A New Perspective

Chapters

Ch.1
Ch. 2
Ch. 3
Ch. 4
Ch. 5
Ch. 6
Ch. 8
Ch. 9
Ch. 10
Ch. 11
Ch. 12
Ch. 13
Ch.14
Ch. 15
Ch. 16
Ch. 17
Ch. 7
Ch. 18

Ch.1

A New Perspective Ch. 1

Most days, a pony wakes up thinking "What is today going to bring?" or "Did I remember my homework assignment?"

Today, I woke up thinking "Where the hay am I?"

Cracking my eyes open, I could feel the heat of the sun shining down on my coat, I could hear the birds chirping, and I could sense that I was not where I was when I went to bed.

Pulling myself up to my hooves, I looked down, just to be sure that they were the same as when I went to bed. As I stared down, I saw a strange emblem burned into the ground all around me. And that was just the start of the weirdness.

In addition to the splitting headache I had, I also had no clue who I was or how I got here. Classic amnesia. Perfect.

I trotted over to a nearby watering hole, just to be sure I was still me. Looking in the water, I was thankful that nothing had changed, at least as far as I knew. Wings, check. Slate gray coat, check. Brown mane and tail with crimson at the roots, check. My... oh hay, what do they call it... that tattoo on my flank... missing? Odd.

As I was busy gaping at my own reflection, I heard a bush rustling off to my side. At first I dismissed it as some sort of squirrel, but then noticed a blur out of the corner of my eye run over to another patch of shrubbery, a blur far too big to be a squirrel. I decided to go and check it out, hoping that whatever it was didn't want to eat me. That would definitely put a damper on my day.

I slowly advanced toward the bush, tucking my wings in as I did so. Didn't want to seem threatening, right? As I cleared away the brush, I heard a small whimpering sound at my hooves. I looked down, and there was another pegasus cowering at my feet. She was a little smaller than me, with a light yellow coat, a long, flowing, light pink mane and tail, and three butterflies adorning her flanks. I decided that I may as well attempt to make conversation, maybe find out what was going on.

"Uh, hello?"

With a quick yelp, she bolted, flying away as fast as her wings could carry her. I decided that now would be as good a time as any to see if I still knew how to use my wings. I unfolded them, and with a single flap, I was suspended above the ground. Now I know what they mean about "slipping the surly bonds of earth." I quickly angled my wings and propelled myself forward in hot pursuit of the yellow pegasus. Despite my initial misgivings, it actually came much more naturally than I thought it would, and I was soon gaining a lot of ground on her.

Even though she had a head start, her wings weren't as strong as mine, and I quickly caught up to her. I grabbed her by her midsection, doing my best not to hurt her, and tried to force her down with as little effort as possible. Easier said than done. We both started spiraling toward the ground, her screaming, and me attempting to drown her out and take the brunt of the impact against the very solid ground that was rushing up to meet us.

Let's just say that I got the most of it. I landed flat on my back, with her face down against my stomach. However, I felt one of my wings bend at an odd angle, and heard a sickening POP as it fractured at the joint. It was all I could do to not scream in pain, if only to not give her reason to try and break free again. I quickly bit back the pain in my shoulder, flipped myself over on top of her, and pinned her front legs to the ground with my hooves.

"What was that for?" I asked rather tersely, the pain in my shoulder reducing to a dull throbbing, "All I did was say hi."

However, getting her to talk was going to prove to be as hard as pulling teeth. All she did was squirm and wriggle, trying to get out from underneath me.

"Look, if I scared you, I'm sorry," I offered, trying to curry her favor, "It's just that I'm kind of new here in... wherever here is. Now, I'm going to let you up, but you have to promise me that you aren't going to scream or try to run off again, okay?"

With a quick nod of her head, I gradually lifted my hooves up off of her and stepped back, tucking my uninjured wing back to my side, the other hanging loosely.

She slowly got to her hooves, somewhat shakily, and we proceeded just to measure each other up. She stared at me, I stared at her, neither of us speaking for about a minute. She had wonderful teal eyes, like the color of the ocean, and she seemed to be a little less put off by me. I finally decided to break the tension.

"So, what's your name?"

And she withdrew into herself just as quickly as she had come out of her shell, trying to cover her face with her mane.

"My name is *mumble mumble*," she said, backing away.

"I'm sorry, come again?"

"My name is *mumble*."

"Pardon?"

"My name is," and in a voice just barely above a whisper I could make out, "Fluttershy."

"Well, Fluttershy, would it be all right if I asked you some questions, because I am thoroughly lost." She muttered something that sounded like an affirmative, so I proceeded.

"Well, first off, could you tell me where I am? I went to bed last night in my home, and I woke up this morning in that meadow."

She seemed a little more confident now that I had scaled back the crazy, chasing her down and tackling her part of my persona a bit, and she answered in an audible tone of voice.

"You're in the country of Equestria, right outside of the town of Ponyville."

Equestria... that name sounds familiar, but I couldn't quite place my hoof on it. Maybe some of the ponies in that town could help explain what's going on.

"Well, would you mind taking me there? I might be able to find somepony who can explain what is going on."

"Sure. Do you think you can fly?"

"I managed to catch up to you, didn't I? And that was no small feat." I tried to take off with just my one wing, but all I succeeded in doing was flipping myself over and landing right smack-dab on my bad wing, sending another shock of pain lancing through it. I hissed in pain.

Fluttershy immediately rushed over to my side, cradling my wounded wing in her hooves. Now this was a lot better than her running away from me.

"Oh dear, your wing! You can't go anywhere in this condition." Wow. This was a LOT better than her running from me.

"Fluttershy," I responded, "I think I can walk to Ponyville without injuring my wing any more than it is."

"No, no, no! I need to get you a splint and some bandages. Wait here, I'll be right back."

And she flew off, with nary a backward glance or tip of the hat.

Well, at least I knew I had a friend here. Small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.

================

Fluttershy returned about a half-hour later with saddle bags that were laden with medical supplies. She landed gently next to me, and quickly set to work on my wing.

As she worked, I went on with my questions. "So, uh, where do you live?"

"Oh, nowhere special, just in a little cottage in Ponyville, right on the edge of the Everfree Forest."

The idea of a forest intrigued me, so I pursued that. "Are there any stories about the forest?"

"Many, and none of them good. There are so many strange creatures and monsters that live there, it would be crazy to go in alone."

"Oh." Note to self, stay out of the forest.

"So, what's your name?" she asked.

My name. My name... what is my name? Stupid amnesia.

"Um, I... I don't quite remember. My mind's all fuzzy. You think of one."

"Well... how does Evan sound? It was my daddy's name."

Evan... Evan... it does have a nice ring to it. It would work, at least for now.

"Okay, I'm going to tighten the splint now. This may hurt a little."

"What do you mean by a li-AAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Okay, that was definitely not a little.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you all right? I probably should have numbed the area first."

"Yeah... that might've helped," I strained out through gritted teeth. Regaining my composure, I added, "Still though, it's better than nothing. Thank you so much."

"It was no trouble at all. I'd do it for anypony."

"Well, all things considered, it was still incredibly kind of you, just dropping everything to tend to my wing. If you could direct me to a local inn or hostel, I could set up there for the night."

"Well, if you'd like, you could stay at my place for a while. It will give you some time to rest up and get your bearings together."

Well, this was unprecedented. By accepting her offer, I was pretty much saying that I would be staying here for quite some time, but I didn't want to seem rude to the poor thing. That, and it would be good to have a place where I could get a hot and a cot. A free hot and a cot, more importantly.

"Sure, why not?" I replied

"Oh, this is going to be just wonderful!" she said as we started walking down the dirt road. She sounded genuinely enthused, something that I didn't think possible judging by her previous personality. "You'll love it at my place. It's very quiet and peaceful, and I know you're just going to love all of my little animal friends."

"What kinds of animals do you have?"

"Oh, all kinds. I have mice and birds and ferrets and..."

And that's the way the conversation went, with me asking a few questions, and her giving answers. I learned a lot of stuff about her, and she said a lot about her friends who I was very anxious to meet. Before we knew it, it was already evening, and we had arrived at her cottage.

It really was as beautiful as she made it out to be. It had a small river running through the garden, various bird houses and animal homes, and a sod roof that gave it a very natural feel.

I was going to be very happy here.

We went inside, and I was astounded. The architecture of the home blended seamlessly with the tree it was built in. It was a quaint little place, with a small kitchen, a well-furnished living room, and a staircase that led upstairs to her room.

"I know that you must be tired after your long day," Fluttershy said, "so I'm going to let you get some sleep. I'm really sorry, but I don't have a second bedroom, so you'll have to sleep on the sofa in the living room. I hope it's not a burden."

I settled onto the sofa, and I immediately felt sleepy. The light green couch was just my size, and it would make for a perfect bed.

"It's no trouble at all. You should probably get some shut-eye too. You've had just as busy a day as I have, what with meeting me and all." I was forced to stifle a yawn, and lowered my head as my eyelids started to droop.

"All right," she said as she blew out the candles. "Have a good night's sleep, Evan. See you in the morning."

"Mm-hmm," I barely muttered out as my eyes finally closed. The last thing Fluttershy did before she went upstairs was pull a blanket up over me. She gave me a quick nuzzle on the head and trotted upstairs.

Ya know, I could get used to this.

===============

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of pots and pans clanking in the kitchen, and a sweet aroma wafting through the air. My growling stomach told me one thing: it was time for breakfast.

I creakily got up off of the sofa, and stretched my legs as well as my one good wing. The other one seemed to hurt less, but I wasn't ready to tempt fate just yet.

"Fluttershy, are you in there?" I called out in the general direction of the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said as she poked her head around the corner, "did I wake you? I tried to be as quiet as possible."

"Nah, I was about ready to wake up anyway. So, what's cookin' good lookin'?" I said as I walked into the kitchen.

I saw her blush a little at the comment, as she said, "Oh, just a little of this and that. Do you like daffodil and daisy sandwiches?"

I don't think I had ever eaten a flower before, but I decided to humor her. "Uh, yeah, it's one of my favorites."

"Oh, good. We have that, as well as some celery soup. I hope you like it."

As I looked into the pot simmering on the small wood stove, a heavenly scent wafted up my nose, making my stomach growl with hunger.

"This will be perfect," I quipped as she took the pot off the eye and started ladleing it into some bowls, which she then put on a plate along with the sandwiches.

We took the food out around back, where she had a little tea table set up near her chicken coop. As we set our food down, she asked, "So, um, do you know how you got here?"

"Wow, you don't beat around the bush, do you?"

"Well," she said, "since you're going to be staying here, I just thought I'd get to know you a little better."

"Well, that makes sense. And to be perfectly honest, no. All I remember is going to bed in my home, and waking up in that meadow. Then I met you, broke my wing, and we came here. That's about as far back as I can remember. However, when I first woke up, I noticed some weird symbols burned into the ground beneath me. Do you have any idea what might have caused that?"

"No, but if it was just a regular teleportation spell that got you here, it shouldn't have left a mark."

"Hmmmm," I sighed thoughtfully. "Well, let's just forget about it for now. Don't want the food getting cold, right?"

We sat down and I took a bite out of my sandwich. I'm not sure if whatever brought me here had changed my taste buds, but this was probably the best tasting sandwich I had ever eaten. It probably helped that I was absolutely starving, considering I hadn't eaten yesterday. I started tearing into the food, while Fluttershy was content to eat at a slower pace than me. She was halfway finished by the time I was picking bits of daisy out of my teeth (metaphorically speaking).

"So," I asked, "what exactly are our plans for the day?"

"Well, I was planning on taking you into town just to show you around, then having you meet my friends, since you seemed so interested yesterday. That is, if you want to."

"Well, since I'm gonna be here for a while, I may as well learn the lay of the land. Where should we start?"

As she finished her last bits of sandwich, and took in her last drops of the soup, she said "Well, if it's all right with you, I was going to take you to see Rarity. She's a really good friend, and if you want, she could make you some day wear, if that's your thing."

"Well, it would be nice to try some clothes on, even though I was never much of a shopaholic myself. Shall we go?"

And with that, we both got up and walked down the dirt path and over the tiny bridge that led to the main road into Ponyville.

"By the way, that was the best meal I've ever eaten."

"Oh, it was nothing," she said softly, blushing slightly, "I really am not the best cook in Ponyville. If you want some really good food, you need to see Applejack. She can do just about anything with an apple."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

===============

We got to Rarity's house at around 12:30, and it is a gem. According to Fluttershy, Rarity runs her boutique out of her home, so I expected it to be a little messy, but it was spotlessly clean.

The little bell tinkled as we walked in, and everywhere I looked, there where various examples of Rarity's handiwork. There were suits, vests, shoes, and dresses of every size and shape imaginable. This is what I pictured a tailor's version of heaven to look like.

"Rarity," Fluttershy called out, "are you home?"

"Just one moment," I heard from the upstairs, accompanied by some frantic hoof steps, "I'll be with you in just a second, dear."

After some more scuffling around upstairs, a white unicorn mare came down the steps, her flanks adorned with three diamonds. I am not going to lie, she was gorgeous. Her royal purple mane and tail were perfectly groomed, with every hair falling into place. Her eyeshadow and mascara were perfect, and her coat was immaculately clean. She immediately trotted over to Fluttershy, completely ignoring me.

"Fluttershy, darling, it's so good to see you. Is it time for our spa day already? If I recall, we have that every Tuesday, and it's only Monday."

"Oh no, I'm not here for that. I actually wanted you to meet somepony."

"Oh, well where are they? You know how much I love meeting new ponies."

"He's right over there," said Fluttershy, gesturing towards me.

"Oh, he's a HE, now is he?" said Rarity, turning to face me. "Well, I hope he's a good stallioOOOOWWAAAHHH!!!"

Her reaction to me was not as I had anticipated. I jumped back at her startled scream, wondering what I had done wrong. However, I never got a chance to ask.

"Darling, whatever happened to you?! You look like a wreck!"

"Oh, if you mean my wing, it was just a little misund-"

"No, not your wing, I mean your MANE," she said, circling me. "It is so... dingy. And your coat is covered in little stains, oh this simply will not do! You go right upstairs and take yourself a good bath, and then we will see what we can do with that mane of yours."

"But-" I pleaded feebly.

"No buts!" At that she wrapped me in what I can assume was magic, levitated me into the air, and dragged me upstairs. As I snuck one last peek downstairs, I noticed Fluttershy, sitting on her haunches, barely containing a giggle at the scene she had just witnessed.

Frankly, I could barely keep from laughing myself.

===============

Rarity and I finally came back downstairs after what had amounted to an hour and a half long bath, in which she poured all sorts of shampoos and conditioners into my mane and tail, scrubbed my coat to a fair-thee-well, and dried me off with an industrial strength blowdryer.

"Well, Evan, at least now you're clean," said Rarity, as we walked back into the boutique area, "but we simply must do something with your mane. You have such good hair, but you just let it grow wild, like you don't even brush it in the morning."

"You are sounding exactly like my mother right now."

"As well I should. She obviously had some sense of fashion, but it really is unfortunate that it didn't rub off on you. If you'll just step into the back, we can try out some manestyles, and maybe get you some casual day wear. Oh, you would look simply FABULOUS in one of my custom vests. Not to sound rude, but your coat is just so... dull. I've never been a fan of gray coats myself, but some ponies make it look good. You, however, definitely need some color to liven it up. I will simply not let this crime against fashion go unpunished!"

"Whatever you say. You're the fashionista here, you lead the charge."

She took me into the back room, which was a combination salon and fitting room, and we found Fluttershy looking at some of the new dresses Rarity was designing. She turned as we entered the room, and could only snicker when she saw me.

"What? What are you laughing at?"

"Um, Rarity," she said, trying to hold back her mirth, "I think you may have had the hair dryer on a little high."

"What do you mean," I piped up, "that she had the hair dryer on 'a little high?'" I walked over to a nearby mirror, and couldn't help but laugh. My mane was literally standing a foot out from my head, and was all tangled and knotted. As if to add insult to injury, it was also swept straight backward from my face. I looked like I just walked out of a wind tunnel.

"Oh dear," quipped Rarity. "I knew that something seemed a little off. Well, at least we have a good measure on the length of your hair. This should make it easier to pick out some styles."

"Now, let's see what I have to work with here," she said as she started straightening out my mane. I noticed that she put on a pair of red, horn-rimmed reading glasses before she got to work, so I could only assume she used them when she really need to focus on something.

After another hour, and several mane styles later, Rarity seemed simply flabbergasted as to what she could possibly do with my mane.

"Your mane is the absolute hardest one I've ever had to work with. It seems as if it is purposefully trying to irritate me."

"Trust me, I have the exact same feelings about it that you do. Plus, you don't have to live with it."

"That is true, but I simply don't know what to do. I've tried parting it, gelling it, sweeping it back, even braiding it, but nothing seems to fit you. It's like your hair..."

"...Defies the laws of physics?" I quipped.

"Exactly! I just simply have no clue at all as to what to do. Your hair frankly looked it's best when you first walked in... wait a minute... AHA!

"What? What are you thinking?" I was praying that it didn't involve another hour of waiting around while she did different things with my mane.

"Your hair looked better when you first walked in, but I was too focused on how dirty it was to notice. I'll just style your hair so that it looks like it did!"

"Well, that should only take about five seconds. I never really do anything with my hair to begin with." At that, she simply brushed my hair a little to give it its natural look, then stepped back to admire it.

"Oh, this style suits you to a T! It really shows off your eyes, and gives you an air of adventure and mystique. Now we just need to find you a good vest, and you'll be ready to hit the town! Was there anything specific you had in mind?"

"Not really, just let me see what you have in stock."

"Certainly!" We walked over to the nearest rack of vests, and I started perusing.

"So, what brings you to our little town?" asked Rarity. "Are you visiting family, or are you here on business?"

Gulp. I was hoping that the topic wouldn't come up, because for right now, I wanted to keep the truth about my origins between me and Fluttershy. As I was busy fumbling for an answer, Fluttershy supplied one.

"Oh, um, he's a pen pal of mine from Fillydelphia. He's going to be staying with me for a while, because he's thinking of moving to Ponyville."

Whew. Nice save there, Fluttershy.

"Well, I hope that you choose to stay in our little burg. We have a very tight-knit community here, but I'm sure that you'll fit right in."

"Yeah, definitely," I said, desperately trying to steer the conversation off of me. "So, what do you think about this one?" I asked pulling out a red vest with black trim.

"Oh, that is simply much too dour and gloomy for somepony with your upbeat personality. Besides, those are more fall colors, and you definitely look like a spring or summer."

"Well, what would you pick out?"

And thus began another hour long foray into deciding which colors I look best in, what style of vest I would like, and other forms of fashion jargon that may as well have been a foreign language. All Fluttershy could do was look on in amusement as I tried on outfit after outfit, my annoyance growing with each passing moment.

Not that I was ungrateful or anything. In fact, I liked Rarity, especially since she dropped what she was doing just to tend to me. She may not have been my first choice for the pony I would want to be trapped on a desert island with, but I liked her all the same.

Ch. 2

A New Perspective Ch. 2

We left Rarity's place at half past 3, and my stomach was growling, having only eaten earlier that morning. Fortunately, my stomach growls were muffled by my new green button down vest with a light brown trim, which she says really brings out my eyes. I took her word for it, if only so that I could take off and get something to eat with Fluttershy.

"So, um, what would you like to do next?" she asked, as if on cue.

"Well, I was getting kinda hungry. Being in that boutique really takes it out of you."

"Don't I know it. I once had to model for Rarity."

"Oh, really? What was it for?"

"Well, this really famous fashion photographer was in town, and Rarity needed somepony to model for her. Naturally, she turned to me, because she said I had 'elegance and poise'. However, I'm uncomfortable in front of the camera, but I was too afraid to tell her, thinking that I would hurt her feelings."

"Ya know, I'd like to hear that story someday. Sounds like it was a bit hard on both of you."

"Oh, it was. You see, she was jealous of all of the attention that I was getting, but SHE didn't want to tell me for the same reasons."

"Wow, that sounds like quite the conundr-"

I never got to finish that sentence, because of what felt like about 80 pounds crashing into my side at 150 miles per hour. Thankfully, whatever it was didn't hit my injured wing, or I would've been really mad. Instead, I was just the slightest bit miffed, ready to chew out whatever had done that.

I was still attempting to scramble to my hooves when a concerned voice piped up.

"Oh man, I'm SO sorry! Are you alright?"

I looked up, and standing over me was a sky blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, looking at me with concern, but barely masking a sort of mirth at the whole situation. Fluttershy was with her, looking on with genuine concern.

"I'll be fine, but may I ask what that was for?"

"Just a new trick I was trying out."

"Let me guess, it didn't go as planned?" I said, getting to my hooves, being careful of my wing.

"Pretty much. Name's Rainbow Dash. You might have heard of me."

Thinking back to what Fluttershy had told me, I could only assume that this was THE Rainbow Dash. The one who had defended her from bullies in Cloudsdale, as well as being one of the best athletes in Equestria.

"Only from what Fluttershy has told me. I'm kinda new in town." Yeah, about a day and a half new.

"Really? Well, much as I'd love to stay and chat, I have to go practice. The Wonderbolts are holding open tryouts next week, and I'm gonna show 'em what I'm made of!"

"Well, best of luck to you. See ya around."

"Catch ya later!" she said, flying away without a backwards glance.

As soon as she was out of range, I said to Fluttershy, "They ought to call her Rainbow Crash."

"Trust me, they have."

My rumbling stomach brought me back to my original topic of conversation. "So, we were going to get something to eat?"

"Oh, right. Well, we could go down to Sugarcube Corner. They aren't exactly typical lunch fare, but they have some great pastries. Plus, if we're lucky, you could meet Pinkie Pie."

"Well, lead the way."

===============

Oh, I met Pinkie Pie alright. Fluttershy and I walked into Sugarcube Corner, only with me to be met at the door with another tackling. I'm starting to think that this might be divine judgement for how I... intercepted Fluttershy when we first met.

Anyway, I was just waltzing on in when another 80 pounds came hurtling towards me, only this particular 80 pounds was bright pink, and extremely happy to see me.

"HI!" said the overly energetic pink pony as she clambered off of me.

"Uh, hi," I responded feebly as I got up. "Care to explain why you tackled me before I got two hooves in the door?"

"Well, I was busy getting some cupcakes ready for a party that we're catering, when I looked out the window and saw Fluttershy walking up with somepony I'd never met before, and if I hadn't met you, then that means you're new, and if you're new, then you must not have many friends, and that made me SO sad, so I decided that I was just going to give you a great big welcome hug!"

Wow. That many emotions in about 30 seconds. And I thought I was energetic at times.

"So, I take it that you're Pinkie Pie?"

"Yep! The Patron Pony of Parties! What's your name?"

"I'm Evan. I just moved here from Fillydelphia, and was told that this would be the place to get some good sweets."

"Only the best in Ponyville! We have everything, from candies and cookies to cakes and muffins, with everything in between!"

Just the thought of all that made my stomach practically scream in protest.

"Well, I think I'll take one of each. I am absolutely famished."

"Right this way," Pinkie offered, holding up a hoof in the direction of the door, which still hung ajar.

The three of us walked into what I can only describe as nirvana. Everywhere I looked, there was some sort of sweet or confectionery, with no vegetable or other health food to offend the eye.

"Feel free to look around," piped up Pinkie, "I just need to get these cupcakes to the wagon out back, and then I'll be with you in a jiffy!"

Pinkie gathered up the cupcakes and bounced to the back room. I mean, she was literally bouncing, as if she had so much stored up energy that she couldn't simply walk.

"So, is she ALWAYS like that?" I asked, turning to Fluttershy.

"Pretty much. Don't feel bad if she seems a little over the top at times, you'll get used to her."

"I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

"There, all taken care of," said Pinkie as she walked back into the room. "Now, what can I get you?"

"I really have a hankering for some of that cake over there," I said, motioning to the chocolate cake on the rounder.

"Wow, you have a great eye for snacks! That's one of our most popular items. Let me cut all three of us a slice! Since your new, it's on the house!"

With that, Pinkie picked up the nearby cake server and started getting three big slices out onto some nearby plates.

As she brought them over, Fluttershy asked, "So, who's party are you catering?"

"Oh, did I forget to tell you? I'm such a forgety-forgetterson! Anyway, it's Twilight Sparkle's birthday!"

"Oh dear, that was TODAY? I completely forgot! Oh no, now I have to go all the way home and get her present."

"I'll go get it," I said. Whoever said that chivalry is dead obviously never met me.

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You fixed up my wing and gave me a place to stay. It's the least I could do."

"Well... if you really want to. It's in the drawer of my nightstand, in a dark blue box with a purple ribbon."

"Dark blue box, purple ribbon," I said, eating the last of my cake. "Got it. Where's the party going to be?"

"At the library," interjected Pinkie. "It's only a couple of blocks away from here, in a big tree. You can't miss it."

"Cool. I'll meet you there. Don't have too much fun without me!"

And with that, we went our separate ways, Fluttershy and Pinkie to the party, and me back to the cottage.

=================

The trip back to the cottage wasn't too bad, although I nearly got lost trying to navigate through the back roads to the cottage. Nevertheless, I finally made it at around 4:30, and set to finding that box.

However, this was going to prove more difficult than I thought. I searched every nook and cranny of that nightstand, but couldn't find the blue box. Undaunted, I set to searching the rest of the room, leaving no stone unturned.

Just when I started to resign myself to the fact that it wasn't there, I heard a gentle thrumming sound coming from under the bed. Poking my head down there, I saw the box, with a peculiar blue glow coming out from it.

"Hmmmm," If there is one thing that I've learned in my life, it's that when something is glowing and making noise, it would be best to just leave it alone. However, I didn't want to upset Fluttershy, or lie to her and say that I hadn't found it, so I grabbed it out from under there.

I was turning to leave when I got the strangest feeling. I had this inexorable desire to open the box, to take a peek at what was inside. At first, I drove these thoughts from my head. This was Twilight's gift, after all, and I had no right.

However, the harder I tried to force these thoughts out, the harder they pushed to make me. I finally snapped under the strain, decided what the heck, and opened it.

Inside was a small necklace, with just enough chain to fit over my neck. It glowed with a soft blue light, pulsating every now and then. The pendant had an odd shape, with several concentric circles, each connected to the other through very thin lines. In between the lines of the outer two circles were six shapes, but I couldn't decipher their meaning. There was also a seventh in the middle, whose nature also eluded me.

The shape seemed oddly familiar, like a memory long since past. I knew I had seen it before, but I couldn't quite place my hoof on it. Rather than try and riddle it out now, I resolved to simply give it to Twilight, then maybe ask her if I could see it sometime.

Okay, so it's not the most bulletproof plan I've ever come up with, but it was still a plan. That, plus it got me to the party on time, and I didn't want to make Fluttershy think I ditched out on it. If Fluttershy told me one thing about Pinkie's parties, it's that you didn't miss them for the world.

===============

"Hey, Fluttershy," asked Rainbow Dash, "Where's your friend, uh, what's-his-face..."

"Evan?" she responded curtly.

"Yeah, him. You said he was on his way, but that was about an hour ago. You don't think he skipped out, do you?"

"Oh goodness, no. He just needed to pick up my gift for Twilight from the cottage, and then he was going to come over."

"Right, just as long as you know. It'd be a real shame to miss out on this rockin' party, especially since he's new to town."

"Aww, and I thought you didn't care," said a new voice. Mine, to be specific.

Fluttershy let out a yelp and fell flat on her back, legs stuck straight into the air. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but snicker a little at her friends reaction, then turned in greeting.

"Well, glad to see you could make it."

"Glad I could," I said, taking the present off of my back and placing it on the gift table. "I wouldn't want to miss this for anything. Is she gonna be okay?" I asked, motioning towards Fluttershy, still stiff as a board.

"Oh, she'll be fine, she's always been a little jumpy. C'mon, let me introduce you to the birthday girl. Fluttershy's been saying good things about you, so Twi's real excited to meet you."

We walked upstairs to Twilight's room, and saw that the party was in full swing. The music was blasting, everypony was chatting or dancing, and everypony looked like they were having a good time. Pinkie and Rarity were there, just chatting it up, and there were even a few ponies I had seen around town while I was out and about with Fluttershy.

We walked over to the far side of the room, over by the refreshments table, where a purple unicorn and an orange mare in a wide-brimmed Stetson were having a lively conversation.

"Oo-ee, this sure is one swingin' party you got goin' on here."

"Oh, don't thank me, Applejack. It was really Pinkie that threw all this together. When I told her about it last week, she insisted that I let her plan it. Knowing how good she is with parties, what else could I say but yes?"

"Well, either way, it sure is a hoot! I think this is the best party she's put together. Oh hey," said Applejack, turning towards us, "here comes Rainbow."

"Ooh, and that must be Fluttershy's friend that she's said so much about," said the purple unicorn who I assumed was Twilight Sparkle, motioning towards me.

"Hey guys, guess who finally showed up?," said Rainbow Dash.

"Well howdy!" said the orange mare, giving my hoof a vigorous shaking. "Name's Applejack. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come find me. I know that you and I are gonna be thick as thieves, if what Fluttershy's said is any indication."

"Nice to meet you too," I said, turning to Twilight and stretching my aching leg out. "And you must be the birthday girl."

"That's me. Fluttershy has said so many good things about you, it's nice to finally meet."

"Same here. From what she's told me, you're new to town as well."

"Well, not that new, but I grew up in Canterlot. Still, everypony here was welcoming, and I'm sure that you'll fit in just as well as I have."

I was going to respond, but Pinkie decided to kick the party up a notch before I could.

"Well, everypony," she announced from on top of a table, "do you know what time it is?"

"Time for you to get a watch?" I shouted back, which drew some chuckles from the crowd.

"No, silly, it's time to sing 'Happy Birthday' to the bestest pony in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle! And after that, it'll be time to open presents! Everypony ready? A-one, a-two, a-one, two, three, four..."

After a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday", we all troopped downstairs
to where the present table was set up, Twilight heading up the pack. There were more gifts set up there than I think were at my last three birthdays, if I could even remember. They really don't skimp out on celebrations here, apparently.

"Ooh, ooh, open mine first!" said Pinkie Pie, practically boiling over with anticipation. "It's the big one on top!"

Twilight levitated the gift down, saying, "Knowing how seriously you take parties, this should be great."

She carefully undid the ribbon, peeled back the wrapping, opened it, and was met with a face full of confetti. She was so startled that she backed straight into Pinkie, and they both fell into a big giggling pile.

"Wow," said Twilight, composing herself, "that was quite the surprise."

"Oh, that's not all of it. Look inside!"

"Okay," said Twilight hesitantly. She walked back over to the present and started opening it again. Everypony drew closer, but not to close lest they be met with more ballistic party favors. Fluttershy, having recovered when everypony came downstairs, was all but hiding under the table.

However, instead of screams of shock, there were oohs and aahs coming from the crowd. I drew up next to Twilight to get a peek, and my jaw practically hit the floor.

Inside was a hoof drawn painting of Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack, all in one big, happy, smiling group. The artistry on it was truly sublime. This is something that you could probably hang in a museum.

"Oh, wow Pinkie, this is incredible! How did you do it?"

"Oh it wasn't me, silly! I had it commissioned a few weeks ago from an artist in town. He was more than happy to do it, and he even threw in a frame for free!"

"Thank you so much, Pinkie! I'm going to hang it up in my room right now!" She quickly grabbed up the frame and the painting in her magic and ran upstairs, smiling big as life.

"Pinkie always knows how to pick a gift that will make a pony feel just right," said Fluttershy, a small smile creeping onto her face as she turned to me. "I remember for my last birthday, she got me some beautiful orchids, complete with a hoof made vase. I still use that vase for flowers that my little animal friends bring me."

Well, I know who to have plan my next party.

===============

The evening grew into night, and Twilight was still going through her presents, taking time to thank everypony for remembering her, and for their wonderful gifts. There had been some really good ones, including home made apple cider from Applejack, a home spa kit from Rarity, and a copy of the Equestria Encyclopedia from Rainbow Dash.

She had just gotten through thanking a gray pegasus pony with oddly crossed eyes for a box of muffins when she noticed the box I had retrieved from Fluttershy's place, which also happened to be the last one. She quickly undid the ribbon (which I had made sure to put back into place) and levitated the necklace out.

"Wow Fluttershy, this necklace is amazing! Where did you get it?"

"A jewelry vendor during the last Summer Sun Celebration. He was more than eager to sell it, and I got it for a huge discount. He said that it had magical ties, or so he thought, and I thought you could take a chance to study it."

"Well, you know how much I love magical artifacts," she said, putting the necklace back into the box. "I'll be sure to check it out when I have the time."

Pinkie seemed to take notice that the present table was depleted, and so leaped up onto the table with another announcement.

"Alright everypony, now that that's taken care of, let's get this party STARTED! Vinyl Scratch, if you please," she said gesturing to the DJ pony behind the turntables that had been set up during the present opening. Scratch loaded up the tables, started busting out the tunes, and everypony got pumping.

While Twilight had been opening her presents, Pinkie and Applejack had taken to laying out a movable dance floor, which was now jammed to bursting with ponies rocking to the beats. They had also gotten some local stage unicorns to provide special effects and lighting.

"Is this a great party or what?" I shouted over the din. Fluttershy and I had opted to stay by the presents table, mainly because of her fragile nerves.

"It's... nice," she said hesitantly, obviously disquieted by all of the noise and lights. The poor thing was practically hiding in her mane.

I almost felt bad for what I was about to do. But 'almost' and 'did' are two very different words, now aren't they?

"Yeah, it is really nice," I said, while discreetly wrapping one hoof around Fluttershy's waist. I proceeded to lift her off her hooves and carried her out onto the dance floor. Everypony made room for us in the middle, and I started twirling her around like a rag doll. At first her face showed abject terror at being in front of so many ponies, but she eventually let it pass and started enjoying herself.

We were tearing up the dance floor, her with flowing, graceful moves, and me with improv breakdancing, all the while being careful of my wing. Everypony was cheering us on, and I even heard an especially loud "YEE-HAW!" coming from Applejack. I had never had so much fun, and frankly, I don't think she had either.

We eventually wound up back in each others hooves, and looking down, I noticed how beautiful she really was. Her mane, her coat, and especially her eyes, deep and encompassing, like the endless ocean. She looked up at me, and I think that we really connected there, out on that dance floor in front of half the town. Not necessarily the most romantic of spots, but still good.

"Sorry about that," I said softly, still gazing deep into those turquoise orbs, "but I couldn't let everypony else have all the fun,"

"Don't be. Let's just enjoy ourselves," she replied with a wink.

"Fine by me," I said, turning to the crowd, staring excitedly at us. "Well, don't be shy. Let's PARTY!" the crowd went nuts, and coalesced back into the amorphous blob of dancing ponies, with Fluttershy and I stuck smack dab in the middle.

And even though there were dozens of ponies there to distract us, along with the thumping music and the dancing lights, all we could focus on was each other.

I couldn't have come up with a better way to end my first day in Ponyville even if I had tried.

===============

The party ended at around 11:00, and by the end even Pinkie looked worn out, choosing to walk home instead of her usual bounce. I had opted to stay behind and help clean up, as well as help Vinyl Scratch get her turntables loaded up into the waiting wagon. Fluttershy stayed to wait for me, so we didn't leave until about 11:30.

"Thanks again for the help," said Twilight as we were leaving. "Feel free to drop by anytime."

"See ya around," I called back, "and happy birthday!"

"That was the best birthday party I can remember," I said to Fluttershy, attempting to strike up conversation. She had been a bit quieter than usual after I dragged her out onto the dance floor, and I was hoping she hadn't taken it the wrong way.

"It was a lovely time. It really went off without a hitch. By the way, thanks."

"For what?" I can already see where this is going.

"For getting Twilight's gift, for coming to the party, for everything. You are a really good friend, and I couldn't ask for a better one."

"It was nothing, really. Just think of it as repayment for the fact that you took me in at the drop of a hat. And took care of my wing. And took me around town. And..."

"I think I get the picture," she replied with a giggle.

"Do you really consider us friends?" I asked, getting the conversation back on track. "I mean, we only met yesterday."

"Well, sure. You're a nice stallion, and everypony else seems to like you well enough. Still though, if there is anything I can do to help you, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Well, since I'll probably be staying here a while, it would be nice if I could maybe get a job, just so I didn't have to rely on you for everything."

"Well, maybe when your wing heals up, you could get a job on the weather patrol for the town."

"Weather patrol?"

"It's the team of pegasus ponies that helps maintain the weather in town. They do everything from clearing away clouds to scheduling rainstorms. And judging by how fast you caught up to me when we first met, you would probably be a shoo-in."

"Wait, let me get this straight. There is a team of pegasi that actually controls the WEATHER?"

"Of course. Didn't they have something like that where you come from?"

"Nah, we just let nature do what it pleases," I lied. I honestly had no clue. "That, plus we didn't have a way to control it like you do."

"Wow. It must be really weird, not knowing what the weather will be like in the morning."

"Well, it adds a little bit of excitement to the day."

"I would love to hear about it someday. It sounds really interesting where you come from."

"Maybe another time. In the meantime, we need to get home. It's probably nearly midnight, and I don't know about you, but I am flat tired."

"Me too," said Fluttershy with a yawn. She leaned her head against my shoulder, and we continued down the dirt road to her house. Her weight was comforting, and I let my mind wander. Maybe Equestria isn't so bad, I thought. There were plenty of good ponies, the countryside was beautiful, everypony got along with everypony else...

No, I can't let myself think this way. I need to get home. I need to return to my life, whatever it may have been.

Thinking back to all the ponies I had met, though, back to Fluttershy, who was barely keeping herself conscious as we neared the cottage, and to all I had seen and done, it made me think that maybe this wasn't so bad as I had made it out to be. Like I said before, I could get used to this.

When we finally got inside, it was all Fluttershy could do to stay standing. I saw that she was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion, and I quickly caught her and put her onto my back. I carried her all the way upstairs and placed her gently into bed, pulling the blankets up to her chin. As I was turning to leave, I heard her stir. I turned around, hoping I hadn't woken her. Her eyes were barely open, and in her soft, sweet voice she said, "Thanks."

"Hey, I'd do it for anypony," I said, adding an affectionate head nuzzle. "You get some sleep."

And without another word, she drifted off, the slightest of smiles touching her face. She looked like an angel that had flown a little too low.

I quietly closed the door and trotted downstairs, being careful to avoid making any excess noise. I got up onto my little couch, drew the blanket up over myself, and fell into that peaceful dream state known as sleep, my dreams populated with visions of all I had seen and done that day. And everywhere I looked, Fluttershy was right there with me.

Happiness can barely describe how I felt.

Ch. 3

A New Perspective Ch. 3

A week had passed since Twilight's party, and things were going swimmingly for me. Turns out that my wing wasn't broken, only dislocated, so Fluttershy and I went down to Ponyville Urgent Care where they popped it back into place. It hurt like the dickens, but at least it was functional again.

I had been living a pretty idyllic life for the past week. I helped Fluttershy take care of her little animal friends, Rainbow Dash had gotten me a position on the weather team, and was teaching me how to properly control my flight, as well as some awesome tricks, and I had checked out a book from Twilight. It was a storybook, but I thought that I might as well bone up on Equestrian culture.

It was about noon, and I was just coming back from one of my training sessions with Rainbow Dash when I noticed a sign on the front door of the cottage, written in a tight, looping script.

"Went over to Rarity's for our spa day. Will be back at around 4:30 - Fluttershy"

Well, looks like I've got the cottage to myself. Maybe I could catch up on some reading. I'd been a little behind on my book, and I wanted to get it back in a reasonable timeframe.

I was just settling onto my couch when a frantic knock came at the door.

"Fluttershy, you home?" said a thick southern accent.

"Just a sec," I said, getting up to open the door. Right on the front step was Applejack, and she seemed kinda miffed about something.

"Oh hey, AJ. What's up?"

"Hey, is Fluttershy around?"

I motioned to the sign on the door, which she hadn't noticed in her hurry.

"Ah, horse-apples," she swore, "just my luck."

"You need some help?"

"In a sense. We've got some critters stealing our apples back on the farm, and I was hoping I could git Fluttershy to help round 'em up. It's nearly Applebuck Season, and the last thing we need are some varmints stealing our crop."

"Apple-what season?"

"It's what we call harvesting time. We git all the apples bucked outta the trees so we can sell 'em."

"Well, I'd be happy to help with your little infestation."

"You sure, Evan? It's mighty hard rounding those little things up, and I know you're wing is still a bit sore."

"No trouble at all. I don't have anything to do today anyway. Let me just get my vest on."

I came outside a minute or two later, in the vest Rarity had made for me on my first day.

"Why do you wear that, anyway?" asked Applejack. "Most ponies are fine without a stitch of fabric on them."

"It just feels kinda weird for me to not wear clothes, I guess. It's probably like with you and your hat. But, I digress. Which way are we going?"

"Follow me!" she said, taking off at a gallop. I quickly took to the skies, barely managing to keep pace.

===============

The situation over at Sweet Apple Acres was bad, to say the least. We got there at half past one, and there were animals all over the place. Rabbits and various other rodents on the ground, as well as birds picking apples straight off the trees. There was a crimson stallion chasing down the rabbits, trying to corner them into a pen, and a bright yellow filly was using a butterfly net to try and catch the birds, with mixed success.

"Ah hayseed, it got worse," muttered Applejack

"How bad was it when you left?"

"Well, for one, there weren't birds trying to steal the apples when I took off. That, plus when I left, we were actually starting to make some headway. From the looks of things, though, the tide of this battle must've turned."

"Well, I can help round up the birds while you help what's-his-name over there."

"That 'what's-his-name' over there happens to be my older brother, thank you very much. Still, I suppose yer right. Apple Bloom could use all the help she can get. She tries so hard to help out, but she needs to learn her limits. Go do what you can, just don't stress yourself."

"By you're command," I said, taking to the sky.

Apple Bloom had moved over to the other side of the orchard, and it became rapidly apparent that she was fighting a losing battle. She had managed to catch an eagle by it's head, but it kept it's flight up, and was starting to drag her across the ground.

"Hey!" I yelled down to her, "Let go! You're not gonna bring it down with that thing!"

She passed me a backward glance, and through gritted teeth, said, "Yes I can! I've almost got it!"

With a quick jerk of the neck, she managed to break up the eagles flight just enough to send it into a tailspin, which sent it careening into the ground. It landed beak first with a dull thud, which unfortunately tore through the thin netting, rendering the butterfly net utterly useless.

Fortunately, the eagle took the hint and flew off, after disentangling itself from the ruins of Apple Bloom's net. I landed next to her as she was calling out triumphant taunts to the bird, as if it could understand her.

"... And STAY out! See," she said, turning to me, "I told ya I could bring it down."

"Wow. You are really strong for somepony so young."

"Well, I guess you could say that it sorta runs in the family. You should see Big Mac push a plow, and Applejack once bucked a tree so hard that it cracked!"

"I wouldn't put it past her. I'm Evan, by the way."

"Oh, so you're that new friend of Fluttershy's that Applejack's been talking about. I'm Apple Bloom."

A crow cawing overhead brought us back to the matter at hand.

"Um, if you don't mind," Apple Bloom piped up, "but could we save the introductions for AFTER we get rid of these things."

"Right. However, since your ingenious bird catching solution is in a crumpled heap in front of us, we need a new method of getting those things to shoo."

"Hmmmm... Maybe you could throw me into the air, and I could scream and holler to scare them off?"

"Bad idea. Unless you want to fall and break your leg, in which case go for it."

"Ha ha. Well, maybe I could ride on your back."

"That... might just work. I sure as heck can't think of anything else, so if your willing."

"Alright!" she said, jumping up onto me. I just prayed that I could support her weight, cause the last thing I need was to crash and burn with passengers. Again.

When I got in the air, Apple Bloom took to her screaming-and-hollering strategy, which seemed to work effectively enough. While it took a minute for the birds to get the picture, they, slowly but surely, started leaving. Their hasty retreat gave Apple Bloom even more vigor, and she started waving her hooves around, trying to get them to move faster.

"C'mon, scoot! Are you crows, or are you chickens?"

"Yeah, get outta here, you rats with wings!" I added, gesturing to a crow that was pecking at an apple. Oddly, it didn't seem to register me, like I wasn't there. Weird.

"That's the spirit! Keep it up!"

And so we flew over the acres for the better part of an hour and a half, hurling insults and just generally having a big ol' time. By the end, we had forgotten almost entirely about the birds, instead just reveling in the unbridled freedom that flight can give. She even got me to do some of the flips and tricks that Rainbow Dash had been teaching me.

"Hey, Flare, dare ya to fly through that fork in the tree!" said Apple Bloom, pointing to a tree that was seemed to be split in half down the middle.

"Just you watch," I replied, "and hold on tight!"

Apple Bloom wrapped herself tight around me, trying to flatten her tiny form as much as possible, as I flapped my wings as hard as I could. When I got within a few yards of the tree, I tucked my wings in and started spinning in a perfect corkscrew, just like Rainbow had shown me. I could practically feel Apple Bloom tighten up, expecting us both to smash into the tree.

How she must've been disappointed as I blew through the fork with enough force to knock a few of the apples off just from the wind. I heard Apple Bloom let out a holler, not quite unlike her big sister would've, and I felt compelled to join her. I had never felt a high quite like it before, a mixture of adrenaline and relief at having not hit the tree.

"LOOK OUT!" I heard Apple Bloom yell over my own thoughts.

"Look out for what?" I asked as I turned my head forward and Apple Bloom bailed out.

Well, there goes the sense of relief.

WHAM! goes my body as I slam headlong into a very solid apple tree. It seemed like something out of a cartoon, where the character slams into a wall, gets squashed flat, and slowly slides down. That's what this felt like, only painful. Very painful.

When I finally hit the ground, amongst the apples that had fallen out, all I could do was flop backwards and black out.

I think I was out for about two minutes or so, and when I came around, I had a headache to rival that of a pony who had drank two kegs of beer the night before. It didn't help that Apple Bloom was standing over me when I woke up.

"Oh, thank goodness. You okay?"

"Not particularly," I said, wincing as her voice hit my ears. "You wouldn't happen to have a sensory deprivation tank handy, would you?"

"A sensory what now?"

"Just a joke. Seriously though, I definitely need an ice bag, and maybe a painkiller or four," I said, getting to my hooves. Bad idea there. As soon as I stood up my vision swam and my head started to throb, forcing me back down. "Actually, on second thought, could you get Applejack? And a wagon big enough for a pony. I don't think I can walk on my own."

"Sure thing. Judging by the quietness, I think they managed to run all of the critters off, which probably means she's coming to find us."

And as if on cue, Applejack appeared from around a tree. "There you are, finally. We managed to round up all of the critters and sent 'em packing. Judging by the lack of birds squawking, I'm gonna assume you two got rid of the birds as well."

"We sure did, but he hit a tree," said Apple Bloom, gesturing to me with my head in my hooves, trying to drown out their voices.

"Oh hay, are you alright?"

"I've been better. I've got a killer headache, and my sense of balance is all out of whack. I just hope I didn't fracture my skull."

"Let me take a look," said AJ as she trotted over to me and parted my mane. "Tch, ain't nothing but a big old knot on the head. You'll be fine. Can you walk?"

"What part of 'my sense of balance is all out of whack' did you not get?" I asked rather tersely.

"Well, sor-ee, just making sure. I'll go have Big Mac git ya a wagon. Apple Bloom, you sit tight and tell me if anything happens to him. We clear?"

"Crystal," she replied as Applejack galloped back across the acres. I probably shouldn't have been so short with her, but sheer, blinding pain makes one do stupid things.

===============

Big Mac and Applejack returned fifteen minutes later, him hauling a wagon big enough for two and her with a freshly made ice pack.

Applejack set the ice pack on my head as she helped me to my hooves and guided me into the wagon, which was thankfully lined with some nice soft blankets. "You feelin' any better?" she asked in a flat voice, without any real sympathy behind it.

"A little," I said as we climbed into the wagon. "The ice pack really helps. Thanks a lot."

"No problem," she replied, turning to Apple Bloom. "Now Apple Bloom, I want you to head back home and get on your homework. Just because you had to get rid of those birds doesn't give you a free ticket to miss school tomorrow. Cheerilee will be expecting you bright and early."

"Can I at least ride with you back to Fluttershy's? I want to make sure Evan's okay."

"Apple Bloom, you really need to do your homework."

"PLEASE?" she begged, mustering up a puppy dog face to rival an actual puppy dog.

"... Alright, fine," conceded Applejack rather hesitantly, "but as soon as we get home, you go straight upstairs and git on your homework. Understood?"

"You betcha!" she replied, hopping into the wagon and clambering onto my back. "Let's get goin', Mac!"

"Eeyup," he replied, as if that was all that was needed to convey his thoughts at any given time. We took off at a steady pace, Big Mac drawing us out of the orchard.

"Sorry I was a little short with you, Applejack, but my head was killing me. Still is, sort of."

"Oh, don't think nothin' of it. I understand the feeling. I've been more than a bit quick-tempered with ponies at times myself. Don't beat yerself up about it."

"Just so long as you don't hold it against me."

"It's alright. To get off of this dreary topic, how did you two fare against the birds?"

"He did AMAZING!" interjected Apple Bloom, climbing in between us. "You should've seen him, looping and spinning! He was scarin' those birds senseless! I tell you what, he should have a cutie mark like Rainbow Dash's. Or maybe a bird scaring cutie mark!"

"A what mark?" I asked.

"A cutie mark. It's a little symbol that appears on each of your flanks, and it tells you what you're special talent in life is. It's what separates you from everypony else."

So that's what it's called. Looking down, I couldn't help but notice that where my mark should've been there was nothing but blank gray fur. "Hmm. I thought that was just for decoration, like a tattoo or something. Kinda makes me wonder where mine is."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get yours soon enough. Everypony does eventually, you just need to figure out what your special talent is. Hey, maybe you could go with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and I to our next Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting! We could use somepony who's a little older to make sure we don't get into trouble."

"I'd like that. But can it wait until after the headache subsides?"

"Our next meeting is on Friday after school. I'll come git ya at Fluttershy's."

We spent the rest of the ride back in silence, mainly for my sake. We got back to the cottage at around 5:30, and Fluttershy was busy feeding her otters. The sounds of Mac's hoof steps drew her attention, and she flew over to greet us.

"Hello Applejack, what brings you-" she stopped mid-sentence when she saw me, ice pack pressed firmly against my head. "Oh no, what happened? Are you alright?"

"He hit his head pretty hard," said Applejack, helping me out of the cart. "It shouldn't be too bad, but I'd keep him off of his feet for a day or two."

"Thank you so much, Applejack. I would've felt just awful if something happened and I didn't know about it," said Fluttershy, taking my weight off of Applejack.

"Don't fret about it. You'd have done the same. See ya around!" she said, getting back in the wagon. Big Mac started pulling away, but not before Apple Bloom could give me one last wave and a smile.

"C'mon, we need to get you inside, and I'll get you something to dull the pain," said Fluttershy as she led me into the cottage. "What were you doing, anyway?"

"Applejack needed my help getting rid of some animals that were stealing her apples. She originally wanted you to help, but you were out at your little spa day, and I had nothing better to do."

"Oh dear, if only I'd have been here. Oh, this is all my fault."

"No, it's not your fault. You deserve a little time to yourself. Besides, it was my own fault that this happened."

"What do you mean?" she asked, lowering me to the couch. Man, it felt good to get off of my hooves.

"Well, Apple Bloom sort of dared me to fly through a fork in a tree and-"

"-You hit the tree," said Fluttershy, matter-of-factly.

"No, I made it through fine. It was the tree a few feet behind that has earned my irate hatred."

"Well, no matter which tree you hit, you still need something for that headache. I think I have some pain killers in the cupboard."

She walked over to the little hutch on the other side of the room and pulled a little white bottle out of it. She set it down beside me and knocked two pills out. "Here, these should calm the pain. Only take two a day though, and only if you need them."

"Thank you, doctor," I quipped, scooping the little pills into my hoof and popping them into my mouth. They went to work almost immediately, a wave of relief rushing over my aching head. "Ah, now THAT is what I call relief," I sighed, stretching myself out on the couch.

"So," said Fluttershy, sitting down on the floor next to the couch, "what else happened over at Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Really, it was pretty much Apple Bloom and I scaring away birds. I kinda noticed something weird, though."

"Oh? What was it?"

"The thing is, I kept up a facade of scaring the birds, but it was really Apple Bloom doing all the work. The birds didn't seem to notice me at all, like I was invisible."

"Hmm, that is sort of strange. My animals can see you and interact with you just fine. I wonder why those birds didn't?"

"Well, whatever the reason, now is not the time to mull this over. I, for one, am beat. Chasing birds and nearly splitting your skull open takes a serious hit to your energy."

"I imagine it would. You just sit there and relax, and I'll make you some nice tomato soup. Sound good?"

"Divine," I replied, my eyes starting to sag. "I'm just gonna rest my eyes for a sec. Wake me when dinner's ready, okay?"

"Of course," she said with a smile. Man, I love her. Smile, that is. I love her smile.

Stupid Freudian slip. Gotta watch that.

Ch. 4

A New Perspective Ch. 4

A dark corridor. I was walking down a dark corridor, illuminated only by a few flickering candles. I don't know how I got there, only that I need to go forward, to find somepony.

After walking for what seemed an eternity, I came to a plain white door with a nondescript brass handle. The door was slightly ajar, and all I could see beyond was a deep pervading blackness, like light had given up all hope of trying to illuminate it.

I pushed the door open with my hoof and entered, the door closing behind me with a click and the darkness engulfing me. "Hello?" I called out to the darkness, not really expecting an answer.

"Come forth," said a voice, deep yet not harsh, like that of a kind friend. A light blinked into existence, a small white dot on the horizon. It drew me towards it, like a moth to a flame, first at a trot, then a full on gallop. The light grew larger with each step, until it finally encompassed my entire vision.

After being temporarily blinded, I found myself in a large, ancient chamber with two cauldrons of fire illuminating a small wooden table. Sitting at this table was a silver coated unicorn stallion, about my height, with deep blue eyes and a well groomed chestnut mane and tail.

"Oh good, you've arrived. Please, sit. We have much to discuss."

"Would you care to explain where I am and, more importantly, who you are?" I asked rather skeptically.

"All in due time. Please, sit down," he said, gesturing to a small cushion on the opposite side of the table.

Well, this is rather cryptic, but what choice do I have? I sat down, but rather hesitantly, my finely attuned sense of paranoia sending off warning lights and klaxons of doom in my head.

"Good," he said. "Would you care for a drink, maybe some nice green tea?"

"Uh, sure, why not?"

And seemingly out of the ether, a tea pot with steam coming from the spout and two cups appeared before us. He took it in his magic and calmly poured out the tea, then levitated one cup to me. We both took a quick sip, it's contents sliding down my parched throat and sending a nice warm feeling throughout my being.

The unicorn seemed to share my feelings, sighing, "Ah, nothing like some nice green tea to relax the nerves, don't you think?"

"Look," I said indignantly, "if you just brought me here for tea time, then I'm going to have to leave now. However, if I'm here for more substantial reasons, then start talking."

"My my, aren't we the impatient one. Well, I can see where you're coming from. Enough with the pleasantries then, and let's get down to business. Do you know who you are?"

"Yeah, I'm Evan. I appeared here in Equestria under mysterious circumstances about a week ago, and I've been living here until I can find a way to get home, wherever that might be."

"Yes, that may be true, but do you know WHAT you are?"

"Um, look at me, what do you think I am?" I said, flaring my wings out to give him a proper look. "I'm a pegasus. Have been, will be."

"Ah, the delusions that we so thoroughly wrap ourselves in to hide the truth. No, you are not a pegasus, or at least, you weren't always. You were something... different."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'diff-"

My voice was cut off by a truly earth-shattering roar, one that managed to shake loose bricks from the walls and blow out the cauldrons of flame, plunging the room into darkness.

A point of light illuminated onto the unicorn's horn, providing some light, as well as showing the fear and worry that now clouded his face.

"Listen," he said, with anxiety thick in his voice, "I don't have much time here, but you need to know this. You are in grave danger, as well as everypony you hold dear. Fortunately, I hold the key to what could save you, and possibly send you home. But we can't discuss this here, it's too risky. I've already overstepped my boundaries as it is, contacting you here."

"Speaking of which, where IS here, anyway?" I asked.

"There's no time. Search for me in the ruins." And at that, I was thrown out of the room by an almighty gust of wind, out of the blinding light into the darkness and then out of that same nondescript white door. A brief flash of light showed me that shape that had been on Twilight's necklace, but only for the briefest of seconds.

Then I woke up.

===============

"GAH!" I cried in alarm, a cold sweat on my brow and shivers wracking my body as I lay there on Fluttershy's couch. My head was still sore from where I had hit it, and it wasn't being helped by the fact that I had just been mentally assaulted.

"Evan, are you okay?" called Fluttershy, peeking her head out from the kitchen.

"Yeah, just peachy," I replied, trying desperately to mask my fragile state of mind. "How's that soup coming?"

"I actually just finished, and was just about to come and wake you up when I heard you yelp. Did you have a bad dream?"

"Uh, yeah, nothing too bad." Geez, I'm a bad liar.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, walking over to the couch.

"Nah, it was nothing, really. I'll be fine."

"Okay, if you say so," she said, walking back to the kitchen. "I'll get our soup poured out and bring it over, okay?"

"Sure, thanks a lot."

As she went back into the kitchen, my mind started going a mile a minute. Who the hay was that unicorn in my dream, and why had he contacted me? Where were these ruins that he wanted me to search for him in, if they even existed? And what did he know about me that I didn't?

Man, this sounds like the cliffhanger ending to a bad movie.

Fluttershy came back in about five minutes later, with two bowls of steaming tomato soup and a plate with two sandwiches on it. She set it on the floor between us, and I endeavored to get off of the couch to join her on the rug. My mind still reeling from nearly being caved in, this was easier said then done, but I finally made it and dug into the soup.

As I was eating my sandwich, I paused between bites and asked, "Hey, are there any ruins nearby. I think Twilight mentioned that she was studying them when I checked out my book, and I want to do a little research for her when I get better."

"Well, there aren't too many in this part of Equestria, but the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters is somewhere in the forest. I was last there a year or so ago, so I don't remember exactly where it is, but Twilight could probably tell you."

"Wait, you actually went into the Everfree Forest? You said it was verbatim suicide to go in there!"

"Well, this was back when Twilight first came to town, and she seemed real set on something that she needed to get done. It was the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration, and everypony had gathered in the town hall to watch Princess Celestia raise the sun."

"Wait, you have a PRINCESS? That can move the SUN? Geez, it's like I dropped into a fairy tale."

"Anyway," Fluttershy continued, "When it was time for Celestia to raise the sun, she was nowhere to be found. Then Nightmare Moon showed up."

"Hold on, I think I remember hearing that name in my book. Isn't she the wicked mare that wanted to shroud Equestria in eternal night? The one who was born over the moon princess' jealousy of the attention her sister received and got banished to the moon for a thousand years?"

"Exactly. She vowed that she would bring eternal night, and disappeared into a puff of smoke. Twilight figured that we need to find the Elements of Harmony to stop her, and so we all set out to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters to find them."

"So," I interjected, seeing the inevitable conclusion coming from a mile away, "after a series of misadventures in the forest, you get to the ruins, find the elements, defeat Nightmare Moon, restore the moon princess to her former state, save Celestia, and everypony goes home happy."

"Pretty much."

"Wow, I had no idea you were so steeped in Equestrian history. It must have been really exciting, getting to play the hero and all that."

"Well... exciting, terrifying, call it what you will. Still, it was the first time I had really interacted with the ponies who would become my best friends, except Rainbow Dash. So, in a way, it was one of the best things that happened to me."

"Except for the whole nearly-the-end-of-all-life-in-Equestria-as-we-know-it thing, right?"

"Yeah, right," she said with a smile. "So, did that help at all?"

"Yeah, it actually did," I said, finishing my dinner. "You know, I am actually feeling loads better thanks to that dinner. I think I'm gonna go see Twilight, maybe help with her research."

"Oh no you don't," said Fluttershy, rising to block the door. "You aren't going anywhere until you're head gets better. You've only had a few hours to recover."

"I have a thick skull," I responded, trying to force my way past her.

However, she stayed stock still, as rigid as a soldier and her face set in a hard glare. Geez, that stare. It's like she was staring straight through me, telling my mind to get back on the couch. And boy, did it work.

I shied away from her piercing eyes and backed up onto the couch. Her features softened back into her regular, sweet self.

"What the hay was that?"

"What was what?"

"That... look. It's like you were staring into my soul."

"Oh dear, did I accidentally use the Stare on you? I am so sorry."

"The Stare?" I asked, arching one eyebrow.

"It's something that happens whenever I can't get my animals to listen. I just glare at them really hard, and suddenly they do what I want. I can't really control when it happens, it just sort of happens."

"Well, I can see how that could come in handy. Still, you're probably right. I should rest up a little more. As soon as I'm better, though, I'm going to see Twilight, got it?"

"Okay, but I'll be the judge of whether you're better or not. Got it?" she repeated, adding a sly little smirk.

"Got it," I replied, placing my head in my hooves and pulling my blanket over me. "I'm gonna catch some Z's, alright?"

"Alright. It's probably about time that I turned in as well. You have a good night's sleep," she added as she trotted upstairs to her room.

"You too," I said, closing my eyes.

===============

It was about an hour later that I popped one eye open and, making sure that nopony was downstairs, I quietly hoisted myself up off of the couch, crept over to the door, and snuck out. I hate having to lie to Fluttershy like this, but I needed to see Twilight, preferably sooner than later.

Fortunately, Fluttershy was the in bed at six type of pony, so it was only about nine o'clock when I snuck out. Plus, if what Fluttershy has said is any indication, Twilight tends to stay up late reading or studying, so she would probably be up another hour or two.

It only took me half an hour to get over to the library, and thankfully the upstairs lights were on, which meant that Twilight was still up. I crept on up to the door and gave a quiet knock, trying not to draw the attention of anypony nearby. After some scuffling behind the door, it swung open to reveal what looked like a very tired purple and green lizard.

"Yeah, what do you want," he said, eyeing me rather crossly, like I was something you would dig out of your ear.

"Um, is Twilight home, I sorta need to talk to her."

"Spike, who's at the door," I heard Twilight call from upstairs.

"Some gray pegasus pony with a green vest. He says he needs to talk to you."

"Hold on," she called back. While she was getting ready, I thought that I might as well talk to Spike.

"So, Spike, do you live with Twi, or are you just visiting?"

"I've been living with her my whole life. I'm her personal assistant."

"Wow, sounds interesting. Just out of curiosity, and not to be rude or anything, but... what are you?"

"What do I look like?" he asked in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, you look like a walking, talking lizard. Like, maybe a baby alligator or something."

"Close, but no cigar. I'm actually a baby dragon."

Oh great, this place has dragons now, well ain't that just splendiferous.

"Oh, hey Evan," I heard Twilight say as she descended the stairs, "what brings you here so late?"

"Oh, I just need to talk to you about some stuff. It's kinda personal, so is there maybe someplace a little more... private?"

"Oh, uh, sure, we could just go up to my room. I was doing a bit of studying, that's all. C'mon in."

Spike begrudgingly allowed me entrance, and I followed Twilight up to her room. When we entered she closed the door behind us, locked it, and set some sort of spell on it.

"There, now Spike shouldn't be able to hear us. So, what's up?"

"Well... geez, how to start this. Um, I was sorta wondering if you've found out anything on that necklace that Fluttershy gave you?"

"Well, you're in luck. That's just the thing I was studying. It's really interesting. C'mon over here, I'll show you," she said walking over to her work desk. I followed her, trying to hide the anxiety wracking my body.

"I've been doing a lot of research, but so far I haven't been able to figure out conclusively what it's meant for," she said, gesturing to the necklace sitting on the table. "I've tried investigating it with my magic, but every time I do, I hit a wall of arcane energy, like it's trying to hide something from me. If anything, it sort of reminds me of the Element of Harmony necklaces."

"Oh yeah, Fluttershy was telling me that story earlier today, actually. Hey, what's it doing?" I asked, pointing to it.

"What do you me- oh my GOSH! It's glowing! It hasn't ever done that before. Did you do anything to it?"

Okay, do I give her the truth or an answer. If I tell her that it did that when I picked it up, she'll probably freak and want to tell Celestia. But if I lie, then she'll probably find out later, then freak and tell Celestia.

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

"Well... look, if I tell you this, you have to swear not to tell anypony else, and that includes Princess Celestia. I know you two are on good terms, and you'd probably throw in a nice word for me, but I want to keep this on the down low for now."

"Evan, what are you tal-"

"Just promise you won't say a word. Please."

"... Alright."

"When I went to pick that necklace up from Fluttershy's, it was doing that exact same thing. I'm not sure if I caused it or what, but it seems to be connected to me somehow."

And here comes the hurricane.

"Evan, do you have any idea what this means? It means that you may be the only pony who can get past that barrier in it. Hmm... Evan, put it on."

"What?"

"Just humor me here. Put it on."

"... Okay," I said nervously, reaching forward with my head towards the golden chain. I slipped it on, expecting some sort of wave of magic to wash over me, or some lighting to fly out of it. Instead, it just hung there, glowing, acting like any other necklace would.

"Well, that was interesting," I said, sarcasm thick in my voice.

Twilight paced the floor, muttering to herself and brow furrowed in concentration. The tension was practically palpable, and the silence was deafening.

"Hmm... there has to be more to this," she said after five agonizing minutes. "Alright, here's the plan. I'm going to try and get past that barrier in it with my magic. I'm not sure what will happen, but we won't find out otherwise. Ready?" she said, charging up her horn.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I said, closing my eyes as tight as I could. I gritted my teeth, tightened up, and expected the worst.

All I heard was her magic go off before my mind was assaulted by memories that may or may not have been mine. Images of a large, regal castle, of ancient halls covered in marble, of a dark room with hooded ponies gathered around a sigil that had been carved into the floor. A sigil I found all to familiar.

Then there were the more recent ones. Waking up in that meadow, meeting Fluttershy, seeing Ponyville with her, the party, me helping her into bed, the incident at Applejack's, and everything in between. I even relived that dream with the silver unicorn. My mind felt ready to burst, and my still throbbing head wasn't helping the matter much. I blacked out, my mind caving under the stress.

I woke up about five minutes later, my head pounding harder than ever. As I looked up, I could see that the necklace was no longer glowing and that Twilight was on the opposite side of the room, having smashed into a bookcase.

"Ooh, my head," she moaned, rising to her hooves. "What the hay was that? I started using the spell on the necklace, and then I was seeing so many images, memories that weren't mine."

"Those may have been mine that you were seeing," I added, rubbing my head where I had hit it. "But even some of the ones I was seeing weren't mine, or at least, I don't think that they were mine."

"Wait, but if those were your memories, then..."

"Then what?"

"You love her, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Man, I hope she isn't thinking what I think she's thinking.

"You love Fluttershy, don't you?"

"What do you mea-"

"Don't try to talk you're way out of this. When I was seeing those memories, I was picking up some emotions too. And every time you were with her, I felt it."

"Look... we're friends, alright. We may be living together, but we're just friends."

"Well, call it what you will, but I saw it. You don't need to hide it. Just tell her, and you'll see."

"Look, can we drop the subject. What else did you see?"

"Well, for one, I know you aren't from Fillydelphia. I saw you laying there in that meadow when Fluttershy found you. I also saw the symbols burned into the ground beneath you. I don't know exactly what they mean, but something tells me that they're important."

"Did you see anything before that?"

"No, just from the meadow to when you snuck out of the cottage."

"Oh hay, you saw that."

"Sure did. Don't worry though, your secret's safe with me. Still, Fluttershy's awfully perceptive. I'd get home before too long if I were you."

"Well, thanks for the help. I just hope that whatever just happened doesn't come back to bite me," I added, taking off the necklace and setting it on the table. As I made for the door I asked, "Oh, by the way, do you remember the route to the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters?"

"Like the back of my hoof, why?"

"Well, since you saw my memories, then you know about that dream I had with the silver unicorn. Anyway, he said to find him in the ruins, and since those are the only ones nearby, I thought I'd try there. I'm going to need a guide, though, so if you could help..."

"I'd be glad to, but give it a couple of days. I know that you hurt yourself at Applejack's, and you really shouldn't have come here with you're head injured like it is."

"Right. Anyway, thanks, " I said, opening the door and heading back downstairs. As I left the library, I saw the one light in her room go off, leaving the tree dark and silent. Guess she needed to process what she had just seen as much as I needed to.

The trip back to the cottage was uneventful, but my mind was still spinning, although not from what you might think. 'You love her' she had said. 'You love her'. It sounded almost like an accusation ringing in my ears. But it raised a tumultuous question. Do I really love Fluttershy? I mean, sure, she's nice, and we had had good times together. But love? It had always seemed like such a foreign concept, like something that could only happen in stories.

But now that I thought back on it, we really were more than just friends. Rarity was my friend. Applejack was my friend. Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, they were my friends. I had had good times with them, but it had never really clicked like it had with Fluttershy and I.

Would I have dragged Rainbow Dash out onto that dance floor? Would Pinkie Pie and I have gazed deep into each others eyes as we were locked in each others embrace? Would I have helped Rarity into bed when she was tired?

So many questions, but only one answer; no.

Fluttershy, however, just seemed to have that... something. Charisma, charm, call it what you will, but she just had it.

My mind was reeling so hard that I barely noticed that the cottage was now in plain view. I guess I had been on auto-pilot while I thought. Thankfully, none of the lights were on, so she must still be asleep. The thought of her asleep, peacefully resting, with the blankets up to her chin, brought the tiniest of smiles to my face.

Maybe I did love her. Maybe this could work out in the end.

I snuck back inside, being careful not to make much noise. I quietly closed the door behind me and made my way over to my little green couch.

"And just where have you been?" came a voice from behind me.

Oh, horse-apples.

Ch. 5

A New Perspective Ch. 5

"Oh, hi Fluttershy," I bleated out feebly, like the sheep I am.

"Don't you 'hi' me, mister. Where were you?"

"Well, I... I kinda... well, you see, the thing is..." I stammered out, sweat bursting out on my forehead.

"You went to see Twilight, didn't you?"

"Well... yeah." Man that sounded weak, even considering the circumstances.

"Even after I told you that you needed to stay here and rest," she added, starting to get up in my face. "Even after you promised to me that you wouldn't, you went anyway. You lied to me!"

"Well, I just needed to talk to her. I don't see what the big freaking deal is. I went over there, we talked, and I came back here, safe and sound."

"It's not that nothing happened, it's the principle. You lied to me! You promised me that you wouldn't go out until I thought you were better, and you did anyway. What could be so important that it couldn't have waited a day or two?"

Cripes, I had never seen her get this upset before. What's worse is that it wasn't outright anger, but that sort of deep disappointment that really cuts into you.

Hold on, did she ask me what we had talked about?

"Well, what was it that you felt was so urgent that you just had to see Twilight right now?"

Oh hayseed, she did. I had really wanted to keep this between Twilight and I, at least until I knew more, but now that Fluttershy was on the offensive, I had to let her in on it. Well, I owed her the truth about why I had left, at least.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you have to PROMISE not to tell anypony else unless I give the okay, we clear?"

"Fine," she replied, bitterness thick in her voice.

"Alright. Well, first off, I wasn't doing any research for her, but I did need to find out where the ruins are for completely different reasons. Earlier today, when I woke with a start while you were making dinner, it wasn't because of a nightmare. In my dream, a silver unicorn stallion came to me and told me that he knows things about me. Where I came from, how I got here, even who I am. Before it ended, he told me to find him in the ruins, as well as showing me an image of the pendant on the necklace you gave Twilight, which is why I needed to see her."

"So, you lied boldfaced to me because of a dream?" she asked, accusation discoloring her normally pleasant voice. "Is that what I'm hearing?"

"Well, yes, but please bear with me. I snuck out to go see her, and at the time, she was studying that necklace. I asked her about it, and she said it reminded her of one of the Element of Harmony necklaces."

"Hmm... okay, go on," she said, the bitterness in her voice giving way to curiosity.

"Anyway, when I got near it, it started to glow, which Twilight said hadn't happened to it before then. The weird thing is that it glowed when I picked it up from your place to take to the party."

"Twilight asked me to put it on, thinking that it might unlock something in it. When nothing happened, she decided to use her magic on it, and... something happened."

"What? What happened?"

"Well, when she hit it with her magic, my mind was flooded with images, memories. Some of them I recognized, like the ones of me living here, but there were a few I didn't. A large, ancient castle, a room full of ponies in cloaks gathered around a strange symbol on the floor. I couldn't handle the stress of all those memories assaulting my mind at once, so I blacked out."

"So something DID happen to you while you were gone! I knew it!"

"Save the victory celebration for later. Anyway, when I came to, the necklace was no longer glowing, and Twilight was on the other side of the room, smashed into a bookcase. Apparently, she saw the same things that I did, which means she knows what I know. She then agreed to help me find the ruins in the forest, but only after I got better, since she found that out too."

"Hmm..." Fluttershy lost herself in thought, staring at the ground in concentration. "Alright, I'm coming with you."

Wait, WHAT?! Did I hear that right? Did she actually volunteer to go into the forest?

"WHAT?! Are you nuts? If what you've said to me about the forest is anything to judge off of, I would think that you would want to be as far away from it as possible."

"I don't care, I'm going with you. You dragged me into this, so I'm going to see it through. I'll get what we're going to need over the next few days while you rest up. I'll also let the weather patrol know that you won't be in on Saturday," she declared as she turned to go back upstairs.

"Fluttershy, wait," I pleaded, turning her around with one hoof. "You don't have to. This is my problem, and I'm going to solve it on my own. The only reason I'm taking Twilight is because I have no idea where this place is."

"Evan," she said, her voice losing some of its edge, "I know I don't have to, and you're right. Were it up to me, I would stay here. But now that I know all of this, the only reasonable thing to do is to help as best as I can. If that means following you into the Everfree Forest, then so be it. Now if you'll excuse me," she added, taking my hoof off of her shoulder, "I need to go back to sleep. It's probably nearly 11, and I have preparing to do in the morning. You should do the same." And without another word, she went back upstairs, closing the door behind her.

Going back to my couch, I had a lot to think on. Now I had TWO lives that I needed to watch after. Twilight could probably look out for herself, what with being magic and all, but Fluttershy... I just didn't know.

Still, she was right on one thing. I desperately needed some sleep. Not that it was going to come easily, mind you, what with all of the thoughts buzzing in my skull like having the proverbial bees in my bonnet.

===============

The next few days were tense, to say the least. Fluttershy was giving me a bit of the cold shoulder, and it wasn't helped by the fact that I was trying at every opportunity to apologize, or at least get back on speaking terms with her. She kept herself busy preparing for our impending voyage, and I still had my job on the weather team to take care of.

Rainbow Dash and I had just gotten finished bringing in a rogue storm from Everfree when she picked up on the cloud of gloom hanging over me.

"Hey man, what's the matter? You've been a bit off for the past couple of days. You're normally much more hyped up than this when we're out cloud-wrangling."

"It's nothing," I said, melancholy hanging over my otherwise upbeat voice.

"Sure doesn't sound like nothing. You sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"Well... I actually do need somepony to talk to. Can we find a more private place?"

"Sure, there's a tree in the park that nopony goes near. I normally use it when I'm trying to catch a nap in the afternoon. It'll be perfect."

We flew over to the park near the center of town in thankful silence, Rainbow choosing not to pursue the matter until we got there. It gave me an opportunity to get my thoughts together, try and prepare what I was going to say.

"There it is," said Rainbow, pointing to a medium sized tree on the shore of a decorative lake. I noticed, with some humor, that there was a pillow and blanket up in the tree. She really wasn't kidding when she said that she used it for naps.

We alighted upon a nice sturdy branch near the top of the tree, just to make sure that we wouldn't be heard in case somepony passed beneath us.

"So, what's up?"

"I've been having kind of a rough week, to put it kindly," I said, kicking my hooves nervously.

"Well, that's pretty obvious," said Rainbow, a hint of sarcasm on her voice. "We wouldn't be here otherwise. What's got you so down in the dumps?"

I recounted to her how I had lied to Fluttershy and snuck out of the cottage to see Twilight, but carefully hiding the details of why I had gone to see her. I didn't want any more ponies than were necessary in on this, and frankly two was too many in my mind.

"... And Fluttershy's been giving me the cold shoulder all week."

"Ouch, man. I've never known Fluttershy to hold a grudge like this for this long. In fact, I don't think she's EVER held a grudge. I don't think it's really that bad, though, what you did. I mean, when I was young, I snuck out all the time. Of course, I did get grounded a lot."

"Yeah," I said with a forced chuckle, "that would be a reason to get grounded. *sigh*... Rainbow, can I tell you something?"

"Sure, shoot."

"I... I haven't told anypony else about this yet, but... I think I love Fluttershy."

Rainbow at first looked taken aback, and I prayed that I hadn't just made a horrible decision. Fortunately, her features changed from surprise to her usual cocky, arrogant self.

"Wow, you sure know how to drop a bombshell. Still, I guess it kinda makes sense. I mean, after seeing you two at Twi's party, I think the whole town figured that you were already going out."

"Really?" I asked, slightly perturbed at the thought.

"Yeah. But why are you telling me this? If there's anypony you should be telling this to, it's Fluttershy."

"That's just it, though. I don't want to tell her because, in her current state, I'm afraid that she'd say no. And that's what makes her distance so unbearable. I want to tell her, I really do, but I don't think I could handle that sort of rejection. I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic, as you can probably tell."

"Well, if I were you," she said, putting a hoof on my shoulder, "I'd try just talking to her. Don't make it sound like your begging to be let back in, just talk to her like you would normally. While this certainly isn't normal for her, it should pass soon. She's the nicest pony I've ever met, and she wouldn't ever intentionally hurt anypony else, physically or emotionally."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks RD. You may be a braggart, cocky, impetuous, full of yourself, and a bit insensitive at times, but you know how to help where it counts."

"Hey, it's no problem. I'll be there whenever you need me. I'm not the Element of Loyalty for nothing."

"Hey, speaking of the Elements..." I blurted out, forgetting that Rainbow didn't know.

"Yeah, what about them?"

Horse-apples, I have got to learn to control the valve between my brain and my mouth.

Well, we could use a pony like Rainbow on our little excursion. We'd need somepony fast and strong and brave to act sort of like a bodyguard. But I was going to hate myself for dragging her into this ever growing mud heap.

"Um, it's just that Twilight, Fluttershy, and I were going to go investigate the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Twilight's doing a little more research into the history of Equestria, mainly before the moon princess-"

"-You mean Luna?"

"Yeah, from before Princess Luna got banished. And considering that the forest does have it's share of nasties and what not, we could use a pony that could be a bit of a bodyguard."

"Well, I'd be happy to, but how did you get Fluttershy to go along with this? Not to be rude, but she's afraid of her own shadow. Trust me, I've seen it."

"Well, she was kinda hesitant at first, but Twilight managed to convince her that her way with animals would come in handy, so she agreed to come along."

"Well, that sounds familiar. It's like that time that a dragon was taking a nap in a nearby mountain, spewing out tons of smoke, and Princess Celestia wanted the six of us to get rid of him."

"Geez, sounds like Celestia needs to get her priorities straightened out. Sending six ponies, one who is easily frightened nonetheless, to try and oust a full grown dragon?"

"Yeah it was pretty crazy. Not that I was scared or anything. You see..."

And we sat up there, her recounting her tales of adventure, and me sitting there on that branch, completely enthralled. The sun had just started going down when we parted ways. As I flew back over to the cottage, I couldn't help but feel my spirits raise just a tiny bit.

===============

I had gotten home at around 6:30, and just like I had assumed, Fluttershy was still busy preparing. She barely noticed me walk in the door, only giving me a quick backward glance before she returned to her work. She was busy getting her medical supplies together, and I drew up beside her to help.

We worked in silence for about five minutes, the tension practically palpable. Neither of us wanted to break it, but I decided to try and make conversation. I've never been good at working in silence.

"Fluttershy..." I began.

"Look, I'm sorry," she said, dropping the roll of medical tape in her hooves and turning towards me.

"I... what did you say?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated, her eyes lighting up a little. "I'm sorry I snapped at you like I did. I'm sorry that I've been ignoring you the last couple of days. I'm sorry, plain and simple."

"Well, this is certainly a change of pace. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Well, I've been thinking over the last few days, and you were right. I shouldn't have tried to keep you from going to see Twilight. I was thinking of you as more of a patient than a pony that can take care of himself, and it sort of clouded my judgement. You found out things about yourself that you would never have learned otherwise, and it was selfish of me to try and keep you from that."

"But I lied about what I had needed to see Twilight about. I purposefully kept you in the dark."

"And it was for my own good. You were just trying to protect me, like I was trying to protect you. I'm still a little miffed about that, but I would hate to lose our friendship over something so trivial."

"Well, that is true. But still, don't completely absolve me of any wrongdoing. What I did was deceitful, and I was wrong to do it."

"I never said that you were off the hook. For one thing, I'm going to be changing the locks," she said with a smile, "so that the next time you sneak out, you'll be stuck outside until morning."

"You're kidding? You're kidding, right?" I asked nervously.

"Of course I am," she said, smiling and nudging her head against my shoulder. "I wouldn't ever be that cruel."

"*whew* You really had me going there for a sec." With a shared laugh, we each returned to our work, occasionally discussing what should be taken and what should stay.

"You know," I said after we had gotten her saddle bags filled up, "I'm actually a little bit upset that you apologized."

"Why would you be upset?"

"Well, you see, I had this big old speech prepared, with a lot of reasons why I was sorry, and explanations as to why I did it. I practiced it all the way over here, but now I won't get to use it."

"Well, I am just all broken up," said Fluttershy, in the most sarcastic tone of voice she could muster up. "I guess you'll just have to upset me all over again, now won't you?"

"Very funny. You know, I don't think I have ever heard you use sarcasm before."

"Well, hanging out with Rainbow Dash all this time has sort of rubbed off on me."

"Oh, speaking of Rainbow, she's going to be coming with us."

"Into the forest? Why?"

"Well, we had a bit of a conversation after work today, and the subject sort of... came up."

"You didn't give her any details, did you?"

"No, I just told her that we needed a bodyguard. I did give her the destination, but told her that we were going on an archeological trip, nothing more."

"Well... It should hold for now, but she's awfully perceptive. She'll probably find out sooner or later."

"Well, until that happens, I say that we not worry about it. Let's get some dinner on and then head on off to bed. We've each had a long day, and I have an appointment tomorrow at about noon."

"With who?"

"Three little filles who call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

===============

Knocking. There is knocking on the inside of my skull. Lord, I hope that I'm not having another of those crazy dreams again. I had enough on my plate without having to deal with more psychic trauma. I still had to prepare for the trip to the forest, I had my meeting with Apple Bloom and her friends...

Wait, what time is it?

Blearily, I cracked my eyes open, raised my head, and took a look at the clock. 12:30, it read.

I hopped up off of the couch and ran over to the door, knowing exactly what was causing that infernal knocking.

I swung open the door, and was greeted with a dog pile. What is it with ponies in this town and mid-air greetings at high velocity? Is it like some sort of sport or what?

"Heya, Evan!" said Apple Bloom cheerfully as she clambered across my back. "How's yer head?"

"Just peachy," I responded, trying to shake the three little wriggling bodies off of me. "How are you doing?"

"A lot better now that you're up!" she exclaimed as the three of them got up off of me. "We have lots of Crusading to do, and not a lot of time to do it, so we need to hop to it! But first things first, I need to introduce you to your fellow Crusaders."

I turned to face her, and standing next to her were a tiny white unicorn with mint green eyes and an expertly maintained pink and purple mane and tail, as well as an orange pegasus filly with light purple eyes and an unkempt purple mane and tail. All three if them had a small maroon cape with a little blue and yellow emblem stitched to it.

"Evan, this is-"

"No, wait, let me guess. Hmm... okay," I said, gesturing to the unicorn, "you must be Sweetie Belle, because Rarity's said a lot about having a sister with your exact description who goes by that name. And, you would have to be Scootaloo, judging by that Rainbow Dash-ish air about you," I said, pointing to the little pegasus.

"Yep, you got it perfect," piped up Sweetie Belle.

"You think I'm like Rainbow Dash!? That is so AWESOME!" Scootaloo seemed practically beside herself with joy. Good thing Dash told me that Scootaloo practically idolizes her when we were talking in the park.

"Anyway, I'm Evan. Now, about this supposed 'Crusading' that we're going to be doing..."

"Wait," said Apple Bloom, "before we do anything, there's something we need to give you first. Now, close your eyes."

"Um, okay," I said, shutting my eyes. I heard them pull something out of a small bag, which they quickly fastened around my neck.

"Okay, you can open them," said Scootaloo, in an all too chipper voice.

Opening my eyes, I saw the three fillies looking on at me with a sort of mixture of joy and pride. Looking down at my neck and across my back, I could see why they had that gleam of admiration in their eyes.

Tied around my neck was a cape just like theirs, only about twice as big so that it could fit me. The patch was also slightly different. Instead of a smiling colt rearing up, there was an older pony with three younger ones at his hooves, looking up with smiles.

"Do you like it?" asked Sweetie Belle. "When Apple Bloom told us about having you join, we thought that you needed a proper cape. But since you aren't our age, we thought you needed a special patch that's all your own!"

"I absolutely love it. Who made it?"

"Well, it took a few tries, but Apple Bloom is pretty handy with a sewing machine. My big sister had to give her a few pointers, but I think she did a good job."

"Thank you so much, girls. This means a lot to me. Let me go get my vest on, and then we'll get going."

I walked over to the coat hanger where my vest was and quickly put it on under my new cape. Looking inside of it, I noticed that it was lined with golden silk. Now that's craftsmanship.

"Okay, I'm ready," I said, turning back to them. "So, what should we do first?"

"Ooh! I have the perfect idea," said Scootaloo, practically bubbling with excitement. "I talked to a performer in town, and he says that we can use his stage cannon!"

"Stage... cannon?" I squeaked out.

"C'mon, Crusaders, let's go!" she said as she dragged me out the door, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom in our wake.

I had a feeling that I was going to regret this.

===============

This was the BEST DAY EVER!

The four of us had spent the entire day running around town, trying to find our special talents. We had tried more activities and sports than I thought existed, from the aforementioned cannon (which was a blast, pardon the pun) to being tightrope walkers. And while I was officially there to make sure that they didn't hurt themselves, I couldn't help but join in on the fun, my sense of which that my impending trip into the forest had been pushing to the back of my head.

"Well, we are definitely not Cutie Mark Crusader Mixed Martial Artists," said Scootaloo, rubbing a sore spot on her back as we walked out of the Ponyville Gym. "Who's idea was that, anyway?"

"Yours," said Apple Bloom, throwing a glare over to Scootaloo. "My head is gonna be sore all week," she added, putting a hoof to her forehead

"Forget your head, my whole body is killing me," said Sweetie, wincing with every step she took.

"Hey, you can ride on my back if it hurts that much," I said, getting down on my knees with a few sickening pops from the vigorous wailing that they took. This was going to hurt in the morning, I just knew it, but it would be a good kind of hurt.

"Thanks," said Sweetie as she climbed up on my back. With a yawn, she quickly fell asleep, tuckered out from the day's events.

"Hey girls, I need to get Sweetie Belle back to Rarity's. Do you think you can see yourselves home?"

"Aww," whined Scootaloo, "it's not even dark yet. There's still plenty more Crusading we could do."

"It's nearly 7:00, and I'm pretty sure your parents wouldn't want you out after dark. That, and Rarity is probably wondering where Sweetie Belle is. I had a great time today, but I'd say that it's about time we all headed home for the day. All in favor?" I asked, raising my hoof.

Apple Bloom raised hers, and even Sweetie Belle was conscious enough to wearily raise her tiny hoof before it flopped back down.

"Sorry Scoot, but majority rule. Now the two of you get on home. I would hate to get you in trouble with your folks."

"Oh, alright," said Scootaloo, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Next week, though, we are definitely trying archery. See ya around," she said as she galloped off.

"Yeah, see ya later, Evan!" yelled Apple Bloom as she galloped off towards Sweet Apple Acres. "And remember, never give up the fight..."

"Until we have our cutie marks!" I called back, finishing the last line of the Cutie Mark Crusader theme song, which they had been quick to teach me.

I turned around, setting down the cobblestone street that led to Carousel Boutique, Sweetie Belle sleeping peacefully on my back. Sure, we may not have gotten our cutie marks, but it was just this sort of juvenile fun that I so missed out on when I was their age.

I arrived at Rarity's in about ten minutes, seeing as how it wasn't that far from the gym, to find Rarity pacing outside the shop, practically wearing a hole into the ground.

"Hey Rarity," I said

"Oh thank goodness you're here!" she said as she rushed over to me, panic in her voice. "Have you seen Swe-"

"Don't worry," I said, turning to show her Sweetie Belle on my back, "I've got her."

"Oh, thank you Evan, I have been just worried sick. I know that I shouldn't be, but ever since our parents moved to Manehatten, I'm really the only family that she has here."

"It was no trouble. Hey, Sweetie," I said softly, about to nudge her with my nose.

"No, don't wake her up, I'll take care of this." Her horn quickly lit up, and she took Sweetie Belle in her magic, gently levitating her off of my back and onto hers. "You've done enough today, I'll take it from here. You have a good night," she said over her shoulder as she walked back inside.

"You too," I replied. As I turned to leave, I heard a faint rustling and a set of hooves hitting the ground. I turned to find Sweetie Belle standing behind me, smiling big as life.

"Hey Sweetie. Sorry if I woke you up."

"It's okay. I just wanted to say thanks for the ride home."

"Well, you're very welcome. Just doing my job. Now get inside, I think it's a little bit past your bed time."

Sweetie gave my leg a quick hug before she scurried back inside. "You're the best!" she said just as she closed the door. I turned and started the long trek back to the cottage, a smile touching my lips. Still though, I had to mentally prepare myself for the trip tomorrow. I would've flown, but my new cape didn't let my wings extend like they needed to, and I had nowhere to put it anyway.

Not that I was going to take it off for the rest of the night, anyway.

Ch. 6

A New Perspective Ch. 6

Returning home at about 8:30 I could tell that something was wrong. All the lights in the cottage were off, and the door hung slightly ajar. Two things I knew for a fact about Fluttershy is that she never went to bed until I got home, and she ALWAYS remembers to lock her door if she is out in town, or if she isn't going back out for the rest of the day. This was too weird.

I went quietly up to the door, hoping that nopony was inside waiting to stave my head in. I pushed open the door as quietly as I could, although it squeaked very slightly on it's hinges. Peeking my head inside, I called out, "Hello?"

Kinda stupid, in retrospect.

I tiptoed my way inside, being careful not to make too much noise. Even through the darkness, I could see the dismal state that the cottage was in. Everything looked like it had been gone through, and none too gently. All of the drawers in the hutch had been pulled out and had their contents dumped on the ground. Every picture and knick-knack had been swept off of the mantelpiece, the furniture had been flipped over and searched, even the umbrella stand had been upturned.

I was too busy staring at the spectacle before me to notice the very slight hoof steps behind me, at least until one if them brushed against the downed coat hangar, causing it to scrape slightly against the ground. I turned my head, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a black form about to jump me.

I beat whoever it was to the punch, fortunately. As they brought down their hoof, hoping to try and knock me out, I parried it with my front leg and put them into a police hold, forcing them to the floor. Looks like those MMA lessons were good for something.

Keeping them there, however, was going to prove more difficult. The mysterious pony quickly broke my hold and flipped over, bringing one hard kick into my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. It also threw me off balance enough to knock me out the door, sending me sprawling into the front garden.

The pony followed me out the door, and as I was flat on my back they straddled across my chest, ready to bring down the punch that would knock my lights out. Only under the moonlight did I see who I was fighting.

"Fluttershy, WAIT!! It's me! It's Evan!

"Evan?" she yelped in disbelief, quickly getting off of me. "Oh no, I'm so sorry! I thought you were that pony that ransacked the cottage. Oh dear, I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"I'll be fine," I coughed out, getting to my hooves. "I'm more concerned about you. You weren't here when it happened, were you?"

"I was upstairs reading when I heard somepony come in. Thinking it was you, I started coming downstairs, only to find some stranger going through the cottage. I panicked, and well... I sort of... hid in my closet," she said, sheepishly covering her face with her bangs.

"Well, I can't blame you, I would have been right alongside you. Did you at least manage to get a good look at who it was?"

"No, he was facing away from me at the time. I couldn't even see his coat because of the cloak that he was wearing."

"Do you have any idea who it might be?"

"Well, I don't have a name to give you, but before I bolted whoever it was turned slightly, and I saw a silver unicorn horn from under his hood."

A silver unicorn going through the house, obviously searching for something, and trying to keep their identity a secret...

"Oh pony-feathers! We need to get to the library NOW!" I proclaimed, taking off my cape and putting it on top of the coat hanger.

"What? What's wrong?"

"This is only a guess, but that might be the unicorn from my dream. And judging by the look of this place, he was searching for something. If my hunch is correct, it was probably..."

"... The necklace! But if he's looking for the necklace then... OH NO! Twilight could be in trouble!"

"Exactly. When was he here?"

"About 45 minutes before you showed up. He left about 15 minutes ago."

"Good, we might be able to head him off before he gets to the library. Bring some medical supplies though, just in case we're too late."

"I'll be right back," she said, galloping back upstairs.

I hope we make it there in time, because this all really falls on my head if anything happens to Twilight. I dragged her into this mess, and now she might be paying the consequences for my actions.

"Alright, I'm all set," said Fluttershy, coming back downstairs with her saddlebags loaded down.

"C'mon, we don't have much time," I said, already hovering in the air. I flew out the door, with Fluttershy right behind me, managing a decent pace even with her saddlebags. Looking back, I noticed a sadness in her eyes the likes of which I hadn't seen in her before.

Man, I hope we aren't too late, for Twilight's sake as well as Fluttershy's.

===============

We arrived at the library in record time, but I could tell that we were already too late. The door had been busted down, and there were sounds of a struggle coming from inside. Landing about a foot from the door, I was forced to dodge a stray bolt of magic before I had even folded my wings in. I could practically feel the heat coming off of it, and watched as it turned a merchant stand across the street into a cactus.

We galloped in to find a gruesome scene. The mysterious unicorn, still cloaked, had Twilight on the ground and kicked her in the side, sending a yelp of pain echoing through the library.

"I grow tired of your insolence," said that same silky, deep voice that had graced my ears."If you value your life, you will tell me where the Key is. NOW!" he added, punctuating his shout with another kick to her side.

"I've told you, I don't know what your talking about," she pleaded, tears forming in her blackened eyes "If you want money I don't have any, just please stop!"

"I will only ask you once more," he whispered, in that menacing I'm-about-to-kill-you sort of way, "WHERE IS IT!?" He let loose a bolt from his horn, which struck Twilight square on the flank, singing her fur and blacking out her cutie mark. Her shriek pierced the night air.

All right, that's it.

I galloped toward him, slamming my head into his side as hard as I could. He let out a stray bolt in surprise, which struck one of the bookshelves and set several volumes on fire. I forced him to the floor and proceeded to wail on him, slamming punch after punch onto every available part of him that I could.

I'm not sure how he accomplished this, but using nothing but raw magic he managed to hurl me off of him. I was sent flying into the burning bookshelf, and the heat from it singed the fur on the left side of my face, as well as burning a few of my feathers. As I regained my footing he turned to face me, and I saw his face for the first time since my dream.

Except it wasn't him.

His hood having fallen off during our struggle, he was clearly not the same unicorn from my dream. Where there should have been a well groomed chestnut mane, instead there was a slicked back mane of flame red, and where there should have been deep blue eyes, there was bright green. The only similarities were that they were both unicorns and that they both had a silver coat.

"Ah, so you are the one my master speaks so highly of," he said, his voice changing from the dream unicorns to a mellow tenor. "Not really much to look at, are you? I expected more."

"Well, thanks for the frank appraisal of my appearance," I retorted, my wings flared in preparation. "Care to explain why you ransacked an innocent ponies cottage, and then proceeded to torture my friend for information she clearly didn't have?"

"Well, I do apologize if my methods were a bit..."

"Medieval?"

"I was going to say harsh, but whatever works for you. As for the information, she did posses it, but refused to relinquish it. She deserved what she got."

"Nopony deserves what you did to her. Except maybe you."

"Well, looks like somepony is in a bitter mood. I would fight you here, but my master wants you in as pristine a condition as possible, and I don't wish to disappoint him. I'll see you again soon enough."

"How's now fit into your schedule?" I asked as I charged, ready to fight to the death if I had to. I leaped to throttle him when he disappeared into a few wisps of black smoke. Just *POOF*, gone.

I tumbled through the smoke and landed belly first on the floor with a dull thud. Bewildered, I turned to where he had just been, wondering if my eyes were playing tricks on me. Alas, they weren't. He just simply wasn't there, gone like a snowball on a hot July day.

"Horse-apples. I couldn't even get a bloody name out of him."

"Evan, I need your help," said Fluttershy, snapping my thoughts back to Twilight, laying on the floor and struggling for breath.

I rushed over to find Fluttershy rubbing some sort of cream on Twilight's burn. "Oh good, at least you're alright," she said, looking up and breathing a sigh of relief. "While I'm working on her burned flank, could you get out the medical tape and bandage up her chest. I checked and there are only a few bruised ribs, but I just want to be safe."

I reached into the bags and pulled out a roll of tape, which I began to wrap around Twilight. She only winced slightly, which I took as a good sign.

"Twilight," I whispered, "I am so sorry."

"Sorry... for what," she asked through labored breaths.

"Sorry that I dragged you into this. Sorry that I forced my memories on you. Sorry that I delivered that freaking necklace to the party. This is all my fault."

"Evan," said Fluttershy, "Don't blame yourself. If anything, it was my fault for getting that as her gift in the first place."

"But I should've known better. When it started glowing when I picked it up, I should've just dropped it right there. I was being so STUPID!"

"Whoever's... fault it was... it doesn't matter now," interjected Twilight. "All that... we need to... to focus on... is finding that... unicorn in the forest."

"Twilight, stop talking," advised Fluttershy, "you need to save your strength. Here, let us help you get up to bed," she added as she applied a last bit of cream to her burn before bandaging it up.

We got on either side of Twilight and gently helped her to her hooves. She was a bit shaky at first, but managed to walk with us supporting her. We started the long steady climb up the stairs to her room, having to take it one step at a time.

"Hey," I asked, "where was Spike during all of this? I thought he was like your lifelong friend or something."

"He had to... go to... Canterlot. Royal... business."

"Oh. Well, he sure as hay picked an inconvenient enough time."

Twilight managed to force out a hoarse chuckle before she started coughing, but it showed that she would probably be none too worse for the wear when she healed up.

"Listen, I am so sorry that I dragged you into this. If you could find it somewhere in your heart to forgive me..."

"I... already have. You risked... risked your life... to fight off... that unicorn. You've... earned it."

"Thank you, Twi. I promise, I will make the pony behind this pay."

"Give... give him an... extra punch... for me," she said, forcing a smile

"You betcha," I replied, reciprocating her smile.

After an agonizing 15 minutes, we finally managed to get Twilight into bed, which she took to like a duck to a junebug.

"Now, I'm going to leave some bandages and the rest of that cream here," said Fluttershy as Twilight started to doze off. "I want you to change your bandages twice a day, once when you wake up and once before bed. Let me know if anything changes, or if the tissue starts to turn gangrenous. It hopefully shouldn't come to that, but let me know if it does."

"Thank... you," croaked Twilight before succumbing to her exhaustion. Fluttershy and I crept back downstairs to find that the book fire had burned itself out, but had left several of the tomes ruined. Aside from that and the door, though, nothing was really out of place in the library.

"Great," I muttered, "now what? Without Twilight, we have no guide to the ruins, which means we are even further behind than when we started."

"Well," offered Fluttershy, "maybe one of these books has a map in it that can show us the way."

"Hmm... possibly. Let's get looking."

We combed the library for a good hour, but were still nowhere nearer to finding any book that could show us the way.

"Any luck?" I asked as I combed the top shelf of the bookcase furthest from the door.

"None ye- wait, yes! I think I've got one!"

"Well, what's it called?"

"'A Historical Guide to the Everfree Forest' by Pen Stroke. Sound good?"

"Perfect. Stick it in your saddlebags, because we need to get to Rainbow Dash's place, pronto."

"Wait, we're going NOW?" asked Fluttershy, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, now. Whoever this unicorn from my dream is, he hires some pretty bad help to get what he wants. I have a feeling he isn't as prim and proper as he seemed to be, so we need to stop him as soon as possible from doing... whatever it is he's planning on doing."

"Are you sure it's wise to go into the forest when it's so... dark?" she asked, shuddering a little on that last word.

"It may not be wise, but unfortunately, it's necessary," I replied, getting the remains of her supplies packed away.

"I... I don't know," she said, kicking her hoof nervously. "Maybe it would just be better if I stayed here overnight, just to keep an eye on Twilight. I... I wouldn't want to slow you down. I'm just too much of a scardey-pony when it comes to that place. That's why I took so long on the preparations."

"Hey, it'll be alright," I said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "If there is one thing that you have shown me over the past week or so, it's that you can be tough when you need to be. Would a scardey-pony have been so quick to try and jump me because you thought I was a burglar?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Exactly. And would a scaredy-pony have gotten mad at me for sneaking out like I did?"

"No, I guess not," she replied, standing a little more confidently.

"Precisely. And would a scaredy-pony have decided on the drop of a hat to go into the forest with me in the first place?"

"No, a scaredy-pony wouldn't have."

"You have amazing stores of courage, you just need to learn to use them. And tonight is when you need to start. I need you to fly back to the cottage and replace anything you used while fixing up Twilight while I run and get Rainbow Dash, then meet me at the edge of the forest. Understood?"

"... Perfectly," she replied, standing tall before grabbing up her bags and zipping out the door. I followed her out, making my way towards the outskirts of town, where Rainbow's floating home was.

Things were about to get interesting.

===============

I reached Rainbow's home at 9:30 and fortunately her place was unmarred. That unicorn must not have discovered her connection with all of this yet, and for the time being I wanted it to stay that way.

It's a good thing that I'm a pegasus, and therefore can walk on the clouds that make up her home. I walked up to the door and gave it a vicious knock, part out of impatience and part out of worry. "Rainbow, you home?" I called, praying that she wasn't too asleep to hear me.

A few muffled grunts came from inside, as well as some very tired sounding hoof steps. The door swung open a few minutes later, to reveal a very tired Rainbow Dash, her mane in a tangle and bags under her eyes.

"This had better be important," she said, eyeing me up with a slightly annoyed expression.

"Is the cottage being ransacked by a crazy unicorn, as well as said unicorn breaking into the library and torturing Twilight for information she didn't have important enough?"

She snapped to attention at these words, eyes widening in horror. "Oh man, is everypony okay? Twilight isn't too hurt, is she?"

"Fluttershy and I fixed her up. As far as we could tell, it was nothing but a few bruised ribs and a really bad burn on her flank. Apparently, magic burns. Fluttershy and I are fine, thank goodness."

"Well, that's good to hear. Why did you come to see me, though? I would've probably found out tomorrow."

"We need to get into the forest tonight, and you agreed to come with us."

"Why? I thought that this was something Twilight wanted to do. If she is too hurt to go, then why are we?"

Welp, time to spill the beans.

"Okay, thing is... I wasn't being entirely honest with you."

"Oh boy, here it comes," she said, rolling her eyes. "Before you get into this, how 'bout we get more comfortable. C'mon in, grab a seat," she said, getting out from in the doorway to allow me entry. "You want anything? Soda, juice maybe?"

"I'll be fine," I said as I walked in. She went back upstairs, probably to get presentable, and I walked into the living room. Rainbow's house was actually pretty cool. It had a sort of old world feel to it, like ancient ruins that had been restored to their original state. There were large columns supporting the second floor, as well as tapestries that covered the walls, depicting large battle scenes.

But I wasn't there to critique the décor. I still had a lot to tell her, and I doubt that she was going to like any of it.

I was just settling onto a couch that seemed to be made entirely out of clouds wrapped in fabric when she came back down. She hadn't done much, just brushed the tangles out of her mane and gotten that general look of sleepiness out of her appearance.

"So," she began, sitting in the chair opposite me, "what is it you need to say?"

"Well, first thing is that this is no archeological expedition."

"Sorta figured that, based on how vague you were being when we talked yesterday."

"Yeah. Anyway, you may want to get comfortable, cause we could be here a while."

"I've got all the time in the world," she said, settling back in her chair. "Shoot."

And so I recounted to her everything, from the day I got here to what had happened at the library. I skipped over most of the boring parts, but gave her the whole picture within about an hour. By the end of it, it looked like her head was about to explode.

"Alright, let me wrap my brain around this," she said holding up one hoof. "You appeared here about two weeks ago. You have no idea how you got here, and only a few memories to guide you."

"Yep."

"Also, that necklace Twilight got is connected to you somehow, and there is a crazy unicorn out in the forest who you think wants it really bad. Bad enough to try and take it by force."

"That pretty much sums it up."

"And you didn't speak up sooner BECAUSE?"

"I had really wanted to keep this between Fluttershy and I, but I guess that cat's out of the bag."

"What else are you hiding, huh? Are you really a unicorn? Are you even a pony or what?"

"Listen, Rainbow-"

"No, YOU listen." she interjected, getting out of her chair. "I can understand why you lied to Fluttershy, you were just trying to protect her, but why did you have to lie to me? Were you ever planning on telling me, or was the incident at the library just a catalyst?"

"It wasn't anything like that. I was planning on telling you, but what happened just accelerated the process."

"Well, no matter who-or what-you are," she said with an accusatory glance, "I agreed to help, and I don't back out on a promise. Let me just get some stuff together and I'll meet you outside." She turned and galloped back upstairs, but I could tell she was peeved. Good thing her sense of loyalty was keeping her from backing out on this.

She came back downstairs five minutes later carrying her saddlebags, which appeared to be full to bursting, and with two rainbow colored stripes on her cheeks, just under the eyes.

"Well, are you just going to stand there, or are we going to get moving?" Her normally upbeat demeanor was cloaked under a cloud of cynicism, and I'm not quite sure I liked that aspect of her personality.

But who was I to judge? I'm just a compulsive liar.

"After you," I replied. We both took off, flying out the door. She maintained a quick pace, and I struggled just to keep up. It's almost like she was trying to lose me, trying to get out of my presence.

And who could blame her?

===============

We got to the part of the forest that borders the cottage at 11, thanks to the murderous pace that Rainbow kept while we were flying over. I was winded when we touched down and sat to catch my breath while Rainbow went over to talk to Fluttershy. She was probably venting about how I had kept her in the dark, but Fluttershy was good at calming ponies down.

After catching my breath, I went over to them, hoping that Rainbow had simmered down a little.

"Listen, I understand that he didn't want anypony getting hurt on this little expedition, but if I'm supposed to be a bodyguard then I have a right to know what's going on!"

Nope, she hadn't.

"Rainbow, I know that you're mad," said Fluttershy, in that same consoling voice she had used when I dislocated my wing, "and I was really mad when I found out too. I wanted to throttle him when I found out that he had lied to me. However, over time, I began to see things as he had probably meant them, and I could see why he wanted to keep this hidden. He was just trying to protect me, and he was just trying to protect you, too."

"For your information, I can protect myself just fine, thank you very much."

"And I'm certain that Twilight thought the same," I interjected, wanting to bring an end to this before it tore us apart. "But just look at what happened to her."

"Yeah, well that may as well have been your fault too," said Rainbow, getting up in my face. "If you hadn't insisted on going over there and fiddling around with that necklace, she probably wouldn't have been made a target. No matter which way you slice it, this is YOUR FAULT!!"

"Look, Rainbow, I never meant-"

"Yeah, well a fat lot of good what you MEANT did for Twilight. She's laid up, and it all comes down to you meddling in things that weren't any of your business."

"It was my business, that dream-"

"Oh yes, that dream," she said, in massive sarcasm, "THAT DREAM! How do you know that that wasn't just a dream, huh? How do you know that-"

"RAINBOW!!!" I bellowed at the top of my lungs, tired of being constantly interrupted, "I GET IT! I understand that this all comes down to me and my actions, and that Twilight's hurt because of me! I get that this may just be a wild goose chase! I get that I'm putting all of us in danger because of little more than a hunch! I GET IT, alright!? The last thing I need is YOU getting up in my face about this."

"No, that is EXACTLY what you need! You need somepony to bring you back down to the ground, to get you thinking straight again! You've been getting all worked up over nothing!"

"Is what happened to Twilight NOTHING!? Is what happened to the cottage noth-"

"QUIIIIEEETTT!!!" screamed Fluttershy, who until now had been silent. We both turned in shock at the unexpected third voice in this argument.

"Both of you, stop it RIGHT NOW! This constant infighting is going to tear us apart! Rainbow, you're probably right. Evan should have been more open with us from the get go about this whole thing."

"You're dang right I'm right," she said, throwing a dirty look to me.

"But that is no reason to throw the blame for everything that has happened since right on him. He couldn't have known that Twilight would be attacked any more than you could've. He did all that he could to protect her, even risking his life to fight off that unicorn that was torturing her. She also forgave him for getting her involved in this, or didn't he tell you?"

"Well, no," said Rainbow, her expression changing from rage to embarrassment. "He sort of skipped over that when he was giving me the abridged version of recent events."

"Well, she did. And if Twilight could forgive him, despite everything that happened to her, then I'm pretty sure that you can."

"But he-"

"Rainbow," said Fluttershy menacingly.

"*sigh*... I'm sorry, alright," she said to me begrudgingly.

"Sorry for what?" asked Fluttershy, arching one eyebrow.

"I'm sorry that I snapped like I did."

"And?"

"... And that I placed all the blame for this on you. I realize that you were just trying to help, and I was wrong to get so upset over it."

"Apology accepted," I said, giving Rainbow a quick hug, which she reluctantly returned. "And let me just say that I will try to be more open with you about things like this, as long as they won't get anypony hurt."

"Good job, both of you," said Fluttershy, getting out of mother-disciplinig-her-children mode. "Now back to the matter at hand."

"Right." I said "Do we have everything that we're going to need?"

"Yep. I've got all of the medical supplies and food that we're going to need."

"And I brought two pup tents, just in case we have to stop and set up camp," added Rainbow, shaking her saddlebags.

"Alright. And courtesy of Rarity, I have three sleeping bags packed into my own saddlebags. Well, let's get this over with. Ladies first," I said, gesturing to the entrance to the forest.

"Age before beauty," replied Rainbow Dash, mimicking my gesture.

"Oh, alright, little-miss-wisenheimer."

And thus I took my first steps into the Everfree Forest.

A bit anti-climactic, if you ask me.

Ch. 8

A New Perspective Ch. 8

It was a slow day at the Ponyville Cantina, the first they had had all week. There were a few of the usual barflies there, sitting in the booth and rambling on about one thing or another, as well as one purple pony with a grape cluster and strawberry cutie mark nursing a bottle of wine at the other end of the bar. Other than that it was just me, sitting on the barstool farthest from the door, staring into my mug.

A week had passed since the incident in the forest, and as far as I knew Fluttershy was still in the hospital. Rainbow had gotten back to the ruins as fast as possible, with Nurse Redheart, half the hospital staff, and the others in tow. Twilight was still walking with a noticeable limp, but she seemed to have gotten a little better.

I had still been cradling Fluttershy, her wounded form pressed against mine, and Redheart had to practically tear her out of my grip. They loaded her onto a stretcher and put her in the back of a hospital wagon, which they had refused me entrance to on the grounds that I was too distraught. What did they know about my mental state, anyway?

I used the walk back to fill in the gaps of what Rainbow had told to Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity, doing my best not to break down in front of them. By the end, even Pinkie had sadness etched onto her face. Still, they could tell that I was hurt by what had happened, and led me back to the cottage instead of to the hospital like I had planned. I spent the better part of four hours that night restoring the cottage, thinking that Fluttershy would be out of the hospital in a few days.

Rainbow visited the cottage the next day to tell me that Fluttershy was probably going to be in the hospital for two or three weeks, and that she hadn't even woken up since the previous night. She tried her best to comfort me, seeing as how she was the only other pony who knew how I felt for Fluttershy, but her words fell on deaf ears. I asked her if there was a bar in town, and she led me to this place.

Which brings me here, staring into a half full mug of cider and wallowing in self-pity, trying to drown out my sorrows.

Taking a sip, I reflected back on all that had happened since I arrived here. Two ponies had been hurt because of me, I had lied to them about what I knew, and had generally screwed up their lives. Everypony I had come into contact with had been harmed in some way, whether directly or indirectly. This whole thing had been one big screw up from the start, and it all came down to me.

No, that wasn't true. Part of this was that cult leader's fault. He's the one who brought me here, HE'S the one who contacted me, goading me towards him.

No, THAT wasn't true either. Ultimately, this was my own fault. If I had just listened to my common sense, had ignored his entreaties, none of this would have happened, and Fluttershy would still be alright. She'd still be at home, living a blissful existence and caring for her animals if I had just used my better judgement. But no, I had to play the hero. I had to put the lives of my closest friends in danger for my own selfish reasons. And I now had to pay the price for it.

The frustration welled up inside of me, and it ate away at my insides. It's one thing if something bad happens to a friend, but it's quite another when you were directly involved. My stomach was twisted into knots, and I stared at my mug in contempt. Here I was, avoiding what needed to be done just because of my own stupid self-interest. My anger finally coming to a head, I whipped the mug at the wall beside me. It smashed to pieces against it, and cider and glass fragments went everywhere. The ponies in the booth turned and looked, but went back to their conversation almost as quickly. The purple pony, on the other hoof, looked over so fast that she lost her balance and fell off of her barstool.

The bartender walked over to me, a scowl on his face. "I hope you're gonna pay for that," he growled. "Otherwise, we might have a problem."

I pulled out my wallet, only to find that I had barely any money left. I hadn't gone to work all week, and my finances were beginning to show it. I had to find some way to pay for the mug and the cider, but it became increasingly obvious that I might have to work it off. Oh well, it would give me something to take my mind off of my pain and misery.

"Don't worry, I'll cover it," came a voice from behind me as eight bits clattered onto the counter. Turning around I found Rainbow Dash, in her weather team vest and clicking her coin purse shut. Didn't think she even owned a purse, coin or otherwise.

"Rainbow, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I finished up early, which is quite the accomplishment seeing as how I've been having to cover for you all week."

"Oh... right."

"Anyway, I just got back from the library, and I have good news and possible bad news, depending on how you look at it. Which do you wanna hear first?"

"Uh, the bad news." Please, PLEASE don't let this be about what I think it's going to be about.

"Okay, but it would be better if I told you outside. I don't want to make a scene."

Hoo boy, this was going to be a scorcher.

We walked out to the parking lot together, away from the street so nopony would overhear us.

"So, what is this 'possible bad news'?"

"Well, Twilight just got a letter from Celestia and Luna, and the five of us that represent the Elements of Harmony, that being myself, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, have been summoned to the castle in Canterlot."

"So how is that bad news for me?"

"You've been summoned, too. We don't know why, but the princesses want to see you as well. Twilight's said some things about you in her letters, so it could just be a meet-n-greet, or it could be more serious."

Well, that was a sucker punch. Of course, who could blame them for wanting to see me? According to Twilight, they are very sensitive to magic because of the fact that they're alicorns, and I had sent up the equivalent of a magical homing beacon. I'm surprised it took them this long, actually.

"And the good news?"

"I went to the hospital to check up on Fluttershy before I went to the library, and... she's awake."

I didn't even respond to her. I simply flapped my wings and took off, going as fast as I could towards Ponyville Urgent Care. I barely noticed Rainbow trying to keep pace behind me, but as far as I was concerned, she wasn't even there. My mind was focused completely on Fluttershy.

I had a lot of things that I needed to say to her.

===============

I landed at Ponyville Urgent Care at a gallop, not slowing down for anything. I would've broken down the doors were it not for an orderly who opened them as I barreled through, needing to jump out of my way to avoid being trampled.

I ran up to the front desk, drawing a few stares from the ponies in the waiting room. One of the nurses from the ruins was at the desk, and she must have recognized me judging by how her face grew slightly darker.

"Oh, sir, it's good to see you. We were just abou-"

"What room is Fluttershy in?" I interrupted, not wanting to bother with the formalities."

"Sir, if you could just take a seat, I'm sure-"

"WHAT ROOM!?"

"Uh, 1-730 I think," she stammered out.

"Thanks," I said before galloping down the hall. There would be time to apologize later. I charged down the halls past nurses and doctors, all thoroughly confused as to who this pegasus was that was in such a hurry.

Let them be confused, I have a friend I need to talk to.

I only gave passing glances at the signs on the doors, just long enough to see the numbers without having to slow down. 1-724, 1-726, 1-728...

I practically screeched to a halt at the door to room 1-730, giving Rainbow a good minute or two to catch up. Despite my haste, my bravado, my need to go in that room, I just couldn't bring myself to do so. It wasn't that I was afraid of what she would look like, covered in bandages and probably hooked to an IV drip.

No, it was what she would think of me. I had led her to her near demise, had torn her away from the quiet life that she knew. A pony can't do that to you and you not feel a little vindictive towards them. She had plenty of reasons to hate me right now, and all of them perfectly justifiable.

"Well, aren't you going to go in, he-with-all-the-patience-of-a-boiling-tea-kettle?" asked Rainbow between breaths, trying to recuperate after chasing me down.

"I... I don't think I can," I answered, not taking my eyes off the door. "What will she say? Will she be angry? Forgiving? Will she even want to speak to me ever again?"

"Man, what the hay are you talking about? If it weren't for you, she'd probably be dead right now, and not to mention me as well. You'll be fine."

"I don't know Rainbow. I don't think I could handle her being mad at me, not over this. Sneaking out to see Twilight is one thing, but I almost got her killed!"

"Look," said Rainbow, taking my face in her hooves, "it'll be alright. Trust me, she isn't mad. She was actually asking if you had tried to visit her while she was comatose, and was a little disheartened when she heard that you had spent the week in a sleazy bar."

"Really?"

"Really. Now get in there," she said, pushing the door open. "Hey Fluttershy, you have a visitor!" she called as she shoved me over the threshold and slammed the door behind me.

Her hospital room was actually quite roomy, or it would've been were it not for all of the get well cards, balloons, and bouquets that were littering the place. Through the clutter I saw the bed, and the figure laying in it. My heart caught in my throat, tears welling up in my eyes.

Fluttershy was laying down, maybe trying to get some rest. She was swaddled in bandages and hooked up to an EKG monitor, an IV in her left foreleg was dripping some sort of clear solution into her veins. It was the most humbling sight I had ever seen, and did nothing to improve my demeanor. I hesitantly shuffled over to the bed, brushing past balloons and cards while trying not to make a sound.

Drawing up next to her bed, I could see that there was at least one thing to be thankful for. As far as I could tell, her face had been left untouched by whatever arcane torment had unleashed itself on the rest of her body. She seemed almost at peace, eyes shut in a dreamless sleep, one that could bring true rest. I gave her the gentlest of nudges with my forehead, meant more as a sign of affection than anything, but it was enough to rouse her from her sleep.

Sleepily, she opened her eyes and looked up at me. Smiling weakly she said, "Hey Evan."

"Hey sleepyhead. A little birdie told me that you had woken up, and I wanted to see for myself," I quipped, again using humor to mask my suffering. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better now that you're here. I was wondering when you were going to drop by. How about you?"

"Well, I've been better. Severe depression isn't as cracked up as everypony makes it out to be."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, as Rainbow undoubtedly told you when she visited, I've been drowning my problems in cider, or at least trying to. It takes my mind off of the fact that I nearly got you and Rainbow killed."

"Evan, you don't have anything to be ashamed about. It wasn't your fault."

"Oh, but it was. If I had just listened to that little voice in my head that says 'No, don't do this', then we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. We'd be at the cottage, living a happy little pastoral life. It's my fault that you're in this mess."

"It's nopony's fault but that unicorn at the ruins'. You were following what he told you, so you were just as much the victim as I was."

"Then explain why he turned his hatred on you rather than me? I was the prominent threat, not you. You had nothing to do with this."

"Evan, it doesn't matter why he did this, all that matters is what you make of it. You can either choose to wallow in depression, or you can get past it and do something about it."

"Good grief, why do you have to be so nice?" I asked in frustration, placing my head in my hooves. "Can't you feel even the slightest bit of anger at the fact that I almost got you KILLED!?"

"No, I can't," she answered, sitting up in her bed, a small smile appearing. "Call it crazy, but I simply can't find fault with what happened, or anything that you've done wrong since you got here."

"Why? What is it with you? I mean, I know you're the Element of Kindness, but I'd be royally P.O.'ed by this point. I've lied to you, Rainbow, and everypony else I've met, gotten the cottage ransacked and Twilight tortured, and put you and Rainbow in harm's way for myself. Why can't you HATE ME!?" The tears I had been barely holding back flowed out, and I put my head down on the bed, trying to drown out my own tortured thoughts. "It's all that I deserve," I managed to choke out.

I felt a hoof running through my mane, and I lifted my eyes to find Fluttershy gently stroking the top of my head. She still had that slight smile on her face, and I suddenly felt like I was five years old again.

Then it happened, a moment I had been anticipating with both abject terror and sheer joy. A moment that had inhabited my dreams, yet seemed more terrifying than the worst nightmare.

She kissed me.

Lifting my face so that it was level with hers, she kissed me. It wasn't a long one, but it seemed like it lasted forever. Her soft, warm lips pressed against mine, we melted into each other, neither wanting this fleeting moment of peace amidst a storm of uncertainty to end. The world came to a standstill as we sat there in each other's embrace.

When we separated I was filled with a new sort of vigor. Any lingering doubts on the seriousness of our relationship were thrown out the window, and my outlook on life changed in about a picosecond. She loved me!

"That's why. Do you think you deserved that?" she asked, my face still in her hooves.

"Nope, but it still felt good. Thanks, for everything. And sorry for being a bit of a drama queen."

"You're quite welcome, and don't be. You were distraught, and you weren't thinking straight. It could've happened to anypony."

"I guess so. Still though, thanks. Now, if you'll excuse me," I said, rising to my hooves, "I have to go and tell everypony in town the good news. Gossip won't spread without a source, or so I've been told."

With a giggle, she waved as I walked out into the hall, a new spring in my step. I felt like singing to the world. I bet even Pinkie Pie couldn't beat me in a happiness contest right about now.

I trotted out into the waiting room to find Rainbow Dash reading some sort of sports magazine. She looked up, her pink eyes filled with worry. Worry which evaporated like an ice cube in July when she saw the smile on my face.

"It went well, I assume," she said.

"Try the best 15 minutes I've ever spent in a hospital. She kissed me!"

"No way!?" she said, eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"Yeah way! She loves me! SHE LOVES ME!!" I was so overjoyed that I started bouncing in a very Pinkie Pie-esque way. It may have been as out of place in a hospital as a clown in a cemetery, but social morays are for those who aren't in love.

"Now aren't you glad I shoved you in there?" asked Rainbow, putting her magazine back and making to leave.

"I'm as happy as a clam. At least before you rip the poor blighters out of their shells and dip them in sauce."

Rainbow gave a hearty chuckle at my lame joke, caught up as she was in the moment. "Anyway, I'm happy for you. You wouldn't happen to know what time it is, would you?"

Looking over at the nearby wall clock, I said, "About 2:30, why?"

"Oh hay, we were supposed to be at the library half an hour ago! We're all meeting the princesses there to be taken to the castle!"

"Well, lead on you crazy diamond."

===============

We got to the library in 10 minutes thanks to the breakneck pace we maintained, and saw the others waiting outside. While Pinkie was her same usual, bubbly self, Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight seemed a bit out of sorts. We landed with enough noise to draw their attention, and they came galloping over.

"Finally," exclaimed Twilight, more than a bit annoyed. "Where were you two?"

"We dropped by the hospital to see how Fluttershy's doing," offered Rainbow Dash.

"Well, y'all couldn't have cut it any closer if you'd tried," added Applejack. "Here come the princesses now!"

"Where, I don't see a carriage," I asked, looking down the various roads leading to the library.

"Not there, silly," said Pinkie, grabbing my head and tilting it skyward. "There!"

And sure enough, there were two sky bound chariots coming right at us, one white and gold, the other black and midnight blue. In between the two was a large round carriage that looked as if it could fit all six of us quite comfortably, and all three were being pulled by armor clad pegasi. A brief fanfare announced their arrival, just to be sure everypony knew.

The chariots landed softly, and two mares I could only assume were the princesses disembarked. The taller of the two was a true picture of royalty, with a flowing rainbow mane that moved on it's own and a golden tiara, with horseshoes and a breastplate to match. The smaller (and probably the younger) had just as much regal beauty, with a mane of shimmering stars and a tiara and armor of deep navy blue.

"Psst!" hissed Rainbow Dash as she elbowed me in the side. Looking down, I noticed that she and the others were all bowing in reverence. Oops. I hastily got down on one knee and averted my eyes, praying that they hadn't noticed.

"Please, there's no need for the formalities. We have much to discuss and little time to do so."

We all got to our hooves, and found the white alicorn (who I'm assuming is Celestia) standing over us, her expression grim. Luna followed closely behind, and didn't look any better.

"Princesses, it's good to see you again," said Twilight with a bow of the head.

"We only wish the feeling were mutual," said Luna. "Unfortunately, I fear that we bring bad tidings."

"What do you mean?"

"We would explain, but it is too easy to be overheard here. I'm afraid it will have to wait until we are back at the castle."

"Whatever you say," said Twilight, motioning for all if us to follow her to the carriage. I was just about to step on when I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I turned to find Celestia stopping me.

"Not you. I apologize, but I would like to speak to you personally."

"Oh, um, of course your majesty."

"Please, call me Celestia," she said, leading me over to her chariot. Perfect, now she's getting chummy. Luna was already on board, her chariot having long since departed. A cold sweat broke out on my brow, and it was all I could do to maintain my composure.

Whatever this was about, I doubt that it was good. I'm not nearly as well-versed in the ways of magic as Twilight, but I think they knew that I was the one who sent up that bolt of energy in the forest. Gulp.

The carriage took off before we did, probably to ensure that the others wouldn't hear us. With a stamp of Celestia's hoof the guards rocketed into the sky. My stomach felt like it had left my body and only realized it when the rest of me was some sixty feet away. Quite the discomforting feeling, mind you, and not doing anything to help my frazzled nerves.

"So," I offered, trying to drum up a conversation, "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much. I simply wanted to get a chance to know you better. Twilight has said quite a bit about you in her letters, so I thought it would be nice to meet the stallion in question personally." She seemed purposely evasive, so I thought I'd press the issue a little.

"Well, it really is an honor to meet ponies of your stature in society. Not everyday you meet the rulers of an entire country. But, if I could be so blunt, what exactly is this whole thing about? I mean, Rainbow Dash told me you specifically needed the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, so I doubt that this is a simple meet and greet."

Luna looked nervously at Celestia and asked, "Do you want me to tell him, or should you?" Uh oh.

"Hmm... you. You tend to have a calming effect on ponies, something that has always eluded my grasp."

"Especially since you caught me up on Equestrian culture and dialect after the fiasco at the last Nightmare Night."

"Well, it was a little remiss of me to not have you tutored after you came back."

"A LITTLE remiss? It was a public relations disaster in Ponyville, one that was only fixed in the nick of time by your student. Were it not for her, the whole thi-"

"Uh, sorry to interrupt," I interjected, "but you had something you needed to tell me?"

"Oh, right. Sorry that I got off on that tangent. Anyway, this news really is more for the bearers of the elements than anypony, but you seem trustworthy enough, and you know all of the bearers personally, so they no doubt would have told you. A week ago, my sister and I felt a strong magical presence come erupting out of Everfree Forest, one that we had not felt since before my..."

"Banishment?" I supplied, my voice cracking slightly at the revelation.

"Right... that," she muttered, looking at her hooves.

"Oh, Luna, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up."

"No, it's alright. It's simply another part of history. One that I might have had a more direct involvement with, but history nonetheless. Think nothing of it."

"Right. So, you were saying?"

"Anyway, we would have contacted the bearers sooner, but there were matters of great importance that needed to be dealt with in the government so as not to cause a panic. Some of our more magically attuned unicorns in Canterlot felt the onrush of magic and demanded an audience with us, wondering what it meant."

"We managed to assuage most of their fears, but the sheer number of ponies was what kept us so busy. You would not believe how quickly news spreads of magical happenings in this city. We only managed to get the courier out yesterday, and he was the fastest that we had."

"Ah." Well, pony-feathers. This is exactly what I was afraid of. Can't say I didn't see this coming at least. But now how do I keep the others from mentioning my involvement with out the princesses knowing? The last thing I want is to be dragged into Equestrian politics or whatever that unicorn is planning. Or what the princesses might have planned.

"Hold on, you mentioned that you had felt something like this before. From what I understand, magical beacons aren't all that common, so do you have any idea what may have caused this?"

"How'd you know that it was a magical beacon?"

Horse-apples, me and my big fat cake socket. Gotta think, think think think!

"Uh, Twilight told me." Yeah, that would hold. "Being one of the most magical unicorns in Equestria, she picked it up really easily, and then told the rest of us about it." Good, good.

"I see," replied Luna, eyeing me suspiciously. "Well, it was good of Twilight to tell you. She must really count you among her good friends. Oh, there's the city now," she added pointing with her hoof. I followed her hoof with my eyes.

If I were walking, I would have tripped over my own jaw with the sheer amount of awe that was throttling my brain.

Before us stood the capitol city of Canterlot, in all of it's resplendent glory. Almost every building was decked out with gold or purple design, and the curved marble architecture espoused a feeling of grandness. One structure stood out above all the rest, and I could make a pretty educated guess as to its purpose.

I let out a low, sliding whistle, like the type you would emit if you were passing by a road accident. "Wow. Just, wow," I stuttered out, my brain still grasping at what I was seeing.

"Yes, it is beautiful, isn't it?" said Celestia, not taking her eyes off of the sky.

"That's one way to put it, I suppose. Another would be retina-burningly glorious, but I guess that's a matter of opinion."

"Indeed it is. My view on the place may be dampened by having lived here a thousand and some odd years, but it is beautiful no matter which way you look at it. We'll be landing in the castle courtyard over there," she said, gesturing over to the flat expanse within the outer walls of the really big structure.

The chariot ground to a halt with an accompanying whinny from the guards at the front. I leaped down from the chariot to find the others milling about. Pinkie was the first to notice our arrival, and signaled it with a big ol' wave and a smile that could barely fit on her face. Typical Pinkie Pie.

Applejack walked over to greet us. "Well, it's about time y'all got here. Was the flight alright?"

"It was fine," answered Luna. "It was very... informative," she added, looking at me mischievously, a sly smirk on her lips.

"...Alright then," said AJ, suspicious eyes flicking between me and Luna. "Anyways, what say we get this show on the road, hmm?"

"Certainly," answered Celestia, rearing up to her full regal height. "Everypony assembled," she said loudly enough so that the others could hear, "We are to go to the Canterlot Parliamentary House held within these very walls to meet before the Equestrian Senate."

"I thought you and Celestia ran the show around here. What gives?" I muttered to Luna, everypony else watching Celestia.

"Well, that's what I assumed, but apparently we became a constitutional monarchy a few hundred years ago. Sister and I are still heavily involved in ruling the country, but we share it with the senate."

"This will be a new experience for all of you," Celestia continued, "but do not worry. As the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, you hold almost as much sway in the senate that Luna and I hold, and will be treated with the deference that is due your position. Now follow me, there is much that needs to be discussed." She took off at a brisk pace towards the castle doors, but we all managed to keep up.

The doors to the Parliament House swung open with a dull creak, and everywhere I looked there were ponies of every type seated in the gallery. Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth Ponies jammed in there like sardines, all dressed to the nines and talking quietly amongst themselves. The pony I could only assume was the prime minister, or whatever the highest governmental position was, was seated at the far end of the room.

A hush fell on the room as everypony turned to look at us. A cold sweat broke out on my brow, and panic started setting in. To everypony else, I was just a random pegasus in a stupid coat. The fact that I was in the company if the rulers of Equestria and five of the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony did nothing to calm my screaming mind.

"Ah, Celestia, good of you to come on such short notice," said the stallion at the other end of the room. Gesturing to the gathered ponies, he added, "Now that our beloved regents and the Bearers are here, we can begin. As we are all very much aware, a great distur- Celestia," he said, interrupting himself, "if I could be so bold, but who is the stallion standing next to your sister? I don't recognize him.

"Oh, where are my manners? Mr. Prime Minister, this is Evan. He is here as my personal guest, and would ask that you treat him as such." She added a small reassuring wink and a smile to me. I need to remember to thank her later.

"Very well then. Evan, if you and the six Bearers of the Elements would take your sea- wait, one of the Bearers is missing! Where is the Element of Kindness?"

A murmur broke out in the crowd, obviously disquieted by the absence of one of the six Elements. Celestia was about to answer when I jumped in.

"Mr. Prime Minister, if you mean Flutershy, she is currently hospitalized at Ponyville Urgent Care, and will be for the next two weeks or so."

"Well, do you happen to know what happened to her? We could certainly use her guidance and insight in this matter. Oh, this is simply dreadful. The proceedings are going to take much longer without her."

"Sir," I said, keeping an even tone, "from what I can tell it was severe burns on most of her body. I'd be happy to fill in for her, if that's alright."

"Very well then, take your seat." I sat in the chair between Rainbow Dash and Rarity, Rainbow offering a consoling smile.

I felt a hoof on my shoulder, and turned to find Rarity giving me a pat on the back.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay, dear? You took what happened pretty hard, and you're as pale as a sheet."

"I'll be fine," I answered, offering a brief smile.

"Just remember, we're all here for you, through thick and thin."

"Thanks Rarity. You really know how to help a pony back to his feet."

"That's what I'm here for, darling," she replied, turning back to the proceedings.

"Now, as I was saying," continued the Prime Minister, "there has been a great disturbance in our land. Last week, a large magical force was detected coming out of the Everfree Forest. While our most gracious princesses have assured us that all is well, I convened this meeting of the Equestrian Senate to decide on whether or not to investigate the matter. Now, I would allow the pegasus contingent from Appleoosa to speak on the matter..."

And that's how it went for eight... bucking... hours! Each of the three types from every town and municipality and city in Equestria going on a half hour rant about the merits of exploration and all those horse-apples. By the end, only Twilight was still paying attention, being the sickeningly wholesome nerd that she is. Even Pinkie was sound asleep, and I was barely managing to hold my eyes open. Only a couple of times did they actually ask for our opinion, and that was early in the proceedings. Lord, I despise government bureaucracy.

My patience was hanging by a thread, and I was surprised that I hadn't simply gotten up and left by now. I had no business being here, and I couldn't even decipher half of the buzzwords that they were using. I should be out there looking for that unicorn, for Fluttershy's would-be murderer. But here I was, thoroughly entangled in the political machine.

"What I really wish to know is what exactly caused this magical catastrophe," piped up a pegasus from Ponyville. I had finally had enough, and I was ready to put in my two bits.

"You want to know what happened?" I asked, rising from my chair. "You REALLY want to know?"

"Evan, what are you doing?" hissed Rainbow Dash, who had been roused from her sleep by my outburst.

"Don't worry, I've got a plan."

"I beg your pardon, but what could you possibly know about this?" asked the Prime Minister, obviously taken aback by my breach of etiquette.

"Oh, do you want the alphabetical or chronological listing on what I know about this? Well, for starters, I know who caused this, and their intent on doing this."

"Well, tell us!" Everypony was on the edge of there seats, staring hard at me. Showtime.

"I was in the Everfree Forest last week, along with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. We were traveling to the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters for some archeological research. When we arrived there, we encountered a cult. They captured my two companions and myself, and their leader told me that they were trying to bring about a new world. He claimed that sacrifices had to be made, and a ring of unicorns proceeded to channel their magic into some sort of killing spell, which they were going to use on Rainbow and Fluttershy."

Everypony watched me with rapt attention, and a few of the mares covered their mouths in shock when they heard about the killing spell.

"I'm not quite sure what happened next, but I felt energy surge through my body, shattering the shackles holding me to the ground. I took their leader head on, but it was too late. The ring had started the spell, and Fluttershy was to be their first victim. He disappeared into a cloud of smoke, and I flew to get Fluttershy out of the spell." I was barely holding myself together, all of the old thoughts and sadness welling back up during my recitation.

"Its hateful energies turned on me, but instead of harming me, they built up inside of me, until they exploded out in the magical beacon that the more magically equipped of you picked up last week."

Everypony was shocked at this revelation, and even the princesses looked thoroughly horrified. A few ponies even fainted.

"What about Fluttershy?" asked an earth pony from the Fillydelphia side of the room. "What happened to her?"

"After the energies died down, I found a room charred with magical energies and all the cultists conveniently missing. I untied Rainbow, who then went to check on Fluttershy. I went to see and she... she..." My voice cracked, and I barely managed to say through my thickening voice, "She's not here today because of me." Here it comes.

I collapsed to my knees, right there in front of the entire senate, and cried. Rarity ran over to me, laying a hoof around my back and held me, trying to calm me down. I let the tears flow freely, damn what the senate thought.

I heard sniffles in the crowd, and could see some of the representatives, even the stallions, shedding a few tears for me. The Prime Minister, however, seemed just as stuffy and stoic as ever.

"That... that was impressive. That you would sacrifice yourself for a friend is something to be commended. Unfortunately, as you are now obviously a threat to this insane and wicked cult, I am afraid that I have no options here. I move to banish Evan from Equestria, in perpetuity throughout our great land, until such a time as this situation has been remedied and the cult dealt with."

Wait, WHAT!?!?

Ch. 9

A New Perspective Ch. 9

"Sir, I'm not sure I heard you correctly" I said, drying my tears and rising to my hooves, shivers wracking my body. Rarity stepped to the side, horror carved into her expression.

"While it pains me to say so, my hoof has been forced. You simply have to leave, at least until this matter is settled."

No. This isn't how it ends. This isn't supposed to happen! THIS ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN!!

"You... you can't do this! I'm one of the only ponies who knows what the buck's going on! You need me to stop this guy!"

"Well, be that as it may, that is not for me alone to decide. We must hear from the princesses, as well as the rest of the senate."

"Celestia, please!" I cried out, "You can't let him do this."

She rose slowly, showing the gravity of the situation with each subtle movement. Her eyes hardened into a steely gaze, and truly looked the part of the ruler of Equestria.

"Evan," she said, in a strong yet caring voice, "You do strike me as a proper stallion and a true friend. You showed immeasurable courage and bravery in the face of almost certain destruction, and you are to be lauded for that. However, if what you have said here today is true, then I have no choice but to agree with the Prime Minister's proposal."

"NO!" came a yell to my right. Rainbow Dash flew up out of her seat and right up into Celestia's face, her eyes filled with righteous fury.

"Rainbow Dash, what is the meaning of this?"

"You know very well what the meaning of this is! You are NOT banishing him, not if I have anything to say about it!" Thank the lord for her.

"Rainbow, while I do respect your opinion, I must ask you to take your seat. You're making a scene."

"Well, maybe I wouldn't be making a scene if you weren't going along with this idiots half-baked proposal!" she added, pointing an accusatory hoof at the Prime Minister. "Fluttershy and I would be DEAD without him, and you just want to throw him out like a pile of moldy hay?! I was there, and what I saw was unlike anything I'd seen before. When he took on the cult leader, it wasn't just adrenaline that helped. He... changed," she added, looking over at me with a worried glance.

"What do you mean 'changed'?" asked Celestia and I in unison.

"I saw it when you flew over my head and slammed into him," she said, turning to me. "You were... bigger, stronger, and magic was flying off of your body in sparks. When you looked down at me while you were taking the spell, I saw that your eyes went completely white, and were actually glowing with energy."

"But why didn't you mention it when I undid your gag? You can't see something like that and not want to tell the pony it happened to."

"Call it a lapse of judgement, but I really didn't think you needed that weight added to your shoulders as well as everything else," she answered, flying back over to me.

This certainly throws a wrench in my defense. If what she's saying happened actually happened, then I'm as good as gone. I doubt the senate is going to allow a pegasus with such pent up magic to go free.

"Sister," said Luna, rising from her throne and walking over to Celestia, "I think we should let him stay, at least for a while." My heart skipped a beat. This could be the sort of ace in the hole I needed.

"What makes you say that?"

"Just look at him. He obviously wouldn't hurt a fly, even if he has the magic in him to call down arcane lightning. Plus, he does have a point. If he knows as much about this cult as he claims, we could use his counsel."

"*sigh* Luna, you know I value your advice over any other pony in Equestria, but you are still new to the way things are run now. Putting in a good word would do little for him. While you and I hold positions of high power in this government, it is ultimately up to the senate to decide his fate. Everypony in here, including you and I, only has one vote in this matter."

"So your saying that we're POWERLESS?!" Her voice rose, and lightning crackled through her mane. "An innocent pony's fate hangs in the balance, and you would be more willing to uphold the status quo and the system than you would uphold justice? He has done nothing wrong! He's merely a victim of circumstance!"

"Luna, I'm sorry, but these are our laws. If we don't uphold them, then what separates us fro-"

"Oh, don't EVEN start with that, Tia! Our laws are here for the protection of everypony's rights. Sentencing a pony to exile without just cause is wrong, even if it follows the 'law' to the letter."

"Um, your majesties, if I could say something," I interjected before the magic started flying.

"What?" answered Luna, and none to kindly if I could be so bold.

"Look, I don't want this anymore that you do. It would mean having to leave my friends, my life I've made for myself here, but I'm not going to go down on bended knee and fight for my right to live here. I'm looking at you, Mr. 'Prime Minister'," I added, throwing him a nasty glare.

"Mr. Prime Minister," piped up Twilight, horrified that I had spoken so disrespectfully towards him, "he doesn't mean to imply that you-"

"I mean every last bit of it, Twi, and I am not going to be silenced. Not by you, the princesses, or even the entire senate."

The murmurs that broke out amongst the assembled ponies only exacerbated my growing anger at the situation, but I managed to get my boiling temper back in check.

"Listen, I understand where you're coming from with this," I said, walking over to the Prime Minister, "and were our roles reversed, I would be doing the exact same thing. But you have to believe me when I say that I have no more of an idea as to why what happened in the forest happened than you do. I need you to trust me to do what's right for this country, not just for my own sake, but for that of my friends and everypony in the land."

The narrowing of his eyes did not give much confidence, to say the very least.

"I'm sorry, but I simply cannot do that," he whispered before turning to the general assembly. "If the senate would allow me, I would like to go against protocol and vote on this matter immediately."

I turned to Celestia and Luna, hoping that they could stop him, but both of their expressions were grim. I knew then just how deep of a hole I had dug myself into, and it ate up my insides like a parasite.

"All in favor of banishing Evan from Equestria, until such a time as it is expedient to have him re-enter our noble land, raise your right hoof."

My eyes scanned the room, and even after all that had happened hooves were flying up left and right, Celestia's among them. There wasn't a single town that didn't have a representative voting against me. So much for due process.

"All opposed?"

After that horrendous display, I didn't expect anypony's hoof to go up. There were a few tentative hooves raised in the stands, as well as Luna holding hers high, but all they did was magnify just how screwed I was. I looked back to find Rainbow and the others all raising their hooves, but the looks on their faces told a grim tale.

"Very well then," said the Prime Minister, slamming his gavel. "Let it be known that the pegasus known as Evan is hereby exiled from Equestria, a sentence which is to take effect two weeks from this day. Guards, escort the convicted out."

The clanking of armor announced the royal guards, who flanked me on either side to escort me out. I calmly followed, although my mind and my heart were screaming for me to put up a fight. I took one last look back at the assembly, and up behind the Prime Minister, I swear I could see Luna shed a single tear for me.

===============

The flight back was done mostly in silence, although Rainbow would not stop going on about what had happened. I was actually thankful when the carriage stopped at the cottage to let me out, just so I could get away from the incessant nattering.

I immediately flopped down onto my couch, not bothering to take off my vest or even wipe my feet, I was just that tired. My eyes slammed shut, and as if on cue, I was in that corridor. Again.

The door was once again wide open, but I was allowed to go at my own pace. I purposely went as slow as I could, just to cheese him off. Eventually, I did find my way back to the light, and dropped out into the chamber, fire flickering brightly and the unicorn waiting patiently.

"Well, it's about time," he said. "I was beginning to worry."

"Oh, far be it for me to want to make you wait."

"It seems that somepony's upset. Might I inquire as to why?"

"You know damn well why! You and your little cult have cost me everything! My friends, my home... the love of my life! You've taken it all!! Why can't you just do whatever you need to without me!? What makes me so important?"

"Oh, how I wish I could tell you, how I wish I could lay all the cards on the table. It would certainly make things simpler, and hopefully less violent. Unfortunately for the two of us, though, I am bound by certain... restrictions, as it were."

"What restrictions?"

"Well, I'm already pushing it by having contacted you so many times, but there's more. My employer was very specific as to what I can and cannot do in regards to this assignment."

"Well, if you aren't going to spill your guts, literally or figuratively, then we're done here." I rose and turned to leave.

"Wait, stop!"

I only gave a backward glance. He had risen from his seat, eyes widened in alarm. "What else could you possibly want?"

"A great many things, but they're not important. You should know this, though. I engineered your exile, but not for the reasons you believe."

That certainly got my attention. "Why? What reason could you possibly have for planning this out?"

"Your own survival. The eyes of fate are about to look unfavorably on Ponyville. If you value what you have gained there, I suggest that you preserve what you can while you can."

"Well, where have I heard THAT before? Hmm, let me think... oh yeah, right before you nearly MURDERED FLUTTERSHY!! What in the name of Celestia makes you think that I'm going to listen now?"

"The fact that I was right. The unthinkable did happen, and it's about to again. Do what I say, and you just might survive this reckoning."

"Yeah, whatever," I said off-handedly, making my way into the portal.

The rest of my sleep that night was tormented by thoughts of going into exile. What would I bring? What would everypony think? Would they even remember me? Thoughts whirled through my head all night, and I awoke with a splitting headache, having not gotten a wink of true sleep.

Well, not so much awoke as gained a conscious awareness of my surroundings, anyway.

I heard a faint sizzling coming from the kitchen, as well as hushed whispers and hisses to try and silence the others.

"Guys, ya'll need to be quiet! He'll hear us."

"You're the one being loud! Maybe if you stopped shushing us, there wouldn't be so much noise!"

A crash sounded from the kitchen, followed by the tinkling of glass and a shout from the kitchen.

"Oh no, the orange juice! I just squeezed that!"

"Well ya shouldn't have tried to carry everything out at once. There ain't no shame in makin' a second trip."

I looked up from the couch, and sure enough there was a large orange puddle spreading across the kitchen floor. I stumbled up to my hooves and ambled over to the kitchen to find three young fillies vainly trying to clean up the juice in silence.

"Girls, what's going on?"

Apple Bloom jumped when she heard me. "Aw man, we wanted it to be a surprise. When Applejack came home last night and I asked what had happened, she said that you were feeling sad. If there's one thing that I won't stand for, it's another Crusader being sad."

"So that led to you sneaking in and..."

"We were going to make you breakfast in bed!" answered Sweetie Belle.

"I appreciate the gesture, don't get me wrong, but how did you even get in? I'm pretty sure I locked up last night."

"Oh, the door wasn't locked in any serious way," said Scootaloo, walking across the room to get a broom for the glass. "That lock picking we tried out really helped."

Great, so I've inadvertently turned an innocent filly into a potential felon. Just perfect.

"Well, let me help you get this cleaned up at least."

"No no, we made this mess, we'll clean it up," offered Sweetie. "You just go sit back on the couch. Breakfast will be up shortly. They even let me put the garnish on the plate."

"Well... alright," I relented, going back to the living room. I was going to miss those girls. It would break their little hearts to hear that I was being ousted.

I smiled slightly. Knowing Scootaloo, she'd probably put up a big fuss. Heck, she may even stow away on whatever prison carriage they transport me on. Unfortunately, the thought only made me hope harder than ever that this weren't happening, made me wish that I could just turn back the clock on this whole sordid affair.

The girls walked out a couple of minutes later, a tray of hot food balanced across all three of their backs. It all looked delicious, nice fluffy scrambled eggs, hot pancakes, and a blueberry muffin. And sure enough, there was a bit of parsley next to the eggs, just like Sweetie Belle had said.

"Thank you girls. A nice hot breakfast will definitely help. Who made it?"

"Not Sweetie, obviously," answered Scootaloo sarcastically. "You should have seen the time she tried to make breakfast for us. She managed to burn the juice!"

"It wasn't that bad," said Apple Bloom. "At least she tried."

"Yeah!" added Sweetie indignantly

"Anyway, it took a couple of tries on the pancakes, but Scootaloo is actually a pretty good chef," said Apple Bloom, getting the conversation back on track.

I dug into the eggs, which were as close to perfection as anything I had ever tasted, probably even more so than what Fluttershy had made for me.

"Wow, this is superb," I said between bites. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that cooking could very well be your special talent."

"No way! Something as namby pamby as cooking could never be my talent. I'd have something awesome, like running, or hangliding, or zip lining!"

"Just throwing out a suggestion. Still though, thanks a lot girls. This really hits the spot."

"So, what's wrong anyway?" asked Sweetie. "When Rarity got home last night, she said that you got really upset about Fluttershy's accident in the meeting in Canterlot."

"Is nothing I do a secret? Still, that did happen, as well as a few other things. *sigh* Girls, I'm not going to lie to you," I said, pushing the tray away. "The senate has ordered that I have to leave Equestria, two weeks from now."

The looks on their faces ranged from shock on Apple Bloom to sadness on Sweetie Belle to anger on Scootaloo. Just like I thought, they weren't taking it well.

"But... but why?" sputtered out Sweetie, trying to keep from crying. "What did you do wrong? You're such a nice pony!"

"Well, it's nothing that I did, really-"

"Then why are they banishing you for something you didn't do?! It's not fair!"

"Sweetie, there's more to it than that." I said, stepping off of the couch. "You see, last week Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and I went into the Everfree Forest on an archeological expedition. It started out simply enough, but it got really bad really fast."

"What happened?" asked Scootaloo, probably hoping that Rainbow had managed to save the day.

"Well, see, there were these really mean ponies in the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, and they ponynapped Rainbow and Fluttershy. They chained me to the floor, and started saying that they needed to sacrifice Fluttershy and Rainbow to remake Equestria. They almost succeeded, too."

"But, if it was that buncha ponies that was kidnapping other ponies, then why are you being punished?" asked Apple Bloom, her shock changing to curiosity.

"Well, they started hurting Fluttershy, and something happened to me. Rainbow said that it was like I was supercharged with magic, and I broke my chains. I tried to take the leader head on, but he teleported away. I then shoved Fluttershy out of the killing spell, and it got turned on me. It didn't hurt me, though, but instead charged me up with magic until it burst out in a bolt of magic lightning."

"Oh yeah, I was out on my scooter when I heard that. That was you? That is so awesome!"

"It really wasn't all that awesome, Scoot. Fluttershy got really hurt, and that's why I had to go to Canterlot along with Rarity, Applejack, and the others. The Prime Minister said that I need to leave until they fix this because they think I might attract those evil ponies here."

"Well, I guess that that KINDA makes sense," said Sweetie, drying her eyes. "But I'm going to miss you, we all will."

"And I'll miss you three too. You have no idea how much I'm going to miss you."

Sweetie jumped up and wrapped her front legs around my neck, rubbing her head against my chest. "I don't want you to leave. You don't have to."

"Yeah, who's going to make sure we stay safe when we're out crusading?" asked Scootaloo. "My parents don't like the idea of me running around town unsupervised."

"I'm sorry girls, I really am, but it's already been decided. The senate voted yesterday, and it was nearly unanimous; they want me gone."

"But WE don't!" answered Sweetie, eyes tearing up again. "Can't the princesses do anything about it?"

"Well, they probably could if they were both on my side. Celestia, regrettably, sided with the Prime Minister. Luna tried to fight her, but she was pretty much shot down, just like I was."

"So it's final?" asked Apple Bloom, Sweetie having buried herself into my chest.

"I'm afraid so."

"And there's absolutely nothing that you can do about it?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, I guess that just leaves one thing left to do then."

"What?" asked Sweetie Belle, looking up from my chest.

"We need to go out crusading!"

"What?" I asked, perplexed at her sudden vigor.

"As a sort of a last hurrah. If you aren't going to be here for much longer, we need to do all that we can to help you get yer cutie mark!"

"Yeah, that's a great idea AB! We need to get as much in as possible! What do you say?" asked Scootaloo, looking up at me expectantly.

"Hmm... Sweetie, what do you think?"

"Well, *sniff* I guess it would be fun to hang out one last time."

"Then it's decided. Let me go get my cape and we'll go. Did you all bring yours?"

"Yep," answered Scootaloo, pulling out a small blue bag. "We were planning on going out crusading after breakfast anyway, but now that this has been dropped on us, it only gives us more reason."

I slipped on my cape, they slipped theirs on, and we all ran out the door, smiles on our faces and the wind in our manes.

===============

The rest of the afternoon was filled with laughter and joy, and it almost made me forget about the impending doom hanging over my head like the Sword of Damocles. But as I've said before, "almost" and "did" are two very different words.

We all went our separate ways at around seven o'clock. I had managed to convince Scootaloo to give cooking another try, and by the end she was really getting into it. Who knows, maybe she'd get her cutie mark while I was away. Life's full of mysteries, I guess. It was only a question of time if I'd ever know the answers.

Overall, it was a great day, even if it did start off on a sad note. After the girls were out of sight, I packed my cape away into my saddlebags, along with a few trinkets we had gotten during the day. A few badges of honor, if you will.

I flew back to the cottage to find all of the lights on and smoke coming from the chimney. Weird, unless Rainbow decided to house sit for me while I was out. The door was also slightly cracked, a sure sign that somepony was still inside.

I opened the door quietly, and the heavenly scent of tomato soup and sandwiches hit my nostrils. It was pure ambrosia, and I stood there transfixed until a pair of hooves wrapped around my eyes.

"Guess who?" said a frighteningly familiar voice.

"Pinkie Pie?" I asked, already knowing full well who it was.

I was turned right around on my hooves to find Fluttershy standing there, cupping my face in her hooves. "Close, but nope."

I was almost overjoyed to bursting. She was alright, as far as I could tell. She still had bandages wrapped around her midsection and her hair was still growing in places, but other than that she looked the same as when I had first met her. She was smiling big as life, an expression that neatly mirrored my own.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be in the hospital for another week, at least."

"You know how they say that laughter is the best medicine?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, I think love is an even better one." With that, she planted one on me. Not as long as the one at the hospital, but just as sweet. She gave me a good long hug afterwards, and the feeling of her body pressed against mine made all of my anxieties melt away.

"I've really missed you."

"Trust me, the feeling is mutual. Anyway, why did they let you out so early?"

"I've always been a notoriously fast healer," she answered, pulling away, "but even I was surprised when the doctors said I could leave a week early. They were about as dumbfounded as I was, but all of the test results came back good, so they decided to roll with it."

"Sounds good. At least it's nice to see that there's no scarring. They must have a really good plastic surgeon there."

"One of the best. At least, that's what they told me. C'mon, let's get dinner on and catch up."

"That's the best idea I've heard today."

The kitchen bustled with activity as Fluttershy and I got dinner ready. It was the usual new couple routine, with her adding a spice to the soup only for me to grab her hoof and help out, me picking up the platter only for her to get the other side. You know, the usual.

Even though it was 7:30 or so, we decided to eat outside, just like we had on my first day. She had some tiki torches lit around the garden so we could see what we were doing, but it also lent some nice mood lighting.

"So, how have you been? You know, besides the crippling depression."

"It's not so crippling anymore, now that you're home. Still, not much has happened since yesterday. Oh, the girls came over this morning, and we went out crusading."

"Aww, that's so sweet."

"Yeah. I even think Scootaloo might be on the verge of finding her special talent. She is a wonderful cook. She even made me breakfast in bed."

Well that was certainly nice of he- wait, how did they get in while you were asleep?"

"Picked the lock. In hindsight, it might have been a bad idea to visit the locksmith the first time we went crusading."

Fluttershy tried to suppress a giggle, and failed miserably.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, just the thought of those girls actually breaking in just to make you breakfast. The last time somepony broke in, they were trying to steal from me and... well, we all know how that turned out."

"Yeah... *sigh*" I found myself staring off into space while Fluttershy ate, lost in thought.

She looked perfectly happy, but she was completely oblivious to what was cascading off of the inside of my brain. I didn't want to tell her the bad news. I didn't want this vestige of happiness and peace to end. I didn't want to crush her heart so soon after it had been patched together.

But I had also promised to be more open with her. How could I protect her and be open at the same time? And how would she even take it? Would she be upset? What am I saying, of course she would be, but would it be anger or sadness? Would she accept is as an unfortunate roll of the dice?

"Evan?" she asked, derailing my train of thought. "What's wrong? You look distracted."

"Oh, sorry, I was just thinking. So, how was the trip home?" I asked, trying to get her off topic.

"Just fine. Twilight gave me a ride. Now, what's really wrong? You aren't acting like yourself."

"Well... did Twilight tell you about how we went to Canterlot yesterday, with the princess' invitation?"

"Yes, but she was pretty vague about it. She actually said I should ask you about what happened."

"Oh did she?" Note to self: see Twilight about this later.

"Yes, she did. So, what happened?"

"Rainbow and I got to the library just as the princesses were arriving, and they asked that I ride in their chariot."

"Ooh, that sounds nice. What did they want?"

"Oh, nothing much. Celestia really just wanted to meet me, but they clued me in on what had been going on in Canterlot since the incident in the forest. Apparently, everypony's been in a tizzy since the unicorns picked up on all that magic that came shooting out of the forest."

"Well, I could imagine so."

"Yeah. Anyway, the six of us followed the princesses into the parliament house, where the senate was meeting to decide what to do on the matter. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say that I would rather have my wings tied down and be thrown off of a cliff than have to go through that again."

"It was that bad?"

"Worse, if you could believe it. By the eighth hour, my patience was hanging on by a thread, and I decided to... liven up the proceedings."

"Meaning?"

"I spilled the beans about what happened in the forest, down to every last grim detail."

"NO! Why did you do that!?"

"I thought they deserved to know." I answered, shrugging. "It was either that or claim temporary insanity and hope it blows over."

"But now they probably want you to help them fight off this cult! I don't want you put in any more danger."

"*sigh* Fluttershy, were it up to me, I would be fighting that cult with every fiber of my being. They nearly killed you and Rainbow, and turned me into a miserable wreck. Even if I didn't have a vendetta against them, just their stated goal makes me want to take them down. But... it's a little more complicated than that."

"Complicated how?"

"Well, after I gave my little speech, the senate took a vote, and... well, you see..."

"And what? What did they vote on?"

Here comes the hurricane.

"... I have to leave Equestria, two weeks from now."

"Wah... what? Evan, if this is a joke it isn't funny."

"It's not. I wish it were one, but it's not. It was nearly unanimous, and I have to leave, at least until they can sort this business out."

"No... no, you're lying," she stuttered, backing away from the table. "You're lying to me. STOP LYING TO ME!!"

"I'm not lying to you. I did everything I could to convince them that I'm not a threat, but the Prime Minister just wouldn't see reason." I rose and walked over to her, to try and calm her down.

But she would have none of that. She just kept backing away, insisting that I was either joking or lying in varying tones of voice, from forced mirth to downright rage. She eventually broke down into a fit of crying, and only then could I finally get close enough to hug her.

"Fluttershy," I whispered, "I am so sorry. You have no idea how much this hurts me, you really don't."

We both laid in the grass, her face pressed into my shoulder, for the better part of a half hour, until she had finally managed to cry herself dry. She looked at me with red, bloodshot eyes, a few tears still leaking out.

"*sniff* Can't... can't Celestia and Luna help?" she asked, gripping me tightly. "Surely they could overthrow the Prime Ministers ruling."

"Well, maybe, if Celestia were on my side. She went with HIM, though, and Luna was shot down when she tried to fight it."

"So... this is it. These two weeks are all that we have left together."

"Yes. Depressing though it is, there is just no fighting it now. I say we make the most of the time that we have left."

"That sounds like a good idea."

I wiped her eyes, those beautiful turquoise eyes, and she looked up at me with the saddest yet happiest face. I found myself overwhelmed simply by the emotions that had gone through my body in the last 36 hours or so. I had been depressed beyond belief at what had been done to her, then overjoyed at her proclamation of love. I had been eager to go to Canterlot, and now I detested that monument to government bureaucracy. I had been angry at myself for letting all of this happen, then...

I was still angry. Not at myself, but at that unicorn, at that evil, crazed, hate filled stallion. The sheer fact that he would sacrifice innocent lives, not just those of my friends but of his own brainwashed disciples, made my blood boil. He may have brought this on me, but I was not going to give him the satisfaction of having beaten me, that's for freaking sure.

"Fluttershy, I swear to you, that I am going to make that stallion pay for what he's done to us."

"Well, which one are you talking about? The unicorn or the Prime Minister?"

I couldn't help but snicker a little. Even in the face of such horrendous circumstances, she could still make me smile about it. Pinkie Pie may be the element of laughter, but Fluttershy would be a good runner up in that contest.

"Both," I answered, smiling. "C'mon, let's get dinner cleaned up."

And so we did. You know, they say a simple act can have profound meaning if you really think about it.

I think we both agreed not to think about it, for the sake of our sanity.

Ch. 10

A New Perspective Ch. 10

The road down Lily Street was slick with rainwater, the Canterlot pegasi having decided to schedule a rainstorm for that evening. Not that it was really needed in a big city, but that was of no concern to the lone hooded figure walking in the nighttime gloom, illuminated only by the few street lamps that he happened to pass. He had business to attend to, and he wasn't going to let a little rain discourage him.

Through the darkness, he made out a large manor down at the end of the street, and knew that he was where he needed to be. It was resplendent, and showed that a pony of high stature lived there. The lone pony sauntered up the front door and rapped on it with three quick knocks.

A frantic scuffling of hooves from inside brought a smile to his face. It seems that his acquaintance had been kept on his hooves. Good, he would need that alertness later.

The door swung open to reveal a very harried and obviously tired unicorn in his dressing gown. He tried to mat down the few knots and tangles in his mane, with mixed success.

"May I come in," asked the lone pony, "or do you expect me to stand out in the rain all night?"

"Oh, goodness no! Please, come in, come in, make yourself comfortable. Do you want some tea?"

"Some nice warm green tea would be just lovely after a walk in the frigid rain," he said, stepping over the threshold.

"Right, I'll get High Society right on it. SOCIETY!!" he yelled up to the second story. "We have a guest, and he wishes for some green tea! Snap to!"

An earth pony with a light cream coat came down the stairs, and without a word set to his master's bidding.

"There we go. It should only be a few minutes. Please, come into the living room, we have much to discuss."

"You mean that I have much to discuss with you?" asked the mysterious stallion.

"Oh, um, yes, of course sir. Please, this way," he added, pointing to the double doors on the far end of the foyer.

The living room was very decadent, with tapestries covering the walls and oriental rugs covering the floors, but he wasn't there to inspect the furniture. They both settled down onto two plush cushions set around the coffee table.

"So, I take it word has gotten to you about the senate's decision?"

"Yes, it has, courtesy of my better half. He was downright heartbroken to hear about it, but I assured him that it was for the best."

"As I'm sure it was. Still though, I was somewhat saddened by it. It will be hard for that pegasus, having to traverse the wilderness outside our fair land. Especially since he has found so much in the short time he has been here. Friendship, a home... love. It will be difficult for him indeed."

"It is only through his travails that he will be able to ascend to what our brotherhood needs him to be. You saw it in the ruins, he is indeed the one, but he has yet to fully realize his potential. Only through hardship can he hope to be more than what he is."

High Society came through the double doors, a platter balanced across his back with two steaming mugs of tea and a dish of sugar cubes. He gently set it in between the two unicorns.

"Will that be all, sir?" he asked.

"Yes Society, thank you. You are dismissed."

As soon as the word left his mouth, the butler pony turned on his heel and left, not wanting to disturb his master's visit.

"I tell you, you just can't find help like him these days. Most ones you find have a complete and utter lack of refinement."

"Yes, he is indeed a good butler, and you're lucky to have him. Now back to the topic at hand," he added, taking a sip of his tea.

"Oh, yes, that. We have set up a perimeter around Ponyville, just to monitor events there."

"Are you sure that our brothers and sisters won't be spotted?"

"As sure as I can be, given the circumstances. All of the unicorns we sent out have been taught a simple disillusionment spell, which will render them invisible and silent. As for the rest, they were given extensive training in stealth tactics, so they should be alright, at least for now."

"Good, good. If my better half has told me one thing ad infinitum, it's that a great catastrophe is about to strike Ponyville, and we need to make sure that our mutual friend is well out of harm's way before it strikes. It would be such a shame to have put in so much time and effort into bringing him here only for him to be rubbed out."

"Yes it would. Still, wouldn't it be more expedient to simply have him kidnapped? It would certainly save time, manpower, and the risk of him being obliterated by what ever cosmic wrath is coming."

"It would, but it would also completely alienate him from us, and what we truly need is his cooperation in this matter. The last thing we want is for him to put up a fight. We all saw how well that went at the ruins. No, he needs to think that we are in the right."

"Well, good luck convincing him. He's already dead set aginst us after we nearly sacrificed those two pegasus mares. It would take nothing short of saving his life to even come close to him thinking we are the good guys."

"Hmm... perhaps," said the stranger, taking the last few drops from his cup. "You've given me quite a bit to think on. I won't intrude upon your hospitality any further." He rose to his hooves and made for the door.

"You do have a pleasent evening, master."

"And you as well, Mr. Prime Minster," he answered, stepping back out into the rain, hood pulled over his horn. He had many things to ponder, but none would dominate his thoughts more than this simple one.

"...It would take nothing short of saving his life..."

Maybe he could arrange that. Maybe.

==============

Another day, another tick on the countdown clock. My life here had almost slowed to a standstill as I desperately tried to savor every experience that I could before the jackbooted thugs came to take me away.

That isn't to say that I wasn't enjoying myself. On the contrary, I was having a great time. In fact, Pinkie Pie had just invited me to help Mr. and Mrs. Cake with a big catering order that they needed to fill later that evening. While I wasn't going to be accompanying them to the event, they were more than thankful for the extra help in the baking and whatnot.

Sugarcube Corner looked just as busy as ever, and through the windows I could make out Mr. Cake running with a bag of flour balanced across his back.

The little bell tinkled as I opened the door, and Mrs. Cake jumped to greet me.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here! We are way behind schedule, and could certainly use your help."

"Well, I heard that you required a strong back and weak mind, so here I am," I replied, humor in tow.

"Oh, you're definitely going to need a strong mind today, dearie," she said as she shoved me through the doorway. "Our client wanted us to make the Choco-motion, one of our most complicated dishes. It's a solid chocolate train set, tracks and everything, and he sprung it on us just this morning. What's worse is that he also wants three of our sampler platters, and they have about a hundred different pastries each! We've already finished one, but the other two haven't even been started!"

"Sounds like you're in a little bit over your head. I'll help as best as I can, but I'm not that much of a baker."

"Well, while Pinkie and I get cooking, I think Mr. Cake needs help bringing in the rest of the ingredients."

"I'm on it, ma'am." I ran through the kitchen, pausing to wave to Pinkie, and made my way to the loading dock out back. Mr. Cake was straining to get a big sack of sugar out of the wagon.

"Here, let me help you with that," I offered, moving toward the wagon.

"No, no, I've got it. I've been doing this all morning, I can get this."

He struggled and strained for the better part of five minutes while I got five bags out and took them into the kitchen. Exhausted, he finally relented, and let me help him with that truly gargantuan bag of sugar.

"Finally come to your senses, Mr. Cake?" I asked as we laid the burden across our backs.

"I guess. I'm not as young as I once was, and I guess it's starting to show a little. Thanks," he added as we grunted our way into the kitchen. Who was going to need this much sugar, anyway? My teeth were rotting just looking at it.

We shuffled off the load in the kitchen, much to Mrs. Cake's relief. "Oh, thank you so much sweetie! Pinkie accidentally ordered a fifty pound bag of sugar when we only needed a five pound, and I was worried about how to get it in. I swear, I would give you a job here if you weren't leaving so soon."

"You...you know about that?" I asked, dumbstruck and horrified. Had Pinkie told them? I know she can't keep her mouth shut, but PLEASE tell me she didn't tell them.

"Oh, Pinkie told everypony about it."

"E...EVERYPONY?" This isn't happening, this is not happening.

"Oh, yes. It's a shame that you have to go back to Fillydelphia, but when she told us that you were getting transferred there for their regional weather team after the excellent job you did here, I was simply overjoyed. I'm sure you'll do as well there as you have here."

My relief was almost palpable. My secret was safe, and it even gave the townsfolk a believable excuse for why I was leaving. I would kiss Pinkie if it wouldn't be weird.

I glanced over to Pinkie, who had been listening in, and she offered a wink and a smile. I swear, I was going to take her out for dinner in gratitude.

You know, that's actually not a half bad idea. Maybe after we were done here, we could get the other five and go out for dinner. It'd be a nice thing to do, and seriously, when were we going to be able to do something like this again?

"Well, if that's all of the bags, then I guess you can help Pinkie with the sampler platters," continued Mrs. Cake. "Are you up for it?"

"Wuh?" I uttered, lost in my thoughts. "Oh, sure. As long as Pinkie does all of the complex stuff, I should be able to help."

"Oh, that'd be just super-duper," Pinkie squealed. "I could definitely use an extra hoof over here."

I trotted over to Pinkie, took up a rolling pin, and started spreading out some dough.

"Pinkie, thank you so much," I whispered so the Cakes wouldn't overhear.

"For whaaat?" she asked, in that I-already-know-what-for tone of voice.

"For covering my exile with the town. I never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness for your loudmouth-edness."

"That's alright. I was going to tell everypony anyway, so I just thought I'd come up with something that everypony would be happy with."

"And you did marvelously. Really, I want to do something to make this up to you. What say after the Cakes leave for their catering job that we get the others together and go out for dinner? You know, as a sort of send off?"

"OOH, that would be SO FUN! I don't think that we've hung out together since Twilight's party, and that was SOOOOO long ago. I mean, there was that time when we were all walking back from the forest, and the time we went to Canterlot, but those got really sad, so I don't think that they count as hanging out. No, hanging out is when you get together and go pla-"

"Pinkie, Pinkie, slow down, stay focused. Was there a 'yes' in that rant?"

"Definitely! Ooh, this'll be so fun! Let me just make sure the Cakes don't need me tonight."

She bounced over to Mrs. Cake, who was busy assembling a tiny chocolate engine, and asked. Her barely contained joy was evident in every sentence she spoke, putting a smile on my face. It's nice to see that one of us was getting a kick out of my going away dinner.

Mrs. Cake lit up at the idea, and Pinkie just about hit the roof from sheer joy. She bounded back over to me, smile illuminating her face like a sunbeam.

"They said yes! They really don't need anypony else at the party tonight, so as soon as we're done here we can go round up everypony else! There is a perfect little restaurant on the far side of town that I have been DYING to show them for so long, but now I finally have an excuse to!"

"Sounds great, but let's focus on the two hundred or so desserts that we have yet to make, hmm?"

"Oh, right."

We spent the better part of the afternoon rolling dough, filling pastries, and baking cupcakes. It provided some nice, mind numbing repetition to take it off of the fact that this was my last week here.

That, and Pinkie would not stop talking, but I was willing to overlook that. She had done me a solid, and listening to her chatter was the least I could do to thank her.

===============

The seven of us made our way over to the restaurant Pinkie had mentioned, Fluttershy and I walking side by side. Rounding everypony up had been relatively easy, although trying to pull Twilight away from her studies was like asking an inferno to not be hot, in my own humble opinion. Still, we all had nothing better to do on a Friday night, and Pinkie was touting this restaurant as one of the best in Ponyville, if not in Equestria.

Rounding a corner, it was pretty plain to see that she wasn't kidding.

A large white pavilion stood in the middle of a field, with a small awning leading to the dining area. A small one room building was assembled to the right of it, which is probably where they housed the kitchen. The marquee read "The Gilded Lily" with a subtitle reading "The Finest Cuisine in Ponyville." A gasp behind me jolted my mind out of it's stupor, and I turned to find Rarity with a hoof to her mouth, awestruck.

"We're... eating... HERE!?!" she squealed with glee.

"I guess," answered Applejack, somewhat underwhelmed. "So what? It's just some hoity-toity restaurant."

"Just some hoity-toity restaurant!? This is the finest eating establishment in Ponyville! It was voted Best Fine Dining in Modern Equestria magazine seven consecutive times! Oh, I am so underdressed," she whined, which was saying something seeing as how she wasn't dressed. "How does my hair look? Is my coat alright? How's my masca-"

"Rarity, you look fine," interjected Twilight. "Still, it does beg the question of how Pinkie Pie found out about this place."

"Oh, that was easy-peasy! You see, a few months ago we catered a big fancy wedding party here, and they were so impressed with our yummy, delicious, super-duper treats that they had me and the Cakes put on the VIP list! They said we could bring as many ponies as we want anytime we want!"

"Oh, Pinkie, this is just MARVELOUS!! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!" Rarity was beside herself with joy, and I couldn't blame her. While I had never been one for fine dining, it made me happy to see everypony else so happy.

"Hey," said Rainbow, interrupting the revelry, "are we just going to keep air conditioning the backs of our teeth out here, or are we going to get some chow?"

"Oh, yes quite right," said Rarity, regaining her composure and getting off of the ground, where she had been kissing Pinkie's hooves. "Just PLEASE everypony be on your best behavior. That means you, Rainbow Dash," she added with a glare.

"Hey, that incident at the museum was a set up! I was framed, I tell you!"

"Yeah, with the painting hanging around yer neck," added Applejack with a smirk. I would have to ask about that one.

We sauntered up to the awning in one big happy group, with Pinkie heading us up. The unicorn at the entrance recognized her almost on sight.

"Ah, mademoiselle Pinkamena, so wonderful to see you again, and with a full entourage I see."

"Yep, just me and my bestest buddies ever! Do you have a table for seven available?"

"Let me check. Just one moment, please." The maitre'd walked through the red velvet curtain, and everypony else took up small talk while they waited.

"It was really nice of you to suggest this," Fluttershy said. "It really has been too long since we have hung out as friends."

"Well, I thought that we should all be able to have one last little get together before I leave. That, and I sort of owed it to Pinkie."

"What do you mean?"

"She covered my exile with the town. She went around saying that I'm getting transferred to the Fillydelphia weather team, and from the looks of things everypony in town bought it."

"Well, that's good. It would be better if the senate weren't forcing you out at all, but it's still better than you turning up missing one day and everypony wondering where you went."

"Yeah. But let's get these unhappy thoughts out of our heads. We are here to have a good time, and I will see to it that we do."

"Hey, you two lovebirds coming?" asked Rainbow Dash from the entrance. I looked up to see the others being escorted to our table by the maitre'd.

"Coming," I called back. "Well, shall we go, my dear?"

"I think we shall," answered Fluttershy with a giggle.

The maitre'd showed us into the biggest dining room I'd ever seen. Tables were all set out in the grass, each with their own candle and place settings. He showed us to the largest table in the corner, where two waiters were just putting the finishing touches on it. One even had placed a single rose in a small vase, as if this weren't fancy enough.

"There you are, mademoiselles and monsieur. I will let you get settled and will be out with your menus shortly." the maitre'd turned on his heel and left us in peace, the waiters following in his wake.

We all settled onto the nice soft grass and took in the ambiance of our surroundings. The night air was cool against my fur, and through the mesh roof I could see a beautiful starlit night. Luna had really outdone herself, I could tell you that much.

"What're you staring at?" asked Fluttershy

"You know, I never really noticed how beautiful the night sky is," I replied, not taking my eyes off of the beautiful midnight blue tapestry that had been woven before me. Fluttershy followed suit, turning her gaze on the moon.

"I never really took much time to appreciate it, to be honest. Before Luna came back, there used to be a unicorn's head made of craters in the moon's surface. We used to call it the Mare in the Moon, and it always reminded us of how Nightmare Moon nearly destroyed Equestria as we know it."

"But now that Luna's back, she can tend to the nighttime sky like she was supposed to. It really shows. Hey, come with me," I said, getting to my hooves.

"Where are we going?"

"Just a little place I know," I answered, before turning to Twilight. "Hey Twi, if our waiter gets here before we come back, just tell him that Fluttershy and I went out for some air, okay?"

"Alright."

Fluttershy and I walked to the curtain that led to the outside, and I took off with out a moments hesitation. It took her a few seconds to get the message, but she quickly caught up with me.

We flew for a good five minutes or so, until we got to the northern border of the Everfree Forest. There was a small patch of open grass in the middle of a ring of trees, and we alighted upon it.

"What are we doing here?" asked Fluttershy.

"You'll see. Lie on your back, and you'll see."

She did, laying softly on the grass and looking up. The expression on her face was priceless as I joined her on the ground.

Above us was possibly the clearest, most beautiful night in all of Equestria. The stars twinkling in the midnight blue, the moon providing just enough light so that we could see each other as we lay there in the night's soothing embrace.

"Oh... oh my," she stuttered. "It's so... breathtaking."

"Isn't it? This is one of my favorite spots."

"How did you find this place?"

"Well, Rainbow and I were out late one night roping in a rogue storm from Everfree about a week ago, and we got seperated. I went hunting all over the forest looking for her when I came across this little slice of heaven. Just one look up into that night sky and I thought 'Fluttershy would love this place.'"

"And I do. This is simply marvelous. It's like a can see for miles into the sky. Ooh, look, there's the Little Dipper," she added, pointing to an indiscriminate region of the sky.

I followed her hoof, and sure enough there it was. Just off to the right there was an even brighter light that drew my attention like a moth to a flame. "Hey, see that just to the right?" I asked.

"Ooh, it's so pretty. I think that might be a planet."

"I never took you for a junior astronomer."

"Well, Twilight loaned me a book once. It was a really interesting read, and I learned a lot from it. It said that planets look like stars from a glance, but are much brighter."

"Cool. *sigh* Is there anything more peaceful than this, just the two of us laying out underneath the stars?"

"Nothing could be better. Hey look, a shooting star!" she added, pointing a quick hoof. I only caught a quick glimpse of it, and boy was it bright.

"Well, go on," she said.

"Go on what?"

"Make a wish, silly. You have to make a wish."

"Oh, right. I wish... I wish that this night could never end, that the two of us could just stay here for all of eternity." It may have been a fools hope, but what the hay. "Look, there's another," I added. "Well, go on, you make a wish."

"Oh, I don't know what I'd wish for. I already have everything a pony could ask for. A good home, great friends, and a love that will never die."

"You've got that right." We laid there, Fluttershy resting her head on my chest, and we stared into the nighttime sky. Apparently there was some sort of meteor shower going on, because the shooting stars were coming down like tomorrow wasn't a thing.

"Weren't we supposed to be having dinner with everypony else?" asked Fluttershy after a good half an hour.

"Yeah, I guess we should be getting back. The waiter is probably
wondering where we went. Hey, do you hear a whistling sound?"

"A whistling sound?" she asked quizzically.

"Yeah, listen," I answered. Cocking my head to one side I could just barely make out a very faint whistling, like the sound a mortar would make before it-

"FLUTTERSHY, GET DOWN!!" We both had barely any time to react. All I could do was jump on top of her as she scrunched up to the ground in a desperate attempt to protect her.

"CRAAAAAAAAAASH!!" went the foreign object as it slammed into the ground not twenty feet away from us. The sheer heat from it felt like it was lighting my back on fire, and the gust from the impact whipped my mane forward and into my eyes. I only dared to look up when the dust had finally settled.

I walked over to the crater to investigate as Fluttershy got to her hooves, one shaky step at a a time. In it was a smoldering chunk of rock about the size of my head, still glowing from the heat.

"Wh... what was that?"

"It looks like some sort of meteor or something. It must have come from that meteor shower we saw earlier."

"But, if this one hit so close to Ponyville, then the other might have hit in the town. We need to go check and make sure everypony's okay."

"Right," I said, taking to the skies. I did a quick scan of the horizon, and saw a faint glow off in the distance. Right in the direction we had come from.

Oh no.

"Fluttershy, we need to move fast! I think the town might have been hit!"

"OH NO!" she yelped. "Oh, this is just awful. I hope everypony's alright. Oh, this is simply DREADFUL!"

"Well we aren't going to solve anything by sitting here. C'mon!"

"Oh, right, sorry," she squeaked as she joined me in the air. We both made a beeline for Ponyville, and for what I was afraid was going to be the utter ruination visited upon it.

One thing kept echoing through my head, though. What the unicorn had told me the last time we spoke.

"...The eyes of fate are about to look unfavorably on Ponyville...Do what I say, and you might survive this reckoning..."

I just couldn't stop thinking about it. He was apparently right about this, but why had he bothered to warn me? He had tried to murder Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, and now he wanted to switch sides?

What in the name of Celestia was his deal?

Ch. 11

A New Perspective Ch. 11

We both agreed to return to the restaurant first, just to be sure everypony else was alright before returning to the town proper. I was expecting to see utter destruction, so you can only imagine my relief upon seeing that the restaurant was unharmed.

We landed at a gallop and ran into the restaurant, much to the surprise of the patrons and staff alike. Everything looked pretty much as we had left it, and a calming wave of relief rushed over my mind. Fluttershy looked just about as relieved as I was that her friends were alright, at least for now.

The two of us trotted over to the corner table, where the others were just finishing up their desserts.

"Well, it's about time y'all got back," said Applejack. "We were thinking that y'all had gone and gotten lost. We were even goin' to send out a search party for you."

"It's nice to know that you care so much. Say, did any of you notice anything odd, like a freak meteor shower or anything?"

"Nothing really out of the ordinary, why?"

"Oh, nothing, it's just that a meteor landed right next to Fluttershy and I while we were out stargazing. You know, nothing big," I added with a little sarcasm.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Twilight, drawing a few stares from the patrons. "Are you two alright? There wasn't any collateral damage, was there?"

"We're fine," answered Fluttershy for me, "and we were out near the border of the Everfree Forest, so there were no buildings for it to hit. Odd thing is, though, that Evan noticed a glow on the horizon, and he was certain that the town had been hit, which is why we came running to make sure you were okay."

"Well, we're all alright, but it wouldn't hurt to make sure that the town itself didn't get hit. We are pretty far out of the way, so they might not have come this way."

"Possibly," I said. "I guess we should settle up here and go make sure the town's alright." We all pulled a few bits out of our pockets to help cover the bill, despite everypony's insistence that Fluttershy and I didn't have to since we hadn't eaten. Leaving the money on the table, we all walked out of the restaurant, at least until we were out of sight of it. We then all took off at a gallop, even Rarity to my shock.

We got back into town fifteen minutes later to find nothing out of the ordinary. There wasn't a soul to be found on the streets, everypony having turned in for the evening by now. Everypony else breathed out their collectively held breath, but my heart was still beating like a jackhammer. This didn't make sense.

Last I had heard from that unicorn, he had said that some big catastrophe was about to hit. Given that I was nearly ground into a fine paste by a meteor, and there had been a meteor shower that night, that should have been it. And yet, here I am, standing in the remarkably unruined Ponyville.

"Evan, you alright?" asked Fluttershy, jarring my mind out of it's trance. "You've been staring into space for five minutes."

"I'm fine, and so is everypony else in town, and that's what's bugging me."

"What do you mean? The town's fine. I thought that you'd be happy about that."

"I am, but it's gotten me thinking."

"What about?"

Horse-apples, how was I going to break this to her? It wasn't as bad as what happened when I had kept Rainbow in the dark, but I had kept this from her since she had gotten home. Best to just be straight with her and hope for the best.

"Promise you won't get mad?"

"I don't see why I would, but alright, I promise."

"When I got home from Canterlot last week, I pretty much fell straight asleep, and you can guess what happened afterwards."

"He showed up, didn't he?"

"Yep. Believe you me, the last thing I wanted to do was talk to him, but he apparently had something really important to say."

"Which was?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well... he told me that this was going to happen."

"What, the meteor shower?"

"Well, he said that 'the eyes of fate were going to look unfavorably on Ponyville' or something along those lines, and, well, it's not everyday that you're nearly crushed by space debris. I thought that this is what he meant, but it looks like I was wrong."

She had that skeptical look, and I was seriously hoping that she had taken this well.

"And why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"To be honest, I didn't take him seriously. Guess my lassitude paid off, huh?" I added, trying for the humor gambit, and failing miserably.

"Hey, y'all alright?" asked Applejack, breaking the tension.

"Uh, yeah, fine. Since everything seems all hunky dory here, I guess we should all turn in for the night."

"That's 'bout the best idea I've heard tonight. I am plum tuckered out, and I need to make sure that Apple Bloom didn't win one over on Big Mac and stay up past her bedtime again. I tell you what, for a stallion that strong, he can be such a pushover at times. I'll let everypony else know."

"Thanks AJ. You have a good night."

Fluttershy and I turned to leave before I could hear her response, but it didn't really matter. The only pony's response that I wanted to hear was Fluttershy's to my next question.

"You aren't mad at me, are you?"

"No, I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed. You promised that you would be more open, and yet here we are, a week after I get out of the hospital, and I just now find out that you've been hiding things from me again."

"Look, I'm sorry, really I am, and I was going to tell you, but I just wanted to be sure that something was going to happen before I acted too rashly."

"There's nothing that you need to apologize for, just make sure it doesn't happen again, alright?"

"... Alright." We spent the rest of the flight back in sullen silence, which gave me time to plan a course of action should this get too out of hand. I still couldn't help but notice that unearthly glow on the horizon. It had an ethereal orange glow, like a sunrise, only brighter. On closer inspection, I could tell that it was coming from the southern edge of the forest, near the cottage.

It sure was going to make getting to sleep tonight hard, that's for sure. That and the gnawing anticipation and guilt eating me up, but let's deal with one thing at a time.

===============

Despite my previous misgivings, sleep actually came very readily that evening, much to my surprise and joy. Apparently nearly being crushed by a meteor takes a lot out of you. Another blessing was that that unicorn didn't appear again to disrupt my sleep cycle. It seems that he always appears after something big and catastrophic happens, so this was a very welcome change of pace. It seemed like I could get the first decent night's sleep that I'd had in a week, the rest of them clouded with thoughts of my impending exile.

You can only begin to fathom my irritation when I felt somepony shaking me awake at 4:00 in the morning.

"Evan! Evan, wake up!" came a frantic cry as I was jostled awake.

"Huh, uh, whu... what's going on?" I muttered as a thick, acrid scent hit my nose.

"Quick, we don't have much time. We need to get everything essential out of the house NOW!"

As annoyed as I was, the sense of urgency in her voice told me that something was terribly wrong. I stumbled to my hooves, and as I blearily rubbed the sleep out of my eyes I saw a bright glow coming from outside, not unlike the one I had seen on the flight home. I drew open the curtains to see what was making it while Fluttershy started grabbing up anything that wasn't nailed down.

Now I know what that scent was that had assaulted my nostrils, and the very thought of it made my heart skip a beat.

Before me stood the Everfree Forest in all of its glory and mystique, blanketed by a raging inferno that spanned my entire field of view. The flames licked at the trees, sparks flew up off the canopy, and wave after wave of heat assaulted the cottage. I'm surprised that the sod roof hadn't gone up yet.

"FWOOOOOM!!" went the roof, as if on cue. Fortunately there was a second story protecting us, but it wouldn't hold for long.

"OH NO!!" cried Fluttershy, barely keeping herself together. "Angel's still up there!"

"Who?"

"Angel, my little bunny. He was cold so she came in here and slept in my room. He's still up there, and I accidentally closed the door on him!"

"Don't worry, I'll get Angel, you just gather up any remaining supplies and essentials, then get outside and let the rest of the animals out."

"Oh, thank you," she replied, getting both of our saddle bags on her back and racing outside. I galloped up the stairs to the second floor, narrowly dodging a falling support beam as I did. Burning clumps of the roof were falling down, and it was like racing on a slalom course to avoid them.

Sure enough, the door to her room was closed, and locked up tighter than a bank vault. I reached out for the handle only to feel heat radiating off of it in waves, and thought better of burning myself. It took a few good bucks, but I finally managed to break the door down and found to my horror that her entire room was ablaze. The smoke was already getting to me, and I found that I had to put one wing in front of my face just to keep out a bit of the smoke. It would take nothing short of a miracle to find Angel in this.

Narrowly dodging fires that seems to spring up from under my hooves, as well as ones that fell from the ceiling, I made my way across the room to her bed. It seemed like the natural place for a frightened bunny to hide under, and sure enough there was a little white ball of fur, dusted with soot and ash, quivering under her bed. I reached out to grab her when I felt something land on my back. Something very hot.

I quickly ripped off my vest to find that a burning clump of sod had landed on it. I almost wanted to cry as I saw it wither and burn into an unrecognizable lump of ash, but there would be time for mourning lost articles of clothing later. I quickly grabbed Angel out from under the bed and made for the door, my eyes burning from the smoke and sweat thick on my brow.

At least I would have were it not for the pile of flaming wood that came crashing down from the ceiling to block my entrance.

Desperate to find another exit in this cauldron, I noticed the window just to the left of her bed. The lock had melted and fused shut, but it looked easily breakable at force.

"You've got to be joking," I muttered to myself upon realizing my options were jump out a second-floor window or burn to death. "Whelp, here goes nothing."

I maneuvered my way to the far side of the room, eyed up my proposed exit, flapped my wings, and barreled toward the window, keeping Angel tucked close to my chest so she wouldn't get cut by any glass. Hopefully.

The window shattered under the force of my body, but the damage caused was a two-way street. I had tried to minimize the damage to my face and other squishy, vital areas by ramming into it head first, but all that succeeded in doing was exacerbating my smoke induced headache and give me a mane full of glass. Well, at least I'm out of Burning-to-death-burg, and have moved squarely into Bleeding-out-ville.

I circled around to the front of the house to find Fluttershy releasing the last of her little animals. Her face lit up when she saw that I had Angel in tow, and appeared seemingly unharmed. Even better, she had both pairs of our saddle bags, laden with anything she could think to carry out of the house. I landed and handed Angel to her, taking a moment to cough out all of the smoke in my lungs.

"Oh, thank you, THANK YOU!" she exclaimed, punctuating it with a kiss on the cheek. "I never would've forgiven myself if Angel had been left in there. Are you okay?"

"Just dandy, even considering that I had to break a window to escape your room," I said in between bouts of hacking my lungs out.

"Are you sure? That sounds pretty ba- OH MY GOODNESS, YOUR HEAD IS BLEEDING!!" I gingerly placed a hoof to my head, and sure enough there was a thin trickle of blood draining through my mane and down my forehead. The cuts only felt superficial, fortunately, and they would probably clot in minutes.

"It's nothing, and frankly we have bigger trees to buck. We need to warn the town, and fast. Who would be the pony to see to round everypony in town together?"

"Probably the Mayor, but I really think you should let me deal with your head. Those cuts might get infected, an-"

"Look, there's no time. Those meteors are probably what set the forest on fire, and it looks like it's spreading pretty fast. We need to get Ponyville evacuated, and we need to do it now!"

"But-"

"No buts! If I can survive being struck by magic lightning, a few cuts on my head aren't going to do much. Where does the Mayor live?" I asked, hovering a few feet in the air.

"Right across from town hall, but I think-"

"What did I say about the buts?!" I yelled, my patience hanging by a thread. "We don't have time to think about this, we need to act NOW!"

"I- I'm sorry," she whimpered, covering her face with her bangs. "I was just trying to help." In the moonlight I saw a single tear streak down her cheek, and I knew that I had screwed up.

"Oh... oh, Fluttershy, I'm sorry," I hastily apologized, landing and wrapping a hoof around her neck. "It's just that, with all of this, and all the stress that I've- well, that we've been under, I just sort of snapped. Just, please don't cry," I added, wiping away her tears.

"*sniff* It's alright... I'm really more sad over losing the cottage. I had so many... so many memories in that house," she added, fresh tears falling down her face.

"Believe me, I'm just as sad to lose it too, but we can't dwell on it now, not if we want everypony else's houses to go up with them inside. C'mon, we need to go see the Mayor."

"But what about your head?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

"Hmm... tell ya what, as soon as we get the town evacuated, I'll let you do whatever you want with my head. Sound fair?"

"Okay, but you had better not pull a fast one on me," she added as we took off as fast as our wings could carry us. While town square wasn't too far away, I thought it best to err on the side of caution and hoof it like tomorrow wasn't a thing.

Which was actually a pretty valid point, given the circumstances.

===============

Y'know, for the Mayor of an entire town, the Mayor of Ponyville (or Ivory Scroll, as Fluttershy had told me) lived in a pretty nondescript little cottage. It'd be quite the shame to see it go up in flames, but it'd be an even bigger shame if she were still inside of it. I knocked frantically on the door, Fluttershy rocking back and forth nervously.

The door opened to reveal a khaki mare with a well groomed, if slightly outdated, gray mane and tail, wearing an expression that could curdle milk and frighten small foals.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked, impatience dripping off of every word.

"Listen, I'm so sorry to disturb you so early, but there is a serious emergency."

"And that would be? I have to be at town hall in an hour and a half, so this had better be important."

"I know you're upset, so I'll cut to the chase. The Everfree Forest is on fire, and it's spreading into town. We need to get everypony evacuated as soon as we can."

"Preposterous! The Forest has never caught fire, even when trees have been struck by lightning." Definitely not the response I was expecting.

"Mrs. Mayor, I know it seems far-fetched, but it's the truth. Fluttershy's cottage just burned to the ground, and I barely escaped with my life."

"Do you have any proof?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"You see these?" I said, parting my mane to reveal the cuts on my head. "I got these from having to jump out a second floor window to get out of that house."

"Well, perhaps you just left the stove on, and that's what started the fire."

Okay, now she's just trying to get my goat. The urgency of the situation demanded action, but she was just immovable. "Look, all I'm asking for is some cooperation here. If you aren't going to help me, then I will personally go to everypony in town and get them to believe me mys-"

"BLAAAAMMM!!!" A truly phenomenal explosion rocked the town, shaking the very ground that we stood on. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a huge fire ball rising from the western side of the forest.

"What the hay was that?!"

"The fire must've spread to Froggy-Bottom Bog," answered Fluttershy, visibly shaken. "There's a lot of methane gas there, which is what causes it to bubble like it does."

"And methane is extremely flammable," I finished for her. "NOW do you believe me?" I asked, turning to Ivory, who was completely dumbstruck.

"I... I... I..." she stammered.

"... I'm sorry I was such a jerk, and will give everything I have to help evacuate Ponyville?" I finished. I would have added even more sarcasm, were it not for the flaming hunks of tree that were raining down from the sky. A few ponies were looking disinterestedly out of their windows, wondering what all the commotion was.

"Listen, whoever you are," began Ivory, "I'm sorry that I doubted you, but we have more pressing concerns that petty one-upmanship. We need to warn everypony in town, and the only way to gather them all is to ring the bell in the tower of town hall. Think you can do that while I make sure everypony doesn't panic?"

"I'm on it. Fluttershy, I need you to get Twilight and the others, as well as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom. They told me that the three of them were spending the night at Scoot's place, and I just want to make sure that they don't get lost in the crowd."

"Mm-hm. Be safe," she added before taking off.

Ivory Scroll directed me up to the bell tower, but things were already getting hairy. Even before I started ringing the bell ponies were roaming the streets, some aimlessly while others with more of a sense of urgency. Some ponies were downright panicking, probably because of the flaming detritus falling from the sky.

I grabbed the thick pull cord in my teeth, and with a quick jerk of the head gave it a hard yank. My neck felt like it was going to snap from the sheer weight, but it got the job done, and I let gravity take over.

"BONG! BONG! BONG!" went the bell, each ring threatening to make my eardrums crawl out and throttle me. Fortunately, the strain my ears were putting up with proved worthwhile, as the ponies on the street as well as ones emerging from there houses made a bee line for town hall. I guessed I should probably fly down there and accompany Ivory to help explain the situation to everypony, seeing as how I was the one that even made it an issue to begin with.

Or I would have if I hadn't been knocked unconscious, had a black bag placed over my head, and been unceremoniously draped across another ponies back to be taken away.

Just when things were starting to look up, too.

Ch. 12

A New Perspective Ch. 12

While I was almost certain that we hadn't travelled far by the time I woke up, my surroundings told me that I was definitely not in Ponyville anymore. The gray stonework of whatever cell or dungeon I was in was just as uncomfortable to look at as the ropes binding my limbs together. The various chains and shackles lining the walls didn't give me a vote of confidence either.

I expected to see those robed cultists standing on either side of me as I looked around, and I was flummoxed to see that there were royal guards standing next to me, as well as behind me and at the door. These stallions were different, though. Instead of wearing the golden plate mail armor of Celestia's troops, these ponies had midnight blue, and they were all a very dull shade of gray instead of pristine white. Maybe they were special forces or something.

The door opened with a loud creak of its hinges, and a tall, hooded unicorn mare walked into the room. I couldn't exactly make out who it was that was under that hood, but they certainly held themselves with a certain air. She whispered something in the ear of the closest guard, who then signaled to the other four to exit. They shut the door behind them, leaving me and my interrogator.

As soon as the sound of hooves and clanking armor ceased echoing down the hall the mare let out a sigh of relief and turned away from the door to face me.

"Listen lady," I began, "I have no idea who you are, or why you kidnapped me, but let's get one thing straight; you aren't getting anything out of me, clichéd though it may sound. My lips are sealed."

"I do not wish to 'get' anything from you, but to help you on what will soon be a most arduous journey," she answered, in a hauntingly familiar voice, but one that I could not for the life of me place. "However, I think that we would both be better served if we could talk face-to-face, instead of with you laying there, bound like a freshly caught hog."

Her horn flared to life and next thing I knew I was untied and on my hooves. Even more impressive was that she conjured a table and chairs from seemingly out of the ether, something that Twilight couldn't even begin to try and accomplish. We each took a seat and she began unfurling a map of the country and the surrounding lands.

"Wait, wait, wait," I said, moving her hoof off of the map. "Before we get into this, I think you owe it to me to tell me who you are, considering how you had your goons kidnap me."

"Oh, goodness me, where are my manners? One moment," she said as she pulled down her hood. I nearly fell backwards out of my chair at the revelation.

"P... Princess Luna?" I stuttered, getting down on my knees in a hasty bow. "Not to sound impertinent, but what are you doing here? You should be busy with the nighttime sky, right?"

"Get up, we don't need the formality, especially at this trying time," she ordered, helping me up. "As for my duties, they ended around three hours ago. It is currently 9:00 in the morning."

"9:00 in the... the fire... that was FIVE HOURS AGO!! No, no, no no no! I need to be back in Ponyville! There was a-"

"Yes, I'm well aware that the Everfree Forest caught fire following last night's meteor shower. Thankfully Ivory Scroll sent out several couriers, Rainbow Dash among them, to all the neighboring towns to ask for any assistance they could muster."

"And?" I asked, jaw clenched so hard in fear that my teeth were about to crack.

"... Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

"Look, I don't have time for this! Just give it to me straight.... Your Highness," I added, remembering my decorum.

"Very well, if you insist. The bad news is that the town was burned to the ground, the debris from the explosion at Froggy-Bottom Bog starting most of the fires. In addition to that, the Everfree Forest is now nothing but dead charred wood, completely devoid of all forms of life."

"And the good news," I asked, my mind trying to wrap around what I was hearing. All of Ponyville... that meant Sugarcube Corner, the library, Carousel Boutique... every building that gave my life there meaning, sent back to the earth from where they came.

"The good news is that, thanks to you and Flutershy's quick thinking and intervention, the entire populace was able to escape with their lives, even the zebra mare that lived in the forest itself. There were relatively few injuries, the initial reports stating that the worst was a broken leg. While most of the ponies in town lost almost everything, they are recovering well. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and Ivory Scroll are busy organizing a refugee camp with materials provided by the neighboring towns, Pinkie Pie, the Cakes, and the Apples are heading up the food supply, Rarity and any other mares and stallions that can thread a needle are making bedding materials, Rainbow Dash is still leading out teams of couriers and messengers, and Fluttershy is working with Nurse Redheart and the entire staff of Ponyville Urgent Care to deal with any wounded. Or should I say she was until you turned up missing."

That certainly was a load off of my mind. Sure, the town may be nothing but ash, but at least everypony got out safely.

"Thank you, Luna, for bringing the good news, but I really must ask, why?"

"Why what?"

"Why all of this? The kidnapping, the dungeon, everything. What's the point?"

"Glad you asked, actually. Please, sit," she said, gesturing to the table that had been sitting there like the elephant in the room. She then unfurled the map, which I noticed had several locations outside Equestria marked with red X's.

"Now, you already know my feelings on how the Senate has treated your... let's say 'unique' case, and I could not be anymore disappointed in Celestia than I was in that meeting."

"Yeah, why did you side with me anyway? I mean, not that I'm ungrateful or anything of that nature, but it is a bit perplexing, especially the fact that you would challenge Celestia on it in front of the Senate."

Luna let out a hearty chuckle, her voice echoing off the walls like a harp. "What, do you think that I would sit idilly by and let my sister decide another pony's fate without my input? Sure, I may still be a bit of a greenhorn when it comes to how things are run now, but I still know an unfair trial when I see one, and yours was the biggest subversion of the justice standards we uphold since my own."

"You had a trial? From what I read, I just assumed that Celestia hit you- I mean Nightmare Moon- with the Elements, and that was that."

"Well, yes, I did have a trial, if you could call that kangaroo court a trial. Still, looking back on it, I could see that I shouldn't have let my anger and jealousy take over, and Celestia was truly sorry about what she had done, so let's just call it water under the bridge and be done with it."

"Fair enough. Getting back to the topic at hand, you were saying how disappointed you were in Celestia."

"Right. Anyway, she would never let me hear the end of it if I invited a convicted felon due for banishment back to the palace, so I needed to capture you in secrecy so as not to arouse suspicion. I'd had my own private guard watching Ponyville for the last several days, waiting for a time when they could take you without anypony seeing."

"And the bell tower was the perfect spot, apparently."

"Precisely. It was the perfect cover, especially with the fire raging in the forest. The reason that you were brought to me is so that I can help you strategize for when the guard comes to escort you out of the country, and hopefully give you some sympathetic contacts outside of Equestria for you to hunker down with until this whole disaster resolves itself or blows over."

"And that would explain all the red X's dotting the map."

"Yes, these are all locations of squadrons of my guard that have been placed along our borders for the protection of Equestria. I have given them all standing orders to not arrest you, as well as to provide any aid that you may require of them. Unfortunately, they cannot harbor you for longer than one evening, as you are technically not allowed to have anything to do with Equestria until the terms of your re-admittance are met. It's even a bit of a stretch for them to do that for you, but they only answer to me and not Celestia or the Prime Minister, so no harm will come to you."

Wow. Just wow. It's official, Luna is my favorite of the princesses.

"Then I guess that takes care of that. Luna, thank you so much for doing this for me, and mainly for sticking up for me."

"You are most welcome. While Celestia may be the face of this land, I was and always will be the pony's princess. Call it a secondary talent, if you will. Now, we need to get you out of here without anypony seeing you." She backed away from the table and trotted over to the door, opening it with a nearly deafening creak. She took a couple of quick glances down the corridors, and then motioned for me to follow.

We crept out of the dungeons, doing our best to avoid any roving patrols of Celestia's guards. You could cut the tension with a butter knife, and Luna constantly forcing me against a wall or telling me to get down wasn't helping the atmosphere. I almost felt like a convict.

After fifteen grueling minutes, we finally hit the open air of the main courtyard only to find- who else- Celestia standing right out in the open. Luna quickly shoved me behind a nearby statue, throwing her cloak on top of me, and put her horseshoes, collar, and tiara back on.

"Sister," she called over to Celestia, in an attempt to draw her attention.

"Ah, Luna, how are you?" she answered back.

"Just fine, although I have been doing a bit of thinking lately."

"Well, you know that I am always here to talk to. What's on your mind?"

"It's the matter of that pegasus that was sentenced to be exiled. I still feel that it was a little short sighted of you to follow along with the Prime Minister's decision."

"Luna," said Celestia, placing an exasperated hoof to her forehead, "please do not start with this again. If you are going to try and use what happened in Ponyville as any sort of justification for his character, then you need not waste your breath."

"Even though you may not want to hear it, you can't deny that he did help bring awareness of the fire. I have been to the town personally since the disaster, and Fluttershy has certainly vouched for him amongst the townspeople. She is also at her wits end since he went missing, as is everypony else."

"Yeah, and they wouldn't be if you hadn't kidnapped me," I thought to myself, still wrapped up in her cloak.

"Luna, you know that I trust you completely, but we both need to think of the security of our dominion. If the cult follows him out of Equestria, then we will certainly send out everypony that we can spare to assist him, but we cannot have a full-scale confrontation where their might be civilian casualties."

"Isn't this just wonderful!" retorted Luna. "Not only are we going to treat him as a common criminal despite everything he has done, but now he's BAIT as well?! What on earth are you thinking, Tia?"

"Sister, I don't want to do this any more than you do, but the ponies have demanded it."

"Doesn't that sound familiar! The last time you used those words, I lost you for a thousand years! Do you think that all I did up there was sit in a crater plotting revenge? I weeped day in and day out to be freed, just so that I could see you again! It will be no different for him. He has known true love, but you would be content to force him into a life of solitude!"

"LUNA! Believe me when I say that the last thing that I wanted was to do this to him. I couldn't even stand to look at myself in the mirror after I was forced to banish you, and I fear that that will be the case again this time. I am not any more comfortable with this than you are."

"Then do something about it. Exert your authority as the Regent of the Sun and take a stand. What could the senate even say to you, no?"

"... I'm sorry Sister, but this is simply the way it must be." She turned and left before Luna could respond, but her stride said more than her words ever could. Luna walked back over to my hiding spot, fuming.

"I'm sorry that you had to hear that, but... GRRRR, she just makes me so mad sometimes. I hope you won't think any less of her because of me."

"No, if anything, I think a little more of her. Did you see how she walked away? She's probably as broken up as you are, but is also feeling trapped by what the ponies want."

"Be that as it may, Tia definitely needs to exert herself more often than she does. I guess a thousand years of solitary rule has broken her once formidable spirit."

"Yeah," I added, looking thoughtfully at the door she had exited through. "Maybe so."

"Okay, enough of this talk, we need to get you out of here. Running into Sister proved dangerous enough, so it would be best not to tempt fate by having you leave by chariot. I'm going to use a teleportation spell on you which should put you about 200 yards away from the refugee camp, but there are a few things I want you to have first."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really. First, I would like you to have my cloak, for two reasons. First off, I've been told that the weather can be harsh and unpredictable outside of our lands, and secondly, I have enchanted it so that it is as strong as the plate mail that the guard uses."

She handed me the rough brown cloak, which I quickly slipped on. Sure, the fabric was so rough and worn that Rarity would faint at the sight of it, but it was warm and could double as a makeshift sleeping bag.

"Thank you, I'll take good care of it, even return it to you if I get the chance."

"You need not worry about it, I have several just like it. Anyway, next I have an enchanted mirror, which will allow you to see anypony who's name you say to it. I understand how mind crushingly lonely exile can be, and I don't want you to suffer like I had to. And lastly, I have this," she added, placing the mirror in a small satchel.

Out of her bag she pulled the necklace that Fluttershy had given Twilight nearly a month ago for her birthday, and I was astounded to see that it had survived the fire.

"How did you find this?"

"When I went to Ponyville, or what remained of it, I thought it best to speak with Twilight and the other Bearers. By that time they had already noticed you were missing, and Fluttershy didn't stop her search for you even to speak with me. Twilight gave me the necklace and told me that if I found you to give it to you. So, here," she added, placing the chain of gold around my neck and tucking it into the cloak. She handed me the satchel with the mirror in it and took a few steps backwards, charging her horn as she did so. "Alright, I'm going to send you on your way, but be forewarned that I'm still a little rusty on teleportation spells used on other ponies. It may take a few minutes for you to get there."

"Luna, hold on," I said, holding up a hoof.

"Yes? Is there something that you need?" she asked, magic dissipating from around her horn.

"More of a statement that needs saying." I walked over to her and threw my front legs around her neck in the biggest hug I could muster. "Thanks, for everything."

At first, Luna didn't know how to take it, tentatively lifting a hoof and placing it on my back. As I tightened my grip, she reciprocated in kind, giving the first honest hug she had in probably a thousand years. I gently let go and looking up I could see that her eyes were watering.

"Thank you," she said, voice thick with emotion. "You have no idea what that means to me. The life of royalty is a very impersonal one, even when you share your rule with your sister."

"Well, consider it a gift, from one exile to another. Also, don't be so hard on Celestia. She has a good heart, at least from what I've seen of her, but the pressures that you both share have taken a heavier toll on her. She'll probably come around."

"... Maybe you're right. Anyway, enough with the emotionalities," she added, wiping her eyes and regaining her composure, "let's get you on your way." She took two steps back from me, charged up her horn, and fired.

===============

Have you ever had that weird feeling, like your body and your mind are existing seperately, like they're sort of compartmentalizing each other? Well, that's a bit like what teleportation feels like, only each molecule of your being is separated out from every other one, and you can't even tell which way is up anymore. All I could see was a swirl of vibrant colors, all I could hear was the sound of rushing wind, and all I could feel was my head spinning.

I'm not sure how long it was until I landed, but I was sure of was how dizzy I was. I stumbled around for a good five minutes, trying to gather my bearings. If I had known that teleportation was this discombobulating, I would have just flown.

When my eyes had finally stopped rolling and I could actually focus, I saw a hastily erected shanty town off in the meadow. There were hundreds of tents set up, some bigger than the others, with several ponies milling about. Some of them I even recognized, like the mail mare with the crossed eyes and Rose, the local flower salesmare.

"Whelp, this is it," I said under my breath before making my way down the hill. I ambled into the camp, trying not to draw too much attention to myself. This proved a little bit difficult, as everypony who saw my face immediately got a look like they had seen a ghost. Just as a note, that's not a look you want thrown your way.

As I was making my way towards the heart of the camp, I couldn't help but notice a slight bouncing sound growing louder as I went along. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a quick flash of pink right before I was tackled to the ground, and I was pretty sure I knew who did it.

"EVAN!! You're back!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, staring down at me. "Ooh, this is so AWESOME!! I told everypony else that you were alright, and now look! I was right! Everypony is going to be so happy that you're back, you're practically the town hero!"

"What do you mean, hero? And, would you kindly get off of me?"

Pinkie clambered off of me and helped me to my hooves. "Well, by hero, I mean HERO!! Fluttershy told everypony in town how you rang the bell to help warn everypony about the fire, and everypony that hasn't been working on the camp has been searching the town for you. Or, I guess I should say, what used to be the town," she added, a bit of sadness breaking through her normally bubbly exterior.

"How bad is it?" I asked. Even though I already knew the answer, I really just wanted to see it for myself.

"If you really want to know, then you should follow me," she said, gesturing towards the front of the camp. We weaved our way through the tents, passing the occasional pony as we went along. When we finally got out of the camp to a spot overlooking the town... words cannot describe how I felt.

Before me lay the smoldering wreckage of Ponyville, smoke still wafting up from the husks of the buildings and homes that had made it up. Even through the destruction, I could still make out some noticeable landmarks. The cupcake section of Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie lived... the burnt up oak that used to house the Library... the fields of burnt apple trees from Sweet Apple Acres. Everything, gone in the blink of an eye.

"Are you alright?" asked Pinkie.

"Y... yeah, I'm fine," I answered, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. "Just, tell me what needs doing around here, and I'll help anyway I can."

"Well, I think Twilight needs some help sorting out supplies. Maybe you could help her."

Hmm... that actually doesn't sound so bad. It'd give me time to think, and I also had a few questions I needed to ask her.

"Sure, if it needs doing. Where is she?"

"Over in the big tent right in the middle. You can't miss her."

"Thanks Pinkie. If you see Fluttershy, tell her that I'm back, alright?"

"Okey-Dokey-Lokey!" I turned to leave when Pinkie shouted back, "Hey, wait!"

"What's up?"

"Where'd you get the neat-o cloak? And the pretty necklace?"

"Uh... I... I found them, while I was gone," I lied. She could probably see right through me, but it'd be much harder to explain what exactly had happened. Better to wait until I could get them all together.

If she was even capable of giving a skeptical look, she sure was giving me one now.

"If you say so," she said, completely unconvinced. I decided to hoof it over to Twilight before Pinkie could give me the third degree, if that was even physically possible for her. Besides, I had a few questions to ask Twilight, and I didn't need any more delays. Lord knows Luna's faux kidnapping put me behind schedule enough.

===============

The center tent was pretty much the nexus of the refugee camp, with ponies going to and from it in droves. Everypony there looked like they had important business to attend to, so most of them didn't notice me, much to my relief. It wasn't until I walked inside that ponies started paying attention to me, and unlike the ones outside, they were smiling as soon as they clapped eyes on me. I guess Pinkie was right about the whole "town hero" thing.

At the far side of the tent Twilight was giving instructions to a team of pegasus couriers, who took off through a hole in the canvas ceiling when I got close to her.

"Hey, Twi," I called to her, making her jump before turning to greet me.

"Oh, hey Evan. It's about time you got back. We've had ponies searching the town for three hours looking for you, and Fluttershy's been worried sick. I think everypony will be able to breath a sigh of relief, and it means we can devote more to keeping the camp running. What's up?"

"Well, first off, Pinkie said that you needed some help organizing supplies, and I need a mind numbing task to clear my head. Secondly, I also want to ask you a couple things."

"Sure, anything you need."

"Well," I began, pulling out the necklace from inside my cloak, "could you explain how this came to be in Luna's possession?"

Twilight was absolutely flabbergasted, to say the least. "Ho... how did you get that? I thought Luna still had from when she came to vis..." she trailed off, the moment of dawning comprehension hitting her square in the head. "That's where you went," she declared. "Luna took you to Canterlot, didn't she?"

"Took, kidnapped, same difference. She had had her personal guard watching the town ever since the Senate hearing, waiting for when she could round me up, and the fire proved just enough of a distraction that they could take me without anypony noticing."

"But we did notice! Everypony thought you were dead! How could she do this, and mainly why!?"

"I think we are both aware of the how, but I'll fill in the why. See, she is still opposed to the Senate's decision to banish me, so she's informed her guard that if they see me to provide any aid they can legally get away with. The regular guard shouldn't be able to interfere because Luna's guard only answers to her. After hammering out all the plans, she gave me her cloak, an enchanted mirror, and the necklace which, if I heard correctly, you told her to give to me if she found me."

"I guess I did say that. Well, it's good to have you back, even if you disappeared because of a phony kidnapping. Now, I believe you said something about organizing supplies?"

"Right. Just point me in the right direction."

"Over there you'll find a bunch of the bedding materials that Rarity's been making, and it needs to be sorted out by sheets, comforters, and pillows. Think you're up for it?"

"After the night I've had, I don't think a few sheets are going to stop me. Oh, before I forget, don't tell the others what I've told you just yet. I want to get them all together before I completely spill the beans."

"Sure thing," she said before turning to see to the rest of the crew. I trotted over to my monstrous pile of bedding materials, threw off my cloak, and set to work. It may have been mindless repetition, but it is really cathartic, especially when you're nerves are as frayed as mine were.

That, plus who doesn't love the feeling of soft bedsheets running through their hooves?

Ch. 13

A New Perspective Ch. 13

The organization that Twilight set me to consumed most of my morning, as well as a good part of the afternoon. It seemed that for every three sets I would finish, Rarity would bring in six more. After about six hours, or my eighth cry of frustration, she decided to leave the actual production line and helped me sort, which was nice in her own special way.

"I am so glad that you're alright," she said, drumming up a conversation. "Sweetie Belle broke down when she heard that you were missing, and she still hasn't left our tent, even when her friends came to visit."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. She seems to have taken a real shine to you, and I honestly can't blame her. You've always been so nice to her, what with going out crusading with them, and the time you brought her back home after a long day. I would even venture to say that it's almost become similar to how Scootaloo idolizes Rainbow Dash."

"Okay, that may be overstating it a LITTLE, don't you think? Have you even seen how Scoot is whenever Rainbow is brought up? She will not stop talking about her! I think it might actually be a little unhealthy for the poor filly. She needs to become somepony other than the unattainably high standards she sets herself to."

"Be that as it may, maybe you should go and see Sweetie. It would certainly raise her spirits to see you. She may get on my nerves to no end sometimes, but she is my sister, and the last thing I want for the poor darling is for her to wallow in... whatever it is that ponies are supposed to wallow in."

"Uh, I think the word your looking for is 'depression'."

"Yes, that's it! Finally, I can finish that statement without it sounding silly."

"Riiiight. Anyway, if you can handle the last of the sorting, then I guess I could go see Sweetie Belle, cheer up the poor filly a bit. Where's your tent?"

"Over at the side of the camp that's furthest from the ruins. I didn't want that reminder hanging over us like a cloud of gloom. I think Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are still there. They said something about standing watch outside to make sure that nopony besides you disturbs her."

"Got it. Thanks for telling me Rarity."

"It was my pleasure."

I was making my way to leave when a thought hit me over the head like an iron bar. "Hey, Rarity," I called back.

"Hmm?" she responded.

"Remeber when we were in Canterlot, and how I gave my little speech?"

"Yes, though I have been trying to forget it for quite some time."

"Well, I just wanted to thank you for comforting me after I sort of went all emotional on them. That really did help, even if that meeting didn't turn out as well as we had hoped."

"You're very welcome. It was the least I could do, especially given the circumstances. Now run along," she added with a smile, waving a hoof at the tent flaps, "you have a date with my sister."

As I whipped open the tent flaps, cloak, mirror, and necklace tucked into the satchel Luna gave me, I could only think of one thing.

Rarity could have worded that last sentence SOOOOO much better.

===============

It seems that everywhere I went in that camp, there were ponies lining up to shake my hoof or congratulate me on warning the town. Sure, it was nice, and I took it with good graces, but they way they went on about it almost makes it seem as if I had simultaneously cured every disease known to ponydom. I really didn't quite understand all the praise, considering I had done what any sensible pony would have in the situation, but if everypony needed somepony to look up to in this time of crisis, I guess I would have to do.

It took me a good fifteen minutes to walk over to the other side of the camp where Rarity's tent was set up, but I could easily recognize it before I was even within shouting distance. The entire tent was dolled up with lace and various other fineries that Rarity had somehow managed to save from the fire. In addition to that I saw Scootaloo and Apple Bloom standing right outside the flaps, stern expressions on their faces and standing as still as statues.

Hey, is that who I think it is?" hissed Scootaloo to Apple Bloom upon seeing me.

"I think it just might be. Evan!" she called over to me, eyes lighting up as I drew closer.

"Hey girls! How are you doing?"

"Fine, and we have you to thank for it," answered Scoot. "Fluttershy went around telling everypony how you warned the mayor about the fire, and how you rang the bell. That was undeniably AWESOME! Rainbow Dash would be so proud!"

"I'm sure that she would be, but I'm here for a bit of a more serious matter."

"Oh, you must mean about Sweetie Belle," said Apple Bloom, eyes filled with concern. "I've never seen her this sad before. She wouldn't even let us in to try and cheer her up, saying that she didn't want to see anypony except you. And, well, since we all thought that you had sort of kicked the bucket, it really didn't help her."

"I guess I'd better go see her then. Here's hoping," I said as they opened the flaps up for me.

The interior of the tent was a lot less flashy than the exterior, probably because of the fact that it was barely large enough to fit herself and Sweetie. Over on one side of the tent I saw a small sleeping bag with a tiny white head poking out of it, defiantly facing the wall.

"Go away," said Sweetie. Without moving an inch, she caught up a nearby pillow in her magic and flung it straight at my head, which I only barely dodged.

"Is that how you say hello to your friends?"

Sweetie Belle's ears perked up at the sound of my voice, and she slowly but surely turned around so that she could see me. Her eyes were red and bloodshot from crying, but they still had that unmistakeable spark in them.

"E... Evan?" she choked out.

"The one and only," I said, getting down to her height. "Rarity said you were feeling kind of down, so like any good friend, I came rushing over."

She unzipped her sleeping bag, got slowly to her hooves, walked over me, and gave me the absolute biggest tackle hug ever. We rolled around on the floor of the tent for five minutes, laughing and playing, and just generally having a good time.

"Nice to see you too," I said after she had calmed down.

"What are you doing here? Everypony thought that you... well, you know..."

"Well, as a great pony once said, news of my death has been greatly exaggerated."

Sweetie rubbed her head against my chest, grinning from ear to ear with pure joy. "I'm glad that it is. I really missed you, but now that you're back, that means we can hang out and go crusading again!"

"Sure does. How's now sound to you?"

"You mean, right now? We'd need to find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, though."

"You don't need to worry about that. They've been standing guard outside and making sure that nopony disturbed your solitude. You have a couple of really good friends out there, and don't you forget it," I added, tussling her mane.

"Somepony say our names?" asked Scootaloo, peeking her head in the tent.

"Yeah, and get yourselves ready, cause we're going out crusading!"

"Alright!" said Apple Bloom. "Wait, what are we going to even do? Since the town's sort of bit the dust, we don't really have many options."

"Sure we do. There's plenty of things that need to be done in the camp to keep it running, so we could see if our talents involve any of those."

"Hey, yeah!" piped up Scootaloo. "We could go see if Rainbow Dash needs any help delivering messages to the other towns!"

"Uh, you do realize that only two of us have wings, right?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Oh, yeah. Well, what did you have in mind?"

"Ooh, I have an idea. Since I don't think any of us were able to get our capes out of town, maybe we could see if my sister has any extra fabric so we can make new ones!"

"Great idea, Sweetie Belle!" added Apple Bloom. "Does anypony know where she is?"

"Last I saw of her," I said, "she was in the center tent sorting out bedsheets and whatnot. Twilight would probably know if she went back to the main production line."

"Well, I guess that settles it then. C'mon Crusaders, we're off to see Twilight!"

We all exited the tent and made our way to the center of the camp with a new spring in our steps, but nopony seemed to have her spirits lifted more than Sweetie Belle. She was hopping along side of me, eyes as bright as diamonds and with a smile to rival Pinkie Pie's perpetual cheerfulness. It brought a smile to my face to see these three as happy as they were, despite everything that had happened. Even in the face of adversity, even among the youngest of us, there could still be joy to be found in life.

"Hey, Evan." asked Scootaloo, who drew up beside me while I was lost in my own head.

"What's up?"

"Do you think that the Apples and the Cakes are going to need any help with making the meals, cause it was really fun the last time I did it."

"Well," I began, hoping with all my heart that she had finally gotten the hint about what her talent was, "we're just going to have to find out, aren't we?"

===============

According to Twilight, Rarity had finished up the organizing and went back to the production line as a sort of overseer, so we made a bee line for the place. Twilight was happy to see that Sweetie had left the tent, but didn't make too much of a big deal about it, much to my relief.

"Hey Rarity, guess who I got to come out of the tent?" I said as we opened up the tent flaps.

Rarity turned away from the rough bedsheets that she was working on to greet us, and she lit up when she saw Sweetie Belle standing at the head of our group.

"Sweetie!" she exclaimed, running over to her sister and giving her a big hug. "Oh, this is simply wonderful! How are you feeling?"

"Just fine, Rarity," she said, trying to release herself from her sisters iron grip. "And loads better now that the Cutie Mark Crusaders are whole again. Just a quick question though," she added as Rarity dropped her, "do you have any extra fabric that we can borrow? Since we lost our capes in the fire, we decided that we should probably make some new ones."

"Oh, of course! We are getting far more than we need from the other towns, and at this point we're making surplus of everything just so that everypony can have some nice sheets." She gestured for us to follow her over to the other side of the tent, where the extra fabrics were being stored.

"You wouldn't happen to have any in maroon, blue, and yellow, would you?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Dear, if you can imagine the color, we most certainly have it. Ah, here we are," she said, throwing open a pair of lockers that were jammed to bursting with fabrics of every size and shape imaginable. "Hmm, now let me just see if I can find where..." Rarity trailed off as she examined every single shelf, looking for just the right colors.

"Ooh, this is going to be so FUN!" said Sweetie Belle, her joy barely contained. "Maybe this time we could all try making our own, with our own patches and everything!"

"But then how would anypony be able to tell that we're part of the same group?" asked Scootaloo.

"Well, just by the fact that we're the only three fillys who run around wearing capes on a regular basis, duh!" answered Apple Bloom.

"I think it would be fun if we each made our own patch," I interjected, "although, if you ask me, I'm keeping the patch that you three designed for me."

"And here we are," said Rarity, balancing three reams of fabric on her back. "We have a maroon cotton blend, and blue and yellow felt for the patches. Will that be all?"

"That's perfect!" said Sweetie as I took the fabric from Rarity. "Thanks Sis!" With a quick hug, she, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo ran off to find a sewing machine. I was about to come join them when Rarity stopped me.

"Yes?" I asked, turning around.

"I just wanted to say thanks, for everything you've done for her. You are a really good stallion, and she's lucky to have you looking after the three of them."

"Thanks, and let me just be the first to say that you are lucky to have her for a sister. Now if you'll excuse me, we need to get to work, and we can't very well do that without this," I said, shifting the fabrics balanced on my back.

I was just settling into the one open sewing machine that the girls were sitting at when I heard the unmistakable sound of happy bouncing. Needless to say, I hit the ground, taking the girls with me, as a flash of pink flew over my head and into a pile of cloth with a soft thud.

"Ha, finally got the better of her," I thought to myself as I got to my hooves. The girls didn't seem any worse for the wear, but were obviously completely confused. I trotted over to where Pinkie was sticking halfway out of a pile of bedsheets, plaintively wiggling her legs.

Grasping her firmly by the midsection, I yanked with all of my might and dislodged her from the pile. This had the unfortunate side effect of sending us both tumbling backwards into the girls, and we all landed in one big, delirious pile. Pinkie was the first to pull herself up to her hooves, and she immediately started bouncing, smiling, and just generally being herself.

"Hey Pinkie," I said from the pile on the ground, "why so chipper? Well, at least more chipper than usual."

"Well," she began, lifting me up, "remember how I was the first pony to see you when you came back, and how we both saw what happened to the town, and how I said that Fluttershy had been looking for you forever and was really sad and stuff, and how you asked me to tell her you were back if I saw her, and..."

"Pinkie, Pinkie, slow it down, think before you say each word. Now, is this going anywhere?"

"Yes, it is! Or should I say, you are, or at least should be going somewhere right now!!"

"Why? What's going on?"

"Fluttershy's back! I was in the tent in the middle of camp when she came in. She looked all sad and frowny, though, and kept saying how she couldn't find you anywhere. I really wanted to tell her you were back, but it thought it would be an even better idea to let you go see her! That would be certain to cheer her up more than I could!"

My mind had turned into a whirling kaleidoscope of pure joy, and I barely heard what she had said. All I could focus on was Flutrershy, her face etched into my mind in a way that only true love could accomplish.

"Pinkie, did she say that she was going anywhere?" I asked, my voice filled to the brim with anxiety.

"Well, now that you mention it, she did say that she was going to be staying in her tent for a while. I think that it's on the side of the camp nearest to the town."

"Thanks a million, Pinkie, really," I said before turning to the girls, who had been listening in expectantly.

"Um, girls, do you think you'll be alright staying here and making your new capes without me, because I reall-"

"Ah, say no more," interrupted Apple Bloom with a raised hoof. "Your relationship is more important than anything that we could possibly need for you to do. Isn't that right?" she asked, turning to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

With murmurs of agreement and nods of heads, they all agreed to let me on my way, but not before one last big group hug.

"Thank you so much girls. Now, I don't know if I'll be back anytime today, but try not to have too much fun without me, okay?"

"You got it!" said Sweetie, with a wink and a smile. They all gave one last hoof wave as I bolted from the tent, a tear in my eye and a song in my heart, as I made my way to my one true love.

Good grief, that was sappy, even for me.

===============

Flying to Fluttershy's tent was probably the most nerve wracking thing I'd done since arriving in Ponyville, and that was saying quite a lot, all things considered.

I mean, she'd be happy to see me, there was no doubt about that, but she would almost certainly want to know what had happened to me, and I really didn't want to say until I could get everypony else together. But after hiding things from her twice over, I just don't think that the poor thing could forgive me a third time. There would have to be a way around this.

I knew I was getting close when I saw the smoking ruins in the distance, and started scanning the ground for any sign of her. Almost immediately I saw her, forlornly tending to her animals. She looked paler than usual, and held her head low. It was the most pitiful sight I'd ever seen, but I couldn't bring myself to land just yet. It'd probably scare her out of her wits.

I stayed in a holding pattern above her tent for ten minutes until she went back inside. I landed as softly as I could, and got a better look at her tent. It was really in poor shape, probably reflecting her sadness, and I couldn't blame her. After taking another five minutes to muster up my courage, such as it is, I gently opened the flap to her tent.

"Fluttershy," I said softly, stepping inside.

She turned slowly, as if she couldn't believe who's voice she was hearing. As my eyes adjusted to the dimmer light of her tent, I could see that she had bags under her eyes, probably from exhaustion and lack of sleep, but they didn't hide the tears that were welling up.

Neither of us dared move until Fluttershy held out a hoof to my chest, like she was testing to see if I wasn't just some figment of her imagination. When her hoof touched my chest, she visibly recoiled to find that I was solid.

"Are... are you alright?" I asked, hoping that the shock wasn't too much for her.

All I saw was her eyes roll back before she fainted, landing on her bedroll with a soft thud. I rushed over to her prone form, hoping that she hadn't hurt herself.

"Fluttershy, wake up! WAKE UP!!" I yelled in desperation as a shook her, hard but not to the point where it would hurt her.

Her eyes fluttered open, and as soon as she set them on me she started crying. Wrapping her front legs around my neck, she cried into my shoulder while I gently rubbed her back.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, I'm here," I whispered in her ear, trying to calm her down. "Everything's going to be fine."

"B- but everypony said y- you were," she said through the sobs, "a- and I beli- believed them, and..."

"Shh, it doesn't matter what they said. All that matters is that we're together. We're together again, and you don't have to worry anymore." I felt a few tears roll down my cheeks as we lay there in each other's embrace, until she cried herself dry. She got weakly to her hooves and, using her foreleg to dry her eyes, asked in a half hiccup, "But, where... where were you?"

"Let's get the others together, and I'll tell you all about it. Sound fair?"

"Well, alright, but, um, could we maybe, sort of, just stay here for a minute?"

"Whatever you want, I'll do."

"Thanks," she said before dragging over a second bedroll next to hers. She laid down on top of hers and drifted off, obviously both mentally and physically exhausted. Feeling pretty tired myself from all the running around I had done that day, I laid down in the second bedroll and, wrapping my foreleg around her side like I had so long ago in the forest, I nodded off as well, finally reunited with the one I love.

And you know what? Despite everything that had happened, all the hardship and tragedy, all the feelings and emotions that had been tossed around on that day, I was still genuinely surprised when I wound up back in that chamber, opposite that unicorn.

===============

"Oh great, just perfect," I uttered to nopony in particular. "Can't you even give me ONE moments peace? Just ONE! That's all I'm asking!"

Through the firelight cast from the cauldrons, I could make out the unicorn in particular, but something was different about him. For one, his mane was a mess and he had a black eye, in stark contrast to his normally squeaky clean appearance. Even more unnerving were that there were tears in the corners of his eyes.

"Woah, what happened to you?" I asked. "You lose a fight?"

"In a sense, yes, but that is not why I'm here. I'm here to help, and I'll be damned if you are going to reject my entreaties now."

Well, this was certainly unprecedented, to say the very least.

"Help, how?"

"As you may have already surmised, I am not exactly the same stallion that you met in the Everfree Forest. While I may share his appearance, we could not be more different than the sun and the moon."

"Hold on, wait just a second," I interrupted, placing a hoof to my forehead. "You are trying to tell me that you, the stallion that told me to go to the forest which almost got Fluttershy killed, the one that has been haunting my mind like a parasite, are suddenly all nice and friendly and that you are coming to me hat in hooves and asking for me to trust you?"

"To put it simply, yes."

"Well excuse me for erring on the side of caution here, but I'm finding that just a teensy bit hard to believe, especially because of the aforementioned attempted MURDER!! Why the hay should I believe you now?"

"I don't expect you to believe me, or even listen at this point, but I beseech you, just hear me out."

"Hmm... fine, but if this doesn't hold up, then I am going to go right on ahead with what I'm doing, and I will leave you to rot in the sun. We clear?" This was probably the stupidest thing I would ever do, but that's what I get for being too nice.

"Now, this explanation may come off as being a little far-fetched, but please bear with me. The reason that I've been trying to help you, even when it seems like I haven't, is because I am not in control of myself."

"Well that's painfully obvious."

"I assure you it is more than what it seems. I mean to say that I literally cannot control my physical form. Many years ago, I was a well respected teacher at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and one of the foremost magical minds on theoretical magic. One spring morning, I was experimenting with a spell that could have potentially change the way magic was thought of in Equestria."

"Go on," I said, my curiosity piqued, if nothing else was.

"Anyway, for reasons that are still unknown to me, even after all this time, the spell backfired, or misaligned, and the magic coursed back into me. This had happened a couple of times before to me, but this time it was different. When I woke up, I found that I couldn't move, and prayed that I wasn't paralyzed. Rotating my eyes so that I could see behind me, I saw a black swirling vortex, with tendrils of energy extending out of it, caressing my stiff body."

"And whatever it was that was coming out of that portal took over your body, explaining why you are now trapped within your own body?"

"Precisely. From that day to this, the abomination that took me over has been trying to assemble an army from wherever he came from, which explains why he has his cult. He has been able to masquerade as me during the day, and performs this ghastly rituals whenever he can."

We both stared at each other, until I couldn't take it any longer and burst out laughing.

"HAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh MAN, that is priceless right there! Hoo boy! I've heard some whoppers but, HAHAHA!! That takes the freaking cake right there!"

"So you don't believe me?"

"Uh, what tipped you off? My riotous laughter, the tears streaming from my face, the fact that I'm HAHA! clutching my ribs in agony right now?! Of course I don't believe you! What pony in their right mind would?"

"*sigh* I figured this might happen, but fortunately I have a plan B. Stand still for a minute, would you?"

"Alright," I said, composing myself and standing up, "but I don't see how pulling anything else out of your mane is going to-"

I was cut off mid-sentence by a flash of white light. When the blinding light had subsided, I found myself suspended in midair, along with him, above a quiet, sunlit study. Standing beneath us was a unicorn stallion that was painfully familiar to see.

"Is that...?"

"Yes, that's me, approximately seven years ago, and in my last lingering minutes of freedom. Now be quiet and watch."

I looked down on the scene, which was unfortunately silent, but I could still tell what was going on. His eyes (that's his past self) lit up, and he quickly jotted down something in his notebook before moving over to a set of lines carved into the floor that had been inlaid with silver. They matched the symbols from Twilights necklace to the letter.

He illuminated his horn and fired a steady stream of magic onto the topmost symbol, which quickly spread out to the other five and finally back to the center, where he was standing. A sweat had broken out on his brow while the middle sigil lit up. The energy coming off of it suspended him in the air as his eyes glowed white.

Then it all went downhill.

The energy in the circle flared, causing him to look around in shock before a massive, blinding explosion shook the room, blasting out the windows and causing the floor to cave. When the light subsided, I could see him on the other side of the room, flat on his back and knocked out, but that wasn't even the half of it. In the center, where the sigil had been, hovered a large glowing portal, with small tentacles of energy extruding out from it.

He began to stir on the other side of the room, and noticed with panic that the energy was heading straight for him. Try though he did to get away, the energy reached him and slammed straight into his chest, filling him to the brim with whatever arcane torment it contained. He (that's his present self) stopped it right there, but before he took us back, I could've sworn that I saw a hoof poking out from under the rubble where the floor had caved.

"Now do you believe me?" he asked, settling back onto his cushion in the main chamber. All I could do was hold my head in my hooves as I tried to process what I had just seen.

"I... I am so sorry that I doubted you."

"No apologies are necessary, but we must now act quickly. We've wasted too much time already, and He's probably already ont-"

He was cut off by the same earthquake inducing roar that he had punctuated my first visit with.

"Oh no, it's Him! Get out, NOW!!"

I sure as hay didn't need to be told twice, jumping through the portal before he even finished speaking. My body screamed at me to wake up, but my mind was simply too tired to do so, instead slipping back into a fitful slumber.

Ch.14

A New Perspective Ch. 14

My half of our collective nap was fitful at best, especially after the revelations of that unicorn, so I was almost grateful when Fluttershy shook me awake.

"Evan, Evan wake up," she said softly as she nudged her nose at my head.

With a plaintive yawn I pulled myself up and took note of how much darker it had become. Apparently I had slept for longer than I thought.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," cooed Fluttershy in that motherly voice. "Feeling any better?"

"I could ask you the same, but yes, I'm fine. We're back together, everypony is safe and happy for the most part, and we're well on our way to getting Ponyville back up and running. Why wouldn't I be fine?"

"Well, I kind of noticed that you were thrashing a lot in your sleep, so I thought that you were maybe having a nightmare."

"Oh, that... well, I did want to sort of save this for when we got the others together, but there's no sense in beating around the bush. *sigh* It happened again."

"You saw him again?"

"Yeah, only this time was different. He looked like he had been hit by a wagon, and said that he wanted to help me with this whole cult business."

"Well, what did you say?" she asked, settling down beside me.

"At first I couldn't believe him, but he told me how the pony you and I know out in the real world is only a shadow of who he was, that his real self is kept under lock and key by some creature from another dimension. I reacted about as well as you would expect, and laughed until it hurt."

"That wasn't very nice of you," she scolded. Nice to see she was feeling well enough to chastise me.

"Trust me, I realized just how mean it was. I'm not sure how he did it, but he replayed the memory of when it happened, and it was a sight to behold, let me tell you. We were just about to start hammering out plans when the abomination showed up, and that's when I bolted."

"So, you're probably going to side with him now, aren't you?" she asked, eyes filling with worry.

"Maybe, but I want everypony's opinion before I decide on what to do next. Mainly yours."

"M-mine?"

"Well, sure. I mean, you probably have more of a bone to pick with this stallion than I do, considering everything that he's done to you. It wouldn't be right if I didn't ask you."

"Oh... well, if you really want to know, I think that you should listen to him, but don't trust him. This may sound weird coming from me, but I really don't like him."

"Trust me, you have every right not to. You may wield the Element of Kindness, but even the nicest pony has to have some skepticism. Especially where a potential murderer is concerned."

"Heh, heh, yeah, maybe you're right," she said nervously, kicking her hoof. "Anyway, maybe we should go and get the others, see if we can sort this whole thing out."

"I think that's a great idea," I answered, giving her a quick peck on the forehead. "Besides, it'll be nice to let everypony know that you're feeling better. Pinkie seemed a little concerned about you, and I'm pretty sure everypony else shares her sentiments."

"I think that we're just going to have to dispel those rumors then, aren't we?"

"Indeed we are," I said, opening up the flap for her. We both took to the evening skies, heading towards the interior of the camp. My mind was still buzzing with thoughts, plans, and anxieties, but having Fluttershy with me, alive and well, helped shove them all to the back of my mind where they belonged.

At least for the mean time.

===============

It didn't take long to round everypony up, seeing as how they were all busy attending to their various responsibilities, and Fluttershy knew where they each worked. She was actually the one to get them all while I set up a meeting place. I ran back into her after she gathered up Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, and we all made our way to the center tent where Twilight was still busy making sure that the camp was operating efficiently. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had been helping their sisters, and Scootaloo had been busy sorting out letters for Rainbow when she came to get them, so they decided to tag along.

The center tent was just as busy as it was earlier, but it seemed that Ivory Scroll had taken over most of the actual organizing, while Twilight was content to make sure everything was checked off.

"Howdy Twilight," said Applejack over the din.

"Oh, hi Applejack," responded Twilight, putting down her quill. "What's everypony else doing here? Don't tell me Pinkie's already planned a Welcome-Back party for Evan?"

"OOH, I need to get on that!" exclaimed Pinkie, realizing that she hadn't even started. All I could do was shake my head and smile. The world could be crashing down around her, and Pinkie Pie would still be Pinkie Pie.

"Oh no, it's nothing like that, dear," answered Rarity, "He was just going to tell us where he went that had us so worried."

Twilight and I exchanged a quick glance before she answered. "Oh, well in that case, I guess I could take a little time out from my work. The Mayor has everything pretty well handled here, so I guess I could duck out for a few minutes." While Twilight went off to talk to the Mayor, AJ and Rarity turned to the three fillies that had accompanied us, proudly wearing their newly fashioned capes and staring upwards expectantly.

"Now Sweetie, I know that you want to come along, but I need you to go back to the tent and try and get some sleep," said Rarity. Sweetie Belle's expression said it all, lip stuck out in a defiant pout.

"Aww, but I want to know where Evan went."

"I'm sorry, but you've had just as long a day as I have, and it's nearly 7:30. From what I heard, Cheerilee is going to be holding classes in her tent starting tomorrow, so I want you well rested."

"That goes for you too Apple Bloom. Granny Smith would have my tail if I let you stay out past your bed time," answered Applejack. "And Scootaloo, I know your parents don't want you wandering around at night either. You best scoot on home too."

"Oh wow, did you just say 'scoot on home'?" I asked, staring at the orange farm mare, befuddled. "Did you do that on purpose?"

"But Applejack," whined Apple Bloom before her sister could answer.

"Apple Bloom, if you don't git home, I'll tell Big Ma-"

"Applejack, let me handle this," i interjected. "Girls, it would be for the best. You have to keep yourselves in good shape, especially if you have school tomorrow. I promise that I'll tell you everything tomorrow after school, okay?"

"Hmph... fine," was pretty much the consensus statement from all three of them. They left the tent as defiantly as they could, keeping there little noses held high. I almost wanted to laugh.

After talking it over with Ivory to make sure it was alright, Twilight rejoined the rest of us, following close behind me as the seven of us made our way to the outskirts of the camp.

"So, still haven't told them huh?"

"I wanted all of us together before I spilled it. Also, could you not let on that I told you beforehand, as a favor?"

"That's what I was planning on. Besides, if there's one thing that I've learned, it's that losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend."

"Truly a moral to be learned if ever there were one." Certainly one I could use some work on, with the amount of times I've lied to and hid things from my friends.

The moon was already high in the sky when we arrived, and Fluttershy let out a little yelp when she saw where we were.

It was that same clearing that Fluttershy and I were in when the meteor shower happened, and little had changed since that night. It was still as pristine as ever, but with two noticeable differences. One, the meteor had been dug up, probably so that it could be studied, and two, there was a small pile of wood with a few stones set around it. I had figured that it would get dark, so I decided to set up a fire pit.

"Uh, Twilight, would you kindly?" I asked, gesturing to the pile of wood.

"Oh, sure," she replied, horn flaring. One quick bolt of magic and the pile of wood was burning quite nicely, sending out a cone of heat.

"Ooh, this is just like the time I went to camp with my sisters!" chirped Pinkie Pie. I saw her walk up to the fire and, reaching backward, pulled a bag of marshmallows and a few sticks out of her incredibly bushy tail.

"Uh, where'd you get those?" asked Applejack

"One should never be without a bag of marshmallows on hoof at all times," she answered as she jammed one onto a stick she had nestled between her front hooves.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," said Applejack quizzically as she settled onto the grass. Turning her attention to me as we all got settled she asked," So, Evan, what exactly are we all out here for, anyhow? Fluttershy said something about you tellin' us where you went, but something tells me there's more to it than that."

"Nothing gets by you, does it? Well, while that was my original reason for coming out here, there's been a... development."

"What kind of development?" asked Rainbow skeptically, cocking an eyebrow as she did so.

"Now Rainbow, just hold your horseshoes," chastised Applejack. "Let's give him a chance to speak. He'll tell us when he's good and ready."

Rainbow let out a small snort of frustration, but thankfully backed down. "Thanks AJ. Now, before I say anything, I just want you all to know that none of this was my idea, it just sort of happened..."

And so I told them about the kidnapping and what Luna had told me. They all stayed stoic as I orated, although Pinkie was still roasting her marshmallows while she listened. It was an odd sight, her eyes ever fixed on me while she jammed marshmallow after endless marshmallow onto that stick of hers. By the end her bag was half empty, and everypony's heads looked about ready to burst.

"So that's it?" asked Rarity.

"Yep, pretty much. Everything I just told you is how it went down in Canterlot."

"Well, at least you weren't taken by that cult again," said Rainbow. "I mean, as soon as you mentioned 'kidnapped' I thought that this would turn out like one of my Daring-Do books, you needing to escape your captors and all that jazz."

"Oh, Rainbow, I need that copy of 'Daring-Do and the Temple of Prophecies' back," piped up Twilight. "There's a colt that wants to check it out,"

"He can just wait until I'm done with it then."

"Anyway," continued Rarity, getting the conversation back on track, "I'm just glad that it was one of the princesses that took you instead of that dreadful cult. At least we can trust Luna to do what's right."

"Certainly more so than we can trust Celestia," interjected Rainbow. "I mean, I know she has a whole country to run and everything, but she needs to grow a spine. At least Luna showed some guts, and I can respect that."

"Rainbow Dash, you really shouldn't be so hard on Celestia," retorted Twilight. Leave it to her to stick up for her mentor. "While this may just be a lapse in judgement for her, she has all of Equestria to think of, and certainly can't make a concession for one pony, no matter how desperate the situation."

"Isn't this typical," spat Rainbow, "the star student sticking up for her teacher. She may have been like a second mother to you, but even you need to see that what she did was wrong. You know it and I know it, she made a major goof-up here, and I am not just going to sit back and take this. How could you even think this was a good idea?"

"I never said I agreed with the princess' decision, and I'm sad to see Evan have to leave like this, but maybe this will all just sort itself out. And when it does, he'll be free to come back. I think that's fair enough."

"FAIR ENOUGH!?" she asked, beginning to hover out of frustration. "How could you think banishment for an innocent pony is FAIR? Need I remind you that he saved Fluttershy's life, as well as mine? He should be given a hero's welcome wherever he goes, but instead there sweeping him out like last week's hay. Has anything that's happened managed to pierce through your thick, eggy hea-"

"Rainbow, that's enough," interrupted Applejack. "The last thing that we need complicatin' matters is us bein' at each others throats. It's already been decided, so there's no point arguin' over it now. The best we can hope for is that the guard sorts this whole mess out."

"But I-"

"Rainbow, drop it, ya hear?"

"... Yes, MA'AM," she retorted, getting back on the ground. "Anyway, you said that there was a 'development', and since we aren't going to be getting any further with this part of the discussion, then maybe we better move on."

"You're right, we should," I answered. "Now, you all remember about the unicorn that I mentioned when we were coming back from the forest, right? The stallion that leads the cult, as well as haunting my mind?"

"Mm-hm," muttered Pinkie Pie, mouth full of marshmallow.

"Well, sure we do. It'd be pretty hard to forget someone who tried to do your friends in," answered Applejack. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, thing is, I may have had him misjudged this whole time. You see, he came to me again while Fluttershy and I were napping in her tent, and..."

"Aw, isn't that sweet? Two lovebirds sharing a peaceful spring nap, makes your heart just wann-"

"Can it, Rainbow," I interrupted, silencing her. "Anyway, normally he's all prim and proper, spic and span, that sort of thing, but this time he looked like a wreck. His mane was all messed up, and he had a black eye."

"He had said that he was trying to help me this whole time, but it never seemed to take with me, you know? During my dream, he finally just came out and said that he wanted to help me, instead of dancing around the subject, as well as providing some... information."

"What kind of information do you mean?" asked Rarity, watching me with rapt attention.

"He said that he wasn't able to control his physical form, which is the reason he's only contacted me through my dreams. He went on some story about how years ago, he was taken over by some extra-dimensional entity after a spell gone awry, and that's why he's been doing the things he's been doing, like bringing me here and trying to kill Rainbow and Fluttershy."

"Well, what did you say to him?" asked Twilight.

"At first, I laughed so hard that my chest hurt, but then he showed me a replay of the memory, and it played out exactly as he said. He also mentioned that he was a teacher at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and he was practicing in his study when it happened. He started the spell and it went bad fast. There was a big explosion, and when the light subsided, he was on the opposite side of the room, and the floor had caved in. A portal had opened where he cast the spell, and it took him over. That's where the memory stopped, but before we left, I noticed a hoof poking out from under the collapsed floor."

"Wait, hold on. Did you say he was a teacher at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?" asked Twilight, holding up a hoof.

"Yeah, why?"

"Did he say how many years ago he worked there?"

"About seven, but I don't see how th-"

"That's when I was going there! It was my third year, and the news that one of the teachers had blown himself up spread like wildfire around the campus. Students weren't allowed to go in that building for two months while they were cleaning it up."

"Did you know who the teacher was?" I asked, desperation in my voice. This could be a major break if she remembered. Everypony else was paying very close attention to us, Rainbow and Fluttershy particularly.

"He was actually one of my favorite teachers. I think his name was Arcane Fire, but we all called him Mr. A. I learned a lot about theoretical magic from him, and he was always nice to us."

Arcane Fire... Arcane Fire... I had to be sure and remember that next time I saw him. "Did you hear about anypony else being affected by this?"

"They didn't really say much, but I overheard two of the other teachers saying that his aide was crushed when the floor collapsed. He seemed different after the accident, and we all chalked it up to grief. Not that he stayed at the school much longer after that. He was out the door within a week after that."

I was about to speak up when a loud whistiling followed by a bang sounded from behind me. Turning to get a better look, I saw that a bright red flare had gone up from the camp.

"Oh hay, they're callin' a town meeting," said Applejack, putting her hat back on and getting to her hooves. "It may just be some organizational hooey, but it'd be best if we didn't miss it."

"It'll take us a bit of time to get back. Do you think we'll make it in time?" I asked.

"Hmm... we just might. Say Twilight, do you think you could teleport the seven of us back to camp?"

"What, are you crazy?! Don't you remember when I teleported just Spike and myself during that whole ticket mishap? He came out singed up, and I was pretty dizzy, to say the least. Imagine if I tried doing that seven times over! You all might wind up in different places, or mayb-"

"Alright, we get it, no need for the lecture," interrupted Rainbow. "Looks like we're just going to have to hoof it. C'mon!" she said before zipping away. Fluttershy and I took to the air while the others galloped behind us. They were slower, but still managed a good pace, and were able to keep up.

Keeping my eyes peeled, I couldn't help but notice the twin sets of chariots come racing out of the clouds as the light from the flare dimmed. My heart began to race, realizing what this was really about.

And it was no organizational thing.

===============

The front of the camp was jam packed with ponies, all standing in front of a medium sized wooden platform, upon which stood my worst fears incarnate. I had tried to drive it from my head, tell myself that it wasn't going to happen, but here I was, and the crushing weight of reality hit me like a sack full of doorknobs.

On the stage stood Celestia and Luna, flanked on either side by the Prime Minister and The Mayor of Ponyville. Six of Celestia's guards were blocking the exits, as well as two standing next to an iron cage that had been bolted to the bed of a wagon.

I shoved my way to the front of the crowd, dragging Fluttershy along with me. She looked about as terrified as I felt, and being in this crowd of ponies wasn't helping her. Still, she took it with enough dignity, and if I was going to be banished, then I wanted to go down fighting with her beside me.

The Prime Minister's eyes darted over to me when he heard us pushing our way through the crowd, and his face set into a hard glare.

"Well well, if it isn't the stallion of the hour, here to grace us with his presence. I've heard a good many things about you from the townsfolk, but I'm guessing you already know why we're here."

"I think I have a pretty good idea, but I would like to hear you say it." If only so I didn't have to keep thinking of things to say while I was sweating bullets.

"Your majesty," he said, turning to Celestia, "if you could do the honors."

Celestia stepped forward, a scroll held tightly in her magic, and expression set in a steely gaze. She looked down at me, and the way her lips quivered and her eyes shone betrayed the sadness she felt at what she was about to do. She unclasped the scroll and raised it to her eyes.

"The pegasus known as Evan, currently a resident of Ponyville, has been hereby accused of endangerment of Equestria and her citizenry. A joint meeting of the Equestrian Senate as well as myself and Princess Luna found you guilty of the charge, and sentenced you for banishment from our fair land, until such a time as it is necessary to have you return. Is this correct?"

"Yes it is, your highness." My heart was pounding like a kettle drum, even with Fluttershy near to comfort me. Everypony in the crowd started to murmur to themselves, wondering just what Celestia was talking about. Looking back, I noticed some were starting to get angry looks on their faces. This could be just the sort of thing that could help me out here, if nothing else.

"Could you please come up here?" asked Luna, keeping up a good facade. After giving a nervous backwards glance to Fluttershy, I gently flapped my wings and set down on the stage next to Luna.

"Now, you're probably wondering why we are here ahead of schedule, are you not?" asked Celestia.

"I guess you could say that the thought crossed my mind."

"Well, upon further investigation of what has occurred here, as well as your own testimony given a week and a half ago, we can only conclude that it was the cult you mentioned that caused this catastrophe to strike Ponyville." You could hear a pin drop for how silent it became when she uttered that sentence.

"What cult?!" a stallion shouted from the audience.

"What're you talking about?!" yelled another. "What sort of ponies would do this?"

And it got progressively worse from there, with everypony shouting questions and demanding answers until there was a full blown riot on our hooves. Try though they might, Fluttershy and the others couldn't calm them down, and even the Mayor could barely be heard over the din. Even the Prime Minister was taken aback at this.

KKRRRRAAAAAAAAACCKKK!!!!

A bolt of magic raced down from the sky not two feet in front of the stage, causing everypony to jump back and fall silent. Looking to my right, I saw Luna, horn and mane coursing with magic and eyes a flaming white.

"SILENCE!!" she yelled, loud enough to make it seem like she had a megaphone. Her eyes returned to normal, and the magic running throughout her mane settled as she spoke her next sentence. "All will be explained in due time."

"Well, I'd like to hear it from HIM," shouted a unicorn mare, pointing an accusatory hoof straight at me. I could feel the blood rushing to my face, and it nearly made me pass out.

"He will not stand trial again before you," shouted Luna back, in a more manageable tone. "He has already proven his wor-"

I stepped in front of her, shaking my head ever so slightly. While she was at first befuddled, she quickly got the hint and stepped back. Mustering up all the courage I could, I prepared to speak.

"Citizens of Ponyville," I began, "when I first arrived here, I was a stranger to you and yours. Nopony here knew me, and I didn't know anypony. I was lost and confused in a strange new place."

"But you took me in, accepted me as one of your own. You treated me as an equal, although I was an unfamiliar face to you. It was this kindness that you extended to me that gave me a meaning in this new place. I was able to find a job, make friends, and find a home here because you were gracious enough to accept me while knowing next to nothing about me."

"So I think that it's high time I was as honest with you as you have been with me."

Everypony started muttering again, but the confused looks were now directed at me instead of the princesses. Fluttershy looked up to me, eyes shining with tears, as she knew how this was going to turn out as much as I did. It's now or never.

"As you can all probably guess, I'm not from Fillydelphia, and I'm not even sure that I'm from Equestria. I woke up in a meadow about a month ago, with absolutely no clue who I was or where I came from, and it was only through Fluttershy's insurmountable kindness that I was able to find your town. She took me in, showed me around, introduced me to her friends, all that stuff."

"My life was pretty idyllic for a while. Then, one night, I had a dream, or a vision, or something, of a unicorn stallion telling me that he could help me get back to my home. I sought him out with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, but when we found him... well, you all remember when Fluttershy was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago, right?"

There were various murmurs of agreement, but just as many worried looks. Guess they jumped to the conclusion.

"When we found him, he kidnapped Rainbow and Fluttershy, as well as chaining me to the floor. Then he had his lackeys, or followers, start up a torture spell, saying that they needed to be sacrificed for the greater good, and Fluttershy was to be their first victim." I fought with all my might to keep my emotions in check. Given the amount of times I had told and re-told this, you'd think I'd have gotten over it.

"When they started toruturing her, something inside of me changed, welled up if you will. Next thing I knew, I was on the opposite end of the room, with the cult leader buried under my hooves. He teleported away, leaving the cultists behind to finish the job. I reacted out of pure desperation, and shoved Fluttershy out of the spell and taking it myself. It's energies built up in me until they exploded out in a massive bolt of magic, which I'm sure many of you noticed two weeks ago."

A few of the mares in the crowd had hooves to their mouths, trying to keep themselves in check, and most of the others had looks of worry.

"Fluttershy was grievously injured by the spell, and I spent most of my time drowning my sorrows in cider after that. It was only when Rainbow Dash said that she, myself, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were being summoned to Canterlot on the invitation of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," I said, gesturing to the two alicorns standing behind me. "I understood why they would want everypony else, considering that they bear the Elements of Harmony, but why they wanted me was beyond my comprehension."

"I'll spare you the details, but the meeting of the Senate went downhill fast, at least for me. After revealing to them the extent of my involvement with the incident in the forest, as well as my connections with the cult, they voted nearly unanimously to have me banished from Equestria, at least until this matter is solved, thinking that I would attract them here. Really, the only pony on my side besides my friends was Princess Luna. The next week and a half was spent with this hanging over my head, but I tried to make the most of it. The meteor shower and the fire certainly threw me a curveball, but other than that, I guess that's it.

"And that leads us here, to me explaining all of this to you. I honestly wish that there could've been a way to get around this, to stop this from happening, but there wasn't."

"Is that all?" asked the Mayor.

"Yes ma'am. Judge me now, not as who I was, but who I am," I said to the assembled ponies, before stepping down from the stage and into Fluttershy's waiting hooves.

"*sigh* Evan, you know it pains me to do this," said the Prime Minister, "but we have due reason to believe that the cult caused the meteor shower, and consequently, the fire, which proves our suspicions correct. The cult knows that you are here, and that means that we have no time to waste. The carriage is waiting," he said, pointing to the carriage with the cage on top at the back of the crowd. "We'll give you five minutes for goodbyes." He, along with the princesses and the Mayor, stepped off the stage and made their way through the crowd. I turned to the others, keeping Fluttershy in my grasp while I did so.

"Well, I guess this is it."

"I guess," said Twilight, moving to the front before Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo ran out from under her.

"Girls, what are yo-"

"We wanted to say goodbye," said Apple Bloom, moving to the front of the group. "And I think I speak for everypony when I say that we're all gonna miss you, probably more than you'll ever know."

There were nods from all three of them, as well as Twilight and the others. Eyes starting to water, I let go of Fluttershy and took the three if them up in my hooves.

"I... I'm gonna miss you too. Just promise me that you'll stay as wonderful and as precious as you are, for me."

"We promise," said Sweetie as she dug her horn playfully into my chest. They managed to squirm their way out of my grip, and ran behind the older mares as I turned back to Fluttershy. I tried desperately to take in her every feature, every contour of her face and mane, because I knew that I wasn't going to be seeing her again. I reached into my bag and pulled out the mirror Luna had given me, and offered it to her.

"What's this?" she asked, eyes shining with emotion.

"It's an enchanted mirror. Luna gave it to me, just so I'd be able to see you and maybe wouldn't feel so lonely. But really, you ought to have it."

"No, please, I can't take this," she pleaded, pushing it away.

"Look, both of us know that you need it more than I do. I'll manage. Trust me."

She stared at me, and I could see it then. Her eyes said it all, that she didn't want to have this happen, but was almost resigned to our mutual fate. She tentatively took the mirror from me and placed it on the ground beside her. With a quick smile and a kiss on the forehead, I turned to the others.

"I wanted to thank you for all that you've done for me over these past few weeks. Nopony could ask for better friends than you five, and even if I never come back, you will always be with me in my heart."

"It was our pleasure," said Rarity. I could actually see where her mascara had run, and I really couldn't blame her. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash all nodded in agreement, offering their own thanks and send offs. Eventually a guard tapped me on the shoulder, and I knew it was time. With a final hug from everypony, I made my way through the crowd, eyes fixed on me as hard as mine were fixed on the ground. The occasional hoof would pat me on the back, but other than that the crowd may as well have been made of statues.

Taking time to throw one look back on the crowd, I stepped up into the cage, the door of which shut with a resounding clang. Celestia and Luna had already departed back to Canterlot, but the Mayor was there to see me off. She gave me the simplest of nods, and then signaled for the guards at the front to take off. With the grinding of carriage wheels and the clop of hooves, I left my old life behind, not sure if I was ready to face the mysteries of my uncertain future.

I guess I'd have time to learn, though.

Ch. 15

A New Perspective Ch. 15

~Three Months Later~

It was raining. Again. For the third day straight.

You know, it's kinda weird how I only truly miss the weather team scheduling the storms when I have it taken away from me. I guess that's how it works for everything, I suppose.

I crawled blearily from the cave that I had been calling home for the last week or two, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and stretching my wings as I took in my surroundings. Not much to look at, but it was home. The rain filtering down through the trees, falling to the earth with big fat plops. The many layers of dead leaves and broken limbs that covered the ground. With a heavy sigh, I pulled my hood up over my head and set out to find some breakfast.

I was finding it harder and harder to keep track of time the longer I stayed out here. And while I wasn't malnourished, I did find that I had lost some weight out here, as well as putting on some lean muscle mass. I, overall, was probably in better shape than when I left.

Oh, the night I was taken... the first night had been torturous, and I often found myself crying in my sleep for weeks afterwards, hoping and praying that it was all just a horrible nightmare. As time passed, I eventually became numb to it, but there was still a black, cloying void in my chest that was begging to be taken back. Begging for a sense of security, a sense of love and camaraderie.

But that sense of emptiness would not be sated, not for a long while, and that thought clung to the back of my mind like a parasite.

The one thing I was thankful for was that Luna gave me her cloak, which I hadn't taken off since they let me off the carriage. The nights could get blisteringly cold, and I was thankful for the protection it offered, no matter how small. In addition to that, I had also taught myself how to start a fire, and made sure to keep an ample supply of kindling in my satchel at all times, where it would be safe and dry, as well as some extra berries or edible mushrooms. One thing Twilight had been sure to teach me after the mishap in Canterlot was what wild plants and fungi were edible, and which would wind up killing you to death.

I came to a wide open meadow dotted with various berry bushes, as well as long succulent grass. I quickly trotted over to one of the bushes, and after making sure that they weren't pure poison, started plucking them off and putting them in the outer pocket of my bag. After loading myself down, I bent my head over and gorged myself on the grass, thankful that I could digest it.

Despite everything that had happened, and the fact that as far as the Equestrian government is concerned I was a non-entity, I found all of this a bit peaceful. Sure, I only have myself to rely on, and there were any number of things that could wipe me out in a heartbeat in the wilds, but peaceful. I would often find myself lost in quiet introspection as I wandered around, when I wasn't having conversations with Arcane Fire.

He would come to me on a pretty regular basis, even going so far as to inhabit my daytime thoughts, like we had some form of telepathy going on. We would really just shoot the breeze, talking about his past, my present, our mutual future, seeing as how we were both intertwined in that insane cult's plots. He seemed genuinely surprised that I knew his name, but when he found out who I learned it from, he smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen him give. He even asked me how Twilight, one of his favorite pupils, was doing. It was this series of exchanges that changed the dynamic between us. No longer was he the chessmaster, and I simply a pawn, but we now were more like friends, at least as friendly as you can get with a stallion trapped in his own body.

I started to shiver as the rain soaked through my cloak, and I decided that I had best be getting back to my cave, my appetite having been fulfilled for the time being. I sure as heck didn't want to attract any undue attention out here, so I would always make my trips out into the woods brief and to the point. Better safe than strung through the digestive system of some beast.

My trip back was uneventful enough, with only the occasional rabbit crossing my path. I gently snuck back into my cave and nestled onto a soft patch of moss I had been using for bedding. Other than my occasional conversations with Arcane, my days were pretty much spent either finding food, new shelter, or staring at Twilight's necklace.

I had propped it up on a stalagmite, and simply mused over what I could do to get it to reveal whatever secrets it held. During my early, frantic days out here, I had tried everything to get it to work, thinking that maybe they'd let me back in the country if I could prove that I was connected to it. I wore it, spoke to it, even flapped my wings at it, but nothing seemed to take. It just sat there, as still and as silent as the gold and jewels it was made from.

Glancing behind it, I took note of the map I had plastered against the far wall of the cave. It was the same map Luna had shown me in Canterlot, except I had used ash and berry juice to mark my own route on it. I was steadily trying to make my way to one of the barracks of Luna's soldiers, just so that I could get an update and maybe a decent bed. The only way I could tell where they had dropped me off on the map was that there was a pretty noticeable land mark, sort of a giant stone pillar, and I had simply worked from there. Me staying here for this long was actually an anomaly. I had been maintaining a steady schedule for getting to them, but the amount of food in this area is what had kept me here this long.

I was just starting to drift back off, the pitter-patter of the rain providing some nice white noise, when I heard a branch snap. Perking my ears, I sat up on my makeshift bed and listened. More than once I had had to make a hasty retreat from some much larger creature that wouldn't mind a pony lunch, and I was determined to get the leg up for once.

For a while nothing happened. Then out of nowhere, another branch snapped, this one much closer. I eased over next to my bed and picked up the stick I had fashioned into a spear with a sharp rock and some vines. Clutching it tightly in my teeth, as well as taking time to put on the necklace and roll up the map, I slowly made my way to the entrance of my cave, ready to do in whatever was out there.

I had barely set one hoof out of the cave when another branch broke, and I whirled around. My eyes were darting back and forth like they were watching a tennis match, and my heart was racing. I backed slowly out of the mouth of the cave, and straight into a snare.

I yelped with surprise as I was hoisted into the air by one hoof, dangling forlornly with my cloak obscuring my vision. I struggled in vain to free myself as a set of hooves drew ever closer, sending me into a panic. I felt a set of teeth close around my cloak, felt it get yanked off, and I shut my eyes tight as I prepared for the worst.

"Oh great, another traveler," said an world-weary voice. "Waste of another perfectly good snare."

Hesitantly, I cracked one eye open, and breathed a sigh of relief to see that there wasn't a cultist standing in front of me. Not that the pony before me brought much more comfort.

She was an earth pony, probably my age, maybe a year older. Her mane and tail were plain enough, just a solid brown with a few flecks of mud in it. The rest of her coat was olive green, her hooves coated in mud, and her eyes were deep purple, almost black. She looked on at me with contempt before flicking her right front hoof, causing a knife honed to a razor's edge to flip forward from a device she had strapped to it. She cut me loose, and I fell to the ground with a thud, about a foot from where I had dropped my cobbled together spear.

I got to my hooves only to have my cloak thrown in my face. After fastening it around my neck, I turned to get a better look at this new arrival, only to find that she was walking out of the clearing.

"Hey, wait!" I yelled after her. "Where are you going?"

"To check my other traps. Not like it matters to you Equestrians, but some of us try to make a living out here. And we don't much appreciate having our traps sprung by bumbling travelers."

"What do you mean, calling me 'Equestrian'? Don't you live there?"

"Not on a bet, dare, and with a knife at my throat," she said, turning to face me. I noted, with some dismay, that her cutie mark was a pair of crossed knives. "I don't much care for living under the iron fisted rule of those bureaucrats in Canterlot, thank you very much."

"Man, do I know the feeling," I muttered.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Just saying that I know the feeling, having to deal with the government like that."

"How could you? Actually, you know what, don't tell me," she said, raising a hoof. "I make it a personal rule of mine to not get involved in the antics of morons.

"Hey, what did I do to deserve that?"

"You wasted a perfectly good animal snare. It actually takes more effort to set those up than you prissy, goody two horseshoes Equestrians are used to."

"Look, you need to lighten up," I said, starting to get a little incensed. "I'm sorry about the snare, but I didn't see it, and why would you even go around setting them to begin with?"

"We need the animal furs to make clothing and to trade for whatever meager resources that can bleed out of this wilderness. And I suggest that you avoid falling into another one of them, or I might not be so forgiving. Got it?"

"Fine, geez. Oh, one more thing,"

"What?" she asked with derision and exasperation.

"What's your name?"

"Silver Rush," she answered bluntly. "Not that you'll need to use it again."

"Right. Anyway, my name's Evan."

"Okay then. Well, Evan, I suggest you be on your way, and you'd do well to stay out of mine." Without another word, she disappeared into the forest, blending in seamlessly. I gathered up my spear and trotted back into my cave. After taking some time to scrub off the excess dirt with some moss and shake the rain out of my mane and tail, I settled back onto my makeshift bed and let the drizzle of the rain lull me back into unconsciousness.

===============

I woke with a start when a clap of thunder sounded, and sat bolt upright on my pile of moss. Looking towards the entrance of my cave, I could see that it was pouring harder than ever, and the wind had picked up considerably. A thought rose at the back of my mind, wondering if Silver Rush was alright out in this deluge. She seemed like she could handle herself, though, so I didn't give it anymore thought.

I was just about to settle back into my bed when I noticed a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye. At first I chalked it up to a trick of the light, but saw it again when a flash of lightning illuminated the field outside. There was definitely something out there. Picking up my spear, I trotted out into the storm, pulling my hood up as I did so.

The wind whipped at my cloak and the freezing rain chilled me to the bone. It was arduous to even walk out in this, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I marched onward. There was a distinct rustling in the bushes, one not being caused by the wind.

I edged my way over, shifting the spear in my teeth so that it was aimed at the bush. I took a few explorative pokes at it before I deemed it safe, and shoved the brambles to one side. I nearly dropped my spear in surprise.

Crouching down at my hooves was a young filly, maybe even younger than Sweetie Belle. She was an earth pony, with a verdant spring green coat, a messy light brown mane and tail, and those same deep purple eyes that Silver Rush had. She was staring up at me, eyes filled with fear at the cloaked stranger standing over her with a spear pointed at her. Thinking better of it, I dug the spear into the ground next to me.

"Look, are yo-" I began, offering a hoof to her. She recoiled at even these words, curling even tighter to the ground. In an honest attempt to be less intimidating, I pulled my hood down and got down on the ground.

"Hey, it's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. Are you lost?" I asked in the gentlest tone of voice I had. All she could do was nod and whimper something that sounded like yes.

"Do you maybe need a ride back home?"

She tilted her head up and stared hopefully up at me, as if I were some grand savior from a story book. She nodded her head vigorously as the wind whipped between us.

"Here, hold on." I loosened the string holding my cloak around my neck, and lifted up the main body of it to expose my back. The filly quickly hopped up onto my back and pulled her head through the loosened neck hole so she could see out the front. I pulled the cloak back down as soon as she climbed up, but even the brief time it was exposed had me soaked.

I pulled the hood up over our heads. It was a little awkward having her small head next to mine, but I could manage.

"All set, sweetheart?" She gave a simple nod and rubbed her head against my cheek. As I picked up my spear and chucked it back toward the cave, I heard her yawn and felt as her head drooped in the hood. She was out like a light.

I debated waking her up to ask her where I was going, but the sight of her sleeping peacefully, the feeling of her warm breath on my cheek as she rhythmically breathed in and out...

It reminded me too much of the time I had taken Sweetie Belle home after our first time crusading. I felt my heart jump to my throat as yet another reminder of my past life came back to haunt me. I suppose they would never leave.

Still, it would be hard finding where she lived, if there was even a civilized society out here. I decided to head in the direction that Silver Rush had gone off in, as it was the only lead I had to go off of.

I just hoped it wouldn't end in disaster, for me or for this mysterious new filly.

<===============>

Another red X on the calendar. Another day alone, with only her animals and her friends to comfort her.

Fluttershy had taken a downward spiral since Evan had been forced to leave, and while she was doing better than she had been three months ago, she was still far from over it.

She had desperately tried to keep herself busy, get her mind off of things, but the weight of what had happened had barely alleviated. She didn't think it ever would. At least she had the mirror, which she had checked every night before bed. He seemed to be doing well for himself, but she would occasionally see him crying in his sleep. She just wished she could reach out to him, to comfort him like he used to comfort her.

"Knock knock," said a voice quietly from the tent flap.

Fluttershy turned to find the flaps parted, a familiar face peeking through.

"Oh, uh, hi Rarity," she said sheepishly, placing the mirror back on the table.

"Hello there dear," said the white unicorn mare, stepping inside. "Oh, darling, you've been crying again."

Fluttershy reached a hoof up to her face and, sure enough, there were tears streaming down. She quickly wiped them away. "Sorry, I didn't even notice."

"Are you feeling any better?" asked Rarity, concern edging into her voice. "I know things have been hard for you over these past few months, but I'm starting to worry about you."

"I've been trying," answered Fluttershy.

"Well, try or not, I think you need to get out a little. Try and go back to your daily routine, you know?"

"Oh, I still get out. Why, just yesterday I went to get Angel some more of his favorite food, and then I-"

"I mean besides errands, dear. You've barely spoken a word to Twilight, Applejack, or any of us for quite some time."

"I see you on a pretty regular basis, don't I?"

"Only because I come over here. You're going to go insane if you stay holed up in this tent like this. C'mon, you need to go out and do something. Surely there's something you can do to help reapir the town."

"How is that going anyway?" What Rarity had been saying was right, Fluttershy desperately needed some time outside, but she just couldn't bring herself to do so. As a result, she hadn't heard much about how the recovery was going.

"It's going. They've gotten pretty much all the debris cleared away from the fire, and have begun some actual construction. And a little birdie told me that they want you to personally oversee reconstruction of your cottage. Doesn't that sound fun?" Rarity's pleading eyes were almost too much for Fluttershy, but she remained resolute.

"I'm sorry Rarity, really I am, but I just need more time to think. You understand, don't you?"

All Rarity could do was sigh heavily as her head drooped. "Yes dear, I do understand." She lifted her head to face Fluttershy, face set into a hard gaze.

"But that doesn't make it right." Without another word, Rarity turned on her hoof and left, leaving Fluttershy feeling guilty. She hadn't wanted to alienate her friends like this, but if what Rarity was saying about Twilight and the others was true...

"Rarity, wait!" cried Fluttershy as she tore open the tent flaps. Rarity whipped her head around.

"Yes?"

Fluttershy came trotting up to her. "If it really means that much to you, I guess that I could get out for a little bit. Just to make sure that they fix my house up right."

Rarity wrapped her front legs around the back of Fluttershy's neck, pulling her into a tight hug, which Fluttershy hesitantly reciprocated.

"Thank goodness," said Rarity. "I was afraid that I had lost you for a second."

"Don't worry, I'm still here," replied Fluttershy, pulling out of her friends embrace. "What say we see how everypony else is doing, huh?"

Rarity chuckled a little as she and Fluttershy set of for what was Ponyville, already starting to be resurrected be the hard work of the townsponies.

"Oh, and one more thing, darling," said Rarity.

"Hmm?"

"As soon as we are done with this, we need to get you to my tent and work on fixing up your mane and tail. You have really been letting yourself go, and I will not stand for it. No offense," she added.

"Sure, why not?" said Fluttershy with a giggle, amused at Rarity's usual discomfort with anything she construed as a fashion don't. Rarity started laughing along side her, and soon the two were sharing in riotous laughter.

It did a lot to raise Fluttershy's faltering spirits.

<===============>

While I wasn't sure how long we had been traveling in hours, I was pretty sure that I had been wandering around for the better part of the day, as the sun was already nearing the western horizon.

The storm had long since subsided, and the smell of the rain and the freshly fallen leaves was all that was really keeping me going. The filly had woken up soon after the storm ended, but she was about as clueless as I was. Apparently she had never been in this part of the wilderness before, and told me that she had to wait until nightfall so she could tell her way by the stars. Among other things.

If there was one thing that this filly liked to do, it was talk. She had been jabbering on about herself, where she lived, and anything else that popped into her little head. It was actually kind of nice to have somepony to talk to after months in solitude.

"So," she began in her chipper voice, "where are you from? I've never seen anypony like you before."

"Well, I guess you could say that I'm not from around here."

"Ooh, so you're new out here! Don't worry, you'll like it a lot. Once you get used to sleeping outdoors and having to collect your own food, it's really fun! There's lots of places to see, and there are some fun games that you can play out here."

"Really?" I asked. "Like what?"

"Well, for the little fillies and colts, there's the usual hide and seek, but the older ones get to play 'Hide and Fight.'"

"'Hide and Fight?' That doesn't sound like too much fun. How do you play it?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"It works pretty much like hide and seek, except when you find somepony, then the two of you get into a tussle," she answered, putting her front hooves up into a fighting stance. "Whoever wins the fight has to go look for everypony else while the other finds a place to hide. It keeps going until everypony has been found at least once, but you can keep it going if you want to."

"Do they normally keep it going?"

"Oh yeah, sometimes all day. One time my big sister and some of her friends kept it going until morning the next day."

"And nopony calls them out on this, or tells them to go to bed?"

"Nope! We pretty much just do what we feel like doing out here, and everypony else minds their own business."

"Wow. Sounds like my kinda place. Guess it was a good thing I got sent out here."

At least that's what I would have said had I not been tackled to the ground.

My assailant, a pegasus, lept out of the tree line and slammed me into the ground. The little filly shrieked when I hit the ground, but I was more concerned with just who the hay was attacking me. Whoever it was, they were wearing a face concealing mask, painted with something that I probably didn't want to identify.

"Who are you?" asked my attacker in a rough, gravelly voice.

"What? What are you talking abou-"

"WHO ARE YOU!?" I heard a click and felt the cold steel of a knife pressed up to my throat. "If you like your voice box where it is, then I suggest that you answer the question."

I laid there at a complete loss for words, sweat running down my forehead as a thin trickle of blood leaked from my neck. This was it. I was going to die here.

"Hey, get off of him!" yelled the filly as she beat against the mystery pony. "He didn't do nothin' wrong!"

"This doesn't concern you," replied the attacker, knocking her away with his hind leg. He turned his attention back to me, where I was laying there being about as productive as a sack of wet mice.

"Not going to talk, huh? Whelp, it's been nice knowing you," he said as he raised the knife to strike the final blow. I slammed my eyes shut and prepared for the worst.

"WAIT!!" came a third voice from the bushes. I tentatively cracked one eye to see that my assailant was looking over his shoulder, knife still held high. Shifting my gaze, I saw none other than Silver Rush walking over to the filly.

"Hazelnut, what are you doing out here?" she asked.

"Nothing," replied the filly. "He was just helping me get home. I got lost out in the storm, and he rescued me."

"Is this true?" asked the attacker, turning back to me. I nodded until my neck was sore.

Get out of the way," said Silver as she shoved the older stallion out of the way, "I want to see him." As soon as she took one look at me, her expression changed from disinterest to pure rage.

"YOU!" she yelled before lifting me right up off of my hooves and slamming into a tree. "Who do you think you are, huh? What were you doing with her?"

"Exactly what she said," I answered, pointing to Hazelnut. "The storm was getting bad, I found her in a bush, and offered to escort her home. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes it is. What were you really doing? TELL ME!" she added, punctuating it with a slap to the face.

"Sis, stop!" yelled Hazelnut. "He's telling the truth!"

Silver took a cautious look back at her sister, keeping me pinned to the tree while she did so. I'm not sure what that filly did, but Silver melted like a snowball on a hot summers day when she looked back at that little face. Giving me one last glare, she took her hooves off of my chest and let me fall to the ground. Holding a hoof to my throat to try and stem the blood flow from the initial attack, I got up.

"What should we do with him?" asked the stallion.

"He's going to need that neck wound patched up, and it wouldn't kill him to get checked for any damage he might have taken when you tackled him. Fly back to camp and tell them to get the medical tent set up. I'll see him there personally."

With a nod of the head, the stallion took off into the sky, leaving me alone with the psycho and Hazelnut.

"Listen, mister, I'm really sorry about my si-" began Hazelnut before Silver put a hoof in front of her.

"I don't want you talking to him, got it?"

"But sis-"

"That's final. C'mon, we need to get you home. You," she added to me as we began walking. "are very lucky. Most ponies in your situation would've wound up dead before they hit the ground. Seeing as how my sister has taken a liking to you, though, I'll let that rule slide."

"Well, thanks, that means a lot coming from a freaking nutcase."

"What did you call me?" she asked, seething with anger.

"You heard me. I was busy making sure that your sister got home safely, and this is the thanks I get for it? Nearly getting killed by two psychos in a row is not my idea of gratitude."

"Hey, just be thankful I even spared your sorry flank!" she said, turning to face me. "I could have left you dangling in that snare you stumbled your way into! I could've even let Gale Force slice you from ear to bucking ear, but I didn't! You should be the one thanking me!"

"Oh, yes, well thank you SO much for proving that your not nearly as much of a psychotic witch as you seemed to be! I have half a mind to fly back to my cave right now and forget that you even exist!"

"Only if you want to bleed out from that neck wound!"

"A neck wound that your lackey gave me! What is wrong with you ponies out here anyway? If I could, I would go back to Equestria right now and send out the entire Royal Armed Forces to round you all up and put you in the freaking dungeon!"

"Well, isn't that like a typical Equestrian, wanting to run back to your big army and your all-knowing princesses to fight your battles for you! You wouldn't know an honest fight if it came up and bi-"

"Stop it, STOP IT!!" yelled Hazelnut over the two of us, interrupting our pitched battle of wills. "This isn't getting us anywhere! We need to get him back home so he can get fixed up, and then he can leave if he wants to! Just stop arguing!" she added, eyes tearing up. Sliver rushed over to her side, cradling the filly's head in her shoulder.

"Now look what you've done," she said, glaring at me accusingly.

"No sis, it's what YOU did," retorted Hazelnut, pulling out of her sister's grip. "He was just trying to help, and you were the one being mean to him! Say you're sorry!"

"Hazel, you know I just want what's bes-"

"Say you're sorry, NOW!"

Reluctantly, Silver got to her hooves and, stomping her way over to me, said through gritted teeth, "Sorry."

"Apology accepted," I replied, if only to placate Hazelnut. Seemingly sated, she bounced ahead of us with a smile, like a certain pink earth pony I knew. Once she was out of earshot, Silver turned to me and whispered, "This isn't over. You'll get yours, just you wait." She trotted after her sister without another word.

Don't worry, you'll get yours too.

Ch. 16

A New Perspective Ch. 16

Nighttime had fallen by the time we reached the camp, and I was completely drained from the amount of blood I had lost. The wound was worse than it seemed at first, and refused to clot. After the first hour of walking, my hoof was drenched with my life fluid and the front of my cloak was soaked.

"Hey, Silver," I said.

"What do you want?"

"I think I'm about to pass out. You know, from the blood loss and all." Even as I spoke, I could feel my head lightening up and my hoof steps growing dangerously misaligned. "If I do, would you be so kind as to drag me into the camp?"

"I'd prefer to leave you to die, but that wouldn't fly well with Hazel."

"Nice to see that you care so... so much... about my... well-being..." I slurred out before face planting into the dirt. Before the unconsciousness could completely overtake me, I think I heard Hazelnut scream, Silver Rush bark some orders, and the shuffling of multiple sets of hooves. It was when I fell asleep that I found myself in a new area of my psyche, rather than that same stone chamber.

"Hey, Arcane, you there?" I called out to the void that surrounded my dream space. I heard a scuffling of hooves on the ground behind me, and whipped around to find, much to my relief, that Arcane was there. What destroyed my sense of relief was the fact that he looked about as calm and collected as a nervous fawn in a wildfire.

"Woah, what's with you? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"It's... it's nothing, and I would emplore you to not bring it up again."

"Fair enough. What I really want to know is exactly where we are. This isn't our usual meeting place."

"The usual place has become... unsafe. With all the time we've been meeting there, He has started to catch on. I decided that we needed to get out before it's too late."

"I can dig it, but that still doesn't answer where we are now," I said, getting a little exasperated at his usual cryptic behavior.

"This is an in-between area of your mind, a sort of limbo like state, if you will. I'm trying to set up a new area for us to meet, but in the mean time we have to suffice with this. Now that I've answered your question, I need an answer; who are you with?"

"How do you know that I'm with somepony?"

"Please don't take me for a fool. I have been sharing your psyche and memories for some time, and I can pick these things up. Now, who are you with?"

"Earlier today, I met up with another pony who lives out here. By 'met' I mean got caught in one of her animal snares. She's pretty rough around the edges, but I guess that's to be expected when you live in the wilderness. Later in the day, a huge storm had whipped up, and I found a filly hiding near my cave. I offered to take her home, which I did, but things went south when it turned out that her sister is the pony I had met previously. After nearly having my throat sliced open by one of her goons, and being slapped around by her for a bit, they escorted me back to their camp. The only reason I'm here now is because I passed out from blood loss,"

"Does this mare have a name?"

"Silver Rush, not that I'm really concerned. As soon as I get patched up, I'm getting the buck out of here. I still need to find those soldiers of Luna's, and get an update. I hope that Fluttershy is alright without me, she can be so sens- hey, you alright?"

Arcane had frozen up, eyes fixed on the floor in a wide eyed stare. It looked like he was muttering to himself, but what it was I couldn't make out.

"Hey, Arcane!" I said, stomping my hoof on the ground to get his attention.

"What? Oh, sorry, I was... remembering something. Anyway, you should probably leave here. I wouldn't want you to be kept from getting on with your mission, sidetracked though it is. Go on," he said, horn illuminating as a white door materialized behind me.

"Wait, before I go, are you sure you don't want to talk about what's going on? I mean, we're always talking about me, but it would be a little selfish of me if I didn't ask about your problems."

"What problems? I've been trapped in my own mind for seven years. All my problems have forgotten me. No, all we need to focus on now is how you can defeat that creature that holds my body."

"Are you sure?" I asked, glancing backwards as I made for the door.

"Positive, now go. I need some time alone."

"Alright," I said, opening the door and stepping into the blinding light. Still, I couldn't help but think that he had some horrible secret he was hiding. Ever since he showed me that memory of his, I had had dreams of that hoof that was poking out from under the rubble of his study. I was beginning to think that that may have something to do with it.

But I wasn't going to get any answers now, not while I was in this predicament.

<===============>

The pounding of hammers, the scent of freshly sawn lumber, the sight of ponies working diligently. It was like an endless symphony for a certain orange farm mare, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Sure, it was getting late, but that was a small annoyance at best.

Applejack had decided to leave the reconstruction of Sweet Apple Acres to Big Mac and Granny Smith, instead choosing to help with the reconstruction of Fluttershy's cottage. It was the least she could do for her friend, even though she hadn't seen her out of her tent since the night that Evan had been taken. Rarity had been giving her and the others updates on Fluttershy's condition, but it hadn't helped much to know that she was being as reclusive as Rarity when her fashion show had failed.

She couldn't help but snicker a little as the memory came back. That dress the she had concocted...

"Yoo Hoo, Applejack!" called a voice from down at the bottom of the scaffolding she was currently standing on. Leaning over the edge, she spit the hammer out of her teeth when she saw who it was.

"Howdy Rarity! What brings y'all around these parts? Don't you need to be worryin' over the boutique?"

"I would, but I just wanted to stop by, say hello, and show a certain somepony around the construction area, if you don't mind."

"Course not, but who is this 'certain somepony'? We can't just have anypony wanderin' around here. Somepony's liable to get hurt." This was the honest truth. More than once Applejack had had to dodge a falling hammer or drill.

"Oh, I'm certain that she'll be alright," answered Rarity as another pony stepped out from behind her. Applejack's jaw nearly hit the floor, and she was quickly galloping her way down the scaffolding. With a resounding thud and kicking up a cloud of dust, she greeted the new arrival.

"Fluttershy, well aren't you just a sight for sore eyes! How're you feelin'?" asked Applejack.

"Fine, thanks to Rarity sort of kicking me out of my funk."

"Well shoot, sugarcube, I knew you'd come around eventually. C'mon, you need to see what we've been doing," she added, guiding Fluttershy towards the half finished cottage. "You can come along too, Rarity."

"Oh, believe me, I would, but I do need to see to Carousel Boutique. That and, well, you're kind of, oh how to put this gently..."

"Filthy?" asked Applejack, arching an eyebrow.

"Well... yes," answered Rarity sheepishly.

"It's what happens when you do hard work. You should try it sometime." Applejack knew full well that Rarity despised getting dirty for anything, but they still shared in some good natured ribbing over it nonetheless.

"The day that I get sweaty and grimy doing 'hard work' is the day that you learn to walk in high heels," retorted Rarity, smiling maliciously. "Anyway, I must be off. Fluttershy, feel free to stop by the Boutique when you're done here, and then we can do something about your hair." With that, Rarity set back down the dirt path that led back to town, expertly dodging a mud puddle along the way. Applejack shook her head in disbelief before turning back to Fluttershy.

"Alright, let's see what you think so far." The two mares walked into the newly finished front door and into the partially constructed downstairs.

"Oh my, it's wonderful Applejack! It's exactly how I remember it!" Fluttershy lit up when she saw the job that Applejack had done. Sure, there was still a hole where the ceiling should be, and there were piles of sawdust big enough to fill ten litter boxes, but it was still a valiant effort.

"Thanks sugarcube. We did our best to recreate it exactly the way it was, so I guess this means that we succeeded." Applejack was also happy as can be to see that Fluttershy was happy again.

"You succeeded splendidly. Why, I can already tell that that's where the kitchen is going to be, that's where the staircase is, and that's where..." She fell silent, staring longingly at the righthoof side of the room, where the bay window was going to be.

"Sugarcube? You alright?" Applejack had started worrying again, already knowing where the conversation was going to go.

"... That's where he used to sleep," she said, voice filled with emotion. Fluttershy had barely choked the words out before the tears started falling again, and her knees collapsed beneath her.

Applejack got down on the ground beside her friend, laying a comforting hoof on her back as she lay there weeping.

"It's alright, sugarcube, it's alright."

"No," hiccuped Fluttershy, "no it's not. Oh Celestia, I miss him Applejack. I miss him so much." She wrapped her hooves around Applejack and cried into her shoulder.

"Look, Fluttershy, I miss him too, we all do," she said, pulling Fluttershy away so she could look her in the eye. "But you need to put things in perspective. Did I ever tell you why y'all have never seen my parents?"

Fluttershy could only shake her head.

"Well, it wasn't because they didn't want me, or Big Mac, or Apple Bloom. They loved us all to death, but my daddy didn't work on the orchard. He was a high falutin' business pony, and he just happened to live in Ponyville. One day, when Apple Bloom was still a newborn, daddy got a letter saying that he was getting transferred to some city far away, one I'd never even heard of. He knew that Big Mac and I had gotten used to Ponyville, and he didn't want to tear us away from the friends that we had made here. So you know what he did?"

Again, Fluttershy only shook her head, although she had stopped crying.

"He decided to leave us here on the farm with Granny Smith, Apple Bloom included, and move away with mama. Before he left though, he gave me his old hat, and mama gave Apple Bloom her bow. He tried all he could to make it easy on us, but it didn't help. I cried for weeks after they left, and I even tried running away once to find them. But then a thought hit me; I realized that he was still out there, and I knew that he still loved me. Do you see what I'm gettin' at here?"

"I... I think so, but could you say it?" asked Fluttershy nervously, as if what she was thinking was wrong.

"It's the exact same thing with Evan! He still loves you, and he's doing everything in his power to deal with that cult so he can come back here and be with you. You still have that mirror he gave you?"

"Mmm hmm."

"Have you been checking it?"

"Yes, every night before bed."

"And what have you seen?"

"I've seen him living out in the forest, mostly just getting food or looking at Twilight's necklace. I did see him crying a few times, though."

"And why do you think he was crying?"

"Because he, well, you know..."

"He misses you, sugarcube. And if you know that he misses you, then why are you getting all worked up about him not being here? It's not as if he turned on his hoof and just dumped you, then went off on some adventure."

"Well, I guess that makes sense. But I still miss having him here."

"We all do, but we all need to do what we can to get over the fact that he's left, and channel that anger and sadness into something constructive."

"... Like fixing up the town?"

"Exactly," answered Applejack with a smile, before leaning over to pick up a hammer. "And I know just where you can start."

Smiling weakly, Fluttershy took the hammer from Applejack and flew up to where a group of construction ponies were hammering together the beams that would form the floor of the second story. After throwing on a hard hat, she set busily to work.

Smiling broadly at Fluttershy's renewed vigor, Applejack trotted back over to the ladder leading back up to her bit of scaffolding. She certainly wasn't going to let Fluttershy hog all of the fun, that was for sure.

<===============>

*beep... beep... beep*

That incessant beeping was starting to really get on my nerves. Whatever was causing it, I desperately wanted to have it thrown down a well so that I could keep sleeping. After the day that I've had, I certainly needed it, and the bed I was in was surprisingly comfortable.

Wait a second.

Cracking my eyes open, I was nearly blinded by a large over hanging light. After my eyes adjusted, I took a quick look around. Canvas roof, rows of beds spread out on either side of me, some tube stuck just above my hoof and hooked up to a bag of clear liquid.

I laid my head back on my pillow. Silver had kept her word, and had gotten me fixed up like she promised. Reaching a hoof to my neck, I could feel soft, fresh bandages wrapped around it. Through the wrappings I also noticed that there were stitches running the width of my neck.

"HI!" came an over eager voice.

"GAH!!" I yelped, swinging around to face the pony at my bedside. I didn't notice anypony anywhere nearby, leading me to think that maybe I had lost more blood than I thought.

"H-hello?" I asked, still trying to calm my frantic heartbeat.

"Down here, you knucklehead!" said the same energetic voice. Leaning over the railing, I finally found the source of the voice.

"Oh, hey Hazelnut. What are you doing here?" Her happy smiling face pretty much said it all.

"I'm here to see you, duh! How are you feeling?"

"Better. At least I didn't die out there. Or just now when you scared me out of my wits."

"Ooh, sorry about that. I was just waiting for you to wake up, and I guess I got a little excited."

"Don't worry about it. Uh, you wouldn't happen to know what time it is, would you?"

"It's about ten o'clock."

"P.M.?"

"No silly. You've been asleep all night. I was actually about to poke you awake."

Ten o'clock? Great, another chunk of time that could have been spent getting to Luna's soldiers. I also needed to show somepony my map, see if they could point me in the right direction.

Thinking hard, I tried to remember where I had left it. Let's see, I rolled it up and put it in my bag when I went to investigate the bush Hazel had been hiding in, as well as putting my necklace on. I still had it when I was attacked, and I had it when I passed out...

"Oh no... oh no, no no no NO!!"

"What? What's wrong?" asked Hazelnut.

"Hazel, do you remember that bag I had with me when I was trying to get you home?" I asked, growing frantic.

"Yeah, what about it?"

Okay, I need you to think very, very hard. Did anypony take it off of me when they took me in here?"

"Well sure, they had to when they checked that you didn't have any broken bones and stuff."

"Listen, I had some very, VERY important things in that bag, and I really need to get them back. Where did they take them?"

"I think sis took them back to our place."

Oh great, the single most important artifact I own, as well as my only way to tell where I am out here, are in the hooves of a pony who absolutely hates my guts. Fan-freaking-tastic.

Quickly pulling the tube out of my hoof, I threw off the bedsheets and got to my hooves. At least I wasn't too disoriented to walk, but my head was still throbbing from the blood loss.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" asked a doctor a few beds over. I didn't pay him any heed, choosing to march my way out of that tent to get back what was mine. Hazelnut was barely keeping pace behind me, her shorter legs struggling to keep up with my longer stride.

"Hold on," she protested, "you can't just go marching over there and expect her to just give all that back."

"Watch me."

"No, really, you can't. She's in charge of any foreign objects that get brought in here, and she has to make sure that you don't have any tracking devices with you."

"Listen, Hazel," I said, turning to the little green filly, "I know that I'm new here, but I wasn't planning on staying for long. I just need to be pointed in the right direction, and I'll be out of her mane before she knows it. She had no right to rummage through my stuff," I added, throwing open the tent flaps.

The settlement I found myself in was pleasant enough, a loose collection of tents and ramshackle buildings nestled in the heart of the forest, with ponies bustling to and fro. One thing I did take notice of, however, was the large, monolithic structure that dominated a nearby hillside, probably some sort of ancient temple that they built the place around.

"Where do you live?" I asked. Hazel pointed a hoof over to one of numerous tents, this one only differentiated by the impressive weapons rack sitting out in front of it. Looking down, I saw that she was giving me a very worried face, but my resolve didn't waver. Lifting my head high, I strode toward the tent.

I rapped my hoof against the piece of metal she had propped up next to the tent flaps to announce myself.

"Yeah?" called Silver from inside. Parting the tent flaps, I entered.

"Hey, Silver, what did you do wi-"

"Looking for this?" she asked, holding up my necklace with one hoof, not even bothering to look me in the eye.

"Yes, and if you could be so kind as to return it, I'll be on my way."

"Sorry buddy," she said, turning to face me, "but that's not how things work here."

"What do you mean?"

"This little trinket would be worth about three months of meals for everypony in camp to a wandering merchant, and seeing as how I did you the kindness of letting you in here without the screening process, as well as fixing you up, I think that this is adequate payment." She kicked my bag at my hooves, and I was fortunate to find everything, map included, where it belonged. "You can keep everything else, but I'll be holding onto this."

"Silver, you don't understand, I need that necklace. You have no idea how important it is."

"Oh, I think I know just how important this is." she said with a wicked smile. "With this, I'll probably be able to fix it with the elders to let me join the camp watch instead of being stuck on contraband duty."

"It isn't even yours!" I exclaimed, getting frustrated at her arbitrary cruelty. "You can't just take something out of somepony else's bag and call it yours!"

"Maybe that's how it works in Equestria, but out here, everything that isn't a personal effect gets shared among everypony. It helps promote solidarity and a good sense of community. You should be lucky I left all that food in your bag."

"NO! Look, I'm not planning on staying, but I'm not leaving without that necklace, and I'll fight you for it if I have to!" I regretted those last words almost as soon as I said them.

"Is that so?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well why didn't you just say so? Hang on, let me get the arena set up. Now don't you go anywhere," she added, flicking me on the nose condescendingly. With insufferable smugness, she sauntered out of the tent, leaving my ego and my mind to wage war against each other.

How could I be that STUPID?! She would kick my flank so hard that I'd wake up and my horseshoes would be out of style! I had thoroughly painted myself into a corner, except that this corner was filled with spiders and death spikes. Me and my big fat mouth.

"Hey, what happened?" asked Hazelnut, parting the flaps. "Sis looked really happy. Did you get your stuff back?"

"Everything except my necklace. And now I have to fight her for it." Her expression of terror said it all.

"Oh no! She'll clobber you! She's never lost a single fight that she's ever gotten in!"

"Any tips or tricks?" I asked, praying that there was some way I could get out of this with my pride intact.

"Other than begging for mercy? None that I can think of."

Well, that's just perfect. Head hung low and tail dragging limply on the ground, I walked out of the tent, Hazelnut on my heels. I felt like I was on death row.

"Hey, you!" yelled a voice from behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I noticed that same pegasus that attacked me, Gale Force I think is what Silver called him, walking towards me, only this time his face was unobscured. It became pretty clear why he had covered it up.

He was probably the same age as Mr. Cake, but had a much stronger build. He wasn't exactly handsome, per se, but he wasn't ugly either. He was a rich maroon color, and had a shockingly yellow mane and tail. The one thing that stuck out at me were two very nasty scars running down the right side of his face, one directly over his eye.

"You know, it's not polite to stare," he said when he noticed that my gaze was transfixed at his scars.

"Oh, uh, sorry," I blurted out. "It's just that you, uh, well..."

"Don't apologize, I get it a lot. Newcomers always stop and take a good long look. I've just gotten used to it. Besides, judgin' by what Silver was nattering on about, I think you've got bigger fish to fry."

"She told you?" I asked nervously.

"Told me? She practically announced it to the whole camp! Went around, roundin' everypony up, saying that there was going to be a fight and she needed ponies to set the arena up. You've really stepped in it, let me tell you."

"Tell me about it. Just out of curiosity, why are you talking to me anyway? You were ready to tear my throat out yesterday."

"Thing is, I thought that you were trying to make off with little Hazelnut over there, and that was something I could not abide. It's a good thing that Silver stopped me, but you know what they say, out of the frying pan, into the fire."

"I know the feeling," I replied, starting to warm up to him. "I had three little fillies that I would take care of and play with back home, and if anypony tried to do anything with them, they'd be in for a very rough time of it."

"I bet. Anyway, seeing as how you're going to be fighting Silver in there, and she has her two quick knives, I thought I may as well help you out."

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out one of those weird blade contraptions that Silver had. He quickly fastened it around my right front leg, which I quickly raised to examine the thing.

"How does it work?" I asked as I casually flicked my hoof to one side. Without warning, the blade shot out of its sheath and knocked me on the nose, drawing a thin, shallow scratch that stung like the dickens.

"Like that," answered Gale sarcastically. "Just be sure to have it pointed AWAY from you, or your going to get worse than just a scratch."

"Point taken," I said, rubbing my nose with my other hoof as I re-activated the mechanism and the blade went back in. "Thanks, by the way."

"Just want this fight to last longer than five minutes. And I'll be wanting that blade back. That is, if she doesn't kill you."

"Do ponies often die in there?"

"It's only happened a couple of times, but it was pretty nasty. Especially the cleanup," he muttered as he walked off.

Well, ain't that just a kick in the teeth.

Ch. 17

A New Perspective Ch. 17

Hazelnut did a remarkable job leading me around the camp, pointing out various areas of interest and generally distracting me from the fact that I was about to spend the rest of my life in a coma or under six feet of dirt. We had a bit of free time while the arena was being set up, this apparently being a lengthy process according to Hazel. After the five bit tour, I decided to spend some time at the training field getting to know my way around the blade contraption that Gale had given me.

The training center was about fifty yards away from the arena proper, where the sounds of sawing lumber and ponies yelling carried over. It wasn't exactly a large place, barely even as large as a soccer field, but what did I expect. I trotted over to one of the practice dummies and, after removing my cloak and readying my blade, set to hacking the thing into ribbons.

It was weirdly relaxing, watching the burlap and straw facsimile fall away with each deft swipe, until it was leaking straw in record proportions. As the sweat started to bead on my forehead, I felt a sense of elation as I slashed mercilessly away at it. Some of the ponies who were there had stopped what they were doing and watched as I practiced.

The blade felt natural, like an extension of my hoof, and before I knew it the dummy was torn to pieces. Hazelnut had been watching from a bench, and giggled a little when I finished.

"What're you laughing at?" I asked between breaths

"You're going to fight my sister like THAT?"

"Well, yeah, why? Was I doing something wrong?"

"How about everything. You're stance is all off, you telegraph your attacks too much, you throw yourself off balance with every swing. It's almost painful to watch you."

I was honestly taken aback. I thought I had done pretty well.

"And how would you know about my style?"

"Uh, you do know that my big sis is the best fighter that we have, right? Don't you think that some of that talent would rub off on me? Here, let me see that thing," she said, walking over to me and undoing the device.

"Hey, careful with that! You could hurt yourself."

"Oh please," she grumbled. Strapping it to her own hoof, the filly trotted over to the next dummy. "Let me show you how it's done." After lowering the dummy to her height, she began attacking it with fervor I had never seen before.

By comparison, my fighting style may as well have been me brandishing a club and swinging it in circles. Even at her tender age, I could tell that she had done this for a few years at least. She made the blade into more than a tool, and her fighting style was like watching a dancer. I was beginning to wonder why she had even needed me to help take her home during the storm.

When she had deemed the target defeated, she quickly undid the blade and tossed it back over in my direction.

"And that's how you do it," she quipped.

"Wow. Just, wow," I stammered as I strapped the device back to my hoof. "That was incredible! Could you give me a few lessons, just so I don't get too badly thrashed in there?"

"Sure! Based off of what I've seen, though, you're going to need more than just a few lessons."

She trotted over to me and started examining me, circling around me with a look of concentration.

"What are you doing?" I asked, feeling a little awkward.

"Shh, I need to focus," she said as she lifted up one of my wings. This was about as unnerving as things got, but if it helped me stand a chance against Silver, then I'd deal with it.

The filly circled around me for maybe five minutes, occasionally asking me to lift a hoof or look up. Finally deeming me worthy, she started setting up another dummy.

"What was all that about?"

"Just sizing you up, checking for any strengths or weaknesses that you could exploit. That was one of the first things sis taught me; always know your opponent, it just might save your life."

"Oh. So, uh, what did you find out?"

"Well, for starters, you have an obvious natural advantage because you're a pegasus."

"Is that as big of an advantage as I'm hoping it is?" I asked, praying that it was.

"Were it anypony else, I'd say definitely. Unfortunately, I've seen sis take down pegasi that had wings twice as long as yours, so they might not help you that much."

"Is there anything that your sister can't beat the tar out of?" I asked, sarcasm thick in my voice.

"Not really. And if I had to bet on this, I'd go with Silver. No offense, but you're kinda scrawny. You have a bit of lean muscle on you, but there isn't enough to really make a difference."

"That's it? Isn't there anything I could use against her?"

"As far as brute strength is concerned, it'd be like trying to walk straight into a hurricane. Fortunately, your slight figure and the fact that your bones are lighter because you're a pegasus does give you one advantage. You could just outrun her."

Not what I was expecting to hear, but I'll roll with it.

"Outrun her?"

"Yeah!" she replied in a chipper voice. "Sis normally wins just by overwhelming her opponents in the first couple of minutes. If you could just avoid her until then, maybe fly around a bit, she'd eventually wear herself out. If there's one thing that isn't her strong suit, it's endurance."

"As long as it gets me my necklace back, I'll do backflips while balancing a beach ball on my nose."

"That's the spirit! Now let's get down to business," she said, gesturing to the dummy. With a nod of my head, I flipped out the blade and listened with rapt attention to every word the filly said. Every move she made, I mimicked to the best of my abilities, and I was rapidly learning the intricacies of this weapon that would become my best friend.

And with every slash, every cut made in that training dummy, I thought to myself, I can do this.

<===============>

Fluttershy had spent the better part of the morning helping Applejack fix up her cottage, and they were starting to make some real headway. The bottom floor was done, and they were halfway finished with the second floor. Soon she'd be able to move back into the place she had called home.

Still, she knew that it wouldn't be quite the same.

The repairs had been keeping her mind from wandering too much, but every now and then she had to fight the urge to go off someplace alone and cry her eyes out. Applejack had been keeping one eye peeled, and whenever it seemed like she was about to tear up, she'd stop what she was doing and give her a hug. Fluttershy was lucky to have a friend as good as Applejack.

Setting down her hammer and taking off her hard hat, she wiped a rivulet of sweat from her brow. The sun was high overhead, and its rays had been beating down on her all morning.

"You alright, sugarcube?" asked Applejack. "You need me to get you anything, maybe a cold drink?"

"No, I'm fine, it's just that we've been working all morning, and I'm really kind of interested in seeing how the rest of the town is coming along. You want to maybe take a break, go for a walk?"

"Well, it's not like me to leave a job to somepony else, and we really need to get this finished..."

"Pretty please?" begged Fluttershy, giving the best puppy dog eyes she could. For good measure, she also poked her lower lip out in a cute little pout.

"... Oh, alright, just so that you stop making that face. Hey, Rocky!" she called over her shoulder. A sturdy stallion ran over to the pair.

"Yes ma'am?"

"Fluttershy and I are going to be taking a bit of a break, so while we're gone, I'm putting you in charge. If I hear that y'all were slackin' off, then y'all be the ones that have to repaint the barn at Sweet Apple Acres, you hear?"

"Clear as day," he answered, before turning to the rest of the construction crew. "You heard the lady!" he barked. "Put your backs into it! That means you, Derpy!"

Fluttershy turned to Applejack, feeling slightly worried. "When did Derpy join the team?"

"Well, she just showed up this mornin', offering to work, a little bit after you got here. She said that everypony else in town had turned her down, and I just felt sorry for the poor thing."

"I don't know if this is the best place for her," Fluttershy replied, turning her gaze back to the pegasus mare who was presently dragging a leaking sandbag behind her. "Wouldn't they need her to deliver letters? That was her job before all of this."

"They would, except the post office hasn't even been rebuilt yet. Look, I'm worried about her too, but let's just give her a chance. She hasn't done anything wrong so far."

"I guess... anyway, let's forget about all of this and go walk around town."

"Right behind ya," replied the orange mare as the two made their way down the scaffolding. When their hooves were back firmly on the ground, they made their way down the dirt path into Ponyville. Fluttershy still had that little niggling doubt in the back of her mind about Derpy, but worrying about it wouldn't solve anything.

Not that it would stop her from worrying.

<===============>

Princess Luna paced the floor of her bedchambers, mind running in circles.

She threw her gaze to the telegram from Celestia that was sitting on her dark purple bedspread. The message said nothing more than that she was needed in the war room as soon as possible. Noticing how hastily it had been written, with her sister's normal regal cursive replaced with sloppy script, she could only guess as to the seriousness of the matter.

Even with her sister's obvious sense of urgency, she still had to wait for her guard to escort her. Ever since the truth had been revealed about that cult, the castle had been on high alert, and anypony of importance had to be escorted by the guard. It was a needless frivolity to the moon princess, but she would deal with it as long as was needed. Besides, Luna had more pressing issues on her mind than just pointless bureaucratic dilly-dallying.

It had been three months since Evan had been banished, and she had received no word from her guards about his whereabouts, or even if he was still alive. While she was certain that he could take care of himself, she felt a certain responsibility for his current state. If she had just put up a better fight at the senate hearing, if she had only had the strength of character to overrule Celestia...

"Your Majesty, we've come to escort you to the war room," came a voice from the other side of the door. Reaching out with her magic, she swung the door open while levitating her tiara and collar onto her body. She was happy to see that it was her personal guard that was escorting her instead of her sister's troops. These mares and stallions had been hoof picked by her for their strength and loyalty, and she felt more comfortable around them than she ever had around Celestia's guards.

"Thank you, Night Stalker," she said to the unicorn mare that had announced their presence. She made it a personal mission to know every member by name, something that she felt gave them a more personal relationship.

Night Stalker was accompanied by her brother, Wind Song, a strong pegasus stallion that was always with her when they made their rounds. She did not discourage a healthy working relationship between her guards, and always tried to put family members in the same squad, something that Celestia had quickly picked up on and tried to mimic.

After slipping into her armored horseshoes, she followed them out the door, striking up conversation as she did so.

"So, Wind Song, how is your wife? I heard she came down with a bad case of the pony pox."

"Oh, she did, Your Highness, but she's feeling much better, thank you for asking. I'm just worried that the foals might come down with it too. They're so young, and I don't want anything really nasty to come their way."

"Well, if they do, just let me know and I'll get one of the royal doctors on it. As thanks for your diligent service," she added.

"Hey, how do I get that kind of credibility?" asked Night Stalker incredulously. She had always been the more outspoken of the two, but Luna took it in good humor.

"Don't worry, I would gladly do the same for you if the need ever arose."

"And we are ever grateful for your kindness, aren't we Nighty?" asked Wind Song, throwing his sister a dirty look.

"I told you not to call me that when we're on duty. It's Night Stalker."

"Whatever you say, 'Night Stalker'," he replied with massive sarcasm. Luna chuckled a little at their banter, because of how much it reminded her of how she and Tia would go back and forth as fillies.

"Now now, let's not get distracted from the task at hoof," interjected Luna. "What exactly is this meeting needed for anyway? It's not like sister to call everypony together like this at such short notice."

"Well, ever since that pegasus got banished, Her Majesty has been tense, to say the least," answered Night Stalker, face set in an expression of worry. "I've never seen her this stressed out before, not even when Discord came back, and we all know she was freaking about that."

"Hmm... Tia has always been one to blow situations out of proportion, but I do believe she has a right to be worried. We still have that cult to deal with."

"Yeah, but I'm starting to doubt that they even exist. We've scoured what remained of the Everfree Forest, as well as any other ruins all over Equestria, but we haven't found hide nor hoof of them. It's like they disappeared into thin air. Ah, here we are," added Night Stalker as they approached a large set of oak doors in a bunker underneath the castle. Pushing them open with her magic, Luna found her sister, as well as all of the guard captains, circled around the war map, a miniature model of Equestria and the surrounding areas. Turning to her two guards, she dismissed them with a nod of the head and entered, taking her seat next to Celestia as the doors shut behind her.

"Ah, Luna, so kind of you to join us," said Celestia. While she had put up a good face for the assembled guard ponies, Luna could tell that Celestia was deeply troubled.

"It's good to see you as well Celestia, although I fear that there is a serious matter that needs attending to if this many high ranking mares and stallions are here."

"You would be right in thinking that. I'll let the Magical Regiment's commander explain the situation," answered Celestia, gesturing to the grey unicorn stallion at the far end of the table. After levitating his helmet off, he stepped up to the map, using his magic to illuminate several spots on it. Luna noted, with some dismay, that most were concentrated in or around what had been Ponyville.

"I'll cut right to the chase your highness. The unicorns that we have stationed in this area of Equestria have been picking up traces of a very ancient form of magic that hasn't been seen since... well, since the First Nightmare Moon incident."

"Do we have any idea what's causing these spurts of magic?"

"None so far, but the odd thing is that there are no known ponies alive that have even heard of this magic other than the ones currently sitting in this room."

"So unless we're dealing with a leak of sensitive knowledge, that means that our assumptions were incorrect. You said that the last time this magic was felt was when I first became Nightmare Moon?"

"Yes, although we only have Celestia to attest to that, seeing as how none of us were alive for that. From what Her Majesty has said, this is similar to the magic that was flowing through you when you turned, a sort of corruption, only different."

"Different how?" asked Luna, turning to her sister.

"It is stronger, purer." answered Celestia, staring intently at the map. "It is more powerful than the corruption that coursed through your veins by ten fold, easily."

"Why have there been no reports of unicorns in Ponyville feeling this?" asked Shining Armor, captain of the Canterlot Protection Regiment. "Surely my sister would have felt this, she's the most magical unicorn alive."

"That is actually how we received word of this," answered Celestia, looking over to the white unicorn. "In Twilight's most recent letter to me, sent just last night, she said that she had been having chronic headaches for the past few days, feeling a kind of magic that she couldn't explain. All she could tell me about it was that it felt dark and malevolent."

"Has anything been done to try and figure this out?" asked Luna. "If Twilight Sparkle has been feeling this, then surely other unicorns must be getting worried."

"We have sent in a squad from the Magical Regiment as well as one from the Expeditionary Force to monitor the situation. Their reports have been fairly standard, but they sense that something big is abou-"

"Shh... hear that?" interrupted the captain of the Magical Regiment. Everypony perked their ears, listening intently to the walls.

"Is that... hoof steps?" asked one of the other captains. "How would we hear hoof steps all the way down here? We're five hundred feet underground."

The murmurs and questions from the other captains were cut short by the doors bursting open. Night Stalker rushed in, her mane tangled, a cut bleeding over her eye, and her breastplate dented.

"Night Stalker, what happened?!" asked Luna, shocked by her soldier's appearance. "Why do you-"

"Your Majesties, I would love to explain right now, but we have a problem! I need all of you to follow me, and be ready for a fight!"

The guard captains didn't need any more prompting, quickly throwing their helmets on and racing up the stairs, with Night Stalker, Celestia, and Luna following in hot pursuit. As they ran, the princesses teleported all their combat armor pieces onto themselves, and when they reached the main floor of the castle they were decked out in head to hoof plate and chain mail, with two jeweled helmets adorning their heads. They raced through the main castle gates to find a sight that nopony had ever hoped to see.

Canterlot was under seige.

Everywhere Luna looked, there were soldiers battling in the streets, as well as families running for their lives, but it was nearly impossible to tell exactly what they were running from. These creatures reminded Luna the most of the changelings that had once made up part of her army, except that they weren't. They simply defied all known physical description. All Luna could truly make out of them were that they were vaguely pony shaped, but a thick shadow hung around them, obscuring any fine detailing.

A magic bolt flew past Luna's head, forcing her to duck as it exploded against the wall behind her. Whatever these things were, they meant business.

"Sister, what do we do?! There's simply too many of them!"

"I'll stay here with the guard and try to hold them off, but I need you to go to Ponyville and warn the town. I'm certain that the influx of magic from that area is related to this, and we need to be certain that the towns folk are prepared."

"But Tia, surely you would need me to-"

"There's no time! GO!!" shouted Celestia as she dove into the fray, horn blazing with golden fury. As soon as she landed she was forced to bat away one of the creatures with her wing as she slashed at another with her magically manifested broadsword.

It took all of the moon princess' strength to tear herself away from the scene, but Celestia was right. Not only did Ponyville need to be warned, but so did all of Equestria. Gathering her resolve, she took to the air, aiming towards the southern gate to the city. She was determined to get to Ponyville as soon as possible, so determined that she did not notice one of the creatures break off from the fight and leap towards her.

The creature hit her with enough force to knock her out of the air, causing her helmet to clatter to the ground as she struck the cobblestone streets. When her vision refocused, she saw the creature striding towards her. Defying any sort of common sense, she started shuffling backwards along the ground, only for the creature to leap atop her and pin her to the ground.

Luna and the creature stared at each other, her heart beating like a jackhammer. The creature cocked its head quizzically, almost like some insect, before it released a haunting howl from its gaping maw. Luna saw a glimpse of its true face while it screamed, although she wished for the life of her that she hadn't.

The creature had no face, no head of any kind. All that was there was a pony's skull, bleached white, with razor sharp incisors and canine teeth. What was the most disturbing though, were its eyes, black and soulless with a single point of red light in the center.

Luna was unsure whether it was from instinct or sheer terror, but she released a bolt of magic that caught the beast full in the face, sending it tumbling backward before it disappeared in a burst of black energy. Taking a moment to compose herself, the princess of the night got back up to her hooves and took flight once more, all the more determined to see this evil brought down.

<===============>

"Mares and Gentlecolts, welcome one and all!" proclaimed the unicorn announcer in the middle of the arena, having used his magic to amplify his voice so it could be heard by the hundred or so ponies that were in attendance to what was essentially my execution. A single spotlight focused on him, made from a few mirrors and candles, while the rest of the battlefield was cloaked in darkness.

The sun was low in the horizon when a messenger came to the training field and said that the arena was ready. My heart had leaped into my throat, but I couldn't respond to him before he ran back to the arena. Hazelnut tried to offer some comforting words, but even with her lessons I knew that this was going to be a one way fight. Resigned to my fate, I had trotted off to the arena to await my doom.

Which leads to me, standing here like a lemon with my blade contraption strapped to my hoof, with only fifty or so yards separating me from Silver Rush. Interspersed throughout the space between us were large wooden pillars and chest high walls, obviously meant to add a labyrinthian feel to the place. I was sort of thankful for them, as it meant that there would be more obstacles for Silver to weave and dodge around, whereas I could just fly over them.

The one thing that made me want to tear my mane out in frustration, though, was the fact that they placed a net over the arena to keep me from flying too high. I guess it was just a necessary measure to make sure that I didn't just swipe the necklace and fly away, but I'd have to keep one eye on it just to make sure that I didn't hit it and send myself into a tailspin.

"Tonight, for your viewing pleasure, we have a truly momentous battle waiting in the wings! In this corner," he said, gesturing to Silvers end of the arena, the spotlight dying as two torches illuminated on either side of her, "is a mare very near and dear to us all! She is the very beating soul of our community, and record holder for most matches won in a row, standing at fifty-seven!" Were it not for the crowds adulation, you probably could have heard me gulp from where I was standing.

"I mean none other than the unstoppable, the ruthless, the awe-inspiring... Silver Rush!!" The crowd went wild as the spotlight shone on her and twin jets of fire erupted from the torches at her sides, probably some spell cast by a couple of stage unicorns. She greeted the cheers of the gathered ponies in her own inimitable fashion, getting up on her hind legs so she could beckon to the crowd for more, and throwing me a few wicked glares and cut-throat gestures for good measure.

Unfortunately for me, I knew that she meant those, and that's what terrified me.

When the crowd died down, the announcer continued. "And in this corner," he said, motioning to my side as a couple of torches illuminated next to me, "is a newcomer all the way from Equestria!" the crowd hissed and booed when he mentioned Equestria, so I guessed that it wasn't just Silver that had contempt for it.

"Will his soft upbringing prove to be his downfall, or can he prove that he actually has the guts to make it out here? I give you tonights challenger, the mysterious stallion... Evan!!"

The spotlight shone bright in my face, illuminating me for everypony to see. I did my best to stand proud and tall, even while the crowd heckled and jeered. Were it not for the net, they probably would have been throwing things as well.

"Tonights prize will be this priceless artifact," continued the announcer, holding my necklace high as the spotlight turned back to him. The crowd ooh-ed and aah-ed as the lights glinted off of it. Seeing the necklace being held out like some grand prize even when everypony else had no idea about its significance made my blood boil, but it also steeled my nerves and served as a reminder of what I was fighting for.

A shimmer of magic illuminated the arena, and the announcer reappeared in a VIP box outside of the arena. Setting my necklace down on a pedestal, he turned back towards the crowd.

"Now just so everypony knows, the usage of weaponry for tonights fight has been authorized, so this may get a little hairy. If either of the contestants attempts to strike a killing blow, they will automatically forfeit the match. And now, without further ado," he added as torches started lighting all over the arena, casting an eerie orange glow.

"LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!"

A gong sounded, and Silver leaped off of her starting pad. It was almost uncanny how fast she moved, bobbing and weaving through the obstacles at speeds that would make Rainbow Dash proud.

I thought back to what Hazelnut had told me about her sisters weaknesses, and decided to put them into practice. Waiting until she was within ten feet of me, I rocketed into the air, causing her to slam into the arena wall. The whoops and hollers from the crowd gave me back a bit of my courage, but only a bit.

Unfortunately, this only proved to irritate Silver, who probably wasn't used to being shown up so early in a match. Turning to throw a truly evil glare at me, she leaped upwards, at a height that I didn't think possible for an earth pony. Her grip barely missed my hind legs, and that's when I decided to give her a literal run for her money.

As she turned to stare back up at me, I gave a sarcastic wave and a smile and bolted, taking off to the heart of the arena. I tried as hard as I could to remember everything that Rainbow had taught me about flying, and used it to great effect, swerving through the pillars at breakneck speeds. Silver was in hot pursuit behind me, but even with her phenomenal speed, she still lagged behind, thanks to the obstacles.

I played this deadly game of cat-and-mouse with her for ten whole minutes, and with every lap of the arena we took, I could tell that she was getting more and more tired, already running at half of her top speed. She still kept on me though, but the strain was starting to affect her perception, and she had occasionally tripped over the odd root, or didn't jump high enough to clear a wall. The fury that she was projecting at me could have scared away even the most terrifying of creatures.

I stopped and rested on top of one of the taller pillars, taking a moment to stretch my wings and hurl insults.

"What's the matter Silver, getting tired?" I taunted "And they say that you're the best that they've got out here. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, getting shown up by a lowly Equestrian!"

That last one hit the breaking point for her. Gathering up what strength she had left, she used a nearby pillar as a jumping off point and leaped straight at me, blade extended and a blood curdling scream escaping her lips.

I didn't even have time to react before she had floored me, landing punch after sickening punch. I tried to hold my hooves in front of my face to shield it, but she quickly broke through my defenses. I could feel the bruises welling up under one eye and on my cheek, and I silently cursed myself for getting so cocky. The bloodthirsty screams of the crowd only exacerbated my worry.

While Silver was distracted with beating me up, I carefully maneuvered my lower body and landed a kick square against her back, sending her tumbling forward and, more importantly, off of me. I quickly stumbled to my hooves as she tucked into a neat little roll and flipped back up. She didn't waste any time, whirling around with her blade singing in the air, right at my head. I narrowly ducked out of the way, and felt a hot stinging sensation at the top of my right ear as her blade passed over me, like it was heating the air itself.

Flicking my own blade forward, I lashed out at her with a quick stabbing motion that Hazel had taught me. It gouged a neat little hole right above her eyebrow, but it wasn't very deep and only drew a tiny trickle of blood. Fortunately it caused her to flinch and draw backward, and I took the opportunity to land a kick square into her jaw, sending her flying to the ground.

"Well I'll be, looks like the city colt has some teeth!" yelled the announcer over the cheers of the crowd, finally having something interesting to watch.

Silver got back up, spitting out blood as she did so, and lunged. Blinded though she was by rage, she still managed to tackle me, but wound up getting two hooves square to the stomach when we stopped tumbling.

We both got back up in the center of the arena and circled each other, neither of us wanting to provoke the other. Even though I had gotten more hits in on her, I was still winded and sore. I could barely see out of my left eye for the swelling, and my ear was still stinging, leading me to believe that she had cut it.

"You're good," spat Silver, along with another mouthful of blood. "Too good for an Equestrian. What's your angle, huh?"

"Just want to get back what you took from me," I said between labored breaths.

"There's more to it than that. I can see it in your eyes. Where'd you get that little trinket anyway?"

How was I supposed to answer that question? Did I tell her the truth? Did I lie and say it was an heirloom from a long deceased grandmother?

Oh what the hay, it'll come out in the end anyway. Best to get the truth out in the open now.

"It was a gift, a gift from a friend very near and dear to me. I miss them more than you could ever know, and that necklace is the only thing that's helped me to remember them."

"Well, they must not miss you very much, otherwise they might have come looking for you," she sneered. "They've probably already forgotten your name, and I wouldn't blame them. You are nobody, and nopony will ever love you or remember you when you're gone."

"What did you just say?" I asked, my temper rising.

"You heard me," she retorted. "You're a worthless waste of space. Anypony who ever claimed to be your friend was just taking pity on you."

"Fluttershy would beg to differ," I muttered under my breath.

"Who?"

"Fluttershy, the love of my life. She was the one pony that made me feel good, the only one who stood up for me, through thick and thin."

"Then where is she now, hmm? Probably back in Equestria, living it up now that you're not there to be her ball-and-chain. Face it, she's forgotten you."

She didn't just say that. She did NOT JUST SAY THAT!!!

A surge of power raced through me, illuminating the arena with a brilliant white light. At first unsure of what to make of this, I realized that this sensation felt familiar; the same thing had happened when Fluttershy had nearly been killed by the cultists. All around me the crowd burst forth with gasps and cries of terror, some trying to escape even as others stayed to watch, dumbstruck.

I turned my burning white gaze back to Silver, standing there with an expression halfway between amusement and terror.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" I asked, my voice reverberating off of the forest.

"I... I..." she stuttered.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY, YOU FOAL!?" I screamed, my voice sending shockwaves that sent ponies hurtling to the ground and knocked down all of the obstacles in the arena. Silver was even forced to hold her ground against the sonic tidal wave.

When she refused to answer, I kicked her in the chest with all my might, sending her flying into the wall of the arena. Well, technically through the wall of the arena. I stomped my way over to her prone form, ready to give her what she so richly deserved, until a small voice cried out from the stands.

"Don't hurt her!"

I whipped my head around to find the source of the noise, only to find Hazelnut gripping the railing. Tears were streaming down her face, and these were tears that I recognized, ones that I had seen Fluttershy cry so many times before.

She was worried for her sister, worried about what this monster in the arena might do to the one pony in the world that she cared for.

"Please, don't hurt my sister," she pleaded. No longer did she see me A as protector from a storm, or a newfound friend. I was a beast, a creature that steals away those you love in the night.

No, I wasn't that. I could never be that, and I would never be that.

Even as my internal declaration set into my mind, I could feel myself powering down, and the world ceased to be bathed in whiteness. The moon shone brightly down from the trees, and all of the torches had been blown out, no doubt from my vocal tsunami.

When I was certain that I wouldn't do her any unintentional harm, I flew over to where Hazel was, but she shied away, afraid that I was going to turn again. I set down as gently as possible next to her and tried to wrap a hoof around her, but she soon wriggled free from my grasp, running to hide under one of the bleachers.

"Hazel," I said softly, poking my head underneath. She was wrapped up in a tiny quivering ball, not unlike when I had first found her.

"Hazel, if I scared you, I'm sorry. I... I don't know what happened down there, but it's over now. I'm me again, and you don't have to be afraid."

She poked one eye up over her hoof, but quickly put it back down again at the first sight of me. Great, I've alienated the one pony here who I could call a friend.

Looking up I saw that the few ponies who were still here were giving me very awkward looks. I backed away from Hazel slowly, and flew to where Silver lay just to avoid their piercing gaze.

Silvers body had made a shallow groove in the ground where she had landed, bits and pieces of the walls littering the area. At a first glance it was hard to tell if she was alive or not, but her very shallow breathing gave me a flicker of hope. I slung her over my back, and trotted back into the arena, as going around it would've taken longer to get her to the medical tent.

As I passed, the various ponies still there turned and stared, unsure what to make of my change of heart. Some looked at me with contempt, while others smiled slightly at my act of kindness. One even got Hazel to come out from under the bleachers, and while she didn't jump down to join me, she did smile a bit as I walked past, her sister slumped over my back.

That was the best I could hope for from her, but I doubt that it'd be enough to rekindle our friendship, not while the wounds were still so fresh, literally and figuratively. I probably needed a visit to the doctors as bad a Silver did.

Thinking back to the past months, I was starting to notice just how rough my life had become. Having to dodge wild animals, scrounge up my own meals, and now all of this.

I wonder if Fluttershy is having as hard of a time as I am?

Ch. 7

A New Perspective Ch. 7

We had been roaming the forest for a good two hours, occasionally using the book as a reference, but we were nowhere close to where it said that the castle is. It was a full moon that night so there was plenty of light to read by, but the book was so outdated that we had trouble recognizing some of the landmarks it referenced. What's worse is that since it was nearly 1:00 in the morning, we were all getting tired.

Fluttershy was the first to voice her opinion, offering a plantive yawn and saying "Guys, I think that we should stop for the night."

"We've barely even gotten a mile into the forest," retorted Rainbow Dash, "Let's at least get another few hundred yards before we call it quits."

"Rainbow, Fluttershy's right. In retrospect, it was probably a bad idea to start our little voyage so late at night, but there's no sense beating our bodies up trying to go all night. That, and all of the monsters and whatnot are probably out and about, and the last thing that we need is to attract their attention by going in further tonight."

"Oh, alright," said Rainbow, relenting. "I'll get the tents set up. Could you go and gather up some firewood so we can make up dinner?"

"Sure thing."

"I'll go too," offered Fluttershy.

"Good idea. It'll probably be safer if you two go together, what with safety in numbers and all."

We trotted off into the woods, Fluttershy managing to keep up despite her tiredness.

"Thanks for coming along," I said as I picked up a bundle of twigs for kindling. "I've never been one for working in silence. That, and Rainbow's right about the whole stick together thing."

"Yeah," she said softly. A branch cracked and broke off of a tree near us, falling to the ground with a crash. Fluttershy nearly jumped out of her skin, dropping the log she had picked up.

"Hey, you alright? You seem more skittish than usual."

"Oh, it's just being in here. The forest has always given me the creeps, but last time I was here I was nearly eaten by a hydra. You can guess what that did for my opinion of this place."

"I can imagine." Note to self: look up all forms of Equestrian wildlife when we get home.

I picked up the log that she had dropped, adding it to the four or five that were in my saddlebags. Fluttershy picked up the last of the kindling that could fit in her bags and we started to make our way back to camp when we heard something crashing through the brush. Something big sounding.

"Fluttershy, get down," I whispered, forcing her into some bushes. I didn't know exactly what it was that was out there, but if there were hydras out here then I'd rather not take any chances.

The sound got persistently closer, and I was praying that it couldn't smell us, whatever it was. Probably some horrible, nasty creature with long, sharp teeth and claws that could rend a pony in two or...

"Oh, hi Zecora!" said Fluttershy cheerfully. She had moved out of the bushes while I was absorbed in my own thoughts. I was about to pull her back in when I noticed who she was talking to in the moonlight.

She was having an animated conversation with a zebra mare. She had several gold rings wrapped around her front hooves, as well as her neck, and her tail was done in a neat (sorry for the pun) ponytail.

"Fluttershy, how good to see you. However, I feel you are not alone, but are traveling with... who?" she asked, in a perfect rhyming couplet.

"Oh, where are my manners? Evan, c'mon out, it's safe."

I drew myself out of the bushes, brushing some dirt and stray branches off of myself as I did.

"Evan, this is my good friend Zecora. She lives here in the forest. Zecora, this is Evan. He's a pen pal from Fillydelphia who just moved here."

"Pleased to meet you," I said, offering my hoof.

"An honor, it truly is, to meet a pony such as this," she replied, taking my hoof. "Fluttershy, if I could be so blunt," she asked, turning to Fluttershy, "but why are you here, taking Everfree's full brunt?"

"Oh, we're just on a bit of an archeological expedition. We wanted to examine the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. What are you doing out so late?"

"I was searching for more amethyst, to add to one of my healing mists."

"Well, best of luck to you. We need to get all this firewood back to our camp, and it's getting really late. See you around," said Fluttershy as we turned to leave. Zecora offered a quick wave before she slipped back into the woods.

"So, that was interesting."

"Yeah. Zecora is a really nice pony, and I occasionally go see her to get some herbal tea. Everypony in town used to be afraid of her, thinking she was a witch or something, and it wasn't helped by the fact that she only speaks in rhymes."

"Yeah, what is it with that anyway?"

"You know, I've never actually asked her about it. I guess it would be interesting to find out. Maybe next time we see her. In the mean time, though, let's get back to the camp. Rainbow is sure to have set up the tents by now, and is probably wondering what's taking us so long."

"Well, we sure wouldn't want her to worry, now would we?"

===============

We got back to camp to find the tents set up, and Rainbow Dash having already fallen asleep, curled up inside one of the sleeping bags I had brought from the cottage. She looked almost at peace, and it was hard to believe that not two hours ago we had been about ready to tear each others heads off and play soccer with them.

"Hmm," said Fluttershy, putting down her saddlebags "I guess it wouldn't make sense to start a fire now. All it would do is probably wake her up."

"True. And frankly, she has the right idea. It would be better if we just went to bed now, and saved food for the morning."

"Yeah. Well, goodnight," she said, walking over to the tent Rainbow was in, where a second bag was laid out.

"See you in the morning." I walked over to my own tent, slipped inside my sleeping bag, and conked out. The sleeping bag may not have been the most comfortable thing in the world, but right now it was like sleeping on a cloud.

That is, at least until I started dreaming.

I found myself back in that same hallway, only this time I didn't need to find the door. It was right in front of me, and wide open, practically begging for me to enter. I walked inside, and was swept off of my hooves by a gust of wind, not unlike the one that blew me out the last time. The wind carried me all the way towards the light, and deposited me unceremoniously in the stone chamber with the cauldrons of flame.

Looking up as I got to my hooves, I saw him. His chestnut mane was as tidy as ever, but his eyes were narrowed in something like annoyance, looking on at me in contempt.

"Well well, look who it is," he said, venom dripping off of every word. "You've done quite a lot since we last spoke. Recovered some lost memories, made plans, put friends in danger. You should be so proud."

I got up and leaped across the table, using my wings to help gain some distance, and tackled that pompous, conniving wretch. I had him flat on his back, my hooves practically crushing his forelegs into the floor. It felt good to get some of that pent up aggression out.

"Nice to see you, too," I answered. "Care to explain why you sent your lackey to ransack Fluttershy's home and torture Twilight. Were you really searching for something, or was that out of general butt-headedness?"

"Temper, temper," he chided, still keeping a calm demeanor despite the aforementioned tackling. "You really should see somepony about that."

"Can the sarcasm," I said, slapping him across the face, "and answer the question. Why did you do it?"

"Well, if this is going to get violent," he replied, shaking his head a little, "then I guess I have no choice but to answer. First off, I do apologize for Firebrand's tactics, and be rest assured that he will be punished."

"I find that rather hard to believe, considering you sent him with the express purpose of getting something."

"Well, believe what you may, but I am a stallion of my word. Secondly, what I was searching for is of vital importance to the protection of Equestria as we know it."

"And what exactly were you searching for, pray tell?"

"My my, that would be telling, wouldn't it? I don't think you are ready for such information, but I might be more inclined to say if you would do me the kindness of letting me up."

"In a pig's eye I will."

"Well, I can wait here just as long as you can. I don't have anyplace to be for quite some time."

We both sat there for a good five minutes, just staring each other down, neither daring to blink. Finally, my curiosity got the better of me.

"Alright, I'm going to let you up, but I don't want any funny business. You stay on your side of the table, and I'll stay on my side." I hesitantly got off of him and trotted over to my side of the table.

Bad idea, letting him up.

I felt very strong magic wrap around me, which quickly levitated me off of the floor and slammed me into the wall on them opposite side of the room, nearly knocking the wind out of me. The unicorn walked over, his horn glowing a furious red.

"You really are too naïve, too trusting. It could prove to be your downfall."

"I thought you were a stallion of your word?" I grunted out, trying to ignore the pain going down my back.

"I lied. You really are new to this game, aren't you?"

"Look, enough with the snappy one liners. Get to the BLOODY POINT!"

"You want a bloody point? Alright, I'll give you one." At that, he materialized a knife out of thin air, blade honed to a razor's edge, and pressed the cold steel up to my throat.

"Well, that is quite the point," I said, using humor to mask my outright terror. Being held at knife point is not an experience I recommend.

"All that you need to know is that you are simply a pawn in a game beyond your understanding. I have done all I can to try and protect you, but you insist upon meddling in affairs beyond your control. Take my advice now, if you never listen to another thing I say; leave now, before the unthinkable happens."

I was about to respond, but he used his magic to fling me into the portal going back to the black room and beyond. You know how it goes. Fortunately I did not awake with a start, but I was rattled nonetheless.

"Evan," came a quiet voice. One that nearly made my skeleton jump out of my body.

"GAH!" I yelped, turning to the source of the disturbance. It was Fluttershy, standing at the entrance to my tent with her sleeping bag across her back. "Oh, it's just you. Geez, don't scare me like that."

"Sorry. Um, I was just wondering... I mean, if it's okay with you... if I could maybe sleep with you?

"Why? You have Rainbow Dash over there."

"Well, it's just that I would be more comfortable in here with you. Rainbow is a good companion, but she turns and kicks a lot, and it's keeping me up."

"Really?" I asked skeptically, arching an eyebrow.

"Well... alright, it's because I'm scared. The forest at night just makes you seem so small and insignificant."

"I know the feeling," I said, thinking back to what the unicorn had said about me being a pawn in a game beyond my understanding. "Sure, you can sleep in here. Let me just make some room."

"Thanks," she said, laying her sleeping bag down as I shuffled out of the way. She quickly zipped herself up and fell into a deep, relaxing sleep. I wrapped one foreleg around her side, partly to comfort her, but also to comfort myself. As I started to drift back off, Fluttershy grabbed my hoof, clutching it like a security blanket. This one act brought back what he had said.

'Leave now, before the unthinkable happens.'

Maybe I should listen to him, on this if nothing else.

Or I could chop my own wings off and repurpose them as potholders.

===============

I awoke the next morning to the birds chirping and the heavenly scent of breakfast wafting up my nose. Opening my eyes, I was treated to a sight that could've come out of a storybook. Fluttershy's nose was about an inch from my own, and we apparently had fallen asleep in each other's hooves, clutching each other tight. She was still fast asleep, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

It was a peaceful beginning to the day, but it was destined to be a short lived peace.

"Hey guys, soup's on!" said Rainbow Dash, tearing open the flaps to the tent. Looking down at us, she couldn't help but suppress a snicker at what must have looked like a truly cheesy scene. "Oh, sorry. I'll let you two lovebirds get ready. Don't let me disturb you."

"Rainbow... it's not... we weren't..." I stammered, getting out of my bag.

"Don't worry, I get it," she interjected with a wink. "I'll just let you two be." With a quick smirk, she walked out of the tent. I could swear that I heard her chuckling to herself as she went to tend to breakfast.

"*yawn* Morning Evan," said Fluttershy, my little spat with Rainbow having probably woken her. "How did you sleep?"

"Just fine," I answered, getting my vest on. "You get ready while I help Rainbow with breakfast, okay?"

"Okay," she said, getting out of her sleeping bag. I quickly slipped out of the tent to give her some privacy while I went to go talk with Rainbow.

"Well, if it isn't our own resident Casanova," she said, still stirring the iron cook pot.

"Rainbow, it wasn't anything like that. She was just scared last night and needed somepony to sleep with."

"Sure, and my mane is only this way because I dye it. She had me, so why do you think she went to sleep with you, huh?"

"Maybe she's just more comfortable with me or something, I don't know. From what she tells me, you also toss and turn and kick in your sleep, which may have been a contributing factor."

"Well, whatever the reason, I think it's revealing something. She may be picking up on your feelings, and has decided to make the first move."

"Well, even if she has, I don't think I'm quite ready for that next step just yet. I mean, we're really good friends and all, but I don't think we're all that... close, you know?"

"Well, speaking from experience," said Rainbow, turning away from the pot to look me in the eye, "if I were you, I'd wait and see if this is a one time thing, or if she wants to try and pursue this any further."

"What experience? Not to sound rude, but you don't seem like the type of pony to settle down into a nice relationship."

"Oh, it was years ago, back when I was barely even a young adult. I fell for this guy, but he just couldn't keep up with me. It's still a bit sore, though, and I don't really like talking about it."

"Oh, sorry if I opened up an old wound."

"No biggie."

"So," I asked, getting off the subject, "what's for breakfast?"

"Just some stew that I slapped together. It may be plain, but it's nice and filling, and is guaranteed to give you energy enough for the day. It's a recipe that's been passed down in my family for generations."

"Sounds good. Should I get Fluttershy?" I asked, turning towards the tent.

"Please, allow me," said Rainbow, taking in a large breath. "*ahem* HEY FLUTTERSHY! YOUR SOUP'S GONNA GET COLD! GET OUT HERE!"

"I'm coming, no need to yell," said Fluttershy, blearily rubbing her eyes with one foreleg. "Must be pretty good if you're this adamant to get me out here for it."

"Only the best for my friends! C'mon, let's chow down."

We sat down at three logs that Rainbow had arranged around the fire and ate. As soon as that stew slid down my throat, I felt a surge of energy race through me, like I had been hit by lightning. I felt like I could take on the entire forest single-hoofedly.

"Good gravy Rainbow, what the hay is in this!? My whole body feels like I was shot up with 100 cc's of adrenaline!"

"Oh, just some vegetables, seasonings... and a drop or two of extracted rainbows," she finished with a smirk.

"Extracted rainbows?" Weren't rainbows just refracted light?

"Yep. Whenever the pegasi in Cloudsdale are making the rainbows, they bottle some of it up and sell it as a sort of energy tonic. It's great if you want to get somewhere in a hurry, but it's spicy like nopony's business. That's where the soup comes in. My great-great-great grandmother discovered that this combination of vegetables and seasonings tones it down to the point where it still provides the kick, but won't light your mouth on fire."

"Wow. You have got to give me this recipe!"

"Sorry man, but it's a family secret. Ponies would come for miles around to get it, and my folks made a fortune selling it. I didn't really want to go into the family business, though, and they cut me off from my inheritance. As payback, I sort of stole the recipe, and I make it for anypony that may need it, free of charge. If they found out, I'd never hear the end of it."

"And just when you think you know a pony, she turns out to be the deposed heiress to a soup empire. Should I kneel at your hooves whenever I am seen in your presence?"

"Only if you want to get punched. You want some more?"

"Nah, this is plenty. I feel like I could take down a mountain. You about done Fluttershy?"

"Just finished. I guess we should get going, don't you think."

"Yeah. Those ruins aren't going to find themselves."

We disassembled the camp in record time, thanks to Rainbow's jolt soup, and continued on our way. We walked for most of the day, not even bothering to stop and rest every once in a while. Surprisingly, we hadn't encountered anything even remotely monster-ish. The most dangerous thing to cross our path that day was a wasp, and none of us were allergic, so it was a nuisance at best. It felt sort of like when those birds at Sweet Apple Acres were completely ignoring me, which only added to the creepiness factor.

"Hey, Fluttershy, I thought you said that there were monsters crawling all over this place. What gives?"

"This is rather odd. I'd have thought we would come across a hydra or a cockatrice by now. Maybe they're all asle-"

She was cut off by a large crashing in the brush, something way too loud to be pony sized. Rainbow was the first to react, flying up over the canopy to get a better look.

"See anything up there, Rainbow?"

"Not yet, but it's really bright up here compared to the fore-OH HORSE-APPLES, HIDE!!"

She didn't have to tell me twice. I snatched up Fluttershy and dived into a bush, doing my best to keep both of us from shaking in our horseshoes. Rainbow dove down through the canopy and joined us, scrunching up into as tiny of a ball as she could.

"What's out there?" I asked in a terrified whisper.

"There's an Ursa Minor coming towards us. Keep your voice down."

"What the hay is an Urs-" I began before Rainbow clapped a hoof over my mouth. Fluttershy was practically beside herself with fear, and yet doing her best not to move.

The ground began to shake with the footsteps of whatever was coming towards us, and my curiosity overtaking my common sense, I peeked my head up over the bush. I wish that I hadn't.

Standing not three yards away was a bear about three stories tall, with claws like railroad spikes. Even stranger was that it appeared to be made entirely of stars, held within a field of magic. Thankfully, the creature was facing away from us, and was actually running in terror, like it was being chased by something. I only got a couple of seconds to look at it before it disappeared into the bowels of the forest.

We stayed hunkered in that bush for a good ten minutes before we deemed it safe to come out, and we were all thoroughly shaken.

"Ya know, one of you could've warned me that this place had things like THAT in it. Hydras and cocka-whatsits I can handle, but not a three story tall star bear."

"I'm just glad that it left as quickly as it did," answered Fluttershy, breathing a sigh of relief. "It makes me wonder what had the poor baby so scared."

"Poor baby? We are still talking about the star bear, right? Cause that thing is no baby."

"Actually, it is. It's only an Ursa Minor. The Ursa Major is the adult form of it."

"Sure doesn't look minor," muttered Rainbow Dash in my ear.

"Look, whether it was running home to mama or what, something must've scared it good to get it to run in such a hurry. I think that's where we're going to find our mysterious unicorn friend."

"So," interjected Rainbow Dash, "All in favor of going straight into the hooves of somepony that managed to scare the living bejeezus out of an Ursa Minor, say aye."

"Aye," I said, raising my right hoof.

"Aye," repeated Fluttershy, only more hesitantly.

"Well, just as long as we're in agreement."

===============

We had been following the tracks of that Ursa Minor for a good three hours or so when we came to a wide chasm. Even in the evening gloom, I could faintly make out a decrepit stone structure through the mist.

"So, who's first?"

"I'll go," answered Rainbow Dash, taking off into the mist. "Good, the bridge is still up from the last time," she called through the gloom.

Fluttershy and I breathed a collective sigh of relief. Not that I was scared to fly blind, but I'd rather I didn't have to. Plus, I didn't want to leave Fluttershy to try and navigate the bridge by herself. What kind of friend would do that?

We crossed the bridge in relative comfort, although Fluttershy may as well have been stuck to me with super glue for how close she stayed to my side. As we got to the other side, I could see the ancient castle more clearly, and even in it's ruined state, I could tell that it had once been majestic, truly a seat of royalty if ever there were one.

THUNK! went my nose as I hit an invisible wall at the end of the bridge while Fluttershy passed through without a problem. Dumbfounded, I lightly tapped it with my hoof, it ringing out with a hollow sound, like a window.

"Evan, what's wrong?" asked Fluttershy, concern on her face.

"I can't... seem to... get through," I replied, while throwing my weight at the wall. Defiantly it stayed there, completely unmarred by my attempts to bring it down. "Let me see if it has a height barrier."

I flew upwards about 30 or so feet before smacking my head against another invisible wall, sending pain through the spot where I had smashed into the apple tree. My flight wavered, and I dropped ten feet before managing to get my wings under me again, making a safe, if abrupt landing.

"There's no way I can get through. Hmm... you two go on ahead, see if you can find what's causing this."

"You got it, boss," said Rainbow, offering a quick salute before taking off towards the castle. Fluttershy followed behind her, but I was able to catch a look of worry on her face before she disappeared from view.

Hayseed, I hate it when things like this happen. Having to send friends to do something while I just sit around is not something I could abide.

They were gone about five minutes when I could feel a change in the air. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it felt like the power of the forest was being drawn towards the wall. I stared at it, and noticed a shape beginning to take form. While indistinct at first, it slowly coalesced into something pony shaped, and I swear I could make out a face. A face with bright green eyes.

The power reached a crescendo as Firebrand puffed into existence, then extended outward, dissipating in a gust of wind that whipped my mane backward. He took a few wobbly steps toward me.

"Still sore from the pounding I gave you, eh Firebrand?"

"Not at all. It is simply disconcerting to travel by teleportation, particularly of this magnitude. As for what happened at the library, I think that we should just let bygones be bygones, don't you?"

"Not at all," I mimicked.

"Well, whatever you say. Anyway, sorry for the force field, but we had to make sure your friends wouldn't... interfere," he said, the last word rolling off his tongue with a smirk in tow. "My master wishes to see you, and it would be rude to keep him waiting. Follow me."

I complied, but kept my wings unfurled just in case. Better safe than killed to death.

"So, your master said something about you being punished for torturing Twilight like you did, as well as ransacking the cottage. Care to elaborate?"

"If you mean doing what I was ordered," he said, anger on his voice, "then yes, he said that it would be a public punishment as soon as you had arrived. Thanks for that, by the way. I was my master's most trusted lieutenant, but after this debacle I'll be lucky to get away with my pride intact."

"You had it coming."

Firebrand bristled with anger, but managed to keep his voice level. "If you say so. We're here."

And sure enough, we were. Before me stood a large stone archway, which must have housed some pretty impressive doors at one point in history. It led into a hallway overgrown with weeds and various plant life, all flourishing in the castles old stone work. Beyond was a pair of large oak doors that had somehow managed to survive hundreds of years of ruin and decay.

Firebrand pushed them open, the doors creaking on their rusted out hinges. We entered what I assumed was the throne room, and boy howdy did it look familiar. A large stone chamber, illuminated by two cauldrons of fire, just like my dream. Instead of a table and cushions, however, there was a raised stone podium at which a cloaked unicorn stood. Flanking the walls were cloaked ponies of all types, gathered around a hastily erected wooden platform in the center, probably meant for me.

KRAC-KROOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

A blinding flash of light accompanied by an ear-splitting crack temporarily discombobulated me, sending my head reeling. When the room finally stopped spinning and I could see again, I saw a grisly sight. Firebrand was on the ground, smoke wafting up from his now lifeless form. The sickly black burns that crisscrossed his silver coat and the scent of burned hair made me sick. It was all I could do not to vomit.

"He was always too brash for my tastes anyway. Good riddance to bad rubbish, wouldn't you agree?"

I whipped my head around to find the pony from my dreams at the podium, and having removed his hood I could finally see his real face. He looked generally the same, although older, more harried, like he had a great weight on his conscience.

"What the hay was that for?! What did he ever do to you?" Okay, so maybe he wasn't exactly a saint, but nopony, not even Firebrand, deserved to die like this.

"He sorely disappointed me. I had ordered him to find the Key, and to be discreet about it. So what does he do? He breaks into another pony's home and paws through their belongings, then proceeds to torture a poor, helpless unicorn mare. I do not take lightly to anypony bringing harm to a lady, and Firebrand crossed that line and spat on it."

"Yeah, but KILLING him? Geez, I could've done that and saved you the trouble! Talk about your cruel and unusual punishment!"

"Call it cruel if you will, but he deserved what he got. Now onto more pressing concerns." He stepped down from his podium and walked over to me, never taking his eyes off of me. "Please, step up onto the platform," he said, gesturing to the crude wooden structure.

"Why, so everypony can get a better look when you give me the axe?"

"Not at all. I simply wish to speak to you, and seeing as how you are vital to what we plan, I thought you deserved a spot in the limelight."

"And what exactly are you planning," I asked.

The unicorn took his spot at the podium, saying, "The future of Equestria, and the preservation of this great nation. For far too long, I have seen this country wither and wilt, and it saddens me to no end."

"You certainly have an unorthodox way of going about it, I'll tell you that," I said, stepping onto the platform.

"Is it really? Change has always been brought about through sacrifice, both great and small. Firebrand is merely the latest in a long list of necessary sacrifices to bring about the new world. Isn't that right my children?" he called out to the ponies who were present. They started muttering some incomprehensible chant, the first signs of life they offered since I arrived.

"Tonight," he continued to them, "we have in our presence a stallion very near and dear to me. It is through him, and the power that he holds within himself, that our plans will finally come to fruition. Many hours and personal fortunes have been spent to bring about this moment, and that is what makes it all the sweeter still."

The chanting was slowly growing, and I could feel magic in the air, gathering around a point on the floor, one emblazoned with the symbol from Twilight's necklace.

"When we summoned him here nigh on two weeks ago-"

"Wait, YOU brought me here?" I interjected. I could feel my blood begin to boil.

"Yes, it is we who brought you here. The magic involved was long and complicated, and you did not appear in the predetermined spot, but we brought you here nonetheless." Returning to the cultists, he said, "We never expected him to find us this rapidly, although my own personal intervention may have been a catalyst."

"Your intervention?! You outright TOLD me to come find you!"

"And did it not work?"

I was about to respond when the doors were hastily pushed open, and two cultists, probably guards, came in carrying two ponies, legs bound up and gagged with bits of cloth. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, to be specific.

"NO!!" I screamed, about to fly off of the platform. Nopony, and I mean NOPONY takes my friends captive.

"I don't think so," said the unicorn calmly. I could hear the sound of magic going off, and found myself chained to the platform, manacles of hard steel clamped firmly around my hooves.

Though I struggled and strained, the shackles were not going to come loose, that was for sure. All I could do was watch helplessly as the two cultists threw my friends onto the ground, right onto the sigil etched into the floor.

"And now we have our next sacrifices," said the unicorn, mustering up the straightest face he could. I, personally, would've wiped that smug expression right off his face if I could.

"What do you mean 'sacrifices'?" I asked indignantly

"Just what it sounds like. A bit slow on the uptake, aren't you?"

"But, sacrifices for what? What could you possibly want with them?" I looked down at them, hoping with all of my heart that he didn't mean sacrifice in the traditional sense.

"As I said before, the magic that brought you here is costly, both in magic and in blood. The sacrifice of a life is always needed to bring a pony from your realm to ours. Fortunately, I won't have to go through any more of my children to do so, at least for now. While it pains me to harm two young mares with so much potential, it is necessary."

Realizing the gravity of what he just said, I strained ever harder against my shackles. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash struggled against their bonds, looks of horror and desperation on both of their faces.

The unicorn and the cultists started to chant once again in earnest, and a ring of unicorns gathered around the engraving on the ground, horns lighting up with angry red magic. A circle of arcane enrages gathered around them, lightning connecting their horns to each other.

There was nothing I could do to stop them. The chains holding me down weren't going to break, and Fluttershy and Rainbow were both helpless to stop them. I had failed them both. Hanging my head, I shut my eyes and awaited the inevitable.

Fluttershy must have been able to spit out her gag, because she managed to let out just one word.

"EVAN!!!"

I'm still not sure what happened, but I felt energy surge through me, lighting me up like a Christmas tree. It wasn't like the energy from that soup Dash made, though. This had a more mystic quality to it, like gaining some great knowledge. Raising my head, I opened my eyes to find that the room was brighter, but not painfully so. The unicorn had since moved down from the podium and had joined the circle.

One thought kept echoing through my head as I stared at him: "He dies."

Flapping my wings, I found that I could now fly as well as normally, the chains not weighing me down. Looking down at the platform, I could see the shackles were in ruins, probably destroyed by whatever had gone through me.

I flew hard to the center of the room, the unicorn not noticing me, being too focused on the spell. I slammed into him with all of my might, and he flew to the other side of the room, smashing into a wall and sending cracks through it.

I flew over to him and yanked him out of the wall. Slamming him onto the ground, I landed a kick straight into the side of his head. I could practically feel the bones crack under my hoof. It felt good.

Still dumbstruck, and now in obvious blinding pain, he managed to yell over to the cultists, "NOW!! DO IT NOW, YOU FOALS!!

Oh no.

The cultists did one final charge of their magic, then unleashed its fury on Fluttershy. She couldn't even scream for the pain, her body lifted into the air by the energies that were now wreaking havoc upon it. Looking down, and ready to rip out the unicorn's jugular, all I saw was a quick smirk and then black smoke as he dissipated.

There was no time to dwell on that, though. Fluttershy had managed to find her voice, and her screams of pain and terror echoed across the halls. I flew to her with all of my might, and pushed her out of the cage of energies that had coalesced around her. Their fury was turned upon me, thankfully keeping Rainbow from coming to any harm. Looking down, I barely glimpsed Rainbow looking at me, her pupils narrowed into pinpoints and eyes as wide as dinner plates.

The magic, however, wasn't hurting me, either. Instead it felt like it was building up inside of me, like I'm a sort of capacitor. The magic continued to build up until I could hold no more, and then exploded from my form. A massive bolt of arcane lightning came streaking down, illuminating the chamber with a brilliant blue and sending the cultists and Rainbow Dash flying by its sheer force.

After what felt like an eternity, the magic finally dwindled inside of me and I landed on the floor, surrounded by a gigantic scorch mark. The cultists were nowhere to be found, probably having teleported away along with their coward of a leader. Rainbow was on the other side of the room, still struggling against her bonds. Thank goodness at least she's alright.

I ran over to her and set her legs loose. She got weakly to her hooves and spat out her gag.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

"Just some rope burns and a scrape on my back where I hit the wall. I'll be fine." she flew over to Fluttershy, and backed away slightly when she saw her, laying there on the floor.

"How is she?" I asked, not even bothering to turn around.

"You should see for yourself. It's... it's not good."

I turned and trotted over to where she lay, and collapsed to my knees when I saw the state she was in. Shock can barely describe what I was feeling.

Her body was covered in those same horrible burns as had been on Firebrand, although they weren't nearly as deep. Her mane and tail were coated in black streaks, many parts of it having burned away completely. Her breathing was shallow and ragged, as if she was a hair's breadth from death.

I took her head gently in my hooves, being careful of her burns, and simply stared at her. All of this could've been avoided. It could've been avoided if I simply had ignored my dreams, if I had written them off as just that, dreams.

"Rainbow," I said, keeping my eyes on Fluttershy "I need you to get back to town and get Nurse Redheart at Ponyville Urgent Care. Tell her there's been a terrible accident, and to bring as many personnel as she can spare. Also... get the others. They're going to need to know about this."

"Sure thing," she said, her normally chipper voice sad and morose. She laid a hoof on my shoulder in silence, then turned and flew out the doors, which had been destroyed in the blast.

Whatever emotional dam had been holding back my sadness burst when she left, and the tears streamed down my cheeks. I held Fluttershy close as the sobs wracked my body, not wanting to let her go for the world.

Ch. 18

A New Perspective Ch. 18

Night had fallen in Ponyville, and the team rebuilding the cottage were forced to call it a day. Still, they had managed an impressive feat, with nearly the entire second story finished, and the lower level already having some of the polish applied to it. As Fluttershy left the construction area, she had an ever growing feeling of joy rising in her chest, knowing that she would soon have a home again.

The rest of the day had been wonderful, with the break that she and Applejack had taken being the high point. It was encouraging to see the entire town working together on a single project, and everywhere they went they were greeted with a wave and a smile. She had taken Rarity up on her offer of a makeover, and the two had even convinced Applejack to have a hooficure with them.

Overall, it had been a wonderful day, the first that she had had in quite a while. She was happy to be greeted by her animal friends when she made her way back to her tent, with Angel running up to meet her.

"Hello there Angel," she cooed to the bunny. "Did you have a good day without me?"

Angel gave a quick nod before pointing back to the tent, trying to convey some message.

"What is it? Do you need more food? Are you sick?"

Losing his patience, the rabbit just shoved her through the tent flaps, where she found an unexpected sight.

The tent was still in perfect order, but the mirror she had kept by her bedroll was flaring with a brilliant blue light. The only time it shone was when she was checking on Evan, so this naturally had her confused. Walking over to it, she gazed into its depths, and was shocked by what she saw.

The mirror still showed Evan, but there were many things different. He was in an arena of some sort, fighting a mare she had never seen before, and ponies were cheering from the stands. Even though she wanted to, she couldn't tear herself away from the mirror, and watched in horror. Fluttershy cringed when he got hit, and even worse when he kicked her in the jaw.

Fluttershy could hardly understand what she was seeing. Evan had always been such a nice pony, what would make him get into a situation like this? He seemed to be enjoying himself too, which sent shivers of fear down her spine.

She let out a sigh of relief when the fighting died down, and Evan and the other mare started talking. Judging from the green mare's expression, though, it looked like she was insulting him. They talked for a while, until something happened that made Fluttershy nearly faint.

The view in the mirror was suddenly washed out with a furious white light, one that Fluttershy had to shield her eyes from. When it died down the arena was illuminated with energy, and Evan was crackling with arcane electricity, his eyes now a flaming white. The sight nearly made Fluttershy throw down the mirror in disbelief, as she had heard of this before.

When Rainbow Dash had visited her in the hospital, she told her everything that had happened after the cult turned the torture spell on her. The blue pegasus mentioned in particular about how Evan had transformed, turned into a more powerful version of himself, one that flowed with magic and had white eyes.

She hadn't believed it at first, refused to believe it. Not even Twilight could pull something like that off. And yet, seeing what she was seeing in the mirror, she was forced to accept it as fact. There was something different about him, something that he had never told her. She continued to watch the mirror, if only out of morbid curiosity more than anything else.

He stomped over the the mare, who was cowering on the ground, and gave her a single kick to the chest, one that sent her flying through the wall of the arena. He seemed prepared to finish off the green mare when his head suddenly snapped to one side. Then without warning, he powered down, taking time to go up into the now nearly empty stands. Fluttershy dropped the mirror, unable to cope with what she was watching.

Dropping to the ground, she let her thoughts run wild. Where was he? Why was he fighting that mare? What happened to make him change? These thoughts whirled inside Fluttershy's mind like a swarm of bats, and try though she might, she could not beat them back. Fluttershy felt like she was about to cry from this revelation, the tears already welling up in her eyes.

As the tears started to fall, her mind snapped into focus as one thought pervaded her mind; would Evan want her to do this?

No, no he wouldn't.

Gathering her resolve, and taking to heart what Applejack had said earlier in the day, Fluttershy forced herself up off of the ground, drying her eyes as she did so. She was not going to cry, she was not going to sit and mope. She was going to go out there and find out what was going on.

"Angel," she called to her rabbit friend. He poked his head in through the flaps, ears perked.

"I need you to look after all the other animals for me. I'm going back out, and I'm not sure if I'll be back for a while. I need you to be a good boy, and make sure that all the animals are taken care of. Can you do that for me?"

With a quick salute, Angel turned and went back outside, chittering to the other animals as he went. After taking a moment to preen an out of place feather, Fluttershy took off towards town hall, where the mayor and Twilight were overseeing the construction now that the hall itself was rebuilt.

As was par for the course these days, ponies were going to and from the building, even at the hour that it was. A few stopped and stared as she strode confidently up to the doors, but none paid her much more attention. Taking a deep breath, she opened the doors and walked in.

"Twilight," she called out, trying to find her friend. "Twilight, are you here?"

"If your looking for Twilight, she's in the back with the mayor," answered Lyra, the mint green unicorn pointing to a single door on the far end of town hall. "She looked pretty frazzled about something though, so I'd watch my step."

"Thanks Lyra, I'll keep that in mind." The door to the back room was cracked slightly, and through it Fluttershy could swear that she heard raised voices. The door gave a loud creak as she poked her head through, causing Twilight to turn, as well as a pony she certainly wasn't expecting to see; Princess Luna. She was covered in armor from head to hoof, although most of it was battered and dirty.

"Fluttershy, what are you doing here?" asked Twilight, obviously embarrassed at having been discovered. "I thought you were still working on the cottage." The bags under Twilight's eyes betrayed the lack of sleep she had been getting, and she looked even worse than when she was nearly late on her friendship report earlier that year.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you could maybe see if Celestia could tell me where they took Evan, but now I'm wondering why Princess Luna is here."

"Uh, she just decided to drop by for a little visit, see how things are going and, you know... just stuff."

"Twilight, it's not nice to lie," replied Fluttershy, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know, but it was worth a shot. Princess, why don't you explain," she said, turning to the regent of the moon. Luna took a step forward, her stance showing how much worry and anxiety she had built up in her.

"Are you alright, you highness?"

"I wish I could say that I was, but as you said yourself, it isn't nice to lie. I wish I could say that I was here under more felicitous circumstances, but it would be better just to tell the truth."

"And what is the truth?" asked Fluttershy, an expression of worry growing on her face.

"Canterlot is about to fall to an, as of right now, unknown enemy. They attacked without warning and without mercy, and the great city is burning tonight."

"Oh my goodness! How bad is it?"

"They breached the city within minutes of the initial attack, and nearly overran the royal guard. It was only through my sister's quick thinking that I was able to get this message out to you, and even then I had to fight my way out of Canterlot. We fear that Ponyville is the next target."

"What makes you say that?" Fluttershy was hoping that this had something to do with the cult, as it could be grounds for letting Evan back into the country.

"For a few weeks, there have been strong magic signatures coming from the town, and we have reason to believe that it is not only connected to the creatures that attacked Canterlot, but also to the cult that our mutual friend mentioned."

"Why would you think that this is connected to the cult that Evan mentioned?"

"Through the telepathic link that Celestia and I share, she informed me that there a several ponies in the city who match his description of the cultists, and that they seem to be commanding the creatures. Now, all of this is simply preliminary evidence, and we will need much mor-"

"Princess," interjected Twilight, "if you don't mind me asking, but could you show us what these things were that attacked the city? We might be able to better defend ourselves if we know what we're up against."

"Of course, but I must warn you that this is not for the faint of heart," she answered, the swirls on her horn lighting up with navy blue magic. A large blank screen projected from her horn and was thrown up on the far wall.

"I will replay for you the memory of the attack as best as I can recall, but there may be an error or two due to the trauma of the situation. Twilight, could you get the door and the lights? I wouldn't want to cause a panic."

"Certainly," she said, shutting the door and putting up a soundproof barrier as the lights dimmed. Fluttershy was shaking a little, afraid of what she was about to see. As the lights finally extinguished, Luna began to play the memory.

The memory played from Luna's point of view, with her staring down at a map of Equestria. Celestia was in the room with her, as well as several extremely important looking guard ponies. Unfortunately there was no sound, no doubt the error she was referring to, so Fluttershy and Twilight couldn't hear what was being said.

Fluttershy visibly jumped when a navy armored pony came bursting into the room, her armor badly damaged. She said a few things which prompted all of the mares and stallions, the princesses included, to run from the room. They entered the castle courtyards and were met with a scene of chaos, bolts of magic flying as hordes of shadow descended on the alabaster city.

The view point shook as Luna ducked her head in the memory, a bolt of magic whizzing past her. It was at that moment that the sound in the memory kicked on. The sounds of screaming and flying magic were nearly deafening after the silence, and Twilight was even folding her ears down.

"Sister, what do we do?!" shouted Luna over the din. "There's simply too many of them!"

"But Tia, surely you would need me to-"

"There's no time! GO!!" Twilight nearly fainted when she saw her mentor dive into the fight, magic broadsword gleaming in the light as she waded through the hordes. The view point aimed to the sky as Luna took off, only to be body slammed back down before she got a hundred feet away.

As her eyes refocused, the memory's view was brought to bear on one of the creatures, who wasted no time in pinning her to the ground. It cocked its head slightly, and then released a deafening howl. A howl Fluttershy nearly ran from the room from, not because of the volume, but because of what it revealed. The bleached white, misshapen skull, the blood red pupils surrounded by an all consuming black. It was truly the stuff of nightmares.

Luna paused the memory on the creatures face, just to let the enormity of what they were facing sink in.

"A-and th-th-THAT'S what you're f-fighting?" stammered Fluttershy, her shaking so bad that she could barely form words.

"As much as it grieves me to say it, yes."

"But I still have one question," said Twilight as she rubbed Fluttershy's back to try and calm her down. "What are these things? Are they like zombie ponies, or are they something else entirely?"

"We still don't know exactly, and we haven't been given a chance to study them thoroughly. Every one we defeat disappears into a cloud of smoke and magic, so we don't have a live specimen to study. What they reminded me most of are the changelings, creatures I am all too familiar with."

"You mean they are like those things that tried to kill my brother at his wedding?" asked Twilight, resentment heavy in her voice.

"Well, yes and no. While they appear to be like the changelings in their apparent hive mind behavior, they are far more primitive than those creatures, and they seem to have one overriding directive: destruction."

"And th-they're c-coming here?" asked Fluttershy as she got back to her hooves.

"If our suspicions are to be believed, then yes. I know that this is already a trying enough time for you, but you must prepare yourselves for a possible siege."

"I am sorry that I have to be the bearer of bad news, but that is how it has to be."

"It's alright, your highness," answered Twilight as Luna turned the memory off and Twilight flicked the lights back on. "We would have found out soon enough anyway. Still, I do want to know how we're going to tell everypony else about this without causing a panic. They've been through so much already, I'm afraid that this may be the straw that breaks the camel's back."

"It isn't going to be easy, that's for certain. We should probably start by telling Ivory Scroll. She'll have some idea of how to break it to them gently. After that, who knows? It'll be up to the townsfolk after that. Still, you are a hardy bunch, I'm certain that you'll pull through."

"Thank you, princess. If you'll excuse me, I need to go find the mayor. She'll probably be in her tent by now, though. Ivory was always the in bed at six type," added Twilight with a chuckle as she undid the lock and soundproofing spell on the door. "Have a good evening, such as it is."

The door shut with a resounding thud, leaving Luna and Fluttershy alone in the back room, surrounded by shelves and shelves of cold, unfeeling books and scrolls. Luna sat back on her haunches and rubbed a hoof along the bridge of her nose, trying to compartmentalize everything she had witnessed that day.

"Are you alright, your highness," asked Fluttershy.

"Please, just call me Luna. After the day I've had, I could do with a little less formality. You know, for all of the good Twilight exemplifies, she cannot relax for the life of her. Always going around, worrying over every little thing, needing everything to be perfect whenever sister visits town. It isn't healthy."

"Don't I know it," answered Fluttershy as she sat down next to the princess of the night.

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't be talking about Twilight behind her back. It's just that it's been a... a very rough day, I guess you could say."

"Why's that?"

"Well, aside from the attack, I've been having some trouble being separated from Celestia. Ever since I came back, I've barely left her side, but now I'm on the whole other end of Equestria while she's fighting for the survival of the country. It makes me nervous, that's what I'm really getting at."

"I know the feeling. The last three months have been pretty bad for me too, ever since Evan was banished. I had barely left my tent until this morning, and even then it was because I wanted to see how my cottage was coming along."

"I am sorry for your loss, but Twilight tells me that he gave you the mirror that I gave him, just so you wouldn't be so lonely."

"You heard right."

"He really is an upstanding stallion, despite what others may say about him. You should be so fortunate to have known him as closely as you did."

"What have others been saying about him," asked Fluttershy as she turned to face Luna.

"There are some in the government who believe he got his just desserts, saying that he brought all of this on himself, to the detriment of those around him. Just the usual naysayers, but there are troubling words nonetheless. Even the few that supported him in the Senate think he really had all of this coming to him, especially after they heard about the fire."

Fluttershy let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head at the absurdity of it all. "Some ponies just never learn, are never willing to concede."

"Well, I personally can acknowledge that he has made mistakes, and pretty big ones at that, but what makes him different is that he's willing to atone for them, to right what he has wronged. It takes a strong pony to be able to fess up, to admit you made a mistake and do what it takes to fix it."

"Yeah, it does," Fluttershy replied, lowering her head as she chose what to say next. "Um, prin- I mean, Luna, speaking of admitting you made a mistake, I wanted to ask, I mean, if you're okay with it, that is..."

"Fluttershy, you needn't be so nervous around me. I'm a mare just like any other. What is it that you want to know?"

"Well, since this attack has been linked to the cult, and it seems to be going badly for you, I was wondering if maybe you could ask Celestia to let Evan back in the country. I mean, if that's alright with you."

"Hmm... well, this certainly would fit the terms of his re-admittance quite nicely, and you, Rainbow Dash, and him are the only ones with any real experience against this cult. The only hard part will be tracking him down. We did place a magical marker on him, but it only works within a two mile radius of where he is, so we'd have to go out to the wilds to find him."

"But I couldn't possibly ask you to leave your home to do so, not at this critical hour." Luna began pacing the room, muttering to herself as she tried to formulate a plan.

So lost was she in thought that she didn't notice that Fluttershy and gotten up and was heading for the door until she was half-way through it.

"Fluttershy, where are you going?"

"To get my things together. We can't rightly go out into the wilds beyond Equestria without supplies, can we?"

"Fluttershy, you don't have to go. In fact, you probably shouldn't, all things considered. The town is about to be hit hard, and they'll certainly need your medical expertise."

"What do you think they have Nurse Redheart and everypony from Ponyville Urgent Care for? Luna, I'm not going to argue on this. I'm going with you, so you can either choose to accept now or accept later."

"Fluttershy, you have no idea how dangerous it is out there!" continued Luna, trying desperately to convince Fluttershy to get off of this manic course of action. "There are all sorts of fearsome creatures, even the landscape could prove to be your doom. You would be safer here, and furthermo-"

"Luna," Fluttershy interrupted softly, "I know you are trying to look out for me. It's practically your job as one of the Royal Sisters to take care of everypony under your rule, but there are some things that you can't control, not even with all your power. One of those is a pony's free will, the choice over whether they will or won't do something for somepony else, even if they have to put themselves in harm's way to do so."

Luna sighed in resignation, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to dissuade Fluttershy. "Very well. If you are so dead set on coming with me, then I will not stop you. I would, however, warn you to be cautious. While I haven't been outside of Equestria since before I was imprisoned on the moon, I do know that it is a place that is not to be trifled with."

"Thank you for the advice, and I'll be sure to remember it. If you want, you can stay at my tent tonight, and then we can get everything ready in the morning before we explain to the town what's going on."

"It sounds like a plan," answered Luna before a field of magic enveloped her, rendering her invisible to the naked eye. Fluttershy jumped a little when Luna suddenly disappeared.

"Luna, where are you?" she called out, swatting her hoof through the air.

"Careful, Fluttershy, you nearly hit me in the eye," answered the moon princess, who was now only a few inches away from Fluttershy, judging by her volume.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it was sort of my fault. I should have told you about this. I don't want anypony seeing me until tomorrow, so I whipped up this invisibility spell before I came here. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, um, not at all. Just be sure to tell me when to hold a door for you."

Luna chuckled softly to herself as she and Fluttershy left the back room, the weak laughter doing little to disguise from the two of them the fact that these already difficult days were about to get a lot harder.

<===============>

The dew dripped down through the pine needles and landed with a soft pitter patter on the canvas roof of the hospital. There was only one other pony in there besides me, and the doctor I had blown off the previous day made sure that we were as far apart as he could get us. Considering last nights events, I didn't blame him.

After the match I stumbled through the camp back to the hospital, Silver Rush still slung across me like a rag doll. I could feel her broken ribs through her chest, and silently prayed as I walked that she was alright, thinking about her more than my own injuries. And trust me, my injuries were pretty bad, all things considered.

When I transformed, my neck grew too big for the stitches that I had been sewn up with, causing the wound to split open and bleed anew. In addition to that, that hot stinging on top of my right ear had been because Silver had hacked off the top third of it, and even those wounds paled in comparison to the numerous cuts, scrapes, and bruises that covered and crisscrossed my body.

The two of us were a couple of wrecks, but I still worried more for her than for myself. While I was sure that her goading was what made me change, I felt horrible about what I did to her, to Hazelnut, and to this community in general.

All these thoughts buzzed in my head, but there was still the one that drowned them all out, like a bell tower ringing in my head. One question that had been niggling at the back of my mind like a rabid dog nipping at your hooves; what am I?

It was now readily apparent that I am not just a simple pegasus. Even after everything that I had been through, I had always tried to hang onto that one hope that all of the misfortune that had befallen me was just that, misfortune. Just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, doing the wrong thing, talking to the wrong ponies. Even after my first transformation I had tried to shake it off, just ignore the problem until it went away.

But now... now things are different. I had seriously injured, maybe even killed, another pony. If everything else about this place was like the draconian contraband policies, then they were probably going to burn me at the stake for what I did.

I stared up at the canvas roof, the unfeeling material indifferent to my suffering. I felt like I wanted to pause the world, just make it all stop until I could sort everything out. Was it too much to ask for just a little peace of mind?

"Hey, you," came a gruff voice from the entrance. Tilting my head ever so slightly, lest I tear my stitches again, I was met by a familiar red stallion, although his expression was anything but friendly.

"Oh, hey Gale," I muttered, trying not to make eye contact. "What do you need?"

"Get up," he snapped, any facade of sympathy crumbling to dust.

"What?"

"Did I stutter? I said GET UP!"

"Alright, alright, I'm getting up," I answered, pulling the IV out of my hoof and getting out of the bed. It was only when I put weight on them that I realized just how sore I really was, but I persevered nonetheless. We walked outside into the early morning air, the sun having only barely started to rise.

"What's got your mane in a tangle?" I asked, trying to ease the tension a bit. No such luck there, but it was worth a shot.

"Do you really have to ask?" he answered, his voice barely masking his anger. "What do you think I'm mad about!? You nearly killed our best fighter, and now your probably going to bring all sorts of hurt down on us. I don't trust magic, be it regular unicorn or otherwise, but what you did was unheard of. The elders are going to chew you out, and I'm going to smile as they do so."

"Gale, for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of this. I didn't mean to bring all of this on you and yours, but mainly I'm sorry for what I did to Si-"

"Just shut up and keep walking," he grumbled. His interruption threw me off a bit, but it was understandable given the circumstances. We spent the rest of the trip in sullen silence until we approached the temple that dominated this ramshackle village.

"Get climbing," he ordered, gesturing to the monumental set of stairs that led to the top of the temple. He stalked off before I could try to apologize again, so I simply started climbing. I had pulled a muscle with the amount of flying I had done last night, and I didn't want to risk anything happening to my wings again.

While it at first seemed an easy enough task, just climbing a set of stone steps, it soon turned into an arduous grind. My knees popped with every step after the first ten or so, and I was winded after getting halfway up the bloody things. I had to practically drag myself up the last three steps, collapsing in a gasping, wheezing heap when I finally reached the top.

After taking a few minutes to catch my breath I took a good look at the temple that was standing before me. It was impressive, to say the least. Intricate stonework, several statues and figurines along the roof, and a large stone door inlaid with spectacular jewels. The carving on the door seemed familiar somehow, and it was only upon closer examination that I found out why.

The night before, after I had delivered Silver to the hospital, I went back to the arena and asked for my necklace back. They were more than happy to give it up, although I think they did so more out of fear than any sense of justice. I had made a personal note to not take it off again, and I hadn't.

Carefully pulling the golden amulet out from my cloak I held it up next to the door. The arrangement of the jewels, the concentric circles, even the coloration. It matched the necklace perfectly, except that the door didn't start glowing like my necklace did.

I almost dropped it in surprise when it happened. The trinket hadn't emitted its soft blue glow since Twilight had examined it all those months ago, but it was now as the doors to the temple swung open. A cold musty draft blew out the doors, ruffling the edges of my cloak.

"Please, come in," said a soft matronly voice. "We've been expecting you."

A chill ran down my spine as the voice echoed off the forest, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I put the necklace back on and entered. The doors slammed shut behind me when I walked over the threshold, and torches sprang to life on both sides of the wide hallway.

My hoof steps were hesitant, but even with the care I was taking every clop rang off the walls at least ten times before fading. The torches thankfully provided light and warmth, but they seemed to be following me. As I would pass by one set, they would extinguish themselves as the next ignited.

The hallway wasn't too long, and ended in a circular antechamber. Torches lit up along the walls, revealing six figures standing in the center, split off into three groups of two. Even with all the torches I could only make out their silhouettes, though.

"H-hello," I called out as I strained to see who I was talking to through the dim light.

"Welcome," answered a smooth baritone voice. "We have long awaited your arrival."

"Well, thank you, but could you do something about the lighting. I can barely see you."

"Oh excuse me," came another female voice from across the room. "I thought that this would be sufficient. One moment," she added as her horn lit up with teal magic, causing all of the torches to glow brighter, as well as illuminating a chandelier above us. With the light turned up, I could finally make out who I was looking at.

Before me stood six ponies, three stallions and three mares. Two were pegasi, two were unicorns, and two were earth ponies, and each group had both genders.

While they were all distinct, they shared a few common features. For one, they all looked surprisingly young for ponies that the villagers referred to as "elders". They were probably three or four years older than Cheerilee, who herself was barely a year into adulthood. In addition to that, they all had steel grey eyes.

The unicorn pair consisted of the mare who turned the lights up and a stallion that stood a good head taller than her. Her mane and tail were a deep fuchsia color and her coat was only a few shades darker than Fluttershy's. The stallion's own mane and tail were as gray as his eyes, and he kept them slicked back, while his coat was a deep blue.

The earth pony mare was a bright red, nearly pink color, with a cotton candy blue mane and tail, the former of which was done up in a tight bun. The stallion was of a strong stock, built a little like Big Macintosh. His mane and tail were midnight blue, nearly black, and his coat was as white as driven snow.

Finally, the pegasi were probably the most equal when it came to size, each coming up to the unicorn stallion's chin. The pegasus mare's hair was a shocking purple, with a coat of brilliant green. The stallion was her inverse, with bright green hair and a light purple coat. Something told me that the two of them were related.

"Oh, much better, thank you," I said. Thinking better of it, I got down on one knee to show some modicum of respect to them.

"Rise," ordered the matronly voice that first bade me to enter, now revealed to belong to the earth mare. "You need not show us such reverence. If anything, it is we who should be bowing to you."

"Excuse me?" I asked. Why should they bow to me? I'm nopony, while they are obviously the well respected and much loved leaders of this ragtag community.

"Don't sound so confused," answered the unicorn stallion in his soothing baritone voice. "Being one of such importance to Equestria's future, you should be used to being treated with respect."

"I'm sorry sir, but you are going to have to clue me in. I'm just a pegasus from Ponyville, not whatever you think I am."

"Do you mean to tell us that you don't know who you are?" asked the pegasus mare, confusion on her face. "Oh, I KNEW that he was the wrong one!" she said, turning to the other pegasus.

"Now now, we don't know that for certain. You," he asked, turning to face me, "you have something with you, do you not? A necklace or amulet, something like that?"

"Well, just this," I answered, taking out the necklace, "but it was just a gift from a friend."

If they hadn't wanted to look like fools in front of me, I bet their jaws would have hit the floor if their expressions were anything to go off of. Each of them looked stunned, but they still kept some semblance of grace.

"Now do you think he's the real one?" asked the unicorn mare indignantly to the pegasus mare.

"Look, you keep going on and on about whether I'm 'the real one' or not, but I need some answers here," I interrupted. "Now, what is it that you think I am?"

"A force of change," answered the earth stallion, his deep voice reverberating off of the stone walls. "Either one for good or evil, that is your choice."

"I'm sorry, but you are going to have to be more specific," I said, starting to get fed up with all of the cryptic wording that these six were using.

"Well, it would be best to start at the beginning, I suppose," said the unicorn mare. "Many eons ago, when Celestia and Luna were just starting their rule, even before the Nightmare Moon incident, we were the six ponies chosen to wield the Elements of Harmony."

"Wait, wait wait wait," I interrupted, "before we go any further, I just want to say two things. One, if you were there when Celestia and Luna had just started their rule, then that would make you..."

"Approximately 1,294 years old," answered the pegasus stallion

"Wow. You sure as hay don't look it."

"Just one of the many benefits of being a Bearer. When the Elements chose us, they grafted some of their power onto us, and blessed us with the long life that is normally only attributed to alicorns, such as the princesses."

"Okay, that answered my second question. Please, continue," I added, now thoroughly intrigued.

"For the longest time, we were the will of the princesses," continued the unicorn mare. "Whenever there was unrest or warfare in Equestria, we were sent in to be the cleansing force. We were even the ones that were forced to banish fair Luna after she was corrupted by Nightmare Moon, although that particular detail has been omitted from most texts you will read on the subject. For security and morale reasons, of course."

"For centuries, this arrangement worked beautifully. Then, one day about 850 years ago, a new threat arose, one that had not been seen before in Equestria. It came from nowhere, and struck these lands without mercy or remorse. We simply called it 'The Shadow' for lack of a better term, and we fought valiantly against it for the better part of fifty years.

"But the old methods weren't working," interjected the unicorn stallion. "Every time we attempted to use the Elements on it, it simply blew off our attacks like they were nothing."

"Just when all hope seemed lost, Celestia devised a brilliant, if risky, solution. What we needed was a unifying force, a catalyst to make the Elements stronger by one hundred fold. Thus began the largest, and most secretive project ever attempted by pony kind, only known as 'Project Unity'."

"And what exactly was this 'Project Unity' supposed to do exactly?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"To put it in laypony's terms, it was meant to create an artifact that could utilize and amplify the powers of the Elements of Harmony. While not the creation of a seventh Element per se, it worked off of the same principles as the other Elements."

"You see, each of the Elements works because they draw power from a different aspect of what makes a friendship and keeps it strong, namely Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, and Laughter, while using the spark of Magic as a binder to keep them held together. As such, the ponies chosen to wield them must be able to exemplify the various Elements in their purest form."

"And the catch was?"

"The catch was that all friendships over time will start to drift apart as the ponies involved meet new ponies and have different experiences, and so was the case with the Elements. As time wore on, the power that the six of us put into the Elements waned as our friendship grew stale, and it was believed that The Shadow drained the Elements of even more power, thus rendering them ineffective."

"And so Project Unity was meant to keep the power of the Elements strong by refocusing and strengthening the ties of the friendship that powered them," I deduced.

"Precisely," answered the unicorn mare. "The Unifier worked alongside the Element of Magic to help strengthen the bonds that focused the powers of the other five, as well as amplifying the power of the other Elements through sheer magical willpower. After careful study of the six Elements, and many painstaking months of enchanting and conjuring, we were finally able to create an amulet that would do just that. But there was one minor issue; we could not find a pony to wield it."

"Simply put, if finding ponies to bear the six Elements was like trying to find a needle in a haystack," continued the pegasus stallion, "Then finding a pony to wield the Unifier, which required a pony who exemplified every Element in their personality, would be like trying to find a hay in a needle stack."

"We scoured the lands for years trying to find just the right pony while the war against The Shadow raged on. As it became abundantly clear that no such pony alive existed that could bear the brunt of the Unifier, the princess was forced to take drastic measures. By taking a small portion of power from the Elements, as well as the unifying force of the Unifier, she..." He trailed off, staring at the floor as he carefully chose his next words.

"What?" I asked. "What did she do?"

"Are you sure we should tell him this," asked the earth mare, eyes glinting with worry. "He's already been through so much."

"It is for the best," replied the pegasus stallion, "and it would be better that he found out from us than from some other, less reputable source."

"What is it? What did Celestia do?" I was practically pleading with them at this point, both anxious and afraid of what their answer was going to be.

"She... she created you," answered the pegasus stallion.

<===============>

Princess Celestia wandered through the streets of Ponyville, musing to herself as the Royal Guard did their duty and prepared the town for the inevitable siege.

Canterlot had fallen the previous week to the horde, and the cultists had set themselves up in the alabaster city. No doubt they were plotting their next attack even as the townsponies prepared for the onslaught that was to follow. Still, the sun princess knew that the most that could be done was to simply hold them back.

Luna and Fluttershy had left days ago to try and find the pegasus that had been banished, as they felt he could be the one to stop all of this. Before they left, Luna herself had appeared before the town and tried to break the news to them, with mixed results. More than a few ponies had panicked, and it was only through her sister's quick thinking that a riot hadn't broken out.

From what Twilight Sparkle had told her, once the townsfolk had calmed down they immediately got to work preparing the town for a siege, even going so far as to ignore the major reconstruction that still needed to be done in the town as a whole. Their reasoning behind it was that if they didn't fortify now, it wouldn't matter if they had finished rebuilding or not when the creatures in Canterlot wiped them out.

Pragmatic thinking though it was, it still left Celestia a bit disquieted by their sudden urge to fight, whether it was well justified or not. It wasn't helped at all by the fact that if she hadn't banished Evan in the first place, all of this might have been avoided.

These thoughts had haunted the sun princess' mind since she had arrived in town with the dregs of the Royal Guard, consisting of both her own troops and those of her sister's troops that hadn't been killed defending the capital. While they were merely a shadow of their former glory they were welcomed all the same, some of the more able bodied mares and stallions in town having joined their ranks in the days that followed their arrival.

"Your majesty, if I could have a word," came a voice from behind, snapping the sun princess out of her recollections. Celestia turned to find a familiar face, one that she was happy to see.

"Hello Shining Armor, how are you doing? Does the guard around your sister and her friends need to be changed again?"

"No, their fine, and they are still wearing the Elements of Harmony on their persons. No, I actually came to ask a couple of questions, if that would be alright."

"Of course. Anything to keep my mind busy."

"Well, both of these came from Twily, but she felt it would be better if I asked you. First, she wanted to know what happened to Cadence when the city was attacked, and I was kind of worried myself. After all the hassle we went through at the wedding, we don't want to lose her."

"Don't worry," reassured Celestia, "She's fine. The unicorn guards you had protecting the house teleported her away when the fighting broke out. If I'm not mistaken, she was sent to stay with the governor of Las Pegasus."

"That's a relief. That city is on the whole other end of Equestria, so at least whatever these things are won't get to her for a long time."

"As long as you are assured that she is safe where she is from those monsters, then we will not have her moved," replied Celestia. "What was your other question?"

"It was actually about the creatures that attacked Canterlot. I'll understand if you don't know what they are, but I would like to know if you do. Surely in your millennium as ruler, you would have come across them once before at least."

Celestia turned away, shutting her eyes tight as the memories came flooding back. Memories that she thought she had hidden away long ago, never to be remembered.

"Shining, I'm afraid that these are creatures I am all too familiar with."

"What do you mean?"

"Many eons ago, maybe 150 years or so after the Nightmare Moon Incident, a threat was made on Equestria. A sinister force that we only called The Shadow attacked without warning, sending ponies young and old, weak and strong, running for their lives. Upon realizing that unless more direct action was taken the kingdom would be overrun, I was forced to make some... drastic decisions, to ensure the survival of Equestria. I have reason to believe that the same creatures that attacked so long ago may be the same that took Canterlot."

"I see," said Shining, furrowing his brow."If I could ask, your majesty, but what do you mean by drastic actions?"

"I..." She faltered, fumbled with her words as Shining Armor's question dug into her.

"I would rather not speak of it, if it's alright with you," she hastily said. "It was a long, long time ago, and despite the time gap, I have still not quite forgiven myself for what I did."

"I understand princess. I'll go tell Twilight the good news about Cadence, as well as what you said about The Shadow. Hopefully that'll keep her busy for a bit, cause she's been really anxious since Luna's announcement. It'll help her if she has something to think about while she's all cooped up."

"Anyway, you have a good afternoon," he added before turning back down the road towards town hall.

"And you as well." Celestia turned away from her guard captain and continued down the cobblestone streets.

Shining's questions had hit very hard, and the regent of the sun was still thinking about the answers she had given. 'Drastic actions' she had said; it sounded as if she was speaking of some military strategy. She knew in her own mind that those 'drastic actions' had had much further implications.

She had played God, created life out of bits of magic from the Elements of Harmony and the Unifier. She had made a pony to serve as her war machine, as a weapon, and nothing more than that.

She had been ashamed of what she had done, ashamed that she had warped a poor pony into being nothing more than a tool, and as a result had every single recording of the war against The Shadow and its after effects stricken from all public records. It had taken generations for the facts of the war to pass into myth and legend, but by the end of it only she knew the whole truth.

And she knew exactly who the pony that she created was.

She could remember his features clear as day, even after all these centuries; his grey coat, his hazel eyes, the mane of brown and crimson. Every detail had been burned into her mind when she had cast the spell, and not even centuries of rule had dulled it. His name had been different all those years ago, but now he was the pegasus known by the name of Evan. And she had banished him, if only for his own protection.

Celestia stared out to the edge of town, watching as the sun sank lower on the horizon. Soon it would be Luna's time to raise the moon and fill the night with her wonderful constellations. The sun princess smiled a bit as the thought of one of Luna's beautiful nights came to mind. She could always do things with the nighttime sky that made it into a work of art, unlike Celestia's millennium of butchering her sister's craft.

The regent of the sun drank in this fleeting moment of peace, letting it caress her troubled mind and soothe her fractured nerves. The events of the week and dwelling on her past sins had taken its toll, and Shining Armor's questions had nearly sent her over the edge. Yet something as simple as a pastoral sunset was enough to make her forget, at least for a minute, about the tumultuous circumstances that she once again found herself in.

Sighing softly, Celestia turned around and set a course for the guard's Forward Operating Base. This upcoming battle wasn't going to plan itself, after all.