Inner Demon

Princess Celestia sat quietly one night upon one balcony of her great castle, which overlooked the entire city of Canterlot. It wasn't normal for her to be out this late, she usually didn't come out at night, until it was time for her to raise the sun. She sighed. There was a nagging at the back of her head, something had been bothering her for quite some time. She couldn't quite place her hoof on what it was, and it was really getting to her. Princess Luna had gone to bed a few hours earlier, and Celestia could not help but smile inwardly at the situational irony. She sighed once again, getting up and turning around. She was almost inside when she felt something. She stopped in her tracks, a nervous bead of sweat finding its way down her forehead. Celestia began to look around apprehensively. What was it she felt? It was so faint, it was almost impossible to tell. Perhaps it was all her imagination. Celestia sighed again, when suddenly, she felt that same thing again. Celestia heard something as well. What was it she heard? It was also faint, like the energy she sensed. What was that sound? It was becoming more clear, and Celestia strained her ears to listen, trying to focus. That sound...was it...was it a heartbeat? Yes! That's what the sound was! Faint, but a heartbeat nonetheless. Celestia smiled at her discovery, before realization hit her. Somepony near her location was in a dire condition. There was no time to assemble a search party, the source of the heartbeat probably wouldn't make it through all the wasted time. Celestia had no choice but to find it herself. She spread her wings in took to the skies. At first, she presumed the source was in Canterlot, but as she flew away from her castle, the energy became more faint, as if growing farther away. She turned quickly, flying straight back to the castle. It was incredibly confusing. Celestia gazed around in confusion. She looked onward towards Everfree Forest in the distance. Yes, that must be it. As Celestia sped off towards the forest, she noticed the energy source seemed to get closer. So, whatever it was that was loosing this energy was definitely in Everfree Forest. Certainly not a very good thing at all. Celestia had to get there fast, before anything else was attracted. She landed softly moments later. The large trees made it almost impossible to see during the day, and at night it might as well have been impossible to see. Celestia used her magic to light the tip of her horn, using that light as a kind of candle. Celestia remained focused, however, on the energy she sensed. Perhaps this energy was the source of her recent stress? It was a possibility. Celestia sometimes had some sort of precognition to events, like she knew that SOMETHING was going to happen, at least. She shook her head, trying to recollect her thoughts once more. Celestia didn't notice until after she tripped.

"Ugh..." Celestia groaned as she picked herself up off the dirt. She looked behind her to find the culprit, and was quite shocked with what she discovered. A dark red-coated colt lay in the grass, seemingly asleep, perhaps unconscious. Celestia noticed his breathing was shallow. The heartbeat she heard earlier was louder now, not by much, but loud enough to tell her "this is the place, this is the guy". She stared at this unconscious pony for a moment, taking in his appearance. The colt was a unicorn. He had a dark-red coat and a messy black mane and tail. His mane mostly covered his closed eyes. Their color was so far the only mystery about him, besides who he was and how he ended up here, in Everfree Forest. The colt also wore what appeared to be a black jacket of some kind. The jacket did a good job of hiding his Cutie Mark, or at least hiding the area where his Cutie Mark should be. Celestia had heard of some cases where ponies within Twilight's age group still hadn't obtained their Cutie Marks. Celestia glanced around quickly, remembering the possibility of other creatures lurking about. She saw none, and sighed with relief. She looked back at the colt. Something about him made her feel...Uneasy? She didn't quite understand why, but she couldn't help but feel like something was not quite right about this unicorn that lay before her, barely holding onto their life. Celestia shook her head. Her feelings clashed with her judgment, and finally she let her good conscience win. Celestia used her magic to levitate the unicorn onto her back. Then, after making sure he was safe from potentially falling, she took to the skies. For a moment, she debated whether or not returning to the Canterlot Castle with this unicorn was a good idea. She shook her head, remembering her uneasy feeling. No, she thought, if she herself felt uneasy around this unicorn, then her sister surely would too, and Celestia knew Luna wouldn't be as trusting. Celestia sighed once again. That didn't leave her a lot of choices. All of a sudden, an idea came to her head. Of course! Why didn't she think of it before? Her most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle! Twilight was very knowledgeable, and the hospital in Ponyville was very exceptional. Perhaps, throughout this unicorn's recovery, Twilight could possibly discover more about this strange pony. Especially what made her feel so uneasy while around him. It was probably the best way. Celestia hesitated for one more moment before speeding off to Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle was resting peacefully in her bed when a sudden, loud knock on her door woke her.

Twilight sat up with a groan. "Who in the hay would bother somepony this late?"

She stumbled out of bed, fumbling around in the darkness. After finding her way downstairs, she went over to the door. She opened it, sighing. "Do you KNOW how late it-"

She stopped when she realized who had decided to pay her a visit.

"P-Princess!" Twilight shouted. "Er..uhm...sorry about that, I was just-" Celestia suddenly cut her off.

"It's okay Twilight Sparkle. I'm sorry for coming here so late. There's...Just one slight problem," Celestia said, nodding her head to her back, where the unicorn lay.

"Ohmigosh!" Twilight exclaimed. "Who's that? What happened?"

Celestia sighed this time. "I don't know, Twilight, he was unconscious in Everfree Forest. I figured I'd bring him here to you, with your knowledge I'm sure you could help greatly in his recovery."

Now Twilight was confused. "Princess, why not just take him to the clinic in Canterlot?"

Celestia sighed again. She couldn't bring herself to lie to her own student and friend.

"You see, Twilight, I found this colt in Everfree Forest, like I said before. He's not from around here, I can assure you of that. But that's not the point."

Twilight remained silent, patiently waiting for the rest of her mentor's explanation.

Celestia continued. "When I found him, I sensed some very strange kind of energy. I...Don't quite know what it is. I was hoping you would, while assisting in his recovery, attempt to find out more about him."

"Oh," Twilight said. "Well why didn't you just say so? Sure I'll help. But, couldn't your sister help more than me?"

"Well, you see, the thing is, this particular pony gives me a very...uneasy feeling. I can't quite put my hooves on it but...I don't know. Something's off. You and I both know Luna isn't very trusting. If I get this feeling around him, Luna certainly will, and she won't be as forgiving as me," Celestia replied. Twilight nodded in understanding.

"Okay, I get it," she said simply. Celestia smiled. A few moments later, the unicorn was placed on a small bed, hastily crafted from hay, a small blanket sprawled over his form. The pony's breathing had become much more steady. Twilight glanced back at the princess.

"Well Princess, I'll report his condition and any of my findings whenever I can," Twilight said with a smile. Celestia smiled back at her.

"Great, I knew I could count on you. Now, I must be getting back to Canterlot. It's nearly time for me to raise the sun," Celestia stated. With that, she simply teleported away. Twilight then stared at the sleeping unicorn whose name she did not yet know. She also couldn't help but develop an uneasy feeling at his presence. It was strange. She didn't even know the colt at all, but there was something off. Something she couldn't quite figure out. She hoped her friends wouldn't harbor any of the same feelings. Twilight sighed, taking one last look at the unknown unicorn before trotting upstairs and returning to her slumber.