A New Life

Without thinking I ran towards the two mares, startling Rarity and the Crusaders. The mares in danger still seemed oblivious, but the mint one suddenly looked up, and screamed. The white mare looked up too, her face showing panic, but she didn't scream. The crate was around 12 metres above them now, it would reach them in a matter of seconds.

Two seconds later and I reached them, "Look out!" I shouted, my voice coming out more rough then I expected.

I leaped, and using both of my forelegs, I managed to hook both of them. We flew roughly about two metres, before hitting the ground with a thud. We lay there, with the two mares on either side of me.

I got up instantly after we landed. The two mare stuck their heads up. I ran and put my body in front of them, blocking the view of the crate, trying to use my body to sheild them.

"Heads down!" I ordered.

Just as I got the words out, I heard a loud crashing noise, along with the sickeningly loud sound of wood being split apart.

Chunks of wood sprayed out everywhere, along with dust and rocks. I stood in front of the two mares, eyes closed, and hoping for the best outcome.

A second later, the dust had settled and everypony was in the same position. I looked at the crate. It was roughly three metres away, now reduced to a pile of broken wood, with barely a crate remaining. Many cement blocks lay around the pile, and I could safely assume that was what was inside the crate. Good thing I helped! I could imagine what would have happened if a crate full of those landed on a pony!

I looked over the pile at Rarity and the fillies, they all had shocked expressions on their faces. They were a fair further distance than I was, so I assumed that no wooden spikes hadn't reached them.

I looked next to me at the two mares, "You alright?" I asked, my voice a little rough, but not threatening.

The mint one managed a nod, but she still had a shocked expression on her face. The white one also had a shocked expression on her face. Likely still trying to process what happened, as it all happened in an instant.

I moved away from the two mares to give them a little space, they stood up and looked at the pile of wood, and had a look of horror as they probably realized what almost happened to them.

I looked around as I heard a noise, Rarity had run up beside me, along with the Crusaders. She had a look of concern on her face, along with shock at what had just happened.

"Forest! Are you all right?" she started, before looking at my side and gasping. The Crusaders were looking at my side too, wide eyed.

I looked down at my left side, a large wooden chunk stuck out of my shoulder, a little blood around the wound. Strangely, it didn't hurt.

It must have reached the bone, because it appeared to be in deep. Although, I was lucky it had hit the shoulder, a few inches higher and to the right, and it would have gone straight into my throat. A few inches to the left, and it could have gone through my ribs and into my lungs.

I looked further and a smaller piece of wood was lodged into my flank, below my cutie mark.

I looked at her, "I'm fine", was my only response.

I looked down again at the large spike, and I realized I could probably reach it. I opened my mouth and bit down on the wood, giving one hard jerk, I felt pain as I pulled the whole thing out of my shoulder. A little bit of blood spurt out, and the blood started to flow freely down my shoulder, down my foreleg.

Rarity gasped again, but I thought she was just being dramatic. I looked to the ground in front of me, and spit out the chunk of wood I held in my mouth.

I turned around again to look at the other wound, I couldn't reach it.

I turned to Rarity, "Can you pull out the other one?" I asked

She hesitated, but then another voice came from my other side, "I got it".

I turned around to see the mint coloured mare, she walked up with her white friend. She then walked around me to my left side. Now that she was up close, I noticed she was a unicorn. Her horn lit up in her aura, and the wooden spike on my flank lit up too.

"Just give one good pull", I instructed. She nodded, and I gave a quiet yelp as I felt the spike being pulled out of me. Then the wound started bleeding down my back leg.

"Ah, thanks", I said to her.

She looked like she was going to respond when a loud slam interupted her, I turned around to see Twilight standing a several metres away, by the open door of Sugar Cube Corner, she had a suprised look as she noticed the pile of wood and cement blocks. She walked over to us, and I noticed more ponies coming out of the store, Pinkie Pie came out first, followed by a yellow stallion I hadn't seen before. Mrs Cake came out, staying close to the yellow stallion, then Fluttershy came out next, looking terrified, probably because of the loud noises.

"What happened? Is everypony alright?" she asked, still in slight shock.

"Yeah, everypony's fine, there was a delivery pony, and a crate fell out of the sky", I tried to sum up as quick as possible.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so, so sorry! I just don't know what went wrong!" I heard from my left side, I looked around to find a gray and blonde

Pegasus, dressed in a mailpony's outfit. Ah, so that's who was up there.

"Don't worry, nopony was hurt", I tried to assure her.

She walked up closer to me, eyes filled with sadness. Wait, now that I noticed, her eyes looked a little unnatural. Wall eyed, was the word I think.

"Except you, you got hurt", she said, like she was about to start crying.

"Not really, It's just a flesh wound, you should apologize to.." I trailed off as looked around at the two mares. The white one had since walked around to my left side to join her mint coloured friend.

"Lyra Heartstrings", The mint one told me, "And Bon Bon", she said, using a hoof to gesture to her friend. I nodded. Then turned back to the gray Pegasus.

"You need to apologize to them, they almost got really hurt", I said. Not true, they likely would have been instantly killed. But I wasn't going to say that to her, especially with the look on her face.

She turned to the two mares, "I'm so sorry guys, I don't know what went wrong", she apologized.

"It's fine Derpy, we're just lucky that this guy was here", Bob Bon said, gesturing to me.

"Forest", I told them my name.

"Well Forest, thanks for saving us", Lyra said.

I didn't answer her immediately, I guess I did save their lives, If the crate hit them, well...

I nodded to her, "No problem", I responded.

I turned to Mrs Cake, surprising her a little, "Um, have you got a tap or a hose?" I asked.

The yellow stallion answered for her, "There's one beside the shop", he said. He looked about the same age as Mrs Cake, so this was probably Mr Cake.

"Thanks", I said, before standing up and walking over to the shop.

I was aware of some ponies standing by, looking at the broken pile of wood. I wasn't sure if anypony saw everything that happened.

I walked over to the side of the shop, sure enough there was a hose, connected to a tap on the outside wall. I picked up the end of the hose with my mouth, and then used my hooves to turn the tap. Water started spraying out of the nozzle, and I pointed the hose at my left shoulder, and my foreleg, trying to wash some blood away.

After I decided it was clean enough, I then pointed the hose at my flank.

After about a minute of washing, I decided that I had washed most of the blood away. I turned off the tap and dropped the hose on the ground.

My left side was now soaking wet, but at least not with blood.

I walked back towards the group, they seemed to be talking, probably about what just happened.

This isn't what I wanted, I just wanted to see the castle, go home, play my guitar for a bit, then help set up the party.

Everypony started at me as I walked back, and I suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

I walked up to Rarity and stood next to her, making sure my wet side was not near her. I could imagine what she would do to me if I got blood or water on her.

"What happened up there?", I asked to the gray Pegasus, Derpy was it? What a strange name.

She turned to me, her face not as sad as before, "Um, I don't know, everything was going fine, until it started shaking, then a crate fell off", she explained.

I noticed Sweetie Belle walk to my left side, she looked at my side with concern.

"Does it hurt?" She asked.

"Nah, It's not that bad", I said.

"We should probably go cover it with something", Apple Bloom suggested, walking up next to Sweetie. Scootaloo followed.

"Yes, we should probably leave", I heard from Rarity, "We will see you all tonight", she said.

After we started walking away, I turned my head to look at Rarity, she did the same to me.

"Thanks for getting us out of there, I didn't want to deal with that right now", I thanked her.

She smiled gently at me, "That was a very heroic thing you did", she complimented me.

I looked away, "Don't you start, It was just the right thing to do, that was all it was", I tried to defend myself.

She smirked and didn't respond.

We kept walking until we reached the castle. It was huge, and appeared crystal like.

"Whoa, she lives her?" I asked in awe.

Rarity giggled, "Yes dear, and she barely uses any of it, that's why she is happy with the party in here", she said, then walked over to the door,

"Do you wish to come in?" she asked politely. She opened the door with her telekinesis.

"You serious?" I asked.

Sweetie Belle walked over to her sister with a happy grin and walked straight in, followed closely by Apple Bloom. Scootaloo walked over a second later a little hesitant.

I walked over to Rarity, and looked at her with an unsure expression, before walking inside.

I was greeted by a huge room, filled with shelves of books.

Rarity walked up next to me and giggled at my jaw hanging open. I closed it instantly and looked down. The Crusaders walked straight ahead with complete confidence.

I shot a glance at Rarity before continuing forward, and I was aware of her following me.

We entered an arch, that led into a hallway. Multiple arches lined the hallway, leading into rooms. At the end of the hallway was another arched gap.

We walked into the arch, a strange table sat in the centre of the room, surrounded by thrones. I kept walking towards the table, and I now saw a holographic map on top. I looked at the thrones again, each had a symbol on them. I took a closer look, each was a cutie mark! I looked at all the marks, five I could recognize, the sixth seemed to be a rainbow thunderbolt, coming out of a cloud. I guess that one's Rainbow Dash.

The fillies each sat on a throne, Scootaloo on Rainbow Dash's, Apple Bloom on Applejack's, and Sweetie sitting on Rarity's throne. They looked at the map and were searching it for something.

I turned to Rarity, who had walked up beside me, "What is this place?" I asked.

She turned her gaze to me, and started staring into my eyes. She seemed to be lost in thought as she spent a couple seconds just staring into my eyes. Uh, this is weird.

"Uh, Rarity?" I asked confused.

She seemed to just realize she had been staring at me for a couple seconds, and she looked away blushing, "Ah, sorry, I was just, um, lost in thought", she explained.

"What is this place?" I asked again.

She collected herself and smiled at me again, "This is the map, let me explain", she said as she walked towards the table. I followed shortly afterwards.

We both stood next to the table, a three dimensional, hologram map of Equestria was on the table. I am never going to understand how magic works.

"Do you know about Tirek?" she asked.

"Yeah", I responded.

"Well, there was a chest in the Everfree Forest, once we unlocked it, we had the power to defeat Tirek. Then afterwards, the chest came to Ponyville and planted itself in the ground, then the castle formed", she explained. "The map tells us wherever there is a friendship problem we need to solve", she explained further. There was probably more to the story, but that wasn't important.

"I see, and-", I started before I was interrupted.

"Rarity!?" I heard in a high pitched male voice.

We were looking at the table as she explained, and I had to look up to see where the noise came from. A little purple and green shape was coming down a large set of stairs. What is that thing?

He ran towards Rarity, and gave her foreleg a hug.

"Hello Spikey-Wikey", Rarity calmly greeted. The little purple guy stepped back and gave an embarrassed smile.

"Hi Rare! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be showing that new guy around town? Y'know the one who saved your sister...", he trailed off and looked past Rarity at me. His eyes were wide as he stared at me. Is he a dragon? Definitely not full grown, he's only around a foot tall. Why does Twilight have a dragon in her castle?

"Um, hi", I managed to get out.

"Spike, this is Forest", Rarity said to Spike.

"Oh, you're the new guy", he suddenly realized, "I'm Spike, nice to meet ya", he said, and held his hand out.

I held out my hoof and we shook. It felt weird with his fingers and claws around my hoof.

He took his hand back, then glanced at my left side, "Whoa dude, what happened to you?", he said concerned.

"Ah, it's nothing, just um, somepony..." I trailed off as I tried to figure out the best way to explain, "A Pegasus dropped a crate from the sky, and I just got hit by some wooden chunks that, uh, sprayed". I said.

Spike looked shocked, but I heard Sweetie Belle talk, "Pfft, he 'forgot' the part where he saved Lyra and Bon Bon's lives", she said amused. Emphasizing the 'forgot' part.

Spike looked at me, "Ha, you've been here two days, and you've saved three pony's lives, I'm impressed", he said.

I didn't know how to respond, so I just looked at my hooves and sighed, and I looked back up as Spike started talking again.

"So, what are you doing here at the castle?" Spike asked to me.

Rarity answered for me, "We wanted to show him the castle, so he knows where to go tonight for the party", she replied.

Spike nodded in understanding, "Hey Rarity, are you going to the party?", he asked.

Rarity looked back in slight surprise, before smiling again, "Of course, why wouldn't I?" She said.

I interrupted before Spike could answer, "Hey Spike, do you know what time the party's supposed to start? I want to help set it up", I asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure it starts at eight, If you want to come and help, that'd be great", he said. Ha, that rhymed.

I nodded, satisfied, "Sure, I'll come around at six and help", I said.

There was an awkward moment of silence, until Rarity spoke, "We should probably go now, we still got a couple hours before the party", she said.

Spike looked sad, before collecting himself and smiling, "Sure, see you tonight Rarity", he said, "Oh, and everypony else", he said, seemingly remembered the rest of us existed.

The three fillies got out of the throne and snickered at Spike. Then walked towards the exit, followed them next, giving a nod to Spike as I left.

Me and the Crusaders stood outside of the castle, after a couple seconds, Rarity came out.

We all started walking again, I turned to Rarity, "Hey, um, where are we going now?" I asked.

"Well, I was going to drop you back to your hotel, and then the fillies and I were going to go back to the boutique", she explained, "Applejack and Rainbow Dash are supposed to arrive later, and we were all going to walk to the party together", she finished.

"Alright", I replied.

We walked for a couple minutes, before we reached my hotel. We stood outside the building, and I turned my head to the right to look at Rarity, "Um, can I ask for your help?" I asked politely.

She turned her head to me, she looked slightly surprised, and then curious, "With what?" she questioned.

"Um, I want to get these wounds dressed, but I can't reach the back one. I was hoping you could help me with it", I asked.

She considered it for a second, before turning to me and smiling, "If you need help, then yes", she responded.

"Thanks", I said to her, I looked back at the fillies, who were waiting patiently. They all seemed to perk up as I looked at them.

"We need to go inside for a sec, are you coming?" I asked.

They considered it, then Apple Bloom nodded, "Sure, we trust ya", she said. Trust me? All we're doing is going into my hotel room. Although I have only known them for a day.

I nodded, and turned forward again, and walked towards the room, with the others following.

I opened my door, the number 1 labeled on it. My room was the same as I left it, my bag and jacket lay on the floor. The room was not very impressive, but I'm not complaining.

Simple wooden floorboards, and a gray wall of plaster. A simple bed was in the right corner of the room.

I turned around to Rarity, who had a shocked look on her face, "This is where you live!?" she asked.

"Yeah, I know it's not very impressive, but it's got running water", I said.

Rarity looked at me with more shock, "Do you have electricity?" she asked.

I looked away from her, "Uh, no", I said, but then I tried to change the topic, "Anyways, I'll go get the, uh, dressing", I declared.

I walked to the bathroom quickly so she couldn't say anything else, the bathroom had a simple sink, and a mirror cabinet. There was a shower

in the corner, but it was nothing more than a shower head, and a drain in the ground. A toilet sat in the opposite corner.

I walked over to the mirror cabinet and opened it, I searched around, and found two big pads. The plastic covering said, 'Sterile Wound Dressing'.

I put them in my mouth an exited the bathroom. The other ponies were around the room, Rarity was levitating my jacket, inspecting it. Sweetie Belle was sitting on my bed with Scootaloo, but Apple Bloom was looking at my guitar, which was leaning against the wall.

Rarity looked at me as I walked back into the room, but didn't say anything.

I walked over to Apple Bloom, who turned to me when I walked over, "You play guitar?" she asked, a little surprised.

I pushed the dressings to the corner of my mouth so I could talk, "Yeah, for a long time", I replied.

"Ma sis used to play guitar, but she hasn't for a while", she commented.

"Do you know how to play?" I asked.

"Nah, I never really took an interest in it, but Sweetie Belle can sing pretty good, she's the musician in the group", Apple Bloom said smiling.

Sweetie Belle walked over, "Yeah! I love to sing, It's on my Cutie Mark", she reported.

I looked at her mark, and noticed that inside the badge was a musical note, with a star beneath it.

"Forest, can you please play a song? I'll sing with you", she asked.

I gave a nervous laugh, "I don't know.." I said.

Sweetie Belle then pulled a sad face, her puppy-dog eyes pleading with me. Apple Bloom grinned at me, amused by my struggle to resist the cuteness. Scootaloo still sat over on the bed, grinning at me.

I sighed, "If you want-", I gave in. Before I got cut off by her excited squee.

But I interrupted her interruption,"Hey! After we get these, 'things', covered", I said.

She nodded smiling, obviously happy that she was victorious.

I turned to Rarity and she gave me a knowing smirk, "I know, It's hard to resist them sometimes", she said.

"Yeah, ok, can you put these things on now?" I asked politely.

She nodded and used her telekinesis to pull on the bags in my mouth. I didn't let go though, instead I bit hard on the end and ripped the bag open. She took the bags and I was left with plastic in my mouth.

I spat the plastic on the ground, and turned my left side to face her. She levitated the first pad out of the bag, and sent it over to me. She pressed it firm against my shoulder.

After the pressure stopped I felt a second pad being pushed against the top of my back leg. After a second, Rarity pulled away. I looked at her,

"Thanks", I said.

She nodded and I walked back to the fillies, Apple Bloom and Sweetie were sitting patiently next to each other. I walked towards the guitar and wrapped a foreleg around it. I slumped awkwardly against the wall, and put the guitar in playing position. Rarity walked over and stood next to Apple Bloom, watching me.

"Okay", I said to Sweetie Belle, "What do you want to sing?"

"Um...", she said. I guess she hadn't thought about it.

I tried to think of a song that she would know. A song that everypony would know. My mind turned up blank. Then I remembered.

"Oh wait! I've got one!" I said. Sweetie Belle perked up instantly.

"I'll sing first, and then join me after you know the words", I ordered.

I started strumming, the soft guitar calming me down, I closed my eyes, and pretended I was all by myself, like I was the only pony in the universe.

And then I started singing.

"Little filly, little filly, don't lie to me, tell me where did you sleep last night"

"In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines, will shiver the whole night through"

"Little filly, little filly, don't lie to me, tell me where did you sleep last night"

"In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines, will shiver the whole night through"

"You've caused me to weep you've caused me to mourn, you caused me to lose my home"

"In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines, will shiver when the cold wind blows"

I finished strumming and opened my eyes, everypony in the room was looking at me with surprise, Rarity's mouth open wide.

Uh oh, did I do something wrong? I took out the part about a stallion who got his head cut off by a train, I figure the fillies didn't want to hear about that. The song itself was an old folk song, I don't know where it actually came from.

Sweetie Belle spoke first, "Wow Forest, we didn't expect you to be so..." she started, "Good", she finished.

Now it was my turn to be suprised, "Wha-Really?" I asked.

"Why, if we didn't already have a bass singer, I would make you join the PonyTones!", Rarity said happily. So many things in that sentence confused me.

"Yeah, you don't exactly look like the singing type", Scootaloo commented. So what type am I then?

"Well ma brother doesn't look like the singin' type, and he is the bass singer of the PonyTones!" Apple Bloom said to Scootaloo. I still don't know what that is. Wait, Apple Bloom and Applejack have a brother?

"Um ok, Sweetie, do you want to sing now?" I tried to change the conversation.

She looked excitedly at me, and grinned, "Yes!" she exclaimed.

I closed my eyes again and started strumming, then singing. With Sweetie Belle joining in this time.

I stood outside the castle, it was still light outside, but the sky had started turning orange. Which would then turn into black.

I walked up to the door and knocked three times. I waited a couple seconds before it opened. A little purple and green dragon stood at the doorway, with the door still in hand. He looked up at me, and gave him a polite smile and nod.

"Ah! Forest, here to help set up right?" He asked.

"Yep", I said.

"Ok, follow me then", she said and walked back into the castle. I followed him.

I found myself in a familiar hallway, with many arches that led into other rooms. The map room's doors were closed, so I guess that's not where the party is being held. I doubt that many ponies are even allowed in there, so I was probably very lucky.

We walked into an arch that was on the left side of the hallway, and I found myself in a large room, but then again, all the rooms in this place were probably huge.

Pinkie Pie was standing in the centre of the room, facing away from me as she looked to be inspecting the room. Twilight stood next to her, also looking away from me. It appeared they were looking at the same thing. There were two boxes in the corner, I could assume they were filled with party supplies.

"Uh, Twilight?" Spike asked, interrupting the silence. The two mares jumped, and turned around, surprise on both of their faces. Weird, I never thought Pinkie's face was unable of showing emotion apart from pure joy.

But they seemed to calm down after they realized it was me, "Ah", Twilight said, "Forest, Spike said you were coming to help", she said.

Pinkie gave an excited squee, that seemed more like her, "Hi Forest! We could always use more help", she said happily, although everything she says seems to be happy.

"What would you like me to do?" I asked politely.

Pinkie didn't hesitate, "There's a box at Sugarcube Corner that has some party supplies, I couldn't bring it over with the others because it's really heavy, I was going to get Twilight to go get it, but her magic will be handy to hang the rest of the supplies, if you could go get the box, that'd be great", she finished, her smile never faltering. How the heck does she talk like that without breathing?

I nodded and walked out of the room, then down the hallway. I walked outside and felt the cold winter air infiltrate my lungs. It was a pleasant feeling, It left a cold chill in your body, which felt refreshing and regenerating.

The sky was a little more orange then when I walked in, but it was still fairly light outside.

I started walking in the direction of the town square, where Sugarcube Corner was.

After a couple minutes I arrived at Sugarcube Corner, It was closed by now. There were a few ponies who I didn't know that were walking around.

A cardboard box sat in front of the door, and I could safely assume that was the right box. Isn't a little risky leaving it out here? Actually, most of the ponies in this town probably know each other, and I doubt anypony dare steal from an Element of Harmony.

Now, whats the best way to move this thing? I walked to the other side of the box and notice an inch-thick bundle of rope. That'll work.

After a minute I had rope wrapped around the box. I bit onto a piece of rope and lifted the box into the air. It was a decent weight, but nothing I couldn't handle.

I walked away from the shop with the rope in my mouth, and headed towards the castle.

The town square was mostly stores and stalls, I now walked down a street with houses. I continued walking down the street, when suddenly I heard a noise from behind me.

"Hey wait!" I heard in a mare's voice. Is she talking to me?

I didn't stop walking, but I looked back to find the gray Pegasus I had seen before, Derpy?

She scrambled towards me and started walking next to me.

"Hi! You're the stallion from before, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, um, is your name Derpy?" I asked, My voice a little muffled from carrying the rope in my mouth. I found that as a really weird name, why would you call your kid Derpy?

She smiled, and looked happily at me, at least, I think she was looking at me, it was kind of hard to tell, "Yup! Derpy or Muffins, most ponies call me Derpy", she said cheerfully. Muffins made a little more sense, but if everypony called her Derpy, then I guess I will too.

"Ok, can I help you with anything?" I asked politely.

She hesitated, "Actually, I just wanted to talk", she said nervously. I should probably make an attempt to be friendly.

"Sure", I replied, I looked forward again.

She relaxed again, "Um, what are you doing?" She asked, looking at the box and rope I was carrying.

"I'm getting some stuff for the party at Twilight's castle, are you going?" I asked, and looked at her for the last bit.

She hesitated, "Um, I was invited, but I don't know if I'll go", She said, looking slightly sad.

"Why not?" I asked.

She sighed, "I'm really clumsy, If I go, I'll probably screw up the party somehow", she said.

"You should come", I said.

She looked at me surprise, "But what if I ruin the party?" she asked.

I chuckled, which surprised her, "You won't ruin the party, would Pinkie Pie invite you if she thought you would?" I said.

She looked even more surprised, before looking thoughtful, she then turned to me with a happy smile on her face, "You're right!" she exclaimed.

I smiled gently, satisfied that I had cheered her up again, "So you'll come?" I asked.

She grinned, "Yep! Thank you Forest!", she said.

A second later she flew away. I looked forward again, and I smiled as I walked back to the castle.

I entered the arch, Twilight and Pinkie were still in the room, hanging decorations. A table was in the centre of the room. Balloons were floating on the ceiling, there appeared to be a DJ booth in the front of the room. I noticed Spike sitting on a couch, eating what appeared to be a bowl of... gems? Oh right, dragons eat gems.

I let out a cough to announce my presence. Everypony, and dragon, turned around at the noise, then I set the box on the ground.

"Hi Forest! You got the supplies!" Pinkie said excitedly.

Pinkie bounced over smiling, while Twilight simply walked over, Spike stayed where he was, and just continued eating.

Twilight opened the box and levitated the contents, multiple soda bottles, flashy lights and a bucket of confetti.

"How many ponies are coming?" I asked to Pinkie Pie.

"Oh around 30" she said, Whoa, thirty ponies in one room, although it was a huge room.

I nodded, "Need me to do anything else?" I asked.

She thought about it, "Hmm, you could help us hang the rest of the decorations", she said. She seems oddly serious when it comes to setting up parties, I bet that changes during the party itself though.

"Sure", I replied.

Twilight set down the confetti bucket and the soda bottles, she kept the light in her magic. It was one of those things that spins around and flashes colours. The name escapes me though, I could ask Pinkie, but it's not important.

"Twilight, you set up the lights, Forest you take the soda to the table, I'll set up the confetti cannon", Pinkie said. Yep, serious about parties. Wait, confetti cannon?

We spent about an hour setting up for the party, when we had finished, the room looked party perfect. Coloured lights flashed through the room, the table was filled with drinks and food. Balloons and streamers decorated the place. And music would be provided by a DJ who was coming.

I sat on the couch next to Spike, who was happy chewing on gems. I turned to Pinkie who was carefully inspecting her uh, confetti cannon.

"You're going full out on this party thing, huh?" I asked to Pinkie.

She looked up from her cannon and looked at me and smiled, "I love parties! I don't know if anypony told you this, but I'm the Party Planner for all of Ponyville!" She happily declared.

I just nodded, not really feeling like talking.

Suddenly there was a loud knocking from outside the room. Maybe somepony had arrived early? Everypony in the room looked up at the noise. I shot up out of the couch, and walked at a fast pace to the front door.

I opened the door and I was greeted by a white mare, she had a blue mane, but the thing I noticed first were her purple sunglasses.

"Um, hi, are you here for the party?" I asked.

She looked at me curiously for a second, "You're the new guy right?" she asked curiously.

"Yep", I responded.

"I'm Vinyl Scratch, but you may know me better as the famous Dj-Pon-3", she said proudly.

Who? "Um, ok, come in", I said, and held the door open for her.

She walked in, I noticed she was a unicorn, and her horn was glowing. Confused I looked behind her, to see multiple large cases floating in the air behind her.

I ran to catch up to her, and started walking beside her.

I turned my head to her as we walked, "So, your Dj-ing the party?" I asked.

"Yeah, I would never miss a Pinkie Pie party!" she declared. I nodded and looked forward again.

We entered the party room, "Hi Vinyl!" Pinkie shouted a greeting.

"Hey", Vinyl replied calmly.

"Hello Vinyl, the Dj booth's over there if you want to get set up", Twilight pointed out politely.

"Yeah, thanks", Vinyl replied.

Vinyl walked over to the Dj booth, carrying the cases with her, Pinkie followed her, bouncing. I realized there was nothing else I could really do, so I sat back down on the chair with Spike. I looked over at Spike who was still eating from his small bowl of gems. I considered talking with him about the gems.

"Hey Spike, what do they taste like to you?" I asked, trying to sound polite. He looked at me for a second, before turning back to his bowl.

"It depends on the gem, all of them taste sweet, but they all have different flavours", he explained, he held up a green gem, "This one tastes like lime", he said before flicking it into his mouth, he picked up another gem, a red one this time, "The red ones usually tastes like raspberry", he explained before flicking that one into his mouth.

I nodded, and rested my head on the arm chair, waiting for something to happen.

Fifteen minutes had passed and I was still in the almost exact same position.

I was thinking heavily for the last fifteen minutes, about my past, and about the future.

I've never had many friends before, and now I'm suddenly becoming friends with everypony.

Spike had finished his bowl soon after I asked him about the gems, and I think he fell asleep five minutes ago, because I could hear heavy snoring. What was the time? I looked at the clock, half past seven. Still half an hour before the party even starts, although I assume that some ponies are going to arrive early.

As if on cue I heard a knock on the front door. I shot out of the couch again, and raced towards the door. I opened the front door. Outside stood Rarity, Applejack, and a rainbow mare I didn't recognize. But I could take a guess that it was Rainbow Dash.

"Hey", I greeted them, then I opened the door wide for them to enter. Rarity walked in first, and Sweetie Belle followed next. Sweetie Belle? What was she doing here?

Sweetie Belle gave my foreleg a hug as she walked in, "Hi Forest!" she squealed out.

Applejack walked in next, and gave me a knowing grin as Sweetie hugged me.

Sweetie Belle let go of my leg, and scampered over to her sister. Rainbow Dash came in next, with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom following her. Why were the fillies-, oh wait, yeah Rarity said they were all coming together, I guess that included the fillies too.

I turned around to face the mares, who were all looking at me. Rainbow Dash stepped forward and raised an eyebrow at me, "So you're Forest?" she asked, she had a slight smile.

I nodded, "Yep", I replied.

She looked me up and down, and then grinned at me, she stuck out a foreleg, "Rainbow Dash, best flier in all of Equestria", she announced herself.

"Forest", I told her, and I also stuck my foreleg out, and we shook hooves.

We put our forelegs down, "I'll take you to everypony else", I offered. Then I walked down the hallway, with everypony else following.

I entered the room, Twilight glanced curiously at me, probably wondering who showed up. Then she smiled warmly as her friends entered the room. I let them do their thing and I walked back over to the couch, where Spike lay snoring. The mare's stood a couple meters away, all talking about something. It was none of my business, so I didn't eavesdrop.

I wonder if I should wake Spike up or not. I looked at the little guy, he seemed happy. Nah, better just let him sleep.

Sweetie Belle ran up to me and jumped up on the couch next to me.

"Careful", I whispered to her, "Spike's sleeping", I warned.

She glanced at Spike then back to me, she giggled.

"He sleeps like a rock, should we wake him? He'd love to see Rarity", she whispered back to me.

I looked confused at her, "Wouldn't he be happy to see everypony? Why did you just say Rarity?" I asked, making sure to keep whispering.

She looked at the group of mares, they were busy talking to each other. Pinkie was still over at the Dj booth, probably annoying the hell out of Vinyl.

She looked back at me, "Come closer", she whispered. I turned my head to point my ear in her direction as I moved my head closer.

She practically pressed her muzzle against my ear as she whispered, "Spike likes Rarity", she whispered.

I pulled away instantly and looked at her in surprise, "Really?" I barely remembered to whisper. Then I thought about how he acted around Rarity when I first met him.

She nodded, "I think everypony knows, Rarity might even know herself, but she hasn't acknowledge it", Sweetie Belle explained.

I smiled at Sweetie Belle, "That actually makes a lot of sense, but we shouldn't talk about it, that's between him and Rarity", I whispered.

She looked at me curiously, "What do you mean?" she asked.

I momentarily looked blank at her, before smiling again. She was young, she probably didn't know much about relationships.

"It's because it's none of our business, If he likes Rarity, then we shouldn't talk about it. The only thing we would do is make it worse for them", I explained, still whispering.

Sweetie Belle nodded, "You're probably right, although I don't know if it's just a crush, or if he's serious about it", She confessed.

I nodded, "Either way, It's none of our business", I whispered.

"Yeah, you're right", she said.

I suddenly wondered what would happen if Rarity and Spike were together. What would their children look like? Is it even legal? Would Rarity marry Spike if there was a social stigma?

I realized that thinking like this wasn't going to help me in any way.

"Ok, you should go talk to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, I'm gonna get Pinkie and wait for someponies to arrive for the party", I said.

I got off the couch before I could hear her response, and walked over towards the end of the room. Pinkie seemed to be talking rapidly to Vinyl about something, meanwhile Vinyl was trying to set up her equipment. As I got closer I heard music coming from Vinyl's headphones, It seemed she was trying to drown out Pinkie's rambling.

"Uh, Pinkie?" I interrupted. Pinkie turned around to face me, and smiled at me.

"Hey Forest! I was just talking to Vinyl about the best music to play for the party", she explained. Vinyl seemed oblivious of Pinkie even being there.

"Uh, hey, why don't we go wait at the front door for the guests to arrive? You know who's invited and who's not", I proposed. It seemed that the time was rapidly getting closer to eight o'clock, and guests would start to arrive really soon.

She gasped, "I almost forgot! Great idea!" she said. A second later she was out of the room, she seemed to disappear in a pink blur. How does she do these things? She seems like she came straight out of a cartoon!

I followed her out in a noticeably slower pace. I exited the room to follow her down the hallway. When I got to the door, Pinkie was standing

there with a smile on her face. She opened the twin doors and latched them to the wall. Pinkie stood on the left side, while I stood on the right.

We begun our waiting game.

A couple minutes later, two ponies walked up to the castle. I recognized Derpy straight away, but she was with a stallion. He had a light brown coat, and his mane was a darker shade of brown. His mane was short and spiky, and he wore a large scarf around his neck. Makes sense, it is Winter.

Derpy and the stallion walked up to the door, Derpy smiled at us, "Hey Pinkie! Hey Forest!" she greeted us. She gave Pinkie a friendly hug, and then darted across the other side of the hallway to give me a hug. Jeez, the ponies in this town are super friendly.

She pulled away from me and walked over to the stallion. Were they a couple? Were they related?

"Forest, this is my friend, Dr Whooves", she said, gesturing to the stallion. Ah, so they're friends. He walked up to me and stuck a foreleg out, I did the same, and we shook hooves.

"Nice to meet you sir!" He said. I was surprised by his accent, but I didn't let it show.

We took our forelegs back and he nodded politely at me, then they walked up the hallway.

I doubt they need me to show them the room, because we closed every other door, and hung up balloons at the doorway.

I turned back to Pinkie, who was happily waiting by the door.

"Hey, are you alright by yourself? I was gonna go back to the room", I asked.

She smiled at me, "Yep! I'll just keep track of anypony who comes in!", she declared happily.

I nodded and followed Derpy and the Doctor back to the room. Twilight, Rarity and Applejack were still talking to each other, but Rainbow

Dash moved over to Derpy and was talking to her. The three fillies were sitting on the couch next to a sleeping Spike. Vinyl Scratch was still over at the Dj booth, setting up the equipment, several large amps were already set up.

I walked over to the three mares, who looked towards me as I walked over, "Hey Twilight, should we wake up Spike? He probably doesn't want to miss the party", I asked.

Twilight looked towards Rarity, then back to me and smiled, "I'll wake him up", she said.

I looked back at her as she walked past me, towards where Spike lay snoring. I looked forward again to find Applejack had stepped forward and was inspecting me.

"Rarity here tells me that you're lookin' for a job at Sweet Apple Acres", she said.

I decided that the best thing to do would be honest with her, "Yeah, she said that Sweet Apple Acres might suit me, Twilight agreed", I answered.

"It's backbreaking work, you get paid by how much you can bring in", she said.

I shook my head, "I'm no stranger to hard work", I said. It was true.

She relaxed, "You seem like an alright stallion, and ma sis trusts you. Come to Sweet Apple Acres tomorrow, and we'll see how you buck", she offered.

"Thank you", I nodded.

Then suddenly, I flinched as something landed on my back, I looked back, expecting to see Sweetie Belle, but Spike sat there instead.

"Hey guys!" he said.

"Um, why are you on my back?" I asked.

"Leverage, now I can see eye-to-eye with everypony", he explained casually.

Rarity giggled, "Hello Spike", she said.

"Hi Rarity", he said, his tone somewhat love-struck. I resisted slapping my forehead. Could he possible make it any more obvious?

Rarity seemed oblivious though, and just smiled. If she did know, wasn't it kind of cruel to lead him on like this?

I turned around as I heard hoofsteps, Spike did too, as did Rarity and Applejack. I recognized the two mares instantly, Lyra and Bon Bon. Lyra glanced at me for a second, and then walked over. Bon Bon followed.

"Hello Lyra. Hello Bon Bon, you two are early", Rarity commented. She was right, it was about fifteen minutes before eight o'clock.

I gave a soft chuckle, "It's better to be early than late, right?" I smiled.

Bon Bon sighed, "We wanted to thank you again for saving us", she admitted.

I shook my head, "I just did what anypony else would have done, you don't have to thank me", I asked. I didn't want ponies thanking me.

Lyra moved closer to me, "So...What brought you to Ponyville, Forest?" She asked. She was probably just trying to be friendly, but the question still caught me off guard. I looked at her nervously. I glanced at Rarity, who looked back at me with sadness. She and Twilight were the only ponies I had told about my past. Well, some of my past.

I sighed, "I used to live in Ponyville when I was a colt", I started, Applejack was listening, and her eyes widened in surprise as she listened.

"Really? I don't remember you", Applejack interrupted. She's likely been in Ponyville her whole life, and surprised that she doesn't remember me.

"It was a long time ago, I was only six years old when-" I stopped myself. I was almost going to say, 'When dad died'.

"-I, uh, moved. I could only come back now", I finished. There was way more to the story. Even more then what Rarity and Twilight knew about.

Lyra nodded, "Ok, well, we'll leave you alone now, talk to you later", she said, smiling. Bon Bon nodded to me as well, and they both walked away, towards the table full of food.

I thought for a second, Applejack deserves a better explanation, she's the Element of Honesty, and would probably appreciate my honesty. And If I'm going to work for her, well...

I turned around to face Applejack, who's eyes widened as I did, Rarity looked curious at what I was going to say.

"Hey, Applejack, you're the Element of Honesty, and you would probably appreciate a full story, but it's not exactly a happy story, and I don't want to risk ruining the party for anypony. So if you want, then I'll tell you tomorrow", I said.

Her eyes were still wide, my voice probably came across as intense.

"Uh, Forest, ya don't have to tell me anythin' you don't want to", she said.

I shook my head, "Rarity and Twilight know, and besides, It's not a secret, it's just something not to talk about during a party," I explained. Wow, I made it sound like I was secretly an alien or something. Although, an alien arriving in Ponyville would make a great story. Wait, I'm getting off track here.

She nodded, "So it's nothin' serious, right?" She asked, a little concerned.

Rarity walked up next to her friend, "No darling, It's nothing serious, he just feels that talking about it here is unnecessary", she explained. I gave her silent, 'Thank you'.

Applejack seemed to relax again, "Ok, thanks for telling me Forest", She said. She then glanced past me, and then looked at me again, "Ma cousin's over there, I'm just gonna say hi to her", she said.

Applejack walked away, over to a mare that was entering the room, her coat was an off-white, and she had an orange curly mane. A stallion walked in with her. Derpy also walked over to the mare excitedly.

I looked back at Rarity, who was eyeing me, "Why did you tell her that?" She asked, she didn't sound angry, instead she sounded curious.

"Many reasons", I said, "Applejack is the Element of Honesty, if I lied to her as soon as we met, then we'd probably never be friends. Another reason, is because she simply deserves an explanation", I responded.

She looked at me with surprise, then her eyes softened, "I understand", she said.

I suddenly realized there was something else I should do.

I hesitated before talking, "Hey Rarity?" I asked.

She instantly perked up again, but I don't know what she was expecting.

"I'm sorry", I managed to say.

She looked at me confused, "For what?" she asked.

I hesitated again, "Well, for scaring you. Yesterday, in the hospital. You must have heard about your sister being found injured, and when you saw the blood trail, I could imagine how scared you must have been. I'm sorry for scaring you", I said. I had just been speaking my mind.

Rarity walked up to me, and gave me a hug.

"Forest", she gently said, "I admit that I was terrified when I saw that blood trail, I thought my sister was gone, and I couldn't think of life without her. But when she came out of the room unharmed, It was one of the happiest moments of my life. And that is all thanks to you..." she trailed off.

I gently pushed her away, and gave her a weak smile. She was a really good friend.

Spike jumped off me and walked up to Rarity. Oh, I forgot he was there, lucky I didn't mention his crush, heh.

"Hey Rare, where's my hug?" He asked jokingly, he had a smirk on his face.

Rarity raised an eyebrow and smiled back at him. She picked him up in her magic, and levitated him towards her chest. She stuck out her forelegs and hugged him tight.

"Don't think I forgot you Spikey-Wikey!", she said as she hugged him.

Spike looked like the happiest guy in the world. I chuckled a little.

"Ooh! Nopony told me we were giving hugs!" I heard from my right. I made the mistake of turning to see who it was, even though I recognized the voice.

I was immediately tackled by a pink blur, and I was knocked to the ground. Pinkie was on my back, squeezing me tight.

I stood up easily, even with the pink mare on my back.

"Ooh Forest, you're so muscular, where do you work out?", she teased, before going into a full laugh. Ugh, that sounds really weird coming from her mouth.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching the door?" I asked. Turning my head around to see her.

She smiled, "Everypony's here, silly", she said.

Wait what? I looked behind me. Oh.

The room was full of ponies. Thankfully, none of them were looking at me, they were too busy talking to each other. Had I not noticed any of them walk in?

"Okay Everypony! Let's get this party started!" I heard shouted by Vinyl Scratch.

The room went dark for a second, before going up in flashing lights. Then dubstep party music started blaring from the direction of the Dj booth. Everypony I could see started dancing. I just stood there.

Pinkie Pie got off my back and started dancing like crazy. I didn't join her, I wasn't really that keen on parties.

I sat down and looked around, Rarity was sitting down too. We locked eyes for a second. She had let go of Spike, and he was dancing nearby.

She walked up next to me and sat down, amazingly, I could hear her voice over the loud music.

"Not a fan of dancing?" she asked, smiling friendly.

I shook my head. I never found the party culture very appealing. Something about it just made everypony seem.. unintelligent. They're like a completely different pony from who they are usually.

"I'm not one for dancing either, luckily there is a couch in here, do you want to sit over there with me?" She asked politely.

"Sure", I responded.

We got up on the couch. I sat in the corner, and she sat about a meter away from me.

"What did the doctor say about your wounds?" She asked.

I shook my head, "Nothing serious, the bite missed any veins or arteries in my neck, and I didn't lose too much blood. He said my fur will cover any scars that might form" I responded.

She nodded, "How long until you can remove the bandages?" She asked.

I smiled, "I could remove the one around my neck by tomorrow, he suggested I keep the ones on my leg for a little longer, just to prevent infection", I informed her. The ones on my legs were in a bad spot, they could easily get dirt in them.

She smiled, "That's great news!" she declared, "Are you well enough to work at Sweet Apple Acres?" She asked, suddenly a little concerned.

"Yeah, The cuts aren't nearly deep enough to do any real damage", I assured her.

She looked satisfied with my answer.

I decided to lay down on my side, I rested my head against the arm of the couch. I felt Rarity looking at me as I did, but I didn't care. I was tired, today had felt really long.

What was everything I had done today? I had walked around town, saved Lyra and Bon Bon, and help set up the party. It felt like I had done more than that.

I was ready to go to sleep. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe enough to sleep in a room with other ponies.

I suddenly felt a new pair of eyes on me. I sat back up and looked next to Rarity, Twilight had sat next to her and was looking at me, her expression seemed unreadable.

"Oh, hey Twilight", I greeted her. My voice sounded tired, so I cleared my throat to try and fix it.

"Hey Forest", Twilight replied, "What were you two talking about?" she asked, with a small smirk on her face. I don't know why. I lay back down again in the same position.

"Oh I was just asking Forest about his um, injuries.", Rarity explained calmly.

"And how are they Forest?" Twilight asked.

"Fine", I responded. I didn't want to repeat everything I said to Rarity.

Twilight said something, but it came out as blurred to my ears. I was rapidly slipping unconcious. Then darkness greeted me.

My eyes slowly opened. I was confused to where I was. This isn't Twilight's Castle.

I looked around. I was in a small room. It was reminescent of a hospital room.

I stared in confusion at a huge blood spatter against the wall. What?

I got up off the floor and looked around. I froze as I saw a pitch black shape.

It looked to be made of shadows, and it was in the vague shape of a pony. I could see a mouth, and two amber eyes. They glowed with anger.

"Pathetic", it said, it's voice high-pitched. The voice seemed familiar to me.

"You think that they'll ever care about you? You're wrong." The seething black mass said.

"You're wrong", I retorted. My voice staying calm.

"You should have killed yourself, all those times you wanted to. You just never had the guts to go through with it", It grinned at me. I flinched as he said that, mostly because it was true.

When I didn't respond, it kept talking.

"They will die because of you, you will cause them so much pain", it hissed at me.

A pony appeared beside him, Rarity!?

Her face was sad as she looked at me, her eyes were lifeless and dull.

A black tentacle suddenly flicked out of the black mass. With a single swipe, it cut off Rarity's head.

My face was pure horror. I knew this wasn't real, but it still made me feel sick to my stomach.

The black mass of shadows was staring at me the whole time. It's gaze burning with satisfaction. It then suddenly bared sharp teeth, and then it lunged at me.

I gasped for air as my eyes shot open, panic set in. I spazmed, and fell off the couch and flopped onto the floor. I stood up and looked around me. My fur felt drenched with cold sweat, and I was aware of my heavy breathing.

Twilight Sparkle was staring at me, she had a look of bewilderment on her face. Rarity was next to her, looked equally bewildered, but she had concern in her eyes.

Memories flooded back to me, I was in Twilight's castle, I fell asleep during the party.

I looked around the room, expecting everypony in the whole room to laugh at me. Instead, only Pinkie Pie was present, and she wasn't laughing.

Sweetie Belle ran from out of nowhere and looked up at me, her eyes wide, and her expression concerned.

"Forest! Are you okay? What happened?" She asked.

I sighed tiredly, "It was just a nightmare, I'm fine", I said quietly.

Rarity and Twilight got off the couch and walked up to me, as did Pinkie, who looked unusually concerned.

"Where is everypony?" I asked. Was the party over?

"Everypony went home at around nine, we're just packing everything up." Twilight said.

"What did you see? Did Princess Luna visit you?" Sweetie Belle asked. Princess Luna? Why would she visit me? Oh, my dream.

I shook my head, "No, I didn't see Luna, and you don't want to know what I dreamed about", I said. I didn't want to tell Sweetie that I saw her sister getting her head sliced off, that would traumatize her!

"There are some things you don't want to know, trust me", I assured her.

"Yes Sweetie Belle, if it scared Forest, just imagine what it would do to you!", Rarity said.

Sweetie let out a sigh, "Fine", she accepted.

After a couple seconds of awkward silence, I spoke.

"Um, I'll help you finish packing up", I offered.

Twilight nodded, "Thanks, we're almost done anyways", she said.

We spent a few minutes packing up the rest of the decorations. Most of the soda and food had been consumed, so we didn't have to pack that up, we just put them in the garbage.

When we were done, there were three large boxes full of party decorations. Pinkie took a box, and Twilight took the other two in her magic. I could imagine she was very powerful with magic.

We all walked outside the castle. The group spilt apart, and we faced each other.

"Okay, Pinkie and I can take the boxes back to her place, we'll see you guys later", she said.

Pinkie smiled, "Bye guys!" she exclaimed.

"Farewell to you both", Rarity told her friends. I just nodded goodbye to them.

They walked off in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. Rarity, Sweetie Belle and I walked in the other direction.

As we walked I looked at the ground and started thinking.

Should I tell somepony what I saw in my nightmare? Definitely not Sweetie Belle, or any of the fillies for that matter. Probably not Applejack or Pinkie. Maybe Rarity or Twilight? Telling Rarity herself might be a bad idea, she might just get freaked out.

The gore and blood didn't really bother me. But what really scared me was Rarity. The look in her sad eyes. And the fact that I couldn't do anything to save her.

No! No, Rarity is perfectly fine, she's right here next to me. That thing I dreamed about was not Rarity. I didn't want to imagine my friend could look like that.

I turned to look at Rarity, if just to make sure she was still there, to find her already looking at me. We locked eyes, and stared at each other. How long as she been staring at me?

I looked away from her. I felt uncomfortable looking at her right now, It was almost impossible not to picture her with blood violently bursting from her headless neck.

I refused to look at Rarity for the rest of the walk, instead focusing on the ground in front of me.

We arrived at the hotel, and I realized that I had to say goodbye to the mare and filly.

I forced myself to look Rarity in the eyes, and she looked suprised as I did, as my eyes probably showed a mixture of fear and sadness.

"Uh, Rarity, the nightmare I had? You were in it", I confessed.

"I had a feeling", she said. I had probably made it obvious.

"We should talk about it tommorow", I asked.

She considered it, "I'll be working in the Boutique, come by before you go to Sweet Apple Acres", she offered.

"Thank you, Goodnight Rarity", I said gently.

I looked down beside her at the energetic little filly, "Bye Sweetie Belle", I remembered to say to her. She grinned at me.

I turned and walked into the hotel. I entered my room and instantly jumped into bed. Sleep would really help me. But what if I just got another nightmare? I had little time to think about it though, as tiredness took over, and I slowly drifted into unconciousness.

No! Not again!

I looked around the hospital room again, the same blood splatter on the wall from before.

I looked behind me again, there it was. The freaky mass of black, staring at me.

"Who are you!? What do you want!?" I shouted at the beast.

"You know who I am! And for what I want...." It trailed off.

Twilight appeared next to him. I looked in horror at her. Her eyes were filled with sadness, but they once again appeared gray and lifeless. These ponies were always filled with such happiness, but seeing them like this was the worst feeling in the world.

"Forest, how could you let him do this?" Twilight said tearfully. She was crying, and tears fell down her cheek. This isn't real Forest. None of this is real.

"What I want... is for you to suffer. I want you to feel pain. The only way I can make you suffer... is by making others suffer", he explained.

I closed my eyes as I heard a sickening splitting sound. I looked down at Twilight's body, laying on the ground limp.

Blood had never bothered me, I had seen plenty of it. But watching her life fade away in an instant... The only ponies that have cared for me in a long time...

I snapped.

"You're not real!!" I yelled.

I charged towards the beast with a furious scream, I went right through him. I crashed into the wall with a loud loud. It didn't hurt.

I turned back around instantly and faced him. He grinned at me, menace behind his gaze.

I can't hit him! What do I do?

"ENOUGH!" I heard shouted by a mare. What the hell?

I looked to my left, as did the black beast opposite me.

Standing there was a large blue Alicorn. She wore an expression of extreme anger, which was directed at the black mass.

"Princess Luna!?" The black mass screeched, looking suprised.

"Begone sick beast!" Luna shouted. She pointed her head down, and a blue light shot out of her horn. The light connected with the beast, and he disappeared in a blue flash.

A second passed, then Luna looked at me, expression neutral.

"Let us leave this place", she declared, sounding serious.

I had no time to react, because a second later we disappeared in a blinding blue light.