Chapter 1

Different Shades
by Sonson21

Chapter 1: Memory One

A purple unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle walked through the halls of Canterlot’s palace with a sense of purpose.

Under normal circumstances the mare believed a letter would have been sufficient, but this was not the case. Having recently paid witness to what she deemed a deplorable act committed by her own kind left her feeling oddly dirty. She felt that something had to be done to rid herself of the metaphorical grime that covered her body.

They were a peace loving species, were they not? One of acceptance and kindness, but perhaps things were never as black and white as she believed, for her kind had shown shades of gray, ugly shades of gray. Shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts, she stopped in front of two large oak doors that were being guarded by two ponies clad in armor.

“Twilight Sparkle,” one of the ponies said in a gruff tone. “Princess Celestia has been expecting you,” he said in a flat manner, as he made to push open the large door and allow her access.

Twilight sauntered past the guards with no greeting or response to their words. Walking into the large throne room, she made sure to keep her face as devoid of emotion as she could, to convey just how upset she was.

Celestia, in all her radiance, stood waiting for her protégé and greeted her with a warm smile. “My dearest student, Twilight Sparkle.” She spoke in a melodic tone befitting of a goddess, as she walked over and nuzzled Twilight, whom didn’t much return the gesture.

Twilight sighed. “Princess Celestia, there’s much we need to talk about.”

Celestia nodded her head in understanding, as she took a few steps back. “This is pertaining to the incident that took place in Ponyville a week ago, is it not?” Celestia inquired.

“Then you know what happened?” Twilight asked curiously.

“No, I’m merely aware that there was a commotion,” Celestia answered. “I am not privy to what actually took place. Although, I can see that whatever transpired has left you in disarray, my student.”

Twilight was silent for a moment, as she searched her mind for what she needed to say. “Princess,” Twilight began, “you’ve always stressed the importance of friendship and all that comes with it. Learning to love and tolerate your fellow pony. But should that tolerance only extend to our own kind, are we that narrow-minded as a whole?”

Celestia remained stock still, as she listened to what Twilight had to say.

“Even though there’s an entire world beyond the borders of Equestria, we seldom have interactions with the inhabitants of those lands. We have peace, but is total segregation worth that peace?” Twilight asked, as she started to fear that she might have stepped over the line, but she bucked those thoughts to the recesses of her mind and pressed forward anyway. “Just a week ago, Ponyville was visited by something…something different,” Twilight said with an obvious amount of regret laced in her voice. “I can’t describe it, but words won’t be necessary,” Twilight said, as her horn began to glow translucent magenta, and a large sphere formed above her head.

Celestia eyes widened slightly, but her surprise quickly gave way to a smile. “You’ve learned to conjure a time window,” Celestia said with a great deal of pride in her tone.

Twilight merely nodded in response. “If you wouldn’t mind, please, take a look for yourself, Princess,” Twilight offered, and Celestia tentatively stuck her head inside the sphere of magic.

---

A moment later, Celestia felt as though she was being whisked away from her own body, as the world spun around her in a blurry haze. After the spinning ceased, Celestia touched down on solid ground gracefully and observed the area.

She noted that she was in Ponyville, just outside of Twilight’s library. She couldn’t help but admire the perfection in which Twilight had cast the spell. Everything was in perfect order, not the disjointed mess that would often result from less talented ponies attempting to cast a time window.

Celestia was soon dragged from her own musings as a pink pony, that Celestia recognized as the element of laughter, Pinkie Pie, galloped in the direction of the library.

The normally bubbly and energetic pony had an uncharacteristic mask of urgency displayed on her face. Not stopping, she ran clean through Celestia, as though she were a ghost, and burst through the library’s front door.

Celestia raised an eyebrow, but soon followed Pinkie into the library.

“Twi-Twilight!” Pinkie stammered out, as she ran in, clumsily slamming into a book shelf, spilling its contents.

“PINKIE!” Twilight shouted from atop the stairs, before she marched down them with irritation plastered on her face. “Look at this mess, cleaning all this up will leave me behind schedule.”

“No time for schedules!” Pinkie said, ignoring the mess as she walked over the pile of books as if they weren’t there. “My ears are itchy, my knees are pinchy, my left eye is twitchy, my snout is runny, and I have a case of the shivers all over!”

“Then maybe you should see a doctor,” Twilight suggested. “None of that sounds very healthy.”

“I’m not sick, it’s my Pinkie sense!” Pinkie argued. “This is the biggest doozy of the dooziest!”

‘Pinkie sense?’ Celestia thought with a raised eyebrow, as she continued to watch the memory.

Twilight sighed. Pinkie sense never made much sense to her, but she had learnt to simply go with it. “Fine, Pinkie. What does a combo like that mean anyway?”

“That’s just it, I don’t know,” Pinkie said. “I just know that something’s about to happen in Ponyville, and soon, like really soon, I mean right now soon!”

“Alright then,” Twilight said with a resigned sigh before calling out. “Spike! I’m heading out into town, do you mind cleaning this mess?”

A small, purple dragon with green spikes on his body, poked his head out from a corridor. Spotting the mess, he huffed in annoyance. “Yah know, one of these days you’re going to have to clean up your own mess, Pinkie.”

“Sorry, Spike. I’ll make sure to get you some super duper tasty gems from Rarity,” Pinkie said before grabbing Twilight and leading her out the door.

Celestia quickly made to follow both Twilight and Pinkie with an ever growing interest in what was to come.

Meanwhile, Twilight kept giving quick glances at Pinkie as they ran. She hadn’t thought too much about it until now, but Pinkie had never been a pony to show much apprehension during any situation. The thought that her generally unfazed friend was actually looking worried sent chills along her spine.

A loud scream suddenly pierced the air, and Twilight felt her blood run cold. The evidence pointing to a bad situation was piling up, and she quickly picked up the pace. Having rounded a corner, both Twilight and Pinkie ran directly into the thick of a large crowd that had formed.

“What’s going on? What is everypony doing here?” she asked while pushing her way through the crowd, trying to make her way to the front of it.

Celestia continued to follow after Twilight, simply walking through the ponies, completely unhindered.

“What is that?” a voice among the crowd called.

“It’s a monster!” another voice responded.

“There are dead animals on it!” a female voice screeched.

“Look, it’s killed a filly!” another voice rang out in pure horror.

Now it was Celestia’s turn to feel as if somepony had poured ice water down her back, and she picked up her pace.

“Killed?” Twilight repeated fearfully as she and Pinkie finally emerged out of the crowd and got a view of what everypony had crowded around.

Twilight and Pinkie both gasped at what was standing before them.

Meanwhile, Celestia also found her mouth unceremoniously agape at what she was seeing. Unlike her subjects, she had seen what lies beyond the borders of Equestira, but this… thing was something entirely different.

She noted that it stood at about her height, not counting her horn, making it fairly tall at about six feet. It was lanky and had little fur, apart from a short matted black mane and strands of fur on its exposed legs. Its flesh was a dark brown, while its eyes were deep brown, bordering on black.

Apart from its general appearance, it was wearing a pair of torn, saffron colored shorts, along with matching ankle bands and wrist bands. A conical straw hat hung on its back, tethered by a thin string. Celestia also noticed its body was covered in strange markings, as well.

If the creature wasn’t strange enough on its own, it actually had three dead squirrels strung together by a rope hanging from its hip. It was barbaric, even for a carnivore, to simply carry around its kills in such a manner. The blood tipped spear held firmly in its left arm was more than likely the tool that had seen to their deaths. Finally, it had a curved steel blade hanging from its opposite hip.

This thing was dangerous, Celestia reasoned, before taking notice of the small, orange filly held in the creature’s right arm, in an almost delicate fashion. Her heart ached for the child, but she noticed the small rhythmic motion of the filly’s chest rising and falling, indicating that she was still alive. Breathing a sigh of relief, Celestia went back to watching how everything was to play out.

Twilight watched quietly as the creature surveyed its surroundings with a critical eye. She could clearly see the confusion running through the dark pools that were its eyes and wondered what it was planning.

A moment later its sight fell on the pony nearest to it, which happened to be Twilight herself. She was confused at first, as she was too transfixed to notice that other ponies had slowly backed away.

The creature began to speak in a language that Twilight couldn’t understand.

Celestia noted that it somewhat resembled one of the native languages she had heard spoken in the Zebra's territory.

Twilight tried her best to comprehend what she was hearing, but inevitably failed in her attempt. “I’m afraid I don’t understand,” she replied hesitantly, doing her best to mask the fear she felt.

The creature stared at Twilight for a moment before creasing its lips into what Twilight assumed was a smile. “English very choppy,” it said as it knelt down and placed its spear on the ground next to it.

“English, what’s English?” Twilight asked, but the creature didn’t answer but looked down at the filly held in his arms before motioning for Twilight to come closer.

Twilight wanted to approach, but her body simply wouldn’t respond.

The creature seemed to sense her fear and sighed. “She hurt, needs help,” it said while stroking the filly’s magenta colored mane affectionately.

Celestia found herself confused, as she watched what she had assumed to be a barbaric creature show concern for the filly in its arms.

“Don’t do it.” A blue unicorn suddenly spoke from a short distance away from Twilight. “This is an obvious ploy,” she reasoned. “This barbaric brute is trying to use Scootaloo as bait.”

“Yeah, I bet it’s responsible for hurting her in the first place!” A cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail spoke up as well. “If it weren’t holding her hostage right now, I’d buck its ugly teeth in!” she said as more ponies voiced their agreement.

The creature narrowed its eyes at the ponies. His English wasn’t the best, but he could understand them well enough. The general consensus being that he wasn’t to be trusted. Looking at the small pony in his arms one last time, he put her down gently, grabbed his spear, and slowly began to back away.

The cyan colored pegasus wasted no time as she took to the air and dive bombed towards the creature. “Eat this!”

“No, Dash!” Twilight shouted.

The creature narrowed his eyes as he stretched out his hand to intercept the pony, only to find his arm being pinned to the side by a green translucent force. Turning his attention to the side, he could see that the blue unicorn’s horn was glowing the same shade of green.

He didn't have much time to digest this, as the pegasus crashed into him with impressive force, sending them both sailing into a nearby wall and tumbling into an alleyway. The creature's head hit the ground with a sickening crunch, and he grasped it in pain.

“Colgate, what are you two doing!?” Twilight demanded of the unicorn. “Couldn’t you see it was about to leave peacefully?”

“We cannot allow it to leave now,” Colgate argued, “a predator is one thing, but an intelligent one that has already shown willingness to enter our town cannot be allowed to roam free.”

Twilight's eyes widened. “What do you plan to do?” she asked quietly, but Colgate didn't respond. “You wouldn’t! Surely you wouldn’t?” Twilight turned to Pinkie for support, only to find her standing rigidly in a catatonic state.

“Twilight Sparkle, putting that creature down is for the safety of the town,” a tan pony with a gray mane said, as she stepped forward.

Twilight gasped in shock. “But Mayor Mare, that’s…that’s murder!”

“That creature has already shown a tendency to kill; did you not see the squirrels?” Mayor Mare asked. “What’s worse is that it doesn't appear to have killed them for consumption, merely to collect them as trophies.”

“But we don’t know that.” Twilight tried to counter, but Mayor Mare tuned her out as she directed some nearby ponies to assist Rainbow Dash in apprehending the creature.

Meanwhile, Dash shook the cobwebs from her head, as she got to her hooves. She could see the creature staggering a bit but slowly regaining its bearings.

“I’m not done with you yet.” Dash declared as she sprung at the creature, once again knocking it to the ground and bit down hard on its shoulder.

The creature yelled in pain as its eyes flashed red in pure rage. He could understand their position and why they were trying to end him, but he’d be damned before he'd let these ponies kill him. Using his arm that wasn’t currently pinned behind his back, he reached out and grabbed Dash by the mane.

She looked surprised, but that quickly turned into a grimace of pain, as he yanked her up by the mane and slammed her face into the dirt ground. He released her mane and rolled onto his hands and knees and stood up, wobbling slightly.

Dash spat out a tooth and stared menacingly at the creature, only to receive a brutal kick to the head for her trouble, knocking her out.

Walking the short distance to his spear, he picked it up, only to find his path now blocked by the blue unicorn, along with an orange pony wearing a hat, an elegant white unicorn and an absurdly large white pegasus standing behind them. It was a juggernaut of a pony.

The creature noticed that the orange pony and the white unicorn looked especially livid when their eyes fell on the downed pegasus at his feet. He could almost feel the anger as their eyes bored into his own, promising him certain pain.

It was his intention to get out of the town without actually killing any of these odd, talking ponies. However, they were determined to make that as hard a feat as possible. He felt that, even though the large one in the back looked imposing, the unicorns were the most dangerous of them.

Shaking those thoughts from his head, he spun his spear around in his hand before chucking it in their direction. He hoped to use it as a distraction, but his spear became shrouded in a veil of green energy and stopped dead in its tracks.

He watched in fascination and fear as his spear turned around, directed its point towards him and shot off in his direction. Dodging to the side, he avoided the brunt of the spear, only taking a small slash across his side.

Gripping the wound in his hand, he grimaced slightly before finding the large pegasus bearing down on him from above. The pegasus landed on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

The creature struggled under the pony's girth, but found it hard considering that the orange pony was attempting to tie his legs together with a rope.

“Off me!” he shouted as he drove his heel into the snout of the pony that was trying to tie his legs together.

She fell back dazed, and he used that moment to bite down on the foreleg of the pegasus that was holding him down. The pegasus stumbled away, and the creature reached for the curved blade strapped to his hip and slashed it across the pegasus’s chest, spraying blood along the walls.

“YEAH!” the pegasus shouted from his downed position, appearing to enjoy the pain, like the meat head he was.

The creature didn’t know what to make of that but as he turned his attention to his next target, the white unicorn stood next to him.

She jumped and spun in the air, kicking his blade out of his hand. Landing on her hind legs, she stuck him in the abdomen with one foreleg and then the other. After striking, she skipped backwards. A moment later she again jumped into the air, aiming for his head. This time he was ready and grabbed her leg with both hands as she swung it towards him. He spun around and released her leg, sending her flying into the blue unicorn.

The white unicorn was dazed as the blue one crawled out from under her.
“Why can you not simply give in, and accept your punishment, you barbaric brute?” Colgate barked.

“I have done no wrong,” the creature responded.

“Killing and wearing dead squirrels isn’t wrong?” she challenged.

“Only for food,” it reasoned.

The unicorn rolled her eyes. “But I suppose hurting fillies is okay in your book then?”

“I save her,” it said while picking up the spear and the blade once again and backing up slightly. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Yah done ah fine job of showin' that,” the hat wearing pony cut in, having finally regained her bearings.

“You attack first,” it said while jabbing a thumb in Rainbow Dash’s direction. “I defend.”

The orange pony’s eyes widened at the realization. “Yah mean we backed this critter into the corner first?”

“Yes, Applejack, Rainbow Dash did make the first move, however, it did not have any qualms with fighting back,” Colgate said, trying to defend their position.

The white unicorn groaned and said in a weak voice, "What?"

“Any critter is gonna bear its fangs when cornered,”Applejack said with a shake of her head. “This is wrong and ah won’t be havin' anymore part of it.”

“That’s unacceptable,” Colgate replied. “We have to keep the town safe. Think of your sister.”

“Ah am,” Applejack fired back, “and this ain’t what ah wanna teach her. Haven’t we learnt anything from the incident with Zecora?”

“This is nothing like what happened with Zecora.” Colgate snapped back. “This thing is a carnivore, one that doesn’t mind putting its kills on display for anypony to see.”

“I ain’t sayin' ah like that either, but eating meat don’t make its life any less valuable then the next pony,” Applejack said. “Best tah just let it leave peacefully.”

Colgate looked at the creature with contempt, before she lifted her nose into the air. “Fine, leave, go away, be gone with you!”

“Absolutely not!” Mayor Mare shouted as she, along with a large number of ponies came into the alleyway, further blocking off the exit. “You two maybe willing to leave our town at risk, but I am not.”

“All due respect Mayor Mare, but ah think yah might be puttin' more ponies in danger by tryin' to catch this thing,” Applejack said. “It ain’t hard to tell that this feller has been holdin' back.”

Mayor Mare thought hard on the matter before shaking her head. “No, at the very least we need to make sure this thing is sent far away,” she said, signaling for two unicorns to move forward.

“No, we can’t do this,” Twilight said as she squeezed her way past Mayor Mare and stood in front of the crowd. “Everypony listen to me, don’t you think you’re acting too rashly? Shouldn’t everypony be given a chance?”

“It’s not a pony,” a gray stallion called out.

“Yes, but it’s still a living, breathing creature,” Twilight said. “We can’t draw conclusions that it’s evil without undeniable evidence.”

“I won’t hear anymore of this, Twilight Sparkle,” Mayor Mare said. “Now please step aside.”

Twilight turned to Applejack and Colgate with a pleading look, silently asking for help on the matter.

“I’m sorry ,Twilight, I may be choosing not to hinder your cause, but I will not help it either,” Colgate said before turning away from her friend.

Twilight was taken aback at how cold her fellow unicorn was behaving. It was as if she held a personal grudge for the creature. Marking her as a lost cause, Twilight turned her attention back to Applejack. “Surely you of all ponies understand?”

Applejack seemed to be struggling with something inside before she sighed. “Ah wanted to keep ma hooves outha this, but I think it’s best to leave it well alone.” She said as she stood next to Twilight. “Anypony wants to have a go at this critter; yah gotta get by me first tah do it.”

The white unicorn, having recovered, stood on the other side of Twilight and spoke.

"This has simply been the most dreadful display of a lack of hospitality that I have ever had the misfortune of seeing. I may have participated as a result of a misunderstanding, but I shan't let it go on any longer."

"Nice speech Rares, now put yer horn where yer mouth is an' help me delay 'em fer tha big fellers sake."

“Why are you three taking the side of a monster?” Mayor Mare asked, confusion evident on her face. “It doesn’t belong here, and you don’t owe it anything.”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Twilight said, holding firm on her stance.

“No, this is the right thing to do!” a blue colored unicorn stallion shouted, as a large trash can was lifted by his magic and sent hurling towards the creature.

Applejack narrowed her eyes, and leapt forward, giving the trash can a mighty buck with her hind legs, sending it back towards the unicorn. “Y'all better scram, we’ll hold 'em off as best we can!” Applejack shouted at Twilight and the creature.
Twilight looked at the creature with unease before running up to it. “Follow me; I’ll get you out of here.”

The creature looked at her for a moment with a ghost of a smile on its face. “Thank you,” it said dryly.

“Don’t thank me just yet. Now let’s go!” she demanded, as she began running down the opposite end of the alleyway, followed by the creature.

Celestia, who had been watching from the crowd, quickly followed after the pair, leaving Applejack and Rarity to fend off the crowd. ‘That’s a pair of brave mares.’ Celestia thought as the crowd behind her faded from view.

Meanwhile, Twilight and the creature were making their way towards the outskirts of town when she spotted a butter cream yellow pony up ahead, trotting in their direction.

The creature looked apprehensive, and Twilight could see it tightening the grip on its spear as they closed the distance with the pony in front of them.

“Don’t worry, she won’t do anything,” Twilight said, trying to ease the creature's fears.

The pony, upon spotting them, adopted a large grin on its face as it approached. “Twilight, what is that creature with you? I’ve never seen anything like it!” she squealed in an angelic voice.

“No time to explain, Fluttershy!” Twilight said as she and the creature blew past her.

“Oh, wait, I’m coming too. If that’s okay with you, I mean.” Fluttershy said as she fell in stride with the two.

The creature looked down at Fluttershy, and although they were running at full speed, the smile on her face was still present.

“Twilight, where did you find this? Is it male or female? Are there more of them?” Fluttershy asked in rapid succession. “Are you taking it out for exercise? Do you plan on keeping it? If not I’d be happy to…”

“Fluttershy!” Twilight cut the pony off mid sentence. “I don’t know the answer to most of that, but right now we’re trying to make an escape.”

“An escape?” Fluttershy repeated. “An escape from what?”

“From that!” Twilight said while looking over her shoulder towards a mob of ponies that had obviously gotten passed Applejack and Rarity.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in fear. “Why is everypony chasing after us?” she asked before finally taking notice of the dead squirrels strapped to the creature's hip. Fresh tears formed in her eyes. “It’s a carnivore,” she said in a sad, yet understanding tone. “Everypony must think it’s a monster.”

“And you don’t?” Twilight asked, evidently surprised that Fluttershy hadn’t yet turned tail and started running in the opposite direction.

“Of course not,” Fluttershy said while shaking the tears away from her eyes. “I look after some very dangerous animals, but I don’t believe any of them to be monsters, regardless of what they eat. That's just the way the world works, and we have to be accepting of that.”

“If only everypony was that rational.” Twilight muttered as the edge of the Everfree forest came into view. “Look, we’re almost to the Everfree,” Twilight said. “I doubt anypony will go in after it.”

“It’s almost at the forest!” a random pony in the crowd shouted.

“But they might,” Twilight reasoned, as her horn began to glow. “Hang on,” she said while enveloping the three of them in a sphere of magic, before vanishing in a flash.

Celestia found herself being whisked away, following along with them, and soon touched down somewhere in the Everfree forest. Scanning the area, she quickly located Twilight, Fluttershy, and the creature.

Twilight was panting from having run such a distance, as well as teleporting the three of them into the forest.

“This is as far as I can take you,” she said to the creature. “Although what I’m doing may be foolish, I believe in my heart that this is the right thing.”

Fluttershy simply remained quiet, as she watched the creature look at them, then into the recesses of the forest.

“I say goodbye now,” it said.

Fluttershy gasped. “You can speak…but how?”

The creature didn’t answer but opted to simply smirk at the two ponies and turn its back to them. “I will miss…Scootaloo.”

Twilight eyes widened. “You know her name?”

The creature chose that moment to take off, leaving a flabbergasted Twilight and a confused Fluttershy behind.

Fluttershy sighed as the creature vanished into the density of the forest. “How could everypony have been so heartless as to chase that poor creature like that? It must have been so scared,” Fluttershy said with tears beginning to pool in her eyes once again.

Twilight remained rooted in her spot, just looking in the direction the creature had run before finally turning to Fluttershy. “Let’s head back,” she said, and Celestia found that she was being pulled from the world around her in the same fashion that she had arrived.

Pulling her head out of the time window just as it dissipated, she looked down at Twilight with a tired expression on her face. “That was…unexpected,” she said calmly.

“It goes without saying that Mayor Mare and a good portion of the town were furious with me over my actions,” Twilight said, “but you aren’t, are you? Do you believe that what I did was wrong?”

“No, Twilight Sparkle, I do not believe you chose the wrong course of action,” Celestia said. “Truthfully, I’m appalled at what I’ve seen, but if anypony is to blame, I’m ashamed to admit that it’s me. For too long I have sheltered the populace from the world around them. They simply were unprepared for something such as this and acted upon their fears and misunderstanding.”

“And that creature, even I have never seen such a being,” Celestia added. “It may be unwise to leave it to its own devices in the Everfree forest, if it does not belong there.”

“I’m afraid it may no longer be in the forest,” Twilight said.

“How can you know that?” Celestia asked curiously.

“Because we’ve been searching for it for five days now,” Twilight replied, “and it has more then likely moved beyond the border of Equestria by this point.”

“I don’t understand, why were you looking for it?” Celestia asked.

Twilight looked away from Celestia’s gaze as she answered. “Because Scootaloo had gone missing a day after the incident, and we believe that she went after it.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. “You mean the injured filly, but why would she search for it?”

“You may want to see this,” Twilight said as her horn began to glow and another time window appeared. “This is a collection of data I recorded from Scootaloo.”

“Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia gasped. “That’s very advanced magic and quite dangerous to perform on another pony. It has the potential to destroy their minds entirely! What were you thinking?”

“I know and I’m sorry,” Twilight squeaked with her head held low, “but Scootaloo was just too angry with everypony to answer any of our questions, after hearing what the town had done. So, I took it upon myself to get those answers.”

Celestia sighed. “Just don’t do it again without the consent of the pony in question first.”

Twilight nodded her understanding, and Celestia turned her attention back to the time window and stepped towards it. Taking a deep breath, Celestia plunged her head into it.

First off a big thank you to DF for editing this chapter, and reworking some scenes that needed it. Anyway, I have a lot of fun planed for this story so strap yourselves in and enjoy the ride.

Chapter 2

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Just a heads up, the first chapter had a bit of re-writing done to it. If you don't feel like reading it then just read the AN at the bottom of this page.

Chapter 2: Memory two

After the whirling had finally ceased, Celestia touched down in soft mud. She smiled, realizing her pristine, golden horse shoes hadn’t been marred by the grimy substance. Taking in her surroundings, she noted that she was in a swamp, if the foul air and muddy waters were any indication.

“Come on, Sweetie Belle, it’s headed right for yah!”

Celestia turned her head towards the voice and was greeted with the sight of three young fillies circling around a large bull frog. She quickly recognized the orange filly as Scootaloo, the pony she was currently following. She also recalled seeing the other two at Cadance’s wedding as flower fillies.

“It won’t get by me,” Sweetie Bell said while diving towards the frog, determination etched on her face.

The frog tried to make a leap for it, but was caught in Sweetie Belle’s hooves. “I did it!” she squealed, only for the frog to slip out of her grasp. “It’s too slippery, Apple Bloom,” she said, as the frog made a beeline for the nearby water.

“Don’t y'all worry, ah got it!” Apple Bloom said, as she made a dash to cut off the frog.

“You’ll never make it!” Scootaloo said, as she too charged for the frog with a wide toothy grin on her face.

Both girls chose the exact same moment to lunge for the frog, resulting with them crashing into one another.

“Ouch, that hurt.” Scootaloo groaned while massaging the top of her head.

“Yeah, and there goes the frog,” Apple Bloom added, just as the frog dove into the murky water. “Guess none of us are gettin our cutie marks in herpetology then.”

Sweetie Belle giggled. “Yeah, we couldn’t catch one single frog, newt, toad, or salamander, but it sure was fun.”

“Speak for yourself,” Scootaloo said with a snort. “We came all the way out to froggy bottom bog, just to get dirty and stinky.”

“Aw, it ain’t that bad,” Apple Bloom said while sniffing herself. Her face scrunched like she’d eaten something sour. “On second thought, I could use ah shower.”

“Yeah, me too,” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “I think we should head home, my parents are going to scold me if I’m late.”

“Tell me about it,” Apple Bloom said, as the trio began to walk. “Last time ah was late Applejack gave me a tongue lashing something wicked.”

“Yeah… parents,” Scootaloo muttered under her breath in a sullen tone. Scootaloo’s apparent change in mood had gone unnoticed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, for they continued to chat merrily with one another.

Celestia, on the other hoof, had taken notice and filed that information away in her mind.

It was a short while later, when the trio had to split up to head to their respective homes. Celestia continued to follow

Scootaloo until they reached a rather lavish looking home, on the outskirts of the town. For Ponyville standards, it was quite large and impressive, obviously belonging to a fairly wealthy family.

Scootaloo frowned at the house; it didn’t have a single light on. Shaking her head, she marched up the steps and pushed the door open and strolled inside.

Celestia made to follow, just as Scootaloo shut the door behind her with unnecessary force.

Turning on a nearby lamp, Scootaloo took in the sight of the living room before letting out a long sigh. “Hey, Auntie Feather Quill, you home!?” she shouted, disturbing the silence of the house. After receiving no response, Scootaloo groaned as she made her way to the kitchen.

Spotting an envelope on the kitchen table, she walked over towards it. “Let me guess, another business trip?” she said while opening up the letter and reading it.

"Dear Scootaloo,

I’m sorry, but I’ve been called away on business. I’ll be in Baltimare for no longer then three weeks. I’ve left you enough bits in the envelope to tide you over until the end of the month. Do spend it wisely.
Love,
Auntie Feather Quill."

“Couldn’t even wait for me to get back to say goodbye?” Scootaloo grumbled in disgust, as she balled up the letter and tossed it at a waste bin, missing it by a long shot. “Pft…auntie of the year alright,” Scootaloo quipped before making her way towards the bathroom to clean herself off.

About ten minutes later Scootaloo exited the bathroom with a towel draped over her head. Her demeanor had smoothened out somewhat, but Celestia could still see the frustration in her eyes.

Having dried her mane, Scootaloo simply dropped the towel on the floor and walked towards her room. After entering, Scootaloo turned on the lights, and Celestia was taken aback by the sheer amount of Rainbow Dash themed merchandise.
There were wigs, banners, flags, t-shirts and posters littered among the filly's room.

‘I didn’t realize Rainbow Dash had such dedicated fans.’ Celestia thought to herself, her eyes falling on the date marked off on a Rainbow Dash calendar. ‘So, this was precisely three weeks ago.’

Turning her attention back to Scootaloo, she found the young filly staring longingly at a picture frame on her bedside table.
Celestia walked over to get a look at what Scootaloo was staring at so intently. There were three ponies featured. The stallion in the photo was a magenta colored earth pony with a dark purple mane. The mare was a light yellow colored pegasus, with a bright orange mane. In the pegasus arms an orange foal was being cradled.

Celestia reasoned that these were Scootaloo’s actual mother and father. The tears now pooling in Scootaloo’s eyes only solidified Celestia’s suspicions. Watching Scootaloo made Celestia’s heart ache. She couldn’t help but reach out and try to comfort the filly, only to have her muzzle pass through the child.

‘That’s right, it’s merely a vision.’ Celestia reminded herself as she stood back from Scootaloo, now waiting patiently for events to unfold. She didn't have to wait long, for a loud crash suddenly echoed from outside the house.

Scootaloo’s head sprung up in surprise, before she adopted a frown. “Don’t tell me those raccoons are messing around in the garbage cans again,” she said while wiping away some stray tears from her eyes. “Better go scare them off before they make a bigger mess than they probably already have.”

Grabbing a flashlight with her mouth, Scootaloo made her way downstairs and towards the back of the house. Stopping at the backdoor, she turned on the flashlight before pushing open the door and heading out.

“Alright you raccoons, play time's over!” Scootaloo called out, as she scanned the flashlight over the area. Just as she thought, the trash cans had been knocked over but there wasn’t a raccoon in sight.

“That’s weird; they usually don’t run until after I come out,” Scootaloo said with a shrug, now turning to head back inside. However, a sudden movement that she caught in her peripheral vision sent her head craning in that direction.

“W-who’s there?” she stammered out, into the darkness. “I said who’s there?” she tried once more, now fumbling with the flashlight in her hooves.

Her question was answered with the sight of a dark figure briskly limping away, towards the forest.

Scootaloo made to shine the flashlight on the creature, but it had already vanished into the tree line.

“W-what was that?” she asked herself, debating whether or not if she should follow it. Shaking that idea from her head, she turned her back on the forest. “No way, that would be stupid.” she reasoned. “What if it’s dangerous?”

With that Scootaloo made to pick up the knocked over trash cans, only to stop when she noticed they had blood smeared on them. “Blood?” she squeaked while backing away from the trash cans, her face a mixture of fear and disgust.

Celestia was also observing the blood carefully. On further inspection, she could see a small trail leading to where the creature had run.

“Maybe it’s hurt?” Scootaloo said, returning her attention back to the forest line with an unsure expression etched on her face. “No, it’s not my problem, even if it did get hurt,” she argued. “So, I should just leave it alone, and go about my…ah forget it!” Scootaloo decided, as she made to follow in the direction she had seen the creature limp off in.

“This is just going to nag at the back of my mind if I don’t get to the bottom of it,” she reasoned as she disappeared beyond the tree line after the creature.

Making her way through the brush, Scootaloo cantered briskly. She was thankful that Luna had decided on a full moon for the night. The light provided by the moon made following the bent branches the creature had made in its passing all the easier.

A short while later, following bent twigs and broken branches, Scootaloo and Celestia came across a creak. Scootaloo
recalled that this particular creak separated the small woodland area they were currently in from the Everfree forest. Having noticed a small, rickety rope bridge a short distance away, Scootaloo made her way towards it.

She stared at the forest on the opposite side with apprehension. The forest was well known for having strange and dangerous creatures lurking within. Even so, she, along with Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom, had made numerous trips to visit Zecora without any trouble.

Convincing herself that she would be fine, Scootaloo slowly crossed the bridge and entered the forest.

Celestia was initially surprised that Scootaloo would actually enter alone, considering the general fear most ponies had of the forest. Their fears were not without reason, for the forest was an anomaly to them; it functioned of its own accord. Weather, animals, and vegetation all worked in natural order, without the aid of ponies.

In truth, Celestia knew that Equestira itself was the true anomaly of the world. It was a land nearly bursting at the seams with magic, unlike the lands surrounding it. It was the perfect haven for pony kind, for they were a species far more attuned to the magic of the world than any other.

Casting those thoughts aside, Celestia continued to follow Scootaloo, who had moved quite a distance ahead of her.
Coming into a clearing, Scootaloo dove inside a nearby shrub, for the rustling of some nearby bushes had startled her. Swallowing the large lump in her throat, she wiped the sweat from her brow before tentatively looking over the bush she had hidden in.

The area was mostly silent, only disturbed by the echoing chime of the night wind and the numerous insects that chirped and screeched. Letting out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, Scootaloo stealthy crept out of her hiding place and back into the clearing.

“What was I thinking, coming out here?” she muttered as she went to turn around, only to find herself face to face with a pair of malicious beady red eyes.

“Cocka-Cockatrice!” Scootaloo stammered out, remembering her last encounter with the small monstrosity of a snake with a roosters head. Quickly coming to the conclusion to run, her eyes widened at feeling no response from her legs.

Looking down, she could see that both her hind and forelegs had already been transformed into stone and the effect was steadily creeping upward.

“Help me!” she shouted. “Help!”

The cockatrice had a look of enjoyment on it's face at seeing the fear-stricken face of Scootaloo, its eyes peering into hers.
Scootaloo’s expression was of pure horror as the stone crept up to neck level before finally stopping at her chin. She wondered what had caused it to stop, just as she realized that the cockatrice was no longer in her face but a few good feet above it.

Something was holding it there by the throat. All Scootlaoo could make out clearly was that the creature holding the cockatrice was tall, dark and stood on two legs.

Scootaloo’s mind raced in fear, confusion, and wonderment, as she watched the cockatrice struggle in the grip of the thing that was strangling the life out of it. A moment later a disgusting "crack" sounded, and the cockatrice’s futile struggling ceased.

Scootaloo thought to scream, but she couldn’t find her voice when the cockatrice’s lifeless body was dropped at her hooves with a thump. The stone that had been threatening to consume Scootaloo vanished in an instant.

Realizing she was free, Scootaloo took a few steps back and looked up at the creature that had saved her. It was too dark to make out the fine details of the creature; however, she could at least see that it was furless. She also noticed that it was holding something, a spear by the looks of it.

Going with the only option that made sense, Scootaloo took off as fast she could to the nearest tree and hid behind it.
The creature watched Scootaloo go with an unreadable expression. Having decided the little pony wanted nothing to do with it; the creature made to turn around but stumbled to its knees.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo’s heart was beating like a drum. She’d never seen anything like that creature before. It was obviously dangerous, she thought, recalling how easily it had crushed the cockatrice’s throat. Even so, she felt guilty for having run, after it had clearly saved her.

Attempting to overcome her fear, Scootaloo dared to peak her head around the tree that she was hiding behind. The creature was still in the clearing, although now hunched over. ‘What’s it doing?’ She thought, now watching it carefully.

It was hurt, that much Scootaloo was certain of. She could make out a wet substance on its midsection that glistened under the moon light. Tracing the liquid to its source, Scootaloo grimaced at the sight of something protruding from the side of its abdomen. From her vantage point it looked like a stick, but she reasoned it was too smooth and straight to be that. She wondered if it might be an arrow.

Scootaloo got her answer, when the creature suddenly forced the stick like object further into its own body. The object had been pushed so far; it actually pierced through the creatures back, revealing a bloody arrow head.

Gritting its teeth, the creature grabbed the arrow tip in one hand and snapped it off and in one swift motion yanked the remainder of the arrow base out.

“Guwha!” the creature yelled in obvious pain, as it tossed the arrow away. Panting heavily from exertion, the creature made to stand up but collapsed back to its knees, now gripping the wound.

Both Scootaloo and Celestia watched the creature with pity, as it struggled along the ground to a nearby tree.

Propping its body against the tree, the creature simply lay there, covering the wound with one hand.

‘What should I do?’ Scootaloo pondered, still watching the creature from a safe distance. ‘It could bleed to death if I just leave it. I do owe it one after all, but then again if it hadn’t stumbled into my trash cans, I wouldn’t be out here in the first place.’

Shaking her head in frustration, Scootaloo slowly crept away from behind the tree. ‘No, that’s all beside the point. It helped me, so I have to help it, it’s only right.’

Summoning all the courage she could, Scootaloo opened her mouth to speak. “A-are y-you o-okay?” she stuttered, still feeling unsure of her decision.

The creature slowly turned its head towards her, still bearing a neutral look.

Taking a few nervous steps forward, Scootaloo pressed on. “Uh, I could maybe bring you some band-aids or something,” Scootaloo offered. “Well, I doubt a band-aid will help stop that kind of bleeding,” she added. “You need some real help.”

“Yarrow,” the creature said dryly.

Scootaloo stopped in her tracks. “Yarrow, what’s yarrow?” she asked curiously.

“Plant, achillea…yarrow.” It groaned, the pain in its tone evident.

“It’s a plant?” Scootlaoo repeated. “Okay, just hang on. I’ll be right back,” she said as she made to gallop away.

Celestia quickly made to follow after her. She herself knew what the creature was referring to, but wondered just how Scootaloo intended to find it.

What felt like ten minutes of non stop galloping finally brought Scootaloo and Celestia to a large hollowed out tree. There was a small door and two carved out holes for windows. Its appearance would have been quite quaint, if not for the many ceremonial masks littered about and small glass bottles strung up from branches.

If Celestia had to venture a guess, she’d assume the home belonged to a shaman. However, she wasn’t aware that there were any practitioners of the art in or near Ponyville. It was a practice usually only performed by zebras, which Equestria didn't have many of.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo came to a sudden stop at the door. Huffing and puffing from the long run, she hastily knocked on the door. “Z-Zecora, open up it’s me S-Scootaloo,” she panted.

A moment later the door opened and a small zebra stood in its archway. She wore a pair of large golden hoop earrings, with matching neck rings and a set of rings on her left foreleg. Celestia smiled at realizing her suspicions were correct. Zebras preferred to inhabit the lands outside of Equestira, which explained why this one, although living in Equestria, had taken refuge in the Everfree forest.

The zebra looked confused for a moment before adopting a smile. “My dear Scootaloo, what an unexpected visit. A tale I hope you will revisit.”

“Sorry, no time to shoot the breeze, and I apologize for disturbing you at such a late hour, but uh…” Scootaloo stopped herself mid sentence. She hadn’t considered until that point, if she was going to tell Zecora about the wounded creature. How would she react to it, would she be too afraid to even want to help it? Deciding to play it safe, she fabricated a lie.

“Yeah my uh…cat, that’s right my cat got hurt. A vase fell on his head, and he’s bleeding all over the place, a real mess. I need some, what do you call it again?” Scootaloo thought hard on the matter. “Um achillea… achillea yarrow.”

Zecora scrutinized Scootaloo with a calculating gaze for a moment, before answering. “Although your lying leaves much to be desired. I do in fact have what is required.” She said as she trotted to a nearby cupboard and began rummaging through it. “I hope dried achillea is fine. Its healing agents are still divine.”

“Yeah, whatever you have will do,” Scootaloo said. “You know, beggars can’t be choosers and all.”

Zecora had finally found what she was searching for and emerged with a small cluster of dried plants, held in her mouth. Walking towards Scootaloo, she set the plants at her hooves. “Take as much as you need. For which this plant will succeed.”

Scootaloo beamed before scooping up a generous amount of the plants in her mouth. “Thanks a bunch, Zecora,” she said, even with her current mouthful.

“May your endeavor prove well. Now I bid you, farewell,” Zecora said to Scootaloo, whom simply waved and trotted off.

A short while later Scootaloo and Celestia were once again in the clearing where she’d left the creature. The being was still in its propped up position, although unmoving. Scootaloo felt her stomach lurch at seeing the deathly still creature. For some reason, the prospect of it dying frightened her and, forgetting her previous inhibitions, she ran directly to it.

Dropping the plants at its side, she tried rousing it. “Hey, wake up! Don’t go dying on me!” she tried, now mustering the courage to actually try and shake it some. “Come on, don’t be de…”

Before she could finish, Scootaloo suddenly found herself gripped by the throat and lifted to just her hind hooves. Her fore hooves beat uselessly against the creatures arm in a futile attempt to stop it from strangling her. “S-s-stop,” she choked, her horror now growing after looking into the creatures face and seeing that its eyes were still shut.

‘It’s still passed out!?’ she thought frantically, slowly beginning to lose consciousness. ‘It’s going to choke me to death in its sleep!’ “W-w-wake up!” she screamed the best she could, a tear sliding down her cheek.

The lone tear landed with a pitiable splat on the creatures arm, and its eyes shot open, looking around frantically. Seeing what it was doing the creature released its grip on Scootaloo.

She dropped to the ground and scampered off as fast she could. Her heart pounded faster than she thought possible. Taking cover behind a bush, she sucked in several lung fulls of fresh air.

The creature stared at the bush it had seen Scootaloo dive into for a moment, before taking notice of the plants at its side. Its lips creased into the faintest of smiles as it reached out and grabbed the dried yarrow.

Meanwhile, the sound of dried leaves being grounded together caught Scootaloo’s interest and she peered through the bush she was hiding in. She could see the creature was kneading the plants together in its palms. It grimaced in pain as it applied the ground flora to its wounds.

Scootaloo continued to watch, until the creatures eyes landed on the very bush she was hiding in.
“Asante sana,” it said, the fatigue in its voice apparent.

Scootaloo’s ears perked up. She couldn’t be entirely sure, but she guessed that was "thank you" in whatever weird language the creature spoke. She assumed its knowledge of Equestrian language was limited to simple words and names, recalling that it had requested the plant in Equestrian.

The initial rush of a near death experience had settled enough for Scootaloo to leave the presumed safety of the bush. Making sure to keep at least some distance this time, Scootaloo ventured about halfway into the clearing.

She sat on her haunches and from there quietly observed the being a short while, before finally asking, “What are you?”

The creature looked at her through half lidded eyes, evidently trying to process what the pony had asked. “Shujja,” it eventually answered.

“What?” Scootaloo returned. “I don’t know what that means.”

The creature nodded its understanding, before trying again. “Warrior.”

Scootaloo looked to the spear next to it, then to the blade that she’d just noticed, tied to its hip, and finally at the wound it now had covered in plant matter. “Yeah, I kind of get that part,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “How about something more informative, like your name?”

The creature looked confused at the request, and Scootaloo sighed, as she pointed a hoof at herself. “My name is Scootaloo, what’s yours?”

“Jina langu ni…Kimbo,” it said tiredly, now looking on the verge of falling asleep. “Kimbo, is name.”

“Kimbo?” Scotaloo rolled the name over her tongue. “That’s a funny sounding name,” she said as Kimbo let out a loud yawn.

Taking notice of Kimbo’s fatigue, Scootaloo grinned bashfully. “Sorry, I forgot that wound is probably taking a lot out of you,” she said as she let out a yawn of her own. “I guess I’m a little tired from all the…excitement too.”

The creature didn’t respond, for it had already fallen asleep or slipped into unconsciousness, Scootalooo really couldn’t tell.
Deciding that she’d done enough, she lifted herself to her hooves and made to go back to her home. However, remembering that there wasn’t anypony waiting for her, she sighed and sat back down on her haunches.

For a short while she simply watched Kimbo’s rhythmic breathing, quietly trying to understand the strange creature. Concluding that she wouldn’t learn much by watching it sleep, she gave in into her own exhaustion and shut her eyes.

Celestia watched the entire scene with a thoughtful expression on her face. The signs were clear as crystal, the filly would befriend the creature, or better yet, Kimbo. Celestia found that she was quite eager to witness the events leading up to the unfortunate incident in Ponyville. Moreover, she fully welcomed the swirling and distortion that accompanied the new vision that was now taking over.

Alright for those that didn't feel like re-reading the first chapter, here's the short of it. Rarity is no longer a bitch, that role was given to Colgate instead. She now servers more as a mediator, but does initially take part in the whole grab your torch and pitchforks riot. Further more the memory spell has been altered, to make more sense. Apart from that, the chapter was generally cleaned up of errors. Well that about does it, thanks again to DF for editing and I'll see you guys with the next chapter!

Chapter 3

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Chapter 3: Memory 3

As the distortion faded, Celestia gazed up at the sun. By its position in the sky, she knew it was seven thirty, give or take a few minutes. Looking around the area, she directed her gaze back to the occupants or, better yet, occupant.

Scootaloo tiredly opened her eyes and looked around the area in confusion. ‘Why aren't I in my bed? For that matter, why am I sleeping on the forest floor?’ she pondered. Removing a couple of large banana leaves that had been placed over her as a makeshift blanket, she stood up.

“What’s going on?” she asked aloud before her memories came flooding back to her, all at once. Her eyes widened as she scanned the area. “…Kimbo?” she called out tentatively. “You still out here?”

Her question was answered with silence, apart from the natural sound of the forest. Narrowing her eyes, she cantered to the tree that Kimbo had been resting against before she had fallen asleep. She could see a smear of dried blood painting the bark and a small trail of it that led off in the direction that she knew a stream was located.

Grumbling something to herself about troublesome creatures, she made to follow in the direction that the blood indicated that Kimbo had gone.

Celestia quickly made to follow Scootaloo as she disappeared into the brush.

It hadn’t taken long for Scootaloo to find the stream, and she trotted along it briskly. Spotting a wisp of smoke that was rising into the air, she headed in that direction. When she got there, she found Kimbo in a makeshift camp, sitting against a tree, along with a fire that had three fishes roasting on a spit above it.

She didn’t think much about the fish; however, the act that Kimbo was currently engrossed in sent shudders down her spine. He was literally stitching his wound together with an improvised needle, made from a thin fish bone, and a saffron colored thread, salvaged from the shorts he was wearing.

Scootaloo simply watched the process in gross fascination. How somepony could stitch themselves with such improvised items and not even grimace was beyond her.

Finishing his work, Kimbo set the needle aside and turned his attention to his guest of sorts.

Scootaloo stiffened at his gaze. Now that there was adequate light, she could finally take in all of his features. She took note of the small fleshy protrusion sticking out of the bottom center of his face, identifying it as a nose. Both of his ears were small and had strange wavelike patterns. His mane was pitifully short and coarse. His strangeness was only complimented by the two thin patches of fur on both of his brows. Finally, his eyes were small and housed dark brown irises that bored into Scootaloo’s own eyes.

The two simply stared at one another in silence, both trying to decipher the other. Scootaloo couldn’t make heads or tails of what the creature was thinking. His face was bare of anything resembling emotion. She’d only ever seen such a stonelike expression on a statue.

Realizing that she would never get anywhere by just staring, she slowly walked closer and opened her now dry mouth to speak. “…Are you feeling better?” she asked, as her eyes observed the freshly stitched wound.

“Sore,” Kimbo said, as he stood up from the tree and limped towards the fire and sat down next to it. Removing one of the fish from the fire, he bit into it and chewed on it slowly.

Scootaloo sniffed the air, as she slowly made her way towards the fire and sat on the opposite side of Kimbo. She admitted the smell of roasting fish wasn’t exactly repulsive, like she had expected, but almost appetizing.

After finishing the fish he was eating, Kimbo grabbed another from the fire and held the stick it was on out towards Scootaloo.

Scootaloo looked at the offered fish for a moment and grinned sheepishly. “Uh, I don’t eat meat. Yah know, flat teeth and all.”

Kimbo shrugged as he pulled the stick back and proceeded to eat the fish himself.

Scootaloo licked her dry lips. Having missed out on eating something the previous night, not only was she thirsty, but famished as well. Looking at the nearby stream, she stood up and trotted over towards it. “I’m gonna have a drink,” she said, as she looked at the dark water with unease. It was just a stream, but somehow it was too deep to even see the bottom of it.

Kimbo watched her with a careful eye as she leaned over the stream and started to lap up the water with her tongue.

Scootaloo hated drinking directly from a stream, but her thirst hadn’t given her much choice. Having drunk her fill, Scootloo pulled her head up from the stream with a content smile. “That wasn’t half bad…” She paused, as she felt something cold, wet and slimly wrap around her forehoof.

Looking at what had grabbed her, she screamed at sight of the webbed appendage.

Kimbo’s eyes hardened, as he saw Scootaloo suddenly pulled into the stream. In an instant he leapt over the fire and sprinted towards the stream, ignoring the searing pain in his abdomen.

‘Grindylow,’ Celestia thought with a narrowed brow, having easily recognized the long, webbed fingers that had grabbed Scootaloo. She recalled grindylows were small water demons, notorious for their aggressiveness.

Turning her attention back to the scene, she watched as Kimbo dove into the water after the filly.

Scootaloo was scared to say the least. Something with an impossibly strong grip was pulling her towards the bottom of the stream. The water made her vision too blurry to make out anything significant, only allowing her to see the general shape of the offender. It wasn’t much bigger then she was, but it powered through the water with impressive speed.

Flailing her hooves pitifully, she struggled against her captor. She realized that she could only hold her breath for another half a minute or so. If the creature hadn’t killed her by then, she’d simply drown.

Kicking with even more vigor, Scootaloo tensed as she felt another strong grip wrap around her other forehoof.

All the momentum of being dragged ceased, and she stared up at what was holding her by the forehoof. Although blurry, there was simply no mistaking the form of Kimbo.

Having a good grip on Scootaloo, Kimbo drove the heel of his foot into the grindylow’s face, causing it to let go and swim a short distance away.

Scootaloo felt herself being pulled between one of Kimbo’s arms, as though he were shielding her from something. Peering through the water the best she could, she nearly screamed as she saw that they were surrounded by half a dozen of the creatures.

Meanwhile, Kimbo looked around with a calculating eye, as he readied his spear in his free hand. The creatures were swimming in a circle around them and grinning, revealing rows of needle like teeth.

Having waited long enough, the first grindylow tried its luck, only to receive a well placed thrust of Kimbo’s spear into its gut.

Kimbo wrenched the spear free from the grindylow, spilling it's blood and tinting the water red.

The grindlylow began to sink, but not before its own comrades swarmed on it and tore into it like a school of piranha. Kimbo took note of how the blood seemed to drive them into a feeding frenzy, even if it were on one of their own.

Scootaloo’s lungs were screaming for her to breathe, as she watched the scene. Not able to fight her instincts any longer, she struggled in Kimbo’s grip in order to get free and break for the surface.

Kimbo looked down at the struggling filly held his arm. Realizing that she was at her limit, he slashed himself with his spear along his thigh. Releasing Scootaloo towards the surface, he hoped his blood would attract the creatures to him, while Scootaloo got away.

Kimbo smirked as he saw that he was correct, and the grindylow swarmed him, all at once.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo was kicking towards the surface for all that she was worth. Breaking the surface, she sucked in a lung full of air. Paddling towards the shore, she pulled herself onto it and laid on her back, panting heavily.

“I…I a-almost died!” she choked out between heaving breaths.“This guy is going to be the death of me,” she quipped before her eyes widened and she pulled herself to her hooves and dashed towards the water. “Kimbo, Kimbo!” she shouted, as she peered through the blood stained water. “Oh no, what have I done? T-those things, they k-killed him, it’s all my fault.”

Scootaloo sat on her haunches, and her ears fell. “I got somepony killed,” she muttered in a gloomy tone, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

A moment later, the loud splash of something breaking the surface of the water grabbed her attention. Her ears instantly perked up, as she watched Kimbo emerge from the stream, dragging two dead grindylow by the legs.

“Y-you’re a-alive!?” Scootaloo stuttered, in a mixture of surprise and relief.

Kimbo was quiet as he walked by Scootaloo and tossed the two dead grindylow next to the fire. Turning his attention back to Scootaloo, she took an unsure step back, as he stared at her with the same unreadable expression that he normally wore.

“This forest, too dangerous for child,” he said in an even tone. “Return home, young one.”

“Of course, it’s the Everfree,” Scootaloo barked back. “It’s too dangerous for anypony, even you.”

“Everfree?” Kimbo repeated the words in confusion, as he sat down next to the fire and dropped his spear to the ground.

“…Yes, the Everfree. You do know where you are, don’t you?” Scootaloo said as she walked up next to him. “This forest is full of weird animals and monsters.”

“If dangerous, why child here?” Kimbo asked, as he grabbed one of the dead grindylow and started to skin it with his curved blade.

“I’m here because of you,” Scootaloo said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I wanna know who you are, what you are, and where you came from,” Scootaloo said, as she grimaced at Kimbo casually peeling the skin from the grindylow.

“Gross,” she muttered. “What are you doing with that thing anyway?”

Kimbo quirked his brow at the question. “Food,” he answered bluntly.

Scootaloo looked repulsed, taking note of how disgusting the amphibian looking creature looked.

“At least he isn’t wasteful,” Celestia mused.

“Have you even eaten anything like that?” Scootaloo said while scrutinizing the grindylow with a nasty glare. “How do you even know it’s safe for you to eat?”

Kimbo shrugged as he tossed the skin aside.

Scootaloo frowned. “Is that how carnivores are, just eating whatever you can kill? Do you even care if you get a tummy ache?”

Kimbo narrowed his eyes, as he grabbed his spear and stood up.

“Okay…I’m sorry if I upset you,” Scootaloo squeaked out, taking a few steps back.

Kimbo peered at the stream, and without taking his eyes from it spoke to Scootaloo. “Get behind me.”

Scootaloo looked confused for a moment, before obliging to the request. Her eyes expanded to the size of dinner plates, as the stream began to churn violently, and a large serpent like creature sprang forth from it.

It was gargantuan in size with deep purple scales, orange hair, and two different colored halves of a mustache.

Scootaloo looked horrified, and even Kimbo was staring wide eyed at the serpent.

“I absolutely must know who’s responsible for slaughtering all of those grindylow.” The creature spoke with a posh accent. Looking down at the makeshift camp site, the serpent observed the bodies of the two grindylow.

“It was you, I presume?” the serpent asked, pointing a large, clawed finger towards Kimbo.

Kimbo readied his spear and shifted into a defensive stance.

The serpent stared at Kimbo for a moment before letting lose a chuckle. “I’m not here to fight with you,” the serpent said. “I’m here to express my gratitude! I just adore the taste of grindlylow, but being so small, they’re impossibly hard for me to catch. You’ve done me a great service, and I simply had to thank you.”

“Huh, that monster just wants to thank you?” Scootaloo said with an incredulous expression.

Kimbo searched the serpent’s eyes for any hint of deceit. Sensing none, Kimbo simply responded with a nod of his head.

“Not much for conversation, are you?” the serpent said while observing Kimbo carefully. “What a pity.”

“You kind of get used to it,” Scootaloo said from behind Kimbo’s leg.

The serpent looked around Kimbo’s leg to see who had spoken. He beamed when he saw the small filly. “Oh, how adorable you are, and your coat is such a magnificent shade of orange.”

“Uh…thanks, I guess,” Scootaloo said with a bashful grin. She wasn’t sure what to make of the serpent's friendly demeanor.

“Well, good sir, I’ve sought you out to thank you and now that have, I will bid you farewell,” the serpent said as he began to sink back into the water. “Oh, yes, before I go, I feel I should warn you, there’s a particular nasty storm on the way. It’s prudent that you take shelter as soon as possible.”

“Wait, how do you know a storm is coming? There aren’t any rain clouds.” Scootaloo asked.

“I’ve lived in this forest for well over one hundred years, little one,” the serpent answered. “I’ve learned to recognize the signs,” he said before disappearing beneath the glassy surface of the water.

Kimbo stared up at the sky, as he stuck his index finger into his mouth. Removing it, he pointed it into the air. After a brief moment he frowned and walked towards the fire.

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re actually taking that monsters word,” Scootaloo said, as Kimbo began kicking dirt onto the fire to smother it.

“Return home,” Kimbo said, as he grabbed the un-skinned grindylow and chucked its carcass into the stream. Slinging the skinned grindylow over his shoulder, he picked up his spear and tied his blade to his shoulder before he started to walk off.

“Hey, wait a minute, you can’t just leave me here,” Scootaloo said as she cantered up to Kimbo’s side. “I mean, what if something attacks me on my way home?”

Kimbo stopped in his tracks, and stared down at the young filly, who was now giving him her best puppy dog eyes. His expression never changed as he pointed his spear ahead of him. “Show the way.”

Scootaloo grinned, just as a loud crack of thunder sounded through the forest. “Geez, that serpent thing was actually right?” Scootaloo muttered, noticing that the wind had become chilly and that the clouds were darkening at an unnatural speed. “We should get a move on,” Scootaloo urged as she trotted off in the direction of Ponyville.

Kimbo simply followed after Scootaloo without a word.

“Well, this stinks” Scootaloo grumbled approximately three minutes later, as the familiar pitter-patter of raindrops began to resound throughout the forest. “We’re gonna get soaked to the bone.”

Kimbo removed the straw hat from his back and placed it on Scootaloo’s head as they ran for Ponyville.

“…Thanks,” Scootaloo said, grateful that the hat would at least keep her mane and face dry. At least, that’s what she believed until the slow, steady drops of rain evolved into a full on downpour.

Seeing no other choice, the two decided to take shelter within a small cave that they had found. Scootaloo shook herself like a dog as they entered, expelling a great deal of water from her coat.

“It’s really coming down out there, huh?” Scootaloo said, as she sat on her haunches and removed the straw hat from her head.

Kimbo was quiet, as he stood at the entrance of the cave and simply watched the downpour taking place outside.

Scootaloo watched him with a confused expression. “So, you think it’s weird too, huh?”

Kimbo quirked his eyebrow at the vague question.

“I mean, how it’s raining without somepony making it rain,” Scootaloo explained. “That’s another thing weird about this forest: It just does what it wants to,” she said while wringing out her tail with her forehooves. “So…while we're stuck here, mind telling me what you’re doing here in the Everfree, or do you actually live here?”

Kimbo sighed as he looked down at the spot on his abdomen that had recently been home to an arrow. “This forest is not home forest, unfamiliar it is to me.”

“That figures,” Scootaloo said with a thoughtful expression. “I’ve heard about a lot things in this forest but nothing like you before. At first I thought you were big hoof, but you don’t have hooves or fur so that’s a no go.”

“I have question now,” Kimbo said as he walked over to a nearby boulder and sat on it.

“You do?” Scootaloo said, clearly surprised by Kimbo’s sudden willingness to talk. “Well, let’s hear it.”

“How can little horse speak?” Kimbo asked bluntly. “Sorcery is it?”

Celestia found the question strange. Regardless of the fact that Scootaloo was a pony, Kimbo had still mistaken her for a horse. That could only mean that he was privy to what a horse was. ‘But why wouldn’t he know that we can speak?’ she wondered.

“Sorcer-what, you’re pulling my wings right?” Scootaloo said, as she looked at Kimbo as though he had grown another head. “Why wouldn’t I be able to speak? All ponies can.”

Kimbo chose not to argue about the matter and went back to staring at the downpour.

“What, that’s it? You don’t have anything else to ask?” Scootaloo said as she cantered in front of Kimbo and obstructed his view. “What’s with you? It’s like you don’t give a flying feather about anything. You’re in the Everfree alone and you’re okay with that?”

“One does not ask why the wind blows,” Kimbo responded without even bothering to look at Scootaloo.

“You’re impossible you know that?” Scootaloo grumbled in frustration. “I just want to make sure you’re going to be okay.”

Kimbo looked down at Scootaloo with an expression that bordered on softening. “Is my atonement young one, my health is not your burden.”

“Atonement…atonement for what?” Scootaloo asked curiously. “Is somepony trying to punish you? Is that why you had that arrow stuck in you?”

Kimbo sighed as he stood up. “Rain has slowed, we go now,” he said while making to pick up his spear.

Scootaloo frowned, realizing that Kimbo was merely trying to avoid the question. Turning her attention to the cave's entrance, she shook her head. Although the rain had lessened, she still wasn’t thrilled about going back into it. Placing the straw hat back on her head she took her position in front of Kimbo. “Fine, let’s get going.”

Celestia watched as the world around her once again began to distort, and she soon found herself in the classroom of Ponyville’s school house. Spotting a nearby calendar, she was surprised to find that two weeks had passed.

She thought that, in the interest of time, Twilight had opted to show her only the most important memories. This memory in particular would have taken place on the day Kimbo had brought an unconscious Scootaloo into Ponyville.

Scootaloo looked bored to say the least, along with every other student. Clearly Miss Cheerilee’s lecture on the foundation of Trottingham’s mausoleum wasn’t the most interesting of subjects to hear.

“Pssst,” Apple Bloom whispered, trying to gain Scootaloo’s attention. “Hey, Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo looked over her shoulder at Apple Bloom. “What’s up?” she said in a hushed tone.

“Me and Sweetie Belle was jus' wonderin if yah wanted tah come with us to the hoof ball court after class. We were thinkin' we could get our cutie marks in hoof ball, whadya say?” Apple Bloom asked with an eager grin.

“Sorry, I can’t, I’ve got other things to do after school today,” Scootaloo replied as she stared at the clock in the corner of the room, a trace of anxiousness clear on her face.

Apple Bloom frowned. “Alright ,wha's goin' on with yah? It’s been two whole weeks since yah last went crusading for cutie marks with us. Everyday yah rush off on your lonesome, what are yah tryin' tah hide?”

“I think she’s got a new friend,” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

“Ah new friend, is that what yah been trying tah hide?” Apple Bloom said with a raised brow. “Ain’t like yah need to go hiding that from us…well, unless it’s Diamond Tiara, you can keep that to yerself.”

“It’s not Diamond Tiara,” Scootaloo shot back a bit irritably.

Sweetie Belle beamed “So, you do have a new friend?”

“…Well, sorta I guess,” Scootaloo said as she scratched the top of her head.

“Whadya mean sorta? Yah either do or yah don’t, which is it?” Apple Bloom pried.

“Look, it complicated okay, just forget about it will yah?” Scootaloo said in a louder voice then she intended.

“Ahem, girls, is there something you’d like to share with the rest of the class?” Cheerilee asked.

“No, Miss Cheerilee,” the three of them said in unison.

“Good, now where was I…” The bell sounded, interrupting the teacher. “Oh, horse apples, seems we’re out of time,” Cheerilee said with a smile. “Okay class, that’s it for today and remember to study for your spelling test this coming Friday.”

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee,” The class chorused, before they sprang for the exit, eager to get away from the learning establishment.

Scootaloo was no exception to the rule, as she too exited hastily, grabbed her scooter, and took off. She felt bad for having left Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle without so much as a goodbye, but she wasn’t up for being bombarded with any more questions.

Celestia was impressed with the young filly's speed on the scooter, finding that she actually had to exert some effort to keep up with the foal.

It wasn’t too long before Scootaloo arrived at her home.

“Just a quick pit stop,” she said as she entered her house and retrieved a bag of apples from her kitchen table. “I still don’t get why he’s so determined to stay in that forest,” Scootaloo muttered while trotting towards the familiar woods with the bag of apples held between her teeth.

Taking a safe path she had familiarized herself with, it only took her fifteen minutes to locate the cave Kimbo had taken residence in.

Entering the mouth of the cave, she sat the bag of apples down. “Hey, Kimbo, I’m back, and I’ve brought you some apples,” she called, sporting a large, toothy grin on her face. “Hey, Kimbo aren’t you in here? There’s something I wanted to talk about,” she called once again, only to be greeted with silence.

“That’s weird, he never goes hunting for anything this early in the day,” Scootaloo said, as she sat down on her haunches and picked an apple for herself. Just as she was about to bite into it, she heard the sound of something moving towards the back of the cave.

“Huh…” she muttered, looking over her shoulder for the source of the noise. “Hey, Kimbo were you here all along?” she asked as she stood up and trekked towards the back of the cave. “I mean, you could have at least said something.” She continued to talk. “I was thinking that maybe I’ve kept you a secret for too long, and it’s about time we tell somepony else about you. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are already on to me, and who knows, maybe we can get you out of this cave and into somewhere nicer to live,” she finished as she rounded a large boulder.

“What’s this?” she asked as she stepped into a mound of sticky cotton like material. “Uh, this stuff is tough.” She grunted as she struggled to wrench her foreleg free. Finally prying herself from the silk like thread, she looked up with a frown. “Is this some kind of spider web?” she said before taking notice that the thread like substance was literally everywhere throughout the cave.

“What in the hay, did a few thousand spiders move in here over night?” she quipped before taking notice of a large form that was laying incased in the substance on the ground a few paces in front of her.

She thought that it was roughly the size of Kimbo, and her eyes widened in fear. “K-Kimbo is that you in there!?” she said in a panicked voice.

The mound of white began to struggle upon hearing Scootaloo’s voice.

“Hang on, I’ll get you out,” she said, as she galloped towards the mound and bit down on the substance at the head and pulled as hard as she could. The bit of thread she managed to tear away revealed Kimbo’s face.

“How did you get all wrapped up in this stuff?” she asked while making to tear away more of the silk.

“Leave now!” Kimbo ordered in a harsh tone as soon as he was permitted, causing Scootaloo to reel back in surprise.

“Hey, I’m just trying to help y…” she trailed off as something large and frightening made its presence known.

Scootaloo couldn’t even find her voice to scream at sight of the monstrosity currently creeping towards them from further within the cave.

“Get out now!” Kimbo roared once more, as he watched the massive spider slowly make its way towards them.

Scootaloo found the courage to glare at the spider. “Is there ever not something trying to kill us!?” she shouted, as she desperately started tearing away the silk from Kimbo’s body.

Celestia watched the scene in absolute horror. It had been centuries since her last encounter with an actual acromantula. They were creatures of old and were very resistant to magic. Even a juvenile would take no less then half a dozen unicorns to put down.

How they escaped certain demise Celestia could only wonder at, as she watched the memory play out.

Sorry for the late update people, couldn't be helped. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter at least, I'll see yah with the next update.

Chapter 4

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Chapter 4: Final Memory

“This stuff is tough,” Scootaloo grumbled through a mouthful of the fine spider silk that Kimbo was trapped by.

Venom dripped from the massive spider's fangs as it approached its second morsel that had so willing ventured into its midst.

“Leave!” Kimbo hollered, but Scootaloo remained persistent in her task, relentlessly tearing away at the threads.

Finally making some progress, Scootaloo managed to free one of Kimbo’s bound arms. Kimbo wasted no time in using his newly released arm to push Scootaloo out of the way of an incoming leg, courtesy of the spider. With surprising force, the spider’s leg pierced the ground where Scootaloo had been standing mere moments before.

The spider causally walked over Kimbo, having decided that the bound man wasn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

Scootaloo looked from Kimbo to the spider and glared as fiercely as she could, but only managed to amuse the spider further. “Alright, ugly, come and get it,” she goaded while she positioned herself in front of a bowling ball sized stone and bucked it for all she was worth. The stone hit the spider square between its eight eyes, causing it to rear back in pain.

Scootaloo grinned at her work. However, her small victory was short lived, for the spider's anger apparently numbed it to the pain that it was experiencing. With reinvigorated bloodlust, the spider charged Scootaloo, hell-bent on snuffing out the filly’s life.

Scootaloo squealed in fear as she galloped away from the charging spider.

‘What was I thinking? If Kimbo doesn’t get loose, I’m so dead,’ Scootaloo thought frantically as a panicked sweat began to build above her brow. Seeing the entrance of the cave coming into view, Scootaloo picked up the pace, in the hopes of having a better chance of losing the spider among the thick forest brush.

Unfortunately, she wouldn’t make it that far before she stepped in a patch of spider silk, ensnaring her hind hoof. Being robbed of all of her momentum resulted in her painfully slamming her face into the cold, hard ground.

If the spider had been capable of a grin, it surely would have worn one as it prepared to strike down the young filly, so helplessly caught in its web.

Scootaloo's eyes filled with terror as she waited for the inevitable pain that would follow the blow from one of the Spider's long front legs.

Scootaloo felt the air being forced out of her lungs as she was painfully battered with enough force to rip her free from the silk and send her crashing into the cave wall. The blow left her gasping for air and her vision a blurry mess, yet she could still make out the silhouette of the spider stalking towards her, ready to finish its work.

Swaying on her hooves, she tumbled down to her haunches. Pain wracked her body, and she couldn’t find the strength to put up any more of a fight.

“Well, ugly…” Scootaloo spat at the spider. “Is that the best you’ve got?”

The spider had long since given up on indulging Scootaloo’s futile heroics and was ready to end their little game of cat and mouse. Rearing up, the spider lurched down to deliver a decisive blow to Scootaloo.

As she saw the beast rise up, Scootaloo squeezed her eyes shut, not willing to look death in the eyes. In a confused mixture of fear, panic and regret, a couple of tears seeped through her tightly closed eyelids as, in a fit of desperation, she screamed, “KIMBO!”

No reply came as a massive weight slammed into her, knocking the breath out of her.

Scootaloo gritted her teeth in pain and open her eyes. What she saw would have made her scream, had she been able to. Lying twitching on top of her was one of the spider's huge, hairy legs.

She put her forehooves on the writhing leg and pushed, but the strength of her battered and oxygen starved body was not enough to move it. Her efforts only served to exhaust her and darken the edges of her vision further.

She wheezed quietly and insistently, trying to draw breath as a series of heavy, irregular thumps shook the ground and drew her attention. She lifted her eyes and saw the spider twitching and stumbling about over her, trying to regain its balance as globules of foul-smelling ichor dripped from its wound, falling around her, spattering her orange coat with green and milk-white spots.

On top of the spider stood Kimbo, droplets of ichor flying off of his blade as he fought for balance on the monster's sleek thorax as it stumbled about.

As her vision swam and darkened, and her thought's grew unfocused, Scootaloo saw the monster stabilize itself on its remaining seven limbs, again focusing on her and raising its remaining frontmost leg in the air for the strike.

The leg descended in a vicious arc, aiming for her head.

This time she didn't close her eyes, and she saw Kimbo steady himself, grip his blade in both hands and raise it high above his head. The blade flashed down, and there was a crunch as it broke through the spider's chitin.

The point of the leg hit right next to her head, several of the coarse bristles piercing her cheek, and the bulk of it fell off to the side, twitching.

The spider fell forward in graceless faceplant. Kimbo, still standing tall, lifted his blade in the air and muttered, “Salama safari,” before he drove it between the head and thorax and gave it a forceful wrench to the side, decapitating the behemoth.

Celestia couldn’t help but be impressed, not only with Scootaloo’s bravery, but also with how easily Kimbo had been able to put down the acromantula. His experience was easy to see, and the fact that he didn’t rely on magic, only his own physical abilities, to take it down, made the feat that much more impressive to witness.

As she looked towards the downed spider, Celestia grimaced, knowing full well that the battle had not yet been won.

Kimbo walked over to Scootaloo and, with a few grunts, lifted the leg off of her.

Free to breathe again, she pulled in as much air as she could as fast as she could. Her head swam and pounded as she coughed violently. Twisting around and onto her knees, she retched, coughing between bouts as she emptied her breakfast onto the stone floor.

Finally finished, she spat to the side to get the foul taste out of her mouth, before Kimbo knelt down beside her and used his thumb to lift her chin so her face was looking towards him. “Hurt, you are,” he said with a frown as he observed her swollen and punctured face, along with the many bruises and cuts adorning her body.

“It’s no big deal,” Scootaloo said in a tired and hoarse voice, doing her best to smile, only suffer another coughing fit, spraying a bit of blood and spittle on the ground in front of Kimbo.

Kimbo sighed as he gently positioned Scootaloo under his arm and stood up, grunting slightly from her weight. “Help, you’ll need,” Kimbo said as the sound of something bubbling began to fill the cave.

“What’s… going… on?” Scootaloo wheezed as her eyes nearly jumped out their sockets after she noticed the spider’s once motionless shell expanding and bubbling as though it were going to explode.

Kimbo’s face remained devoid of anything resembling fear as he tightened his grip around his spear. A moment later, the spider’s abdomen split in half, releasing a foul smelling substance into the air, followed by tens of thousands of smaller spiders crawling out of the acromantula’s carcass.

Kimbo took a step back and watched the new arrivals carefully.

“Lets… get out of here,” Scootaloo whispered, earning the attention of one of the smaller spiders.

It hissed at them before it too began to bubble and expand in the same manner as the acromantula had. It exploded into a net of spider web that Kimbo managed to dodge. Looking to where the web had landed, both Kimbo and Scootaloo’s eyes widened at seeing the spider web melting clear through the boulder it had landed on with impossible speed.

“Good, this is not,” Kimbo said as the smaller spiders all began to bubble up, preparing to explode as the former one had.

“I think we should go,” Scootaloo muttered and then shouted, “Run, Kimbo!”

Kimbo wasted no further time and darted towards the exit of the cave as the suicide hatchlings began detonating themselves, splashing corrosive spider silk all along the cave walls. The cave began to shake violently as it started to collapse in on itself.

Kimbo ducked and weaved as falling stone threatened to split both his and Scootaloo’s heads wide open. Scootaloo's luck ran out, however as a baseball sized stone smacked her square atop the head.

The hit made her feel disoriented and nauseous. Her vision blurred as the light of the cave’s entrance grew brighter. Despite her best efforts to stay awake, the darkness that came with losing consciousness soon enveloped her.

Celestia soon felt the familiar sensation of being dragged away from the memory, and she pulled her head free from the time window, looking a bit disheveled as she did so.

“Are you okay, Princess?” Twilight asked as she studied her mentor’s visage.

Celestia remained quiet, apparently deep in her own thoughts, before finally speaking. “You were right in your accusations, my student,” Celestia began. “We have to right this wrong that has been committed.”

Twilight smiled. “I knew you would understand, Princess.”

Celestia nodded as she walked over to her throne and sat on her haunches. “When you lead this being, or shall I say Kimbo, into the Everfree, I noted that he headed south. Assuming he stayed on that heading, his eventual destination is clear.”

“I’ve already come to that conclusion myself. It’s why I had to leave the search party and seek your counsel,” Twilight explained. “Frankly, none of us are trackers, and we’ll need guidance from somepony that knows that land well if we’re ever going to bring Scootaloo back.”

Celestia mulled over the details once again in her mind before saying. “Am I to assume that the other elements have already agreed to accompany you on this venture?”

“They have,” Twilight answered. “They’re ready to leave the moment I return.”

“Very well, my student, leave for Ponyville and make the necessary preparations for your departure,” Celestia said. “I’ll use that time to find a suitable tracker to assist you.”

Twilight gave a curt bow as she said, “Thank you, Princess.”

Celestia walked back over to Twilight and nuzzled her affectionately. “Do be careful, my student.”

Elsewhere

Scootaloo grit her teeth in frustration, while tiredly pulling her cloak free of yet another bramble it had gotten caught on. In hindsight, perhaps a cloak wasn’t the most practical thing to wear when trekking through a forest, but at least it looked cool.

“I’ll never understand how Zecora moves through the Everfree so easily with a cloak,” she grumbled, having finally wrenched the garment free.

Sitting on her haunches, Scootaloo stared up at the canopy with a fatigue ridden expression, feeling too hungry, thirsty, tired and pained to carry on much longer. “Kimbo, where are you?” she whispered to herself through chapped lips. “Four days, I think. That’s how long I’ve been fumbling around out here. And what good has it done me?” she chastised herself. “Even if I give up now, I don’t have a clue of how to get back to Ponyville, not that I’d make it anyway.”

“Guwhaa, this is so stupid!” she shouted in frustration, forgetting to keep silent in order to not alert a potentially hungry visitor of her presence. Immediately after shouting, she hissed in pain and rubbed the stained and dirty bandage that covered her left cheek. Her hoof came away wet and stained red, with little green and brown bits of plant matter stuck in the blood. She looked at the bottom of her hoof for a short time, her eyes unfocused, before putting it back on the ground. She turned her head and glanced at her midriff, noting that the bandages covering her chest weren't any cleaner. She sighed and rubbed her aching head with her other hoof, her ears and shoulders drooping. “Why’d everypony have to treat him like a monster? If I ever get back, I’m going to give everypony a piece of my mind,” she promised as she stood back up and continued on her way, each step beginning to feel like the last she could take with her tired, aching legs.

Fortunately, the surrounding foliage had started to thin out throughout the last hour or so, and she knew that soon enough she’d be free of that accursed Everfree. Where she would end up was another question entirely, one she didn’t have the vaguest answer for.

When she really thought about it, Scootaloo realized that she didn’t even know what was directly south of the Everfree, or why she felt that was the right direction to go in the first place. ‘Maybe sleeping through Miss Cheerilee’s geography lessons wasn’t a good idea after all,’ she mused, now starting to sway from her exhaustion.

‘I don’t think I’m going to make it,’ Scootaloo started to think as her vision began to blur, and she stumbled over her own hooves before finally falling to her face, her ribs aching from the jolt. “So, this is how it ends, huh? So lame.”

“I agree. A decidedly pitiful way to die, indeed,” a voice called as a blue hoof landed in front of Scootaloo’s face.

Scootaloo used what remaining strength she had left to look up at who had found her. The sun that shone from above did a stellar job of casting the figure in shadow.

“I’m… I’m… saved,” Scootaloo managed, before finally succumbing to her fatigue.

Sometime later

Scootaloo awoke like a corpse from the grave, her ribs creaking in protest. Placing a hoof to her head, she winced as her pounding headache returned, stronger than before. “Wha… what happened?” she asked, her voice coming out hoarse.

As she took in her new surroundings, the first thing she spotted was a pitcher of water with a couple of apples next to it. Not particularly caring for manners at the moment, she crawled over to the pitcher of water and drank in its contents like an overworked slave.

“Thank Celestia, she knows I needed that,” Scootaloo said with a content smile.

Only then did she notice that her bandages had been changed and her wounds had been cleaned, even the small ones that covered most of her body, both old and new. In fact, she felt much less grimy overall than she had after wandering the Everfree for days, though not completely clean. The bandage around her ribs felt a bit tight, but that was something that she could live with. Her head pounded, everything still ached dully, especially her ribs and her cheek, and her right ankle still hurt a bit whenever she put weight on it, but she'd gotten used to it in the Everfree and she would get used to it again.

Finally feeling as though she weren't knocking on death’s door, she studied her surroundings more attentively. It was a confinement of sorts, made of wood. ’Maybe a wagon,’ she guessed. A small window allowed for moonlight to enter, illuminating the, admittedly small, room with just enough light to make out minor details. The primary being that the far wall was decorated in numerous sheets of paper. Scootaloo peered at the wall in the dim light. ’…wanted posters?’

Standing up on her hooves, she made her way over towards the wall, but stopped as she bumped into a cage. She bit back a hiss of pain as her ribs shifted. Straining her eyes to peer inside the barred cage, she could just make out a small furred creature, curled up and sleeping in the corner of it. It looked like a puppy, apart from it having three heads.

Ignoring the creature for the time being, she continued her way towards the wall and stared at the posters curiously. They ranged from animals and creatures she’d never seen, to rough looking ponies, minotaurs, donkeys, griffins and diamond dogs, each with corresponding bounties under their pictures.

“What is this?” Scootaloo asked no one in particular while she snatched up one of the posters that had stuck out like a sore thumb. “Kimbo… Why is he on one of these?” she wondered aloud, scrutinizing the picture carefully.

The picture had obviously been taken in haste, if the blurred image of the humanoid figure was any indication. Looking the poster over, she noted it was bare of any information. No species, height, or weight listed as they were on the others. Further separating it from the others was the incredibly high bounty. Even though the reward was in copper pieces, she guessed it would still equal a great amount of bits.

“That one has made quiet the splash since it entered the badlands a few days ago.”

Scootaloo’s ears perked up as her head swiveled in the direction the voice had come from. Standing at the now open doorway was the figure of a pony.

Scootaloo took a few steps back until her rear pressed against the wall. “W-who are you?”

The figure chuckled as it stepped into the light. “Prepare to be wowed and amazed by the GREAT and POWERFUL…”

“You’re that traveling showmare, Trixie?” Scootaloo interrupted the moment the moonlight had revealed the silhouette's features.

Trixie paused for a moment before exposing a large, toothy grin. “Excellent, it seems that Trixie’s reputation precedes her.”

Chapter 5

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A new Occupation

“Trixie supposes that it’s no surprise that Trixie’s name is known both far and wide,” Trixie said as she made her way closer to Scootaloo, who was no longer pressed against the wall in fear. “So, may Trixie have the pleasure of knowing the name of whom she's saved from the cold hooves of death?”

Scootaloo looked at Trixie with a hard stare as she folded her forelegs over her chest. “If you must know, it’s Scootaloo. I’m from Ponyville, the town you thought would be fun to make into your own personal plaything not too long ago.”

“Oh,” was Trixie’s reply. “By that expression, Trixie would assume that you are still sore with her for her admittedly distasteful acts. If it’s any consolation, Trixie does feel terrible for what she put you and the rest of the Ponyvillians through.”

“That a fact?” Scootaloo retorted, not appearing convinced in the slightest.

Trixie sat on her haunches, shoulders slumping, and stared at Scootaloo with an almost tired expression. “Trixie will not ask you to express gratitude for having saved you; however, she wishes that we can call ourselves even and be civil with one another.” She stuck out a hoof towards Scootaloo, “Deal?”

Scootaloo looked at the offered hoof through one squinting eye before begrudgingly bumping her own hoof against it. “Fine, so long as you stop with all this speaking in the third pony stuff, it's way too annoying.”

“Ha, now don’t get ahead of yourself,” Trixie said while holding her nose high in the air and speaking in an arrogant tone. “Trixie will not change her dialect for anypony.”

“I knew that was too much to hope for,” Scootaloo mumbled under her breath.

“But on to more pressing matters,” Trixie continued, her tone of voice returning to normal. “What in Celestia’s name is a young filly like yourself doing so far away from home? Surely you know that this place is too dangerous to wander about so carelessly? Especially for a filly in your condition. Traveling through the Everfree with open cuts, broken ribs and bleeding puncture wounds covered by filthy bandages is a recipe for infection and death.”

Scootaloo stood up, legs splayed, narrowed her eyes and scowled at Trixie. "Hey, for your information, my ribs aren't broken, just bruised with two tiny fractures." She held her glare on Trixie for several beats before she settled back down and shifted her eyes back to the far wall with the array of posted bounties, her eyes fixated on the one with Kimbo’s photo. “And I’m looking for a friend,” she answered dryly after a short while.

Trixie quirked a brow at Scootaloo as her eyes traveled back and forth between Scootaloo and the bounty pictures. “Is Trixie to believe that one of these scoundrels is the friend you seek?”

Scootaloo glared at Trixie. “Kimbo isn’t a scoundrel!” she hissed.

“Of course not, Trixie was only speaking in general terms,” she said as she stood up and walked past Scootaloo towards the far wall, using her magic to light a kerosene lamp that was sitting on the ground.

“You see, this lot of characters are quite notorious for being, how do you say… very unpleasant,” Trixie explained as she stood in front of the posters. “One will seldom find a bounty placed on their head unless they’ve done something nasty to warrant it,” Trixie said before pointing her hoof to Kimbo’s poster. “Although you do get exceptions, such as this fellow.”

“Exceptions?” Scootaloo repeated.

Trixie nodded. “Not everypony that issues a bounty is looking to have a criminal apprehended or… disposed of. In fact, animal traffickers will pay a fine bit for rare, powerful or simply bizarre creatures such as him. Unfortunately for the fools that tried to capture and sell him to traffickers, this creature didn’t turn out to be much of an animal.”

Scootaloo's eyes widened slightly. “He didn’t… well, kill anypony, did he?”

“Trixie is told the creature was quite skilled in the use of a spear; however, it refrained from killing its assailants, although the beating it delivered makes you question just how merciful that action was. In doing so, it’s garnered more attention than it probably wants.”

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes and flared her nostrils at Trixie. “So, now he’s being hunted by ponies like you, just because he defended himself!?”

“Ponies like Trixie?” Trixie echoed before stifling a chuckle at the sentiment. “Trixie would never defile herself by taking on jobs such as this. In fact, hunters such as them find Trixie to be a thorn in their side.”

“A thorn in their side?” Scootaloo repeated in confusion.

“That’s right, there are those that use bounty hunting as a disguise to commit crimes of their own, such as poaching. Trixie finds it quite a thrill to expose and capture those sorts,” Trixie explained as she walked over to the cage with the small three headed dog. “This little one here Trixie rescued from the same type of scum that have been trounced by the creature.”

“So, you’re like a bounty hunter for bad bounty hunters?” Scootaloo asked curiously. “So, how come? I thought you were a magic performer. Why the change?”

“Because of Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie answered bluntly. “Trixie has always prided herself on her magical talent, but she was sorely upstaged. Having been so shamefully defeated not once but twice, Trixie began to question if she truly had a talent for magic at all,” she said as she sat down on her haunches and observed her cutie mark. “If magic is truly Trixie’s talent then why couldn’t she defeat Twilight? Trixie then realized that the key difference between her and Twilight was experience. Twilight Sparkle has accomplished a great many things, while Trixie on the other hoof has not.”

Scootaloo scratched the top of her head in confusion. “And how does bounty hunting play a role in all this?”

“Trixie needed experience of her own,” she continued. “This job is dangerous and will help bring out Trixie’s untapped potential. In truth, Trixie’s power has already grown substantially because of it.”

Scootaloo shook her head. “Well, that doesn’t really make sense to me, but tell me, what does anypony have to gain by capturing him?” Scootaloo said while pointing to Kimbo’s bounty picture. “If they realize he’s not an animal then why not leave him alone?” she asked, her voice raised, sounding more engaged and heated than she realized.

Trixie looked slightly taken aback by Scootaloo’s rather emotional statement. “That creature is an unknown, and Trixie supposes that there are those that would want to tame and use it for their own gain,” she explained. “But why are you so concerned about this creature’s well being, it’s not like…” Trixie paused as the realization finally hit her. “You mean to tell Trixie that this creature is the friend you spoke of?”

Scootaloo didn’t answer but merely looked down at her hooves with slouched shoulders.

“Trixie sees…” Trixie muttered before a grin spread across her lips. “Interesting.”

Scootaloo stared at Trixie in mild confusion. “And just what are you grinning about, and what’s interesting?”

“Trixie just finds it curious that her and your goals coincide with one another, that’s all,” Trixie explained as she unlatched the cage containing the small, three headed dog.

“I don’t follow you,” Scootaloo said as she watched Trixie remove the midnight purple puppy from its cage and gently began to stroke its three heads, rousing it from its sleep.

“Trixie is in search of this creature just the same as you,” she confirmed. “Although for different reasons.”

Scootaloo flew to her hooves and glared at Trixie. “I thought you said you weren’t after him!” she said as she pointed her hoof accusingly at Trixie. “And that creature has a name, it’s Kimbo!”

“You needn’t fly off the handle, in fact you should be pleased to hear this piece of news,” Trixie said as the puppies three heads began to bark at Scootaloo, small embers flying from their mouths with each bark.

Scootaloo took an uneasy step back away from the fire spewing puppy, stumbling from pain when she put down her injured hind leg. “You’d better call off that mutt, before I, uh… have to show 'em who's boss.”

Trixie began to laugh at Scootaloo’s less than threatening claim. “Forgive Lewana, she’s become quite protective of Trixie, and you were shouting at Trixie rather loudly. Besides, Lewana may only be a puppy, but even at a young age a cerberus is an exceptionally formidable beast.”

“Whatever, just call her off before she starts a fire in here.” Scootaloo huffed in annoyance.

“Those embers are harmless, just a warning really,” Trixie said as she continued to stroke Lewana to calm her down. “But like Trixie was saying, she's not so much in search of… Kimbo as she is his pursuers.”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “So, he’s just bait for you, huh? But for who?”

“For the big fish of course,” Trixie said as she stopped petting Lewana and pointed to Kimbo’s bounty picture. “That bounty on your friend is in copper pieces and never has Trixie seen such a large sum issued for anything less than a mythical beast. The ones that Trixie's after will be drawn to that reward like a moths to a flame.”

“Pft,” Scootaloo scoffed. “Kimbo would put them in their place just like the others; he doesn’t need you to do it for him.”

“It’s unwise to be so sure about that,” Trixie argued. “The ones your friend fended off were nothing. The five shadows that Trixie is hoping will show themselves are cut from an entirely different cloth than those amateurs. In truth, to compare them isn’t entirely fair as the five shadows are more similar to a group of mercenaries than bounty hunters. And while Trixie is being truthful, she admits that each of them is likely more powerful than she. Even so, she cannot let this grand opportunity to apprehend them pass.”

“You’re wasting your time, I’ve seen Kimbo take down a…what did that book call it? An acro...acrorom…well it was a big, freaky, scary spider, okay? Some hotshot bounty hunters or mercen… whatevers don’t have a chance.”

Trixie’s eyes widened slightly. “An acromantula? But that’s a class B mythical beast, defeating one is above even Trixie's current skill level,” Trixie said as she rubbed her chin in thought. “The more she thinks about it, the stranger this all seems.”

“How is this any stranger than a normal job you’d take?” Scootaloo asked curiously. “They think Kimbo is some kind of beast that they want to capture, right? Seems pretty straight forward to me.”

“It’s not,” Trixie countered. “As Trixie has said before, the reward has been issued in copper pieces, a currency mostly used by bakeneko in the badlands. As far as Trixie knows, the bakeneko are a very proud race that do not like outsiders. And considering they prefer to get their own paws dirty, the fact that they employed help via a bounty means that they are desperate for his capture. 'Why' is the question.”

“It doesn’t matter why they want him; we just have to find him first,” Scootaloo said with a wide grin. “Problem solved, right?”

“We?” Trixie repeated with an arched brow. “There is no we, Trixie will be taking you back to Ponyville at first light.”

“Ponyville? I’m not going back there unless it’s with Kimbo!” Scootaloo shouted, prompting Lewana to bark at her once again. “Ah, give it a rest you mangy mutt,” she snapped.

“Trixie understands that you wish to find your friend, and that’s commendable, but this isn’t a game of pretend we’re out here playing. We aren’t in Equestria, things work differently here, right down to a creature's very sense of morals. This is the most dangerous job Trixie has ever taken. When Trixie confronts the members of the five shadows, her very life could be at stake. They aren’t a rag tag group of misguided buffoons looking to make a quick bit. Each of them is a seasoned hunter, thief or killer, and not one of them would fancy spending the rest their life behind bars. You’ll have to understand that Trixie cannot afford distractions if she wishes to succeed.”

“But that’s not fair,” Scootaloo protested. “He’s my friend, and it was my town that chased him off, so it’s up to me to set things right. You just have to bring me with you. I don’t care about the danger, it’s the only shot I’ve got.”

Trixie rubbed her temples soothingly to calm her irritation with the persistent little pegasus. “You just don’t get it, it’s not only finding your friend that’s an obstacle: Animals, bandits and the elements are all threats that Trixie would have to shield you from.”

“Don’t underestimate me,” Scootaloo fired back, her eyes positively glowing with determination. “I can hold my own just fine, and I promise to pull my own weight. You just have to give me the chance.”

Trixie actually seemed to mull over what Scootaloo had said for a moment before finally opening her mouth to speak. “Trixie is sorry, Scootaloo, but the answer is no. You just aren’t ready for the harshness of the badlands. First thing tomorrow morning we will journey back to Ponyville, and that is that,” Trixie stated firmly as her horn shimmered a brilliant pink, causing the space above Scootaloo’s head to shimmer and distort before a sleeping bag literally appeared out of thin air and fell before Scootaloo’s hooves. “Now, get some sleep, you still haven’t recovered fully from your previous trek through the forest or your injuries.”

Scootaloo looked at the offered sleeping bag with a frown before angrily kicking it back at Trixie. “Sleep yourself, I’m out of here,” Scootaloo said as she put on and adjusted her cloak and snatched Kimbo’s wanted poster off of the wall.

“And where exactly will you go?” Trixie asked while watching Scootaloo stuff the poster into her cloak.

“Where do you think?” Scootaloo retorted. “You finding me don’t change anything; I’m still going to find Kimbo, with or without your help.”

“Stubborn foal,” Trixie grumbled as she used her magic to hold Scootaloo in place.

Scootaloo stared at the pale pink magic shrouding her body before leveling an icy stare at Trixie. “Hey, what’s the big idea? Get your magic off of me and let me go already.”

“Trixie is afraid that she can’t do that,” she said as Lewana’s ears folded back and the puppy let out a low growl towards the window of the wagon. “It would seem we have some uninvited guest waiting outside.”

Scootaloo’s ears perked up immediately at Trixie’s words. “What do you mean 'uninvited guest'?” she asked curiously.

“Trixie’s detection spells have been triggered,” she explained as she stood up and stared out the window with a focused look plastered on her face. “They have my wagon surrounded on all sides, and the fools believe they are well hidden. Five of them in all, two of them ponies and three of them diamond dogs,” Trixie concluded as she used her magic to conjure her cape.

“W-what,” Scootaloo stuttered. “Five of them? What in the hay could they want?”

“Trixie would wager that they intend to ambush her,” Trixie answered with a shrug of indifference as she tied her cape on and released her magical hold on Scootaloo.

Having been released, Scootaloo slowly approached Trixie and joined her at her side. “Are they bandits or something?”

“No, not this bunch,” Trixie said with a grin. “Trixie is sure they are remnants of a gang that had disbanded when she collected the bounty on their former boss. Trixie supposes that they are still angry with her for that and wish to even the score,” Trixie added before retrieving her hat off of a table and placing it on her head. “It’s too bad that Trixie will have to deny those revenge seeking fools what they desire.”

“You’re going out there?”

“But of course,” Trixie said as she walked up to the door of the wagon and pushed it open. “It would be rude for Trixie to not give our guest a proper greeting, especially after they came all this way to see her,” she finished as she hoped out of the wagon followed by Lewana.

Scootaloo made to follow after Trixie, but stopped at Trixie’s command.

“You best remain where you are, young Scootaloo,” Trixie said as she flashed Scootaloo a toothy grin, her teeth seeming to glow in the darkness. “Things may get a little messy out here.”

Ponyville

Rainbow Dash was restlessly flying around Twilight’s library, annoyance clear on her face, while Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy simply watched her. “Ugh, I can’t take this anymore!” she suddenly shouted and turned her attention towards Twilight. “How much longer until this hotshot tracker gets here? It feels like we’ve been waiting forever!”

“Look, I’ve already told you: I don’t know,” Twilight said, huffing in frustration. “Princess Celestia only told me before I left Canterlot that she would find a suitable tracker while I made preparations to leave, here in Ponyville.”

“That’s nothing to go off of. That could mean a day or a week for all we know,” Dash said as she dropped out of the air and started to pace back and forth. “Scootaloo's out there all alone, and we’re here doing nothing about it.”

“Ah know yer worried about little Scootaloo, but we’re doin' the best we can,” Applejack said. “Ah'm sure the princess knows how worried we all are and made getting us a tracker her first priority.”

Rarity nodded her agreement. “Yes, and besides, we’ve only just finished making the necessary preparations,” she said as she stepped aside and observed her mounds of packed belongings with a content smile.

Dash glared at Rarity’s luggage as though it had said something offensive to her. “No, you just finished; I was ready to leave yesterday,” she said as she fluttered over to Rarity and pointed a hoof at Rarity’s bags. “What do you need all this for, and who do you think is gonna cart all this stuff around for you?”

Rarity turned her nose up at Dash. “Had you’d been paying attention to Twilight earlier today instead of brooding you would have remembered that she enchanted special saddlebags that can hold all of our belongings.”

Dash looked at Rarity skeptically then shifted towards Twilight. “You can do something like that?”

Twilight couldn’t help the grin that threatened to split her face. “Yep, I’ve been working on that particular enchantment spell for a while and just recently I managed to work out all the kinks. Each of your saddlebags should be able to fit about…”

“Yeah, they’re super-duper cool!” Pinkie interjected, cutting Twilight off as she bounced up to Dash and dropped her own saddlebag at her hooves. “Just watch,” she said as she unhooked the pink saddlebag and began pulling things out at random. “Look, it can fit a whole room worth of goodies. I’ve got balloons, cupcakes, party streamers, maracas, a drum set, cake and candy and….”

Pinkie suddenly found her mouth covered by Dash’s hoof. “That’s great and all, Pinkie, but shouldn’t you pack, well, I don’t know… useful stuff?”

“Don’t be silly, Dash; this is useful, besides, I’ve got all that other junk too,” Pinkie said as she reached her hooves into her saddlebag and started tugging. “My tent and sleeping bag are in here somewhere and toothbrush too.”

Twilight made to stop Pinkie from further cluttering the floor of the library with her things, but a sudden crash coming from the kitchen grabbed her and everypony's attention.

Fluttershy yelped as she dived for cover. “W-what w-was that?” she whispered in a trembling voice.

“Sounds like somepony broke some dishes,” Applejack answered while staring in the direction of the kitchen. “Don’t reckon Spike got up for a midnight snack, do yah?”

Twilight shook her head in response. “We would have seen him come down stairs,” she answered, her ears now trained on the kitchen where grunts and clanks were echoing from.

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and glared towards the kitchen before she extended her wings. “Just what we need, somepony dumb enough to break in while we’re all here,” she said before she took off towards the kitchen like a bullet.

“Wait, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted, only for her warning to fall on deaf ears.

A moment later the sound of a struggle came from within the kitchen, prompting the rest of the girls to sprint for it, apart from Fluttershy, who was still shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Having entered the kitchen, the girls looked around the area frantically, only to find Rainbow Dash underneath what they assumed was a diamond dog.

Rarity observed the assailant carefully, taking note of its almond colored coat and short cropped, dark brown hair atop its head and worn jean jacket. “Is that a… female diamond dog?” Rarity asked as she stared at the perpetrator that was lounging on top of Rainbow Dash and causally eating an apple.

The diamond dog turned to the new arrivals with a bored expression on her face before she grinned, showcasing a row of sharp, pearly white teeth. “So, you're the kiddies Celestia wanted me to babysit, huh?”

“Hey, get your stinkin' paws offa me!” Dash shouted, while struggling underneath the weight of the much larger diamond dog.

The diamond dog looked down at Dash with an amused expression.

“Now, that’s no way to talk to the one that’s going to help you find that missing runt, is it?” she said as she patted Rainbow Dash on the cheek. “We need to play nice with each other.”

Dash's face grew visibly red with anger, despite her blue coat.

“Um,” Twilight started as she stepped forward. “Is there a particular reason you decided to break in rather than use the door?”

“Seemed like a good idea at the time,” the diamond dog said with a dismissive shrug. “Besides, we have more important things to discuss, like: Do you have anything besides apples and dried grass to eat in here?” she said as she pitched the apple core into a nearby trash bin.

“You have a problem wit' apples?” Applejack asked, directing a displeased frown at the diamond dog.

“Yeah, they’re red: I hate red.”

“Well, what about yellow apples or green apples?” Pinkie questioned. “Do you hate them too?”

“She’s only pulling your leg.” A new rough, yet feminine voice came from behind the four mares, accompanied by a large shadow that covered their own. “Risky Paw is colorblind.”

The girls turned around to face the new entrant, all of them needing to crane their necks up a bit due to her height.

“A minotaur?” Twilight mouthed as she observed the intimidating figure looming over them. The minotaur’s fur was a dark maroon, her long black hair held in a ponytail and, finally, she wore a loincloth and tight bandages around her chest to cover her ample bosom.

The minotaur gave them a friendly smile. “Name's Big Betsy, but just call me Betsy. Don’t too much care for the big part, and that little firecracker over there is my adorable disciple, Risky Paw,” she said as she glared at Risky Paw and snorted through her nostrils, causing a bit of steam to shoot from them. “If you don’t get your sorry rear off her, so help me.”

Risky Paw instantly obeyed and hopped off of Rainbow Dash. “Sorry, boss. Won’t happen again,” she said as she held out one of her thick paws towards Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash looked at the offered paw before reluctantly taking it and the help with getting up that came with it.

“That’s better,” Betsy said with a nod of approval. “So, you girls are the infamous Elements of Harmony I’ve heard so much about?” Betsy said, more to herself than anyone else, studying each of them carefully. “Just by looking, I can tell you all have something special, even the one passed out in the other room.”

“Fluttershy?” Rarity gasped. “The poor dear actually fainted?” she asked before trotting past Betsy in order to tend to her friend.

Twilight walked up to Betsy and stuck out a hoof. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. I can’t thank you enough for coming to help us.”

Betsy reached out her hand and shook Twilight’s hoof, causing the unicorn to wince from the strength of her grip. “It’s no problem. Besides, Celestia and I go way back, and she can be quite persuasive when she wants to.”

“Basically, boss is saying Celestia is paying us out the wazoo,” Risky Paw said while licking her lips.

“Well, whatever motivates yah, ah guess,” Applejack said, tilting her hat to them.

“Okay, we’re all here now, so can we get this thing movin' or what?” Dash asked as she lifted herself into the air and folded her forelegs over her chest. “We’ve wasted enough time as it is.”

“It’s two in the morning,” Risky Paw countered as she let out a yawn to make her point. “We should get some shuteye before heading out.”

“But…”

“No, she’s right,” Twilight interrupted Rainbow Dash. “We’ve been up and about the entire day; we have to rebuild our strength before this journey.”

“A wise decision,” Betsy acknowledged. “And I doubt your friend would be ready to go any time soon anyway,” Betsy finished, pointing a clawed finger towards the opposite room where Rarity and Pinkie were both fanning Fluttershy.

Twilight smiled “Then it’s settled, we’ll head out first thing in the morning.”