began, climbing in bed along with White Mark. "I have something that could make the nightmares go away." The colt perked up at this and smiled slightly. "Well, first you have to come closer to make this work." He nodded and did as he was told. "Now, this will feel weird at first, but don't panic, alright?" He nodded once again as she lowered her horn to his, making him gasp as he 'felt' Twilight enter into his mind. Oddly, it felt more relaxing than weird. He sighed as he suddenly felt her magic spread throughout his body, releasing the tension from his muscles all at once. 

'Better?' She asked without the use of her mouth. The colt nodded as he snuggled into her and nuzzled her neck, smiling softly as exhaustion began to set in. Twilight just smiled and wrapped her forelegs and wings around him while pulling the covers over both of them with her magic. 

Within minutes, the colt was fast asleep, his chest rising and falling in a calm motion. Letting sleep finally come to her, the lavender alicorn yawned and nuzzled his cheek, keeping their horns connected. 'I have to help this poor colt. He has so many things wrong with him and it will definitely take a long time for him to recover. I promise, White Mark, I will do everything in my power to help you get better.' She felt the colt fully relax after that, making her relax as well. 'Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for everypony.' She though as she let the world of dreams take them both away. 
> Antisocial
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It started out like any other day since White Mark arrived. Twilight woke up first, making sure the young colt was fine and sleeping well. As she hoped, he was doing just that. She'd snuggle and nuzzle him, making sure he felt loved and cared for. Even if he was still asleep and couldn't truly thank her for it. 

Everything was fine until the poor colt woke up to see Twilight as the monster again. He started to scream before the lavender alicorn pressed her horn to his, calming his mind and easing the tension out of his muscles. He relaxed after that, sighing in contentment and thanking her for it in a light, barely audible whisper. She just kissed his forehead, smiling brightly at him for his assurance. 

They both gradually got out of bed and ready for the day. White Mark brushed his teeth, took a short shower, and made himself presentable for the plans for the day. Twilight had said she was taking him out to eat for brunch, then to the park, so he wanted to look as normal as possible. 

The only thing was that his caretaker was taking a long time to get ready. He decided to read one of the books from the series that Rainbow Dash had suggested. He grabbed the first book and began reading. A few moments later, or what only seemed like moments, he found himself looking at the clock on the wall. It was well past time to leave and he was half way done with the book alreayd! And Twilight still wasn't out! It was time to see what she was up to!

Laying the book on the coffee table, he hopped off the couch and trotted toward the stairs. Something suddenly caught his ears. Stopping fully, he listened carefully for any kind of sound. It was a scratching against something somewhat hard. Quill to parchment, maybe? It was hard to tell. So, listening closely, he followed the sound up the stairs and behind the door to the alicorn's room. He slowly opened it with a light creak. 

Peeking in, he saw his caretaker sitting at her desk with her focus on writing something. His suspicions had been correct that she was using a quill and parchment. That was easy to tel, but the real question was, what was she writing about? Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he slowly walked across the room, being as quiet as he could. He stopped when he noticed the writer hesitate. "Hey, White Mark." She let out, continuing her writing. 

"H-How did you know it was me?" He asked, sounding surprised. 

"Well, knowing you're the only other pony in the library and that you have a distinct shuffle to your hooves as you walk, its easy to tell when you're coming." She remarked without looking up from her work. 

"Oh." He said, sounding slightly dejected before perking back up when the alicorn finished writing. "What were you writing about and what took you so long? Its way past the time you wanted to leave." White Mark began, hoping to finally get some answers. 

"The letter that I was writing will have to wait until later and I took a shower, brushed my teeth, mane, and tail, and overall made myself presentable as you did. I'm sorry for taking so long, but I had to get this letter finished and sent." As she said the last part, she tied up the letter with a ribbon and sealed it with what looked to be her seal. Smiling as she noticed the colt's astonished stare, she sent the wrapped parchment away in a small puff of magic. 

"That was aweomse! Can I learn that sometime?" The colt asked after a moment's hesitation. 

The lavender mare smiled at him as she levitated her saddlebags onto her before answering, "Of course! I'd love to add that spell to the ones I'm going to teach you." White Mark beamed at that, jumping in the air with joy. "Well, come on! Let's go before we skip brunch." The colt just nodded and followed as she led him down the stairs and through the door to his favorite restuarnt. 





"So, wait. The Princess of Equestria wants to see me?" The white colt asked after swallowing a few bites of his grilled hay and daisy sandwich. 

"She wants to see you because she wants to test your magic ability." The lavender alicorn answered, trying to explain it as clear as possible. 

"But, I haven't even graduated regular school. Why would she want to test me, if I haven't even completed that yet?" He asked, completely confused now. The mare had already explained that the letter she had written was to her assistent who had been away on royal business. The letter had concluded that he was to stay in Canterlot to meet up with them and they would take him home with them. Now, however, she was trying to explain the reasoning of the trip aside from what was already explained.

"Its because she wants to see if you'll be able to join her school for gifted unicorns when you're ready. You may be a bit too old, but that doesn't matter. Ability is what matters. Besides, I'll be teaching you what you need to know to graduate and be in her school. That's if you pass her test." White Mark began to look nervous until the alicorn added on, "Of course you'll pass, though! I've seen your part of your ability and there's no way you'll fail!" He smiled at that before going back to eating. 

A comfortable silence surrounded the two as they finished their meals, both satisfied and content as they left the establishment. Walking a few blocks from it, Twilight decided to take a detour and head to the park. It seemed like the colt was a bit antisocial, so it seemed like the perfect opertunity to get him out of it. 

When they arrived, Twilight took a seat at a bench and gestured to the playground. "Go play. You need to make some friends your own age." She said after the colt's hesitation. 

He just stared at the playground and all the colts and filly on and around it before shifting closer to his caretaker. "But... I don't know how to make friends. I've always been afraid to try... What if-"

"Hey, Twilight!" The colt was cut off from a voice shouting from their right. It was unfamiliar to him as he looked to see a gray, yellow maned pegasus mare walking towards them. He shrank away from her until he noticed her shadow. A young unicorn filly, looking to be his age, trotted behind her. She had the same color mane, but slightly lighter coat. Little sister, maybe? He looked away quickly when she met his gaze. 

"Oh, hey, Derpy! Didn't expect to see you here." Twilight smiled as the grey mare took a seat beside her, taking up the rest of the bench. 

"I just brought Dinky here to play for a bit. I have to leave for work soon and she'll have to go to the foalsitter's, so I figured I'd let her get some energy out before then." She smiled down as the young filly the stood in front of the bench. Her eyes were intently focused on the colt beside Twilight. 

"Well, I brought White Mark here to make some friends. He's new in town, so I'm taking care of him for now. Maybe Dinky can play with him while she's here?" Twilight suggested, nudging the colt with her foreleg. 

The pegasus thought for a moment, scratching her chin with a hoof. White Mark looked up and gasped, looking at the way the mare's eyes worked. One was staring at the ground, the other was looking at something else entirely. Hearing the gasp, she looked up and noticed the colt's stare. "What, my eyes? I know. They can be a bit distracting at times." Twilight gave the colt a stern glare before the pegasus shook her head. "Don't worry, Twilight. I get that a lot. Anyway, I don't see why these two couldn't play together. how about it dinky?" 

The filly grinned and immediately walked over to stand in front of the nervous colt. "Hi, my name's Dinky. What's yours?" She asked politely, warmly smiling at him. 

He stayed silent for a moment until he was mudged encouragingly by Twilight. "My name's Wh-White M-Mark." He said shakily. That was all the filly needed to continue, holding out a hoof, with him nervously shaking it with his. 

"I like your name! Wanna go play some light catch?" She asked, practically beaming at just the mention. The colt seemed uneasy at hearing it. "Oh, don't worry. I'll teach you how to play. Its easy to learn and one of the safest games ever!" She assured, the smile seemingly ready to take over the world with cuteness. She watched him think it over before nodding slightly and hopping off the bench. The filly trotted happily away, the colt following suit, albeit a little slower. 

The two mares on the bench, however seemed content in watching the two. The filly sat down with the colt and began to explain the rules of the game, smiling the whole time. The colt just nodded and listened intently, asking the occasional question. After a few moments, the filly was teaching the colt the spell and how to properly cast it and keep it lit. It didn't take long before they began to toss the ball of light back and forth, both laughing and having a literal ball. Both mares smiled at them, happy to see them playing together. 

"They sure are having fun. I kinda wish I could join." The grey mare said with a giggle. Another giggle sounded from the mare beside her. 

"Yeah. I could, of course, but they seem happy enough by themselves. its nice to see him smiling. He hasn't had an easy life so far." Twilight said, frowning at the last part. 

"Let me guess, he lived in an alley for most of his life?" Derpy guessed, surprisingly spot on. The alicorn just simply nodded, seemingly unfazed by the correct guess. 

"Its just hard to imagine what he's wnet through. He isn't even that old and he's seen things that I haven't even thought of or wanted to yet. I already think of him as my own, but..." She just sighed instead of finishing the sentence. 

"I can understand that. When I found Dinky, I could take the fact that she'd been abandoned and left on the street. I just took her in in a heart beat and kept her as my own. Now, she seems like the happiest filly in Equestria. If he already means that much to you, then you know what to do." The grey mare but a hoof on the alicorn's shoulder, smiling at her as the mare returned it. 

"I was thinking of doing just that, but the laws have changed. When you adopted Dinky, you didn't need to be married to have her. Now, however, you have to be a licensed pair to adopt a foal that's not in foster care. I looked it up this morning when he was reading." Derpy just frowned as lavender mare continued. "I mean... I've never had a relationship before. I've never even thought of having one, especially if it goes above friendship. I don't even know if I'm ready and if anypony is even interested in me... I just..." She sagged on her haunches before being hugged by the grey mare.

"I understand what you're going through, Twilight. You want the colt, but you're not sure if you're ready for a relationship. I can assure you that there is somepony out there for you, but I can't tell you if you'll meet them soon or not. Who knows? Maybe you already know them and you haven't noticed yet?" She suggested, making the frowning mare giggle for a moment. "Just push towards getting him and, before you know it, you'll have him and your special somepony in one happy family." The pegasus pulled back and smiled at her, nodding and letting the thought sync in. 

"Thank you, Derpy. That means a lot." The lavender mare perked up and hugged the mare in front of her, smiling at her fortune. "I'll take your advice and push towards having him. I'll think about the relationship thing when it comes up." Both mares smiled to each other before the grey coated one glanced at the town clock. 

"Well, I have to go now. I'm glad I was able to help, Twilight. If you need help with the adoption papers, just ask." The mare said, giving one last wave as she walked to her daughter. Twilight watched as White Mark said goodbye to his new friend, watching both leave the park completely. 

After watching them go, he trotted back to his caretaker with a smile on his face. "Think you're ready to make some friends now?" She asked, smirking lightly as he nodded and gestured to the playground. "Yes. Go ahead., I'll be right here if you need anything." The colt nodded again before trotting toward the new destination. 

Stopping only a few meters away from his destination, White Mark looked around, noticing how everypony was watching him. He shook his head as he moved on, trying his best to keep the panic out of his system. He, soon, reached the playground, only to be surrounded be a bunch of different colts and fillies with conflicting looked of curiousness and disgust. Looking around, his ears twitched at the sound of hoofsteps approaching, follwed by an unfamiliar, rude soudning voice, "Well, well, well. Look what we have here!"
> Exclusion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, this day had started off good. Now, however, it was going in a downward spiral. It really seemed that things were looking up for poor White Mark. He even made a new friend! He kept looking around at the young fillies and colts surrounding him. He had already noticed the way some of them had parted to let somepony pass. To his dismay, it was the filly who called out to him.

"Looks like we have ourselves an outcast!" The pink Earth pony with a purple and white mane said as she stood in front of the ponies who had parted for her. Another Earth pony filly stood beside and a little behind her. She had a dark grey coat and a light silver braided mane. She didn't look like she wanted to talk, she only smirked as the pink filly continued. 

"What do you think you're doing on my playground, pest?" She demanded, soundingangry and a bit stressed. 

"I-I'm n-new in town a-and I was j-just looking to m-make some f-fri-" The colt began, his voice shaking as his anxiety began rising. 

"Friends?! Who would ever want to be friends with an unwanted, piece of horseapples like you?!" She demanded rushing foward and pushing the colt into the dirt. There was an audible thud followed by the sound of rining metal. White Mark immediately felt dazed as he lost his balance and falling back onto the ground. He felt something warm trickling down the back of his head, but that was the least of his concerns. 

"Ponies, like you, don't belong here! They belong somewhere else, way far away from us normal ponies!" The pink filly walked closer and used her right hindleg to kick him in the stomach. He immediately wrenched and gripped it, yelping when the next kcik hit him square in the nose. It immediately started to bleed, causing some to go in his mouth, making him spit and cough.

"You don't even deserve a chance to be normal. You're even a blank flank! Look at you! You're pathetic and useless. Just an unwanted, uncared for, piece of horseapples just waiting to be torn apart by timber wolves." She now glared at the sputtering colt, now lay crying and sobbing before her eyes. Without hesitation, she looked at his slightly misshapen leg and slammed her hoof down on it, breaking it instantly. He immediately howled in pain, alerting a certain alicorn to what she had missed.

The colt slowly brought himslef to his remaining, uninjured hooves and ran as fast as they could carry him. Seeing the colt go, three fillies stood up and ran toward the scene, a very peeved Princess following closely behind. "What just happened here?!" She asked upon arriving, seeing the blood on the ground.

"Isn't it obvious? I just saved you a lot of time, Princess!" The pink filly said, sounding as innocent as possible. 

"How was that savin' anypony time? Ya just hurt a poor defenseless colt and sent him a runnin'!" The yellow filly shouted, clearly angry from the display. 

"You did that, Diamond Tiara? If you think that was worth anything, then you are clearly mistaken! You are going straight to your father's and you are going to explain what you just did! I'll even notify the Princess about that behavior! The rest of you, go home now and think about what you just did! You just let an innocent colt be njured without so much as peep from you!" All the colts and fillies shrank back at that and left without hesitation. "As for you three, get the girls together! We have to find him!" The three nodded and raced off in the directions that would lead them to the others, while the lavender alicorn took the filly to face her father. 





He knew it wasn't true. All along, somewhere deep down, he just knew that it was too good to be true. Somepony loving him? It was always impossible. Then what was he feeling right now? Whatever it was, it made him feel worse on the inside than he is on the outside. He shook his head and kept running, crying out his pain with every bit of pressure on his broken leg. He had been running for more than half an hour by now at least. Hopefully, they wouldn't bother looking for him. 

Letting the tears flow freely, he began to think of Princess Twilight and how affectionate she'd been, how she had helped him these past few weeks. Was it right to run away from her? Did she deserve this? The answer is no because she had no part in his pain. Well, except that she had brought him to the park in the first place, but she couldn't have known this would happen. 

A sudden thought popped into his head a moment later, making him chuckle despite the pain. The only way the lavender mare could've know this would happen was if she was a fortune teller. He laughed out loud a moment later, thinking of her wearing a turbin. If he'd get to see her again, he'd have to get her to put one on, just to see how it'd really look. 

He frown for a moment. Would he see her again? He didn't think so. She probably thought he was a weakling for getting beat up by a filly, if she was watching. Although, the way she seemed to care for him would suggest otherwise. She, most likely, didn't see the conflict and found out when she came back from whatever she was doing. Now that he thought about it, he thought he heard her yelling behind him. It sounded angry, so, at the time, it only seemed to push him to go further away.

What if she was yelling at the filly who hurt him? What if she gathering a search party, right now, to search for him? What if it really was true? What if she really did love him? Shaking his head, he rubbed his temples for a moment. A huge migraine took over his mind, probably from the head trauma. He knew he couldn't go to sleep, that would be an extremely bad idea! Feeling his eyelids grow heavy, he knew he needed to think of something fast!

He looked around for a moment, grunting iritately upon seeing nothing to keep himself awake. Thinking back, he thought of the spell that Dinky had tought him. Gasping, he lit his horn, light immediately shooting from it and forming a bright ball in front of him. He smiled as his eyes bruned slightly from staring at it. Hopefully, if Twilight was really looking for him, she'd find him being exhaustion hit...





"Alright! We need to find him fast! Judging by how much blood was on the ground, we haven't got much time! He is badly injured and needs medical attention as soon as possible! So, whoever finds him, take him immediately to the hospital! After he's in, take the spell sheet I have given to you and fire it in the air, so we all know he's safe! Everypony got that?" Twilight asked, sounding frantic and really stressed. Everypony in the room nodded. 

"Okay. Rainbow Dash, you fly over all of Ponyville and any surrounding forrest to try and spot him! Applejack, you and Pinkie Pie search through town, see if anypony has seen him. Rarity and Fluttershy, check near the Everfree and around the other forrests, he likes to hide, Cutie Mark Crusadeers, stay here in case he comes back, and finally I will write a letter to the Princess about this, then fly around Sweet Apple Acres and its surroundings. Everypony know their assignments?!" She asekd, taking a much needed breath. A chorus of "Yes, Ma'am"'s sounded with salutes. "Alright, everypony! Move out!" With that, everypony set out to their assignments in finding the colt. All of them praying to Celestia that he would be safe and back in their hooves as soon as possible. 
> 4th of July Special
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, anypony know why we were brought up here?" Applejack asked as she trotted up the hill to her friends, three exstatic fillies following closely behind. 

"Twilight said that she had a special surprise for us." Fluttershy said, glancing at the orange mare as she took her spot on the blanket next to an excited cyan pegasus.

"It better be good, if she asked us to come all the way out here in this chilly air. This can be murder on a mare's fur!" An irritated, white unicorn stated, putting her foreleg to her forehead for dramatic effect. 

"Oh, give it a rest, Rarity! I'm telling you, its going to be totally awesome!" The rainbow mare was practically vibrating with enthusiasm. 

"What's gotten you all excited?" Applejack asked, giving her cyan friend an inquizitive look. 

"Nothing! Its just that its a little cold out here, is all." The pegasus recovered, faking a shiver for effect. 

"So, would mah body heat be enough ta keep ya warm?" The orange mare asked, scooting close to the mare. Sparks erupted wherever skin touched skin, making said mare shiver and blush heavily. Applejack just smirked and laid her head on the cyan mare's shoulder. Rainbow Dash said nothing as she lay her own head against her friends, smiling softly to herself. 

The display of affection went unnoticed by the other ponies as they were minding their own business.  Fluttershy and Rarity were talking about their spa day coming up, Pinkie Pie was, for some reason or another, eating some kind of sweet she had brought with her, and the CMC were chatting amongst themselves. 

"What'd'ya think Twilight's got planned for t'night?" Applebloom asked. 

"I don't know, but I think White Mark said him and Twilight had been working on this surprise for a while. It has to be good, if two powerful magic users are making it." Scootaloo said, smiling towards the end. 

"Speaking of White Mark, where is he? I haven't seen him all day." Sweeite Belle asked, sounding a bit worried. 

"I'm sure he was just with Twilight. Probably workin' on whatever the surprise is." As if on cue, the young colt and said alicorn trotted up to the rest of them. Both seemed immensely happy about something because neither could hide the eager smiles on their faces. 

"See, Sweetie? I told ya he was with Twilight." Applebloom said, making the fily blush as the white colt turned to her and walking to her. 

"You were worried about me?" He asked, smiling when he recieved a nod. "That was very kind of you, but I'm pretty sure the Alicorn of Magic could protect me, if needed." White Mark smirked as he took a seat in between Sweetie and Applebloom, making her blush even more. 

"Alright, everypony!" Twilight began, clearing her throat to get their attention. "As you know, White Mark and I have been working on something special for you all. Its taken the better part of a few weeks, but we are proud to announce it's finally finished and that we are testing it tonight. We both have worked very hard, so we hope you will all enjoy it and the show." Everypony looked confused at her wording, but all went silent as the alicorn's lit, making the group turn purple from the glowing appendage. 

Everypony gasped as a light explosion sounded in the distance and a very colorful light show appeared before their eyes. A few more were shot off, making more lights and colors appear and disappear, everypony cooing from the beautiful display. As the show continued, two mares had scooted closer to each other, sharing nuzzles and warmth under the lights and sounds above them. A certain white filly scooted closer to White Mark, laying her head on his shoulder and smiling and giggling at his blushing before returning to the show. 

'Ooos' and 'Ahhs' sounded as the show finished with the brightest colors and lights, followed by the biggest 'BOOM' any of them had ever heard. Everypony congratulated the two creators on a job well done. They, then, began to explain the machine that now set in front of them, it was made to produce explosions of light that Twilight liked to call, "Lightsplosions". Everypony laughed at that before heading home, thanking them for a great night. 

It was easy to note how close a certain couple had become. Rainbow Dash actually followed Applejack home, giving the orange mare a sweet kiss when she thought nopony was looking. Things had been looking up for the two of them recently. As for a very young couple, Sweeite Belle had fallen asleep with White Mark, her head still laying on his shoulder and his own head resting gently on her neck. Before saying goodnight for the final time, the young filly placed a kiss on his cheek before following a smug-looking Rarity home. 

The night had gone as expected for Twilight and White Mark. They were happy that everypony enjoyed their show and even more so that two of their friends left with each other, giving the impression that they were finally together. Twilight had also congratuated the young colt on getting a kiss from Sweetie, but he just shrugged it off, feeling a bit embarrassed. Now, however, he was laying in his bed, completely content and ready for the land of dreams to let him into its welcoming embrace. 
> Vexation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The early morning sun began to rise, signalling for the day to begin. Birds began to chirp as six exhausted mares headed back to the tree house. They had searched well into the early morning hours, but none of them had found any leads. Twilight had already sent her letter to the Princess, only to recieve a negative reply stating that guards could not be sent. There was a problem that needed to be dealt with in Gryphonia. 

Everypony made their way into the library, stumbling as exhaustion began to set in. The only one that wanted to continue was, of course, Twilight Sparkle. "We can't just stop searching! He could be dying or even dead! How could you all just want to stop and prevent us from finding him?!" The poor mare was clearly the most stressed. It was easy to tell by her mangled mane and tail, her extremely bloodshot eyes, and her matted coat. 

"We understand that y'er worried, Twi, but we can't keep goin' like this. White Mark even said he'd been through worse an' survived! Ah'm sure he's alright." Applejack tried to assure, giving her a warm, but tiired smile. 

"No! We can't risk it! We need to find him!" At this point, she was on the edge of snapping and breaking down. The other mares couldn't help, but feel sorry for her. 

"Twilight, dear, we must insist that you get some sleep, at least. You need it the most, since you're feeling the worst about this travesty." Rarity said, putting a hoof on the mare's shoulder. 

"I know. But, How can I sleep when I know he's out there, injured, dying, or even worse..." She gasped, thinking of the worst, but not saying it. Everypony picked it up and glanced at each other. 

"Please, Twilight. You need rest. We will go look some more, but you, most of all, need to rest." Fluttershy said, taking the lavender mare and leading her toward the stairs. The rest of her friends just looked on, seemingly knowing what was going to happen. 

As if on cue, the floodgates opened before they even got to the stairs. Twilight began to sob uncontrollably into the her pegasus friend's shoulder, matting the fur significanty. Fluttershy just held her there, nuzzling her neck and rubbing her back. This went on for a few moments before the other mares joined in. All of them came in for a group hug, comforting the distraught mare in the middle.

"Don't worry, Twi. We'll find him." Rainbow put in, patting the alicorn's back for reassurance. 

Then, all of the sudden, a horrific scream startled everypony into alertness. Their ears twitched to the sound until another one sounded off. All ears folded back as the sound was recognized. "Please tell me that's not..." No pony had time to react when Twilight teleported out of the circle of friends and out the door. Without hesitation, the other mares followed her, all of them praying to Celestia that the colt would survive whatever was happening to him. 





The whole world seemed to spin as White Mark began to wake up. His eyes burned as the light around him flooded into his vision. He hearing returned fast and made him wince, everything was louder than he remembered. he wiped the water from his eyes with his good foreleg, hoping to get a good look at his surroundings. Sadly, ne noticed he was in the same spot as when he passed out. Twilight hasn't found me yet. He thought, sighing as he let out a large yawn. 

After a few moments, he began to feel something drop on his body every now and then. It was wet and cold Looking u, White Mark noticed the dark-looking sky. It was starting to rain. Great. Just what I need. Once that thought passed, it began to pour. Luckily, he was hiding in an uprooted tree, safe from the rain. He would be alive and dry when somepony found him. 

He froze in place when he heard rustling ahead of him. He immediately glanced around, hoping it was somepony to rescue him. That thought was shot down when he heard the grunt of what souded like a Manticore. He remained very still, praying to Celestia that that thing wouldn't find him. But, as his luck would have it, the creature stopped and look right at him. 

Time slowed as the dangerous creature neared the tree, seeming to grin deviously at it's prey. It got into a pouncing position until the colt decided to make a run for it. White Mark ran as fast as his injured form would let him. He passed through thick trees, bushes, anything to get away from the beast. He ran for what seemed like hours when he finally found a small cave to hide in. He waited there, praying more and wishing more than anything for somepony to find him. 

He tried to sneak around the beast, only for it to chase him again. It had caught up to him this time and cut him along his left side. he ignored the pain and kept running for his life. He should be halfway across Whitetail Wood by now. The Manticore wasn't too far behind. Now, however, he was hiding in a bush near a small clearing. He would wait here until somepony or the Manticore to find him. He'd prefer somepony rather than the Manticore, though. 

He winced and covered his eyes as a brief light covered his vision. He rubbed his eyes a couple of times, only to realize that what he was seeing was real. It was a wierd looking creature that was made up of many different animals. He had the horn of a mountain goat, the antler of a deer, the head and neck of a different goat, the arm of a lion, the arm and torso of a gryphon, the wing of a bat, the wing of a pegasus, the leg of a another different goat, and the other leg and tail of two different lizards. Whatever is was, it seemed to be smirking at White Mark. 

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here! A young injured colt with nopony around to ruin my fun! But, you're not an ordinary colt, are you?" The creature was very amused at the look on the colt's face. What the hay is he talking about?

"W-Who are you?" White Mark asked, his voice trembling from exhaustion setting in once again. 

"Why I'm Discord! God of Chaos! And you are an extinct species that I should've gotten rid of a long, long time ago." He had a blank stare as he caught the colt's confused look. "You don't know, do you?" The colt shook his head, prompting the creature known as Discord to face-palm. 

"Allow me to enlighten you then. You are a race of a pony that is half monster and half pony. You can change into the monster any time you want, but if you get mad enough, you'll gain an enraged level that will make you unstoppable until you are calmed down once again. Your species was created by me as a cruel joke to the ponies of Celestia's time. It turned out that you still had the harmony inside you, which made you not want to use your 'bad side', if you will. 

"I grew tired of your resistence and revealed your true forms. All of your kind were either slain or sieged until the died out. You, somehow, made it out alive, which is why I am here. You do not belong here and should not be even living! Therefore, i will see to it that you will not be alive when your friends find you. Goodbye, White Mark." With that, Discord put his cat paw to his mouth and whistled. Loud rustling was heard in the distance and closing fast. The creature poofed away as the Manticore came charging out of the nearby trees and into the clearing. 

The colt had no time to react as the Manticore pounced on top of him. He lashed out and kicked at it, stunning it enough to get out from under it. Getting up to his hooves, he faced the creature. He knew he was fighting a losing battle, but he refused to go out without a fight. He grabbed a nearby rock and hurled itwith his good hoof. It hit dead in the Manticore's right eye, making it roar and charge. White Mark had just enough time to jump out of the way. 

He screamed out loud as he felt the claws of the beast dig into his flank. He was soon throw into a thin tree, making his head throb painfully. He shakily got up and dove t the side to avoid another charge from the blood thirsty beast. He tried to dodge again, only to scream loudly when he felt his whole right side be cut into. He fell to the ground with a loud thud, making him grunt  and sob at the new levels of pain. 

He screamed as loud as possible, seemingly loud enough to hear from Ponyville, when he felt the large stinger of the tail go straight through his shoulder and into the ground. He screamed again, same volume, as the stinger stabbed his torso, causing him to cough and start hacking up his own blood. White Mark knew this was it, there was no possible chance of him surviving this. He spit out more blood and coughed as the stinger was drawn for one last strike. He was ready for it, feeling his body go numb and his vision blur. 

As everything began to fade, a bright light shot the Manticore off of him. He could barely hear or see anything. He could only watch six figures rush to him and hear their muffled voices screaming. one in particular, a lavender blob, began to sob and cry out, sounding very angry and distraught. White Mark barely registered his body being lifted and held. he couldn't tell what was happening, but he knew he would fade soon. The last thing that was on his mind before he blacked out was, What was Discord talking about?
> Admonition
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything was black. Nothing was visible in this seemingly endless space of emptiness. White Mark couldn't discern anything at the moment. The only thing he could remember was the... Oh, oh no! Was he dead? Did he even survive through surgery? He could vaguely remember being carried into the hospital, but nothing else. Maybe he did die? If he did, where was he? Was this Tartarus or the Land of Harmony? He should be able to tell one from the other, right? If this was Tartarus, where is the lava and screaming of lost souls? And if this is the Land of Harmony, why is everything black?

Suddenly, the young colt was blinding by a bright white light. He covered his 'eyes' as the light seemed to engulf everything, turning the dark to light within seconds. White mark blinked and rubbed his eyes to get used to the sudden change in scenery. He looked around and around, trying to figure out what had caused such a change, until he heard a soft, soothing voice call out to him. Bronze... It spoke, Be not afraid... He turned around confusedly before jumping back at seeing the figure of a pony approaching him. 

"Be not afraid, young one. There is nothing to fear." The now visible pony spoke. White Mark just gawked at the pony before him. He had never seen one up close. 

"P-P-Princess L-Luna?" He asked as he slowly approached her. 

"Yes. I am the Princess of the Night. And you are not dead, you are merely dreaming." She gave a small smile as she spoke, calming the young colt's nerves greatly. He sighed with relief and comfort from the softness and silkiness of the mare's voice. 

"W-What are you here? And how am I dreaming?" 

"You have been asleep for seven moons. I have been watching over you to ensure your safety."

"Wait, I've been asleep for a full week? Why? How? And why would you need to 'watch over me'?" He scrunched his noise as his thoughts began to race and his heart throbbing in his ears. 

"The injuries you sustained during your fight with the Manticore were very severe. Princess Twilight narrowly saved you from death. As for my watching, you are in grave danger from yourself." A look of sadness and remorse crossed the alicorn's face. White Mark mind doubled it's speed and his heart felt like it could beat out of his chest. 

"What Discord spoke of was true, you are a different species of pony. Of what species, I cannot say. You must find that out for yourself. It is a grave journey to that information that you must take. I must warn you, Discord will be an obstacle that you must overcome. If you don't, he won't hesitate to destroy you." The Princess looked away as she finished, a few stray tears matting the fur under he glistening eyes. 

As the information set in, White Mark's mind shut down, taking his legs out from under him. He began to sob as his mind blanked. He didn't want any of this. Why did this have to happen to him? All he wanted was to live a quiet, peaceful life. He'd even prefer to go back to the alley he used to live in before Twilight found him!

Soon, everything around the quivering colt began to fade, leaving only himself  and the warnings of the Princess of the Night. Only, there was something different. There was another presence here. A mare perhaps? Whatever is was, it consumed him, bringing him out of his arua of sadness and back into reality...





After several minutes of blinking, the young colt finally managed to focus his eyes. He was aware of being awake, but wasn't having the best time coming back to face the intense, paralyzing pain that now occupied his still reeling mind. 

"Finally! You're awake!" Somepony shouted, making White Mark wince at the sudden sound. Before he could voice his disapproval, he was pulled into a tight, but loving embrace. He began to recognize the colors that swarmed his vision. He knew them right away and smiled as he accepted and returned the hug to his caretaker, Princess Twilight Sparkle. 

"I was so scared, White Mark!" She said, breaking the embrace. "I was scared that you'd stay asleep forever! But, here you are! Awake and very much alive!" The poor colt was gripped in another tight embrace before finally speaking. 

"Thank you for saving me, Twilight. I'm really happy I didn't die." He giggled nervously as he gave her a soft smile. 

"You don't need to thank you. I just knew I couldn't let anything happen to you, especially dying. I'm sorry I couldn't find you sooner and for bringing you to the park and for just everything! I promise, I'll take better care of you and-" A hoof was gently pressed to Twilight's mouth, silencing her instantly. The owner of said hoof just smiled and hugged her gently, nuzzling into her neck as she got the message and settled down in the bed next to him. 

"I appreciate you for promising that, Twilight, but you don't have to. You didn't know all of this was going to happen and none of this was your fault." He nuzzled further into the mare's neck and relaxing against her side. 

"I know, but I just wish you didn't have to go through this." Twilight finally began to return the affection after several moments. Both snuggling ponies fell into a comfortable silence as the colt nodded and continued, despite the now hanging thought of all that he has went through. 

"Can we do that again?" White Mark asked suddenly. Twilight gave him a look of confusion, prompting him to explain. "You know, where you hold me and craddle me in your wings and forelegs?" The alicorn couldn't help, but giggle as she granted the colt's request. She gently took him in her forelegs and brought him close, covering him with her wings after he was settled. She finished with pulling the covers over the both of them with her magic. "Can you do the thing with your horn again too?" 

"Do what with my horn?" She was a bit worried at what he was getting at this time. 

"The thing where you put your horn against my forehead and make me relax." He looked away blushing for a moment. How had he known she had done that? He was in his deep sleep when she put her horn to his head to pull him out of it. "How did you know I did that?" 

"Well, before you pulled me out of my deep sleep, I saw a glimpse of what you were doing. I noticed how it used magic to relax and calm my mind as you drew me back to reality. Can you do that again? Please?" He looked sad when he thought he wouldn't get to feel that again. 

After thinking it over for a bit, the young Princess gave in and lowered her horn to his head, making him giggle briefly at the tingly snesation it brought him. He visibly relaxed as the soothing magic began to flow through him. Twilight instatnly felt him relax at her side, relieving her to no ends that he felt better. It made her relax a bit at the cute sight of the young colt fast asleep. She couldn't help, but smile and yawn as the comfort of sleep after many hours began to grip her. 

Shutting her eyes and laying her head against the pillow, she let exhaution take her with open forelegs. The welcoming sleep came swift and fast as the world faded into the long awaited land of dreams. There, in the wonderous world, sat a certain alicorn, awaiting her fellow Princess' arrival to relay terrible news, which will change her life forever.