Twilight watched from her balcony as the rest of the search party and her friends headed off into the White Tail woods. She let out a sigh of resignation before turning around to face Princess Celestia and Luna. While she was normally ecstatic to see her former mentor, this meeting brought anything except joy. Anxiety, fear, anger, frustration, and sadness waged war with each other to claim the forefront of Twilight's mind.

"Twilight, please take a seat." Celestia instructed.

There was nothing hostile about her tone, nor the way she politely gestured toward Twilight's chair at the head of the cutie map, but Twilight winced all the same. The silent tension in the air made even the most gentle and polite of requests sound like angry demands, but Twilight obeyed all the same. She quietly walked over to her throne and took her seat, the pair of diarchs continuing to stand across from her.

While she would have almost preferred to face the metaphorical music alone, Twilight found a small relief from the fact that Midnight came in from the hospital mere moments after she'd arrived. She was standing guard by the door, alongside another guard Twilight hadn't seen before, though it was obvious she wanted to return to the hospital. Even with the small support structure she had, Twilight could feel the pit in her chest forming into a gaping chasm with each passing second of silence. Fortunately or unfortunately, the silence didn't last long, and Celestia addressed her once more.

"We've received a very concerning report from the Ponyville General hospital, Twilight." Celestia began, giving her former student a concerned gaze.

"I know." Twilight replied, quietly.

"Twilight, where is Cooper?" Luna asked, firmly.

Twilight slowly shook her head, "I don't know. I've been trying to find him since last night." She replied, honestly.

"Is he still armed? Does he have access to any more weapons?" Luna pressed.

Again, Twilight shook her head, her horn igniting as the pistol was levitated over into view of the princesses, "This was the only weapon he had. He doesn't have any others and no means to get any more, either."

Luna and Celestia both frowned as the gun was placed on the cutie map in front of them.

"This is what injured Corporal Sky?" Celestia inquired, almost sounding disappointed.

"I can certainly see how he managed to hide it from us earlier. It's size must be misleading." Luna surmised.

"I don't know how it works exactly, nor do I know how lethal it is compared to what Cooper's rifle was capable of, but it can absolutely kill a pony at close range." Twilight explained.

Celestia and Luna both nodded, "I see... thank you, Twilight. We'll have this brought back to Canterlot for analysis." Celestia acknowledged, nodding toward the other guard in the room.

Said guard quickly trotted over to the table, levitating a box in her magic. She similarly picked up the pistol in her magic and placed it in the box, before trotting back over to her post at the door.

"Now that the tool has been dealt with, we need to address the next issue." Luna announced.

"Cooper?" Twilight guessed, already well aware of the answer.

"Yes. Although, as we don't know where he is, that point is moot at the moment. For now, can you explain what happened last night? The details we received only explained the injury Corporal Sky sustained, not what led up to it." Celestia explained.

"We'll expect a report from Sergeant Midnight as well." Luna added, glancing back over to the aforementioned guard.

Midnight tensed slightly from the sudden acknowledgment, but remained at attention as the sisters returned their attention to Twilight.

"First, let me start by saying that what happened was an accident-" Twilight began before being swiftly cut off by Celestia.

"Twilight, dear, we're not just here to punish Cooper or throw him into a cell once he's found. We need answers. We're actually both quite worried for his well-being." Celestia explained, much to Twilight's surprise.

"You... you're not?" She asked, in disbelief.

Luna quickly shook her head, "No, Twilight. While... this has been a serious incident, and we both expect to speak with Cooper after he is found, we are more concerned than anything else. If he had killed his guard... we'd be having a much different conversation." She added.

Twilight winced at the implication, "I understand... I'm sorry for keeping that information from you." She apologized.

Celestia sighed, "While I am... disappointed that you lied to us, I can't say I'm terribly surprised. Trauma changes a pony... and Cooper became the only creature you could trust or rely on in his world. It's understandable that you would lie to protect him. I'm assuming he only allowed us to take his other weapon because he had this one on his person the entire time?" At Twilight's nod, Celestia sadly shook her head, "It pains me to think what kind of trauma a creature must have gone through to feel so utterly unable to be at peace."

"We've made good progress with helping him reintegrate into a society of sorts, but... well..." Twilight trailed off, her withers sinking as she recalled the previous night's events.

"What caused all this, Twilight?" Luna questioned.

"It was the conversation I was dreading since the future version of me pushed all that information into my brain." Twilight explained.

Both Celestia and Luna instantly frowned as they immediately understood Twilight's plight.

"He asked you to save his family." Celestia stated.

Twilight nodded.

A twinge of guilt ran through Luna as she thought back to the dream realm and the pleasant dream involving his family she'd left Cooper with.

"When I explained to him that what he wanted was simply impossible... he didn't take it well." Twilight explained, her eyes downcast.

Celestia and Luna shared a look.

"And that led him to almost kill his guard?" Celestia questioned.

"I don't believe he was trying to even hurt Sky... I think he just..." Twilight trailed off, struggling to explain her thoughts.

"Princesses?" Midnight asked, from her post.

All three alicorns in the room quickly turned to the guard, "Yes, Sergeant?" Luna replied.

"I... have an idea of what happened, if you'll hear it." She offered.

Celestia and Luna nodded.

"While I expect to see it in your report, we might as well hear it now." Celestia responded.

Midnight trotted over to the princesses, "When Sky and I intervened, Cooper was storming out of the castle, Princess Twilight hot on his heels. Sky tried to deescalate the situation, but Cooper was in no mood for that. He tried to storm past us but Sky tried to stop him. Twice." She recollected.

"Twice?" Celestia parroted.

"He tried to halt Cooper once, but he just threw him aside. Sky got back on his hooves and tried to stop Cooper again, but he threw him aside again. The second time, when Sky got back up, Cooper drew his weapon..." Midnight , though her pursed lips and furrowed brow made it clear that she still had more to say.

"Go on." Luna pressed.

"There was... something... off in his eyes. It was like he wasn't all there, anymore. I think... he may have been having a flashback again when Sky was trying to stop him. After having the last of his hope dashed by the knowledge that there simply isn't any way to bring back his family and Sky trying to physically restrain him and... well, it's not a hard stretch for me to imagine that he completely flashed back to a traumatic event like when he lost them in the first place." Midnight elaborated.

Luna frowned as her head dipped in thought, the memories of Cooper's dream and the loss of his family quickly coming back to her in an instant. She was quiet for some time, prompting Celestia to progress the conversation without her.

"Sergeant, there's more you haven't told us yet, isn't there?" Celestia pried, softly.

Midnight nodded silently, "This... isn't the first time this has happened, Princess." She stated.

Celestia and Luna's eyes both widened, "What?" They asked in unison.

Twilight quickly interjected, "This was the first time somepony was hurt... but Cooper has had flashbacks more than once. I didn't want to alarm you so I didn't include it in my letters. We thought that he was getting better but... it seems as if he's only been getting worse." She sighed.

"I want to help Cooper, truly I do... but if he's experiencing flashbacks of those moments back on his world... he is extremely dangerous. We have to find him and get him to the proper medical facilities-" Celestia began.

"You are not putting him in a psych ward." Twilight growled, surprising both Celestia, Luna, and Midnight with her sudden tone.

"Twilight-" Celestia tried to speak, but was cut off yet again.

"No. Youre right that he needs medical help and psychological evaluation, but if you think for even one second that I'm going to let anypony stick him in an insane asylum, you're wrong." Twilight declared, firmly.

"We have no intentions of doing so!" Celestia exclaimed, "I was simply going to suggest exactly what you said. My concern is that Cooper is dangerous, Twilight. Whether you want to admit it or not, he is. You can't let your personal feelings get in the way of protecting the ponies you preside over." She sternly asserted.

"I'm not... but I just..." Twilight trailed off, the wind leaving her sails by the second.

"You care deeply for Cooper, that much is clear. Having said that, you needn't take a threatening tone with us, Twilight Sparkle. We want the best for everypony involved. Please don't forget that." Luna offered, taking a slightly more gentle approach.

Twilight's ears splayed back against her skull as her gaze fell down to the floor, "Y-you're right. I'm sorry... it's just... Cooper is very important to me. I wouldn't be alive without him." She muttered.

"We know, Twilight. Don't forget that we are grateful to him as well. He brought you back to us. We're not against you or Cooper. We just want to help, but for us to do so, you have to work with us." Celestia offered.

Twilight gave a shaky nod, "O-okay. Thank you."

Celestia and Luna smiled.

"It's okay, Twilight. Now, we should really focus on finding the poor human, don't you think?" Celestia asked.

"Right. Yeah... Zecora was tracking him. Last I saw, she was leading the search party into the White Tail woods. I'm sure Zecora is good at tracking but... Cooper spent almost five years learning to hide and evade others... I need to go and help them look." Twilight replied.

"You go with Zecora and the search party. We will stay here for the time being in case he returns. If Mayor Mare hasnt yet, we will alert the town guard. Plus an extra pair of eyes can't hurt." Luna suggested with a quick wink.

"Thank you both. You won't regret this." Twilight smiled, galloping over to both alicorns and giving them a hug.

Celestia and Luna happily returned the gesture before Twilight rushed to the exit and departed.

As Twilight rushed past her, Midnight gave a pleading look to the princesses. It took just a moment for Celestia to give her a small smile and nod, prompting her to bolt out the door as well.

Celestia and Luna shared an amused chuckle at the display before turning and making their way over to the balcony. From there, they had a perfect view of the town and the small lavender blur that was Twilight as she galloped out to the White Tail Woods.

"Found anything yet!?" A stallion called.

"Nothing yet!" A mare replied.

"I'll check over here. If we spread out, we can comb the forest and have it completely checked within a few hours." Another suggested.

The congested trails of the White Tail woods were littered with ponies, all spreading out and searching every crevice, behind every tree, and under every rock in search of Cooper. At the head of the pack, was Zecora, her muzzle just a few inches off the ground as she carefully scanned for any trace of Cooper's trail. The sound of galloping hooves momentarily broke her attention from the ground, prompting her to look over as Twilight trotted over to her.

"Zecora! I'm here. Tell me you've still got his tracks." Twilight called, huffing and puffing from the exertion.

Zecora sadly shook her head, "I'm afraid the trail has come to an end. Cooper has eluded even me, something I must commend."

Twilight let out a quick huff, "It's okay. We followed him this far. He can't have gotten too much further. Is everypony already spreading out and searching the forest?" She pressed.

Zecora nodded, "Your friends went on ahead. They're moving to the end of the woods, in case that's where he's fled."

Twilight's wings flared out, "Alright, perfect. Let's go find Cooper."

.

.

.

.

.

That evening

"We've been searching the forest all day!" Sweetie Belle whined.

"We've got to be getting close at this rate!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Ah reckon we've got an hour of sunlight left at most. So let's just keep searchin' for about thirty more minutes, and after that, we can head home for the night. Ah'm sure that if we don't find him by then, some other pony will." Apple Bloom, ever the diplomat, suggested.

"Ugh, my hooves hurt." Sweetie Belle complained.

"Well so do the rest of ours, but do you hear us complaining?" Scootaloo shot back.

"You've been using your wings to take the weight off your hooves this whole time! And Apple Bloom's an earth pony! Her hooves are stronger than mine!" Sweetie Belle defensively rebutted.

"Girls! That's enough! We ain't gonna find Cooper or get any closer to gettin' home by fightin'. Now come on and let's just focus. We've gotta be close, we just gotta." Apple Bloom interjected, physically putting herself between her friends.

While there were still some quiet grumbles from the other two fillies, they both acquiesced and fell in line as Apple Bloom led them along the trail they'd been following for several hours. With the sun hanging low on the horizon, long shadows were cast over the landscape, making the blood orange light of the sun appear to stretch on against the hillside. A gentle breeze was slowly picking up in the West, rustling the leaves of the trees and sending a few falling to the ground below.

The trio of fillies continued on until the sun reached the horizon, just barely kissing the edges of the Macintosh mountains off in the distance. Despite their best efforts, and covering nearly the entire forest in just a few hours, they sill hadn't found Cooper. It was as if the human completely disappeared, leaving all three of them to scratch their heads in confusion at how he managed to evade an entire town searching for him.

"Alright, ah think we should start headin' back now. It's startin' to get dark." Apple Bloom acknowledged, shaking her head.

"You sure? We can still look for a few more minutes." Scootaloo offered.

"We're not gonna find anything in a couple more minutes that we didn't already find over the last several hours." Sweetie Belle protested.

"Alright, alright, fine. Big baby." Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

"Am not!" Sweetie Belle cried, her voice squeaking in indignation.

As her friends descended into bickering once more, Apple Bloom let out a sigh, before her ears suddenly perked up on a sound just a few dozen paces away. She glanced over in the direction of the noise, her eyes squinting as she searched.

"Hang on a minute, girls." She ordered, directing both of their attention to her.

"What?" Scootaloo asked.

"Ah think I heard somethin'..." Apple Bloom trailed off, her eyes scanning the woods before her.

For a few moments, the three of them searched the woods in front of them, finding nothing other than trees and greenery. That quickly changed as they all saw it: movement.

"There!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, pointing at the distinct figure they'd seen moving in the treeline.

"Cooper!" Scootaloo called out.

Just as soon as they saw it, the figure darted away, further into the woods, prompting Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to charge in after it. Sweetie Belle glanced back and forth from her friends to the rest of the ponies heading back off in the distance, before sighing heavily and galloping after her friends.

The three of them darted into the woods as fast as their little legs could carry them, leaves crunching under their hooves as they moved through the twisting, turning chase. The figure was much, much faster than them, managing to nearly completely disappear in the dense vegetation that filled the forest. Still, Apple Bloom's sharp eyes managed to keep sight of it as it tried to evade them. Further and further they galloped into the forest until all they could see was the trees and plant life surrounding them on all sides.

They eventually managed to run out into a small clearing, their hooves coming to a skidding stop as a small gorge opened up before them. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all stared down at the impressively deep hole in the ground before glancing up once more to see the shadowy figure disappearing into the deeper forest.

"Cooper, wait!" Apple Bloom cried out.

"How did he even jump over this thing? This gorge is huge!" Scootaloo exclaimed, gesturing to the gorge in front of them.

"Ah don't know... maybe it was 'cause he got a runnin' start?" Apple Bloom offered.

"Cooper couldn't just jump over this, even with a running start. Are you even sure that thing was Cooper at all? That could have just been a fox for all we know." Scootaloo suggested.

"Does a fox run on two legs, Scoots?" Apple Bloom deadpanned.

"Um, girls?" Sweetie Belle spoke up, prompting both her friends to glance back over to her.

"What is it?" Scootaloo questioned.

"Well... do either of you know where we are anymore?"

Author's Note

Dun dun duuuuuuuuuun...

So this one was pretty hard to get out. Had to do some rewriting to make the plot make sense. Hopefully there's nothing too confusing or ridiculous going on. Very exciting times ahead. Hope you guys are ready.