The jungle seemed unusually cold and still that night. Toby watched from his perch next to a log on the forest floor as he performed his night watch duties. Toby peered into the darkness, which was unnervingly quiet.

Then again, EVERYTHING was unnerving.

There had been no night time sightings of the enemy at his location for almost five days. The tension in the air was so thick it almost suffocated him. How long had it been since he was deployed? A month?

The stench of the nighttime jungle mixed with the crushing anxiety threatened to overwhelm him, but he swallowed hard and closed his eyes. The hazy picture of Marietta swam into view, bringing warmth to a desolate soul.

"Marietta... Marietta!! MARIETTA, DON'T LEAVE ME!!"

"MARIETTA!!" Toby wailed, sitting up fully in his bed. He was drenched in a cold sweat.

The nightmares had come back, now in full force. Toby hadn't even realized that they stopped for a period of time, but now for some reason they were back and stronger than ever.

He took a deep breath as he fell backward. His eyes rested on the empty place where Peace once slept. A painful feeling welled up in his throat, and her lack of presence finally settled onto him fully. Would life ever give him a break...?

He looked at the clock. A few weeks had gone by, and no one had come. It had almost been a full four months since that date with Luna on Valentine's Day... or whatever stupid pony-like name they had given it here. He lost count of the months. He had been here in Equestria for too long. He hated this place. Was it worse than Earth? No.

Maybe it was just him.

Perhaps Marietta had left him because of something that was his fault. He wasn't good enough was the easiest, half-hearted explanation he could give. For her to make out with another man entirely, right in front of him...

Then there was Luna. When it came down to it, she turned away from him just as Marietta did. The things she had said about him... from a pony's perspective, as much as he hated it, were probably true. He was a hated man, that was obvious. No one seemed to give a rat's fart about his existence anymore. Maybe he had driven them off.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Fluttershy for some time. Maybe she was avoiding him too. They had schedules of their own, too, but they had clearly made time for him before.

Toby shook his head. You're being selfish.

His eyes fell on an unused backpack and hiking stick laying in the corner he had gotten from Minty as a thank you for what he had done for the store a couple weeks ago. Even since then, she seemed to need him less and less as she brought on new hires. They had more difficulty than Toby did with the heavy stuff, but despite that he was being scheduled less and less.

He gazed at his backpack for a long time before finally grunting and getting out of bed.

"I'm leaving."

He paused again after he took his first step, staring blankly at the front door. Why was he hesitating? What on Earth could make him want to stay here? Everyone else... ugh, he was thinking in circles. Again. He needed to make a decision and commit. All the logic pointed to what he needed to do.

Taking a deep breath, Toby emptied as many clothes as he could from his drawer into the backpack. Handy and convenient,
having it beforehand saved him from needing to think about getting one. He made sure to throw in any rations as he could on top of that, since he had no idea how easy it would be to get food. Probably not easy at all, but meh.

He shouldered the pack and sighed. Army knife, some food, a lot of clothes, his lack of will to live - check. He was ready to go.

He made sure to lock the front door on the way out and pocketed his key. The winter wrap up had already happened, so the early morning air was extremely pleasant. Taking a deep, shaky breath, he began heading in the direction opposite of Ponyville.

"Where are you off to, Toby? I thought the job you worked at was in the other direction."

Toby nearly had a heart attack. That voice. The one he had expected to hear the least at a time like this. "P-Princess Twilight??"

Luna had returned to the Crystal Palace (not to be confused with the not-so award winning club located in England) in Ponyville after her time with Cadance, which had been slightly humiliating but enlightening all the same. Since time was of the essence, they had to move to Ponyville. The longer they waited, the more distance and damage there would be between Toby and Luna.

Which was now the larger problem. It had been three days and Luna still felt too nervous to see Toby. She was busy reading a book in her room about the nature in Whitetail Wood to help her curb her uneasiness, but it wasn't really helping.

"Lulu, is that a good book?" Cadance asked, poking her snout into Luna's field of view.

"You're being unusually nosy, Cadance."

"Luna, it's been three days. How long are you going to let this sit??" Cadance huffed, dropping herself on the bed in exasperation.

"I-I don't know, you ask this every day..." Luna murmured, tossing the book aside. "I'm - nevermind."

"No, go on. It may be super important," Cadance urged her in a softer tone.

Luna sighed. "I'm just- scared. What if he doesn't accept me??"

"What happened to that determination?" Cadance pressed. "You were so full of heart back in Canterlot! If you choose to give up now, then Toby is out of the picture. I can't make the choice for you, but your happiness is at stake here..."

Luna covered her eyes and groaned. "What if he doesn't love me, Cadance?"

"Then you'll win him back."

Luna punched her pillow, causing Cadance to flinch. "This isn't a fairy tale, okay?? I made him hate me, it was my one chance!!"

"Calm down, you don't know anything yet," Cadance sighed. "Stop assuming things, it'll only make it worse."

Luna took a shaky breath. "You just don't get it... 'win him back?' Are you crazy??"

"I wouldn't say it if it wasn't possible," Cadance replied stubbornly. "You're forgetting that my hunches are never wrong."

Luna looked at her with a slight twinkle in her eye. "Cadance..."

Author's Note

definitely not me taking a shot at Crystal Palace

In all seriousness, this was a short chapter. I know. But life has had a mind of its own with me like everyone else so it was really hard staying motivated or encouraged to keep writing (that's not even mentioning the busy work schedule because life). I'm still dedicated and fully intend on finishing this story into something that will hopefully be remembered and enjoyed even after it's complete. So thank you for all of your support and eagerness to follow along, it's kept this thing alive and I owe it all to you!!

Again, sorry for the late and short update. I really needed to make a release.

On top of all of this it's really hard dragging these massive nuts around 😩

the end

Hey... are you okay...? That was really depressing...

Shut the fuck up pinkie, your mom's an amish knockoff