Chapter 1

Where am I? Who am I? What happened? …and who’s lying on my chest?

The man took stock of everything he could without opening his eyes. He seemed to be on his back, lying on a bed, with sheets covering his body. He could smell antiseptic and various other medicines, along with the scent of…horses? The smell seemed similar, but subtly different. Also, someone was lying on his chest, but it felt too small to be an adult, so he was not worried. He tried to remember something-anything-but nothing came to him. Must have amnesia, he thought, but I do seem oddly calm about it. Just who am I, anyway?

Finally he thought, no sense delaying any longer, and opened his eyes.

Big baby blue irises stared back from the face of a pale-gold horse-like creature with a pale-rosy mane and tail. The creature looked as though its head would come up to the center of his chest while standing.

What the…?

She-for this was clearly a female-was smiling sweetly, her expression that of one who was caring for a dear child. “Hello, little friend,” she said, “How are you feeling?” Okay, thought the man, what the heck’s going on?

She nuzzled him, and fluttered her eyelashes. He smiled, cupping her cheek in his hand. He could not help himself; she was too cute. She smiled back at him. He began to stroke her ears, and she cooed, leaning into the petting with closed eyes. Chuckling wryly to himself, the man sat up and looked around the hospital room-for hospital it was-and noticed that the only other bed in the room had the curtains drawn. The light yellow wallpaper contrasted with the pine-needle-green of the curtains around the window and bed. He noticed a t-shirt and a light jacket folded on the bedside table, and knew somehow that they belonged to him. He peeked under the covers and discovered that he was wearing a pair of denim blue-jeans. All the clothes appeared to have been washed recently. He saw his reflection in a mirror on the opposite wall, and was mildly pleased to see that he had a strong, well-toned body, and an olive-skinned complexion. Why am I so calm about waking up in an unfamiliar hospital with no memory of how I got here? Well, I can’t remember ever having solved a problem by worrying, so I suppose now is no time to start, the man thought, now stroking the little creature’s mane as he lay back down.

I should get out of here.

He sat up again, startling his companion. Why? Why should I leave? He knew not why he felt the need to leave before he was discovered; he only knew he had to get away. He rose, setting his companion down on the bed, and walked to the window. He climbed onto the sill, but stopped.

“Oh, my, are you okay?” asked the little creature, concerned at his behavior, “You really shouldn't go; we don’t know what’s wrong with you yet! You could be hurt!”

I…can’t, he thought, I can’t leave. I have to do something. He returned to the bed and settled back in, pulling his little well-wisher closer. I don’t recognize anything here, so why do I feel like I need to do something important?

At that moment, the door to the room opened, and two more horse-like creatures walked in. There was a unicorn stallion in a doctor’s smock with a dust-brown coat and chocolate-brown mane, and a lavender mare with a royal purple mane containing streaks of lavender and hot pink, and a marking of a six-pointed star on her flank. She had both a horn on her head and a pair of wings folded at her sides. “She’ll be devastated when she finds out the creature’s dead, doctor,” the mare was saying sadly, “but I guess there’s nothing we can do.”

“And what creature would this be?” At the sound of the man’s voice, the three ponies-for they were too small to be horses-jumped in surprise. The doctor gaped at the man, as though he could not believe his eyes. The yellow one squeaked and darted under a nearby chair, her rump and tail still clearly visible. The purple one, however, rushed to his bedside.

“Oh, I’m sorry, were we disturbing you…um, what are you?” said the purple mare, amethyst eyes scanning his body.

“And who are you? If you don’t mind my asking…” said the yellow mare timidly, as she crawled out from under the chair. The man noticed she was a Pegasus, and had a marking as well; three pink butterflies.

“I can’t remember,” said the man, cocking his head, “My earliest memory is waking up here with this sweet little mare. Thank you for your concern, by the way.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” whispered the yellow mare, hiding shyly behind her mane.

At this, the doctor spluttered out, “You mean you have amnesia?”

“Yes, I believe so,” said the man.

“Oh, that’s just awful,” said the yellow mare, coming from out behind her mane and gazing sympathetically at him.

“Don’t worry…uh…whatever you are, we’ll help you out until your memory comes back!” said the purple mare with a winning grin.

“But you were dead this morning!” said the doctor.

Everyone in the room turned their attention to him. “That sounds important,” said the man, “any idea why?”

“How can you be so calm?” asked the purple mare, “he just said you died!”

“I’m uneasy, now you mention it,” said the man, rising and pacing, “but that isn't why. It’s something else, but I can’t think what. I know that it’s important, though, so I need to stay calm and think about it. I just need to remember it first.”

“How?”

“Well, how did I get here, doctor?”

The doctor shook himself, and said, “Well, when you came in, you and Princess Luna were both covered in blood, and…” He jumped as the man turned and snapped a finger at him.

“That mare!” said the man, urgency suddenly etched into his features, “That’s it, she was hurt!”

“Oh no, what happened? Is she alright?” said both mares at the same time.

“Over here,” said a weak, hoarse voice. The curtains were surrounded in a haze of bluish, sparkly light, and they opened to reveal a midnight blue pony with a mane and tail like a starry night, and lovely blue eyes that were squinted in pain. Like the purple, she had wings and a horn. It would seem this was Luna; she was bandaged around her chest, her left wing, and in various other places.

The man strode quickly over to her. He knelt to kiss her front right hoof, and said, “It’s wonderful to meet you, Princess Luna.” Luna smiled, blushing lightly.

“How badly off is she?” said the man, turning to the doctor as he held Luna’s hoof gently in both hands.

“She’ll recover, thanks to you. She would have bled to death if you hadn’t gotten her here so quickly, with all those cuts. It also allowed us to set her wing and three ribs, all of which are broken. Frankly, I’d like to know how this happened.”

“So would I,” said the man softly, gazing into Luna’s eyes, “because I want to make sure it never happens to her again.”

At that moment, the man heard a tap, as though something had just touched the ground outside. “It sounds like someone’s just arrived from the sky,” said the man, puzzled.

“Wha…?” said the doctor, before a blinding light enveloped the room. It faded to reveal a very large, very upset pony.

“WHERE IS MY SISTER!? WHAT’S HAPPENED TO LUNA!?” said the swan-white mare who had materialized in the middle of the room.

“Princess Celestia!” said the mares, and Yellow Mare immediately bowed low. The doctor quickly followed her example, but Celestia was more interested in the stranger suddenly standing next to her.

“Hello your majesty,” said the man calmly, bowing, “I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Hello my little…um…what are you, may I ask?” said Celestia.

“I can’t remember,” said the man, shaking her hoof, “I have amnesia.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that…and very sorry you had to see that outburst,” said Celestia distractedly, looking about the room, “but would you know…?”

“Over there,” said the man, pointing.

“Luna!” said Celestia, catching sight of her sister. The two embraced, eliciting a smile from the man as he sat down on his own bed. Aww, how cute.

Luna looked at him, and said, “I heard the doctor say that you brought me here, is that correct?”

The man nodded, smiling pleasantly at her. “I can’t remember anything before waking up this morning, but that’s what he said.”

“So you aided my sister when she was hurt?” Celestia walked up to him and sat beside his bed.

“He probably saved her life, considering how much she was bleeding when they got here,” said the doctor. “Princess Luna was unconscious and covered in what looked like claw marks. We were able to heal her a little, but she’ll need rest and…”

“What do you mean, claw marks?!” all three mares said simultaneously.

Luna looked down and bit her lip as tears formed in her eyes. “Luna, what’s the matter? What happened to you?” said Celestia, rising and going to her sister, “Last I saw you, you were going on a walk to think about planning the ball, and now you’re in the hospital!”

“I-I was attacked by a w-wolf,” said Luna, shivering.

“What?” said Yellow Mare, “Where? How?”

“I was visiting the old palace in the Everfree Forest, trying t-to clear my thoughts, when it came out of nowhere! It was like something out of a night-a bad dream! It s-struck me and clawed at me, and when I tried to fly away it broke my wing with one of its forepaws!”

“That just doesn't sound like any wolf I've ever heard of! Are you sure that’s what it was?” said Yellow Mare.

Luna nodded shakily. “I believe so; it was definitely a dog of some kind, but I know not what kind, I only know it tried to kill me!” she said.

“Something about this doesn't feel right. What happened after?” said the man. Poor Luna’s really shaken, he thought to himself, but we need to get to the root of this.

“I smote it with all my might and ran. I did not wait to see if it worked, I merely wished to escape that beast! I ran and ran until I could run no longer and…and just when I thought I had escaped it leapt out of the bushes and threw me against a tree as if I were a feather!”

“No wolf should be that strong! No wolf could be!” said Yellow Mare.

“And after all those spells it still had the strength to attack you?” asked Celestia incredulously.

Luna turned to her sister with wide, fearful eyes. “It had not a mark upon it, sister,” she whispered, “as though it were not struck at all, though I didst see at least one spell hit its mark.”

“No creature should be unharmed after a blast from you, Luna,” said Celestia, awestruck.

“I agree; there’s no way that’s an ordinary wolf.” Why is this raising alarm bells in my head? Something is terribly wrong, thought the man.

“I know it was not an ordinary wolf, it walked on two legs as well as it did on four!” said Luna.

“WHAT?!” thundered the man, “the wolf walked on two legs?”

Luna’s lower lip quivered; she was shaking worse than ever. “Yes, and then it howled, and pinned me to a tree, and I could feel its muzzle inches from my neck, and then,” she paused, “I begged it to leave me alone, and it…did.” At this, Luna’s voice took on a tone of wonder, her eyes distant. “It looked at me like a scolded puppy, and began whimpering into my fur!”

“Oh, Luna,” whispered Celestia, holding a hoof to her mouth.

“Now that really makes no sense,” said the man, “but I think I need to get my memory back fast, because this thing gives me a weird feeling , like I know what it is but can’t remember. I do know, however,” he said slowly, “that whatever it is, it’s bad.” He noted briefly that the two could apparently do magic, and filed it away for later; it wasn't important at the moment.

“C-could it have been a Diamond Dog?” asked Yellow Mare timidly.

Luna shook her head, and said, “It was no reasoning creature, whatever it was. I doubt it held any thought save for my demise until the last second.”

“I know,” said Purple Mare, turning to the man, “I have a spell that might restore your memory. Maybe that'll help!”

“Worth a shot, miss. First, though, I’d like to know more about my own demise, if you’d be so kind, doctor…”

“Stable, my name is Doctor Stable.”

“Doctor,” said Luna, “what is he speaking of?”
“Okay,” said Doctor Stable, tapping his hoof and frowning as he thought, “last night we heard a loud pounding on the front door. When we opened it, there was the Princess with you under her like you had collapsed after carrying her here. We rushed her to surgery to get her bones set, but you had no arterial pulse, and we couldn't resuscitate you…”

“Did you figure out why I was clinically dead?”

“Dead?!” shrieked Luna. She then winced; her wings had tried to flare, and the broken one was still tender.

“No, so I’d like to check your heart rate now,” said Doctor Stable. The man sat down on the bed, and the doctor hooked him up to an electrocardiogram next to it. He turned on the cardiogram, and observed the slow, intermittent beeps. “What’s wrong with this thing?” said the stallion agitatedly. “I’ll just check the old-fashioned way.” He pulled out a stethoscope and put it to the man’s chest. “Breathe in, please,” said the doctor, “then breathe out.” The man complied. “Now turn and cough,” said Doctor Stable, frowning. The man obeyed.

“Is your heart normal?” asked the doctor.

The man shrugged. “How should I know, why, what’s wrong?” he said.

The stallion looked at him with a distant expression. “It’s beating at a rate slower than any I have ever seen, slower than any living creature your size. In a pony it would indicate cardiorespiratory failure, so as near as I can tell…you’re still not technically alive.”

“What!?” said every other pony in the room.

“How can it be dead? It’s talking!” yelled Purple Mare.

“I doubt he knows, or he wouldn't look like his cerebrum had shut off,” said the man wryly, “And what’s with the ‘it’?”

“Well, we've never seen anything like you before, so we can’t be sure…”said Celestia, gesturing with a gold-shod hoof.

“I’m a guy, like Doctor Stable said.”

“Are you sure he’s male?” said Purple Mare, “I mean, it looks like he has, well…” She gestured at the man’s chest.

“He’s a doctor,” said the man, “I think he knows what he’s talking about.”

“Oh, right,” said Purple Mare, giggling self-consciously.

“Perhaps we should have the young lady cast her memory spell now,” said the man with a chuckle.

“Okay, here goes something,” said Purple Mare, who then lit her horn with magic to cast the spell. She then gently placed her horn on the man’s forehead as he leaned down to grant her access.

Now, thought the man, what could that thing have been, that I’d know but they wouldn't?

Darkness…rage…the scent of blood…

“Werewolf!” shouted the man, leaping to his feet, “it had to have been a werewolf!”

“A what?” said Princess Celestia.

“Werewolf is a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon words ‘were’ and ‘wulf,’” said the man rapidly, pacing back and forth, “‘Were’ means man, ‘wulf’ is the ancestor to the word wolf. I don’t know how or why I know that, but I do know this; Luna’s lucky to be alive at all. Werewolves will attack anything that crosses their path when they transform. It also explains the strength and lack of wounds; a werewolf is incredibly strong, and can survive and heal nearly any injury.” The man feverishly continued. “An extremely and unreasonably aggressive wolf that can stand on two legs; yes, I think we have a werewolf on our…blast!!”

The ponies jumped, even Celestia. “What?” they said in sync.

“Luna, did it bite you?” said the man urgently, whipping around to look at her.

“No, why?” said Luna, eyes wide and frightened.

The man dropped back onto his bed, running his hands through his hair. “I don’t remember, but it’s a good thing it didn’t; whatever would have happened, it would have been bad.”

Purple Mare stomped a hoof. “But it’s still out there, we have to catch it!” she said.

“Luckily, we won’t have to worry for a month or so; werewolves only transform during the full moon,” the man said, looking up.

“But the full moon is in four days! It wasn’t full last night!” said Luna.

“What?” said the man, his brow furrowed, “How…wait…aconitum. It must have been poisoned with aconitum somehow, that’s the only other explanation. Thankfully, that also means it’ll barely be able to crawl; they can’t die of aconitum poisoning, but they are severely weakened after they change back.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I just can’t imagine how the poor soul could have ingested it; it’s toxic to pretty much anything.”

“What do you mean, ‘poor soul, transform?’” said Princess Celestia.

“A werewolf transforms every full moon, taking on the form of a wolf,” said the man, rising to pace the floor once again, “They can’t help what they do in wolf form; they’re like rabid animals, attacking anything that crosses their path. Once they change back they have no memory of anything from their time as a…now I remember!” he said, snapping his fingers again, “If a werewolf bites you, you’re turned into one yourself!”

“You mean to tell me,” said Princess Celestia seriously, “that in four days a wolf creature with monstrous strength that nopony can harm is going to run amok and turn innocent ponies into creatures like itself?

“Unfortunately. Worse yet, they’re also abnormally fast. And they’re vicious beyond belief, as Luna can attest.”

“We must capture it at once!” she said, pacing back and forth with a furrowed brow.

“There are ways to beat a werewolf, but…”

“Breakfast, Princess Luna!” said a white, pink-maned mare with a nurse’s cap, coming into the room with a tray full of blue flowers. “Oh my, I hadn’t been told there was another patient in the room, or I’d have brought you a tray as well.”

“I was dead, apparently.”

“What?!”

“He may share with us!” said Luna, “as he has saved our life, and it is only right that we should do all we can for him!”

The man got up, and as he did, he noticed something on the belly of his forearm. “I think I know what I am now,” he said to the room. He turned his arm so that they could all see, written in ink under his skin, the message; Είμαι ένας άνθρωπος.

“…What does it say?” asked Luna, “I cannot read it.”

“It says, ‘I am a man’” said the man.

“Why did you need to tattoo it on your arm?” asked Yellow Mare. Then she gasped and said, “Do you think you might have a history of amnesia?”

“No, I…don’t think so, somehow,” he said, staring at it, “but we’ll worry about it later.” He sat on the edge of Luna’s bed, and she levitated the tray with some difficulty to lay it in his lap.

“You first,” she said.

The man picked up one of the blue flowers, looked intently at it…then turned to the others and said in a low growl, “Does anyone else recognize this flower?”

Yellow Mare looked closely at the flower, and then gasped. “That’s monkshood!” she shrieked.

“Fie! Poison!” hissed Luna.

“What? How is this possible?” said Celestia, staring sternly at the nurse, “What is the meaning of this, Nurse Redheart?”

“I-I don’t know!” stuttered Nurse Redheart, “I could swear I’d put bluebells on the tray!”

The man scrutinized her carefully as she said it. “I believe you,” he said eventually, “but did you leave the meal unattended for any amount of time?”

“It was sitting on a counter for five minutes while I took care of a filly with a tummy ache, why?”

“I could believe it was an accident if it was just one,” said the man, rising and setting the tray aside, “but one look at the tray tells me it was deliberate.”

“And how can you know that?” said Doctor Stable.

“All the flowers are monkshood, you can tell by the helmet shape. That’s why it’s also called Thor’s Hat and Helmetflower.”

“Well, would you look at that, he’s right!” said Nurse Redheart, “this can’t be coincidence!”

“Who would do this?” said Purple Mare, who looked horrified.

“Wait, there’s a note at the bottom of the pile,” said the man, pulling a piece of paper from the heap of flowers. He read aloud, “‘We hope you enjoyed your last meal, Princess! Love, the Talons of Shadow.’”

“The Talons of Shadow!?” said Celestia.

“Who?” said Purple Mare.

“They are an anarchist sect that has been spreading propaganda against my sister and myself in other countries, claiming we are too weak to rule a nation,” said Celestia with a frown, “but I never imagined they would go this far! My own little ponies…”

“Well, they solved one of our problems; werewolves won’t go near monkshood. It has a cousin called wolfsbane, partly for that reason,” said the man. “You should be careful when handling it, though; like I said, it’s highly toxic.”

“That’s…fortunate,” said Luna.

“We can hand it out to our friends!” said Purple Mare.

“Well,” said Doctor Stable, “I’ll have some proper food brought to you. What would you like?”

“Bluebells would be nice,” said Luna.

“I’m not hungry,” said the man, “Right now I’m too riled up to eat.” The nurse left the room to get the princess a proper meal.

“What are you riled up about?” said Yellow Mare.

“It’s the Talons,” said the man, “I have something to say to them.”

“What would that be?” said Luna.

“That they have no right to harm an innocent woman...ah…mare,” he spat viciously. “If I ever get my hands on them...”

“Please, I would not wish to see you hurt over me, and these ponies sound dangerous,” said Luna to try and pacify the man.

“Don’t worry, I’m no fool; I won’t go looking for a fight. I just won’t go out of my way to avoid hurting them severely if they try anything.” The man stopped; he had been pacing and had not noticed. “I’m sorry; the thought of these…creatures hurting you just makes my blood boil.” He sighed, rubbing his temples. And now I have a headache.

Purple Mare spoke up meekly, as if trying to change the subject, “so what else do you remember besides the werewolf stuff?”

“…Nothing else.”

“What? But…”

“I know it’s weird,” he said slowly, “but I think that the best thing to do is let my memory come back at its own pace unless it’s an emergency. It seems to come back when it’s triggered.”

“Well, then, where will you go?” said Doctor Stable. “I don’t need to keep you here, since you seem fine.”

“He can stay with me!” said the purple alicorn. The man gaped at her in disbelief.

“You’d…you’d really let me stay with you?” She nodded her head and said, “Yes, of course! I’d be happy to let you stay with me.”

“But you barely know me…you don’t know if I’m dangerous, or some psychopath. Would you really let me in your home?” She nodded at him, confused by his behavior.

“Of course,” she said again, “it’s the right thing to do! You need help, and you seem nice enough so why shouldn't I give you a place to…EEP!”

The mare squeaked as she was swept up into a fierce hug. “You don’t know how much that means to me,” he said, “I’m so happy to be trusted. And I don’t even know why.” He released her, setting her down gently. “Then I accept your hospitality,” he said with a smile, “Thank you so very much, Lavender.”

“My name is Twilight,” said the mare, “Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria alongside Princesses Luna and Celestia.”

“Want me to kiss your hoof too?” he asked coyly. She blushed and shook her head.

“My name is Fluttershy,” said the yellow one shyly.

“You know my sister Luna,” said Celestia, “and I’m Princess Celestia.”

“I know, I heard,” said the man, “So what about you? Want your hoof kissed?”

“No thank you,” said Celestia with a sigh. Turning to Twilight, she said, “If it isn't too much trouble, Twilight, could Luna stay with you until the Starlight Ball?”

“Of course, I love it when Luna visits!” Twilight exclaimed happily, “but shouldn't she be guarded after what happened with the food?”

The man raised a hand. “I have a thought,” he said, “how about Princess Luna disguises herself and stays with Twilight here in Ponyville? She can just say she's Twilight's distant cousin if anyone gets curious. Meanwhile, Princess Celestia announces that her sister is on a vacation for her health, but doesn't say where, and will be back when she feels better. That way, Luna can hide in plain sight. I suggest you make it appear that she’s returned to the Palace, though; that will make it harder to find her on top of the disguise.”

“That’s…genius,” said Celestia, “how did you think of that so quickly?”

“I…don’t know. I really need my memory back.”

“Food’s here!” said Nurse Redheart, walking into the room, “and this time, I checked that the food was safe and didn’t take my eyes off it for a second. How are you, Mr. … umm…?”

“I have amnesia; I don’t know my name any more than you.”

“I’m…so sorry to hear that; I hope your memory returns soon. Anyway, this food should be safe.”

Nurse Redheart left to care for other patients, and Luna finally got her breakfast. While she was eating, she said, “What shall I be called while I am at Twilight’s?”

“How about Starlight Dream? Would that work?” said the man.

“That’s a great idea, but what about Luna’s injuries?” said Twilight.

“I think I have an answer for that,” said Celestia, spreading her wings, “Doctor, I would like to try healing my sister a bit more so that she may leave the hospital sooner. It is imperative that we begin with our plan immediately. Your hospital simply cannot provide adequate security.”

“After that wolfsbane just now, I agree, but let me be there while you heal her.”

“I am ready, sister,” said Luna, who was obviously eager to heal so she could spend time with Twilight and her new friend.

Celestia put her horn to Luna’s bandages, and it lit up with a golden radiance of magic. Luna’s chest, wing, and cuts glowed as well, and she let out a contented sigh as her pain lessened. “Thank you, sister.”

Celestia grinned. “No trouble at all, Luna.”

“How do you feel, Luna?” said Twilight.

“I am still sore, but I believe I can walk with some assistance.”

Doctor Stable removed her bandages and looked at the injuries. “You did an excellent job, your majesty,” he said, “She should be okay to leave, as long as she takes it easy and stays off her wing for about four days.”

“Then let’s go home to Canterlot and get you ready for your vacation,” said Celestia, nudging her sister’s cheek.

“In the meantime, I’ll take…Mr. Amnesia home with me,” said Twilight, putting the wolfsbane into her bag.

“I’ll come too…if you don’t mind, that is…” said Fluttershy with a shy smile.

“I’d be delighted to have your company, Fluttershy,” said the man, patting her head and eliciting a giggle.

Celestia helped Luna to her hooves, and they both lit their horns, Luna with some difficulty. The man noticed Luna had a mark of a crescent moon on her flank. He resolved to ask about it later. “We’ll meet in your library, Twilight,” said Celestia with a wink, and in a flash of light they were gone.

“We should get going, too,” said Twilight, beckoning towards the door with a tilt of her head.

“Do, let’s,” said the man, smiling. I can’t remember the last time I felt this happy!

Chapter 2

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“Thank you,” said the man, “I appreciate you caring for me while I was clinically dead.” He chuckled. “And washing my clothes. I appreciate that, too.”

They were standing in the foyer of the hospital, the man having already been checked out as a patient. Nurse Redheart smiled. “You’re quite welcome,” she said, “We found some things in the pockets of your pants, but we put them back, don’t worry.”

“Oh, you don’t say,” said the man with a smile her way, “maybe something in here will trigger my memory. I’ll look more thoroughly later, but for now…” He reached into the back pocket, and took out a battered wallet. “Let’s see,” he said, “my name is…Philip Oscar Johnson.”

“How do you know that?” said Fluttershy.

“It’s written on my…” He looked more closely at it, “…driver’s license here.” He showed her a small plastic card with his picture on it, as well as the aforementioned name.

“Oh. Um, why do you need it if you aren't driving anything?” she asked, looking at it.

“I think it’s so I can prove who I am, among other things.”

“I see,” she said, smiling shyly.

They exited the hospital and stepped into the bright morning sun. The green grass waved in the cool breeze, and though the trees were mostly green, some were beginning to turn color, heralding autumn. The chariot that Princess Celestia had taken had already departed back to Canterlot. Philip squinted in the sunlight; it seemed very bright out to him, though the mares did not seem to be bothered by it. He took in a breath of air, savoring the autumn smells, and then turned to Twilight and Fluttershy.

“Well, you two seem to be taking me in stride,” he said.

“Oh, don’t worry,” said Twilight, “we’re used to weird creatures. N-not that you’re weird, I’m sure you’re perfectly normal where you come from, but…”

“Define normal,” said Philip.

“Well, normal is…wait, you’re kidding, aren't you?”

“Yes. And I take no offence; I doubt you’re used to seeing anything like me around here.”

The air was crisp as they began walking along the narrow dirt road towards town. It was a quaint, friendly-looking little town, mostly thatched or shingled roofs and whitewashed walls, though there were splashes of other colors as well. The streets were filled with ponies selling wares, shopping, chasing each other in the case of foals, and generally enjoying the nice weather.

“I’m sure you’ll love Ponyville, Philip,” said Fluttershy as they approached. “There are so many little animals in Whitetail Woods and Froggy Bottom Bog, and…oh, my.”

They had reached the outskirts of town, and all the pony passersby were staring at Philip. I hope they don’t have torches and pitchforks, he thought. Wait, what?

“Now don’t panic, everypony,” said Twilight, “I assure you he isn't dangerous.” Just then, Philip heard a noise and, turning towards it, saw a cyan blur headed right for him. Instinctively, he fell onto his back right before the blur passed him. The blur hit the ground so hard it shook, and a cloud of dust was thrown up over the scene. When the dust settled, a light cerulean pony with a rainbow mane and a pair of wings was getting shakily to her feet, her rosy eyes spinning in their sockets. She had a Cutie Mark of a three-colored lightning bolt descending from a cloud, and a dazed look on her face. “Whoa, what hit me?” said the mare.

“Nothing, Rainbow, you hit the ground,” said Twilight exasperatedly, “Honestly, didn't you hear me say he was harmless?”

“Nah,” said Rainbow, “I was too busy savin’ your flank.”

Twilight turned to Philip, intending to apologize, but he was still lying down. Before she could ask him what was wrong, Rainbow landed atop him.

“Alright, monster, who do you work for and why were you following my friends?”

Philip just lay there with his eyes closed.

“Heh, must have fainted when he realized he was about to tangle with the Rainbow Dash,” said Rainbow Dash, turning to her friends and dusting a hoof proudly on her chest.

“Rainbow, he’s just somepon…er, someone with amnesia in the hospital! We’re taking him to my castle!”

“To interrogate?” said Rainbow Dash eagerly, leaning forward with a sparkling smile and shining eyes.

“No! He needs a place to stay, and as Princess of Friendship I offered. But now one of my friends is attacking him!” said Twilight hotly.

“Oh…oops, heh heh,” said Rainbow, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, “Sorry.” Then she let out a long, drawn-out moan. “Ooooooh. Gosh, Twi, you don’t need to massage my ears, I just need to apologize, right?”

She looked over to see Twilight and Fluttershy giggling, their hooves over their mouths to stop themselves bursting out laughing. “Umm, Rainbow?” said Twilight between attempts to restrain her mirth, “That’s not me.”

Rainbow Dash turned to see Philip inches behind her, his hands rubbing her ears. “If this was a cartoon,” he said, “this would be the part where I kiss you full on the mouth.”

“AAAHH!” shouted Rainbow, leaping backwards. Fluttershy and Twilight finally failed to restrain their hysterical laughter. Rainbow Dash huffed and turned away. Philip smirked and started rubbing her ears again, which seemed to soften her mood.

“I guess he is harmless,” one of the ponies, a beige mare with a silver-grey mane, said to Twilight.

“Well, he seems harmless enough, Mayor,” said Twilight.

“So why’d you fall over?” asked Rainbow, turning to Philip.

“I could tell you were trying to protect Twilight and Fluttershy,” said Philip, “So I figured the best thing to do was be as non-threatening as possible while Twilight explained.”

“Hehe, sorry about trying to knock your block off,” said Rainbow self-consciously.

“Eh, no hard feelings. I’d probably try to make sure that what you’re attacking actually means you harm before you attack, though, or misunderstandings could arise.”

“Yeah,” said Rainbow, “where’d you learn how to fall like that, though? You didn’t fall until the last minute.” Her eyes widened in realization. “Wait a minute, you dodged me!” she said, pointing a hoof at him, “Where’d you learn how to do that?”

“…I have amnesia, Dash.”

“Oh, yeah, right.”

“Silly Dashie, he can’t remember where he learned that if he has amnesia!” said a pink pony with an even pinker mane that looked like a mass of curls, who had appeared out of nowhere.

“Pinkie’s right, Rainbow. Say, do you prefer Rainbow or Dash for short?”

“I just call her Dashie, but usually she prefers…” Pinkie suddenly froze, then jumped ten feet in the air with a huge gasp and rushed into Philip’s face. “Hey, I've never seen you before, and I know everypony in Ponyville, so that must mean you’re NEW! I have to get my welcome wagon!” With that, she raced off.

“How did you know Pinkie’s name? Have you been spying on us?” said Rainbow Dash.

“Lucky guess,” said the man, “Amnesia, remember? Even if I’d met her, I wouldn't remember her name.”

“You say you have amnesia,” she countered.

“I certainly do,” he replied, tousling her mane. She grumbled.

“Yeah,” said a pony, “how do we know he’s telling the truth?”

“And how do you know he’s not a she?” said another pony.

“Doctor Stable says I’m a he, and he probably knows what he’s talking about. As for how you know I’m telling the truth, Princess Twilight helped me remember a little bit of very helpful info earlier; I think she’d have noticed if something was amiss. Princess Celestia was there too, and she wasn't worried either.”

“You’ve met Princess Celestia?” said the pony that had raised the gender question.

“Yes, I have. Princess Luna, too.”

“Well, if the Princesses think you’re okay…” said the pony that had accused Philip of lying.

Just then, Pinkie raced up to Philip with a large, pink, highly decorated wagon. “Here we go!”

“The welcome wagon might be a bit much, Pinkie,” said Twilight.

“Just let me give him the…” suddenly, cake batter erupted from the cannon barrels on top of the wagon, and confetti burst from the oven. “...oh, never mind, I’ll just throw him a party later.”

The ponies who had been staring all returned to their business, and Philip and the four ponies continued into town. As they walked, Rainbow Dash said, “So if you don’t remember anything, how do you know your name?”

“I have something with my name and picture on it to prove I’m Philip.”

“What kind of name is Fill-Up?”

“P-H-I-L-I-P,” said Philip.

“Oh. That’s a weird name for a pony.”

“Am I a pony?”

“Oh yeah.”

As they talked, they had reached the market. It was packed with ponies peddling their wares to the crowds of customers. As they walked among the stalls, a voice called out, “Hey girls! Ah see Fluttershy has a new animal friend!” The shout had come from an orange pony with a brown Stetson and a blonde mane, who was waving at the group from a stand selling apples. She had another marking; three apples in a triangle shape. “Hi, Apple pony, my name’s Philip!” said Philip, smiling. The pony fell over backwards in shock, and everyone rushed over to help her up. As he helped her to her hooves, Philip noticed a mark of three red apples on her side.

“You kin talk! Who’re you?”

“Name’s Philip, woke up with amnesia this morning. Don’t know who I am.”

“Sorry ta hear that, and, uh, about the animal comment…”

“We’re both technically animals of the mammalian class, so I don’t mind.”

“…What?”

“He’ll be staying with me, Applejack,” said Twilight.

“That’s mighty neighborly of ya, Twi, but is that a good idea? Ah mean, no offense, Mister Philip, but…”

“Neither of her fellow Princesses had a problem with it,” said Philip, “so I’m sure she’ll be safe.”

“Ah, well ah guess if the other Princesses are alright with it. I’m Applejack.” She held out a hoof, and they shook. “Say, do ya like apples?”

“Yes, but I lack money.”

“I’ll buy you an apple, Philip,” said Twilight.

“Call me Phil for short, if you want, and that’s sweet of you to offer. I’ll get a job and pay you back another time, how’s that?”

“No, I’ll just buy you one.”

“Okay, if you don’t mind.”
“Just have a couple on the house, sugar-cube,” said Applejack. She tossed him two apples, and he ate.

“Well, I’ll still need to get a job to get some decent clothes,” said Philip as he ate his apples.

“If’n ya wanna do some work, mah family could use some help on the farm. Applebuckin’ season is startin’, so we could use the extra hooves.”

“I’d be happy to help, Applejack,” said Philip.

“Well, I’d better get back to practicing my moves,” said Rainbow Dash, who then took off into the sky. Sure, Rainbow, thought Philip, smiling wryly to himself.

“I've gotta plan Philip’s welcome party,” said Pinkie.

“We should be getting to the castle,” said Twilight.

“Well, I’ll see y’all later,” said Applejack. Pinkie bounced away, and the two mares and Philip went on their way.

“After we go to the castle,” said Twilight, “maybe we could visit Carousel Boutique? Rarity would be happy to give you something new to wear!”

“Maybe that could wait until after I get some money. Like I said, I prefer not to put others out if I can help it,” said Philip.

“I guess…” Twilight seemed lost in thought, and then looked up as they approached a large castle. “Oh, we’re here already!” The castle was nestled in what appeared to be the branches of a huge tree made of ice-blue crystal, with a two-leaved golden door flanked by two lancet windows set in the trunk. There were two spires, a tower and a large balcony with many telescopes. A banner flew on one side bearing the same symbol as Twilight’s flank, and a large star adorned the top of the structure. Ten strings of beads in every color of the rainbow hung in two sets off of the branches.

Philip whistled. “Nice place, Twilight.”

Twilight blushed and nodded. “I guess it is,” she said, “But…” She sighed. “I miss my old library sometimes.”

“What happened to it?” asked Philip.

“It’s a long story,” said Twilight sadly, “I’ll tell you later.”

The trio ascended the golden stairway, and entered the structure. The interior was larger than it looked from the outside; they passed through a lobby and ascended a set of stairs to pass through a hall filed with crystalline columns and two-toned green glass windows. Philip examined the columns as they passed, gazing at the lathed structures’ scrolled tops. He also noticed crystal beads like the ones on the outside of the castle strung along the walls. They continued their trek over a brown rug decorated with intricate scrollwork until they reached a green glass door off to one side. Twilight opened the door with her magic, revealing a small library with crystal shelves filled to the brim with books of all kinds. There were also books all over the floor in misshapen piles, as though someone had been reading them very intently. A couch lay near the opposite wall, and a small pit filled with cushions in the center of the room provided potential readers another comfortable place to enjoy their choice of literature. They went inside, and a small reptilian creature raced through the door behind them seconds later.

“Twilight! Twilight!” said the little creature, “What happened to Luna? And what is that?”

He was staring at Philip. He had lime-green ears and pistachio eyes. Philip returned his gaze, noting the mulberry scales and bud-green underbelly, as he responded. “I’m Philip, and I’m a human…I think.”

“You…think?” said the little creature, raising an eyebrow.

“I have amnesia.”

“Oh. Well, I’m Spike the Dragon, Twilight’s Number One Assistant,” said Spike, extending a claw.

“Nice to meet you,” said Philip, shaking hands/claws with him.

“Spike, the Princesses are coming soon,” said Twilight in a businesslike tone, “so we need to be sure the castle is in tip-top shape.”

Philip chuckled and said, “Too late.”

Twilight turned in the direction Philip was looking, and her jaw dropped as she saw both Princesses lounging on the couch next to a pile of luggage. “Celestia! You’re here! S-Sorry about the mess…”

“Oh Twilight, don’t worry,” said Celestia, “this is an informal visit, and an unexpected one; you didn't know until just this morning that we would be coming, after all.”

“Yes, but still…” said Twilight.

“Twilight,” said Philip, “have you ever improved a situation by panicking about it?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Now, have you ever made a situation worse by panicking?”

“…I…you’re right. I should calm down.” She inhaled slowly, hoof to her chest, then exhaled as she moved it outwards.

“You are very wise,” said Luna, with a small smile.

“Surprising considering I have no memories, isn’t it?”

“Hey,” said Spike, “why was Princess Luna at the hospital?”

Luna looked down at the floor and said in a small voice, “A creature attacked me.”

“What?”

“She was attacked by a werewolf, which is a creature that takes the form of a wolf during the full moon. They also become crazed and attack anything they come across,” said Philip seriously.

“WHAT!? What do we do?” Spike ran about the room, babbling, “what do we do what do we do what do we do what do we do what do we do!?”

What was I just telling Twilight? “We repel it with wolfsbane, and kill it with silver if necessary.”

“Why kill it?” said Celestia with a concerned expression.

“Would you want to transform into a monster once a month?” said Philip, his face dour, “We might be able to contain the poor thing until we can find a cure for them, but if we can’t, it might be kinder to just finish them. Also, there might be no other choice if it attacks anyone else.”

Spike stopped. “Yeah,” he said, looking sad, “being a monster is no fun.”

“I see your reasoning, but I would still rather try to help it,” said Luna.

“But you’re the one it attacked!” said Spike.

“All the more reason to give the poor creature a chance, if its victim has forgiven it,” said Celestia.

“Whatever anypony else might say, I definitely remember it being quite penitent,” said Luna.

“I agree, Luna,” said Philip, “but it’s strange; I’ve never heard of a werewolf being conscious of his or her actions in wolf form. I know I don’t remember much at all, but I still seem to know something of werewolves.” And I’d like to know why.

“Well, anyway, I suppose we should get Luna ready for her little ‘vacation,’” said Celestia.

“Vacation?” said Spike.

“Princess Luna will be staying with Twilight in disguise, due to…certain circumstances that have arisen,” said Celestia.

“Circumstances?” said Spike.

“Someone tried to poison Luna at the hospital, and we suspect an anarchist sect,” said Philip in a low, firm yet gentle tone, “so if you see anything at all out of the ordinary, let us know right away. And don’t breathe a word about this to anyone you wouldn’t trust with your life.”

“…Okay,” said Spike, looking concernedly at Luna. He left the room, mumbling about making some sort of lunch.

“What do you mean, ‘suspect?’ They confessed,” said Twilight, cocking her head to the side.

“And that could be what someone wants us to think,” said Philip, sitting down next to Luna, “Although it probably was them, it would be best not to discount other possibilities until we're sure.”

“So, how do we disguise Princess Luna?” said Fluttershy, who seemed to be warming up to Philip.

“Well, truth be told,” said Luna, “Celestia and I can actually disguise ourselves fairly well if we need to, though weakened as I am I will need Celestia’s help.”

“Help I am happy to give, my dear sister,” said Celestia with a smile, and she and Luna stood up and touched their horns together. A bright glow surrounded their horns, and then Luna’s body was enveloped in a dazzling white light. The other two mares and Philip shielded their eyes from its intensity. When the light faded, a pale white unicorn pony with a luscious, straight light blue mane stood before them, still touching horns with Celestia. She had a new mark on her flank; three sky blue stars surrounding a bright yellow crescent moon on a sea of pitch black.

“Hello, I’m Starlight Dream at your service,” said the mare, bowing.

“Nice,” said Philip.

“I've been meaning to ask,” said Twilight, “can you teach me how to transform like that?”

“Certainly, though not until I've healed,” said Starlight.

“I’ll leave you two to catch up,” said Celestia, “I need to consult with my guards and advisors about the Talons of Shadow, as well as this new Werewolf problem.”

“Yeah,” said Philip, “and remember, silver kills werewolves, and wolf’s bane repels them.”

“See you at the Starlight Ball,” said Celestia with a wink. She stood, and in a flash (literally), she was gone.

“Well,” said Twilight, “what does everypony want to do after lunch?”

“Well, why don’t you show me around Ponyville?” said Starlight, “I haven’t been back since Nightmare Night, and I’d love to see more of your home.”

“Great, where should we start?” said Twilight.

“Um,” said Fluttershy, “m-maybe we should go to Rarity’s to get Philip’s clothing problem fixed? If that’s okay with Luna…I mean Starlight, sorry.”

“Well, Philip?” said Twilight, “What do you think we should do?”

“You asked everypony,” said Philip.

“What do you…oh,” said Twilight sheepishly, “sorry if I offended you.”

“Joking again Twi,” said Philip, “I’d love to meet Rarity. No clothes until I get some money though.”

“So, while we’re waiting for lunch,” said Fluttershy, “why don’t we all tell Philip something about ourselves?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” said Twilight cheerfully, “Who wants to go first?”

“I wouldst like to,” said Starlight. They moved to the reading pit so that they could all sit down, and Starlight cleared her throat. “My name is Luna, and I am Princess of the Night. I raise the moon each night, and guard the dreams of my subjects while helping them in the waking world when I can. My sister Princess Celestia raises the sun, and together we rule Equestria.”

“You raise the moon, huh?” said Philip, “That can’t be easy; it’s over 73 sextillion kilograms.”

“…You don’t know who you are, but you know how massive the moon is?” asked Twilight.

“Apparently.”

“Okay, well, why don’t I go next?” she said. Putting a hoof over her heart, she began. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the Princess of Friendship and the Element of Magic. I, along with my friends, have the power to spread the magic of Friendship across Equestria. I love books and studying magic. As you may have guessed from my Cutie Mark, magic is my special talent.” She indicated her starry flank.

“Oh, so those are called Cutie Marks and they represent your special talent?” asked Philip with interest.

“Yes,” said Twilight, nodding, “When a pony discovers what they’re meant to do in life, they earn their Cutie Mark and learn of their destiny!”

“So Luna’s special talent is the moon?” inquired Philip.

“Raising it and lowering it, yes,” said Starlight with a polite nod.

“Nice. So what did you mean by ‘Element of Magic?’” asked Philip, moving over next to Starlight.

“Well, that’s kind of a long story,” said Twilight, “but essentially…”

Philip listened with growing wonder as Twilight talked about the many things she and her friends had done, from driving away a grown dragon who had tried to nap near Ponyville (and nearly smoked them out), to defeating an evil chaos spirit, to reforming that evil spirit, to returning the Elements of Harmony to the tree which Celestia and Luna had apparently taken them from when the spirit was first defeated. She continued with the tale of how each of her friends then taught the importance of their element to another, and learned something about it themselves. Her tale concluded with the story of how Tirek, an evil centaur wizard with the ability to steal magic from ponies, was stopped when they learned to use the Rainbow Power.

“And then the Tree of Harmony gave me this castle,” said Twilight with a sad smile, “To replace my old library that Tirek destroyed.”

“So this jerk not only stole your magic, he blew up your home?” said Philip, eyes narrowed.

“I barely got Owlowiscious out in time,” she said, sniffling and quaking as her smile vanished, “He’s my owl. If I’d been a second later, he might still have been in there and…” She let out a dry sob. “I’m sorry; it’s just, when I think about what could have happened if Spike or Owlowiscious had still been in there…”

“That…I’m sorry to hear that, Twilight, I really am. If you ever see this guy again, would you mind me talking to him? I have a few choice words for him.”

“Do not worry about that,” said Starlight, “He is back in Tartarus where he belongs.”

“Serves him right,” said Philip, “I wonder what punishment he’ll endure...”

“Isn't being in Tartarus a punishment?” asked Fluttershy.

“Yes, but there’s usually something specific, unless we’re talking about different…places…”

Philip trailed off suddenly. “This Tartarus,” he said after a pause, “Is it where especially evil people go when they die, or is it a large prison area of some sort?”

“The second,” said Starlight, “he put us there at one point, remember?”

“Hm, yes,” said Philip, “Which means I was thinking of a different Tartarus. Mine was a part of the underworld for villains and scoundrels to be punished. There was a man called Sisyphus, for example, who had to roll a boulder all the way to the top of a mountain, only to watch it roll back down and have to go roll it back up.”

“That’s it?” asked Twilight, “menial labor?”

“Not menial labor, Twilight Sparkle,” said Starlight, eyes wide, “eternal frustration. He was forced to work his hardest, only to watch his hard work be undone and have to start from the very beginning.”

“Exactly,” said Philip.

“Wow,” said Twilight, cringing, “That’s a terrible punishment.”

“It’s only a myth, though,” said Philip, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Um…Philip?” said Fluttershy, “that mythology…are you maybe…?”

“Maybe getting back my memories?” Philip finished, “Maybe so.” He cracked a smile. “I think this is a good sign!” Turning to Fluttershy, he said, “What about you, Fluttershy? Tell me about the pretty mare who tried to make me feel safe here first.”

“Oh, my…there really isn't much to tell,” said Fluttershy, blushing and hiding behind her mane. Her eyes darted back and forth as she said, “I’m really not all that interesting…”

“Well alright then,” said Philip, surprising the other two mares, “why don’t I tell you about you, then?”

“Uh, Philip?” said Twilight, “You've only known her for half a day. How are you going to tell her about herself?”

“Well, Fluttershy, you’re sweet, kindly, you love animals,” said Philip, looking up as he ticked the points off on his fingers, “You’re rather shy and have trouble talking to others, but will do anything in your power to help someone who’s hurt. From what Twilight said about the dragon, you are also stronger than you realize; facing down a creature that size and winning is no small feat. Now,” he said, cupping her cheek, “is there anything you want to add?”

Fluttershy sat there, mouth open, her blush having grown to epic proportions. Then she hugged Philip around his middle. “Thank you,” she said in a small voice.

“You’re quite welcome,” said Philip. Sniffing the air, he said, “Smells like Spike’s done with lunch; let’s go eat."

After a quiet lunch of onion soup, which Spike assured them was free of poison, Philip and the three mares walked to the Carousel Boutique, home and place of business of Rarity. Spike had wanted to come, but Twilight insisted that he needed to stay and prepare the castle to house Luna. As they walked, the ponies around them gawked at the strange two-legged newcomer.

“What is he?”

“Where did he come from?”

“What’s he doing here?”

“I hope he isn't dangerous!”

“Twilight,” said Philip, “I wonder if there is any way I could formally introduce myself to the rest of the town. I’m worried that they’re getting scared of me.”

“It’s very nice of you to want to reassure everypony, but don’t worry; I’m sure it will blow over,” said Twilight.

“That isn't what worries me so much as how scared they might get. If the whole town gets frightened enough, well…I don’t want to think about it. I know what you’re going to say, Twilight,” he said, as Twilight opened her mouth, “but think about it; don’t fear and prejudice bring out the worst in us all?”

“You’re right, again,” Twilight conceded, “although I’m sure they aren't that afraid of you.”

Philip hummed. He heard something over his shoulder and paused for a moment, then smiled to himself and kept walking before his companions could notice anything.

They arrived at the boutique, and Philip held the door for Twilight, Fluttershy, and Starlight. “Oh, Rarity is going to like you if you’re a gentle…um…if you know etiquette,” said Fluttershy.

“Is that so?” said Starlight, “what is Rarity like? I fear I have not spent much time with her.”

“You’ll get to soon,” said Twilight, then she called out, “Rarity! We have a new friend for you to meet!”

“I’m upstairs, darling,” said a mellifluous voice, “You’re welcome to join me up here, but be aware the Crusaders are here.”

“Okay!” said Twilight, trotting up the stairs. Fluttershy followed with Starlight, and Philip stayed behind to look around.

“Huh,” said Philip, “this place looks pretty.” He looked around at the room he was in, where many pony-shaped mannequins were covered in dresses and formal wear of varying styles and states of completion. The room was nicely decorated, with teal blue walls and white trim. There was the same smell of well-washed pony fur, as well as the faint smell of cat, and what seemed to be fabric. The room was decorated rather frilly for his taste, but it was nice and homey. I’d think a fussy old lady lived here if I didn't know Rarity was a young mare…why am I vaguely pleased about being surrounded by so many young women? And how can I smell so much?

Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Too small to be the girls, he thought, so it’s probably the Crusaders, whoever they are. Walking over to a window as if he heard nothing, he pretended to look outside while actually watching the reflections of the three little fillies trying to sneak up on him. He made his way into a corner of the room, careful to keep the fillies behind him, and then knelt and waited for them to make their move. A cry of “Cutie Mark Crusaders Monster Wranglers!” came from behind him, and he was tackled by the rambunctious little fillies. He chuckled to himself, and stood there with them hanging off of his back like baby opossums.

“We gotcha now!” yelled a yellow filly with a red mane and a pink bow. She smells like Applejack, thought Philip, her sister, maybe?

“You won’t get away from us!” said an orange Pegasus with a messy purple mane that seemed styled after Rainbow’s.

“You can’t hurt my sister until you get past me!” yelled the white unicorn. She had a two-toned pink and lavender mane, and her voice squeaked slightly at the end.

“Wouldn't dream of it!” said Philip brightly. These girls are adorable.

“SWEET MERCIFUL CELESTIA, WHAT IS THAT!?” said another white unicorn, this one with a well-curled royal purple mane, who had walked just into the room. She had a Cutie Mark of three blue diamonds on her side, and spoke with an urbane accent. A smell of jasmine perfume seemed to hang about her.

“I’m Philip, Twilight’s friend,” said the man with a pleasant smile, the three fillies still clinging tenaciously to his back, “and I’m guessing the little ones clinging to my back are your sister and her friends.” The new mare looked at him with startled blue eyes.

“Don’t be fooled by its lies! Wait, it can talk?” said the orange filly in surprise.

“Don’t worry Rarity, we’ve got this!” said the little unicorn.

“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo! Get off of Twilight’s friend this instant!” said Rarity.

“It’s gotta be a trick, an’ Ah ain’t fallin’ for it!” said the yellow filly.

“Excellent idea, my little pony!” said Philip with a jester’s grin.

“Waddya mean? Waaah!” said the yellow filly.

“Eeee!” said the white filly.

“Brace for impact, Crusaders!” yelled the orange.

Philip caught himself just before landing flat on his back…and the Crusaders. “Now will you let go of me?”

“Never!” yelled the three little fillies.

“Alright,” said Philip, “I’ll just take a nap while you reconsider.” He then slid the rest of the way to the floor, with the Crusaders still underneath him.

“It’s tryin’ ta squish us!” yelled Yellow.

“Help!” yelled White.

“You give?” said Philip.

“We give, we give!” yelled Orange.

“Good,” said Philip. He rolled backwards over his head and onto his feet, earning a few claps from Rarity and Twilight, the latter having arrived with Fluttershy and Starlight Dream to see what the commotion was.

“That was not half bad!” said Rarity, “though a bit undignified, rolling around on the floor like that. That was a very graceful way to get to your feet, I must say. I am sorry about my sister and her friends, but you seem none the worse for the experience, and I've never seen anyone deal with them so patiently.”

“They’re young, they deserve their childhoods while they still have them,” said Philip with an almost longing smile and a faraway expression. “So,” he said, shaking his head and looking down at the three small girls getting to their hooves, “I caught your names, but which of you is which?”

“I’m Apple Bloom!” said the yellow filly.

“I’m Sweetie Belle, Rarity's sister!” said the white filly.

“I’m Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash’s sister…sort of,” said the orange filly.

“And we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Yay!” they shouted with incredible volume.

“On a quest to find our special talents and earn our Cutie Marks!” finished Apple Bloom.

“Which is why you tried to cage me like a rat?” said Philip with a smile. The three fillies grinned sheepishly.

“Now, what brings you to my boutique?” said Rarity with a businesslike smile and tone.

“I’m surprised you haven’t figured that out at a glance,” said Philip, indicating his tattered garments.

“OH MY STARS!” shrieked Rarity, “what have they done to your clothes!”

“Nothing, they were like that this morning when I woke up in the hospital with amnesia.”

“Oh, well if it wasn't…goodness, you mean you woke up in a hospital in those rags, with no recollection of who you are?” said Rarity, draping a foreleg across her brow, “How simply dreadful!”

“It’s not so bad,” said Philip with a shrug. “I managed to find a little card with my name and photo on it, so I know my name is Philip.”

“Oh, dear, well I simply must create you a new outfit.”

“I thought you might say that, but I’m afraid I don’t have any of the local currency,” said Philip, “so I can’t pay you until I've earned some money.”

“I wouldst help thee to pay for thy…I mean, I’ll buy you some new clothes,” said Starlight.

“Is this about repaying me for last night?” said Philip.

“Partly,” she said, “but mostly, I merely wish to help you.”

“Have you told Rarity about your mishap?”

“Not yet,” said Twilight, “do you think we should?”

“That depends; do you think she has a right to know about the…” Philip trailed off, and then looked at the Crusaders. They were staring at him with half confused, half interested expressions. “Girls, why don’t you go upstairs and plan your next attempt at getting your Cutie Marks?” he said.

“Okay,” they said brightly, racing upstairs.

“Didn’t want them hearing,” he explained, then proceeded to fill Rarity in on the werewolf situation and the plan to keep Luna safe. “And that’s how things stand; I trust you can keep the secret?” Philip said (after Rarity finished having a fit over a princess being in her Boutique).

Rarity gaped at him. “So there may be an awful wolf monster running around in the Everfree Forest?” she said, ears pinned back.

“No,” said Philip, “at least not unless they've eaten a lot of wolfsbane. They’re probably lying in a ditch somewhere, barely able to crawl. Werewolves don’t usually transform that way, and when they do it leaves them incredibly drained when they change back. It’s like how you’d feel after sprinting nonstop for several hours.”

“Well, that’s…good, I suppose. But in the meantime, darling, I shall need to take your measurements,” said Rarity with a smile. “If you could take off your clothes…”

“Ah still say it’s a waste of time!” whispered a voice.

“Well who asked you!?” whispered another, rather loudly.

“Rainbow, Applejack,” said Philip loudly, smirking and rolling his eyes, “I know you've been following me.”

“Great, now look what ya did,” said Applejack, whose head popped out of a bush under the boutique window.

“Like it’s my fault we got caught!” said Rainbow, who appeared next to Applejack.

“Don’t start arguing, girls,” said Philip with a smile, “and come inside.”

Rainbow climbed in through the window (“I have a door you know,” said Rarity) and Applejack went around to the traditional entrance. Once the two were in the room, Philip said, “I suppose Rainbow still doesn't trust me, so she got you, Applejack, to help her spy on me. Am I right?”

“Uh, yeah,” said Rainbow, “how did you know?”

“You seem like the rash, protective type,” said Philip, “so when I noticed someone following us, I thought it was probably just you. I realized quickly that it was.”

“You mean you thought it m-might be th-the T-T-Talons?” said Fluttershy.

“Yes, the thought crossed my mind, though I quickly realized it wasn't. Hopefully they won’t show up anytime soon, but until Luna heals I’ll be on high alert, and I won’t let my guard down even then.”

“Thank you,” said Starlight, “you are truly a good pon…er, human.”

“You bet he is!” said Pinkie Pie, popping out from a basket of yarn.

“In case anyone's wondering,” said Philip to the ponies, looking at Pinkie with a comically puzzled expression, “she wasn't in there until after the Crusaders went upstairs. And it’s alright,” he said to Starlight, who had retreated to the other side of the room, “she’s normally this way. I think.”

“Oh,” said Starlight, who looked as though she doubted that the word applied to Pinkie.

“Well, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,” said Rarity, with a growl directed at Rainbow and Applejack, “if you’d be so kind, dear…”

“Okay, but due to reasons I’d rather not explain I’ll need to leave one particular article of clothing on,” said Philip, stepping onto a pedestal in the middle of the room surrounded by three mirrors. He faced away and pulled off his shirt and pants.

“There,” he said, once he was clad in nothing but his boxers, “that should…”

“What?”

He could see in the triple mirrors that the mares were all staring at him…and his furless, lean, athletic body.

“He ain’t got hardly any fur anywhere,” said Applejack quietly.

“This is…fascinating,” said Twilight, wide-eyed.

“Wowee,” said Pinkie, gawping in amazement.

“My, my,” said Rarity in a hushed tone.

“Oh, my,” said Fluttershy.

“He’s so…buff,” said Rainbow.

Starlight just stared.

“I appreciate the attention, girls,” said Philip with an amused chuckle, “but I believe Rarity wanted to measure me?”

“Might I help?” said Starlight quickly.

“That depends,” said Philip playfully, “on whether you can close your mouth long enough.”

Starlight blushed, and then walked up to Philip alongside Rarity. “So,” said Rarity, as she measured Philip’s waist, “how are you feeling about all this?”

“I’m flattered by your attentions, but I don’t think a relationship would work.”

The girls all blushed.

“All joking aside, I want you all to be safe from the Talons,” said Philip, “and of course, I want to regain my memory. Other than that, I feel…ill at ease. I worry that the townsfolk are afraid of me.” As Rarity measured him further, he gazed out the window through the mirror with unseeing eyes, and said, “I also feel like there’s something I’m missing, but I don't know what it is.”

“Say,” said Rainbow, as Rarity measured his shoulders, “how do we know you’re not the werewolf?”

“Heard that, did you?”

“Yeah,” said Applejack resignedly, “we heard.”

“Well,” Philip began, “we…” he paused, and looked off into the distance for a moment. He frowned, and then said, “That’s what I was missing.”

“What?” said all the mares at once.

“We don’t know what the signs are that indicate a werewolf. Also, the werewolf is new, and I just show up at the same time? I doubt that it’s coincidence. The fact is I probably am the werewolf. We won’t know for sure unless I look at a full moon, accidentally eat wolfsbane, or remember some other way to identify a werewolf. I think we’d better jumpstart my memory again to be absolutely sure I’m not dangerous.”

“Okay,” said Twilight nervously. She walked up to Philip, and he turned and stooped a bit to allow her to reach his forehead. As her horn began to glow, he thought to himself, how do I make sure I’m not a werewolf? I want to be friends with these mares. And I don’t want to be the one who hurt Luna, she didn't deserve that. For their safety, I need to focus. How do we find the werewolf outside of wolf form? HOW?!

Bristles under the tongue, eyebrows meeting, curved fingernails…

“Okay, apparently a werewolf outside of his or her wolf form will have bristles under their tongue, curved nails, and eyebrows that meet in the middle of their forehead.”

“Ick,” said Rarity picking up her tape measure, “that sounds nothing at all like you. It sounds rather ugly, and you, well…”

“I’m a hunk, I know,” said Philip with one of his wry smirks, “I could tell by the way you girls were looking at me.”

“Th-that isn’t it!” said Twilight, “I was just, you know…”

“Interested in further studies of my physique?”

“Well, yes! You don’t have any fur, which makes it easier to examine your rather unique musculature!”

“Sure,” said Philip, “I guess I don’t have the same muscle arrangement as a pony would, so you would be interested in an examination. For purely scientific reasons, of course.” He winked at Twilight, making her blush deeper.

“Well,” said Rarity, who was rather flushed herself by this point, “I've got all the measurements I…I…” She trailed off, staring at Philip’s chest. The other mares all stared with expressions of shock as well. Philip looked down at his chest as well, and noticed something he had missed while looking in the mirrors; his torso had several long, narrow scars running across it. “O-kay,” he said, “that’s new.”

“What could have done that?” breathed Starlight, hooves over her mouth in shock.

“I’ll probably find out when I get my memory back,” said Philip, fingering one of the scars, “But I doubt I’ll enjoy remembering this.”

“I’d imagine not,” said Rarity. She stepped back and said, “I should have your clothes done by tomorrow afternoon.”

“I’ll be working at Applejack’s tomorrow anyway, and I won’t need anything better than these for that,” said Philip as he put his clothes back on.

“Well, now that that’s settled,” said Rarity, “perhaps you should find a place to stay for the night?”

“Twilight invited me to sleep at her castle,” said Philip, “and Starlight will be there, too.”

Suddenly, the sound of ripping came from another room. “My fabrics!” shrieked Rarity, dashing into the room from whence the sound had come.

The others followed to see her standing over a white Persian longhair cat surrounded by the tattered remains of a bolt of beautiful cloth. “Opalescence!” barked Rarity, “How many times have I told you not to destroy my fabrics?”

The Persian simply looked at the gathering with a smug expression…which suddenly turned to wide-eyed terror. The cat let out an ear-splitting screech, hair standing on end, and bolted under the nearest chair.

“Fluttershy,” said Rainbow, “did you really need to use the Stare on her?”

“I…didn't use the Stare…” said Fluttershy.

“She wasn't looking at Fluttershy,” said Philip slowly, “she was looking at me.”

“Strange,” said Rarity, “she doesn't usually react to strangers this way.”

“Yeah,” said Philip thoughtfully, “strange.” This means something. I don’t know what, but something about me scared her witless just now. What if I am some kind of monster?

Chapter 3

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The beast ran through the forest, following the spoor of blood. It could smell the fear of its prey, and it could almost see the scent trail leading in between the trees.

All three scents led to the creature’s next kill, and all three drove it mad with bloodlust.

It slowed its pace, stalking closer to its unsuspecting prey. The victim-to-be was lying on the ground, gasping for breath.

The beast moved noiselessly forward, from behind and upwind of the prey. Then it leapt, pouncing on its prey and quickly immobilizing it. The beast flipped the prey onto its back, and bit deeply into its neck.

The taste of warm blood filled the beast’s mouth as the gurgling whimpers of its prey filled its ears. It continued tearing at the soft flesh as the poor victim’s cries were rapidly silenced.

The creature drew back to look at its prey in the ray of moonlight streaming through the trees.

At first the prey seemed to be a pink earth pony, and then it seemed to be orange.

No…

Then the body seemed to shift, and the victim was a Pegasus, first yellow, and then blue.

NO…

Then the wings seemed to disappear, and the body was a white unicorn, then it grew wings again and turned lavender.

No no no no…

Suddenly the body seemed to grow larger, and had a beautiful dark blue coat, with a silvery-blue mane. Lovely blue eyes stared blankly into space, unseeing…lifeless.

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!

AAAWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Philip leapt off of the couch and splayed out on all fours, panting heavily, his eyes darting from side to side. He looked around him, and saw bookshelves lining the walls; he was in the castle library. He noticed the lanterns that had been providing light were out. Every detail of the room was clear to him, and he quickly realized that what he had seen had only been a dream.

After leaving Carousel Boutique, everyone had gone home with a bit of the wolfsbane from the hospital. Twilight and Starlight had taken him back to the castle, where Twilight promptly began to search her books for any reference to the strange goings-on. Philip and Luna had helped her as much as possible, and after a shower for each of them and a supper of vegetable stew Starlight had gone to her room, and Philip read himself to sleep while Twilight continued her search (“Just a few more books!”). He could hear hooves clopping along in the hall. Just Luna getting water, most likely, he thought. He could also hear the comforting beat of Twilight’s heart where she lay slumped over her desk, having fallen asleep while trying to find any reference she could on humans, werewolves, and anything else that might be relevant.

Wait a minute, thought Philip, that desk is across the room. How can I hear her heartbeat from here?

Before he could puzzle any further, he heard the sound of hooves in the doorway, and saw Luna, still in her Starlight disguise, entering the library. He got up and walked over to her, careful not to make any noise that might awaken Twilight. “Bad dream, Princess?” he said softly.

Starlight jumped with a small squeak, but quickly regained her composure. “Yes,” she said softly, “just a bad dream. I noticed Twilight Sparkle was not in her bed, so I thought to come carry her there.”

“I’ll carry her, don’t worry,” said Philip. He walked over to Twilight and gently lifted her up over his shoulder, carrying her like a small child. Then he carefully and quietly walked through the castle corridors to her bedroom, and tucked her into bed next to Spike’s basket. He turned to leave, and saw Starlight staring at him with a puzzled expression.

“You seem to be able to see in the dark quite well,” she said, “much better than anypony I have ever met.”

“It doesn’t seem all that dark to me,” said Philip.

“Well it…achoo!” Suddenly, Starlight sneezed, and Twilight sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes with a hoof.

“Huh? Who’s there?” she said, her words muddled by sleepiness.

“Just us carrying you to your well-deserved bed rest, Twilight,” said Philip.

“Philip, Luna? Are you there? I can barely see a thing.” It was then that Philip realized that the curtains were drawn, meaning the moonlight was barely entering the castle. He could see perfectly well, however. Weird, he thought to himself.

“Go back to sleep, Twilight” he said gently, stroking her mane. Twilight lay down in her bed, and promptly drifted off. “You, too, Starlight,” he added to the mare behind him.

“I…am not sure I can.” Starlight dropped her head to gaze at the floor. “I am having…unpleasant dreams.” She went on more quickly, “It is not natural for me to be asleep at night in any case, so perhaps I could just…”

“You need to rest, Luna,” said Philip, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, “you’ve had a long, stressful day. Maybe if you tell me about it, you’ll feel better; maybe even enough to go to sleep.” She looked uncertain, but raised her head.

“Very well,” she said, “let us go to your room.”

Once they were sitting on one of the guest beds, Philip motioned for her to begin. “I…” she said, “I am…frightened. Not just of the werewolf, but of my fellow ponies. For some time, the ponies of Canterlot have been speaking of me. Ever since my…return, there have been whispers among the nobles that I am still…as I was before. I do not feel welcome among them. And I cannot simply order them to love me.” Tears began to form in her eyes. “You see…”

Luna was strolling down the streets of Canterlot in the dead of night. There were few ponies about, which Luna had always found to be rather odd. To her, the city had a magic of its own at night; the marble walls and ivory towers glowed in the moonlight, and the lights of the city from above looked as if the stars had fallen to the earth.

Suddenly, she spotted a trio of ponies talking to each other. Sneaking up behind them, she overheard one say, “I do so despise the night time. There’s not enough light to see a thing, it’s just tripping everywhere in the night. Why can’t Celestia just leave the sun up all the time?”

It couldn’t be. They couldn’t still hate the night-time could they?

“Because we can’t sleep during the day,” said another pony, “but I don’t see what the point of the moon is, or the stars for that matter. I wish Celestia would stop wasting her time on all this and do something important for once.”

They served a very important purpose! Many purposes! And Celestia was not the one raising the moon anymore, either!

“You forget,” said the third, “It’s her sister doing it now.”

“Ah, yes, Luna,” said the first pony with contempt, “why she’s a princess I’ll never know; she actually associates with commoners, just like that Twilight Sparkle! Clearly not princess material.”

“Not to mention what she did all those years ago,” said the second, “If you ask me, she’s just biding her time to try again, and Celestia should just throw her into a hydra’s nest while she has the chance. It’s not as if that mare actually does anything important anyway.”

They moved out of earshot, but their words still echoed inside Luna’s mind. She flew back to her tower at the castle, locked the doors and windows, shut all the blinds and flopped down on her bed. Only when her bed curtains were shut did she let her tears fall. Why, she asked herself, why do they still hate me?

“And then when that werewolf attacked, I was so helpless, as if there was nothing I could do, any more than I can ever order my subjects not to hate and fear me!” She was nearly sobbing by this point, tears in her eyes.

Philip gazed gently at her for a moment, and then wrapped her in his arms. At this, she finally broke down, crying into his shoulder. For what felt like hours, he hugged her and stroked her mane and coat, letting her cry until she was reduced to hiccupping sobs. It broke his heart to see her this way. Moreover, he couldn’t help but feel like he identified with her, as if they were similar in this regard. “I feel so lonely,” she finally whispered, “and so, so helpless.”

Philip’s mouth was set. It was time for him to end this train of thought; continuing it would only harm her. So, resting his head on her cheek, he gently whispered to her, “You aren’t alone; you have Twilight, and Celestia, and Applejack, and Pinkie, and Fluttershy, and even Rainbow and Rarity. And,” he said, drawing back to lift her chin and looking deeply into her large, sky-blue eyes, “you have me.” She gazed into his green eyes, which seemed to glow in the gloaming. She leaned in and nuzzled his cheek.

“Thank you. I feel better already,” she said.

Philip smiled at her, and then looked thoughtful. “So, was that what your nightmare was about?”

“N…no,” said Starlight, “It was about a pony with a hooded cloak. I could tell it was a stallion when he spoke; he said to me ‘soon we will have Equestria by the throat, as well as its princesses.’ Afterwards he laughed, and I felt a pressure around my throat, as if I was being choked by a noose.” She shivered. “I woke up afterwards, but...”

“I had a pretty bad dream myself just now,” said Philip, “but yours sounds…stranger than mine. May I look at your neck?” She threw him a questioning look. “I have a suspicious feeling,” he said. She looked at him for a moment longer, and then let him examine her neck. It was dark, but Philip could see, just under the skin, a slight deviation in color. I knew it.

“…there’s a bruise,” he said.

“What do you mean?” said Starlight.

“I mean you actually have a bruise around your neck, like there really was a noose. It’s very light, but it’s definitely there. I’ve heard of something similar, though I’m not sure what happened or where. I don’t think you were just dreaming; something deeper is going on.” He looked at her softly. “We’ll look into it in the morning, though; it doesn’t look like you were actually being choked, just…like some sort of echo. If there is anyone behind this, they were probably just trying to frighten you, so worrying would be playing into their hands.” They rose, and headed towards Luna’s room.

***

Starlight started towards the door of the room, before noticing Philip had suddenly vanished. Thinking he was lost, she retraced her steps to find him turning into Twilight’s bedroom. She followed him and saw that he had crossed to the balcony, and was looking out of the window. As she watched, he walked softly to the door and opened it, slipping out into the night. Curious, she followed him again.

“What is it, my friend?” asked Luna, dropping her disguise as she placed a hoof on his shoulder.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” asked Philip. Following his gaze, Luna saw he was looking at the moon.

“You mean the moon?” asked Luna, confused. He nodded. “Thou…you believe the moon to be female?”

“Yes,” he said, “and she’s beautiful. The Silver Queen of magic, mystery and romance, bathing the world in her sterling light as she guards the dreams of mortals. She is the companion to those who find no comfort in the day, and neither mercy nor sympathy from its creatures.” Suddenly, he seemed to wilt. “Often she is the only comfort they have.” He gazed at the moon, and Luna could see it reflected in his emerald eyes. “Oh thou pale orb that silent shines, while care-untroubled mortals sleep, thou sees a wretch who inly pines, and wanders here to wail and weep,” he said.

“What was that, dear Philip?” asked Luna, draping a wing over him and gazing into his eyes with concern.

“The first few lines of a poem,” said Philip, “but I don’t remember who wrote it. Just that his name used to mean a spring of water, but now it has something to do with fire.”

“And ‘tis addressed to the moon?” asked Luna.

“Yes,” said Philip, “I think I even heard a song with a couple of the verses as lyrics.”

He looked away from the moon for the first time to notice Luna now wore a watery smile.

“Would’st thou…could you…sing it to me?” she asked shyly, averting her gaze.

He cupped her cheek in one hand, and lifted her eyes to meet his own. Placing his other hand on her face, he held her head in his hands and sang, stroking her cheek in time with the music. Luna could not believe her ears; the song seemed to echo the emotions she had felt so long ago. It seemed as if her own longing was ringing from the past through the voice of her friend.

He finished, looking up at the moon once more. “She can be harsh, but she is also kind and loving, and so very beautiful,” he said. “She is the all-seeing eye of the night, ever watchful as she guards her sleeping subjects.”

“Oh Philip,” sighed Luna, staring at him wide-eyed, “you sound as if you are in love.” This was very pleasing to Luna; she remembered all too well what others had once thought of her nighttime, and to meet someone who thought her moon and stars were beautiful and good was…more wonderful than she could describe with words.

“You love the night, too,” said Philip, gazing back at her, “I can see it in your eyes.” He moved closer, and embraced her. “I guess we’re both moon-addled fools for the night, eh?”

“Yes,” giggled Luna, hugging him, “yes, I suppose we are.”

“Let’s go to sleep now, though,” said Philip, “the moon should protect you from any more nightmares.”

***

They crept back into the room, careful not to wake Twilight. “Try to get a little rest, eh?” said Philip.

“Okay,” Luna said with a yawn. Then she surprised Philip by conjuring a bed with her magic and laying down on it, in the room with Twilight. She was out like a light almost the minute her head hit the pillow; she must have been half asleep already.

She’s safe now, Philip thought, it’s time to leave. He silently crept to the hall…then paused. He looked back at the mares and the dragon, listening to their hearts beating. Then, he crept back to his room, took the mattress and crept back to the doorway to Luna’s and Twilight’s room. He lay the mattress down, quietly lowered himself onto it, and drifted off to the sound of three beating hearts.

When Philip awoke, he could see by the color of the light filtering through the curtains that the sun had not yet risen, and it was still early in the morning. He rose to his feet and stretched, his joints popping slightly. Then he crept quietly to his room with his mattress, and then to the library where he began to read through the books that Twilight had not finished. However, when Starlight Dream and Twilight Sparkle joined him an hour later, he had found nothing relevant.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything on werewolves or the Talons of Shadow in any of these books,” he said, shutting the tome in his hands and setting it on a pile of other books.

“What shall we do about all of this, if we know nothing?” said Starlight.

“Ask your sister about the Talons; they might have formed too recently to be in books, or they may be so secretive that few but her have any information on them.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” said Twilight, “but you’re right; we should ask as soon as Spike wakes up.”

“Until then, let’s see about some breakfast,” said Philip, rubbing his hands together.

“What do humans eat, anyway? Besides apples, I mean,” said Twilight.

Philip thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. “Fruits, roots, shoots, vegetables...”

“Can you eat flowers?” said Twilight.

“Not most flowers,” said Philip, “and I can’t eat grasses, but I can eat oranges, lemons, coconuts, melons, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, broccoli, celery, lima beans, collard greens, cauliflower, eggplants…how about some cereal?” said Philip, noticing the exasperated look Twilight was giving him.

“Cereal sounds delightful to me as well,” said Starlight.

After breakfast, the three cleaned up the books, Starlight and Philip arranging them into piles with direction from Twilight. Then, they helped reshelf the books, again with direction from Twilight.

“And the basic magical theory texts go there…Spike, you’re awake!”

“Yeah,” said Spike, as he walked into the library, “no kidding.”

“We were waiting for you to awaken, dear Spike,” said Starlight, smiling softly at him. “We need you to send a letter to my sister asking her for any information she has on the Talons of Shadow.”

“Why?” said Spike, “What do we need to know about them for?”

“Knowledge is power, Spike,” said Philip.

“A sentiment after my own heart,” said Twilight with a smile.

“I noticed,” quipped Philip.

“I have been feeling rather powerless as of late,” muttered Starlight to herself, though Philip could hear her. She was staring at the ground, looking worried. Poor Luna’s been through enough, Philip thought to himself. She doesn’t deserve to live in fear like this. I can’t leave her; not until she’s safe.

“Okay, what does that mean?” asked Spike.

“The more we know about them, the harder it will be for the Talons to surprise us and the easier it will be to spot them and anticipate their actions,” said Philip, “so the more intel we have the better.”

He paused, though his friends did not notice. Intel; the word sounded like military jargon, though he was not sure what it could mean.

“Spike, take a letter!” said Twilight, apparently not noticing the word choice.

“Ready,” said Spike, holding a quill and a scroll. Twilight dictated:

Dear Princess Celestia,
I am writing to you with the request that you send us any information you may have on the Talons of Shadow, so that should we encounter them we will better be able to recognize them and handle the situation accordingly.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle

“Twilight…Sparkle,” repeated Spike, as he finished the letter, “there we go. I’ll send it right away,” he finished, saluting.

“Well,” said Philip, “I’d better get to Sweet Apple Acres to help Applejack.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d…like to come with you,” said Twilight hesitantly, “because, well, I…”

“We wish to learn more about you,” said Starlight rapidly.

“Sounds good to me,” said Philip, “let’s get going.”

They left the castle, and walked down the street a ways. Then Philip said, “Twilight, why don’t you lead the way, since I have no idea where I’m going.”

“Okay,” said Twilight with a chuckle, and they turned in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. As they traveled through town, Philip heard more whispers regarding him. They seemed to be gaining vehemence and vitriol. He made a mental note to talk to the Mayor about arranging something to reassure Ponyville’s citizens.

“Look at that thing.”

“I’ll bet those mares have no idea what they’re getting into.”

“It’s just waiting to attack, I know it.”

“Hah! What’s the matter, you still too clumsy to fly?”

Philip paused at this last comment; then he heard a distressed voice say, “Come on, guys, I have to deliver that mail soon or my boss will be really mad at me!”

Philip turned to the others and said, “I think I hear trouble, girls; sounds like someone’s being bullied.” Turning in the direction of the voices, Philip took off, the mares following him with shouts of astonishment. As Philip ran, he noticed a rainbow trail leading towards the voices. That’ll be Dash, always sticking up for others.

A wagon passed in front of him, and without pausing he leapt onto the top, much to the surprise of the mare pulling it. He then leapt onto the balcony of a nearby building, and from there to the top of the structure. He landed on all fours before rising and continuing his run, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, until he came to the edge of Ponyville. He spotted the trouble quickly from his higher vantage point; three Pegasus stallions, a chocolate-brown one, a light tan one, and a grey one, surrounding a grey Pegasus mare with a messy straw-colored mane. They were in a field not far from Philip’s perch, and the Stallions seemed to be playing keep-away with the mare’s saddlebags, flying above her.

“Aw, can’t you catch us?” said the brown stallion, who was holding the mailbag, “Can’t fly good enough? You can’t even take two flaps without falling all over yourself, can you?”

“Aren’t you boys a little old to be taking some poor girl’s bags?” shouted Philip from the rooftop.

“Who’re...What’re you?” said the tan stallion, looking at Philip in shock.

“His name’s Philip,” said Rainbow, who had just arrived on the scene. “How’d you get up there, anyway?” she asked with a shout, looking at the man.

“Tell you later!” said Philip, jumping down from the top of the building and rolling to disperse the force. Without losing momentum he ran the rest of the way to the field, where the grey mare was looking at him with her left eye, while her right was looking off to the upper right; she had strabismus, and likely was accident-prone because of it. That explained why she was being bullied, though in Philip’s mind, it did not justify such actions. He felt a well of sympathy spring up in himself at the sight of the poor mare.

“Are you here to help me, mister?” she said, her crooked eyes seeming to plead with him to say yes.

“Just call me Philip or Phil, and of course,” said Philip, placing a hand on the mare’s head.

“Okay mister Philip!” she said cheerfully, smiling like a child.

“You gonna start somethin’?” said the brown stallion, pointing with a hoof.

“No, I’m here to end this,” said Philip, “you’re going to give this sweet young lady her bag back and stop making fun of her.”

“Why should we?” said the tan stallion, while the grey one chuckled. Rainbow opened her mouth, but was cut off by Philip.

“Because if you were real stallions, you wouldn’t have taken it in the first place,” he said forcefully, a scowl on his face. “Real stallions don’t pick on others, because they don’t need to. True strength needs no proof; it’s enough to know you’re strong.”

The three stallions and both mares looked at Philip in awe. “Wow,” said Rainbow, “that was cool.”

“Who are these guys Dash?” said Philip, glaring at the stallions.

“They’re some old Flight School Classmates of mine,” said Rainbow Dash, “the big one is Hoops, the chubby one is Score, and the other one is Dumbbell.”

“Who’s this, your boyfriend?” said Hoops.

“You dating monkeys, now, Derpy?” jeered Dumbbell.

“No Dumbbell, she’s never met me before,” said Philip with a devious half-smile, “but let me give you some advice; you won’t get a girl by teasing her. If you want Derpy to like you, give her flowers or something.”

“I don’t want to date her!” yelled Dumbbell.

“Why so defensive, then?” countered Philip.

“Hah,” laughed Rainbow, pointing a hoof, “he got you good!”

“Now give the lady her bag, and don’t bother her anymore,” said Philip pleasantly.

“Why should we?” said Hoops, who had tossed the bag to Dumbbell. “There are three of us, and it’s not like you can get us up here!”

Score, who had flown up to Philip from behind, shoved him, hard.

“Yeah,” said Dumbbell, laughing with his eyes closed, “give us one good reason not to-yipe!”

While Dumbbell’s eyes were closed, Philip had jumped up and snatched the bag. Philip then let loose a flurry of blows to Dumbbell’s left wing with one hand. It was as if everything had slowed down; Philip could not understand why, but Dumbbell seemed unable to dodge or counter his strikes, soft though he knew they were. He was not trying to hurt the boy, after all. It would be counterproductive to do more than scare him.

Dumbbell fell out of the sky with Philip, who grabbed his wings. The moment Philip’s feet touched the dirt, he slammed the brown Pegasus into the dirt on his belly. Then he twisted Dumbbell’s right wing behind his back and said in a low voice, “Listen punk; one thing I never tolerate, no matter what, is bullying. Only people with no self-esteem need to pick on others to feel powerful and only cowards attack single opponents in groups. Real men don’t pick on those weaker than themselves; they defend them from creeps like you. Now back off before I get the Royal Guard to show you how a real man behaves.”

“That won’t be necessary,” said a male voice, and everyone turned to see a white Pegasus stallion in golden armor trotting up to them. “I saw that colt push you; these three are going to get a stern talking to, believe you me.”

“Why are we in trouble?” said Hoops.

“Because you started it,” said the Guard Pony with a glare.

“So how long have you been watching?” said Rainbow Dash.

“He got here right after you did,” Philip said, “but I guess he decided to let us handle it and just make sure no one got hurt.”

“Oh, someone’s gonna get hurt,” said Dumbbell from under Philip.

“I heard that, young colt,” said the guard, “and for your sake you’d better stay away from him.”

“Yeah,” said Rainbow, “cause next time, I won’t let you off so easy!”

“Actually,” said the Guard Pony, “I meant that next time I might not be here to stop him breaking bone. He’s definitely a trained fighter; I almost couldn’t see, but it looked like he was hitting the joints in that young colt’s wing, which crippled that wing enough to ground whomever it was attached to.”

“Good eye,” said Philip. “You’re right, of course.”

“Uh…” said Dumbbell, looking back at Philip, “so, you’re, what, in the Guard?”

“No, but he fights like nothing I’ve ever seen, except in some movies,” said the Guard Pony. Dumbbell rolled his eyes.

“I’m going to let you up,” said Philip, “and when I do, no funny stuff. That goes for you two as well,” he said to the other two bullies. They nodded their heads, and Philip let go of Dumbbell and back-flipped off of the stallion. Dumbbell shot him a dirty look, and the three colts left, Dumbbell favoring his wing.

“Thank you for standing up for me, Mister Phil,” said Derpy, as he returned her bag. Philip wanted to hug her, she looked so pitiful; her ears drooped and her eyes were staring at different spots on the ground. “Sometimes ponies make fun of me, because of my eyes.”

“I had a little help from this Guard Pony,” said Philip, “and for the record, I for one find your eyes to be rather endearing.” Derpy blushed a bit and smiled. “Is there anything else, officer?” he asked the guard.

“Call me Pike Line,” said Pike Line.

“There you are,” said Twilight, racing up to the group. Behind her was Starlight Dream, coming at a much slower pace. Both mares were gasping for breath, Starlight more so than Twilight.

“We’ve…been…looking…all…over,” said Starlight between breaths.

“You’re supposed to be taking it easy, Starlight,” said Philip, “I’m sorry for running off, but…”

“He saved me from some nasty bullies!” said Derpy. She gasped suddenly. “Oh, I have to go now, or my boss might get mad at me for the mail being late! See you later,” she said, and off she flew.

“Your friend here is quite the fighter,” said Pike Line. “He jumped at least twenty feet in the air to get that mare’s mailbag back.”

“And you should’ve seen his moves,” said Rainbow, “he was all like powpowpow and Dumbbell just fell out of the air! It was pretty awesome, but I could’ve done better.” Philip smiled, and then proceeded to fill in the other four about where he had disappeared to. Rainbow was impressed, but said she could beat him in a race any time (“With my wings tied!”). The other two, however, wondered how he had done it, and Pike Line seemed skeptical that he had.

“Well, I have to be off,” said Pike Line. He flew away, and Philip shrugged.

“I guess I’d better get going,” he said. “Don’t want to be late for work at Applejack’s.”

“Mind if I come?” asked Rainbow.

“Not at all,” said Philip, tousling her mane. She shot him a confused glare, but he could tell she had enjoyed it, if only a little.

“You are just going to go to work? After that?” said Starlight.

“No reason to let those jerks ruin my day,” Philip replied. “So which way is it to the orchard?” Twilight pointed the way, and Philip looked at Starlight. “You know, I think it would be best to let you rest a bit.”

Starlight shook her head. “No, no, I couldn’t! You must be going!” she replied.

Philip looked thoughtful. “Well, I can’t leave you two alone, but I could probably carry you if you’d like.” He smiled.

“Hmm…” She paused for a moment, thinking. “That sounds interesting,” she said finally, “I would like to try it.”

“Me too!” said Twilight, “but maybe later, because I’m sure you couldn’t carry us both.”

“Well then,” said Philip, “hop on and hold on, Star.” He knelt on the grass, and Starlight climbed gingerly onto his back. Then, he stood up and walked in the direction Twilight had indicated.

As they walked, Twilight said, “So, what exactly happened?” Rainbow grinned, and proceeded to give an animated, blow-by-blow account of what had transpired. Philip chuckled at her excitement. “Wow,” said Twilight, “it sounds like you’re a pretty good fighter.”

“I wish I could remember more about myself,” said Philip, “but I do remember one other thing.”

“Which is what?” said Twilight.

“I know a lot about how to fight without seriously injuring my opponent. I intentionally avoided really hurting him.”

“Oh…that’s good.”

Philip let Rainbow and Twilight get slightly ahead of them. Then he looked at Starlight. “Star, what did you mean back at the castle about feeling powerless?”

“What?” said Starlight, “Oh, y-you heard that?” Philip nodded his head. “W-well,” said Starlight, “when the werewolf attacked me, I was very frightened. It was so much stronger, physically, than almost any living thing I had ever known, and when it came back after all the m-magic I’d used against it, I, I was a-afraid that it was invincible. And it was so…so ferocious,” she said, with a haunted look, “as if it cared for nothing but hurting everything. It was the most terrifying thing I had ever encountered. I hadn’t felt that helpless since I became...in a long time.” She was staring ahead with unseeing eyes, her pupils shrunk to pinpricks. She visibly shook, and Philip had to repress the urge to take her off of his back and into his arms.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said to her instead, “do you remember what we decided to do yesterday?”

Starlight nodded. “We were going to keep wolfsbane around our necks in necklaces. But I think Twilight and I forgot ours.”

Philip smiled and showed her his necklace of flowers under his shirt. “I remembered mine.”

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Philip looked down the road they were walking on; they had arrived at Sweet Apple Acres’ apple orchard, and Apple Bloom was waving at them. “Hi eveypony! I heard y’all were comin’! Applejack’s this way!”

She led them into the orchard, among rows and rows of verdant trees ripe with luscious, beautiful apples of all shapes, colors and sizes. The trees seemed to stretch on for miles in every direction, like a sea of leaves dotted with fruity flotsam. Philip had not been entirely truthful when he asked for directions; even from the castle, he had been able to smell the delicious aroma of ripe apples. He had not, however, wanted to admit that his nose was so good. A rhythmic thudding became audible, and they found Applejack kicking at one of the trees.

“Come…on…you…” she said, kicking harder. “Oh, howdy y’all,” she said, “Ah’ll be with ya in a sec.” She gave the tree one final kick, and then sighed in frustration. “It’ll hafta wait fer Big Mac an’ the shovel.” She turned to her friends. “Why’re y’all so late anyhow?”

“We ran into some bullies picking on Derpy Hooves,” said Rainbow. “Philip told them that they were pathetic ‘cause they were picking on her, and then took the mailbag back from Dumbbell when he wouldn’t give it back. He jumped like twenty feet in the air and put Dumbbell in some wing lock or something, and then he said he doesn’t put up with bullies.”

“And I don’t put up with them,” stated Philip, with a severe frown on his face, “…do you mind if I take a whack at that tree, Applejack? I need to vent a little.”

Applejack shrugged and said, “If it’ll make ya feel a little better Ah don’t mind.”

“Okay,” said Philip. He looked at the tree, remembering the spot Applejack had kicked it. The tree looked awful; the bark had turned the color of rock, and there were no leaves or apples. “What’s wrong with this tree, anyway?” he said.

“Well,” said Applejack, tilting her Stetson back, “It caught some kinda blight an’ died. Worst part is, the trunk’s so hard now we can’t cut it down. Must be some kinda side effect of the blight. Ah was gonna just kick it over, but it won’t budge. Ah’m gonna see what’s takin’ Big Mac so long.”

“We’ll go with you,” said the other three mares.

“I’ll catch up in a moment,” said Philip. They hurried off into the trees. Philip closed his eyes and turned around, facing away from the tree. He focused on all the rage, all the fury he held towards bullies and their stupidity and insecurity and pathetic, sniveling, cowardly, dishonorable…

“TSAYAH!!” he shouted, spinning around and kicking the tree. The tree trunk was crushed all the way through. It toppled over with a loud crash as Philip back-flipped away. “Holy smoke,” said Philip, “what the heck just…argh!” He bent over with a snarl as a memory filled his mind.

A phalanx of soldiers in gleaming bronze armor charged with loud war cries against a much larger force, hemmed in by cliffs on one side and the sea on another. Philip could feel the earth shaking, see the masked enemy forces approaching; he deflected a strike from a spear with his large round shield, and rallied with his own. He kept stabbing and blocking, until he felt a searing pain and saw a spear protruding from his stomach. He stabbed his own spear through the eye of the opponent and pulled out the one in his gut, only to feel a stray arrow pierce his neck. He fell to the dust. Fight on without me, my brothers, he thought as darkness overtook him.

“What the…” Philip said to himself as he rose from the crouch he had sunk into.

“Whoa!” said a female voice, and Applejack, Starlight, Twilight, Rainbow, and a red stallion Philip thought must be Big Macintosh came running up to him.

“Well ah’ll be,” said Applejack, “Ah guess Ah got it after all.”

“Yeah, I guess you did,” said Philip.

“Didja at least get ta kick it or somethin’?” said Applejack.

“I kicked it all right,” said Philip, “and that must have finally shaken it enough that it fell over.”

Philip was not sure why, but he felt that just as with his sense of smell, he should keep his strength a secret. He felt, for some reason, that it would frighten his friends and possibly drive them away. He did not want that.

Applejack shrugged again. “Well, it’s down now,” she said. “Now come on, you can help us carry some baskets. Oh, this is mah brother Big Macintosh. Big Mac, this is Philip.”

“Pleased ta meetcha,” said Big Macintosh. He and Philip shook hooves/hands.

“Charmed,” said Philip, nodding to Big Mac.

Introductions done, the ponies and Philip all left for another part of the orchard. There, Applejack and Big Macintosh began to buck the trees, causing apples to fall from the branches. Philip found himself impressed with their strength and endurance as he helped Apple Bloom and Twilight carry the baskets back to the barn (Twilight observing him in what she probably thought was an unobtrusive manner), and after a few hours they took a short break.

As they were settling down, a small brown and white Border collie ran out of the nearby farmhouse, barking up a storm. “Hush, Winona, he’s a friend!” yelled Apple Bloom. The dog, Winona apparently, kept right on running and barking at Philip until she got about five feet away. Then she suddenly stopped with a yelp. Her loud barks changed to high pitched yaps, and she kept circling around but did not approach any closer.

“Winona what’s gotten into you?” said Applejack with a furrowed brow.

“Ah’m sorry! Ah didn’t mean it!” said Apple Bloom, running over to Winona and hugging her. Winona pressed her head into Applebloom, whining. That was probably why they called her Winona.

“It’s me, not her,” said Philip, “Opal reacted the same way.”

“Opal ran under a chair,” said Starlight, “Winona seems to be barking at you.”

Philip nodded. “She is,” he said, “but those aren’t barks of anger. Before, her barks were more territorial. These barks are about the dog equivalent of screaming in terror. Winona’s afraid of me.”

“So, animals are afraid of you?” said Apple Bloom, holding a shivering Winona close.

“Yes, and I think it may mean something. I don’t know what it would be, though,” said Philip.

“If ya have a minute,” said Big Macintosh, walking up at that moment, “Ah’ve got somethin’ Ah’d like ta ask ya.”

Philip shrugged, and they went to talk under a tree nearby, leaving Winona to be calmed by Applejack.

“Do ya really think that tree fell from Applejack’s kick?” said Big Mac.

“No, and I’m betting you don’t either. I could feel the tree shattering when I kicked it, and it left the stump; I’m just glad I didn’t hit that bully nearly as hard.”

Big Mac nodded. “Ah agree, but ah ain’t gonna say anythin’; don’t see no reason ta. Ya seem troubled, though; anythin’ wrong?”

“Well Big Mac, I have amnesia and I don’t remember anything much about who I am or how I got here, but right after I kicked the tree down I had a flashback where I was surrounded by men like myself. We were wearing bronze plate armor, and carrying spears and large roundshields. We were fighting some battle with another army, and I think I was killed. I can’t imagine how it could be real, but it certainly felt real.”

Big Mac chewed on a stalk of wheat in his mouth. “Well, Ah think ya’d better tell the girls about that; Twilight seems like more the kinda’ pony ta help ya with that.”

Just then, Apple Bloom trotted up. “Hey, Granny Smith’s makin’ snacks! What kinda fruits ya like? We got apples, oranges, pears, oh, and some grapes! Ya like grapes Philip?”

Philip looked off into the distance. “Yes,” he said softly, “I love grapes. And olives, I adore olives. And bathing in the Eurotas at the end of a hard day’s training. Nothing better than that. I really miss it.” He sighed.

“Uh,” said Apple Bloom, “well, we got grapes, so…yeah.” She left to fetch something to eat.

“Ya remembered somethin’ else?” said Big Mac.

Philip nodded, “Apparently I come from someplace that has lots of grapes and olives, and is fairly close to a river called the Eurotas; at least I think it’s a river. It sounded like it was. Don’t know what I meant about training, but from earlier, I think I might have been in an army of some sort.”

Big Mac chewed on a stalk of wheat. “Well,” he said, “Ah dunno ‘bout that, but Ah reckon you should ask Twilight. From what Applejack says, she’s one smart little alicorn princess.”

Philip nodded; then he heard a branch snap and looked across the orchard. There was a pony approaching, looking directly at him. He got a strange feeling from the pony, a slate-grey unicorn stallion with a cloak that covered his Cutie Mark and a blonde mane and tail.

The pony trotted right up to them, and said without preamble, “I assume that you are Philip.” Philip stood and nodded, his expression guarded.

“Excellent,” said the pony, “my name is Stone Slab. I was just wondering if you could tell me where to find Princess Luna?”

“I seem to recall Princess Celestia and Princess Luna going back to Canterlot after leaving the hospital. I was there with amnesia, you see; don’t remember anything before yesterday morning. They said Luna was going on a vacation for her health, but they didn’t say where.” Philip shrugged, “they don’t know me that well, so…”

Philip suddenly spun around and kicked the tree behind him. The tree shook, and a Griffon with brown feathers, tawny fur, and a single eyebrow across the middle of his forehead fell out of the tree. He landed headfirst, and lay groaning in pain at the bottom of the tree trunk.

Turning back to Stone Slab, Philip said, “Are you going to introduce us to your friend? He was whispering something about you taking too long while we were talking, and to get on with it.”

The Griffon looked up in shock. “No way!” he said in a gruff voice, “How’d you hear me up there!” Philip shrugged again.

“Okay,” said Stone Slab, “I’ll level with you; we’re private investigators, sent by Princess Celestia to investigate the werewolf. She has entrusted us with all relevant information to the case. We saw you were not described on our list of Ponyville residents, and that makes you a…person…of interest, so we need to interview you. I advise you to cooperate; we have the full authority of the princesses on our side.”

“If that were true, you’d know why I was here and who I was,” said Philip. “Furthermore, your heart rate increased when you said that, and your left eye twitched. I know a tell when I see one; you’re lying.”

Big Macintosh looked at him in astonishment. The Griffon looked confused. The stallion said, “Suit yourself; we’ll be back with an arrest warrant.”

He smiled, and then slowly began to look worried as Philip stared at him. After about three minutes, he turned and briskly trotted off, the now-angry Griffon behind him.

Big Mac whistled; “That was interestin’. Think they’ll really be back with an arrest warrant?”

Philip shook his head. “I wasn’t kidding about the heart rate and the eye thing; I can tell when someone is lying to me. They were bluffing, and I called it. Something wrong?”

Big Macintosh was looking at him oddly. “Don’cha need ta blink?” he said.

Philip blinked. “Of course I need to blink, why…”

He paused. How long had he gone without blinking just now? It had to have been at least five minutes.

“Pike Line was right,” said Philip thoughtfully. “I’m certain now that I must be some kind of trained warrior, but from where?”

“Hey, are you two done talking yet?” said Rainbow from the group a ways away. “The snacks are ready!”

Philip smiled and waved…then stopped, looking right at Twilight. “Uh oh,” he said, and then he rose and raced towards the group as fast as he could. “Girls,” he said, “I need to tell you some…what?”

They were staring at him. Suddenly, Rainbow jumped right in his face and said, “You didn’t tell me you could run that fast! We gotta race!” Philip shook his head. “Now’s not the time for that, Rainbow,” he said sharply, “I think we may have just seen our were…”

“AwooooOOOOOoooooo!”

They all started. “…wolf,” said Philip.

“It’s the werewolf!?” shrieked Twilight.

“No, that sounded like an ordinary wolf,” said Philip, waving a hand at her, “but we need to find…”

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!”

Chapter 4

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“APPLE BLOOM!” shouted Applejack, and they all ran in the direction of the scream.

As they ran, Philip noticed that Starlight was absent from the group, and asked Twilight, “Where’s Star?”

Twilight almost stumbled in realization. “She’s with Apple Bloom! They went to get more grapes because Starlight heard from Apple Bloom you liked them!”

They heard more shrieks coming from up ahead. Please be okay, thought Philip, I don’t want to see you hurt.

They came upon a clearing, where they saw a large grey wolf with a lighter face and underside had cornered the mare and the filly. Apple Bloom was trembling, but not nearly as much as Starlight, who looked like she was frozen in sheer terror.

The wolf growled at the newcomers, its tail raised and tilted back. It then noticed that while Apple Bloom was trying to surreptitiously edge towards the group, Starlight was still frozen.

It stalked closer, and then made to spring at the mare. Before it could, however, Philip tackled it from the side and pinned it by the scruff of its neck, snarling as he did. The wolf whimpered, whining as Philip’s fingers dug into its neck.

“Stop.” The wolf stopped struggling, glancing at Philip as he barked the command. “Sit, girl,” he said, letting the wolf up, and the wolf sat. “Stay.” The wolf stayed.

Philip walked up to Starlight, and nudged her. She started, then threw her forelegs around his neck and said, “Thou hast saved me once again!” He hugged back, while the others ran up to them.

“Thanks for savin’ us from that mean ol’ wolf!” said Apple Bloom, joining the hug.

Philip looked with a puzzled countenance at the wolf. “I don’t think she’s mean,” he said. “She was favoring her right paw. I think she might have been injured. Wolves normally travel in packs, but she seems to be alone. She must have been injured and gotten separated. It’s weird, too; normally wolves will go out of their way to help injured pack members.” Philip began to move towards the wolf, who was still sitting stoically. “Something else is bothering me, though,” he said, as he approached, “Wolves aren’t domesticated dogs; she shouldn’t have obeyed me.” He stopped about six feet from the wolf, and said, “Come here, girl!” The wolf got up and edged forward, head down and tail tucked under herself, her head lowered. The mares gasped. “Don’t worry,” Philip said, “her tail’s between her legs, and she’s grinning; that means she’s being submissive.” The wolf reached him, and he sternly ordered her, “Roll over.” He accompanied this with a push of his hand on the wolf’s head. She rolled over on her back, her legs splayed, throat exposed. He knelt down, and she placed a paw on his face and began to lick at it. He stroked the fur on her neck and behind her ears, while she continued to try to lick him. They both got up, and Philip said, “Come over here, Starlight; I don’t think she’ll hurt you while I’m here, as long as you move slowly.”

Starlight looked at him as if he were insane, but took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She cautiously approached the wolf, and as soon as she could reach it, she began to hesitantly stroke it behind the ears as Philip had. Philip kept hold of the wolf at first, then let go when Starlight was not looking. The wolf looked at her, and put a paw on her face, just as with Philip. Then, the wolf licked her face, and looked at Philip. “Good girl,” he said, smiling. “Both of you,” he added, looking at Starlight. She smiled, too.

“Now you,” said Philip, indicating the wolf, “should go see Fluttershy; she’ll see to your paw.” The mares looked at him with raised eyebrows, and then started as the wolf suddenly jumped up and ran off into the woods, in the direction of the Everfree Forest. “I don’t know how I did that,” said Philip, “but it looks like that wolf won’t be bothering you anymore.” Starlight smiled again. The other mares breathed a sigh of relief at the wolf’s departure.

“Well,” said Twilight, “that was exciting.”

Starlight nudged Philip and said, “I think you may have just helped me avoid a lifelong fear of wolves of all shapes.” Philip smiled and hugged her again. She hummed at the warm embrace.

“What do you mean, Starlight?” asked Twilight, puzzled.

“Imagine for a moment you’re Luna, Twilight,” said Philip. “You’ve gone your whole life as one of the most powerful beings in the known world.” Starlight blushed, and Philip chuckled. “Am I wrong?” She shook her head, and he continued. “Now, imagine that suddenly, and without warning, you encounter something nearly unstoppable, impossibly strong and totally bent on killing you because it knows nothing else. How would you feel?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh, goodness, I hadn’t realized! That must be terrifying!”

“It is not so bad now,” said Starlight, smiling at Twilight and then at Philip. “Perhaps if I learn more about wolves, I will be less fearful of them.”

Applejack looked thoughtful. “How’d ya know that wolf was friendly? And how’d ya know it was female?”

Philip smiled fondly. “She was wolf-grinning, and had her tail down; those are signs of submission in wolves. Rolling over to expose the throat and groin areas is a more extreme sign of submission. As for how I knew she was female, well, I noticed she had…female…pheromones.” Philip trailed off, looking in the direction the wolf had gone. “She smelled like a she, which is how I knew she was a she.” He had not wanted to admit it, but his nose was far more sensitive that it should have been. He knew no human should have been able to pick up such a subtle scent, but he had. He just hoped the girls wouldn’t be suspicious; they were his only friends, as far as he knew.

Rainbow grinned. “That’s some nose you’ve got,” she said.

“That’s probably how he knew you were a girl, too,” said Applejack.

“Hey!” said Rainbow, “you’re just as stallion-y as me!” The others just laughed, but inside, Philip felt a wave of relief at their teasing tone. It seemed they still trusted him. And why not; they had no idea humans did not have such acute senses.

As they returned to the tree, Big Macintosh let out a sigh and said to Philip, “Thanks fer savin’ mah sis.”

Philip patted him on the back and said, “It was my pleasure.”

“So what were you going to tell us before?” Twilight asked, sitting down.

“Ah,” said Philip, “that. While Mac and I were talking…Oh! Did I tell you?” He grinned. “I remembered something! I come from someplace with lots of grapes and olives, near a river called the Eurotas. I also had some sort of flashback where I was dressed up in bronze plate armor. I was in some kind of battle, and I remember being speared in the stomach and taking an arrow to my neck. I collapsed, and that’s about it.”

The group stared at him, wide-eyed. “Wow,” said Rainbow, “so you were in the army, huh?”

Philip nodded and said, “I suppose so.”

“Well,” said Starlight nuzzling up to him, “you’re certainly my hero.”

Philip smiled for a moment. Then his expression turned serious, and he said, “We need to tell Celestia that someone is impersonating one of her agents; a stallion saying his name was Stone Slab approached me and said he was investigating the werewolf, but he had no idea who I was and tried to get me to tell him where Luna was. The guy gave me a bad feeling, and so did his Griffon friend, who by the way was watching me from the trees. As if that wasn’t suspicious enough, he had meeting eyebrows, and we all know what that could mean.”

“Ya mean he was the were-thing that attacked the Princess?” said Applejack.

“Maybe,” said Philip, “but that alone isn’t enough; since Griffons have claws, the only way to really know is to see if he has fur under his tongue. Anything else is circumstantial.” He got up. “Well, I’d sort of like to get back to work, now that I feel rested.”

“Nothing fazes you, does it Philip?” said Twilight with a smile.

He shrugged. “Life’s too short to waste it worrying.” He looked off into the distance. “Time marches ever onward, grinding mountains down to nothing and pushing new mountains through the clouds. Volcanoes bury entire cities, only for more to spring up. Waves wash away islands, only for lava and earthquakes to make more. Species go extinct and new ones evolve; and lives begin and end while the sun and moon watch unchanging ‘til the end of days itself.” He sighed. “Now I feel kind of melancholy.”

Starlight looked at him, puzzled. “You sounded so sad just now.”

Philip smiled wistfully at her. “I guess I just know what it feels like to watch the world move around me while I just endure.”

She smiled. “Me too.”

They returned to the trees where they’d left off, and Applejack said, “Well, time ta get back ta work.”

Big Macintosh trotted up beside Philip and said, “Think you could buck a tree?”

Philip shook his head. “Not like you do.” He paused. “But I think I have an idea. Let me try something.” He walked up to a tree, and rested his forehead against it. “Think you could kick the other side? I want to get a feel for the force.”

Big Mac shrugged. “If that’s what ya wanna do,” he said. Big Mac bucked the tree on the opposite side from Philip, who closed his eyes as he felt the tree vibrate.

“Let me try that,” said Twilight, trotting over. She rested her head against a tree, and Big Macintosh kicked.

“Oww, owowowowow,” yelped Twilight, recoiling as if stung. She held her hooves over her horn. “How did you stand that, Philip?” she said, eyes watering.

“I guess I just have a harder head than I thought,” said Philip, “Here, let me try something.”

“What are you…oooohhh…ooohh, don’t stop, please,” said Twilight. Philip had grasped the base of her horn and was gently rubbing it, stroking and caressing the spirals.

“This isn’t something we should be doing in private, is it?” quipped Philip, prompting a blush from Twilight. She shook her head, and then held it still as Philip stroked it one more time.

“Better?” he asked her.

“Much, thank you,” she said, smiling at him.

“Alright,” he said, walking to another tree as Big Mac set his hooves back down, “let’s see if I can do this.” He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and struck the tree straight on with an open palm, in the place on the trunk where he had seen Applejack and Big Macintosh aim their kicks. To his astonishment, the trunk shook violently, and every apple fell from its branches.

“Whoo-hoo!” shouted Rainbow, “Go Philip!”

Big Mac was awestruck. “That was impressive, doin’ that with just one hoof…er, hand.”

The others applauded, especially Starlight Dream. Philip bowed, and they resumed their work, but with Philip striking trees with his palms. Once they were done for the day, Philip, Starlight and Twilight left for the castle. “Y’all come back tomorrow!” said Applejack, waving as they left. “With yer help, Applebuckin’ Season’ll be over afore the Starlight Ball!”

Philip smiled and waved as they walked, then turned to Twilight and asked, “When we get back, you mind telling me what the Starlight Ball is?”

Starlight spoke up. “The Starlight Ball was my idea. It will allow ponies to enjoy the night sky as never before. There will be dances throughout Equestria, and a large ball will be held in Canterlot. There will be stargazing, dances, and pamphlets detailing constellations and myths associated with them. ‘Tis my attempt at expanding the knowledge of nighttime amongst my little ponies.”

Philip smiled at her. “Just now,” he said, “you looked happier than I’ve ever seen you. I loved it.”

Starlight smiled back. “I love it when ponies enjoy my night.”

They continued on through the cool evening, walking silently side by side. Philip gazed at the natural beauty around him, smiling to himself at the golden color of the grass, the crimson sky, and the violet color the blood-red sun was dyeing the clouds.

The sun sank below the horizon as they neared Ponyville. As they walked, a stallion in the bushes looked on, hidden by branches and shadows, and muttered, “So there you are, Princess Luna. You and Princess Twilight will soon be ours.” Then he slipped away.

-HR-

“Is something the matter, Philip?” said Twilight. Philip’s expression had just turned stony.

“Yes,” he said, “There’s a stallion watching us in the bushes, and he seems to be after you and Luna. I’d bet money he’s a Talon, and worse yet, he knows about Starlight. We need to tell Celestia right away.”

Starlight and Twilight looked worried. “Let’s hurry back to the castle,” said Twilight.

“Hey Twilight,” said Philip, smiling slightly at her, “I think this would be a good time for me to try carrying you.”

Twilight shook her head. “I’d like to, but I don’t think this is the time for-EEP!”

As she was talking, Philip had picked her up and put her on his back. Twilight noticed Starlight already in Philip’s arms. Then she squeaked a second time as Philip dashed forward, the town dissolving into a blur as he sped along. Wow, she thought, he’s really fast!

They crossed Ponyville in a matter of minutes, and were nearing the castle when Philip stopped, setting the mares down gently. He frowned, and said, “I think there’s someone in your castle who shouldn’t be, Twilight; all the lights are off.”

He was right; there were no lights, and the sun had gone down by the time they reached the castle. Spike should have been there, but the structure appeared uninhabited. The crystal tree-building was dark, and quiet.

“I’m going in the back way,” said Philip in a soft voice.

“But there isn’t a...” Twilight trailed off as Philip jumped up to the side of the structure and began to climb to the balcony. Twilight had to marvel at his skill; he resembled an ape, certainly, but he did not look like he was so naturally suited to climbing such a structure. Despite this, he made it look effortless.

Starlight, meanwhile, approached the front doors. “Twilight Sparkle, do you know anything of combat magic?”

“I know several spells, but I haven’t actually had combat training,” said Twilight.

Starlight gripped the door handle, steely determination etched on her face. “It will do. Are you ready?” Twilight steadied herself, and nodded the affirmative. Opening the door slowly, Starlight tiptoed into the darkened castle with Twilight close behind.

As they trod silently up the stairs, they heard voices coming from a passageway to their right, and followed the sounds to the ballroom. The doors were similar to the front doors, but made of green glass instead of gold and bearing Twilight’s Cutie Mark in white and magenta. They nodded once to each other, and Starlight flung the doors open, shouting, “Reveal thyself, knave!”

“SURPRISE!!” shouted what looked like half of Ponyville. Starlight jumped three feet in the air, and Twilight just laughed as the lights came on.

“And here I thought Pinkie had forgotten,” she said, “What was I thinking? Of course she’d throw Philip a welcome party!”

The ballroom was large and ornate, massive crystal pillars supporting a balcony that stretched along the rim of the room; a pillar at the other end was circled by a set of stairs leading up to the second level. Green tapestries with a white tree design sewn in lined the walls, and the dance floor was golden with a violet star design. The room was filled with ponies of all shapes, sizes, colors and tribes, crowded in the center and waiting to surprise the guest of honor.

Starlight stood clutching her chest as her heart rate returned to normal…then suddenly flattened herself against a wall as Pinkie appeared abruptly next to her and shouted, “You betcha! I’d never let anypony into Ponyville without a Pinkie Pie Welcome-To-Ponyville Party. I just waited a little so it’d be a surprise!” She looked around. “Where is Philip, anyway? Ooh, ooh, did he decide to stay at Applejack’s and sleep there? Did he decide to sleep at Rainbow’s house? Did Fluttershy come by and ask him to sleep with her and be her teddy bear because she saw a scary shadow and…mph!”

Pinkie’s tangent was cut short when Twilight stuck a hoof in her mouth. “No Pinkie, I don’t know where Philip is.”

Pinkie suddenly looked crestfallen. “He didn’t leave, did he?” she said, tears welling in her eyes.

“No, Pinkie, I didn’t,” said Philip, jumping from the second floor and landing in a crouch amid the partygoers. Some looked worried, but others looked impressed. Then the pony Twilight had called the mayor trotted up to Philip.

“Mr. Philip,” she said, “I would like to formally apologize for suspecting you were a threat to our town, and welcome you for as long as you choose to stay. I am the mayor of Ponyville, Mayor Mare.”

Philip shook her hoof, and said, “I understand, Mayor Mare, I really do, but just out of curiosity what really convinced all of you I wasn’t dangerous?”

Two mares, a mint-green unicorn with a sea foam mane and a cream-colored Earth Pony mare with a pink and indigo mane walked up behind the mayor, and the cream-colored mare said, “We heard about what happened to Derpy; that was so nice of you to defend her like that.” The green unicorn was looking at Philip with a smile. “I’m Sweetie Drops,” said the cream-colored mare, “and this is my sister Lyra.”

Philip smiled. “It’s nice to meet all three of you.”

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie leapt out from under a nearby table and shouted, “Come on, everypony! Let’s PARTY!”

-HR-

The party was splendid and raucous in what Philip took to be typical Pinkie Pie fashion. There were games, cupcakes, pies, fruit punches, and several friendly faces. He joined in a game of pin the tail on the pony, and almost immediately after being spun around he was able to walk in a nearly straight line and pin the tail directly onto the pony in the poster. Despite this, he was uneasy; while he acted like he was having fun, every sense was on the alert for the Talons. He found himself looking at ponies and listing weapons that could possibly be hidden inside a top hat or a sun dress. While he could understand being on edge, he found his ability to identify potential threats both comforting and troubling. It seemed he was quite adept at more than just hand-to-hand combat, but the question was, why?

-HR-

Twilight found herself in a conga line with perhaps ten other ponies. It was moments like these when she could cut loose and have fun that made all the chaos and strife she endured worthwhile. She loved that the ponies around her had known her since before her ascension to royalty, because it meant that even though she was a princess now, she was still treated like Twilight Sparkle. When the conga line dissolved, she made her way over to a desert-covered buffet table. She looked to the side and saw Philip writing a letter. “Are you telling Princess Celestia about what happened?” she asked.

He nodded. “I thought we should let her know about that mystery stallion, not to mention Stone Slab and his Griffon friend Major Unibrow.” He rolled up the letter, and asked, “Could you give this to Spike as soon as possible? You can read it, if you want, I trust you as much as I’m sure she does. I’d rather you didn’t, though; I got a little…upset at the end.”

She nodded and he thanked her, and then went to get some punch. He didn’t look that upset, she thought to herself, looking at the letter. It was strange that he would need to tell her such a thing; usually when a pony was upset, Twilight could tell almost instantly that something was wrong. Perhaps it was because he was a human, but she had seen no sign on his face or in his bearing that indicated he was perturbed. She opened and read it. Just to check for errors, she thought.

$$$

To her royal majesty Princess Celestia,

I regret to inform you that our ruse appears to have failed. A stallion who was following us, and who is almost certainly a member of the Talons of Shadow has seen through Luna’s disguise; worse yet, from what I heard him say they appear to be after Twilight Sparkle as well. For your own safety, I would advise you to tighten security in Canterlot. I also recommend sending more Royal Guards to Ponyville to keep an eye out; Pike Line cannot hope to keep adequate watch by himself, no matter how well-trained he may be. I also believe that Luna’s disguise may now be useless, but I wish to hear your opinion as well, and the decision to drop the disguise is ultimately Luna’s.

I had a minor altercation, by the by, with some Pegasus bullies shamelessly taunting a young mare by name of Derpy Hooves. I attempted to help them to realize how unmanly unstallionly their actions were, but they would not listen to reason and I was forced to remind them that the truly strong do not need to attack those who are weaker than themselves. In doing so, however, I discovered that I have some skill in fighting; I was able to momentarily paralyze the wing of the Pegasus who had stolen Miss Derpy’s mailbag (please know that I only resorted to physical force when it became clear that they intended to escalate the fight). No one was injured, but I thought it prudent to notify you. Rainbow Dash, Pike Line, and Derpy herself will testify that I was merely defending myself and another (not that you need to hear this; I am only concerned others may take it the wrong way).

I feel I should also mention that a stallion by name of Stone Slab tried to bring me into ‘custody’ with regards to the werewolf issue. He claimed to be acting on your orders, but I am certain this is a lie; he was also in the company of a suspicious Griffon who had brown feathers, tawny fur, and a single eyebrow across his forehead (one of the signs of being a werewolf; the other two are curved fingernails and fur under the tongue). These two are to be watched, as they had no idea who I was and asked for Luna; I trust that were they your agents, you would have informed them who I was, though I could understand keeping Luna’s whereabouts a secret. This may mean nothing, but it may also mean that they are agents of the Talons. While I cannot be certain that he was a Talon or the Griffon a werewolf, the two seem to bode ill.

On a more personal note, I believe something may be wrong with me; I seem to strike fear into the hearts of animals, and I appeared to exert a suspicious power over a wolf earlier today (while your sister and your subject Apple Bloom are not likely to complain about this, it disturbs me greatly). I also appear to be incredibly strong, fast, and agile; I was able to leap twenty feet in the air, by Pike Line’s estimate, and I crossed Ponyville in mere minutes carrying Twilight and Luna (though neither is very heavy). In addition, I have an unsettling ability to squeeze through small spaces, which I used to gain entry to Twilight’s bedroom from her balcony. Don’t worry; I was just securing the castle because we thought someone had broken in (it was just a Pinkie Pie Surprise Party). I won’t do anything naughty with your faithful student!

Humor aside, I had a scare yesterday when Rainbow Dash asked if I could be the werewolf. I realized that I probably was (and I was in a building with your sister, Twilight and her friends, and three small fillies)! I cannot express how worried I was; I did not want to be a monster, so I immediately asked Twilight to use her spell to find out if I knew how to discover a werewolf. Imagine my relief to discover I was not. I still worry, however, that there is something evil in me. I cannot imagine a worse fate; I have grown fond of your sister as well as your student and her friends (platonically, of course), despite only having known them a short time. I do not want to put them in danger, but I would be devastated if I had to leave to protect them. I will ask Twilight to try her spell again later, however; regardless of what I want, I cannot allow myself to remain here if it might put anyone in danger.

I hope you do not think me a worrywart; I am actually rather happy, all things considered. Applejack has allowed me to earn money by helping with the apple harvest, and Rarity has offered to make me clothes. I hope you are well; I imagine that this issue with the Talons and the werewolf are adding to what is no doubt a titanic workload already. Please remember to rest properly, and feel free to drop by; you are quite pleasant to be around (again, platonically).

Yours,

Philip Oscar Johnson

PS: I found out my name!

$$$

Twilight looked at Philip in wonder. Oh my…I had no idea he was going through that, she thought. She was shocked; the ponies she knew would have reacted with panic. She herself could recall situations where she had become embarrassingly frantic over far less. The fact that he was able to keep his composure as he had was nothing short of astounding. To be afraid like that, and immediately think of our safety…

She smiled. “You’re no monster, Philip,” she whispered. He looked at her, and mouthed, “thank you”. She started, and then waved back at him.

-HR-

Philip, meanwhile, was talking to the mayor. “So, Miss Mayor, I thought it would be a good idea to give a speech to Ponyville and address any concerns they may have. I’ve heard them muttering a lot, and as nice as Ponyville is, mob mentality is notorious for turning good villagers into bad ones.”

The mayor nodded. “I’ve noticed it, too; I actually wanted to ask you if we could hold it tomorrow at seven-thirty in the evening.”

Philip smiled and said, “Tomorrow evening should do nicely.” They shook hands/hooves, then Philip went over to Starlight, who was looking lost, and said, “Care to dance, milady?”

Starlight was puzzled. “But this is not dancing music.”

Philip chuckled. “Sure it is, just not slow dancing. Let’s join that conga line; that looks fun.” Starlight smiled, and allowed Philip to lead her into the party.

The party lasted for what felt like hours of fun and games, but around midnight the guests began to leave. Philip told Applejack about the speech, and she told him she understood.

“We had a problem with Zecora, too, ‘til Twi and my sis let the town know she was okay. Ah’ll even be there for ya, providin’ it don’t take more’n an hour.”

Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie also offered to be there, as did Rarity, who told Philip she was making outfits for the ball in Canterlot and asked if he wanted one.

“I don’t think I’ve been invited,” said Philip with a half-smile.

“Nonsense!” said Starlight, “Of course thou art invited! Thou shalt be my personal guest!”

Philip blinked, and then said, “Okay, I suppose I am invited.”

Rarity gasped. “Oh my stars, I almost forgot.” She handed Philip a bundle, which turned out to be a new set of clothes, complete with shirt, pants and light jacket.

“Thank you Rarity, but…”

“Upupup! They are a gift, for being a wonderful po…ah, person. After all, we would have lost one of our Princesses without you!”

Philip smiled wonderingly at her. “I knew you’d want to give me something,” he said, “but it still makes me happy to feel so welcome. Okay then, if it’s a thank you gift, I suppose I earned it.” He chuckled. “I’ll keep my old clothes, though; I’m still going to need some money, and I want to help Applejack with her harvest anyway. Don’t want to get my nice clothes all sweaty, do I?” The mares all said goodbye and left, save for Starlight and Twilight.

When they were gone, the three friends returned to the castle library to wind down after the party. As they went, Philip made an effort to puzzle out his thoughts regarding the kindness of the ponies. They had accepted him so readily; perhaps too readily. It felt strange to be trusted, to have everything he said taken at face value. It was almost as if he was used to being regarded with suspicion, or even outright distrust. He hoped his memories would return soon.

As they settled down in the library, Starlight said, “Philip, something has been bothering me about last night. I told you about my dream, but you never told me about yours.”

“Dream? What dream?” asked Twilight, looking confused.

“I had a dream last night about a Talons member,” said Starlight, shivering. “He seemed to be choking me, and when I woke up I had a bruise around my neck as if the dream had been real.”

Philip nodded. “It was light,” he said, “but I could tell it was there. It was gone this morning, though.” Starlight looked relieved. Philip was glad; he felt strangely protective of his new friends, especially Luna.

“Oh my, Princess, I’m so sorry,” said Twilight, resting a sympathetic hoof on Starlight’s shoulder.

“Please, Twilight Sparkle, just call me Luna, or rather, Starlight while I’m like this,” said Starlight. “So, what about your dream?” she asked, turning to Philip.

“I dreamt I was the werewolf,” said Philip, “and I killed someone. At first it looked like Pinkie, then Applejack, then Fluttershy, then Rainbow, then Rarity, then you, Twilight, then you, Luna. I woke up covered in sweat.”

The two mares looked sympathetically at him. “I read the letter you wrote to Princess Celestia,” said Twilight. “Is this what that thing about being a monster was about?”

Philip nodded. “I like you girls, I really do, and I don’t want to hurt you in any way.”

Suddenly, he found himself in a huge hug, from both Twilight and Starlight. “You aren’t a monster Philip,” said Starlight as they let go, “Believe me; I would know.” She froze then. She appeared to be terrified of something. Philip had an idea of what; there could be nothing behind him that would frighten her, or he was certain he would hear it. So instead, he threw his arms around both mares and returned their hug.

“Thank you,” said Philip, holding them tightly, “that means a lot.”

He had been almost irrationally worried that they would hate him, and he could not help but wonder if he had been treated badly in the past. His memories thus far had given no indication of such a thing, but he had felt uncomfortable from the beginning with respect to the ponies of the village. He did not quite understand why, but something about villages filled with cottages seemed to give him a bad feeling, as if he had had bad experiences with them. He hoped that when his memories came back, the mystery would be solved.

“Now,” he said, letting go, “let’s talk about something else. I know!” He rummaged through the pockets of his clothes. “Let’s see what else is in my pockets besides my driver’s license.” He checked in the main pocket of his wallet. “This must be money,” he said, taking out a paper bill.

“Fascinating,” said Twilight, taking notes on a notepad.

Philip chuckled; that seemed like Twilight. He then looked through the compartments of his wallet and found another card with Library written on it. “Hope I don’t have any books checked out; hate to keep them over the deadline,” said Philip. Twilight nodded. He then checked his other back pocket and found a handkerchief, a small mirror with a small hole in one end, and a square of folded orange plastic.

“What’s that for?” said Starlight, looking at the mirror.

“I think it’s a signal mirror,” said Philip. He unfolded the plastic, and was surprised to find it was a garbage bag as tall as he was. “I think this could be used for signaling, too, or as a sleeping bag or rain poncho,” he said. Then, he looked in his left side pocket, and pulled out a knife, a set of keys, and a small box.

“What are these?” said Twilight, picking up the keys.

“They’re keys,” said Philip.

“They look so different from the keys here,” said Starlight.

“So what’s in the box?” Twilight asked.

“What’s…oh, this is an emergency fire starting kit,” he said, “I have waterproof matches, a flint and striker, and a fluid lighter.”

“Wow,” said Twilight, “were you expecting to get lost in the woods?”

Philip shrugged. “Luck favors the prepared,” said he. “Now, let’s see what’s in my other pocket.” It turned out to be a second knife, this one serrated (“for cutting rope, I think,” said Philip), and a small rectangular metal device. He opened the device to reveal pliers, a small saw blade, a third knife blade, a screwdriver, a can opener, a bottle opener, and a small ruler.

“Wow,” said Twilight, “you really are prepared.”

Philip smiled. “And I’m lucky, too. After all, I’m friends with the two of you.” Both mares blushed at that.

“I think we should tell Celestia about our dreams,” said Philip to Starlight, “so I’m going to write another letter, since I forgot to mention them in the last one.” He unrolled another scroll of parchment courtesy of Twilight, and wrote down all that he could remember of his dream, asking the Princess what she thought it meant. Starlight added the details of her own dream as well.

“Well,” said Twilight yawning, “I think I’ll turn in.”

Starlight yawned, too. “I will sleep as well, but only for a few hours. I must return to my normal sleeping schedule to raise the moon and bring forth the night.” Philip agreed that it was time to go to sleep, so they all went to their beds.

Later that night, Philip was lying awake on his mattress, unable to fall asleep. He was tired, but he was not sleepy; after about four hours of rest, he felt refreshed but fatigued, as if he needed avoid exertion for a while. He heard Spike’s snoring coming from Twilight’s room, and decided to check and see if Starlight Dream was awake yet. He found all three of his friends in bed, but Twilight Sparkle looked as if she had only just fallen asleep. A book was on the table next to her, and she was lying halfway on and halfway off her bed. Philip walked quietly over, and gently moved her onto her bed, where she rolled on her side. Philip tucked her in, and she sighed in her sleep. He smiled, but then stopped. Twilight’s position on the bed caused the right side of her neck to be exposed, and Philip could see the slight pulse of her jugular vein in the dark. The sight elicited a strange, visceral response that Philip could not explain, even to himself. It’s almost as if I wanted to…no, that’s silly. Just then, he caught sight of himself in a mirror, and was shocked by what he saw. When did my eyes turn red? This he thought, even as they changed back to their natural green.

He went to check on Starlight, and found her still sleeping. He sat down by her bedside as he contemplated waking her, but just then, Starlight stirred. She rose, and looked around her. Philip walked up to her and said softly, “Awake yet, Starlight?” She responded by wrapping her forelegs around his neck and trying to pull him onto the bed with her.

She nuzzled him, eyes closed, and mumbled, “Hug me, Sister; my stars are drinking tea again.”

Resisting the urge to laugh, Philip just hugged her back. I’ll let her sleep some more, he thought.

&&&

Philip’s eyes shot open, and he leapt out of his bed. Running in absolute silence, not even thinking about how he was doing it, he raced from his own room to Luna’s.

After tucking Luna in, he had returned to his own room to try and rest. However, an hour later he found himself still unable to sleep. Now he was wide awake, racing back to Luna’s room. He silently opened the door, and beheld the scene before him.

Tears were leaking from Luna’s slumbering eyes, trailing down her cheeks like liquid diamonds. Tiny whimpers came from her muzzle, and she stirred fitfully under the covers, muttering. Philip approached her carefully, and sat down on her bedside. He began to stroke her head and neck, humming a soothing melody. Her eyes fluttered, then she slowly opened them. She gazed sleepily up at him for a moment before jerking awake and putting on a fake smile.

“Philip!” she chirped far tooo brightly. “We were…ah…we were having a dream about…ah…our favorite tear-puller movie! Yes!”

“Tear jerker, Luna,” said Philip, “and I can tell you’re lying.”

Princess Luna sighed. She sniffled once, and then said, “I am sorry, my friend. I just…you recall what I had said about the nobles, correct?” Philip nodded and she continued. “They have become far worse these past few months. It is almost like it was a thousand years ago!”

“Luna…” said Philip.

“You should hear them!” she sniffled. “They seem to believe I am planning a rebellion! As if I would ever betray my sister a second time!”

“I know, Luna,” said Philip, “and I don’t think you should be around these nobles anymore. They sound like ponies who aren’t worth knowing.”

“But I want friends, Philip!” Luna choked out. “I wish to have ponies who love me for who I am! Who love my night and my moon as they are! It’s all I want…all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Luna…” began Philip, but before he could finish, they heard a bloodcurdling scream. They looked at each other, wide-eyed.

“I’ll wake Twilight,” said Luna. Philip nodded, and then rushed to the balcony and flung the doors open. He ran to the railing, and jumped to the ground, rolling as he landed to dissipate the force of dropping several stories. Looking up, he thought to himself that most people should have been grievously injured from such a fall. However, he soon shook the thought away; there were more pressing matters than his inexplicable durability.

Looking around, Philip surveyed a scene of utter bedlam. Ponies were running left and right. “What’s going on? What’s everyone doing out this late?” Philip roared. Lyra ran up to him.

“You’ve got to help us!” she shouted. “Please, there are Timberwolves running through the town! We woke up when we heard a noise outside and when we went out there were Timberwolves and I can’t find Sweetie Drops and…”

“Lyra, get inside,” said Philip firmly, “and tell everyone else to stay indoors as well. The wolves shouldn’t come into your house; they are wolves, after all.”

“Yeah, but what about…”

“I’ll see if I can find her,” said Philip. She thanked him and ran to her house. He watched her go, and then jumped up to the roof of a nearby building and ran towards the screams. He could not help but wonder what the problem was; a pack of wolves should not warrant such a disturbance, though it was strange that they were in the town. Wolves were not ordinarily this bold in approaching civilization.

Arriving at the town square, Philip saw five large creatures that resembled wolves, but appeared to be made of branches and twigs. They were growling at a group of ponies who were huddled together against the town hall.

What the…?

He jumped down onto a balcony on the town hall and pounded on the door. It quickly opened to reveal the Mayor wearing a nightcap and carrying a candle.

“Philip!” she shouted, “what are you doing on my balcony?!”

“No time, Mayor,” said Philip, “There are ponies in danger right outside town hall! I’ve heard of Timberwolves, but this is ridiculous!”

“Timberwolves!?” shouted the Mayor, dropping her candle and extinguishing it. “I’ll open the doors! See if you can keep the Timberwolves at bay somehow!”

Suddenly, they heard a high pitched shriek. Looking around, they saw a small, purplish-grey filly chased into an alley by three more Timberwolves. “Oh, no! Dinky!” shouted the Mayor.

Philip did not stop to think; he moved. Jumping off the balcony, he soared through the air to land right between the Timberwolves and the crowd and took another flying leap over them. Landing on the other side of them, he yelled, “Hey dogwoods! Is your bark worse than your bite?”

The Timberwolves growled at him, and he leapt over them once more. Then he ran down an alleyway, the Timberwolves following. He was alone; they probably figured he’d be an easy meal. These wolves were far too bold for Philip’s tastes.

Philip ran into the alley where Dinky had been chased to find her trembling on the ground, with the three Timberwolves. Leaping over them, Philip moved to stand protectively over Dinky. There were now eight Timberwolves closing in on him, and no one else was in sight. Now what?

Suddenly, one of the Timberwolves lunged. Dinky screamed and covered her eyes. The Timberwolf seemed to grin in midair.

Then Philip hammered it into the ground with his fist. Before the Timberwolf could rise, he flipped over it, grabbed its tail, and swung it like a club to knock the other Timberwolves out of his way. Slamming it into the ground once again, Philip grabbed Dinky and ran out of the alley, hopping over the felled foes.

He ran back out into the square, where the Mayor had opened the doors and ponies were flooding into Town Hall. Philip set Dinky down and said, “Get inside and don’t come out until an adult says it’s safe.” She nodded and scurried in amongst the other ponies.

Turning, Philip ran towards the alley, where the Timberwolves still were. “Catch me if you’ve got the phloem!” he yelled, and the Timberwolves pursued as he led them away from the crowd.

He stopped outside of Twilight’s Castle. “Now all I have to do is get Twilight and Luna and we can…”

“AAAAAHHH!”

“Now what?” yelled Philip as he turned towards the scream with a snarl. These Timberwolves are starting to tick me off, he thought as he rushed towards where the sound had come.

He arrived just outside of Carousel Boutique, where Spike was trapped by three more Timberwolves. He leapt over the beasts and landed by Spike’s side. “What are you doing out here?” he growled at the baby dragon.

“I wanted to make sure Rarity was okay!” he said. “And I figured, since I got away from Timberwolves before, you know, I could handle it!”

“Any chance you know how to beat these things?” asked Philip.

“No,” said Spike, staring at the Timberwolves. The ones chasing Philip had joined with the other three, and now eleven Timberwolves were surrounding them, growling and baring their fangs. “We’re dead,” said Spike, “I’ll never see Rarity…or Twilight…or Princess Celestia…I’ll never see them again,” he said, hugging Philip. One of the Timberwolves lunged, jaws gaping…

…and was crushed into the ground by Philip’s fist, the blow shaking the ground and creating a divot in the pavement. Philip released a feral snarl, and then threw Spike up to the balcony. “Stay up there,” he shouted, turning to face the Timberwolves.

One stepped forward, eyeing the man hungrily. Then Philip spoke.

“You’re wood pulp.”

The Timberwolf sprang at him.

His punch crushed it into splinters.

Another leapt at him, and he kicked it into a building on the other side of the street, its body dissolving into shattered twigs and broken branches as it flew.

One more charged at him, and he grabbed it by the snout quick as lightning. Swinging it over his head, he slammed it to the ground with such force the pavement cracked. The Timberwolf shattered, its body crushed.

Then, Philip ran straight for the rest of the Timberwolves. He flipped over two of them and grabbed them by the tails. Swinging them over his head, he brought each down on another two Timberwolves, crushing four with one move. He repeated the feat with the remaining Timberwolves, leaving nothing behind but piles of broken wood.

“That’ll teach you to mess with my friends,” said Philip, turning away. He heard a noise behind him, and turned to discover that the pieces of the Timberwolves were floating through the air of their own accord.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered, as the twigs formed a massive shape. Wooden fangs jutted from wooden jaws. Yellow eyes glowed in the dark. Hot, stinky breath blew over Philip as a gigantic Timberwolf lowered its jaws to eat the man in a single bite. “You do not run when you are beaten back, and you keep fighting when no fear is shown,” said Philip.

The jaws stopped. “You are not wolves,” said Philip, holding the massive creature’s jaws open.

“You are not predators,” he said, prying them wider.

“Είστε καυσόξυλα.”

“You are firewood.”

With a roar, flames filled the gaping maw of the giant Timberwolf, and as Philip released it the beast let out a howl. As it did, it stood up on its hind legs. This was exactly what Philip had been waiting for; he leapt straight for the left side of its chest.

He cocked a fist in midair, and hit the Timberwolf square over its heart. His fist left a hole in its chest as he kicked off from the beast’s torso. He pointed at the hole as he flew through the air, and flames erupted inside it. The Timberwolf’s howl could be heard throughout the town as the flames consumed it.

It let out a shriek, clawing at its own throat. Then, with a crash that rattled every window in the town, it fell on its side and whimpered. Philip rushed at it, drew back his hand, and clawed at its throat; he left a massive gash from which flames erupted as the Timberwolf’s veins filled with fire.

Standing over the massive Timberwolf, Philip snarled, “What are you? I know you aren’t wolves; no wolf would come into a town and terrorize its people unless it was rabid, and I know you aren’t rabid.”

There came a whimpering, and Philip glanced over his shoulder to see the wolf from earlier gazing at him with sad, soulful eyes. Her eyes seemed to beg Philip to spare the giant wolf. Turning back to the creature, he noticed it was looking at her and growling softly.

“Alright, if this is your pack member, I suppose I can show some mercy,” said Philip. He drew in a great breath, and then exhaled, willing the flames to die down. He left them burning just a little, however; he still had questions.

The Timberwolf’s mouth moved…and to Philip’s astonishment, he recognized speech.

“We are the Everfree Forest’s guardians; we protect it from malevolent trespassers. The ponies invaded too many times-have stolen from the forest too many times. They have no respect for nature; not like the zebra. She respects nature; she does not defile it. The ponies must pay for their insolence.”

“The ponies respect nature more than you know,” said Philip, “but I can see that a misunderstanding has occurred.” He reached out to the flames, willing them to die out fully. The Timberwolf breathed a sigh of relief as the fire left it.

“Thank you…we will need time to recover,” it said, burnt branches falling from it, “but in time, the ponies in cloaks will be made to pay for their crimes.”

“The ponies in cloaks?” asked Philip.

“They destroyed countless acres of plants,” it said. “They fouled the springs, and ran into the village when we tried to catch them. The Talons must pay. We will make them pay.”

“You’ve been used,” said Philip, scowling. “The Talons wanted you to believe they were from Ponyville, when they’re actually a group of criminals.”

“Are you sure of this?” asked the Timberwolf.

“The Talons of Shadow tried to kill one of my friends,” said Philip, gritting his teeth. “Believe me when I say I would love nothing more than for you to have caught them. They are as much my enemy as yours.”

“Then perhaps if we find them, you could aid us,” said the Timberwolf. “You have bested us in combat; we have never truly lost to a single foe, let alone one so small. You are a mighty opponent, fire-creature.”

“Philip,” said the man, “my name is Philip.” Turning to the she-wolf, he said, “So what’s her story?”

“We guard the animals of the Everfree,” said the Timberwolf. “We need no rest, and require only the fruit of the sacred trees for our sustenance.”

“Sacred trees?”

“The trees that bear the rainbow fruit. They are the source of our power, and we guard them jealously. Only once have we caught a pony stealing from our sacred grotto, and though we guard it more closely than ever, we often see them eating the fruits. They are stolen without us even knowing now.”

“These wouldn’t happen to be called Zap Apples by the ponies, would they?”

“Yes. Despite our best efforts, the ponies continue to steal them.”

“Actually,” said Philip, smiling now, “the pony who took your apples planted the seeds. Trees grew from those seeds, and that’s where the apples you’ve been seeing came from. That’s why you never caught her stealing them again; she’s been growing her own.”

“Truly?” gasped the massive creature, so that wind could be felt as it took in breath. A grin split its face, and it dissolved into scraps of wood. Some of the scraps continued to glow green, while others floated away in the direction of Applejack’s orchard. The glowing wood re-formed into a regular-sized Timberwolf, who said, “The grotto has truly grown! Our strength has expanded now, and the mare who stole our apples is to thank! Take us to her, if you can, so that we may pledge to protect her orchard forevermore!”

“I can take you to her granddaughter, she runs the acres now. You’ll have to explain to the ponies what’s been going on, though.”

“That is fine,” said the wolf, “but we will need your help, as they cannot understand us.”

“Alright,” said Philip, “let me get Spike, and we’ll go.” He jumped up to the balcony where Spike was.

“How’d you…what’d you…were you talking to a Timberwolf!?” said Spike, staring down at the creature still left there.

“Couldn't you see?” asked Philip. He hoped not; he did not want his pyrotechnical abilities to be common knowledge. He had not realized until just that moment, but controlling fire should not have been possible for him, and he feared the ponies’ reaction to it.

Spike, to the man’s relief, shook his head. “I had my eyes covered. I thought you were a goner!” He gestured to the Timberwolf. “So did you two talk to each other?”

“Yes, and there’s been a huge misunderstanding,” said Philip. He did not mind revealing this; Fluttershy could talk to animals, so it seemed unlikely that others would react badly to him doing it as well. “We need to go tell the town before they get torches and pitchforks and start a mob.”

“You really think they’ll do that?” asked Spike, raising his eye ridge as Philip picked him up.

“Yes,” said Philip, jumping to the ground and scaring the living daylights out of the Dragon, “so we should get to town hall right away. That’s where we’ll find everybody.”

“You mean everypony.” Spike shook himself, recovering from the fright quickly.

“Tomato, Tomato, Potato, Potato,” said Philip, alternating the long and the short ‘a’.

“Huh?” said Spike.

“Never mind, let’s just go,” said Philip, picking Spike up and leaping across buildings towards the Town Hall, the wolves following along.

“So, quick question,” said Philip, racing across buildings as the two wolves dashed down the street. “Why exactly did you act like you were going to eat that filly?”

“We wished to frighten the ponies enough that they would never harm our trees again,” said the Timberwolf, “though now we realize we have been duped.”

“You’re darn right you were,” said Philip.

When they arrived, they saw a large gathering of ponies milling about outside the town hall. Philip landed with a thud, and ran over to where Twilight, Luna and the other five mares were all standing, having an agitated discussion. Luna was posing as Starlight once more.

“You’re sure you haven’t seen him?” asked Twilight. The mares all shook their heads. Philip jogged up behind her and placed Spike on her back.

“He was checking on Rarity,” said Philip, sitting down beside her with a flop.

“What were you thinking!?” shrieked Twilight, levitating Spike off her back and plopping him down in front of her where she could look him in the eyes, and he her.

“I…I just wanted to be a Noble Dragon so I wouldn’t get greedy again and you wouldn’t make me go away,” he said, sniffling.

Her face softened immediately. “Oh, Spike,” she said, wrapping him in her hooves and wings, “how could I send you away? You’re my number-one assistant!”

“And little brother, apparently,” said Philip, smiling at them.

“How do ya figure that?” asked Applejack.

“How would you react if it was Apple Bloom?” countered Philip.

Applejack opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again and said, “Ah agree with Philip; Spike’s Twi’s little bro, even if he ain’t a pony.”

“I guess so,” said Twilight, nuzzling the little dragon.

“And you must admit, it was rather valiant of him to rush to my rescue,” said Rarity, smiling affectionately at the young Dragon, “even though it was rather ill-advised.”

“This is all well and good,” said Starlight, “but what of the Timberwolves?”

“Apparently the Talons of Shadow tried to sic the Timberwolves on us by tricking them into thinking Ponyville was responsible for the senseless destruction they’d wreaked on the Everfree forest. The Timberwolves are its guardians, and when they thought ponies had destroyed the forest for no reason…”

“Okay,” said Spike, “I can see that, but why attack me?”

“You breathe fire, Spike; I’d be scared of you too, if I were made of wood.”

“That is it indeed.”

Several ponies shrieked as the Timberwolf appeared from the shadows, the she-wolf by his side. “The horror! The horror!” shouted a hot-pink mare with a blond mane, promptly fainting.

“Relax, folks, he just wants to say something to Applejack,” said Philip, getting up and stretching.

“Yeah?” asked Applejack, “What’s he wanna…HOLY CELESTIA!”

The Timberwolf had leapt at her and pinned her to the ground, where it proceeded to lick her face repeatedly.

“They’re extremely grateful for Granny Smith planting those zap apples,” said Philip, chuckling as she tried to fend off the wolf’s eager tongue.

Getting off Applejack, the wolf turned to Philip and said, “Please tell them we apologize for our assault on their homes, and that we no longer bear them any ill will; despite what may have happened many years ago, we no longer bear grudges.” It collapsed into debris, and floated back towards the forest.

“Well Applejack,” said Philip, turning to the mare, “I think the Timberwolves just grew a great deal of respect for your grandmother. Apparently Zap-Apples are sacred to them.”

“…Y’all speak Timberwolf?” said Applejack.

“It looks that way,” said Philip, “and they’re positively elated to hear that Granny Smith grew Zap Apple trees.” The ponies in the square all stared.

“So that’s all you talked about?” said Twilight.

“No, it also apologized for tonight,” said Philip, drooping, “and it said no hard feelings, so I don’t think they’ll be back, either.” The crowd murmured its relief, and began to disperse.

“Are you alright, my friend?” asked Starlight, “You look quite weary.”

“I’ll be alright,” said Philip, sighing to himself, “I’m just worn out, that’s all.”

They headed back to the castle, Philip looking up at the moon. It was getting closer and closer to being at the height of its glory, and Philip stopped for a moment to bask in its glow. He inhaled deeply, practically drinking in the moonlight. He found himself becoming less tired, as if the light was giving him strength. He puzzled on this for a moment, before hearing Starlight ask a question of Twilight as they walked on ahead, passing a pair of trash cans on the left and a dark alleyway on their right.

“What I don’t understand,” said Starlight, “is what the Talons hoped to accomplish by sending the Timberwolves into Ponyville. Why would they do that?”

Suddenly, Philip spied a dark figure darting out of the alleyway towards the pair, the glint of a knife visible under its cloak.

Dashing forward at full speed, Philip grabbed the lid off of a trash can as he raced past, on an intercept course with the cloaked figure. Bringing the lid up like a shield, he deflected the knife just as the figure made to stab Twilight’s neck from behind. Before the mare could gasp, Philip had pushed the figure away with his makeshift shield, putting distance between his friends and the would-be assassin.

The assassin lunged at Philip, drawing another knife, but this time Philip was ready. Spinning out of the way, he swung his trash can lid sideways, slamming the edge into the temple of the assailant with enough force to dent the metal. The assailant spun across the street into another alleyway, but when Philip dashed over to look, there was nothing there but the assailant’s knife.

Picking up the knife, Philip raced back to the two mares to find Twilight had erected a barrier around herself and Starlight. She opened a space to let Philip back in.

“Well,” said Philip, “I guess they were trying to draw you out so they could kill you in the confusion. What say we all sleep your room tonight, Twi? Maybe tell Celestia in the morning?”

“I think that would be a good idea,” said Twilight. She was shivering in shock, but her voice was even.

“And we should find Pike Line tomorrow and see if he’d be willing to get us a protection detail,” said Philip.

“I agree,” said Starlight, nodding curtly. “Hopefully then you will not need to save us all by yourself so much, and you can rest a bit.”

They hurried back to the castle. As they raced along, Philip had one thought racing through his mind; so long as the Talons were free, he would not rest. He could not afford to; if he lost his friends, he would lose the only thing in his life worth living for.

Chapter 5

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Princess Luna was lying in bed on her back, wings spread out on either side of her. Her neck rested against the pillow, head tilted back to expose her throat, the tip of her horn touching the wood floor behind her. Kneeling next to her bed was a creature with sunken red eyes, pale shrunken skin like a cadaver’s, and gleaming, needle-sharp fangs. It resembled a bald ape, but when it moved it was with a grace and power akin to a large predatory cat. On the other side of her from the creature, Twilight Sparkle lay on an identical bed in an identical position. The creature hissed softly as Luna emitted a tiny moan, and then slowly, almost lovingly, lowered its glistening teeth to her bared throat, lifting her to itself at the same time. It nuzzled her just under her chin, and then fastened its jaws around her neck, though it was careful to avoid piercing her carotid artery. It then began to kiss at the wounds it had created. It released her, after a short while, and licked the wounds, which immediately ceased bleeding. It held her close in what was clearly a hug, and said to her, “How was it, my princess?”

She smiled anemically at the creature, her eyes dreamy and unfocused, and kissed it on the cheek. “It was wonderful,” she said, nuzzling it, “as indescribable as you said it would be. Thank you, Master.”

The creature then turned to Twilight. “Are you ready, my little alicorn?” Twilight nodded, eyes closed, and the creature lifted her throat to its mouth. It bit down, and a slight whimper escaped Twilight before being overtaken by a moan. It released her from its jaws, and said, “Did you like it?”

She nodded, and said, “It was amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this with me, Master.”

Philip’s eyes flew open, but he remained absolutely still. He had been dozing on his mattress near the doors to the girls’ rooms, his newly acquired knife hidden underneath his pillow, until the bizarre dream had woken him. It was not like the werewolf dream, where he had been revolted by the events; instead, it had seemed almost pleasurable. But that isn’t possible, he thought to himself. I couldn’t actually be…could I?

All of a sudden, he heard muffled footsteps creeping towards the door. Stiffening instantly, he slowly reached under his pillow and gripped the handle of the knife.

The footsteps grew closer. Twilight mumbled in her sleep but did not wake. The sound of hooves on the carpet reached the doorway; Philip could hear four pairs, meaning two ponies. The door opened silently, and he heard a voice.

“What’s Philip doing on the floor in Twilight’s room?”

He felt a wave of relief; it was a very familiar mare’s voice. Another familiar voice quietly chirped, “I dunno. Maybe he wanted to cuddle but didn’t want to wake them up?”

The two ponies stepped over him, making their way towards the bed where Luna lay on her back, her hind leg twitching as she snored. Philip had wanted to warn the others, but they had eventually agreed that informing the others about the assassination attempt could wait until morning, since the Talons did not seem to be targeting anyone other than the princesses. This, however, was too golden of an opportunity for Philip to pass on.

The security in Twilight’s castle is practically nonexistent, he thought as he noiselessly crept up behind the two intruders. He had mentioned this to the two princesses before they went to bed, but they had both brushed it off. Neither one believed an assassin could actually enter Twilight’s castle, and both believed that as long as they slept together, no one would dare attack them and risk the wrath of the other. They were wrong, and Philip knew it. Now he could prove it. It’s time I showed them just how effective an assassin can be.
Creeping up behind the two, he grabbed the second pony first. Quickly placing a hand over her mouth, he drew two fingers of his other hand across her throat before she could scream. He felt her lick his hand, and responded by gently tugging her ear with his other hand. Then, before she could make a sound he released her, grabbed the other pony and drew his fingers across her throat. This time, however, he let her scream.

“AAAAHHH!”

“Rainbow Dash!?”

Luna and Twilight shot up in their beds as Rainbow Dash shot into the air, screaming at the top of her lungs. Pinkie Pie dropped to the floor, tears of mirth streaming down her cheeks.

“What was that for?” Rainbow yelped, staring wide-eyed at Philip.

Turning to the princesses, he said, “Still think we don’t need better security?”

The two mares still in bed leapt from their mattresses just as Spike turned the corner and almost skidded on the carpet outside the door. “What just happened?” the baby dragon asked.

“Nothing, Spike, go back to bed.” As the youngest member of the party left, Philip turned back to the princesses and said, “I think I’ve made a good case, don’t you?”

“What do you mean, Philip?” asked Luna, tilting her head cutely to one side. Philip blinked; he was suddenly reluctant to ruin her illusion of security. He knew, however, that it was better his friends realize this way rather than the hard way.

“Well, for one thing, Rainbow and Pinkie snuck up on you without waking you. It’s a safe bet there will be agents in the Talons who are trained for infiltration, and they’ll be even stealthier.”

“Maybe,” said Twilight, “but I still think that they’d never risk hurting one of us and waking the other up.”

Philip sighed and patted her head, smiling a little sadly at her. “Rainbow,” he said, turning to the mare in question, “did you notice when I grabbed Pinkie and ran my fingers across her throat like I did with you?”

“Uh, no,” said Rainbow, lifting an eyebrow, “I didn’t notice, but what’s your point?”

“I made a slashing motion across her larynx. You were barely a foot in front of her and you didn’t notice me grab her, and you were awake. If I had used a knife I could have slashed her vocal chords and you wouldn’t have known I was there until I grabbed you. A trained assassin can cut the throat of the person behind you, and you won’t even turn around. Do you really think they couldn’t do it while you were asleep?”

There was absolute silence. Then Rainbow said, “well, yeah, but how do we know they’re still around? They might have skipped town after the Timberwolf thing fell through!”

“One of them tried to stab me in the neck as we were walking back to the castle,” said Twilight in a small voice, head bowed.

“Oh geez, Twilight, are you okay?” asked Rainbow.

“OmigoshthisisterriblepoorTwilybearweneedapartySTAT!” babbled Pinkie Pie.

“…She just called you Twilybear,” said Philip, perplexed.

“We are alright,” said Luna. “Philip struck him with a garbage can lid and knocked him back into the alleyway where he had been hiding.”

“He got away, but I got his knife,” said Philip, holding up the blade. “I managed to dent the trash can lid, so I think I got him pretty good. The fact that he dropped this knife makes me think he had an accomplice who got him out of there before I could grab him.”

“I guess you’re right about the security, Philip,” said Twilight. “I’ll need to start thinking about getting guards posted at my castle.”

“I’m not so sure,” said Rainbow, looking at Philip.

“What are you unsure of?” asked Luna, a puzzled frown on her face.

“I think I get what Dashie means!” said Pinkie. “Philip knows a lot about assassins, and he’s good at being one! I bet if we were really assassins he would have gone all-Pow! Blam! Kickity! Punchity!”

“Actually, I would have just run the knife across your throats instead of my fingers.”

Pinkie got quiet at that, and Rainbow blanched. Twilight turned slightly green, and Luna looked oddly touched.

“I find it quite gratifying that you care enough to kill for us, dear Philip,” she said. Philip looked at her; her mane waved in the gloom of the night, stars twinkling like the depths of the sky above them. He strode over to her and wrapped her in a hug.

“Let’s get some rest,” he said in reply, “we have a big day tomorrow.” Turning to the two newcomers, he said, “Pinkie, could you go get Spike? Rainbow, can you help me get an extra bed?”

“Why?” asked Rainbow, as Pinkie bounced off down the hall.

“I’d rather we were all in the same room tonight,” said Philip, “and I thought it might be a good idea for you and Pinkie to sleep here. Assuming Twilight has no objections?”

“Not at all,” Twilight responded. “In fact, maybe we should invite the others to sleep over tomorrow; there’s safety in numbers, after all.”

“Good idea, Twilight,” said Philip, as Pinkie pulled somehow pulled Spike’s entire bed into the room by herself.

Rainbow and Philip carried another bed into the room, which she agreed to share with Pinkie. The four ponies and the baby dragon hopped into bed and were soon fast asleep. Philip, however, slept only lightly, keeping one ear open for the telltale shuffling of hooves on carpet or the tiny creak of an opening door or window. If Rainbow and Pinkie had gotten in, so could the Talons, and Philip would be ready when they did.

It was just before eight when Philip awoke again.

He rose, careful not to wake the sleeping mares, and snuck noiselessly down the hall to the library. He stretched, noticed the time and sighed; his dream last night was yet another thing to report to Celestia. He tried to read a few more books, but the odd details of the dream intruded constantly. He read through perhaps three pages before finally deciding enough was enough and crossing over to the reading pit. He sat down and crossed his legs.

Okay, lotus position, breathe nice and deep…OHM…OHM…OHM. He allowed all his thoughts to subside, breathing slowly in through his nose and out through his mouth. He felt the worries and pent-up emotions of the past few days flowing slowly out of his body. His mind became as calm and as tranquil as a perfectly still pool. That’s better, he thought, but I wonder where I learned to meditate like that? He shrugged mentally; it would come in handy later, at the very least. Suddenly, he once again was forced to suppress a snarl as memories flooded his mind’s eye.

A wizened old man with yellowish-brown skin and a long, white beard sat with his legs crossed underneath him, a younger man by his side. Both wore long yellow robes with burgundy accents, and both had their eyes closed. The mountainside around them was perfectly still, and the only sound was their breathing. Without opening his eyes, the old man said to the younger, “It happened again, did it not?”

The younger man, also without opening his eyes, said, “Yes, Guru.”

The older man sighed. “No one should have to bear your burdens,” he said. “You had done nothing to deserve what was done to you. Do not feel that you need to hold on to your anger, especially not at yourself.”

The young man sighed, then said, “I know, I know; if I was still a monster I would not feel so awful.”

The old man nodded. “You must learn to forgive yourself, my youthful old man.”

Then the memories shifted.

A peaceful, tranquil scene surrounded young men in straight lines, moving through a series of poses in the courtyard of a large temple. An ancient man walked up to the largest, a man who was far taller than the others. “You are doing well,” said the old man, “did it happen again last night?” The young man nodded, and the elder sighed. “We cannot hope to teach you anything more than you have already learned,” he said. “I think it best that you go on a journey, to try to find the answer.”

The man turned fluidly, and bowed to the elder. “Thank you, then, Sifu,” he said, “I hope you live for many more years. Not too many though,” he said, smiling sadly. “I wouldn’t want you going mad as I did.”

Philip’s eyes opened. I don’t know what that was, but something tells me there are things in my past that I won’t enjoy remembering. He sighed. Well, he thought, smiling, now I have something to do. He rose from the floor and began to go through the forms he had been practicing in the memory. He was careful to breathe slowly and deeply, feeling the flow of his energy. This is great, feeling my qi flow so freely, he thought, not questioning where the word ‘qi’ had come from. He emptied his mind of every thought, every feeling but that of lucid tranquility. Sliding from one form to the next, he focused on his hands, willing a ball of qi to form. He felt it, and began to float it around himself as he moved.

Spike entered the library a half hour later to find Philip balancing by his large toe on the tines of a fork, the other end of which was sitting on the floor. Ten spherical distortions in the air were floating around him in a ring. Spike looked away; and then whipped his head back around to look again. Philip had already dismounted the fork, however, and the spheres had vanished. “Uh…” said Spike. Philip just blinked at him. “I’ll just…send this letter,” said Spike, indicating a letter resting on the table. He picked it up, and incinerated it with his fire breath. It went out the window and swirled away in the direction of a distant mountain with a city on its side.

“Writing a letter to Father Christmas, Spike?” inquired Philip.

“Father who?” said Spike.

“I have no idea,” said Philip, smiling warmly at the dragon, “it just seemed like the thing to say.”

Just then, there was a knock on the front doors. “Coming!” shouted Twilight from her room. She trotted down the stairs and opened the door. Standing there was Applejack.

“Mornin’ Twi,” she said, “Ah just wanted ta tell ya that Fluttershy asked if Philip could help her out instead o’ me. She said if it’s alright with him, ta just head over ta her house. If’n he don’t show up by nine, she’ll assume he ain’t comin’. Ah just dropped by ta tell ya Fluttershy could probably use the help more’n we could at this point.” She chuckled. “A couple’a cousins dropped by unannounced, and decided ta help us today, so we’ll be finished ahead’a schedule.”

Philip smiled at her, having come down the steps with Starlight. “Alright, I’ll be sure to go over there. Twilight will need to give me directions, though.”

Twilight, however, was packing a saddlebag with books. “I think I’d rather come with you,” she said, “Fluttershy can be a little shy, and it might help you both if a close friend of hers is around.” She grinned mischievously. “Anyway, I want to see if any more of your memories come back.”

Philip smiled and said, “Some already did.” He then told her about his back-to-back flashbacks, and she wrote them down on a piece of parchment.

“I’m keeping a report on what I can learn from you,” she said, “because you’re the only subject I have to observe. Also,” she added, smiling again, “I like to know as many things about my friends as I can. I feel it helps bring us closer.”

Philip returned her smile and thanked her, then clapped his hands together and said, “I’m ready to go when you are.”

“I will go as well,” said Starlight, the corners of her eyes crinkling in a smile. “Fluttershy is a dear friend to me.”

“I’ve got weather patrol,” said Rainbow, racing out the door suddenly, “so I’ll catch you all later!”

“I have to sit for the Cakes,” said Pinkie, bouncing out after Rainbow, “so I’ll see you all at the speech!”

The three remaining mares and their strange friend stepped out the door, and Applejack returned to her orchards while the others traveled to Fluttershy’s house. Soon they were leaving Ponyville, and not long afterwards they came upon a cozy looking cottage. It had a roof made from green leaves rather than thatching, and had chicken coops and bird houses aplenty. The pathway led across a small stream, over which a charming bridge was build. Numerous bird feeders hung about the area, and there were small holes in the stream banks for rabbits, otters, and beavers, among other things. Philip found himself wondering if Fluttershy had received and cared for the wolf yet. I hope she didn’t give Fluttershy too much trouble, he thought.

As they approached the cottage, they noticed that all the animals were hiding. “I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything Philip,” said Twilight, seeing Philip’s expression. “Besides,” she continued, smiling, “I know one animal who won’t be scared of you at all!”

“And who would that be?” asked Philip.

“Fluttershy has a pet rabbit named Angel,” said Twilight, chuckling. “He’s not afraid of anything, really. He’s kind of mean, even to Fluttershy.”

“Rabbits are surprisingly vicious,” said Philip with a chuckle.

They reached the Dutch-style door, and Twilight knocked. “Who is it?” said a voice.

“It’s me, Twilight,” she said, “and Philip and Starlight are here, too. We came to see what you needed.”

The door opened just a crack, and Fluttershy peeked out. “Oh, hello,” she said, letting them in. The interior of the cottage was homey, with chairs and sofas, along with a coffee table. Philip had to duck a little to get through the door, but only a little. “Thank you for coming,” said Fluttershy. “I was worried, after what happened last night. With the Timberwolves.”

“That isn’t all that happened,” said Philip, and he recounted the attempted assassination to her.

“Oh my goodness, that’s terrible!” squeaked Fluttershy. “Is everypony okay?”

“We’re fine, Flutters, but we’ll all need to keep a sharp eye out for unusual behavior,” said Philip. “In the meantime, though, we’ve got to keep living our lives. Making us afraid is what they want; if we let fear run our lives, we let them win.”

There was a moment of silence, as they processed what Philip had just said so causally. “I could not have said it better myself,” said Starlight, smiling serenely.

“…You’re amazing, Philip,” said Fluttershy, staring in wonder at him. “I feel better just by hearing you talk.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Philip, gently stroking her cheek. “So what do you need help with.”

“First I need to give my friends’ pets their checkups, and then I need a little help with a new arrival or two. There’s a falcon who doesn’t want to let me near his wing to relocate it, and I need someone to hold him while I do that. I also need someone to hold a wolf while I treat her sprained paw.”

Starlight smiled wryly. “I remember that wolf,” she said, “and I sincerely hope she is well-fed enough that she will not try to eat me this time.”

Philip grinned. “She won’t,” he said, “You’re a pack member now.” Starlight raised an eyebrow at that.

Just then, a white rabbit hopped out of what Philip assumed was the kitchen, brandishing a stopwatch. “Late for a very important date, are you?” said Philip. The rabbit turned…and looked right at Philip with an expression of stark terror. Philip thought that look was familiar, but could not place where he had seen it. The rabbit rushed over to Fluttershy, picked her up, and carried her up the stairs in a display of incredibly disproportionate strength. “Et tu, Angelus?” said Philip sadly. Suddenly, he felt the tell-tale sensation of another flashback.

A village was being ransacked. Blood and fire were everywhere. Men in wolf skins were carrying bundles of goods back to a long, sleek wooden ship docked in the nearby bay. Villagers were screaming, and the wolf-clad men were shouting battle cries. One man in particular was hewing village men left and right, his broadsword dancing with unrestrained bloodlust. Suddenly, he felt a knife skating across his thigh, barely a scratch. He swept his sword to the side…and stopped just short of decapitating a boy who looked to be no older than twelve. The boy looked up at the man in stark terror, as though he was…a monster, thought the man, and is he wrong? The man dropped his sword in horror. I’ve become exactly what they thought I was, he thought, and exactly what I promised myself I would never be. With a cry of rage and anguish, the man ran through the night, not seeing where he was going or caring. All he wanted to do was run faster, until he could outrun the horror tearing through his soul.

Philip snapped back to reality. He was curled on the floor, with Fluttershy, Starlight and Twilight looking at him in concern. He rose, and calmly said, “Which way is the bathroom?” Fluttershy pointed, and squeaked as he rushed in the direction she had indicated, a crack of displaced air left in his wake. Immediately there was a horrible retching sound, and a splattering. A moment later, Philip emerged from the restroom, looking rather disheveled. “That…was the worst flashback yet,” he said tensely, panting.

“Did you just throw up?” asked Fluttershy. Philip nodded.

“That one was a lot worse than the others,” he said, “and hopefully the worst I’ll have.”

Twilight took out her scroll and said, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Maybe later,” said Philip, “right now I think I’d like to just lose myself in some work.” Starlight and Twilight nodded.

“I know how that feels,” said Starlight, as Twilight put away her notes.

They went into a back room, where Winona and Opal were waiting along with a tortoise, a baby alligator, and an owl. Angel was there as well, looking at Philip as though he was the grim reaper. The moment Philip entered the room, Winona started yapping her head off, Opal darted under the nearest chair, the alligator began to make an odd squeaking noise, the tortoise retreated into his shell, and the owl flew between Philip and Twilight hooting up a storm.

“Well,” said Philip, a note of resignation in his voice, “I can’t say I expected anything less than full-blown panic.”

“Um…” said Starlight hesitantly, “…the crocodile does not seem to be afraid!”

“You hear that squeaking sound?” said Philip. Starlight nodded…then grabbed him with all four legs as Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared next to her.

“Hi!” said Pinkie, “I’m here to see if Gummy’s ready to go yet! It must be so boring, waiting for his checkup, so I brought him some magazines to read!” She immediately produced several alligator-themed magazines from her mane.

“Gummy’s calling you, Pinkie,” said Philip.

“He is?” asked Starlight, bewildered.

Philip nodded. “I suppose so. That call is supposed to be for his mother, so I guess that’s Pinkie Pie.”

Starlight looked at him in wonder. “So even the crocodile is frightened of you?”

“Alligator,” said Philip, “you can tell because his snout is broader and more U-shaped than a crocodile’s would be. And yes, he’s scared.”

This time it was Twilight that looked at him in wonder. “You noticed the difference already?” He nodded.

“So now what?” said Twilight.

“Well,” said Fluttershy, “I suppose we could try to relocate that falcon’s wing…oh, dear.” The falcon was sitting on top of a nearby wardrobe, trying to stay as far away from Philip as possible.

“How are you to help, Philip?” inquired Starlight. “All the animals seem to fear you too much to come near you.”

Philip looked thoughtful for a moment, and then his expression became one of determination. “I show them they don’t need to fear me,” he said, “starting with that falcon.” He sat down in the middle of the room, staring up at the falcon perched on the wardrobe. Then, to the amazement of the ponies, he began to hum a tune. Then, he began to sing.

As Philip sang, the animals began to calm down, especially the falcon, which looked awestruck. Philip rose from his position and approached the wardrobe. He hummed the tune for a little, and then sang the rest; as he did, the falcon came to the front of the wardrobe and stepped onto his now outstretched wrist. He ended the song with the falcon perched on his wrist as if they had been friends for years.

The mares were stunned. His voice had been amazing, and the animals were no longer trembling in fear. They seemed cautiously optimistic, and willing to give him a chance. The white rabbit was looking at Philip as if unable to believe he had been frightened of this strange new creature.

“Wow,” said Twilight finally, “I had no idea you could sing. And so well, too.”

Philip shrugged. “I dabble,” he replied.

“Um,” said Fluttershy, “Opal might need some more convincing.” She was right; Opal was still hiding under the chair. Philip thought for a moment, and then took off his tattered shirt, which he was still wearing from yesterday. He poked it under the chair, allowing Opal to smell it. As he did this, he looked at her, and slowly blinked. She smelled the shirt, and then blinked slowly back, eyes half open.

“There,” said Philip, “she’s feeling a little better now.”

“Goodness,” said Fluttershy, “I had no idea you were so good with animals.”

Philip smiled at her. “Thank you, Fluttershy,” he said, “I appreciate that. Now,” he said, turning to the falcon, which had perched on his shoulder, “let’s see about relocating that wing.”

The falcon nodded, and allowed Fluttershy to take hold of his wing. As she did, she asked Philip, “What was that you said earlier about angelus? If you don’t mind my asking…”

“That was…Latin. What I said was, ‘you too, Angel’?” said Philip. The bunny, Angel, looked at him strangely.

“Um, what’s…oh, right, amnesia.” Philip nodded, and that seemed to satisfy the rabbit.

“Okay,” said Fluttershy, “this might hurt a bit.” The falcon squawked.

Philip chuckled. “Don’t worry,” he said, “you’re a tough little falcon; you’ll be fine.”

He held onto the falcon while Fluttershy quickly pushed the falcon’s wing back into its socket. The bird squawked again, but almost immediately calmed down when Philip placed his hands over the sore joint and focused his newfound qi. The falcon chirped at him, and Fluttershy said, “Oh! He says it doesn’t hurt anymore! Thank you Philip, I didn’t know you could do that!” The falcon flew back to his perch, and then saluted Philip with a wing. Philip smiled and returned the gesture.

“I may need to try that myself,” said Starlight. “Perhaps singing will help me, too.”

Philip cocked an eyebrow. “Have some animals that are scared of you?”

“Ponies,” said Starlight sadly, “Perhaps singing would convince them of my benevolence.” Philip stroked her mane, humming a tune that came to him unbidden.

“Philip…” started Fluttershy, “what was that song you were singing about? It was very beautiful.”

Philip smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Guess,” he said. “The lyrics should give you a clue.” Fluttershy thought for a moment, but shook her head. Figures she wouldn’t be into that, thought Philip. Starlight’s face, however, suddenly lit up.

“Falconry!” she cried, “the song is about falconry! And the hunter is the falcon!”

Philip nodded. “Yes, it’s a song sung from the point of view of a falcon.”

“Do you like falcons, Philip?” asked Starlight.

“Somewhat, but my favorite birds are…” Suddenly, a black bird flew into the room, and a gray wolf limped in after it. The bird perched on Philip’s head, and the wolf approached Starlight with its back partly arched and its tail half-tucked. “…Ravens,” finished the man.

“Oh,” said Fluttershy, “do you know each other?”

Starlight chuckled a bit. “Yes, dear Fluttershy, we know this wolf. She attempted to hunt me and Philip was forced to repel her.”

Fluttershy gave the wolf a stern glare. “That was not very nice, miss wolf. Say you’re sorry.”

The wolf whimpered an apology, looking at Starlight with sad puppy eyes. She gazed at the creature with a cool expression for a moment, but then cracked a grin. “Aww, who could resist that face,” she cooed. The wolf raced up to her as quickly as its injury would allow and licked her cheek.

“As for the Raven,” said Philip, “we’ve never met.”

The raven croaked. “He says you’re cool,” said Fluttershy, “and that he has a feeling that if he follows you he’ll ‘get good eats,’ whatever that means.”

“Oh boy,” sighed Philip, looking perplexedly up at the raven, “it’s never a good sign when a carrion bird thinks he can get a square meal by following you around.” The girls giggled at that.

The wolf yipped at Fluttershy, and she said, “Oh my, you don’t say…”

“What is it, Fluttershy?” asked Starlight.

“Um,” said Fluttershy, “apparently this wolf didn’t know she could get food here. She had been separated from her pack in a fight with a manticore, and sprained her paw.”

“Called it,” said Philip. That got another chuckle from the mares.

“Where’s Pinkie?” said Starlight, looking around.

“She left gummy his magazines and ran off mumbling something about chimichangas with cherries. She should make cherry churros or something,” replied Philip. He turned to Starlight, and said, “You seemed calm confronting that wolf, Star; I thought you’d be more frightened.”

She smiled. “I was with you,” she said, “so I knew I would be safe.”

Philip was taken aback. “You…trust me to protect you?” She nodded, smiling. “I…I’ve never had anyone trust me like that…” he said, looking down at her. “I may not remember most of my life before now, but…I don’t think I was ever seen as something safe before.”

“You protected me before,” said Starlight, “so I know that if I need you, you will protect me once again.” Philip stared at her, a wondering expression on his face, before giving her a great big hug.

“That means a lot to me,” he said.

“…This would be so much more profound if that raven would get off your head, Philip,” said Twilight, eliciting a laugh from the others.

After wrapping the wolf’s paw for extra joint support, they gave the other animals their checkups, Fluttershy hovering around with a stethoscope. The raven, having tired of ornamenting Philip’s head, began following after them, as did the wolf.

“We should name you,” said Fluttershy, looking at the wolf and biting her own lip. “How about… Nibbles?” The wolf made a gaging noise. “No? Okay, what about Fluffy?” The wolf flopped down and covered her eyes with her paws, whimpering.

“That bad, huh?” said Twilight.

“Oh, dear…” said Fluttershy.

“…Angrboda?” said Philip. The mares, along with every animal in the cottage, looked at Philip with open mouths.

“Where did that come from?” said Twilight.

“I don’t know,” said Philip, “let me think.”

He closed his eyes, his brow furrowed, and pondered the name for a moment. “She was the mother of…Fenrir,” he said.

“Who’s Fenrir?” asked Fluttershy.

“The biggest, meanest, most vicious wolf in the world,” said Philip, snapping his fingers. “He was bound to a slab of stone with an enchanted silken ribbon called Gleipnir, and a boulder was pounded into the earth as a peg. This was because it was prophesized that he would one day kill Odin, the king of the Norse Gods.”

Fluttershy looked skeptical at this. “Why would they need to use enchanted silk? Wouldn’t rope do?”

Philip shook his head. “Fenrir was massive, Fluttershy; his open mouth reached from the ground to the sky. His sons Skoll and Hati were always chasing the sun and moon across the sky, trying to eat them, and at the end of the world they were supposed to succeed. Afterwards Fenrir himself was supposed to break free and kill Odin. If I’m remembering correctly, which is a small miracle in itself, the Norse culture was very warlike, so the leader was typically an excellent warrior; on top of that, Odin had a spear that would never miss its mark. Killing him would be pretty difficult.” The wolf actually rolled over on her back and whined at this. “I’ll take that as a no,” said Philip, “and frankly I agree.”

“…I’m going to have nightmares about that thing,” said Twilight, wide-eyed. Starlight flinched at the word ‘nightmare,’ and Philip placed a comforting arm around her withers. She gave him a thankful, if nervous smile in return.

“So,” he said, “what about Freya, or Griselda?” The she-wolf shook her head side-to-side.

“Rose Tyler?” The wolf gave another head shake.

“…You’re Lupe, aren’t you?”

This got results; the she-wolf’s eyes lit up, and her mouth fell open to let her tongue hang out. She panted excitedly and bounced on her paws. “I’ll take that as a yes,” said Philip, “now what’s your name, raven?”

The raven flapped its wings once, and squawked again. “He wants you to name him,” said Fluttershy. “He says your names for Lupe were ‘happenin’. Whatever that means.”

Philip stared at the Raven for a moment, and then said, “I’ve got Huginn, Muninn, Waldron, and Wolfram.”

The raven cocked his head and croaked. “He wants to know what the names mean,” said Fluttershy.

“Well, Huginn means thought, Muninn means memory, Waldron means mighty raven, and Wolfram means wolf-raven…I guess that’s a yes for Wolfram.”

The raven had shot into the air at hearing the meaning of the name, and was croaking excitedly. “He loves it,” said Fluttershy. “Oh Philip, look how happy he is!” The raven landed on Philip’s shoulder and pulled his ear good-naturedly.

“I think he likes you, Philip!” said Twilight with a smile.

“Do you, now?” said Philip. “Well you’re welcome to stay with me as long as you like, Wolfram. “

They finished giving the animals their checkups, and Fluttershy offered them lunch. The others were hungry, but Philip did not eat very much. Afterwards, Fluttershy told them she would not need any more help for the day, as she was finished with the truly difficult work and would only be shopping in the afternoon. As they left, Wolfram flew into the air and circled high above, while Lupe trotted gaily along beside them.

“So what now?” asked Philip. “Applejack doesn’t need me today, so I have nothing to do but the speech until tomorrow.”

Twilight gasped. “We haven’t prepared your speech! You need to recite it at least fifteen times before you deliver it!” She grabbed him in her magic and pulled him along with her as she raced to the castle, Starlight rushing to keep up.

Chapter 6

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When they arrived at the castle, Starlight was panting. “I need to sit down,” she said breathlessly as they entered the building.

“Maybe Twi should have carried you then, since I could have walked myself,” said Philip, giving Twilight a look.

Twilight looked sheepish. “Sorry,” she apologized, “I just thought we should plan out Philip’s speech beforehand. I read in my old Public Speaking textbook that you should rehearse your speech at least fifteen times before giving it.”

“Actually Twilight, I was just going to wing it,” said Philip with a smirk, locking the door. “Thought I’d just answer some questions, explain a little about how I have amnesia and don’t intend to harm anyone.”

Twilight looked aghast. “Philip!” she exclaimed. “You can’t just…wait.” She looked puzzled. “Why’d you lock the door?”

“Because if I don’t, even the werewolf could just waltz in here, not to mention the Talons of Shadow,” said Philip, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Good point, Philip,” she said, “although I don’t think wolves can open doors.”

Just then, there came a scratching at the doors. Philip unlocked them, and Lupe opened them and entered. She nearly bowled Twilight over to get to Starlight, who she immediately licked. Wolfram flew in after her and settled on Philip’s shoulder.

“Hello Wolfram,” said Philip, as the raven landed on him.

“Did that wolf just open the door?” asked Twilight from the floor.

“Yes, Twilight, she did,” said Philip, smirking at her just a little as he shut and locked the door. “Wolves are very smart, smarter than a lot of people realize. Now, what were you saying before?”

“Oh! You can’t just ad lib it!” finished Twilight, picking herself up. “You could forget what you were going to say! Or you could get nervous and embarrass yourself!”

“I was kidding, Twilight,” said Philip, as Wolfram flew to perch on a nearby bust. “I’ve already started planning out what I’m going to say. It needs to be heartfelt but well-written; if I’m going to convince the ponies once and for all that I’m not dangerous, I need to be sincere and choose my words carefully.” He began to pace, thinking about what he could say. Then, he turned and ascended the staircase, the two mares and the wolf following him. He strode down the hall and stopped at the door to the library. He opened it for the mares, and entered after them.

He walked over to Twilight’s writing desk. “May I?” he asked Twilight, and she nodded. He sat down, picked up a quill, and began to write. The girls left him to his thoughts, Wolfram staying to watch him work while Lupe followed Starlight.

“How goes your work?” asked Starlight half an hour later, trotting into the room. To her surprise, Philip was chuckling to himself. As she watched, he wrote down a bit more, and then put the quill back in its well.

“Done,” he said, stretching and yawning.

“Are you feeling alright?” asked Starlight. “You look rather tired.”

“I am getting tired, now you mention it,” said Philip, “but it’s not like I didn’t sleep enough; it’s more like I haven’t got much energy. It’s like I’m worn out, or something.”

“Well you did do quite a lot of work yesterday on the apple farm,” she said, sitting beside him, “and after that came the party. You did quite a bit of work at Fluttershy’s cottage this morning as well. Helpful as you are, I imagine you could become quite worn out with recent events.

“Philip,” she continued hesitantly, leaning against him, “I want to thank you. The night before last, when I came to you with my problems and my fears, you were so kind. I felt so much better about myself. I am still lonely at night, however,” she said, rubbing her foreleg, “and lately…I have been having rather melancholy thoughts.”

“Oh? Would you like to talk about it?” asked Philip.

“Well,” she said, staring at the floor, “when I came back from being…away, Twilight was one of the first friends I ever made. She helped me when everyone else thought I…had not changed. But, I am…I am immortal, Philip. I will live on as my friends fade to dust. I will never forget any of them, especially not Twilight, but…but someday, she will…all of them will…” she began to tear up. Philip quickly began to stroke her mane, making shushing noises as she composed herself. “I apologize for making you see that,” she said, only to have a finger cover her lips.

“Don’t apologize,” said Philip. “I told you already; you have friends. Even if we won’t always be physically with you, we are always in your heart. Those we love never truly leave us. We may miss them,” he said, wiping tears of his own from his eyes, “but they’re always with us.” He stopped, wondering why he was crying, but then dismissed it; the important thing now was Starlight.

“I know,” she said, “but that doesn’t help when you know they’re going to leave you.”

“Sure it does,” he said. “It means you realize that you need to make as many good memories as you can while you still have the time. That way, you’ll have plenty of good times to look back on. And you can always make new friends. Always.” He rested his forehead on hers, an arm over her shoulder.

“Aww,” said Twilight, coming into the room with Spike.

“Yeah,” said Spike, “that’s real cute.”

“Let’s keep the public displays of affection to a minimum, you two,” said Twilight with a grin.

Starlight Dream blushed, but Philip just said, “Of course. Wouldn’t want ponies to get the wrong idea, would we?”

“What do you…oh,” said Twilight, blushing.

“Philip!” said Starlight, slugging him in the arm with her hoof. He just chuckled.

“Come on, you three, I’ve got to rehearse my speech; want to be my audience while I practice?”

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash crashed through the window. “Did somepony say audience?” she said excitedly.

“Rainbow!” yelled Twilight. “How many times have I asked you to use the door?”

“Doors are for slow ponies,” said Rainbow, dusting herself off. “Now where’s my audience?”

“Twilight, Starlight and Spike were about to tell me if they wanted to listen while I practice my speech,” said Philip. “Would you like to hear it?”

Rainbow Dash nodded reluctantly. “Okay, sure; it’s not like I have anything better to do,” she said, earning a huff and a glare from Twilight.

Philip gave his speech, timing himself to make sure it wasn’t too long or too short. By the time he finished, Rainbow Dash was chuckling, and Twilight was giggling a little as well. “And here I thought this was gonna be boring,” said Rainbow Dash. “Boy was I wrong!”

“You certainly know how to give an entertaining speech,” said Starlight Dream, holding a hoof over her mouth to stifle her chuckles, “though I don’t know why you included humor.”

“Because it helps break tension, and gets the audience’s attention,” said Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh,” said Starlight, “then perhaps I should be humorous. It might help me make more friends if I told a joke, might it not?”

“I suppose so,” said Twilight.

“Well, I guess you should start practicing,” she said, turning to Philip. “Fourteen times to go, after all.”

“Great, ‘cause I wanna hear it again!” said Rainbow.

Just then, Wolfram fluttered over and landed on Philip’s head again. “Nice crow,” said Rainbow.

“Raven,” said Philip, “he’s too big to be a crow. He’s also too quiet, and doesn’t rock on his feet when he vocalizes.”

“…Really? You can tell the difference?” said Starlight.

Philip nodded and said, “He also lands more sedately than a crow; crows move around a lot more when they land. His tail is wedge-shaped rather than fan-shaped, and his beak is longer and more curved than a crow’s; he’s more Roman-nosed. He has large throat-hackles, and he doesn’t flap as often as a crow does.”

“When did you notice all this?” asked Twilight.

“When he flew into the room at Fluttershy’s,” said Philip.

“You noticed all that in the few seconds he was flying in?” asked Starlight. Philip nodded.

“Cool,” said Rainbow, “so what’s up with him?”

“He thinks he’ll get some food if he hangs around me,” said Philip. Wolfram nodded the affirmative, and Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t ravens eat, you know, meat?” she said, motioning with a hoof.

“Like I said, it can’t be a good sign,” said Philip. “He probably thinks I’m going to kill something; ravens hang out with wolves for the same reason. They do eat other stuff, though.”

“Why would he think that?” asked Rainbow.

“No idea, but I’d bet money if I had any that it has something to do with the way the other animals reacted to me. We’ll think more about that later, though; who wants to hear my speech again?”

Philip recited his speech fourteen more times, and each time Rainbow laughed. Afterwards, Wolfram and Lupe returned to Fluttershy’s cottage, and Philip decided to wander around Ponyville for a bit until dinner. Rainbow went along to make sure he did not lose his way. As they were walking, they noticed there were still whispers about Philip, but they paid no attention to it.

Suddenly, they heard a dejected sigh. “What was that?” asked Rainbow. Philip paused, and then pointed to an alleyway nearby. They looked down the alley, and saw Scootaloo sitting up against a building rubbing her muzzle and sniffling. They looked at each other, and then approached with expressions of concern.

“You okay, kid?” asked Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo whipped her head around, gaping in horror, then hurriedly wiped her muzzle and donned a wide smile that was less of a grin and more of a grimace.

“I wasn’t crying!” she said. “I mean, uh…why wouldn’t I be alright? I’m f-fine!”

Rainbow and Philip shared a glance, and then Rainbow knelt down in front of her, and Philip sat down beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Squirt,” said Rainbow, “It’s alright if you have something you need to talk about.”

“It’s just,” said Scootaloo hesitantly, “it’s just, I still can’t fly on my own, and all the other pegasi my age can. And some fillies in my class say…they say I’ll never be able to fly! Why are my wings so little and wimpy? Am I going to be stuck on the ground forever?” She was crying again by this point, despite her attempts to conceal it.

“Gosh, kiddo, I…I don’t know,” said Rainbow Dash, rubbing the back of her neck and looking at the ground. Philip, however, was deep in thought.

“If you can’t fly with your wings,” he finally said, “then I’ll just have to show you how to fly without them.”

“…Okay, this I gotta see,” said Rainbow Dash. Philip grinned, and then ran at the wall opposite them. To the astonishment of his two friends, he leapt up, hitting the wall with his foot, and then leapt to the wall Scootaloo had been leaning against, and then back and forth, going higher until he reached the roof. “Hop on,” he said, jumping down, “and I’ll show you that just because you can’t do something the usual way doesn’t mean you can’t do it.”

Scootaloo climbed on his back, and he took off, Rainbow Dash flying along. Philip leapt up to the roof again, and then ran along until he reached the edge, where he leapt along to another roof. He kept on going until he ran out of roofs, at which point he leapt to a balcony, then to an awning, then from there to the ground. He then ran along, taking corners by running on the walls and leaping over any obstacle. He leapt onto the rail of a staircase and slid down on his feet. He jumped off at the end, and landed on a brick wall. He ran along the top, and then began to leap across a busy thoroughfare by jumping between carts. Landing on a narrow ledge on the other side, he walked along it for a distance, then leapt to a balcony rail and jumped onto the building’s roof from there. He ran along the roofs again, then leapt back down into the alley where they had started.

“Here comes fun part,” said Philip to Scootaloo. He did several handsprings, sometimes twisting in midair. Then, he ran straight at the wall at the end of the alleyway, ran up it, and back-flipped.

“Whoa,” said Rainbow, “That was totally awesome.”

“…Cool!” squealed Scootaloo, “I wanna try that!”

“Wait, Scoots,” said Philip, “my point was that you could get in the air other ways than by flying. I’ve seen what you can do on your scooter; you’re very athletic, you just need to play to your strengths instead of the strengths of others. That goes for your Cutie Mark, too, by the way.” He pointed to her flank. “Your special talent will be something that feels as natural as breathing, as right as if you’d been doing it your whole life. It’s what you’re meant to do; when you find it, you’ll know with every fiber of your being that it’s what you were born to be.”

“Wow,” said Scootaloo, “That’s a lot more helpful than what everypony else says! They all just tell me that it’ll happen eventually and I should be patient.” She leapt to her hooves. “Okay, so it’s something that I’m good at and really like to do, right? So all I have to do is think about what I’m good at and what I like and sooner or later I’ll figure it out!”

“And then you can help your friends by passing on my advice,” said Philip, patting her on the back, “and by staying a crusader, even once you’ve found your special talent, right?”

Scootaloo nodded vigorously, smiling. “Yeah, I didn’t even think of that! This is awesome! You’re almost as cool as Rainbow Dash!”

Philip smiled. “Coming from you, Scoots,” he said, “that’s about the highest praise I could get.” He knelt down and tousled her mane.

“So you’ll be okay, now?” asked Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo nodded again, and then picked up her scooter and raced off.

“How long do you think it’ll take before she realizes how good she is on that scooter?” asked Philip.

“I dunno,” said Rainbow, looking after the little filly, “but I gotta teach her to fly sometime. All pegasi should know how to fly at least a little.”

Philip shaded his eyes, looking at the sun’s position. “I’d say it’s about time to head back,” he said. “I’m getting hungry, and Twilight offered to feed me.”

“I’ll come too, said Rainbow.

They rejoined Twilight and Starlight at the Castle, and together they ate a supper of stewed apples and oats. Afterwards, Philip went to shower and put on his good clothes. Then he went to wait with Rainbow Dash while Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Dream took their turn with the shower. They entered the main library after ten minutes, with their manes and tails brushed. As they descended, Starlight turned to Twilight and said, “I have had a thought. Might it help the townsfolk if you and I were to examine Philip’s mind? If Philip has no objections, that is.”

“I trust you girls completely,” said Philip, “and if I’d known you could do that I’d have asked you to. Go ahead.”

“Are you sure?” asked Twilight.

“Absolutely,” said Philip, “you girls are my friends. I know you won’t do anything harmful or dangerous to me.”

Twilight and Starlight walked up to him, and he knelt to allow them easier access to his head, physically and metaphorically. “Watch closely and learn, Twilight Sparkle,” said Starlight, as she touched her glowing horn to his head. They remained in that position for roughly sixty seconds, and then Starlight stepped back.

“You really do care about us, don’t you?” she said.

“You girls are my friends, Star,” he said again, “so of course you’re precious to me.” Rainbow Dash made a gagging noise.

“Oh hush, Rainbow,” said Twilight, trotting up to Philip. At Starlight’s encouragement, she lit her horn with magic and touched it to Philip’s forehead. After a minute, she backed away. “I don’t see any trace of your missing memories,” said Twilight sadly. “I hope they come back.”

“I know they will, Twilight,” he said. “But in the meantime, let’s go tell Ponyville I’m not going to disembowel them in their sleep.”

“Yeah,” said Twilight, grabbing her saddlebags and putting on her royal vestments.

They travelled to the town square, where the entire town was gathered. The mayor stood on a podium in front of the crowd, the Town Hall behind her. She beckoned to Philip, and he quickly strode to the front of the crowd. As he went, he heard more whispers from the crowd.

“Derpy says he’s alright.”

“She’s so innocent, he probably tricked her somehow.”

“I don’t know; I hear he saved Princess Luna.”

“It’s a trick; he’s just waiting to steal our foals in the night!”

He reached the front of the crowd and climbed the steps to the podium, Starlight and Twilight alongside him. As he reached the top, he could see Applejack waving from the back of the crowd, Fluttershy near the front looking sweetly up at him, Rarity with a pair of opera glasses, and Rainbow resting on a cloud, Pinkie Pie standing on her back for some reason. He turned to face the crowd, and Mayor Mare began the event.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” she said, “I am pleased to welcome a creature some of you may have seen or heard about, but many of you may not know yet. He is a kind soul who helps others, even at risk to himself. He brought Princess Luna to the hospital nearby when she was gravely injured, and he stood up to a trio of bullies for our mailmare Derpy just yesterday. I’d like you all to welcome Philip the human!”

Philip took the podium. There was a smattering of applause, but most of the crowd was silent. Then, a stallion somewhere in the crowd shouted, “Freak!” and a tomato sailed through the air towards Philip. To the group’s astonishment, he caught it in midair and took a bite. “Your generosity is appreciated, and your compliment as well,” he said, smiling.

“Now,” he said, “I have a few words to say. Let me just get my cards.” He picked up a few notecards, and then cleared his throat and said,

“Attention criminal degenerates…wait a second...”

He shuffled his cards around. “Wrong speech cards,” he said, picking up a new set. This got a laugh out of the crowd.

“Friends, Ponies, and angry villagers who I hope don’t burn me at the stake,” he said. There were raised eyebrows at this. “When I first woke up in the hospital, I had no idea who or where I was, what I was doing here, or why I had Fluttershy lying on my chest reassuring me. Can’t tell you how much I appreciate that, Flutters, whether it was necessary or not.” Fluttershy blushed, hiding behind her mane. “I still have no idea who I am, but the other questions have been answered. I have been treated reasonably well for a stranger, especially one of a different and previously unknown species. I am honored and privileged to have been accepted into your beautiful town with only minor rumors that I was ‘waiting to attack,’ to quote one of you, or that my friends ‘have no idea what they’re getting into,’ to quote another.” A couple of ponies looked uncomfortable at this, and Starlight and Twilight exchanged glances; this had not been in his original speech. “Yes,” continued Philip, smiling, “I could hear you. I understand your caution, but let me assure you, I have had my thoughts examined by none other than the Princesses Luna and Twilight Sparkle, and while they were unable to restore my memory, they were able to confirm that I pose no threat to you or your foals. Three of them seem to have taken a liking to me.”

“Yeah, Philip!” shouted Scootaloo.

“Thanks, Scootaloo!” Philip replied, waving. “Now, I’m sure you’ve seen monsters who were greedy, or proud, and caused trouble because of that. That’s what made them monsters, right?” There was a ripple in the crowd; ponies were nodding their heads. “Yes,” continued Philip with a sad smile, “But let me ask you this; have you not also shunned ponies who were different? Have you never heard of other creatures treated like a threat, merely because they were different?” His voice dropped low. “Has it never occurred to you that some monsters are made of fear? Or loneliness? Or even an unfulfilled desire to be loved? As Jean de la Fontaine said, ‘On rencontre sa destinée, souvent par des chemins qu’on prend pour l’éviter.’ One often seeks their destiny on the road they took to avoid it.” Many ponies looked stricken at this. They realized what he was saying; a judgmental attitude could not only make monsters out of them, but cause them to create monsters as well. “So maybe now you see; I am not going to ‘steal your foals in the night.’ I am just a man; all I want is to regain my memories and make some friends while I’m here.” He smiled. “It was Socrates who said, ‘I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.’ We sometimes forget that for all we think we know, much of it could be wrong and there is so much more we do not know. I hope that while staying here, I can teach you all something, and learn something myself in the process. It is the duty of friends, after all, to help each other grow.”

“Oh, really?”

The crowd parted, and Stone Slab and his Griffon friend marched up to the podium, followed by five stallions in Guard armor and waving an official-looking piece of parchment. “I told you we’d get a warrant,” said Stone Slab, cockily, as Philip took it, “so you’d better come quietly, or we’ll have to resort to force.” A haughty-looking grey mare with a yellow mane and tail done up in buns, and green eyes perched behind a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, slipped from behind the line of guards and nodded.

“Now wait just a minute,” started Twilight, before being silenced as Derpy landed right next to her.

“Let me see that,” she said authoritatively, holding out her hoof.

“Look closely at the seal,” said Philip, handing it to her.

“No need, I saw it from the air,” said Derpy. “I see a lot of official documents; I may be clumsy with furniture and other big stuff, but I’m great with delivering paper items.”

“I see lots of official documents as well,” said Mayor Mare, approaching her.

“I’ll look at it, too,” said Twilight, “I am a princess after all.”

They all looked the document over, muttering to themselves. “You over there! Guard!” yelled Stone Slab, and Pike Line separated from the crowd and trotted up. “Help us bring in this dangerous creature.”

“I’m right here, pinhead,” said Philip.

“I only take orders from my superiors,” said Pike Line, “so unless the princesses give the order…”

“We work for Princess Celestia,” snapped the Griffon, “so help us take him in, or we’ll have you court-martialed!”

“I doubt that,” said Philip, “but let’s say you’re telling the truth; would Princess Celestia really approve of the arrest of someone who had been deemed safe by both her sister and her student? Would she approve of arresting someone who had saved her sister’s life?”

“Well,” said Stone Slab with an oily smile, “Princess Twilight is so young, so inexperienced; it would be easy for a criminal mastermind to fool her. And let’s face it, why would anyone trust Nightmare Moon?” The other five stallions chuckled.

Starlight gasped audibly at this. No no no, she thought desperately, please don’t let him find out!

“For your information,” said Mayor Mare coldly, “Princess Luna is very popular in Ponyville. She has a standing invitation to visit every Nightmare Night and play with the foals. We trust her with our children; we trust her in this as well.”

“And do you really think Princess Celestia would have made me a princess if she didn’t think I was ready? Would she really have bestowed so much power on me if she didn’t trust me completely?” asked Twilight grimly.

“Next time you come to Ponyville,” said Philip, his face neutral, “you probably shouldn’t insult two of their favorite princesses.” This got a cheer from the crowd.

“And if you’re going to go around forging documents,” said Derpy, “don’t get the royal seal backwards.”

Every pony in the crowd turned their heads to look at Derpy. “The royal seal is backwards on the warrant,” she continued. “Celestia goes on the right, Luna on the left. It’s upside down, too; the moon goes on the bottom, not the top. And that’s not even taking into account the number of grammatical errors.” She waved the parchment. “And I’m fairly sure that after having ruled for a thousand years, and probably being even older than that, Princess Celestia knows how to spell her own name.”

The other ponies all gaped. “She’s…she’s right, fillies and gentlecolts,” said Mayor Mare, addressing the crowd. “I honestly didn’t notice the sun and moon being switched until she pointed it out, though.”

“Well,” said Derpy with a blush, “just because I’m clumsy doesn’t mean I’m stupid; I’ve been told I’m very observant.”

“Adorable, too,” said Philip, deepening the blush on Derpy’s face.

“I guess that means you’re the ones being arrested today,” said Pike Line, his face flat and emotionless. “Philip, I hereby deputize you under edict four-twenty-seven-dash-eight. I accept partial responsibility for any action you take in the process of apprehending these criminals. Do you understand?”

“Clear as the day,” said Philip, moving to stand beside Pike Line.

“Think you’re so smart, don’t you?” said Stone Slab.

“Wait…” said Starlight, perking up her ears, “I know that voice!” With a brilliant flash, she changed back into Luna. “You were the stallion in my dream!” she shouted, an accusing hoof pointed at Stone Slab. “You are an agent of the Talons!”

Stone Slab smirked. “That’s right, Princess,” he said, the guards beside him readying spears while the Griffon drew a knife, “and now that you’ve so kindly revealed yourself, we can finish what we started at the hospital!” He threw off his cloak, revealing a Cutie Mark of a chair with an iron band protruding from the backrest.

“What are you doing?” Luna barked at the guards standing behind him. “Arrest that stallion!”

“I doubt they’re actually guards, Luna,” said Philip, his expression suddenly flinty. “I read about the charm on the armor of a Guard that makes him look exactly like the others, and it didn’t look that hard to duplicate. I’d bet money that’s what they did.”

“You’re smart,” snarled the mare. “That’s why we’re taking you out first!”

There were gasps among the crowd as the mare was engulfed in green fire. Grey fur became dark chitin, mane replaced by fin-like membranes stretched between spines. Eyes became large and insectoid, and holes appeared in hooves. What was left was an insect-like pony that hissed, baring her fangs at Philip.

“A changeling!” shouted Rainbow, landing on the stage next to Twilight. Pinkie popped out of a barrel nearby with a large blue cannon, and she joined the others in glaring at the new creature.

Philip turned to the crowd and said, “I’ve heard of horseflies, but this is ridiculous!”

A cyan hue went across the Changeling’s face as Rainbow and Pinkie burst out laughing, and there were scattered chuckles in the crowd. “Hey,” she said, frowning at him, “I’m not a horsefly, I’m a Changeling! I can look like anypony! You should be afraid!”

“You may be able to change what you look like, but I can tell by your scent and mannerisms who you are,” said Philip, smiling just a little when she paled. “Your whole op’s gotten pretty sloppy in fact. We all saw through your fake warrant, and now you’re up against a guy who can kick a petrified tree in two. In a single blow.”

“Yeah?” asked a voice from above, “Can you stop a spear?”

Heads whipped upwards; one of the fake guards was diving out of the sky, thrusting a spear directly at Twilight. Luna lit her horn to cast a spell, but she knew she wouldn’t make it in time, and Twilight seemed frozen in shock.

The fake guard, however, never made it to Twilight. He halted in midair as the point of his spear struck the palm of Philip’s hand, the man having moved to intercept it faster that Luna’s eyes could follow. The spear bent under the force and buckled, as if it had run into brick rather than flesh or bone. The stallion was thrown off balance and ran neck-first into Philip’s outstretched arm.

“Yes,” said Philip, before delivering a spectacular roundhouse kick to the stallion’s armored side…

…causing him to be thrown into the side of a building, erupting into green flame as he did so. The fires cleared to reveal a Changeling, lying on his side in a growing pool of ichor oozing from his mouth and hindquarters.

Luna gaped in shock. The force required to do that must have been incredible. She turned to Philip. Had he just killed one of the aggressors?

“Okay,” said Philip, turning to look at the remaining assailants, “if any of you aren’t actually wearing armor, I need to know right now so I don’t try and break it when it isn’t there. Otherwise I might break you.”

Unintentional, then, but still incredible.

The other four guards were engulfed in more green fire, revealing more Changelings. The female gaped at her half-dead comrade, and dove behind her remaining compatriots. There were panicked shouts from the crowd, and a dozen-odd more Changelings rose into the air to join the fray.

Twilight, Rainbow and Pinkie readied to do battle with them, while Luna, Pike Line and Philip faced off with the ones on the platform. “Surrender now, and you will be spared worse punishment!” shouted Pike Line.

In response they charged, the knife-wielding Griffon outstripping the Changelings and Stone Slab. He was met halfway by Philip, who kicked the knife upwards and out of his claw. As the Unicorn and Changelings exchanged spells with the Alicorns, and Pinkie fired off her party cannon, Philip and the Griffon locked claws and hands, pushing against each other.

Suddenly, there was a shrill scream that quickly devolved into a sickening gurgle. Stone Slab had pinned Derpy to the ground, and was smiling eerily as another Changeling pressed its hooves to her throat, choking her. Philip snarled.

“You can’t stop us,” chuckled the Griffon, “We’ll get our claws around the Princess’s necks soon enough!”

His confident smirk dropped as Philip’s eyes glowed an angry red. The other combatants paused in their fights as the Griffon let out a screech of agony, Philip’s hands suddenly crushing his talons. Luna was alarmed to see razor-sharp fangs in her friend’s mouth as he shouted at the Griffon.

“Don’t bet on it, trout-breath!”

He suddenly leaned back. For a heart-stopping moment, Luna thought he had been overpowered. Then she, along with everyone still watching, gasped as Philip caught the knife in his mouth as it fell from the sky. He suddenly jerked on the Griffons talons, pulling his opponent close, knife held in his mouth by the handle.

The Griffon’s next scream was even more blood-curdling than the first. He rolled on the ground, clutching at his face, as Philip twisted and threw the knife. It struck the Changeling choking Derpy in the neck, right at the base of his skull. He fell without a sound, and Derpy gasped loudly for breath before being dragged away from the fight by a concerned Fluttershy. Turning back to the Griffon, Philip pinned him to the ground with one foot and grabbed his wings. To Luna’s utter shock, her friend then twisted the appendages until a pair of sickening pops could be heard, and the Griffon’s shrieks grew even more desperate.

“Now you can’t get away,” the man said, standing over his beaten, battered and bloodied opponent. He moved his foot to the Griffon’s neck. “And you’re going to sing like a bird when I’m done with you.”

Stone Slab charged his horn and disappeared in a yellow flash, and the Changelings turned tail instantly, apparently unwilling to clash with such a brutal warrior. The mare lagged behind, however, and Rainbow Dash grabbed her and threw her back to the platform, where Twilight’s magic held her spread-eagled on her back by the hooves.

“Now we have two Talons to interrogate,” said Twilight, smiling grimly at them. Rainbow did a hoof-pump behind her.

“It’s just too bad we couldn’t get them all,” mused Luna, looking in the direction where the Changelings had gone.

“Don’t count your Talons before they’re clipped,” snickered the Griffon through his pain. His jaw worked for a moment, and there was a crunching sound. “Use your pill!” he shouted at the Changeling.

Philip’s eyes widened as a look of realization dawned on their other captive’s face, and in an instant his hand was squeezing her lower jaw. Her mouth was forced open, and the man quickly pulled a small capsule out of her mouth. Her expression instantly changed to one of horror, and she began to struggle mightily.

“No! I need that so you can’t interrogate me! It’s how I escape!”

Luna smiled, opening her mouth to commend Philip on his quick actions…until she saw his face. His eyes were red, fangs were visible in his mouth, and his cold gaze chilled Luna to the bone.

“Would you rather wind up like him?” he said softly, pointing to the Griffon. Luna looked as well.

Her ears splayed back in horror as she beheld the Griffon thrashing about, foam on his beak, eyes rolling in his skull. Twilight and Rainbow were gaping at the spectacle as well.

“Philip, what did you do?” asked Twilight, turning to him in terrified awe.

“Nothing,” Philip replied, waving the pill in his hand. “From the look of it, I’d say it contains potassium cyanide. Just crack and swallow.”

Twilight went deathly pale and her magical aura vanished, but the others just looked confused.

“I don’t get it,” said the Changeling, not even noticing that Twilight’s magic was no longer holding her.

“No,” whispered Twilight. Shivers wracked her form.

“What’s the matter, Twi?” asked Applejack, just having arrived with Rarity in tow.

“I dunno,” said Rainbow, eyeing the Griffon nervously. He had stopped thrashing, and now lay frighteningly still. “Philip got him with his own knife using his mouth, which was cool, but then he crunched something, and now he’s like this.”

“He had a kill pill, too,” said Philip, who had busied himself with removing his knife from the other Changeling’s corpse and cleaning the blade. “Though he was able to use his.”

“He killed himself,” whimpered Twilight, shaking as tears formed in her eyes. “He killed himself…”

Luna was shocked. What did Twilight mean? Why would the Griffon kill himself?

“Yes,” said Philip grimly, “he killed himself to make sure that no matter what, we couldn’t get anything out of him. Dead Griffons tell no tales. And she-” he indicated the Changeling “-was supposed to kill herself too. I stopped her, but it was too late for him.”

Twilight slid into a sitting position, and the Changeling’s mouth dropped open.

“Alright,” said Philip, suddenly commanding. It was like a bucket of water was dropped on everyone; Luna shook herself and looked around. The others seemed to have been affected similarly, even Pike Line. “We’re going back to Twilight’s castle. Pike Line, take the rear.”

“On your six, Sir!” barked Pike Line, saluting.

“Why are you taking orders from him?” asked Rainbow.

“Because I’m pretty sure he outranks me,” said Pike Line, smiling nervously.

Turning to Derpy, Philip’s face became as gentle as a father’s, a startling change from the cold fury that had occupied it before. “Are you okay, Derpy?”

Derpy coughed once, then nodded. “I think so,” she rasped.

“You should go to the hospital,” said Philip, kneeling and stroking her bruised neck. “Your windpipe might be damaged. You want us to take you?”

“That’s alright, sir, I can handle it,” said a brown stallion. Derpy’s face lit up considerably at the sight of him, and she stumbled hastily into his arms. As the two shared a nuzzle, Philip sniffed the air, then turned with a nod to the stallion and signaled to the gathered Elements and Princesses that it was time to go. Luna nodded, and the rest of the group followed as he made his way past the dead griffon.

“You come too,” said Philip, nudging the Changeling as he passed her. She didn’t move. He sighed and slipped a hand under her chest, placing the belly of his forearm under her stomach and his hand on her collarbone. Lifting her under his arm, he addressed the crowd. “We’ll have to pick this up another time, folks; we have a conspiracy to thwart.” He turned on his heel and set off towards the castle at a brisk trot, the other eight following him with Pike Line bringing up the rear.

The Night's Fangs

by Cavenerd20

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6