The Lion and The Unicorn

by Lulamoon-Crystal

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Other, My Little Pony: A New Generation, Tragedy, Adventure, Death
Length: 28739

A beast of some sort has been terrorising Bridlewood. Taking and destroying things without a trace of who it is. Until a certain unicorn finds that the “monster” is more than it seems

A beast of some sort has been terrorising the village of Bridlewood. Taking and destroying things throughout the place while leaving little to no trace of who or what it is. Until a certain unicorn finds that the “monster” is more than it seems.

Onyx, once she finds out the mysterious creature’s story, she must take it upon herself to help the creature out before the other unicorns- Or a certain earth pony- finds it out. Unless she can manage to get them to be chill with living in Bridlewood with a lurking predator, saying goodbye isn’t the most easy thing, after all.

Just wanted to write a simple story of side characters going on a small adventure of their own, when the main characters are unavailable, where they do what is right, even when it is hard

Some headcanons I made for Onyx in this story had changed slightly, but I decided to publish it anyway since it was close to completion and wanted to these two their own adventure

This story was between 70-87 % prewritten before being published

Published 2025-01-02 02:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2025-01-17 23:00:28 UTC

Who Is it?

it was pretty early in the morning in Bridlewood, it was a cool, but lovely morning. Unicorns were mostly just waking up for their plans for the day, or to find something to do. Alphabittle was up early to go to his tearoom, to tidy up a little before customers arrived. Unaware of the drama that would come that day.

Dapple, a fellow unicorn was also up at this time, having just made some pancakes for himself. Planning to eat them on a new wooden table just outside his house. Nothing like eating breakfast out in nature, even if you do literally live in a tree. He happily piled them on a plate, topped with berries and walked outside with them, putting them on the table. Picking up his knife and fork just before he realised something was missing.

”Oh yeah, the maple syrup!” He exclaimed, telling himself off for forgetting such an important part for pancakes. “Stay right there!” He warned his pancakes with a hoof before hurrying inside and rushing into his kitchen. “Where’d I leave it again?” He questioned as he opened a cupboard full of random stuff. Like cookies, chips, coffee beans he never opened and tea! He eyed all over for it before seeing it in the back of the cupboard, with a smile, he reached back and grabbed it in his hooves. “There you re!” He exclaimed before leaving the kitchen, walking outside only to stop in terror, dropping the syrup on the floor as it drizzled all over the grass. His mouth was wide open as he glanced at the table.

”My pancakes!” He exclaimed, running over, only to see nothing but a muddy paw print of some sort, bigger than his head, right where the plate was. Looking rather ominous in it’s size and the evidence of existing sharp claws, but he ignored the fact he just missed a run-in with whatever creature had those paws. Said plate was currently shattered, on the grass, it was just a generic white plate, so he wasn’t so upset about the loss. But he was heartbroken at the loss of his pancakes and a little terrified at the size of the paw now, once he realised how big it was. “What took my pancakes!?” He exclaimed as his ears went flat, he was so excited in eating them, his stomach ached at the thought of what was meant to be his breakfast. “Guess I’ll have to get something at the tearoom…” He sighed as got up and noticed his friend walking by.

“Onyx!” He exclaimed with joy upon seeing the familiar colours and expression she had on her face. She stopped upon hearing her name being called and glanced over at Dapple as he hurried over. ”Onyx! Have you seen my pancakes!?” He exclaimed in terror as he looked back on the table. “Something with massive paws stole them! I was so excited to eat them!” He exclaimed, only yo see her unamused expression.

”No.”

”Darn it!” He exclaimed and sighed, falling on his rump. “I was so excited.”

”We can eat something at the tearoom.” She bluntly said, sounding like she didn’t care, in reality, she did feel a bit bad for him.

“Yeah, I guess so. Maybe i should have remembered to bring the syrup out with me…” He said as he got up, nervously rubbing his head before looking down the pathway and back at his friend. “Hey, Remember what that unicorn said yesterday?” He asked, perking up a little, Remembering something, while Onyx had no idea what he was talking about. He narrowed it down so little that she wouldn’t even be able to guess..

”Which one?”

“Oh never mind.” He said before getting ready to run. “Race you to the tearoom, loser has to challenge Alphabittle to a hoof-wrestling match!” He said before running as fast as he could. Leaving behind Onyx who grew concerned, now realising what he was talking about. He must have heard that unicorn brag at how easy Alphabittle was to beat in hoof-wrestling and he got a prize. She knew that unicorn was a liar, because those big hooves had lots of muscles. She sighed a bit was she watched Dapple disappear, deciding to just walk, to save him the pain. She had already witnessed a different pony squeal and cry in pain after loosing at him, he was rather apologetic at letting his competitive side get the best of him and the pony wasn’t too badly hurt, thankfully. She simply walked along the path as she usually does, thinking of what Dapple would be thinking when he finds out she was not right behind him. Which was answered once she arrived, Dapple was sitting at the door, looking a little confused, he perked up a bit when he saw her.

”I won!” He boasted proudly.

”Congratulations.”

”What took you so long, anyway? I didn’t even use my ultra shortcut this time?”

”I wanted to lose.” She responded with a shrug, making him puzzled on why she would want that. “I like losing, feels natural.”

The two unicorns walked in, many where already drinking tea while Alphabittle was wiping down his bench. Onyx eyed him as Dapple nudged her. Looking a little cocky at his friend, it was nice to see him begin to get more confident and more eager nowadays, thanks to magic returning, unicorns didn’t feel so incomplete anymore. “Well, a deal’s a deal.” He said before she walked over to him staring right at him as he glanced at the two.

”Oh! Good morning, Onyx.”

”I challenge you to a hoof-wrestling match!” She said in a serious tone, putting her hoof in the bench. Staring at him in the eyes.

”Me?” Alphabittle asked, wanting her to confirm. She never challenged him at anything before, in fact he didn’t really recall last time she challenged anypony to something physical. If she ever challenged anyone, it was more emotion or poetry related. “Are you sure, I won't go easy on you.” He wanted then finished with. “Is there something you want to challenge me for, or just for fun?”

”I lost a race with Dapple.” She said bluntly, seeming not upset. “Loser has to challenge you, deal’s a deal.”

”Oh, fair enough.” He shrugged, feeling it was unusual for Dapple to do that, but shrugged it off. It was nice to see the formerly depressed unicorns of the forest to be more eager and playful. He raised his hoof to hers and they locked them together, pushing them against eachother with all their might. It appeared they both struggled for a bit, with many unicorns watching with amusement, every one of them cheering for Alphabittle. Onyx gasped a little in surprise as she saw his hoof go down a bit with a grunt, but then he glared at her with a grin. Then at the blink of an eye, she left out a gasp as soon as her foreleg was overpowered, crashing to the bench right after Alphabittle‘s, harder than he would have liked, he would have admitted. “Oh! There we go!” He exclaimed, briefly eyeing Onyx to check if she was okay, but she had an expression on her that seemed she didn’t care much. With a slight smile he luaghed his hoof from hers as she took hers back, rubbing it slightly. “Are you-“

”I’m fine, I had worse.” She dismissed his concerns before walking over to the stage where Dapple was. Hiding the pain of her foreleg being bent slightly incorrectly and smashed against the table. He was known to be rough with hoof wrestling, plus, that was the first time she tried it. “Happy now?” She asked Dapple who nodded slightly. He was quick to grab his bongos when she decided it was time to start her poetry. Regretting choosing that for the loser to do that instead of something else.

Neither of them payed much attention to Alphabittle for the next few hours. Until they were having some tea and sitting down. He grunted in frustration as he dug though a box, seemingly looking for something he was missing. Which wasn’t known by either of them, but they were both a little confused at his frustration. Did he misplace something again? ”Alright! Has anypony seen my gift for Haven?” He asked out loudly, directed at all the unicorns present, he seemed pretty desperate to find whatever he had lost. Being literally the biggest stallion in Bridlewood, nopony would have the guts to steal from he he thought. But then, he wasn’t the type to fight someone unless he really had to, so it was clear whoever stole it was going to get a lecture of strong words and not a hoof laid on them.

”You aren’t the only pony who had something stolen from you, Alpha.” A unicorn mare gulped as she looked around, approaching the counter with a whisper. “I think it’s troggle season…”

”But the Lumibloom season isn’t till a few months.” Alphabittle added, raising his brow in confusion.

”Maybe the tale of Grogar is bases on a true story!”

“He kidnapped unicorns to use as slaves, not stole from them.”

“I don’t think that’s how the story went either.”

“Whatever it is I saw the shadows!” A young colt pointed out. “Outside my bedroom window, I saw the body and the creepy glowing eyes.” All the unicorns besides Alphabittle gasped. It wasn’t long for another unicorn to add himself to the conversation.

Dapple seemed pretty spooked as he came over, explaining his experience. “I think this is a new thing! My pancakes went missing while I went to get the toppings and all I saw was a muddy pawprint on my table!” He exclaimed, the unicorns besides Alphabittle and Onyx gasping in horror. “I didn’t even hear it from my kitchen!”

”Well maybe it’s jinxie to leave your window open with unprotected food, now!?” A mare with long, shiny hair suggested dramatically. Ignoring the fact that Dapple had it outside, not inside.

“I hope not.”

Alphabittle sighed softly as the unicorns spoke their theories further and further. A few more adding to what things of theirs was stolen or damaged, like pillaged gardens, broken branches, trampled flowers, even a broken window or two! It didn’t take long for him to sigh a little as their theories got even less logical on what it could possibly be, but he knew something was up and they had to tread carefully, just in case it was something dangerous. “Has anypony even seem this supposed monster?” He asked, dismissing the colt’s remark as it wasn’t detailed enough. He wanted answers, or else there’d need to be some sort of wood-wide meeting to reduce panic if the theories got out of control.

“I think it’s hairy…” A random unicorn said, voice a little shaky, “I-I heard a noise in my kitchen but I was too scared to come out! When I looked out the window, I saw it in the shadows, lurking.” The stallion gulped as he shuddered, all the others remaining quiet as they watched him try to speak. “The eyes were glowing from the shadows, the sharp teeth shimmering in the moonlight, strong agile legs, strong grabby claws and what I think was a tentacle!” He then gulped. “Or a tail.”

The unicorns all looked frightened, looking at each other concerned. There was silence before Dapple spoke up. “What if it gives jinxies!? Quick, everypony!” He exclaimed before he among the other unicorns did their ‘anti-jinxie dance.’ Onyx and Alphabittle being the only ones to not join in, the latter feeling there was a simpler story to this situation and perhaps feeling the jinxie dance wasn’t necessary yet, if not at all.

“What do you think, Onyx?” Alphabittle asked the unicorn who was currently the most sane one in the tearoom at the moment, even if she was pretty weird in her own ways. With poetry that made no sense.

“No clue.”

“Possibly a rare monster?” A voice asked, belonging to some sandy orange earth pony stallion with a yellow mane. “I like the sound of that.”

”Uh… When did you get here?” Asked Dapple as everyone in the room looked towards this unnamed stallion. Alphabittle seemingly recognising him from somewhere.

”Bounty? What are you doing in Bridlewood? I thought I told you we had any pests we had under controll or things planned out concerning them here. Don’t you have work to do in the heights and bay?”

”Well. Unicorns can’t hog the fun with magical pests all the time. Rodents, birds and bugs get boring after a while, after all. Displayed- Eh, my skills- on pretty much all of them.” He grinned in a slight sassy way. “C’mon, just let me do my job and your kind won’t get their manes in a knot about crazy theories.”

”Bounty. No. You don’t understand Bridlewood, or any of its magic. It’s best if we unicorns deal with it.” Alphabittle said, feeling rather suspicious about this earth pony. He wouldn’t mind of he was just happened to be in the tearoom and offered to help, but the fact declined this pony and his duties many times during his visits to Maretine Bay and Zephyr Heights, it seemed a but suspicious that here was here now at this convenient moments. This thief was only around for the last week or so, but he never told anypony about it, neither did any unicorn really talk that much about it. So the second he found out, he decided to butt in! “I get you have powerful dart guns to put pests to sleep or trap them to release in the wild later. But I think we are the experts in thus scenario.”

”Oh mate, let me help.” Bounty said in a sneaky voice. “Our species are allies after all.”

The was a pause as Alphabittle let out a slight grumble,he was not pleased. “Doesn't mean you can just butt in, Bounty! Besides as I said, we unicorns know Bridlewood better, we’ll get this under control just fine. Like we always have.”

Bounty only chuckled. “Sure sure, I get it, I understand. I wouldn’t want to get in the way with your magical forest, anyway.” He scoffed. “Just wanted to help you and get my hooves on some gorgeous-“ He paused, thinking about the next word. “dirt” He said with a roll of his eyes as he left his seat and moved over to the counter, slapping down a card upon in. “I’ve got plenty of traps and tools up my sleeves. Just give me a call, anytime.” He said with a wide grin and a wink before leaving.

”Does he creep anyone else out?” Jasper whispered.

“He seemed alright. Just wanted to help.” Dapple suggested. “Just a bit pushy.”

”I think he want’s more to do with the monster than he’s making it seem…” Onyx said with squinted eyes.

Alphabittle groaned, “Guess I’ll have to try and get a new one- She was going to love it!” He muttered. “I guess I do have time, It’s a while before the anniversary.”

“What are you going to do with the monster?” Dapple gulped. “If Bounty doesn’t succeed in shooing it away?”

“I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.” He paused. “For all we know, it could just be another pony playing tricks.” He snorted at the thought of that.

”Y-yeah…”

The sun had gone down, Onyx and Dapple were walking through the village, back from helping a friend with some tricky duty. Getting all three of them covered in flour. Dapple laughed a bit as he past his house. “What a day, Right, Onyx?” He asked, stopping in his tracks. Flour flying from his curly mane as he looked at her. “Well, I better wash up, see you tomorrow.”

”Bye, Daps.” Onyx smiled a little as she bid her friend goodbye and walked through the trees. It was rather chilly, so she picked up her pace, nearing the outskirts, of the village, her home was rather far out the way for some reason. Guess that’s just where she ended up, it was her foalhood home, it wasn’t that bad of a walk there and back, anyway. Eventually she reached her home, going towards it quickly and looking around, hearing a ruffling noise in nearby bushes before heading inside and getting herself into the bathroom. She had a shiver down her spine from a sudden loud noise outside as breeze came in from her window. She tried to not feel nervous, but it was an unnatural noise. Her home was so out of the way that ponies would rarely have a reason to go past it. But she shrugged it off, trying to assure herself it was an animal of some sort, trembling a little as she remembered the theories. They were theories, but the monster must be real, right? What was it? After calming herself down, she turned on the shower and got in, soaking her mane for the shampoo, grabbing a bar of her favourite soap and washing up. Not hearing another suspicious noise until…

Very late that night, Onyx was nice and cozy in bed, or it seemed like it if she wasn’t grunting a little in her sleep, soon enough she woke up to a loud snap sound that rung her ears, followed by a loud roar that sounded nearby. She jolted up and looked around, her heart racing as she gazed at her surroundings. Trying to remain clam before she heard another roar, this time quieter but still loud. She was not happy from being woken up, having already had a bad dream. She gulped and laid her head back on the pillow, trying to finally sleep, not happy about these distractions. But feeling like her life would soon take a turn.

Trapped

Onyx had hardly slept that night, she felt drowsy as she got out of bed, making her toast and getting her accessories on before heading out the door. Visible marks were under her eyes and she felt weary, but ignored it. Wouldn’t be the first tine she felt that way. When she exited her home, walking towards the slight trail in the grass she had a slight uneasy feeling as she moved on through the fog. She stopped in her tracks and looked around her, through the moist fog she couldn’t see much, it was very thick and chilly, perfect to add some mysterious vibes to her poetry, she liked the fog. She would have been liking it at the moment if she wasn’t hearing a low grumbling noise. A small gasp left her lips as she looked to her left. The second she turned her head, something large jumped out at her, she saw a large open jaw of sharp teeth. As on instinct she leaped back, with a yelp as a roar sounded. Falling onto the damp grass below with a thud, her heart racing as her body trembled as she Shakingly looked up at the beast. The her heart stopped as her eyes want from the large paws, the drooling mouth full of sharp teeth and the violent but scared eyes. She was inches away from death, she was nearly mauled by… What appeared to be a wild cat. So many things were going her mind, she was frozen gazing at this beast that had tried to kill her, but what stopped it? Her eyes studied the rest of the form of the beast, the thin structure just shouted the creature hadn’t eaten properly for days. But finally she saw what was stopping it, the hind leg was tied in a thick rope trap, blood stained on top of it. She had only just noticed the minor healing wounds on the body. ”Lion?” Was what all she could muster, shakingly getting up. The lioness panting heavily as it gazed at her, the intense stare like daggers. She took a few steps back, glancing worriedly at the scared eyes. It didn't seem angry, it seemed hurt. A lioness scared, lost in a habitat that was not her own. This was no place for a lioness, what was she doing here?

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the distance voice of Bounty. “We still have ten more traps! Find it! I need to get it down!” This strict voice and Bounty’s behavior from the day before made Onyx more scared for the lioness. Indeed, it seemed she was right about him being suspicious, did he want to keep the lioness as some pet or slave? Because she heard so many incidents of those in inhumane circuses from decades ago, never happened in Bridlewood, but according to same pegasi she overheard, they were big in Zephyr Heights before Haven’s mother banned them. She gazed the lion that clawed at her and growled then froze in place. As much as she wanted to run, she didn’t want to leave her fate in somepony’s hooves who seemed out of place.

”Y-you’re hurt! Let me help.” She said stepping forward, only for a violent swipe to narrowly miss her.

”Likely story, unicorn!” The lion spoke, much to her surprise. Lions don’t speak, do they? “I’m not falling for that trap!”

”It’s not a trap, I can see you need help.”

”I do not need help!” The lion roared out. Seemed this was no regular lion, unless lions could talk? This was her first time getting even close to a lion, so perhaps that’s the case. But there was more important matters than why this lioness could talk. “You are lucky you ponies don’t taste great, lr else you’d be my next meal if I managed to get my claws on you.”

A shiver went down her spine, this lion had the chance to kill her at any moment. In fact she shuddered at the thought of her eating somepony, did she do that? Or perhaps she could tell by smell, because unicorns don’t smell that bad! She gulped at the thought of a poor innocent pony getting eaten in the claws of this hungry feline. She just hoped that it was a very long time ago and ponies tasting bad was a thing lions believed for generations. “Yes, we taste bad.”

“Of course you’d say that!” She growled and perked up. ”I can tell you are scared!” The lioness teased.

”So can I.” Onyx said, finding the courage to speak. “I know you are scared that you are in an unfamiliar place. These thick, cool woods is no place for a lion.” She informed then paused. “Like a fish out of water.” She added dramatically.

“Fish? Now you are talking a load of rock kale!”

“All I want to do is release you, I feel hurt just seeing you like this. It’s either I release you and you ho home, or you end up in the hooves of some shady earth pony who is known for doing shady things to innocent animals like you.” She bluntly responded.

”As if a mere pony will be any match to me!” The lioness growled, breathing heavily, she was starting to feel weak at the lack of decent food. Which made sense. Besides the breezies, troggles and other rumored magical or monstrous creatures, only speedy birds and small agile mammals roamed Bridlewood and the surrounding woods, and pretty much all she’d have luck with. Hoping that unicorns do indeed taste bad to lions, or there’s some special reason on why she hadn’t eaten anyone yet! Surely she would have been tempted to, even if they tasted bad. She’s staving! But seeing as unicorns can use magic and fight back, maybe she was too weak, considering she seemingly couldn’t break the rope she was stuck in.

”Once I’m done, I want you to go home, to your habitat and your pride. You’ll be a lot happier and safer there.” She said bluntly to the young lioness, It was clear she was no older than the age of three, judging by her size and comparing it to whatever she had read or heard about lions. The lioness roared, chomping her teeth at Onyx, nearly biting her flank. She only kept as calm as she could, she was scared, but she felt she’d regret not helping the lioness later. She just needed to reach the rope and break it with something. She could hear the lion growling as she lifted her hoof towards the blood stained rope tightly hugging, digging into her skin. “Chill out. This will only hurt a little.” She said, taking a breath as she paused. Hearing Bounty shout again in the distance made her want to save the lion. But the lion could also attack her, but honestly, if she was going to attack, she would have done it already seeing how close to her she was now, might she wanted to stay wary, keeping calm to try and help the lion calm down. “It’ll hurt a lot less than what Bounty has in store for you.”

”How should I know if you aren’t pretending this Bounty guy is a baddie and covering up yourself, making you look good?”

”Good point. But consider the fact that many other pony want to hunt you down, or want to get you away from here. They don’t understand you are lost and scared, but I do.”

The lioness did not speak again, she only growled in pain as she glanced at Onyx, their eyes meeting once again. The lioness was clearly scared, hurt and lost. Not angry or have many malicious intentions, besides stealing of course, but if the rumours about Bounty were true, and considering the situation, the lion would not deserve it. She took a breath and had a hard look at the rope, she had no sharp things on her at the moment. But there was her horn, that was pretty sharp, but there was a risk to it. She could easily stab the lioness, not being able to see what she was doing, besides, only the point itself was sharp. So she went along the rope line to the other end, with another idea, seeing it attached to a wooden pillar hammered into the ground. She knew the lion was eyeing her, relying on her to set her free. So she didn’t hestitate to use her magic to pull the pillar out and loosen the tight rope around it. It was a struggle so she had to put more strength in her magic than expected. But after some fidgeting with it, she managed to free it and the lioness was free at last! Suddenly with a roar, the lioness pounced towards her, pushing her to the ground as she ducked to protect herself from the incoming rush as the lioness ran right over her and into the distance, vanishing into the fog. As Onyx gazed out into the fog, she had a few thing run into her mind as her heart raced, she thought she was being attacked for a second. As soon as she got up from the ground, she heard Bounty behind her.

“What!?” He cried walking to the pillar that was laid down, he was wearing a torch on his head and had a belt and a bag with various tools. “It must be stronger than we thought! It escaped.” He then pointed an accusing hoof at Onyx who only retained her normal chill composure. “You! Did you see where it went?”

”No.” was all that she said with a monotone expression before walking off. A little shaken at the encounter, but glad the lioness was safe for now. Hopefully she could get home from here, but there was nothing do do to help her at the moment. It was clear she wanted no more help and thought she was independent.

As she entered the tearoom, she was greeted by Dapple. “Hey! What’s up!?” He asked before he noticed the grass stains on her coat. “What happened to you?”

”Was ran over.”

”Ran over, how’d that happen?” He asked then paused. “It wasn’t the thief, was it?” He whispered, having a bad feeling.

”Doesn’t matter now, it’s over.” She bluntly said, not wanting to induce panic, she knew the unicorns would freak at the sight of a lion. She couldn’t blame them, they could kill a pony quickly.

”Oh, uh, okay then!”

When they sat down to drink some tea first, Dapple took a small sip as Onyx gazed at hers, thinking about the lioness earlier. She could have easily been killed on the spot. The lioness was starving after all, they are predators, she could have easily had her for breakfast but didn’t. She claimed ponies tasted terrible, which was a little relieving, but why? Or was she making something up to hide a ‘soft side’ of some sort, knowing she was trying to free her?

”I got it!” Exclaimed Dapple with a smug grin. “You are deep in thought, aren’t you?”

She knew she couldn’t hide it from him, he was good at body language. “I guess.”

“So, what are you thinking about, anyway?” He questioned before taking another sip. “The thief monster?” He was spot on, almost like he could read her mind, which wasn’t true, but felt like it.

”Yes.”

”Don’t worry.” He said jokingly, knowing Onyx rarely worried about anything. “But seriously, I hope this is over soon. I’m not sure if I cam take another day of my breakfast being snatched from me!” He said right before his stomach rumbles.

”Maybe you should try not leaving it outside unattended for a few seconds anymore. Not while the monster is out, anyway.” She suggested, Dapple resting his head on his hoof.

“I know… I’ve just been so worried about the monster. I heard a rumour it resembles a dangerous predator. Bounty said it escaped from his trap, meaning it is stronger than he thought! What if it’s here for more?” He then gasped as he whispered. “What if it wants to… Eat us!”

“It won’t.” Onyx responded, looking down at her tea. “It would have already eaten somepony if that was the case.”

”True…” He said with a sigh and then looked down. “But I’m still worried about the dangers it’ll bring.”

She only glared at him, not looking too worried. The lion would have gone home, right? Or at least found a more habitual location till she’s healthy again. “You’ll live.”

”Hello tearoom!?” Izzy’s voice boomed as she raced into the tearoom. Specks of glitter and snippets of wool trapped in her mane and splotches of paint on her body. It appeared she had been busy crafting something, which made sense. She, along with Sunny and the princesses were extremely busy this week, setting up a very important event in Zephyr Heights, also with there being another event in Maretine Bay they’ll need to prepare for about two weeks later.

“Izzy!?” Dapple exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

”Oh, hey Daps! Hey Sardonyx” Izzy greeted them.

”It’s just Onyx…” Onyx said bluntly. “Sardonyx is red…”

”Just messing with you, silly, your eyes and accessories are red!” Izzy assured before answering the question. “I Decided to jump in and check on my fellow unicorns while I pick up some crystals.” She explained, her bags full of crystals of Haven’s favourite colours. “It’s been a pretty busy week, but it’s been going crystal-tastic! Haven’s gonna love it!”

”| think my eyes are closer to-“ Onyx was about to correct her. “Magenta”

”That’s great to hear!” Alphabittle said over the counter nearby. “I had the most wonderful gift for her!” He said before sighing in defeat. “But..l It was stolen…”

”Oh no! By who?”

”We don’t know.”

”Has sneaky sneakingston the possum returned?” Asked Izzy, with a slight smirk.

”No, but we know it’s bigger. Rumours have been spreading, Bounty, the pest under already offered to help but we turned him down.”

”Oh.” Izzy said bluntly then shrugged. “Well, if you turned him down, must mean you are confident you can get this all sorted, right?!” She asked happily.

”I hope so, who knows what kind of creature it is. Magical or normal.” He shrugged and sighed.

”Lion.” Onyx said bluntly. “It’s a lion.”

Every nearby unicorn looked at her with slight confusion. ”You are speaking meteorically, right? Like a lion, as in a liar, like the thief is lying!?” Asked Izzy. “Is it a lion?”

”It’s a little far our for a lion, Onyx.” Dapple said with a puzzled look, before looking at Izzy. “Yeah, I think she’s speaking meteorically.”

”Dapple’s right,” Alphabittle agreed. “A mountain lion would make more sense, but they live beyond Zephyr Heights mountain, far away from the ponies, so I think it’d be too far for even one of them.” He paused. “Good guess, however.”

“Too bad Zipp is too busy, she’d love to solve this mystery!” Izzy exclaimed. “Oh well, I should probably be on my way back. See you!”

”Bye Izzy!”

Onyx only sat there, sadly, thinking quietly to herself. She saw the lion in pony already, so she knew it was a lion, like one from the savannah. She wasn’t really sure what would have happened if they did believe her, besides they’d hopefully help it. Too bad that Hitch was likely busy, he’d know what to do with a misplaced lion.

But just as she was finally about to take a sip of her tea a stallion came up, with a grin as he smugly walked over. Dapple glanced slightly worried at the approaching apple red stallion as he moved his messy tan and dark red mane out his face, revealing his orange eyes. Onyx simply ignored him as he put a dark red hoof on the table near her tea as she ignored him, his tan stripey sock markings dirtied by soil.

”Oh hey, Dapple-less, Not-yx You two still at it?” He asked. Getting a glance from Dapple who didn’t seem impressed. Agate was as shallow as the rest of them before magic returned, but when it did, he turned out to be rather a jerk. The month trip to Zephyr Height he had done to experience new sights a few months back didn’t help, either.

”What is it, Agate?” Dapple asked with an annoyed expression, ears down.

”Oh, you know? Your ridiculous little plays you put up there?” He asked, gesturing towards the stage, where the microphone and bongos were standing, ready to be used.

“It’s not ridiculous plays. It’s poetry, full of emotion and story! You just don’t understand!” Dapple grumbled.

” still in your, ‘it’s not a phase, mom’ stage, are you?” He asked, giving Dapple a rough noogie on the head who pushed him back.

“It’s not a phase. It’s just our performance style! If you don’t like it, you don’t have to listen, understand?” Dapple responded, raising his voice. “SO back off, Agate. You don’t scare us.”

Agate only laughed. “Oh you kids will see someday just how bad you are.” He said, picking up Onyx’s cup of tea.

”Kid!? We are like seventeen!” Dapple angrily exclaimed, he was closer to eighteen, while Onyx only turned seventeen half a year ago.

”So adorable, when you little foals play pretend on that stage and try and drink tea like us grown ups!” Said Agate before laughing. Dapple looked rather annoyed, while Onyx looked slightly concerned for him, not saying a word. Only taking her cup out of his hoof slowly, using her magic before sipping it again, almost dropping it when Agate slammed his hooves on the table. “Hey, how about you challenge me to a bet.”

”No.”

”Scared you’ll lose, huh?” He scolded. “I mean, I always beat you, you’ll never beat me, ever.”

“No, just used to your shenanigans.”

“Fine, see you later, losers!” He paused and chuckled. “Hope you realise I am coming back with you saying yes to a bet.”

“Good riddance!” Cried out Dapple and looked at Onyx’s slightly miserable expression. “Oh! Are you okay?” He asked softly.

”I’ll be fine.” She said softly as she thought about the lion. It was injured and looked as if she hadn’t eaten much at all… No one knew where the savannah was, but they knew it was far away. Too far of a distance for a lion, let alone one in a state she saw the one earlier in. If the unicorns beloved her and the lion was still in Bridlewood, she could have gotten help for her. But knowing Bounty and how scared the lion was of ponies, it might be better to stay low about her for the time being, hoping she’d be okay. Her stomach ached a bit at the thought of the lion trying to go home in the state she was, she couldn’t just leave like that! A feeling of concern filled her as she got up From her spot.

”Onyx?” Dapple asked. “Where are you going.”

”I uh…” Onyx said softly, knowing he’d know if she was lying or not. “Just heading outside, I’ll be back.”

”Can I come?”

“No.”

Dapple watched her leave in confusion before Jasper, another unicorn approached the table. “Is it just me, or is she acting a little off?” He asked then paused. “I mean more weird than usual.”

“Nah.” Dapple shrugged. “I think she had a scary encounter earlier this morning of some sort. Maybe just getting some fresh air.”

”I hope the scary encounter wasn’t from the monster.”

”S-same…” Dapple paused in thought.

Mistakes were made

Onyx had walked all the way to the remains of the trap, she looked around for any sign of the lion. She looked around with concern, she had no idea what she’d say or do, but she wanted to stop her from taking a dangerous journey in her current state. She hoped she wasn’t too late. Venturing in the same direction she thought she saw it run in, she stopped when she saw a large pawprint in the mud, heading into the forest. With one look, you could see the track was made hours ago, by the way it was mostly gone. If that was made hours ago, then that means that she was likely deep in the forest by now. It would be nearly impossible to find her now! She sighed, accepting defeat and decided to trot back to the tearoom. Hopefully the lion was preying on small animals or fish before she took such a long trip home. But seeing as how Bounty was hunting her down, maybe he wouldn’t find her so deep in the woods. Stuck in thought while running, her hind leg got caught in a small hole, sending her tumbling over a rock, snapping her out of her thoughts as soon as she hit the ground. Getting up, she looked around and limped all the way back to the tearoom, very unamused at the whole situation. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to explain that she tripped over a rock…

”Oh you're back!” Dapple exclaimed, now on the stage with his bongos, “Oh, What happened to you?”

“Tripped…” Onyx groaned, using a napkin to wipe the mud from her face and her legs, accidentally revealing the scrape, which didn’t go unnoticed.

”Oh! That’s nasty!” He exclaimed.

“I’ll live.” Onyx said, taking her tea and giving it a nice sip before freezing, making an annoyed expression before she put down the cold tea, it tasted terrible! She swallowed the ruined drink, including a fly, which made her shudder. She tripped, she met Agate and now her tea was cold and she swallowed a fly. She looked up at Dapple and back again at the drink, “I hate cold tea.” She shuddered a little before she went to head on stage, only for a certain pony to stop her.

”Onyx, nice to catch you. Again!”

She turned around to face Agate, looking unimpressed, didn’t he already leave, what he come back for? Oh yeah, he said he was going to return. “Agate…” She said before adding a little dramatic comment for the fun of it. “It appears you were almost too… Late.”

Agate waved a hoof. “Oh you know me, never too late.” He chuckled. “So, earlier, you were pretty busy. So I’ll ask you again- Actually no, i will demand. I challenge you to a bet! I mean, who wouldn’t accept with a hardworking stallion like me?”

Dapple looked at Onyx, expecting her to say ‘no’ as she glanced at him. He was rather irritated by Agate, he kept trying to challenge the two of them to a bet.

“I see you won’t stop till I say yes.” She paused. “So fine, what is it?”

”Oh finally, you said yes.” Said Agate as he flicked his mane, looking rather smug. “No backing out, okay?”

Dapple watched on, a foreboding feeling within him as he watched on. While Onyx decided to just go with it to hopefully make him be quiet for a while, besides, what was there to lose? Perhaps it was something simple like having to buy him an ice cream or give him ten dollars. ”What’s the bet?” Onyx asked, looking a little tired of this herself, but if she won it’s be a little amusing to see his reaction.

“Oh, just a little thing I saw from an old comic.” He shrugged, placing two large plastic bowels of water on the table, receiving confused glances. “We must walk to the door and back again, balancing these on our heads as long as we can.”

Onyx glanced him, wondering where he got such a weird idea from, was he running out of ideas and made one from the top of his head or something? She glanced at the bowels, they looked exactly the same and had the same amount of water, but they were huge! A lot bigger than regular bowels, they looked like bowels that would be used to mix a lot of cake batter or something. But it appeared they had the same amount of water in them, so there was likely not a bowel that was rigged so she’d lose. “I’m in…”

”Onyx!” Cried Dapple as he ran over. “It’s a trap!”

“So? If i lose miserably It’d blow over in a week, anyway. It’s harmless.”

”That’s not-“

”Oh-ho.” Chuckled Agate. “Did I forget the price for winning?” He asked, knowing he was using the wrong word. “Winner gets to do whatever to the loser, like ask them for something or take them somewhere..” He said before he put a bowel on his head and one on hers. “Now, no cheating, we can’t mess with each other. Also, there will be obstacles.” He smirked. Dapple gulped as he brought his bongos close to him, thumping them in some sort of competitive, dramatic beat to set the mood, mentally telling himself she’d be fine.

Jasper, along with a few other unicorns watched on with slight confusion, Jasper soon sighing. “I hope Dapple’s got the perfect bongo tune for loss…” He said softly.

As Onyx tilted her head, she felt a but of water splash down on her muzzle she grunted as she moved, feeling the bowel slip a little, she quickly moved slowly, trying to get it to balance better. She briefly gazed at her rival, seeing him seemingly struggle with the bowel, almost tripping as water splashed out. Soon enough he gestured towards Jasper who was standing near a large jar of marbles, he looked at them puzzled before he got the message, pouring them out, making both unicorns almost lose their footing as marbles went under their hooves. But she kept walking, not really caring if she won or lost, since she wanted Agate to be quiet about challenging her. So she kept moving forward as unicorns and a single earth pony watched on with curiosity and amusement, at least they were amused. She ignored the occasional splash of water that would happen upon her as she slowly picked up pace, puddles were on the floor, but the bowel was still heavy. It sure held a lot more than it looked. As she slowly approached the finish after Agate, her sore leg gave way as soon as she stepped on a big marble, a large pain shot through it as it slipped on it, sending her face first to the ground, bowel landing upside down on her head.“O-Onyx!?” Dapple cried as Agate and two other unicorns cheered, laughing as they left.

”I knew that was going to happen.” She said, not surprised.

He worriedly looked down as her as she laid there with a bowel on her head, he quickly looked at her foreleg with concerned. “Oh, you sprained a hoof.” he lifted the bowel with magic revealing her miserable, soaked face. “Oh-“

”Well well well, was there any doubt?” Asked Agate before he laughed. “You're just a weak, useless poet, after all. I always win! And you always lose to me. You got it?.”

”Hey!” Dapple shouted defensively.

“I knew it…” Jasper said softly as he walked over, “Losing is a thing that happens when you challenge someone in the tearoom…” He said before looking over behind the counter where Alphabittle was watching on. Both amused at the challenge and a little bit worried about how Onyx was treated.

Alphabittle raised his voice. “Agate! I don’t recommend you treat anypony like that here…” He said in a warning tone as he glared at him.

”Fine, hypocrite!” Agate rolled his eyes. “See ya, losers.” He teased before leaving.

”Are you okay, Onyx?” Alphabittle asked as he left the counter and walked over as Dapple helped her up.

“I wasn’t planning to get soaked today.”

”Sorry.” Jasper said softly as he looked at the marbles. Seemingly apologising to them or for them, it was hard to tell.

Onyx looked at at Alphabittle as he took a glance at her leg, picking it up gently, noticing the wound. “Oh dear. What happened?”

”She said she tripped…”

“Where?” He asked, worried, she was usually careful, even when trotting.

“In unexpected uneven terrain. Just near my home, then my hoof landed wrong with those marbles.” She paused, changing the subject. “At least the water was a bit refreshing…” Onyx said before a pause, water dripping from her mane as she got up. “At least it would be if i wanted to get wet…”

“Beating you in that hoof wrestling probably didn’t help…” He grumbled, hoping such thing the day before didn’t have anything to do with it. “Today, I want you to rest. It’s minor, but will get worse if you keep using it. That means no poetry, you need to stay off it.” Alphabittle said with concern as she pouted, knowing he was in charge of the tearoom so he had final say about her performing or not.

“Fine.” She said, not letting the loss bother her. Onyx sighed to herself, not looking forward to what the rest of the day would bring. She regret going back to try and find the lion.

”Okay, what’s bothering you?” Dapple finally found the time to ask. “Earlier you seemed in a hurry. You never rushed from the tearoom like that before.”

”I told you-“

”I know that’s not completely true.” He said, hood at reading body language, he knew she was not telling the complete truth as she looked away from him with ears down. She knew she couldn’t lie to him, so she simply muttered one word. “Bounty.”

It took Dapple a second to realise who she was talking about. ”That earth pony from yesterday?” He asked.

”I think he wants to hunt the lion.” She whispered to him. “For bad purposes.”

“Really?” He asked, curious on what she meant, as he head heard ponies talk at how good of a pest control pony he is. Getting rid of unwanted animals so easily and quickly, knowing how to trap them and just what their weaknesses were! He literally had blogs of them being released into the wild, why would the monster that Onyx is calling a ‘lion’ be any different?! “What makes you say that?”

”I overheard him this morning.” She said and paused. “He said he needed to get it down when I heard him. He also seemed pretty upset it escaped from its trap.”

”Well…” Dapple paused. “We’ve been friends for ages and I don’t want to say I don’t believe you, but I think you are looking at it wrong.” He paused. “I literally looked up his stuff last night. He is extremely gentle with trapping and releasing, he only wants what’s best for them. I don’t think we should judge a pony before you know him. Maybe he’s just stressed out.”

“I knew you wouldn’t…” She sighed, resting her head on her hooves.

”I sprain my hoof, lose a bet, I don’t believe it-“ She said to herself quietly as walked into her house with her dinner after her day, her leg feeling a lot better, she had a simple cheese burger with she had just finished before she came in, throwing the rubbish in the bin. She yawned a bit and decided to head to her room, it was a little late and she was exhausted thanks to not being able to sleep the night before. As soon as she opened her bedroom door her mouth opened wide as her eyes only widened slightly at the sight. Seeing her belongings all over the place and a familiar creature prowling about, noticing her and growling. She changed from her shocked expression to a slightly annoyed one as she gazed on, having enough for one day. “Now there’s a lion in my bedroom.” She exclaimed as if it were a natural occurrence before she quickly closed the door. “Now… There’s a lion in my bedroom.” She told herself in a more slightly raised voice. Wondering on her next move. What was she doing here? Why didn’t she go home?! Actually, that might have been a good thing considering her current state. Also It was a bit of a reassurance that she stated clearly she wasn’t interested in eating ponies, but she still didn’t exactly want a wild predator in her home, she was fine with helping, but a wild predator!? That’s kinda weird, having such a wild animal in your house, living with it, she wasn’t some sort of animal expert, she was a poet! What was she going to do with this lion? after a slight sigh, she decided to leave her alone in her room, hoping she was just scavenging for food and would leave soon, it was silly to think she was staying. Perhaps she knew how dangerous the journey was and decided to try and get fit for it. Hopefully she knew what Bounty was planning, too. After half an hour, she opened the door slowly, heart racing and hoping the lion was gone, she didn’t care where, she just wanted it gone! She let out a sigh of relief as soon as she saw the room was lioness. She quickly headed inside and closed the window, just in case it wanted to return. Just the idea of sleeping in the same building as a wild predator was not the best feeling. She quickly started to clean up, thankful nothing was broken or badly damaged beyond repair. Seems the lion only sneaked into the cupboards and draws searching for food. She never really had food in her room, at most she’d find forgotten scraps or crumbs. After she was happy with her work, she took off her hat and scarf, throwing them aside before she got into her bed and relaxed under her covers, hoping for a good sleep. Which should have happened but she heard some growling which made her heart race as her ears perked up as she looked around her room wondering where it was coming from. The lion wasn’t still here, was she? She looked for her earlier, and she wasn’t here. “Who’s there?” She muttered just seconds before she was violently shoved from her bed by a force, gasping as she went crashing to the ground headfirst with a loud thump, right on the black and purple mat she had laid next to it. A little surprised as she laid there before getting up “Ugh!” She groaned as she rubbed her head she she hit the ground and turned to look at the offender, freezing in shock as she illuminated her horn for more light. Seeing a familiar shape. “Y-you!” She gasped upon seeing the lioness. “You didn’t leave? This is my house.”

“You really think I’d be able to leave the first in this state? Who am I, someone with a deathwish!?” She roared in Onyx’s face. “I would rather get home to my family, thank you!”

”N-no. I actually agree. You’re too weak right-“ Onyx raises a hoof to try and calm her.

”Excuse me!? I am what!?” The lioness roared, raising a claw, Onyx actually looked rather worried as she eyed the sharp claw. She cleared her dry throat, not wanting to get on the lioness's bad side. Her heart was racing as she glared up at her.

“I meant in not the right eh- Health. You need food and energy before you make the trip.” Onyx said bluntly, pausing as she looked at this annoyed animal as she got ready to climb back in bed. “Considering your shape and that Bounty is likely setting up more traps, I’ll let you stay the night.” She said before eyeing the rope around the lion’s hind leg, it seemed it hadn’t come off. It was bleeding, so she had to get it off or it could cause an infection. But there was no way the lion would let her, she was way too aggressive at the moment. “You’re hurt.” Onyx said, raising her hoof towards the wound, only for the lion to take it back, all snappy. But she didn’t give up, knowing this would end in a scratch, but that wound was hurting more than a scratch would.

”Don’t touch me!”

”You want an infection or not?” Onyx asked, only to get hissed at. “Well too bad.” She said, grabbing some scissors from her drawer in her magic and putting them in her hoof. Making sure to cut at a looser part, gently raising ot away from the leg. “I suggest you don’t move, or else I may slip…” She said softly, cutting at the rope the best she could. Ignoring the hissing and growling from the lion, it didn’t help that she was on the right side of her, since her mane covered her right eye. But she just had to trust her. It was quite a while before the scissors made an indent, but eventually it was free at last! She had the rope lifted in her magic only a moment before she ended up being shoved onto the ground again, sighing with an expression like she had expected it. “Fine.” She said bluntly before getting up, She quickly tossed the rope in the nearby bin and walked out the room, the lion with a smug expression and curling up, believing this strange unicorn was finally leaving her alone. Only to hear her returning with a spray of some sort. Onyx quietly walked over to the leg, careful to not make any loud or sudden movements. “This may sting, but that’s a good thing. It looks nasty.” She warned as she aimed the nozzle at the wound, the lion glaring at her, she could feel how alert she was. She took a breath and and got ready to spray, expecting some sort of outrage, but this had to happen, her heart was racing, hoping for a simple flinch or growl. But the second she squirted the disinfectant on the wound, the lion let out a roar of pain, kicking Onyx in the face so hard she stumbling backwards on her hind legs for a few seconds and into some cupboards and hitting the ground with a crash.

“You're welcome…” She said in her normal monotone voice before getting up and dusting herself up. “May I get back in bed?” She asked.

”Get lost!” The lion roared with a swipe, glaring at Onyx as she sighed. She grabbed a blanket and an old cushion from her cupboard, knowing there was no way the lion was giving her bed back in this state and left the room, not wanting to deal with the lion anymore. ”Fine..” She muttered before laying on the couch right outside. Questioning this whole ordeal, she had hoped the lion was taking care of herself, it was nice to see her taking refuge somewhere safe. But why her home? Was it because she helped her? Was stealing her bed necessary? Why can she talk? Today she tripped, lost a bet and found out a moody lion decided to spend the night and steal her bed… What a day

First Week

The next morning…

Onyx was snoring quietly on the couch, drool coming out her mouth and mane messy, she groaned and stirred when something wet and slobbery hit her face, she tried to wipe it away but the wetness seemingly stayed and sticking to her foreleg. Upon opening her eyes, she was greeted with the familiar face of the lion, her heart skipped a beat, but she was a little relieved when the lion growled amd jumped off her as soon as she saw she was awake. Leaving her in place to discover the present she left behind, a face full of fresh slobber… “Ew…” She said softly as she sat up, wiping her face with her forelegs. “Was the slobber necessary?” She asked with a monotone voice.

”Not my fault that I slobber when standing above something smaller and weaker than me!” The lion scoffed, getting an unamused reaction from her.

“Ugh, hope you aren’t like that for your entire stay here..” She said, not wanting to wake up to a slobbered face every morning until she healed up. Which was strangely something she was both happy for, with the lion, too, but something she was concerned about.

”What?”

”You are too injured to leave, so i’’ll have to take care of you for a while.”

“Wasn’t planning to. Already used my energy last night pillaging on an injured leg.” She laughed. “You didn’t even know i was gone! What’s for breakfast?”

Onyx glanced at her, wondering if she was just messing with her or actually thought she’d serve her breakfast. “Not for you.” She said, getting up and heading into her kitchen, putting bread in a green toaster. The lion growled pushing Onyx to the ground as soon as she grabbed her toast out onto a plate, she scoffed up her breakfast and make a slight chuckle sounding growl, running back into the bedroom, leaving the unicorn laying there like a discarded rag doll. ”Rude…” She whispered before going upstairs to bathroom,ignoring the lion as she prowled behind her, keeping an eye on her but keeping her distance. It seemed like she was very wary of her, which was fine, Onyx didn’t expect her to trust her immediately, even if she did save her. As soon as she went to her sink, she grabbed her toothbrush, the lion cocking jet head was she watched Onyx put some paste on it and put it in her mouth, brushing it.

“Gross??” Asked the lion. “You like eating those weird tasting plants?” She paused, “They seemed covered in paper before, but that didn’t make them yummy.”

Onyx stopped brushing and and looked back at the lion, puzzled on what she meant by weird tasting plants. “Whoaaarght?” She asked, mouth full before looking at the other two unused-by her at least- toothbrushes in the cup, formerly unopened, finally seeing the saliva dripping off and signs of them being chewed on, there was also a broken one on the floor. She slowly looked at her current one in slight disgust, slowly realising what the lion had done. Somehow mistaking her toothbrushes as a plant, she had no idea how, but it was pretty gross that she put lion spit in her mouth… She wasted no time to spit out her mouthful of toothpaste and rise it out with water, feeling a little grossed out as she spat out the water, rolling her eyes upon missing the sink. She glanced at where the lion once was. ”I have things to do today, so behave, I don’t need you getting into trouble.” Onyx said as she entered the lounge room, glancing at the lion. “Plus, leave my toothbrushes alone, they are not yours.” She added.

”Whatever, pony!” The lion snorted as she rolled on the couch, her fur getting everywhere. Ignoring Onyx as she brushed her mane and gazed at her one more time.

“Actually, I think I’ll give you a list of things to follow while I’m gone.” She said before clearing her throat, hoping the lion was listening. “No taking my food, no opening the fridge- I know you won’t close it after you. No escaping and pillaging, no scratching furniture, do not enter the locked room upstairs, no parties, no going through my stuff. Did I mention no going into the locked room upstairs?”

“Twice.”

“Wanted it to get in your head.” She said, knowing the lion would need to eat more than just toast and random junk. ”I’ll get you some food while I’m out, any preferences?”

”Buffalo, gazelle or antelope.”

Onyx simply glanced at the lion, knowing that she should have known she would ask for something in a natural diet of a lion. Which would have been something a pony would make a friend out of if they ever met, not food! Obviously, none of those were possible. “Actually. I will get whatever I am able to…”

Onyx walked near the creek by herself, looking around at the bugs dancing and soaring around the crystals. She had more plans at the tearoom this morning, but he was going to greet Dapple nearby soon, they were going to do some things together. He would be rather happy this morning, thanks to the fact his breakfast did not vanish due to the thief not being lose. Well, if she hadn’t managed to mess with him in some way already last night. The creek was a special place for them both, she wasn't very familiar on why it was, she just knew it involved Dapple and loneliness and the cold. She was almost at the place where she was going to meet said friend, just walking over some puddles of the creek, but suddenly she stopped in her tracks at the mention of the monster nearby by a familiar voice. She looked in the direction and took a few steps ahead. She sneaked up behind a tree, seeing a familiar pony talk behind a bush, on the phone to another pony. Bounty, he always seemed suspicious to her. Now was her chance to get answers, hopefully she was thinking wrong. She listened carefully to his speech.

”Hey, Hey. It seems it avoided all my traps last night! But if the paws are anything to go by, it is still here and I’m going to catch it for my collection.” He sniffled. “I can just smell the money from here. Taxidermy gets you so much dirty money.” He chuckled, Onyx opened her mouth but did not make a noise. She took a step back, crouching behind the tree. “This unicorns won’t suspect a thing when they realise I am the hero when I claim I sent the lion elsewhere. They don’t even know it’s just a misplaced regular animal. Idiots.” She gulped as she backed from the tree and galloped down the creek, hoping she hadn’t made the stallion suspicious. Taxidermy was illegal for generations, also, unicorns never harmed animals in Bridlewood, unless it was a threat to them, kr if it was for food for animal companions and pets, fish being the most common animal to killed to feed them. She had to keep the lion safe u till he gave up, or else, she was dead. She only thought he wanted her to keep he as a crazy pet of some sort, but no. He wanted to kill her. She knew needed to take care of the lioness, to keep her safe until she healed and until this crazy thing blew over. But that meant she would need to feed her actual things for lions.

After spending some time with Dapple, she managed to excuse herself early and get a bag of unwanted fish from the pond, being basically the only accessible form of meat, unless one would want to hunt down a mouse or bird, which she didn’t really want to do, it would have been much harder anyway, plus they could have their own lives ahead of them. Unicorns don’t like wasting food, so if somepony caught too many fish, or not the fish they wanted at the pond, they could leave them in a basket for others to take if they want, so that’s what she did. She was sure she was not looking suspicious to anypony when they saw her pack up a few fish and walked away, for all they could have known she was doing a favour for somepony, since she acted normal, despite feeling a little nervous. As she trotted home, she head inside, happy to see the lion on the couch, but not happy to see the damage she had done to it. Both their eyes met before Onyx gazed at the lion’s figure. Seeing the ribs and the scars, she gulped as she removed her brown bag and put it down. “I have some bad news…Which i already told you earlier.” She sadly said in a mellow voice. “You’ll need to stay with me until you are better. Which means we must stay low, if the wrong pony finds out then Bounty will find out. If Bounty finds out, it’s over.” She said,noticing the lion savour her wounded leg as she crouched down, slowly coming over as she sniffed the air, growling slightly. “I got you some fish… Since you need a carnivore diet and uh… Gazelle and buffalo aren’t exactly accessible.” Onyx said, keeping calm and keeping her composure. Slowly taking a fish out of her bag using her magic, a bass, she couldn’t help but feel bad for the fish as she looked at it in the eye, seeing it helplessly flail in the magic.

”Why’d you even bother asking me what i wanted!” The lion shouted then sniffed the air again, glaring at the fish. “How do I know it’s not poisoned?”

”I took you out a trap, I’m feeding you and letting you stay here until that hunter that wants to taxidermy you gives up. Why would I poison it?”

”Bite it?”

”Pardon?”

”I’m not eating that till you bite it to prove to me it’s not poisoned!” The lion roared, despite her growling stomach. “I can smell you are nervous…”Onyx gulped, the lion needed to eat. Eating fish wasn’t necessarily dangerous for ponies, but it was disgusting and there were records from getting sick from eating a certain amount of it. But if it was likely only a little bit of fish, then she’d be fine.

“Fine…” She said, looking unamused as she headed into the kitchen, getting a chopping board and a large knife, preparing herself for the smell and the disgusting guys and juice! She glanced at the fish in the face one last time before putting down the knife and looking at the lion. She had to do it, even if she didn’t want to. She glared at the fish’s dead eyes, lacking any life or emotion, like she thought! At least it was dead, so it wasn’t looking towards its impending doom. Pet owners or anyone that makes cat food must have guts, or at least be used to the fish just staring out at them, helpless, lost and alone. But it had to happen, she grabbed the knife in her hoof and took a breath before slicing down on the head, cutting it off, smelly, sticky juice spraying onto her leg and chopping board, a lot more than she was prepared for. She let out as slight groan as the lion stared at her with unblinking eyes, watching every move. But Onyx kept going and discarded the head, in a biodegradable plastic bag, hoping to bury it far away from here. She used a knife to cut a piece of meat from the body, making sure the lion was watching her put the piece in her mouth. The slimy, cold sensation immediately made her feel a bit off, it felt like it did not belong in ger mouth… She chewed the piece up and swallowed it forcibly, looking at where the lion was supposed to be, a bit puzzled on where she went. Did she even see her eat the fish or was it all for nothing? Because that was disgusting! “You just wanted to see me eat fish, didn’t you?” She softly accused as she left her kitchen to find the lion’s head in her bag, scoffing down every crumb of fish before she lifted her head, the bag coming with her, stuck. She freaked out, shaking her head around and backing into a wall, trying to get the bag off. Clawing at it, missing the strap by a few inches. She nearly hit her head on the wall and started backing up, clearly freaked out. Onyx was quick to act, she slowly went over. “H-hey, chill. It just needs to be pulled off…” She said, the lioness moving her paws but stopping in place, facing her with a growl. Onyx quickly getting it in her magic knowing there was no chance the lion would let her touch her in this stake. She was quick and gentle to yank it off and put it on a nearby shelf, the loon lion standing there dazed.

“What was that!?” She roared accusingly at Onyx.

”Just a bag, just wait for me to take them out next time, ight?” She asked, only to get bowled over as the lion ran into her room. Onyx muttered to herself. “We should work on that…” She said, sitting up, deciding to give the lioness space, wondering why it had to be her that decided to take a lion in. It was crazy, she was taking care of a predator… “At least you haven't broken any given rules, as far as i- Oh.” She said, looking chill as she spotted a dead, half eaten rat and a packet of oats that was torn open. “This will be a long week…” She sighed, heading to her bedroom after hearing a loud thump, making her wonder what she was up to this time. “What are you doing, lion?” She asked as she entered the room, stopping in her tracks to see her in a box on top of her bed. She cocked her head slightly and eyed the now-open window and back at the lion, she let out a sigh. “I’m not even gonna ask…”

It indeed was a long week, actually two weeks, which wasn’t easy. Like cleaning up the messes she left behind, it was pretty gross to come come to a dead rat. Onyx was also not a fan of that time when she was in the kitchen and the lion came storming in, knocking into some shelves, knocking some honey from the top one. It wasn’t pleasant to have your horn impaled through a plastic jar of honey, with honey dripping down all over you. She could tell the lion was pretty amused at that sight, too. Bur was was a little disappointing when she woke up some mornings to find out The lion escaped her home and pillaged for more things to eat or whatever, which made the village despise her even more when she damaged a favourite structure with the unicorns. Which meant a few of them actually wanted to help Bounty hunt down the monster to try and trap it. Unaware that he wanted to do something so inhumane and creepy. They had spent a week together already, the lion hardly went near Onyx, she was often kicked out of bed or slobbered upon. She hadn’t managed to pet the lion yet, or sleep in her won bed.

But it wasn’t all so sour…

One particular morning, Onyx had woken up to her being in a more playful mood, which was nice to see her running around, thankfully not damaging anything. Once she headed out the bathroom, she dried herself the best she could with a towel, grabbing her scarf and putting on before reaching for her hat, only to see it was missing.

”Uh… Where’d it go?” She said softly before looking right near her to see the lion up close, holding it in her mouth. Once she reached for it she yanked it away and ran into the kitchen. “Guess you want to mess with me…” She said softly before running after her, almost crashing into a sack of flour before the lion ran back out, past the door and suddenly in the other direction, meaning she had to jump out the way and run after her up the stairs. “Uh, where are you head’n?” She asked softly, looking more worried as the lion went past two doors before approaching a locked one, running straight into it and falling to the ground. “Bet that hurt.” Onyx said softly with a slight smile as she looked at her slobber-soaked hat on the ground and looking at the door, thankful that it stayed up, nice and sturdy. Behind there was something she didn’t want anypony- or lion- to see. She picked up her hat, trying to ignore the drool before putting it on, “Wow, that’s the most slobber I’ve seen in like… A whole week, when you woke me up with slobber.” She said bluntly before heading back to the stairs, “C’mon,” She gestured. “One of my rules was to not enter that room, besides, there’s far more interesting stuff down here, anyway.” She said, going downstairs and freezing in place when she saw the lion pawing at the window. It was clear she wanted to go out. “You can’t leave yet. You aren’t in the right shape, and I don’t want to risk anypomy seeing you. There’s somepony suspicious hunting you down.” She paused, making a stern glare. “Especially after the last time you sneaked out.”

“In here forever!?” She paused at the vicious, cold eyes and sighed.

“I guess i can give you a walk at night while nopony is around. Might help your muscles stay in shape and train for the journey ahead. But I’ll have I hide you somehow. But I think I know what.” She muttered to herself before leaving, “I’ll be back this afternoon.”

Secret Revealed?

That day, at the tearoom, Onyx walked, ears perking up as she heard a familiar two unicorns speak about her about something. Out of curiosity she listened into Dapple and Jasper’s conversation before shrugging it off, knowing they were talking about her doing different things. It was not really any of their business, was it? She then eyed a giant box nearby that held something that Alphabittle ordered recently that got delivered his tearoom. It was huge and there for anyone to take, he said so since he didn’t have any use for it. Izzy might have taken it already if she still lived in Bridlewood, but in Maretine Bay she would have access to such huge boxes anyway. This might not be the best disguise to hide a lion, but at least she can crouch and pretend to be a box whenever somepony was nearby, hopefully that wouldn't attract any curious pony. Her ears turned into the direction of Dapple again, hearing him mention her once more.

”Onyx really has been acting weird lately. Like she’s been… Hiding something…” Dapple said. Sighing and looking at his tea, he sounded a little concerned. “The only other thing she hides from me is what happened that night when- Oh, actually, she hides a few small things from me. But I dunno about this.”

”I agree…” Jasper nodded. “She’s been sneaking around..” He noted. “You’ve noticed, right?”

”Like, she is suddenly interested in fish like she had gotten a pet cat, I already asked her ans she said it wasn’t exactly a cat, also i had seen her been more stuck in thought and seemingly avoiding talking about thief-monster and how they want to capture it. Sure it’s last attacks were two nights ago, but we will capture it eventually, right? She doesn’t usually worry so much about this kind of stuff.”

“Maybe it's trauma…” Jasper sadly said, which Dapple agreed with as he put his tea down. There was one thing Onyx never liked talking about and would usually avoid the question, change the subject and act a little weird after. He wasn’t sure what it was, but if effected her.

”Yeah, that’ could be it…” He said as he looked down at his tea just as Onyx came over.

“You’re talking about me.” She stated with a monotone voice and expression.

Dapple suddenly looked at her, not even realising she was nearby. “Oh, yeah. Just worried, that’s all. Has everything been okay, lately?” He asked.

”It’s been fine…” She said bluntly before walking away, he put a hoof to his chin. “What I’m hiding will only be revealed in due time. But I assure, it’s not crime.”

“You sure there isn’t anything you need to tell us?”

”No.” She paused. “Not till time is right, anyway.” She bluntly responded, grabbing the large cardboard box that was there to be taken. ”Later.” She said softly as she passed the duo, just making Dapple more suspicious.

“Yeah, she’s onto something…” He started to brainstorm. “She’s just revealed hiding something- like a secret, or has a surprise for one. She never was into surprises so I think it’s the former.”

”Or maybe she just wants to ge alone.” Jasper suggested. “You know, alone time?” He asked as Dapple watch Onyx drag the giant box out the doors.

“Yeah, but why?”

That night, Onyx took a giant stuffed teddy bear from a cupboard and put it on the couch she was still sleeping on. Tucking it in as the lion cocked her head in confusion. It took one glance before she realised she needed to explain. “I Uh- Dapple won it for me at the previous Maretime Bay Day…” She said, petting tue goofy bear on the head before realising that was not what was puzzling the lion. “Oh, I’m just saving by place, that’s all,” She informed before grabbing the large box and putting over the lion who made a slight purring noise. It was rather a chilly night, it was also drizzling a little, so Onyx quickly put on a dark coloured cape Izzy gave her, it was velvety in texture and the buckle was what gem she was named after, onyx. She never really had any use for it, but now it seemed convenient, harder to see her in the dark. Also, some protection from the wt and cold, she didn’t hate the rain, but it sure would be freezing. After putting it on headed to the door, whispering to the lion. “Follow my lead. If a unicorn spots you, the thief rumours will come worse.” The lion made a confused sound but obeyed, following Onyx the best she could, deeper into the woods.

They walked to the small clearing that was rather a walk away from Bridlewood, she was right, no pony was around. She carefully took the box off the lion. “Stay close,” she warned as the lion looked around then pausing as a firefly flew close yo her. She growled as she backed up, the fallen moist leaves getting crushed under her paws and she growled. Not noticing that she was a little amused at her reaction to a firefly, watching her swat it, only for more to come towards her and chase her in circles. Onyx smiled slightly as she watched on, the lion let out a warning roar and stopped in place, turning around and getting in her hind legs, doubt the best she could to try and fight them, only to fall on her back as they all landed on her.

”They're just fireflies.” Onyx said with a slight smile. Watching as the lion managed to trip and roll down the hill, scaring hidden fireflies that proceeded to soar in the air after she passed by, like she left a trail of small lights in her wake. She gazed up at them as they flew by, shimmering and shining like stars while the lion tried to chase them, now seeing they were not a threat. She leaped, ran and skidded, landing on the ground with a thump, wagging her tail slightly as she held down her paws on the grass, soon removing them to see no fireflies anywhere, unaware there were a few of them making a smiley face on her butt. It was nice to see her with some energy, but it didn’t last long before she slowed down, looking ill and she slummed into the grass, fireflies starting to calm down, leaves crunching under her hooves as she started walking over, lifting a hoof to touch her, only to be growled as in a warning way till she dropped it.

“Yeah. You don’t like being touched.” She said, soon changing the subject. “Those fireflies all together like that was pretty sweet, right? Anyway, You hungry? The fishing pond is nearby, if you want some fish.”

The word ‘fish’ made the lion jump on all fours and look at her with wide eyes. “Food?”

”C’mon then.” She said before leading the way amongst some trees, heading a little deeper till a large pond was seen. Surrounded by rocky cliffs and a waterfall, sparkling in the moonlight. This particular pond was not really much of a pond, it was attached to the river. But the water traveled to it underground. Crystals glittered nearby, making it look rather magical, too. Thankfully there were no mosquitoes to be seen, Onyx had forgotten about them, to be honest.

She and the lion stood on the ledge, looking into the water. “Unicorns like to swim here, but it’s a little cold for swimming now and beyond the agreed fishing hours. So you’ll be fine…” She said, soon noticing the lion was gone, she looked around with confusion and concern just before the lion dashed to the ledge, Onyx’s eyes widening in surprise as she ran to leap off. As a result, accidentally knocking her, who lost her footing and into the freezing water below,shock going through her entire body on impact. She could feel the chill enter her body as she surfaced, trying to cough up the water she already swallowed, doggy paddling through the ice-cold water. It was certainly not pleasant to be swimming on a cold autumn night. She could feel her soaked cape weighing her down with all the water soaked up, she wasn’t used to swimming with accessories on, besides her hat and scarf after an accident, on more occasions than she’d like to admit. But a wet cape was a little harder, especially in the bitter cold.Nearby the lion was eating fish, she could hear her eating, probably not noticing her struggle. She started to choke on the water, trying to swim out, it was hard to see in the darkness. She managed to swim to the end only to swim to a a ledge, slipping back in when she tried to climb out. She was seemingly pulled under. She whimpered as she struggled until something seemingly went under her and pushed her above the surface, the next thing she knew she was holding onto the lion as she carried her outside of the water onto a low ledge, a metre or two away. Flopping onto the stony ground, shivering slightly “You saved me…” She said, the lion licking her in the face. She put her hoof up, when the lion put her head on, her eye widening in awe as the lion allowed her to pat her, she happily pat her soggy, but soft head as she nudged her. She was finally allowing her to pet her… “Guess we are even…” The lion chuckled then noticed Onyx shiver, she licked her in the face, moving to her body, trying to dry her. “Ugh…” Onyx groaned as she slowly got up. The lion nudged her away from the water as she watch her shiver. “R-ready to head back?” She asked before the lion nodded.

Back at home, Onyx threw off her soaked cape and rubbed herself with a towel, trying to dry herself as much as possible, while the lion looked at her with concern. Nudging her away from the couch and towards the bedroom, it took her a while to understand, but she went there, still shivering. Eventually climbing into bed for the first tome in ages, under her warm blankets, still feeling rather chilly until the lion laid onto her. With the warm sensation, she looked up at you. “Wanna do that again, sometimes? Minus the freezing water, of course.” She asked, slowly feeling tired. The lion let out a noise as if to agree. “Anyway, you should have a name. I don’t think i can keep calling you ‘the lion’” She paused. “What do you think of Tufty?” The lion let out another noise as if she liked it! “Tufty it is.” She started to doze off, petting Tufty softly, feeling her warmth taking away her coldness. She didn’t want this to go away, she was a hoofful, but there was something special about her. Even if she was currently snelling a little funky. Her heart ached at the thought of saying goodbye to her when she went to the savanna. She had no idea where it was, but Tufty should. She feel asleep to the warmth, thinking on how Tufty got here and why…

“If you are calling me ‘Tufty’ what should I call you, Beret?”

Onyx opened her eyes and glanced at her, drowsy and slightly confused. “Beret?”

”Okay then.” Tufty nodded as if she was approving of something and put her head down, leaving her to just doze off.

“Alright Tufty.” Onyx said as she entered her home one afternoon with a box, it didn’t seem as big as the one she brought home, she only carried it in one hoof. She stopped in her tracks after she closed the door, looking around. Seeing Tufty dash past her and skid to a stop before turning around, looking rather excited. She had thought she’d act cat-like not dog-like, but whatever. As soon as Onyx told her the box was for her, it was ripped from her paws. “W-wait-“ She gasped as the lion shook the box around in her jaws, throwing it across the room, narrowly missing a vase, hitting the ground, which she dived for and ripped it open with her teeth and paw holding it down. Revealing four large bottles of cat shampoo, Onyx had to quickly grab them before she bit them. “Not food, or a toy. You need a bath, I know you’ve been playing in mud recently, too. It literally gave away that you sneaked out again last night…” She said, gesturing at some dried dirt that was swept up, formerly muddy prints from Tufty playing in the mud last night. Her fur was still rather muddied and she still smelt rather gross. “C’mon…” She lad leading her into the bathroom.

The bathroom was roomy, the floors were stone, covered with a white bathmat. On one side was the shower and on the other side as the bathtub that Onyx recently cleaned out, she never used it much so it just gathered dust and got filled with random junk. But now it was all clear and ready to go. She put an old towel on the towel rack and put the bottles on the sink near the tub, soon putting the plug in and turning it on, using her hoof to make sure it wasn’t too hot or too cold as Tufty watched on curiously. Onyx puzzled her, she trusted her, but there was things she did she didn’t understand, like how the day before she walked I on her doing something called ‘poetry’ which was weird, she sounded dramatic when she was doing it, was she okay? Once Onyx filled the tub halfway and turned off the tap, she saw this as her time! She wasted no time to leap into the tub, creating a big splash, sending water flying, soaking Onyx’s legs and belly and leaving a puddle on the floor. ”Ugh, I’m getting all wet…” She said before looking at Tufty who seemingly chuckled. “Guess I shoulda expected that.”

”How mich longer until I am healed enough?” The lion growled.

Onyx paused as she grabbed a bottle of the shampoo, looking down at it and back at Tufty. She had gained a little bit of weight back, but mot enough. The wounds were gone, however, which was nice to know. ”A while. You need to be the ideal weight and have the energy you need. I don’t even know where your habitat is, you are that far from hone.” She paused and started scrubbing the shampoo on her fur. “C’mon, wanna smell funky bad or funky good?” She asked, not wanting to forget about saying goodbye, she was starting to see why ponies like having pets.

“Sure?” The lion grumbled, feeling something was off about her today. To change the mood, she started pawing at the water playfully, to see if she’d respond, which she didn’t. It was time for extreme measures it seemed, luckily she got an idea when Onyx was finished scrubbing soap on her other side, grabbing a hose that was seemingly attached to the tap that would shower water on her, as soon as she was seemingly finished rinsing her, she

“I don’t need a bath.” Onyx said, shielding herself as she turned off the tap, watching “You are cheeky.” She said as she lowered her hoof, unprepared for Tufty to gave her whole body a huge shake, sending water flying everywhere as Onyx tried to shield herself again from the incoming water. “Ugh!” She groaned a bit before looking at Tufty head for the door, she quickly grabbed the towel and hurried after her as she stood in the lounge room. She quickly threw the towel on top of Tufty’s head who shook her head all about to try and shake it off. “Nope, not running around, wet.” She responded before the towel hit her, as soon as she picked it up, she looked around, seeing Tufty was gone. Puzzled on how she vanished in such a short tome, she looked around for ny trace of her, unaware of the predator stalking behind her, ready to pounce, soon doing it, shoving her to the ground and gently pushing her down with a paw. Her heart was racing as Tufty pushed her down, only to push her down again as she tried to get up. “Get off..” Onyx said, trying to stay calm. “Ow!” She exclaimed then sighed. “I’m not a fan of playing rough..” She said, which only resulted in being bombarded with large wet, slobbering licks. “Neither am I your cub…” She said, her wards making Tufty pause and look out the window with worry. Onyx could tell by her body language that she was now rather sad. Her reaction softened as she spoke. “You are a mother?” She asked, her ears drooping at the thought of her poor cub… Poor fella must be feeling lost without her, she couldn’t imagine how it would fell, even if she herself had a similar experience. “I too, lost my- I mean.” She took a breath and paused. “I’m sure your cub misses you too…” She said as she sat down, worriedly looking out the window, a feeling in her gut as she thought about that poor cub… But also thinking how Tufty was a mother, how motherly she was being after she realised Onyx was no threat. It made sense. Maybe she could ask her about the cub, but she didn’t want to be too intrusive… She had another question to ask, anyway. ”How can you talk?”

”Made a wish…”

”A wish?”

Tufty nodded, not wanting to share the reason why she made the wish. But she knew time was running out, hopefully she would never need to reveal the reason. She didn’t need to seem like a wimp, making a wish she could talk long enough for somepony to help her. Because some pathetic pony caught her and took her far from home. “Why do you even care, Beret?”

”Just curious, I think… Also, why do you keep calling me by the name of my hat?”

”You implied you were okay with me calling you that last week.” She admitted, it had been a week already.

“I was half asleep.” Onyx paused. “Name’s Onyx…”

Tufty glanced at her with slight confusion, looking all over her then right at her. “Right…” She paused. “Onyx’s aren’t blue-grey. They are black…”

”I know.”

It was one late afternoon when Onyx was on her way back home, feeling like something was different. She held a fish in her hoof, taking it out of a bag she had with her, not a pony suspecting she had a fish. But perhaps they wouldn’t be too suspicious seeing her get fish, she could give them the excuse of taking care of an animal, right? Unicorns may not really do it often, but she heard plenty of ponies take care of pets while their owners are away or something! She walked to her home and walked inside, feeling like something was going to happen, but what could it be? It was soon revealed the second she walked in when a familiar unicorn jumped in behind her, catching her by surprise, but she kept her cool, not showing it. “Aha! I knew you were hiding something!”

“Like?” Onyx shrugged, eyeing the stairs, wondering if Tufty was up in the kitchen stealing her food again, and back at Dapple, hoping Tufty would not reveal herself just yet.

“C’mon! You think I wouldn’t find out eventually?” Dapple asked, looking around the lounge room. “So, what is it? He asked, feeling a little puzzled when Onyx put a hoof up so he wouldn’t take another step as a low growling sounded nearby, “Uh… What was that?” He asked, eyeing the stairs, taking a step back.

“There’s something I need to tell you. But it has to stay in between us.” She said, seconds before Dapple shouted in fear, seeing Tuft come out the stairs, who proceeded to roar at him, moving stealthily and looking as big as she could. He grabbed a nearby broom in his magic, noticing the paws, tails and eyes resembling the thief in many of the rumours, also the fact that Onyx claimed it was a lion. His heart was racing as as their eyes met.

“Get back!” He shouted, trying to be brace, but his legs were shaking. His heart skipped a beat as the lion ran towards Onyx. “Get away!” Dapple cried pushing Onyx to move her away, only to push her to the ground as if to protect her from some kind of attack. He stood over her, looking for Injuries, he gulped. “It’s in your house, Onyx.”

”I know- I-“ She was interrupted.

He let out a scream as the lion pounced on him, pinning him to the ground, he gulped and shouted. Smacking the lion in the head with a broom “Onyx, get help!” He cried loudly as she got up. Tufty raised a paw towards him, only for him to swat it back with the broom, managing to get free and start running around the living room the feat, the lion blocked his way out the front door, so he ran towards the bathroom, only to get pinned against the ground again, he screamed loudly as he saw the sharp claws, which was soon engulfed in Onyx’s magic aura.

“Stop!” She whisper-yelled out, unable to seemingly raise her voice. Both unicorn hearts were racing, Dapple was even sweating slightly. “Get off him.”

”Wh-what?” Asked Dapple. As Tuft backed off him, obeying orders and letting Onyx put herself between them. She looked at Dapple first.

“Your mistake was pushing me to the ground before I could explain anything. So she must have seen you as a threat who was trying to attack me.” She paused and then looked at Tuft. “And you jumped into conclusions, I think you should know that Dapple is my closest friend… I’ve spoken about him near you.” It was clear Tuft didn’t like to be scolded. She slumped on her rump with an annoyed growl as she eyed Dapple.

“Onyx, are you crazy!?” Dapple exclaimed as he got up. “Do you know what that is!?”

”She’s a lioness, far from home. She need to stay low so Bounty doesn’t get her. So she can start her journey home…”

”Well yeah, but she’d been stealing things at least weekly!” ”How long have you’ve been living with her?” He asked, shaking slightly.

”She’s just trying to survive. She’s been here for about seven weeks…” She said before looking at the lion. “What did I say about sneaking out and creating chaos?” She asked, the lion letting out another low growl, feeling ashamed of herself. Dapple watched in in slight confusion and horror, he got up and started sneaking towards the door. “Dapple, where are you going?” Asked Onyx.

”Oh! I uh… Realised that I'm eh- Late! For my… Baking?”

“You don’t bake?”

“Uh, yeah, gotta go, bye!” Dapple exclaimed before running off, galloping towards a certain location, where Bounty was staying in a tent. He could finally track down the monster, it may appeared to be a lion, but lions attack ponies! Must be some sort of siren in disguise, there is no way Onyx would befriend a lion, she’s not Hitch or Fluttershy! His heard was racing as the tent came I view. “Bounty!” He yelped before tripped onto a branch and groaning, he got ip and looked around, it appeared Bounty wasn’t here at the moment. “Bounty?” He questioned as he walked ahead, past the tent, having peeked through the window on the way past. He looked around for any sign of him, but soon saw him walking away, looking around suspiciously. Dapple raised a brow as he followed him from a distance, something wasn’t right, was it? He stopped when he stooped, backing behind a tree and looking on, both ears pointing straight at him.

”No, I haven't found the lion just yet, but I will let you know when I do, okay? I just can’t wait to taxidermy such an animal!” He exclaimed softly, causing Dapple to gasp and back up before being seen. He watched, concerned as he slowly understood of what was happening. He gulped, understanding why she was keeping that lion in her house, she was keeping her safe from such an inhumane practice! He quickly galloped back to onyx’s home to warn her, bursting through the front door.

”Onyx I-“ He said before pausing, cocking his head in confusion at the site before him, Onyx laid on her belly on the couch, much of her fur damp as the lion licked her head like how a mother cat cleans its young. “What are you doing?”

“She insists ob giving me her idea of a bath before I have my idea of a bath.” She paused. “I’m weaker than her.”

”Huh?” Dapple cocked hus head and slightly smiled, “Maybe that’s a little adorable, right? Like a mother lion and a baby! Wait- Does she know about…”

”No she does not.” Onyx said, glaring at Dapple. “Also, it os not adorable…”

”Oh.” He said before smiling, Watching as the lion let go go, her body damp as she stood up, fur standing in different directions. He smiled a little at the sight. “She really likes you.”

”I guess she does…”

Revealed Secrets

“Tufty. I got something for you.” Onyx said as she entered her home, it had already been more than a month since she and the lion bonded. She took a peek into the bedroom and kitchen to see she wasn’t there, which was weird, considering she would have usually stolen something, obvious by the mess she left. After confirming she wasn’t downstairs, she walked upstairs, wondering if she was in the bathroom or a room where she had some stuff stored, which was soon revealed she was in neither, she was staring at the door at the end, ears pointing towards Onyx. Staring at the same door she was curious about when she snagged her hat.

”Tufty. You better not be thinking about heading in there.” She said in a serious voice, getting up and heading towards her, giving her a lick in the face, she barely responded besides wiping the saliva off. “That room is off limits. It’s meant to be shut off because I-.” She paused, Tufty expecting it to be a dramatic pause of some kind, but she never finished her sentence. Her head cocking as Onyx put something around her neck, a reddish purple bandanna, comfortably tied across her neck. “Our accessories now have matching colours.” She said with a soft smile.

”What’s in the room?” Asked Tufty, looking at it with awe as she looked back at Onyx.

”Inside is something I’m keeping within. There are some secrets that need to stay hidden.

I-“ She was interrupted from her poem when Tufty went down the stairs, she followed on. Still curious on how this lion was talking, she thought they didn’t. She was snapped from her mind when she saw Tufty raise her hind leg near the couch, knowing exactly what she was about to do, she hurried to stop her. “Not the couch.”

The next morning Tufty yawned loudly as she stretched, getting up from the bed, noticing Onyx had left already, seemed she had needed to get up early for something, or whatever. She jumped up and looked around, wondering what she could do today, Onyx forbade her but was yet to punish her for stealing snacks in the kitchen, perhaps she should have a look there. But then she remembered she had finished all the good stuff the day before, meaning she would have to wait for Onyx to buy more. She couldn’t really hunt, she had only seen two mice in the one and a half months she had been here. Then she had an idea, she started to daydream what could be behind that door upstairs, why didn’t Onyx want her to go up there, was it something embarrassing? Or perhaps it was a room of food she was hiding, but why would Onyx hide anything from her, anyway, unless there was a malicious intention. Maybe she wasn’t as Innocent as she seemed, maybe all this niceness could be an act, she didn’t know much about ponies, besides the fact they taste bad. But no lion, or any other animal ever told her they don’t eat lions. This made her a little angry deep down, was this unicorn who cared for her in her injured state really what she seemed to be? But she didn’t exactly want to ruin that trust, but then again, she was keeping a suspicious secret from her. The curiosity of what’s behind that door getting the better of her, Besides, she was only going to take a quick look and leave immediately, she won’t even know. A quick peek shouldn’t hurt, right? Maybe if asked, a simple ‘I ran into it’ would surface, hopefully her speech wouldn’t go anytime soon, she made a wish for a reason, to get a pony to help her, but she still had to be wary and careful, but she still needed to get home to her cubs. She took herself up the stairs, creeping in a way a predator hunts down prey, she was sure Onyx wasn’t home. She bit the handle with her teeth, jolting it up and down, it seemed to be stuck, but perhaps it’d weaken overtime. So she kept going at it, getting more and more rough with a handle until her ears perked up at a click noise and the handle fell out, the door slowly opening with a creak. Looking down at the handle, she gulped, hoping her planned excuse would work, she walked into the room, heart racing but she kept going, pressing a button to turn on the lights, being familiar with it. The lights flickered for a few moments, however before completely turning on, revealing the room that Onyx kept her from. What was she hiding? Well, it was revealed to her, what seemed to be a normal young foal bedroom caked in dust. On the bed the dark blue space themed covers were still visible as being what it was, but the dust hid most of it. She noticed books and a few toys in boxes, looking as if she started packing things away and just left it. She gazed at some shelves near a desk, there being a photo frame with a picture of Onyx as a young foal, she couldn’t help bit stare at the cute, Innocent baby face. Something she wanted to take care of and protect, it made her think of her own cubs, her heart ached just thinking about them. She let out a sigh as her ears droop, soon to hear something frightening.

“What are you doing here!?”

”Oinks!” Exclaimed Tufty, jumping back into the frail set of shelves, sending it almost fallen over, Onyx just barely stopping it in her magic, saving everything on it except for one thing, another photo frame that smashed on the ground.

”No!” Onyx hurried towards it and picked it up carefully, hugging it close, actually looking worried as her ears drooped down. She didn’t even look at Tufty and only spoke with a cold voice. Looking rather hurt and betrayed as she stood there. “I told you not to come into this room…” She muttered before slowly turning her head to glance at her. “Get. Out….”

”I-“

“Get out!”

“I-“ Tufty grumbled about to nuzzle her in the shoulder.

“Get out!” Onyx exclaimed out loud for the first time in ages, heart racing as she looked at the surrounding room, thoughts entering her mind, she never wanted to enter this room. She heard Tufty run put the room and down the stairs.

”What is this place?” Dapple asked.

”My foal bedroom…” Onyx muttered. “The trauma I’ve been hiding forever…” She looked down at the photo, there were three ponies, one scribbled out with red crayon. The other pony was a green mare, the other was a dark blue stallion with a dark blueish black mane. At the bottom was Onyx as a young filly, mane styled in piggytails. “This was taken the last week I saw my parents.” She said in a spooky, dramatic tome of voice. “It was a rainy day when my… Parents left me.” She said, her voice cracking as the weather outside started to match Onyx’s flashback. Dapple put a hoof on her shoulder with concern as he heard her story. “I had nowhere to go…”

“That’s when we met…” Dapple said softly, remembering how he found her that night, outside the house and his mother agreed to take her in foe a while. Till they returned for her, only to leave Onyx alone… He knew she wasn’t going to tell him everything, and that was fine. “Oh, Tuft ran outside, by the way…” He said, Onyx immediately gasping in shock as her eyes widened. “Oh no.” She said before galloping outside her house and into the storm, Dapple not far behind.

“Tufty!” He cried out, Onyx running behind him, looking for any sign of the lion.

”Tufty! I’m sorry!” She cried out, both unicorns pausing as they looked around, Dapple’s heart was racing as fast as hers was.

“Let’s split!” He suggested, Onyx agreeing before they both galloped separate ways, looking for the lion. Searching any sign of them before they both headed back to Onyx’s house when it got too stormy and cold for the both of them. Onyx was in her home first, a towel wrapped around her, ashamed that she let her trauma get the better of her, she let out a small gasp when Dapple returned, sopping wet.

“Did you find her?”

”No…” Dapple responded, “I just hope Bounty hasn’t gotten to her already.” He said, Onyx looking to the door before heading out into the storm, Dapple wondering where she was going in a storm this heavy, he watched on with concern. She eventually stopped under a tree, soaked to the skin as she gazed at the spot where she found Tufty trapped, it felt only last week, but it was just over a month, maybe two. Now she was back in danger again, Bounty was still around to hunt her down.

“I’m sorry Tufty. I shouldn’t have shouted… I just wanted to help…”

The next morning Onyx was laying a poem in the tearoom. Trying to ignore her worries for Tufty, maybe she went back home. Or maybe Bounty got to her and she is gone, dead and used for whatever Bounty wanted to do with her/

“Saying goodbye is a pain when it’s forever

But it’s sometimes for the better

Even apart, you’ll still be friends

Don’t let a goodbye be the end…” She said, finishing a poem that didn’t really make sense. Only one pony out of seven clapped as she gazed into the audience, she sighed a little before there was a loud crash at the doors, alerting everyone. A lioness running in, most the unicorns gasped loudly and ran to the other side of the room, one screamed. But Onyx only gasped, in surprise to see her again, relief she was okay and in concern considering the situation, so she made it her duty to approach the lion, she jumped from the stage.

”Tufty, what are you doing here?” She asked, only for her to tackle her to the ground and nuzzle her heavily, she quickly pushed her head up. Hoping no unicorn had jumped to conclusions just yet.

“H-Hey, you know I don’t play rough.” She said before getting up and petting Tufty on the head. The other unicorns besides Dapple and Alphabittle where cautiously in the corner of the room, watching. “She’s harmless, don’t worry.” She said calmly, hoping to convince them. Hoping that Bounty would not be informed, she could not lose Tufty yet, she had come so far and she was a mother.

The unicorns looked at the lion with awe, one opening his mouth. “But how?”

“It’s a long story…”

“But how did you manage to-“

“I can read body language…” She said with a slight smile as she looked at Tufty, noticing her snarl at the ponies but soon softening and watching them worryingly move away from the corner. Keeping an eye on the lion, but seemingly finding comfort of one of their own kind having trust in this creature. She would have killed Onyx by now anyway. Dapple watched on from the stage, he was a little worried at first, but calmed down, soon gasping as his ears perked up, pointing towards the door when a certain stallion came in, Agate. He cringed a little as he watched on concern, hoping Agate wouldn’t try anything stupid at this moment, his heart actually started racing as he watched him approach her.

”Hey, Onyx, can you come over here for a moment?” Agate asked, walking away and sitting at a nearby table, the lion cocking her head and taking a few steps while Onyx went to join him, sitting down next to him, looking rather bored.

“What is it?” She asked, noticing Tufty gaining some liking towards Dapple as she watched him recoil when she licked him in the face and laid her head on his bongos, refusing to get off. She regained her focus back on Agate who also gazed at the lion, a bad feeling now entering her as she eyed his smirk, Bounty wasn’t around was he? He seemed pretty mischievous and did things against her and Dapple, so there would be no surprise if he did it again.

”Would be a shame if that lion killed somepony, she would have to die.”

“Why would she?” Onyx wondered, once she softened up, she came rather caring, a little tough, but she wasn’t blood-thirsty like many unicorns believed lions were. “The worst thing she’s doing right now is annoying Dapple…”

”You are shedding big cat hair all over my bongos!” Dapple exclaimed soon he exclaimed, “Hey! Don’t you start drooling on them!” Tufty soon flopped on the ground, obvious to many she was more interested in messing around than hurting anypony. She rolled over and got up, rubbing herself against him until he fell on the ground. “I’m good!” He raised a hoof before she walked off the stage towards where Onyx was, stopping in her tracks and cocking her head upon seeing her talk to Agate, who looked a bit suspicious to her.

”I got a game. The prize is a certain cat…” He said with a suspicious smirk.

Onyx looking at Tufty and back at him, knowing what he was trying to do. “I’d rather risk losing money…”

”Too bad, because we are playing, right now…” He said, smirking at the unicorns, seeing how chill they were getting about the lion, still wary, but not so tense. “Let’s see how well you can hold up to… This!” At the blink of an eye he bucked Onyx with his hind legs sending her crashing to the ground, hitting her head on a table before faceplanting the ground, she groaned a bit as she got up with an unamused expression, looking more offended when he glanced at his chuckling face, blood coming out her nostril. She quickly wiped her muzzle and gazed at the blood.

“I was right! You can’t take a buck! I won once again!” He boasted and teased. “Like I always do against you and green curls.”

”Didn’t expect to see this today…” She said, not sounding worried before she gazed at Agate. “What was th-“, She said eyes widening as soon as she heard a growl. The unicorns looking worried as Tufty got angry, eyeing him, she ignoring her pain as she watched on, seeing her leap on the table.

“Tufty, no!” She tried to shout, but it came out quiter that wanted. Watching in terror as she pounced on Agate who screamed as he smashed on the ground.

“Help! Help! Dangerous Lion! She want’s to kill me!” He fake cried, only half scared, as Tufty raised a claw, Onyx quickly touching her with a hoof, to calm her down gently, about to tell her to stop before being clawed right on the face herself by her, almost falling to the ground with stinging pain on her cheek as she put her hoof on it, looking at Tufty’s wild, angry eyes with betrayal and fear, lifting her hoof to see a familiar red liquid again. She was now primal, she didn’t know how to deal with this, but it would be crazy hard to calm her down. She gulped helplessly as Tufty looked back at Agate and roared loudly in his face.

”Tufty, please listen to me.” Onyx begged, trying to stay calm. “You- You don’t need to do this, chill out. He only pushed me…” She tried to assure her, lifting a hoof. “I’m fine, you don’t need to be the m- Threat just because he pushed me, please chill.” She asked, Tufty gazing at her just seconds before Alphabittle quickly bucked her, sending her crashing into a nearby table. She got up and got angry again ready to pounce on the pony that bucked her, only for Agate to grab her tail with an agressive yank and throw and cause her to fall on the ground. Within seconds of her standing back up and roaring, Tufty was shot by something, she let out a loud roar and stumbled around before fainting. ”Tufty.” She whispered with worry, heart racing, hoping the dart wasn’t from who she thought, she gulped as she looked towards the doors.

”Seems I came just in time.” Bounty said, wearing a cowboy hat and a belt he put his dart gun in, having just walked in with it. “I knew the monster never left. I still saw her tracks and specks of fur… I was never going to quit, and now I finally got her!” He exclaimed and grinned, laughing as Onyx watched on, not sure what to do, her heart racing, this is not what she wanted, she was supposed to not let her be discovered and now here she was. “I have the perfect location for you, sweetie.” He said, putting a hoof on the lion and looking at Agate. “Thanks for your help.”

”You’re welcome, do I get my reward?”

”We will discuss that later.” Bounty smirked.

”Leave her alone.” Onyx said softly as they started dragging her out, running over, only to be stopped by Alphabittle who raised his hoof, causing her to faceplant into it. Her took a breath in, trying to keep is rage down.

”Are you crazy!?” He shouted back at her, pushing her slightly, using his magic to push her away from the lion while Agate and Bounty dragged her out, unconscious. It was clear he was furious, she felt much smaller against his massive size now. Unicorns already walking out, Dapple watching on with shock and worry.

”Sh-she was just-“

”She’s a wild animal!” Alphabittle exclaimed, taking a moment to realise what he had just said when an armadillo rolled past him, “She’s a predator! We can’t Bond with wild predators like giant cats or ravaging wolves! Unless you are Hitch, or an expert in animals are you Hitch, or n expert in animals?” He asked. “But that was a blood-thirsty beast!”

”N-no?”

”Well you are only that happened! You were extremely foolish trying to bond with a wild predator without any sort of professional advice at least, an attack was due to happen and it could have been anypony! I never thought you’d ever be so reckless.” He snorted in anger and followed along with a few other unicorns. “Agate nearly got killed, you put so many lives in danger to try and keep this thing as a pet just because she wasn’t in the right place!?” He asked before he slammed the doors behind him, he was in so much rage that even Onyx was shook. Putting Bridlewood in danger really angered him, and this time he felt the whole village was in danger because of her.

Dapple watched Onyx, soon standing by her side as ashe sighed. “Of course Agate had to ruin everything.” She muttered to herself before she walked to a table and sat down, feeling so much shame that she felt like she wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there. Wanting to be alone, she tucked herself underneath one of the tables the best she could , leading up against the stand in the middle and putting a hoof on her scratched cheek. While laying there she just thought about what she had done. She should have told Hitch, or anypony knowledgeable on animals, but she didn’t want to let her go. If she had, then she wouldn’t have sneaked into that room and she wouldn’t have shouted at her, then she wouldn't have tried to attack Agate and this wouldn’t have happened. There was only one thing she could do now.

”This is not what I wanted…” She asked, soon realising her cubs would never get to see her again. Now she failed, Tufty was going to die and it was all her fault. She couldn’t help but feel guilty for all of this…

”Are you okay?” Dapple asked as he sat down with her. Putting a damp cloth on her cheek to try and clean the wound, she winced a bit from the stinging pain, must be some sort of wound disinfectant on the cloth. She couldn’t blame him, there could be all sorts of germs and bacteria in those claws, but she still would have been fine, she thought.

“This is all my fault…”

Dapple looked at her and back at the cloth and thought about what to say. “Well, yeah, that’s true. You took on a job you weren’t experienced for.” He shrugged, taking away the blood-stained cloth and checking the wound out. It looked like it would not leave any permanent scarring, thankfully, but it would take at least a week or two to completely heal and disappear.

”That hit.” She sighed, looking at the ground, thoughts just running through her mind on what she could have done or said instead. Perhaps Hitch could have given her some animal caring advice if he was unable to take her under his hooves. Or she could have gotten that wildlife vet on the outskirts of the Bay, that family has a mailbox, right? Or she could have even asked Sunny, Zipp has a cool jet, she could have flown her home. But they were pretty busy the week she found Tufty, who had bonded with her as time went past. She worriedly looked out the window, hoping Tufty at least will have a quick and painless death, even if it meant her cubs would never see her again. Her heart ached at the thought of those poor cubs just losing their mother, as a pony who had lost her parents as a young filly, she couldn’t bear to allow that pain on anyone else! She had to at least save Tufty!

”Did this give you an ideas?” Dapple asked, “I wonder what poetry this inspired.”

“No. No ideas, but I need to fix my mistake…” She said quietly, getting up.

“Fix it?” He asked, puzzled on what she meant before seeing her run out the doors. “W-wait!” He exclaimed, running after. Leaving only one stallion behind, who looked around, confused, it felt a little awkward thanks to the fact he just walked in.

”Oh? Uh… Wait for me!?” Jasper said, running after them.

The Travel

“W-wait!” Dapple cried out, since Onyx had tried to once she reached the large clearing with the wishing tree. But she shouted too quiet for anyone to hear over such a distance. They both galloped towards where a bunch of ponies were gathered around a large cage, only for Alphabittle to stop them by jumping in their path, causing them to stop in their tracks. Onyx looked worried, looking beyond him, seeing the lion trapped in a cage on wheels, being pulled along by Bounty who was talking to Agate.

“Onyx!” He exclaimed, “What are you doing here? I think you had enough time with the lion!”

”You don’t understand!” Dapple gasped, like he had ran miles. “Bounty isn’t going to release her!” He paused dramatically, “he’s going to do the unspeakable!”

”He’s gonna kill and sell her corpse.” Onyx said in a dark voice. Bounty looked briefly shocked as Alphabittle glanced at him then he regained his composure.

”What on earth are you talking about!?” Bounty asked with a slightly nervous voice. “I’m gonna set her free where she belongs?” He said as the lion roared and growled at him.

“You can see she’s scared!” Dapple exclaimed.

”Trust me. All I’m going to do is take her home…” Bounty explained.

“And, what was stopping you from doing that, earlier?”

“She doesn’t trust you.” Onyx warned. “We all know you want to taxidermy her!”

Bounty dramatically gasped as he put a hoof on his chest, his mouth wide open. “Excuse you!?” He exclaimed and looked at the lion and back at her. “You are accusing me of what? Why would I want to do such thing, mate? I love animals. Have you not seen anything from my website!? I have helped all kinds, even one a far away as a kangaroo! I can help a lion!”

”Prove ot.” Dapple said, a wide smirk on his face. “Show us some legit proof you help these animals!” Bounty also grew a smirk as he opened up his phone and showed them some pictures of him releasing birds, bugs and even fish into their habitat. Dapple’s mouth opened slightly as he scrolled through them, getting a little nervous. “So? I mean big animals! Like the kangaroo you mentioned!”

“Sure…” He said, typing something on his phone and opening a video. Showing an injured kangaroo in a cage, in a boat that was sailing across the sea. How did the kangaroo get to Equestria from over the ocean? Dapple wondered.

“How did the kangaroo cross the sea in the first place?” Alphabittle wondered quietly, raising a brow. They can’t exactly swim from one continent to another

“Illegal circus.” He shrugged, soon the video showed the kangaroo in a sanctuary just outside of Zephyr Heights, Bounty waving goodbye as it hopped away, Dapple looking on worried while Alphabittle grew more annoyed.

“The Heights has a sanctuary?” Dapple asked.

“Yes!” Bounty shouted. “Now you prove that I am going to do bad things to this lion, I’m no poacher.”

”Proof!?” Dapple asked then nodded, “Ah, yes, proof!” He said, grabbing his small, old phone out his scarf and opening it up, “Proof is right here!” He said as everyone looked at the blank screen with confusion, even Onyx was puzzled at what he was trying to do here. His smug expression soon turning into slight worry as his ears drooped, he flopped onto his rump and looked at his phone with worry. “Proof.. uh… I didn’t capture anything!” He cried, looking at Onyx who glanced at him, “You have proof?”

“I do…” She paused dramatically. “Not!”

”We don’t have proof!” Dapple exclaimed, looking worried and looking at her and back at Bounty with worry. He looked at the ground sadly as Bounty boasted.

“Aha!” He laughed as he pointed at the two. “All you achieved is making yourself fools! You tried to stop me from doing my job, for what reason?” He asked getting closer to Onyx, “Now whinny off!” He said before shoving her aggressively and walking to the cage. Slapping the lion with a whip when she roared.

“Let’s go, Dap…” Onyx said as she got up and turned around.

”Hey!” Dapple exclaimed. “Are you just gonna give up on her like that!?”

”There’s nothing we can do without proof…”

“No!” He said as he got up. “You never gave up on her to this point, and I am not letting you give up on her!” He shouted at her before looking at the group of nearby unicorns. “C’mon fellow unicorns! We all know that Bounty has been a little strange?” He asked, “Surely one of you has overheard him on the phone at some point, talking to a mysterious stranger about the lion, secretly!” He asked, waving his hooves around. “Who’s side are you on, here?” The group muttered within themselves, shaking heads or shrugging. Sharing confused expressions soon turning into some relieved ones. Some of them nodded, leaving the two a little confused on what they were talking about, until one of them looked at Dapple in the eye and walked to where Bounty was. “Cornhead, I-“ Dapple said a little flabbergasted at another one joining him, soon joined by another and yet another. Each unicorn in the group, joining him on showing who’s sound they were on, Bounty’s. His ears drooped as he looked a bit heartbroken at their option. “C’mon… But why?” He asked.

”We would rather not have a blood-thirsty

Alphabittle was the only one who had seemingly not chosen sides, or at least he seemed like he was rethinking a lot of things. He looked a little sad as he started to speak. ”Dapple- I”

Suddenly there was a scream nearby that alerted. “The lion has babies! Help, they are eating my horn!” The voice shouted again. “I need a massively experienced animal catcher that can faint these things before they eat me! Help!”

”Jasper!” Alphabittle exclaimed, recognising the voice, there were more lions!? He ran towards the scream as Tufty roared, seemingly calling for the cubs. Bounty joining the chase, leaving Agate to guard the cage. Onyx had to grab Dapple before he ran away in fear, gesturing to the cage.

“Don’t even think about it.” Agate said angrily, standing as close he could while being out of Tufty’s reach.

“Agate… We can explain.” Onyx said. “We really need to let her go.”

Agate glared sternly at her then sighed, raising a foreleg, leading it on a box near the cage. “I might consider it, if you beat me at hoof wrestling.”

Dapple gasped and looked at her, getting a little deja-vu. “H-hey, it’s a trap.” He whispered to her, seeing her step forward. Watching nervously as both their forelegs and they pushed, Agate gasping as his smug expression fell, seeing her overpower his hoof with ease, a small smirk appeared on her face as his leg slowly lowered down, soon freezing in place as he regained some strength, pushing hers back a bit, bit it was seemingly no use as his went back down, just a few seconds away from being overpowered, now seemingly almost frozen in place as he started pushing back harder. His eyes caught Dapple’s wide smile as he watched on, seeing his friend finally beat Agate at something. Out of Agate’s countless, silly games, Onyx is finally about to win one. He was full of glee and determination, not noticing a smirk appear on Agate’s lips.

t “You are falling for this, aren’t you?”

“What?’

In a blink of an eye, Agate forced her foreleg down, beyond the box and on the floor as her other foreleg went under her, sending her crashing into the dirt below as he crushed her hoof under his, holding it down. “You really thought you had me, did you?” He snickered as she slowly got up, dirt on her face in in her mouth.

”The answer is no!” He barked in her face.

”C’mon, hasn’t Onyx gotten hurt enough in this story!?” Dapple explained.

”What?”

“Can you please stop messing with us!” Dapple exclaimed, Onyx using that moment to hold his four legs in her magic.

”Hey! What are you doing!?” Agate exclaimed, trying to get free as she gestured to the lock, Dapple running over to it and grabbing it in his hooves, gaining no progress.

“Hurry up, Dappies. They’ll be back soon.”

“Don’t call me Dappies!” Dapple exclaimed as he started yanking it, seeing no key. “How do I unlock this thing!” He said, aggressively yanking at it and kicking the door itself in frustration and panic.

“Use your head.”

“My head?” He raised a brow at what she meant before he gazed upwards towards his horn, gasping. “Good idea!” Dapple exclaimed, ramming his horn into the lock and jiggling it about. Soon they both froze when a familiar unicorn approached, thanks to Onyx’s loss of focus, Agate managed to buck her hard in the jaw, setting himself free.

“Agate!” Alphabittle shouted, holding Agate in some magic, as he stood next to Jasper, both of them gazing at the cage just minutes before the former ran towards it. Breaking the lock with his massive hooves. He broke open the cage and exclaimed before questions could be asked as Dapple’s mouth hung open. “Just go! I’ll buy you time. The savannah is in that direction. Near the southernmost desert just out of Equestria!” He said, recalling have seen an old map, where lions had made a home, generations ago.

”What about the cubs?” Dapple asked, Tufty listening with awe and being disappointed but a bit relived at the answer.

”There were no cubs, it was Jasper posing as a distraction for you two.”

”Y-yeah…” Jasper nervously looked aside.

“You’ve got no time to waste, just run!” He exclaimed. Onyx and Dapple wasting no time to run deep into the woods with Tufty, Jasper following behind, feeling like he should join.

The group journeyed through the woods, through the trees as cautiously and quickly as they could. Hoping to not be caught by anypony that could be following them. Eventually they made it out the forest and into the bright midday sun, the warmth beating on their coats as they journeyed on.

“It’s so bright out here…” Jasper whined. Much to Dapple’s annoyance who looked back at him.

“You’ll get used to it-“ He said before noticing somepony was missing. “Where’s Onyx?”

”Uh… Just laying over there.” Jasper pointed.

He groaned in announced as he backtracked to where she was laying, exhausted, he used his magic to try and pull Onyx, but she only laid there, allowing him to just pull him across the grass. “I feel lost! Like a fish out of the water, far from any sort of familiar sights!” She said dramatically. “Left to rot away with my wallowing thoughts…”Jasper glanced at her and back at Dapple with slight confusion as they both looked out towards the forest in the distance and back at Onyx as she dramatically just laid on the ground.

“Laying here isn’t gonna solve anything.” Dapple sighed. “I left Bridlewood many time, and I’m still alive.”

“She’s right tho. Who doesn’t feel hurt leaving behind what you once knew?”

”I feel sick in the stomach, like somepony punched me in the gut. Like I’m missing something so important. Like the comforts of Bridlewood!”

“If you feel homesick just a few metres away from Bridlewood. Imagine how Tufty Paws feels.” Dapple responded as Onyx let out a soft groan as she slowly got up, looking a little sad. “Besides, if she stays here, she’ll get caught. This is no place for her.”

”I hate it when you are right….”

”Y-yeah. Sometimes doing the right thing isn’t easy. But you also did keep a promise.” He said before whispering. “It’d be mean to break it.”

That night the four found a small cavern to take shelter in, they all sat in front of a campfire, Tufty by Onyx’s side who’s ears were flat, she laid on her belly with a sigh as she looked out into the distance. He saddened expression didn’t go unnoticed by anyone as she looked worriedly in the distance.

”You okay?” Asked Dapple, noticing her gloomy appearance.

“No. I was selfish…” Onyx sighed, guilt filling her. “her embrace felt warm and comforting. But I should have thought about what she wanted… I trued to take a mother from her cubs and almost got her killed.”

Both stallions gazed at her sadly. “Well, you do have a point.” Jasper responded.

“Maybe I should have just informed Hitch, or any animal professional first thing.” She said, sadly looking at Tufty who gazed at her. “I wanted what was best for her and didn’t do it…”

“Once again, true.” Jasper said, raising a hoof and getting a glance from Dapple. “You are a poet, you have no experience with injured wild animals. That was completely inconsiderate of you.” He said honestly.

Dapple thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, he’s actually got a point. Taking in a wild animal to take care of yourself with no experience was a little dangerous.”

”She’s likely going to die now, because of me.” Onyx said, laying on her belly, “I guess I got so wrapped up in her playful and motherly antics that I got too greedy to let her go…”

“Don’t say that!” Exclaimed Dapple as he hurried forward, putting a hoof on her shoulder. He sighed as he thought about what to say. “We are going to get her home safe. We have nothing to worry about, Tufty will get home safely.” He said, with doubt himself, but trying for her sake. “I it’s hard, but just think optimistically, for once!” He exclaimed and sighed, looking at Tufty. “For her, okay?”

Onyx looked at him sadly, It was also too late to take her to Hitch, Bounty was hunting them down and was sure to find them. Besides, they had already traveled too far in the other direction, in the direction of the lion’s lands, this was in their hooves now. “I’ll try.” She sighed, feeling like she’d mess it all up.

“Does she feel like a mother to you?” Asked Jasper after a long pause. “Well, about eight years ago your mother did-“

”Jasper.” Dapple hissed, cringing as he looked at Onyx, who clearly did not want to be reminded of that. Tufty made a noise as she worriedly looked at Onyx, knowing she was still a young mare, not any older than eighteen or nineteen. She would have lost her mother when she was still a cub- or a foal- in her case. She pushed her down with her paws just seconds before a poem started and licked her, acting like a mother lion to try and comfort a cub, she curled herself around her and allowed her to lay down against her.

“I really wanted to say that poem but… We’ll see if we can get you home.” She said, patting Tufty before she rested her head on top of hers. “If something doesn’t go wrong, like usual.”

”Onyx.” Dapple gasped, “C’mon, like i said, at least try to be a little positive, you know, for her sake?”

Onyx gazed at him and back at Tufty, who looked homesick and just as worried as she was. “I’ll try… But that’s not really my thing. Besides, I really feel something is going to happen.”

”We will succeed in this, Onyx…” Dapple said, putting a hoof on her. “I promise.”

”Can you two be quiet, I’m trying to sleep.” Jasper yawned.

“Yeah.” Dapple yawned. “We have a big trip in the morning, we better rest up.” She said, trying to get comfortable against a log, Jasper doing the same against a rock.

“Hard to sleep out here.” He grunted and mumbled. “Well, good night I guess.”

“Goodnight Jaspie…”

The group continued their journey, walking through meadows, though rivers and past mountains. Or so that’s how it felt. But they knew they were walking further from their home and towards the vast savannah. It was starting to get rather hot as they ventured across the land. Tufty didn’t mind the heat, but Jasper and Onyx sure were, the former having an exhausted expression looking like he was about the faint, while Onyx just had her monotone expression, but with ears back as she ventured forwards. “Almost there.” She tried to assure herself with a raspy voice, taking Dapple’s advice in trying to think positive. It was hard to believe that they could succeed, but she needed to keep going and not give up. “I can do… this.” She panted a bit as she walked forward, trying to keep up with the others. Concerned, Tufty gave her one big lick in the side of the face, making her groan slightly. Her occasional roaring was loud enough.

”Surely we are close!” Dapple exclaimed, seemingly already had enough of the hot sun beating down on him. After a long walk they eventually found themselves stopping under a tree near a large lake.

”We walked for miles, still no sign of a lion.” Dapple groaned as Tufty let out a sad roar as she came out the water. All three ponies holding their hooves out when she shook herself.

“Ugh!” Dapple groaned, “Oh, that’s actually kind of refreshing.” He said watching Onyx go down to the water, only going hoof-deep as she looked down into the murky water, she was quenched, but wasn’t a fan of drinking water from such a source, she walked along the edge of the water for a little bit, walking along a narrower part of the river. deciding whether to drink it or not, stopping in her tracks when she heard some humming on the other side, looking up and seeing a young zebra mare, humming to herself. Her black stripes reaching her belly.

”Hey…”

”nyati?”

Onyx was puzzled by what the Zebra said, seems she didn’t speak ponish? Maybe she should ask anyway, she might have a shot at it. “We are like, looking for a lion pride. You’ve seen any around these parts?”

“wewe ni nani?”

”Uh… What?” Onyx asked, “I am not from this land…” She said, noticing she was speaking a language she wasn’t aware of, which shouldn’t have surprised her.

”nyati? wewe ni tofauti sana na mimi!” The zebra spoke then paused

”I wish I understood what you speak…” Onyx sighed, knowing she wouldn’t be getting any help from her.

“Laiti ningeelewa unachosema.” The zebra said again, ears drooping as she gazed at Onyx.

”II better head back.” Onyx said, cocking her head, noticing the Zebra pick up her boat with a gasp as she looked into the water nearby.

“kiboko!” The zebra said after a gasp as she grabbed her toy boat and ran off after seeing some ripples in the water, Onyx looking on, not seeing anything , but stepping back cautiously. Not knowing what a kiboko was, which was soon revealed when a hippo charged at her from the water, giving her no time to dodge as she slammed right into her, smashing her to the ground.

Onyx trudged back to the tree, Dapple watching on with concern, seeing mud on her coat and seeing her expression. She slumped on the ground, Tufty running to her side and immediately grooming her like a mother to a cub, Onyx not fighting back the slightest.

“I just wanted some water to quench my thirst

While i was under the hot sun’s burst

But when I went by the water, I saw local

But only in her own language she was able to vocal

My walk ended with a hippo charging at me headfirst

Now i feel like a pile of dirt”

Jasper rolled his eyes at Onyx’s poetry while Dapple reached into a bag. “Oh, I managed to fill a few bottles with fresh water emerging from some rocks nearby.” He said passing her one when Tufty was finished her grooming, she opened it quickly and glutzed it down quickly. After a big drink she put the bottle down and rested up against her, noticing her fur was damp, she must have been in the water. Maybe she should have taken a dip, too, must be refreshing.

Jasper sighed. “I know what you said before, Dapper, but I just wish we could go home…”

”Oh, don’t you start!” Dapple scolded Jasper before looking at Onyx, who looked slightly puzzled and exhausted.

“I wonder how you managed to get to Bridlewood from such long distance…”

Tufty looked guilty for a few seconds as she gazed at Onyx and back into the distance. She couldn’t talk now, but there was a reason why she did before. A wish came true, she only wished she could talk ponish so somepony could help her get home, not talk forever. She couldn’t tell Onyx this anymore as she had lost the ability, wasn’t important for them to know, anyway. Dapple looked out in the distance as he got up, “Well, we better head back on our adventure.” He said. Tufty got up quickly, sending Onyx smacking the ground before she got up, watching as she followed the river’s path.

”Guess she knows the way?” Asked Jasper, the other two unicorns watching on before they all followed behind her.

“Tufty?” Dapple whimpered as the hot sun beat on his coat, the ground was grassier now, but it was still rather warm. The river seemed like it had gone in forever, he lifted his head and looked around puzzled, to see the lack of lion.

“Where’d Tufty go?”

”Over there.” Onyx said, pointing at a waterhole. Tufty’s ears were sown as she roared loudly between two trees, as if she were calling for someone. Maybe for her pride, which didn’t come.

”Where could they be?” Wondered Dapple. Hoping they were okay. Onyx went into the water, feeling it up against her coat, getting the refreshing coolness, joining Tufty’s side as they she gazed at her with concern.

“Do you remember the last place you saw them?” She asked.

Tufty looked as if she had realised something s she looked into the distance, after a loud roar, she started running again, making a big splash as she leaped, the other unicorns giving chase until she stopped at a large cliff leading into a ravine, Dapple gulped with fear as he looked straight down, it was a long way down. Was her family down there? They’d be dead for sure, hitting the water from this high up would be painful. “Imagine falling down there.” Jasper commented, sending a shiver down Dapple’s spine.

“Y-yeah. Wouldn’t want that…” He commented, backing up as the height started to make him a little dizzy. How were pegasi not scared of such heights!? Aren’t they scared of falling, somehow? Tufty let out a loud, pained roar, it was obvious her throat was sore now. “They have to be out here somewhere!”

”Maybe they are not…” Onyx sighed, kicking a pebble down the cliff and watching it fall, and vanish from sight. Wondering what exactly happened, the most likely scenario was somepony must have captured and tried to take her away. Maybe her family was killed somehow?

“Onyx!” Shouted Dapple. “Keep your head up, they have to be! She needs to find them!” He exclaimed, sounding like he had a bit of doubt in it himself.

Everyone looked around, waiting for a sign that her family was out there somewhere. They needed this lone lion to find her family, or else this trip would have been for nothing. She couldn’t exactly take her back home, unless they managed to get her somewhere safe before Bounty found them. Somewhere that Bounty could not get her. Hope seemed lost when minutes of silence went past.

”Lions!?” Dapple cried out, hoping his shout would get a response. “Come out! It’s just Tufty!”

“That’s not gonna work, Dapple…” Onyx sighed, sitting down, up against a boulder near the edge of the cliff, looking as Tufty approached her, nudging her. “How do we know she didn’t flee from something that killed the rest of her family?” She suggested.

”Onyx!” Dapple exclaimed then sighed, knowing that would wouldn’t be impossible. Maybe Bounty was what she fled from, maybe he got the rest of her family, would explain how she ended up where she did. “That can’t be true!” He exclaimed.

”Lions, we could you be at this time?

She is calling, for you are her pride

Out in the heat, will you please come out

Tufty is roaring, the one you are without…

She just wants her family back, to see you again

After all, she misses her cubs in the den

She just once again wants to be free, free, free

So where could you possible be, be be>?”

Dapple and Jasper gazed a bit puzzled at Onyx’s poem but then they both. gasped and Tufty’s ears perked up at a distant roar, she jumped up, looking excited and roared once more, the loudest she ever head. Everyone looked down in the distance she was staring in. waiting what was to come, eventually they saw it. The pride!

”It’s them! It’s her family!” Dapple cried out, seeing the lead male and two cubs run towards Tufty. The male licking her lovingly as the cubs tackled and climbed on her, rubbing against her. Onyx watched on with a sad smile, this was finally it, was it? The three unicorns watched on, Dapple speaking again. “See, Onyx? Told you we’d be able to do it.”

”Yeah… We did it.” She said with slight sadness, her ears perked back, keeping in her tears. Looking a bit sad at what she was saying, but it was sort of happy, too. Seeing Tufty reunited, playing with her cubs, back with her family. Finally free, where she belonged, with her family. Just like how she wanted her to end up when she first found her, here. It felt ages since they had met, even if it was only roughly two months. She smiled a bit when Tufty walked over to her and gave her a lick, she tried to not seem sad when she spoke. This was a happy moment for her, not a sad one, so she wanted yo be supporting. ”Hey Tufty, I’m so happy for you… After all this time, you finally get to go home.” She said, petting her one last time, feeling the soft, strong fur, Tufty purred as she got petted, seeming happy about going home, finally reunited with her kind, how it should be, she sadly took her hoof off, taking the bandanna with her, knowing she didn’t want it anymore. She sadly looked down at it and back up at her, knowing this would be the last time she would ever see her. This was it, the big goodbye, she never wanted it to happen, but it was happening and it had to happen. “I’ll never forget you, Tufty.” She said sadly as she muzzled her one last time before she went back to the pride, the whole lot of them seeming relived and grateful having one last look at her before greeting and affectionately interacting with each other. Jasper getting up after nervously hiding behind Dapple, the latter looking rather sad, but happy at the same time before looking at his friend to see how she was coping. ”Goodbye, Tufty.” Onyx softy said as she waved, watching the pride head into the distance, disappearing. Feeling the bittersweet moment, but now she was where she belonged. Now it was time for her and the other two to get back to where they belonged, it was going to be a long journey. She let out a sigh as she glanced out into the distance and started to walk away from her place, only taking two steps just before she froze at a familiar voice.

“Where are they?” Asked Bounty as he looked around. Onyx’s eyes widening as she looked at him, Dapple and Jasper looking just as concerned, Bounty had found them. The lions were gone, thankfully, but now they had Bounty to deal with. Everyone was nervous at what to do next.

”None of your business!” Shouted Dapple, gasping as soon as he realised Agate had a crossbow with him, ready to shoot. His ears dropped at he looked at the dangerous weapon, wondering what he would do with it, he wouldn’t actually shoot them, would he? He was a jerk, sure, but this was too far!

“They’re gone, because of some pests- Oh well… Only one less unicorn to deal with. Aim it at the one the lion liked the most.” Said Bounty as Agate pointed his crossbow at Onyx, who gasped, frozen in fear. All around her was cliff, or a large boulder, both jerks were close enough she only had a small opening. Her mouth opening wide when she looked on.

“Agate, c’mon, mate! Think about this.” Dapple begged, heart racing.

Her muttered as he adjusted the crossbow at her.. “I had one job and you made me fail, die!” She looked on, with slight fear. Looking to the large boulder to the right of her with Bounty and Agate standing right near it and the small opening to the left.

”A-Agate, don’t shoot!” Dapple exclaimed, ‘W-We can talking about this!”

“You don’t need to do this.”

”Yes I do. Besides, Onyx. I always beat you, you have no chance.” He chuckled. “I win again, do you finally get it?” He asked as Onyx took a step back, the ledge crumbling, making her heart skip a beat as she looked at him. Wondering on her next move, if she were to run, he would shoot her for sure.

Goodbye, Tufty

Author's Note

Some (optional) music

Goodbye, Tufty

“Shoot!” Demanded Bounty with a smirk as Agate let go of the trigger, sending the arrow towards its target. It all was like it happened in slow motion as the arrow shot across the air, zooming towards Onyx who knew this was the end of her. She closed her eyes, ducking at she winced for impact, the arrow making a straight beeline towards her, hoping that’d miss. She braced for the the impact that never came, her eyes snapping open as at the sound of a familiar roar before, getting a glance of Tufty giving her a worried look just before the arrow pierced her throat, her blood went cold as soon Tufty hit the ground, her heart skipped a beat as she stared in disbelief. Her eyes were wide open as her heart raced, trying to process what had just happened.

”Tufty,” She whispered, seeing her not move as she stood there in shock, Dapple and Jasper were similar, standing nearby, but it was like they weren’t even there as she focused on the view before her, the growing puddle of blood. “T-tufty.”The pride not far behind, all of them, minus the male and the cubs slowly walked towards Bounty, anger in their faces.

”Stay back.” Bounty warned before one of them leapt him, missing. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him Agate having ducked bwhind a nearby rock the second he saw them running from the distance, cowering in fear, only little regret in shooting that arrow. Jasper and Dapple watching in with fear, the former behind the latter as they watched the pride chase Bounty who tried to fight back, only to end up running for the hills. the male leader growling a bit as he looked towards Tufty, Onyx was trying her hardest to find any side of life in her, heart racing as she held back tears, not believing what was happening. She lightly pushed Tufty’s withers and looked at her face, the lifeless eyes staring right at her. She felt sick to the stomach as she spoke, her voice cracking.

“Tufty, please, get up.” She said softly, her heart racing, still holding back tears, stomach hurting as the lions came close, two cubs hiding behind the male as he glanced on. Onyx with both forelegs on Tufty as the puddle of blood under her wound grew, the arrow completely imbedded, her heart beat gone. There was nothing they could do, why did she do this, she was finally home? “Tufty… I-I said I’d take you back to your family, y-you gotta get up” She whimpered as she rested her head against her, burying her muzzle in her fur. “Tufty.” Her voice cracked, “D-dapple promised we’d suceed, please get up!”

“Onyx?” Dapple whispered, about to cry himself. He looked on with concern for his friend. The cubs stayed put while the male lion nuzzled Tufty, licking her head and nudging her, seemingly checking if she was dead or alive. Onyx could see the pain in his eyes as he came close, she glanced at him, seeing the pain in his body language, this was Tufty’s family, she had cubs. the two cubs hugged onto each other, her whole family was hurting, Onyx felt even worse than she did as she watched them. These cubs had just lost their mother all because of her.

“I-I’m sorry… I just wanted to get her home… But-” She said, ears flat as she looked down at the dead lion. She was so close, yet so far, she felt like an absolute failure, she fekt close to crying as she stared down at the wound. She didn’t want to leave her alone, she didn’t want to say goodbye just yet, she never knew it’d hurt so much, but it was too hard for her to keep her cool. She shakingly took her hooves off the cold body, warmth having faded, feeling like a murderer as she stepped back, allowing Tufty’s loved ones to have some time with her. She stared down at her, holding back tears, she broke a family… There was nothing she could do now, she did this. This shouldn’t have happened, she felt a little angry at Agate, but the arrow would have missed for sure if she wasn’t surrounded by cliff! Or if she used her magic to stop him in the first place, but no, for the first time in ages she was frozen in fear, too scared to do anything. It costed the life of a mother to some innocent cubs. “I’m sorry, Tufty…” She said, looking down, ears flat, “I-I’m sorry…” She said, heart aching, this didn’t have to happen, she shouldn’t have needed to jump in to save her. It was no bad coincidence she was standing near the cliff when Agate pointed the arrow, it was not a coincidence at all. It was all her.

”Onyx?” Said Dapple softly as she walked backed towards him and Jasper. They both were hurting for her, tears were in his eyes, seeing her reaction, which was not helped by Agate’s remark when he came out from the rock.

“Bet you feel so bad now!” Agate exclaimed, feeling no shame. His words making Onyx cringe in response as she felt more ashamed, he was seemingly just wanting to pour more salt in the wound. Or boast on his suppoused victory. “Guess it was all for nothing afterall. You saved the lion from death only for her to die, good job!”

”Clam it, Agate!” Shouted Dapple as he put a hoof on Onyx as she started to shake slightly, staring into the distance, trying to process everything.

”But look! If she let her free earlier, then this wouldn’t have happened!”

”Can you blame her, you’re the one that shot her!” Dapple argued. “She did all she could!”

Onyx responded softly. “N-No… He’s right.” She said as she started walking.

“Onny?” Dapple whispered, his ears down. “C’mon, we tried…”

”Ox, Where are you going?” Jasper asked before wiping some tears from his own eyes, “I think I can feel how down in the dumps you are.”

”Guess my sparkle’s dead, too?” She suggested before sniffling. “Also… Don’t call me Ox…”

“Where are you going?” Dapple asked, raising a hoof as she dragged hers across the ground.

“Going… Home… I shoulda seen this coming... I-” Her voice cracked.

Dapple felt horrible himself, he had a pit in his stomach as he looked back, sadly at the mourning lions, waving goodbye to the lion family. Looking back to see a certain unicorn missing, “Onyx?” He whispered, looking around worriedly before looking at Jasper. “Where’d she go?” He asked Jasper shrugged, not having paid any attention. He worriedly looked around him, for any sign of her before his ears perked up and pointed ahead at a noise coming from a shrub near the water. Both of their ears were drooping as they approached, Jasper stopping in place as Dapple peeked around the shrub, seeing her laying on her belly, muzzle in forehooves. It was clear she was trying to not cry, seemingly unaware of him as she sat down besides her. Seeing her like this hurt him, it was usually him that needed the comfort, now it was his turn to give it. “I suppouse a lot has happened, hasn’t it?” He paused, “You took in a lion, who you saved and got a bit selfish when she reminded you of your lost mother. You don’t have much of a memory of your parents do you?” He asked with concern.

“N-no. But now her cubs are in the same situation as me.”

”Not exactly the same. They still have their father and weren’t left alone in the storm…” He said before gasping, realising all he was doing was making her feel worse, tears appeared in his eyes when she turned around facing away from him, burying her face in her hooves again, ignoring him, not wanting to talk to anypony at the moment “I mean- At least they still got to see their mother once more?” He suggested before putting a hoof on her rump, only for her to get up and walk a few steps out of his reach. “On? Onny? Oxide?” He said, hoping for any response. “How are you feeling?”

“I just want to crawl into a hole and die…”

”Oh come on. Do you really think Tufty would want you to be this way? She saved your life, do you really want her actions to go in vain?” He asked, noting her ears perk up, knowing he had the point. But she didn’t have the motivation to feel happy right now, if she had done sometbing instead of stand there, perhaps she’d be around. There was a long moment of silent as Dapple thought on his next words. “Sure, you’ve made a few bad choices, but everypony does that now again. I’m sure Tufty’s glad she got to see her family again, and that you are alive, even if it costed her life.” He thought about his next words. “I guess she payed you back, you saved hers so she saved yours?”

”I guess?” She said before staying quiet, Dapple deciding to leave her be for a bit. Hoping for her to perk up, sure she always seemed a bit sad most the time, also unicorns were constantly down in the dumps before magic returned. But still, seeing her like this really made him feel bad, he felt guilty making her worse, that was not what he wanted. Soon enough the unicorns saw a familiar object in the sky, the Marestream, landing not far in front of them, Izzy jumping excitedly out the door as it opened, with a welcoming expression with slight relief, unaware of Onyx’s state, with the others not noticing anything different as she got up. Head down as she dragged her hooves against the ground. “There you guys are!” She exclaimed as Dapple smiled, “Any of ypu excited for this free flight back home?”

“I guess…” Jasper shrugged, not seemingly excited, while Dapple put on a slight smile.

”I guess that would be nice after what we’ve been through, thanks, Izzy.” He spoke before boarding after Jasper, sadly watching Onyx trudge on board and flop on the couch while the door closed, zoning out as Izzy asked countless questions, just staring out the window. Watching as they got higher and higher into the clouds, Tufty getting further and further away… She had a heavy feeling in her gut, this was not how she wanted to say goodbye to her, she thought it’d be a bittersweet scene of her running with her family into the distance, reunited. But of course, it wasn’t, it was just anotjer failure she’d be reminded of forever.

“H-Hey, is Onyx, okay?” Hitch asked, noticing her behaviour now.

“Not really…” Dapple sighed, ready to tell the story. Unaware of Onyx stuffing a cushion over her ears, not wanting to hear it again… She was already there when it happened, she didn’t need to relive it. Not now, anyway.

”You’re back!” Alphabittle exclaimed, seeing Onyx and Dapple enter the tearoom the next morning, they both decided to rest at home after yesterday afternoon. “Must have been hard to do it, but at least she’s back with her family?”

“No.” Onyx looked up at him and then to the ground, feeling a mix of shock, sadness and anger. Not wanting to talk about it, but annoyed at his reaction, he seemed too happy about it, way too happy. Even if he didn’t know what really happened out there. ”I-I’m a failire.”

“What?” He asked, his small smile fading as Onyx went to the stage to do her new poem she made last night.

”Agate shot Tufty!” Dapple cried, noticing her pause and glance back when he blurted that out. He agreed, he should have worded it better. But Alphabittle seemed shocked at what happened.

”He did what!?” He exclaimed, knowing said unicorn was a jerk, but not expecting that!

”We are just a bunch of washed up ponies… I should have told Hitch…” She said before heading on stage to some poetry, which she missed, having not have done it for a while. Dapple smiled slightly, seeing her get up and do something she loves doing, he was a little worried she wouldn’t have, well, not so soon, anyway.

“When you meet a hunted lion, in a trap

Around her leg, the rope was in a wrap

Must have been the terrible suprise

Seeing a pitiful state, you can’t help but empathise

But when you set her free with injury

Of course you’d have to worry about her gingerly

But when she came back to me

The feeling of comfort made me not want to set her free

But there was a pony hunting for her bounty

I knewi had to help her to get home to safety

But I should have known I was’nt good enough for the quest

No matter how much I tried, I had failed the test

I had sucessfully saved her from a certain death

Only to eventually be the reason why she took her last breath

Arrow meeting the throat is not a pretty sight

During the whole journey I prepared to do was what was right…” After her poem, she looked at the audience.

Agate, who managed to had just gotten home by himself as the sun rose, ran forward towards the stage with a grin. “Well, you should feel bad!” He exclaimed, “You didn’t save her, you simply delayed her death to a more painful one!” He added, “If you had informed Hitch imstead of keeping her, then she’d still be alive! Think about that, emo!”

”Agate!” Exclaimed Dapple, knowing he had a point but was still not being very nice about it.

“I know…” Onyx said sadly and softly. “I know…”

“Maybe I know why you do such downtrodden and weird poetry!” Agate exclaimed. “You are just whining and disguising it!” He exclaimed before luaghing. “Don’t pretend that it’s not your fault, fraud.” He scoffed before heading to the door, he then looked back at her bitterly. “Maybe there’s a reason why your parents abandoned you!” He added before leaving, the words hurting, Onyx, who felt her heart just shattered. Was she really the reason? That was something she always wondered, but seeing it come from somepony’s mouth hurt whenever it happened. But she remained only standing there in silence, a monotone expression on her face and ears flat. She simply looked at the crowd and back at Dapple who looked concerned, all the other unicorns started chatting amongst themselves as she stood there, feeling numb and slightly ashamed of herself as thought rushed through her mind, thinking about what happened. It was too hard to not think about it, it was really was her fault Tufty was killed, wasn’t it?

That night she just laid in her bed, looking up at the ceiling for a few moments before rolling onto her side, the vision of Tufty’s corspe entered her mind everytime she closed her eyes, her gut ached as she remembered her, flashbacks entering her mind. Her warm body on the bed, or the licking… She even missed the occasional mess she made in the kitchen, it hurt to think about it. She only had her around for a few months, but it felt empty and lonely without her, like something was missing. She regret helping Tufty, she would be still alive if she didn’t try to help, would she? Now her cubs were without a mother, like her, and it was all her fault. These thoughts entered her mind as she looked at the ceiling, questioning on what could have happened, until she paused and rolled over, trying her best to go to sleep.

The next morning. Onyx gazed at a picture of her own mother, one of the only photos of her she had. Thinking about a lot of things, did she really mean to go missing? Her gut ached as she put it down, wondering why she left all those years ago, where was she now? Trying to take her mind off it, Onyx went to the bathroom, going to the sink and just splashing water on her face to try and get herself to wake up, dampening her mane, slowly looking up at the mirror, noticing dark marks under her eyes. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, she was too guilty over what happened to Tufty, even if it was two days ago. She hoped those cubs and their dad were alright without her. They must be so heartbroken… She felt like she was about to cry, but no tears came. Even when she saw the remains of when Tufty was here, like a scratch on a wall, the broken door and lion fur sticking to things… She was snapped out her thoughts when she heard a loud knocking on the door downstairs. Grabbing her towel, she wiped her face with it so she wasn’t dripping. “Coming.” She groaned, muffled by the towel.

”Onyx, you in there?” A voice cried as she went to the door, slowly opening it to see Izzy, holding a wrapped box. Dapple was with her, both their faces turned to concern.

”You okay, you look as if you’ve seena ghost.” Dapple said.

”O-Oh. I’m fine. Just a dream.”

”I thought scary dreams didn’t scare you?” Izzy said cocking her head.

“Nevermind. Don’t worry about it.” She shook her head. “What’s up?”

Both of them gazed worriedly at her before looking at the box. ”I don’t like seeing my friends sad, so I decided to make you this!” She said, pasinng the box to her. She gently held it in her hooves.

“Uh, thanks?” She shrugged, opening the box with her magic and pausing at what she saw. A hoofmade lion plush, the eyes were buttons and the material was soft. The lion almost reminded her of Tufty, did Izzy make it yesterday, how’d she know and do it so fast?

“I know it won’t replace the friend you lost…” Izzy explained, “But does it ease the pain at least a little?”

Dapple gave her a worried expression. “C’mon, Onyx… Do you think Tufty would want you to be so down about this?”

Dapple had a point. There was a moment of thought as Onyx gazed at it, it did not replace Tufty, but she wasn’t sure if it eased the pain, she just felt a little numb. But Izzy knew she was depressed over what happened, and went out of her way to make something for her, she didn’t have to do it. She put on a slight smile, deciding to put the plush in a safe spot, “Thanks, Izzy.” She said softly, knowing the pain wouldn’t be going away for a long time… But feeling a little better now, Tufty wouldn’t want her to be sad about it forever, after all.