Crashlanded Phoenix

Princess Celestia
Personal Office

I breathed a sigh of relief upon arriving at my office and finding that no petitioners were waiting outside nor inside. My usually cheerful demeanour was damaged after having to listen to not only the trio regarding the Changeling situation, but also to all kinds of nobles trying to appeal their issues to me after I arrived at my throne room. Before entering I told my guards to not accept anyone wanting to come in here, unless told otherwise. I wished for just a few moments of peace all to myself and I was going to make those moments just right.

I smiled as I found myself by the wood panelling of my office and lit the fire in my chimney with a spell while walking towards my desk. The sun shone right onto my desk, which together looked like it was beckoning me to take a seat on my comfortable chair. I slowly pulled the chair back and gently settled into it, closing my eyes and taking in the silence paired with the crackling of the burning wood. I put my hooves on the desk and rubbed its perfectly flat surface, which made for a satisfying sensation that helped me forget the roughness of the floors in military areas of the castle.

At the same time I opened a desk cabinet and pulled a classy gramophone out with the help of magic. I carefully placed it to the left, right beside me. It was a pretty piece that I acquired at a Crystal Fair a few years ago after spotting a quiet stand that was just barely out of sight. Though it was made out of wood, its crystalline surface shimmered gently in the glow of the flames. The horn had gorgeous engravings made out of liquid gemstones, which crystal ponies were excellent at working with. I levitated one of Octavia's older records and placed it upon the gramophone, then moved the stylus into position. Soon enough my office was filled with the soothing sound of violins and other string instruments.

There were only a few things left that I craved, the first of which was something sweet to give me a much needed energy boost for the rest of the day and to satisfy my sweet tooth as well. I knew that by now the cooks had prepared some cake in castle kitchen, as usual, so I opened a small portal to peek in there. I spotted a very enticing chocolate cake with vanilla sprinkles on it resting on a silver platter, just out of my reach on a kitchen counter. I licked my lips and held a knife with magic, manipulating it to cut a slice just for myself.

Shortly after I was able to pull the slice of chocolate goodness into my office. I also pulled a tray with a steaming tea kettle and some cups on it in, recognising the kettle as the one I always use. I carefully set my bounty down on my desk, smiling in satisfaction and praising the castle staff for being great as always. I poured myself a hot cup and held it up to my muzzle, taking in the scent. It was very sweet, very fruity with mango dominating over all other fruity smells. It must have been just brought in from Baltimare, I theorised. I gently put the cup up to my lips and sipped the hot liquid. "Ahhh...that hits the spot just right..."

My ear twitched as sounds of commotion reached me from outside the office. I remained seated at my desk and took a small bite out of the slice of cake, trusting my guards to take care of the situation.

CRASH-THUD
"SISTER!"

I jumped up at my desk and nearly spilled tea all over myself when the doors were kicked open and the voice of my sister bellowed out of the now open entrance.

"SISTEEEEEERRRRRRRR!" Luna stomped towards my desk, I put my tea away and made some room on the desk by levitating all the things on it away.

"Luna? Isn't it a bit late for you to still be up?" I put my hooves on the desk and asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"We would have been asleep had it not been for you not telling us of your doings," She spoke in a calmer, though still very agitated tone. I moved a chair for her to sit down on in front of me and waited for her to continue.

Upon closer inspection I saw that her usually immaculate dark mane and fur were in a state of disarray, oftentimes a sign of my dear sister having a rough night of guarding the dreams of ponies, but she didn't look tired so it couldn't be that. She breathed heavily, the exhaled air moving the papers on my desk by just a little every time.

"Tia, how many times have we asked you to consult things like this with us?" She crossed her hooves and looked at me disapprovingly. I did promise her to get her more involved with the daytime happenings of Equestria after all... "Before you ask, no, we didn't have to deal with any nightmares this time around. It was a very uneventful night up until we went to check in on Ponyville,"

Oh, Ponyville. Now I had an idea of what my dear sister could have found there. I kept facing her, but looked away and rubbed my hooves in shame at not having told her about our brand new arrival. She took a breath before continuing again.

"We felt the presence of a new individual in there, but by now it is nothing new. Ponyville gets plenty of attention from tourists and magical creatures after all. However, this was different. We saw them enter Twilight's castle, accompanied and led by one of the guards. We tried checking their dreams when they went to sleep, like with any other pony, but found ourselves unable to even get inside their dream realm. A short investigation upon finishing our duty revealed to us that you had let a strange creature roam free in Equestria!" She planted her hooves on the desk and breathed deeper for a moment.

"Ah...Lulu, I was going to tell you about that-" She interrupted me by teleporting a stack of documents onto my desk. I recognised some of them as being part of the changeling camp investigation. That certainly wasn't going to help me convince my sister that Rex wasn't...bad.

"And these documents we received from Investigators haven't made this...Rex...look much better in our eyes. If that's what they can do to a group of armed soldiers, then by stars above, who knows what they'll do to Ponyville? Have you even considered that?" Luna spoke in rapid succession while flipping through pages of the various reports regarding that incident.* "Not to mention the potential backlash from Chrysalis,"

"Sister, please calm down and have a cup of tea," I told her in hopes of getting a few words in and hovered an empty cup over to her, then filled it from the kettle. "I have personally spoken with Rex, I can assure you that Rex means no harm to any one of us. He's just very, very far away from home," I looked to the side, as if wanting to look out of a window and into the distance. "I put him under Twilight's care for a reason. If anypony is going to help him integrate, then it's her and her friends,"

Luna sipped from her cup before speaking up once more. "You put a lot of trust into Twilight, entrusting her with...that. We do hope that whatever you see in them is true, that it won't come back to bite us in our flanks. However, it wouldn't be the first time you were wrong either, therefore we will keep an eye on him still," She set the cup down and stood up. "I cannot place as much trust in them as you did until I see them for myself,"

I got up from my chair and approached Luna, hugging her after getting close enough. She shook her head and cracked a small smile. "Tia, you always manage to disarm us like this..." She sighed and returned the gesture, wrapping her legs around me. "We are just concerned about them doing something bad. Equestria had enough villains in its history already, we don't need another one...especially one like them...,"

Object C-04 "Rex"
Ponyville Proper

A short walk along a quaint path took us deep into Ponyville and its chaotic, scattered, inefficient, yet eye-catching architecture. Unlike during the night, I was able to make out a few buildings more distinct than the others, which felt really unlikely given how unique and colourful the pony residences already were. I figured those must be the town's stores and other businesses, judging by their big front windows and signs. These buildings were far more interconnected too, but there was still a distinct lack of any kind of proper street or road for vehicles that went through the place, save for the one leading into the town. Now that I thought about it, I don't see any vehicles here at all...

"Enjoying the sights?" Twilight asked, taking me out of my train of thought. I looked towards her and saw that she was looking back at me.

"I can't say that I'm not. Not exactly what I'm used to, but this place does feel like out of a colouring book," I responded and slowly motioned with a hand around myself.

"What are you used to then?" She slowed down her trot and walked beside me, though she still led me.

I carefully rubbed my chin with my mechanical arm and thought for a moment, recalling the various locations I visited or was stationed at over the years of active duty. Ponyville reminded me of the small settlements we had to defend from raider attacks, although Ponyville seems to be much bigger than I give it credit for. "I have to say, it'd be an Imperial Fortress in the Arctic that I was stationed at before...ending up here. It's where I could be with others just like me without...all the busyness of a city," I looked around once again, noticing more ponies out and about. I felt some sweat drip down my forehead, so I adjusted my clothes to calm my nerves and to reduce friction on the bandages.

"Your people have colonised a frozen wasteland? That's impressive, I didn't think anyone other than the polar bears would be capable of living in such extreme conditions. Although I presume your technology makes it rather simple," She looked at me with a curious expression as she spoke, a hint of a glimmer in her eyes.

"Air conditioning, extensive heating and very efficient power generation made maintaining a base there possible, but it's definitely not just a set and forget affair. We have to regularly go on supply runs to receive what we need to survive for the following weeks. I crashed in that massive forest crossed with a jungle during one of those..." I sighed and looked down. "But yea, it was nice being there with fellow clones....and I do miss it now that I'm thinking about it..." I shook my head to try and push those feelings away.

"Ehh...the other place I can think of that I got used to would be the Imperial Capital, also called the Wenkwort Metropolis," I continued speaking to not derail the conversation too much and because I saw the Princess feeling slightly guilty over herself.

"Wenkwort Metropolis? Sounds like quite a big city, is it as populous as Canterlot?" Twilight interceded when I finished my sentence. "Does your leader have a castle like the Princesses here do?"

I cracked a smile as I recalled the sights of Wenkwort in my head. I stopped in my tracks and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking once more. "Imagine being a wayward traveller from faraway lands, having crossed the world far and wide, having seen everything that it had to offer, having interacted with all kinds of people across all walks of life. Even all this wouldn't prepare you for the wonder that the Imperial Capital is," I felt a sense of pride grow within me as I spoke, a familiar flame of belonging being lit inside me.

"Setting foot within the metropolis will have you greeted with streets wider than imaginable, bustling with life at all times of the day with more people than one could get to know in a single lifetime. Stores, galleries and various other businesses lined up within walking distance of each other, with products and services that one couldn't imagine in their wildest fantasies. No matter where you went, you'd never be too far away from anything you could possibly need in life," I spoke enthusiastically and probably sounding like I was massively exaggerating. Personally I never spent much time on the ground there, being averse to all kinds of public attention...

"Woah....I find it really hard to believe that anyone could achieve such things, but given that you are living proof for how much is possible..." Twilight looked for a moment like I had shattered her perception of the future, but I could feel the stars in her eyes. Perhaps she'd have a new vision to strive towards in the far future...? I...had no idea how long these ponies lived for after all...

"That's not everything, the top levels have plenty to offer too. Tall spires stretch as far as the eye can see and far beyond the horizon, their balconies dotted with gorgeous gardens and their roofs having anything anyone could need to relax on a nice day outside. It was the complete opposite of the city life below, resembling far more a calm day in a small town neighborhood," I had gone on walks across the spires before and while there were still many people there, I was far more comfortable right there," "Lastly, the Imperial Palace. I genuinely cannot tell you much about it, as I haven't seen the inside of it for myself in a long while, but it is the tallest and biggest building in the whole Metropolis. A symbol of power and prestige of our Imperial Dynasty," I felt obliged to put a hand on my chest upon mentioning it, despite feeling slight pain when doing so. "It looks somewhat like a pyramid, but flattened halfway through and with a massive complex on top of it," I finished speaking and opened my eyes, the image of Wenkwort fading back into memory once more.

Twilight didn't respond for a good few minutes after my monologue, she just stared into the distance. I carefully tapped her head with my right hand pointing finger, which made her jump up. "Eek!- S-sorry I must have...uhm...dozed off for a moment there. If all what you telling is true, then it's no wonder that you also came to be," She said and looked me over. "I suppose you consider us inferior as a result, we probably won't get anywhere close to any of that in anytime soon..." She spoke in a hushed tone and resumed walking.

"Well, that's the thing about the world I'm from. There are as many tribes as there are actual settlements and Wenkwort is one of a kind. More often you'll see conventional cities, just flashier. Besides, you have to do everything with hooves, I can't even begin to grasp how it works and how you make anything work with that," I spoke and pointed towards her hooves with my hand, which somehow fulfil the function of both hands and feet. "Besides, we all have to start somewhere," I smiled softly towards her as I spoke and followed her, then looked back ahead of myself. I haven't even noticed that we had passed most of Ponyville already and were nearing a path leading into a forest. I'm just glad that we didn't encounter any crowds...

The forest that we strolled into was a lot less overwhelming and all-consuming than what the ponies call the Everfree, I could look in any direction and it wouldn't just be a wall of green.. It was reminiscent of the mixed tree woods back home. I gazed around myself and took in the sights as I followed the Princess. Tree crowns were swaying freely in the cool wind, with leaves swirling through the air as they occasionally fell from the branches. Though the chill breeze felt somewhat prickly to my skin. I pulled my hood down, not feeling the need to hide anymore, took in the sounds of tiny critters making melodic noise and enjoyed the chirping and fluttering of birds. Moments like these were when I was really glad to have very sensitive ears.

"It's very calming out here, isn't it?" Twilight asked out loud. "Do you enjoy nature a lot?"

I pulled myself out of the immersion and looked down towards her. "I tend to appreciate places like forests, where there aren't many others. However, I never had much of a green thumb or great relationship with animals," I responded to her and put my working hands together behind my back. "This friend of yours, is there anything I should know?" I figured I should ask her in case there's something I ought to avoid doing...

Twilight stopped walking and tapped her chin with a front hoof, which somehow wasn't dirty at all from walking on dirt. "Hmm, there are a few things. Living all the way out here, she has gotten very good at gardening, you'll see for yourself when we get there. That means, be mindful where you step," She said the last bit in a slightly authoritative tone. "However she's best known for her love for animals," Twilight put her hoof back down and resumed walking.

"Oh? Is she a veterinarian? Would make sense with Ponyville being so close to wilderness," I exclaimed while glancing around, using the woods we were in to make a point.

The Princess shook her head. "Close, but not exactly. Think of her more as a caretaker or forest ranger. She keeps watch over the animals here and helps them if they are in need, approaching each and every one of them with kindness. Having her own gardens helps a lot with that, giving her a lot of space to work with,"

I nodded and felt impressed by Twilight's description of her friend. It was by all means a very noble deed, dedicating oneself to such extent to help little critters in need. This information did alleviate some of my hidden concerns regarding her potential reaction to getting to know me, but it also made me think if she'd see me as one of the animals. I didn't look like one of the local residents after all and...well, humans are animals after all, just smarter.

We continued along the path, slowly approaching a forest clearing off in the distance. "She must be a great friend to have, going by the way you speak of her," I said after a short moment of silence.

"You guessed correctly, but you haven't met all of my friends yet. We make a great group when together," She giggled upon finishing the sentence and sped up.

Few minutes had passed and we finally reached the forest clearing. It was a refreshing sight, seeing the sun shine through the opening in the thicket onto the green, juicy looking grass below. Ahead of us stood a very, very big house. Focusing my vision on the huge building ahead, I saw that its walls and roof were covered by a generous layer of bushy leaves, branches and vines. It looked chaotic at first glance, but I could see that they were all trimmed pretty evenly and made a nice round shape on the roof like a big, grassy mound. There were windows, and in some spots even bird houses, of various shapes and sizes sticking out of the green depths, some of them having roofs that were covered in dark green moss. This building in its entirety reminded me in a way of a hermit dwelling, as it was a decent trek away from Ponyville and to an unsuspecting eye could blend into the forest environment...were it not for the path leading to it and everything else surrounding it.

We stepped out of the forest thicket and into the clearing itself. My eyes adjusted to the rays of sunlight washing over us as we traversed the packed dirt road further. The closer we got to the house the more colourful our surroundings became. Grass gave way to a vast variety of colourful flowers, both tall and short. Their enthralling scents filled my nostrils, further enhanced by my modifications, and gave off the feeling of peace and calm. Bees buzzed around, gathering pollen from blooming specimens before disappearing in the distance.

The two of us approached an earthen bridge that allowed passage over a small river that cut through the vast greenery, coming down from one end of the forest and flowing towards the other. I stopped right before it and watched as Twilight crossed, though she stopped halfway through when she noticed I wasn't following her.

"Are you coming?" She asked.

"Is this bridge...safe? It doesn't look particularly sturdy on the outside..." I carefully tapped it with my foot. I was mostly concerned about it being able to withstand the combined weight of my body and its augmentations. I wasn't afraid of falling should it break, I just didn't want to accidentally ruin a nice bridge. I looked at it from the side and saw that it was overgrown with vines and had many roots sticking out of it. The river wasn't that big to be honest, I could probably jump over it easily now that I think about it...

"It will be fine, my friends and I crossed it many times together," She said with a reassuring smile and stepped onto the other side. "See? I made it through no problem!"

I shrugged and told myself that I was being needlessly worrisome, then walked onto the bridge. I looked over the sides of it and down at the clear river water. I could see the bottom of it really well and it looked as if it was really refreshing, should one decide to have a drink from it. There were some rocks at the bottom, though nothing out of the ordinary. I felt the earth shift beneath me slightly as I crossed the bridge, so I made sure to get off it as soon as possible and onto the other side. "Well, it seems you were correct, Princess," I said to her, to which she chuckled and walked off towards the cottage.

We passed by a variety of garden plots set up along the path, with many smaller paths branching off towards plots farther away. With a quick glance I saw that they were filled with all kinds of vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, cabbages, potatoes and more. As we got closer to the building the vegetables were replaced with berry bushes, tomatoes and even fruit trees. It was a bountiful sight to behold, though I imagined that it was quite a hassle to tend to all of this. I barely noticed we were already at the door when I turned my attention back to Twilight.

"Be so kind and wait out here for a bit, I'll tell you when to come in," The purple pony looked up at me and spoke with a smile. I nodded to her without saying a word and watched as she entered the house, leaving me all alone out here. Without anything better to do, I sat down on a bench that happened to stand beside the door. Occasionally I looked over the burns from Twilight's experiment, just to check if the regeneration process had already started.

I didn't hear any sound coming from the inside of the huge cottage since I sat down. Not even the slightest creak of floor boards or a hint of a conversation. Perhaps the walls were thick enough to dampen the sounds enough or they were really quiet... I looked up at the sky and watched as the clouds ever so slowly moved from one end of my vision to the other. Everything was as calm as it could be.

Rustle rustle

Out of a sudden my attention was drawn to a bush that stood on the border between the thicket and the clearing. It was quite a big bush, big enough for critters or even small animals to comfortably hide within. It rustled again, dropping some leaves on the grassy ground as it shook. I stood up from the bench and turned towards it. Upon focusing my eyes on it for a moment, I could see a silhouette behind it...a very big silhouette. Then two small yellow eyes appeared and it felt as if they were staring back at me. Then a paw emerged from the shadows, a big bear paw...

Its hulking figure came out into the open where I could clearly see it and be surprised by its sheer size. It was by far bigger than any bear I have seen in my life up until this point and would definitely tower over me should it stand up. I wouldn't be surprised if it weighed well over a ton in its current state. I sat still, hoping that the bear wouldn't pay much attention to me and just went away after taking whatever it was that it wanted. Fighting bandits or those bugs was one thing, but a massive predator is something else, especially when I'm covered in burns and far from prime condition. Not to mention that Twilight's friend probably wouldn't enjoy me beating up animals here...

It didn't work. It did NOT work at all. Maybe somehow it could smell my burnt flesh or something, but the beast stared me down and crossed over the river without as much as a second thought. It was on a clear approach to me and by its stance I got the idea that it wouldn't be a pleasant meeting. I could try scaring it off and if that fails...well I'll do what I have to do to keep myself and the ponies inside safe. I stood up from the bench and raised my arms to make myself appear as big as possible, then screamed at it. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHH!"

"RAAAAAAWWWRRRRRR!" That fucker just stood up stood up and bellowed back at me around twice as loudly. That son of a bitch had shown no signs of backing off and neither did I. I took my cloak and shirt off, as I didn't want my precious apparel to be potentially shredded into nothingness. This left me bare-chested and with bandages exposed to the wind. I stared back at the bear once more as it stood up in a show of supremacy. I stretched out and heard a few bones pop back into their proper spots after I had spent a while on the bench.

The servomotors in my exoskeleton whirred as I dashed towards my beastly opponent. My lower arms flopped behind me as they were no longer held in place by my clothes. I felt pain as the bandages rubbed against my burnt flesh, making it harder to concentrate. The bear got back down on its four legs and began its own charge towards me, roaring and leaving clouds of dust in its wake. I aimed to strike first and try to knock it out with a firm uppercut blow with my synthetic arm to its jaw, ideally bringing this to a swift conclusion.

Mere seconds later we were already at a few arms' lengths before each other and ready to strike. The bear raised its massive right claw while roaring more, just before I cocked my synthetic arm to execute a strike of my own. I assumed a low stance right just in time to avoid my head being clawed to shreds as I made the last few steps, then used the momentum to uppercut it in its jaw. I managed to hit it right where I wanted to. The force of my punch had pushed the bear up onto its hindlegs and made it stumble back, but it wasn't going down like I hoped to. I fell onto my right knee afterwards, as a sudden surge of pain spread throughout my limb after moving it, just like in Twilight's med lab. This...nhgh...crystal thing really fucked me up..agh.

I tried to get up and stand up straight, but I looked up just in time to see another claw descending upon me. I raised my left arm and used my exoskeleton frame to parry the powerful blow. The force of the impact I had just stopped caused me to drop onto both of my knees, but then I saw my opening. I kept my arm up for a bit longer to push the bear's arm away from me before dodge rolling to the right. My opponent got down on its fours while I used the momentum from the roll to get back up in a near instant. My plan had failed and now I saw that it would take more to beat this bastard up, thought now I felt my adrenaline rising as the fight properly began.

I raised my arms and assumed a fighting stance, keeping my eyes on the bear while slowly circling around it. Both of us were waiting for an opportunity to swipe at one another, some opening that could spiral into an exchange of blows. I stepped onto a pile of loose dirt and got an idea. If I couldn't find an opening, I would make one myself. I grinned and kicked the dirt alongside a few rocks into the beast's eyes. The bear groaned and tried to wipe it off with one of its paws, leaving me free to strike. I ran up towards it and executed a spinning roundhouse kick straight to the side of its face. It flinched to the side when the first blow landed, but I swiftly followed it up with my second leg, then a heel strike from above to it's dome when I was facing it again.

This sudden burst of movement and exertion from me put me in a state of severe pain however, as my magically burnt tissue reminded me of its presence once more. The pain was slightly dampened by now thanks to rising adrenaline, but it still stung like hell. This proved enough of a distraction for me that it left me open to a counterattack from the bear. I saw its brown mass barreling towards me in the corner of my vision before feeling the impact right to my stomach. Air was knocked out of me as I fell down onto my back mere seconds later.

I saw its maw wide open trying to chomp right into my stomach, right where all the juicy, squishy and chewy intestines are...behind a layer of damaged subdermal armour. I had enough time to react to raise my left arm and jam it into its bite before it could bite into me like a steak at a buffet. "Nghhh, you tenacious motherfucker..," I said as I held back the jaws full of teeth away from myself and then dished out punch after punch into its face with my right arm. The metal of my cybernetic arm was enough to keep it busy, akin to giving a dog a chew toy. Every punch I dealt made the bear's grip on my arm weaker. At this point the pain I felt was being drowned out as the fight raged on, and I redoubled my efforts as a result. I felt confident enough to attempt to break out of this situation.

I had to somehow break out of this position on the ground, as the bear's mass didn't make it any easier to fight. I waited for an opportune moment, watching as it chewed my arm and kept on growling. Its slobber was covering a good portion of my torso at this point. I saw my chance arrive after one of my blows, which made my opponent try and adjust their toothy grip on my metal limb. As soon as its teeth were lifted ever so slightly and its jaw was loosened, I adjusted my legs in such a way to try and push the bear off myself and perhaps onto its two legs.

"Here goes nothing," I thought to myself and pulled my synthetic arm free from its maw. The weight of the bear descended even harder onto me and brought it close enough for me to just about feel its hot breath on my skin, but this only made my legs more and more compressed, and ready to apply their accumulated force. It took a slight faltering in the bear's push for me to let my legs spring out like a tense coil. "Grraaaahhhh!" I screamed as I put more of my own strength into the push, which soon enough brought results. The beast stumbled backwards after I got it off me and I used the momentum from my legs going back down to jump up and straighten myself out like a recoiling spring.

The tides threatened to turn once more against me when the bear attempted to pounce on me, but this time I didn't let it take me down to the ground. I braced myself and stood my ground, grabbing it by its paws and pushing its mass and force. My servomotors whirred and whizzed as they put out everything they could in my current state, which was just enough to for me to not get crumpled like an empty can of soda. I stared it down in the eyes, sweat flowing down my forehead, my bandages and burnt skin covered in dirt. Straight up killing this animal would have been easier, but killing it wouldn't make much of a good impression on Twilight's friend. Besides...this in of itself made for some decent combat practice.

This stalemate couldn't last forever and I was going to bring this to a decisive end. I stepped closer to the bear, once more getting within the range of breathing down on each other. The height difference was much more apparent like this, but with it looking down at me I could do something really, really risky... I jumped up from the ground, using the beast's paws to lift myself up higher while jumping, then bashed it in the face with the full might of my forehead. That caused it to recoil, so I jumped again and again, each time headbutting it and causing it to become more disoriented. It let go of my hands during one of my leaps, then slashed at my stomach. The claws ripped through my bandages and cut into my skin, spilling blood onto the ground. I groaned in pain, but didn't stop. I avoided another swipe, which was aimed at my head, then struck it with a low blow just below where I assumed its ribcage was.

That made the beast recoil enough to give me more room, so I punched it again and again, left hook, right hook, to the stomach, to the face. I admit, this bear was as tough as a damn solid boulder, but it couldn't stop me once I really got going. Every attack drove it further and further back towards the forest, every attack made it retaliate with blind attacks and in the heat of the moment, I went in for the finishing blow. I ducked under its swiping claws and wrapped my arms around its waist, planting my legs firmly on the ground in the process. In this moment I felt my adrenaline spike, in this moment I felt just like before all this, in this moment I lifted my foe off the ground accompanied by the sound of growls and spinning servos. I gritted my teeth and maintained my grasp all the way through until I suplexed it over my head, which made the ground shake upon impact.

I slowly stood up from the ground, a cloud of dust all around us. I instinctively readied myself for the bear to counterattack...but that never attack never came. As the dust settled, I felt the warm trickle of blood over my bandages, I felt the pain of my burnt skin return from the exertion of this battle. I slowly stepped towards my defeated foe in a near mechanical manner. It was still alive, still breathing, but clearly I beat its fighting spirit out of it. I placed a foot on its chest, which made it groan and drew its attention to me once more. I looked it on the eyes and saw an expression of resignation. I grinned to myself, drinking in the satisfaction and further asserted myself over it by pressing down with my foot. I took my foot off its chest and aimed at its head...

Then I felt a moment of clarity and saw what I was about to do. "No..." I said quietly to myself and set my foot down on the ground, then stepped back from the defeated beast before falling onto my knees. I shook my head to take myself out of my adrenaline-induced state, I took deep breaths to calm myself down and to clear my thoughts. I had taken it down...that was enough... I couldn't let my instincts overtake me and make me do something I would very much regret down the line....something that would very likely ruin Twilight's and her friend's impressions of me... I wasn't a mere killing machine after all...

"Dear Celestia, what happened here?!" A female voice called out from the direction of the hut, a voice different than that of Twilight...