The walk back to the trail went swiftly enough, and within a few minutes, the group found themselves on the walking trail leading straight back to Ponyville. One of the groups searching the forest found them within a few minutes, prompting a quick message to end the search to be spread through the ponies still out.

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity all bolted straight for their respective siblings and pulled them into tight hugs as they arrived.

"What in the hay were you thinkin'?" AppleJack chastised.

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" Rarity admonished.

"You could have gotten seriously hurt!" Rainbow exclaimed.

All three fillies sunk in on themselves as they were chastised by their older sisters.

Cooper quickly tried to pacify the situation, "It's my fault. Don't be mad at them. If I hadn't done what I did, they wouldn't have come into the forest after me." He explained.

"You are another story entirely, mister Slait. Regardless, your actions do not justify them going out and so recklessly putting themselves in danger." Rarity harrumphed.

"Besides, I'm sure Twilight has an earful for ya' when you two get back to the castle." AppleJack teased.

"Just don't go running off again. Twilight called in literally the entire town to find your flank." Rainbow asserted.

While their sister's attention ire was directed at Cooper, the three fillies tried to make some point in defense of the human. However, as soon as they opened their mouths, they were quickly silenced.

"I ain't hearin' nothin' from any of ya'll! Yer all in trouble for this! The whole town was worried sick about'cha." AppleJack stated.

Dejected looks quickly formed on all three fillies' faces, and even though they felt righteous indignation in their veins, AppleJack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash could hardly stay mad at them.

"Listen, we're just glad you're all safe. Let's just get you all home." Rarity offered, diplomatically.

"Tell ya' what. If ya'll behave the rest of the way home, I'll get all three of ya' a slice of Granny's apple pie tomorrow. How's that sound?" AppleJack offered.

All three fillies immediately brightened up, "Awesome!" They cheered.

With that, the group headed home, and before long, Cooper, Twilight, the cutie mark crusaders, and almost half of Ponyville were walking on the trail leading back into town, approaching on the main road. Celestia and Luna were both standing by with a plethora of guards, all prepared for the arrival of the only resident human and the foals that were missing. Though Cooper couldn't see it from the distance he was, Celestia and Luna allowed small smiles of relief to form on their faces. With the danger passed, and the return of their fellow alicorn assured, they both turned and made their way to the town hall.

As they entered the town, several ponies that were still home for the evening poked their heads out of their windows or peeked out from their doorways, their eyes wide in concern and interest as they saw Cooper walking back into town amongst Twilight and the search party. Hushed whispers soon filled the air as the townsponies funneled out of their homes and followed the search party as they arrived at the town square.

"Princess, there you are. I see you've managed to recover mister Slait, as well." Mayor Mare greeted, bowing her head slightly as Twilight approached the town hall.

"Cooper came back on his own volition. He also saved not just my life, but the lives of these three fillies as well." Twilight announced, gesturing back to the cutie mark crusaders.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Celestia questioned, stepping down from her spot at the top of the stairs, her composure momentarily breaking as concern filled her mind.

"A pack of timberwolves attacked. There must've been a dozen or more of them." Twilight explained.

"Timberwolves?" Luna parroted, her brow furrowing in concern.

"They're never out in the White Tail woods. They stick to the Everfree, don't they?" Mayor Mare asked, tilting her head to the side.

Before Twilight could reply, another voice from the crowd spoke up. The deep melodic tone of her voice caught Cooper's ear in an instant, and he quickly turned to see Zecora as she stepped toward him.

"Usually, it is as you say. However, timberwolf packs can migrate by the day. Any tree can spawn them, whether it be Evrefree bark, or a White Tail stem." Zecora explained.

"Zecora?" Cooper asked, quietly.

Much to his surprise, Zecora quickly nuzzled his thigh, "I am glad you are alright. You gave me quite a fright." She replied, giving him a soft smile.

Despite himself, Cooper couldn't help the soft smile that formed on his face as he looked down into the deep blue pools of Zecora's eyes. As the two shared a quiet moment, Mayor Mare's head dipped in thought while Celestia and Luna shared a look of concern over the news they'd just received.

"It is... unprecedented for timberwolves to spawn in the White Tail woods. We've always understood them to be creatures of chaos, formed by Discord's magic in the Everfree. How can they be appearing somewhere else so suddenly?" Luna pressed.

"I've seen it with my own eyes. There's more than one forest from which they can arise." Zecora firmly asserted.

"If that's true... then we'll have to have the town step up it's guard presence in the woods. Ponies use those trails every day. We can't have timberwolves just appearing and attacking anypony going for a stroll on their day off." Mayor Mare acquiesced.

"To be fair, it is pretty much unheard of. Even I wasn't expecting to run into them in the forest." Twilight chimed in.

"What happened, exactly?" Celestia pressed.

Twilight nodded, "I was able to deal with the majority of them by myself, but one of them managed to catch me off guard. Then another jumped on my back and was about to finish me off..." She trailed off, turning to Cooper, "That's when Cooper, having already been stuck in the middle of fighting three of them by himself, came in and saved me. He put his life on the line to protect not just me, but all three of these fillies as well." She elaborated, gesturing to the cutie mark crusaders.

"It's true. Coop' saved us from the timberwolves before Twilight found us." Apple Bloom spoke up.

"It was awesome! One second we were all just sitting around a little fire, and the next, Cooper was fighting off three timberwolves with his bare hands! He punched one so hard in the snout that it's bark broke off!" Scootaloo excitedly added.

"One of them was about to bite me but he just dragged it away by its tail and threw it against a tree!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"Oh! Then there was the one that jumped on his back and tried to bit him, but he grabbed it and threw it against a tree!" Scootaloo prattled off.

"That timberwolf shattered!" AppleBloom exclaimed.

"Just like the one he tackled to save Twilight!" Sweetie Belle squeaked.

Hearing the heroic deeds accomplished by the lone human of the town, the gathered ponies all turned to him, their faces awash with awe and newfound respect for him. A sentiment of gratitude and grace quickly filled the air, as several ponies stomped their hooves in approval at the actions they'd heard.

"I must say, that's quite a tale. I'm so sorry you were all in any danger in the first place." Mayor Mare offered, dipping her head slightly.

"There was no way you could've known. On the bright side, I think we've taken care of the issue so there shouldn't be any more of them. Still, we should have guards present, just in case." Twilight replied.

Celestia and Luna both nodded in agreement, before the former walked over to her student. At Twilight's curious gaze, Celestia quickly pulled her into a tight embrace, her wings wrapping around the lavender alicorn as she held her close.

"How bad?" She asked, her voice just a whisper.

"Princess, I-" Twilight began.

"I know the residue of an alicorn healing spell when I see it, Twilight... how badly were you both hurt?" She pressed.

Twilight cringed at the questioning, but did not shy away from her mentor. Albeit with a moment of hesitation, she slowly let out a long sigh.

"We... were both on the verge of death." She admitted, just loud enough for Celestia to hear her.

The alabaster alicorn holding her only tightened her hug for a moment before sluggishly releasing her, a sad look on her face.

"I am so sorry you were hurt again, Twilight... after the last time I thought... I couldn't bear the thought of you being hurt so badly again." She explained, her voice just a fraction of its normal strength.

Much to the solar princess's surprise, she felt Twilight gently nuzzle her cheek, "It wasn't your fault. Neither time was. Those are both on me. Good news is, we're all here and we're all okay." Twilight offered with a smile.

Celestia found a smile tugging at her lips as well, and after a moment to process what her student said, she returned the gesture, before turning to Cooper, "And I do believe I have you to thank for that, Mister Slait." She announced, dipping her head in thanks.

Cooper quickly shook her head, "Please, don't thank me, princess. Twilight's the one that came looking for my sorry ass... well, her and these three." He gestured at the three fillies just a few feet away from him.

All eyes darted to Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, along with their respective sisters.

"We've already torn 'em a new one. Don'tcha worry none about that." AppleJack quickly announced.

"While we are very glad to see all of their safe return, we can't help but wonder what led to them running off after a creature they hardly knew in the first place." Luna pondered aloud.

"You kiddin'? Princess, Cooper's probably Apple Bloom's favorite creature in town." AppleJack chuckled.

"Scootaloo too. Even I'll admit, for an alien, he's not half bad." Rainbow Dash chimed in.

"Agreed. Sweetie Belle just adores him." Rarity tittered.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle whined.

"Even after what happened with him and Corporal Sky?" Luna replied, curiously.

The joyous, happy atmosphere around them quickly dissolved as the memory of what happened quickly refreshed in everyone's mind. Cooper in particular, found his gaze falling to the ground below, shame filling his heart. However, that painful silence was broken shortly thereafter by the sound of two sets of hooves walking. One was noticeably missing a hoofbeat, as if the owner of said hooves were hobbling along on three legs instead of four.

Dozens of pairs of eyes darted toward the source of the noise, while several more ponies made a small clearing in the crowd. Cooper looked up to see that the source of the approaching noise was Sky and Midnight. The crimson stallion was still bandaged up around his wither and neck, and his foreleg was held in a sling, forcing him to walk on three legs instead of four. Beside him, her wither pressed against his to take any extra strain off of him that she could, was Midnight, her dark gray coat standing out even in the late hour.

"If it's all the same to you, Princess... I think I'd like to weigh in on that." Sky announced, giving the deepest bow he could muster.

"Corporal, what are you doing out here? You should be resting in the hospital!" Celestia protested, concern bleeding into her voice.

"No need to worry there, Princess. He was just discharged." Midnight explained.

"So soon?" Luna pressed.

"It wasn't like he hit anything vital. Besides, I'm made of stronger stuff than that." Sky chuckled.

Albeit hesitantly, both princesses gave a small nod to the stallion, allowing him and his partner to walk over to Cooper until they were standing just a few feet in front of him. Though his gaze lingered on them throughout their approach, Cooper couldn't help but hang his head low and bring his eyes down to his own feet as Sky finally reached him. A tense and somewhat awkward silence hung in the air over the two as the crowd waited with bated breath for what would be said. Eventually, it was too much for either to bear.

"Listen, Coop-" Sky began.

"I'm sorry for what-" Cooper also began.

Both of them paused for a moment, before a light chuckle escaped both of them.

"Sorry, you go ahead." Sky relented.

Cooper gave a grateful nod, "Thanks... I want to apologize... not just to you, but to everyone. I... haven't been myself for a long time now and... I guess I didn't want to accept that. I didn't want to accept a lot of things these past few weeks, if I'm being honest." He announced, just loud enough for the crowd to hear him.

Though Sky wanted to speak up, it became quickly apparent that Cooper still had more to say, so he waited patiently for him to finish.

"Five years ago, I lost my home... my world... my friends... all I had left was my family and then... then, they were taken from me too. I spent a long time fighting just to survive... I don't think I ever expected to make it to someplace like this. Friends, food, warmth, comfort... having it all now just... makes me wish that they could be here with me." Cooper continued.

Sky and Midnight nodded for him to continue, their eyes filled with empathy for the man before them.

"When Twilight told me she couldn't bring them back... I snapped. A part of me that so desperately wanted to believe that it could be done just... couldn't handle hearing the truth. As much as I miss them... as much as I love them... my family is gone. There's no changing that now. It's just something that I have to accept. When you tried to stop me from leaving, I wasn't myself... all I could see was the snow... and the death. I didn't even fully realize what I'd done to you until hours later. So I'm sorry... I'm so sorry for hurting you... I don't want to hurt anyone anymore... I'm so tired of living that way." Cooper finished, his shoulders slumping slightly, as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

When he was finished, only silence hung in the air like a thick smog. The ponies around him all stared, a mix of emotions covering their faces. The quiet breeze blowing over the town was the only source of noise in all the noiselessness, though it didn't last for long. Once more, the sound of hoofbeats filled the air, and just as Cooper glanced over to see the culprit, he felt two warm, lavender forelegs wrap around his chest.

"I am so proud of you, Cooper. I know that was hard to say, but it shows just how much you've grown and how much you're willing to grow for your friends." Twilight whispered, nuzzling her cheek against his shoulder.

Much to his surprise, Cooper heard another set of hoofbeats, and before he could respond to Twilight, he glanced over just in time to see Sky and Midnight close the distance between them as well. Sky wrapped his good foreleg around Cooper's back, his fuzzy cheek nuzzling against Cooper's chest, while Midnight hugged his opposite shoulder from Twilight. The sudden group hug made Cooper's heart beat faster in his chest, and before he knew it, three little fillies joined in as well, followed quickly by their big sisters, and then their friends. Soon enough, the entire town square was huddled around the only human in Equestria, their hooves wrapped around him in a display of friendship and love.

"Apology accepted." Sky said, squeezing just a bit tighter.

Cooper couldn't help the smile that slowly wormed its way onto his face, even through the tears threatening to claw free from his tightly closed eyes. As he choked back a sniffle, he quietly whispered, "Yeah... Sarah would've loved this place..."

Author's Note

Now ain't that just the most adorable and heartfelt ending ya' ever did see? I hope you guys enjoyed this story. There's still a little epilogue coming up that will tie up any loose ends and wrap this story up in a neat little bow but for now, that's it for Cooper's journey. I hope you guys enjoyed and I truly appreciate you sticking through to the end with me <3