~ Text ~: Sign language.
+Text+: Written note.

Text: Inner dialog.

Max walked down the street of Ponyville, and like always, the little town was bustling with activity even at such an early hour. He couldn't care less what the ponies around him did, the only thing on his mind at that moment was Twilight. He let out a loud yawned and stretched his body. All the wrestling sessions with Dash did him a great favor, no more crackling sound every time he flexed his back. Satisfy with the short exercise, his mind wandered back to what happened just half an hour ago.

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A sudden burst of sunlight jolted him awake following by a startled yelp. His eye snapped open, only to shut immediately afterward as his sensitive eye was blinded by the light. Cover his head with the blanket, he mentally cursed those damn early birds and their beloved princess of the sun. Regardless how this rude awakening only happened once every so often when they have plan to go some where, he hated it all the same. Something felt off though, normally he would be greeted by a giggling Twilight and her prodding his side trying to get him out of his cozy nest. Slowly removing the blanket to let his eye adjust, he looked down to see a terrified Twilight by his bedside, sitting on her haunches and looking as if she was about to cry.

The scene before him tugged at his heart. He immediately sprang out of bed and crouched down to her eye level, staring in to the beautiful Amethyst - purple orbs of hers. She looked genuinely spooked, tears welled up in the corner of her eyes, her lower lips slightly trembled, so the possibility of a prank directed by Rainbow Dash was out of the picture.

Giving her a concerned look, he quickly signed ~ What happened Twilight? ~

Without an answer, the lavender mare warped her hooves around his chest and sobbed quietly. He tried to reassure her, returning her hug and lightly stroking her back. With Twilight in one arm, he reached for the small notepad and pen on the bedside table, then proceeded to scribbled down a few words before showing it to Twilight.

+Calm down Twi. Nothing can hurt you while i'm here, just tell me what's wrong.+ A small smile touched her lips along with a tint of red on her cheeks.

"Thank you Max." She said , nuzzled his chest affectionately. They stayed in that position for a while longer, enjoying each other's company.

Ever since he got dragged into Equestria, Twilight had always been his only source of comfort. She took him in, knowing all the complications of her decision and treating him like a close friend unconditionally. She even pried him from the clutch of death once .... maybe it was over exaggerated but still, he came pretty close to being a lifeless corpse on the dirty floor of that cursed fighting pit. But thanks to the pony princess, he got out of there in one piece, excluding his right eye to Twilight's dismay and RD's excitement. To put it simply, he owed a lot to the nerdy mare. Without her, he wasn't sure if he could keep what little sanity left after the first hellish month trying to wrap his mind around the cruel reality he was forced into. Up until the moment he got acquainted with Twilight, he actually considered that working at McDonalds, serving endless wave of burgers and greasy fast food back on earth was nothing short of heaven.

His attention returned to Twilight as she took a stepback before making eye contact again. She cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Last night I had a terrible nightmare," She shuddered, her fur stood up as if she was having goosebumps. "I dreamed of a horrible thing lurking in the Everfree Forest. If left unchecked, It can cause even more chaos and distructions than even the god of chaos himself." She blurted the last part out, half shouting.

~Are you sure you weren't just Imagining things. For somepony with wild imagination such as yourself, reading a few horror stories then having nightmare wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary, would it?!~ He said while putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, similar to how parents reassured their kids after they woke up screaming in the midle of the night.

"SERIOUSLY, do you think this is some kind of joke, I'm talking about a catastrophic event that will decide the fate of Equestria here." She snapped, shouting and glaring daggers at him, obviously displeased with his attitude, which took him by surprise. Living with the lavender princess for along time, he had gotten used to her occasional outburst but seeing her mood swung a hundred and eighty degrees like this, he could help but be scared. But he would not back down, not until he got to the bottom of this.

~I apologize if I offended you but please calm down and think rationally egghead! How can you expect me to be serious when you said something so ambiguous.~ He sat up straight, meeting her furious eyes with his calm and collected ones, or at least he hoped that was how he looked. If he hadn't known Twilight, he would have pissed his pant, what else could a normal human do when stared down by a fuming magical alicorn. They locked eyes a little longer until Twilight finally came to her senses.

"I'm so sorry Max!" She said, blushing and failing to keep eye contact, too embarresed to look at him. "I was not in the right state of mind and i must have gone crazy, maybe I am after what I saw last night. Please forgive me Max!" She said timidly, glancing at him sideway with an apologetic look on her face.

~ You really should stop giving me those adorable looks every time you say sorry, otherwise I can never NOT forgive you!~ He signed in the air with a smug face, relieved to have Twilight back again. While she just mumbled something inaudible, her face beet red and she still refused to meet his gaze. BINGO he thought to himself.

~So.... care to share your story?~ With the atmosphere returned to normal, he decided to figure out what had caused her such distress.

"To put it simply, Princess Luna visited me in my dream in urgency, she must have looked just as crazy as i did which concerned me a little. She said she reached out for me the moment she lost track of IT." She sighed heavily. "I did not believe what she told me at first but she insisted that what she said was true. Now I wished I had believed her in the first place." Her goosebumps returned in full force. She stared blankly into the distance. Max placed a hand on her mane, stroking it gently, a gesture the lavender mare greatly appreciated.

"Luna seemed unsured if she should show me her proof but in the end she guided me through the dream wolrd to the Everfree Forest. And deep within the wood, I saw IT ......no ..... THEM!" She trailed of and eventually choked on her words. He quickly moved in to comfort her, embracing and soothing the mare. The room fell into silence as he held her close.

+It's ok if you don't want to continue but do tell why Luna came to you instead of her sister.+ Twilight glanced at the note in front of her, muzzle still buried in her companion's shirt.

"Because we're right next to the Everfree of course. She needed all the elements of harmony to stay together and hold out until she and Celestia along with any fighting force they could muster arrive." Standing up Twilight continued. "I want you to deliver these to the others while I talk to mayor mare. Please be quick Max, trouble won't wait for us before it appears!" She said, giving him five envelopes.

~How about Spike? Two would definately be faster than one right!~ He waved. She just shook her head.

"No Max, you're on your own. I need Spike to be with me in case I get any letters from the princesses. See you latter Max !" She then proceed to walk down stair leaving her stunned human behind. Max's heart sank knowing that he would have to meet Apple Jack alone at that human farm of her, and that horny chubby mare in Sugercube Corner, and that over enthusiastic Rainbow Crash who was always ready to pounce on him. He could only hope that they wouldn't try to make him stay for too long.
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What had transpired that morning flashed through his head, he wanted to run due to the urgent situation, at the same time, he wanted to stroll as slow as possible because of what awaited him at his destination. He ended up walking normally half way to Sugercube Corner. In the end, he gathered his courage then sprinted down the road with only one thing on his mind, Twilight Sparkle

This's gonna be a long day! He thought.

Author's Note

The character Max is the MC of cannon Your Human and You so if you're interested in more of his back story, please check this link: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/111738/your-human-and-you

Same for those who are not gamers. If the plot involve the Tenno is too convoluted for your liking, then I implore you to check the lore of Warframe. It is surprisingly deep and well written.

But if you're like me and enjoy some mystery that will slowly unfold as the story progresses, you'll just have to wait and see.