Sugar Song and the two guards had stepped to the side for a chat and, by how it seemed to be going so far, I already wanted to tear their heads off. Within a few minutes of them talking to Sugar Song, she was already crying and her sniffles made me angry.

My attention snapped back to Sugar Song when she stamped her hoof and cried, "No he isn't! I don't believe you!"

I was there in a flash, standing over her and growling at the two wide-eyed guards. The Pegasus slid into a defensive position and the unicorn began charging up his horn while I stood there, angry eyes darting between the two. Though, they probably couldn't tell because-

"Look at his eyes! What's he doing?!" The unicorn's ears flattened.

That's when I noticed the yellow glow emanating from my eye sockets, a few sticks and small stones hovering beside me and posed to strike. In my confusion, the glow faded and everything dropped to the ground. The unicorn shifted on his hooves, something that was just enough to get the magic going and focus on the two again.

"Ethan, i-it's okay! Really! They just... Want to take a trip to Canterlot Castle is all!" She smiled up at me in the sweetest way, and I would have believed her if the guilt hadn't been apparent in her eyes.

I hissed at the two guards, a monstrous roar rumbling up my throat and out through my skeletal maw. They took a step back, my head lowering down closer to Sugar Song and my tail standing straight up, curling at the top. My fur was bristled and stood on end, the glow around my eyes brighter as I glared at the guards.

"Ethan! Please! Y-You're scaring me!" Sugar's voice broke me out of my furious state, and everything about me suddenly relaxed.

My fur flattened itself to it's normal fluff, my eyes only faintly glowed, my ears folded against my head, and my tail curled between my legs. I looked down at her, whimpering at her terrified look and the tears that fell down her cheeks. A yellow, ectoplasm tongue lapped away the salty tears and made her giggle a bit at the feeling. I nudged her with my muzzle, my way of saying sorry. She smiled up at me.

"It's o-okay Ethan," Her smile wavered, "We just need to go with them for a bit, then you can go back to helping me, okay?" The guilt in her eyes....

A huff escaped me, blowing the mane away from her face, and I nodded. Glaring back up at the guards, I proudly straightened my posture and stepped away from the pink filly. They warily eyed me before making their way to Sugar Song, whispering a few questions and only getting a small 'yes' or 'no' in turn. They nodded at her before making their way in front of me, looking back over their shoulders at us.

"Follow us, please."

Sugar smiled up at me and trotted after them, me shortly falling suit. Sugar waved for me to move faster and catch up with them, since I was a little ways behind, and obeyed.

Sugar looked up at me, "Don't worry, we'll be okay, alright?"

I nodded and she smiled brighter. However, I couldn't help but notice she didn't promise.

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I could tell we were getting closer to Canterlot by how many ponies passed by and how the road slowly turned to cobble. We had left the forest at least thirty minutes ago, and Sugar had taken to riding on my back when her hooves began to hurt. My paws hurt, but I could really complain because all that would come out is a chitter and a clicking sound. Believe me, I had tried, but Sugar just laughed at the noise and called me "a silly wolf."

"We're almost there," The Pegasus looked back at us before focusing on the road once again.

'We better be, you pile of magical horse manure,' I glumly thought, getting tired of ponies pointing or staring wide eyed at me with gaping mouths.

Then, we came upon a cobble trail that went up, -- Up! After all that walking! -- in, and out of the cliff before us, the entrance to the city far above. It was so high up, I had to crane my neck so far back I thought it would snap. We walked into the tunnel, then out, then in, then out, and so on for another thirty minutes. When we got to the top, my ears were practically stappled to my head and I was panting so much yellow drool splattered onto the cobble below.

Sugar reached down and patted my neck, "It's okay Ethan! You did great!"

I narrowed my eyes at her, 'Yeah, easy for you to say. You were on my back the whole time.'

The guards took me straight through the city, the bustling noise almost stopping as everyone turned to look at me.

"What is it?"

"Is it dangerous?"

"No, of course not! It's with the royal guard!"

"It's so ugly!"

Another static feeling in my head.

I felt cold, wet, and sticky. Something had been spilled on me, and a room full of about 100, small, bipedal creatures all pointed to laugh. Tears welled at the corners of my eyes.

The whispers around me floated through the air at an alarming rate, and they didn't even stop when we got to the castle entrance. By that time, we had an entire crowd of curious ponies following us.

"Is the filly okay?"

"Where are they taking it?"

Static. Oh god, make it stop. It hurts.

Pain. Ground. Ribs are broken. Small bipedal creatures kicking me. Head. Nose is bleeding. Tears wipe away crusted blood. My vision is blurry. Why does it hurt so much?

Even after the gate guards let us pass, the whispers and murmurs still followed. My breathing had become labored and it was hard to walk with these... Visions. It hurt me. It stung. My eyes glowed a slight yellow, and Sugar rubbed my neck to try and reassure me that the ponies were just curious, totally oblivious to the mental war that I was fighting. But, I had to be calm. Not just for her, but for myself too. I looked up at her, the yellow fading to be replaced with the hollow abyss of eye sockets. They were just curious ponies. Ponies were curious, and they didn't care how hurtful the question was, they would still ask. Because they were curious, they would do anything to get the knowledge they craved. Something within my chest churned around and around, a feeling that was all too familiar. It was like anger, but also like the darkest souls of the past had come to invade me soul. It was strong, and burning. I scoured my mind for the word.

Hate. I felt hate, and it was the strongest thing I had felt thus far.

Author's Note

Sorry for not updating sooner! School has been... Difficult. It's almost Summer and they're hitting us with everything they've got. Hope you all enjoyed though!

If you see any spelling or grammar errors, please notify me.