After limping away from Zecora’s hut, you weighed your options. Could Zecora be a trustworthy ally? Maybe. But maybe’s weren’t good enough, you needed an ‘absolutely.’ Until you had that assurance, you were on you own. The pony inquisition was still hot on your trail and you needed a place to hide and rest. So, you ventured deeper into the forest, just deep enough to deter your pursuers. There you would rest and come up with a survival plan.

You ended up finding a brush to take cover in. You crawled into the pile of sticks and leaves and laid down on your back. And there you waited for a plan to come to your mind. Minutes turned to hours, but nothing came. You don’t have a plan. How could you? You were completely out of your depth here. Trapped in a strange world, all alone with no way home. What was your goal here? Just to survive day in and day out? You need something better than that. What was ideal for you? You don’t just want to survive, you want to live.

The ponies live. They’ve got a thriving society where practically everyone is happy. You had once hoped to be a part of that society and find your place in their practical utopia. Now though, you knew that was impossible. It wasn’t meant to be.

Maybe there was somewhere else you could go, somewhere far away from that accursed town. Maybe there’s a place where you can belong, find a community to be a part of and live out the rest of your days in peace. It’s a big maybe, and you might end up dying before you make it there, but it’s worth a try isn’t it? The only other option is to stay in this forest and spend the rest of your days scavenging.

Well, it’s more of a goal than a plan, but you decide that the way forward is for you to get as far away from Ponyville as possible. Maybe there’s a pony settlement that could harbor you, maybe there’s a society comprised of other weird creatures that would accept you. You had a vague awareness that other sapient species occupied the world, but aside from Spike (and now Zecora) you only had experience with the ponies of Ponyville.

Finding such a settlement would be a trek. Your ankle was better thanks to whatever Zecora had treated it with, and it was likely to heal quicker than normal if you didn’t re-injure it. But you’d need supplies, food, water and possibly a weapon or two.

Now you reached a dead end. Where would you acquire those supplies? Perhaps you could return to Zecora’s hut and ask her if she had anything to spare. No, that wouldn’t do. Your instincts protested against it. You’d be putting yourself at her mercy once again. What if she decided not to let you go this time? No, you’d need to acquire supplies another way….

There’s plenty to be found in Ponyville…. Ponyville, you must be truly desperate to consider returning there. But if you were able to sneak into the outskirts at night, when everyone was asleep, you might be able to swipe a few of the things you needed and then book it. If you were caught you’d never be able to outrun your pursuers. Stealth was your only option, even if you were ill equipped for it to say the least. But you didn’t have an abundance of options. Desperate times. But what would you do if you were caught? You were NOT going to let them take you alive. If push came to shove…you’d need a way out.

You decide you need to think this all through, and also rest. You didn’t know what time it was exactly but it looked to be at least three or four o’clock based on the sky. And despite being passed out for who knows how long, you were still feeling pretty tired. Perhaps a nap would help you sort this all out. Rest and recuperate, let your mind reset and give your ankle time to heal. If you went to sleep now, you’d hopefully wake up later in the night, when everyone else is asleep.

And so you close your eyes and drift into a light sleep.

“Well?” Princess Twilight Sparkle stood in front of her friends, who had gathered before the entrance to her castle.

“I asked my animal friends for help, but I haven’t heard anything from them yet,” stated Fluttershy.

“I’m afraid neither Pinkie nor I were able to locate the human either,” confessed Rarity. Twilight let out an anxious sigh before turning her attention to Rainbow and Applejack.

“What about you, did you two find any leads?”

“Well we thought we did, but we ended up comin’ up short,” admitted Applejack.

“What kind of lead?” questioned Twilight.

“Well Zecora said she saw em, so we knew the general area they went off in, but couldn’t actually find them. I dunno, maybe their hiding or something,” explained Rainbow. Twilight let out a frustrated groan. Her mane was fraying at the edges as she spent several hours stressing about the situation. She cast a worried look to the Everfree forest. Night was approaching fast. That was the time when all of the predators of the forest would be most active. Picking up on the cause of her friends distress, Fluttershy approached her and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry Twilight, my animal friends spread the word. If they see anything happen, they’ll let me know right away!”

“But that might not be enough! If the human’s found by a pack of Timberwolves or a Manticore and one of us can’t get there in time, then they’ll be…they could be….”

“We did all we could for today Twilight. I don’t know about y’all but I’ll be restartin’ the search first thing in the morning at the crack o’ dawn!” asserted Applejack.

“And my animal friends will let me know as soon as they see them,” assured Fluttershy.

“Yep! And my Pinkie sense hasn’t gone off yet, so they can’t be in too much trouble!” Twilight pondered the situation before consigning with a nod. An earlier version of herself wouldn’t be able to think straight with all this anxiety, but her time in Ponyville had taught her how to temper her more neurotic impulses. Still the situation didn’t sit right with her.

“Ok. I’ll see you girls in the morning.” And with that, the group of friends dispersed to their homes, leaving the Princess of Friendship to cast one more look of concern towards the Everfree forest as the sun dipped below the horizon. She then turned and entered her palace hoping for the best.

Author's Note

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