Ponies smiled and waved as I made my way through town. I was glad. Just one more step towards being kinda normal. I was almost to the boutique when Twilight spotted me and waved me down.

"John! Its good to see you out and- What did you do to your hair?" I laughed.

"Its nice to see you too, Twilight. I was out and around town and found out that a one, Miss Lyra runs a barbershop, so I figured I'd take a little off the top. What do you think?" She shook her head.

"You look... Different." My smile faded slightly.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Twilight shrugged.

"I don't know, you can definitely see a lot more of your face. Where did that scar come from?"

I knew what she was talking about. I had a long scar across one cheek that almost completely hid inside one of the smile lines. With a beard, it was invisible. When I smiled, it was almost invisible. Now, it was obvious.

"I got bit by a dog a long time ago. Seriously, what do you think?" She looked at me thoughtfully.

"You look younger. I mean, I don't really know what humans look like other than you, but that's what I would guess." Better than nothing. "Hey, not meaning to change the subject, but Rarity has something to show you."

Oh goody.

I nodded and waved goodbye as I went to Rarity's. I wasn't as much apprehensive about go- Okay, I was apprehensive. I was going into the home of a mare that was smitten with me. She's also wanting to show me something. Wonderful. That's all you need, John... Open the door and have her standing there in some kind of swanky pony lingerie... Yeah. My mind went there.

I shook my head a few times to get the image out of my mind before opening the door to the boutique. The bell announced my arrival to the shop.

"I'll be with you in a mooooooomeeeent!" A sing song voice called from the back.

Her voice.

I swallowed back my trepidation and smiled.

"No rush, darlin'. I'm waiting patiently."

I heard something fall over in the next room, then fast hoofsteps.

"John? John, is that you?" she rounded the corner to see me with my arms crossed leaning against a wall. I smiled at her combined look of surprise and glee. In the back of my head, the little voice was chattering away.

You silly bastard. How could you miss this? Just look at her, she's legitimately excited that you're here!

She ran forward and threw her hooves around my shoulders in a hug.

"Oh John! You really must warn me when you're about to disappear like that!"

"Aww, you do care." She pulled away and looked up, noticing my face.

"You really changed yourself. I like it." Something told me that if I looked like Grizzly Adams for the rest of my life, she would like it. Grinning and shaking her head, she took my hand and led me towards the next room.

"I HAVE to show you something. You'll LOVE it, I just know!" Pulling me through the doorway, she paused a moment to get something. A length of cloth glowed blue and hovered over to us, securely tying itself around my head and covering my eyes.

"Whoa whoa whoa, easy there, chica... I better not pull this off to find myself locked up in a cage as your pet." She hit my arm lightly.

"Oh nooooo... You've already discerned my evil plan!" I laughed. Smartass.

She guided me through God only knows how many rooms before we got to the destination. I could see lights turning off through the fabric over my eyes.

"Okay," she finally said, "Are you ready?" I smiled and nodded.

"BEHOLD! My original creation... I've been slaving over this for countless hours, getting it just so!" The cloth fell from my eyes and in the center of the room, a lone spotlight fell upon... The suit displayed on a human-shaped manikin, no doubt made by Rarity herself.

"Rarity... This is... Wow!" she sat back and watched my reaction with pride in her eyes and satisfaction in her smile as I moved to see the outfit up close. It looked like something I could find on Earth. I was thankful that the styles were somehow practically identical.

This particular outfit was a full black, three piece suit. A three button jacket sat over a vest and a plain white silk shirt. Upon closer inspection, the French cuffs were held with a pair of simple but amazingly handsome silver and onyx cufflinks. The pants were neatly creased down the leg to a pair of shoes that looked like they might have Armani written on the sole. All of it professionally crafted and if it wasn't perfect, it was damn close. To bring the whole thing together, a solid, royal purple tie laid down the center of the breast of the suit. It wasn't close. It WAS perfect. Only one thing bothered me about the whole thing.

"Hey Rarity?"

"Hmmm?"

"Is this... cashmere?"

"Why yes it is, good eye!" I frowned.

"So here's my other question: If leather is illegal, why can you have goat hair?" She laughed aloud.

"John, the difference is some poor cow had to die to make your boots. The goats that provided the wool for this suit were in fact paid handsomely. Trust me." I smiled at her and put an arm around her neck.

"Darlin'... Thank you." She blushed.

"Oh don't thank me yet. Put it on! Let's see-" she stopped and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Urgh! My goodness, what have you been doing all day?! You smell like... like... like a locker room!" I frowned.

"Well, I did work all day. Sorry I didn't have time to shower before I came through." She pushed me out of the room and down a hallway.

"You can't just put the thing on NOW, you'll ruin the fabric! Go upstairs, third door on your left. For goodness sake, take a SHOWER! Leave the door unlocked and I'll bring you a towel."

It was useless to protest. After sniffing under my arm, I had to agree. Shit, I couldn't believe Lyra didn't say anything while I was there in the barber chair. I got into the bathroom and looked around me.

Decadence wasn't exactly the word I would use to describe it, but it was damn close. A large tub sat on the floor over on the far side of the room with a large, chrome showerhead. A number of scented soaps and shampoos were lined up perfectly on a pair of golden shelves. The sink and medicine cabinet were probably the most simple of the fixtures in the bathroom, though they were still mostly made from silver and marble. I pulled open the shower curtain and turned the knob marked 'H' in the bath. I couldn't help but think about how deep and long the tub was. Shit, I could swim in this thing.

Once the water had sufficiently warmed up, I pulled my clothes off and hopped inside. Damn, it felt good. The water fell across my shoulders perfectly, hitting my back with enough pressure and heat to release some of the tension that had been building. This mare was all about creature comforts. I heard the door open and I flinched. I could almost see a shape moving around through the shower curtain.

"Rarity? What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing!" She called. "Just brought you a towel! Are you finding everything alright?" I chucked a little to myself.

"I'm good, but if you'd still like to hop in and help, I'm sure there's room in here for two... This bathtub is huge!" I didn't hear anything at first, but I looked down in time to see the hot water dial glow blue and turn all the way up.

"OHHOTDAMNSHIT!OUCH!HOT!" It quickly turned back down and I heard her tittering laugh.

"Keep dreaming, loverboy!" I heard the door close behind her as she walked out. So fickle.

Making sure to wash everything off, I turned off the water and opened the curtain. I grabbed the large purple towel she'd left for me and started to- Where the hell were my clothes? Everything... Jeans, t-shirt, socks, everything was gone.

"Well shit." I muttered quietly. I dried off and tied the towel around my waist. Luckily, it covered all of the details. Carefully, I opened the door and looked out into the hallway.

"Rarity? Rarity, I need my clothes! Rarity!" I heard voices downstairs.

"Girls, what are you doing back here so soon?" I heard a familiar voice pip up.

"We were out all day trying to get cutie marks, but STILL NOTHING!" Another little voice was heard, this one was new.

"We're heading up to my room to get supplies. Apple Bloom says we should try out "tattooing", but we don't know how."

"Sweetie, WAIT!" Little hoofsteps started to get louder and louder as the fillies came upstairs.

"Wait? Why?"

Before I could retreat to the bathroom, three little fillies ran to the top of the stairs and froze in the hallway, wide eyed. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked happy to see me. The new one, a little filly with a white coat and a curly pink and purple mane, just looked confused.

"Why are you in my sister's house wearing nothing but a towel?" She said with a... Ok, I'll admit it, an adorable squeaky voice. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're... Rarity's little sister?" She nodded. "She never said anything bout you." I heard Rarity rushing up the stairs. The filly rolled her eyes and the other two giggled.

"Well all Rarity ever talks about anymore is YOU!"

"SWEETIE BELLE!" The little filly cast a devilish grin towards her big sister as she came to the top of the stairs.

"She's even DREAMED about you! I can hear her talking in her sleep at night." She tried imitating Rarity's voice. "Oh, John! Take me away and-" She never finished the sentence.

Muffled by a piece of cloth, she was carried away by an extremely red-faced Rarity.

"Sweetie Belle. Go to your room. Have fun. Play. Whatever you want. But WHATEVER you do, STAY THERE WITH YOUR FRIENDS!" Sweetie tried to say something else, but all that came out was 'mmmmfff! mmmf!'

"I'll take that as 'yes big sister! I promise! And if I don't, I won't have ice cream for a week!" The little filly looked terrified.

"MMMMMFFFFF!!!"

"Then stay there." Closing the bedroom door and turning slowly towards me, the mare revealed her embarrassment.

"I... I..." I smiled and shook my head.

"Ahh, younger siblings. Don't ya just love 'em?" She looked sheepish.

"Yes... well, you should try it sometime."

"Oh, I did." Rarity looked up and started down the hallway. I followed.

"You had a sibling?" I nodded.

"Yep... A younger brother."

"What's he like?" I laughed.

"He was about like Sweetie Belle. Except not nearly as adorable and he threw a lot more punches." Rarity rolled her eyes.

"Oh goodness, it couldn't have been that bad." I laughed again.

"Oh it was. Little jerk knocked me silly a time or two. I couldn't ever do anything back to him and he knew it, so he tended to throw his weight around."

"Well, why couldn't you do anything?" I rolled my eyes.

"Mostly because I was always the big brother. And I mean big. Two hundred and fifty pounds big. My mother woulda called the police if I beat the tar outta him, mostly because there wouldn't be much left." She sighed softly.

"You had an interesting family, I take it."

"Very."

She led me back into the room with the suited manikin. Magically removing it's clothes, (neat trick) she hung them neatly on hangers and brought out a privacy screen.

"Put it on... I HAVE to see how it looks." Five minutes later, I was fully clothed in the original work of Miss Rarity.

"Done yet, darling?" Ohhh yeah.

I stepped out from behind the screen. Unsurprisingly, the suit was done to perfection. She smiled happily as I came into view.

"What do you think? Turn for me, I need to see if there is anywhere I need to make adjustments." I fastened a button and stepped towards her, offering a short bow.

"Il est parfait, mademoiselle." She blushed.

"Oh, my little design? Pshaw."

"The greatest tailors in London's Savile Row couldn't do a better job, nor could they grace their customers with such stunning beauty." she giggled and reddened further.

"Flattery will get you nowhere... But if you insist, I shan't stop you!"

I laughed and straightened up.

"Rarity, its amazing. You're amazing. What do you think about it?" She paused.

"Well, the outfit itself is good... but not yet perfect. There are always minor details. You do wear it well, though. Quite the debonaire gentlecolt." I looked at it on myself a few seconds before continuing.

"I've got a question for you... Formal balls here... Aren't they strictly black-tie events?" She laughed and shook her head.

"Oh, heavens no. Here, there is much more room for personal expression. Why, could you imagine what a gala would look like if the colors were merely black and white? No variety! No spice!"

"That's what I wanted ta hear." She finally started to catch on.

"What do you mean?" She said, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Well, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to wear your creation to the Midsummer Night's Ball here in a couple months." her eyes doubled in size.

"Wha... wha... wha?"

"And it just wouldn't be right without the lovely Miss Rarity accompanying me... Right? I got the tickets; guests of the princesses themselves. What'dya think?"

Rarity sat on the floor, her mouth open and her eyes unfocused.

"I... I don't... I don't even..."

"You alright, darlin'?" She shook herself into the here and now.

"Yes, yes I'm fine... Oh my. The Midsummer Night's Ball. Personal guests of the princesses? I... Oh... OH MY! GIVE ME THAT SUIT! NOW! I HAVE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS!" I held out a hand.

"Rarity, the suit is amazing. What you need to do is focus. What will you be wearing?" She gasped.

"My goodness! I didn't even think... Oh my!" When she was sufficiently distracted, I snuck off towards the door. I didn't quite make it halfway across the floor when I was magically lifted up and sat down right back in front of her. She was bouncing excitedly in place.

"John, this is so exciting! I can't believe you would think to bring me! Just think: The two of us arriving at a Canterlot ball together! A night to remember at the very least! Thank you SO MUCH!" She stretched her neck out and kissed me on the cheek. Oooookay, it was time to leave.

"Rarity, you've been workin' so hard on all of this stuff... Besides, it would be my pleasure and honor to escort ya to the ball." She beamed. "Now, I don't mean to run off, but where are my clothes?" She moved off towards a random clothes rack, distracted again.

"Oh, umm... They should be dry out on the clothes line by now... Do be a dear and show yourself out, please? I must prepare!" I smiled as I opened the door to the outside. I don't care what anyone says, its nice to make someone so happy, but I was still treading a fine line. I just hoped I could end this as painless as possible when the time came. I grabbed my clothes and changed in the yard. It was getting late and I needed to get back to Fluttershy's so I could get some sleep before work tomorrow.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

My second month of work was just like I expected it to be. Hot and sweaty. We finished up with the entire south field after a couple of weeks and were now most of the way through the western slopes.

I had never seen a place this big. The Apples were sitting on what would have been a multi million dollar operation anywhere else. I couldn't understand why they weren't living large.

I also couldn't figure out why this thing with Rarity bothered me so much. I mean, I had gone with her around town and had fun or just talked. A lot of the time, we would go and meet up with another of Rarity's friends and just go out somewhere. I had fun, of course, but as things with her warmed further, my frustrations with myself increased.

I spent most of the days out on the Acres trying my best to figure it out myself. Big Mac was enjoying the silence at first, but he started to look worried whenever I would blank and stop talking.

We were in the middle of loading up another cartful of apples when I looked up at him.

"Hey Mac... I need to talk to ya about somethin'." He stopped and looked at me, but not with his usual blank faced stare. He cocked an eyebrow and frowned.

"Mac, I don't know what to do about this situation I'm in. I've asked some of the girls, but what I really need is another guy's input. That means you. Mostly because the only other guy I can talk to is an eight year-old dragon, you know?" He smiled a little, so I took it as a sign to keep going.

"What the problem is... is there's this girl. She's gorgeous, nice, generous, smart... The package deal, right?" He smiled and nodded. "There's just one slight problem. I'm a man. She's a pony. You follow what I'm sayin'?" He rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Look, where I come from, men just don't do that kinda thing. Its a serious no-no. Sure, there's a few guys that do, but they're a bunch of fuckin' weirdos, you know? Its nothin' against y'all... I mean obviously, this is a different world, but I've still got this hang up... I don't know what to do.

"She's head over heels for me and I'm startin' to go the same way, but shit, what happens when things get really serious? What happens when she starts to see white dresses and hear wedding bells? You know what I'm sayin' here? I don't know if I can do it, man... I just don't wanna mess up something good because of my personal shit."

I paused. He was still digesting everything I said.

"I mean, its been so long since I've actually felt like this. I'm tellin' ya Mac, I'm no angel. There's a trail of broken hearts in my wake, but none of them are anything like this girl." At that, Big Mac smiled and sighed. He picked up a huge bushel of apples and dumped them in the cart before opening his mouth and shocking me with the most words I've ever heard him put together.

"Rarity is one special pony, John. Its gonna take a special kinda guy to handle her and treat her right at the same time. If she's really all that to yew and yer really all that to her, there's only one thing I gotta say: Ya ain't back at home anymore. Go for it. End yer trail o broken hearts. I ain't so sure if she's the settlin' down type, but yew could probbly make her purty happy. I been watchin' ya. Its eatin' at ya. Only somethin' ya care bout a whole lot is worth that kinda heartache."

I stared in awe... Damn.

"You're a real smart fella, ya know that Mac?"

"Eeyup!" He said simply, beaming with pride.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

I was on the way back to Fluttershy's forty bits richer and sweating like a whore in church. I had close to a thousand bits saved up now. A long ways away from building a house, but at least I had some spending money.

I continued to muse about the upcoming ball and everything else, when a familiar jet engine-like whine came over the sound of the wind. A light breeze blew over my face as Rainbow made a low pass overhead. When I finally looked up, she was backstroking through the sky, casually grinning and humming a tune.

"Hey Dash, what's up?" She grabbed a cloud and clung to it, propelling it along with her wings keeping pace with me as I walked.

"Ohhhh nothing. Heard about you takin' Rarity to the ball." I kept walking.

"Old news, Dash... Where you been?"

"Oh, I knew about it pretty much right after it happened, I've just been too busy to gloat. I mean... Well you know we are like... Best-"

"Best friends?" I interrupted. "Yeah, I've kinda figured that one out already." Dash laughed at me.

"Finally figure out what was holding you back?"

"Nope, but there is always tomorrow."

"Well, you'd better hurry up. She might not be waiting for you when you finally pick!"

"What in the hell are you talking about?" I said, instantly curious. Too bad it was too late. Dash was already zooming out somewhere else, leaving me once again to stew in my thoughts.

Goddamn, was there any way to keep a secret in this town? I know I'm not helping things by tellin' folks, but still.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

I got home a little before dark. I opened the door and stepped inside, hunting up a chair to sit down in. A couple of days ago, I had the foresight to pick up some beer, bottled in a far off place. The bottle said 'Trottingham'. I chuckled to myself about the gratuitous amounts of equine puns around here.

Well, they might be puns to you, John, but they're pretty much normal to everyone else around here. I spotted a map in the library the other day and nearly shit myself when I saw "Saddle Arabia". Too much in common. Just too much.

Lighting a cigarette and sipping on the heavy, dark beer, I grabbed the rocking chair Fluttershy kept in the living room and drug it outside to set in front of the house. I took another drag on my smoke and drank the beer as I watched the sun slowly trace it's way to the horizon and sang a little song to myself.

"And, as long as there's stars over Teeeeeexaaaas, darlin' I'll hang the moooon for y-"

"JOOOOOOOOHN!"

I jumped to my feet, looking around for the frantic Fluttershy that was calling for me.

"JOHN! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE BACK! I NEED HELP!" I turned to see her flying towards me from the forest.

"John, I need you to help me! I saw a hurt fawn in the forest, but it was too scared to let me help it and I couldn't get the poor thing to calm down. Please help!" I started to move towards the forest.

"Fluttershy, why don't you just fly after the poor thing? You could probably catch it before I could."

"But Everfree is dangerous at night! I can't go into there alone, I just can't!"

"What about when you came into the forest to get me?"

"Just please, John?" Oh hell. It was that look.

So far, I hadn't gotten this look here in Equestria, but it seems some things aren't easily avoided, regardless of which dimension you were in. The curled lip... those big, wide, pleading eyes... there was even a slight whine you might expect from a puppy. I rolled my eyes and took one last swig of beer.

"Fine. Lead the way." She gained in speed towards the darkening forest with me following at a slow jog. Fluttershy took off over the tops of the trees as I finished my cigarette and stomped it out before pushing my way through some of the thick undergrowth.

The sounds of the forest were deafening. Bugs hummed. Birds whistled and sang. Other animals called softly in the darkness. I was almost apprehensive as I pushed my way through vines and briars. A beam of orange light shown down on me briefly as Fluttershy poked her head into the forest.

"John? John! Just up that way!" she pointed with a hoof. "Right over there in the big clearing... Please be careful, he's so scared!" I thought momentarily that maybe I wasn't the best candidate for this after all. Deer are naturally afraid anyways, its not like its gonna run slower for my benefit, right?

I came into the clearing and spotted the small deer. If I was back in Texas, I would have just put a .308 into the poor thing's heart, but knowing Fluttershy, I probably aughta try and run it down. It didn't take long to identify the problem. It's left back leg was turned at an odd angle below the knee. Every time the fawn took a step, his leg would flop around in an obscene manner. Eventually, he just laid down to rest.

Yep. Definitely would have shot you, buddy. I crouched low to try and sneak towards the deer when something stopped me.

If you pay attention to everything, humans can feel their instincts calling to them. We were born to be hunters. That meant a lot of things, one of which was that we needed to look out for other predators. At that moment, the hair rose on the back of my neck and my body froze in place.

Looking around, I started to notice little subtleties. The wind wasn't blowing at all, but the bushes directly across from me were swaying slightly. There was a sound of a snapping twig about fifteen yards to my left, but Fluttershy was still airborne. More importantly, the nature sounds I was hearing when I first made my way into the forest were gone. No bugs. No birds. Not shit. I waited with bated breath for something to make a move.

Slowly, a dark shape moved through the trees on the opposite side of the clearing and a large figure emerged.

It was hard to tell exactly what in the hell it actually was in the fading light. The sun had set and the moon hadn't risen just yet. Whatever the creature was, it was blended into the brush very well. All except for the eyes. Glowing yellow eyes. A shiver ran up my spine as I remained crouched, waiting.

Off to my left, hardly a stone's-throw away, I heard a wolf throw back it's head and howl.

Fuck. Me.

"Looks like you're done for, little guy. Sorry." I whispered, more to myself than the fawn.

I sat tight. At this point, it wasn't safe to move until the pack was... busy. Two more of the wolves started into the clearing at a slow stalk. The fawn was just realizing the trouble it was in. It started to get up and try to run when the first wolf lunged forward. The world is a terrible place for the little things.

"NOOOOOO!!!" What in the good Goddamn was that? Fluttershy lighted in the clearing between the little deer and the charging wolf. Oh shit...

The wolf halted and backed up a little, surprised by the sudden intrusion, and started to circle. I didn't want to take my eyes off it, but I chanced a quick look at Fluttershy. She looked terrified. What the hell was she thinking? I would never... NEVER expect something like that out of her. I tried to see as much as I could.

Other than the three wolves already exposed, I could see two more sets of eyes across from me, plus the two wolves on either side of me. The first wolf lowered it's head and snarled as it continued to circle. Ok John. Do. Something.

I looked around me for something... ANYTHING to use. A thick tree limb was laid at my feet. It would have to do. I barely had time to straighten up when the wolf charged. I couldn't think. No time.

React.

Sprinting forward, I saw the wolf jump and heard Fluttershy scream. I dove, hitting the thing shoulder first with my body weight. Shit, that hurt! The thing felt like it was made out of iron, but I was sure I heard something crack that WASN'T me.

I jumped up and brandished the impromptu club. Fuck, this isn't good. The rest of the wolves emerged from the trees and stood there. Waiting. I knew exactly what they were doing. The same thing I was. Waiting for an opening.

"Fluttershy, are you okay?" A muffled squeak was all I heard.

"That better be yes, or so help me, I'll give you the silent treatment for a month when we get out of here." She choked back her fear long enough to tell me.

"J-J-J-John... I'm s-sorry."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I'm ok-k-kay."

"Can you fly the deer out?"

"N-no... he's t-t-t-t-t-too heavy."

"Put him up on your back and go when I go. I'm gonna make a hole."

"Okay." A small voice said.

"You are going to move THROUGH that hole."

"Okay." An even smaller voice said.

"And for God's sake, don't stop running."

Squeak.

I chanced a look back at Fluttershy and saw her on the ground shaking.

"Fluttershy, move. Now." She shakily rose to her feet and comforted the small deer as she put it on her shoulders. "Tell me when you're ready." I looked back to the wolves. The rest of the pack had formed a ring around us, snarling and tensing for action.

"Ok, John. Ready."

"Ok. Count of three... One." The wolves stopped.

"Two." Fluttershy adjusted the fawn on her back.

"THREE!"

I charged forward in the direction I thought the cottage was. As one, the wolfpack descended on us. Or tried to. Fluttershy was right on my tail the whole way. Good girl. I swung the branch at the first wolf I came to. He was in midair, leaping towards me when the club connected with with the side of his head.

CRACK!

A sound like a gunshot was heard and the wolf fell in a heap in the grass. The second wolf ran up and I swung backhanded right at the creatures face, but it anticipated the move and dodged out of the way. I reached behind me and grabbed Fluttershy, pulling her past me and pushing her into the woods.

"RUN!"

She bolted, moving into the brush and leaving me with the snarling wolfpack. Its okay, John. One down. Six to go, right? The wolf that dodged off was immediately back on the attack. Swinging the branch as hard as I could into it's side, I was rewarded with another resounding CRACK! The wolf shook the blow off, but my whoopin' stick had taken all it could. Broken in two.

Well, shit.

The other wolves were just starting to close the distance as the second one slammed into my chest, knocking me to the ground. It stood over me and I finally got a good look at it.

The damn thing was made out of wood, but it was living, nonetheless. It lunged forward to deliver a killing bite as I reached up to grab it's head and pushed my thumbs into it's eyes. As it howled and tried to get away, I rolled over onto it's chest to get the leverage I needed. I grabbed with both hands and forced it's mouth open as hard as I could. Another loud crack heralded a broken jaw.

Two down, five to go. And they were already on top of me.

Snapping and snarling, the wolves overpowered me and brought me to the ground. I flailed wildly, kicking, punching... and forgetting everything except survive.

BOOM! Was that a cannon?

BOOM! Holy shit, was the cavalry here?

BOOM! Fluttershy can't have gotten help already.

BOOM! A brilliant white flash accompanied the next explosion and smoke filled the air around me. Flames erupted from the ground, scaring off the wolves and encircling me with a bright ring. It seemed like the fire was all it took for the wolves to forget about eating me for dinner and run off. With a few barks and yelps, they disappeared into the trees. Bleeding from cuts and bites all over my arms and legs, I pulled myself painfully to my feet. Wincing and looking around, the ring of fire receded. Over the crackle of burning sticks and leaves, I heard a voice in the darkness.

"We must get you out of Everfree. The Timberwolves will come for you and me!" I limped towards the voice.

"Who... Who are..." A shape moved quickly towards me, catching me as I gasped and stumbled. Looking up at my rescuer, I noticed it was a zebra clad in... bangles.

"My name is Zecora, I magicked the fire. Now move your flank before our situation grows dire!"

I stood and leaned on the zebra. With her help, we moved into the trees to safety.

Author's Note

I was in the middle of nowhere writing these last four chapters without internet or television to distract me... Thank y'all for bein' so patient in waiting for updates. I had no idea the timberwolves were in a recent episode! I based the ones in this chapter on the behavior of the wolves in "Family Appreciation Day"...