Moon let out a large yawn as she took her mandatory morning stretch. Only being satisfied after hearing several different pops and cracks, she lay in content as she decided to just stay there for a bit longer.

Five more minutes couldn't hurt after all.

Then she was confused as her hooves fell back on something soft. Something, moving.

Panic quickly taking over her mind, her thought process accelerated to ridiculous speeds before she could even open her eyes. Tens, maybe even hundreds of plans quickly ran through her.

Then she almost punched herself after opening her eyes.

There she was, clinging to Floral like a filly to their father. Much to her relief, Floral wasn't awake to see this yet.

As far as she knows, at least.

As much as she wanted to go back to sleep, she couldn't imagine the explanation she would have to give if Floral found out she snuck into his bed at night.

"Ugh, sounds way too scandalous when I say it like that." She mumbled to herself as a small frown took over.

Against her desire to sleep, she slowly started to move. Carefully as to not wake him up, she was making fast progress.

Until she came to a halt.

Her right front and back legs were both under him. Realizing this problem, Moon started to think of ways to take her legs out.

"I could just lift Floral with my magic, but that's risky since he could easily wake up. Maybe I could enter a shadow and leave." She mumbled to herself.

Though, before she could implement anything, she felt a sudden force pulling her in.

She yelped in surprise as she found herself in a hug.

"Ugh, nope, he's too damn strong. Why are you so damn strong?" She complained a bit after trying to break free.

Externally, she had a face of annoyance as she struggled to move. But internally on the other hoof, there was full on panicked screaming as she didn't know what to do.

This wasn't exactly something she had dealt with before after all.

"Oh screw this." After being forced to think of solutions right after waking up, she got annoyed and decided to go back to sleep.

"No, seriously, I can't take you guys into the Everfree." I denied the ridiculous request.

"Why not? You're apparently the hero of Ponyville, so why can't you go into the Everfree?" Diamond, something asked. The kid with the tiara asked.

"Well, yeah, I am pretty awesome. But I still can't take you two into the Everfree. There's just no way." I denied again.

Seriously, these two. I'm pretty sure they're the two that kept bullying Scoots and the others. Even without that, taking them into the Everfree is just plain ridiculous.

"Ugh!" Diamond, Tiara!

Right, that's her name.

She groaned in annoyance before turning around.

"Come on, Silver. Let's go see what the blank fanks are doing." She said a rather insulting remark and started to walk away with her friend.

Right as I was about to yell after them. The most ingenious, perfect plan came to mind.

"Hey!" I shouted and got their attention.

"What now?" She whined.

"Look, I'll cut you a deal."

"And why should I accept it?"

"It's simple. I can get you into the Everfree, if, you promise to leave Scoots and the others alone."

"Hmph, fine. Now take us to the Everfree!"

Well that was easy.

I can just take to Remedy's camp and come back. Any more and I'll just pick them up and fly us back here.

Not a single problem.

"Alright, while the pan and oil are heating up, we can dice the vegetables. Don't forget to keep stirring so they don't get burnt on one side." Floral instructed.

"Got it." Giving a short reply, I picked up a mushroom from the pile of cleaned vegetables.

Slicing the vegetables in small pieces, I threw them all into the pan. The sound of sizzling and a pleasant aroma reached out.

"Good, now, after the vegetables start to turn brown, pour in your diced fish."

Following his words, I picked up the fish pieces with the knife and placed them in the pan.

"Don't forget to season them."

"Right." I responded and sprinkled some salt over.

He added in a bit of black pepper into the stir fry.

"Give it a good stir, and then taste to see if you need to put some more in."

"Got it."

I used the spatula and scooped out a piece of fish. It looks like it's done.

Hmm.

Needs more salt.

After sprinkling in a bit more, I stirred it around for a few seconds.

"Here." Before I could ask for plates, Floral already held them next to me.

Placing a good portion on both, I sighed in relief and sat down after putting the pan away.

I took a spoonful.

Hmm.

This. It's definitely burnt. I'm hearing cracking when I chew.

"Hey, Floral. How's it taste?"

"It's slightly burnt, but it tastes pretty good." He replied almost instantly.

That's gotta be a lie.

"Bullshit. What do you mean slightly?" I asked.

He gave a few chuckles at that.

"Well, it's a lot better than my first attempt. At least you're not serving ash and solid soot." He said with a laugh.

"Wait, seriously?" I gave a chuckle.

"Yeah, but in my defense, stovetops were a new thing for me."

"No fucking way. You can cook really good now though."

"Sure, I do now. But I was arguably worse than you when I first started." He said as he chuckled with a look of reminiscing. "Good times. I remember arguing with Bright about whose fault it was that the apron caught on fire."

I laughed at the story. This guy always has some interesting ones.

"Well, finish your breakfast. We should start building the tree house again after a bit."

"Aight." I answered and took another spoonful. "By the way, is it really alright for you to eat meat?"

"Don't talk while chewing." He said in a slightly scolding tone.

"Oh shut up, you're not my dad." I replied.

I still ended up talking without chewing.

"Well, it's not exactly good for me to eat meat, but a little is fine from time to time. I'll just roast a potato or something later." He replied and continued to eat.

I continued as well as we had a few chats here and there.

"This is the most effective attack against armored enemies, to my knowledge at least." I explained as I held a piece of wood on my hooves.

Focusing a bit, I connected with the shadows that slithered in before aggressively pulling and pushing at the same time. The shadows instantly become agitated and shoot out in several directions, piercing the log from the inside out.

"Hmm, that's an attack I would've liked to know earlier." Floral replied as he watched on with interest.

"Well, you probably can't pull it off, even now. That big gap in your chest is literally filled with shadows. If you try the same thing I did, it would probably agitate it and kill you at the same time." I had to warn him. "I couldn't care less about blood and gore, but I still don't want to see you getting pierced from your inside alright?"

"Sure, sure. You have my word." He accepted in a joking tone.

"Floral, I'm serious."

"So am I. I promise, I won't die before you do." He said with a warm smile.

I responded in kind. "You better, or I'll drag you from your grave and force you to keep your word."

"Sure." He accepted it easily.

"Ugh, seriously? I just took a bath." I grumbled as I felt a hint of killing intent.

"Don't let your guard down. This one is, different." Floral said as he stood up and stood before me after grabbing his axe.

"Well, yeah. That's basics." I replied and tried to get a good look.

Right then, I froze ever so slightly as something came into my vision.

Eh?

That's, a hoofle? It's made of wood. Wait there's something else.

Holy shit.

It's a knife made of stone and wood. And it stopped right before my eyes.

"Like I said, this one is definitely different." Floral said, waking me up from my stupor as he pulled his hoof in.

"Wh-fuck." I moved on and took a deep breath and leaned lower. "Thanks." I would've died from that.

"We're not done yet." He responded before slamming the knife down and shattering it.

I involuntarily gulped and tensed up for a fight.

"So, what is it?" I asked.

Staring at where the dagger came from, I couldn't see much. Hidden in the intense woods, the only direction we hadn't gone to take wood yet.

Fuck, we'll clear this whole damn camp after this then.

Where's my damn knife? I think I left it in a log somewhere.

"A pony?" Floral said in a questioning tone.

"What?"

"No, it's only pony shaped. Get your dagger first. Don't commit in an attack." He gave a simple instruction before sprinting forward.

"Fuck." I gave single cuss and ran towards the firewood.

Yep, there it is. Picking up speed, I instantly stopped and used the momentum to flip forward, successfully jumping over an attack.

Fuck was that?

Skidding to a stop, I pulled the knife out and held it in a defensive stance.

"No, fucking, way." I was left stunned as I stared at the enemy.

It was a pony made of wood. And there was vines growing out from its crevices.

"This is bullshit!" I yelled and rushed in.

As I ran forward, the vines turned erratic and started to try to whip me. Letting my body guide itself, I weaved through the gaps and sliced the ones I couldn't dodge. I quickly closed the distance and ducked down.

"Hah!" I shouted and instantly leaped up, successfully dodging a swipe. "Easy!" I yelled and slashed down, cutting it in half.

Though, before I could even begin to celebrate, I noticed something.

The vines. They're still moving!

Forcing my body to rotate, I gave a general slash and cut away most of them. Most, being the problem as the rest started to wrap around me.

"Fucking, kinky piece of shit." I grunted as I gave a complaint.

No matter how much strength I used, the vines didn't budge. Fuck it, I gotta do something else.

Staring at the thing, I ended up a bit confused as I stared. There's nothing inside this damn thing. Just more densely packed wood and moving vines.

Shaking the thought away, I started to gather Nocturnal magic. I need to coat my entire body and turn it into a shadow. This shit is made a lot harder to do with the damn vines gripping me.

"UGH!" I groaned loudly as I felt an impact on my stomach area.

Taking a glance at the wood thing, it had fully reattached itself back. It's hoof had dug into my gut as it stared at me. Staring back, I couldn't help but feel a bit freaked out.

This thing doesn't have a face. No eyes, no nose, no mouth, and not a single hair. Literally a board of wood and vines that passed for a mane.

It slowly tilted its head sideways as its face started to crack, mimicking a grin. Creepy.

"So that's how you wanna play." I said with a chuckle.

Forget defensive then.

Forcing as much magic as I can in a single second, I gathered it all in a single point and shot it out forward. Having used aggressive force to use my magic, the shadows all shot out in a barrage of spikes as I fell to the ground.

Right as I decided to attack one more time, the wall of spikes cracked. Instantly leaping back, I laid low as I stared forwards.

This fucker. I know these bitches don't die that simply, but I haven't seen one that still attacked before reviving.

It cracked its head open fully as it gained a full on smile. There was a light green color emanating from its mouth as vines crawled out, slithering into the gaps in its body. Patchwork healing, I guess?

I took a deep breath as I started to gather magic. That one attack already took away half of my reserve, but I don't think I have the space to pull any punches.

Just what is this thing?

I pondered over the idea as I jumped ever so slightly, rotating myself to kick it away as I dodged a dagger attack. Landing with a sharp breath, I held up my axe, or at least, what's left of it.

Deeming it useless, I threw it away and took a defensive stance.

This is hard to fight. Unlike all the other beatsts I've fought, this one has strategy. A proper chain of attacks and a fighting style.

It's nimble, swift, and a hell of a challenge to even get a hit in.

Well, at least none if us dealt a good damage yet.

As it rushed at me, I ran in front and instantly jumped back. Following my instinct, I slammed two legs downward, using the force to rotate myself and dodge a stab.

Already spinning, I attacked upwards as it leaned to the sideways and dodged it.

Silently tugging at the Nocturnal magic, I jumped back once again. Grabbing the dagger it threw at me, I held it in mouth as I thought of plans.

The dagger itself is sharp, but brittle. The only problem is that this guy can make more.

I need fire.

But I haven't lit one yet.

Other things I can use. The cart full of gifts? I didn't find anything useful in there. The bags? I don't exactly have the chance to light a match.

As I thought of my options, I played defensively as I dodged and blocked its attacks.

It can alternate between dagger attacks and punches, making it experienced in fights.

Right then, I tilted my head and sprinted in whilst throwing the dagger. Finally getting a hit in, I used the chance and rushed in.

"Finally." I muttered and grabbed its head.

With only a split second to attack, I forced my head downwards, breaking through its wooden face. Taking the chance of it being stunned, I used the magic I gathered and pushed it forwards.

A rather large spike of shadow pierced directly through its chest.

Deciding not to take the chance, I leaped back and observed. It slowly reanimated itself.

Alright. What did I use when I fought the Timberwolf alpha. Fire. But I can't get a fi-

Green! It was green fire.

I need the emerald.

Rolling away from a large vine that lunged forward, I leaped and got even more distance.

And, the wooden pony took the emerald.

Fuck.

"Why did you two wanna go inside the Everfree anyway?" I asked the two girls as we went through the camp.

We should be nearing their firecamp soon.

"Uhh, no reason." The other kid with the glasses responded.

Hmm.

Suspicious.

I couldn't continue the thought as I started to hear something.

Trees breaking? Are Remedy and Moon practicing some moves?

I gotta see that.

*Bam*

"Ugh, that hurts like a bitch!" I took a moment to recover as Moon slammed into a tree and slid down while holding her chest.

"NIGHTMARE MOON!" The fillies screamed and ran deeper into the forest.

"Wait! That's the wrong, way." I slumped slightly as those two ran away without hearing me.

"Ugh, fuck!" Moon shouted as she stood up with a struggle.

Not exactly being comfortable enough to help her, I scratched the back of my neck as I awkwardly watched her get up.

"How the fuck," she stretched and got a painful sounding crack, "did you pick the absolute worst time to come?" She said with an annoyed face and walked past me. "Either get those kids and get the hell out of here, or help us kill those pony impersonators."

"What?!"

Pony impersonators?

"I don't have time for this." She replied and stood still for a second.

Right as I was about to ask what she was doing, her shadow suddenly shot out in all directions. It traveled on the ground and reached the trees and bushes. Then suddenly, the area felt like it was darker.

She suddenly sighed in content as she shook her body. "There, that's a lot better." She muttered and turned pitch black as she dissolved into the ground and left.

What in Celestia's name?

With a shake of my head, I took off for the fillies.

Well, this just went from annoying to straight up harrowing.

I've been slowly leading this guy away from the camp so I could use a trap of some sorts, but I had to stop.

I licked the inside of my cheek and felt a small stinging from the bruise. The fucker got a good hit in.

Normally, our fight would've continued without much change. The occasional vine attack on the dagger strikes. But there was the problem.

Who the fuck, are these two?

I timed and leaped to the side with the kids on my back and tilted my head, earning a scratch on my cheek as the stone dagger flew by.

And these two foals won't stop shrieking into my ears.

"Will you two be quiet!" I yelled and blocked a punch.

They continued to scream.

Right after blocking, I jumped backwards as several vines tried to take a hold of me.

I've already searched every corner of its body. It doesn't have a core like a golem, and it doesn't have any organs like any other living being. So, it's a puppet.

Well, at least it's not too experienced. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to even touch him.

Hearing something skidding to a stop right behind me, I braced myself and caught her.

"How's it going on your side?!" I asked and stood against the dagger wielding one.

"What?!" She yelled.

"IT'S NIGHTMARE MO-"

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTHS!" I ended up yelling louder than I intended.

At least it worked.

"Moon! How strong is that one?"

"It's pretty damn good with its vines." She replied. "The gay one is here by the way."

The gay one?

"Rainbow mane?" I asked and broke another dagger.

"Yeah, that one." She replied as I felt a familiar sensation from her.

"Where is she then?" I asked again and slammed down on a vine.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know?"

Damn it.

"You take these two and go get the fire dust. I'll hold them off for a bit." I instructed as a clear plan was though out.

"The fuck? You have the emerald?" She asked as I felt something slither up my leg and take the fillies off.

"No, it's inside that bastard somewhere. Kill him, and we move on to yours."

"How do you know it'll kill them?"

"I don't. Now go!"

With that command, she sprinted away through the trees. The vine controlling one tried to give chase, but I followed it instantly as I leaped to the air and jumped off the trees, dodging a few dagger throws.

Leaping from tree to tree, I stressed my hooves and got a bit of speed and slammed into it. Punching once more for good measure, I broke its neck and threw it backwards.

"Don't think you can just walk out of this." I said and prepared for the next attack.

Come on. Where are they!

I was controlling my breathing as I ran through the thick woods. They're just two fillies! They couldn't have gone far.

And there's too many dang trees for me to take flight. I already hit my head trying to fly.

"Finally." I mumbled and pushed through a bush and found the camp.

Thank Celestia! Both foals are fine. Fancy Pants would kill me if anything happened.

Moon was frantically searching through some bags as she threw away random items like pots and spoons.

"Come on, come on. Where is, ah hah!" She exclaimed and brought out a blue sack.

"Hey! What's happening?" I asked and quickly flew over.

"You, there you are! Help us kill those fucking things!" She replied and put the sack in her mouth. "Thath thirection!" She said with a muffled voice and slithered away again.

Dang it!

Taking the chance, I flew upwards and got through the thinner treetops.

Following where she told me to go, I burst forward and look down at the same time. Since he beat a hydra last time, it shouldn't be too hard to find whatever he's fighting against.

Speak of the devil.

I flew downward and picked up more speed at where I saw several vines climbing upwards. Weirdly enough, there wasn't any trees in the way as I instantly went into action.

Biting into a vine, I tangled up one of them and flew to the other one. Excitement rushed through me as I started to wrap them around.

"Done, ten seconds flat no less!" I said my catch phrase and let go as the two were now tied up.

"Not yet." Remedy muttered as he ran past me and slammed both hooves into one of them.

Before I could ask what he was doing, he started to bring out a giant gem.

"Now!" He yelled out loud.

Moon suddenly jumped up from a shadow and threw the sack.

Right as Remedy fully pulled the gem out, the sack landed in the cavity it left behind. With a shout, he slammed the gem back in place.

I was blown back and was forced to close my eyes.

Coming to a stop a second later, I opened my eyes and saw black hooves holding me. Then I fell to the ground.

"FLORAL!" Moon shouted from behind me.

Shockingly, with a worried voice.

Oh no.

Going wide eyed, I stared at where the explosion happened. A raging fire, colored green. Heavy smoke rising up to the sky.

Oh no. Oh dear Celestia.

"Here." A sudden hoof caught my shoulder.

Surprised, I jumped away and turned around. Remedy had tilted his head, barely dodging a spike that shot out from the ground. Cool magic.

"Holy shit!" Moon shouted another made up word. "Floral! What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

Floral?

He chuckled a bit as Moon kept hitting him. And she's, crying? Really? I actually can't believe this.

"Sorry, sorry." He apologized with a nervous smile. "I curled up behind the emerald, but it ended up launching me away."

I gave a relieved sigh as I took a step closer. I still don't know how I should feel about Moon, but that, that was pretty good. Remedy took a sword from Moon.

Woah, that's a cool sword.

"See something you like?" Moon suddenly asked.

"What, pfft, no. It's cool, but I got like, ten swords cooler than that."

"Ten? You're pretty obsessed huh?" She asked with a grin.

"Of course not. I'm just, uhh, always ready for a fight!" Saved it.

"If you-"

Surprising us both however, was that the sword from before suddenly flew between us. Nervously glancing at where the sword went, I saw another one of those wooden ponies. This one had wings and the sword was stuck in its head. There was also a thin black line that extended to the hoofle.

I turned to look at Remedy, who pulled with a hoof as the wooden pony flew over.

"I get that you're both filled with adrenaline, but you should be humble about this. Just so you can control yourselves." He said and threw the wooden pony into the fire.

"G-got it." I replied.

That sword missed me by a hair. It flew literally, right in front of my eyes.

"You're a bitch." Moon just replied in an annoyed tone.

"What's a bitch?" I asked.

"I'm not explaining that. You should take the kids and leave." Remedy instructed with a serious face.

"Yeah, sure." I gladly accepted as I glanced at the pile of burning wooden ponies.

I should probably tell Twilight to tell the Princesses about this. It's definitely getting out of hoof.

"I really fucking hope those kids weren't nobles or something." Moon said with an annoyed tone.

"Why would that matter?" Floral simply asked as he snacked on a slice of watermelon, held up by a shadow tentacle.

"I can't fucking believe you're already that good with Nocturnal magic." She said with an exasperated voice.

"Eh, I'm forced to constantly use it anyway. So, that's probably the biggest reason." He replied and took another bite, audibly cracking the seeds.

"Whatever, but I'm still worried about those kids."

"Why so?"

"Well, politics, duh." She said as if it was the most obvious thing.

"Why would we care about that?"

"Ok, it's not exactly politics, but it's more about local outrage and shit. One fancy dude gets mad, he can spread bullshit and get the whole town rallying for somepony's death." She explained a bit annoyed.

"Hmm, I suppose you're right. But would they really walk into the Everfree?" He asked as he focused on a plate of watermelon.

"Well that hasn't stopped ponies before has it?" She said before she felt a twitch. "Finally!" She shouted in excitement and pulled her fishing rod as hard as she can.

Though her effort was valiant, the string broke as she tumbled backwards. Floral almost burst out laughing as he forced himself to stay quiet. Though, several snorts still went through.

"Shut it!" Moon yelled with a red face before sitting back in her spot. "It's all your shitty hoofmade rod's fault."

"Really? Then explain how I managed to catch a full bucket with that same rod." He replied as he checked over his plate of watermelon. "Want some? I took all the seeds away."

"Sure, thanks." She happily accepted. "And the reason is simple, you used it too much and it broke down." She said and bit into a piece.

Floral simply chuckled at her reasoning.

As the two spent a few more minutes in piece, something was gnawing at Moon.

"Hey, you're not gonna tell, right?" She finally asked.

"Don't you worry. I won't say anything." He promised her with an amused smile.

"Good." She accepted it with a small cough.

Though that silence only lasted a few seconds.

"I appreciated it, by the way. It was the best sleep I had in decades." Floral said with a calm smile as he looked in the river, just watching the fish swim by.

"Y-yeah, whatever. You're welcome." She said and continued to eat her watermelon pieces.

"I mean it, you're so soft." He said in a teasing voice.

"Shut the fuck up!" Moon finally cracked and threw her plate of watermelon at Floral.

Author's Note

Hey guys!

Sorry I'm super late on this one. College just started, and I got hit, hard. Instantly, my daily schedule broke apart and I now spend my entire day at school. Literally wake up, go to school, come back at like 8 or something.

I literally wrote the second half of this on the bus.

Anyways, I'll have to regretfully inform you that the updates are going to be as slow as this. Maybe even slower if what I've heard about college is to be believed.

And as always, thanks for reading.