As the sun rose to herald a new morning, its beams of light shone through one of the few windows in the homely little hobbit hole. One sunny beam in particular(whose name is Bobby), decided to make it's somewhat short life's mission to shine at a just the right angle to beam right into the eyes of the three sleeping ponies snuggled up in the couch. Of course, this woke the fillies, try as they might to ignore the bright sunlight glowing on their eyelids. With a chorus of yawns, smacking of lips, and the odd hoof scratching impolite places, the three little crusaders blinked half-asleep at their unfamiliar surroundings, wondering where they where.

Scootaloo got it first and her eyes widened with realization, her companion Sweetiebelle copying her actions a few moments later. However, Applebloom; ever the steady stoic of the group, much like her brother, sighed happily and yawned again.

"Sleep well?" the voice of their host drew their gazes to the hallway entrance, the person in question peeking his head around the corner.

The three nodded in agreement, "yeah, this couch is really comfy!" Sweetiebelle announces with a satisfied nod.

"Alright, now, lets get ready for the trip home. I packed you guys some lunch."

Farren then comes around the corner and begins to walk to the kitchen, waving the fillies to follow him. As they file into the kitchen, their bipedal host turns off to the right into the kitchen. After a bit of rummaging around he re-enters the dining room with three little paper bags in his arms, and a set of forest green canvas saddlebags.

"Here," he says as he kneels down to attach the bags to their flanks, "These saddlebags are for to you, so you can put your lunches in them. Oh, and these saddlebags are special, my gift to you." he said with a wink.

"Oh boy! Thanks Farren!" Sweetiebelle said as she used her horn to pack their lunches.

"Yeah, this is great! Thanks!" chirped Scootaloo as she hugged Farren's leg, her little wings buzzing with excitement.

"Ah love it! These look stronger than mah old ones!" said Applebloom, "Wuts so special about these bags though?"

"Ah, good thing you asked," replied Farren as he stood back up and put his hands to his hips, "Those bags are enchanted by yours truly. Watch." With that he opened the flap to Scootaloo's bag, and put his hand in it, then his forearm, then past his elbow, all the way up to his shoulder!

The three fillies let out "ooohs" and "ahhhs" in amazement. After removing his arm, Farren explained, "the bags are enchanted using my magic so that you can fit lots of things in it, just so long as it can fit through the opening."

"Thats amazing!" exclaimed Scootaloo.

"Mah sis will love ta meetcha! Twilight too!" Applebloom cheered.

At Applebloom's words Farren's expression twitched, shifting briefly to an pained look, but it was gone as soon as it had appeared and went unnoticed by his charges.

"Actually little ones, Im not going to be meeting your families..." He said with a sad expression.

"What!?" they exclaimed. But before the fillies can protest further, their host held up his hand to quiet them.

"Don't misunderstand, its not that I wouldn't love to meet the families of such delightful ponies such as yourselves..." With a sigh he continued, calmly but firmly explaining, "but I do not think that the adults would react very well at the sight of me. In fact, Im going to have to blindfold you so you never find this place again. Im sorry, but I will only accompany you until we reach the main path out of the forest, then I we will part."

"Your moving away? We wont see each other again?" asked the fillies with tears in their eyes.

"I cannot risk being found by ponies...never again..." muttered Farren, his eyes looking off into some distant memory, face wincing at some phantom pain that still plagued him.

"Will you come visit us?" the question chased the shadows of his mind away, snapping him back to the present.

"Come again?"

With their eyes as wide as possible, with looks that could make windigo hearts melt, they asked again, "Will you come visit us?"

After a pregnant pause, Farren smiled, "Of course, whenever I can."

With a whoop and a hearty "Yay!" the fillies put on their bags(with Farren's help) and barreled out the door, out into the sunlit clearing that housed that picturesque little hobbit hole. Though their excitement was interrupted by a polite cough, turning about they saw Farren with a bemused expression on his face, and three strips of cloth in his hand. Reminded of his one condition, they sheepishly walked back to him. One quick blindfolding later, they set out into the forest, held in the arms of their tall savior.

A Half Hour Later

"Why did we stop?"

After crashing through another bush, the fillies realized that they had now stopped moving. The silence now deafening compared to the constant rhythm of crashing and rustling that Farren had caused as he carried them through the forest.

"Because, little ones, we are here."

After setting down the ponies, Farren then removed their blindfolds, revealing that they now stood on a wide dirt path. It ran through the forest and ended in a dead end of grass and trees on one end, on the other end shone brighter, indicating the edge of the forest. With a final pat of their heads; Farren stood up, brushed off his cloak, and adjusted the strap to his satchel, reading to plunge back into the darkness of the forest.

"This is where we part you three. I must go back home, and so do you. Just follow this path and you should come out of the forest." he said with a sniff, "If I remember correctly there's an apple farm near the entrance, so look for that if you need your bearings."

"You mean Sweet Apple Acres?" asked Applebloom, "Mah family lives there."

"Really? That is interesting." Farren mused, "I have wondered who wo-"

His ruminations are interrupted by the impact of three little bodies, clinging to his legs fiercely, faces pressed into his pant legs. Farren then realized that there was a dampness spreading across the fabric. Looking down he saw that they were now looking up at him again, tears threatening to burst forth in a flood of sorrow.

"Please, you will visit us right?" asked Scootaloo.

"Pinkie promise?" Sweetiebelle and Applebloom inquired, their eyes wide and brimming with tears.

"I promise." replied Farren, going through the motions he had seen ponies do years ago.

Reaching down, he hugged his little charges one last time, with a faint catch in his voice, he gently removed them from his pants and said, "Alright, off you go."

With some reluctance, the crusaders parted with their newfound friend and protector, and set down the path, heading for the bright entrance to the forest. At the edge, they looked back, but all they saw was the fleeting figure of their friend, fading once again into the shadows of the Everfree.

"Applebloom! Sweetiebelle! Scootaloo! Thank Celestia your safe!"

The three fillies stumbled out into the sunlight, now almost blinding to them. Soon they were picked up and hugged by their respective families. Rarity was crying, mascara running in rivers down her face. Applejack and Big Mac were hugging their little sister, quietly enjoying the moment. Rainbow Dash had Scootaloo in a headlock, giving her a fierce noogie. Standing on the sidelines taking in the scene were the rest of the Elements of Harmony, accompanied by the two Princesses who smiled knowing smiles.

"Applebloom, yah knew better than than go into that darn forest! Especially at night!" scolded Applejack, more worried than mad at her sister.

"Ahm sorry sis." muttered Applebloom, guilt written all over her face.

"We were fine weren't we?" said Sweetiebelle, "we arn't hurt or nothing."

"Yeah! Farren was there to save us! He was soo cool!" added Scootaloo, "He even gave us these cool bags!"

Suddenly, a choked, gasping sob is heard and everypony looks to its source. To their surprise, it had come from Celestia, who now was wide eyed, her gaze haunting as if she was reliving her worst nightmares.

"Did, did you say Farren?" She asked in a whisper.

"Um, yes princess. I think he said it means 'wanderer' or something." replied Applebloom.

"What..." Celestia muttered out, before taking a moment to compose herself, "What did he look like?"

The three fillies looked to each other, then back to the princess.

"Well, he wasn't a pony." said Scootaloo.

"He stands on two legs, and hes reaaaally tall!" added Applebloom.

"And he doesn't have much fur, hes got a black mane of fur on his head, and his eyes are like emerald gems! Kinda reminded me of yours princess." finished Sweetiebelle.

Celestia's eyes widened further, and tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes. With a small sniff, she wiped her face with her hoof. She then looked to her worried subjects and her concerned sister.

"Im sorry everypony, but I had thought that Farren was, well...Dead." gasps where heard from each pony as she continued, "Farren was-,is one of my best friends. He was practically family, and he was there to comfort me over my actions when I banished Luna..."

The sister in question looked to her sibling in confusion, before realization dawned upon her features, her eyes widening as well.

"Sister, dost tho- ahem, do you mean Uncle Farren???" Luna inquired, her eyes alight with confusion, as well as a little hope.

"Yes Luna, that uncle Farren. The same." said Celestia, draping her wing over Luna in a gesture of comfort.

"But how Celly? You told me when I returned that he had passed away after I had been banished!"

"I do not know Lulu, but if he is alive, then we must find him." Celestia then looked to the foals infront of her.

"Little ones, where did you stay the night?"

"We stayed at Farren's house, it was really cozy." replied Scootaloo.

"Do you know where it is? Could you show it to us?" asked Celestia, "its very important that you remember."

They looked to each other again, each shaking their head and looking back to the princess with guilt in their eyes.

"We're sorry princess," answered Applebloom, "but Farren blindfolded and carried us here, Ah don't think Ah could remember the way back."

"Wait, princess, what about this?" asked Sweetiebelle as she presented her new saddlebag to them, "we all got these enchanted saddlebags from Farren. If I remember correctly, can't magic like this be traced?" she asked.

"Sweetiebelle thats genius!" exclaimed Twilight Sparkle, "That would work perfectly!"

Taking up the bags in her magic, the purple alicorn closed her eyes and focused. The purple aura surrounding the bags darkened to a black pitch, then suddenly burst into emerald flames! As the ponies gasped in amazement at this arcane display, a lick of flame shaped itself into a fiery thread of emerald and began to make its way into the forest, lighting the shadows with an eerie green glow.

"Well? what are we waiting for?" exclaimed a bouncy pink pony, who had kept quiet until now for dramatic effect, "lets go throw him a 'Welcome-Home-Hooray-Your-Not-Dead Party!"

And with that, the small group of ponies plunged into the Everfree forest, following the emerald flame.

Author's Note

Nearly 2000 words in this chapter! WOOH! *falls over*
...
...ahem.
Anywho, I will be expanding on Farren's backstory. Just so you know my headcannon is that at the beginning when Farren first arrives, Ponyville was a massive village, twice the size of what it is today. Farren was something of an Uncle to the princesses, however he was only known by the royal family(the princesses). and in the next chapter I'll write about why he now lives alone in the most dangerous forest in Equestria....I might have to add that Dark tag.