Author's Note

I hope this story is doing well, thankfully I already have a fan. I hope I can match his expectations. Anyway, this story shall switch between the perspectives of the main characters and other characters. And whenever I feel it is appropriate, I will switch to third person view.

First Impressions

I was running as fast as I could. Funny, a Pegasus, running. You would think I would be up in the skies flying around. I would be feeling the cold wind on my face as I moved the clouds or just flew for the heck of it. But....those days are over. Ever since the newest 'Princess', and I say that with as much venom as possible, put into effect the "Equestrian Preservation" law.....nothings been the same.

"He's over there!" Damn it! One of the guards must've spotted me! I expected them to come after me, but I didn't think they would send the SRF! No stallion has gotten away from those six, but I can't let my father's sacrifice be in vain. Father....I'm sorry for what she did to you. I mean, when mom cut off parts of my wings.......I didn't know. I shake my head, I can't think of the past now. My father did that so that I could get away. I just need to keep going.

I grunt loudly, from a sudden impact to my right hoof. Bucking Tartarus! That must of been from the SRF's leader! Damn only she could've hit me with a paralysis spell from this far away in the Everfree! I can hardly feel my right hoof anymore, but I must press on! I just have to walk with a limp until I can get somewhere-there's a cliff in my way.

"SON OF A BITCH!" I shout to the heavens. Well that's what I get for not paying attention to where I was going. Taking a quick look at my surroundings, I notice that I have made it to a clearing. In front of me is a cliff face about 3 to 4 meters up. Around that cliff in a semi-circle are trees and bushes apart of the Everfree Forest. One part of the semi-circle looks traveled through, based on the broken up bushes, twigs, and leaves. That would be where I ran from, damn. They'll easily be able to track me with the trail I made.

Getting that thought out of my head, I decided to see if I had any lasting damage. My brown coat was covered in dirt, dust, and dried blood from running through all of that foliage. My yellow mane hadn't faired any better, it looked felt like there was a bird's nest in my head and it was home to fifty birds! Surprisingly, my yellow tail seemed to not be damaged at all. I wagged it a bit making sure nothing was stuck in there. Satisfied, I got the urge to check my wings....and then my heart sank.

That's right, no reason to check them. I know how they are, ruined. At least for a couple of years. Most of the ligaments and tendons that allow me control over my wings have been cut. Or they have been removed. This was my mother's 'insurance' that my father and I wouldn't get away. I still can hardly believe it. How could a parent treat family like that? I guess when a law is put into effect, some embrace it wholeheartedly.

That's why my father told me to get away. Today would be my 18 birthday, the legal age in Equestria. Unlike before, where it would be celebrated with parties, my mother would celebrate it by raping me. Even now, it's still hard to believe. The only reason why I am sure, is because just when she forced me onto the bed, my father tackled her from the side. She had to release my restraints so that she could have a 'better experience' thus leaving me free. The last words I heard my father say were "Run my boy! Run!"

And that's what I did. I ran. Until I hit the Everfree. I then relaxed for a bit, making camp and trying to figure out my next move. But on the following day, the SRF caught up to me. I've been running ever since.

I looked back to the cliff face. Looking it up and down, there were plenty of hoofholds I could grab onto. All I gotta do is wait for the spell to wear off and-

"Stop in the name of the Princess!"

I turned around quickly, and any hope of getting away immediately sank to the deepest bits of darkness in my heart. Standing in front of me, blocking all escape routes except the cliff, were the SRF and two Royal Guards. I panicked and began walking backwards, until my back hit the cliff.

"Just calm down, we won't hurt you," I heard a soft, quiet voice say from in front of me. Two years ago, I would've trusted that voice. I would've known it would lead me to safety. But now when I hear it, all I can hear is lies.

I frantically looked around for anything I could use as a weapon. I wouldn't go back! I won't go back! My frantic searching bore fruit as I found a rather sharp looking stick on the ground. I picked it up and looked at it like it was salvation wrapped in a bottle. I knew I wouldn't be able to fight them off, but as they closed in on me, another thought surfaced.

I'm not going back......no matter what.

Little did the stallion know that above him, were three humans who would be his and his gender's new salvation.

It wasn't really that hard to track the male who made the grunt down. The guy wasn't going for stealth, just to get away. Mike could tell it was a male by the deepness of the voice that made the sound. He mainly went after him because, he knew he was in trouble. And no matter where they had been sent, he still felt the need to help any being. Doesn't matter if they were animals or humans.

Mike moved through the trees with an almost unnatural grace. He had felt the same darkness from this forest as Nick had, but that didn't matter. No matter how evil a forest felt, it was still a forest. And if Mike was the master of anything, it was the forest. Swinging from tree to tree by grabbing on to branches, he ended up at the top of a cliff face. Knowing that this was where the male's trail would end, based on the fact that the sound breaking of twigs was coming this way, he got on the crevice of the cliff and waited. He made sure to crouch down, so that if anyone looked up they wouldn't see him. He stayed that way until he heard what sounded like a shout come from the clearing.

It was at this point Ray appeared at his right side, crouched just like he was, "Dude I told you to-," Mike interrupted her with a hand.

Not much later, NIck also appeared, a lot less quietly, and rushed to Mike's left side, "I told you two to-," Mike grabbed him by his leg and pointed into the clearing.

"The person who made that grunt is in this clearing at the bottom of the cliff face. Judging by the fact that he pretty much tore a path through the forest on his way here, he must be running from something. I have no idea how the local populous will react when they see someone who looks like a demon, a ninja with cult armor on, and a clear female with armor that some would call 'forged midnight'. So if you two don't mind, be quiet!" Mike hissed the last part in a whisper. Nick and Ray both clamed up and crouched down next to Mike.

Hearing some commotion from the clearing, he looked over the crevice.

HIs brain instantly went into overtime.

The first thing he noticed were the six creatures that seemed to stay close to each other. Out of everything in the clearing, they radiated authority. Mike saw that this species seemed to be a fusion of human and equine. While they walked on two legs, had two arms and fingers, their feet more resembled hooves than actually feet. That and their skin seemed to be more like a coat of fur with multitudes of colors, and they had tails that swayed in the wind.

Along with that, he noticed that the six were all female, or mares in the case of equines. He could tell because of their child bearing hips and 'well endowed' chest. On the left side he saw two hybrids with wings. Now that he thought about it, they were called pegasi. One of them had a yellow coat with a pink....mane he guessed. The other one had a cyan coat with a mane and tail that were all the colors of a rainbow. Judging by how the yellow one wore a modest yellow sweatshirt with matching skirt, while the cyan one wore a more athletic blue hoodie with blue jeans, the cyan one was the fastest out of them all. That and the yellow mare seemed to be hiding behind the cyan one, while that one looked like she was prepared to rush into battle. Her muscles, however, weren't very defined, so she was probably fast and brash, but didn't have the muscle to back it up.

On the right side, he saw what looked like normal human-horse hybrids. One of them had an orange coat and blonde mane, that she wore in a pigtail. Her clothing consisted of a checkered red and white tank top, that she tied in a knot under her breast, blue jeans, and a cowboy hat. While the other one was the very definition of pink. Her coat, mane, tail, shirt and skirt were all pink! Seeing that much pink on one creature nearly made Mike's brain overload. The orange one also seemed ready for a fight, and judging from her more defined muscles, Mike guessed she was the most powerful physically of the group. That and her build suggested that she must be a hard worker, probably a farmer of some type. While the pink one...he couldn't get an exact read on her. While she bounced up and down in the clearing, he could tell behind her carefree smile there was something dark. He couldn't explain exactly what it was, but he knew that she would definitely be a danger.

Lastly, in the center were two beings with horns. One of these beings had a bright white coat with a purple mane and tail. Judging by how she seemed to carry herself, her rather long and fancy cocktail dress, not very defined muscles, and well kept mane, she was a noble of some sort. That or she thought of herself as a noble, in which case she was just a fashion expert. He remembered that equine beings with horns were called unicorns. Most of these names he is giving these creatures are based off of the fantasy and mythology books he remembered reading from his time in the rainforest. Her magic would be a problem, but not much. If she was a noble or considered herself one, she was not very well versed in combat, physical or magical.

It was the last one, the leader judging by how she was at the front of the group, that he knew would be their biggest concern. For one thing, she did have a horn like a unicorn, but she also had wings like a Pegasus. Which means that among these hybrids, there are other hybrids(he says this cause he has no idea if there are more like her). This hybrid's coat was a dark purple, and so was her mane and tail, but they had a pink streak going through them. Along with that, she seemed to wear what most would consider a Japanese school girl's outfit, except with the skirt below her knees and white with pink mixed in here and there. Mike could sense an extreme magical energy coming from her, more so than unicorn. She was not the strongest of them physically, but her magic could definitely put a dent in Nick's armor, if she got a hit in.

Breaking his gaze away from them, he focused on the only male in the clearing. He was also a Pegasus, however he had a brown coat with a yellow mane and tail. His body was covered with dirt and scratch marks, furthering the evidence that he was the one who made the grunt. What confused Mike however, was that if he was a Pegasus, why didn't he just fly over the cliff?

That was when his power did something new. It seemed to zoom in on the male and allow Mike to see his every injury or scar on his body. And when Mike looked to his wings, he saw scars on certain parts of them. He had seen many birds with hurt wings and if pegasi wings were the same thing, then the parts that allowed him flight had been lost. But if that was scar tissue, then they had been cut, on purpose. Looking the, stallion's he believed, entire body over, he noticed other things that were off to. His neck and wrist had red marks on them, suggesting that he had been restrained with something, most likely a collar or rope. That meant that he was either a criminal or a slave. If he was a criminal, he wouldn't of hesitated to attack the six in front of him, or have the look of fear in his eyes that Mike could see thanks to his enhanced powers. Which means that he must be a slave.

Looking around the rest of the clearing, he spotted two more hybrids. These however, had on golden armor and carried spears in their hands. These were most likely guards that had been sent as an extra pre-caution. He didn't pay them much attention, considering that Nick could probably break those spears in two. However, he did make note of how one had wings and the other did not. That and the fact that they were both mares as well.

After looking the two guards over, Mike got out of his powered mode, and began to make a plan. He knew they had to help the stallion escape. It was the only right thing to do, if he was in fact a slave. That word made Mike's blood boil. Living in the forest for so long, Mike had a distinct love of freedom. He believed that, just like the animals in the rainforest, everything had a right to freedom. No matter what it is. And no one, and nothing, should be able to take that from you.

But Mike also had a limit on freedom. He figured you were allowed your own choices, allowed to live as you saw fit, and allowed to have your own thoughts on whatever it was. Be it religion, sports, school, whatever. However, when you squander that freedom and use it to take away someone's life, you have crossed the line.

Mike turned back to his two companions, a gleam in his eyes as a plan formed in his head, "Ok, here is what we're going to do....."

It would be easy. All I had to do, was raise the stick to my throat. Then jab it straight through, and the pain would be over in a flash.

No more whippings...

...no more hard labor in the hot summer sun....

...no more being paraded around town like a prize...

...I couldn't be raped....

...It would be over.

That was my train of thought, until a giant mass of blackness crashed down in front of me from on top of the cliff. The next thing I knew, I was felt something hit me on the back of my neck. Then, my vision went away.