An Equestrian Rogue

The night gave way to dawn quicker than the sleeping pair wanted. Thorne would be the first to stir and wake as dim morning light illuminated the room. Silver wasn’t far behind him, but she didn’t let her state of awareness be known to the man. Instead she remained still and comfortable in the sheets, listening for Thorne who was mulling about the room, tidying himself up from the previous night. Eventually she’d hear his boots on the wood as he got fully dressed in his armor and cloak.

It took her by surprise when he stopped at the door to exit. She could feel his eyes on her form. Then the sound of him turning and approaching her.

The quiet words of, “A promise to figure this all out…” escaped the man. Next she found the sheets being tugged a little higher on her frame, covering her completely. “Keep me in line and make sure I don’t break it, yeah?”

‘I’ll try,’ she thought to herself.

Silver could feel the gentle smile on the human face that looked over her supposed-sleeping form. Next she heard shifting sounds of him walking away, followed by the door opening and clicking closed with care. She gave it a minute, listening as his footfalls went down the short hall and onto the stairs making them creak loudly in the morning air.

She was thankful that Equestrian liquor wasn’t as strong as what she was used to drinking. It was a strange sensation since she hadn’t touched the stuff in what she assumed had been years. Golden eyes with black slits opened wide and peered around the room now that she was finally alone. She rolled onto her back and stretched her hooves to the ceiling before rolling back onto her legs and doing the same for her wings. It threw the covers that were so delicately placed over her off to the side.

With a single flap, she was off the mattress and onto the floor on her hooves. ‘It’s been so odd sharing a bed with him. Just glad he seems to take it in stride as something more to put up with then taking any meaning from it.' She eased herself over to her pack and began to drag out her clothes. Her mind wandered to their previous night. ‘Hopefully it stays that way... Ugh. Nightmother, please help me.’ She groaned as a few choice thoughts resurfaced. ‘I probably sounded like I was in heat to the poor stallion! I didn’t mean to make it that dirty. It was teasing!’

Silver sat back on her haunches and tugged her vest around her, having to shimmy it over her wings and put her forelegs through the proper holes. It took a moment of shifting her wings in order to get them to pop out and get comfortable. ‘He knows I was teasing, right? This is Thorne we’re talking about. He has made insinuations in the past… Oh but last night was more serious… I was just trying to lighten the mood!’

The echoing sound of ‘keep me in line’ went stampeding through her mind. A tinge of blush came to her cheeks. ‘He said that as a friend. He wants a friend to keep him on the right path. Nothing more! He even said so.’

Silver sighed out and stood, moving back toward the dresser to fetch the goggles he had made for her and her son. She took them in hoof and admired them, ‘I certainly didn’t mean to pressure him into thinking about anything beyond friendship.’ She pulled them on and adjusted them around her ears and eyes. ‘If he takes anything else from it, that’s on him!’

Next she went to the small table Thorne had their weapons setting upon. He had taken his and put them on his person while her wing-blades sat untouched. She could have sworn it looked as though they were polished. The mare sat before them and put her hooves together in prayer, closing her eyes. ‘Dear Nightmother, hear this dancer and grant her requests: Grant me moonlight to see. Grant me a long and dark night. Grant me enduring stamina against the tumultuous winds. Grant me strength of steel and body. And most importantly, grant me serenity and patience to see Your will done. By Your Grace.’

She was going through the motions she was taught, but it granted a small peace of mind. Once her prayer was over, she stood and took the weapons, fitting them over each wing. She let out a sigh as the weight of the weapons brought with it the weight of responsibility. It had a grounding effect both spiritually and mentally--one she appreciated.

‘Why didn’t you kill him?’ the voice of Cadence came creeping into her mind as she saw her reflection in the right blade as it slipped on. It made her ears fall and her eyes darted away from her sorrowful reflection. ‘It’s your job, isn’t it?’ the voice prodded.

It served to make the mare stamp her hoof against the wood with an echoing thud in the silent morning. “No questioning your decisions now, Nightshade,” she told herself. “You were given open-ended orders to do as you see fit.” Her ears perked up and she nodded resolutely. “And I will do as I see fit! And for now, that means learning more about him and finding out what is going on with all this wild magic.” She nodded again with confidence.

She stood in the middle of the room as the silence overtook her. It dawned on her that the stomp she had done was likely heard from below, making her face go red. ‘Shoot! They probably heard that… Guess I should get downstairs.’ She let out a soft sigh of disappointment after ruining her quiet and thought-filled morning. She trotted to the door but stopped shy of opening it. Instead she stepped backwards and went back into her prayer stance.

‘Dear Nightmother-- … Luna? If you can hear this, it’s Nightshade Wind. I need to speak to you. About several things. And probably several more before we get a chance to talk. I feel somewhat lost and confused. Also somewhat excited and eager. Mostly just overwhelmed and worried. So please, if you hear this, know that I could use some advice. … Uhm. By Your Grace.’

With that and another nod, she went out the door.

“I am never drinking again…” Thorne uttered as he stood in the kitchen and over the counter. He had gotten up at dawn along with Tempest and now had started preparing breakfast for the resident mares.

“How many times have you said that to yourself?” Tempest asked with a flat expression.

“I lost count,” Thorne said as he poured batter into a skillet for pancakes.

“Why were you drinking anyway?”

“I needed to medicate myself. I am on duty. I’m not going to break down.”

“So you choose to medicate with a drink while on duty?”

Thorne turned slightly, giving her the middle finger and the look of ‘don’t start’. He noticed the raised eyebrow at the gesture and sighed. “Right. Hooves. Gesture doesn’t translate. And we were technically calling it a night, therefore, I had every right to get drunk. If I had any COs, they couldn’t complain about my antics.”

“Technically, I think Glitter Drops and I am your commanding officers,” Tempest smirked. “But you’re right, you were done. But now you don’t get a chance to complain about your own stupidity. You know how this works.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Thorne responded with an annoyed tone. He grabbed a spatula and went about flipping the flapjacks.

“What did you mean, though? ‘You won’t break down’?” Tempest raised an eyebrow at that, her tone saturated with curiosity.

Thorne paused in his work and mentally swore. “Right. That. It’s so I won’t go having a mental breakdown. It’s a way to process everything. I’m in a new world with a lot on my mind and I’ve never been one to sit still and process everything. I just keep moving. I keep soldiering on. I do what I’m told, I do as I please, and I just keep going until I can’t anymore. Don’t think about it and don’t get bogged down. Or try. It’s becoming more difficult these days...”

Tempest looked away at that, as if the words brought up a memory she would rather not have. Thorne missed it as his focus was on breakfast. The silence remained for a moment before Tempest inhaled and went in with another question.

“So I have to ask, as a stallion of the military of your world… Did you conquer any nations? Capture any princesses? Am I sharing a kitchen with greatness?”

Thorne turned again and stared at the mare. “Just full of questions aren’t you… And I don’t think Cadence would appreciate you thinking so highly of yourself. And no. I didn’t conquer anything. I merely killed people. As far as ‘princesses’... We don’t really have royals in our world. I mean, we do, but… Nothing like it is here.” He shrugged. “Did do a fair bit of trafficking, though.”

“Trafficking… As in ponynapping and selling them off?” “Mhm.” “Wow… How have you at least not gotten a stern talking too from the princesses?”

Thorne poured another pancake once the one he was working on went into a plate. “Because they don’t know that. And what they don’t know won’t hurt them.”

“Fair,” Tempest shrugged. “I’ll be sure to keep it to myself.”

“Appreciate it.”

“Why’d you do it, though?”

Thorne rolled his eyes. “Same reason it happens here, I’m sure. I was being paid and didn’t care who I hurt. I didn’t know these people. Some of them likely found better lives. Some were looking for a way out of their circumstances. Some were just unlucky. Some probably did end up in horrible conditions with poor treatment but again, I didn’t care.”

His statement was punctuated with the coffee pot buzzing that it was ready. Tempest got up and made herself a mug of coffee. When she turned back to the table, she hesitated and looked back at the human. “Think you could do it again?”

“If you want to talk business, you can wait until after breakfast.” He said sternly. It made Tempest recoil slightly. He chuckled darkly at her reaction. “I’m kidding… Mostly.” When her reaction didn’t change, he sighed. “Listen, I don’t know. If it were for a good cause or to save a life, maybe. But if somepony just wanted some slave or something and was willing to pay in a lot of bits, then no. I’d probably just kill the one offering and take their bits off their hooves.”

“The fact that you say this without an ounce of remorse is terrifying and inspiring.”

“Now that is the praise I was hoping for!” He beamed. His reaction got an earnest laugh from the mare as she sat down with her coffee. “Pancakes will be done in a bit.”

“Usually Glitter Drops is awake by now, but I think she was enjoying the fact that you two are here to help. Relieves her of some stress.” Tempest sipped at her coffee, her eyes going to the kitchen doorway.

“Glad to take some weight off your mare-friend’s shoulders.” Thorne went to flip a pancake into a plate but nearly dropped it as a hoof smacked into the table, distracting him with the sudden noise.

“She is not my marefriend. She is just a friend.” Tempest sternly said.

“Uh… Yeah?” Thorne’s tone was riddled with confusion and mild relief; he was able to save the pancake. “She’s a mare who is your friend. That’s what I said--Oh! Oh. I see what I did. Whoops. Contextual language. Like ‘buck’. I get it. Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

A sudden memory went surging into his mind. “Wait… I heard Silver say ‘fuck’.”

“Is there a need for curse words this early?” Tempest asked, her tone easing back from irritation.

Thorne squinted. “I remember being told the word was ‘buck’. Do ponies not have different swears?”

Tempest leaned on the table and put her chin in a hoof. “That’s a more censored version.”

“I see.” ‘How the fuck does a sailor know the censored version and not the actual version? He sounded like he hadn’t heard ‘fuck’ before…’

“Hey Tempest? Do stallions in this society not get treated the same as mares?” Thorne turned with a plate of three pancakes in hand. He set it on the table before Tempest before strolling back to start more.

“No, they get treated the same. What brought that question up?”

Thorne shrugged. “Eh. Just when I arrived, I met a sailor who used ‘buck’ and didn’t seem to know ‘fuck’.”

“Oh I’m sure he knew the word,” Tempest responded. “But a lot of ponies refuse to say this--especially unicorns.”

Thorne’s face contorted in confusion. “Why would it matter? Why unicorns? And if they know those words, why use a censored version?” He turned, getting mildly distracted from his skillet.

“Because they are curse words.” Tempest said only to be met with an ‘And?’ in response. She rolled her eyes. “You really don’t know anything, do you?” When the response was a shake of the head and the man turning around with the phrase ‘enlighten me’, Tempest continued as he went about making sure his pancakes didn’t burn.

“Curse words. Words of curse. Certain words that are said to hold magical power and were used in curses. Of course, most curses are actually fake. And the words may have held power, but no one really knows how to make them have power. Understand?”

“Not really, but go on.”

Tempest rubbed her face with a hoof. “Magic is cast in several ways. Some of the ancient ponies were able to infuse words with power so that when they spoke such harsh language, it would actually cast a spell. Ponies believed it to be curses. Thus, curse words.”

“And what about that you said about curses being fake?”

“A lot of curses are. Or rather, even the idea and concept of a curse is magical ‘hocus-pocus’. It’s smoke and mirrors. The truth is, the only real curses were made with dark and horrible magic.”

“I see…” Thorne replied, shuffling another pancake onto a plate. “I think I might take magic lessons with Twilight. It’s all confusing. Magic, dark magic, curses, history of magic. It’s fascinating, but confusing.”

“Knowing that bookworm, she’d sit you down for a lecture that would take a month.” Tempest said with a sip of her coffee. Thorne looked at her with a smirk, thinking she was joking. The look on her face told him she was not. “Speaking of, I have a book she gave me that you might benefit from.”

“Oh? A book on magic?”

“A kind of magic.”

“If you say the ‘magic of friendship’...” He shot her a glance and got the pinnacle-of-smug grin in return. “Of course,” he responded with a groan. “Fine. I’ll get it from you later.”

There was a loud hoof-stomp from overhead, causing the two to look up. “Silver is awake it seems…” Thorne said. “She’ll probably be down shortly.”

“That probably woke up Glitter Drops. She generally reacts to loud noises like that.”

“Hope she isn’t upset.”

“Nah. It takes a good amount to upset her.”

Thorne nodded. ‘Sounds like you two are great friends. Just not ‘marefriends’ it seems.’ He inwardly chuckled at the wordplay. He continued to mill about in the kitchen, making several plates of pancakes and even did them a favor by pouring coffee for the two that would be joining the table. It took several minutes, but they were finally joined by the other two mares and breakfast could begin.

The pancakes soothed the aches brought on by the hangover. The table was otherworldly silent as breakfast came and went; it was something Thorne found unnatural as ponies seemed to be jubilant at all times of day. Yet despite his soured morning, the others seemed keen on being quiet.

Thorne’s glance went to Silver who seemed fine despite having drunk that bottle with him. He held a slight jealous contempt for the mare, but wondered if it was something with her physiology. He took a bite of buttery pancakes, chewed, swallowed, paused, and decided he should ask. It was better than the table being quiet.

“So, Silver. I’m suffering from a hangover, yet you seem fine. That or you’re grinning and bearing it.” He sipped his cup of coffee. “What’s the secret?”

Silver was mid chew as he asked. She took the moment to swallow and gather her thoughts. “While it was strong and a good drink, it certainly wasn’t Bloodwine that I am accustomed to.”

There was a glance around the table from the other two mares at the mention of ‘bloodwine’. Thorne raised his eyebrow. “And here I thought you weren’t a vampire,” he teased with a sly tone.

Silver rolled her eyes. “It is called that merely because it comes from a very hardy fruit grown in my homeland called ‘heartfruit’. And yes, it looks like a heart.”

Thorne immediately thought of a human heart, though reminded himself that ‘hearts’ in this land would likely look like horse-hearts. But another part of himself knew better and merely went with the stylized version. “I see. So you make wine from this fruit and call it ‘Bloodwine’. Intriguing.”

Silver merely nodded and took another bite.

“You then understand where notions of vampirism come from, yeah?” Thorne added. “But that is neat, I suppose. Any chance we could visit your home? I’d like to try this wine and fruit.”

From that line, Silver went into a coughing fit as she choked on the meal. It took several attempts to clear her airways and a deep swig of coffee before she was okay. Concerned glances from all three at the table made her clear her throat, dissuading their worries. She inhaled deeply and shook her head with a resolute, “No, not at all.”

Thorne leaned back and crossed his arms, expecting more of an explanation. When one didn’t come, he made a hand motion to the batpony, insisting she divulge more. When she grunted, he knew she had gotten the message.

“My homeland isn’t welcoming to outsiders for one. Two, I left my home for reasons and those reasons keep me from really going back. Three, Bloodwine can be found in rare imports to the barracks back in Canterlot. And Heartfruit is… special.”

“Special? Special how?”

Silver sighed. “It loves cold weather and being outside of it makes it tend to wither and rot quickly. In order to even have it, it needs to be kept magically cold. Easily done, of course. The other is the significance it has in our culture. If one is given a Heartfruit from the tree, it usually is seen as giving that pony your heart.”

“Ah. A symbol of romance and love… But what of making the wine? Is that not romantically tied?”

Silver shook her head. “Blood, as I told you last night, has meaning. To share blood is a deep connection to be cherished.” She shifted uncomfortably as the other two mares seemed taken aback by all this knowledge being extruded so early in the morning. “And making wine from the heart-shaped fruit is a process that isn’t easy. It’s a bonding experience for those making it. By drinking it in a meal together with friends and family, it signifies bonds shared. It isn’t something you just pick up and drink like whiskey.”

“Your people focus on these bonds. But what of any religious significance? This… ‘Nightmother’ as you call Princess Luna. Does it hold anything there?”

“You are on an inquisition with these questions…” She remarked.

Thorne sighed deeply and held up a hand. “Fine, fine. I’ll stop for now. Just curious about you and your people. But thank you for sharing the secrets of your hangover-less morning. You apparently have a tolerance.”

Silver shrugged. “Something like that. We should finish breakfast and then get to work.”

Thorne stood outside, breathing deeply of the chilly northern air. He held his hands up to his mouth and exhaled a warm fog onto them before cracking his knuckles on his only remaining hand. He flexed and stretched the fingers on both, making sure the muscles and mechanisms were all still functioning.

“It is not to be taken lightly. Ursa Majors are terrors--even Minors are a problem, due their size. But a Major is easily twice or three times as big. So we need to stay hidden. I’ve got some scent covers that will make us smell like trees, grass, and dirt so we’ll be hidden from a sensitive nose. Though, a bit of warning that it is strong smelling and won’t come off easily.” Glitter was digging through her saddlebags as she went over the dangers of the Ursa they were tracking. They all were gathered just outside the station and were preparing to depart.

‘A tedious speech, but acceptable. Suppose we do look rather green to this. But we both are trained murderers, so hunting and tracking prey shouldn’t be too difficult…’ Thorne thought to himself, his arms crossing as he peered into the woods.

In his peripheral vision, he could see Silver retching at the scent that wafted into the air from the bottle that Glitter held up and had opened. She backed away with a flap of her wings and landed a short distance away. “Strong smelling is an understatement!” She decried with a hoof going up to stir the air in front of her face, the motion trying to bat the scent away.

Glitter and Tempest looked at one another and then sniffed the bottle. They didn’t see where the complaint came from. Thorne smirked and stepped a little closer, turning his attention to them. He bent down and sniffed. While it didn’t make him react, he certainly had a new understanding of why Silver reacted the way she did. He backed away and cleared his throat. “You two have gone rather nose blind to it, I think. Strong is an understatement. And I don’t have much sense of smell--at least not compared to ponies… I assume.” He shrugged.

Silver snorted and stepped forward the few hoofsteps she had jumped back. “I suppose I’ll get accustomed.” “That’s the spirit,” Glitter beamed in response. “I just ask that we see this thing and formulate a plan swiftly so we do not have to reapply that mixture.”

The comment made the other two mares nod in agreement; Thorne shrugged. “I’ve been struggling to comprehend how good I’ll be with this task if I cannot deal with it in my terms…” he idly said, his gaze returning to the forest and the trails. “But we should get a move on. Daylight is burning.” He held out his hand to Glitter. “Give me some of that.”

Glitter levitated the bottle up and poured a small handful into the human hand. He took what was given and patted his chest, then his arms, then around his thighs. It left small wet patches on the armor that lingered in the cold weather. Once he was given the nod of approval, he stepped toward the path they would be taking that led higher into the mountainous terrain. The forest thinned out in the distance and the visibility became high.

Tempest trotted up to his side after dabbing the scent around her neck and torso. It didn’t soak into the plates of metal she had wrapped around herself, causing it to linger in the chilly air and drip down to the earth below. “We’re going to move fast. Sure you can keep up?”

Thorne rolled his eyes. “Yeah. I can keep up.” He began to stretch his legs. “I’ll be sure not to pass you since you’re the ones who know where we’re going.” He looked back to Silver. “Are you going by air?”

Silver was in the middle of having the unappealing liquid being dabbed on her neck. She looked disgusted by it but snapped her grimace away the moment Thorne addressed her. “Mhm!” She made the noise of agreement without trying to open her mouth in order to respond. It made Thorne smirk in amusement.

“Then I think we’re set to go when you two are ready.” Thorne looked back to Tempest who in turn looked to Glitter. Glitter put some of the scent-covering mixture upon herself before putting the bottle away. She strutted confidently to be ahead of the human and her fellow patrol mare. With a nod, she began to go galloping off. Tempest smirked at the human and followed right behind Glitter. Thorne rolled his eyes and looked at Silver. She was in the air and gone before he realized it. With a grunt, Thorne bolted after the trio.

It took several minutes of dashing through the snow and forest in order for the human to relatively catch up to the two mares that were ground-bound. While the terrain wasn’t slick or difficult to navigate, they had clearly had a lot of practice in maneuvering through the packed snow. Nor did it seem that they were hindered by the cold--of course they had wintery clothing on, but nothing in sheer thickness or weight or magically enchanted like Thorne needed.

Every now and again as they went further up the mountain, Glitter and Tempest would pause in order to scout the area and look for signs of their quarry. Thorne was becoming acquainted with the equivalent of pony sign-language since he had to signal to Silver in order to tell her which way to go and where to search without using his voice. Though ponies used their ears and he had to use his hands. It only made it seem sillier when Silver told him to put his hands to his head and pretend they were pony ears--something he at first refused, but after her insisting on it, he gave in.

Thorne kept looking up to the sun, tracking it through the morning sky as they worked. It became routine as they would find signs of where the bear had been. He was amazed it had stayed away from ponies if it was searching for food. He wondered how intelligent and empathetic the creature may have been if it wasn’t hunting near homes.

Each stop was met with a few leads, a short break from sprinting after the mares, and a concerned glance around at the mild destructive nature the creature had. It was marking trees for something. Thorne imagined it must have been marking territory as several trees had been scraped and scarred with massive claws. Even rocks weren’t safe from the onslaught. Once he had seen just what one swipe had done to a rather solid looking stone, he felt a twinge of fear go running along his spine. The massive claw had put a sunken mark into stone that was at least two inches deep. How the creature had the strength to do it to stone was beyond him. He took solace that something that massive and strong hadn’t just gone waltzing into the Empire proper.

A part of him told him that they needed to find the Ursa fast or it might get the idea to do such a thing. It made him grip at his daggers more out of fear than confidence. A fear that ultimately he began to mock himself for.

Morning came and went and now it was getting to be around one in the afternoon. They had been working non-stop in tracking the Ursa and had finally found it. Oddly, it was pacing back and forth in a dried river basin. They had every advantage as they approached; they would be up on a hill and downwind of the Ursa. As they got to the edge of the hill, Thorne felt that fear rising again. He could hear the echo of his mocking not hours earlier and now it ate away at his soul.

‘There is no way. I know the book and illustrations said it was huge, but come on. It’s just a bear, right…?’ He told himself as he did his best to stay hidden while peeping over the snow-covered edge. He had gotten down onto his stomach as slowly and quietly as he could; he dare not to let his eyes leave the creature before them. His vision began to tunnel. His ears went deaf to everything but the sound of it breathing and his heartbeat. He could have sworn he heard Glitter and Tempest discussing something as Silver landed and moved in close to observe along with them, but he couldn’t be sure.

Before him was a celestial behemoth. It had to be over one-hundred feet from snout to tail--perhaps even larger. Even from their distance, it shook the earth with each step. The girth of the monster was just as massive. Far more massive than anything Thorne was prepared for. Even on their hill, he knew if the thing stood at full height, it would be able to see them and look down on them. They weren’t that high in the air and if it decided to glance around, if they weren’t hiding farther down the embankment, it might see them. It was purplish in hue and translucent. From its maw hung two saber tooth protrusions that were as big as several ponies combined. The fur on the creature was littered with twinkling stars, adding to the majesty. On its forehead was a larger star that shone like a diamond. It took a moment for it to really sink in that a creature named ‘Ursa Major’ would of course look like a constellation.

Thorne, however, had no time to appreciate the looks of the creature. Instead his mind was being scattered to the howling winds that surrounded him. Several thoughts tried to assess the situation of what the beast was doing and where it was going and if he was in danger; more pressing thoughts continually screamed ‘danger’ as if it was in big bold red font in his head. He felt his breathing beginning to go unsteady and rapid. He could feel his muscles twitching with both action and inaction. He shut out the world for a moment, his mouth moving without speaking. He was wordlessly trying to process what he was looking at and what the Princesses must have wanted from him or their subjects.

‘This is suicide. They sent us to die--they sent me to die. Figures. Why these three, though? Did they do something?! Surely they have no reason to die with me?! Maybe they’re expected to get away. Or maybe they have some scheme going. That must be it. There is no way. No way in absolute hell that isn’t it…’

The Ursa went to the far edge of the basin away from the group. It rose up on hind legs, causing all of them to shrink and duck as best they could on the embankment they perched upon in order to blend in with the natural scenery. With a mighty swing, the creature dug into a tree that gave up and fell over. Half of its roots were sticking out into the basin so the claw-filled blow only served to knock the tree fully from the ground. The Ursa went back to all fours with a snort.

‘This isn’t about moving it. Not anymore. It’s too large. There is no way! … I don’t think even my strongest poison would kill it quickly. I don’t think I could get a throat or head shot in order to do maximum damage… Fuck! Why am I suddenly feeling so fearful…?! Fucking get a hold of yourself!’

Thorne closed his eyes, finally snapping himself from his fear-induced daze. He took a deep breath and tried to focus. When his eyes opened again, he instead tried to take mental notes of what the thing was doing and why it was here. ‘It marked trees and stones. But for what? Did it lose its way?’

The Ursa continued to mark the tree it had shoved down--or rather, turn it into unusable splinters with claws that would have made a dragon jealous. It was marking it, but this tree seemed to be getting more ‘ire’ than just a mark. It paused every now and again to sniff at the air and then let a low mournful sound that didn’t carry far. That singular noise grabbed Thorne’s attention.

‘That… isn’t natural. That wouldn’t be a call to others--and no reports of others…’ His eyes went to Glitter Drops. She seemed astounded at what she heard. ‘So it is something to give us a clue. Good. That makes me feel somewhat better.’

He was still trembling. The human couldn’t shake off this sense of impending dread even as the beast turned and began to go back along the basin that led toward a more rocky part of the mountain. Thorne watched it leave and rolled onto his back, letting a hot breath go through his mask. Only then did he notice the gentle hoof on his shoulder and the batpony at his side.

“Are you alright, Thorne?” Silver asked, those goggles hiding her curious eyes.

The human jerked as if she startled him and gave a harsh response. “I’m fine.”

“You’re trembling.”

“I said I’m fine!” He said a little harsher, trying to keep his voice in check.

“You’re not fine, Thorne…”

“Drop it. I’m not scared; if anything I’m probably more upset. This is a suicide mission. One you all shouldn’t be a part of. How are we supposed to get that thing out of here without any bloodshed?” He looked at Silver with disbelief that this was their mission.

“You know it’s okay to be afraid…” Silver insisted.

Thorne held up his mechanical hand. “I’ve gone headfirst into death multiple times. This? This is nothing. It’s just an overstuffed bear. I’ve actively sought my death. Just another day of living the dream. Now, just drop it, please. We have a job to do.”

Silver sighed. “Fine. We’re not done, however. You’re getting an earful when we get back and are in the room.”

“Fine.”

“Are you two done with your lovers’ quarrel?” Tempest’s voice cut in.

Before Thorne could object, Silver cut in with a mild hiss. “It isn’t a ‘lovers’ quarrel’. We’re friends.”

‘Huh. Guess I know how Tempest felt this morning with the phrasing. Odd.’

Thorne waved his hand and sat up slightly, peering back toward the Ursa as it meandered down the dried riverbed. “That aside… I don’t understand it. It’s marking trees but that doesn’t seem like it is making territorial markers. And that sound earlier sounded sad. Do you know how intelligent these creatures are?”

“No idea. They seem smart, but not able to communicate like ponies or griffons or yaks. But a lot of creatures in Equestria seem highly intelligent. But many of the intelligent ones prefer to live in harmony with ponies. It’s the magical creatures that tend to be out in untamed wilds,” Tempest responded. She looked to Glitter who seemed to beam with pride that Tempest knew these things.

Thorne sighed. ‘Uh-huh and she isn’t your marefriend how, exactly?’ “So, Glitter, you looked like you knew what that sound was. Any thoughts on what it is doing and any context for that sound?”

The pale blue-green mare was pulled from her prideful stare at Tempest and gave a look over to where the Ursa was heading. “That sound was it giving a death knell of sorts. It must be dying.”

“So it knows it is dying… but why mark the trees?” Silver asked.

Thorne, however, heard ‘it is dying’ and lit up like a Christmas tree. A wash of relief went over the man. “So you’re saying this became a mission to humanely put it down, then?!” He asked with a bit too much excitement.

“What?!” Glitter gave a stunned response. “No! That is not what I said!”

Silver gave a concerned look to her companion. Thorne sank down slightly with a grunt at being denied for now. The thestral cleared her throat. “So about the trees?”

“Hmm?” Glitter looked back to Silver after giving a scolding glance to the human. “Oh, right. Well, from what I can tell, it is marking trees like it expects another to find it. But it must know they aren’t this far down the mountain... “

“Unless we missed something that massive.” Thorne remarked. It got him another scolding glance. “For now, we should catch up to it. Keep observing it. Make sure it doesn’t go hunting ponies. But I thought it was looking for food?”

“I think we all thought that. In my initial reports and findings, it seemed like it was scavenging. But if it is down the mountain to die…” Glitter said, confusion mounting in her tone.

Thorne interrupted, “It wouldn’t be searching for that much food if it was dying. So it isn’t alone. It must be marking off where it’s been or where it has visited in order to lead another. Think you could tell the sex of it from here?”

Glitter raised an eyebrow. “No, not really. But given the size, likely a female.”

“So it’s a mother with a child or a female with a mate.” There was a gasp. “Now hold on, don’t go gasping at that,” Thorne said, raising a hand as he stood up. “It’s just a guess. We need more evidence to support all these hypotheses. And the only way to do that is to catch up. So…”

Thorne waved his hands, ushering them all to move. They all nodded and took the hint, electing to follow the Ursa at a distance. After they took off, Thorne did as well with the hopeful thought that perhaps their job just became easier.

“I think if it’s a female with a mate, it would have the mate close, yeah?” Thorne asked as they trudged through a bit of brush a good distance from their charge. “Or is that not how it works?”

Glitter shook her head. “It wouldn’t need to scavenge food if it was a mate, so I think you might be right that it has a child… But if it has a child, then it must know that the child will suffer afterwards. Why not leave it with her mate?”

Thorne leaned against a thin tree, watching Ursa as it lumbered along the path. In the distance he could see a valley of rocks that the larger-than-life bear was heading towards. It had grown later in the evening by roughly two hours. They had watched it go along the basin, marking trees and rocks as if setting a pathway. It then diverted away from another set of trees that had already been marked and went the opposite way for one hour, marking trees as it went. It then turned around and started heading back to the self-made fork in the non-existent road. He could only assume it was heading back to a hovel and the group was on the verge of discovery.

“Perhaps she doesn’t have a mate,” Silver responded. “Something tragic may have happened.”

Thorne couldn’t help but wince. It went under the radar. Glitter turned her head to look at Silver with an appraising eye. “You might be right about that. Unless like Thorne said, we missed something that large. Or since we’ve not been able to gauge sex, we might have gotten the two mixed up at some point. Perhaps we saw what we thought was one, but they were just out and about at different times and areas.”

Tempest chimed in, “But if the mate was around, would it be exhibiting the same behavior as the one we’re following?”

That made Glitter look back to Tempest. “Okay… fair point. It wouldn’t be doing the same behavior. Unless both are dying.”

“And you’re sure that was a sound to indicate pain or sickness?” Thorne asked with a raised eyebrow. There was a nod from the mare and his eyes went back to scanning their quarry. “Right.” He let a sigh through his nose. “I think it’s mate-less and caring for offspring. And it might be marking off places it has explored to find food. Look. It’s heading toward that cavern there, between the rocks.” Thorne motioned with a hand. All three heads went looking to where he was pointing.

“I remember reading the report before we came out here,” Silver started in, “It said you dealt with a young minor that had gotten away from the mother. What if this is one and the same?”

“Surely it isn’t,” Tempest resolutely stated.

Glitter raised her hoof. “She might actually be right, Fizzy. If it was, perhaps the mother led her youngling down the mountain because it knew this territory better after being out here for so long. So maybe it’s trying to leave it in hunting territory.”

“But there is barely anything to hunt.” Tempest retorted.

“Shh! Look!” Thorne demanded as he lowered his body in the dull green shrubs. The wind had shifted, putting them upwind of the creature. Luckily it seemed the scent cover was muddying the smell enough the Ursa only paused to sniff before continuing into the valley of rocks.

Once at the mouth of the valley, it let out a noise that Thorne felt was cautionary. While the sound may have been one of caution, it was replied to. A more pitched version came from a cavern and out came an Ursa Minor standing at full height. Once it saw the Major, it went to all fours and the two brushed against one another.

The four all stayed deathly quiet as the exchange happened. Thorne and Silver both had their eyes darting around to see if anything else joined them. Nothing did.

The wind began to pick up, muting the sounds of the two in the valley. Tempest gave a click of her tongue and looked to Glitter Drops who nodded. “We should get back to the cabin. Wind is starting to turn and drop the temperature. We don’t want to be out if a blizzard hits.”

“There wasn’t anything like that in the weather report, was there?” Silver asked.

“Weather is wild out here. Could change in an instant. Got to pay attention to nature.”

Silver nodded. “Right… That makes me have a question.”

They all rose from their hiding spot and began to back off slowly so as to not attract attention. Glitter smiled at the batpony. “Ask away!” Her tone was cheerful and eager, but quiet enough to not disturb.

“Thorne seems to disturb nature everywhere he goes. Is there a reason for this?”

Tempest was the first with a snide remark. “His attitude, maybe?”

“Not what I meant, but that could be it,” Silver responded. “No, it’s like every animal around him just goes quiet. Like they’re afraid of him. While in the air, I witnessed some woodland critters avoiding his general vicinity. If he approached them, even if it was unknowingly, they ran and hid. I also noticed birds would stop singing or chirping--some even flew off.”

Thorne crossed his arms and gave a grunt as they continued to walk back down to their previous path. The mutterings of a disgruntled human could be heard by the thestral ear, “It is not my attitude. It's not my fault this world hates me.” He found his words drew Silver’s eye and a look of ‘are you sure about that’ which prompted him to shut his mouth out of fear of proving her right.

Glitter Drops looked back to Thorne. She stared at him a moment, slowing her walk. His eyes looked back at her. He saw that familiar twinge of uncertainty he had seen in several other ponies that met his gaze. She looked away. “Well, if I’m being honest? He kind of reminds me of a predator.”

“You know, when I first arrived here and got examined, a doctor said the same thing. Even said I had eyes like a thestral.” Thorne remarked with a hint of pride.

“I can certainly see that!” Glitter spoke up over a sudden gust of wind. They had finally moved far enough away to have a normal volume conversation; something Thorne was thankful for as the wind had started to pick up and he was starting to lose hearing.

“Ah. Perhaps that is why you did not fear my son and I when we met then. You had been compared to us,” Silver stated.

“I didn’t fear you because I had nothing to fear. I didn’t have reason to fear. I didn’t have context for any fears,” Thorne responded with a flat tone. “I simply had heard about strange bat-like ponies that had odd eyes. The moment I caught your son and noticed he was bat-shaped, my first thought, I believe, was ‘adorable’.”

Silver paused her walking and looked back at him. “Truly?”

There was a nod from the human. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. All of you ponies, to me, are adorable. He was just small. And bats are cool.” He shrugged. “Mixing a pony with a bat? Cool and adorable. Adora-cool.” He knew how cheesy it sounded and followed it up with finger guns. All three rolled their eyes and two laughed at him. Tempest sighed at how corny it was. Once the moment passed, they all started walking again.

Glitter looked back to the human, garnering a mutual appraising stare from one another. “Sorry if it sounds insulting, Silver. It’s been many years but some still see batponies as predators. But ponies often see anything with sharp beaks or claws or fangs as something with a predatory nature.” The mare looked away from Thorne and to the thestral.

Silver lowered her head, sighed, and nodded. “I understand it. I’ve accepted it and everyone has, for the most part, moved on. It isn’t insulting any more. But perhaps that explains more about Thorne and his presence.”

“My presence?” He questioned.

“You give off an aura of confidence. But it is confidence laced with something dark. A... “ she paused, mouth moving as she tried to find the word. “What would you call it? It is like a way to carry yourself!”

“Swagger?” Glitter posed it as a question.

“Yes! Moltimek! Swagger! This swagger that says ‘I am better than everything’. It is that but laced with this feeling of dread. That if someone or something were to challenge it, you could put them down. In a terrible way.”

Thorne smirked at that description. “I mean…”

“Yeah, yeah.” Silver huffed.

Tempest was the one to look back at Thorne this time. While she didn’t shy away from his stare and even matched it, she did sense what Silver was speaking of. “He wouldn’t hesitate to kill and would think it was nothing but sport.” She idly said the words with an almost bored expression. She looked at the other two, “A bit deranged perhaps.”

“I’m right here you know…” “And?” Thorne opened his mouth to keep arguing but sighed. “That’s fair I suppose.” His arms fell to his side and shuffled behind his back as they walked. They had made it back to the path that led to the cabin and now the pace had picked up.

Silence overtook the four as they walked. Nothing but the sounds of wind and the crackling of snow underhoof and boot filled the surrounding air. Finally Silver spoke up, “I think he thinks about it often. And earlier I saw him trembling. I’ve seen him tremble a few times--with fear and even rage and confusion. Which makes me think it doesn’t quite add up. Maybe it is this ‘swagger’ he has, but it seems more like a mask.”

“Again. I’m right here. Are we trying to analyze every little thing about me instead of the bear? Just because some birds and animals think I’m a predator?” Thorne’s voice came with a hint of irritation.

“I just find it odd, is all. I’d like answers and figured I would ask the experts.” Silver said, her wing extending to point at Glitter. “No sense in getting upset. Especially since what happens around you doesn’t happen around me.”

“I--” Thorne began to retort but stopped. “It doesn’t? Wait…” He tried to think back on if he had seen any thestrals interacting with animals. Nothing came to his mind, but he had no reason to doubt her words. He put a hand to his chin and stroked. “Hrm. This gives me something to think about, then.”

‘If that’s true, maybe she is right. Maybe it is this ‘mask’ I wear. Maybe there is something to this ‘harmony’ stuff. Something deeper than just the meaning of it.’

Thorne let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his face. “Bah! So much to think about and cover. I’m going to explode at this rate. Let’s get back to the cabin. How far?”

“Not far now,” said Tempest.