> Counselor In The Forest
>  by RedBlack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> First Response
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ugh.

My head.

Is it a hangover?

I don't remember drinking anything.

Not like I even had anything alcoholic to begin with.

And I don't remember being sick either.

Oh, it stopped.

Also, was my bed always this uncomfortable?

It's wet too.

Shit, did I wet the bed or something?

I'm way too old for that.

And not old enough.

With that last thought, I try to get up.

"Fuck!" I yell with a dry voice as my entire body creaks from the motions of getting up.

Taking heavy breaths, I calm down as my body feels like it hasn't moved for a full century.

It is, WAY too stiff.

I tried to open my eyes to assess my situation.

That, does not help.

Something was blocking my field of vision.

I hadn't noticed it, but something was wrapped around my head, more specifically around my eyes, like a blindfold.

Ok.

Slowly does it.

I slowly start moving parts of my body, trying to get my blood rushing.

After a few minutes of small movement exercises, I could finally move my body without problems.

With that, I move my hoof and touch around my eyes, feeling for what was blocking my vision.

Lightly pulling from all sides, I see if it's drilled into my head or something.

With the confirmation that it's just tied around my head, I give a tight pull and break it off.

I immediately regret the move as I block the light from my eyes with my right hoof.

Taking a few seconds to get my eyes used to the light, I stand up, albeit a bit shakily.

"What the fuck?" Asking the question I probably should've asked earlier, I look around the unfamiliar surroundings.

Plant life as far as the eye could see.

The intense plant growth and trees only separated by about a step's distance.

Giving a good, long, hard look around my area, I come to a single conclusion.

"I have, no fucking idea where I am"

Unluckily, I didn't have a biology teacher, or a teacher at all in fact, learned mostly from mom and dad.

Sure, I'm a farmer so I know a thing or two about plants, but I'm not an expert in forestry. 

I don't even know what kind of forest I'm in.

Great, I'm already talking to myself.

Well, not like I haven't been doing that since Bright Idea left.

Wonder how he's doing actually.

Haven't heard from him in a while.

Damn it, I'm getting off track.

Stepping over the broken vines that had leaves attached to it, I try to explore the area.

Try, being the keyword as I very quickly realize that there is something blocking my path.

I know it's a spell of some kind.

I'm no scholar when it comes to magic, but I'm pretty sure this is a barrier.

It's invisible, but it pulsates light green wherever I touch it.

I tried to go around it, following it until I reached a corner about a ten minute walking distance away.

Fearing slightly at the implication, I follow the other wall and reach another corner about twenty minutes later.

No fucking way.

You gotta be joking with me.

In the end, after sprinting and leaving several marks by knocking down thin trees and jumping over the same river twice, I come to the conclusion that I'm trapped.

"FUCK!" I yell towards the sky, scaring away a few birds as my shout echoes back, annoying me slightly.

I sit down on a tree root that grew out of the ground, holding my hooves in front of my face as I try to calm down.

Ok, calm it.

You're stuck here.

But you're surrounded by flora, so you won't die unless you act stupid.

So, make a plan, then act on it.

First things first, securing food and water.

I look around me, noting the plant life as I look at the ground.

Although reluctantly, I take a bite out of the grass.

Blegh, I'll need to wash off the dirt first.

But the grass itself, seems fine.

I also saw some berries somewhere, I can eat those if needed.

Letting out a tired sigh, I move to the river I previously jumped over.

I dip my hoof and give it a taste.

I, think it's fine.

Alright, tools next then.

Trees, I should be able to make it work.

As an earth pony, my hooves are more than enough to knock down the thinner trees.

Find two rocks on the ground, preferably a solid rock with no visible flaws, then shape that rock with the other one.

Use the sharpened rock to make a handle out of the thin trees.

This one's too short.

This one is way too thin.

Ah, this could work.

After five attempts, I finally break a tree into a long and thick handle.

By softly pressing the sharpened stone into one end of the handle, I slowly and painfully carve a spot where I would put the stone in.

Now I need something to tie it around.

I look around.

Plenty of low hanging vines.

Breaking off one, I use it to tie it around the stone and wooden handle.

There we go, makeshift axe.

I, don't know what I'm going to do with this.

I facehoof, realizing that I just made an axe without needing it.

*Sigh*

"Well, at least it's impossible for me to waste time" I say as I take a gulp of the river water.

I grab another usable stone, shaping with the previous stone to get a knife.

With a simple stone knife and axe, I take down a few trees and pluck their leaves.

Break off all the branches, then take off the bark.

An extremely tedious task I've found out, only made harder by the crappy tools I have.

Taking off another splinter from my hoof, I finally put away the 4th tree as the moon hailed high into the sky, showing off the mare in the moon.

Eating some berries I found in a bush, I calmly look at the moon.

Good thing it's close to Summer, so the night will be bearable for now at least.

Piling the leaves I pulled off, I lay down softly, almost immediately blacking out from tiredness.





*Celestia POV*

The sun hung high in the sky, lighting the land of Equestria.

I, as the ruler, should be in day court, but have chosen to take a walk to clear my head.

I silently tread through my old playground, reliving old memories of my sister.

It's close.

Only a week from now on, and she will be back.

I have beared through the pain and guilt for close to a thousand years.

I slightly wince at the thought, knowing that who comes back will not, only be my sister.

I smile at the sight of a familiar tree.

We used to have such a good time here, completely ignoring the problems around us.

I give a slight chuckle at the irony.

Ostracized by all three races, yet now I'm their ruler.

Silently continuing my outing, I come across a peculiar sight.

A barrier?

I put my hoof on it, testing the strength.

It's, pointless?

I can easily pass through, without any resistance at all.

I look at the barrier itself, seeing its complexities.

Is it just an alarm spell?

There's no force behind it, more specifically, there's nothing that the spell would do.

Just what, is the point of this barrier?

Passing through the barrier, my ears perk up as I hear the sound of something colliding against wood.

A dull axe maybe?

After a few teleports through the rather dense tress, I finally arrive at a clearing.

This place is a lot denser than I remember.

I look around the clearing, noting the amount of fallen trees.

Or rather, what's left of them.

There were quite a large amount of tree barks scattered on the ground.

The technique seems rather crude, but what do I know about woodwork?

Following the sound once more, I find a green pony repeatedly chopping a tree lengthwise with a stone axe.

His coat started a deep green at his hooves, but got lighter as it traveled up.

His mane was a full white with light green stripes barely visible on it.

He had a single flower as a cutie mark, one that had more colors than I could name.

I take on a disguise, not wanting to be treated like a gem right now.

A simple light grey unicorn with a full white mane and a bouquet of flowers in a fancy pot for a cutie mark.

Purposefully stepping on a branch, I alert him as he turns to me with a bored expression.

"How did you?" he asked with furrowed brows as he dropped his axe.

"Hello?" I greet casually.

"Hi, mind telling me how you got past that barrier?" he quickly asked.

"I, walked through?" I answer, a bit confused on why he himself is so confused.

He just intently looks at me as his eyebrows furrow even more, clearly not understanding the situation.

"Are you, able to leave through it then?" he asked me with widening eyes.

Am I?

"I haven't checked" 

"Check it now then" he said as he kept pushing me towards where I came from.

Though rather rude of him, I complied as we quickly approached the barrier.

There was a fallen tree right in front of it that I hadn't noticed before.

Huh, pretty sure that wasn't there before.

I reached the barrier and put a hoof on it.

The same as before.

I simply walked through it and turned to look at him.

Huh.

He's gone.

I furrow my brows and walk back in.

There he is.

"What the fuck?" he said as rubbed his nose.

I slightly flinch at his curse.

I haven't heard somepony actually cuss in the last 800 years.

He put his hoof on the barrier, not able to pass through it.

Is he a prisoner here then?

He suddenly punches the barrier, eliciting a burst of magic from the barrier that pushed him back.

"Are you alright!" I run up to him as he rubbed his head.

"I'm fine, it didn't hurt that much" he said and got up before I could help him.

I release a relieved sigh.

"Who are you again?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm Ce-enter Piece" I catch myself.

"Ce-enter Piece?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "What an unfortunate name"

"No, just Center Piece" 

"Oh, not that bad then, I'm Natural Remedy" he said and sat down on a random tree trunk.

"It's great to meet you"

"Likewise"

I took a seat on a fallen tree as comfortable silence enveloped the area.

"So, what's a mare like you doing here?" 

"Oh, just taking a normal walk, why do you ask?"

"I just thought somepony like you would be having guards or something" he said without looking at me.

He shouldn't know right?

What gave it away?

The barrier?

No, I don't think that was his doing.

As ten different thoughts go through my head, he suddenly looks at me.

"If you wanted to hide your status, you probably shouldn't be wearing a crown" he said with a blank face.

Ah.

I put my hoof on my head, taking the crown off.

I mentally kick myself for forgetting to hide the crown as I put it back on.

"I, guess I should have"

He chuckled, earning a sheepish smile for me.

Then he started to full on laugh as a giant smile took his face.

I gave my own chuckles as he started to loudly laugh, bellowing to the sky as tears rolled down his face.

Soon enough, I just awkwardly stared at him.

The sight sort of resembled my sister, whenever she got me with a good prank.

He started to calm down as he wiped his tears away.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, I've been alone for about 20 years now, with not much to do, even the most simple jokes become hilarious" he finished with a contented sigh.

What?

"You've been here for 20 years?" 

"Ah, no, I've been here for 3 days, I lived in a farm with my older brother until he left, he always talked about having this grand business idea, and that he would be back after hitting it big, though from his letters, it seemed like he just gained a stable living, though those letters stopped coming in almost 2 months ago" he said as a reminiscing look grew on his face.

"I see"

That's, a better situation then, isn't it?

Though I can't help but wonder, does his brother truly care about him?

Well, at least his brother stayed in touch.

I should have done the same.

I get rather sad with that thought.

"Hey, you good?" he suddenly asked.

"I'm fine, why?"

"You seem sad, wanna talk about it?" 

Should I?

I just look at him as I ponder the question over and over.

"You know, I'm stuck here, so whatever you say won't get out" he urged me on.

"Won't get out huh?"

"Exactly, so won't you share your troubles with this humble stranger?" He said with a smug smile.

I give a few chuckles as I think it over.

Well, it couldn't hurt to hear some advice no?

"My sister, she's finally, visiting, after not being able to for, 10 years" I tell him as I alter the truth.

"Sounds nice"

"It is nice, what's not is what she's bringing with her" 

"Oh, why does it bother you?"

"It transformed her"

"So you don't like the new her"

"It's not her, it's that thing that made my sister, not so lovable anymore"

"An addiction?" 

"You could say that"

"Then the solution is pretty simple isn't it?" 

I look him in the eyes as he stared right back.

"If she's truly addicted to something, you, as her family, should try to save her when the chance comes" he finished with a smile. "The answer is often more simpler than one makes it to be"

I just silently stare at him as his words ring out in my head.

Can it truly be that simple?

"How" my voice involuntarily quivers.

"Guide her, show her what's outside the little world she's put herself in" 

"What if she won't follow me?"

"If you truly love each other, she'll follow you" 

...

Silence.

I could think of nothing as his words rang out again and again.

If we truly love each other.

"Thank you" I simply say as we just sit inside the forest.

As a comfortable silence had enveloped the area, he finally moved after about ten minutes.

With a stretch, he groans as he turns towards his previous location.

"Well, I still have a house to build, and somepony is probably worried about you no?"

I chuckle as I imagine a scene about Raven having a meltdown over my disappearance.

Ah, she's gonna give me an earful once I've returned.

"Yeah, thank you for the impromptu therapy session" I say with a small smile.

"It's fine, I can tell you needed a pony to talk to, don't be afraid to talk to your sister too, sounds like you two have some things to figure out" he said as he turned to me.

"Yeah, I'll do that"

He simply nodded, approving of my decision.

Heh, it feels a bit weird being on the receiving end of it.

"Well, it's certainly time for me to leave, but I'll visit you as soon as possible with extra supplies and such"

"I'll be grateful, and it's been nice meeting you Ms. Center Piece"

"Likewise Mr. Natural Remedy" I smile and walk back through the barrier.

His advice, I'll listen to it.

And I'll have some of the scholars to look into what sort of barrier that is.





*Natural Remedy POV*

Hmm.

I wonder how a pony of, a seemingly high status, get such a complicated life.

She hasn't told me everything, that's for sure, but how can I blame her, I'm just a stranger after all.

Taking a large gulp of the spring water, I go back to tree chopping.

I should really figure out how to boil the river water before I get sick or something.
> Second Visitor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Natural Remedy POV*

After about 18 hours of labor, I finally flattened an area, making it suitable for construction as I decide to rest on a pile of leaves.

I lie down calmly as I look upwards to the biggest tree I've seen in my life.

At the top were weird fruits of an assortment of colors, ranging from an aquatic blue to a fiery red despite coming from the same tree.

The leaves looked normal, but it's probably different since I saw rainbows coming out of it.

After a few days of living here, I realized that I haven't fully explored the area I was trapped in.

So, a simple walk around and I arrived at the center of my prison.

The tree itself was humongous, reaching up so high that I couldn't see the top of it.

The trunk was extremely thick, enough for me to need twenty steps just to go to the other side.

If I build a tree house, this will absolutely be the tree I'm gonna build it on.

I stretch a bit as I get up once again.

"Time to finally build this thing"

I move towards the even-ish planks of wood and the carved logs of wood.

Mentally picturing the design, I start by stacking the logs, making a cube design with one side missing.

Using vines to tie the planks together, I put a roughly shaped flat roof on the walls.

"A new face, in a place like this, it must be fate, to meet you in a crisis?" I hear somepony say as I quickly turn around.

What an odd looking pony?

"Hello?" I greet.

"Greetings to you as well my friend, it is a surprise that you have not fled" she said as she came closer with a slightly shocked expression.

Why does she talk in rhymes?

Her coat was mostly light grey with a heavier grey colored markings and her cutie mark was a grey stylized sun.

She wore a set of golden rings around her neck and her front left leg and two large golden earrings, two saddlebags on her back.

"What makes it a surprise?" I ask.

"I have learned from experience, that ponies are quite racist" she said with a blank face.

I involuntarily give a chuckle as I think about a few fairy tales and stories for foals I remembered.

"Yeah, most will judge things that they're unfamiliar with or have been perceived as something dangerous previously, a threat"

I invite her to sit under the shade inside the new makeshift house.

I'm pretty proud of it.

As we hide away from the sun, she puts down her bags to take out an assortment of unfamiliar objects.

There're some crystals mixed in too.

"May we have a fire started, for I am quite starved"

"It's gonna be hard, I don't have a bonfire yet, I also don't have much ingredients to actually cook something"

"Those are small issues, for I will leave you bemused, as these items of mine, will blow your mind" she said grandly as she brought out more stuff.

I'm pretty sure that the sum of all these can't fit in those bags, but I mostly ignored that thought in favor of eating something different than berries.

She dug a tiny hole and put in some kind of green gem and then slammed it down with a hoofful of powder.

Surprisingly, a pretty decent sized fire rose as it floated right on top of the crystal.

Looking closer, I can see the powder burning, albeit at an extremely slow rate.

"I can see my trick has left you in awe, for it will be hard to forget what you saw" she said while laughing slightly.

Shutting my slack jaw, I just look at the magical fire.

"Wow, I've never seen anything like this" I said, genuinely awestruck.

"What you have seen is potionry, it is in my specialty, it is hard and risky path, so not many pick it's wrath" she explained calmly as she pulled out six large sweet potatoes.

"Hard and risky? Not my cup of tea then" I comment nonchalantly as she wrapped the potatoes in a cloth drenched with a green substance.

"That's quite the contradiction, for I see how you've worked like it's addiction" she said as she handed me a steaming cup of tea that I took.

We haven't even boiled water yet.

She put the wrapped potatoes inside the fire as it floated inside of it.

"Magic sure is convenient" I absentmindedly comment as I watched the floating vegetables.

"As long as you get over the hurdles, you will find that magic can save you quite the troubles" she added cheerily and sat down.

I nod silently as I stare at the warm fire.

It was a weird flame, dancing to nothing as it freely took the shape it wanted.

It gave off the heat you would expect from a normal fire, yet it never seemed to burn what it touched.

"Oh, I didn't think I'd see a zebra here" a voice said as she came to the camp.

"Center Piece, good to see you again" I greet her as I signal her to take a seat.

"It's great to see you too friend, I hope you haven't had too much trouble during my absence"

"Not much"

"So, I don't believe I've met you ma'am" she said and turned to, uh.

Ah.

We never actually said our names.

"I am known as Zecora, I live amidst this flora"

"I'm Center Piece, great to meet you" she said with a calm smile.

"It is great to meet you as well, and may I have your name as well?" she said as she turned to me.

"Natural Remedy"

With each of us introduced, se calmly sit around the magical campfire that Center Piece doesn't seem to mind at all.

I guess magic fires are quite normal for nobles like her.

"How did you manage to build this thing in a day?" Center suddenly asked me.

"Had a lot of free time" I casually answered, getting a chuckle from both of them.

"Creating a shelter in a day is quite impressive, for laziness can be quite persuasive" Zecora added as she materialised another cup filled with tea and handed it to Center. 

"Oh trust me, I know all about that" I say as I sip my tea.

Center let out a relaxed sigh as she drank her tea.

"Something stressing you out lately?" I ask as she looked like she was in heaven.

"Yeah, my job involves paperwork, and with the summer sun celebration coming up, the amount increased ridiculously" she responded with a complaining tone.

"Ah paperwork, I've heard many tales before, such as it being the biggest bore, but to think you would get even more" Zecora added with a pitying look.

"Paperwork, eh, I never really involved myself in it" I comment, getting a surprised look from Center.

"What, how? What about your farm? Surely you had to sign something since your brother left" 

"Eh, I think my brother took care of it since I never had to sign anything"

"That sounds to me, suspicious, the intent may be, malicious" Zecora added.

Hmm.

"Welp, nothing I can do about it now" I just casually answer.

"I guess so" 

Zecora only nodded for a response.

As comfortable silence enveloped the area, Zecora doused her hooves in a red liquid that she brought out from her bags and started taking out the potatoes.

Dividing it by 2 between us, I stared for a few seconds on how I should do it.

Center just casually peeled the skin off with magic, so I stared at the way Zecora did it.

She caught me staring and smiled before waving a hoof before it.

I confusedly stared at the hoof and back at the potato multiple times, trying to see what she did, then suddenly, the potato skin was gone.

"Whaaaaat?" I silently ask as I stare at her little show.

She just chuckles before throwing it to me.

Although surprised, I still catch before asking if she didn't want to eat it, but stopped when I realized one of my potatoes were gone.

Center seemed to be having the time of her life as she struggled to not laugh.

"Thanks" I just say and take a bite of the sweet potato.

I almost cry from joy at the taste as the memories of random berries and dirty grass fade away.

"I feel like I've taken life for granted till now" I say, earning a round of laughter from them as I continue to eat my potato.





*Celestia POV*

At first I was surprised to see a zebra in Equestria, even more so inside the Everfree of all places.

Though, after thinking it through, the Everfree is a perfect place for those who make potions, like Zecora.

With its abundant natural resources and a reality defying geography which promises even more, it's the best choice for a potioneer. 

Then what Natural Remedy said rang out in my head.

He said he's never bothered with paperwork before, yet he's been alone for 20 years.

I should check the records, just to make sure.

"What were your parents name Natural Remedy?" 

"Storm Chaser and Green Garden. Why do you ask? Also just call me Remedy, it's so much easier" he replied casually.

"Sure, and, no reason" I lied simply, though Zecora seems to have noticed it.

Thankfully, she didn't do anything, most likely in favor of helping Remedy.

I'll thank her for that.

"On a different note, I wanted to consult you on a different matter" I tell him as he turns to me fully.

"Yeah? What is it?" He asked after taking a sip of his tea.

Pretty sure he finished it about 10 minutes ago.

Zebra magic is always interesting somehow.

"I'm thinking of sending my student to a little town, with a tight knit community, so she could make some friends" 

He let out a sound of pondering as he put his hoof to his chin.

Zecora also seemed to think about it.

"I need more details, can she take care of herself? Also she probably shouldn't go alone"

"Mhmm, sending out a young one by herself, could result in a crime by one who dares" Zecora added her thoughts.

"She's an adult mare, so she can take care of herself, and I'm also sending her with her assistant, and the town is quite popular for being a friendly community, so she should, in theory, be fine" I explained.

"Easy on the rant" Remedy said in a joking tone before replying. "Well, I understand that she's a loner, and if the town is famous for being friendly, I don't see much of an issue, though the fact that you're sending her there in the first place tells me that she's either an outcast, or a total bookworm" he finished with a slightly serious tone.

"The latter" I say with a sigh as I remember her reports about missing several parties. "At this point, it was either force her to attend parties, or send her somewhere where she's practically guaranteed to make friends, you know which one I chose" I lament my troubles as he just looks at me.

"Yeah, I see your point, though I wanna ask, do you see her as a friend?" 

"What do you mean?"

"How close are you with her?" He asked with an easy smile.

"I, like to say we're close, I've been with her during most of her life"

"What makes you unsure?"

I release a heavy sigh at the question.

"As I've been in most of her life, I've also been teaching most of her life, she puts me on a higher pedestal than herself"

"Ah, difference in authority"

"More or less"

He nodded with a thinking face as Zecora added granite on the fire to keep it going.

"I can't say for sure, but have you ever interacted with her in a friendlier way? Like, not as a teacher, but an actual friend? I think you're close enough to at least TRY it right?" he said with a small smile.

"I guess so" I respond after thinking it through.

Acting like a friend, rather than a mentor.

I do wonder how well that would go.





After leaving a supply of food and drinks, as well as an assortment of tools he could use, I finally return to my castle without my disguise after raising the moon.

"Might I ask why you went missing the second day in a row?" Raven asked me as she held a very pissed off expression, having zero intent on hiding it from me.

"Oh I just, met a friend, and forgot the passage of time"

Ok I also visited Donut Joe for a fresh batch, under my disguise of course.

"You have friends?" 

I cough blood as the question pierces straight through me.

The fact that it was a genuine question only made it worse.

"How? What kind of pony would they be to be friends with you? Your social cues are also terrible. Completely outdated."

Every question she asked, it felt like my heart had been skewered once again.

"Let's move on from that topic" I forcefully say as I wipe the blood I coughed from my chin.

She only shrugged and took out her clipboard.

"The scholars you've requested have all agreed to take on the task and will be heading out tomorrow, on the condition that you'll also send guards with them"

Well that's fair.

"Granted, send 5 guards per pony, ask Captain Shining Armor for which ones will go"

She nodded as she wrote down the instructions.

"Do tell Shining Armor to send at least one experienced lieutenant"

"Understood" she said as she stared at me with a slightly nervous look.

"What is it?" 

"I'm worried, is it truly wise for you to be facing off against her, alone?" 

Oh, this question.

"No, but it is my duty as a sister to receive her when she arrives, so I must do it alone"

She lets out a deep sigh as she debated on her next words.

"Fine" 

"Thank you for your understanding" I say as I turn to head to my room.

She follows me as silence descends around us.

"Seriously, what kind of pony did you befriend? They're not imaginary right?" she suddenly asked, almost making me trip.

"I can make friends!" I shout, losing all regality.

"Prove it" she asked with a cold stare as she adjusted her glasses. 

"Why should I?" I ask, testing her limits.

"If you do, I'll excuse your tardiness" 

"What? I'm the Princess, what tardiness?"

"I'll take away cake privileges if you keep it up" she said as her cold eyes looked at me, causing shivers to run down my spine.

"Fine! I'll prove it!" I yelled, louder than I intended. 

She smirked as her eyes took on a challenging tone.

Was she always this terrifying?

I gulped as I thought about my next move.

Oh.

That could work.

Two candles with one blow.

Wait, wasn't it something about stones?

Whatever, I need to make sure I don't lose cake.

I can never, lose cake.





I am currently sitting at the balcony of my room with Twilight at my side, looking over Canterlot as the moon hung high in the sky.

The stars shined brightly and dimly, creating the mest beautiful artwork for generations upon generations to witness.

We were currently sharing pieces of desserts and tea as I struggled to keep the calm smile on my face.

As beautiful as the sight is, I'd honestly rather die than stay here right now.

After getting started on this 'hang out', I had made, or at least tried, to crack a joke or two, but the scene of Twilight's face visibly crumbling upon itself made me want to kill myself, or atleast knock myself out for long enough for her to forget what I said.

The joke was about a rock and a tree that I still remember from my foalhood, though the only reason it was popular was because of how bad it was.

Looking back on it, that was absolutely an idiotic move.

My smile was strained as Twilight tried, very hard, to recover from the joke she tried to at least fake laugh.

Please don't.

That's only making it worse.

By the stars, Twilight, please learn social cues.

*Thud, thud*

There was knocking on the door as a guard came in with a report.

"Your highness, Prince Blueblood has requested to meet you"

"Yes thank you very much Twilight let's end it for today I'll see you later goodnight" I successfully said with a strained smile in 2 seconds at worst as I practically ran out of the room.

It seems, I've let my age affect my own social cues as well.
> The Next Visit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Natural Remedy POV*

It was raining.

I sat inside the little shack I'd built as I looked.

Sitting safely right next to the stuff both Center Piece and Zecora left.

A fire, not too big, burned on.

It was relaxing.

It was quite a heavy rain too.

I haven't seen heavy rain in about twenty years.

They'd started fully controlling the weather again back then.

A few crackles of thunder rang out.

I close my eyes, inhaling deeply at the moist scent.

It paired well with the scent of nature.

The smoke smell of the bonfire relaxed me.

Though, the scent of blood ruined it.

I slowly open my eyes.

Slowly looking down, a few tears roll down as I watch the memory play itself.

I'd gotten over it, mostly.

But I can't help but remember those days.

Then, my ears flicker as the bloody scent disappears.

Getting broken out of the memory, I concentrate, trying to locate where the sound is coming from.

It's all around me.

Light steps, coming from behind bushes.

Slowly reaching for the new axe Center left, I hear for any movements.

Hmm.

Six from the front.

Two from each side.

And another two behind.

A sneak attack.

I'm facing smart predators.

Axe in hoof, I stand up as I look at the ten Timberwolves in total.

Gulping, I slowly examine my spot.

I'm inside a shack, able to fit ten ponies if squeezed.

Rather inconvenient.

A bigger one slowly emerges from the back, standing almost thrice my height.

Dangerous.

I didn't notice him.

Then he did something.

With a growl, he whipped his head to the side twice as the others backed away.

The wolves, except the alpha, howled to the sky as they stood in a circle.

He's challenging me?

Why?

I observed him closer.

The half hearted circling.

The bored gait.

That arrogant look.

Well won't you look at that?

With a snarl, he lunges at me with an impressive speed.

I reply with an overhead swing, fully embedding my axe into his skull as he pushed me back.

Getting pushed back whilst a trail is left on the ground, I almost reach the impromptu arena walls, prompting one of the walls to try and bite me.

With a kick from one hoof, I knock it out before turning my attention towards the big one.

I climbed on him as I pulled my axe out.

With both hooves, I strike once more, getting another hit in.

He shook his body constantly, trying to get me off before finally deciding to just roll over.

I jumped off at the last moment, landing with a roll as I hold a grip on the axe.

I look at him as he now circles me.

No arrogance in his walk.

No boredom in his eyes.

Full of cold blooded wrath.

The eyes of a true hunter.

"Seem like a proper enemy now huh?" I ask, slightly teasing him as he growls in anger.

I stare at the two gashes, connecting on his forehead.

One more hit to break it off.

Another one to reach his brain.

He pounces at me once more, this time with his claws.

I take a step back to dodge it as others come in.

One more, I block, getting pushed back.

Another one, I successfully parry.

Using the chance, I get another strike in, creating a broken spot on his forehead.

GAH.

FUCK.

I raise the axe once more and strike down as hard as I can with only one hoof.

Fully breaking through the skull, I raise it and strike again.

Again.

One more.

Then another.

And finally, with one last hit, I split through his head, releasing my limb.

He got hit on purpose.

A set of teeth marks on the middle part of my front left leg as blood flows down through it.

Shit.

With a startle, I raise my axe once again as the wolves howl into the sky.

Are they mourning?

I confusedly look around, trying to figure what their intention is.

Then it came.

My whole body screamed at me, begging for me to move.

So I did.

Instinctively raising the axe in a defensive position, I block a singular claw strike.

This son of a bitch.

He was alive.

His skull reanimated itself as I took a leap back.

Almost reaching the walls, I hold the axe in my mouth as I balance myself on three hooves.

Though, the crack that ran through the metal part of the axe didn't give me much hope.

He rushed at me with renewed vigor.

I roll to dodge out of the way, wincing in pain.

Squelching sounds come from every move as the ground slowly turned to mud.

I focus my sights on my opponent while clenching the axe handle harder.

With a growl, he pounces at me once more, trying to scratch or bite me.

Just as he reached me, I ducked under while tilting my head.

Rotating my head swiftly, I swing breaking down one of his back legs.

I hiss in pain after landing.

Ignoring it, I look around me for a way out.

I can break out, but I won't survive the chase.

It's impossible to get a fire going with him hunting me down.

Fire.

I look towards the only source of light in the camp.

It's still burning.

I quickly run towards the bonfire inside the hut.

The adrenaline helped me ignore the pain coming from my limb as the wolf rushed towards me once more.

I roll out of the way, causing him to stop right in front of the bonfire.

I run towards him with all I can.

Right as I reached his range, I ducked under his swipe.

Tilted my head and swung the axe upwards, fully closing his opened jaw.

Letting go of the axe, I roll out from under him and reach the bonfire.

I grabbed the discarded stone axe with my mouth and stood behind the bonfire.

He turned back to me as he crushed the axe under him with a stomp, separating the handle into several pieces.

I breathe deep, slowly letting it out.

Fully concentrating on his every move, I wait carefully.

He can't fit inside the little shack, so he has to charge.

I was right.

He ran in, fully intending to slam me with his body.

I Jumped over him by running out, prompting him to slam into the shack and breaking it down.

I grab a random burning piece of wood from the bonfire and jump onto him, fully ignoring the pain.

With a swing of my head, I embed the stone axe into his eye.

With a swing of my hoof, I stuff the burning into his other eye.

Pulling the axe back, I prepare to bash his head in.

Right then, my instincts told me.

I brought the axe back and put it in front of me.

It felt like somepony just hit my chest with a large hammer.

I flew back.

With a thump, I hit something solid, then searing pain came from my back as I was pushed forward.

I shakily stood, staring at the big wolf with bloodshot eyes, trying to extinguish the fire inside his head.

I look at my back, seeing three large gashes.

Even if I survive this, I'll die from blood loss.

It's a miracle I haven't fainted yet.

I'll at least kill that bastard.

With that resolution, I run full speed ahead, fully utilizing all four limbs while numb to the pain.

I pick up the axe head from the previously broken and hold it in my mouth, along with the stone axe.

Basically grinding my teeth, I hold the stone axe into the fire.

The vines that held it together burned, and turned to fuel as the handle caught fire.

I pick up speed once again, and leaped towards him, taking the burning axe into my right hoof.

He finally put the fire out with rain as he looked at me.

Right as he saw me, I swung the burning axe into his neck.

I sent an uppercut with my left hoof, breaking bits off of his neck.

He rolled around, taking me with him as I held onto the axe tightly.

His neck slowly caught fire as he kept rolling around.

I try to concentrate, then I see it.

I was about to land on the bonfire.

Fuck.

No, if I land there I'll burn to death.

Clenching my teeth harder, I put more force into my limbs and plant my back legs on the ground, splattering the mud and leaving a trail into the ground as he tried to push me away with his body.

Barely stopping right in front of the bonfire, I feel my legs getting scorched from being too close.

I let go of the axe and take the axe head from my mouth into my right hoof.

With a shout, I plant the axe head right into his throat.

Taking it back, I give out a heavy punch with my left hoof, leaving behind a cracked mess.

I plunge the axe head into the same spot again as I pull my left hoof back, putting it into the bonfire.

It fully broke his outer shell, leaving behind a broken mess of wooden flesh.

With a final battle cry, I break through the soft flesh of his neck with a burning hoof, setting his insides on fire.

I let go of him, only to turn around and slash at the bags, now caked with mud.

Taking out a simple satchel with the burning hoof, I throw it at the wolf as the satchel caught fire.

I quickly swipe the ground with the wider side of the axe handle before forcing my burning hoof in.

With another swipe, I gather mud on top of my hoof, fully encasing it.

Before I can recover, I hear loud hissing.





*Blueblood POV*

Tch.

I should've kept my mouth shut.

I grumble to myself as I walk through the Everfree with a terrible mood.

At first, it felt terrifying, walking through the rumored Everfree, but right now, I'm just annoyed.

Disgustingly high amounts of mud, and the heavy rain from the sky.

She didn't even let me get an umbrella, or at least a coat.

Damn it.

Seriously.

Is it really that good of an idea to let a commoner AND a bookworm to organize the Summer Sun Celebration?

Aunty can be so ridiculous sometimes.

"Sir, we've almost reached our location." The guard on my right told me.

I send out a sound of acknowledgement, too tired and annoyed to properly respond.

I let out a lengthy sigh, fully remembering the details that led me here.

I heard about Aunty sending her student towards Ponyville to check whether they were ready for the celebration or not, so I went and told her about my thoughts.

Then she told me to visit her friend for some reason.

"That seems to be the barrier" the mage scholar from Aunty's school piped up from right next to me.

Right.

I'm also traveling with her and ten guards.

I wasn't informed about what the mage wants, but the guards are for protection.

Thankfully, we haven't met anything on the way.

We went through the barrier, which felt extremely weird.

Or maybe it was just my mind.

Then suddenly.

BOOM! 

Three of the guards move forward to place a barrier as tremors travel the ground.

Realizing the danger, I empower their barrier by adding my own to it.

The mage snapped out of it and added her own magic to the barrier.

As the multicolored barrier held itself against strong currents, I struggled to keep wake.

Then I saw it.

An emerald green fire rose to the sky, then disappeared a second after.

"Zebrican magic?" The mage muttered from next to me.

Seconds passed and the winds died down as we let go of our barrier.

I noticed that the temperature had gotten significantly warmer.

I breathed heavily as two of the unicorn guards fell down with the third being barely conscious. 

I growled in slight anger at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Just what is going on in this Celestia forsaken forest.

I take deeper breaths, trying to calm down.

I shouldn't use Aunty's name in a cuss.

I take a look at the fallen guards as three of the others wake them up.

"Are you alright sir?" A pegasus guard asked me.

Several words and sentences ran through my mind, berating the buffoon for not being able to do his one duty.

"I'm fine." I said with a sigh.

In the end, I'm both tired and irritated, so I don't have the energy to be mad right now.

We made our way through the forest, getting closer to the location of the explosion.

The ground was scorched.

Trees nearby were shattered.

Timberwolves were sat in a circle, bowing their heads despite sitting so close to a fire.

A fire that burned high with an emerald green color to it.

In the middle, large amounts of wood were used as fuel for the fire.

And right next to it, laid an injured green pony, surrounded by roots.

The roots gave off a light green glow.

I felt the magic from it.

It was so different from the magic I knew.

I furrowed my brows and examined the magic closer.

It felt, natural.

Like a perfect balance between pure and impure.

We tried to move closer to the pony, but were stopped.

The wolves, despite their heads never leaving the ground, they bared their teeth and let out growls when we got closer.

We backed off.

"We'll take a rest here. The Princess told us to converse with Mr. Natural Remedy before beginning our study." The leader of the guards commanded the rest.

We found a relatively good spot.

The guards stood at the ready, just in case.

While me and the mage chose to sit on overgrown tree roots.

They were a better option than burnt dirt.

I release a weary sigh at today's events.

I really, should've kept my mouth shut.

I turn my attention towards the circle of Timberwolves.

Is it some kind of ritual?

Why wasn't I informed of this?

Just who is this mysterious pony?

Are those vines under his control?

Do those wolves follow him?

Questions upon questions ran through my head as I kept looking.

Tch.

My beautiful coat got ruined.

I'll need to visit a spa after this is over.

I can't look too different from Aunty.

Ugh.

I'm tired.

I spent my magic on that barrier.

I look at the scholar who had already dozed off, snoring like a pig.

Getting slightly mad at her stupidity, I let out a sigh.

Who sleeps right next to a group of Timberwolves?

My eyes slowly travel around our little camp.

Two guards were building a little campfire.

Another had brought out little bars.

Blergh.

I almost puke, remembering how gross it tasted.

It was like salted dirt mixed with piss.

"Do you want one your majesty?" I shake my head in response.

The only way I'm eating those things is when I'm on the verge of starving to death.

I silently stare at the little campfire as the guards gathered around it, except two who were missing.

Likely standing guard.

The guards started little conversations that further turned to story telling, singing, an overall good experience.

They must've thought it was alright since I hadn't said anything yet.

But I still just silently stared at the fire.

Huh.

It was, calming.

Just look at the random shapes of the fire while relishing in its warmth.

It allowed me to think things through.

Made me look at how I am.

My situation.

My choices.

My life in general.

I guess that's why I catch Aunty just staring at her fireplace sometimes.

I have those thoughts as I close my eyes slightly.

They feel sore.

Lightly closing my eyes, I reorganize my plans.

After talking to Aunty's friend, I need to head to Gold Coin's Grand Opening Ceremony for his new art museum.

I'll also have to take somepony who knows their art to see if any of it is stolen.

Before that, I'll need to report to Aunty that most of the employed scholars didn't show up.

Tch.

They say they're scholars, but what kinds of seekers of knowledge pass up on something that even Aunty herself hadn't figured out yet.

I'll make sure they don't get off too lightly for trying to scam the Crown.

What the?

I get broken out of my thoughts as I felt my body being shaken.

"Stop that." I sternly tell whoever it was as I open my eyes.

Oh.

The sun was high in the sky and a blanket was placed on top of me.

"I'll take my blanket back if you talk to me like that." the mage told me with a pout as she sat back on her root.

"This is yours?" I ask in disbelief.

Not a lot of ponies would care for me or my wellbeing.

And those who do are paid to do so.

"Yeah? I couldn't just let you sleep without a cover, especially during the dark." She said with a bright smile.

I silently stared at her in disbelief.

Words ran through my head once more.

What would be the best choice?

Is she worth making a connection with?

What benefits would it bring me?

Would she be useful to the Crown?

"Just say thanks." She said with a light punch to my shoulder.

Normally, I should've been offended.

"Thank you." I utter out, getting a chuckle out of her.

"He's awake sir." One of the guards told me.

I looked towards the place the wolves circled, seeing them still there, but have simply sat down, some fully sleeping.

The fire in the middle had ran out.

The vines were gone and the pony in the middle was standing still.

He looked himself over, checking his left hoof repeatedly for some reason.

Nonetheless, we approached him.

This time, we were unimpeded by the wolves, though we received stares of warnings.

I walked at the front of the guards along with the mage.

"Good morning." I greet to start the conversation.

Soon enough, I can get back to the castle.

He turned to us with wary eyes.

I flinched slightly at the immense amounts of bloodlust radiating from it.

It felt like a blade was on my neck.

Inching ever so closer.

Then it was gone.

"Good morning." He said with a tired voice.

His personality changed.

From an apex hunter to an old stallion.

"I thought there would be more mages, since the barrier seemed quite rare and powerful." He commented as he started digging through the dirt.

I was about to ask what he was doing until he dug up a torn bag.

He grumbled something before dropping the bag on the ground and walked back to us.

"Sorry, it seems that anything that I had that was edible was burned in an explosion." He said with a nonchalant expression.

"It's fine, we weren't expecting a feast when we came." The mage said with a bright smile.

Before I could talk, one of the wolves came running.

I tensed up, preparing for the wolf to attack.

But it never came.

The green pony was also looking at the wolf with confusion.

I carefully looked towards the wolf, fully expecting to see a fearsome beast.

Yet, it was different.

The wolf was wagging its tail as a leaf basket filled with all kinds of fruits was tied to its chest.

My face blanked, never having even heard of such a thing.

The green pony suddenly moved towards it.

Before I could snap out of it, he had already started petting it.

"What the buck?" I just mutter in total confusion.

Just in case, I looked at the other wolves, only to see most of them whining with, jealousy?

Hah.

I chuckled a bit in disbelief as an apple was presented to me.

Grabbing it with my magic, I cast a simple cleaning spell before taking a bite.

"So, I'm Natural Remedy, what about you guys?" He asked as he sat down on the ground, fully leaning back on the wolf who had brought fruits.

"I am Prince Blueblood Platinum, I have come here on the command of the Princess herself." I presented.

"I'm Joyful Light, nice to meet you sir." 

Oh, that was her name.

I focused back on the green pony.

What?

His eyes, they were mad.

Full of wrath, then it was gone.

It was replaced with confusion as he muttered something to himself.

"I guess I've been too disconnected." He commented before taking a bite into a pear. 

"Well Mr. Remedy-," Joyful Light started.

"Just Remedy will do fine." He interrupted.

"Ah, yes, then Remedy, could you please tell me everything since you've woken up, even the smallest details will work." 

I tuned out the conversation as I began eating my apple.

I kept staring at the wolves in the area.

They weren't really doing anything.

Eleven of them.

Most slept.

The rest were just watching us.

Though, they seemed bored more than anything.

"So, Prince Blueblood Platinum, may I ask what your objective is?" I was broken out of my stupor by the question.

Joyful Light had already moved on to her job.

"I was sent here to speak to you." I answered straight.

"About?"

"Didn't say" 

He let out a few chuckles as he looked upwards for a moment.

"Alright, tell me about yourself." He suddenly said.

I raised my eyebrow, questioning his question.

Well, it lines up with my objective.

I think of my next words.

He's Aunty's friend, so he's most likely in the higher class.

Just stuck in a bad situation.

"I enjoy classical music, they're quite relaxing after any event." I tell my well practiced line as my face masks itself with a smile.

"That so?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

What.

Was there something wrong with that line?

It always worked though.

"Alright, what kind of food do you like? You got a favorite dessert?" He asked with a blank face that I couldn't read.

What kind should I say?

Which answer would please him?

Does he own anything in the food industry?

"You gonna answer?" He asked with a small grin.

"I like potato fondants." I give out an answer.

"Alright, tell me what you like about it." He said with that small grin.

What I like about it.

It's, tasty?

"I enjoy the taste." I confidently answer.

Was that enough of an answer?

"Really?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and a tilt to his head.

So it wasn't enough.

"Alright, do you like desserts?" 

"Yes." That one was easy.

"What's your favorite?" 

What desserts are there?

Is there anything else besides cake and biscuits?

"Cake" I say.

"What kind of cake?"

"Chocolate."

"Is it really?"

"Yes, I think I would know."

"Alright, what do you think about cookies?"

Cookies?

Right, they're biscuits.

"I never ate them much."

After that conversation, he simply keeps staring at me.

I get slightly nervous as my mask threatens to fall apart.

Seconds pass as he kept his eyes on me.

What is he waiting for?

Just what is his intention.

"You know," he started as his face took on a serious look, "your life is kind of sad."

What?

My mask fully breaks down as I stare at him in shock.

"What do you mean?" I ask with a frown.

"Alright, answer me this last question," he said with a sigh, "do you even like, being you?" 

What does that even mean?

"I, believe I do."

"You don't even know who you are." He said as he got up with a groan.

I only stared forward in contemplation at his words.

He patted my head twice as he walked by. "Try to think about it"

I sat in confusion as his words rang inside my head.

What did he mean by those words?

Was that a test?

Different thoughts ran through my head.

Ugh.

I give out a weary sigh from thinking too much.

"Breakfast is ready!" Joyful Light yelled as a pot was steaming on top of the fire.

I give a nod of acknowledgement as I started to get up.

A slimy and wet feeling goes through one of my cheeks as I freeze.

The wolf that the green pony was leaning on licked me, then it went towards him.

I let out a long sigh.

I really, really should've kept my mouth shut.
> Back To Normal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Natural Remedy POV*

"Finally." I say to myself as I finish carving a set of wooden planks.

Taking large gulps out of a pot of boiled water, I watch with content at the tree that reached the skies.

After the Timberwolves attacked, I decided to build my next house a bit higher.

"Thanks bud." I say before biting into a pineapple given to me.

Though, I'm not sure if it's needed since said Timberwolves are currently acting like house dogs whilst wagging their tails and playing around with each other. At least they kept their hunting abilities.

I grimace slightly at the scent of blood as some of them start tearing into a bear corpse.

A bear that's four times their size.

It seems that these guys have been dominating this forest for a long time. Long enough for them to not care who comes in, since they'll all be their meal.

But they aren't killing me.

Several theories and looking back on the circumstances, the best conclusion I reached was that I am currently their leader. A duel is usually how a leader was depicted back then, so why would it be different now?

Well, the fight was exciting at least.

But now I'm bored. Then, as if on cue, continues thumping on grass and branches rang out, prompting my and the wolves' ears to point to the source.

"Hello." Center said cheerfully as she approached from behind the bushed.

The wolves seemed like they were going to rip her apart.

"Hello Center," I said with a small smile, prompting them to go back to their normal schedule, which was sleeping.
> Continuation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hello Center." I greet with a small smile.

Seeing the wolves go back to their usual activities, Center seemed shocked to say the least.

"Well, this is a surprise welcome if I've ever seen one." She quickly came back to her senses.

"Yeah, some stuff happened." 

"I can see that." She replied as she stared at bits of burnt dirt and wood at random places. "Well," she chirped up. "Firstly, I'm sorry I couldn't visit the last two days. There were a few, complications to say the least."

"Is fine, the axe survived, somewhat. So I wasn't in much trouble." I reply as I hold the axe. The metal head tied to a branch.

She had a thoughtful expression as she looked at the surroundings.

"I will get you more supplies soon then, though I believe I myself won't be delivering it this time." She said with a slightly somber face.

"I see. Are you able to stay for some tea then?" I ask.

She gets an amused smile as she moves to sit down.

"I don't see why not." She replied with enthusiasm as I move to start up a fire.





"-And that's why I haven't trusted her with the cake batter ever since." She finished a story with a smile as I laugh in response.

We had stayed at the campfire the whole day, exchanging stories with each other. She turned out to be quite the storyteller.

Wiping a tear away, I sigh in content.

"You two are quite the characters huh?" I ask.

She chuckles in response. "We won't be ponies, or any creature for that matter, if we didn't have our little perks"

"I guess so"

Silence falls over us, the first time for the whole day.

The wolves have mostly gone to sleep, several other carcasses filled the area, teeth already dug into. The sun was reaching the horizon, slowly falling to make way for the moon. 

"Well, it seems my time is up." Center said as she slowly rose. "I will see you later"

I give a small nod in response. "Good luck, I hope you succeed" 

"Thank you." She said with a somber smile before leaving.

May the heart of Amore bless your quest, and may the light of Celestia guide your path.

With that silent prayer, I stretch a bit as I get up.

Although I didn't have much faith in Amore, she was still the ruler back then.

"Ugh, I'm getting too old." I talk to myself as I notice some pain in my back.

With Center's visit over, I decide to take a bath. Performing physical acts during almost any and all free time I get, I stank pretty badly. Honestly more surprised I haven't fallen due to overexerting myself yet.

"Damn it, maybe I should've done this in the morning." I mutter, shivering a bit from the cold water in the river.

*Awooooooo*

Huh?

"Oh yeah, I guess tonight is a full moon." With that comment, I decide to check it out. 

Shaking my body like any four legged creature without a towel, I shiver a bit from the cold as I move to make a fire.

"I should really ask for a towel." I silently talk to myself. "But haven't I already asked too much? Or would my little rambles be enough payment?" I chuckle slightly at my words.

Taking out another bag, one Zecora kindly left along with some of her useful items, I bring out a small satchel filled with the helpful powder. It's practically a lifeline at this point.

With a light slam, the fire lights up above the buried gem, giving my body some well needed warmth.

Hearing the wolves starting their series of howls again, I wonder how long they would want to continue this. 

"Heh"

I laugh to myself a little as I ponder if I should join in too, boredom is such an interesting enemy.

With that small joy, I lay on the soft grass and slowly let my body go.

Slowly drifting through my mind, I fall asleep completely. The wolves will make some sort of sound if something happens.

Then, the smallest of noises I heard. One of the last things I expected to hear. 

*Ngh*

A whimper, one of pain and fear.

Shooting my eyes open, I get up as fast as I can. 

"What the fuck?" I mutter as I run towards the source of the sound, makeshift axe in my mouth.

I kept running, the others of the pack followed behind me. With a quick glance backwards, I notice something peculiar.

"Was that seven?" I ask myself.

Arriving shortly after, I slide on the ground as I come to a full stop, slamming my body lightly into the barrier. I look back and sure enough, there were less wolves than before. 

"What in Equestria happened to you?" I ask the wolf lying on the ground, halfway through the barrier as the others come close. 

They whimpered as some growled in anger.

"You definitely left with a squad, where's the rest of you?" I asked him as I pulled him in to check his injuries.

I lightly grimace as I stare at his back half.

Both limbs missing with plenty more broken off, burn wounds at the edges.

He tried to get up. I moved to hold him as the others came even closer, licking the wounds and nuzzling him. I hold him with a hug as I saw the green glow in his eyes slowly fade away.

As his body slowly goes limp, I softly caress his wooden skin.

Howls rang through the area, crying out to the sky.

"Quite interesting." A malevolent, all too familiar voice said.

What?





*Nightmare Moon POV*

Groaning from a dull pain coming from our whole body, spite filled us as we thought of Celestia. She just had to be there to ruin our freedom. As we silently walked in growing anger, we met an unusual sight.

A barrier that which served no purpose. 

We had followed the injured wolf, intending to use its carcass as a puppet, but we've found something that triggered our interest. A few prods here and there, yet it yielded no results. It doesn't stop anypony. It doesn't trigger any alarms. It's not even camouflage, with they way it somehow stood out more than anything in this forest.

"Quite interesting." I mutter as I walk inside, silently noting the strange feeling I got inside our head.

There was, however, a group of beings we hadn't noticed.

How could this be? We didn't see them? But that's impossible, they're right in front of us.

Six timberwolves, a green pony, and an already dead timberwolf.

"THOU WILL LOWER THINE GAZE, PEASANT! LEST WE SPLIT THEE IN TWAIN!" We yell in the Royal voice as the impertinent subject glares with a murderous look.

He, however, just continues to glare.

As we were about to bury insolent pony, he made a single action.

"Go." He darkly muttered as he let go of the corpse.

The timberwolves around him all lashed out towards me. 

I growl in anger as I prepare several spells.

Timberwolves. They're normally opponents that we would have no trouble with, but our current state, especially after fighting Celestia, was incredibly bad. Bad enough to require actual effort in taking care of mere wolves. Still, we have no need for movement to beat them.

After several flashes and blasts of magic, I finally blast the last one away as it pounces towards us. 

Right then and there, we realize our mistake as the green pony emerges from right behind the scattered remains still in the air, wielding an axe. Unluckily for him, his speed that would have been impossible for normal ponies to avoid, felt like the speed of a turtle. 

With a simple flick of magic, his axe was reflected, as well as his entire body.

Tch, it seems our battle with Celestia has worsened our condition much more than previously thought. To allow a common-born to initiate an attack, and have it almost connect is a shame.

Slamming the pony into the ground, we approach as we initiate a spell.

He squirmed after the attack, a small trail of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"THOU HAST CONFUSED THINE IDIOCY FOR COURAGE. TO THINK THEE HADTH THOUGHT THAT, WE WOULD FALL SO EASILY." We told him as we approached him.

For and old stallion, his body seems to be quite strong. He will make a fine addition to our army.

Flipping him over with magic, we stare at his face as we charge up the mind break spell. 

"Grah. What the?" We muttered in confusion after feeling a bout of pain and getting knocked back.

Giving a slight growl in frustration, we get our horn closer as we feel more and more resistance.

Just what is wrong with this one?

With a heavy frown, we focused all our attention on the spell, trying to break in. Now our objective was to study him, see what makes him have such protection.

Then, we felt a small pain.

Slowly opening our eyes, our vision was tilted. There was a very weak, almost unnoticeable pain in our jaw. And an incoming axe edge.

We slowly turned to him, barely holding in the rage from such rebellious behavior. 

He stared back, eyes full with wrath. Full of deep hatred, and the intent to kill.

The axe was suspended in the air as our magic held it firmly in place, right under our neck. 

This one is different. But a simple interest will not be enough reason for mercy.

"If thee does not want our mercy, then proper punishments, we shall give." We gave a silent declaration.

Launching him with a blast of magic, he was sent flying through the woods. Crashing through multiples of trees, he finally stopped as he was slammed into a rather large tree. Noting the location of this place down for future research, we made our way towards the still breathing stallion.

"Thy struggle for thine life is commendable, but it will only bring more pain." We say as we once again, face that stare with indestructible will to both live, and kill us. "This shall work." We declare as his axe was held in the air.

We looked the stallion in the eyes, trying to see even the tiniest fraction of fear, but only anger and contempt looked back. Any threats and promises that we could try would not affect him.

"FIRST, THE HOOF THAT STRUCK US." His right hoof was forcefully lifted off the ground and was held against the tree. 

With a simple motion of our horn, the axe separated his entire limb from his body.

We stared at him once more. Barely a change, only the tiniest bit of, amusement?

"DOES THINE EXECUTION AMUSE THEE?" We asked as anger resurfaced.

He only chuckled in response. "What a monster you are, barely half a day since you're back, and you're already giving out executions." He said with a full sneer and mocking eyes.

"THINE EYES FOR YOUR IMPUDENT STARES!" We yelled in full rage as his eyes were plucked out with magic, before being quickly crushed under our magic.

We stared, just waiting for him to start screaming in pain.

BEGGING FOR MERCY.

Instead, all we got was his laughter. Full on mocking laughter, as if he's won. "A single sentence, was all I needed to rile you up. You don't qualify as a ruler at all." He said with that taunting smile as blood rushed down from his eyes. 

Our jaw clenched hard as we tried to hold our anger back.

"THEN WE WILL TAKE THINE TONGUE FOR YOUR INSOLENT REMARKS!" We yelled in anger as his mouth was forcefully opened with magic, only to close shortly after with his tongue fully stretched out.

Blood spilled on the ground as the piece of flesh splattered on the ground.

We looked at him, only to regret it.

His eyelids were open, staring straight at me with hollow darkness. Blood constantly flowed down from his eye sockets, reaching his sickening grin that never seemed to leave his face. More and more blood fell from his mouth and through his smiling teeth. In the end, he only laughed at me.

"...got, you." He said without his tongue while chuckling.

"YOU!" We yelled, much louder than we had intended as his body was slammed into the tree once more before being split in half by the axe.

We breathed hard as we tried to suppress our anger. We took a look.

The sight froze us.

Even without eyes, his gaze, his smile, and even the way he had his head tilted. It all told us one thing.

He's the one dead, but we lost that conversation.

How dare he? How dare you die! 

"GET BACK UP SO WE CAN WIN THIS ARGUMENT! HOW DARE THEE FALL BEFORE WE HATH WON!"

We let out a sharp breath through gritted teeth as we slowly lost control of our anger.

Then we let out a shrill scream.

We were about to send him, along with the tree to the sky with a mighty punch.

"Tch"

In the end, we stomped the ground and left.
> Convenient Circumstances
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the dead of the night that now inhabited the Everfree forest, the singular sound of something growing very fast stood out.

Vines, as thick as an entire tree, grew from the ground, reaching out to the sky from right under the severed green pony. A few stayed near the pony, slowly connecting themselves with his body whilst the others grew further up.

Strands strayed out from the connected vines, penetrative the pony's soft skin and reaching inside. Those vines crawled inside the pony, slowly going out of sight. The mouth was lifted open from the inside as a piece of flesh from nearby was dragged back in. The lower half of the pony was connected with the upper half and sewed shut, completely ignoring the pool of blood underneath. The severed limb was seemingly glued back with nothing to hold it.

Those vines that grew high, came down bearing four fruits of assorted colors. A sky blue one, a pure white one, a wood brown one, and finally a light green one.

The vines inside his body connected the parts that were not, until they were left with the hollow eye sockets. As they grew out the empty eye sockets, they quickly stopped near the flesh plastered to the ground.

The vines shook, as if enraged or in fear before retracting back in.

Those that bore fruits held them above the body, until the vines inside quickly grew out and slapped them. The fruits fell to the ground as those that bore them shivered in pain.

They quickly turned to those that slapped them, as if asking why.

Those that slapped them pointed towards the pony's empty forehead, then to his empty back.

The response was the slow raise of the fallen fruits, as if they were negotiating a deal of some sorts.

The vines from the body sagged, reluctantly accepting the deal.

With that dilemma decided, the vines, all of them, held the fruits in their grasps as strands grew inside. Then they crushed the fruits. The crushed parts were left completely dry, not even a singular drop of moisture as they fell to the ground. The vines that were outside the body went inside, the same way the others had. 

Then finally, silence once again descended the area. 

Until.

A wave of magic swept through the area.

The body convulsed, glowing with the colors of the rainbow before finally settling on a natural green. 

The pony gasped as he woke up. He coughed a bit as he spat out some dirt. With eyes that glowed a dominating green, he observed his surroundings before realizing something. 

"Why is everything so, green?" He asked none in particular.

He was confused, until all of his attention was pulled inside.

With a slight groan, he gritted his teeth as he clenched his chest.





As Nightmare Moon bore her gaze at the rainbow colored beam that came at her, she tried to come up with a plan. But, knowing the power of the Elements, she knew that there was nothing she could do to fight against it.

"So don't fight it." She muttered to herself as she spread her senses to the max, trying to feel out even the tiniest bit of a familiar trace. "There!" She shouted in her mind as a grin overtook her face.

The smallest trace of one of her shadows, one made to take control of another. She wondered why it lived, but the urgency of her situation stopped all questions as she established a link with the shadow.

Just then, she felt a searing pain as she was hit by the rainbow beam. 

With the Elements quickly erasing her, she left her current vessel, opting to lose most of her power by exposing herself rather than being eradicated completely.

Her senses numbed as she felt herself being seared alive, until she finally felt free as she was propelled towards the shadow using the link. Now, only a mist, she couldn't feel much as her body kept going and going. In the end, she felt the same weird feeling she had felt before.

Shaking in anger, and slight fear from almost dying, she gathers herself before she feels around her surroundings.

"What?" She confusedly asked herself as she looked and felt whatever was around her.

Seeing nothing but darkness, she tried to sense the shadow she had made a link with. Yet all that came back was silence. 

"Ah, right. This must be from that stallion." She muttered before spreading her magic. "Huh." She was, however, unable to leave.

A tingling sensation came over her. Now without a physical body, she was left with having to use her entire, although misty, body to use her magic.

Fearful as she made countless attempts to escape, but all that accomplished was a growing sense of numbness that spread over her. Shouting once in annoyance, she opted to rather just take over than leave.

That, quickly proved to be her biggest mistake.

Suddenly, something gripped her. Despite her smoke like body, she could not slip out. She tried to move, but her bindings wouldn't budge. She tried to shout at it, or at least try to negotiate with her holder. But she couldn't even let out a peep.

Then finally, light shone down on her as her surroundings lit up.

She saw that her bindings were made out of thick vines, with each being bigger than her by at least ten-folds. Acknowledging that she could not move, she looked upwards at the light shining on her. A mixture of colors that all somehow gave off the same white light. Much to her horror, in the vast darkness and above the trailing lights, something came out.

Two eyes, made of a mystical light green magic, slowly opened as their gaze weighed down on Nightmare Moon. 

The pure magic that came off of them, rushed towards her as she once again tried to escape. But it was futile. The magic fell down on her, unable to move as she screamed in pain from the searing pain that came with. 

As the beam continued to contain her, her body slowly shed away the mist like appearance as her size decreased. From having the dominating size, big enough to be confused for a constellation, she was shrunk down to only a wisp. 

As she finally stopped going down in size, the beam soon stopped as the eyes closed, hiding amongst the darkness once again. With the pain finally over, Nightmare Moon slowly regained her senses as she kept staring up. Relieved that the pain was over as she almost blacked out, only to sober up once she saw something on her vision.

"What?" She thought to herself. "I already left her though." She stared confusedly at the pitch black hoof resting on the ground. 

Before she could inspect herself, she was once again lifted off the ground. This time, by seemingly nothing as she stared at the different colored lights. 

"Blue, white and brown. Those are important colors, but what was it?" She silently asked herself as she stared at those colors slowly descending upon her. 

Knowing that she could not move, she mentally prepared herself for more pain. Breathing getting slightly frantic, she just observed as those lights circled around her. 

Finally, the first light reached her. She shut her eyes as she clenched her jaw, waiting for some kind of pain to spring out of nowhere. Much to her surprise however, was that all she felt was a small pressure on the base of her horn.

Slowly opening her eyes, she carefully watched as the white light went back upwards. Then, she watched as the blue light went to her wings. Again, with only the slightest of pressures, this time on her wings, the light went back upwards. 

"Right." Her voice was coarse, and lacked the usual regality. "The colors of pony magic." She muttered to herself as she watched the brown light envelop her neck a slight bit before going back, leaving a necklace of sorts, made of wood in its place.

Nightmare Moon lifted her hoof to it, trying to see what it was but the necklace didn't budge. It was a lone branch, barely thicker than the usual horn that looped around her throat. There lied a singular leaf at the middle, acting as a centerpiece. As it sat snuggly around her neck, Nightmare Moon tried to lift it, only to recoil as the necklace seemed to tighten a bit. 

"Didn't know earth pony magic had a kink for chokers." Nightmare Moon mumbles as she observed the necklace not going back to its original size. "At least it's not too tight"

Finally being released, she almost collapsed as she sat down with what little grace she could muster. Having fought and suffered under a concentrated beam of magic thrice in half a day, she was both mentally and physically exhausted.

"What now?" She asked herself as her ears folded in. Sagging ever so slightly, she let out a sigh as she stared upwards at the mixture of colors with light fear.

Then, her mind suddenly blanked as she was knocked out.





*Natural Remedy POV*

What the fuck! Why does my chest hurt so much?

I'm currently hunched over as I clench over my chest, silently praying for it to not be a heart attack. I've borne through more than enough painful experiences, but this hurt more than most.

I roll my body over and look towards the sky. It's morning. 

Slowly steadying my breathing, I calm down and start to breath in a slower and more controlled pattern. Until finally, I find the sweet spot and just bear through the pain as I feel it slowly going away. Taking deep breaths, I had countless questions running through my mind, but the most calm one grabbed the most attention. 

"I'm alive?" 

Nightmare Moon is not a merciful pony. Besides, I already saw my body being split in half. I grimaced at that thought. 

Shaking my concentration, a bush rustled next to me. With a slight jump, I take the axe out of the tree as I take a leap back, preparing to attack anything that comes through.

*Thud*

I release a breath of relief as I stare at the wooden paw that stepped out.

"Which one are you?" I ask as I step closer. 

Then I notice something peculiar.

"You're, bigger?" I confusedly ask as it stood about twice my height. 

The usual timberwolf stood about the same height as me, but this one was plenty taller than me.

As I became slightly wary, it all disappears as I feel the giant tongue go over my face.

"Ok, you were definitely part of the pack." I blankly tell them as I wipe my face with a hoof. "So, I assume you've a reason for running." I state as they sit down on their haunches.

Slowly twisting their body, they poke their belly with their snout a few times before looking back.

I only gave a bittersweet smile as I stare at her. I'd help her raise the cubs, but is this place even safe anymore? 

*Thud*

Breaking both of us out of our thoughts, was the sound of something falling down.

I turned around rather lazily, mentally tired from the recent events. Then all of it vanishes. 

She's here again? Did she revive me? Am I going to be her little toy or something?

Several thoughts, mostly negative, ran through my head as my body reacts before my brain. The axe was already headed towards her, out of my grasp as I had already followed behind it. 

"What the?" She asked nopony in particular as she sat on the ground. 

Then she looked at me.

My body raised alarms as the memory of her reflecting my attack before played in my head. My mind raced as I thought of multiple ways I could make this work, but they all seemed to end in failure. 

Right then and there, I saw her face take the slightest bit of shock. Preparing mentally to be hit by magic, I thought to at least try to get a hit in. Then I stopped.

My eyes wide in surprise as I looked at her falling figure. The thrown axe embedded deeply in her skull. Her face, one of pure shock with wide eyes and an slack jaw.

I gave a few chuckles. I don't entirely know what part of this situation I had found funny, but I laughed. 

I succeeded.

I killed Nightmare Moon.

There was huge smile on my face as I looked at her, still letting out a few bouts of laughter. It was hilarious.

A huge threat, one that haunted the entirety of Equestria and almost ruined the country in just a single week. Yet she died, just like that. Not by some powerful magic, not even by an army of ponies uniting together. A single axe throw.

Then slowly, the situation ceased to be worth celebrating. In the end, a hollow sensation filled me. I'd killed her, but, what exactly would that change? 

I'll probably get some reward from Princess Celestia. Most likely some kind of land, at best I'd get a title. Probably Baron, could be higher since Nightmare Moon was a big problem back then. Somepony like her wouldn't be so stingy with rewards. What would I even do with that kind of reward though. I'll get a good life, sure, but would it really be that different from the farm? Even if it was, would the change be worth? 

As the excitement wore off, I thought of my parents. I got my revenge, for both of them and everypony else she's either killed or caused the death of, but it won't bring them back. I could go and kill every single being that caused their deaths, but it would only that. They'd die, but it wouldn't do much.

Well, I doubt I'd ever regret killing Nightmare Moon. She's just too big of a disaster for me to be regretful of it.

Letting out a small sigh, I go to her limp body to pull out the axe. The wolf came out of a completely different bush as she stood next to me. 

I let out a single chuckle. As cowardly as it looks, it's her job to make sure the next generation lives. 

As I move grab the axe, I stood motionless as I stare at the scene. There was a series of hoofsteps behind me as I feel both shock and fear overwhelm me. 

Her blood, was green. I don't know how I didn't notice it before. But the one thing I noticed however, was that she was moving. Fresh corpses can move, but they can't raise their hoof and keep it there, much less try to pull something out of their skull.

Her face was contorted in pain as her hooves slowly pulled out the axe head.

Acting fast, I pulled out the axe with both hooves and raised it high. My left hind leg stepped down on her head as I locked her on the ground with her neck revealed. She hit my hind leg a few times, albeit very weakly. Right then, I executed her.

Poetic revenge on my own death, but I was more concerned over the absurdity of the situation. I never knew alicorns could just, refuse to die like that. I breathed heavily as I took a step back.

Axe in hoof, I simply observed as blood spilled out from the severed area. A dark green painted the grass. There was a surprisingly light scent of blood. Much, much lighter than it usually gave off. I stood there, just watching as more and more blood spilled out.

Then something finally happened.

Small green tendrils grew out of her neck, quickly reaching the severed head. I watch in morbid curiosity as the head is slowly pulled back and seemingly reconnects. Then she stopped. 

With nothing happening, I wait for some kind of movement. A few seconds of silence passes as nothing keeps on happening. 

Slowly, I let my guard down as I lower the axe. Right at that moment, she instantly rises to a sitting position as she gasps for breath.

By pure reflex, I swung the axe with one hoof from the ground. Her eyes widen as she simply stares at me. I stare back, unknowingly letting her know of my fear as I watch her bleed. The axe stayed deep in her chest. Her gaze, full of fear and confusion as she stared at me. 

The seconds ticked by, feeling like years have gone by. Sweat trickled down my forehead as I watched her eyes slowly close.

She finally died. But how long would that last? How many times would I have to kill her for her to finally stay dead.

Taking deep breaths, I calm myself down from my panicked state as I take several steps back, leaving the axe in her chest. I take a look at my surroundings, hoping for anything that could potentially help me. The wolf was also gone at some point. 

After finding nothing, I simply went further way from her. Keeping an eye on her, I watch as her body stays still once more. Just as it happened again and again, her body slowly rose as the axe was pushed out. I nervously watch as she rubs her head before yawning massively.

I squint a bit as I watch her. I can't see a ruler, or even a tyrant. Just some random mare waking up. Once again, I was filled with shock as I watched the next scene.

She suddenly flinches as she stands up. Her head flicked to all sides as she looked at her surroundings. I silently hide my presence as I watch from inside a bush. She finally slowed down as she breathed heavily.

She's terrified.

That fear soon disappeared as it slowly gets replaced by confusion.

How forgettable was our encounter for her to completely forget this place?

I kept observing her facial expressions as it transformed between several different versions of confusion and uncertainty. Until it finally landed on fear once again as she ran her hoof across her chest.

So she still remembers her injuries.

"PEASANT!" She suddenly shouted.

Ah. She found me.

"DOTH THOU NOT KNOW WHO WE ARE?!" She yelled at me, unfurling her wings as I walked out of the bush.

Normally, a stupid move, but her expressions allowed for an entirely different interpretation. She's scared. For her to be using her fame as a scare tactic rather than her alicorn magic, she's also desperate.

"Are you, unable to use magic right now?" I calmly ask as I frown at her.

"THOU WILL ADDRESS US WITH OUR PROPER TITLE!" She kept yelling at me.

As I step closer and closer, she slowly takes steps back, those very same wings becoming more and more limp with each step. Her face contorted in several places as she had a strained smile that gave off no confidence. A heavy grimace on her face as she keeps shouting at me.

Oh, can she not use the royal voice anymore?

As I take a rather large step, she practically leaps back as her path is now blocked. She nervously looks at me as I come face to face with her. 

She's shorter? I ask myself as I tower above her.

As she's backed up to a random tree, I look down on her with an impassive face. 

"IF THO-" I stopped her rant by holding my hoof against her throat.

"You, why won't you die?" I asked her.

I loosen my grip a tiny bit to allow her to speak.

She coughed a bit as a response as she took a breath. 

Is she that weak right now? 

"Doth not make us laugh. Are thou not the one whom has trapped us here?" She asked with a slight smirk.

Ugh, that speech is so annoying when it's not in an announcement.

"You're pretty bad at this." I simply tell her. "You can't hide that you're scared, and you've also told me that your inability to die is out of your hooves." I state as I drop her. "Talking to you anymore is pointless." I walk away as I hear her coughing for air. 

She's weak.

I don't know how, but she's been weakened. If her height is anything to go by, she's stuck like that.

"WILL THEE NOT-"

"Can you shut it already? You're both weak and unaware of your situation. That's called being a dead weight." I interrupted her as I pick up the axe and head back to my camp.

Letting her get away is seemingly a bad decision, but she couldn't even beat me, a fifty year old stallion. What chance would she have with the Princess?

Well, maybe with, that one. My mood somehow drops further at the thought.

Sighing, I relax as I take a seat at the long extinguished campfire. Though I get slightly panicked as I almost fall down from leaning back. I place my hoof to stop myself from slamming into the ground as I twist my head.

Where the fuck is-

"..."

I simply stare behind me for a few seconds. My mind was empty, just for those few seconds. My head slowly looked around the empty camp.

I felt a small surge of anger, only for it to float away as I just lay on the ground.

I guess I'd gotten pretty close with them.

With a shake of my head to clear my thoughts, I got up and reached for my bag. I should boil some water and start working on the house. 

With an objective to focus my mind on, I move towards the river.

Should I have really let her go though? 

What if I was wrong in my assessments?

What if she does take control over Equestria?

Have I made the worst mistake possible?

Thoughts haunted me as I cut down a tree to turn to lumber, not entirely sure I actually need more. Without my mind to focus on my actions, I simply followed a routine as I stood above the fallen tree with an axe. As I strip away the tree bark, my thoughts keep muddling my mind.

I should've at least buried her.

No matter what she'd experience, I should have done something to her. 

So what if she experienced death? What about the thousands that died from her actions? Was it selfish to just let her go like that? What of those that are still suffering from the war? What would their choice have been?

I kept mindlessly working as the same questions kept repeating themselves. Only the words changed, but the meaning stayed the same as if mocking me. It felt as if those that died, only rose from their graves to scorn me for my actions.

*Thud*

I forcefully slam the axe into the log I was cutting down, the tough veins used to hold it together finally snapping off. I breathed heavily as I try to calm my mind. Weirdly, my body felt completely fine.

"Doesn't matter." I mutter to the air. "She won't die, and torture isn't really my cup of tea"

Leaning on the fallen log, I lounge back as I stare at the sky.

A drink would be nice right about now.

The sun stayed high in the sky. There was a cool breeze that flowed through. The sound of fire crackling soothed my mind. 

My eyes slowly start closing at the peacefulness.

The comfortable grass and the sound of trees being broken down.

My mind stops for a second as I process that information. Being too tired mentally to figure it out, I just wait as the sound keeps coming closer.

I give a light sigh, knowing I'll have to deal with it.

I just hope it's not some giant monster.

I stretch my body as I stare backwards with an upside down vision, waiting to see what it was about. I must've stayed quite still since a spider managed to climb up onto my snout and hanged down from it with a strand of web.

Then the source finally comes out.

I saw Nightmare Moon flying through the air as she flew over me. Before I could fully pull my upper body back, I hear a grunt. Finally sitting upright, I stare in time to witness her falling to the ground in a manner somepony would never expect from royalty.

I accidentally snorted as I struggled to hide my laughter at her fallen position. She somehow had her entire body folded in half as one of her wings was trapped between her hind legs. 

Before I could fully reign in my laughter, she suddenly gets thrown at me. Not having enough time to dodge, I just put my hooves up for defense as I feel her slamming into me. 

When I came to, I felt her on top of me as I laid on my back. With a grunt, I threw her off me as I stood up.

What's she doing back here? Is she thinking of some kind of weird revenge? Though, her method of arrival didn't exactly seem intentional. By her at least.

"If thou did not wish for us to leave, thou should'st have spoken thy mind." She said with venom in her voice as she glared at me.

"I no longer give a shit whether you leave or not, but I do want you to leave me the fuck alone." I simply state as I take a seat near the fire. "Also, are you still talking in royalty? That shit's getting pretty annoying." I almost slap myself from revealing something for her to annoy me with.

She opened and closed her mouth several times as my patience slowly wears thin. Just standing in her presence annoys me to tartarus and back. As I felt my face slowly contorting into a grimace, she finally spoke up.

"We-I, can't leave. As soon as my hoof left the barrier, I was pulled all the way here." She said in a normal voice.

I simply raise an eyebrow at her sudden behavior. She actually listened to me? Is it because she's scared of me? Or does she want something from me?

"Sure, I'll believe you. Just stay the fuck away from my camp." I coldly tell her before sitting down at the campfire.

As I hope she listens and leaves, she spoke up after a period of silence.

"W-wait, I, need help." She uttered with a nervous voice.

"Could not care less"

"What! How could you refuse to help a helpless mare?" She asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"For fucks sake. How do you not understand this?" I complain as I turn to her. "I despise you, and the only reason I'm letting you go is because I can't kill you." She backed down at that explanation.

I don't know why or how she turned from maniacally narcissistic tyrant to a clueless mare in the forest, but if she continues to stay my mood will only get worse.

I calmly stare at the crackling fire as her hoofsteps ring out. 

Then I heard her shriek. 

Somehow, her misery makes me laugh. 

I let out a few chuckles as I hear a much louder thud.

I might've been a sadist.
> After The Villain is Defeated
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Celestia POV*

I silently walk through the door of my bedroom after nodding to the guards. The sight alone filled me with joy as I take off my regalia and practically throw it on a table as I collapse on my bed. 

"Finally." I mumble to myself.

As much as I wanted to just give in to my slumber, I knew I still had to take care of a few more problems before being done for the day.

There was no big explanation as to why I currently wanted to just disappear from the universe, leaving all my responsibilities to anypony unlucky, or lucky depending on the pony, enough to bear it all. After settling every weird issues that nobles have had with the celebration, then even weirder and more absurd reasons as to why they made such demands, I was already exhausted.

"Seriously, who in their right mind demands to reschedule the sun for a longer beauty sleep"

Well, after dealing with those, I had to grapple with paperwork relating to the mages hired from the High Hoof society. That's fine, I can take care of them easily with public support and compelling evidence without any backlash from the citizens. Thankfully, my lovely nephew already took care of most of it. Though, the negotiations and the final judgement still had to fall on me. And having to write a signature ten times for each pony. Even after dealing with that, I still had to reorganize the Crown finances. 

"Thank the stars Raven exists." I mutter as I remember how much easier she made my work to deal with.

I smile a tiny bit as I remember the next part of my two day sleeplessness. A moment of peace, if you will. After draining myself of most of my mental strength, I recharged it at my meeting with Remedy. It still felt a bit unreal, like I had been dreaming his entire existence. A pony with no intention to sell something to me or gain something from me, and most importantly, he doesn't treat me like a higher existence. He's an old stallion, not as old as me obviously, but even with millenniums upon millenniums of age and experience, I still seem to fall short when it comes to wisdom. He gives away the simplest of answers, yet it all makes me realize aspects of my problems I have not yet noticed. 

"Then it finally happened." I say to nopony in particular as my smile drops.

After locating the point of her arrival, I had greeted her at a field under the stars. The fight was short, to say the least. I could not bring myself to attack her, and in the end, got myself sealed, almost the same way I had done to her. Of course, the idea of being sealed inside the sun sounds incredibly torturous, what with the whole unfathomable degrees of both temperature and the crushing gravity. But it was all quite relaxing for little old me, who is both fire resistant and have had no problems with the gravity whatsoever. Something akin to a small vacation to say the least.

Then my smile returns, both bigger and happier as I barely suppress a giggle. 

My sister, she was back. 

A thousand years. As short as it feels for an immortal like me, even just a month without her felt like eons had passed. I will not make the same mistake I made all those years ago. 

Though the smile almost evaporates as I think of what her return would entail. Since an entire millennia has passed, not many would depend on her for ruling. Few could, no they would, go as far as to demand her to step down from the throne. She would fall into the same trap she was in.

But it's no matter. I, have grown since then. So, I will be there when she needs help. Even if it means I will be going against the entirety of Equestria, I will not lose my sister once again. Especially not to some money grubbing selfish nobles.

I stare upwards with a slight frown as I think of what I should do to fight against possible fear mongering from the nobles. Preventing it is simple, but if I play it right, I could downright stop pretty much everything they can say about Luna being a villain.

In the end, I let out a small sigh to relieve the tension.

"Your highness, I've brought the papers. Or do you want to end it for today?" Raven walked in with a stack of papers and bags under her eyes.

"You should retire for the night, I will take care of the remaining work." I gently tell her.

"Unacceptable your highness. As your assistant, I must stay with you until your work is finished." She rebuked with a slight frown.

"Raven, I insist. Besides, you can have quite a nice dream since Luna is back." I said with a small smile.

"Well, I insist you let me stay until these are all signed." She said with a slight smirk.

I simply give a few chuckles as I flick the fireplace on with magic.

"Well then, what's first on the agenda?" I asked her as I moved to lay in front of the soft fire.

Her smirk turned to a soft smile as she placed the stack of papers on the rug.





*Nightmare Moon POV*

We-, no, I. After feeling inside, I've truly cut all ties with Luna. Therefore, it's simply 'I', nopony else.

I was currently situated in the middle of a river with a weak current, rocks on the riverbed making my hooves hurt, slightly cold from standing a bit too long, but my patience will be rewarded. As much as I had wanted to just eat random fruits growing on bushes and such, I felt like I should probably go for something I know isn't poisonous. As such, I stood motionless as I felt for the waves in the river. 

The water runs in the exact same way, causing the waves to always crash the exact same way. So, any single thing that isn't water would disrupt the flow. Also commonly known as fish.

*Splash*

"YES!" I cheered, disregarding all formalities as I hold the still alive fish in my hooves. 

After an unknown amount of time and plenty of embarrassing fails, I finally caught and held one half the size of my head. With my stomach rumbling, I barely stopped myself from biting into the fish right then and there as I climb out of the river. Luckily, I still kept my thestral form, allowing me to safely consume flesh. 

With a random rock I had cleansed in the water, I roughly rubbed it against the fish to remove the scales. A process that I never knew was so annoying. Running a hoof over it, I judged that there were no more scales as I took a bite unfitting for royalty, or common decency for that matter. 

"Gah, stupid fish." I silently complained as I felt a stinging pain in my inner cheek. 

I held my food in front of my face, staring at the blood stained fin. Did not know I had to remove those.

"No matter." I idly mumbled as I roughly pulled them out with my teeth before trying to bite in once again.

I was stopped once again as my teeth were met with hard resistance. 

"FUCKING! WHAT IS IT NOW?!" I shouted obscenities as a dull pain took over my teeth.

Taking a look once more, I saw bones where I had bitten as I get slowly filled with rage. Only a single day had passed, but if things went the way it did, I'd want to die before reaching even the first week. 

"And that one won't even think about helping me." I spoke with disdain as I thought of the green stallion.

I started to eat the fish again. This time, I took slower and a considerably weaker bite as my teeth glided over the bones. Chewing carefully, and taking my time to separate and chew every small part to mush, I finally judged that it was safe to swallow.

That is, until I started coughing as a small piece was stuck in my throat. It felt embedded as I felt it stabbing into the flesh. Hurrying to the river, I drank in large gulps, hoping for the water to dislodge the bone. 

Finally, after about six gulps, the pain went away as my coughing fit stopped. The bone, will probably dissolve with stomach acid. 

As I calmed down, frustration quickly replaced the calm as I yelled to the sky in anger. 

"JUST WHY AM I TAKING THE BLAME FOR THAT REBELLION?! WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT ALL?! LUNA WAS THE ONE WHO STARTED THIS WHOLE, DAMNED, THING! Sure, I amplified her anger and jealousy to get more powerful, but THAT WAS THE WHOLE, FUCKING, DEAL! IF ANYTHING, IT'S HER FAULT WHO WANTED TO DETHRONE HER SISTER IN THE FIRST PLACE! I WAS ONLY A HELPER WHO ACTED IN ACCORDANCE TO OUR DEAL!" I ranted to the air with a heavy frown as I let my anger out on random spots of dirt and grass.

In the end, I grabbed whatever I could get my hooves on and threw it randomly as I punched some unfortunate tree or rock that were close to me. 

"THAT BITCH, THE DECEIVING HORSE. THAT, um, POINTY EARED, eh, ROCK!." I fell silent as I thought back on my words.

Letting out an annoyed snort at my lack of a vulgar vocabulary, I moved to the river. Anger briefly overtaking hunger, I had practically forgotten about the fish as I found a slightly elevated spot. A boulder that was placed at the very edge of the stream. Laying down on it, I stared down at the moving waters, and the occasional school or two as my thoughts continued.

Tch, if anything, I was absolutely loyal. Not even leaving her side after being stuck with her on the moon for a millennia. If she was going to back out like that, literally during a fight, she should've at least warned me. 

My frown grew sad as I thought of our meeting.

I really did think of her as a friend.

My head went silent as that last thought rang out loud. With a bitter frown, I tried to think of something else. Anything that would distract me from the memories that led to the deal. 

*Grumble*

My thoughts were distracted as that rather loud sound complained to me.

Right, eating can work.

With a slightly eager smile, I turned to where I had dropped the fish. Only to find nothing.

My face was a stone mask with a simple smile, yet internally, I let out a shrill shrieking of despair.

"Where did I put that? What happened? Did some kind of animal come by?" I muttered as I kept going to and fro between different random spots whilst repeating 'no' under my breath.

Then I remembered it. Right during my bout of anger, I had been throwing random rocks and patches of grass. Rocks, grass, and the fucking fish.

Replaying that memory, my eyes followed to the river. Quickly running there, I almost tripped as I climbed up on the rock. With a higher vantage point, my eyes scanned the river like a hawk looking down on its prey. 

"THERE!" My mind shouted as I spotted a blob of grey with blood tainting the water around it. 

Throwing all precautions to the wind in favor of eating, I jumped from the rock into the river. Or at least, that was my intention until I felt the ground shake.

"An earthquake?" I silently asked myself.

Then the rock fell.

Along with me.

Panic gripped me as the world started to move slowly. My eyes slowly took in every detail of my fall as my body rotated sideways from gravity. Despite the world moving at a much slower pace, my brain just couldn't think of a command to give to my body.

At least it moved reflexively as my hooves moved to protect my head. My wings naturally unfurled themselves to try and fly. I activated my magic by pure reflex as the teleport spell formula instantly appeared in my head. Yet none worked.

With a heavy slam, I fell into the water as I felt a sharp pain invaded the middle part of my front leg. Water soon entered my lungs, prompting me to get up as quickly as I can. With a jump, I lied on my back as I coughed up some water. 

I slowly opened my eyes, expecting to see the sun in the sky, but was only met with a blob of darkness. With panic quickly taking over, I forced my hind legs to push at an angle, making me jump to the side. As my body travelled, it was quickly pulled back as I felt searing pain in one of my wings.

With a short scream, I grunted as I turned my head towards my back. The boulder that I had been laying on had crushed my wing. 

Groaning, I forced my body to start moving. Pulling on the wing yielded no results. I'm sure I got a few new tears on it. Tried to push the boulder away. Not even worth mentioning.

In the end, I stopped struggling as I just remained seated in the water, leaning against the shore. 

"I'm stuck here." I mumbled to myself as I let my body relax.

That action was met with consequence as I flinched in pain coming from my limb. Raising it up, I saw it bending at an area it shouldn't have been bent. 

My jaw clenched in frustration as I looked at the broken appendage. I felt a small stinging pain in my eyes as my vision became slightly blurry. My fur was drenched as I shivered every now and then from both the cold and the pain. 

I wanted to scream out loud. I wanted to shout for help, but I knew it wouldn't come. I wanted to somehow express my frustrations to the world, tell it everything about my situation that had hurt me. Both literally and metaphorically. 

Yet all that came out were choked sobs.

My body slowly lost its strength. My lower half had lost all sense of touch. My vision slowly became nothing but a dim blur. My hearing became muddy, barely making out a sound. 

Slowly, but surely, I would die. The idea of death filled me with hope, wanting to just disappear after failing my mission. I don't even know what I was thinking when I ran from Luna. A sense of hopelessness took over as I thought about what I should do.

My kingdom, without citizens it's nothing but a fairy tale. My purpose, gone without even the tiniest chance of reappearing. My life, nothing but the suffering of a prisoner. My very existence itself, now toned down to a simple foal tale. 

As drowsiness slowly took over me, I gave in without a fight.

With nothing but the slow moving sun to tell me the time, I simply laid there in the river. Cold water slowly felt warm as it became harder to move my body. My eyes slowly closed down, leaving me with nothing but my thoughts.

As I slowly became disconnected from reality, I heard the muffled sounds of a rhythmic thumping. I wanted to wake up, but I couldn't. With not even the tiniest chance to speak up, I simply gave up.

I know death wouldn't truly come, so I only hoped that I would be freed upon my revival. 





*Natural Remedy POV*

I was sat at the campfire, now lit using only wood, watching it dance as I sorted through my thoughts. The events of last night still fresh on my mind. Looking back on it, I was too agitated. With my death, and the immense pain I had experienced right after, my mind wasn't in a stable state. There was something different about her. That wasn't just acting. I should've used that chance to ask some questions.

I acted too rashly. 

As I was consumed in my thoughts, a small change distracted me. My ears twitched as the usual steady sound in the camp was disrupted. 

Turning to the direction of the river, I walked forwards as I heard the stream quietening down.

"Hmm." I let out a disapproving sound as I stared at the river. 

The water was still there, but the level has definitely gone down. It used to be about chest height, but now it stayed a quarter up my legs. Something happened upstream.

Holding the, once again repaired axe in my mouth, I follow the river. I should fix this as soon as possible.

As I followed the shores, my mind kept going back towards last night's meeting. All the way from her appearance to the way she carried herself. It was all too surreal with how she looked like a defenseless filly, as opposed to how she looked before she'd turned to Nightmare Moon, in a metaphorical sense.

A small grimace overtook my face as I thought about the younger princess. She was the guardian of dreams, our princess of the night and the one who protected us from our own nightmares. Then she just, snapped. Nopony, well, nopony except Princess Celestia, knows why she turned, but I'll give my two bits that it was because of nobles. Especially since commoners never really got the chance to even see her, let alone meet her.

But, if I meet her again, I can ask. What happened? What made her turn to the dark side? For what purpose had she went to war with her own sister.

Letting out a small sigh, I stop that train of thoughts as I start to see the river having a bit more water.

"Should be close now." I mumble to myself as I walk past a tree.

There I saw where the problem lay, and heard the pained weeping of a mare.

As I walked closer, I prepared to defend, just in case as the crying slowly ceased as it was soon replaced by silent sobbing. I slowly dropped my guard and peered in front of the blockage. There laid Nightmare Moon, her wing crushed by a fallen boulder that also disrupted the river flow.

But all my attention was focused on the crying mare. 

My mind stayed silent as I stared at the broken mare. The previous image of her that I had inscribed into my mind was shattered as I stared at her. Her mane was absolutely ruined with the cosmos inside having somehow dimmed. Her right front leg had been broken as the bruise was barely visible on her muddied fur, somehow staying dirtied despite being hit by a constant stream of water.

As I kept on staring, my mind was static as I witnessed her fully broken down. No royal excellence or pride to hide her true face. No murderous tyranny to mask her normality. And most importantly, not even the tiniest shred of malice to hurt others.

This

This was something I didn't know was entirely possible. It's like something out of those novels that dad used to read.

I tried to speak up. Tried to tell her to stop acting, or maybe just to convince myself. But without evidence, the words died in my throat as I opened my mouth, only to close it shortly after. Even with plenty of biases against her and memories that told me that she deserves this, her current state overshadowed it all.

Eventually, my morality reached a consensus with my logic as I let out a weary breath.

"Sure, let's help the demon who killed my parents." I mumbled as I jumped down to the riverbed. "This is probably my dumbest mistake, or does trying to fight a yeti still hold its weight?" I talked to myself as I contemplated exactly what I should do.

At this point, Nightmare Moon had already cried herself to sleep. A sign of dying in this case. 

I pushed the boulder a bit, wanting to see if it's somehow embedded into the ground or something. The boulder moved as dirt fell from the shores. With confirmation that it's fine to move it, I lifted the boulder slightly and got under it. Dangerous, but an alright move for an earth pony. With better leverage, I lifted my body upwards with all four legs as I felt the water crash against me in an instant. 

"Shit." I silently cursed as I felt my body tilt slightly.

Quickly stepping to the side, I gave a small jump as the boulder fell sideways onto the shore.

"Alright." I let out a short breath as I turned around. 

Fuck.

Nightmare Moon floated away with the current, her unfurled wings only acting as a speed boost. 

"Celestia damn it." I cursed as I climbed out of the river and ran after her. "She better be fucking grateful for this"





I walk into my camp, completely drenched in the river water as I carried the wet blob that is Nightmare Moon. She woke up sometime during her unconscious escapade, only to lose consciousness once more from banging her head on a sharp turn.

Needless to say, it made my job a lot easier.

"Yep, definitely asking for a towel next time she visits." I grumbled to myself as I placed her next to the nearly extinguished campfire.

I cut apart a log and added it to the fire. With that little task out of the way, I looked towards my fellow prisoner, who had, unluckily for her, not died, therefore not allowing her to heal.

I might have slightly enjoyed it if I wasn't confused by a small detail. 

Her appearance itself wasn't too shocking. Just the usual bat-pony but with an alicorn. A broken leg with messy mane and tail, along with dirtied fur. Her right wing was a battered mess with gaping holes in it, and of course, she had no armor.  

But the detail that froze my brain was lower. Her cutie mark. It wasn't there.

The little spots were there, but the moon itself was gone.

Just as my mind was about to ask itself countless questions regarding reality, a loud groan broke me from my thoughts.

"Good evening, Moonshine." I casually told her as I moved I carefully moved next to the axe.

"What?" She asked with a coarse voice as she tried to stand up, only to fall down with a yell of pain.

"Yeah, you didn't die from your little accident." I simply told her as I sat facing towards the fire.

I expected some kind of response from her, either a remark, or a snarky comment. Yet all I got back was silence. I thought that she may try to attack me, but I was confident she couldn't. 

As time slowly ticked by, I got slightly worried about what she was doing. Then it disappears as I hear her speak.

"Why'd you help me?"

I was about to answer, then I stopped. Thinking of the next words, I sat in silence for a few seconds.

"I only fixed a river blockade." I told her.

"Then why'd you drag me here?" She instantly asked.

"Do you really have the energy or interest to ask me these things?"

"Well, no, but I can't help it when you're suddenly all helpful"

I gave a light sigh as I turned towards her, who was laying on the soft grass with the broken limb close to her upper chest.

"Alright, I want to ask you some questions then. Does that alleviate your suspicions?" I asked with slight sarcasm.

She gave a snideful chortle before speaking. "Sure, just because you've told me your intentions, I suddenly think of you as the most honest pony i've, ever met." She finished with a mocking smile.

I only gave an impassive face as I stared at her. 

As a few seconds passed, her smile slowly dropped as we just continued to stare each other. The air felt a bit tense as we both observed the other with suspicioun and wariness. Though, the longer it went on, it just became blatant staring.

Awkward.

*Cough, cough*

I gave a few fake coughs before speaking up. "So, why did you turn to Nightmare Moon? Not a lot of ponies know why." I simply asked.

She took a contemplating face as she thought of her words. "It's because I fused with Luna." She simply answered with a hollow chuckle.

Huh?

The answer threw me off. That simple answer itself changes the situation entirely. The implications alone brought out new problems. 

"Then, could you call yourself 'Nightmare Moon'?" 

"No." She answered with a shake if her head. "Nightmare Moon is the result of me fusing together with Luna, not a single entity." Her face took a slight frown when she mentioned the princess.

I stayed silent at the answer, but my thoughts were swirling.

If Nightmare Moon is simply the mixture of two ponies, then that itself could change the entire aim and reason for the rebellion in its entirety. Nothing but a spell gone wrong.

The fusion in itself could be the biggest issue. If two ponies, even if extremely similar, fuse, what about their traits? How would their ideals and emotions mix together? 

The thought of her lying did cross my mind. Yet it was quickly shut down by the image of her when she spoke. An almost emotionless acceptance.

"Then-" I cut my question short as I stared at her droopy figure.

Right. 

She would be tired after all this. Fuck, even I'm exhausted right now.

I was suddenly broken out of my stupor when she shrieked in pain.

"Hmm, We'll have to cut it off." I plainly said as she inspected her broken leg.

"Fuck no." She yelled as she pulled her leg back.

"Well, ya got a better idea? I'm not exactly a doctor you know?" I told her.

She stayed silent as her eyes darted all over the place, seemingly trying to figure out a solution. As interesting as it was, I eventually got bored of waiting for her.

"Look, Night- actually, what do I call you?" I asked.

She let out an annoyed groan at the question.

"I don't know. What did you call me earlier?" 

"Moonshine?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah, that"

"You do know that's an alcoholic beverage right? And I used it to mock you." I warned with disbelief.

"Sure, whatever." She answered as she looked hopefully at random leaves.

"Look, Moonshine." It suddenly felt weird to call her that. "It's a broken bone, and I don't know how to realign that shit. So, it's either cut it off, or live with a deformed leg that'll give you pain for the rest of your life, until you cut it off that is." I calmly explained to her.

"Isn't there any other way you can think of?!" She yelled as she asked me.

"Weeeellll," I intentionally elongated the word. "I can think of one other way"

"What is it?!" She asked with hopeful eyes.

Which was quickly shut down as I showed her the axe with a normal smile.

"Wait, no! Stay back demon!" She yelled as she tried to flee.

"Come on! It'll hurt for only a bit." I told her as I slowly walked towards her.

She, who had fallen down due to her broken leg, stared at me with terrified eyes as I stopped right in front of her.

I grinned wickedly as I slowly raised the axe.

A high pitched screaming rang through the sky.
> Have To Get Used To It
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Natural Remedy POV*

The soft humming of the morning breeze governed the camp. The rushed travels of the river added to the serenity. The sun shone down from the sky, giving warmth to the otherwise chilling air.

*Snore*

And there was the black alicorn, sleeping away with barely a care in the world as she let out loud sounds. Well, I probably wasn't too different before I woke up.

I take a peek at the axe placed next to a random log as I remember last night.

I knew she'd been weakened, but I hadn't realized just how much strength she's lost. 

After reviving one more time last night, she woke up enraged as she kept yelling at me. Though, her vocabulary was, not too diverse to say the least. I don't think she knows that many cusses. Repeatedly yelling 'fuck' doesn't really intimidate much.

A few punches here and there, but they were way too weak. Even if a foal were to hit me, I would feel something, but her hits were extremely weak. That means that all that power came from Princess Luna herself.

That ties to another problem.

She herself is not Nightmare Moon, and so is Princess Luna. It's impossible for me to blame somepony for what she's done then. I just don't know how well I would treat this in the long run. I'll have to watch myself.

Though, the problem still lies in their fusion in the first place. If Luna already wanted to fuse together with Moonshine, then she would've wanted something. Something that could be aligned with whatever Moonshine wanted. Ascending the throne, it would be quite useful for pretty much any ambition you have in life. 

So, that was her objective. Moonshine needed the power of the Crown to achieve her goals, but that may or may not be just the 'Eternal Night' Nightmare Moon sought after. An ambition big enough that needed political power.

That realization almost hit me like a carriage.

Moonshine's goal was something so damn grand that it needed a monumentally huge strength in politics to achieve it. But what does that leave the younger Princess with? What could she possibly gain from being a tyrant. That title alone would deter any other creature from cooperating with her, leading to the isolation of Equestria. Not only are the countries that border Equestria are wild, the residents aren't those who would fear war, such as the dragons, or the griffins. Then trade becomes impossible. 

So is that it? Did she simply want to become the sole ruler? So much so that she ignored all political ramifications and potential wars because of her emotions? Going so far that she would kill her own family? 

Of course, these are all speculations. Theories at best. I'll have to talk with Moonshine to get a bigger picture.

Though, she might not speak. The mention of Princess Luna seemed to anger her. So, a betrayal, but how well did she take it? Is she only resentful? Or did she take a hit much deeper?

Thoughts upon thoughts swirled in my mind as I blankly stared at the cold campfire. 

*Yawn*

"G'morning" she greeted casually as she struggled to wake up.

Good to know she doesn't hate me or something. Definitely distrust though. Just a little.

She rubbed her eyes while yawning, and came over with a slow gait. 

"Start a fire or something, it's so cold." She complained as her wings wrapped around herself.

I raised an eyebrow as I thought of something.

"Well, as much as I want to, we're out of firewood." I lie through my teeth.

Her face had visible confusion as she looked around, reconfirming that she was indeed, still trapped in a forest.

"Fuck are you talking about?" She said with a small frown.

"Why don't you try cutting a few logs? I already brought the tree down, so you just need to split it into usable parts." I told her with a small smile as she glared at me.

"Why can't you do it?" She asked with a frown.

"Because I'll be making breakfast"

"Alright." She said with an unamused tone. "I'm a carnivore"

"Then I'll just catch some fish"

"Do you even know how to cook it?"

"I'm confident it won't be raw at least." I finished that conversation with a small grin as she took a contemplating face, weighing her options.

"Fine." She said with a sigh.

I simply nodded and lightly threw the axe at her. Which she caught, but fell down due to the weight. 

I let out a few snorts, trying to hold back my laughter as she struggled to hold the axe.

"Shut up!" She yelled in an embarrassed tone as her face took a reddish hue.

The axe stayed still on the ground as I finally let out a few chuckles.

"Alright, alright, since you're obviously still weakened right now, I'll have to do everything." I casually told her as I grabbed the axe.

She seemed annoyed at what just happened.

"Get me the matches from that bag." I told her as I split a long into 8 parts.

"Yeah, yeah." She grumbled but complied anyway.

As I take a small piece of wood and chop it into even smaller parts for fuel, I hum a little tune in boredom. I still have questions to ask her, but those can wait until after breakfast.

"Should be enough." I mutter to myself as I hold the small piece of tree bark. "Where are the matches, Moonshine?!" I yelled slightly loudly as I turned around, then froze at the scene.

How should I explain this?

Moonshine, who currently held a box of matches in her mouth, stood nervously as her eyes kept glancing from different spots as she stood in front of a very, surprised?, Center Piece. No, that looks more like undying fury. 

"YOU! HOW ARE YOU HERE?!" Center asked, no yelled that question as her voice blew away the nearby leaves and shook the tree.

What the fuck?

Moonshine took a step back in fear as the matches fell to the ground. 

"Wait, wait now, we can talk this out. Center, let me explain." I said with a nervous smile as I got between the two of them.

Center looked like she was absolutely ready to kill Moonshine.

"What? Did Luna forget to tell you about our fusion?" Moonshine asked in a mocking voice as she regained her courage.

"Not, the fucking time." I try to dispel the argument.

"YOU'LL KEEP HER NAME, OUT OF YOUR FILTHY MOUTH!" My ears flattened at the volume as I started to hear a high pitched sound. 

"BITCH PLEASE, WE SHARED THE SAME BODY, SO MINE IS AS FILTHY AS HERS!" Moonshine argued back with a sneer.

"OH WHY YOU STUCK UP BI-!"

"SHUT IT!" I yelled as I slammed both of their heads from high up as the ringing sound in my ears continued to get louder.

Moonshine almost fell to the ground as she stumbled to stand straight. Center took it better as she only grimaced and rubbed the place I had hit her. I rubbed my head in annoyance as a headache started to form.

"Look, I don't know what the fuck happened between you two, but you're not going to have a yelling competition before breakfast. Got that?" I asked with a frown.

"Tch, fine." Moonshine clicked her tongue and walked towards the campfire.

Center had a heavy grimace on her face as she glared at Moonshine, shortly before sitting down at the campfire on the opposite side. I let out a tired sigh as I grabbed the fallen matches.

This will be a long day.

The atmosphere was, awkward to say the least.

Moonshine seemed to have lost all fear, and was glaring straight at Center with anger in her eyes. Center replied in kind with her own glare, but hers was somehow colder, and had a judging feel to it. And here I was, stuck between the two as I try to get a fire going.

"So." I started as a piece of tree bark finally started to burn. "Let's introduce ourselves first, yes?" I said with a nervous smile.

"I believe I know plenty about her." Center started with venom laced in her voice.

"Do you really? Because I'm pretty sure that the most you know is that I'm not Luna." Moonshine responded with an equally threatening voice.

For fuck's sake, how am I supposed to go about this? And these two seem to know each other for entirely different reasons then I do.

Wait, Luna? Right, of course she's back, since Moonshine is also here. And Center knows her personally?

Small crackles sounded as I piled the firewood in a cone shape.

"Okay, girls. How about names first?" I suggested. 

"Biased bitch is what I wanna call her." Moonshine started.

"Oh, don't act like you don't have a preference." Center retorted.

"What the fuck would you know about me?!"

"More than enough!"

"BEST YOU KNOW IS I'M NOT A PONY!"

"BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY THING ABOUT YOU THAT ISN'T NEGATIVE!"

"WILL YOU TWO TALK IT OUT LIKE ADULTS!" I cut them off as I incredulously stared at them. 

These two definitely know each other on a personal level. 

"Oh, screw it. This was bound to happen anyway." Center suddenly said as she stood up.

"What the fuck are you-?" My question was cut short as her skin peeled off like paper as she grew in size.

My eyes widened as I stared at her.

Her mane gained colors as it started to blow in a nonexistent breeze.

Her fur turned pure white as the sun replaced her cutie mark.

"Fucking, WHAT!" I just yelled in shock as Princess Celestia stood there.

"What the fuck were you thinking with that little trick, Celestia?" Moonshine asked with a sneer.

"Remedy, you need to listen. This pony is Nightmare Moon, and I need to make sure she doesn't cause any more mayhem." Center, no, Princess Celestia said as she completely ignored Moonshine.

"What? No, wait. I don't understand-"

"Oh you can just try me Celestia. Kill or seal me, I'll always be back." Moonshine told her.

"Can you not-"

"How about I just deal with you right now then?" Princess Celestia stated as her horn started to glow.

Moonshine let out a small shriek as she jumped from her spot and held me in front of her.

"You, Remedy was it? Pay me back for killing me thrice." She said in a slightly shivering voice.

"What the fu-NO! Can you just-"

"Remedy! Move, away from her, else you'll be in the blast radius." Princess Celestia said in a warning voice as her horn continues to brighten.

"WILL YOU TWO MORONS JUST CALM DOWN!" I yelled, sobering up from the shock of the Princess's reveal.

"Remedy, please, I need you to-"

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!" I continued to yell as I pulled myself away from Moonshine. "YOU, NEED TO CALM YOUR ROYAL ASS DOWN, AND YOU NEED TO STOP ANTAGONIZING HER! DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND?" 

Princess Celestia seemed baffled, but shut her spell down as she glared at Moonshine. Moonshine returned the glare, but there was still a hint of fear in her eyes.

I rubbed my head in annoyance as the migraine continued to get stronger.

"Since you two assholes can't talk for a minute without a fight, you'll just sit here, silently, whilst I prepare some morning tea, alright?" I talked with an annoyed voice.

Receiving two small nods, I let out a sigh as I grab a pot and move to the river. 

And to think this day started out, so good.

Walking to the river, my thoughts started to emerge again. Princess Celestia knows about Moonshine, but either Princess Luna forgot some details or she lied.

I hope for the former, but evidence points to the latter. Or did Princess Celestia already know back when the war started, if so, why didn't she tell us? 

I scooped up enough water to fill about eighty percent of the pot.

If she didn't know, then that points to Princess Luna intentionally leaving out details for her own sake. Either way, somepony messed up. And there's still the issue of just what Moonshine wanted.

I returned to the camp and placed the pot on the fire and added some tea leaves.

The two sat exactly where I had left them, still glaring at each other with cold gazes.

"Alright, after hearing your argument, I have reason to believe that there are issues that could be solved with just a simple explanation, or at the very least give us an insight to how we could deal with it better." I calmly told them as I took a seat. 

Moonshine only rolled her eyes. Princess Celestia gazed at me with a questioning look, but let it go with a short sigh.

"First, Princess," she flinched ever so slightly at that, but still maintained her stone cold gaze. "Her name is, Moonshine." She  gave a small nod of acknowledgement.

"Alright, now, the issue of Nightmare Moon itself." I presented.

"There is not much to talk about. She corrupted my sister, and took advantage of her emotions to incite a rebellion for her own sake." Princess Celestia calmly stated.

"Fucking framed!" Moonshine shot back. "I can't do mind control alone, and for the record, there has to be emotion already there for me take advantage of. Everything else, that was all according to our deal, so I'm not the only one to blame." She defended herself.

"Oh, so the massacre of Cremo Village was just a part of the deal?" I shut my eyes tight, remembering the place a bit before opening them back up.

"Blame that one on, Luna. She's the one who was controlling the body at that time"

"And you expect me to just believe that?" 

"Yes, of course." She said in a sarcastic voice. "Why wouldn't I believe that you would trust the creature that you already have a bias against, over your own, sister, whom you neglected so much that she ended up hating you for it." She finished with a mocking tone.

"THAT!" She started, but backed down. "May be true, but I don't believe for a second, that Luna would destroy an entire village like that." She finished with conviction, and a hint of uncertainty.

I raised an eyebrow as I saw her mask slipping slightly.

"Believe what you want, I only care that you, the apparently ever loving Princess of The Sun, doomed an entire species because of one bad apple." Moonshine said as her face took a fanatic look.

What?

This is new info. 

Does she mean bat ponies? Or something else.

"That one bad apple that you mentioned, blew up half of the previous capital of Equestria!" Princess Celestia raised her voice.

Previous capital? It was something different before?

"Yeah, because self centered, jerk of a ponies like you, held him in a cell for Nocturne knows how long!" Moonshine pointed an accusatory hoof at her.

That, seems to be more of a personal vendetta. 

"HE WAS A THREAT!"

"HE BUMPED INTO A FUCKING HIGH NOSED, SNOB OF NOBLE!" 

"Alright, alright, calm it. We're getting off track here." I intervened. "Moonshine, you mentioned a deal with Princess Luna, how about you expand on that?" I asked, hoping dispel some of the tension.

It's good that they're speaking with no lies, but too much and a fight will break out.

"It's pretty simple. She gets to access my powers and get stronger by using her own negative emotions as fuel, which I, by her own request, enhanced to be more volatile." Princess Celestia frowned at the explanation, but stayed silent. "My cut of the deal, was that she would make sure that the moon stayed around for an hour or so longer everyday, letting my citizens to prosper once again." She finished with a strained smile.

"What about the whole 'Eternal Night' thing." Princess Celestia asked.

"That stuff is all Luna. As I said, I only needed about an hour of natural cosmic shade, not forever. So small, yet such a significant time you know? Or do you not? Because you grew up all sheltered?" She finished as her smile turned annoyed at best.

"How am I supposed to believe that?" Princess Celestia spoke up.

"Fucking don't then, I could not care less about your damn opinion." Moonshine dropped her smile as she ended with a frown.

I give a silent sigh as I processed all the information that just dropped on me like a bomb. The main issue has been solved, sort of. Moonshine no longer has a reason to do, anything really, since her citizens are no longer around.

I guess she was also royalty.

That means that Nightmare Moon returning just would not happen. But that still leaves other issues. Moonshine can't be condemned for the actions of Nightmare Moon, it would definitely fall onto Princess Luna, but she herself had no control over emotions. 

Even if the blame is left alone, what about redemption for Moonshine's species? It can't be called right to just forget about them.

That also leaves Princess Luna herself. It's not fair to Moonshine to just sweep this under the rug and let her take all the blame whilst Princess Luna only acts as the victim of all this.

Morality issues. 

That's the problem that hasn't been solved yet.

Also, that thing with the bumping into a noble. How the fuck did Princess Celestia end up perceiving him as a threat. And even then, nobles are prideful, but there shouldn't be too many that would call for imprisonment like that. Well, what would I know about nobles really.

Looking down while sorting my thoughts, I slowly get annoyed as I keep thinking about the situation.

It's an old ass problem, and it's practically guaranteed to never pop up again. So, those involved can just ignore each other and continue to live life. At least that's what I did.

Whether you wallow in sadness or seethe in anger, you shouldn't let your emotions create more problems. Doing so would just mean that you learned nothing from this.

Finishing my inner thoughts with a sigh, I finally remember the tea.

"Ah, fuck." I muttered as I started at the empty pot with burnt leaves at the bottom. 

At least the two didn't continue to fight. Mostly. They're just sat there, glaring at each other with distrust and anger flashing in their eyes. Seems Moonshine finally realized that she won't die from Princess Celestia. Or maybe she just doesn't care anymore.

Either way, I wanted this meeting to be over. So, I let out a sigh as I put the pot on the ground.

"Look, there are a lot, of things that are missing, and it won't be solved until all those involved talk about it. But you gotta realize that you're trying to solve something that is no longer a problem." I calmly explained.

Moonshine seems to longer have any desire to talk more about this, so she just rolled her eyes and stared at the fire. Princess Celestia motioned for me to continue after staring for a few seconds.

"Nightmare Moon, is a fusion between two ponies. And we've already established that it was an agreement with full consent from both parties, so that part is already covered. The blame itself, will fall on the two that initiated a dangerous spell in the first place. Simple as that." I said with a simple smile.

Moonshine gave a small glare, only to accept it with a sigh and shut her eyes. Princess Celestia had a reluctant look on her face as she fully contemplated the issue.

"And, as far as crimes go, criminals with mental issues practically get away scot free. It's even worse when you think about how two different personalities, both with their own moralities and motives, can fuse together and clash with each other. It's practically a worse version of psychopathy." I finished with a hopeful smile.

If I can get Princess Celestia to go past this issue, then the only remaining problem would be the relationship between Princess Luna and Moonshine. They don't even have to get along or something, just be alright enough not to kill each other.

Princess Celestia took a long time to think this through. No matter how easy it is thinking logically, she would have to think about her sister. And it was quite commonly known that she was quite overprotective of Princess Luna.

Seconds slowly ticked by, eventually turning to minutes as the atmosphere turned tense once again. The course of where all of this will go depends on whether or not Princess Celestia accepts that the issue is over. 

Eventually, my patience was about to run out, having been tired from dealing with all of this all the way from last night. I was about to lose it. That is, until Princess Celestia finally reached a verdict.

"I will, pardon her crimes on account of it being a cold case." She said with a small sigh as I finally let my body relax.

She seemed like she wanted to say more, but decided against it. Moonshine was shocked as her mouth stayed slightly open for a while.

"Finally." I said to nopony in particular as Princess Celestia let out a small chuckle at my attitude.

"I thank you Remedy, for being a reasonable middle voice in this." She said with a small smile.

"Is fine, I said you can talk to me about your problems anyway." I casually replied.

Moonshine seemed to sense that she longer cared about the conversation and left. 

"Anyways, what should I call you?" I asked calmly. "I don't think I can comfortably call you either Princess, or Center after all the yelling, and what was basically treason." I said with a shrug.

"You can just call me by name, I prefer it like that anyway." She answered with a calm smile.

I give a nod in response. "Sure thing, Celestia"

She gave a content grin as her eyes shone a soft gaze.

"Well, it seems that this visit has been, uh, quite eventful, so I'll keep it short. I have to fulfill my duties anyway." She calmly explained as she set down two bags, both half my size from nowhere.

"Makes sense, and thanks." I told her as I ignored her reality breaking prowess.

"No problems. Oh, and do try to sleep a bit earlier tonight. Luna wants to continue her role as the guardian of dreams as soon as possible, so I ask that you grant this small favor of mine"

"Sure, sounds easy enough."

"Well then. Until next time Remedy." She gave a simple smile with the goodbye.

"Understood"

I gave her a simple hoofbump as she turned to leave.

"Oh, and by the way?" I asked before she left.

"Hmm?" She turned to me.

"Tell Princess Luna, that as long as she is looking for a fight, she is not welcome here." I told her firmly.

She stared for a few seconds. Then she nodded and left.

I stared as she slowly left.

"Is she gone?" Moonshine asked as she walked back to the camp.

"Yep. Your in charge of making tea now." I calmly told her as I grabbed the pot off the ground and threw it at her.

"What! Why?" She asked as she barely caught it.

"Punishment for making that much harder than it should have been." I said with a strained smile.

She growled as she frowned at me, only to release it with a sigh and walked towards the river without saying anything.

As I sat at the fire, my eyes twitched a bit as I realized something.

"I fucking forgot to ask for a towel." I facehooved.
> The Usual Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the confines of the ever mysterious barrier that is both my prison, and my current home, I was sat on a random log in front of the campfire, carefully bringing my lips to a steaming cup. Two teal eyes with sharpened irises stared as the eyebrows were furrowed in expectation and anxiety. Random spots on the grass were littered with weird purplish or greenish blobs of slimes.

A loud slurping sound came as I gave a soft sigh after swallowing the hot liquid.

We both stayed silent as I thought about the different qualities of the tea. How soft it is. How easy it went down. She watched on nervously, having already failed numerous times.

"It's, actually drinkable." I said with clear surprise in my voice.

"Finally!" Moonshine loudly celebrated as she slumped down.

"Indeed. You've improved quite fast since you were making poison this morning." I casually commented as I shudder from memories.

"It ain't my fault I never made tea before." She replied with a small frown.

I only gave a few chuckles at that. Which was followed by a few seconds of serene silence. Something that felt rare lately. I grabbed an apple and started breakfast. 

I'll catch some fish for her after I finish.

Though, my enjoyment was quickly interrupted by remembering the argument.

"Hey, Moonshine?" I started.

"Yeah?" She replied with some pieces of fruit in her mouth.

"I thought you were royalty." I muttered under my breath before asking. "Who is Nocturne?" 

"Oh, he's, kinda my dad. Kinda not, but he still tried" She replied bluntly.

"What?" I just ask.

"Yeah, he was the ruler, slash god of the Nocturnals. Pretty much the exact same as Celestia." She explained with reminiscing look as she swallowed the fruits. "I wasn't actually born from his essence. But I was birthed by his first wife, who cheated on him, because he couldn't make enough time for her." Her face was saddened by that. "Which I just don't understand. I mean, he was literally the one managing the whole Nocturnus Kingdom. It's not like he actually had time for, her, or me, when he couldn't even enjoy a cup of tea without a report coming in." Her body slumped and she hung her head low.

I didn't know what to say to that. Not like I experienced something like that before.

*Sigh*

In the end, I only let out a silent sigh and put a hoof on her shoulder. Empty words from somepony who doesn't know how it feels would just annoy her. 

"Thanks." Her words were almost silent as we just sat there for a while.

Feels like I'm in one of those books dad used to read with how many emotional events have been happening lately.

She suddenly looked away and wiped her face with one hoof before turning to me. Her eyes were slightly red and there was a wet spot left on the middle of her eyes. Though I chose not to point it out.

"Anyways!" She yelled a bit too loud to break the ice. "What about you? You definitely have a story to tell." She finished with a strained smile.

I shrugged in response with a small smile as I take my hoof off. "It's not that interesting." I calmly replied.

"No way." She said with an exaggerated eyeroll. "You're telling me, that the pony inside a mysterious barrier that doesn't allow death, that also apparently has no problems with killing others, doesn't have a backstory?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Mhmm." I gave a nod.

I guess mine does count as interesting, but it's still a bit awkward to talk about it. Especially since she herself is somewhat involved.

Her face was full of suspicion as she just narrowed her eyes at me whilst letting out a humming sound. I raised a brow in response as I stared back.

"Fine, keep your secrets, but I know you're hiding something, Remedy." She said in a voice that failed to be threatening. "Actually, what is your full name?" Her tone suddenly changed.

"Natural Remedy, it was lethal to meet you." I replied with a nonchalant smile.

"Good, it was quite beheading to meet you too." She gave a response as she sat near the fire and poured herself a cup of tea.

Then proceeded to cough it back up from how terrible it tasted. I couldn't figure out how she managed to change the properties with nothing but tea leaves and water.

"I made this?." She muttered to herself. "How'd you manage to drink this with no issues?" She asked with a disgusted face.

"I've tasted worse." I gave a simple reply.

Yeah, raw blood wasn't that much of a better choice than snow. Too bad all I had was that weird sippy cup that didn't allow for refills.

I felt my mood dropping as some unpleasant memories popped up. Moonshine seems to have noticed my change in expression.

"Anyways, I'll go to the river to catch some fish." I told her to distract both myself and her and got up.





"Pray tell sister, just how far hast Equestria progressed without mine own presence?" Luna asked with a rather excited voice as she repeatedly opened and closed the fridge. "Doest this 'fridge' actually extinguish its light once closed?"

"Yes it does, Luna, else we'll be wasting all that energy after all." I gave a reply. 

Shortly after awakening to raise the sun, I had gone to Remedy for a visit that turned out to be, quite different than the usual. After coming back, I am currently spending the rest of the morning with Luna. I was absolutely filled with joy at her return. And her reactions to whatever new technology that she happened to get her hooves on, are simply adorable.

"Please, do not let our presence disturb your work." I told the cooking staff, who were all nervous.

They gave a bow of sorts and carried on making preparations for breakfast, which was almost a disaster. Almost, being the keyword, as an assistant chef tripped on something and threw a pot of dough in the air. Thankfully, the head chef is on duty to save the day, and the dough.

Giving a slight chuckle at their antics, I turn back to Luna, who was staring at a coffee machine.

"Do tell, Tia, what wondrous thing this doth?" 

"That, is a coffee machine. It's used to make coffee." I explained calmly.

"And, what is this 'coffee' that thee speaketh of?"

"It's a drink made from a type of beans that's mostly used to give a boost of energy. Personally, I prefer my blends to be hoof made, just tastes better somehow. Though, I don't drink much to begin with. Why don't you try a cup?" I tell her as I bring a coffee mug under the nozzle.

"Hmm. This drink may beest useful during mine own duties in the night." She said in an inquisitive voice.

Perfect.

She's showing positive interest in modern day aspects. This should make it easier for her to get used to the changes since a millennia ago.

A slight delay of water boiling and coffee beans being crushed, the hot liquid poured into the cup. She took it in her magic and gave it a gentle sniff. With a simple shrug, she took a sip.

Ah.

I believe I've made a mistake.

On the outside, I maintained a steady face as I stared at the slightly shaking Luna. On the inside, I was worried about her current condition.

"Are you alright Luna?" I tentatively asked.

She suddenly chugged the whole thing in one motion and turned to me.

"TIA, THIS DRINK IS MOST WONDROUS. I FEEL AS IF I AM ABLE TO BRING DISCORD TO HIS HOOVES." She sprang up with a burst of energy.

I gave off a few nervous chuckles at her behavior. She might not be able to make it to her dream walking tonight.





"Are you sure this'll work?" I asked Remedy, who was currently nailing in a set of stairs into the giant tree. 

"Positive. We'll need a house to sleep in sooner, rather than later anyway. And having it higher up is just safer. " He replied with a few nails in his mouth.

He had spent most of the day nailing different sized boards together to create a set of stairs, though I'm not entirely sure if this is possible, or even remotely safe. Though, safety hasn't really been a matter of concern for a while now. 

"After I make this steady, I'll put a few pillars underneath for support, then maybe some walls for better stability. It can also work as a shed." He explained with another swing of a hammer.

"Wouldn't it have been better to just put the support in first?" I asked as I tried to hold the hoof-made ladder more steadily.

"Maybe." He replied and he took a look at the hammer before dropping it down. "But I don't know much about buildings." He punched another nail in with his hoof.

"Then why haven't you asked Celestia about it. Seemed like you were friendly enough to ask for help on this." I put more strength into my hooves as the ladder wobbled.

There was a small period of silence as he put a few more nails in.

He eventually gave a sigh as his body slumped slightly.

"Hey! Careful. This thing is really fragile." I told him as the ladder started to shake even more.

"Sorry." He blankly said. "To answer your question, it's because, I already got so much from her. Just doesn't sit right with me to ask for more." He explained calmly.

"I, guess that makes sense." I gave a reply.

*Crack*

"Yeah, it's pretty sappyyeeeeEE!" 

"Gah!" I let out a pained sound as he fell on top of me.

"Fuck." He said with a strained voice.

"Get off me." I told him with a grunt.

We groaned in pain whilst getting up. I'd shut my eyes in pain as I rubbed my back

"I told you that that fucking ladder would break." I told him.

"Yeah, yeah, not like we had a better choice." He replied while massaging his neck.

"Why couldn't we just build-." My words were caught in my throat as I stared at him.

"You good?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as his eyes shone a dull light green, clearly emanating magic.

I felt my body lock up as I stared at those eyes. At first, I thought it may be fear, but strangely enough, I was more entranced. 

There was a muffled sound as I stared deeper.

A sense of belonging swept over me as I felt a familiar sensation inside myself. Feeling myself becoming light, my senses started to feel numb as I felt disconnected from the world. Soon I felt weightless, almost like air as a sudden feeling of constriction invaded me. It slowly became stronger, it started to get harder to breath. It's like a cloth was draped over me as it started to shrink. 

Giving a few coughs, or atleast something that felt like it, I drew in a gasp of air as my eyes opened up.

"For fucks sake, Moonshine, are you alright?" Remedy asked me with a worried frown.

Still struggling to breathe, I looked down to see what was constricting me.

"What?" I said in confusion as I stared at myself inside a bag.

"Yeah, you suddenly started turning to mist, and I didn't know what to do. So I kinda just gathered you in this bag." He said with a tone that even he himself was unsure of what he did.

"Please get me out." I told him as I was reminded that I shouldn't fit in the bag.

A few pulls and a cut later, I was free from the clutches of the bag as I stretched my body. 

"Uh, any idea what this is?" Remedy asked as he pointed at my neck.

"Oh." I let out a stupefied sound as I stared at the wooden necklace, or collar. "That's why it was hard to breath." I simply commented.

"So, any ancient knowledge about what just happened?" He asked with a slightly annoyed face.

"How the fuck would I know? Isn't this place your domain?" I shot back.

"No, actually. I'm as trapped as you are in this place." His reply shocked me.

"Wait, seriously? I thought you were just some weirdo who wanted to stay in the Everfree." I replied without thinking much.

He gave a deadpan face as he stared at me. A small trace of realization hit his face before quickly disappearing.

"Anyways, help me gather some wood. I'll try this again, but with a sturdier ladder." He told me.

"Yeah, yeah, but I won't hold that if it's as crappy as this one." I replied and followed him.

Ugh. My neck hurts.
> A Nightly Visit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok, so, you'll sleep in the bag, I'll take the pillow though." Natural Remedy told Moonshine as they prepared to sleep for the night.

"You sure? Nights can get pretty cold, you know?" She asked back.

"I am. You, on the other hoof, have a severely weakened body. Therefore, this matter is non-negotiable." He firmly told her.

"Fine, but don't blame me if you get sick." 

"I won't." He replied casually and added a bit more wood to the fire.

Moonshine took notice as she seemed to remember something.

"Wait, why would you add fuel to the fire? Wouldn't it just make it easier for animals to spot us?" She asked with a small frown.

"Normally, yes. But seeing that no beasts have attacked after blood was spilt here plenty of times, we can assume that the barrier hides those traces." He explained as he poked at the fire with a stick before throwing it in.

"Ok? But aren't you going to sleep soon?" She asked, not bothering to think of a counterargument.

Not like she'd die anyway.

"I will, soon." He replied with an impassive face.

Moonshine squinted her eyes in slight suspicion, wondering what it was about, but eventually shrugged and unrolled a sleeping bag that Remedy had given her.

"Good night." Remedy said with a cold voice that slightly surprised her.

"The fuck is wrong with him?" Moonshine thought to herself before climbing in the bag. "Good night." She said and went to sleep.

Slowly, the minutes ticked by as the moon went ever higher to the sky. A deafening silence, only broken by the crackling fire and snoring mare filled the area. Natural Remedy grabbed a piece of wood and retrieved a small knife from a bag. Having already forgotten about grabbing the pillow for himself from Moonshine, he deeply stared at the fire with a still face. 

"I'm sure I missed it." He muttered to himself as he dug into the wood with the knife.

In the ambience, the sound of a knife softly carving wood was added. Remedy roughly cut off parts, slowly taking away mass from the wood. 

His ears suddenly flicked as he heard the skittering of some random insects. Some losing control to approach the fire, others staying away for their life. 

The fire continued to crackle at a steady pace as fuel was constantly added to it. Remedy continued to softly dig into the wood, at a much slower pace as he added started to shape the wood. 

Hours ticked on as the camp continued in the comfortable ambience. 

The winds picked up speed as the air grew colder. Remedy saw vapors coming out from his nose as he felt the heat from the fire cover his body, fighting against the chilly air of the night.

He was fully concentrated again as he stared blankly at the wooden piece, slowly taking the shape of a quadruped. The knife dug onto the upper part, shaving away pieces in an arc as the figure slowly looked more equine.

"Mmhmm"

He was suddenly broken out of his stupor as he realized he no longer heard the snores of Moonshine. Glancing at her, he proved his theory correct as she squirmed inside the bag, starting to mutter some incoherent words filled with anger and sadness. 

Remedy wiped his carving, getting rid of some dust like particles as he put it down on the ground. 

Moonshine soon lost her anger as fear came with her whispering as her voice slowly gained volume.

Remedy got up slowly as he approached the mare. She was shivering as sweat seemed to pour down her face, panting for air as she kept flailing around.

"PLEASE!" She shouted with desperation laced in her voice and anxiety filled her expression as she shot up.

"Calm, nothing's gonna happen to you." He told her with a soft voice as he gave her a simple hug.

Moonshine continued to pant for air as her eyes looked around with her blurry vision, moist with fresh tears.

"What? What're you? What happened?" She asked with clear confusion masking her other emotions.

"You had a nightmare." Remedy simply told her as he took a step back.

"What?" She asked again with furrowed brows.

"A nightmare." He replied back.

"No, no, I can't have a nightmare. I shouldn't-," she tried to explain, but was stopped by Remedy placing a hoof on her muzzle.

"Stop, go back to sleep for now. We can figure this out after breakfast." He calmly told her as he pushed her down with a hoof.

"No, it's not tha-," she tried to say her point as she started to get out of the sleeping bag.

"Shut." He told her with a firm tone and pushed her back inside. "Now, go back to sleep. There isn't a single thing you have to worry about during the night." He finished and dragged her a bit closer to the fire.

"I, bu-but, what about-," she continued to try, bit was silenced by Remedy glaring at her with a firm gaze. "I, Ok? I guess." She hesitantly accepted and laid back down, feeling much warmer from the fire.

As she closed her eyes, Remedy sat back on his spot near the fire and continued carving into the wooden figure. Minutes passed by in silence as Moonshine began to sleep once again.

With the situation handled, Remedy silently went about his wood carving as he felt himself getting tired. 

"I'll finish this first." He muttered and continued his activity.





As the fire crackling began to die down, Remedy was about finished with his project. 

The piece of wood had turned into a doll of sorts. With rough edges and no finish to smoothen it, the product seemed amateurish. Two fangs protruding from an opened jaw, armor like carvings engraved the limbs. Then lay a wooden cape, covering almost everything below the neck as the mane flew to the sky. 

"Done." He muttered as he shaved off one last piece as a crown sat snuggly on the doll's head.

Unbeknownst to him however, a figure with a cloak silently treaded through the forest. Stepping through the fallen leaves, the figure followed a smoky trail that only they themselves could notice. 

"This must be where she's hiding." The figure spoke in a hollow voice with a feminine tone.

She calmly stepped forward, noting the barrier giving her a slight tingle.

"What?" She confusedly muttered to herself as a light that wasn't there before suddenly appeared.

Carefully treading through the dense trees, she hides herself with a spell and approached cautiously. Though, what she saw, almost made her lose control of it.

"I knew it." She muttered with clear hatred in her eyes as her pace got a bit faster. 

In her hurry, she had forgotten to scan her surroundings as her mind focused on her next action.

*Thunk*

She was broken out of her stupor as she stared at her reflection on a blade. She could see a bit of her own fur falling down slowly, separated from the rest of her by the knife that was stuck in the tree next to her. Her eyes were clearly visible in the reflection as her mind raced to catch up with reality, having a hard time to understand the fact that she almost died.

Swallowing the saliva pooling in her mouth, she turned towards where the knife had come from, expecting to see some mind-controlled pony or a mercenary of sorts. 

Remedy, just blew at his finished product, fully admiring his work for a few seconds before throwing it into the fire. 

"I gave my warning, Princess. If you're looking for a fight, you're in the wrong place." He told her coldly without looking back.

"WHO ART THOU!? THOU ART MAKING A FOOLISH MISTAKE!" She yelled angrily as she glared at Remedy.

"Did Celestia not tell you?" He asked with the same emotionless voice. "Doesn't matter. The fact is that you are not welcome here with those eyes"

"Huh?" She let out a confused sound as his response sank in. "Tia, had known?" She muttered weakly as she felt betrayed. 

A sickening feeling filled her as she could not believe that her own sister would hide this from her. 

"HOW ARE WE TO KNOW THOU HAD NOT LIED?!" She asked, rage filling her voice.

"How about you go and ask her yourself?." He coldly replied as he still refused to look at her.

"THOU SHOULD REALIZE, WHO THOU ART PROTECTING!"

"Yeah, half of Nightmare Moon. I kinda moved on from that." He told her with an annoyed voice.

Luna had been fully shocked at that small revelation, not understanding how such a thing could be. A small thought occurred to her, wondering if she could also receive such forgiveness. 

Then that thought was instantly broken as he finally turned to her. His eyes shone a mystical green as a frown adorned his face.

She felt a massive source of magic emanating from his eyes, making her wonder if she should take action. 

"I believe I've made myself clear. Leave. Now." He coldly told her as he gave an icy glare filled with wariness. 

"Thou understand that the mare is but Nightmare Moon herself, what is thine reason for her protection?" She asked, lowering her voice as she warily glanced back.

Remedy stayed silent as he held his glare.

Luna silently gulped, realizing that she wouldn't get an answer, and sighed in her mind before turning to move. Slightly sulking, she was about to leave the camp, but Remedy stopped him.

"It's because she was peaceful." He spoke slightly louder than normal.

"What?" Luna perked up and turned towards him.

"She," he pointed at Moonshine with a hoof before dropping it. "Bore no intentions to continue fighting. That's why I protect her." He said with a slightly warmer voice.

Luna only stared in shock as his words rang through her mind.

"Come back after you've calmed down. Only then, I'll allow you in this camp." He said with a cold voice once more, and faced the fire again.

Luna wanted to reply, to tell him that he was being tricked. She was absolutely sure that this was the case, or atleast, that's what she told herself. Yet, she replied in silence and left the camp.

The calm ambience returned once more as Remedy poured water over the fire and glanced at Moonshine. Random thoughts ran through his mind as he closed his eyes with a pained expression.

He vividly remembered the details of that day. The rising smoke. The burning buildings. The smell of ashes. 

"THE OFFSPRINGS SHALL BE MADE TO SERVANTS ONCE THE SUN HAS FALLEN!"

The only things left as he combed through mountains of corpses with his brother to find familiar faces.

Was he doing the right thing, by protecting her?

*Sigh*

"Forget it. I'm too old to care about such things anyway." He muttered to himself as he glanced at Moonshine once more. "Sleeps heavier than a rock." He commented with a chuckle before heading to sleep.





Moonshine slowly opened her eyes as she raised her upper body. Letting out a large yawn, she stretched her back and stoos up slowly. Silently sitting while waking herself up, she shoots up suddenly as she remembers something.

"WAIT. FUCK. REMEDY!" She yells as she tries to stand up and trips down.

"Easy, Moon. Luna came and went already." Remedy said with a casual tone as he sipped from a bowl. "A bit more salt." He said and reached for a bag.

"Uhh, what?" She responded with a confused expression.

Remedy gave a few chuckles and tended to the boiling pot over the fire. "Why don't you take care of business first? Then, we can talk about some things after breakfast." He said with a calm smile and stirred the pot after adding a small amount of salt.

"I. What. No. What?" Moonshine failed to fully form a sentence as she failed to understand why her co-prisoner was so calm about the situation.

Deciding that he was always too confusing for her, she went ahead and tried to ignore the issue. 

"Wait, what kind of soup are you making?" Moonshine asked curiously as she approached the delightful smelling pot.

"Fish soup." He said with a blank face and poured a bit into a bowl and took a sip. "Mhm. Just right."

A few seconds pass as Moonshine finally wakes up, and promptly decides that she no longer cares and starts heading to the woods for her morning routine.

"Brush your teeth!" Remedy yells and throws a bag at her.

"Got it!" She yelled back and reached to grab the bag.

And promptly gets smacked in the face by said bag.
> Casual Conversations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, if you had magic, what would be the first thing you do?" I asked Remedy whilst connecting two wooden boards together.

"Probably learn how to use it." He said with a slight smirk and connected a triangle looking thing under a platform to the giant tree.

"Well duh, but I mean like, what would your reaction be? How would you use it? Would you even bother to use it?" I rolled my fetlocks a bit to get rid of the cramp.

"Eh, I'm too old to care about that kind of stuff. It'll be convenient, sure, but I won't bother too much with it." He replied with a shrug and nailed the platform to the triangle things. 

How does he know where to hit it though?

"Seriously? You unlock, a literal, realm of possibilities, and the most you'd do is acknowledge it?" I ask, a bit flabbergasted at his answer. "Also, does this look right?" I quickly asked and held up the continuation of the platform.

"Yeah, that'll do, we can fill in the blanks later. And yeah, I really wouldn't care about surprises in my life. Got enough of it already." He finished his answer with a tone of emptiness.

I took a peek at him, out of both a small worry and curiosity. He had a bit of a hollow look as he stared off somewhere. 

I slightly purse my lips as I stare at him. The last few days, I've noticed those weird little habits of him. He doesn't seem to notice it himself, but if I'm not actively conversing with him, he tends to get lost in his thoughts. 

And, I don't think he sleeps much during the night. Though he makes up for it during the day. Somewhat.

"Alright then, what about wings?" I asked while acting chipper to change the topic.

He flinched as he heard my question and continued his work. Staying silent, I thought I'd triggered another memory or something as he didn't answer for a while.

Fuck. What else can I ask him about? I don't know him that well, and we've been talking for hours now. We've went through pretty much every topic I can think of.

"I'd fly." He finally answered, making me flinch as I looked at him again.

He had a small smile on his face as he had a reminiscing look. Soon enough, that drops as he focuses back on his work.

I let out a silent breath as I continue my own part.

'Not an interesting story' my ass! It'll probably be a best seller if he published it as a book.

As I resume putting wooden boards together for a more durable floor, or at least, that's what he said. I don't know, I'm just following whatever the guy said. Considering that he told me he's just been improvising everything here, it's the best to just do what he says since I don't know anything about it.

Hours pass as we continue our little project in the company of each others' questions and small talks. Without it, I'd probably be losing my mind over the boredom. 

During that, I learned a few things about him. Most obvious is that he is incredibly blunt. He won't go out of his way to tell you your mane looks bad or something, but he will call it horrendous if you ask him. I wonder if Celestia would get me some shampoo, it has been a while since I've washed my mane. 

I'll at least rinse it tonight.

*Thud*

He jumps down from the platform and looks up at it with a slight smile.

Yeah, that's pretty damn impressive since he built it in one and a half days.

"Alright, let's end it for today." He tells me and walks toward that camp.

"Sure." I answer and drop the things I was holding and follow behind him.

The walk back was uneventful as I just go without minding much. Though, a few thoughts were still swirling in my mind as I calmly passed by familiar trees. Things like, what the fuck is this part of the forest? Or can it just be credited to the usual instability of the Everfree? Then, who is Natural Remedy? What makes him so important?

I take a seat on a random log in front of the campfire and start putting twigs and such in it, then make a little tent like structure with bigger logs. Then hang a pot of water on the metal hook thing you put over campfires. Finally, I grab the matches from one of the tens of bags that are piled in the camp, and try to start a fire.  

Lighting the gathered twigs on fire, I spread the sleeping bag and lay on it. I sigh in content as I feel my body relax. 

I calmly watch on as the fire slowly starts to spread, rising higher and higher.

"Wait, how are we gonna start a fire if we live in a treehouse?" I curiously ask Remedy after remembering what we were building.

His hoof that was reaching a pot of fish stops as his face blanks upon the question. I still don't understand how he managed to catch so many.

Wait a damn second. Didn't he say something about making an axe without knowing what to do with it before? 

"You, forget to think these things through, don't you?" I ask him with intrigue.

"Shut it." He tells me, losing the usual confidence in his voice.

I lose control and burst out in laughter at his embarrassed look.





"Wow. I might've just killed an entire ecosystem with that." I mutter to myself as I stare at the river water that quickly turned gray as soon as I started to wash my mane.

Turns out, all the moon dust was carried over, somehow. Eh, should be fine since it's a river. If it isn't, then it's no longer my problem.

Humming a little tune, I trot back to the camp. Feeling slightly happier from being free from my dirty mane.

"Oh." I let out a surprised sound as I feel rain starting to come in.

Hmmm, might be a pretty heavy one.

"Oh shit." I exclaim and start running towards the camp as it suddenly gets heavier.

As I think it couldn't get worse, it gradually gets heavy enough to feel like tiny pebbles were being dropped on me.

Why the fuck does rain just decide to get worse sometimes.

"Moon!" I heard Remedy yell my name.

Turning towards the direction his sound came from, I stumble through some shrubbery and end up at the giant tree.

"Oh, there you are. Get under here!" I followed his advice and took cover under the previously built platform.

Letting out a breath of relief, I slump down and lay against the tree.

"Good thing we built the floor before this happened huh?" I commented.

Eesh.

It's cold.

"Yeah, good thing we were diligent." Remedy replied casually and pulled out a slightly torn bag.

I was starting to shiver from the chill.

"Hey, think we can start a fire?" I ask and turn to Remedy.

"Yes." He said and pulled out a gem from his bag.

"A blessed emerald? Where'd you get it?" I asked him curiously.

"You know this thing?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's a thing only Zebras can do with their own magic." I explain to him. 

"Huh. Didn't know that." He just mumbled and buried it in the ground.

With a hooffull of flame powder, he slammed it down and lit a fire. I inched closer to the fire and started to warm myself.

"Here." He handed me a metal container. "I was making some tea when the rain fell. So I just poured it all into these bottles."

"Heh, you did good, and, thank you." I told him and opened up the bottle, allowing steam to escape.

He flashed a calm smile and sat down at the fire, looking out into the forest.

I take small sips of the tea, finding it much better than the ones I tried brewing. Eh, different body, different taste buds.

A comfortable constant stream of sounds surround us as I just revel in the ambience. Rain like this really makes one sleepy.

I turned towards Remedy, thinking of bringing up a random topic to talk about, but stop as I look at him. He had a desperate look on his face as he kept on staring towards the heavy rain. Sitting in complete silence, his body was tense as he stared forward.

I took a peek at where he was looking, and found nothing out of the ordinary.

Great, he's thinking about something again. What is it though? There shouldn't have been anything too crazy happening during those thousand years. At least, none that I know of.

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked him, earning a flinch from him.

He turned to me with an empty look, staring straight at me. Felt like he was staring through my soul.

"I don't like heavy rain." He answered with a steady voice and looked forward again. "It reminds of me of snow." He added in.

I took a few moments to process what he said, and to figure out how rain could remind him of snow. Well, that one is understandable, I guess, sort of.

*BOOM*

I jumped from surprise as thunder struck through the skies.

As I was shaking, in anticipation, yeah. Nothing else. I heard Remedy laughing his ass off.

"Shaddap!" I turned to him with a frown.

"Su-ghrk, sure." He responded while trying to suppress his chortles.

I kept watching him try and fail to contain his laughter, my frown slowly loosening to annoyed acceptance. In the end, I gave a small smile as I saw him keep on laughing.

Good, I finally succeeded in stopping him from being consumed by his own mind.

"Ok, that's enough." I just state as he finally stops laughing after five minutes.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." He just shrugged his shoulders and laid against the tree. "And, thanks, for that." He finished with a calmer tone.

I stared at him for a few moments, not really thinking much.

"No problem, it's just annoying to have you out of reality all the time." I gave a simple response and took a sip from the warm tea.

He gave a few chuckles and started drinking his own tea.

The ambience enveloped us once again, but was slightly awkward this time.

"So, I thought thunders were kind of your thing." Remedy suddenly spoke up, breaking the ice.

"Nah, that was Luna's, my thing is more, mystical, I suppose? I lean more towards my Nocturnal side." I gave a simple response.

"I see, any reason you're scared of thunders?" He asked softly, trying to keep the conversation going.

I thought of my next words as I thought of the reasons. Well, just one reason.

"When it rained in Nocturnus, for the first time, it really, really, rained." I was a bit nervous as I remembered how it happened.

"For the first time?" He confusedly asked.

"Well, you wouldn't know since it happened more than a millennia ago. Or maybe you would." I muttered the last part to myself. "Like a hundred more actually." I explained.

"Oh? What happened?" 

"I, don't really wanna talk about that part." I answered slightly colder than I intended to.

He turned to me with a worried expression, and gave a simple nod.

I was distracted when more thunders suddenly rang out. Being concerned over my safety, I stared to the sky with my view being blocked by our shelter. 

Being broken out of my trance, I felt something covering me. Looking behind me, I saw the sole sleeping bag being used as a blanket. Then suddenly, I was pulled sideways and felt myself leaning against something both soft and hard. A reassuring wall of fur, backed by a wall of muscles.

With the feeling of being protected, my body slowly loses its tension and I feel myself getting weaker.

"Good night." I heard him say in a hushed tone.

"Thanks, you, too." I muttered as my vision faded to black.
> Bird Cat And Lizard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I let out a delighted sound as I tried the latest batch of tea from Moonshine. 

"You're getting better." I told her.

"Yes." She quietly celebrated. "Still can't get it as good as yours."

"I've made tea for forty years Moon, I just have more experience." I stated and took another sip.

It's actually quite good. With how easy it goes down, and the pleasant aftertaste.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You're old." She said with a playful smirk.

"Right. And I'm only sixty, and still in my prime. You'll be wrinkly soon enough." I told her calmly.

"Bullshit." Ah, I think she got that one from me. "Even after a few centuries, I'll still be as beautiful as today." She finished with a smug expression.

"I doubt that." I told her with an impassive face.

"Fine, I'll bring you back from the grave when the time comes. Just so I can rub it in your face." She said with a challenging grin.

I finally broke and laughed out loud as her grin crumbled into laughter as well.

We soon stopped with a sigh and calmed down.

"Ahhh, we're so bored." She stated the fact.

And she was right. We were so dreadfully bored as we just lazed around under the previously built platform. As much as I would like for us to continue building our tree house, after the heavy rain last night, all our prepared wood became soaked.

I don't know how much it affects buildings, but I do know that wet wood brings out mold. Or at least, I know it's related.

"Try to imagine a fight scene from a book or something." I simply told her.

"What, like a foal?" She asked back.

"No, like a bored foal." 

"The fuck, is the difference?" 

"The bored part."

"Fine." With that, she fully laid on her back and stared upwards, a distracted look on her face.

I simply closed my eyes and started to loosen my body to try and go to sleep. I do need it somewhat after last night.

*Rustle*

Hmm?

I slowly opened my eyes back up and observed our surroundings. Seemingly nothing, but I heard some movement. Focusing on my hearing, the natural sounds of the camp slowly drown out as I focus on everything else. My hooves naturally go towards the axe as I stood up.

"Huh? What're you doing?" I heard Moon ask from behind me.

*Rustle*

My head whips to the source of the sound. Considering the last time this happened, I was more than ready to behead whatever that came in.

I slowly raised the axe, preparing to throw it.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing?" Moon asked with an annoyed tone.

"There's an intruder here." I reply and focus on the sound.

"What?"

I respond by throwing the axe at the sound as it cuts through the air with a swishing sound.

A dull thud rings out, telling me I missed.

"WHAT THE BUCK!?" I heard somepony yell.

Who the hell uses 'buck' as a cuss?

"Dude. I think you just threw that axe at an innocent." Moon stated a bit anxiously as she stood next to me.

"Fuck." I cursed out loud and started walking.

I guess I've had my guard up too much since 'dying'.

"Finally, something to do." Moon jokingly said and followed suit.

"Anypony here!?" I asked out loud while tensing up to defend myself.

Because of my idiocy, whoever is here might attack.

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I-." There was a loud slapping sound and loud groan was heard.

I raised an eyebrow and got closer. Pushing away some shrubbery, I was met with a fearsome glare of a griffin who had, her, talons on her beak. Yes, the skull is feminine shaped. Like most griffins, her fur and feathers were brown except both her head and neck.

"What the? A griffin?" Moon was surprised.

"A griffin cuck." I now felt shittier since I saw the axe inches away from her head.

"A cuck? Seriously?" Moon asked with a slight smirk and an amused tone.

"Yes, that is the correct term." I told her with a bored voice.

She burst into laughter and started to joke around.

Ignoring her, I turned to the griffin, who, admittedly, had a right to have a scared glint in her eyes, as well as hostility. The area around her eyes were wet. Though, Moon doesn't seem to have noticed it.

"So, uhh." I started off a bit nervous. "I, apologize for throwing that axe." I finished it with what I hoped was an apologetic smile.

She stared back with disbelief and distrust clearly evident on her face.

Finally finished laughing her ass off, Moon leaned on my shoulder with her hoof and looked at our visitor.

"So, who are you child?" She asked casually.

"Why should I tell you!" She yelled back with a defensive voice.

"Because I asked?" Moon asked back sarcastically.

The griffin, cuck is too foalish for me to use now, only glared back, now with more anger than fear. That's, somewhat of a better development. Then it turned back to fear.

I let out a weary sigh and push Moon away first, earning a surprised yelp from her.

"Look, I thought you were some wild beast. I'm sorry I threw the axe." I apologized once again and held my hoof to her.

She alternated her gaze between me, my hoof and Moon, clear signs of distrust evident on her face. As seconds pass, Moon got up with a pissed expression and punched me in the shoulder. I barely felt it.

In the end, I let out another sigh and was about to put my hoof down. Surprisingly, I felt a somewhat weak grip around it. I let out a small smile and pulled her to her hooves, talons? Claws? Paws? 

"So." She started with an extremely confused expression. "You're not, her mind controlled servant."

What?

Oh. Right.

"Uh, no. She's too weak to do anything big." I explained with a calm smile.

"Hey!" Moon shouted.

"Talk back when you can chop firewood." I simply told her.

She became pouty after that.

I turned back to the griffin looking at both me and Moon with a bewildered face, absolutely confused by what she was seeing.

"So, kid, what's your name? I'm Natural Remedy, by the way. That one is Moonshine." I asked the griffin child.

"Gilda." She said with a bit of hesitation. "And I'm not a cuck. And that term hasn't been used since like, a hundred years ago." She stated with a slight frown before letting go of my hoof.

Huh, could've sworn that's what that other griffin said.

"Sure." I simply shrugged and reached for the axe.

Gilda watched closely as I simply pulled it back and held it on my shoulder.

"If you'd like, you can join us for lunch back at our camp. As an apology of sorts." I asked carefully.

"You're really not gonna ask for my opinion?" Moon asked, her pout having gotten slightly bigger.

"Are you going to be cooking?" I asked her.

She seemed to think of a counter argument as she raised her hoof. Then seemed to shut it down by lowering it.

That elicited a chuckle out of me and I turned to our visitor.

"So. Will you be joining us?" I asked her.

"Depends, what are you going to make?" 

"Some fish, from a nearby river." That seemed to win her over as I heard a slight growl from her stomach.

"Uh, sure, I'm down for a bite." She tried to act casual.

I gave a nod and turned to walk towards the big tree. The two followed behind, creating a rhythmic thumping sound on the ground. A continuous harmony that was soon interrupted.

"Hmm?" I stopped in my tracks and looked towards the source.

"What is it?" Moon asked.

"Should I be worried?" Gilda asked with hesitation.

I prepared to throw my axe, then I stopped after hearing Gilda's voice. 

"I heard something over there." I simply told them.

"Just don't throw your axe at another innocent creature." Moon said with a teasing voice.

I only rolled my eyes at her antics. We've been, closer, after last night, I suppose. Either that, or the boredom of not doing anything for the whole day was driving her mad enough to open up to me.

"Hello? Anypo-, uh, anycreature here?" I corrected myself.

Not hearing a response, I walked closer as I slowly let my guard up. Suspense filled us as I slowly held the axe in front of me. Using it to push away some bushes, I let out an annoyed sigh at the sight.

"It's just a bunny." I said out loud and turned around.

And the two were no longer there.

Suddenly, something powerful slammed into me from behind me. I felt my body lift off as my vision became a blur for a bit.





BUCK! BUCK! BUCK! BUCK! BUCK! BUCK! BUCK! BUCK! BUCK! BUCK! BUCK!

WHY DID WE HAVE TO ENCOUNTER A, WHATEVER THAT THING WAS.

I should've known something like this was gonna happen when I first saw this weird kinky version of Nightmare Moon. Speaking of her, Moonshine was it, isn't she gonna go back to her friend or something? Ponies like that sort of thing right?

As we both ran through dense trees, I felt parts of myself getting scratched by the low hanging branches and earning a few bruises from bumping into some trees. 

Gah. If only I could get to someplace slightly less dense with trees, I could get the hay outta here!

Soon enough, I heard a masculine scream coming from behind me. Making the mistake of turning my head back, a sudden impact fell on my head. With my senses becoming muddled, I staggered a bit and fell to the ground as the world started spinning around. I saw a green blur crash into the tree I had ran into, and continue further out of my vision.

"Ughhh." Letting out a confused groan, I tried to move my body again.

Suddenly, I was yanked from my position and felt a sharp sting on my cheek.

"Ow!" I yelped and my mind started to wake up.

I felt and heard something loud falling right behind me. Craning my head, I saw the upper half of a tree laying down on where I just was.

"Get up kid! We gotta run from that hydra!" I was violently shaken by the mare.

"Got it! I got it!" I yelled back and grabbed her hooves before standing up.

Immediate regret came as I instantly felt sluggish and almost fell down again. 

"Come on!" I heard her yell with frustration.

We both froze as an axe embedded itself on the trunk of the broken tree. That Natural guy was holding it as he coughed up some blood. He had plenty of small injuries and a large purple are around his chest. Breathing heavily, his eyes slowly traveled to us.

I don't know what it was, but something about his glare was extremely terrifying.

"A little warning would've been nice." He spoke to us with a rough voice.

Before I could think of a response, the ground trembled once again. The, hydra, I think, was walking towards us as its three heads roared to the sky. Its every step sent tremors strong enough to make my body jump on its own.

"Gilda." I heard him call me. "Get the fuck outta here before you die." He told me with a serious voice and walked forwards towards the beast.

"Don't tell me twice." Moonshine spoke up and tried to run.

Natural hooked her back with the axe. "Not you. I need you to act as a distraction." He told her with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Oh, come on!" She yelled with an annoyed face.

Although I was still slightly dizzy, I could tell by their faces. Moonshine barely cares about dying, and Natural is more angry than scared. 

These two are crazy.

"I. Uh. Um. Good luck, I guess." Unable to find the right words, I told them that and started to walk away.

As much as I wanted to sprint, my body wouldn't let me. Flying would be even worse, since I can barely walk straight right now. So I took off at a slow pace.





"Alright Moon, we'll need to either take it down or drive it away before it does too much damage." Remedy told me as he took a running stance.

"Why do we care about the forest damage?" I asked him, more annoyed that I should've been about fighting a hydra.

Seriously. I hate that yellow color of it.

"Because we live here." He responded as if it was the most obvious thing. "Don't cut its head if it isn't necessary." He spoke up before running straight at it.

"Everypony knows that." I replied and ran after him.

How the fuck could I even decapitate it.

Remedy took the lead and climbed up a tree. Taking his signal, I ran up to the hydra and thought of a way to distract it.

"HEY!" I shouted as loud as I could. "WHY DON'T YOU FUCK OFF! YOU SHIT FOR BRAINS!" With that, I stared as the hydra heads slowly turned to me one by one.

OH SHIT!

Cussing in my mind, I rolled away as a head crashed into the spot where I had stood. 

"You blind or something?!" I continued to annoy it.

At my insult, the head that crashed into the ground rose slightly and looked me in the eyes.

While shouting some other profanities, I picked up speed and started running. Weaving through the trees, I heard plenty of the forest being thrown away for the sake it chasing me down.

"REMEDY! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!" I shouted to the sky as I kept running.

I was only met with the stomping of the hydra and its roars. Loud thumping to the ground and a roar of anger.

Wait. That doesn't sound right.

After realising that the roar felt more pained than angry, I turned to look towards the hydra.

"What the fuck!?" I was absolutely shocked as I stared at the hydra with a tree sticking out of its chest.

It roared again at another direction. Following its roar, I saw Remedy picking up another tree with a somewhat sharpened end, creating a makeshift spear, or a stake. With a shout he threw it at the hydra. It smacked it out of the air.

I simply stared for a few seconds. "Holy shit." I muttered in shock.

"REMEDY! FUCK DO I DO!" I yelled the question.

"KEEP DISTRACTING IT! I NEED TO GET A CLEAR SHOT!" 

"ALRIGHT!" 

With my task at hoof, I took off towards the hydra, who was currently roaring and smashing its heads at the spot where Remedy was.

"HEY! WHY DON'T YOU GO SUCK YOUR MOMMA'S TITS! YOU BIG BABY! OR ARE YOU TOO MUCH OF A BITCH TO FACE HER!" Shouting another insult, I ran past the hydra who looked towards me once more.

Wait, that's only one head. 

Realizing my mistake, I looked back and saw two of its heads roaring at the one in the middle. The middle one roared back with clear agitation in its voice. 

As I was starting to get slightly nervous, I saw another tree flying through the air and stick itself into the hydra. All three heads roared in pain as it started to chase after Remedy once again.

I ran after it once again. Fuck, I'm tired.





Oh. Fuck.

I silently cursed in my mind as I stared at the jaw that was coming towards me. 

After about half an hour of constant back and forth, I was finally caught as I was too tired from all that running.

The hydra started to fully focus Remedy halfway through, thus allowing itself to other dodge or block most of the tree spears Remedy threw at it. There were seven trees stuck in its chest in total.

Just as I let my guard down, I got caught by surprise. Staring at the slimy insides of its mouth, all I felt was an utter sense of disgust. 

"FU-!" My scream was cut off as I was swallowed.

Gross. Gross. This is disgusting. 

I could only complain in my mind as I struggled to get a grip on anything. 

"YOU SHOULD WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT WITH SOAP!" I yelled out as I struggled to keep myself from puking at the pungent smell.

I feel so dirty right now.

"REMEDY! GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" I yelled in hopes of him finding out a way.

I felt myself going down through its neck. The walls felt so slimy.

"Eep!" I let out a surprised sound as an axe head stopped about a breath away from my face.

I watched as the axe was slowly pulled back outside, and two hooves came through the tear in the hydra throat. Pulling hard, he ripped it open as I finally got some fresh air.

I stared in slight awe as he stood there with the axe in his mouth, panting heavily whilst covered in blood. The sun shone behind him like he was some sort of angel. 

"What the fuck?" I asked absentmindedly. "LOOK OUT!" I yelled as I saw another head rushing right in.

Without even a moment to think, I was thrown to the air by him as I screamed on the way down. Panicking, I unfurled my wings to at least glide on the way down. They creaked in pain as I hadn't used them for a while. 

A groan escaped my mouth as I saw the ground fast approaching.

"Ok. How did Luna use her wings again?" Going off of memory, I tried to imitate flapping my wings the only way I knew how. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." Cussing my heart out, I started panicking more and more as the ground got ever so closer.

Right as I was about to hit the ground, I felt a rather weak impact as I closed my eyes.

"What the hay!?" I heard a rather rough voice speak out in shock.

I opened my eyes and looked at the pony holding me. 

"Oh! The gay one!" I recognized the rainbow maned pegasus. "Thank you, so much." I hugged her tightly as we got down.

"Uhhhhh." She seemed to be extremely confused by something.

Letting go of her, I stood on the ground with a stagger. I never want to fly again.

"Get away from her, Rainbow!" I heard another familiar voice. 

Just as I was about to speak up, I was hit by something as I flew away. Did the hydra catch up that fast?

Slamming into a tree, I stopped as I slowly down. Groaning heavily, I no longer had the energy to stand up. 

"No! Don't shoot her. Shoot the bucking hydra." I heard GIlda yell out. 





After hearing Gilda's yell, I turned my attention towards her. Although I was still mad about her being a jerk towards Pinkie, I still gathered the girls and went to the Everfree when she said that there were two ponies fighting a hydra.

As fake as it sounded, her injuries and overall tone told me that she wasn't lying.

"Do you even know who-"

My question was interrupted as I stared at the hydra that had fallen down. It had trees sticking out of its chest, one of its heads were cut off. It was still alive, just wounded badly.

As me and the girls, plus Gulda, all stared in shock, I saw something moving in its chest.

After confirming that the hydra was no longer moving, I started walking closer. I took a peek at Nightmare Moon to see her knocked down.

The others followed me and we stood in front of the spot where something was moving. It was like something was trying to get out.

"Eugh, gross." Rainbow complained.

To be honest, it did look rather gross.

"Should we do something about this?" Rarity asked with hesitation.

"Well, I can try a cutting spell." I explained and moved closer to aim my horn at it.

Only to be cut off as I saw a broken stick pierce through the skin and keep going. Aiming straight at me.

"TWILIGHT!" I heard my friends worried shout.

I involuntarily shut my eyes, expecting to feel a sharp pain of sorts. Only to feel nothing but a tap on my nose. Carefully peeking out, I saw the stick, barely touching my snout.

"Whew. Thank Celestia." I almost collapsed down as I saw the stick being dropped by a red hoof.

Looking towards the base, I saw another hoof sticking out as both hooves grip the hole that was torn through. I felt queezy as I stared at the blood that kept flowing out of the wound. 

"Wait. Somepony's in there!" I had the sudden realization as I thought of opening the wound.

Then I stopped as I saw the tear get larger, and a loud yell as a red pony becomes visible. Heavily panting with blood flowing down through his body, he simply steps out with a fierce glare that sent shivers down my spine. His irises were a light green, and his pupils  were a deep green. 

I heard somepony puke behind me as I had my sights locked on the new pony. He slowly took a look around as I felt like there was a certain aura around him that terrified me. Something cold, and cruel. Something bloodthirsty.

"MOON!" He suddenly shouted, waking me up from my stupor.

"WHAT!" I heard Nightmare Moon yell in a tone I never expected from her.

"FUCK YOU FOR NOT WARNING ME!" He yelled back and promptly face planted to the ground. 

Soon enough, I heard him snoring.
> Some New Faces
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well. Shit.

I was on the defensive as I looked at the six ponies glaring at me. Sort of. I'm pretty sure they're terrified of me right now. Just hope they don't blast me with the fucking rainbow again.

"What are you doing here!" That gay one asked loud.

Okay, She's not scared at all. 

"Ask the asshole when he wakes up." I replied back with a blank expression.

Their faces, except the pink one, took a small look of confusion. Then it quickly disappeared as, uh, what's her name again? She's the, one with the crown, the purple one. She stepped forwards as she stared at me with a glare. Which, honestly barely got a reaction out of me. She's too small to intimidate me.

"Don't try to change the subject with a new word. Tell us how you're here!" She yelled out the demand.

Apart from my head hurting like hell because of the concussion, I think that purple one hit me with a spell now that I think about it. I was extremely confused at the mention of a new word.

"You mean 'asshole'?" I asked back.

"Hey! She said no changing subjects, mister." The pink somehow closed he distance in a split second and glared at me before joining the others.

How the fuck?

I could've sworn she was right there. 

"First of all, I'm a Miss. Secondly, I don't know. But I'm pretty sure it's got something to do with the barrier." I just gave a simple answer.

The one with the hat got a confused look as she whispered something to purple smart, who also looked like she couldn't understand something.

"How do we know you're not lying?!" The gay one got in my face whilst flying as she pointed an accusatory hoof at me.

"Can you not yell so loud? I still have a headache." I replied back with a slight frown.

These ones are starting to get annoying.

"Answer the question!" She yelled again and got even closer.

I took a step back to regain my personal space. She, still in the air, followed my every step.

"Do you wanna kiss or something!" I shouted out.

Seriously. She's starting to creep me out with how much she disrespected my personal space.

"Wha! Ew. No!" She spewed out as she flew a few steps back with a blush.

"Ow." I gave a flat response at her actions.

"Um. You should drink a lot of water, and have lots of rest after a concussion." That yellow pegasus, who I hadn't somehow noticed till now, spoke up. 

Very softly, I almost didn't catch it.

"Thank you." I said and gave a smile. 

She seems pretty nice.

She flinched and hid behind that marshmallow looking one before her head peeked out. "You're welcome."

Why is she so terrified? Oh right, the teeth.

"Fluttershy! Don't give advice to the enemy!" That marshmallow one told Fluttershy.

"How can we be sure ya'll ain't lying?" That one with the hat spoke up without a hint of fear.

"The same as always. You don't." I gave an answer and tried to move towards Remedy.

Ugh, he's covered in blood, which is also quickly hardening on his fur. That reminds me.

I took a quick sniff of myself, which I quickly regretted as I almost let out breakfast on the ground. 

Fuck. I was still smothered in that disgusting spit of the hydra.

"I'm gonna take a wash." I told those six and started walking towards the river.

"Not so fast." The purple one spoke and put a barrier on me.

"Ugh." I groaned. "What the fuck do you want now, Purple Smart?" I asked, irritated.

Her eyes narrowed in response as a small frown adorned her face.

I glared back while controlling my bloodlust. I could be in deep shit with Remedy if he finds out I accidentally hurt a bunch of foals. Actually, how old are they? Twenty something is still a foal right?

"Look, I'm trapped in this part of the fucking forest. If you wanna pull me out, you're welcome to try." I told them in a bored tone, a bit tired from running all around the forest.

Maybe I should've tried dying at some point to, reset my body at some point.

"Alright. Can one of you at least try to wake up Remedy? Preferably the nice one." I said with a slight frown.

Taking a peek at Remedy once again, I started to ignore the six girls, I saw Gilda towering over Remedy with the bigger bucket. She poured water over him as he jolted up.

"Oh, good. He's awake." I commented and tried to move forwards. 

Only to be stopped by the, dark pink? barrier. 

I let out an audible groan as I sat on the floor.

"Let me out!" I yelled out.

"Not until Princess Celestia gets here." The purple one talked back.

Okay, this bitch is seriously getting on my nerves. She's not allowing me to wash myself, nor is she allowing me to check up on somepony. 

"Seriously? She's gonna take hours to get here!" I complained and laid down on the ground.

Maybe I should just head to sleep. Let Remedy take care of this.

"Good afternoon." I heard Remedy say as he walked up here.

He looks like he's about to pass out.

"Fucking finally. Remedy, tell that purple bitch to let me out of here so I can wash up." I quickly told him.

He turned to me with a raise of an eyebrow.

"Fuck made you so mad?" He asked as he walked closer, Gilda next to him.

"Why do you guys keep saying 'fuck'?" Gilda cut in.

"It's just a habit." Remedy answered and turned towards the six. "So, why don't we talk this over some lunch?" He offered with a gentle smile. 

Though, that didn't look as nice as it should've with all the blood covering him.

A few seconds passed as the six stared with some hesitation.

"Alright. We can stay for lunch." The purple one accepted for all of them as we started to move.

The bubble surrounding me was dragged on the ground.

"Now can you let me out?" I asked her.

"Not a chance." She replied without looking back.

"You can let her out. She's harmless." Remedy spoke up.

"You ass." I told him.

"We had this conversation before. You still can't chop firewood." He replied back.

"Tch." I clicked my tongue as the barrier fell down.

"Finally. I'm going to the river to wash myself." I told them and left.

"Hold on, two of us are going to go with you to make sure you don't run." Purple bitch spoke up.

"UGH." I loudly groaned. "Fine, Gilda, and Fluttershy, I think." I made my decision.

"What! Why me? And her?" Gilda asked with a small frown.

"Because you two are the only ones I like." I gave a simple reply and grabbed Gilda, who let out a surprised squawk at my sudden hold on her.

"No way. I'm coming with." That gay one spoke up.

She may have saved me before, but I just don't like her attitude. Especially since she kept violating my personal space. She stopped, but that doesn't mean that I have to like her.

"Fuck no." I refused.

"It's fine, her strongest attack is to run into you, and fall down before dealing damage." Remedy insulted my strength once again.

"Fuck you Remedy." I told him.

He ignored me.

"Yeah, she is pretty weak." I heard Gilda say as she just walked out of my grip.

Traitor.

"Alright, but I have a condition." Purple one finally accepted.

"What?" I asked.

Her horn lit up for a few seconds, then stopped after a flash. Her cutiemark now glowed on my chest. That purple creep better take this spell off before leaving.





"So." The pegasus that looks like a lesbian spoke up as she approached me. "Are you and her sleeping together?" She asked with a joking tone.

"Rainbow!" The orange farmer, and the white unicorn admonished Rainbow.

My mind blanked as I heard her question. A single mental image came to my mind before it got incinerated in the deepest parts of my brain.

"Hell no!" I replied, a bit louder than intended. "What the fuck gave you that idea?!" I asked loudly.

"The choker?" Rainbow said in a questioning tone.

Right. That thing. 

"That, has nothing to do with me." I gave a reply.

"Your eyes aren't shining green anymore. Can you tell me about that?" The purple unicorn spoke excitedly with a notebook that she got from somewhere.

"My eyes were what!" I practically yelled the question.

Sometimes, ponies under the influence of bloodlust may mistake your eyes to be shining. But I've never heard of somepony mistaking it for green of all colors. That priest definitely said it was red.

"Yeah. They were glowing like whoooosh, and they gave me goosebumps." A pink blur said while shivering at the last part.

I simply stared forward, my muddled brain trying to catch up with everything.

"Alright, I don't know what you're talking about." I simply told them and turned towards the direction of the camp. "Camp's this way."

"Do you happen to have a house around here, or at the very least a tent?" The white unicorn asked in a posh accent.

"Nope. Been here for about two weeks now. Not enough time to build a house." I replied without looking back.

I hope she's not one of those fancy types who whine about everything. I don't have a problem with nobles, or fancy ponies. But they can be so annoying sometimes.

"Ya'll got a roof to sleep under?" The farmer asked me.

"I built the foundations of a treehouse. Works fine as a roof for now." I gave a simple answer.

"Well, if'n ya need help, ya can ask for help building the thing." She offered.

"Hmm. You guys are, awfully trusting for just meeting me. Especially after how you reacted to Moon." I spoke as I turned to them with a small glare.

Ponies don't usually just help like this. They feel suspiciously nice. Not too much, but still higher than normal.

"Well, Ah can tell. Ya'll ain't lying." She replied with a simple smile.

Pretty confident in that ability huh. 

"You must be pretty close with Nightmare Moon to call her 'Moon'." The white unicorn asked.

Ugh. I can't keep calling them 'white one', 'blue pegasus' or something like that.

"What're your names? I'm Natural Remedy by the way." I introduced myself.

Introductions came soon as we finally made it to the camp. The second one, where I moved everything to. 

"Here we are, my humble abode in the wilderness." I joked a bit as I grabbed a pot of water to boil.

"Wow. You built this in only two weeks?" Twilight asked with awe in her voice.

"Yeah, well, two days, actually, but I can say that it turned out good."

"No kiddin'. This is sturdy." Applejack complimented as she took a few steps on the platform.

"I improvised." I told them and moved to start a fire.

With a few sticks and leaves, I pile it into a little pyramid before grabbing matches. 

"I can help with that." Twilight spoke and her horn lit up with a pinkish color. 

With a whoosh, the sticks were lit on fire. 

"Cool." I commented without thinking before gathering a few bigger logs and building another layer of wood for the fire to burn.

"Now that we have some time while you're preparing lunch, can I ask you some other questions?" She asked with a hopeful look.

She seems to be the scholarly type.

"Sure. Just, nothing too personal." I gave my consent.

"Understood." She nodded with serious expression before a smile appeared. "First question. Are you using a strength amplifying spell of some kind? Because you tearing the hydra's skin with your bare hooves and a stick seems unbelievable." She asked, her eyes practically shining in curiosity.

"I don't believe so." I answered. "It felt like I could do it, so I did. And it worked. It's like, knowing you can do a flip." I explained calmly as I peeled a few potatoes using the knife.

I threw away the peels into the fire.

"So, something like intuition?" 

"Exactly like intuition." I said and brought out a three big pots.

Why did Celestia bring me so much cookware?

Did she also bring me any other vegetables?

I was a bit confused as I finally realized just how much stuff she brought. Seven different pots, two pans, two cutting boards, a spatula and ladle. Two sets of tea cups and a bunch of plates and bowls. They absolutely would've broken down by now. Some kind of magic was probably cast on them.

I searched through the bag and brought out some carrots. Two cloves of garlic, one big onion, mushrooms, bell peppers. What the fuck? 

"Are you looking for something?" Twilight interrupted me as she stopped writing down on her notebook. 

"No, well, yes, but I'm more confused about this bag." I replied and dug deeper into it.

I put my full leg in there, but I couldn't feel the bottom. Baffled, I just brought out a bunch of ingredients to use. Some broccoli, salt, black pepper, a bit of cheese and one lemon.

"Wow, that's a lot of stuff for that bag." Pinkie Pie, was it, commented and took a cupcake from inside of it.

I blankly stared as I tried to understand the situation. Didn't I have this bag like five days ago.

"Oh. It's got space expansion, and a preservation spell." Twilight spoke as she examined the bag.

She seemed to recognize something before shaking the thought away.

"Alright, second question. Were your parents both earth ponies?"

A risky question, but her curiosity is genuine I suppose. 

"Mom was a pegasus, and dad was a unicorn." I replied and started peeling the carrots.

That's the best answer she gets, since I don't remember that far.

"Really?" She was confused by that detail.

"Mom didn't cheat. I can tell you that with confidence." I added with a small smirk.

"Oh no! I didn't meant to-!" She frantically tried to apologize.

"It's fine kid. I was just joking." I chuckled as I put the vegetables in a pot.

"Oh, alright then." She gave a sheepish chuckle. "Next question! Do you have a reason to stay in the Everfree forest. It's quite a dangerous place." 

"You didn't notice the barrier?" I asked and pulled out the cutting board.

"The barrier?" She asked back.

"Yeah? You didn't notice? Pretty much everypony else who entered noticed it." I explained and started cutting up some of the ingredients.

"I. Didn't. Is it dangerous?" 

"Not really, no. But it seems to choose random ponies to imprison. Like Moon." 

"That reminds me. You still haven't answered the question." Rarity suddenly interrupted our conversation.

I looked at the platform, where the rest of the girls, minus Moon, one 'Fluttershy' and Gilda, were lazing on top of it. 

"What question?" I asked.

"Are you close with Nightmare Moon?" She asked back with a curious glint in her eye and a tiny smirk. 

She must be the type to enjoy gossips. 

"First of all, her name is Moonshine." I simply stated. "And, sure. We're closer than when we first met at least." She seemed to be satisfied with that answer as she simply nodded and turned to the others.

"Moonshine?" Twilight curiously asked.

"Yeah. It's a weird name, but she liked it, I guess. So it just stuck." I explained as I finally finished dicing up everything. 

I put equal parts vegetables in those three pots and filled them up with water before hanging them on the hooks above the fire. After sprinkling some salt and pepper on it, I closed all three lids and sat down with a basket full of fish.

"So, wait, you're stuck here?" Twilight suddenly asked. "Since you said that, Moonshine was stuck here." She said with a bit of uncertainty.

"Yeah." I replied without being too bothered. "Been easier than it should've been actually. I've had outside help, from a friend." I gutted open a fish, one that's the size of one my legs.

"That's fortunate. To have a friend who's thoughtful enough to travel inside the Everfree to help you." She commented as she almost puked from seeing me remove the intestines of the fish and throw it into the fire. "Who are they? Do they live in Ponyville?" She asked curiously while she forced her eyes to divert from the bloodied fish.

At least she understands that some of us here are carnivores.

"Probably not." I answered with a chuckle. "How deep am I in the forest anyway?" 

"Not that deep. About a ten minute walk actually." 

"Oh. That's good then."

"Alright, next question." She pipped up and she turned a page on her notebook. "What are some of those words you keep saying?" She asked curiously.

"Which ones?" I carefully asked as I finished deboning the sixth fish. 

Should be enough for two.

"The ones you seem to randomly use. Like 'fuck', 'ass', and 'hell'. Those ones." She said those with such an innocent face that it irked me a tiny bit.

"Uh. Hmm." I struggled a bit as I thought of how I should explain those to her. She seems too innocent. "Ass is simple. It just means butt." I explained a bit hesitantly. She blushed a tiny bit at that. "Hell is just another word for Tartarus." Her reaction wasn't much at that. "And finally, fuck is just a cuss."

"Is it like, buck?" She asked slightly nervously.

Buck?

"Buck? You mean the hind kick?" I asked.

"Well, yeah. But it does have two other meanings." She explained as her words suddenly felt like a teacher's. "The first one is, pretty much what you said. Just a cuss. And the second one is, um." She stopped explaining as a flush appeared across her face.

"You mean sex?" I asked.

She almost did a spit take as she coughed a few times before nodding. 

"Well, it's not really different then." I just explained.

"Mhm." She nodded and scribbled in her notebook.

"Are you kidding me!? That was so cool!" I heard a yell and looked at the platform again.

Rainbow was in the air with an excited smile on her face as she seemed to arguing with the three others. Well, two others since Pinkie Pie seems to be just peacefully enjoying a snack, whilst talking. I have zero clue how that pony even functions.

Rainbow's eyes met mine for a split seconds before she looked away and sat back down, away from my sight. Huh, did I somehow manage to offend her?

"Anyways, last question!" Twilight flipped to another page. "This one is more like a personal interest." I raised an eyebrow at that. "You seem really experienced with lots of things, especially the way you handled that knife. Can I ask how you got so good at it?" She asked with genuine interest.

My mind came to a halt as I heard her question. My face must've blanked since I reflexively hid my emotions. A small bout of silence passed, and I knew I should say something.

"It's," I thought of the next words. I wanted to lie, but I wouldn't let myself. "It's just, experience. Lots of, experience in life. I'm quite old you know." I managed to bring my mood back up and said a joke.

"I see." She said with a slightly serious expression. Then her eyes widened as she stammered a bit. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean that you're, old or, it wasn't my intention to." She started to struggle to come up with an excuse.

As I stared a bit, a few chuckles escaped my mouth before I started to laugh it out. She seems to be quite a dork, an absolute bookworm. 

Oh yeah. That reminds me of something.

"Hey." After calming down, I called her out. "Did you just move from Canterlot by any chance?" 

"Yeah, I just moved to Ponyville last week. How did you know?" 

"Eh, just call it intuition." So she's Celestia's student.

Pretty coincidental, meeting her here. And with that knowledge, I can see why Moon doesn't really like these girls. 

She narrowed her eyes at me for a few seconds before shrugging and turned her attention to the fire. A few seconds pass as I start to make out whatever the other four were talking about up there.

Something about suits, and a party. 

"How old are you anyway?" Twilight suddenly asked.

"I'm exactly fifty this year." I answered.

"Really?!" She asked, definitely shocked.

"Yeah?" I just gave an answer.

"You don't look like you've barely gone past your thirties though!" Rarity suddenly cut in as her eyes had a frantic look. "Tell me your secret!" She practically yelled the demand.

"I don't know. Workout?" 

"He ain't lyin'" Applejack commented on the side with a joking tone.

"If you're so old, how are you so strong?" Rainbow asked as she suddenly got closer.

"Workout?" I gave the same answer with a slightly nervous smile.

I guess mares care a lot about their looks. Except for Rainbow Dash, apparently.
> River Talk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hmm. Those three sure are taking quite the while to come back." Twilight spoke up as she put down a steaming cup.

"Yeah, lunch will be ready soon. Wonder what's taking them so long." Remedy replied as he flipped the sizzling fish on the pan.

"Should we go check on them?" Rarity asked.

"If we do, one of you girls will have to go." Remedy told them.

"Why?" Rainbow asked as she stretched whilst getting up.

Remedy took a second on how he should say it. "I'm a male." He simply stated.

"Oh, right." Rainbow admitted casually and took off.

"Wait! Rainbow!" Applejack yelled after her.

Rainbow didn't hear her as she flew off into the distance.

"Pretty sure that's like, the opposite direction." Remedy commented with a bemused smile.

"It is." Twilight admitted.

Applejack let out a tired sigh as she stood up. "I'll go." She declared and started to walk towards the river.





"You are so adorable!" Moonshine said with glee as she held Fluttershy, who had a frozen smile and nervous eyes, in her grasp.

Moon held her in a tight hug whilst they were submerged in the warm waters of the river.

"You might wanna let her before you make her faint." Gilda suggested with an amused smile as she was drying off with a big towel.

"She doesn't want to. Right Flutters?" Moon asked with a confident smile, completely ignoring the expression of the terrified pegasus in her grasp.

Fluttershy simply looked upwards out of reflex, only to shrink down almost instantly at the sight of her smile. More specifically, the sharp teeth Moon had. With even more fear filling her, she silently prayed for somepony to save her as she vigorously nodded.

"See?" Moon asked with a prideful smirk.

Gilda playfully rolled her eyes as she hung the towel on a low hanging tree branch. Only to spot seven others on the same branch.

"Uh, why do you have so many towels?" Gilda asked.

"Ask Remedy. Pretty much everything on the camp is his. Don't know why he has so many towels though, he doesn't even use them. I just hang them there since I only use it here anyway." Moon replied as she regretfully let go of Fluttershy to get out.

Fluttershy, slightly relieved from no longer having a carnivorous goddess holding her, just carefully took a towel and started to dry herself.

"Honestly, he's a bit of a weird guy." Moon added in. 

"What do you mean?" Gilda asked without thinking much.

"Well. He's got his, quirks, to say the least." Moon just casually moved on to draping Fluttershy with the biggest towel.

Gilda took a moment to think of her impression of Remedy. "I guess he's violent?" She guessed.

"Eh, sorta. He was pretty jumpy when he threw that axe at you." Moon explained with a casual tone.

Fluttershy just silently accepted her fate as she held a still face while being dried off. Gilda took a silent pity for her, but she would never admit it.

"Right." Gilda replied with a nervous smile.

"Hey, really, I'm not lying. He was basically brooding before we met you." Moon continued.

"Brooding?" Gilda asked.

"Yeah. From what I can tell, he's got a juicy story to tell. Just, he doesn't want to tell it." Moon said in a slightly complaining tone. "Done." She exclaimed and sat down Fluttershy in front of her.

"Juicy story huh?" Gilda muttered. "Who the heck is he to be having something like that in this age." Gilda blurted out.

"Apparently somepony strange enough to know me, ehh, Nightmare Moon, personally. Even after a thousand years." Moon just casually replied as she started running a comb through Fluttershy's mane. "Don't move too much Flutters." 

Fluttershy let out a tiny eep as she fully froze up. Gilda looked shocked at the new info.

"Wait wait wait. Personally?" She asked, bewildered.

"Yeah? It's a bit muddy, but I can still remember his glare." Moon replied as she shivered a bit at the last part. "He was terrifying. But anyways, yeah. That look definitely held recognition, and deep, and I mean 'deep', hatred. Who knows how I ended up as close to him as I am." Moon explained with a slightly troubled frown. "Do you want braids?" Moon asked with a slightly cheery tone.

"Um, yes." Fluttershy finally managed to squeak out a reply.

Moon's expression visibly brightened up at her reply.

"That sounds, incredibly suspicious. You do realize that?" Gilda asked incredulously.

"Uhh." Moon froze for a second as her hooves worked on Fluttershy's mane. "Yes?" Her reply sounded more like a question.

Gilda simply stared for a few seconds, processing the weight of her next words. "You're an idiot." She simply stated.

"Hey, screw you too." Moon responded with a slight frown.

"No. Seriously." Gilda spoke with a slightly exasperated expression. "He's somepony that apparently knows a pony from a thousand years ago. Isn't an immortal alicorn. He also heals in a fight, as an earth pony. Doesn't that ring a few bells?" Gilda asked with an irritated face.

"Okay, first of all. He doesn't heal in combat. I don't know how much of this I should be telling you, but I can assure you that Remedy isn't some immortal god hiding in the forest." She explained slowly whilst she grabbed a few flowers growing nearby. "Secondly, yeah, he's suspicious as fuck. But I'm a literal goddess that made a deal with another goddess, and got ourselves trapped on the moon for a millennia. So I can't judge." She finished explaining.

"You-, but, what?" Gilda couldn't fully comprehend her reasoning.

"Also, when did he heal?" Moon asked as she stuck a few daisies in Fluttershy's mane.

"During the hydra thing. Pretty sure his chest was broken or something, since there was a huge purple bruise on it." Gilda replied.

"Huh. Anyways, what do you think?" Moon shrugged it off as she presented Fluttershy.

"Oh!" Gilda was actually surprised to see her new style. "You practice often?" She asked.

Moon gave Fluttershy a small hoof held mirror, who in turn, had a pleasantly surprised expression.

"Used to." Moon responded with a slightly somber tone. "But that doesn't matter! We should be heading for lunch right now anyways." Moon exclaimed as she picked up Fluttershy and placed her on her hooves.

"Um, thank you." Fluttershy uttered out with a small smile.

"No problem." Moon replied happily and took the lead.