The Mortal Sin

Chapters

Prologue: The Gates of Truth
Chapter 1: The New Beginning
Chapter 2: Family
Chapter 4: Sitting Still is a Big Deal
Chapter 5: Princess Alert!
Chapter 6: Too Many Questions
Chapter 7: A Night Not Long Enough
Chapter 8: A Quick Visit
Chapter 9: Getting Schooled
Chapter 10: Shadows and Spikes
Chapter 11: The Moment of Truth
Chapter 3: Healing

Prologue: The Gates of Truth

"You have underestimated Edward Elric!" - the voice of Solf J. Kimblee rang in my mind before the Fullmetal Alchemist's soul has made a contact with the one of my host, separating us. I didn't have the chance to reply with anything intelligent. I could only scream as my world went white...

What is death? It is supposed to be the end of life. The end of existence. That's why I couldn't understand the humans who kept praying for the souls of those long gone. Their lives had ended. It is supposed to be over for them. What is there to pray for? But... if my theory is true, then where am I now? And how am I able to think these thoughts? Everything around me is white, and I... I am in my natural form. Just a mess of shadows without a stable shape. Am I alone here? What is this place?

"Hello," - the voice has called from the direction opposite to the one I was looking in. Is there even any direction at all in this place? I reluctantly turned around. What I witnessed was... me. But also not me. It was the same shapeless form, only white. But how could I tell it apart from the white world I was in? The question in my mind was obvious.

"Who are you?" - I said before remembering the other question I also wanted to have answered, - "Where are we?"

"Woah, not so fast now, please..." - my strange doppelgänger replied, - "I know you have just arrived, but it is about time you leave this place..."

Before I could process what he said, I heard the strange sound behind me. The sound of the large gates opening. A second later, I felt being pulled back.

"Your mistakes are not entirely your own, since you were created with his knowledge and shared his view on things... That's why I am giving you a chance to redeem yourself. To live your own life, and live it as you want to."

Before the gates pulled me in entirely, I could catch his final words: "Believe in yourself..."

I opened my eyes. It felt like waking up from a really long dream, I suppose. Homunculi do not need to sleep, after all. Exactly like it felt when I had been created... A gentle breeze ruffled my hair. Hm... That is strange. I don't remember having hair on my side. And... does it mean I'm naked? I couldn't help but take a look at my side and... Honestly, I felt quite surprised. It wasn't something I could have expected: my body was a horse... No, a smaller one, a pony. And to make it even smaller, I happened to be a pony child, it seemed. My Ouroboros tattoo was on my flank that time... No, on both of them.

The memories flowed back to me. The strange white place, the doppelgänger and his words. I looked around. The place where he dropped me wasn't that much different from what I'm used to. Just a forest, nothing special. Perhaps, a bit more colorful, yes. Who was that creature? What did he plan for me? And finally... why am I a pony?

"Hello?" - I called with an innocent child's voice, mostly to make sure I am still able to talk. Even though there was no reply, it was satisfying to know that I can at least communicate as a sentient being. My next test was rather obvious: I needed to check if my powers were still in my posession. As if on que, I had noticed a falling leaf. A second later that leaf had been cut to pieces by my shadow. Good to know I am in tip-top condi...

I had fallen on my face as I tried to stand up and make a simple step forward. Perhaps, my condition is not as perfect as I thought. Yes, I was used to being a child, but... I had no idea how to be a pony. It seems, I should take this one step at a time... literally. I stood up and tried to move once again. That was going to need some getting used to...

"Believe in yourself..."

I wonder what exactly he meant by that. Not important right now, better focus on the tast at the...hoof.

By the time I had finally figured out how to trot without falling on my face, it was already an evening. Moreover, the forest around me had changed to an apple orchad. Hm... I had never really been to an apple orchad before. I could have simply cut down one of the apples and give it a try, but I knew better: having someone see me using such powers could lead to certain troubles in the future. Speaking of which... it hit me that I had yet to meet a human since I had woken up. I still had no clue where I was... It's an orchad, isn't it? Must be a part of some... Farm! That was it. I could see the farm from where I was standing. And the farm had to be run by someone. Now, what should my next step be?...

"Hello there, partner!" - a strong voice called from the side. I was so focused on my own thoughts that I didn't even notice that... Pony?

"What can ah do ya for?" - she called, trotting to me. So, she was a talking pony... so was I. Only she was adult. And orange. The logical conclusion would be that I was in the world of talking colorful ponies, however absurd it was. So... what do I do? The words of the strange creature echoed through my mind once again...

"Believe in yourself..."

I smiled and opened my mouth to reply.

Author's Note

This is something I wanted to start for quite some time now... So, here it is. I hope you like the idea.

Chapter 1: The New Beginning

"Could you help me out, please? I think I've got lost on this orchad," - the innocent child's voice came from my mouth, good enough to fool anyone. And considering how innocent and... cute the face of that adult pony looked, mine should have been absolutely angelic. At least that's what I hoped for.

"Of course ah could, little fellah!" - the orange mare replied. She has such a strong country accent. How many other ponies do? - "Where are your parents? Ah know everypony in Ponnyville. Ya'll be home before ya know it!"

Parents? This is bad... I didn't think it through. Having lived in the Bradley family for so long, I was used to being the part of that family. But my "parents" were not here, neither was my Father... What should I say?

"So?" - the mare inquired. How long have I been silent? I shouldn't raise any suspicion now...

"I... I don't remember. I only remember waking up in that forest a few hours earlier," - my reply was cheep and I don't think it was very convincing, but luckily for me, the orange pony seemed to buy it as a look of concern took over her features.

"Oh..." - for a moment she looked like she was about to cry as she covered her mouth with a hoof, but a second later she was back to her previous self. She seems tough and has a good self-control... Good, gathering information should be my prior concern for now. - "Well, little fellah, how about ya'll come join our family dinner? It'll be the night soon, and tomorrow we'll try to figure out what happened to ya."

That was a generous offer. Too generous, perhaps. What is she up to? However, I simply nodded and we trotted to what seemed to be a farmer's house. The world around me was, indeed, more colorful than the one I was used too. Even the house looked so... red. The color was so bright and fresh as if it had been built 5 minutes ago.

"What is your name, little fellah?" - the question shook me out of my thoughts. The name... I am Pride. The first Homunculus. But I couldn't tell her that. Moreover, I had no idea what kind of names those ponies used... So, I had to be careful about that. Better get some information before... hoof.

"That is rude, you know?" - my answer seemed to catch her by surprise, as she raised an eyebrow at me. She seems to have a perfect control over her facial muscles, - "If you want to know my name, you should offer me yours first."

The look of realisation dawned on the mare's face as she had understood that she, indeed, didn't tell me her name. Some colors of surprise were still there, but I couldn't tell if it was the remnants of the previous surprise or if it meant that it was out of character for her not to introduce herself properly. Am I overthinking this?

"Oh... Of course! Mah name is Applejack, and mah Apple Family runs this farm. Welcome to "Sweet Apple Acres"!" - she was a valuable source of information, it seemed... She was telling me things I didn't even ask about. Good... I just have to keep her talking. - "Now, will ya'll tell me your name?"

Applejack, huh?... So, their names were just simple words. Is her name connected to her running an apple orchad? Or it could be just a coincidence. Wouldn't hurt to be careful and thorough about my further approach, anyway...

"I... I am.... My name is..." - I stumbled on my words on purpose, I needed some act there, - "I... don't remember..." - I said, trying my best to express a surprise and sadness. It seemed to work perfectly on Applejack, as the expression of sadness and sorrow had once again appeared on her face, even if for just a second, until I turned my head back to her. She didn't want me to see that. But I don't need to look at her to see her. She placed a hoof on my shoulder.

"Don't ya worry none, little fellah. One of mah closest friends is Twillight Sparkle - the Princess of Friendship herself!" - The Princess? It looked like those ponies had chosen a monarchy then... - "Ah promise... We'll find your parents."

Find my parents, you say?... I do wish you a good luck with that.

I had a nugging feeling... As if something was terribly wrong. That family... the Apple family, they accepted me so easily, they offered me their food, their home... their care. Why would someone do something like that for a complete stranger, even if that said stranger was a child? There had to be a gain... And then it hit me. Even though I had managed to gather some information during the last half an hour, I still knew next to nothing about their traditions or their religion. Could it be that they view me as a sign from the High Heavens? Or a perfect sacrifice to offer their god? However, those thoughts didn't shake me at all: I could tell that if things would come to the point where I have to defend myself, I would have no problem cutting them to pieces.

"Applejack, Ah don't want to go to bed so early!" - a little pony, which seemed to be in my body's age, shook me out of my thoughts. Her name is... Apple Bloom. - "That's just not fair!"

"Ah already told ya, Apple Bloom, that is what ya get for not doing your homework."

"But it's so much, sis!"

Homework? Hm... This might be a perfect moment for me to step in.

"I love school and studying! Applejack, may I help Apple Bloom with her homework, please?" - my excited tone and angelic face had caught the orange mare off-guard. It was obvious she didn't expect that.

"Well... Ah suppose you may. Actually, Ah think it's a great idea! But I have to worn ya, little fellah, my sister can be mighty stubborn when it comes to accepting help."

I could hear a huff coming from the direction where the stairs in that house were.

"You are the one to talk..." - the voice of the leaving filly reached the kitchen, to which her sister smiled sheepishly and scratched behind her head. These ponies seem to show more emotion than humans. They are easier to read.

I knocked on the door of what I thought was Apple Bloom's room. Acting nice and polite won't hurt.

"Apple Bloom, may I come in?" - I asked. The reply was a muffled "If you want to". She doesn't sound okay... What is she up to?

I gently opened the door and stepped in. The picture I witnessed was the said filly laying on her bed. She looked unhappy and tired, though not physically, but mentally. Near the window I could see the cause of her current state: a few notebooks and a pile of books.

"I asked your sister, Apple Bloom, but I didn't ask you. May I help you with your homework?" - I offered, putting a reassuring smile on my face. The answer was yet another huff.

"Ya're welcome to try..." - she wasn't very optimistic about my offer. I trotted to her books and opened one to take a look at her assignment. Reading through it, however, had lead me to a very concerning discovery, the one I wasn't sure why I hadn't realised yet. A different world... should mean a different langauge. But why is it the same as the one I'm used to?

"See? I told ya it's too much!" - the filly said from behind me. I haven't noticed her approach... I should avoid being so lost in my own thoughts.

"It depends," - I said, turning to her with a smile on my face.

"Huh? Depends on what?"

"On the way you do it. There is a lot of text, it's easy to overlook what is important. But when you understand the important part, you'll ace that homework!" - I offered, using that way with words to figure out how intelligent the filly standing before me was. So far those ponies don't seem to be very different from humans in their behaviour.

"Understand what's important?..." - the filly seemed to be taking my words rather seriously. She took a book and started reading through the task. It wasn't long before she had exclaimed: "Of course! How could Ah have missed it?"

After that, she took a quill in her mouth and started to write something down in her notebook. They are writing with their mouth? I have no idea how to do that...

I must admit, it was a rather productive hour for both me and Apple Bloom. She had managed to finish all of her homework with my help, and I had gathered some interesting information regarding my whereabouts. It appeared, the name of the town nearby the farm was Ponyville. How... creative of them. The town, however small it was, was the residence of the Princess of Friendship mentioned earlier by Applejack, which gave it a certain importance. At least, it was supposed to, but I couldn't be sure. I still knew too little about those ponies. Apple Bloom, however helpful her information was, prefered to stick to discussing what I understood was her circle of closest friends. She called them "The Cutiemark Crusaders". It seemed, my Ouroboros tattoo happened to be at the same place where the ponies had what they called "cutiemarks" - an image representing the pony's special talent. The filly had also told me that one of her friends - Sweetie Belle - was a unicorn, and the other one - Scootaloo - a pegasus. I had managed to ask her about those kinds of ponies, which lead me to some concerning discoveries. Appearantly, pegasi ponies had the power not to just fly, but also control the weather. But even more concerning was the fact that the unicorns could use "magic", even though I wasn't sure to what degree. I should be especially careful around them. Acting as an inocent lost child will be the best course of action for now... So, even though I hadn't managed to get a detailed information about the world, I still obtained a rather valuable one.

But the sun had already hidden behind the horison, and the night had come. A yawn from Apple Bloom had caused me to turn my attention back to her.

"It's about time we get some sleep, don't you agree?" - I asked her in a friendly manner. My answer was yet another yawn, to which I smiled.

"Ah see ya'll are gettin' along just fine. Wait... Ya'll really have done all the homework so fast?" - Applejack entered the room, obviously to remind us about the bedtime. She seemed genuinely surprised to witness the homework done. What is she surprised by more: us actually doing the homework or me being that much of a help?...

"We sure did!" - I beamed, trotting to her, - "But it's late and Apple Bloom is tired. I think, I'll leave her to her sleep." - I always acted as a nice and polite child on his best behaviour. She smiled at me. It was the same kind smile I often saw on the face of my "mother".

"Ah'm mighty thankful to ya, you really helped out little Apple Bloom here," - she said, ruffling my ha... my mane, - "Since the two of ya have got alon' so well, ah think ya'll might as well share this here room just fine! At least, until we find anything better for ya, little fellah."

I was prepared to hear the filly's protests, but insead her reply was a quiet snore. She was fast asleep. Applejack had given me a reasurring nudge.

"Don't ya worry none. Mah sister is a kind and thankful filly, Ah'm sure she'll have no problem with that."

Well... I suppose, taking this offer will be the best course of action in my current situation.

"Thank you, Applejack. You're very kind to me," - I replied with my inncent child's voice. It seemed to work perfectly on that mare.

"Goodnight, ya'll," - she half-whispered, leaving the room as I crawled on the bed.

I am Pride, the first Homunculus. And thus, I don't need to sleep. In my previous family, I always faked sleeping. I had much more important assignments to do at night, while no one was looking. And usually, no one was. I had my own room, and I could be sure no one would come in until it's morning. However, faking my sleep while laying down next to someone... somepony else was much more of a trouble. If I wanted to do some exploring with my shadows, I had to be extremely careful. She could wake up at any moment, and if I'm not fast enough, my disguise will be broken. What do I do now?...

It appeared, thinking the things over would be the best course of action for the time being. Obviously, my "parents" were nowhere to be found in that world. So, that kind and caring family might end up giving me a separate room. It would be safer to wait until that moment before starting any exploring... What is she doing? The sleeping filly started to move, then toss around. I heard some people who had bad dreams did such things, but never really witnessed it. Is she having a bad dream? One of her hooves reached out and touched me. She stopped, then turned entirely to me and moved closer. What is she up to? I laid still, accidentally waking her up wasn't in my interests. She moved closer and eventually... snuggled her body against mine and wrapped her hooves around me. Her body was warm and fuzzy, she was giving off a scent of apples. I think, I could hear her heartbeat from such a close distance. I must admit...

It feels... nice.

Chapter 2: Family

Family... What did that word really mean to me? Bradley family was just a disguise for me and Wrath... a perfect mask to put on our faces. Poor miss Bradley had no idea. She truly accepted me as her son, even though I was adpoted. She was always kind to me. One time, she had almost given her life away to save me from that car. Of course, she had no idea that the car was of a little threat to me, but that's not the point. She was willing to give away her own life to save mine, which meant she truly loved me as her son. I am Pride, but that woman... had made me feel greatful. The only thing I could repay her with was loving her back as my mother. But, on the other hand, my real family had nothing to do with her. My real family was my Father and my siblings. We, Homunculi, are different from humans. And our family was different too. Yes, we cared for each other, but since we knew how exactly we had been made, most of us realised that all of us were the parts of one being. Gluttony was a bit too dumb to see that, and Greed was... Greed. He always wanted the things to be his way. However, in our family I had never seen the same love and affection that miss Bradley was giving me in my human family. And the thing is... I grew to like that affection. Not to the point where I would leave my Father and siblings for it, of course, but it still was... nice.

"Ehm... what are ya'll doing in my bed?" - Apple Bloom's question drew my atention back to reality. It was already a morning.

"I'll answer your question, but in return, you'll have to answer mine," - I offered with a smile.

"Ehm... okay?" - she was unsure, but still had agreed to that deal.

"Applejack said that we should share this room until she and her friends find out what happened to me and where my parents are," - I said. The filly looked like she was about to protest, but I beat her to it - "It's my turn now. Tell me, what are you doing?"

The question took Apple Bloom by surprise, and her gaze slowly trailed down, allowing her to see our current... predicament. Her reaction was interesting to observe: first, her face started to turn red, until her original color could not be seen on it anymore. Are these ponies able to change the color of their coat? Then she quickly pushed me off the bed. It could hurt a human child, but... Good thing I am Homunculus.

"Oh my gosh!" - I heard her shouting to me, - "Are you okay? Ah didn't mean to do this!"

"Please, calm down," - I smiled, looking up at her from my current position, - "I'm fine, I promise. No hard feelings."

She got down from the bed and helped me up. Just in time, as Applejack opened the door.

"Rise and shine, little... Oh. Ya're up already?" - her dramatic entrance had been entirely ruined. A moment later I heard Apple Bloom starting to chuckle. I had joined her soon.

The Apple Family gathered at the table once again. And I had to admit, there was something in the air... Something not physical, something I couldn't explain. But it felt... warm. I observed them closely. Apple Bloom was enjoying both her food and the conversation with her sister. Both had such genuine and kind smiles on their faces, and their eyes offered no glimpse of lie or faking. The old pony, Granny Smith, was muttering something to herself, but it was obvious that she enjoyed being in the company of her grandchildren. The large red stallion whose name was Big Macintosh was the most quiet of them all, simply focusing on his meal. He seemed a bit nervous, and I could notice him glancing my way when he thought I wasn't looking.

"Big Macintosh," - I asked him, smiling brightly. The big stallion winced - "Why are you so silent? Is something wrong? May I help?"

I knew that my approach wasn't eactly appropriate, but approaching things bluntly is what kids do. My battery of questions, however, seemed to catch the pony off-guard, as it was obvious he didn't know how to reply. That caused Applejack's attention to turn to him.

"Ah've noticed that too, Big Mac," - she joined in - "Ya're acting weird since the last evening. Something on your mind?"

The large stallion turned his face to the side, only saying one word: "Nope". Something defenitely was on his mind. But is it really my business? That thought had brought me to a surprising revelation: why did I suddenly feel like getting to the bottom of it? Why would that stallion's strange behaviour bother me at all? Yes, I was still acting like a child, and children are known for being curious about everything. My questions were just a part of the act. But then... Then the act turned to something more genuine.

"If ya say so..." - said Applejack, but the look on her face suggested that she wasn't letting it go so easily.

It seems, it was a weekend, and the school was closed. That meant Apple Bloom was going to have a free day, unless she too had to do the chores on that farm. Which she did. Acting like a curious child, I was observing her and Applejack collecting some rotten apples. From where I was looking, it looked more like a game than a chore. And both sisters seemed to enjoy it. They are having a good time and also getting the work done. Interesting strategy...

"Come join us, ehm...!" - Apple Bloom shouted to me, before remembering she didn't know my name, - "What should I call him, sis?"

"We'll find his parents and figure out his name soon," - the orange mare sounded confident, - "Princess Twillight is busy right now, and we still have some chores to do, so..."

She kept her explanation going, but I wasn't listening. I thought it was about time I chose a name for myself. So, let's see... my mane is black, but my coat is white. As if it symbolizes that I need the light source in order to use my shadow. Perhaps, my name could be born from that fact. When the lights hit me, the shadow created by my body becomes my weapon. I can use my natural form through it. It is my...

"...Dark Side!" - I said, causing Applejack to stop mid-word and look at me with her eyebrow raised, - "Call me Dark Side, until we can figure my real name." Which, I hope, they never will.

The orange pony was about to either protest or ask a question, but her sister had spoken first: "Come join us, Dark Side"! After saying that, she giggled: "Usually it's the other way around," - to which her sister giggled as way. I suppose, I could join their little game.

Catching Applejack's throws was harder than I expected, especially since I still wasn't used to that new body of mine. No, I wasn't falling on my face every step on the way, but when it came to jumping and moving quickly, I still needed some practice. And some practice is exactly what I've got. So, in the end, playing that game also had it's value to me. It seems, my body is that of an earth pony. That means no flying and no magic, except for my shadow. I need to explore it's limits...

"Phew, all done here, sis!" - exclaimed the little filly. She looks still full of energy. - "Ah wish Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were here. I'll never earn mah cutiemark if there's no crusading!"

Her sister rolled eyes at that. Appearantly, it was the topic her sister mentioned too much... Are those cutiemarks really of that much vallue in pony society? I still needed to learn more about their traditions, and I knew just the filly to ask.

"I can go crusading with you," - I offered, beaming at her. She looked at me with a confusion clear on her face.

"You? B... but ya already have your cutiemark! What's the point in crusading for the cutiemark if ya'll already got one?"

"Ah think little Dark Side here just wants to spend time with ya," - her sister stepped in, to which I smiled and noded, - "Okay then, you two! Go ahead and have fun!"

I'm not sure that sitting in the wooden club house on a tree and listening to the filly going on and on about her adventures with the other "crusaders" could be identified as fun. However, it still had it's vallue to me. For example, I learnt about Applejack's close friends, which also happened to be the other crusaders' elder sisters. Or something along the lines... It appeared, Scootaloo was the adopted sister of the pegasus named Rainbow Dash. Sweetie Belle, however, was a blood relative of the unicorn Rarity. I had also managed to get another important bit of information: it seemed that those three, along with Princess Twillight Sparkle and the other two ponies I haven't heard of before - Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy - were some sort of the national heroes. I tried to dwell on that topic, but Apple Bloom didn't seem to know much. Still, she had some rather interesting stories to share. The important thing was that those ponies helped defend their country named Equestria from the monsters who attacked it. The monsters like me...

However, my thoughts were interrupted once again. That time though, it wasn't another pony. It was another... creature.

A loud sound of the club house's wall being broken in a rather harsh manner brought both mine and filly's attention to the cause of the destruction: a large wolf... no, a wooden and rock golem, which had the appearance of a wolf. I had never seen anything like that before. Is someone using alchemy to create such chimeras in this world?

"TIMBER WOLF!!!" - a scream coming from the little filly gave me the name of that creature. It looked dangerous... even deadly. The reaction of the filly suggested that it was uncommon for it to intrude that area. However, it is here. What do I do?...

"Quick, Apple Bloom, let's get out of here!" - I yelled to free the filly from a fear-induced trance. I grabbed her hoof with mine and pulled her towards the exit. It seems, I've managed to learn how to hold things with my hooves, and have done so purely on instinct. Interesting... Running away, I tried to figure out the best course of action. The timber wolf obviously was strong. However, judging by the fact it got stuck in the doorway instead of leaving the clubhouse the same way it came in, it wasn't very intelligent. Obviously enough, it soon had broken through, leaving the clubhouse in ruins. I saw the reaction on the filly's face: even though she was scared beyond measure, seeing the clubhouse destroyed had brought the colors of sadness and even despair on her face. That clubhouse must have been of a great value to her and her friends...

"Don't stop! Run, run, keep running!" - I kept the Apple Bloom's attention on the task at the hoof. We needed to run away, because I couldn't allow my dusguise to break by using my powers. Running away was the only appropriate course of action at the moment. But the golem was faster. Much faster than a couple of pony kids. I felt it hit us both from behind, effectively knocking us down. I wasn't really worried about my safety: I knew that the timber wolf would need a few days of attacking me non-stop in order to do any significant damage. However, the filly was a different case... And the timberwolf chose to attack her. I had caught myself wincing as I watched the golem biting the filly's foreleg. And even more so at her screaming in response. Why? Why do I care about what's happening to her? I'm in the new world, I should have much more important things to care about than this filly. The filly who was in a grave danger at the moment...

"I am giving you a chance to redeem yourself..." - the words of that strange white creature echoed through my mind. Before I knew it, something had overtaken me. It was a strong feeling, something I had never experienced before. It had made me move before I could think my actions through. I had quickly slid under the wolf's head and, standing on my forelegs, bucked it hard on the chin. It whined and let Apple Bloom go. That was a good opportunity to run, but the bitten filly couldn't move. I briefly looked at her and saw the cute face covered in tears. That image alone seemed to fuel whatever was happening to me. I stood between the filly and the golem, ready to do everything I could to protect her, even if it involved using my powers. Why am I doing that?

"Get away from them this instant!" - the yell from the side caused both me and the timber wolf to shift our attention to Applejack and Big Macintosh, who were galloping towards us. The golem took a nervous step back, then turned around and ran away, though not before looking my way and growling. As I watched it run away, I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding and switched my attention to the still crying and wounded filly. She needed some medical assistance. What happened to me?...

Apple Bloom was sitting on her bed, with the bondages on her foreleg. She had long since stopped crying, and I had to admit, she was a tough filly. But she was still a filly, and the experience like that could traumatise any kid. Applejack had left us in her room, the night was about to come. But I knew she was in no mental state for sleeping. It could be seen in her eyes that her mind kept replaying the scenes from the last afternoon. Is she blaming herself for what happened? I didn't know what to do to make it easier for her. So, I tried what I knew was human's way of a silent support. She didn't notice me moving closer to her until I locked her in my embrace. She went stiff at first, but then relaxed, leaning against me.

"Thank you..." - she said, burying her muzzle under my chin, - "...for saving my life."

I hadn't given it much thought before, but at that moment I had realised that, indeed, if it wasn't for me, that filly would be already dead. I saved her... But why?

"Ya'll did us a favor Ah can never repay ya for," - Applejack's words from an hour ago came back to me, - "Just know that this here family will always open it's doors for ya".

Family, huh?...

"I need to go use the bathroom," - I said, gently pulling back from the embrace, - "Would you like me to bring a glass of water for you or something?"

She looked like she didn't want to let me go, but after holding the embrace for a few more seconds, she did.

"It's okay, Dark Side. Ah'm good," - I nodded at her words and was about to leave, - "Just, please... Come back soon."

Her last phrase had caught me by surprise, but I didn't have time to dwell on it. There is a thing I need to do...

The sun had almost completely hidden behind the horizon, and the night was about to cover "Sweet Apple Acres". It was a perfect time for a hunt, and the timber wolf knew it. He had never really come back to the Everfree Forest, instead choosing to lay low and wait until those ponies went to sleep. Then, it would be the perfect time to attack. Step by step, it was moving closer to the house of Apple Family. Step by step, it was getting closer to his revenge on that colt who dared to interrupt his well-deserved meal. What it didn't know was the fact it was not the only hunter around. Something else was watching it from the shadows, something else was preparing for the attack.

At some point, the wolf had noticed that and turned around. What it saw was the pure darkness, and a couple of purple eyes.

"Checkmate," - said the mysterious voice, and the number of eyes grew tenfold. To make the image even scarier, the large white teeth had appeared from those shadows. For the first time in it's life, the timber wolf had felt a pure undeniable fear. The creature in front of it could only be described as a monster.

The sound of cracking branches and breaking stones had filled the cold night air.

Author's Note

Here comes a bit of adventure! :rainbowdetermined2:

...and slaughter. :pinkiecrazy:

Chapter 4: Sitting Still is a Big Deal

The next day wasn't very... eventful. Obviously, with her wound still needing some healing, Apple Bloom was allowed to stay home instead of going to school. Also, all of her chore responsibilities had been lifted for the time being, so, she practically had nothing to do, except for the homework that was going to be delievered to her that afternoon, and which I had promised to help her with. If she even needs my help... She is a rather smart child. For the time being, however, her and I were left alone. Granny Smith was cooking something at the kitchen, Big Macintosh was working on the field and Applejack had left for Princess Twilight to see if she could help me find my real family. Not in this world, I'm afraid...

"Ah'm boooored!" - Apple Bloom had announced, - "Ah need to do something, or, Celestia help me, Ah might go insane!"

"You know what Applejack said, Apple Bloom," - I tried to offer, obviously to no avail, - "You shouldn't exhaust your wounded leg."

"Ugghh!" - the filly had exclaimed, - "Don't tell me yo're with her!"

Her frustration was understandable. Being disguised as a child myself, I happened to see many other children running around and often doing things just for the sake of doing something. I had come to realise that it's the problem of that age.

"You know, Apple Bloom," - I had began, hoping that my idea was going to be welcomed, - "You won't exhaust your leg if I just carry you on my back."

The minute had passed. Okay... Perhaps, I was a little bit too straightforward with that idea. Apple Bloom just kept staring at me, still as aghast. The only thing that had changed was the colour of her face. Again.

"...or we can stay here in your room all day, if you want," - I added, in order to remove the tension. That seemed to have a desirable effect.

"Ah... What? No!... Ah mean..." - Apple Bloom had tried starting her phrase over and over, but each time to no avail. At least, not until she had finally taken a deep breath and exhaled slowly, calming herself down, - "Ah... guess Ah have to agree," - she said, avoiding my gaze.

"It's settled then," - I replied and, after getting a weak nod from her, stood up and walked closer her.

"Are we there yet?" - the bored filly seemed to have found nothing better to do than trying to annoy me. It is... the fifteenth time she repeats that question, is it not? I had decided to keep quiet, hoping that she would get tired of that eventually. We, and by that I mean myself only, were walking to the repaired clubhouse. Yes, it had been rebuilt, but Apple Bloom had a lot of work still waiting for her inside: restoring all of the precious mementos of her little group.

"Dark Side..." - I had nearly stopped at that. It could only mean that the filly had decided to change the topic to something more serious, - "...Ah'm sorry for being annoying."

She sounds... rather sincere.

"It is fine, Apple Bloom. I understand that you're bored out of your mind at this point, but at least we've found the way to move our activities outside without breaking Applejack's rules today, don't you agree?"

"Ah s'pose..." - her reply had been muffled by my coat. I chuckled at that.

"We're almost there. Soon you'll be able to tell me all about the adventures the Cutiemark Crusaders have been through!"

That seemed to brighten up the filly's mood, even if just a little. It still counts.

When we had finally made it to the clubhouse, the filly's mood had changed for the better noticably. As if having forgotten about the pain, Apple Bloom was, as they say, all over the place. She had opened the box with the CMC possessions that were carefully collected and put there by Applejack, and started to refill the empty clubhouse with them again. Even though she did it rather fast, a certain amount of care and cherishing could be noticed every time she touched each of those mementos.

"I can tell how much those possessions mean to you, Apple Bloom," - I started, after watching her work in silence for some time, - "It really shows!"

My comment had caused the filly to blush, even if ever so slightly.

"Thanks, Dark Side. Ah really treasure them all... Each of those have a story behind it," - she said, looking at the memento she was holding, which was horseshoe. It seemed to bring a warm smile to her face, - "This here one, of example..."

After making an amazing performance as a Rodeo Clown and accidentally revealing his identity, Trouble Shoes had nopony to defend him from the angry ponyfolk and their accusations. Nopony, except for the three little fillies, who were brave enough to stand between him and the crowd, to explain them that he never meant to cause any harm, to reveal his special talent and find the true meaning behind his cutiemark.

"Turns out I was just looking at my cutiemark all wrong," - the absurdly large pony had concluded. His cutiemark was an upside-down horseshoe...

"That was really amazing, Apple Bloom!" - I exclaimed, trying to sound like an impressed child, - "You three had really helped that poor stallion."

"Yeah, that we did," - she said with a warm smile, giving a horseshoe one gentle stroke before taking a ladder and hanging the memento right above the door.

"Be careful there, Apple Bloom, your wound still hasn't healed completely. You might..." - just as I was saying that, the filly started to lose her balance, eventually falling back along with the ladder. I was quick enough to catch her in my... forelegs, I suppose? - "...fall."

She looked me in the eyes, and once again her face color started to change from yellow to the bright red. I had gently put her down.

"Please, be careful next time."

"Wow..." - the gentle voice coming from the doorway had interrupted our moment. I turned my attention to it's source and found two fillies standing there, completely aghast. One of them was a unicorn, and the other one - a pegasus. So... here's my first meeting with the ponies of two other tribes. Those two had fit perfectly to the description of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo that Apple Bloom had given me before.

"To catch a falling filly like that... it's so romantic!"

"Pffff.... Here you go again, Sweetie Belle! Can't you see how awesome it was? That colt must be super strong and agile!"

"Greetings to you, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo," - I had decided to be polite and greet them properly. Worked perfectly fine so far. - "I am Dark Side. Apple Bloom has told me much about you and this Cutiemark Crusaders club. You three had such wonderful adventures, and must be really brave fillies. It's a pleasure to finally meet you two."

After a moment of silence, Sweetie Belle was the first of them to speak.

"Such a gentlecolt."

A gentle... colt? I suppose, "man" isn't a word here.

"I see, Apple Bloom has already introduced us to you in our stead," - she continued, to which I nodded, - "I can't say I've seen you around here before."

"Again with the high-society stuff! Haven't you noticed that his name is Dark Side? That makes him, like... 20 percent cooler! But... yeah, I haven't seen you around eaither. Where are you from?"

I prepared to give them an adequate reply regarding my current situation, but Apple Bloom had spoken before I had a chance to open my mouth.

"Not so fast, girls. Dark Side probably ain't his real name. Applejack found 'im on our farm two days ago and he doesn't remember much beside waking up in the Everfree Forest. And... wait a minute, aren't you two supposed to be at school?"

"Oh, we've snuck out during the lunch break, no biggie..." - Scootaloo dismissed the filly's concern, - "But wow... you really don't remember your previous life?"

Sweetie Belle's face had shown sadness. I had decided to lighten up the mood a little bit.

"There's no need to worry. Applejack is currently talking to Princess Twilight about me. They will help me!"

That seemed to take a desirable effect.

"Now, that I take a closer look... Has something happened to our clubhouse, Apple Bloom? It seems... a bit different," - Sweetie Belle looked around, studying the place she was supposed to be so familiar with.

It's settled then... Story time.

Two fillies were sitting still, completely aghast for the second time that day. They obviously did not expect to hear such a story.

"Oh... WOW!" - Scootaloo was the first to break the pregnant pause, - "That. Was. AWESOME!" - she had exclaimed, throwing her hooves in the air, - "You're now, like... I don't know, a 120 percent cooler in my eyes!"

"Thank you kindly," - I had taken a slight polite bow, - "I am glad I was there to save Apple Bloom. She's too young to die, is she not?"

"Oh, ahem. Yes, that would be correct," - Sweetie Belle had collected herself enough for an adequate reply. Obviously, she was amused by my manner of speaking. However, I've manage to catch a hint of a sly smile just on the very corner of her mouth, - "And, it seems, our friend was lucky enough to be saved by a gentlecolt such as yourself..."

The hidden message was clear as day, and it wasn't long before the mentioned filly's face had started to change it's colour again. Is she... teasing Apple Bloom? I don't know why, but I had an urge to return a favour as I replied.

"Thank you, Sweetie Belle. Though, you do have a rather brave hero by your side as well, no?"

My reply seemed to catch her and Scootaloo off-guard. For some reason, those two fillies had briefly glance at each other, before looking away all too quickly. A hint of crimson was obvious on their faces by that moment.

Oh?... Am I getting on something here?

Two crusaders had left the clubhouse shortly after: the lunch break was going to end soon, and they needed to return to school before that. After waving our hooves to them, me and Applebloom sat quietly near each other. It wasn't long before she started leaning on me, which wasn't an unwelcome gesture.

"Say, Applebloom... Why do the ponies seem to change the colour of their faces so often?"

"That's what happens when we feel emerrassed. We can't help it..." - even with such a topic brought up, the filly seemed to remain calm when we were alone. Just the two of us.

"What were you embarrassed of today?" - the simple question of mine had caused the silence to fall. I tried nudging the filly a bit, shaking her out of her deep thought.

"To admit that Ah really like you..."

"Why would you be embarrassed of that?"

"Ah don't know..." - she sounded confused at first, but was able to figure out an adequate answer, - "Ah guess that just never happened tah me before. It's confusing..."

The proximity of the filly which had become so dear to me for some reason was giving me a warm feeling... The very same wamth that I felt before, every time when she was involved. It was just a couple of days, but I had somehow managed to get so close to that filly... and, it seemed, to let her in at the same time.

"I, for once, have no trouble saying it: I really do like you, Apple Bloom," - I said, turning my head to look at her. She did the same thing, and for the next few minutes we were trapped in each other's eyes. She is so... beautiful. I didn't notice that before...

"So... do we kiss now?" - her voice had broken the silence.

"I suppose, we're a bit too young for that, Apple Bloom. As a certain stallion told me once, it's a "grown up pony kahnd of thing," - I said, trying my best to copy their accent. It came out rather poorly, which had prompted the filly to giggle. Soon, we locked each other in a tight embrace and were sitting there, enjoying each other's warmth for who knows how long... until we had been rudely interrupted.

"APPLE BLOOM!!!" - the booming voice of Applejack had reached us all the way from the farm house.

"Uh-oh... Ah guess we're in trouble now," - said the filly. She seemed a bit scared, which I learnt was a normal reaction of the children to their parents' yelling. I had offered her a kind smile, trying to show her that everything will be fine.

"Don't worry, Apple Bloom. I'll solve that problem. It was my idea to carry you to the clubhouse, after all."

"Ah-huh! Here you two are!"

What? She's already... here? Just how fast those ponies can move?

"Hello, Applejack," - I tried a calm and polite greeting, but the mare wasn't really up for a nice talk.

"What did Ah tell you before Ah left?!"

"Uhm, you see, sis..."

"WHAT DID AH TELL YOU?!"

That was going a bit too far. I still couldn't explain the reason why I was getting more and more protective of the little filly, but whatever it was, the fact of it being true was still there to count. So, I moved in, answering Applejack's question in Apple Bloom's stead.

"You said that Apple Bloom was not to exhaust her wounded leg," - my answer seemed to be what the farm pony wanted to hear, so she pressed on.

"So?"

But I was ready for that question.

"So I have carried her all the way to the clubhouse on my back."

Applejack's mouth remained slightly open, but no more sound had come from it.

"It's true," - Apple Bloom had confirmed my words.

"B...But... But how?" - Applejack didn't seem to believe it was possible for a regular foal to carry the filly on his back then... But I'm not a regular foal. I had picked the filly up once again and slowly, but effortlessly, walked down the clubhouse stairs.

"That's how," - I smiled, stepping close to Applejack. Her anger forgotten, she couldn't help but smile back as she reached to ruffle my mane with her hoof.

"Yo're mighty full of surprises, little fellah."

"Thank you, Applejack. I try my best." - I replied. It was nice to see that she was a reasonable per... pony, after all.

Applejack tried to convince me to let her carry Apple Bloom in my stead, but I insisted. And the filly seemed to cling tighter to me at the opportunity of being taken away. That was a rather... endearing display.

As we were walking to the farmhouse side by side, I had decided to take an opportunity to ask Applejack about her meeting with Princess Twilight.

"Ah, don't ya'll worry none, little fellah. The Princess was shocked to hear your story. She's defenitely going to do all she can to help ya find your parents. In fact, she's coming for a visit this evening!"

What?!

I felt being completely forzen mid-step. It took a few moments to settle in. Princess Twillight was an alicorn. The member of a all-powerful god-like tribe of a pony race. Which meant that the all-powerful. God-like. Monarch. Was coming to me this. Very. Evening.

The cold ran down my spine, despite how warm Apple Bloom was. I don't like it... I don't like it at all.

Author's Note

Hopefully, my view on the progressing relationship in this chapter is going to be to your liking... :scootangel:

Chapter 5: Princess Alert!

"What are ya'll suddenly so worried about?" - Apple Bloom asked me, despite me simply sitting still in her room. How can she tell I'm worried? In fact, that was an interesting question. And a good way to get distracted from the troubling thoughts.

"How can you tell I'm worried, Apple Bloom? It's not like I'm pacing around the room, after all."

"Ah... Ah don't know. Ah just do," - was her answer. It seemed familiar.

"I don't know... I just did." So... is she just feeling it? The same way I felt the urge to pretect her that day?

"I see..." - I said. A few more minutes had passed in silence.

"I worry about the visit of the Princess. I don't feel... ready for it."

"Oh, ya mean Princess Twilight? She's an awesome pony! She ev'n makes some time for the foals once a week, helping us develop the skills in the things we like to do! Ah've learnt so much about potion making from those lessons with her! Why would ya'll be so worried about meeting her?"

Potion making, huh? So, there is some kind of a chemistry... or alchemy in this world. Good to know.

"I guess I just don't know what to expect of her. She's an all-powerful alicorn Princess, after all!" - I said, trying to sound dramatic in order to hide the fact that the named concern was actually my prime source of worries at the moment.

"Oh, don't be silly! It's true that Twilight is the best pony when it comes to magic, it's her special talent, after all. But it's not like the earth splits under her step and the clouds form when she frowns," - Apple Bloom giggled at her own image of Princess Twillight. I, however, didn't feel like sharing her amusement.

"What if she doesn't like me? What if I do something wrong and she banishes me away or worse?"

The filly had given me a flat look at that.

"Ya'll sound exactly like she once did, before she became a Princess."

I had been caught completely off-guard by that reply.

"I... do?"

"Eeeyup! Before Twilight has become a Princess, she was a student of Princess Celestia. And she took her studying waaaaay too seriously, believing that if she makes as much as a mistake, the Princess would, and Ah quote, "Throw her in the dungeon, or banish her away from Equestria, or throw her in the dungeon in the place she banishes her to."

Oh... Oh. That does sound like what I've just said.

I had taken a deep breath... then released it slowly.

"Maybe you're right, Apple Bloom. Maybe I'm overthinking it," - I had concluded, to which filly snorted with a warm laughter.

"Yeah... Maybe."

I was standing in front of the lavender Princess, looking her in the eyes. I must admit... This is not what I expected. She didn't wear any royal regalia, neither did she have a squad of the guard ponies following her every step in the way. But that wasn't enough to make me let my guard down around her. Wrath never needed the guards as well... and only a few knew why.

"Hello there, little one," - she had offered me a kind smile. Despite how I felt inside, I had returned it. The years of practice has made a skillful actor out of me.

"Greetings to you as well, Your Highness. It's a pleasure to meet one of the Princesses like that," - my words seemed to have a desirable effect, as she chuckled a bit at the foal talking like a high society class member. It must have looked rather... adorable on the outside.

"Please, don't call me Princess. It's for the other ponies. For my friends, I'm just Twilight," - her reply was rather unexpected to me.

"Your... friends? Do you consider me your friend, Pr... Twilight?"

"Of course, I do. Applejack told me all about what you have done for her and her family. And if my friend says that you've managed to become almost a part of her family in just a couple of days, then I see no reason not to become friends with you too."

That was a little straightforward, especially for a Princess. However, if the information I had gathered so far was correct, she, unlike the two old monarchs of Equestria, wasn't an ancient centuries-old being. I... am much older than her. Must keep that in mind.

"Thank you, Twillight," - nonetheless, I had replied with a gleeful smile, - "Let's be friends!"

Becoming friends with the Princess herself would greatly reduce my concerns about possible threats from the alicorns. I was sure the four of them were close, and surely trusted each other.

But... can she tell what I really am? Can she see the monster behind this mask of an innocent child? What if she already knows who I am? Can I overpower her... at least enough for the opportunity to escape?

I couldn't help it, those thoughts just wouldn't leave my head. As always, I tried thinking ahead, as if I was playing a game of Chess.

"See? Ah told you Princess Twilight is a great pony! Are you feeling silly yet?" - Apple Bloom stepped in, shaking me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah... silly," - I said, giving a sheepish smile as I reached to scratch my mane awkwardly. The gesture I had picked up from ponies, having witnessed it so many times by that moment. That should've made my disguise perfect.

The dinner had been filled with friendly talk with nopony else but the Princess of Friendship herself, she seemed to be a really nice and friendly pony, indeed. Or she tried her best to look like one. My concerns didn't die down though, I kept watching her at every possibility that presented itself. I didn't allow myself to use my shadows though, due to having no idea if she could somehow sense them. That would lead to me revealing myself. That if she doesn't know already. After all, those guys from Xing Empire could sense Homunculi due to the Philosopher's Stones inside us. She, however, either didn't notice my glances every now and then, or decided that I was just awestruck to see the Princess so close for the first time. I was a foal on the outside, after all.

"Applejack, it's official. Your family provides the best food in all of Equestria!"

"Aww, shucks, Twilight," - the farm pony replied, blushing slightly. What is she embarrassed of? - "Ah'm always happy to provide the best for mah friends."

"Seriously, though. It was a wonderful dinner. I don't remember having such a meal even in the Royal Castle in Canterlot," - the Princess continued, making the Applejack blush deeper. Perhaps, it would be nice to cut it out.

"Thank you for the meal," - I had given my usual thanks to the Apple Family, bringing everypony's attention on me and successfuly distracting Twilight from teasing Applejack.

"Ya're mighty welcome, little fellah!" - Granny Smith replied, as she always did.

"Well, before I go, I'd like to spend some time with Dark Side. I need to talk to him in private, if that's okay with you."

I could feel the cold surrounding me. My concerns had returned with a newfound force.

"Ah... suppose, it's okay. Care to tell why, though?"

Yes. What are you planning, Princess?

"Oh, just a few questions about his past, nothing special, Applejack. If he manages to remember something, anything, it would be a great help with my search," - her answer was rather smooth and calming, but I was sure it was a disguise for something else... Or am I really being too paranoid about her?

We were in Applejack's room. Just me and the Princess of Friendship. The door was closed. So was the window. As is she doesn't want our conversation to ever leave this room... I was looking her in the eyes. She returned the gesture.

What is she planning? Her face doesn't show any signs of aggression. Does she know? What do I do?

"I win!" - I exclaimed, trying to poke at her true intentions, and confuse her a little. Perhaps, she might let something slip...

"Huh?"

"You blinked. I really like this game!" - I said, bringing the gleeful smile to my face once more.

"Oh, you didn't say we were playing. So, you cheated."

"A win is a win," - I had offered her a shrug, to which she chuckled.

"I suppose. So, do you think you're okay to answer some questions of mine?"

It can't be helped then...

"I guess so. I'll try my best, Twillight!"

"So, Dark Side," - she had begun in a friendly tone, - "Where are you from?"

That's strange. I had already told Applejack I didn't remember the answer to that question. Has she forgotten to mention it? Or does Twilight think that some memories might come back to me so soon? Then again... what is a normal time period for ponies to get their memories back when suffering amnesia?

"Oh... Twillight, I've already told Applejack I can't remember where I'm from."

What she said next, had nearly caused me to experience a heart attack. If I had a heart to begin with, that is.

"Don't worry, Dark Side," - she said, still as friendly as ever, - "It's okay to drop the act now. Right now, you can be yourself."

All of my thoughts had disappeared at that moment. All, except for one. The one that had quickly filled all of the emptiness in my head. The one that had consumed my entire mind.

She knows.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but when I focused my attention back on the alicorn, she was still looking at me with a friendly smile, expecting my reply. There was no need for my childish voice anymore.

"You can sense me..." - I switched to my natural voice, - "As expected from the caring monarch you are... You must be able to identify the threat in order to protect your subjects."

She raised an eyebrow at my voice, but shook her head at my reply.

"I'm not viewing you as a threat. I admit that, should we meet eariler, I might have. But not now," - her reply was rather confusing to me. I had decided to dig a bit deeper.

"Why not?"

"Because of what you've done for Apple Bloom," - her answer did little to convince me.

"What if that's just a part of the act?"

She smiled and shook her head once again.

"That's a lesson I've learnt a long time ago. And I must admit, without learning it, I wouldn't be where I am today. I've learnt that everypony should be judged by their actions, not by their appearances or their nature."

That seemed to be... a good point. If she stands by that, I'm safe. In Equestria, I have done no evil deed, unless murdering a timber-and-stone golem is a crime here. I had let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"It's easy to say, Twilight... But you have no idea what monster hides behind this child's appearance."

She seemed intrigued by my statement as she had asked me to show my natural form to her. And I had done exactly that. Soon the entire room had been filled with my shadows, the eyes were open, the teeth - visible. A display that could cause anyone to falter, and I could swear I noticed a few signs of fear on her. But they were gone with a blink of an eye.

"Even so... You're still not a monster," - she had concluded rather calmly, - "Because a monster wouldn't risk like you did to save a little filly."

She's not getting it, is she?

"I thought that at this point you would understand that I wasn't exactly putting myself in any risk."

A sly smile had appeared on her face. A smile that told me she was prepared for my reaction.

"So, are you meaning to say you weren't risking to reveal yourself?"

That had caught me off-guard. Completely. Because I defenitely was risking to have my true self being revealed for the Apple Family to see. I didn't really have a good come back to that one.

"Touche."

She smiled approvingly and noded before speaking again.

"A long time ago, there was an evil tyrant that had turned the entire land of Equestria into the pure Chaos. His name is Discord. He possessed magic that allowed him to bring the impossible things into reality, making day and night switch every few seconds, turning ponies into the opposites of themselves, making their houses float upside down above the ground, bringing chocolate rains and a lot of things of that sort. He was defeated by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and turned into a stone statue. But a year ago, he had escaped his prison, bringing Chaos upon Equestria once again. Me and my friends were able to turn him back to stone once again eventually. However, he had been freed not too long after. Freed on our own free will, since we had tried to do something nopony had before: befriend the Chaos Spirit. It did take some time, but in the end, he, indeed, had become our friend. And before you make a comment I know you're thinking of, he had the chance to betray us. He almost did so once. But in the end, he had made a choice against it, learning the true value of friendship."

She... surely is a Princess of Friendship. It had taken some time to settle in, but I was impressed by that story.

"So, returning to my original question... Where are you from?"

"I'm not from this world."

"I've figured as much. I've never sensed the magical signature quite as yours, not mentioning your... natural form," - she said, gesturing to the picture of a pure insanity around her. I had taken that as a silent plead to hide my shadows, so I proceeded to do just that.

"My world was a world of humans, who used the advanced skills in alchemy."

"I thank you for answering my question honestly, Dark Side. Now, the time I asked for is running out, so, we might return to that topic some other day. I trust that you will protect the Apple Family. And don't worry, I will say nothing about your true identity to them. You'll do so yourself, when you think you're ready. Before I go, though, I have just one more question... Tell me, what is your real name?"

Well... I suppose, it couldn't hurt.

"I am Pride. The first Homunculus."

Author's Note

:ajsmug: The things are getting serious. :rainbowdetermined2:

Chapter 6: Too Many Questions

Princess Twilight was in no mental state to walk all the way to her castle. No, she could hardly take another step while keeping a calm demeanor. That's why, as soon as she was sure Apples were not watching her leave anymore, she immediately teleported to her castle. To her room, to be precise. She collapsed on her bed, panting hard and gripping her chest, allowing the mask she kept on so skillfuly finally fall and reveal the display of a pure terror that was hidden beneath. Never in her life had she faced anything so scary and dark, not even when she battled Nightmare Moon or opposed King Sombra.

She shouldn't have pressed Pride for answers. She shouldn't have asked anything. She was a fool to let her curiousity get the better of her. She didn't need to know that. She didn't need to see that. But now she had. And she couldn't unsee it. She couldn't get that nightmare out of her head. She knew about Pride. And Pride knew about her. And Pride knew that she knew...

"Twilight..."

That wasn't going to end well. That was a mere beginning of a disaster. Her questions had ensured the doom of Equestria.

"Twilight."

Pride was a madness made out of shadows. Pride could be hiding in every single dark corner. Even her room wasn't safe anymore! Pride would get her. Now or later. In her wake. In her sleep. In her dreams. She was as good as...

"TWILIGHT!!!"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Twilight's magic flared out of control. Within a second, the entire room went to Tartarus: the crystal furniture rearranged chaotically, some of the items transfigured into the random things, and Twilight Sparkle herself floating in the middle of that display which would, without a doubt, make Discord proud of the Princess. Good thing Spike was floating right next to her, so he reached out and shook the terrified alicorn.

"Twilight, snap out of it!"

Then it happened. The magic had stopped all at once, which, obviously, lead to both pony and baby dragon helplessly fall on the floor. Good thing it wasn't much of a height to fall from. If only it wasn't for the randomly floating furniture coming crushing at those two right after that.

The next few days weren't exactly eventful. Apple Bloom's wound was healing nicely, the little filly was getting much better and thus had been allowed to go for a walk every now and then. A happy smile had returned to her face as she got to spend time with her fellow Crusaders. Not really going on adventures, but still much better than sitting in her room doing nothing all day. That is if you don't count me making her company, of course... which I didn't stop doing even during her meetings with the other Crusaders in their renewed clubhouse.

"You three really do make a great team," - I had finally decided to make a comment after sitting still and observing the fillies discuss the future plans for getting their cutiemarks, - "It's so nice to witness how much you care for each other, and that you don't even go crusading for as long as Apple Bloom can't join you!"

"Aw, shucks..." - Apple Bloom blushed a little at my words, nothing new there.

"Of course! We would never leave our fellow crusader hanging!" - Scootaloo exlaimed. She had successfully made an impression of a brave fool with a heart in the right place. I could easily underestimate her... But I won't make the same mistake again.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about. Apple Bloom really needs a great company now, and you provide her just that!" - I had mirrored Scotaloo cheering attitude, adding to the general cheer atmosphere dominating the clubhouse.

Both the pegasus and the unicorn had raised their forelegs in the air and clapped them together, shouting: "YEAH!" I had seen some other kids that enjoyed working in a team doing that before. But unlike them, Scotaloo and Sweetie Belle hadn't put their forelegs down. Instead, they kept them up and were looking at me, as if expecting something. I didn't know what they meant, so I did nothing. At least, not until I felt a gentle grip on my foreleg. Apple Bloom smiled at me and moved my foreleg up with her hooves, prompting me to join her friends in their activity. As my hoof touched theirs, the expecting smile was still on the faces of Crusaders, so, acting like a confused child, I said: "Ehm... Yeah?"

They shared a wholehearted laugh, before exclaiming again.

"YEAH!!!"

Ever since the day she hatched him, Spike had proven again and again to be a great assistant in Twilight's life. He had his flaws, of course, but he was smart, he was tough and, most of all... he was wise. His level of sheer wisdom was unbelievable for the dragon of his age. And if you were to ask Twilight about it, she wouldn't be able to count exactly how many times she wished she would have listened to his advice and didn't shrug it off as the words of a child. How many times she wished she would have taken him more seriously, and how many times she kept repeating the same mistake over and over again. But that time was different. She clearly couldn't take the pressure she had on her mind, and there was nopony near to help her. No pony, indeed... but her little dragon was by her side, as always.

And so she did the only wise thing... She spilled everything to him. After they climbed out of the messed up mountain of Twilight's furniture, of course. She told him everything that was on her mind... on her heart. All about what happened in Apple Family during the last few days. The reason why she was so scared. The creature she had met. The possible threat and her not having any plan for defense. Every little thing... Until she had no strength to speak anymore. And, luckily, no strength to keep her panic up.

"There you are, sugarcubes!" - Applejack greeted me and Apple Bloom as we returned to the farm house. After all, it was dinner time, - "And right on time!"

"Of course, Applejack. I wouldn't miss the Apple Family dinner for the world!" - I beamed at her, - "I might be just about to begin salivating, because of how delicious the flavour coming out of the door is!"

"Aww, shucks, sugarcube. Ya'll flatter me," - she replied as the blush appeared on her face. But she was quick to recover and change the topic, - "Ah hope ya're ready for tomorrow, 'cause ya'll be going to school. Both of ya!"

And just like that, the delicious dinner had completely left my thoughts.

Spike had always been a great listener. Whenever he happened to listen to the other pony's piled up feelings, he was never getting distracted by anything and payed his utmost attention to the speaker. After they had nothing more to say, he would step in and offer a wise advice or ask just the right question. That time, however...

"I... I don't know what to say, Twilight. What you have described is really scary. Like Mane-iac! Only with shadows..."

"I know! Spike, oh, this is so terrible. We've got to do something!" - Twilight agreed with Spike's concern wholeheartedly. However, he wasn't finished.

"...and not actually insane. Twilight, did he say or do anything offensive or dangerous?"

That was the question Twilight didn't expect, yet her mind was in no state to think through the hidden messages.

"Of course! He filled the entire room with his shadows, he stared at me with those numerous eyes, he showed me his sharp teeth and, and...!"

"That's scary, yes. But not offensive. Plus, you did mention asking him to show you his true form, didn't you?"

"Yes, but... But I..." - the Princess was at a loss for words, her mind simply didn't want to welcome the thought of something so scary not actually being a threat to her and all of Equestria. But the more she thought about it, the more she realised that all of her conclusions had been dictated by her fears alone, - "Spike, you're right! He did nothing offensive or dangerous. I... I've let my fears get the better of myself."

Spike had offered his alicorn friend a warm hug, which had been eagerly accepted.

"Oh, Spike... What would I do without you?"

"Shucks, Twilight. I am not your number one assistant for nothing," - the baby dragon was certainly proud of himself. But most of all, he was really glad that Twilight talked to him before pulling herself into any unnecessary mess which could be avoided.

"Spike, I'm so sorry..." - the voice of the Princess had taken a sad colour and that had caught Spike's attention.

"Uh... what's wrong, Twilight?"

"I'm... I'm just so sorry that I never took you seriosly. Over the years, you have proven to be a truly wise assistant of mine. You know everything about me. You keep all of my possible needs in mind, you're always there for me when I need somepony. The least I could do was repaying you by being honest and open with you all the time. Celestia knows how many times I could have avoided getting in trouble if I would have just listened to you instead of believing that I know better... And even now, who knows what I could have done if you weren't there to listen to me and help me realise that my fears were based on just that scary impression. It... it is about time I finally learn that lesson. I really owe you a big apology."

Spike could not believe what he was hearing as he stared into Twilight's eyes shining with honesty and regret. That was it... That was finally the moment when Twilight was promising to take his advice seriously. To never shrug his words off like she used to. And he could not be happier...

The baby dragon's thoughts were interupted by something warm and wet sliding down his cheek. Then, the same sensation repeated itself on the other cheek. He didn't even have the time to realise that he was crying. And not as a baby dragon... but as a happy and appreciated number one assistant.

"School...? Me...?" - I ask like any other kid in my situation would, - "But I don't even remember what school I used to go to..."

"That's alright, sugarcube. Ya'll have proven to be really smart and all that. Ah'm sure ya'll do jus' fine going to the same school with little Apple Bloom here!" - Applejack told me.

"And ya'll get to spend the lunch break and the time after school with me and the Cutiemark Crustaders!" - the excited filly shouted out from behind me. I have almost forgotten she is still there.

"Oh... I didn't think about that. It does sound rather cool, indeed," - I had commented, scratching the back of my head. It's a gensture I had seen other ponies do quite a few times by that moment.

"So, ya'll better eat well and get prepared for tomorrow. Ya're gonna need that energy in school, after all!" - Applejack said, inviting me and Sweetie Belle to the table, where the rest of the Apple Family were already waiting for us. I smiled and eagerly accepted the invitation. After all... this family does provide the most delicious meal I've ever tasted.

"So... what are you up to now?" - Spike said, entering Twillight's library. Obviously, that's where she was.

"Now, that the fear is no longer in my way, I have remembered the other detail I'm really curious about. When I asked Pride about his true name, he said, and I quote: "I am Pride. The first Homunculus." But I have no idea what that "Homunculus" is... what does it even mean? There's got to be the answer... I just need to find it!" - Twilight had given her assistant a rather long answer, all while flying from one shelf to the other, picking up some books she felt she could look for the answer in.

"So... you expect the answer to be in those books? But Twilight, you have already read all of them. In fact, you have read some more than once."

Spike's reply had caused the alicorn to freeze mid-flight as the look of realisation had dawned upon her face.

"Oh..." - was all that she said, her facial expression visibly slackening, - "Also, I had picked up and classified all of the books from the old castle too. And I had been through all of Celestia's library even before I moved to Ponyville."

After thinking about it for a few more monents, the Princess of Friendship had come to the sad conclusion: "There is no information about anything called "Homunculus" in the books."

Spike scratched his chin in thought. There must be something they have overlooked there... Something that was right under their noses.

"Twilight, do you remember him mentioning that he's not from this world?" - he offered.

"Yeah... But that only leaves more questions, and I..." - Twilight had begun a new trail of thoughts, but Spike hadn't let her finish.

"What if what's called "Homunculus" in his world is called something different in ours?"

A silence filled the room, leaving the last of Spike's words echoing through the library. Nothing seemed to change for the next few seconds. Nothing, except for Twilight's eyes that seemed to grow in their size with every passing moment.

"Oh my gosh... " - she had finally said, beaming at the baby dragon with a grin that would make Pinkie Pie proud, - "Spike, it's official. You. Are. A GENIUS!"

The number one assistant had got tackled in a warm hug before he could even say a word.

Laying on the bed, I cuddled the little filly. She seemed to have grown to like it by that point, as she buried her face in my soft chest fur, no longer embarrassed by her actions. I smiled at her gently.

"Somepony is really going to trade her pillow for me someday soon," - I had offered, chuckling slightly.

"Aw, hush, you..." - her muffled voice was the reply I had got as she snuggled even closer. She remained silent for a few more minutes, before she had asked that question. The question I did not expect. The question, which was not meant to be asked. The innocent question, which could ruin everything...

"Dark Side..."

...

"...why can't Ah hear yer heartbeat?"

Author's Note

Twillight seems to be taking the whole thing rather well, they said... A lame reveal, they said....

Well...

How's THIS for a change?! :trixieshiftright:

Also, I'm glad the opportunity to advance her relationship with Spike has presented itself. The little guy really deserves much more attention than he gets. :moustache:

Chapter 7: A Night Not Long Enough

Not you too...

I just layed there, not knowing what I should and shouldn't do in the situation like that. I certainly did not expect the things turn out that way. Such a sweet and innocent question... could lead to the most unpredictable consequences. Not only it could reveal my true identity, but also... I might end up losing her...

I had caught myself off-guard with that though... Why would I even be concerned about what's supposed to be such an insignificant little detail for me in the dire situation like that?

"Darky...?"

The voice of the sweet little filly had brought me back to the earth, as they say. Wait... what?

"Ehm... what have you just called me?"

It was Apple Bloom's turn to fall silent. I didn't even need to look at her to understand that she was blushing again.

"It's a... nickname Ah've given you," - she had finally mumbled.

"A nickname...?" - I raised an eyebrow at her response, though I doubt she could see that gesture in the dark.

"Y-yeah... Really close friends give each other nicknames, ya know," - she explained, blushing harder. She really wants us to be close, does she not? - "But that's besides the point. Ya'll still said nothin' 'bout why Ah can't hear yer heartbeat, no matter how... how... how close I snuggle against you..." - she finished in a mere whisper.

That was a good thing that I didn't have any heartbeat, or else it would be thumping harder than any drum. But then again... I wouldn't be in this situation if I did have one.

"Are... are you sure?" - I had offered, once again putting on a mask of a confused child.

"Darky... You're terrible in lying," - she replied, seeing right through theat mask. You have no idea how good I actually am at that. I admit, I didn't expect her to be that... sagacious though. What do I do now?

"Apple Bloom... " - Perhaps, I should be a little more honest, - "...you don't want to know the answer."

At first, her facial expression had turned into the one of sadness, but then... it looked like she had realised something, and it changed to the one of fear, and then... to the one of regret. What is happening in her head?

"Ah'm... so sorry," - she had finally offered in a meek voice. Sorry? Whatever for? - "Ah... didn't mean to bring any bad memories up."

It was my turn to have a look of realisation on my face. So... she thinks something bad happened to me which had lead to my heartbeat disappearing entirely? It would be... convenient to let her hang on that thought.

"It's okay, Bloomie..." - I tried my best to sound kind and comforting, letting my hoof stroke her mane gently, - "...Maybe I'll tell you one day."

A few moments had passed in a silence. And then...

"Wha... what did ya'll just call me?" - it was her turn to ask that question. Exactly as I intended.

"That's my nickname for you, silly. After all, we are close, are we not?" - I chuckled a bit, displaying my amusement at that little role reversal. Needless to say, she blushed much harder than before, silently praying for the darkness to hide her face from me. That would be pointless.

"Why do ya just always know what tah say?" - she mumbled, burying her face in my chest fur in a further attempt to hide it.

"And why do you just always get so flustered around me?" - I countered her question in a playful manner, being glad to move further away from the topic I wished to avoid. But, it seemed, that was just not meant to happen. After a few more moments spent in a complete silence, she said.

"It's a secret. Ah'll tell ya when ya tell me yers..."

Clever. Very clever, indeed. What else did I expect? She was a really clever filly... definitely not something I had expected from a farmer's child.

"That's a lesson I've learnt a long time ago," - the voice of Princess Twilight rang in my head. I couldn't help but agree with her on that thought, - "Everypony should be judged by their actions, not by their appearances or their nature."

"If that happens... " - lost in those thoughts, I had blurted out the next phrase before I could properly think it through, - "...you wouldn't even want to talk to me again," - and only then I had realised the gravity of what I had just said.

"W...wha?" - the little filly seemed to be taken aback by my phrase not any less than I was, - "Why would ya'll think that?"

"It... it's complicated, Apple Bloom," - I tried my best to explain it without accidentally revealing anything else, - "Sometimes... things are not as they seem."

After remaining silent and thinking my words over for the next few moments, she just had to surprise me again.

"No," - Apple Bloom said firmly, - "Stop bein' that harsh on yaself! No matter what ya're hidin' from the others, it makes no difference tah me."

...

This filly is full of surprises... to the degree where it starts getting frightening.

"How can you say that?" - my question was no longer a part of an act. I really wanted to know.

"Because Ah owe you my life," - she stated simply, but in a voice that had put a much deeper meaning into that phrase, - "Ah don't care if ya'll end up being a timberwolf in disguise."

Those were some really strong words, indeed. Especially coming from a little filly. Trying to lighten up the mood and dig a little deeper on that matter at the same time, I asked, chuckling playfully.

"And what if I was a timberwolf in disguise?"

She fell silent for another couple of moments, obviously thinking it over. And then...

"Ah wouldn't care."

...she had managed to place a strike right at my lack of heart. That warm feeling, the one she was the first to make me experience in that world, had returned and filled me with a new-found force.

"Whoevah ya'll might really be, Ah wouldn't care, because Ah know who ya ain't," - she continued, sinking me deeper into that feeling, - "Ya ain't no monster."

"Why are you so sure about that?" - I simply had to ask.

"'Cause no monster would ever be so... nice," - she explained, a deep blush was returning to her face.

"Nice?" - I countered, - "Your family had openned it's doors for me, accepted me, shared their home, their food, their... care with me. Who's being nice?"

But the smart little filly had once again caught me by surprise.

"Exactly!" - she exclaimed before remembering to keep her voice low, - "That's exactly what Ah'm talking about. Ya'll spent so much time with me during these days. Ya've joined our club, become friends with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, carried me when Ah couldn't walk... and all after ya've saved my life! And before that, ya've helped me out with mah homework when we barely knew each other. Ya've been so nice every step on the way, and ya'll haven't even noticed that. That means ya've been sincere in every action of yers."

That little filly... She just couldn't stop surprising me, could she? Whenever I thought that I had her all figured out, she just had to throw in another surprise like that. The surprise that once again had left me completely astonised. She was right... about everything. It's true that I did my best to keep on the image of a sweet and innocent child, but while doing that, I didn't even notice how much of the nice things I did was... unnecessary. I could just... not do them, and that wouldn't crack my disguise even a little. It's as if... I wanted to do those things. It's like... something deep inside was pushing me in that direction all the time.

"You're right..." - I simply admitted, having no reason to deny something that obvious.

"Darn tootin', Ah'm right! No monster would ever be so nice, not to mention... ehm... Ah mean..." - the confident filly suddenly stumbled upon her words before growing silent. That had picked my curiousity, and I smiled at her kindly, trying to encourage her to continue.

"What is it, Bloomie?"

After remaning silent for an entire minute, the heavily blushing filly had finally pushed the words out of her mouth.

"Ya'll snuggle me... every night... And it feels so... nice..."

So, that's what it's all about.

In response, I simply snuggled her closer to me. For whatever reason, our proximity felt much... warmer today. Does this always happen when you grow closer to someone? Needless to say, she didn't resist at all. Instead, she had only buried her face in my coat, embracing me in return. And then, she whispered something... But with her voice being that quiet and her words getting muffled by my fur, I couldn't understand what she said. But for whatever reason, I suddenly felt even warmer.

"...what was that?" - I tried to inquire.

She didn't reply. On a closer look, she was already asleep. I reached to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead and stroked her mane. Yet another completely unnecessary thing... that I simply wished to do.

"I wish you have a nice dream, Bloomie..."

I had a lot to think about that night. Most of all... it was the certain smart filly that wouldn't stop surprising me. And, given all of my sheer age and experience, it would take something really impressive to do that. Definitely not something I would ever expect from a little filly. But... I was wrong. In my entire life, I had never been that wrong about anything. She was so smart, so tough, so nice, so beautiful, so...

As I was thinking about Apple Bloom, I had suddenly caught myself at the direction my thoughts had taken without me even noticing. It's true, I was impressed with her. Really impressed. But... Where did these thoughts even come from? And, more importantly... Why do they make me feel so... warm? That didn't happen to me before... not until I had met her. Not until Apple Bloom and I had become so close. And then, there was the thought that had never been in my head ever since I had woken up in that strange new world...

I don't want anything to change.

That was true. I really didn't want the things to change. In that short period of time I had grown to like them the way they had turned out to be. I wanted them to last... and I couldn't quite explain why. To be honest, there was a lot of things I could no longer explain. And the most disturbing fact was... the most of those things were happening inside of me.

I wonder... what has she whispered?

Whatever that was... it had to be something special. But what words could make me feel so warm without me even hearing them? Did she use some other kind of... magic? Perhaps, something I don't know about yet? No matter how silly that thought was, I had to consider it for I really could not explain those things in any other manner.

I took another look at the sleeping filly in my embrace. She looked so calm... so peaceful. It's like she felt really... safe in my embrace. Like she knew that nothing bad would ever happen to her for as long as she was in my ~~arms~~ forelegs. Oh, Apple Bloom... if only you knew what a monster you have let into your heart. And just like that, as if in response to my thoughts, her sweet voice sounded in my head:

"Ah wouldn't care."

Something warm and wet slid down my cheek. I reached to touch my face and check what that was, but before I could do that, the same feeling had appeared on my other cheek. Those were... The tears. Am I... crying? That was yet another thing I couldn't explain. It's true, wearing a mask of an innocent child on a daily basis, I cried a few times for Miss Bradley. But... never before had I cried on my own. And just like with the warm feeling... I couldn't explain that. It simply... happened.

Why am I... Pride... The First Homunculus... crying?

A tear of mine had landed on Apple Bloom's mane. She had wrinkled her face at first, but then... she had embraced me even tighter. She no longer looked just safe in my embrace... she looked like she wanted me to feel safe in hers as well. That was a really endearing display. I had leaned my head closer to her and quietly whispered in her ear.

"Thank you..."

Whatever dream she was seeing, a wide smile had spread over her beautiful face.

Author's Note

"...Ah love ya..."

Chapter 8: A Quick Visit

The beautiful little filly had opened her eyes, and was immediately lost in mine. That... experience, however, was mutual. We must had layed there staring in each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, before I had finally broken the silence.

"Good morning, Bloomy."

Her cheeks had turned red at the cute nickname I had given her.

"Good morning, Darky..." - she replied meekly, returning her snout into my chest fur. It looked like she didn't want to get up. Neither I wanted to leave our cozy "predicament". My hoof reached to stroke her mane tenderly as I smiled at her. She was content, and so was I. I heard there was a place people refered to as Paradise. And being there with Apple Bloom, laying on that soft and warm bed, snuggling against each other... it fit the description I heard perfectly. Neither of us wanted that experience to end, but...

"Rise an' shine, sugarcubes!" - somepony just had to ruin it for us. Not that I could blame her, of course. After all... - "Ya two better get ready, or ya'll be late for school!"

It was after those words that Applejack had taken a closer look at us.

"Awwww, that's cute," - she said, suddenly pressing her forehooves against her cheeks. Yet another gesture I haven't seen before.

"Alright, alright... we're up!" - Apple Bloom said, reluctantly letting go of our tight embrace and getting off of the bed.

Needless to say, as soon as we headed downstairs, Apple Bloom and I had been greeted by a luxury of a breakfast. I should have been used to that by that moment, however... Even the experience of living in a rich Bradley family and being served the finest of the meals there were was nothing compared to the food I tasted in that simple yet... stylish farm house. I really shouldn't underestimate that "down to eath" type.

"Mmmm... smells delicious!" - I commented with honesty.

"Aw, shucks, sugarcube," - Applejack replied. She has started to call me that... is that also a nickname? No. She called Apple Bloom the same word. Must be something else...

"Ah jus' can't wait to introduce Darky to my friends in school!" - Apple Bloom exclaimed, and only then realised what she had just spilled.

"Darky...?" - her big sister raised an eyebrow at her in a way I felt only she could do. The little filly had blushed heavily and looked away, obviously embarrassed.

"That's alright," - I had broken the silence, a sly smile was present on my face, - "I can't wait for that too... Bloomie."

I don't think I had ever seen Apple Bloom getting that crimson before. The sweet revenge had been claimed.

Our path to the School lied through the town of Ponyville. We still had plenty of time before the lesson would start, so Apple Bloom and I were in no hurrny at all, taking our time and enjoying walking together. I didn't even notice how she had got even closer, her coat practically brushing against mine.

"I am excited about my first day at Ponyville school," - I had offered something for us to talk about, - "But even more so, I am excited to be spending an entire day with you."

"Shucks..." - she meekly replied. Obviously, she was blushing again, - "Ya'll gonna make me change mah coat color at this rate."

"No," - I commented, chuckling at her phrase, - "I wouldn't want anything about you to ever change."

My sweet comment had only made her blush even harder than before, very much to my amusement.

"Say, Bloomie..." - I said, having noticed a rather... impressive building standing out among the other ones - "Is that Princess Twilight's castle?"

"Yeah, that sure is! Why?" - she replied, rising an eyebrow at my question, - "Do ya wanna pay her a quick visit?"

"Yeah," - I admitted. I wonder what she's up to now... - "I wonder if she has found out anything about me yet."

"Okay," - the little filly replied. She knew we had more than enough time left for that.

Princess Twilight was really tired as the morning came. She was up all night... again. Reading through the library was one task, but trying to figure something out while having next to no information to base her research on... Needless to say, she was beyond exhausted. But giving up without having figured out yet another "the fate of Equestria depends on it" kind of mystery was just not her style. At least, not until the all too familiar voice shook her out of her thoughts.

"It appears, the rumors about you were true, after all..."

She felt the cold shiver running down her spine. Taking a breath to calm herself down, the lavender alicorn had turned around.

"Greetings to you, Pride. I didn't expect you to pay a visit," - her attempt to look calm and collected had been completely ruined by the sheer exhaustion, not to mention the bizarre state of her mane. The sleepless nights were written all over her face.

"Greetings to you as well, Twilight. I believe, it is my turn to ask you to drop the act now... You're in a terrible state," - the First Homunculus said, causing the Princess of Friendship to lower her head in defeat.

"It's that obvious, isn't it?" - she admitted.

"Indeed. And, I believe, I am the reason behind that," - Pride had voiced his guess.

"Yes..." - Twilight admitted reluctantly. She was beginning to feel nervous, - "I wanted to figure out what Homunculus is, but I had too little information to begin with."

"Allow me to guess... you were afraid to ask, were you not?" - said the being centuries older than the Princess. A weak nod from her was the only answer he had received, - "Homunculus is an artificially created being. In your world, that would be an artificially made pony."

The crazy scientist inside Twilight simply had to jump at that opportunity.

"Something that complex being made... artificially? But, but... that's next to impossible. You don't look any different from a regular pony," - she began, but instantly corrected herself, remembering who she was talking about, - "At least on the outside..."

In response, Pride had simply frowned.

"Don't get over yourself, Twilight," - he warned her, knowing the answers to her questions all too well, - "Sometimes... there are things better left unknown. Because if you dig deeper into them... you might not like what you would find out."

A cold wind ran down the Princess's spine for the second time that day.

"Anyway, it was nice to see you again. I need to get going though, wouldn't want Apple Bloom to be late for school because of me," - he said, turning to leave the library - "Perhaps, getting some sleep would be a better course of action for you right now. You are looking terrible, after all."

"And then, I had jumped in with my ferocious fire storm and saved those ponies from their inevitable doom!" - Spike had finished his story dramatically, taking a heroic pose. The little filly clapped her hooves and exclaimed: "Hooray!"

"Thank you, thank you! it was my pleasure to save the day again," - the little dragon was really proud of himself.

"And thank you!" - the sudden voice from behind him had made Spike's bravery evaporate in a blink of an eye, nearly causing him to jump.

"Sorry for startling you. You must be Spike, the Princess of Friendship's number one assistant," - Dark Side had offered, trying to calm the scared baby dragon.

"The one and only!" - Spike replied, his confidence returning to him.

"I just wanted to thank you, Spike, for keeping Apple Bloom here a company. I wouldn't want her to get bored because of me."

"No problem, little buddy. Spike is always there when needed," - the little dragon winked to him.

"But, I'm afraid, we have to go now. We don't have much time left before the school starts."

"Yup!" - the little filly joined her hero on that thought, - "We really oughta get going!"

They were just about to leave the castle when Spike put his claws on Dark Side's shoulder.

"You go ahead, Apple Bloom. I just wanted to discuss something with Dark Side real quick. He'll catch up on you in a minute," - he said to the filly and winked, - "You know, it's the "guys only" sort of thing." - she looked confused at first, but then just shrugged it off.

"Okay!" - she said, walking out of the main entrance.

The sudden request had caught me by surprise. But even more so did the first thing he said as soon as we were all alone.

"So... Hello, Pride. It's, ehm... nice to meet you."

So... that's how it is.

"I see, somepony doesn't know how to keep secrets," - at least, there was no reason to keep up the act around him anymore, - "Nevertheless, no reason for me to be impolite. Greetings to you too, Spike the Dragon. I believe, the pony I mentioned had already introduced you to me in my stead."

"Please, don't be mad at her," - he told me in a rather calm and convincing tone. So... he's not trembling? Impressive. After all, scaring him was not something I wished to do, - "She had... an emotional breakdown after seeing you for who you really are. She really needed someone to talk to... Please, understand."

He's showing quite a level of intelligence and... wisdom? Yet another surprise, I suppose.

"I admit, you do seem to be more wise and intelligent than you look, Spike," - I stated the obvious, making the little dragon smile, - "I don't know much about you and Twilight, but adding this fact to what I heard about you before, I believe, you're the voice of reason in this castle."

He seemed to be taken aback by my comment. His cheeks lit up with a deep purple colour, which, given his colour scheme, I assumed to be a blush.

"Oh, shucks..." - he replied, suddenly finding his foot claws really interesting for some reason, - "I just do my best for Twilight. I am her number one assistant, after all. However, I wanted to... ehm..." - he was really nervous about something. But I couldn't figure it out yet, so I simply did not interfere with his inner struggle, - "...to ask you to show me your true form."

How... curious.

"Why are you asking for that?" - I asked plainly.

"Well, you see... Twilight was really scared by it," - So, she was scared... she had put on a better mask than I thought she could then. - "But, personally, I found her description of you being really cool."

Cool? That was... an interesting choice of words, to say the least. But I couldn't allow myself to dwell on it as my time was rather limited at the moment. Better give him what he wants.

And just like that, the entire room went black.

"Dark Side, what's taking ya'll so long?" - Apple Bloom shouted, turning back to the castle, - "We're gonna be late for school if we wait for another minute!"

The castle door had opened at the exact moment she had finished her phrase. Both Dark Side and Spike had stepped out.

"No way, Apple Bloom! I won't let that happen!" - the colt said, trotting down the stairs, then turned his head to address the dragon, who looked a little... shaky for some reason, - "See you later, Spike! I wish you and Princess Twilight have a nice day."

"Y-yeah... S-see you later, guys...!"

The two foals were off to school, Apple Bloom wouldn't allow them as much as another second of waiting. Spike went back to the castle and closed the door behind him. Tightly. His legs were shaking like the leaves on the wind at that point, his heartbeat was racing. Being back to the same room where he faced a pure terror just a minute ago didn't help his state at all. As he looked around, the pictures of Pride's true form came back, he could see them all too clearly in his mind's eye. The darkness, the numerous... bizarre... red eyes... and those giant... scary... sharp teeth...

An unconscious body of the Brave and Glorious dragon hit the floor.

Author's Note

"I... I'm okay, d-don't worry...!" :moustache:

Chapter 9: Getting Schooled

School... Was there really much for me to expect from it? As a child of Bradley family, I was getting the finest education without having to leave the house. That was rather convenient, allowing me to save the time I needed to spend on my true mission. Going to school would have been too much of a... distraction. Therefore, I didn't have an experience of going to an actual school before. That doesn't mean I lacked the information on that matter though. I knew what purpose the schools served and the way the lessons took place there. There shouldn't had been any surprise for me to discover in the Ponyville school. And yet... At this point, I should get used to being surprised. The school I had seen instead was nothing like the school I was expecting to see: it looked more like a playground instead of a strict establishment. Then again... Perhaps, I should had taken the fact that Amestris was a country with a military regime in account. Equestria, on the other ~~hand~~ hoof, seemed to be nothing military-based. The information I had managed to collect so far was pointing on the fact that one of the main policy's of the Equestrian goverment was "spreading the magic of friendship", whatever that could possibly mean.

"What are ya'll waiting fer?" the voice of Apple Bloom had reached my ears as I was taking in the view, "The lesson's 'bout tah start. We gotta hurry!"

"Sorry, Apple Bloom," I replied, giving her a smile, "I was just taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of your school house."

"Well, ya'll can appreciate it on break," she kept pushing her point, "When we're in no danger of getting in some mighty trouble!"

I had returned to trotting towards the school entrance, not wanting to make Apple Bloom worry any longer.

Miss Cheerilee, the Ponyville school's one and only teacher, seemed to be leaving a good first impression. She had a cheerful smile, seemed to be kind to all of her students... But I should know better than anyone else that judging a book by it's cover is a wrong course of action. Plus, I have been surprised way too many times ever since I had found myself in that strange world of colourful talking ponies. Therefore, I wasn't going to allow myself to come to any conclusions. Especially since I had some more pressing affairs at the time...

"Good morning, class!" the teacher said, having the entire room of colts and fillies reply in kind, "Today, we have a new student. I'd like you to meet Dark S..." she paused before commenting, "Wow, that almost sounds like introducing a villain," she reached to scratch the back of her head, giving me a sheepish smile, "Anyway. Here is our new student, Dark Side. Class, let's be kind and greet him!"

"Hello, Dark Side!" the entire class has replied in unison. And, I believe, I could hear three voices sounding especially... enthusiastic to greet me. I didn't even need to look at their sources to know exactly who they were.

"Very well, Dark Side," Miss Cheerilee had switched her attention to me once more, "You may now introduce yourself however you'd like."

Oh... Apparently, having a new student give a speech was a tradition here. But what should I say...?

"Hello. As Miss Cheerilee has already said, my name is Dark Side. But you may call me Dark for short. I am glad to be here today and join you in this wonderful school you have. I am excited for my first day here, and I do hope that we can be friends!"

When I had finished my speech, the class had ~~clapped~~ stomped their hooves, which seemed to be the applause in that world.

"That's a very good speech, young colt! You may now go take your place," the teacher seemed to be encouraging her students in expressing themselves through the speech...? Noted.

My place was right next to Apple Bloom. And it was a pleasure to find out. I suppose, I have Apple Family's connections to thank for that.

As I had taken my place, the class had finally started, as was promised.

The subjects Miss Cheerilee was teaching the class were the child's play for me. But I was still looking forward to the history lesson. I cannot allow myself to miss on a chance to learn more about this world. However, instead of moving on to the next subject, the teacher had announced a break.

Needless to say, the whole bunch of young colts and fillies had stormed out of the classroom. My guess was they were going to occupy the playground I had seen outside. And as I walked from the classroom myself, I could instantly see that my guess was correct. Since I was the only one who didn't exactly "storm out" of the room, if you don't count Miss Cheerilee, I had realised that I had to figure out where the Cutiemark Crusaders go in order to join them.

"Ya'll can appreciate it on break" the voice of Apple Bloom rang in my mind, causing me to smile. Taking in the view of the playground while it was actually in use could prove to be more informative regarding learning more about the ways of education in Equestria. Apparently, it was a common practice to alternate the lessons and playtime, to keep the kids in a perfect psychological condition for learning more. Clever tatics. I should look deeper into the matter. And so I did, looking around and taking note of anything I could witness. First of all, I had noticed that the different ponies were using different tools on the playground. Contrary to what I suspected, there was no problem of sharing. Different ponies were playing different games. I watched some ponies joining in, creating larger groups to play some specific games. One of the most occupied tools was the sandbox, where colts and fillies were building something together. From where I stood, it looked like a sand castle, the one resembling a certain building in Ponyville. I had also noticed a foal running around with a camera, taking pictures of nearly everything. There were the other things to notice, but nothing significant to...

"Hey!" the familiar scratchy voice had reached my ears. No doubt, it belonged to Scootaloo, "Stop picking on me and my friends!"

"Or what?" demanded the other voice. It sounded cocky and arrogant, "What will YOU do, chicken?"

As I approached, I was greeted by quite a scene. Sweetie Belle was in tears, Apple Bloom was trying to comfort her with an embrace. Scootaloo was standing in front of them in a defensive pose. There were the other two fillies, that appeared to be on the offensive side: one of them was a light shade of pink and had a tiara for a cutiemark, the other - gray and with some sort of a decorative spoon on her flank. Scotaloo was beginning to waver. Looks like being called "chicken" is her weakness... Is that because she has troubles learning to fly?

"B-back off!" she still stood her ground. Despite anything, she refused to give up.

"Face it, chicken," the pink filly was pushing forth, it appeared that humiliating the pegasus was her goal, "You're useless! Nopony wants to be with you. And your friends? They just pity you because you're a pathetic blank flank, just like them."

"Why yes!" the gray pony seemed to be her friend and was there to play along with her, "I think, they will abandon you on the very first day they get their cutiemarks!"

Scootaloo's eyes were beginning to water. I couldn't explain why, but I could feel my thoughts starting to get preoccupied with some especially gruesome scenes of tearing those two fillies apart.

"That is, IF they ever get ones!"

I could hear Apple Bloom was shouting something out, but I didn't really listen. It was like the field of all of my senses were focusing entirely on those two.

"Haha! Good one, Silver Spoon! After all, why would any cutiemark even bother to appear on such garb-"

"Excuse me," before I knew it, I stepped in. Needless to say, the eyes of the Cutiemark Crusaders and their attackers were on me in an instant, "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation."

"Oh, no-no," the pink filly was the first one to recover from the surprise, "That's not a problem at all. We were just showing those blank flanks their place in a true pony society."

"And we're glad to see," as expected, her friend - apparently, her name was Silver Spoon - was there to join in, "You're not one of them. I mean, really. Those three think that they can have the place in the life without a cutiemark."

"Yeah, can you imagine that?" the pink pony continued, "Daring to think they're equal to us! The nerve!"

I had been listening to their pointless ramble, giving them a smile. That time, it was completely fake. And when they were finally finished, it was the time for my onslaught. Luckily for them, it was a verbal one...

"Oh, I understand where you're coming from. But I'm sure, there are things you have left out of consideration," I had begun my speech, immediately catching the attention of everypony who was listening, "Surely, cutiemarks are important. They define a pony through symbolising and setting in stone their special talent. However, that talent is nothing more than a tool, and the use it might bring depends entirely on the pony who uses it. I have overheard that you have called this one," I had pointed at Scootaloo, "useless. And, once again, I can see where you're coming from. First of all, she has no cutiemark... At second, she has trouble learning to fly. Now, I'd like to ask you a question: is that all that you see in her? If so... Then you're entirely blind."

A collective gasp could be heard, but I payed it no mind. I was too busy giving a real speech today.

"A useless pony would never jump in front of her friends to protect them at the cost of getting hurt. A useless pony would never bother to actually be there when needed. A useless pony would have given up trying to become a better self a long time ago. A useless pony...." it was the time for a punchline, "That term actually sounds a lot like you two."

A even harder gasp was heard.

"T-the nerve! I..." the pink useless pony had managed to recover. But not for long.

"To sum it up," I wasn't going to give her a chance to talk. She have already said too much today. "The use of the pony depends on the pony themselves more than it does on their special talent," I continued, starting to make circles around the two fillies that were in the middle of getting humiliated, "Besides, it's better to have no talent at all than having a beautiful shell that has a delightful cutiemark and gives an impression of an extreme importance, but..." I had taken a step closer and knocked on the pink pony's head, earning a "h-hey!" from her, "...rings hollow."

I had finished my speech, admiring the result: two bullies being on the verge of crying, entirely humiliated. It wasn't long before they had run away.

It was only then that I had noticed one important detail: nopony was occupying the playground anymore. They all were gathered around me and the Cutiemark Crusaders.

"That. Was. AWESOME!!!" the excited pegasus filly had nearly tackled me when we were far enough from the school. The lessons were over, and I'd like to mention that certain two fillies were excused for the rest of the day for some reason. What could that possibly be? "I still can't believe you've buried them into the dirt with your speech!"

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle had joined in, "I can't help but admire how you have managed to beat those two without resorting to any violence."

"Though they do deserve violence sometimes," Scootaloo commented.

"I'm afraid, I have to disagree with you, Sweetie Belle," I said, earning a raised eyebrow from the unicorn filly and a "huh?" from the pegasus. Apple Bloom stayed silent, "I've heard that the words might cut deeper than a knife. And I surely did not hold back while using them. I was pretty violent back there."

"Good point," Scootaloo was quick to agree with me, as she had reached to scratch the back of her head, "I'm just happy they were the ones humiliated for a change."

"That brings me to a question I've been meaning to ask you," I said, stopping and turning to face them, "Why did they pick on you in the first place?"

"Oh, that..." Sweetie Belle stepped in once more, "That's just because we don't have the cutiemarks."

"And...?" my reaction had caused the three fillies to exchange glances.

"Well, that's it."

Oh...

I was surprised. I really was. Those two were acting as if they had been true enemies, as if there was a history behind their feud. But... just the cutiemarks? Are they that important?

"I haven't seen any other ponies picking on you along with those two," I had pointed out.

"Well, they're just the bullies. They pick on everypony, not just us," Sweetie Belle had given a much clearer explanation that time.

"I see... Just as I suspected," I said, drawing their attention to me once more, "It wasn't about you. It was about them."

I have no regrets about what I've done today.

We spent the afternoon in the clubhouse. Eventually, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had taken their leave, but Apple Bloom just didn't want to go yet. Besides, she was awfully silent today.

"What is on your mind, Apple Bloom?" I asked, caussing the filly to glance my way. But she didn't reply.

"You were awfully silent ever since that incident at school today," I tried again, but to no avail. I could see that in her eyes that she wanted to say something. That she wanted to do something. And yet, for some reason, she was giving it her all to hold that urge back. I had placed my hoof on her shoulder, "Apple Bloom... Are you feeling alright?"

And then... it happened.

In less than a second I had been tackled and brought to the floor, finding myself in her embrace all of sudden. And it wouldn't be that much of a problem if her lips were not pressing hard against mine. Is she... kissing me? That was pretty hard to believe. She was just a young filly, why did she even know how to kiss? But, apparently, she did... And, boy, is she good at it...

When she had finally pulled away, her entire face was red. But on top of that... she was crying. And then, at long last, she had opened her mouth to speak.

"Nopony... Nopony ever stood up fer me and mah friends like that. Nopony ever protected us from Diamond Tiara 'n' her sidekick. What you did... Ah... Ah can't even..." her ability to speak didn't last for long, however, as the tears were beginning to overwhelm her. At least, it had finally been made clear why she remained silent for so long.

"Hush..." I replied, pulling her back into the tight embrace as we were laying on the clubhouse's floor, "It's okay, Apple Bloom. Of course, I shall always stand up for you and your friends. After all, you're the only friends I have. Or, at least, can remember."

She did kiss me though. Does it make us... something more?

"Or, perhaps... Being just friends is no longer enough for you" I had added a sly teasing note to my words, hoping to at least distract her from her tears. Surely enough, she had blushed once more, so I pressed on a little harder, "I'm sure I can remember that kissing is not in the list of what friends do."

She looked away. Was it too much?

"But Ah..." she had finally replied, "Ah can't say that Ah didn't... like... it..."

In response, I had prefered to just keep her in my embrace for a bit longer. It was one of those awkward yet cozy moments that I had grown to enjoy sharing with her. And so I did...

...until, once again, we had been rudely interrupted.

With an audible "pop", the Princess of Friendship has appeared in the clubhouse, interrupting the two foals from... whatever it was they were doing. She looked even worse than before.

"Apple Bloom! Dark Side!" the lavender alicorn had nearly pressed her muzzle against the two. Her left eye was twitching, and it looked like she was about to lose her mind from the sheer stress.

"Whoa! Calm down, Twahlight!" the little filly spoke up to the Princess in a casual manner, earning a surprised glance from the dark-maned colt, "What happened?"

"You two are the last ones who must have seen Spike today! I heard he was seeing you out!"

"Wait a moment, please..." Dark Side had finally joined in the conversation, "Princess, are you meaning to tell us that-?"

"YES!" the lavender alicorn didn't let him finish the question, "Spike has gone missing!"

The foals had exchanged a glance, that was both surprised and worried. Apparently, the day was far from being over.

Author's Note

"Long time no see..."

I do hope you have enjoyed the new chapter after such a long break. And look! There's going to be more of an adventure~

Chapter 10: Shadows and Spikes

"Judging by your reaction, it's unusual for him to go out without informing you beforehoof," I said, trying to get enough information to begin an investigation. I was no fool: it was obvious that I would be in Twilight's list of the prime suspects. So, if I didn't want to get in trouble, the best course of action would be doing something to help.

"Spike is my number one assistant for a reason, Pr..." my strict glance had stopped her dead in the middle of the word she was about to say, "...Dark. I always know exactly where he is when I need him!"

It was obvious that in her current state she had trouble thinking clearly and could accidentally do or say something, that would have consequences... What should I do?

"Apple Bloom," I said, drawing the filly's attention back from the alicorn in the room, "Go get Applejack. I'll stay here with Twilight for now, but she defenitely could use a support of a close friend."

Apple Bloom was a clever filly, and I had seen more than enough to be sure for that. She knew I was serious, and could probably tell I wanted to discuss something with the Princess privately, so she had just nodded and stormed out of the clubhouse. I have a couple of minutes... I must act quickly.

"Before you ask..." I began, "Spike's disappearance is as much of a surprise to me as it is to you, Twilight."

The inquisitive stare I had received in response was pretty much expected.

"It's not easy for me to believe that" she asked, "How can I be sure you're not simply getting rid of unwanted witnesses?"

Right after she had said that, her eyes had a spark of realisation in them, as she had quickly put a hoof into her mouth, ultimately stopping herself from saying anything else. Stress is making her act ridiculous... Luckily for her, Spike himself had already given that secret away to me.

"I do not expect you to. However, I promise to help you find him... Starting with telling you what happened when I saw him earlier today." I said simply. It seemed to have drawn her attention. Good...

"You did WHAT?!!"

I had to admit, she truly was a master of freaking out.

"He asked for it himself. And I had no time to try and talk him out of it." I replied calmly, hoping that focusing on the cold hard facts would distract Twilight from her stress. Surprisingly, it did.

"I suppose you're right... " she said, before returning to her suspicious tone, "That is, if what you said is actually true."

"When I walked out of the castle, he was there to wave and close the door after me. Apple Bloom have seen that."

She looked at me with that inquisitive glance for a few more moments, before giving off a long sigh and hanging her head in defeat.

"Okay... I believe you."

It was that moment when we heard the approaching stomping of hooves, which, I believed, belonged to Applejack.

"One last thing, Twilight... My name is Dark Side."

She had blinked a few times before realising what I was getting at.

"Oh... right."

Spike had openned his eyes, only to discover a darkness surrounding him. The second thing he had found out is that he couldn't move. Apparently, he was tied up.

"W...where am I?" his question was rather logical. But no one had answered him. "Hello...? Anypony?"

A few muffled voices could be heard behind the wall, before a big rock, effectively closing the entrance, was moved.

"How long do you think it'll take them?" one voice said. It sounded familiar to Spike.

"I have no idea. But they better hurry up! If they want to find their puny friend in one piece, that is," said another voice.

Spike couldn't help but gasp at those words. That had drawn the attention of his captors.

"Oh, look who's finally up! Rise and shine, little star..." as a figure had got closer to him, he could instantly tell who his captors were, "...and pray that you don't burn out too soon."

"Garble!" the baby dragon couldn't help but exclaim the name of his nemesis.

"Awwww, I'm glad to see you too, Spike. Nah, just kidding," the laughter of his pals indicated that they had found Garble's mean joke rather amusing.

"Why have you kidnapped me, Garble?" despite the situation he was in, Spike had found it in himself to confront his captor with that question.

"Oh, I'll gladly tell you," the red dragon replied, clenching his fists, "I know your puny pony friends won't just leave you alone. They will search for you. They will find you. They will come to rescue you. And when that happens... You and your pony friends are gonna pay for humiliating me!"

It looked like he had become more of a villain since the last time Spike had seen him. That had caused the baby dragon to gulp nervously.

"Oh, and I gotta say, capturing you was easy. I didn't even need to hit you in the head to knock you out!" Garble said in a humiliating tone, "Why, you basically were served up on a silver spoon to me! I mean, get this guys!" he continued, turning to his dragon pals, "I sneaked into the castle, and he was right behind the front door, already out like a light!"

The two other dragons had burst in laughter, falling onto the ground and holding their stomachs.

"M... maybe... Maybe, he saw a spider on the wall!" one of them offered, trying to insert the words in between the fits of uncontrollable laughter.

"Or maybe... Maybe, he got scared of his own shadow!" the other one joined in.

Spike, however, was not amused in the slightest. The image of Pride's true form had come back to his mind, causing him to flich, but also giving him hope. He wished Pride was in the same room with him at that moment.

"If you saw what I have..." he said in the dark tone, attracting his captors' attention to himself, "You would stay away from the shadows for the rest of your lives."

After a long pause... all three of them had burst in even harder laughter.

By the time evening had come, an expedition had been arranged. It consisted of Twilight, her five closest friends and me. Applejack was against including me in it, but not only I insisted, Twilight had also stepped up for me, telling the farmer pony that she would not decline any single bit of help she was offered in the dire situation like that. And I had to admit, I was impressed by how she had turned her exhausted state into an advantage, prompting her friends to let me stay just to not stress her any further. Clever move, Princess...

Apple Bloom, on the other hoof, was not allowed to come. Applejack had not even let your voice her offer to Twilight so she could use the same excuse that had worked for me. That, however, was convenient. Not only she would not be in the way of my true form, but also... She won't be in danger that way.

We had two sources of information in our investigation, and both were rather... questionable to me. The first one was so-called "Pinkie Sense". Apparently, Pinkie Pie had some sort of extraordinal ability to foresee the certain events. From the information I had managed to gather by overhearing, that pony could predict when the things were about to fall down, a door was about to suddenly open, and...

"...suddenly open, and-"

A soft giggle had interrupted the story teller, causing him to raise an eyebrow at it's sourse, silently asking if he should continue.

"Excuse me, I just can't help being amused by that pony every time. Please, continue with your story, Pride."

The small, but centuries old colt had nodded his head.

"As I was saying..."

That pony seemed to have some rather... unexplainable abilities. I didn't feel convinced, but if her friends, including Twilight herself, didn't doubt them, then there must have been some proof to them being real, and I had just taken that for a fact.

The other source was a bit less questionable... yet not any less surprising to me. Apparently, the yellow pegasus pony named Fluttershy possessed an ability to undertand the language of animals, allowing her to have a conversation with them. More surprises, just as I expected. She was asking the animals if any of them had seen Spike nearby. And I didn't need to trust her friends on the fact of her ability being real, beacuse quite soon she had provided us with an important information.

"Oh, my... And where did they go then? Oh... my... Thank you, Mr. Beaver. You were really helpful," she had finished her conversation with a beaver and then turned to us. "Animals say that they hav seen another dragon in our lands."

"A DRAGON?!!" her friends all asked in unison. I admit, I was tempted to join them.

"Yes, and that dragon was carrying Spike in the direction of... of... " she paused to gulp, "...of the Everfree Forest."

After a choir of gasps and a long pause, the other pegasus, whose name was Rainbow Dash, was first to break the silence.

"I say we go after them and then kick that dragon's butt!"

"How big was that dragon?" I stepped in, asking a question I believed to be important.

"Oh, well..." Fluttershy tried to remember more of what animals told her, "Apparently, he wasn't very big. He must have been around a size of a griffon."

"Do you have any other information about him? His color? Has he grown wings yet? Anything else?"

"Uh... no..." the yellow pegasus pony had replied meekly.

"Ya sure are a smart cookie, little fellah," Applejack said, her hoof already ruffling my dark mane, "Ya'll ask some mighty important questions."

"Thank you, Applejack," I replied in a way a good child would, "But I have another one. Where was the dragon seen last time? If we go to that place, we might find the his footprints!"

"That actually is a really good idea, girls!" Twilight had perked up at my words, "Fluttershy?"

"I'll go ask," the shy mare replied, already scanning the area for any available animals with her eyes.

"I think, I forgot to mention," Garble said, finally breaking free from the hold of an uncotrollable laughter, "Spoiler Alert! You're not gonna get rescued!"

Spike could feel a shiver running down his spine at that.

"I am serious about this, you little puny pony" Garble continued, pressing his face against Spike's, "No one mocks ME and gets away with that! I have been here for days, and by now, this cave is surrounded with traps. Soon, all your puny friends will be destroyed at the sound of my laughter, and you will be forced to watch helplessly, just like a useless nobody you are!"

Despite his fear, Spike couldn't help but clench his teeth at Garble's words as he went on.

"Oh, what's wrong...? Is a puny hatchling getting m-"

The red dragon didn't get to finish his phrase as he had found his face engulfed with the petals of the green flame.

"Ahhhh! Oh, you little crap!" the hurt captor shouted at the baby dragon, slapping him across the face without holding back. "Just for that, I'll gut your favourite purple pony slowly and painfully right in front of your eyes!"

Spike couldn't take that anymore. The combination of the physical pain and the sheer terror of the image Grable had just described was just too much. A tear had slid down his cheek.

Never before in his life had he felt so completely helpless and useless... No, even worse than useless. That day, his very existence was supposed to become his closest friends' demise. But as he had closed his eyes, an image of the shadow with countless eyes had risen before him. The terrifying image of the scary teeth and cutting dark spikes was there in his mind's eye. A sudden realisation had hit Spike: no matter what Garble planned, no matter how deeply he had thought that through, there was no way that he could have possibly taken Pride in account. And just like that...

...Spike felt himself getting filled with DETERMINATION.

Author's Note

welp... looks like someone's gonna get dunked on!

Chapter 11: The Moment of Truth

"There are humans who believe that their safety comes first.

However... Yes, for example, Wrath's wife. There once was a time when I was about to be hit by a car in town. She tried to save me, ready to sacrifice her own life. Though she didn't know I'm a homunculus, I was completely taken aback by her desparate action.

I've always had a father, but never a mother. That's why, to be honest, her existence was fascinating. I began to wonder whether that's what having a mother was like. It was as if we were playing a game of house. But it was fun living with her, and I do love her.

There are humans, like Wrath's wife, who would throw away their own life to protect something dear to them.

...

I could never really understand why."

She felt rather uneasy. It wasn't like her to sneak out of the house like that, but she couldn't help it. Dark Side went to search for Spike, and she had to stay. Why did she have to stay? She wanted to be there! She wanted to help! She wanted to... stay close to her beloved colt. As she caught herself on that thought, her cheeks had changed their colour again.

"Ah'm soooo getting grounded fer this..." she mumbled, before stumbling and falling face-first on the ground, "Ouch!"

As she stood up and looked at the ground, she had noticed that she stumbled on a strange footprint left on the ground by some creature. On a closer look, it seemed to belong to a dragon. But not Spike, since his would had been much smaller. Looking around had provided the little filly with another valuable piece of information: those footprints were coming from the direction of Twilight's castle and leading towards the Everfree Forest. She gasped: some other dragon had kidnapped Spike!

Her big sister and the others must have gone ahead... and Apple Bloom was determined to follow them!

"Fluttershy, are there any news yet?" Rainbow Dash was getting impatient, "We can't spend so much time waiting while you get huggy-sappy with every worm you can find!"

The worm Fluttershy was talking to had expressed fear at Rainbow's words, prompting the yellow pegasus to comfort the poor thing. "It's okay, Mr. Worm. Rainbow didn't mean any offense, she's just getting impatient. We all do sometimes."

I, for once, had to agree with the cyan mare: that was not the most effective course of action. So, I had another offer:

"I heard you're really fast, Rainbow Dash," I said, drawing her attention to me.

"Ha! You bet I am!" awakening her cocky attitude was exactly what I needed, "I could clear the entire sky over Ponyville in ten seconds flat!"

"Oh, that's so amazing!" I acted like an awe-struck child, adding fuel to her inner fire before I had finally voiced my original idea, "Then, I'm sure, you could fly around the area really fast and see if you could spot any suspicious footprints from the sky."

She paused, letting her jaw hang limply, even if for just a second.

"I can't believe I haven't thought of that," when she had got over her initial shock, she winked at me, "Good thinking, kiddo. I'll go check."

And just like that, she had dashed away.

"Ya'll make me proud, sugarcube," Applejack said to me, "Ah'm now real glad we've taken ya with us."

"I'm just trying to help," I replied, trying to keep my voice childish and serious at the same time, "The faster we find Spike, the less time he would need to spend with his captor. I'm sure, he's not happy right now..."

I could hear a certain Princess sobbing quietly at my words.

The futher Apple Bloom ventured into the Everfree Forest, the more scared she was starting to feel. That was pretty much expected from a little filly. But despite everything, she kept following the footprints. She was sure she would catch up on her big sister and the others any minute. Of course, she had no idea that it was actually them who would need to catch up on her.

She was sure about one thing though: those footprints couldn't go on forever. There had to be some hiding place where that dragon was keeping Spike! And so she tried not to think about anything else, especially about her surroundings, focusing entirely on following those footprints. Her fears could wait untill Spike is rescued. And by that time, she would surely be with her big sister and the others, so there would be no need to fear anything anymore! That is, if she didn't take the following punishment she'd get for sneaking out in account. Yeah... that did sound like a good plan to her, anyway. She just needed to focus on the...

"...footprints?" she stopped, entirely confused by what she had found out: the footprints had suddenly ended! Right in the middle of the woods, leading nowhere. As if Spike's captor had disappeared in a thin air! "Oh mah gosh, oh mah gosh, oh mah gosh, what do Ah do now??" she said, as her panic began to rise, "Well... Uh... What would Darky do?"

After coming to conclusion that he saviour would try to gather as much information as he could before acting, she had taken a deep breath to calm herself down. As much as she didn't want to pay attention to her surroundings, the little filly had to take a look around. What could happen here? First of all, as far as she knew, dragons didn't cast spells. That must mean teleport was out of question. The image of a beast as big and scary as manticore eating both Spike and his captor had come to little filly's mind, but she had shaken her head, dispelling it before it could get under her skin: there were no signs of a battle.

"But then what...?" she asked out loud, bringing a forehoof to her chin and raising her gaze above as she tried to think of something. And then it hit her: "They flew!" she exclaimed, before covering her mouth with a forehoof, remembering to stay quiet.

That guess was certainly putting the pieces together. All, except for one: why did that dragon not fly up until reaching that place? That made no sense to the little filly. Whoever that dragon was, they would had saved themselves a lot of trouble by flying all the way from the castle. That way, they wouldn't leave any footprints on the ground, so there would be no traces to... chase them... by....

"Oh no..." Apple Bloom felt a cold shiver running down her spine as the realisation had dawned upon her, "Those footprints... were left on purpose."

By the time she had fully realised that, her legs were already carrying her somewhere. She didn't care where to, she just knew she had to get away from that place! So, she kept galloping away...

...up until the ground had given way underneath her hooves.

"I've made it obvious!" Garble said, describing yet another detail about his plan to Spike, intimidating the poor baby dragon further, "I even stomped real hard on the ground to leave better footprints! There's no way your puny friends are stupid enough not to find this place. But right when they're just a few minutes of walking away from it - BAM! No more footprints!" he exclaimed, hitting the palm of his hand with the first his other one had formed into.

"And then..." he continued, adding more malice to his voice, "They'll be forced to spread out, searching the area. That's when, one by one, all of them shall end up falling prey to the traps I've set for them. Deadly traps..." he said slowly, savouring the last phrase, "Awww, but don't you worry, little hatchling. I'll make sure none of those delicious moments escape your gaze!"

The red dragon had then burst in an evil laughter, and his pals had soon joined him.

Spike couldn't help but gulp. He prayed to everything in the world that Garble's plan never gets fulfilled.

"They flew!" an echo had reached the cave, drawning the attention of three laughing dragons.

"Well, well, well..." Grable said, rubbing his hands together, "Looks like the show's about to start. Let's go give those ponies a really warm welcome!"

After saying that, Garble had walked out of the cave. His pals followed him shortly after.

"Looks like we're getting somewhere," I commented, genuinely releaved to see that investigation had moved to the next phase.

"Finally!" Pinkie Pie said, bouncing nearby as we ventured into the Everfree Forest, following the footprints Rainbow Dash had discovered, "When we'll have rescued Spike, and I mean, we'll surely rescue Spike, there can be no other outcome, I'll defenitely throw a party! Oh! Oh! And I'll bake a cake! But what should I write on it? Happy coming back home safe and sound? Get rescued soon? It's 12 hours since you've got kidnapped? Oh, I don't think any of those will do. I mean, they're good, but something about them just sounds off, though I can't really place my hoof on it."

Remind me, why is she here again? I really didn't know what think of that extraordinary mare. She was just bouncing around and spreading some random nonsense, though I did notice that the others didn't question her for some reason. I had shaken my head, focusing on the main task again: following the footprints.

"How far do you think they will lead us?" Rarity asked. "You girls don't think that dragon had taken Spike all the way to the dragon land, do you?"

"No," Twilight replied quietly. She was way too exhausted to even raise her voice, "The direction would be different in that case."

"Well, we've been following those footprints for quite a while now, Twilight, dearest," the while unicorn said, "And it doesn't look like they're going to end any time..."

I had stepped forth to look at what have caused the pause, only to find out tha the footprints had suddenly ended.

"...soon." Rarity had finished her phrase lamely.

"What is the meaning of this?" Applejack had exclaimed, stomping her hoof against the ground.

I had to think quickly. Something about that felt dangerously off.

"That's why I asked if the dragon had wings, you know," I commented, still busy trying to figure it out, "He might have flown."

That had earnned a pause, until Twilight asked a rather logical question.

"Then why didn't he fly up until this point?" I needed that. I really did need to hear that question, no matter if I was the one who asked it or not. All of sudden, the pieces had fallen in place.

"Because they wouldn't have left the footprints that way. The footprints they have just used for luring us here... We're in their trap."

My comment had caused the eyes of the six ponies to widen.

"W...what should we d-do?" ironically, the least brave pony was the first to break that unsettling silence.

"Not panic. The footprints must have ended here for a reason. What would our enemy expect us to do after we reach this point...?"

"Whoa... Ya sure ya'll ain't no Starswirl in the form of a foal? Ya jus' never cease to surprise me with that mighty fine brain of yers," if Applejack's words were any indication, my disguise was beginning to crack. It wasn't hard to fix though. Who is that Starswirl, anyway...?

"When I grow up, I want to be an investigator! This is so much fun!" I replied energetically, giggling like a typical child, "Do you think I'd be a good one?"

A warm smile had crossed the face of the farm pony.

"Ah bet mah whole farm, ya would..."

"Aaaaahh!!"

She couldn't help but scream as she fell down, bouncing off of the rock walls and finally landing face-first onto the cold hard ground of the cave. Luckily, it wasn't a long fall... neither had she got significantly hurt. It looked like having to hit the walls and bounce off of them had slown her fall. After recovering from her fall, Apple Bloom had taken a look around, having nothing but darkness greet her.

"Ouch...", she said, rubbing her still hurt muzzle, "Where am Ah now?"

"A... Apple Bloom...?" the voice of Spike the dragon had reached her ears, which had immediately perked up at it.

"Spike...?" she gaped, instantly forgetting about her injuries, "Spike, is that you?"

She followed the voice, while her eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness of her surroundings.

"W...what are you doing here?" it was that moment when she had finally realised that the voice of the baby dragon was full of concern. Something felt off, and she paused, unsure if she needed to proceed.

"Ah sneaked out to join everypony. Ah was following the footprints, until they ended, and then Ah..." as she said that, yet another realisation had dawned upon her that day, causing her blood to nearly freeze, "Wait... Have they not come to rescue ya yet?"

"N...no. And you should get out of here right now!" Spike said to the little filly, "Before they return and discover-"

Right before he had managed to finish his phrase, the rock covering the main entrance to the cave had started to move.

"Oh, no... Hide!"

Apple Bloom didn't need to be told twice, but there was one problem: there was nowhere to hide. She couldn't climb up to the hole she had fallen through, and the only thing to hide behind was the rock Spike had been tied to. The little filly didn't have the other choice but to hide behind it and pray.

"Well, looks like you're in luck, little runt. It was a false alarm, there was no pony there," Garble said, entering the cave, "But that only means you get to spend more time in agonising wait for the inevitable!" he concluded, poking Spike's nose in a mocking manner. It was that moment before he had noticed something suspicious.

"Wait a moment..." he said, sniffing the air, "How come you've been here for a while and still smell like ponies?"

He began to sniff the air harder, and the scent was leading him to the little dragon. No... behind the dragon. Behind the rock. But just when he was about to look behind it...

"...so much fun!" an echo had reached the cave for the second time that day.

"I swear to the depth of volcano, if that one is false too..." the red dragon said, beginning to get angry, "Ugh! Let's go check it, guys. And you..." he turned to face Spike one last time before leaving the cave, "...better get ready for a bloodbath."

The dragons had left the cave, closing the entrance with that big rock once more.

"Phew!" the baby dragon had released the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Phew..." the voice coming from behind the rock had indicated that Apple Bloom did the very same thing.

"So... what do we do now, Apple Bloom?" he said, earning no reply from the filly. Instead, he felt a tug on his ropes, "I don't think we can do something about the ropes. I tried breathing on them, but they are fireproof," Spike had admitted in a sad tone. However, that didn't stop the tugging.

The expression on the baby dragon's face was priceless, when suddely, the roped had fallen down.

"While that bully was busy rambling on and on, Ah've found the knot. And there ain't no knot the true farm pony can't untie!" Apple Bloom had declaimed, walking from behind the rock.

"Uhm, Apple Bloom...?" the uneasiness in Spike's voice had drawn her attention. "You're cool and all that... But this still leaves us with the other major problem, you know..."

The little filly had raised an eyebrow at Spike, prompting him to finish the thought.

"How are we going to get out of here???"

"The most logical course of action is to split out and search the area. But that might be exactly what our enemy wants us to do!" I continued, analysing the situation we were in, "So, let's stay together instead. Now, why would he want us to split? The area isn't big enough to really catch each of you one on one without the others noticing. Hm... Leading us nowhere with his footprints while flying an entirely different direction? No, that can't be it..."

"What if there are the traps all around here?" Twilight had finally found the strength to join me in building the logic chain, "But still, if one of us gets trapped, the others would notice and be there to help out."

"That is..." I really didn't like to voice that thought, but it simly made too much sense, "...if those traps were meant for capturing."

Once again, I had earned an uneasy silence.

"Ya..." Applejack had a terrified look on her face, so did everypony else, "Ya dun' mean to say..."

"Yes, I do. Those traps..." I said, forcing the ponies to face their fears, "Could be meant for killing."

"Oh-ho-ho!" the voice that rang from above had drawn our attention immediately, "You ponies are more clever than you look. As if it's gonna help you!"

The dragon of red-and-organge colour had been floating in the air above us, just a bit futher from where the footprints had ended. Taking a look at the shape of his feet didn't leave any doubt: those were his footprints.

"Grable!" Twilight and Rarity had exclaimed. Wait... Have they met him before?

"Glad to see you still remember my name. Just kidding! I don't care," the dragon replied. If his way with words was any indication, he was the type oftenly classified as a jerk. "What I do care about though is that you humiliated me the last time we met. And no one. Ever. Humiliates me and gets away with it. You and your little brat of a friend will repay your debt in blood!"

"Where. Is. Spike?" The Princess of Friendship was really serious about that. Despite her exhausted state, she had begun to give off an intimidating aura.

"Oh, don't you worry about where he is now, puny pony," Garble, however, didn't seem to be intimidated in the slightest. But there was one thing that just didn't stop bothering me: if the area around us was full of deadly traps, and the whole point of his plan was making us split out and walk into them one by one... Then why is he here, openly talking to us? "Soon, he and you are gonna meet... on the other side!"

The realisation had hit me a bit too late: he was just providing a distraction. After all... it was us who had assumed that he was acting alone.

"Look out!" I've managed to shout out, right before the huge fireball had appeared from behind, flying in our direction with a blazing speed.

"AHHH!" the ponies shouted, having no time to react. The only thing that saved them was Twilight's shield. Impressive... Even in her current state she's still able to cast such spells. But that was far from it: the other two dragons had stepped out from behind the trees. One of them was green and gray, the other one - white and pink. They appeared to be the allies of that red dragon. Before anypony could think of what to do next, they took a deep breath. It was obvious that the next thing that was going to happen would be a massive fire breath.

"Everypony, RUUUN!" Pinkie Pie had yelled in panic, and before I knew it, I was already sitting on the back of galloping Applejack.

Panic... that's no good. I didn't have to think hard on the true purpose of their attack. Looking at the running ponies was more than enough to give me an answer: the dragons were forcing them to run straight into their traps. This is bad. What should I do now?

"Everypony, look out for the traps!" I souted, drawing their attention to me, "You're probably being lead right into them!"

True, we needed to avoid the traps at all costs, but that didn't mean we could ignore an incoming fire attack. The question was: how could we avoid both at the same time? And the answer was rather unsettling: since we didn't know where they were hidden, and had no way of discovering their locations other than actually setting them off, there was no way for us to avoid them. That meant we had no other option but to face those traps head-on, blocking any damage they would try to deal. At that rate, I could be forced to use my powers. Tch... I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all.

Just when I was thinking it over, I've noticed the huge sharpened log appearing from a tree's crown and coming down on us.

"Look out!" I shouted once again, but Applejack had already reacted. She had used her forelegs to make an incredible turn, and just when the log was about to hit us, she had bucked against it with all her might. I had nearly fallen off of her back, and was completely taken aback by witnessing the large log being torn to pieces by the sheer power of the impact. Perhaps... we do have more chances of survival than I expected.

"Yee-haw!" the farm pony shouted out, obviously proud of herself. And I had to admit, she had every right to be proud at that moment. However, the flames were coming closer, and the ponies needed to keep running, if they didn't want to get fried alive. Needless to say, by that moment, a huge fire was taking place in the Everfree Forest. This is actually reminding me of colonel Mustang... If he was here, would he get turned into a dragon? I shook my head: there was no time to allow myself to get distracted. But just as I thought of that, my attention was drawn by the voice of the most distractive pony in the group.

"Something about to fall down!" she said, having her tail twitching in a maner that didn't look natural to me. I looked up and saw... nothing. Nothing was falling on us from above. But for all I knew, her friends didn't doubt that suspicious ability of hers. Which had to mean that if she said something was about to fall, it was about to fall. But what...? And then, it hit me!

"It's US!" just as I shouted it out, the ground had given way beneath Applejack's hooves, introducing us to the image of a pit with the sharp wooden spikes waiting for us at the bottom of it. But before we could even begin to fall, Rainbow Dash had already taken hold, flying us over the trap. As I looked around, I could see both Fluttershy and tired Twilight holding Rarity in the air. And Pinkie Pie... was flying over the pit all by herself, having inflated like a baloon. I... don't even want to know. As I looked back, I've noticed an important detail: everything was on fire, and more of it kept being produced by those two. However, the flamestrikes seemed to be fired without aiming anymore. I had to share that information with the others.

"They can't see us through their own flames already," I said, quiet enough for only the ponies around me to hear, "They can't chase us. We need to get out of here."

Rainbow Dash nodded and gestured to follow her. She's been flying this whole time. Apparently, she has noticed the way out of this mess. Covering their mouths to protect them from the rising smoke, everypony had obliged the signal of the cyan pegasus, who had proven to know where she was going. Soon, we had found ourselves on the trail that lead down, circling around and ending at the cave.

The entrance had been blocked by the large rock.

"Sorry, Garble..." one of the red dragon's allies said, returning to meet him at the top of the rather large hill, "We lost them."

"That doesn't matter!" the other one had joined in, "Just look! Everything is burning, and your traps are still there. If they haven't got killed by them yet, they gonna fry alive."

"Good job, you two," Garble replied, looking down from the top of the hill, "But, just as I expected, if there is anything those ponies are good at, it's running away from danger."

As his pals had joined him to see what he was looking at, their jaws had nearly hit the ground when they witnessed the group of ponies they were chasing, standing near the entrance of the cave, completely unharmed.

"You know, I really hoped that you two would fail to burn them. I hoped that my traps would fail to gut them," his speech had caused the other two dragons to raise an eyebrow, utterly confused by his words, "I hoped that they would reach this point... So I could destroy them all at once!" he said, placing his foot on a boulder. Only at that moment had his pals noticed that the edge Garble was standing on was actually a bunch of boulders. And pushing that one would trigger the chain reaction, reasulting in all of them coming crushing down... right in front of the cave entrence.

A sinister smile had come across the red dragon's face.

All of sudden, Pinkie Pie had begun to shake violently, and by that, I mean that her entire body was shaking in the manner as if some invisible hand was holding and shaking her like a toy. I had never seen such a thing before.

"O-oh m-m-my g-g-g-osh!" she said, unable to stop that strange phenomenon, "So-o-mething's g-g-gonna h-h-hap-p-en! It-t-t's a D-d-d-doo-o-ozy!"

"Is it going to be good or bad?" I had to ask, still unsure what she meant.

"N-n-no id-d-dea! But it'll b-b-be bi-i-i-i-ig!" he reply didn't bring any clarity.

Meanwhile, Twilight and Rarity was combining their magical efforts to move the rock out of the way. And, luckily, they were succeeding: the boulder was already floating above the ground, slowly moving to the side. When they had finally opened the entrence, the dark cave had greeted us.

"Alright, everypony!" - Applejack said to us, - "Ah'm goin' in!"

But just when we were about to enter, we've heard the steps quickly approaching the entrance. Naturally, we had taken a defensive pose, but our surprise was indescribable when not only it had turned out to be Spike running towards us, but Apple Bloom as well!

"Spike! Oh my gosh, I was so worried about you!" the excausted alicorn had nearly jumped at the sight of her kidnapped assistant returning to her safe and sound.

"Apple Bloom! What are you doing here???" Applejack and I had asked in unison. Indeed, it was a good question: how did she end up here if she was left at the farm?

"Applejack, Ah..." she tried to explain, but her big sister apparently had so much more to say.

"Ah told ya tah stay home! Why didn't ya listen to me? Where was Big Mac lookin'?! Ah swear, when Ah get back home, Ah'll have a talk with 'im! And as for you, 'Bloom, Ah... Ah..." she then had lost whatever was moving her speach, suddenly breaking into sobs, "Ah'm just so happy ya're fine..."

"Ah'm so sorry..." the distressed little filly jumped into her sister's embrace, tears streaming down her face. It was such an indearing display.

"Let's go home, everypony," the Princess of Friendship said, turning around, "We should get out of here before those dragons come back."

Everypony (and the baby dragon) had agreed with her. All except for one.

"Ugh...!" Twilight said, rolling her eyes, "Pinkie! Would you, please, stop shaking around?"

"I c-c-c-can't he-e-elp i-i-it!!!"

It was at that moment that I've heard the noise somewhere above us. And so did the others. When we had looked up, we were greeted by the sight of countless boulders falling on us. And, to my dismay, there was already no time left for the group of ponies to dodge.

Fluttershy screamed, rather loudly, considering the usual volume of her voice. Applejack didn't find a better way to react than covering AppleBloom, turning her own body into a shield. Rainbow Dash looked like she had been experiencing the greatest inner conflict in her life: she could dash away and survive, or stay with her friends but get crushed by the boulders. Pinkie Pie didn't stop her weird twitching. Rarity was staring at the falling rocks in shock, paralyzed by fear. Spike was taking a deep breath, most likely preparing the fire breath. And Twilight was trying to cast a shield spell, but in her exhausted state, she wouldn't cast it in time. And even if she would, it simply wouldn't be strong enough.

I could feel my mind raising... It felt like the time around me had come to a complete halt.

"I can stop the rocks. I could use my shadow and save them all. But doing so would ultimately reveal my true identity. What should I do...?"

"Isn't this fascinating, Homunculus Pride?"

"K...Kimblee!!! What...? How are you still alive?!"

"I have never stopped existing inside you, only prefering to quietly watch the events unfold from my seat. And I have to say, your life has taken quite a turn. This new world... intrigues me quite a bit."

"I see... Then what makes you start openly interacting now?"

"The situation you're in, of course. You see, the decision you'll make here... will define the route this world will take afterwards! These six, judging by the information you've managed to obtain, are the heroes of this country. They are responsible for defending it from many powerful villains! And while I have no idea what those villains actually were, I can come to a conclusion that the mere existance of these six ponies is crucial to the country."

"What are you getting at, Kimblee?"

"Well, important as they may be to this world... It doesn't really make them important to you, does it? Instead of saving them, you could just let the boulders crush all of you, and then come out as the only survivor. That would ultimately leave their country without one of it's most effective means of defense, but that way you'd keep your identety a secret. And how convenient too, is it not? The only two who know about your true self are actually here right now, about to get crushed by the boulders!"

"But there's the other option..."

"True. You could reveal your true identity, but save these ponies and that little dragon. After all, allowing the boulders to fall would mean getting that little pony you've grown so accustomed to killed as well. And that attachment is a fascinating detail all it's own! Who would ever think that you, the very Embodiment of Pride, would ever go down this path? The details like this are what makes it so interesting for me to observe the world. Making that decision, however, opens another opportunity... Since you would no longer need to hold back, you could take care of that dragon gang. So, tell me, Homunculus Pride... what will it be? Or, even better... Show me! I want to witness this historical moment! The Moment of Truth!"

"..."

"I know exactly what I'm going to do."

All of sudden, the crushing boulders that were about to connect with the doomed ponies (and the baby dragon)... had not connected. Instead, the much smaller pieces of them had landed nearby, not even scratching anyone. When the inital shock was over, the group had raised their heads to try and figure out what happened. And then, they were shocked even more when they had seen the numerous shadow blades spread in the air like petals of a deadly flower. But an even bigger shock was waiting for them as they folowed the shadows with their eyes, trying to find the roots and figure out where they had come from. And, to their dismay, all of the shadows had lead to the pony most of them knew as Dark Side.

"H-hey! It stopped!" Pinkie's voice had managed to distract the others from staring at the small colt, if only a little, "This is the Doozy!"

"What is the meaning of this?!!" the booming voice of a pissed off dragon had come from the top of the hill, "This was supposed to end you! What foul magic did you use this time?!"

As if in response to his words, the shadows had started to move. They grew in size, covering the ground underneath the ponies, the side of the hill, reaching to the top. The fire in the Everfree Forest had made the shadows stand out, giving them a sharper form... It was a scary display.

"There are those who believe that their safety comes first," the voice of the colt had broken the silence that was hanging in the air, caused by the scary moving shadows, "But, opposing to them, there are those who would throw their lives away to protect something dear to them. I could never understand why... But now, I finally do. And I can tell for sure that nobody will come for your aid..."

Suddenly, the numerous eyes had opened all over the shadows. The giant scary teeth had added to the terrifying display.

"...because no one would ever hold dear someone like YOU!"

Author's Note

"Those dragons are about to have a bad time."

I tried to make this chapter as interesting as I could... I hope you have enjoyed it.

Chapter 3: Healing

I have returned to Apple Bloom's room, quietly closing the door behind me. The filly must be asleep by n...

"Why?"

The voice of the mentioned filly had proven me wrong. And had immediately filled me with concern. What is she still doing out of her bed? Why is she still not asleep? Has she seen me out there? I tried to calm myself down and process that step by step. But her question had been repeated again.

"Why?"

In the same voice... which sounded almost monotonous. What is she up to? What is she asking about? The best cource of action, it seemed, was once again putting on a mask of an innocent child.

"Why... what?" - I asked, trying to sound genuine. Her reaction was going to tell me if my concerns were empty, after all, and she didn't see me crushing that creature... or the opposite, - "What are you talking about, Apple Bloom?"

She was sitting there, in the middle of her room, facing away from me and looking at the beautiful night sky. Hm... the night sky in this world is more beautiful than it used to be where I'm from.

"Why... why did ya do it?" - her anwer was only rising my concerns, but then I had noticed something I didn't pay attention to before: she was sniffling. Is she crying? - "Why didn't ya'll just run away? Why did ya put yaself in such danger? Why did ya do something like that... for me?"

Her questions seemed... silly at first. But that impression had been completely ruined as soon as I actually tried answering them. My mouth was just left open, no sound coming out. Because I had no idea. Why did I care? I could have just left her and run away, then find an excuse, put on a teary face mask if needed. I didn't need to save her. Then... why?

"I... don't know," - I had chosen to answer the question honestly, - "I just... did."

We remained silent for a couple of minutes. None of us knew what to say, so I had decided to change the topic.

"It's night, Apple Bloom. You shouldn't be sitting there..." - I said, but got no reply in return. I stepped closer and tried helping her up. Jumping onto the bed can't be easy when the leg is ingured. Surprisingly, I had met no resistance at all. In fact, it seemed that Apple Bloom had even relaxed in my embrace. Her behaviour is strange...

I helped her climb onto the bed, where we both fell onto the soft sheets, facing each other. The look on her face, though, suggested that instead of me, she had been looking onto something completely different, something that was far away and could be seen through my body.

"What are you looking at?" - I asked an innocent question, and so didn't expect the reaction I had witnessed. The dreamy smile had found it's way onto her face. It was the first time she smiled after the incident.

"My hero..." - she said dreamily. What? It seemed that her mind had asked her the same question as she quickly raised her hoofs to cover her mouth and turned away from me. It was dark, but to the shadow creature like me, it was clear that her face had changed colour once again. I for once, didn't know how to react to such an answer, so I simply reached to her and gave her a hug. It's going to be a long night...

"Say, Dark Side... How much do ya'll remember 'bout yer life?" - the poor filly didn't feel like falling asleep that night. So, we ended up having a conversation. Perhaps, I'll manage to coax out a bit more information about my suroundings...

"Not much. I just remember it was a loving family, but then... I can't tell you how I ended up in the Everfree forest."

She didn't know I could watch her from the shadows, so, she didn't supress her facial expressions, thinking that facing away from me would keep them secret. But I knew she was saddened by my reply.

"It must feel horrible... to be separated with yer family."

"If you have all of your memories, that is," - I countered, - "But I don't, and as for the feelings... I feel loved and cared for in your family."

After that, we were lying in silence. If I couldn't see her face, I might have thought she had fallen asleep.

"Ya know... It's like ya'll are already a part of our family."

The sudden conclusion had caught me completely off-guard. And it wasn't the phrase itself, but something that happened to me as soon as I had heard it. It felt like something warm had started to fill my body, focusing more on my chest. And it felt... nice. I didn't reply to that, only tightening my grip on Apple Bloom a little bit.

"Please... never go away..." - the filly mumbled, and I could tell that she had fallen asleep right after those words, the exhaustion and the weight of the day finally getting to her.

Where would I even want to go in this world I know so little about?...

The night had passed eventually, and the new day had begun. Trying to use the filly's exhausted state to my advantage and exploring the farm with my shadows didn't bring much of a valuable result: I hadn't discovered anything I hadn't seen with my body's eyes. But keeping an eye on it for the night wouldn't hurt, since I had no idea what kind of other creatures could pose a threat to ponies. My shadows had to retreat when I had noticed Granny Smith waking up though. She didn't wake up this early yesterday... Is something wrong? About two hours later, Apple Bloom began to stir awake as well. I was about to greet her, but she just buried her face deeper into my coat, as if I was her pillow.

"Good morning, Apple Bloom," - I said after giving the filly a few more moments to enjoy that sweet lie. Her eyes started to open slowly, then shot completely open when she had realized she had been snuggling me in her sleep again. However, I had avoided the fate of being pushed from the bed once again. Yes, her body tensed at first, but then, she let out a defeated sigh.

"Ah did it again, didn't ah?"

"Yes, you did," - I said, allowing my hoof reach and ruffle her mane a little bit. I could swear I had seen a faint blush creeping on her cheeks, but the next second it already hadn't been there, - "But I don't mind it at all."

She waited a few moments before pushing my hoof away and trying to get up, leaving our cozy "predicament". But then a painful expression had crossed her face as the wound on her leg had reminded about itself. I had noticed that and offered my help.

"Ah, there you two are!" - Applejack had greeted us as I was helping the filly walk down the stairs, - "And 'bout time for breakfast!"

"Good morning, Applejack, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith," - I said like a polite child my disguise was, - "Are you having a good morning?"

"Good? Ah'll be! It's a special morning. The morning we celebrate our little hero!" - she said and winked at me. Celebrating... me? Indeed, I could understand that they valued the fact of me saving Apple Bloom a lot, but... celebration? How generous of them...

"Let's wait no longer. Join the table, ya two!"

I looked at Apple Bloom, and she smiled brightly back a me. She looks so... happy. It hit me that I had never thought about what the true happiness could be like. And how it would feel to be happy. Maybe... with those ponies I'll manage to figure it out.

Now it was clear why Granny Smith was awake so early that day. It appeared, she had woken up Applejack and Big Macintosh to cook that luxority of a breakfast. I didn't even know that it is possible to cook so many different meals from apples. Needless to say, I was really impressed.

I am Pride, the first Homunculus. The emotion of pride is what I am, I embody it. Pride has always been the only thing I feel, it defined my lifestyle, my mindset, my everything. And having such a celebration being done in my name was supposed to make me feel proud of myself. Wasn't it natural to be proud of your own achievements? It's been just a couple of days in this completely different world, and I've managed to get it's inhabitants treating me like a hero, seeing me as their hero. Isn't that something to be proud of? Something to brag about? Of course it is... but then, why is it not how I'm feeling now?

That was true. Instead of pride, my entire existance was being filled with something else... Something I was familiar with by that point. It was the same warm feeling that I had experienced when Apple Bloom cuddled me on the first night. Or when she said that I'm already the part of their family.

Family... Why is that word beginning to mean more and more to me?

I couldn't find a logical answer, no matter how many times I had asked myself that question. But the truth remained the same: it just did. I was so lost in the thought that the voice of Big Macintosh from behind me had almost caused me to ready my shadows for an attack. Luckily, that's not what I did.

"A bit for yer thoughts, little fellah?"

The luxorious breakfast had come to an end, but only at that moment it occured to me that I was still at the table, lost in my own thoughts. I, however, remembered what happened the day before, and had decided to tease the big stallion a little bit. After all, that's what kids do from time to time...

"Eeeenope!" - was my answer. Big Macintosh had a confused look on his face at that for a few moment, until the gears in his head had finally connected. That had caused him to smile sheepishly and scratch behind his head nervously. He tried some excuse.

"Look, Ah know it wasn't polite of me, but Ah... just couldn't discuss it at the table. Ya know... it's a grown up pony kahnd of talk."

I'm centuries older than you...

"You're still guilty for not trying," - it seemed, I had confused the big red stallion even more with that phrase, so I decided to get my point across, - "Saying that it's a grown up pony business is a nice excuse, but it's still an excuse. You never know which pony might prove themselves helpful until you talk to them and open up a bit."

I'm talking too much... that might ruin my innocent mask. And so, I've decided to stay silent and let the big pony continue the conversation. He didn't. It looked like he was about to say something, but each time he opened his mouth to speak, no sound came out, so he closed it. I think I read somewhere that something like that happens when a person is experiencing a "battle" in their mind. What is he thinking about?

"Yo're right. Ah shouldn't have shut you out for silly reasons."

I had given him an innocent smile in return.

"I understand, Applejack has already had a talk with you. But next time, perhaps, it'll be better not to wait 'till she shakes it out of you, huh?" - I said, leaving the table and walking away to meet a brand new day. As I was about to walk out of the house, my ears had caught a familiar "Eeeyup".

Glad you agree...

As I had walked outside, the sound of some wooden construction works going on had filled my ears. It was something new. What would they need to...? Oh, no. The memories of the broken clubhouse and the sadness on Apple Bloom's face returned to me, and before I knew it, my legs were carrying me in that direction. Expectedly, I had found Applejack and the little filly doing their best to repair the poor clubhouse, which, as I remembered, was left in ruins. And I had to admit, they did an impressive job.

"Wow..." - I called out to them, - "If you keep going at this rate, the clubhouse will be fixed in no time at all! How may I help?"

Applejack just chuckled at my eagerness.

"Ya helped mighty well already, little fellah. Leave the rest to us. Though... ya'll could keep little Apple Bloom here a company while Ah'm at it."

Indeed, due to her injured leg, the little filly couldn't provide her big sister much help. But she still tried her best, and was quite tired by the time I stepped in. I walked to her side, trying to start a friendly conversation and distract her from feeling useless. Or at least that's what I thought she felt like judging by the expression on her face.

"You have a wonderful big sister," - I said in a gentle tone. That caused her to smile. That's some progress...

"That ah do... Ah wouldn't trade mah family for anything else in the world."

"That means you are not going to let me go, are you?" - I chuckled, giving her a playful poke on a shoulder. The red colour had appeared on her cheeks as she had realized what I was refering to. But soon, the sadness had taken over her face once again.

"Ah really don't want to... Ah don't want you to go," - she started sniffling, but I had put my hoof on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Even if I have to go, that doesn't mean I won't visit. And why wouldn't I want to visit a filly like you?"

She blushed even deeper at that.

"Ah suppose..."

"Say, Apple Bloom... What is a family to you?"

My question had caused the young filly to pause, a thoughtful expression had appeared on her face. I could tell it was an important topic for her... and, it seemed, for everypony in the Apple Family. I was yet to meet another ponies, but I couldn't help wondering if they all put their families about all else.

"A family... is where ya're always welcome. Where ya feel at home, even if ya're far away from yer homeland. Family is where yer heart lies, and where it feels the most safe. Family is a bond stronger than a rock or a metal, nopony can break it. Family... is a part of who ya are."

Wow... that is a rather impressive phylosophical speech for a young filly. Perhaps, I had even underestimated how important that topic was to her. The sound of a gentle sniffling had caught my attention, and I turned my head to find it's source.

Applejack was crying, but there was a big smile on her face. And I felt something... the emotion she was experiencing. It was so familiar to me, yet so different from what I used to feel. That emotion was...

Pride.

Author's Note

I'm happy to realise that I've managed to force myself to sit down and finally write something after such a long break. Hope you enjoy this sweet chapter! :twilightsmile: