“So you where distracting them so your friends can get to safety?” asked Kastiell as he continued his walk through the everfree.

“Indeed, I struck them with my bamboo staff to garner their attention, then ran in the opposite direction my friends were fleeing in.” explained Zecora in a slightly pained tone.

“That was very brave of you,” admitted Kastiell. “It’s lucky you came across barghests, otherwise that might not have worked.”

Zecora smiled at being called brave, she had barely been allowed a moment to think before she had sprung into action. She was however confused about why Kastiell was so knowledgeable about these so called barghest. “I am curious though Kastiell, how is it you are familiar with these beasts? I have never even heard of a creature that resembled those barghests.”

“They are not uncommon where I am from, they are usually larger than those, not to mention stronger.”

A shocked look came upon Zecora’s face. ‘Larger? They were already larger than the average manticore, what were these monstrosities like in Kastiell’s homeland?’ “Where are you from friend? I for one have never heard of a human before.”

“Where I come from is unimportant, I can’t go back there, and there are no other humans besides me.”

“You say you are the last of your kind!?” Zecora shouted, to which Kastiell gave a small nod. Zecora was unsure what to say to this creature that stood before her, the last of its race and doomed to loneliness she could not even imagine. For even though she was a long way from home, and even other zebras, she knew they would always be there when she returned home, to welcome her back with open hooves. “I’m sorry,” was all she could muster to say, and she mentally berated herself for it.

“You’ve nothing to apologize for,” Kastiell said to the downtrodden zebra, glad that mentioning he was the only human made her forget the question of his origins.

After a long and painfully silent hour of walking hastily through the forest, Kastiell finally came upon what he assumed was Zecora’s home. “I believe we have arrived.”

Zecora turned herself to the side to see if they had indeed arrived. “Yes, this is indeed my abode. However why the chimney is smoking I do not know.”

Kastiell said nothing as he simply approached the door, and being careful not to drop Zecora, opened it and stepped inside. The interior was decorated much as he expected it would, as he had some experience with zebras. The frightened EEEP sound that came from the back room however was not expected. Kastiell paid it no mind as he laid Zecora down on some manner of couch and retrieved a bowl of water and a rag to clean her wound.

“Fluttershy, is that you my friend?”

“Y-yes,” came the reply, a barely legible whisper.

“There is no need to fear this stranger, for he was the one who rescued me from danger.” Rhymed Zecora in a playful tone, however wincing slightly as the cold wet rag came in contact with her wounds. “I assure you he won’t bite,” she said through her slightly pained smile.

The timid pony slowly poked its head out of the curtain that separated the back room, slowly approaching her friend Zecora and the strange creature that was tending to her injuries. She mustered up all her bravery, and made to enter the living area in one leap.

“I might,” said Kastiell in a loud whisper.

“EEEEP!” was all that was heard as the pony retreated back into the curtain.

Zecora gave Kastiell a soft whack on the arm for teasing her friend and gave him a look that simply screamed ‘why?’ “It is alright Fluttershy, he is just teasing you. After all, why would he have carried me back to my home to treat my wounds if he meant me harm?”

After those words it had finally registered in Fluttershy’s mind that her friend was hurt. She came bounding out of the safety of Zecora’s bedroom and rushed straight to her hurt friend’s side. “Oh dear! I’m sorry I hadn’t realized you were hurt Zecora,” she said as she inspected the wounds. “Oh my,” she whispered, “these look terrible, let me get some bandages and I’ll be sure to patch you up right away.” Fluttershy flew off to where medical supplies were kept in the hut.

“Thank you dear Fluttershy,” said Zecora softly chuckling, “although I am grateful that Kastiell brought me here to treat my wounds, he is really quite bad at it.” Zecora said snickering lightly.

Kastiell tossed the damp rag at Zecora’s face, to which she only continued her laughter. “I should have left you to the barghests.” Zecora only continued her snickering, knowing from the playful gesture beforehand that he was only joking; even if his stoic expression and tone failed to show it.

Fluttershy returned with the medical supplies and went right to work on properly treating Zecora’s injuries. After she had finished she retrieved a bowl of the stew she had been making before Kastiell and Zecora had come in, and after hoofing it over to the injured zebra, she finally gave herself a moment to truly look at this odd creature. He reminded her a bit of Iron Will, being bipedal and having those dull claws on his forelegs. Though his posture was much straighter than the Minotaur, and he also had no coat. It did however have a shimmering raven black mane, and very fair skin. A small blush came to her cheeks as she thought Kastiell to be somewhat beautiful in a strange way. At least until she noticed how much blood he was covered in and rushed to his side. “Oh no! You didn’t tell me you were also hurt! Where are your injuries? With this much blood they must be awful!”

Kastiell was a bit stumped as to how he should handle this situation, but before he could ponder further to formulate a decent response, his blatant nature took the initiative. “None of it is mine, I assure you.” With that, another EEEP was heard as the Pegasus retreated back to the zebra’s side and hid behind her mane, as if it was an impenetrable shield. Kastiell made for the exit, “I’m going to get myself cleaned up,” he said as he left.

“I-if it wasn’t his, where did the blood come from?” Said Fluttershy in her usual whispered tone.

“It came from one of the creatures that chased me, a barghest he said it was called. Watching him do battle was a haunting sight indeed, and I can say with confidence that he is dangerous. Though I cannot say for sure whether he poses a threat to us or not. He seems fairly civilized, but when he fought with that monster, I saw an unmistakable madness in his eyes. Honestly I do not believe he saved me out of kindness or good will, but merely on a whim. I wish I could be sure, but it is impossible to get a read on him.” Explained Zecora to the wary Pegasus.

As Fluttershy thought on what she had been told by Zecora, a group of ponies walked into the hut with downtrodden expressions on their faces.

“We searched for hours, but we couldn’t find Zeco-“the words of the purple unicorn who was leading the group died in her throat as she looked upon the bandaged zebra.

“Hello my friends, it is good to see you all safe and sound.” Zecora said to the group with a smile.

“Zecora!” The group shouted as they assaulted their friend with concerned hugs and nuzzles; relieved that she was both alive and safe.

-=Transition=-

After building a small fire at the side of a lake, Kastiell retrieved the barghest heart from the void of his coat, and with a few twigs, positioned it near the fire. When it was in place he approached the lake and dived in without thinking twice. ‘I wonder if my interaction was adequate,’ he pondered to himself while submerged in the crystalline water. ‘I tried portraying a bit more “emotion” as I was instructed to do in the living world. This place is different, here I can have an actual life, or at least that’s what she told me.’ Minutes later he broke the surface of the water and swam back to the shore where his small fire was. He climbed out of the water, it dripped off his coat and hair, but that hardly mattered since it was but a minor and temporary inconvenience. He pulled the heart off of the twigs that held it in place, and enveloped it in fire for a few seconds before he made the flame dissipate, making sure not to burn it. Then he took his first bite of food in the surface world. It wasn’t a life changing experience by any means, it was a typical meal for him back home, though it was a bit tenderer then he remembered.

After finishing his meal, he began his walk back to Zecora’s hut. As he walked steam began to rise from his body as the water vaporized, and he began to spot bits of light seeping through the canopy. “Sunrise,” he spoke aloud to the surrounding nature. “Perhaps Fluttershy lives in a town near the forest; Zecora’s hut didn’t seem large enough to comfortably accommodate them both. Even if it is, she doesn’t really seem capable of living here. I suppose I should ask her, this may be a chance to make an actual life for myself.” He walked on in silence having finished his monologue, thinking about the implications of moving into a pony village. If they accepted him, life could be quiet and peaceful; the simplicity of working some small job to maintain his home and other needs like food and clothing. It would be so-so- “boring,” he said to himself, never stopping his trek. ‘I may have to reconsider this pony lifestyle business,’ he thought to himself as he came to the door. ‘Not enough’ -a devilish grin appeared on his face- ‘blood.’ With that final thought, he opened the door and entered the hut.

Author's Note

Yo all, been bit over a week since I last updated. Reason mostly being a mixture between laziness and not exactly knowing what to do with the main 6 here. I decided to procrastinate and leave meeting the others for next chapter. Don't have much to say this time around so I guess I'll just give you the usual, feel free to ask me any questions whether in the comments or in a private message. Also, if you're going to criticize do so in an intelligent and civilized manner. Till next time, farewell.