The Equestrian

***Introduction***

At first, the deal was going well. The economy of the native Equestrian ponies grew substantially from trading with the humans, and the humans prospered in their new land under the protection of the ponies and Princess Celestia. Because the humans were so well off, their population skyrocketed. Because of this, the land given to them by the ponies became to small to sustain them...

***Part 1: A Forbidden Love***

Celestia set the sun and raised the moon a little earlier that evening. She had a short meeting with government officials in Manehattan who would be arriving shortly.

"Does that mean-"

"That's right, Fives." Twilight answers. "No spell practice tonight. So, what did you boys think of your first day in the palace?"

"This place is awesome!" Spike says gleefully.

Twilight giggles at the dragon's behavior. When he isn't looking, she leans towards her human, Fives feels slight shivers down his back as she leans in closer.

"Tonight... I'm..." She kisses his cheek. "I'm going to-"

Without warning, and without knocking, the door opens quickly, and Silvershield steps into the room. Twilight only has enough time to fall off of the bed.

"Miss Sparkle," The officer says. "I'm here to inspect... Are you alright?"

The purple mare quickly jumps up to her hooves.

"I'm fine, sir." She says with a heavy sigh. "What do you want?"

Silvershield's eyes were darting back and forth between the mare and her boy. Fives' heart was racing. He could almost see the gears turning in the officer's head. He opens is mouth as though he is about to speak, but the happy, little dragon interrupts him.

"Hey, Twilight, Fives, look!" Spike announces.

Spike expels green flames from his mouth, searing Silveshield's tail.The guard steps to the side to further avoid the fire.

"That's great, Spike." Twilight congratulates him.

The Royal Guard's eyes narrow.

"I see everything is in order... I'll take my leave."

"Goodbye, Silvershield." Twilight says.

Using the magic from her horn, she slams the door behind him.

"Jerk..." She mutters.

***Part 2: The Wandering Mind***

Later that evening, Fives had just emerged from the shower, and he was helping Twilight get ready for hers. Spike walks into the bathroom, carrying the bottle of tail conditioner he had purchased from the city earlier that day. He cocks his head when he sees a second bottle already next to the shower handle.

"Hey Twilight, why do you have two bottles of this stuff? I thought you left yours at home." He comments.

Fives freezes, but Twilight sighs calmly.

"Oh, uh, mom brought it while you were gone. I was going to tell you, but I thought it would make you a little agitated."

Spike looks at the bottle in his claws, then back at the bottle Twilight had already brought with her. Luckily, he buys it.

"Oh, ok. I'll be out here." He says as he leaves the bathroom.

With Spike out of sight and earshot, Twilight makes her way to her human and gives him a quick kiss.

"Maybe, I can teach you a little something special when I'm done..." She whispers into his ear.

Fives' heart flutters with excitement.

"S-Sure, Twilight... I should go, now."

Twilight nods, releasing her human. Fives exits the bathroom and joins Spike in the study, just across from the bedroom.

"Hey, Fives." Spike says.

"Hey..." The human replies, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of love and romance.

Spike doesn't seem to notice. He was looking out the window. Fives joins him to see. It was the moon. It had climbed high into the night sky.

"Nice view, huh, Fives?"

Fives was still thinking about his mistress' flank.

"Y-Yeah... Nice view..." He mutters to himself.

His gaze drifts from the night sky to a small desk by the door. On top of it was a sealed letter.

"What's that?" He asks the little dragon.

Spike follows the human's finger to the letter. His eyes widen.

"That's Twilight's assignment, the one I was supposed to turn in to the princess this afternoon! Oh, no... I already told her I delivered it to her... I better run it to Celestia."

Spike rushes to the letter, but Fives gets to it first.

"Don't worry, Spike." He says. "I'll get this to the princess. You just sit tight."

Before the dragon could reply, Fives was put the door and running through the dark corridor.

***Part 3: Killers In The Shadows***

The great halls of Canterlot Palace were almost pitch black in the late hours of the night. Looking back on his decision to run the assignment to Celestia, Fives wished he had asked for a light source. There were too many corridors and too many side hallways. Fives quickly found himself lost in the dark, and there wasn't a single pony in sight to help him find the princess.

"Surly I can find the princess tomorrow, right?" Fives asks himself.

Just as Fives had decided to head back, the temperature drops dramatically, and violent chills roll up his spine. An evil chuckle echoes through the dark halls.

"Well, well, well... Look at what we have here, boys. Miss Sparkle has her slave on a loose leash."

Fives panics as a silver cloud engulfs his neck and lifts him into the air. Silvershield emerges from the shadows, along with half a dozen more guards. Fives is surrounded. With an angry yell, the Sargent throws Fives against the marble wall. He tightens his magical grip around the human's throat.

"T knew I remembered you from somewhere... How could anypony forget Shining Armor's little pet? Ever since I first laid my eyes on you, I have hated you with the deepest of burning passions. You have done nothing but embarrassed me and made me look obsolete!" He hisses. "Now, get this, boys, I have reason to suspect this human trash has a crush on Miss Sparkle!"

The Sargent, along with the other guards break out into laughter. Fives feels himself blacking out as he gasps for air. Silvershield stops laughing and throws Fives into the ground. He drops his hoof onto the human's nose, crushing it, along with his cheeks and jaw. Blood pours from the shattered nose and onto the floor.

"Your entire race is weak..." Silvershield says, using the edge of his hoof to slowly cut Fives' throat. "Your entire kind is pathetic..."

He stomps on Fives' right hand, hard, crushing all of the little bones in his fingers. Fives was in pain. He tries to cry out for help, but his own blood was drowning his lungs.

"I can't do anything about every human slave, but I can make sure you never see the light of day again..." The Sargent promises. "Do you think she loves you? You're her slave, her toy. She would never love you..."

"Sir...." A guard objects. "Don't you think this is going a little-"

The officer kicks the guard who spoke, knocking him to the ground and extracting blood from his shoulder. He limps a few feet away. The other guards take a few steps back.

"Does anypony else have anything to say?" He asks them.

Silvershield turns his attention back to the human, and he sets his hoof on Fives' chest and begins pushing down, breaking his sternum and cracking his ribs.

"You are going to die, you miserable beast..." He snarls. "No pony can save you now..."

As if on que, a booming voice thunders through the hall, and the corridor lights up as though the sun itself was inside the palace.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Celestia demands as she gallops towards the circle of guards with Spike, Shining Armor, and Sky Crawler right behind her.

Silvershield, with his eyes full of fear and panic, backs away from Fives' lifeless body.

"P-Princess... I..."

"You two," Shining Armor addresses two of the guards. "Get this human to the infirmary, now!"

Celestia stands over the human, her eyes full of tears. The guards who were helping Silvershield only moments before, rushed to get Fives to a nurse. Celestia eyes Silvershield.

"Princess," The Sargent objects. "H-He is only a human, a slave-"

"Get out..." She says quietly.

His eyes widen.

"But, Princess, he-"

"GET OUT!" She yells. "GET OUT OF MY PALACE, AND NEVER RETURN!"

Silvershield runs. He sprints down the great corridors and out of the palace, into the night. Celestia was breathing heavily as she chokes back her sobs.

"Get someone to clean this mess, Captain..." She says to Shining. "Spike, you get Twilight and take her to the infirmary. Contact her parents, as well. They need to know what has happened here, tonight."

***Part 4: The Day Of The Dead***

"Hey, you're awake!" A distant voice says excitedly.

Fives' eyes blink open, then they close again just as quickly. It hurt to open his eyes. It hurt to breath. His lungs felt as though they were cut in a thousand places. They burned.

"It's gonna be alright." A soft female voice says. "How do you feel?"

How did he feel? Fives felt like death. He was in so much pain. His neck, his hand, and his chest...

"Here, drink this, if you can."

Fives tries again to open his eyes. The bright light blinds him temporarily, but he regains his ability to see. A white unicorn stood next to his bed. In the grasp of her blue magic aurora, was a glass of water. Fives' eyes dart around the room. He was in an infirmary. The human opens his mouth to speak, but his throat burned.

"Drink this." The nurse orders.

Fives takes the glass with his non-shattered hand and gulps it down. For a brief moment, the water soothed his burning pain. He instantly feels relief. The nurse notices, and she smiles.

"That water is a specially formulated healing agent, saturated with magic from Princess Celestia, herself. It is very rare that she distributes it to anyone. You must be one special human."

Fives quickly finishes the rest of the glass. It was delicious.

"T-Thank you..." Fives groans as he sits up further.

"I'll get you another glass. The princess' instructions were more than clear." She explains as she pours another glass. "'Make sure he is well cared for. Tend to his every need.'" She quotes Celestia. "You took quite a beating, didn't you?"

Fives tried to remember, but all that came to mind was shadow, blood, and pain.

"Your throat was nearly severed in two, your right hand was broken in over thirty-six places, and nine of your ribs were broken. Three of them could not be fixed with all of the healing magic in Equeatria. Princess Celestia did all she could to repair your torn veins and bones. You humans have the most fragile bones..." The nurse says with a heaving sigh.

Fives nearly drops the glass of celestial, healing water. Then, the memories hit him, much like the hoof that broke his body.

"Silvershield..." Fives growls.

"Princess Celestia has ordered for his arrest, and she has Captain Armor leading the search. I wouldn't worry about him."

A rather angry voice gets Fives' attention just outside of the infirmary. It was Twilight's.

"No, you listen!" Her voice echos through the walls. "He is my human, and I demand to see him, now!"

The nurse chuckles.

"She's been by several times, but now that you're finally awake, I'm sure she will have a lot to say to you."

Fives wasn't sure whether to be glad, or terrified.

"Let her in!" The nurse calls to the guard outside.

A second later, the door opens, and Twilight rushes to Fives' side, and throws her hooves around his torso.

"Fives..." Twilight cries as tears stream down her cheeks. "Oh, Fives..."

The hug from his mistress was hurting his many broken ribs and sternum, but he didn't want her to stop. The door opens again, signaling the arrival of a new visitor.

"Your highness..." The nurse says, giving Celestia a slight bow.

"Ah..." Celestia sighs with relief. "He is awake."

She turns to the nurse.

"Thank you for caring for this human. He means a lot to me... and my student." She adds quickly.

"I'm just doing my job, your majesty." The nurse says humbly. "I'll take my leave."

Celestia nods and steps aside to let the nurse pass. Fives was a little sad to see her go.

"You were gone for three days." Twilight moans... "I was so scared..."

"I'm fine, Twilight." Fives protests.

"No, you're not, Fives." Twilight says flatly. "You were dead. Princess Celestia is the only reason you are alive."

Fives cocks his head in confusion. Twilight notices and lowers her gaze.

"The nurse didn't tell you?" She asks.

Fives was lost. He had no idea of what Twilight was getting at. He looks up a Celestia. Her majestic tail was swishing nervously.

"Fives..." Twilight says softly. "You were dead... Your body was broken completely. You..."

She chokes back her sobs. Celestia steps forward to comfort her.

"Fives," Celestia says. "I cannot imagine how hard this must be to hear, but-"

"When can I get back to serving my mistress?" Fives asks, interrupting the princess.

This startles Celestia.

"When can I resume my duties?" He asks again.

Twilight and Celestia were both shocked. Celestia is the first to speak.

"You may return to Twilight as soon as you are ready." She says, at last.

***

"Fives..." Twilight cautions. "Fives, please. You don't need to be doing any work."

The human acted as though he didn't hear her. He continued to lift furniture to clean underneath it.

"Maybe this is how humans deal with post medical stress?" Spike suggests. "I mean, for all we know, Fives could be- Whoa!"

Spike is thrown off his feet as the desk he was sitting on is lifted.

"Fives... Fives. Fives!" Twilight snaps. "Stop this, please. That is an order!"

The human puts the desk back on the ground. It was the first time Twilight had ever given him a direct order out of anger.

"Fives... I..." The purple mare stutters. "Spike, can you leave us for a few minutes?"

"Uh... Sure, Twilight. How many minutes?"

"A few hours." She corrects. "Just go. I need to talk to Fives."

Fives winces. He didn't dare make eye contact with his mistress. Twilight sighs as the door closes behind Spike. Fives was a little scared, to tell the truth.

"Fives, sit down." Twilight says softly.

Fives does as he is told. He could only obey. He carefully makes his way to his bed and sits on the edge.

"Fives... What is it? What is wrong? It's been six days since you got out of the infirmary. The nurse said you were fine. You said you were fine. You are not fine, Fives."

The human looks down at the floor.

"Answer me, please. This isn't you, and I want you back." Twilight pleads.

Fives clenches the fist of his once-broken hand. The more he thought about it, the more it throbbed with pain.

"Is... Is it Silvershield?" Twilight asks.

Fives doesn't answer, but Twilight suspects she may be onto something.

"Don't worry about him, Fives. Every guard under Shining's command is looking for him, and every guard in the palace is here to protect you. I'm here to protect you, and Princess Celestia is here to protect you. Nothing will ever bring you harm again, Fives."

Fives trusted his mistress. He really did, but something kept nagging at his mind. It was something the nurse had said. Celestia... had saved his life. The ruler of Equestria had ordered the nurse to tend to his every need. Why?

***TO BE CONTINUED***