Author's Note

Welcome back all, to another chapter that means more to this story that I hope you all find some part to enjoy. Let's get back to it.

''All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.''

-Martin Buber.

A Road Less Traveled

Time. . .

Crickets chirped, followed by the feral howl of wolves at the eldritch glow of the moon. The rumble of the earth loosened the few misshapen boulders toward the nearby ravine. The water from the stream passed on without issue, the moon's light refracted across every inch.

"Huuawh. . .O-Oh.~'' Duncan slowly began to rouse from his unmoving state. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! Each pulse of his headache echoed akin to a hammer against a steel drum, the screeching, uneven, and long pulses that followed into his brain from his ears urging Duncan to burst his eardrums. His clothes were, torn; skin flared with the smallest movement from each small cut that allowed shards of rock, dust, and leaves in. ''H-Huh?''

''Grrrrrr. . .MMMMMPSH!'' Duncan faintly made out past the whining. . .the sound of sandpaper scratching? A hot huff of air wafted over Duncan before he felt dripping on top of his head. Blips of darkness followed before the sight of a mass of black fur, followed by a lumpish gait. The click-clack of claws on the rocks grew closer and closer. The two pointed ears positioned themselves toward his breathing.

Two brown pupils stared at Duncan.

''F-Fuck!'' Duncan gritted his teeth, the tension in his leg holding dominance along with the fear he felt at the moment. Another growl; it was one that told Duncan it knew. It knew he was there. . .hurt and trying to fight back. Duncan turned over and limped, shimmying back and forth on his cut and damaged arms as the creature growled in retaliation, the pause before it swiped its claw giving him the opportunity to slip down out the way.

''Nggggh!'' Duncan felt the weight of the ground give beneath him, causing him to tumble and roll around, the sharps feeling of something being cut, the growl of the creature being heard not long after.

Duncan's heart pounded with each second; get away. Get away. Survive. Do anything. Rocks, mud, broken twigs mattered little unless it could help kill this thing. Past the trees, in barely visible sight, was a crevice. It looked small enough. Duncan hoped it would be enough.

Though so far away.

Another few gruesome seconds passed by with Duncan's limping, each inch of his body shaking and the lack of response from some of his limbs not responding due to the fear that consumed every inch of his being. The creature's presence afflicted Duncan for one reason. One that seemed to worsen the more he was able to coherently think about it:

Was it intelligent enough to know he was struggling to get away?

Another swift breath followed along with a blob of spit that landed on Duncan's head. The creature seemed to play with Duncan, nipping at his feet when he tried to kick it away, only to hear growling. . .as if it was laughing? The distant howl of wolves in the background mattered little to the human; any sound, any sight, anything that would fail to help him escape would-

''-AHHHHHGGGNNGH!'' Duncan shrieked in the air, the gurgle of blood following nearly causing him to choke if he didn't manage to hock it onto the ground in time. Its thick claws punctured his damaged leg, close to the thigh. His hands grasped over and over at random, the adrenaline in his body soon giving way and stopping his advance. Duncan could feel himself being turned over by the creature's claw, his exhale being more making to a sputter of air.

Those same brown eyes stared back at Duncan again, the almost child-like mirth in them helping to confirm a bit more than whatever this thing was; it certainly was enjoying playing with its food before eventually killing it. If his death were to come at a time such as this, then he would ensure it would get a fight out of him, if nothing else. Another growl followed as he was able to get a somewhat better look at the face of the creature that would surely do him in.

Duncan felt around, grasping a medium-sized rock that he would do something, only if it would make his end come all the more quickly. He would only have one chance to do something, or it could all be over.

The dots in his vision began to get worse and worse, building up until Duncan could no longer see and used the last bit of strength in his arm to swing with all his might, his curdling scream followed.

Though he felt no contact, but only heard the one word that gave him a tidbit of hope as the pain caused him to pass out.

''Duncan!''

Luna pushed the creature away from Duncan with all of her might, barely coming to his rescue after the events of Nightmare Night that ended in the two having to flee, due to the treachery of ponies. The ponies claimed to have a love for her and her sister. The ponies who showed her some form of care.

Only for Rainbow Dash for slander her name with lies.

''Heh. . .'' Luna heard the creature. . .laugh? It stood up after being tackled, rising to a standing position standing on its rear paws and folding the top two in a show of dominance of sorts. The more Luna was able to see, the creature's true identity became clear to her. ''Stand down, little pony; if you know what's good for you.''

Luna gritted her teeth, her left forehoof aching though she did her best to remain strong. The thrumming headache failed to help. This thing was certainly intelligent enough that chose to play with Duncan versus outright killing him, which begged the question as to why. ''No.''

A deep chuckle came from the creature, a sneer appearing on its pointed snout, showing the few misshapen teeth that were either darkened or goldened. A consistent thicket of smoke rose from his breath into the air, the creature's shape seeming to increase to twice its size. ''Good.'' Luna felt the air in her lungs forcefully be ejected as the creature somehow jumped forward further than her eye could accurately track, the massive paw curled up and launching Luna into the air, the change in gravity making her organs shift about before she plummeted back towards the earth.

''Rah!'' Luna nearly felt her head dislocate from her body as the creature struck again, driving its paw in her face as she was driven into the ground, sharp rocks and sticks covering Luna's body. The creature only seemed to be more amused as Luna slid to a stop near Duncan. ''Heh. . .long way from home, aren't you?''

Luna heaved, attempting to regain her breath as the force from this creature's punch must have jostled a few of her organs out of place. Something was definitely off, though Luna couldn't tell right away. Her mind swam with ripples of pain, coming out in hoof stomping grunts. In the middle of all those feelings came another. One that she seldom experienced personally. Celestia was the last that ignited even the smallest spark of it.

Duncan, no doubt felt it come to him before she managed to come to his rescue, and possibly even from his time being the punching for her sister from what she was told at the time.

Fear.

''W-Why do you f-fight us? What a-are your intentions?'' Luna asked. The creature chuckled once again, sitting on its bottom as it stared at Luna with a cold, calculating gaze. The painfully slow blink of its eye was met with Luna's own eyelids frantically struggling to close and open at a consistent pace, only for the injuries she sustained so far to impede it. ''T-Tell me your name.''

''Survive long enough, and you may get an answer to your first question. . .'' the creature hummed, rubbing its chin with its paw, pausing to wiggle its claws. ''For the second; I have none.'' Luna tensed once again, seeing its eyes narrow. ''Don't blink.''

''NGGNGHH!'' Luna flew back, her back nearly hitting the opening in the crevice as the creature walked forward, a sinister smile on its face. Breath in, breath out. In and out, in and out.

Fight. Fight. Luna had to. She was too old, and too young to die in a forest. There were too many questions, and not enough answers. Duncan. . .a Human. Brought into this world on essentially a whim, and Celestia. . .

Rainbow Dash.

''I shall have my answers! One way or the other!'' Luna roared, a burst of strength coursing through her body, her small amount of focus hopefully being enough to turn the tide.

''Come!'' the creature dashed forward on all fours, each second seeming to drag on as Luna's fear was blanketed over by her intense need to survive. Nothing else mattered. Luna would do everything in her power to see what would come after.

And there would be something after this.