Waking up in Equestria

By the time we made it into Ponyville, the deep blue sky above had faded to black. Stars wheeled overhead as we walked and I found myself looking in vain for familiar constellations... The North Star, Orion's belt, Pleiades. There was nothing. Nothing in the sea of diamond chips above that resembled the stars from home.

The town was blessedly quiet. There were only a few ponies moving about their evening business as we moved north through the center market area. The one exception was a single story dwelling set just off the road that I swore had a rave party happening inside. A low rhythmic 'wub wub wub wub' rattled the windows while multicolored lights danced behind the curtains.

"What's going on in there?" I asked Scootaloo.

"Vinyl Scratch. She practices at her house sometimes."

"Ah don't like er stuff..." Apple Bloom added shaking her head. "Ah don't understand how a pony kin just listen to that same thing all the time!"

"What!? You can get a serious groove going to this beat, check it out!"

With that, Scootaloo stood up on her rear legs and started a goofy thrusting motion with her rear hips with her front hooves behind her head. She pouted out her lips like a duck and gave several grunting 'uh's' to the time of the music with each thrust. It might have been a sexy dance... had she not been so bad at it. Apple Bloom fell off the scooter in laughter and I joined in. Scoots looked ridiculous.

"Fine, I can tell when great talent isn't appreciated." she dropped back down on her legs and walked ahead with an air of mock dismissal.

We moved on. Ahead of us, the large structure of Twilight's castle was growing near. The darkness made it impossible to see the details but it had the shape of a colossal tree that towered over the smaller dwellings near this side of town. The top was supporting a structure that looked like a small castle nestled in the branches and had a darker shade in the moonlight than the surrounding tree.

"Man, every time I come here I get goosebumps!" Scootaloo said. "Twilight... a princess! I still can't believe it after all this time."

As we arrived at the base of the massive dwelling, we found the large double doors at the bottom were already thrown wide, revealing a grand staircase at the back of the spacious entryway. We moved up the stairs, curving up and around to the landing above where a huge room held a circle of crystal pillars. In the middle of this ring was a group of chairs facing each other, six in all. Each of these chairs was occupied by a member the group of ponies I'd come to know, already deep in conversation.

"Squirt!" Rainbow Dash called out, leaving her chair and flying over to us with a big smile for her adoptive sister. "Did ya get everything moved?"

"Yeah! I even got the side of the room by the door!" she beamed back. It had been a heated argument at the end, and the terms of how exactly it had been worked out I didn't know. I had left the room before then.

"Way to go!" Dash gave her a high five.

"Welcome to my Castle, Mason." Twilight had gotten up to receive us in a formal manner. I felt awkward, and I could see on her face that she felt a little out of place as well. I tried to think of the proper way to answer.

"Thank you, Princess." I said and bowed for the first time in my life.

"You are welcome here." she said stiffly. Then, abandoning the formalities "Errgh! I hate having to do that!" she smiled warmly and trotted over to give me and my two companions a hug.

"Anyways, I'm glad you're here. Especially you, Scootaloo. We were just talking about Quickfire. Can you think of anything about him that we should know?"

The orange filly beside me shrank back under the sudden spotlight. "Umm... not really... I mean..." She took a deep breath and let it out before walking into the middle of the group. She told them all she could, but it wasn't much. Twilight frowned, clearly hoping some answers would have come out of it.

"Thank you, Scootaloo. I know this isn't easy for you, but... you should know that we'll probably have to use The Elements of Harmony on him... Aaanndd that may not be a good thing from his point of view."

"I know." her head and tail sagged. "but if he's turned into a bad pony then..." she didn't finish her sentence.

Twilight put an arm around the filly's neck. "You've been through a lot lately but I promise things are going to be better from now on!" she encouraged before returning her attention to her friends.

"Alright, it's a day's journey to the edge of Dream Valley. We should get started early in the morning. We'll meet at Fluttershy's house and start the trip from there. I don't know what to expect from The Element of Hate, girls. But I know if we stick together, we can do whatever it takes!"

"Yer leaving again, Applejack?" Apple Bloom spoke up sadly.

Applejack rose from her seat and moved to embrace Apple Bloom in a tender hug."Ahm afraid so, sis. Ya know ya can't come with us on somethin like this. I need ya to stay behind and keep up the farm. I know ain't been round much lately but it looks like you 'n Big Mac have done a great job without me... a couple more days won't hurt."

She hugged her sister and then looked up at me. "Mason, you keep an eye on her, ya hear? Scootaloo too. Between you and Big Mac, I'm sure things'l be just fine." she gave a chuckle. "Heck.. if ya get in ta any trouble just give ol Granny a shout. She can get mighty worked up when she wants ta!"

"Mason..." Rarity called out. "Would you mind having Sweetie Belle as well? I'd feel better knowing she was with her friends while I was away."

"Sure, Rarity." I said. "That sounds like a great idea." It really did. I figured at least the three of them could keep each other company. I had plans that didn't involve being seen by anyone for a while.

"Alright then, we're ready. Tomorrow we leave." Twilight finished.

__________________________________________________________________

It was a quiet walk back to Sweet Apple Acres, the loudest sound on the whole walk back was coming from Vinyl Scratch's house where the beat still shook the windows. I thought about the idea of a physical object that could fill people with hate. Everything I'd come in contact with here besides Whipwind didn't seem to harbor any malice or real anger at all. Sure, there were arguments and some ponies didn't get along. But unlike the world I was from, there was an underlying feeling of peace and harmony that didn't seem to allow the same kind of prejudiced and hate filled attitudes that were common in my world. It was rare to feel that kind of general peace at home, it was like hate and anger vibrated just under the surface everywhere. Especially when you got into large groups of people.

And it made sense, I guessed. If hate was a palatable thing, something that could be personified and ripple it's effects out into the world... then imprisoning it or hiding it away from the world just might allow peace and harmony to prosper. If my world could find it's element of hate and launch that sucker to the sun or something... maybe it would be as pleasant as Equestria was.

Applejack walked back with us and filled us in on what they had discussed before we arrived. The Element of Hate, the spell that hid it's location and how they think it had come to be found. They hadn't decided what to do about Quickfire ultimately, and still didn't quite believe Discord that it really was Quickfire who had found it.

"I wouldn't be surprised" I added when she was done. "Whipwind was a mean one and who knows what his craziness did to him."

"Ah just can't wrap my head 'round how anypony could want ta hate so much. It just seems like a horrible way ta live." Applejack gestured.

"There's a lot of people in the human world who live that way every day."

"Ya mean there's an Element of Hate in tha human world?" Apple Bloom asked.

"No... well.. maybe. I don't know. There's just a lot of people who spend most of their time angry at others for no good reason. I never noticed it until I was here, but I think I finally figured out something that's been on my mind this whole time."

"What's that?" Applejack asked.

"Everything here seems to just... work together. There's no real fighting or anger against other ponies. There's a feeling of peace here that isn't like how it is at home. It's like the Element of Hate in the human world is everywhere, all the time but here in Equestria... It's gone."

"Golly, Mason. That doesn't sound like a nice place ta be. Why I'd rather give up mah farm n stay here than keep it somewhere that ponies are fightin' all the time."

I had to agree with her.

________________________________________________________________________

I didn't hear Sweetie Belle arrive in the morning. I was still asleep when Applejack let her in and then left with Rarity for Fluttershy's house. Scootaloo had spent a little time alone with me last night before I went to sleep, but wanted to finish setting things up in her new room before Sweetie Belle arrived the next day.

"So... this thing with Apple Bloom..." I said, glad we finally had some time to talk about it.

"Yeah... about that." she looked up at me. "Sorry... I had to ask you somehow. It was part of the deal with getting that side of the room!"

"You... really want to do something like that?"

"Well ya! I mean, we're best friends. We share everything!"

"So the thought of her watching us doesn't make you feel... weird or anything?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Not really. We've seen under each others docks lots of times." This was a newer word for me, Scootaloo had only taught me what a pony's dock was recently. "Does it make you feel weird?"

"I... I'm not really sure. I guess not. Is having other ponies um.. involved a normal thing?"

She considered it and then said "I hear other ponies at school talk about it sometimes, some of em share their colt friends, sooo... I guess so."

"Seriously?" I asked, shocked at the idea that ponies were like that.

"Mhmmm..." she snuggled against me tightly. "But your mine... even if Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle borrow you for a little bit for fun."

Borrow?? I thought. A lewd image of the three of them rolling around in bed with me flashed through my mind. I would be lying if it didn't excite me a little.

"Huh... just watching?"

"Well.... I dunno about Sweetie Belle. But I don't think Apple Bloom would be happy if she didn't get to play with us."

"Ok" I said agreeably. The devil had won.

She left to go back to her room and get things settled. I rolled over and let my mind wander for awhile about the new turn of events with Scootaloo and I. I'm not sure how the two concepts of love and messing around with friends worked together here... but I wasn't going to complain if it happened. I liked Apple Bloom a lot. She was a tough girl who stuck up for her friends. I didn't know Sweetie Belle as well as the other two, but I guessed that would come with time. I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but it was somewhere after the second or third hard-on that came and went.

In the morning, I slipped quietly out of the barn without sticking my head in Apple Bloom's room. I heard Sweetie Belle singing softly behind the door and listened for a moment, a smile coming to my face. She really could sing beautify and I was struck at how mature she sounded when she did. Slipping down the stairs, I crept outside past the sleeping Granny Smith in the kitchen. I wasn't going to be long... I just wanted to give my wings a try for the first time without ponies watching me. I didn't know what to expect, but I was sure I'd look pretty silly doing it.

A little while later, after a nice walk that I realized I was enjoying, I was in a clearing just west of the barn flexing my wings. I had no idea where to start but figured this was as good a place as any. The morning sun had yet to grow hot and gave a clean, crisp light to the pale blue sky above. I could see a few clouds around and my stomach gave a jittery tingle when I thought I might soon be up there with them.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on flexing them, trying to do it faster and faster as I'd seen birds do it. I felt the strain on my back as I pushed them to new speeds, waiting for the lightening feeling on my feet that I knew should be coming any moment. Wind blew against my legs, rippling the pants and flattening the grass near me. My breath came rapidly in and out of my nose, my heart increasing it's pace to keep up with the effort. My hands clenched, my neck strained and I even squeezed the piss stopper muscle for good measure, anything I could think of to help. I kept it up as long as I could, beating my wings furiously against the air in a steady, rhythmic pulses but still no change of sensation against the ground pressing against my feet.

As a last ditch effort, I bent my knees and jumped, hoping that a little bit of air was all I needed. I wasn't very good at jumping in the first place, so my feet returned to the ground almost immediately after leaving it. Calling it quits, I relaxed. My wings halted their pulses and I dropped to my knees, breathing hard. Nothing. Not even an inch. How in the fuck did this work? If I had felt even a small tinge of lift I might have been encouraged about the effort but there wasn't even that! Nothing! Maybe I just needed to try harder?

I gave it another 2 tries. The second time I almost crapped my pants from the effort I put into pushing my new wings to beat as fast as they could. When no sensation of lift came again, I gave up. Frustrated, tired and sweaty from the extended effort of holding out as long as I could I sat on the ground in the clearing of the apple orchard.

Birds chirped happily around me in the trees, oblivious to the effort happening by the stupid human with new wings that sat near them. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy... shit even Twilight made it look so easy. They hardly extended any effort at all when they.....

"Shit..." I said aloud.

Maybe it wasn't about muscles. Maybe... just maybe it was like turning on the lights. All in your mind, not in your body? It's not like any of the pegasus I'd seen had huge muscles to support flight anyways. I got to my feet again, this time to try a different approach. My pulse quickening with excitement.

I closed my eyes again and tried to calm my mind. I reached out with my imagination and pushed against the ground under my feet, letting my wings extend but not worrying about beating them. I pictured my legs from my point of view and my feet below them. I could picture the grass that surrounded the comfortable shoes that Rarity had made me growing up from the dark earth I stood on. A tingling started on my back where the two wings were connected to my body that spread out in a warm wave, wrapping around the front just before my weight lifted off my feet.

I kept my eyes closed, ecstatic but not wanting to ruin the moment. I kept up the mental pressure as steady as I could given the circumstances... it's not like I knew what the hell I was doing anyways. Moments passed with nothing but the wind blowing across my ears before I opened my eyes.

I was suspended about 10 feet above the tops of the trees near the clearing. The pale blue sky arced over me in a broad dome without interruption save for the occasional cloud. A chuffing breath escaped me in wonder before I looked over my shoulder and saw my wings were beating on their own in the same slow, even strokes I'd seen on the pegasus. I'd done it... I really done it! I was flying! Wildly my emotions ran at the possibilities. I could go anywhere, anytime! I was free!

And then fear washed over me in a cold wave that loosened my bowels and caused my vision to swirl. Holy shit, it was a long way down! Why didn't I think about the fear of heights thing until now? Why did I come up this high the first time? I felt my concentration lax and I began to fall, dropping out of the air quickly towards the deceivingly soft looking grass of the clearing. The tops of the trees slid over me again in a flash of green before I closed my eyes and waited for the impact.

Once again, it never came. A few moments passed before I opened my eyes to see I was a few feet off the ground now, my wings resuming the steady pulsing beat. They would take care of me... I thought. Whatever magic controlled them wouldn't allow me to come to harm by falling. I didn't have to be afraid.

A surge of joy lit my brain on fire and I focused on moving forward and up, seeing it with my mind's eye a split second before it actually happened. I smoothly climbed back above the trees and forward a little, now looking down on the tops of lush green foliage below my feet. I imagined left... and I slid that way. Right... again my wings complied. There was a small delay between my command and response, the delay accompanied by a brief sensation of confusion that passed in the blink of an eye each time.

A few more experimental turns and I felt ready... I wanted to see how fast I could go. Pushing forward towards the north, I watched the trees slide underneath. First slowly, then ticking by with rapid succession. As I moved faster, my body dragged behind the center of momentum on my upper back, causing me to lay flat and be supported by an invisible cushion of air. It was a comfortable sensation that I got used to quickly.

Pushing my arms forward, I willed myself to go faster still. Treetops blurred by underneath giving way to the green fields that bordered Ponyville on the western side. I could see the houses there, Twilight's castle looming to the far north, growing larger by the second on my right. Banking that direction, I shot towards the town with tears streaming from my eyes. My hair, uncut in quite a while now, streamed behind me in the wind that howled in my ears. I'd never felt this amazing before and laughed wildly into the morning air.

The town slid under me. I could see ponies looking up as I passed by with confused looks that caused me to only laugh harder. I waved to them as I neared Twilight's castle almost even with it's top. Doing a loop around it, I traveled back south now. Dropping altitude and firing long the main street just above the tops of the houses. Voices reached me I passed but I couldn't hear... I didn't care. I was lost in the moment of discovery.

I began to feel a new sensation of fatigue setting in somewhere between my shoulders and the back of my head as I neared the gate of Sweet Apple Acres. I couldn't really identify it, but some part of me knew I couldn't keep this up for much longer. Slowing my speed, my body rotated again allowing my feet to dangle as I dropped down, landing hard on the ground just inside the fence. I was out of breath, but more from the exhilaration than effort, I thought.

I didn't tell Scootaloo or anypony else about my flight that morning. I wasn't sure why I chose not to, only that I wasn't looking forward to seeing Scootaloo's face. I'm sure she would be happy for me, but it would be just another reminder for her and right now I thought it best that she have some time to heal from all the stuff that had happened lately. My absence had gone unnoticed as far a I could tell. Apple Bloom's door was still closed and laughter could be heard behind it when I walked by to get ready for a shower.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Big Mac had approached me just after breakfast and asked if I could help him clear out the dead limbs he'd cut down a while ago. It was the first time I'd heard more than his trademark 'Eeuup' come from his mouth. We had worked in silence, me gathering and stacking the heavy limbs before helping Big Mac hook into the straps to drag them away towards the barn. It was tiring work, more work than I'd done in a long time but I felt good doing it, regardless of the raw patches on my hands that stung by the end of the day. During dinner, Apple Bloom came up with the idea to have a campfire that night.

"We do it every year with the dead fall! It be a shame to miss it an ah don't think Applejack would mind!" she asked Granny Smith and Big Mac.

"Yeah, we can sing campfire songs!" said Sweetie Belle

"And tell scarey stories!" Scootaloo added.

"Well yer gonna have ta get Mason ta agree ta that, youngins... I ain't stayin out by tha fire tonight."

"Eeyyuup" chimed Big Mac.

Three sets of big, shimmering eyes turned to me. I melted under their combined power. "Sure, lets do it!"

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CAMPFIRE YAY!!"

________________________________________________________________________

Apple Bloom could make a really good fire, I found out. She had expertly laid the wood pieces Big Mac and I had cut up from the day's labor into an intricate pattern that burned bright and strong for quite some time. Sweetie Belle had brought a large blanket that was big enough for all four of us to sit on. We laid it out next to a big log for me to lean against and all sat together closely to relax a little ways back from the fire pit. The fire was warm and the summer evening air was too hot to sit very close to it anyways.

The dark had come swiftly that evening as they set things up and now we were alone with only the light of the campfire and the moonlight overhead. All the lights in the barn had gone out some time ago, signaling the turning in of both Granny and Big Mac. I was tired myself, but comfortable and happy to be out here with the three girls.

I listened to them talk with Scootaloo snuggled next to me on my left, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell on my right with Apple Bloom's flank pressed against my hip. Their conversation was about mundane things... School, Thing's they'd done for their cutie marks (they never seemed to tire of this one) and other daily life events. It was like the whole business with Quickfire and The Element of Hate was a non-issue. I was settling down after adding another log when Scootaloo mentioned my wings.

"Mason! What happened to your wings?! They're all messed up!"

"Huh? What are you talking about." I couldn't see them, so I really had no idea.

"Lemmi see em, lay on your front" she commanded me.

I shifted around to lay out on the blanket. Apple Bloom's body was next to my head and from this distance I could see the writing on her cast again. I tried to study the words written there when I felt Scootaloo straddle my butt.

"You need a preening!" she announced. "Look at these feathers... they're all tangled and you haven't even been flying yet!"

"Oh..." I said dumbly.

"What do ya do when ya preen, Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom asked.

"That's when you straighten out your feathers so they aren't tangled. If they're all twisted up, you can't fly right." she said in a educator's voice. "All pegasi need to preen their feathers every day. Otherwise you're a gross matty wing!"

"I don't know anything about that." I admitted.

She laughed. "Of course not, dummy. You only just got them a while ago. Here... lay still and I'll do it for you. Stick one out for me."

I moved my left one out and almost sucked it right back in when I felt her warm breath tickle over the feathers. "Just realx... you'll like this... I promise" her tone was almost seductive.

Her muzzle brushed against the feathers again and I felt her pushing and twisting delicately against the quills. She worked her way along one area, and then started on another. It was incredibly relaxing, almost sensuous in how it felt. Only the sound of the fire crackling could be heard as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom watched her carefully comb through and straighten first one wing, and then the other.

"Why are you smiling like that, Mason?" I heard Sweetie Belle ask. I wasn't even aware I was.

"It feels really good."

"I told ya you'd like it." Scootaloo said with smooth voice.

"I wish I had wings to be preened like that and make smile." Sweetie lamented. "All I got is this stupid horn..."

"At least ya got that" Apple Bloom said quietly.

The experience of Scootaloo combing through my wings had an effect on me. I was very relaxed... and more than a little aroused. "Does it feel good if someone touches your horn?" I asked her as Scootaloo slid off my thighs, allowing me to sit up again.

I could see Sweetie Belle flush at the question, her hoof dug gently at the blanket. "I dunno... nopony's ever touched it like that."

"Maybe you should try it?" I suggested. I didn't know where this was going, but it was interesting.

Her white face gave a questioning look to Apple Bloom and then Scootaloo before she slid closer to me. She was red at the cheeks and she shyly looked at me for a moment before lowering her head a bit. Her two tone mane fell around the small white horn that jutted out from above her forehead. It was about 8 inches long with a spiraling groove that ran up from the base and ended at the pointed top. It sparkled dully in the firelight like there were glitter flecks embedded in it.

I really had not expected her to offer it to me, but I wasn't complaining in the slightest. I reached my hand out and gently placed three fingers on the side of it. It felt hard and bony with a texture like smooth cement. She sighed when I slowly dragged my fingers down and then back up to the tip.

"That kinda does feel good..." she murmured.

I continued to caress her horn for a few moments in silence while the other two watched. Thinking of nothing else, I wrapped my hand around it gently and gave it a couple of slow strokes as if it was my own stiff shaft attached at my waist. Sweetie Belle shuttered and gave a low moan.

"So I guess it does feel good, eh?" I asked her, pulling my hand away.

She didn't say anything, just turned her face back up at me and blinked with her large pale green eyes. I could almost sense her confusion at what to say or what to do. I put a hand on her cheek and smiled. "That's a yes?"

"Yeah..." she breathed. "I... didn't want you to stop..." she looked down again offering me her horn for more attention.

"No fair!" Apple Bloom suddenly cried out next to me. Scootaloo and Mason got wings, Sweetie Belle has a horn... I got nuthin!"

"That's not what you told me the other day!" Scootaloo grinned with an impish delight. Apple Bloom flushed and looked away.

"...Wasn't talkin bout that, now was I." her own hoof kicked at the blanket.

"It's alright. Mason said it's ok... didn't ya mason?" she looked at me. I felt a rush of heat at the direction she was going with this.

"It's true... I did." I shrugged.

Apple Bloom looked at me with her mouth slightly open. Sweetie Belle had recovered enough to ask "Are you talking about that again, Scootaloo?"

"Yeah, why...now you don't wanna?"

She looked down again "I... I'm just all jittery now that... well... now that I know we can."

"You can just watch, Sweetie Belle, You said you wanted..."

A loud shrieking wail sounded just beyond the campfire's light. We all jumped and grouped together in our startled fright, scanning the area for the source. The sound rattled me badly, I'd never heard anything so inhuman in all my life.

"THERE!" Apple Bloom cried out pointing a hoof beyond the flames.

A massive dark shadow moved into the light of the fire, but it didn't become anything else once it did. It loomed over the campfire like a walking black hole, sucking light into it and reflecting nothing, giving no details about what it was made of. It was humanoid shaped in the sense that it had two arms, two legs, a torso and a head. But it's proportions were all wrong. Long dangling arms hung below a waist that was too low to begin with ending in three long points where the hands should be. It's body and head were pinched and narrow, it's neck a thin long reed that looked barely wider than my thumb that swayed the narrow head on top of it in a slow, methodical side to side motion. It was tall, much taller than anything I'd seen when it drew itself up and stepped towards us on stumpy, inky black legs with only flat ends for pads. Two brilliant white angular eyes, small and irregular in shape were the only features it had, and they were fixed on me.

"Run!" I told the girls. "Get in the barn NOW" I scrambled to my feet as the thing took another step closer. It was in front of the fire now, blocking out the light. Again that wailing sound came from it's non existent mouth, almost as if it was heard in my head rather than my ears. I was dimly aware that a warm stream of piss was running down my leg.

One of the long, pointed arms swung out for me and I reeled back, tripping over the log and sliding to my butt on the other side. Forward it came again, reaching now for my foot that I withdrew quickly to scramble with. I saw the girls gain the doorway and run inside to what I hopped was safety when I got to my feet. My mind was scattered by the creature in front of me, fear rolled over me in waves and I found myself unable to think of what to do for a split second as it stepped over the log and reached again.

I jumped into the air, pushing against the ground with my mind to hover just out of reach from the questing, clutching pointed ends of the thing's arm. It regarded me from below, it's head still swaying back and forth like it was considering it's options.

"Can you fly, you fucker!?" I yelled. "What do you want?!"

It didn't speak, it only continued to regard me with those two brilliant white chips of eyes for a moment and then it turned towards the barn, moving at a slow plodding pace.

"No, No, NO" I cried, but unable to think of what to do about it. I cast my eyes around for something.. anything.

A thick branch, just long enough to wield was laying near the wood pile and I swooped over to pick it up, crashing into the ground in a clumsy landing and then leaping up again with it in my hand. As I oriented myself towards the barn, my stomach dropped. All three of the girls were now standing outside lined up with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom facing each other while Sweetie Belle was behind them and in the middle facing the advancing nightmare.

The two on the outside each held something stretchy and elastic in their muzzles between them that was being controlled by Sweetie Belle's magic. Her horn glowed brightly with a pale blue light as she stepped backwards, pulling the makeshift slingshot they had formed tighter with a large heavy rock in the cradle she had made. The thing was ten feet from them when Sweetie Belle fired. The rock sailed true, striking the creature in it's chest.

It disappeared into the apparition. It didn't fly through it, or even have the appearance of ever existing. It was as if the thing had absorbed the rock into itself and now it was right on top of them. They cowered in fear as I dove at it with my club, but I was too far away to get there in time. It's arm reached out and first touched Scootaloo, then Apple Bloom, and then Sweetie Bell as she tried to flee. All three fillies disappeared, their forms sucked into the void of the creature in a blink of an eye, to fast to see clearly in the moonlight.

I couldn't stop my momentum even if I tried. I was going to either bash this things head in, or suffer the same fate as the three girls had and considering the options... I'd take my chances dying. I pulled back and swung just as it turned it's narrow pinched head towards me, the club hit the creature right where the two piercing white eyes were.

The last thing I remembered before waking up on a dirty stone floor was how cold the creature was inside.