“Shining Armor did try to kill Fareeah but it was legal, sorta,” Twilight muttered.

“How exactly was an attempted murder, legal?” Luna pressed.

“Been wondering that myself too,” I added. “I know he's a bloodthirsty monster who cares nothing for collateral damage but this is exceptional even for him.”

Twilight hissed angrily through her teeth. “You are not helping matters.”

“Yeah, lay off her for a bit,” Luna declared, jabbing a hoof in my direction.

“I’ll stop calling him a psychopath when there comes a day when he hasn't tried to kill me,” I retorted.

“Whatever,” Twilight muttered, pausing to take several short breaths. “Right. Shining Armor declared a state of emergency, forced Mayor Mare into signing off on it, and then tried to have our guest here executed right here in the library.”

“Even ordered your squad over there to help him too,” I added, jerking my thumb in the direction of the thestrals.

Luna glanced over at Manacle squad standing off to the side, quietly waiting until their services would be required.

“I assume since there are no headless gnolls in the library that you did not comply, correct?” Luna asked.

“We used our duty to disobey to avoid what we felt like was an unlawful or immoral order,” replied the leader of the small group.

“They were totally tempted, but thankfully they didn't follow through with that urge,” I remarked.

The thestral winced ever so slightly.

“We will discuss your duty in greater detail later. For now, you are dismissed,” Luna ordered.

“Yes, my lady,” replied the thestral.

He then bowed, and turned away, departing the library alongside the rest of his squad. I could tell there was a bit of hurt feelings there, but it was mostly shame like that of a child getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar. I hoped it wouldn't stand in the way of my attempt to befriend them but I was still a little sour that they had nearly assisted in my unlawful execution.

“Now then, what is this about Rainbow Dash assaulting our prisoner?” Luna asked.

“In fairness I let her hit me. I just wanted to rile Twilight up by putting it bluntly,” I exclaimed with a chuckle and a shrug.

“Well cut it out. My nerves already feel fried,” Twilight muttered angrily.

Though the declaration was far from intimidating or particularly venom-filled, there was a quiet sadness there. That made me feel a bit bad, as I may have pushed her buttons a little too firmly, and would probably have to dial it back a little. My own grievances aside, I wouldn't want to alienate Twilight especially since my survival hinged so much on her being magnanimous in the first place.

“Okay, that explains everything but the murders. I wasn't aware we had pressed any charges at the moment,” Luna exclaimed, glancing expectantly at Twilight.

“The crown hasn't, as it is pending this investigation. I believe Shining Armor is attempting to press charges of assault, and attempted murder on an individual level outside of this, but since so much of his personal grievances are tied up in this case I’ve had them suspended for the moment,” Twilight concluded.

“Can you even charge me with that stuff to begin with? I mean according to your legal system I have less protection than an animal,” I exclaimed. “Which is pretty fucked up I gotta say.”

“Language,” hissed Twilight, the alicorn glancing nervously over at Spike.

“I’ve heard worse,” Spike stated with a shrug, the dragon pausing to lick his finger and flip the page of the comic book he was reading.

“Huh, I didn't even notice you come in. You’re a stealthy little guy aintcha,” I remarked.

“Being small has its advantages,” Spike replied.

“Really, an animal? Can't we at least treat her as an enemy combatant or something?” Luna asked, gesturing at me with a hoof.

“I’m in the process of having her declared a temporary citizen. One of the reasons I stepped out, to begin with, was in order to mail my request to the Department of Citizenship,” Twilight answered. “It likely won't go through for a few days but I’ve notified the minister in charge and expedited my request.”

“That's actually kind of nice,” I muttered. “I didn't expect that, given your familial association.”

“I am not my brother,” Twilight stated firmly. “Though I may have people breathing down my neck to have you shipped off to tartarus or hung, they can't exactly threaten or intimidate a princess.”

“High-ranking officers in the guard though? Those guys are probably bought and sold between noble houses like one may trade paintings,” I added.

“Hush,” Luna ordered.

Despite my desire to continue firing barbs, I did as she asked and kept my mouth shut for the moment.

“So, that concludes that little debacle. Do we have the time to ask a few more questions?” Luna inquired.

“I believe so,” I offered.

“Yes, we have time for one last session before I must retire for the night,” Twilight muttered, clutching her head with a hoof. “Any longer without rest and this headache may become a migraine.”

“Then let us return to the basement so we may conclude our business for the day,” Luna declared. “After you Fareeah.”

I obliged the request and ambled over to the basement, hands in my pockets. The ponies followed behind, joining me as I walked down the stairs and came back to our little interrogation spot. I sat back down in my chair and watched as my interrogators did the same, getting comfortable before glancing at one another.

“Where did we leave off again?” Luna inquired.

“I believe it was at the end of Fareeah’s rather disastrous first day here,” Twilight answered, the alicorn lighting her horn and casting the truth spell along with the recording spell.

“It was,” I replied. “Though after that things kind of slow down for a while.”

“Well, tell us a bit about that. You may glaze over some details but try to give us a bit of an overview of the next few weeks,” Luna stated.

I took a long breath and reclined in my seat. “Well, it wasn't very exciting but.”

I scrambled through the mud and muck in the patchwork of leaves that served as my clothes. It didn't exactly cover everything, nor did it block much of the breeze, but it was a start at least. I wasn't sure if leaves held together with plant fiber was in style, but I sure hoped it wasn't because it was draftier than an attic.

I put aside such considerations for the moment and focused on the small grey-furred rabbit I had been sneaking up on for the last fifteen minutes. It was barely the size of my fist, but it was at least food, so I stalked it with as much patience as I could muster. Unfortunately, several days spent slowly starving were beginning to take their toll, and my stomach rumbled loud enough that it gave away my position.

It was about to hop away, but I stopped that from happening by lurching forward and grabbing the thing around the midsection. I then pulled it back, and swiftly ended it by snapping its neck with a twist of my wrist. It was surprisingly easy to do, but that made sense given my strength and how small the critter was.

My first thought was to carefully skin the thing so I could start putting together some kind of patchwork leather clothing. But then the hunger kicked in and I couldn't resist the urge to bite down on the furry bugger’s head. My teeth cut easily through the thing’s skin, muscle and spine, allowing me to begin chewing on it, skull and all.

My jaws are very strong, and my teeth are stronger still, so it wasn't hard for me to turn the head of the rabbit into mulch. After swallowing I went in for more, my hunger turning me briefly into a wild animal. I devoured the rest of the thing in only a few short bites, leaving behind not but a scrap of hair, and a tail.

Though I was still hungry, the urge to feed subsided somewhat, and I was able to regain my senses again. Aiming to rid myself of this urge for a while longer I continued to hunt, though I also kept my eyes open for any non meat options I could find. Thankfully I was able to locate a patch of bright blue and purple berries that I tore through, eating everything on the bush.

After that, the hunger finally died down and I was able to really start planning again.

I set about finding a cave, and then a more permanent source of freshwater other than the odd creek or river that had supplied me so far. To this end, I located a shallow alcove near a small, but deep and fast running stream a little deeper in. From there I was able to construct a simple dwelling, gather firewood, hunt, and begin skinning enough animals to get some rather simple clothes going.

That was the first little while in a nutshell. It was cold, lonely, and filled with far more raw meat than I would have liked but otherwise relatively uneventful.

That was until I met the first creature who did not immediately try to kill me the moment they saw me. Zecora.

“Wait, Zecora?!” Twilight shouted.

“Is there an echo in here?” I asked incredulously, a hand to my ear.

“I don't believe so, no,” Luna answered.

“Hold on, that means you did get help from Ponyville!” Twilight declared.

“Last I checked, her hut does not, in fact, count as part of Ponyville,” I replied.

Twilight frowned. “Okay, fair. She technically lives in the Everfree.”

“Can I get back to my story? Or are we going to argue semantics for the next twenty minutes?” I shot back.

“No, continue,” Twilight somewhat bitterly pressed.

“Right, so as I was saying,” I muttered.

I was crouched low in a bush somewhere, a newly crafted spear in my grip and a slowly burning hunger sitting in the pit of my belly. In front of me was some kind of overgrown lizard and despite what you may think I wasn't actually hunting the thing. The creature was long and seemed to spend most of its time in the upper tree tops, basking in the light.

It reminded me of a sloth only obviously reptilian in nature, and with a longer tail that it seemed to use to swat insects. This seemed to make up most of its diet, though how the odd fly or mosquito was enough to sustain it was beyond me. As I pondered the nutritional value of such an odd beast I heard a sharp crack from somewhere behind me.

Spinning around in place, I expected to find some manner of monster on my tail but found nothing. It was then that I realized that the sound had come from much further away and that it was likely echoing throughout the forest. It was also like a tree getting felled, which meant in my mind at least, that there was someone out here cutting down trees.

My curiosity got the better of me, and I took off in that direction, my spear limp in my grip. I didn't make it far before I heard another sharp crack followed by the insectoid shuffling of some many-limbed creature. I began to wonder if someone was in danger, so I picked up the pace, raising my spear up and preparing for a fight.

Sure enough, I found two creatures duking it out in a washed-out gully filled a quarter way up with murky brown water. Zecora was on one side, while a gigantic furry spider with black flesh and long golden hairs was on the other. Only a barrier of fallen trees and the frequent jabs of the zebra’s long staff kept the creature at bay, at least for the moment anyway.

I immediately leaped into action, taking my spear in both hands and sizing up the giant spider. It was nearly as big as me, and other than being covered in strange gold hairs, it didn't seem too weird. So I decided to strike quickly, utilizing the height advantage to sneak up on the creature from above without it hearing me.

I probably didn't need to sneak at that point, as Zecora had its full attention but I wanted to deliver an attack strong enough to fell the creature in a single strike. To that end I grabbed the spear and lifted it above my head, pointy bit pointing down. I then got a running start, and leaped as high up as possible, driving my spear down into its center of mass with all my strength.

I’d like to say that some kind of epic struggle ensued but the strength and weight of the strike had nearly slain it outright. The eight-legged freak rose up and tried to throw me off, but its movements were sluggish, as most of its limbs were broken. I had also buried the spear a foot deep into the monster’s midsection so it was likely already as good as dead and simply didn't know it.

Sure enough, all I had to do was ride out a couple of attempts to toss me off before it fell lifeless to the ground. With victory assured, I hopped off the creature, only to wince when I realized that several of its hairs had gotten stuck in my skin. I ignored them for the moment, and walked over to the zebra, extending a hand in an offer of assistance.

She said something I couldn't understand but kept her stick raised, so I got the implication anyway. I smiled and laid down my spear before presenting my hand again. This seemed to do the trick, as she looked up at me not with fear but confusion, and finally dawning realization.

She said some more stuff, but I was starting to feel woozy. I picked out a few of the prickly hairs while Zecora talked at me some more but by then the whole world was spinning. I tried to ask her about the spider thing but I was slurring so bad that even if she spoke Abyssal she probably wouldn't be able to tell what I said.

Zecora stepped forward, and kept talking, her voice growing more and more concerned. I tried to figure out what was being said, but it was about then that the hallucinations began and Zecora’s stripes started twisting around. With the zebra’s flesh becoming a lava lamp of weird shapes, and dozens of weird bipedal sprites emerging from the forest I knew something was wrong.

I tried to tell Zecora as much but I started giggling and couldn't stop. Well, at least not voluntarily as I promptly passed out face down in the brackish water about a second later.

I woke up a day later in Zecora’s hut, the zebra having given me some medicine to help stave off the worst of the toxins. She seemed surprised when I woke up, and I learned later that even a single one of these hairs is lethal to most equines. She had apparently picked about two dozen out of my butt though thankfully only a few managed to get through my shitty rabit leather pants.

I was still too weak to move, so we talked, going through the motions of trying to figure out what the other was saying. In the end, she taught me a few gestures that I learned were a form of sign language for people with hooves. It wasn't too difficult, as it was basically just Morse code with stomping, with a few gestures mixed into it.

We chatted, and she told me that she thought I was going to kill her right up until I placed my spear on the ground. So apparently panic induced murderous rage is not just a pony thing, as zebras have that same psychotic instinct. I’d have written a whole treatise about how easily you guys panic, and how quick you people are to resort to extreme violence but I didn't have any paper at the time.

So I spent my time learning a bit more about the Everfree and its many dangers from Zecora. By the end of it, we were fast friends, though even then she was still nervous and standoffish around me. I found out that this was due to her tribe in specific having once been demon worshippers, and receiving many lessons about quote unqoute ‘my kind’.

I wasn't thrilled with her prejudice but could understand where she was coming from so I let her be. We met up a few times after that, but things were strained and I decided to break things off sooner rather than later. It was sad, but necessary in my opinion, as I could tell she was struggling to even be in my presence.

“And yeah, that was basically the first few months, give or take a week or two,” I concluded. “I may have left out some minor details, but that's the long and short of it.”

“You took down a bristle back,” Luna remarked with a whistle. “That's quite the feat, as is surviving its venom.”

“I think technically it's toxin, but that's not relevant,” Twilight corrected.

“Yes, well. I am glad to hear you made a friend, even if things didn't end well between you two,” Luna added.

“Yeah, it could have gone worse. I got someone to chat with every once and a while, plus I didn't die! So, bonus,” I exclaimed.

“All your talk of hunting does make a few other things make sense,” Twilight began, the mare stroking her chin with a hoof. “Fluttershy got a flood of animals seeking shelter in her cottage at about that time.”

“Oh right, the druid,” I declared, snapping my fingers. “I almost forgot about her.”

“She isn't a druid,” Twilight deadpanned.

“She has a mystical connection with animals, and the magical abilities to speak to them. That's a druid,” I retorted.

“That's not…” Twilight groaned. “That’s not relevant.”

“I am amazed at how hearty you are. You must be possessed of considerable fortitude,” Luna praised.

“Hey, thanks. Constitution is one of my higher scores and gnolls are already pretty hardy,” I replied, grinning slightly.

“I think we should focus a bit more on the eating animals raw thing. I feel like we should test you for worms, or something,” Twilight added.

“I’m fine. Gnolls are possessed of the same digestive system as hyenas and they can eat excrement if they want without getting sick,” I remarked, only to chuckle. “I haven't sunk that low as far as I know, but that also includes bones, and stuff too.”

“Fascinating,” Luna murmured. “You must tell us more about these… hyenas of yours.”

“You guys have a version of them called the cackling cat, but they seem like an ancestor to the hyenas I know from my world,” I paused and scratched my head. “Or at least I think so. Evolution is a complicated topic I can only half remember to begin with so don't quote me on that.”

“I don't have any more questions, what about you Twilight?” Luna asked.

“Um, nothing really. I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind we not serve you any meat while you're here,” Twilight offered.

I shrugged. “Like I think I mentioned before, if I could get away without requiring animal protein I absolutely would but that's just not something I can really quit.”

“So, like, every few days, or…” Twilight pressed.

“A meat dish once every week or two seems to be the lowest I can go before I start chewing on my fingers in my sleep,” I replied with a chuckle. “Learned that one the hard way.”

“Wait, hold on,” Luna exclaimed. “You should tell us more about this hunger you talked about it. You said it felt like a compulsion of some kind.”

I winced. “Yeah I think it comes with being a gnoll but it isn't h-too terribly hard to fend off provided I’m not starving.”

“So you could snap, and eat someone at any time?” Twilight pressed.

“It's probably about as likely as either of you snapping and killing me with magic,” I shot back. “Unless your twice the psychopath your brother is, in which case all bets are off.”

Twilight growled through her teeth and stood up suddenly. “This interview is over. We will reconvene in the morning.”

With a flash of magic, the orb in the center of the table grew dull, and the zone of truth was dispelled. Without it, I felt an immense wave of relief wash over me, along with a bit of flatulence, but I kept that to myself for the moment.

“Alrighty then. Feel free to stop by whenever. I probably shouldn't be busy but I was thinking about staring at the wall for a few hours at about mid-day so make sure to call ahead,” I remarked.

Twilight snorted derisively before stomping off, leaving me alone with Luna. The dark-furred alicorn escorted me over to my cell, dismissed the bars, and somewhat roughly pushed me inside. I immediately spun around, intent on demanding an answer as to why she had been rude but was stopped by a cold glare leveled my way.

“Twilight is doing her best to give you a fair trial,” Luna began. “I expect that come the morrow you will be more vocal in your thanks for her intervention.”

I winced and rubbed the back of my head with a clawed hand. “Hey sorry about that. Being a snide jerk is how I deal with stress and nearly getting killed by Shining Armor for the billionth time was not exactly a fun time today.”

“Even still, that is not an excuse to take it out on Twilight. You are already asking a lot of her,” Luna continued.

“I know, I know,” I muttered. “I’ll reign it back tomorrow.”

“And,” Luna prompted.

“And I’ll apologize for being a jerk to her,” I murmured bitterly. “You're a much better interrogator than Twilight by the way. One disappointed look from you is enough to make me feel like crap.”

“It comes with experience,” Luna declared. “Nothing quite gets someone talk like a little well-applied guilt.”

“Would you mind guilting Shining Armor into being less of a jerk? I feel like that would benefit all three of us,” I asked in a half-joking manner.

“I will see,” Luna stated.

The alicorn then trotted off, leaving me alone with my thoughts. My unpleasant, guilty thoughts.

Author's Note

If you want to read the next updates for my biggest stories at the begining of the month rather at the end, or want to get a commission from me as well as access to patreon exclusive content, and the chance to submit story requests every month, head over to my patreon!

Join me over on patreon and get instant access to exclusive content and early looks at new stories, patreon only stories and other great stuff! Check it out!
Or just join the discord to ensure that you dont miss an update.

This update was made possible by the wonderful support of readers like you: Ech, Tailsic, Chrisb32, Nightwing, Tonoz, CoreyPeters, Thane, Renegade, Sunset Flash, Kyokimute, Monsterkittie, Louts Petals, Tacocat, Tom, MestreJ, Aang Slyver, Canary in the Coal Mine, Ceepert, Starless, Vi Watch, Facinus, M, Nfreak, Venerable Ro, Blade Tech, Cryil Shadeclaw, John Gonzales, Nightwing, Peter Coulthard, Srgtartman, Thane Kull, Victor, Dale, Dragons' Sheppard, Egery007, Gear change the earth pony, Ivar, James, Kali, Lich Lord Krosis, Menthol Qtip, Midnight Serenade, Mop Hop, Nathan Brown, Octavia Lowbar, Pacsik, Soundtea, Hannibal, Fiamgoku, Grub, Matias Duran, and Steven.