> To Walk Among Us
>  by Mossbender
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Never to be Forgotten
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The sun seemed to burn brighter than ever before as its rays bathed Ponyville in its warmth, making the very dirt road itself rather warm beneath the hooves of two ponies as they made their way towards Town Hall. The pair, a middle-aged stallion and his daughter, were moving quite quickly however, taking no time at all to enjoy the dirt road's warmth since today was a very special day. Neither of them wanted to miss the ceremony.

"Daddy come on! We are going to be late!" the little filly squeaked with excitement. "Come on come on!" She galloped ahead of her father, only to turn around and come back to him. She wrapped her forelegs around his right foreleg and began to tug as hard as she could. The father looked down at his little girl and smiled at her noble but utterly pointless effort.

"Don't you worry now little one, we have plenty of time to make it to Town Hall still," he replied calmly and returned his gaze to the dirt road in front of him. "How about you and I play a little game while we walk?" He noticed that his daughter quickly looked up at his face and she sighed before she hopped off of his leg. He could tell that she wasn't impressed.

"Fine, what game do you want to play?" she asked, trying to sound enthusiastic, but her father could immediately tell how forced it was. He found that to be quite hilarious and held back a chuckle.

"I was thinking we could play a game of I spy, and if you really want to, then you can go first," he said and then held up a hoof. "But on one condition." His daughter looked up at him again, except this time her face showed that she was curious instead of disappointed.

"And what would that be?" she asked. "Oh, and you can go first by the way." She returned her gaze to the ground and kicked a pebble to the side as they continued walking.

"Just have fun," he said and lowered his hoof back to the ground. "And close your eyes!"

"What? Close my eyes!?" his daughter replied rather loudly as she looked at him in utter bewilderment. "How am I supposed to play a game about spying if my eyes can't spy!?"

"This is a special kind of I spy my dear, now quickly! Please close your eyes," he said, trying his best to conceal his excitement that had developed within him. His daughter rolled her eyes and reluctantly closed them.

"Alright, now what?" she asked when her father suddenly lifted her up, causing her to squeal. "Ahh! Daddy! Put me down!" Her father laughed as he began to gallop down the street and made a sharp left onto the next one. He immediately saw a crowd of ponies ahead standing outside of Town Hall, standing in front of what looked to be a statue covered in a huge piece of burlap cloth.

"Hey, guess what Tulip Puff? I spy with my little eye, a huge crowd of ponies!" he exclaimed which caused Tulip Puff's eyes to immediately flutter open. She gasped at the sight before them and leaned over her father's head so she could look into his eyes.

"You knew we were almost there? Didn't you?" she asked and her father simply smiled and nodded. "Oh this is so awesome! Can I see if I can go find my friends? Please please pleaaaaase?"

"I don't see why not, just don't leave the plaza okay?" he replied and he bent his knees so she could get off of his back. Tulip Puff quickly hopped off and gave him a huge hug.

"Thank you daddy, I wonder if Apple Bloom and the others have arrived yet!" she said, her voice filled to the brim with excitement before she suddenly galloped off and disappeared into the depths of the crowd. The father simply shook his head and chuckled. She reminded him of her mother so very much, especially since she had obviously inherited the same fiery spirit.

He quickly found a good spot to stand in and looked up at the statue that loomed over them. It was definitely tall, taller than most of the statues of Celestia throughout all of Equestria. It gave him a rather eerie feeling though, which was strange since the statue was dedicated to that who was a beacon of hope for all. But still, today could not have been more perfect for the ceremony to take place. He suddenly noticed that everypony had quieted down and saw why that was. Mayor Mare was standing at the podium, looking at the crowd that had gathered before her. With one final deep breath, she began to speak.

"Greetings ponies and creatures of Ponyville, of Equestria, and the lands beyond!" she said, the microphone amplifying her voice so that all could hear her. "We have gathered here today to celebrate that who we all hold very dear to our hearts. One so noble and valiant, that I am proud to have also called him as one of our own." He noticed that Mayor Mare had begun to develop tears in the corners of her eyes, but that didn't stop her from speaking. "B- before we continue with the ceremony, Ms. Rose Wind has a few words to say. Let's all give her a hoof!" 

The crowd began to stomp their hooves as a mare approached the podium that looked about the same age as himself. Mayor Mare quickly gave the microphone to Ms. Rose Wind and watched from a distance. Rose Wind definitely looked like she had seen better days, since visible dark bags had formed underneath her eyes. She wore a sun hat that had a single pink rose on top and a red bandanna around her neck. Her mane was a light red with a light pink stripe down the middle and her coat was a rather pale creamy colour. Her eyes were light blue, just like the sky itself.

"I- I'm honoured to be standing in front of all of you today," she said, although her voice was rather shaky. "These past few days have been... have been hard on us all, especially me, but I want to say thank you. Thank you all for your loving s- support and gifts." She looked up at the sun which shone brightly in the sky and smiled weakly before looking back at the crowd. "I... I just wish that he was here still... that's all I want." Tears had begun to flow freely down her face, but Rose Wind continued to speak. "But today shall not be a day of sadness! Let us all rejoice and cherish what we have, for it is precious, and we still have it because of my son!" The crowd cheered Rose Wind on, shouting their approval as they hung on to every word she spoke. "And now, let us remember those who fought for us, those who passed and those who lived. We shall never forget... and I shall never forget you... my little Peaches."

There was a moment of silence as all those who had gathered lowered their heads in respect. Out of the corner of his eye, the father saw two blurs in the distance, which he could immediately tell were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Rose Wind had noticed them as well and she cleared her throat before speaking into the microphone once again.

"It all seems so long ago now, but it feels like it was yesterday that I found him in the Everfree, all alone and helpless," she said quietly. "Not only was he different, but I somehow knew that he was destined for greatness." She slowly turned her head and looked over at the Everfree Forest and smiled. "Fate and destiny are curious words, aren't they? My son had a short but very rough life, but he always found a way to stay positive. He was the light of my life and I'm sure he brought joy to many others out there as well. Thank you for your time everypony, let the ceremony continue!"

Rose Wind turned her head towards Mayor Mare and nodded, which indicated that she was done speaking for now. The crowd cheered loudly for her as she stepped down from the podium and the vacant position was filled within moments by Mayor Mare. She immediately raised her hoof which caused the crowd to quiet down once more.

"Those were indeed some powerful words Ms. Rose Wind, thank you for your time," Mayor Mare said. Rose Wind had reached her seat and simply nodded in return. "And now before we reveal the statue, please enjoy this film in honour of our fallen heroes." A white screen lowered behind her as a hidden projector suddenly hummed to life, immediately displaying the first image on the film. It was a younger Rose Wind holding what appeared to be a bundle of cloth, but as the image came into focus, it was clear that there was something in the bundle. A small pink hand was sticking up, trying to reach Rose Wind's face.

As the pictures came and went, nopony noticed that a stranger garbed in black had appeared on a roof top across from where they had gathered. He stood there silently, watching each photo and studying it with great care. If it wasn't for the hood he was wearing, anypony would have been able to see that he was smiling. It was only a matter of time before he made his grand entrance, he could feel the eagerness in his bones. Just a little bit longer... and this ceremony would soon become one that nopony would ever forget. He turned his head to the right and squinted his eyes, which allowed him to make out the two ponies rapidly approaching from the sky in the distance.

"So... the two sisters decide to show up after all," he whispered and he returned his gaze back to the photos. "I hope they don't mind me being here and all... especially after that stunt they tried to pull." The stranger reached inside his shirt and pulled out a necklace. It was a simple design, a blue pearl encased in an extremely durable crystal substance. He still clearly remembered what it used to look like and how it was forced to change.  If it wasn't for his necklace, he wouldn't be where he was now.


> The Fall of Earth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Earth: 24 Years Ago

A light breeze was blowing high above the ocean, causing the waves down below to gently crash against the rocky cliffs of Newfoundland. It was a warm and cloudless night, allowing the moon to bathe the land in its brilliant white glow. It was here that Isaac Bousfield and his wife chose to live because it was just so beautiful. Their home wasn't too grand, just a simple wooden cottage was enough to satisfy them, but the cottage was just a clever disguise to something much larger.

Isaac was no ordinary man, far from that. He is one of the many generals throughout the world that is in charge of a specific area, with his charge being the East coast of Canada. Underneath his home was a vast underground complex, a place filled with all types of weapons, devices, and classified information. It was there where he worked most of the time, often leaving his wife and child above for extended periods of time.

Isaac tossed and turned in his bed, his eyes were moving rapidly underneath his eyelids. Sweat poured from his forehead and other parts of his body, thoroughly soaking his beard and the sheets of his bed. His mumbling and outbursts eventually woke up his wife, who was immediately filled with concern when she saw the state her husband was in.

"Isaac... Isaac..." she whispered gently and she carefully placed his right hand in both of her own. "Isaac! Wake up! You're having that nightmare again!" She released her husband's clammy hand and began to shake his shoulder with all of her might, for he was quite a big man. Isaac's eyes at last flew open and he suddenly sat up breathing heavily. It took Isaac a few minutes to slowly regain his senses and he looked over at his wife to see that her face was filled with worry.

"C- Clara? The nightmare... it seemed so real this time," Isaac said, his voice slightly shaky still. "All I saw was you and... and our son being killed over and over again... and I couldn't do anything to stop it... I couldn't stop the Ze-" He was interrupted when Clara placed a cold hand over his mouth and she smiled.

"Shh... it was just a nightmare my love. You stopped the Zek along with the other generals of the world many months ago, you're a hero," she whispered and hugged her husband, which he did in return. "We have a beautiful son and both of us are alive, things couldn't possibly be better than how they are now." Isaac nodded in agreement when both of them suddenly heard a faint crying coming from the foot of their bed. Isaac threw off his blankets and got out of the bed, stretching as he did so. At a height of six feet and weighing two hundred and forty pounds, Isaac was a force to be reckoned with. His years of training had left him with a body that most amateur body builders would kill for. He had a full grown beard the colour of brown which was so grand it could make a lumberjack weep tears of joy and shame at the same time. Isaac was bald, but he felt it made him look better, and his eyes were a lightning blue colour.

He walked over to the source of the crying, the floorboards creaking beneath him as he did so until he at last reached the crib. With one swift motion he picked up his son and carried him back to the bed. Their son had stopped crying immediately and looked back and forth between his mother and father. At one year of age, he had already begun to look more and more like his father everyday, having also inherited the same brown hair and lightning blue eyes.

"He's so beautiful..." Clara whispered as she caressed her son's face and she looked up at Isaac. "He'll be proud to know that you are his father." Isaac chuckled to himself as he continued to rock his son back and forth, slowly but surely making him fall asleep. "I wonder what he'll want to be when he is all grown up, what do you think Isaac?" Isaac simply shook his head in return.

"I have no idea Clara, but I'll always be there to support his decisions, even if they are ones that I wouldn't make," he replied and smiled at his son who had now fallen asleep again before looking at Clara. She was a beautiful woman, having captured his heart nearly six years ago now. She had wavy brown hair and hazel eyes that were full of love and warmth. She was about five feet and four inches tall and weighed around one hundred and thirty pounds, but she could definitely put up a fight. In fact, a fight club was how they met in the first place when Isaac was scouting for potential army candidates. She had been off duty for a while now to take care of their son, but she was expected to return to the field soon enough.

"I think we should get some sleep my love, the morning is only a few hours away and you have a busy day tomorrow," Clara said and she yawned right after, which caused Isaac to yawn too. 

"You're right Clara, I have to fill out all of those documents tomorrow in order to prove that one of our latest devices that I obtained down in the complex is legal to use," Isaac replied. "It's the weirdest thing I've ever seen, it can apparently transport particles from one place to-" Isaac's wrist band suddenly began to flash red, causing Isaac to immediately look concerned. "Red? At this hour? This can't be good..." He pressed a button on the side of wrist band and a hologram appeared above it, showing the bloodied face of a corporal.

"General? General! Do you read me!?" the corporal shouted.

"Loud and clear corporal, what the hell is going on there!?" Isaac replied, trying extremely hard not to wake up his son. The corporal gulped as an explosion rocked the room he was in, interfering with the transmission for a brief second. When the connection was clear again, the corporal had been knocked to the floor along with the communicator. Blood was spilling from his temple, but he was able to mouth one word that Isaac knew all too well. Zek. Isaac watched helplessly as the soldier died in front of him, but the communicator was still running, allowing him to catch a glimpse of the enemy right as it shot the communicator. The words connection failure flashed red on the hologram and he quickly turned it off.

"No... this can't be happening, this can't be happening..." Clara whispered to herself when a flash of light suddenly appeared outside their window, briefly lighting up the room and blinding them for a split second.

"They know where we are... Clara! We have to get underground!" Isaac shouted when they suddenly heard a loud banging on their door. Isaac quickly gave his son to Clara and he slowly stood up. The banging returned once more as Isaac made his way over to the door. The door was then blasted off of its hinges, but Isaac was ready. He quickly ducked as the door sailed over his head and he rushed the Zek that was standing there with its weapon raised, slamming it into the wall. The Zek hissed furiously at Isaac as he disarmed it and began bashing its head against the wall. Its exoskeleton was tough, but Isaac knew exactly where the weak points were. The Zek tried to push him off, but with one last slam, the Zek slumped down against the wall, only to have three holes put through it immediately afterwards with its own gun.

"Clara, let's go! Leave anything we don't need behind, I have to get to my armour before more come," Isaac said, panting from the rush he had felt when he fought the insect bastard. Clara appeared by his side shortly after with their son in her arms and they made their way downstairs. The whole place had been turned upside down by the Zek, and two of them were currently trying to break into the elevator which led to the complex. With two quick shots to their heads, they fell over and Isaac and Clara kicked them out of the way. Isaac typed out the code on a computer panel and the doors hissed open, allowing them to board the elevator.

"Isaac, look out!" Clara yelled, causing Isaac to turn around and he just barely dodged whatever was thrown into the elevator. "Oh crap... that's a Zek pyro grenade! Quickly! Get rid of it!" Without hesitating, Isaac picked up the grenade with his bare hand and threw it out as the elevator began to descend. They felt the grenade explode above them, causing the elevator shaft to vibrate and filling it with flame. Isaac activated the distress signal on his wrist band and began to speak into it.

"Attention all personnel! We are under attack! Code Red! I repeat, Code Red! Ready yourselves for a fight against the Zek!" Isaac yelled as the elevator slowed to a stop. He turned to Clara and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "Clara, I want you to take the next vehicle out of here as soon as possible. You and our son can't stay here."

"W- what!? No! I can't do that Isaac, I can't-" Clara began to say when Isaac suddenly punched the wall of the elevator, startling her and waking up their son who began to bawl immediately.

"You can and you will Clara! And if you don't want to listen to your husband, then you'll listen to your superior. Please Clara, that's an order," Isaac said, letting his anger slowly subside. "I've lost many friends to the Zek... I can't lose both of you as well." The elevator slowed to a halt and its doors opened, revealing a sight that wasn't too pleasant to see. Debris and flames were everywhere, along with the slain bodies of his men and women that were underneath his command. Isaac clenched his teeth in frustration and anger. "Damn! Damn it all! Not even the vehicles were spared. We'll have to go with Plan B. Clara, follow me."

As they rushed through the areas, it was clear that the Zek had left nothing untouched, but strangely, they didn't see any as Isaac made his way toward the armoury, followed by Clara and their whimpering child. Fortunately when they arrived, the armoury vault doors hadn't been destroyed, although it was clear that the Zek tried to get in due to the various body parts and scorch marks. Isaac placed his hand on a nearby panel and stood back as the armoury opened up, revealing an assortment of weapons, but what he was looking for was his own personal chamber.

"While I'm suiting up, grab me a gun Clara and take whatever you need, you know the one I want," Isaac said and Clara nodded as he stepped into another room and onto a circular platform. He tossed the Zek gun to the side before speaking. "Isaac Bousfield, reporting for duty, Code Red access, no limitations." The very room itself sprung to life as it began to go to work, working as fast as it could to suit him up. The familiar weight of the armour felt good, like seeing an old friend and going to a bar to get a beer or two. The final piece to be placed on him was his helmet, which immediately caused the suit's systems to boot up. The inside of his helmet showed many things, such as his vitals and a personal radar. This was the very suit he wore in the battle against the Zek a few months ago, having been one of the first to receive it. After he felt comfortable enough he stepped out of the room to find that his wife was waiting patiently for him. She held out his gun in one hand and he grabbed it without hesitation.

"So where are we going exactly?" Clara asked as she loaded up her pistols. You do have a plan, right Isaac?" Isaac pressed a button on the side of his helmet which caused it to disappear and he nodded.

"Of course, we are going to fight our way to the technological department and use that particle transporter to get to some place safe," Isaac replied and his helmet appeared again, causing his voice to deepen. "It's a long shot, but it sounds like we are on our own for now, are you ready?"

"Yep, and so is our little man," Clara said, her voice sounding rather dangerous. "I gave him some sleeping medicine, so he should be out for a while. Let's show these bastards that they are messing with the wrong planet and family." Isaac smiled at her words and left the armoury, followed closely behind by Clara. Their footsteps echoed off of the concrete floor as sirens wailed. Isaac hoped that they would come across survivors, but every room they passed through showed nothing but death and destruction. They continued to make their way further down into the depths of the complex, where the lights were dim and the air was cold and damp.

At the bottom of yet another ramp, they finally encountered the Zek for the first time underground. It was a group of five, clicking and clacking in whatever foul language they used. Isaac held up a fist and turned around to face Clara.

"Alright Clara, that group stands between us and the department, are you ready for this?" Isaac asked and he watched as Clara nodded. He gave her a brief hug and stood up. With one final nod, he walked out into the sights of the Zek. "Hey you alien bastards, remember me?" The Zek began to click furiously as they fired at him, but their shots simply bounced off his armour and Isaac laughed at their effort. He returned fire, bullets ripping through their exoskeletons easily. Clara appeared beside him and she aimed at their heads, finishing off the ones that didn't succumb to Isaac's bullets. Isaac stomped on their heads for good measure and activated the panel, causing the door to slide open. What laid before them however caused them to take a step back. The Zek were fiddling with the equipment, but what concerned them the most was the large one on the opposite end of the room, right where the particle transporter was.

"Now that is gonna be a tough one to bring down," Clara whispered and Isaac nodded. "I'm ready when you are my love, we can do this."

"I know," Isaac said. He sprinted into the room picked up the nearest Zek before hurling it into a group of others. Clara followed afterwards and began pulling the trigger as fast as she could. At first the Zek were confused, but they quickly mobilized to repel the two humans. Isaac used every bullet he had, bringing down as many as he could before finally throwing the gun, instantly killing another Zek when it collided with its head.

"Isaac! Catch!" Clara shouted and she tossed him a pistol which he caught with ease, shooting the Zek in front of him between the eyes immediately afterwards. After enough Zek had fallen, the big one that had been watching the whole time slowly began to clap, or what looked like a clap anyway. The remaining Zek suddenly began to back down, much to the surprise of Isaac and Clara.

"Wh- what's going on here? Why are they backing down?" Isaac asked out loud, his muscles still tense from the fighting.

"I must say, bravo for making it all the way here," the large Zek said, much to Clara's and Isaac's surprise. "For humans, the two of you show quite the fighting spirit, but I'm afraid you're just wasting your time." Isaac pointed his pistol at the large Zek as Clara slowly moved behind him.

"We destroyed you! Why are you doing this?" Isaac asked, the rage clearly present in his voice. The large Zek simply laughed in return, further enraging Isaac.

"Tsk tsk, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet," the large Zek replied calmly and it began to pace in a circle around them. "Let me properly introduce myself. I am Xorthak. You see, we the Zeks feed on war, we worship it, we are the very manifestation of war itself. If it weren't for your petty feuds over ridiculous ideals, we could have easily skipped over you without even knowing, but alas, that did not happen." Isaac felt Clara activate a function on his suit and he smiled since he knew what was going to happen in the next few moments.

"So why are you here in my complex?" Isaac asked, doing his best to keep Xorthak occupied. "What are you looking for?"

"Is that honestly question you had to ask? I'm disappointed in you human," Xorthak replied. "We are here for your primitive particle transporter, for it'll most certainly help us get around faster. I've now grown tired of this petty talk though, farewell humans." He opened his mouth and a light began to glow in the back of his throat, but Xorthak's eyes widened as Isaac's chest opened up, revealing a flame thrower.

"I don't think so," Isaac said and he pressed a button on his forearm, bathing Xorthak in flames. Xorthak shrieked in pain as he stumbled around the room, setting the other Zek on fire as well if they were unlucky enough to have been standing in Xorthak's path. "Come on Clara! It's now or never!" Isaac grabbed Clara's hand and they rushed over to the particle transporter.

"Hurry Isaac! Get this thing on!" Clara yelled and she shot a Zek that was slowly creeping up on them, splattering its juices all over the floor.

"I'm working on it!" Isaac yelled back. He typed away furiously at the keyboard, trying to set a destination that was anywhere but here. "Alright! I got it!" He slammed his fist against the start button, but the machine simply sputtered. "Damn it! It doesn't have enough power!" Isaac quickly looked around the room and noticed a tesla coil that had been powered down. He sprinted over to it, dodging the burning bodies and lifted it up onto his back. "Clara! There's a switch on the wall that I want you to activate as soon as I-" Isaac was interrupted when Xorthak picked him up and began to crush the life out of him. His face and body had been horribly disfigured by the flames.

"Don't think you're getting away so easily, human!" Xorthak roared.

"Clara! Now! Hit the switch!" Isaac managed to yell out.

"But Isaac! The coil is still too close to-" she was interrupted when a piece of the ceiling fell, crushing a bunch of devices right next to her.

"NOW CLARA!" Isaac yelled, knowing that he only had seconds to live before being crushed. Clara looked away from the two as she flipped the switch, causing thousands of volts to be discharged throughout the room. Isaac watched as Xorthak was electrocuted while he only felt a tingle due to his rubber suit he wore underneath the outer armour. He looked over at Clara to see that she was just far enough away to not be affected. He was then suddenly thrown into the air, but instead of falling onto the floor, he positioned himself and brought his arm back. As he neared Xorthak, he swung his fist with all his might, the electricity having also super charged his suit. He felt his fist connect with the foul thing's face, causing Xorthak's head to be ripped clean off by the force of the impact. His head flew through the air and smashed into the wall while Isaac slammed into the ground, breaking a few ribs and twisting his ankle in the process.

"Isaac!" Clara cried out when a portal suddenly materialized out of thin air next to her. Isaac began to drag himself across the floor and he raised an arm and motioned for her to go through. "No! I- I can help you! I can-" She choked on her own words as Isaac slowly got to his feet. The tesla coil had overloaded every device in the room, which meant that there was little time left until the whole place was but a crater. He limped towards them and collapsed against the particle transporter. He took off his helmet and dropped it on the ground before reaching inside his suit and pulling out a necklace.

"Clara... take my necklace," Isaac whispered, his voice having become rather hoarse. He held it out for her as the portal suddenly began to flicker in and out of existence, having lost its brief connection to the different location. Clara hesitated and shook her head.

"Isaac... don't do this! We can still leave together! As a family, please... I'm begging you!" Clara cried. Tears had begun to flow freely down the side of her face, but all Isaac did was smile warmly at her. He took her hand and placed the necklace in her palm before making her close her hand around it with his own.

"I've made my choice Clara... I need to connect myself between the coil and the device in order for there to be a sufficient amount of power for the two of you to go through. Please... go through... that's an order..." Isaac managed to whisper. Clara reached over the device and grabbed Isaac, giving him what would be the last kiss both of them would ever share together. Isaac looked over at his son and smiled as he watched Clara place the black and gold necklace around his neck. Isaac kissed his hand and placed it on his son's forehead "I believe you will be destined for greatness... Oliver..." With one last look at his wife and son, Isaac turned around and placed his right hand on the device, and then connected his left hand to the tesla coil. A Zek laughed nearby as it watched the scene play out before it.

"Earth... will... die... We... will... find... you..." the Zek managed to spit out before it died. Isaac raised his head and let loose a roar as the electricity surged through his body, frying his suit's circuits and melting the rubber suit he wore underneath. His beard caught on fire as the portal suddenly stabilized and Clara rushed through it. Isaac's final thoughts were that of relief as he watched Clara and Oliver go through the portal and he closed his eyes. And he started to hum. All around him, the room began to disappear as he continued to hold the connection, bringing him to the outside world. Zek flagships patrolled above the atmosphere as the defenders of Earth gave it their all, but the Zek's numbers were simply too great. Another small jump through time and he arrived at the time that the order was given for the Zek to begin to drill to the planet's core with the weapons from their ships above. There was no mercy, no surrendering, only destruction. As the oceans began to erupt and the mountains began to crumble, Isaac at last opened his eyes one last time, only to disappear as the Earth, once a mighty symbol of hope and power for all, was no more.



Clara emerged from the portal and held Oliver close to her as they rolled across the bumpy ground to a complete stop. She slowly breathed in and out as the cool air touched her skin, giving her goosebumps. Wherever she was, it was quite damp and it had an earthy scent to it. She slowly got to her feet and allowed her eyes to slowly adjust to what little light there was. She looked to be in a forest of sorts, and already she had begun to attract various bugs due to how sweaty she was. She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her dress, already regretting what she had done, leaving Isaac behind like that.

"My dear Isaac... what am I supposed to do now?" she whispered sadly. "You were my light in the darkness... but I can't give up. I never will, especially since I have you Oliver." Oliver yawned and he slowly rubbed his sleepy eyes. He looked up at his mother and smiled, causing her to smile in return. She pulled out her last pistol and checked to see how much ammunition she had left. She only had six bullets, so she had to make them count.

"Alright Oliver, let's see if we can figure out where we are... I hope the Zek haven't reached anywhere else yet," she said. "Ugh, it's ridiculously dark in here, I really need a-" A howling in the distance caused Clara to freeze in place. If a wolf pack was prowling the woods, there was absolutely no way she could beat them with six bullets and her bare hands. Thinking fast, she looked at Oliver and hugged him. "Don't you worry Oliver, mommy will be right back, she promises." She quickly kissed him on his forehead and found a nearby tree hollow which she carefully placed him inside. Just as she was turning around, a glowing pair of green eyes had appeared in the darkness, followed by even more pairs.

The first pair of eyes slowly emerged itself from the shadows, revealing itself to be something Clara did not expect. It looked like a wolf... but the only problem was that it was made up of a variety of sticks and twigs. It growled at her as she slowly drew her pistol from its holster.

"Alright big guy... I don't know what the hell you are, but if you want to get me, you have to catch me!" Clara shouted at all of them and she began to sprint away from Oliver. The rest of the wolves immediately went after her, not wanting their potential prey to get away. One however stayed behind, having picked up a different scent. It sniffed its way over to the tree that Oliver was hiding in, and it just so happened that Oliver began to cry, causing the wolf to growl as it climbed up to the hole. The wolf's mouth began to foam as it laid its beady little eyes on Oliver. Just as he was about to bite him, a twig snapped behind it, immediately capturing its attention. No sooner had it turned around when the shadow of a bear appeared in front of the wolf. The wolf's eyes widened in fear, knowing that it stood no chance against an Ursa Minor and definitely not an Ursa Major. It slowly backed off, snarling while it did so until it disappeared into the depths of the woods.

"Heh, well that is one way to handle a timberwolf, nasty little creatures they are," a new voice said and the stranger that the voice belonged to appeared from behind the bushes, revealing it be none other than a pony wearing a sun hat. "Now... where is that sad crying sound coming from?" As if on cue, Oliver began to cry again, revealing his location to the pony. She made her way over to the tree and peered inside the hollow, seeing little Oliver covered in leaves. "Oh you poor thing... what are you doing out here on your own?" Oliver looked at the pony's face and continued to cry.

"Oh no! I didn't mean to frighten you, I'm terribly sorry, uh, whatever it is that you are," the pony whispered. She quickly looked at the surrounding area and then back at Oliver. "Well, I'm not going to leave you out here on your own in this darkness, so you're coming with me little guy!" She gently picked up Oliver and his blanket with her teeth and did one last check of the woods to make sure there wasn't a mother or father. When nothing showed itself, she shrugged and began to walk away, although she was actually secretly excited that she had found him.

"You're gonna love it in Ponyville little guy," the pony said between clenched teeth. "My name is Rose Wind by the way, but you can just call me Rose, what's yours?" Oliver remained silent and Rose smiled. "That's okay if you don't talk much. Oh! I know! How about I give you a name? I'm sure I can come up with something that fits ya!"
> Ponyville's Newest Resident
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Brownie... Blueberry? What do you think of that name little guy?" Rose Wind managed to ask through her clenched teeth. "Do you like it? If not I can come up with something else, so no pressure!" The small creature remained silent as they continued through the Everfree. Rose Wind's movement caused Oliver to gently swing from side to side, making him quite drowsy.

Rose Wind's jaw was quickly growing tired from carrying the small creature, but she knew that to stop moving in the Everfree would not be a wise choice, especially since night had already fallen. This small creature's safety was her number one priority right now, and the thought of him being hurt caused her to pick up the pace.

"So I'm just going to assume that's a no then," Rose said and shrugged. "But it's no big deal, I have plenty of names up here in my head just waiting to be released! I- oh, hang on little guy!" Rose Wind hopped over a fissure in the ground with ease and safely landed on the other side of it. "Bah, those holes are everywhere in this place, one wrong step and you'll be flatter than my mother's peach pancakes little guy."

Rose Wind ducked beneath many branches and carefully avoided patches of blue plants called Poison joke until they were out of the dark forest at last. She found the softest patch of grass and carefully lowered Oliver onto the spot. A warm gentle breeze caused the grass in the field they were in to sway back and forth. Rose sighed in relief, enjoying the wind's comfort as it gently blew through her tail and mane. She looked up at the moon and noticed that it was glowing unusually bright as it bathed the land in its white glow.

"Strange... the moon looks a bit... different this evening," Rose Wind said but she just shook her head and smiled. "I must be more tired than I thought, how are you holding up little guy?" She looked down to find that the small creature had fallen into a deep slumber. "Heh, I like the way you think."

Not wanting to hang around any longer then they had to, Rose carefully wrapped Oliver up in his blanket so he would be comfortable on the journey back to town. She picked him up once more and walked across the field until she came across a small dirt trail. The trail was barely noticeable due to how overgrown it was, but Rose had walked it enough times that she remembered clearly where it was. Crickets chirped loudly on both sides of the path, only becoming silent when Rose walked past them, but only for a moment before they resumed their songs.

"Just a little bit farther..." Rose whispered. Her eyelids were becoming rather heavy and her body ached with fatigue, but she pressed on. She travelled for a few more minutes when she suddenly stopped and looked at what laid before her. "Gah! I almost forgot about the hill. This is going to be rough." She dug her hooves into the ground and slowly but surely began to ascend the hill. Although the hill wasn't too big, Rose had to fight against gravity with what little energy she had left. Sweat rolled down her forehead and other parts of her body, soaking her coat which was an unpleasant feeling. With one final push, she was able to reach the top of the hill at last, giving her a fantastic view of the land below. The quiet little town of Ponyville was just at the bottom of the hill where the trail connected to the main road. She lowered herself and Oliver down to the ground for a quick and very much needed rest.

"Phew! Th- that was some workout, b- but now I absolutely dread w- waking up tomorrow," she said, breathing heavily from the climb she just endured. A few minutes later, Rose's heavy breathing had subsided and she felt she was ready to continue. The trip down the hill was much easier than going up it, but Rose had to make sure she didn't go too fast, otherwise she could trip and fall and possibly hurt Oliver in the process, something she did not want to happen.

Fortunately, Rose reached the bottom safely where she was able to get onto the main road at last. The last thing now that stood between her and Ponyville was the bridge into the town itself, which didn't really concern her at all. The dirt road eventually turned to that of cobblestone as Rose crossed the bridge. A calm river flowed beneath her,which in fact made the bridge a popular spot for fillies and colts to jump off of when the weather was especially hot.

"Well little guy, we made it at last. Welcome to Ponyville!" Rose exclaimed, although if anypony was there to hear her, they would have heard some muffled noises due to the fact that Oliver's blanket was in the way. "I would show you around, but I'm guessing I should probably save that for tomorrow." She barely stifled a yawn as she began to make her way through town towards her home. The night was still young, so from time to time Rose saw a few ponies here and there heading to what she assumed would be the local tavern, since it was the only establishment still open during this time. Rose was usually the social type, but tonight was different. She quickly turned her head away from the groups if she walked past them, not wanting to reveal Oliver just yet. A few minutes later, she walked past Ponyville's newest addition to the town which was a bakery that was still under construction. The building was rather unique, having a roof that looked like it could be eaten at any time.

"I wonder if that roof is actually made of candy... I should ask Mr. and Mrs. Cake the next time I see them," Rose said to herself, making a quick mental note in her head. She had known the couple since they had attended school together in Ponyville which felt like such a long time ago. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cake shared a passion for baking and in fact the two of them married each other roughly a couple of years ago. They had finally saved up enough bits to make what was once their dream become a reality. Rose was incredibly happy for the two of them, she even promised them that she would be there for their grand opening.

"Just a few more houses... annnd we're here! Home sweet home," Rose said, trying her best to sound excited, but she was simply too tired. She lifted up her welcome mat and pulled out a silver key from underneath, wiping the grime off of it in the process. She inserted the key into the keyhole and slowly turned it until she heard a faint click. Rose pulled opened the door without any hesitation and quickly went inside, pulling the door shut behind her as she did so. The first thing she did was hang up her sun hat, followed by wiping her rather dirty hooves on the mat as best as she could. Rose then carried Oliver over to her living room and carefully placed him on her sofa, allowing her tired jaw to rest at last. "Well now, that was quite the journey! Let's get some light in here though, I can hardly see anything."

With a quick flick of a switch on the wall, a soft light filled the living room revealing what was in it. The room was a bit small, but it was cozy enough for Rose, especially since she lived on her own, well, she used to live on her own now. A brown coffee table was the centrepiece for the room and a bookshelf with an assortment of books was against the wall exactly opposite from where she had entered the living room.. Rose looked down at the small creature and she realized that this was her first time getting a good look at him. It was a rather peculiar thing, only having hair on the top of its head and a very tiny... muzzle? Rose shook her head and chuckled. It was clear that this creature wasn't a pony, far from it.

"Let's see what other surprises you have to show me little guy," Rose quietly whispered, not wanting to wake him up. She carefully unwrapped the blanket and saw that Oliver was clothed, causing her to raise her eyes. "Interesting, it looks like wherever you're from was somewhat civilized, I wonder why our races haven't contacted each other yet..." The creature's shirt was a dark red with what looked to be a rather large creature on it, with the smaller one being on its shoulders. There was some writing underneath it, but Rose was unable to read what it said. From there she looked at the creature's forelegs, noticing how bizarre the end part of it was. It looked like it split into five smaller legs at the end of it. It was the same with the creature's hind legs, except the tiny legs were stubbier, even though the hind legs were longer for some reason.

"How in Celestia's name do you even walk!?" Rose accidentally shouted out in confusion, causing Oliver to suddenly wake up. "Oops! I didn't mean to yell, I'm so, so sorry little-" She wasn't allowed to finish since Oliver had begun to cry as loud as he could, his little fists clenched in anger. "Oh dear, you're going to wake up everypony in Ponyville!" She quickly scanned the room, looking for anything she could give Oliver in order to get him to quiet down but was unsuccessful. An idea suddenly popped into her head and she rushed over to the kitchen. "Maybe he... well, I'm pretty sure he is a male, maybe he just needs something to eat?" She looked around the kitchen when here eyes fell upon a peach that she had picked earlier that day from her garden. She quickly went over and picked it up with her teeth without a second thought before making her way back to the living room. Oliver was still crying until Rose dropped the peach into his lap, causing him to suddenly stop.

"There you go, to be honest I'm surprised that actually worked!" Rose exclaimed as she watched Oliver slowly sit up. The peach was bigger than his hands, but that didn't stop him from picking it up off of his lap and biting into it with his baby teeth. "Wow! Those are quite the chompers you have there fella, don't go using them on me now!" She laughed at her small joke as Oliver continued to devour the peach, making quite the mess. The sticky peach juice ran down his fingers and somehow his whole face, but Rose didn't mind. She was happy that he was happy. As she continued to watch him, a name bloomed into her mind, causing her to smile.

"I think I've come up with the perfect name for you little guy, what do you think about Peaches?" she asked. Oliver took a quick break from his peach and looked up at Rose. He held out the peach towards her with both of his hands and smiled.

"Babee!" Oliver exclaimed with glee and he returned to eating the peach, which caused Rose to smile.

"It's settled. Peaches it is then!" Rose exclaimed with glee when she heard a sudden knocking on her door. "Who in Equestria would be calling on me at this hour?" She quickly picked up Oliver, now known as Peaches, and placed him behind the sofa. "Don't worry Peaches, I'll be right back." She left the living room and looked through her door's peephole, only to gasp and quickly open it, revealing a tall male Unicorn and a little Unicorn filly that stood behind his legs.

"Good evening Ms. Rose Wind, how are you this evening?" the male Unicorn asked. He had a white coat that was just a bit darker than the filly's behind him and a brown mane and moustache. He also had on a dark blue sweater vest.

"Oh, I, uh, I'm good, quite good! Yeah!" Rose stammered, trying to form words in her tired state. She blew away a tiny piece of her mane that had fallen in front of her eyes and smiled as best as she could. "I'm so glad you were able to stop by this evening Mr. Magnum, I've been really looking forward to this." Magnum raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.

"Are you sure you're alright Ms. Rose Wind? You look exhausted," Magnum replied. "My sweet Rarity can come over for a sleepover some other time, it's quite alright. My wife and I will just have to schedule our date for another day." Rose quickly shook her head and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"I assure you Mr. Magnum, Rarity will be perfectly fine with me, I promise," Rose said, her voice filled with confidence. She removed her hoof and waited patiently for Magnum's response. He looked back and forth between Rarity and Rose and sighed.

"Well... if you insist you are quite alright, then I guess there really isn't a problem after all," Magnum said, much to Rose's relief. "However, if I ever hear that anything has happened to my daughter, I'm holding you accountable Ms. Rose Wind." Rose simply nodded as Magnum turned around and lowered himself to his daughter's height. Rose couldn't believe it. She had almost forgotten that she had volunteered to watch Rarity this evening. Although she was a bit occupied with Peaches, that was no excuse to forget her plans.

"You behave yourself now Rarity, it was nice for Ms. Rose Wind to be able to watch you on such short notice," Magnum said. "If you need anything, just remember that Ms. Rose Wind will be happy to help."

"Of course father, I promise you that I'll be on my best behaviour," Rarity replied and hugged him. "I hope you and mother have a wonderful time, I'll see you tomorrow morning right?"

"Of course you will my dear, I'll be here to pick you up first thing in the morning. But now I must get going, your mother is waiting," Magnum said as he hugged his daughter in return and lightly kissed the top of her head. He then turned around to face Rose once more. "Take care of her now Ms. Rose Wind, I shall see you in the morning." Rarity walked around Magnum and stood next to Rose and together they watched him walk away until at last he disappeared into the night.

"We should probably head inside now Rarity, otherwise we'll both catch a cold just standing here," Rose said. Rarity silently nodded in agreement and together they went inside, closing the door behind them as they did so. "You'll be staying in the guest room dear, first door on the right near the end of the hall. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you Ms. Rose Wind, I think I'm content for now," Rarity replied. "Although these saddlebags are quite a burden, do you mind carrying them to my room for me?" Rarity's eyes seemed to sparkle in the light as she looked at Rose. It was obvious that Rose couldn't possibly say no to such a sweet little thing.

"I don't mind at all Rarity, here, let me take that weight off your back," Rose replied cheerfully. She easily lifted the saddlebags off of Rarity's back and placed them on her own. "Okie dokie then, make yourself at home Rarity. Why don't you go and check out your room? There is, uh, something I need to take care of first before I join you."

"Okay Ms. Rose Wind, but please hurry, there are some items in the saddlebags that I will need shortly," Rarity said, which caused Rose to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh? Are you working on something? What is it?" Rose asked, her curiosity taking over her mind once more.

"It's nothing really, just some fabric and such for the costumes I'm making for the school play that's coming up soon, as well as some... gems," Rarity replied. "Like I said, it's nothing really, I just hope I can finish these soon since this is extremely, extremely important to me."

"That sounds rather interesting Rarity, I wish you the best of luck," Rose said and she smiled, causing Rarity to slightly blush in return. "Now if you'll excuse me, I"ll be with you momentarily." Rose entered the living room and peered over the sofa, only to find that Peaches was missing. A trail of peach juice led away from the sofa and out the other entrance to the living room. "Oh no... this is not good..." She followed the juice and saw that it turned to the left down the hall. Upon further inspection, she noticed that the trail ended in front of the first door on the right, the room that Rarity was currently in.

"Oh sweet Celestia... Rarity? Could you come here please? I have something to show you!" Rose exclaimed, speaking as fast as she possibly could.

"Hang on Ms. Rose Wind, I'm just looking for the light... ah! Here it is," Rarity replied, her voice partially being muffled by the door to the bedroom.

"No, wait!" Rose shouted, but it was too late. A high-pitched scream from Rarity followed shortly after.

"What in all of Equestria is that thing!?" Rarity shouted. Her little heart pounded in fear as she watched the sticky mess before her continue to eat a rather dirty peach. Rose closed her eyes and sighed. Rarity had seen Peaches before she was ready. There was going to be a lot of quick explaining she had to do.

"Oh Peaches... you are quite the explorer, aren't you?" Rose whispered and she slowly made her way over to the guest bedroom, her hooves thumping loudly against the wooden floor as she did so.



"Oliver! OLIVER!" Clara yelled at the top of her lungs. She had barely managed to fend off the wooden creatures, obtaining many injuries in the process. A large gash on her right leg caused her to limp, and when she returned to the tree she had left Oliver in, she discovered that he was no longer there. "OLIVER!"

Clara had quickly turned the small area upside down, ripping up plants and throwing small logs as she frantically searched for her son. The search proved fruitless however and she eventually collapsed from exhaustion. Tears flowed gently down her face as she cried softly. First her husband, and now her own son due to her stupid choice to leave him behind. She was filthy and the loss of blood made her feel faint. Clara knew that if she didn't find help soon, she would surely die.

"There... there was no sign of any struggle... so perhaps... perhaps he was simply taken away," Clara whispered to herself, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Isaac would be ashamed of me if he saw me like this." She slowly got back on her feet and wiped the remaining tears off of her face. "I'm going to find you Oliver, mommy will find you." Clara found a suitable walking stick on the ground and used it as her support as she returned into the woods, disappearing into its depths. The creatures of the Everfree should be wary, for they were about to meet a fearsome creature unlike any other they had seen before.
> Baby Steps
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Rose gently nudged the door do the guest room open, only to find that Rarity had fainted. Peaches didn't seem to care though as he continued to gnaw away at the peach, having almost reached its pit.

"Rarity? Rarity!" Rose shouted as she quickly walked over to Rarity's fallen form. She rolled Rarity over onto her stomach and carefully lifted her up onto the guest bed. Peaches paused in the middle of his chewing and stared at both Rose and Rarity, curious as to what was going on.

"Hahee?" Peaches asked outloud which caused Rose to look up at him.

"She'll be alright Peaches if that's what you're asking," Rose replied and she looked back down at the unconcious form of Rarity. "I've never heard Rarity scream like that before, to be honest I didn't think the little filly could even reach a pitch that high. You must have shocked her pretty well little guy." Peaches had already lost interest in the situation and resumed eating his peach, although it didn't really matter anyway since he couldn't understand a word that Rose had said.

"What am I going to say when she wakes up?" Rose asked herself quietly. "I can't let Rarity tell anypony else about Peaches, not yet anyway. Maybe if I just tell her the truth... hopefully she can keep it a secret. I'm not sure how everypony else wou-" She suddenly stopped talking when Rarity's eyes slowly fluttered open. Rarity noticed that Rose was standing next to her and she felt a small amount of comfort because of that.

"M- Ms. Rose Wind? W- what happened?" Rarity asked, still feeling a bit groggy. "I remember turning on the light, and then..." Her face lit up as she remembered the filthy creature she had seen. "That thing! Where is it? Is it still here? Is it-" She stopped mid-sentence since she felt that something was slowly making its way through her mane. She slowly turned her head around, only to come face to face with the thing she had seen earlier. Rarity pulled herself away and fell off the bed, trying to get as far away from the thing as possible. She took a deep breath and was about to scream again when Rose planted a hoof over her mouth.

"Rarity! You have to calm down! Please!" Rose tried to say as gently as possible, only to end up slightly yelling. "He doesn't mean you any harm, just please... please listen to me." Rose looked into Rarity's eyes to find that they were filled with fear. She didn't know what was galloping through the little filly's mind at that moment, but she knew that she had to remain as calm as possible. "Now... I'm going to take my hoof off of your mouth, but you must promise me that you won't leave or tell anypony else about this. Do you promise?" Rarity looked back and forth between Rose and the door and slowly nodded. Rose smiled and she removed her hoof from Rarity's mouth, allowing her to speak clearly once more.

"Ms. Rose Wind, I don't mean to be rude, but what in Equestria did you bring into your home this time?" Rarity asked, slightly annoyed that she could feel sticky peach juice in her mane. "First we see you bring in a Timberwolf pup, then a Phoenix hatchling, and now..." She eyed Peaches up and down and watched as he tossed the eaten peach away. "Now you bring in this creature! And a rather icky one at that." Rose looked over at Peaches to find that he was rolling around the bed and smiled.

"I don't know what he is Rarity, but what I do know is that as soon as I laid my eyes on Peaches, there was just... something about him," Rose replied softly. "I agree that he has to be cleaned up a bit though, he does smell a bit gross." Rarity giggled at the fact but she quickly stopped and cleared her throat.

"So his name is Peaches then? It fits him rather well to be honest," Rarity said and Rose nodded in return. Rarity watched as Peaches began to crawl over towards her until he got to the edge of the bed and sat down. The bedroom light caused the necklace around his neck to shine brightly, which caught Rarity's attention. "Ms. Rose Wind, did you give him that necklace? It's very beautiful."

"I didn't actually, I found him with the necklace as well as a blanket and what he is wearing currently, which leads me to believe that whatever he is, they are somewhat civilized," Rose replied and she picked up Peaches and gently lowered him to the ground. "I didn't see any sign of his parents in the Everfree, but I just couldn't leave him there with all the Timberwolves prowling around and such."

"Well... If I were in your hooves Ms. Rose Wind, I probably would have done the same thing," Rarity said. "But there is just one more thing I have to ask you."

"And what is that little one?" Rose asked.

"How are you going to take care of him? Remember what happened the last time with the Phoenix hatchling? Some ponies have scorch marks on their hooves still!" Rarity exclaimed. Rose opened her mouth to reply, only to close her mouth shortly after. To be honest, she hadn't thought that far ahead yet. She just wanted to get the little guy home. Her mind wandered to the Phoenix hatchling incident and she shuddered.

"Yes, I remember that incident quite clearly, but things will be better this time Rarity, I promise," Rose said, her voice filled with confidence. "Third time's a charm, right?" Rarity looked at Rose, clearly not impressed with her response. Rose noticed this and sighed. "Alright Rarity, I guess I might need some help, but where should I start? He likes peaches, but that's all I know." Rose felt something hug her right foreleg and she looked down to find that Peaches was nuzzling her. She thought that it was the most adorable thing ever and lowered her head to nuzzle his face in return.

"I am not a parent Rose, but I think I know a good place to begin," Rarity said. "First things first though, I need a bath. You can clean Peaches up after I am done." Rarity reached into the saddlebag that Rose still carried and brought out a variety of soaps before she left the room without another word. Peaches had watched Rarity leave and decided to follow her, only to be stopped by Rose as she stepped over him and blocked the door.

"Where do you think you're going little guy? We are just going to have to wait until Rarity is finished," Rose said. "And besides, knowing her and her family, we'll be waiting a while." Peaches sat down and held out a fist towards the door.

"Yadoo rabee! Rabee!" Peaches shouted which caused Rose to laugh. She had absolutely no idea what Peaches said, but it just sounded adorable. Rose stood guard at the door for almost a half an hour, just watching Peaches explore the room when she heard a cough come from behind her.

"Pardon me Ms. Rose Wind, but I do believe it is time for you to give Peaches a bath," Rarity said and waited patiently as Rose moved out of her way and deposited the saddlebags onto the bed. "Hurry now, the time I go to sleep is nearly upon us." Rose nodded, acknowledging the fact and she picked up Peaches with her teeth before she left the room and made her way towards the bathroom.

The bathroom was just across from the guest bedroom and was slightly steamy still when Rose went inside with Peaches. She placed him on the floor and immediately turned on the hot and cold water. As the water filled up the tub, Rose dipped her hoof into the water multiple times to check to see if it was warm before she began to take off Peaches' clothes. At first, she had a hard time getting Peaches to cooperate since he didn't want to undress, but whether he liked it or not, Rose eventually was able to remove his shirt and pants. She closed her eyes for the next part and then quickly placed him in the tub. When she felt that the water was high enough, she turned it off and was soon left face to face with Peaches.

"You are quite the fighter little guy, but now it's time to get you all cleaned up," Rose said and she opened a nearby bottle of soap. Peaches stared at her with the biggest pouty face he could muster, but Rose didn't care as she lathered the soap into his hair as best as she could. She quickly went over the rest of his body before getting a small container and filling it with water from the tub. "Alright Peaches, close your eyes, or else this might sting your eyes a little." Peaches at first didn't bother to close his eyes, but Rose waited until he blinked and she was at last able to wash the soap away, much to Peaches' annoyance.

"Nohee, noh!" Peaches yelled and he splashed water from the tub onto Rose, making her coat slightly wet.

"Hey! If you want to splash, get ready to get splashed in return!" Rose exclaimed with glee and that is exactly what she did. Peaches didn't just sit there though, he fought back and soon the bathroom was soaked by the amount of water they had displaced. Rose splashed Peaches one last time with what little water was left before she dragged him out of the tub and wrapped him in a towel. "Now that was pretty fun, although now I'll need a towel for myself. Just look at my mane Peaches! It's plastered to my face!" She turned away from Peaches only for a moment to grab a towel, but when she turned around, she saw that he had disappeared and left the towel behind. A trail of water droplets led out of the bathroom. "Oh jeez, I can't keep my eyes off of you for one second before you go off and disappear! Peaches! Peaches come back!"

She quickly wrapped her towel around her head and rushed out of the bathroom, only to stop just seconds after. Peaches was floating in front of her, which confused her for a moment until Rarity appeared from the guest bedroom. Her horn was glowing a light blue, the same colour that surrounded Peaches. Rose sighed in relief, glad that she didn't have to deal with a floating magic baby.

"This little rascal tried to sneak up on me while I was working on something," Rarity said. "He tried to crawl away, but he wasn't fast enough. If you want to raise this thi- er, Peaches, then watching him is definitely going to be your number one priority Ms. Rose Wind." Rarity lowered Peaches to the ground and let her magic disperse, allowing Peaches to move freely again.

"Oh, thank you for catching him Rarity, he'll definitely not leave my sight ever again," Rose said, feeling somewhat embarrassed in front of Rarity. "Now... you said you were working on something while Peaches and I were in the bathroom. What is it if I may ask?"

"Oh? That? I was working on the costumes, yes, just the costumes for the school play," Rarity replied, although she spoke unusually fast. "Just something to keep myself occupied while you and Peaches were in the bathroom." Rose raised an eyebrow, but she didn't pursue the topic any further and decided to change it instead.

"So Rarity, earlier you said you knew a good place for us to hopefully begin learning about Peaches, correct?"

"Yes, I do know a good place to start, although it'll mostly be you learning about Peaches, since he is in your care after all," Rarity replied. Her horn then began to glow, followed by a hat appearing from the guest room shortly after and landing on her head. "I was hoping for a nice and relaxing evening, but I suppose that'll just have to wait. To be honest I can't believe I'm actually going out at this hour to help you."

"And to be honest as well, I'm surprised at how easily you're handling this Rarity, I would have expected any other colt or filly to just run away at the sight of Peaches," Rose said and she looked down at Peaches, only to look away when she saw that he was busy.

"Well, I almost did actually, but I... I am still unsure about him," Rarity replied softly as she walked past Peaches and Rose. "You might want to dress him before we leave Ms. Rose Wind. As much as I despise unclean clothing, it looks like he'll just have to continue to wear it for now." Rose nodded since Rarity was right. She didn't want Peaches to be seen, but he still had to look somewhat decent if they were discovered.

"I agree. Come on Peaches, let's quickly get you dressed so we can go to... where exactly Rarity? I don't think you said the location yet."

"Ah, yes, of course. We will be going to the library Ms. Rose Wind," Rarity said without looking back at Rose. "You must hurry though, otherwise I'm afraid we won't make it in time before it closes." Rose looked down at Peaches to find that he was looking up at her.

"Rarity is right Peaches. Come on, let's get you dressed so we can all go on a nice little walk together." Peaches clapped his hands together and stuck out his tongue, causing spittle to fly all over the floor. "That's the spirit! We won't take long Rarity, I promise."



Rarity and Rose quickly but quietly made their way through town towards the library, their hooves silently thumped against the soft dirt road beneath them. Peaches watched the buildings go by from the saddlebag he was in. Before they had left, Rose thought of a clever way to conceal him from view, and this is what she had in mind. It wasn't the most comfortable of places, but it worked and Peaches didn't seem to care at all. It was a cool evening, and if anypony were to see the two of them, they would have found them to be quite strange since they were both wearing their own sun hats at night. Rarity was convinced that her sun hat served two purposes: To protect her face and to be fashionably appealing to all who looked at her. Rose had to agree with her. She felt that Rarity would grow up to be quite the expert fashionista one day, since the one thing she noticed Rarity cared about a lot was indeed how she presented herself. It probably helped that Rarity also had a passion for making clothing.

It didn't take very long for them to reach the library since it was only a block away from Rose's home. Rose stared at it in wonder like she always did when she saw it, she simply couldn't help herself. Out of all the buildings in Ponyville, this was definitely the most unique one of all because the library itself was built inside of the tree. A tree! Nopony in town knew the exact origin of the tree or who planted it, but Rose secretly believed that it was planted by Celestia herself a long time ago. She hadn't been able to confirm it yet since getting an audience with Princess Celestia was nearly impossible these days. Celestia only ever appeared during the Summer Sun Celebration and some ponies have claimed to have seen her flying around at night, although those claims had yet to be proven. Rose promised herself she would find out how the tree came to be someday, but for now, that day would just have to wait.

"Well that's just great, the library is closed!" Rarity whispered, causing Rose to snap back to reality. "I guess we'll just have to wait until tomorrow then, right Ms. Rose Wind?" Rarity looked up at Rose, only to be surprised when she watched Rose continue to walk towards the library. "Ms. Rose Wind? What in Equestria are you doing? Didn't you hear me? The library is closed!" Rose paused only for a moment before turning her head to face Rarity.

"I have a plan Rarity, follow me," Rose whispered in return and she continued to walk towards one of the library's windows. Rarity hesitated, unsure what Rose was planning to do but decided to go with her anyway. After all, it was either get caught outside in the dark without an adult and get in a load of trouble, or go with the possibly insane adult heading towards the closed library. She quickly caught up to her and they both stood side by side outside the window that was closest to the ground. "Alright Rarity, do you trust me?"

"Do I... trust you? Um... yes... I guess?" Rarity replied, feeling rather awkward from being asked such a question. "Why? What are you up to Ms. Rose Wind?" Rose begin to push gently against the window, hoping that it was left unlocked. but unfortunately it wasn't. Rarity's eyes widened as she realized what Rose was trying to do. "Ms. Rose Wind... you aren't planning on breaking into the Golden Oaks Library are you? Because if you are, that is simply outrageous and I shall have no part in it! Take me back to your home please, I cannot believe why I even agreed to this in the first place. I-" Rarity stopped talking when Rose held up a hoof, silently telling her to be quiet since she was speaking quite loudly.

"Rarity, I need your help," Rose said quietly. She was slightly hurt by Rarity's words, but she knew the little filly was right. This was wrong and she knew it, but she simply couldn't wait any longer. She absolutely needed the proper information so she could properly take care of Peaches. She did not want Peaches to be taken away from her like the last two were. "If you can just unlock this window for me, I promise to buy every single dress you ever make for as long as you and I both live." Rarity took a step back, surprised at what she had just heard.

"Every single d- dress?" Rarity asked. Her voice quivered with excitement, but then she shook her head. "No... are you trying to bribe me Ms. Rose Wind?" Rose smiled sheepishly, which Rarity saw in the window's reflection. Rarity rolled her eyes as Rose turned around to face her.

"Rarity, please, this will be the only thing I'll ever ask of you," Rose said and she held Rarity's hoof with her own. "I don't want to lose Peaches... I want to take care of him like any mother would. I was not lying when I said I would buy every dress. Please Rarity, I'm begging you." Rarity saw that tears had begun to form in the corners of Rose's eyes when Peaches suddenly peeked out of the saddlebag and smiled at Rarity.

"Rabee!" Peaches exclaimed with glee before he disappeared back into the bag. Rarity couldn't help but smile and she sighed, knowing that she would probably regret what she was about to do.

"Ms. Rose Wind, I shall only be a moment," Rarity said as her horn began to glow. They heard a faint click come from the other side of the window as Rarity finished pushing the lock into its unlocked state. "There, that should do it. Let's move quickly before we-" She couldn't finish her sentence since Rose had let go of her hoof and gave her the tightest hug possible.

"Thank you so much Rarity, I won't ever forget this!" Rose exclaimed as quietly as she could. Rarity felt as if her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets as she tried to breathe.

"Ms. Rose Wind... I need... air..." Rarity managed to say and Rose let go of her without a second thought.

"Oh, sorry dear, I almost forgot that my hugs can be a bit of, um, a tight squeeze," Rose replied as she blushed in embarrassment.

"It's- ahem, it's quite alright Ms. Rose Wind, just remember your promise." Rose nodded and turned to face the now unlocked window.

"Don't worry Rarity, that is a promise that I'll never break."

Rose pushed against the window and watched as it silently creaked open, much to her delight and she climbed inside. Rarity followed shortly after and closed the window behind them. The library was dark and quiet, with only the sound of their breathing breaking the silence. Little did they know that as soon as they had laid their hooves on the floor, an owl that was perched above them immediately spread its wings and flew off through an open window much higher up. The library wasn't too big since all of the books could be found on the shelves on that floor. The second floor was where the librarian slept, actually, it's where she would have been sleeping currently if it weren't for the fact that it was being renovated. Rose let the musty scent of the books fill her nostrils and she sighed, still glad at the fact that they were able to get inside.

"Let's quickly get what you need and get out of here," Rarity said, which was followed by a large yawn shortly after. "I don't want to get caught in here by anypony." Rose nodded in agreement and she quickly began to search the shelves for any book that could be of use. Rarity didn't feel like searching, so instead she decided that she would be a lookout and warn Rose if anypony decided to make their way towards the library.

"Equestrian History... Daring Do... Rise of the Machines... what the heck? What kind of a book is that?" Rose muttered to herself as she continued to search the shelves. "The Secret Life of Celestia... Elements of Harmony... aha! Creatures of Equestria! Maybe I can find out just what you really are little guy." She looked into the saddlebag and gently lifted Peaches out of it. As soon as she set him down on the floor, he began to crawl around, eager to explore his new environment. "All I need now is a book that shows me how to take care of you... Rarity, could you come over here please?" Rarity looked out the window one last time, making sure that nopony was there before she made her way over to Rose.

"What do you need Ms. Rose Wind? Wait, did you call me over to tell me that we can leave now?" Rarity asked and Rose shook her head.

"Unfortunately, we can't leave yet Rarity, but I do need your assistance," Rose replied. "I've found one book that may be of use, but now I need one that specializes in the art of parenting. Two pairs of eyes are better than one pair after all." Rarity quickly scanned the bookshelf next to them and she pulled a book off of it. She flipped to a random page and Rose noticed that Rarity's eyes widened immediately after she had done so. "Um, Rarity? What did you find dear?"

"I believe I've found the book you are looking for Ms. Rose Wind," Rarity said quietly as she continued to look down at the page.

"Holy Celestia Rarity, I should have put you in charge of getting the books! May I see what you are looking at?" Rose asked. Rarity gulped and she slowly turned the book around.

"I found the feeding section of the book Ms. Rose Wind. As you can see here the foal is attached to-" Rarity didn't finish her sentence since Rose had immediately grabbed the book and put it in her saddlebag.

"Thank you very much for your help Rarity, we can go back to my home now," Rose said rather quickly, trying to take Rarity's mind off of what she just saw. "Now we just need to grab Peaches and-" There was a sudden knocking at the door, causing Rose to stop mid-sentence. Rarity gasped as both of their hearts began to race. The door then slowly creaked open as soon as it was unlocked, revealing an elderly mare holding a lantern in a night gown and glasses. An owl was perched on her back and hooted as soon as it saw Rarity and Rose. When the elderly mare, who was in fact the librarian, laid her eyes on both of them, it was clear that she wasn't happy. At all.

"What in Equestria do you think you two rascals are doing? The Golden Oaks Library is only open between the hours of nine and six!" the librarian yelled, only to cough immediately after. "Explain yourselves! And after that, I will be calling the authorities!" Rarity and Rose looked at each other and Rose sighed before she faced the librarian again. The light of the lantern caused Rose to squint her eyes and she was about to explain the situation when she saw Peaches crawling towards the librarian.

"Peaches!" Rose shouted and pointed at him with her hoof. The force of her yell startled the librarian and she looked down where Rose was pointing, only to find what was the most horrific thing she had ever seen. So horrible in fact that she fainted and slumped down against the doorway. The owl flapped its wings and hooted, trying to rouse its master but to no avail. Peaches laughed at the sight and clapped his hands together. "Good work Peaches! Come on Rarity, let's get out of here!" Rose galloped towards the doorway and picked up Peaches along the way. She quickly placed him in the saddlebag and turned around to find that Rarity had knelt next to the librarian.

"Will she be okay?" Rarity asked and she looked to Rose for confirmation. Rose quickly nodded in return. It was made clear by her face that she didn't want to remain there for very long. Seeing as she couldn't do anything for the librarian at the moment, Rarity had no choice but to get up. She joined Rose and the two of them nodded before they closed the door. Before they galloped away, Rarity's horn glowed as she shot bright blue sparks into the night sky, hoping that somepony would notice and come to investigate. Content with her work, she and Rose quickly galloped back to Rose's home, not stopping for anything. Peaches thought that this was the best ride ever and he raised his little arms out of the saddlebag and into the air as he bounced around. They at last made it back without any difficulty and both of them immediately collapsed into a pile on the floor. Peaches crawled out of the saddlebag and down the hall, leaving the two ponies to slowly recover.

"W- would you look at that Rarity, I don't know how we did it, b- but we did it," Rose said between breaths and she smiled. She knew that what they did was wrong, so very wrong, but it was all worth it. They were lucky that Peaches caused the librarian to faint, but now Rose hoped that the librarian wouldn't be able to identify them. "Do you want something to drink Rarity? Anything you want is yours, just say the word." Rarity rolled off of Rose and stood up, but she just shook her head.

"I'm quite alright for now Ms. Rose Wind. I just need to go to sleep is all," Rarity replied. She sounded awfully tired and even had trouble standing up straight. "My hooves are now dirty and can never be cleaned... ugh... I need to forget this night as soon as possible. Goodnight Ms. Rose Wind." Rarity took off her sun hat and Rose watched as she walked down the hall and disappeared into the guest bedroom. Rose heard the door close behind Rarity, only to hear it open again as Peaches floated out and was placed on the floor. The door finally closed for the last time that evening. Peaches looked slightly confused, but he quickly forgot what he was confused about and began to crawl towards Rose. Rose forced herself to stand up with what little strength she had left and she met Peaches halfway down the hall. Peaches lifted his arms towards Rose, and surprisingly, Rose figured what he wanted and she picked him up with her right foreleg.

"Thanks for the assistance tonight little guy. I just hope that the librarian will be alright, you did give her quite the scare after all," Rose said tiredly and chuckled at the memory. "But now, it's time to teach you how to live like us Peaches. I have the books we need, and as long as you don't disappear and continue to eat what I serve you, we'll get along just fine. What do you think?" Peaches looked at Rose for what felt like an eternity until he gently wrapped his arms around her neck and nuzzled his face against hers.

"Mommy," Peaches said softly which caused Rose to gasp.

"You... did you just say mommy?" Rose asked. Her heart skipped a few beats as she waited for a reply, only to finally hear a soft snoring since he had fallen asleep. Rose didn't have anything to say and just smiled. Peaches had called her mommy! She thought it would have taken longer for that to occur, especially since she thought he couldn't even speak her language. She carried the sleeping one year old over to the living room and gently laid him down on the couch. Rose quickly retrieved his blanket and placed it on top of him before leaning in to gently nuzzle his head. "Sleep well Peaches... I wonder what other secrets you are hiding from me?"

Rose walked back to the hall and picked up the two books she had gotten from the library from within her saddlebag. She brought them over to the kitchen where she planned to start on at least one of them. By the time she finished reading the first page in Creatures of Equestria, she had already fallen fast asleep at the table. As night slowly turned to day, Peaches' necklace glowed softly around his neck, but the light was gone as quickly as it had appeared.



Far away in the city of Canterlot, Princess Celestia stood on the balcony just outside of her bedroom. Like many nights before this one, she had been unable to fall asleep, but there was something else that prevented her from going to sleep this time. Celestia couldn't quite place her hoof on it though. As she slowly lowered the moon, she noticed that it was glowing unusually brighter than before. The same moon she had banished her sister to so many years ago was acting strange, which worried her. It hadn't been one thousand years yet since she banished Nightmare Moon, but it was clear that she was growing in strength. It would only be a matter of time before she would be able to break the bonds that the Elements of Harmony had placed on her.

"Sister... not a day goes by that I don't think of you... but I fear that I won't be able to stop you again when you do return," Celestia whispered quietly. "The Elements... they do not respond to me like they used to. It's as if I've lost my connection to them..." Tears began to form in her eyes and they sparkled in the moonlight as they slowly slid down her face. She blinked the tears away, for they would not benefit her in any way whatsoever. She couldn't break now, she couldn't afford to even if she wanted to. She had to be strong, strong enough to lead the ponies of Equestria and protect them. Celestia suddenly felt a disturbance, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. It didn't originate from the moon, but rather... a place she was rather attached to still. A place she thought was much better than what Canterlot had to offer. "Ponyville... I wonder what that could have been..." She quickly pushed it out of her mind and returned her focus to the moon. It would be a long time before she felt the disturbance again, but when that time did come, she would have wished she had taken action sooner.
> An Unknown Destiny (Part One)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A warm ray of sunlight shone on Rose's face as she slept in her kitchen. She snored softly, her back slowly rising and falling as she inhaled and exhaled. Something then began to shake her gently and she woke up with a start. Rose immediately looked to her right and was only able to make out a small and blurry figure, but as her sleepiness slowly faded away, she saw that it was none other than Rarity. Rarity had been awake for roughly an hour already and had decided that it was time for Rose to get up as well, since her father was supposed to arrive shortly.

"Good morning Ms. Rose Wind, did you sleep well?" Rarity asked. It took Rose a moment to understand the question before she nodded silently, which was then shortly followed by a large yawn. "That's good to hear. You should probably make yourself a bit more presentable though since my father will be here shortly to pick me up." Rarity stepped to the side as Rose stood up and stretched her legs before she slowly stumbled out of the kitchen. She went directly to the bathroom where she brushed her mane and tail as best as she could. When Rarity saw Rose again in the kitchen, she looked a bit better than before. She knew that it wasn't Rose's best, but at least she looked presentable.

"Ah... so Rarity, did you sleep well?" Rose asked. She still felt sore since she had fallen asleep sitting at the table, but at least she didn't feel very tired anymore. "I hope that everything was comfortable for you in the guest bedroom."

"Oh yes, everything was lovely Ms. Rose Wind, thank you very much," Rarity replied. She helped herself to one of the many apples that were present in Rose's fruit bowl and began to nibble on it. "I'm quite sad that I have to leave so soon, but I will definitely come and visit often. Where is Peaches by the way? I wish to say goodbye to him before I leave."

"Peaches should be on the couch in the living room dear," Rose said. "He must still be tired from last night. I don't blame him though, just look at how long I slept for!" Rose left the kitchen to check on Peaches and Rarity followed her shortly after she finished her apple. Rose sighed in relief when she saw that Peaches was still sleeping on the couch. She was worried that he might have woken up and wandered off somewhere since he liked to do that quite often. Rarity walked over to Peaches and watched as he rolled over and continued to snore.

"Goodbye Peaches, I had hoped that you would be awake already before I left, but that's alright," Rarity whispered. "Be good for Ms. Rose Wind and please try not to get too dirty. Also, your secret is safe with me." Rose and Rarity then heard something knocking on the front door and they both looked at each other. "That's probably my father. Rose, can you walk me to the front door please?" Rose nodded and the two left the living room and made their way towards the door. Rose looked through the door's peephole before she opened it, revealing Rarity's father.

"Rarity! Thank goodness you're alright!" Magnum exclaimed. He quickly embraced his daughter and hugged her tightly. Rose stood there and watched the two until she coughed, allowing her to get Magnum's attention. He released Rarity and slowly stood up as he regained his composure. "Oh, Ms. Rose Wind! I'm glad that you're okay as well."

"If you don't mind me asking Mr. Magnum, what are you talking about?" Rose asked. As far as Rose was concerned, nothing bad had happened in Ponyville at all recently. What was Magnum talking about?

"Haven't you heard? Dusty Paper the librarian was attacked last night. She claims that it was some sort of tiny monster with tentacles," Magnum said. "No serious harm was done, but there are now two books unaccounted for. Creatures of Equestria and for some reason, Parenting and You. Very peculiar don't you agree?"

Rose's heart was racing as her eyes darted towards the direction of the living room before she looked at Magnum again. She gulped and nodded in agreement, hoping that Peaches would not wake up until Magnum had left.

"O- of course. That sounds very peculiar, very peculiar indeed," Rose replied nervously. "I hope that monster doesn't come back. That would be just awful." Magnum looked at Rose carefully before he nodded as well.

"Indeed. Well Ms. Rose Wind, thank you very much for taking care of Rarity on such short notice. What do you have to say to Ms. Rose Wind Rarity?" Rarity quickly stepped forward and hugged Rose with all of her might.

"Thank you for quite the interesting evening Ms. Rose Wind. I hope we see each other again very soon," Rarity said and she let go of Rose and returned to her father's side. Magnum then took out a small satchel of bits from within his coat and held it out towards Rose.

"Here is your payment Ms. Rose Wind. I would love to stay and chat, but I'm afraid there are some errands that I have to run," Magnum said as Rose took the payment and placed it on a nearby table. "I hope you have a wonderful morning." Rose watched as Magnum lifted Rarity onto his back and they walked away. She waited until they had disappeared from view and she slowly closed the door just as Peaches crawled around the corner from the living room.

"Soha... Rabee?" Peaches asked. He rubbed his eyes and yawned as Rose lifted him up and carried him to the kitchen. She lowered him onto to one of the chairs and she pulled one over next to him before she sat down as well.

"Good morning Peaches, thank goodness you didn't wake up sooner. I thought I was going to have to explain to Mr. Magnum why I had taken in yet another creature," she said and gently nuzzled his head. "And then the whole town would have discovered you, but you're not a monster, you're my little Peaches! Are you ready to start learning today?" Peaches stuck one of his fingers up his nose as his other hand reached towards the fruit bowl. He grunted as he opened and closed his hand. "What is it Peaches? Oh! That's right! I almost forgot that you and I haven't eaten breakfast yet. Let's take care of that and then at last we can begin."

Rose stood up and walked over to the fruit bowl. She at first considered making a full meal, but she ultimately decided that she and Peaches should just have something small for now. Rose looked over the various fruits in the fruit bowl, trying to decide which ones to take back for herself and Peaches. She couldn't make up her mind, so instead she just picked up the fruit bowl and brought it back over to Peaches. Peaches quickly grabbed the nearest fruit without any hesitation and began to munch away at it. He had chosen an apple, so Rose heard every single crunch he made as she picked out her own apple and moved the two books from the library between the two of them.

"Let's begin by figuring out just what you are exactly Peaches," Rose said. She picked up Creatures of Equestria and opened it to the page that she had stopped on last night when she fell asleep. The first chapter was just a bunch of useless information, much to her disappointment, but it wasn't until she got to the second chapter that things started to get interesting. Rose decided that if she was going to find out what Peaches really was, she might as well tell him about Equestria's inhabitants, starting with herself. 

"Look at this Peaches, this is an Earth Pony, this is what I am." She moved the book towards Peaches so he could get a closer look and he touched the illustration with his free hand that wasn't occupied with the apple. He then looked at Rose and placed his hand on her muzzle. "That's right Peaches, very good! Now let's see what you think about the next one." Rose flipped through a couple of more pages until she found the next pony race, which were the Unicorns. "Now this Peaches is a Unicorn. They are able to use their magic to accomplish a whole bunch of tasks by simply using their horns." Peaches looked at the illustration of the Unicorn and he placed his hand on his forehead, successfully creating a poor representation of a horn which Rose couldn't help but giggle at.

For the rest of the day, Rose taught Peaches all about the creatures in Equestria, well, what she knew about them anyway. She saw that Peaches was surprisingly smart since he was able to recognize creatures when they went back to look at them again. Or he just had an excellent memory. They took frequent breaks throughout the day to stretch, eat, and use the bathroom. Rose used these breaks to her advantage to begin training Peaches how to use the bathroom, since there was no way in Equestria that she was going to change him every time he soiled himself. Near the end of the book, Rose was rather disappointed since they didn't find any illustrations or even sections that mentioned what Peaches was. Instead, all she found was some weird illustration of a bug, and it was very poorly drawn. She looked up at the clock on her wall and her eyes widened as she suddenly realized how late it was.

"Oh my goodness! Where did the day go?" Rose asked herself as she stood up and stretched her legs. "Oh well, it was time definitely well spent though, what do you think Peaches?" She looked over at Peaches, only to discover that he had already fallen asleep. His mouth was wide open which allowed drool to ooze out of his mouth and it gathered in a small puddle on the table. "There is still so much for you to learn little guy... I'm happy that we are progressing much faster than I had thought we would. It'll only be a matter of time until you are ready to roam about and go to school and explore! Gosh, you have no idea what I would give to experience that same feeling again little guy... and there I go rambling on again!" 

She carefully lifted Peaches up and onto her back before she made her way to her bedroom. She didn't want Peaches to be in a room on his own just yet, so she decided that she would just have to share her bed for now. Inside her bedroom, she gently placed Peaches on her bed and did her best to tuck him in. "Goodnight Peaches, I think I'll have you help me in the garden tomorrow. Nopony can see inside the greenhouse from the outside, so we should be just fine. Sweet dreams little one." She nuzzled his cheek before she climbed onto the bed herself and curled up next to him. The bed was definitely much more comfortable than the kitchen table



Many Months Later...

"This place is such a mess! Ugh... and they'll be here in less than an hour!" Rose exclaimed. She picked up a pair of pants off the floor and tossed it into the nearby laundry hamper. She wanted to make her home look as presentable as possible for the Ponyville School Board Directors, but that was quite hard to do since she lived with Peaches. 

Over the last couple of months, Peaches had been growing at a rate unlike anything Rose had ever seen before. He went from looking like a one year old to looking like he was the same age as Rarity and the other fillies and colts. Fortunately, Rarity had stopped by often to drop off clothes for Peaches since he had outgrown the other ones she made before he could even have time to enjoy them fully. Rose was indeed grateful for Rarity's help and even offered to pay her, but Rarity denied any payment. She didn't give any reason as to why she denied payment, only telling Rose that she was just being generous. She was simply glad that it helped her practice her skills.

"Peaches! Could you come here please! Nap time is over!" Rose shouted. She heard movement come from Peaches' bedroom as Peaches landed on all fours and made his way towards the kitchen. He walked like any pony would, putting his right hand forward then moving his left foot before he did the same thing with his other limbs. Of course, he didn't call them hands or feet, they were his hooves, just like his Mother said. Rose heard him enter the kitchen and when she turned around, she had to stifle a giggle as she looked at his hair. It was standing upright in all directions, as if he was just shocked. "Ah! Th- ahem, there you are Peaches. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes Mommy, why did you want me?" Peaches asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Don't you remember Peaches? Today is a very special day," Rose replied as she began to wipe the table with a wash cloth. "The Ponyville School Board Directors are stopping by soon. I'm going to try and get you into school, just like I promised."

"School?" Peaches asked when he suddenly remembered what it was. "Oh! School! Yay! When does it start Mommy? Can we go now? Please please please? I want to go so-"

"Woah! One step at a time little guy. First I need you to help me clean up a little and then we can make you look nice for when they arrive. Are you with me?" Rose asked and Peaches nodded in agreement. "Excellent, let's get to it then!" 

Rose continued to clean and only had Peaches assist her when she needed it, such as when she swept the floor. He held the dustpan which made the job much less difficult. From the kitchen they moved on to the living room where the meeting was to take place. Rose moved her possessions out of the way which allowed Peaches to dust the places that seriously needed it. When he needed to reach the shelves above them, Rose lifted Peaches onto her back. As he dusted the framed photos on the shelves, he saw one photo that caught his eye. It was taken when he was younger since it showed Rose holding him in a bundle of cloth. He briefly wondered if Rarity was the one who took the photo, but quickly forgot about it as he slid off of Rose's back.

"That should be good enough for now Peaches, good job," Rose said as she took the duster away from him. "Now that's out of the way, we can fix that shaggy mane of yours! I hope that the Directors don't arrive while-" Rose was interrupted when she and Peaches both heard a knock on her door, causing Rose's heart to race. "Gah! They are here already! Quickly Peaches, go put on something that is not your pajamas, I'll call for you when we're ready."

"But Mommy, what about my hair? You said my mane needs to be fixed right?" Peaches asked. He was still slightly confused as Rose began to gently push him out of the living room and down the hall.

"Just, uh, do what you can Peaches, and whatever you do, do not come out until I call for you."

"But Mommy I-"

"I'll be in the living room Peaches, just stay here in your room and try to make yourself look nice." She gently nudged him into his room and closed the door behind him. She felt bad that she couldn't fix up his mane in time, but this meeting was just too important. Not as important as Peaches, but it was important enough that it could affect his future. She heard knocking on her door once more just as she approached and opened it, revealing a trio of ponies. Two of them were stallions and the one that was knocking on her door was a mare. All of them were dressed as if they were attending a fancy dinner. Rose felt rather embarrassed since she hadn't even thought about wearing something equally as nice. She did her best to remain calm though and smiled, although it felt rather forced. "Good morning! You must be the Directors, correct?"

"Indeed we are. Are you Ms. Rose Wind?" the mare asked and Rose nodded. "Excellent. We have a busy schedule this afternoon Ms. Rose Wind, so hopefully this will be short and sweet." She walked past Rose and the other two ponies followed her inside shortly after. Rose hadn't even invited them in yet, but she chose to ignore the fact and closed the door.

"If you would all follow me please, I wish to have this discussion in the living room," Rose said as she carefully squeezed past them. She led them to the living room and gestured her hoof towards the couch where the Directors quickly sat down. She pulled up a chair of her own and sat down across from them. At first they just stared at each other silently when the mare suddenly cleared her throat.

"Before we begin, let me introduce myself," the mare said. "My name is Poetic Breeze. The stallion to my left is Inky Blotches and the one to my right is Crinkle Parchment. We are here today because you wish to enroll somepony into our education system. Is that correct Ms. Rose Wind?"

"Yes, that is correct," Rose replied as she nodded. "I wish to enroll my son Peaches."

"Ah! So Peaches is the little colt's name? That's a wonderful name," Poetic Breeze said. She clapped her hooves together and Crinkle Parchment brought out a small but very thick book from within his shirt pocket. He gave it to Poetic Breeze just as Inky Blotches brought out a quill and an ink pot and placed them on the coffee table. She then opened the book and began to scan through it. "Let's see here... Peaches should have been added when he was born, but in your letter you said there was a mix up, correct?" Rose nodded and continued to smile, but inside she was a bit nervous. She desperately hoped that they would buy her story and add her son to the book. "Interesting... so Peaches has indeed not been registered. We can solve that problem easily Ms. Rose Wind, all we need from you is his birth certificate and of course, your son must be present as well. Is he here currently?"

"Why yes he is! I'll get the papers and I'll bring him back with me. This shouldn't take too long," Rose replied. She stood up and walked to the kitchen where she had left Peaches' birth certificate. Of course Peaches didn't have a real birth certificate, but that didn't stop her. Rose had planned ahead of time and after some rather shady and uncomfortable deals, she had successfully obtained a birth certificate. Yes, it was a fake, but it looked authentic enough. Rose hoped that it was enough to fool the Directors. She lifted the fruit bowl and quickly grabbed the certificate and some papers before she left to get Peaches.

"Peaches? Come on out, the Directors would like to meet you," Rose said and she opened the door to his room. Peaches had been patiently sitting on his bed and he looked a thousand times better than he did just a few minutes ago. His mane was no longer shaggy and it looked to have been bushed to perfection. Even his clothes matched, which was something Peaches definitely wasn't good at doing. In fact, as Rose continued to look at him, she thought he looked a bit too good... and then she noticed that his window was open. "Peaches... why is your window open?" Peaches simply shrugged his shoulders and pretended that nothing was out of the ordinary. "Peaches... you can't lie to me. I could recognize that style of brushing anywhere. I know you're there Rarity, you don't have to hide." Rose heard a sigh as Rarity poked her head out on the other side of the bed and she gave Rose a guilty smile.

"H- hello Ms. Rose Wind. I was just walking through town and as I passed your house I remembered that you had that meeting today, so I-" Rarity stopped talking when Rose held up a hoof and smiled at her.

"So Peaches let you in and you fixed him up, didn't you?" Rose asked and Rarity nodded. "Well, I have to say he does look quite handsome, but I can't keep the Directors waiting for much longer. You can stay here if you want and wait until they are gone. We can have a proper visit afterwards."

"I think I'll do just that Ms. Rose Wind. I wish you and Peaches the best of luck," Rarity said. Rose smiled as she and Peaches left his room and returned to the living room. When they arrived there, the three ponies on the couch were whispering to each other and stopped as soon as they noticed that Rose had returned.

"Ah! There you are Ms. Rose Wind, we were beginning to wonder what was taking you so long," Poetic Breeze said. She craned her head to the left and to the right and she became concerned. "I see you've brought the papers, but where is your son? He has to be here in order for us to complete the process."

"He is kind of shy, but don't worry, he's here," Rose said. "Come on out Peaches! The Directors want to say hi to you!" She stepped to the side as Peaches appeared around the corner and smiled weakly. At first, the Directors couldn't believe what they were seeing. Peaches was definitely not what they expected and they each began to slap each other. When it turned out that they all weren't imagining it, the three immediately began whispering to each other.

"What in Equestria is that thing!?" Inky Blotches whispered to his fellow co-workers. "Is that thing... Peaches... is he even a pony?" They all looked up at Peaches before they lowered their heads again. "He sure doesn't look like it... do we have rules about other species wanting to enroll?"

"Now now, he might look very... different, but that doesn't mean he isn't a pony," Poetic Breeze whispered. "If there aren't any rules against other races and the papers are in order, then I don't see why we shouldn't allow him to go to school."

"To be honest, if he is a pony, I pity the poor thing," Crinkle Parchment whispered. "His, er... hooves look like mutated legs. His muzzle is way too small and so are his eyes and his rear is way up in the air! Are you sure we should even be considering this Poetic Breeze? The more I look at him... the more he reminds me of that monster that was spotted recently."

"Um, excuse me? Is everything alright over there?" Rose asked, causing the Directors to raise their heads. "Will my son be allowed to attend school?" The trio remained silent as Crinkle Parchment brought out another book. Rose saw that it wasn't as thick as the other one and instead of answering her question, they opened it up and began to skim through it. After some time had passed, Poetic Breeze nodded at both of her co-workers and sighed as she closed the rule book.

"Ms. Rose Wind, may we see the papers please?" Poetic Breeze asked. Rose didn't hesitate to give her the papers and Poetic Breeze placed them neatly on the table. "Thank you, this will only take a moment Ms. Rose Wind." She divided the papers between herself and the other two ponies and they finished reviewing it in no time at all. The three ponies placed the papers back on the table and Poetic Breeze pushed the book towards Rose, along with the quill and ink pot. "After some review, we see no reason why Peaches shouldn't be allowed to enroll into our education system, as different as he may be. Just sign his name Ms. Rose Wind and we will be done here."

"W- wha- Oh, yes of course!" Rose exclaimed excitedly. She opened up the book to a fresh page and picked up the quill that laid before her. She quickly dipped it into the ink pot and scribbled Peaches' name into the book before she dropped the quill and watched as the ink dried on the page. Poetic Breeze suddenly closed the book and gave it to Crinkle Parchment. He returned it inside his shirt and Inky Blotches did the same with the quill and the ink pot.

"Thank you very much Ms. Rose Wind, your son is now registered," Poetic Breeze said and she smiled. "Good thing too, you did it just before school started back up again." Rose walked over to Poetic Breeze and hugged her tightly, much to Poetic Breeze's surprise.

"Thank you so very much! I'm so happy that things worked out!" Rose exclaimed and she released Poetic Breeze from her hug. "And there weren't any issues at all?" Poetic Breeze looked at Inky Blotches and he shook his head. There weren't any rules that stated that different species weren't allowed, but it didn't matter anyway since Peaches' birth certificate said that he was a legal pony born in Equestria.

"None at all Ms. Rose Wind," Poetic Breeze replied. "Although before we leave, there are some things we wish to tell you." Poetic Breeze walked over to the window and looked outside. The sun was beginning to sink, so she decided to be quick about it. "Two things Ms. Rose Wind. First, it would probably be a good idea if you attended the open house tomorrow with Peaches. Let him meet some of the fillies and colts so he doesn't accidentally... startle them on the first day. Second, there have been reports of a monster prowling the town at night recently Ms. Rose Wind. Nopony has really been harmed, well, except for that one poor fellow, so I suggest that you... you be careful after it gets dark."

"Oh, of course we will be careful Poetic Breeze, thank you for notifying me," Rose said and Poetic Breeze turned around and nodded. "Thank you for everything. All three of you."

"Indeed. Have a good evening Ms. Rose Wind. Inky Blotches, Crinkle Parchment, I believe it is about time we left." The two stallions nodded in agreement and the trio left the living room. Rose heard the door open and waited until it closed before she began jumping around the room.

"We did it Peaches! We did it!" Rose shouted joyfully and she picked Peaches up and placed him on her back. "You can go to school now! Rarity! Rarity come quick!" Rarity appeared just seconds later to find that Rose had started dancing, which Rarity found to be hilarious. "Did you hear Rarity? Peaches is going to school! He's going to be in your class now!"

"Yes, I heard you from Peaches' bedroom Ms. Rose Wind. I can't believe your plan actually worked!" Rarity replied. "He'll be in a lower grade than I, but yes, it seems we will now share the same classroom in two days."

"Wait... Mommy? I'm gonna go to school with Rarity?" Peaches asked. He looked over at Rarity and she nodded, which caused a huge smile to grow on his face. "Yay! This is gonna be awesome Rarity!"

"I believe this calls for a mini celebration," Rose said. "And guess what? I have a peach pie that I baked last night in the fridge just waiting to be reheated!" Peaches gasped and his mouth began to water. Peaches have been his favourite fruit for as long as he could remember, and putting the fruit into a pie was simply delicious. "Come join us at the table Rarity. I'm sure you have enough time for a slice before you have to go home. What do you say?"

"I would be delighted to have a slice of your pie Ms. Rose Wind," Rarity replied. "Everypony in Ponyville knows that you grow the best fruits, especially now since you provide them for Sugarcube Corner!" Rose chuckled as she remembered the grand opening of Sugarcube Corner that occurred a couple of weeks ago. She had to conceal Peaches somehow since he was far too big for saddlebags. In the end, she simply put him on her back and covered him with a sheet. It was simple but effective. She pretended that what she was carrying was just something fragile when somepony asked her what it was. The three then made their way over to the kitchen where Rose began to reheat the pie. A few minutes later they were all sitting down at the table, enjoying the sweet and sticky goodness that the pie had to offer. The pie did not last very long and soon they were all relaxing in their chairs, the taste of the pie still on their lips.

"Now that is what I call a pie," Rose said and she yawned. She wasn't surprised that she was tired since all of her hard work getting to this point had finally paid off. She only hoped now that Peaches would be accepted by the others. Rose had known immediately that the Directors felt uncomfortable with Peaches when they first laid their eyes on him. Hopefully the other ponies in Ponyville would not be like them. "So Rarity, how have you been lately dear?"

"Oh you know Ms. Rose Wind, same old stuff as usual," Rarity replied. "Actually... have you heard about the new family that just moved in to Ponyville?"

"New family... oh yes! I've heard about them. They are rock farmers right?' Rose asked and Rarity nodded. "What was their last name again? Pickle... no that's not it. Pine? No, that doesn't sound right either. Oh! Was it-"

"They are the Pie family Ms. Rose Wind," Rarity said and giggled. "Pickle... If I ever meet a pony that has that name I'll eat my mane. Anyway, I bumped into them today at the market and I think I probably met the strangest pony ever. Pinkamena Diane Pie I believe was her name."

"Ah, so is this Pinkamena the same age as you?" Rose asked and Rarity nodded once more.

"Surprisingly, yes she is, she'll be at the open house tomorrow, along with... ugh... Applejack."

"Applejack? Isn't she that little filly on that apple farm over yonder? By the way you said her name, it sounds like you two don't get along very well."

"Well... I guess you could put it that way Ms. Rose Wind. She's just not..."

"Fabulous?" Peaches asked. Rarity and Rose both looked at Peaches before they burst out laughing. Rose knew she shouldn't have been laughing, but by the way Peaches said fabulous she just simply couldn't help herself.

"Y- yes, I guess you could say that Peaches," Rarity replied as her laughter faded away. "It's not that we don't like each other, we just don't really work well together, especially when it comes to fashion."

"Alright that's enough now Rarity. We don't want to give Peaches the wrong idea about Applejack when we go to the open house tomorrow," Rose said. "Let him form his own opinion on her, you never know what could happen."

"Ms. Rose Wind... do you think other ponies will accept Peaches the way he is tomorrow? Because to be honest, I'm not sure he'll receive quite the warm welcome you are expecting," Rarity said. Her thoughts drifted to the drawing of the monster that had been posted in the market earlier that day. When she saw it she had to look at it twice just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. The monster looked somewhat like Peaches, except it walked on two legs instead of four and was very tall. She was sure that everypony in town must have had seen it by now and she was worried that they might relate Peaches to that... that thing.

"I think they will, why shouldn't they? It's not like Peaches is dangerous or anything," Rose said. "Actually, I want you to help Peaches out tomorrow Rarity if you can. The only ponies he knows are just you and I. Show the other fillies and colts that he is just like any other pony." Rarity couldn't bring herself to say no to Rose's request, having become good friends with Rose and especially Peaches who looked up to her.

"I... yes Ms. Rose Wind, I would be happy to help Peaches tomorrow," Rarity replied and she hoped that she wouldn't have to regret her decision. "I really must get going now though Ms. Rose Wind, otherwise I won't make it home in time before dark. Thank you for the pie and I'll see you and Peaches tomorrow." She stood up and quickly hugged Peaches and Rose before she made her way towards the door.

"Bye bye Rarity!" Peaches shouted as he landed on all fours and began to follow her to the door. "See you tomorrow, right?" Rarity smiled and turned her head to face Peaches.

"That's right Peaches, I'll see you tomorrow morning. You are going to make some new friends tomorrow, I promise," Rarity said and waved goodbye just as Rose appeared from the kitchen. Rarity then left and the door closed behind her with a dull thud.

"That was nice of Rarity to stop by, wasn't it Peaches?" Rose asked and Peaches slowly nodded his head and yawned. "I believe it's time we get you to bed little guy, you have a big day tomorrow!" Peaches didn't budge from where he was so Rose had to gently turn him around and nudge him in order to get him to move. What could have taken only a few seconds turned into a few minutes as Peaches moved inch by inch down the hall. At last they reached his room and Rose lifted him up and onto his bed with her head. Peaches quickly made himself comfortable underneath his blankets and he rolled over and looked at Rose.

"Mommy?"

"Yes Peaches? What is it?" Rose asked gently.

"Do you think... do you think the other ponies will like me?"

"Of course they will Peaches, in fact, I think you'll be the most popular of them all!" Rose's kind words caused Peaches to smile and he sat up and hugged her as tight as he could.

"I love you Mommy," Peaches whispered as he continued to hug her, not wanting to let go due to how warm she was. He could feel her chest moving up and down at a gentle rhythm, up... and down... Rose waited patiently until at last she heard Peaches begin to snore. She gently lowered him onto his bed and nuzzled his forehead. His grip had weakened tremendously so she was able to escape from his grip with ease.

"I love you too Peaches." She gently removed his necklace and put it on his bedside table before she slowly walked out of the room. She then flicked off the light and closed the door, leaving Peaches to dream peacefully as the moon bathed his face with its soft light.



A lone figure was perched in a tree just outside of Ponyville and she watched the moon as it slowly continued to rise. She knew that she would have to wait until the moon was much higher before she could set foot into the small town, which for some reason was filled with a bunch of sentient coloured ponies. She had stumbled across the town a couple of days ago, and it was a good thing she did too. Her supplies had run dangerously low, and as much as she didn't want to steal from the innocent little town, she knew that she had no choice.

The figure stretched her arms since she didn't want them to become too stiff. She quickly rummaged through her bag she had stolen the other day and pulled out a faded picture from within. She held the photo up to the light coming from the moon and it revealed herself and two other figures she still held dear to her. One who had a hand on her shoulder, and one that she carried in her arms. She would have cried as she looked at the photo, but Clara had no tears left to shed. Her eyes focused on the bundle of cloth before she quickly stuffed the photo back into her bag.

"I have wandered around in this dreadful forest for far too long," she whispered to herself. "I have been battered, I have been sliced, bruised, and I have even starved, but I have not given up on you Oliver. I never will." She jumped down from the tree and rolled cross the dirt ground for a short distance before she quickly looked to her left and then her right. She didn't see any sign of the ponies she had encountered last night, they were probably too scared to step out of their own homes now. Clara moved quickly and quietly towards what she considered to be the marketplace, sticking to the shadows as to not be seen. Living in the forest for months had taught her many skills, more than the time she spent with the military back home. Fortunately she did have military training, otherwise she wouldn't have even survived the first night. Clara suddenly stopped and dived behind a few bushes as a light appeared up ahead, which was soon followed by a group of ponies carrying a mix of lanterns and torches.

Clara listened carefully to them as they walked past her and held her breath. She couldn't understand a word they said, but she didn't care. She waited until the light had disappeared before she crawled out from behind the bush and continued to make her way towards the market. Clara didn't encounter any more ponies on her way to the market and when she arrived, she immediately began to scavenge for anything she felt she needed. She was able to break into the locked stalls with ease by simply tearing away the flimsy wood panelling. Clara had certainly become a lot stronger from the time she had spent in the forest. She hoped that tonight she would be able to find some sort of sewing kit since she had been wearing the same clothes for months. Of course she washed them whenever it was necessary, but washing them unfortunately does not fix the tears and holes she had accumulated.

When she had taken as much as she could carry, she began to make her way back to the forest when a piece of paper nailed to a pole caught her eye. Curious, she approached the pole and saw that the paper had on it a crudely drawn representation of herself. She quickly tore it down and stuffed it into what little space she had left in her bag and sighed. She never wanted to be seen as a monster, but the pony from the other night had charged at her. She didn't kill the poor thing, but what she had done had obviously given her a bad reputation. Suddenly, multiple lights appeared around Clara and they slowly began to move towards her. She looked closely at the lights, only to discover that they were in fact lanterns being carried by the ponies.

"So... they thought they would be able to catch me here eh?" Clara whispered. "Heh, too bad for them, I'm not really in the mood to be captured tonight." One of the ponies yelled something and they all began to converge on her location. When they reached the pole however, they discovered that she was gone.

"What the hay? Where did the monster go?" one of the ponies asked and the rest of them shook their heads. "How can something so tall just disappear? That thing was right there! Gah! Spread out boys, we are not letting the monster slip through our hooves again!" The rest of them nodded in agreement and they quickly dispersed to scout out other parts of the town. When the coast was clear, Clara slowly continued to climb the pole and she jumped to a nearby roof. The straw was soft beneath her feet as she ran and jumped from roof top to roof top. She was fortunate that there weren't any ponies with wings that time, otherwise they would have found her for sure. Lights turned on as she leapt from each roof until at last she made it to the edge of the town. She jumped from the roof and landed on a bed of flowers below that cushioned her fall. From there she sprinted back towards the safety of the forest. Little did she know that in that very same forest, she would soon see a face that she hadn't seen in a very long time.
> An Unknown Destiny (Part Two)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	As the morning sun slowly rose above the horizon, Rose was still sleeping in her usual curled up position. The door to her bedroom slowly creaked open, which was shortly followed by small thumps on the wooden floor. Peaches grabbed Rose's blankets and pulled himself up onto her bed, only to discover that she was still sleeping. A grin appeared on Peaches' face as a plan hatched inside his head. He would execute it on the count of three. One... two...

"Three!" Peaches shouted and he began to bounce up and down on Rose's bed. Her mattress was springy, so Peaches didn't have any problem bouncing up and down as he waited for Rose to get out of bed. "Mom! Mom! Wake up! Wake up! School!" Rose suddenly yawned and opened her eyes, much to Peaches' delight. Rose smiled at her son as she watched him continue to bounce, only to immediately gasp as she slipped off of the side of the bed and thumped onto the floor.

"Mommy! Are you okay?" Peaches asked. He crawled over to the side of the bed and slowly peered over the edge to see if she was okay.

"Boo!" Rose exclaimed as she popped up from the ground, causing Peaches to reel back and fall on his behind. Peaches sat in stunned silence for a second before a huge smile broke across his face and he clapped his hands. "Mommy is just fine Peaches, are you ready for the open house today?" Peaches nodded his head rapidly as Rose brushed some dirt away that she had accumulated on her coat.

"Yeah! I'm going to school today! Let's go let's go!" Peaches shouted excitedly before he hopped off of the bed and crawled as fast as he could out of the room. Rose just shook her head and chuckled as she followed him out of her room.

"Well, school actually begins tomorrow Peaches," Rose said. "We are just going there today to meet your teacher and all the other fillies and colts that will be there! First things first though, we have to eat some breakfast. I am starving!" They both went into the kitchen and Peaches sat down at the table as Rose began to make a quick breakfast for the two of them. 

After their bellies were full, Peaches crawled over to the front door and stared at it, eager to go and see the world that was just at his doorstep. He was both excited and nervous, for he had never really seen much beyond the door, only catching quick glimpses when Rarity came to visit or when Rose went to pick up groceries. The closest he had been to being outside was the greenhouse they had in the back, but even that couldn't be compared to what he had imagined when Rose read him stories about ponies going off on epic adventures.

"Hang on Peaches! I just need to put on my hat and we'll be ready to go," Rose said as she walked down the hall. She took off her sun hat from the nearby coat rack and placed it firmly on her head. "Alright little guy! Are you ready?" She looked down at Peaches and he nodded his head. He was more than ready to leave the confines of the house. Rose reached for the doorknob when she suddenly stopped just inches away from it. Her thoughts had drifted to what Rarity had said last night, about Peaches not being accepted for the way he was.

"Mommy?" Peaches asked confusedly and looked up at Rose. She quickly shook her head and looked down at Peaches with a warm smile on her face. She had removed such thoughts from her mind and without hesitating, she grabbed the doorknob and twisted it. They heard a faint click as the door's mechanisms unlocked and Rose gently pushed on it, causing the door to creak open. Sunlight immediately poured into the entrance of the hall and Peaches shielded his eyes to protect them from harm. 

A gentle breeze combed its way through Peaches' hair and he inhaled deeply, letting the fresh air fill his lungs. Rose gave him a little nudge and he began to slowly leave the house. First one hand, then a foot, then the other hand, until at last Peaches had made it all the way outside of the house. The door closed behind him with a thud before Rose appeared alongside him. A little ant scurried about on the dirt ground and Peaches watched as it crawled across his hand before it continued on its way.

"Remember Peaches, stay close to me, but I promise that everything will be okay," Rose said. Peaches gulped as he nodded his head. He trusted his mother, he knew that she would never lie to him. They didn't waste anymore time just standing around and the two slowly but surely began to make their way towards the school. It wasn't long until other ponies noticed the pair and they stopped to stare at them as they walked past. Rose noticed that some of the onlookers pointed at them, whispering things that she was just simply too far away to hear. However, a few of them didn't realize just how loud they were talking and Rose caught pieces of their conversations.

"Is that the crazy mare Rose Wind?" one of them asked. "What in Equestria is that thing next to her?"

"Great, another one of her crazy adoptions..." another one sighed. "Is it just me? Or does that thing next to her look very much like that picture I saw in the market? Where is that picture anyway?"

Rose shook her head in disgust, but she simply ignored what the onlookers had to say as she and Peaches continued on their way to the school. None of them knew Peaches. Why were they acting so strange? So... so ridiculous? Rose felt as if she was missing something, but she just couldn't place it. Roughly ten minutes later, they had at last come into view of the school. It was a small and cozy building with a tall flagpole in the front. Rose wouldn't have chosen the colour red for the building, but that was just her. As Peaches and Rose approached the building, many parents, along with their own fillies and colts, had already arrived and were busy getting caught up with each other's lives.

"Mommy! School!" Peaches exclaimed excitedly and began to pull ahead of Rose, only to be stopped by her hoof.

"You can't gallop off just yet Peaches, we have to meet your teacher first, then you can go off and meet with the other fillies and colts," Rose said and gently pulled him back to her side. Some parents had already noticed Rose and Peaches and they immediately stopped what they were doing to stare at them. Peaches noticed this and looked up at one of the parents, only to watch as the stallion turned his head away from him.

"Mommy, why is everypony so quiet?" Peaches asked. He spoke softly since he didn't want the other ponies to hear what he had to say to his mom.

"They are quiet because they just can't wait to get to know you," Rose replied. She shot an angry glance at the stallion as she and Peaches made their way to the front door of the school. The door suddenly opened before them and a mare and her filly stepped out. Rose and the other pony locked eyes momentarily before the mare noticed Peaches and shielded her daughter from him. Rose just sighed and gently pulled Peaches with her as they walked past the mare and into the school.

The inside of the school was brightly lit by multiple lights that were scattered throughout the ceiling. Rose noticed that the room smelled quite musty and the floorboards creaked beneath them with each step they took. Fond memories of her school years flashed through her mind, as well as bad memories of her old teacher, Ms. Thorn. Rose shuddered at the bad memories and pushed them out of her thoughts as she and Peaches approached the teacher. The teacher was occupied with another pair of parents, but as soon as she saw Peaches and Rose, she excused herself from her current conversation and walked over to them with a smirk on her face.

"Why hello Ms. Rose Wind, what brings you to my open house?" the teacher asked. She smiled sweetly at them, but Rose was too stunned to reply. The old mare before her was her old teacher, Ms. Thorn, there was no mistaking it. 

Ms. Thorn had an ash grey mane that was pulled back into a bun and a dark green coat. Her eyes were a dark red that were partially covered by the same pair of glasses from when Rose was a filly. Ms. Thorn's cutie mark consisted of a book wrapped with thorns, which showed her apparent love for teaching. Rose knew Ms. Thorn's tricks all too well however, having spent many hours with her after school when she was just a filly. Rose was actually quite surprised that Ms. Thorn was still teaching, but she could still tell that the smile on her old teacher's face was clearly fake.

"Good morning Ms. Thorn, you look as young as ever," Rose replied, which caused Ms. Thorn's smile to turn into a scowl. "I'm here to introduce my son to his teacher, he starts here tomorrow."

"Ah yes, I've heard all about that from the Directors, where is your little colt anyway? Your little Peaches?" Ms. Thorn asked. She looked down at Peaches who was busy itching his nose and looked back at Rose. "Is Peaches... this thing? You have to be pulling my leg Ms. Rose Wind, I don't teach pets. Now really, where is your colt?" Rose took a deep breath and did her best to remain calm. There was no way she was going to make a scene, not in front of Peaches and especially not in front of Ms. Thorn.

"Ms. Thorn, this is Peaches," Rose replied and pulled Peaches in front of her. "He is not a pet, he is a pony like everypony else. You'll be teaching him tomorrow. If that happens to be such an issue with you, then you can meet again with the Directors and explain to them why you refuse to teach a student!" Ms. Thorn took a small step back, surprised at how defensive of Peaches Rose had become. Rose had promised herself that she wouldn't make a scene, but her voice had become louder which caused some of the parents outside to gather at the school's windows. They wanted to see what all the commotion was about.

"Now now Ms. Rose Wind, let's not get carried away. There are children here after all," Ms. Thorn scoffed. Rose felt her cheeks become flushed with embarrassment as she took deep breaths to calm herself down. Ms. Thorn's insults were definitely not helping the situation. "Now then, before all of Ponyville decides to come and watch you blow hot air, I never said I wouldn't teach Peaches Ms. Rose Wind. I was just... surprised at his appearance."  She looked over at Peaches and eyed him up and down before she knelt to his level. "I'll see you tomorrow Peaches, I hope you are ready because I'm going to push you past your limits, in the pursuit of knowledge that is." Ms. Thorn then stood up and brushed away some dirt off of her hooves as she cleared her throat. "This was a pleasant chat Ms. Rose Wind, but I'm afraid that there are other parents who need my attention. Ta ta for now."

Rose watched as Ms. Thorn turned her back on them and returned to the other parents who had listened awkwardly to their conversation from afar. Rose sighed and decided that she and Peaches needed some fresh air. They both walked back outside in silence and went around the side of the school where they sat down at a wooden picnic table.

"Well... that could have gone a lot better than what I had expected. I'm terribly sorry you had to see me that way Peaches, I promise it won't happen again," Rose said and gently nudged Peaches with her hoof. "What did you think of your teacher Peaches?" Peaches had crossed his arms and his head rested on top of them. He didn't respond at all to Rose's question. "Hey little guy, are you all right?" Rose's face was quickly filled with worry as she nudged him again. "Peaches?" Peaches slowly turned his head to face his mother and coughed.

"Mommy... do you really think I'll like it here?" Peaches asked. "Ms. Thorn... she's scary! And why did she call me a... a pet?" Rose turned to face Peaches and embraced him with a hug, which Peaches slowly did in return.

"Don't think about what she said Peaches, you are my son, and that's all there is to it," Rose whispered softly and lifted his chin so he could look into her eyes. "Don't worry about what anypony says, now how about we go and look for Rarity? She promised she would introduce you to the other fillies and colts today." Rose raised her head and scanned the area around them when her gaze luckily fell upon Rarity's father and Rarity herself. 

Magnum was deep in conversation with another parent while Rarity was busy being rather awkward around the other filly that was present. "Well at least that didn't take very long! Come on Peaches, let's go and meet them." 

Peaches and Rose got up from the picnic table and began to make their way over to Rarity and Magnum. They didn't have much difficulty with the crowd since they all moved away whenever Peaches and Rose drew near. It wasn't long until Rose raised her hoof and began to wave. Rarity was the first to notice them.

"Father, look! It's Ms. Rose Wind!" Rarity exclaimed and patted her father's leg, interrupting his conversation with the other pony.

"Not now Rarity, didn't your mother and I teach you that it's rude to interrupt while somepony else is talking?" Magnum asked.

"Magnum! Over here!" Rose shouted cheerfully which caused Magnum to turn his head towards her. Rose didn't feel that it was necessary to address him as Mr. Magnum since they were friends after all. Magnum's eyes widened when he saw Rose and the little creature that was next to her. The stallion next to Magnum coughed and rubbed his head.

"Ah... Ah think we can continue this conversation later Magnum, it seems ya have some more pressing business ya need to attend to," the stallion said and looked down at the other filly. "Go and play with yer friends Applejack, it won't be long until we have to go back to the farm and do our chores."

"Okay Pa, Ah will see ya shortly," Applejack replied and tipped her hat at Rarity. "It was nice seein ya again Rarity." Rarity nodded and smiled as best as she could as Applejack walked away. Before she was too far away, Applejack glanced behind her at Rose and the curious creature that was next to her. Something was interesting about that creature, she could feel it in her gut, and her gut was hardly ever wrong.

"Rose... why? Why didn't you tell me about this?" Magnum asked as he walked over to Rose and Peaches. "How long have you had this... this thing for?" He pointed a hoof at Peaches and Rose sighed.

"I... I didn't want to lose him Magnum, not like before with the others," Rose replied softly. "But now he is old enough to walk among us. I've taught him everything he needs to know Magnum, and he is not a thing, he is a pony, just like you and me and anypony else!" Magnum looked to his left and then his right before he moved closer to Rose.

"Rose, we have been good friends for as long as I can remember," Magnum said. He lowered his voice as to not draw further attention to themselves. "But this... this is seriously pushing it." Rose took a step back in surprise. Out of all the years she had known Magnum for, she had never seen him this tense before.

"Magnum... why is everypony acting so horribly around Peaches? I don't care what they say about me, but just... why?" Rose asked and looked down at her hooves. "This is his first time out here... he has never done anything to anypony!" Magnum sighed and placed a hoof on Rose's shoulder, causing her to look up at him.

"You better come with me then Rose," he whispered and looked over at Rarity. "Rarity... I... Stay with Rose's, uh, son. I'll only be a few minutes." Rarity nodded as Magnum brought Rose with him out of earshot of other ponies. "Rose... I'm not sure if you've heard yet, but something has been prowling around Ponyville at night, something nopony has ever seen before." Rose remembered that one of the Directors from yesterday had said something about a monster and she nodded her head.

"Yes, I've heard of the reports, and apparently somepony was injured, right?" Rose asked and Magnum nodded his head. "Okay then, but I still fail to see how any of this has to do with Peaches." Magnum reached inside his sweater vest and brought out a folded piece of parchment. With a flick of his hoof, he unfolded it, revealing something that had been drawn it. Rose gasped as she looked at the drawing, not wanting to believe what she was seeing.

"This is what we've been able to come up with from eyewitness reports," Magnum said. "The monster walks upright on two legs and has limbs that are very similar to that thing- I mean, Peaches. In fact, I was out just last night with a group of ponies and we almost caught it in the market, but it somehow slipped away again. How have you not seen this yet Rose?"

Rose couldn't think of anything to say. Before her was a drawing that had a lot of features similar to Peaches. The face was blank and the proportions were strange, but Rose couldn't deny it. It was no wonder everypony was acting strange, it was because of this very drawing.

"I... I don't know," Rose whispered when she suddenly tore the paper out of Magnum's hoof and discarded it. "But you know what Magnum? Peaches is still my son. He is still my little colt that I have taken care of and will continue to do so for the years to come! Monster or not!" Magnum shook his head and took a deep breath. It was time to bring Rose back to reality.

"Rose! Are you even listening to what you are saying? He is a danger to us all! What if that thing is looking for him!?" Magnum whispered angrily. "I do not want to stand by and watch as this monster tears Ponyville apart! We have families too you know!"

"I'm well aware of that Magnum, I am no foal! All of you are just too blind to see that Peaches is no threat!" Rose shot back. "Just because something out there looks like him does not mean he will do the same thing! You will not take him away from me!"

While Rose and Magnum argued with each other, Rarity and Peaches had sat down on the grass and watched a group of fillies and colts from afar.

"So Peaches, what do you think of the open house so far?" Rarity asked. "Have you met Ms. Thorn? She is quite the, uh, charming teacher isn't she?" Peaches sighed and crossed his arms over his knees.

"It has been okay I guess Rarity, I just wish that other fillies and colts would talk to me," Peaches replied and turned his head to face her. "You're the only filly who talks to me and visits me. Everypony else thinks that I... I am weird." Rarity opened her mouth to reply but quickly closed it. Instead she stood up and pulled Peaches up with her.

"Let's go over to that group over there Peaches, I promised you that I would make you some friends and by Celestia I shall!" Rarity exclaimed. "Are you with me Peaches?" Peaches nodded his head and the two of them made their way over to the group. Some of the ponies in the group noticed that they were coming and quickly alerted the others, causing them to turn around and watch Rarity and Peaches as they approached.

"H- hi everypony," Peaches said. He stayed as close to Rarity as possible since she was the one he felt the most comfortable around. "M- my name is Peaches." He extended his hand, only to receive nothing but silence from the group.

"You must not have heard him," Rarity said. "Everypony, this is Peaches, he is starting here tomorrow. Isn't that exciting?"

"What! Somepony is starting here tomorrow too!?" a filly within the group exclaimed excitedly. Rarity's face fell as she recognized the voice of the filly it belonged to. Not even a second had passed when a pink blur bounced out from the middle of the group and tackled Peaches, bringing them both to the ground. Peaches was stunned only for a moment and when his vision cleared, he was face to face with the pink filly that somehow managed to get on top of him.

"H- he- hel-" Peaches stammered and the filly giggled.

"Well hello to you too Peaches! My name is Pinkie Pie, but you can just call me Pinkie!" Pinkie shouted and eyed him up and down. "Say, you don't look to be from around here, like me! We have so many things in common already! Want to be my friend? Great! We'll be the best of friends! We should make a secret hoofshake, follow my lead!" Pinkie lifted up Peaches' arm and bounced her hoof against his hand three times. She then rolled off and lifted him up before she spun them both around on the spot and somehow it ended with her on his shoulders. "Hurray! You were great Peaches!"

Peaches' face had turned a light shade of green as Pinkie hopped off of his shoulders, but fortunately he didn't vomit and his face returned to normal. He looked at Pinkie who was watching him carefully and he began to laugh, much to her delight. She began to laugh as well while the others, including Rarity, simply watched them, confused as to what just happened.

"Well, that was, uh, interesting, it's nice to see you again Pinkie," Rarity said. Pinkie slowly stopped laughing before she walked over to Rarity and hugged her.

"It's nice to see you again too Rarity! This school year is going to be the best one ever!" Pinkie exclaimed excitedly. "I must go and find more ponies to become friends with! Bye Rarity and Peaches! Bye everypony else! Even you Applejack, I see you in the back there!" Peaches looked over at the group of ponies and spotted Applejack's hat as she took it off and waved it. Pinkie then bounced away, humming a happy little tune while doing so.

"Rarity! I made a friend! I made a new friend!" Peaches shouted joyfully and hugged her before he looked over at the group. "Do any of you want to be my friend too?" One of the colts in the group shook their head, soon followed by a few more, much to Peaches' disappointment.

"Pinkie is friends with pretty much everypony she meets," one of them said. "Well, I guess everypony and weird monsters too."

"Rarity, how in Equestria can you go anywhere near that thing?" another one asked. "My daddy said that he looks exactly like that monster who hurt that pony the other night!"

"Alright, that is enough everypony. Peaches is not a monster. He is just like you, me, and everypony else," Rarity replied calmly, trying to keep the discussion as civil as possible.

"If he is just like us, then how come he doesn't look like us?" a colt yelled.

"Does he even know what a cutie mark is?" another asked.

"Why are his hooves so funny looking?"

"Why is his rear so high in the air? Did a Timberwolf teach him how to walk?"

Most of the group began to laugh except for a few of them. One of those ponies who weren't laughing was Applejack. She thought it was kind of funny at first, but she saw just how much their words were hurting Peaches. She could see it on the poor thing's face. Rarity was trying her best to comfort him and her eyes began to frantically search through the group until she found Applejack.

"Applejack! I know you and I have our differences, but please, help stop this!" Rarity pleaded. "Peaches doesn't deserve this!" Applejack knew that Peaches didn't deserve this type of treatment and she nodded. She opened her mouth to say something when suddenly the school bell rang, signalling that the open house was now over. The group's laughter quickly faded away as they dispersed, leaving Applejack alone with Rarity and Peaches.

"Applejack! Time to go home, there are chores that need to be done!" Applejack's dad yelled in the distance.

"Ah am comin right now Pa! Be right there!" Applejack shouted in reply. She turned her head to face Rarity and their eyes locked momentarily. Applejack sadly dipped her head and mouthed that she was sorry to Rarity before she walked away, much to Rarity's disappointment.

"Well Peaches, that didn't go as well as planned," Rarity said and sighed deeply. "But you know what? It's okay that you're different, that means you are one of a kind. Right Peaches?" Silence was the response Rarity received. "Peaches?" She looked down to find that Peaches was gone, even though he was there just a few moments ago. "Peaches! Oh no, this is the worst possible thing that could happen!" She spun around on the spot and scanned the field, but she couldn't find him anywhere. To make matters worse, Rose and Magnum had approached her after having argued for far too long.

"Hello Rarity, sorry we took so long, your father and I were-" Rose suddenly stopped mid-sentence when she realized that something wasn't right. "Rarity... where is Peaches?" Rarity quickly looked at the ground before she looked up at her father and Rose.

"He... he was right here next to me, and when I went to look at him he was just... gone," Rarity replied.

"Do you have any idea where he went Rarity? Tell me please, quickly!" Rose shouted. When Rarity shook her head, Rose's heart began to race. It wouldn't be long before she began to panic. Peaches hardly ever left her sight, where could he have possibly gone?

"Rose, you have to relax," Magnum said. He didn't want Rose to make a scene in front of the other ponies that were still leaving. "He couldn't have gone far."

"Peaches! Peaches!" Rose shouted, having completely ignored Magnum's advice. "Peaches! Where are you!?" One of the parents that were leaving suddenly stopped and chuckled at Rose.

"Already regretting your decision to let him go Rose Wind?" the stallion asked and shook his head. "To be honest, that little monster is probably better off in the Everfree. Even if you went after him, he's most definitely long gone by now."

Rose slowly approached the stallion and raised her hoof before she smacked him across the side of his face. She smacked him with such force that he stumbled backwards some distance and fell over.

"Nopony shall ever again call my son a monster!" Rose yelled angrily. The stallion rubbed the side of his face and quickly got up and left, having no desire to be near such a crazy mare. Rose was about to gallop off to the Everfree when Magnum held a hoof in front of her. "You can't stop me Magnum, no matter how hard you try." She pushed his hoof away just as Magnum opened his mouth and she galloped away.

"That... wasn't what I was trying to do," Magnum said and he looked down at his daughter. "Rarity, you stay here. The Everfree is too dangerous of a place for you and you'll get your hooves dirty. I'm going after Rose and Peaches."

"But Father I can help!" Rarity exclaimed. "Take me with you, pretty please?"

"No, if I find out you have followed me, you'll be grounded from sewing for a month, understand?" Magnum asked. Rarity opened her mouth to protest but quickly realized it wouldn't do her any good. She simply nodded and watched as her father galloped after Rose. When Magnum knew he was out of Rarity's sight, he turned away from the forest and made a quick detour to the post office. He had to send a letter to Celestia first. Even if they found Peaches, that monster had to be taken care of no matter what. In the distance, a Timberwolf howled.



The damp ground squished beneath Peaches' hands and feet as he rushed head-first through the eerie darkness of the Everfree. Tears streamed down his face as he swerved around the trees and vines in his path. He didn't care where he was going, just as long as he was far away from those who were mean to him. Low-lying branches smacked against his bare skin and his clothes, giving him small cuts and leaving angry red patches on his skin. 

As the forest slowly grew darker, he was soon unable to see what was ahead of him. Peaches suddenly tripped over a hidden root and landed on the ground face first near the edge of a pool of water. He simply laid there and quietly wept. Fireflies fluttered lazily above him, their light helping to illuminate the quiet little area Peaches had found himself in. After some time had passed, Peaches slowly raised his head and wiped away his tears. Part of his face was caked with mud but he didn't care. He crawled towards the pool of water where he stared at his reflection.

"I know I'm different... I know I don't have a tail and my hooves may look funny, but why do they have to be so mean?" Peaches asked. His reflection didn't reply so he continued. "I do know what a cutie mark is... it's when you discover who you are and what you're meant to be... so what am I meant to be? Who am I?" He splashed the water with his hand and watched as it gently rippled until it was calm once again. "Mommy has always said I was special... but what does she mean? And what about all of those fillies and colts that have a daddy? Where's my daddy... I wish I had a daddy... I wish I knew why everypony was being so mean to me..."

Peaches laid his head down on his arms and closed his eyes, when suddenly, the pool of water in front of him began to glow blue. Peaches noticed this and slowly opened his eyes, only to turn around and quickly crawl away as the water became chaotic. He reached a tree and sat against it as the water slowly became calm again. What happened next was something Peaches did not expect. A glowing white orb slowly rose from the depths of the pool of water until it had at last breached the surface. It hovered there for only a moment when it suddenly began to float away. 

Peaches wanted to run away, having already seen enough, but something was pulling him towards the orb, something he simply couldn't resist. He started to follow the orb without question. He had no idea that it was leading him deeper into the Everfree, to a place where no pony had laid hooves in for quite some time. Little did Peaches know that he was being followed by a creature hidden in the shadows. It howled, letting the others know that it had found something, something that had escaped from it so very long ago. The creature followed its prey, but little did it know that the hunter was being hunted itself.



As Peaches followed the orb, he began to wonder where it was leading him. The light of the orb caused the creatures of the dark to keep their distance from them. Anything that dared to get too close instantly regretted it when the light scorched them. Before long they had come across an old wooden bridge that was in a sad state of disrepair. 

The ropes that held it together were old and frayed and looked like they could snap at any second. Anypony would have thought twice about crossing it, but Peaches did so without question. He trusted the orb, it gave off a feeling of warmth and comfort that could only be compared to that of a mother's touch. When they crossed the bridge, an old stone castle laid before Peaches. The orb floated through the entrance and Peaches was suddenly in control of himself again.

"Hey... hey wait! Glowing thing! Don't leave!" Peaches shouted. He scrambled up the stone steps and went inside, only to find that the orb had disappeared. The sun shone brightly on the ruins, revealing ancient tapestries and vines that had grown between the cracks of the weathered stone. Multiple entrances branched off to different sections of the castle, but what caught Peaches' eye were the two banners that hung on the opposite side of the room. The left one depicted the moon, while the right one depicted the sun.

"Yes... this was once a beautiful place you know," a voice said out of nowhere, causing Peaches to jump in surprise. The voice reverberated around the room, giving it an omnipotent feel. "It was a place of wisdom and magic, but now it is a husk, merely a shadow of what it once was." Peaches looked around the room, but he couldn't find the source of the voice.

"Who are you?" Peaches asked. "You aren't going to hurt me... are you?" There was a moment of silence before the voice spoke again.

"No child, I couldn't harm you even if I had wanted to. As for who I am... you shall learn that soon enough."

Multiple glowing white dots suddenly appeared around the room and began to float towards the center. Upon reaching the center, the dots began to fuse together, which was then followed by a flash of bright light. Peaches shielded his eyes and felt a strange warmth wash over him as the light faded away. When he removed his hand, he couldn't believe what he saw. A tall female Unicorn made of pure white light towered over Peaches, making him feel small.

"Wow... You're... you're pretty..." Peaches mumbled as he stared at the Unicorn in awe.

"Focus child, for I do not have much time," the Unicorn said softly. "This place... I can't protect you here like I did outside for my power isn't as strong as it used to be, but this is the only place where I am able to reveal my true form. Listen carefully to what I-" Her ears suddenly twitched and she quickly scanned the room. "We are not alone young one."

A howl suddenly originated from outside the castle which gave Peaches goosebumps on his arms. Timberwolves suddenly began to pour through the front entrance and encircled Peaches and the Unicorn. They bared their teeth and growled at Peaches and the Unicorn, eager to tear them to shreds. If one of them decided to get close to Peaches, the Unicorn moved in front of it, causing the wolf to return to the circle. 

The Unicorn knew that she couldn't protect Peaches for long however, the wolves would soon figure out that she was just a distraction. Another howl came from the entrance and the circle parted to let their leader pass. At last, its prey was within its grasp, nothing could stop it now.

"Mommy... Mommy!" Peaches screamed as the wolf inched closer, its claws scraping against the stone floor. Peaches backed away as his heart began to pound in fear. He looked over at the Unicorn, only to find that she was looking up. Peaches looked up as well and his eyes widened at what he saw. In the window above the entrance stood a strange figure holding a wooden staff. Its face was concealed by a mask, but what caught Peaches attention the most was that it had limbs... just like his. It stood upright on two legs and yelled something that Peaches couldn't understand. To him it was just gibberish.

"Now this is an interesting turn of events..." the Unicorn whispered.

The creature suddenly jumped down from the window and landed on the nearest Timberwolf, shattering the wolf beneath its feet. The Timberwolves were startled at first, but they quickly turned on the newcomer and attacked it. The leader of the pack turned around when he was just inches away from Peaches and joined the battle as well. Peaches watched as the creature moved gracefully, avoiding claws and teeth while bashing them with its staff. 

Twigs and dirt went flying as each Timberwolf fell before it, but the problem with Timberwolves was that they were able to put themselves back together. The creature knew this though and swept the floor with its leg periodically, scattering the pieces whenever they came close together. It wasn't long until it was just the leader and the creature left standing.

The leader growled at the creature, annoyed that it was somehow able to take down its pack with ease. The creature extended its hand and made a gesture that taunted the Timberwolf. Having had enough, the Timberwolf charged at the creature and the creature charged at the Timberwolf. Peaches closed his eyes, not wanting to see the outcome. 

As the two opponents came closer to each other, the masked creature reached inside its clothing and brought out a tiny satchel, along with a strange looking device. She wrapped the satchel around the tip of her staff and nodded, content with its handiwork. The creature suddenly dropped to the ground and slid underneath the Timberwolf. It impaled the wolf with its staff as it passed under it and stood up immediately afterwards. 

The Timberwolf had tripped and fallen onto the remains of his pack and growled at the creature as the creature took aim with its device. Peaches heard the creature yell something which was followed by a very loud bang and an explosion as the satchel burst into flame. Peaches opened his eyes to find that the creature was breathing heavily as it stared at the remains of the Timberwolves that burned before it. The strange device it held was giving off smoke at its tip when the creature suddenly dropped it, letting it clang against the stone floor. The creature suddenly turned around and stared at Peaches before it slowly began to walk towards him. Peaches began to back away, but the Unicorn put a hoof on his shoulder. He couldn't feel the Unicorn's hoof, but the gesture was enough to calm him down.

"Stay calm child, this stranger shall not harm you," the Unicorn said gently and stood to the side as the creature crouched in front of Peaches. Peaches could feel its eyes studying him and it slowly reached out and brushed its hand against his face. Peaches flinched at the contact, but he didn't dare move. The creature brought its hand back and held it to its chest as it slowly lifted its mask. Peaches eyes widened as he saw the creature's face for what he believed was the first time.

"Ol... Oliver? It... it can't be! Oliver!" Clara exclaimed. The small boy in front of her didn't respond. She could see that he was scared and confused, but there was no doubt about it. This boy in front of her... it was her son. Oliver suddenly made some strange sounds that Clara couldn't understand. It was as if he had been taught an alien language and not English. She didn't care though and embraced him with a long overdue hug. Tears of joy began to roll down her face as she realized she was no longer alone in this strange and painful land.

Peaches didn't resist the creature's hug, although that wasn't what he had asked it to do. He had asked the creature what its name was and why it looked so much like him. He looked over at the Unicorn and it simply smiled at them. Suddenly, they heard a noise at the entrance and Clara spun around and withdrew a knife while pushing Peaches behind her. Peaches peeked out from behind her and saw that it was Rose at the entrance.

"Peaches... Peaches are you in here?" Rose asked. She was breathing heavily and paused as a gross scent filled her nostrils. "Ugh... it smells awful in here. What's burning?"

"Mommy!" Peaches exclaimed joyfully and rushed out from behind Clara and over to Rose. Clara tried to grab him but just missed and watched as her son embraced the pony that had appeared. Clara looked behind her at the glowing white Unicorn, but it remained silent. It wanted to observe what was going to happen next.

"Peaches, I'm so glad you're safe!" Rose exclaimed and nuzzled his head. "Don't you ever disappear like that again okay? I was scared to death! The Everfree is no place for a-" She stopped as her eyes fell upon the pile of burning Timberwolves and then the creature who had risen to its full height. "Peaches, get behind me. Now." Peaches did as he was told as Clara began to close the distance between her and Rose.

"You! Pony thing! Stay away from my son!" Clara yelled and sheathed her knife. "Nothing will ever take him away from me again! Nothing!" Clara went to shove Rose out of the way. She had no desire to harm or kill the pony, but those were options she would resort to if she didn't get her way. Rose braced herself as Clara brought her arms back and shoved her away, but she only managed to move Rose back a step. Rose didn't take too kindly to this and brought her hoof down on Clara's right foot. She heard a crack and watched as Clara cried out in pain, only to feel pain herself when Clara brought her arm back and punched her across the jaw. Rose then pounced on Clara and the two tumbled to the ground, each trying to overpower the other.

"You won't harm my colt you monster!" Rose yelled. She was suddenly thrown off and slid to a stop next to the white Unicorn. Clara rolled over and unsheathed her knife as she stood up.

"I have seen enough, stop this pointless battle at once," the Unicorn said. Clara didn't listen to her though, how could she? All she heard was gibberish as she slowly approached the fallen pony. Peaches had begun to cry as he watched the battle, but it wasn't until Rose had fallen that he decided to do something. He rushed over to Rose and threw himself on top of her just as Clara began to bring down her knife. Clara was stopped by an invisible force however and she and Rose were lifted and thrown back onto the floor in front of Peaches and the Unicorn.

"Wh- what?" Clara exclaimed as she watched her knife disentegrate before her very eyes. She couldn't move at all. It was as if control of her body had been given to a puppet master. "What is the meaning of this?"

"You will accomplish nothing by fighting here foreigner," the Unicorn said and Clara's eyes widened. "If you can't set aside your hostility, how can you possibly hope to achieve anything in this land?"

"I... I can understand you..." Clara whispered and looked over at Rose. "You! Pony! Say something!" Rose coughed as she turned her head and frowned at Clara.

"You are a strange and rude creature, did you know that?" Rose asked and coughed again.

"How... how is this possible?" Clara asked. "You all sounded like... like horses, but it's like you're speaking English now!"

"English? Lady, you're speaking Equestrian, you know, the most common language in the world," Rose said and the Unicorn nodded.

"The Earth Pony is correct. I have made it so you could understand us for the time being, it will wear off eventually" the Unicorn said. "Now please, listen to what I have to say. We are all in great danger."

"Danger? What do you possibly mean?" Rose asked.

"I have... I have seen a vision. An old enemy seeks to obtain something that was taken from them, something that could lead to their eventual domination of everything and anything," the Unicorn replied and Clara gasped.

"No... it can't be... not the Zek!" Clara yelled and the Unicorn nodded.

"Yes, the Zek, but the vision wasn't entirely clear," the Unicorn replied and an unconscious Peaches levitated in front of Rose and Clara. "This child... he was there in my vision as well."

"My son?" Rose and Clara asked in unison and they looked at each other in disbelief.

"How can he be your son? Oliver looks nothing like you pony!" Clara shouted.

"Oh? And that makes him your son all of a sudden? As far as I'm concerned, I'm the one that found Peaches in the Everfree and raised him!" Rose shot back and Clara gasped.

"You... you stole my son!? You are the one who caused me such grief!? How dare you, you son of a-"

"Enough!" the Unicorn yelled and Clara and Rose felt their mouths be sealed shut by the strange Unicorn's power. "Yes, your son has a part to play in all of this it seems, although what exactly the outcome will be is unclear to me."

"So... is he going to be some type of hero or something?" Clara asked and the Unicorn sighed.

"His destiny is unknown to me... but what I do know is that we can stop the Zek," the Unicorn replied. "This child is indeed a curious case, I feel the very magic of the land itself pulsing through his veins, but... I do not know why. His necklace has some sort of strange magic within it, and it is the reason why the Zek are coming."

"The particle transporter..." Clara whispered.

"If we want to stop the Zek, this child will have to travel across the land to find others like me," the Unicorn continued. "I am the Guardian of Magic, but my power alone is not sufficient to stop the Zek. There are six of us in total... but this child is not yet old enough to take on this burden."

"Then what should we do in the meantime?" Rose asked. "When do we tell him that he'll be the one responsible for the fate of this world? This all sounds insane..."

"He'll have to discover it for himself," the Guardian replied. "He'll make many enemies and allies... everything will come to him in due time."

"What about his true origins?" Clara asked. "As much as this pony over here likes to say it, he is a human like me, not a pony. I have to teach him our way of life. He is a son of man!"

"That... is for the both of you to decide," the Guardian said and she began to flicker in and out of existence. "Only by working in harmony... can you achieve greatness... Child, I bestow upon thee this gift... use it wisely..." The Guardian of Magic walked around Peaches and stood still as she began to concentrate. She lowered her head until her horn was pressed against his chest and she began to glow softly. Peaches' hand glowed white as the Guardian's gift kick-started something that had laid dormant within him since his arrival. A mark appeared on his right hand, although it looked incomplete, as if it was a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces. 

"Until we meet again... son of man..." The Guardian turned around and nodded at Clara and Rose as she suddenly disappeared, freeing them from their magical bonds. They dropped to the floor and immediately rushed over to Peaches who had gently floated to the ground. Clara cradled his head in her lap and gently brushed his face with her hand.

"I... I just want to say that I'm... sorry," Rose said as she held Peaches' hand and looked at Clara. "I'm sorry for causing you so much pain... I didn't know Peaches had family still..."

"His name is Oliver," Clara replied and she sighed. "I'm sorry too... I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. I just didn't want to lose my son again."

"Well... what should we do now? You can't exactly live in Ponyville, everypony believes you want to eat them and there is nowhere for you to stay. They want to lock you away," Rose said and Clara shrugged.

"I'll find a way... Just as long as I can teach him how to live like the way he was meant to, he can live among the rest of you for the time being miss...?"

"Oh! My name is Rose Wind, but you can just call me Rose," Rose replied. "What's your name?"

"The name is Clara Bousfield, but please, call me Clara." Rose nodded her head when suddenly a rock fell on top of Clara's head, knocking her out cold immediately. She slumped over as Rose looked over at the entrance to discover that Magnum was standing there. The glow surrounding his horn slowly faded away as he galloped over to Rose.

"Rose! Are you alright? That monster didn't hurt you did it?" Magnum asked and Rose shook her head as she stood up.

"No! Well... a little, but why did you do that!? She wasn't a threat to anypony!" Rose shouted angrily.

"You're right Rose, and she won't be a threat to anypony for a very long time," Magnum replied and his horn glowed as he shot sparks high into the sky.

"Magnum, what did you do!?" Rose asked.

"Something that should have been done the day this monster began to terrorize our town."

Not much time passed when Rose suddenly noticed a shadow of a carriage pass overhead. She heard it come to a stop just outside of the castle and she held her breath as she heard the sound of hooves slowly approaching them. Her eyes widened and she knelt as best as she could for the pony that had appeared. It was none other than Princess Celestia herself.