> Human Nature
>  by Blank Page
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue:  Flash-forward
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was yet another beautiful day in the Canterlot garden.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the branches gently rustling in the cool spring breeze.  It was all perfect... but unfitting for today.

I leaned up against one of the many trees in the garden just out of sight from the gathering of ponies.  They were all mindlessly milling about, every now and then exchanging small talk with one another.  A large white tarp shielded a mysterious structure in the middle from view.  I could tell from the marbled base and odd positions that this was yet another statue for the garden's collection.  A multitude of chairs stood their ground before it.  There were just enough to seat all of the guests.  A snack bar was stationed off to the side next to some bushes.  Fruit punch and cupcakes were being served to lighten the mood.  I would have retrieved a few of the pastries, but I wasn't exactly in a hungry mood.  Besides, I was, as usual, too comfortable in my seclusion to socialize.

I spotted a few familiar characters in the sea of faces.  Pinkie Pie's mess of a mane would occasionally pop up.  I could only imagine that she was bouncing around in her usual manner, trying her hardest to keep everyone cheered up.  Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy were sitting in the grass, sipping away their punch and engaged in conversation.  Rainbow Dash and Applejack were playing another one of their games.  It was highly inappropriate when considering why they were here, but I could understand why they were trying to get their minds distracted.  Only one pony was missing from this picture.

"Where are you, Lyra?" I whispered.  I didn't expect her to hear me.  In fact, I hoped she didn't.

A few ponies parted from the line of sight between me and the hidden statue.  Only one unicorn stayed.  Her mint-green body was firmly planted where she sat.  From the angle of her scruffy green and white mane I could tell that she was staring at the tarp.  There was an invisible circle around her where nopony dared invade.  The sight was almost enough to make me leave the tree.  Almost.  "Move," I pleaded.  "Walk, talk, hang out, socialize.  Do something."  Of course, she still hadn't heard me.

A trumpet sounded, signaling the arrival of the princesses.  The ponies shuffled to the empty chairs.  Lyra's friends managed to move her into a seat.  I caught a glimpse of her face.  It was emotionless.  She was trying her best to hold something back.  Maybe I should go    

"No," I thought out loud.  "I can't.  I need to stay here.  Out of sight.  Alone.  All by myself."

"Oh, don't be like that," a voice said next to me.  An eagle's claw patted my shoulder.  "You still have me, after all."

"Yes, and I am overwhelmed by my good fortune," I sarcastically snapped.

The figure withdrew his talon.  "Now, now, Hunter, there's no need to be a spoiled sport.  Just think of it this way:  now we have all the time in the world to come up with knock-knock jokes!"

"Oh, joyous rapture," I replied without emotion.

"Bah, now you're just being no fun," he complained.  "If you need me, I'll be trying to steal some punch."  The towering figure made his way to the snack table, his red snake-like tail flicking in agitation.

I redirected my attention to the ponies.  Celestia and Luna had appeared, accompanied by many of royal guards in their decorative uniforms.  One of them I recognized as Twilight's brother, Shining Armor.  With a single nod of her royal head, Celestia beckoned the guards to disperse.  Soon, only Celestia and her sister were the only two ponies left standing before the tarp.  A silent message was exchanged between the sisters.

Celestia took a step forward and cleared her throat.  "My little ponies, I have gathered you all here today in memory one of Equestria's recent fallen hero."

"Hero," I snorted.  "More like a lucky fool if you ask me."

Celestia continued her droll speech.  "He has been through many hardships in his time here.  I deeply regret that I was one of them.  In our hour of need, he so boldly left the sanctuary of his home to aid us."

"He was a coward," I corrected.  "He only returned to clear his conscience."

"Through his valiance, he overcame his greatest enemy and aided our efforts in returning Equestria to order."

"But all of it was his fault," I growled.  "None of this would have happened if it wasn't for him."

"I believe I speak for both my sister and I when I say that we only wish we could apologize to him formally instead of at a ceremony he could not attend."  I bit my tongue to keep me from what I was about to scream.  "And so, without further delay, it is my pleasure to commemorate this statue in his honor."  Luna pulled down the tarp.  A thunderous applause echoed through the garden.

The statue was a perfect replica of the "hero's" final moments.  In stone, the two figures locked in combat were frozen in place.  The "hero" appeared to be easily overpowered by the mighty Draconequus before him.  Their hands were locked together as the stone cold figures looked deeply into one another's eyes in pure hatred.  A gold plaque was mounted on the marble base.  Only one word was engraved on it.

"SACRIFICE"

"A lucky fool, indeed," I glowered.

"I was never given a ceremony like this," the figure pouted as he reappeared.  "Are we done here?  I'm getting bored."

"Ah, Discord.  You never were the patient type," I sighed.

"What can I say?  It's in my nature."

I gave the crowd one last look.  The ponies were dispersing.  Some returned to their original cliques.  Many exited the garden, probably wanting to go somewhere less... depressing.  A few moved closer to the statue to admire it better.  A single green unicorn remained in her seat, head hung low.  I felt a pang of guilt.

"I swear I will find a way to return, Lyra," I muttered under my breath.  "And this time, I intend to keep my promise."  Her friends came and herded her away from the garden, each bearing their own form of depression.  I craned my neck to meet the Draconequus' crimson pupils as the last of them disappeared behind the bushes.  "Alright, let's cut a trail."

Discord grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the pitiful scene.  "Come on, there's so much I want to show you.  Ooh, we could go wreak some minor havoc in Las Pegasus.  If we can find a way to tamper with their power grid in the middle of the night     Oh!  Or we could go pay Chrysalis a visit.  I bet you'll never guess what she does when she thinks she's alone.  Maybe we could   "

I stopped listening to his list of mischief.  Why I thought it was a good idea to hang out with the Spirit of Chaos was beyond me.  I was sure to be driven mad by the end of our adventure.  Then again, I would probably be driven insane if I didn't have anyone to talk to.  Perhaps it was just a matter of which way I wanted to lose my mind.

To think that this all the result of a family camping trip gone wrong still boggles my mind.  What was it like when I first arrived?  Oh yes, I remember.

"Hey, Hunter," Discord said, trying to stifle a laugh.

"What?"

"Knock Knock."
> Act I:  Extreme Camping
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was my family's first time to go camping, so it was only natural for us to be excited.  I mean, it's camping, right?  As an added bonus, I was going to miss a full week of school.  Yep, it was no one other than the Gray family:  my mom, dad, and two younger brothers, Tanner and Brandon.  After months of planning this trip, we were finally prepared to tackle whatever Mother Nature had in store for us.  Nothing could possibly go wrong.

We arrived at the clearing in the forest that would soon become our sanctuary from the elements for the next few days.  We piled out of the RV we rented for the trip and almost immediately began constructing what was sure to be the greatest campsite ever.  A few painstakingly long hours later, the campsite was made.  Well... mostly made.  The fire was already dying into a smoldering pit of ashes and the tents looked as if they were ready to fall apart at any moment.  Cut us some slack, it was our first go at it.

Our pitiful condition wasn't unknown to us and my father decided to take command.  "Alright, may I be first to say that this camp looks like crap."  Good ole dad.  He always knew the right thing to say.  "We need to step up our game, pronto.  Honey, you, Tanner, and Brandon get to work on fixing those tents.  I'll get the grub cooking.  Hunter," he directed his attention to me, "I want you to go get some more firewood.  Here, take this, too," he handed me a hatchet, "just in case you have to break some wood."

I held the hatchet in my hands.  It was a tad bit heavier than I anticipated.  The blade was much sharper, too, which would definitely help.  I lazily swung it down to my side.  "Yeah, I can do that."

My father planted his hand on my shoulder.  "Good, don't let me down."

As I left the campsite and entered the woods I could hear my mom trying to convince Dad to trade jobs with her.  I silently prayed that she was successful; remembering the last time Dad tried making a meal from scratch.  A shudder ran up my sign as I remember the "Man stew's" bitter taste.

After a few minutes of wandering around, I had collected a decent amount of firewood.  As I headed back to the camp a movement to the right caught my eye.  Now, I've seen my fair share of horror movies to know what was about to go down, but my logical self assured me I was just seeing things.  I continued to the campsite.  This time, though, with a quicker pace.  Another movement; this time to the left.  I could have sworn I heard a dog panting.  I quickened to a jog.  Something snapped behind me.  I whirled around to face the cause of the noise.  Nothing was in plain sight.  Fear pulsed through my mind as my imagination began to play with the environment.  I could have sworn I saw two yellow, glowing spots in a bush.  They almost looked like eyes.  Eyes that were staring directly into mine.  A chill ran through my veins, causing goosebumps to line my arms.  I was officially terrified now.

I sprinted to the camp, adrenaline coursing through my body.  The ground suddenly pulled itself up to greet my face.  I must have tripped over a root in my rush.  Or was it a demonic hand trying to drag me into a deep, dark abyss?  Maybe it was the tail of a carnivorous beast that could easily swallow me whole?  Perhaps it was a tripwire that was slowly setting in motion the contraption that would ultimately end in my untimely demise?  Would I dare look?

It was a branch.  Just a silly old branch.  I chuckled at how stupid I was to think that an ordinary branch could have possibly    

It started moving.  The branch rose up from the dirt on four legs made of twisted vines and branches.  A closer look revealed its entire canine body was fashioned in a similar manner.  As it slowly turned its wooden skull towards me, I could see its pure, yellow, glowing soulless eyes.  It growled.  Oh, sweet mercy, I'll never forget that growl.  It sounded as if somebody took a large branch and scraped it across pavement as slowly as possible.  I heard it behind me, too.  I shot up from my prone position and twirled around to find six others between me and the campsite.  To my displeasure, they were large; each one rose at least up to my stomach in height.  They looked angry... and hungry.

Every fiber of my being screamed at me to run.  My eyes darted from left to right, desperate to find an escape.  The abominations were everywhere... except there!  There was a small gap between two of them.  The path would lead me further from the campsite, but I would prefer it rather than become dog/plant food.  I tightly gripped my hatchet, my sole tool of defense, and charged to the gap.  The two creatures, or “timber wolves” as I decided to dub them, leaped up to meet me.  I instinctively ducked down in mid-sprint.  Their claws barely grazed my back.  Though they didn't apply enough pressure to rip open my back, I could tell that the claws were sharp enough that it wouldn't require much for them to do so.  With a clear exit, I ran like my life depended on it.  Heck, my life did depend on it.

The chase began.  As I ran deeper and deeper into the forest, the timber wolves were right on my heels.  I was running for what felt an eternity until I entered an open field in the woods..  I glanced behind me to discover the amount of my pursuers had doubled.  I made it halfway across the clearing when I was assaulted by an invisible force.  I fell down on my back, dazed by the abrupt stop.  The timber wolves had me surrounded.  I scrambled as far away from them as I could.  My back hit the unseen resistance.

Colors warped around me as the barrier caved inward.  With my hand that didn't have a death grip on the hatchet I felt the strange substance.  It was smooth, like a silky fabric.  It was thin, too; almost as if I could cut through it with something sharp.

Something sharp...

I turned around and slashed the hatchet through the barrier.  The result was very... interesting.  It was hard to describe, really.  Through the gaping hole I created was just, well, a hole.  There was nothing there.  Randomly colored lights arced around inside every now and then, giving it the appearance of a storm.  I could feel a part of me longing to enter the hypnotic enigma.

A screeching howl jarred me back to reality.  The timber wolves were writhing in agony.  One of the beasts lifted its eyes to meet mine.  I saw many things in those eyes:  anger, pain, hunger, hatred, and despair to name a few.  The others slowly rose and advanced as quickly as their trembling bodies would allow.  I took a step back, knowing full well that they were still a threat.  They started that accursed growling again and closed in.  I backed up involuntarily, causing me to fall into the hole in reality.

A loud crack filled the air as if lightning had struck nearby. Colorful arcs of lightning flashed around me as I hurtled though the nothingness.  My body heated up as if I was suddenly stuffed in an oven.  My jacket and jeans were no help to me whatsoever.  A horrible headache threatened to split my skull in two.  I was beginning to sweat through my grey t-shirt when another crack sounded.  My body started to cool down as the cold earth absorbed my warmth.  I thought I was deposited back in the forest.  That was quickly changed as I started to take note of my surroundings.  I was definitely in a forest, but not the forest I had left.

The trees, the dirt, the sounds, the colors… everything was different.  Everything felt different.  The air itself felt as if it was rejecting me.  Unfortunately, one thing managed to stay constant throughout the change.

The noise of scraping wood sounded all around me.  Timber wolves emerged from the shadows, eyes glowing demonically.  I needed something to defend myself.  My hatchet was lying at my feet.  I quickly scooped it up and braced myself for the impending attack.  One of the larger pounced.  My brain went into overdrive as I connected the blade of my hatchet to the side of its head, quickly becoming stuck due to the force of the impact and the sap pouring from the wound.  Needless to say, it died immediately.  I was flooded with mixed emotions.  I was awestruck, confused, excited, and depressed at the same time.  I killed another living being for the first time in my entire life.  It was so easy…  And now I had a fighting chance.

I yanked my hatchet out of the newly made carcass and prepared for another attack. The wolves backed up with uncertainty on their faces, which I was happy to use to my advantage.  I charged forward ready to hack down anything that got in my way.  Once they realized the tables had turned they scattered, giving me a clear exit.


<><><>


I ran and ran until the sun began to set.  There was no way of knowing whether or not the wolves chased me, or for how long if they did.  I was tired, hungry, and had no shelter.  I had cuts and bruises everywhere from my journey. The only thing that could make this worse   

CRACK!  Thunder rolled throughout the darkened sky as rain poured down.

   was this.  It seemed as if this strange place was out to get me.  I pulled my dark blue hood over my head to shield my eyes from the downpour.

Fortune smiled upon me that night as I stumbled upon a village.  I was so overjoyed to see civilization that I ran/stumbled through to the town.  Not a single light was shining from the buildings.  My only source of illumination was the occasional strike of lightning.

Strange...  I couldn’t think of a better word.  Not just the eerie silence, but the buildings themselves.  It was as if I had wandered into a Renaissance fair.  The buildings looked fairly new but their design was far too old for this time period.  I even spied a few circus tents in some areas.  Out of all these sights, nothing was more outlandish than the four-story, life sized gingerbread house.  I probably stared at that structure for at least half an hour before another clap of thunder jarred me out of my trance.  I walked away from the building, looking back every now and then to see if my eyes were working correctly.

I soon found myself in a marketplace with various produce.  Fresh produce, as it appeared to be.  There was not a single spoiled fruit or vegetable in sight.  I approached a wooden stand loaded to the brim with apples and apple related products protected from the raging storm by a green and white striped canopy.  My stomach growled at the sight of all that beautiful food.  In fact, it looked almost too beautiful.  My hand hovered above a shining red apple.  If it was real that would imply it was recently picked; which meant someone would’ve had to pick it.  It would also mean that people were recently here. But where would they be?  Unless if the food was plastic; in which case this place was either a closed or abandoned theme park.  There were too many possibilities and only one way to narrow them down.  I grabbed the apple and took a bite.

It was delicious!  I’ve never tasted anything like it before.  It had the perfect amount of juiciness, crunchiness, and sweetness.  I nearly cried when I finished.  I needed more!  I stuffed myself with various apple products (which probably wasn’t the best of ideas) until I was filled.  My hunger satisfied, I picked up my hatchet I dropped during my apple galore and moved on.

The revelation of the fruit changed everything.  If the food was real, then somebody had to pick it.  But where was that somebody?  It wasn't like someone would dump piles of food in the middle of nowhere and then leave, right?  The silence was making me paranoid.  I could practically feel eyes watching my every movement from the black windows.  Silently judging me.  Studying me.

I needed to find shelter; the rain wasn't exactly giving me an easy time.  After a close survey of my immediate surroundings, I concluded that the best structure that could shield me from the rain was a large tree house.  I say "tree house" solely because I couldn't think of any better way to describe it.  It wasn't your run-of-the-mill tree house; this was literally a house made out of a tree.  I knew that it wouldn't provide much protection, especially with leaves and branches being my cover, but it was the best I could afford.

The air became richer and richer with tension as I approached the odd structure.  A shadow flashed across one of its many windows.  I abruptly froze.  There were definitely people here; more specifically, in the house.  I slowly snuck up to the tree.  My back against its... bark... I positioned myself in front of the door (if people really were present, and it wasn't just my imagination, there would be no point in scaring the living daylights out of them by peaking through the window).  It didn't even occur to me that the door was a few inches shorter than me.  I lifted a fist up to the door.  This was it; the moment of truth.  I knocked on the door.

"It's coming in!  Hide!" a hushed voice squeaked from the other side.

This was ridiculous.  I not only had proof that people still occupied this village, but now I knew they were deliberately hiding from me.  Sure, seeing a stranger waltz into town wearing a hood during a storm wouldn’t bring out the best impression, but that was no good reason to hide.  I’ve been through plenty today running for my life, defying the laws of reality, and going all-out survivor in that stupid forest, and a bad first impression wasn’t going to be another.  And don’t even get me started on the whole calling me an “it” thing.  I pulled open the door and ducked inside.

To say that I was confused would be the understatement of the century.  There, before my very eyes, was a bright pink horse.  Now, I use the word “horse” loosely.  It had the general build of a horse, but it was smaller, probably just over half my height, and, well, cartoonish.  Her darker pink mane (I assumed it was a she) was a frazzled mess.  Her brilliant blue eyes narrowed in my direction.  She was “standing” behind a cannon locked onto the doorway; which meant, to my displeasure, it was also locked on me.

"FIRE AT WILL!" she screamed.
> Act I:  The Unwelcoming Committee
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"FIRE AT WILL!"

"What the    " I started.

The pink oddity fired its cannon, unleashing a colorful ball of unknown terror upon me.  I was knocked out of the house as the ball connected to my chest and exploded, and I fell on the dirt road covered head to toe in confetti, streamers, and various small party decorations.  The streamers were instantly soaked in the rain, making them easy to rip apart, but there were so many that they began to cling to me.  I groggily rose up and immediately stated clawing away at the paper decor that had suddenly wrapped around me.

A sky-blue missile blasted out of the house, a brilliant rainbow trailing behind it.  I braced myself for another round of the pink one's confetti barrage.  Unlike the first projectile, however, this one was much more... solid.  It impacted my diaphragm, effectively knocking the wind out of me, and propelled me down the street.  As it carried me, I managed to examine the colorful missile.  Two wings protruded from both sides, each flapping frantically to keep us moving forward.  The spectral mirage that trailed it was an echo of its similarly colored hair like material at its front and end.  I glanced down at my chest to see two appendages branching off of the main body.  It was definitely an odd shape for a missile.  It wasn't until I saw a contorted face on a rounded head that I realized it was organic.  But if it was organic... then it could feel pain...

It was time to test its limits.

I grasped its wings near the joints and twisted us into a frenzy of barrel rolls.  I heard it, well, her, cry out in fear as she lost control.  We crashed into the ground, hard.  Thankfully, at the last second, I maneuvered us to where she hit the earth first with me "surfing" on top of her.  She weakly groaned as our ride came to a sliding halt.

I propped myself up on my hands and knees above her and struggled to regain my composure.  There was a sharp pain in my right knee where I could feel the skin touching the mud.  My jeans must have ripped over the leg when we crashed.  I winced as fire shot up my leg when I shifted some of my weight to the right.  It would definitely become a problem if this madness carried on much longer.

The blue missile groaned again underneath me.  I glanced down in curiosity and took the chance to better inspect her.  She had a similar equine structure as the pink horse-thing from the tree house.  This one in particular, however, had wings sprouting out of her back, giving her the appearance of a pegasus.  Her eyes were screwed shut in pain.  She lifted a blue foreleg up to her head and moaned, "Ugh, my head."

I zoned out as my mind struggled to comprehend what I had just heard.  My eyes focused on her mouth, waiting to see if she would say something again, but nothing else come out that was comprehensible.

"Hold on, Rainbow!  Ah'm a-comin'!"

Before I could turn to meet the new voice, there was a sudden constriction around my torso and upper arms as a rope slithered itself over me.  A force dragged me backwards and away from the blue pegasus.  When I managed to get up to my feet, I whirled around to discover an orange horse with a blonde mane and a stetson hat standing a few yards away with the other end of the lasso in her mouth.  She gave the rope another tug to pull me further away from her fallen companion.

"Stay away from my friend," she growled, muffled by the rope in her mouth.

I planted my feet in the ground and tried to resist the pull of the rope, which was no easy feat.  Whatever this thing was, it was strong.  My leg screamed in pain as I exerted too much weight on it, but I tried to tune it out.  This wasn't the time to worry about physical discomforts.

"Let me go," I demanded as I struggled with the mare.

"No can do," she said in a strained tone.  She gave another strong pull, and I lost a few feet.  "Y'all ain't goin' anywhere 'til my friends get here."

Her words hit me like a brick wall.  As fear began gripping my heart, I prayed that I had simply heard her wrong.  If there were more of these things coming, then I needed to get out of here.  This place wasn't safe.

I grasped the rope with both hands and summoned all the strength I possessed into one swift yank.  The orange mare flew at me with its mouth still clenched on the rope.  She landed at my feet belly-up and eyes twirling in different directions, betraying her disorientation.  I planted a foot on her stomach to pin her down long enough for me to undo my bindings.

A cannon's blast filled the air.  Once again I found myself knocked down on the wet earth, covered in quickly dampening streamers and confetti.  Off in the distance, I could make out three equine silhouettes barreling towards me through the heavy storm; I identified the one in the middle as the pink horse from before and her cannon.  Her dark pink mane and tail were significantly straighter in the rain.

"Stay away from Applejack, you big meanie!" she screeched as she fired another round.  This time, however, I saw it coming and rolled out of the way.  A pile of party preparations erupted where I had been a few moments ago.

The three creatures were still getting closer.  I scrambled up to my feet and fled as fast as I could from the scene.  I shot a glance behind me to see if they were chasing me, and to my relief they had stopped to check on their companions.  A ghost of a smile formed on my lips at my fortunate head start, and I ran for all I was worth.

It had only been a few minutes of running when an awful truth dawned on me.  I was lost in an unfamiliar town, running around in the middle of a storm.  I had no idea where to find safety.  As I ran through the muddy streets, panic slowly began to overtake my mind.  My eyes darted around frantically between the buildings as I passed them by.  Suddenly, the sensation of eyes watching me became too realistic for me to handle.  I could already imagine more of these creatures waiting inside the structures.

A small headache began to form in the back of my head.  My legs were filled with lead, and my lungs felt as if they were ablaze.  I wouldn't be able to keep running like this.  I needed to slow things down and think this through.

An alley came into view up ahead.  It was as good of a place as any to rest for the moment.  I stumbled over to it as fast as I could and collapsed on the cool, damp earth once I was inside.  A part of me just wanted to lie down there for the rest of the night, but I knew doing so would just put me in danger.  I sluggishly crawled up to a metallic trash can near me and rested with my back against the alley wall.  The rain pelted my body randomly.  I closed my eyes and tried to think.

Breathe in, breathe out.  Breathe in, breathe out.  My mind was in complete disarray.  Nothing was making sense.  These creatures, these... ponies were a threat.  I needed to get away from them.  But how?  Everywhere I turned, more and more of them seemed to pop up. This whole town could have been infested with them for all I knew.

My right knee was still stinging from my little crash landing with the pegasus.  I took the opportunity to better inspect the damage.  My jeans were definitely torn; a large hole exposed my skin to the world.  My knee was drenched in a strange, dark liquid.  It was hard to tell exactly what it was, but even in the low light I caught the faint glint of crimson here and there.  I experimentally tried to wipe the grime off with my hand, only to quickly retract it as a sharp pain erupted from my knee.  There was no mistaking it; my knee was bleeding horribly.  I needed to get out of this town now before it became any more of a handicap.

"Come on, girls, I think I saw it go this way!"  The blue pegasus with the rainbow mane landed in the street just outside of the alley.  I hid myself behind the metal trash can but couldn't resist the urge to poke my head out and watch.  The mare was searching the area impatiently.  She whipped her head back and called, "Hurry up!  That thing could be getting away."

"We're running as fast as we can," a voice called back.  Four more ponies came into view; two of which were the orange and pink ponies, the latter having her sick joke of a cannon in tow.  One of the newcomers had a white coat and a long purple mane that appeared to be curled at one point but was now limp in the rain.  The other had a light purple coat and an indigo mane with two pink and purple streaks.  A horn protruded from both of their heads, making them look like unicorns.

"Are you sure it went this way, Rainbow Dash?" the purple unicorn asked, scanning the vicinity for herself.  "I don't see it anywhere."

"I'm totally sure," the pegasus, Rainbow Dash presumably, assured.  She suddenly cringed and massaged her head with a hoof.  "Well, mostly sure," she corrected.  "I was flying blind for a few seconds, and then it just vanished."

"Well, it couldn't have gotten too far," the orange pony pointed out.  "That thing shouldn't be too hard to spot, either; it stands out like a sore hoof."  She hesitated for a second.  "Ah've never seen anything like that before, Twi.  What was it?"

The purple unicorn shook her head.  "I don't know, Applejack; I didn't get a good look at it.  But it's imperative that we find the creature and contain it.  There's no way of knowing what it can do, so everypony needs to stay together."

I shifted uncomfortably at the ponies' conversation.  The thought of being captured by them didn't settle well with me.  I needed to get out of here soon, but first I needed to retrieve my hatchet.  It was the only way I could defend myself at the moment.  Once I got my hands back on it, I could leave.  But I wasn't about to go anywhere until these ponies left; the last thing I wanted was to attract any unwanted attention while they were still close.

"Hold on a minute," the orange pony said, Applejack if I interpreted the name correctly.  "Where's Fluttershy?" she asked worriedly.

"The monster must have gotten her!" the pink one gasped.

"That would be unlikely," the white unicorn commented while flipping some of her limp purple mane out of her face.  "I do believe she is still in the library.  She never came out with us when we left to help Rainbow Dash."

"Could you get her, Rarity?" the purple one asked.  "It would be beneficial to have her expertise on wild animals at the moment."

The white unicorn was already trotting off.  "Anything to get out of this dreadful weather.  Just look at what it's doing to my mane," she complained.

"Pinkie Pie, why don't you go with her?" the purple one asked.  "Just in case she runs into the creature on the way."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" the pink mare saluted.  She dragged her cannon around and began following Rarity.  Just before she left, though, she hesitated and turned back.  "Are you sure, Twilight?  What if it comes out and attacks you?  My knee's still pinching, and    "

"I can assure you that we will be perfectly fine," Twilight interjected.  "Besides, even if it does show up, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and I are more than capable of subduing it."  The pink mare didn't appear very reassured, and with an uneasy expression and a shrug, Pinkie departed along with her cannon.

By this point I was becoming antsy.  Only three ponies remained, and, by the looks of it, it appeared as if they too were prepared to leave.  In my eagerness to leave, I was already shifting behind my hiding place to get ready to bolt out of the alley.  Unfortunately, I accidentally kicked the trash can during my shuffle, causing an audible clang to echo through the storm.

My heart stopped as all three of the mares' heads snapped to the alley where I hid.  Fear had me paralyzed in hopes that they would disregard the sound as some random rodent.  Ice pumped through my veins as Applejack cautiously made her way to the alley.  Her eyes were locked in my general direction, but I couldn't tell if she could see me in all the darkness.  Each step she took closer put me more on edge.  She only hesitated when she reached the edge of the alley.

A bolt of lightning arced across the sky.  The entire alleyway was bathed in white light for a brief second, me included.  Applejack's eyes widened in shock.  There wasn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind that my fears were true.  I had been spotted, and the chase was about to begin.

Rainbow Dash flew into the air and directed a hoof towards me.  "There's the monster!" she exclaimed.  "Get it!"

When the ponies charged into the alley, instinct took over, and I bolted in the opposite direction.  I tore down anything and everything I could to impede my chasers' progress.  Trash cans, soggy cardboard boxes, random stacks of debris; if I could get my hands on it, then it came crashing down.  A small smirk managed to find itself on my face as the ponies tripped over the obstacles I was creating, and it slowly grew as the exit came closer and closer.  I soon burst into the streets and immediately took a sharp right.  I may have had a head start, but I still needed to shake them off my tail.

The powerful beating of wings sounded behind me as I ran.  A sudden mass rammed into my back and drove me into the earth, causing my exposed knee to slam into the ground.  I would have been screaming in agony, but the only sound that escaped through my clenched teeth was a strangled groan.  The mysterious weight jumped off of my prone body and landed before me.

"Ha!  You're going to have to do better than that if you want to outrun me," Rainbow Dash's voice proudly announced.

I grunted and slowly lifted my head out of the mud.  The blurry image of the blue pegasus appeared a few yards before me.  I struggled to pick myself up but couldn't find the strength.  After all the running and hiding tonight, my weary body was yearning for rest, and the ground was so inviting.  It was so tempting to just lie there.

The sound of hooves trotting across the wet earth could barely be heard over the rain.  I craned my head back to see that Twilight and Applejack had caught up to us.  They came to a stop a good distance from me.

"Good job stopping the creature, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said.  "Now all we have to do is keep it here until Fluttershy arrives.  I'll try to put a force field around it.  If it tries to move, you two try to stop it."

A small shower of sparks erupted from the unicorn's horn.  A lavender mist rose out of the ground around me in a ring, and a glassy, purple wall began to quickly sprout out of it.  I laid there mesmerized as the strange wall ascended and curved inward, making a dome around me.  As it came to its completion, the newly-made purple dome slowly faded until it was nearly transparent.  I could see the storm raging on outside of it, each raindrop lighting up in a faint purple glow as it splattered across the dome's wall.

I slowly lifted myself up to my hands and knees, wincing slightly at my angry protests of my muscles.  Applejack and Rainbow Dash tensed up at the sight of me moving, but Twilight interjected.

"It's alright, girls," she assured.  "That creature isn't going anywhere.  That force field should hold it until everypony else gets here."  The other two mares relaxed, but only slightly.  Applejack trotted up to Twilight and began talking in her ear, never taking her eyes off of me.  There was little doubt in my mind as to what they were discussing.

I groggily rose up to my feet, wincing as a sharp pain erupted in my knee.  My eyes immediately dropped down to my legs, and even in the low light I could see the dirt and grime that had accumulated over my exposed knee again. I gingerly tried to scrape it off with my hand, only to be rewarded with another sting as more crimson spilled out of the wound.  I hunched down and covered my knee with my hands in hopes of stopping the flow, succeeding only in painting my own hands red.

This wasn't the time or the place to tend to my wounds.  If I heard the unicorn correctly, then there would soon be other ponies joining us.  I couldn't let that happen.  I refused to allow them to corner me into submission so easily.  If they wanted me so badly, then they were going to have to work for it.

I glared at the strange purple wall that surrounded me; the one thing that was preventing me from escaping at this very moment.  It was only built in a matter of seconds; surely it couldn't have been too sturdy, right?

I staggered towards the wall.  The three ponies' eyes were locked onto me, but I paid them little attention.  I outstretched my hand and pressed it against the barrier.  It was smooth; its texture reminded me of the same barrier in the woods.  Maybe this one would be just as easy to break through.

It was then that I noticed the smoke leaking out from between my fingers.  I instinctively pulled my hand back to find the source of the smoke, and a cold shiver ran down my spine at what I discovered.  It was my blood.  My blood was sizzling away off of my bare hand.

"Twilight, it's doing something," Rainbow Dash warned.  I glanced up to the force field and saw my crimson hand print slowly eating a hole in the barrier.

"T-T-Twi?" Applejack asked, voice lined with fear.  "Is it supposed to be able to do that?"  I could practically see the anxiety radiating off of Applejack.  Rainbow Dash must have caught it, too, considering how badly she was shaking on her legs.  I was pretty spooked myself.  After all, it was my blood that was disintegrating.

The bewildered unicorn shook her head.  "No."

At that point, a perfectly hand-sized hole was made in the barrier.  I didn't wait for the ponies to come back to their senses.  I shoved my hands through the hole, grabbed onto the wall the best I could, and pulled back for all I was worth.  The wall was sturdy, much sturdier than I had anticipated.  The only way I knew I was making any progress was by the lavender cracks slowly branching out from the hole.  My hands began smoking again as my tortured blood sizzled into nonexistence.

Twilight was first to recover.  Her horn lit up once again in a violet aura, and the wall began mending itself.  It finally hit me that she was doing this.  I didn't know how, but somehow she constructed this wall around me and was sustaining it.  Her friends watched helplessly from the sidelines, unsure who the victor would be.

The barrier was mending faster than I could break it.  Soon the cracks were gone and my fingers were being crushed by the healing shield.  I had to rip my arms away before my fingers could be severed.  With her barrier whole once again, Twilight plopped into the soaked dirt.

“There,” she panted.  “See?  Nothing to it.”  Her head fell heavily from exhaustion after uttering the last syllable.

If there was ever a time for me to make a move, I couldn't think of one better than then.  I had a weapon against the barrier, its power source was too tired to even stand, and the two others were busy trying to keep her awake.  I pressed my hands against my bleeding knee, trying to gather as much blood as I could.  Once they were bloodied enough, I painted a crimson circle on the wall.  As planned, the shield began deteriorating.  I clasped my hands together and swung with all my might at the weakened section of the wall.  A web of brilliant lavender flared out around the source of impact.  I backed up a few paces and prepared to charge.

"Twi, it's goin' at it again," a worried Applejack said.  She started shaking Twilight violently, trying in vain to awaken her to the problem at hand, but the tired unicorn wouldn't respond.

I rammed my shoulder directly in the center of the web of cracks.  The space around me was suddenly filled with falling water and a cascade of purple shards as I tumbled back into the storm.  The second my feet hit the mud, I made a mad dash away from the scene.  Rainbow Dash and Applejack were too occupied with Twilight to give chase, allowing me ample amount of time to lose them.

The storm had reached a crescendo.  The deafening drone of rain filled the air, drowning out all other noise save for the occasional clap of thunder.  The heavy drops of rain pelted my head as I ran.  I needed to get out of this town, out of this storm, but I couldn't leave without my hatchet.  It was all I had to protect myself.  Without it, I was as good as dead.

After a few minutes of stumbling around, the tree-house came into view in the distance.  The front door was left ajar, bathing the opening with light from the inside.  Three figures stood before the opened doorway; two of which were equine, and the third was a small, oddly-shaped creature.

I slowly drew closer, sticking to the shadows of the buildings as I moved, and soon realized that retrieving my hatchet would be a more difficult task than I thought.  The tree-house was isolated from the other buildings, surrounded instead by a vast empty space.  It was impossible to get any closer to it without being out in the open for the ponies to see.

Disgruntled by my new situation, I hid myself by the nearest building and decided to wait until the three figures left before making any moves.  Now that I was closer, I recognized the two equines as the white unicorn and pink pony.  The third figure appeared to be some sort of bipedal lizard with purple scales and a green spine.  I could just barely make out my hatchet at the feet of the lizard.  They were in the middle of a conversation, but it was nearly impossible to hear what they were saying over the storm.  I strained my ears to try to listen in on what they were saying.

"Come on, Fluttershy," a young male voice spoke.  "There's nothing to worry about.  With Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight searching for it, that thing is as good as caught.  Heck, they probably already have it caught by now."  The male voice perked my interest.  Up until now, everything I've met was female, or at least sounded female.

"Spike is right, Fluttershy," the white unicorn cajoled.  "There's no need to be afraid of that atrocious beast.  Besides, we need your help.  Who better could tame a wild animal than you?"

There was a brief moment of silence.  Whatever response was made was drowned out by the rain.

"Nonsense, darling, you're much more qualified than all of them.  Besides, most of them aren't even here.  Now come on; it would be impolite to keep our friends waiting."

As if on cue, Rainbow Dash flew pat my hiding spot and landed in front of the group.  The words barely stumbled out of her mouth as she stopped.  "Guys, we have a problem.  We found that creature again and managed to catch it, but it broke loose.  Twilight's out cold, and Applejack's watching over her while she recovers."

An uproar of questions erupted from the trio.  I couldn't discern anything in the rush of words from my distance.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash shouted over the crowd.  "Twilight said we need to find this thing before it causes any more damage.  We gotta hurry; every second we waste standing here is another second that thing is on the loose."

Her speech managed to quell the uproar, and there was a small moment of silence before the white unicorn took a step forward.  "Well, I for one agree with Rainbow Dash," she explained.  "We simply cannot have this creature running amok in our town.  If we split up, we should be able to cover more ground."

"Split up?!" the lizard cried.  "Are you nuts?  That's exactly what the monster wants!  Everypony knows that."

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie chimed in.  "We can't split up.  That's, like, the worst idea in the history of bad ideas!  If we do, then the monster will be able to slowly pick us off one by one until there's nopony left."  Her voice was rising with panic.  "And everypony knows the monster always goes for the funny one first!"

Rainbow Dash sighed.  "Look, if it'll make you two feel better, we'll split up into groups.  Pinkie, you can come with me.  Spike, you stay with Rarity.  Fluttershy   "  The front door suddenly slammed shut.  Rainbow Dash let out a groan.  "Fine, Fluttershy can hold down the fort.  Now if everypony's ready, we have a monster to catch."  After exchanging a few farewells and good-lucks, the four split off into their respective pairs and took off in opposite directions.

I hesitantly emerged from my hiding place.  There may have not been any ponies in sight, but I still had to worry about the one that was still inside the house.  Lights were still pouring out of the windows like a searchlight.  I had to be careful not to get too close to them as I sneaked closer to where I last saw my hatchet.

"Oh, no," I whispered.  I stopped dead in my tracks and searched frantically for my hatchet across the ground.  It was nowhere to be found.  "This can't be happening," I muttered under my breath.  "Not now."  I mentally beat myself up for not paying more attention.  There it was, laying at the feet of that bipedal lizard, and next thing I know, it disappears.  It couldn't have just vanished into thin air; something had to have picked it up.  A pony couldn't have picked it up; they didn't have the right appendages.  The lizard, on the other hand...

I froze.  Thoughts began to quickly form in my head.  I stared off where I last saw the lizard and pony.  The lizard was the only thing that could have taken it.  I had to get it back; it was my only sword and shield in this mad world.

"Just grab the hatchet and run," I thought out loud.  "Simple as that."  Gathering as much nerve as I had, I took off in the direction they departed.

After a few minutes, their figures appeared in the rain.  They were walking close to each other, deep in conversation, but it appeared as if the lizard was lagging behind Rarity a bit.  I could make out my hatchet in his claws.  A small smile threatened to show on my lips.  This couldn't have been more perfect.  I stalked closer toward the pair, trying to remain as quiet as possible despite the deafening sound of the storm around us.

"So, Rarity," the lizard began.  "What exactly does this thing look like?"

"Oh, it was the strangest thing I have ever seen," Rarity explained.  "Unfortunately, I never got the chance to get a good look at it before it took off.  It was quite tall, and thin, too.  Like a lanky minotaur, or a diamond dog with short arms.  It was rather interesting, actually.  The most peculiar thing, though, is that it was covered head to hoof in clothing.  I have no idea what it really looks like."

"What was it doing?  When you saw it, that is."

"It was standing on top of Applejack with a rope in its hands.  I believe it was leaning over her when Pinkie Pie shot it with her party cannon."

The lizard hesitated before continuing.  "What do you think it was going to do?"

"I'd rather not think about it," Rarity deadpanned.

"Um, yeah.  Me, too."  The lizard cast a glance in the other direction.  I could see a sliver of his white cornea before he snapped his head back to Rarity.  "But I can’t help it.  What if it was trying to steal her, or hurt her up, or… or…”  Spike let out a gasp.  “What if it was going to eat her?!”

Rarity gave a nervous chuckle.  "Spike, please.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't going to eat her.  I don't even think it could have if it wanted to."

"But you said yourself that you couldn’t see its face.  What if it has huge jaws with loads of sharp teeth-"

“Spike…”

"What if it has a hundred eyes that stare into your soul so you can’t scream-"

“Spike.”

“What if…  What if it doesn't even have a face?”

“Spike!  Honestly, you’re going to give me nightmares.  Would you please stop?”

I was practically right on top of them.  It was now or never.  I covered the lizard's mouth with my left hand and hoisted him up to my chest.  He let out a muffled scream as I pried my tool from his claws.

Rarity turned around and sighed.  "Spike, what is it n-n-n-aah!"  Her voice escalated into a shriek as she beheld me holding her companion.  A burning sensation enveloped my left hand as a bright green light erupted between my fingers.   A cry of agony escaped my throat as I released the lizard – no, the dragon from my newly scorched hand.  I clutched my wrist and buckled down to my knees as the dragon scampered off.

"Take this, you ruffian!"

I only had enough time to glance up as a white hoof connected to the right of my head.  The entire world flipped underneath me.  Colors flashed across my line of sight, most of which were red.  My senses numbed, but I could feel a warm trickle curve down my face.  The fabric of my hood stuck to my head.  The headache intensified.  The pain… so much pain…

What are you waiting for?! a voice screamed in my head.  Fight back!  Kill them for all the pain they have given you!  I recognized the second voice as my own, but at the same time it sounded so... alien.  Still, its reason was sound enough for my broken condition to accept.  I had had enough of all this running.  It was time to retaliate.

My fingers brushed up against the wooden handle of my hatchet and tightly curled around it.  A new rush of energy washed over me.  I slowly raised myself to my hands and knees.  My aching body shouted in protest to the movement, but I ignored it.  I wasn't about to let anything hinder me from getting my revenge, not even a little pain.

"R-Rarity," a young voice called behind me.  "It's getting back up."

When I finally managed to get up to my feet, a blunt force rammed into the back of my head.  I stumbled forward a few steps from the momentum and turned around to find the source of the blow.  My eyes fell on a white, pony-sized smudge that brightly contrasted the darkened world around it.  A small patch of earth near it glowed light blue and hurled itself towards me.

I took another blow to the shoulder and felt some mud splattered onto my face.  It didn't hurt, but the force behind it was enough to nearly knock me off balance.  A grimace formed on my face as I wiped the grime away from my eyes.  My grip tightened on my hatchet.  I was ready to end this.

I charged forward and haphazardly swung my hatchet at the unicorn.  She quickly leaped to the right before I even began to swing, causing my weapon to hit nothing but air.  Another muddy projectile struck me in the hip.  I growled in frustration and attempted another strike, trying to be more accurate.  Once I was nearly upon her, I swung my weapon downward as hard as I could onto the pony, but once again she dodged my attack.  My blade buried itself deep into the earth, and before I could dig it back out, the earth underneath me shot upward and rammed my stomach.

My hands released their grip on the hatchet and instinctively retracted to cover my stomach as I tried to catch my breath.  This wasn't cutting it; I needed a new tactic.

A brief thought flashed through my mind, and I glared at the pony with a twisted smile tugging at my lips.  She must have caught my crazed expression as she tried to scramble away again.  I leaped forward and outstretched my hand, clamping my fingers down on her tail the moment they made contact.  The unicorn gave a surprised yelp as I pulled her back to me, and I swung my foot as hard as I could at her underside.  She crumpled to the ground from the force of the kick, causing a small wave of mud to ripple away.

I pinned her down to her back before she could scurry off, raised my burned hand, and brought it down on her head as hard as I could.  She went cross-eyed immediately, but she was still conscious.  I struck her a few more times until she completely blacked out.

"Hey!"  Something small hit me in the back.  I rose up from the dazed unicorn and turned around on the tilting earth to find the young dragon standing boldly before me, holding a few rocks in his claws.  "Stay away from her, you... you freak!" he shouted.

I took a few staggering steps towards the dragon.  A panicked expression flashed across his face as I got closer, and he retreated a few steps in return.  A brilliant jet of green flames erupted from his maw towards me, blinding me with its intense light.  I stumbled back away from the fire and tripped backward, landing on my back.

I crawled up to my feet and searched the area around me, expecting another attack, but none ever came.  I rubbed my eyes to clear out the afterimage, and once it faded all I saw were the darkened streets and houses of the town.  The dragon and pony were nowhere in sight.

Cowards, the voice growled in my head.  Hunt them down.  Make them pay.

I shook my head.  "No," I breathed.  "Not worth it."  My eyes fell upon my hatchet, still buried in the mud.  I staggered up to it and wrenched it out of the ground.  "Besides," I added, musing over the feel of the tool in my hand, "I got what I came for.  I'm ready to get out of here."  I chose a random path and began lumbering through the town, knowing that if I kept going straight, I would eventually find an exit.

As I traipsed down the empty streets, I felt another pang where the white unicorn kicked my head.  A warm trickle slid down my face, reminding me of my broken condition.  Colors were starting to blur together.  I needed to get out of this mad town before I blacked out entirely.  No more fights.  No more stumbling around.  Stealth was key to success.

I stuck to the shadows as I weaved through the labyrinth of houses.  Eventually, an exit came into view, and I soon found myself in what I assumed was a park.  A few trees dotted the area, and the forest stood on the other side.  I hesitated as memories of the timber wolves resurfaced but quickly dispelled them.  I must have lost them a while ago considering that they didn't follow me into town.  For all I knew, they had lost all interest in me, which made the forest my best bet to find safety.

Three pony-sized blurs soon appeared ahead of me.  I tried to make out the distorted images, but my eyes refused to cooperate.  Not wanting to attract any attention, I hid behind a nearby tree and silently waited.

Minutes slowly ticked by.  Two of the colorful blurs eventually departed, leaving the third all alone.  It was clear that it wasn't going to be moving anytime soon, and it was impossible to bypass without causing an alarm.  I silently cursed as the inevitable became clear.  If I wanted to escape, this pony would have to die.

I slowly stalked closer to my prey, moving from tree to tree, silently hoping that it would scurry off before I could get to it.  Not that I wouldn't have minded blowing off some steam, but the last thing I needed was for the ponies to know where I left.  To my displeasure, the smudge of a pony was still there by the time I was halfway across the park.  I waited for my eyes to correct themselves before going any further, knowing that running in semi-blind at an unknown enemy would be suicide.  They adjusted enough for me to barely make out the situation.  The pony was positioned next to a tree a small ways from the forest opening.

I would have to be more careful now.  My body was in no condition to fight, and there wasn't a doubt in my mind that the pony would attack if it saw me, or at least call for reinforcements.  I needed to find a way to sneak up on it.  If I could break the line of sight with the tree next to it, then I should be able to get close enough to the pony to take care of it before it raises any alarm.  It was my best bet.  I slowly trudged through the rain until the tree came between me and my prey before I advanced.

I was shaking with anxiety as I drew closer and closer to the tree.  It wasn't too long until I close enough that one small slip would ruin everything.  If the pony so much as moved, it would undoubtedly spot me.  My rain-soaked hands were beginning to get sweaty as I approached the tree, and I had to readjust my hold on my hatchet.

I pressed myself against the bark and slowly revolved around the tree.  I craned my neck around the edge to my target.  Through my hazy vision, I could see the pony’s frame shivering violently with its back turned to me.  A small, twisted smile began to tug at my lips.  This was going to be an easy kill.

I tightened my grip on my hatchet.  Sweat mixed with my scabbing blood.  I left my cover and ever so slowly snuck up behind it.  I was mere feet upon it when lighting cracked the sky behind me.  The startled pony spun around and started shaking harder than before.  I pounced before it could scream.  In one motion, I knocked it down on its back and pinned it down with my blistering hand wrapped around its neck and my body crouching above it.  It struggled underneath me, but to no avail.  I constricted its airflow with a quick squeeze.  It gave one last spasm before falling still.

I elevated my hatchet as high as my tired arm would allow and sent it hurtling down on my prey's head.  It would have hit its mark, too, if it hadn't been for another clap of thunder.  The sudden noise startled me, and my aim suffered for it.  I missed the pony's head by inches.  My blade was buried deep into the earth along with some severed strands of the pony's long, pink mane.

My vision finally cleared enough for me to see details.  The pony had a long pink mane and tail, probably once smooth but now ruined by the rain and mud, accompanied by a faint yellow coat covered here and there by crimson blotches from the blood dripping from my body.  It had two wings with feathers matching the body in color.  My heart nearly stopped when I saw its face.  Its eyes were clamped shut, and tears rolled down its cheeks.  A quiet sobbing emitted from its mouth, cut off every now and then by random coughs.

My headache slowly intensified.  Once again the strange voice made itself known.  Why are you hesitating? it asked.  You can kill it right now and get it all over with.

I shook my head.  I couldn't do it.  No matter what, I couldn't bring myself to lift the hatchet.  My eyes were glued to the pony's face.  It was unsettling to see it crying.  Every other pony I've come across always tried to attack or intimidate me; this one, on the other hand...

This pony wasn't like the others.  It could feel emotions just like me.  It could feel fear just like me.  It could cry just like me.  It wasn't an "it," either; it was a she.  She was a she.  She was more human than I thought, and I almost murdered her.  She was mortally terrified and I was the cause.  I didn't recognize her as one of the ones who attacked me.  She never tried to impede my escape; she was just standing here.  She never attacked me; she never tried to hurt me.  She was... innocent.

I relinquished my grip from her throat and simply hovered over her.  She cringed once my hand left her and turned her head to the side, the severed strands of her pink mane partially covering her face.  Even now, with nothing holding her to the ground, she still didn't scamper off and flee.  It was as if she was completely paralyzed with fear.

"Fluttershy!"  The yellow pegasus's deep teal eyes shot open.  She stared up at me, tears still rolling down her cheeks; her cry much softer, almost inaudible until she coughed.  It was impossible to tell if she could see my face through the shadows my hood gave.  We stayed there, frozen like statues until the familiar voice cried again.  "Stay away from her!"

With my body still crouched over the pegasus, I turned around to see the source of the noise.  The five ponies and dragon from before were back, each looking prepared to tear me limb from limb.  What was I going to do?  It was six on one; there was no way I could win.  I could easily run into the forest, but that would only delay the inevitable.  I needed an advantage over them; something other than a silly hatchet.  Something that would discourage them from following me.  Something... like a hostage.

My eyes drifted back down to the pegasus underneath me.  She looked back up with fearful eyes.

I couldn't...

It's either your life or hers, the voice whispered.  The choice is yours.

The pegasus struggled to free herself, and at that moment, my choice was made.  I grabbed one of her forelegs and pulled her up.  She tried to fight back, but it was in vain.  Even in this state, I was stronger than her.  I hoisted her up to my chest, tucking my left arm under her forelegs to keep her pressed against me.  With my right, I wrenched my hatchet out of the mud and rested the edge of the blade under her chin.  As expected, the other ponies' eyes lit up with shock.

"Listen up," I shouted over the pounding rain.  "I've had enough of this game of chase.  I am going to walk into that forest, and none of you are going to follow me.  Got it?  If any of you do," I tilted the blade to expose Fluttershy's neck, "well, I hope you're smart enough to figure out the rest."  I slowly began backing into the forest.  Rainbow Dash started to make a move, but Twilight quickly cut her off.  "I'll let this one go when I'm done," I assured.

Fluttershy tried to shift in my arms.  I pressed the hatchet closer to her neck to discourage her.  "P-P-Please!" she desperately cried out to her friends.  "D-Don't let him take me!"

This time Twilight took a few steps forward.  The others cautiously followed her lead.  I halted and made it appear as if I was prepared to slice Fluttershy's throat.  "Don't think I'll hesitate," I warned.  It was a hollow threat, but thankfully the ponies bought it and hesitantly backed up.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy," Twilight called, her voice verging on cracking.  "Everything's going to be fine.  You're going to be okay; I promise."

The canopy of the forest soon covered me and my hostage.  I gingerly retreated deeper and deeper, casting frequent glances behind to make sure I wouldn't stumble on anything.  Ever so slowly, the storm began dying down.  Eventually, the entrance disappeared from sight.

As soon as I was sure that the others hadn't followed us, I dropped her on the ground.  Immediately, she curled up on the ground and buried her head underneath her forelegs.  Her entire body was trembling.  "P-Please don't hurt me," she begged.

A crater was beginning to form in my chest, quickly becoming filled with guilt.  I could only shake my head, disheartened by her first words towards me.  Words were failing me at this point.  Did she really think I was going to kill her after all of this?  Was I really just a monster in her eyes?  I sighed and finally managed to get a word out.

"Go."

For a second, Fluttershy stopped shaking.  She lifted a hoof to reveal a tearstained eye.  "Wh-What?" she asked uncertainly.

"I said go!" I snapped.  I cringed at the unintended harshness of my own voice.  Nevertheless, she received the message.  After scrambling up to her hooves, she darted away, back to the town.  A sigh escaped me as the sound of galloping hooves faded off in the distance, and I began stumbling aimlessly through the forest.

The storm had lifted.  Every now and then large drops of collected rain would hit me from the leaves up above.  As I stumbled through the trees, my mind struggled to comprehend everything that had happened.  Everything felt so unreal, like it was just one bad nightmare.  To think that in one night I changed from an average high school student to a psychotic survivalist sent a shiver up my spine.

My wounds began taking their toll.  My vision was fading in and out, causing me to walk blind every now and then.  I felt light headed, and the all too familiar taste of bile formed in the back of my mouth.  My muscles felt ablaze, aching for relief.  I tripped over a root but didn't have the drive to get back up.  I only had enough energy to roll over on my back to breathe better.  My pain slowly melted away as sleep’s sweet embrace covered my mind.

You have given us a taste of life...  We hunger for more...
> Act I:  A Mostly-Safe Haven
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The sound of footsteps snapped me back into reality.  Through my peripheral vision I could see the orange rays of the morning sun leaking through the trees.  The gentle melodies of birdsong filled the air.  Everything was so peaceful, so calm.  A part of me wanted to believe that yesterday was just a bad dream, but the dull ache that spanned across my body dashed all hopes of that being true.

The footsteps were getting closer.  They couldn't have been from another human.  The tempo was too fast, and each step was accompanied by another about a split-second off.  It had to be a pony; there was no doubt in my head.  They must have come searching for me after their friend returned to them.  I couldn't stay here much longer; I wasn't ready for another encounter.

I struggled to raise myself to a sitting position.  My muscles ached and groaned in protest, and I tried to tune them out.  A sharp pain spread across the palm of my left hand as it barely skimmed across the earth.  I quickly cradled it against my stomach and cringed when I caught sight of the wound.  My discolored palm was covered in blisters, and a weak trickle of scarlet blood was still seeping out of the wound.

I slowly lifted myself up to my feet, trying carefully not to agitate any other wounds I had accumulated yesterday.  An overwhelming sense of vertigo welcomed me as I reached my full height, accompanied by a painful headache.  Colors began to blur for a moment, turning the world around me into a strange green and brown canvas.

A twig snapped behind me.  I whirled around to the sound of the noise to find a grey pony standing just a few yards away.  With a surprised yelp, I scrambled back until my back ran into a nearby tree.

A brief moment of silence passed while we just stared at each other in shock.  I gave the area a quick glance to see if there were any other threats, but all I could see was this one pony.  Although, to call it a pony might have been incorrect.  With the dark grey stripes that spanned across its body, it looked more like a zebra than anything else.  Golden rings wrapped around its neck and one of its forelegs.

"Forgive me for startling you," she started, breaking the silence with her African-esque voice, "I knew not you were here.  Please, accept my apology; there is no reason to fear."  She put on an apologetic smile at the end of her rhyme to add to the sincerity.

To say that I was caught off guard would have been an understatement.  I didn't expect her to talk to me, much less apologize for sneaking up on me.

"You're fine," I finally managed to answer, trying to sound as nonchalant as I could.  "I just... didn't expect anyone to drop in on me."  I regained my composure and realized I didn't have my hatchet on me.  My eyes quickly searched the ground for my missing tool and found it laying dangerously close to the zebra.  I didn't know what to do.  I couldn't risk getting too close to her; there was no telling what she would do when she saw me approaching.

The zebra followed my stare to the hatchet near her hooves.  She craned her neck down, picked it up with her mouth, and trotted up to me.  My body tensed up as the zebra drew closer.  My eyes were glued to the grimy blade of the hatchet.

What are you standing there for? a voice demanded in my head.  It could still be a threat.  Move!

I took a wary step back, unsure of what to do.  The zebra continued with a disarming look in her eyes and came to a stop before me.  She didn't make any hostile movements; she simply stood there stretching her neck toward me with the hatchet in her mouth.  An awkward second passed before I realized she wanted me to take it.

"Um, thanks," I said, gingerly retrieving my hatchet from her mouth.

"Thank me you need not," the zebra dismissed with a smile, waving a hoof.  "The deed was not a lot.  I merely wanted to extend a helping hoof to a friend."  She gave me a closer look, and her smile faded into a small frown.  "May I ask what made you so sore?" she asked.  "To obtain such wounds, you must have had quite a chore."

"I had a hard night.  Let's just leave it at that," I replied.  I lazily swung the hatchet down to my side.  "Actually, it would be a good idea if I kept going.  I'm kinda busy with... stuff.  So, if you'll excuse me."  I skirted around the mare and set off in a random direction.  My joints moved like rusty gears, grinding and screeching as I moved.  I tried to hide my discomfort behind a blank stare.  I didn't make it very far before the zebra put herself before me.

"Please, this is a most pitiful sight to see.  Allow me to assist and come follow me," she implored.  "I can offer a remedy for your ails; after which I will send you on your trails."

I hesitated.  The sound of a remedy was very appealing to my sore body.  The zebra appeared sincere about the offer, too.  Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to have a quick rest before I set off.

What if it's a trick?  The question seemed to bounce around a few times in my head before the strange voice continued.  She's still one of them.  She probably knows of last night.  She could be leading you into a trap.

I shook my head to dispel the foreign thoughts and glanced at the zebra.  She seemed legitimately concerned, but my mind was already made.

"Thanks for the offer," I said, "but I think I'll live for the moment."  I started walking in the other direction, hoping that the zebra would take my word for it.  "Besides," I added, "my mother warned me about accepting help from strangers."

The zebra jumped in front of me before I had a chance to register it, and I nearly trampled her in my attempt to stop.  She gave me a stern look, and I tried to keep my composure.

"Now is not the time to be proud," she warned.  "Your integrity is hardly sound.  There are creatures here that can gobble you with ease, so let me help you, my strange friend.  Please."  Her expression softened, and I thought I saw genuine worry in her eyes.

I sighed and shook my head.  "Look, I'm not trying to be rude here, but why do you want to help me?  I'm just a stranger to you.  I can't give you anything in return."

The zebra put on a knowing smile.  "I once walked the same road as you; I was scared, alone, and my friends were few.  When I first came here, I received many frightened looks, until some ponies decided to open my book.  They showed me kindness and asked for nothing in return.  To offer the same help to you is all that I yearn."

You are more than capable of surviving by yourself.  The words seemed to echo louder in my head, and the headache had returned to add to my list of ailments.  Where was it coming from?  You don't need her help, the voice persisted.  She could be toying you, taking advantage of your weakened state.  You could be walking right into her trap.

My grip tightened on my hatchet.  Maybe the voice was right, but who's to say that the zebra wasn't at the village last night?  I did recall travelling deep into the forest last night.  For all I knew, she could have been from somewhere else, somewhere far from the village where I could rest for a while.  The mere thought of it seemed to relax my body.  Besides, the zebra did appear genuinely concerned for me.

"Alright," I said, hesitantly.  "You win.  Just lead the way, and I'll be right behind you."

Her expression brightened significantly, and without wasting any more time she set off into the nearby foliage.  I quickly lumbered after her.  My eyesight was still a bit hazy from my abrupt awakening, but it was easy to follow the grey smudge of the zebra through the vibrant greenery.  She introduced herself as Zecora, in rhyme of course.  Come to think of it, everything she said was like a small poem.  It was pretty interesting, and seemed kind of fun, like some sort of game.

When I asked where we were going, she explained that she lived alone in the forest.  The news damped my earlier hopes of resting, but I tried not to let it get to me.  Besides, I was still going to get some time to rest while I was there.  And perhaps it might have been better after all if I found shelter by myself; I didn't want to risk another reaction like last night.

A low growl interrupted Zecora in mid-sentence.  She immediately came to a halt, and her ears perked up as she tried to find the source of the menacing sound.  I instinctively put my hand over my stomach, as if doing so would help fill the emptiness that was slowly growing inside.

I weakly chuckled.  "Sorry about that," I apologized.  "It's been a while since I've had a decent meal."

Zecora gave me an incredulous look and gave her own half-hearted smile.  "My, my.  Whether that was a beast or not, I could not tell," she chuckled.  "It seems that somepony has a hunger that needs to be quelled."

"Don't worry about it," I said.  "I'll be fine."  My stomach, though, was quick to give its noisy rebuttal.

This time the mare couldn't hold back as a small burst of laughter escaped her throat.  "I prepared some soup before I left for my morning walk," she explained through a contagious smile.  "You may have what is left, and then we can talk."

I shook my head in disbelief and exhaled.  "Thanks," I said, as a small smile pushed its way up to my lips.  "That's really generous of you."  My stomach grumbled in agreement.

"There's no need for thanks, I have plenty to spare," Zecora said, waving a hoof dismissively.  "And fortunately for your stomach, we are almost there."

We pushed further through the foliage until a gnarly tree came into view.  Various glass bottles hung from some of its knotty branches, and bizarre wooden masks littered the ground surrounding the house.  A faint yellow glow radiated from two holes cut out of the tree.  I hesitated as Zecora walked through the front door.  I was beginning to get second thoughts about following this zebra.

You can still run, the voice suggested.  It probably wasn't too bad of an idea.  After all, I barely knew anything about this mare.  She could have been some sort of psychopath.  Who knew why she lived in exile in these woods?  I took a hesitant step back.  Most of my wounds could heal over time, I was sure.

It was then that the smell hit me.  A sweet aroma wafted from the tree, filling the air around me.  It sparked a small inkling of a memory inside of me; one of my mother's homemade chicken and noodle soup that she hadn't made in ages.  I wasn't sure if that what was awaiting for me inside, but whatever it was, it nearly had me drooling.  My stomach groaned at the thought of being so close to nourishment and seemed to berate me for even thinking of leaving.

Zecora popped her head out of the doorway and gave me a quizzical look.  "What are you standing there for?" she asked.  "Did you know not I had an open door?"  I snapped out of my trance and apologized before continuing toward her house.  "Come and get it while it is nice and hot," she called as her head disappeared.  "Celestia knows I alone cannot eat the whole pot."

I carefully ducked through the zebra-sized door.  A dull pain racked my nerves.  My legs screamed in protest, and my back threatened to stay locked in place.  I winced and fought against the urge to collapse onto the floor.  I desperately hoped Zecora knew what she was doing.

The entire "house" was comprised of one, small circular room.  More wooden masks were on the inside.  Glass bottles either hung from the ceiling or lined the various shelves.  A small bed was stationed in the back, and a cauldron filled with water dominated the center of the room.  Near the back rested a pot filled with steaming soup.

Zecora trotted around the lone room, examining the bottles as she passed.  With each vial she inspected and passed, the more discouraged she seemed.  After putting the last bottle down, she grabbed a wooden bowl, scooped some soup from the pot in the back, and brought it to me.  I gingerly accepted it and felt the warmth seep through the bowl and into my hands.

"Your potion's creation will soon be underway," she explained.  "Please relax yourself, and enjoy your stay."  She lit a fire underneath the cauldron and began tossing seemingly random ingredients in.

I sat myself against the wall a few paces from the door, hoping I wouldn't get in the way, and set my hatchet down next to me.  I stared at the bowl in my hands.  The soup had a bit of a greenish tint to it.  It was hard to tell what was in it, but I could easily tell it wasn't chicken or noodles.  It didn't appear as appealing now that I saw it, but it still had me ensnared in its aroma.  After realizing I didn't have a spoon, I put the bowl up to my lips and drank it.

I nearly choked as the steaming soup burned a trail down my throat, but it was a welcomed sensation.  It tasted as if it was made out of some sort of vegetable, but I couldn't tell which one or ones exactly.  As soon as I became used to the temperature, I began greedily gulping it down by mouthfuls.  When I put the bowl back down, I noticed Zecora staring at me in amusement.

"You certainly have quite the appetite," She smiled.  "I hope I have enough soup for you.  Wouldn't it be a fright?"

I gave an apologetic smile and stared at what was rest of my soup. There wasn't very much left, just enough to barely fill the bottom.  I began to slowly sip away at it, trying to savor the taste.  Zecora returned her attention to the contents of the cauldron, stirring them with a large wooden stick.  A sickly green liquid sloshed up the side, making my stomach turn.  Was I really supposed to drink that?

I rested the bowl in my hands once I was finished and glanced up in time to catch Zecora staring at me in curiosity.  Our eyes met for barely a second before she quickly averted her gaze back to her work.

"See something interesting?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"Pardon me for staring," she apologized, a mild blush of embarrassment showing on her face.  "I just have so many questions for you.  But that topic can wait for later."  Her eyes darted to my empty bowl.  "For now, allow me to feed you some more stew."  She trotted up to me and picked up my bowl.  I offered my thanks again, and she simply nodded as if it was nothing and went to fill it back up.

An odd scent wafted from the middle of the room.  The fire underneath the cauldron seemed to be put out a while ago, but the liquid inside was still steaming.  When Zecora returned the newly filled bowl to me, she retrieved an empty vial nearby and dipped it into the cauldron.

"Take this potion and you shall be healed within the hour," Zecora explained as she handed it to me.  "I must warn you, however, it will be quite sour.  Before you take it, though, you might wish to wait a while.  While it is still warm, the potion will taste quite vile."

I was about to give her a proper thanks until an erratic knocking at the door cut me off.

"Zecora?  Are you home?" a familiar voice called.  A chill went up my spine at the sound.  The door glowed in an odd purple color and swung wide open.  "Oh, thank Celestia you're here!"  The purple unicorn from last night trotted into the room, having an urgent air around her.  "There was a strange creature that invaded Ponyville last night.  We couldn't tell what it was, but we were hoping you might be able to help us.  When I saw it run into the forest, I figured it would be a long shot, but —"

Twilight cut herself off with a gasp the moment she saw me.

We all stood there like that for a moment:  Twilight staring at me in disbelief, Zecora looking between us in confusion, and myself paralyzed in shock, trying desperately to convince my legs to run.  Twilight's face morphed into a scowl.  She craned her neck down, and her horn began to glow.  I wasn't about to wait for her to perform another one of her tricks.

In one fluid motion, I pocketed the vial and sprang up to my feet.  She didn't have enough time to react as I quickly covered the distance between us and threw the still-steaming contents of my bowl into her face at point-blank range.  She let out a pained yelp as her concentration broke, causing her horn's glow to fade away.

While she was busy rubbing the stew out of her eyes, I darted for the front door.  It would have been a clean escape, too, if it hadn't been for the four mares in the doorway.  They tried to scramble away when they saw me hurtling towards them.  Most of them succeeded, too, save for one:  a yellow pegasus with wide eyes and an uneven haircut.

She stood there with an expression of absolute horror as I advanced.  Out of horrible coincidence, I stumbled over a root jutting out of the earth and fell directly on top of her.  We collapsed onto the ground together with most of my weight pinning her down.  Our foreheads connected painfully, sending us both into a daze.

"The monster's going to gobble up Fluttershy!" the pink pony shrieked.

"Not on my watch!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.  I heard the rush of wings behind me as something clamped onto my jacket and launched me skyward.  Out of instinct, I grabbed the nearest thing to me in hopes of staying rooted to the ground.  Unfortunately, at the time, the nearest thing was Fluttershy.

The world shrank beneath us as we ascended higher and higher.  The sudden rush of vertigo threatened to bring the stew back up.  I could already taste the acidic bile forming in the back of my throat.  As we came to a stop, I felt as if I was literally hanging on by a tread as the jacket stretched against the weight it was never meant to carry.  I still had a death grip on Fluttershy's forelegs, who gave me a look of terror with eyes the size of pinpricks.  I shot a glance upwards to discover Rainbow Dash wildly flapping to keep us in the air, my jacket clenched in her strained jaw.

A moment of dread washed over me at the sheer height I was dangling from.  Already I was getting mental pictures of a splattered mess of blood, bones, and clothes on the forest floor.  My eyes shot to the horizon, trying to get the image out of my mind, until something caught my eye.  Off in the distance, a lone structure broke through the vast forest canopy.  It appeared to be a tower, a strange beacon that seemed to call out to me.  I could feel it beckoning me, as if it promised to harbor me from this mad world.

A safe haven, the voice chimed in.  Find a way down and go to it.

"Et oh uv Vudderhi!"  The muffled shout jerked me back into reality.  I glanced up again to see Rainbow Dash glaring down upon me.  A small idea formed in my head.

"What did you say?" I asked, trying to feign confusion.

"I hed, et oh uv Vudderhi!" she repeated, voice rising with temper.

"I can't understand you with that jacket in your mouth," I shouted.  Of course, I did know what she was trying to say; I was just hoping that she would fall for it.

Rainbow spit my jacket out of her mouth.  "I said—"

The rest of her sentence was lost in the wind as Fluttershy and I entered free fall.  The deafening wind whipped around me.  The canopy was quickly coming up to meet us.  It was time for the next phase of my plan.  I looked ahead of me where the yellow pegasus fell, wings still pinned to her sides.

"What are you waiting for?" I shouted.  "Start flying!"  She gave me a frightened look and whispered something inaudible with the wind.  "Speak up!" I hollered.  "I can't hear you."

"I can't!" Fluttershy shouted in desperation.

My body froze as terror began to seize hold of my heart.  This wasn't good.  If she didn't start flying, then we would hit the ground at full force.  A shudder ran through my system as I recalled the disturbing mental image from before.  "Look," I tried.  "If you don't start trying, then we're about to be nothing more than a splatter mark on the dirt."

It seemed to be the motivation she needed to hear.  With a newfound energy, Fluttershy began flapping her wings like mad trying to sustain our elevation.  The ground was still approaching too fast.  At this rate, we would be lucky to die with our insides still inside.

"Come on, you can do it," I muttered under my breath.  "Just a little bit more."

We were approaching the canopy at an angle.  It would only be a few more seconds until we hit it.  Our descent was slower, but only barely.  I closed my eyes before we hit the trees.  This was going to get rough.

I lost my grip on my falling companion as the branches swatted us this way and that.  A vine caught itself around my leg, causing me to flip forward and bash my wounded knee against the tree.  I felt a painful pop in my right ankle where the vine was ensnared.  Something came loose, and I was sent falling again.  Leaves and thorns cut at any exposed skin.  A branch sprouted out of nowhere and rammed into my stomach.  I hung there breathless for a moment before the weight of my legs pulled me backwards.  I reached my hand out to grab something, anything that would put an end to this painful descent.  A vine found its way into my hand, and I clamped my fingers around it for dear life, giving me a rope burn as I slowly slid down.  The ground was only a small drop away now.  I released my grip and landed feet-first, only to crumple into a heap as the pain from new and old injuries attacked my brain.

My vision was fading in and out.  There was a loud snap somewhere above me.  My eyes flickered up in time to see the form of the yellow pegasus falling from the trees.  My eyes struggled to make out the horrid scene before me.  Cuts and bruises covered her body, and her wings were splayed in an unholy manner.  She let out a sharp exhale when her delicate frame hit the unforgiving earth.

The world was silent.  Too silent.  I couldn't tell if the pegasus was moving or not.  I managed to prop myself up on my elbows to get a better look at her, and my broken body was quick to protest.  Her scraped back was facing me, rising and falling in sync with her ragged breathing.  I let out a sigh of relief; she was still alive.

I struggled to get up, but the moment I put pressure on my right foot I collapsed with an inhuman yelp.  A sharp throbbing pulsed inside my ankle.  A frustrated growl emerged from my throat.  I was in no condition to move.  And neither was the pegasus, from the looks of it.  We were stuck here to rot without any help.

I shifted myself into a sitting position and rested against a nearby tree.  "Well, isn't this just perfect," I grumbled.

As if on cue, a mysterious vial fell out of my pocket and on the ground, its contents sloshing around inside it.  I stared at it confusedly before my brain finally clicked in.  It was the potion Zecora had made!  I snatched it up off the ground and studied it.  There probably wasn't much of the potion inside, only just a few mouthfuls.  If what Zecora said was true, though, that wouldn't matter.  I ripped off the cork lid and stared at the green liquid inside.

"Well, this is it," I muttered, hesitantly putting it up to my lips.  "Here goes nothing."  I poured some of the potion into my mouth and nearly retched the moment it touched my tongue.  Zecora wasn't lying when she said it was sour.  I was having a hard time finding the will to not spit it out.

I leaned back and stared in awe as the potion worked its magic.  Cuts and wounds began closing themselves up.  Bruises started disappearing.  My broken foot seemed to pop itself back into place.  I glanced at my left hand to see that the charred skin was falling off and being replaced by a new, rapidly growing layer of skin.  After a while had passed, I was back on my feet again, feeling fully recovered.

Incredible.  There wasn't a better word to describe what I had just witnessed.  It was impossible, and yet the facts were staring at me in the face.

A weak groan brought me back into reality.  I stared over my shoulder where Fluttershy lay.

Leave her, the voice said.  Helping her will only slow you down.  Let her friends come to her aid.  You have no reason to aid her.  It was wrong, though.  I was the reason she was here right now, the reason she was even in this state.  I couldn't leave just yet; I had to help her.

I rushed up to her side.  Her condition was much worse than I originally thought.  There was a large gash in her side that was spilling blood everywhere.  It was getting harder and harder for her to breathe.  "It's going to be alright," I whispered.  "Just hang in there."  I sat down beside her and propped her head up on my lap.  My fingers accidentally brushed up against her wound as I shifted her, and her breathing became sharper.  "It's okay," I cooed.  "Everything is going to be okay."

I opened Fluttershy's mouth and started pouring some of the contents in her mouth.  The little pegasus coughed, probably not expecting to be assaulted with a sour flavor.  A small dribble leaked out of the corner of her mouth.  "Now, now," I whispered as I tried to wipe it off, "you need to drink your medicine.  How else are you going to feel better?"

She silently obliged.  Once I figured I had given her enough, I put the potion back in my pocket and watched the scene as her wounds began mending.  Her feathers and wings rearranged themselves.  The gash ceased bleeding and began to slowly close.  Her mane even grew back to what I assumed was its original shape.

A distant voice echoed throughout the forest, but I didn't catch what it said.  I strained my ears in case it called out again, and, sure enough, the voice cried out again.

"Fluttershy!"

The others were getting closer.  I glanced back down at the pegasus in my lap.  They wouldn't be able to find her if I left her here.  I would have to leave her on the path somewhere.  It might be risky, but if I was quick enough I should be able to drop her off and then split before her friends showed up.  Her body was still healing, but I doubted that would be too much of a problem.

I slithered my arms underneath her body and lifted her up.  She wasn't as heavy as I gave her credit for, roughly the same weight as a dog about her size.  Surprisingly, she was still fast asleep, too.  Her injuries must have knocked her out cold.  I forced my way through the thick greenery that surrounded us, shielding the sleeping pegasus as best as I could.  We weren't too far away from the path when we emerged.

The callings were getting much closer now.  It wouldn't be too long before they got here.  I quickly jogged into the path and stowed her next to a tree where her friends could easily find her.  I lingered behind the tree until I saw Twilight's purple coat emerge from the trees before leaving.

Thoughts of the tower consumed my mind.  I needed to find a way there.  Right now, it was my best bet to find shelter.  Once I was there, I could relax and think things through.  But first, I needed to take a small detour.

Thankfully, the trek was uneventful.  Even though the fall had disoriented me, I knew the general location of the hut.  Pretty soon I caught sight of one of the colorful wooden masks that marked her house.  The door was left wide open.  Not a pony or zebra was in sight.  I peeked my head in.

It was exactly the same as when I had left.  I retrieved my hatchet from the floor where I left it and refilled the vial with the medicine in the cauldron; there was no telling when I would need something like that again.  I grabbed a string and fastened the vial to the belt loop of my pants and was about to walk out of the door when the wooden bowl caught my eye.  There was still a little bit of stew left inside of it.  I gingerly picked up the bowl and tried to savor the taste as I drank what was left of it, knowing that it was probably going to be the last decent morsel of food I would have in a long while.

I exited Zecora's tree and headed off in the general direction of the stone fortress.  I was careful to avoid any paths or trails along the way; the last thing I wanted was another run in with the ponies.  I couldn't tell how long I was walking; it could've been anywhere from a few minutes to half of an hour.  I was beginning to worry that I had gotten off course.  I quickly dispelled those thoughts though.  Nothing good would come from that sort of thinking at the moment.

As I trekked deeper and deeper into the trees, the faint sound of roaring water grew louder and louder.  I desperately pleaded that it was purely just a coincidence.  Unfortunately, all hope was shattered as a wide river took the place of the trees.  Not a single bridge, natural or built, could be seen in either direction.  I sighed as I realized that crossing it would be inevitable if I wanted to reach my sanctuary.

I hesitantly put a foot in the river, cringing as cool water seeped into my shoe and drenched my sock.  With each step I made further into the river, the higher the water crawled up my legs.  Not even a quarter of the way across and I was already soaked up to the stomach.  At one point, I had to put the hatchet's wooden handle in my mouth so I could swim more efficiently.  Needless to say, I was completely drenched as I emerged from the other side.  I tried my best to wring out my clothes before carrying on.

After a few more minutes of walking, a stone wall emerged between some of the branches and vines.  I couldn't believe my luck.  I made it!  My safety was just beyond the trees ahead of me.  I jogged into a clearing of the trees and caught my first whole glimpse of the colossal stone structure.

It was in ruins.  Glass fragments and gaping holes dominated the space where windows should have been.  Chunks of walls were missing everywhere, along with most of the roof.  I could spot a handful of spires, but even they appeared to be as skeletal as the rest of the castle, showing their internal parts.  The two large wooden doors at the entrance seemed perfectly fine, though.

Still, this shelter was better than no shelter, and the only thing keeping me from it was a rickety, wooden bridge.  I put my foot on the first plank, cringing as it groaned beneath my weight.  The next step wasn't as bad, but I knew there were plenty more ahead of me before I reached my destination.  I made the mistake to cast a glance below the bridge.  A thick fog obstructed my view of the bottom of the chasm, making it appear as if it went on for an eternity.  I gripped the rope support beams for dear life, knowing the next step could very well be my last.  Thankfully, the bridge was sturdier that it made itself out to be in the end.

I opened the heavy doors of the castle and took in my surroundings.  The ceiling in the first room was completely gone as well as most of the windows.  Plant life sprouted here and there through cracks scattered across the walls.  Near what was left of the back wall rested a moss covered sphere on a pedestal.  Five smaller platforms branched out underneath it.  It had a sacred air about it, as if it once held a great treasure that had disappeared.

My eyelids were getting heavy, and I stifled a yawn.  Looking up through the hole where the ceiling was, I saw that it was barely noon, not that it helped my drowsiness whatsoever.  Through one of the shattered windows I thought I could see the spire I had spotted earlier.  It seemed mostly whole, at least more whole than any of the others, and it seemed as good of a place as any to get some rest.

After finding my way through the maze of corridors, I found the stairway that led up to the top.  I was pleased to find that the room was much more whole than the rest of the building.  Glass covered most of the windows.  There was much less plant life covering the stone room.  Best of all, the ceiling in here was still intact.  A throne sat on a raised platform in the back.  It was missing a few chunks here and there, but it was whole where it counted.  I was careful to avoid the shards of blue armor that littered the base as I drew closer to it.  The throne was cushioned, much to my enjoyment.  I placed my hatchet and the sour elixir next to the base of my seat.

I heaved a sigh that I've unknowingly held all day.  There I sat; alone in a strange new world.  No one to talk to.  No one to guide me.  No one to take command and let me follow.  I was completely alone.  A hole began to grow in my chest and was quickly filled with fear and grief.  I doubled over, pressing my hands against my chest in hopes of repressing the pain.  A few choked sobs managed to escape my throat.  I screwed my eyes shut as a few tears burned their trails down my cheeks.  I was never this alone in my life.  The very concept of my condition scared me.  What was I supposed to do?  How would I survive?  Where would I get my food?

Hunt for your food.

My sobs were instantly cut off.  I slowly raised my head and stared at the room before me, the large, empty room.  I was all alone, and yet I could hear that strange and familiar voice echoing in my head clear as day.

I sniffed.  Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad of an idea.  Hunting wasn't exactly my forte, but I was sure I could work something out if I got enough time.  I would need an alternative plan, though.  It would take some time before I got used to hunting for my food, and I doubted Zecora would help me after what occurred this morning.

Steal from the ponies, the voice pitched in.  They are sure to have plenty.

I was reluctant to go anywhere near "Ponyville" again, but the more I thought of it, the better it sounded.  I had a good generalization of where the marketplace was in the town, and I thought I saw a barn when I was wandering through it.  If I could find a way to access those easily, I would be set for a decent time.  I wasn't about to go out in broad daylight, though.  No, that would just be suicidal.  It would be best if I went under the cover of the night.

A feeling of satisfaction washed over me.  I now had a plan, more or less, and the means to do it.  All I needed now was rest.  It was beginning to get harder to keep my eyes open.  I would take a quick nap until night and then get to work.  It didn't take too long before drowsiness subdued my roaming mind.  I had just enough brainpower to utter one last word.

"Goodnight."

But of course, my only answer was silence.
> Act I:  The Thief in the Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I took in a deep, refreshing breath of the cool, autumn air, letting it rejuvenate my system.  The moon shone brightly in the night sky, bathing the castle in its silver light.  As I navigated the darkened halls, I tried my best to memorize my path.  There was no telling how long I would be stuck here, and with this castle being my only haven at the moment, it would be a good idea to know my way around it.

A cold breeze blasted from one of the many holes in the corridor.  A shiver coursed through my body as I adjusted my jacket.  I let my hatchet swing lazily in my fingers, its handle cool to the touch.  A few minutes passed before I found myself back in the entrance hall.  The only thing standing before me and my quest was two large heavy doors.  I took in a deep breath to clear my head and pulled the doors open.

A dark ocean of trees surrounded the castle to greet me, gently swaying in the midnight breeze.  I took a few steps forward and shut the door behind me, and the resulting thud seemed to carry throughout the forest.  Was I really going to do this?  A thousand scenarios ran through my head, a thousand ways this could go horribly wrong.  Maybe this wasn't the best idea.  I could probably wait another day or so and come up with a better plan.

My stomach groaned in protest, urging me to move forward.  An uncomfortable pit had formed in my gut, making it feel as if my stomach was eating itself.  I winced, covering my stomach with a hand and looking back into the forest.  It would definitely be a long shot.

But think about the reward, the voice inside my head coerced.  You will be fed.  Not to mention if you succeed, you can surely do it again.

I took in a deep breath to clear my thoughts and shook my head.  The benefits outweighed the risks.  No matter how this night turns out, it would be the archetype for my new lifestyle until I found a way home.  A life of hiding in fear.  A life of stealing from ponies to keep myself alive.  Or a life of who knows what if I failed.

A new life...  I chuckled weakly at the thought and began my trek.


<><><>


The thick branches of the trees above made the trail nearly impossible to see despite the brilliant light of the full moon, but I managed to guide myself without tripping over too many obstacles.  The large silhouettes of bushes and trees surrounded me, their amorphous shadows putting me on edge.  I suddenly remembered Zecora's warning about the predators that inhabited this forest, and the grip on my hatchet tightened.

The path was slowly getting wider and wider.  I couldn't be too far from the edge now.  Some of the trees were starting to look familiar, albeit vaguely.  As the path bent around a large tree, I could see an opening in the forest.  The town could be seen up ahead, a few soft lights dotting the area here and there.  Most of the town would have been asleep by now.  If I was careful, I could probably skirt around it and find the farm without causing another alarm like last time.

There were barely any trees between where the town and where I stood at the edge of the forest.  I must have been in the park from the previous night.  A quick scan showed no sign of the farm on either side of the town from this angle.  There was no telling how large the town was, either.  If I were to circumscribe the town to find the barn, I probably wouldn't have enough time to get anything before the sun rose.

There was always the marketplace.  It wouldn't be too hard to find again.  If I remembered, it was in the middle of town.  I studied the town again.  Most of the lights in the villages were off.  Assuming that the ponies were fast asleep in their homes, getting food might be as simple as navigating through the darkened streets.

And what if they're awake? the voice asked.

Then I'll handle it however I can, I replied.  I made it out last time, didn't I?  There wasn't a response, although I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

I fixed my eyes on the nearest tree and crept towards it.  Even if there weren't any ponies around, I didn't want to take the chance of walking out in the open.  I moved from tree to tree, getting closer and closer to the village.  I nearly let my guard down until I noticed a group of figures up ahead.

They hadn't noticed me yet, and I decided to take the advantage and move to a closer tree to study them.  There were seven of them, three of which were much smaller than the others.  They appeared to be stuck in the middle of an argument.

"But Twilight," one of the smaller ones piped up.  "We want to help catch the monster!"

"Yeah, maybe we can get our Cutie Marks as monster catchers!" another small one exclaimed while jumping in the air.  The frantic buzzing of her wings managed to suspend her in midair for a few seconds.

"No.  Like I said, it's too dangerous for fillies," one of the larger ponies, Twilight by the sound of her voice, said with finality.

"Aww," a chorus of three moaned.  I could see the three small ponies' heads drop.

"But how come y'all get to go," one of them asked.  From the faint light of the moon, I could see a pink bow in her mane.  "It ain't fair!  We wanna help, too."

"Oh, we know, sugarcube," another larger pony said.  Judging by the hat, it must have been Applejack.  "But we're only doing this to protect ya.  Do y'all know what that thing did to Fluttershy?"

"Yeah, yeah, we know," the second small pony explained.  "It attacked Fluttershy and now she's too chicken to come out of her house now."

"But that's why we want to help!" shouted the first little one.  She sounded as if she was on the verge of tears.  "That thing hurt my sister, too!"

Twilight tried to calm her.  "Yes, and that's why we're trying to find it.  We're going to find out just what this monster is and send it back where it came from.  But we can't have any of you in harm's way."

"But, but, but—," the trio harmonized.

"Sorry, squirts, but we don't have any time for this," another of the larger ponies said impatiently.  She elevated herself with two wings.  "I have a score to settle with that monster."

"Rainbow Dash, we're not doing this for some contest; we're doing this for the good of Ponyville," Twilight said.  "You three need to head home.  We'll be back as soon as we can.  Promise."

"But where am I supposed to go?" one of the fillies squeaked.  "Rarity's still recovering in the hospital and my parents are on another of their vacations!  I don't wanna be home alone!"

"Y'all can stay at my place," the pink-bowed pony said.  "You can come too, Scootaloo.  We can have a sleep over at the barn!"  I focused on the three smaller ponies.  Perhaps finding the barn would be as easy as following three fillies.

"That sounds like a good idea," Applejack said.  "Y'all three head on up to the farm for tonight, and we'll come back later and join you."

"Yeah, hopefully with that monster, too," Rainbow Dash added.

"But first," Twilight interjected, "we need you ponies to not follow us.  Am I clear?"

The trio let out a sigh of defeat.  "Yes, Twilight."

"Good."  Twilight turned to one of the other ponies.  "Pinkie Pie, did you get the lights?"

"Yep!  You're not going to believe how hard it was for me to find these Hearthswarming lights."  The area was suddenly illuminated in shades of red and green as the pink mare lit up like a Christmas tree.  String lights coiled around her body and were tangled in her mane.  She bounced excitedly in place, making the contents of her saddle clatter.  "I also got some flashlights and torches!  This is going to be the best search party ever!"

With that, she started hopping in the direction of the forest.  I scooted around the trunk to keep away from the intense, multicolored light she was giving off.  After reminding the smaller ponies to stay safe, the other three followed her lead.  As the last of them disappeared through in the forest, I turned around to find the ponies I would be following.  They were already heading deeper into the town, which was my cue to move.

By the time I had reached the first house, they were already halfway down the main street.  I stayed behind the line of houses and moved as quickly and quietly as I could to catch up to them.  The houses blocking my line of sight made tracking them difficult, but the sound of their voices kept me on their trail.  The distance between us muffled their conversation from me, making it hard to decipher what they were talking about.

Every now and then their voices would fade away as an intersection appeared, and I would have to emerge from the alleys to find them and readjust my course.  I stuck to the shadows as often as I could during those moments.  There weren't any light's coming from the houses, but I didn't want to stand out in the open and risk another fiasco like last night.

At one point their voices died out all together, and for a second I thought I had lost them.  I was about to go back out into the street when they walked right in front of me.  I froze like a statue as fear gripped hold of me.  If they saw me now, then my whole plan would be ruined.  Not only would I not find the barn, but they would probably alert the whole town.  And I was too deep in to make another escape.  To my surprise, however, they didn't even notice me.

I realized this was the first time I saw them up close and took the opportunity to study them as they walked harmlessly passed by.  They were walking in a straight line.  The nearest one had a bright yellow coat and a neat red mane with a large pink bow.  In the middle was a small orange pegasus with scruffy purple hair.  They both wore blank stares as they walked ahead, as if they either didn't know what to talk about or didn't want to talk about something.  The third was a white unicorn with a curled pink and lavender mane and tail.  She was slightly trailing behind the other two, her light green eyes dully staring at the earth along with the rest of her downcast head.

I poked my head out into the street as they walked on in silence, wondering what had happened.  When I realized how far they had gone, I ran back behind the houses and tried to maintain a closer distance.

"So," the pink-bowed filly said after a while.  "What do y'all reckon this thing they're after looks like?"

"I don't know," the orange pegasus replied.  "Rainbow Dash said it was, like, twenty feet tall or something, and it was really weird looking, too.  She said it kept running around on its hind legs."

"Do you think they can handle it?" the first one asked.

"Are you kidding?  Rainbow Dash is with them!  I'm sure they'll do fine," the orange one assured, but the slight tremor in her voice betrayed her true thoughts.

An awkward silence hung in the air.

"You alright, Sweetie Belle?" the pink-bowed filly asked.

"Yeah, you've been kinda quiet," the orange one chimed in.

The unicorn let out a sigh.  "I'm sorry, girls; I just can't stop thinking about what that thing did to my sister.  Why would anypony ever hurt Rarity?  How could it be so mean?"

"Don't worry about her, Sweetie," the pink-bowed filly soothed.  "The doctor said she would be as healthy as a horse in a few days."

"Yeah!" the other piped in.  "And when they find that monster, Rainbow Dash will make it sorry it ever stepped hoof in Ponyville!"

I felt a little uneasy with the direction of the conversation, wishing that I hadn't eavesdropped in the first place.  I had no idea that my actions would have had this kind of effect, and on a child especially.  I lagged behind a bit until their voices returned to an incoherent mumble and trudged on.

After a few more minutes of stalking, the barn came into view.  I slowed down to a halt as the trio of fillies passed the entrance gate.  Whoever owned this farm had plenty of food; more than enough to go around, in fact.  Just from where I was standing, I could already spot rows upon rows of corn, massive gardens of various vegetables, and a stone well near the front.  Behind the barn I could make out the silhouettes of trees that must have been part of the forest.

A bright light radiated from the barn's front door as the three fillies approached it.  The form of a large pony stood in the doorway waiting for the fillies to enter before shutting the door.  My eyes lingered warily at the barn.  That pony was much larger than the ones I had met before.  It seemed to be much stronger, too.  I wasn't sure if I could hold my ground against it if we crossed paths.

I put those thoughts out of my head.  This wasn't the time to think about that; I had a job to do.  I cautiously crept through the gate's entrance and made an immediate turn for the well.  Water was my priority at the moment, whether my stomach liked it or not.

The well was lined with a stone wall and covered with a small wooden roof.  When I arrived, the bucket appeared to be deep inside the well.  I smiled at my own luck.  It was probably already filled with water.  All I had to do now is reel it back up.  I set my hatchet next to the well, gripped the reel's handle, and began to turn it.  A high-pitched mechanical whine filled the air as the rusty metal turned against itself.  I winced at the sharp noise but continued reeling nevertheless.

A light flickered on in one of the barn's upper windows.  I quickly hid behind the well as an elderly voice pierced the night.  "Ya darn rascals!  Stay out of our farm, or I'll call Winona on yer sorry hide!"

I peeked my head out in time to see the elderly mare stick her head back in.  Once the window became dark I emerged from my hiding place.  With that rusty reel acting like an alarm against anyone who uses it, the only way I could retrieve the bucket without waking the farm's residents would be by pulling it up by the rope.  I rubbed my hands together and started my menial task.

Unfortunately, the bucket was bone dry.  I looked down the well with a discontented frown.  The water was probably deeper in the well.  I tapped the metallic shell of the bucket to gather my thoughts.  I couldn't afford to risk sending the bucket down deeper into the well to get some water; the racket from the gears would wake up the entire barn.  If I just took the bucket, however, I could use it to gather the water from the river.  It wasn't the most hygienic source, but it was better than nothing.

I was starting to unfasten the bucket from the rope when I noticed how much slack I pulled up.  There must have been at least fifteen feet of rope.  It would probably come in handy later.  Besides, I was already planning on stealing the bucket; it wouldn't make much sense to leave the rest of the rope.

Do it.

I set the bucket down, stretched out the rope, and retrieved my hatchet.  It was rather thick, but after a few minutes of hacking at it, the rope finally severed.  I wrapped it around my torso like a sash, picked up the bucket, and carried on to the fields.

Gathering food was much simpler than I originally thought.  I moved from garden to garden, gathering a random assortment of fruits and vegetables.  The only problem was the windows of the main building that stared into my back as I worked.  I kept glancing over my shoulders, worrying that I would find one of the windows lit up with a pony in it, but thankfully that never happened.

The bucket made an excellent basket throughout the process.  My hands were already growing used to pulling some of the plants out of the cool earth, and my hatchet helped cut off any inedible parts.  After an hour passed, I had already harvested a handful of carrots, a few ears of corn, some potatoes, and a few other plants that appeared semi-familiar.  I could see myself doing this for some time.  I'd have to come up with a new food source after a while, though.  The ponies would eventually catch on that there food supply was dwindling, and winter was going to come up in a few months.  But I was sure I would come up with something by then.

I eventually found myself near the chicken coups.  There wasn't much I could do here.  I couldn't cook any eggs or chicken without a fire.  Not to mention that the noise I would create trying to obtain either would surely wake the barn up.  I glanced back into my bucket.  It wasn't quite full yet.  I could still fit in a few more foods.  I started to head back towards the fields until a headache struck me.

You have more than enough for now, the voice said.  Leave before you get caught.

"Just give me a second," I shot back.  "I can still get a bit more."

You don't have another second, it argued.  You're too close to the barn.  It's time to go.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I started to say, but a loud squealing cut me off in mid-sentence.  I shot a glare in the direction of the disruptive sound and found a pig running around in a nearby pen, trying to get away from me.  It didn't take too long for its cries to wake up the rest of the animals in the area, and the air was soon filled with the sound of a thousand squeals, clucks, and bleats.

The lights to the barn snapped back on, and a few seconds later the large doors swung open.  Three forms stood in the doorway, two of which were pony-shaped while the third was canine.

"Don't say Ah didn't warn you," the elderly pony called out.  "Sic 'em, Winona!"

A high-pitched yapping suddenly filled the air as the dog bolted towards my direction.  I gathered my harvest as quickly as I could and sprinted to the trees in the distance, hoping to lose them in the forest.  It wasn't until I got closer that I realized I was horribly wrong.

There might have been trees everywhere, but this was no forest; it was an orchard.  I had no idea how to get to the forest from here, much less the castle.  The dog was getting closer, and there was no way I would be able to outrun it.  In a desperate attempt to escape, I gripped the handle of the bucket in my mouth and climbed up the nearest tree.  By the time I had safely retreated into the branches, the dog was already at the base of the tree, barking like mad.

I spat the bucket out of my mouth and leaned back against the tree, processing my situation.  The trees here were evenly spaced, and all too far apart for me to jump from one to another.  If I could get back down, I could probably find my way back to the forest.  The only problem with that was the dog.

I glanced back down to the bottom of the tree where the dog was still yapping.  It was smaller than average.  Brown fur covered its body, save for a few white patches on its feet, tail, and muzzle.  If I could just get rid of it...

My eyes shifted to the hatchet, clenched tightly in my right hand.

I screwed my eyes closed and shook the mental images out of my head.  "No," I muttered.  "I'm not doing that."

Why not?  It was simple with the timberwolf.  You didn't show hesitation then. 

"That was a reflex," I argued.  A moment passed before I realized what I just did, and I shook my head in annoyance.  The dog continued yapping as if nothing had happened, each slicing through my train of thought.  "Oh, just can it already!" I barked over it.

A deep voice suddenly cut through the noise.  "That's enough, Winona.  I can take it from here."  Through the branches of the tree I could make out the large, muscular pony from before.  I could barely see the red hue of his coat and his orange mane with the moonlight.  He turned his attention to me with uninterested green eyes.  "Now, are you gonna come down from there, or am I gonna have to make ya?"

I grabbed on to a nearby branch to steady myself as I stood to get a better look of him.  He was the only pony in sight, and he didn't have any tools save for the harness around his neck, if that even counted.  The situation was almost laughable.

"Oh, really?" I smiled.  "You're going to make me?  Just how do you plan on doing that?"

Rather than answering my question, the pony simply turned his back to me.  With a swift kick from his hind legs, the tree shook with great intensity.  I lost my footing and fell out of the tree, accumulating a good beating from the branches during my fall.  An audible thud punctuated the end of my fall.  A loud clatter surrounded me as my possessions fell around me.  I managed to pick my head up off the earth in time to see four red tree trunks for legs standing in front of me.

I propped myself up on my elbows and glanced up to see the large pony giving me a dissatisfied glare.  "You're in a heap of trouble, mister," he said.  Things were definitely not looking good for me.  This pony had easily proven his strength.  I was still trying to wrap my head around how he managed to knock me out of the tree by a simple kick to the trunk.  I pushed myself up to my knees.  We were roughly at eye level with me in this stance.  He gave me another stern look, and I decided it would be in my best interest no to go any higher.

Through my peripheral vision, I noticed that the bucket had landed next to me, half of its contents spilled across the ground.  The hatchet was within an arm's reach to the right, but I doubted I would have enough time to grab it before the pony reacted.  I was completely at the pony's mercy.

"Well, I'll admit, I didn't expect that to happen," I said after a moment of silence passed.  My mind was racing with a hundred different scenarios.  I kept my eyes locked on to his, looking for a window of escape or some sign of leeway, but all I could find was his glare.

"Big Macintosh!" a young voice cut through the night.  "Is everything alright?"

The large pony's green eyes widened in shock, and he turned his head around as the three fillies from before ran toward us.  I noticed the small window I was presented, and lunged for my hatchet.

"Applebloom?  What're y'all doing—"  He didn't have enough time to finish his sentence.  The pony's heavy frame crumpled to the ground as I struck him in the back of the head with the butt of the hatchet.  His sudden collapse startled me.  The blow wasn't intended to kill him, just knock him out.  I was relieved when he let out a low groan.

"Big Macintosh!" the filly with the pink bow cried out.

Sweetie Belle pointed a shaking hoof to me.  "It's the monster!"

The three fillies came to a sliding halt before me.  I towered over them and the crumpled form of the larger pony, nearly four times their height.  I could almost see their minds racing in their eyes.  The larger pony was beginning to stir at my feet, signaling that it was time for me to go.

I bent down and hastily tossed as much food as I could in the bucket.  The pony was nearly up to his hooves.  If I didn't leave now, I wouldn't be able to escape.  There were still a few vegetables left on the ground by the time I left, but it didn't matter; I would be able to come back later if I escaped.

I fled deeper into the orchard, the heavy hooves of the pony thundering behind me.  I stole a quick glance behind me to see how far my pursuer was.  He was close, probably only a few feet behind me, but he was starting to lag behind.  His eyes were coming in and out of focus.  At one point the thunder calmed down to a faint rumble, and I looked back to find my chaser leaning up against a tree for support.  Even in the moonlight I could catch the intensity of his glare.

I kept running until my legs were filled with lead.  Time seemed to slip by without me knowing, and I didn't know how long I was running.  My lungs were gasping for air.  My vision was flickering in and out of focus.  I couldn't tell where I was.  All I could see were trees and trees and trees.

I slowed myself to a jog, my body aching from overexertion.  My mind was on the verge of collapsing, its internal clock out of whack.  I wasn't going to be able to go much further, not like this.  I needed to get some rest if I wanted to keep moving.

Don't rest, the strange voice urged.  Keep moving.  It's too dangerous here.

It was a conflict between mind and body, and both sides pressed good arguments.  My body was begging for rest, but I knew that if I stayed out in the open I would surely be found.  The cries of my body ultimately won, however, as a strange structure appeared in the midst of the trees.  I staggered up closer to it to get a better look of it.

It was a treehouse.  Not a strange house-tree hybrid like before, but an actual run of the mill treehouse.  It appeared to be well built.  A single structure sprouted out of a raised platform around the tree with a sturdy ramp leading up to the doorway.  I could stay here for a few minutes and catch my breath.

I shuffled up the ramp and entered the building, closing the door behind me slowly.  It was difficult seeing outside under the light of the moon and stars, but in here, with no natural or artificial light, it was near impossible to see anything inside the treehouse.  I held out a hand to help guide myself across the room.  A series of crunches and snaps erupted beneath my feet as I accidentally stepped on the numerous knickknacks that littered the ground.

Something brushed up against my fingers, and I instinctively grabbed on to it.  It was a ladder.  I maneuvered myself in front of it and started climbing to the upper room.  It was much smaller than the first; I had to crouch down to not scrape my head up against the ceiling.  Nonetheless, it was a safe place to hide for a while, which was exactly what I was looking for.

I sat down with my back against a wall, putting the bucket and the hatchet down next to me to relieve myself of the extra weight.  I could see the night sky from the window in the wall opposite of me.  Just a few quick minutes of rest, I told myself.  I pulled an apple out of the bucket and began nibbling on it to keep myself awake.

My body slowly began to relax, finding a comfortable spot in the hard, wooden walls.  I stared out the window at the stars, trying to focus on anything but the dark room, but even they began to slowly wink out as my eyes became heavy.  My arm fell to my side.  I thought I heard something roll from my fingers.  My head rolled to my chest, too heavy for my neck to support.  I closed my eyes, telling myself I would open them in just a few more seconds, and slowly surrendered myself to sleep's comforting arms.
> Act I:  Horseplay
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I could feel the sun’s bright rays behind my eyelids.  I tried screwing my eyes shut tighter to block it out, but the light was being too stubborn.  I grumbled as I rubbed my eyes and began to stretch.  When I opened my eyes, I was a little confused when I saw the wooden walls around me, but once the memories of last night flooded my mind, I was immediately gripped with terrified shock.

I shot up from my sitting position, only to hit the low ceiling and fall back down cradling my head.  I managed to crawl up to the open window to get a perfect view of the sunrise.

“Shoot,” I muttered under my breath.  I overslept horribly.  I turned my attention back to the room to gather my bearings.  My hatchet and the basket were lying scattered across the floor along with a half-eaten apple.  I tossed the fruit out the window in disgust and began packing up my belongings.

Walking out in the broad daylight put an uneasy feeling in my gut, but I had very little say in the matter.  This treehouse was still on the barn’s property, after all, and I didn't want to come across that behemoth of a pony again.  Something told me that I wouldn’t get another lucky shot if we ever crossed paths again.

I slowly rose back up to my feet, careful not to hit my head on the low ceiling again.  Sunlight poured in through the windows, making the room much easier to navigate.  I gathered my supplies, running through a quick mental checklist, and crawled back down the latter.

The main room looked much more different in the light.  Now that I could see, I was careful not to break any more of the toys that littered the ground.  A few drawn posters hung on the walls.  This place must have been some sort of hangout for some kids.  I was about to reach the door when an odd sound hit my ears.  I hesitated, my hand hovering above the handle, straining my ears in case I heard it again, and I didn't have to wait long.

It was a brief, sharp noise, lasting not even a second.  It sounded faint, but there was no mistaking what it belonged to.  I rushed to the nearest window and looked out to see a small, brown canine walking through the orchard with its muzzle to the ground.  It lifted its head up to release another bark, and two other ponies appeared behind it.  The first had an orange coat with her blonde mane and tail done in a ponytail and a stetson resting on top of her head.  The other was a large crimson pony with a short orange mane and tail.  A thick lasso was wrapped around his body.

"Ah, crud," I breathed.  "Not now."  They were getting closer to the treehouse.  It wouldn't be too long until they were upon me.

You need to escape.

"Really?" I asked in mock shock.  "I thought I was just going to sit here so we could negotiate."  A dull ache formed in the back of my head; I thought I could sense the agitation of the voice.  A small smile managed to form on my mouth despite the situation.

I glanced back out the window and weighed my options.  I doubted I could outrun the ponies, much less the dog.  If I tried to make a break for it right now, it would be a matter of minutes before I was caught.  There had to be some way to stall them long enough to get a better head start.  I turned around and scanned the room for anything useful.

There wasn't much to work with.  The whole room was practically one big mess of small toys and drawings.  My eyes fell upon a small table set across the room, and an idea flashed in my mind.  I quickly ran across the room, trading my belongings for one of the chairs, and sprinted back up to the door to wedge the chair between the door handle and the floor.  It seemed to be the right size to jam the door.  Without wasting another second, I pulled the chair back out, gathered my belongings, and noisily clattered up the latter.

I raced up to the sole window in the upstairs room.  It was small, but appeared to be just large enough for me and the chair to fit through if I curled my body up.  If memory served correctly, this window should be directly above the front door, too.  I ran the plan through my head a dozen times, gradually feeling more and more confident about myself.  I might just be able to pull this off.

A loud bark broke my train of thought.  I looked down from the window to find the dog in front of the ramp flanked by the two ponies.  Its muzzle was earthbound again, sniffing at the apple I had thrown out just moments ago.  I hid myself behind the wall, peeking my head out just enough to watch the scene play out.

"Good job, Winona," Applejack said as she trotted up to the half-eaten fruit.  "This here apple still looks fresh.  The creature must've been through here recently."

The large pony observed the apple and gave an approving nod.  "Eeyup."

"Come on, we must be hot on his trail," Applejack said, a newfound energy seeming to surge through her.  "Let's see if we can catch this varmint."  She let out a sharp whistle.  "Come on, Winona.  Time to go."  Her words were ignored, though, as the dog raced up the ramp and started clawing at the door.  The two ponies stared at it in confusion.  "Winona," Applejack called, a little louder this time.  "We need to hurry.  That trail's probably cold."  The dog responded with a loud bark and continued scratching away at the door with a small whimper.

"We're never going to find that thing at this rate," Applejack grumbled.  "It's probably gone by now."

"Unless it never left," the larger pony suggested.

A brief moment passed where they simply stared at each other, then they both carefully crept closer to the treehouse.  I pulled my head back and closed my eyes, mentally preparing myself.  I could still hear their heavy hooves hitting the ramp as they ascended.  The scratching suddenly stopped, and an eerie silence fell on the orchard.

"I'll go in first," I heard Applejack whisper.  "If it tries to jump me, I want you to rope it up."

The door creaked open, the sound deafeningly loud in the still building.  I could hear Applejack's soft, cautious footsteps underneath me.  There were a few seconds of silence where all I could hear was my racing heart.  A series of heavier footsteps soon followed.  I stole a glance out the window in time to see the large pony's scruffy orange tail enter the doorway.  I took in a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

"Sheesh, it looks like a twister went through here," Applejack commented.

"Or a monster," the other added.

"Well, with our little sister and her friends, it'd be pretty hard to tell," Applejack replied with a forced laugh.  "Do you reckon it's still here?"

I gathered up my supplies and wits, deciding that now was as good of a time as ever to make my move.  I drew my hatchet back and swung it at the window with all my might.  The blade sunk straight through, causing a spiderweb of cracks to erupt across the glass with an earsplitting shatter.  I bit into the handle of the hatchet and hugged the chair and bucket close to my chest.  I barely had time to register the loud "What in tarnation?!" from below as I rolled through the broken window.

I landed on my feet with a myriad of glass shards around me.  Without thinking, I slammed the treehouse door shut and thrust the chair underneath the door handle.  I gave two swift kicks at the chair's legs to wedge it deeper into the door and took off into the orchard.  There was a loud thud behind me, but when I craned my neck back the chair appeared to be doing its job.  There was no telling how long it would last, though, so I took as much of an advantage as the head start would allow me.

It took a few minutes of running for me to realize that I still had no idea where I was going.  This farm could have gone on for acres for all I knew, and I was probably nowhere near the edge.  There was a large hill not too far from me, and I readjusted my course to climb it.  Maybe once I reached the top I could find out where I was going.

I steadied my pace into a jog going up hill, not wanting to tire myself out.  I was beginning to sweat a little, but the cool air was helping to cool me off.  There weren't as many trees up here as the rest of the orchard, so the view was fairly clear.  Rows upon rows of trees spanned out in every direction.  Off in the distance I could see a few of the town's buildings poking out from the tree tops.  My gaze shifted to the left and saw nothing but trees; however, the trees further back didn't look anything like apple trees.  A wave of relief washed over me at the sight of the tall, dark trees.  I didn't think I would ever see the forest again.

There was a faint bark from the direction of the treehouse.  The ponies must have escaped.  I glanced down the mountain where I came from but didn't see anything.  It didn't mean much, though; they were probably still on my trail, which meant I needed to get a move on.

I raced down the hillside toward the forest.  There was a straight stretch through the trees roughly half of a mile, and a small white fence marked the end of the farm.  I steadied myself at a quick jog, keeping my eyes trained on the fence.  A countless number of trees passed by me, and I was already starting to pant about halfway through.  By the time I reached the fence, I was fighting for my own breath, but knowing that escape was right at my fingertips pumped my system with more energy.

The fence was barely half my height, making hopping it a simple task.  I stole one last glance behind me to check my pursuers' progress.  They had already reached the base of the hill and were chasing me in a dead sprint.  I crossed the small dirt path that separated the fence from the forest and gave them a cocky smile and wave before slipping through the bushes.

As I weaved through the trees and bushes I could barely contain my excitement.  I did it.  I actually did it!  The food I had gathered would probably only last me a few of days depending on how I rationed it, but even that little fact didn't faze me.  I felt invincible.  I had to fight back the laughter that was threatening to escape from my wide grin, and even then a small burst of it managed to break free every now and then.

After a few minutes of wandering around, I finally stumbled upon a trail.  It was narrower than the path I took to the town and didn't even seem remotely familiar, but I was sure that if I kept following it then something would click.  I slowed my pace down to a casual walk, thinking that there was no way the ponies would be able to catch up to me now.

A fork eventually came up in the road, both paths leading in completely opposite directions.  I stood in the middle of the intersection and looked down both ways.  They both appeared to curve in the same general direction after a while, which didn't help my case in the slightest.  I found a small, flat rock at my feet and covered one side with a thin layer of dirt.

"Heads I go left; tails I go right," I muttered to myself.  I balanced the rock on my thumb, flicked it into the air, caught it, and slapped it on my wrist.  I studied the face and shrugged.  If chance said that I was to go left, who was I to argue with her?

The trail was no different from the one I had just traveled.  I didn't know what I expected though, perhaps a large sign that would point me where I wanted to go.  After a few minutes of traveling, the trail I was on showed no signs of merging with any larger paths, and I was beginning to question if I was going the right way.  I was about to turn back around when a faint sound caught my attention.  I froze in mid-step and waited until the noise came again.

There was a heavy rustling in the bushes up ahead.  It sounded like something big was coming.  I dashed behind the nearest tree and stared in shock as a lion emerged from the bushes.  Or, so I assumed.  As it took a large, deep yawn, two monstrous, leathery wings unfolded from its sides.  It flexed it scorpion-like tail, and my eyes were glued to the large stinger at the end.

It froze in the middle of the path and sniffed at the air.  A low growl escaped from its clenched teeth, causing a chill to course up my spine.  I retreated further behind the tree as it swept its gaze in my direction, and I feared that my beating heart would give away my position.  When I managed to work up the nerve to look around the tree again, however, I couldn't find it anywhere.

My mind was going into overdrive.  That thing shouldn't exist.  It shouldn't be possible for it to exist.  Manticores belonged in stories of myth, not in reality.  Then again, neither should unicorns or dragons or pegasi.  I shook my head in disbelief.  Regardless of the details, I couldn't stay here any longer; it wasn't safe.  I still didn't know where it was, though.

A thought suddenly flashed through my head, taking most of my breath away with it.

I slowly bent down, stashing the bucket of food beneath the cover of a nearby shrub, and crawled back up to my feet.  There was a soft crunch somewhere off to the side, just barely audible in the stillness of the trees.  I could feel cold sweat racing down my back, sticking to my shirt.  My grip tightened on my hatchet, which was already getting slippery from sweat.  My eyes flickered up to the tree in front of me.  The lowest branches weren't too high up.  If I jumped they would be within arm's reach.  I tensed my legs, crouching slightly, and in one fluid motion leaped for the nearest branch.

There was a loud crash behind me.  A deafening roar resounded throughout the forest.  The moment my fingers wrapped around the branch I used my momentum to carry me to the next.  The tree shook beneath me as something struck where my foot had just been.  I cried out in shock.  By the time I had climbed the fourth branch I pressed my back against the tree and stared down.

The beast was staring at me with eyes filled with animal hunger.  It stood on its hind legs, using its front to prop itself against the tree.  A splintered stub jutted out of the tree where the lowest branch had once been.  It let out another roar, and my hands suddenly clamped over my ears.  I could feel something wet on my hands sticking them together.

The manticore slowly crawled back down on all fours.  A small wave of relief washed over me, and I allowed myself to breathe a bit more normally.  The relief suddenly morphed into dread though as the beast snapped out its two large wings.

"Ah, shoot!"  I jumped to a nearby branch and used it to swing across to the other side of the tree.  The branch I had previously occupied shattered as the hulking yellow mass of the manticore slammed against the tree.  I scurried up to the higher branches, trying to put as much distance between myself and the chaos beneath me.

The tree shuddered with the weight it was never supposed to bear.  When I looked down I saw the manticore thrashing against the branches.  There wasn't enough room for its wings to work, but it was still determined to find a way up to me.  It clawed at the tree for all it was worth, snapping branches in the process, but no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't find any purchase.

It scrambled back down to the forest floor, glaring at me with annoyed eyes.  I was busy holding onto the branch next to me for dear life.  I could still feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins.  The beast let out one last roar before it turned and walked away, its tail flicking in agitation.

I sat there for a while in shock as my senses slowly came back to me.  The first to come was a dull pain in my hands.  I glanced down to find them scratched up and covered in blood.  I must have scraped them when I was swinging across the branches earlier.  I was beginning to feel lightheaded, too; although I wasn't sure if that was from the recent attack or my height.  I rested my head against the tree's trunk until my pulse calmed back down to a steady pace and took in a deep breath.

"Alright," I said to myself after a few minutes passed.  "Let's not do that again."

As I rested on the branch I stared out through the leaves.  I realized that I had made it nearly halfway up the tree in my flight.  I could almost see over the tops of some of the others already.  A sudden curiosity took me over, and I found myself climbing further up the tree with the hatchet clamped between my teeth.  My hands screamed in pain as their raw skin had to grab onto the rough branches again, but I ignored them.  This would be better for me in the long run.

I climbed as far as the branches would allow.  The branch I stopped on was a bit too thin for my comfort, but it was holding my weight fairly well so far.  I was high enough to see over most of the forest now, but I wasn't sure if that would be enough.  A heavy breeze shook the tops of the trees, and I hung on to my tree for dear life.

"Come on," I muttered as I scanned the top of the forest.  "Where are you?"  They swayed again, and something grey poked out of the vast sea of green in the distance.  It was only a little larger than a spec, but the longer I stared at it, the wider my smile became.  "There you are," I smiled at the small tower.

My eyes lingered on it a little longer as I memorized its location.  I climbed back down as carefully as I could.  The manticore knocked many of the branches off during its frenzy, making footholds near the bottom of the tree hard to find.  I hesitated when I hit the last branch and searched the area for any signs of the beast.  It wasn't anywhere in sight, but that didn't help ease my mind.  I counted five minutes in my head before I dropped down to the earth.

I went to the shrub where I stashed my food and let out a sigh of relief.  It hadn't been touched during my absence.  I pulled it free from the shrub and was about to leave until something moved in the corner of my eye.  I whirled around on the spot to find Applejack galloping toward me.  She came to a sliding halt a few meters away.

We stood in silence, sizing each other up.  She stood alone with none of her companions in sight.  She looked the same as the last time I saw her, the only difference being the lasso that was draped across her back.  Her friend must have given it to her.

"Y'all got a lot of nerve stealin' from my barn," she accused, breaking the quiet.

"And you have a lot of nerve waking me up," I retorted.  The trail we were on was thin, but there were numerous places to hide off to the sides.  I shot a quick glance across the trail to see if there were anymore threats, but she was the only pony in sight.  If it was just her, I could probably handle the situation.  "So, where are your friends?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Don't matter," she spat.  "Ah can handle a no-good, two-bit thief myself.  Now, you're gonna return what you stole and come back with me to Ponyville.  Am Ah clear?"

"You know, it's not exactly wise to hunt someone down on your own, especially when they're armed," I pointed out, twirling the hatchet between my fingers for emphasis.  The mare didn't seem fazed, however.  "But if you want the food so bad," I added, putting the bucket down behind me, "by all means, come and get it."

The birds above us continued to sing their songs, unaware of what was unfolding beneath them.   Time seemed to slow as we stared at each other.  She whipped her tail out, and the lasso, which appeared to be tied to the end of her tail, followed as if it was an extension of her body.  I shrugged off the rope that was draped over my body, feeling liberated without its constant weight on my shoulder, and it fell to my feet with a soft thud.

She crouched down, and her tail began to rotate quickly in a tight circle, the lasso mimicking the motion until it was high in the air.  I drummed my fingers on the handle of the hatchet in anticipation.  The trail was too thin to maneuver around easily.  It would be hard to dodge her lasso, but perhaps I didn't need to.

Applejack flicked her tail, and the lasso whipped forward at frightening speeds.  I shot my left arm in the air and pulled it to my side the moment it fell over my arm.  There was a slight jerk as the rope tightened around my left wrist.  I flashed Applejack a toothy smile and lunged at her with my hatchet at the ready.  She dodged to the right as my hatchet dug into the earth, and she raced past me.  There was a sharp tug on my left hand, and before I knew it the world was sent spinning as my arm twisted me around to keep up with the rope.  I stumbled forward to keep up with the momentum as Applejack came to a sliding halt.  A knowing smile formed on her lips.

Our fight quickly became a game of tug-of-war.  We stood as far apart as the rope would allow, each trying to find some sort of leverage to gain the upper hand.  Applejack craned her neck back to grab the rope with her mouth and gave it a strong tug.  The sudden force was too much for me, and I began tripping in her direction.  She took advantage of my sudden lack of balance and went on the offensive.

In three bounds she quickly covered the distance between us.  As her forelegs touched the ground, she spun a full one-hundred eighty degrees and compacted herself to unleash what was sure to be a powerful buck.  There wasn't much time to dodge it, and I was falling straight into it, so I tried to angle myself to the side as I fell.  One of her hind legs grazed the right side of my chest.  A sharp pain flared at the contact, but it could have been much worse.

I scrambled up to my hands and knees and lunged at her as she tried to regain her balance from her attack.  I managed to pin her down to the ground and struggled to keep her in place.  She squirmed around beneath me, trying to kick at me with her legs.  Every now and then one of her hooves would make contact, but she didn't have enough force behind them to do any damage.  I flashed her a smirk, which she quickly matched with a scowl.

"Ah'll have to admit," Applejack said with a strained voice.  "You're a lot tougher than you look."

"Right back at you," I returned, struggling to keep her in place.  "Bet you're regretting coming here alone."

A faint howl filled the air, catching us both off guard.  It sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember why.  Applejack gave me a knowing smile.  "Not just yet; it looks like the cavalry has arrived."  She took in a deep breath and shouted with all she had, "We're over here!"

I quickly moved my hand to cover her mouth, but it was too late.  Her echo carried off in the trees.  A blanket of eerie silence fell upon the forest.

Another faint howl quickly sounded.  Then another, and another.  It wasn't long until the air was filled with a dozen different howls.  A wave of realization struck me, filling my veins with ice.  It had only been a couple of days since I'd heard those howls, but everything that had happened in between made me nearly forget.

It is time to leave, the voice said, cutting off my thoughts.  Finish the pony and run.

I stared back down at Applejack, whose eyes were just as wide and frightful as mine.  Before I had a chance to do anything, she grabbed onto the collar of my t-shirt with her free foreleg, and before I knew it our heads were on a collision course.  Pain erupted from the front of my skull, and stars darted in what was left of my vision.  I staggered up to my feet and back away from her, my hands were clasped around my pounding head.  Something sparked in the back of my mind.

I was already back on top of her before I realized what I was doing.  My hands snaked underneath her still-stunned body and hoisted her off the ground.  I threw her back to the earth with a primal cry, and her green eyes widened in shock as her body struck the ground.

My vision quickly began to clear up as the headache subsided to a dull throb at the front.  Applejack remained on the ground, her body splayed across the dirt and gasping for breath.  I took advantage of her stunned state and rolled her over to her side.  Her lasso was still tied to her tail, and I quickly began to wrap it around her.  She didn't offer any resistance at first, but after a few seconds passed she seemed to realize what was happening and offered a weak resistance.  It didn't matter at that point, though, as she was nearly fully restrained.  I tied the final length of the rope around her back and dragged her to the base of the tree.

"You ain't gonna get away with this," Applejack spat out as she struggled.

"I'm pretty sure I just did," I dully pointed out.  I stood back up to my full height and walked back to the bucket of food a few yards away.

"Big Macintosh'll find you!" she called out.  "And when he does —"

"I think he'll be more concerned about saving his friend," I cut her off.  I examined the contents of the bucket carefully, making sure everything was still as I left it.  "Speaking of which, just where is he and your mutt?"

"Don't matter," she retorted.

I quickly covered the distance between us and bent down to meet her.  My hand grabbed her by the jaw and forced her eyes to meet mine.  "Actually, it does matter," I snapped.  "Because as much as I would love to save my own hide, I want to make sure yours doesn't become dog chow first.  Am I clear?"

Applejack stopped struggling for a moment and studied my eyes.  Her body relaxed, but the steely look in her eyes stayed constant.  "We got separated a while back," she finally admitted.  "We heard the manticore before we saw it, but it didn't help us prepare.  It scared Winona off as Big Macintosh and Ah were wranglin' it.  Ah told him to go get her while Ah kept searchin', and it wasn't too long until you climbed outta that there tree.  He should be back any minute."

"See?  That wasn't too hard, was it?" I asked.  Appljack let out a grunt and began struggling again.  I reached for the bucket and pulled out a bright red apple.  "Now, don't take any of this personally," I started.  "But I can't have you telling your friends where I'm going."

I pried open her jaw and shoved the apple inside.  A surprised squeal escaped from her mouth, but the apple was lodged in before she could make too much commotion.  I dragged her squirming form out of the trail and rolled her onto her stomach.  "If I were you," I whispered as I leaned close to her ear, "I would be very selective about how much sound I want to make.  There's no telling how close those wolves are, and I'd rather not come back and find that you had become worm food."

She stopped struggling but whipped her head back to give me one last glare.  I hid her behind a tree, making sure her body was as concealed as possible.  Once I was satisfied with my handiwork, I made a beeline for the castle.  A small pit of guilt formed in my chest for leaving her tied up like that, especially after hearing those bone-chilling howls, but it had to be done.  Hearing the timberwolves' howl had set me on edge, and the sooner I got back to the castle, the better.  Besides, I was sure she would be alright.  After all, she said her friends weren't too far behind.  Perhaps they would stumble upon her first.

I pushed my way through the dense foliage of the forest, hugging the bucket close to my chest.  I kept my ears perked to catch any more odd sounds, but the cacophony of leaves slapping against me and soil crunching beneath my feet drowned out any other noise.

I stumbled upon another trail and allowed myself to catch my breath.  Overexerting myself wouldn't be in my best interest, especially now.  I tried to visualize a map in my head.  If I were to pace myself, I should be able to get to the river at least in about fifteen minutes.  A small sigh escaped my system.  I needed to get moving; I was ready to get some rest.

The sound of a growl behind me dashed all hopes of rest, though.

My blood froze in my veins, and my body became rigid.  A faint rustling sounded behind me.  It was close.  I turned around in time to see a brown form erupt from the bushes, and before I even had time to register it, my body was already on the run.

A loud, familiar yapping echoed through the woods as the creature chased me.  I was struggling to keep up with my feet as I ran.  The bucket of food was weighing me down, but I was too terrified to think about dropping it.  I felt something snap at my leg, and before I knew it, the earth was rushing up to meet my face.

Something clamped onto my foot, and a surprised yelp escaped me.  I could feel the sharp teeth trying to dig into my skin, but my shoe took the brunt of the damage.  I twisted my body around, expecting to find a living mass of vines and wood at my feet, but what I found was no timberwolf.  It was canine though.

"What?" I asked in disbelief, anger festering up inside of me.  Winona didn't seem to notice, though, and continued to chew away at my shoe.  "You scared the heck out of me!" I shouted.  I wrenched my foot out of its mouth and gave it a good kick to push it away.  It stumbled backward in shock and started barking through a feral snarl.  I wasn't paying it much mind, however, and I turned my back to it to think.

So, that's two of my chasers found, I thought to myself.

Where's the third? the voice finished.

There was a faint rumble in the forest, like heavy feet trampling the ground.  I didn't notice it until it was too late.  By the time I turned around, I barely had enough time to see the red pony before he plowed into me.

The world became a flurry of motion as I spiraled across the trail, only coming to a halt when my body connected with something hard.  I felt as if I had been hit by a car.  My body was sore from where it hit the tree.  It took me a moment to realize I was sprawled across the forest floor on my back.  When I tried to roll over, though, something pushed me back down on my back and pinned me to the ground.  A red stallion's face loomed over me with a disgruntled frown, and a pressure began to build on my ribs.

"Big Macintosh, I presume?" I wheezed under the weight of the red stallion's hoof.  I locked my hands around it and attempted to lift it off my chest, but it wouldn't budge.  "Something tells me there's no second guessing as to how you got your name," I added with a smile.  The pressure on my chest increased, and I winced in pain.  "Not in the mood for jokes today?"

Macintosh shot me a look, and that was all the answer I needed.  I released my grip on his hoof and held my hands up in surrender.  Without taking his eyes off of me, he addressed the dog.

"Winona, go find Applejack and bring her back," he ordered.  "He ain't gonna run off this time."  The dog let out a small whine but obeyed nonetheless and jumped into the bushes.  I tried to squirm my way out from under Macintosh's hoof again, but it was pointless.  I needed a different strategy.

"You know, if you really want Applejack here, you might want to send more than that mutt of yours," I pointed out.  "Last I saw her, she kinda had her hands tied."  I coughed as Macintosh put more of his weight on me.  If I didn't have his attention before, I definitely had it now.

"What did you do to my sister?" he growled.

"Sister?" I asked.  I supposed I should have guessed.  It made sense, after all, but that didn't stop the stakes from rising any higher.  I felt a crack somewhere in my ribs, and my vision blurred with pain.  "I didn't do anything to her.  We had a little fight in the woods.  At most I only left a few bruises on — Ack!"  I was starting to see stars where his head should have been.  I could hear a few more pops in my chest.  "Okay, okay!  Poor choice of words!" I cried out.  "I left her tied up by a tree to buy myself some time!"

"Time for what?" Macintosh pressed.

"To escape!" I spat.  "You must've heard the howls, too.  I know they're coming, and I don't want to be anywhere near those wolves when they get here."

I could see the cogs turning around inside his head as he thought.  Fighting to escape from under his weight was pointless, and now I was battling to suck in a breath.  This couldn't keep going on for long.

"You're coming with me," he finally said, lifting his hoof off of my chest.  It didn't do anything to help my breathing, though.  It felt as if something was pressing against my lungs.  I wasn't even sure if I could stand up.  "Tie yourself up, too," he ordered, waving his hoof  at the rope that was still slung across my torso.

"Are you kidding?" I asked with a faint laugh.  A small flare of pain erupted from my chest.  "I'm not going back there.  I'd rather die by you crushing me than become dog chow."

The earth seemed to shake beneath me as Macintosh stomped back up to me, and for a moment I feared that that was exactly how it would end then and there.  He put a hoof on my shoulder, pressed down, and leaned his head in close.  "Either you're coming voluntarily, or I'm gonna make you," he said.

I was about to make another retort until I saw the fire burning in his eyes.  It wasn't filled with the rage I expected, though, but with fear, the fear of losing his sister.

"Look," I sighed.  "I'm not coming with you, no matter what you say.  And you know I'll only slow you down if you make me."  I lifted a hand and pointed into the trees.  "She's in that direction.  You better hurry, though.  Her clock is ticking."

He didn't respond at first but instead searched my eyes for any sign that I was lying.  There wasn't any, though, and when he realized that, he lifted his hoof off of my shoulder.  "So help me," he warned.  "If I get there and she isn't where you said..."

"Then you're free to do whatever you want next time you catch me," I cut him off.  He hesitated one last time and drove his hoof into my shoulder.  I swore loudly as white hot pain erupted from my shoulder.  My hand shot up to grab it as if squeezing it would somehow numb the pain.  In the background, I could hear Big Macintosh thundering in the direction I had pointed.  I was alone again.

I slowly crawled back up to my feet, careful not to agitate any of my new wounds, and retrieved my hatchet and bucket from where I dropped them.  My breathing was shallow.  Every time I tried to take in a deeper breath, I felt a pain in my chest.  I had to reach the castle now if I wanted any chance of healing.

Why did you help him? the voice rang in my head as I trudged through the trees.

"What?" I asked.  The sudden question caught me off guard.  I shook my head, trying to remember it.  "He was scared of losing his sister.  I didn't want him to go through that."

Why? it persisted.

"Because I might not know what it feels like to lose someone in my family, but I know some people who might," I answered.  My thoughts drifted to my family, wondering how they must be dealing with my sudden disappearance.  "I don't care who they are," I added.  "I don't want to put them through whatever my family is going through."

The voice didn't seem to have anything to add, and I carried on the rest of my trek in silence.

The gentle sound of flowing water soon filled the air, and it wasn't much later that I broke through the trees to find the river.  A wave of relief washed over me, and I dropped to my knees before the peaceful river, dipping my hands into the water to wash the grime off.  A sharp pain shot up my arms as the torn skin of my hands rubbed against each other, but the coolness of the water seemed to numb the rest of my hands.  A dull ache pulsed through the rest of my body, begging to be soothed as well.  I felt as if I could just lay down and float wherever the current took me.

The small moment of peace had to end, though.  I still wasn't safe on this side of the water.  With much reluctance, I gathered my supplies and crossed the river.  It was difficult keeping the food above the water level, but I managed to reach the end without dropping anything in the river.  I made a mental note to find some way across the river without having to swim.  Getting soaked every time I wanted to go somewhere probably wasn't good for my health.

Like last time, it didn't take long to find the castle.  A small smile crept up on my lips at the sight of it, and it only grew the closer I got.  I pulled open the large wooden doors and made my way to the tower as if I had walked through the halls a thousand times.  I raced up the steps, stopping only when I reached the door to the throne room at the top and breathed in the autumn air.

This was it; this was my new life.  A life of sneaking off in the middle of the night and stealing food whenever needed.  I opened the doors and crossed the room to meet the ruined throne.  A life of survival.  A life where all odds were stacked against me.  I turned around and surveyed the throne room.  A life of solitude.

I sat down on the throne, my smile a fraction smaller than before.  I never really was the sociable one in my group of friends, and they used to joke about it.  Of course, I always knew they were joking and laughed with them, but I really did enjoy their company.  And now I was all by myself in a large ruined castle with no one to talk to.

I shook the thoughts out of my head.  Now wasn't the time to start thinking like that.  I was still going to search for a way back home; there was no telling what was going on with my friends thanks to my sudden disappearance, or my family for that matter.  I had to find a way back, not just for their sake, but for mine as well.  But now wasn't the time for that.  Now was the time to celebrate.

I grabbed the vial of potion Zecora had given me from the base of the throne and lifted it up in the air as to make a toast.

"Cheers.  To my new life," I announced to the empty room.  "A life of stealing under the cover of night and searching for a way home during daylight."  I took a large swig of the potion, shuddering as the sour liquid sloshed down my throat and worked its magic.

To our new life, the voice chimed in.  I eyed the bucket thoughtfully and withdrew an apple.

"And to the strange voice in my head!" I added with a smile.  "Who knows where I would be without you?"

A chuckle rang throughout my head.  A good question, indeed.

"I'm sure this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship," I said as I took a bite out of the apple.  The rest of the day was spent rationing my harvest.  Every now and then I would pull out a random vegetable from the pile and nibble away at it.  I eventually struck up a conversation with the voice in my head.  I no longer cared if I was going insane; I had someone to talk to now.

A new life...  One filled with insanity and misadventures.  I had a plan.  Now all I had to do was survive.
> Act I:  The Beast of the Everfree
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	This idea is stupid.  Why are you even doing this?

I readjusted myself in the tree to get more comfortable on the branch.  Through some of the leaves, I could see the sun rising over the forest canopy.  "Well, it's always a good idea to learn as much as you can about your enemy," I reasoned.  "So, I figured this would be the perfect time to learn what I could about the ponies."

True, but did you have to pick a tree so close to the village? the voice persisted.

"'So close to the village?  If I was any further from it, I'd practically still be in the forest," I pointed out.  In all honesty, we were both being a little overboard with our judge of distance.  I was camped out in one of the biggest trees I could find, which happened to be near the middle of a park.  I sneaked in during the middle of the night while there were few to no ponies around and camped on of the tree's higher branches up to this point.  It took a while to get comfortable, but I eventually managed to turn the hood of my jacket into a semi-soft pillow against the harsh bark.

It had been a little over a couple of weeks since my first raid on the "Apple family" barn, and on more than one occasion I returned to harvest more food.  The raids were becoming progressively easier.  I eventually memorized the path that connected the forest to the orchard.  Even as the Apple family caught on to my little act, it was still four ponies and a dog covering a large plot of land, and one of them was too old to stay up into the night.  Sneaking past them was becoming as simple as studying their guarding habits.

A nasty cough wrecked my train of thought, rattling my whole system in the process.

You aren't even in your best health, the voice accused.  If you get caught—

"I'm not going to get caught," I interjected through a hoarse voice.  The coughing had just started yesterday.  At first I thought it was nothing, but as the day drew on and the coughing became more severe, I began to worry for my health.  With no human doctors around, there was no chance of any cure to whatever I caught.  I gave another cough to clear up my throat.  "And besides, you know what my plans are if worse comes to worst."

Yes, and it was full of holes, it commented dryly.  I rolled my eyes.  The voice must have realized that the conversation was over and begrudgingly receded into the back of my head.  It never was too keen on the idea of me spying on the ponies when it first popped into my head a couple days ago, and ever since then it seemed to only become much less fond of the thought.  No matter how many times we argued about it though, I was still adamant in learning as much as I could about my new neighbors, and it must have understood that it had no power to change my mind.

A faint murmur filled the air as a few ponies began entering the park.  The ponies are coming, the voice pointed out.  Stay silent.

"I know the drill," I said annoyed.  I let out one last cough to clear my throat and sniffed back the mucus running down my nose.

Truth be told, I didn't know what I was looking for, whether it was some sort of weakness or simply to understand them.  I supposed I was really there for the benefit of my curiosity.  From my perch, I could see ponies leisurely walking through the park, some alone and some in groups, completely oblivious of my presence.  I could hear some ponies laughing next to my tree as one of them told a joke.  In the distance, some of the small ponies, foals, as I've come to know them, played games that varied from catch, tag, kite flying, and hide and seek.  It was surprising, almost unsettling, how closely they acted to humans.

As the sun reached its peak in the sky, the number of villagers began to dwindle.  I guessed even ponies had to eat lunch.  I took the moment as my cue to start eating and pulled an apple and a few poorly cut carrots out of my jacket pocket.  Truth be told, I was starting to get sick of apples, but I had little say in the matter.  So far they were the only thing I could prepare well, and even that was a stretch considering the only thing I had to wash them with was river water.  Come to think of it, poorly washed food might have actually been part of the cause of my sickness.  I stared at the carrots in my lap and the half-eaten apple in my hand.  They were all probably infecting me with who knows how many diseases, but my stomach kept arguing it was better to eat what I had than to starve.  I was going to have to pick my poison, and with a sigh I took another bite.

My whole body was tense and sore.  I had been sitting still for hours now, save for the occasional shifting.  It would have been a considerable feat before I came here.  By now, I normally would have fallen asleep, but the fear that I might be spotted at any second kept me on edge.

I started hacking again.  My dry throat was killing me, and this runny nose was clogging my airflow.

Still think this was a good idea?

I cleared my throat one last time.  "Of course..."  This time I sneezed; much louder than I would have liked, too.  "Maybe..."  A soon as I was sure that none of the ponies were looking, I chucked a useless apple core as far away as I could.

Using my hood as a sort of pillow, I rested my head against the rough bark of the tree.  I realized then how poorly camouflaged I was.  My dark blue jacket contrasted the orange and red leaves that were sprouting off of the branches.  I guessed that I was lucky that most ponies didn't look up.

I took in a deep breath.  The air was slowly starting to warm up again.  My plan was running as smoothly as I had hoped.  Everything was perfect.

"Rainbow Dash!" a loud voice shouted.

Was perfect, at least.  I shifted around on my branch in an attempt to find the source of the disturbance only to find Applejack staring rather angrily at the sky.  "Rainbow Dash, I know you're up there!"

A guilty looking blue pegasus stuck her head out of a low cloud.  "Oh, hey, Applejack," Rainbow chuckled nervously.  "Uh, what brings you here?"

"You know darn well what brings me here!  You were supposed to help me guard the farm last night from that no good, thievin' monster!"

"Oh," Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head and gave an apologetic smile.  "Was that yesterday night?"

"Yes, it was yesterday night.  And you never showed," Applejack growled.  "Now, because of your laziness, that thing made off with more of my family's food!"  I tuned out the rest of their heated argument.

"Oh, yeah..." I reminisced.  "Last night was crazy."

You almost got caught, the voice commented.

"Almost, but didn't," I pointed out.

That is beside the point, it ranted.  You're becoming too cocky and letting your guard down.  If it wasn't for us, you would have been captured a long time ago!

"Exactly!"  I winced, realizing how loud I had gotten.  "You're like my sixth sense, my own little 'early warning system'.  You always seem to know how to get out of whatever situation I get myself stuck in.  I have nothing to worry about with you in my head."

That is not part of the plan! the voice shouted.  It fell silent.  I could feel it buzzing in the back of my head, like it was in disarray.  I didn't speak a word, fearing that doing so would make the voice retreat again.  The minutes slowly ticked by.  I was beginning to think it had left me, until it added one last comment.  You're becoming too reckless, Hunter, and we cannot guarantee your survival if you keep throwing yourself into these situations.

I laid back in the tree, scatterbrained with too many thoughts.  The next few hours seemed to drag on.  The ponies weren't doing anything interesting to grab my attention.  I had nearly forgotten what I was doing here to begin with.

It was deep into the afternoon when the smaller ponies started appearing across the park.  It struck me that I hadn’t seen very many of them until now.  I couldn’t imagine why there was a sudden influx of foals.  Some of them had saddlebags over their backs, and a couple even pulled books out of theirs and began reading.  I started to wonder if these ponies had a school system.

"Can you believe Miss Cherilee is still going to do that field trip through the Everfree forest?" a  young voice spoke underneath me.  I jumped at the sudden noise and looked down to find three fillies sitting under my tree; the same three fillies I had followed to the farm.

"I know, it's crazy," the orange one, Scootaloo, said while chewing on a sandwich.  "With that monster still running around, we're going to have to be extra careful."  She gave her two friends a sinister smile.  "In fact," she added with a spooky voice, "we might just get eaten!"

"That's just crazy talk, Scootaloo," Applebloom bluntly said, unamused at the attempted scare.  "Miss Cherilee wouldn't take us through the Everfree unless she knew it was safe.  Besides, Zecora's comin' with us, and she knows that forest better than anypony."

"But what if the monster does show up?", Sweetie Belle asked nervously.

"Then Zecora'll do some of her fancy-shmancy potion stuff like she always does," Applebloom replied, waving a hoof dismissively.

Scootaloo let out a small snicker.  "Yeah, and maybe we can get Big Macintosh to help, too."

Applebloom stomped her forelegs to the ground and and glared at the pegasus.  "Are we gonna have to start this again?"

Sweetie Belle let out an annoyed groan, as if this happened on a regular basis.  "Please don't," she begged.  Her friends seemed too caught up in their own sprouting argument to hear her, though.

"I still can't believe that thing outran Big Macintosh," Scootaloo smirked.  She must've been referring to last night.

"It did not outrun him!" Applebloom exclaimed defensively.  "The monster just got a head start on him, and it was dark out."

"Oh, just admit it, Applebloom," Scootaloo lightheartedly teased.  "We all saw it.  That that thing totally creamed your brother in a race!"

Applebloom stood up on all fours, ready to defend her family's reputation.  However, before any conflict could erupt between the two, Rainbow Dash flew overhead.  She called out in a loud voice, "Attention, everypony!  Attention, everypony!  Twilight and the Mayor are holding an important meeting at Ponyville town hall!"

The ponies scattered around the park looked around in confusion and began shuffling back towards the town.  Sweetie Belle appeared more than eager to use the interruption to her advantage.  "Hey, girls, how's about we go to that meeting?"
Her friends looked at her as if she had sprouted a fifth limb.  "Ugh, a meeting?" Scootaloo asked.  "Why do you want to go to that?"

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to agree with Scoots on this one, Sweetie," Applebloom chimed.  “That sounds more boring than Miss Cheerilee's history lesson this morning.”

"Come on, you heard Rainbow Dash," Sweetie urged.  "It's really important.  It could even be about the monster!"  Appleboom and Scootaloo seemed uncertain at first, but with a quick glance at each other and a shrug, they eventually agreed.  The three fillies packed their things and took off into town.  The few ponies still in the park began heading that way as well.  It seemed everybody in Ponyville was going to that meeting; a meeting about me...


Don't even think about it.

"Too late."  I hopped off of my perch to the branches below.  I kept low as I hit the ground, searching for any stragglers.

This is exactly what we warned you about.  You are being reckless.

"No, this is exactly what I came here for," I pointed out.  After I was sure the coast was clear, I jogged to the town.  "Look, odds are this meeting is about me.  For all we know, they could have found a way to track me, or maybe they have some fancy new plan to catch me or lay a trap.  I might not have another chance like this."

To get yourself caught? the voice asked cynically.

I reached the first building and pressed myself against it.  "To get another step ahead of the ponies," I corrected.  I stole a quick glance around the corner.  The street was empty as far as I could see.  "Whether they're talking about beefing up security or discussing what they know about me, I can use it to my advantage, change my tactics, or even figure out what to look out for in the future."  I waited for the voice to pitch in it's own two cents.  It seemed hesitant for a moment, but it reluctantly agreed.

Perhaps you have a point.  In and out, though.  The moment we have what we need, we leave.

A sly smile spread across my face.  "Not a problem."  I left my cover and made my way into the town.  I stayed close to the buildings, careful to stay out of sight.  It wasn't too hard to accomplish.  The town appeared devoid of any ponies, just like when I first arrived.  It didn't bring back many fond memories, either.  The air was eventually filled with the dull murmur of a large crowd.  I followed the noise until a mass of multicolored ponies appeared around the corner of a building.

I quickly retreated back behind the building, heart racing.  There were more ponies in this town than I expected.  None of them were screaming or wreaking havoc across the streets, so I guessed that I hadn’t been spotted yet.  I took my chances and darted across the street and into a shadowed alley.  Still, the ponies didn't react.  My heart calmed down slightly, and I allowed myself a chance to relax.  I found a small gap between two buildings with a perfect view of the stage before the crowd.  The only thing left to do now was wait.

After a few minutes, a tan pony with a silver mane and half-moon spectacles appeared onstage and stood behind a wooden podium in the middle.  She cleared her throat and started to speak.

"Citizens of Ponyville, I am sure you are all wondering why I called for this emergency town meeting.  We are here to discuss an issue that has been brought to my attention by our local librarian, Miss Twilight Sparkle.  We are here to discuss the matter of the monster that appeared a few weeks ago."  There was a small moment of unrest in the crowd as the pony mentioned me, and a tension began to fill the air.  I shifted uncomfortably in the shadows.  "Miss Sparkle and I have had an interesting discussion on the topic and believe that now is the time for action.  And now, without further ado, here is Miss Twilight Sparkle."  At the end of her speech, the tan pony stepped off of the stage, allowing a nearby Twilight to take the spotlight.

"Thank you, Mayor," she nodded and turned her attention to the eager crowd before her.  A stack of papers floated next to her surrounded by a purple aura.  "As the Mayor said, we need to talk about the strange new creature that came to Ponyville over two weeks ago.  Over the past seven days, this creature has raided Sweet Apple Acres multiple times.  Each time it steals more and more and becomes better at doing it.  It has even shown to be growing bolder in its raids.  Just yesterday, it attacked Sweet Apple Acres before the sun fully set, something it has never dared before.  Who is to say that the creature will not eventually become brave enough to venture into the town again?  What will we do then, when it is right at our doorstep?"  Twilight looked expectantly at the crowd.  There was a slight murmur in the sea of ponies, but no one dared to speak up.

Twilight continued, "Nopony knows this creature's full potential. Who knows how dangerous it can get if we give it too much time. However, we were able to drive it off on its first appearance.  If we all work together, maybe we can catch it before it get’s to that point.”

The crowd lightened up at the idea. The sound of the whole town against one monster seemed to go well with them. I, on the other hand, was beginning to feel a sense of unease form in the pit of my stomach.  Twilight smiled in delight.  “I know it might seem scary, but I know we can do this if we stand together.  I propose that we go into the Everfree and —”

An uproar from the crowd cut her off before she could finish.

“Go into the Everfree?  Are you crazy?”

“Why should we go to such an unnatural place?”

“The monster will get us for sure if we go in there!”

"Everypony, calm down," Twilight tried.  The crowd was still in a frenzy.  She tried to calm them again, but they only got louder and more rowdy.  "Quiet!"  The crowd suddenly became dead silent.  "Now, let's get one thing straight," she cautiously started.  "I am not forcing anypony to go into the Everfree Forest.  I would never want to put any ponies in harm’s way.  However, I still need volunteers.  My friends and I can’t do this by ourselves.  We won’t stand a chance at catching this beast without your help.  And if we don't stop this problem soon, it could get out of hoof very fast."

The crowd was silent as Twilight watched them.  A lone hoof shot out of the crowd.  “I volunteer!”

Another rose from the far side. “Me, too!”

Twilight gleamed as the number of volunteers grew exponentially.  It seemed like nearly all of Ponyville was willing and rallying to hunt me down.

“This is perfect!" Twilight exclaimed.  "With this many volunteers, we should have the monster captured within a week!"  Cheers erupted throughout the crowd.  Twilight barked out orders as the crowd became a chaotic blur of swirling colors.  "I need everypony to get into one of three groups.  We need as many pegasi as we can to take to the skies and look out for any signs of this monster.  If any pegasus sees anything suspicious, report to Rainbow Dash.  Applejack, Big Mac, and Pinkie Pie, try and gather some ponies to defend the town while we're gone."

“Y’all can count on us Twilight!” Applejack yelled over the commotion. The scene was growing more chaotic by the second as pegasi began launching into the air.

“Right,” Twilight nodded.  She turned her attention to the rest of the crowd.  “Everypony else, we're going to the Everfree!  Use the buddy system.  Don't go anywhere by yourself.  Are we ready to catch ourselves a monster?"

The crowd erupted with a resounding “Yeah!”

I shrank deeper into the alleys.  “Oh, this isn’t good,” I muttered to myself.

What?  Are you not going to go out there and fight them? the voice asked sarcastically.

“I can go without the snarky attitude,” I hissed back.

Then we suggest you start running.

“Yeah, that sounds —”  A loud crash echoed through the alley as I backed into a metal trash can.  I was frozen in place, fearing that moving anymore would attract any more attention to my hiding spot.  The town as disturbingly quiet.  A part of me wanted to believe that the ponies had already left.

My eyes were glued on the small gap between the two buildings.  A shadow of pony cautiously emerged.  My brain screamed at my legs to move, but they were being uncooperative.  The pony stuck its head across the corner, and the moment we made eye contact it let out a scream.

“It’s the beast of the Everfree!”

I darted out of the alley and sprinted through the town.  Thundering hooves and flapping wings filled the air as the ponies gave chase.  I glanced behind me to see my odds, and didn't like what I saw.  Nearly all of the ponies from the rally were on my tail.  I could have sworn I saw pitchforks gleaming in the sunlight.  Several pegasi were flying above the bulk of the ponies.  I attempted to shake them off by taking every turn imaginable, but they were too stubborn for a few turns to throw them off.

I exited the town and entered the park.  My pursuers were catching up to me.  Now that we were out in the open, I couldn't take any sharp turns without being easily cut off.  My only hope was to make a beeline to the forest and pray that I could outrun the ponies for just a little bit longer.

The trees were so close.  I was only a few yards away when one of the pegasi dive-bombed me.  I was given a mouthful of soil as Rainbow Dash pushed me to the ground.  My hatchet fell out of my hands as I fell.  There was a loud thunder as the rest of the ponies caught up.  I felt Rainbow Dash's weight leap of me and let out a low groan.  I lifted my head, and through my dazed vision I could barely make out my hatchet lying between me and a forest of multi-colored legs.  My hand shakily reached for it, but someone in the crowd shouted something, and before I could make sense of it a pony sprinted to my hatchet, picked it up with its teeth and retreated into the crowd.

I pushed myself up to my knees and scanned my audience.  I was completely surrounded.  The ponies had made a thick ring around me, and they all seemed pretty ticked off that I paid them a surprise visit.

Still think it was a good idea to spy on the ponies?

"Can it," I snarled.  I rose from my kneeling position, and the crowd gasped when I reached my full height.  There were no visible holes or weak links in the thick ring of ponies around me.  They all seemed evenly distributed.  I took a step forward, just to test how they would react.   Many ponies backed up in fright, and regained their composition shortly after.  They were scared of me.  To them, I was a strange creature not to be trifled with.

Before I could use their fear against them, though, a lasso attached itself to one of my wrists.  The owner of the rope, Applejack, gave it a sharp tug, causing me to stumble in her direction.  Another rope swiftly latched itself onto my other wrist.  I glared at the other end of the rope at Big Macintosh, who glared right back.  The two ponies pulled in opposite directions, immobilizing me and dealing a serious amount of pain to my arms.  I struggled to free myself, but the ropes dug into my skin every time I tried to move.  The sudden realization of my situation filled my heart with dread.  I was caught.

"Well, that didn't take as long as I thought at all."  A section of the ring parted enough to allow a very smug looking Twilight through.  "Truthfully, I expected a bit more resistance."

"Sorry to disappoint," I spat.  "I'll be sure to try harder next time."

"Oh, no," Twilight scoffed.  "You're not getting away this time.  We're taking you back to  Ponyville, and we're finally going to find out just what you are."  She walked around me a few times, as if by observing she would unlock my secrets.  I could feel the tension in the air.  The crowd seemed ready to run away or lunge at me with all they had at a moment's notice.  A few foals stuck their heads out to get a better look at "the monster", but their parents quickly shooed them away.

This is degrading! the voice shouted in my head.  They stare at you as if you were a toy on display!  An animal in a zoo!  Fight back at least!  Remind them why they fear you!

I struggled against my bindings.  My sudden movement caught Applejack and Big Macintosh off guard, but they quickly came to their senses and pulled tighter on the ropes.

“You know, now that you’re out in the sunlight, you don’t actually look all that intimidating,” Twilight said bluntly.  Out of all the ponies in the crowd, she seemed to be the only one that was calm.  “No matter, though.  You have committed crimes against the town of Ponyville, and it is time you paid the price.  With a quick teleportation spell, you'll be sent to the local prison where a cell will be waiting for you until we find out what to do with you."

Her horn started glowing, and a warm sensation spread throughout my chest.  It quickly became hotter; so hot, in fact, that it felt as if a fire was raging inside of my body.  I dropped to my knees in pain and started coughing.  My heart had become a living, beating furnace, spreading the flames wherever my arteries traveled.  I desperately tried to grab at my chest as if it would quell the pain, but the ropes still had my arms outstretched.  It was unbearable.  I screamed until my lungs were too empty to vent my agony.

A brilliant white light erupted around me.  My trip through that strange tunnel weeks ago felt like a walk through a freezer compared to this.  Then, it suddenly vanished.  I collapsed onto the cold earth.  My body was smoking.  The fire had disappeared, but the pain still lingered in my chest.

"Well," I heard Twilight say in a surprised voice, "that wasn't supposed to happen..."

Do it, the voice cooed.  We know you want to.

I slowly stood back up.  The ropes that were once tied to my wrists now lay on the ground, ends smoldering as if they were burned by a fire.  My eyes locked onto the purple unicorn in front me.  The ring of ponies was completely silent.  The only noise that could be heard was the rustling leaves and my heavy breathing.

Twilight gave a nervous laugh.  "Let's try that again, shall we?"

You know you want to, the voice persisted.

Her horn began to glow again.  Fueled by rage and fear, I brought up a foot and kicked Twilight square in the face with all that I had.  An audible gasp erupted from the crowd.  The vast majority of them took several steps back while others stood frozen in shock.  All eyes were on me.

"Twilight!"  Rainbow Dash and Applejack broke from the crowd and rushed to their friend's aid.  Twilight was in a daze, but managed to slowly get back up.

"I'm fine, really," she coughed.  I could see a trickle of blood coming out of her nose though

I turned to face the ponies standing between me and the forest.  They stared at me in horror and retreated a few steps further.  My eyes locked with the mare that had my hatchet in her mouth and charged towards her.  Her eyes shrank to pinpoints as I rapidly approached, and she quickly dropped the hatchet from her mouth and sprinted out of the crowd, making a small commotion as she ran.  The rest of the ponies in front of me quickly scattered out of the way, giving me ample room to retreat, scooping up my hatchet along the way.

Over the panic I left behind me, I heard Rainbow Dash yell, “Don’t let it get away!”

Thankfully, the ponies were slow to react.  I had a few seconds of a head start before the ponies finally gave chase.  Cries of outrage sounded through the forest as I sprinted through the trees.  There was one thing these ponies didn’t seem to understand, though; they were on my turf now.

After a while of running, I diverged from the path and into the dense foliage, hoping it would provide me with cover from the ponies.  I stayed low to the earth, allowing the bushes and wild grass to hide me as the sound of my pursuers slowly dwindled.

I counted the minutes as they ticked by.  After a long silence passed throughout the trees, I carefully emerged from my hiding place, my grip tight on my hatchet.  The game had changed.  Nearly an entire town of ponies was between me and my castle.  This would definitely complicate things.

My heart was pounding in my chest so loudly that I feared it would give away my position.  I was starting to feel antsy, the slightest noise causing me to jump.  I had to find some way to sneak past the ponies and get back to the castle.  Once I got there, I could start working on building up my defenses.

As I progressed deeper into the forest, I slowly let my guard down and started using the trail.  I would cast a few glances behind me to see if I was being followed, but each glance proved my paranoia wrong.  It appeared as if I had dodged the bulk of the ponies.  I easily recognized this trail as the one I used during my raids on the Apple family farm.  I knew practically every inch of this small path from the many times I had taken it.  So it was only natural for me to be confused when a rather large obstacle came into view.

"This can't be right," I muttered to myself as I walked up to the gaping hole in the earth.  It took up most of the trails width and ran a length of roughly ten feet.  I crouched down to get a better look at it.  It looked deep enough to fit two of me, one on top of the other.  What really struck me as odd was the texture of the walls.  The dirt was smooth to the touch as if it was cut.

A sense of unease came over me as a thought came to my mind.  If somebody dug this hole, then they probably had a purpose for it.  Given its dimensions, I had a sickening feeling what it was.

I shot a glance behind me, my paranoia rising when I thought I heard a noise.  It proved to be nothing, but I didn't want to stay here any longer than I had to.  This path was the most direct route to the castle, though, and the hole was still blocking the majority of it.  I cautiously skirted around it, giving wary stares behind me.  Halfway across the pit, some of the bushes next to me began rustling.

"Gotcha!"  A mint green blur erupted from the bushes and latched onto me.  I backpedaled away from it, and before I knew it the world began spinning as I tumbled into the pit.
> Act I:  Pick my Poison
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I let out a surprised yelp as the projectile and I fell into the pit.  It was definitely a pony, a unicorn to be exact.  Its face seemed to be frozen in delight.  The bottom was coming up fast, and I had no time to maneuver myself.  I braced myself as best as I could, screwing my eyes shut.

My back took the brunt of the impact.  It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if it wasn't for the added weight of the unicorn.  The sudden stop caused our heads to collide, sending me into a daze.  The wind was knocked out of me, and I found myself forcedly trying to breathe in air.

I cracked my eye open.  A white and teal canvas covered my blurred vision.  The unicorn lifted her head up and looked at me with unfocused, golden eyes.  She had a mint green coat, and her mane was mostly a bright teal color, save for a streak of white running across the side of it.  After staring at me for a few seconds, she shrieked and scurried off of me, pummeling my torso with her hooves in the process.  I propped myself to a sitting position and watched as she tried desperately to scramble up the walls and cried out for help.

"Did y'all hear that?" a young voice asked from above.

"It sounds like it came from our trap!" an excited voice replied.

The unicorn's ears perked up.  "Help!" she cried out.  "Down here!  Please, help me!"

Three fillies poked their heads over the edge of the pit.  "I don't believe it.  Our trap worked!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"Ah, does this mean we gathered all those leaves for nothing?" a disappointed Scootaloo asked.

Applebloom's eyes lit up with excitement.  "Do ya reckon this means we got our cutie marks?"  The fillies' heads disappeared for a moment, and an audible groan was made.  The trio returned over the edge, looking a little let down.

"Hey!  Are you going to help me or what?" the unicorn demanded.

"Lyra?  What’re you doing down there?" Applebloom asked.  "This trap was made for the monster."

"I don't care!" the unicorn exclaimed, nervously trotting in place.  "Just get me out of here!"

Sweetie Belle let out a nervous chuckle.  "Well, funny thing about that.  You see, we didn't really think we were going to catch a pony, so we sorta kinda didn't really make a way out."  Lyra's jaw nearly hit the ground.

"But don't you worry.  We're gonna get some help," Applebloom smiled nervously.

Scootaloo piped up.  "Yeah, in the meantime, you can, uh —"  She disappeared for a second.  I heard some wood snap somewhere, and Scootaloo returned with a branch in her mouth.  “Yoosh thish,” she said, muffled by the branch.  She tossed it into the pit between us.

Lyra looked dumbfounded at the limb.  “A stick?  You expect me to protect myself from a monster with a stick?!”

“Don’t you worry” Applebloom quickly said.  “We’re gonna find somepony to help.  Come on, girls.”  The three fillies scampered off to who-knows-where, leaving me and Lyra to ourselves.  Lyra tried to call them back, but it didn’t seem as if they heard her.

She took in a deep breath as if to calm herself, and a golden aura encompassed the branch as it flew over to her.  Lyra turned to me, putting on a brave face, but the look in her eyes and the quaver of her voice betrayed her fear.

“Alright, you,” she snarled, attempting to intimidate me.  “You’re just gonna stay over there until my friends arrive, got it?”  I rolled my eyes and started getting up.  Lyra began shaking and put the broken limb between us.  “I-I’m warning you.  I have a stick, and I’m not afraid to use it.”  Her eyes shrank to a pinpoint as I reached my full height, and the branch swooped over and started beating me over the head.

“Hey!  What gives?” I demanded, shielding myself with my arms.  The bombardment of thin wood and leaves wasn’t hurting me in any way, but it was an annoyance nonetheless, and Lyra didn’t show any signs of stopping.  “Will you quit that?”  I grabbed floating branch and struggled with whatever was holding it in place.

The branch snapped between the opposing forces, causing me to stumble back and the golden aura to disappear.  I quickly scooped up the pieces and chucked them out of the pit before the unicorn could use them.  She backed into the far corner, staring at me with a frightened expression.  Her eyes shot behind me, and her horn began to glow again.  I glanced behind me to see a golden light flickering around my hatchet.

Stop her! the voice screamed.

Without thinking, I lunged towards Lyra, grabbed at her horn, and pinned her head to the ground.  Her horn was hot to the touch, but I refused to let go.  Lyra shrieked and tried to pull away, but she was already backed into the corner with nowhere left to go.

“I’m sorry!”she cried out.  I could feel her body shaking.  I tightened my hold on her horn and pushed it down further into the earth.  “I-I’m sorry, I won’t do it again, I swear!  J-Just don’t hurt me, please.”  Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

The sight was unsettling to look at.  I saw a yellow and pink pony cowering in her place.  I shook my head to dispel the mirage, but the guilt managed to linger.

My grip around her horn slackened slightly.  The burning sensation had left when Lyra began pleading.  I realized my fist was raised, prepared to deliver a blow if needed.  I slowly lowered it, keeping a wary eye trained on the mare, fully released her horn, and took a few steps back.  A dull pain grew in the back of my head.

What are you doing? the voice demanded as I backed away from the mare.  It could still be a threat.

A threat? I scoffed.  I focused on Lyra, who was trying to calm herself down with deep, ragged breaths.  Look at her!  What is she going to do, drown us in her tears?  I scared her half to death.  She isn't a threat to anyone.  I tore my eyes away from her, not wanting to look at the pitiful sight any longer.  This isn’t right.

Is this not what we wanted?

What we wanted?  I just want to survive this mad world; I want to go back home.  Hurting her isn’t going to help anything.  It’s not going to get us anywhere, and it doesn’t feel… right.  The voice fell silent for a moment, although I could tell it wasn’t exactly happy.  The back of my head felt as if it was burning, but I tried to ignore it.  I drummed my fingers against my side, waiting for a response.  “Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way,” I muttered under my breath.

One problem at a time, Hunter, the voice insisted.  My gaze shifted to the top of the pit as if it was led.  It wasn’t as deep as I originally thought, but the walls were still too tall for me to jump and climb out.  I rattled my brain, trying to think up some way to escape, but nothing seemed to click.

Any idea on how to get out of here? I asked, finally giving up.

Give us time, the voice snapped.  Finding a way out of your mistakes isn't always an easy feat.

I let out a heavy sigh and knocked on a nearby wall with the side of my fist.  I shot a glance behind me.  Lyra was still huddled in the corner.  She looked like she had calmed down considerably, although she kept giving me a weird look.  I wanted to ignore it, but her eyes kept boring into me.  It was driving me nuts.

“What?” I snapped.  The pony jolted at the sudden attention.

“Um… aren’t you… you’re not going to hurt me?” she asked, trying to recompose herself.

I let out a half-hearted laugh and shook my head.  “Hurt you?  I think I’m in enough hot water as it is.  Why would I want to do that?”  A sharp pain spiked in the back of my head.  I pinched my brow and tried to massage my temples to soothe it away.  “I mean,” I heard myself continue, “it’s not like you completely ruined everything I had planned by tackling me into my own grave.  And for what, some big heroic sacrifice to catch the ‘Beast of the Everfree’?”

“Hey, hold on,” Lyra said defensively.  “If you weren’t standing next to the pit, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Oh, so you’re saying it’s my fault that we’re down here?” I demanded.

We were both at our feet, voices starting to raise.

“I was just following you!” Lyra exclaimed.  “I wasn’t paying attention to why you were just staring at the ground!”

“Well maybe you should start paying more attention,” I shot back.  “None of this would have happened if you weren’t stalking me!”

Lyra jabbed a hoof in my direction accusingly.  “And if you hadn’t attacked Ponyville and started all of this, I wouldn’t have been stalking you in the first place!”

My face began heating up.  “‘Attacked’, huh?  Is that what they’re calling it?  Me stumbling around, looking for shelter, and then getting run out of town by five deranged ponies?  If anything, you attacked me like I was a rabid animal!”

My outburst must’ve thrown Lyra off; her face shifted from anger to confusion.  “Wait…  What?”

“I was running for my life!” I continued.  “If you stupid ponies would have at least tried to show an ounce of kindness instead of attacking me, I would have reacted differently.  But no.  Because of you ponies, I’ve had to isolate myself in the middle of nowhere just to keep a safe distance from everything trying to kill me.  Because of you ponies, I’m starving myself at day and have to resort to stealing my food at night.

“I mean, do you even know what it’s like?   My life was all peachy keen until a couple of weeks ago.  I never had to worry about my next meal, or how I should ration whatever scraps I managed to collect; I had a whole fridge stocked with food!  I had a stable roof over my head!  There was never a problem of rats or birds swooping by and taking off with my rations.  I never woke up and wondered if it was going to be the last morning of my life.”

My vision was blurring with water.  I leaned my back against the wall for support and collapsed to a sitting position.  Lyra stood at the other end, speechless.

“I was ripped away from my family and my home.”  The words were starting to catch in my throat.  “I am alone, and the whole world seems to be out to get me.  There’s no one I can lean to for support.  I’m lost and starving and scared for my life…  And I’m never going to see them again.”  My throat was getting sore.  I coughed again, only to succeed in making it worse.  I slouched forward as a pair of streams burned their way down the sides of my face.  When my throat began to clear up I continued talking.

“You know, today I spent the whole morning at the park in Ponyville.  Do you know what I saw?”  The mare was silent.  I took it as my cue.  “I saw you ponies...  playing around, laughing, talking to each other.”  A small laugh found its way out, but died as quickly as it came.  “And I’ve never been more jealous.  This whole morning, I kept wondering what it would have been like if that first night just happened differently.  Maybe I could have found some help.  Maybe I wouldn’t be so alone.  Maybe I could have found my way back home.  Maybe…”  I couldn’t keep going.  I buried my head into my knees, trying desperately to hold myself together.

A gentle touch patted my shoulder.  I looked up and found Lyra next to me trying to give a reassuring smile.  “Hey…  It’s going to be okay…”

Surprising even myself, I reached out and pulled her into a hug.  Her body went rigid at first, but she eventually relaxed and returned the gesture.  I must have looked pitiful crying into her mane like that, but I couldn’t help it.  My body was shaking from the torrent of bottled up emotions forcing themselves out, and she gave me a few awkward pats on the back to help me let them out.

It was hard to tell if she really cared or not, but even trying to act like it meant so much to me.  It had been so long since anything had been this close to me without trying to kill or capture me.  To be able to simply talk was relieving, even if it was only for a few minutes.

The sound of multiple hooves hitting the ground could be heard above us after a few minutes passed.  A young voice cried out, “Come on, we left ‘em over here!”  My heart sunk as the galloping sound drew closer to us.  Lyra pulled away and made her way back to the other end of the pit, her mane still stained with a few wet streaks.  I wiped my eyes and tried to recompose myself.  This may have been the end for me, but I was bound to face it with whatever dignity I could still salvage.  The hoofbeats came to a halt above us, but I couldn’t bring myself to face them.

“Pure coincidence it cannot be, for me to be led here by you three.”  The rhythmic Africanesque voice sounded all too familiar.  I looked up in surprise and sure enough found a zebra staring back down at me.  Zecora smiled as our eyes met, and I could feel my spirits begin to lift.  Maybe I wasn’t doomed after all.  She turned back to face where I assumed the three fillies were waiting.  “Thank you for bringing me here, Applebloom.  Your timing could not have been more opportune.  But now I’m afraid I must ask you to leave, if you want me to bring your friend out with ease.”

“What are ya tryin’ to say?” Applebloom demanded.  She sounded slightly hurt at Zecora’s request.

“What if something goes wrong and you need our help?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah, what if the monster escapes?” Scootaloo chimed in.  “You’ll need us to catch it again.”

“I can assure you, he will not be hard to control,” Zecora laughed.  “But right now, this isn’t the place for a trio of foals.  I appreciate your offer for a helping hoof, but there are many strange things that are still afoot.  Return to the town and wait for me there, and I will deal with the beast and the mare.”

The three fillies were still reluctant, but with a little more encouragement, they eventually left us.  Zecora returned over the edge with a content smile.

“Zecora?” I asked.  “Is that really you?

“Yes it is, my strange friend, and it appears that you are in need of a hand.”  She laughed at her own joke and managed a small chuckle out of me.

“You have no idea—”

“Hold on a minute,” Lyra interjected.  I almost forgot she was there.  “You two know each other?”

“Hardly; we ran into each other once before, but he ran off before I could ask much more,” Zecora answered.  “I told him nearly everything about me, yet still have no clue as to who he might be.”

“Hey, if you get me out of here, I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” I promised.  “Besides, I kinda owe you for that potion.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Lyra shook her head.  “Can somepony tell me what’s going on?  Just how did you two meet?”

“Look, we’ll tell you later,” I simply said.  “Let’s get out of here first.”

We had a difficult time trying to find a way out.  Zecora couldn't drag me out by herself, and I was too skeptical to allow Lyra to go first.  It's not that I didn't trust Zecora, but after what happened during our last encounter, I wasn’t too sure what was going on inside her head.  There was an argument about my cynicism, and I reluctantly let Lyra out first to help me later.

“Okay, give me a second,” I called as Lyra scampered over the edge.  “I have something we can use as a rope.”  I shrugged off my jacket and tossed it up to the waiting mares.  Zecora made a move to grab it, but Lyra stopped her.  The zebra stared at her in confusion, and Lyra simply motioned for her to move closer.  They started whispering to each other.

A sharp pain split the back of my skull.  They’re betraying you. How did you not see this coming?

My mind started racing.  No, surely not.  We had a deal.  My eyes darted across the walls of the pit, hoping to find an alternative route just in case, but had no luck.  They returned their attention to me.

“Alright, beast,” Lyra started.  She poked an accusing hoof at me.  “Spill the beans.  Who are you?  Why are you here?  Is it true you eat ponies for breakfast?  What are your plans for invading Ponyville?”

I stared blankly at her, trying to process all the question.  “W… what?”

“I apologize for this, but it is the only way,” Zecora explained.  “I hope we can continue without much dismay.  I know you are desperate for rescue, but first we require some answers from you.

“Last I saw you, you left me quite perplexed.  You were there one moment and gone the next.  Out through the door like a criminal who was caught, and when outside it was my friends you had fought.  And in your absence Twilight spun an incredible tale about your visit to Ponyville and all that entailed.  What troubles me most is when we first met, you were not the monster my friends called a threat.  All I wish is to hear your side, before who to trust I come to decide.”

“My side?” I asked.  “What do you want to know?”

“Everything, from when you first arrived here, to how you became the beast the ponies came to fear.”

My memories drifted back to that first night.  I had tried to forget a lot of it, but some of the memories were still as sharp as if they had happened yesterday.  “Well, I didn’t necessarily stumble into town,” I started.  “I was kind of chased by this weird pack of wolves…”

I carried on giving them a rough summary of my first night, starting with my family’s camping trip and ending with where Zecora first found me.  Zecora listened intently to every word I said.  Lyra, on the other hand, still appeared a little skeptical, but as my story progressed she seemed more and more unsure.  It felt good to finally talk about what had happened, to get it all off my chest.  I was very careful trying to explain holding Fluttershy hostage.  I put heavy emphasis on how I never actually intended to hurt her, that it was just a bluff to get the others away from me, but even then it still didn’t seem to settle well in their minds.

“Look, I don’t know why I’m here,” I said as I started wrapping it up.  “But I never wanted any of that to happen.  I was just trying to make it out alive.”  I turned my attention to Lyra.  “I don’t have any plans for invading Ponyville.  In fact, I’m trying to get as far away from there as I can.  I just want to get back home to my family and be done with all of this.”

Zecora nodded, still processing all I had said.  It looked as if she approved it, although that was probably just me being hopeful.  “And where were you that fateful night?” she turned to Lyra.  “Perhaps you can offer some more insight.”

The mare gave a nervous chuckle.  “Funny thing about that,” she started.  “I was actually in Canterlot at the time.  I just returned a week ago.  Bon Bon had to fill me in on what happened, and even then, she didn’t know everything.”  She paused, lost in thought.  “Come to think of it, a lot of ponies don’t really know what happened that night.  All we know is another monster came out of the Everfree during a freak storm, and Twilight and her friends saved the town again.”

“Surely you can find it in your heart to give this ‘monster’ a second start?” Zecora asked.

Lyra shot a quick glance at me and looked back at Zecora’s sincere smile.  She had a torn look on her face, and she disappeared from the edge of the pit.  I started to get a little worried.  Even Zecora looked confused at first.  Lyra returned with my jacket in tow.  She dangled it over the edge of the pit.

“Alright, beast,” she smiled.  “Let's get you out of there.”

I grabbed hold of my jacket, and the two mares gripped the other end with their teeth and pulled.  “Let’s get one thing straight first,” I said as I strained to pull myself out of the pit.  “My name isn’t ‘the Beast’ or ‘the Monster’ or ‘the Creature’.”  My hand grabbed the top of the pit, and Lyra and Zecora helped me scamper back up.  I rolled over to a sitting position as our breathing returned to normal and held out a hand.  “Name’s Hunter.  Hunter Grey.”

Lyra eyed my open palm warily, but Zecora was quick to shake it.

“So, I have to ask,” I said, turning to Lyra.  “Do you guys really think I eat ponies for breakfast?”

She blushed and tried to give me a smile.  “Well, about that…  Pinkie Pie kinda made a little jingle about you after everypony starting asking what happened.  I guess some of it was a little overdramatic, but it still kinda stuck.”  She scratched the back of her head innocently.  “It’s actually pretty catchy.  You should hear it sometime.”

“It does sounds like the pink mare to come up with a tale and set it aflare,” Zecora laughed.

“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass,” I chuckled.  I laid back on the dirt path with my feet dangling over the pit, enjoying my renewed sense of freedom.

“Wait, so does that mean you really don’t eat ponies?” Lyra asked.

“What?  No!  I couldn’t eat you even if I wanted to.  Not saying that I would want to,” I explained.  “You ponies act too much like humans.  It would feel like cannibalism or something.”

“Humans?”  Lyra and Zecora gave me an odd look, as if they were unsure how to respond.  “Is that like… an insult or something?”

I sat back up, propping myself with my arms.  “Come again?”

“You said human…”  They still had that confused look on their faces.

“Yeah, you know, human,” I gestured to myself.  The gears in her head slowly turned as Lyra finally caught onto what I was implying.  It was unsettling how long it was taking them to understand.  “Wait, have you two never seen a human before?” I asked worriedly.

“The species of Equestria are very diverse,” Zecora explained.  “But of your kind, I believe you are the first.”

“Oh.”  A pit formed in my stomach.  I had hoped that there would have been a town or a village or a tribe at very least of other people.  I started feeling a little more alone in this world.  I tried to change the topic to help get my mind off of it.  “So, this is going to sound a little odd, but…”  My voice trailed off.

“What?” Lyra asked.

I struggled to find the right way to word it.  “You’re a… um… unicorn, right?”

She blinked.  “Well, of course,” she replied.  She pointed a hoof to her head.  “Don’t you see the horn on my head?”

“No, no, I do,” I said quickly, blushing at my own stupidity.  “It’s just I didn’t know if that was what you called yourselves.”  An awkward silence filled the air.  “And the ones with wings…  They’re called pegasi?”

Zecora was trying and failing to stifle a small laugh, and Lyra gave me an odd look.  “Are you… slow in the head, or something?” she asked.

“No; I just want to make sure I’m using the right terms is all,” I defended.  It was starting to feel a little hot out here.  I glanced at Zecora, who was still struggling to contain herself.  “I’m not even going to ask.  I think I already know what the answer is.”

She grinned and nodded, seeming to have gained control of her giggling.  It was still burning the back of my head, though.  I wouldn’t want to offend her if I was wrong.

I sighed in defeat.  “Zebra?”

They both started laughing this time, and I couldn’t help but join them.  I shook my head grinning and rose to my feet.  

“Well, I think I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one day,” I smiled, throwing my jacket back on.  “I better start heading back to my little safe haven.  With most of the town out here, it’s going to be kinda tricky.  Thank you again, so much.  You two are the best.  I’ll try to lie low for a while, not cause you ponies too much grief.”  I gave them a wave and started my way to the castle.  I would have to get off the path soon to not attract more attention to myself, but for now—

“Hunter, wait!” Lyra called out.  “What if you gave us a second chance?”

I stopped and looked over my shoulder in confusion.  “What?”

“This is all just one big misunderstanding,” Lyra pointed out, “but nopony in town knows that.  To them, you’re just another scary monster that lives in the Everfree forest.  If we could show everypony who you really are and convince them to give you another chance, then maybe we can fix this whole ‘the monster in the forest is evil and needs to be destroyed’ business.”

"It is possible that Lyra is correct," Zecora pitched in.  "If you go to the town, then the ponies' thoughts might defect. Twilight told me what happened that night, and it's no wonder the ponies are in such a fright.  The only way you can hope to make amends is to go into Ponyville and make some new friends."

You’re not actually buying this drivel, are you? the voice scoffed.


“I don’t know,” I answered to both.

“Look, Twilight is still in Ponyville helping the Mayor coordinate everything,” Lyra explained.  “She’ll listen to us if we all three go together.  We can resolve all of this without dealing with an angry mob.”

They want to bring you to Twilight?  As if you do not know how that will end.

“Is something wrong, Hunter?” Lyra asked.  I noticed I was shaking slightly.

“No, I’m fine,” I gave a weak chuckle to reassure myself.  It wasn’t working.  “It’s just a really big decision, is all, and I’m a little nervous…  Are you sure it would work?”

“Well… no,” she admitted.  “But we’ll stand by your side until everypony believes you’re safe, I promise.”

They don’t even think this is going to work, and they are the ones insisting you go.  Their lives aren’t being put on the line; yours is.  Why should you take any chances?

I couldn’t think.  Lyra and Zecora seemed ready to put everything down to help me, and I had only known them for a short time.  This was the first time Lyra and I had even met, and already she trusted me.  But did I trust her?

Of course not!  Did you forget she was hunting you to begin with?

But Zecora—, I started.

What about Zecora? The voice demanded.  If we remember correctly, you stole from her and ran away like a convict.  How could she trust you?  She’s probably working for Twilight, deceiving you to let your guard down so she can bring you to her.  You and we both remember the nightmares you’ve had of that encounter.

I cringed.  I did remember those nightmares:  the darkened halls, the gore splattered on the dimly lit walls, Twilight blocking my only escape with that unnatural look in her eyes, the inhuman sounds echoing in my head.  Some bile found its way in the back of my throat.

Do you really want those dreams to become a reality?

I took a half-step back, shaking my head.

“Hunter, are you sure everything’s okay?”  Oh, the sincerity in her voice.  Could it really be lying?

Are you willing to take the chance?

“No,” I mumbled, taking another step back.

“What?” Lyra asked.

“No,” I repeated, louder this time.  “Sorry, I just…  I can’t.”  I started retreating back into the foliage lining the path.

“Hunter, come back,” Lyra pleaded.  “Everything will be fine.”

Lies! the voice erupted.  A massive headache threatened to split my skull in two.  I fell to my knees and clasped my hands on each side of my head to suppress it.  You are a criminal in that accursed town!  Twilight even said so!  You retaliated against them, stolen from them, spied on them.  Why would they accept you?  You are nothing but a monster in their eyes.  You are the Beast of the Everfree!

I could hear someone shouting over the ringing in my head.  A couple of pairs of hooves helped me back up to my feet.  Zecora and Lyra watched me carefully with worry evident in their eyes.  My body was trembling.  A rift tore my mind in two; one side telling me to go with them, and the other telling me to stay.

“Sorry,” my quavering voice managed.  “Not today.  But… someday, maybe.  Whenever everything cools down for a bit.”  I turned and walked deeper into the forest.

“Wait!” Lyra called out as she rushed up to me.  She hesitated when she had my attention.  “Just promise me something, okay?  Promise you wouldn’t hurt anypony.”

I stared into her golden eyes, and knelt down in front of her.  “I’ll never try to hurt another pony.  Promise.”

Her eyes brightened.  “Really?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” I smiled weakly.

Lyra gave me a bright grin before rejoining Zecora.  “Don’t worry, Hunter!  We’re going to get things straight!”

“We shall go into the town and tell your tale,” Zecora added with a confident smile.  “We will not back down until we prevail!”

I stood there dumbfounded as they galloped back to town.  As their footsteps echoed in the forest, I felt the corners of my lips twitch up a bit.  I shook my head in disbelief and trudged through the forest, deep in thought.  Why was I so scared to go with them?  It would have been a monumental change for me, but the thought that the outcome would be positive was preposterous considering our history.  After all, they were just two ponies against an entire town.  Well, one pony and a zebra.  There was no way they could sway all of Ponyville.

Or could they?  A genuine smile broadened across my lips.  Something sparked inside my chest that I hadn't felt in an eternity.  I felt hopeful again.  This might just play out in my favor.

That was a cute little lie you told that unicorn.

The voice's sudden comment broke my chain of thought.  “What?”

You know what we are talking about; when you said that you would never hurt another pony, it gave an unsettling chuckle.  We got a good kick out of that.

“That wasn't a lie,” I protested.  “I was being serious.”

Do not try to lie to us, the voice interjected.  We felt the rush you had when you struck Twilight down.  We know of your little habits; how you always bottle up your emotions.  We know how you snap when the tensions rise.  We know everything about you, Hunter.  We are you.

A chill ran up my spine.  The voice had never said anything like that before.  I walked silently in case it continued, but it didn’t speak for the rest of the journey.

I shook the thoughts out of my head.   My internal clock was telling me it was time to rest, and my body agreed.  My castle soon came into view, much to my pleasure.  I slowly made my way up to the throne room and surveyed its appearance, as I always did.  There was never anything  different about it than the countless other times I checked on it.  Call me paranoid.

I plopped down into the cushioned chair.  My eyelids were getting heavy.  As I slouched into a more comfortable position, the voice's last comment rang through my head.  We are you.

It was a bit disturbing, really.  I never put too much thought on the subject.  The voice always gave me advice, and I would usually follow it.  I had always assumed it came from me, but the way it said it just sounded so... wrong.

Sleep beckoned me with open arms.  My thoughts were muddied as I ever so slowly slipped away from the castle.  I threw myself into whatever crazy dream was waiting for me and silently prayed that it would be pleasant tonight.

Goodnight, Hunter.

“Goodnight…”


> Act I:  A Royal Mess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Alright.  Bow test number twelve," I announced as I readied myself to fire my makeshift bow.  I felt proud.  I had managed to gather a few branches and vines and manipulated them into a lethal weapon, sort of.  So far all of my attempts have been horrible fails, but I had a pretty good feeling about this time.

I placed the twig that was supposed to represent an arrow against the vine and aimed at the target, my water bucket.  I pulled back, and the branch bent as the tension built on the vine.  It was handling well, and I couldn't help but smile a bit.  It was going to work.

SNAP!

The bow split into two complete halves.  The upper limb flew back and slapped me in the face.  In shock, I dropped what was left of the bow's remains.  I stumbled back and massaged my face.  "That's it.  No more bows."

Oh, but you were doing so well, the voice mocked.  Perhaps if you tried again—

"Forget it," I grumbled.  "You said that seven tries ago."  I rested on a nearby rock surrounded by all of my other failed attempts at making weapons:  shattered bows, broken slingshots, chunks of tree bark made to be shields that were too bulky or too oddly cut to use properly, backup hatchets with blades either too dull or too loose to be of any use.

I fell under another coughing spell.  My sickness had become remarkably worse; so much so that my mood was being affected, too.  "This is ridiculous!" I griped.  "I practically have a bounty on me head, everything in this forest is still out to get me, and all I have to defend myself is a hatchet and some rocks!"

What about those spears you made?

I glanced tiredly towards the tree I rested said weapons on.  They weren't much to look at, just a few exceptionally long branches I found that happened to be semi-straight.  "Ah, yes.  Pointy sticks," I said dully.  "That'll help me hunt for food.  Especially considering my aim is about as straight as a curly fry."  My stomach let out a low groan at the sound of food.  "Oh, shut up," I answered irritably.  "I know you're sick of fruits and veggies."

I hung my head in defeat.  The game for my survival had changed three days ago, and I was still struggling to adapt to the new rules.  I never used lethal force against the ponies before, but I never really had to while I was in the Everfree.  But after the fiasco that happened a few days ago, ponies were bound to start flooding the forest.  If I couldn’t find a way to defend myself, I was as good as dead, but if I hurt any of them, my deal with Zecora and Lyra would be off.

Keep the spears on you, the voice recommended.  You don't have to throw them well, just look like you can.

"Yeah, I suppose that might work."  I stood up, grabbed my hatchet, and stuffed it inside of the rope belt I had recently made.  I walked over and examined one of my better spears.  It was surprisingly sturdy considering how thin it was.  I was able to fit my hand around it comfortably, and it stood just below my chin.  I wasn’t sure what type of wood it was; the trees here were still so alien from the ones I had seen back home, but it was able to take some punishment and still hold.  There was a natural bend to it, making it unlikely to be thrown well.  As good as it was, I couldn’t help but be disappointed that this was the best I could come up with so far.

"This shouldn't be this hard,” I sighed.  “Three days.  Three days to get my act together, and I've got nothing to show for it other than a migraine and a bad cough.”

Perhaps the ponies will stay away for fear of catching diseases, the voice suggested.

“Oh, hardy har har…”

I couldn't stand the sight of all of my failures anymore.  With a grunt of frustration, and a nasty cough, I left the small clearing and went for a walk through the trees.  My body wasn't taking the lack of available food very well, and I found myself losing more weight than I would have liked.  The fact that I was constantly working off whatever food I ate didn't help much either, and my recent sickness only added to the fun.  I tried to get my mind off of my declining state and enjoy the scenery.

It was actually a fairly beautiful day.  It was well past noon, and I had yet to run into any trouble with any of the wildlife or ponies, so that was a plus.  The sun was barely able to break through some of the leaves of the trees, providing some warmth against the cool breezes.  It was odd, really; the trees.  They weren't any evergreens that I knew of, but they still managed to keep their green color despite all of the others changing with the season.

This is a waste of time. You should go back to making weapons.

"Yeah, 'cause we all know how well that turned out,” I scoffed.

It was merely a suggestion.  We just do not think that it is a good idea to be wandering around the forest unprotected.

"Thanks for voicing your concern, but I'm pretty sure I'd be just as unprotected back there.  I can handle myself well enough to go for a stroll."

Really? the voice asked in a tone that was borderline mocking.  Do we need to remind you that you were easily trapped by two ponies with rope?  Or how about Twilight’s strange powers and how they seem to be able to bring you to your knees?  Even Lyra, a lone pony, managed to tackle you into that pit!  Nearly every encounter you have had with them ended with a narrow escape.

"Okay, okay, you have a point," I griped.  "Still, I've wasted too much time on those pieces of scrap.  I need to put my mind on something else for a while."

I continued walking in silence.  My only companion was a small rock I had been kicking in front of me for a while now.  The wind slowly rustled the leaves.  I paused and took in a deep, refreshing breath.  The cool air filled my lungs, rejuvenating my system.  For a moment, all of my fears, all of my troubles, just seemed to melt away at the sheer beauty of this scene.  There wasn't anything that could ruin my walk, not even the frequent coughs and the pains that came with them.

A chill coursed through me as a colder breeze swept by.  I fumbled with my jacket's zipper with numb fingers until I had completely sealed off my shirt from the wind.  That breeze carried me out of my peaceful trance and into a newer, more solemn, one.  Winter would be coming in a couple of months at most.  Each night was getting colder and colder.  With winter approaching, my days of wondering around the forest would become limited.  I needed to find a better way to keep myself warm if I wanted to survive the winter "wonderland".

You could always leave, the voice suggested.  Skirt around the town at night.  Try to find better shelter.  Look for the portal.

I staggered in my walk for a second.  "No," I answered heavily.  "Too risky.  No telling how many other villages are around, how far away they are, or whether or not they've received word of me.  I'm just going to have to wing it.  I could keep working on making a fire, maybe even try fishing for a change.  And the portal…"  I didn't know how to express it.  I wanted nothing more than to go home, but the fear of running into the timber wolves kept me at bay.  True, me risking being caught by the ponies was by no means a good alternative either, but at least then I'd still be alive, hopefully.

"I just want a bit more experience under my belt until I try going after that.  Won't help my family much if I'm dog chow on another world," I joked halfheartedly.  I gave the rock a slightly stronger kick, and it flew into the forest's tangle of bushes and grass.

I snapped back into reality as the faint sound of voices filled the air.  Someone was coming.  A small panic seized me, and I dashed into some nearby bushes for cover.

"I still can't believe she set herself up to be humiliated like that."  A cream colored mare with a mane of three shades of red was first to emerge from the dense foliage, tailed by two other brightly colored mares.  One mare with pink fur had a disgruntled look on her face as she brushed some twigs and leaves out of her long, golden mane and carefully readjusted the lily next to her ear.  The other had a much lighter hue of pink for her coat with a bouncy, lime green mane.

"I know!" the pony with a lily chimed.  "Poor Lyra.  She must have lost it."

"I just can't believe she was standing up for that… that monster," the cream colored mare continued.  "She was practically putting herself up for that kind of response."  Her friend nodded in agreement.

"Do you think she actually talked to it?"  the green haired mare asked suddenly.

Her friends paused and looked at her.  “Why does that even matter?” the second pink one asked.  “Wait, Daisy,  don’t tell us you believe her.

Daisy looked to the earth and prodded at a rock innocently.  “I don’t know,” she admitted.  “I mean, if what she said was true, then maybe the monster isn’t so bad after all.  It could’ve hurt her, but she walked off with barely a scratch.”  She looked back up to her friends with a small smile, and I felt one creep up on my face, too.

“Yeah, but she also said she was stuck in a pit with that thing, too,” the cream pony pointed out.  “And you heard what Twilight said:  that creature is dangerous.  Even she doesn’t know what all it can do.  For all we know, it probably brainwashed her with Everfree magic or something.”

My smile vanished along with Daisy’s.  “Yeah, you’re probably right.  I don’t know what I was thinking,” she said, waving a hoof dismissively.  She gave a reassuring smile and tried to change the subject.  “Hey, maybe we can still make it to the Running of the Leaves if we hurry this patrol.”

“As if,” the pink one huffed.  “Stupid monster, making us miss an important event like that.  This ‘monster patrol’ is really cutting into my schedule.  This is the worst day of my life, by far.”

“It’s okay, Lily.  I know exactly how you feel,” the cream pony said.  The trio started walking closer towards my hiding spot.  “You know what?  How’s about when all of this silly ‘monster hunting’ is over we go to the spa?  My treat!”

I accidentally stepped on an old branch trying to edge away from the ponies.  The resulting snap might as well have been a gunshot or a flare.  The three ponies stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the bush that was hiding me.  They must have seen something, considering the look on their faces.

“That sounds like a great idea, Rose,” Lily agreed.  “In fact, let’s just cut this patrol short and head over there now.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rose replied hurriedly.  “Daisy, what about you?”

Daisy chuckled nervously.  “But of course!  After you.”

With that, the three darted back the way they came.  As their hoofsteps fainted away, I rose from the bushes, silently cursing that branch.  I probably could have learned some valuable information on what was going on in town.  “Well, at least I have an idea on how Lyra’s doing on her side,” I said.

Yes.  And she doesn’t seem to be doing too well, does she? the voice remarked.

“I don’t know.  That one pony looked like she seemed interested.”

One out of three, the voice scoffed.  And you saw how quickly the others managed to change her mind.

“Give it time,” I replied.  “It’s practically two versus an entire town right now.”

Which makes the effort all the more futile.

An exasperated sigh left me.  “You and your cynicism.”

I gathered my bearings and wandered off in a random direction.  Lyra and Zecora were trying their best to tell the citizens of Ponyville that I wasn’t the bad guy.  I could only imagine how she looked standing up for me.  I wondered, well, hoped is the better term, that she managed to catch a few ponies that would actually listen to her.  It would certainly make things easier on my front.

All things considered, she seemed to be doing well for only a few days worth of work.  I chuckled at how I had so eagerly placed my life in the hands of a pony I had just met.  In retrospect, maybe it would have been a good idea to go with her and Zecora into Ponyville.  Seeing me casually walking with their friends could have alleviated some of the ponies’ fears.

Yes, and then we could have frollicked to the town where the ponies would be waiting to whisk you away to a life of sunshine and happiness, the voice mocked.  It is time you faced the facts, Hunter.  You are not now, nor will you ever be allowed in that town.  The ponies will not accept you.  You are too alien to them.  You’re in the right to try to avoid them.

I grit my teeth.  My head was pounding.  I hated to admit it, but the voice was convincing.  I sighed in defeat and massaged my pulsing temples.

My troubling thoughts brought me to a foreign area of the forest.  The green leaves were long gone, as it seemed, and were replaced by vibrant shades of gold, crimson, and orange.  I had a thought to go back to more familiar waters, but my curiosity got the better of me.  The colors were beautiful, and I had realized that I had yet to legitimately enjoy the autumnal scenery.  The colors were always my mother's favorite part of fall; she would always corral the family into going to the park to take family photos.  A part of me wondered if my family was going to carry on the tradition despite my absence.

I shook my head, trying to derail my train of thought.  I'll get back in time, I told myself.  I'll find my way back soon, and it will be like I never left.

I stumbled upon a dirt trail and mindlessly followed it.  The trees became less dense the further I walked, and the sun shone much more brightly because of it.  It felt more peaceful out here, and I felt as if I could wander out here for hours.

I realized just how long it had been since I started my walk.  My legs weren't very happy about it either.  I turned around and retraced my steps.  After a few minutes, I realized I was lost.  Horribly lost.  I was beginning to regret going further into this part of the forest instead of staying in the more familiar Everfree.  I sat down in the lush grass for a rest and tried to map out as much of this forest as I could in my head.

A faint rumbling in the distance caused me to lose my train of thought.  I could easily recognize it as the sound of hooves pounding on dirt; I had too much experience associated with that sound to think otherwise.  But why would the ponies be here of all places?  Did Daisy and her friends already manage to tell Twilight of me?  I couldn’t have been that close to Ponyville.

The sound was getting louder.  I dropped my spear and climbed a tree.  My clothes' darker colors were sharply contrasting the reds and yellows of the leaves, and I couldn't position myself any higher.  I would just have to pray that the ponies wouldn't look up.

Dozens of multicolored ponies galloped by.  As they passed, the trees started shaking and the leaves began falling off.  I cursed my bad luck.  Why did the leaves have to fall off now of all times?  I was completely exposed to the ponies below.

However, despite my sudden lack of cover, none of the ponies seemed to notice me.  Their eyes were all focused forward.  I noticed that they all had papers with numbers on their flanks.  It seemed as if they were running a marathon.

A large shadow passed over me.  I shielded my eyes as I looked up to better see the pink hot air balloon gently floating in the same direction as the runners.  Inside the basket were Pinkie Pie and Spike.  They seemed to be giving comical commentaries over the race through a rather loud megaphone.

When the last of the ponies ran by, I jumped off my perch and retrieved the spear.  I stared off in the direction the ponies ran, transfixed with conflicting thoughts.  The marathoners could very well be running away from Ponyville as much as they could be running towards it.  Nevertheless, they would have to return to the town eventually.  I bet that if I followed them, they would lead me back to the town and ergo lead me to a more familiar part of the forest.

The walk was uneventful.  The only thing that was out of the ordinary was that all the leaves had fallen fallen to the ground.  It was odd.  Not even an hour ago they were still attached to the now barren trees.

I deviated from the trail as a mass of ponies came into view.  They were all chatting amongst themselves; some cheering, some patting each other on the back.  A small part of me longed to join them.  My isolation was starting to get to me,  Just the taste of social interaction a few days ago was making me want more.  A small headache and a heavy cough derailed my thoughts, and I went back to scanning the crowd.

One pony stood out from all the others.  It wasn't simply because she was the tallest or that her pure white coat seemed to reflect the sun.  It wasn't the fact that she possessed both a horn and a pair of wings, either.  Her long, colorful mane that billowed in waves like a flag wouldn’t have made a difference.  Not even the air of power that accompanied her that made all of the smaller ponies bow down when she passed by would have made her stand out to me.  No, it was the fact that her one deep, purple eye that wasn't covered by her majestic mane was staring directly at me.

I froze.

The large pony leaned her head down, never taking her eyes off of me, and said something in Twilight's ear, who happened to be next to the regal pony.  Twilight glanced in my direction, and her eyes instantly widened as she quickly nodded.  The large pony then turned her head to two other white ponies, each bearing a pair of wings and golden armor.  A silent message was relayed, and the two armored ponies took flight and darted in my direction.

Now would be a very good time to run, the voice suggested.

I didn't have to hear it twice.  I bolted away from the pegasi, weaving through the sparsely packed trees in hopes of buying a few more seconds.  One of them slammed into the earth before me and snarled menacingly.  Before I could turn tail and run in the opposite direction, my other pursuer appeared obstructing my escape.

"Give up, creature," one of them growled.  "You're out numbered and you can't outrun us!"

I took a few steps to the side so they could both be in my line of sight.  They watched me with careful eyes and drew closer to each other, wings flared out.

“Let’s take it easy now,” I started cautiously.  “Just let me go, and I’ll get out of everybody’s hair, alright?”  They didn’t seem too keen on listening.  One of them lowered his head and pawed at the ground as if to charge.  This wasn’t going to end without a fight.  I set up my stance with my spear pointed at them in defense.  My opponents smirked, and then busted out in laughter.

“A… A stick?  You honestly think you can beat us… with a stick?” one of them howled.  His companion was doubled over trying to catch enough breath to continue laughing.

I scowled at the howling stallions.  “Oh, I’ll show you what I can do with  just a stick.”

My body went into autopilot as I lunged forward.  My grip tightened around the shaft of the spear as I swung it like a bat towards the first guard.  A sharp crack echoed in the trees as the wood broke over his head, sending him into a small daze.  I silently cursed and dropped the piece in my hands.

I covered the distance between myself and the other guard before he had a chance to react.  I clapped my hands around his head and drove my knee into his muzzle.  His head reared back from the impact, a few beads of blood trailing from him.  I swung a left hook for good measure, and he stumbled to the ground.

The first armored pegasus recovered quickly and lunged.  I sidestepped and tore him out of the air by his wing.  Something popped in my hands as he hit the cold earth, and he tumbled across the ground as I released my grip.  His wing was limp when he rolled to a stop, and I could tell he was biting back a scream.  I sprinted up to him, kicked him onto his back, and drove my fist into his exposed underside.

The world spun out of control as something collided with my side.  The second guard must have come back to his senses, and we rolled across the ground trying to get the upper hand on each other.  Hooves pounded against chests and heads as hands constricted throats and grabbed at faces.

“That is enough!”

A golden aura encased me and my opponent and separated us.  My body temperature skyrocketed as the aura flicked and tried to tug me back.  My body contorted itself in as many ways possible to channel the pain out of my system.  When it faded, I collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.  I glanced up and could see the fuzzy image of that large white pony.  She was much more opposing up close.

I tried to crawl backwards, my eyes locked onto the regal pony, and she followed closely.  Everything in me was screaming at me to run, to try and escape despite all odds, but my body was aching all over from the fight with the guards, and my legs refused to listen.  I was lucky to even be able to crawl at the moment.  My back hit a tree, and I froze.

The two pegasi scrambled between me and the tall one.  “Stay back, Your Highness!  This one’s dangerous.”  The guard froze and sheepishly turned around.  “Er, with all due respect, that is.”

I sneezed in their direction.  The guards snapped into action and pinned me against the tree.

“You dare attempt to taint our beloved princess’ health with your foul disease?” the one with the broken wing screamed.  “You shall pay for your treachery!”

He raised his hoof, but before he could strike, the princess spoke up.  “Guards, stand down.”

The two froze and whirled around.  “But, Princess—”

“No ‘buts’.  I assure you I will be quite fine,” the princess replied in a kind but firm voice.  “I have a few plans for dealing with the beast, and it requires I be alone.  Return to Ponyville and tell everypony that the situation has been resolved.”

The two guards were stunned.  “Er, yes ma’am.  At once.”  They bowed and reluctantly retreated.

The pony princess lowered her head and narrowed her eyes once we were alone.  I gulped and tried to make myself as small as I could against the tree.  Her long, sharp horn started to glow a light golden color.  I braced myself for whatever horrid torture I was about to endure.

"Are they gone?"

I cracked open an eye.  The princess no longer had her lethal horn pointed at me, but instead was staring down upon me with curiosity from a casual stance.

"Are they gone?" she asked again.

"Um, I-I..." I stuttered.

The princess smirked.  "You know, you're not doing a good job representing yourself."  I stared at the towering pony in shock.  Her small smile faded as she gave me a curious look.  "Here, allow me to start.  My name is Princess Celestia,” she began, gesturing with a hoof exaggeratedly.  “I live in a castle back at Canterlot and I am one of the co-rulers of Equestria.  Who are you?"

I was still speechless.  My mind couldn’t comprehend what was going on.

“Hmm… Both Twilight and Lyra said you could talk,” Celestia thought outloud.  “Perhaps I have the wrong creature.”

“Hunter!” I blurted out.  The princess stared at me with a slight worry.  My words were barely stumbling out.  “My name, I mean, is Hunter.  Hunter Gray.  Um, sorry about the, er, everything.  It’s just that I, um, —”

“There, there,” Celestia hushed.  “I figured I had the right…  Oh, what was the word Lyra used?  Humid?”

“Er, human,” I corrected sheepishly.

Celestia nodded.  “Right.  Well, human, Twilight has been sending me quite a few letters about you.”  I gulped.  This wasn't going to end well.

“When I came here to watch the Running of the Leaves, I had full intentions of capturing you.  However, when I came to town, one of my subjects, Lyra, tried to convince me that there was good in you.  Now, normally I would put full faith into my student, Twilight; however, Lyra did have a bit a small crowd rallied behind her and her cause.”  A faint smile found its way on my face.  Lyra was actually making a difference.  “So, I am... conflicted about what to do with you.  I could have you arrested for your crimes, or I could listen to Miss Heartstrings and her friends and give you a chance to prove your character.  Which would you rather have?”

“The, uh… the second choice would be nice,” I managed to say, still shaking in her presence.

“I thought so,” Celestia grinned as she leaned in close.  “Allow me to let you in on a little secret.  I have heard that a Miss Cherilee is going to be taking some students from the local school to the Everfree Forest for a biology lesson in exactly one week.  As I’m sure you are aware, the Everfree can be full of dangerous creatures.  I would like for you,” she directed a hoof at me, “to offer some protection.  Does that sound reasonable?”

Words were still struggling to form.  Nodding was the best I could do.

“Very good.  I will inform my subjects that you should no longer be a problem to them.  You will no longer be a problem, I trust?” she asked sternly.  I nodded my head as quickly as my neck would allow.

“Excellent,” she smiled.  “I hope to hear great things of the field trip.  Farewell, Hunter the Human.”  With that, she turned to leave.  Something was still bothering me, though.

“Wait,” I called out.  The princess halted and tilted her head towards me in curiosity.  I stood up and dusted myself off.  “Why are doing this for me?” I asked.

Celestia turned to face me.  I noticed we were roughly at eye level with each other.  “Like I said, Lyra and her followers seemed very adamant that you were not a monster in spite of what everypony else believed.  However, you did not prove her point well in that little skirmish with my guards, although I suppose we could say it was in self defense.”  She paused, trying to gauge any reaction from me.  “I am giving you this chance as a test to prove how much good is in you,” she continued.  “And, if you can keep a promise.”

“I’ll do my best,” I swore.

She gave a content nod and walked off again.

“Wait!” I called out again.  Celestia paused and glanced at me with a smile.  “Um, sorry,” I nervously chuckled.   “I’ve barely been able to survive on my own.  How am I supposed to protect a bunch of kids?  I need help.”

“I am sorry, Hunter Grey, but I cannot provide any.  You will have to do this on your own.  I will not deceive my little ponies into believing you are safe when I myself am not sure.  You must understand that the nature of this deal could be misinterpreted easily, and I cannot have you using it to cheat your way into my subject’s trust.  That being said, this agreement will only be known between you and me, or anypony else you choose to tell.”  Celestia’s horn glowed, and the shattered halves of my spear floated over to me.

“And as for the foals, I’m sure you will find a way to help them.  I have heard you can be very resourceful at times.”  She gave me a wink, snapped out her wings, and shot into the sky.

I stared blankly at the spot she once stood.  My gaze fell on the spear in my hand and shifted to my hatchet a few yards away.  Thousands of thoughts crashed through my mind.  Slowly, ever so slowly, they manifested into one great idea.  A grin split across my face.

What are you thinking, Hunter?

“Many things, my friend.  Many things.”

Wonderful...
> Act I:  The Road Less Traveled By
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sunlight broke through the forest canopy, bathing the trail with its light and the back of my neck with its warmth.  It offered a slight relief from what would have otherwise been an uncomfortably cool evening.  My eyes were trained on a map of the trail I had been walking for the past hour and a half, but my mind was distracted by the desynchronized steps between my heavy feet and the soft trotting of Zecora’s hooves next to me.  She lent me the map and agreed to help me study the trail for the school’s field trip I was going to be watching over in six days.

It had taken me a while to find her after the princess gave me my task.  I had only been to her hut once before, and that felt like a lifetime ago, back when I was still so confused about the world I had found myself in.  She was more than happy to offer a helping hand when I asked for her assistance.  She invited me into her home, and we discussed the best way for me to carry out my royal assignment.  She even made me a meal; the first decently cooked meal I had had in ages.

To keep the mood up, we decided to play something of a game to get to know each other better. We would ask each other questions, usually about our hobbies and our pasts.  Once one of us answered, it was their turn to ask a question.  I was poorly stifling my laughter as Zecora recalled one of her times in Ponyville.

“Okay, okay, back up real quick,”  I laughed.  “What happened to Twilight’s horn again?”

Zecora rolled her eyes with a smile and continued.  “After the confusion, I finished my brew, and back to the town we quickly withdrew.  It was a simple remedy to cure the foul joke, and in no time I was accepted by the pony folk.”

I was still smiling at the bizarre conditions that fell on Twilight and her friends.  They sounded too comical to be true.  A part of me wished I could’ve been there to see it for myself.

“I’ve told you my journey here and all that entailed,” she pointed out.  “Now it is your turn to tell me of the land which you hail.”

I folded the map and stuffed it back in my jacket pocket, suppressing another laugh with a large grin.  “Why do you laugh when it’s your home I inquire?” she asked with a hurt look on her face.  “We can stop playing if that is your desire.”

“No, no, it’s not that,” I hurriedly explained.  “It’s just an interesting question is all.  I’m not used to telling people about it ‘cause they already know about it.”  I thought of how to answer her question.  It was pretty broad.  She could have meant anything from my hometown to Earth as a whole.

“Well…” I started.  “I come from this town kind of in the middle of nowhere.”  I tried to the best of my ability to describe everything I could about my home, from the small town I grew up in to what I knew of my state and all the sights I’ve been to.  I gave her a brief history lesson about my country, although I was sure I missed a few key points here and there.  She was hooked on my every word, pressing for details especially when I talked about the geography.

“If all you say is indeed a fact, I can undoubtedly see why you want to go back,” Zecora smiled.  “I’ll help you return and hopefully pray that perhaps I can visit for at least a day.”

“Yeah, that would be nice,” I sighed.  “I’d love to show you some of the parks.  We have hundreds of them.  Plenty of hiking trails, too.  You could lose yourself in the forests if you wanted.  Kinda wish I went to them more.  Fewer things tried to kill me back home,” I added with a laugh.

Zecora nodded.  “Yes, despite its magnificent features, the Everfree is still home to many dangerous creatures.”

“No kidding.  Timberwolves made of actual timber, manticores that’ll make a meal out of you as soon as look at you, dragonflies that actually breathe fire,” I listed.  “It’s a wonder why Cheerilee is even thinking about taking the foals through here to begin with.”

“The path is well trodden and for the most part secure,” Zecora explained.  “And I am not the only help Miss Cheerilee procured.  An expert with animals in a field of her own.  She has tamed many beasts through sheer kindness alone.”

“Well, I hope she knows what she’s doing.”  We continued to walk in silence as questions rolled around in my head.  There were still so many things I could ask Zecora about this place, about her and the ponies.  It was impossible to choose.

“Alright, here’s one,” I started.  “Now, I have nothing against it, in fact, I think it’s pretty cool, but do you always have to speak in rhyme?”

Zecora paused.  This was the first time she had hesitated in answering a question.  She usually had a small poem ready on the spot.  I caught a small hint of glee in her eyes as she responded.

“You’re not the first to ask; don’t feel like a fool,” she answered rhythmically.  “As for your question, I cannot think of a time.”

“Aha!” I exclaimed.  I whirled around to face her.  “I knew you could speak normally!”  She gave me a knowing smile, but said nothing else as she walked past me.  Something was wrong.  I ran through what she said, and my hand nearly hit my forehead.  “Hey, rhyming off me doesn’t count,” I called as I caught up to her.

“Whatever you say, Hunter.  There is no reason to pout,” Zecora teased.

I huffed jokingly and shook my head.  We picked up our game as we continued down the dirt path.  The sun was starting to hide behind the thick wall of trees and bushes, signalling that my tour through the trail was coming to an end.  We were just about to finish our last lap when something caught my eye.

I deviated from the path to inspect the odd, blue flower.  The last few rays of sunlight managed to make it stand out from its surroundings, but even without it I couldn’t believe I had looked over it so many times.  The entire plant was blue, from the elongated stem to its flared anthers.  Its petals seemed to glow in the last few minutes of the sun.  I had never seen a flower like this before.

“Hey, Zecora, what is this?” I asked, cupping my hand beneath its petals.  The entire plant shook, dropping its pollen over my exposed hand.

Hoofsteps thundered up to me, and before I knew it a hoof swatted at my arm, causing me to drop the delicate plant.  “Stay away from that flower!” Zecora shouted.  “You know not its true power!”  I jumped at her sudden outburst and gave her an incredulous look.

“That flower was the poison joke,” she explained.  “The very same that bred trouble amongst the pony folk.  Though at times its pranks can be weak, it can be the agent of more severe things.  This plant alone can bring the strongest to their knees; the bravest adventurers cower from what it brings.  Capable of tearing one’s sanity apart, this is truly a plant after Discord’s heart.”

Poison lined her words at the end of the poem, and she glared at the plant in disgust.  I inched away from the flower.  When I looked down, I saw that my hands were still covered in its pollen, and blue polkadots were slowly starting to form.  I recalled the tale Zecora had told about Twilight and her friends, and fear gripped me like a vise.  Who knew what was going to happen to me?

Reading my mind, Zecora trotted up and inspected my hands.  “Do not worry, Hunter, there’s no need to fret.  The poison joke has not pranked you just yet,” she said, rolling my hands over with her scrutinizing eyes.  “We should return to my home, as it is already late, and I shall give you the cure that can stop the joke’s fate.”

“Thank you,” I sighed.  She led me back to her hut, and I kept my hands away from me, not wanting to spread any leftover pollen.  “Sorry about all of this,” I said as we walked through the dense greenery.  “I should have known that was the flower you were talking about earlier.”

“No need to apologize.  It was an innocent mistake,” Zecora assured.  “You are new to the Everfree, and there are still faults to make.  Most beasts are wary of the flower of blue, knowing the chaos that often ensues.  But as I said, you aren’t the first with this fate.  Luckily, the cure is simple to create.”

We broke through the last lines of bushes and found ourselves in Zecora’s front lawn.  I ducked into her house and sat patiently against the wall.  A smile found its way to my face as a sense of déjà vu came over me.  As Zecora poured ingredients into her cauldron, an idea suddenly struck me.

“Zecora, you said the other creatures stay away from this flower, right?” I asked.

She paused her stirring.  “Yes, they avoid it for fear of what will transpire.  Why do you ask, if you don’t mind my inquire?”

“What if we planted some around the path of the field trip?” I offered.  “That would help scare off a lot of the predators.”

Zecora pulled a wooden washbowl from underneath one of the many shelves and dropped it before me.  “While you are true, it would keep the large ones at bay, it would also scare the innocent animals away.  The field trip was meant to be adventurous by design, and the foals are to study the Everfree’s creatures.  If the wildlife was to be scared off and resign, their notes will be filled with simple plant features.  Besides, the poison joke would not grow so soon.  To reach its full potential would take many moons.”

She grabbed a large jug from the other side of the room, stirring the brew in the cauldron occasionally as she passed it.  She ripped the cork off of the top and allowed the water inside to flow into the washbowl.

“Alright.  What if we just gathered the pollen instead?”  Zecora gave me a confused look.  “Think about it,” I continued.  “We can get a bag full of poison joke pollen and drop some whenever there are too many predators.  It’ll scare them off, keeping the foals safe, and it will be a controlled release, so the the other critters will still be around to be studied.  It’s a win-win.”

Zecora rolled the idea in her head a few times as she dipped a ladle into the cauldron.  She poured a spoonful of its contents into the water before me.

“It is possible that plan could work out the best, but gathering the pollen would be a long and dangerous quest.”

“I still have the better part of a week,” I pointed out.  Zecora carefully pulled my jacket sleeves up, watching with a careful eye to see if the joke had spread.  I noticed that my hands were starting to feel a little numb.  “It shouldn’t take any longer than that.”

“If you are truly adamant, then take me with you, please,” she said as she led my hands into the water.  “I will take the antidote so we can be cured with ease.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” I smiled.  I watched in amazement as the spots on my arms melted off.  My fingers flexed as if they had gone stiff.  I led the water up my arms for good measure.

We spent the rest of the evening in her hut, discussing the field trip again.  Zecora claimed she had a few ideas on catching poison joke pollen.  I mentioned a couple of other thoughts I had; traps meant to ensnare or fend off any attackers.  They were elaborate, but I had a concept on where to start.

We shared a few last laughs before I decided to leave.  She offered a place to rest at her home, but I insisted.  I couldn’t explain it, but something kept tugging me back to castle at the end of the day.  We agreed to meet the next day before noon and get to work.

“Hey, I was wondering…” I started as I ducked through her front door.

Zecora stood in the doorway and looked at me expectantly.  “Yes?”

I struggled to find the words.  “Would you and Lyra like to come over to my place before the field trip?” I asked.  “Just to hang out for a while.  I haven’t really seen you two since you saved me from the pit, and I just want to show how much I appreciate all you two have done for me.”  A nervous chuckle escaped me.  She probably thought it was stupid.

“My, my, Hunter, what a wonderful proposal!” Zecora beamed.  “I’ll have to ask Lyra, but I’m sure there will be no refusal.”  My spirits started to lift with hers.  “Just tell me where it is you stay,” she continued, “and Lyra and I will head that way.”

“It’s pretty deep in the Everfree,” I explained.  “Do you know where the river is?”  She nodded enthusiastically.  “Meet me there, say, the day before the trip at sundown.  I’ll take you to my place from there.  I’ll try to clean up the best I can and set up a campfire.  You might want to bring your own food though,” I added, embarrassed.  “I’m kinda living off leftovers from my last raid a while ago.”

“No need to fear, Hunter my dear.  I can bring enough to last you the year,” Zecora offered.  “And if you are ever in need of food or more, you’re always welcome here.  I have an open door.”

“You’re too kind,” I smiled, barely containing my excitement.  This was going to be great!  I almost couldn’t wait to have them come over.  There was so much I had to do, so many things to prepare before guests arrived.  I couldn’t remember the last time I had guests come over, much less being this excited about it.

We said our farewells, and I continued to the castle, grinning from ear to ear.


<><><>


I sat patiently in a tree on the ponies’ side of the the river.  The sun had set a little over half an hour ago, and the moon rose on the opposite horizon, illuminating the river with its soft, blue light.  A part of me worried that I hadn't given Zecora specific enough directions.  After all, this river wound through a good portion of the forest.

“Hunter!” a familiar voice called out.  It didn’t take too long to remember who it belonged to.

“Lyra?” I answered.  A pony broke out of the treeline a ways down the river.  She turned her head in my direction and called again.  “I’m over here,” I shouted.  “Give me a second, and I’ll be right down.”

I stood up on the branch I was reclining on and stretched.  Lyra motioned to the trees, and three more ponies emerged.  I stopped.  My math might have been wrong, but that definitely looked like two more ponies than I invited.

Four ponies against one man, the voice noted.  Hardly a fair fight.

Nobody’s fighting, I snapped back.  My eyes flickered to the uninvited guests.  One of them was slightly larger than the others; a stallion, I noticed, as the group came closer.  Zecora tailed behind them with full saddlebags on each side and a small metal pot on her back.  Lyra and her companions had saddlebags of their own as well; although theirs were not nearly as full.  The third pony had a flashlight in her mouth and was shining it at the nearby bushes.  “Nobody’s fighting,” I repeated, more to reassure myself.

I dropped myself to the lower branches and began my descent.  The group came to a sudden stop as the tree before them started shaking.  I hung off the last branch for a second and let myself drop.  The two unfamiliar ponies screamed and hid behind Lyra as I landed before them.

“Hey, Hunter!” Lyra greeted.  “Long time, no see.”

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” I smiled.  I nodded my head towards the ponies behind her.  “Who are these two?”

The two ponies slowly stepped out from behind Lyra.  The stallion was solid blue, save for his golden eyes.  His coat was only a slightly lighter shade than his mane.

“I’m Noteworthy,” he introduced himself.  He held out a hoof, and I gave it a quick shake.  “It’s an honor to meet you.  I didn’t believe it at first when Lyra told everypony that she met you, but I went to all her meetings, and she sure painted you in a good light.”

“Nice to meet you.  Hunter Grey.”

I turned to face the other mare and found a familiar pink pony.  Her curled, light green mane bounced slightly as she looked up to my full height.  Her green eyes shrunk to pinpoints as she gave a nervous smile.

“H-Hi,” she said, shaking.  “My name is Daisy.  Sorry, I knew you were tall, but I just didn’t think you’d be this big.”

“You’re fine,” I assured her.  I turned my attention to Lyra.  “So, not to sound rude, but I kinda thought this was going to be just you, me, and Zecora.”

“I can explain,” Lyra started.  “Ponyville has kinda been on lockdown since your last visit.  Nopony really comes in or out of the Everfree without Twilight and the Mayor knowing about it.  The only way to be out here at night is to volunteer for a patrol shift.  Twilight wasn’t too keen on letting me go when I asked to for a shift tonight.  I’ve been pretty vocal about you since we last met, and she thought I would try to sabotage the patrol.  So I found two ponies who Twilight trusted and wanted to help you and kinda—”

“Sabotaged the patrol,” I finished.

“Maybe just a little bit,” she blushed, rubbing the back of her neck.

I glanced between Noteworthy and Daisy.  They looked back at me almost expectantly.  “So, you trust them?” I asked.  Lyra nodded in return.

I took a deep breath to calm my antsy nerves.  “Alright then, follow me,” I beckoned to the new ponies.  They were a little shocked that I had singled them out, but followed anyway.  Zecora and Lyra trailed behind.

“I’m so excited, I feel as if I’ll explode,” Zecora mentioned enthusiastically.  “I cannot wait to see your abode.”

“I hate to say it, but we still have a bit of a walk ahead of us,” I admitted.  I found the tree I was looking for.  It was old and dead, and a large chunk was missing out of its side.  “I was hoping to finish this before you came,” I explained.  “But unfortunately my hatchet was starting to get dull.  It looks like it ought to be tall enough to bridge the river.”  I positioned myself behind it so that I was facing the river.  “I don’t want to be a bad host, but could you two help me push it across?”

The two earth ponies shared a look between each other before joining  my side.  Together we pushed against the dead tree.  The groan of old wood echoed in the forest, and a sharp pop sounded as the tree snapped and fell into the river, creating a large splash as it did.  Its frame shuddered as it struck the other shore, and many of its branches splintered on impact, sending little pieces of wood flying.

I gingerly planted my foot on its trunk and tried to give it a shake.  It seemed sturdy enough.  I cautiously tiptoed across the new bridge, waving at my guests to follow when I made it halfway.  There were still branches reaching for the sky, but I managed to hack off any that stood in the way.

They followed close behind me as I led them to the castle.  Daisy’s flashlight lit up the path, albeit shakily.  Every time a cricket chirped or some leaves crunched she jumped and shined her light in its direction.  Luckily, I had walked this path enough times to go through blindfolded.

As the stone walls of the castle peaked through the low branches and bushes, everyone around me gasped.

“No way,” Lyra said excitedly as it came into full view.  “The Royal Castle of the Two Sisters?  You’ve been living here this whole time?”

“I guess I have,” I smiled.  “Do you guys want to check it out?”

“Do we?” Noteworthy laughed.  “Come on, let’s go!”  He broke off from the group and trotted up to the old rope bridge.  Everybody seemed eager to cross, even Daisy.

“Be careful crossing that bridge,” I warned.  “It’s not the sturdiest thing out here.  Some of the planks busted when I tried to carry some wood across.”

The bridge swayed and groaned as it supported our collective weight.  There was a missing section about halfway through where my feet had fallen through a few days ago.  It wasn’t too large for the ponies, but I stayed over it to ferry them across it.

The ponies stood in awe at the sight of the castle as we all made it across.  I couldn’t help but smile a bit.

“If you want, you can leave your bags over here,” I said pointing out the small fire pit I made for the occasion.  A tepee of branches and sticks stood in the middle, its base littered with dry leaves and grass.  Small chunks of the old castle walls encircled it to keep the fire contained when it started.  Three benches that had once been the shattered trunks of dead trees sat around the pit, making an oddly shaped triangle.

“Sorry there’s not a lot of extra room.  I was only expecting two guests,” I admitted with a blush.  “Some of us might have to share benches.”

“Hunter dear, we are not foes,” Zecora reminded me.  “We do not mind being a little close.”

She, Noteworthy, and Daisy made their way to the pit and unloaded their bags.  Noteworthy and Daisy rested their bags against the same bench and helped Zecora unload hers on another.  Her metal pot slid off her back and onto the ground with a soft ring.  She wasn’t kidding when she said she could bring food.  Her supplies nearly took up the whole bench.

“This is a nice setup you have here,” Lyra commented next to me.

“You think so?” I asked.  “I know it’s not the best, but I didn’t have a whole lot to work with.”

“It’s perfect,” she smiled.  “Thanks for inviting us.”

“Thanks for coming.  I hope this isn’t cutting into anything important.”

“Pssh, nah,” Lyra waved a hoof.  “My schedule’s been pretty free lately.  Nopony wants to hang out with the crazy, brainwashed unicorn ranting about humans.”  She gave a halfhearted laugh.

“Well, they must be crazy,” I said.  “You’re an amazing friend.  I can’t think of anyone who’s ever gone the same lengths as you to help someone they hardly know.  And these ‘humans’ sound pretty interesting.  I’d love to hear about them sometime.”

“Oh, I bet you would,” Lyra smiled with a roll of her eyes.

“Here, let me take those off you,” I said, reaching for her saddlebags.  Her horn lit up, and the buckle holding her bags in place unfastened itself.  She thanked me as I took it off her, and we walked to the last bench.

The others had finished unpacking as we arrived at the pit.  I told them that they could look around the castle for a bit while I started the fire and that I would call them once everything was ready.  “Just be careful with some of the rooms in there,” I warned.  “Some of the ceilings and walls are really weathered down.”  They excitedly trotted up to the castle’s heavy front doors, but Lyra stayed behind.

“Need any help with the fire?” she asked.

“Nah, I should be good,” I waved her off, pulling a stone out of my jacket pocket.

She eyed it curiously.  “What’s that supposed to be?”

“It’s flint,” I explained.  “I found it a while  ago while I was looking through the castle.  I read that you can start a fire if you strike it against steel, which the head of my hatchet is made of.  I gave it a try earlier and actually got a few sparks.

“It’s kind of exciting, really,” I said as I pulled out my hatchet.  “I studied so much about camping before I came here.  My family had so many plans.  I guess, in some weird way, I’m finally going to have the vacation we were supposed to have.  Just a few weeks too late, huh?” I added with a weak grin.

I held the head of the axe in my left hand and struck the top of it with the flint towards my tinder.  Lyra looked over my shoulder with a curious eye.  It took a minute, but a spark finally managed to shoot out and land in the pit.  The dried grass and flint shavings caught fire around it, and I had to restrain myself from jumping with excitement.  I carefully fanned the flame and watched as it grew.  I did it, I made a fire!

Lyra must have seen my beaming face.  “Congratulations, Hunter.  Now let’s see if we can find everypony and get this party started.”

It didn’t take too long to find them; they were all in one of the grand halls, admiring the ancient ornamentations.  I escorted them back outside, promising to show them through the rest of the castle once the fire had died down.

The fire cast a warm glow over everyone.  Zecora set up her pot above the fire and began adding ingredients after filling it with water.  Noteworthy pulled large bags of marshmallows and a handful of roasting sticks out of his saddlebags, and Daisy produced bars of chocolate and crackers to complement them.  Lyra brought juice boxes and something called daffodil sandwiches.  After noticing the flowers inside the bread, I politely refused.  The ponies struck up a conversation about their everyday lives, and I listened contently as I made sure the campfire was well fed.

“So, what’s it like where you’re from?” Daisy suddenly asked me.

I looked up from the fire and noticed everyone was staring at me eagerly.  I felt myself shrink under their eyes.  “Oh, it’s nothing too special, really,” I waved dismissively.

“Baloney, Hunter.  You do no justice to your land,” Zecora accused.  “When you explained it to me it sounded quite grand.  Hills and valleys, forests and rivers; the imagery alone excites me with shivers.”

“Well, there’s a little more than that,” I pointed out.  “We’ve got a lot of cities and towns, too.  That’s where humans normally live.  But I rarely traveled outside of my own state except for vacations to the beach, and even then, I wasn’t really paying much attention during the trips.”

“Tell us what you know then,” Lyra pressed.  “Surely you have some stories about your home.”

“I don’t know.  I wasn’t really all that adventurous,” I admitted.  Everybody kept egging me on to talk more.  I held up my hands to calm them down.  “Alright, alright,” I smiled.  “I guess I have a few good ones.”


<><><>


The air was filled with howling laughter from my audience.  Hours had passed from storytelling from both sides.  I stood up from the bench and started reenacting a moment from one of mine.

“So, there I was, flailing my arms around like a complete maniac, trying my hardest to just stop.  My classmates are scrambling out of the way, trying to not get plowed over by the class nerd.  My friends are already practically on the other side of the rink, my stomach hits the railing, and I double over and fall headfirst to the concrete foundation a good four or five feet down.”

The laughter died as everybody gave an audible wince.  “That had to have hurt,” Daisy commented.

I shrugged.  “I wouldn’t know.  I was out cold the moment my head hit the ground.  Luckily I missed all the machinery and cables used to keep the rink frozen.  I’ll never forget how I woke up though.

“I kept hearing this guy asking, ‘Hey, kid, are you alright?’  When I finally came to, I told him I was fine.  And he said, ‘Good to hear.  I saw you flip over the rails about fifteen minutes ago, but you never came back up.  Just wanted to make sure you’re alright.’”

Their jaws dropped.  “Fifteen minutes?” Lyra echoed.

“Oh yeah,” I nodded.  I sat back down on the bench next to her.  “And the best part is, he left me to pick myself up.  Took me a few minutes to get out of there.  Never went ice skating again after that.”

“That was one heck of a story,” Noteworthy said, chuckling in disbelief.  He pulled another marshmallow out of his bag, stuck it on his stick, and held it over the crackling fire.

“So you’ve never tried skating since then?” Daisy asked.  “How long ago was that?”

“It was a pretty good while,” I replied, struggling to remember.  “I want to say about ten years ago, give or take.  And I gave rollerskating a shot a few months ago actually.  But according to my friends, I have the grace of a cross-eyed, newborn giraffe whenever I’m on those deathtraps.”

“You are indeed a stallion of many talents,” Zecora laughed.  “But it sounds as if you still need to work on your balance.”

I shrugged innocently and picked up my bowl of soup.  With a few gulps it was emptied again, and I went to refill it.  Noteworthy and Daisy had branched off to their own conversation, and Zecora began singing softly in a language I didn’t understand.

As I went to sit back down, a couple of juice boxed floated out of Lyra’s bag.  One of them hovered up to me as if to offer itself, and when I touched it the golden aura around it flickered off as it fell in my hand.  I turned the little box in my hand, curious about how she managed to make them fly up to me like that, and Lyra started giggling next to me.

“What’s so funny?” I asked with a smile.

“Oh, nothing,” she answered, waving a hoof dismissively.  “It’s just nice to see you happy.  Zecora told me how hard you two have been working.  I bet it’s nice to be able to finally relax for a while.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” I explained.  I tore the straw off of the side and pierced the top of the box.  “Tonight’s been great.  We’ll definitely have to do this again sometime.”

“Maybe we can soon,” Lyra said hopefully.  “If everything goes well tomorrow, Princess Celestia might agree to help.  And if you get her approval, then a lot of ponies in Ponyville oughta warm up to you.”

“You think so?”

“I know so,” she beamed.

I took a sip out of the box, which nearly drained all of it, and paused as a solemn thought surfaced.  “What if things don’t go well?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about it.  You’ll do fine,” she assured.  “Miss Cheerilee recruited me yesterday to help with the field trip.  She’s been on the fence about you lately.  She isn’t sure whether to listen to me or Twilight.  But she figured that if you ever show up, I’d have the best chance to keep you calm and away from the foals.”  She nudged my side with her hoof.  “So, I’ll have your back the whole time.”

It was comforting to see her so confident.  She made me feel like the field trip would go by like a breeze.  I was lucky to have a friend like her.

I stopped and looked around the campfire at all the ponies that showed up.  Noteworthy and Daisy laughed as they shared another joke and made some s’mores.  Complete strangers who have only heard about me, and despite what all the other ponies thought of me, they still wanted to help.  Zecora gave me a content smile as she continued to sing.  She was the first one to offer a helping hand without question.  She healed me, fed me, more than anybody else has out of the kindness of her heart, and she asked for nothing in return.  Lyra sat next to me sipping at her juice.  We may have been at each other’s throats when we first met, but we’ve made a lot of progress since then.  A part of me liked to think we bonded a bit because of it.

A smile crept up on my face as I took it all in.  I realized I had made four new friends in this world.  Everything felt so right.  For a moment, I started to feel like I actually belonged here.

“Hey, Hunter,” Lyra called, breaking my train of thought.  “Whatcha smiling about?  Remember another story?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted with a content sigh.  “I guess I’m just enjoying the moment.”

The party continued for another hour.  As the fire began to die and fade, so did everyone’s energy.  Yawns were becoming more and more contagious around the fire pit, and it wasn’t long before Daisy started to doze in and out of sleep.

Noteworthy recommended that they started making their way back to town, pointing out that they were technically still on patrol and had to check in soon.  I offered to escort them back, but Lyra shook her head.  She said that the walk back would help wake them up and that the last thing we needed was for somebody to see me and set everything back to square one.

It kind of hurt to see them all leave.  We were having such a great time.  I knew the chances were slim, but I really wanted to do this again sometime.  I would just have to do my best on the field trip.

I made sure the fire was fully out and made my way to the throne room.  This place suddenly felt much more empty than it used to.  My fingers brushed against the cold, stone walls as I ascended the staircase.  My throne sat patiently at the other side of the room.

Just one more day, I thought to myself as I reclined against the ancient chair.  Just one more day, and everything will change for the better.

And if it doesn't? The voice asked unexpectedly, almost making me jump.

“It will.” I replied, closing my eyes to get some much needed rest. There was a brief silence in my head before the voice uttered one last response for the night.

… We’ll see.

> Act I:  From Hunter to Shepherd
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I met up with Zecora the next morning on my way to the forest entrance.  We reviewed as many details as we could about the upcoming field trip.  She seemed a little uneasy when my coughing kept cutting her off.

“Perhaps you should not watch over us, friend,” she suggested.  “You do not look as if you’ll see to the end.”

I paused to clear my throat again, leaning on one of the larger homemade spears I had brought for support.  Two more were slung across my back, the blunt ends dangling low on my right side.  It had taken a while to make an effective sling for them.  My rope was too thick to tie around them, so I wound up using some sturdy vines.  There was enough slack for me to fit it over my chest, but it was tight enough so that it wouldn’t swing around and snag as I carried them.

 “Don’t worry about me,” I waved her off.  “It just started this morning; I’ll be just fine.  Besides, if all goes according to plan, I shouldn’t have too much to do.”

Zecora didn’t seem reassured, but she allowed me to follow anyways.  As the forest entrance came up, I let her go ahead of me to join the mass of ponies stationed at the front.

There was a decent sized crowd standing around.  The number of older ponies nearly doubled that of the foals.  I assumed they were the parents.  The foals were playing, each bearing a miniature saddle bag on their backs.  The adults were chatting amongst themselves as they watched their children horsing around.  Zecora met up with Lyra and a magenta pony I hadn’t seen before.  I figured she must have been Miss Cheerilee.

After a few minutes, the foals waved goodbye to their families and followed Miss Cheerilee to the edge of the forest.  I retreated deeper into the foliage, but before I completely hid myself away, I noticed a yellow and pink pegasus standing in the crowd of foals.  A guilty pit formed in my chest.

“Oh, no,” I breathed.  “Not her.”

“Alright, class, gather around,” Cheerilee called in a cheery tone.  The foals congregated around her and waited attentively for instructions.  Lyra, Zecora, and Fluttershy were taking a headcount.  “Does everypony have their pencils and paper?”

The class hurriedly got out the items and proudly displayed them to the teacher.

“Good!  Now remember fillies and colts, the point of this field trip is to survey some of the unique flora and fauna of the Everfree Forest.  Your assignment is to choose something you find today and write an essay based on your observations.  Are there any questions?”

A brave orange unicorn with a short teal mane raised his hoof.

“Yes, Snails?”

“Uh, what’s flora and fauna?” he asked sheepishly.

“That is an excellent question, Snails,” Cheerilee smiled.  “Flora and fauna are the plants and animals that inhabit a specific ecosystem.  In laypony’s terms, they are the things that live in an area.  For your assignment, you can choose anything from the unique flowers and squirrels to the more dangerous subjects such as bears and poison joke.  Fluttershy and Zecora will be more than happy to lend a helping hoof if you need it.”  The mentioned mares nodded in agreement.  “Any other questions?”

“Oh!  Oh!  Me me me!” Scootaloo shouted as she frantically tried to get her teacher’s attention.  “Pick me!”

“Yes, Scootaloo?”

“Does that mean we can do it on the Beast of the Everfree?” the filly asked with a bright smile.

Cheerilee hesitated.  “Well, I suppose if we see it, then that would be alright…”

Scootaloo jumped in the air.  “Yes!  I call dibs!”  A few disappointed groans sounded from the group.

“However,” Cheerilee interrupted.  “I don’t think we will be seeing it.  Nopony has seen or heard from the monster lately, and Twilight gave me explicit instructions on what we are to do if we run into it.  We are to end the trip and come back.”  The foals groaned at the news, and their teacher seemed to crack.  “But… I guess if the monster is far enough away, then maybe we won’t have to cancel it.  Any last questions before we leave?”

The answer seemed to satisfy many of the students.  After Miss Cheerilee made sure there were no more questions left, they set off.  I slung my spear across my back and followed close behind.

An hour passed by.  The school was slowly trodding the path.  Zecora helped identify some of the plants, Fluttershy showed some of the foals the wildlife from squirrels to birds, and Cheerilee and Lyra made sure no one was being left behind.  Some of the foals had already chosen their research topics.  Others were waiting for something a bit more interesting to write about.

I stayed mostly in the trees, using the canopy’s network of branches where I could to keep a bird’s eye  view of the situation.  The dense, dark green leaves helped camouflage me from the foals’ curious eyes.  Everything was running smoothly.  I only had to drop a couple of the pouches filled with poison joke from my waist to some unsuspecting predators to shoo them away.

I almost looked over one.  It’s wooden body seemed to meld with the roots of the tree I was in.  It wasn’t until the timberwolf shifted that I realized what it was.  I hurled a pouch at its head, at it erupted in a puff of blue smoke.  The wolf whined, scratching at its muzzle.  It looked up and glared at me with sickly yellow eyes before scampering off to wherever it came from.  A chill ran up my body as an aftereffect of its stare.  A part of me doubted I would ever get used to that.  I made sure to keep a watchful eye out in case any more were lurking.

After another hour, the group entered a more open area of the trail, and a deep rumble emitted from behind the trees, and a large bush shuddered.  A manticore emerged, snarling at the children with bared teeth.  A chill fell over me as I recognized it as one of the more territorial beasts Zecora and I had encountered.

I rushed through the branches to my nearest trap, making sure the manticore was lined up.  My hatchet found its way to a tensed vine.  If that beast made one false move, so much as twitched in a way I didn’t like, I would sever the vine holding a horizontal log in the air, causing it to swing down and sweep the beast out of sight.  My body tensed up in anticipation.

And Fluttershy calmly floated to the manticore, as if unaware of the danger.

“What is she doing?” I hissed.  “She’s going to get herself killed!”

She was directly in my trap’s effective range.  If I triggered it, I’d be putting her life at risk again.  I slowly moved my hatchet from the vine.  For her sake, I hoped Fluttershy knew what she was doing.

“Hush now, it’s okay,” she cooed to the beast.  “We’re on a school trip.  Would you mind if some of us took a look at you?  I’m sure there are many foals here would love to write a paper about such a large and majestic creature like you.”  She gave it an innocent look that could’ve melted a heart of stone.  The manticore looked hesitant, but it nodded in agreement.  My mouth hung open in shock.  Did I really just see what I think I just saw?

“Thank you very much,” Fluttershy smiled.  She stroked at the monster’s mane and turned to the school, who was just as surprised as I was.  “Did anypony want to write about the manticore?”  A pair of hooves shot up; one from the tall, orange colt from before, and the other from a short, teal colt.  They looked like exact opposites of each other.

They hesitantly approached the manticore, which seemed equally wary.  With Fluttershy’s assistance, the two studied the creature, taking notes, drawing pictures, and stroking its fur occasionally.

Well, that was anticlimactic, the voice mused.

I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding in.  “I’m just glad they’re okay.”  After taking another look at the manticore to reassure myself, I climbed down the back of the tree and decided to scout the area up ahead.  It was going to take some time for those two unicorns to collect their information, so I figured it would give me some time to think.

What Fluttershy did was absolutely amazing.  I had never seen a manticore so friendly before.  Whenever I ran into one, it always snarled and threatened to give me a new haircut.  I could see why Cheerilee wanted her to come along.

The foals appeared much more calm with the manticore before I had left.  The fact that some of the foals were actually willing to approach it after everyone was ready to run back to town baffled me.  Fluttershy must have truly been an expert.  If she was able to convince everyone to stay for the manticore… would it be too farfetched that she could help me, too?

“Cool!”

I snapped back to reality and found myself in the middle of the dirt trail.  My body was paralyzed, panicking that I had been spotted.  I slowly turned around and found that my fears were true.

Standing a small ways down the trail was Scootaloo.  Her eyes were wide with excitement, and she quickly pulled out a pencil and notebook.  “Just stand still for a moment,” she muttered under her breath.

I bolted in the other direction.

“Wait!  I wasn’t done yet!” she screamed.  The faint pitter-patter of her tiny hooves was barely audible to my rapid stomping.  I made a sudden sharp turn into the trees and continued running.  Scootaloo's shouts were beginning to fade, and she was nowhere in sight, so I figured I had lost her.

I slowed down to a halt and doubled over, coughing up whatever was clogging my airflow.  My breathing returned to normal.  My heart, however, was still beating like mad.  It took a few seconds to calm myself back down.

“That was too close for comfort,” I muttered under my breath.

We agree.  It was unwise of you to wander like that.

“I didn’t mean to,” I tried to defend myself.  “It’s just that—”

A shrill shriek cut me off.  I shot back up.  My heartbeat spiked again.  I searched wildly for the source.  It sounded like it came from behind me, back where I left the school of foals.

“Scootaloo, don’t move!” a young voice cried.

Scootaloo’s shaky voice was quick to reply, “Why the hay would I?!”

I swore and made to move, but a migraine stopped me in my tracks.  We know what you’re thinking, Hunter, the voice said in a disapproving tone.  Let the ponies solve the ponies’ problems.  There’s no reason to make a scene.

“What did I come here for if not to watch over the foals?” I argued back.  I tried to shake the pain away and trudged forward.  “With our luck she’s probably just stuck in one of those briars off the path.”

I arrived back to where I had left the foals, careful to stay behind the trees.  Scootaloo’s orange coat eventually appeared between the green bushes and grass.  I crept closer to see what the problem was.

Scootaloo was sitting down, shaking horribly with her eyes sealed tight.  A few steps closer revealed the rest of the foals further away, shielding their eyes from the filly’s direction.  I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.  Then I heard a chicken’s clucking.

Between the two parties was something I had never seen in my life.  It had the general build of a chicken, but only the head truly resembled the bird.  The rest of the body was covered in green scales, giving it a strange, dragonesque resemblance.

“Somepony get Fluttershy!” Miss Cheerilee demanded.  “Tell her we have a cocktrice!”

Cockatrice…  I remembered Zecora warning me about them.  We hadn’t seen one when we made our rounds through this section of the trail, but if what I remembered was right, then Scootaloo was in deep trouble.

The monstrosity was circling around the poor filly, trying to get her to open her eyes.  I had to do something, but I didn’t have any traps set up here.  Sweat started dripping off of me.  What was I going to do?  There was no way Fluttershy was going to make it in time!

Don’t do it, Hunter, the voice warned.  You’ll be putting yourself in danger.

At that moment, I didn’t care.  Scootaloo needed help, and she needed it now.

I burst out of the bushes.  Scootaloo and the cockatrice were directly in front of me.  The audience of ponies was to my left with most of their eyes still shielded.  The cockatrice was too focused on Scootaloo to pay any lick of attention to me.  I covered the gap between us and kicked it like a ball into the bushes and trees.

As it flew squawking into the forest, I hoisted Scootaloo into my arms and hurried her to her classmates.  Her eyes snapped open, trying to find out what was happening, and she was more than surprised to see me.

“M-M-M-Monster!” she squealed.  She kicked around in my arms, striking my chest and making it near impossible to carry her.  I dumped her on the ground before I could even make it to the crowd, who was staring at me in pure horror as I thundered closer to them.  Scootaloo gave me one last accidental kick to the stomach as she fell and scurried off behind the school.

I wheezed as I doubled over and fell to my knees.  The ponies cautiously backed up.

We told you they would never accept you.  A migraine ignited in the back of my head.  You are a monster to them, nothing more, nothing less.  I glanced up to the ponies and found Cheerilee standing her ground between me and her foals.  She held out a protective hoof to keep them back, but even she was shaking at the sight of me.

I slowly picked myself back up, and the foals cowered behind their teacher.  Some of them were looking over Scootaloo to make sure she was alright.  She waved them off, still shaking from the rush and casting a few frazzled glances at me.  Further down the trail Lyra emerged panting.  Our eyes met, and she read me like a book.  She started to say something, but I shook my head.  I had seen enough.  I backed away from the terrorized foals, covering my bruising chest.  Maybe this just wasn’t meant to be.

Something moved in the corner of my eye, creating sharp, agitated noises.  It leapt out of the bushes, and I reached out and grabbed it on instinct.

The cockatrice returned, angrier than ever, and unfortunately for both of us, I had my hand wrapped around its neck.  It squawked and flapped its green wings loudly.  Its talons dug through my jacket and into my skin.  I wanted to let go, but the pain in my arm forced my fist to stay clenched.  I tried shaking it to wear it down, but that only succeeded in making it angrier.  And then I saw its eyes.

Oh God, those eyes.  To say it was horrifying would be an insult compared to what was buried in those blood red beads.  It felt as if they managed to grab all my fears and forced them down my eyes through a needle.  Its stare burned into my brain, and I found I couldn’t look away from it.

The world turned to gray around the cockatrice as it struggled in my grip.  Only its eyes retained their color.  I found that I couldn’t let go, couldn’t turn away from its stare, couldn’t move, couldn’t feel.  The world was numb to me, even as it tilted and buried half of my face with earth.  I couldn’t even feel the impact of the fall.

A deafening silence had fallen over the forest.  As the cockatrice thrashed around on the earth in my grip, I couldn’t hear it.  Its mouth opened as it cried out, and I couldn’t tell if its squealing came out as a whisper or if I just imagined hearing it.  Even as it moved, it slowly became a blur of motion, as if I was seeing everything through murky water.  Dread gripped my silent heart with a vise.  What was happening to me?

“The cockatice turned the monster to stone!” a voice whispered.

“Somepony get Fluttershy, now!” another replied.  It sounded like Lyra, but I couldn’t be sure.

Was this it?  Was this how I died?  Not through starvation or freezing, not at the hooves of the ponies or the maws of the wolves, but by spending the rest of eternity as a statue?

A cackling filled the air, clear as day, cutting through the polluted noise of the world.  “Oh, did you see the look on his face when he grabbed the cockatrice?” a deep voice chortled loudly.  I thought I could see colors flicker in the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t move to see it.  “Priceless!”

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” a second voice growled.  It sounded familiar.  “We spent too much time and effort on this one.”

“Oh, you know what they say, ‘There are plenty of seaponies in the sea.’” the first voice said.  “I just hope this doesn’t put a damper on our little deal.”

“You’ll be freed in due time,” the second assured.  “But our host must remain alive to do so.”

There was a small flap of wings, and a large yellow talon ripped through the sea of gray and knocked on my forehead.  “Well, the human won’t be doing us much good like this,” the first commented.  “Take my word for it, there isn’t much you can do when turned to stone.  You’d be better off looking for another poor soul.”

There was a soft series of tapping that filled the silence.  It sounded like it was getting closer, if only barely so.

“You do not put enough faith in our host,” the second voice said amusedly.  “Humans are built to survive.  And it appears as if an opportunity has presented itself.”  I could hear a high pitched voice yelling, but it was so faint it might as well have been miles away.  The cockatrice turned rigid in my hand and was looking past me with wide eyes.

“Oh, my.  I must admit, it’s a little unsettling seeing her act like that.  You would not believe the trouble I went through just to get her to act even close to this.”  There was a slight pause as the quiet shouting continued.  “Do you think he can hear us?”

“It’s hard to tell.  Our connection has been severed.  But don’t worry.  We know how to make Hunter forget.”

A scarred, stone gray hand reached down to my face.  I watched helplessly as a finger extended towards me, and I silently screamed as the world erupted to white.


<><><>


A voice pierced through the white noise.  “Hunter?  Can you hear me?  Hunter, say something!”

I struggled to open my eyes, but they were sealed shut.  All I could manage was a weak grunt.

“He’s alive!  Thank Celestia, I was so worried.”  Something pulled me up and wrapped itself around me into a constricting hug.  I wished I could open my eyes, or at least talk for that matter.

A soft voice piped up, “Um, Lyra, I think you’re crushing the poor thing.”  I groaned in agreement.

“Oh, right,” Lyra’s voice chuckled as I was lowered to the ground.  “Sorry, Hunter.”  

My eyes fluttered open and were instantly attacked by the vibrant colors of the forest, forcing them to close again.  I took in deep breaths of the cool air to try to wake myself up better, but my throat clogged, and I started coughing.  I rolled over onto my elbows and knees, trying to force out whatever was inside of me.  It tasted like dust was coming out of my lungs.

“It’s okay,” a soft voice cooed.  “Just lie down and rest for a bit.  You’re safe now.”

I opened my eyes again.  Everything was still out of focus, but I could still make out two blurs of colors above me, one mint green and the other yellow with a pink top.  As the details began to sharpen, I could make out Lyra and Fluttershy’s figures staring at me from above.

“What…  What happened?” I croaked.

“You should have seen it, Huner!” Lyra bounced excitedly.  “When the cockatrice turned you to stone, one of the foals went off to get Fluttershy.  It was still trying to get out of your hand, but you had it in your grip when you turned.  And then Fluttershy came and practically exploded on the thing!  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do anything like that before!  She somehow convinced the cockatrice to turn you back, and when it did you were all knocked out.  We’ve been here trying to wake you up for the past, like, ten minutes.”

Fluttershy blushed and shrank back throughout Lyra’s rant.  “It wasn’t anything, really,” she whispered.  “I just didn’t couldn’t leave you as a statue is all.”

I had a hard time digesting all of the information.  I couldn’t remember anything that happened after grabbing the cockatrice.  If what Lyra said was true, then it seemed as if I owed Fluttershy my life.  The same pony I had threatened to and nearly succeeded in killing went out of her way to save me.  She was surprising me more and more.

With a grunt, I slowly sat up and crossed my legs.  One of the spears fell off my back, shattered in half from when I fell as stone.  I sighed and tossed the useless pieces into the forest.  The two mares gave me my space, letting me come back fully to my senses.  I didn’t say anything simply because I didn’t know what to say.  Too many thoughts were bouncing around in my head for me to think straight.

You should leave; return to the castle, the voice said, eager to throw in its two cents.  Every second you are out in the open will only put you in more danger.  You are in no condition to keep going.  Leave and let the ponies fend for themselves.  You have already done your part to protect them.

I sighed in defeat, it was as good of an idea as any.  The ponies had proven they could handle themselves, and my body was weak.  I didn’t feel like I could keep going for much longer.  I moved to get up, but Lyra put a hoof on my chest and gently pushed me back down.

“Whoa, now.  Take it easy for a bit,” Lyra said.  She watched me worriedly.  “I don’t like that look on your face.  What’s the matter?”

I shook my head.  “Nothing.  But after all that just happened, I think it would be best for me to head back to my own little neck of the woods.”

“What?  No!” Lyra exclaimed.  “Zecora and I just convinced Miss Cheerilee to not cancel the trip.  Everypony’s a little ways down the trail waiting for me and Fluttershy.  This could be our big chance to get everypony to like you.”

“And I know Scootaloo said she wanted to write that report about you,” Fluttershy chimed in.  I looked up to the pegasus, who shrank behind Lyra in return.  “That is, if you’d like to,” she added.  “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

It was still unsettling seeing her.  I tried to avoid eye contact, but it didn’t change the fact she was still there.  A kernel of guilt was growing in my chest, quickly becoming heavier and heavier.  I owed her too much after everything I put her through.

Don’t listen to them, Hunter.  You need to rest.  Return to the castle.

“I… I can’t, really,” I explained, trying to ignore the small headache that was slowly building.  “I tagged along on this field trip to watch over the foals, but you guys seem to know what you’re doing more than me.  It’s been a long day; I’ve been turned to stone, my body hurts, and I have a headache.  I need to rest.”

“You can rest with the school,” Fluttershy offered.  I noticed she was using the same tone as she did with the manticore.  “I promise the foals won’t be too much of a burden.”  It was getting difficult to say no as she stared at me with big eyes.

“And I’ll be with you the whole time if it’ll help,” Lyra promised.  “Nopony’ll panic.”

“You sure about that?” I asked doubtfully.

“Okay, maybe they will at first,” Lyra admitted with an innocent smile.  “But Zecora and I can calm them down.  It’ll be a piece of cake after that.”

She held out a hoof for me to grab, and I eyed it warily.  A storm raged in the back of my mind, pushing me to leave.  I took in a deep breath and grabbed her hoof.

“Alright, I’m trusting you,” I said as she helped pull me up.

Her face beamed with excitement.  “Really?  This is great!”  She pranced excitedly in place.  Fluttershy watched with a content smile.  “Come on, let’s hurry back before everypony decides to—”

A shriek pierced the air, cutting her off.  We froze on the trial, staring where it came from.  It sounded young.  I shot a glance at the two mares.

“Was that—”

“The foals!”

Lyra and Fluttershy broke into a sprint, and I struggled to keep up with them.  My body still ached from being encased in stone, but even as lead filled my legs I was determined to keep pushing forward.  A chorus of shrill screams sounded from our destination, impossible to miss.

The mares skidded to a halt as the trail widened into an open area.  I fell in close behind panting and stared at the chaos unfolding before us.

The fillies and colts were scurrying around, wildly trying to find their own safe haven as creatures of wood and vines weaved among them.  Zecora stood her ground before Cheerilee on the other side of the trail, trying desperately to fend one of the attackers off with a branch.

The timberwolves were back.

I tried to digest the situation.  It didn’t appear as if any of the foals were being harmed, just herded, although that didn’t settle well with me either.  We needed to keep the wolves busy so that the foals could escape.  Having two more pairs of hooves would be extraordinarily helpful.  “Let’s get moving,” I said quickly.  “I’m going to help Zecora.  You two try to round up as many foals as you can and get them far away from here.”  The mares gave a brisk nod before splitting off, and I threw myself into the chaos.

My heart was pounding in my ears as I charged past the stampede of foals towards Zecora’s wolf.  I unshouldered one of the spears off of my back as I drew closer.  With a running start, I leaped into the air and threw my weight behind my spear.  It plunged deep into the wolf’s lower back.  It yelped and crumpled beneath the force.

With her attacker powerless, Zecora swung what was left of her branch and clocked the beast on the side of the head.  A sickening snap of breaking wook sounded on impact.  Zecora’s branch had shattered.  It wasn’t a complete loss, though, as the timberwolf seemed stunned from its sudden injuries.  I ripped my hatchet out of my belt and landed the final blow to its head.

“Hunter, friend, your timing is most opportune,” Zecora panted.  “If not for your help, I may have been overcome soon.”

“Anytime,” I heaved and nodded.  Cheerilee gawked at me behind Zecora.  I tried my best to shrug off her panicked eyes.  “Lyra and Fluttershy are trying to get the foals out of here.  They could use your help.  I’m going to try to buy you some time.  Just rush them out of here as fast as possible.  Got it?”

Zecora looked troubled, but nodded.  “Yes, I understand what to do, but Hunter, what about you?  You are still outnumbered three to one; I cannot see how you will overcome.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll… handle the details,” I waved off.  “Just do your part, and I’ll do mine.”

She wished me good luck and galloped off with Cheerilee close in tow, and I threw myself back into the fray.  It was uncanny how easy it was to get the wolves’ attention.  The moment they caught sight of me they broke off from the foals.  Fortunately, it gave the older mares plenty of time to herd the school.  Unfortunately, I had just realized how much of a mess I had gotten myself into.

Fending off the wolves was becoming more and more of a challenge.  I started with my last spear, prodding at them to keep them at bay.  As they tried to encircle me, I tossed a few pouches of poison joke on the ground to break them up.  They attacked one at a time at first, trying to divide my attention between two of them while the third would try to sneak up from the rear.  I whirled around and moved to press it back, and it easily dodged to the side.  Another would attempt to attack, and the dance would repeat itself.  They were toying with me.

One made a lunge at me, and I thrust my spear into its shoulder.  It cried in pain as the weapon sank into its rough skin, but it clamped down on the shaft and pulled back as the other two advanced.  I gave it one last push before releasing my spear and pulling out my hatchet.  I wouldn’t last very long against them this close.  My free hand searched my waist.  Only one more pouch of joke remained.

My eyes darted across the area as I retreated backwards.  The mares seemed to have corralled all  of the foals.  Zecora cast a worried look at me, and she moved to leave the school.

“No, get the foals out of here!” I shouted over the growling wolves.  “Make sure they’re safe.  I’ll be right behind you.”  She hesitated, but with a nod she returned to the group and galloped back to Ponyville.

I returned my full attention to the wolves.  They were fanned out, pressing forward until my back was at a tree.  My heart was pounding with adrenaline.  My fingers drummed across the hilt of my hatchet.  Just a little closer…

My last bag of poison joke erupted between the three wolves as  I threw it with all that I had.  The wolves recoiled from the resulting cloud, giving me enough time to whirl around and bury my hatchet into the tree behind me, severing a strained vine.  With the tension released, the upper portion of the vine shot into the canopy, and the low groan of wood echoed through the forest as a log sailed through the air like a pendulum.

The pollen-covered timberwolves were swat to the side as the log barrelled into them.  The crunch and snap of shattering wood filled the air as they collided back to the earth, and the pendulum swung lazily.  As they struggled to pick themselves back up, I sprinted to where the ponies left.

I nearly made it to the first curve in the trail when a sharp pain flared around my right leg.  My momentum threw me to the ground as I screamed.  I pushed myself up to my hands and knees.  Something was crushing my right leg and pulling it back.  Two of the three wolves had recovered and tackled me from the front; their splintered claws dug into my shoulders.  I toppled backwards and tripped over a fourth wolf that had its teeth buried in my calf.  The bastard must have snuck up on me after I dealt with its friends.

The two that had tackled me clamped their jaws on my already bleeding shoulders and dragged me across the earth and up to a tree.  My skin ripped in their teeth as their broken legs caused their heads to jolt up and down.  I was pinned into a lounging position, too afraid to move.  A third wolf laid broken on the ground still, whimpering for attention.  The newcomer casually approached.

It was much larger than the others, I noticed.  Its frame was thin, though, as if malnourished, yet it stalked closer with an air of power.  Splotches of moss covered its body, giving an ancient appearance to it.  Its eyes still radiated that same sickening shade of yellow, drawing a primal fear out of me, but something was wrong.  I thought I could see intelligence behind its eyes.

It paused at the whimpering wolf and extended a paw to it.  The wood and vines shifted in its wrist, and its claws glowed a deep green as they touched the wolf’s muzzle.  A series of pops and snaps sounded as the injured wolf’s body contorted back to its original shape.  It bowed sheepishly once it was healed and scampered off, and the new creature stared back at me.  A feral growl emitted from its throat.

“There you are,” it growled hungrily through bloodied, wooden teeth.  Its voice sounded as if someone was grinding two rocks together.  The furious gaze in its glowing eyes was enough to paralyze me.  “You have overstayed your welcome, beast.  It is time you paid for your trespassing.”  It crouched mid-stride and leaped.

I ripped myself out of the wolves’ mouths out of instinct.  I screamed in agony as skin was ripped out and tried to crawl away.  My calf flared as I tried to push my weight with it.  My hatchet laid on the grass only a couple feet away. All I had to do was reach it.  Then I could—

A heavy force rammed into my back, knocking the wind out of me and causing me to crumple face first into the cold earth.  I refused to let it stop me.  Against my shoulders’ screams of rebellion, I tried to drag myself across the dirt to my only weapon of defense.

“I must admit,” the timberwolf commented in his grinding voice.  “Despite the trouble your kind causes, you never fail to make for a good hunt.  It has been far too many years since I have had prey run for this long.”  He dug his claws into my arm and rolled me over to my back, pressing a foreleg down on my chest.  “But why do you continue to struggle when you know you are dead?”

“I haven’t survived this long by giving up,” I spat.  He added more pressure to my chest, and I wheezed.  I glanced to my hatchet, which was now barely within arm’s reach.  My fingers brushed against the handle and gripped it like a vise.  I brought it up and buried it into the creature shoulder.

“Insufferable vermin,” he screamed in pain.  His leg came off of me only for his free paw to grab and throw me across the trail.  I came to a rolling stop against a tree, the world still spinning.  I thought I heard a couple of faint gasps.

The timberwolf pried my hatchet out of his shoulder and glared at me.  “I’ll never understand what Starswirl saw in your kind,” he grumbled to himself.  He made to move at me but paused, staring at the hatchet still in his grip.  A faint glow of green sputtered across his claws, and he growled.

“What manner of magic is this?” he asked in a distant tone.

I was still in a daze.  I couldn’t tell what he said or to who.  “What?”

“How did you create this?” he erupted, throwing my hatchet at me.  My heart nearly leapt out of my chest as the blade sank into the tree a few inches above my head.  The two wolves flanked him, snarling at me.

I scrambled to get up and pulled desperately at my hatchet, but it was wedged too far into the trunk of the tree.  The timberwolf quickly closed the gap between us and pinned me to the tree by the neck.  His claws shifted and wrapped around my throat, digging into my skin.  My hands were locked around his wrist.  I felt so small compared to him.

“What do you want with me?” I choked out.

“I want you gone and forgotten, as all accidents should be,” he snarled.  “This world is in harmony, and I will not allow you or your unnatural magic to change that.  Now tell me…”  His grip tightened around my throat.  My skin burned around his claws.  “How did you create this weapon?”

“I-I didn’t,” I stammered.  “I just brought it with me, I swear.”

The timberwolf’s body shuddered and shifted as he rose to his hind legs, dragging me up the rough bark of the tree as he reached his new height.  I pulled myself up on his foreleg, trying to alleviate the pain around my neck.  “What more did you bring?” he pressed threateningly.

There was a fire in his eyes, and something clicked in my head.  “A few things,” I bluffed, praying he would go for it.  “Nothing big, though.”

The pressure around my throat tightened.  Something warm trickled where splintered claws met burning flesh.  The wolf leaned in and uttered, “Where?”  His breath reeked of rot. 

I took in a shaky breath to calm my nerves.  “Maybe we can reach an agreement,” I struggled to say.  The wolf snarled.  “You and I both don’t want me to be here,” I hurriedly explained.  “Let me live, and I’ll take everything I brought with me and leave.”

“And what is to stop me from putting you down and searching for them myself?” he demanded, giving me a bloodied grin as I hesitated.

“You don’t know what or where they are,” I reasoned.  “But the ponies do.  A few of them know me, and they’ll be searching for me if I disappear.  They’ll find my things before you, and you’ll have that much more trouble to deal with.”  He paused, and I cautiously continued.  “Let me live, and I’ll save you the trouble of searching.  I just want to go home.”

The wolf had a distant look in his eyes, as if he was lost in thought.  His body slackened slightly for a second, but it went rigid almost immediately after he snapped out of whatever trance he was in.

“Come to the eastern riverbank before nightfall, and bring all you have brought into this world; nothing more, and nothing less.  Then you shall be sent home to your kind,” he grimaced.  “Have haste, though.  Otherwise, if you are late, or if I discover you have left something behind, I shall unleash my pack on you and hunt you down like the animal you are,” he growled.

He dropped me back to the ground.  I was too stunned to react.  Instead, I laid there and watched as he fell back on all fours.  After giving me one last glare, he and his wolves retreated back into the forest.

I stared at the sky, trying to find the willpower to get back up to my feet.  The sun was already beginning its descent.  A sudden burst of energy flowed through me at the realization.  I didn’t have too long before the deadline.  I had to move, now.

It could be lying, you know, the voice muttered bitterly.  The moment you reach the portal, you could be slaughtered.

I paused as I tried to pull myself up.  “What do you recommend I do?” I breathed quietly.

This pack leader believes you are broken and defenseless, an easy prey to overcome, it started.  Prove it wrong.  Return to the castle; heal and arm yourself with all that you have.  This could be our only chance to return home.  We cannot afford to fail.

I winced as my torn body stood up.  My right leg was fragile from the bite; I couldn’t put much weight on it without receiving a rebellion of pain in return.  I brought a hand up to my sore throat, and it returned slightly stained red; nothing fatal.  My shirt was sticking to the blood from my shoulders.

“I’m not sure if that’s one your best ideas,” I strained as I finally wrenched my hatchet out of the tree.  I placed it back in my belt and leaned against the rough trunk for support.  As much as it didn’t settle well with me, though, the voice had a point.  This was my first free ticket home, no matter what the strange wolf’s intentions truly were.  I couldn’t afford to throw it away.

A pit formed in my stomach, though.  I barely survived this encounter through luck and bluffs.  How could I hope to survive against the full pack and their alpha?

Have faith in us, Hunter, my inner voice assured softly as it receded.  We will not let them touch you.  It was soft, not even a whisper.  I wasn’t even sure if I heard it right.

A renewed sense of calm washed over me; one I hadn’t felt in a while.  The trail was motionless save for the bushes and leaves that rustled in the fall breeze.  I spotted one of my spears still protruding from wolf that was terrorizing Zecora and Cheerilee earlier and hobbled over to it.  Its body was brittle; when I knelt down to pull out the spear, chunks of bark broke away with ease.  A part of me wondered why the alpha timberwolf didn’t stop to heal this one.

Using the spear as something of a crutch, I slowly trudged back to the castle.  Everything was planned out in my head.  There should be enough time for me to take a swig of Zecora’s potion and make it to the riverbank if I hurried.  All that was left to do was arm myself to the teeth and hope for the best.  This was the most important moment in my time here so far.  I couldn’t afford to mess this up

A twig snapped behind me.

“Careful, Snails!” a hushed voice hissed behind me.  “The monster could’ve heard that!”

> Act I:  Deadlines and Deadends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Watch out!” a quiet voice hissed.  “You almost tripped me.”

“It’s not my fault!  Applebloom let go of the branch, and it nearly hit me in the face!” an equally hushed and angry voice retaliated.

“Don’t y’all start blamin’ this on me.  It’s Scootaloo’s fault we’re followin’ this thing in the first place.”

“Hey, I never said you guys had to tag along!”

“What else were we supposed to do; leave you chasing the monster by yourself?”

“Why’s everypony whispering?” a slow, male voice blurted out.

“Because, Snails, we’re following the monster,” was the hushed response.  “Now do us all a favor and whisper before you get us caught!”

“Oops, sorry…”

One hour.  One long hour of listening to their nonstop bickering.  One hour of painfully slow limping through the woods.  One hour of torture from my wounds.  One hour of silence on my behalf.

It was alright at first; the foals were fairly silent to begin with.  I hadn’t said anything or so much as acknowledged them in hopes that they would get bored and return to Ponyville on their own, but it was becoming more apparent that that wasn’t about to happen.  Their conversations slowly escalated into this mayhem, starting with petty apologies, then irksome complaints, and eventually ending with this chaotic criticism.  These foals were driving me insane.

“You’re just lucky the monster isn’t very good at hearing.  Otherwise we’d all be done for.”

And that was the final straw.

“Alright, that’s it!” I announced as I spun around mid-stride.  The foals following me were frozen in shock.  “I’ll have you know, the ‘monster’ can hear perfectly fine and has had to listen to your constant complaining for a while now, and you’re starting to give the ‘monster’ some serious migraines.  The ‘monster’ has a lot on his mind right now and would really appreciate some peace and quiet!”

There were five foals, all in all; each still with their saddlebags on their backs.  I recognized Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle among the group, unsurprisingly, along with the two unicorn colts who chose that manticore for their report.  They were speechless with that deer-in-the-headlights look still in their eyes.

I sighed.  “Look, I didn’t mean to shout,” I apologized.  “It’s just… I’m kind of under a lot of stress right now.  I’ve got wounds to heal, plans to make, deadlines to meet.  So if you guys can just…  I don’t know, shoo, please?”  They didn’t move.  I turned back around and continued hobbling to the castle.  It couldn’t be too far away now.  I thought I could hear the river.

The faint sound of the foals’ hooves stayed close by.  When I turned around again, my followers were standing around avoiding eye contact.  This ritual began to repeat itself a few times before I finally asked the obvious.  “Shouldn’t you ponies, you know, be heading back to Ponyville?”

The fillies chuckled nervously in response.  “Well, funny thing ‘bout that,” Applebloom started.  “We, uh, don’t actually know how to get to Ponyville from here.”  The yellow filly tried to give me an innocent smile.

“Wait, what?!” the short teal unicorn shouted.  He planted his hooves on Applebloom’s shoulders ands shook her.  “Do you mean you girls have no idea where we are?”

“It’s not our fault,” Sweetie Belle piped up as Applebloom recovered.  “We didn’t even realize everypony had left!  We were too scared to leave our hiding spots.”

“And Scootaloo still wanted a drawing of the monster, so we decided to follow her,” Applebloom confessed.  She shrank under a leer from the pegasus and turned to me with an innocent smile.  “Well, that and we kinda thought y’all would help us get back.  Zecora told everypony you were actually pretty nice for a monster,” she added.  “So… would ya?”  She and Scootaloo scrunched together, looked at me we pleading eyes, and sang a chorus of “Please?”

I hesitated.  “Sorry, but I really can’t afford any detours.  My work’s cut out for me as it is, and I’m kinda on a deadline.”

“Wait, you can’t just leave us here by ourselves!” Sweetie Belle  shrieked.  “We’ll be lost in this dumb forest forever!”  The other foals shouted in agreement.

I held my free hand up defensively.  “Hey, don’t get me wrong now.  It’s not that I don’t want to help.  I’m as lost as you are, and I’ve finally been given a free ticket home… kinda.  The details are a little fuzzy right now, but I can’t pass up the opportunity to see my family again.  They’ve probably been worried sick, thinking I’m either dead or… lost… in a forest…”

I looked at my followers again.  They were just kids, with families and friends waiting for them to return home like mine.

They are just ponies, Hunter, the voice reminded.  You will not have enough time to help them and save yourself.  Think of your family.  Think of the burden your absence has placed on them.

A heavy sigh pushed itself out of me.  “But I can’t shift that burden onto five other families,” I replied, feeling defeated.  “Ponies or not, that wouldn’t be right.”  I shook my head as a war raged in my mind.  I stole a glance at the sun, which was slowly inching closer towards the horizon.

“Alright, come on,” I waved to the foals as I limped to the river.  “I’ll take you back to home, but I need to make a pitstop first.”

“Really?” Applebloom asked as she hopped to my side.  “Thanks, Mister!  Maybe we can help you get home, too.  We can get our cutie marks in… um… Monster Helpers!”

Scootaloo appeared on the other side of me.  “Monster helpers?  Really?  Who would want a cutie mark for something like that?”

“Well, I couldn’t think of anythin’ else!” Applebloom said defensively.

“Oh, oh!” Sweetie Belle piped up behind Applebloom.  “We could get our cutie marks as navigators!”

“Yeah, or adventurers!” Scootaloo jumped excitedly, buzzing in the air for a quick second.

“Just like them fancy Darin’ Do books!” Applebloom chimed in.

The trio ran up ahead and shouted, “Cutie Mark Crusaders Adventurers, yeah!”

I couldn’t help but smile at their enthusiasm, even if I didn’t understand what they were talking about.  I shuffled past them as they planned excitedly amongst themselves and forgot to pay attention to where I was walking.  The bottom of my spear connected to a root sticking out of the earth, and without my stable crutch I collapsed onto the trail with a yelp.  The fillies quieted quickly and watched uncomfortably as I slowly pulled myself back up.
        
“Um, Mister Monster?” Scootaloo asked behind me.  “Why are you limping like that?”

I turned to face the foals with confused eyes.  “Wait, you kids don’t know what happened?”  The three fillies shook their heads innocently.  The two colts, however, look as if they were about to explode.

“Oh!  Oh!  Snails and I saw everything!” the plump, teal unicorn squealed.

“Yeah, it was awesome!” his counterpart, Snails, slurred excitedly.  “When the timberwolves attacked, Snips and I hid behind a really big tree.  Miss Cheerilee started freaking out and everything and Zecora tried beating the wolves back with a stick, which was pretty cool.  And then Lyra and Fluttershy came back with you, and you ran straight at the wolves!”

“Yeah!” Snips exclaimed.  “Then you beat up that wolf that was bothering Zecora and went into an all-out flank-kicking on the other wolves!”  He added some kung fu looking motions to help his point.  “And when they tried to gang up on you, you used your cool Everfree magic to send a tree flying down and crush them.  But before you could escape, another really big wolf jumped out and attacked you when you weren’t looking.”  The fillies gasped in shock.  Snips and Snails nodded in affirmation.

“Yep, we saw it with our very eyes,” Snails picked up.  “The wolves pounced on the monster and pinned him against the tree.  The big one started talking as it got closer, and—”

“I think they get the picture,” I interjected, not wanting to relive the moment.  The colts were deep in their story; they seemed to forget that one of the characters was with them.

“How bad is it?” Applebloom asked.  “Is there something we can do to help?”

I shook my head.  “Doubt it.  I’ve got something that ought to help, though.”  We had finally reached the river.  The bridge shouldn’t have been too far down the way.  I glanced down at the large, dark stain around my right calf, and a sense of unease fell over me.  I wasn’t sure if I could cross the bridge with my new handicap.  “But maybe checking on it isn’t a bad idea,” I confessed.  I slowly, and painfully, knelt down and pulled up my right jean sleeve.

The foals gasped.  The timberwolf’s teeth definitely penetrated skin.  It was a gory mixture of crimson streams and scattered scabs around bleeding holes configured in a bite mark.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Sweetie Belle mentioned before plugging her mouth with a hoof. None of the other ponies looked much better.

I cursed myself for not checking sooner and ripped off my shoe and shimmied my sock off my bleeding leg.  It was riddled with holes and stretched past what I thought its limits were after weeks of constant use, but it was whole enough for what I needed.  I carefully applied it to the wound and wrapped it around my calf once, tying a knot across the shin.  It wasn’t a perfect bandage, but it worked where it counted.  I rolled the sleeve back down carefully to not shift the new bandage and carefully stood back up.

The foals’ faces were still drained of their color, and I tried to pick up the mood.  “Hey, we’re almost there.  I bet you kids’ll love to see my little home away from home.”  They hesitated but followed as I started hobbling along the river.

It took longer than I would have liked to reach the river.  The sun had completed a little over half of its descent to the horizon.  I prodded the old tree with my bad leg and tried to give it a shake.  It was still as sturdy as the last time I crossed it.

“Wait, we’re not crossing the river on that, are we?” Snips asked worriedly.

“Well, yeah,” I answered, turning to the colt.  “Unless you feel like swimming.”

“It doesn’t look very safe,” Sweetie Belle pointed out.

“Hey, I’ve used this bridge hundreds of times,” I exaggerated.  “It’ll hold, trust me.”  The foals still didn’t seem convinced.  “I mean, it’s either that, or you can stay here and wait for me to come back.”

The alternative didn’t seem to settle well with them, and they quickly lined up behind me.  It was tricky stepping up with my handicap, and even more difficult crossing the narrow bridge with a crutch.  Applebloom and Scootaloo followed closely behind, tailed by Snails and Snips with an uncomfortable Sweetie Belle in the rear.  The old tree dipped under our collective weight, and the river crashed into its underside.  We were only halfway across.

I paused as a remnant of a branch obstructed my path, trying to figure out how to best move around it.  Applebloom nearly ran into me, and behind her could only be described as a horrible train wreck.  Heads ran into tails, and hooves scrambled to hold their ground.

One of the colts yelped, and I heard a splash.

“Snails!”

I whipped behind me to find the four foals staring anxiously in the river.  I followed their eyes and found the orange unicorn being pulled away by the current, screaming for help.  I swore under my breath and dove after him, dropping my crutch in the process.

The river felt as if it was made of ice.  My clothes were drenched immediately, and their weight threatened to pull me down to the riverbed.  The force of the current propelled me forward, and against the pained cries of my body’s wounds, I pushed myself along it.

The unicorn’s head bobbed up and under the water.  Through the small, crashing waves I heard one last choked cry before his head fully submerged.  It wasn’t coming back up.

I took in one last gasp of air before plunging beneath the river.  My limbs were filling with burning lead.  Through the murky water I could just make out a limp, orange form being tugged by the current.  I reached out with numb fingers and grabbed its hoof.

My lungs were ablaze and my mind started to cloud as I pulled our collective weight to the surface.  The breath of fresh air did little to rejuvenate my energy.  I swam to the shore against the downward pull of Snails’ limp body in my arm and the perpendicular force of the current.

“Don’t you give out on me,” I growled through clenched teeth.  My shoes brushed against submerged sand.  My leg flared as I crawled back to the bank, earning a grimace from me.  Snails lolled in my arms as I dragged him next to me, motionless..

I threw him ahead of me as we reached relatively dry land. He rolled once before coming to a halt, still not moving.   I cursed and scrambled up to him, hastily examining his condition.  His chest wasn’t rising or falling, and I didn’t have any idea how to check for a pulse.  I began assuming the worst.

I rolled him onto his back with my hands on his chest and began the compressions.  My mind was moving a hundred miles per hour, screaming mismatched instructions and cycling through old memories in an effort to find anything that could help.  I wasn’t about to let this colt die on me after all of this, not if I had any say in it.

Still no movement.  I tilted his head back and opened his jaw, but then I hesitated.  I wasn’t even technically certified for this.  Would it even translate to a pony?  I shook my head and went back to the compressions one last time.

“So help me, Snails,” I said, punctuating each word with another press.  “If I have to give you mouth to mouth, I am going to make.  You.  Wish.  You.  Drowned!”

Water spewed from the unicorn’s mouth on the following press, his eyes shooting open.  He rolled himself over, coughing roughly.  I leaned back on my knees, looking up to the sky, relieved and exhausted.

“Snails!”  The soft stomps of four foals filled the air as the others galloped to where we rested.  Snips was practically glued to his friend’s side as he slowly came back to the land of the living.  The three fillies stood by making sure Snails was alright.  Sweetie Belle shot me an angry look.

“I told you it wasn’t safe,” she accused, jabbing a hoof in my direction.

I nodded numbly, not fully aware of what she said, and tried to stand back up.  The world seemed to shrink beneath me as I shot into the sky.  I blinked as my mind settled back into its body.  A dull pain blanketed me, smothering me almost.  I felt like I was back in the river, an invisible current pushing me forward, but my feet were anchored in place.  The earth tilted to meet me.  I had just enough time to throw up my arms in front of my face before collapsing to the ground.

My body was numb.  I rolled over to my stomach and closed my eyes.  I could hear the foals consoling Snails, but I couldn’t find the strength to lift my head and check.  I took in a few deep breaths, hoping it would help with my lightheadedness.

“Mister Monster?  Are you alright?” Scootaloo’s voice asked, concerned.

I nodded my head against the gravel, wincing and regretting it slightly as the small rocks sent a small spike of pain through my otherwise unfeeling face.  I gave a half-hearted thumbs up.  “Jus’ gimme a minute,” I slurred.  My eyes fluttered open.  The sun was continuing its slow crawl to the horizon, indifferent of my situation.  It was nearing the tops of the trees around us.  We didn’t have long.

“Maybe we should just stay here and rest for a while,” Applebloom suggested.  “You ain’t looking too good, Mister Monster."

“Don’t—  Please don’t call me that,” I said tiredly.  I sat up and faced the small crowd before me.  “My name’s Hunter.  And we don’t have time to sit around here.  We need to move.”  I carefully pushed myself up on my feet, not wanting a repeat of last time.

“What’s the matter?” Snips asked, catching on to the urgency in my tone.

“We’re running late on a deadline,” I explained as I struggled to stand back up.  “We have a couple hours before things start getting a little tricky.”  The river’s current pulled us far off course.  It was slim, but if we made it back to the castle in time, there might still be a chance for us to escape before the hunt began.

“What do you mean ‘tricky’?” Sweetie Belle pressed, worry evident in her voice.

“It’s… just going to be harder moving through the forest in the dark.”  It wasn’t a lie, I told myself, just an omission.  I frowned; I wasn’t going to be able to move as fast as I could without my crutch.  “Has anyone seen my spear?”

“You dropped it in the water when you went to save Snails,” Snips explained.  I mentally slapped myself for not putting it somewhere safe.

“I’m really sorry about that,” Snails apologized.

I rested against the tree and looked back.  He was tailing a little further behind the group, eyes glued to his own hooves.  His bags were gone, I noticed; probably lost in the river.  I sighed.  “Hey, don’t worry about it,” I said.  “I’m just glad you’re all safe.”

For now, at least, the voice added.  You wasted precious time and energy with that stunt.

What was I supposed to do?  Let him drown? I argued.

You could have pointed them towards Ponyville and carried on with our plan.  I grimaced and trudged on as the voice berated me.  I didn’t need this right now; I had enough on my mind as it was.  These ponies are making you put yourself in danger for them.  They don’t deserve your help.

At the moment, I couldn’t think of a rebuttal.  I simply shook my head and trudged on. The sun had disappeared behind the thick wall of trees minutes ago.  There was still plenty of light before the sunset began, but we were still moving at a snail’s pace, much to my disappointment, and some of the foals were starting to become tired.

“Come on, we’re almost there,” I said, trying to pick up the dying moral of the group.  “I think you kids are really going to love this.”

A few questions started to rise from the group, but they quickly died down as the old castle walls broke from the branches and trees.  Confusion turned to awe, which quickly turned to excitement.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” Scootaloo pranced in place.  “You’ve been living here this whole time?”

“You better believe it,” I smiled weakly.  “How would you guys like to check it out?”

“I bet I can beat you to the castle,” Snips challenged his friend.

“You’re on!”  With that, the two foals raced ahead of us.

“Hey, be careful on that bridge!” I called out to them, but they were too busy galloping across it to pay me any mind.  I sighed in relief as they crossed without a problem.  “Let’s hurry up before those two decide to get lost in the castle,” I said to the rest of the group.

I stayed over the bridge to help ferry the fillies over some of the larger gaps.  Scootaloo and Applebloom made it across without any problems.  Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, was giving me a hard time.  She was nervous when I reached for her, backpedaling away from my hands.  I didn’t want to push her, but this was starting to take more time than I would have liked.

“C’mon, Sweetie,” Applebloom called from the other side.  “Hunter ain’t gonna bite ya.”

Sweetie Belle muttered something under her breath that I couldn’t catch, and before I realized it she took off past me, galloping across the bridge.  She jumped the gaps and collapsed on the other side with her friends, who were as equally confused as I was.

The two colts were arguing at the door.  Apparently they had tied, although neither was willing to admit it.  I carefully skirted around the heated debate and pushed open the heavy wooden doors.  They squealed loudly on their hinges, drowning out Snips and Snails and leading the way for the silence that ensued.  I turned around to find the foals staring at the entrance with uncertainty, and a small hint of fear.
        
I tried to lighten the mood with a smile.  “Where’s my hospitality?  Come on in.  Make yourselves at home.”  My offer didn’t have much of an effect at first, but Scootaloo bravely stepped forward and entered the castle.  Her friends followed soon after.

I shut the door as the last of the foals entered.  The stood gawking at the first room.  Some of their eyes drifted to the nonexistent ceiling and empty windows.  Others were focused on the greenery that littered the area.  “Sorry about the mess,” I apologized.  “I wasn’t exactly expecting visitors again so soon, and it’s a little difficult to—”

“Is that where the Elements of Harmony were?” Sweetie Belle asked, pointing to the strange pedestal and sphere in the back of the room.

“Elements of… Harmony?” I hesitated.  It went unnoticed however as the foals were too busy rushing up to the monument to pay me any mind.

There were plenty of “oohs” and “aahs” going around the group.  They were practically drooling on it as they tried to climb up the platforms.  They inspected each tiny crack and chattered excitedly amongst each other.

“Do you think this is really where they were?”

“How cool would it be if they were still here?”

“Do you think this one is where Rainbow Dash’s was?”

It was interesting how much they seemed to know about its history, even though all they did was ask questions about it.  I decided to let them have their fun though.  The world was starting to spin lazily again, and I needed to get to work.

“I’m going up to my room,” I called to the foals.  “You kids have fun.  I’ll be down in a bit.”

“Your room?” Scootaloo echoed.  “Can we see it?  Please?”  She looked at me with hopeful eyes.

I hesitated.  The sun was inching closer to the horizon by the second.  We probably only had a little over an hour, if even that.  Given how long the potion took to heal, the best we were looking at right now was a head start on the wolves.  I wasn’t sure if we could afford any extra delays.  But I couldn’t bring myself to say no to those eyes.

“Sure,” I finally said.  “Just don’t mess with anything you’re not supposed to.”

The foals burst through the throne room entrance when we reached the top of the tower, eager to examine the new environment.  I was lagging behind, winded from the climb and still feeling fairly dizzy.  As I rested in the doorway, they scurried around the room, looking out the windows or playing between the columns.  The throne was a straight shot through a minefield of children.  I pushed myself off the wall and hobbled across the room.

The cushioned throne was a much needed relief.  I had to refrain from melting in it as soon as I sat down.  The dull throb of my wounds begged for attention.  The potion rested to the right of my feet, and a bucket of water was to my left.

I shrugged off my jacket, laying it on the short armrest of the throne, and went to work.  I rinsed my hands in the bucket of water, my shoulders groaning at the small effort.  After giving them a quick shake, my hands pulled up my right pant sleeve, exposing the poor, makeshift bandage bound around my leg.  The cloth was badly stained where it touched the wound.

I unfastened the knot and carefully removed the sock, wincing as scabbed layers of blood ripped out of place.  It was looking better now than it was to begin with, although it was beginning to bleed again.  I discarded the further ruined sock to the side and started taking off the other.

The foals cast a few curious glances at me every now and then as they pranced around the room.  At one point, Scootaloo broke away from her friends and sat down a few yards in front of me, examining me for a few seconds.  She then pulled a sketch pad and pencil out of her saddlebag and began doodling in it, throwing a few inquisitive looks at me as I worked.

I wadded up the relatively cleaner sock, dunked it into the water, and wrung out the excess.  I cautiously pressed it against the wound, hissing at the pain.  It had to be done sooner or later though.  The potion worked wonders closing wounds, but I wanted to ensure there wouldn’t be anything enclosed in my skin after taking it.  The ritual repeated itself a few times.  Dunk.  Wring.  Press.  Rinse and repeat.

Satisfied with my work, I moved to the shoulders.  My shirt was torn around the area, and what was still there was stained heavily.  Dried blood turned the gray cloth nearly black, and a thin trail snaked down past one of my sleeves.  I winced as scabs began to pull when I tugged at my collar.

Come on, Hunter, just like a band-aid, I told myself.  I took in a deep breath, counted to three, and bit back a yelp as I threw my shirt off.  The blood was starting to gush out.  I dabbed at the wounds with my wet sock to slow it, occasionally scrubbing the dried blood around it.

A sharp pain flared on my left shoulder as I cleaned it.  My fingers danced around the wound until they fell upon something wooden.  It felt as if it was digging into my skin as my fingers tapped against it.  One of the timberwolves must have lost one of their teeth.  I reached over and retrieved my hatchet, biting into the handle as I grabbed the tooth and pulled.  It was warm and slick.  I found it difficult to get a decent grip on it, but after a few tries and a muffled yelp, I was able to pry it out.

An uncomfortable silence had fallen over the room.  I looked up and noticed all the foals were staring at me worriedly; some of them looking slightly nauseated.  I spat the hatchet out of my mouth and flicked the tooth to the side.  The sound it made as it landed seemed much louder than it should have been.

“Sorry about that,” I started.  I picked up the potion bottle and popped the cork off.  “Not too used to having company when I do that.”  I paused as the bottle touched my lips, trying to mentally prepare myself before downing some of the drink..  I had to resist the urge to retch the moment it touched my tongue.  It tasted worse than the last time I remembered taking it.  I started to worry if it was possible for the potion to expire.

A low growl echoed in the room.  My body tensed as I bent down to grab my hatchet.  Were we being followed by the wolves this whole time?  We all stared at room’s sole door, save for a rather embarrassed looking Snips.

“Sorry, I haven’t eaten since lunch,” he explained sheepishly.  “I’m really hungry.”  As if on cue, a small chorus of whines and grumbles sounded out of the other foals’ stomachs.

A faint smile pushed itself to my lips, and I chuckled in disbelief.  “Well, you all are in luck,” I said as I threw on my jacket and strained to push myself up to my feet.  My hand anchored itself on the broken throne and helped push me further back in the room where a light green saddlebag waited.  My calf groaned as I knelt down to pick it up.  “‘Cause for the first time in a long time,” I continued as I made my way back to the foals, “I have more food than I know what to do with.”

I collapsed into the cushion and fiddled with the bag’s flower-shaped buckle.  The foals inched closer in curiosity as I revealed the leftovers from last night.

“Say, ain’t that Daisy’s bag?” Applebloom asked.  I looked up and found them staring at me suspiciously.

“Hold up, it’s not what it looks like,” I started.

“You’re not stealing stuff from other ponies now, are you?” Sweetie Belle asked with a disapproving look in her eyes.

“No,” I sputtered.  “It’s just—”

“Then how’d you get it?” Snips pressed.

I hesitated, not wanting to sabotage any of the friends I had just made.  Getting the kids to trust me would be difficult otherwise, though.  I sighed, “Look, don’t tell anyone about this, but some ponies came over and visited the other night.  They brought some food and gave me the leftovers ‘cause I kinda needed it.  It’s hard to come by decent food out here.”

Scootaloo tilted her head to the side.  “And Daisy was one of them?”

“That’s not important,” I stressed.  “This is a pretty big deal, and I’d hate for them to get in trouble over this.  I’m trying to turn over a new leaf here, and they’re being really helpful.  Just promise me you all will keep this a secret for now.”

They were unsure at first, but they eventually nodded.  I breathed a sigh of relief, and started passing out the food.  “Thank you.  You guys can have as many of these daisy sandwiches as you want.  I can’t eat them.”

“What’s wrong with them?” Sweetie Belle asked skeptically.

“Nothing’s wrong with them,” I shook my head.  “My kind just can’t eat flowers.  It’s bad for us.”

Scootaloo was scratching her pencil in her notes, balancing the end of it between her teeth with her sandwich resting in her hoof.  She paused to take a bite and looked at me.  “So, wait, does that mean there’s more of you?” she asked, crumbs falling out of her mouth and onto her paper.

“Oh, yeah; loads,” I chuckled.  “A whole planet-full even.”

“Wait, if there’s so many of ya, how come we ain’t ever run into your kind before?” Applebloom asked.

“Probably because I come from a whole different world altogether,” I offered.  It felt odd saying that; I never imagined myself saying that string of words honestly in my life.  After all that had happened to me since I came here though, I had pretty well come to terms with it.

My train of thought was cut of with a loud gasp.  I looked up to Snails, who stared back at me with surprised eyes.  “Does that mean you’re like an alien?” he asked in awe.

I blinked, trying to process what I just heard.  A small laugh found its way out of me, and it quickly grew.  “You know, I never really thought of it like that,” I smiled.  “But yeah, I guess I am an alien, in a way.”

“That’s so cool!” Snips and Snails exclaimed in harmony.  They jumped around excitedly, asking questions that ranged wildly from homeworlds to motherships.  Scootaloo was scribbling frantically in her notes, and Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and I were struggling to keep up.

“Alright, let’s slow down a bit,” I tried to calm them.  

“What are you doing here?” Snips asked, carrying on the assault of questions.  “Are the rest of the aliens trying to find a new homeworld?”  He cut himself off with a loud gasp.  “Are you planning on taking over Equestria?”

“No, no, nothing like that at all,” I shook my head in exasperation.  It was getting more than a little tiresome answering these questions.

“Did your ship crash land here after an epic space battle?” Snails shot back excitedly.

“No.  Well, kind of, just not that exactly.”  An idea popped into my head, and a faint smile broke my face.  I decided to let them have their fun and give in to their fantasy.  I sat down on the throne and leaned forward.

“It all started when my family decided to… take a vacation from our homeworld,” I began, trying to weave a sci-fi spin into my own life.  “We were bored with civilization, and decided it would be relaxing to spend some time in the uncharted wilds of deep space.  Things were going smoothly until our ship began running out of fuel.  I was chosen to leave the mothership in search of raw materials to power the engine.  I came here to begin my search when I was suddenly ambushed.”

I paused to see how my audience was buying it.  Snips, Snails, and Applebloom were staring at me with eyes wide and jaws agape.  Sweetie Belle was watching me skeptically, and Scootaloo was writing on a fresh piece of notebook paper trying to keep up.  A part of me felt bad for lying; she was probably going to take these back to tell to the rest of the class all the misinformation I was feeding her.  But at least the colts were quiet for the time being.

“My ship crash landed deep in the Everfree,” I continued.  “Communications were down; I had no way of sending a message back home.  All I could salvage from the broken remains was a simple tool.  As I left the crash sight, I was greeted by ferocious creatures of twisted vines and wood.

“They chased me through the whole forest, their teeth hot on my heels.  I eventually managed to shake them and fled from the forest, only to find myself near a peculiar town.  A terrible storm raged overhead, and I knew I needed to find shelter.  There was an uneasy air about the town, but I pressed on hoping to find help.  I rested underneath a large tree with a house built into it and thought I heard voices inside.  I cautiously opened the door, only to be attacked.”

“That’s not what happened at all!” Sweetie Belle interjected.  Her disgruntled look wiped the smile off my face, and I pressed my lips together.  No one spoke a word.

“Alright, then...” I finally said after an unbearable pause.  “Why don’t you tell me what actually happened then?”

All eyes were on her.  She shrank slightly, but that defiant flare was still in her eyes.  “Rarity told me everything.  She said you were trying to break into the library!”

“Trying to break into the—” I echoed in disbelief.  I shook my head.  “You know what?  Sure, in hindsight, I guess I was trying to.  But I don’t think that warranted getting shot point blank with a confetti cannon.”

“They thought you were a monster,” Sweetie Belle defended.

“I thought they were monsters,” I exclaimed.  “I thought I escaped the maws of a bunch of bloodthirsty animals just to stumble into nest of more bloodthirsty animals.  I was lost and separated from my family and scared for my life.  I heard voices and I thought there were people who could help me.  If I would’ve known what would have happened, I wouldn’t have gone anywhere near that tree.”

“You didn’t have to stay,” she leered.  “Why didn’t you just run away if things were so bad?”

“I was trying to run, but your friends kept trying to catch me like I was a wild animal.  They were starting to wear me down; I couldn’t let them chase me forever,” I argued.

“That doesn’t mean it was okay for you to hurt my sister!” she practically screamed at me.

The cards were on the table now, and a heavy sigh found its way out of me.  Her sister was one of the ponies chasing me that night.  I forgot that little detail.  She was the one I snapped on, too, if I was remembering correctly, and I prayed I wasn’t remembering correctly.  I could only imagine what was running through her mind about me.

“Look, Sweetie Belle,” I started cautiously.  “There were a lot of bad decisions last night, on both sides.  We were all scared, and when people get scared, they do things they wouldn’t normally do.  Your sister was worried about her friend, so she tried to save him.  I was scared for my life, so I ran, and when I couldn’t run anymore, I tried to fight.”  I met her green eyes.  They were getting watery from the shouting and anger, but she didn’t dare let a tear drop.  “I’m sorry I hurt your sister, but I’m not sorry I defended myself.”

She huffed, but otherwise didn’t say anything else and turned her attention to her sandwich.  The morale of the group was plummeting, and I was at a loss thinking of how to save it.  “You kids finish eating,” I resigned.  “You can have more if you want, but we’ll need to be heading out soon.”

I separated from the group and hobbled to a window to check how much time we had left.  The sun had just touched the horizon.  If we left now, and were quick about it, we should be able to make good distance before the pack was unleashed on us.  My eyes glanced at the foals, still eating next to the throne.  I didn’t want to rush them, especially after that argument.  I heaved a sigh and watched as our time slowly ticked away, trying to plan the trek in my head.

Hunter, you cannot be serious about this, the voice piped up.

“Should’ve figured you wouldn’t be onboard,” I said under my breath.  A few low-hanging clouds clung to the horizon towards Ponyville.  They looked dark, but that could’ve been thanks to the setting sun.  “What do you suggest I do, then?”

Anything else, the voice exclaimed.  Go to the wolves before the deadline.  Fight your way home.  Or stay here; hold them off.  We know this fortress, Hunter.  We can survive here.

“Not for long,” I pointed out.  “This is a lot of ground for one man to cover.  And we’ll run out of food eventually.”

The foals don’t have to stay here.  More food for you.

I frowned.  “You know I won’t do that.”

Think about this, Hunter, the voice pleaded, somewhat agitated.  What you are planning is a suicide run, a one-way trip.  There will be no coming back to the Everfree after this.

A sigh escaped me.  You’re probably right, I started, breaking my eyes away from the setting sun and looking over to the foals.  They were quietly talking amongst each other; some were occasionally casting a few glances at me.  But my decision is final.  I’m taking them back home.  Even if it kills me.

That is what we are afraid of…



<><><>


The soft rain gently pelted my head.  I raised my hood to shelter my eyes from the water as I carefully navigated through the dense plant life of the forest.  I was running, well, walking, for my life from a hidden enemy.  There was no way of knowing where they were or when they would strike, for certain.  They could be behind the brush up ahead of me or be as far away as the castle.  My only hope of safety was to reach the town at the end of the forest.  Déjà vu.

“Couldn’t we have just stayed the night at your place?” Scootaloo complained.  Behind me lagged the five foals.  They were struggling to stay awake despite being on the move for an hour now.  The sun had fully set a while ago, and it was quickly getting more difficult to see.  I never told them the reason for our hasty departure, just that it was urgent and we needed to go as soon as possible.   So far we made it past the river without any trouble and were making good time.  Ponyville was probably only a half-hour away.

“No, I think it’d be best to get you all home as soon as possible,” I answered.  “Don’t want people to start thinking I kidnapped you.”  A twig snapped to my left.  I halted, much to the displeasure of the foals following me, and listened for anything else.  Nothing other than the rain and the occasional coo of the nocturnal birds could be heard.  I coughed and continued forward.

“Somethin’ wrong, Mr. Hunter?” Applebloom asked with concern.  I stole a quick glance at her.  She was so small, so young, so innocent.  I shuddered as I thought of what might happen to her if I failed.  I couldn’t let that happen.  I wouldn’t let that happen, to any of them.

“Everything’s fine,” I lied in an attempt to reassure her.  “I’m just a bit jumpy.”  Some bushes up ahead rustled.  I put myself in a stance and prepared for whatever creature was about to spawn before us.

A rabbit… Just a rabbit.  I sighed in relief and mentally slapped myself for being so paranoid.

Do not be too harsh with yourself, Hunter, the voice said.  Your paranoia and instincts have kept you alive this long.  Do not let them go.

It wasn’t entirely happy with my plan, especially since I was putting my life at risk for the foals; even less so when it found out I didn’t intend on arming myself to the teeth with all that I had.  I figured that carrying all of that would have slowed me down.  Not to mention it probably wouldn’t have sent the right message to the ponies if I walked into town armed with spears.  My hatchet bounced off my thigh as I walked with a half-limp, my only defense in case things went wrong.  I prayed that I wouldn’t have to use it, but my mind was plagued with scenarios of all that could go wrong.  In spite of it all, though, I was adamant to see my plan through.

“Does this have anything to do with you missin’ your deadline?” she persisted.  Deadline…  What an appropriate term.

“Yeah, I suppose you could say that.”

“We’re really sorry we made you miss it,” Scootaloo chimed in.

I sighed.  “It’s not your fault.  It’s all water under the bridge now.  We’ve got bigger problems to worry about.”

“Problems?” Sweetie echoed.  “What kind of problems?”

I cursed myself for letting that slip.  Should I tell them?  No, that would probably only complicate things.  “Don’t worry.  Everything should be fine, if we’re careful...” I assured, but they didn’t seem to buy it.  I could hear the foals whispering nervously amongst themselves.

The closer we drew to the end of the forest, the more my fears shifted.  I was no longer afraid of the timberwolves as much as I was the ponies.  Would they accept me after I brought back the missing foals?  Someone might have concocted some wild idea that I had kidnapped them.  I wouldn’t be able to retreat if things went south during this trip.  The forest was no longer a sanctuary.  It had become a deathtrap.

Another twig snapped.  It was probably just the wildlife again.  But the panting, too?  No, I must have been imagining that.  I had to be imagining that.  We were too close for them to have followed us this far… right?.

“Let’s pick up the pace,” I said.  “We’re getting close.  Just a few—”

The wind was knocked right out of my body.  I was barely aware that the world had turned upside down.  Through the harsh ringing in my ears I heard one of the foals cry out my name.  Before I had a chance to come to my senses, sharp claws dug into my shirt and pushed me against a tree.

As my vision slowly sharpened, the blurry lines of the brown canvas before me formed twigs and vines in the snarling face of wolf.  His eyes were fixed with mine, glowing with yellow, fiery ferocity.  I grabbed at his foreleg in an attempt to pull myself away, but to no avail.  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the foals huddled together as a trio of timberwolves encircled them.

“Coward!” the alpha wolf growled.  “I promised safe return to your home world, so that you would no longer interfere with the course of events here, and you have the nerve to spit in my face and hide behind five foals?”  His grimace slowly turned into a sinister smile.

“Oh, you have made a grave mistake, human.”  He threw me in the middle of the path, forcing a pained gasp to escape me upon impact.  One of the wolves broke away from the foals and pinned its paw on my chest, daring me to move with a snarl of wooden teeth.  “I am going to ensure your end is slow and painful.  A fitting end for worthless vermin like you.”

The alpha wolf slumped forward so that he was back on all fours.  He prowled back to where we came from.  “Do what you wish to the human, but bring him back to me alive,” he growled.  “I will follow his scent and discover the hole he has been hiding in and ensure there is no trace left of him.”

The wolf above me whimpered, and the alpha wolf paused.  “The foals?” he asked.  He hesitated, as if he was uncertain, and then craned his head back to face us.  “The human might have infected them.  Bring them to the pack for cleansing.”  Without another word, he stormed down the trail, leaving us with his pack.

The wolf above me opened its maw and lunged.  I brought my arm up, and it clamped down on my left forearm.  I yelped and braced my left arm with my right for support.  It shook his head wildly, and I screamed as it ripped through my skin, sending blood splattering across my face and into my eyes, turning the world crimson and blurry.  My hatchet rested on my left side, and I couldn’t reach it without losing whatever ground I was desperately holding onto.

There was a shrill shriek off to the side.  The other wolves were closing in on the foals.

“Leave them alone!” I cried out to the wolves, desperately hoping they could understand me.  “I didn’t do anything to them, just please let them go!”  My wolf snarled and pulled back at my arm.  I screamed as I struggled to keep it locked in place.  It had me pinned, and all I could do was watch the foals hopelessly.

Their timberwolves rallied them in a tight circle.  They were shaking like leaves.  One of the wolves made to move at them, and everything fell apart.  The foals screamed and scattered, leaving their captors clueless.  A wolf lunged for one of the foals, and time slowed to a crawl.

It probably took less than a second, yet it seemed to stretch out for an eternity, burning every last detail into my mind like a branding iron.  Wooden jaws clamped down on the runaway filly’s lower back; its teeth digging into her white coat.  A shriek pierced through the screams and snarls in the air as the filly was ripped from the ground.  The wolf shook its head once before tossing the dazed filly back to the cold dirt, a dull thud accompanying the impact.

The earth was shaking.  Something ignited in the back of my mind, and I cried out with all I had as if it would turn back the clock.  “Sweetie Belle!”

The filly was motionless, unresponsive to my cries.  The world seemed to fade around her still form, behind the chaos thrashing inside my mind.  I glared up to the wolf attached to my arm, and We wanted nothing more than to watch it burn.

Before I even realized it, I became a puppet; a passenger in my own body.  A primal scream escaped my lips as I threw the wolf off of me and rolled on top of it.  My hatchet was already in my hand and connected with the startled wolf’s head.  A string tugged my hand into the air, and the wolf resisted against the bleeding arm that held it in place as the tool was wrenched out of its skull.  My arm seemed to rise and fall on its own accord, over and over and over.  I didn’t know what was happening, but I didn’t want to stop.

Something latched onto my back and hurled me to the side.  A new mass of wood landed on top of me.  My vision was tunnelling around it.  Despite the dull ache in my body and the pounding of my heart in my ears, a surreal calm washed over me.  A voice whispered in my mind, lulling me to sleep.

They hurt you, and through you, Us.  We will not let them hurt you again.  They will die and burn.

Something was wrong.  My grip on reality was slipping, and I was scrambling to find something real and tangible to hold on to.  One moment a wolf was on top of me; the next I was crouched before two, one with a limp; another I was grabbing at a prone wolf’s head with bloodied hands.

I was… forgetting.  The intervals of nothingness were ousting those of consciousness.  A cloud was forming around my mind, pressing me further into sleep.  It was excited and frenzied and hungry.  And it wasn’t welcome.

Another glimpse of consciousness came.  I grabbed it with all I had, but something was trying to push me back.  A scream broke through static of my mind, and I recognized it as my own.

The first thing to greet me back to reality was an overwhelming sense of nausea.  My vision was hazy as the world spun around me.  A dull pain conquered my body, which felt as though it was filled with lead.  My breathing was shaky and uneven.

There was a whimpering not too far away.  A wolf appeared a few yards away as the world came back into focus.  Its wooden jaw was unhinged on one side, and its fur oozed golden sap.  It struggled to stand on a foreleg that bent in an unspeakably disturbing angle.  It scampered back a few more paces before turning and limping away with its tail between its legs.

My arms were warm.  I realized I was hunched forward on my knees.  I looked down and felt the blood drain from my face.  My left arms was planted on top of a wooden carcass.  It was numb, and dark trails of crimson leaked from the cuff of my jacket sleeve.  The wolf I was over was turned to its back, and my arm disappeared into its abdomen past the elbow.  It was pulsing… or something was pulsing around it; I couldn’t quite tell.  I carefully retracted it, revealing my bare, sap-coated forearm.  My fingers and palm were smothered in hues of crimson and yellow.

I couldn’t hold it back anymore.  I doubled over and retched from the nausea and stress.  I tried to recall what had happened, but my mind was drawing blanks.  A dull pain was receding in the back of my head.  I wanted nothing more than to just lie on the damp earth and let the sprinkling rain wash over me, but as I started to fully regain my grasp on reality, more memories started to flood in.

“Sweetie Belle!” I shouted, straightening back up on my knees.  I scanned the trail but couldn’t find her, or any of the foals for that matter.  Was I too late?  Had more wolves come and taken them during my blackout?  I struggled to pull myself back up to my feet and called again.  “Sweetie?  Scoots?  Snails?”  The earth tilted beneath me, and I stumbled to a tree for support.  My heart was racing.  “Applebloom?  Snips?  Please tell me you’re alright!”

Through the ringing in my ears, I thought I heard a response nearby.  I limped towards it, away from the trail and a few yards into the brushes.  My hands peeled away at the leaves until I found the foals.  My relief, though, was short lived.

“Don’t you worry, Sweetie,” Applebloom said in soothing tone.  “We’ll get you back to the hospital, and you’ll be fit as a fiddle in no time.”

I pushed through the small crowd and stared at the little filly in dread.  Her white coat was stained red around the side of her body.  Her tears mixed with the rainwater as she cried and screamed loudly.  Her mane was covered in grime.

“Where is it?” I turned to Applebloom.

“The hospital?” she asked.

“It’s all the way in Ponyville,” Snips answered, never taking his eyes off of her.  “But I don’t know if we’ll make it in time.”  Scootaloo  lied down next to Sweetie Belle, trying to calm the filly’s sobs despite being unable to hold back her own.  Snails stood worriedly to the side, unsure of what to do.

I threw off my jacket, making it into a makeshift cradle, and gently moved Sweetie Belle inside of it.  She wailed in protest as I tightened the sleeves around her wounds to slow the flow of blood.  With great caution, I cradled her fragile body in my arms.  Her head turned over, revealing the agony in her face as she buried it in my chest and cried harder.

“We aren’t giving up without trying,” I said, a small flame of determination beginning to burn inside me.  “Let’s move!”

I barely gave them enough time to follow me as I thundered through the forest.  My muscles ached from the exercise.  I realized that more had happened to me during my blackout than I had originally thought.  My left leg was set ablaze with each step I took.  A small trickle of blood stained the small tears in my jeans.  My right arm was bruised, and its hand almost felt numb.  It ached from the weight of the small unicorn in my arms.  Wooden teeth splintered out of my left forearm, pushing in deeper and deeper as I ran.  I was surprised I hadn’t tripped yet from the small moments of blind running due to the pain in my head.

“It huuuurts,” Sweetie cried again.  “Just make it stop!”

“Don’t you worry,” I tried to soothe her.  “Everything’s going to be alright.  It’ll be better before you know it.  I promise.”  I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep that promise, and the fear of failing to do so was more immense than I can describe.

We burst through the forest border.  The storm had begun to pick up.  The rain was heavier, and the wind seemed to push us back.  Ponyville was in sight, just ahead.

It was at that moment I realized how half-baked my plan was.  I had no idea where the hospital was, and I had accidentally left the foals behind.  They were the only ones who could direct me to the hospital, unless I felt like running around blindly through the village.  No, I couldn’t do that; not with Sweetie Belle’s life on the line.

A tiny voice piped up from my arms.  “Hunter?”

“Yes, Sweetie?”

The little filly coughed in my chest.  “I’m sorry for what I said earlier.  For a monster, you seem really n-nice.”

I couldn’t hold the tears back any longer.  I pulled her closer to my chest, as if through some miracle it would help her.  “It’s going to be okay, Sweetie.  I promise.  I won’t let anything happen to you.”  It was getting harder to breathe with the lump in my throat.  This wasn’t fair.  She wasn’t supposed to be like this.  I was.

“Hunter!” an urgent voice cried behind me.  I tore my eyes from the filly in my arms.  The other foals had finally caught up to us.  “What do we do now?” Scootaloo asked quickly, despite her shortness of breath.

I stood back up, recomposed myself, and stared at the village.  There were probably still some pony stragglers outside, and for all I knew the hospital could have been on the other side of the town.  Even if we made it in time…  When we made it in time, running through the town would be sure to cause a riot.  My eyes shot down to the filly in my arms.  To save her, a riot might just be worth it.

“Alright, listen up,” I announced.  “I have no idea where the hospital is, but you do.  I’m not sure how much time Sweetie has, so we’re going to have to be quick about this.  Applebloom, Scootaloo; you girls try to find any of Sweetie Belle’s friends, family, whatever.  They’ll want to know what happened.  Snips, Snails,” the two colts saluted at the sound of their names, “You two are going to lead me to the hospital.  You guys know your way around town better than me.  Everybody clear on what to do?”  The foals erupted into affirmative shouts.  Sweetie Belle weakly groaned.

We immediately split up.  I followed Snips and Snails with ease.  They were fast, but slower than I would have liked.  I wished I didn’t have to rely on them for directions.  Ponies became more and more frequent as we drew closer to the village, as did their shrieks of terror.  By the time we entered Ponyville, everything had fallen into chaos.

“It’s the monster!”

“Everypony run for your lives!”

“The horror!  The horror!”

“What did it do to that poor filly?”

“Is that blood?!”

“It’s chasing those colts!  Somepony do something!”

Snips and Snails skidded to a stop at an intersection.  I nearly trampled them.

“The hospital’s that way!” Snips yelled, pointing his hoof down one of the paths.

“No, it’s the other way!” Snails retaliated, pointing his hoof in the complete opposite direction.

I stared between the two in disbelief.  Were they arguing about this now of all times?  How could they not be sure where the hospital was?  They lived in this mad town!  Maybe I should have told the others to lead me instead.

Sweetie Belle groaned again.  “Make it stop,” she pleaded weakly.  With no idea which colt was correct, I blindly chose one of the paths, praying it would be the right choice.  As I stormed down the streets, the ponies were eager to make way for me.  “Hunter, I’m getting tired,” Sweetie coughed.  “Can we just rest for a bit?”

“No, don’t go to sleep!” I shouted desperately.  “You are not giving up on me! You hear me?!  I promised you I was going to fix this, and I’ll be damned before I break a promise!”

Up ahead I could see a large building roughly three stories tall.  A red circle with a white cross marked its roof and the sign before it.  It had to be the hospital.  Without missing a beat, I raced to the front doors, shifting slightly so as to not jostle Sweetie too much.  There was no time to enjoy the break from the downpour; I had a sickening feeling the true storm resided inside.

I flung the glass doors open and sprinted inside.  My soaked shoes slipped on the slick floor, launching me forward.  Sweetie Belle fell out of my hands as I stumbled, screaming in pain as she skidded to a stop before the receptionist’s front desk.

The cold tiles came up to kiss my face.  Stars exploded in my eyes on impact.  I was dazed, but I couldn’t let that stop me.  I sluggishly reached forward to drag myself towards the wounded unicorn, but found no purchase.  My wounds and fatigue were starting to take their toll.  I could feel something warm and thick pooling in my mouth, and crimson splattered the once-white tiles as I spat it out.

“Somepony help!” the nurse at the front cried out.  “This foal is hemorrhaging badly.  She needs medical attention, now!”  Three ponies rushed into the room.  Two of them untangled Sweetie Belle from my jacket and rushed her off.  The third stayed behind with the nurse.

My surge of energy disappeared with the crying unicorn.  I pushed myself up to my hands and knees and allowed myself to breathe.  Everything was sore.  My eyes were still going in and out of focus.  Despite all the pain, though, I smiled.  I did it.  I saved her.  She was going to be alright.

Something punctured my shoulder, something small and thin.  One might dare say needle-like.  I froze in horror as it ignored my shirt and plunged into my skin.  I didn’t dare move, not even when liquid fire burned in my arm around the point of contact.  I silently screamed inside.  When it withdrew, I turned to face it.

There stood a white pony with her pink mane done neatly in a bun.  She stared at me with wild and frightful blue eyes.  In her mouth rested a syringe, barely filled with a peculiar green liquid.  She was shaking worse than I was.

I turned, fleeing out of the hospital and back into the raging storm.  The pony injected something inside of me.  I didn’t know what, but I was fearful to find out.  It could have been a poison.  It could have been something to paralyze me.  It could have been something that would eat me from the inside out.  My imagination ran rampant at all of the possibilities.

Most of the ponies had vacated the streets.  I stumbled around trying to put as much distance between myself and the hospital as I could possibly manage.  My body was heating up, and I was feeling light-headed.  My vision was failing yet again, but this time it didn’t seem to be returning to a working state.  My sense of balance was thrown off as my mind began to muddle, and I soon found myself on my hands and knees.

“Well, well, well.  Look who we have here.”  A light blue mass materialized in front of me.  There was a soft thump like a fist hitting an open palm.  “It’s payback time.”

Run.  I tried to scramble away on my hands and knees, but something bound itself around me neck.  I gasped for breath and clawed at the lasso as it constricted my airflow.

“Nowhere to run to now, partner,” a second voice said.  Despite the familiar sounds, I couldn’t find the brainpower to connect the voices with names.

I reached for my hatchet and pulled it out.  Thunder exploded next to me, and the hatchet was struck out of my hand.  The impact sent me spinning, and the noose pulled me to the ground.  Through my blurred vision I could make out confetti clinging to my soaked and sap-covered hand.  A large, silver blur positioned itself over me, and I could barely make out the pink blur behind it.  “Sorry, Mister Monster, but we can’t have you making any more party fouls,” it said in a singsongy manner.

No, not like this, the voice growled.  You will not be defeated in such a pathetic manner.  We spent too much time…  Stand and fight!

I tried to obey, but my muscles refused to listen.  I was slipping out of focus again.

“It’s okay, girls.  Nurse Redheart informed me that she drugged the beast with heavy sedatives.  It shouldn’t pose as too much of a problem.”  That voice…  That voice I could definitely remember.  It was the same voice as the pony that plagued my nightmares.

A purple blur stuck its head above me.  For a second, my eyes refocused to allow me to a very happy Twilight staring down at me.  “Isn’t that right?” she cheerily asked.  I tried to lift an arm but only succeeded in raising it halfway before it limply fell back to my side.  “That’s what I thought,” she nodded.  “You and I are going to have a busy day tomorrow.  I can’t wait to get to learn more about you!”

Twilight’s grinning face was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

> Act II:  A Dream Come True
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The snarling reverberated off the sterile, white walls of the maze.  I tried to escape it, but each turn I took led to more and more corridors.  How long have I been running?  Minutes?  Hours?  It felt like it would never end.

Nearby doors would slam shut as I approached them.  I pounded on them with my fists, begging for help, but there was never a response on the other side.  Each stop cost me precious time, but I was desperate.  I knew what would happen when the beasts caught me, and any chance to get away from them was worth the risk.

I dared to steal a glance behind me.  They were getting closer; beasts made of twisted wood and shadows.  Their sickly eyes radiated in an animal hunger.  Their teeth gnashed at my heels between snarls.

“You could have prevented this,” the world rumbled around me.  I struggled to keep running as the walls trembled and the floor shook beneath my feet.  My chasers seemed unphased.  “You could be home now.  You could be safe.  We would have protected you.”

Another turn.  Another hallway.  More closing doors.  This maze was endless, and I was quickly running out of hope.  I was going to die here.

The sound of snarls slowly drowned in a sea of thunder.  I stole another look behind to see the beasts changing.  Their glowing eyes grew to grotesque sizes.  Dark manes sprouted out of the backs of their heads, and their sharp claws were replaced with rumbling hooves.

“But you sacrificed yourself for a bunch of animals,” the world continued in disgust.  The hallway seemed to stretch for miles, and I couldn’t find another turn.  This path was a dead end, but I kept running, hoping to buy more time before my pursuers caught up to me, even if it was only a little.  “You traded away your home, your friends, your family, just so a handful of ponies could make it back to theirs.”

The end was approaching fast.  A single door at the end was my only chance of escape.  I charged forward and rammed into it with my shoulder, but it didn’t even budge.  I pounded on it with my fists, begging whoever was on the other side to open up, but there was no response.  I pressed my back against the door, watching helplessly as the dark horses stalked closer.

Something was wrong.  There was another figure behind them all.  It was hard to see it, and every time I tried to focus on it, the world began to shake.  It had an unsettling air about it, like an uninvited guest.

“But far be it from us to make your decisions for you,” it said, throwing up its arms.  The horses were getting closer.  I shrank down into a corner, hoping that by some miracle I would disappear.  “Let us hope you can adapt to the consequences of your actions.  Welcome to your new home, Hunter.”

The horses lunged forward.  I barely had time to shout.


<><><>


White light flooded my vision.  It was so abrupt, I was blinded for a few seconds.  Voices were shouting to each other over a primal scream, which I soon realized was coming from myself.

“Doctor, the creature is awake!”

“I can see that, nurse!” a tense voice replied.

There was a weight on my chest, anchoring me in place.  My body felt numb to the world.  My thoughts flickered back to the nightmare, and I thrashed around in the bed against the pressure.  It refused to budge, but that didn’t stop me from trying to rip it away.

“Everypony, get out of here,” a voice barked.  “Somepony call security!”

“Where are Nurse Redheart and the sedatives?”

By then my eyes had somewhat adjusted to the harsh light.  Though everything was still hazy, I could tell I was in a hospital room.  A rough strap constricted my bare chest, and another was loosely around my ankles.  Multicolored blurs surrounded me, running around, barking orders, or trying to put as much distance between me and them as possible.

My fingers danced across a buckle on the strap across my chest.  Something bit into my right arm as I worked, but escape was all that was one my mind, and all I could afford was a strained yelp.  I hurriedly unfastened it and shot up to work on my ankles.  With my restraints gone, I scrambled off the stiff mattress and fell on the floor.  Jolts of pain raced through me as bare skin collided with cold tile.

“Quick, get it while it’s down!”

Heavy objects piled on top of my back.  My forearms were ablaze from the added weight.  Despite the raging fire, I pushed to the side and rolled on my back.  A small chorus of grunts punctuated the end of my fall as I slammed into something soft and hairy.

A metallic cart towered over my left.  A pair of arms reached out and anchored themselves onto it.  I managed to pull myself up halfway until it toppled beneath my weight, spilling its contents on me as I fell back on my captors.  They gasped for air as my body rammed into them.

A scalpel landed on my exposed chest.  My right hand gingerly picked it up, and as it pulled away I noticed the river of scarlet that was growing and weaving around my forearm.  Fresh blood pumped out faster and faster to the panicked cadence pounding in my ears.  My left hand clamped down the wound, trying to slow the flow, but I could still feel it oozing beneath.

A migraine was pulsing through my head.  A single thought looped in a seemingly endless mantra.  Run.  Invisible strings tugged at my body, trying to pull me up.  I rolled off the ponies, careful not to fall on any of the medical equipment that now littered the ground, and pushed myself back to my feet.  The room pitched and spun beneath me, but I managed to shamble over to the door.

The ponies were recovering quickly.  I threw the door open with a bloodied hand and found myself back in my nightmare.  A cold, sterile hallway greeted me as I slammed the door closed behind me.  Both ends branched off into what felt like the beginning of an endless maze.   I could hear voices and movement on the other side of the door behind me.  The ponies had come back to their senses; I needed to move.

I took off in a direction I could only hope led to safety.  As I half-ran-half-hobbled through the halls and my thoughts became clearer, I started assessing my condition.  The sound and feel of my bare feet slapping against the tiles nearly made me stumble in my tracks as a realization struck me.  My clothes were missing.  Other than my worn boxers and a few bandages, I was completely exposed.

The scalpel was still in a death grip in my right hand.  As impractical as it was, it was the only protection I had now.  The rivers of red pouring down my arm had dried and scabbed over.  I found the small hole in my forearm responsible for the bleeding and kept it plugged with a thumb.  Another bandage was wrapped around my left forearm.  A dull pain burned beneath it, and a brief memory flashed of a timberwolf’s jaws locked on my arm.  My left calf was bound in gauze.  I couldn’t see what was wrong with it, but I could definitely feel what was with each step I took on it.

I found a metal door at the other end of a hallway.  The sign above it glowed a red “exit”.  My hopes began to lift, only to be dashed away at the sound of voices and heavy footsteps behind me.  They were close.

I ran with all that I had.  My head was getting light, and the hallway stretched for miles.  My eyes were burning to stay opened.  The hallway was flickering in and out of focus before it blinked out entirely.  I could’ve sworn it was only for a second, but by the time my eyes managed to open again, I was on a collision course with a wall at the other end.  I rolled my shoulder into it to take the brunt of the impact.

My breathing was heavy, and it felt like the only thing that was anchoring me in this world.  I doubled over, hoping it would help keep my body together.  It felt like my head was about to roll off.  What did these ponies do to me?

Thunder reverberated off the walls.  I could hear shouting, but I couldn’t make out the words.  I looked up in time to see three ponies coming to a halt; a stallion and two mares all garbed in doctor and nurse’s attire.  The stallion, a unicorn with an orange coat and a wavy, brown mane, was at the head of the pack.  He took a couple cautious steps forward.

“Stay back,” I growled slowly through grit teeth.  I pointed the scalpel in their direction.  Blood was slowly dripping off my arm to the sterile floor.  My left arm was too busy supporting myself on the wall to plug it.

It was three on one.  I was wounded, my back was against the wall, and I felt like I was going to pass out at any minute.  They had a unicorn and the strange power that came with it, but they didn’t appear confident in spite of their advantage.  They had a wary look in their eyes, like they had just cornered a rabid animal, but I doubted their fear was going to keep me free forever.

The door was just a few paces to my left, but it might as well have been yards away.  I inched closer towards it, and the ponies took a few more steps forward.

“I said stay back,” I snapped.  I wondered if they caught the desperation in my voice.  They recoiled slightly, but held their ground nonetheless.  The stallion braved a few more steps.

“Now, now, let’s all calm down and think for a minute,” he started slowly.  My eyes and scalpel were locked on him.  “You’re hurt,” he pointed out.  “And you’ve lost a lot of blood.  You won’t make it very far in your condition.”

“Watch me,” I growled.  I was nearly in front of the door.  My hand felt the handle.

“You need to stay here,” the doctor protested.  “By the looks of it, you’ve already reopened one of your wounds.  We’re the only ones that can help you right now.”

I barked out a short laugh.  “‘Help’ me?  Oh, no.  I don’t know what you’ve done to me already.  I’m not staying in this mad town any longer.”

My fingers found the handle and grabbed at it.  It quickly burned my hand and turned by itself, and next thing I knew it flung backwards with me still attached to it.  I fell inside the base of the stairwell, dazed, and heard a sharp gasp.

I looked up to find an equally shocked Twilight staring back at me.  We froze for a moment before I tried to scramble back up to my feet.  Her horn hummed to life, and a scalding, purple wind knocked me out of the stairwell and back into the hallway.  My head connected to the hard tile, and my hands shot up to cradle it while I tried to come back to my senses.  Heavy weights fell on top of me, pinning me down, and I couldn’t find the strength to push back.

“Redheart, the sedatives,” a strained voice said above me.

“On it.”  A pair of white hooves pried one of my arms away.  I tried to pull it back in, but the moment if felt the needle puncture skin, I froze.  The medicine burned its way through my blood.  Once the needle retracted, the ponies jumped off, leaving me curled on the floor.

“Miss Sparkle, if you would?” the doctor asked.  Twilight nodded, and as her horn ignited again, a small purple dome formed around me.  The ponies had visible relaxed, although they kept their wary eyes glued to me just in case.  The doctor turned his attention to Twilight, and his voice came in slightly muffled.  “Thank you for your help, it couldn’t have been timed better.  It would have been troublesome to catch the creature otherwise.  Although next time, could you be a bit more gentle?  We have our hooves full enough trying to patch it up as it is.”

Twilight’s ears bent back, and she gave an apologetic smile.  “Sorry, it startled me; I may have pushed it back a little harder than I intended to.”  I rolled over and managed to push myself to my hands and knees.  My head was pounding, and everything was starting to take its toll on my body.  “How did this happen?” Twilight asked, redirecting her attention to me.  “I thought you said you had it contained.”

It was the doctor’s turn to look embarrassed.  “We did,” he explained.  “We had it sedated, but it woke up earlier than we anticipated.  I’ll be sure to add more security this time.”

Their voices were starting to devolve into meaningless sounds as the drug began to take over.  I tried to stand, but my cage wasn’t tall enough.  The best I could manage was a kneel.  I planted a hand against the translucent wall.  It was warm, almost burning, and I could feel whatever blood was left sputter and pop against the barrier.  The ponies paused and gawked, and their wary eyes were all trained on me.  My body was lulling me to sleep.  I tried to fight back, but it was a losing battle.

My eyes were heavy.  I wasn’t sure when I fell back to the ground, but the cold tiles suddenly felt very inviting.  “You’re all monsters,” I grimaced, and my last grip on reality began to slip.


<><><>


I couldn’t tell how long I was asleep; just that it seemed to stretch for an eternity, which made the nightmares seem to last forever.  The nightmares were always the same, and they seemed to play on a neverending loop.  I lost count of how many times I had ran through the cycle, but I had stopped trying to keep score a long time ago.

One night the continuity broke.  I assumed it was night; there were no windows in my room, but the lights were turned off.  I took in a few shaky breaths to calm myself from the nightmares.  A hot stream burned its way down the side of my face from the corner of my eye.  I stared where the ceiling should have been, my body unable to shift due to the new restraints.

I cherished the pause in the madness and enjoyed the first few relaxed breaths I had had in a long time.  A faint smile broke my face; in spite of it all, I managed to find some sort of peace.  Soon even the small itch on my nose didn’t even phase me.  But the sudden change brought only questions.  Why was I awake?  Was this planned, or just an accident on the ponies part?  How long had I been here for?  Days, weeks, months?

“So, how is the creature’s behavior?” Twilight’s muffled voice asked.  For a second, I thought I was still in my nightmare.  Light from the hallway leaked into the room.  I laid still and closed my eyes, not wanting to attract unwanted attention.  “Princess Celestia is very eager for updates about our visitor.”

“It’s hard to say, I’m afraid,” a male voice replied.  There was a soft click, and the room lit up in artificial light.  I dared to crack open an eye and spied Twilight and the orange unicorn in doctor’s apparel standing near the door.  “Ever since it tried to escape, we’ve kept it constantly sedated.  It helps with the procedures, but we always have somepony from security with us while we work just in case.  We only recently took it off its medication for tomorrow.”

Twilight moved closer to the bed, and I quickly closed my eyes.  “Why not just keep security posted here at all times?”

“We only have a hoofful of guards, Twilight,” he pointed out.  “Although we’re looking into hiring more for just that.  We try to keep at least one down here at all times, but you never know when somepony might try to sneak in and steal another book.”

An apologetic laugh came from Twilight, and she changed the subject.  “So, how far are we in classifying it?”  I heard her hooves move away from the bed and hesitantly opened an eye.

“I wish I had better news for you,” the doctor started, “but this creature has stumped us at nearly every turn.  It’s a bipedal mammal, and that’s the most we have on it.”

“Really?” Twilight asked in disbelief.  “That’s it?”

“This is a hospital, Miss Sparkle.  We work mostly with ponies, not creatures that come from the Everfree,” the doctor deadpanned.  “But even if we did, I’m sure we would still be at a loss.  Here, let me show you.”  They moved to the other side of the room, which was barely still in my field of vision.  They stopped at a counter, and various papers and vials glowing teal floated up to greet them.  “These are a some of the x-rays we have on the subject,” he explained.  “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“But, it’s a hand,” Twilight pointed out confusedly.  “We’ve seen plenty of those.  Spike even has something similar.”

“Yes, yes, I understand that, but look at it,” he stressed.  I thought I caught a hint of fascination in his voice.  “It’s just so much more… elaborate than any other skeletal system I’ve seen in Equestria.  Look at all of those bones in the wrist; they look as if they were just thrown in there, yet they fit together perfectly.  Not to mention the bones themselves look so bizarre in structure.”

“This is all very interesting, doctor, but how does this help us?” Twilight pressed.  The x-rays floated closer to her and traded their teal glows for purple as they moved closer to the ceiling lights.

“Well, it doesn’t,” the doctor admitted.  “Like I said before, I’ve never seen anything like this.  But trust me, this is all leading to my hypothesis.”

Twilight tore her eyes away from the images and cast him a glance.  “You said you wanted to show me something about its samples?" she asked with interest.

“Yes, I couldn’t describe it accurately enough during our last meeting, I’m afraid.  Please, this way.”  The two unicorns moved yet again, this time somewhere just outside of my vision.  I found a mirror hanging on a wall that luckily reflected their image clearly, albeit small.  A vial filled with a dark liquid floated to the doctor as they stood next to a cart with a metallic tray on top.  “Forgive me for the lack of professionalism, but,” the lid of the vial popped off, and it tilted over, spilling a few drops into the tray, “would you mind cleaning this up?”

“Excuse me?” Twilight demanded confusedly.

“Please, Twilight, you’ll understand soon enough.  It’s difficult to explain; I just want you to see for yourself,” the doctor explained.  “Do you recall what you told me about your first encounter with the monster; how it managed to break through your force field?”

Twilight cast a couple uneasy glances between the stallion and the tray.  “Yes…”

“Well, I decided to conduct an experiment of my own,” he started.  “I noticed something peculiar whenever we were trying to patch it up.  It’s body seemed to reject any healing spells, so we decided to take some samples for testing.  I’m not sure how much blood the monster can lose, so we are always very careful whenever extracting it.  I accidentally spilled some the other day and tried to pick it up.  However, whenever I used my magic…  Well, you should probably see for yourself.”

She gave him an odd look and directed her attention back to the tray.  The vial floated closer to her and glowed purple.  Her face twisted in concentration, and her horn grew brighter.  She looked perplexed at first, then, after repeating the ritual a few more times, became more agitated.  “Why isn’t this working?” she demanded as her horn fired up one last time.

A puff of crimson smoke  erupted before her face, causing the frightened mare to scream and reel back.  The glass vial fell to the floor and nearly shattered before the doctor dove for it.  “What just happened?” Twilight sputtered.

“That’s just it, I don’t know,” the doctor admitted.  “We’ve ran tests on the beast’s blood, its hair, its skin, its claws, even the rags it was wearing, and they all show either violent reaction or an unnatural immunity to magic.”

“But—  How is that even possible?” Twilight demanded.  “Magic can’t just be… ignored like that.  Are you certain there’s nothing else that can be causing this phenomenon?”

“We’ve checked for any contamination in the samples that would lead to these results,” the doctor assured.  “But other than an old strain of hay fever we thought was extinct, we can’t find anything wrong with the creature.  I’m afraid we just don’t know how or why, but the monster is just immune to magic.”

Twilight started pacing in and out of the mirror.  “But that just doesn’t make any sense,” she muttered to herself.  “Everything in Equestria has some kind of magic inside of it, no matter how small.  It’s what keeps everything connected to each other.  But the fact that the monster rejects magic…  That would imply that it doesn’t have any magic.”

The doctor followed the pacing mare with his eyes.  He looked like he was building the courage to speak up.  “Er, Twilight?” he started.  Twilight stopped in acknowledgement.  “I realize this might sound a little farfetched, but…”  His brows furrowed as a scowl formed on his lips.

“What is it?” Twilight pressed.

The doctor hesitated.  “What if this thing isn’t Equestrian?”

Twilight gave him a confused look.  “What do you mean?” she asked skeptically.

“I don’t know, it’s just a hypothesis,” the doctor said.  “It’s just so bizarre…  We have no documentation of anything like it.  What if the monster isn’t originally from Equestria?  Or what if it is the beginning of a new…  Oh, what’s the word I’m looking for?”  His mane bounced back and forth as he shook his head.  “What if it is a new spirit?  I know it is a radical proposal, but with all of its abnormalities and oddities, all of its unnaturalness…  this could very well be a spirit of the Everfree rather than a beast for all we know.”

Twilight looked unsure, but shook her head.  “I don’t know.  That might be too extreme, but, still…”  I closed my eyes as she cast a glance at my body.

“Thank you for your time,” she said, her hoofsteps moving across the room.  “This information has been very useful.  I’m sure the princesses will love to hear it.”

“I’m glad I could help, Miss Sparkle,” the doctor replied.  “Are you sure you still wish to begin the interrogation tomorrow?”

“Most definitely,” Twilight answered.  “This creature, or spirit, has been here long enough, and it is high time it started answering some questions.”

There was a soft click, and the room was bathed in darkness again.  I looked up in time to see the door closing behind them, and I was once again left alone in the dark.  As the sound of their hooves faded away, Twilight asked one last audible question before their voices became too muffled to hear, “So, how is Sweetie Belle recovering?”
> Act II:  Guilty until Proven Innocent
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I fell into a light, dreamless slumber that night until a voice cut through the tranquil silence.  “Time to wake up.”  My world shook, and I soon found myself back in the land of the living.  Artificial light burned my eyes.  I squinted and tried to wipe the drowsiness away, only to find that I was still in my restraints.

I tried to stretch my body to find my limits.  A pressure around my chest held me firmly to the cold bed, and another belted my waist down.  My wrists and ankles were tightly cuffed as well, the bindings digging into my skin.  Only my head was free to swivel and crane as much as I wanted.

“I see you’ve discovered your new restraints,” the doctor noted.

I used what little freedom I had to look up and throw him a glare.  He held his ground, unphased, and strode to the door.  “I believe it is ready, Miss Sparkle,” he announced as he opened it.  Three mares appeared on the other side.  I recognized Twilight and Applejack immediately, but I could barely recall the white unicorn with them with the long, curled, purple mane.  She still had a faint bruise over her temple where I remembered a fist connecting to at one point, and a knot formed in my stomach as memories resurfaced of storms and mud and rage.  The look on her face proved that she hadn’t forgotten, either.

A quill and a notepad floated close to Twilight, humming soft purple lights.  “So,” she started, and the quill began scratching on the paper.  “We have a few questions for you.  If you choose to comply and answer them, then this little chat of ours will be over in no time.  Okay?”  I didn’t respond; instead I only shifted underneath my restraints.  Twilight hummed in thought.  “How’s about we make you a little more comfortable?”

The straps over my body grew warm and started shifting.  “Twi, are you sure this is a good idea?” Applejack asked.  I didn’t hear a response; I could only assume she nodded.

The restraints floated lazily off my body and nestled themselves next to me on the bed.  I cautiously sat up, skeptical of my newfound freedom, and felt something metallic digging into my wrists.  Short cuffs had me tethered to the bedrails.  I realized I was still barely covered and scooted as far back as I could on the bed and crossed my legs, trying to hide as much of my body as I could.

“I think it would be best to start with the simple questions,” Twilight chirped, flashing me a practiced smile.  She leaned forward, and the paper and quill mimicked her.  “Do you have a name?”  Her eyes were eager.  My teeth were grit, and my mouth was sealed shut.  A small migraine burned in the back of my head as I stared between the three of them.

Twilight’s smile faltered, but she tried to keep her optimism.  “Where are you from?” she pressed.  I still kept silent.  I wasn’t sure why; maybe that in all the ponies I’ve met since I’ve been here, Twilight was the last one I wanted to talk to after waking up here.  Her smile flattened out as she pressed her lips.  The curiosity in her eyes had died out and were replaced by a small flicker of agitation.  “What exactly are you?” she demanded.

“Maybe it’s one of them changelings again,” Applejack offered, keeping her skeptical eyes pinned on me.  “Kinda makes it difficult nowadays to know what’s real and what ain’t.  Y’think there could still be some lingerin’ around after the wedding?”

“I don’t think so,” Twilight shook her head.  “We may not know much about them, but so far they only seem to be able to mimic what they can see.”

“Which only begs the question, where would a changeling even find such a grisly creature?” Rarity added.

Twilight looked back to me with steely determination.  “This silent treatment isn’t going to get you anywhere,” she pointed out.  “We know you can talk.  The longer you hold off our questions, the longer we’re going to be here.”

I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.  My eyes connected with hers for a second, and I shook my head.  “I want my clothes,” I finally said.

It caught them off guard, to say in the least.  They had a stunned look in their eyes, almost as if they weren’t expecting me to actually talk.  Twilight recovered quickly, and the curious spark reignited in her eyes as the quill began scratching  away feverishly.  Applejack readjusted her hat and gave me a look.

“Er, beg yer pardon?” she asked.

“My clothes,” I repeated, trying to curl up tighter.  “I want them back.”

“Ah don’t see what that’s got to do with anything,” Applejack pointed out.  Rarity’s face was turning slightly red as her eyes began to widen, and her lips were pressed tightly together.  “You’re just dodgin’ questions now.”

“I’m not,” I swore.  “It’s a little taboo for people to not wear clothes, and it’s making me really uncomfortable being near naked.  Not to mention it’s a little cold in here.”

“Interesting,” Twilight trailed.  “So there are more like you.  Is there anything more you can tell us about your species?”

“Look, just give me my clothes,” I groaned.

“We will, but first I just have a few—”

“Oh, for Celestia’s sake!” Rarity shouted.  Her face was ruby red, and she snapped her attention to a counter with linens resting on top.  They sprung to life and flew across the room, unfolding themselves in midair before landing over my lap.

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had pent up and relaxed slightly, adjusting the blanket over my legs with what little mobility the cuffs gave me.  My eyes flickered up to hers before breaking away almost immediately, and I muttered a quick “thanks” under my breath with a nod of the head.  She turned her head and huffed, eyes glued to the ceiling and face still burning.

“Well…” Twilight carefully started after a small silence.  “Now that that’s covered, perhaps we can move on to answering some of my—”

“I want to talk to Lyra,” I cut in.

There was a pause, and Twilight gave a short, incredulous snort.  “Oh no.  That’s not happening.  I don’t know what you did to gain such a large influence on her, but I think it would be best if we kept you two separate for a while.”

“Hey, I didn’t do anything to her,” I swore.  “All we did was talk.  She chose my side by herself.”  My mind trailed off.  What was I doing talking about ‘sides’?  All it was doing was deepening the very divide Lyra was trying so hard to close.  The back of my head burned, and the cuffs prevented my hands from investigating it.

“I find that hard to believe,” Rarity commented.  Her blush had calmed down, but she still refused to look at me.  “From the times we met and all the stories I’ve heard, you hardly strike me as much of a charmer.”

“I wasn’t trying to charm her.  We just talked,” I stressed.  “And… it was nice.  It was the first conversation I had in a long time, and it made me realize that maybe I was just going about this wrong way.”  I paused, trying to gauge the mares.  Applejack and Rarity seemed unsure, either of themselves or where I was going with this.  Twilight was watching me closely with scrutinizing eyes.  I couldn’t bring myself to meet hers.  “Look, winter is coming up in a couple of months,” I sighed, “and there’s no way I can survive out there.  I figured if ever there was a time to bury the hatchet, now would be as good as any.”

“So, you not raiding my family’s farm was supposed to some sign of good will?” Applejack demanded incredulously.  She leaned in to press her point.  “Do y’all even realize how much you stole from us?”

I flinched as my brain rattled inside my own head.  Why are you letting them talk to you like this? the voice demanded.  They are a bunch of horses; why should you explain yourself to them?

Shut up, I bit back.  It’s hard to think when you’re talking.

You saved one of them, the voice continued, its tone escalating.  If nothing else they should be praising you!

I grit my teeth and looked off to the side, as if doing so would help me focus on the migraine.  I said shut up.  I’m trying to work my way out of this, and I can’t think straight with these headaches.

“Was that what the field trip was?”  I snapped back to reality.  Rarity was staring at me with a quizzical face, like she was piecing together a puzzle in her mind.  “Just some stunt you were trying to pull to get on our good side?” she continued.  I hesitated, unsure of how to answer, and that was all she needed.

She threw her hooves on the foot of the bed and stood up on her hind legs, leaning in as close as she dared.  A fire raged in her blue eyes.  “So help me, if my Sweetie Belle doesn’t pull through because of your… popularity stunt…”

“I didn’t ask them to follow me!” I defended.  The other mares flinched back as the tempers rose, but Rarity stood her ground unphased, her eyes threatening to burn through me.  “I didn’t ask for any of this!  They were suppose to escape with the rest of the school while I fended off the wolves.  By the time I realized they were following me, we were too deep in the Everfree.  I tried to get them back as fast as I could.”

“The wolves?” Twilight pressed.

Applejack managed to tug Rarity away from the bed, and I took in a few breaths to try to calm myself down.  “Timberwolves,” I corrected.  I watched as the quill scratched against the parchment.  The noise was grating, like it was etching against my ears.  “They attacked at the field trip,” I explained.  “And another time when the foals and I nearly reached Ponyville.”

“There hasn’t been a single case of timberwolves moving that close to Ponyville in years,” Twilight pointed out.  “They’ve always stayed deep in the Everfree.  Why would they change that now all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know,” I confessed.  This was going nowhere fast, and the growing headache wasn’t helping.  “Why is it so hard for you to just trust me?”

The scratching stopped for a second.  A deafening silence fell on the room like a blanket.  Twilight locked her eyes on me.

“You want to know why I don’t trust you?” she asked slowly.  “Maybe because in the short couple months we’ve known you, you hospitalized Rarity, constantly stole from Applejack, and threatened to and nearly succeeded in killing one of our best friends!” Twilight accused.  She slowly trotted up to the end of my bed, a righteous fury burning inside her eyes.  “You’ve done all these horrible things, and then all of a sudden, you stop, and Lyra and Zecora are out in the streets talking like you’re some kind of misunderstood saint.  They completely ignore everything we try to tell them, everything we saw, and expect us to just trust you in spite of everything you’ve done.

“Your very existence is a crime against all laws of magic.  It’s as if you’re not even from Equestria, and I can’t even begin to wrap my head around that.”  She leaned in close, resting her forelegs on the foot of my bed.  “You want to know why I don’t trust you?  It’s because you’re one of the most violent creatures I’ve seen and you don’t make any sense.  You’re no better than any of the other beasts that come out of the Everfree.”

I lurched forward as far as the cuffs would let me go.  My face stopped inches from hers, our eyes locked.  “I don't exactly remember a red carpet welcome either,” I growled.  “I wasn’t the only 'monster' that night.”

The room was silent.  The quill had stopped scribbling halfway through Twilight’s rant.  Nobody spoke a word.

The door silently squeaked open, but it might as well have been a siren.  Behind Twilight, a small, yellow head with a long pink mane slowly pushed itself out.  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy apologized before retreating slightly back behind the door.  “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“No,” Applejack said carefully as she looked between me and Twilight.  She turned and flashed her friend a warm smile.  “Not at all.  What’s up, Sugarcube?”

Fluttershy slunk into the room.  “I was sent to tell Hunter his lunch was coming soon,” she explained.  “If you’re not too busy, of course,” she added quickly.  The tiles suddenly became very interesting to her.  She pawed at the floor with one of her hooves and tried to make eye-contact with me.

The three mares paused and looked at her.  “Hunter?” Twilight echoed.  “Wait, do you mean…”  Her voice trailed as her eyes fell on me.

Fluttershy nodded almost excitedly.  “Yes, the human.”

“Er, human?” Applejack repeated.  “Ya lost me, Sugarcube.”

“Wait, darling, you haven’t been attending that poor Lyra’s rallies, have you?” Rarity asked with concern.

She retreated behind her long mane and looked up to Rarity.  “Maybe a few,” she admitted softly.  “Was I not supposed to?”

“It’s fine,” Twilight said, waving it off as she trotted to the door.  The quill and parchment followed.  “I think we’ve gotten as much as we can out of this meeting.  Let’s leave the… human?”  Fluttershy nodded.  “Right,” Twilight continued.  “Let’s leave the human to his meal.  Come on, girls.  Let’s go to Sugarcube Corner; my treat.”

Rarity followed close behind with her head held high.  “Some sweets do sound delightful right now.  The air here is a little too bitter for my taste,” she huffed.

Applejack hesitated, scanning over me with a scrutinizing eye.  “Y’all go on ahead without me.  Ah wanna ask this fella a few more questions.”  Twilight paused, but after sharing a look with Applejack, she nodded in understanding and trotted out of the room with Rarity in tow.

Fluttershy watched her friends pass with a lost look in her eyes.  She looked to me as if for answers, and I huffed and shook my head.  I could see a conflict raging behind her eyes.  Her ears flattened, and she turned and called to her friends.  “Wait, we need to talk!” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.  Applejack closed the door behind her, muffling whatever else she might have said.

The room was thick with an uncomfortable silence.  I didn’t dare break it.  I shifted on my elbows, and my eyes tracked the mare as she moved across the room to pull up a chair next to me.  She straddled it and leaned forward with her forelegs resting on its back.

“Applebloom’s been spinning quite the tale ‘bout you lately,” she eventually said.

I leaned back and exhaled.  “So, you did talk to the foals,” I commented without looking at her.  “What have they been saying?”

“A lot of things,” Applejack said, nodding at nothing in particular.  “Mostly how you’re actually a ‘nice monster’ and how you helped them find their way home after the field trip.”  She sighed and leaned forward, staring off in the distance.  Her brows furrowed.  “It’s gettin’ real hard telling what’s the truth and what ain’t these days, and Ah don’t rightly appreciate that.”

“Would you really believe me if I told you?” I asked.  “Your friends seem pretty dead set on their thoughts about me.”

“They have their reasons,” Applejack defended.  “And Ah had mine.  That is until y’all came back with the foals after everypony coulda swore you foalnapped them.”  A pause filled the air.  I was too curious to see where she was going with this to interrupt her.

“Y’know, Ah actually talked to Miss Cheerilee after they all got back,” she continued, putting her full attention on me.  Her deep green eyes bored into mine, as if they were searching for something.  “Wasn’t expecting them to get back so early; Ah was just passing by in the park.  She was a little frazzled; the other adults had to do a headcount for her.  That was when we found out we had five fewer foals than we started with, mine and Rarity’s sisters included.

“Now, an interesting story was floatin’ around about you,” she directed a hoof at me.  “And it’s got me more turned around than a stampede in a twister.”

My brow furrowed.  “What kind of story?” I asked.

“Miss Cheerilee overheard you talkin’ to Zecora, and by the sound of it, you were willing to risk yer life to get the foals out of there.  Some of the foals even pitched in; made it sound like it was some over-the-top ‘monster battle royale’.”  She studied me, looking for some sort of reaction.

I took in a breath and slowly let it out.  “Did you believe it?” I asked after a short pause.

“Not at first,” she admitted matter-of-factly.  “Y’all ‘visited’ my family’s farm more than enough for me to get my own image of you.  Ah trust you ‘bout as much as Ah can lift ya, and Ah found it hard to believe that you suddenly became some saint with a sound sense of right.”  She forced a short laugh.  “You can only imagine what was going through my head when Lyra tried consolin’ me, saying my sister was probably with you.”

I didn’t share her laugh.  Lyra and Zecora had been sticking their necks out enough for me.  Just thinking about all that they could have been going through because of me was enough to make me feel guilt-ridden.  I slumped in the bed, and Applejack seemed to take note.

“But then you came runnin’ into town with the foals, causin’ quite a commotion while you were at it,” Applejack continued.  “After we got you all wrangled up, Applebloom started spinning her side of the story, along with some of them other foals.  Ah don’t reckon anypony else paid them much attention, what with Twi writing to the princess and Rarity stayin’ next to her sister night and day, but Ah learned the tough way to listen to my little sister every now and then.  And they started painting you in a new light.  They went on a wild spiel, saying you were some alien from space that got stranded from yer family.”

Eh, that’s mostly true,” I interjected.  “The whole ‘alien from outer space’ bit was just a story I made up for Snips and Snails.  They all seemed to enjoy it, but it wasn’t exactly true.”  A memory popped into mind, and I turned to face Applejack.  “Oh, could you tell Scootaloo that for me?  She was doing her report on me, and she was taking notes the whole time I was talking, and I felt kinda bad feeding her the misinformation.  I mean, I know there’s no way Cheerilee can really check, but—”

I trailed off as Applejack stared at me with a raised eyebrow.  The smile that had unknowingly formed quickly faded.  My lips pressed together to stop myself from saying anything else, and my eyes suddenly found the ceiling to be very interesting.  “Sorry,” I eventually said.  “Did they say anything else?”

“Just that they thought you were some sort of hero.”  I blinked and sat back up to look at Applejack.  She was serious.  “They said you gave up your only chance to go home to help them return to theirs.  And then…”  Her voice trailed.  I could see she was agitated, even if only a little.  She stood up from the chair and started pacing the room.  My eyes followed her as she moved.

“And then Ah started doubtin’ myself,” she shook her head.  “With all the times we ended up buttin’ heads with each other, Ah was pretty confident Ah had you figured out.  Ah figured you were just a no-good varmint trying to steal an easy meal; a smart one, mind you, but a varmint nonetheless.  I knew Pinkie was just making tall tales saying you could brainwash ponies or use ‘Everfree magic’.  If you could, you’d’ve used it a long time ago on me and my family so you could steal our harvest easier.  Ah figured you were just spinning sweet lies to Zecora and Lyra, trying to get them on your side.”

She stopped at the side of my bed and returned her attention to me.  “And then the field trip happened, and everypony is paintin’ you in different colors, and they’re all different from the snake Ah’ve known for the past couple months.  When Twi asked if Ah wanted to help with this little interrogation, Ah was more than happy to oblige; figured Ah’d finally be able to prove just which story was the truth.  And then you started talking… and Ah found out none of them were true.

“You’re not just some varmint,” she explained.  “But you ain’t a saint either.  Wouldn’t go near as far as callin’ you a hero.  You’re still a thief, but Ah reckon you might have a heart after all.”  Another pause.  She looked me over expectantly again.  When I didn’t press, Applejack took it as her cue.  “Ah think you’re just some poor fella who’s down on his luck and making a whole lot of poor decisions along the way.”

A short laugh managed to break free from me.  “That’s the understatement of the century,” I grumbled.  “Tried to save one of the foals after the ambush, and look where I am now.  I should’ve pointed them to Ponyville the moment I knew they were following me.”

“Why didn’t you?” Applejack pressed.  She strode across the room back to her chair.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted.

She snorted, “Well, that’s a lie if Ah’ve ever heard one.”  I threw her a look as she sat down, but she was unphased.  “Why did you decide to help them?” she asked.  “Or anypony on that trip, for that matter.”

“It’s… complicated,” I started.

“Ah have time,” Applejack explained as she leaned back.

Your princess told me to, I wanted to say, but my doubt held me back.  Would she believe me?  It sounded so farfetched to say; I could barely believe it happened, and I was there for the deal.  Applejack seemed to be trusting me, even if only barely.  Would dropping the weight of the princess’ deal break whatever flimsy bridge was forming between us now?

“When we got the tip about the field trip, Lyra and Zecora wanted me to jump for it and help,” I eventually said.  “They figured it would give me a chance to prove who I really was to everybody.  And if we’re being honest, I didn’t really care about proving my character to any of you; I didn’t feel like I needed to.  But I decided to go along with it anyways because they wanted me to.

“But then, the night before the field trip, I invited Zecora over to where I was hiding; just to hang out.”  A faint smile broke my face as my thoughts drifted back to that night.  “And she brought some extras with her.  I didn’t trust them at first, but she did, and that was enough for me to at least try.  As the night went on, we all eventually became good friends, or I’d like to think we did at least.

“After being here for so long, I almost forgot what it was like to be able to talk and laugh with other people, and it got me thinking.  If these strangers were willing to give me a second chance despite everything they’ve probably heard of me, then maybe I could try giving the rest of you a second chance, too.”  I looked the mare in the eyes.  “I watched over the foals on their field trip, not because I felt like I had to, but because I wanted to.  I wanted to believe you ponies weren’t all as crazy as I thought.”

I raised my hands as far as the cuffs would allow.  “Although, I probably shouldn’t have been too hopeful in hindsight,” I added.

“And that’s the truth?” Applejack asked after a pause.

“The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but,” I nodded.

Applejack nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer, and without a word she stood up from the chair and moved to leave.  She opened the door and paused, looking over her shoulder at me.

“Ah’ll tell my friends you were tellin’ the truth, and Ah’ll see what Ah can do about you getting yer clothes back, too.”  She hesitated, and the steely look returned in her eyes.  “But after that, we’re even,” she continued, pointing a hoof at me.  “You may be telling the truth now, but that doesn’t mean Ah trust you just yet.  You’re still a low-down thief in my book.  But while Ah have mah doubts, Ah think ya might be able to turn things around for yerself.”  She hesitated.  “Don’t make me regret sayin’ that,” she added.

I sighed and nodded, “I’ll try my best.”

She lingered for a moment, her eyes focused on something only she could see.  She let out a breath and shook her head.  “Thank you for keeping my sister safe,” she said quietly.  I blinked, and the door closed behind Applejack before I had a chance to respond, leaving me alone to my thoughts.
> Act II:  Trojans and Gift Horses
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I wasn’t given much time to myself before there was a knocking at the door.  A metal cart rolled in, pushed by a familiar white nurse with her pink mane done in a tight bun.  I noticed an even more familiar pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt folded neatly on her back.  Two security guards flanked her as she entered.  They froze and gawked at me.  It took my mind a second to realize it, and when it clicked I held my hands up in surrender.

“Twilight removed some of the restraints,” I swore.  “It wasn’t me.”

“I see…” the nurse said cautiously.  Her eyes flickered down before training back on me.  “And the blanket?”

“Rarity,” I explained.

She seemed to buy it.  “Well, I suppose that explains why Applejack wanted me to bring these.”  The nurse moved to the foot of my bed, and I moved my legs to make room as she dropped off my clothes.  She nodded to one of the guards, a unicorn mare, and she slowly approached, her eyes trained on me.

“Don’t try any funny business,” she warned as a key floated from her uniform.  I held up my hands in cooperation and watched as the key lazily flew to each cuff.  My body stiffened as the last restraint fell, and my eyes flickered to the exit.  The other guard, a large stallion, stood in front of it, his eyes daring me to try.

You can take them, the voice tempted.  The unicorn and the nurse don’t appear to be any fighters.  The stallion would be the only trouble.

But how many more are on the other side of the door? I asked.  Applejack’s parting words still rang in my head.  Let’s wait this out for a minute, I thought.  Test the waters.

I reached for my clothes slowly.  Everybody’s eyes were pinned on me.  The unicorn returned to the nurse’s side.  The stallion was as tense as ever.  I unfolded my shirt and inspected it.  Same number of holes, same number of stains.  The nurse watched curiously as I threw it over my head and let it slide onto me.

I shifted to the side of the bed.  The guards snapped into a ready position.  “Just standing to put my pants on,” I explained, holding up a hand to calm them.  They relaxed, albeit slightly.  The blanket fell off as I stood up.  I tried to ignore the ponies’ eyes boring into my back as I slipped my feet into each leg.  A content sigh escaped me when I finished.  It was nice feeling less exposed.

“Alright, back on the bed,” the stallion ordered.  The rest of my clothes were nowhere to be seen.  I gave a quick stretch to test my wounds, and my body ached in complaint beneath my bandages.  I didn’t feel like pressing my luck just yet.  I sat back down on the bed with my back leaning against the wall.  The unicorn’s horn ignited, and the cuffs came to life, tethering themselves to my ankles and wrists.  They burned as they tightened around me, but as the magic dissipated, so did the heat.

The nurse rolled the cart up to me, and for the first time I noticed its contents.  A single tray rested on top, along with a glass of water.  I spied what looked like mashed potatoes and peas, an orange cube of jello, and a couple of flowers that looked like tulips.  My stomach turned at the sight of the apple, and my eyes lingered at the odd green mush on the side.

She carefully picked up the tray with her teeth and moved it to my lap.  Whatever the mush was reeked.  The cart was kept close for me to grab the water, thankfully.  I picked up the spoon, the only utensil given to me, and eyed the food, unsure of where to start.

“Are you gonna eat it or stare at it?” the stallion asked in a bored tone.

I tugged at the cuff around my right wrist.  “Think I can get this one removed so I can eat?” I turned to the nurse.  She hesitated; my question seemed to catch her off guard.  But she nodded to the unicorn.

The mare sighed and drifted the key to the lock, reminding me again, “no funny business”.  I slowly picked at the food, starting with the potatoes.  I was sure to stay clear of the green mystery food.  After accidentally poking it once, my nose was filled with the odd smell of freshly mowed grass.

It was uncomfortable; being the only one in the room eating.  The stallion looked as if he didn’t want to be there, his eyes constantly darting between the watch on his fetlock and the door.  The nurse gave me the occasional curious glance as I ate.  She had seated herself next to one of the counters and was flipping through a few documents she had procured from one of the drawers.  The unicorn was indifferent, sitting in Applejack’s chair and making her keys float and dance in the air before her as she rested her head in her hoof.

The meal tasted stale, much to my contempt.  It felt as if it was missing something.  When my brain figured it out, my stomach grumbled in complaint.  All eyes shot to me.

I gave an apologetic chuckle.  “Say, I don’t suppose you ponies have any…”  My voice trailed off as I tried to find a way to tell the herbivores gently.

“Meat?” the nurse offered.  I blinked in surprise.  “I’ve seen your dental report,” she explained, waving a hoof dismissively.  “It screams omnivore, and you’ve been picking at your food a lot.  I tried making a meal based on that and what you’ve taken from the Apple family.”  My eyes fell back down to my tray.  Something told me that little detail was going to follow me for a while.

“We don’t have any meat stocked,” the nurse explained.  “We don’t exactly have many patients who eat it often, but we do have the rare occasion.  I can place an order for some fish, if you’d like.”

I blinked and turned to face her.  “Really?” I asked, doubt heavy in my voice.  She nodded in return.  “That’s… um… that’s oddly kind of you.”

“We received instructions from the princess,” the nurse waved off.  “She wanted to make sure you were comfortable and well fed.”

“Doesn’t make sense, if you ask me,” the unicorn interjected.  The keys floated back to her side.  Just outside of my reach.  Too many eyes.  “The deal was we patch the beast up and then hand it off to the mayor so she could send it off to a cell until Princess Celestia arrives.  It looks fine to me, but now she wants us to keep it here.  Why would she change her mind all of a sudden?”  She shook her head and stared at me skeptically.  "Something feels off about all of this."

“I’m not sure, Silver,” the nurse admitted.  “Although I don’t think the princess did change her mind.  That letter was the only set of instructions sent directly from her.”

“And far be it from us to argue with the princess,” the stallion added matter-of-factly.  “Personally, I’d feel more comfortable with this thing behind bars, too.  But if she wants it here, she must have her reasons.”  He looked over to me and nodded at my tray.  “You done with that?”

I glanced at what was left.  The flowers laid undisturbed; something I wish could have been said about the green slop.  While the ponies were talking, I tried a spoonful and immediately had to chase it with half of the glass of water to keep me from retching.  The stallion was the only one to notice, and that was the only time I saw him come close to a smile.  Half of the apple wobbled back and forth, mocking me.  I had had more apples in the past couple of months than I had in my whole life.  It was a chore eating as much of it as I did.  I could have eaten more, to be honest, but there was nothing left on the tray I could stomach.

“Yeah,” I resigned.  “I think I am.”

The nurse picked the tray off my lap and set it back on the cart.  “I’ll see what I can do about ordering some fish for you,” she promised.  I nodded in thanks.  The cuff found its way around my free wrist thanks to the unicorn’s magic, and the guards began filing out with the nurse in tow.  A question was burning in the back of my head; one that was haunting me ever since I stepped foot in this building.  I took in a breath and gathered my nerves.

“Nurse?” I called.  She was halfway through the door when she paused and craned her head back to see me.  “Can I ask you a quick question?”

She glanced down the hall and nodded before returning her attention to me.  “As long as it’s quick,” she stressed.

“How’s Sweetie Belle?”

She looked at me with unsure eyes.  “It was a close call,” she explained.  “She had lost a lot of blood and was still bleeding.  We were lucky we got to her in time.”

“So, she’s going to be alright?” I pressed.

“She’ll be fine,” the nurse assured.  “Sweetie’s feeling a little weak, but she’ll pull through.  When she finally came to, she started asking a lot about you though.”  She hesitated, looking at me as if she was seeing me for the first time.  “Maybe I should say we were lucky you brought her to us in time.”

An immense weight lifted off my chest.  I laid back and gave a relieved sigh, “Thank you.”

Her expression softened, and she gave me a small smile.  “You’re welcome, Mister—  I’m sorry, what was your name again?”

“Hunter.  Hunter Grey.”

The nurse nodded.  “You’re welcome, Mister Grey.”

I gave a short laugh.  “Just Hunter, please,” I said, sitting up.  My eyes met hers.  “Mr. Grey is my father.”  Her smile broadened.  I almost got a laugh out of her.  “I don’t think I caught yours.”

“Redheart,” the nurse introduced herself.

Memories started clicking back in place, and a ghost of a smile formed as I shook my head.  “Ah, so you’re the one who’s been drugging me.”

“That does seem to be my job lately,” Redheart admitted.  “Which reminds me; I’ll be seeing you tonight.  Try not to break out again.”

I leaned back with a sly smile.  “No promises,” I said.

Redheart rolled her eyes and shook her head, her smile all but gone.  She disappeared behind the door, and just as it was about to fully close, it stopped, and Redheart pushed her head back in.  “I’ve been meaning to ask,” she admitted.  “What exactly did you say to Applejack to convince her to give you your clothes back?”

I shrugged, not entirely sure myself.  “I don’t know,” I confessed.  “I just told her the truth.”

It wasn’t much of an answer, but Redheart seemed to take it with much more weight.  She nodded and disappeared again, a soft click signaling she had left.  A faint smile crept up on me despite my situation.  Although I was a prisoner in a hospital, the news of Sweetie Belle’s recovery helped lift my spirits.  If nothing else, I found some solace in the fact that I was able to save her after all.


<><><>


The meal was probably the highlight of my life for the past couple of hours.  Well, it was hard to tell how much time had actually passed in the room I was held in.  There were no clocks or windows to give me any definition of time.  And thanks to my restraints, I was forced to sit in my bed and do nothing.

I tried whatever I could to pass the time, but nothing was very successful.  Counting the tiles on the floor and ceiling only lasted so long.  I tried to keep a tune going with the chains on the restraints, but it eventually started to drone as my wrists began to chafe.

There was a soft knocking at the door that pulled me from my bored trance.  Although it seemed to be out of mock courtesy as the door nearly flew off its hinges in the next second, giving the two mares on the other side ample room for their dramatic entrance.

My body tensed as my original welcoming committee walked in.  Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash split up almost as soon as they entered, going to each sides of my bed.  Neither of them spoke a word or so much as looked at me, which only succeeded in making me more uncomfortable.  A black suitcase was somehow balanced expertly on Pinkie’s curly tail, bouncing slightly with each step while managing to keep its perch.

“We heard you were being real stubborn lately, Mister Monster,” Pinkie said on my right.  “You’ve refused to answer a few questions.  We’re here to fix that.”

“Look, I already told Applejack everything she wanted to know,” I started.

“And now you’re going to tell us everything we want to know,” Rainbow pressed.  “And don’t think you can skirt around the answers like you did with Twilight.  We have ways to make stubborn fellas like you talk.”  That sounded like a threat if I had ever heard one.

“Oh, yeah?  What are you going to do?” I asked, challenging her bluff.  “Shoot me point blank with a cannon again?  Fly me down an entire street and crash me into the ground?”

Pinkie snickered.  “No, silly,” she said, waving a hoof.  Her tail launched the briefcase in the air, and it fell on her mane like a spring before flying in the air again.  The lid sprang open as it landed, revealing a dozen neatly made and miraculously unharmed—

“Cupcakes!” Pinkie exclaimed, finishing my thought.  She rubbed a hoof against her chest and held it out admiringly.  “Made them myself,” she said with a proud smile.

“Nopony can resist Pinkie Pie’s famous cupcakes,” Rainbow Dash said triumphantly.

I eyed the desserts cautiously.  Something felt off about this.  From what I’ve seen, the pink one was crazy, which only made this random offering all the more unsettling.  “No thanks,” I said, pushing the case away with my foot.  “I’m not hungry.”

“What’s the matter?  Stomach full of guilt?” Rainbow challenged.

“I just had lunch,” I deadpanned.

“Which means we’re just in time for dessert!” Pinkie reasoned as she pushed the case closer to me.

My eyes darted between her and the pastries.  There had to be something wrong with them.  For all I knew, they were probably poisoned.  “What’s in them?” I asked skeptically.

“Three quarters of a cup of sugar, two cups of flour, one cup of milk,” she listed.  Her eyes lit up with excitement.  “Oh, and one of them has a chili pepper inside!”  I gave her a look that could only beg why.  “I figured we could make a game out of it,” she giggled.  “First one to find the pepper wins!  I like to call it Pinkie Roulette.”  She pulled out a cupcake, balancing it on one hoof and waving it seductively.  “And all these can be yours if you just choose to cooperate,” she promised.

It took me a second to process everything, and I eventually shook my head.  “I’ll pass.”

Pinkie shrugged and tore off the cupcake’s wrapper in her hoof.  “Suit yourself,” she said as she tossed it in the air.  She teetered back on her hind legs and swallowed the cupcake whole.  The mare fell on her back in a fit of giggles until her eyes widened in shock.  Her face was quickly turning red as her eyes began to water.  “Found it,” she coughed, a dark puff of smoke escaping her mouth.  “I win,” she smiled weakly.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and slammed her hoof on the bed to get my attention.  “Alright, spill it,” she demanded, pointing a hoof at me.  “Why are you here?  What are your plans?”

“You know, I’m getting real sick of answering that same question,” I snapped.  “I don’t know,” I said slowly, leaning in for emphasis.  “I stumbled into this place by accident; no bad intentions.  I’m just trying to find my way back.”

“For somepony just trying to find their way back, you sure have been showing your face a lot,” Rainbow pointed out.  She nudged my shoulder.  “So what is it?” she demanded.  “Are you trying to go home, or are you just trying to bug us?”

“I’m not sure if you noticed, but that forest is pretty big,” I retaliated.  “Not to mention there are predators lurking behind every other tree.  Finding my way around it isn't exactly a walk in the park.”

“Then what’s the deal with Lyra?” she pressed.  “She’s talking like you’re going to be sticking around for a while.”  A flap of her wings sent her airborne.  She tilted back and crossed her forelegs to make it look like she was leaning back.  “And since we’re talking about her, what did you do to Lyra.  She’s been getting a little fanatical about you lately.”

I groaned, “For the last time, I didn’t do anything to her!  I’d ask why everybody keeps thinking I brainwashed her, but then I remembered the culprit who started all those rumors is sitting right there.”  I motioned to Pinkie Pie, who was chugging down a glass of water.

She finished her gulp and gave an apologetic grin.  “Sorry; couldn’t think of another word that rhymed with ‘dwell’ at the time,” she explained.  “‘Deep in the Everfree is where the beast dwells; if you wander too far, you’ll fall under its spell’.  The jingle’s still a work in progress.  It’s still really catchy, though.”  She cut herself off with a gasp.  “Ooh, wanna hear it?” she asked with a hopeful smile.

“No!” I exclaimed incredulously.  “Look, we literally ran into each other and talked,” I swore to Rainbow Dash.  “I didn’t put her ‘under my spell’ or anything.”

“Yeah?  Well your ‘friend’ has been turning a lot of ponies against each other,” Rainbow accused.  “In fact, it’s starting to feel like that was your plan all along.  Convince a few ponies that you’re not so bad, and then when everypony’s fighting with each other, you pull the rug out from under all us.”

I blinked.  For the first time in a while, I couldn’t find any words to say.  “That…” I struggled.  “I couldn't have come up with that even if I tried.  You're just making up stuff to pin on me.”

Rainbow Dash floated in closer.  “Oh yeah?  Then what is your plan?  ‘Cause I have a hard time believing you woke up one day and decided to be friendly with everypony.  Tell us what your endgame is.”  She poked her hoof accusingly in my side, right in the soft spot beneath the ribs.

My body flinched from the contact, and I struggled to suppress a snort.  The reaction didn’t even last a second, and even though I quickly recomposed myself, it didn’t go unnoticed by the ponies.

“What the hay was that?” Rainbow asked with a weird look.  I closed my eyes and grit my teeth, hoping that through sheer will I could turn back the clock.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” Pinkie gasped.  She hid a smile behind her hooves.  “Are you ticklish?”  My blood ran cold at the trick question.  I knew what was coming no matter what I answered.  My lack of a response only made her giddier, and she stretched out a hoof to pull her friend out of the air and next to her.

The two started whispering to each other with their backs facing me.  The longer it went on, the deeper my sense of dread became.  Rainbow Dash stole a confused glance at me and turned back to Pinkie, who gave an enthusiastic nod.  I could just barely see the corner of a mischievous grin forming on the pegasus’ face before they turned back to whispering.

Ah, hell, I thought as I shrank in the bed.  I tugged at the cuffs, praying that through some miracle they had suddenly become weaker.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Pinkie Pie landed on the bed above me.  The crazed, happy look in her eyes and her unsettling smile confirmed my fears.  I tried to shrink further into the mattress, but there was no hope of escape.  Rainbow Dash floated above, her hooves failing to stifle her snickering.

“Y’know, Mister Human,” Pinkie started in a cheery tone, “I think we’ve been going about this the wrong way.”  She crouched low, like a predator ready to strike.  “Let’s start this over from the beginning.  Now… what are your plans with Ponyville?!” she screamed as she pounced.


<><><>


… Shut up.

We didn’t say anything, my inner voice seethed.

You didn’t have to.  I can feel what you’re thinking, I pointed out.

The last hour was a complete waste of time.  They kept asking questions that I didn’t have answers to.  The ones I knew, they wouldn’t believe me at first when I told the truth.  No matter what I said, it led to more and more torture.  My jaw and sides were aching from all the laughing.  My face was still burning from embarrassment.

I just can’t believe that really happened, I thought.

The tickling, or the pink one's lunacy? the voice asked apathetically.

The tickling, I answered, pulling my body close.  Well, both, really.

Their attacks were relentless.  My restraints made it impossible to defend myself.  It felt like it stretched for ages, and they only let up to let me answer or catch my breath.  When they decided that they couldn’t get the answers they wanted out of me, or they finally got bored, they eventually left, promising to return the next day.

I feel violated…

Perhaps next time you should just feed them the lies they want to believe, the voice suggested.

And what would that accomplish? I asked.

For starters, it will prevent another embarrassing moment like what just happened.

My inner voice wasn’t the happiest about the unorthodox turn of the interrogation.  I could feel it burning in the back of my mind the whole time, constantly telling me to pull myself together.  Nothing I tried though offered any help.  I was completely at their mercy.  And the voice did not like that.

Maybe it had a point.  Maybe if I lied, it would make things go smoother for me.  But my mind trailed to all the friends I had made.  It wouldn’t be fair of me to give them up; I knew they were trying their hardest to clear my name.  I thought of the progress I had made with the others; with the foals, with Sweetie Belle, with Applejack even.  I could feel that I was making breakthroughs with them.  I couldn’t afford to throw that away for my own comfort.

Some friends they are, the voice remarked.  How long have you been here, Hunter?  How long have you been locked in this room?  Why haven’t you heard from them?

Shut up.  They’re trying.

They haven’t come for you yet, it pointed out.  What’s the use of thinking they ever will?

They aren’t allowed near me, I reasoned.  But they’ll find a way.

What if they already tried?  They could have failed.  You could be all alone.

I stared at the ceiling, trying to ignore the thoughts bombarding my mind.  What if it was right?  Was I doomed to stay here until they deemed fit?  The princess knew I was here.  Surely, she would help.

But who could have told her you were locked away here?

My heart sank.  My only chance of salvation rested on Twilight’s shoulders, and I doubted she painted me in a good light.  Would the princess decide to visit, to hear my side of the story?  If she did, would she believe me?  A sense of dread washed over me.  If the princess decided my fate was to rot in a cell, it was possible I might be stuck here forever.  I might never make it back home.

You could have been home now, the voice reminded me.  You could have been with your family.  Your real friends.

… Shut up.

Time passed at a crawl.  I was officially out of ideas to speed it by.  I tried closing my eyes in hopes of having a decent nap, but sleep was constantly just out of my reach.  The best I could manage was a light rest with my head full of thoughts I couldn’t escape.

There was a gentle knocking at the door.  A metal cart squeezed in, pushed by Nurse Redheart yet again and tailed by the same two guards.  The meal changed, thankfully.  The slop and flowers were replaced with a small pile of corn, and an orange stood in place of the apple.  Still no meat, but I wasn’t in the mood to complain.

I ate in silence.  The nurse took her old station by the counter as last time.  She seemed to have more interest in me.  I could feel her eyes boring into me, but I tried to keep mine glued to my meal.  The unicorn joined the stallion at his post next to the door.  I could hear them talking, but I didn’t really care what it was about.  As I picked at my meal, something kept catching my eye:  a syringe filled with a green liquid resting on the cart.  It was close enough to grab, if I stretched.

Grab it, the voice cooed.  Grab it when the nurse moves to take the tray.  Hold her hostage.  Demand a way out.  Don’t let yourself rot in here.

Redheart trotted up to me, almost on cue, but she was dragging her chair along with her.  She stopped near the side of my bed and sat down.

“So, Lyra stopped me today while I was on my lunch break,” she said.  A quick chuckle escaped her.  “Well, cornered me, really.  She wanted to know how you were doing.  I hope you don’t mind, but I told her you were fine and still threatening to break out.”

She managed to pull a halfhearted snort out of me.  “Oh, really?” I asked as I took another spoonful of peas.  “How’d she take that?”

“I’d like to think she appreciated it,” Redheart answered.  “You know, she’s been trying her hardest to get in here ever since you ‘checked in’.  It started with her trying to just walk in and getting escorted out, and then she started lying about visiting somepony to try to find you.  Yesterday she even went as far as faking a sickness to get in.  But today…” she sighed.  “Today she just begged.  Not the teary-eyed, got-on-her-knees kind of begged,” she clarified.  “Just the asking-and-pestering-a-lot kind of begged.”  She paused for a minute.  I found I was losing my appetite.

“She’s really worried about you,” she explained.  “I had to explain more times than I’d like to count that we’re keeping you healthy and well fed.  I’ve heard all the rumors around town about how you put her under your spell, but the more she talked to me, the more I realized she’s just looking out for her friend.”

Redheart looked down to my tray and motioned to it with a hoof.  “Haven’t touched your food in a while.  Want me to take it off your hooves?”  I hesitated, but after realizing I didn’t have the appetite for it, I eventually lifted it off my lap to her.  She picked up the other end with her mouth, set it down on the cart, and motioned to the unicorn.  “Think you can fully lie down for me?” she asked me.

I reluctantly complied, knowing full well where this was going.  The unicorn’s horn ignited, and the restraints came to life.  I laid still as the strap wrapped itself tightly around my chest and the cuff returned to my wrist.  When the spell dissipated, Redheart nodded to the unicorn.  “Thank you, Silver.  I can take it from here if you two want to head back upstairs.”

The two guards looked at each other.  “You sure about that?” the stallion asked.

Redheart waved her hoof.  “Of course.  All that’s left is the sedatives, and that shouldn’t take long.  I just want to be sure he falls asleep.”  The guards shared another glance and shrugged before walking back into the hallway.

The nurse watched as the door closed and waited for the soft click before continuing.  “You know, I knew Lyra back when I was studying in Canterlot.  We weren’t exactly best friends; more like friends of friends, but we used to hang out a lot because of it.  She was always a bit… spontaneous.  And a little stubborn.  In fact, most of her advice usually ran along the lines of ‘charge in headfirst and tackle the problems as they come up’.”

She chuckled, “But she had a good heart, and she still does.  Lyra was the kind of pony that really cared for her friends, and she’d always go to whatever lengths she could to help them.  So I asked her how she knew you and why she wanted to see you so bad, and she told me everything.”  She let out a heavy sigh.  “You sure have been through a lot, Mr. Grey.”

“Just Hunter,” I reminded her with a weak smile.

“Right,” the nurse nodded.  “I’m sorry I can’t let her in to see you.”

“Why can’t you?” I asked.  “You work here, don’t you?”

“Yes, but it’s because I work here,” Redheart explained.  “We have strict instructions from the mayor to keep you two separate, and while I don’t think that’s necessary, I also don’t want to lose my job over it.”

I snorted, “Fair enough.”

I felt a hoof touch my shoulder.  “Hey, she hasn’t given up trying just yet,” Redheart consoled.  “I’d love to help, but my hooves are tied.  She needs to stay outside the hospital and you need to stay in.”

Her hoof withdrew, and she retrieved the syringe from the cart.  My body locked up as my eyes traced the end of the needle.  “Let’s just get this part over with,” the nurse said sadly.

“Think we could skip the drugs for tonight?” I asked

She hesitated.  “Can I trust you’ll go to sleep on your own?”

I gave a relieved sigh and nodded.  “Yeah.  Thank you.”

Redheart smiled.  “Alright,” she said in a soothing tone.  “Try to get some rest.”

As she trotted to the door, a thought surfaced in my head.  Well, more of a hope.  “Um…”  I cut myself off and shook my head.  I couldn’t think of how to say it.

Even though the sound I made was barely audible, it was enough for the mare to pause and turn to me.  “Did you need something, Hunter?”

“Well, kind of,” I struggled to say.  The nurse left her cart and returned to the bed, eyes full of sympathy.  Would she trust me enough to let me try?  “Nurse Redheart, could you… do me a small favor?”
> Act II:  Keeping Broken Promises
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I silently stalked behind the nurse through the hospital.  It was nighttime, and most of the workers had left for home to get some rest.  There were, however, still some guards on patrol in the halls, armed with flashlights.  Nurse Redheart would always cautiously check behind each corner to see if anybody was coming, and I would keep an eye on our backs to make sure we weren’t spotted from behind.

We should have been much further than we were.  Sweetie Belle was on the third floor, and we were still trying to climb up the stairs.  Things would have been moving along much faster if I wasn’t bound around the ankles and suffering from lightheadedness.  I couldn’t blame Redheart.  I was still a prisoner, and letting me roam across the hospital freely wouldn’t have flown well with her.  Still, it was obvious that the cuffs tethering my feet together were meant for a pony’s much shorter legs, resulting in me taking less than half-steps with each stride.

“I still can’t believe you talked me into this,” Redheart hissed.

“I can’t either,” I whispered back.  “To be honest, I thought it would take a lot more to convince you to let me do this.”  It wasn’t a lie, even though it took the better half of an hour and more bargaining than I would have liked just to get her to think about it.  I was left in the room for a couple more hours until she came to a decision.

She threw me a look, and I didn’t dare say another word.

We reached the door that connected the stairwell to the third floor.  Redheart carefully opened it, peered inside, and gave me the all-clear.  Once inside, we were met with another maze of hallways and doors, but the nurse guided through expertly.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she continued.  “If we get caught… I could get fired!  What will I do then?  I’ll have no job, no money!  I’ll never work in a hospital again!  All those years of medical school, gone to waste!  I—”

“We won’t get caught,” I cut her off.  She gave me a worried look, unconvinced.  I let out a sharp sigh and stared to the ceiling for answers.  There weren’t any.  “Look, if we do, I’ll take the blame for it,” I offered, glancing back to her.

“How?” she asked incredulously.  “What could you possibly do that will make everypony believe that you are in charge of this?”  She stopped suddenly at an intersection, and looked both ways anxiously.  “Maybe it would be better if we just turned around now,” she added nervously.

A few seconds of silence ticked by.  “I used ‘Everfree magic’ or mind-control or whatever you ponies are convinced I have,” I explained.  “With the rep I have around here, I’m sure it’ll be believable enough.”

Nurse Redheart paused.  “Really?" she asked, turning to me with grateful eyes.  "You would do that for me?”

I shrugged.  “Like you said, if you get caught, you’ll be fired and left with nothing.  I’ve already got nothing to lose.  What’s the worst you guys can do, put me down?”  I chuckled at my small joke, but the look in Redheart’s eyes wasn’t reassuring.  “Um…  You guys wouldn’t really do that, right?”  She said nothing and continued to walk down the hall.  I staggered for a second and rushed to catch up.

We continued in a tense and uncomfortable silence.  Neither of us dared to break it in fear of any eavesdropping ears until we reached the last corner.  Redheart peeked around the edge, and her ears shot up in alarm.  “Hunter, hide!”

I wildly searched the hall for cover, but couldn’t find anything that could easily hide me.  The closest protection I could find was a potted plant, and even that was a stretch with its long, thin stems.  “Where?” I hissed.

Nurse Redheart spun around and scanned the hallway.  “Um, there!” she pointed at one of the rooms a few doors away.  “It should be vacant.  I’ll try to distract the guard.”

Without wasting any more time, I hurriedly shuffled to the door and snuck inside.  The light of the hallway quickly disappeared as the door was cautiously closed, plunging the room into darkness.  Before it fully closed, I could hear gruff stallion’s voice.  “Nurse Redheart?  What are you doing up so late?”  The rest of the conversation came through muffled.

My bound hands were pressed up against the door, my head resting on top of them.  My heart was racing in my chest.  That was too close for comfort.  My breathing steadied as the ponies’ conversation carried on outside, and I observed the room I found myself in.

Moonlight filtered in through the curtains of the room’s only window.  I realized how long it had probably been since I had seen the outside world, and I found myself drifting towards it.  My hands pulled back the fabric, and the room was flooded with a soft blue glow.

I could see a large part of Ponyville from the window.  It was so quiet, so peaceful, so… different from every other time I had seen it.  A ghost of a smile found its way to my face as I watched the simple houses.  This village wasn’t too bad if I forgot that the residents were holding me prisoner.

Something moved in the corner of my eye, and I jumped when I found a tall figure staring at me from across the room.  My heartrate dropped close to normal when I realized it was my own reflection in a mirror.  I quickly covered the distance between to investigate.

“Damn,” I breathed.  It had been too long since I had seen my own reflection, and it showed.  My hand moved around my body experimentally, and my eyes tracked it in the mirror, proving that what I was seeing was real.  It was no wonder the ponies thought I was a monster.  After looking at myself for a little while, I felt like I was one.

A large tear in my jeans exposed my right knee, and slightly lower the rest of the leg was all but shredded to ribbons.  A layer of gauze showed between the holes in the left leg where skin was supposed to be.  A hazy memory of timberwolves resurfaced, and I tried to push it back down.

My gray t-shirt had seen better days.  It fared better than most of my other clothes, but even still, it bared some scars from my time here.  Holes rested on top of my shoulders, exposing skin to the cool, sterile air.  Another tear was found on the left side, courtesy of a near-miss escape from one of the Everfree’s seemingly endless number of predators.

My left forearm was still bound from elbow to wrist in bandages.  A dull throb of pain emanated from a few small splotches of dried crimson near the middle, and flashes of teeth and mulch tearing into skin burned in my head.  It was tender to the touch; I winced with each testing prod.

A single strip of gauze was tightly wrapped around my right elbow; another compromise between me and the nurse.  She wanted to help, but she still didn’t fully trust me.  I wasn’t sure if concentration was lower or if it was just a different sedative altogether, but she insisted I would stay awake long enough to do what needed to be done.  Although it was hard to tell if it was going to work sooner than expected or if Placebo was playing tricks on me.  My body tensed and I turned the other way as she pushed the sedative in my body.  It worked in her favor one way or another, even if she didn’t mean for it.  Even if I wanted to double-cross her, I doubted I would make it far without passing out.  Still, a little prick and some drowsiness for a clear conscious sounded like a fair deal at the time.

I tried to avoid the face of the man staring back at me in the mirror, but it was inevitable.  I couldn’t recognize myself.  Above my grime and dirt-caked face was a rat’s nest of brown hair, disheveled and unkempt from weeks of neglect.  A mangy beard was starting to grow thanks to weeks without any sort of shaving equipment.  A small scar formed on my bottom lip from my first visit to the hospital.  A couple of layers of bandages held a fold of dirtied cloth in place on the side of my head.  I couldn’t bring myself to look at his eyes out of fear of what I would see.  Gone was the high school senior with a life back on Earth.  The thing that stood before me, mirroring my every move, was the Beast of the Everfree.

I shuddered, and the beast mimicked me.

“Mr. Grey?”  I snapped back to reality and turned towards the open door where Nurse Redheart waited patiently.  “We should be alone now.  The room is just around the corner.”

I nodded in thanks and followed the mare out of the room, around the corner, and down the hall.  We stopped before an ordinary wooden door at the end.  Nobody would have paid it a second glance; nothing about it was unusual.  But to me, the simple door held an odd gravity, one that beckoned and repelled me at the same time.  I stared at that door for minutes trying to work up the nerve to turn the handle.

“Here, allow me,” the nurse said as she stepped forward and opened the door.  The room was dark.  It was hard to decipher the shapes of the silhouettes from where I stood.  “Take as much time as you need, but remember we’re a little pressed,” she said.  “After you.”

I carefully crept into the room.  It took my eyes a second to adjust to the low light from the windows as Redheart closed the door behind me.  I tried to not make too much noise as I moved and winced as the chains between my ankles rattled, fearing it would wake the room’s sole occupant.  The room was like mine, albeit slightly larger, and the moonlight pouring in through the window bathed everything in a soft blue glow.  Redheart sat in one of the chairs lined against the far wall and waited patiently.

I navigated through the dark to the only bed stationed in the room.  My eyes lingered on the nightstand with rows of cards reading “get well soon”.  Resting on the bed was a small filly wrapped up in blankets, her white coat reflecting the moonlight.  I smiled and carefully sat down next to the filly, wincing as the mattress groaned in protest.  The little filly didn’t even stir.

A heavy sigh escaped my system.  All my guilt was starting to creep up on me the more I looked at her.  “I’m so sorry, Sweetie,” I whispered.  I leaned forward on my knees and rested my head on my hands.  “This wasn’t supposed to happen.  I should have been more careful.”

A weak voice interrupted my self-pity.  “Hunter?”

I glanced at the little unicorn, and tired green eyes stared back at me.  “Sweetie Belle?” I whispered in shock.  My eyes darted to the shadows where the nurse waited.  “You were supposed to be asleep,” I commented with a faint laugh.

“I couldn’t,” she yawned.  My heart sunk as she stretched, revealing the bandages wrapped tightly around her back.  “I’m not tired.”  She blinked a few times, looking me over in confusion.  “What are you doing here?” she asked.  “Aren’t you supposed to be in the Everfree Forest?”

“Not exactly,” I chuckled.  I held up my hands for her to see, and my wrists pulled at the cuffs.  “Got a bit of a change in residence nowadays,” I joked.

“You were caught?!” Sweetie cried out in disbelief.

“Hey, hey, quiet now,” I hushed.  My eyes cast a furtive glance to the door.  “Don’t be hollering like that.  I’m not supposed to be up here right now.”

“What happened?” she demanded.  “Did you escape?”

“Um, not really.  It’s complicated,” I explained.  “Enough about me, though; I came up here to check on you.  Feeling any better?”

Sweetie Belle nodded her head sluggishly.  “Yeah, the doctors said I’ll be fine.  I should be good to leave in a couple days.”  Her eyes lingered on my chains and fell to my bandaged arms.  “I just don’t understand.  Why did they catch you?  They’re not hurting you, right?”

I sighed.  “Nothing worse than a few migraines,” I joked halfheartedly.

She fell silent and looked down, her hooves suddenly becoming very interesting to her.  “I’m really sorry I was so mean to you before,” she glumly apologized.  “You were only trying to help; you even saved me, but you got caught because of it… because of me.”

“Hey, don’t be like that,” I tried to calm her.  “This isn’t your fault.  You couldn’t have known the wolves were chasing us.”

“But I can’t even help!” Sweetie protested.  She struggled to sit up on her bed.  “I’ve been trying to tell everypony that you helped me, but they won’t listen!  They keep telling me I need to rest, but I’ve been doing nothing but resting since I’ve been here.  Even Rarity isn’t listening!  She keeps thinking you did this to me.”

It was easy to tell she was distraught; although, who could blame her?  She knew the truth, or most of it rather, and nobody cared enough to pay attention.  Seemed to be a recurring theme for the ponies that knew me.

I wanted to help, but I wasn’t sure how.  At least, that’s what I told myself.  I grit my teeth and let out a heavy sigh, thankful that the darkness of the room blanketed my tension.  Something about defending a pony that threatened to tear me apart didn’t settle well with me, but Sweetie Belle needed something to help her.

“Hey, don’t worry about Rarity.  She’s just being a big sister,” I said through a forced smile.  “Believe me, if anything like this happened to one of my brothers, I’d probably be out for whoever I thought did it, too.”

Sweetie Belle tilted her head.  “You have brothers?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah,” I laughed.  “Two of them.  They’re a bunch of rascals and pains in the rear.”  I sighed, “But I love them anyways.”  A memory floated up.  A part of me figured it could help, even if it was a little embarrassing.  But maybe Sweetie could go for a small laugh.

“You know, way back in elementary, there actually was someone who was picking on my brother,” I started.  “Apparently, someone thought the whole ‘stealing your lunch’ cliché was cool and kept taking his.  Now, nobody really knew about it until Tanner came home without his lunchbox one day; I guess the bully decided he’d up the ante.

“Tanner brushed it off saying he just forgot it somewhere, but I knew better.  He loved that lunchbox, had his favorite superhero on it and everything.  I asked him about it later, and he eventually told me that Ethan was stealing his lunch.”  I paused and chuckled.  “Now, I had no clue who on earth Ethan was,” I admitted.  “Just that he was hurting my younger brother, and that was enough to get me interested.  I did what any other big brother would have done at the time and started looking for him.

“After asking around for a while, I finally found him.  When I confronted him about it, he denied everything, and things got a bit…” I clicked my tongue as I thought for the right word, “physical.  We eventually ended up trading a few bruises before the teachers finally pulled us apart.  I wound up getting suspended for a week and grounded for three.”  I laughed to myself, “Probably not the smartest thing I’ve done in hindsight.”

“It was really sweet you tried to help, though,” Sweetie Belle offered with an uncertain smile.

“Yeah, well tried is the key word there,” I pointed out.  “Turns out there were two Ethan’s in Tanner’s grade, and I accidentally tracked down the ‘destined-to-be baseball star’ Ethan.  The real culprit was the ‘sits-in-the-corner-of-the-cafeteria-by-himself-practicing-the-recorder’ Ethan.”  There was a hint of a genuine smirk before Sweetie covered it with a hoof.

“Point is, us bigger siblings are real protective of you little ones,” I continued.  “Tanner actually tried to stop me before I ‘talked’ with the wrong Ethan, but I brushed him off trying to handle it on my own.  I’m sure once Rarity calms down a bit, you’ll be able to get through to her.”

There was a small paused before the filly sighed.  “Yeah, I hope so.”

You and me both, I thought to myself.  If Rarity ever calmed down enough to listen to her sister, it would make things easier on my front; one less pony out to get me.

There was a short cough at the other end of the room.  Sweetie Belle shot up, trying to look deeper into the shadows from her bed.  I knew it was the nurse, though, and that it was my cue to start wrapping things up.

“Alright, it’s time for you to get some rest,” I whispered.

“But I’m not tired,” Sweetie protested, but the look in her eyes betrayed her.

A small yawn escaped her, and I couldn’t help but smile.  She reminded me of Brandon, always trying to stay up past his bedtime.  I rolled an idea in my head and gave her a knowing smile.  “Would it help if you had a lullaby?” I offered.  She hesitated, but a small grin quickly showed.  She nestled herself back underneath her covers and looked to me expectantly, eager to hear a monster’s lullaby.

A familiar tune ran through my head, one I hadn’t heard in what felt like lifetimes ago.  Memories of easier times resurfaced with the lyrics; memories of my family, my mother.  I started with a faint hum and let it grow as the words came back, and Sweetie Belle waited patiently.  When my confidence finally came, I started with a whisper.

“Angels watching ever round thee, All through the night.  In thy slumbers close surround thee, All through the night.  They will of all fears disarm thee, No forebodings should alarm thee, They will let no peril harm thee, All through the night.”

It was an old lullaby I learned from my mother.  I felt as if I wasn’t doing it much justice compared to her, though; it was beautiful the way she used to sing it.  Sweetie Belle’s eyes were struggling to stay open by the next verse, but they were fighting a losing battle.  I couldn’t remember all the lyrics and eventually had to resort to humming, but by that point it was already over.  Sweetie was lost in a peaceful sleep.

There was movement across the room.  Redheart was quietly making her way to the door, motioning for me to follow.  I gave one last look to the sleeping filly.  A weight had lifted off my chest seeing her safe, and it helped ease the thought of being stuck here.  I silently drifted over to the nurse, hoping not to disturb Sweetie’s rest.  She carefully cracked open the door, and we snuck back outside to the hallway.

“I have to admit, I’m a little impressed,” the nurse whispered.  “I don’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that.  What was that little tune?”

“Just something my mother used to sing to me and my brothers when we were real little,” I waved off.  “My youngest brother is actually still young enough for my folks to sing him to sleep; sometimes I hear them next door.”  I offered an embarrassed smile.  “Can’t remember all of the words though.”

“Well, whatever it was, it was really sweet of you,” she commented.

I shrugged innocently.  “Guess the monster still has a heart,” I joked.

It won a small smile out of her, and we continued navigating through the halls.  “Okay, we should be able to make it back to the basement without any troubles,” she explained.  “All we need to do—”

DONG

A frying pan connected into the back of Redheart’s head.  The nurse took a few wobbly steps forward before collapsing into a heap on the sterile floor.  I stared dumbfounded at the floating pan, unsure of how to respond.  It twisted, as if to face me, and I held my bound hands up in caution.

“Hey now, let’s think about this,” I tried to bargain.

“Psst!  Hunter!” a hushed voice hissed.  My eyes were still fixed on the flying pan before me.  “Hunter!” it tried again.  This time it caught my attention.  “Over here.”

My eyes followed the frying pan as it drifted to one of the hospital rooms with a door left ajar.  A mint green unicorn stepped out of the shadows, her golden eyes scanning the halls for more prey.

“That was close,” Lyra said.  “Come on, Hunter; before any more of them show up.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I shook my head, trying to catch up with what was happening.  “Lyra?  What are you doing here?  Twilight said you weren’t allowed anywhere near this place.”

She waved a hoof dismissively.  “I’m not.  I busted myself in, and now I’m busting you out,” she announced.  “Now come on.  There hasn’t been too much resistance so far.  If the guards downstairs are still unconscious, then I’m pretty sure we have a safe route out.”

“What about Redheart?” I asked.  “She risked her job doing this favor for me.  We can’t just leave her here.”

“Redheart?” Lyra echoed.  She looked down to the nurse and winced.  “Ooh, sorry, Red,” she apologized to the still unconscious pony.  “I doubt anypony will figure out she tried to help you,” she said, turning to me.  “Besides, we’re on the third floor, and you were supposed to be in the basement.”  The sound of hooves against tiles filled the air and was quickly getting louder.  A figure appeared at the end of the hall and galloped to meet us.  “Which reminds me,” Lyra said, unfazed at the new arrival.

“I thought you said Hunter was in the basement,” she hissed at Noteworthy as he came to a sliding halt.

Noteworthy flinched, and he gave an apologetic smile.  “Oh hey, you found him!” he said quietly, trying to change the subject.  I noticed he had a bandage wrapped around his head, covering most of his mane.

“What happened to you?” I asked in shock.

He gave me a confused look, and his eyes widened as he looked up.  “Oh, that,” he chuckled.  “Nah, this was just for show,” he explained as he unraveled the bandages.  “Lyra wasn’t allowed in the front door, so we had to sneak in and literally open a window for her.”

“Yeah, a second story window,” she reminded him with a glare.

Noteworthy shrugged apologetically.  “It was out of my hooves,” he pointed out.  Lyra huffed and rolled her eyes, obviously still upset about whatever it was I missed.  “Let’s just get Daisy and get out of here,” he sighed in defeat.

“Daisy’s here?” I asked incredulously.  “How many ponies did you rope into this?” I hissed to Lyra.

“It’s just us,” Lyra promised.  “And nopony’s ‘roped’ into anything.  We all chose to do this.  We wanted to help.”  I shook my head; my mind was still reeling.  Everything was moving so fast.  Was this really happening?

Lyra picked the keys off Redheart’s unconscious body and unfastened my cuffs.  They silently led me down the hall.  I stole one last glance at the nurse, left so unceremoniously on the floor, before we turned the corner.  My eyes were getting heavy.  The sedatives were kicking in.  As long as I kept moving, though, it felt as if I could stave it off, but everything felt disconnected.  My hands had death grips on the handrails as we descended to the second floor, trying to anchor me from falling from the stairs and into sleep.  I shook my head to dispel the drowsy fog that was smothering me as we crept through the second floor.  Behind the darkened windows to the rooms, the Beast of the Everfree clumsily mimicked me.

Not exactly Our idea of a ‘grand escape’, it commented groggily each time it appeared.  But it will do for now.

We reached the end of a hall, and Noteworthy paused at the last door.  He lifted a hoof and quickly knocked twice before carefully pushing through the door.  I followed closely behind.  His ears shot up, and he suddenly ducked, giving the vase ample room to swing into my gut.

I clutched at my stomach, gasping for air as I crumpled to the cold tiles.

“Hunter?” a familiar voice whispered in shock.

“What the hay, Daisy?” Lyra demanded.  “We’re supposed to be saving him from the hospital, not keeping him here.”

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry.”  I heard hooves scampering off the counter and stop next to me.  “Are you alright?” Daisy asked.  “I didn’t hit you too hard, did I?”

“C’mon, Daisy, we went over this,” Noteworthy groaned.  “Two knocks meant it was safe.”

“Oh, do you even know how generic ‘two knocks’ is?” Daisy hissed.  “I thought somepony came looking for the doctor we stuffed in the broom closet.”

“If it’s so bad, then why didn’t you say anything?” he demanded, a hint of hurt in his voice.

“I did,” she stressed.  “But you two ran off before I could finish!”

“Worst.  Rescue.  Ever,” I wheezed.

I felt a hoof on my shoulder, and it rolled me to my side.  Lyra’s face appeared with an apologetic wince.  “Holding together alright?” she asked hopefully.  My head nodded against the tile, but my eyes were getting too heavy.  The hoof shook me, and my eyes fluttered open to reveal a much more worried Lyra.  “Hey, what’s the matter with you?”

I took in a deep breath, hoping it would give me some energy.  “Um, Redheart… sedatives,” I barely managed to say.  I was slipping, trying to find anything to anchor on to.

“Shoot,” Lyra swore.  She and Daisy helped me up and led me to the open window.  “Come on, stay with us just a little bit longer,” she begged.

I propped myself up on the sill and peered out the window.  It was a drop.  Not far enough to hurt too much, but not short enough to feel too great about either.  A rope of linen dangled out of the window next to my hand.  It led about a third of the way down the wall.  My eyes traced it back into the room where Noteworthy stood confidently.

“Don’t worry, I can hold you,” he promised.  My eyes shot to Lyra, and she gave a quick nod.  I took in a breath and shook the sleep out of my head.  “I can hold you,” he echoed quietly, as if to assure himself this time.

Noteworthy gripped his end with his teeth and braced himself, and I crawled out the window and began my descent.  The rope jerked slightly downward the moment I put my full weight on it, and my heart leaped out of my chest.  It was good.  It was keeping me awake, and the cool breeze helped by sending tiny pricks against my skin.

I was dangling by the last inches of the bed sheets.  My feet propped against the wall and pushed me back as I let go.  The grass crunched beneath my toes as I rolled back.  My body ached from the fall; my wounds screamed in rebellion.  My hands clutched around my left calf, trying to calm it down.  I hissed out a breath and stared up.  And in spite of it all, a smile formed and quickly grew.  The moon and stars looked down at me from the night sky as if to greet me.  I did it.  I escaped.

We moved as soon as everyone made it out.  Noteworthy and Daisy stayed a good distance ahead to scout the streets as Lyra and I stayed close to the buildings, taking the alleyways whenever we could.  My eyes kept darting to the darkened windows of the moonlit houses.  I felt so exposed.  Anytime we had to leave the shadows and enter the moonlight, my mind would run rampant with fantasies of someone seeing us.  I didn’t have the energy to run away this time.

The cold was starting to lose its effect on me, and I found myself leaning against the Ponyville homes for support.  My feet stumbled more often than I liked.  I could feel small rocks poking and prodding my skin and my wounded leg flaring with each step, but it still wasn’t enough.  My body felt like it was being dragged to the earth, and there was nothing I could do but press on and hope I wouldn’t fall under the weight of the drug.

I accidentally ran into something while I was on autopilot.  Or, someone, rather.  My eyes fell to find Lyra staring back up at me expectantly.  I realized she asked me a question.

“What was that?” I asked, my voice barely breaking a tired groan.

She rolled her eyes and huffed in agitation, obviously not happy with my response.  “I asked how you were holding up,” she repeated.  “But I guess that answers that.”

I shook my head and leaned against the wall of a house, sliding down to the cold earth.  “Sorry, I’m trying my best,” I swore.  A yawn took over me, and I couldn’t find the strength to open my eyes again.

“Don’t you give out on me just yet,” she warned.  I could feel her get closer.  “We’re almost there.  We just need to cross this street, and the rest of the trip will be a breeze.”  I rolled the thought over in my head, and my head followed it lazily.  A hoof nudged against my arm.  I took in a deep breath as my eyes fluttered open.  There was Lyra again.  Even in my drowsy state, I could still see her worry.  “Just a little bit longer,” she begged.

I tried to shake the drowsiness out of my head and held my hand out to Lyra.  She grabbed it with a relieved smile and pulled me to my feet.  I peeked out of the cover of the houses to get the lay of the land.

The street was wide.  A few of the houses still had lights on, which meant some of the ponies were still awake.  They were far enough down the road to make it difficult to see me, but that didn’t mean I could just throw caution out the window.  A familiar tree stood at the end of the street; one of its top windows shining like a beacon.  It brought bad memories back with it, and I wanted nothing more than to get as far away from it as I could.

Two figures trotted across further down the way.  It could have been Note and Daisy, but it was hard to be sure, and I didn’t want to take the chance.  If I crossed the street as slowly as I’ve been walking this whole time, I could get caught.  I could run, but as I shifted my weight to my left, my calf flared in protest.  I wasn’t sure what was wrong with it, or what the ponies did trying to fix it, but my gut told me that it wouldn’t take to kindly to a quick sprint.

“Just straight across, right?” I asked.

Lyra nodded.  “Yeah, and after that, it’s practically a straight shot to my place.  You can get some rest there.”

I rolled my options around in my head and sighed.  My eyes fell back on the tree, and I wanted nothing more than to just get this over with.  “I’m going to hate myself for this later,” I grumbled, lowering myself to a runner’s stance.

“What are you doing?” Lyra asked.

“Oh… something stupid.”  I took off with a sprint across the open street.  The nerves in my leg caught fire with each pounding step I took.  My body threatened to collapse halfway across.  When I reached the other side, I crumpled and rolled into the alley.

I laid on the hard, cold ground, clutching my throbbing leg and silently screaming.  Something warm was spreading beneath the bandages.  My trembling hands pulled back the pant leg, revealing the padding and gauze.  Even in the shade from the moonlit sky, I could see a dark stain growing beneath it and cursed under my breath.  On the bright side, I was awake now.

Lyra came galloping up to me.  “Oh my gosh, Hunter, are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied.  My body shook as I pushed myself up, using the wall of the nearby house for support.  I took a step forward and nearly crumpled.  “How much further do we have?” I hissed through the pain.

“Not too far,” Lyra answered.  She eyed my leg, noting the growing stain, and shook her head.  “But you’re not going to make it on that leg.”  She paused, trying to come up with some sort of plan.  Something sparked behind her eyes, and she trotted up next to me.  She carefully stood up, balancing herself on her hind legs, and wrapped her forelegs around my waist.  “Just lean on me when you need to,” she smiled as she looked up to me.  “I’ll have your back.”

We were able to slowly trudge through the Ponyville streets.  Lyra’s legs quivered under my weight whenever I’d lean on her for support, and mine still ached with each shaky step we took.  We stuck close to the buildings, trying not to expose ourselves in the moonlight.  I realized that I didn’t know where we were going.  I had never been this far into Ponyville; at least, not since my first night.  A part of me could have sworn the forest was the other way.

“So, where are you taking me anyways?” I asked as she led me around a corner.

“My place,” she explained in a strained voice.  “Zecora’s waiting there to take you back to the forest where it’s safe.”

I snorted.  Safe.  With the timberwolves still on the hunt for me and the ponies trying to keep me locked up in a basement, I wasn’t sure anywhere was safe for me now.  “I don’t think that’s the best idea,” I pointed out.

“You’re right; Zecora will have a hard time taking you back in this condition,” Lyra thought aloud.  We were on two different pages, but if it stalled me from returning to the forest, I didn’t feel the need to correct her.  “I think I have an idea,” she hummed in thought.  “Let’s just get you there first.”

As we shuffled around another corner, two ponies were revealed in the broad moonlight next to one of the houses.  I tried to pull us back in the shadows, but Lyra kept tugging me forward.  The strangers saw us and waved, one of them galloping up to meet us halfway.

“What took you two so long?” Noteworthy greeted us with a hiss.  “Daisy’s been worrying sick, and I’m not just saying that.  She’s looking as green as her mane out of stress.”  He paused and gave us a once over, and his aggression melted into shock.  “Oh wow, are you alright?”

“Yeah,” I strained.  “Just went for a little jog.”

Noteworthy glanced between the two of us and shook his head in disbelief.  “Here, let me help you,” he offered.  He reared up on his hind legs, one of his forelegs balancing on my side and the other gently pushing Lyra back.  “You go help Daisy.  She’s a mess, and she could use the comfort.”  Lyra nodded and switched, galloping off to the other stranger.

I could move a little faster with Noteworthy’s help.  His legs were sturdier than Lyra’s whenever I leaned against him.  The closer we drew to the house, the more I could see how badly Daisy was shaking.  She gave us a frantic smile as we approached, Lyra trying unsuccessfully to calm down her jitteriness with a supportive hoof on her back.

“Oh, thank Celestia you made it,” she sighed in relief.  She turned to Lyra hopefully.  “Can we go inside now?”  Lyra nodded, and before we knew it Daisy had already burst through the door, leaving Lyra and Noteworthy helped me limp inside.

“Bon-Bon, I’m back!” Lyra called as we entered.  She and Noteworthy allowed me to prop myself against a wall to relax.  “And I brought Hunter with me, too!”

“Just a minute!” a voice sang deeper in the house.

The inside was simple, but nice, in my opinion.  When we entered the door, we were immediately in the living room.  There was a staircase on the right wall that led to the second floor, which had a simple hallway guarded by a wooden rail.  In the living room, Daisy was sprawled out on her back on the green couch that rested against the wall of the staircase.  Two chairs sat opposite from the couch, facing the wooden coffee table in the middle of the room.  Between them sat an old phonograph with a small bookshelf filled with records next to it.

The entrance to the dining area was straight across from the front door.  A sweet aroma wafted into the living room, promising homemade muffins.  Two mares came into view and entered from the kitchen, one a very familiar zebra that greeted me with a smile, and the other a cream-colored mare with a blue curly mane and a bright pink strip.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Hunter,” the stranger greeted.  “Lyra’s told me so much about—”  Her body went rigid; her teal eyes locked on me.  I watched as they slowly filled with confusion and then shock and finally shrinking with fear.  “It’s the monster!” she screamed, backpedaling a few steps.  Her head darted around wildly for an exit.  “Somepony call for help!  The monster is in my house!”

Lyra shot forward and tackled the mare, trying to calm her down.  We watched in shock as the two mares struggled for control across the floor.  Zecora had a worried look on her face, but she inched away from the mares, trying not to get sucked in.  Bits and pieces of screamed conversations escaped the mangled mess of mares.  Their audience stared at each other in concern.  Were we supposed to do something?

It eventually ended with Lyra pinning the screaming mystery mare on the ground.  They were both out of breath, but at least the commotion had died down.  “Bon-Bon,” Lyra panted, looking up to me.  “I’d like you to meet my friend… Hunter.”  Bon-Bon followed her eyes and craned her neck to see me.  I cautiously raised a hand and waved, nervous that moving too quickly would set her off again.

She forced a strained smile and looked back up.  “Lyra?” she asked through her teeth.  “Could you please tell me what’s going on here?”

“Well… I might have just busted Hunter out of the hospital to help him escape back into the Everfree,” Lyra explained, waving a hoof dismissively.  “But you see, he’s a little hurt and needs a place to stay and rest for the night.  So, I was wondering—”

“No.”

Lyra blinked.  “What?”

“No,” Bon-Bon repeated.  “The monster is not staying in my house, Lyra.”

“He’s not a monster, Bon-Bon,” Lyra snapped defensively, her nostrils flaring.  “And why not?” she demanded.  “You were perfectly fine with it when I asked you this afternoon!”

“Yes, but you left out the fact that Hunter was the Beast of the Everfree!” Bon-Bon retaliated.  “Besides, when you told me about him, I thought he was a nice stallion you met at the park.  I thought he was going to stop by for dessert, not for the night and then some.”  She glanced down and back at Lyra.  “And could you please get off me?” she groaned.

Lyra rolled her eyes and complied, helping Bon-Bon back up to her hooves.  “Look, he’s hurt,” she explained.  “I’m not asking for him to stay forever, just until he’s better.”

Bon-Bon’s eyes narrowed as they shot to Zecora.  “You were in on this, too, weren’t you?”

“Forgive me, Bon-Bon, I meant not to deceive,” Zecora apologized.  “I hope there is a way I can make you believe.”  She looked over me, and I realized I was standing a little slumped.  I tried to straighten myself out and winced as my weight fell on my left again.  “Originally our plan was to take him away, but seeing his condition, it’d be best if he stayed.  I do hate to trouble you, I hate to be a pest, but I cannot take him now, Hunter needs to rest.”

Bon-Bon’s eyebrow rose.  “Just one night?” she clarified, looking between Lyra and Zecora.  “And then he goes to the forest?”  They glanced at each other and nodded their heads.  She gave me a distrustful look.  “Let’s continue this in the kitchen,” Bon-Bon said, not taking her eyes off me.

“Really?” Lyra gasped with hopeful eyes.  A wide grin threatened to split her face.  “Does this mean—”

“Maybe,” Bon-Bon cut her off.  She took her eyes off me with a sigh and turned to Lyra.  “If it’s going to stay here, then we have a lot to discuss.”  Her eyes darted to Zecora.  “You, too.”

Zecora nodded in understanding and relaxed slightly, as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders.  She threw me a reassuring smile and trotted back into the dining area.  Bon-Bon put a hoof on Lyra and pushed her to follow.

“Um, don’t worry, Hunter,” she called as she was forced deeper into the house.  “We’ll come up with something.  In the meantime, make yourself at home!”  Bon-Bon gave her another shove behind the doorway and gave me a glare.  She brought her hoof up to her eyes and traced them back to me before disappearing as well, leaving me alone with Noteworthy and Daisy.

Daisy somehow managed to melt even further into the couch, her face buried in her hooves.  Her body was still shaking, but it wasn’t until I saw her wide grin that I realized that it was out of excitement rather than anxiety.

“Oh.  My.  Gosh!” she exclaimed.  She sprung up and looked between me and Noteworthy with thrill in her eyes.  “I can’t believe we did it.  We actually pulled it off!”  She leaned in towards Noteworthy, planting her hooves on the coffee table.  “Did you feel it?  That rush?  We could have gotten caught at any time, but we did it!” she squealed in delight.

Her excitement must have been contagious.  Noteworthy was already prancing in place.  “I know!” he exclaimed with a broad smile.  “My heart was racing the whole time.  It felt amazing!  We need to go on adventures like this more often.”

I couldn’t help but crack a smile.  “Maybe, but not too soon,” I offered with a chuckle.  “I don’t think I have it in me to bust out of a hospital again.”

Daisy’s ears shot up.  “Oh, Hunter!”  She made room and beckoned me over to the couch.  “Sorry, I forgot you were hurt.  Get off that leg and get some rest.”

“Geez, Daisy, took you this long to remember?” Noteworthy teased as he sat in one of the chairs.

“Oh, shut up,” she shot back with a smile.  It seemed like nothing could get her out of her bubbly mood.  Daisy turned to me as I hobbled over to the free seat.  “So, do you think we could tag along tomorrow when you and Zecora go back to the Everfree?”

“You want to tag along?” I asked as I collapsed next to her.  She shot up an inch as the cushion launched her.  My hands helped my leg find its way to the coffee table and let it rest there.  “Weren’t you the one literally getting sick from stress a few minutes ago?”

She tried to wave it off with a hoof.  “Yeah, but that’s why I want to do it again!”  She looked me dead in the eye.  “I spend all my time behind a flower booth in the marketplace; all day, every day.  This was the most excitement I’ve had in years!  Well, the fun kind of excitement anyways.”  She hummed in thought as her mind trailed.  “Oh, I wonder what Rose and Lily would say if they knew what we did tonight.”  She leaned back on the couch and let her head roll back, the goofy smile still plastered on her face.

“Is this what it always feels like?” Noteworthy asked excitedly.  I gave him a look, asking for more clarity.  “When you’re in the forest,” he explained.  “When you’re out there by yourself doing whatever dangerous stuff you do.  Is this the kinda rush you normally get?”

I hesitated for a second and shook my head and smiled.  “I don’t think this goes up there on the list of ‘dangerous stuff’ I’ve done,” I explained.  “A lot of crazy things happened while I was out there.”

“Like what?” he pressed.

He was eager, I could tell that much.  Like Daisy, this was probably one of the most daring things he had done in a while.  I wasn’t sure if he realized how deadly the forest really was for me, how every day was a fight for survival.  Even still, the good mood in the air was contagious, and I was quickly falling under its symptoms.

“Tell you what,” I offered, leaning forward a bit.  “When this all blows over and things calm down enough, come over to the castle sometime, and I’ll tell you about the time I ran into a space bear.”

His eyes widened as his jaw dropped.  And slowly, ever so slowly, it morphed into the biggest grin I had seen yet.  “Deal!” he laughed.

“Yes!”

We all turned our attention to the dining room where the excited voice came from.  Lyra hopped into the room with a broad smile on her face, practically dancing.  She leapt into the air and landed between me and Daisy on the couch.  Bon-Bon walked in soon after in a much calmer manner.  She seemed a little worn out as she dragged herself into the room and climbed into one of the chairs.  Zecora followed closely behind, an amused look in her eyes.

Bon-Bon let out a deep sigh.  “Alright, Hunter,” she started.  I was surprised she called me by name.  “After a long and very tedious discussion, Lyra and I have decided—”  She buried her head into a hoof in defeat.  “You can stay for the time being.”

Lyra shot up, pumping her hoof into the air.  “Aw, yeah!”

“But I expect you to behave yourself,” Bon-Bon added with a hardened look.  “So help me, if I have to clean up any messes you make—”

“I’ll be sure to keep everything as clean as possible,” I promised, holding my hands up in defense.

She nodded tiredly and hopped off the chair.  “Alright then.  Everypony, it’s time to go to bed.  It’s nearly two in the morning, and I have a busy day tomorrow.”  She turned to Zecora.  “No offense, but my house is a little full at the moment.”

“I understand,” Zecora nodded.  “No need to feel impolite.”  Her eyes flickered to me before she gave a smile.  “I’ll return for Hunter by tomorrow’s night.”  

Noteworthy and Daisy were already on their way out the door, wishing me a good night’s rest.  Zecora waved goodbye, and I returned it as she disappeared through the front door.  Bon-Bon trotted up the stairs to the second floor, and I heard a door close.

Lyra hopped off the couch and tugged on my arm.  “Come on, Hunter.  You could use the sleep more than any of us.”

I laughed, “Not arguing that.”  I waved her off though.  “The couch is pretty cozy though.  I can crash here for tonight.  Don’t want to be too much trouble.”

She shook her head.  “No way.  You’re my guest, and you are not sleeping on the couch.  Besides, what if somepony walks through the front door and catches you sleeping?” she asked.  “You’ll get caught, and I’ll have to break you out of that hospital again.”

It was clear she wasn’t planning on letting up, and I was too exhausted to argue where I was supposed to sleep.  With a sigh and a grunt, I pulled myself up and trudged over to the stairs.  My leg could carry my weight a little better; either that or it was just growing numb to the pain.  I still had to use the rail for support.

When we reached to top of the stairs, one of the doors glowed and swung open, and I followed Lyra as she trotted inside  The lights came on with a soft click.  It was a nice, simple room.  A large bed with an ornate headboard jutted out of the middle of the right wall.  A dark green rug laid on the floor before it, and two nightstands flanked both of its sides, one of which had a lamp that illuminated the room.

There was clutter lying around everywhere.  Wads of crumpled paper were haphazardly tossed to the trashcan next to the desk in the corner.  A lyre, music stand, and chair rested in the other corner, musical paper littered around it.  I noticed there were posters around the desk, all having crudely drawn pictures of a human with ponies.  I blinked as I realized whose room this was.

“Sorry about the mess,” Lyra apologized as she trotted further in.  “I didn’t think I was going to have company tonight.”  Her horn ignited, and her bed began making itself.  The sheets tidied themselves, and decorative pillows fell into position.  Once the ensemble was finished, the covers peeled back from the side as if to invite me.  Lyra gave a satisfied smile as she turned to me.  “Bed’s all yours,” she explained.  She took one of the pillows and summoned a blanket from the closet, settling down on the rug at the end of the bed.

“Hey, I’m not too comfortable kicking you out of your own bed,” I said.  “Let me take the floor.”

She shook her head defiantly.  “Oh, no you don’t.  You’ve been through way too much these last few days,” she explained.  “You deserve a bed worth sleeping in.  I’ll be here if you need anything.”  I tried to argue, but she refused to even acknowledge me, laying her head down on the pillow and turning her back to me.  I snorted and shook my head in disbelief.  Redheart’s words rang in my head.  She definitely was a stubborn one.

I tried to seem begrudging as I hobbled to the bed, but truth be told, I was ready to collapse into its open arms.  My body melted as I laid into the bed.  It was comfortable.  Really comfortable.  It easily beat the hard mattress at the hospital.  I had forgotten how nice it was to bury myself beneath the sheets and comforter.  My grin wouldn’t fade, even as I drifted closer and closer into sleep.

“Hey, Lyra?” I called in a whisper.  She hummed in response.  “Thanks for busting me out.”

I heard her chuckle.  “You kidding?” she asked tiredly.  “Breaking friends out of trouble is what friends do.  Goodnight, Hunter.”  There was soft click, and the room was plunged into darkness.

I smiled in disbelief and felt a yawn take over as I began to drift.  “Goodnight, Lyra.”
> Act II:  A House Divided
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I found myself stuck in that strange stage between dreams and awake.  A dull ache blanketed my body.  I struggled to find the willpower to open my eyes, but I was too comfortable in my half-sleep to return to the waking world.  My body shifted, and I felt a weight on top of me.  Covers.  I smiled lightly and pulled them closer.  Actual covers.  Sheet and comforter and all.  What did I do to deserve this small blessing?
 
I took in a deep breath and smelled food.  Actual food.  My smile deepened as my eyes fluttered open.  I couldn’t remember what the smell was, just that the taste was even better.  I blinked a few times, and as the room came into focus, my heart stopped.
 
Where was I?

I shot up in the bed, much to my body’s contempt.  I had to force myself to ignore its complaints as my eyes darted around the room.  Memories of last night came flooding back with each small detail of the room, and a sigh of relief escaped me.  I was safe.  I was free.

The early morning sun was just barely peeking into the room, lulling me to go back to sleep.  I allowed myself to fall back in Lyra’s bed and stared into the ceiling.  The bed was so welcoming; I nearly dozed back into a light dream, but as my body slowly woke up, so did a faint throb.  Curious, I reluctantly peeled away the covers and winced at what I found.
 
Blood.  Just a stain, but blood nonetheless.  The blue denim of my jeans had been painted an ugly brown around my leg.  There wasn’t much, but it was still noticeable.  I searched the sheets around it and was relieved to find that it didn’t spread.
 
A defeated sigh escaped me.  The smell of food and the sight of the stain chased off any hopes of rest.  My body groaned and popped as I stretched, trying to anchor myself back into the waking world.  I carefully swung my legs off the bed and stood up.
 
“Yipe!”
 
Only to jump out of my skin as the unicorn shouted beneath me.
 
“Shoot!  Lyra, are you alright?” I winced, my heart racing.  I was back on the bed, clutching my chest with a hand to calm myself down.  One night of being back in a “normal” home, and everything was already spiraling out of control.
 
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Lyra waved off with an embarrassed smile.  She went back to inspecting her tail, combing it with a hoof.  “It just… surprised me more than anything,” she offered with a weak chuckle.
 
My hand wiped away the last traces of sleep in my eyes.  “Sorry, I didn’t even see you there,” I explained.  “I thought you were on the other end of the bed.”  My heart sank a little deeper as she kept focusing on her tail, brushing out stray hairs.  “Are you sure you’re alright?”
 
Lyra stopped and offered me a smile.  “Hunter, I’m fine,” she promised.  Her eyes looked to the side as an embarrassed blush took over.  “And I was on the rug, but it sounded like you were having trouble sleeping.”
 
“Oh, no, I was out like a light,” I chuckled, hoping to lighten the mood.  “The bed was great.  I just toss around a bit in my sleep.”
 
“Yeah, you talk a bit, too,” Lyra added sheepishly.
 
“Oh.”  That was news to me.  My mind raced back to my dreams, trying to remember where my subconscious went, but the memories were already fading.  “I, uh, hope I didn’t say anything too embarrassing,” I prayed with a self-conscious smile.
 
Lyra waved a hoof.  “Don’t worry; it was all mumbled anyway.”
 
The door crashed open, and my heart leapt out of my chest again.  Our heads snapped to greet the cream-colored mare panting in the doorway.  “I heard you scream,” Bon-Bon explained as she looked frantically around the room.  Her eyes locked on me and narrowed.  “What did you do?” she demanded.
 
I held up my hands in defense and opened my mouth, but Lyra beat me to it.  “Everything’s fine, Bon-Bon,” she promised.  “Hunter just accidentally stepped on me.  No harm done.”
 
Bon-Bon’s eyebrow rose.  “‘Accidentally’, huh?” she asked, although it sounded more like a challenge than a question.
 
“I was half-asleep,” I explained, the words stumbling out of my mouth.  “I didn’t see her, but I’m wide awake now.  No more accidents.”  I tacked on a smile, hoping it would add to the sincerity, but the nervous sweat may have made it unconvincing.
 
Bon-Bon’s glare lingered before her eyes fell off me and onto Lyra.  The steely look melted away, but the caution was still in her voice.  “I made you some pancakes, Lyra.  They’re blueberry; your favorite.  I need to leave soon; Gum Drop doesn’t like it when I’m late.”  Her eyes flickered back to me.  “Are you sure you’ll be alright by yourself?”
 
Lyra nodded confidently.  “Don’t you worry; Hunter and I’ll hold the fort,” she grinned.
 
Bon-Bon didn’t appear to appreciative of the answer, but she also didn’t seem to be in the mood to argue.  “Just be careful,” she sighed.  “Okay?”
 
With a reassuring smile from Lyra, Bon-Bon reluctantly turned and left us to our devices.
 
“Well, she seems to be warming up to me just fine,” I commented as the door shut behind the mare.
 
“Just… give her some time,” Lyra offered with an apologetic smile.  “She just isn’t used to you yet.  Once all of this ‘monster’ business blows over, and if I can convince her to visit, I’m sure you two will get along.”  It sounded more like she was giving wishful thinking, but I didn’t want to crush her hopes.  I carefully stood up again, allowing my body to stretch.  There was a dull throb in my leg, but it was livable.  Lyra noticed and looked me up and down.  “How’s your leg?” she asked hopefully.
 
“It’s been better,” I said; the understatement of the century.  “Still aching a bit, but at least I can stand on it.”  I tried to prove my point by shifting my weight and bit back a wince.  “Well, mostly, that is,” I hissed, gingerly lifting it off the floor.
 
“Maybe we can get Zecora to take a look at it before you leave,” Lyra suggested.
 
I nodded.  “Yeah, that would be nice.  The sooner, the better, too.  Maybe she can whip up another miracle potion,” I joked.  I took another whiff of the air.  The smell of food was intoxicating, and my stomach voiced its complaint.  My hand shot to cover it, and I offered Lyra a meek smile.  “So… how about that breakfast?”
 
Lyra giggled.  “Go on ahead; I’ll meet you down there.”  The sheets on the bed began to float and rearrange themselves.  A part of me wanted to stay and help, but the promise of food lured me back to the door.
 
I followed the scent across the second floor towards the stairs and paused.  Bon-Bon stared at me from below at the front door.  She raised her hoof to her distrustful eyes and traced them back to me.  She stepped out without a word, and the soft slam of the door seemed to echo.  I released the breath I was unknowingly holding and silently prayed Zecora would arrive sooner than planned.  Today was going to be long and uncomfortable with that mare otherwise.
 
I trudged down the stairs, pushing Bon-Bon’s glare out of my head.  The scent carried me into the kitchen, and my stomach groaned longingly to the small banquet that waited for me.  Pancakes, hash browns, biscuits, fruits, leftover muffins…  My mouth was watering.  How long has it been since I have had a real breakfast?
 
Without wasting any more time, I moved for the nearest plate and began greedily loading them up.  Half of the stack of pancakes found themselves on my plate and drowning in syrup.  Hash browns were thrown sloppily to the side, and my hands grazed over the bowl of apples before claiming a pair of muffins.  My parched tongue led me to the fridge, and I helped myself to a glass of orange juice.
 
Satisfied with my harvest, I moved back to the dining room, where a new problem presented itself.  The dining table was too small; its top barely reaching my knees.  The chairs were even worse.  Sitting in them might as well have meant sitting on the ground.  It almost didn’t sound like a bad idea, but I was Lyra’s guest, and my parents would scold me if I didn’t act like it.
 
I could hear Lyra coming downstairs as I sat down, and she appeared in the doorway as I finished stuffing my legs beneath the table.  She hummed an odd tune as she entered the kitchen, and a plate followed nearby, collecting her breakfast as it drifted in the air.  My eyes couldn’t help but watch curiously as I sat patiently.  Something about unicorns and their magic… it felt unreal to watch.
 
“Oh, were you waiting for me?”  I blinked and realized she was staring back.  My stomach answered before I had the chance to.  My hand moved to cover it, as if it could pull back the sound, and I offered an apologetic smile.  Lyra chuckled lightly, “You don’t have to do that; I can tell you’re starving.”
 
“Oh, yes I do,” I snorted, turning back to my meal and prodding at it with a fork.  “My folks wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if I ate before everyone was seated.  Drilled it into me since I was a kid.”
 
“Sounds nice,” she offered.
 
A faint chuckle escaped me.  “You and I have very different definitions of ‘nice’,” I pointed out.  She seated herself across from me, and I let out a sigh.  “It… was nice, though,” I admitted softly.
 
Lyra adjusted herself and gave a warm smile.  “Well, I think you’ve been waiting long enough.  Dig in!”
 
I didn’t have to hear it twice.  I plucked up the knife and quartered the stack of pancakes.  They had been sitting long enough to absorb the butter and syrup that had originally slathered them, and it only made me all the more eager to steal a taste.
 
I had to restrain myself from swallowing it whole.  My stomach waited in greedy anticipation as I rolled the food in my mouth, trying to savor every second.  I eventually gave in and swallowed, and, with a sigh, set down my fork and stared at the rest of my breakfast.
 
“How do you like it?” Lyra asked hopefully.  I didn’t answer immediately.  “Hunter?” she pressed, a sliver of worry lining her voice.
 
“This has to be a crime,” I deadpanned, looking up to Lyra.  She stared at me, dumbfounded.  Her mouth moved, but she didn’t know what to say.  A few seconds ticked by before I couldn’t keep the charade up any longer.  My grin was starting to break free.  “These pancakes are better than my mother’s.”
 
Lyra blinked.  The gears in her head slowly turned.  And as I hid my grin behind a hand, realization fully struck her.  She picked up her napkin and threw it at me playfully.  “You jerk,” she accused, but she couldn’t help her own smile.  “You had me worried for a second.”
 
The air quickly lightened as we laughed.  Lyra summoned her napkin back, and I was already scarfing down the rest of my pancakes.  “In all seriousness, though, this food is incredible.”  I gestured to what was left of the stack with my fork.  “Bon-Bon made these?”
 
“Yeah, she’s quite the cook, isn’t she?”  She chased down a bite of blueberry pancake with a sip of orange juice.  “I’m real lucky to have a friend like her.  Celestia knows where I’d be without her.”
 
I smiled.  This was nice; sitting here, eating a normal breakfast with someone, enjoying the small talk.  It was a pleasant relief from waking in the cold and lonely castle with only scraps of fruits and vegetables to make a meal of.  The danger of being caught still hung in the air over me as I ate, but it was comforting having company to talk to rather than my split conscience.  It allowed me to think of my situation from another view… and think on it some more.  A small laughter bubbled inside, and I couldn’t restrain the unbelieving grin growing on my face.
 
“Y’know,” I started, trying to hold back the chuckle escaping me.  “If you would’ve told me a couple months ago that I’d be sitting here, in a town full of ponies and eating breakfast with a talking unicorn, I would’ve called you crazy.”  I got to work on my last muffin.  “It’s funny how Life’ll throw you a curve ball like that.”
 
“Yeah,” Lyra giggled.  “And if somepony told me I would befriend an alien fugitive and let him in my home, I’d say the same thing."
 
Everything was at ease.  There was no tension in the air.  Nothing felt out of the ordinary.  It just seemed so... normal.  This breakfast could very well have been at home or at school and I would barely recognize the difference; well, outside of the obvious.
 
I watched Lyra’s fork twirl in the air with an amused smile.  I knew unicorns possessed some sort of an uncanny power.  Too many weird things happened around them for me to think otherwise, but I never really had a word for it until that fateful night at the hospital.  Magic.
 
It made sense… in the sense I couldn’t explain it otherwise.  I never had much time to sit and think about it until now.  A part of me always joked that it was magic back then, but now, sure enough, in the land of unicorns and pegasi, talking ponies and mythological creatures, magic was also real.
 
I guessed I shouldn’t be too surprised by now.
 
My fork dragged the last bite of pancake across the empty plate, trying to sponge up what little syrup was left.  My stomach ached, but it was a much more welcome sensation than usual.  The last time I had this much food was the night before the camping trip.
 
My empty plate lifted and drifted next to Lyra’s.  “Why don’t you put some music on?” she offered.  “I can handle the dishes.  Phonograph’s in the living room.”
 
I rose from the table and stretched my legs.  “Anything in particular?” I asked on my way out.
 
Lyra disappeared into the kitchen with the dishes and called out, “Surprise me!”
 
I knelt in front of the phonograph, trying to ignore the dull pain in my leg.  A faint smile grew as I searched through the records in the bookshelf next to it.  This brought back old memories; old memories of much simpler times.  My fingers flipped through album after album, and I quickly realized I didn’t know any of these artists.  Sapphire Shores.  Blue Note Blues.  Andante & Allegro.  Now that I thought of it, I wasn’t sure why I was surprised I didn’t.
 
The list was unending, but I eventually narrowed it down to a couple of choices.  I wasn’t sure who Sapphire Shores or Blue Note were, or what their music sounded like.  The list on the backs of their albums didn’t offer much help.  The covers were colorful, enough to catch my eye and pick them out, but I was still going in blind; or deaf, I supposed.
 
I sighed.  “Sorry, Blue.  I’m a sucker for sax, but it’ll have to wait for another day.”  I retired his record back to the shelf and carefully pulled Sapphire’s vinyl out.  It still had a nice shine to it; a pleasant little surprise for me.  I was so used to holding them as if they would turn to dust in my hands.  The record was set, spinning in place and waiting to be heard.  I led the needle over it and gently let it down.
 
There was a soft static, and my head recoiled as a woman’s voice sang loudly in my face.  I chuckled in amusement and lowered the volume before moving to the couch.
 
“Ooh, this is one of Bon-Bon’s favorites!”
 
Lyra was grinning from ear to ear as she trotted into the living room.  She crawled up to the couch and, after studying how my legs rested on the coffee table, mimicked me.  Her hooves had to stretch to just barely reach the coffee table.  She leaned her head against the back of the couch and rested her hooves on her chest.  She hummed in thought and looked up to me.  “This ain’t too bad,” she smiled.
 
We burst into a fit of giggles, Lyra pulling her hind legs into a more comfortable position.  I took in a breath and was about to release a content sigh when a scent caught my attention.  I sniffed the air, trying to find where it was coming from, and looked down.  Hesitantly, I pulled up my shirt and took another whiff.
 
“Oh God, is that me?” I asked as I recoiled.
 
“Is what you?” Lyra asked innocently.
 
“That smell!”
 
Lyra blinked.  “Wait, so you’re not supposed to smell like that?” she pressed cautiously.  I shook my head.  “Oh, thank Celestia,” she sighed in relief, melting back into the couch.  “I was going to say something, but I didn’t want to offend you or anything.  There’s a shower upstairs if you want it.”
 
“You wouldn’t mind?” I asked.
 
She waved her hoof dismissively.  “Go ahead.  There should be some spare towels down in the cabinet.”
 
“You’re a saint!” I called, already on my way upstairs.
 
Everything was smaller than I expected.  Although to be honest, I wasn’t sure why I expected otherwise.  My head went well over the mirror.  I crouched down to get a better look at myself, and the Beast of the Everfree came down to greet me.  Grime still smothered my face, buried into my mangy, patchy beard and rat’s nest of hair.  I realized in embarrassment that I had spent all morning looking like this.
 
I barely recognized the eyes in the reflection, and they bored into mine, searching for some familiarity.  Something familiar burned in the back of my head.
 
You’re growing complacent, my inner voice warned.
 
“I’m about to shower,” I pointed out in a whisper.  “Sorry for not being on edge.”
 
My reflection scoffed.  This pony is making you soft, it accused.  It’s not safe here.
 
I rolled my eyes and turned on the water, hoping to drown out the conversation from any eavesdroppers.  I tore off my shirt and made my way back to the mirror.  My reflection leaned in, resting its hands on the sink’s countertop.
 
“I’m safer here than anywhere else,” I argued, glaring into its eyes.  “What, would you rather I go back to the Everfree?  The wolves will kill me before I make it ten feet in there.”
 
You wouldn’t even be in this mess if it wasn’t for her, it hissed.  You were doing so well before she came in.  You weren’t scared of hurting any of these ponies.  And now you’re throwing away opportunities to save yourself time and pain by saving ponies from a town that hates you.  And after all they did, she is still trying to make you friends with them.
 
“She saved my life,” I reminded it.  “After all that talk of survival, I would have thought you’d appreciate that.  Why don’t you trust her?”
 
Why do you trust her?
 
“She’s my friend.”  I paused to let the fact settle in.  “She risked herself to free me from the hospital, just like she’s been risking herself to convince everybody to give me a second chance.”
 
You may need to rethink your ‘friends’.  We recall a few humans back on Earth you were attached to.
 
I grit my teeth and pushed myself away from the mirror.  “We’re done here,” I growled with finality.
 
I bit back a wince as a headache pulsed.  Oh, no we’re not, the voice pressed.  You’re getting too comfortable around your enemy.
 
Why do they all have to be my enemy? I demanded.  What’s wrong with wanting some friends in this twisted world?  Why do I have to be alone?
 
It didn’t reply, but I could still feel in lingering in the corners of my mind.  I took in a breath and slowly let it out.  I was wasting Lyra’s water.
 
I pulled a towel out of the cabinet and stripped off my jeans and boxers.  The water was scalding.  My hand moved to the cold-water valve but paused as a realization struck me.  I haven’t had a hot shower in over a month.
 
I stepped into the burning tub and waiting to adjust to the heat before cleaning.  A small shiver went down my spine.  After over a month of bathing in the cold river water, it was wonderful to feel this burning over my body.  I ran my hands over my face and through my hair and watched as the caked-in dirt washed down the drain, as if the grime was the Everfree itself.
 
The thought lingered, and I began scrubbing the rest of me, searching wildly for some soap.  The Everfree ran down the drain in dark rivers.  I peeled away the bandages over my body, exposing the wounds and stitches to the purifying heat.  Faint crimson streams trailed down to merge with the Everfree, and with each river that disappeared, I felt more and more at ease.
> Act II:  Trials and Errors
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the roar of the showerhead, I could barely hear a conversation downstairs.  A very loud conversation.  The two voices were uncomfortably familiar.  I quickly cut off the water and reached for the towel, fearing I was starting to overstay my welcome.

“—can’t stay here, Lyra,” Bon-Bon’s voice cut through the air.

I quickly dried myself off.

“Where else is he supposed to go?  He can’t walk outside in broad daylight!” Lyra shot back.

I threw on my boxers and jeans, scrubbing the towel against my hair.

“You should have thought of that before you let him stay!”

The t-shirt fell over my head as my arms slipped through the sleeves.  My fingers combed through my hair, and my new, clean reflection stared at me with those same, old eyes.

Trouble in paradise?

“Can it,” I muttered as I threw open the door.

“Bon-Bon, that isn’t fair!  He hasn’t had enough time to rest,” Lyra’s voice shouted from downstairs.  “We can’t just kick him out.”

“Yes, we can!” Bon-Bon argued.  “The Princess is coming today, and Twilight is starting to panic.  Were you even here the last time that happened?”

“Th-That doesn’t mean he has to leave.”  Lyra was losing her ground.

“Yes, Lyra, that’s exactly what that means,” Bon-Bon pressed.  Their voices had calmed down, albeit slightly.  “As far as everypony knows, he’s a criminal.  What do you think is going to happen if we’re caught harboring him?  Everypony’s going to think—”

Her voice trailed off as Lyra stared past her, frozen in a wince.  She followed her eyes and found me waiting at the base of the stairs, trying to look anywhere but at the two mares.

“Oh.”  The silence hung in the air, heavy and uncomfortable.  I built the courage to meet Lyra’s eyes.  Her lips moved, but opted to clamp shut as she couldn’t find any words.  Bon-Bon dared to break the silence.  “How much have you heard?”

“Enough,” I said to the floor beneath her hooves.

“Then you understand the situation?”  It sounded more like a fact than a question.  I took in a breath and sighed, nodding my head.

“Hunter, wait,” Lyra begged, stepping out of the dining room.  “It-It’s not as bad as it sounds.  You don’t have to leave just yet.  Twilight doesn’t know where you are.”

“But she has an idea of where to look,” Bon-Bon interjected.  “She came into the shop and asked where you were.  I told her you’d normally be in the park by now or grabbing lunch, but that’s only going to hold her off for so long.”

“Wh-What?” Lyra asked incredulously.  “Why is she looking for me?”

Bon-Bon rolled her eyes.  “Seriously?” she huffed.  “Maybe it’s all those rallies you held about him.  Maybe it’s all the posters you made.  Maybe it’s the fact that you’re the only pony in town that even cares about him!”  She froze, realizing what she had just said.  Her eyes darted to me, but rather than the usual daggers they had a wary look.  “That… was out of line,” she admitted, the floor suddenly becoming very interesting to her.  She prodded at it with a hoof.  “My apologies.”

I started to say something, but all that came out was a defeated sigh.  I shook my head and turned to Lyra.  “I think I’ve overstayed my welcome here.”

“Just wait,” Lyra snapped.  She glared at her housemate.  “She didn’t mean it,” she challenged Bon-Bon, who refused to look her in the eye.  With a satisfied nod, Lyra returned her attention to me.  “Come on, Hunter, just think about this,” she pleaded.  “If it’s really as bad as Bon-Bon said, you can’t go outside; you’ll get caught.”

“If I stay in here, we all get caught,” I countered, leaning towards her on the stairs’ guardrails.  “And I’m not about to drag you two down with me.  You’ve been through enough trouble putting up with me already.”

“I haven’t been ‘putting up’ with you,” Lyra said incredulously.  “You’re my friend, Hunter.  I’m not going to let you throw yourself out to the wolves.”

Well, if we’re being honest, I’m being thrown to the ‘wolves’ either way, I thought darkly.  I suppressed a frustrated groan with a sigh and massaged the stress out of my head with a hand.  “Alright.  But I’m not going to stay here and get you in trouble,” I said with finality, looking to her.  “What’s your plan?”

Lyra hesitated.  She didn’t have a plan; I could see it in her eyes, but she was too stubborn to admit defeat.  She turned to Bon-Bon, who had opted to rest in a chair as we talked.  “Find Daisy or Noteworthy,” she said.  “Tell them to get Zecora as fast as possible, and bring a wagon, too.”

Bon-Bon deflated and climbed back to the floor.  “I guess it’s time for my early lunch break to end anyways,” she sighed in exasperation.  She paused as she approached the door and turned back to Lyra.  “I’ll send your message, to both of them if I can.  In the meantime… just try not to attract any attention here, either of you.”  The door closed softly behind her.

Lyra and I shifted under the uncomfortable weight of silence that filled the room.  An inkling of fear flittered in the back of my mind.  This could be the last time we see each other.  The wrath of a Princess fed with misinformation was waiting for me in the town, and Twilight was bound to find me eventually.  If Lyra’s half-baked plan worked, I’d be delivered back to the hungry maws of the timberwolves.

This very well could have been my last few hours.

The revelation hung over my head.  I suppressed a nervous shudder and looked to Lyra.  She laid on the couch in defeat, face buried into a pillow.  My eyes flicked to the phonograph, its record still with the needle sitting patiently in the middle, and built up my determination.

This very well could have been my last few hours; I might as well make the most of it.

With the flick of a switch, the machine hummed to life.  A song sluggishly pushed through the static, eager to play its soothing melody after being rudely interrupted.

I stole a glance behind me.  Lyra pulled her head up from the pillow and looked at me tiredly.  “That’s a little better,” I offered.  I tried to smile, but it died before it ever touched my lips.

Lyra gave a weak smile.  “You know, I was kinda surprised you knew how to operate that,” she admitted.  “I bought it new from Canterlot.  Are humans normally good with machines?”

“You could say that,” I chuckled halfheartedly, sitting down in the chair next to it.  “My grandfather has one kinda similar from way back when.  He always let me and my brothers take it out whenever we visited.”  I reached over and flicked the switch, and the record came to a stop.  “They don’t make these anymore back home; found better ways to record and play music.  But it’s still nice going ‘back in time’ every now and then, you know?”

“You haven’t really talked much about your home,” Lyra pointed out.  “At least, not outside of your stories.  What was it like?  How was your family?”

I hesitated, and a weak smile forced itself out.  “Oh, I…  They were great.  Are great,” I corrected myself.  “I could tell you stories all day about my father’s misadventures in cooking or the days I was in my mother’s class in junior high or how my brothers always find a way to get under my skin.  But…”  I shook my head.  Memories were threatening to come back, along with the longing heartbreak that tailed them.

“Thinking about it all has been making me real homesick lately.”

Lyra didn’t say anything.  For a moment, I thought that heavy silence was going to return, but she rose from the couch and gave me a bright smile.  “Come on, let’s make some cookies.”

“What?” I asked in disbelief.

“Let’s make some cookies,” she repeated, already on her way to the kitchen.  “It’ll be fun.  And it’d be nice to give our friends something when they come to pick you up.”

I saw what she was doing; trying to give us something to do while we ignored the elephant in the room.  But I couldn’t have been more grateful.  “Right behind ya,” I chuckled, standing up from the chair.

Lyra hummed in thought from the kitchen.  “Chocolate chip or peanut butter?”

I laughed.  “You say that as if there’s a choice!”


<><><>


I was down on my hands and knees, busy scrubbing the flour-covered floor.  It looked like a tornado had ran through the kitchen… twice.  A fine film of flour coated the floor and countertops.  Eggshells and yolk were splattered around the sink.  We even spilled a carton of milk, which we spent an appropriate time mourning over.

And we were laughing the whole time.

“I swear, this has never happened to me before,” I explained.

Lyra scoffed jokingly, “Oh, I bet you say that to all the mares.”

I struggled to suppress a laugh, but a snort managed to escape.  We weren’t sure how it started.  Lyra would pin it on me for accidentally bringing an early winter while attempting to open a new bag of flour, but I would place my bets on the moment she “accidentally” spilled a second teaspoon of vanilla on me.  Regardless, the room was a mess, along with us.  There were still splotches of flour matted into Lyra’s coat, and my shirt still smelled eerily of vanilla.  Lyra suggested we clean as much as we could while our spoils of war were still baking in the oven.

The sweet scent of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies hung in the air, replacing that horrible silence we chased away with our laughter.  Even as I scrubbed at the tiles, I found myself asking the universe to let this last just a little longer.  Just a little longer to delay whatever plans fate had waiting for me.  Just a little longer to stay here with my friend and laugh and joke and not have a care in the world.

The oven buzzed, and we decided we had cleaned enough.  I went searching for some oven mitts, but a metallic clang cut my journey short.  I turned to find that the tray had “magically” moved from the open oven to the countertop.  Lyra hummed happily as the cookies drifted into the air and arranged themselves neatly on a small plate.

“That magic sure is starting to look convenient,” I joked.  “Picking up a fresh pan of cookies without getting burned and moving them to a plate so quickly.  The possibilities seem endless.”

It won a giggle out of Lyra.  “Come on,” she said, trotting out of the kitchen with the plate following close by.  “Let’s move this to the living room.”

She didn’t have to say it twice.  The plate drifted down on the coffee table, and we threw ourselves onto the couch and dug in.  They melted slightly in my fingers and burned my tongue, but the peanut butter and chocolate taste was addictive.  I had to force myself to hold back after the fourth, telling myself I was spoiling my lunch.  But as I looked to the clock hanging on the wall, I realized this might very well be my last lunch for a while.  As the somber silence crept back in my mind, I allowed myself one more cookie to chase it away.

A trio of sharp knocks echoed throughout the house.  Lyra and I froze, staring at the door.  The curtains to the front windows were still closed.  We had no way of knowing who had won the race for my fate.

“Go to the kitchen,” Lyra whispered.  “Just in case.  Use the back door if you need to.”

I nodded and moved, my heart racing.  I stole a glance behind me from the dining room, and Lyra tried to give me a reassuring smile from the front door.  The knocks rang out again.  Lyra took in a deep breath and turned to the door, and I hid away in the kitchen, praying for a miracle.

“Oh, hey, Twilight!”  My heart stopped.  “Want a cookie?  I just made them,” Lyra announced proudly.

“Oh, thank you!  I would love one,” Twilight replied.  Her cheery tone put me on edge, but I didn’t dare attempt to steal a peek to the front door.  “So, have you been here all day?” Twilight asked through a bite of cookie.  “I didn’t see you at the park this morning.  You normally have your little get-togethers on Thursdays.”

“Yeah, I figured I’d have a lazy day,” Lyra explained.  I noticed a faint waver in her voice.  A part of me knew Twilight caught it, too.  “I’ve been having a hard time coming up with new ideas, but I think I have something planned for later this afternoon.  Ooh, thinking about attending this time?”

I crept to the backdoor between the kitchen and dining room, careful not to make myself visible from the front.

“You know, after everything that’s happened these last couple days, I think I might just check it out,” Twilight said, her voice dripping with ulterior motives.

I pulled open the door and stepped outside—

Only to nearly stumble into Rainbow Dash.  We stared at each other in shock, not sure we were really there.  A second ticked by.  I slowly stepped back in, never taking my eyes off hers, and shut the door, switching the deadbolt as an afterthought.  Maybe she didn’t see me.

There was a heavy thump as something rammed into the other side of the door.  I cursed under my breath.

“What was that?” Twilight piped up from the front door.

“O-Oh, that?” Lyra stammered.  “Well, I, um…”

“It’s here, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted from the back end of the house.  The front door slammed shut.  I ran back to the living room to find Lyra standing on her hind legs and propped up against it.

“We have a problem!” she exclaimed.

“I noticed!” I shot back.  I whirled around the living room, looking for something to defend ourselves with.

“I may have slammed the door on her muzzle,” she squeaked.  “She’s not going to be happy about that.”

A hoof pounded on the front door.  “Lyra, open this door now!” Twilight’s voice filled the house.  “The Princess is in town and wants to see the human.  Let us in, and you won’t be in any more trouble than you already are!”

“You’re not laying a hoof on him, Twilight!” Lyra shouted back.  “You’ve given Hunter enough trouble.  Just leave him alone!”

“I don’t think egging her on is going to help,” I pointed out worriedly.

Another wave of pounding from the other side of the door.  “Don’t make us break down this door, Lyra!” Twilight warned.  “I’m giving you to the count of three!”  I stared at Lyra in desperation.  The look she gave me wasn’t very reassuring.

“One…”

There was nowhere to run.  Nowhere to hide.

“Two…”

We had nothing to defend ourselves with.  This was it.  This was the end.

“Three!”

Lyra and I stared at each other for one last second before it all fell apart.

The door exploded in a torrent of wooden fragments as a blue missile shot through.  Rainbow tackled Lyra with her momentum and pinned her to the floor, leaving her in a daze.  Twilight leapt inside, and her crazed eyes locked on me.  Her mane was a frazzled mess.

“There you are,” she sneered.  “Rainbow Dash, go get the rope and a taxi.  This won’t take too long.”  Rainbow cast an uncertain look between her friend and the unconscious mare beneath her, but with a brisk nod she darted back into the streets of Ponyville, leaving me alone with Twilight.  “I’ve been looking all over for you,” she said coldly.  “Princess Celestia wants to see you, now.”

This is your chance, the voice whispered eagerly in my mind.  Twilight took a step forward.  I took one back.  After all she has put you through, after all you have suffered; this is your chance.  Don’t let her steal this from you, too.  Stand and fight!

My heart raced excitedly.  I bolted towards Twilight, and she dodged to the side.  Leaping over the couch, I vaulted over the guardrails to the stairs, ignoring the flare in my leg as I raced to the top.  With a loud pop, Twilight appeared at the top in a spray of purple sparks, crouched low to pounce.

My body moved on its own, driving my knee into Twilight’s muzzle as I reached the top.  She sputtered and fell back, giving me enough time to tackle her to the floor.  I raised my fist, and it struck against wood as she disappeared beneath me.

Purple light flashed at the end of the hallway.  Twilight’s horn ignited, and I barely managed to roll away as a beam of light erupted from her horn.  The wall behind me groaned against the impact, a small dent molded in the drywall where the magic struck.

Her horn was charging again.  I thundered down the hallway, hoping to reach her before the next blast, but she fired before I was ready.  My legs flew out from under me as my chest took the brunt of the blast, and I struggled for a breath as I landed on my back.

Her hooves stamped across the wooden floor closer to me.  I came back to my senses in time to see her standing over me.  “We don’t have time for this,” she reminded me with a frown.  “Are you ready to give up yet?”  She relaxed slightly, but I still had some fight left in me.

I pivoted on the floor, sweeping my legs beneath hers and spinning to a prone position.  She let out a surprised shriek and she fell and scrambled to recompose herself.  By the time she was back on her hooves, though, she was already too late.  I was low on all fours and lunged to tackle her.

She didn’t have time to react.  My arm wrapped tightly around her neck, and I rolled us to the ground.  She wheezed and kicked out against the open air, searching for leverage.  Her head was locked in my arm as I pulled myself back to my feet, and her forelegs grabbed desperately at it as she dangled in my grip.  My head was pounding heavily.

After all this time, the voice cooed.  She finally found her Beast of the Everfree.  Finish this.

“You just had to keep chasing me, didn’t you?” I hissed in her ear.  “Why couldn’t you leave me alone?!”  My arm tightened around her throat.  She gave a panicked choke.  Her horn ignited one last time, and my body felt as if it had burst into flames.

I stumbled back, numb to the world around me.  Stars danced across my vision, and a sharp ringing drowned everything out.  I kept my arm locked around the mare’s throat as best as I could, even as the world pitched backwards as guardrail pressed against my legs.

I fought for my breath as my back slammed into the first floor.  Twilight fell out of my grasp as we landed, rolling to the couch that felt miles away.  Everything felt so distant.  The heavy crash of a door broke through the sharp ringing in my ears.  My head rolled to the side to find Rainbow Dash helping Twilight back to her shaky hooves.

I had to move.  The world shrank beneath me as I rolled to my hands and knees, and everything fell out of focus the moment I stood.  There was shouting.  Distant, but there.  The world tilted back and suddenly lurched forward as I struggled to keep my balance. I stumbled forward and grabbed onto the coffee table for dear life as I fell on top of it.  My breath was coming in shallow gasps again.  I needed to focus; anchor myself back to the world before it all slipped away.

Something moved across my body, trailing around like a burning snake.  It coiled around me tightly, binding arms to my body and my wrists together.  I weakly thrashed against it, falling to the floor in the process.

An invisible force dragged me to the front door.  Twilight walked next to me, exhausted, her horn faintly glowing.  Rainbow Dash hovered anxiously over Lyra as we passed, prodding her shoulder testingly.  A new wave of energy surged through me, and I kicked out, digging my heels into the ground as the wooden floor turned to well-trodden dirt.

An open carriage waited for us outside, painted a taxi yellow.  The stallion at the front stared at me in shock and turned to Twilight, suddenly aware of his cargo.

“Town square, please,” Twilight requested tiredly.  My bindings struggled to lift me with the invisible force and tossed me in the back.  Twilight hopped in after me, and the carriage lurched to a start.

The carriage rattled with each rock and divot that struck its wooden wheels, and I felt every shake.  I tried to sit up, but with a glare and a glow of her horn, Twilight pulled me back down by my restraints.  I caught a hint of satisfaction in her eyes; she seemed to have found a loophole for her magic.

Ponies gasped as we passed by; some even cheered.  The deeper we moved into town, the louder a murmur grew behind us.  We were attracting a crowd.

Or a parade, the voice spat.

And Twilight has made us the guest of honor, I chimed in darkly.  How sweet of her.

There was already a crowd congregated at the town hall when we arrived, and their numbers only grew as our followers flooded in.  Two ponies stood on a raised stage, one of which stood out above them all.

Princess Celestia watched us quizzically as the taxi drew closer.  I studied her, trying to read her thoughts.  A part of me worried that she had forgotten our deal, or that she simply no longer cared.  Our eyes locked for a moment, and hers seemed to ask for an explanation.

The crowd was antsy upon seeing me.  The cheering began to spread for my punishment, and the pit of dread began to eat away at me.  I was defenseless; nowhere to run or hide, even if I could.

I was ejected from the floor of the carriage and onto the stage at the Princess’ hooves.  Twilight took her place by the Mayor’s side, brushing a few stray strands back into her mane.  That glint of pride never left her eyes, and it made me sick in my stomach.

The Princess took a step back as I landed, regarding me with that same, confused look.  “I must admit, I was hoping to see you under better circumstances,” she confessed, looking me over.  “Is there a reason he’s… all tied up?”

“He was resisting arrest,” Twilight explained.  “And he’s still dangerous.  I didn’t want him to run away again.”

“Dangerous?” the Princess echoed.  She threw me a cautious glance.  “I thought he wasn’t going to be a problem,” she said, more directed to me.

“I wasn’t,” I growled, glaring daggers at Twilight.  “Didn’t stop Twilight from making me one, though.”

“What was I supposed to do, pretend you weren’t still out there?” Twilight seethed.  “After antagonizing all of us for so long?  After stealing from my friends?  Some ponies here can’t even sleep at night because they’re scared of you!” she exclaimed, throwing a hoof to the crowd.  “And they’re all looking up to me to put an end to your reign of terror.

“You might have been able to trick Lyra and Zecora, you might have been able to fool some of my friends, but I know what you really are.  You’re evil!” she declared, jabbing an accusing hoof at me.  “And it’s high time you paid for it!”

The crowd cheered her on, and the conviction only burned brighter in her eyes.  My vision tunneled around her as I grit my teeth.  The nerve of her, acting so high and mighty after everything she had done to me.  I stood to my feet, and the Princess put herself between me and Twilight, looking between us and the crowd as they cried for my downfall with a lost look in her eyes.

“Wait!”

Something ran into my side and wrapped her hooves around me.  I nearly tipped over from the impact; the soft flutter of her wings was all that let me keep my balance.  After shaking away the pink curtain that covered my eyes, I saw Twilight and the Princess staring at me and my assailant in shock.  The crowd was silent.

“Please, you can’t do this to him!” Fluttershy pleaded.  “You have it all wrong; he doesn’t deserve this!”

“Fluttershy?” Twilight spluttered, gawking at her with wide eyes.  “What are you doing?”

“He isn’t evil!  He’s not some terrible monster!” Fluttershy exclaimed, clinging to me closer.

“What?” Twilight recoiled slightly, her gaze flicking between us uneasily.  “What are you talking about?  After everything that’s happened, how can you really believe that?”

“He was just scared!”

“Of what?!”

“Us!”

There was a moment of silence as her words seemed to sink in.  She took a shuddering breath and continued.

“That night, when he first showed up, I… I saw it in him.  He wasn’t out for blood; he was looking for a way out.  He was lost and scared and had no idea what was happening!” She let herself off me and put herself between me and Twilight.  “And then, when we followed him into the Everfree forest, we fell from the sky and… and I got hurt.  He actually helped me!”

“Then what about all of the thefts?  Stealing from Applejack?” Twilight demanded, gesturing her hoof at me.  “That wasn’t exactly ‘good’, was it?”

“He was starving!” Fluttershy countered with a frown.  “I’m not saying what he did was right, but he was only doing what he felt he needed to survive!  And besides,” she shot me a small smile before going on.  “He defended the foals at the field trip a week ago.  I was there, I saw how hard he was working to keep the foals and the rest of us safe from the timberwolves!  I spoke to him, too!  He isn’t a monster!  He’s just… lost.”

A voice spoke up from the crowd.  “She’s right!  I’ve talked to him, too!”  Daisy’s head poked up from the onlooking sea of uncertain faces.  She pushed through the crowd with a courage I had never seen in her before and climbed onto the stage, taking her stand next to me.  “He invited me and some other ponies to his place the night before the field trip.  We talked and laughed and he told us stories about his home.  He isn’t evil, trust me! We just need to give him a chance.”

Twilight looked desperately over the uneasy crowd, her support crumbling around her.  Another mare broke from the crowd, and for a moment, Twilight seemed hopeful.  But as Applejack trotted up to the stage and pulled her in close, she began whispering something in her ear.  Twilight took a step back, and then another, looking as if something horrible had just dawned upon her.

Applejack looked heartbroken.  She gulped down whatever fear was weighing down on her and looked to Celestia.  “Princess?” she asked sheepishly.  She pulled down her hat, resting it respectfully against her chest.  “Ah think we may have made a mistake.”

The Princess rose a curious eyebrow.  “Care to explain?”

She hesitated, turning to me and then the confused crowd behind her.  With an absent nod, she cleared her throat and replaced her hat on her head.  “Hunter ain’t the varmint we thought he was,” she opened, looking to her princess.  “But… we never gave him the chance to prove it.  When that storm rolled in from the Everfree, nopony knew what was going on.  Rainbow saw him stumblin’ out of the forest while she was makin’ sure everypony was safe and indoors.  We thought he was another crazy critter that lived there; figured he’d just go back after a while.  But makin’ him out to be a monster and treatin’ him like that…”  Her voice trailed off.  I glanced up, and our eyes met.  “We may have forced y’all to act like something you ain’t.

“Applebloom and her friends told me everything ‘bout the field trip,” she continued.  “Hunter here threw himself in harm’s way just to keep ‘em safe.  Hay, he even gave up his chance to go home just to make sure my sister could come back to hers.”  The crowd murmured to itself behind me in confusion.  Celestia and Twilight looked surprised, and the latter took a step back in shock.

“Ah think Hunter has some good in him; he’s just been down on his luck, is all,” Applejack explained.  “If we give him a second chance, and if he gives us one, too, Ah think we’d all get to see that.”  Daisy gave me a nudge and a proud smile, pulling me out of my surreal trance.  Was this really happening?

“I see.”  Princess Celestia kept her calm composure as the truth violently unfolded before her.  She looked upon me with a new, softer regard, and her horn began to glow.  “I don’t believe these are necessary anymore,” she said matter-of-factly as the ropes binding me unraveled themselves.  I was speechless, looking between her and the mares that stood up for me.

“Twilight, could you gather your friends and the mayor and wait for me inside the town hall?” Princess Celestia requested with a warm smile.  “I feel there are some things we need to discuss.”

“But-But, I…” Twilight sputtered.

“Now, my faithful student,” the Princess pressed, her smile faltering just a hair.

Twilight reeled back.  There was a flash of light, and the mare disappeared in a shower of purple sparks.  Applejack looked between me and the Princess uncomfortably before lowering her head and heading to the building behind us.  Celestia stopped her with a hoof as she passed.

“Not you, Applejack,” she said softly.  “I believe you have learned your lesson.  You and Fluttershy are free to go.”  Applejack hesitated, her eyes lingering to the building her friend disappeared to.  But with a nod, she stepped down from the stage and vanished behind the anxious crowd.  Fluttershy and Daisy stood their ground next to me, a slight tremor coming over them.  With a reassuring smile from the Princess, though, they recovered and helped me back to my feet.

Celestia turned to the crowd, who watched her expectantly.  The confusion in the air was overwhelming.  Here they had arrived expecting for a monster to face trial.  I supposed they were simply shocked as to who the monster came to be.

“My little ponies,” the Princess opened regally.  “I am so thankful you have all gathered here today.  Since the three pony tribes founded this great nation, Equestria has become a beacon of Harmony and acceptance, and I fear we may have forgotten our roots.  This human has been torn from his home, and when he came to us in need, we turned our backs upon him, going against the very foundations of our nation.  He has wrongfully fallen under many hardships here.”  She paused, turning to me with sorrowful eyes.  “And I fear I may have been among them.”

The crowd gasped as their princess gave me a short bow.  “I can only hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us,” she said softly.  The Princess rose and faced the gawking crowd.  “Let it be known that on this day, Hunter the Human has been pardoned of any ‘crimes’ he has committed against this town, for we have unjustly committed crimes against him.  If anypony objects, please speak now.”

The town murmured uncertainly amongst themselves, but no one dared speak out.  With a satisfied smile, Celestia spoke again.  “Then I am happy to conclude this impromptu trial.  I hope everypony has a wonderful day.”

The crowd began to disperse, albeit hesitantly.  I don’t think any of them were certain of what they just saw.  Hell, even I was struggling to keep up with the turn of events.  The Princess turned to me with an inviting grin.

“Could you join me for a small walk?” she asked hopefully.  I looked to Fluttershy and Daisy for support, and they offered timid but reassuring smiles.  Taking a breath to compose myself, I nodded and followed Princess Celestia as she stepped down from the stage.

I wasn’t sure how walking with royalty was supposed to work.  I waited for her to speak first as I self-consciously overthought each step.  Tiny rocks bit into my bare feet, but I restrained my winces of discomfort.  Walking out in Ponyville in broad daylight was putting my nerves on end.  The ponies’ gawking as we passed by did little to help; even less so when they bowed to the Princess.  I noticed something was troubling her, but it wasn’t my place to pry.  After all, she invited me for this walk; I could only imagine it meant she had something on her mind.

She sniffed at the air, and then sniffed again, slowly leaning closer to me.  I respectfully inched away with a couple of strides.  “Is that… vanilla?” the Princess asked, pulling her head away.

I blinked, and as memories slowly clicked back in place, I bit back a groan and inspected my shirt.  “What?  I thought I washed that all out,” I hissed to myself.  Sure enough, the faint smell of vanilla lingered over a nearly invisible spot.  The Princess regarded me with an amused and questioning smile, and I tried to hide my embarrassment behind a nervous chuckle.

“I was, um… making cookies with a friend a while ago,” I explained.  “I guess baking never really was my strong suit.”  If we weren’t walking, she might have suppressed a giggle with a hoof, but for now, her grin would have to suffice.  “We still have some left over,” I offered, remembering the royalty that was my company.  “Um, you can have some, if, y’know, you want.”

The Princess chuckled and nodded her head.  “Thank you,” she smiled.  “I might need something sweet after I speak with my student.”  That somber silence began creeping back in, stealing away Celestia’s smile until it was all but gone.  It seemed to be following me lately, and it loomed over our heads.  I couldn’t find the courage to break it, and the Princess appeared to be struggling underneath its weight as well.

“Where were you this morning?” the Princess suddenly asked.  “You weren’t at the hospital when I arrived.  Was something wrong there?”

I nearly tripped.  “What?” I asked, unsure if I heard her correctly.  Did royalty have a sense of humor?  “You’re… You’re joking, right?”

We paused, and she gave me a look of innocent curiosity.  “It was difficult to find an explanation with the staff,” she explained.  “They seemed a little… embarrassed when I tried to pry.  I was hoping you could shed some light on the situation.”  She leaned in slightly with interest, cueing me to continue.

“I was locked in the basement,” I continued cautiously.  “Drugged to sleep most the time there.  Woke up and found myself chained to the bed.  I… honestly don’t remember most of it.”

Whatever smile was left on her face vanished as I spoke.  She blinked in disbelief.  “You weren’t,” she said, as if saying so would have made it true.  I didn’t reply, and she shook her head.  “No, you couldn’t have been.  I told them not to…”  Her voice trailed off.  “Twilight wrote to me of her plans to move you in a cell when the hospital was done with you.  I told her to keep you there, that I wanted to see you before any verdict was made,” she explained.  “I didn’t want you to leave, but she wasn’t supposed to turn the hospital into a prison.”

She deflated slightly and continued walking.  I followed next to her side, a small distance away.  “This was never meant to go so far out of hoof,” she sighed.  “I should have told my student of our deal; I hoped she would solve this situation more peacefully.  She has grown up so well since I sent her here.  All the friends she’s made, the lessons she’s learned; I thought they would have helped.”  Whatever ghost of a smile that had formed as she reminisced disappeared from her.  “Maybe she isn’t ready just yet,” she said softly, more to herself.

She straightened up, taking a breath to collect herself.  “I intended for this to be a test for her, to see if she could forgive.  It was wrong of me to use you as the test, though.  That was my mistake, and you have my deepest apologies for it.”  She paused expectantly, searching me for a reaction.  I buried my hands in my pockets and kept my eyes glued to the ground, not wanting to promise anything I didn’t mean.  She sighed in defeat, discovering I wasn’t going to reply.  “Were you at least treated well?” she pressed.

“Besides the ‘chained to the bed’ part?” I asked, earning a wince from the Princess.  I bit my tongue, hoping to not let any more venom slip out.  “The staff was… alright,” I admitted, thinking of Redheart.  “One of the nurses risked her job to help clear my conscious.  That was nice of her.”  I kicked a rock along the path with us for extra company.  “The interrogations could have been better, though.”

Though my eyes were focused on the stone, I could feel hers boring into me, searching for answers.  As memories from yesterday flooded in, I gave the rock a stronger kick than intended, and it veered off to the side, abandoning me with the princess of this world.  “Didn’t know tickling could actually turn into torture after a while,” I said bluntly.

She stopped dead in her tracks.  “They didn't.”  I paused a few steps ahead of her, trying to look anywhere but at her incredulous eyes.  She shook her head in disbelief.  “Hunter, you have my word, this will not go unpunished; they will understand what they did wrong.  Nopony should have to go through what you have during your time here.”

Something stirred in my chest; something I didn’t know how to react to.  What was I even supposed to say to that?  As satisfying as it was to hear that Twilight and her friends were going to be punished for what they did, it still didn’t change the discomfort in the air, in the eyes of the ponies watching us from the streets, from their homes.  It still didn’t change the fact that it all happened in the first place.

The Princess seemed to read my mind.  “Allow me to offer compensation for your troubles,” she said as we continued, although it sounded more like an order than a request.  “Whatever it takes to make your stay here more comfortable.  You have more than earned it.”

I couldn’t hold back the look I shot her.  “My stay here?” I echoed in disbelief.  I shook my head.  “No offense, Your Highness, but I don’t want to stay here.  I’ve got too many bad memories of this place.  Isn’t there…  I don’t know.”  I tried to look anywhere but at her, and all that greeted me was the wary eyes of Ponyville.  I shook my head and turned back to her.  “Isn’t there somewhere else?” I asked, wincing at what I was about to say.  “Somewhere without, well, ponies?”

Celestia frowned.  “Please, I want you to understand, this was all one horrible misunderstanding; one I could not apologize enough for, but Twilight’s actions do not reflect the rest of Ponyville.”  She gave a knowing smile and added, “Something I feel you have already learned.”

I hesitated, but figured I’d bite.  “What do you mean?”

“You have found friendship here,” Celestia said, almost in wonder.  “Despite the thistles of fear and hate my student has sown, you planted a seed of friendship, and it has blossomed beautifully; in the mares that stood up for you so bravely when everypony else stood against you; in a nurse from the hospital that imprisoned you.”  She paused, then added, “In the ponies that have been following us since the trial.”

I hesitated.  “What?”

We stopped again, and the Princess motioned her head back.  I found a small group of ponies peeking around one of the buildings.  They froze as we made eye contact, and Daisy, Noteworthy, and Fluttershy timidly ducked back behind the building.  Lyra and Zecora lingered, offering nervous smiles and waves, as if they had been caught with their hooves in the cookie jar.  The corner of my lips tugged up, and I waved back.

“How did you know?” I asked, not taking my eyes off them.

“You do not rule over a country as long as I have without knowing when you are being followed,” the Princess pointed out, turning to smile at our followers.  She pulled in a breath and let it out contently.  “They would miss you if you left so soon, and I feel you would, too.”

I hesitated, looking between her and my friends.  A defeated sigh overtook me.  “I would,” I admitted.  “But I have to get back home, too.  My family…”

The Princess extended her wing and rested it on my shoulder.  “I know,” she nodded.  “I will do everything in my power to help you return.  I will send my guards out to the forest in search of this… space ship, I’ve heard?”

It took me a second to process what she said, and a small chuckle escaped me.  “No, no, it’s not a ship,” I shook my head.  “It’s… it’s a portal, I think.  Somewhere in the Everfree.”

“Ah, my mistake,” Celestia smiled, retracting her wing.  “Do you remember where?”

“I can’t say I do,” I admitted with a shrug.  “It’s been so long.  I remember…  I think it was bright; a lot of colors flashing when I came through.  You can’t miss it.”

“Well, that might complicate some things, but the information will help,” Celestia confessed.  “Don’t worry, I will send my best to search for it.  The Everfree is vast and dangerous; it will take time, but if you stay here, I can arrange an escort the moment I hear something.”

I sighed in relief.  For the first time in a long time, I was starting to feel hopeful again.  The promise of returning home never felt more real.  “Thank you,” I smiled.  “You have no idea what that means to me.”  Celestia grinned, but it looked as if something was still troubling her.  I decided to bite the bullet and ask.  “Something wrong?”

She didn’t answer immediately, carefully trying to word it in her head.  “Would you want to be present for my… talk with Twilight and her friends?” she asked.  “Your input would be valuable.  After all, you know more of what they did than me.”

I hesitated.  The thought of sweet justice was tempting, but my eyes trailed back and found my friends again.  There was a tug at my heart, and I let out a sigh.

“I would love to,” I confessed.  “But I think I’d rather be with my friends right now.”  A grin was creeping up on me.  “It’s been a long day, and I think we have some celebrating to do.”

The Princess nodded solemnly.  “Of course.  Don’t let me keep you.”  She took a step forward and turned to me.  “Enjoy your time with your friends, Hunter,” she winked.  “You’ve earned it.”
> Act II:  No Man's Land
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The clicking from that typewriter was deafening in this silent room.

It had been four days since the Princess had pardoned me and deemed me fit to walk among her subjects.  Nobody in the town, myself included, really knew how to handle the news.  Ever since, my friends had taken it upon themselves to help integrate me into Ponyville society.  They all had their turns showcasing me around town, trying to prove how normal I could be.  It did little to help the cause, though.

Did the receptionist have to keep glancing at me like that?  I fidgeted uncomfortably beneath her eyes.

The citizens were still tense whenever I walked by.  Casual conversations would turn to hushed whispers and darting eyes.  Laughter would almost always die down.  I was always given a wide berth as I walked through the streets as everyone was quick to back out of my way.  It didn’t help that I felt uncomfortable around them as well.  After all we had been through, it almost felt so… wrong.  Like a bad, town-wide case of whiplash.

I kept my eyes glued to the wooden floorboards, but it didn’t stop the occasional glances from boring into me.

I had been trying to get a job lately, hoping to find some sense of normalcy during my time here.  Bon-Bon was gracious enough to give me a mercy period for rent, but I still had to find a way to make money, or “bits” as the ponies called it.  The Princess had given me compensation to pay for my troubles, but I didn’t want to rely on it.  It kept reminding me of why I received it.  Lyra offered to cover my rent, which was where I had to put my foot down.  I didn’t mind all the help she had given me, and I knew I had a long way to go before life in Ponyville started running smoothly, but I wasn’t about to become a charity.  I wanted to prove that I could take care of myself.

This wasn’t going to work out.  I should just leave.  Everywhere else was a flop.

I rose from the bench, ready to go, and the door to the mayor’s office swung open.  A mare exited the room, her curious eyes lingering on me as she marched down the hall.  The receptionist looked up from her typewriter with a practiced smile.

“The mayor will see you now, Mr. Grey,” she announced in a cheery tone.  I hesitated, but nodded in thanks, ducking beneath the small doorway and entering the office.

A grand desk dominated the center of the room.  The mayor sat comfortably behind it; a feather quill clenched in her teeth as she scribbled signatures on an official looking scroll.  Natural light flooded in from the room’s sole window, its tall, green curtains peeled back to greet the sunlight.  Towers of bookshelves stood guard behind her, boasting literature that would have gone over my head.  I caught my reflection in the mirror on the wall behind her and combed my fingers through my hair, hoping to look a little more presentable.  I sat patiently in one of the two chairs positioned before her, waiting for her acknowledgment.

She looked up from her half-moon spectacles and let out a gasp.  “Oh, Mr. Grey!  I didn’t hear you come in,” she explained, spitting out her quill.  She subtly adjusted the papers and knickknacks on her desk.  The mayor rested her hooves on the desktop and stared at me expectantly.  “So, how are you adjusting to your stay here in Ponyville?”

“It’s going alright,” I shrugged, not looking her in the eyes.  “Slow going, but still going.  Friends are helping out, so that’s… well, helpful.”  I grinned slightly, “They’re actually trying to help me find a job.”

“Oh?”  The mayor cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrow.  “I’m sorry; I’m not sure I understand,” she admitted.  “Was the Princess’ compensation not enough?  If you need more bits, I’m sure she would be more than willing to—”

“The compensation was more than enough,” I quickly cut in, tacking on a thankful smile.  “It’s not so much for money as much as it is just trying to make everyone get used to seeing me.  Also to help me find some sense of… normalcy here until I get back home,” I explained.  “Not to mention doing absolutely nothing all day is driving me up the walls.”

“Ah, I see,” the mayor grinned.  “Have you applied anywhere so far?”

“Yeah, a few places,” I nodded.  “Lyra and I were chasing ‘help wanted’ ads all day yesterday.  Daisy even let me try working at her flower shop with her friends.”  I shook my head, a ghost of a smirk forming.  “I’m not sure if it’s my intimidating good looks, but everybody seemed to keep their distance until that shift ended,” I joked.  The mayor struggled to keep her smile up.  I offered a disarming shrug.  “It’s fine, though.  Never considered myself much of a salesman anyways.”

“Have you had any luck other than that?” she asked hopefully.

A small sigh escaped me.  “No, not really,” I admitted in defeat.  “Don't suppose you know anyone around town desperate enough to hire the human?”

She offered a sympathetic smile.  “I think I can find somepony,” she promised.  A small silence filled the air, and the old clock in the room counted the strained seconds as they ticked by.  I was having a hard time finding the words to say.  The mayor offered to break the silence.  “So, will that be all for today?” she asked.

Well, it was now or never.  “I was actually hoping you could help me with something,” I confessed, finally looking up to her.

Her ears perked up, and she sat a little straighter.  “Of course!” she chirped.  “After all, the Princess did task me to make sure your transition to Ponyville goes as smoothly as possible.  What seems to be the trouble?” she asked, leaning in slightly.

“Do you know where I could find some… school books?” I asked.

“School books?” she echoed.

“Yeah, I’m still attending school where I’m from,” I explained.  “I’m not sure if our, well, ‘worlds’ have the same education, but something tells me I’m gonna have a lot of catching up to do when I get back,” I joked.  “Might as well try to catch up while I can.”

“Well, my first guess would be the Ponyville schoolhouse,” the mayor thought aloud, tapping her hoof to her chin.  “But that all depends.  What subjects were you studying?”

“Just some basic classes,” I shrugged.  “I doubt you have American history or anatomy, but if I could get my hands on a calculus or a fundamental physics textbook just to brush up on, that would be great.”

She stared at me for a second, leaning in as if she hadn’t heard correctly.  “Maybe the schoolhouse won’t do after all,” she said, more to herself.  “You’re a little ahead of the classes, I’m afraid.  The library might be your best bet.”

A small pit formed in my stomach, and I tried to gulp down the lump in my throat.  “Thanks,” I nodded.  How badly did I really need those books?  “I’ll try to swing by there sometime.”

“Any way I can help,” she beamed.  I stood up, and she reached her hoof out for me to shake.  I gingerly accepted it.  Four days…  Four days, and this sense of surreal still lingered.  Behind my practiced smile, my mind reeled at the touch of her hoof in my palm, as her large eyes stared into mine and her protruding muzzle grinned.  It had been over a month since our ‘first contact’, and barely less since Lyra and Zecora had taken me as their friend.  Why did it feel like I was just recently starting to really look at them?

Because they aren’t normal, a voice hummed in the back of my head.  At least, not to us, are they?

“Now, is there anything else I can help you with?” the mayor asked in her usual, cheery tone.  “Nopony’s giving you too much trouble?”

“Hardly anypony is giving me the time of day, much less giving me trouble.”  I blinked, realizing what I had just said.  My fingers instinctively pulled the rubber band around my left wrist and let it snap back against the skin.

You’re starting to talk like them now, my headache warned.

Just a slip, I assured it.  “I’m running a bit late, though,” I explained to the mayor, who eyed me warily after my odd display.  “Told my friends I’d meet them at Daisy Chain for lunch.  Don’t want to keep them waiting.”  I flashed her a reassuring grin.  “Thanks for the help, though.”

“A pleasure, as always,” she nodded as I moved to the door.  “Same time tomorrow?”

“Like I have a choice,” I teased.

“You know you do,” the mayor reminded sternly.

I paused at the door, hand already twisting the knob.  A small sigh escaped me, followed by an even shorter chuckle.  “Yeah, I do…”  I turned and gave her a nod.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As I passed through the doorway, I remembered a small thought, and my hand grabbed the door to keep it from closing.  I peeked my head back in with an embarrassed smile.  “There was… one more thing,” I said sheepishly.  My bare toes drummed against the hardwood floor outside the office.  “About the rest of my clothes…”

The mayor blinked in confusion.  “The rest of your…  Oh!”  She tried to hide her embarrassed blush behind her laughter, and her eyes seemed to want to look anywhere but me.  “Yes, you did have more clothes when you came here, didn’t you?” she chuckled nervously.  She shuffled quickly through the papers on her desk and flipped through the stacks hiding in her drawers.  “I believe they should still be in the hospital,” she explained, looking up from her paperwork.  “But I’ll have to check.  How badly do you need them?”

More than you’d think, I thought, glancing down to my sore feet.  “Don’t worry about it; I’ll check for you,” I offered.  I gave the doorway a light knock as I turned to leave again, and this time it was the mayor that called me back.

“Oh, Mr. Grey?”  I stopped in mid-stride and poked my head back through the door expectantly.  The mayor offered me a sheepish grin.  “I just wanted to say I liked your new manecut.  It makes you look much less…”  Her voice trailed as she looked for the appropriate word.  “Wild,” she offered with a sincere smile.

“Yeah, well, back to civilization, and all,” I joked, swinging my arm in a sarcastic gung ho.  “Might as well start looking human again.”

I turned out of the room and found my way to the exit.  The walk from the town hall to the Daisy Chain restaurant wasn’t long, but the eyes that followed me made it seem to stretch for an eternity.  I stayed close to the edge of the dirt roads, and everyone went out of their way to move to the other.

I pushed my hands into my pockets as my eyes focused forward.  The air still felt volatile whenever I walked outside.  My small circle of friends was trying their best to diffuse it.  They were working so hard to help the rest of the town feel comfortable around me, and me with them. But it was becoming obvious that it was an uphill battle for both ends.

The door of a nearby house opened next to me as I passed it.  The mare made it halfway out her door before seeing me, letting out a frightened squeak, and retreating back to her home.  I deflated with a sigh as her door slammed shut and the curtains quickly closed.  My reflection watched me through the darkened windows.

What’s the matter? it asked.  Isn’t this what you always wanted?

I didn’t dignify it with a response.

The Daisy Chain eventually came into view.  My small circle of friends sat in our usual spot, outdoors and close to one of the fenced corners.  Noteworthy was the first to see me and flagged me over, and the rest greeted me with warm smiles to chase away the numb cold in the air.  Oh, how nice it was to see friendly faces in this town.

“Hey, roomie,” Lyra chirped.  She looked me over and patted the empty seat next to her.  “I see you got your mane cut.”

“Did you see Clips like I suggested?” Daisy asked.

“Yeah, I don’t think she did too bad,” I offered as I sat between her and Lyra.

“Ah, good ol’ ‘Close-Cut’ Clips,” Noteworthy sighed as he leaned back.  “I ought to see her sometime; it’s been a while since I’ve gotten my mane cut, too.”  He flipped the forelocks of his mane with a scoff.  “I mean, look at it; it’s almost as bad as yours used to be.”  I snorted and picked up my menu as Daisy threw him a playful punch.  He shrugged it off with a grin and took a bite out of his half-eaten sandwich.  “So, how did that go anyways?” he asked in between bites.

“Oh, about as well as you’d think,” I chuckled as I looked over the menu.  I wasn’t sure why I bothered; I got the same thing every day.  Maybe I could mix it up this time.  “She had the ‘Beast of the Everfree’ in her shop.  I had magical scissors flying around my face,” I explained with a roll of my eyes.  Zecora and Lyra covered their grins with their hooves, but Noteworthy struggled to suppress his own smirk.

“We softened up to each other eventually, though,” I continued.  “Small talk in a barber shop is a strange thing.  Apparently, I saved her son; I told her how excitable he and his friend were during the field trip, and I swear, she nearly busted out a scrapbook of him.”  I shook my head with a faint smile.  “We got comfortable enough with each other that she actually tried to talk me into getting a whole different haircut.  Apparently I have such a ‘nice, natural wave in my mane’ that cutting it any shorter would have been a crime.”

“And it appears that your demise was an inability to compromise,” Zecora teased.  “I visited a salon once, hearing stories of good delight.  But every time I left, my mane was not quite right.”

“It does look nice this way,” Fluttershy offered meekly from the other side of Lyra.  “I think Clips made the right call.”

I returned her timid smile with a nod and focused back on the menu, trying to get those innocent eyes out of my head; the same innocent eyes I nearly killed twice; the same innocent eyes that saved me twice.  I hoped she didn't take it the wrong way.  It wasn't that I was ungrateful; it just felt so… uncomfortable; like I owed her, more than I could ever repay.  And I was reminded of it every time I saw her.

My collar felt like it was strangling me.  I tugged at it with my fingers.  “Yeah, well this was the compromise,” I explained, jumping back to the subject.  “Clips wanted to take it a step further and dye my hair, too.”

The table burst into a small fit of giggles.  “No way,” Lyra laughed.

“Oh, yeah,” I nodded. “I slammed some bits on the counter and ran out of the shop when she went to the back to look for colors.”

“Oh, you should have done it, though!” Daisy exclaimed, giving me a friendly push.  “It would have looked so cute.”

“Are you kidding?” Noteworthy demanded.  “Hunter’s a stallion.  Well, in a manner of speaking.  He doesn’t need his mane dyed for everypony to like him.”  He leaned towards me in front of Daisy and held out a hoof.  “Don’t worry, buddy, I got your back.”  I grinned and knocked my knuckles against his hoof.

“I’m serious,” Daisy pressed.  “Highlights are in nowadays.  It wouldn’t hurt to jump in on the trends while you’re here.”  She turned to Noteworthy with a sinister look in her eyes.  “In fact, I think you should try it, too,” she teased.

Noteworthy reeled his head back.  “Oh, no,” he shook his head.  “Not on your life.”

“Come on, it would be cute, though!” she egged him on, tracing a hoof down his forelocks.  “I can see it now, just a single white stripe.”  Noteworthy swatted her hoof away in disgust.  “It doesn’t have to be a big one,” she giggled.

I rolled my eyes as the two continued their banter. Zecora eventually joined in, bearing down on Noteworthy with Daisy, and when the zebra began explaining to the pony how good he might look in stripes, a small fit of giggles erupted around the table.

The waitress finally came and took my order.  Her voice still shook slightly when we talked, but it was an improvement from the jittery mess she was when I first started eating here.

“So, that was one peanutbutter and jelly sandwich with a salad on the side,” she read off her list.  It was the same as every other time I ate here.  I wasn’t given much choice; most of their meals involved flowers or hay, and they didn’t serve meat.  Nobody in this town did, actually; much to my stomach’s contempt.  “Did you want the tulips in your salad?” she asked.

I was about to decline until something nudged me in the side.  I didn’t even have to turn to know what Lyra wanted.  “Um, yeah,” I nodded.  “Extra, too, if it’s not too much trouble.  Thanks, Strawberry.”

“You’re the best,” Lyra whispered in delight as the waitress left us.  “The tulips here are the best.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” I chuckled.

She looked past me to the waitress as she entered the restaurant.  “Shortcake seems to be warming up to you a bit,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, I’d hope so.  I see her just about every day now,” I explained, taking a sip from my drink.

A faint gasp grabbed our attention, and we turned to Fluttershy.  A happy sparked gleamed in her eyes as her wings unfurled slightly.  “That’s it!” she announced softly.  “We've been going about this all wrong.  We can't expect everypony to like you because they see you everywhere.  We just need a chance for you to talk to everypony!”

I paused, setting my cup back down.  “I'm not following,” I admitted.

Lyra seemed to catch on quickly, though, and her eyes widened in amazement.  “Oh my gosh, Fluttershy; you're a genius!”  The pegasus gave a soft but proud cheer, and Lyra turned to me.  “Think about it,” she said excitedly.  “Me, Zecora, Noteworthy and Daisy, and now Strawberry and Clips!  Everypony who got a chance to just sit down and talk got to know you, the real you, and they found out you’re not the ‘beast’ they’re still afraid of.  What if we gave the rest of Ponyville that chance, too?”

I sighed.  These quests to convince the ponies that hunted me to like me was getting… exasperating.  But I owed it to my friends to at least try.  “And how do you suggest we do that?”

She started to say something, but cut herself off.  “I don’t know,” she admitted, slouching over the table.

“What if we threw you a party?” Daisy suddenly pitched in.

“A party?” I echoed.

“Yeah!” Lyra chimed in.  “Nothing like a proper Ponyville welcome to warm everypony up to the new guy.”

I looked between the two excited mares in disbelief and shook my head.  “Girls, I’m gonna level with you; that sounds like a silly idea,” I said.  “Who in their right minds would go to a party thrown for—”

“Did somepony say party?!”

“Jesus!”

A pink blur shot up in the small gap between me and the table.  I stumbled back in shock and fell to the ground.  My hands cradled my head from the hard landing, and I shot a glare up to our uninvited guest.

“No, Pinkie, please take my seat; I insist,” I muttered sarcastically.

Her ears flicked in acknowledgement, and she turned to me with a bright smile.  “Oh, don’t worry; I won’t be here for long.  I just heard the magic word and decided to drop by.  Thanks for the offer, though!”  I bit my tongue as she turned back to my friends and pulled my chair up next to her.  As annoyed as I was, though, I couldn’t help but notice that something was… off about her.  “So, what’s the party for?” she asked.  Her forelegs tapped excitedly on the table as she stood on her hind legs.

“We were just thinking about throwing one for Hunter,” Lyra explained through an uneasy smile.  “Nothing’s set in stone, though.  It’s probably not even going to happen.”

Pinkie cut her off with a gasp.  “What?  No party?”  She slammed her hoof down on the table, and everyone jumped.  “Blasphemy!  Nothing says friendship and laughter like a good party, and nopony can throw a party as good as me!  So...”  She blinked and froze as her voice trailed.  “S-So, if you ever need any advice, you know where to find me,” she chuckled nervously.  Her hooves tugged slightly at her mane as she ran them through, and it finally clicked.

“Pinkie, did you… straighten your hair?” I asked.

“What?”  She stopped playing with her mane and turned to me with a confused look.  Pink curtains covered her eye as she cocked her head to the side, and her eyes followed it as it swayed back and forth before her.  She gave a nervous laugh, looking off to the side.  “Oh!  Not exactly, my mane kinda has a mind of its own,” she explained, waving a hoof dismissively.

She turned to Lyra, who quickly pinned her uneasy smile back on.  “I have a list of some really good party stores,” Pinkie said excitedly.  “You should stop by Sugarcube Corner sometime.  If anypony knows how to make somepony feel welcome, it’s me!”

Pinkie flinched away slightly, either from realizing the dark irony of what she just said or noticing my slight glare through her thick curtain of hair.

“A-Actually, I’ll get out of your manes,” she resigned, her voice cracking slightly.  She shrank back with a few steps and showed a hopeful smile.  “If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me.”  It almost sounded directed to me.

She trotted away from our table with a dying spring in her step.  I leaned over the rest of my food, trying to get her out of my head.  She wasn’t going to guilt trip me; not after what she did.  But as I looked around the table, the look on her face seemed to burn in everyone's mind as they looked guiltily at their food, and I lost my reason to relish it.

“I should go check on her,” Fluttershy announced worriedly, standing up from the table.  With a quiet flutter of her wings, she lifted to the air and flew to her disappearing friend.

The table sat silent as a somber air loomed over.  The waitress arrived with my food, and I stared at the plate, suddenly disinterested in eating.  I slid the salad bowl next to Lyra, golden tulips resting on top; her favorite.  With a defeated sigh, she pushed it away, propping her head in her hooves.

“I should probably get going, too,” I admitted.  I tore off a piece of my sandwich for the road, and my friends looked up to me as I stood.  “I need to run a few errands, see if I can get my clothes back before it gets any colder,” I explained.

“I’ll go with you,” Lyra offered, giving me a small grin.  I held back a small sigh of relief, thankful for her offer.  Everything felt a little easier to handle with her around, and she had an uncanny ability to keep me busy from whatever was on my mind.

“Thank you for this lunch yet again,” Zecora nodded.  “It is always welcome treat.  But for now I have a brew to attend, and to my home I should retreat.”

“Yeah, I probably need to get back to Lily and Rose at the flower stand,” Daisy pointed out.

“And I should get back to the park,” Noteworthy chimed in.  “Hey, you should stop by sometime in the mornings; I could probably add you to the performance.  You said you can play an instrument, right?”

“He’d have to wake up in the mornings first,” Lyra interjected with a playful snark.

“Hey, I’m getting better at it,” I defended.  “The Everfree just made me a little nocturnal, is all.”

Lyra giggled, “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”

We laughed lightly, chasing away the somber atmosphere from earlier.  It made me glad; I always hated leaving on a sour note.

“You still owe us a story of one of your adventures,” Daisy reminded me.  “When are we gonna get it?”

“Well, I’ve been a little busy,” I joked.  “But… let’s shoot for tomorrow.  I should have a good one by then.”

They seemed satisfied with the response, and very eager.  We gave our farewells and went our separate ways.  Lyra trotted closely next to me, a small spring in her step.  It offered me some comfort despite the dread that was slowly taking over.  I hadn’t visited the hospital since I escaped; too many memories discouraged me from even thinking of checking in.  With Lyra by my side, though, I finally felt brave enough to confront them.


<><><>


“I still can’t believe they just gave my clothes to her,” I seethed.

The hospital was a bust.  Apparently, Twilight beat me to the chase and grabbed my remaining clothes days ago.  Why the hospital staff decided it was a good idea to give my clothes away to anyone but me went over my head.

“Maybe she was going to return them to you; just waiting for the right time,” Lyra offered.  She did her best to counsel both sides.  I was keeping a level enough head on the outside, but she knew the thoughts running through my head.

The staff was either too embarrassed or nervous to give an answer upfront, stumbling over their own words as they tried to explain.  I was more than thankful that she was able to coerce the explanation out.  My nerves were on edge the moment the hospital came into view, and being inside only brought back more unsettling memories.  I wouldn’t have been near as patient.

“Oh, please, that’s a laugh,” I scoffed.  “That pony has been a pain in my side ever since I stepped foot in this town.”

I winced, realizing how much venom I let slip into that word.  Lyra seemed to notice, too, and she didn’t look happy.  I snapped the rubber band against my wrist again with a grimace.

“Look, we don’t have to see her today,” Lyra huffed.  “Heck, maybe you don’t have to see her at all.  I’ll talk to her about this and get your clothes back for you.”

“No, you’re not doing this for me, too,” I sighed.  We paused at a store, and I rested my back against the wall, allowing myself to slide down into the street.  “Sorry; I’m just a little bit… stressed,” I confessed.  A faint snort escaped me as I corrected myself.  “Well, a little bit of a lot.  The hospital was hard enough as it was.  Seeing Twilight, too, and in the same day…”  My fingers ran through my hair and cradled the back of my head.

Her expression softened, and she joined me in the dirt, sitting close to my side.  “I know you didn’t mean anything by it,” she said softly.  “I’m sure things are still a little hard.  I can’t imagine what this must be like for you.”

I shook my head.  “It just all felt so unreal.  I could feel myself shaking when we walked through the doors.  Thought I was going to wake up in that basement again, like everything that happened was all just a dream.”

She said nothing, allowing me to speak my thoughts, but when my words stopped coming, she shifted closer, leaning against me slightly.  It was comforting, and I felt myself relax.  With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and rested my head against the wall, exhaling slowly.

“Kinda wish Redheart was there,” I eventually said.  “Still need to apologize to her.”

“I think I know where she lives, if you want to stop by,” Lyra offered, looking up to me.

I hesitated.  A small pit was forming in my chest, quickly filling with dread.  A part of me wanted to get it over with, like ripping off a bandage, but another feared the encounter.  The same reason I wanted to see my old nurse was the same reason I wanted to avoid her.  Guilt.  “Maybe later,” I said quietly.

A few seconds passed before she nudged me, and she gave me a small grin.  “Hey, wanna just head back home?” she asked.  “Just go back and skip the rest of the day?  We still have some leftover cookies.”

I snorted.  “I don’t think cookies is the answer to every problem,” I joked.

“Not with that attitude,” she countered with a sly half-smile.

We chuckled lightly.  The offer was tempting.  I was finally back at ease; or as “at ease” as I could get at the moment, at least.  But I still had work to do.  Maybe Twilight could wait for another day; I could hold out a little while longer without my jacket and shoes.  I remembered what the mayor said about the school books, and the library didn’t sound like a bad idea.  It wouldn’t hurt to have something to study and keep my mind off things, and it was a good enough excuse to avoid Twilight while still doing something productive.

“Let’s stop by the library first,” I suggested.

Lyra pulled back and looked at me in surprise.  “Really?” she asked.

“Yeah, I need to grab some books anyways.  Might as well knock that out.”  I stood and stretched my legs.  The library wasn’t too far away, just a few minutes of a walk.

“I’m… kinda surprised,” Lyra chirped happily as she joined me.  “In a good way,” she clarified.  “I know you have some… bad memories there, but it’s good that you’re trying to get over them.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like there’s much to do here anyways,” I chuckled.  “No internet, no television, no phones,” I listed off my fingers.  Lyra raised an eyebrow, which only made my smile a little broader.  Teasing her with human words she didn’t know was becoming a fun, small pastime for me.  “I feel like I’m gonna be visiting the library a lot.  I’m curious what kind of stories there are in a world where magic isn’t just a fantasy.”  I snorted, “I’m sure some of your history books might be more interesting than some of my world’s fiction.”

“Oh, if you’re looking for something good, I know a few books that’ll hook you,” Lyra pitched in.

That familiar tree from my first night eventually came into view as we traded stories from our worlds.  Lyra’s words were drowning out to memories of midnight storms as we drew closer.  I never would have guessed that it was a library all along.  True, it was large, and I never got a good look inside, but it was still a tree.  I always imagined it was something like Zecora’s hut.

Something in the back of my head tugged at me to turn and walk away.  I had to remind it that it was only that night, though.  The odds of any of those mares being in the library again were slim to none.  And who knew?  Maybe the librarian would be friendly.  I never knew a bad one.

I hesitated at the small, simple door, staring at the handle.  Despite the cool breeze, small beads of sweat trailed down my brow and palms.  Lyra reached up and knocked on the door, and I gave her a curious look.

“What?” she asked innocently.

“Isn’t this a public library?” I asked.

“Yeah, but it’s also her home,” she waved dismissively.  She nudged my leg and grinned.  “I’m really proud of you by the way,” she added.  “I know you said you didn’t want to do this earlier.  It’s good you’re taking these steps.”

Before I could ask her what she meant, the door opened.  A small, vaguely familiar lizard opened stood on the other side, looking at me with wide eyes.  No, a dragon, I corrected myself, remembering the fire.

“Oh.  Um, hey, Hunter.”  He scratched the back of his head and looked anxiously back inside.  “It is Hunter, right?” he asked with an uneasy smile.

“Yeah,” I nodded, struggling with my memories.  “And it’s… Spike?”

He grinned approvingly.  “So, what brings you here?” he asked, looking between us.

“We’re looking for some books to rent,” Lyra said.

“School books, mostly,” I specified.

“Oh!  Well, come on in,” he urged, holding the door open invitingly.

We stepped inside, and I took a second to take in the room.  The whole tree was hollowed out, making ample room for the full bookshelves carved into the walls.  I was surprised the tree still looked alive outside, but then I remembered:  magic.  A wooden bust of a horse’s head rested on a pedestal in the middle with a few open books.  A staircase hugged the back wall, leading higher up to the branches.

“Here, let me go get Twilight; she knows where everything is.”  Spike scampered to the back and ascended the flight of stairs, calling her name as he disappeared.

My heart froze as the pieces fell together, and I turned on the spot and moved to the door.  “Come on,” I hissed to Lyra under my breath.

“What?” she asked incredibly.  “Whoa, whoa, hey!”  Something grabbed at my left wrist and tugged, causing me to jerk to a halt.  The rubber band wrapped tightly around glowed in magical light.  Lyra offered an apologetic smile and released me, and a restrained shudder came over me.  “Sorry.  Where are you going, though?  Didn't you want to see Twilight?”

“Of course I didn't!  Why would I want—”

“Welcome to Golden Oaks Library!” Twilight chirped as she followed Spike down the stairs.  “We don't usually get customers, but I'm sure we can help you with… whatever you…”  Her voice trailed as our eyes met.

The room fell silent as we each held our own breaths.  Twilight was the first to crack, vanishing behind a flash of sparks.  There was a soft pop higher up in the tree.  Spike looked between us and the source of the noise and chuckled nervously.

“I’ll be right back,” he promised.  He scurried past us and ran up the stairs.

“Alright, let’s split,” I whispered, leaning down and pushing Lyra to the door.

“What?  No!  What’s gotten into you?” she demanded, digging her hooves into the hardwood floor.  “Why are you changing your mind all of a sudden?  I thought you wanted to go to the library.”

“Yeah, and that was before I found out Twilight lived here,” I pointed out, giving her a harder push.

Lyra stumbled forward a few steps before finding purchase on the doorway, and she braced herself against me.  “How did you not know that?” she hissed.

“Lyra, I’ve lived here for four days,” I strained as I pushed against her.  “I don’t know where anybody lives in this town except for you and Applejack.”  It was clear she wasn’t going to budge.  With a groan of defeat, I laid off, retreating a few steps for Lyra to compose herself.  “Why are you doing this?” I hissed, crossing my arms.  “You know what she did to me.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but only a sigh escaped.  “Look, I know you don’t like her,” she started.  “And honestly, she’s hurt me, too.  It’s going to be hard to forgive her, but Fluttershy’s worried about her, about most of her friends, really.”

“If you think I’m about to just brush everything she did under the rug,” I interjected.

“I don’t,” she confessed.  “But this tension between you two is going to get out of hoof if you don’t find some closure.  I’ve already spoken to her.”  She hesitated, looking up further in the tree where Twilight had run away.  “Things aren’t ever going to be the same between us.  We used to be friends, but now…”  She shook her head, not wanting to admit the words she was about to say.

“I don’t care if you two become friends,” she said, looking back to me.  “Hay, I’d be surprised if you ever do.  But you can’t keep bottling up this tension.  Sooner or later, it’s going to break, and it’ll be easier on everypony if you settled this now before anypony gets caught in the crossfire.”

A series of hoofsteps announced Spike and Twilight’s descent, and the latter had a forced smile plastered on her face.  Faint beads of sweat formed on her brow as her eyes looked just past me.  I went rigid and forced a smile of my own, watching as Spike led Twilight before us.

There was that tension again, hanging over us as we stared anxiously at each other.  Spike braved to break the silence.

“So, what brings you guys here again?” he asked.

Oh God, this was a mistake.  Look at her, just standing there.  I could see the restraint in her eyes as we stared each other down.  I imagined she wanted nothing more than run or scream, maybe both; just like me.

“We’re looking for some books,” Lyra answered for me.

She left it open for me to explain, but my jaw was clenched tight.  Twilight’s ears flicked to Lyra’s voice, but other than that, she showed no signs of acknowledgement.

A few uncomfortable seconds ticked by.  “What kind of books?” Spike pressed.

Lyra looked up to me hopefully, and when I didn’t answer, she huffed and prodded my leg.  “Oh, for Celestia’s sake, Hunter.  I’m not playing your messenger.”

“School books,” I said, releasing the breath I was holding.  “Calculus and physics, mostly.”

Twilight blinked in shock.  “Calculus?”  Spike nudged her side, egging her to keep talking.  “Why do you need a calculus book?” she asked carefully.

Lyra and Spike shared an excited look between each other.

“I’m still in school back home,” I explained.  “We were working on derivatives in class, and I don’t know if ‘literally falling off the face of the Earth’ will be a good enough excuse for my teacher.”  I surprised myself with a short chuckle.  “You know how they can be.”

Twilight actually smiled.  “I didn’t think you would still be in school.  Or… that you had a school, for that matter,” she added sheepishly before wincing away from the look I gave her.  “Here, let me get those books for you.”

“Oh, I’ll get them!” Spike exclaimed.  “Don’t worry, we rearranged the bookshelves last week.  I still remember where they are.”

“I’ll go with you,” I offered.

“Oh, don’t you worry about that,” Lyra interjected slyly, trotting after Spike.  “I’ll be sure he finds the right stuff.”  I watched in disbelief as the two left us, sharing a hopeful look with each other.  Why those conniving…

Twilight coughed, returning my attention to her.  “So… calculus, huh?  That’s a pretty advanced subject.”

“It’s more of a prerequisite, really,” I explained folding my arms.  My eyes followed my friend as she followed the dragon.  Surely it wouldn’t take them too long.  I noticed my foot was impatiently tapping the floor.

“A prerequisite for what?” she pressed.

My jaw clenched to bite back a groan.  “College classes.”

“You were going to go to a college?” she asked in disbelief.

“You sound real surprised that I was trying to get an education,” I shot.  Twilight retreated a step, rubbing her foreleg as she tried to not look at me.  “Yeah, I was.  Well, still am,” I corrected myself.  “It’s just going to take a while to readjust to everything when I get back after… well, after all this,” I gestured to nothing in particular.

“I would bet,” Twilight nodded.  “Our… lands seem so different from each other.”  Something about her words sounded off, and she caught onto my skepticism.  “I-I've been studying your clothes,” she explained nervously.  “They seem to share the same unique properties as you with magic.  I can only assume everything else from… wherever you're from is the same.”

She paused, searching for a response.  Although, the look I gave her probably wasn't what she was expecting.  “Purely for research purposes,” Twilight assured me.  “After, well, everything happened, I still had so many questions.  I-I didn’t want to bother you for any more samples, so I—”

“Where are my clothes?”

Twilight blinked, surprised at my interruption.  Through her grit teeth, she managed to press a smile.  “I don’t think you understand; your clothes are made of rare materials.”

“Rare materials?” I echoed.  “They’re made of cloth!  With rubber on the shoes and a bit of metal on the zipper.”

“But they’re not magical,” she stressed.  “Or they don’t have magic in them, rather.  Don't you know what that means?  This could open a whole new realm of possibilities for the studies of magic!  If somepony were to somehow replicate this—”

“I don’t care if you found the cure to the common cold in them,” I interjected.  “The wind is near freezing outside, and I’ve been walking barefoot so much for the last few days, my feet are raw.”

“Whoa now, simmer down, you two.”  Lyra and Spike got between me and Twilight and tugged us apart.  “That didn’t sound like closure,” she hissed under her breath.  “What happened?”

“Twilight’s trying to keep my own clothes from me,” I said, glaring accusingly at the mare.

“It-It’s not like that!” Twilight tried to defend herself, looking between our arbiters.  “His clothes have a powerful magic.  I mean, a powerful not-magic.  I mean…”  She shook her head.  “I just need to understand how.”

“Twilight,” Spike complained.  He crossed his arms and gave her a disapproving look.  “Did you forget what the Princess said?”

“No,” she sputtered.  “I wasn’t trying to…  I didn’t mean to…”  She looked between him and Lyra.  When it became obvious that she was alone in her argument, she grit her teeth, and a small groan just barely slipped out.  “Fine,” she spat, disappearing in another flash of sparks.

The sound of hooves trotting sounded beneath us as Twilight ascended from the basement, this time with a blanket holding my clothes resting on her back.  The blanket magically lifted by its corners, floating across the room to rest at my feet.  I knelt down to inspect the contents.  Jacket, socks, shoes, hatchet; check, check, check.

I threw my jacket on, thankful for the small sense of comfort it gave as it wrapped around me.  The socks and shoes could wait until we left.  I didn’t want to be here any longer than I had to.

“Thanks for the help,” Lyra nodded.  She motioned to the book in her hoof.  “How much do we owe you for the book?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Twilight sighed.  “Hardly anypony visits enough for this place to be a practical business.  I know you’ll bring them back when you’re done.”  Lyra nodded in appreciation, but Twilight’s eyes lingered as I inspected my hatchet.  “I… don’t suppose I can convince you to at least leave the axe with me?” she asked hopefully.

“This was the last thing my father gave me before I was torn from my family,” I said quietly.  There were a few chips in the wooden handle, and the blade looked more worn than I remembered.  Then again, maybe it had been too long since I had seen it.  “You’re not keeping this.”

Twilight flinched as if I had struck her.  She rubbed her foreleg and looked away.  “It was nice seeing you again, Lyra,” she murmured.

Lyra took the cue and tugged at my arm.  “Yeah, you, too.  Come on, Hunter.”

I ducked beneath the doorway behind Lyra, pausing just outside to put on my socks and shoes.  I sat against the trunk of the large tree as I worked, and Lyra waited patiently with a joyless look in her eyes as she flipped through the pages of the levitating book.

“I think I'm ready to take you up on that offer,” I finally said as I laced my shoes.  “Go back and ‘skip the rest of the day’ with a plateful of cookies, right?”

Lyra chuckled halfheartedly, and the book floated back into her hoof.  “Yeah,” she nodded.  “This has been a long day.”

Eyes followed us as we walked through the town.  Well, more on me, really.  As I looked over the hatchet in my hands, I found that most ponies were fixated on it, a hint of fear lining their stares.  I gave it a quick twirl in my hand.  Integrating to the “pony lifestyle” would be difficult if everyone thought I was carrying a weapon.  It didn’t exactly scream “normal” to carry it around all the time, either.

Still, it was comforting holding it again; like I had collected the last piece of my former self and finally became whole.  I was sure Lyra wouldn’t mind me storing it in our room.  It’s not like I brought anything before when I “moved in”.  Maybe I could put it on the dresser on my side.

The house came into view just down the road, and already the stress of today seemed to melt away.  No more hospitals, no more libraries.  I could probably get to work on teaching myself calculus.

I smiled.  I was probably the only person in the world, or worlds I supposed, willing to make my own homework and do it during an extended vacation.  Man, my friends back home would laugh if they ever found out.

“Hunter, duck!”

“What?”

Something heavy slammed into my head, sending me face-first into the dirt road.  Whatever it was quickly scrambled on top of me and lifted.

“Oops; are you okay?”  Two pairs of hooves helped pull me up, and my assailant gave an apologetic smile as she hovered in the air.  “I didn’t hit you too hard, right?”

“Man, this is the third time this week,” I groaned, massaging my head.  I glanced at the mail bag slung over her shoulder.  “Didn’t you already deliver the mail this morning?”

Our mailman gave an apologetic chuckle and rubbed the back of her head.  “Yeah, but I was told this was important,” she explained.  “To be delivered a-s-a-p.”

She reached her hoof in her bag, going into a lazy somersault as she bent over, but she didn’t seem to notice.  She let out a small cheer as she fished out her prize, a small envelope addressed to Lyra.  With a small wave, she fluttered away, tripping over our mail box mid-air in the process.

I winced, leaning in to Lyra.  “She seems a little…”

“Derpy?”

“I was going to say ditzy,” I shrugged.  Lyra’s letter floated in her magical grasp.  She already opened it and was pouring into each word, and excited grin threatening to show.  “So, whatcha get?”

I was answered with an earsplitting shriek of delight.  “I’ve been accepted to play in the New Year’s Masquerade!” she squealed.

My ears were ringing, but I didn’t let that put down the mood.  “Um, that’s great, Lyra.  Congratulation on…”  She didn’t seem to hear me, though, and was too busy prancing around me with the biggest grin I had ever seen.  “So, what is that, anyways?” I tried to ask.

“I need to tell Bon-Bon!” she exclaimed, the words nearly stumbling out.  She raced into the house, throwing open the door in the process and leaving me in my confused daze.  Excited chatter slipped out from inside, followed by a duet of shrieks.

I shook my head in wonder.  Despite my ignorance, I still couldn’t help but feel happy for her… for whatever happened to her.  I took in a breath of the nice, calm air and entered the house, eager to fall under this contagious excitement.
> Act II:  Pony Tales
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I woke up to a midnight sky as the sun rose at the mouth of the cave, and it stared back at me with feral, crimson eyes.  The cave reverberated with a beastly growl, and I realized I had overstayed my welcome.

“I jumped to my feet and broke into a dead sprint to the mouth of the cave, scooping up my hatchet and stolen salvage in my hasty exit.  The ground shook as something large gave chase, but when I looked back, all I could see was that galaxy of stars.  Those same red eyes burned like suns, and a dark maw of teeth formed from the void, each tooth as large as myself.

“My heart was pounding.  My feet couldn’t carry me fast enough.  That morning, I knew, was the last I’d ever see.  I was about to become the breakfast of a beast I had never seen in a land far, far from home.

“The stars roared, and the earth shook beneath my feet, but I didn't dare trip.  I didn't know where I was going, just that I couldn't stop, even as my legs filled with burning lead.  The trees I wove through bent and shattered to the sheer force of the beast as it gave chase.  They didn't even slow it down.

“The celestial beast was right on top of me.  Its breath was hot and heavy against my back; its putrid smell threatened to suffocate me as I ran.  It let out another earsplitting roar, and I felt my own bones rattle from the force.  I lost my footing and stumbled to the ground, my foot caught in a root.

“I twisted on the ground to get at least one last look at my demise.  A bear, larger than any I had ever seen; twice the size of a house.  Its dark fur glistened like stars on a moonless night.  It brandished its teeth above me, that hungry look still in its eyes, and for a moment, I felt myself paralyzed.

“The beast opened its maw wide and—”

“Mister Grey, will you please get off the table?!”

I froze with a wince.  Strawberry Shortcake stood at the entrance of the restaurant, tapping her hoof impatiently.  I gave her a sheepish smile and wave.  “Um, sorry, Strawberry!” I called back and quickly hopped off the tabletop.  “Won’t happen a third time, I swear.”

The waitress huffed and rolled her eyes, but as she turned back to work, I caught a hint of a smile.  I couldn’t help but feel my own quickly growing.  She could deny it as much as she wanted, but I knew she was eavesdropping ever since I started retelling my tales from the Everfree.

It originally started with me keeping my promise with Noteworthy and Daisy.  Zecora was staying in the Everfree today, and Lyra was… well, she didn’t say; just that she would be busy until dinner.  But Daisy brought Lily, and Noteworthy dragged in Carrot Top, and now my audience was the better half of a dozen and slowly growing.

The manager didn’t seem to mind my storytelling; in fact, she almost seemed delighted by it.  My audience was potential customers in her eyes, each ordering a light snack as they listened to my tales, and the more ponies I reeled in, the more bits she made.  Admittedly, I didn’t care one way or another; I was becoming engrossed in my own storytelling.  I never was adventurous back home, and no one really cared about the day-to-day stuff.  It was almost exciting having something to actually talk about for a change.

“Well, what happened next?” Noteworthy pressed, leaning into the table with eager eyes.  A couple of voices piped up in my audience joined him.

“Alright, alright.”  I held up a hand to calm them down and picked up a glass of water, but my mind drew a blank.  “Oh, where was I again?” I muttered to myself.

“It was the morning after one of your raids,” Daisy piped up excitedly.

“You woke up to an Ursa Major,” Noteworthy added.

“And it was about to eat you!” another stallion added.

I poorly repressed a shudder as my memories caught back up.  Something about staring into the gullet of an infinite abyss ready to swallow me whole still had me rattled after all that time.  I wasn’t going to get over it anytime soon, either.

“Right,” I smiled.  I set the cup down and took in a breath, and the two tables of ponies leaned in.  “The beast opened its jaw wide, eager to make me its meal.  I couldn’t let this be the end, not after all I’ve been through.

“With a sickening pop, I freed my foot from the roots and rolled off to the side as beast lurched forward.  I could feel the earth drop beneath me as its powerful teeth tore into the earth.  It glared at me with red eyes.  My ankle was throbbing.  My heart was pounding.  But I was still alive, and I had to run.

“I was lost, horribly lost, and I knew it.  My foot threatened to pull me to ground with each step.  My lungs felt like they were about to explode.  I couldn’t stop though, not yet; not until I had lost that beast.

“The air was growing heavy with humidity, and the earth was growing softer beneath my swelling feet.  It occurred to me that I probably wasn’t in the Everfree anymore, but my predator didn’t seem to mind.  The strange evergreens were replaced with gnarled dead trees.

“I took another turn in vain to desperately throw it off my tail, but the earth quickly became a sludge, grabbing at my heels with cold hands and trying to pull me under.  I fell to my hands and knees, and the bear thundered over and past me and slid to a halt, kicking up the water and mire of the open marsh we had found ourselves in.  It let out a thundering roar, challenging me to run again, but I had had enough.

“My body was numb, save for the pounding headache screaming for me to run.  The sludge sapped away the last of my energy as I slowly sank into it.  I hung my head in defeat.  I wasn’t going to run from the inevitable anymore.  I was ready for it to end.

“But I wasn’t ready for how it did.

“Something moved in the marsh behind the bear; a serpent, large as a tree and dark like the waters it hid beneath.  It rose from the waters, and a second soon joined it.  Their emerald eyes were filled with hunger, but I was relieved to see they weren’t trained on me.  They released a low growl, a wet, thunderous gurgle in horrifying stereo, and for the first time since our chase, my hunter paused.

“If I blinked, I would have missed it.  As the galactic bear turned, two more serpents burst from the waters to meet it, their teeth latching on to its hide.  The waters shook and the earth quaked as a body erupted from the mire, and to my horror, I realized these were no mere serpents, as large as they were; they were heads of a hydra, a creature from Greek legends of old.

“The bear bled silver into the serpent’s mouths and bellowed in defiance.  It swiped at one of the hydra’s necks, its claws digging beneath the dark scales, and the entire creature reacted in pain.  The bear shook off the teeth and reared on its hind legs.  I never thought it could move with such ferocity.  It clamped its jaws on one of the hydra’s neck and pulled, pushing against the body with its powerful forelegs.  My ears threatened to go deaf as the hydra wailed, and the other heads latched back onto the bear around the torso and shoulder.

“I was awestruck at the display.  I had never felt smaller in my life than when those colossal beings fought.  I recognized my window, though, and quickly pulled myself out of the sludge to run.”

“What?!” Noteworthy interjected.  All eyes suddenly shot to him, most of them glares for the interruption.  He blushed from the attention and looked around innocently.  “I, uh, I mean, come on,” he chuckled nervously.  “I thought you were going to fight it.”

I snorted, thankful that I hadn’t taken a sip from the water in my hand.  “Fight it?” I echoed.  “I don’t think you understand, Note, these things were titans, forces of nature.  They were fighting for a full-course meal, and I was the dessert.  Needless to say, I didn’t stick around to see who won their prize.”  A light chuckle fell over my audience, and Daisy threw a playful punch at Noteworthy to keep him quiet.

I shook my head as the crowd looked to me expectantly, a faint smile still on my lips.  With a shrug, I set my glass back down and continued.  “Last I saw them, the hydra had the bear entangled.  It had more mouths and teeth, but the bear had brute force on its side, and one of the hydra’s heads was already limp, lifeless.  I didn’t stay to see who won; once I pried myself out of the mud, I didn’t look back.

“My harvest was ruined from the chase and the battle at the marsh.  Most of the few vegetables I had left were covered in sludge, and no matter how many times I washed them in the river, I couldn’t convince myself to eat them.  I hobbled back to the safety of my castle on what I hoped wasn’t a broken foot.  It flared with each small step it gave; I knew I was going to have to tend to it soon.

“The sun was at its peak in the sky by the time I returned.  After all I had been through, it felt like the hardest thing that morning was walking up those old stairs.  I dropped my belongings at the base of my throne and collapsed onto it, never before feeling so undeserving to sit in it.  But in spite of it all, a ghost of a smile still found its way to me.  I had survived another morning in the Everfree forest.  Sleep was beckoning me with open arms, and I was ready for some much-needed rest.”

I picked up my water and gulped the rest of it down, cuing to the others that I had finished.  Daisy and Lily clapped their hooves together, and the more unfamiliar faces turned and talked to each other almost excitedly.  I breathed a content sigh as I sat down with my friends.  Strawberry trotted over to refill my glass, but I held up a hand to stop her.

“That was amazing, Hunter,” Carrot Top piped up.  “I can’t believe you came face to face with an Ursa Major.  I remember when one stumbled into Ponyville in the middle of the night a couple years ago.  It was absolutely terrifying.  It must have destroyed at least three homes before Twilight managed to lure it out of town.”

“Wait, Twilight did what now?” I frowned.

“Oh, yeah!  We were there for that!” Lily added proudly, prodding at Daisy.  “She used a spell to put it to sleep and carried it out of town with her magic.

I leaned back in my seat and folded my arms across my chest.  It was hard thinking of Twilight like a… well, like that.  I wasn’t sure how to handle that information.  “Do you guys normally have a problem with things coming out of the Everfree?” I asked, changing the subject.

The table looked to each other uneasily.

“Not as often as you’d think,” Daisy offered, although it sounded more like a question.

“But definitely more often than it should,” Noteworthy quickly added, to which everyone nodded in agreement.

I shook my head in bewilderment.  “Wow, that’s… wow.  I know I haven’t been around for long, but what I’ve seen in the Everfree makes me surprised people still live here if it happens that often.”

“Well, like we said, it’s not that often,” Noteworthy reminded me.

“And it’s not always something scary,” Lily chimed in.

“Doesn’t stop you from overreacting, though,” Carrot said off to the side, just loud enough for everyone to hear.  “Didn’t you freak out over a herd of bunnies once?”

“Hey, rabbits aren’t all as cutesy as they want you to believe,” Lily said defensively.  “That’s how they get your guard down.  You take a couple in off the street at night to keep them out of the rain, and just when you think they’re the most adorable little critters and feel all warm and fuzzy inside; boom, entire flowerbed, gone by the morning.  And the little devils were nowhere in sight.”

Noteworthy struggled to hold back a laugh, but a snort managed to escape.  Daisy tried to match her friend’s seriousness, but I could spy the corners of her lips threatening to crack into a goofy smile.

Carrot shook her head and turned back to me.  “Well, like we were saying, you kinda got the worst of the Everfree, not that I think there’s much of a good part of it.  In fact, I’m willing to bet you’ve seen more of the Everfree than everypony in Ponyville combined; well, outside of Zecora.

“Speaking of which, what was that even like?” she asked, leaning forward as she rested her head on her hooves.  “I can’t imagine the Ursa was the only thing you ran into out there.”

“Oh, I’m sure you don’t want to hear my day-to-day when I was out there,” I waved dismissively.  “A lot of it was pretty boring actually.”

“You know what we mean, Hunter,” Daisy pressed.  “Surely you have to have more stories.”

“Oh, trust me, I have plenty,” I chuckled.  “Not every day out there was an adventure, but I had my fair share of… experiences.  Tell ya what; come back tomorrow, and I might just tell you all about the time I rode a manticore.”  Everyone’s eyes widened just a hair with excitement, and I returned them with a sly smile.  “And trust me, it was just as terrifying as it sounds,” I added.

“Come on, Hunter,” Daisy complained.  “We have all day.  You can tell another one.”

“I mean, hey, don’t get me wrong; I have nothing against telling another story,” I explained with an innocent shrug.  “But if I told you all my good ones, you wouldn’t have a reason to hang out with me anymore.”  A light chuckle fluttered over the table, and Daisy shook her head with a knowing smile.

“And anywho, I’ve been meaning to talk to someone for a while,” I continued.  “And with everyone I know being busy today, I might as well see if I can catch her.  Now, if you'll excuse me, you all have been a great audience.  I’ll see you all tomorrow; don’t forget to bring your friends and all that jazz”

“Hey, Hunter, wait up!”  Noteworthy hopped out of his seat as I waved goodbye to the group and trotted up next to me.

I slowed my pace to let him catch up and glanced back.  The crowd I had mustered had already dispersed for the most part.  Daisy looked up from her friend as they were preparing to leave and gave me a smile and wave, to which I returned with a nod and returned my eyes to the road.  A content sigh escaped me as Noteworthy finally caught up.  “What’s up, Note?”

“Oh, just wanted to congratulate you on that story,” he said before giving me a nudge.  “Even though I still think you could have used your creative license a little more freely.”

“He still thinks I should have fought it,” I sighed as I rolled my eyes to no one in particular.  “I don’t think you realize just how big it was, man.  I mean, it was massive.  There’s no way I could have fought that space bear, much less convince someone else I did.”

“Space bear,” Noteworthy chuckled to himself.  “I still can’t believe you thought an Ursa Major was called a ‘space bear’.”

“Okay, for starters, we don’t exactly have those back home for me to have made a reference,” I pointed out defensively.  “But next time I run into a bear the size of a building that looks like it’s made of a galaxy of stars, I’ll be sure to remember the name while it’s chasing me for dinner.”  Noteworthy still had that contagious grin on his face, and I caught myself smirking, too.

“Well, anyways,” he continued.  “What I was getting to; I actually know a guy, a travelling storyteller.  He swings by Ponyville every now and then when he makes his rounds.  I know you’re still looking for a job, but I think you have a bit of a knack for this.  At least, you looked like you were enjoying yourself, more so than I've ever seen you anyways.  I think you should try looking into it.”

“Storytelling?” I echoed.  “I don't know.  Doesn't really sound like a job.”

“Excuse you, but my friend would beg to differ,” Noteworthy scoffed jokingly.  “My friend gets to travel wherever he wants, and he gets to tell everypony all these amazing adventures wherever he goes, some even about himself.  If you’re really having fun with it, I’m sure he’d love to meet you and offer some tips.”

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly color me or my stories ‘adventurous’,” I began.  The thought rolled in my head, though, and I couldn’t suppress the smile slowly forming.  “When did you say he was coming by?”

Noteworthy shrugged.  “It’s hard to say,” he admitted.  “He normally swings by a few times a year.  Last time he visited was before you arrived, so…”  He hummed to himself in thought.  It took a few seconds before he could come up with an answer.  “By the end of next month,” he offered, but it sounded more like a question.  “Maybe?”

I hesitated and slowly shook my head.  “I mean, if I’m still around, yeah, that would be cool,” I offered with a shrug.

The heavy silence filled the air, weighing down on us as we walked.  He wanted to say something, I could tell, and I didn’t want to pry it out or change the subject.  “So, you’re really thinking about leaving?” he suddenly asked.

His question threw me off.  I glanced down at him, and he looked back to me in seriousness.  “I mean… yeah,” I admitted, shoving my hands in my pockets.  “I can’t stay forever.  I have a family back home.”

“I know, I know,” Noteworthy interjected, waving his hoof dismissively.  “And I don’t blame you.  I can’t even begin to imagine what this must have been like for you.  It’s just…  It’s just gonna be different when you do, y’know?”

I opened my mouth, but ended up closing it and resorting to a nod.  “Yeah.  It’ll be strange for me, too.  Never gonna forget this place.”

“You know, I never even knew Daisy or Lyra or Zecora before you came here,” he chuckled to himself.  “And now it feels like we’re all the best of friends, like nothing could ever tear us apart.”  His smile quickly faded, though, and his brow furrowed.  “‘Never going to forget’?” he echoed.  “You’re going to visit at least, right?”

When I didn’t answer immediately, he shook his head.  “Now, I’ve only known Daisy for a short time, but I’m sure even you’ve noticed she can be a bit… dramatic.  If she catches wind that you’re not planning on stopping by for the holidays…”  He cut himself off with a click of his tongue and a low whistle.  “You better at least write,” he warned.  He looked up to me with a dead seriousness in his eyes.  “Because if you leave me to deal with all that emotional baggage, I’m gonna personally find that portal and drag you back for her.”

Noteworthy couldn’t hold his face forever, and a smirk eventually cracked through.  I snorted and shook my head, and the air lightened up as we laughed away the future’s problems.  “Hope you don't take offense when I say I hope the Princess takes her time finding that portal,” he said.  “You’re good company to have, even if most ponies won’t see it.  A lot of us are gonna miss you.”

“Well, I’m not exactly packing my bags at the moment,” I pointed out.  “No harm in making a few more good stories for the road, eh?”

“Now you're talking,” Noteworthy smiled in agreement.  He paused for a moment, looking further down the road.  “Hey, is that Lyra?”

I followed his eyes down the way.  The marketplace was becoming a little crowded at this hour, but thankfully my height gave me a bit of an advantage. Sure enough, there she was with full saddlebags, checking a list that floated just by.  “Well, I'll be,” I smiled to myself.  “I haven't seen her all day. Hey, Lyra!”

She jumped as I called her name, but she quickly broke into a smile and waved as she saw us.  The list tightly rolled itself up and vanished into her bags, and as Noteworthy and I shuffled through the crowd, I noticed she still had a hint of surprise in her eyes.  “Oh, hey, guys!” she chirped.  “What brings you two here?”

“Just passing by, figured we'd bump into you,” I explained.  I glanced past her to the infamous bakery she had just left.  Well, infamous to me, at least.  As soon as I discovered who often worked the front register of Sugarcube Corner, I usually went out of my way to avoid it.  Through the window, I could see Pinkie Pie at the register, busy with a customer.  She didn't seem to notice me, and I inched further back from the window to break the line of sight.  “What have you been up to? You kinda ducked out on me this morning before I could ask.”

“Oh, just running some errands, nothing too exciting,” Lyra dismissively.  She tacked on an overly-assuring smile, almost as an afterthought; a quirk I had become familiar with after living with her for a few days.  Her eyes traced mine as I glanced suspiciously between her and the door to Sugarcube Corner.

“Alright, fine,” she sighed in defeat.  “It was supposed to be a surprise, but I was checking on an order I placed this morning.  I thought cupcakes would be good for tonight.  You said you like strawberry, right?”

“Oh, no, cupcakes?” I chuckled in disbelief.  I rested a hand over my stomach and shook my head.  “Lyra, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to kill me with all this sugar.”

Lyra held her hoof to her chest defensively and looked at me with faux shock.  “Moi?” she asked innocently. She let out a playful scoff and waved a hoof.  “Phooey.”  Noteworthy snickered behind a hoof, and I struggled to hold back my own as I folded my arms across my chest.  “Besides, I do have other errands I need to run before tonight,” she continued.  “I’ll catch you later?”

“Hey, if you’re a little overloaded, I can take some of those errands off your hands,” I offered.  “I mean, I’m not doing anything too important.”

“Weren’t you on your way to see somepony, though?” Noteworthy asked.

“Well… yeah,” I shrugged.  “But it’s not life-or-death.  I can talk to her another time.”

“Hey, no worries,” Lyra waved off.  “If you already had plans, go right on ahead.  I can wrap this up easy.  Besides, you’ve had a busy last few days, settling in and looking for jobs and all.  This’ll be a good opportunity for you to unwind, do whatever you want to do, take hold of the reins, so to speak,” she added with a snide wink.

My mouth struggled to form words.  When I finally consented to defeat, I threw my arms in the air and walked off a few paces, only to return while shaking my head.  “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” I asked in disbelief.

Lyra giggled and shook her head.  “Oh, you better believe it,” she returned, grinning cruelly from ear to ear.

“I—  What?”  Noteworthy stammered, his face overcome with a blush as he looked between us.  “I need some context.”

“It’s a long story,” I assured him.

“Don’t you lie to him,” Lyra accused me.  “Either you’re telling him, or I am.  And I’m going to make it sound so much worse.”

I froze again.  I had lived with Lyra long enough to not mistake her threats for bluffs, and her sinister smile wasn’t reassuring.

“Okay, okay,” I quickly said, trying to calm her down.  I turned to Noteworthy, whose incredulous face demanded an explanation.  “So, ‘taking the reins’ is an expression back in my home for taking charge of something,” I started slowly.  “Got it from, say, taking over the reins of a… mule drawn carriage.”  My hands scratched at the back of my head as I flashed what I hoped was a reassuring grin.  “I said it last night, and I didn’t realize that here reins were considered a little, well…”  I struggled to find the right word to say.  “Raunchy,” I coughed.

“You should have seen Bon-Bon’s face when he told her that last night,” Lyra wheezed.  She wiped an eye with a hoof and flicked away a tear.  “Oh, Celestia, I’m still crying.”

I took in a breath to retort, but all that came out was a deflating sigh.  Noteworthy was already taken over by Lyra’s fit of giggles.  “Alright, well that’s enough embarrassment for one day,” I announced.  “I’ll see you tonight, Lyra.”

Lyra calmed down, if only a hair.  “Yeah, I’ll see you around,” she giggled.  She flagged Noteworthy to follow her, still with that devious grin.  “Hey, come on; Hunter left out some of the good parts.”

“Lyra,” I groaned miserably.

But she was already prancing down the street.  “Don’t worry, Hunter!” she called back.  “I won’t tell him about the saddles!”

I could feel my blood rushing to my face, and I just realized how warm it was outside in spite of the cold breeze.  I looked to Noteworthy in desperation, my last hope to save me from further embarrassment.  He was already slowly backpedaling towards Lyra, an apologetic smile on his face.

“Now, nothing personal, buddy,” he said carefully.  “But that does sound like one of those good stories we were talking about.”

He turned on a dime and galloped to catch up with Lyra, leaving me alone in the marketplace.  My hands rested on my hips as I stared at the empty space he had left.  A scoff found its way out of me.  “Well, time to find new friends,” I joked to myself.

I turned back to my original course, and something heavy thumped against the window of Sugarcube Corner as I passed by.  I screwed my eyes shut after catching a glimpse of pink and forced myself to keep walking.

Don’t look back.  Don’t look back.  Don’t look back.  In spite of my own inner mantra, I braved a glance back to the bakery.  Pinkie Pie had most of her body pressed against the window, wearing a smile that was more excited than it had any right to be.  Through the thick curtain of her mane, her eyes locked onto mine with an uneasy amount of joy.  I swore under my breath and returned my attention to the road.

“Hey, Hunter, wait up!”

“Can’t stop and talk, Pinkie,” I called back, keeping my eyes forward.  “I’ve got somewhere I gotta be.”

“It’ll only take a couple seconds!” she promised.

“I’m busy,” I reiterated.  I stole another glance behind me, but the mare was nowhere to be found.  The door to Sugarcube Corner swung lazily to the street.  Maybe Pinkie finally learned how to take a—

“Whatcha busy with?”

“Sonuva—”

I nearly tripped over her as she spawned in front of me.  The little devil was sitting directly in my path; I had to jump over her to avoid hitting her.  Her neck craned back as her eyes followed me, and by the time I landed, she was still looking at me upside down.

“Ooh, nice save,” she giggled.

I stood doubled over, hands resting on knees as I recovered from my near-heart-attack.  I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.  No need to make a scene over this.  Just had to keep my cool; it's what Lyra would want.  I sighed, “What do you want, Pinkie?”

She turned back around to fully face me.  Her mane rested limp on one side, but she pushed a bright smile despite it.  “Just wondering what you were up to,” she chirped.

My head shook on its own accord.  I couldn’t believe this.  Should I even tell her?  Would she leave me be if I did?  “Sweet Apple Acres,” I admitted.  “I was hoping to catch Applejack there.”

Pinkie took in a sharp gasp.  “No way!  I was totally hoping you were going that way!” she said excitedly.  She pulled a small box out of… somewhere.  I blinked.  Maybe my eyes needed to get checked.  I could have sworn she didn’t have it earlier.  “I’ve been meaning to give this to Applejack all morning, but I’ve been really, really busy,” she explained.  She held it up, as if to offer it.  “Think you could take it to her for me?” she asked with hopeful eyes.

I looked between her and the package in disbelief and shook my head.  “Pinkie, I’m not your mailman,” I deadpanned.  Her smile broke as I turned back to the road.

“W-Wait!”  She scampered ahead of me and stood on her hind legs, propping her forelegs against my stomach to keep me from moving.  “Pretty please?” she begged.  “Mr. and Mrs. Cake had to take little Pumpkin and Pound to the doctor because they’re having a really bad case of the sniffles and they asked me to watch over the shop and I was like ‘Of course I can!’ because business has been really slow but then we got a really really big order this morning which I’m super excited about but it’s putting me behind on all my other orders!”  She took in a gasp, and I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could even squeeze a word in she was already at it again.

“And I promised Applejack I’d bring this package to her by this morning and I’m already late on that and I don’t want her to think I'm a bad friend because of it because there’s already a lot of ponies upset because I’m behind on their orders, and it’s really hard to smile and keep everypony happy ‘cause I haven’t seen a shred of confetti in a wee-ee-eek!”

Her voice broke down into a wail as she buried her face into my jacket.  I tried to take a step back, but her grip on my clothes tightened as she tried vainly to cover her teary eyes.  Passersby in the market gave us odd looks, and I returned with reassuring, toothy smiles.  My front was quickly becoming damp with Pinkie’s tears, something I knew the cold air would quickly take advantage of.  I needed to fix this.

“Hey; there, there, Pinkie,” I cooed through grit teeth.  “I’ll take that package to Applejack for ya.”

She calmed down slightly and looked up to me, my jacket still tight in her hooves.  “R-Really?” she sniffed hopefully.

“So long as you get out of my hair for the rest of the day,” I whispered.

It was like someone had hit a switch.  Pinkie broke into a bright smile, and before I could defend myself, I was pulling into a bone-crushing hug.  “Thank you so so much!” she squealed.  “You have no idea what this means to me.  I know!  I’ll have to make you some special cupcakes later, on the house!  What’s your favorite—”  She cut herself off with a gasp.  Her body twitched, her ears stood to attention, and her grip around me seemed to tighten even more.

“I left a bun in the oven, and it’s about to burn!” she shrieked.  Pinkie launched herself off of me and bolted back to the bakery, leaving me doubled over and gasping for breath.  In her haste, though, she forgot a small detail.

“Pinkie, wait!” I called after her.  It was too late, though; she was already back inside the bakery.  “What about the…”  My voice trailed as I looked back down to my feet where a small box rested in the dirt.  “Package,” I finished.

I knelt down to inspect it.  It was barely smaller than a shoebox, and when I picked it up, it felt just as light.  I turned it over in my hands, and on the other side was a crudely drawn trio of apples, colored in with red crayon, leaving few questions to the recipient.

I looked up to the sky and suppressed a yawn.  It was still early in the afternoon, but my internal clock was still kicking me for being up in the daytime.  I silently prayed for the readjustment to go by quicker.  Between the early start in the morning, the story at lunch, and all that happened in the last ten minutes, I was exhausted; physically and socially, though mostly the latter.  Hopefully the rest of the day wouldn't be too exciting.
> Act II:  Rest and Reconciliation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I paused at the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres, Pinkie’s parcel still in hand.  My eyes read the sign above the front gate over and over again as my mind tried to register what I was doing.  How many times had I come here under different motives?  I shook the thought out of my head; this was a new life… for the second time, and it was time to mend some scars left by the last one.

Old habits set my nerves on edge as I walked through the farm.  Seeing the orchard in the daylight felt so strange, and so wrong.  I had never braved my way to the farmhouse itself before, and every ounce of instinct I had was screaming at me to turn and run.

I took in a breath to settle it down.  This was a new life, I reminded myself again.

I didn't even realize I was standing at the front door.  The package was weighing heavy in my hands.  With one last breath to gather my nerves, I raised a hand and knocked.

Barking erupted from the other side, causing me to jolt.  Memories quickly resurfaced, and I had to force myself not to instinctively run at the all too familiar sound.  A muffled voice tried to calm the beast down, and the front door cracked open to reveal an even more familiar mare.

“Now, Winona—  No; sit.  Winona!”  Applejack slowly backed out of the door, keeping it close as to not let her dog slip out as she stared it down.  She stole a sideways glance and flashed a brief smile.  “Oh, howdy, Hunter!  No wonder Winona’s in such a hissy.  Ah’ll be right with you.”  Winona had some choice words to share as well.  Although, given the tone, I was glad they were lost in translation.

Applejack wiped her brow and sighed in relief when she finally shut the door.  On the other side, Winona continued shouting obscenities and scratched at the wooden door, to which Applejack gave an apologetic smile.

“Ahem, so, what brings you here, Hunter?” she quickly asked.

“I was just, uh, in the neighborhood,” I shrugged.  “Figured I’d swing by and chat if you weren’t too busy.”

She raised her eyebrow and gave me a look.  “‘In the neighborhood’, huh?” she asked knowingly.

I glanced around us and noticed the distinct lack of other buildings in the area and coughed.  “Well, with a loose definition of ‘neighborhood’,” I explained sheepishly.  “Oh, and, uh, Pinkie wanted me to give you this,” I added as I handed over the package.

She accepted it with a hoof and inspected it curiously.  “Huh, wonder what this is,” she said absently.

“Well, Pinkie was freaking out about it earlier,” I offered.  “Said she was supposed to bring it to you this morning.  She got real worried that you’d think she was a bad friend or something for forgetting it.”

“A bad friend?  Pinkie?” Applejack asked incredulously.  “Shoot, she’s one of my best friends!  Ah’d never think so low of her.”  She looked at the package again with a new regard and chuckled.  “Y’know, Ah can’t even imagine what this could be that’d make Pinkie so wound up.  Now, let’s see here…”

Applejack bit down on one of the ends of the package and tore it off.  After peeking inside, she reached in and pulled out a letter.  As her eyes skimmed over the lines, her soft grin slowly faded.  Her brow furrowed, and she glanced up to me once before reading again.  Before I could ask what it was, though, she stuffed the letter back into the box and snapped on a smile.

“Whew, thanks for deliverin’ this, Hunter,” she quickly said.  “Pinkie gets real serious about our pets’ birthdays and all.  Winona’s must’ve been sneakin’ up on me; Ah completely forgot about it.  Ah’m sure she’ll like these biscuits Pinkie got her, though.”

“Bless you.”

Applejack blinked.  “Er, beg pardon?”

“Oh, sorry,” I stammered.  “I thought you were about to sneeze.  Your, uh…  Your nose started scrunching a bit there.”

“My nose?” she echoed.  “Oh, right.  Ah guess it just got a bit of a tickle.  Oop, there it goes again.”  She touched her hoof to her muzzle and gave a nervous chuckle.

“So, what was it that brought you here again?” she asked.  “No offense, but Ah doubt you decided to just come out here to help Pinkie outta the goodness in your heart.  Ah know things are still a little, er, tense between you two.”

I scratched the back of my head and tried to avoid eye contact.  “Um, right.  I just wanted a chance to talk about some things.  Things are still a little weird now ever since… well, ever since the trial, and we haven’t really talked since then.”  I started choking on my own words as I realized how awkward this probably was.  Maybe there was a way to double back.  “But I’m sure you’re busy,” I brushed off.  “My grandfather owns a farm up in Missouri, and I know the work’s a hassle to get done.”

“Oh, nonsense,” Applejack waved off.  “We had an early harvest this year.  Kinda had to to make sure they wouldn’t get stolen by…”  Her words trailed off, and she coughed into her hoof.  “To make sure none of the varmints would get to them,” she rephrased.

We stood there uncomfortably, trying not to meet each other’s eyes.  Inside the farmhouse, Winona filled the silence with her barking as she scratched at the door, desperate to save her owner from the Beast of the Everfree.

I shook my head.  “Sorry, this was a mistake.”  I took a few steps backwards and shoved my hands in my jacket pockets.  “I’ll, um…  I’ll see you around, Applejack.”  I turned on my heel as I took another backstep and made my way back to the gate, but I didn’t make it far before Applejack called me back.

“Hunter, wait!”  I paused and glanced back; Applejack had covered half the distance before slowing to a stop.  Her mouth hung open as if she meant to speak, but her eyes fell to the earth beneath my feet as she rubbed her hoof against her foreleg.

“Ah think you’re onto somethin’,” she confessed.  “About the talking, that is.  Well, maybe a few other things, too.  Things have been feelin’ weird around town.”  She paused, taking in a breath and letting out a heavy sigh.  “Hardly anything’s changed, but it still feels like everything’s been turned upside down.  And Ah feel it’s gonna stay that way until somepony does somethin’ about it.”  She looked up to me and gave a sincere smile.  “And maybe talking would be a good start.”

A rush of relief came over me, and I returned her smile and looked past her at the farmhouse.  Winona had found her way to one of the windows and continued her rant with added ferocity.  “Don’t suppose we can take this somewhere a bit quieter?” I asked hopefully.

“Well, of course,” Applejack chirped.  “Here, Ah don’t reckon she can bother us over by the well.”

I followed Applejack as she walked down the dirt path away from the farmhouse, and all the while my eyes kept flickering between her and the orchard to our left.  No matter how many times I tried to shrug it off, everything just felt so strange, like an itch in the back of my head I couldn’t quite reach.

“Sorry about Winona,” Applejack apologized, derailing my train of thought.  “She’s usually real nice, but me and Macintosh may have trained her to not be too friendly with you.  It’s gonna take her some time to readjust to everything.”

“Yeah, she’s not the only one,” I chuckled halfheartedly.  We reached the well at the front of the property, and I sat on its stone wall.  A memory sparked to life, and I inspected the rope behind me leading deeper into the well.  My hand reached out curiously and tugged upward on the rope, and I was surprised to feel a small weight trying to pull back down.  “Oh, you replaced it,” I said absently.  “I was actually going to offer to buy a new one for you.”

Applejack waved a hoof dismissively.  “No, don’t you worry about that.  The last one we had was old anyways; Ah’ve been tryin’ to convince Granny Smith to replace it for years now.  No permanent damage was done.”

“Well, that’s good to hear at least,” I lied.  Somehow her words weren’t as comforting as she had hoped.  I took in a breath and tried to build up my courage.  “Look, I…  I really appreciate what you did for me a few days ago.  I know it must’ve taken a lot to go up in front of everyone, in front of your princess even, and say, well… and say the things you said.  I know plenty of people who would have tried to save their own skin if they were in your shoes, and I just wanted to say—”

“Hunter, Ah really appreciate this,” Applejack cut in with an uncomfortable look.  “But Ah wasn’t the only one who stood up for you that day.”

“No, but I’ve already thanked Fluttershy and Daisy more than enough,” I explained.  “And besides, after all that you did to help, it made me start thinking about everything I did to you before.”  I scratched the back of my head, feeling too guilty to look her in the eyes.  “I harassed you and your family a lot and was, well…  I was a bit of a jerk.  I wanted to thank you and apologize for it all, so…  Here.”

I reached for my side where a small pouch was tethered to my beltline and offered it to Applejack.  She looked surprised but held out a hoof to accept it.  However, when she felt the weight of its contents, her expression quickly changed, and she eyed it fearfully as if it was a disease.

“Hunter?” she asked warily.  “What is this?”

“Fifty bits, give or take.  I… kind of lost count,” I admitted.  “I know it’s not enough to pay for everything, but it was all the pouch could carry.  I can head back to the Bon-Bon’s and—”

“Where did you get this?” Applejack pressed.

Her interjection threw me off guard.  “It was, um, part of the Princess’ compensation,” I explained.  “If we’re being honest, I don’t really need the money; I’m going to be leaving soon.  I kept telling her, but she kept insisting, so I figured—”

“Ah can’t take this,” Applejack quickly said, pushing the small bag back into my hands.

I looked between her and the bag in confusion.  She looked guiltily to the side, heavily trying to avoid looking directly at me.  “I…  I don’t think you understand,” I said slowly.  “I don’t need this money.  I tried to tell your princess; it’s kinda wasted on me.  I just wanted to go home.  I don’t even know what to do with all the money I was given.”

She paused.  “How much were you given?” she asked cautiously, as if she didn’t truly want to know.  I hesitated, but motioned for her to lean in and whispered in her ear.  She pulled back and let out a low whistle.  “That’s, er, that’s a real generous amount,” she said with a strained smile.

“Enough to buy a small house,” I nodded.  “Or enough of a cushion to make easy payments; I can’t remember what Bon-Bon said.  Finance was never my forte.”  I held the money out one last time for her, and she shook her head sharply in refusal.  With a heavy sigh, I tied it back to my beltline and slumped on the wall.

“Why don’t you just spend it for yourself?” she offered.  “If you ain’t planning on staying forever, you should get something to remember all your friends by, and something for them to remember you.”  I perked up a bit at the thought.  It didn’t sound half-bad.  “And Ah ain’t much one for fashion, but Ah’m sure you ain’t wearing these raggedy old clothes for their looks,” she added, motioning to my tattered pant leg.  “Ah know Rarity would be right happy to fix them up for you.  Hay, she can even tailor you some more if you asked.”

I hesitated.  “I don’t know.  Sweetie Belle’s been trying to get us to talk to each other more.  We tried once, for her sake.”  I frowned.  “Not exactly one of my most comfortable dinners.  I know Sweetie Belle meant well trying to cook for us, but it didn’t help that she charred it.  It led to a lot of awkward silences and uncomfortable small talk while we picked at it.  I think Rarity’s still a little cross with me after… well, you know.”

“Y’know, it’s kinda funny,” Applejack smiled softly.  “Ah remember her telling me about that dinner, and she told me the same thing about you.”  She paused to let the fact settle in, and after a minute I snorted in disbelief and shook my head.  I swung a leg over into the well to straddle the wall and leaned against the wooden post.

“A lot of my friends feel that way about you, too,” she eventually continued.  “They all know they’ve done you a lot of wrong, and they want to make it up to you, but a lot of them are too scared to confront you because they think you hate them.”

“Well, some of them have good reason to,” I muttered under my breath.

“Oh, come on, Hunter.  Ah know you don’t really mean that,” she said hopefully.  My look must have not reassured her, though, and her expression fell.  “Hunter, Ah know you don’t really mean that,” she said more sternly.

“Really?” I asked flatly.  “What do you want me to say, Applejack?  They organized a town against me, they tackled me at the speed of a bullet, they shot me point blank with a cannon; twice, I’d like to add on that last one,” I listed off my fingers.  “And that’s not even including what they did to me last week, where they imprisoned me in a basement and interrogated and borderline tortured me for saving a bunch of kids!”

“And Ah seem to recall Ah was there, too,” Applejack shot back.  “Ah helped run you out of town when you first got here, and Ah helped put you in that basement.  When you came to my property looking for food, it was me and my family that chased you down.  Hay, we even went as far as hunting you down in the Everfree.  When everypony else went to sleep, Ah stayed up plotting and scheming against you.  Ah…”  She stamped her hoof into the earth and exhaled the rest of her tension.  “Ah thought things about you, Hunter,” she said, deflating.  “Things Ah ain’t proud to admit.  Ah wanted you hurt and… and a lot worse for everything Ah thought you did.”

Silence crept in as her words settled like dust.  “But here you are,” she eventually said, a hopeful smile threatening to show.  “After everything Ah did to you, after everything Ah wanted to do to you, you’re still here, wanting to set things straight between us.”

A second ticked by as I tried to gather my thoughts, and I shook my head.  “You’re different,” I said simply, and she gave me a look that demanded an explanation.  “You stood up for me… when it counted,” I continued.  “Despite all that your friends thought, you decided to believe in me and gave me a chance.”

“Because you gave me a reason to,” Applejack reminded me.  “Ah could’ve sworn you were no better than a low-down thief, but you showed me there was good in ya after all.”  Applejack climbed up the side of the well and rested on its wall with me.  “You showed me who you really were back in that hospital.  You didn't have to watch over that old field trip, and you sure didn't have to bring the foals back, but you did.  You were willing to give us a second chance, despite how we've treated you for so long.  Ah figured it was only fair to give you one, too.

“But my friends?  They only ever saw the bad in ya, like Ah once did, and they did a lot of wrong by you because of it, but Ah want you to understand, they’re good mares,” she pleaded.  “Y’all just kept getting off on the wrong hoof is all.  If you took the time to get to know them, like you did with me, Ah’m sure you’ll come to learn that, too.”  She fiddled with her hooves, working to build her courage.

“Now, Ah don’t know what you think of me, but Ah’d like to think of you as a friend,” she admitted.  “And Ah don’t like seeing my friends hating or fighting with each other.  So if you would, just… give them another chance; please?” she asked, meeting my eyes.  “If not for your sake or theirs, then for mine?”

I sighed.  As much as I wanted to make things up to her, I also didn’t care to meet with her other friends.  Still, after everything that had happened, between her sticking her neck out to save mine and myself working up the nerve to come here in the first place, I figured I was obligated to meet her half way, at very least.  “I’ll give Rarity another shot, alright?” I finally conceded.  “For your sake.  The others, though…  Don’t get too hopeful.”

Applejack took in a breath to retort, but she cut herself off with a grim nod.  “Fair enough,” she sighed.  “Ah suppose Ah can’t force ya, but… Ah appreciate it.”

My eyes fell into the depths of the well and my foot that swung lazily in it, and I realized just how badly I wanted to get out of here.  I swung both my legs across the well and hopped off onto the grass.  “I’ll catch you around, Applejack,” I offered.  “If you’re ever in town, feel free to stop by.  I’m sure Bon-Bon wouldn’t mind.”

Applejack blinked.  “O-Oh, you’re leavin’ so soon?”  Her eyes darted back to the farmhouse, and the package she left at the front door.  “Why don’t you stay a little while longer?” she offered with a hopeful smile.  “Granny Smith has an apple pie cooling off on the sill; Ah’m sure it’s nice and ready by now.”

“Oh, no, I can’t,” I shook my head, holding a hand over my stomach.  “No offense, but I think I’ve had my fill of apples for the rest of the year.”

It won a light, knowing chuckle out of the both of us, but Applejack wasn’t deterred.  “Well, if not for that, then what about Applebloom?” she asked.  “Ah think she said she was wanting to see ya.  She and her friends oughta be out of school any minute now.”

Her nose scrunched, and I paused for the sneeze that never came.  “Oh, I don’t want to impose and stay while I wait,” I explained carefully, hoping she would take the subtle hint.

She didn’t.

“Oh, nonsense, Hunter.  Won’t be any trouble at all!  Here, Ah’ll even get my brother to tidy the place up while you’re here.”  Applejack called back to the farmhouse, “Macintosh!”

The front door opened, and as the stallion called back to his sister, a figure darted out from beneath him.  It barreled closer and closer to us, its yapping growing louder and louder, and it took a moment for me to realize what was really happening.

I swore under my breath and raced to the fence line, leaving Applejack in a confused daze.  As Winona darted past her, though, she quickly came to her senses.  My instincts were kicking back in.  I couldn’t outrun the dog; I was too out of practice to even try.  The orchard was too far away, but that didn’t leave me completely out of options.

I made it to the fence and climbed on top of one of the posts, slightly holding out my arms to balance myself.  Winona came crashing beneath me, snarling as she tried to jump for my feet.  Thankfully, they were just outside of her reach.  Applejack slid to a halt and pulled Winona away by the collar, trying unsuccessfully to calm her down.

“You know… it’s a real shame,” I panted.  “I used to really like dogs.”

Applejack could only offer an apologetic grin.


<><><>



A cold gust of wind tore through my tattered clothes as I rested beneath a tree in Ponyville’s park.  After the impromptu game of chase with Winona, I figured I had had enough excitement for the day without the childlike antics of Applebloom and her friends, and my body was begging me for rest.  Besides, if they really wanted to see me, I wasn’t exactly the hardest person to spot in a crowd in this town.

It took an odd amount of time to convince Applejack I was just going to the park, and even when I did, she looked like she still had an itch in the back of her mind as I left.  I originally assumed she was just making sure so she could send her sister after me, but as time drew on and my rest went uninterrupted, I began to have second thoughts.  I couldn’t imagine why Applejack made such a fuss to make sure I was staying in the park otherwise.

Another gust of wind tore me from my thoughts.  I grit back a small shiver and pulled my legs in closer.  Maybe I could ask Bon-Bon if I could use the sewing machine in her room to close up some of these holes.   I had been meaning to ask for a while now, but the air still felt a little strange whenever we were together.  That, paired with last night’s… uncomfortable happenings…  Maybe it would be best to wait a couple more days before bringing it up.

My eyes fluttered open, and on the other side of the park, the Everfree loomed darkly in the low-hanging sun.  Through the swaying of the branches and thickets in the breeze, my imagination saw the eyes of beasts; manticores and bears and timberwolves.  I scowled back at them, wondering how the Princess’ Guard was faring.

You should be out there looking for home.  Not them.

I blinked in surprise; these conversations were coming fewer and further between ever since my trial, probably due to my lack of responses lately.  Talking to others was always more enticing than to myself.  I drew in a breath and let it out as a sigh.

I’ve had my share of adventures in there, I pointed out.  It’s time for someone else to endure that hellhole of a forest while I get some much-needed R and R.  Besides, with the timberwolves hunting for me, I wouldn’t make it three feet in there.  The Princess’ Guard will be better equipped to survive the Everfree than I could ever hope to be.

They don’t know where to start looking.  You do, it argued.  The Everfree is vast.  We’ve only seen a fraction of it.

“What would you have me do, point it out to them on a map?” I grumbled.

You should be leading them.

“Lead them?” I scoffed.  “Ha, that’s a joke.  We both know I’m no leader.  I couldn’t lead a handful of foals through that forest without two of them nearly dying.”

You’re evading the point, it said sternly.  You can’t hide in this town forever.

“Who said I was planning on it?” I bit back.  “I don’t want anything more than to go back home.”

Then start acting like it.  I bit my tongue at its sudden bitter tone, daring it to go further.  You’re living in the same town of the creatures that wanted you dead not even a full week ago, it continued in spite of me.  You live in one of their houses; you wake up with them, you eat with them.  You always assure them you are about to leave, but you never do anything to prepare!

“What, do you want me to pack the one thing I brought with me?” I demanded.  “Oh, wait, I’m already done!  It’s sitting on the nightstand next to the bed, ready to go.”

And what are you doing?  I winced as my head rang with a headache.  You’re sitting here fantasizing of returning home, but rather than taking control and finding the door yourself, you are willing to leave you fate in the hands of the creatures that once saw you as their enemy.  How much effort do you really expect them to put forth to find a stranger’s home?

“As much effort as the Princess told them to,” I growled.  “And she wanted me to stay here.  I trust that she sent some of her best to look for the portal.”

Oh, you trust her? the voice echoed sarcastically.  The same princess that could have made your life easier so much sooner rather than testing you with a suicidal errand?  The same princess who hoped her little social experiment with Twilight wouldn’t have gone ‘so far out of hoof’?  The same princess that compensated you enough to purchase a house while her errand boys searched for your real home?

My tongue was stuck in my throat.  Even if it wasn’t, I wasn’t sure if I could come up with any words to say.

It sure seems this ‘princess’ likes her games and tests…  What makes you so sure this isn’t one either?

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” I muttered under my breath.

Yes, there you go, the voice snarked.  Take the coward’s way out.  You’re so used to it by now, aren’t you?

“You son of a—”  I picked up a stone and chucked it at the forest; it was all I could think of as a target.  It couldn’t even make it a third of the way before returning to the earth.  As my breathing calmed back down, I closed my eyes and fell back against the tree, uncaring of the sharp bark that dug into my head from the force.

“Hunter?”

My blood froze to the familiar voice.  I looked up into the tree above me and found Rainbow Dash stretched along one of the higher branches.  She yawned into her hoof and let it dangle limply over the edge.  Her colorful mane was a mess, but the more I thought of it, it always was.  She blinked a few times and squinted at me, unsure if I was really there.  “What’re you doing here?” she asked groggily.

I sighed and leaned back against the tree.  “I was resting,” I muttered under my breath.  So much for that.

The branches above me rustled as she wiped the last of sleep from her eyes.  She scanned the base of the tree as if she had dropped something.  “Is… somepony else here, too?” she asked, scratching her head.  “I thought I heard you talking.”

“I was,” I said bluntly.  The back of my head burned.  “Just thinking out loud, though.  I’ve been sitting by myself for a while now.”  I frowned.  Why was I putting up with this?  I came out to the park to relax, not play twenty questions.  Rainbow’s voice wasn’t exactly the definition of relaxing, either.  I stood up and brushed off the seat of my pants and started searching for another tree.

“Wait, ‘a while’?” Rainbow echoed.  “What do you mean ‘a while’?  How long have you been out here?”

I paused, against my better judgement, and groaned.  “I don’t know,” I admitted.  “An hour, maybe two?  Maybe more?  Hard to tell when you don’t have a watch.”

“Two hours?!”  Whatever hope Rainbow had of going back to sleep was dashed away.  She balanced herself on her hooves as she looked around wildly.  “No, that can’t be right,” she argued.  “I-I just closed my eyes for a few seconds…  Oh my gosh, Rarity is going to kill me.”

She eyed the branches beneath her warily, and for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to look away from the show.  She gently jumped off her perch to the branch beneath her, and then to the next.  But just as her confidence grew, her hoof slipped off the third and sent her tumbling.  She miraculously managed to miss some of the branches in her graceless descent, but what she hit, she hit hard.

I caught myself wincing as a limb stuck her barrel.  Her body folded over it before falling back, and the back of her head collided with another.  As if to add insult to injury, just as she was about to be free, her hind leg snagged against the last branch, sending her somersaulting to the ground where she crashed into a heap.

I stood there dumbfounded from the tragic display I had witnessed and poorly bit back a smile.

“Well, try not to beat Rarity to it,” I snickered.

She let out a groan and rose uneasily back to her hooves.  She glanced up to the sun and teetered off to the side a few steps.  “I… I gotta go,” she explained, taking a few wobbly steps forward.  “You should, uh, stay here, though,” she added with an unconvincing smile.  “Just for a few minutes at least.”

I threw her a look, but rather than explain herself, she broke into a gallop back into town.  I brushed her off with a roll of my eyes and returned to the base of the tree.  With neither Rainbow Dash nor the Beast of the Everfree around to pester me, I was eager to return to my much-needed rest and relaxation and enjoy the peace and quiet.

It wasn’t until I sat back down and closed my eyes that I realized just how peaceful and just how quiet it actually was.  My eyes cracked open and squinted at the sun.  It was late in the afternoon, nearing on the evening hours.  Most of everyone was out of work by now, and the children would have been well out of school.  The park was a popular get-together for them, but no matter how hard I strained my ears, I couldn’t hear anything other than birdsong; no shouting of horseplay or make-believe adventures.

I sat up to confirm my suspicions, only to find that there weren’t any adults around either.  I was the only person in this wide, empty park.

I shuddered.  The Everfree Forest suddenly felt much closer.  My blood ran cold with the wind as I scrambled to my feet, nerves on end as I stared the forest down.

Maybe it was just a holiday.  Yeah…  I never bothered to ask if any were coming up.  Maybe everyone was just back in town.  Maybe Lyra could explain everything.

I walked back to town at a brisk pace, stealing frequent glances behind me to make sure the Everfree stayed where it was.  I clamped my mouth shut to stop my teeth from chattering.  A pit was forming in my chest, and as I entered the town it only grew deeper.

Once-busy streets were now desolate.  I quickened my step as memories of dark storms rolled in the back of my mind.  My paranoia was rising.  Rainbow’s words rang in my head.  She was off in such a hurry.  At the time, I didn’t care to ask where she was going, I was just glad that she had left, but now it was all I could think about.  This couldn’t have been a coincidence.  What was she up to?

“Hunter!”

My paranoia melted away with a simple call of my name.  I turned, and down the road to the marketplace, Lyra stood waving with an eager grin.  I chuckled, mentally scolding myself for jumping to such wild conclusions, but as I glanced around once more, I noticed we were still the only two in an eerily empty street.

I took a few steps towards her.  “So, what’s, uh…  How’s it going, Lyra?” I tried to ask nonchalantly.  “Haven’t seen you since lunch.  Didn’t miss anything too big, did I?”

Rather than answer, her smile simply broadened before she turned and galloped off.  She passed two streets before disappearing into another, leaving me in a vulnerable confusion.

With only a small hesitation, I broke into a jog after her.  I wasn’t in the mood for this.  As I chased after her, I felt the stares of eyes digging into my back from the darkened homes around me, but I didn’t dare check to confirm my suspicions.

I turned the corner just in time to see Lyra wave and disappear behind another.  “Lyra!” I groaned.

“Come on, Hunter!” she called back.  “You’re running late enough as it is!”

“Running late for what?” I demanded, jogging after her again.  It was pointless, though; she had probably run far enough ahead to not hear my shout.

It was like a game to her.  She would wait just long enough for me to catch up to the last turn before taking another.  Lyra’s four hooves had an advantage over my two feet, and she knew it.  She was leading me somewhere, that much I was sure of, but to where and why was beyond me.  I chased her through Ponyville to the town square, and by the time I reached the bridge that crossed the small creek running through the town, she was already waiting patiently for me at the front doors to the town hall.

She flagged me to follow her and disappeared inside, closing the door quickly after her.  I allowed myself to slow down to catch my breath.  As the building loomed over me, I couldn’t help but wonder why Lyra led me here and what waited inside.

I shook my head.  “It’s Lyra,” I reminded myself.  “What’s the worst it could be?”  I thought of what I said, though… and who I said it about, and I took in a breath to brace myself.  Gathering my nerves, I reached out to the handle and pulled the door open.

It was dark.  The last orange rays of the sun barely crept inside, offering me no help.  Against my better judgement, I crept inside, waiting for Lyra’s trap to spring.  It was black as pitch; someone had blinded the windows, making sure no light trickled in.  If I strained my ears, I thought I could hear whispers.

“Um, Lyra?” I called nervously.

I jumped as the door slammed behind me. Something loud popped overhead, and the lights sprang to life, assaulting my eyes with a vast array of color as a multitude of ponies were revealed.  In the middle of it all stood my small circle of friends, each sporting a smile brighter than all the others.  I fell to the seat of my pants as the atrium full of ponies sang out a single word.

“Surprise!”
> Act II:  Party Foul
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Surprise!”

Thunder boomed overhead as lightning ignited the sky.  I found myself gasping for breath as my back collided against the cold earth.  Rainwater was pooling on my brow.  No…  It was just sweat.  The confetti falling from the sky was real, though.

I blinked, and the clouded, grey skies were replaced with a high ceiling and artificial lights.  I found that the pressure against my chest was my own palm, clutching at my sporadic heart to vainly calm it down.  As the confetti settled around me like dust, I noticed how painfully quiet it was in the room packed with ponies.

“Um… well, come on, everypony; Hunter’s here!” Daisy called.  “Let’s get this party started!”

Further back in the room, a band filled the air with lively music, and a dull roar accompanied it as the citizens of Ponyville began to mingle.  I was left on the floor and took the opportunity to wipe my face of the sweat and confetti starting to stick to it.  It wasn’t long until the familiar faces of my friends appeared above me.

“Congratulations, Lyra, you broke him,” Noteworthy deadpanned.

“Oh, shut up,” she hissed back, but as she looked back down to me, her expression quickly melted into worry.  “Hey, you feeling okay?” she asked softly.

“Yeah,” I lied with a croak.  “You just… surprised me is all.”

“Are you sure?” Daisy asked skeptically.  “You look pale.  Like, really pale.”

Everyone nodded with her, and I tried to give a reassuring chuckle.  “You, uh, really surprised me,” I smiled, hoping to pass it off.  They still didn’t look convinced.  I sighed and held up a hand.  “Here, just help me back to my feet.”

Zecora and Noteworthy reached out and pulled me up.  Fluttershy hovered overhead with a guiding hoof and a worried look.  ‘It wasn’t too much, was it?” she pressed.  “Oh, I knew we shouldn’t have turned off the lights.  Those kinds of surprises scare me, too.”

“Fluttershy, I’m fine,” I assured her as I got back to my feet.  “And I wasn’t scared, just… startled is all.”  My friends backed away a few steps to allow me to gather my senses and take everything in, and even then it almost wasn’t enough.  How many ponies were in here?  I couldn’t count; there was almost enough to fill the entire auditorium.  Some were even in the balconies high above, and pegasi darted across the air, some even sat together in the rafters.  “What… What is this?”

“It’s your party!” Daisy chirped.

“It’s practically a Ponyville tradition at this point,” Noteworthy chimed in.  “Newcomers always get a welcoming party.  Since your first visit was, well…”  He coughed into his hoof and tried again.  “Since you never got your proper welcoming party, we decided to throw one for you.”

“And this many people decided to come?” I asked skeptically.

“Do not be so surprised of the display before your eyes,” Zecora pitched in.  “I’ve told you before the stories of my early days when my visits to Ponyville were met with frightened craze?  Once the truth was uncovered, and we rooted out all misconceptions, I was greeted with the warmest of receptions.”

“Like Noteworthy said, it’s kind of a tradition,” Lyra added.  “It doesn’t matter who you are or what anypony once thought of you.  These parties are special.  They’re meant to bring everypony together.”  She studied my face and rolled her eyes.  “Come on.”  Lyra’s horn glowed, and I felt something tug on my wrist.

She walked into the crowd of mingling ponies, her eyes never leaving mine with that knowing smile.  The rubber band around my wrist tried to follow, pulling my arm towards her.  I looked back to my friends for support, and all they offered were parting smiles as they went off to mingle.  Realizing I was alone on this front, I allowed the rubber band to guide me, trying to ignore my skin crawling around the magical force.

We paused deep in the crowd.  The band was playing not too far from here, and the ponies nearby were moving more to the rhythm.

“Why did you bring me out here?” I called over the music.

“So you couldn’t sneak away,” she answered with a smirk.  She gave my leg a prod.  “Don’t pretend like you weren’t thinking it; I saw that look in your eye.  This is your welcoming party.  It wouldn’t make much sense to throw it if you weren’t here to enjoy it.”  I must have looked as willing as I felt, and she sighed.  “Look, I don’t want you to feel like you have to be here.”

It sounded like a lie, or at least as though there was more to it.  I raised an eyebrow, “But?”

Lyra hesitated.  “But… we did work really hard on this,” she admitted with a sheepish smile.  “Like, you will not believe the trouble I went through to plan and throw a party this big in one day.”  She glanced behind her towards the band and looked up to me with excited eyes.  “Come on, let’s go dancing!”

“Oh, no no no,” I waved my hands as I backed away.  “You don’t want to see that; I have two left feet.  You… go ahead though; have fun.  I’ll just hang around.”  She looked at me with disappointment in her eyes as she tried and failed to press a smile.  “I promise, I’ll try to stick around and have fun, okay?”

Lyra sighed and shook her head, but this time a more genuine smile showed.  “Fine.  I guess you lead a human to a party, but you can’t force him to dance.”  She slowly started backing into the crowd, her body already subtly moving to the music.  “If you ever change your mind, though, you know where to find me.”

Something inside me tugged after her as she left, but my feet were anchored in place.  Dancing sounded fun, it really did, but I didn’t need all these eyes staring at me as I made a fool of myself.  I was already starting to gather a few looks.

I ran my fingers through my hair and turned to search for a familiar face.  Noteworthy was sitting at one of the tables close to the buffet of sweets, talking to another stallion and mare.  He saw me and smirked, obviously catching on to the desperation in my eyes, and waved me over to join them.  With a sigh of relief I began to wade my way through the crowd.  There were too many waist-high bodies.  I felt like I was going to trip at any moment.

“Hunter!”

“Sweetie!”

I lunged forward as the filly scurried beneath.  My heart was beating like a drum, and I doubled over to help it calm down.  I glanced behind me and found a very apologetic looking Sweetie Belle.  “Please don’t do that again,” I groaned.  “I nearly stepped on you.”

“I agree.”  Rarity squeezed past two ponies to catch up with her sister.  “You know better than that, Sweetie Belle,” she chimed in with a scold.  Sweetie’s ears feel back as she looked to the ground and mumbled an apology.

“Oh, there ya are, Hunter!”  Applebloom and Scootaloo wedged themselves into the circle that was apparently forming around me.  “Ya know, for a tall feller like yourself, you’re pretty hard to find,” Applebloom chirped.

“Doesn’t help when he falls on his flank when we scare him, either,” Scootaloo snickered.

“Alright, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  You startled me,” I corrected.

“Regardless, how are you enjoying your party?” Rarity asked.  Her smile seemed genuine.  “It’s not too much, I would hope.”

“I, uh, I mean…”  My hand scratched the back of my head as I hesitated and tried to take in my surroundings again.  The movement and music and chatter was overwhelming.  “It was, at first, but…  It’s good.  They definitely didn't hold back.”

“Well, of course it’s great!” Sweetie piped up with a beaming and proud smile.  “Rarity spent all day working on it to make sure it was perfect!  She even closed the boutique to work on it.”

“Oh, Sweetie, please.  You’re giving me too much credit,” she waved a hoof as she chuckled nervously.  A strong blush was beginning to show through her pale white coat.  “It was a group effort, really.  Lyra was the true mastermind; it was her idea, and she found everypony to help with this.  And if Pinkie Pie hadn’t told us where to find the party supplies, we would have been much further behind.”

“These little rascals giving you trouble, Hunter?”  Noteworthy squeezed himself into our group with a playful smile, putting himself between me and Rarity.  The foals began protesting, and he calmed them down with a wave of his hoof.  “Hey, just joking, just joking,” he assured with a laugh.

“Nah, we’re just catching up,” I replied.  “Honestly, it’s nice to see a few more familiar faces.”

“Hey, I know!  Wanna play some party games with us?” Applebloom asked hopefully.

“Party games?” I echoed.

“Yeah!  Come on, Rainbow Dash has been working all day on them,” Scootaloo said excitedly.  Red flags fired up in my head.  As she jumped up and buzzed her wings and tried to pull me with her, I looked to the back where the games were set up.  Sure enough, a rainbow colored mane was bobbing up and down in the crowd, watching over the others as they played.

“Psh, please, more like half of the afternoon,” Rarity waved off disdainfully.  “I still can’t believe she was almost late to this.  We had been working all day, and she almost ruined it.”

My eyes still hadn’t left Rainbow since I spotted her.  “I think I’m good,” I quickly said.  “I’m a little too old for ‘pin the tail on the donkey’.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  Sweetie sounded a little hurt.  “That’s one of my favorites.”

“Oh, you’ll understand someday when you’re older, Sweetie,” Rarity assured her with a smile as she pet her mane.  She hesitated, though, and looked back to me.  “Although, maybe you should go with them.  It could be… relaxing,” she offered.

“I’m sure it would be, but he can’t,” Noteworthy interjected.  He put himself more between me and Rarity and looked up to give me a reassuring wink.  He must have caught on to my growing discomfort.  “He already said he was going to tell me and some friends another story about when he was in the Everfree Forest,” he explained, looking back to her.  “Something about the time you rode a manticore, right?”

“Wait, you rode a manticore?” Applebloom asked excitedly.

Scootaloo began jumping in place.  “That’s so cool!  Can we hear it, too?”

I held my hands up in defense as all three of the kids began to swarm me with questions.  “Hey, hey, it wasn’t as daring as it sounds,” I chuckled.  “Honestly, it was kind of embarrassing looking back; I was scared half to death most the time.  It, uh…”  I snapped my fingers a couple times to collect my thoughts and motioned to Applebloom.  “It was actually that night your brother almost caught me when I was, erm, visiting.”

“Hey now, let’s wait until we’re with my friends before we start story time, eh?” Note offered as he nudged my leg.  “Besides, they haven’t heard the story about your run-in with the Ursa, and they won’t stop bugging me about it.”

“My word, you actually ran into one of those dreadful things out there?” Rarity gasped.

“Actually, I think ‘ran from’ would be a better choice of words,” Note snickered.

“Oh, har har,” I scoffed, but I couldn’t help my own smile.

“Hey, we want to hear it, too!” Sweetie Belle piped up.

I glanced between the kids and Noteworthy, and all he offered was an indifferent shrug.  “I mean, the more the merrier, eh?” he suggested.

I chuckled and shook my head, motioning for the girls to follow.  Their eyes lit up, and they trotted after me and my friend, with Rarity distantly in tow.  “Let’s make sure we get a big enough table this time.”


<><><>


We didn’t find a big enough table.

The party was officially in full swing, and what initially started as a small group of Note’s friends quickly grew into a large chunk of the party over the course of an hour.  From eavesdroppers at nearby tables getting sucked in to minglers telling their friends, everyone seemed to want to listen to the adventures of the Beast of the Everfree.  I wasn’t used to this many eyes being on me.  I was shaking from the attention, but even as anxiety ate away at my nerves, a smile broke through.  I was actually having fun.

At the end of one of my stories, Noteworthy would jump in to give me a break.  He noticed I was stammering and getting a bit skittish as more ponies started showing up and thought it would be best for me to take a breather every now and then.  I couldn’t have been more grateful for it.

It didn’t take long until Zecora found us, or rather the crowd surrounding us, and her presence was both a blessing and a curse.  While she provided helpful insight with her experience in the Everfree, I could also tell she was enjoying the stories of my misadventures in the Everfree a little too much, and she wouldn’t hold back the occasional tease.

But for now, all eyes were on me.  I stood atop a table above a swamp of eyes, all leaning in to catch every detail, and there wasn’t a waitress to stop me.

“So, there we were, twenty feet up in the air.  Now I had never been to a rodeo before, and something told me it was this manticore’s first time, too.  Shoot, I was barely even used to bareback riding, er—”  Can’t say horses, can’t say donkeys, can’t say cattle.  Everyone’s eyes were on me, and I tugged on my collar and coughed.  “Well, anyways,” I chuckled and looked to the side, earning a few snickers for something I definitely should not have left up to interpretation.

“My legs were wrapped around its torso, just behind its wings, and I had a deathgrip on its mane for dear life,” I continued, acting out my memories.  “And all the while, my eyes are just pinned on the stinger at the end of its tail, just waiting for the manticore to remember that it’s there.  Unfortunately for me, after realizing it couldn’t shake me off, it did remember.  Unfortunately for it, though, I am much more scared of stingers than I am of falling.”

I squatted low to be closer to my audience, and they all leaned in because of it.  I nearly froze from the reaction, but I quickly had my train of thought back on track.  “I pushed myself to roll off the manticore’s back as the stinger came down, but the moment my brain realized what I was doing, I started locking up.  My right hand closed around its mane as I started to fall, and the stinger, I kid you not, struck the manticore in the back, right between wings.  Now, I don’t know which hurt more, getting stung by your own stinger or having the full weight of a teenager suddenly hanging on to the hair around your neck, but we were starting to plummet, like, fast.”

“A manticore’s toxin is truly quite frightening,” Zecora added, leaning into the table and looking to the other ponies.  “A paralyzing agent that works fast as lightning.  One prick is enough to stop a dozen foals, at which point it usually swallows the victim whole.”  She turned to me with a knowing smile.  “You were lucky to be quick as to avoid such a demise.  I’m sure tricking the beast to stinging itself came as quite the surprise.”

“Yeah,” I squeaked.  A cold film of sweat covered my back as I realized just how narrow of an escape I had made so many weeks ago.

“You doing alright there, buddy?” Noteworthy laughed.

I coughed into my hand and tried to recover from the voice crack.  “I, uh, yeah, yeah.  I just didn’t know that.”  I sat down on the tabletop and looked above the crowd to some imaginary place.  “You know, it just has me thinking, if I had a bit for every time I ran into a manticore… well, I could probably buy myself a chocolate bar,” I shrugged as I thought aloud.  “Which, like, isn’t a lot of bits when you really think about it, but it’s definitely more than I would have liked.”

I laughed at my own little joke as a chuckle came over parts of the crowd.  It struck me again how many ponies had gathered around, but most notable was how they looked at me.  Instead of the usual distrustful eyes, many of them seemed content, happy even, to hear me talk.  I smiled to myself and got back on my feet.

“So, where were we?  I was falling, right?  Yeah.  Well, lucky me, there were plenty of branches to break our fall.  I managed to catch a few of them before I got wrapped around one, but the manticore?”  I whistled and made a downward motion with a finger.  “Straight like a rock down into the brush beneath.

“So there I was, back at square one.  Only this time, instead of the Apple sisters’ wonderful older brother, I now had a man-eating beast beneath me; that I didn’t know at the time was probably knocked out by its own poison.  I figured I'd take my chances and stick around in the tree for the rest of the night.  Finding my food could wait until morning.”

I clapped my hands together, drawing my story to a close.  “And there you have it, the time I rode a manticore.  Piece of advice; if you ever think about trying it out yourself, don’t.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m a little parched after all that talking.  When I get back, I might tell you guys about the time I decided to go fishing in the river that runs through the Everfree.”

“Hearing your tale reminded me of the first time I ran into the beast,” Zecora smirked into her hoof.  “But to be fair, it wasn’t as daring as yours in the least.”

All eyes shifted to her as I stepped down from the table, and I felt the weight lift with them.  I nearly collapsed as I broke free from the crowd.  As I skirted around the edge of it on my way to the snack bar, my eyes couldn’t help but linger on Zecora as she spoke.  She was so confident, never stuttered in her words for a moment, and the natural rhythm in the way she spoke was captivating.  It was amazing how comfortable she was around everyone, even with the cold reception she originally had like mine.  A part of me hoped that I could get to that point someday.

The cupcakes were next to the punchbowl when I arrived at the snack table, and I was more than willing to give in to my temptation.  There weren’t very many left, but it looked like somepony was coming to restock the sweets from the kitchen…

I blinked and snapped the rubber band around my wrist.

Slip of the tongue, or thought, I reminded myself.  I didn’t want to make a habit of it when I returned home.  Still, something festered in the back of my head as the sole, uninvited guest noticed my slip.  Oddly enough, it didn’t say a word, although a strange, almost sour taste began to linger in the back of my throat.  With a grimace, I threw back a shot of punch in an attempt to wash it away.

“O-Oh, hey, Hunter!  Do you like the cupcakes?  I told you they were pretty good, didn’t I?”

“Wha- Pinkie!”

“Hey, watch it!” a pony protested as I backpedalled into him. I hastily apologized as the stallion left with his punch, and my eyes shot back to the mare who had been restocking the sweets. How I managed to overlook her bright pink coat is beyond me.

Pinkie Pie lifted a fresh tray of cupcakes off her snack cart with her teeth and placed it on the table.  She stole a sideways glance at me, and her hoof brushed away her curtain of a mane to reveal a small smile.

“I… I didn’t realize you were here,” I admitted.

“Oh, you mean the party, right?”  Her hoof trailed in a lazy circle, and she glanced behind her with a small, dying hint of glee in her eyes.  “Gee, I wish I was,” she said in a longing voice.  “Lyra and Rarity really went full swing, didn’t they?  Just look at all those balloons and confetti…”  She paused for a second before shaking her head and returning to work.  “But nope; I can’t. I’m a busy bee:  busy busy buzzy.”

Pinkie noticed my look from her half-hearted attempt at a pun and coughed in her hoof before continuing.  “I’m not technically allowed to attend any parties for a while. The Princess said I need to learn to be more serious about… well, about a lot of things. But it’s not technically attending the party if I’m stuck in the kitchen all the time. I ran it through Twilight, and she ran it through Princess Celestia, and she decided to give me a new friend to make sure I didn’t try to mingle while I restock the party favors!” She accentuated her last line by waving towards the kitchen. My eyes followed and found a rather large stallion sitting next to the kitchen door. I wasn’t sure if it was the stoic demeanor that contrasted the air around him or uniformly kept mane that no other stallion had, but even without the golden armor I could tell he wasn’t the average partygoer. From across the atrium, he locked eyes with Pinkie and made a tapping motion against his fetlock.  Pinkie withered slightly at her response and quickly turned back to work.

I saw my open window, and I took the leap. “Well, you seem pretty busy, and I’d hate to get you into any trouble,” I lied, snagging a cupcake as slowly backed away.

“Oh, it’s no trouble!” Pinkie waved obliviously.  “Maybe next time we can have more time to talk?”

It’s your party. You told Lyra you’d have fun, I reminded myself. Breathe. Don’t get snappy.

“Yeah, maybe,” I conceded, turning on my heel.

“Oh! Hunter, Pinkie, what a lovely surprise!” Rarity chirped as she approached from the table.  “I was hoping I could catch you both at the same time.”

“Oh, hey, Rarity,” Pinkie greeted timidly, looking up from her work once more.  “This isn’t really a good time, remember?”

“Oh, nonsense; I’m sure Mr. Bastion over there won’t mind you staying out for just a few more minutes than usual.”  Rarity waved at the guard across the room with a bright smile, faltering slightly when she received the same response as Pinkie.  She coughed into her hoof.  “Right, well…  I was really enjoying your stories of your time in the Everfree.  Pinkie, I think you would love them, too.  Such adventurous tales!”

“A little more adventurous then I would have liked,” I added under my breath.

The two deflated slightly, both having heard my small jab.  In the short pause, I looked back to the table full of my friends and realized that Rarity was standing directly in my path.  Pinkie was still blocking off one of my sides.  Maybe I could use the opportunity to squeeze out the other way.  Back towards the table, I locked eyes with Noteworthy, hoping he could play lifesaver for me one more time, just in case.  He leaned over next to Fluttershy and tapper her on the shoulder, motioning in my direction.

“Hey, there you are, Hunter!”  A cold chill ran down my spine, and the cupcake dropped out of my hand.  Rainbow came cantering to cut off my only exit.  I was surrounded.  “I’ve been looking for you all night,” she continued.  “Why haven’t you checked out any of the party games yet?

“Ah, Rainbow Dash, perfect!” Rarity chirped, quickly recovering from earlier.  “I was just about to send somepony to get you.”

I backed into the table, my fingertips brushing over its top.  It was getting hard to hear my captors over the scattered thoughts that screamed white noise into my ears.

“Yeah, Scootaloo found me and dragged me over; told me about Hunter’s stories and I wanted to hear them for myself,” Rainbow said, turning to me.  “No offense, I knew you had a bit of fight in ya, but if anything Scootaloo said was true, I think you had a lot more than I gave you credit for.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity snapped.  “That is hardly appropriate!”

“What?  He knows I’m just being playful.  Ain’t that right, Hunter?”  She took a step towards me, and I instinctively lurched pack.

The crash of the table and shattering glass rang in the air, dampened by the music.  Most of the party didn’t seem to notice, but I suddenly felt more pairs of staring eyes than the three before me.  Pinkie, Rarity, and Rainbow froze with wary looks, and my eyes darted wildly between them, waiting for another to make a move.

“What in tarnation is going on here?” Applejack demanded.  A flood of relief came over me as I found her approaching behind Pinkie.  Maybe she could get me out of this.

“Nothing!” Rainbow said defensively.  “We were just trying to talk, I swear.”

“By backing him into a corner?  Again?” Applejack pressed.  “Don’t you think we’ve done that enough to the poor stallion?”

“I—  That wasn’t— We weren’t—,” Rarity sputtered, trying to wrap her head around the situation. She looked between me and Applejack, seemingly coming to the realization of how close she actually was, and took a few steps back. “I swear, that wasn’t our intention,” she pleaded to me. “We weren’t trying to make you uncomfortable.”

“You could have fooled us,” Noteworthy interjected as he put himself between her and Rainbow. Fluttershy floated in the air close by him, her hooves folded anxiously against her barrel as she watched the scene play out before her.  He put a hoof in front of Rainbow and pulled her back.  “Seriously, as if the guy ain’t traumatized enough, you three have to hound him at his welcome party, too.”

“Hey, watch it!  Last I checked, we’re the ones that helped throw this party,” Rainbow snapped.

“That doesn’t give you the right to crash it,” he shot back.

“I-I wasn’t trying to crash it, honest!” Pinkie protested with a quivering voice.  Her hooves tugged at her mane anxiously, and her eyes looked a little wet as she stared at me.  “I just wanted to restock the cupcakes.  I didn’t want to make you feel any worse!”  She tried to worm herself out of the circle she had found herself in, but a bright blue aura trapped her tail and held her in place.

“Pinkie dear, you’re starting to give me anxiety over this,” Rarity said. She tugged her head, and Pinkie’s tail followed the horn.  “If everypony could just quit making accusations for one minute, I—“

“Girls!”  Everyone flinched from Fluttershy’s sudden outburst, and all eyes were on her.  She swallowed the lump in her throat.  “I’m sorry, but this just isn’t the right time for this,” she continued as she floated over to me.  Her hooves wrapped around my arm and tugged.  “Come on, Hunter, let’s just go back to everypony else.”

I numbly nodded at the idea and allowed her to lead me through the minefield of eyes.  My heart rate calmed with the tension in the air.  Nobody spoke a word for a while.  It wasn’t until we were a few steps out of the group that Rarity called after us.

“Fluttershy, wait!”

Fluttershy paused, and I with her.  She looked past me to her friend.

“If this isn’t the right time, then I fear there never will be,” Rarity admitted.  “These last few days of avoiding each other is only helping so much, and if we keep it up, it’s only going to make any actual confrontation later all the more difficult.  Just, please…”  Her eyes flickered to mine before returning to my friend.  “Just a few minutes, that’s all I ask.”

Fluttershy’s grip tensed ever so slightly around my arm, and she looked to me expectantly.  I was reminded that these were her friends, too.  This must have been painful for her.  A part of me remembered that I did still have some debts to pay off from her.  I took in a deep breath to calm my nerves, and it escaped as a heavy sigh.

“Sure,” I shook my head.  “Just a few minutes.”

“And I’m staying with him, too,” Fluttershy added by my side.

A hopeful smile showed on Rarity’s lips.  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said to her friend.  She motioned for her friends to come closer; Rainbow brushed past Noteworthy to join her side, and Pinkie’s tail needed a little more motivation to drag the rest of her over.  “Well, I suppose it would help to admit that we may have had some ulterior motives for throwing this party for you,” she began.

“Don’t get us wrong, though, this is still your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ Party,” Pinkie quickly added.  “But it’s also a bit of a ‘We’re really really really sorry for running you out of town and being a bunch of meanies’ Party, too.”

“We messed up,” Rainbow chimed in bluntly.  Unlike the others, she seemed to have a hard time lifting her eyes off the floor.  “A lot.  Some of us a little more than others.”

“What we did to you was horrible, and there is no good excuse for it,” Rarity continued.  “After the Princess spoke to us about your situation, it… it gave us a new perspective.  To be torn from your home and family, and then to find a safe haven only to be run out of it and forced to live in the wilderness…  I can’t even begin to imagine what you must think of us.”

“But we wanted to show you that we aren’t all like that,” Pinkie interjected.  When our eyes met, she hesitated, and a look of guilt pulled her stare down to my shoes.  “I noticed you were having a hard time making friends around town, and that was probably my fault from all the rumors before.  So when I overheard you and Lyra talking about a party, I thought it was a great idea!  After all, that’s how I got to meet most of my friends,” she added with a weak smile.

Rarity took in a deep breath and paused, searching for the right words.  “I know it’s a long shot, but we wanted to let you know how sorry we felt.  Do you think you could ever find it in your heart to forgive us for what we did to you and give us a second chance?”

I didn’t speak right away, and even with the party music still ongoing, my own silence seemed to drown it out in this little group.  All eyes were on me, yet I couldn’t bring myself to meet any of them, not even Fluttershy’s hopeful pair next to me.

“I… I don’t know.”

“Wait, what?” Rainbow asked.

“Rainbow Dash, please,” Rarity said in a hushing tone.  “It’s not like we’re owed any forgiveness after all we did.  We’re lucky he even agreed to talk to us.”

“Look, I…  The things you all did to me…”  I was struggling to think.  I should have been angry; or, more upset than I was now, rather.  Here before me were three of the ponies that made my life a living hell, who turned the entire town against me.  But when I looked around at the party they threw, the very same ponies I hated,  my head was tossed back into a sea of doubt.  “I can’t just say ‘forgive and forget’ and then brush it all under the rug like it never happened,” I continued.  “It’s going to take a lot more than a party to set things right, if they even can be at this point.  But as far as apologies go…  This is a pretty good one.  I don’t think anyone’s ever thrown a party this big for me, much less to apologize for something.  It’s a step in the right direction.  So…”  Why was it so hard to say?  “Thanks.  It… It really means a lot.”

I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off them.  Before I knew it, Pinkie had closed the distance and had me wrapped up into another bone-crushing hug.  My t-shirt was quickly growing damp again, but her cries sounded much happier this time than the last.  It looked like part of her mane even sprang up to its usual self a bit.

“Thank you!” she sniffed with a hopeful squeeze.  “I’m gonna make this all up to you; you’ll see!”  A tremor came over her body, and she pulled herself away with a gasp.  “The cake!  I need to get it out of the oven now!”

She launched herself off of me and soard over the heads of everyone in the crowd between us and the kitchen, even the head of the guard who had just squeezed his way to our little group.  He stood there dumbfounded like me, looking between us and the kitchen entrance.  With a groan, he turned back and tried to worm his way through the partygoers once more.

“Hey, I think Zecora finished her story,” Noteworthy pointed out, breaking our silence.  He started walking back to our table, but stopped to give me a playful nudge as he passed.  “Looks like she’s winning them over.  Hope you can one up her mystery story if you’re planning on still being the coolest pony to live in the Everfree.”

It made me feel good, seeing him lighthearted again; it managed to lift my spirits with him.  “Come on, no one ever said it was a competition,” I called after him.

“Oh, now this Ah gotta hear,” Applejack chuckled.  She gave me a nod as she followed.  Fluttershy finally released my arm, and as her hooves touched the floor again, she broke into a prance after her friend with a satisfied spring in her step.

As Rarity tailed after her friends, Note’s words were still hanging in my head, and I was beginning to doubt my coming story.  Should I go on with the fishing tale like I said?  Sure, accidentally snagging a giant purple sea serpent is impressive by human standards, but I didn’t think that the ponies would be entertained with another story of how I bravely ran away from a monster again.  Maybe I could make something up or use something I saw in the movies before, or just tell them a story from my world.

“Hey, Hunter?”

My train of thought crashed, and I looked behind me to find Rainbow still standing by the snack counter.

“Oh, you’re still… here,” I worded carefully.  It looked like something was on her mind.  I didn’t care to pry, but I didn’t want this to drag out, either.  “Something you need?”

“Do you think we could talk about… things sometime?” she asked.

My brow furrowed.  I didn’t like the vagueness of that question.  “Depends on the things,” I said bluntly.  “Couldn’t have brought it up when everyone else was here?”

“Everypony else already knows about it,” she admitted.  “But they keep egging me to tell you, too.  I just…  I don’t know.  I don’t want to do it here because I’m worried you’ll make a scene over it.”

That grabbed my attention.  “Is it something I should be making a scene about?” I demanded.

“What? No, look, I…”  She threw both of her forelegs to cover her face and released a frustrated groan into them.  Her hooves fell back to the floor, revealing exhausted eyes.  “Look, just whenever we get the chance, I need to get this off my chest, and then you can be as mad with me as you want; deal?  I just don’t want anypony else to try and drag themselves into it; it’s just between us.”

I didn’t appreciate the secrets, but I was also done trying to fish this out.  “Deal,” I sighed.  “Sometime, somewhere, somehow… maybe.  Can’t make any promises.”

She didn’t look happy with the answer, but she didn’t look like she was going to press, either.  “Alright,” she nodded, turning back to the crowd.  “Well, I better make sure the foals aren’t drowning in the apple bobbing bucket.  Try to enjoy the party.  Rarity put a lot of effort into it.”

I watched her trail off and disappear into the crowd.  Something wasn’t sitting right in my head, and I racked it to think of what this mystery topic could have possibly been about.  After a few seconds passed, I decided to dismiss it.  After all, as I looked back to the full table of friends, I realized there were more important things for me to worry about during my own welcome party.

Noteworthy saved me a seat next to him, and a weight was lifted off my chest as I sat down with my friends.  Suddenly, it felt as though my little run in with Pinkie and Rainbow earlier was already ancient history.  Daisy snuck up from behind and playfully bumped into me before taking the chair to my left, and we laughed together as I caught her up on the stories told so far.

She teased that I was telling all of my good ones too early, hinting at our conversation from earlier today.  But I assured her that I was saving the best story for last, whenever then might come, and her interest was piqued, enough to keep her and Noteworthy prying to find out what it was.

They almost had me convinced to tell it then.  Luckily a new attraction pulled everyone’s attention away from the table.  As the music began to die down, all eyes were pulled to the main stage and quickly gravitated to the monster of a cake that towered over everybody’s heads.  I felt a light jab to my side, and Noteworthy waved for me to follow as he leapt from the table and into the quickly growing crowd around the cake.

The towering beast stopped in the middle of the atrium for all to see.  I was almost worried it would tip over from the sudden stop.  An exhausted Pinkie Pie sat next to it, scanning throughout the crowd.  When she locked eyes with me, a bright smile split her face, and she flagged me to come closer.  The air was filled with a lively buzz as I waded through the crowd.  One thing was the subject of everybody’s thoughts, my own included:  that was one delicious looking cake.

I stepped into the small ring the ponies had created around the cake and looked at it with new marvel.  It was easily taller than me, even without the cart Pinkie pushed it in with, and stacked like a pyramid.  There might have been enough for the entire party to have seconds with generous slices.

“Alright, everypony, you know how it goes!” Pinkie exclaimed over the excited buzz of the crowd.  “Guest of honor gets first slice, as big as he wants!”

If they weren’t before, I could tell all eyes were on me now.  I approached the cart and reached for the knife, and as I picked it up, I heard Pinkie whisper.  “Psst, Lyra told me your favorite is strawberry, so I made the whole base strawberry just for you.”  I paused and chuckled, entertaining the idea of just cutting out the base for myself.  I dug the knife into the cake, feeling slightly guilty for tarnishing the perfect layer of icing.  As I pulled it out and began to work on the second edge, a chorus of gasps erupted around me.  For a moment, I had worried that I had cut a piece too generously by their standards, but when I glanced up, the top of the cake was tilted towards me, and it’s whole was sliding far too quickly.  I barely had enough time to make one shocked step backwards.

“Oh, sonuva-“

The behemoth collapsed on top of me, and I was poorly prepared to take on the sudden weight and crashed onto the floor with it.  The cake had me buried from my knees to well past my head. The only thing heavier that it were the stares I suddenly felt on me.  Only one voice dared to timidly break the heavy silence.

“Oops…”

Her voice was all too familiar.  After gathering my senses and dignity from the shock, I slowly sat up. Chunks of cake cling to my clothes while larger pieces sifted away.  With my cleaner hand, I wiped away the frosting around my eyes, and the world gradually blinked into focus.  On the other end of the crashed cart stood a heavily blushing Lyra.  The partygoers around her had backpedalled away to leave no doubt in my mind.

“I…  Sorry, Hunter.  I was trying to squeeze through to see you, but…  Well, I guess I squeezed through a little too well,” she apologized meekly as she trotted around the cart.  She stopped next to me and held out a hoof to help me up.  “Didn’t mean to knock it over on you.  This one’s on me.”

Everybody’s eyes were boring into me.  It felt as though I was set back to square one, with everyone wondering what the Beast of the Everfree was about to do next.  As I had  I glanced to Lyra, and in her eyes, I could tell she realized what her little accident caused.  As my gaze fluttered between her eyes and her outstretched hoof, a sudden urge came over me.  Perhaps it wouldn’t resolve the situation, but it would make me feel a little better.

“Nah, this isn’t on you yet,” I said in the most disarming tone I could muster.

“Yet?”  As my hand clasped around her hoof a little tighter than she expected, her look shifted from confusion to dread.  “Wait, no!”

It was too late.  I dragged her into the remains of the cake with me and smeared a layer of frosting into her mane.  Her surprised squeal drowned out the onlookers’ surprised gasps.  I quickly pushed myself off the ground and left Lyra behind as I took a few teetering steps away.  She eventually pulled her head out of the cake and gave me an incredulous glare, but even beneath all the frosting, I could see the corners of her lips pulled up.

“Now this is on you,” I laughed before looking down to see the damage dealt.  There was more cake than clothes covering me.  My chuckles died down as I tried to wipe some of it off without staining it in.  “And me, and my clothes,” I admitted, resigning to taking at least my jacket off as damage control.  A narrow strip of cake still ran down my gray t-shirt, but it was better than what I had to begin with.  “Good grief, this is going to take forever to get out.  Don’t suppose anybody has a spare napkin… or twelve?”

Something soft and heavy slammed against the backside of my head and stuck as I turned around.  I scoffed, already knowing all too well what it was, and pulled the cake out of my hair. For a moment, I stood there staring at the cake in my hand before turning to face Lyra, standing defiantly still where I left her.  The few snickers fluttering among the crowd around me only fueled my response. 

“Alright, Heartstrings, I’ll play your game,” I challenged with a sneer.  I winded up and lobbed the cake back at her.  She was quick on the dodge, though, and my projectile found new targets in the crowd behind her.

I winced as it struck and their peers laughed.  A unicorn who had taken the most damage stepped forward, horn aglow.  Three hefty chunks of cake rose around Lyra, and the nameless unicorn’s eyes stared daggers into me.

“Hey, that’s— that’s cheating,” I squeaked.

My words fell on deaf ears, though.  I barely had time to drop to the ground.  One of the projectiles still struck my shoulder, and the other two went soaring back into the crowd, provoking a chorus of objections.

The party stood still.  The tension in the air was thick enough to cut.  Everyone eyed their neighbors maliciously while flicking their gaze back to the ruined cake.  Lyra and I suddenly realized we were caught in the eye of a fast-brewing storm.

“Alright everypony, let;s all settle down,” Pinkie tried vainly.  “Let’s get this mess all cleaned up, and I can bake another—”

Her attempts to quell the crowd were abruptly cut short as a pie exploded in her face.  Near one of the snack tables, Noteworthy shouted at the top of his lungs, “Everypony for themselves!”

Chaos erupted within the town hall as a stampede of ponies rushed to whatever pastries they could find.  Lyra and I were swallowed whole in the ocean of bodies as many of them rushed to the cake for ammunition.  I fought against the current, knowing full well that ground zero was about to become a no man’s land.  If I wanted to survive the night, I needed allies.

Pastries were already flying overhead before I made it even halfway to the snack table where I last saw Note.  I hoped he was still there somewhere; I lost sight of him among the moving bodies.  It felt as though I had a target on my back with the amount of food thrown directly at me.  It was hard to tell if this was what the proper Ponyville welcome was after all, or perhaps everyone just wanted to see if they could snag the Beast of the Everfree to brag about it later.  I had never seen them all worked in so much of a frenzy.  It was terrifying, and yet I couldn’t help but share the contagious smile that so brightly showed on everyone’s faces.  I was actually having fun.

By the time I had reached the table, most of the desserts had disappeared, save for a raspberry pie already missing a slice and a handful of cupcakes.  I couldn’t find my friend anywhere, but I didn’t have time to stand out in the open.  Grabbing the pie, I vaulted over the table and hid on the other side to give myself a chance to think.

What was I doing?  Did I have a plan?  A part of me was hoping to have back up, but it seemed as though I was running solo for the rest of the fiasco.  I looked at the pie and tried to think of a good face for a target.

Daisy?  Maybe; I couldn’t think of anything she had done to warrant singling her out.  Zecora?  Was she close?  I peeked over the table and had just enough time to spot her black and white stripes before having to duck back down from a flying cupcake.  She was close, and I could already come up with a few good jokes for it later.  I sat there for a few seconds trying to psych myself up, but my concentration broke as Lyra slid beneath the table and stopped next to me.

“Oh, hey!” Lyra panted, sounding just as surprised as I was.  “I was wondering where you went.  How’s the cake?”

I snorted.  “Oh, it tasted great.  Pretty sure I saw a hair in it, though.  Don’t recommend it.”

“You sure it wasn’t yours?”

I waved her off with a hand.  “Details.”

We laughed for a moment, and she shook her head.  “Real sorry that had to happen.  That cake sure looked nice, a lot nicer than I was expecting.”

“Yeah, well, we humans have a saying about having cakes and eating them,” I shrugged.  “Albeit a weird one if you asked me.”

Lyra fidgeted.  “So... you’re not mad?”

“Mad?” I chuckled.  “Why would I be mad?  It was an accident, right?”  She didn’t respond, and when I looked to her, her guilty eyes were trying desperately to look anywhere other than me.  “It was an accident, right?” I pressed.

“More or less,” she said dismissively.  When she caught on that I wasn’t satisfied with her answer, she quickly continued.  “I haven’t seen you at all since you left.  I checked the games, and Rainbow said she never saw you there.  I was worried you were having a hard time getting everypony to know you better, so I took a page out of an old book and tried to recreate my welcoming party with you.

“Pinkie rushed the cake out during mine, and it spilled right on top of me when she stopped.  Everypony laughed, we had a few jokes about it, and it felt like I grew a lot closer because of it.  But when I did it to you…”  She rubbed her foreleg embarrassingly.  “Well, there wasn’t a lot of laughter going on.  I realized I made a big mistake.  So…”  She finally gathered the nerves to look me in the eye.  “Not mad… right?”

Seeing her like that made my heart drop a bit.  I playfully slugged her in the shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.  “Hey, come on.  Quit acting like you don’t know me.  I can take a few pranks gone sour,” I reminded her.  “I’m not mad at ya.”

Her classic smile quickly returned, and she reached out and pulled me into a quick embrace.  “Thanks,” she said with a small squeeze.

“Don’t mention it,” I chuckled as we pulled away.  A pony squealed on the other side of the table, reminding me of where we were.  The raspberry pie was still in my hand.  “Besides,” I continued nonchalantly, “I’m sure you’ll get your just desserts for it sooner or later.”

Lyra was peeking over the table as I spoke, but she blinked and looked back to me.  “Wait, was that supposed to be a—”

Her question was abruptly cut off as I swung the pie into the side of her face.  I didn’t give myself time to relish the aftermath of my handiwork and quickly vaulted back over the table.  It must have taken Lyra a second to come back to her senses, and she soon called after me.

“You’re dead, Hunter!”

A childlike giggle escaped me.  I was probably in more trouble than I was willing to admit.  I spotted Zecora where I had last seen her, along with Daisy.  They were both hiding behind a couple of chairs, throwing their own stockpile of desserts deeper into the battlefield.  If ever there was a chance for allies, they would be my best bet right now.

I slid to a halt behind them, plucking up one of their cupcakes for myself.  “Guys, I need your help.”

“Hunter!” Zecora jumped.  “We’ve been looking for you!  After the cake fell, you disappeared from view.”

“Where have you been?” Daisy chimed in.

“Look, I can explain everything later,” I said quickly.  “But right now I need more firepower.  Lyra’s gone crazy, and I’m pretty sure she—”

“Gotcha!”

The wind was knocked out of my lungs as Lyra tackled me into the ground from the side.  I glanced up and struggled to contain my laughter.  Half of her face had disappeared behind a layer of raspberry filling and chunks of pie crust.  She gave me a malicious smirk and held a hoof out behind her.  “Daisy.  Pie.”

“Wait,” I wheezed.  “No, no, let’s talk about this!”

No sooner than when Daisy put the pie in Lyra’s hoof did she swing it into my face.  The world suddenly had an eerie smell and taste of pumpkins.  Her weight rolled off of me, and as I peeled the aluminum pan away from my face, she laughed next to me.

“Alright, now we can be even,” she smiled.

“Fine, fine,” I chuckled.  “You got me good.  Truce for the night?” I asked, holding out a hand.  She reached out and shook it, still giggling to herself, and her laughter was contagious.  Zecora and Daisy stood over us, giving each other a knowing look and smile.  I could only shake my head.  “It’s been a long night.”


<><><>


The food fight eventually died down, with all ammunition and energy fully spent.  The party slowly began drawing to a close with it.  Some ponies had already began leaving, admiring their “battle scars” with their friends as they tiredly shifted out.  It seemed as though no one was left unscathed, not even Pinkie’s stoic overseer.

Zecora was the first of our little clique to suggest returning home, and I couldn’t blame her.  I had spent enough nights in the Everfree to even think about treading its hazardous trails.  The thought of getting a good night’s rest seemed to resonate in all of us, too, and we decided to accompany her on the way out.  Only Fluttershy stayed behind, offering to help her other friends clean up from the mess the town had made in the hall.  If I had any energy left, I might have offered to help, too.

A clear, starry night welcomed us back into Ponyville, accompanied by a cool breeze.  My jacket was draped over my arm like a soiled rag, and after tonight, I feared it would soon become just that.  Daisy offered Zecora a room in her house for the night, to which Zecora seemed more than grateful.  They were the first to depart from out group, and soon Noteworthy bid us good night as he left for his home.

“I can’t wait to get some sleep,” Lyra yawned once we were alone.

“Yeah, me, too,” I nodded lazily.  I glanced at my jacket and chuckled lazily, holding it out.  “Think I might need to borrow a pillow though.”

Lyra snorted and shook her head.  “Just borrow half the bed while you’re at it,” she offered.  “I don’t think either of us could use the hardwood floor after tonight.”

“I don’t think I could argue even if I wanted to,” I said tiredly.  “Still, I’d hate to get cake on the sheets.”

“You think it’d be any cleaner if it was just me?” she challenged.  I glanced her over and realized she was just as bad as I was.  Raspberry filling kept her mane matted down in some areas, and though she had brushed away most of the crumbs, her coat was still covered in a patchy layer of frosting.

“Eh, touché,” I chuckled.

“Besides, I was already planning on changing those sheets out anyways,” Lyra continued dismissively.  We carried on for a moment in silence, and she eventually looked up to me.  “So, good party?”

I smiled to myself and looked up to the full moon with heavy eyes.  “Yeah,” I whispered tiredly.  “Best night ever.”
> Act II:  The Princess of the Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sapphire Shores sang a sweet melody from the phonograph in the living room as I scoured the kitchen for something to eat.  My bare feet couldn’t help but tap to the tune as I looked through the cupboard.  Bread, chips, peanut butter, flowers…  My stomach grumbled, and I agreed with it; a sandwich sounded amazing right now.

I moved to the fridge in search of jelly, a slight spring in my step as Sapphire broke into her chorus.  I realized how few pop songs I had listened to when I was home.  The only time I ever listened to the radio was whenever I was in a friend’s car, and she seemed to know them all by heart.  Still, it was easy to see why this album had become so popular here, even if it was ‘alien’, I thought with a chuckle.  Like back at home, the tune was catchy and already worming into my mind, and Bon-Bon had played this particular record enough for me to have learned most of the words.  If it wasn’t for my own self-control, I might have sung along with the music.  Then again… I did have the house to myself at the moment, and the tune was pretty catchy.

As usual, Bon-Bon had left early for work at one of Ponyville’s many sweet shops.  I swore, sugar must have been part of the ponies’ food pyramid from how much business she supposedly had.  Lyra was out running errands, to include a personal favor of mine.

When we woke up after the party, I quickly realized just how messy of a situation I had found myself.  We were both covered nearly head to toe in icing and cake and filling.  For her, removing the stains was as simple as taking a shower, albeit a very long one.  I, however, had it caked into my clothes as well as my hair, and it was far worse than the bed top.  The time I had feared was upon me, and I was so ill prepared.  My clothes needed to be washed.

It was my own paradox of modesty.  As much as I hated the stench of the Everfree that clung to them, I had nothing else to change into while they were being cleaned, and Bon-Bon didn’t have a personal washing machine to allow me to stay outside of the public eye without any spare clothes.

Thankfully, Lyra said she knew somebody, and while I took my shower, I set my clothes to the side and let her take them away to be cleaned and, hopefully, stitched up.  That was a few hours ago.  I wasn’t certain how long it would take to clean them, and it didn’t help that Lyra couldn’t fully grasp the necessity between humans and clothes.  I very well could have been stuck in the house all day.

I supposed it wasn’t such a horrible thing though, all things considered.  After a very eventful yesterday, I needed something of a lazy day to unwind.  Besides, no real plans were being missed today.  Job hunting could easily be picked back up tomorrow, and for my daily check-ins with the mayor, I was certain that even she was having a late start to her morning, her workplace having been used to stage last night’s fiasco.

Now, freshly cleaned from the shower and with a towel wrapped tightly around my waist, my hunger and boredom led me to the kitchen after setting a record to fill the silence.  I eventually gave in to music, starting with a small, slightly off-key hum that quickly evolved into full singing as my confidence grew.  I moved through the kitchen with a spring in my step to match the beat, and even as I put the finishing touches on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, my feet still tapped along.  I twirled on my heel to enter the dining room, just in time for Sapphire to reach the last chorus.

“Ey!  Just gotta spread your wings and— Bon-Bon!”

I yelped in surprise and nearly dropped my lunch as my secret audience revealed herself.  She couldn’t contain herself any longer.  Bon-Bon’s poorly contained grin broke into hysterical laughter, and she collapsed to the floor and rolled away from the living room doorway she was using as cover.

“Hun-Hunter?” she cackled loudly.  “What were you doing?!”

I could feel the blood rushing to my face, and I moved behind the counter in a poor attempt to hide away.  “What are you doing here?” I demanded, but my desperate tone only fueled her laughter.

“I live here!” she pointed out through her giggling.  She calmed down a hair, if only for a second.  Her eyes glanced downwards before meeting mine again, and she threw an accusing hoof and burst into another fit.  “Why are you wearing a dress?!”

“It’s a towel!” I shot back to defend myself.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she wheezed as she climbed back up to her hooves.  Bon-Bon fell onto the doorway for support and leaned in closer to me.  “Let me rephrase that, then.  Why are you wearing a towel as a dress?”

I ran my head into the counter, and my fingers combed through my hair.  “Oh my God,” I groaned under my breath.  As the record reached its end, Sapphire left me to fend for myself, and only Bon-Bon’s dying giggles filled the air.  Despite my burning face, I dared to look up pleadingly to the mare.  “How much did you see?” I asked desperately.

“Oh, more than enough,” she snickered.  “But don’t let me stop you from… oh, what was it you were singing?”  She shook her hips teasingly.  “‘Dance like nopony’s watching?’”

So, for a while.  I buried my face back into the granite countertop and scrunched my eyes, hoping that by sheer force of will I would be anywhere but here.  “What are you even doing here?” I whined.  “You don’t get off work until five.”

“I’m on my lunch break,” Bon-Bon explained, wiping a tear away from her eyes.  “I was going to go out to eat, but…  Oh, Celestia, I’m so glad I came here instead.”  She burst into another short fit of giggles and entered the dining room, making her way to the kitchen.

I grumbled beneath my breath and slid my sandwich across the countertop to her.  “Might as well take my lunch,” I offered.  “Kinda lost my appetite with the rest of my dignity.”

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Bon-Bon teased.  I stood back up and tightened the towel around my waist as she entered the kitchen with me.  “I didn’t mean to stare; I just haven’t seen you like this before.”

“What, half-naked and singing in your kitchen?” I asked as she opened the fridge.

“I meant happy,” she said with a smile.  “It’s a nice change; refreshing, almost.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I challenged.  “I’ve been in a good mood around you before.”

Bon-Bon shook her head and chuckled.  “Not like this.  You’ve come a long way out of your shell from when we first met.”  She paused and looked up to me, almost embarrassedly.  “Although, I suppose I wasn’t much help with that, was I?”

I snorted.  “Yeah, what was the first thing you said to me?”  I cleared my throat and gave my best impression, “‘Help!  The monster is in my house!’”

An open napkin flew into my face, cutting me off.  I snatched it away with a hand and found Bon-Bon giving me a playful smirk.  “Cut it out, I’m trying to apologize to you.”  I smiled and reached for my sandwich, taking a bite to leave the stage open for her.  She shook her head and looked off to the side with a fading grin, and a heavy sigh escaped her.

“I know I’ve been a little… cold to you since you first showed up,” she finally said, rubbing a hoof against her foreleg.  “It wasn’t anything against you, or it wasn’t intentionally.  I mean…”  She sighed again as she failed to find the right words.  “Lyra’s a very compassionate mare, but she’s also very compulsive,” Bon-Bon explained, looking up to me.  “Somepony has to watch out for her; Celestia knows she won’t.  With all the rumors I had heard around town, I was very… suspicious about you, and worried for her.

“I’m glad I was wrong about you, though,” she smiled.  “And I’m sorry I was to begin with.  I should have taken Lyra’s advice and gotten to know you rather than listen to everypony who hadn’t; because just a few minutes ago, I could have mistaken you for any other pony in town.  Some days it’s hard to tell if Lyra’s rubbing off on you or if that’s just the kind of pony you already were.”  She caught what she said and chuckled, “Well, in a manner of speaking.”

“I… wow.”  I set the half-eaten sandwich back down and leaned against the counter, almost at a loss for words.  “Thanks, Bon-Bon, that…  I really appreciated that.”

A brief moment passed, and I drummed my fingers against the countertop, wondering if I should press my luck.  “So…  I don’t suppose this means you won’t be telling Lyra about that little… thing earlier?”

Bon-Bon’s composure broke with a snort.  “Oh no, I am so telling her.”

“Come on,” I groaned.  “I really don’t think she needs the extra ammunition against me right now.  Please don’t tell Lyra.”

“Don’t tell Lyra what?”

My tongue got caught in my throat.  I looked up to find Lyra standing in the doorway to the dining room, my clothes resting on her back.  She paused when she saw me, and her confusion quickly morphed to twisted glee.  She brought up a hoof to cover her snickering face.

“Hunter?”  Her voice had more control than it had any right to.  “Why are you wearing a dress?”

“Oh, for chrissake, it’s a towel!”



	<><><>


I had never been more thankful to have been raised with brothers.  My face was still burning from embarrassment, even as the cool autumn breeze brushed against it as I walked through Ponyville.  Apparently, the mayor was looking for me, and as soon as Lyra told me, I took the chance to throw on my clothes and get out of the house and away from the humiliation.  But as much as I wanted to pull back the clock and save myself from the embarrassment, a small part of me couldn’t help but laugh with them, too.

The walk to the town hall was always long.  It was only a few minutes away from Lyra and Bon-Bon’s house, but the stares from passing ponies always seemed to make it drag out longer.  But today felt different.

Eyes still lingered on me from time to time as I walked through town, but they weren’t of their usual, distrustful nature.  Some of them came with a smile, a small warmth to help chase away the cool breeze.  A couple even waved as I passed by, familiar strangers I thought I recognized from last night.  I sheepishly returned it, after looking to make sure it was me they were waving too.  They chuckled with each other, but somehow a part of me knew it wasn’t meant to scorn.

I paused halfway across the bridge to the town square and took in a refreshing breath.  The town hall waited patiently at the other end.  It was still early in the afternoon, and many ponies were milling about.  My presence earned second glances from most of them, but that was the end of it.  There were no suddenly hushed conversations paired with the cursory glances; no one hurried along at the sight of me.  It was as if I wasn’t the Beast of the Everfree in their eyes… and since last night, for the first time they weren’t the town that wanted me dead in mine.  Everything felt so… normal.

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought, but the more I dwelled on it, the more something gnawed deep inside.  As I watched the ponies go about their lives, my soft grin started to fade.  This wasn’t really normal, was it?  Normal was home.  Normal was with actual people, with friends, with family.  No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, the truth was always glaring me in the eye.

I blinked and wiped my hand across my brow, and my eyes lingered on the film of sweat it collected.  Where did that come from?

I tried to shake my head from the thought, but it lingered with me as I continued down the bridge.  My mind kept wandering home.  Was my family doing the same as me; pretending everything was normal, hoping that someday it really would be?  It almost felt unfair being here, in the relative safety and peace of this town.  They probably thought I was dead, and I was stuck here while they were all worried sick.

Oh God, what was I doing to them?

I had the handle to the town hall’s front door clutched in a death grip as it barred my path.  My heart felt as though it was skipping a beat.  I took in a breath and slowly pushed it out, forcing these thoughts back wherever they came from.  Any day now, I told myself.  Any day now, and the Princess would return with good news.  Any day now, and I would be back home, and it would be like nothing had ever happened.

My grip around the handle slackened as I calmed myself down, and I started thinking about what waited for me on the other side.  A part of me hoped that this meeting with the mayor wouldn’t be as mundane as Lyra made it out to be; I needed something to keep my mind occupied for a while.  I took in one more breath to recompose myself and pulled open the doors.

I wanted to say the first thing I noticed was how clean the atrium was or how the mayor was already there as opposed to her office, but it was the company she had with her that stole my attention.  Two stallions, clad in dark armor, one of which had featherless wings much unlike normal pegasi.  They tensed when they saw me, but I couldn’t blame them; old habits were resurfacing for me as well.  One of the strangers stood above them all, quite literally as well.

She was tall, maybe only a head shorter than me, and had both wings and a horn.  Ornate, silver shoes covered her hooves, and a large, black necklace clung to her neck, depicting a crescent moon.  Spots of silver peppered her deep blue mane, and it moved to a nonexistent breeze, giving it the appearance of a living galaxy of stars.  I couldn’t help but remember the last creature that looked the same.  Her teal eyes locked on to mine, and her soft smile faded away as whatever conversation I walked into quickly died off.

The mayor was gracious enough to break the silence before it drug on.

“Ah, Hunter, I wasn’t expecting you so soon,” she chirped.

“I, um…”  I tore my eyes away from the taller mare.  “I heard you were looking for me,” I explained.  My eyes flickered back.  “But, um, it looks like you’re busy.  I can come back another time.”

“No, stay; we insist.  We were just speaking of you,” the stranger explained with a silvery voice.  “My sister sends her apologies.  She meant to be here herself, but her duties called her elsewhere, and she sent me in her stead.”  The guards relaxed at her tone, but it only left me with questions.

“Your… sister?” I asked.

“Oh, you don’t know,” the mayor said absently, as though something just dawned on her.  She quickly shook her head and smiled.  “No, of course you probably wouldn’t.  Allow me to introduce you.  Hunter, this is Princess Luna, Celestia’s younger sister and Princess of the Night.”

The Princess looked up to me and nodded her head.  “A pleasure,” she smiled.  “My sister has spoken much of you.”

My words were caught in my throat as my mind reeled.  How did I not notice that crown? I scolded myself, finally seeing the small black tiara nestled between her horn and mane.  “I, um, Princess—  I mean, Your Highness, I didn’t mean…  I didn’t realize that—”

“Ah, there’s the silver tongue my sister warned me of,” the Princess said teasingly.  “I was wondering if I would have a chance to hear it.”

“Oh, she’s got jokes,” I chuckled painfully to myself.  Her guards snickered over my stammering, and I took a step back and looked away, hoping to hide some of my embarrassment.  “I don’t suppose the Princess— I mean, your sister had any more to say about me other than that?” I asked hopefully.

She chuckled, but it quickly died with her soft grin.  “Yes, she has,” the princess said more solemnly.  “She told me of your plight since you first arrived…  and I cannot apologize enough.”

“Please, don’t,” I cut in, holding up a hand.  “You had nothing to do with it.”

“All the same, you have my sympathies,” she assured me.  “I know it can be… difficult integrating into a new culture.  It was a pleasant surprise to see the progress you have made.  Unfortunately, I wish my sister sent me with better tidings.  The search for your home is still ongoing.  Our finest have already combed through half of the forest, if the reports are true.  My sister suspects it won’t be long now until we find your home.”

What a pleasant way to say they can’t find anything, a voice rattled in my head.

I fidgeted uncomfortably but managed to force a gracious smile.  “Thank you.  I’m sure they’re doing everything they can,” I added, more so to my own little interloper.  I retreated back a small step.  If there was about to have another mental argument, I didn’t want it to be here.  “Was that all you needed me for?”

“There was one more thing we wanted to discuss,” the mayor said.  “Have you heard of Nightmare Night yet?”

I frowned.  “Um, yeah, once or twice in passing with my friends.  I’m not too certain what it is, though.  It’s a holiday, right?”

“That’s correct!” she chirped happily.  “It’s one of our most popular celebrations, as a matter of fact.  For hundreds of years, we’ve celebrated it to…”  Her words trailed, and she glanced to Princess Luna, looking somewhat embarrassed.  “Um…”

“To celebrate,” Princess Luna cut in quickly.  “And to have fun!  We’d hate to bore you with the history of it, truly.”  Why did it sound like that last bit wasn’t directed to me?

The mayor coughed into her hoof.  “Of course, Princess.  But in case you haven’t heard yet, Hunter, it’s a night where ponies dress in disguises and give candy to the foals.  I’m sure that must sound like a strange tradition to an outsider like yourself.”

I blinked.  The similarities this holiday had with another back home was surreal.  “Not necessarily,” I shook my head.

“That is pleasant to hear,” Princess Luna smiled.  “We were hoping you would like to partake in the festivities.”

“As a chaperone to one of the attractions,” the mayor added.  “The haunted wagon ride, specifically.”

“‘Haunted’?  You want me to be a part of an attraction meant to scare people?” I frowned.  “Doesn’t that sound a little… counterproductive?”

“On the contrary, ponies like being frightened on this night,” the Princess offered with a smile.  “They think it’s fun!”

“Princess Luna and I were discussing the possibility before you walked in and agreed it would be a wonderful opportunity to get you involved in some of our local traditions before you leave.  That, and we were hoping your expertise would make everypony feel more comfortable.”

I held up my hands to slow her down.  “Hey, with all due respect, I appreciate you thinking of me, but I’ve never chaperoned a haunted hay ride before.”

“What?  Oh, no, not that,” the mayor chuckled.  “I was referring more towards your experience with the Everfree Forest.  The path of the haunted ride traditionally goes through a small section of it.  It would be nice if—”

“No.”  My blood ran cold at the first mention of the forest.  My jaw had only just then unclamped itself.  “Look, if you want my technical expertise about that forest, just… just stay away from it.  Nothing in there is worth the trouble.”

Not even home?

I shuddered.  You know that’s not what I meant, I bit back.

The mayor looked disappointed.  “Hunter, I am aware that you probably don’t have the best of memories there, but I can assure you, this section is well trodden and has been used for this very attraction for as long as I can remember.  If ever there was a safe area of the Everfree, this would be it.”

“Should it ease your troubled mind, I would send some of my guards to ensure its safety,” Princess Luna assured me.  The guards behind her didn’t appear too enthused about the idea, but they did not make any complaints.  My head was still reeling, looking for any excuse to weasel my way out of this politely.

“There has to be someone more suited for this than me,” I tried to reason.  “Zecora.”

“She has already agreed to be a chaperone as well,” the mayor nodded.

“Along with two other capable mares,” Princess Luna added.  “Not to mention myself.”

“All you would have to do is drive them a short distance into the forest with Macintosh, drop the foals off in a designated spot, and return with the wagon,” the mayor continued.  “The other chaperones will lead the foals back on hoof through the haunted maze we have already set up.”

I fidgeted uncomfortably on the spot as they searched for an answer.  I wanted to say no; I really did, but it felt like I was outnumbered, and the authority of the Princess’ crown was overwhelming.  A part of me felt it wouldn’t be wise to refuse a request of one of the leaders of the kingdom that took me in, either.  

My hand shot up to cover my mouth to keep me from saying anything I wasn’t fully committed to.  My eyes darted over to the guards behind Princess Luna, and I remembered the ones that accompanied her sister.  If one of their princesses was going to partake in the attraction, surely they would do everything in their power to ensure her safety.  The thought did give me a small comfort.  With Zecora there as well…

I let my hand fall as I took in a deep breath and sighed it out.  “Sure.  I mean—  Yes, Your Highness, I can help with it.”

The mayor appeared relieved, and a smile graced the Princess’ face.  She extended a wing out to me; the feather tips lightly brushed against my shoulder.

“Thank you, Hunter Grey.  I can tell that this is not a decision you made lightly,” Princess Luna noted.  “Again, I would like to assure you that your safety is of the utmost importance to me, as is your enjoyment of the festivities.”  Her wing retracted back to her side, and she stood a little taller.  “Until then, I will bid you a good day.  The mayor and I still have much to discuss of the celebration.  Should I hear of any developments of your home, I shall send for you personally.”

“Feel free to come by tomorrow if you want to continue our little meetings, Hunter,” the mayor added.  “Nightmare Night won’t be for another week, but if you would like to help with decorations, I might have some jobs for you.”

“I…  Of course,” I stammered.  With an awkward bow to the Princess, I retreated to the front doors of the town hall, trying desperately to keep a modest pace in spite of the beating drum in my chest.  Maybe I was just in desperate need of fresh air.

I pushed the door open and gasped for breath.  The pounding in my ears wouldn’t silence.  My gaze was lured towards the Everfree Forest.  Though half of the town obscured it from view, I could still feel its presence, like a thorn stuck in my side.  I could feel it crawling toward me, or was something in me crawling towards it?

My eyes screwed shut, and I forced myself to breathe.  Slowly, ever so slowly, the cadence began to fade.  I was safe, and I was going to be safe.  When I opened my eyes, I found myself far away from the manticores and the hydras and the timberwolves, though there were a few curious stares from the ponies.  I took in a deep breath and released it with a snort.  Overthinking was going to be the death of me.

As I turned and walked away, a voice whispered in my ear.

Home is calling us, Hunter.
> Act II:  A Nightmare of a Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hunter, wake up.”

I grumbled and rolled further into the couch, hoping the noise would go away.  Lyra had recommended that I take a nap before the haunted hayride, just to ease my nerves.  She noticed how jittery I was becoming as tonight drew closer, and I was all too eager to agree.  Unfortunately, most of my rest was spent fending off nightmares.  It wasn’t until recently that they finally settled. 

“Hunter,” the voice persisted.  A hoof pressed on my back and gave me a small shove.  “You need to get up.  The festival’s going to start soon.”

I grumbled again and opened a tired eye.  Bon-Bon’s blurry figure appeared horizontally before me.  My second eye opened, and her image became sharper.  Two fangs protruded from the corners of her lips.

“Alright,” I yawned.  “Gimme a sec.”  I pushed myself up and swing my legs back off of the couch.  My head was murky from the rest, so I shook it until I had a firmer grip on reality.  “Where’s Lyra?”

“She left a while ago to pick Sweetie Belle up from the Boutique,” Bon-Bon explained.  “She asked me to wake you up before the Nightmare Night festival.”

“She told me she was going to wake me herself before she left.”  I rubbed away the last of the sleep from my eyes.  “Thanks, though.  Is the face paint still in the bathroom?”

“Yes, it should be right where you left it,” she nodded.  “Do you need any help with it?  I remember you said you’ve never really used it before, and I’d hate for you to be tardy trying to get your costume on.”

I hesitated.  “Um, yeah, that might be smart, actually.  You’re a bit more of an expert on this stuff than I am.”

“A little more complicated than dresses, isn’t it?” she teased.

“Somewhere between that and saddles,” I added without skipping a beat.

There was a pause, and Bon-Bon snorted.  With a contagious smile and a shake of her head, she began retreating back into the kitchen, where a sweet aroma was beginning waft from.  “Go ahead and get started,” she said with a chuckle.  “I need to check on the sweets; no telling when the foals will start knocking.  I’ll be up there in a bit.”

I allowed myself a quick stretch as I stood and began my march upstairs.  Each step helped jar my head just enough to shake away whatever drowsiness I still had.  The light was left on in the bathroom, and the chair I had carried up earlier in the morning was still in the corner I had left it.  I pulled it up to the sink where an array of makeup and brushes sat patiently and set to work.

Bon-Bon had given me tips the other night on how to start.  It wouldn’t be too difficult, she claimed, trying to make myself pale as the undead, but should I manage to mess up, a few errors and discolorations would probably work in my favor.  I started at the base of my neck, hiding away any traces of life with a layer of gray paint, and worked my way up.  Before long, Bon-Bon appeared next to me in the mirror and offered to cover the back of my neck and add a few extra details.  A touch of blue and some splashes of red created new bruises and gouges, and soon the only sign that I hadn’t died from a tragic accident was the life still shining brightly in my eyes.

“Wow, you’re actually really good with this,” I commented as she added one last shade beneath my jawline.

“Thanksh.”  She plucked the brush out of her teeth and tried again.  “Thanks; I ran a face painting booth on Nightmare Night for a while.  Most of the time, foals just wanted something simple like a manticore or a rodent, but every now and then somepony wanted something a little more sinister.”

“Well, color me impressed,” I added as the corpse in the mirror mimicked my movements.  “I think you really outdid yourself.”

Bon-Bon allowed herself a proud smile.  “I appreciate the praise.  Now, up you go.  Count Bon-Bon needs a few finishing touches herself, and you need to hurry to the festival.  I’m sure they’re going to start the hay ride any moment now.”

My heart nearly skipped a beat as I glanced at the clock.  She was right.  I darted out of the bathroom and made it halfway down the stairs before remembering something on my mental checklist.  Doubling back up the stairs, I jogged into Lyra’s room where my hatchet waited for me on the nightstand.  In spite of everyone’s assurance that the path through the Everfree was safe, I couldn’t shake the dread of returning to that forsaken forest.  My hatchet offered me a small comfort, knowing I had survived for so long with it since the beginning.  As I tethered it to the rope belt around my jeans and its familiar weight tugged against my waist, I felt a burden lift from my chest, and a part of me felt as though I had regained a sliver of control.

With one final check in Lyra’s personal mirror, I set out to leave the house.  “Alright, I’m heading out!” I called out to Bon-Bon.

“Alright, be careful, Hunter!” she replied from the bathroom.  “Have fun!”

I opened the door and entered the darkening streets of Ponyville.  With the sun retreating behind the hills on the horizon and its last rays of light dying out, the shadows of the town began to stretch, beckoning the creatures of the night into its cold streets.  Everyone, young and old, was in costume, ranging from bedsheet ghosts to juggling clowns to even other bloodied zombies.  The decor for the festival seemed to now be in full effect.  Silly looking spiders looked much more real in the shadows, and the cobwebs had a better impression in the moonlight.

Games were strewn all across Ponyville, centered mostly within the town square, attracting most of the kids who weren’t too busy harvesting candy.  Many of the adults had gathered before a stage with a live band performing.  Some outdoor snacks were supplied near the stage, and I thought I saw Applejack managing them.  I remembered the last time I had been near so many desserts, though, and with a smile, I decided it was best to not take a short detour.

My faint smile was short lived, however.  As I entered the park and the number of ponies began to dwindle, there was little to take my mind away from the Everfree Forest that loomed on the other side.  Its dark trees swayed in the sun’s dying light with the breeze, making it appear more alive than it had any right to.  Despite my friends’ constant assurances that all would be well, I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in my gut that something would go wrong.

The carriage I would be spending the next few hours with waited for me at the edge of the forest, along with the silhouettes of the other volunteers.  My heart lifted when I recognized Zecora hiding beneath a burlap cloak, but it sank just as quickly when I saw the rest.  Tufts of puffy, pink hair peeled out of the jaws of a bright green alligator that hopped excitedly around the carriage.  Pinkie’s demeanor had been steadily improving since the party a week ago, so much so that I almost preferred her when she was moping.  She was relentless in her crusade to “make everything up” for me, and though my friends didn’t mind receiving the sweets she had given to me for free, I couldn’t help but dread whatever she might have had in store for tonight.

A mummified Macintosh was settling into the reins of the carriage, aided by an all too familiar and colorful pegasus.  I realized the last time I had seen the stallion was long before I came to stay in Ponyville, even longer since we last spoke, and those words were as cold as the air tonight.  With the one exception, I made a point of not visiting Sweet Apple Acres, mostly out of guilt or embarrassment.  I was convinced it was sheer luck that his sister and I were able to bury the hatchet so well, and I could only hope that Applejack had been able to put in a few good words for me since.

Most of Rainbow’s mane was stuffed away beneath a pith hat as she worked to help Macintosh with his harness, and one of her wings was bandaged and pinned against an olive-green vest.  I couldn’t help but frown.  Not much had changed between us since the party, aside from the fact that now she too seemed to be avoiding me at all costs.  A part of me assumed that it was due to her “confession” that we still hadn’t spoken of since the party, and I began to wonder if she even knew that I would be here.

I paused before meeting the group.  One person was missing, the same one responsible for orchestrating this event. Where was—

“Hail, Hunter Grey!” a voice like thunder boomed next to me, and I nearly jumped out of my own skin.  I doubled over in an attempt to calm my beating heart, which was pounding so hard it threatened to leap from my chest.  “Oh, forgive my excitement, Hunter,” Princess Luna continued; this time in a much more acceptable volume.  “‘Twas not my intent to frighten you.”

“Startled,” I squeaked out, trying and failing to salvage my dignity.  I sucked in a deep breath and stood back up, only to sigh it out as Zecora and Pinkie giggled to each other.  “Just startled me,” I insisted.

The Princess had a playful smile as she passed me, and I slowly followed in tow as she approached the group.  “Now that everypony is here, the merriment shall finally commence!  Do we all remember our parts?”

“Yeah,” I nodded as we all formed a circle around the carriage.  “Macintosh and I are in charge of getting everyone into the forest and dropping them off.”

“From where we take our gathered creatures of the night and lead them through the forest maze of fright,” Zecora added.

“Where myself and some of my guards will be waiting to give the foals a quick scare before they are sent back to Ponyville,” Princess Luna finished contently.  “And not to worry, Hunter, I have plenty of guards watching over the trails both leaving and returning to Ponyville, and they know where I am.  Should they believe for whatever reason that the forest is unsafe, they will let me know immediately, and the attraction shall close.”

I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding with her words.  One last bit of encouragement didn’t hurt my nerves.  They were already on edge from being this close to the forest.

“Now, let us embark on our adventure of mischief and fright!” she continued.  She directed a hoof to Big Macintosh.  “Macintosh, art thou ready to proceed?”

“Eeyup.”

“Then let us entertain the masses!”

A small cheer broke out from the group, and Pinkie grabbed Rainbow and pulled her out towards the town.  “Come on, Dashie!  The sooner we gather some foals, the sooner we can start!”

Rainbow Dash chuckled fiendishly.  “Yeah, and the sooner we get to give them a scare.  Oh, do I have some ideas.”

Zecora smiled to herself and followed after then.  I only wished I could share her enthusiasm.  With the mystery chaperones revealed, tonight was bound to be a test of my nerves.  As Macintosh wheeled the carriage around and left me and the Princess alone, I cleared my throat to grab her attention.

“Um, Princess?” I coughed.  “If you don’t mind me asking…”

“Not at all, Hunter Grey,” she replied, facing me with curiosity.  “Please, what troubles you?”

I struggled to find the right words to say.  “It’s just…  Why Rainbow and Pinkie?” I asked bluntly.  “Not to insult you or anything if this was your call, but…  Well, we’re still not exactly on the best of terms.”

Her faint smile faded away, and she nodded solemnly.  “Ah, yes.  I am aware,” she confessed.  “Pardon me, Hunter; I meant not to deceive you if those are your thoughts, but there are few I trust more than them.  My original intention was to bring Twilight Sparkle.  However, I was told the relations between the two of you are much more… volatile.”  She paused, as if to study me for any reaction.  I didn’t look her in the eyes.  It had been a long time since I had seen Twilight, even just around the town.  I couldn’t have been more grateful of the fact, but it did little to help my festering thoughts whenever she was brought up. 

“Besides, it would appear as though she would have been unable to come regardless,” Princess Luna continued.  “She was far too busy with a project tasked by my sister; though I fear her deadline is fast on approach.”

“Project?” I frowned.

“So it would seem, but it is not my place to speak of it.  Perhaps you could ask her yourself.”  She left her comment open, seeking for a response, but in my following silence, she accepted that I wasn’t going to continue to pry.

“Very well,” she conceded.  “I suppose it is time for me to hide.  Please remember though, Hunter; this is a time for enjoying yourself.  Do not allow your thoughts of Pinkie and Rainbow steal from the merriment.  All will be well.  Now, where did I put those fangs?  Ah there they are.”  She put a pair of plastic vampire teeth in her mouth and moved her jaw experimentally.  “Until next time, Hunter Grey.  Fare thee well!”

As she trotted towards the forest, her body was illuminated by a brilliant white light.  After I blinked the flash away, I was surprised to find that the Princess was gone.  A much taller pony with a jet-black coat and a blue, ethereal mane stood in her place.  White specs floated freely inside her mane as if underwater.  Blue armor covered her hooves.  A crescent moon marked her mantle, and a slick, blue helmet covered her head.  She paused at the edge of the treeline and gave me a quick wink and a smile before entering.

I stood dumbfounded for a moment, and an impressed chuckle escaped me.  “Now that was a costume.”


	<><><>


Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Zecora managed to corral an impressive crowd for the ride, and it wasn’t just foals.  Some mares and stallions that seemed to be looking for a good scare, too.  I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and climbed into the carriage.  For a moment, I couldn’t tell what I was more nervous of, the Everfree or the crowd.

Throughout the night, the ponies boarded the carriage in groups of eight, and the chaperones took rotating turns watching over them.  Zecora was the only break I had for my sanity, and I felt more at ease when she was in the carriage with me.  We were able to play off each other and set the atmosphere together, preparing the other ponies for their long march back to Ponyville.

After her would always follow Rainbow Dash in the next group, and our chemistry couldn’t have been any more of a stark contrast.  We hardly spoke, but the ambient sounds of the forest were able to pick up our slack and put the ponies on edge.  I could tell she wanted to be in the carriage with me no more than I wanted to with her.

I had the opposite problem with Pinkie; she wouldn’t quit talking.  It wouldn’t have been near as much as a problem if she could remember that the point of the ride was to scare them.  She was too much of a comedian, yet oddly enough, whenever I saw her groups emerge from the forest as I waited for the next to load up, they always seemed to be screaming the most.  Perhaps it was just luck.

We were deep into the night, and so far, every ride had gone without a hitch.  My paranoia of the forest slowly died with every safe return, and the hatchet that rested lazily against my waist felt lighter and lighter because of it.  The foals were enjoying themselves.  The adults were enjoying themselves.  Even I was enjoying myself.

 I had lost track of how many groups we had run through.  Pinkie Pie was currently chaperoning a smaller group of six, of which only one was an adult.  As usual, she spoke more than enough for the both of us, but near the end, she began complaining about a sharp pain in her knees.  She kept stealing confused glances behind us, as though she was expecting something to be there, only to return to massaging and complaining once again.

“My humble apologies, fillies and colts, but I'm afraid this is as far as we take you,” I announced, reciting the line Zecora and I had been working on the last few rotations.  Pinkie hopped off the carriage and herded everyone else off.  “You are going to have to take the rest of this journey on hoof.  Beware of the creatures that lurk in the shadows, and stay close together; it would be such a pity to lose one of you.”  The foals were shaking like a leaf, their eyes darting to any shadow that moved in the cold, midnight breeze.  

“Until we meet again,” I called as Big Macintosh turned the carriage around.  “That is, if you survive!”

Macintosh reared up on his hind legs and sprinted forward, carrying us away from the terrified foals.  We raced through the Everfree, the cold wind feeling like sharp pin pricks against my face.  Only when we broke the treeline did we slow down.

“Hey, good job again, man,” I praised him as we wheeled around to the next group.  “Need a break or anything?  You’ve been going nonstop all night.”

“Nope.”

I winced a bit.  He hadn’t spoken much all night, save for the few single word responses.  It was impossible to tell what he was thinking about, especially towards me.  I tried to push it out of my mind though.  It was going to be a long enough night as it was without worrying if Macintosh and I had buried the proverbial hatchet.

There was a large line eagerly waiting for their turn on the haunted hayride.  Zecora stood patiently at the front, flanked by the next group of passengers.  As Big Macintosh brought us to a stop, she helped some of the younger foals onto the carriage.  I scanned the crowd of costumed ponies, and something felt missing.

“Zecora, where’s Rainbow?” I asked.  The pegasus wasn’t anywhere in sight; neither was her party of foals.  She should have returned by now.

“Her exact location?  I am not sure.  Perhaps she is taking a small detour,” Zecora offered.

“This is the third time,” I groaned.  “I have half a mind to tell her off next time I see her.”

“She is giving the foals some extra fright,” Zecora pointed out.  “After all, this is her favorite night.  Just give her another minute or two, and I’m sure she will come back from the blue.”

I huffed and looked back at the waiting ponies.  There was nothing that could be done about it.  Rainbow did seem to take some twisted pleasure in going the extra mile to frighten everyone in her groups.  All I could do was run this group through the forest and hope she was back when I returned.

With a shake of my head, I returned my attention back to the new group.  Zecora was helping the last foal in, and there was no point in waiting any longer.  “Alright, Mac, looks like they’re all in.  Let’s cut a trail.”

The carriage lurched forward as Macintosh started pulling.  As we neared the forest, I gave the crowd one last look, hoping Rainbow would get over herself and arrive on time for once, but as we entered the trees, she was still nowhere to be seen.

The canopy of branches strangled the moonlight trying to reach us; our only reliable source of light was the lantern that shook and swayed with the carriage.  Most of the ride had been completed in silence, which was unnatural for me and Zecora.  She must have noticed my head was somewhere else.

“So, have you kids been enjoying yourselves this frightful night?” I asked the group, trying to keep my mind on track.

“Totally!” a colt dressed loosely like a conquistador exclaimed.  “This is one of the best Nightmare Nights so far.  I got so much candy; I can make it last for weeks!”  I stole a glance back and found him proudly displaying a small bucket filled to the brim.

Zecora chuckled fondly to herself and leaned forward, allowing the lantern light of the carriage to mark her face with deep shadows.  “My, my, so impressive you’ve gathered so many sweets this soon,” she said hauntingly.  “I am sure they will make an excellent gift to Nightmare Moon.”

The colt gulped and held his treasure closely against his barrel.  “D-Do you really think…  Is Nightmare Moon really here?”

“Oh, there’s all manners of beasts and monsters out tonight,” I commented.  “Far more than I’ve ever seen in my time here.  There’s no telling what you might find hiding in the trees.”

The little conquistador began shaking in his boots, wound so tightly that he might have jumped to the slightest “boo”.  The carriage hit a divot in the path, and with the sudden jump, the foal snapped.  With a squeal, he sent his bucket of candy into the air, and we all watched as it sailed before falling far behind us.

“My candy!”

“Hey, hey, calm down,” I said, covering the distance and grabbing him as he tried to clamber over the railing.  With a poorly stifled chuckle, I sat the colt back down and called to the front of the carriage.  “Macintosh, slow down a bit. We have some sweets overboard.”

As the carriage began to slow to a halt, I placed my foot against the back rail and hopped off.  A small chill came over me; this was the first time my feet had touched Everfree soil in a long time.  Just grab the candy and get back in the cart, I told myself.

I could just barely see the bucket at the edge of the carriage’s lantern light.  Behind me, the ponies whispered ominously, but the deafening silence of the forest threatened to drown them out in my ears.  Weren’t there crickets before?  And owls and small rodents, too?  My hatchet began weighing heavily against my side, but I didn’t dare touch it and verify my paranoia.

My hands couldn’t move fast enough as I dropped to a knee and scooped the lost candy back into the bucket.  There was probably more dirt than candy shoveled back in during my haste. As the last gumdrop fell into the bucket, I snapped back up to my feet and rushed back to the cart.  As I left, I could have sworn I heard a noise, and I froze stiff.

The forest was still.  Even the ponies in the carriage had stopped speaking to eye me with concerned curiosity.  I felt my hand reach down, ever so slowly, and grip my hatchet just beneath its cold head.  My ears strained to hear the sound again, any sound, to deny the suspicion growing like a lump in my throat.

A second passed.

A minute.

There was a cough, ragged and strained.  It couldn’t have been from an animal, but that only helped my nerves so much.  Why was someone hiding off the beaten path of the trail?

“Hunter?”

My eyes flicked back to the carriage. Zecora looked like she was about to climb out after me.  I held out a hand to stop her and moved cautiously to the brush.

Don’t pretend to be naïve, Hunter, a voice whispered in the back of my head.  I dropped the bucket at my feet and pulled the hatchet out of its makeshift sheathe.  You know firsthand how dangerous this place can be.

“Someone there?” I asked quietly.

I almost heard a word, but it was quickly cut off by another fit of coughs deeper into the trees.  I held my hatchet close to my chest, and my free hand pushed aside the brush.  Zecora called my name once more as I delved deeper into the Everfree.

The infrequent coughing became my guide as I slowly crept further into the trees.  I thought I could hear a faint thrashing sound in between.  For a moment, the noises fell silent, and I began to worry that I had lost the source.  I gathered my nerves and offered one more call as I pushed aside the brush in front of me.  “Hello?”

A wet cough sounded next to me.  My eyes snapped to the noisemaker, and I nearly jumped when I saw the mangled guard lying under a tree

He looked as though he had gotten into a fight with a bear and lost.  Dozens of claw marks glinted across his mantle in the moonlight.  His hindleg was shredded and covered in bites, and his leathery wings were tattered beyond use, staining his armor crimson.  The dark helmet on his head was dented, and its plume was disheveled.  A dark stream wound down his face, its source hidden beneath the helmet.  His forelegs were wrapped tightly around a knot of roots clustered around his throat.

And the roots began to snarl and shift.

The guard’s eyes fluttered open and landed on me.  His breathing became more labored as he struggled to inhale through the wolf’s jaws clamped around his neck.  He moved his lips to make words, but all that came out were wet coughs and weak grunts.  He closed his eyes, took in a deep, ragged breath, and shouted at the top of his strained lungs.

“There’s more!  Run!”

Ice raced through my veins.  Two sickly, yellow eyes glared at me from the guard’s neck, and with a snarl, it clamped tighter and thrashed.  My mind was in overdrive.  My body couldn’t interpret the torrent of orders my brain was screaming at it.  Only as a branch snapped next to me did my legs finally decide to work.

I raced through the trees as fast as I could.  A ragged panting chased after me, accompanied by that accursed growl I prayed I would never hear again.  A shadow flashed to my left.  I barely caught the mangled silhouette of a timberwolf.

My heart pounded like a drum.  My eyes were darting for some sign of familiarity while I sprinted.  I couldn’t have been too far away from the trail.  Maybe if I just took this next turn.

I broke through the trees and fought against my momentum to stop.  The carriage was off to my side, its passengers staring at me with confused and worried eyes.  I heard the timberwolf growling again, and another chill washed over me.

“We need to get out of here now!” I yelled as I raced to the ponies.  The foals were beginning to panic.  As I dashed to the front, I could hear them murmur amongst themselves in hushed, frightened voices.  “I said now, dammit!  Move your ass, Mac!”  The large stallion was about to protest, but as he turned to glare at me, his eyes widened at something behind me.  I barely had time to get in the carriage by the time he sprinted away with it.

The carriage was in chaos.  The foals were shrieking for Macintosh to run faster, and Zecora was trying vainly to calm them down.  I was trying desperately to anchor my mind to the rest of my body.  We were going the wrong way, I realized with horror.  Macintosh never had the time to turn around.  We were going deeper into the Everfree Forest.

I dared to steal a glance of our pursuers.  A pair of timberwolves, not too far behind, were keeping pace with us and inching closer ever so slowly.  Their wild, luminescent eyes were trained on me, and their rabid barks were only rivaled by the foals’ screams.  Sooner or later, they were going to catch us.  Macintosh would tire out eventually from the weight of the carriage and its passengers, and we would all be dead meat within minutes.

Unless Macintosh had a diversion.

“Hey, get ready to turn around,” I called over his pounding hooves.

Don’t do it.  You will get yourself killed.

I stood from the front of the carriage, struggling to keep my balance on the uneven path.  Look, I’m still trying to convince myself to do this.  You’re not helping.

Good.  It’s a horrible plan, it spat in my head.

If I don’t do this, everyone will get killed, I argued, carefully stepping past the ponies to the back.  It’s me they’re after.

“Hunter, what do you think you’re doing?” Zecora called after me.  My foot was already at the edge of the carriage.  I twisted around, and our eyes met.  My heart hesitated.  “What horrible plan are you brewing?”

You do not owe them anything, the voice persisted.  It was their plan to come out here in spite of your warnings.  Let them reap what they have sown.

My body was shaking harder than the carriage.  I thought I was going to throw up.  I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Zecora, who kept shaking her head and mouthing the same word over and over; “Don’t”.  It took all my willpower to close my eyes and look back to our pursuers.  There were only two of them.  I could keep them busy for a while.

You said it yourself.  You’re not a hero.

“Shut up,” I hissed.  My body tensed forward.  Of the two wolves, one was much smaller and scrawnier than the other.  The larger wolf might have had a harder time coming to a stop if I surprised them.  My hatchet jumped anxiously in my hand, and my nervous mind couldn’t quell it.

I told myself I had to do this, that there was no other way.  I told myself I could take them, that I would survive and meet back with Zecora and all the other foals I would save once this was done.  No matter how many lies I told myself, though, I couldn’t believe them, and second thoughts began chipping away at my resolve.

My broken nerves festered inside, until I let them out with a frightened shout.

The wolves never saw it coming, and to be fair, neither did I.  I leapt out of the carriage and twisted my body, bringing both my feet forward to meet the scrawnier wolf’s muzzle.  There was a sickening crunch as its wooden frame snapped and caved slightly in.  My unguarded back slammed into the dirt after the sudden collision, and I was left gasping for breath.  Zecora cried out my name as they sped off, but it was too late; my fate was sealed.

The larger wolf fought against its momentum to stop and double back.  The wolf I struck whimpered as golden sap poured from its broken muzzle, and it shook its head wildly to dispel the pain.  I had a short moment to recover, and I rolled onto my feet, hatchet ready.

The large wolf was barreling towards me, barking like a rabid dog, and I readied myself to challenge it.  I lurched forward to meet it and swung my hatchet.  The wolf was charging into its path, and the swing should have connected, but at the last second, it pivoted on its forelegs and darted off the path and back into the trees.  I stumbled in surprise, my eyes pinned on the brush it disappeared into, but I did not have to wait long before it showed itself again.

Further down the path, my target reappeared, its sickly eyes pinned on me as it trotted across the path.  I took a few steps after it, and it responded with a snarl as it retreated back the same distance and resumed its trotting.  What was it waiting for?

I heard my answer before I had much time to react.  The scrawny wolf I had left behind was galloping towards my open back.  It sank its teeth into my left shoulder, and the sudden weight caused me to drop to a knee.  Its splintered teeth pierced through my clothing and into my muscle, and as it thrashed its head along my shoulder, I couldn’t restrain my pained cry.

In my shock, I nearly forgot about the wolf before me, and it had already taken its window to charge once more.  Something told me that this time wouldn’t be a fake, though.  My hatchet was lying on the cold earth by my foot; I must have dropped it in my surprise.  There wasn’t enough time to scoop it up and defend myself.  The wolf had stopped low, and its eyes were focused on something beneath mine.

It lunged upward, jaws wide, and I instinctively threw my left arm between it and my throat, ignoring the pain in my shoulder.  The larger wolf clamped its teeth around my wrist, and the force of its leap nearly pinned it to my throat.  We were eye to eye, and its was filled with such a primal aggression.  Its claws began scratching at my body, and the coolness of the air was chased away as skin broke and released streams of burning crimson.

My vision blurred with a sudden, splitting headache.  What were you thinking? the voice boomed in my head.

I winced, and the larger wolf began to tear deeper into my arm.  “Bad timing,” I growled.  “Less yelling, more helping.”

One of the claws raised up high.  I watched helplessly as it fell down upon my brow and tore downwards.  For a moment, the only thing that could drown the wolves’ snarling was my own screaming.

Its claws anchored into my chest, and the larger wolf began to pull.  The mind-numbing pain was beginning to spread through my arm.  Though I was already half-blind, my vision started to tunnel around it.  This was not going to be the end; not like this.

I pulled my right hand away from my bleeding arm and swung it back as a fist to meet the larger wolf’s head.  It connected on its side, and I could feel the skin scrape away at the knuckles against the wooden frame and wooden teeth shake in my arm.  I reared back and delivered it again.  And again.  And again.  My bones cracked and crunched against its temple, and soon all the pain was rewarded.  It recoiled away, releasing my arm in the process, and with my newfound freedom, I reached over to grab my hatchet at drove it into the beast’s side.

For once, it was the wolf’s turn to yelp.  As I pulled the hatchet from its side, it crumpled onto the path.  I could feel its friend’s teeth sink deeper into my shoulder in response, and the claws in my back were beginning to break skin. I threw the blade over my shoulder where its head should have been and heard it strike.  Its teeth dug deeper into my shoulder on impact, and I winced.  A second passed, though, and the rest of it body became limp.

Up ahead, a rumbling echoed along the path.  With my fading vision, I thought I could see a light shaking wildly, and before it a figure galloped towards me.  The carriage.  I slowly stood up to my feet, shrugging the scrawnier wolf’s carcass off my back.  My head felt light, but still I had a plan.  My feet carried me away from the carriage as it drew closer, slowly building up to a jog.  If the ponies lent me a hand, I could probably hitch a ride back to Ponyville with them, and we could stop this ride and the entire festival before things went anymore out of hand.

The carriage was getting closer.  It was getting harder to keep my balance.  Nevertheless, I held out a hand in hopes someone would take it as they passed.

“Hunter, watch out!”

Something tore into my right calf and pulled back, and I fell from the sudden jerk to a halt.  The carriage thundered by as I slammed into the earth; my last hope of an easy salvation gone in an instant.  I glared behind me and found the beast responsible.  The larger wolf had recovered, though sap was pouring freely from its side.

Something between a sigh and a growl escaped me.  Its teeth were sunk into my right leg, and it was obvious it wasn’t going to let go anytime soon.  I reared back my left leg and ran my heel between its eyes, biting back the pain as its teeth tore deeper into my skin.

“Dammit, let go!” I growled, punctuating myself with another stomp.  “Let go!  Let go!  Let go!  Let go!”

With one final kick, the timberwolf’s head caved in.  My foot became wedged into the hole I created, and sap began pouring into my shoe.  My body was exhausted, and I felt like I was on the brink of passing out, but I did it.  The air was still; not even a cricket dared to break the silence.  And in spite of the ache that blanketed my body, I found a reason to smile.

“And you said… I couldn’t do it,” I chuckled weakly.

Yes, we did…  And you almost died trying to prove us wrong.

“Almost,” I pointed out, rolling over to see the stars.  I hissed as the claw marks on my back pressed against the ground.  “Almost, but didn’t— agh!”

Stop pretending that this is a game! the voice shouted in my head.  How many more times are you going to throw your life away just to prove a point?

I sat up in spite of my body’s protests, my hands clamped against the sides of my head as though it would stop it from splitting.  “Shut up,” I spat frustratedly.  “My friends were in danger.  What else was I supposed to do?”

Your friends are safe, just as they always have, but still they worry about young Hunter Grey who went missing on his family’s camping trip.  For all they know, you’re dead, and you’ve been trying your best to prove those rumors true.

“Leave them out of this,” I growled, climbing to my feet.

Someone has to bring them into this, it retaliated.  It seems as though you’ve forgotten of them.  You should be focused on staying alive, not playing hero for a bunch of animals!

“Fuck, get out!”  I staggered forward.  The world seemed to tilt as the headache continued.  The forest path dimmed as the moon hid away from our argument behind a cloud.  I could barely make out the trees ahead of me.  Which way did Zecora go?  Was it still behind me?

Where do you think you are going?  Do you think this is something you can walk away from?

“I’m finding Zecora,” I growled.  “At least you seem to shut up whenever there’s someone else to talk to.”

And what will you do when you find her? it demanded.  Prepare to play martyr again?

“Maybe I will!” I snapped.  “Maybe I won’t!  Maybe I’ll just enjoy the peace and quiet in my head whenever she and the others are around!  I swear, everything became so much better when my delusional ass finally had someone else to talk to.”

You would have been dead twice over without Our help! it retaliated.  You were unprepared for this world.  You gladly listened to anyone or anything that could offer you guidance, and our plans only started to fail when you began making decisions for yourself.  Now that there are ponies and princesses and pretending friends, you became soft and misguided.  You let them become your crutch!

“Why don’t you say that to my face?” I shouted to the trees.

Its voice grew softer and dark, coming out as if a growl.  Why don’t you say it to Ours?

I whipped around; fist raised to strike something I knew wouldn’t be there.  But as the moon peeked out from behind the stray cloud and softly illuminated the path, I could have sworn I saw a face in the darkness, with eyes of stone sculpted into a furious glare.

The headache snapped away, along with the rest of my consciousness.  And the last thing I felt before falling to dreamless sleep was collapsing into the unforgiving earth.
> Act II:  Whose Bite is Worse than his Bark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My body was aching.  It felt as though it was burning and freezing all at once, though I couldn’t remember why.  All I knew was that every time I tried to move, a new pain surged through me.  My hand twitched, and I could feel earth being raked around my fingers.

Hunter, wake up.

My left eye fluttered open, though my right seemed to struggle.  I was surrounded by dark trees, softly illuminated by the moonlight.  My memories slowly began trickling back, albeit blurred.

“What happened?” I croaked.

What do you remember?

I coughed, a new pain added to the quickly growing list, and raised myself to my hands and knees.  My entire left arm felt as though it was on fire, and I felt something warm running down my wrist and shoulder.

“I…  Shit…”  I shook my head, still trying to make sense of everything.  “The festival…  We were helping the haunted hayride, and then…”  I glanced behind me to confirm my memories.  Sure enough, two twisted corpses of timberwolves laid still in the dirt path, my hatchet sprouting out of one of their heads.  I coughed again and shook my head.  “Things get a little smudgy after dealing with the second one,” I admitted.  “Did…  Did something happen?”

You lost a bit of blood, the voice offered.  It’s possible you just succumbed to your wounds.  You’re lucky to have recovered so quickly.

“I…  Yeah, I guess so,” I mumbled.  I winced as I rose to my feet.  My left shoulder was stiff, and a pain shot from my right calf whenever I put my full weight upon it.  I needed to get help.  Ponyville felt so far away, though.  My eyes turned to my hatchet lodged in the timberwolf’s head, and I hobbled over to it.

I had been in a situation like this before, I told myself.  Loosely speaking, at least.  The hunt for me had begun anew, or maybe it never stopped and the alpha wolf had just been biding his time.  They had caught me off guard once already, and I was worse for wear from it, but I was keen on not allowing it to happen again.

I reached down for my hatchet and pried it out of the head of the timberwolf.  Its edge was dulled with hardened sap, and I had no way to clean it just yet, especially not in this condition.  It gave me a small comfort though; even if I knew deep down I was still defenseless with it.

Staying on the path would have been suicide.  Though it would have been easier to travel on with my limp, it would have left me exposed, too.  Traveling through the brush just off the beaten path may have taken longer to navigate, but the cover provided me with comfort.  As I made my march to Ponyville, though, I felt something stir in the back of my head.

“You’re not a fan of this decision, are you?” I whispered.

No, We’re not, it admitted.

“Well, what better idea would you have?”

What’s the point? it asked in an uncharacteristically defeated tone.  You will refuse to listen, as you always do.  Arguing only seems to lead to… complications, for both of us.  Better to save Our breath and let you learn from your own mistakes.

I frowned.  Something definitely didn’t feel right, but the more I tried to dwell on it, the more blank thoughts seemed to cloud my head.  A sigh escaped me; though it was hard to tell if it was from defeat or exhaustion.  All I needed to worry about at this moment was making it back to my friends.

I paused next to a tree as more memories began to trickle in, and I began inspecting the base.  “There…  There was a guard here, right?”  He wasn’t anywhere to be found, nor was his body.  I thought I was going crazy until a glint of metal caught my eye.

An armored horseshoe, with not a soul nearby to claim it.

A chill washed over me.  I wasn’t crazy.  The guard was here, so was the wolf around his neck.

Perhaps he managed to return to his princess, the voice in my head offered, an obviously hollow attempt to calm my nerves.

“He wasn’t in any condition to move,” I breathed.  A ringing filled my ears as I strained to listen for anything other than crickets and owls.  That wolf could have still been on the loose.

If you truly are adamant about going to Ponyville, you would do best to not wait here for an answer to your questions.

It was right, though I was reluctant to admit it.  I pushed the mystery to the back of my mind and continued on.  Regardless of the guard’s wellbeing, I couldn’t remember if the wolf around his neck was one of the two that attacked me.  I didn’t want to risk getting caught, especially like this.

A lone howl pierced the night.  It was distant, which should have brought some slight peace of mind with it, but as it dragged and I listened more closely, I couldn’t help but realize a terrible truth:  it was coming from the very direction I was heading.

I couldn’t have been far from the forest’s edge, with Ponyville just slightly further of a walk.  I remembered being told that the wolves never strayed from the forest, though.  If that howl came from where I thought it did…

I hurried my pace, trying to ignore the pain that shot up my leg with each step that I took. A new fear began to take command. I hoped that it was wrong, but as I drew nearer to the edge of the forest, the faint howling that rose to answer it up ahead only confirmed it. I burst through the tree line and stumbled to the nearest tree for support. My head was spinning from fatigue. I strained my eyes to focus on the moonlit village, and my heart quickly dropped.

The wolves had invaded Ponyville.

Two warm glows burned brightly deeper into the town.  The silhouettes that danced in the light were far too savage to be ponies.  The attractions in the park that once hosted the creatures of the night had been long abandoned to make way for the true monsters.  Over the chorus of howls, a solitary scream pierced the night sky.

“This… this can’t be happening.”  I retreated behind the tree I leaned against, hoping to hide myself before any sickly eyes turned my way.  “I-I don’t… When did…”

Just turn away, the voice urged in the back of my head.  There’s nothing you can do here; surely you can see that now.  It’s safer in the forest, safer in our castle.  Just turn away.

I rolled across the trunk so that Ponyville was to my back, wincing as my shoulder grazed against the bark.  The Everfree Forest stared me down.  I felt like I was pinned.  “I won’t last any longer in that forest than I would in there,” I pointed out.  My eyes fell down to my left arm, hanging limply next to my side.  The blood had long dried, staining my hand and matting my sleeve against my wrist.  An uncomfortable sense of numbness was spreading down my palm, broken only by the pain brought with each experimental twitch of my fingers.  I tried to tell myself that my body was just ignoring the pain.  “I need to get these wounds treated, or find some help.”

I stole another glance around the tree, forcing both eyes to open and focus on the sieged village.  Surely, there had to be some way in that wouldn’t get me killed.

You’re blinding yourself from your options.  Think, Hunter.  What a wonderful window of opportunity this presents.  I screwed my eyes shut, just for a second, trying to think of anything other than that tempting voice.  The enemy wastes their time looking for you in a place you’re not.  Who knows how long this will last?  Slip back into the forest they have abandoned; find home.

“There,” I grunted.  A faint trail of smoke almost glowed in the moonlight over the horizon.  It was far from the town.  In fact, it almost looked like it was on the edge of the Everfree forest.  Could it have been from a chimney?  Who could have been crazy enough to live so close to the forest?  My eyes were pinned on its source, obscured by low hills and trees.  It was far away, but it was much closer than the old castle and much safer than limping into the town.

What assurance do you have that it is a home?  The question rattled in my head as I pushed myself off the tree and back into the forest.  What if it is just another fire on its last few embers?  Why gamble your safety for merely the chance to have hope?

I moved slowly along the treeline, hiding myself away in the thick underbrush from the village.  My right eye swelled back shut, but my left was pinned on the smoke.  “I can’t run away from this,” I breathed.  “The timberwolves are here because of me.  It has to be help.  I can’t fix this on my own.”


	<><><>


After what felt like an hour of shambling, salvation came in the shape of a small cottage near the outskirts of the forest.

The thick foliage that covered the roof nearly camouflaged it from sight.  There were no signs of life in any of its many darkened windows, but a thin trail of silvery smoke escaped from the chimney.  Surely, the smoke must have meant someone was there to tend the fire, right?

Something buzzed in the back of my head, probably my little interloper.  Whatever words it said bounced incoherently in my vacant mind.  The creeping numbness had spread through my arm, my body, my face.  Between the growing nausea in my throat and the ever-tilting earth beneath my feet, it was all I could do to focus on the cottage as I limped out of the Everfree Forest.

The closer I drew, the more details I began to notice around the cozy-looking home, namely the small fence I knew I would have to hop.  On the other side, a slew of vacant pens and silent chicken coops dotted the yard.  This mystery pony must have tended to animals, similar to the Apples, yet the only signs of animal life were the distant howls of timber wolves and the soft chirps of insects by the stream that divided the cottage from the town.

As I crept through the yard searching for the front door, I couldn’t help but feel so vulnerable.  My spinning head was having difficulty discerning shapes in the moonlight, and my body felt as though it was all but fully drained of strength.  When I found my prize, I paused and leaned against the doorway, closing my eyes to ease the nausea and praying that by some miracle whoever lived here could help.  I took in a heavy breath and dared to look back at Ponyville, and as the details slowly sharpened, my blood quickly froze.

Seconds of dead silence ticked by.  For a moment, I thought it didn’t see me. Across the stream and along the path back into the town, shadows began to shift beneath a distant tree.  The timberwolf stepped out of its shade and into the moonlight.  I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.  Was something glinting on its head and back?

It didn’t move any closer to me, although a small part of me wished that it did.  Instead, it raised its head and released a piercing, broken howl.  The cry echoed in the night sky, and the distant howling in the village quickly died down.

I swore under my breath.

My knuckles rapped against the front door of the cottage.  I winced as raw skin scraped against its wooden frame, and no sooner than when I pulled my hand away did I receive my response.

“Go away!  No candy here!  Visitors not welcome on Nightmare Night!”

I jumped, not necessarily from the sudden shouting, but rather the voice.  That couldn’t have been who I thought it was.  What was she doing here?

I raised my fist and banged it against the door again.  “Fluttershy?  Was that you?”

A tense second of silence passed.  The door creaked open slowly, and a yellow head poked out into the night.  “Hunter?” Fluttershy asked.  “What are you doing here?  I thought you were helping Big Macintosh with—  Oh my goodness, what happened to you?”  Her teal eyes widened in shock as she took her first good look at me.  They lingered on my face for only a moment before glancing past me.  “What happened to Ponyville?” she cried.

Another broken howl called out.  Fluttershy was frozen in the doorway.  We were wasting precious seconds.

I stammered out an apology as I pushed myself through the door and dragged her in with me.  The room was quickly plunged into darkness as I slammed the door shut with my shoulder.  My hatchet slipped through my fingers and fell with a heavy clack against the wooden floor.  The only source of light was the silver moonlight that peeked through the windows and the dying embers in the fireplace.  My breathing quickened as I slowly slid down the frame; the lightheadedness was setting in again.

“ I—  Hold on, let me get the lights.”

“Please tell me you’re not the only one here,” I begged.  I couldn’t rope her into trouble again.

“N-No, my animal friends are here, too.”  I could tell my tone wasn’t too soothing.  “Why?  What’s going on?”

“It’s a long story… I think.”

There was a soft click, and the living room was flooded in artificial light.  It took a few blinks for my eyes to adjust, and once they did, I froze.

There was a bear in the living room.

More than just it, I realized, after the movement around the room caught my eyes.  Fluttershy had a rodent problem, not just rats, but squirrels and chipmunks and rabbits, too.  Birds of different feathers had taken residence in the many birdhouses that lined Fluttershy’s walls.  They all looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights.  I imagined I didn’t look too different, either.

“Hunter!”  Fluttershy’s gasp pulled my attention to her.  She was floating by a lamp next to a couch in the corner of the room, eyes wide in shock.  “Are you—  I mean…  How—  What—”  She was stammering for the right words.  Did I really look as bad as I felt?  “Harry, help me get him to the couch.”

The bear jumped in surprise.  Its eyes flicked from Fluttershy to me, and mine quickly did the same as it began lumbering to me on all-fours.  I kicked myself further into the door, ignoring the throbbing pain in my shoulder and back.  I could have sworn I saw stars glinting in its coat, red suns burning in its eyes.

“Hunter, please; Harry’s not going to hurt you,” Fluttershy said softly.  I felt my body relax, though I wasn’t sure why.  The bear slipped its front paws beneath my legs and behind my back and lifted me up, teetering awkwardly on its hindlegs to the couch next to Fluttershy.  If it wasn’t for more pressing concerns at the moment, I would have been panicking for a different reason.

She was in an argument with a rabbit that seemed adamant about staying on the couch.  It wasn’t until the bear began to lay me down that the rabbit scurried out of the way.  It made its new nest in the chair next to the couch, and I could have sworn its beady eyes were glaring at me.

The lamplight was shining directly in my eyes, and Fluttershy hovered over me, her forelegs held nervously against her barrel.  A steady mantra of “oh dear” and “oh my” whispered through her lips as she inspected my face.  Her hoof guided my left hand up, and in the light, I could better see just how far the stain had spread on my already dark jacket.

“This…  This is a lot of blood,” Fluttershy finally said.  She looked up to the animals still watching me with wide eyes.  “Can you help me, please?  I need water and some towels.”

It was like someone hit a switch.  In a flurry of motion, the animals in her house scattered to every corner.  It wasn’t long before a large bowl of clean water and a few white rags were brought to the coffee table next to me.  She gingerly picked one of the rags up and dipped it into the water.  “I’m really sorry, but this is might hurt,” she explained.  “There’s a lot of dirt in your…”  She swallowed a lump in her throat.  “... in your face.  We need to keep it clean.”  As she lowered the damp towel just over my eye, she paused.  “You might want to grab that pillow.”

My hand reached for the spare cushion and grabbed it in a vice, and I nodded my head.  As the towel pressed against raw skin, I hissed in a breath and shakily let it out.  Fluttershy was trying her best to be gentle; she apologized for nearly every wince I made.

As she worked, her questions from before came back up.  I offered the best explanation I could with everything I could remember about my history with the wolves.  I told her of the strange alpha wolf and its stranger vendetta against me.  She looked concerned when I spoke of it.  Perhaps talking animals were less common around here than I had thought.

“And then I woke up,” I explained, wrapping up my story of the hayride.  “I don’t know how long I was out for.  Zecora and Macintosh should have made it into town before all this happened, though.”

“What about Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy asked worriedly.  “Or Rainbow Dash?  Are they safe, too?”

I blinked. They hadn’t even crossed my mind when this all started.  “I… I don’t know,” I admitted.

A heavy silence fell over us as Fluttershy pulled the rag away one last time.  There was something behind her eyes, but she kept it firmly under wraps.  “I cleaned it as best as I could.  I really think you need to see the hospital, though.”

Her voice had more control than I expected.  “I don’t think I have a choice, even if I wanted to.  There’s no telling how many wolves are between here and there.”  I paused, thinking back to the one I saw earlier.  “Listen, I…  I think one of them saw me come here.”  My eyes had a hard time meeting hers.  A voice whispered in the back of my mind, and a defeated sigh slipped out.   If it was anyone else that lived here, I might have had a chance.

“It’s probably not safe here anymore.  I don’t know how much time we have, but we probably can’t stay too long.  There’s this... I know a place in the Everfree; it’s safe, secure.  We can wait this out until the Princess straightens everything out.”

She gasped, “Hunter!  I can’t just abandon my friends!”

“Look, I don’t want to leave mine, either,” I quickly said. “But there’s nothing we can do! I’m too beat to risk running into them again, and you…”

My words hung in the air, long enough to dwell.  I wished for nothing more than to take them back.

Fluttershy crossed her forelegs across her barrel and floated further away from me.  “What about me?” she pressed.  There was a hit of hurt in her voice, in her eyes.  It only caused the pit in my gut to grow deeper.

“I… I don’t want to get you hurt again.”

”What?”  She blinked.  The hurt never left her eyes, but she looked to me with a new softness.  “Hunter, is that why you’ve always been so… Did you really think that—”

A broken howl cut her off.  It was close.  Too close.  Just outside of the walls close.  A chorus of howls answered it all around us, drowning the air in blood-curdling surround sound.

Three heavy knocks rang from the door, and a voice like crunching gravel spoke, one I hoped I would never hear again.

“My dear, little pony, I ask you come outside,” it growled in an almost singsong tone. The inside of the cottage was still. Not even the animals dared to move and make a sound.  “I’ve no quarrel with you, but the vermin you hide.”

“Everypony upstairs, now!”

The room erupted into motion as the animals scurried up the stairs on the far side of the room. The tiny rabbit on the chair bolted to the front door and leaped up to move the single sliding lock shut on the way.  It was a small comfort, but I doubted it would offer much protection if the timberwolves really wanted inside.  Fluttershy helped me up to my feet, and as I hobbled to the door and retrieved my hatchet, my eyes glanced to a nearby window.  Hungry pairs of sickly eyes stared back.

“Do you know the creature you hide from me?” the alpha wolf called as I scrambled up the steps.  “No; how could you?  My pack normally does so well keeping them within the confines of the forest.  Such a shame this one had to slip free and cause this mess.”

A soft light beckoned at the top of the stairs, a false comfort to chase away the rabid darkness that surrounded us outside.  The end of the stairs opened into a cramped bedroom.  In the far corner, a lamp illuminated the room from a bookshelf.  The bed next to it was made into a nest for the rodents, all chattering anxiously.  Fluttershy did her best to soothe them, but even the bear looked as though it was shaking in the corner as it looked out the window.  If whatever was outside was enough to make a grizzly tremble, I worried about our chances.

I rested my shoulder against the chimney stack that rose through the room.  This was it.  There was nowhere to run.  Fluttershy looked up from her futile work, and my stomach dropped as her eyes shared the same look of dread.

“It is not of your world.  Like oil in water, it never belonged here to begin with.  Surrender it unto me, and you can return to your simple life.”

Fluttershy shot to the window, much faster than I anticipated, and threw it open.  “Just leave us alone!  What did Hunter ever do to you?”

There was a pause.  Just as I was becoming impressed with her sudden, fiery courage, she let out a timid squeak and retreated slightly from the window.

“It invaded my world and slipped from my watch,” the wolf growled clearly from beyond the window.  “It meddled with our affairs, and now I have an entire town to cleanse.  You are still so young, child, but I shall hesitate no more.”  Its voice slowed, making each word deliberate.  “Deliver the beast to me.”

Fluttershy’s wings had failed not long after the wolf began speaking.  She stood with her forelegs resting on the window sill, and I could see her form shaking like a leaf.  “N-N-No, I won’t,” she stammered with finality.  “He’s my friend, and I won’t let you hurt him!”

I didn’t hear her response, but as mad barking filled the air and heavy crashes rang downstairs, I knew our fates were sealed.  My fist had a white-knuckle grip on my hatchet as I turned and stared deep into the darkness down the stairway, waiting for a pair of glowing eyes to race up at any moment.  Glass shattered somewhere downstairs, and I found myself praying that the wolves wouldn’t find a way to squeeze through any of the tiny windows.

“Enough!”

A voice like thunder boomed in the sky.  In the window to my back, something flashed brightly, and the earth shook as something heavy landed just outside.  Inside, the animals broke into a frenzy, but Fluttershy made no attempt to calm them.  Her focus was pinned to whatever was going on outside.

“This treachery ends now!  Vile fiends, We know not what powers led you here, but you have ruined a most special night.  Return to your forest now, lest you suffer Our wrath.”

The voice was all too familiar.  I shot Fluttershy a look.  “Was that—?”

“Princess Luna!” she called out the window, hope burning brightly in her voice.  “You have to help!  Hunter’s up here, and he’s hurt really bad!  I think the timberwolves are—”

She cut herself off with a squeak and ducked beneath the window.  As she turned around, I saw that the hope had disappeared from her eyes.  She looked to me, almost in shock.  “Oh my goodness.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that mad before.”

Curiosity had gotten the better of me.  I hobbled over to the window with Fluttershy, and we both looked down at the scene unfolding in her backyard.

The earth beneath Princess Luna’s hooves had upturned from her impactful entrance.  Though her back was to us, her neck was craned back to watch us reappear in the window.  In the moonlight, her furious eyes looked almost as if they were glowing.  Her attention hung on me for just a moment before turning back to the wolves before her.

She was surrounded, back to a wall with well over a dozen wolves on all sides, within and beyond the small fence and pens.  More still were slowly filling in from the other side of the cottage.  Nevertheless, the Princess stood her ground; she didn’t so much as falter.  Her wings were spread wide, making her appear much larger than I remembered.

A few yards before her, the grass began to shift.  The alpha wolf slowly rose back to its feet.  A twisted sound of something between a bark and a short laugh escaped from its maw.  “‘Vile fiends’?  You wound me with such words, young Luna.”

As it reached its full height, I realized just how large it was compared to her.  It was only a head shorter than Princess Luna, but its malnourished form seemed to stretch longer than her.  The Princess’s wings fell ever so slightly with her defenses.  Why didn’t she just blast it where it stood?

“Thorn?  Is that... By the stars, is that you?”  Princess Luna retreated back a step, her focus pinned on the alpha wolf as it lazily drifted to her right.  The hostility in her voice had melted away, but I could still see the intent dripping from the wolf’s glowing eyes as it glanced up to me in the window.  Its ears bent back, and it snarled a sound like creaking timber.  The Princess put herself between us again.  “What happened to you, Thorn?  What is the meaning of this?”

The wolf paused as our line of sight broke, and it barked out that unsettling laugh again.  “I am touched that you remembered me, young princess.  It has been so long, I wondered if all had forgotten and left the forest to consume me.”  The wolf shuddered and began pacing to her left.  She followed, trying to keep herself between us.  “But I survived, through death and rot and time; e’er vigilant to right our mortal crime.”

“And this is you making ‘right’ for what happened?” Princess Luna challenged, unfazed by its sudden singsong tone.

“The end justifies the means,” it countered.  “Better one village than the entire kingdom.”

“You overstep your boundaries, Thorn.  That is not your decision to make.  Call off this attack now, and my sister and I will show leniency.”

Thorn finally paused, and for the first time, he pulled his full attention to the Princess.  “You forget; I do not fall under your jurisdiction, young Luna,” he reminded her with a growl.  “I serve to safeguard this kingdom, for if it falls, so too will others.  I shall not neglect the final duty I have been given, the final curse I must suffer.”

Inside the room, the animals were growing restless.  Their chattering was making it difficult to hear the conversation below.  I leaned deeper into the window, straining my ears to listen.

“Your isolation has impaired your judgement.  You are not thinking clearly,” Princess Luna reasoned, shaking her head.  “We will solve this problem together, remove whatever this curse is that ails you.”

“Oh, what sweet irony, preaching to me of the dangers of isolation.”  Across the yard, the pack snarled like a sinister choir, and their morbid song rattled the air.  “Do not impose the experience of your banishment upon my chosen solitude,” Thorn growled.  The pacing began again.  This time, the Princess didn’t follow.  “Your vanity once cost you your throne, and upon your return, you proved you learned naught but pride and malice.  I learned patience.  I learned duty.  I learned sacrifice.”  He came to a halt, his claws digging into the earth, and his eyes shot to me. A wicked grin split his moss-covered face.  “And I have my goal within my grasp.” 

The animals in the room were in an uproar, and beneath their frenzied calls, a low, broken growl sounded behind me.  Fluttershy gasped, and as I turned, the timberwolf pounced from the stairs.

It collided into me, and we tumbled out through the window.  As shadows shifted and moonlight covered us in our descent, I recognized this wolf as the one that spotted me outside the cottage, and I realized with horror that my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me earlier.

My back collided against the earth.  My shoulder throbbed, but all I could focus on was the wolf’s twisted face.  Vines and branches tried vainly to wrap around a dark helmet embedded in its skull.  A dented, purple fin ran across its top.  A hazy yellow film covered its eyes, but I could still see the guard’s irises staring hungrily into mine.  It opened its maw, a mangled mess of teeth and thorns, saliva and sap, and lunged for my throat.

I closed my eyes and prayed it wouldn’t hurt as much as I feared.

There was a scorching heat above me, there for an instant before flashing away with the weight of the timberwolf.  As the ringing in my ears began to fade, I could hear a string of curses slipping through my mouth.  I dared to peek open an eye and found the timberwolf gone, with only a splatter of sap, cinders, and warped metal on the cottage wall as the only reminder it was there to begin with.

“Hunter!”  Fluttershy leaped from her window, and her wings let her glide quickly down to me.  Her hooves slid across the grass, and her head stopped upside down just above mine.

“Are you okay?! Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry.  I didn’t even know it was there.  Did it hurt you?  Is it still—”  She cut herself off with a gulp as her eyes trailed past me and found the new stain on her wall.

“Fluttershy, Hunter.”  Our attention was pulled to the Princess as she galloped towards us.  Behind her, the wolves clawed at a dim blue barrier.  “What a relief it is to find you both.  My apologies for not coming sooner.”  She winced and shook her head.  “We mustn’t delay.  My guards are holding town hall safely, and holding the barrier both there and here is proving rather strenuous to me.  Hunter, rumors tell me you do not do well with magic.  Are they true?”

“You could say that,” I grunted as I sat up.  The urgency in her eyes told me she needed more than a simple joke for an answer.  “No, I don’t mix well with it,” I quickly added.  “Or at all, for that matter.  Apparently every time someone’s tried to use it on me… well, I don’t know.  It doesn’t work on me or something.”

Princess Luna sighed, but it was hard to pin whether or not it was from disappointment or exhaustion.  “Very well.  In that case, Fluttershy, we will meet you at town hall.  Tell my guards to prepare for my visit.”

The pegasus blinked.  “What?  No, I can’t just leave Hunter like—”

And with a soft pop and a shower of sparks, she blinked out of existence.

The Princess helped me up to my feet and exposed her side to me, extending her wing downward.  She made a motion with her head.  “Quickly now.  The sooner we leave, the sooner you can rest.”

I hesitated.  “Are you…  You want me to climb on your back?”

“I would let you walk if you so prefer,” Luna replied with an unamused tone.  I didn’t need any more encouragement.

I hobbled to her and awkwardly swung my leg across her back.  She lowered herself slightly to help but otherwise showed no strain as I put my weight above her.  My legs straddled against her sides just behind the wings, and I leaned forward, pressing my hands just above her shoulders.  It just occurred to me that my only experience with this was the manticore.  I hoped I was doing this right.

“Luna!”

The Princess craned her neck back and looked past me.  There was a softness in her eyes, and she hesitated.  Behind us, Thorn paced back and forth beyond the barrier as his pack continued to claw and growl.  His glare burrowed into me.

“You know not the forces you meddle with,” he warned.  “I have devoted my life safeguarding Equestria from his kind.  Deliver him to me, and this wretched night can end.”

She took in a breath and slowly released it.  Her eyes flicked up to me, hardened with new determination.  “Stay low and hold tight, Hunter,” she said, looking forward.  “I would so hate for you to fall off.”  Her wings snapped open, and she crouched low.  I pressed my chest against her back, and my arms quickly wrapped around her neck for support.  Not a second later, we took flight.

My stomach lurched as we took off.  I buried my face into the back of her neck and closed my eyes for dear life.  Her mane swallowed my head whole, and I could feel the wind billowing against it as the mane brushed against my ears.  I could feel my heart skipping beats with her wings, and with every tilt and bank, I feared I would fall off.

The Princess eventually steadied herself, and I could feel us slowly descending.  I dared to peek open an eye and found myself lost in a galaxy of stars.  As I pushed myself off of her neck, her mane peeled away like a curtain, and I found Ponyville sprawled out beneath us.

We were just barely above the roofs of most of the buildings.  The streets beneath were abandoned, not a pony or wolf in sight.  From here I could see the stage from earlier in the night, set ablaze but slowly dying down.  It didn’t look like it was going to spread, and I couldn’t even find the other fire I saw from the Everfree.  My gut twisted at the thought.  The timberwolves were doing all this to get to me.

The town hall was just ahead.  A large, transparent, blue dome engulfed it, and just inside I could see Fluttershy waiting with a couple of guards.  A stray howl split the night, but as I looked around, I couldn’t find any sign of the wolves.  My heart was racing, and as we descended, I couldn’t help but feel more and more vulnerable.

We dropped beneath the rooftops and glided just over the ground.  As we reached the small bridge just before town hall, Princess Luna’s legs connected to it, and she broke into a gallop.  The transition was jarring, and I kept myself low against her to keep my balance.  A hole opened up inside the barrier wall, and with a leap, the Princess sailed through it and came to a sliding halt.

Fluttershy and the guards rushed us with a stream of questions.  I swung my legs off the Princess and collapsed onto the frigid earth, face down and exhausted beyond comprehension.  My body was quickly becoming drenched in sweat, and the throbbing ache was returning, but at the moment it didn't matter anymore.  A small smile crept onto my mouth, followed by a quiet chuckle.

We made it.  I was safe.
> Act II: The Thorn Stuck in My Side
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The doors to the town hall threw themselves open to Princess Luna’s magic, and she carefully guided me in, holding a wing against my back as I slung my good shoulder over her neck.  The dizziness was quickly settling back in to take the fading adrenaline’s place, and as we stepped into the ever-tilting atrium, I felt the weight of hundreds of pairs of eyes.  I scanned through the wide-eyed crowd, and a revelation dawned on me.  There weren’t near as many ponies here tonight as there were a week ago during my welcoming party.

I tripped over my own feet, and Princess Luna quickly shifted to compensate.  “Where… Where is everybody?” I asked with a slur.

“This isn’t the only safe area we’ve established,” she said, almost in a whisper.  Was she reluctant to break the silence that otherwise smothered the building?  “Some ponies have found shelter in the hospital.  Fortunately, nopony has yet required its services.  The timberwolves appear to be corralling us like beasts…”  Her voice trailed, and she thought carefully of how to word the rest.  “Until recently, they did not seem to care for hurting anypony.”

The silence swooped in over us, strangling us by our throats as we marched to the raised platform in the back.  A thought festered in the back of my head.  I felt my lip and brow twitch as something sour crawled up my throat.

“I told you going into that forest was a mistake.”

My words hung over my head like an iron weight.  Why did I say it?  Why didn’t I care if I couldn’t take it back?

The Princess never stopped as she supported me; she didn’t so much as pause.  The only acknowledgement that she heard me was a deeper than normal breath, slowly released as her eyes fell slightly down to the floorboards.

“You did,” she admitted quietly as we reached the stage.  I twisted myself out from under her wing and winced as I lifted myself onto the platform to sit.  We couldn’t bring ourselves to look the other in the eyes.  “You did, and we did not heed your warning.  Now it appears we all have to suffer for it, you most of all.”  There was a pause, as though she was hoping for some form of a forgiving assurance to dust the guilt off her chest.  “It pains me to see you like this,” she said with a shake of her head.  “I shall fetch a physician and send them to you.  Surely there must be one among all the good citizens here.  Do try not to exert yourself.”

I nodded in thanks as she turned and watched as she waded into the sea of refugees.  The dizziness was slowly ebbing away, only to make room for a throbbing numbness.  My eyelids felt heavy, and the more my breathing began to slow, the more comfortable the small patch of hardwood felt that I sat slumped on.  My left thumb massaged the tips of my fingers, trying to get some feeling back into them, but even that felt like it was taking so much energy.  Maybe if I closed my eyes… if only for a moment.

“Hunter!”

I jolted awake with a gasp, clutching my beating heart with my good hand.  It was no sooner than I remembered where I was that Fluttershy tackled me into a tight embrace.  I rocked backwards from the impact, using my legs as a hook against the front of the stage to anchor me in place.  My wounds flared as she squeezed tighter.  At least I could feel them again, but the pain still wasn’t welcome.

“Ow, ow, Fluttershy!”

“Sorry!”

She gently floated back with a worried look as I tried to massage the soreness out of my shoulder.  Past her, Daisy and Applejack galloped to the stage to meet us.  The florist had petals arranged around her head to appear like her namesake, and her frightened look clashed with the bright colors she dressed herself in.  The farmer’s usual Stetson was replaced with a witch’s hat.

As they slid to a halt before me, Applejack gave me a once-over and let out a low whistle.  “You look like you’ve seen better days, partner.”

I tried to force a laugh, but the best to come out was barely a grunt.  “I’ve, uh… I’ve had worse,” I dismissed, unsure if it was a lie.

“Zecora told us what you did during the hayride,” she said carefully.  “That was mighty brave of ya, risking your hide to hold off them timberwolves.  She said if you hadn’t done it, they’d all be up a stream without a paddle.”

“Yeah, it was mighty dumb of you, too,” Daisy cut in.  “What were you thinking, Hunter?  You could’ve gotten hurt!  Well…”  Her voice trailed off as she took another look at me, and her mouth moved trying to find the right words.  “Well, worse than you already are, I guess.  They could’ve…  The-They could’ve…”  The word was caught in her throat.  I tore my eyes away and to the side, before the angry mask she was desperately hiding behind could slip.

“Well, if it’s any consolation for making you worry…  I feel like crap,” I offered with a ghost of a smile.  She stared at me for a second before giving a weak scoff and shaking her head, and as she rubbed her eyes with a hoof.  “Glad to hear Zecora made it, though,” I continued.  I shifted where I sat in hopes of seeing those familiar gray and white stripes in the sea of faces.  “Is she here now?”

Applejack shook her head.  “Afraid not; she and my big brother stopped just long enough to tell us what was going on.  We managed to get everypony near the town hall inside, and then they left to try and get everypony else.  Ah think the Princess said they’re in the hospital now, ain’t they?”

Daisy nodded.  “Yeah, but we still don’t know if they managed to get everypony else.  I saw Lily here, and Rose is supposed to be in the hospital, too, but I haven’t seen Lyra all night.  I don’t know where she could be.”  She hesitated and shook her head again.  “Noteworthy and I were spending Nightmare Night together, but after Zecora told us what happened, he ran off to try to find you since you never came back.  I thought he would be with you when you came in with the Princess, but…”  Her voice trailed as she gave a sigh.  “I hope that doofus is alright.”

“Don’t suppose you know where Pinkie and Rainbow Dash are?” Applejack asked worriedly.  “Twilight and Rarity haven’t been able to find them since everything started blowin’ south.  You were workin’ with them last, right?”

I could feel Fluttershy’s eyes on me again, as though she was hoping that this time I would have a different answer.  I didn’t know what to tell her; the last time I saw her friends, I had dropped them off in the same forest the wolves came from.  The more I thought of it, my confidence in their chances began to plummet.  “I’m not sure,” I lied.  “They should have made it out of the forest before this all happened.”

Fluttershy sighed in relief at the thought, but Applejack gave me a strange look, like she was trying to dig deeper for a real answer.

“Well, well…  Look who we have here,” an eerily familiar voice mused.  I couldn’t remember why it made my heart drop.  Behind Applejack and Daisy, a white mare in bloodied scrubs trotted up to us, her eyes pinned on me.  It wasn’t until I looked at her costume again that the dots began to connect and I jumped.

“Redheart!” my voice squeaked in dread.

“It has barely been two weeks since you personally checked yourself out of the hospital,” she said threateningly.  “Just two weeks since you left me with a ringing headache and more than my fair share of questions to answer for when I woke up.  And now, two weeks later, you’re in need of medical attention again.”

I winced under her glare as she pushed past Applejack and Daisy, buried beneath a mountain of repressed guilt.  I kept telling myself that I would find her someday before I left, that I would apologize for the events that unfolded that night.  Now the day had come, and I had never been more unprepared.

Her harsh look broke with a roll of her eyes, and she gave me a teasing smile.  “It’s good to see you’re still in one piece, Mr. Grey, in spite of your best efforts.”

I released the breath I didn’t know I was holding, and a faint grin tugged at the corners of my lips.  “Just… Just Hunter,” I reminded her with a weak laugh.

With the tension easing, I finally took notice of the company she had in tow, Princess Luna and… Twilight.  Fluttershy and Applejack huddled around them, and the four spoke softly amongst each other.  Twilight was trying her hardest to not look at me, save for the few cursory glances.  I tried to push her out of my mind and give her the same courtesy.  Tonight was rough enough without having to acknowledge each other.

“Look, I’m, uh… I’m real sorry about that night,” I apologized to Redheart.  “I swear, I had no idea it was going to turn out like that.”

“Don’t be.  I suppose I ultimately have only myself to blame,” she said dismissively.  The nurse stood on her hindlegs to get a closer look at my face, resting a hoof on the stage to balance herself.  She used a gentle hoof to guide my chin to better inspect the claw marks.

“You sure it wasn’t my Everfree magic?” I offered with a smile.  I could feel the gashes in my skin burning under her gaze as I did it.  “I thought that was the cover story we were going with.”

She snorted, never taking her eyes off me.  “Yes, it was, wasn’t it?  I suppose we can both share the blame then.  I accept the apology.  After all, I did receive some worker’s compensation and a few days off to recover from it.”  Her hoof pulled away and fell back down to the stage, and she leaned back a bit.  “Well, the good news is that it looks clean for the most part.  There’s some minor inflammation, but that’s to be expected.”

“Yeah, Fluttershy helped a lot with that,” I said, nodding to her.  The pegasus didn’t hear me, though; she still had her back to me as she spoke with the Princess.

“The bad news is that it will definitely require stitches if you want it to heal properly,” Redheart continued.  “And there’s still a high chance of it leaving a scar.  You’re lucky it didn’t cut any deeper; any more and it might have taken your eye with it.”  I grit my teeth and tried not to dwell on the thought.  “Do you have anything else I should look at?  I noticed you were rather stiff earlier.”

“Um, yeah, gimme a moment.”  I fiddled with my jacket zipper, tugged it down, and carefully began removing my jacket.  It felt like it was welded to my skin, along my shoulder and back.  I tried to bite back a wince as it got caught along my wrist, hissing in a breath as the sleeve peeled away a dried layer of blood.  Redheart blinked in surprise, and though she stared wide-eyed at the bite, she otherwise kept her composure under control.  I stared at the dark stains on the front of my gray t-shirt and could only imagine what it must have looked like on my back.

Just like a band-aid, I told myself, tugging up on the bottom of my shirt.  I couldn’t find the will to follow through, though.  It caught just above my chest, as my shoulder began screaming and that peeling sensation started again, and I resorted to a slower approach.

By the time I tossed it to the side, I could feel more than one pair of eyes staring at me.  A numbing static burned behind my temples, slowly spreading behind my eyes as I panted for breath.  Redheart’s figure blurred, and she jumped up on the stage with me.

As she studied me, a murmur rose in the building, and I could hear the drumming of metallic hoof beats as one of the Princess’s guards galloped to her.

“Your Highness, the timberwolves brought more ponies,” he reported, sounding troubled by his own news.

“Are Pinkie and Rainbow with them?” Fluttershy asked worriedly.

The guard hesitated.  “I… I’m not sure.  You’ll have to see for yourself, but Princess, there’s something you should know.  One of the wolves was… talking.  And it was asking for you.”

“Thorn,” Princess Luna spat bitterly.  “Very well; if he wishes to speak, then we shall speak.  Perhaps this madness can come to a diplomatic end.  Thank you, Valiance.  As you were.”

The Princess marched to the front door, and the other mares began to make their way to the incoming crowd in hopes of finding their friends, leaving the nurse alone with me.  They didn’t get very far before Redheart called after them.

“Twilight, could you come here a moment?”

“Wh-What?”

“What?” I hissed under my breath.

We both hesitated at the nurse’s request, but after a second passed, Twilight reluctantly left her friends behind.

“Thanks, Twilight,” Redheart sighed.  “Hunter has a few thorns lodged in his back, and I can’t pull them out in a very sanitary way without any tools.”

“Is that all this is about?” I asked agitatedly.  My right hand reached over my shoulder, and I winced as it danced across the wound in search of the thorns.  “Just tell me where they are; I can pull ‘em out myself.”

“Hey, cut that out!”  The nurse slapped my fingers out of the way.  “You are in no condition to do anything like that,” she said sternly.  “I swear, you went three shades paler when you pulled that shirt off.  I don’t know what happened to you yet or to what extent it did, and I am not about to let you cause any more damage to yourself by rough-handling an open wound!  Right now, I need a unicorn that I can trust with her magic to pull these out of you so this don’t get infected; if it hasn’t already.”

With a faint pop and a shower of sparks, Twilight disappeared before me, and a half-beat later a second pop and a flash came from behind me.  My skin crawled.  “I don’t know about this, Redheart,” Twilight said uneasily.  “Hunter’s body could have a reaction to my magic.  It’s going to be really difficult.”

“Well, I’m not putting my teeth anywhere near the wound to pull them out myself,” Redheart countered.  “That would be unhygienic for the both of us.  Please, just try.”

There was a moment of hesitation, and I hoped for nothing more than for Twilight to decline and run off to catch up with her friends.  I was still convinced I could do it myself if the nurse would just let me.

“O-Okay, I’ll try.”  The unicorn didn’t sound confident with herself, and to be honest, neither was I.  Still, short of limping away and hoping for my body to recover on its own, I didn’t have much of a choice.  “Um, alright, Hunter… this is probably going to hurt.  Are you ready?”

I already had the sleeve of my jacket folded like a rag and clamped down on it with my teeth, grumbling through the fabric and giving her the thumbs up.  No amount of bracing could have prepared me for that unnatural sensation of magic, though.  It felt like someone hammered an iron nail into my back and slowly began to melt it.  Slow breaths hissed out of my teeth as the process dragged on.  A fishing line tugged on one of the wooden hooks in my body.  Caked blood and healing flesh resisted, trying to keep the tooth buried beneath.  And then I felt it move.

My body squirmed, and the tooth thrashed inside my wound in response.  I screamed through my teeth and my makeshift gag, doubling over in pain.  That was when I heard it, the unnervingly slick sound of wood passing through skin.  I wished the ringing in my ears could have drowned it out.  A river like lava streamed down my back as the tooth faintly clattered against the stage behind me.  I collapsed to my right, the world turning horizontally.  It felt like I was holding on to consciousness by a thread.

I spat out the rag and snarled through clamped teeth, “The hell, Twilight?”

“Why did you move?!” Twilight protested.  “It was hard enough trying to get a grip on that thorn!”

“Why don’t I stick a hook in your back and tell you not to squirm as I wrench it out?”

“Hunter!  Twilight!”  We both fell silent as Redheart shouted over us.  In the otherwise silent building, our fighting had gathered more attention than I realized.  I pushed myself back to a sitting position, trying to shake off their eyes.  “Can we at least pretend to act like professionals here?” she chastised us.  “What happened, Twilight?  You looked like you were struggling.”

The unicorn sighed behind me.  “I don’t know how to explain it.  It almost felt… slippery whenever I reached out to the thorn with my magic.”

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” I demanded.

“I said I didn’t know how to explain it!” she shot back.  “Look, it’s all I can do to just keep a hold of it right now.  I can’t even begin to describe how hard it is to pull it out with how your body is reacting to my magic.  So why don’t you—”

“So why don’t you both just focus on getting them out,” Redheart cut in.  “I need to scavenge around the offices for a first aid kit.  At this rate, Hunter’s only going to be losing more blood, and he seems to have already lost enough as it is.  Can I trust you two to be alone until I get back?”

I bit my tongue and refused to look at Twilight.  Neither of us spoke a word.  After realizing that no one would, the nurse conceded with a sigh, hopped off the stage, and disappeared into the offices in the back, her hoofbeats the loudest sound in the atrium.

“Try not to have too much fun with this,” I growled under my breath as soon as Redheart was out of earshot.

“Do you really think I enjoy doing this?” Twilight hissed back.

“Dunno.  Maybe in some weird, cosmic sort of way.”

I heard her huff behind me.  “Let’s get one thing straight, buster; even with the history we have, even after Princess Luna told me and my friends the real reason the timberwolves are here, I still don’t like seeing you hurt like this.  I’m not a psychopath.  Nopony deserves to be treated like this.”

I craned my neck back and shot her a glare. “Yeah?  What about having an entire town go on a witch-hunt after them or being locked in the basement of a hospital?  Does anypony deserve that?”

She returned the look with equally cold eyes.  Her mouth opened to speak, but another voice cut off her retort.

“Hey, Hunter!”  Through the crowd, Noteworthy waded to us, Daisy close in tow.  I wanted to feel relieved to see him, a small part of me was, but my mind was tied to the current company.  “Dude, I was looking all over for you!  Are you—”  He cut himself off as he gave me a quick once over.  “Are you, um… feeling any better than you look?”  Daisy gave him a fast swat to the back of the head, and he was quick to protest.

“I’ve been better, let’s leave it at that,” I sighed.  The world went fuzzy again, and I screwed my eyes shut and blinked until clarity came back.  “Good to see you’re still in one piece at least.  Daisy had me worried for you.  Did you see Lyra out there?”

“Or Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash?” Twilight added, peeking over my shoulder.

Note paused, casting me a curious glance.  I returned with a look, hoping to prove I was just as happy as he thought.  He coughed into his hoof.  “Um, no, I haven’t, sorry.  Never saw any of them during the festival, and when Zecora told me what happened to you, I tried to make my way to the Everfree Forest to find you.”  He gave a harsh snort and kicked at the floorboards, his eyes downcast.  “Fat luck I had with that.  The timberwolves caught me by the time I got to the edge of it.  Guess I’m not cut out for the adventurous life like I thought.”

“If it’s any consolation, neither am I,” I offered.  “I’ll trade you if you want, though.”

There was a pause, and I was the first to break with a faint smile.  We shared a dying laugh with Daisy, and he shook his head.

“Hey, there’s… there’s something you need to know,” he said solemnly, chasing away the last of our lighthearted mood.  “One of the wolves… it was talking.”

“Yeah, I’m… familiar with him,” I nodded.

“It’s Thorn, right?” Twilight asked next to me.  “The Princess filled me and my friends in on a few details,” she offered after seeing my look.

“Did he say anything to you?” I asked Noteworthy, trying to ignore the unicorn.

He shook his head.  “Not to me, no, or anypony else for that matter.  It only spoke with the other wolves.  Talked about us a lot though.  We were all locked in this cage, had a couple timberwolves watching us when it came by.”  He shivered a bit and tried to blink a thought out of his mind.  “Real mean looking thing, didn’t sound too happy either.  It talked about moving us around, called us ‘bargain pieces’.  Some ponies were taken deeper into the forest.  I… I guess I just got put in the lucky group.”

Daisy wrapped a hoof around him and held him close.  “I’m so glad you made it out safe.  I was so worried when you ran off.”

Noteworthy blushed, the floorboards suddenly becoming very interesting to him.  “I…  Right.  Sorry, Daisy.  Didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

“You dare?!”

The Princess’s voice rattled the building, echoing outside like a thunderclap.  Everyone inside jumped at the sudden outburst.  Nobody made a sound, straining their ears to hear any more of the Princess outside.  The silence only made the hoofbeats to my right sound like hammers against the floorboards.

I turned and found that Redheart had returned with a small kit in her mouth, a green cross colored on its face.  She climbed up to the stage with me and Twilight.

“Well, it’s comforting to know that all’s well out there,” she whispered sarcastically.  “Any luck getting the rest of the thorns out, Twilight?”

“I—  No, I’ve been trying to think of another way to take them out,” she said.  “Pulling them seems too messy, but I might have another spell that could get them all out at once.”

“And you didn’t start with it?” I scoffed.

“Well, considering your reaction the last time I used it, I figured I would hold off until it was the only option left,” she shot back.

“What?  What does that even—?   Just get them out!” I exclaimed.  “Having timberwolf teeth lodged in my shoulder isn’t exactly my definition of ‘fun’.”

“Ugh, fine!” she grunted, her horn already beginning to glow.  “Don’t start complaining to me when it starts hurting, though.  You asked for this.”

I opened my mouth to snap back, but my words caught with a cough as something burned in my chest.  My hand clutched my heart, which felt like it was on fire.  I could feel my blood carrying the embers out of the furnace and spreading through my veins.  The world glazed over as my thoughts scattered from my head.  Suddenly, there was a flash.

I could feel myself gasping for breath.  It felt as though someone had bucked the wind out of my lungs.  I was back on my side, struggling to make sense of the colors moving before me.  Over the ringing in my ears, there was a faint sound of wood clattering to my left.

“Hey, what did you do to him?” Noteworthy’s voice demanded.

“I teleported him three paces to the left,” Twilight’s matter-of-fact voice replied.  “And just as I thought, Hunter didn’t move, but everything else did.  See?”

I blinked and tried to focus on her voice.  She slowly appeared in my vision, and in her hoof rested three wooden teeth.  I couldn’t recognize the look she was trying to give me, and though I knew she was standing next to me, her voice couldn’t have sounded more distant.

“I told you I could get them all out at once, and you didn’t even lose any more blood.  How’s that for…. Hey, are you alright?”

The colors around her started to blur, and I could feel myself slipping away from them.  My head rolled back, and before it connected to the hardwood, I released my grip and felt my mind go adrift.


	<><><>


Something smelled rancid.

My nose scrunched, and I tried to turn away from the source.  The wound on my shoulder collided into hardwood, and I shot up to a sitting position with a hiss, carefully cradling what part of it I could without making it hurt worse.

“Careful, Hunter,” Redheart said softly.  “You gave us a bit of a scare there.  How are you feeling?”

“Like hot garbage,” I grumbled.  My hand massaged my face, and I winced as the fingertips brushed against raw skin over the left side.  “If I pass out again tonight from anything other than sleep, it’ll be too soon.”

“Here, try inhaling this a little more,” she offered.  I heard her slide something across the stage to me.  I reached out and found a broken stick of… something.  I brought it close to my nose and took a whiff, and the odor punched me in the face with a boxing glove.

I turned away and coughed, but already I could feel my senses anchoring me back in the town hall.  The figures around me became sharper.  Fluttershy and Applejack had returned, along with the Princess.  They had configured themselves in a circle with me at the edge, and I quickly realized I was the center of everyone’s attention.  I fidgeted uncomfortably, shifting myself to a proper sitting position on the edge of the stage.  No one spoke a word.  Something wrenched inside my gut, telling me that they were expecting something.

“So…” I started, carefully breaking the silence.  My eyes flicked to the Princess.  “Did the talk go well?”

She huffed angrily and shook her head, glancing off to the side.  “Nay, it didn’t,” she said sternly.  “I’m afraid I’ve learned where our missing ponies are.”

“That’s… That’s good, right?”  Even as I asked, I slowly remembered what Note had said.  Something heavy hung from my chest, threatening to drag down my heart.  Already I could feel a cold sweat forming down my back.

“Thorn is holding them for ransom,” she spat coldly.  “He came to me to bargain.  Since I stole you away from him, he has decided it would only be fair to make a deal.  Twenty souls… for yours.”

My stomach flipped inside my gut, and I doubled over as my body shook to quell it.  I was thankful that it was empty; otherwise its contents would probably have been on the floor I was staring blindly at.

“He claims the eight ponies he brought earlier were a testament of his good will,” she continued.  Noteworthy gave a faint, guilty cough.  “I’ve tried my best to sway him, but he was adamant.  He expects us to deliver you by sunrise, and he will release those he holds hostage.  If we fail to meet his demands on time… he said he will begin adding his prisoners to the pack.”

I shuddered, thinking back to the guard-turned-wolf.  Was that what she meant?  If the timberwolves were the reason Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie hadn’t returned yet, that meant most of the prisoners were still kids.  The thought didn’t help my already unsettled stomach.

Even still, on the other side of the coin was my own head.  This was Thorn’s ultimatum for my life, and there was no doubt in my mind of the fate I would see if the ponies gave in to his demands.  Trading one life for twenty should have been a no-brainer, but it rattled my core to think that it ever could have been me.

My fingers combed through my hair, and I let them drag my head back up to face the group.  “So… what did you decide?” I asked, my voice barely louder than a squeak.

“We haven’t,” Princess Luna assured me.  “We were waiting until you awoke to discuss this.  It would not be just of us to come to a decision over this without you.”

“This just ain’t fair,” Applejack grumbled.  “We can’t just give Hunter away like that.  What are we supposed to do?”

“Nopony is pleased with the situation, Applejack,” the Princess reminded her.  “Nevertheless, it is one that must be dealt with.”

“There has to be a way we can save everypony,” Fluttershy said desperately.  “Can’t we find the missing ponies and bring them back without trading Hunter?”

This time the Princess hesitated.  Her mouth opened to speak, but all that came out was a sigh as she sat on her haunches.  “I would like to, Fluttershy.  Truly, I would.  Time is not a commodity we have on our side, though.  We don’t know where to begin searching in the forest.  It is unlikely that my few guards would find them before sunrise, and by the time we sent for more guards from Canterlot, it would be too late by the time they would arrive.  Even if I did send them now, Thorn would undoubtedly know what we are planning and beat us to the hostages.”

“He never left us alone, either,” Noteworthy added with a vacant look in his eyes.  “Even though they had us in wooden cages, there were three timberwolves watching us.  There’s no telling how many are watching the rest of them, or if they’re all even in the same place.”

“Hunter, are you okay?”

As Daisy asked, I was already up on my feet.  The world seemed to drop for miles beneath my spinning head as I stood.  The weight of the situation had finally overwhelmed me.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied quietly with a numb nod.  “I just…  I’m parched.  I need to get some water real quick.”

Redheart stepped to the side as I brushed past her.  My fingertips grazed across the top of the stage as I let it guide me to the right, towards the entrance of the offices.  I could feel their eyes boring into my open back as I limped.  Over the silence that filled the air, I could hear Princess Luna speak softly to someone.  “No, let him go.  This is a lot to take in at once, and he has had a long night.”

I stumbled into the receptionist’s office, and my thinly held composure finally broke.  I collapsed to my knees, pressing a hand against my stomach as though to prevent my innards from spilling out.  It might have been a better fate than whatever Thorn had in store for me.

My body curled forward, and my forehead connected to the floor.  The gash on my face screamed at the contact, and I used it to anchor myself into the room.  How many times had I been here before, just waiting for the daily meetings with the mayor?  In spite of the chaos of the time, it almost seemed simpler then, when the only thing I worried about was the walk to Daisy Chain and the looks everypony would give me.  I would give so much to pull back the clock and go back to that time…  Would I give twenty lives?

The thought made me sick.  I fought back the acid that raced up my throat.  How could I think that?  I didn’t want them to die; I didn’t want the Princess to say no to Thorn, but… but what about me?  Was I supposed to just throw my life away?  Was there even a choice to be made about it?  Twenty friends and children, known and loved by the villagers, against a stranger who appeared less than two months ago, who was considered hostile until last week.  Something warm burned a trail across my face through my clenched eyes.  I didn’t want it to end like this.

I was a dead man walking.  No, a dead kid.  Haven’t even graduated high school.  Haven’t even seen the real world, just this nightmare of one.  My body trembled with my heavy, ragged breathing.

“I’m too young to be dealing with this,” I whimpered.

A trio of knocks rang from the door, and as I sat back up on my knees, I found Redheart standing in the open door with sympathetic eyes and the aid kit in her mouth.  I gave a wet cough and looked away, wiping away the tears from my good eye, but I didn’t make a move to stop her as she came in.  She stopped and sat next to me, setting the kit down between us and opening it.  After a few seconds of rummaging through it, she held out a hoof for my left arm.

I took in a shaky breath and sighed it out, offering it to her.  “You know… most people wait to clean the corpse after it dies,” I commented weakly.

“You are not going to die, Hunter,” Redheart chastised.  She pulled a swab from the kit with some disinfectant and took my arm in her hoof.  “Have some faith in our princess.  Luna will keep us safe.”

“I… Right.”  It was impossible to look her in the eyes.  “Sorry, it’s just…  I think I’m just a little scared.”

“I’d be worried if you weren’t,” the nurse offered, turning my arm over.  “This is a scary situation we all seem to be stuck in, but those mares out there have been in far worse situations than this, and they came out on top every time.  I’m sure right now they’re all concocting some crazy scheme to get all of us out of this mess.”

The disinfectant burned against my skin with that familiar coolness.  For a moment, neither of us spoke.  We simply watched as she worked.  I eventually pulled a rag out of the kit and tried to help, dabbing at the dried blood around the bite.  She never stopped me, and I tried my best to not interfere with her work.

“You really trust them?” I eventually asked.

“Of course.  Twilight and her friends saved Ponyville more times than I care to count.”  Redheart snorted and shook her head.  “Why, they’ve even saved the whole world twice.  Or was it three times now?” she hummed in thought.  “I’ve been hearing rumors of the royal wedding they attended a few months ago up in Canterlot, and even though the details are fuzzy, I’m glad I wasn’t invited.  That lot of friends has been through some pretty bizarre adventures, but they’ve always come out on top, be it dragons, Ursas, or even the Spirit of Chaos himself.”

“The Spirit of Chaos, huh?” I echoed with a half-hearted laugh.  “I almost want to ask.”

“Oh, it was horrible,” she groaned, pulling two cloth pads and a roll of gauze out of the kit.  “He wasn’t even free for a full day, and he managed to turn all of Equestria upside down and inside out.  There’s no telling what would have happened if they hadn’t stopped him.  Could you hold this here for me?”

“Sure thing.”  I pinned my thumb against the gauze, holding it to my arm just beneath the bite.  Redheart positioned the pads over both sides of the wound and carefully enclosed them beneath the gauze.  The pressure was uncomfortable, and as she clipped the strip tightly at the end, I noticed a few splotches of red beneath it.  Still, it was better than having it spill everywhere.

“There; that should hold for now,” she sighed in relief.  “At least until I can convince them to take you to the hospital, that is.  It’s only a temporary fix, and unfortunately we can’t do the same for both your shoulder and your face.”

She took a cursory glance at my leg.  “You were limping earlier,” she noted.  “Anything I should know?”

“Um, yeah, a wolf…  I got bit in the leg, too,” I admitted, a faint blush of embarrassment burned beneath my face.

“Is it bad?”

“I mean, it hurts.”

Redheart rolled her eyes.  “Very helpful, Hunter.”

In the doorway, someone cleared their throat, calling for our attention.  Applejack stood patiently in the doorway, along with Fluttershy hiding behind the frame.  The farmer tilted the brim of her witch hat up.  “Hey, Hunter, think ya have a moment to spare?”

I hesitated, sharing a glance with the nurse before looking back.  “Um, yeah, of course.  Did you guys… come to a decision?”  

She shook her head, and her lips tugged into a confident smile.  “Even better.  We might be able to give this Thorn feller a taste of his own medicine.  If you’d be so inclined to help, we might be able to lay a trap for him.”

“Wait, really?”  It almost sounded too good to be true.  “How?”

“The ol’ bait and switch,” she said proudly.  “Princess Luna reckons she can catch Thorn if given the chance, all we gotta do is give it to her.  Since he’s apparently the ringleader, catching him oughta bring an end to this.”

“And I’m guessing I already know what my part is,” I added with a sinking gut.

“We won’t let anything happen to you,” Fluttershy quickly interjected as she flew into the room.  She looked torn, rubbing her hooves anxiously across her legs as she hovered next to her friend.  “I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but if you did it would really be helpful.  We would never let Thorn hurt you.”

Applejack tugged on her friend’s tail and gently guided her back down to her hooves.  “Calm down now, sugarcube; everything’s gonna be just fine.”  Her consoling words did little to help, though.  Fluttershy was still shaking slightly, and her worried eyes seemed to want to look at anything but the other people in the room.  Applejack sighed and turned her attention back to me.  “Now believe me, none of us like the idea of puttin’ you in harm’s way.  Ah personally think you’ve been through enough tonight.  But it’s gonna be real hard convincin’ this snake to slither out of his hole unless he thinks we’re giving you up.  The moment things start turnin’ south, Fluttershy and Ah will pull you out.  You have my word.

“Now, nopony’s forcin’ you to make any certain decision; you have as much of a right as anypony to refuse given what you’ve been through.  If you ain’t comfortable, we’ll find another way.”

I didn’t answer right away.  How could I?  It still sounded so dangerous.  I looked between them, and between Fluttershy’s worry and Applejack’s confidence, I was receiving mixed signals.  My thoughts drifted back to what Redheart had said, though.  This wasn’t their first rodeo.  Supposedly they had solved worse problems than this.  I trusted Applejack and Fluttershy, too; they wouldn’t lead me on and then throw me to the wolves, literally.

“Well… what do you think, doc?” I asked, turning to Redheart.  “Think I’m good to go?”

She hesitated, unprepared to be brought into the mix.  “Personally, I’d recommend you get some rest,” she said, shaking her head.  “But I suppose you know your body far better than I do.  If you think you could press on for a little while longer…”  Her voice trailed as she looked for an answer, and I tilted my hand back and forth.  It didn’t boost her confidence.  “Let me give him one last check up,” she said to Applejack.  “I’ll patch up what I can, but you can’t let him do anything too strenuous.”

Applejack smiled.  “You got it, Red.  Ah’ll let the Princess know.  And Hunter?”  She gave me a brisk nod.  “We appreciate this.  We all owe ya one.”

I watched as she led Fluttershy out, still unsure of how I felt.  Something gnawed on the inside of my head, an unscratchable itch no matter how hard I tried, and it was impossible to pin what it was trying to tell me.  I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, turning to the nurse.

“Alright.  Let’s patch me up before I can talk myself out of this crazy plan.”
> Act II:  Thrown to the Wolves
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Redheart had me patched within the hour, or rather as “patched” as she could manage with such limited supplies.  She wasn’t satisfied with her work; although for all intents and purposes, it would hold, if only until I returned and she could properly do her job.  A warm, damp rag was draped over my shoulder and bound over the wound in gauze.  My shoulder festered beneath it, but the medicine Redheart had found in the kit was slowly working its magic, blanketing the pain with a more welcome numbness.

My leg felt stiff.  Every other step across the well-trodden dirt of the Ponyville streets was jarring.  The nurse said it would probably need stitches.  For now, a handful of paper napkins and a whole lot of tape would have to suffice.  Again, Redheart was very unsatisfied.

“You better make it out of this wild scheme in one piece,” she had said before I left with the others.  “And you better come back to me too, so I can properly treat these.  My pride as a nurse is on the line here.”

For whatever it was worth, I hoped I made it out of this alive, too.  I wanted to trust Princess Luna and her plan, but when we exited the town hall and two timberwolves were waiting for us on the other side of the barrier, I couldn’t help but have my doubts.  After all, so few things had actually gone well tonight.  What worried me most though was how silent my interloper was keeping.  Normally it would have something to say by now.  I couldn't help but think of what it had said earlier in the night.  Was it simply staying quiet and letting me learn firsthand from my mistakes?

I tried to push the thought out of my head, but the tension in the air hung over us like a net, and such thoughts never strayed far.

I stayed close to Princess Luna as we walked down Ponyville’s streets.  Twilight was on the other side of her, and Fluttershy and Applejack tailed closely behind us.  In spite of my protests, Fluttershy was adamant in coming along, and her friends did little to stop her.  She was convinced that we needed her if we were going into the forest, but a part of me worried that what I had said earlier was still in her mind and that this was just an attempt to prove a point to me.  It was luck that Daisy could convince Noteworthy to stay behind, even though he was still disgruntled at the idea.  Who could blame him?  No one wanted to see their friend tossed to the wolves for a wild gamble.  It was part of the reason I wanted him to stay.

Two timberwolves seemed to guide us to the forest, one on either side.  Seemed, only because they didn’t attack the moment we stepped past the barrier; their eyes still dripped with murderous intent as they glared me down.  Seven of Princess Luna’s guards made a protective circle around us, ensuring that the wolves didn’t come too close.  Still, the thought of them being so near set me on edge, and any deviation or misstep on the way to the forest was met with a stereo of low growls.  I had to get my mind off of them, one way or another.

“So, what’s the story between you and Thorn?” I asked the Princess in almost a whisper.

She didn’t respond immediately.  “Why do you care to know?”

I shrugged, as nonchalantly as I could muster.  “Well, whoever he is, he wants me dead,” I said, looking at her.  “Kinda think that gives me the right to know about him.  You seem to be the only one familiar with the creep, too.”

“He isn’t—  He wasn’t always a ‘creep’, as you called it,” she frowned.  As she spoke, her eyes seemed to focus on something far ahead.  Perhaps it was the forest.  Perhaps it was something further than that.  “He…  He was an old friend from a time long ago, back when the Everfree Forest was naught but a garden.  Although, you would have hardly recognized him if you had ever known him before.  It wasn’t until he spoke that I realized it was him, and even then, it had been so long; it felt like I was speaking to a ghost.”

Her voice trailed, and the silence that followed seemed to drag.  As we passed the last of the buildings in Ponyville and entered the park, she broke it with an emotionless snort and a shake of her head.

“I wasn’t even certain if I wanted it to be him.  He had disappeared two thousand years ago, when the forest sprang forth and claimed my family’s castle.  I thought he had perished, consumed by the Everfree like many others… and a part of me wished he had.”  She looked at me, and there was a sadness in her eyes, almost sympathy.  “He is old, Hunter.  The mortal mind was never meant to live as long as his.  I am beginning to fear that all that is left of him is a hollow shell driven by a perverse sense of duty.”

“Wait, two thousand years ago?” I interjected.  “How did you know him again?”

“He was a mentor of a sort,” she replied, missing the point of my question.  “Back when magic was widely ‘unmapped’, for lack of better words.  Many tribes and kingdoms were quickly learning how to tame the world around them through different forms of magic.  Father summoned the brightest of minds to our keep to teach the arts of magic to me and my sister, and at the time, Thorn was a master of his trade.”

Twilight leaned in, taking an interest in our conversation.  “But…. Wait, if this Thorn character was such a master of magic, why haven’t I heard anything about him?  I’ve read almost every book of magic history and theory Canterlot Castle had to offer, and he never came up.”

“His art was from a different field of magic, Twilight.  Most names you have heard of in your studies were unicorns like yourself.  However, there are very few practitioners of alchemy in this kingdom.  Perhaps your friend Zecora might have heard of him if she studied for her trade.”

“Wait, wait, no.  Go back,” I said, trying to steer the conversation back where I wanted it.  Princess Luna gave me a curious look as I studied her.  “So you mean to tell me…  You knew this guy who…  You’re two thousand years old?!”  I blinked, trying to connect more dots.  “No, wait, older, right?  How can you…?  I mean, you look so—”

“You would do well to not press for a mare’s age, Hunter,” she said with a chuckle.  Her smile faded as quickly as it came, though.  “But… yes, I was alive then.  Granted, I was just a filly, and a very naïve one at that.  Most of my memories of that age have been obscured with time.  However… there is one day I remember clearly as though it was yesterday.

“It must have been before noon; my sister’s and my studies hadn’t started yet, and they never would.  Father had summoned Thorn and Starswirl for the lessons that day—”

“Starswirl?” Twilight cut in excitedly.  “As in, the Starswirl the Bearded?  The father of modern magic?  The most important unicorn from the pre-classical era?”  Her hooves moved giddily as we walked.  “You never said you knew him personally!  None of my books mentioned it, either.  What was he like?  Was he really as great as his books claimed?”

“Please, dear Twilight, one story at a time,” Princess Luna said.  The unicorn calmed down, albeit slightly.  With a cough into her hoof, she returned her attention to the forest we were quickly approaching, though her ear still flicked in our direction to listen.

“But yes, I did know him, for however short a time it was,” she continued.  “Like Thorn, he was summoned by Father to teach me and my sister in the ways of magic.  Though the two came from distant lands, they quickly grew together as colleagues of a sort, or perhaps academic rivals is a better way of putting it.  Both were masters of their fields, each convinced that their paths would lay the foundation of future magical studies.

“It was a rather strange relationship those two shared because of it; not quite friends, but not quite enemies, either.  Oftentimes our lessons were stalled as they argued with one another, challenging each other’s views.”  A quick snort escaped her, and I thought I caught her rolling her eyes.  “To this day, I still do not know if I would consider those moments a blessing or a curse.  I am not proud to admit it, but their lessons hardly ever held my attention for long.  As pleasant as it was to not slave away at my notes during their arguments, the next lessons always seemed to be fiercer, as if only to prove one another wrong.”

She paused for a moment.  A strange half-smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she became lost in thought.  I cleared my throat to grab her attention.  On the other side of the guards, the timberwolf growled at me again, and I flinched, inching a little closer to the Princess.  I jammed my hands into my pockets before they could betray my nervousness, hissing as the wounds on my fingers scraped against the denim linings.

“My apologies; I am digressing, aren’t I?” she asked with a shake of her head.  “In spite of their relationship, they eventually came together to collaborate on a project, to push known magic to its limits in an attempt to learn more.  Regrettably, I was too young to even care to remember what it could have possibly been about.  One day, Father summoned them both for our lessons, but before they would ever start, they asked him to come with them to the garden.”

We had reached the tree line of the Everfree, and Princess Luna stopped just before entering.  The rest of us came to a jarring halt around her, even the wolves, though they were none too pleased.  The two wolves circled to the front, their muzzles twisted into mangled snarls.  The guards came up from each side to form a barrier between us, but the Princess seemed none the wiser that any of it had happened.  Her eyes were locked on something that hid far deeper in the trees.

“And that was the last time I saw any of them,” she said, her voice almost a whisper.  “Father, Starswirl, Thorn…  They never came back.  This… thing took them, this forsaken forest.  It consumed them and quickly grew, claiming all in its path.  It swallowed our castle whole.  Mother had barely enough time to escape with me and Celestia, and when she finally felt we were safe at the edge where its rampage finally came to an end, she left to find Father, only to disappear with him.

“And with our capitol lost, our dyarchy nowhere to be found to maintain order, our kingdom quickly crumbled, devolving into three tribes.  The rest was history.”

One of the wolves lurched forward a step, stooping low and barking like a rabid dog.  The Princess’s gaze was finally torn from the trees, and she focused on the beast.  She frowned at it, but the look in her eyes didn’t show any anger or disapproval.

“Or so I thought,” she continued, pushing forward.  The guards hesitantly let her pass, and the wolves backpedaled slowly, keeping their eyes on her until satisfied enough to turn and resume leading us.  The rest of us jogged to meet up with her.  “Now, one of the ghosts of my past has returned to haunt us all, speaking riddles of mortal crimes and ancient curses, and for some reason that I cannot fathom, he seems to hold you responsible, Hunter.”

My stomach flipped inside my gut, and I couldn’t help but wonder what I could have possibly done to deserve getting tangled into this mess.  Maybe it was just my own rotten luck that a camping trip would result in me pissing off some ancient tree-wolf for existing.

“I do not know what role you play in all of this,” she said, turning to me.  “Or if you even truly do at all.  Perhaps we can be hopeful, and this is all just one horrid misunderstanding.  But unfortunately, only one holds the answers to our questions, and I fear his mind is reaching its end, with naught but this twisted curse left to control him.”  She paused, returning her focus forward as we marched through the Everfree, and I could see something weighing heavily on her chest.

“If at all possible, I would like this night to see a diplomatic end,” she finally said.  “One without any more blood spilled or terror instilled in the minds of my subjects.  Thorn has much to answer to, and I can assure you, Hunter, answer to it he will.  But I can feel my old mentor still locked inside that ancient frame.  If we can convince him to come with us, perhaps we can learn what this curse is that ails him and find some way to reverse it, for his sake… and these other pour souls it has affected.”

“Beg yer pardon, Your Highness, but what is that supposed to mean?” Applejack piped up behind us.  Even though she trailed near the back, I was certain even she noticed that the Princess was looking at the wolves that led us when she added that last part.  “Talkin’ ‘bout curses and timberwolves…  You can’t be implyin’ that…  There-There’s just no way that—”

“You think they’re ponies?!” Fluttershy squeaked incredulously.

“What?  No, that isn’t…  Princess, that can’t be possible,” Twilight sputtered.  “Right?”

“It may seem strange to believe,” Luna said distantly.  “But before my return, I had never heard of creatures like these ‘timberwolves’, as you called them.  They seem so unnatural, and the fact that they have sprung up from the same forest that consumed my old home only makes them more peculiar in my eyes.  The thought that they could have been anything else before hadn’t crossed my mind before, but…  But you saw it, too, didn’t you, Hunter?”  

I was shocked to be put on the spot.  She never took her eyes off the wolves before us, but she did try to blink something out of her eyes.  Perhaps it was the same memory I knew she was about to bring up.

“In that wolf that attacked you at Fluttershy’s cottage,” she continued.  “That it was actually…  That it was…”  The words caught in her throat, and she coughed to clear it, her wing reaching up to wipe something from her eye.  “That it was too late.  My spell was already sent by the time I noticed, and there was nothing I could do to change his fate.  Now I cannot help but wonder, if he was changed into one of them, how many others were, too?  Were all of these timberwolves once ponies?  Until the truth can be discerned, I do not want any more harm done to these creatures if it is avoidable.  They could all be innocent, just driven by some primal curse that overwhelmed them.”

“That’s a nice thought, but I don’t think they’re going to share the same opinion of us,” I offered grimly.

She nodded.  “Nevertheless, I have a duty to my subjects, even those afflicted by old curses.  Do not be discouraged, though; your safety tonight is still paramount.  If given the choice between you or the wolves, my decision will be the same as last, albeit with a heavier heart.”  We walked in silence for a moment, no one wanting to add to the dismal subject until the Princess added one more afterthought.  “It’s a shame though, truly.  Thorn used to hate wolves.”

The deeper we moved into the forest, the more the canopy of branches up above strangled our only source of light.  I had forgotten how difficult it was to tread through the Everfree at this hour without so much as a small fire to guide me.  It wasn’t long until everyone’s forms devolved into moving shapes.  Only the Princess’s mane kept its strange glint, like stars drifting in an ocean.  It was the closest thing we had to a beacon.  It offered a small comfort in the dark, but only barely so.

Each step further in was met with another crashing wave of unease.  Something told me that we were far deeper in the Everfree Forest than the Princess had planned, and the way her mane shimmered as her head moved curiously from side to side only seemed to prove my concerns.  My hand reached for the familiar weight of my hatchet swinging against my waist, and as my fingers brushed against the cool metal of its head, I released a pent-up sigh.

It wasn’t long before there was a break in the canopy up ahead.  Silver moonlight flooded into the narrow trail, revealing a lone, moss-covered timberwolf, sitting as still as a statue.  As we approached him, the two timberwolves that led us growled at it, and Thorn opened his eyes.  Even with the Princess’s story from before, it was hard to imagine this thing before us as anything more than a feral animal as he bared his gnarled fangs at me.  I could see the earth tearing beneath his claws as he flexed.  He didn’t even seem to notice the others.

“Heavens to Betsy,” Applejack breathed behind me as we came to a stop.  “Ah’ve seen some big and mean-lookin’ timberwolves in my time, but that…  What in tarnation is that, Princess?”

“Thorn.”  It was loud enough to be an answer and a call, but the wolf didn’t acknowledge it.  The Princess stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight; her voice sterner the second time.  “Thorn!”

The wolf blinked, and his snarl melted into a sick, almost welcoming smile as he looked to her.  “Ah, young Luna, it warms my heart to see you here, albeit with more company than I anticipated.”  The two timberwolves that led us crawled to their leader, flanking Thorn on either side and staring at me hungrily.  “But that doesn’t matter, since you brought with you the only one that mattered.  I knew I could trust your word.  Now, please…”  There was a creaking sound as he lifted his paw and stretched it out expectantly.  “Deliver it to me.”

My blood ran cold.  It occurred to me just how much faith I had put into the Princess’s plan.  My doubts were quickly dashed away though as she stood close by my side and held her wing out protectively against my chest.  Thorn’s pleasant smile twitched for a moment, and his eyes narrowed on us.

“First, the hostages you stole,” Luna said sternly.

The timberwolf huffed.  “Such harsh words you use lately,” he muttered with a growl.  “But… as you wish.”  A snarl rose from his gullet, and he released it with a sharp bark.  There was a shifting in the foliage next to him, and two more wolves emerged into the moonlight, followed by a small crowd of eight frightened ponies.  I scanned through the faces as they came into view, hoping to find that familiar mint-green coat, and I wasn’t sure whether or not to be comforted by the fact that Lyra wasn’t with them.

They were all shaking like leaves, though, especially the only foal, who stayed close to what I assumed could have only been one of her parents.  When they saw us, they all gave excited squeaks, the only sounds they could manage with their currently muzzled faces.  Vines wrapped tightly around their snouts, and they all seemed to be bound together by them like a chain of leashes.  I could feel the muscles in Princess Luna’s wing tense as she kept it against me, and the corners of her frown tugged ever so slightly further down.

Thorn snapped his jaws at the newcomer wolves, and they dropped the vine that held the hostages together.  The ponies didn’t waste a moment of their newfound freedom, and before the slack of the leash even hit the ground, they all stampeded to our side of the trail.  Before they even made it halfway, the Princess’s horn ignited, and the vines severed themselves from her subjects’ faces.

“Oh, thank goodness, we’re saved!”

“Thank you, Princess!”

“I wanna go home!”

They rushed past me and the Princess, and all the while, Luna never took her glare off of Thorn.  “Valiance, Bastion; take these ponies back to the village and await our return.  We won’t be much longer.”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

“Wait, this can’t be right,” Twilight said before they left.  Her eyes were scanning through each of them as well, and her heart seemed to drop as she searched through them a second time.  “There are only eight ponies here…  I thought there were supposed to be twenty.”

“Twi’s right,” Applejack chimed in anxiously.  “And Ah ain’t seein’ Pinkie Pie in here anywhere.”

“Or Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy added.

“What have you done with our friends?” Twilight demanded, taking a step forward.

Thorn chuckled at her bravery, and as the new wolves retreated to his side, he rose to his full height and took a step closer.  “Fret not, little one; your friends are safe, of that you have my word.  Once your princess honors her end of the bargain, they will be released as well.”

Luna stiffened before me.  “What?”  She shook her head in disbelief.  “No; I won’t allow it.  Release your hostages now, all of them, so that I might have some piece of mind before we continue.”

“You must forgive me, Your Highness, but I am only being cautious,” he returned with a knowing grin.  “After all, you brought so many ponies with you… I cannot help but question your true motives.  You were so protective of the human when last we spoke.”

“This is absurd!” she shouted back.  “To act so frightened of what is barely more than a child! The Thorn I remember would never have acted like this!”

“The Thorn you remember is dead,” he snarled.  “He died long ago chasing fame with his colleague.  I was given this second chance to right our mistakes, and I will not allow it to go wasted.”

The Princess retracted her wing and took a deliberate step forward.  “I remember all too well the stallion you were before,” she said coldly.  “And it wounds me to see you like this.  Once upon a time, you spoke of the value of all life in your teachings.  Surely you must remember.  Surely, you must realize that this curse has changed you for the worst.”  She paused.  Through the restraint in her voice, I knew she was trying desperately to remain cool and collected, but whether the cause was seeing her old mentor again or what he did to her subject was difficult to tell.  “Come back with us, please,” she said, almost pleading.  “Come to Canterlot with me, and we can remove this curse from you.  My sister will be there.”
 
“Hand me the human,” Thorn said curtly.  “Afterwards, we can go on whatever field trip you desire.”
 
“Forget the human!” she shouted.  “What is he to you?  Look at him, Thorn.  Look at him!  Magicless, helpless, harmless; what do you see in him worth causing such a catastrophe?”
 
There was a moment of silence where all Thorn did was stare at me, and I at him.  Even though the Princess stood between us, I didn’t feel safe.  His moss-covered lips slowly peeled back into a snarl as the seconds ticked by, like he was caught in a trance.  I felt myself shaking, all the way into my core.
 
“I see the product of our failure,” he finally said in a low growl, never taking his eyes off of me.  “A monument to our hubris.  What fools we were for thinking there would be no consequence to bending the universe to our whim, to tearing the veil between realms.  We never could have imagined they would be on the other side, though.  Humans.  Spellbreakers.”  He released a slow, heavy breath that could have been a snarl.  He took a step forward, then another, crouched low all the while like he was ready to pounce.  “You ask me what I see in him?  I see an infection, a rat with a plague that mustn't spread.  I see the magic of our world fester around him like an open wound, never quite healing, even when he leaves.  I see a toxin flowing through his veins, so potent that no potion I could create could ever remedy it.”
 
A barrier sprung between both parties as Thorn took another step, splitting the trail in half.  The wolf paused, sliding his attention to the Princess and releasing a low growl.
 
“And I see a foolish young foal,” he spat.  “Blind and naïve, believing an infection to be innocent.”
 
“If it is as you say, and I am a naïve fool, then does it not fall to you, my teacher, to educate me?” Princess Luna challenged.  “What happened that day, Thorn?  I deserve to know, after all this time.”
 
Thorn didn’t answer immediately.  As time began to drag and the earth tore beneath his tensing claws, I thought he wasn’t going to answer.
 
“I died in a garden,” he finally said, softly.  “And I awoke in a forest, thinking it true.  Your mother was there.  She brought me back from the brink; ever the kind mare, she was.”  Princess Luna took a step back.  Thorn pressed forward in response.  “And she asked me that same question.  ‘What happened?’  It was then we found the reward for Starswirl’s curiosity, a tear in reality itself, with neither the mage nor the King to be found.”
 
“The portal,” I whispered aloud.
 
Thorn cast me a glare, and I hid a little more behind the Princess.
 
“Yes, a ‘portal’, some may call it,” he said.  “What was meant to be a mere window, shattered and broken into a door.  For just a moment, the natures of our worlds collided and mixed, and theirs was so much stronger, wilder, savage.  The forest around us tonight is a parting gift from that contact, when their nature overwrote ours.  The ecosystem grew on its own accord.  Storms moved without intervention.  Its very magic became tainted.  And it was only going to spread.
 
“Your mother knew this to be true, and she took it upon herself to right our wrongs, for by an alicorn’s magic the rift was made, and only by an alicorn’s magic could it be sealed.  She closed the door and camouflaged it, that no pony would stumble upon it, and with the last of her magic, she restrained the forest and suppressed its growth.  Her sacrifice was meant to mark the end of the madness… until they began crawling out.”
 
He moved slowly to the Princess’s barrier, glaring daggers into me.  “Wretched things, capable of breaking the Queen’s magic with little effort, without thinking of the consequences.  They carried that same scent from that day, of their nature’s hungry chaos.  At first, they could be sent back, but then they returned, bringing more, wanting more, taking more.”
 
He stopped, reaching up with a claw and scraping it down on the barrier.  His face was all but pressed against it, and I realized that he wasn’t the one stuck in a cage like a zoo; it was us.
 
“I soon found that the only way to stop their insatiable hunger was to end it.  Your mother might not have known what could have been on the other side, but there is nary a doubt in my mind that her final instruction would be any different.  Keep the door closed.  Don’t let her subjects know.  Cleanse the impurities of the other world.”  His voice lowered; his eyes pinned on the Princess.  “And if you will not honor your mother’s last wishes, then I shall take it upon myself to uphold them, as I have for the last two thousand years.”

He started to growl and soon released a piercing howl that echoed throughout the forest.  It echoed for barely a second when a chorus of wolves cried out to answer it all around us.  I froze stiff, even as the bushes around us began to shake and the air was filled with panting, even as everything inside me screamed to run.

“P-P-Princess?!” Fluttershy squealed.

She snapped her head back to see us, focusing mainly on Twilight.  “I fear it is no longer safe here for Hunter,” she said urgently.  “Take him back to Ponyville with your friends.”

“What?  But, Princess, what about—”

“Now, Twilight Sparkle.  We haven’t time to delay,” she said sternly.  “Guards, on me!  Detain these wolves, so this night might finally end.”

The five guards left took to her sides.  Something tugged at my arm.  I turned to find Fluttershy, trying to pull me away with equally frightened eyes.  Over the mad barking that filled the air around us, she called out my name.

“Hunter, come on!”
> Act II: The Home Field Disadvantage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hunter, come on!”

As Fluttershy called my name, my legs finally became responsive.  I stumbled after her and her friends, leaving behind the chaos of stomping hooves, crashing wood, and sparks of magic.  But it was difficult to run.  Though Redheart’s medication numbed the pain, there was still a dull throb deeper beneath the skin of my leg, like someone was taking a mallet to my tendons with every other step.

As if only to add insult to my injuries, the girls were running faster than me, too.  They were leaving me in the dust, and I didn’t think they even realized it.  The best I could do was quickly hobble after them and pray that their bodies wouldn’t fully disappear into the strangling darkness of the forest.

It still wasn’t enough.  The distance between us continued to grow.  Even with the Princess and her Guard were holding the wolves at bay, I couldn’t help but feel like they were breathing down my neck, matching my own frantic panting.

“Hunter!”  Fluttershy’s voice was a candle in the night.  I tried to run faster towards it, shifting more weight upon my leg only to grunt and stumble.  “Girls, come back!  Hunter’s falling behind!”

With a flurry of wings, Fluttershy’s form appeared before me in the faint moonlight as I slowed to a stop.  Or rather, two Fluttershys did, and both were staring at me with equal amounts of worry.

“Hunter, are you okay?” they asked with the same voice.  “What’s wrong?”

Through my labored breaths, I focused on them both and blinked until their images lined up.  “I… I’m fine… I just…” I wheezed.  “Just faster than me… I just can’t move any…”

Hoofbeats thundered up ahead, and Applejack and Twilight appeared next to their friend.

“C’mon now, Hunter,” Applejack said warily.  “This ain’t the time for a breather.  We gotta get outta here.”

Panting, I nodded and pushed past them and broke into a jog, but I didn’t make it very far.  Through the heartbeat drumming between my ears, I could hear something up ahead.  Twigs snapping.  Feet galloping.  Heavy panting that wasn’t my own.

Two timberwolves broke from the foliage to our left, landing on the trail and pivoting to meet us.  Their eyes glowed in the darkness around them with a ferocious intent, almost enough to distract me from their barred, crooked fangs.  I stumbled to a halt before I could get too close, my fingers fumbling for the hatchet at my side.

Before either of us had the chance to make the first move, a bright circle of purple ignited around them, the light rising as though it was solid and closing above them to make a dome.  Nevertheless, they lunged forward, only to collide with the purple light and bounce back into the center.

Next to me, Twilight came sliding to a halt, her horn aglow with a similar light and her gaze locked on the wolves.  For the first time, her magic gave me reason to relax.

Off to the left, the sound of scraping wood echoed from behind the brush.  Without wasting a moment, Twilight summoned a pane of purple glass and intercepted two more wolves as they leapt onto the path.  She pinned them down with the barrier and glanced frantically between her two conjurations.  As the others caught up, more growls started to bleed from every plant in the forest.  How many more were there?

“This isn’t good!” she called out.  As she quickly changed her focus between the two, I noticed the lights of the barriers flicker ever so slightly.  “I don’t think I can keep this up forever, not if there’s more.”

As if on cue, a larger wolf lumbered out onto the path on the other side of Twilight’s dome.  It released a low snarl, sap dripping from the corners of its maw.  Thorn must have planned for me to run away again.  The entire path back to Ponyville was probably littered with stray wolves waiting to pounce.

A familiar string tugged inside of me, and I didn’t bother to question it.  “Come on,” I grunted, motioning for the girls to follow.  “The trees.  Thorn probably has the entire trail set up for an ambush.  We can lose them in here.”

“What?  Are you sure?” Twilight asked.  She looked away for a second, but the magical pane that pinned the two wolves began to flicker, and they started to squirm out until she focused back on them.

I was already at the edge of the trail, pulling back a layer of brush when I looked back.  “I know these woods like the back of my hand, Twilight,” I assured her.  “You’ll have to trust me on this.”

The larger timberwolf moved around Twilight’s magical dome, moving at me before getting caught in another one of Twilight’s tricks.  The beast levitated in the air, its momentum propelling it into a lazy cartwheel.  I could see the task put a new strain on the unicorn, though.  She winced, and the flickering of her magic became more frequent.

“Applejack, Fluttershy… go with him,” Twilight said, taking a backstep closer to us.  She tumbled the larger wolf between the others, as though she was trying to keep them all in her field of view.  “I don’t know why I’m having a hard time with this right now, but I can buy you all some time.”

“Come on, Twi, this ain’t the time for heroics,” Applejack warned her, but Twilight didn’t listen.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll catch up before you get too far, promise.  Just go!”

Applejack hesitated, giving her friend one last nod before grabbing Fluttershy’s hoof and dragging her towards me.  There was a moment of protest, but once they passed beneath the branches I held, it quickly stopped.  I gave Twilight one last lingering look before disappearing after her friends.

The wolves howled anxiously, realizing that their prey was once again slipping through their claws.  Twilight was actually able to give us a solid head start, though.  Applejack and Fluttershy stayed close by as I guided them through the seemingly ever-shifting maze of trees. Navigating through the Everfree Forest at night was never a simple task, and this time was no exception. Silhouettes of branches and vines sprouted out of thin air, threatening to ensnare us or impede our progress.

An anxious sensation was slowly creeping over me with each small turn we made.  In the dark, all the trees looked the same, shapeless obstacles with limbs that reached down as if to grab me.  I realized with horror that I had lied to everyone in an attempt to keep us moving, at least away from the wolves before us.

Relax, Hunter, a voice cooed in my head.  I stumbled, not expecting to hear it again.  You are on the right path.  You know where you are, better than you think you do.  Just listen… listen closely.

With nothing more to lose than a few more seconds of my life, I slowed my jog and strained my ears.  At first, all I could hear was my own drumming heartbeat and heavy breaths, but there was a fainter sound in the background, a white noise almost like a static.  It must have been a month since I last heard it.  Could it have really been…?

My concentration broke as a series of sharp pops echoed throughout the forest, some far away, others closer, as though someone lit single firecrackers and tossed them sporadically.  It wasn’t long after that one of them spawned in our path, igniting with purple sparks and leaving behind a frazzled Twilight.  She hit the ground running in our direction and scrambled to a stop before we could collide.

“Where… Where have you been?” she panted, looking around her.

Applejack gave her a confused look. “What’s that supposed to mean?  We’ve been following Hunter back to Ponyville, just like you said.”

Twilight shook her head, trying to collect her thoughts.  “What?  No, I was teleporting back to Ponyville, and I couldn’t find you anywhere.  It wasn't until I started teleporting back into the Everfree Forest that I found you.”  She glanced up at me with almost accusing eyes.  “Where have you been taking them?”

Honestly?  Just as far away from the wolves as I could.  I couldn't say it out loud, though. They didn’t need to know I was running blind these last few minutes.  “Somewhere safe,” I assured her.  This time it wasn’t a lie.  “I told you, I know these woods like the back of my hand.”

She wasn’t impressed with my answer.  “How do you know it’s safe?”

The mad barks of the timberwolves were growing closer.  We didn’t have much time to argue.  Brushing past her, I began jogging towards the faint sound of water.  “Because,” I called behind me, stealing a look back.  “It’s where I hid from you.”

The girls shared a look between themselves and quickly galloped after me.  Memories flooded in with the sound of water, memories I had hoped were left behind to sink into forgetfulness.  It was strange; rather than the usual sense of discomfort that came along with remembering my first few months of this world, I was feeling hopeful.  Reaching out, I peeled back one last layer of branches and fought the urge to collapse into the bank.  After all this time, I had found it again.

The river.

Now that we were free from the strangling darkness of the trees, the light of the full moon and stars was almost blinding.  The silver light reflected sharply off the dark water, and the dull roar of the moving current was almost enough to drown out the wolves behind us.  The castle couldn’t have been far now.  All I had to do was find the tree I used to use as a bridge, and then I would be one bad balancing act and a short jog away from safety.

“Where to now?” Twilight pressed, scanning the riverbank.  “This is a dead end!”

There it was, a long silhouette to break the reflected moonlight, just before the river started to bend.

“Don’t worry; we’re almost there,” I grunted.  A long howl pierced the air.  It was close, close enough to make us all jump.  Even from here, I could hear the wolves sprinting through the brush and barking.  I pulled the hatchet from my side.  I was exhausted from all the running and prayed I wouldn’t need it for anything more than the small comfort it gave me.

In spite of my legs’ protests, I jogged across the riverbank.  “Come on,” I called after them.  “We just need to cross that bridge over there.”

Redheart’s medicine must have been wearing off; either that, or my body was in worse shape than I realized. By the time I reached the bridge, I had to double over to catch my breath as a fire raged up my right calf.  Fluttershy and her friends stopped around me, and I motioned to the other side of the river.

“Use the tree to cross,” I panted, trying to keep my spinning head from rolling off my shoulders.  “It’s sturdy enough.  I just… I just need to catch my breath real quick.”

As I said it, I glanced back down the river and felt my stomach drop.  A timberwolf crashed out of the forest and onto the bank where we were before.  Its wild eyes glowed in the moonlight as it scanned across the bank before landing on me.  It began its charge, and over a dozen more spilled out behind it and followed its lead.

Cursing under my breath, I shouted for the girls to move again.  Applejack was the first to react, jumping on the bridge and carefully balancing her way across.  Twilight was the first to reach the other side though.  She blinked out of existence next to me with her magic, reappearing on the other end of the bridge in time to help her friend.  Fluttershy hovered in the air next to me and guided me up onto the tree.  My muscles groaned as I shifted my balance, but there wasn’t any time for rest.

By the time we made it halfway across, the wolves reached the bridge.  There wasn’t enough room for them to all cross at once; some of them seemed to fight each other to be the first to go.  I had hoped it would buy us some more time as I kept checking behind us, but just as soon as I made my wishful thought, the first wolf sunk its claws into the trunk and slowly pulled itself up.

It moved shakily, as though it wasn’t used to moving on such a narrow surface.  Even still, it was easily closing the distance, and more were filing in behind it.  I picked up my pace, Fluttershy keeping me steady as I moved.  As we reached the end, I leapt off the tree, spinning on the balls of my feet to face the wolves as I struck solid ground.  My grip tightened around my hatchet, and I readied myself to greet the wolves with it as they reached us, but the chance never came.

Twilight jumped between me and the bridge, and her horn started to glow.  “Stay back!” she warned, and I soon realized she was speaking to me.  The tree started to glow.  With the sound of a gunshot, it split down the middle, causing a wolf to lose its balance and tumble into the river.  Both ends rose vertically to meet in the center, and the wolves on each half struggled to hold on.  For a moment, both halves of the tree hovered over the river like pillars before Twilight released her grip on them, and they crashed heavily into the river, its current carrying them and the wolves swiftly away.

She panted from the effort, and on the other bank, the remaining wolves sang another chorus of growls.  I released my pent-up breath as a sigh, a weight lifting off my sore shoulders.  We were safe, for now at least, and the wolves knew it, too.  After a few more seconds of menacing stares, the pack split in both directions, probably looking for a new path across. 

A heavy cough racked my chest.  I could feel some of the last scraps of energy I had left leaving with it.  We weren’t much further from safety now, though.  Soon I could rest, if even for a moment, but until we reached the castle, I didn’t want to waste any more time.

I turned to the trees and trudged onward, trying to ignore my limp.  The others followed behind, albeit at a distance.  I could hear them speaking softly behind me, but I didn’t have the brain function left to discern any of the words.

“How much further do we have left?” Twilight eventually said, loud enough for me to hear.

“No’ much,” I slurred tiredly.  My hatchet was loose in my fingers.  I dropped it back within the rope bound around my waist.  “Jus’ a lil’ more.”

Even with how tired I was, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat excited.  It had been so long since I had last been here, my little home away from home.  As towers of stone began to peek through the branches of trees, something grew giddy inside of me, although whether or not it was me or my little interloper was difficult to tell.

“Say, Twilight, ain’t this neck of the woods lookin’ a little familiar?” Applejack asked behind me.

“Now that you mention it…  Yeah, it does.  I can’t figure out why, though.  The last time we were this deep in the forest…”  Her voice trailed, as if something had just dawned on her.  “Wait, it can’t be.  Hunter, where did you say you were taking us again?”

“I thought I told ya,” I said with a weak chuckle as we rounded the last bend.  The castle ruins came into full view, and I found that I had to stop, just to admire the sight again.  A content sigh pushed out of me.  “Somewhere safe.”

I stole a glance behind me, and my faint smile faltered.  All three of them stared slack-jawed at the ruins past me, like they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.  Twilight was the first to break the silence.

“You’ve been staying here this whole time?” she asked incredulously.  “I never would have imagined.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I said, brushing her off.  “Not much to look at, but it’ll keep us safe.”

“It… It’s not that, Hunter,” Fluttershy chimed in, never taking her eyes off of the castle.  “It’s just…  How did you find this place?”

“I, um…”  I coughed into my hand, looking away from her.  “I got lucky I guess.”  Another howl echoed in the night.  It was far away, but still loud enough to remind us of the present danger.  I shook my head and motioned for them to follow me to the old, rickety bridge.  “C’mon, we can talk more inside.  I’m dying for a rest.”

I marched up to the start of the bridge and rested a hand on the stone pillars that the guide ropes were tied to.  A breeze rattled the old wooden planks, causing the whole bridge to sway.  A quick look over the edge revealed nothing but fog.  I had never put much thought into how deep this chasm could have been.  The strange fog obscured its true depth, but there wasn't a doubt in my mind that it was still a long drop.   I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and put my first step forward.

The old planks groaned underneath my feet as I slowly walked across.  Even after countless days and nights walking over this very bridge, the fear of plummeting straight through still hung over me.  As the others began to follow, the bridge began to shift from the added weight.  I crouched forward and led my hand across the guide rope, just in case.

I waited patiently for Fluttershy and her friends to cross over after I stepped foot back on solid ground.  Their eyes still seemed entranced on the castle as they crossed, but there was a hint of unease in their stares.  Once we were all on the same side, I moved to the large double doors and, with a lot of effort, pushed them open.

“Welcome to my little home away from home,” I said, gesturing inside.  “Go on ahead and wait in the foyer for me.  I need to take care of something first.”

They hesitated at first, but a faint chorus of howls motivated them to hurry inside.  As they passed through the door, I limped back to the bridge.  Exhaustion had nearly taken over me, but there was still one more task at hand before I could rest easily.

I knelt down carefully in front of one of the bridge’s stone supports and reached for the guide rope fastened around it.  My numb fingers danced over the knot, trying to find anywhere to loosen what was possibly centuries of stiffness.  My eyes couldn’t focus on the rope before me, and the low light of the moon didn’t help.  More wolves howled in the distance; it sounded like they were getting closer.  With an agitated grunt, I tried to will myself to focus.

“What are you doing?”

I nearly jumped as Twilight spoke behind me, much to my own displeasure.  “What does it look like?” I grunted, returning to my work.

“It looks like you’re trying to trap us here,” she said accusingly.

Something between a sigh and a groan slipped through my teeth, and I pivoted to face her.  “Not trapping us as much as keeping them out,” I corrected her.  “Might be hard to imagine, but I was being hunted by other four-legged creatures a little over a month ago, and I had to make a plan in case they ever found me.”

Twilight frowned, displeased with my sarcasm.  I turned back and gave the resistant knot one last tug before resigning with a grumble.  I stood to my feet and pulled out my hatchet.

“It’s not so fun, is it?” I muttered under my breath, swinging the hatchet.  It struck the support tower, cutting halfway through the rope.  My body and the bridge shuddered from the impact.  Why did it suddenly feel so heavy in my fingers?  I wrenched it back and hacked at the rope again.  “Being cornered somewhere unfamiliar.  Not knowing if this is your last night.”  My brow furrowed.  “Wishing you could see your family, just one more time.  Wondering if they’ll ever know what happened to you.”  With one last swing, the rope broke free and dangled into the bottomless trench, waiting for the rest of the bridge to join it.

I turned and found Twilight standing behind me, giving me an uncomfortable look.  “Welcome to my life these last few months,” I offered, crouching down and working on the plank rope.  With a couple chops, it severed, and the bridge twisted sideways.  I tried to stand, but fatigue was quickly creeping over my shoulder, and I found myself falling back to a kneel, staring down into the trench.  “Look on the bright side,” I added bitterly.  “At least you have your friends with you.”

“Hunter, I…”  Her voice trailed as she struggled to stitch together the right words.  I glanced up, and she couldn’t look me in the eyes.  “I…  I’m sorry,” she finally said.  “What happened to you that night…  What we did to you…”  Her lips pursed together as her head shook.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen like that,” she said softly, finally looking up to me.  “Rainbow Dash thought she saw a monster come out of the forest when that wild storm hit Ponyville.  I thought she was just trying to pull a prank and scare us, but then you came knocking on my door.”  Her eyes looked to the side, and she rubbed a hoof along her foreleg embarrassedly.  “Everything started happening so fast.  I felt like I was struggling to keep up with everypony the whole time.  I wasn’t thinking straight.  I was panicking, and then…  I saw you with Fluttershy, and I had never been so scared in my life.”

She gave a weak laugh and wiped away the glistening wetness forming around her eyes.  “It was so stupid.  We had faced Nightmare Moon together, beaten Discord and Chrysalis… but I had never felt so close to losing one of my friends until then.  And then it happened again the next morning.  I just…  I stopped thinking.  I wanted to keep my friends safe from you, but I never stopped to consider that we were the ones that made you do those horrible things.  My friends helped me realize that, so did the Princess, but…  I had never messed up that badly before.  I was so scared I would just make it worse.”

A second ticked by; it seemed to stretch for an eternity.

“I’m sorry, Hunter,” Twilight said.  “For everything I’ve done to you.  I really am.  If I could take it all back, I swear I would.”

For a moment, I could feel myself tense; my knuckles squeezed tighter around my hatchet.  Something sparked inside me, but it died too quickly before I could ever figure out what it was, blown out like a fuze.  All that was left was a numbness that burned inside on dying embers.  I took in a deep breath and let it out, watching as it hung in the air before slowly dissipating.  Twilight’s eyes followed it, too, and I could tell she wanted nothing more than to go wherever it disappeared to.

“Well… we’re a little past the point of apologizing now, aren’t we?” I muttered coldly.  She looked to the side and sighed; I wasn’t sure if it was in agreement.  We were wasting precious minutes.  I couldn’t sit here forever.  I needed to get to the rest of the bridge… and then I could finally rest.

“Just go back to your friends and wait for me,” I told her.  “I’ll show you where to go once I’m done.”

Twilight looked back to me and opened her mouth to speak, but the words never came.  Her eyes shrank to pinpoints in the moonlight, focused on something just past me.  She raised her hoof to point.  “Hunter?  You should turn around.”

The concern in her voice resonated within my chest, and a cold sweat ran down my back.  I dared to turn around.

The stars had descended into the forest.  No, not stars… eyes.  Dozens of pairs of eyes.  All staring patiently from the other side of the bridge.  All staring hungrily at me.

And the Everfree Forest shook with a growl.
> Act II:  One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight ran into the castle after me.  As she passed the door, I threw my weight against it, slamming it shut with my wounded shoulder.  It wasn’t enough to stop the growling, though; not even the breath-sucking pain from the impact could tear my mind away from it.  I slowly slid down the door as the sound reverberated within the hollow room, within my chest, hoping that by sheer force of will it would stop.

I just wasn’t expecting so many.

As my breathing slowed, I began to calm down.  I reminded myself that we were safe. Just before Twilight and I ran back into the castle, I severed one of the last ropes, and Twilight’s magic released the other.  It was the only point of entry across the seemingly bottomless moat that spanned across the castle’s perimeter.  It would be a long time before the wolves would be able to find a way across, if they even could.

I opened my eyes, having not realized they were closed, and saw Applejack staring wide-eyed at me.  Fluttershy was hovering anxiously over Twilight, who appeared to be recovering just as well as me.  Our eyes met for a hesitant second before I broke away.

Applejack was the first to speak, and her anxious voice seemed to boom in the vacuum of noise left from the wolves’ howling.  “Hunter?  What was that?”

A weak cough cleared my throat.  I shook my head.  “Nothing.”

“Don’t you dare,” Twilight said warily.  I could feel her frightened eyes digging into me.  “Don’t you dare tell them everything is fine after what we saw.”

“Everything is fine,” I assured her, casting a glare in hopes she wouldn’t make the situation any worse.  “They’re out there, and we’re in here.  There’s no way for them to cross now that the bridge is cut.”

“The bridge is what now?”

I released an exasperated sigh, suddenly feeling like I was cornered.  I glanced to Fluttershy for some sort of support, but her eyes mirrored the same worry within her friends.  Looking away, I took in a deep breath through my nose and slowly let it go before turning to Applejack.

“The wolves followed us,” I explained carefully.  “The bridge is the only way into the castle, and I cut it down so that they couldn’t come any closer.  We’re safe; I promise.”  She didn’t seem convinced.  None of them did.  Hell, even I was struggling to believe myself at this point.

I shook the thoughts out of my hand and extended my good hand to Applejack.  She eyed it warily, but as I gave a coercing nod to it, she reluctantly grabbed it and helped me to my feet.

“I know it sounds crazy,” I grunted as I stood up.  My vision grew hazy, but with a shake of my head and a couple of forceful blinks, it slowly began to correct itself.  “But it’s the best chance we have.  I’ve spent weeks here.  I know the castle grounds like the back of my hand.”  I shot a look at Twilight.  “We’re safe.”

“For now,” she pointed out.  She glanced around the room, taking in the small details around her.  Her eyes lingered on the empty pedestal further back in the room.  “I still think we should have gone back to Ponyville.  We would have been better off there rather than waiting for something bad to happen to us here.”

“If we went to Ponyville, then we’d be in the same position we’re in now,” I countered.  “Only difference now is the wolves aren’t tearing Ponyville apart to get to me anymore.”

Twilight released a sigh and closed her eyes.  “You’re right,” she admitted.  “The situation is just…”  She cut herself off with a shake of her head and massaged her temples with a hoof.  “Never mind.  You said you had a plan, right?”  She looked up to me with almost desperate eyes.  “What do we do now?”

I looked between her and her friends, all looking to me expectantly.  Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, I began to limp further into the castle.  “Come on,” I called after them.  “If it’ll make you girls feel any better, I have something of a safe room we can stay in.”

They trailed behind me as I led them through the maze of corridors.  Even though I had prevented the wolves from following us into the castle, their baleful howls still managed to chase us down, reminding us how close they were.  Beneath it was a silence that we didn’t dare break, a looming tension that chipped away at my confidence with every passing second.

It wasn’t long until we found ourselves at the base of the tower.  As I silently began my ascent, the girls began to murmur behind me again.  I tried not to focus on it.  I tried not to focus on anything as I closed my eyes and traced my fingers along the old, familiar stone walls.  Reminiscing did little to help, though, especially when the “better times” I was trying to hide myself into were hardly better.

I paused at the top of the stairs, greeted by two heavy, wooden doors, still closed from my last departure with the foals.  I couldn’t help but notice how similar this situation was to the last time I had brought company to this room.  Hopefully, this night wouldn’t end in a similar fate; though the knot in my stomach seemed to believe otherwise.  I placed my hands on the handles, took in a deep breath to clear my mind, and push the doors open.

The throne room was exactly how I had left it.  Something swelled within me at the sight.  Though the ancient columns and high ceiling and fractured throne had lost their sense of wonder over the weeks I had spent in this very room, their familiarity brought with them an all too welcome sense of comfort.  As I stepped into the room, I didn’t hear the girls follow in after me.  Old habits settled in, and I found myself drifting towards the broken windows.

The moon was still shining brightly in the night sky, slowly making its descent towards the western horizon.  Much like the sun during the day, the moon in this world seemed to rise and fall to mark the passage of time.  At the time when I had noticed the trend so many weeks ago, it felt like just another small detail that alienated me from my home, but eventually, I grew used to it as another celestial clock, slowly ticking away the minutes until the sun would rise.  From where it was now, we probably had another four hours until it set, four hours until the sun would rise and hopefully chase away our problems with the rest of the darkness that surrounded us.

A grey fog suddenly obscured the moon, breaking my train of thought.  Taking a step away from the window, I found that it was just the condensation from my breath spreading across the glass.  With a sigh, I massaged around my eyes, careful not to agitate the wounds around my right.

The girls had found their way into the throne room, but they looked around it with a certain unease, as though they had stepped into a tomb.  I tried not to dwell on the idea as I walked to the throne.  Every “plan” I had made in case they found me a month ago ended with a last stand in this very room, but now I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

The throne was exactly as I had left it.  My last two spears rested near-vertically against its back.  They weren’t the best I’ve made; I wasn’t even certain if they’d be useful against wooden wolves.  At the foot of the throne rested the old bucket I stole, still filled with grimy water from the last time I cleaned my wounds, and a familiar bottle I had nearly forgotten about.

I paused just before the old potion bottle and reached down to pick it up.  It was nearly empty, just as I remembered, and as I lightly shook the bottle by its neck, I could have sworn I felt something semi-solid swash around inside.  With a frown, I wrestled the cork open and took a quick whiff, only to gag and slap it back on.  By the smell of it, it had become more poison than potion during my absence.

I dropped it back on the ground before turning and sitting on the throne.  The ancient cushions had never felt more welcoming.  I closed my eyes and breathed in that familiar, musty scent I had grown to know as safety, and when I opened them again, the girls were standing in front of me.

“Um, make yourselves at home, I guess,” I said, gesturing to the room.  “We’re going to be here for a while, probably until sunrise.”

“What are we supposed to do until then?” Twilight asked.

I sighed and gave her a shrug.  “I don’t know, rest or something.  I’m tired, and I can’t keep running around like we have been or I’m gonna collapse.”

She shuffled uncomfortably on her hooves, but Applejack was the first to speak up.  “Ah ain’t a fan of it either, Twilight, but we’re a little tight on options.”

“It just doesn’t feel right,” Twilight complained.  “Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie are still out there… somewhere.  What if the Princess doesn’t get to them in time?  What if…  What if something happens to them?”

“Don’t say that!” Fluttershy interjected.  She launched herself into the air, her wings fluttering frantically to keep her suspended.  “They’re going to be okay!  Princess Luna is going to find them, or… or we can find them, just like we always do!”

“I don’t wanna be that guy, but I don’t think there’s much we can do,” I pointed out.  “We have just about every timberwolf in the forest outside the castle waiting for us to make a move.  We’re safe if we stay here, but we’d be helpless if we tried to leave.”  I paused for a moment, a thought slowly forming as I studied her.  “Actually, the only way you could lose them…”

“What is it?” Twilight pressed.

“The only way you could cross without them getting to you is if you have a good pair of wings.”  I glanced at the unicorn and added with a shrug, “Or if you’re good with magic.”

“That doesn’t help us much though, does it?” Applejack asked me.  “Ah mean, Ah suppose Twilight could use her magic to help me around, too, but you?  You’d be up a creek.  Ah don’t reckon Fluttershy could carry you, and, well…”  Her voice trailed as she looked to Twilight.  “We all know how well your magic mixes with him now.”

“Hey, I already said I need some rest,” I reminded her.  “I’m staying, one way or another, but if you three want to go back out there…  Well, I’ve been on my own in this castle before.  I can hold out another night.”

Fluttershy was quick to protest.  “Hunter, no!  We said we would take care of you if you came back to the forest with us.  We’re not going to abandon you!”  She looked to her other friends for support, but neither of them could look her in the eye.  “Right, girls?”

“I don’t think we can do both, Fluttershy,” Twilight sighed in defeat.  “If we’re going to do something… we’ll have to choose:  stay here with Hunter, or go out and look for our friends.”

Fluttershy made a sound close to a squeak.  Her large, teal eyes seemed to grow bigger as her face scrunched and her lips quivered.

Twilight’s expression seemed to melt.  “Fluttershy…”

Before she could get another word out, the pegasus turned and darted out of the room, leaving behind a glistening trail of teardrops to the stairwell.  I tried to stand up after her, but the throne seemed to pull me back in, luring my body in with a false sense of comfort after watching that display.  Applejack came up to Twilight and rested a hoof on her shoulder.  She whispered something to her friend, and with a determined nod, Twilight chased after the runaway mare, leaving me and the farmer to ourselves.

“You’ll… have to forgive her for that,” she finally said after a long pause.  “Being here is a little hard on her.  Hard on all of us, really.  If she’s anything like me, Ah’d reckon her thoughts are with her friends right now, and, well…”  She looked around the throne room; the pillars, the windows, the throne where I sat.  “Well, this room, in particular, ain’t too helpful.”

I shook my head.  “I don’t…  I don’t get it.  Why?”

For a moment, a faint smile flashed across her face.  “Well, it was in the room we all became the best of friends, Fluttershy, Twilight, and me.  Even Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity, too.”  She studied my face, gave a humorless snort, and tipped her hat.  “Right.  It’s just rotten luck and bad coincidence is all.  She’ll pull through.  Fluttershy’s a lot tougher than she looks, y’know.  Why, she stood up to a full-grown dragon by herself once when me and our friends were in danger.  You won’t hear her braggin’ ‘bout it, though.  So, I guess the burden’s left on me.”

A dying chuckle escaped her.  She screwed her eyes shut and shook her head as the smile faded once more.  Taking off her hat, she sat down and let out a sigh.

“It was the darndest thing, how we all met,” she explained.  “Really makes me wonder if some things just happen by luck or if they’re just meant to be.  It was the Summer Sun Celebration, a little over a couple years ago now.  We have it every solstice, and that year, Princess Celestia herself was gonna be gracing Ponyville with her presence.  Could you believe it?” she asked with a smile.  “Ponyville of all places.  She had to have known.

“Anyways, Ah was in charge of preparing the food.  Got the whole family involved tryin’ to make enough for everypony, and that was when Twilight first showed up.  She was part of the committee overseein’ the preparation of the festivities, but all that busywork didn’t stop her from takin’ the time to get to know the whole family.  Why, she even stayed for the family brunch!  Ah never would have guessed we’d become the best of friends after…”



<><><>



My eyes slowly fluttered open.  Applejack was gone.  I must have dozed somewhere in the middle of her story.  I hoped she didn’t take it personally.  All the events of tonight seemed to crash over me at once, and I couldn’t hold back my fatigue any longer.  Maybe I could convince her to tell it to me again and pick up with whatever it was that happened in the town hall with that pony named Nightmare.

As I scanned around the room, I noticed I was alone.  Did the others end up leaving me after all?  I supposed I couldn’t blame them; after all, I was the one that tossed the idea out there.  Nevertheless, it was jarring to wake up to an empty room again.

With a grunt, I tried to get back to my feet.  My body was stiff, though, and a throbbing pain still blanketed me.  While I was thankful for the chance to rest, it appeared to not have done as much good as I would have liked.  I bit back a hiss as I put all my weight on my legs.  My right knee was shaking, agitating the torn calf beneath it.  I carefully reached back behind the throne and grabbed one of the makeshift spears, putting my weight against it like a poor crutch.  The shaking stopped, but the pain still remained.

I took a strained step forward, and then another, and something caught my eye off to the right:  a bright pink tail, peeking out from behind one of the columns.  I took in a breath, hoping to build up some strength, and hobbled over to her.

Fluttershy was staring out of a broken window, her forelegs resting against its sill.  Her ear flicked in my direction when I got to the column next to her, and she turned her head in time to see me collapse against it.  She looked at me with her big, teal eyes and gave me a small but hopeful smile.

“I thought you were going to leave,” I said, offering a half-smile of my own.

Her grin faded away as she glanced in another direction.  “I…  I wanted to,” she admitted.  “I still do.  I’m so worried about my friends; I feel like I could just—”  She cut herself off as the soft features of her face contorted to a pained scrunch, lasting for only a moment before she sighed her tension away.  “But… I made a promise to you, too.  We said we wouldn’t let anything happen to you if you came with us, and now you’re stuck here in this castle and… hurt.”

I realized she wasn’t looking me in the eyes, but rather at the claw marks that raked down the side of my face.  I tilted my head to the side to try to hide it.  She noticed and quickly threw her attention to the stone floor where her hoof was tracing circles.

“This is yours, isn’t it?”

I turned back to Fluttershy and found the bottle she held carefully in her hooves.  I didn’t realize she had it next to her this whole time.

“You gave some of it to me one morning, a long time ago, right?” she continued.  I opened my mouth to answer but resigned to a sharp nod as my face burned from embarrassment.  “I…  I was hurt really badly when you gave it to me, wasn’t I?”

A heavy sigh escaped me.  My shoulders sagged, trying to drag me down to the floor where I could hide away between the cracks in the stone.  “Fluttershy, I…  I’m really sorry about that.  I wasn’t thinking.  I just grabbed the first thing I could, and then you…  I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“But you made me better,” she said, and I could hear her hopeful smile coming back.  “With this potion, right?  I was thinking, maybe while you’re here…  It might be a while before we get back to Nurse Redheart, so maybe you should…”

My eyes flicked back to her.  I didn’t even hear her take flight, but she was hovering close to me, holding the potion out with outstretched hooves.  I reached out with a hand and took it, studying it as I gave it another experimental stir.  My concerns from before started to rise again.

With a shake of my head, I handed it back to her.  “I’m not sure if Zecora made that potion to last as long as it has.  I think I’ll have better luck waiting until we get back to Ponyville, but…  Why don’t you hold on to it for me?  Just as a last resort.”

She gingerly accepted it, looking between it and me.  Eventually, her soft voice spoke.

“You know I'm not mad at you for that day, right?”

I was thrown off guard.  My words got caught in my throat, more than I could make sense of.  I coughed to the side to clear it and offered a weak nod.  “I… yeah.”

“I mean it,” she insisted.  “I don’t blame you for it.  You were scared.”

“Fluttershy, I don’t think this is a good time to—”

I nearly jumped as her forelegs wrapped around my torso.  Her head rested on my left shoulder, but I didn’t wince; I didn’t dare move.

“I never knew why you acted so differently around me,” she said quietly.  “I always noticed you were so open around the others, but you always closed yourself whenever I joined.”

“I… I never meant anything by it.  I didn’t mean to—”

“To hurt me,” she finished.  “You told me in my home tonight, and I finally understood.  I forgave you for when we first met, but you never forgave yourself.  I just wanted to let you know, you’re my friend, Hunter.”  Her hooves wrapped a little more tightly around me.  “And I’m glad you are.”

I was stunned.  Somehow, my arm managed to reach up and wrap around her, just beneath her beating wings.  My chin fell into the crook of her neck, and my eyes screwed tightly shut.  A shudder coursed through my body as I squeezed back, and a whisper slipped through my lips.  “Thank you.”

Our brief moment was destined to be just that, though.  The silent air was suddenly filled with a deep, creaking groan, accentuated by a sharp, distant crack, and before we could even guess what could have made it, there was a heavy crash.  The wolves broke their silence with a fresh chorus of hungry howls with unsettling vigor.

Fluttershy and I separated, glancing to the windows before turning to each other with equal fright in our eyes.

“Where are your friends?”

“Th-They should be somewhere around the castle,” she explained.  “Twilight wanted to make sure we would be safe.”

I was already hobbling to the stairs with my unsteady crutch.  “Well, we better find them then, before…”   My words trailed, and I hesitated, pausing for only a moment before shaking the thoughts out of my mind and pressing on.  We are safe, I lied to myself once more.

Fluttershy was by my side by the time I reached the stairs.  She put herself beneath my right arm as she hovered, trying to take some of the weight off of it.  During our descent, I heard rapid hoofbeats below, quickly growing louder.  Twilight and Applejack nearly crashed into us halfway down the stairs.

“You heard it, too?” Twilight panted.

We nodded, and Fluttershy asked, “What was it?”

“A tree,” Applejack said urgently.  “And a big one, at that.”

“You’re sure?”

“Hunter, Ah live on a farm next to the largest orchard in all of Ponyville,” she reminded me.  “Me and my family have had our fair share of some nasty storms and then some, and Ah reckon Ah know what a tree sounds like when it falls.”

Within the cramped stone walls of the stairwell, the howls only seemed louder, like the wolves were right on top of us.  A dark inkling of a thought squirmed in the back of my mind.  Maybe it wasn’t just an illusion.

Twilight climbed past us, pausing only to look back.  “You said it’s safe up there, right?  You said you had a plan?”  Beneath the intensity there was a certain desperation in her voice as she spoke, in her eyes as she looked at me, that unsettled me in my core.

I gave her a stern nod.  “Yeah; I have a plan, but we need to get back up there.”

Twilight and Applejack raced ahead as Fluttershy helped me back up the stairs.  I closed my eyes, trying to focus on each step to keep my mind off the wolves lurking somewhere below.  As we reentered the throne room, I removed my arm from Fluttershy and staggered a few steps forward, trying to run through my old escape plan in my head.

“Alright, first thing’s first, we need to close those doors and find some way to lock them.”

No later than I had said it did the door seem to slam shut on their own will.  Twilight gave me a determined nod, and Applejack began searching through the rubble of the ruined room.

“What did ya have in mind for a lock, Hunter?”

“Use that spear behind the throne,” I said, motioning to the back of the room.  “We can break it and wedge the pieces between the handles.  That should buy us some time.”

Twilight seemed quick to interrupt.  “No time for that.  I have a better idea.  Go ahead to the next step.”

I turned around to protest, but when I did, I saw the unicorn concentrating on the doors.  Bright purple runes flared in a circular pattern over the door.  After a few seconds, they began to fade, and Twilight turned back to me expectantly.  I gave a scrutinizing look between her and the door.  “Is that going to hold?”

She gave an incredulous snort.  “Better than a couple pieces of wood.”

I opened my mouth to snark back but resigned to shake my head.  “Whatever.  Applejack, can you tie a knot?”

“Under different circumstances, Ah’d be insulted you’d have to ask!” she called back from the other side of the room.

I pointed to a half-broken column next to a window.  “There should be a pile of vines I tangled into a rope over there.  You and Fluttershy tie one of the ends to that pillar, and make sure it’s tight.”

“Are you seriously planning what I think you’re planning?” Twilight asked as she trotted up to me.  “You know the timberwolves are still out there, right?  We don’t know how spread out they are; we could lower ourselves right on top of them.”

“Which is what you’re going to fix,” I said sternly.  “I need you to come up with some kind of…  I don’t know, a spell of some sort.”

She raised an eyebrow.  “What kind of spell are we talking about?”

“Something bright,” I explained.  “Bright enough for the Princess to see if she’s still in the woods somewhere.”

“But Hunter, anything like that would give us away to the timberwolves, too,” she frowned.  “They would know exactly where we are.”

“That’s what I’m betting on.  Once they know we’re up here, they’re going to be racing up those stairs and trying to break down that door you just locked.”

“Which would give us enough time to climb down and escape whichever way they used to cross the moat,” she finished.  She hummed in thought for a second before looking up to me.  “That could work.  What makes you think they would all come up, though?  They might only send a few.”

An emotionless snort escaped me. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m a little popular tonight,” I reminded her as I hobbled to Applejack and Fluttershy.  “They all seem to want a bite out of me. They’ll come.”

Twilight didn’t say anything else by the time I met up with the others.  Applejack gave the vines one last, securing tug against the pillar before turning to me.

“Alright, Hunter, that’s about as tight as it’ll get,” she said.  “What now?”

I turned around.  Twilight was standing next to a broken window, her hooves resting on the sill as she looked to me.  Our eyes connected.  She was waiting on a cue.  Taking in a deep breath, I broke off and glanced over the throne room, soaking in every last detail.  The last spear was still resting by the throne.  I leaned slightly against the one I was using for a crutch.  Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have a little more security.

“At the bottom of this tower is a courtyard,” I explained as I hobbled back to the throne.  “And at the far end of that is a side entrance to a large ballroom that leads back to the main foyer.”  I picked up the extra spear and tucked it under my arm before turning back to the girls.  “Twilight’s going to cast a spell that’ll catch the timberwolves’ eyes, and while they’re busy trying to break down a locked door, we climb out the window, make our way back out the front doors, and slip back into the forest however they came across.”

Applejack seemed to mull over the details in her head as I returned.  “Not bad,” she offered.  “It’s the best we have, and it sounds like you thought it through, at least.”

“Well, I had to tweak my original plan, but having a few extra hands definitely helped.”  My eyes flicked back to Twilight and I gave her a nod as I moved to the window next to her.

She returned the gesture, took in a deep breath, and closed her eyes in concentration.  The tip of her horn began to glow.  “Alright, everypony, close your eyes!”

A brilliant white light erupted from her horn, flooding the room and escaping out the window.  I blinked the afterimage away and watched as it trailed into the sky, where it burst brightly enough to light the castle grounds beneath us.  Far below, several pairs of glowing yellow eyes basked up at the light.  Their dark, twisted bodies froze at the light’s exposure, and as it faded, their collective gaze snapped to our tower.  The howling started again, and I saw them beginning to run inside just before the shadows swallowed the castle grounds once more.

“Did it… Did it work?” Fluttershy asked anxiously.

“Oh, yeah,” I replied shakily.  “Definitely.”  I put the second spear down and reached a hand out to Applejack and the makeshift rope.  “Come on.  Let’s get this part over with.”

The mare picked up the rope by her teeth and trotted towards me and the window.  All the while, Fluttershy took to the air and hovered closely by her friend.

“How much time do you think we have before they find their way up here?” she asked.

As if to answer her question, a heavy thump rang out from the other side of the door, followed by a series of mad, muffled barking.  Fluttershy gave a frightened squeak in response.

Applejack spat out the rope and adjusted her witch hat.  “Well, let’s not overstay our welcome, shall we?”  She twisted herself around on her forelegs before the window, and with a powerful buck, the glass in the pane shattered, sending shards out to the courtyard far below.  I helped her move the pile of rope to the newly made hole and tossed it out.

Twilight trotted up to the window with us and looked down to where the rope disappeared.  “So, who’s going first?” she asked.

My fingers tapped along the sill for a moment.  “Well, as Dad used to say, thanks for volunteering, Twilight.”

She gave me an unamused look.  After inspecting the rope and glancing once more out the window, she finally spoke.  “I think I have a better idea.”  Before anyone could ask, she vanished with a sharp pop and a shower of sparks, only to reappear down at the base of the tower next to the end of the rope.

I rolled my eyes.  “Showoff.”

Applejack picked up the rope, giving it an experimental tug before climbing through the window.  “You said you tested this before, right?”

I hesitated.  “I mean, mostly.”  She froze on the other side of the window, and her foreleg clamped on the edge of the sill.  The mare shot me a look demanding to explain.  “Hey, hey, I spent, like, four days making that rope out of all the vines I could get my hands on around here,” I assured her.  “It’ll hold, trust me.”

Her hoof carefully retracted from the sill and clamped tightly along the rope.  She took in a shaky breath and shook her head.  “Oh, Ah hope you’re right.”

As she began her descent, the wolves on the other side of the door grew louder and louder.  They must have all been packed in that tight staircase by now.  Twilight’s spell was holding.  With each crash, the purple runes would light up.  I could only hope it would last long enough for my plan to work.

Fluttershy was next through the window.  Rather than taking the rope, she allowed her wings to carry her.  “I can go with you if you’d like,” she offered as she hovered on the other side.  “I mean, if you need help, I can fly next to you, just in case.  I’ll catch you if you slip.”

I picked up the rope and gave it an experimental tug against the pillar and looked down to the courtyard.  Applejack had just touched down.  She looked up and gave me a hearty wave.  I wasn’t sure if it was the height or my fatigue, but suddenly I became very uneasy.

“Yeah,” I nodded to Fluttershy.  “I think I’d like that.”

I grabbed my spears, fastened them to the belt loops on the back of my waist, and carefully crawled through the window.  My body was quick to protest the strain of supporting myself with my arms.  I tried to prop my feet against the outer wall, but the rubber of my shoes was well worn, and I couldn't get any traction.  My footing slipped, and true to her word, Fluttershy swooped in behind me to slow my rapid descent.  My heart was barely beating faster than her wings when my grip tightened back around the rope.  Fluttershy kept her forelegs wrapped beneath the pits of my arms, trying to alleviate some of my weight.

My feet hit the ground, and I staggered back a few steps.  Fluttershy collapsed next to me, panting from the exertion.  I placed a hand over my own beating heart to calm it down and took a few seconds to reorient myself with my surroundings.

Four structures lined the perimeter of the courtyard, enclosing it in a rectangular shape.  A colonnade spanned the length of the far and side walls, but the wall of the tower behind us was bare.  The structure to our right eclipsed the moon, leaving over half of the area in shadows.  A tall, ornate fountain lay directly in the center, bone-dry from over a thousand years of disuse.

The structure to our left was large, probably rising to at least half the height of the tower we had just escaped.  Five tall, stained-glass windows lined its wall.  I had been in the building only once before, just to peek inside to see what was there, and now what was once an uninteresting, empty space had become our best chance of escape.

“Whenever you’re ready, Hunter,” Applejack offered.  “But if it means anything, Ah’d rather not stay out in the open like this for much longer.”

I gave her a nod and led the way.  As we darted across the courtyard, my eyes scanned the shadows for any unwanted pairs of eyes.  The entire plan could fall apart if we were attacked here.  Once we reached the other side, I took a sharp turn to the building on our left, and a single wooden door barred our passage into it.

Rusty hinges creaked and groaned as I pulled it open.  Once the others ran inside, I quickly slammed it shut behind us.

We were inside the ballroom.  It was large and longer than it was wide, but Ponyville's town hall could have easily fit in it. The stained-glass windows distorted the moonlight that came in, coloring the cavernous room in eerie shades of blues and purples.  There was a strong musk from air that hadn’t been disturbed in a long time, and it only made the empty room all the more unnerving.

Far on the other side of the room was the only other exit, and we didn’t waste our time.  I sprinted after the girls as they galloped across.  Our footsteps echoed heavily beneath the high ceilings, nearly masking an ominous rumble.  The mares heard it, too.  We came to a sliding stop over the old marble floors, but the sound continued.  My blood froze.  It sounded like it was coming from beneath us.

A small crack formed on the floor between me and the mares and quickly grew, snaking across the floor in a destructive path. Beneath me, the floor lurched a few inches downward.

"Everypony, run!" Twilight screamed.

Nobody needed to be told twice. We bolted to the other side of the room where the exit awaited. The air was filled with the sound of crashing rock as the ground crumbled all around us. I didn't dare look back; I was falling behind enough as it was.

The doors weren’t much further away, but the cave-in wasn’t showing any signs of relenting.  I could feel the floor crumbling beneath my heels with each strike of my foot, and no amount of adrenaline could seem to carry me any faster.  Applejack and Fluttershy were far ahead, and Twilight was just barely ahead of me.  Until she no longer was.

I must have blinked and missed it.  One moment she was there, and the next she wasn’t.  A fresh cavity in the ground and a shrill scream was all that was left of her.  I barely had enough time to skim around the hole as I ran, but as I did, I heard a faint pop somewhere beneath.

Another pop and a shower of sparks burst in the air before me as I passed, depositing a purple unicorn directly in my path. There wasn't enough time for my brain to make sense of it, and by the time we collided, it was too late.

Her side caught my knee mid-stride, and I tripped over her body.  The force knocked her over as well, and I heard her try to take in a sharp breath as the wind was sucked out of her lungs.  We sprawled across the floor, coming to a sliding halt.  Our shocked eyes met for a short second, and the floor gave way beneath us.

Thankfully, the fall wasn’t long, though we both spent it screaming in fear.  I fell against my back gasping for breath on a pile of rubble ten feet below the ballroom.  It was another room, maybe a cellar after a quick glance, but the ride wasn’t over yet.  The ground sank beneath me once more, before I so much as had the chance to stand.  I tucked my body in and covered my head, but the impact was just as jarring as the last.

The rumbling slowly died down. The darkness was overwhelming, and the settling dust seemed to reach down my throat with each hesitant breath. I didn’t dare move for fear of causing another collapse.

“Twilight?!  Hunter?!” Applejack’s voice shouted from above.  “Ah can’t see you!  Where are you?  Are y’all okay?”

Twilight’s voice coughed somewhere to the right of me.  “I… I’m fine.  We fell through a couple of floors, but I think we’re okay now.  Hunter?”

A light sparked in the air, banishing the darkness in a purple glow.  A thick haze of dust obscured the shapes around me.  I rolled over and tried to sit up, but my body was quick to protest.  “I— Ach!  I’m alive, I think.”  Some of the dust found its way into my lungs again, and I tried to hack it back up.  “I’ve been a lot better, though,” I groaned.

I craned my neck up as the dust had finally settled to see Applejack and Fluttershy. They were both still safe and sound on the ballroom floor, peering over the edge to get a better view.

Applejack shook her head. "That's it; I'm going down there.  Fluttershy, come on.  Let’s see if you can pick Hunter up and out of that mess."

“Applejack, wait.”  A fit of coughs interrupted Twilight as she called back.  Applejack looked like she was about to jump, only to stumble for a moment before clambering back to the edge.  “You and Fluttershy need to get out of here while you can,” Twilight continued.  “Digging us out is going to take too much time.  The timberwolves are bound to have heard that crash.  They’ll be right on top of us if you try, literally.”

“But what about you?” Fluttershy demanded.  “We can’t leave you behind!”

As my eyes adjusted to the light, I scanned around the room we fell into.  Most of it was buried beneath mounds of rubble.  Bookshelves ran across the walls; mostly empty, but a few still possessed a handful of dusty books and scrolls.  Up ahead, I could make out the shape of a doorway, but beyond that was black as pitch.

“I think I see an exit,” I shouted back.  “Not sure where it goes, but… well, it might lead back up.”

“We’ll be fine,” Twilight assured them.  “Hunter and I are more than capable of fending for ourselves.”

It was at that moment I realized what was being implied.  “Actually, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of hands,” I grunted.

I could feel Twilight shooting me a look.  “There’s no need to drag us all down here,” she reasoned.  “Right now, nopony else knows we’re even at this castle.  Applejack and Fluttershy have the best chance of going back to Ponyville and getting us some help.”  She cast a glance to the doorway I had found.  “You may know this castle, but you need me to light the way, and the longer we argue about this, the sooner the wolves will get here.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but one last puff of dust found its way inside again.  With a fit of coughs and a swear, I waved her off.  “Fine, whatever,” I spat.  I looked up to the others and gave them a nod.  “Get out of here before our company catches up.”

The farmer didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t have a choice, either.  “Alright, Sugarcube,” she said to Fluttershy.  “No sense in waiting here.  Let’s see if we can find the Princess and get her here.”  Fluttershy cast a nervous glance back down the pit before giving her a hesitant nod.  Before they disappeared, Applejack called out one last time, “Good luck, you two!  We’ll be waiting for you.”

Up above, a door creaked and slammed shut, and Twilight and I were left alone.

The rubble shifted next to me as Twilight tried to keep her balance on her descent to solid ground.  She paused next to me and held out a hoof.  I eyed it for a moment, only to shift away and scramble to my feet on my own.  My body felt like it had gone through a round in a boxing ring, and my head wasn’t much better off.

As I rose to my feet, I heard wood clatter against stone behind me.  I nearly jumped, thinking our time was already up as I turned around, only to find one of the spears I had brought shattered against the rubble.  The other laid whole next to where I had landed.  With a disgruntled sigh, I reached back and picked them up, thankful at least one of them managed to survive the drop at least.

“So… Hunter,” Twilight tried carefully.  “I don’t suppose you know where we are.”

I shook my head as I looked around once more.  “I knew the castle had a basement, but I didn’t know it went two floors down,” I admitted with a grunt.  After a few shaky steps on loose stone, I hopped off the pile onto sweet, solid ground.

Twilight stepped down next to me, and her light lazily followed.  Without looking, I knew her attention was drawn to the same thing as me:  that dark, empty doorway.

“Come on,” I whispered, almost to urge myself forward.  Using the spear as an unsteady crutch, I crept towards the exit, pausing at the edge of the doorway.  The sight of the hallway was enough to suck the breath out of my lungs.  It was impossible to tell how far it stretched; for all I knew, it could have gone on for an eternity.  Only the first few feet were clearly visible before darkness swallowed the corridor.

Twilight poked her head inside and hesitated.  Her small spark of light drifted forward, illuminating the path ahead with its eerie purple glow. The unicorn took a few steps into the hall, and the light lazily followed.

Behind us, the wolves filled the air with a sickening chorus of howls.  With a swear under my breath, I shuffled into the hallway after Twilight.  Whatever lied ahead couldn’t have been worse than what we were leaving behind.  As I passed through the doorway, I saw its two doors swung out into the hallway.  Twilight and I traded a look, and we both moved to seal it shut.  The rusty hinges wailed as they moved against their will, and the doors shuddered as they closed for the first time in centuries.  Twilight took a step back and inspected it.

“Do you see a way to lock it?”

I gave the doors a once over, saw the handles, and frowned.  Unless we found the key nearby, it wasn’t going to be easy.  But the broken shards of my spear weighed heavily in my left hand.  I blinked and offered them to the mare.

With a disbelieving snort and a shake of her head, the pieces began to glow in my hand and lifted on their own will.

“If we had time for anything else,” she stated with a huff.  They floated towards the handles and jammed themselves in between.

I turned back to the hallway as she worked.  Even with the light of her spell, it didn’t look any less intimidating.  It stretched on, further than her light could reach.  Something about it seemed to sap away at the knot in my twisting gut.  My fingers danced across the cold head of the hatchet on my left, eventually gripping it in a vice.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a shaky step forward.

“Alright.  Let’s get this over with.”
> Act II:  Separation Anxiety
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

We didn’t talk much as we navigated through the dark corridor, Twilight and I.  The air was cold and still.  With the light of her spell, I could see each breath hang in the air as it escaped me.  Our footsteps echoed endlessly down the hall, teasing my fear that we weren’t truly alone down here.  It didn’t ease my nerves that we could only see a few yards ahead of us.  I stole a glance back and saw the shadows greedily reclaiming the path behind us at the edge of her light.

Black as pitch in both directions.  A narrow passage with a ceiling low enough that my hair could bristle it.  I never thought I could be claustrophobic until now.

“So…” Twilight whispered, but in this strangling silence, it might as well have been a shout.  “What is your home like?”

“We’re not doing this,” I deadpanned.

“I…  Doing what?” she asked, all too innocently.

I bit back a groan.  “This.  Small talk.  Between us.  It isn’t happening.  Your friends have been trying to get me to talk to you since I moved into Ponyville, and if you thought that was going to start just because we’ve been buried alive, you got another thing coming.”

“Hunter, that isn’t fair.”

“Fair?” I scoffed incredulously.  “Life isn’t fair, Twilight.  Some people get to live a normal life with their friends, graduate from school, get a job.  Others get hunted by a unicorn in a world that doesn’t make any sense.  You work with the cards you’re dealt.”

“But I—”

“There’s another door,” I cut her off.  Whatever Twilight had left to say came out as a defeated sigh.  The door was slowly creeping into the light along the left wall.  It was the sixth one we had come across in this seemingly unending hallway.  Hopefully, our luck would change with it.

We stopped in front of it, and I reached down for the handle.  Unlike most of the others, it budged in, if only barely so.  It felt like something was catching it on the base.  After two more experimental shoves, I sucked in a deep breath and braced myself.  My body twisted so that the bottom of my foot faced the door, and with a sharp exhale, I kicked at the handle with all the energy I had.

With a deafening boom, it gave way.  I buckled over my now stiff right leg and hissed away the pain.  My fist beat against my thigh as I tried to push the pain somewhere else.  After a brief moment, I was able to stand again, and I took my first steps into the room.

“Ugh, it smells like something died in here,” I gagged.

“What can you see?”

My eyes blinked in the dim light, but it was hard to make shapes when everything was in shades of purple and black.  “Not much; a big table, some shelves, some fancy tapestry in the back.  Gah, what is that smell?”  I tried in vain to plug my nose to stop the stench, but the scent still lingered.  “Forget it; it’s a dead-end here anyways,” I growled.

I took a step back and turned around, only to walk face-first into a floating ball of light.

“Sunnova— Ow!”

It felt like someone drove a needle into my skull where I ran into it.  The hallway went dark, and I stumbled forward blindly, only to trip through the door frame and fall to the cold stone floor.  It felt like someone had run my brain through a blender.  The only thing I could make sense of was the jarring pain that blanketed my body.

“Oh my gosh.  Hunter, I am so sorry!”  Purple light flooded the hallway once again.  Twilight found me on the ground and hurried to my side.  I scrambled away until my back hit the other wall.  “I-I didn’t mean to do that, I swear,” she promised.  “Just let me see it.  I can try to help—”

“Just get off of me!”  I shoved her away, hard enough that she hit the opposite wall.  Her spell broke again, and the hallway was plunged into darkness.

As I sat in the dark, I couldn’t hear her over the sound of my own labored breathing.  My fingers were busy trying to massage the pain out of my head.  I couldn’t even see them before my face as they worked.  Eventually, the pain faded, but the deafening silence remained.  The air was still.

“I was just trying to help,” Twilight said quietly.

“Well, stop trying,” I grumbled.  “You only make things worse.”

“Hunter, how many times do I have to say that I’m sorry?”

“This isn’t something you can tack a band-aid on with ‘sorry’ and expect everything to be better,” I pointed out.

“Then what could I do to make it up to you?”  Somewhere in front of me, I heard her move.  “There has to be something.”

“No, there doesn’t.  I’m allowed to be mad at you and your friends after everything you did, alright?”  My voice was rising.  The hallway carried my words, reiterating my point over and over again.  The cold was quick to sap away at the heat coming from my face.  I took in a breath and leaned back against the wall.  “There isn’t anything you can do,” I finally said, quieter.

I heard her shuffle again.  After a while, she finally spoke up.  “I guess we should get going then, shouldn’t we?”  She cast her spell again, banishing the darkness with purple light.  Across from me, I could finally see her.  She wiped away the wet streaks around her eyes and sniffled, trying not to look me in the eye.  I shook my head and glanced away, and the chill in the air found its way into my veins.

Down the hall, just past the edge of the light, a pair of full moons glinted back.

I pawed blindly at the floor around me as I kept my eyes pinned on them.  My spear.  Where was my spear?

“Hunter, what are you doing?”

“Not now, Twilight; I need my—”  I tore my eyes away for a second, found the spear, and grabbed it as I scrambled back to my feet.  The eyes were gone.

“Hunter?” she asked again hesitantly.

I couldn’t look away from the darkness.  I couldn’t so much as blink.  My ears strained to hear something, anything.  I held the spear low, angling it slightly upward and towards the shadows as my body took an impulsive step back.

“The light,” I stammered, barely breaking a whisper.  “Make… Make it brighter.”

She stood up and stared at me with wide eyes, following my gaze back down the hallway.  As she took a few cautious steps towards me, the light of her spell began to grow.  Inch by inch, the shadows were pressed back.  The doorframe slowly crept into view, and we saw the beast hiding behind it.

Though they appeared glazed, there was no mistaking those yellow eyes as it stared at us.  Its jaw was slacked open, allowing a paper-thin tongue to loll out the side as its head twitched back and forth.

Twilight and I didn’t speak a word, and the silence was filled with a heavy, strangled wheeze coming out of the timberwolf.  It grew louder.  Not quite a growl, but a low, hungry groan.  Only too late did I realize the sound it was trying to make.  I rushed forward, trying to cut it off, but its voice raised louder still as I closed the distance.  Between the stone walls, its deafening howl sounded more like a dying scream.  With my momentum, I drove the spear into its cheek and pulled it out into the hallway.

It was so light, like throwing a doll.  Its wails were cut off with a gurgle, but that sound was still ringing in my ears.  I planted my foot on its head and pried out the spear.  Now that its body was out in the light, we were able to get our first good look at it.  Its body was thin as a frame; its wooden legs could have been mistaken for bones, if timberwolves still had them.  That stench from before reached its way back into my head, and I stumbled back, gagging.

A heavy thump echoed down the hallway to us, followed quickly by another.  I took a few wary steps back to Twilight as it continued, keeping my eyes pinned on the shadows from where we came.  Beneath the noise, I could barely hear the all too familiar call of the timberwolves, like branches scraping across the stone walls to reach us.

“We need to move,” I said quickly.  “Now.”

I turned on my heels and broke into a sprint, and Twilight was quick to follow.  We couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead of us as we ran.  Twilight’s spell seemed to be struggling to keep up, lagging just barely behind as it tried to stay between us.  It felt like running in a nightmare.  Only the occasional passing door broke the illusion that we weren’t making any headway.

“Do you think that lock we made will hold?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know.”

“What are we going to do if this tunnel leads to a dead end?”

“I don’t know.”

Far behind us, we heard a heavy crash, and the following rabid calls of the wolves seemed impossibly close.  Twilight was trying to slow herself down so I could keep up, and I could tell it was taking all her willpower to stay only just ahead of me with every frightened glance she cast back.

Just as I thought there truly was no end to this tunnel, the walls and ceilings disappeared with the shadows, and we had to scramble to a stop before tripping over knee-high rails guarding a pit.  We were on a balcony with two paths stretching to our left and right.  The other side of the railing led to what looked like a bottomless pit, but glancing up, I could see the light of the stars from a collapsed ceiling.  

“What… What is this place?” Twilight panted.

I looked across the pit, and in the starlight, I could just barely make out the shapes of the other side of the cavernous room.  It was a large, cubic chamber.  We were two floors down, just as we knew, and a second glance further down the pit showed many more levels stretching down into the darkness.  Behind us, the calling wolves reminded us of the present danger.  I took off running to the left.

“We can’t wait here,” I called after her.  “Come on; bring your light!”

She broke into a gallop after me, and in no time, she was back at my side.  “Don’t you know where we are yet?” she asked.

Twilight was running between me and the wall, and with her spell flying above her, I caught glimpses behind her.  Iron bars were evenly spaced across the wall, sealing off multiple cramped cells on the other side.  That putrid stench of rot was back again.  It was getting harder to breath in between my pants.

“I’m not sure,” I coughed.  “But the exit has to be somewhere up top, right?”

Part of the floor above us had collapsed onto our runway.  I skirted around the edge, and Twilight quickly hopped over the rubble.  We reached the first corner of the square and broke right.

“That makes sense,” she admitted.  “But nothing else about this night has so far.  How do we get to it?”

I shook my head.  “I’m not sure.  There should be stairs around here somewhere.”

The howling calls of the timberwolves were only growing louder.  By the time we had reached the second corner, there still was no sight of a way back up.  I stole a glance back at the far side of the room from where we came.  In the starlight, I could just barely see the hallway we spent so much time lost in.  Figures were spilling out of its shadows.  I caught glimpses of glowing yellow eyes.

The pack of timberwolves split in both directions.  I had to hope that the stairs would be on this stretch, otherwise we would be cornered.  And against that many wolves, I didn’t know how long I would last.

“Hunter, come on!”

I didn’t realize I had stopped moving.  Twilight didn’t share my hesitation, and both she and her light were quickly moving down the path.  Shadows began creeping around me, and my body lurched into motion after her.

Our salvation soon came into the light.  Two sets of stairs lined the wall on our left, one going up and the other going down.  Twilight didn’t need to ask which path we were taking.  She vaulted up the steps, pausing halfway and turning back as she waited for me.  But as I caught up, I realized that her restless eyes weren’t pinned on me.  Her lips parted, trying to make words.  I couldn’t hear whatever she said over the rabid barks from the wolves, but I knew I didn’t have to.

I planted my foot on the first step and turned around, and I saw the charging pack just behind me.

The lead wolf pounced.  I barely had enough time to ready my spear, and it intercepted the wolf at its chest.  The force shoved me back, causing the blunt end of the spear to strike the steps behind me.  Even though it was skewered through the ribs, the wolf was still barking, its jaws were still snapping, trying to take another piece of me.  It was heavier than the one before, much stronger, too.  I found that I didn’t have the strength to move it, and a frantic glance past it showed more charging into Twilight’s light.

“Hunter, no!”

The spell flickered out, and the darkness swallowed me whole.  The only lights I could make out were from the wolves’ sickly eyes.  I closed my own and braced myself.  I didn’t want to see them when the end came, and in that moment, I was so certain it was seconds away.

Between the wolves’ rabid cries came a series of heavy thumps.  The teeth never came.  The only thing that convinced me that I hadn’t died on the spot was the weight of the timberwolf still pinned on my spear.  Through the deafening heartbeat in my ears, Twilight called my name again, and I peeked open an eye.

The world around us was covered in a bright film of purple.  Twilight and I were motionless in the magical bubble she created over the staircase, until the spear in my death grip shifted with the weight of the wolf above me, reminding me of the present danger.

Twilight shouted something again, something that came in smudged through my dulling senses.  It took all of my energy to focus on the wolf’s ever snapping jaws as it sank lower and lower on my spear.  My left hand danced around my waist, searching for that familiar and much needed weight.  As my fingers brushed against frigid metal, I knew I had found my prize.  I pulled my hatchet out by its head, readjusted my grip, and connected it to the side of the wolf’s head.  Its jaw unhinged at the point of impact.  I pulled the tool out and threw it against the head once more, striking slightly higher.  Suddenly, I could feel the weight go limp as its eyes began to dull, and with a twist of my body beneath it, it fell over to the side.

My head laid against the sapping cold of the stone steps.  With each pant, I could see by breath hang tauntingly in the air before disappearing, the precious heat leaking from my body.  My heart beat a frantic cadence between my ears, and as much as I strained to listen, I couldn't hear another sound.

Something touched my shoulder with a gentle pull.  With another spike from my heart, I twisted back with my hatchet at the ready.  Twilight recoiled back, but even after I dropped my guard again, that look in her eyes never faded.

“Are you okay?” she asked.  A formality at this point.  One look at my face seemed to be enough of an answer, but I still gave one with a shake of my head.  I glanced back down the stairs and found the rest of the pack glaring patiently on the other side of Twilight’s barrier.  I blinked, hoping that their lips peeled back into hungry grins was just part of my exhausted imagination.

“Hunter, we need to talk,” Twilight pressed, pulling for my attention again.  “I… I can’t keep this spell up forever.  I mean…”  She glanced nervously down to the wolves and back to me.  “I can keep it up for a while, but… what am I supposed to do after that?  I don’t know how to help you.  Not against that,” she said, nodding downstairs.  “I could stop some of them in time, but the others?  If you were anypony else, I could just teleport us away, or at very least help you with my magic.”  She paused, expecting me to say something.  Words couldn’t form for me, though, and I found my gaze drag down to the steps beneath her.

“Hunter, talk to me.  What can I do to help you?”

My body felt numb.  I took in a shaky breath and shook my head.  “Just keep it up,” I finally wheezed.  “Let me…  Let me think for a bit.”

She didn’t say anything as I laid my head back down against the steps.  The adrenaline wore off long ago, and moving anything was proving to take more energy than I could muster.  Maybe if I closed my eyes, the pain that wrapped me in a blanket would slowly slip away.

My wishful thinking only seemed to invite more to my growing list of pains as an ache formed in the back of my head, and a distant voice spoke out.  Strange, how after all your reluctance you still ended up in this castle, isn’t it?  Some things must be destined.

I grimaced.  Go away.

If only you had listened to Our advice, you could have been here with far less company.

Is this all you came back for? I asked.  To gloat that you were right all along and watch me die?

Why would We want you to die, Hunter? it cooed.  After all the effort We spent to help you survive this long?

In spite of its tone, I didn’t feel any relaxed.  In fact, my heart was only pounding louder and louder.  A film of cold sweat clung my clothes tightly against my skin.  I rolled over to my hands and knees on the stairs.

“Hunter?” Twilight asked worriedly.  “What’s wrong?”

“Shut up,” I hissed.  I wasn’t sure who I meant it for.  My hand reached to wipe the sweat from my brow.  The fog escaping my mouth was growing thicker.

Humans are built to survive, it reminded me.  It’s in your blood.  Along with a few other useful tricks.

I could feel my gaze being pulled up by strings to the top of the stairs.  It was barred off by Twilight’s barrier, but an inkling of a memory trickled into my mind, one of a stormy night so long ago.  I clambered up to my unsteady feet, taking a few shuffling steps to make sure I had my balance.  My fingers fumbled for the zipper of my jacket, and once it was open, I shimmied the jacket off and tied its arms tightly around my waist.  The air was cold against my already clammy skin.  I glanced down to my left wrist and the soiled gauze wrapped around it.  The tips of my fingers felt too numb to undo it, and with a grunt, I brought it up to my teeth and started biting and tugging.

“What are you doing?” Twilight asked again.  “Did you come up with something?”

“Something,” I growled through clenched teeth.  My canines tore through, just enough for my fingers to squeeze in and begin tearing the rest of it off.  I bit back a wince as scabbed blood peeled away and tried not to stare at the sight it left behind.  “Just keep your shield up.  I think I can slip through.”

“How?”

I reached down and picked up my hatchet, looking back to her bewildered eyes.  “Me and magic don’t mix, remember?  It’s about time I did something useful with that little fact.”

I trudged up the stairs, each step feeling like it took all my strength.  Far below, the pack began to growl a warning.  I tried to tune it out as I scrubbed the soiled side of the bandage against the blade of my hatchet.

The top of the bubble came just before the end of the stairs.  My hair brushed against the magical ceiling as I stopped, and an unnatural shiver shot down my spine.  The used bandage fell out of my hand, and I could feel something warm slowly trickling down the edge of my palm.  I raised my left hand and pressed against the barrier.

It had an uncomfortable warmth to it as it pushed back against me.  Between the pressure came faint sizzles and sharp pops like grease in a hot pan.  My skin crawled and my mind reeled.  A nauseating scent wafted down from the light smoke and purple sparks, and I finally pulled my hand away.  An outline of my palm remained, tracing all the way to my little finger.  It ate away at the barrier briefly before stopping.  I placed my hand next to the small hole it made, sucked in a breath, and swung my hatchet up with all my strength.

It cut through the barrier like it was made of butter.  I paused after seeing the head on the other side.  The handle was lodged in the sliver of a hole that it made, but just like my palmprint, that hole was slowly growing, too.  Cracks webbed out of the point of impact.  I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips.  I was going to make it out.

Renewed with a fresh feeling of hope, I began to work faster.  The blade got caught against the barrier as I tried to pull it back in, but with a few forceful tugs, it sank back inside.  Tiny, broken shards fell in with it, sparking and fizzling until disappearing before falling on me.  I drove the hatchet through again and again, cutting more and more holes and tearing sections out until I was confident that I could push through.

As Twilight tried to sustain the barrier, I noticed the parts I was cutting away were slowly stitching themselves back together.  The blade of the hatchet was meeting more resistance with each new swing, too.  But with one last swing, the jagged circle I had cut into the barrier was complete.  The inner section, now a spider web of fractures, caved in and shattered over my body like thin glass.  The hole wasn’t quite a tight fit, but with the rate it was repairing itself, I couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

Stuffing my hatchet between the sleeves around my waist, I began to clamber out of the rugged hole.  My less than graceful escape whipped the wolves into a frenzy, and outside of Twilight’s dome, their calls were louder than ever.  I crawled up to the top of the stairs and turned back to Twilight, who stared back at me with expectant eyes.

“I’m gonna find the exit,” I panted.  “Hold them back as long as you can.”

She hesitated, but quickly gave a brisk nod.  Behind her, the wolves were trying to find any form of purchase to get around her spell.  “I’ll try my best.  Hurry!”

As the hole closed between us, I shuffled up to my feet.  A couple staggering steps sent me shoulder first into the wall next to me.  The beating cadence between my ears was persistent, and beneath it, a small voice urged me on.  I rolled against the wall to my back and tried to make sense of the shapes before me.

Without Twilight’s illuminating spell, it was difficult to focus on anything.  The moonlight that leaked in from above offered a few answers.  The floor I had found myself on was the same as the one left behind.  I looked to the right, and on the other side of the stairs I had climbed, just a few paces away, was another set ascending to the next level.  At the end wasn’t another floor that stretched across, but a single, small platform.  Perhaps that was where my escape awaited.

I pushed myself off the wall and to the next set of stairs.  The world tilted as I did, and I waited for it to level out before taking the first step.  The small guard rail that ran up with me wasn’t designed for the safety of humans.  One misstep would send me tripping over the edge, and I didn’t want to dwell on how long the drop might be if I missed the floor beneath on the way back down.

I climbed slowly, though my heartbeat and the chilling calls of the wolves reminded me of the urgency.  The steps beneath me might as well had been invisible in the darkness.  I held out a cautious hand just in case.  My only guidance was the silhouette of the top, creeping ever so sluggishly into view.  I thought I could see the edge of a doorway in the shadows.  My heart leapt in my chest, only to drop with the rest of my body in the next second.

My left foot found a hole halfway up the stairs and plummeted through.  My body crashed forward, and the only thing to cushion the fall was my outstretched hand.  Beneath me, the wolves chattered excitedly.

“Hunter?” Twilight called up anxiously.  “What was that?  Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I lied with a grunt.  The fall had rattled my body with a fresh, jarring ache.  Staying on my hands and knee, I carefully pulled my leg out of the hole it found and rested it against the solid steps.  I reached out with my hands, feeling for more holes as I crawled up the rest of the stairs.  Escape was so close.  I couldn’t afford any more surprises.

The top was dimly lit by the moonlight but well enough to see the stone beneath me.  There weren’t any holes up here, but my hands patted around just to be certain before grabbing the small guard rail and pulling the rest of me to my feet.  I was on a small, rounded platform that overlooked the pit.  No walkways stretched around from here; only a single, wooden door stood behind me.

I took a few staggering steps towards it and reached for the low handle; an old iron ring more fit to be a knocker.  As I pulled, it didn’t budge.  A curse hissed through my teeth, and I tried again.  Still no luck.  There wasn’t a key anywhere in sight.  To think after all of this, my escape was cut off by a locked, wooden door in a decrepit castle.

With an aggravated grunt, I reeled my foot back and struck it with all the energy I had left.  It groaned, as if to boast against me.  A defeated sigh heaved out of me, and I turned around and rested my back against the door, looking up to the sky.  Was this really how it ended?

Against my weight, the door began to budge.  I sucked in a startled breath as it fully gave way, causing me to fall backwards into a large, empty hallway.  My dazed eyes darted around the new area, trying to make sense of the new environment.  As they fell on the door, now resting lazily on its hinges in the hallway, a quick snort escaped me, and my face cracked into what felt like the first smile all night.

“Hunter?”

“I found the exit!” I called back.  With a grunt, I rolled back to my hands and knees and slowly stood back up.  “I’m in a hallway.  I think I know how to get back to the foyer from here.”

There was a moment of hesitation.  “Okay.  I…  Give me a moment.  I think I can make it.  Get ready to close the door.”

I nodded, though she couldn’t see it, and braced myself against the door.  There was a sound like crackling static, followed by a thunderous pop like cannon shot, and hoofbeats echoed in the chamber as Twilight began racing upstairs.

My fingers drummed against the door, matching the cadence of her hoofbeats as she climbed.  My leg started bouncing on the ball of its foot.  The outraged cries of the wolves were overwhelming.  If they managed to catch Twilight before she made it to the door, there wouldn’t be much stopping them from getting to me next.

Twilight reached the top of the stairs, and I braced myself for the next part.  As she ran through the door, the first flash of yellow eyes came into the moonlight.  I slammed the door shut and threw my weight against it.  Another weight threw itself on the other side.

My body nearly bounced from the impact.  On the other side, the wolves were relentless.  I dug my heels into the floor as a tidal wave of force raged on the other side.  Twilight sprang into action, planting her forelegs against the door and pushing with all she had.  It was quickly apparent that it was an uphill struggle, though.

“Don’t suppose you have another spell to—  Gah!”  A timberwolf managed to slide its face through the doorway after another strong push.  I pulled out my hatchet and drove the blade into its snarling muzzle, and with a sharp whimper, the wolf withdrew.  “Can you lock it?!”

“I’m already trying!”

I turned my head and saw her concentrating on the door.  Her horn was glowing, and familiar glyphs began to show on the door.  “Just hold it still for a few more seconds so it can set.”

Another push from the other side.  My heel slipped, and I fell to my rear, keeping my back braced against the door.  “No promises!”

“Just about… and… good!”

Twilight pushed herself off the door and took a few steps back into the hallway.  Behind me, the force stopped, though I could still hear the wolves trying to claw through on the other side.  I rolled away from the floor and tucked my arms and legs beneath me, trying to find the strength to stand.  It felt like all of it was spent trying to hold the door.

“That will hold long enough,” Twilight panted.  “At least until they remember the way they came in.  Do you need any help?”

I looked up and saw her extended hoof.  My mouth opened and closed after failing to find words.  With a shaky hand, I reached out and grabbed the door handle, using it to pull myself up.  Twilight’s hoof slowly retracted as she looked away.

“Do you know where we are now?” she asked.  “Anything familiar?”

My eyes scanned the hallway, for what little help it did.  All of them looked the same, with few variations between.  Judging by the direction we went since the ballroom, though, I had a decent guess.  I lifted a finger to the right and sucked in a breath.

“That way.  It should lead to the foyer.”  I pushed myself off the wall I was leaning against.  My head felt light, and no amount of movement could stretch the stiffness out of my legs.  All the same, I started to jog.  “Come on, let’s not leave the other two waiting.”

I tried to keep my focus as we ran through the corridors, but long blinks caused segments to disappear with the consciousness I was struggling to hold on to.  The edges of my mind began to blur as I chased the unicorn through the winding maze.  Hadn’t I been here before, long ago in a dream?  As the world twisted along an axis, it was harder to tell whether or not I had stumbled into it again.

You could have prevented this, the shadows reminded me as I passed.  I struggled to keep my footing as the ground tilted beneath my feet.  My shoulder crashed into the wall between the windows that released the cold, guiding moonlight.  The shadows wrapped around me and whispered in my ear.

You could have been safe.  You could have been home.  Why didn’t you listen to Us?

Another slow blink.  The unicorn disappeared.  My heart spiked, and I tried to push myself away from the muck that was enveloping my mind.  Where did she go?

Was it simply out of spite?  Did you feel like you were somehow wronged?

I could hear the ragged pants of wolves behind me.  Had they already broken through?  I turned at the bend, forcing my eyes to stay open, fearful of what would happen if I slipped again.

You couldn’t have made it this far on your own.  Isn’t that why you first turned to Us?  Who else was there for you?  Who else gave you direction?

A name was burning in my head, trying desperately to drown out the rest of my wild thoughts.  I had to find her, wherever she ran off.  I had to wake up from this nightmare.

I burst into the foyer, blind from the numbing headache, and called out.

“Lyra?”

“Hunter?”

My heart nearly leapt out of my chest, and then I turned and saw the unicorn it wasn’t.  Twilight trotted across the room.

“What happened?  You were right behind me a moment ago,” she explained.  “I was just about to go back looking for you.”

My eyes were fixated on her as I tried to make sense of everything.  The fog started to lift from my mind, pulling away the headache until all I was left with was my bodily pains.  I cast a glance down the hallway I escaped.  The last minute felt like a haze, blinked away from all the piling exhaustion.  I squinted my eyes, as if I left the answer somewhere behind me, but all that I saw were shadows.

“I… I guess I had to catch my breath,” I panted.  My gaze fluttered around the foyer.  For the first time, I noticed just how cold and empty this castle felt.  “Come on,” I said softly.  “I don’t ever want to see this place again.”

The front doors of the foyer were left wide open, courtesy of Applejack and Fluttershy, we presumed.  We stepped out into the night.  The bridge was still out, and a cursory glance on both sides didn’t show any other way across.

“Which way do you think they went?” I asked, looking down to her.  She was studying the dirt path to the bridge closely in the moonlight.

Twilight looked up to me, and as her shadow shifted, I saw what had caught her attention:  a thin line gouged into the earth, with an arrow head pointing right.

“This way,” she said definitively, trotting in the same direction.

I followed after her with a slow limp.  She was cautious to not leave me too far behind this time, although there was still an air of urgency about her as she trotted around the old castle grounds.  The moon was inching ever closer to the horizon, causing the shadows to stretch.  There still was no hint of the sun to the east.  The night wasn’t finished yet, and the thought made my gut drop like a rock.

The wild grass by the edge of the castle was difficult to wade through.  I imagined it was only worse for Twilight; it was up to my knees.  As we rounded the corner of the castle walls, the source of our troubles came into light.  A fallen tree closed the gap of the trench.  It wasn’t too far away either, meaning Applejack and Fluttershy surely must have found and crossed it.

It looked like it was uprooted and knocked over.  The branches and leaves on its top made a natural wall, shielding most of it from sight.  On the other side, its roots reached up to the moonlight.  Further past that, I thought I saw movement.  Were the others waiting for us?

A lone figure climbed up on the trunk, tall and spindly.

Twilight hissed next to me.  “Hunter, get down!”

I had already dropped before she finished her warning.  The grass did little to cushion my landing as I fell next to her, but it provided ample cover.  Twilight’s eyes were pinned ahead.  I reached out a hand and peeled away a layer of grass until I could see him between the blades.

“Please tell me that isn’t who I think it is,” I whispered urgently.  My heart spiked as he disappeared behind the canopy of the fallen tree.  “I thought the Princess was taking care of him.”

“He must have slipped away,” Twilight tried to explain.  “Did you see how he was moving, though?”

My eyes broke away from the tree as I turned to Twilight.  With the shade of the tall grass, it was difficult to see her.  “I was a little distracted by who it was.  What did you see?”

Her eyes were pinned forward as her body laid tense, like she was ready to bolt.  In the shadows, I could see her head shake ever so slightly.  “Wait until he’s back in the open again.  I want to make sure I saw it right.”

I tried to take in a shaky breath and looked back to the tree.  The tension in the air was suffocating, but after a few more seconds, Thorn emerged from behind the wall of branches.  As I studied him, I discovered what Twilight was talking about.

He was walking with a limp.  His right foreleg appeared shriveled, more so than usual, and he held it closer to his chest as he walked with his other three.

“He’s hurt,” Twilight said aloud.  “That must’ve been Princess Luna‘s—”

She cut herself off with a squeak as Thorn looked our way.  I tried to fight off the shiver racing up my spine, fearful that he would see it, if he hadn’t already heard us.  Only one of his eyes glowed that sickly yellow against his silhouette as he continued to stare.  A second passed.  Another.

Thorn finally tore his gaze away, and I allowed myself to gasp in a small breath.  He continued to limp across the tiny field to the castle wall.  I struggled to follow him with my eyes through the blades of grass.  He never turned to the front door and instead found a crack in the wall large enough for him to slither through.  We stayed still in the grass for a moment longer, just to be sure.

Twilight was first to move.  She stood to peek her head over the grass, and I reached out and pulled her back down.

“Stay low,” I whispered.  I made the motion with my hand and pointed towards the fallen tree.

With a subtle nod, she started to crawl through the grass.  I followed as closely as I could.  The tree seemed impossibly far away.  Every inch we covered felt like a yard and took just as much effort as I struggled to crawl, but the work eventually paid off.  The tall grass was growing sparse the closer we drew to the rocky edge.  Our exit was still a few yards away, with nothing but open rocks between us and the cover of the branches.

Twilight and I shared a look.  We hadn’t been spotted yet.  Maybe our luck would hold out just a little bit longer.  I swallowed the lump in my throat and tucked my legs beneath me.  I rose a fist, extended three fingers, and counted down, and we broke into a sprint.

For such a short distance, it felt incredibly long.  The moon felt like a spotlight beaming down on us for all to see.  All I could think about were the wolves’ hungry eyes glaring at my back, but I didn’t check out of fear that my thoughts were true.  When we stopped behind the tree’s thick branches, I doubled over and fell to my knees, panting until the paranoia dissolved.

Twilight clambered to the top of the tree trunk as I struggled back to me feet.  She took a few wobbly steps across the trench before looking at me expectantly.

“What’s the matter?” I grunted as I hefted myself up with her.  “No fancy magic tricks to get across this time?”

“I’m not leaving you by yourself this time,” she explained.  “I couldn’t forgive myself if something happened to you now.”

“Well, I’d hate to make you feel sorry.”  My sarcasm earned an unamused look for her as I carefully stood up.

“Look, the night’s almost over with,” she huffed.  “Once we find Applejack and Fluttershy, we’ll go back to Ponyville, and I can leave you with Nurse Redheart.”

“That might be the best plan I’ve heard all night.”  I held out my arms to maintain my balance and took my first step forward. Peeling my eyes away from the coming trench, I looked up to Twilight.  “What about the missing ponies?”

“I’ll find them,” she said adamantly.  “Once we drop you off, Applejack, Fluttershy, and I are going to find Rarity at the hospital, and we’re coming back to the Everfree Forest to find Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, along with everypony else Thorn took.  It was a mistake bringing you out here to begin with.”

“What’s that supposed to—”  I cut myself off with a sucking breath as my foot misstepped.  My arm cartwheeled wildly until I regained my balance.  Twilight turned back to look at the cause of the noise, and I was thankful she missed the display.

“You’ve been through enough tonight as it is, Hunter,” she said as she continued forward.  “Nurse Redheart was right; you should have stayed in Ponyville while my friends and I took care of this.  Now we’re worse off than when we started.”  She reached the other side of the trench and hopped off to solid ground, waiting patiently for me to join her.  “Nopony knows where Princess Luna and her guards are, we’re all the way at the Ancient Castle of the Two Sisters in the Everfree Forest, we still don’t know where the missing ponies are…”

I hopped off the trunk and landed with a grunt, and with a couple heavy blinks, I sat back down on the fallen tree to relieve my weight.

“And you can barely move without straining yourself,” Twilight added.

“Well, when you put it that way…”  My voice trailed off, and I shook my head.  “Screw it, I’m not in the mood to make jokes.”  My hands pushed against the trunk to help me back to my feet, and I cast a cursory glance across the forest.  “We still need to find Applejack and Fluttershy first.  Any idea where they are?”

“They have to be nearby,” she reasoned.  “They said they would wait for us, right?”

“Thorn might’ve scared them off,” I pointed out.  Or worse, if he saw them.  I didn’t want to dwell on the thought, though.  I moved around Twilight, passed the upturned roots of the tree, and searched harder through the dark foliage.  “Maybe they’re hiding.”

Twilight called out in a hushed tone, “Applejack?  Fluttershy?”  The silence that returned was deafening.  The unicorn shook her head and tried again, a little louder this time.  “Applejack, Fluttershy, it’s me!  Where are you?  It’s safe to come out.  Thorn went to the castle.”

She paused for a moment, as if something had dawned on her, and her next urgent question was directed to me.  “You don’t think they’re still in the castle, do you?”

I almost didn’t hear her.  My eyes were fixed on a strange shape nearly hidden at the edge of the trail.  I crouched over it, and my hand gingerly reached for it.  “I… I don’t think so.”  The words had a difficult time squeezing past the lump growing in my throat as I picked it up.  “Can you make another light?”

There was a moment of hesitation when Twilight picked up on the tremor in my voice.  She quickly covered the distance, conjuring a purple light as she stood next to me, and I got my first good look at the object in my hand.

A witch’s hat, the same one Applejack was wearing tonight.  The farmer wasn’t anywhere in sight, though.  Twilight became a special kind of pale, one I imagined that I wasn’t too far from either.  We shared a look, and I knew we both understood what it meant.  I was the first to put it into words.

“I don’t think they managed to sneak past Thorn.”

Twilight tore her eyes away and began searching through the nearby bushes. A fresh panic chipped away at the edge of her voice as she called out for her friends again, loud enough for the whole forest to hear.  The hat fell out of my hand and back onto the trail.  I didn’t tell her to stop.  If I opened my mouth, there was no guarantee that the string of curses running rampant in my head wouldn’t slip out first.

With Twilight’s light still floating above, I searched across the trail for any hint to what truly happened.  Prints were stamped into the dirt, about the shape of hooves.  Fresh earth was dug up by a few shallow scrapes made by claws.  I couldn’t make much sense of it, but now there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that they had run into the timberwolves.

At the edge of the light, another object caught my eye.  As Twilight moved, and her light with her, I only caught an occasional glimpse, but that familiar shade of yellow made me hope it wasn’t what I thought it was.  I carefully pushed myself up and slowly shambled further down the trail.

I bent over and plucked it from the dirt when I reached it.  A shiver coursed through me as I held it against the light.  My body felt colder than the biting air around it.  In my hand, my fingers twirled a bright yellow feather, speckled with fresh, red droplets.  I swallowed the lump in my throat and finally called out, “Twilight!”

The unicorn came bursting out of the bushes and galloped up to me.  A single look told me that she still hadn’t found any sign of them.  Given what I had found, I was almost glad for the fact.  Her eyes fell on the feather in my hand, and she took a staggered step back.

“Oh, no,” she whispered.  “Oh my gosh, no.  I—”  She shook her head, trying to get her thoughts in order.  “We never should have split up.  We should have stayed together, like we always did.  What was I thinking?”

“I think they’ve been taken somewhere,” I tried to explain.  “I mean, if they’re still…”  Don’t think about it.  “I’ve never seen Thorn alone before.  Maybe he…  Maybe he had other timberwolves with him when they ran into him.  I-I mean, he was hurt anyway.  Maybe he had them taken somewhere while he kept searching for me.  I just… I don’t know.  I’m not a tracker even on a good day.  I’m just not sure if—”

“Hunter, let go.”

I blinked, not even realizing that the feather was tugging away from my hand.  My grip on it released, and it floated over to Twilight.  The mare sat on her haunches and ran a hoof through her mane as she inspected it.

“I-I think I know a spell for this.”  As she spoke, the feather began to glow brightly.  “I’ve been researching certain magic over the last few days,” she explained.  “Magic based on returning objects from where they came.  A lot of it came up as dead ends, but I think this one—  No, I know this one can help us now at least.”

The light flashed and quickly died out, like a spent bulb.  All that was left on the feather was a faint, purple outline like dim neon.  It started to gently float between us, drifting towards me.

Twilight gave a relieved nod.  “There.  That should lead us back to Fluttershy… but…”

I moved to the side as the feather passed.  “But what?”

Her eyes followed the feather.  “It’s not going to Ponyville, Hunter.”

“And?”

“And I don’t know how you’re even standing right now!” she exclaimed.  “You look horrible, Hunter.  I can’t guarantee your safety, I’m going to cast another spell that will lead you back into town.  All you need to do is follow it, and you’ll be safe.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Hey, where are you going?!”

“I’m following the feather!” I shouted back.  “I’m not going to sit around safe and sound in the town hall worrying if they’re okay, and I know you wouldn’t either.”

With a frustrated grunt, she took off after me, quickly reaching my side as I walked and glaring daggers at me.  “Hunter, I won’t be able to forgive myself if anything more happens to you tonight,” she snapped.  “And I know Applejack and Fluttershy feel the same.  I know you’re not going to do it for me, but at least think about them.”

“I am thinking about them, Twilight, but they’re my friends, too.”  We came to an abrupt stop.  The feather didn’t share the courtesy as it continued to slowly drift deeper into the forest.  “And if you’re so worried about feeling guilty over me getting hurt, then you better stay close to me, because all the magic in the world can’t help you stop me right now.”

A strained second passed.  Twilight heaved a sigh, and her stern composure finally broke.  “Fine,” she grunted as she cantered after the feather.  “But this better not be some… sick, twisted way at getting back at me for everything.”

Without her attention on me, I could feel my face fall slack.  A quiet gasp for breath gave me enough energy to start limping after her.  “It’s not,” I grumbled.  “I’m just trying to be a good friend for once.”
> Act II:  Spellbreaker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The magic feather fluttered in a nonexistent breeze as it floated through the forest.  The path it travelled was straight, uncaring for the others that trailed behind it.  Somewhere between the feather and myself, Twilight was trying to navigate through the Everfree’s underbrush.  I couldn’t see her through the shadows; she had dispelled her magical light long ago.  Something had to have dragged Applejack and Fluttershy off, and we both agreed that it wouldn’t be in our best interest to let it see us first.

The forest canopy strangled the moon’s light, and our only guidance was the dim glow coming from the feather.  Shadows twisted the shapes of the trees around us, leaving plenty of room for the imagination to run wild.  I had lived in this forest long enough to know that there would always be something new to surprise me, and I kept my hatchet close in hand, in case any new surprises decided to sneak up on us.

The chilling air was quiet, broken only by the faint rustles wherever Twilight was and the occasional snaps of twigs beneath my feet.  I wasn’t sure if my shivering came from the cold or adrenaline.  My jacket was still tied tightly around my waist, and it constantly snagged against the limbs of the brush I waded through.  The thought to put it back on and cover my exposed skin had occurred, but I couldn’t afford to stop and lose sight of the guiding feather just for a little extra comfort.

Eventually, the stillness of the air was replaced by the distant shouting of a brash voice.  The feather was heading directly towards the source.  The closer we drew, the more familiar it started to sound, but it wasn’t a voice I expected to hear.

“—hear me?!  Let me outta here so we can see how tough you are against a pony who’ll fight back!”

“Rainbow Dash, would ya cut it out?  You ain’t helping nothing gettin’ all riled up like this.”

Somewhere in front of me, Twilight gasped sharply.  I could see movement beneath the brush as she quickly moved ahead.  Thankfully, the shouting seemed to mask the noise she was making.  I hurried at my own pace to catch up.

“You’re all going to regret this once the Princess sets us free,” Rainbow continued to shout.  “Once I get my hooves on your wooden muzzle, I’m gonna make you wish you never crawled out of whatever hole you came from!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

The trees gave way to a small clearing.  I kept myself low, with my head just above the underbrush to see.

Under the moonlight, a wooden cage stood in the middle of the trampled, open area.  Ponies were uncomfortably packed within, all still in their festive costumes.  Most of them cowered as far back as the cage would let them, but two remained in the front.  Rainbow Dash was swiping a hoof between the wooden bars at the four timberwolves watching over them, and a hatless Applejack was struggling vainly to hold her back.

One of the wolves crouched low before her as she continued to shout, just outside of her reach.  I could hear it snarling from here, a threatening sound sprinkled with even more ferocious barks.  It didn’t phase the pegasus, though.  If anything, it only spurred her to continue her slew of threats.

The largest wolf of the pack approached the snarler and batted its head with a paw, giving it a growl of its own.  The snarler recoiled from the strike, and its once vicious barks devolved into pitiful whimpers as it backpedaled away.  The larger wolf took its place, laid down, and silently stared at the cage as Rainbow Dash continued her rant.

Off to the left, two more wolves sat, licking mysterious wounds.  One was wiry; it got up and circled the lap around the other with a slight limp before settling back down and nibbling at its apparently wounded leg.  The other sat up straight, and its forelegs were busy rubbing at its muzzle.  I strained my eyes to better see the faint glint of yellow beneath its paws.  It was sap, squeezing out of the cracks of the wood on its muzzle.  Its mangled face looked like it had been partially punched in from the snout… or kicked, if there was any chance it was Applejack’s handiwork.

Suddenly, the shouting stopped.  I looked back to the cage, thinking the large wolf had finally grown tired of Rainbow’s shouting, and my stomach dropped.  The magic feather was floating in the middle of the clearing, and all eyes were on it.

The large wolf stood as the feather passed over its head and watched as it fluttered into the cage.  The ponies parted as it entered, but I couldn’t see where it stopped through all the figures.  There wasn’t time to get a better angle, either.  The wolf’s eyes traced back to the path the feather followed, and it growled a sound like creaking timber.  The others stood up on command, and I could feel all four sets of eyes boring into the bushes I hid behind.  They slowly made their advance.

“Twilight?  How many do you think you can take?” I whispered under my breath.  It was quiet enough for the wolves not to hear me, but I still expected a response.  I looked around me, my eyes straining to see her through the shadows.  “Twilight?”

Nowhere in sight, and if she could hear me, she wasn’t responding.  We must have separated further than I thought when we heard the others.  The wolves were still prowling closer.  I screwed my eyes shut and sucked in a breath.   A bad plan was brewing in my mind, and it hinged more heavily on Twilight than I liked to admit, but the wolves were going to be on top of me one way or another.  “Wherever you are, you better be close,” I hissed.

I stood out of the bushes and stepped out into the clearing, brandishing my hatchet.  Gently biting down on a couple fingers, I let out a sharp whistle, as though I needed anything more to grab their attention.  “Here, boy!”

It was like I flipped a switch.  All four of them released a hungry snarl and broke into a sprint.  The distance was closing fast, with the largest wolf in the lead.  I braced myself for the impact, but before they came too close, four streaks of purple light intercepted each of them.  They tumbled and slid to a stop, and I made the most of my opportunity.

The largest wolf stopped just a few feet away from me, its stomach exposed in the air.  I stumbled forward and fell on top of it with my hatchet, burying the blade into its wooden hide.

“That was your plan?!”

The other three wolves were scrambling back to their feet.  I wrenched my hatchet out of the one beneath me and brought it back down until it stopped thrashing.  A quick glance back showed Twilight out in the open, preparing another spell.

“Well, I could have had a better one if someone didn’t disappear on me!” I protested.

The closest wolf to me had recovered, the one with the mangled face.  It charged, making only a few steps towards me before freezing.  Roots stretched out from the two legs still touching the ground, anchoring it in place.  Leaves began to spring out of its wooden hide until I could barely see the beast beneath.  The end result was a vaguely wolf-shaped bush.

“I disappeared?!” Twilight shouted back.  ”You were behind me!  If anything, you were the one who disappeared.”

The wiry timberwolf wisened up to the magic tricks.  With Twilight in its sights, it raced past me and after her as I pried my hatchet out of the larger wolf.  Twilight conjured a barrier just before the timberwolf could catch her, and it collided against the luminescent wall.  

With those two occupied, there was only one wolf left to worry about.  As I crawled up to my feet, the final timberwolf crouched low to the ground, keeping its distance.  The caged ponies had finally caught on to what was going on, and their cheers and shouts overpowered the signature snarl the wolf was trying to make.  I took a step towards it, and it retreated two steps back.

There was a flash of purple light behind me, followed quickly by a canine’s yelp.  The timberwolf’s attention shifted just past me, and with a rabid look in its sickly eyes, it snarled once more through barred teeth as it backpedalled further.  I brandished my hatchet and charged… and suddenly it bolted in the other direction.

I was caught so off guard, I nearly stumbled.  Its shadow dashed towards the treeline as it tried to make its escape.  My heart nearly stopped as my imagination ran wild.  I couldn't catch up with it before it disappeared.  My body wound back with the hatchet, and I prayed it would hit its mark as I threw it through the air.  It twirled once and landed wide to the left, and the timberwolf vanished beneath the Everfree’s underbrush.  A curse slipped through my lips, and the ponies cheered.

My shoulders slumped.  All the energy I had left seemed to have disappeared with the hatchet as it left my fingers.  Twilight trotted up next to me, and the cheers from the foals and ponies only grew louder.

“Way to go, Twilight!”

“Yeah, you two really showed them who’s boss!”

“C’mon, let us out of here before more show up!”

Twilight and I shared a look, and I nodded towards the cage.  As she hurried to the others, I began to sluggishly make my way to where I saw my hatchet disappear.  Over the commotion, I could hear Applejack speak.

“Oh, you two sure are a sight for sore eyes, Twilight.  Once Fluttershy and Ah were ambushed, Ah was sure you’d be next.”

“Pssh, c’mon, AJ!  This is Twilight we’re talking about!”  Rainbow Dash interjected.  “She could give those timberwolves a run for their bits blindfolded.”

“Honestly, if it wasn’t for Hunter, I’m not sure we would have found you.”

The mares continued to talk as I searched through the grass.  I was only loosely paying attention to them.  Pinkie and Fluttershy’s voices came up from time to time.  It was a happy ending for Twilight, now that most of her friends were together again.  Now if only I knew where all of mine were.

My fingers raked through the grass and eventually found their prize, just in time for Twilight to call back to me.

“Hunter!  Did you find it yet?”

I straightened myself, wincing as the muscles pulled against my lower back.  I held my hatchet out in the moonlight and gave it a wave at her to answer.

“Can you come here?” she called.  “We have a… situation.”

My shoulders slumped.  As if tonight needed any more hurdles.  “What is that supposed to mean?” I groaned.

“Hunter, please!” Applejack loudly chimed in.

Something must have been wrong.  The ponies were still in their cage, and Twilight stood helplessly on the outside.  I couldn‘t make out their faces between the moonlight and the distance.  My mind drifted back to the runaway wolf and the ticking clock we were now under.  What was causing the holdup?

I hurriedly limped across the clearing to the others.  As I drew close enough, many of the ponies sucked in sharp gasps, and a murmur began to flutter through the small crowd.  Near the front, Pinkie stared at me with wide eyes and shuffled a foal behind her.  Rainbow Dash was the first to break the smothering silence when I arrived.

“Whoa, Hunter, are you…?  What happened?”

“It’s been a long night,” Twilight explained.

“Hey, I can answer for myself,” I rebutted.  But as all eyes shifted to me for an explanation, I choked.  With a sigh, I echoed her words, “Long night.”  I looked to Twilight, hoping to shift both the subject and the eyes off of me.  “So what’s the problem?”

“It’s the cage,” she explained.  “I don’t know how, but the timberwolves enchanted it with some sort of locking spell, and we can’t break it.”

The news felt like a gut punch to our escape plan.  I turned away and mouthed a swear so the foals wouldn’t see it.  “Can’t you just teleport them out or something?”

“We already tried that,” Rainbow cut in bluntly.

“You should’ve seen it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically.  “Twilight got Rainbow Dash out, but then the cage made all these weird noises, and Rainbow popped right back in!”

“Whatever spell Thorn has over these cages is either incredibly complex or incredibly strong,” Twilight continued.  “Either way, we could be stuck here all night trying to come up with the right counterspell.”

“So what’s the plan then?” I pressed.  “We can’t just leave them.  You heard what the Princess said would happen.”

“Hold on, the Princess said what?!”

Twilight and I winced as the bystander overheard my slip.  A concerned mumbling quickly overtook the crowd.  Twilight was quick to quell it.

“Nopony said we were going to leave you,” she assured them.  “Believe me, you’ll all be back in your homes before sunrise.”

“And Hunter’s gonna get us out,” Applejack chimed in.  “Aintcha?”  I shot her a bewildered look, wondering why she would make such an outlandish promise, but she rose a hoof and explained herself before I could verbally object.  “Thorn said something about you earlier when we all met, remember?  Called ya something real funny.  Spellbreaker, wasn’t it?”

Applejack looked to Twilight for support, and when my eyes followed, she looked alarmed to suddenly be put in the spotlight.

“We were entertaining the idea that he meant something by that name,” she sighed.  “It doesn’t seem too far-fetched, given your lack of magic and your body’s reaction to it.  Maybe you can do something to break the spell that’s keeping them in?”

“Wha—  How do you mean?” I sputtered.  “I don’t know how any of this works!”  I shook my hands exaggeratedly to mark my point. 

Twilight shook her head, seemingly just as bewildered at the idea as I was.  “I don’t know, either.  Just… I don’t know; just do what comes naturally.”

The ponies inside echoed her encouragement.  A tiny scoff escaped me at the idea.  Naturally.  As if there was anything natural about any of this.  A lone wolf’s howl rang between the trees though, and my decision was made for me.

I stood in front of the cage, not quite sure what I was trying to do.  My eyes scanned through the small crowd inside as if they would provide me answers.  Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash were at the front.  The urgent look in their eyes offered little help for what I needed.  There were plenty of foals, but among the adults, I couldn’t find the one I was looking for.  Beneath the sea of anxious faces, I found one nearly hidden.  Fluttershy’s eyes were locked on mine as she laid on the cage floor.  Between the shifting bodies, I caught sight of her wing, frazzled and darkly matted against the moonlight.  Something swelled within me. Even if I couldn’t find Lyra, at least I had the chance to make up for past mistakes.

I studied the cage, and that word echoed in my head again.  Naturally.  How would I naturally break a wooden cage?

I reached out with my hands and grabbed hold of two of the bars.  Immediately my skin began to crawl against the surfaces, and a shiver coursed down my back.  The feeling was constant, and a numbness quickly accompanied it.  I tightened my grip, trying to force my feeling back, but the sensation only grew, reaching deeper and deeper into my arms.

The air began to hiss and pop.  Deep green sparks leapt out from between my fingers.  The numbness turned into a biting pain.  It was as though the wood itself was trying to push my fingers away.  I grit my teeth, braced a foot against the cage, and pulled back harder.

With a sound like a gunshot, the wooden bars snapped apart.  I fell on my back with a broken piece in each hand, gasping for a breath from the sudden and unexpected impact.  The pain subsided, albeit for only a new one to arise where my head connected to the ground, and my sensation gradually came back to my hands and fingers.  I finally released the pieces from my hands, and my head rolled to the side to meet Twilight.

“Well… did it work?” I groaned.

She stared at me slack-jawed with awe-struck eyes.  She didn’t make a sound at first.  In fact, compared to that booming snap, the entire forest was deathly quiet.  I propped myself up on my elbows to see my handiwork, and past the remaining wooden bars, the other ponies gave me similar looks.

“Woah…” Rainbow Dash said, her voice barely over a whisper.  “That…  That was…”

“That was totally awesome!” Pinkie exploded.  She burst through the crowd and wrapped around Applejack and Rainbow.  “Did you see that?!  It got really spooky for a second there, and then boom!  I haven’t seen fireworks that big and loud since last New Years, and believe me, I made some pretty big and pretty loud fireworks last—”

Applejack reached out to her friend and pulled her away from the bars.  “Hold on there, sugarcube.  Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  What do you say, Twilight?  Do you think it worked?”

Twilight’s response came with an incredulous laugh.  “It… it did!  I don’t know how, but it worked!  Whatever spell was blocking my magic is gone, which means…”

Her voice trailed off, and she closed her eyes. Suddenly, the cage around the ponies creaked and groaned. The wooden beams peeled apart and wrapped around each other in a flurry of movement.  The ponies flinched and ducked away from the whirlwind around them.  Even I felt the urge to crawl a little further back.  It ended just as quickly as it started, and when it did, the cage was gone.  Only a handful of pine saplings loosely arranged in a square was left.

The ponies hesitantly filed out, unsure of their newfound freedom, but once the last crossed the threshold, their uneasy caution melted into a restless excitement.  I laid back down, nestling my head against the cold dirt, and allowed my eyes to close for a job well done.  As I rested, I could overhear the others discussing their escape plan.  Out of the crowd, Applejack was the first to raise her voice above the others.

“Alright, everypony, let’s get our heads together.  We ain’t out of the woods yet.”  Somewhere to the side, Pinkie snorted.  “Ah’m sure you all want to get back to your homes just as much as Ah do.  Now, grateful as Ah am for Hunter savin’ all our skins, he might’ve made enough noise for the whole forest to hear, and Ah reckon we oughta make ourselves scarce before the wolves come back to investigate.”

“Applejack’s right.  The girls, Hunter, and I all have plenty of experience traveling through the Everfree Forest,” Twilight followed up.  Something nudged my shoulder.  My eyes cracked open, and I found Fluttershy standing above me.  Her mane was disheveled, her eyes tired, her smile soft.  As Twilight continued to speak, she mouthed the words Thank you.

“It’s going to be a long journey back, but so long as we stick together, we will make it back safe.  Let’s go home, everypony.”

That was the cue.  After returning Fluttershy’s smile with a weak one of my own, I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath to gather the strength to get up.  No sooner than I did, Rainbow Dash’s urgent voice rose over the excited murmurs of the crowd.  “Twilight, wait!  We can’t leave yet.”

My breath pushed out with what almost could have been a groan, echoing the disgruntled sentiment of the crowd at the news.  Others were faster to voice their concerns.

“What do you mean wait?”

“Don’t you know where we are?!”

“It’s too dangerous here!”

“Hey!  We’re not the only ponies stuck out here,” Rainbow Dash shouted over them.  Their complaints gradually died down, although I could still hear the occasional grumble.  “There’s more, the group I was caught with,” she explained; softer, probably directly to Twilight.  “I promised them I’d find help and come back to them.  We can’t abandon them out here.  Who knows what the timberwolves will do to them?”

“Ah’m afraid we have a pretty decent idea,” Applejack replied.  “Remember what the Princess said about Thorn’s plan, Twi?”

This time, Pinkie interrupted.  “Thorn?  Who’s that?”

“A timberwolf,” Applejack answered.  “And a real big’un at that.”

“And scary,” Fluttershy timidly added.

“More importantly, the timberwolves’ leader,”  Twilight said grimly.  “He’s the reason we’re all here tonight, and he won’t stop until he gets whatever it is he’s after.”

I waited for the part where she would tie me in to the blame… but it never came.

“Wait…  That’s not…  He’s the talking timberwolf, right?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“You know him?”

“Barely,” Rainbow spat.  “He’s the one that personally put us in those cages.”  A few unsettled murmurs from the crowd agreed with her.  I heard the sound of a hoof striking another.  “Are we taking him down?”

“No,” Twilight sternly countered.  “We’re staying as far away from him as we can for now.  If the Princess can’t contain him by sunrise, then we’ll come up with a plan.  Where is the other cage?”

There was a tense pause, and when Rainbow finally answered, she sounded reluctant.  “It’s… deeper in the Everfree.  On the other side of the castle.”

The next pause was longer, but I swore, if I listened hard enough, I could hear the gears in Twilight’s head moving.  “H-How many?”  She didn’t sound proud to ask.

“It started with six of us,” Rainbow started.  “Myself and the foals, and a stallion.  But then that talking timberwolf came back with more ponies and said he was taking five of us, and that was when I—”

“How many are there now?” Twilight stressed.

“I-I’m not sure,” the pegasus confessed with a stammer.  “He took the foals and one of the mares he brought back.  He tried to take me, but that’s when I ran.  So that would leave maybe… Carrot Top, Lyra, Firefly, uh… What was his name, Time Turner?”

My eyes snapped open as I ran the names through my mind again, and my body immediately snapped up to a sitting position.  The blood was quick to rush out of my head, though.  It felt like a lightbulb popped inside, and all that came out of me was a groan as my torso buckled over.

“I don’t know, four or five,” Rainbow finally concluded.

“Carrot was in the group Thorn brought to our lil’ meet’n’greet,” Applejack pointed out.  “He must’ve picked her up when Dash split, so she and the rest of them ought to be safe in town by now.”

“But the others are still here in the forest,” I finally managed to say.  My eyes fell on Twilight, and I tried to look better than I felt.   “We’re not leaving them behind.”

“I never said we were,” she assured me.  “But we can’t endanger everypony else trying to save them, either.  Rainbow Dash, do you remember the way back to the other cage?”

The pegasus hesitated, but eventually she nodded.  “Yeah, I think so.  I can take somepony with me, and you can get everyone else out of here.”

“I’ll go with you,” I volunteered.  I grunted as I stood up, and the world gently tilted as I rose to my feet.  Fluttershy pulled up to my side.  From here, I noticed that one of her wings wasn’t fully folded against her side, and its feathers were splayed and darkly matted.

“I’m coming, too,” she confidently announced.

“Fluttershy, Hunter…”  Twilight shook her head.  “If anypony here deserves some rest, it’s you two.  You should be part of the returning group.”

“I’m the only one who can open the cages, though, right?” I countered.  “I don’t think there’s really any other choice on where I’m going.”

“Don’t worry, Twilight, I’ll make sure he doesn’t get himself hurt,” Fluttershy assured her with a sincere smile.

As though they were eavesdropping on us and wanted to pitch in, the cry of wolves began to echo through the trees around us.  Applejack came to Twilight’s side with concerned eyes.

“No time to argue, sugarcube,” she pointed out.  “We gotta get these ponies movin’.”  The crowd was quick to agree.

Twilight shook her head.  “Fine.  You and Pinkie lead them back.  I’ll stay behind and help the others,” she said confidently.

Her friend winced at the thought and put a hoof on her shoulder.  “Look, Twi…  Ah know this ain’t the best of situations, but…  Well, Pinkie and Ah could make it back to Ponyville by ourselves.  Shoot, we could handle anything this forest has to throw at us if we needed to, but with all these extra ponies, too?”  There was a strained pause and it weighed down on all of us.  Applejack and Twilight stared at each other, communicating without speaking a word.  Hesitantly, Applejack finally broke the silence.  “Ah’ll go with them.”

She spoke with finality, and as Twilight started to object, Applejack covered her mouth with a hoof.  

“Look, there’s only one pony in all of Ponyville Ah’d trust to lead a group this big through a place as dangerous as this... and that’s you, Twi.  There ain’t a word you can say that’ll change my mind.”  As she withdrew her hoof, I could see it trembling slightly before she stamped it firmly into the ground.  “Ah’ll make sure they get back safe.  You have my word on that, and you know Ah always back my words up.  After all, ain’t Ah the most dependable of ponies?”

Twilight shook her head in disbelief, her eyes darting between the four of us, waiting for someone else to speak out against it.  Time was ticking though, and she knew it, too.  “I…  I don’t like this,” she finally said.

Applejack’s lips pressed into a grim line.  “You don’t have to,” she said.  “You just have to trust us.”

Another stressed moment passed.  The crowd was beginning to show their anxiousness

 “Fine, you win.”  Twilight’s voice barely broke a whisper.  After clearing her throat, she spoke louder for everyone to hear.  “Everypony, let’s go home.  We’ve stayed long enough.  Girls… stay safe out there.”  Her eyes flicked up to me.  “All of you.”

Before I could retort, Rainbow Dash threw a salute.  “We’ll be back in town before you know it, Twilight.”

Pinkie Pie was already leading the group, trying to keep their spirits high.  Twilight filed in behind the last filly and offered some quiet encouraging words to her.

“When you get back, be sure to come to Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie called in a bright voice.  “You, too, Hunter!  I’ll have special cupcakes made for all of us, and we can laugh away this night like it never—  Woo!”

I looked at her at the end of what I could only describe as a full-body twitch.  Her alligator costume was still subtly shaking as she stood motionless.  The other ponies came to a jarring stop around her, and she turned back.  She looked like she was staring at a ghost as her eyes fell on me.  Before I could even ask, she darted across the clearing and tackled me by the waist.  A grunt of air escaped my body from the impact, and I would have fallen back if she wasn’t still anchored to the ground.

“What are you doing?” I hissed.

She removed her forelegs from around my waist and backed away, suddenly feeling everyone’s attention on her.  “Sorry, I just…  Pinkie Sense,” she sniffed.  “I-I had never felt one like that before, but it was a real doozy, and…”  She shot a sideways glance to the others with worried eyes, and then up to me.  “Come back safe, okay?”

Without another word, she trotted back to the others, and after a brief pause, they all began to disappear into the trees, leaving the four of us alone in the clearing with our thoughts.  I tried to keep mine away from that ominous farewell.  The wolves called after us again, and Rainbow was quick to lead us back into the trees.

We weren’t moving very quickly through the Everfree Forest; although that was mostly my own fault.  The best speed I could manage was a hurried limp, and the other two were forced to match it.  It allowed Rainbow Dash plenty of time to get caught up with everything she had missed since her last hayride, and she was insistent on knowing, too.

However, as Fluttershy had spent the majority of the holiday in her cottage and Applejack was in town, the bulk of the burden fell on me.  By recalling the night, I probably spoke to her longer than every other encounter we had combined.  I was more than thankful when the others stepped in to help after the meeting in the town hall.

“I can’t believe it,” Rainbow Dash finally said after we finished catching her up.  “Tonight of all nights, too.  This was supposed to be my night; the first time I’d get to have fun since…”  Her voice trailed off as her eyes met mine.  “It all just happened so fast,” she said, changing the subject.  “Everything was going fine every other time I took my group through the trail, but that last time… they just pounced on us.  They had the foals by their necks before we even knew what was happening, and I just…  I never felt so helpless!  And then that big, talking one, Thorn or whatever, came and started making demands, and everypony was looking to me, but I couldn’t—”

“You did the best you could.  They surprised you,” Fluttershy reminded her.  “Nopony could have known this was going to happen tonight.”

I bit my tongue to refrain from commenting, but Rainbow wasn’t easy to console.

“But it wasn’t the best I could have done, Fluttershy,” she pointed out.  “I could have done so much more if I could still…  If the Princess didn’t…”

She stopped.  In the strangled moonlight, I could only just make out her shape among the brush as she shook her head.  Fluttershy moved in to offer a comforting hoof, but Rainbow was talking again before she had the chance.

“I—  I shouldn’t say that,” she said, quieter.  She fell on her haunches and rubbed her eyes with a fetlock.  She tried to speak up, only to hush herself again as her voice started to crack.  “I’m not going to say I don’t deserve this for what I did.  I just…  I just wish other ponies didn’t have to pay for my punishment, too.”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash…”  Fluttershy’s attempt at a comforting hoof turned into a full embrace.  She wrapped her forelegs around her friend and pulled her close.

Applejack came up to them and offered a hoof on her shoulder.  “Ya can’t blame yourself for this, Rainbow.  Even the Princess couldn’t’a known this would happen.”

“I know, I know, it’s just…”  She tightened her voice, trying to hide the small waver left.  “It’s stupid.”

I shuffled over to a nearby tree and rested my back against its trunk.  Though the bark bit into my back as I all but collapsed into it, the comfort of the tree taking some of my weight was a welcome relief.  But as my body was celebrating in its rest, a thought pestered my mind relentlessly throughout their conversation.  A piece of the puzzle was missing, or perhaps a chunk of them.  The back of my mind buzzed like a swarm of biting insects.

The thought broke loose from my lips.  “What…  What would the Princess have to do with any of this?” I asked absently.

The others stiffened, and it opened the door to a storm of other questions.  Before I could gather my thoughts to ask any of them, Applejack broke the brief quiet.

“It ain’t our place to say, Hunter.”  Her answer dodged the question.  Old doubts began to roil.  Almost as if she could sense this, she spoke further.  “But she most certainly didn’t have anything to do with tonight.  If nothin’ else, you can believe me on that.

“And it ain’t gonna do anypony any good dwelling on the past right now,” she said with finality.  Fluttershy stood back as she dusted Rainbow off.  “We got a mission and a whole bunch of ponies waitin’ on us.”

“I— You’re right,” Rainbow agreed hastily.  She strode further ahead with an artificial energy.  “Come on, I don’t think we’re too far away now.  Just a little bit further!”

Applejack was quick to follow.  Fluttershy hesitated, looking to me first before chasing after her friends, as though wanting to offer some kind of explanation.

I only followed soon after to a tugging sense of urgency.  As my body groaned, my head pushed its complaints aside to focus on this strange, broken puzzle before me.  They were hiding something from me.

Have you ever known them any other way?

As I trudged through the shadows of the forest, I refused to give the voice an answer.


<><><>


As Rainbow predicted, it didn’t take much longer until we found the remaining captives.  As indistinct voices began to fill the otherwise silent air, we slowed our progress down to a creep.  The trees gave way to a small field of wild grass, and a cage stood tall in the middle.

Much like last time, it was guarded by wolves; this time only two.  While we technically had numbers over them, it was no argument that Fluttershy and I wouldn’t be able to pull our weight when push came to shove.  All the same, Rainbow didn’t appear disturbed at the odds.  As we tried to devise a plan, she kept making remarks of finally getting the opportunity for payback.

Constantly, my eyes flicked back to the cage of captives while we schemed.  The moon was well beneath the treeline, and I couldn’t make out the shapes inside.  My ears strained to pick out distant voices, but our hushed tones drowned them out, so much that I feared the wolves would hear.

In the end, we had agreed upon a plan that in hindsight might have had better alternatives, and as I walked through the knee-high wild grass, I couldn’t help but think of them all.  Impatience drove me to hastily agree, and when the wolves locked their eyes on me, I knew it was too late to back out now.

I held my arms out wide, flashing the hatchet in my right hand and beckoning the wolves to come.  They let out a low, threatening snarl.  Sweat dripped down my back.  Past them, voices shouted out in protest, warning me of the danger.  One of them was all too familiar, and I forced myself not to break from my role and call back to her.

The wolves broke into a sprint, charging me head on.  I tensed, and instinct had me bring my hatchet closer to my body, just in case.

Two orange hindlegs shot out from beneath the cover of the wild grass, striking the wolf on the left clean beneath the jaw.  Its companion didn’t notice it tumble into the weeds and made it a few more yards before being tackled by a blur with a pair of wings.

I released the breath I was subconsciously holding, but the thrashing in the grass ahead where Rainbow ambushed her prey told me we were still far from safe.  She was straddled across the beast’s back as I came up to them.  Her hooves were locked tightly around its neck and foreleg.

“Ain’t so tough when you’re getting ambushed, huh?” she challenged through grit teeth.  The timberwolf barked out a harsh retort and thrashed, trying to escape, but its eyes were pinned on me.  With its free leg, it lashed out.  Wooden claws raked at the empty air between us.  When it became clear that it couldn’t overpower the pegasus, it gathered its energy for one final, ear-piercing howl.

The hair on my neck stood on end.  Without a second thought, I planted my right foot over its muzzle, ignoring the blistering pain the old wounds gave.  I got low and reared back with the hatchet.

“Watch your hoof!”

Rainbow Dash barely pulled away in time for the blade to sink into the wolf’s gullet, and the howling quickly died to a slow gurgle.

As she pushed herself away from the body, she began to protest, “Hey, I had that one handled!”

I found that I was out of breath when I tried to respond.  “I handled it faster.”

Carefully, I stood back up, fighting off the wave of exhaustion.  The voices from the cage called to us, most of them to cheer.  Between them all, one lured me closer.  I limped past Applejack, who was admiring her handiwork as Lyra called out.

“Hunter!  Hunter, over here!”

From the mass of three silhouettes, a hoof reached out through the bars.  I collapsed to my knees before it and reached out, finding the rest of Lyra and pulling her into as much of a hug as I could manage through the bars.  For a moment, I didn’t mind the repulsive magic in the bars that made the skin on my face crawl.  I didn’t mind the ache that encompassed my body, from the outermost skin deep into my bones.  It felt as though a burden had finally lifted from my shoulders.

Lyra squeezed a little bit harder, and it all came rushing back.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow.”

“Oh, sorry!”

A short breath hissed out from between my teeth as we pulled apart, but I couldn’t help the faint giggle that came following soon after.  As I struggled to make out her form from the rest of the ponies inside, her golden eyes widened as she examined my body.

“Oh my gosh… Hunter!”  She couldn’t keep her shock hidden.  “What… What happened to you?”

I drew in a breath to answer, but after a moment of hesitation, I resigned with a bitter chuckle.  “I swear, if I have to explain what happened one more time tonight…”  I shook my head, trying to find the right words.  “I honestly think I’m going to lose my mind.”

She didn’t appear to appreciate the answer, nor did she share in my humor.

“I…  I’ll tell you what,” I stuttered.  “I’ll break you out of here, we can all go home, sleep for the next day, and then I’ll tell you what happened.  Deal?”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” a stallion interjected off to the side.  Our little reunion shattered, I suddenly remembered the grave situation we were all in.

“We’ve been trying to escape for hours,” a mare said on the other side.  “There’s some kind of magic field around it.”

“We’ve tried everything, but it’s completely unbreakable,” the stallion added.

“Well, lucky for y’all, we just so happen to have an ace in the hole,” Applejack’s voice boasted as she trotted up to my side.  “As it just so happens, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and I were all stuck just like you.  And Hunter here managed to find a way out.”

“Really?”  Lyra pressed with genuine intrigue.  Her attention returned to me.  “How did you manage that?”

I held up a hand, trying to mentally prepare myself after Applejack’s little pep talk.  “Hey, hey, I already said,” I reminded her.  “No more explaining until after I get some sleep.”

I gripped my hands around the bars to help stand myself back up.  Already the magic was trying to repel me.  Stowing my hatchet across my waist, I gripped two adjacent bars with each hand and leaned back.  Glancing past them, I offered a quick warning.  “You all might want to stand back.”

They didn’t need to hear a second time.  As the occupants scuttled further back into the cage, I began to pull back harder.  That creeping numbness returned across my hands.  Green sparks spat out between my fingers.  Then, with a thunderous boom, I found myself once again with my back to the cold earth, sucking in a deep breath from the impact.

With a groan, I rolled over and dropped the two pieces of wood still in my hands.  “There has to be a better way than that,” I wondered aloud with a wheezy voice.

There was a hesitancy, similar to earlier, before the ponies fully understood what had happened.  As realization spread, so did incredulous voices.

“I can’t believe it!  Did you see that?”

“Did I see that?  I was closer than you, Firefly!”

Their words were lined with laughter, and no sooner than when I finally sat up did Lyra race across to tackle me into a hug.

“Hey, careful, remember!” I chastised.

Lyra pulled back and started to stutter.  “I— Right!  Sorry!”

There was a tense pause where we stared at each other, broken quickly as we both flashed a joking smile.  I pulled her back into a hug, wrapping my arms tightly around her back and ignoring the pain in my body as she did the same.  A part of me realized it had been less than a day since we last saw each other, but as my chin nestled into the crook of her neck, it felt like it had been over a year.

“Oh, my god, Lyra,” I finally breathed out.  “I was worried sick about you.”

“Hold on, you were worried about me?!”  Lyra pulled away, holding me at a foreleg’s length.  This close, I could make out her incredulous smile as she shook her head.  “I was out playing babysitter for a bunch of foals, and next thing I know Zecora is going through town on the hayride, screaming her head off about timberwolves coming and how you decided to fight them alone!”  She punctuated the last word with a jabbing hoof against my chest.  “I managed to find Noteworthy, and we got a few other ponies to...”

Her words began to trail as her eyes widened.  Suddenly, she grabbed hold of my shoulders.  “Oh, my gosh, Noteworthy!” she cried out in dread.  “We have to find him!  That giant talking timberwolf came by hours ago and took him away!  He could be anywhere.  We can’t just leave him—”

“He’s okay!  He’s okay!” I managed to say.  Her questioning eyes begged for more information.  I explained where he was and the situation that had brought him.  With each word, the fear slipped away from her eyes, and she offered a sigh of relief.

Seeing her reaction, I could only shake my head.  “Lyra, you…”  What was the right way to say it?  “I appreciate it and all, but… why did you two come out here?  It was way too dangerous with all the wolves running around.”

She looked hurt, but a half-hearted smile and subtle shake of her head betrayed her true emotions.  “Hunter…  It could be the end of the world, and I swear I’d still be running after you.  Now, you’ll catch me off guard at first, because you—”  She prodded teasingly at my shoulder, chuckling as she spoke.  “You are boneheaded enough to run into it head first, but once I come back to my senses, I’ll always be right behind you; just to make sure you’re safe.  I…”  There was a hesitation, and she pushed against my shoulder again.  “You’re one of my friends, Hunter.  It’s just what friends do.”

“U-um, everypony!”

We jumped with a start as Fluttershy’s voice broke out over the crowd.  All eyes fell on her, but she didn’t seem to notice.  Instead, her eyes were locked on the trees from where we came, and she held up a shaky hoof.  “Look!”

I followed her gaze, and along the edge of the trees where we were, two pairs of glowing yellow eyes glared back at us.

The group froze.  Without taking my own eyes off of them, I slowly guided Lyra behind me with a hand and reached for my hatchet.

“Ha!  Only two?” Rainbow Dash scoffed.  “Didn’t they see what we just did to their last pair of buddies?  If you jerks think you’re gonna stand in the way of us getting back home, then I hope you brought… a-a lot… more than…”  The final word barely broke a squeak.  “That.”

As she spoke, more and more eyes began to show between the trees.  It became too many to track as they shifted along the outskirts of the field.  Gradually, a cruel choir of low growls echoed throughout the trees.  It sounded as though the trees themselves were alive, all with a primal hunger.

“Everypony, group up!” Applejack barked.  “Now!”

We all scrambled together to the sound of her voice.  My hatchet found itself back in my hand, but as I scanned the glowing eyes, I felt that it might as well have been an old stick.  The pairs of eyes easily outnumbered us two to one.  One of the rescued stallions spoke what was on all of our minds.

“S-So… what’s the plan, Applejack?”

“We…  We stay together,” she answered.  The shaking in her voice betrayed the bravery she was trying to force.  “We ain’t leaving no one behind.  We’ll get through this together.”  Was she hoping to convince herself or us?

“And then what?”

Rainbows sounded just as confident as her friend as she spoke up.  “We can take them, r-right, AJ?”

Her voice was quiet in response, and it dropped a weight of dread on the group.  “Ah don’t know.”

My mind was running wild.  The stress from the group was reverberating within me, and I found myself looking desperately for any kind of escape.  Fighting was a death sentence; nobody would make it out alive.  As more eyes populated in the dark though, I noticed that they were all only one one side of the treeline.  Turning briefly back, the trees behind us seemed to be clear.  My stomach twisted at the thought of running, though.  We were far from Ponyville, and I knew that way would only lead further.  Even then, if we chose to run, if I gathered every last ounce of energy my body had left, I knew I wouldn’t make it far.  The others would outrun me, the wolves would catch me, and then…

I became overwhelmed.  In the blink of an eye, I found myself back in the haunted wagon, bracing to jump out against two chasing wolves.  A whole night had passed.  Scratches and splinters and bashings and bites… and now I found myself here.

“I never left.”  The weight of the revelation dragged me to my knees.  My hatchet slipped from my fingers and disappeared into the wild grass.  At my side, Lyra distantly called my name.  “After all of that, I’m right back where I was,” I whispered incredulously.  Numb fingers ran through my disheveled hair.  “It’s not fair.”

After all you’ve been through, you complain that tonight isn’t fair? 

“Hunter, it’s going to be okay,” Lyra tried to assure me.  “We’ll figure something out.  Somepony will come for us.”

I winced as the voice made a sound that could have been a laugh.  That damned headache was spreading throughout the back of my head, and it spoke clearly enough to pierce through the sound of my heart beating in my ears.  Fate has an odd way of imposing itself, doesn’t it, Hunter?

Shut up shut up shut up shut up.  My inner mantra didn’t help.

You acted in defiance against Our better judgement, and now Fate offers you the same opportunity as before; to double down on your defiance or to face your demise.

I unscrewed my eyes, finding myself staring at the wild grass shuddering against a faint breeze.  The voice knew the turmoil raging in my mind.  It always did.  Something about its words was odd.

“You’re not trying to talk me out of this,” I thought aloud.

Lyra, still next to me, overheard my words and mistook who they were meant for.  “What?  Talk you out of what?”  Her hoof touched my shoulder.  “What are you talking about, Hunter?” she pressed.  There was an urgency lining her tone.  “What am I supposed to be talking you out of?”

The voice though, that familiar stranger, didn’t respond immediately.  I pressed for an answer.  Why aren’t you trying to talk me out of this? I demanded.  Do you know something?

A pained groan overcame me as the headache spread to the back of my eyes.

When was the last time you took Our advice, Hunter? It screamed in my head.  Since you’ve joined with the ponies, you have done nothing but argue and challenge Us, We who saved you from them in the first place!

The pain was still spreading.  I fell on one of my hands to keep myself from collapsing, using the other to pinch my brow as though it would help.

Look up, Hunter, it demanded.  Against my own will, my eyes were pried open, and my head jerked towards the wolves.  Now they outnumber us three to one, yet still they stay.  What reason would they have to not strike now?

I struggled to latch onto a thought between my own shallow breaths.  Lyra spoke once more, but her words were drowned beneath the beating drum in my ears.  My eyes forcibly scanned the treeline, and the conclusion finally came.

“They’re waiting on someone.”  And as I said it, I knew the answer to the next question.  “Thorn.”

The headache subsided, seemingly satisfied.

Applejack’s voice broke through the drums.  “What did you just say, Hunter?”

I looked to her, and then to all the others in the group.  The fear in their eyes must have been reflected in mine.  My body trembled on all fours, crying out against the plan my mind and the voice had seemingly agreed upon.

“Rainbow…”  My voice barely broke a whisper.  I cleared my throat and called out louder.  “Do you know how to get back to Ponyville?”

The pegasus hesitated.  “I… I should, yeah.  But we won’t be able to go far with all those timberwolves in the way.”

My stomach was wrenched.  I fought back the acid rising in my throat.  A part of me wished she would have said otherwise, just one reason not to go through with this again.

“Hey!”  Lyra grabbed my shoulder, pulling my attention to her.  Her golden eyes were wild, and I found myself sad that that was all I could make out of her in the shadows.  “What are you planning?” she demanded.  “Come on, you know you can talk to me.”

I leaned back to sit on my knees, staring to try to take in as much as I could.  My hand reached out, grabbing across her back and pulling her in for one last embrace.  Her body shook with mine.  Now it was my heart that cried out to stay, if nothing else than for her.  But I knew what would happen to the both of us if I chose to.

“I… I just wanted to say…”  The words caught in my throat.  Her hooves cautiously wrapped around me.  “Thank you,” I whispered, just loud enough for her alone to hear.  My eyes danced erratically past her mane, trying not to focus on the other ponies’ stares.  “Thank you for everything.  I don’t think I would have made it this far without you.”

As I tried to pull away, Lyra’s grip tightened, and the temptation to stay was unbearable.  My hands found their way to her shoulders, and I managed to push her back.  Our eyes locked.  Through the faint glimmer of tears pooling in her eyes, I knew she realized what the plan was.  I tried to sport a smile, unsure of how it actually turned out.

“Try not to be right behind me this time,” I begged her.

Before she had the chance to respond, I grabbed my hatchet out of the weeds and stood back to my feet.  The eyes of the ponies threatened to anchor me in place as I rose, but with every last ounce of energy I had left, I broke into a sprint to the treeline opposite of the wolves.

“Come on, you mutts!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.  To my back, familiar voices shouted back in protest, and wolves cried out a sharp howl.  Between my own footfalls, the sound of hooves stampeded after me, stopping only after I broke into the trees.

No screams followed after, a small comfort I found while navigating through the shadows of the forest.  My body was running off of pure adrenaline, and my quick, shallow breathing tried to feed it as best as it could.  My heart beat its deafening drum to an erratic cadence in my ears, all but drowning out the rabid calls of the wolves as they quickly gained on me.  My eyes searched desperately for any signs of obstacles along the forest floor, knowing that any trip would spell a quick demise.

The pain in my body was slowly replaced with a numbness, threatening to collapse me from exertion.  I tried not to dwell on the fact that I was utterly lost.  Each weave through the trees, each random turn, was a hope to buy myself just one more second of life.  The breath of wolves was hot on my heels.  I knew if I paused for even a breath, it would be my last.

With one last turn, the shadows of the trees broke away, and I found myself at the edge of a large clearing.  My feet didn’t miss their stride though, and they carried me through the seemingly empty terrain.  The sounds of my pursuers faded as I crossed it, and my body found that it could take no more.  I tried to push on just a little bit further as my eyes danced across the small details they could find.

One last stand, I tried to reason with myself.  Just need to get in the middle where I can see them coming.  I’ll take at least one of them out with me.  The thought lingered in my mind as I ran, and the inevitability crashed through.  Oh, god, I’m going to die…

As I finished the thought, my body was struck by a great force without warning.  I fell on my back, and my body shook as finality settled in.  Vertigo caught up with me.  I rolled to my side in time to retch what little was left in my stomach, spitting out the leftover acid as my body shuddered.  I braced for the wolves to fall upon me, but their teeth never came.

I dared to steal a glance around me for an answer.  Much like before, the wolves waited patiently among the trees, staring hungrily at me, but this time they were spread evenly around.  As I stared, a question burned in my head.  What had hit me?  It felt as though I had run into a brick wall.

I struggled to stand back up.  All around, the wolves sang out in that scratching growl.  My white-knucked grip never released from my  hatchet, and I held it close.  There still was no sign of my attacker.  Where could it be?  The grass here wasn’t tall enough to hide one of the wolves.  I backed up further into the center, making it only a few steps until a pressure formed against my back.

Spinning around, I found myself faced with nothing but thin air and the eyes of wolves far on the other side of the clearing.  What had stopped me?

Do it.

I winced as the voice echoed in my head like a large bell.  Hesitantly, I held out a hand and took one step forward.

Pressure built up against my hand.  The air warped around my fingers.  It was hard… yet soft as fabric.

Do it.  Do it.

Memories sparked to life, memories from a life that felt so long ago.  My eyes widened.  It…  It couldn’t be.

Do it.  Do it.  Do it do it do it doitdoitdoitdoit—

My arm lashed out against my own will, raking the hatchet through the air to the impatient mantra of the voice.  Reality tore at the edge of my blade, and a brilliant light erupted before my eyes.

All around, the wolves let out a pained howl.  I staggered back from the blinding light.  My free hand raised to shield my eyes, and I permitted one to open to see through the cracks of my fingers.

The air was torn like fabric.  In between, a maelstrom of colors roiled.  Bright flashes of light arced out like small bolts of lightning, connecting to the ground before dissipating.  My eyes now adjusted, I let my hand fall to take it in its entirety.  All doubts before were nowhere to be found.

It was the portal home.

I blinked, and the surprise faded.  My body was rejuvenated with the promise of only having to take a few more steps.  With eyes wide in wonder, I took one step forward, then another.

A new force tackled me from the side, and the world went spinning.

My left shoulder connected to the ground.  Feeling a weight still against my right, I lashed out on instinct.  The wolf’s momentum helped carry it off of me, and I rolled across my shoulders.  My heels struck against the earth.  On the other end of my feet, the timberwolf landed.  I scrambled to my feet, and the large, moss-ridden wolf rose with a low growl.

“Thorn,” I growled in return.  Something was boiling within me.  The headache had returned, demanding my attention.  I tried to push it out of the way as I motioned to the portal with my hatchet.

“This night’s gone on long enough, Thorn!” I shouted with a hoarse voice.  “My home’s just on the other side.  Just let me leave; you’ll never have to deal with me again.”

He reached out with a claw and dug it into the earth, dragging himself closer with a menacing slowness.  Only thanks to the light given off from the portal could I make out his features.  The left of his face was scorched.  The eye had become dull compared to its counterpart

“If only I hadn’t heard this bargain before,” he said, voice dripping with murderous intent.  “I just might have considered… letting you live!”

He lunged, and my body moved on its own accord, pulled as though by strings.  I leaned back, pivoting along my good foot as Thorn lifted from the ground.  My hatchet swung wide with my body, intercepting him along the way, but the edge didn’t connect.  The hatchet was twisted in my grip as it connected, and its blunt face connected to Thorn’s partway through his strike.  The wolf was deflected away, and he landed between myself and the portal.  We both regained our balance in time to stare each other down.

Overhead, thunder rolled.  A quick glance showed the stars winking out of sight. Clouds were forming overhead.  Odd…  There wasn’t one in sight before.

My body lurched back on its own as Thorn lunged once more.  His jaws snapped at the empty air between.

My eyes danced between the wolf and the portal, and my mind raced for another bargain.

“Come on, Thorn,” I panted.  “Here, there, a few feet into my own home…  What’s it matter to you where I die?  I’ll be a dead man walking the moment I pass through.  I deserve the right to die in my own world.”

“The difference is my satisfaction,” the wolf snarled, fresh sap bleeding from the scorched half of his face.  He crept forward once more, and with each step he took, I matched one back.  “You’ve already tainted that town with your existence,” he said, spitting out the word as though it were poison.  “Even should you go now, the question will haunt their minds.  Where… did… it… come from?”  His voice rose with each word, and his jaws snapped at my feet in punctuation.  “They shall search for the answers to past sins best left forgotten.”

Thorn lunged once more, and it felt as though a light bulb had burst within my own head.  With it, a flame ignited, throwing me back as it ravaged my mind.  I found myself a passenger in my own body, desperately clinging to anything that would anchor me to reality.

Against my own will, I brought the head of my hatchet against the palm of my left hand, blade outward.  I focused on the cold of the metal head, watching helplessly as the Stranger took control.  As Thorn’s underside came exposed, my body pushed the head of the hatchet outward.  This time, it hit its mark.

The blade dug itself into his ribs.  Thorn released a pained howl, just for a moment before opening his maw and burying his teeth into my left shoulder.  I wanted to scream, but the Stranger wouldn’t permit it.  Through the pain, I lost my anchor and found myself thrown in a storm of images.  Throughout the chaos, the voice spoke in clarity.

If you seek to bury your sins, we shall dig a grave for you.

Numbly, I felt a pressure release from the inferno across my shoulder.  A response was growled.

“Ah… so the beast shows its true face…”

I clung to the words, fighting through the storm until a singular image came clearly.  Thorn’s face was inches from mine.  His dull, wounded eye was just to my left.  Something was pelting against my body.  When did it start raining?

My voice spoke without consent.  “Ours shall be the last which you see.”

My right foot planted itself ahead.  I found that Thorn’s wiry body was grappling against mine.  My left foot pushed forward.  The old wolf was losing his purchase.  He pulled back a claw and buried it into my side.  As each sharpened hook dug into my flesh through my shirt, my mind threatened to lose its anchor yet again.

Behind him, the portal was growing erratic.  The arcs of lightning were more frequent than before.  It singed the wild grass around it, leaving nothing but the fresh scent of ozone in its wake.  Suddenly I found myself wishing nothing more than to back away from the one passage back home, but my body pressed forward nevertheless.

My hand pushed into the hatchet’s blade lodged into Thorn’s ribs once… twice… three times, each time forcing it deeper.  Thorn howled once more, staggering further back towards the portal on his hindlegs.  I was only a few steps away now.  A rush coursed through my body, shared between myself and the Stranger.  We were going home.

“Enough!”  Thorn’s other paw planted against my right shoulder, and with a sudden burst of strength, he pushed me away.

It was startling how far back I stumbled.  My feet struggled to regain their balance, and on the third pace back, I slipped in mud freshly made.  My back struck against the cold, wet earth as rain pelted on me from above.  The mud clung to my sore body, anchoring it down.  It offered a tempting lie of rest, and I found myself struggling to stand back up.

“On one thing, we do agree, human.”  Thorn’s berating voice was distant.  “This night has gone on long enough, and I shall remedy it now.”

Pushing against the mud, I rolled to my side to get a better look at him.  My hatchet was still buried across his chest.  Against the backlight of the portal, the timberwolf’s exhaustion showed.  Pained tremors shook his wireframe body.  His maw was agape, pushing out a heavy fog in the rain with each breath.

I expected him to charge, but instead he turned to the portal.  Raising himself to balance on his hindlegs, he gripped his claws around the lips of the portal.  They glowed in a sickly yellow color.

“What—  What are you doing?” I demanded, repeating it once more louder over the sound of the storm.

“This night has opened my eyes,” Thorn bellowed.  His outstretched forelegs gradually began to close, bringing the edges of the portal with them.  Ice ran through my veins.  He was closing the portal.  “For too long I’ve kept my claws in the way, holding open the broken window-turned-door!  Tonight, I shall do what was meant to be done long ago!”

My mind went reeling as panic took hold of my heart.  A renewed sense of urgency took over.  I scrambled to get back to my feet, cursing at each second wasted with each slip.  Without a second thought, I charged, tackling Thorn from behind.  Each hand grabbed at a foreleg, and I pushed against him.

He tried to shake me off, but I managed to stand my ground.  “I don’t know what you’re trying to do,” I hissed in his ear.  “But I’m not going to let it stop me!”

We strained against each other, but no one could gain the advantage.  The portal churned just inches ahead of us, seemingly impatient from the fight.  Overhead the storm began to rage, mirroring the chaos beneath.

“You are a fool!” Thorn screamed.  The thin desperation lining his voice further.  “You know not the powers you meddle with!”

“And I don’t care!” I shouted back.  “I’m going home, Thorn.  One way or another!”  Gradually, his claws began to part, opening the portal by another inch.  “And there’s nothing you can do about it!”

A rogue bolt of energy arced from the portal, and Thorn’s body grew hot against mine as it carved a path along him.  He howled in excruciating pain.  All around us, the wolves echoed the cry.  With an agonized gasp, his body fell limp against mine.  The resistance suddenly stopped, and my hands forced his claws apart as far as I could stretch.  The portal’s dimensions followed.

I staggered back from shock with Thorn’s body in my arms.  His neck rolled back against the fresh bite he had made on my shoulder.  He took in one final wheeze of a breath, and his words trembled into my ear.

“My Queen… they never returned…”

“Hunter!” a voice shouted from above.  My eyes shot skyward.  Between the flashes of lightning, a silhouette could be made.

A crackling noise drew my attention back to the ground.  The portal was moving wildly.  The air around it began to shudder.  All I could think of was the Princess’s poor timing.

From within the portal, there was a violent flash and a thunderous crack, and my body was thrust away.  My body struck the earth, then once more, and the world plunged into darkness.


<><><>


I found myself slipping in and out of consciousness.  With each awakening, I found myself center in a world of tormenting pain.  My eyes would flutter open to a black sky.  Cold droplets of water rained down like arrows, piercing my body.  But I couldn’t move, couldn’t so much as twitch without sending an inferno through my already tortured nerves.

Above, a face appeared to blot out the sky.  Dark blue with lighter eyes, and nebulous hair glistening like stars.  Though my mind felt scrambled, it was nevertheless familiar.

“P-Prin—”  A cough took over as I tried to speak, wreaking havoc inside my chest.  Even after it left, the mind numbing pain lingered, and each shallow breath I could manage after only fed it.

The world faded as a comforting cold took over. When I woke again, two more faces hovered above.  They were speaking, and somehow I knew they were all directed to me.  Their words were distant, lost in the sharp ringing in my ears.

One of them motioned to the others, Fluttershy.  My eyes focused on something she held in her hooves, an awfully familiar bottle.

The others moved.  I tried to protest, but all that could come out was a pained groan.  A hoof brushed against my face, igniting a new wave of festering pains.  I traced it back to its owner, and Lyra met me with tear-streaked eyes.  Her lips moved, and I could only so faintly hear her voice.

“Come on, Hunter; stay with us!” she pleaded.  Her eyes scanned over my face, and I wondered briefly if it looked as bad as I felt.  “Hang in a bit longer for us, please!”

Behind me, Princess Luna wedged her hooves under my back and began to lift me out of the cold mud.  Old wounds grew aggravated as my torso was forcibly curled upright.  The pain was unbearable.  My ragged breathing morphed into a screaming protest in a desperate attempt to channel it out.

Why were they doing this to me?  The question burned in my head as wet streaks scorched a path down the sides of my face.  Why wouldn’t they just rest?  This night has gone on so long…  I deserved the right to rest!

Fluttershy pushed the end of the bottle against my lips, and a bitter liquid sloshed into the back of my mouth.  I tried to cough it out, but she was persistent, closing my mouth as the last drop fell in.  She wasn’t trying to drown me, was she?

“C-Come on, Hunter,” she cooed with a trembling voice.  She pushed a smile that didn’t match her frightened eyes.  “How are you going to get any better if you don’t take your medicine?”

To save myself from choking, I forced myself to swallow.  My body found the energy to shudder once as the liquid slithered down my throat.

I felt as though I was sinking.  My eyes came out of focus, and I struggled to make sense of the world around me.  Voices were arguing with incoherent words.  I just wished it would all stop.

A creeping numbness was spreading through my body, and I found it easy to slip into it to hide from the pain.  A deep sleep was beckoning for me.  I no longer had the strength to resist it.  Consciousness faded, and Lyra’s voice called after me in the dark.

“Hunter?  Hunter!”
> Act III:  Last Man Standing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wasn't sure what it was that woke me up:  the steady drone of beepings to my side, the light trying to force its way through the crack of my eyelid, the dull ache that blanketed my body, or a culmination of all three.  Regardless of what caused it, they were all forcing me from getting any more rest.

My body felt as though it had been run through a meat grinder and sloppily stitched back together.  Only my left eye could open fully.  As my brow and lips twitched, I could feel something covering the right of my face, splitting down the middle and wrapping around the top of my head.  My neck was too stiff to move, leaving my left eye to dart around to try to make sense of where I was, but the room was just a large smudge of colors.  Begrudgingly, I clamped my eyes shut and tried to bring my right hand to rub the grogginess out, but when it refused to move, panic seized control.

My left hand shot up to wipe the blur out of my eye.  As it moved, there was a searing pain, from my forearm all the way to my collarbone.  The skin was festering beneath some sort of tight wrapping, and something ached even deeper.  After a few rubs and a couple blinks, everything became clear.  Studying my left arm, I found a thick layer of gauze bound tightly around my forearm, wrist to elbow.

I let my arm fall.  It had taken all my energy just to hold it up, and my body was demanding more rest.  It thumped against my chest with the weight of a truck, and I hissed in a pained breath and gently moved my hand to my side.  A fresh wave of pain rolled out in a slow, heavy wave, flowing up my legs, rippling through my chest with each deliberate breath, and drowning my mind in a deep static.

What had happened to me?

My gaze shifted to my right arm and found it suspended by a small hammock.  A large cast encased most of it from the elbow down, including my fist, holding it at a ninety degree angle.  A couple experimental twitches told me my fingers were fine underneath, albeit hot, but there was a sharp pain somewhere in the middle of my arm that flared as they moved.

A quick glance down revealed my bare feet were suspended in a similar way past the end of the bed.  While my left leg appeared fine, bandages were wrapped heavily around my right leg, covering my calf from the heel of my foot to well past the knee.  It was then that I realized that my clothes were missing and replaced by a short hospital gown.  A few wires were led through my collar, but I couldn’t tell where they came from or stopped.

I looked around the room I found myself in, hoping to find some answers.  Balloons littered the ceiling, and ranks of cards saying “Get well soon” lined the nearby side table.  Daylight poured in from the open window, along with a frigid breeze.  A nearby bird sang a relaxing melody.  In one of the two chairs along the wall, a unicorn lay fast asleep, oblivious to my stirring.  A faint smile pulled at my lips, agitating the skin beneath a bandage covering the right of my face.

I sucked in a breath, hoping to call her, but my voice couldn’t be found.  All I could manage was an uncomfortable grunt.  In her chair, Lyra stirred, and her golden, bloodshot eyes cracked open to find me.

“Wha… Hunter?” she called groggily.  I tried to lean forward, succeeding in only an inch before the pain in my body became unbearable.  Lyra noticed my small twitch, though, and her eyes snapped open in surprise.  “Hunter!”

She stumbled out of her chair, a bright grin flashing even through all of the movement.  I opened my mouth to reply, but I was still trying to find my voice.  As Lyra came to the left edge of the bed, I lifted my hand to reach her.  She grabbed it with a hoof, and for a moment, all felt right with the world, save for the terrible ache that blanketed my body.

But as a moment passed, her happy demeanor hesitated.  She opened her mouth, searching for the right words.  Her smile faded.  Something boiled behind those bloodshot eyes.  Her grip suddenly tightened around my fingers, and I found myself fighting back a wince.

“You… You are so lucky.”  She spoke slowly, and her words didn’t carry any warmth.  She shook her head incredulously, never taking her eyes off of mine.  “You are so lucky you are already in the hospital!” she suddenly shouted.  “Because if you weren’t so close to death when we found you, I would’ve put you here myself!”

I tried to jerk away, but between the immobilizing stiffness of my body and the heat of her glare, I was helpless.  My eyes couldn’t tear themselves away from hers, distracted only once as a small teardrop burned a trail from the corner of her eye.

“I… I don’t even know if I’m happy you’re alive or peeved that you nearly killed yourself in that stunt!” she continued to rant.  “I mean, what were you thinking?!  That was a real boneheaded move, even for you!”

As she shouted, memories of Nightmare Night flooded in with an overwhelming force, demanding my attention.  I relived each moment in the span of a second.

The hayride.  The wolves.  Town hall.  The Everfree.  The castle.  Thorn.  The portal.

The portal.

I thrashed in the bed, pulling my arm away from Lyra.  Adrenaline forced the rest of the grogginess out of my system and wrestled against the pain.  With all of the energy coursing through me, though, my body couldn’t match it.  Every muscle, every bone was fatigued, and each twitch was met with an explosion of agony that threatened to drown me.  I still couldn’t sit up, much less delicately pull my arm and legs out of their hanging supports.

My eyes turned to Lyra, and she must have seen the wild drive beneath them.  Her anger had melted, leaving behind a concerned face.  I opened my mouth to speak and was finally able to croak out one, weak word.  “Lyra….”

“H-Hey, cut it out,” she stammered.  She put a hoof carefully over my chest, hoping to calm me down.  A groan pushed out of my lips through the pressure.  “You’re going to hurt yourself more.  I-I wasn’t seriously mad at you, I swear.”

She didn’t understand, and my racing mind wouldn’t slow down to explain myself properly.

“The portal.”   My voice was hoarse, so much so that I feared she wouldn’t understand.  “I-I found it.  It was right in front of me!”  I tried to sit up again, but the muscles in my abdomen screamed and refused.  Along my side, hidden by the gown, skin pulled and stretched.  I fell back on the bed with a gasp after barely raising a few inches.  My eye shot to her desperately.  “You gotta help me out of here,” I wheezed.  “I think Thorn was trying to do something with it.”

Lyra shook her head.  There was an alarmed look in her eyes as she pushed down a little more firmly with her hoof.  “Hunter, you just need to rest,” she tried to assure me.  “Don’t worry about any of—”

“I can’t not worry about it, Lyra!  I saw my only way home!”

She reeled back as I finally found the voice to shout.  A wet, heavy cough racked the inside of my chest, and she backed further away as though the space would help.  With her hoof off my body, though, I continued my frantic efforts to get up.  I was determined to leave, even if she wouldn’t help me this time.

Lyra began protesting, but my ears were deaf to it.  I used my free hand to maneuver my right out of the sling.  That hidden ache started to rile beneath the cast again, but my arm was finally freed.  I was only faintly aware that Lyra had ran to the newly opened door and was shouting into the hallway as I worked on my legs.

My abdomen and shoulder were burning as I worked.  The once steady drone of beeping had grown frantic to match my heart.  By the time I managed to release my last foot from the hammock, a stampede of ponies burst through the door.

My heart was seized by dread as unfamiliar faces swarmed the bed.  Multiple hooves pressed my body back firmly into the bed as indistinct voices overlapped each other.  That frantic drone of beepings pierced the air as my only uncovered eye struggled to take in the strangers around me.  Each twitch of my body was met with another hoof trying to press it still.

Another hoof touched my chin, pulling my head to the left against stiff muscles.  A nurse.  A familiar one.  Her mouth moved, but her words only added to the static ringing in my ear.  Her cold blue eyes flickered once between me and the other ponies, then twice.  The features of her white coat twisted to a scowl, and she shouted above the other voices.

“Everypony, calm down!”

The chaos quickly quelled, though the pressure of the hooves remained.  Nurse Redheart turned back to me, and this time she spoke more softly, though the sternness remained.  “That means you, too, Hunter.”

Behind her was Lyra, who stared at me with terrified eyes.  My breathing steadied, and I took the advantage of the pause to scan the room.  My assailants weren’t the brutes I originally thought them to be.  They were doctors and nurses, scrawny bodies hidden beneath white lab coats and blue scrubs.  They still looked as frightened of me as I was earlier of them.

I swallowed a lump in my throat and gasped for a quick breath, turning to Redheart.  “I… I want to leave.”

One of the doctors spoke before the nurse could reply.  “You need to stay here.”

My attention shot to him, and he shrank back.  “Am I a prisoner here again?” I challenged him through grit teeth.

“You’re a patient,” Redheart assured me.  “You were barely alive after the Princess brought you here Nightmare Night.  We weren’t sure if you were going to pull through when you didn’t wake up the first day.  It was a miracle you managed to survive at all.”  There was no mistaking the agitation growing in her voice, and as she spoke, I became more aware of the throbbing ache that consumed my body, head to toe.

“I still can’t stay here,” I insisted.  My ragged voice was nearing begging.  “You don’t… you don’t understand.  The portal home… I saw it.”  I shook my head, trying to ignore the festering pain on the right side of my face.  “Thorn was trying to close it; I think for good.  I need to make sure he didn’t.”

From the doorway, someone else cut in, “Worry not over Thorn and his scheming, Hunter.”  Princess Luna stood at the entrance of the room.  With a wince, she managed to hobble inside.  One of her forelegs was bound in gauze against her body, held in place by a sling around her neck.  Bandages covered patches of her fur; one over her muzzle, another by the temple, more down her neck and back.  “He won’t be threatening you anymore,” she said grimly.  After a pause, “Or anypony else, for that matter.”

The room went rigid, then more so when the Princess’s sister came in tow behind her.  Princess Celestia stood tall above everyone else.  Even in the still air of the room, her mane was flowing, covering one of her eyes.  The other scanned intensely across the room, crossing over and then eventually falling on me.  Her face was a stone mask, unmoving as she took in each detail.  Eventually, she took in a deep breath, and the illusion shattered as her nostrils flared.  She spoke curtly.

“Release your hold on our guest.”

The pressure of the doctors’ and nurses’ hooves was swiftly removed before she finished.  Even though her command was satisfied, her calculating gaze was apparently not.

I dared to break the smothering silence that followed.  “What… What did you mean by that?” I asked Princess Luna.  “Is Thorn…”

“He’s gone,” she affirmed for me with a solemn nod.  “Reduced to little more than splinters and… a few larger, more recognizable pieces.”  Her gaze was focused on the bed beneath me.  As she spoke, there was a controlled formality to her tone, faltering only at the end to hint at the emotions she was truly feeling with the news.  I had to remind myself of all that she said that night, even though I couldn’t have been happier about the news.

She lifted her eyes to meet mine.  “He… his body seemed to have taken the brunt of the explosion, cushioning you from the worst.”

I was troubled over the Princess’s words.  My memories were scrambling to explain, but I couldn’t recall anything about what she had said.  A frown spread across my face, quickly transforming into a grimace as hidden wounds wrinkled and stretched.  “What… what explosion?”

“We were hoping you could tell us,” Princess Luna replied.

“Twilight and her friends had explained their accounts of Nightmare Night as best as they could,” her sister started.  Her features softened, and her formal voice melted to a more sympathetic one.  “You were very brave, Hunter, far more than anypony could have asked you to be.”

“However, we fear we still don’t fully understand exactly what happened,” Princess Luna added.  “We were hoping you could provide some answers, if you feel up for it, that is.”

The sisters waited expectantly for me to respond.  I was still coming out of a daze from this whole situation, but the relative calm had eased the storm in my mind.  Urgency was still nipping at my thoughts.  I told myself that the sooner this was resolved, the sooner the Princesses could help.  I tried to nod, a difficult task laying down with a stiff neck, but they seemed relieved.

I cleared my throat, rattling something in my chest in the process.  “So…  What exactly do you need to know?”

The Princesses glanced at each other, and after a reassuring nod from her sister, Luna spoke.  “When I found you, you were…”  The words seemed difficult for her to speak.  She cleared her throat and resumed with a rehearsed formality.  “You were fighting Thorn.  All we know of what happened before is what your friends told us, and unfortunately that information ends when you ran off by yourself.”

“Did you know where you were running to?” Princess Celestia asked delicately.

My words were briefly caught in my throat.  I could feel Lyra’s gaze on me, but I couldn’t build up the nerve to look back.  A sense of guilt began to gnaw within as I admitted, “No, I was… I was running blind.”

The room stirred uncomfortably at my confession.  Not wanting anyone to dwell on it, I continued.  “I ran as far as I could, but then I ran into something.”  I sucked in a breath, hoping to convey the gravity of what I was about to say.  “It was the portal.”

There was a heavy pause.  The sisters were troubled, seemingly digesting the information.  The doctors and nurses were silent, bystanders in a dialogue that was starting to feel private.

This time, Princess Celestia broke the silence.  She spoke as though she were stepping on eggshells.  “Are you sure that’s what it was?”

I tried to nod again, only to grimace from a pain forming in my neck.  “I didn’t believe it at first either,” I explained.  “Couldn’t even see it until I ran into it.  It’s like it was… camouflaged or cloaked by a spell.  But I found it.”  My excitement came accompanied with a new wave of soreness.  The sisters didn’t share my emotions, though.  I wondered if they still had doubts in their minds.  “It was where you found me,” I continued, this time directed to Princess Luna.  “Those lights I was fighting Thorn in front of, that was it!  We finally found it.  I…”  The words choked in my throat. I almost couldn’t believe I was saying it.

“I can finally go home.”

No one would look me  in the eye.  Even as I finally turned to Lyra, she looked to her hooves, but not before I could catch the discomfort painted over her face.  Others in the room had similar faces; pursed lips, wrinkled brows over troubled eyes.

“Hunter, I…  I don’t know how to tell you this,” Princess Celestia confessed, just barely over a whisper.  She finally met my eyes.  I was anxious for an answer to everyone’s actions.  Her lips moved.  Her voice spoke.  But the words didn’t make any sense.

Though I was already laying down,I felt as though I had been dropped.  For once, the pain subsided as my body went numb.  My mouth moved, opened and closed, as I tried to process what she had said.  It played over and over in my mind, leaving no room for any other thoughts.  Finally, words came to me.

“I…  What…  What do you mean it’s gone?”

The Princess’s regal  mask had now fully melted away, and all that was left was another pony with sympathetic eyes.  “Hunter…”  As she paused, I found myself hoping for a mistake, hoping for some sliver of a chance that it wasn’t fully true.  But what she said only made it hurt worse.  “I’m so sorry.”

The world was spinning, so much so that I feared I’d be flung out of the bed.  My head fell back against the pillow, and my swirling mind was struggling to make sense of anything in the room.  It couldn’t be true.  It couldn’t be true.

“W-Wait.”  I struggled to prop myself up with my good elbow as the words stammered from my lips.  The distance from the princesses seemed to stretch into a mile.  “It… It was invisible, remember?  Maybe you just couldn’t find it again because of that.  Maybe that’s why…  I…”

Princess Luna spoke softly as my voice trailed.  “We thought of that, too, Hunter.  We checked the entire clearing, and even beyond into the woods in case it could have moved, but…  Hunter, it just wasn’t there.”

It couldn’t be true.  The cadence of the heart monitor wouldn’t relent for me to think.  There had to be something we were missing.  If only my mouth would stop trembling.

“What if…  What if I need to be there?” I tried to reason.  The nausea was overwhelming.  “I… I mean, I…  Spellbreaker, right?  That-That’s what Thorn said.  I-I broke the… the cages, so maybe if…”

“Hunter, you don’t understand,” Princess Celestia said sadly.  “I was there myself.  It was clear that there was powerful magic there once before, but even if it was hidden, we would be able to sense some trace of it.  We searched everywhere, but it just doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Then check again!”

The room jumped at my outburst, though I could barely tell.  My vision was shaking with the rest of my body.  That damned heart monitor was interrupting my thoughts.  It couldn’t be true.  They had to have missed something.  Why weren’t they saying anything?

“It isn’t gone,” I said, trying to will it as fact, but my quivering voice did little to convince even me.  “It… it can’t be.

Something touched my free arm, tugging as I didn’t respond, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the Princesses.  Their silence was deafening, so much so that I could no longer think; my mind could latch only to the mantra that repeated endlessly.

It can’t be true.

It can’t be true.

It can’t be true.

Vertigo overcame me.  I was numbly aware that I had collapsed back into the thin pillow.  My vision of the white tiles overhead started to blur, and a dark thought squirmed once it found the room.

They weren’t lying to me. What would be the point?

I sucked in an unsteady breath, feeling as though I had been punched in the gut.  My mind struggled to understand the implications.  I would never see my home again.  I had unknowingly seen lifelong friends for the last time.  My family would never know what had happened to me.

Something was crawling up my throat; the pressure made it impossible to breathe.  My free hand probed at my collar, found nothing to free the pressure, and traveled up to my head.  Fingers wormed beneath the bandages at my hairline, hoping to ease the chaos beneath.

What was the last thing I had said to them?  The question was a burning inferno in my head and demanded an answer.  I frantically searched through my memories; it wasn’t so long ago, right?  Why couldn’t I remember it, that dumb, stupid thing I said when my dad wished me good luck?

One hand wasn’t enough.  My right hand, still encased in a cast, arm still bent at an odd angle, rubbed hopelessly against my temple.  Something snapped loose, and my left hand pushed further beneath the bandages and up my scalp, pulling at my hair to vainly tug my thoughts away.  The pressure in my throat was building, some primal emotionI I never knew existed.

I would never see my home again.  I was hopelessly lost in this world, and as far as I knew, the only human in its existence.  My core caved inwards, and a loneliness I couldn’t fathom began to crush me.

The pressure released.  The resounding scream ran my throat dry.

It died only as the wind left my lungs.  I almost didn’t have the strength to breathe back in.  Damaged skin pulled at itself as my body stretched and shuddered, trying to channel this thing out of me, but the pain was only gasoline thrown into the burning maelstrom.  Familiar voices were calling my name, trying to ease me.  Though I knew it somewhere in the chaos that it was Lyra and Redheart, I couldn’t see them through the burning flood of tears.

An eternity passed like that.  The storm eventually passed, leaving me a shivering mess as I lay in the bed.  Redheart brought a tissue to clean my good eye, and Lyra had a comforting hold around my hand.  I only just realized how tight my grip around her was, and I carefully pulled my fingers back.  Lyra never protested.

Between shuddering breaths, I glanced across the room, careful not to meet anybody in the eye.  It wasn’t a difficult challenge; most of the doctors had left already.  The rest appeared either too uncomfortable to move or too unsure if they needed to stay.  Both of the princesses stayed.  After a while, Princess Luna stepped forward to speak.

“What has happened to you is a terrible thing, Hunter.  If there is anything my sister and I can do to help you, please, you must only ask it of us.”

I nearly responded, a halfhearted nod that I was sure would have sufficed.  After a while they would have left, followed by the doctors, followed eventually by Lyra, and I would have been left to sit in my misery.  But her words floated in my now-empty head.  They twirled, around and around in an imaginary breeze, before settling on the remaining bed of smoldering embers.  It was there I was able to pick at them, to fully understand what she had said.

The tinder caught fire, but this time it wasn’t a crushing despair that rolled over me.  A question burned into my mind, demanding an answer.  My jaw locked itself in place, and it seeped through my teeth in a low growl.

“Where were you?”

The response wasn’t immediate.  Questioningly, cautiously, the Princess spoke up.  “I… I’m sorry?” she asked.

Beneath the bandages on the right of my face, torn skin festered as the sore muscles beneath pulled into a grimace.  I sucked in an unsteady breath, shuffled my broken body, and propped myself up with the elbow of my good arm.  It took all of my strength, but now I was able to look her in the eyes, to see the confusion in them, the attempt at innocence.

I breathed in, trying to ignore the pain, and asked again.

“Where… in the hell were you?!” I demanded.  The tension in the room snapped with audible gasps.  Luna looked at me with wide eyes as though she couldn’t process what I had said, and with my heart beating a war cadence in my ears, I was more than happy to elaborate.

“You told me you had a plan,” I accused.  “You said you had a way to deal with Thorn and keep everyone safe.  You said all it would take from me was a leisurely stroll into the forest and back.  And do you know what happened?  I was chased through the woods by a pack of wolves, wounded.  I ended up freeing all the prisoners myself.  And the icing on the fucking cake?  Thorn caught me alone in the end anyways!”

My spiel ended as an intrusive cough cut me off.  The shouting ran my throat dry again.  The Princess’s shock was devolving into something near indignation, betrayed by a twitch along her lips and the flicking of her ears.  Still no answer.  Would I have to pry it out of her?

“Where were you that night?” I demanded once more with a hoarse voice.

Luna’s eyes briefly reflected my own anger before she pressed her lips into a stern line.

“We came here to offer our condolences,” she said in a controlled tone.  “Not to be interrogated.”

An indignant snort escaped my nostrils.  “Is that your excuse?” I sneered incredulously.

“If my sister and I could have the room with Hunter,” Princess Celestia interjected.  “Alone.”

She didn’t have to add the last part.  The few doctors and nurses remaining were already stampeding for the door.  Though my eyes were locked on Luna’s, I could still see them shoving past each other to exit the door behind her.

Luna’s nostrils flared.  “You were supposed to be in Ponyville,” she noted accusingly.  “It became too dangerous, and I sent you back.  That was the plan.  If I would have known you were still in the forest,—“

“What, you would have actually tried to stop Thorn?” I cut in.

“When I said ‘alone’, I meant you as well, Lyra,” Princess Celestia said off to the side.

“But… But…” Lyra sputtered.  “I can’t just…”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Luna chastised me.  “Thorn had obviously planned for a confrontation—”

“And you didn’t?!” I shouted.

“Please, Lyra,” Celestia begged, and at that moment, I whipped my attention to her.

“Why shouldn’t she stay?” I demanded.  “Too afraid she’ll realize how much of a royal mess this whole situation was?”

“Hunter!”

Though I could feel Lyra’s eyes burrowing into me, I kept mine locked on the princesses.  Even with the shock and hurt in her tone, I couldn’t bring myself to look at her.  There was a fire raging behind my eyes, and I couldn’t imagine what I would say or do if Lyra fell within the crosshairs.

I sat rigid, shaking only from the effort to support myself.  After it became clear that I wouldn’t turn to her, Lyra made a soft, indistinguishable noise and walked to the door, trying to steal a glimpse of my uncovered eye.  The door sealed itself behind her, and then there were three.

Finally, Princess Celestia spoke.  “You’re angry,” she said cautiously, winning a scoff out of me.  “And rightly so; you’ve survived terrifying events on…”  For some reason, she struggled to say the words.  “That night.”

She paused, expecting me to say something.  At first, all I could do was weakly shake my head, then the words found their way through my grit teeth in a growl.

“Angry?” I echoed incredulously.  “Angry barely scratches the surface of how I feel.  I…  I don’t even know if there is a word to describe it.”

In an annoyingly calm tone, she responded, “Try to, if you can.  It could help.”

My glare lingered on her before focusing on the desks beside her.  “You’re not the school counselor, Princess,” I huffed.  “I don’t have to explain anything.”

“Don’t you point your ire at my sister,” Luna snapped.  “This feud is between the two of us; my sister has done no wrong by you.”

“She hasn’t?” I asked sarcastically.  Celestia raised an eyebrow to challenge, and I met it back with a glare.  “You led me on,” I growled.  “You made me think it was safe to stay in this town, right next to the forest with a mad dog that was trying to kill me.”

“We did not know Thorn was still alive,” Princess Celestia reasoned.  “Nor that he was hunting you.  It has been over a thousand years since…” Her words suddenly choked, and her eyes widened for a moment.  Keeping her mask intact, she swallowed the lump in her throat and continued, “Since we had seen him.”

“Nopony expected him to be alive,” her sister stepped in.  “I’ve explained this to you before.”

“And I explained to you that it was a bad idea to have a hayride through the Everfree,” I shot back.  My supporting arm was growing weak.  It shifted beneath me, and I winced as a pain shot through my side.  The sisters were quiet, either from a loss of words or to allow me to regain my composure.  I wasn’t certain which was more frustrating.

“I explained it was a bad idea,” I repeated, breathless from the pain.  “But you convinced me it was safe.  Look at me.  Look at what I had to go through because of you.”  Luna tried to hide herself behind a stoic mask, but in her eyes was a stronger emotion.  Anger or sadness or sympathy…  I couldn’t tell what it was, only that it wasn’t enough.  “Look at your guards,” I spat.

Celestia snapped out a wing in front of her sister, pressing it against her body to hold her back.  Luna’s face twisted with a fury that was so unexplainably satisfying to see.  She opened her mouth to speak, sucked in a breath to shout, but Celestia moved her wing higher to cover her sister’s mouth.

“We never could have foreseen a disaster like this,” Celestia said in a strained calm.  “Good ponies have suffered for our mistakes.”  She paused, the muscles around her jaw tensing before continuing.  “A good human has suffered for our mistakes… yet again.  Believe me when I say that it haunts our consciences.  We beg this not for our sake but for yours… I beg this; is there anything we can do to ease the suffering we’ve caused?”

She dropped her wing, and behind it Luna had managed to regain some of her composure.  Hints of the same fire inside me burned through the cracks in it.  Nevertheless, she and her sister waited expectantly for an answer, and for once I decided to give their question some thought… or at least to appear that I was.  There really only was one thing they could give me, and I knew the answer to it even as it hissed through my teeth.

“You can find the portal to my home.”

Celestia deflated.  Her eyes begged for anything else.  “Hunter… we can’t.  It doesn’t exist—”

“You said,” I cut her off with a growl.  “No, you promised…  Everything in your power to—”

“We’re not gods, Hunter!”  Desperation cracked Celestia’s voice, and her words hung in the air between us.  As the fallout settled, the fact that was never truly hidden was laid bare for all to see.  My suspicions confirmed, I let out a joyless snort.

“No, of course not,” I said, determined to get one last jab in before succumbing to defeat.  “You’re just like the rest of them.”

After a moment passed, Luna spoke up.

“And what does that mean, ‘just like them’?”

It wasn’t accusing.  There was no malice in her words.  Maybe that’s why it was so hard to find an answer.  The last of my fire sputtered out, and I let myself fall back into the bed in a defeated heap.  A soft groan escaped me as my body protested the collapse, and after a minute of thinking, I finally had a legitimate answer.

“You’re helpless,” I said flatly.  “Just like every other pony in this town.”  A bitter irony came over me as I spoke, invading my heart like a knife.  “Just like me,” I finally admitted.

A heavy silence fell over the room, broken only by a lone songbird somewhere out the opened window, oblivious to the explosive, verbal war waged in this room.  It was frustrating, the way this world carried on as though nothing had happened.

My eyes were glued to the tile ceiling, stinging too much to comfortably close.  My mind was overrun by an all-consuming static, too full of noise to rest.  How desperately I wanted to rest now.

At the end of my bed, the sisters spoke quietly to each other.  Not quite a whisper, but I was too exhausted to care to listen.  Why wouldn’t they just leave me alone now?  What was left to talk about?

After a minute passed, it seemed my silent prayers would be answered.  Hooves clattered against the floor.  Hinges squealed as they moved.  A door closed shut.  A sigh escaped me, only to be sucked back in as another set of hooves stepped closer.

Celestia appeared above me, stopping next to my bed.  Her eyes were trained forward, out past the window behind me.  She took in a deep breath through her nose, holding her solemn head as though to appraise the view.  As she slowly exhaled, her body began to sag, all of its tension escaping with her breath.  The corner of her lips twitched just slightly upwards as she continued to stare outside.

“What a rare chance, to hear this song so late in the year,” she explained distantly.  “Most birds would have migrated by now.  I was pleasantly surprised to hear it when my sister and I arrived.  I thought it was a beautiful omen…”

Her lips pressed into a tight line, and she shook her head.  Across her horn, magical sparkles of light flickered.  I heard the window slide shut, and the birdsong was cut off.

“I’ve only just realized it’s singing to itself,” she said sadly.  “No other birds return its song.  The rest of its flock must have left without it… yet still it calls, hopeful.”

If it was an attempt at a conversation, I didn’t return it.  What was the point of speaking about birds and migration?  When the silence dragged, Celestia sighed.  Her crown levitated off of her head and began to descend, turning to face her.  Her eyes trailed after it until it gently clattered on the bedside table, returning then to look out the window.  Even with it fully shut, her mane billowed as if in a strong, steady breeze, moreso now unburdened by the weight of the crown.

“What a terrible tragedy to endure,” she said solemnly, “to lose one’s family, to lose one’s home.  Worse, still, to know it’s still out there… somewhere.”  She briefly flashed a grimace at something outside before recomposing herself, still refusing to look at me.

“There are few who can understand the pain you are going through, Hunter.”  She paused, taking in a calming breath.  “Even fewer that know it.  My sister and I were fortunate… in some twisted sense of the word.  We at least had each other.  But you?”

Finally, she looked down on me, her magenta eyes carrying more pity than her words.  “I wish I could tell you it doesn’t get worse, this pain you feel, this loss.  If I could spare you from it with a click of my hooves, believe me, I would.  I wouldn’t wish this grief upon even my most hated of enemies, and you, Hunter, are probably the most undeserving of all to bear it.

“You’ve been patient… so, so patient.  And for this to be your reward…”  Her voice trailed off, and she tore her eyes away from me.  I could feel a tension pulling at my jaw, around my fist.  The seconds stretched into an eternity, until finally she spoke.  “There is no amount of riches in the world that can compensate for what has been stolen from you,” she said solemnly, still turned away from me.  “No punishment severe enough for you to find justice in this.  All that’s left for you now is to grieve, and even when you're done, the pain will linger.”

After a shake of her head, she finally turned back.  The lids around her eyes were wet, but she spoke calmly, tiredly, to ignore it.  “So I ask you again, one last time; is there anything I can do to grant you even a moment of respite?”

I searched her tear-stained eyes for the kernel of deception I knew in my heart was there.  So much had gone wrong, every plan made and hope dreamt, and trusting the Princesses seemed to be at the root of it all.  But there was a sincerity in her voice that my gut told me couldn’t be faked, and the sorrow in her eyes left no room for anything else.

“You’re being serious, aren’t you?” I thought aloud.  Celestia gave me a short nod, keeping her eyes trained on me.  I hesitated, weighing my options, and took in a deep breath.  “Anything you can do?” I ventured, and her nod was slightly more enthusiastic this time, a faint grin showed on her face.

My lips trembled and peeled back, exposing what I know to be a wicked half-grimace.

“Then get out,” I growled through my teeth.  “There’s nothing else you can do, and after all this time… I’m starting to think there never was.”  My eye pulled away from hers, staring once more at the ceiling. Tiredly, I added,  “I just want to be left alone now.”

I could feel her staring at me, but she didn’t speak a word.  She lingered for a brief moment, and in my peripheral vision I saw her nod.  Something floated to the top of her head, and she turned to leave.  The clatter of her hooves echoed in the small room, pausing before the door opened.

“I’m sure it’s the last you wish to hear,” she said solemnly.  “But if you would listen to an old mare’s advice, one last time…”  There was an expectant pause.  I didn’t respond, but she continued nonetheless.  “It will be easy for you to choose solitude; this breed of misery feeds on it, but… try not to give into it.  Your friends will come to comfort you, or rather, they will try as best as they can to.  Don’t push them away, lest your wishes and fears both become realized, and you truly will be alone.”

The hinges of the door squealed as it opened and closed.  I counted the seconds as they passed, waiting to be certain that there were no other surprises.  A pent up breath eventually pushed itself out of me.  I finally had the room to myself.

I laid in the bed, wounds and thoughts festering.  Nothing in this waking nightmare felt real, save for one unavoidable fact:  I was never going home.