Around half an hour later, the former human was brought to one of the outposts near the Everfree, and the two pegasi who had found him were watching over him as he lay unconscious. Message to the princesses was sent, now was the waiting.

The room was quiet, tension was in the air. The guards did not talk between themselves, there was no chatter, and their entire attention was on the unicorn. Their bodies were stiff and ready to spring into action, even though the unicorn was unmoving and didn't look dangerous at all. His chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm, and his eyes were closed and still. In this state, he looked like a simple sleeping pony, and his face bore no expression. The tension slowly faded as minutes passed in silence, yet the guards barely went half a minute without taking a good look at the unconscious young stallion.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait for much longer as the door to the room opened and Princess Celestia walked in. The guards were surprised at how quickly she arrived but bowed to her after a short moment.

"I've received your message, guardspony Silver Stake," she addressed the calmer pegasus, "Thankfully, I happened to be nearby," she took a look at the unconscious shape on the bed, "So, this is the unicorn you and your partner have found?"

"Yes, your majesty," Silver Stake replied with a nod. The young unicorn twitched, but otherwise remained motionless. His eyes didn't open, and, after a glance at him, the pegasus continued, "We... frankly, we've no idea who he can be."

"Is it correct that his presence wasn't detected until he was in the middle of the forest?"

"That's the information we have from the Guard Sorcerer, your majesty," the pegasus nodded again, "But..." he paused for a moment, recollecting the report, furrowing his brows, "The subsequent check on the detection spells turned up normal. They should've alerted us."

"Interesting..." Celestia said slowly, taking a closer look at the unconscious stallion. His appearance matched the report, and the princess immediately noted the scars and the barren flank, "He also acted with extreme aggression towards the timberwolves, did he not?"

"He smashed two of them to pieces," the second pegasus spoke up, "I've never seen anything like it. It was... wild."

"It very much looks like we have a Feral," the princess concluded, giving a quiet sigh. Silently, she was feeling uneasy about the young stallion, and sadness was apparent in her features. Ponies who grew up in the wild - Ferals - rarely managed to fully integrate into Equestrian society. She hoped she wouldn't see them again, but the fact remained clear. However, as much as she wanted to deny the reality, he was there in front of her, and she had to help him.

"It... may be so, your majesty," Silver Stake nodded hesitantly, warily glancing at the young stallion, "But if I recall correctly... The last one was seen over a century ago."

"Perhaps we were wrong..." Celestia said slowly, remembering the aftermath of the Great Discord. Many ponies were left homeless, some were made wild again. It was decades before Equestria recovered, and many centuries until all Ferals were discovered and helped. All but this one and his possible family, it seemed. Celestia's posture stiffened as she made up her mind, "Deliver the orders from me - the Everfree Forest must be swept starting tomorrow morning. No one else is to be let in at the time without a good reason and without escort. I know it's going to be difficult, but we have to know for sure there isn't anyone else like him in that accursed place. I give you my mark," her horn lit briefly, and the gems inside the breastplates of the pegasi changed their color to pink.

Unbeknownst to the three ponies, the former human was awake for the better half of the short conversation, stealthily watching and silently listening. He could understand not a word, but he could see and hear enough to make out certain important things that he then neatly organized in his head.

First, there were pegasi. Flying equines existed in this new world and they could speak. The two that knocked him out delivered him somewhere, and they were soldiers or guards. Their insignia was clearly visible on their flank plates and on the upper part of their breastplates: half-sun half-moon above a twisted tree. The twisted tree could represent their station at the strange forest the former human found himself in. Half-sun half-moon could represent the symbol of a larger unit of troops or the country they served as a whole. Most importantly, however, was the overall armor design - it was very early plate armor resembling what Roman soldiers of the Earth wore: visorless helmets with what looked like horse hair crests on top, and segmented steel plate armor that left legs bare. The armor was clearly designed against melee weapons as well as arrows and bolts - the former human didn't miss crossbows attached to the side of their armor - but not gunfire from any weapon that packed a punch. Nothing resembling firearms was present in the room or at the side of the soldier-guards. But the former human didn't discard the possibility of the existence of flintlocks, perhaps matchlocks, and maybe even earlier types of small arms.

Then there was the unknown big equine that had a flowing multi-colored mane and a soft, regal voice. A crown atop her head clearly indicated a ruler - perhaps an empress, a queen, maybe a princess. Her mane was clearly magical in nature - nothing else could explain its behavior. She had wings and a horn, and she could do something with the latter, perhaps magic. He also had a horn, perhaps he could do the same.

The former human sighed silently in disappointment at his findings. The situation wasn't critically bad, but it was bad enough for monarchy to exist and be dominant in this society. Technology looked medieval, and he didn't expect the political or social side of life to be any more advanced.

However, he had to learn more if possible. Without the knowledge of their language, he could do little. Without knowing what he was up against, he could do even less. For now, he simply pretended to be unconscious, absorbing every bit of knowledge he could get in this state.

The clip-clop of the guards' hooves sounded and soon faded away as they rushed to spread the orders of their princess. Celestia looked at the former human, inspecting him with her eyes carefully, going over each detail.

He was of a healthy weight, albeit on the lower side of the scale; some muscle was showing, fat was almost absent. His body was free of wounds aside from the facial one, which had already closed, and some small blobs of the regenerative gel applied previously, when he was brought in, slowly disappeared into the stallion's skin. In a day, his face would look as if the wound was never there.

Then there were the scars, almost invisible under the blue fur. The clearest was the one leading to his damaged left ear. It didn't look like something the timberwolves or any other wild beast could cause. Celestia was no medic, but in her imagination, she saw steel scraping against his head and then tearing off a part of his ear. How it happened was unclear, leaving her guessing.

There were the mane and the tail. Both were of a reasonable length, but they seemed too short for someone who was a Feral. While manes and tails had a natural limit of length, his own was certainly not reached. The hair length was even as if it had naturally grown out from a uniformly short length, making Celestia think the mane and tail weren't taken care of by the stallion.

The report was clear - he fought the timberwolves without using weapons or magic. Her eyes went to his horn, and she wondered - could he even use magic? Most Ferals could barely use it even after extensive training. Wilderness was indeed not kind to ponies, for they always survived in groups, never alone. They had once been magicless, the energy flowing through them without stopping. But it changed one day, and their ability to use magic increased as knowledge accumulated. However, if one never had that knowledge, even the more natural magic like telekinesis would be hard to learn.

Celestia walked up to the former human, unaware of his barely open eyes. She wished she could have prevented Ferals from appearing, prevent ponies from suffering. It was her responsibility to guide them and help them.

She raised her hoof with the intent to stroke the mane of the stallion. As she almost touched him, his eyes shot open, and he jerked away from her hoof, rolling over to the other side of the bed and then rolling up on his hooves. In just a moment, he was standing strong, his posture stiff, and his horn aimed at the princess. He was breathing heavily, his heart pounding mercilessly against his chest. His eyes were open wide and staring at the alicorn, watching her with intensity as he also looked for an exit to escape. Unfortunately, the only one was right behind the princess.

As the princess began to speak, as shaken as she was, the former human lowered his stance and then used his head to get the bottom of the bed and flip it at the alicorn. She yelped, taking a swift step to the side to avoid the bed crushing her hooves. Taking the opportunity, the former human used his hind legs to propel himself over the bed and towards the exit. He managed to reach it before the princess could recover from the initial shock, and he dashed out of the room.

The fresh air hit him and entered his lungs as he inhaled deeply. Away from the princess, he could afford to stop for a moment to recollect his mind, and thoughts rapidly entered his head - what would he do now? Where could he go? How would he do it?

A shout from a guard woke him from his thoughts, and he saw two hornless and wingless guards charging at him. They were big, bulky, and intended to tackle him before he could move anywhere. With a growl of challenge, he planted his hind legs firmly into place and then struck the closer guard right in the chest using his front hooves. He staggered, not quite expecting the speed and power that the young unicorn used; and before he could react, the former human put his weight on the front legs and spun on them, delivering a powerful buck in the same place, knocking the wind out of the guard. He delivered a second quick buck closer to the shoulder, and the breathless guard toppled to the side, struggling to inhale.

The second guard was close now, jumping to tackle the former human. He dodged to the side and struck with his hind legs once more. The guard attempted to evade but exposed his head to the attack instead, and his helmet was struck like a bell. With a yelp of pain, the guard stumbled and fell, disoriented by the hit as his ears rung.

"Stand back, guards!" a powerful, royal voice spoke from where the former human ran out of, "Stand back, don't hurt him!"

The action stopped almost immediately, but the former human was eyeing two pegasi hovering in the air not too far above him. He was breathing heavily with his heart threatening to break his ribcage. The guards were ready to fight, and so was he.

The former human took a few steps away from the downed guards and spun around to face the alicorn while keeping his eyes on the pegasi and unicorns. His ears were back, listening to the earth ponies, one of whom had already begun to stand up, coughing. At the first sign of trouble, the former human was ready to jump back into action. The initial panic might have faded, the fighting response died down, but he kept an eye out for possible attacks, his mind entirely focused on fighting for his life. The standoff slowly flowed from one second to the next as everyone stood tense and silent.

The former human watched the eyes of Princess Celestia, and for a few seconds, she didn't look into his. When she did, he didn't flinch, he didn't look away. His unremarkable yet deep gray eyes stared into the light magenta eyes of the alicorn, going deeper beyond and right into her mind.

In her eyes, he saw her true intentions - as true as he was willing to believe they were. However, something told him what he saw was indeed real. She cared, and not just for him but for everyone she knew. Many years of bad events did not sully her positivity and belief in goodness, and to this day she continued to do her best to help everyone in need, everyone she could possibly care for. Her eyes had a sort of motherly look, and it caused pain in the heart of the former human, a deep and longing pain.

In turn, Celestia peered into his eyes. She saw nothing. The grays revealed not a single detail about him, not an iota of information. They were simply blank, yet there was something solid behind them, something that blocked her view almost intentionally.

She was the first one to break the eye contact, perspiration appearing on her forehead. She inhaled deeply, feeling as if she had just surfaced from a deep dive. She was already thinking about everything that this could signify, yet the first thing she felt she needed to do was to take the young stallion under care, to shield him from whatever danger could lurk out there, protect him from what had put this barrier in his soul.

The former human was now calm in mind, although tense in body. If he wanted to run, he could, but where? This world was alien to him, he had no shelter to hide in, no one to turn to. If what he felt about the alicorn was true, he could at the very least get a roof over his head and food in his stomach. A nice long shower sounded good to him as well, and a night's sleep would be a cherry on top. He might not be exhausted physically, but his death and rebirth put a great mental strain on him, and he now wished for nothing more than a warm bed and a few hours of silence, just a few moments of forgetfulness. And then...

"I never intended to hurt you," Celestia spoke gently, although her words said nothing to the former human, "I wish to help. Can you understand me?"

The young stallion caught the tone of her last sentence, recognizing it as a question. He did nothing but continue staring at her, trying to find her eyes as she refused to look into his. He somehow knew she saw nothing, but he wished to see more, to learn more of the... princess. With a surprise, he realized he now knew her title. Did his gaze into her eyes revealed even more than he thought already? Then it was even better he allowed none of his own nature to show.

"Seems not..." Celestia spoke with a sigh, "Can you please come with me?" she turned around and started walking away, then turned around to look at him.

"Your majesty, should any of us accompany you?" one of the guards asked.

"I believe it would be fine for me to be alone with him," she replied softly after turning to the guard, making it clear she wasn't speaking to the former human, "He's not dangerous, merely afraid."

"But your majesty-"

"I can take care of myself in case anything bad happens," she reassured the guard.

"He had destroyed two timberwolves and was ready to fight us too," another guard spoke up, and the former human recognized him as one of the pegasi previously in a room with him and the princess, "With all due respect, your majesty, you can't be safe with this... him."

"Noted, guardspony Higher Skies," the princess spoke with the same gentle voice, "However, I decline company at this time. I believe the presence of a guard won't be good for the young stallion."

"...Very well, your majesty," the guard said, although clear doubt could be heard in his voice, "As you wish. Do you require a chariot?"

"No, I believe the young stallion would like to stay on the ground and on his own hooves for the time-being," she replied, "Besides, the walk isn't too long."

"Your majesty..." another guard spoke up, his voice holding surprise. The former human was getting irritated with the delay, and his stomach grumbled. He didn't remember the last time he was hungry, but he felt like he could devour a sack of potatoes his own weight. Besides, he felt tired and wanted to get some sleep, put some distance between the events of the day and himself, to plunge himself into the void of nothingness where he thought no thoughts and didn't have to deal with the unfortunate reality. Despite his silent complaints, the guard continued, "Do you want to take him-"

"Yes, I fully intend to get him under the care of professionals and myself as well as my sister so he could start his journey of integration into our society," Celestia spoke, a hint of impatience in her otherwise soft voice, "I hope you did not expect me to put this poor soul in the dungeon like some kind of vile criminal?"

"No, your majesty. I, I apologize."

"We are departing now, then," the princess said firmly, "Remember your orders, guards," she turned to the former human who was all but itching to get away from this place. If she hadn't started moving right there and then, he would find his own way to get some much-needed rest, "Please, come with me."

The walk from the outpost had been silent. The former human trailed behind the alicorn, keeping some distance from her as they walked along a lone gravel road. A forest, a normal one, was to their right side while fields of wheat and rye were to their left. Some ponies could be seen working in the fields, and pegasi pushed clouds overhead. The former human wasn't oblivious to what was going on, and his mind made a conclusion - weather was tamable by the natives of this world. He wasn't shocked - all things went as far as he was concerned, especially after what he had experienced - but it was mildly interesting to him. Reborn in a different world for reasons unknown, he was the first human to experience an alien intelligence and even different rules of reality. He wasn't too thrilled about the former - his experience of humanity warned him of the worst among the ponykind. This idyllic scenery of ponies working in the field growing crops had to hide something worse, be it semi-modern worker exploitation or plain slavery.

And someone who was allowing or enforcing it could be walking right in front of him. He glanced at the princess, wondering what hid behind her kind exterior. Was it incest that kept her bloodline pure? Was it merciless racism or discrimination of some other kind she partook in? Was she perhaps a warlord taking pleasure in conquest? Was she a religious fanatic burning people alive for absurd reasons or torturing them in order to "save their souls"? Did she rise up above all others by poisoning them or setting them up to be killed in other ways in order to gain untold power, never thinking of the needs of the people?

Time would tell, and that same time would decide his own actions. With his new body, with his new life, he could perhaps do something. If that princess did turn out to be evil in one way or the other - which he didn't doubt - he would not lay down in defeat but would fight tooth and nail just to see her dead.

However, he needed to control his impulse, rein in his burning desire for what he saw as justice. He had to study first, gain knowledge and power. If there is magic, he must learn it. If there are martial arts, he must come up on top. And if there is injustice, he must fight it until he is depleted of energy. He must fight until his will is defeated or he triumphs. There was no third option.

In front of him, some twenty meters along the gravel road, a group of ponies appeared from behind a turn, chatter following them. Around ten ponies of different sizes were led by two bigger ones. The smaller ponies, judging by their voices and looks, were young - if the former human had to guess, from six to twelve human years. The two larger ones were obviously adult mares, an escort. The former human watched the group cautiously as he and the alicorn met them.

"Good day, princess," one of the adult mares greeted Princess Celestia before turning to look at the young stallion behind her, "So, this is the one they found in the Everfree?"

"Yes, he is," the alicorn replied. The mare looked over his features and caught his heavy look, and was now drawn into his eyes. He replied in kind, looking deep into her eyes. In them, he saw care, in a sense that she helped the wounded. There was also care for small ponies - foals - in general.

And once again, in his eyes, nothing showed.

"I... I'm n-not sure what to say," the mare stuttered, breaking the eye contact, "Is... Is he alright?"

"He is a Feral, I'm afraid," Celestia replied with a shake of her head, "But I intend to help him all the same."

"A Feral? Oh dear..." the mare covered her mouth, but then stepped towards the former human, "I'm so sorry..."

He bared his teeth slightly and stepped back, lowering his head. She wouldn't come close enough to touch him, no matter what her intentions were.

"Please, don't approach him," Celestia advised, and the mare quickly stepped back, "He... doesn't like it."

Meanwhile, the idle chatter died down as the eyes of all foals stared at the former human. He returned from his hostile posture into a more calm one, but he wished to be away from this large group either way. He gave the foals a few glances but nothing beyond that, and ignored their stares the best he could.

"Ah, I'm sorry," the mare said, "But he certainly needs to grab a bite, he looks tired and hungry. Mister Sweet Tooth should have something ready soon, I think."

"Thank you, miss Quick Aid," the alicorn nodded, "I hope you have a fun time with the foals."

"It's going to be lovely," she smiled, somewhat relieved at the change of topic, "As long as no one gets hurt, of course. I'll see to that."

With that being said, the group continued on their way, and Celestia led the former human forward. He sighed silently in relief, glad that they moved on. He wondered where he was led, was it the same place the group came from?

He was distracted by a deep horn sound in the distance to his side, behind the forest they were passing. He stopped and strained his eyes, trying to see past the tree tops. His weary mind recognized the mountainous slopes way beyond the trunks and branches and leaves, and a smoke trail could be seen making a line across the foot of the mountain, rising. Further in the distance, high above the ground, something could be seen on the side of the mountain. The former human looked at it carefully, and he was surprised - it seemed to be a castle. Or perhaps it was something bigger - it was hard to judge from this distance.

He turned back to the road and found the princess looking at him with interest, half-turned. He didn't give her a glance, and their walk continued in the same silence as before.

Princess Celestia was not yet sure what to think of the Feral - he seemed calmer than those she had seen years before. There was an aura of tension surrounding them that was unlike anything she had felt around other Ferals. There was more than a spark of intelligence inside him, yet he didn't - or couldn't - talk or even understand her. Despite his lack of verbal communication, he still followed her without a single issue. Unlike predators and more predator-like Ferals, exposing her back to him didn't elicit a pouncing response. In fact, he seemed to be completely disinterested in her as long as she walked. Even more surprisingly, he wasn't hostile to the group of ponies they met until the moment he was approached by Quick Aid.

"Who are you?" Celestia tried, stopping and looking at the young stallion. He stopped as well and looked her in the eyes again. This time, the alicorn focused on what his eyes did tell, ignoring the block between her gaze and his personality.

There was not just a spark of intelligence in the deep grays, but a flame of sapience. He was aware of her, of himself, of everything surrounding him. He knew exactly what or whom he was looking at, and he understood why he was looking. His eyes displayed a hidden intensity and an unspoken simple challenge - approach without consent and be fought. The distance between him and her was just a few steps that can be covered in a single jump, yet it couldn't be any shorter. If it were, he would fight to make her step back. Neither her impressive size nor the length of her horn nor having it and wings at the same time made him afraid of her.

The former human looked more into her eyes and saw her uncertainty about him, yet the desire to help burned brightly, not letting fear be born of ignorance. He could see where he was led, although it was not a shape nor a named place, but it was a place containing feelings of care and comfort, a place where he would feel warm both inside and out. It made something tingle inside his chest, a flutter of a heart - a good feeling.

A part of him was ready to jump at the opportunity, to embrace it freely. Yet the other part warned him to be cautious and alert. If something felt too good to be true, then it probably, likely, was. And even if it was indeed true, he wasn't sure he could accept it. He felt there was nothing to be done about him, and the best thing he could do was fall into an eternal dreamless slumber. An invisible yet not weightless burden was on him, and he had to endure it until he was no more, and he desired this release more than anything.

The promise of food and even temporary sleep, however, remained enticing, speaking to his basic needs past the rest. Perhaps he could relax, even for a little while. Still his hunger, clean his body, and then slip into long forgetfulness until his body called him to wake again. It was a small but nonetheless welcome sanctuary from the reality of his life.

In his thoughts, he didn't notice how the gaze stopped. He was led to a tall decorated brick wall with an elaborate forged iron gate at the end of the road as an entrance. Above the gate, alien letters hung, reading yet unknown words:

The Royal Orphanage.

Author's Note

I decided to make a musical theme for the protagonist and draw him. I tried a different style, too. Here you go: