> A Bitter Poison
>  by Arcanum -Phantasy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Shattered Soul
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I sat on my bed, mind and body completely numb. From the gaps in the window, thin streams of light slithered into my dark domain, showing the bright world hiding beyond. The thought brought an empty smile to my lips.
Looks like a pretty good day. I thought, turning my back to the invading strings of light. That's good. Now I can leave without any regrets.
Lazily, I looked down at the two pills resting in my left hand. It was funny in a cosmic sort of way; something so harmless and plain looking could end someone's life. That was probably what made it so difficult to get my hands on it. Honestly, with all the hoops I had to jump through, you'd think I was planing to kill someone with them.
A hallow chuckle slipped passed my lips as that ironic thought crossed my mind.
Oh. That's right.
Sitting on the floor to my right was a bottle of apple flavored ale, just a little something to wash down the taste of death after I do my species a favor. With dead eyes, I picked up the half empty bottle, memories of what pushed me to this point. All of the hate, the misery, the loneliness, all of it forming into a deep ocean of tar, drowning my soul. At first, it was bearable, I had a tether to draw me back into the light when I felt myself drowning, but eventually, even that was severed and all I could do was wade it out as I sunk deeper into the darkness, taking what few gasps of breath I could. A man can only endure that for so long.
Almost mechanically, I gently placed the cyanide tablets in my mouth.
So long everyone......
With that, I bit down.
I anticipated the taste. As I tried to chase it down with the ale, I could feel the poison taking effect. It felt like my blood had turned into acid and was trying to purge itself out of my body form the very pores of my skin. It was the worse kind of pain I had ever experienced, but instead of screaming in agony, I laid myself down onto my bed, staring at the ceiling, a content smile on my face. Though it was pure agony, I was ecstatic. I was able to finally feel something in my last hour. As I waited for the poison to finish it's work, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the silence of my empty house.
Goodbye.......... 



***



It was a clear fall evening in Ponyville, with all of Princess Luna's hard work on full display to all willing to see it. On this night, a certain lavender Alicorn happily made her way back to her castle from another wild party hosted by Ponyville's infamous Pinkie Pie. Perched on her back was her faithful dragon assistant munching on a cup of leftover gems Pinkie set aside for him on the way out.
"Ah, Pinkie really out did herself this time, huh Spike?"
"Yeah!" he cheered between clawfulls of gems. "When she said she wasn't gonna hold anything back this time, she really meant it."
"Poor Starlight didn't know what hit her," Twilight said with a slight chuckle.
"I think it was about forty tons of confetti and streamers to the muzzle," Spike said sarcastically.
"Hey, I told her she should've put up a barrier before she opened the door," Twilight shrugged. "I just want to know how she managed to get that Mega Party Cannon into Starlight Glimmer's house."
"Eh, it's Pinkie Pie," he shrugged with a final tone.
"True," Twilight sighed, knowing first hoof how fruitless figuring out how Pinkie Pie worked was. Not to mention painful.
It was at around this time that the duo made it to the main road to their home, but what got their attention wasn't the now familiar sight of the crystal castle, but a strange black mass laying in the middle of the path.
"Twilight?"
"I see it Spike," she whispered her tone a mix of cautious and curious.
"What do you think it is?"
She stared at it.
"Only one way to find out."
With that, she cautiously approached the mass, keeping a magical blast charged just in case. As she got closer, she noticed that what she thought was some black blob turned out to be a pony in a black cloak sprawled out in the middle of the road. The knowledge that she wasn't in the presence of some sort of unknown umbral horror from the pits tartarus was a reassuring one. When she got close enough to get a better look at the pony her relief shifted into worry. From what she could tell, the pony was a black-coated unicorn with a violet mane and curved horn. Based on its bulk, she assumed it was a stallion, but without doing a thorough examination, she couldn't be certain. What concerned her more than the unicorn's gender was his breathing, or to be more exact, his lac there of.	
Twilight immediately dispelled her attack spell and ran a bio scan spell on the downed unicorn.
"Is-Is he okay?" Spike asked, getting down form his friend's back.
"I-I don't think so Spike," Twilight stammered, desperately hoping that her spell would detect any trace of life from the unicorn.
Please don't be dead! Please please please don't be dead!
She was about to give up hope when she felt it. It was faint, but her spell detected a heartbeat, as well as some lung activity.
"Oh thank Faust he's alive," she sighed.
"He is?!"
"Barely but yes."
As she said this, she latched onto the black unicorn with her magic and began to lift him up. However, the second he got more than a foot off of the ground, her spell canceled itself and he flopped to the ground like a sack of apples.
"Huh?" Twilight gasped. "What the-?"
She tried again, but this time she only lifted him an inch before her levitation spell dispelled itself.
What's going on?
"Twilight?"
The lavender alicorn shook herself out of her stunned state and decided that she could ponder this whole situation when the life of another pony didn't hang in the balance. 
"Spike, help me move him," Twilight said before moving to the pony's front.
"Sure, but why don't we teleport to the hospital?"
"I can't!" she said, panic inching into her tone. "My magic isn't working for some reason."
"WHAT?!"
"SPIKE!!!"
"R-Right," the dragon cringed, waddling to his mistress's side. "But what are we gonna do?" 
"I have some medical equipment in the lab," Twilight said, grabbing ahold of the hood of the pony's cloak with her hoof. " If we hurry, we should be able to save him. Now hurry and get the door for me!"
Rattled by the situation, Spike nodded and ran to the castle's main doors.
Please hang in there, she prayed as she dragged the almost corps into her castle. Please......   



***



At first there was darkness. Just inky black nothingness as far as the eye could see along with the absence of feeling.
It wasn't going to be like this for long, I thought. If anything I read in catholic school was true, I was going to fall into an eternal plane of pain and flames for committing a capital sin. In spite of that, I felt content with the arrangement. For a waste of existence like myself, it was more than fitting. 
Suddenly, a light appeared in the distance. At first it was about the size of a marble but as the seconds ticked by it steadily grew into a massive wall of pure light.
As I stared at it a single thought crossed my mind: Am I going to heaven? 
It was then that a massive voice said two words that shook all of creation both in me and the world I drifted in: Not yet.
And just as suddenly as it appeared, the light vanished and with it so did the numbness surrounding my body as an amazing warmth wrapped around me. My body also felt heavy and really sore on my entire left side as if I had been punched. It also felt....wrong. Like most of my normal movements weren't natural. 
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
I was in a large bed covered with what felt like really expensive lavender sheets. The room itself was pretty plane with the fact that the walls were made of some type of crystal mixed with marble being the only anomaly that I could see. That is, until the door to the room opened and an extremely familiar lavender alicorn stepped in, a tray of food and a book help above herself with her magic.
"Oh, your awake!" Twilight smiled, rushing towards me. "I'm so glad! 
Without saying a word, I looked down at my hand and just as I half expected, instead of seeing a hand I saw a black pony's hoof and foreleg.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked, pulling my attention away from my arm/leg. 
"Go away." 
"Excuse me?"
"Go away......"
"But-"
"JUST GO AWAY!!! ......Please......Just go way."
After a moment of hesitation, Twilight nodded and set the tray down on a table by the bed before exiting the room. 
For a moment, I sat there, staring at what was probably going to be Twilight's lunch before I woke up. As I stared at the abandoned food a single thought echoed around inside my head.
I'm alive. But why?
At that moment my vision blurred as tears of disappointed anger pored from my eyes.
Why? Why?! WHY!? WHY?!
With that, curled into a ball under the sheets, still crying. Still wondering why I was still alive as I fell back to sleep.
Why......?

	 
> New Beginnings 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight was a very patient mare. After all the things she had to deal with in her life, she had to be. A trait that also allowed her to work difficult problems both numerical and chemical that required a great deal of time. She also had the stubbornness to keep going to solve any problem that came her way. In spite of all this, she was not exactly the most socially gifted pony. More often than not, she had a hard time connecting with most ponies outside of her circle of friends and family.  Because of this, she had almost no idea what to do to help her new house guest. For the past three weeks she tried to initiate some form of interaction with the mystery stallion, but aside from the occasional nod or request for the bathroom, she got nothing. She did find out that he liked salads, a fact shown by how if she brought him anything else he'd ignore it. It was an improvement in attitudes of sorts when she compared it to how he had acted the day after she saved him, but just barely.
"I just don't know what to do Spike," she groaned as she laid her head down onto the kitchen table. 
"Maybe if you talked to him, he'll open up,"	he suggested, nervously moving his spoon around in his serial bowl.
"I've tried, but he doesn't react! I could probably give him a lecture on the entire history of the Crystal Empire and be lucky if I got him to do more than blink!"
Spike put a claw to his chin.
"Maybe we could have Pinkie come over. If she can't get a reaction out of him, no pony can."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Twilight sighed, lifting her head. "What if he reacts badly to her goofball antics? What if he feels cornered and lashes out? We don't know enough about him to risk leaving him in a room alone with Pinkie Pie. For now, we'll need to be patient and see if we can get him to open up more before we resort to sicking Pinkie Pie on him."
"If you say so.



***



"Here's your lunch, a basic salad like always," Twilight said, lowering the plate and fork onto the table by the bed. The unicorn blankly stared at the offering.
"Thank you," he whispered.
At this point, Twilight would've normally left the room and let him eat whenever he got around to it, but this time, she opted to break away from said routine.
With a sigh, she walked up to the left side of the bed.
"Look, I understand that you have been through a lot and probably don't want to talk about it, but I want you to know that I'm willing to help if you'd let me. So.....please? Will you let me help you?"
He stared at her with the same dull violet eyes that he always did.
Twilight let out a defeated sigh and in a slightly sarcastic tone, said "Can I at least get a name?"
Then, something happened that made Twilight's jaw drop; he raised a hoof to his chin, as if contemplating something and with a bit more life in his eyes and voice said "Noon Scribe. My name is Noon Scribe." 
Twilight's shock slowly shifted into glee as once again, she introduced herself to the stallion known as Noon Scribe.
Finally. Progress.



***



The first thing I noticed about my new body was that it was a lot easier to operate then I thought. After I got over my mental breakdown I decided I should at least see how it worked and found that walking on all fours as a pony didn't feel all that different from how it felt when I was human. The only main difference being that it actually felt comfortable to do so and my limbs weren't mix-matched so I didn't feel like an idiot. I also found that using my hooves to pickup things wasn't any different from using my old hands, though I'll admit the whole no finger thing took some getting use to. The only shock that came to me was when I got a look at my new reflection. I looked almost exactly like my profile pic on Fimfiction! The only differences were that my eye and mane colors were purple instead of white and black. I also seemed to have a somewhat bulkier build than most of the unicorns I saw in the show, not anywhere close to Bulk Biceps' proportions (Thank God), but maybe a little bigger than Big Mac. My Cutie Mark didn't surprise me that much; a quill and ink-pot that started out bright orange from the top but shifted into a dark red as you got to the bottom. My horn had another feature that made my body slightly differ from my profile pic. Instead of coming out to a point it curved up into the shape of a crescent moon.
Ever sense that day, I made it my mission to figure out how to use it. It was a long and taxing war that lasted for a somewhat disappointing two hours. Turns out being a human gave you a head start on magic channeling. All I had to do was pretend the purple energy coming out of my head was another arm and boom, basic levitation. Of course, I'm going to assume that other magic-related abilities take a hell of a lot more work and effort. Otherwise I'm gonna end up one-upping Star Swirl when it comes to magic.
But even with all that in mind, I still felt.......dead inside. 
All drive to use any of my new features only went as far as what was absolutely necessary, such as fallowing Twilight to the bathroom or getting food to my mouth. The rest of the time was spent on sleeping, but with repeated nightmares of my former life haunting me, that time was anything but restful. Each day, Twilight would try to talk to me, but I kept my metaphorical distance. I knew that eventually, she would get sick of me and send me away and when she did, my mental defenses would keep as much of the pain out as possible. After a while, a routine had been built between us, she'd leave me food, try to engage in some small talk with me, then leave. It was a simple routine, but one that I grew to like to some degree. Then, Twilight did something I didn't think she was capable of; she broke the routine. Not only that, but when she asked me to let her help me, I could feel the sincerity in her words. She genuinely wanted to help me. With those words, a part of myself that I thought died a long time ago stirred, and no sooner had she asked me for a name, the gates to my emotional stronghold opened, not completely, but enough to grant her request.
When I saw that joyous smile grace her muzzle, I opened the doors to my heart a little further to let myself step out. And, with tears welling up in my eyes said something that at that point felt long over due.
"Thank you.......for saving me Twilight."



***



"Okay," I mumbled, skimming through a row of books in the library's walls. "Schools of Unicorn Magic..........Schools of Unicorn Magic....... Where is that damn book?"
It's been a week since I stepped out of my self-induced isolation and things have been really looking up. Twilight gave me full access to the castle. The only exceptions were Twilight's room and her lab, but that was kind've obvious. Most of the time I stayed in the Library trying to get a better grasp on my situation. 
Today I thought I'd see if there was any kind of Unicorn magic that I would want to make my Focus. According to The Compendium Of The Arcane (Yesterday's bit of light reading) all Unicorns could use any one of eight different types of magic called Schools of Focus that tapped into that particular Unicorn's advanced magical abilities. The book didn't say what the Schools were, but it did mention a book that did. 
Seriously, if the damn thing was going to mention them why not go the extra mile and actually talk about them, I thought bitterly as I continued my search through the maze of books. 
Eventually, I managed to find the elusive tome hiding in the darkest corner of the library's rear shelves.
"Finally," I sighed as I pulled the book to me with my magic.
I still can't believe how easy levitation is, I thought, a slight grin tugging at my lips. Maybe that's my Focus. Huh.......Actually, now that I think of it, that would really kind've suck.
Gently laying the heavy book down onto one of the tables in the library's study areas, I sat down on my haunches and opened the cover. What happened next I should've seen coming. The second I opened the book a pink pony with a super curly dark pink mane popped out yelling "Surprise!!!" fallowed by a thick cloud of confetti and streamers. 
With a startled yelp, I fell backwards and landed on my back with a hard thud.
Pinkie Pie......Of course.
"Hiya! Wereyousurprised!? Youlooksurprised! Myname'sPinkiePiebythewayandIwantedtoofficiallywelcomeyoutoPonyville!"
"Jesus Christ!" I exclaimed, hoof over my hammering heart. "You damn near gave me a heart attack!"
"Oh! Uh, sorry,"Pinkie said, smiling sheepishly as she stepped off of the table.
"It's....okay, I guess," I sighed, staggering to my hooves. "Just....don't do that again."
After what was probably the most awkward three minutes of Pinkie staring at me with borderline Cutie Map level creepiness. 
"So...." I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
"Yeah!?"
"I'm gonna do a bit of research for a few minutes so if you'll excuse me."
"OH! Okay! Don't mind me," she smiled, sitting down next to me.
"Okay then."
With that I turned to the table of contents.
Let's see. Magical Focuses............Magical Focuses............AH FUCK IT!
"Can I help you?" I asked, flashing a stiff smile.
"What's you're hobbies?" she asked, ignoring my subtle display of irritation.
My temper dimmed as her sudden question took me aback.
"Hobbies?"
"Yeah!"
"Why ya wanna know?"
"Just cuz!"
I gave her a dead ban look then put a hoof to my chin in thought.
Would my hobbies make any sense over here? I mean, yeah, reading and writing work, but what about gaming and TCGs? I guess I could just go with the safer option for now and see if I can use the others later. 
"I like books," I said finally.
Pinkie smiled.
"Oh, so your like Twilight!"
"I guess?"
"Neat! Where do you come from?"
"Uh....."
C'mon man! Think of something! Just pick a city! It's not that hard!
	"Cloudsdale."
FUCKING DUMB ASS!!! 
"Really? Wow! You must be really good at that cloud walking spell."
"Uh, yeah, absolutely," I laughed awkwardly.
Okay, mental note: make an origin story as soon as fucking possible! 
"Did you work in a library before coming to Ponyville?"
"No, I was a writer."
Not technically a lie, I thought, feeling my Jimminy Cricket kicking me in the balls.
"Oh, so no wonder Twilight likes ya."
"I gu-wait what?"
"Your her coltfriend, right?"
My jaw dropped.
"What?! No! I'm NOT her coltfriend. I'm just some guy she pulled off of the streets"
"Oh," Pinkie awkwardly chuckled. "Sorry."
"It's okay," I sighed. "I guess anypony would make that call."
She nodded, scooting up a little closer.
"I guess. So, do ya drink or not?"
I rased a brow.
"Yeah I drink. Why?"
She laughed.
"So I know who I can invite to your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party silly!"
A Pinkie Party, with booze? Now that's something I could get behind!
"I'm all for a party," I smirked. "Just don't make the guest list all that big, please. I....don't like crowds all that much."
"A Fluttershy package with an Applejack add-on. Okie-dokie-lokie!"
At that moment the library doors opened and a vaguely familiar unicorn mare entered. Her coat was a light shade of pink and her mane and tail was  dark purple with a light blue streak running through it. She scanned the room until her lavender eyes landed on Pinkie and I. With an aggravated sigh, she walked towards us.
"Pinkie," she said, sitting down on her haunches next to the mentioned pink mare. "When Princess Twilight said it was safe to visit him, I think she meant together." 
"Sorry Starlight," she chuckled, scratching the back of her neck.
My eyes widened as recognition hit me.
This got her attention.
"Are you okay?" she asked, dragging Pinkie's attention back to me.
"Y-Yeah," I stuttered, snapping back to reality. "You just reminded me of somepony I knew, is all."
She eyed me suspiciously.
"You don't say? Anyway, sorry if Pinkie got in the way of anything. She tends to get a little....energetic when it comes to meeting new ponies."
"No problem," I said, enjoying the steady drop in tension in the conversation. "I was just doing a bit of research."
"On what?" Starlight said, tilting her head.
"Magical Focuses. I'm trying to figure out what mine is so I can learn some better spells."
A smirk crossed Starlight's muzzle at that bit of information.
"Really? If you want I could give you a rundown.
"Sure, why not," I shrugged.
Confidently, she straitened her poise, cleared her throat, and began her lecture.
"Aside from conventional spells such as levitation and teleportation, all Unicorns have eight different major forms of magic called Magical Focuses or Focuses for short. These are spells that are compatible with a caster's specific magical energy wavelength and if cast by anypony with an incompatible magic type will either not work or backfire disastrously. The eight Focus types are Illusion, Elemental, Temporal, Rune, Chaos, Security, Pulse, and Void. Illusion uses a pony's senses to create realistic hallucinations to confuse and even traumatize whoever they are used on, though most of the time these types of mages use their skills to entertain others as performers and storytellers."
Trixie immediately popped into my head. 
"Elemental mages use their magic to manipulate different aspects of nature such as flames or wind. Most of the time, these mages use there talents to assist farmers, weather teams, or doctors. Temporal mages effect the flow of time and can either move back in time, show past events in a given area, or rewind time to repair damaged items. We often use our powers to provide case evidence in court as well as provide repair services.
"We?"
Starlight blinked.
"Uh, yes, my Focus  is Temporal."
"Cool."
A light blush crosses her muzzle at my compliment.
"Thank you," she mumbles, clearing her throat. "Moving on. Rune mages can use words to change the world around them. This can be done either by writing or saying they want the magic to do for them. However, this type of magic can be very taxing on the caster as the more complex the word or sentence the more magic the mage will have to use. Also, it cannot be used to take over a Pony's mind or bend them to the caster's will. As this type of magic is extremely rare, not to many jobs are out there for ponies that have this Focus. Chaos mages can basically do anything, but much like Rune mages, their magic puts a massive tole on them. At the moment, only one living being has access to this type of Focus and not have it effect his health."
Three guesses who.
"Security mages specialize in healing and barrier magic, making them excellent doctors or guardsmen. Some of which have become very well known among the Canterlot elite."
And one point to Shining Armor.
"Pulse mages are one of the most common types of mages and are able to take bits and pieces from the other Focuses and combining them to create completely new spells, though most of the time these mages use their talents to shape their magic into something specifically aimed at their line of work. And finally there's Void, which is designed to cause harm to some pony in some way such as curses, magic draining, destruction, or even death."
That last one really got to me.
"Any Void Unicorns I should know about?"
Starlight sighed.
"Thankfully, no. The last surviving Void Unicorn was Sombra and he disappeared after he was purged from the Crystal Empire."
"That's good to know," I said, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"Tell me about it," she sighed. "So, from what I told you, do you have any ideas what your Focus might be?"
Before I could answer, Pinkie started hopping in place with a hoof in the air saying "Oo! Oo!".
"Yes Pinkie?" Starlight asked.
"What about Rune?!"
"Rune?" we said in unison.
"Yeah! You said you liked to write didn't ya?" she asked pointing at me.
"Well, yeah but-"
"And you have a ink and quill for a Cutie Mark so your special talent must have something to do with writing."
I couldn't really argue there. When I was human, I always had a love for books. Hell, I had a tenth grade reading and vocab level in fourth grade for beat's sake! The feeling of diving head first into another world gave me such a rush that it was almost like a drug. I liked it so much that I thought I'd give it a go and make my own stories. To my surprise, not only was it a bigger rush, but I wasn't that bad at it. I even thought that my writing could actually change the world in some way, but for my words to literally have that effect on the world around me was a bit much to take in.
"I don't know," I said, staring down at my flank.
"If you want, I could help you understand your magic a bit better," Starlight said, pulling my attention away from my ass.
"Ya sure? I don't wanna clutter up your schedule or anything."
"No it's fine," she laughed. "I live pretty close to the castle and helping out a fellow Unicorn would do wonders for my friendship studies."
An I help you you help me deal eh?
"Sure, why not," I shrugged. "I don't really have that much else to do."
"Excellent," she smiled. "We'll get started on your lessons two days from now."
"Two days? why not tomorrow?"
Starlight looked at Pinkie, smirked, and said, "Because you are gonna be busy tomorrow."
> Baggage 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was a cool overcast day in Ponyville. Throughout the town, ponies went about there business as usual, Including a certain onyx Unicorn and lavender Alicorn.
"Are you sure you don't want to wear something else?" Twilight asked eyeing her black-cloaked neibore.
"Positive," Noon said, pulling his hood up a little more with his magic. "I don't want to draw unnecessary attention to myself right now. Plus, it's freezing out here.
As he said that, a chill shot down his spine.
Twilight raised a brow at that, but decided not to press the issue. From what she could tell about her house guest, Noon was much like the recluse she was before coming to Ponyville. And like with her, it would take a lot of time to get him to step out of his shell. Time, and some good friends. Speaking of which, Twilight was pleasantly surprised by how well Noon reacted to Pinkie's antics, half expecting collateral damage when her student, Starlight Glimmer, told her Pinkie had a roughly ten minute head start into the group visit. Instead, he formed both a professional and recreational relationship with the two mares, a huge improvement compared to the first few weeks prior. However, it did concern her that he seemed dead set on cloistering himself into the castle, even to the point of her having to bargain with him to get him to step out to get ready for his party later that day. In fact, if it wasn't for the cloak she found him in, they would probably still be at the castle arguing instead of making their way to Carousel  Boutique to meet Rarity. 
"Alright," she said, a hint of doubt coloring her tone. "I hope Rarity doesn't go into 'work mode' when she sees it."
He shrugged.
"So long as she doesn't turn me into a walking disco ball of gems, she can do whatever she wants to this thing."
Twilight let out an uneasy laugh.
"I don't know if I can promise that."
They shared a laugh at that as they began to close in on their destination. As they entered the boutique, a bell range from above the door, alerting the building's residents to their arrival. On cue, a cheerful female voice with a slight Canterlot accent sang "Just a minuuuuute."
A few minutes later a white unicorn with a styled purple mane stepped into view.
Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where every thing is-"
Before she finished her sales pitch, her eyes fell upon Noon Scribe and she froze. Her eyes quickly shank down to pinpricks and her body began to tremble with barely contained fear. Twilight eyed her friend wearily, not sure what could've brought about this reaction in the white Unicorn. Just as Twilight was about to ask what had Rarity so shook up she let out a terrified scream and bolted for the boutique's rear exit. The two stood there for a moment, the only interruption to the awkward silence being the sound of a draft slamming the backdoor shut.
"Well......that happened," Noon said, turning back to the front door.
"What?!" Twilight exclaimed, fallowing him out of the boutique. "Don't you want to no what that was about?"
"Why?" he asked, his face a cold mask. "The whole point of us coming here was so I could meet Rarity, right? Well, we met, and obviously something about me scared the Tearek out of her. Mission accomplished."
Twilight wanted to argue further, but the finality in Noons tone made her reconsider. Instead, as she guided him towards Sugarcube Corner, she tried to decipher Rarity's behavior.
What the hay was that all about? Was Noon's cloak that bad looking? No that can't be it. If it was the case, she probably would've dragged him kicking and screaming into the fitting room. Then what could've scared her so badly?  
Deciding to set the mystery aside for another time, Twilight continued to engage in more small talk with her new friend. For the most part, she only got a few quick responses until she fell to her fallback topic: books. The second the topic came up, Noon's mood did a complete one-eighty. He was  much more animated, both in his speech and mannerisms, and even though Twilight didn't recognize the titles he mentioned, it filled her heart with joy to see the hard-shelled stallion next to her being so passionate.  
"Well here we are," she said, gesturing towards the bakery. "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be," he shrugged. "Let's do this."
With that, Twilight opened the door and the two stepped into the tower of sugar that is Sugarcube Corner.



***



When I stepped though those doors, I didn't know what to expect. I mean, this Is Pinkie Pie were talking about here. I half expected gravity to suddenly stop working or something along those lines. Instead, I got an even bigger shock; Pinkie actually fallowed through on my request. Aside from Twilight and I, the main service room was occupied by six ponies. One was a pony I could safely identify as Berry Punch standing by the refreshments table making a wide variety of colorful glowing drinks. Another was a pony I would've had to have had suffered a major blow to the head not to recognize as Vinyl Scratch working on a turn table and set of speakers in the farthest corner. At the center of the room stood the Cakes, Pinkie, and my semi-official Magic Tutor Starlight Glimmer. 
Huh, well done Pinkie. Well done.
Feeling a bit more relaxed now that I was sure I wasn't going to get ambushed by confetti again, I casually walked towards the small group.
"Hiya Noon," Pinkie cheered blurring into existence right in front of me. "What'd ya think?"
"Not bad Pinkie," I smiled. "But I'm betting this isn't all you've got up your sleeves."
Pinkie flashed me a mischievous smirk and said, "Maybe, maybe not. You'll just have ta wait and see."
"Looking forward to it."
With a light chuckle, Pinkie bounced off, leaving me alone with her bosses and the two most powerful mares in equestria. The only problem, I'm pretty terrible when it comes to talking to women. Don't get me wrong, I can talk to them if its about a topic I understand, but outside of that I tend to flop pretty badly. So, I did what any guy with a self-esteem problem would do; suggest getting smashed.
"Anypony want a drink, cuz I could use one."
Before they could respond, I trotted over to the refreshments table.
Smooth man. Real smooth.
Aw shut up!
Still kicking myself, I grabbed a fizzy red drink and threw it back. Probably not the best idea considering who helped with the catering. First came the cold, then a flash of slightly bitter strawberries combined with the tickling fizz of Sprite teamed up with a strong blast of a LOT of alcohol. I went from normal to fubared in two seconds flat and at that moment, I liked it. A lot.
"What in the name of all things holy is this?" I smiled, teetering slightly.
"Oh that?" responded one of the three Berry Punches standing next to the table. "Just a little something I call a Parasprite Mirage."
"Oh," I said, enjoying the effects of the unexpectantly powerful drink. "Nice."
"Thanks, want another?"
"Eeyup!" I said, barely able to hold back my laughter from my own poorly done BM imitation.
Berry let out a chuckle at my antics.
"No problem. Hear you go."
As she said this, she handed me another prepared glass.
"Just try not to down it all in one go this time. This is the kind of drink your supposed to nurse."
"I make absolutely no promises," I said, trying (and failing) to keep a strait face as I grabbed the glass with my magic. 
Berry shrugged.
"Eh, your funeral."
I laughed like an idiot and made my way back to the girls.
"Hey Teach! Landlord! You have a chance to have some of this stuff?! It's pretty good!"
That made up most of the party. Well, aside from Vinyl's awesome table work. Plus, I never thought I'd ever see Twilight use a funnel. Pinkie wasn't to much of a surprise, but Twilight? In the heat of all the action I came to notice something; my buzz kept burning out way to fast. I mean, in the span twenty-five minutes after each drink I'd go from bumbling moron to normal. It got to the point that I had to throw back Berry's drinks instead of nurse them just to stay a little buzzed. Eventually, I gave up and just helped myself to some of the sweets the Cakes had setup for the party.
Geez, way ta kill the mood, I thought gnawing on a cookie. Then again, maybe getting hammered around three naked girls who are also pretty smashed is probably a really bad idea to begin with.
Deciding to push my slightly idled mind away from anything that might trigger the Unicorn equivalent of a wing boner, I walked over to a very happy Pinkie Pie that seemed to be phasing in and out of this dimension.
"Hey Pinkie?"
"Yeah?" she slurred.
"I think I'm gonna head back to the Castle."
Pinkie seemed to literally deflate hearing this.
"But why? Arn't ya having fun?"
"Yeah, I'm just getting a little tired is all. Will you let Twilight know for me?"
"Sure!" she cried, performing a salute that almost knocked her over.
Though slightly unsure about my choice to put my faith in the drunk party planner, I made my way to the exit. Just as I was about to open it, the door burst open and  in stepped Applejack, an unnervingly cold expression on her face. Right behind her I spotted Rarity, looking at me with the same fear as when she saw me last time. The second Applejack's eyes locked onto me, her expression shifted to furious and in a flash I felt an explosion of what I can only describe as the worst pain I'd felt sense my death erupt in my chest as I went flying in the air. I let out an agonized grunt as I hit the ground, gasping for my lost air.
"Applejack!" I heard a voice I could barely recognize as Twilight's scream from across the room. "What in the name of Faust are you doing."
"Keep'n y'all safe," she growled, slowly moving in on me. "Yah never never know what ta expect from Karkadanns."
Karka-what?
"Terrible pony eatin' monsters. Ah thought they all died out after the fall of the Crystal Empire, but looks like a few survived."
I looked up just in time to see Applejack rase her front legs, hooves aimed strait for my head. My eyes widened as the farmpony's intentions sunk in. Before I could do anything a blue aura surrounded Applejack, holding her in place.
"Starlight!" Applejack grunted. "What the hay are ya doin'?"
"I could ask you that same question," Twilight asked moving into my line of sight and helping me get to my feet. "Noon, are you okay?"
I didn't say anything. A torrent of emotions were running through me, shock, confusion, fear, but devouring them all was anger. Both at the orange Earth Pony that attacked me and myself for letting my guard down low enough to let this attack happen.
"I'm fine," I muttered, pushing past the pain in my barrel to stagger out the open front door.
"But-"
"I'M FINE!"
Twilight and the rest of the party guests flinched.
Noticing this, I reeled in my anger and in a much calmer voice said "I'm sorry. Just let me get some air for a while. I'll meet you at the castle later."
Not waiting for a response, I used my magic to close the door and walked away from what was once a good party. I did stop for a second when I noticed  a bit of purple fur peeking out from behind a nearby bush. As a show of aggression, I used my magic  to rip the bush out of the ground and found a trembling Rarity. I stared down at the scared unicorn and in a voice filled with as much venom as I could manage hissed "Pathetic," and continued my journey.
Why? I thought, my steps gradually becoming more heavy. 
Why?! WHY?! WHY IS THIS SHIT HAPPENING TO ME?! DID I KICK A BUNCH OF PUPIES IN A PAST LIFE OR SOMETHING?! WHAT THE HELL DID I DO THAT WAS SO BAD THAT I GET SHIT THROWN AT ME HERE OF ALL PLACES?! WHAT IS IT GONNA TAKE FOR ME TO HAVE EVEN A TINY MOMENT OF HAPPINESS?! WHAT THE HELL IS IT GONNA TAKE?!
It wasn't until I started to see red that I noticed two things. One, I forgot my cloak at the party and two it was starting to rain.
"Terrific," I mumbled, shaking my dampening coat. 
I took a look around and found that my blind wandering had taken me out of Ponyville and about a stones throw away from the Everfree Forest.
Maybe if I move in there I could get some peace.
Before my thoughts could go beyond that, I found myself pounded into the ground with enough force to form a crater. Like before the wind was knocked out of my lungs, but along with my breath a small stream of red burst from my mouth.
"W-What now?" I gasped, staggering to my feet.
"Dang it! I knew I should've hit it harder."
That voice......you have got to be kidding me!
I raised my head and sure enough, hovering above me was none other than Rainbow Dash. The Cyan Pegasus glared daggers at me, every muscle tense and ready for action.
"AJ wasn't kidding! You really are tough!"
My rage started to return.
"So what?" I growled. "Did you just try to pound me into the ground to test that or are you gonna give me crap too?!"
"'Too'? What did you do to Applejack and Rarity?"
I let out an irritated snort.
"Nothing. But if you don't back off you'll regret it."
Rainbow's eyes narrowed. 
"Is that a threat?"
"No," I snarled through gritted teeth. "Its a promise. Or maybe your too stupid to know the difference!"
"Alright!" she roared. "That's it! You're so dead!"
"BRING IT!!!"
With that, Rainbow blurred out of existence, but before she could hit me again I raised a foreleg and slammed it into her barrel. The Pegasus let out a strangled gasp as she flew back and slammed into a tree.
"PAYBACKS A BITCH, HUH?!"
Coughing, Rainbow stood back up and glared at me.
"That all you can take?! Talk about lame!"
"Not even close!"she snarled and bolted towards me.
I prepared to throw another pony haymaker but before it could connect, Rainbow changed direction and landed a heavy blow to my side. I turned, but it was too late and another attack hit my back. Before I knew it, I was trapped in a hurricane of pain and rainbow trails. Adding to the difficulty was the mud bellow me screwing up my balance. All I could do was stand there and take it. I wasn't even close to fast enough to keep up with Rainbow Dash now that she was serious. But something kept me from surrendering. Not something as stupid as pride or determination. No this was something far more useful in a fight; rage. I could live with getting attacked by Applejack seeing as I never really liked her all that much, Rainbow Dash was something else. Rainbow was my favorite Main Six member and even at her worst I loved the spirit she put into everything she did. To be beaten on by her was a new kind of treachery that filled my body with so much white hot fury, I was numb to the blows raining down on me.
That. Is. ENOUGH!!! 
"Get broken," I growled.
A split second later, a loud crack filled the air, fallowed by a female cry of agony.
"My hoof!" Rainbow cried, hovering a few feet away from me, cradling her left front hoof. "What did you do to my hoof?!"
"Karma." 
On cue, a bolt of lightning ripped out of the sky and slammed into the shaken Pegasus, filling the air with yet another agonized scream.
With that, Rainbow fell to the grown, fur slightly scorched and feathers all but nonexistent.
"My-My wings!" she gasped, tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes.
"I told you you'd regret it," I said, tone as cold as ice as I limped towards her.
She turned towards me, pure terror in her tear-struck eyes.
"P-Please! Don't kill me! I-I-I-"
Like a cornered animal, she limped away from me, eventually pinning herself against a tree. I continued my pursuit, albeit, at a much more casual pace. All the while, the bubbling cauldron of hate within me dropping down to a simmer. I had the upper hand in this fight now. I knew it and most importantly, Rainbow Dash knew it. The trembling creature before me wasn't worthy of my hate, but she still deserved some kind of penalty for her crimes.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!!"
With a roar of concentrated fury, a pulled back a foreleg and struck. The air was instantly filled with the sound of wood shattering as the tree behind Rainbow exploded behind her from the the space above her head and up.
"You're not worth killing."
She looked at me, light blue coat now white as a sheet, eyes bigger than dinner plates. This was the look of a mare who just had a brush with death and was lucky enough to tell the tale. 
With a sigh, I gently grasped her with my magic and lowered her onto my back.
"Wh-What are ya gonna do to me?"
"Hospital," I grunted. "We both need it."
"Hospital? I-I don't believe you!"
I smiled a bit, happy to hear a little of my favorite pony's attitude.
"How do I know your not just taking me to your place to eat me?"
"You don't," I said flatly. "So you could either trust me or make yourself look like a mule. Your choice."
A moment of silence and then "Hee-Haw."
I sighed.
"Suit yourself, Rainbow Ass."    

	
	
> Identity 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Rainbow Room. That's what most ponies at Ponyville General called one room on the top floor. The reason? A certain Pegasus pony keeps ending up in it. Just like last month, Rainbow found herself in a hospital bed reading a Daring Do book. A task that was somewhat hampered by having less then half of her normal control over one of her hooves.
Ugh! This sucks! she thought, slamming her book shut. Not only did I lose, but now I can't even read because of this stupid hoof!
With an irate groan, she leaned back into her bed and stared at the now familiar ceiling.
That reminds me, that guy had me right where he wanted me. He could've wiped me out in one shot and that'd been it. 
For a moment, brutal images of what could've happened if her enemy acted the way she was expecting at the time, sending a chill down her spine.
But...... he didn't. He brought me here to get checked out. After I tried to crush him and pounded the ever loving Celestia out of him, he brought me to the hospital.
A frown crossed her muzzle as her thoughts continued.
Maybe Applejack was wrong. Maybe he's actually a pretty good guy.
Though this thought helped her make sense of the situation, it also brought home the full extent of Rainbow's crimes to her own attention.
Aw horse apples! I really bucked up this time! I just ambushed a defenseless, well, mostly defenseless, pony for no reason! I seriously owe him big time! 
She let out a defeated sigh.	
"I don't even know his name."
At that moment, the door to her room burst open as a now familiar onyx unicorn staggered in and just as quickly slammed the door shut.
"Damn Doctors are frick'n lunatics!" he panted, eyeing the door like he half expected it to jump and attack him.
Too shocked by the sudden intrusion to do more then gawk at her former enemy, Rainbow struggled to think of a way to get his attention without possibly triggering a rematch. Of course, fate decided to lend her a hoof in the form of having the book sitting on her lap slid off the bed. The fallowed heavy slam alerted Noon to the fact that he wasn't alone in the room. 
"Oh! Sorry for barging in like that. I was just trying to find-"
His voice died the second he turned around and spotted the pony in the bed behind him.
"Rainbow Dash."
"Uh........Hi," she said, waving awkwardly. 
"Hi," he replied, his posture stiff. "What's up?"
Rainbow raised a brow.
"That's my question."
He sighed.
"Let's just say the docs here have no idea what the word 'boundaries' means. Anyway, how are ya doing?"
Now that she could see that he wasn't going to attack her, Rainbow Dash slipped into a more relaxed state. She may have made an ass of herself, but she still had a reputation to maintain.
"Eh, not too bad. Just a dislocated hoof and some singed feathers," she shrugged. "The Doctors say I'll be able to leave in a couple days. What about you?"
He flinched, then with a more aloof air about him said, "Just a few bruises and a cracked rib. Nothing a few potions can't heal."
This got Rainbow's attention.
"Potions? Why aren't they using healing spells on you?"
"They don't work," he shrugged. "Every time they tried to cast one it shutdown the second it got close to me."
"Wow, that sucks," she frowned. "That means you gotta heal the old fashion way, huh?"
Again, he shrugged.
"If I drink the potions they gave me twice a day, I should fully recover in about three days."
Rainbow let out a sigh of relief.
"That's good."
Noon's features became a little tense as he tilted his head in confusion.
"Why do you care? I thought you wanted me dead."
Now it was Rainbows turn to flinch.
"I-I did! I mean......I'm sorry. My friend told me that a dangerous pony  was wandering around town and instead of checking with somepony to make sure she was right I just attacked you from out of nowhere. I know that it doesn't make up for what I did and I get it if you hate me for what I've done but, I'm really really sorry.
Noon's presence was cold and firm, giving the bedridden pony the impression of being in the presence of an irked buffalo deciding whether or not to crush her. Eventually, the dark colored stallion let out an annoyed sigh before giving her a weary smile, the tension melting from his posture.
"I forgive you."
Rainbow stared at him with wide eyed disbelief.
"Really?!"
"Don't get me wrong," he continued. "I'm still ticked off at you, but this whole thing isn't all your fault. If I hadn't lost my temper and egged you on, then we probably would't've ended up here."
"Maybe," she groaned. "By the way, I'm Rainbow Dash."
As she said this, she raised her uninjured hoof towards Noon. With a slight smirk, he hooked his foreleg with Rainbow's, completing the pony equivalent of shaking hands.
"Noon Scribe, but you can just call me Noon."
"Noon huh? Sure you're not related to Twilight?" she laughed.
"Nah," I smirked, pulling back my foreleg. "Trust me. Our folks couldn't be anymore distant even if my parents were dragons."
For the next few minutes, the two of them just sat and talked. Nothing ground breaking unless one found the weather or adventure novels amazing. Eventually, Noon let it slip that he wrote stories in his free time and Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to have a fangasim. As it turned out, the daredevil was also an aspiring author, and due to the grief she gave a certain purple pony about recreational reading, no pony was willing to take her attempted dive into the process of creating literature seriously. Noon couldn't help but sympathise with her. Though most of his work had been fanfictions, it often felt like he was completely alone in his literary exploits with only those who shared his anonymity serving as his only sources of encouragement. It was often lonely being the man sitting behind the curtain, but at the same time it gave the former human a strange sense of peace that only diving into a world of his own making could provide. It was because of this that he made a rather risky move and decided to encourage the prismatic Pegasus.
"Y-You really think I should try to get it published?" she asked, sounding surprisingly timid. "I don't know...."
"Hey," he said poking Rainbow gently in the forehead. "What do ya got ta lose?"
She gave him a slightly annoyed grimace as she rubbed her forehead.
"But what if it flops?!"
"Then it flops," he shrugged. "That's just how it is."
Rainbow was about to snap at the ebon Unicorn but he raised a hoof to silence her.
"Regardless of whether the story becomes a smash hit or it flops and your lucky if only a hoof full of ponies read it, in the end only one thing matters."
"And what's that," she asked, raising a brow.
With that, he flashed her the kindest smile she'd ever seen and said, "That you got it out there. Because now its a part of this world."
After the two bounced ideas for scenes off of each other for a couple hours, Noon decided he should get ready to head back to Twilight's castle. As he was about to open the door, a thought struck him and he turned towards Rainbow Dash.
"Hey, anypony I should watch out for aside from Applejack in the future?"
Rainbow put her good hoof to her chin as she thought for a moment before saying, "None that would give you that much trouble. Aj and I are the only ponies I can think of that could do any real damage to you around here, though I guess Twi and Starlight could knock ya around if you give them reason to."
"I don't think I'll need to worry about those two," he said with a relaxed smirk. "Anypony else?"
"Hmmm, nopony else comes ta mind. I'm cool with ya so so long as ya stay away from AJ you should be okay."
He smirked.
"Thanks. And again, Sorry about everything. Hope you get better soon."
"Ditto."
With that, he pulled open the door with his magic and stepped into the empty hall way beyond.
Well, that went better then I thought it would. He thought, making his way to the stares to the second and first floors. Now if I can just figure out what to do about Applejack.
In silence, he continued his thoughts, only stopping for a moment to collect his prescriptions from the hospital's pharmacy and sign himself out. It was because of this that it wasn't until he was about twelve yards away from the hospital that he noticed five familiar fillies fallowing him. When he did, he turned to face them and as soon as he locked eyes with the group's red bowed ring leader a single thought crossed his mind.
Why do I have a feeling this is going to end in tears? 



***



The Ponyville marketplace was a mass of activity, even in the shadow of the mid-afternoon sky. It was in this madness of salesponies trying to urn a few more bits before days end that one would find a very irked light purple Unicorn mare. As she tried to navigate her way through the chaos, Starlight Glimmer thought about what she was going to say to her remedial magic student when she made it to the hospital, most of which involved words most not suited for the ears of younger ponies.
First he wanders off on his own and then he gets in a fight with Rainbow Dash. He even landed himself in the Hospital! Well, at least when I get my hooves on him, I won't have to go very far to have everything put back afterwards.
Though she wasn't entirely sure what she could do against a stallion of Noon's size that could hold his own against a Pegasus as strong as Rainbow, but she figured dropping him into a time portal for a little while could do more then get her point across. As her mind slightly relapsed to its former villainous setting, the sounds of the market stared to dull. It wasn't until she had wandered far enough that the air became still that she stopped her silent musings of torture to get her bearings. She was now standing on a winding road headed in the direction of a large building in the distance that she immediately identified as Ponyville General Hospital. With a sigh, she resumed her march, at the same time deciding that making her ebon student do double the work she had for him originally settle as a suitable punishment for his foolishness( after she chewed him a new one). She hadn't made much progress when something caught her attention. Standing at the side of the road were five fillies. Two she identified as the younger siblings of Applejack and Rarity and one was Rainbow Dash's biggest fan. The other two were a pair of Earth Ponies that looked like they came from higher breeding, especially the one wearing a silver tiara. Standing in front of them was a tall tree with something tied to a branch by a thick rope. Curious, Starlight moved in to get a better look. What she saw made her jaw hit the grass. Hanging like a massive cocoon was an understandably annoyed Noon Scribe. He was wrapped from top to bottom in rope, with the part attaching him to the tree coming out of his back keeping him from ending up upside-down.
What in the name of Celestia? 
"So now that we've caught him, what do we do with him?" Sweetie asked, staring at the hanging stallion.
"I say we toss him off of the top of Ghastly Gorge!" barked Scootaloo.
"Scootaloo!"cried a startled Applebloom.
"What?" she growled. "He put Rainbow Dash in the hospital!"
"And just came out of it ," Diamond Tiara stated.
"What's that gotta do with anything?" Scootaloo snapped.
"Maybe that he was getting treated too," Silver Spoon deadpanned, holding up a bag.
"It's still his fault she got hurt!"
Applebloom moved between the two fillies before the argument could escalate any further.
"That's enough!"
After a minute of glares, the three fillies looked away from each other, grumbling some choice words under their breath as they became suddenly interested in the ground beneath them.
"Look Scoots," Applebloom sighed, staring at her orange friend. "Ah get that you'r mad about what happened to Rainbow Dash, but that don't mean we're gonna kill the guy! The plan was ta get him ta leave Ponyville! Not become murderers!"
"Hey," Noon called, startling the five fillies below. "I've got the perfect plan. How's about you all untie me, hoof over my medicine, and get Rainbow's side of the story before things get really bad."
The five fillies stared at the hanging stallion and in response to the flatness of his tone shivered.
"Like what?" Applebloom said, faking  bravery.
"Like my new magic tutor giving you all a verbal spanking."
At first they all just looked at him as if he'd lost his mind until he gestured for them to look behind them. The second they saw Starlight, their eyes widened.
"Uh, hi Starlight," Applebloom said awkwardly. "Fancy meeting ya'll here."
"Same," she said stepping closer to the fillies. "What's going on here?"
"Oh! This? well, me and the girls thought we'd help mah big sis get this here Karkadann out of Ponyville. So far we got as far as catchin' him, but we don't know what ta' do from beyond that point."
Starlight face-hoofed.
"Really girls? You too?"
"Just so you know," Diamond started. "Silvy and I had nothing to do with this."
Starlight stared at the two with a raised brow.
"It's true!" Silver Spoon added. "If anything, we were trying to get the three of them to stop!"
Starlight groaned before giving the five of them a hard stare.
"First off, you know it would take more than some rope to hold a Karkadann, right? Even an injured Karkadann's strength is roughly the same as two full grown Earth Ponies, so he's more than capable of braking free. Second, don't you think that if he wanted to hurt you all he wouldn't've done it already? I mean, five little fillies versus one grown war pony does seem like a pretty one-sided match don't you think?"  
Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo gaped, as if finally understanding the potential danger they had put themselves into. No matter how nobel they thought they're actions were, it didn't change the fact that it was incredibly stupid for them to try what they did alone.
"Told ya," Diamond sighed.
Starlight looked at Noon and groaned.
"Can you get down here already?"
He shrugged, then with a soft snap, the ropes broke away from him, letting him land on his hooves on the ground a foot below. As the original CMC members stared at him with slack jaws and wide eyes at his display of strength, Noon Scribe walked over to Silver Spoon and held out a hoof.
"Can I have my potions back please?"
"Sure," she shrugged, hoofing over the bag she was holding .
"Thanks."
With that, he draped the bag across his back and with Starlight at his left, the two walked down the path leading back to Ponyville.
"How long were you going to stay like that?" Starlight asked.
Noon shrugged.
"Not sure. Probably before they decided to leave me in the Everfree Forest or something."
She giggled at that.
"I still can't believe they tried to capture you."
"No kidding," Noon chuckled. "By the way, what the heck is a Karkadann anyway?" 
Starlight raised a brow.
"You really don't know?"
"Not a clue."
She sighed.
"A long time ago, a tribe of Unicorns lived on the border between the Crystal Empire and Saddle Arabia. These Unicorns possessed immense power even by present standards. This was because their magic no only flowed within their horns, but also in their bones, blood, and skin, giving them near invincibility and unbelievable physical strength. In essence, the Saddle Arabians saw these Unicorns as a race more like rhinos than ponies and thus began calling them 'Karkadanns' a word that translated into 'rhinoceros'. Because of the wild magic running through their bodies,Karkadanns had very violent temperaments and would constantly search for strong enemies to satisfy their aggressive impulses. It was even believed that they drank the blood of their enemies and were cannibals, which only added to the fear associated with them. This eventually lead other pony tribes to look at them with a mix of fear and hate, sparking countless bloody wars. Most of these ended with the Karkadanns winning, a fact that not only expanded their territory, but also made them even more frightening to the surrounding civilisations at the time. The straw that broke the camel's back was when one of their strongest warriors took over the Crystal Empire. When that happened, all of the surrounding territories gathered up all of their remaining strength and attacked the Karkadanns making sure to kill as many as they could down to the last foal. It was called the Battle at the Divide but to Twilight and I, it was no battle. It was a genocide."
At the closing of Starlight's explanation, Noon was silent. Knowing that something so cruel happened in such a generally happy world's history was sobering to say the least. It also explained what Applejack was talking about yesterday, about how he was some kind of "pony-eating monster". It also explained why Rarity was so scared of her. But something even more chilling crossed his mind; earlier, Starlight called him a Karkadann.
"I am one," he said, tone shaky. "Arn't I?"
Sadly, Starlight nodded.
He sighed.
"Great. So then Applejack was right."
"Not quite."
He gave her a confused stare.
"What are you talking about?"
She gave him a bold smile and said, "She may have known what you are, but not who."
"Huh?"
She pointed at his flank.
"In the history books I read, Karkadanns generally came in two groups, warriors and tacticians. Warriors had weapon oriented Cutie Marks while tacticians had quills or scrolls. It was the sign that they were destined to lead and create culture among their peers."
Noon's face started to redden at the unexpected praise. 
"W-What are ya getting at?"
"That you're a rare breed of Karkadann. A fighter with a mind and a heart."
Noon's whole head turned bright red, complete with steam rising out of his crescent horn. Starlight giggled at his reaction.
"Plus, it makes it a little easier for me to figure out what your Focus might be."
"Really?" he asked, returning to his normal color and temperature.
She smiled.
"We'll see."
And with that, they walked in calm silence, letting the early-evening shadows wash over them as they strolled towards Starlight's house.
> Prophecy 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ponyville seldom had bad weather. The only exceptions being the occasional heavy downpour when the weather team accidentally skipped a scheduled shower. As such, a clear night sky blanketed the humble hamlet in its cool spring time embrace. Most ponies would take advantage of such conditions to enjoy Luna's star weaving, all but two ponies that is. About a mile away from Twilight's castle stood a simple two-story stone cottage with a similar brown shingled roof as the houses native of the town's residential districts, with the only unique feature being a mailbox with its resident's Cutie Mark plastered on the sides. Surrounded by countless books and scrolls sat two ponies in the Cottage's living room with an ornate redwood coffee table standing between  them sat two ponies, a light pink unicorn mare and a less then confident looking onyx Karkadann stallion.	
"Are ya sure about this Starlight?" Noon asked, staring at a stack of blank paper resting on the table.
"Positive," she nodded. "Just look at your Cutie Mark. It practically screams Rune Focus."
He sighed.
"Okay. So what do I have to do?"
"First, you need to materialize a magical medium to form a catalyst for your magic. That should allow you channel your magic into your words more effectively."
"Okay, how do I do that?"
She smiled at him.
"First, focus some of your magic into your horn."
He nodded and obeyed, allowing a dark violet aura to wrap around his horn.
"Next close your eyes and think back to when you got your Cutie Mark. Think about how you felt when you discovered what your special talent was and how doing what you're meant to do made you feel."
Noon flinched a little at that. 
Humans didn't have Cutie Marks so he scrambled to find what could possibly be the next best thing. He thought back to when he first started reading for fun, all the times his Grand Mother would read to him before bed, when he started writing stories at first just to kill time before receiving praise from his Mother and her friends for his apparent skill, and finally when he decided that it was what he wanted to do and the flame that burned inside when he finally put that desire to work. 
As these memories flashed before his mind's eye, the magic gathered in his horn began to change. Small balls of dark-violet energy, no bigger than a dime, drifted out of his horn and stopped about a foot away from the ebon Unicorn's face. Slowly at first, but as the seconds ticked by, the orbs moved much faster and in growing groups until it looked like a swarm of purple fireflies had gathered in front of him. Starlight watched in stunned silence, the brilliant display before her long sense removed her ability to speak. In the eyes of the experienced Mage, this was no mere light-show. It was magic in its oldest and most primal form, the magic of a pony's heart ready to take a form best suited to aid its master in his endeavors. For a moment, the mass of orbs simply floated in a dense swarm, not entirely sure what to do with themselves at the moment before, without warning, they surged together into the center of the swarm, rapidly merging into a quickly growing orb of violet energy. Then, just as suddenly, a bright flash filled the room, momentarily blinding Starlight.
As she blinked the stars out of her eyes, Noon opened his eyes, caught off guard by the sudden burst of magic energy that exploded in front of his face. What he saw was an even bigger surprise. Hovering in front of him was a single violet, glowing, quill. At first glance, it didn't look like anything special, but when he tried to grab it with his magic, he found that he didn't need to. The floating writing implement moved almost in synch with his thoughts, as if it was a part of his body.
"Holy," he muttered to himself as he stared at the magic quill.
And then, just as quickly as it appeared, the quill winked out of existence.
"What the heck was-"
"YOU DID IT!" Starlight cheered, clapping her hooves together. "It was for about six seconds, but you did it!"
He blinked.
"You mean that was my-"
"Yup!" she smiled.
Noons eyes widened as what just happened sunk in.
"I'm a Rune Type?"
She nodded.
Noon's body trembled as his happiness started to build within him, gradually reaching its breaking point until.
"I'M A RUNE TYPE!!!"
Starlight giggled as she watched the stallion whoop and haller like a pony at a hoofball game.
"Easy pal," she laughed, pulling Noon out of his one pony parade. "It's still a bit too early to celebrate."
"Huh?"
"You know how to form a catalyst, but now you need to learn how to maintain it."
"Oh," he blushed, chuckling awkwardly.
Starlight sighed, a smirk teasing at the corners of her lips.
"Now lets do it again. You ready?"
"Yes Ma'am!"
"Then.........START!"



***



"Ugh," I groaned as Twilight led me to the southern out-skirts of Ponyville.
"Are you okay back there?"she asked over her shoulder.
"Your student's a Tyrant," I panted.
Twilight cringed.
"She pushed you that hard?"
I nodded.
"Not really her fault I guess," I sighed as I staggered to her left. "I never really used magic all that much before coming to Ponyville so having to spend the whole night using it took a lot out of me."
Twilight gaped at me.
"She had you practice all night?!"
"Not exactly," I cringed. "I think about three hours in I passed out."
"What?!" She gasped. "Noon Scribe, you can't push yourself so hard! Doing so could cause serious damage to your body's magic network and for a pony like you, that could be a death sentence!"
I flinched at the mention of the word "death".
"I-I'll keep that in mind," I cringed.
Twilight sighed then flashed me a calm smile.
"Please do. In fact, I think I'll have to have a talk with Starlight to make sure this doesn't happen again in the future."
"Thanks," I said sheepishly. "So....are you sure I should meet Fluttershy? The last couple of times I met your friends it didn't quite go over so well."
Twilight nodded.
"Absolutely! Fluttershy's the nicest pony in all of Equestria. If their's anypony who would be willing to give you a chance, it would be her."
Makes sense, I thought as Fluttershy's cottage came into view. I mean, hell, she gave Discord a shot so why not?
I was going to regret that thought.
Twilight knocked on the door. After a moment of nothing happening, the door to Fluttershy's cottage slowly slid open.
"Hello?" Twilight called out, stepping into the house.
There was no response.
Twilight looked back at me, a concerned look on her face. Guessing what she wanted, I stepped into the silent cottage. It didn't take me long to feel uncomfortable. The Cottage was eerily quiet, especially for a place known for being flooded with animals. I couldn't even see the demon spawn rabbit Angel anywhere, which filled me with a mix of relief and worry. As much as I didn't want to put up with a demonic bunny rabbit, I could at least consider that a form of normalcy in this world. I cautiously crept through the living room, my instincts telling me to get the hell out of there as I looked around. Off and on I would hear some small creaks or scratching in the walls and floorboards, but I didn't give it all that much thought. That was my first mistake.
Suddenly, I heard a muffled scream behind me. I spun around, expecting to see some monster or something but instead found nothing. That was the problem. Twilight was right behind me not even a second ago. A second after that thought crossed my mind, a couple of loud thuds could be heard coming from behind a door to my left on the other side of the living room. Looking around for something I could use to defend myself, just in case, I spotted an empty pet food bowl on the floor. It wasn't that much bigger than what you would use to feed a medium sized dog, but it would have to do. With little choice, I grabbed the bowl with my magic and moved towards the door. I listened carefully for anymore sounds, if nothing else, then to give me an idea of how many threats I had to deal with. After another two minutes of silence, I slowly opened the door. 
When I did I learned three things: One, it was the kitchen. Two, there was about forty small rodents holding various lengths of rope and string. And three, Fluttershy could hold a frying pan while flying.
Fuck me.....  
"Hiya!!!"
*CLANG*
*THUD*



***



Darkness. That was all I could see when my senses returned. The sky, the ground, everything looked like it was made of black ink. On unsteady legs, I staggered onto my hooves.
"Ugh, where am I?" I groaned, trying to get my bearings. "Did Fluttershy kill me or something? If so, I want a do over!"
It was then that something slowly started to faze out of the darkness. At first I couldn't make out any features, but that changed as it got closer. It was about seven feet tall and vaguely pony shaped. Covering most of its body was a tattered grey cloak with a moth-eaten hood. Sticking out of the hood was what could only be the bony jaw of a horse with a pair of red glowing orbs being the only other thing that I could see in the hood. That, and a wicked three foot long black horn. The creature towered over me, its red orbs burrowing into me, but they didn't hold anger, but curiosity.
"Fear not former human," It said, its voice sounding like an echoing dry whisper. "Your time has not yet come."
I gulped.
"R-Really? Good! Think maybe you could send me back then?"
Death laughed.
"In due time my friend," it said, lowering its meatless muzzle to my own. "Tell me, how do you like your new life?"
I stepped back, startled by both the unicorn skull now fully visible just a foot away from my face and by Death's question.
"I-It's good, I guess," I stammered. "Not to crazy about getting jumped every other day, but its defiantly better than my old life."
"Hmmm. Interesting," Death mussed. "Would you say you've formed a bond with this world?"
Again, Death threw me for a loop. I thought about what I had been through sense I came to Equestria. All of the ponies that wanted to help me and all the ones that hurt me. 
"Not yet."
Death tilted its head.
"Not yet?"
I shook my head.
"But," I smirked. "I have made a few bonds with the ponies here. For now, that's good enough for me."
Death stared at me in silence for a few minutes, then, suddenly, it threw its head back and laughed.
"Magnificent!" it roared, its tone jovial. "It looks as though her judgement was just!"
I tilted my head at that.
"Her?"
Death chuckled, again lowering its head to my level.
"Some other time my friend. Let's just say someone has some big plans for you."
I raised a brow at that.
Death just chuckled again.
"For now, all you need to know is that a choice lies ahead of you."
"What kind of choice?"
Death leered at me, or the closest it could to a leer.
"The kind that could give me work."
I cringed.
It eyed me carefully for a moment, then continued.
"Soon, a trial will befall you. One that will test the strength of your heart. Should you pass, a bright life will await you. But should you fail, a life of eternal pain and shadow shall be your reward."
I stared at Death, more than a little unnerved by its prophecy. 
"How soon?" I asked.
"Very..." it purred. "Now, WAKE UP!!!"



***



"Why did you do that?" Twilight demanded, stomping a hoof.
"I-I'm sorry," Fluttershy whimpered, half of her face hidden behind her mane. 
Twilight groaned and shifted her attention towards the comatose stallion lying on Fluttershy's sofa. 
From what she could gather, Fluttershy heard about what happened to Rainbow Dash from some of her animal friends. Afraid of what could happen to her, she had some birds and mice keep an eye on him. In addition to spying on him, they were to tell her if Noon was anywhere near her cottage. As a result, when the two of them stepped into the perimeter of Fluttershy's security grid, some of the small animals alerted her. This led her to set up a small army of what animals were present at the time and prepare for an ambush. When she heard that Twilight was with him, she thought that he had taken her hostage and swooped to her "rescue" when his back was turned before she grabbed a frying pan and prepared herself for battle.
Twilight rubbed the space between her eyes.
"It's fine, just make sure you apologize to him after he comes to, okay?"
Fluttershy nodded, then looked towards the unconscious Karkadann.
"How was he? I mean....before I hit him."
Twilight sighed.
"Tired, but in much better shape then when I found him."
"How so?" she asked. "If you don't mind me asking..."
With a frown, Twilight told her about the night Noon Scribe appeared in front of her castle, and how close he was to death. She went on to tell her about his out burst when he came too and the period of self-induced  isolation that fallowed until Twilight was able to convince him to open up to her. As she talked, Fluttershy's eyes widened with a mix of fear and regret as the full weight of her actions became clear. It wasn't until Twilight started talking about the incident at Noon's party that Noon started to show signs of life.
With a loud groan, he pulled himself into a sitting position.
"Ow... Okay, if one more pony tries to kill me I swear I'm gonna knock them through a wall..." he groaned, rubbing the sides of his throbbing head.
Grimacing, he turned towards the two mares.
"Noon!" Twilight cheered, galloping to my side. "Oh thank Celestia, how do you feel."
"Sore," he grumbled as he staggered to his hooves. "How long was I out?"
"Two and a half hours," she frowned. "Are you sure you should be moving?"
"I've survived worse," he shrugged.
He turned towards Fluttershy. The Pegasus cringed in fear, already prepared to receive a verbal barrage from the moody stallion. Instead, he just sighed before turning back to Twilight.
"I guess that makes three," he said. "C'mon Twilight, I knew something like this would happen."
As he said that, he walked over to the front door. Panicking, Fluttershy flew forward and blocked the door. Noon groaned, then gently moved her out of the way with his magic. He was just about to open the door when Fluttershy said "WAIT!"
He stopped, then turned to face her, eyes narrowed.
"What? Want to take a swing at me with something else?"
The slight venom in his tone made both Twilight and Fluttershy flinch.
"N-No," Fluttershy shivered. " I-I wanted to s-say I'm sorry. M-My animal friends said they saw you fight Rainbow Dash and ...."
Noon's features softened as understanding replaced his anger. With a defeated sigh, he took a step towards the trembling mare. Fluttershy hid behind her mane, too ashamed to look him in the eye.
"Apology accepted," he smiled.
"R-Really?" Fluttershy squeaked.
He nodded and she immediately relaxed.
"T-Thank you," she smiled. "L-Let's start over. Hi, I'm Fluttershy."
"Noon Scribe," he bowed. "Nice to meet ya."
Fluttershy blushed at the formality in his greeting and giggled. Twilight smiled as she watched her two friends getting along, even if the meeting did start on a rather rocky note. Eventually, the three of them settled down in Fluttershy's kitchen, sipping tea and making small talk. Noon didn't really pay that much attention to the conversation. Instead, his focus drifted to his surroundings. It was strange to him to be able to get such an intimate look at Fluttershy's house. As it turned out, the show only showed about a tenth of the mare's abode as he could see several times more animal dens and bird houses just in the kitchen alone then he remembered seeing on his TV.
I wonder just how many kinds of animals she has, he thought, taking a sip of his tea.
Just then, he felt a slight prick on his left hind-leg. He turned and saw one of the strangest creatures he'd ever saw in his life. It was about a foot and a half at the shoulder and had the vage shape of a cat, but as his eyes traveled down from its feline face towards its tail, the features shifted into that of a dog or fox. Its fur was pitch black and covered with white flecks that looked a lot like stars. Its eyes were a striking shade of sapphire blue that seemed to look through him, almost like it was judging him. For a moment, the two just stared at each other until the cat/fox let out a soft mew  and hopped onto Noon's back. Noon was going to tell the strange mutant to get off, but was interrupted by a pair of girly squeals. He snapped his head towards the mares. Both of them had sparkles in their eyes and smiles that would've made Pinkie Pie jealous.
"Oh my gosh, Fluttershy! You never told me you were taking care of a Gulon!" Twilight gushed, summoning a paper and quill.
"I-I wanted to," she blushed. "But until now he wouldn't let anypony near him. I was afraid he would try to attack you. I'm sorry."
Noon looked at the two of them, a brow raised curiously.
"What the heck is a Gulon?"
"A Gulon," Twilight smiled. "Is a rare creature that resembles a cross between a common house cat and a wild fox that is said to live in remote forests and mountains. Aside from its appearance and habitat, not much is known about them aside from its incredible concealment abilities and appetite for magic."
Noon's eyes shot wide.
"This thing eats magic?" he cried, pointing at the creature now curled up and using his back as a pillow.
Twilight nodded.
"But you don't need to worry," she assured. "Gulon's feed on the magic surrounding it and very rarely eat Pony magic."
Noon let out a relieved sigh.
"Good. After everything I've been through, the last thing I need was some magic vampire chasing me around."
"That's not all," Fluttershy added with a smile. "Gulon's are very anti-social creatures that will only befriend Ponies  that meet certain standards."
"Like what?" he asked.
"Depends on the Gulon," she shrugged. "But when they find somepony that matches them, they lock eyes with them as a sign of acceptance."
Noon looked at the creature sleeping on his back.
"So that means he picked me?" he asked, still staring at the Gulon.
"Exactly," Twilight nodded. "Guess I'll have to let Spike know that a new animal friend's going to be moving into the castle."
Noon nodded, a slight smirk pulling at the corners of his muzzle.
Looks like I have another new bond in this world.     
> Regrets 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Rarity groaned as she threw another unfinished dress design over her shoulder. Towering over her shoulder was a mountain of similarly incomplete sketches. For the past two hours, the Seamstress tried to come up with a new design for her next seasonal line, but no matter what she tried, nothing came out right. Every sketch seamed to be missing something that she just couldn't for the life of her place. After disposing of yet another half-finished concept Rarity let out a frustrated growl and rested her head on her work-desk.
Come on Rarity, pull yourself together! This is what you do best!
After several minutes of silence she let out a listless sigh. Her battle against her creative slump was proving to be as fruitless as a dead apple tree and she knew it. She just couldn't get herself to concentrate, what with one of her friends in the hospital and three of them harboring the dangerous stallion responsible. 
A shiver shot down her spine as the monster's face jumped to the front of her memory.
At a young age, Rarity was told plenty of stories about the dreaded Karkadann tribes of the north. How they killed, raped, and pillaged anypony that was foolish enough to stand against them or got in their way. She heard about grotesque post battle banquets in which the blood and bodies of slain ponies were devoured by the savage warriors. In her mind, it was a blessing that they were wiped out by their neighboring nations all those centuries ago. Before now she thought that her brief experience with King Sombra was the closest thing she was going to get to interacting with a Karkadann. A fact that she would've been fine with, all things considered.
With a groan she rose out of her chair and walked towards her bedroom door.
Maybe a bit of fresh air will help me clear my head,  she thought, exiting her room.




***



"Heading out?" Twilight inquired as I walked towards the castle's main gate.
I nodded, rearranging my obsidian colored sattle-bags under my cloak.
"Just to get some air," I responded nonchalantly. 
She flashed me a knowing smile before saying, "Trying to make a move on Starlight again?"
I balked.
"What?! No! C'mon Twilight, she's my Magic Teacher for Peet's sake!"
Twilight chuckled.
"Whatever you say Casanova," she winked. 
I grimaced, ignoring the heat rising to my face.
"Whatever," I grumbled, turning away from her. "Be back whenever."
"Alright, see you later."
With a sigh I opened the door with my magic and stepped out into the open world to begin the long walk to Ponyville. It was another gorgeous day with a clear blue sky and just the right amount of heat to allow myself to wear my cloak without boiling. As I pulled my hood up to keep the sun out of my eyes, my thoughts started to wander towards what Twilight was talking about.
Starlight and me? Together? Really? I mean, yeah, we spend a lot of time together, but that's because she's trying to help me figure out how to control my Rune Magic. 
Besides, I thought, my head drooping. She could do a hell of a lot better then me.  
With a sigh, I shook my head and stared at the path ahead of me.
Whatever. I'm not out here to get lucky anyways.
After a few minutes, I finally reached my destination. Careful to avoid the market district, I walked around, more eager to see the sights then I was to get an orange hoof slammed into my face. As I was checking out an intricate sculpture of Princess Celestia, the sound of someone clearing their throat got my attention. Standing about a foot away from me were the five CMC members I "met" a few days ago.
Huh, déjà vu.
"Howdy," Applebloom said, awkwardly pawing at the ground. "Can we have a word with ya?"
"Depends," I said, keeping my face neutral. "Are you guys gonna tie me up again?"
She shook her head.
"Or try to have me thrown off of a cliff?" I asked, casting a look at Scootaloo.
The Pegasus filly flinched when our eyes locked before she looked away in shame.
"No sir," Applebloom said remorsefully. "Ah promise. All we wanna do is talk."
I stared down at the five fillies, three of which shook slightly as my gaze ran over them. Then, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath through my nose. When I opened my eyes, I let out the breath as a weary sigh and smiled.
"Sure. Why not?" 



***



What the devil are they doing?! Rarity thought, peeking out the edge of an ally way. 
About twelve feet away she could see five infamous fillies standing before a cloaked stallion. At the head of the small herd, Applebloom and the stallion had a short back-and-forth fallowed by a momentary pause. To Rarity, it looked as if he was trying to come to some sort of decision, and that scared her to death. This wasn't what Rarity planned on doing when she stepped out of the boutique today. She was going to spend a good part of the day getting pampered at the spa to help rid herself of her nerves. Instead, she found herself tailing the source of said nerves. For the last half hour, she fallowed him all through Ponyville, keeping a cautious distance so she could safely monitor his movements. It wasn't until her sister and friends appeared near the monster that several years of her natural lifespan had disintegrated. Her fear peeked when the hooded stallion seemed to come to some sort of decision, but before the urge to jump into action could take her, she noticed a sudden shift in his demeanor. He seemed more relaxed with a much more lively gleam to his eyes, but what really gripped her attention was his smile. Instead of the cold leer she would've expected from somepony of his presumed upbringing, he had the kind smile that held almost as much warmth as Celestia's sun. Stunned, but still cautious, Rarity continued to shadow the group. 

As the day went on, Rarity's view of the world continued to flip around. After an hour of talking with the CMC at Sugar Cube Corner, she watched him step into Bonbon's Bonbons to purchase a bag of some sort of candy, a bit more pep in his step as he returned to the streets. Next, she fallowed him all the way to Fluttershy's cottage, where he spent a good part of the day tending to several small animals, again displaying that gentile smile and gleam in his eyes. As he was leaving, Fluttershy handed him two small bottles, one of which was glowing a bright orange light. Rarity raised a brow at this, but otherwise didn't react to this slight turn of events. After a brief exchange, she saw him bow to the usually anti-social Pegasus before walking away.
Rarity's mind was racing as she continued to tail the hooded pony. Everything she saw just didn't make sense! Karkadanns were supposed to be violent monsters that killed without hesitation! And yet, this whole day he acted no different from any other pony going about their business. Then there was that smile. Though she didn't have Pinkie's expertise in regards to such things, even she could tell that wasn't the smile of a monster.
Perhaps I've made a mistake, she thought with a pang of guilt. Maybe he wasn't the monster I made him out to be. Oh sweet Celestia, what have I done?!
As she pondered this, she found Noon Scribe making his way out of town. Returning her focus to the stallion, Rarity continued to fallow him, using what little cover she could find. Eventually, he came into an open field dotted with a few large trees. As he sat down at the clearing's center, Rarity dashed behind the closest tree. Cautiously, she peeked around the trunk of her hiding place to watch the black stallion. First, he used his magic to pull back his hood and summon the glowing bottle from his sattle bags. Next, he placed the bottle down next to him before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. For a few minutes nothing happened, then, a small slip of paper drifted out of Noon Scribe's cloak, wrapped in a dark purple glow. For some reason, this small slip of paper gripped Rarity's attention. She couldn't quite understand how she knew it, but that one slip of paper held a force much more powerful than anything she had ever seen. Still entranced, Rarity watched as it slowly drifted to the ground. The second it did, her eyes widened in wonder as the whole field burst into a mighty aurora of light and color. Right before her eyes, beautiful flowers started to spring forth from the ground, filling the once green field with a vibrant kaleidoscope of colors. Suddenly, a wave of the same magic washed over her hiding place, forcing her to face Noon Scribe's magic directly. It was at that moment that Rarity knew that she was wrong about him. His magic wasn't cold and sharp like what she felt from Sombera's magic. It was warm like the sun at late dawn and gentle, yet held a slight sting to it that reminded her of the thorns of a rose. As she let the feeling pass over her, she shifted her attention back to Noon. Looking extremely winded, he grabbed the glowing bottle in his hooves, bit off the cork, and drank the glowing elixer. Once it was empty, he let out a contented sigh, then lowered his head to the ground. Once she heard the sounds of snoring fill the air, Rarity came out of her hiding place and with as much care as she could, approached the sleeping stallion. He just looked so peaceful. Like somepony who had the wight of the world on his back and finally found a moment to breath. 
As she watched him sleep, her previous feeling of regret returned with double the force. 
I was so blind. How could I think that this stallion was a monster? she thought, a tear sliding down her cheek. A monster could never make such beauty. A monster could never sleep with such a peaceful expression. A monster could never look so.........vulnerable. 
With a determined gleam in her eye, she wiped the tear from her face stared down at the sleeping stallion.
That's it then. Even if it takes me the rest of my life, I swear I will make this up to him!
> Anger
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The room was dimly lit as several sewing machines worked, all enveloped in blue light. At the heart of the phantom sweatshop sat a lone white Unicorn mare with a slightly damaged purple mane. Her blue eyes gleamed with equal parts exhaustion and determination as they scanned over every detail of her design. Absolutely every detail had to be perfect for this to aid her in her mission for forgiveness. Nothing short of her undeniable best would suffice for her crimes.  
Almost there, she thought as she worked. I just need to connect these last two pieces.
A split second later, a satisfied smirk graced Rarity's muzzle as she gave her latest masterpiece a look over.
"Finally," she sighed, her smile slowly shifting into one of inebriation as she swayed a little in her seat. "It's finally finished. It took me twenty-four hours and six minutes, but now its complete!"
All of the sewing machines stopped what they where doing, filling the room with an unnerving silence. Then, an manic chuckle filled the air that gradually grew into spine-chilling, insane laughter. At that moment, a concerned Unicorn filly peaked into the gloom, green eyes wide with fear as she stared at Rarity's back from the workroom door.
"Um......sis?" Sweetie Bell squeaked, not sure if she should get help or lock her sister in the workroom. "A-Are you okay in there?"
Rarity flinched, before slowly turning towards her on edge sibling. What the little filly saw would haunt her for many years to come. Rarity's normally pristine mane and coat was matted and frayed with stray hairs sticking out at random places. Her eyes were red and bloodshot in a manner that reminded Sweetie of the time she saw Pinkie Pie drink thirty cups of espresso on a dare. But what really unnerved the little Unicorn was the big twitchy smile plastered across her sister's muzzle.
"Sweetie Bell," Rarity gushed, her grin growing slightly larger. "Excellent timing! I just finished my Magnum Opus and was dying to show somepony."
D-Dying!? she thought as a chill shot down her spine.  Nnnope! Not happening! I'm out of here!
Before she could make a break for it, her body was wrapped in a blue glow and she found herself floating towards her unhinged older sister. Not wanting to trigger a dangerous reaction out of Rarity, Sweetie Bell looked at her sister's creation. In spite of the situation she found herself in, she had to admit the seamstress really did out do herself. Laid out on the worktable in front of her was one of the fanciest suits the filly had ever seen. It was a subtle shade of navy-blue with seams linked by subtly woven golden thread. Even in the dim light, Sweetie Bell could tell Rarity put her all into this. 
"Well?" Rarity asked, her tone showing a slight fray in her patience.  "What do you think?"
Sweetie stared at the suit with silent aw for several seconds before her brain registered that her sister had said anything. With a quick shake of her head to snap herself back into reality, she looked at the eccentric Unicorn and with the biggest smile she could muster cheered, "It's amazing!"
Rarity smiled in response to her sister's praise, before unceremoniously dropping to her haunches.
"I most certainly hope so. Nothing short of my absolute best will do."
Sweetie raised a brow at this.
"Why? Who's the suit for; one of Princess Celestia's cousins?"
Rarity tittered dizzily, her exhaustion starting to catch-up to her.
"No Sweetie, it's for Noon Scribe."
Sweetie's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as her heart sunk with fear.
"WHAT?!"
"That's right," she smiled deliriously, now starting to sway a little. "But first......... When did we install the spinning ceiling?"
Before Sweetie Bell could respond, Rarity's eyes fluttered shut and she flopped onto the floor with the grace and poise of a sack of potatoes. 
One thought passed through the stunned Unicorn filly's mind as her eyes shifted focus back and forth between the suit and the now comatose mare on the floor.
NOT good!



***



Noon Scribe walked through the Ponyville shopping district, silently fuming as memories of his discussion with the CMC yesterday ran in his head. Even though the talk helped answer a few questions, they were questions that were better left unanswered.
Oh come on man get a grip! he thought bitterly. Its not like you're ever going to see her again anyway. So why are you letting this get to you?
Noon let out an aggravated sigh. He knew that part of the reason was because of the way his body was built. The main part being something from before he tried to end his life. A set of moral codes that, before his fall into despair, he lived by. 
Maybe some lemon drops will help me get my mind off things.
As he headed in the direction of Bonbon's sweet shop, he heard a familiar voice that made his already heated blood come to a boil.
"Good afternoon kind sir."
Noon Scribe stopped mid-step before slowly looking over his shoulder. 
Standing roughly five feet away from him was Rarity. Noon noted that the white Unicorn had a rather bashful air to her and also was almost forcing herself to look him in the eyes. It almost reminded him of a sad puppy, but his barely contained anger prevented him from seeing her as cute. Instead, he saw her as nothing more than an annoyance. Not wanting to deal with her, Noon shifted his attention back to his original corse and started walking.
"W-Wait a moment," Rarity called, galloping in front of him.It was also at this point that he noticed a pair of blue saddlebags strapped to her sides, but only spared them the bare minimum of interest.	Seeing his path blocked, he stopped.
"Thank you," she smiled. "I was trying to find you all morning, darling."
Noon's eyes narrowed into a cold glare. 
"Why?"
Rarity cleared her throat.
"Last time we met I may have, overreacted a bit."
"So?"
"So," Rarity continued. "I want to say, I'm sorry for my actions all those days ago."
Rarity's horn started to glow as she levitated a white square box out of her left saddlebag 
"And as a sign of apology, I made you a little something to brighten your day."
Rarity waited until Noon's violet aura surrounded the package before letting go. Once it was freed from Rarity's magic, noon gave the box a scrutinizing glance.
"This is it?" he asked, tone flat. "You basically put a hit out on me and you think a half-assed apology and some lump of fabric would be enough?"
A look of shock crossed her face as she tried to process what she had just heard.
"W-What ever do y-"
"Applejack," he said dropping the box onto the ground.
Rarity tilted her head in confusion.
"What about Applejack?"
"You were the one that told her I was here."
Rarity took a step back, eyes wide with surprise and fear.
"H-How did you know-"
"The Crusaders."
Rarity felt her heart drop into her stomach. 
A heavy silence passed between  the two, all nearby ponies slowly creeping out of sight in fear of getting dragged into whatever disaster  was about to befall the shopping district.
"Did you know that magic doesn't work on me?"
Rarity flinched.
"Not even healing spells. So I had to drink potions to get my body to recover. Ribs don't heal painlessly you, know."
Rarity was about to apologize, but Noon cut her off.
"Days of drinking bottles of what tasted like manticore piss to fix damage that I only deserved for the crime of breathing! And do you know what the real kicker of this whole thing is?!"
Rarity cringed, afraid of what the answer could be.
"I WAS WILLING TO ACCEPT THAT!!!"
Rarity's eyes shot wide open as the rage in Noon's voice washed over her like a scalding tide. For a moment, he had changed into the beast from her fillyhood nightmares. The only thing that kept her from running right then and there were the barely restrained tears she saw at the corners of his eyes. In an instant, her fear was replaced with regret as, with a clenched jaw, he took a deep breath to regain his composure.
"I was willing to accept that maybe I really should just disappear, if I can't even be happy here of all places. If it wasn't for Twilight, Spike, and Starlight I don't know were I'd be right now. "
With cold, dead eyes, he stared down at the dropped package.
"I really don't deserve friends like them. But if I had to pick between spending time with them or sharing the same space with an uppity bitch who's too much of a fucking coward to fight her own battles, I'll gladly take the former."
"B-B-But I," Rarity stuttered, tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes.
"So if you really want to make it up to make it up to me, take your gift, shove it up your ass, and go BURN IN HELL!!!"
As he said that, he kicked the box into a nearby trashcan and walked away from the now weeping white pony. After getting all that off his chest, Noon felt a lot lighter then he did before. He also felt like he ran a marathon and his throat was sore from all the yelling. Aside from that he was back to his relatively normal melancholy mood. 
But that didn't last long as suddenly, one of his forelegs was pulled out from under him. Too startled to react, the ebony Karkadann found himself flipped onto his back and pinned to the ground by his shoulders. With a pained grunt, he looked up at his attacker and was greeted by a very angry Rarity.
He opened his mouth to tell her to get off, but this time it was Rarity who had some things to say.
"Now listen you overgrown barbarian! I know that I fouled up! I know that you have every right to hate me and I will most likely never be forgiven for my deeds! But Celestia-damn it this is the only way I can think to do! So take your gift and ACCEPT MY APOLOGY!!!" 
For a moment, the two stayed like that, eyes locked onto each other. Then, with a slight grin, Noon took a deep breath and said,"Apology accepted."
Rarity blinked.
"What?"
"Apology accepted," he repeated, all of the previous tension seeming to flow out of his body like water. "Now that you put your heart into it."
She gave him a look of confusion as she tried to decipher his words. 
"Now," he continued, breaking Rarity out of her musings. "What do ya say you get off of me and we go grab a milkshake, my treat?"
Rarity's face turned beet read as she staggered off of the defenseless Stallion.
"Y-Yes," she squeaked, struggling to return to her refined persona. "That sounds lovely. Though, considering the situation, I think we should go dutch. Agreed?"
"Fair enough," he laughed as he rose to his hooves. "Just let me grab something first."
He quickly trotted towards the trashcan that held Rarity's gift then used his magic to pull the box out of the refuse. Aside from a few small coffee stains, the package was thankfully intact. With a weary sigh, he smiled as he teleported the package to his room.
"Alright," he grinned, "Let's go."