The Reader

Chapters

Chapter 2: Ponies in trees
Chapter 3: The wet dog
Chapter 4: A shiny pony
Chapter 5: Night visit
Chapter 7: The white and the wild
Chapter 8: Smile
Chapter 9: Cake
Chapter 10: On the run
Chapter 11: Curved paths
Chapter 12: Party
Chapter 13: Teeth
Chapter 14: Raising the roof
Chapter 15: Pony work
Chapter 16: Pony work 2
Chapter 17: The teacher
Chapter 18: A promise
Chapter 20: Pony books
Chapter 21: Rats
Chapter 22: Gnoll work
Chapter 23: Gnoll work 2
Chapter 24: Stitches
Chapter 25: More promises
Chapter 26: Playtime
Chapter 27: Bananas
Chapter 28: Banana run
Chapter 29: Pony helmets
Chapter 30: The council
Chapter 31: Good news
Chapter 33: Chasing the rainbow
Chapter 34: The bath
Chapter 35: New Clothes
Chapter 36: Little Cakes
Chapter 37: Barrels Up
Chapter 38: Paddles
Chapter 39: Trains
Chapter 40: Search
Chapter 41: Finding Ponies
Chapter 42: Flying Dogs
Chapter 43: Train Talk
Chapter 44: New Threads
Chapter 45: Food Box
Chapter 47: A Club
Chapter 48: Go Fast
Chapter 49: An Alternative
Chapter 50: Back to Work
Chapter 52: Pony Hunt
Chapter 53: Pony Hunt 2
Chapter 54: Fluffy
Chapter 55: Arrival
Chapter 56: Meat
Chapter 57: Scar and Spike
Chapter 58: Panic
Chapter 59: Evil Rocks
Chapter 60: No Pony
Chapter 61: High Stakes
Chapter 63: Story Time
Chapter 64: A new Voice
Chapter 65: Morning Appointments
Chapter 66: Mustache
Chapter 67: Invitation
Chapter 68: A Dress
Chapter 69: The Gala
Chapter 70: You and I
Chapter 71: Manehatten
Chapter 72: Lessons
Chapter 73: In the tunnels
Chapter 74: Counting rats
Chapter 75: Donuts
Chapter 76: Quiet moments
Chapter 77: When gnolls smile
Chapter 78: Memories
Chapter 80: For that special somepony
Chapter 81: Stripy pony (edit)
Chapter 82: Old stories (edit)
Chapter 83: Trial
Chapter 84: To Canterlot
Chapter 85: Closure
Chapter 86: Trixie
Chapter 87: Understanding one another
Chapter 88: Transmogrification
Chapter 89: Morning after
Chapter 90: New guests
Chapter 91: Selection
Chapter 92: The squad is formed
Chapter 93: Featherclaws
Chapter 95: The Hunter squad
Chapter 96: Departure
Bonus: Behind the Scenes!
Chapter 1: In the light of a candle
Chapter 6: Morning surprises
Chapter 19: A visit
Chapter 32: A challenge
Chapter 46: Purple Haze
Chapter 51: Her Sister
Chapter 62: Under an old Apple Tree
Chapter 79: Heart and hoof
Chapter 94: Old neighbors
Sequel

Chapter 2: Ponies in trees

For three days he stayed in the forest, torn between his hunger for knowledge and his distrust of the ponies. The big white one had allowed him to stay, but he knew ponies lied. Then again if she had wanted to hurt or cage him she would have done so on their first meeting. He could stay in the forest for a long period; there were many small animals that he could eat, even some fruit and roots. Most predators avoided his path, those that were bigger he could easily avoid himself.

Still, the smell of books always found him in his dreams and so on the fourth day he decided he would risk visiting the tower with the books again.

When the sun started to set he left the safety of his cave and started to walk towards his destination. His cave was a good way from the edge of the forest, far from where he believed any pony would tread. It would be night by the time he would reach the edge but he favored safety over comfort.

He had walked for some time; The sun was almost touching the horizon when he picked up a scent. Wooden fangs. They hunted in packs and tasted like rotting wood, he remembered the splinters in his gums. They had avoided him after their first encounter and he had taken to ignoring them since they couldn't be eaten. But there was another scent, weak but familiar. He checked the position of the sun, he had some time to spare and maybe there would be carrion. Not one to turn down a free snack he started following the scent.

When he found the wooden fangs they were grouped under a small tree in a clearing, growling and occasionally jumping to snap at something, each snap accompanied by three small yelps from the tree. He sniffed the air once more and finally recognized the other scent. He gave a rumbling growl as he stepped into the clearing, the wooden fangs spinning around to face him with ears lying back. They were intimidated by his appearance, but they seemed unwilling to give up their hunt. He gave them a vicious snarl showing his huge teeth and seemingly remembering his bite they finally left and disappeared into the forest again. The tree had gone silent.

He walked under the tree, hearing faint whispers coming from its leaves. He turned his head up, "Forest no place for ponies, go home." silence, "Is dark soon, ponies should go home."

"We're lost."

"You walk this way." he pointed to a direction.

"What if the timberwolves come back?"

He gave a groan, "Ponies can follow it. It leads them to pony village. Wooden fangs leaves them alone if it with you."

"No way! If we come down you're going to eat us, or drag us off to your mines!"

Another the voice chirped in, "Ah don't know Scootaloo, that there diamond dog's big enough to just grab us outta the tree if he wants to."

"Is no dirty dig dog, is gnoll. Sun almost gone, we need go now." silence again.

He was growing impatient, "What's a gnoll?"

"I don't know, but you two can't seriously be considering going with him!"

"What else can we do? I don't want to spent the night in this tree!" He looked at the sun, he was late and they were still arguing up there. He needed to speed things up, "What's he doing?" he grabbed the trunk with his paws and gave it a violent shake. There were three squeaks followed by three thumps.

There before his feet lay three tiny ponies, curled up into balls and not moving. Where they playing dead? The idea amused him, he could hear their tiny hearts beating fast. He went down low to put his head in front of them, "Silly tiny ponies, you no apples. Come now, we go to pony village." they didn't budge.

He gave an loud snarl, making their eyes snap open and stare at him in rigid fear, "WE. GO. NOW!" this time he got three wide-eyed nods. "Good." he stood up and started walking, soon enough he could hear them fall in line a bit behind him, all the time whispering among themselves.

"HEY! WHAIT UP! YOU'RE GOING TO FAST!" he sighed in annoyance and his shoulders sagged. They were slow, so slow, and the whining, the constant whining. By the thunder they were annoying.

He stopped and waited for them to catch up, "Tiny ponies are too slow, it almost dark and we still need go far."

"No fair! Your much bigger than us!"

"Tiny ponies also complain too much!"

"We're hungry!"

"I'm tired!"

"We're not tiny!"

"My legs hurt!"

He gave a defeated moan and got to his knees, "On back..."

"What?"

"Ponies climb on back, no complain or they walk again."

"YAY!" a chorus of three voices answered. And so he continued with a pony on each shoulder and one on top of his head. Even though still slow, they were at least making progress now.

He was becoming annoyed again. They were constantly talking, making remarks about his teeth or fur or just asking intolerable questions. He damned his own hide, but then he got an idea. "Tiny ponies."

"Yes?"

"Hold on, we go fast now!"

"WhaAAAAA..." he sped off, foliage and trees a blur as he shot through the forest. The tiny ponies were quiet, too busy holding on for their dear lives as the wind roared in their ears. Finally. Peace.

With his renewed efforts they were able to reach the edge of the forest in no time. He stopped as he reached the tree line. There was a strange forest here. The ponies had made many apple trees grow in lines. Silly. The tiny ponies on him were still quiet, eyes shut in the effort of holding on. "Tiny ponies can get off, we there."

They opened their eyes, "WE'RE HOME! Look Apple Bloom, we're at the farm!" they were cheering in joy as they scampered off him. Finally. Finally he could go to the books, the night was still young. He turned around to leave, "Wait!" he stopped.

"Thank you for taking us home!"

He nodded, "Ponies should go now."

"That was crazy fast! Can you come visit us so we can do that again?"

He shuddered, "Maybe. But tiny ponies must not go in forest anymore." more cheering. They waved as he disappeared into the forest again, but he watched them from his cover until they reached the door of the big pony house. When the door opened he could hear some pony shouting at the tiny ones, scolding them for going into the forest. Good, it would help keep them away from it.

He kept to the tree line until he could see his destination. The big castle looked like a star in the light of the moon. He smiled. He would finally get to read again.

Chapter 3: The wet dog

Princess Celestia was tossing and turning in her bed, her sleep troubled. For three days she had waited in hope that the gnoll would return, but he had not. Had he been scarred so much by his experiences with her subjects? Where had he gone? Her thoughts gave her no rest as she tried to find sleep.

When she turned around once again though, she found herself looking into two red eyes and a towering form above her bed. "White pony wake up." a deep voice grumbled. She gave a yelp and tried to skid away from the form, only succeeding in falling off her bed with a loud thump. "Is no time for games white pony. It has questions." she finally became aware who had come to her chambers.

"It's you! Where have you been? Wha... how did you get into my chambers?" she asked as she got up, there were usually guards everywhere in the castle.

He raised an eyebrow, "It already told white pony, it good at climbing." he shook himself, spraying his surroundings with water.

"You're soaking wet!"

He shrugged, "Is rain outside."

She used her magic to put some more logs on the fire heating her chamber, "You should dry yourself."

He shook his head, "Not important, it has question first." He reached under his rags and brought forth a little book, "This book make no sense! It reads again and again, it understands all the signs but it does not understand meaning!" he was ranting as he skipped through the pages.

"What exactly do you not understand?"

He put a claw to a page and read out loud, "And the pony jumped over the moon." he looked at her with a wild look, "Pony jump over moon? That make no sense! How does pony jump over moon? Moon up there and ponies down here! It make no sense!"

Celestia smiled, he had been reading a book with stories for little foals. The story about the pony that jumped over the moon had always been one of her and her sister's favorites, even with their troubled past. "I think you should meet my sister."

He gave her a questioning look, "Sister know why pony jump over moon?"

She smiled again, "Yes, she can explain it to you."

He gave a happy nod, "Good. It meets sister of white pony."

She mentally called for her sister, "Please stand next to that window for a moment, she will be here right away." He did not understand her request but he followed suit and positioned himself in the shadows next to the large window.

After a few moments there was a bright flash and before Celestia stood Princess Luna, deity of the moon. "Sister, thou has called for us, we mean,... you called for me, sister?" she had slowly been learning to talk normally, but old habits die hard. "Please tell me this isn't about the gnoll again."

When her sister had come with a story about a gnoll in the library she was sure that Celestia had been having a bad dream. To think that a gnoll would actually appear in Equestria after all this time was simply absurd in her opinion. In addition, what Celestia had told her about his story simply seemed unbelievable.

However, Celestia was wearing a strange smile, "I would like you to meet my sister." there was the sound of heavy footprints accompanied by falling water drops behind her. She smelled something that reminded her of wet dog and felt a hot breath down her back. She turned around, "Dear sister, I would like you to meet the gnoll."

Luna stared up at the huge creature, she was at a complete loss of words for what she was seeing. The gnoll however, had not lost his tongue. "Why pony jump over moon?"

"What?" she wasn't quite sure she was awake at this moment.

"Why pony jump over moon? It make no sense!" he asked agitatedly.

She wasn't sure how to answer, "I didn't... actually jump over it..."

He tilted his head, "What? Not this pony! Here, pony in book!" he showed her the book.

She read the title, "This is a book with tales for little foals..."

He looked at her, "So? Still makes no sense!"

"Yes, but it isn't meant to make sense. You read it to little ponies so they can sleep." he seemed to process this for a moment. She turned towards her sister, "That wasn't very nice."

Celestia was barely holding her laughter, "Yes, but your face was priceless. Besides, you wouldn't have believed me if I had told you."

Luna looked at the gnoll who was currently muttering something to himself as he was skipping through the pages again. "You're right. Do you realize how long it has been since we've seen one of their kind?"

Celestia nodded, "I remember, they left shortly before the rupture. Maybe we are getting a chance to repair the damage committed that day."

Suddenly the gnoll shut the book with a snap, "Silly book..." he muttered with a tired sigh as he placed the little book on a shelf and sat before the fire, red eyes staring into the burning timbers. "It liked the story with the pony and the wolf. That good story."

The two sisters walked up to his side, even sitting he was still massive. "We haven't been formally introduced yet, you have met my sister Celestia, I am Luna. It is a pleasure to meet you." he gave them a brief look and a short nod before turning his head back towards the fire. "May I know your name?" Luna asked carefully, she wasn't sure how to address this creature.

"It."

"It?"

He gave a nod, "It."

"That isn't a name." Luna commented.

"Is good name, is short and all ponies know it."

She shook her head, "No, you only call things 'it', surely you have another name."

He thought for a moment, "Some ponies also call it monster, beast or creature."

"Those aren't names either." she commented.

"Then it has no name." he shrugged. Celestia stepped forward,

"How about Scar?" Celestia proposed. She knew the gnolls had a very different culture concerning names. They were able to identify one another easily through smell. Names were something unfamiliar to them so they rather simply tended to give short descriptions about the most notable features instead.

"Scar..." he mulled the word over as he stared into the fire.

"Why Scar?" Luna whispered to her sister.

"Remember what I told you about his back?"

She did, "Oh... that. Is it really that bad?"

"It is." Celestia replied sadly.

He cracked his neck in thought, the loud cracks sending chills down the ponies' backs, "Scar is good name. It is Scar."

Chapter 4: A shiny pony

While the gnoll was busy staring into the fire the two princesses were having a discussion, "Tia, you can't seriously be considering allowing him to come to the castle anymore. What would happen if he were to be discovered?"

Celestia herself was well aware of the dangers, "I know dear sister... but how could I justify denying knowledge to those who seek it? And to think that a gnoll has appeared in Equestria! There must be a meaning to him being here."

Luna shook her head, "Even if he only comes at night and with good intentions, the holidays of the Canterlot academy will come to an end soon. The library will be filled with ponies day and night! What will happen then? The ponies of Canterlot would never accept his presence here and you know that!"

Celestia looked back at the gnoll, "What about Ponyville? What if I were to send him to my student?"

Luna was not convinced, "I know Twilight Sparkle to be a very capable pony, but can we really risk sending a live gnoll to a whole town of ponies? How will they react? More importantly, how will he react? Remember what he is! No matter how much they have always strived to live in peace the gnolls are still wild at heart, they always have been! If he were cornered, would he attack? If he grows hungry, would he hunt our subjects?"

"What if he would prove that he is not a threat to our subjects?"

Luna looked unsure, "He would need to prove that to our subjects and not to us, but how could he?"

There was a flash of light and a loud poof, the gnoll was momentarily roused to look around, "Big white pony explode?"

Luna gave a little laugh, "If only she could..." which earned her an annoyed sigh from Celestia who was currently reading a scroll. He simply shrugged and turned back towards the fire.

Luna looked back at Celestia, "Why are you smiling?"

Celestia didn't answer. Instead she closed the scroll, floated it over to her sister and started walking towards Scar. "Scar?" he turned his head towards her, "You wouldn't have happened to encounter three little fillies on your way to the castle?"

Scar thought for a moment, then he brought one paw a hand above the ground, "Tiny ponies?"

Celestia nodded, "Yes, that would be their size."

"Then, Scar finds three tiny ponies."

Luna had finished reading the scroll and was now listening intently, "Please tell us what happened."

He scratched his chin, "It finds three tiny ponies in forest playing apples with wooden fangs, silly ponies. It scare off wooden fangs, then it tells them go home but tiny ponies stay in tree. So it shakes tree and tiny ponies fall like apple. Then it brings them back to pony town."

Luna raised a brow, "And they just followed you?"

He shook his head, "Tiny ponies don't move first, still playing apples. So it barks at them and they follow. Tiny ponies were slow, so it had to carry." He looked at Celestia, "Was wrong?" Had the ponies sent the tiny ones into the forest on purpose? That would have been cruel even by pony standards.

Celestia smiled, "No, you did very fine Scar." she turned towards her sister, "I think I have the proof you requested. In addition, there is now a very enthusiastic pony in Ponyville asking for any information I have on the subject of gnolls. How about we send her a live one instead?"

Scar was confused, "It goes to pony town?"

"Yes, the library here will not be safe for you to visit very soon. I will let the ponies of Ponyville know that you are no threat. You will meet one of my students there, she is in charge of the local library."

His ears perked up, "Books there?"

"Yes, there are many books for you there, and you'll be able to come and go at any time."

He nodded, "Good, Scar go to pony town, meets little ponies, but if ponies try to put it in cage..."

Luna stepped forward, "Do not worry, they may be a bit... dramatic at times but they will not hurt you. To be sure though that your first meeting goes well I will send one of my guard captains to accompany you." he simply gave her another nod and returned to looking into the fire which was now slowly dying, the flames causing his form to cast huge shadows over the room. He never made fire in the forest but he always enjoyed the heat it gave when he had the chance.

Luna walked towards the door, slightly pushed it open and called to one of the ever present guards, "Guard, please tell captain Purple Haze that my sister and I need to see her immediatley."

The pony snapped to attention, "Of course princess!" she closed the door.

Not a minute later there was a knock at the door.

"Please come in." Celestia called. The door opened and a purple mare with bat wings walked in, the black armor and helmet polished to perfection.

As Purple Haze stopped in front of the two princesses her eyes suddenly caught sight of a huge form in front of the fire place. Her instincts were screaming danger but military drill and the fact that the two princesses seemed totally calm stopped her from calling an alarm. Her eyes however, were constantly jumping back and forth between the princesses and the figure. "Uuhhmm..."

Celestia smiled at her uncertainty, "Yes?"

"...."

"Is something the matter captain?"

She finally caught herself, "Night guard captain Purple Haze reporting for duty!" she clapped her hooves together as she struck a pose.

Luna nodded, "Captain, we have an important mission for you. But first, we would like you to meet our friend Scar." At that the form in front of the fire suddenly grew even bigger and she recognized it had been sitting.

When it finally turned around and stepped up to her, she found herself looking up at two red eyes and huge teeth, "Shiny pony takes it to pony town."

"WHAT?"

"Big ponies say shiny pony takes it to pony town."

She looked at the princesses, "I don't think I understand."

Celestia levitated a scroll towards her; she read it, all the time keeping an eye on the huge creature. "Is this true?" she asked her princess.

Luna nodded, "He also scared away some timberwolves who had cornered the fillies. It seems they did not mention this though."

Purple Haze turned towards Scar, "So you're a gnoll?" he nodded, "And your name is Scar?" he nodded again, "A friend of the princesses and little foals is a friend of mine too. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Purple Haze."

Again, he only nodded, "Shiny purple pony."

Chapter 5: Night visit

Getting him out of the castle had been simple. He had skidded down the mountain with ease while she had flown close watching his descent. Once they had reached the edge of Ponyville things had gotten difficult. He was unsure to enter this area. Meeting a few ponies was not that big a problem, but entering a town full of them was something completely different. Even with the ponies seemingly asleep he was still weary and nervously followed her through the empty streets.

After some time she could finally see the library, "This is it, the Ponyville library."

Scar looked unimpressed, "Shiny purple pony has bad eyes. Is tree. Is good tree, big and strong, but still is tree."

"Look a bit closer." he squinted his eyes as they walked closer.

He saw a door and some windows, "Pony lives in tree? Ponies silly. Books no belong in trees."

She smirked, "I won't argue with you there, tree gum and books usually don't mix well."

They reached the door, the gnoll was looking up at the tree in wonder as he stood next to the door. She knocked, "One second!" a male voice answered. The door was opened by an annoyed and very tired looking little dragon, "You're the guest the princess wrote about? Finally! You know that Twilight has been making me clean the library for the last hour? Head on in and right through upstairs. She's preparing the guest room." he stepped to the side and pointed to the stairs.

She was surprised for a moment, but given the gnoll's position and the dark there was no way the dragon could see him. "Actually, I'm the escort." she corrected him.

He looked to her left and right, "So who's the guest?"

She turned to Scar, "Well, don't just stand there. Introduce yourself."

He gave a grunt and ducked as he stepped through the door. Once inside he rose to his full height and looked down at the little lizard. He barely made it to the gnoll's knees. If the dragon's jaw could have dropped any further it would have it the floor. He nodded at the dragon, "It is Scar. Is guest for tree pony. It comes to read books."

The dragon simply continued to stare up at him, "I'm Spike? I think?" he somehow mumbled in his baffled state.

"Spike?" a voice called from above, "Is that our guest? Wait, I'm coming down!" there was a poof as a purple unicorn teleported herself next to Spike. She found herself looking at two black legs. She looked up and froze. The gnoll looked at the purple pony, she seemed to have a hard time processing what she was seeing.

"It comes to see pony books." he flatly repeated. He felt a nudge on his leg and stepped to the side allowing Purple Haze to walk in next to him.

"Hello," the unicorn and the dragon turned their attention to her, mouths still open. "I'm captain Purple Haze and the big guy with the big teeth over here is Scar, the gnoll. Don't worry, as long as you don't use magic on him he's totally friendly." The princess had been very specific on that point, along with some others she had also told her a very unsettling story.

Spike seemed the first to relax. He turned back to the gnoll, "Dude, you are humongous!"

Scar didn't know what the big word meant, but decided that it probably meant big or something similar. Why else would the word be that big and complicated? "Spiked back lives in tree?"

Spike nodded, "It's my work and home in one." the gnoll simply nodded in acknowledgment.

When Scar looked back at the unicorn he froze. She was wearing an uncanny huge grin. Purple Haze sensed his unease and stepped forward, "Now remember what the princess wrote Miss Sparkle. Be easy on him." Twilight's grin was still widening.

The gnoll could hear her whisper four words before all hell broke loose, "A... real... live... gnoll!"

Half an hour later he was ready to drown himself in the next river. The purple pony was barraging him with an seemingly endless stream of questions. Most of the words she used he had never heard before. What in the thunder did 'procreate' or 'carnivore' mean? Why was she asking him this many questions and not giving him time to answer?

The fact that a floating quill was constantly scribbling on an endless stack of parchment as she showed him various books and scrolls on some topics he could not decipher quickly enough was not helping his growing headache. The shiny purple pony seemed just as lost as him, she had tried to interrupt the talking one a few times but her protest had been drowned by the constant talking. The spiked one looked bored.

"So?!" the talking pony seemed to expect some sort of reply.

He probably wouldn't have been able to answer her question even if he had been listening. All he wanted was to escape this hell, "Purple pony talk too much. It leaves." he simply turned heel and headed out of the door. He would rather have his hide set on fire than return into the evil tree again.

Inside remained a wordless unicorn, an annoyed pegasus and dragon holding his belly as he was rolling on the floor in laughter. "What did I do? Did I say something wrong?"

Purple Haze raised an eyebrow, "It's more how much you said. Did you even read the letter? I told you to be easy on him!"

Twilight cringed, "Sorry."

Purple Haze gave a groan, she could actually understand the gnoll quite well. "Wait here, I'll see if I can talk to him."

She walked out of the door and flew after him as he walked towards the edge of the town, "Wait!" she set down in front of him.

"Shiny pony run away too? Good for shiny pony! It feared it would have to come back and rescue it."

She shook her head, "I want you to go back."

"No." he started walking again, she jumped in his path, "Little pony be careful, if it steps on pony little pony be flat."

She didn't waver, "Look, I talked to her and she said she's sorry. She won't do it again, I promise! She was just happy to meet you." he considered his situation. The purple one was dangerous, he was certain she could talk him to death or worse if she wanted, but there had been many books in the tree.

"It will return,... " Purple Haze sighed in relief, "But only if shiny pony stays and watches over talking pony."

"What?"

He crossed his arms, "If talking pony talks too much again, Scar loses patience. If gnoll loses patience it goes wild, would be dangerous for ponies." She could understand his point, a gnoll rampaging in Ponyville because some unicorn didn't give it some peace was the last thing the princess had wanted. In addition, the princess had made it clear that it was her responsibility that everything went well, no matter how long it took.

She sighed, she had hoped to return to normal duty quickly but this would probably turn into a lengthy stay.

Chapter 7: The white and the wild

Scar wasn't quite sure what to think of the colorful pony. She seemed genuinely friendly but at the same time there was something in her behavior that greatly unnerved him.

"I don't know Dash, I had hoped to introduce him to the other ponies a bit more... slowly." Twilight was not sure what to think of Dash's idea. She was for some reason insisting on leading the gnoll through town to meet the ponies of Ponyville.

"Relax, Twilight! As long as he's with me he'll be fine! He'll be back before you know it!"

Twilight looked around the library, "Well, Spike and me still need to clean up..., but I'm not sure captain Purple Haze would be happy if he just left without her..."

Dash interrupted her, "Purple Haze is here? Why didn't you say so! The two of us go way back! She won't mind at all!"

Twilight was dubious, "You really know her?"

"Of course! The two of us went to flight school together! It'll be fine!"

Twilight turned to the gnoll, "I think it would be okay if Dash is there to accompany you. The decision is really yours..." Scar was almost certain now the colorful one had different plans for him, "... or you could stay and answer some questions while we clean up." he felt his heart skip a beat.

Whatever the colorful one had planned it could not possibly be worse than the alternative, "Scar goes meet ponies."

"GREAT! See you later Twilight!" she grabbed one of his paws and started to drag the gnoll outside.

The ponies who were already up and out at this early hour weren't quite sure what they were seeing. Rainbow Dash was dragging some huge beast through Ponyville, all the time telling everypony that she had the situation under complete control. The beast itself only nodded whenever Dash pointed out some store or building and gave a quick explanation as she hurriedly dragged him on. The ponies weren't particularly scared but they still kept a respectful distance.

Scar had been dragged around half of Ponyville before he decided to find out what the colorful one was scheming. He simply stopped walking and just stood there as the little pony tried to pull him on. "Hey, why'd you stop? We're almost theWHOAA!"

He held up his paw, the little pony hanging on to it as he brought her up close. "Why we go so fast? Where is little pony taking Scar?"

She grinned at him, "We're going to meet a friend of mine, she's going to be super excited to meet you! That's why we need to hurry. We don't want to keep her waiting!" she started pulling again.

He sighed, she was obviously hiding something. "Pony sure other pony will be happy to meet Scar?"

She grinned back at him, "Trust me. She is going to go completely nuts!"

"Scar is not sure if good idea. What if pony don't like meeting Scar?"

Dash was still trying to pull him on, "Don't worry, she's really friendly. Dude, how much do you weigh?"

He tilted his head, "What is colorful pony doing?"

"I'm trying to get you to move!" she tried pushing, he didn't budge.

"Silly pony, gnoll no move if it does not want to move. Now why we go so fast?"

"Uhhh..." she desperately tried to come up with something, "Because..., because she still needs to go somewhere today and we need to catch her before she's gone?" He did not believe her a single word. Then again, the alternative was going back to the talking one. He shrugged one last time and continued to follow the colorful one as she flew ahead.

Back at the library Twilight had almost completed cleaning up when Purple Haze came down the stairs, "That was the best sleep I've had for days! Twilight, you wouldn't happen to have any..." she stopped in mid-sentence to look at the pile of blankets, "Where is Scar?"

"Rainbow Dash is showing him around Ponyville."

Purple Haze blinked, "Repeat that."

"Dash took him out to meet the ponies of Ponyville."

Purple Haze wasn't sure she was hearing correctly, "Are you telling me that of all possible ponies Rainbow Dash is currently walking a gnoll through Ponyville?"

Twilight cringed, "Put it that way and it does sound a bit awkward. But she assured me she knew you and that you would be okay with it."

Purple Haze was grinding her teeth by now, "Oh I know her. And no, I am most definitely not okay with it. I'm going to go put on my stuff. Quickly, who in Ponyville would react the worst to a gnoll before her doorstep?"

They had arrived at some kind of store as far as Scar was able to understand. The colorful one had knocked and flown up to the roof while he had stood in front of the door. "Coooming!" a feminine voice almost sang. The door was opened by a white pony, "How can I be of assistance?" she sang at him with closed eyes and her head held up high. She smelled strongly of berries and something he could not decipher but his nose did not enjoy it. She was smelling far too intense for his liking. There was a moment of silence before she finally opened her eyes, and just as the colorful one had predicted, she went completely nuts.

Rainbow Dash was having the time of her life. She had expected Rarity to run around screaming in fear but this was far better. The moment Rarity had lied eyes upon the gnoll's rags she had thrown a fit and started using her magic to pull him inside her boutique. The gnoll had responded rather well considering the circumstances. He currently had his jaws locked around the wooden door frame and was holding on for his dear life. "Let go of my door you brute! I simply can not allow any creature to run around so badly dressed! It is an insult to anyponies eyes!"

"Pnnny leshh i go frst!" he somehow grumbled through the wood between his teeth.

But Rarity was unrelenting, "Not before you let me do something about those awful rags!" The fight had been going for over ten minutes now and Rainbow was laughing so hard she was on the verge of crying.

The was a sudden gust of wind as four hooves set down next to the struggling gnoll, "In the name of princess Celestia and Luna! Put down that gnoll! And Rainbow Dash, get your flank down here before I pull you off of that roof!"

Chapter 8: Smile

While Purple Haze was busy sternly lecturing the other two ponies Scar had decided to return to the library. He had met clearly enough new ponies for the day and still had some sleep to catch up. So he started to trudge through the pony town towards the big tree.

He received scared looks from the ponies and heard them whispering amongst themselves, but they gave him a wide berth so he simply ignored their stares as he grumbled to himself. He intended to stay in the tree for the next few days as a precaution.

He had made it half the way before he was assaulted by a pink, bouncing blur of words. It took him a moment to realize that the thing bouncing around him was actually a pink pony. Her constant bouncing was making it almost impossible for him to make sense of her constant babbling. He was able to make out a few things like new friend, cake, party and something about a pink pie. It made no sense to him.

While she was still excitedly trying to tell him something he collected what little was left of his patience, after all, she hadn't done anything bad yet and seemed friendly enough. He didn't want to bark at her. That would be the last resort. He held up a paw, that seemed to catch her attention. She wasn't talking anymore but she was still bouncing. At least she was bouncing in place and not around him.

"Little pink pony..."

"Pinkie Pie!" she interrupted with a smile.

"Pink Pie?" she was still bouncing.

A crowd was slowly gathering to observe the strange conversation, "Yup, that's me! What's you name?"

"It is Scar. It comes with shiny purple pony to read books."

She was starting to bounce faster, "Oh my gosh! You're new in town? I knew there was somepony new in town but silly me you aren't a pony are you?"

Scar shook his head, "No, is gnoll."

"You're the gnoll? Twilight is going to be super-excited to meet you! You know the others didn't believe Applebloom and her friends when they said they met a gnoll but I got a twitch days before that so I knew there was something new in the forest!" He tried to progress her sentence, how had she known he was there? Had she seen him on his way at night? Twitch? What did that mean?

His thoughts were interrupted again by her bouncing. He was missing the talking one by now, "Little pony..."

"Pinkie Pie!" she interrupted again.

He corrected himself, though he didn't actually see the resemblance. "Pink Pie pony... Scar is tired and needs to sleep. What does Pink Pie want from gnoll?"

Her face lit up even more, "I want to make you smile of course!"

He didn't quite understand, "What?"

"Yes! I was eating my breakfast cakes when I had a eye-tail-hoof twitch and I knew somepony was feeling glum! So I came to make you smile again!"

He tilted his head, "Smile?"

She nodded excitedly, "Yes! Like this!" she gave him a huge smile, showing a set of pearly white teeth. "Now come on! Let's see you smile!" she encouraged him. If it would make her happy maybe she would leave him alone if he did. Also he was starting to feel uncomfortable about the ever growing crowd. The ponies were constantly talking to one another as they pointed at the strange pair and exchanged worried glances. He studied her expression and did his best to mimic it, putting his teeth together and drawing his lips back as far as possible.

A pin dropping could have been heard in the silence that followed. Even the Pink Pie had stopped bouncing and was staring at his teeth. Some pony coughed in the crowd, and a foal could be heard crying in the distance. Then the screaming started, "The beast is going to eat Pinke Pie!"

"The horror! The horror!"

Ponies were running in all directions. When the dust had settled only he and the Pink Pie were left.

"That is the best smile I have ever seen!" she was beaming at him and was starting to bounce again.

He dropped the smile, "Ponies did not seem to think so."

She waved a hoof, "Oh silly, they're just warming up to you! They're going to love you once they get to know you better. Just keep on smiling and the world will smile with you!"

He wasn't in the mood to argue, "Little... Pink Pie, Scar is very tired and needs to go back to tree."

"Okie dokie lokie! I'll see you at the party then! Oooh, that reminds me, I still have to prepare everything! See you later!" and with that she was off. He looked after her, what was a party? And what had just happened?

He gave a groan and sagged his shoulders, he would ask the talking one about it once he had slept. And he intended to sleep for some time after this. He starting walking towards the tree again, it was much nicer now that the ponies weren't constantly eying him anymore. Where did they go anyway? He decided it was not important. He remembered what the Pink Pie had said, 'Smile and the world will smile with you.', that did seem clever. Maybe she wasn't so crazy after all.

He reached the tree and opened the door, "There you are!" he was greeted by the shiny purple one.

"Where is talking purple pony?"

She shrugged, "Don't know, she and Spike seem to have left before I returned." he sighed in relief, "So, are you going to be okay? Rarity didn't handle you too roughly did she?"

He shook his head, "No, Scar is okay. What happened to colorful pony?"

She huffed, "You mean Rainbow Dash? She got a good lecture from me. In fact, they both did. They're going to come to apologize to you soon. And I made them promise not to pull any shenanigans on you anymore."

He nodded, "Good, it needs some peace and sleep. Pink Pie pony was very tiring."

She walked after him, "Pink pie pony? What happened?"

He stopped in front of the blankets, "Strangest thing happens, Pink Pie pony wants Scar to smile, so Scar did. Then Pink Pie happy but all other ponies run away. Also said something else but Scar did not understand."

Purple Haze was trying to put the pieces of his story together, "So you met a pink pony?" he nodded, "And you smiled for her?" he nodded again, "And all the ponies ran away?"

"Yes, maybe it smile wrong?"

She thought for a moment, why would the ponies be scared by a smile? "Let's see that smile."

Half a second later she knew. It also explained the mob that had gathered outside of the library.

Chapter 9: Cake

The mob turned out to be mainly just curious. Purple Haze's authority as a captain of the night guard combined with the reappearance of the supposedly brutally devoured Pinkie Pie was enough to calm them down. When Purple Haze told them he was a guest of the princesses themselves and that he had rescued three little fillies from the timberwolves their suspicions and worries were finally lost. Some of them even expressed sympathy. Scar took no notice, he had headed straight to sleep after greeting Purple Haze.

He got up again when the sun was starting to set. He smelled the air, the purple pony and the spiked back still had not returned and the shiny one was somewhere upstairs. He looked out of the window, there was still some time before the sun would be gone. He would wait until it was dark enough to hunt in the forest. Scar went to one of the shelves and picked up a book at random, 'Myths and Facts of the Everfree Forest', he deemed it interesting enough to read.

He had read almost four chapters when Purple Haze came downstairs, "Hey, what are you reading?" he showed her the book, "Is it good?" he shrugged. Most of what the ponies had written about the forest was just plain wrong or speculation, at least the stories were scary enough to keep them out of it. "So you're going to just read the whole night?" she sounded a bit disappointed.

"No, Scar waits until sun is gone. Then it hunts, it is hungry." he saw her look, "Is no pony job. Gnoll hunts alone."

Her shoulders sagged, "So I'm going to be stuck here all night waiting for you to come back?"

He shrugged again, "Shiny pony can go play with other ponies while Scar is gone. Or it can read books if bored."

"First, I don't play, I train. Second, I don't like books. Third, I have to keep an eye on you as long as you're in Ponyville."

He raised an eyebrow, "What does shiny pony train?"

"All members of the guard regularly train combat, as a captain even more so."

He put the book somewhere in the folds of his cape, "So shiny pony train fight?"

She nodded proudly, "I'm the best of my squad! I can take on anypony!"

She really did seem bored, and since she was there at his request he decided to cheer her up a bit. He got up, "Shiny pony take on gnoll then." Purple Haze picked up on the idea, this would be so much better than training by herself. On top, she be would be able to brag about how she defeated a real gnoll in combat after this. She already loved this.

She hated this, she hated this so much. The gnoll was wiping the floor with her, literally. Inside the library she couldn't keep her distance from him to plan her attacks and he was fast, very fast. Each time she got to close to him he would simply snatch her right out of the air with one huge paw and pin her to the ground. Or worse, he'd simply sit on her while she struggled for air.

"Little pony should take break." he was currently holding her upside down by one of her rear legs.

"How do you even move that fast? I swear, anything as huge as you are shouldn't be able to move like that!" he set her down.

"Scar is fast because it is hunter. But shiny pony always attacks the same way, so is easy to catch. Pony wants to train serious now?"

Purple Haze wasn't sure if he was joking with her, "What? Wasn't this already serious enough?"

He shook his head, "No, serious train is with teeth and claws."

She gulped, "I think I'll pass."

He nodded, "Is time to hunt soon anyway." She headed upstairs to take a shower, whatever that was.

As he was getting ready to head out the door to the library was opened and the spiked back entered, "Hi, good I found you! Where's Purple Haze?"

Scar nodded a greeting at the little dragon, "Shiny pony upstairs, shower."

"I'm here to pick you guys up and take you to the party."

There was that word again, "It has no time, Scar is hungry and goes to forest to eat."

"Dude, there's way better food at the party than in the forest! Pinkie has gone all out on cake this time!"

This piqued Scar's curiosity, "There be food?"

The little dragon nodded, "Sure is."

Free food, the thought lingered in his head. "Good, then Gnoll goes to party."

Spike nodded, "Awesome, we'll just have to wait for Purple Haze to come down."

Scar didn't like waiting for food, "Spiked back can tell Scar where party is, then it goes and he can follow when shiny pony is done."

Spike considered this, "Okay, you know where the apple farm is?"

The gnoll titled his head, "Spiked back means apple forest?"

"Yes. There's a big red barn there, the party is inside. Just knock." the gnoll nodded and departed. Free food, this was going to be good. A peaceful meal would be nice. He wondered what cake was though.

Ten minutes later Purple Haze came down the stairs, "Oh, hi Spike. How was your..." she looked around the room, "Did Scar already go to the forest?"

He shook his head, "No, I came to get you guys for the party over at Applejack's, but he already went on ahead."

She almost missed a step, "He what?"

"He already went on ahead?"

She gave a groan, "How many?"

"Huh?"

She got closer to him, "HOW MANY PONIES?"

He thought for a moment, "About half the town?"

She didn't like this, "And he knows? How did you get him to go?"

Spike was slowly starting to see the problem, "He doesn't... actually... know there will be ponies there. He went as soon as he heard there would be free cake."

She was already throwing on her armor, "How do these things usually go?"

"Well, usually Pinkie blasts the new ones with her..." he got a bit pale.

"Blasts them with her what?"

"Her party canon?"

She spread her wings, "Hop on, we need to hurry."

Chapter 10: On the run

Scar had found the big building the spiked back had told him about with ease, but something wasn't right. He smelled it first, there was food inside for sure, but there were also ponies, many ponies. And it was quiet, disturbingly quiet. He slowly approached the door and just as he had been told, he knocked. The big door swung open a bit and he peeked through the thin slit. It was dark inside, but on the other side of the large room he could see tables laden with food. The ponies were nowhere to be seen, but he knew they were there, the smell was unmistakable. He strained his ears, everything was quiet.

His hairs stood up. Painful memories of his last capture flooded his mind. He had been lured into a trap by his hunger before, and this was no different. But he had learned since then. Never again. He felt grief and sorrow that the ponies would once again try to cage him, he had hoped that this time would be different. Had he not been friendly enough? What had set them off? Had he done something wrong? Whatever it was, he needed to leave this place. Now.

He turned around to leave and found himself in front of the pink one, she was holding something in front of her. How had she snuck up on him? She grinned widely and there was a sudden explosion, the noise ringing in ears and his eyes filled with colors as he was flung backwards through the doors by the force of the impact.

The moment the gnoll landed on his back inside the barn he was blinded by a flash of light and a chorus of voices erupted around him, "SURPRISE!"

But their voices were drowned by the savage scream of the gnoll. He would not be captured again.

When Purple Haze and Spike finally arrived at the barn there was a huge hole ripped into its side, tables had been overthrown or simply ripped to pieces and the ponies looked disturbed and shocked. There wasn't anything in the barn left in tact, the boards had huge claw marks in them, there were even some in the roof. One of the pillars looked as if something had taken a huge bite out of it.

She made a quick check, no ponies had been hurt. She thanked the stars. She quickly found Twilight, "What happened?"

Twilight was slowly recovering from the shock, "I don't know! One moment we were shouting surprise and the next he went completely insane!"

In a corner of the barn sat a sobbing Pinkie Pie, "He didn't like my party! What did I do wrong? Was it to much confetti? Was the cake bad? It was the green balloons, wasn't it? I knew I should have picked blue! I only wanted to see him smile again!" she continued her wailing.

Rarity was trying to calm her, "There, there dear. You did nothing wrong! That brute however! Oh, I still shudder to think what could have happened!"

Rainbow Dash spoke up, "What the buck was that guy's problem? I've never seen anypony that angry!"

"He was scared..." the voice was quiet, but clear. The ponies turned to the yellow little pegasus, she was on the verge of tears. "Didn't you see his eyes? He was so terrified!" she turned to Purple Haze, "Why was he so scared?" the ponies were all paying close attention to her by now. Every single one of them wanted to understand what had just happened.

Purple Haze had hoped to avoid this conversation for as long as possible, but now there was no way around it. And so she told them exactly what he had once told the princess, of slavery, cages, scars and pain.

After she had told the story the ponies seemed downtrodden, Pinkie's hair had lost all fluffiness and Rarity was looking at the ground in shame. One pony had heard enough, she opened the door and started walking towards the forest. Twilight called after her, "Applejack! Where are you going?"

"Ain't it obvious? I'm gonna go get him back!"

He was a fool, how could he have been so naive? He should have expected this! Scar was still cursing himself even after he had stopped running. He had fled in wild panic, dashing deeper into the dark of the forest and not stopping until his lungs hurt. He looked up at the stars and growled in frustration as he realized his position. In his wild dash he had gone stray from the way to his cave, he would have to backtrack quite a bit to avoid the swamp and to head on to safety. And then?

He would have to leave the forest behind him, or hide deeper within it. The ponies were sure to give hunt soon. He decided that for the now the forest would be safe. No pony would be foolish enough to enter the forest at night. As he started to slink back through the forest his thoughts wandered to the little book inside his cape. He would miss the shiny one, she had always been truly friendly towards him.

On the other side of the forest seven ponies had gathered. Purple Haze had originally insisted on going after Scar alone, but after telling the story the other six ponies had been persistent to join her in her search. More than any other, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were determined to find him.

Purple Haze had been surprised by her change of attitude. One second ago she had been shy and timid, but the moment she had heard the gnoll's tale she had grown so furious it was almost scary. Luckily they had enough sense left in them to send Spike home. He had protested, but Purple Haze would have none of it.

Finding the place where he had entered the forest was easy enough, the gnoll had crushed several small trees that where unfortunate enough to stand in his way. Inside the forest though, things would be very different. They would have to move slowly and carefully. Flight was unthinkable in the thick foliage and even magic light provided only little sight.

"You really think you're gonna need all of that Pinkie?" an orange pony with a stetson asked.

Pinke Pie was carrying her own weight in cake and party balloons, "Of course Applejack! I still need to make him smile!"

Purple Haze shuddered at the thought, Applejack merely shook her head. "All right everypony, let's do this! Stick close together and don't stray! Winona, search!" The little dog put its nose to the ground and followed the trail, seven ponies following it as they were swallowed by the Everfree forest.

Chapter 11: Curved paths

The ponies were suicidal, he was sure of that now. Not only had they followed him into the woods at night, but they were talking loudly enough to be heard for miles. And to make things worse, the magic pony was creating light. Light, inside the forest. It was like a beacon. They might as well have been running through the forest blindfolded and screaming to be eaten.

The fact that they had a dog leading them did not trouble him greatly, he could still easily lose them in the swamps, or just eat the little critter and be done with it. But then they would wander the forest aimlessly, and this was no place for ponies to be at night. Not even at day.

He was frustrated, he wanted to leave the ponies behind but at the same time he felt strangely responsible for them. He gave an annoyed snarl, he was simply too caring for his own good. He didn't leave the three tiny ponies in the forest, and he'd curse himself eternally if he'd let these ponies behind. So he changed his direction and chose a very different path instead.

"This fella sure is making a lot of turns lately." Applejack commented, "Slow down Winona, let the others catch up!"

Purple Haze looked back at the others, "Damn it, were moving too slow, we'll never catch up to him like this." She tried to estimate their position, "Strange, he's been going fairly straight for the last hour but now he's constantly changing his direction. Where is he going?"

"Maybe he's lost, I mean does anypony of you guys still know where we are?" Rainbow Dash looked around herself, in the little light Twilight provided she couldn't make out anything at all.

Purple Haze shook her head, "No, he definitely knows were he's going. But what is he trying to do?"

Twilight was currently trying to read a map of the forest she had brought, it was nothing more than a rough estimate of its borders. The Everfree had never been fully charted. "Well, wherever we are, we're lost. With all these turns I completely lost track of our position. Do you think he's trying to lose us?"

Applejack shook her head, "How would he know? After all, it's us looking for him."

So they continued to follow his trail, making turns and constantly changing their direction seemingly at random.

Unknown to the ponies, the gnoll's path was anything but random. He was leading them back to the pony town. The task was not easy. He could easily avoid predators but the ponies could not. He chose his path with care, making sure it was easy to follow while leading them around the different territories of the creatures of the forest.

Rainbow Dash was not happy, they had been following the trail for hours and she had been listening to Rarity's whining all the time. She had taken to walking in front but even here Rarity could clearly be heard, "Argh, damn it Rarity. We know you're tired and dirty because we all are! How much longer are you..." she stopped abruptly, "Uhm, guys...I think you may want to see this."

The others caught up to her and the little dog. They stood next to one another and just stared, none of them knowing what to say or think. They were back. Back at the same spot were they had entered the forest hours before. "We're back." Rainbow Dash said flatly.

"I don't understand, does this mean he came back? But where is he then?" Fluttershy didn't understand what this meant at all. Purple Haze though was already getting an idea of what this meant.

"Strange, Winona says he went into the forest again from here on. I can't make heads and tails of it!" Applejack groaned in frustration.

"Everypony, go back to the barn." They all turned to back to Purple Haze.

Applejack spoke up, "What do you mean go back? I ain't backing down that easily!"

The others started protesting too, but Purple Haze adopted her military pose and used her best drill voice. "I SAID EVERYPONY GO BACK TO THE BARN NOW!" there was a shocked silence.

Twilight suddenly realized something, "He lead us back, didn't he?"

Purple Haze remained calm, "Go back to the barn. Wait for us there, I have to do this alone." she left them standing there, and walked into the forest again.

Applejack didn't like this, but they were all worn out. "I'm not sure this is okay. You think she can really get him back?"

Fluttershy smiled, "She said 'Wait for us', didn't she? I'm sure she'll do fine."

Purple Haze walked straight into the forest, not stopping until she reached a small clearing they had passed the first time. Everything was quiet. The forest around the clearing was completely dark, nothing could be seen except for the poorly lit open space.

"You're there, aren't you?" she waited. Minutes seemed to pass and then, without a sound, he emerged from the darkness next to her. "Thanks for getting us out of the forest."

"Forest is no place for ponies." he said with a grave voice.

The sky cleared for the first time that night, and they both stood there, looking up at the stars in silence. Each of them feeling a strange bond with the other.

He was the first to break the silence, "Did Scar hurt any ponies?"

"No. They're all shocked but they'll be alright. No ponies were hurt." he gave a sigh of relief.

"Please come back." he didn't answer, "I know it was bad, but they didn't mean to scare you. None of them would try to trap you."

He shook his head, "Scar remember last time it was trapped. Gnoll has no place with ponies."

"It wasn't a trap. It was..."

"A PARTY!" they whirled around in surprise. There was Pinkie Pie, showing her trademark grin.

Purple Haze was shocked, "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to wait at the barn?" She was pushed to the side by the gnoll.

Scar towered over the pink pony, his fangs glinting in the dark. A low rumble escaped his lungs, "Pink Pie... why did Pink Pie try to put it in trap?"

Pinkie Pie didn't appear to be scared in the slightest, "Silly, it wasn't a trap! It was a party!"

The gnoll was confused by this, "Scar does not know that word."

Pinkie Pie tilted her head, "What word?"

"Party."

Her eyes went wide, "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT A PARTY IS? WHAT ABOUT CAKE?"

Scar shook his head, "No, Scar does not know that word either."

The pink pony froze, there was an uncanny twitch in one of her eyes. She whispered three words, "WAIT. RIGHT. HERE!" and just as she had appeared, she was suddenly gone.

Scar turned to Purple Haze, "Scar is confused."

Purple Haze smiled, "That makes two of us. I just can't make sense of that pony."

He looked back at the sky, "Shiny pony, what is party?"

Chapter 12: Party

After Pinkie Pie had left Purple Haze had tried to explain the concept of a party to the gnoll. He seemed to understand the basic idea but was unsure of its use. When he realized that he had crashed something that came from good intentions, he became silent again. She searched what she could see of his face, she saw sadness.

"Oh, come on! I'm sure the ponies will forget about it soon. They're probably going to be laughing about it tomorrow." she tried to cheer him up.

"Is no laughing matter." he replied gravely. She didn't know how to answer, and they both returned to staring at the stars in silence. For the first time she actually feared she wouldn't be able to get him back again.

"What are you guys looking at?" a voice asked from his shoulder.

They both turned to look at Pinkie, who was currently seated on the gnolls shoulder. The gnoll sighed, it seemed useless to try and understand how she kept on sneaking up to him. He raised a paw to carefully lift her off his shoulder and set her on the ground before him, "What does Pink Pie want?"

She beamed a smile at him, "Hihi, your paws tickle! I brought you cake! What else, silly?" seemingly out of nowhere she brought up a slice of what Purple Haze identified as frosted cake. "Here, try it!" she offered it to the gnoll. He sniffed it, the smell was sweet but that could just as well be the pink pony. She smelled like an open jar of honey.

He turned to Purple Haze, "What does Scar do?"

She shrugged, "Try it. I'm sure you could use some food."

He turned back to the pink one and searched her face, there was nothing but friendliness in it. Still, maybe it was drugged. He turned to look at Purple Haze again, "Go on, I'm sure it's okay." He carefully reached out and picked up the little thing between a finger and a thumb. He inspected it carefully, it was colorful and seemed spongy to the touch. He brought it up to his maw and ever so carefully, he nibbled at it.

And stopped. Frozen, unmoving.

"Scar, are you ok?" Purple Haze asked worriedly, he didn't respond. He was as still as a rock. Pinkie's grin was growing.

The taste. The taste! It was as if he was breathing honey clouds. It filled his whole being, and he wanted more. Let them trap him if they wanted to, as long as there was cake he would gladly meet all the annoying ponies they had to offer. He'd even do tricks for this.

Without a word, he threw the rest of the cake into his maw, picked up a pony under each arm and started walking. Purple Haze was too shocked to respond at first while he trudged along.

"Uhm, Scar. Could you like, put us down?" he didn't answer.

"Oh cheer up and enjoy the ride!" Pinkie Pie was clearly enjoying this.

She wasn't actually complaining, her hooves still hurt after the march through the forest and he seemed to carry both of them with ease. Still, she was a captain of the night guard, and if any guard ponies would see her like this she would never have a peaceful minute in her life again.

"So..." she tried to catch his attention, "We're going back?"

He nodded vigorously, there was a wild look in his eyes. "Gnoll goes back to big pony house. There it eats cake..." he stopped for a second to look at Pinkie Pie, "There be more cake?"

She simply laughed, "Is there more? I have enough cake to feed a town!"

He nodded once, and turned to Purple Haze who was still being held under one of his arms. "Scar goes eat cake! Scar says sorry to little ponies. Then Scar eats more cake! Then rest, then eat cake again!"

"Oookayyy." Purple Haze wasn't sure if this was good, "Could you at least stop carrying me around like some log? It's not really... well it doesn't feel right."

He tilted his head, "Shiny pony not comfy? Scar can solve." he simply flung her up onto his back, "See? Gnoll back much more comfy!" She thought about protesting, but in the forest flight wasn't an alternative and his back actually was a lot more comfortable. So she sighed and clung on as he happily trudged through the forest. She would get off once they reached the tree line.

"Wow, can I travel on your back too?" Pinkie asked, but the gnoll shook his head.

"No, gnoll back only for tiny ponies and shiny pony."

Pinkie thought for a moment, "Well if she's special then I guess that's okay." she smiled at him.

The gnoll nodded, "Special shiny pony."

Maybe she'd stay on his back a bit longer. Seeing as it was reserved only for special ponies did make her feel oddly proud. Let the others make fun of it, she wouldn't care. It was then that she realized that something felt weird beneath her.

She traced his back with one of her hooves. She felt fur under the cloth, and the gnoll slightly shifted his shoulders as she traced it upwards until she reached a certain part. There was no fur under this part. It felt, bumpy. She prodded it lightly, wondering what it was. To her surprise he didn't react at all.

He didn't feel anything on that part. The realization hit her hard, it was burnt skin. She had never seen the scars on his back but from what she estimated from the feeling the area was huge.

"Shiny pony still there? Is very quiet up there." the gnoll asked as he walked on.

"...Yeah... I'm still there..." she tried to suppress a growing lump in her throat.

He craned his head up slightly, "Shiny pony okay? Scar go too fast?"

She shook her head, "No, no everything is fine. Just a bit tired." she tried to change the subject, "So, when are we going to reach the barn?"

He broke through another bush, Pinkie Pie squealed in delight. "We there."

"OOOOH, wait! Can you set me down?" he set down Pinkie Pie in front of him, "I'm going to go ahead and make sure everything is absolutely perfect when you come! Just wait like, five minutes before going on! Okay?"

The gnoll thought for a moment, then nodded, "Scar goes slow from here. Pink Pie has time."

"GREAT!" there was a blur of confetti, and she was gone again.

He looked towards the barn in silence for a moment, then craned his neck slightly, "Shiny pony want to stay on gnoll back?"

"I'll stay up here if it's okay with you." she sounded sullen, or sad? He wasn't sure what it was, but he figured she was just tired.

He started walking again, "Shiny pony, smile. Is good day. There be cake, so shiny pony and Scar can smile!" he thought for a moment, "Pink Pie pony tell gnoll, 'Smile, and ponies smile with it.' Scar thinks Pink Pie right."

He couldn't see it, but she was smiling.

Chapter 13: Teeth

Upon arriving at the barn Purple Haze had gotten down from the gnoll's back. He slowly pushed the door open and walked inside. He was surprised that besides those that had followed him through the forest there were some other ponies present as well. The tables he had crashed had been replaced and were once again laden with food. How the pink pony had done this was a mystery to him.

The ponies were chatting wildly but when they noticed him everything became quiet. He cleared his throat, "Scar sorry for crashing pony party. It comes to celebrate with ponies if ponies will have it." and eat cake, mostly to eat cake.

Something suddenly latched onto his chest, he looked down to see a yellow pony clinging to him and looking up to him with teary eyes. "You came back! Don't you worry, Fluttershy is going to make everything okay."

He turned to Purple Haze, "What is yellow pony doing?"

She chuckled at her display of affection, "She's giving you a hug, didn't anypony ever hug you?"

He shook his head, "No ponies ever try to hug gnoll..." he looked down at the little thing on his chest, "What does Scar do?"

Applejack came up besides Purple Haze and gave a laugh, "Well shucks, you hug her back!"

The gnoll considered this, lifted his arms and returned the gesture. It felt strange, and he was afraid he'd crush the little thing against him. But still, it did feel nice. He set down the yellow one, "Hug pony happy?"

She simply nodded and smiled at him, there was something very soothing in her smile.

The next one to approach him was the pony with the dog, her smell reminded him of the apple trees outside. "Howdy, you sure had us going on a wild chase there! The name's Applejack! Pleasure to meet you!" she extended a hoof. The gesture puzzled him, she wasn't holding anything but she seemed to be expecting something.

Twilight seemed to sense his irritation, "It's called a hoofshake. It's an old fashioned form of greeting a friend. You grab the other pony's hoof firmly,..." he extended his paw and grabbed her hoof, "and then you shake it." He shook it. As the orange pony was wildly flung up and down by his paw he couldn't help but think what an odd greeting this was. But if it was a greeting for a friend he would do his best.

After what he deemed enough shaking he set her down again and released her hoof. She seemed a bit wobbly, "Well I reckon, that's the strongest hoofshake Ah ever had!"

He turned to Twilight, "Scar shake apple pony too hard?"

"Well, the other pony isn't actually supposed to lift off..."

The orange pony seemed to have regained her composure, "Don't ya worry. Us Apples are build of tough wood." Was this pony made of wood? She did seem tougher than the others he had met. "So tell me, did ya really get ma sister and her friends out of the forest?"

The white one walked up, "Oh yes, do tell us how you got those poor little things out of that dreadful forest."

He shrugged, "Scar finds three tiny ponies in forest playing with wooden fangs. Forest no place for ponies so Scar get them out." he fished himself a piece of cake.

The two ponies seemed a bit surprised, "Could you repeat that part with the wooden fangs again?" the white one asked.

"Tiny ponies sit in tree, wooden fangs sit below. So Scar scares them off." The two ponies exchanged a look.

"Are we talkin' bout timberwolves here?" the orange one asked as he swallowed another piece in delight.

Purple Haze spoke up, "Didn't you know? I told the story a day ago."

"Ah don't get to town that often, and Apple Bloom never mentioned anythin' bout timberwolves!"

"Neither did Sweetie Belle! I don't get out of my shop that often either. To think in what peril they were in!" Rarity held a hoof to her head.

"Rather what peril they're gonna be in! Ah knew they weren't telling the whole truth!" The two ponies left Scar to himself while they discussed an appropriate punishment for the fillies. As he was deciding which cake to eat next another pony walked up to him.

"Uhm, hello?" he turned around. It was a mint blue pony, "I'm Colgate." he nodded a greeting. She seemed nervous. "Can I ... Can I see your teeth?"

"Why do want to see his teeth?" Purple Haze had walked up to them, the blue pony blushed a bit.

"Well, I am Ponyville's dentist so I know a lot about teeth... but I've never seen teeth like his before! I would just love to know about them!" she was growing more enthusiastic with every word. Scar was amused by this pony's request, ponies usually shied away from him when they saw his teeth. Of course there was the pink exception, but he wasn't sure if she even really was a pony.

He got down on all fours to give the blue one a better angle of sight and opened his mouth. The blue pony gave an excited gasp and instantly started inspecting his teeth. The talking pony was also watching intently and noted down any remarks the blue one would make. Purple Haze was unsure if this wasn't crossing the line but as long as the gnoll was content with their requests there was no need to worry.

Had he known that the blue one intended to climb into his mouth as far as she could he wouldn't have agreed to this. She was currently inspecting his back teeth and had crawled almost half way into his maw. She tasted funny, there was a plant growing in the forest which had the same cool flavor on his tongue. How was he supposed to eat cake now?

Colgate meanwhile was having the time of her life. The gnoll's teeth were like a treasure to her, never had she seen anything like them. Every tooth told her a different story. Every detail revealed something about his eating habits. Twilight was also enjoying this rare opportunity to learn about the gnoll's anatomy.

"Could you give me an unbiased professional description of his teeth and their functionality?" she asked as Colgate was busy inspecting every detail.

"These are amazing! Absolutely flawless! It seems they're meant not to cut the meat off but rather rip huge pieces out at once!" she felt his jaw, "If I'm judging the jaw correctly he can crush metal with these teeth! Oh wait, there's something stuck between the last two... eewwww...."

"What did you find?" Twilight was curious about the gnoll's diet.

"I think it's a frog... gross, it's really flat!" she tossed the thing down his throat as he sighed in relief, that had been stuck there for days.

Chapter 14: Raising the roof

After Purple Haze had freed Scar from the two ponies he had merrily continued eating cake. The pink one had brought him punch. A fruity and sweet drink. But there was a strange sting to it, so he opted to stay with water instead. At some point he tired of the cake, it was tasty, but it didn't fill him. Luckily the apple pony had provided various foods with apples. Though not as sweet it was still a good meal, and it served well to fill his stomach.

Finally sated, he gave a delighted grunt and looked for a place to rest his back against. He inspected his surroundings, most ponies had left. The shiny one had stayed and was currently talking with the apple pony. The Pink Pie and the colorful one were seemingly trying to drown themselves with punch, their movements seemed slow and uncoordinated.

He took a moment to inspect what the ponies called a barn. The damage was clearly visible, the marks of his claws were unmistakable. He didn't remember taking a bite out of one of the beams holding the roof but the hole in the side was a clear sign of his rampage. He sighed heavily, he hated it when he lost control to his instincts. It was dangerous.

"Sure did a number one the place." a voice commented from his side.

He looked down, it was the apple pony. "Is apple pony's barn?" she nodded, "It is sorry for breaking barn, Scar will help fix."

She smiled at him, "Ah shucks, don't ya worry. We were gonna tear down the old place anyway. Haven't been using it for a while now and we're gonna need a bigger one once the season starts."

"Ponies build new barn?"

She nodded, "Yup, but first we're gonna need to tear this one down. If ya wanna help you'd be welcome. We can use a fella as strong as you."

He didn't even need to think about it, "Scar will help. Gnoll tears down old barn and then help ponies build!"

And so, with the promise to help he and the shiny one had left the barn behind to return to the tree.

"So you're going to help them with the barn tomorrow?" Purple Haze asked him as they walked along the farm.

The gnoll nodded, "Scar breaks pony barn, so it helps repair."

They continued in silence, the gnoll happy to have a full stomach for once, and Purple Haze relieved things were finally going smoothly. Maybe she could return to her guard duties again soon. Strangely, the prospect of returning to her old life didn't excite her as much as it would have a few days ago. When they finally reached the tree it took her some time to find sleep.

When she woke up it was already midday. She gave an annoyed grunt, messing with her sleeping rhythm always left her groggy. She got downstairs, nopony was there.

She found two notes attached to the door, she read the first, the writing was crude and hard to read. 'Scaar go to pony farm. Helps. It meet Purple Haze then.' she couldn't help but suppress a chuckle. He had crossed out several words he hadn't been satisfied with and rewritten the note several times on the same piece of paper. It surprised her he had used her actual name for once. She'd have to show him how to write his own name correctly on the next occasion.

The next note was obviously by Spike. 'Dear Purple Haze, we're going to follow Scar around a bit. Meet us at the farm. See you, Spike. PS: Scar didn't know how to write your name so I showed him. You have no idea how long it took him to get it right.'

When she arrived at the farm a small group of ponies had gathered outside the barn. She spotted Applejack next to Twilight and set down. "Well howdy Purple Haze, you're just in time for the show!" Applejack greeted her.

"What show?"

Applejack didn't get a chance to answer as Rainbow Dash came shooting out of the barn, "Get ready everypony! He's about to start!" She set down on top of a tree, "This is gonna be so awesome!" Purple Haze didn't know what was going on first, but when a huge black fist exploded through one of the barn's boards she knew.

The gnoll was enjoying this, it was simply work. Tear down the barn, gnoll work. Strangely enough, the corlorful one had requested that he'd make as big a mess as possible. He didn't understand her request, but if it would make them happy he wouldn't mind. And so he set to work.

Rainbow Dash was enjoying the carnage. The gnoll was tearing the barn apart piece by piece. Boards and beams alike were either shredded to pieces by claws and teeth or simply smashed to splinters by huge fists. Her favorite part was when he burst through one of the walls in a shower of wooden shrapnel, a piece of beam locked in his teeth, looked around confused, turned around, and went straight through the wall again right next to the other hole. Every now and then a plank or a random piece of wood was sent flying into the air, each piece accompanied by the cheers of the ponies.

Rarity, overly dramatic as always couldn't help but add her comment ,"Oh what brute force! How uncivilized! I shudder to think of the torment of those rags he is wearing. To think of the horror had I made him new clothes already! Unthinkable!" Still, she was strangely enjoying this display of raw power.

When the roof finally came down and the dust had settled, the gnoll stood on top of the rubble that had once been a barn. He checked the trashed remains, he had done good and thorough work. It would take a lot of water to lose the taste of wood though.

Among the ponies, none were enjoying this more than three little fillies. Even though burdened with chores for the rest of the day as punishment they still had time to watch the gnoll's rampage. What excited them even more was the fact that they'd get to meet him again. An awesome idea had come to their minds while discussing what to do with him, and they quickly decided that this would be the best idea, ever. Show and tell. No other pony would be able to present something nearly as cool. Maybe they'd even get their cutie marks!

Chapter 15: Pony work

When the debris of the old barn had been carried away, the gnoll did his best to assist the ponies in raising the new one. Building was something new to him, he had always wondered how they constructed their curious homes. He himself preferred caves, the deeper the better. Any enemies could easily be lost or overpowered in a dark maze. Then again, the ponies weren't exactly a hunted species, plus they had magic, so why would they bother to build safer homes?

The construction of the barn was sped up immensely by the Scar's assistance. There was no need to strenuously pull up the frame and walls when the gnoll could simply lift them into position. By the time the sun had started to set, the barn was already nearly finished, much to Applejack's joy.

"Well I'll be damned! We ain't never raised a barn that fast!"

"Eyup." a big red pony to her side commented.

She trotted up to Scar, "Thanks, we'll be able to finish the rest tomorrow. You've been a great help!"

The gnoll nodded, "Scar helps."

She handed him a small pouch, "And this is for you hard work! Feel free to drop by and help again whenever ya feel like it! You're always welcome." and with that she trotted of.

As the gnoll was inspecting the contents of the little bag Purple Haze joined him on his walk towards Ponyville. "So, what did she give you?"

He held out a paw, a bundle of bits on his palm. "Strange metal." he commented.

"Its called money, you can trade stuff for it."

He inspected the little coins, "Gnoll can trade with this?" he picked up a single coin, "Ponies be crazy. Strange metal has no value."

"It's called gold. Why wouldn't that be worth something?"

He stopped to demonstrate, "First, can't eat it." he brought it up to his teeth and bit into it. He showed her the coin, it had been strongly deformed by his bite, "Second, too soft. Can't be used for anything!" He threw it into the bag. "Third,..." he shook the bag around, the clanking of the coins could clearly be heard, "Is loud. Gnoll can't hunt with this. Is nice bag though, Scar can put food inside."

"Look, it has no practical value, granted. But its rare, and its pretty. Based on that it has a certain value to us and because of that, you get it as payment for work and you can buy stuff with it."

He judged the bag in his paw, the bag itself seemed useful but the coins were just annoying with their constant clinking. "Buy what?" he asked her, "Scar can hunt food in forest, drink from river and sleep in cave."

She thought for a moment, "Well, you can buy food so you won't have to hunt it. You can buy more interesting drinks than water. You can also buy a house with enough bits. Or... you could buy books." This caught his attention, he could buy his own books.

"Scar could buy books... but Scar has no place to put books. Cave is bad place for books,... so is tree..." he was silent for a moment, the gears of his mind processing the problem. He reached a conclusion, "Gnoll works."

"Huh?"

He looked at her, "Scar will do pony work, earns gold. Then buys house for books."

"Or you could just store the at Twilight's place." Purple Haze offered.

"Tree no place for books, also full already. Scar can't always sit in tree with talking pony. Scar will go mad!"

"You do know that a house costs a lot of bits?"

"Then gnoll works harder. Where does Scar find work?"

"Okay..." if he really wanted to work then she wouldn't stop him, but she'd take care that he wouldn't be misused. After all, he had no understanding of currency or what a bit was really worth. "There's a black board outside town hall. If anypony is offering a job you can find it there."

Later that evening two figures stood in front of the town hall, reading the notes attached to the black board.

"Spa is looking for someone to help with massages, good pay..." she looked at his claws, "Nope."

"What is spa?"

"A place ponies go to feel pretty. Moving on. Unicorn wanted, nope. Pega... nope." She was getting frustrated, most offers were species specific, those that weren't he wasn't fit for.

"What is bouncer?" he asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" she was ripped out of her thoughts. He placed a claw on one of the notes. She read it out, "Bouncer needed for the Fat Mare Inn, five bits the hour..." she turned to him, this could work. Or it could go terribly wrong.

As they were walking towards the edge of Ponyville Purple Haze did some explaining. "Ok, so the Fat Mare Inn is a place where ponies go to drink, hang out, have fun or feel down. Or to just get drunk. Mostly it's guards off duty looking to blow off some steam." she remembered her first visit to the place when she was a trainee. The place was legendary for its bar fights.

"A bouncer is responsible for keeping the peace in the inn. When ponies get rude, violent or too drunk, or all of those, the bouncer throws them out and, if needed, subdues them." she saw his look, "It means you give them a good beating if they won't behave. But you're not supposed to actually hurt them, just make sure they remember the lesson and throw them out."

The ponies would pay him to beat them up? They really were crazy. He continued to listen to her instructions as they walked.

"There it is, the Fat Mare Inn." It was a run down place, moss growing up the walls and stones bleached by the sun. There was a faded board shaped like a pony hanging above the door. Whatever had once been written on it was long faded. Light softly shone through dirty and smudgy windows. "Come on let's get inside, see if the job offer is still up."

When Purple Haze opened the door and stepped inside she took a good look around first. The place was still empty. An aged stallion stood behind the bar, "Young mare, we open in an hour. Or are you looking for work?"

She shook her head, "I'm not,..." she motioned to Scar to come inside, "But he is."

The moment the gnoll entered the inn he knew he'd like this place, it was dark, dusty and smelled of rotting wood. It was, comfy. A good place to read and rest. He remembered what Purple Haze had told him, look impressive for your boss. He build himself up to his full height, hairs standing on end as his back came close to the ceiling. He made sure his claws and teeth could be seen as he walked towards the old pony. It was brown with a grey shade and it lightly shuddered as each of the gnoll's steps lightly shook the wooden floor.

Two Shots didn't know what to think. Something huge had just entered his inn. Something with many teeth and claws. He had heard rumors of a beast walking the streets but this thing before him looked like it could tear a manticore apart in seconds.

"Scar comes for bouncer work."

Two Shots blinked in confusion, "I beg your pardon?"

"Scar comes for bouncer work." he held up the note Two Shots had put on the board.

Two Shots slowly put the gnoll's words together. When it finally dawned on him what the gnoll wanted his shocked face turned into one of pure excitement. This was a gift from heaven, a heavenly gift with huge teeth, but still a gift.

"You're hired." This would do. This would do perfectly.

Chapter 16: Pony work 2

"Ok, so this is the situation. We're open only for the weekends, this is the time most of the weather patrol and the pegasi guards get their pay and are off duty." Two Shots explained, "Most of these pegasi are young, and looking for a way to prove themselves or to blow off some steam. They get to roughhouse a bit, but I usually throw them out before anything serious happens. Sadly though I'm not as fit as I used to be..." He looked at a picture on the wall.

"I started hiring bouncers a few months ago, but since then it became a popular sport to pick fights with them. It usually ends with me missing a bouncer and the inn wrecked. But with you I don't think it'll be a problem..." he turned around to look at the gnoll, "Though it may be a problem if the first thing our guests see when they enter is you."

"Is no problem. Scar can hide in dark." the gnoll started heading for a poorly lit corner in the far back of the inn. There were no tables there, only some closets. The little light that shone from the candles on the tables barely illuminated it.

"I don't think I can hide a gnoll in a room full of..." he stopped. The moment the gnoll stepped into the shadow of the corner he vanished. All that he could see were the two red eyes, but those disappeared when the gnoll simply closed them.

"It's always impressive how he can hide in the dark. In the forest he stood right next to me and I didn't even notice him until he moved." Purple Haze commented as she squinted her eyes to make out the form of the gnoll, "His fur doesn't reflect any light."

"You can't see him either? I thought the night guard was able to see in the dark." Two Shots asked.

Purple Haze shook her head, "We get enhanced vision, but since ponies are almost night blind it's only a small improvement. It's enough to fly at night, barely. As long as he doesn't move they won't even know he's there. I'll stay here tonight though just in case." she took a seat on of the bar stools.

Two Shots nodded, "Well, that takes care of that problem. I'm going to open soon, can I get you two something already?"

She thought for a moment, "I'll have a burning feather, Scar?"

"Scar drinks water." the corner replied.

Two shots prepared her drink first, it was a strong red drink specially for flyers that brought warmth to the wings. Scar got a pitcher of water which he carefully placed on one of the shelves.

The Fat Mare Inn had been open for about half an hour and it was already bustling with pegasi. The tables were filled and many seats of the bar had been taken. Not one of them had noticed the pair of red eyes that occasionally opened to observe them.

Observing the ponies was interesting. The way they smelled, the things they talked about. Scar picked up bits of information from the many conservations. Every now and them he would scan the inn with his eyes, to see any signs of aggression in their movements. Until now though they all seemed peaceful. A bit loud perhaps, but he could bear it.

At the bar, Purple Haze was sipping her second drink. It was nice to move around other pegasi for chance, to hear what they talked about or to simply listen to the current news. Every now and then she would see Scar's eyes scan the room. She felt as if this was the first time she had relaxed in weeks.

"Hey, Purple Haze!" she was pulled out of her peace as Rainbow Dash took the seat next to her, "Good to see that captains can relax and enjoy a good drink like a normal pony! Where did you leave the big guy?"

Purple Haze sighed, she didn't exactly approve of Dash's happy-go-lucky lifestyle. "He's around... You're not planning anything, are you?" she gave her an inquisitive look.

"Nah, come on! Did you see what he did to that barn? I don't wanna get him angry. Besides, he seems like a nice... well whatever he is."

"Gnoll." Purple Haze corrected her.

"Sure, whatever. But you gotta admit it was hilarious when Rarity met him! I swear I even saw you smirk when you arrived!"

"You were laughing so hard it's a surprise you didn't faint." Purple Haze chuckled quietly, "Though all fun aside, try not to pull any pranks on him in the future."

"Ah come on Purple, you know it's all in good spirit. Besides, I'm sure he..."

"Well look out Ponyville, Rainbow Crash has tumbled into town!" a voice snickered from behind.

Rainbow Dash didn't even turn, "Not in the mood Prancer."

"Ahhh, what's wrong Crash? Worried? Got caught in the rain? Not so tough when you're alone are ya?"

Rainbow Dash turned towards him, "Tell you what you mooch, go buy your two friends an ice cone, sit in a corner, and suck it."

The three stallions got closer, "You wanna repeat that ya pipsqueak?" Purple Haze could smell the alcohol on them from here. What kind of ponies entered an inn already drunk?

"Gentlecolts, it seems I have to request you leave my inn instantly. You're antics are not welcome here."

Two Shots barely ducked the bottle that was flung at the bar, "It seems you need to mind your own!" the three ponies gave a laugh as the bottle shattered. Rainbow Dash looked about ready to fling herself at them.

"Guys, I advise you take the barkeepers request and leave." Purple Haze spoke up while turning to the three ponies. They were rookies, young, drunk and stupid. At least by her judgment.

"And who might you be? Wait, I bet you're the new bouncer! Seems old Two Shot didn't tell ya what happened to the last one." She sized the three up, she could probably take them. If she hadn't left her armor at the library they'd probably be shivering by now.

"What's wrong? Too scared to talk? Some bouncer ya got yourself Two Shots!"

In their drunken state the three ponies hadn't noticed that the inn had grown very, very quiet. They hadn't seen what had come out of the shadows and stepped up behind them. Purple Haze couldn't help but smirk, "Me? No, I'm not the new bouncer." she nodded behind the three, "He is."

Chapter 17: The teacher

Night had fallen over Ponyville. The streets were empty, lights shone from the windows of the little houses and everything was quiet and peaceful. Two town guards were patrolling the streets, and as always, it was boring. Nothing ever happened in Ponyville. At least their shift was finally over.

"So, wanna hang out at the Fat Mare?" the one guard asked his companion.

"Sure, let's see if Two Shots finally got a decent bouncer."

As they approached the inn everything seemed quiet, just as always the lights were softly shining through the dirty old windows.

"Doesn't look like there's much going..."

They were cut short as a shuffling accompanied by yelps could be heard from inside. The door was flung open and three ponies were thrown onto the street with loud thumps, cheers could be heard from the inside.

"Looks like Two Shots finally got a new bouncer."

"Pfff... I could mop the floor with these rookies. Let's see how well he can handle a real stallion!"

The two guards passed the moaning heap and entered the inn. It was filled to the brim and the ponies were all chatting wildly.

"All right lets see this new bouncer of yours Two Shots. Maybe he can even make me sweat!" the first guard announced as he struck a pose.

The other guard wasn't so sure. For one thing Two Shots was looking remarkably smug, and what was Purple Haze doing here? As far as he knew she was on some important mission.

"Come on Two Shots, let's see that big bouncer of yours! You won't be looking so smug when... HEY!" his helm was suddenly lifted off his head. The two guards spun around, ready to take on the new bouncer. What they found before them though strongly decreased their enthusiasm.

A huge beast was towering over them, the guards helm clasped in a huge paw. They stared at the huge being as it eyed them with red eyes. Without a word and with a flip of its wrist it flung the helm into its maw and simply started chewing on it. The two guards were speechless, the only thing that could be heard inside the inn was the squeaking of the guard's helmet as the gnoll chewed on it.

It tasted of metal, sweat and paint. Also of pony. And just like most pony metal, it was too soft for his liking. He spat it out before the two ponies' feet. It was nothing more than a crumpled piece of scrap now. The two ponies looked down at it, and then back at him again with open mouths and huge eyes.

"If ponies make trouble gnoll chews on pony head next. Now ponies buy drink and behave." the beast grumbled at them.

The two ponies didn't take long to respond, they each ordered a drink, sat down and tried to drown the humiliation as the rest of the inn burst into laughter.

"Damn,..." the first guard mumbled over his fifth drink "Captain Flying Shield is going to have my head over the missing helm. I bet she'd treat me like a hero if I beat that thing!"

"What, you gonna try and take on the gnoll?" the other guard asked surprised, "You're not that drunk are you?"

"Nah, I may be drunk but I ain't suicidal. If the gnoll says behave, then I'll behave. Besides, next week the night guard recruits are back from training camp." he smiled, "Think how much fun we'll have watching that!"

The other guard couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, that'll be a blast. Wanna make bets who gets stomped on first?"

"Hell yeah!" they cheered as they downed another drink.

The rest of the night passed peacefully. When the inn was finally closed Scar and Purple Haze headed back to the tree, the gnoll carrying a nice bag of bits with him. Two Shots had been happy, and the gnoll was happy knowing he had done good work.

The next morning Scar's sleep was interrupted by the visit of three little fillies.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" the trio happily called. He gave a silent curse as he recognized the voices, whatever had caused them to be so excited couldn't be that good for him.

He carefully stepped out of the pile. Purple Haze and Twilight were also up. The scaled one was busy putting books in shelves. He looked down at the three little ones, they were chatting at him wildly, all three of them excitedly trying to tell him something. He gave Purple Haze a pleading look, "What do tiny ponies want from Scar?"

Purple Haze seemed unsure, "They want to take you to 'Show and Tell'."

"Show and Tell?" he didn't know the phrase.

Twilight stepped up, "It's when the foals of a school bring something with them to show and explain to the rest of the class. I think it's a perfect occasion for you to learn more about equestrian society!"

He knew the word school. It was a place tiny ponies went to learn. Maybe he'd learn something by going there. He turned to Purple Haze, "What does Purple Haze think?"

She was surprised by him calling her by her actual name, but she quickly composed herself. Twilight seemed surprised too, she had never heard the gnoll use a pony name before. "Well, I'm not sure... we should check with their teacher first. So she knows what to expect."

The gnoll nodded and turned to the tiny ponies, "Scar will meet teacher pony. If teacher pony agrees, Scar will come and visit school."

"GREAT!" the three tiny ones squealed in delight before they took off to prepare whatever they had planned.

Purple Haze and the gnoll left the tree behind and headed towards their destination. Twilight had told them the teacher's name was Cheerilee and from her description she sounded very nice. They made it to the place without any difficulties, it was a colorful little house on the outskirts of the town.

As Purple Haze knocked on the door Scar couldn't help but wonder. Something was different. It was the air, it smelled different around this house. He knew the smell but couldn't quite place it. It had been there in the whole town before, weak, nothing more than a side note to the other odors. As the door was opened from the inside he suddenly remembered what the smell was.

The moment Cheerilee opened the door the gnoll was already at her throat.

Chapter 18: A promise

The pony beneath him was rigid from shock, the smell of her fear almost overwhelming his senses. He took in her scent, searching for the other smell. She reeked of it, but she wasn't the source. His eyes shot up and he spotted another pony standing in the hallway, he saw it. The way she moved, the way she held herself and her smell. He went wild.

With a snarl he pounced on her, pinning her to the wall as his paw curled around her neck. "STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! STOP IT!" Purple Haze was shouting at him, trying to pull him off the pony.

"NO! IS FAKE! IS FAKE! IS BUG!" he shouted still facing the pony as his paw squeezed down. The pony was gasping for air. She started to change. The gnoll snarled and pressed harder.

"She's a changeling..." Purple Haze whispered in shock.

"Please don't hurt her! Please! She's my friend!" the other pony had somehow crawled up to them and was holding onto one of his legs.

Purple Haze redoubled her efforts, "SCAR! STOP! SHE IS NO THREAT! STOP! PLEASE SCAR STOP! PLEASE!" there were tears in her eyes. The pony at his feet was also begging him to stop.

Through the cloud of rage that filled his mind he could her them wail, he looked into the bugs eyes, fear. She was dying. With a final snarl he ripped his claws away and let the changeling drop to the floor. She lay there coughing for air as the other one held her close. He stood over them, he wanted to rip the bug apart. He didn't even notice he was still growling at them.

"Scar. Please. Calm down." Purple Haze tried her best to calm him, he didn't even look at her. "SCAR, LOOK AT ME!" she shouted. His head whirled around. His eyes were different, never before had she seen rage in them. "Please, calm down. She is no threat."

"Purple Haze is wrong. Scar knows BUGS! Evil! Bugs suck away happy thoughts and empty ponies remain!"

"She's not our enemy. She left the hive. It's okay. She is no threat." Slowly, slowly he seemed to calm down. He turned to the other two.

"Please don't hurt her! She's my friend!" the pony was protecting the bug. Had the whole world gone insane?

"Explain." the gnoll snarled at them, "Then Scar will decide if bug is threat or not."

Purple Haze tried to lead his attention away from the changeling at his feet the best she could, "When queen Chrysalis was defeated many of her drones left the hive. Princess Celestia allows them to live among us. They are no threat. The emotions they take are given to them by free will."

"How do ponies know bugs won't betray them?" the gnoll asked furiously.

"We trust them, they are our friends." the other pony had spoken up. She had regained her composure surprisingly quick for a pony that just got jumped by a gnoll. "We care for them and they care for us. We are friends."

"It's true,..." the changeling carefully spoke up, causing the gnoll's hairs to stand on end again. "We fled from the hive mind when Chrysalis was defeated. That day she lost her control over us. Princess Celestia granted us safety and survival. We would never hurt the ponies."

He looked at her, she was standing and even though she was clearly shaking with fear her voice was sure and steady. "And what if bug queen returns?"

He saw the bug break on the inside.

"She won't return. She's gone!" Purple Haze once again tried to get his attention.

He shook his head, "Scar reads, Scar knows. Bug queen only run away. Still alive."

"I know..." the changeling quietly commented, "She's still out there somewhere, and when she returns the hive will swallow our minds again." she hung her head. For the first time he saw something different in the bug.

He stared at her for a long moment, collecting his thoughts. None of the ponies knew what to say.

"Scar will help." the ponies and the changeling looked up in surprise, "If bug is truly friend of ponies then Scar will help. Will fight for bug and friends. Protect them from evil bug queen." he started to head outside.

"Thank you... for trusting us."

He didn't turn around, "BUT...IF BUG HURTS PONIES..." the changeling shuddered, "Gnoll will find it, no matter where bug runs, Scar, will, find it. And then, gnoll will break it"

He stopped for a second and shifted his shoulders, "Scar promises." he said as the door shut behind him.

Purple Haze collapsed against one of the walls, "Disaster avoided. Although I'm not sure how."

"It's not his fault." the changeling said.

"What do you mean?" Cheerilee spoke up, "He almost killed you!"

"He could have, but he didn't. We changelings can feel what others feel, he only wants to protect the ponies. I don't know his experiences with our kind, but he'll fight to keep you and even the deserted changelings safe. He was serious when he promised to, and I'm thankful for that." she turned to Purple Haze, "Why did you come here anyway?"

Purple Haze gave a tired sigh, "Show and tell, show and tell."

Outside the gnoll was pacing around wildly, the ponies were insane! He was insane! Promising to protect bugs when he should be breaking them? Had he lost his mind? He started to mumble curse words as he walked up and down in front of the pony house. How many bugs were in the pony city? Did the big white one really approve of this madness? Maybe he should break them just in case. No no, he had already promised. Maybe if he'd drop something on them by accident? No, that would be even worse!

He didn't even notice Purple Haze when she exited the house a few minutes later until she spoke up, "Scar? Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

He stopped in front of her, she looked tired. "Scar calm. Ponies mad at Scar?"

He didn't look calm at all. She shook her head, "Shocked, but not mad. The changeling was very understanding." she gave a sigh, "She even convinced Cheerilee to allow you to come to show and tell tomorrow. Plus, she wants to take you around town to meet the other changelings, so things like this can be avoided in the future. Her name is Happy Frap by the way."

"Scar takes no joy in that." he commented sourly.

"I know, see it as punishment for nearly killing a resident of Ponyville."

He shook his head, "Scar is still wary of bugs, but Scar will keep promise and help bugs if they are friends of ponies."

"How do you know about the changelings anyway? Did you meet them before?" she asked as they headed back.

"Scar will not talk about that. Not now." the rest of the walk was spent in silence.

Chapter 20: Pony books

After Celestia had given what she would forever remember as her weirdest lecture ever the gnoll just stared at her for minutes.

He had just been told some very, very strange things. It did explain quite a few open questions though. The chapter with a stallion that first slapped, and then ate a donkey had been confusing. Now that he knew though that 'ass' didn't just mean donkey... he shuddered.

He observed the little book in his paws, "Scar knows about mating and love... but this..." he turned to Celestia, "Ponies have very strange taste."

She lightly blushed, "Some of the ponies have a more lively fantasy than others I'm afraid."

"Big white pony reads this kind of books?" he asked out of the blue.

Her eyes went wide as her face turned fully red, "What? No, no, I'd never... I mean I..." she tried to compose herself, "No, Scar, I do not read these kind of books. They aren't suited for a pony of my status."

He raised an eyebrow, "Then why does big white pony know the dirty words in book?"

She was caught. "Well... I..." the gnoll's face was unmoving. She didn't know what to say.

The gnoll suddenly laughed, "Silly white pony, is no reason to feel shame. Scar does not judge others taste. If big white pony likes things like..." he skipped to a page in the book, "Ahh... there, 'Riding the sugar river'..." he couldn't help but chuckle, "Then gnoll will not think less of pony." he looked at the lines again, "Does not seem very comfy though..."

If she could have sunk into the ground she would have, "Could we not talk about this anymore? I feel like I need a long bath now." a very long bath.

He chuckled, "No worry white pony, Scar has learned enough for today."

She sighed in relief, "Thank you very much."

With that she bid him farewell and left. When he returned to the library he was still chuckling.

As he entered the tree he met Purple Haze, "You're looking happy. Everything go well?" he seemed more cheerful than usual.

"Yes, Scar learns many new words."

"You... please tell me you're not talking about the little book." When he brought her the black book she had been speechless. She had read adult literature before, all the guards had, but nothing like this. If he hadn't been so fond of its smell he wouldn't even have bought it. She hadn't been able to convince him of giving it up, but as far as she was concerned she would rather shovel coals than teach the gnoll about pony fetishes. The princess would have her hide for that. Let the librarian take this one.

Twilight hadn't been a help, but at least her reaction was funny. She had been stuttering for minutes even though she had only read half a chapter. At some point she had simply gone upstairs mumbling about indescribable perversions and hay makers.

"Scar has learned all dirty book's words. Scar must say, ponies have very wild tastes." he chuckled as he went by her and sat down.

"Ughh, which sane pony would teach you about that?"

"Big white pony comes to visit Scar. Scar asks and white pony explains words to Scar..."

"YOU WHAT?!?" a third voice shouted. Twilight Sparkle had come down the stairs. The gnoll couldn't help but think that he had never seen a pony with bigger eyes before. And when had Purple Haze gotten so pale?

He had left the tree shortly after. Both ponies had thrown a fit and Purple Haze and Twilight were arguing whether or not it was a good idea to write the princess a letter asking about a certain book. Purple Haze was strictly against it. Twilight couldn't believe the princess would have knowledge of such things. The gnoll had simply handed them the little book and had told them to read it.

"Read book. Scar thinks is strange book, but still good book. Is funny. Maybe ponies learn something new. Then can decide if book good or bad. Gnoll will go hunt in forest, needs food." he had told them.

When he had gone the two ponies stood in front of the little book. Silent.

"There is no way I'm going to read that! It's terrible that anypony would even write something like this! Did you ever read anything like that? I mean, what in all of equestria is a hayseeder apple pie?"

Purple Haze sighed, "You read a lot of things on guard duty. But I must admit, this takes the cake." They went into the kitchen to discuss what to do with the book. They somehow agreed to lock it away from public eyes, it simply wasn't something that should be found in a public library. They didn't hear it when the door to the tree was opened.

Fluttershy had come to the library to find a book on herbs. She had met the gnoll on her way and even though the thought of him hunting sent shivers down her spine she knew it was a natural part of life. At least he had promised her not to hunt any of her pets. That was very nice of him.

The library seemed empty, but there was a little black book lying on the floor. It seemed strange for Twilight to leave a book on the floor. Maybe it fell down? She picked it up to put it into one of the shelves. There was no title on it. Out of curiosity she read a few lines.

When Twilight and Purple Haze finally returned into the main room they found Fluttershy sitting at a table, the book lying to her side. "Oh hello Fluttershy! Did you come for the book on herbs... oh no. Please tell me you didn't read that book."

Fluttershy just sat there, not responding. "Fluttershy? Are you alright?"

She slowly turned to Purple Haze and Twilight, "I... I'm not sure." she looked at the book and visibly shuddered. "Twilight?"

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

"What's a wing shot?"

Twilight cringed. Purple Haze raised an eyebrow, what kind of pegasus didn't know what that was?

Chapter 21: Rats

Scar moved through the shadows of the trees. Promising the yellow one not to eat her pets had been a mistake. They were fat and lazy little critters, easy food. But when she had asked him to spare them he had found himself unable to deny her request. It was something in her eyes.

He smelled the air. Stinger to the west, possible at night, but too dangerous during day. Wooden Fangs to the east, not edible. He strained his nose as he changed his position to catch the ever changing wind. This forest had its own rules. The ponies didn't understand them but he did. To him this place was a good place to live, to the ponies it was deadly.

He smelled again, blue flowers to the south, dangerous, he had been pink for three weeks until he took a bath. He smelled something promising further south, deers. Fast and agile runners, difficult to hunt in the forest but one would keep him going for a week. He went after the trail.

The hunt had been easy this time. He had found a limping deer. It never saw the gnoll coming. He started eating immediately, it was faster this way than dragging it to someplace safe first, and he deemed his distance to the swamp great enough to avoid attracting any three-heads. Apples and cake were nice, but they didn't satisfy like raw meat. Before he headed back to Ponyville Scar washed the blood off his face and claws in a small stream. Ponies had no stomach for these things.

It was evening when he returned to the tree. Spike greeted him as he entered, "Hi, haven't seen you in a while. Everything okay?" Scar and Spike didn't talk that much, mostly because both of them had a lot to do. The little dragon had accepted that the gnoll didn't tend to talk much. That didn't mean though that they didn't enjoy each others company.

The gnoll nodded happily, "Scar comes from hunt, ate good."

The little lizard made a disgusted face, "Ewww. I don't even want to know."

Scar shrugged, the little lizard had probably never tried meat. One day the gnoll would simply force feed him with meat. He'd get the taste eventually. "Where is Purple Haze and purple one?"

"They went after Fluttershy. I can tell you that was totally weird. One minute I'm walking through town from Rarity's place, the next I see Fluttershy being chased by Purple Haze and Twilight! I think she was holding something..."

That moment the door to the library was slammed open and a visibly tired Twilight followed by an annoyed looking Purple Haze entered. Twilight's mane looked more messy than usual. There was a funny twitch to one of her eyes.

"UUUghh, can you believe how much of a fight she put up just over that terrible book? Spike! I'm going to go to sleep early today! And the next pony that asks me what why I don't have an adult section is going to be turned into a frog!" Twilight groaned in frustration. She went up to Scar, "You should probably hide from Fluttershy for the next few days, she knows it's your book now."

"It's always the quiet ones..." commented Purple Haze as she trotted up to Scar. Her helm had some scratches and a little dent adorned her chest plate. She tossed him his book, "There! Take it and make sure nopony looks at it. And for all of Equestria's sake, do not give it to Fluttershy! If you meet her just run back to the library. I swear, that pegasus is insanely persistent!"

"Something wrong?" the gnoll asked as Twilight was already heading up the stairs.

"Fluttershy wanted to take out that book of yours. Beats me why a pony like her would want something like that. When Twilight refused to lend it to her she just grabbed it and took off with it! We had to chase her half way to her place before I caught up with her. Getting the book from her wasn't easy either..." she rubbed her flank with a pained expression, "I think she bit me... always the quiet ones." she gave a yawn, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm done for today. I'm going to work on my armor and then I'm going to bed too."

Scar and Spike stood alone for a moment after the two ponies had gone upstairs. Spike scratched his head, "Fluttershy did something like that for a book?" he looked up at Scar, "What's in that thing anyway?"

The gnoll chuckled as he stuck it into the folds of his rags, "Is for grown ponies only."

"Alright, I give up. I'm going to finish down here and then I'm going to head to bed as well. You need anything?"

Scar shook his head, "Scar has everything. Going to sleep too, stomach has work to do..." he patted his gut.

"Don't wanna know it!" Spike stepped up his pace.

When the gnoll was finally alone he crept beneath his pile and quickly found sleep. It had been an interesting day.

He was roused from his sleep by a clicking sound followed by the sound of something landing on soft feet. He peeked from his pile. Rats. Big rats. Strange rats with hands like his, they skirted around like normal rats though, almost as big as a pony and ugly, very ugly. There were five of them, dressed in black cloths. Why would they come through the window? The ponies never locked their doors. He took in the smell, metal, leather and blood.

This couldn't be good. Maybe he should throw them out. They certainly weren't guests. Could they be eaten? Rats normally didn't taste that good. As the gnoll was contemplating the situation one of the rats spoke up, it was a whisper but the gnoll picked it up easily, "Alright, let's be fast 'bout this, slit the purple pony, find out who's the other five and slits their throats too. You finds any other ponies, slits them, no witnes..."

The rat's whispers were cut short as a heap of blankets exploded before them and a furious scream shook the library, "EVIL RATS COME TO HURT PONIES!? SCAR WILL RIP EVIL RATS TO PIECES!"

Chapter 22: Gnoll work

Purple Haze was ripped out of her sleep by a scream. As she got up she heard the sound of shelves being overthrown, and more strange screams. They sounded like high pitched squeaks. As she rushed to the stairs Twilight came out of her room, she looked scared, "What's happening? Are those screams?!"

"Twilight, go inside your room! It's not safe!" In the darkness of the library she could only make out shadowy movements downstairs.

"What? I can't just stand up here while my library is being torn ap..."

From below came a strange wet sound accompanied by a squeak so terrible it made her blood chill. The next moment something crashed into the wall above the stairs with enough force to crack the wood. In the light of Twilight's candle, Purple Haze could barely make it out as it slid down the wall and onto the stairs.

"What is that?" Twilight whispered in shock. She started to edge closer.

"Stay back!" It was a dead rat. A huge rat at that. There was a long knife in one of its paws. Purple Haze couldn't believe her eyes, she had never heard of a race like that. As she got a better look at the thing she realized what the sound before had been.

It was only half a rat, it stopped beneath its chest. And it had not been the wood that had cracked. What was left of the creature was strongly deformed when it was thrown into the wall with enough force to break bones. She felt her stomach starting to turn.

More squeaks and shuffling from below. She turned to Twilight, "Lock yourself in your room. Turn on the lights in the library. Write the princess a letter, we're being attacked. Don't come out until I tell you too!" Twilight, still shocked from even the little she had seen only nodded and rushed inside her room.

There was a flash of light as the candles in the library burst to life. She took in the scene. The main room of the library was a mess. Shelves were overthrown and she saw two bloody, unmoving rats in different corners of the room. The lower half of the first rat was lying near the entrance. A fourth rat, startled by the sudden illumination, stopped for a second. The gnoll did not.

In horror she watched as Scar buried his teeth inside the rats body and flung it around wildly. The rat was dead instantly, the life being crushed along with its ribcage as the gnoll's jaws closed down upon it. With a sideways motion of his head he flung the body aside. He looked over the room, searching for more of the rats.

They tasted just as bad as they smelled. His eyes searched the room. He counted five dead rats, good, he had gotten all of them. Evil little things with evil little knives. There was one stuck in his lower arm and another in his back. He barely noticed them. The first rat he had killed had managed to get a wild cut across his muzzle. It hurt but it would only leave a scar. He hoped the damage to the books wasn't big.

"Scar what happened? What are these things?" Purple Haze rushed down the stairs, "YOU'RE BLEEDING!"

"Only little cut. Will heal. Evil little rats say they come to cut ponies. So Scar..." he stopped in mid-sentence.

She could see his nostrils flare and his eyes narrow. "IT SMELLS ONE MORE RAT!" She could hear the sound of running feet from an open window. The gnoll gave off another savage snarl, "NOW GNOLL WILL HUNT!" he headed for the door. Purple Haze needed time to think. She couldn't leave Twilight behind in a library filled with dead rats but she couldn't just let the gnoll chase off into the night. Or could she? She needed to know what these things were and why they had come.

"Scar! We need it alive! We have to find out what's going on. Bring it back alive!" The gnoll was already outside the door. He reared up to full size and gave a long thundering scream. He wanted the rat to know he was coming. He shot off into the night.

He hadn't been gone for long when a flash of light filled the library and princess Celestia appeared accompanied by several guards. She saw the bodies, "Izelim..." she turned to Purple Haze, "Where is Twilight?"

"She's upstairs, locked in her room. She's alright."

Celestia sighed in relief. She turned to her guards "Remove these bodies, I do not wish my subjects to see this. Send guards to the other elements and ensure they are well. Also make sure that there are no ponies on the streets." The guards sprang to work instantly. She turned to Purple Haze, "It has come far if there are izelim in Equestria."

"Is that what they're called?"

"Yes, that is the name the rat race calls itself. What happened?"

"I don't know, we were woken up by screams. Scar was down here, killing these... rats. He said they came to 'cut ponies'... "

Celestia cast a worried glance around the library. She needed to know why exactly they had come. She suddenly realized the gnoll was nowhere to be seen, "Where is Scar?"

"He smelled another rat outside and ran off after it. I told him to bring it back alive but I don't know if he heard me. I hope he's okay, but I couldn't just leave Twilight behind with the library looking like this."

Celestia nodded, "You did well, it is dangerous to hunt izelim at night. They are fast and devious. If anypony can catch one it is him. I'll go talk to Twilight, please assist my guards cleaning up this terrible mess."

Purple Haze's stomach almost turned at the thought of touching what remained of the rats, but she gathered what was left of her courage and saluted, "At once princess!" She hoped Scar was alright. One of the other guards heaved as he was dragging one of the mangled bodies, at least she wasn't the only one having trouble with this kind of work.

The rat was also having trouble with its work. Mostly with the fact that it was currently running for its life. It had been on guard duty outside the window when hell erupted inside. That thing, those eyes, those teeth! It had been supposed to be simple killing work. Slit a few ponies in their sleep, easy enough. But this, this was far from easy. It had turned into a full disaster. Now the only thing left was to run.

He heard a savage scream from the tree. The message was clear. There would be a hunt now. The rat doubled his sprint, if he could reach the forest he would have a chance. It constantly craned his neck to look behind as it dashed through the empty streets, no sight of the thing, only darkness as the houses passed by in a blur. But then, two red eyes appeared from the dark. Driven by pure terror the rat managed to increase its speed.

It dashed around a corner and into a narrow alley, a dead end. No crevice, no nooks to climb up. With a shuddering breath and shaky hands the rat drew his knives and got ready for its last dance. The fat goddess had left him, but he wouldn't go down without a fight. The rat waited for the beast to appear in entrance of the alley. It never saw the gnoll when it came from the rooftops.

Chapter 23: Gnoll work 2

The cleaning of the library was a pain. Several guards almost fainted when they tried to pick up the bisected rat only to witness the contents fall out. Some of them barfed. Basic training didn't prepare for things like this. Luckily there were mops in the library.

Celestia had been able to calm down Twilight and more guards had arrived. They had also received the message that the other elements were safe and guarded though all of them were demanding to know what was going on. Purple Haze had finished cleaning up the floor when princess Celestia walked down the stairs.

"Princess, how is Twilight?" Purple Haze asked as she propped up one of the shelves that had remained in tact.

"Shocked, but she will be alright. Spike is taking care of her. The situation stressed her immensely. There will be a lot of explaining to do when the other elements arrive tomorrow."

"What will you tell them?"

Celestia sighed, "The truth, even though we know only little yet. They need to understand what is happening, we all do." She paused for moment, "Has Scar returned yet?"

Purple Haze shook her head, "No, I'm starting to worry that..."

There was a sudden shuffle outside as guards could be heard snapping to attention "HALT! WHO GOES THERE IN THE DARK? IDENTIFY YOURSELF!"

A deep voice answered, "Is Scar,..." a short pause, "... also, rat."

"Guards, let him pass!" Celestia called out from inside. If he had captured the rat she would be able to gather the information they so desperately needed.

The gnoll entered, he nodded to Celestia, "Scar has caught rat." He held the rat up by its tail.

Celestia raised an eyebrow, the rat looked rather flat. "Why isn't it moving?"

Scar looked at the rat for a moment, "Rat fidgets around too much..." He shook it a bit to emphasize, it dangled around like a rag doll. The rat had bitten his fingers, "... and gnoll drops rat." and he had grabbed it by its tail and slammed it into a wall a couple of times. "Still alive though." he tossed the rat before Celestia's feet. It was barely breathing.

Celestia shook her head, as long as it was alive it would do. "How are your wounds?"

The gnoll shrugged, the gash on his muzzle had stopped bleeding but the knives were still stuck in him. "Wounds will heal... big white pony should take care of rat first."

She nodded, "Very well, but we will not do this here." Her magic flared up and both Scar and Purple Haze were surrounded by a white aura. The world shifted around them and they found themselves in Celestia's chamber.

"Uhhm, Scar. You can put me down anytime you want to." commented Purple Haze. The gnoll had not been teleported before and had simply grabbed onto her when the world around them started to shift. He looked around curiously before he finally set her down.

"This big white pony's room..."

"It's called teleportation, you'll get used to it."

"Scar would rather not." he felt like his insides had turned upside down.

"Now then, let us begin." they turned around, Celestia was standing over the unmoving rat. "Let us see what this one knows." She tore into its mind, laying the rats memories open before her. She saw their home, far away in the sands, how they received their orders, their journey across the sea, hidden between the cargo.

The gnoll was watching with mixed feelings. He knew what the rat was feeling, he had experienced it himself. He knew what it meant to have another being tear through one's memories. The rat was evil, no question. But this. He averted his eyes. He should have killed the rat, it would've been better.

Purple Haze saw his face, "Are you going to be okay? You don't look so good."

"Scar is alright, only ghosts haunting it..." he mumbled softly.

She cast him a quizzical gaze, then saw him look at Celestia for a moment as the princess continued her search. She understood.

"Only ghosts..."

Celestia meanwhile had shifted further through the rat's memories. She saw their arrival at the Bridle Shores, their travel by train. How they hid in the old depots, and...

"MONSTER!!!" she exploded into light, her form casting blinding light around her, her power shaking the room. Purple Haze shielded her eyes as she was pushed backwards by the sheer force of Celestia's outburst. "THEY WERE FOALS! YOU WEREN'T EVEN SURE IF THEY SAW YOU! HOW COULD YOU! BEASTS! SAVAGES! I'LL..."

"Celestia..." she stopped, all her momentum taken by a single word. She saw Purple Haze, she looked scared. It struck her heart, never before had she seen her subjects terrified by herself. "Celestia." she turned around.

There beside her stood the gnoll, there was a sad expression in his eyes. "Killing no pony work..." he turned to the rat, his expression turned into stone. "Is gnoll work." He grabbed the rat by its head. There was a sharp snap as he broke the rat's head with a twist of his claws. He let it fall to the ground.

Celestia looked at the body of the rat. She had almost lost herself. She felt weak for the first time in centuries.

"Scar needs to walk." he said quietly as he headed for the window.

"Let me heal your wounds first." Celestia offered.

He shook his head, "Scar will heal, but not with pony magic. Scar has seen enough magic for today." he left through the window.

She turned to Purple Haze, "Please, go after him. I need time to... take care of this situation."

He felt tired, even as he descended the mountain with ease. It wasn't his body, it was his mind. Watching Celestia look through the rat's memories... it had been a long time. He had almost forgotten how it had felt.

When he reached the bottom he could hear the flapping of wings and shortly after Purple Haze descended next to him. She was carrying a little box in her mouth, "Ou awight?" He raised an eyebrow, she put down the little box, "Hey, everything okay? You left a bit sudden back there."

He nodded, "Scar is alright, just tired. It saw many ghosts tonight."

"You mean memories?"

"Yes... Far gone, long time ago. Now back in gnoll's head..." he shook his head and pushed the memories away. He eyed the little box, "What did Purple Haze bring?"

"It's a first aid box." he tilted his head, "We still need to patch you up."

"Heal is simple, gnoll pulls out knives and rubs on mud. Wait for mud to dry and..."

He was cut short by Purple Haze, "YOU WILL MOST CERTAINLY NOT!"

Chapter 24: Stitches

Cleaning his wounds was an experience for Purple Haze. She had started with washing the blood off his nose and he had held still. But when she tried to disinfect the wound he almost went nuts.

"Dammit! Hold still or I'm gonna spill it!"

"It burns! Purple Haze is killing gnoll!" he was spinning around in circles as she was trying to hold onto him.

"It's supposed to burn. Now hold... still!!!" she pushed down the cloth on his nose. He gave a long snarl and whirled around, but she held on. "There now, see? It's not that bad."

He crossed his eyes to look at her, "Gnoll will remember when Purple Haze is cut, then will see how tough little pony really is."

"Sure you will." she applied the band aids. It took three of them to cover the gash.

He grumbled, "White is bad color, how will Scar hunt now?"

"Just don't hunt until you're healed, or you could let the princess heal you."

"No, Scar does not like magic, is not nature."

"Okay..." she eyed the dagger in his arm, "That needs to be stitched..." she took in his appearance, "And Canterlot central isn't really an option..." at least not now that they had already descended from the castle. Also, the nurses would probably scream bloody murder if a dirty and bloody gnoll would suddenly appear in the waiting room of the hospital during night shift.

"Scar and Purple Haze can go to yellow one, little pony says it has many pets and takes care for them."

Purple Haze shuddered, "Fluttershy? She probably could, but I don't know Scar. My flank still hurts..."

The gnoll chuckled, "Purple Haze is scared of little yellow pony?"

"I'm not scared of anypony, it's just..."

"Good, then Scar and Purple Haze will visit yellow one." he turned and started walking along the path at the edge of the Everfree forest. Purple Haze was about to argue, but thought better of it. The gnoll was still suspicious of magic and Fluttershy was the only pony she knew that actually had any real experience with wounded animals. She'd still keep an eye on her, just to be sure.

When they reached the cottage there were two of Celestia's guards posted in front of her door. "HALT! Who goes there?"

"Captain Purple Haze of the night guard in company of Scar the gnoll." her response was almost automatic.

"Alright, the princess informed us about you two. You may pass."

"How is Fluttershy?" Purple Haze asked as she approached.

"She's locked herself in when we came and has since been refusing to open the door."

At least that sounded normal for Fluttershy. When she wasn't trying to steal sleazy novels she seemed to be quite true to her name. Purple Haze knocked on the door.

"H-h-hello? Who's there?" Purple Haze could barely make out her voice through the thick door.

"It's me, Purple Haze..." there was a pause.

"Are you still angry at me? Please, I don't know what came over me..."

"No, it's okay.", it was far from okay, "I didn't come because of that. Listen, Scar got hurt in a..."

She didn't even get to finish the sentence. The door was ripped open and Scar was literally dragged inside, "YOU'RE HURT! Oh nonono, don't you worry, Fluttershy is going to make everything alright!"

Purple Haze couldn't help but grin as she followed. Scar was obviously confused by how much Fluttershy was pampering him. It was also surprising how quickly Fluttershy had changed her behavior. She seemed much calmer and more direct as she was handling the gnoll.

"Come on, it's going to be alright. Now careful, there's a step. There you go. Now let's get a good look at you." she was leading him by his paw.

Scar didn't know if he should be amused or insulted. Did the yellow one really think he was that weak? He could run for days with the knives still stuck in him if he needed to.

She got a good look at him, "Why are there knives stuck in you?" Fluttershy asked.

"Evil rats stick them in Scar."

Fluttershy gave Purple Haze a quizzical look, "Rats?"

Purple Haze shook her head, "Rough night, princess Celestia will explain everything tomorrow. Can you get these things out of him?"

She took a look at the knife in his arm, "I'm going to have to stitch it, but I can do it." she got a box from a cupboard, "First, we need to remove the knife though. We have to be very careful when pulling it out so as not to..."

Scar had already heard enough, he grabbed the knife with a paw and simply yanked it out. He only gave a slight grunt at the pain, but the cut started to bleed instantly. He held out his arm to Fluttershy, "There, knife out."

"EEEP! Quickly, grab this and press it on the wound!" Fluttershy threw Purple Haze a piece of bandage which she immediately pressed onto the gnoll's wound while Fluttershy went through the contents of the box in a frenzy.

Scar watched in mild amusement as the yellow one wildly rummaged around in the box. He wasn't bleeding that much, at least not by gnoll standards.

While Purple Haze was busy applying pressure to the wound, Fluttershy had finally found what she had been looking for. It was a small jar filled with a strange powder. It smelled strongly of different herbs. The smell was pleasant for Scar, he actually found it calming. When she applied it to the wound he was surprised by the effect. The bleeding simply stopped and even the pain started to fade away.

"That's some medicine you got there Fluttershy. What is that?" Purple Haze asked as Fluttershy started stitching.

Scar didn't listen while the yellow one was explaining which herbs were in the powder. He would be able to find them simply by remembering the smell should there be the need. What was much more interesting was the fact that the little pony was using a needle and thread, with hooves. It was fascinating for him to watch. How did she grab it? He pondered on the question. How did ponies grab anything at all?

"Alright, all done" Fluttershy smiled up at him. He hadn't even noticed it when they applied the bandage, he had been contemplating how ponies opened doors. "Now we're going to do the one in your back next, but you'll need to take off your 'clothes' for that."

He got up from his position and grabbed the sides of his rags. As he lifted them over his back two things happened. Both Fluttershy and Purple Haze were presented with the full view of his back while at the same time a little black book fell from the folds of his rags onto the floor with a soft thud. The silence that followed only lasted a few seconds.

Chapter 25: More promises

At first both Fluttershy and Purple Haze were too shocked to move as they stared at what remained of his back. There was no chance to tell were the scars ended and the burn marks started. It was a horrid sight. But then, a little thud broke their trance and they both looked down. There lay a little black book.

It took them a moment to identify it, but the moment realization hit both of them made a jump for the book.

Scar had been watching the scuffle for a full minute now. Was this how ponies fought? It didn't seem very effective. They were shouting a lot though. Or was it a game? It did look like fun, maybe he should join. There was little tap on one of his toes. He looked down. A little bunny was tapping on his toe impatiently.

He craned his neck to look at the little thing, "Yes?"

The bunny started making gestures, the gnoll listened.

"What? No, is no dirty dig dog, is gnoll... No,... no, is gnoll... No, Scar promises yellow one not to..."

More gestures from the bunny.

"Mmmh? No, Scar isn't sure... gnoll thinks yellow pony wants book, but maybe ponies just don't like each other... What? Why would Scar do that? Is more fun to watch."

The little bunny raised an eyebrow and made some furious gestures.

The gnoll shook a finger at it, "Is no way to talk to gnoll, don't make it forget it's promise... No,... yes,... yes, Scar understands, urgh." he gave the little thing a distasteful look, "Is no word for bunny to know. Bunny is lucky Scar isn't hungry."

"YOU BIT ME AGAIN!" came a shout from the scuffle, he gave a groan. He silently prayed that the next pony he'd meet was a sane one.

He walked over to where the two ponies were still locked in a furious fight over the little book, "Alright, bunny is right, is enough." he picked up a pony in each hand. They struggled wildly in his clasp. He gave a sharp bark, "IS ENOUGH!" They finally snapped out of their frenzy.

"Now, gnoll is going to put down ponies, and ponies will behave..." he got two sheepish nods, "Good."

He put the two down and got the book. Purple Haze was rubbing her flank and was looking like she was ready to go again, but Fluttershy simply looked ashamed of herself. He bent down a little to talk to her. "Why does shy pony want book so badly? Is good book, but not worth fight."

"I know..." Fluttershy replied meekly, "It's just... I'm so shy around other ponies and... that book, there's just so many things in there I've never heard about. And it's just... so... vivid! It's like a whole new world! I would of course never do anything like that, it's much too embarrassing. But still, the stories are so fascinating!"

"More weird than fascinating if you ask me." Purple Haze murmured to herself.

The gnoll thought for a moment, "Gnoll will give shy pony book..." Fluttershy's face lit up, Purple Haze looked like she was about to faint. "BUT... shy pony must promise gnoll to behave and not cause any more trouble. And to bring it back to Scar when is finished with it. And not to tell purple pony."

"Oh yes! I..."

Scar held up a paw, "Gnoll is not finished. IF shy pony breaks promise, gnoll will break his promise too."

"You mean you'd..."

"Scar would."

Fluttershy got a stern expression, "I promise! By the safety of my pets! Pinkie promise!" she rehearsed something he didn't understand. It would do.

Scar nodded and handed her the little book, she put it under one of her wings, "Now, let's have a look at your back!"

After Fluttershy had finished mending the cut on his back Purple Haze and Scar had left and started walking back to the library.

"Purple Haze okay? Bite mark looks painful." There was a clear mark of teeth on her other flank.

"Don't even talk about it. I plan on staying out of that crazy mare's path for as long as possible."

"Scar thought Purple Haze isn't scared of anypony?" he chuckled as he watched her grimace.

"I withhold the right to make exceptions." she rubbed her flank, "Damn, that's going to leave a mark."

He shook his head as he laughed, "Was good show though." she couldn't help but join his laughter.

After a while she got serious again, "Scar, are you sure it was a good idea to give her that book? I mean it's your choice, but still..."

"Is no problem, shy pony gives Scar promise." he made a mental note to eat the bunny first if she broke it.

They walked on in silence for a bit.

"You know, we should get you some new clothes. That thing you're wearing is starting to reek, and blood stains aren't exactly inviting."

"Scar can wash."

"They'd still be rags. They look like they're about to fall off any time. We should go to the market tomorrow morning. I'm sure we can find something to fit you. Where did you get that thing anyway?"

He fingered the rough fabric, he had been wearing it for quite some time. "Is from pony wagon."

Purple Haze chuckled, "At least it fits. Come on, we'll get you something better tomorrow."

They reached the library. The guards let them pass without any objection. When they entered they were surprised by the state of the place. Everything looked perfect. The shelves had been fixed, and all the books were back in place. Nothing had remained to remind of the carnage that had taken place a few hours earlier.

"What happened here?" Purple Haze asked in surprise.

"Oh, it's you guys." Spike popped up from behind a desk. He was looking a bit tired, "Twilight went nuts when she saw the mess so she repaired everything. It was pretty neat. I haven't seen her use that much magic in a while. Knocked herself right out." he scratched his head, "At least it helped her to forget about whatever happened down here for a while."

He walked up to Scar, "Are those bandages? Did you get hurt? What happened to you?" he looked at Purple Haze, "Are those teeth marks?"

"Evil rats."

"Sleazy books, don't even ask."

"What? Books bit you? Rats? The princess and Twilight mentioned something about rats but didn't tell me much more. So what happened? It sounded like hell down here! On second thought,..." he eyed the gnoll's bloody rags, "Don't tell me. I think I'll skip this one. I'm going to hit the bed."

Scar shook his head after the little dragon had left, "Spiked back is too soft, should go hunting with Scar once."

"Twilight would have your head for that. Come on, let's hit the hay. First thing tomorrow morning we're getting you some new clothes."

Chapter 26: Playtime

Scar was roused from his sleep. Something was poking him through his pile of sheets.

"Pinkie! What are you doing?"

"Hihi, look, when you poke this pile of old laundry it moves!"

The Pink Pie, he closed his eyes and tried to force himself to sleep again. He was too tired for the pink storm of activity.

"That's because Scar is underneath it. Hey Scar, you up?" something started bouncing on his head. The colorful one if his memory was correct. No reason to get up this early.

"He does have a rather strange taste, did you see those rags he wears? Simply horrid!"

"I know! We could throw him a wake-up party!" more poking from the side. He didn't know how much longer he would be able to take this.

"What are you doing?" an annoyed and sleepy sounding Purple Haze asked. Finally. She'd get him some peace.

"Seeing if Scar is up?"

He could almost hear her make a face, "You never heard the phrase 'let sleeping dogs lie' did you?" Scar didn't like being compared to a dog, but still, the phrase carried a lot of wisdom.

"Silly, he's not a dog. He's a super fluffy... what was he called again?"

"A gnoll. Stop poking him, he needs his sleep. He had a busy night. Dash, for crying out loud stop bouncing on him! If you make him angry I swear I'll let him smack some sense into you."

"Pfff... always so serious." the bouncing stopped. He gave a quiet sigh. "Sooo, Haze, you know what's going on? Why did the guards show up at our places in the middle of the night?"

"Girls, I'm sure the princess will tell us everything important once she arrives." Twilight had been waiting impatiently for the princess' arrival since sunlight.

"Uhm, excuse me Purple Haze?" he recognized the shy one's voice.

"Yes, Fluttershy?" there was something in Purple Haze's voice that carried a threat.

"I..., well,... I just wanted to check if Scar's wounds are healing correctly, if that is okay? I'm just worried... and..."

Purple Haze gave a defeated sigh, she knew the gnoll was certain to be awake with this kind of activity going on around him and as weird as Fluttershy was she knew her concern for the gnoll was genuine. "Sure, just be careful not to disturb him and..."

"Now wait just a darn minute! What's that I hear 'bout wounds? Is this about yesterday?" Purple Haze was suddenly surrounded by five of the six elements and barraged with questions.

Scar was considering to help her, but surely she would be able to handle the situation. "Hello." a voice said in front of his head. He opened his eyes. The yellow pony had stuck its head into his heap and was now face to face with him.

"Hello." he answered uncertainly.

"I just came to check if you're okay, Are your wounds still hurting?" she asked with a sweet smile.

"Scar is well, wounds only hurt little." he carefully tested his arm. The bandages slightly restrained his movement. He should have just put mud on them, it had always helped in the past.

"That's nice to know. You know, you left those terrible knives when you left. What should I do with them?"

He gave a slight groan, he had forgotten those. "Shy pony can keep for Scar, it will find use for them later."

"Alright, I'll leave you to your sleep now." she withdrew her head. As strange as she was at times, she had a better understanding of his needs than most other ponies. The other ponies were too loud and too inquisitive for his liking, he needed to get out of the tree if he was to find some peace.

Purple Haze in the mean time had somewhat been able to dissuade the other ponies, "You'll get your answers when the princess comes, you can ask all the questions you want then."

"I don't care, I want answers right now!" Applejack never was one to wait for answers, neither was Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, what's going on that you can't tell us anything? Are there spies hiding in Ponyville?"

"You were down here yesterday. Surely you can tell us something?" Twilight's curiosity had been boiling the whole morning.

"I can't tell you anything yet! You need to wait for the princess!" There was a knock at the door, Purple Haze sighed in relief, "That's probably her right now!"

She opened the door, it wasn't the princess. It was a group of foals. "Hi, uhh, can Scar come out and play with us?"

"What? I don't..." the gnoll knew to take an opportunity when he saw it.

He quickly got out and up from his pile and hurried to the door, "Scar goes to play."

"Hey! You can't just leave! The princess hasn't come yet!" Twilight interjected.

"Pony can tell Scar what Celestia said later. Scar has important gnoll work. Is so-cia-lise." He spelled the word out carefully. He didn't know what it meant, but the purple one always talked about it so it seemed important.

"Well,... but promise me to answer some of my questions later!"

He nodded, "Scar will answer pony questions." he turned to Purple Haze, "Purple Haze should come play too."

"What? I don't play with..." she started to object.

"Or can stay and answer pony questions." she gulped.

"Alright, you heard the gnoll. Gotta do my duty and watch over Scar. Bye!" she was out the door in a flash. Scar followed.

"Hey! Gosh darn it! Now we gotta wait till the Princess shows up!" Applejack went to the door and called after the foals, "APPLE BLOOM, make sure you and your friends are home before sundown! And don't get Scar into any trouble!"

Chapter 27: Bananas

Scar yawned as he walked along with the tiny ponies, it was decisively too early to be up. Even Purple Haze looked tired. He would shift buying new clothes to a later point. He turned his attention to the tiny ponies instead, "What do tiny ponies want to play?"

"Actually,..." Sweetie Belle said, "We were wondering,... do you have a costume for Nightmare Night yet?"

"Mare Night?" he knew the ponies had some strange tradition of celebrating certain days, but he had never been able to quite grasp the concept.

"Nightmare Night." corrected Purple Haze, "It's a local festival where foals go door-to-door in costumes collecting candy." she stifled a yawn.

"Candy? Purple Haze means sweets?" this sounded interesting.

"Yeah, you dress up and get sweets. But it's only for foals so I'm not sure..."

"Gnoll can't get sweets?" Scar asked disappointed, he loved sweets, almost as much as meat.

Purple Haze gave him a look, "It's no rule... I mean if you want I guess you could..."

Scar turned to the foals, "Scar likes sweets."

"So you'll come?!" the foals' faces lit up.

"Gnoll will come."

The tiny ponies erupted into a chorus, "This'll be the best Nightmare Night ever!"

"When does Nightmare Night start?"

"You don't know? It starts tomorrow. So, you still need a costume?" asked Scootaloo.

Scar pondered the word for a moment, "Does pony mean disguise? Scar can hide in bushes, or behind tree? Scar could also sit in box. Big box."

"No, you're supposed to dress as somepony or something else."

The gnoll shook his head, why would he disguise himself as a pony? Disguises were meant to hide. "Scar has no pony disguise."

Apple Bloom scrunched her face for a moment, "I've got an idea, everypony, group council!" the foals huddled together in a circle. Scar could make out excited whispering. "ALRIGHT!" the little apple pony beamed him a smile "We've got just the thing!"

A little later Purple Haze wasn't sure if this was crazy or simply hilarious. The gnoll carefully turned in his costume. The foals had organized a prop from their last play, it was a huge cardboard banana. They had cut a hole in the bottom for him to get into it and some more for his arms and head. It looked absolutely ridiculous. The top even looked like it had just been peeled.

"I'm not sure, I still think the pumpkin would have been better." commented Sweetie Belle. Purple Haze had been surprised by the sheer amount of fruit and sizes the foals had at their disposal.

"No, banana much better than puny pumpkin. Is yellow!" He liked yellow things, and bananas did taste good. Or had he mixed them up with pears? It didn't matter, they were yellow and he liked yellow. The gnoll hobbled happily from one leg to the other.

"What are you doing?" Purple Haze asked through a smile. It was nice to see him this relaxed.

"Is banana dance!" he was enjoying the pony disguises much more than he'd thought he would. He found the idea of disguising yourself as something else absolutely hilarious. It was certainly a sight. Purple Haze almost burst into laughter, "What does Purple Haze think?"

"Well...." she snickered, "You're definitely the biggest banana I've ever seen. I think you'll do fine."

The gnoll nodded happily. A strange smile split his lips, "Now we need disguise for Purple Haze."

"WHAT?" Purple Haze backed up a bit, Scar positioned himself in front of the door.

"Purple Haze needs disguise too, so Purple Haze can have sweets too." he slowly walked towards her. The foals had already started going through the costumes and props, "And gnoll already has idea..." She was being backed up into a corner by a giant banana with huge teeth, Purple Haze didn't like where this was going already.

Some time later, princess Celestia had just finished explaining the current situation to the mane six and had answered all questions to some degree of satisfaction. It had been difficult to lessen their worries but she had managed to assure them they were safe, if only for the moment. The fact that the gnoll and Purple Haze weren't there had been a bit awkward, but at least Fluttershy had been able to fill in the last parts of the story.

"Now remember girls, please tell this information to no one but Scar and Purple Haze, and most importantly..."

The door to the library was swung open, and to everypony's surprise, a strawberry walked in. There was an awkward silence, the strawberry was nopony else than Purple Haze, the color of her face matched the color of strawberry exactly. She saw their looks, "It's a Nightmare Night costume, alright?! Scar insisted I should wear one too..." there was a snort from the back, "Dammit Dash, don't make this harder on me than it already is. OK?!"

Rarity smiled, "Well I think it suits you perfectly darling, red really is your color." Purple Haze grumbled something unintelligible before she turned towards the princess.

She snapped her hooves together, "Princess, captain strawbe... captain Purple Haze, reporting for duty."

Celestia suppressed a chuckle, "Hello captain, I am happy to see you are planning on taking part in the local..." she stopped in mid sentence as her mouth fell open and her eyes went wide. The dreams and denials of many decades returned to her. Something unspeakable flashed by before her inner eye.

A giant banana had just entered the room.

"Ah, Celestia. Look! Is banana gnoll!" the gnoll laughed as he hobbled from one leg to the other, "And purple strawberry!" Purple Haze turned even redder.

The princess didn't answer, she didn't even move.

"Princess, is everything alright?" Twilight spoke up.

Celestia just stared. Her lips mouthed a single word, "Banana..."

Chapter 28: Banana run

There was an awkward silence as Celestia tried to divert her gaze away from the gnoll. "Remember the ten steps..." she whispered to herself, "Don't let it control you..." she was starting to sweat, "I don't need this... I don't need this..." she closed her eyes and concentrated. Her eyes snapped open again and focused on the gnoll, "I deserve this!"

"Celestia alright? Is very quiet." Scar gave her an inquisitive look.

"Why, yes, of course..." she said with a strange smile, "Captain, I'm afraid I have to steal Scar for a moment."

"Uhhh, okay?" Purple Haze wasn't sure what to make of Celestia's behavior. Had her cheeks always been that red?

"Don't worry, I'll return him later." there was a flash and both the princess and Scar were gone.

The ponies in the library remained silent after the princess had disappeared, all except Rainbow Dash, "Can somepony tell me what the buck just happened?"

Scar shook his head as he tried to orient himself. He hated teleportation. "This Celestia's room. Why did Celestia take gnoll here?" he thought for a moment, "Does Celestia not like banana?"

Celestia chuckled as she lowered her crown onto a small table and walked towards him, "Quite the opposite, I love bananas very much." There was a predatory look in her eyes. "Now Scar,... " she got uncomfortably close to him, "There is something I have been craving to try out for a very long time now..." he gulped.

Princess Luna was enjoying her morning rituals. Eat a light breakfast, read the morning news or a good book and enjoy the early day. The fact that it was already afternoon wasn't unusual, she reigned over the night, her sister over the day. When the sun rose she would go to bed. In the afternoon she would wake up and start to prepare for her duties.

In the light of the current events most of the guards had been stationed at key points of the Equestrian border meaning that the castle was surprisingly empty at this time of day. It was a pleasant change not being watched by guards with every step for once.

Satisfied with her meal and ready for a new day Luna got up from her table and went to the door. She felt fresh and full of energy, everything was as orderly as she wished it to be. She opened the door, and saw a giant banana shoot through the main hall and down the corridor followed closely by a laughing and prancing Celestia.

Somewhere in the gardens, a lone stone statue shed a single tear of joy.

Luna looked after them for a moment, decided her sanity wasn't worth asking and started her second breakfast this day. The few guards and servants on duty that day had a similar policy, don't ask, don't tell. Princess Celestia's obsession with bananas was a known fact to those that guarded and served her and her sister though nopony would dare mention it. She was the deity of the sun. She could banish ponies to the moon or worse. If she liked bananas, then that was that.

The huge costume constricted him in his movement, but he still made good speed as he shot past doors and windows. Scar had almost reached the end of the north corridor when he was tackled from behind, "Got you!"

He laughed as he got up again, "Celestia is much faster than gnoll thought. Was good chase!"

Celestia laughed with her whole heart for the first time in what felt like decades, it had been a long time since she had the chance to do something she wanted to do for herself. "I must say, I haven't had this much fun in years. It is nice to do something silly once in a while." she was breathing faster than usual, "It seems though I am not as fit as I used to be."

Scar had been surprised when she had told him she had always dreamed about chasing a banana. It was a silly game, but it was fun and challenging for him though he had made her promise not to use her magic before the hunt started. He got a small head start and started hobbling down the corridors at increasing speeds. He hadn't actually expected her to be this fast. He actually had to put up an effort to keep his distance.

"Scar plays this game with the tiny ponies too. Good practice for hunt. Now is banana's turn to hunt."

Luna had finished her second breakfast that day. She had calmed down and felt in control once again. Everything was in perfect order. Sound of shrieks, laughter and rampage could be heard coming closer even through the closed door. She gave a sigh of annoyance, "Oh please no..."

The doors to the dining room burst open as her sister ran through them closely followed by a giant banana. "HAHA! Banana will catch Celestia!"

"Is that you Scar?" Luna asked as he was chasing Celestia around the table.

He stopped for a moment, "Yes, is banana gnoll!"

Luna cast Celestia a blameful gaze, "Really? You put him in a costume? I know you like bananas, but isn't this taking it a bit far?"

The gnoll shook his head, "Is Scar's disguise for Mare Night!"

"Your disguise?" the gnoll nodded, "For Nightmare Night?" he nodded again. She turned to Celestia, "I pray none of the nobles saw you two. Don't you think you're a bit too old for this?"

"Oh lighten up Lulu, we all need to have some fun from time to time." Celestia laughed, "The nobles aren't scheduled for another two hours anyway."

"Lulu wants to play too?" the gnoll asked.

"And he finally learned my name..." Luna cast Celestia an annoyed glance, she only smiled at Luna's discomfort. "Thank you Scar, but no. I'm just going to sit here and wait for my sister to regain her senses."

Scar gave Celestia a measuring look, she was still panting, clearly she didn't run that much. As long as she didn't make a mistake and with him wearing his costume... He turned to Luna, "No worry Lulu, Scar won't need long to catch Celestia."

"She just snuck out." Luna stated flatly. Scar snapped around, she was really gone. Right under his nose. Nothing was able to sneak past a gnoll.

"Gnoll may need more time than it thought..." he shot off after her.

Luna remained behind in the dining hall. A servant appeared at her side, "Another breakfast, princess?"

"My sister is being chased through the castle by a gnoll dressed up like a giant banana. And he now calls me 'Lulu'." Luna said stoically.

"Dessert then, princess?"

"Indeed."

Chapter 29: Pony helmets

Catching her hadn't been easy, she simply knew the castle much better than him. Still, he had managed to catch up to her somehow. There were a few dents in his costume now but it would still serve its purpose.

"Let's stop here, I think my sister will have a fit if any more servants complain to her about us." Celestia smiled as they both walked down the halls. Scar had taken off his costume and was observing the large hall they were in. Everything was clean and sparkling, the floor was polished to a degree were he could see himself in it. He didn't like it, the floor was too slippery and he had trouble to find a hold on it without digging his claws in the floor and scratching it.

"Also,..." she stopped and turned around to face him, "Thank you."

The gnoll nodded and patted the costume he was carrying under one of his arms, "Is no problem, Scar can come and chase Celestia again."

She smiled, "Actually, I didn't mean that. Although I greatly enjoyed it. I wanted to thank you for protecting Twilight Sparkle, she means very much to me. In doing so, you also protected the other elements of harmony. Had anything happened to them, it would have been a terrible day for us."

"Celestia find any more evil rats?"

"Sadly the information I was able to obtain from the live one you brought was not very helpful. They received their orders in the lands behind the great desert, nopony has ever gone beyond it. We have allies living in Saddle Arabia, but even they only seldom wander to the fringes of the desert. I have sent a message to them in hope that they can help us shed some light on the situation and to warn them of the possible dangers."

While they had talked Celestia and Scar had reached her chambers again, "And friends have answered?" he watched as she put on her crown. He leaned his costume against one of the walls.

"Sadly no, I am still waiting for them to reply. Until their answer arrives we will need to remain careful." she thought for a moment, "Could I ask something of you?"

"Celestia wants to chase again? Scar thought Lulu gets mad?"

She chuckled, "No, I don't think I'm fit enough for another chase." She got more serious, "The representatives of the major equestrian cities as well members of the important noble families will come together shortly to hold a council. Most of them only know little of what actually happened since I was careful not to risk a panic, but I will have to explain to them why I placed my guards at the equestrian borders and within their cities."

"And what does Celestia want Scar to do?"

"You have an important part in what happened, and I will have to tell them of your presence when I inform them of the current situation. As far as I know rumors about you have already started to spread. I would like to take this chance to introduce you to them and negate any wrong rumors. Actually, two of them have personally requested to meet you as soon as possible."

"Scar will come and help." Scar answered firmly. He had only understood half of what she had said but if his presence would help he would be there. He thought for a moment, "What two ponies wish to meet Scar?"

"Princess Cadence and her husband Shining Armor. She is a good friend of Twilight Sparkle and he is her brother, and they both wish to thank you personally for protecting her. However, I am afraid they do not know what to expect yet."

"Scar will meet ponies then. Where is pony meeting?"

"It will start in the audience chamber shortly. Come, I will lead you there."

Scar followed Celestia as she led him towards the audience chamber. When they arrived at the large doors he could already smell that there were many ponies inside it. "Please wait outside, I shall call you in when the time comes."

He nodded and she went inside, leaving him with the two guards standing perfectly still next to the doors. One of them was casting him nervous glances. Scar noticed and stepped a bit closer, he took in the guard's scent. "Scar knows this one." The guard started to sweat.

The gnoll thought for a moment, from where did he know this pony? The other guard was getting nervous by now. "Aha! Gnoll remembers! Is from Fat Mare! It chewed on pony helm! How is helm pony?" the gnoll greeted the guard friendly, he was still a guest after all. As long as he paid his drinks and behaved of course.

"Wait, wait, wait, you chewed on his helm?" the other guard spoke up. The first guard gave a defeated groan, "I thought you said you lost it during flight practice, Cloud Dancer?"

"I just told that to the captain! What was I supposed to say? 'Sorry, but the gnoll ate my helm?' She would have kicked my flank for such a story!"

Scar turned to the guard, just as the first one she was a pegasus. She eyed him curiously, "You chewed on his helm? Seriously?"

"Scar is bouncer at Fat Mare, helm pony misbehaves so gnoll gives warning."

She snickered, "You threw away your helm because of a few dents and some spit?"

"Actually, there weren't just a few dents..."

"Pah, I bet he just looked at you and you soiled yourself." Scar wasn't sure about this one, she sounded disrespectful and overconfident. The way she moved signaled aggression. Or maybe he was just reading her wrong? "I bet you he's just as tame as a puppy, why else would the princess allow him to run around?"

Cloud Dancer didn't like where this was going, he knew Star Glaze was always looking for a way to prove herself. "I don't think that..."

She turned to Scar, "I bet I could take you on without so much as a fight, I know your kind, you just look tough." Cloud Dancer gave a groan. Scar was slowly starting to get the impression that the pony before him was insane. Either that or she was simply impolite. He didn't actually want to fight her, this wasn't the bar after all. Maybe he could intimidate her to prevent a conflict.

"Glaze, don't try and pick a fight with him, okay? I don't think you'd enjoy it."

She turned to Cloud Dancer, "Oh, what's wrong? Did the big fluffy dog scare you? Grow some bHEY!" she whirled around as Scar plucked her helm off her head.

"Here we go..." sighed Cloud Dancer.

A few minutes later another guard opened the door from inside, "Scar the gnoll? The princess requests your..." he looked at Star Glaze, "Where is your helm?"

"The gnoll ate it." she replied sourly. Scar was still giving her an indifferent glare, he had made his point. The digestion would take some time though.

"Are you... no time, we'll talk about this later." He turned to Scar, "Come this way please."

After the doors closed behind them Cloud Dancer couldn't help it anymore, "Told you it was a bad idea."

"Ahh, shut it. Help me come up with an excuse for the captain instead. She's going to go nuts!"

Chapter 30: The council

He could hear many voices as he was lead into the hall. As he approached a curtain he could make out Celestia standing at a podium, she passed him a smile when she spotted him behind the curtain. Princess Luna was standing next to her, she looked bored.

Celestia raised a hoof, the voices stopped, "Now that all of you have been informed on the current events I would like you to meet the one that helped to stop the izelim. Please remember to lower your voices, our friend has very good hearing." he could make out hushed whispers. Celestia motioned him to step forward, "Scar, the gnoll."

Scar hesitated for a moment, but decided to trust Celestia and stepped forward through the curtain. As he walked into the middle of the hall he took a look around. There were many ponies here, of all kind. Most of them were magic ponies and all of them started whispering to one another vehemently when they saw him. He smelled fear on many of them. Even though they were only whispering he was able to make out quite a bit.

"Look how big that thing is!"

"How savage!"

"Those teeth! He must be a carnivore!"

"That beast lives with my sister?!"

"Is that blood?"

"He smells!"

The voices were becoming louder now. They hurt his ears. Celestia saw his dismay and raised a hoof. The whispering stopped, but he still felt their eyes on him. "Scar has been in Ponyville for a short time now but has already proven to be a valuable member of our society. He has helped many of my subjects. My sister and I have found no reason to distrust him and neither should any of you."

"Does he understand us? Can he talk?" one of the unicorns asked.

Scar turned to the unicorn, "Scar can talk." More murmurs from the ponies. A few ponies stood up to address the gnoll.

"Where did you come from?"

"Scar was born in mountains, then it traveled a lot."

"Did you really fight the izelim?"

"Pony means rats? Evil rats come to hurt ponies so Scar rips them apart. Still has rat blood on it." he pointed to a dark spot on his rags, the pony became very pale.

"Do you eat meat?"

"Scar eats many things. Nothing that talks." this elected some more murmurs.

"What do you do in Ponyville?"

"Gnoll comes to read books. Also does work at Fat Mare and plays with tiny ponies." some of the ponies exchanged worried glances.

A slightly overweight pony spoke up before any other questions could be asked, "It is nice to see that Ponyville has its own personal watch dog, but what about the other towns? If the izelim are as crafty as you told us we will never be able to find them, even with your guards! I agree that we shouldn't make this public and cause a panic, but if there are any more of these things left in equestria we need to find them."

Many ponies nodded in agreement, but then an elder mare stepped forward and the whispering stopped. Scar watched her with curiosity as she approached him, even in her age the air around her seemed to carry authority. She stopped in front of him and craned her neck to look up at him, "May I see your eyes?"

The request surprised him, he looked to Celestia, "Go ahead Scar, everything is alright."

He got down on one knee and lowered his head. Her eyes were full of life. Scar wagered that she was probably a wise one among their kind, maybe she was a shaman, if the ponies had anything like that. She looked into his eyes for a long time, then she smiled, "Even with your savage appearance there is much kindness in your eyes. I am sure you are no threat to the ponies." She looked at his bandages, "Did you get these wounds from the rats?"

He nodded, "Evil little rats with evil little knives." the ponies around them were listening to their conversation very quietly now.

"The princess said you were able to capture one of them alive. Tell me, how were you able to capture it?"

"Scar grabs rat and drags it behind it. Had to slam it into wall a few times to keep it still." some of the ponies shuddered as he mimicked the motion, Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"No, I mean how were you able to find it at night?"

"Scar is hunter, has good eyes and good nose. Also, rats stink so easy to follow." the murmurs were slowly starting again. Celestia had already understood what the old mare was aiming at.

She turned to Celestia, "We can send the gnoll, with his sense of smell he will find the izelim no matter where they hide." she walked back to her seat and sat again. Scar wasn't sure if he understood her correctly, send him where? Were there more rats?

Suddenly the room was filled with voices, "Send him to Manehatten first!"

"NO! Trottingham is a much more likely target!"

"What are you talking about? If anywhere we need to send him to Fillydelphia first! It's obvious!"

The room was drowned in the sound of the arguing ponies. Some of them even offered to pay for his presence. The discussion quickly turned into a full-out debate.

"ENOUGH!" Luna's voice boomed through the hall, the gnoll held his ears. "The gnoll is neither a mercenary nor a pet. We can only ask for his assistance. Even if he decides to help we will not have him going on a wild hunt through all of Equestria simply to comfort your worries." She addressed the gnoll, "Scar, we fear that there may be more of the izelim hiding in Equestria, would though be willing to help us find them?"

Scar raised himself from his position and stood tall, if there were really any of the rats left he had work to do. "Gnoll will hunt evil rats! Scar will rip them to pieces! It will leave no rat alive!" his voice thundered through the hall as he bared his teeth. The ponies shuddered.

Luna nodded, "All of thee have heard it, he will help us. Return home and contact the guard and police stations. If there are reports of missing ponies or suspicious sightings contact us and we will send him to investigate. We deem that this should please all of thee." Some of the ponies weren't completely pleased but they nodded nonetheless.

"Good, then we hereby declare this council adjourned."

Chapter 31: Good news

Scar watched the ponies leave the hall, most of them were still arguing vividly and casting him strange stares. He didn't care. His thoughts were still on the rats. If there were more rats... maybe he should get himself a club to smack them. He didn't even realize he was growling. Some of the ponies quickened their steps as they walked past him.

"Scar? Is something wrong?" he turned around, it was Celestia. "You seem... troubled."

The gnoll tried to compose himself. He stopped growling and shook himself to straighten his fur. Celestia watched with wonder, the act served to remind her how deeply his behavior was rooted to his instincts. "Is nothing, though Scar may need club..."

"A club?" Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow. She shook her head, "Never mind. Luna is already sending a letter to Twilight and captain Purple Haze to inform them of the council's decision. Also, there is somepony I would like you to meet." She extended a wing and guided him towards two ponies, "This is princess Cadence and her husband Shining Armor."

He inspected the two ponies before him, the first one was a white magic pony and the way it stood reminded him of the guard ponies. It was glaring daggers at him. The gnoll moved a bit closer to take in the pony's smell, there was something familiar about it.

"I do not entirely approve of you living with my sister.“ the pony said with a stern voice, "But I must thank you for protecting her. The izelim will not go unpunished for this, mark my words.“ he gave Scar a nod which he returned.

"I too would like to thank you for protecting Twilight.“ the other pony spoke up. She looked similar to Celestia in her appearance and was colored in a light pink. He hoped she wasn't related to the Pink Pie. "She means very much to me and...“ she stopped talking as the gnoll stepped very close to her and inhaled deeply. That smell, he knew it from somewhere.

He slowly circled the pink pony, holding his nose close to her while sniffing and taking in her scent. With every sniff he took she flinched slightly. She smelled of sweet fruit, but somewhere beneath there was something else. The white pony seemed unsure of his ambitions, "Is this behavior normal for him?“

"I do not think so. At least I have not seen this reaction before.“ Celestia answered unsure herself, "Scar, is something the matter?“

The gnoll stopped in front of the pink one again, he was sure know. "Pink pony has tiny pony.“

The pink one was surprised by this, "What? Tiny pony? Oh! No, I'm sorry but you're mistaken, I do not have foals of my own yet, although I hope to someday.“

Scar shook his head, "Pink pony will have.“

"Yes, like I said. I hope to...“

"No, pink pony does not understand. What is word again?“ he scratched his chin, "Ah. Gnoll remembers. Pink pony is with tiny pony.“

"I'm... I'm pregnant?“

The gnoll nodded, "Is with tiny pony.“ There was a shocked silence. The three ponies were looking at him like he'd gone insane.

"How can you tell?“ asked Celestia.

He tapped his nose, "It can smell, is faint so not with pony for long yet, but Scar can smell.“

"This is ridiculous, you can tell just from smelling her? That's impossible!“ intoned the white one.

"White pony should wait some moons then, will see that gnoll is right.“ the gnoll replied sternly, his nose had never betrayed him before.

Celestia stepped forward, "Cadence, please hold still for a moment.“ she closed her eyes and ever so lightly touched the pink one on her head with her horn. After a moment of silence she lifted her head again and opened her eyes, "Scar is right.“ there was a smile on her face, "You're pregnant.“

Scar wasn't exactly sure what happened after that point, everything suddenly got very confusing. The pink one constantly switched between crying, laughing, hugging him, hugging the white one or hugging Celestia. The white one was in some state of shock, and Celestia had tears in her eyes while she smiled and laughed with the pink one.

The gnoll couldn't make heads or tails of it. Were they sad or happy? Maybe they didn't know who the father was, or had they not planned it? The white one definitely seemed shocked enough, Scar didn't know pony jaws could even drop that far. The pace and the volume at which the pink one was talking at this point strongly reminded him of the Pink Pie. It was painful for his ears and something told him this probably wouldn't stop very soon. He made a mental note not to tell any more ponies they were pregnant.

When the pink one and Celestia were distracted with a now slowly grinning white pony, Scar took his chance and quickly slipped backwards through one of the curtains. Let the ponies be ponies. They would sort it out by themselves. He needed to give his ears a rest.

Scar quietly exited through the doors he had used to enter before. He pushed the doors shut again as softly as possible, careful not to make a noise. Cloud Dancer and Star Glaze gave him questioning looks. The gnoll simply shrugged, "Tiny ponies make pink pony cry.“, he said before he walked off.

He made it back to Celestia's room in good time and found his costume where he had left it. Climbing with one arm wasn't too complicated, he'd manage.

When Luna returned to the audience chamber she wasn't quite sure what was going on, although the way her sister and Cadence were smiling, and that idiotic grin on Shining Armor's face... could it be? "It seems you have received good news." Luna said as she stepped closer.

"I'm going to have a little foal!" squealed Cadence with delight, Luna couldn't help but smile at her joy. "I didn't even know! But the gnoll, I mean Scar, he was able to tell just from smell! I mean, that's..." she happily prattled on with a pace that would have made Pinkie Pie proud.

"Speaking of Scar,..." Luna interrupted Cadence's endless stream of words, "Where is he?"

There was an awkward silence as the three other ponies looked around themselves in surprise. "That's strange..." said Shining Armor, "He was here just a moment ago, how did we miss him leaving?"

Scar was already half-way down the mountain when he wondered if he should have told the pink pony it was two tiny ponies and not one.

Chapter 33: Chasing the rainbow

She had planned it to be totally awesome, but Rainbow Dash was starting to have doubts about this. It wasn't so much the fact that she was running through Ponyville at top speeds. She was the infamous Rainbow Dash after all, she was all about speed. Nor was it the fact that she was screaming all the time, if anything it would make her look cooler. What really troubled her was the mountain of fuming teeth and claws hard at her tail.

"GNOLL... WILL... CHEW... ON... PONY... HEAD!" with each word she felt his breath on her back and with each word she quickened her pace. How was he that fast? She dodged around corners and small alleys trying to outmaneuver the gnoll. Much to her dismay it didn't help much, the gnoll was surprisingly agile and when an alley was too tight for him he simply took the roof instead. It barely helped to keep her distance to him.

It was only when she barely dodged a swipe from one of his paws that she realized for the first time that she would lose this bet. She was already starting to tire and judging by the sounds the gnoll behind her was making... what would he do if he caught her? She decided it was time for damage control.

"I'm sorry... " she dodged another one of his lunges, "For making you mad..." she ducked as she dashed under a stall, the gnoll jumped right over it, "Let's just call it even, okay? No hard feelings?"

"STOP RUNNING AND GNOLL WILL SHOW PONY HOW SORRY IT CAN REALLY BE!" the gnoll thundered behind her.

Purple Haze had spent more time in the bakery than she had intended to, mainly because the princess and her husband wanted to know everything she knew about the gnoll and his actions. The cake was good, but she was starting to worry about Scar.

Princess Cadence had escorted her to the door while Shining Armor, Pinkie Pie and Twilight were busy planning a 'Foal Surprise' party. Spike had been sent to inform the other elements of harmony about the celebration.

Just as she was saying her goodbyes though, a screaming Rainbow Dash shot past the entrance with a foaming and roaring gnoll hard on her tail. Purple Haze looked after the two, somehow she had been expecting this to happen sooner or later.

"Shouldn't you do something about this captain?" asked a visibly worried Cadence.

Purple Haze only shrugged, "Nope, she had her warning. Now it's Scar's turn to beat some sense into her." she saw Cadence's look, "Don't worry, he won't hurt her..." much, she finished the sentence mentally, "Besides, Dash is a tough mare, she'll handle herself just fine." she went back inside. It looked like she had some extra time to spare.

Rainbow Dash wasn't handling herself very well. Not much longer and the gnoll would catch her. This was now officially not awesome any more. Luckily she remembered that she still did have wings, her bet with Applejack was a lost case anyhow. She unfolded her wings and jumped into the air. She felt the gnoll's claws go through the hairs of her tail. With a mighty push of her wings she pulled herself upwards and onto a small cloud.

"COME DOWN LITTLE PONY! SCAR STILL HAS TO CHEW ON PONY HEAD!" the gnoll thundered from below while he shook an angry fist up at the little cloud.

She panted heavily as she lay on the cloud, "I... said... I'm... sorry! Come on, give it a reAAAA!" she barely managed to roll off the cloud as the gnoll shot through it. He had taken a wild jump at it from one of the roofs. She quickly flew to a higher cloud while he landed on all fours. "Look, I'm really sorry. I really am. Can't we just call it quit at that?"

He looked up at the cloud, "Rainbow pony has to come down sooner or later, and when Gnoll catches pony..."

"There you are!" a voice interrupted him. Scar turned around, it was Rarity.

"White pony, Scar is very busy. Is important gnoll work." he turned his head back up again in time to see Rainbow Dash fly off. He gave an annoyed grunt, he would get her sooner or later.

"Yes, as interesting as your games with Rainbow Dash seem I can't help but feel horrified that you're stlll wearing those rags! Is that blood? And that smell! Come now, we simply can't have our hero running around like that!" she started to lead him away by one of his paws. He was too tired to resist at this point.

"Hero? Scar does not know word. Gnoll is gnoll. Where is white pony taking gnoll?"

"We are going to my boutique to get you some new clothes! Of course you're a hero, you saved the little fillies, saved Twilight from those horrid things and now I hear you found out that Cadence will have a little foal of her own!"

"Is two tiny ponies."

She stopped for a moment, "What?"

"Gnoll forgets to tell pink pony, but is with two tiny ponies." he scratched his head.

"Well just the more reason to get you something nice to wear!" she continued leading him on.

Scar thought for a moment, Purple Haze had said he'd need something new to wear. "Scar needs to get little coins first, so it can pay pony for new clothes."

Rarity struck a mortified pose, "PAY? How dare you insinuate I would actually demand payment for something like this!"

His ears dropped, "Scar is sorry, did not mean to insult white pony."

She flashed him a smile, "Don't you worry, you did no harm. Come now, it is my gift to you."

A gift. That would be nice. He could give a gift in return later. Something nice. Maybe he'd get her a chew bone. Did ponies like chew bones? He'd have to ask Purple Haze later. They stopped in front of a strange building. A multitude of different smells entered his nose as he approached it. It was intoxicating.

"This not white pony's house... Scar gets clothes here?"

"Oh, don't be silly darling." Rarity laughed as she led him to the door, "This is the Ponyville Day Spa."

"What is gnoll going to do here?" he asked as he started to duck through the door.

"We're going to get you a nice bath of course! I can't have you put on new clothes smelling like that!" she chimed happily. She saw him stop in his tracks, "Don't you dare even think about running off now!"

Scar shuddered, he hated baths. But as things were he was too tired to escape the white one anyway. He gave a heavy sigh as he stepped inside, he'd have to do it at some point and it would probably be the most peaceful thing he had done this day.

Chapter 34: The bath

"Ah, Miss Rarity. It is always a pleasure to welcome you to our spa." Scar watched a light blue colored pony enter the waiting area, she stopped when she saw him. "And... this... pardon me for asking, but who might you be?" much to his surprise he couldn't read any fear from her, just genuine interest.

"Oh my, where are my manners? Please, allow me to introduce Scar, the gnoll. Scar, this is Lotus Blossom. She and her sister Aloe run the Ponyville day spa." Rarity said as she walked up next to the other pony, "Now don't you worry, he may not look like it, but he is such a darling. Always friendly and gentle with foals and polite to everypony."

"Didn't you say he was a brute and an offense to fashion?" Lotus whispered to Rarity.

"Spa pony must talk louder, gnoll did not understand." Scar commented as he watched the two with interest, the number of smells coming from the blue one was insane. "Why is white pony red?"
.
Before Lotus could answer Rarity quickly interrupted, "Just some rash statements that needed to be corrected,... hehe..." she shot Lotus a meaningful glance, "Now come on, I'm afraid we have a lot of work ahead of us."

An hour later Scar was actually enjoying himself. He had never bathed in hot water before, but he understood now why the ponies enjoyed baths so much. What he didn't quite understand was why the ponies had to refill the tub two times, it was only a little brown after he got into it. No reason to throw it away. Why the two spa ponies even had a tub big enough for a gnoll was beyond him.

"There we go, we're finally making some progress!" Rarity said as she and the other two spa ponies happily scrubbed him with mops. It did feel nice. Thankfully the spa ponies were senseful enough to use unscented soap, the smells were intoxicating enough to him as it were There had been a very awkward silence when he had taken off his rags, but it had passed.

"Alright, all clean! Now come on, let's get you out and dried." Scar carefully got out of the bathtub, his fur was dripping with water. Rarity approached him with a large towel, "Now we just need to... wait, wait, nonono!" it was a reflex, he simply couldn't help it. His fur exploded into a shower of water as he shook himself with wanton abandon. It felt awesome.

When he regained his senses he found himself surrounded by three drenched and soaking wet ponies. There was a blank expression on Rarity's face, "Well,.. that was... unexpected..."

After the ponies had dried themselves again Scar and Rarity left the spa and started heading towards her boutique. He was wearing his old rags again and had she not seen his back herself she would have protested strongly.

As they were walking down the streets something was troubling Rarity, "Scar, can I ask you something?"

"Rarity can ask." Scar replied. Why did she sound so different from before?

She almost missed a step when he said her name, "Do I scare you?"

He stopped, where did this question come from? "Why would Rarity scare gnoll?"

"Well,..." she looked at the ground, "It's just, seeing as I am a unicorn,... and with your... back... I mean... experiences with magic... and seeing how you reacted at Pinkie's party... and I did try to pull you into my shop..." she looked him in the eyes, "Are you still scared of us?"

Scar looked at her while he pondered the question, was he still scared of the ponies? He looked into the evening sky as he searched his feelings. "Gnoll will always be scared of magic..." Rarity's head dropped in dismay, "Because Scar cannot defend itself against it. Can't run or bite, can't hide. Is helpless, just like in cage... and that scares it..."

He paused for a moment, "When Scar first met Celestia and goes to Ponyville, it was terrified. Always careful of traps, always fear of going in cage again. It lives after simple rule, no trust ponies, no trust magic, always ready to run again... but... gnoll, was wrong."

He turned to her, "Gnoll has met many nice ponies, and ponies were nice to it, trusted it. Scar made friends, it never had friends before. Scar learned to trust ponies, and maybe Scar will learn to trust magic someday also." she smiled a bit, "But is gnoll scared of Rarity? No. Rarity is friend, Scar does not fear, Scar trusts." he passed her a toothy smile.

Rarity chuckled, "I'll never get used to that smile of yours... Thank you, that was very kind of you to say." they continued walking. "Does it ever haunt you? Your past?"

"Sometimes, when gnoll sleeps old ghosts come to haunt Scar. Then Scar is back in cage, and gnoll is scared because Scar does not know if cage is real or not... and gnoll thinks, what if Scar wakes up and everything was dream? Is gnoll still in cage?"

Rarity suddenly stomped her hoof down, "Rest assured, if anypony would ever try and cage you I would destroy them before they could lay so much as a hoof on you!"

Scar looked at her in surprise, there was fire burning in her eyes, "Now Scar is scared..." he made a mental note never to anger her.

"Well, just because I am a mare of high standards does not mean I can't make myself heard when I have to." Rarity replied proudly, "But look at us idling the time away while you're still dressed like that! Come, let us not be dandy, we still have to get you some decent clothes!"

Chapter 35: New Clothes

Sweetie Belle had been watching the fight for about half an hour now, it was a unique experience. Never had she seen anypony stand their ground in an argument with her sister before, yet the gnoll did not budge. By this point Rarity was using her best whining voice, and the gnoll countered by letting his fur stand up and bearing his fangs. To any unsuspecting newcomer, it would look like they were about to go at each others throat.

"But why not? It would look so pretty! The purple matches with your fur perfectly!"

The gnoll shook his head defiantly, "Scar will not wear."

"I even have a set in different sizes! Just let me try them on and you'll see I'm right!" she levitated several of them around him.

He eyed them with disgust, "Gnoll repeats, NO RIBBONS!"

"But why not? WHY? THEY WOULD LOOK PERFECT!" she increased her volume.

"RIBBONS IS FOR PET" he squinted his eyes at her, "Is no pet. Never."

She held his stare for what seemed an eternity, "Very well, no ribbons." Sweetie Belle almost fell off her chair, had Scar just won a concession from her sister? Rarity and Scar got ready for the next round.

"Gems. Red. To match the color of your eyes. All my designs have these, so don't you dare tell me they are for pets." She held up several of the stones with her magic.

The gnoll didn't even give them two looks. "No." he said flatly.

If looks could have killed, Scar would have been dead on the spot, burned to a crisp. "And why, if I may ask?" Rarity's voice carried the promise of death.

"Can not hunt with shiny stones." the gnoll grumbled through clenched teeth. "Scar will shine like star in sky!" he grabbed one of the little stones and held it against the light, it sparkled in a radiant red when the light hit it. "How will it hide? Can't sneak on prey or rats like that!"

"AHA!" Rarity laughed triumphantly as she got out a different set, "Crimson pearls from the shores of Saddle Arabia. Matt,..." she smirked at him "Beautiful in sunlight and yet non reflective. They are black in the night."

Scar stared at her for a moment, why would she put silly stones on his clothes? Still, if it meant that much to her... He held up a finger, "One."

Rarity put on a face of pure shock, "You can not be serious. Twenty!"

The gnoll's face did not flinch. He held up two fingers, "Two. Is serious."

"Fifteen!"

"Five!" he was starting to get annoyed.

"Ten! And not a single one less!" she stomped her hoof down decisively.

The gnoll curled his lip up further, but reading from her pose he would not be able to win any more ground on this one. He wondered if she was in someway related to the stingers. "Ten. And Scar will count."

Rarity smiled as she put the pearls aside. She would savor this victory. This round was hers. Sweetie Belle had to suppress herself from cheering them on. The final round was about to start. The final battle would be fought were the fight had originally erupted.

Rarity continued in a calm and stern voice, "Now, about the design and color scheme, we talked about this before and..."

"Yellow." Scar interrupted her with a casual voice.

Rarity gave him an evil glare "No yellow."

"Gnoll likes yellow. Like banana." he said with a stoical expression.

"No yellow. No bananas."

He tilted his head, "Celestia likes banana too."

She was about to jump him, "No yellow. No bananas" she said as she ground her teeth.

"Why not? Is pretty color!"

The fight was interrupted as Opalescence walked by the two of them. The cat was surprisingly oblivious to the gnoll's presence. It simply ignored him completely. Scar though was finding it difficult to tear his eyes off the cat. It looked, tasty. Rarity saw Scar's gaze fix the cat, "Don't you even dare think about it." her voice was as cold as ice. Scar turned his gaze back to Rarity, he wouldn't have eaten the cat, just maybe chased it around a bit and then chewed on it a little. The discussion went on.

"BLACK!"

"WHITE!"

"RED!"

"BLUE!"

"PINK!"

Rarity stopped, "Pink? Seriously?"

The gnoll shrugged, "Is nice color." Rarity raised an eyebrow. "What? Is pretty." she gave him a smirk, "Gnoll likes pink, is pretty." he crossed his arms, "Silly pony."

She gave a sigh, "We are obviously getting nowhere like this. Allow me to make a suggestion. I will make one with the crimson pearls, in red and black, according to your wishes and I will make a second one according to my tastes. But, I will decide on the design on both of them. Is that agreeable?"

Scar thought for a moment, "It agrees." he would get one in yellow from somewhere else later. One with many bananas on it. That would be awesome. "How many days should Scar wait?"

"Days? Pah! I will have these done by tomorrow! Leave now, I need to get to work immediately!" she ushered the gnoll outside. He lingered in front of the door for a moment. The ponies had a very strange idea of clothing.

Inside, Rarity was smiling broadly as she got to work. She had never met anypony she couldn't persuade. It filled her with a vigor unlike anything else before. "Yellow..." she chuckled "With bananas... to think... and pink!" she wiped away a tear of joy, "He may not have a clue about fashion, but he is such a darling."

Scar was heading back to the tree, the sun was setting and he was looking forward to a long nap. Something caught his eye, colors. Rainbow colors. A cloud was hovering low about the streets, a colorful tail hanging from it. Within arms reach no less. A grin spread his lips. Finally.

Chapter 36: Little Cakes

Scar carefully crept towards the cloud on all fours. The scent was different from what he remembered, but those colors were unmistakable. He got up and reached out with one of his paws. His fingers closed around the tail. He gave a yank, "Gnoll catches rainbow po..." he got a look at the pony dangling from his paw, "Pink Pie pony?"

"Hi Scar!" Pinkie laughed happily as she dangled around. Scar did a double check, she was still pink but her hairs were colored in all the colors of the rainbow.

"Why is Pink Pie's hair like rainbow?" he asked as he carefully set her down.

"That was fun! Can we do that again?" she bounced up and down. "I made some new special muffins! They color your hair! But I ate a bunch and now I have all different kind of colors! Do you want one too?" she held up a blue muffin.

"No, gnoll does not." she made a face, "Scar already ate." he made a note to be careful of her cakes in the future. He looked up at the cloud, "How did Pink Pie sit on cloud? Is no flying pony."

"I can't sit on clouds, silly! I'm not a pegasus!" she chuckled,

"Gnoll already said. But still, how did..." he decided it was better not to ask, "No matter. Scar is sorry for yanking on tail. Thought Pink Pie was other pony."

"That's okay silly, it was fun! Who were you looking for?"

Scar raised an eyebrow, was she really that oblivious? He only knew one pony with that many colors. "Scar is looking for rainbow pony. Has debt to settle."

"Oh. You mean like a present?" Scar tilted his head, it wasn't exactly a present he was planning to give. "She's over at the Cloudbreaker with Applejack. They always meet for a drink there once a week!"

"And Pink Pie does not drink with friends?"

"Oh silly, I don't drink when I'm making new muffins. Besides, I just need sugar to sweeten my day!" he wondered how much sugar a pony had to eat to be like her. It would probably be enough to kill him.

"Pink Pie, where is Cloudbreaker? Gnoll would like to find rainbow pony."

"That's easy, you just go in that direction." she pointed down a road, "It has a sign with a cloud and a lightning bolt on it, you can't miss it! Say hi to them when you meet them!"

He thought for a moment, "What other colors does Pink Pie have?"

A bit later the gnoll gave off a groan of annoyance. He missed it. There was nothing like she had described on this road, he was sure of it, he had walked it up and down two times. The ponies either had a terrible sense of direction or the pink one just had a bad sense of humor. But he wouldn't give up that easily. He put his nose to the ground and concentrated as he paced through Ponyville's street.

His nose soon started to fill with different scents. Scar closed his eyes and concentrated. Bug pony and teacher pony. No. Pink pony. "Hi Scar!", he returned her wave. No. Spiked back and purple pony, definitely no. Rainbow pony, but old trail. Wrong. Tiny pony, the orange one. On wheels? Pink pony. Again? "Hi Scar!" he returned her wave again. Purple Haze, relatively fresh, but wrong pony. He continued. Apple pony, finally! If she was really with the rainbow one... he followed the trail.

"So you made the fella angry 'nough to chase you through Ponyville?" Applejack laughed as Rainbow Dash drowned another mug of cider, "Ah sure would've liked to see that!"

"You have no idea AJ, I think I crossed a line. He's gonna kill me when he catches me! What am I going to do?" Dash slumped over the table. "I mean, I didn't mean to make him that angry! Just a bit, enough to make him chase me... I think he hates me now." she said with sadness in her voice. "The most awesome thing to happen in Ponyville after me now hates my guts. Probably wants to eat them too."

"Oh sugarcube, Ah bet ya he ain't all that mad 'bout it! Ah don't think he's one to hold a grudge. Just go to him and apologize and I'm sure he'll forgive ya!"

"You know what? That's just what I'm going to do! First thing tomorrow morning when I'm sober again I'm heading over there and I'll apologize to him!" Dash replied with a smile, "He probably forgot about it already!"

"You... may have to start apologizing a tad bit earlier than that I'm afraid... Ah don't think he forgot..." Applejack said quietly, there was a worried look on her face.

"Huh? What do you mean by thURK!!!" a huge hand wrapped itself around her neck and she was lifted out of her chair.

"Hello, rainbow pony..." she looked into two red eyes.

"Hi Scar... fancy meeting you here... hehe..." sweat started to form on her brow, "Now listen... I know you're probably still angry at me and I totally deserve to be punished for it. But I just want you to know I'm really, really..."

"Quiet." he interrupted her.

Applejack was starting to worry, she prayed her judgment of the gnoll wasn't wrong. "Now come on Scar, give her a chance to apologize, I'm sure she didn't mean anythin' bad by it. You know how she is."

"Gnoll knows very well." he grumbled as he turned his attention back to a sheepishly grinning Rainbow Dash. She was squirming in his grip but his fingers were like steel around her neck. "Open."

"Huh?"

"Open. Mouth." he said with a stoic voice. She wagered he was probably going to put something icky in her mouth. If that would be her punishment she would live with it. She opened her mouth, hopefully it wouldn't be a worm.

To her and Applejack's surprise he brought up something quite different in his other hand. It was a little muffin with decorative icing on top. It looked like a green field of grass with little white flowers in it.

He placed it on her tongue, "Eat."

She carefully started chewing, it tasted pretty good. "Taste good?" she nodded happily, what was he planning? "Good. Now swallow." she swallowed. "All gone?" she opened her mouth, "Good." he set her down again. "Scar forgives rainbow pony."

"Huh? That's it? You're not going to hit me, gnaw on my head or anything else?" Dash wasn't sure if this was her lucky day or if the gnoll had gone insane. She saw him raise an eyebrow, "I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything! I just thought you'd be totally mad at me."

"Is all fine. Gnoll is happy little cake tasted good."

"Dude, you don't know how much that means to me! I was scared you were gonna kill me or..." there was a gasp and a clonk to her side. Applejack's jaw had just dropped onto the table.

Chapter 37: Barrels Up

Red with green stripes, white with blue dots, pink with yellow triangles, green with white flowers... The colors and shapes of Rainbow Dash's hair constantly swirled and rearranged themselves.

"THE BUCK!?! What kind of muffin was that?!" Dash cried out as she looked in horror at the kaleidoscopic effects dancing on her tail and mane.

"Special little cake from Pink Pie..." Scar said happily.

Rainbow Dash started to get pale, "It's from Pinkie?"

The gnoll nodded happily, "Pink Pie says is two hundred layers little cake. Many colors."

Applejack laughed out loud, "It's hilarious Ah tell you that!" Rainbow Dash made a face, "Lighten up sugarcube, Ah think Scar got you back fair and square."

"I guess he did..." Rainbow Dash tried to lighten up a bit as her hair switched to white and red stripes. She reached a hoof out to Scar, "We even?"

He reached out and lightly shook it "Is even."

Rainbow Dash eyed him with curiosity, "Say, you wanna stay for a drink or two? It'll be my treat!"

Scar eyed the little mugs the two ponies were holding with distrust, a sweet smell of rotten apples came from it. "Ponies drink rotten apples? Scar is not sure if it should drink."

"Rotten Apples? Sugarcube, this is finest cider from our own acres, there ain't nothin' wrong with it." she pushed her mug towards him, "Here, have a try. Ah'm sure you'll like it."

Scar carefully reached out and took the mug in his hand. He wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but the apple pony seemed trustworthy. He took a sip. He sat the mug down. He stared into the distance, unmoving. His world had just changed.

Purple Haze meanwhile had returned back to the library together with Twilight and Spike. She felt like she'd eaten her own weight in cake. For some reason Pinkie had simply disappeared on several occasion only to reappear from a totally different side. She constantly talked about some kind of new muffin and how awesome it was. When she came back with a new set of hair colors Purple Haze wasn't so sure if these new muffins really were her thing.

"Scar? Are you home?" Purple Haze called out as she carefully prodded his pile. It was empty. "Huh... I wonder were he is. It shouldn't have taken him too long to catch Dash..."

"Catch Dash? What are you talking about? Did she get Scar in trouble again?" Twilight asked from behind her.

"Never mind. I'm sure nothing happened." she couldn't help but feel a bit worried. "We should probably wait a bit for him. I'm sure he'll show up sooner or later." she took a place beside his pile. For some reason she missed resting on his back. "Say, Twilight?"

"Yes, Purple Haze?"

"What did you try to find out with those questions anyway? They seemed a bit strange..."

Twilight brushed lightly, "Well, you see, I want to write a detailed study on the race of gnolls."

Purple Haze raised an eyebrow, "The race?"

"There is not one piece of literature about them! Not even in the equestrian guide to mythical creatures! Where did they come from? Are there still more?" she waved her hooves around frantically to emphasize her point. "We need to find out about their culture, their social behavior, intelligence, conceptual understanding and their ability to plan ahead. There are so many new things to learn!"

She started to look a bit depressed, "Also, I hoped to learn a bit more about his likes and dislikes, you know... get to understand him a bit better... I'm afraid he doesn't like me a lot..."

Purple Haze was surprised by this, "What makes you think that?"

"The way he reacts when I ask him questions, he always seems so distant and hesitant to talk to me... and he still doesn't use my real name..." she looked at her hooves in dismay.

"I'll admit, he's probably a bit... overwhelmed by you, but I don't think he dislikes you." Purple Haze tried to cheer her up. Much to her surprise Twilight actually seemed worried. "Just try and chat with him a bit, I'm sure he won't mind as long as it doesn't turn into a quiz again."

"That's easy for you to say, the two of you bonded so easily! Didn't you notice how relaxed he is around you? I mean, I know he's had bad experiences with magic, but that can't be all to it! Why does he act so differently towards me?" Twilight said in frustration.

"Twilight, let me assure you. He isn't afraid of you, he just isn't used to conversing with ponies that much. Give him some time and I'm sure he'll come out of his shell." Twilight didn't look very convinced, "Tell you what, tomorrow morning we head out for a picnic, just you, me, Spike and the big guy. It'll be nice and relaxed. I'm sure you'll get your chance to get to know him better then."

Twilight smiled, "That's a great idea! Spike! We have a picnic to prepare!" she rushed off to find the little dragon.

Purple Haze chuckled as she watched her leave, "I just hope Scar's going to be okay with this..." she looked around the library, "Speaking of Scar, where is he?"

There was a frantic knocking at the door, "Captain Purple Haze?! Are you there? It's an emergency!"

"This can't be good..." Purple Haze whispered as she got up and headed to the door.

When she opened it she was greeted by a guard who was finding it difficult to find his breath. He looked as if he had just sprinted a good distance, "Captain Purple Haze!" he saluted hastily. "We... may..." he gulped for air "...have a situation on our hooves."

"Easy there soldier, catch your breath." she waited for him to take a few deep breaths, "Now, what's the problem?"

The guard took another deep breath, "It's about the gnoll, captain. There are reports that he and two ponies are rampaging in a local inn."

Chapter 38: Paddles

The two ponies had invited him to play a strange game. As far as he had understood the goal was too drink as much of the rotten apple drink as possible. He didn't mind much, he always had room for more and as long as they were eager to invite him he would keep on drinking. The taste was much better than water.

Strangely enough, after a few mugs the ponies started to behave... weird. The way they moved, how they held themselves, how they held the mugs, even the way they talked. It just seemed off. At least they looked happy. After what seemed like a dozen mugs or so he felt the need to lose some water, how did the ponies manage to do this without having to pee?

He stood up from his position, "Hey Scar? Where ya goin'?" Applejack asked in a slurred voice.

"Gnoll needs to find tree."

Rainbow Dash laughed, "What? Just go use the toilet dude, it's behind that door over there!" she pointed to two doors with small signs on them.

The gnoll walked over to the two doors. He had been wondering about where the ponies went to do their business, for some reason they didn't seem to mark their territories. He stopped in front of the two doors and inspected the signs. They showed silhouettes of ponies. He scratched his head, was this supposed to tell him something? He slightly pushed the first door open and stuck his head inside, "EEEEEEEK!!!" he quickly pulled his head out and closed the door again. Wrong door.

Before he opened the second door he did a double check with his nose, no ponies inside. He stepped through the door and found himself in the weirdest room he had ever seen. To his left there were several small basins mounted on the walls, and to his right were several stalls. He nudged the door to a stall open and looked inside. One look was enough to tell him this would be difficult.

While the gnoll was busy on the toilet Applejack and Rainbow Dash were busy with something entirely different but no less problematic. "Damn it Prancer, didn't you learn your lesson the last time?" Dash said in annoyance.

"I sure did..." several colts stepped up, "I brought more friends, and that dog of yours isn't around..." There was a strong smell of alcohol on Prancer's breath. The other guests were starting to look troubled. In his worry for the interior the barkeeper had already sent one of his waiters to inform the guards.

"Darn it, what makes ya think ya can try an' scare us?" Applejack was already fed up, the heavy consumption of cider had drastically lowered her tolerance of ponies like him.

"Nopony is talking to you, you farm mule. Why don't you go and get us some drinks while we have some fun with Crash here. And none of that disgusting apple cider..." there was a twitch in one of Applejack's eyes.

Scar wasn't sure how to approach this problem. He understood how these toilets worked, he had even figured out how to flush. The problem was that the stalls were simply too small. They were barely big enough for ponies. How did Purple Haze shower in these? He was going to have a chat with the barkeeper once he'd figured this out.

The gnoll eyed the stalls with annoyance, he wouldn't fit in sideways. He inspected the stall walls, they were bolted down to the floor and to the walls with a few simple screws. Maybe he could rip them out? No, then he'd have to repair them. Maybe if he had a big bowl, or a mug... ridiculous. Maybe there were bigger stalls in the other room? No, probably not... also too many screaming ponies. Should he ask one of the mares for advice? He shuddered at the thought and decided he'd rather go find a tree.

He stepped out just in time too witness Prancer through another insult at Applejack and Applejack break her mug over Prancer's head while Rainbow Dash jumped the remaining colts. He took in the fray for a second before he gave a sigh, it seemed there was always work for him. He walked back into the toilet, he needed to get something.

Purple Haze and several guards had met with the waiter outside the inn. "Alright, are you the one who reported a fight? How many are in there?"

"There wasn't actually a fight when I left..." the pony replied nervously, "My boss just sent me because he thought there would be one..." He saw Purple Haze's face, "Heh..."

"So the gnoll isn't actually rampaging through your inn?" Purple Haze asked with rising anger.

"No... at least he wasn't when I left..."

Purple Haze gave a groan before she turned to the other guards, "Get in position for quick entry. I'll have a look first and then I'll decide what to do." The guards nodded and spread out. She approached the inn slowly, everything seemed peaceful. She took a peek through one of the windows... and barely dodged a cider barrel as it came flying through the glass.

She did a double check on the barrel, there was a groaning colt stuffed into it. From inside she could hear shouts and the sounds of tables being overthrown. There was a loud smack. Another colt came flying through the window and crashed onto the ground next to the barrel.

A huge head poked out of the window and looked down at Purple Haze, "Hello Purple Haze."

"Hi Scar..." she replied meekly from her position, "Please tell me you didn't start this."

The gnoll shook his head, "Scar did not... wait..." his head disappeared and more trashing could be heard from the inside. There were three more loud smacks. Two more colts came flying out of the window and landed on the other groaning two. The door to the inn was thrown open and the gnoll stepped outside, he was dragging an unconscious colt behind him. Under his other arm he held something that strongly reminded her of a door.

He held the pony up by one of its legs, "This one did, was mean to apple pony, tries to pick fight." he let the pony fall onto the ground before him "Is three more inside."

"This guy again? Didn't he try to start trouble in the Fat Mare the last time?" she turned to the guards, "Alright, round them up. I'll go have a talk with the barkeeper."

She stopped by Scar's side, "Is that a stall door?"

He looked at the door he was holding, "Was before, is to paddle naughty ponies now." he thought for a second, "Is smack door."

"Smack door?" Purple Haze was starting to get an idea what had made the smacking sounds before.

Scar nodded as he judged the weight of the door in his arm, "Goes smack on pony heads."

Chapter 39: Trains

Scar tried to suppress a yawn as he stood at the station. The letter had come in the middle of the night, courtesy of princess Luna. The first town had sent reports of missing ponies, and the gnoll was to investigate them. So he and Purple Haze had left the library before sunrise and had headed for the train station. He hadn't quite caught the name of the town they were headed when she had told him, but it was somewhere near the very southern border of Equestria if he had understood correctly.

No matter the name, the distance was big enough that it would take him more than a day to return. It pained him severely that he wouldn't be there for mare night. He would miss the candy. Strangely enough the purple one had also been disappointed he had to leave this quickly. Her sympathy was surprising for him, maybe he had misjudged her... or maybe she had planned another session of questions. Scar shuddered.

He let his gaze wander over the train that stood at the station, it was a curious construction. He had seen them pass in the distance before, but never had he seen one up close. Every now and then it would give off a loud whistle and a gust of steam. Several ponies covered in grease and black coal dust were clambering around it and performing odd works. As everything the ponies build the whole train was extremely colorful.

There were already quite a few ponies mingling around at the station. Many of them gave him curious glances but otherwise left him alone. Not that it mattered much to him, lacking a good day's sleep he wasn't too keen on meeting new ponies anyway.

He was watching them get into the carts and take their seats in the different cabins when a thought occurred to him... How was he going to fit inside? He would probably fit through the door but the cabins would be difficult, and it seemed that more and more ponies were getting onto the train. Further down the station one of the engineers was telling Purple Haze something similar.

Second lieutenant Berryshakes watched the clock at the Shoretrot train station with impatience. The train was late, and she hated late. Everything in the little coast village was late. The two privates accompanying her watched as the unicorn walked up and down the station with quick steps. She was famous for her punctuality and her obsession with formalities, and even more famous for her impatience.

Grey smoke started to rise on the horizon, and soon the constant repetitive pattern of the train mechanics could be heard. "Finally!" Berryshakes exclaimed as she went back to her position in front of the two privates. Berryshakes remembered captain Purple Haze from her training. She had an impressive track record and her appearance had always been flawless. She had been one of the hardest and most thorough drill instructors she had ever met, and she had been her idol for it.

The three of them watched the train enter the station and come to a stop slowly. This was the final station, there was only the ocean from here on. The doors opened and several ponies started to get off. Not many ponies came here, the big trading posts were stationed elsewhere. Only a few commodity traders came here from time to time, the ponies of Shoretrot lived mostly independent of the outside world.

Finally, captain Purple Haze stepped off the train. Berryshakes did a double check, she looked different from what she had remembered. There were a few scratches and a small dent on her chest plate, and her mane seemed to be a bit disheveled. There was annoyed look on her face. Berryshakes saluted nonetheless, "Second lieutenant Berryshakes reporting for duty!" she snapped her hooves together. Purple Haze returned the salute with a tired motion, "I trust your journey was well captain?"

Purple Haze gave a huff, "You have no idea. We stopped at ten different stations, TEN. DIFFERENT. STATIONS... and at every station... more LUGAGGE!" she started walking down the train, "And more luggage means, you have to open the cargo cart. And every time they open it up, screaming, shouting, running, 'the terror, the terror! Save the foals!'" she mimicked a panicked faces, "The next time the princess can either teleport us or suck it!" Berryshakes almost missed a step.

"Excuse me captain, but the message I received said you would be in the company of a royal tracker?" Berryshakes and the two privates were still following the ranting Purple Haze.

Purple Haze stopped in front of the cargo cart, "Yup, did it say what he is too?"

Berryshakes thought for a second, "It didn't say, though the mayor did mention he wasn't a pony... is he a griffin? Will he arrive per flight later?"

Purple Haze gave a snort, "He certainly isn't a griffin... they're much more easy to handle..." she started to slide the big door open, "Wait out here while I go wake him up." she went inside when the gap was big enough for her to pass. The three ponies remained standing outside in confusion, what kind of royal tracker traveled in a cargo cart?

Berryshakes strained her ears to listen to what the captain was saying, "Hey, you up?... Come on, I know you can hear me..." something mumbled a response, "Yeah, I know... I'm tired too... no, I don't want to take a nap first... yes, I'm sure this is the right station,... I know, but we have work to do." something moved inside the cart. The three ponies took a step back, the whole cart had just moved. Whatever was inside this cart had to be huge.

Purple Haze jumped out of the gap and looked at their faces for a moment, "Did something happen while I was inside?" only blank expressions, "Alright... A few basic rules, don't stare, don't shout... he has very good ears. If he tells you to do something just do it, he has experience hunting these things and you don't." a huge clawed hand appeared in the gap above her and grabbed the door.

Purple Haze continued talking in spite of their big eyes and in spite of the fact they were no longer looking at her but above her, "Stay behind him, we can't have your scent block his nose. If we meet rats let him take care of them..." the door was slowly pushed open, their mouths dropped. "And most importantly... and again,... do not stare at him." Purple Haze finished with an annoyed tone.

All three of them were staring with open mouths by now. She felt him step out of the cart behind her. "This is Scar, the gnoll..." there was a thump as something heavy was set down, she saw the others eyes follow it. She gave a sigh, "That's the smack door, I advise keeping your heads down if he swings it."

Chapter 40: Search

The three ponies eyed him nervously. The gnoll gave them a nod, "Guard ponies." Berryshakes twitched when he hefted the door to his back with a rope.

Purple Haze turned to Berryshakes, "How many ponies have gone missing?"

"Three until now. All of them within the last three weeks. We have no clues yet."

"Do you know where they went missing?"

She shook her head, "No, all of them were seen leaving the village but none of them returned."

Purple Haze thought for a moment, "Do you have anything that belonged to them?"

Berryshakes reached into one of her pouches and brought forth a straw hat, "This was the hat of an earth pony called Strawberry Mills, she was a farmer in the vicinity. She went missing about three days ago."

Purple Haze took the hat and held it before Scar, "Can you do anything with this?"

The gnoll reached for the hat and brought it up to his nose. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the scent of strawberries and sweat filling his nose. He concentrated on the smell until it filled his very being, earth, flowers, wind... the smells became clearer and started to tell him stories of field work. He opened his eyes again and handed Purple Haze the hat, "Scar has scent, now it has to search."

Purple Haze handed the hat back to Berryshakes, "Lead us to her home, we should start there."

Scar looked over the little farm, there were some small fields with strawberry plants on them and a little hut. It looked abandoned, the fields had not been tended for a while and many plants grew between the strawberries. He walked to the door of the house with Purple Haze, the other three ponies stayed behind a bit. It wasn't only because of Purple Haze's command, he could smell fear and mistrust on them. He didn't care, not while he had rats to find.

He put his nose to the ground and took in the scent, she had left the house about four days ago he reckoned. The smell was faint but it had not rained so he could still pick it up. He started following the trail as it led away from the little farm, the ponies following his lead.

The trail led by a river and over a small bridge, away from the pony town. He was approaching the nearby forest when he picked up another smell. Purple Haze stopped besides him as he took in the scent, "Did you find anything?"

"Strawberry pony came here four days ago..." he mumbled as he searched around, "Met something else here, no pony, but not rat... three others..." he brushed away a few leaves and read the ground and plants around him, "Pony struggles, others take it..." he pointed into the forest, "Leaves in that direction."

"How can you tell?" asked Berryshakes.

"Is written in ground,..." he pointed to the ground before him, "And is told by leaves." he pointed to some bushes.

Berryshakes looked where he pointed, she could only see earth and some leaves. "I can't see anything."

The gnoll only shrugged, "Is because pony walks with closed eyes. If pony learns to listen to ground it would learn many things." he put his head down again and followed the trail a bit, "Scar knows this smell... not rat..." he thought for a second. A grumble came from his throat as he identified the smell, "Is dig dogs."

Purple Haze pricked up her ears, "Dig dogs?... You mean diamond dogs? They're known for taking ponies as slaves..."

Berryshakes shook her head, "That's very unlikely, we searched the area, but there have neither been reports nor signs of any diamond dogs in the area."

The gnoll grumbled impatiently as he followed the trail, "Is like gnoll said, ponies walk with closed eyes and closed nose. Scar can smell, and is dig dogs..." he pointed to a direction, "Den is this way."

They had walked for some time when the gnoll signaled them to stop. They had left the forest behind and were now in a rocky area with many slopes.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Berryshakes impatiently, she was starting to think the gnoll was leading them on a wild goose chase.

Scar put a fingers to his lips, "Ponies must be quiet now, is close to den. Walk slow, many holes in ground with dogs in them." he motioned them to a slope. They carefully crept up the little hill and looked over its crest. There was an open area below with a single hole in its middle.

"Is that the entrance to the den?" Purple Haze whispered to Scar, he gave a short nod.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go in!" Berryshakes asked beside them.

"Is wrong hole." the gnoll said with a sigh, the pony was more than unfit for a hunt. She simply lacked patience and observation. He pointed to the hole, "Den has many holes, wind goes in most holes, but only out few. We go in that hole and dogs will know."

Purple Haze considered this, "Can you find the other holes?"

Scar scratched his chin, "It can, but takes too much time. Dogs know though."

"Right, we'll just ask a diamond dog to tell us where the right entrance is, and they're just going to tell us."

Scar gave her an annoyed look, "Little guard pony should be patient. Learn some wisdom. Gnoll never said it would ask nicely."

She gave a humph, "And where are we going to find a diamond dog, oh great and wise hunter?"

"That's enough second lieutenant." Purple Haze said sternly. She turned to Scar, "Do you have a plan?"

Scar gave Berryshakes another distasteful look, any more insults from her and he would eat her helm too. He turned his attention to Purple Haze, "Is simple. We go fish dog."

Half an hour later he had found what he had been looking for, it was an unsuspicious area in some distance to the hole. He eyed the ground carefully and lifted a claw, "There."

"What is over there?" Purple Haze asked as she followed his claw, she could only see an open area with some rocks scattered around.

"Is pony trap. There, left to big rock is hole underneath ground, twigs and dirt above, dog inside. When pony walks by dig dog jumps out and grabs pony."

"It's a concealed trap!" Purple Haze said excitedly, "Alright, how do we catch the diamond dog?"

The gnoll shrugged, "Is simply, gnoll sneaks to rock, pony walks by trap and gnoll grabs dog when it comes out."

Purple Haze thought for a moment, "Alright... I can see that work..." she turned to Berryshakes with a smirk, "Now we just need a volunteer..."

Berryshakes gave a groan, "Oh horse apples."

The diamond dog had been waiting patiently in his hole, not that much ever happened. The ponies almost never came around this area, yet trap duty was trap duty. At least his shift would be over soon. Trap duty was always a good opportunity to daze off. The raids were much more profitable anyway.

Suddenly something caught his ears. There was movement above. He strained his ears and counted the steps, definitely pony. And prancing happily in his direction at that. This would be his lucky day he thought happily as he got ready to pounce.

The pony drew closer quickly, and it was still headed directly for his position. Perfect. He held his breath, and when the sounds came directly from above he jumped up and out of his hole, rope and club ready in his hands, "Catch little pony!" he laughed as he exploded from the ground.

Much too his surprise instead of being frozen in shock the pony only smirked and ducked. The dog suddenly realized he was standing in a shadow in midday on an open field. There came a whooshing sound from behind him. The dog turned around just in time to see the flat side of a door fly towards his head at high speeds.

Chapter 41: Finding Ponies

Scar was not happy. The dogs head had left a big crack in the doors surface, it filled the gnolls heart with sorrow. The door would most likely not survive another swing like that. He picked up the door and walked over to the ponies, they had dragged their unconscious captive off to the treeline. The dog was currently bound in rope and hanging from a branch. The sight almost made him want to hit it again, just to see it dangle a bit.

"That's quite a swing you have there..." commented Berryshakes as she saw him approach, "I've never seen a dog fly like that before." The diamond dog had been catapulted off the ground by the sheer force of the gnoll's swing, a satisfying thump accompanying the impact of the door. "I'm surprised it's still alive."

"Thick skulls, only little inside." the gnoll grumbled as he walked by her and towards the dangling dog. It stank, all dig dogs did. Filthy little things with evil little minds. He gave the dog a poke with one of his claws, emitting a slight groan from it.

"You know quite a lot about them, don't you?" Purple Haze asked. She had been wondering about this for some time now, how simple it had been for him to spot the trap, his knowledge of the different entrances... "You've met them before, haven't you?"

Scar gave the dog another poke and watched it dangle around. "When Scar escapes the cage first time it ran for days... until gnoll finds old den. No dogs inside so Scar lives in stinking dog den for many days." He poked the dog again "One day dogs show up, make camp on lower level for two days. So Scar watches and listens from dark what it could not read in sand."

"Read in sand?" Berryshakes asked as she watched the dog dangle.

Scar reached down for a second to draw his paw across the ground, "Everything leaves sign in sand, and if it can read, it can understand." he gave the dog another poke, this time it stirred. Scar reached out and turned the dog towards him as it blinked its eyes wildly and tried to orient itself. "Is awake?... Good. Now, little dog should listen carefully... " the dog's eyes became big as it looked into the gnoll's face, "It has questions and no patience for dig dogs."

They weren't entirely sure what was going on. There had been a shout down the tunnel leading to the cells, but it had been cut off instantly. They figured it was just one of the dig ponies making trouble, but when they went to check on it, they had found something entirely unexpected.

"I'm sure of it, I've seen them before. And I say... that's a door." one of two guard dogs pointed out as he scratched his head. It had taken five minutes to reach this conclusion. "Did we put a door in this tunnel?"

"I don't know, it thought Pips was responsible for stuff like this?"

"Stuff like what?"

"I don't know,... doors?"

A third dog walked up, "Is that a door?"

"We think it is..." the first dog commented. The three of them watched the door for a moment longer.

"So... you're guarding it?" the third dog asked, trying to make conversation.

"No, we heard a shout from this tunnel, so we came to look into it."

"And?"

"Don't know, can't get behind the door..." the dogs were silent again. "Should we tell the alpha?"

"Naah... he's taking a nap, you know how he gets..." the dog thought for a second, "Should we knock?"

Scar cursed his own hide. Things had gone fairly good until this point, the dog had squealed the instant the gnoll showed him his fangs. Of course he had, all dig dogs were cowards when they were alone. With the dog's information, they had been able to find the right hole and had entered without the dogs noticing.

Finding the cells had been simple for him, and using the vast system of tunnels they had been able to sneak around the dogs with ease. The dog guarding the ponies had been sleeping, easy prey. But when Scar wanted to kill him in his sleep Purple Haze had stopped him, "We can do this without spilling any blood,... let's just sneak them out of here and be gone. We're going to open the cages, you stay here and be ready to help if something goes wrong."

So Scar had watched from the dark as the guard ponies got to work on quietly freeing the prisoners. They had been in a miserable state, they looked as if they had been working for days without sleep. And there were many... a lot more than three if he counted correctly. Purple Haze had crept around the cages and told the ponies of their plan while Berryshakes had used her magic to open the locks quietly.

Once they had freed the ponies Scar had been supposed to lead them out again, but when he had stepped out of the dark to collect the first batch something went wrong. One of the ponies had screamed in shock, and the guard dog had woken up. He had gotten out half of an alarm shout before the gnoll pounded his head into the cave walls with enough force to make it crack. But half a shout was enough, the dogs had good ears, if nothing else.

Now, with the guards on their way down the only escape path they had, and still half of the ponies in cages... Scar needed to buy them some time. He remembered that the smack door had fulfilled a different function before being a weapon and after a quick check of the proportions he had simply stuffed the door into the tunnel opening. It would hopefully serve to keep them busy for some time.

He checked on Purple Haze's progress, almost all of the ponies were free by now and rounded up. Most of them still eyed him with fear, but the prospect of freedom seemed to give them strength. He checked the door, if his nose was correct there were at least a dozen dogs on the other side by now. They weren't going to leave without a fight, that much was sure now.

"It's a pretty door though..." the other dogs nodded in agreement.

Fifteen of them stood outside the door by now, arguing about what to do next. Some thought they should knock, others thought they should ignore it until it would go away. One of the smarter dogs spoke up, "Wait, ain't the pony cells down this way?" one of the dogs nodded, "And you didn't check if they were still there?" another dog shook his head.

The dog gave a groan and walked up to the door. He smelled the air at the bottom of the door, there were ponies behind it for sure. Something else too, but he couldn't identify it. He put one of his ears against the door and listened.

Scar reared up a fist and aimed for the center of the door, he would miss it dearly.

Chapter 42: Flying Dogs

The alpha walked the tunnels searching for the guards. He had taken a nice nap, but when he had woken up he had found, much to his annoyance, that none of the dogs were on their stations. He gave a silent curse, why did he always have to take care of everything himself?

He found them in the tunnel to the cells, all of them were standing facing down the end of the tunnel and arguing wildly. He couldn't even see the end of the tunnel over their heads. He was about to start screaming at them when there was an explosion down at the end of the tunnel.

A second later a guard dog came flying down the tunnel, scattering the dogs unlucky enough to stand in its way and landing in front of the alpha with a loud thump. Its head was strongly deformed and it was covered in splinters. A scream savage enough to turn his blood into ice roared through the tunnel and the guard dogs down at the end started screaming wildly.

The alpha reared his head up to see what was going on but was met by another flying dog crashing into the wall besides him. There was a huge gash in its chest. More screams erupted and the sounds of fighting could be heard drawing nearer. He caught a glimpse of the front and his eyes went wide.

Scar dug his claws into another unlucky dog and smashed it into the ceiling. He remembered what his father had once told him when he had still been a pup, 'Gnoll way of fight is simple. Bite it, claw it, stomp it... if it still moves repeat.' The gnoll buried his teeth in a dogs head. It gave a satisfying crunch as his jaws closed down on it. He continued his way down the tunnel, the ponies following him carefully.

Some of the dogs had recovered from the initial shock and brought up their spears. The gnoll cared little for them. He slashed around himself wildly and gave them no time to organize themselves. A few spears cut his lower arms but he took no notice of them, he had met blood flies with more painful stings.

One of the dogs thrust his spear upwards and hit the gnoll's shoulder on a lucky shot. It went in deep but it also trapped the spear. The dog didn't realize he should have let it go until a ferocious swing from the gnoll's hand took off its head. Scar reached up and broke the spear off at the end where it penetrated his skin. He would take care of it later. The pain would serve to keep him going.

"Everyone, fall back! Retreat!" a voice suddenly called out in the back. The dogs started to run from the gnoll and down the tunnel past a single dog. Scar fixed it with his eyes, it stood a bit taller than the others and his eyes looked smarter. Scar figured it was the alpha. Good. If he would kill it the other dogs were sure to run for their lives.

Scar stepped towards the dog and gave off a savage snarl, the dog was shivering as Scar drew nearer but it stood its ground. The gnoll couldn't help but think that this one was a good alpha, it was brave. Brave but stupid, if it had some sense in it the dog would run too.

When the gnoll was about to jump it though it suddenly spoke to him, "I do not wish any more of my pack to die. Leave our den and we will not hinder you. Stay and we will fight to the death." the dog bared its teeth.

The gnoll towered over the dog and eyed it with red eyes, there was blood dripping from its claws and fangs. "Scar will leave... but Scar will take ponies with it." he bared his own teeth. The dogs standing a few feet behind the alpha whimpered at the sight.

The alpha looked past Scar and saw the ponies, "You brought this thing into my den? I didn't think I'd see the day the ponies would grow some balls." he turned to the gnoll. "Leave then, take them with you. We will not stop them. Just leave our den."

Scar stepped closer, his fangs now in front of the dog's face. He could smell his fear but the alpha didn't show it, very brave indeed the gnoll thought. Very brave and very stupid. "If Scar hears dogs steal ponies again Scar will come and rip out alpha's throat. Is only warning dig dogs will get, Scar will not let single dog live if it has to come again." the dog gulped but nodded.

"Good... ponies leave, Scar will come last." the dog took a careful step backwards and let the ponies walk past between him and Scar. The gnoll never took its eyes of the dog, if it would try anything he would rip it to pieces.

When the last ponies had passed Scar gave the dog another look before he vanished down the tunnel himself. The alpha gave a breath of relief, his knees still felt wobbly. He turned to the remaining dogs, "Get the pack together, we're leaving this den. Get me the runners, we need to send messages to the other dens, they need to be warned."

There was a thump as something came trashing down a tunnel from above. It was a dog bound in rope, it looked around wildly until it spotted the alpha. "Boss! I got captured and was hanging from a tree but the branch broke and I got free and I came to warn you! The ponies are coming and they're bringing a beast with..." he saw the carnage down the tunnel, "...them."

The alpha facepalmed and rubbed his temples, "Damn it, Pips..." why did all of his dogs have to be so useless? He noticed something shiny lying on the ground before him, "Is that a door knob?"

Chapter 43: Train Talk

Scar watched from beneath a tree while the Shoretrot ponies tended to the dig ponies he and the others had freed from the dogs. Many of them were sick, undernourished and in need of medical attention. Just like himself. The cuts on his arms weren't much of an issue to him, but his shoulder was starting to give him trouble. Still, he kept his distance. The ponies were still scared of him and flinched whenever they saw him approach.

He didn't blame them. After all, they had seen what had remained of the dogs unlucky enough to block his path in the tunnels. He would give them space. A pony detached itself from the crowd, it was Purple Haze. She looked around herself for a second before spotting him. She made a beckoning motion to a pony behind herself and started walking towards him. A second pony detached itself from the crowd and started following her.

The gnoll watched the other pony as it approached, it was a yellow unicorn with a red cross on its flank. When she saw him looking at her she slowed down quite a bit. "Are you sure this is safe? It looks so dangerous!"

Purple Haze went back and pulled her along, "Relax, everything is okay. He's really nice once you look past all those teeth. Trust me, nothing bad will happen." the other pony didn't appear to be very convinced by this. She was trembling as she stepped under his tree, looking at the ground as if he'd eat her if she looked him in the eyes. She stopped in front of him, still looking down.

"Scar, this is nurse Tenderheart. She's going to take care of your wounds. Treat her nice." As if he had ever not been nice to a pony... he figured Purple Haze wanted to comfort the nurse pony. "Nurse Tenderheart, this is Scar. Without him we wouldn't have been able to free the ponies from the diamond dogs."

The little pony slowly started to lift her head until she could look into his eyes, she gulped. "HHhhello,... Scar."

The gnoll nodded, "Hello, nurse pony." She shuddered when she saw his teeth. Scar bent down a bit to make himself smaller, "Nurse pony has no reason to fear gnoll. It almost never eats ponies." she looked like she was about to faint. Purple Haze shot him a glare, "Was joke..."

He felt the air brush the fur of his head, the night scenery passing quickly as the train continued its way down the tracks. They had taken a cargo train back to Ponyville, mostly because Purple Haze had insisted they wouldn't take a passenger train again. Ever. It made no difference to him. Purple Haze on the other hand didn't exactly look happy, she was constantly trying to find a comfortable position in between the crates. Not a simple task in a shaking train.

He carefully stepped over to her, the bandages on his arms and around his shoulder slightly hindered his movements. "Hey, you alright?" she asked as he sat down besides her.

"Gnoll is well." he said he shifted his position, careful to avoid leaning on his hurt shoulder.

"You should have just let her use her magic to heal you."

"Scar does not like magic..."

"I know, I know..." she was quiet for a moment, "Can I ask you something?"

"Ask."

"It's about the time you were captured and interrogated by a unicorn..." He shifted uncomfortably, he didn't like to remember those times. "I mean... if you would meet those ponies again..." she looked at him, "What would you do?"

"Nothing." he said as he stared into the darkness.

She was surprised at this, "Nothing? Even after all what they put you through?"

"Scar holds no grudge against ponies. Ponies were scared,... Gnoll does not blame them." he turned to her, "Scar never told Purple Haze how it escaped..." he closed his eyes and tried to remember those nights, he had locked them away for such a long time. "When magic pony comes to Scar it searched its mind for many nights. Pony thinks Scar was hiding truth from it, that Scar did kill little pony."

He gave a sigh, "After many nights with endless pain pony started to see Scar did not... was strange, was first time Scar sees pony cry... and then, pony opens cage."

"She set you free?"

Scar nodded, "Told Scar to run, took it out of pony town, offered to run with it, to help it..." he shook his head, "But Scar could not, not after all what happens, not after all that pain. Scar was too scared of magic pony, was too early. It simply couldn't trust ponies. So Scar runs on its own, and ponies gave chase again..."

He gave a sigh, "Scar hopes magic pony is well... but if Scar should meet ponies again... Scar does not know how it would feel. Is difficult for Scar to think about." he chuckled, "Was strange pony though... talked funny." They both sat quietly for a long time after that. Purple Haze lost in her own thoughts and the gnoll in its memories as it watched the scenery rush by.

"Purple Haze cold?" he asked worriedly as she tried to stop herself from shivering. The night air was cool and there was a constant breeze going through the cart. He was born in the mountains, it was always cold there so he didn't mind but the pony was definitely having troubles coping with it.

"Just a cool breeze, no need to worry. I can take it." she said with chattering teeth, "I should have taken a blanket..." Scar gave a sigh. He reached over to her and picked her up in one of his paws, "What are you doing?" he set her down in his lap and put his arms around her.

"Keeping Purple Haze warm..." he said quietly as he held her.

She started to protest, "I'm not a foal you know. I can take care of myself perfectly fine."

He gave a grunt, "Purple Haze is too stubborn. Is not good if Purple Haze gets sick. Should sleep, gnoll will keep pony safe and warm."

She was about to start protesting again, but... he really was warm, and his fur was surprisingly soft... "Alright, but only till I'm warm again." She was asleep in under a minute. Scar watched her as she slept in his arms, every now and then she would give off a soft snore. He shook his head in amusement.

He did not sleep that night, his thoughts always returning to that night the magic pony had helped him escape. He wondered what had become of her. He gave a silent chuckle as he remembered the ridiculous hat she had always worn.

Chapter 44: New Threads

Purple Haze took a deep breath of the cool morning air as she and Scar walked the streets of Ponyville. Waking up in his arms had been... awkward, though she couldn't remember when she had last slept that well. Scar on the other side didn't look that energetic, his steps were shorter than usual and a bit uncoordinated. "Did you sleep at all?" she asked with worry in her voice.

Scar gave a long yawn, exposing a set of murderous teeth. "It did not... but it will when back in tree..." he said with a tired voice. Why was he so tired? He had spent days without sleep before and it hadn't worn him out like this. When had been the last time he had gotten an undisturbed nap? Maybe he should find himself a cave for sleeping? He scratched his shoulder, the bandages had been itching for hours.

"You should definitely get some sleep, you..."

"THERE YOU ARE!" a voice suddenly called out. Scar turned around, it was Rarity. "How dare you leave without getting your new clothes first!" she eyed him, "Are those new bandages?"

The gnoll nodded as he tiredly scratched his shoulder again, "Gnoll beats up dig dogs, gets dig ponies free."

Rarity turned to Purple Haze, "Could you please explain what he just said?"

"We went to Shoretrot to investigate on account of several ponies going missing. It turned out that a pack of diamond dogs had captured them and many others as slaves. Scar helped us free them, but he got hurt in the fight." Purple Haze gave a brief summary.

Raritys eyes became big, "You risked your live to save those poor souls? How heroic! Just the more reason to dress you like a hero! Come now, fashion calls!" she started to drag him along. "I hope you taught those vandals as lesson!"

Scar was too tired to resist at this point. "Scar will come to tree after it gets new clothes..." he called out as Rarity dragged him off.

Purple Haze looked after them as they left, "Poor fellow, I hope she doesn't tire him too much..." she continued walking to the library. She still had a report to write.

He eyed the clothes she had made him, they were exquisite. The first was black with red roses running towards the center, the red pearls sitting at the center of each flower and shining softly when the light hit them. The second one was a pure white with blue figures of ponies running across it, blue sapphires lined its edges. The material was soft to the touch, his own rough rags were nothing compared to this.

"Scar cannot wear this." he said quietly as he ran the fabric through his fingers.

"WHAT?" she almost shouted out in surprise, "But... but these are beautiful! Why would you not wear them?" tears started to form in her eyes, "Do you think they're ugly?"

The gnoll shook his head, "No, is very pretty. Scar has never seen something like this. But if gnoll wears these Scar will make dirty. Is too pretty to wear. If gnoll breaks them it would be very sad."

A smile spread her face as she embraced him for a hug, "That's so sweet of you!" she let go of him, "But don't you worry, these are my personal creations after all. Should they ever get dirty you can simply wash them. They'll always be good as new." she wiped away a tear, "And if you ever damage them just bring them to me and I'll have them repaired faster than you can watch."

Scar considered this, "Scar will wear then,... but Scar feels it should give Rarity something in return..." He scratched his shoulder again, was the itch was becoming stronger? He needed to lose the bandages when he returned to the library.

"Don't you even dare try to pay for these! Not after all you did for us. I will not hear a single word from you about payment for these, you hear me?" her voice already told him that there would be no arguing about this. He simply gave a tired nod to show he understood.

"Good,..." she watched as he held the black cloak in his paws, "WAIT! THAT'S IT!" her shout nearly made him jump. "The missing component! I finally have it! Wait right here!" she called out as she rushed upstairs.

He stood alone in the store as he waited for her to return. He could hear wild rummaging upstairs, just what was she up to? He shifted his weight, he felt so tired. His head was starting to hurt, had his arms always been that heavy? He wanted to sleep so badly. He scratched his shoulder again. He felt his eyes starting to grow heavy, maybe he could take a short nap. Just a little nap to relieve his eyes... he scratched his shoulder again, he felt so tired.

Rarity came down the stairs carrying two black eagle feathers, they would look perfect on the hoods of his capes! She hummed happily as she walked down the stairs, she seemed to overflow with new ideas these days. She stopped when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Scar was lying on the floor inside the shop, his back rising softly as he slept.

"Ohhhh, how adorable! That poor thing must have been exhausted!" she quietly walked over to the capes she had prepared him. She fixed the feathers to the hoods, they looked perfect. "There we go, perfection!" she said happily as she put them down again.

She walked over to Scar, he looked peaceful as he lay on her carpet. She nudged him softly with her hoof and whispered into his ears, "Scar,... time to wake up..." he didn't respond. "Scar?" she said louder as she nudged him again a bit harder. He didn't stir. His breathing seemed strange now that she heard it. "Scar? Come on, this is hardly a place for you to sleep." she called out, he didn't budge. "Scar?..."

Purple Haze had just finished her report on the situation in Shoretrot. She hoped the next few days would be more peaceful, they both needed some rest. Especially Scar, she had never seen him that tired.

"I wonder when he's coming back from Rarity..." Twilight said as she helped Spike with some books, she still had a picnic planned for him.

"Should I go check on them?" Spike asked with hope in his voice as he shelved another book. He was always keen for a chance to meet her.

"No, I'm sure he's fine. He said he wanted to head over here after he gets his new clothes. I'm sure he'll be here any second." Purple Haze commented as she checked her report again. Out of all the ponies of Ponyville, Rarity was one of the few she trusted enough to be left alone with him.

The door was suddenly flung open with enough force to shake the books on the shelves as Rarity stormed into the library. There were tears in her eyes and she was sobbing uncontrollably. Twilight was by her side immediately, "Rarity! What's wrong? You look terrible!"

"IT'S SCAR!" she wailed between sobs, "HE'S NOT WAKING UP!"

Chapter 45: Food Box

The light hurt his eyes. He was being carried down a long corridor with many lights, ponies scurrying around him. He caught a glimpse of Purple Haze, she looked scared. His eyes fell shut again, why did he feel so weak? Someone was shouting something but he couldn't place it together. His mind constantly shifted between sleep and consciousness.

Whenever he was awake he could hear voices talking, the little bits he could catch he couldn't understand. Infection, broken spear tip, blood poisoning... his tired mind couldn't make sense of the words. Something was in his nose.

Once he thought he could hear Celestia, then someone was crying. There was another glimpse of a very angry Purple Haze shouting at some ponies who were carrying belts and chains. Time seemed to lose meaning as things moved around him. Something stung him in his arm, his mind shifted to sleep once more.

This place smelled strange. It was his first thought as he tried to open his eyes. There was a strong smell that stung his nose, but he could also smell ponies, many ponies. Someone was holding his head. He shifted his head, it was Purple Haze. She was cradling his head as she slept. Even in her sleep he could smell her stress. She looked tired.

He carefully pulled his head out of her lap as he stood up. He had been lying on a makeshift bed of several mattresses and blankets on the floor. There was a bed in the white room too, but it was much too small for his frame. Something was stuck in his arm, a long tube running to a little bag hanging besides his bed. He pulled it out with a grunt.

He bent down and carefully picked up Purple Haze, there were dark rings and wet streaks under her eyes. Had she been crying? He carried her over to the bed and placed her onto it, ponies shouldn't sleep on the floor. As he put a blanket over her she murmured something in her sleep, "Don't worry Scar, I'll watch over you... won't let them chain you..."

He watched her with a smile as she slept. Had he been sick? He definitely felt like it. His whole body ached with every movement and his stomach felt empty. How long had he been sleeping? He looked out a window, it was night outside. The position of the stars told him he had been sleeping for three, maybe four days. He was hungry. He checked on Purple Haze again, she was still sleeping. He deemed this place safe enough to leave her for a short moment to get some food.

As he walked towards the door of the room he passed a little stand. There were many cards and flowers on it. He picked one up and inspected the little thing in his claws. By the smell it was from the tiny ponies, it was colorful and covered in glitter. He read it quietly. 'Dear Scar, we hope you'll feel better soon so you can play with us again! Get well soon, the Cutie Mark Crusaders.'

He put down the card and looked at the others. It seemed many ponies had sent him cards, he read one after the other. All of them expressed sympathy and the wish for him to get healthy again. Maybe he had been sick. He put down the last of the cards, it was from Rarity. Next to it were his new clothes. He carefully reached out and put on the black one, wearing it felt even nicer than just holding it. Had there always been a feather on it?

He looked at the cards again. The way he felt looking at them,... he couldn't describe it. He carefully reached out and collected the cards and put them in a pocket inside the cloak. They would get their own special place in his library. He looked back at Purple Haze, hopefully she hadn't worried too much about him. He'd have to apologize later for making her trouble. His stomach gave a soft growl, he felt like he could eat a whole stinger right now.

Featherkite stood in front of the vending machine in the hallways of the Canterlot hospital. He would get in trouble if the nurses would catch him out of bed but he simply couldn't sleep. The little foal looked up at the snacks behind the glass in wonder. He hated hospital food, but he didn't have any money. Still, he could at least imagine what they tasted like.

"Is food?" asked a deep voice behind him.

"Yeah, but I don't have any bits..." Featherkite replied lost in fantasies about Butterfogeys, they were his favorites. He wondered why there was a shadow over him. He turned around and froze. Something insanely huge and black was towering above him, huge teeth glinting in the light. He gulped, somehow he suddenly wished he'd stayed inside his bed.

The large head turned towards him, "Tiny pony hungry?" a deep voice rumbled from the creatures throat. Not being able to think of anything else the little foal did the first thing that came to its mind, it nodded with an open mouth.

The huge head gave a short nod and looked at the vending machine, "Gnoll is hungry too..." Two huge paws with claws reached out above him and grabbed the vending machine. "Evil little box... tempts ponies with food but gives none! Scar will teach box to share!"

Featherkite watched in awe as the gnolls paws sunk into the metal of the vending machine. There was a loud squeak as the gnoll simply tore off the whole front of the vending machine, letting a shower of candy and snacks fall out of its bowels and before the foal. "Now tiny pony and Scar can eat." the gnoll said happily as he put down the bent front of the vending machine.

Featherkite looked at the mountain of snacks before him, then back at the gnoll. "Wow..."

Featherkite happily swallowed another piece of chocolate as he and the gnoll sat crammed into a closet with cleaning utensils. The gnoll reached down and after a short smell picked up a little bag with chips from their hoard.

"You know,..." Featherkite said between two bites, "The nurses are going to be pretty angry you broke that vending machine."

The gnoll shrugged as he swallowed the contents of the little bag in one bite. "Let ponies be angry,... gnoll can be more angry when hungry..." he picked up another snack. "Is wrong if tiny pony is hungry too."

Featherkite nodded happily as he picked up another piece of chocolate, "I'm Featherkite, by the way."

"Is Scar..." the gnoll said through munching teeth.

Chapter 47: A Club

"No. Is no way." the gnoll shook his head with wide eyes.

"Oh come on, I do it all the time too!" Purple Haze tried to push him forward.

"Is easy for Purple Haze to say, but gnoll is no pony." he growled angrily as he ground his claws into the earth.

"I can assure you it is safe Scar. There is nothing to worry about." Luna tried to encourage him.

Scar stood his ground, "It says no!" he pointed and angry finger at the chariot, "Gnoll does not fly! Has no feathers, look!" he flapped his arms wildly to demonstrate, "Will fall like rock if it slips!" Purple Haze was about to give a reply when he cut her off, "And Purple Haze can not tell Scar Purple Haze would catch it! Scar is not stupid!" she shut her mouth.

Luna gave a sigh, the gnoll was obviously not willing to put even a foot inside the chariot. "May I suggest teleportation then?"

Scar shook his head as he remembered his last teleportation, "It thanks Lulu for offer,..." one of the night guards barely contained a snicker, "But Scar wants to walk."

"You are aware it is quite a walk to Ponyville from here on." Luna commented as she shot the guard a glare that could kill.

"Scar will find way, also has Purple Haze to watch it." the gnoll answered with a smile. His teeth still sent shivers down Lunas back.

She turned to Purple Haze, "I am afraid that no trains are available at this hour. Do take care not to run into any trouble. Most of our subjects are sleeping by now, but we do not wish for a panic should he be spotted. The ponies of Canterlot have always been,... slow to come to terms with new things."

"This isn't the right way." Purple Haze commented from his back, "Ponyville is in the other direction." She could already see the little houses from her perch. The walk had been surprisingly eventless, most of the guards patrolling had heard enough about the duo by now to know who they were. Still, walking into a gnoll in the middle of the night still got a yelp out of all of them.

"Scar knows." he replied from beneath her, his ears still hurt from the last guards curse of surprise. At least this night had provided him with many new pony swearwords. They had already left behind Canterlot, but Scar did not intend to go straight to Ponyville.

"Then where are you going?"

"Scar wants to go to forest, it is still hung... YOUCH!" he yelled out as she yanked on one of his ears.

"Like hell you are! You are not going into the forest in your condition and in the middle of the night on top of that! What if you run into something bigger than you?"

"Is not many things bigger than gnoll..." he tried to argue, "Scar could... YOUCH!"

"You are not going into the forest! Not until I think you're fit again!" she yanked his head into the opposite direction. "You are going to head straight to Ponyville, you hear me?"

He changed his direction with a silent curse. After a few minutes though, the gnoll spotted something that spurred his interest. The remains of a little dead tree. It had been cut off where the twigs would normally start to grow, a straight trunk standing alone in the field of grass almost a head smaller than himself.

He walked up to it and inspected it. There was no bark left on it, the dry wood had a dark tone that reminded him of the trees in his homeland. The girth was just the right size for him to put a hand around it. He bent down and inspected the roots, they had grown around a slab of stone as big as his head. The thick roots seemed to encase it like a vice.

He sniffed the wood intently, he knew that smell.

"Please tell me you aren't going to mark it." Purple Haze commented from his back.

"Scar is not..." he took another smell, he was sure now. It was iron wood, dry iron wood at that. He could smell no rot in it. When dried long enough it became as hard as steel. An idea started to form in his head, "Scar has use for this." He wrapped his hands around the trunk.

"What are you doing?"

He ignored her question as he put his back and arms to work. The tree started to sway lightly as the gnoll pulled on it with all of his force, but it showed no signs of breaking. Good, his nose had been correct. For a moment it seemed that it would resist his efforts, but then he could feel the earth around it start to give way. He gave a final strong tug as he freed the remains of the tree from the ground.

He held his prize in his paws as he panted mildly, it had cost him more effort than he had expected to free it. Just as he had wagered, the rock had been enclosed by the roots and was now tightly attached to the trunk. He judged the weight of the trunk in his hands. It was heavy, but not too heavy for him to lift. He would need both hands to swing it though. He held it up for Purple Haze to inspect, "Scar makes club."

"A club? You could tear down a house with that thing!" she gasped in surprise. It was a maul, the gnoll had made himself a giant maul. She shuddered as she imagined what would happen to anything hit by it.

He gave the club a test swing, it made a low swooshing sound as the heavy rock passed through the air. "Scar can use for evil rats! Also can use for hunt so Scar can go... YOUCH!"

There was another yank on one of his ears, "You are not going hunting in the forest, with or without that thing!"

"At least let go of its ears! If Purple Haze pulls any more gnolls ears will fall off!"

She let go of his ear as he set off towards Ponyville while constantly grumbling, "Look, I'm happy you got yourself a new weapon, and I'm happy it's not a door but you're still in no condition to go hunting. We can get you some food at the library, I'm sure there's something you can eat in the fridge. There's no need for you to hunt when..."

"WHEN THERE'S A PARTY WAITING FOR YOU!!!" a cloud of confetti exploded into his face.

He gave a groan, "Hello Pink Pie..." Just how did she keep on sneaking up on him like that? He felt tempted to make use of his new vocabulary. The gnoll wondered what sound his club would make once he'd get a chance to smash some heads with it.

Chapter 48: Go Fast

Lemon cheesecake, strawberry cream cake, chocolate muffins with sprinkles, the gnoll stuffed his face with everything in arms reach. He was intent on filling his stomach to the brim. He would prefer meat, maybe he could sneak off when nobody was watching... He saw Purple Haze watch him from across the barn. He rubbed his ear in memory, maybe later.

"Hello Scar." he turned around, it was Celestia. "It is good to see you are well."

The gnoll nodded a greeting and flashed her a smile, pieces of cake falling his teeth. "Gnoll is happy to be back." he said as he grabbed half a cake and stuffed it into his maw.

Celestia couldn't help but chuckle at his display. "I have brought you something, it is a present from my sister and myself." She pulled out a little book from beneath a wing and handed it him.

Scar quickly wiped his paws on the fur of his legs before carefully reaching out and taking it. He inspected the book from all sides, it smelled old. He loved the smell of old books. He read the title, "The wind and the flowers..." he mustered the little book, "Is good story?"

Celestia smiled as he flipped through the pages, "It is a very nice story, I hope you'll find the time to enjoy it."

"Scar thanks Celestia for pretty book, is very nice, smells good too." Scar nodded happily as he carefully placed it in the folds of his cape, he would read it the first chance he got. First though,... he grabbed another piece of cake.

"May I ask, what that is?" she pointed to where he had placed his club against the wall of the barn.

"Is club. For hitting rats, gnoll finds it in field..." he was somehow starting to feel funny, on edge somehow... Maybe he needed more cake? He downed another piece.

Purple Haze was watching Scar and princess Celestia converse from the other side of the barn. She was sure he'd try to sneak off into the forest the first chance he'd get. She wasn't going to give him that chance. Not until he was fully fit again at least.

"Hey Purple Haze, you enjoying the party?" Purple Haze turned to see Rainbow Dash accompanied by Applejack and Rarity approach her.

"It's pretty good, I'm just a bit tired though."

"I can imagine. You were at his bed for days! It's good to have the big guy back though..." Rainbow Dash paused for a second, "Speaking of Scar, there is something me and the others have been wondering about."

Purple Haze raised an eyebrow as she picked up a cup of punch, "Yeah? What about?"

Rarity stepped forward, "Well, even though it isn't very ladylike to talk about such private things we do have to ask... I mean, we fully understand if you do not wish to discuss these kind of things..." Purple Haze was starting to wonder what this was about.

"Darn it Rarity, just speak up and ask her!" Applejack spoke up with a groan as Rarity gave an insulted humph, "What me and the girls were wonderin' about was..." she paused for a moment, seemingly unsure herself, "Is that one of your feathers on his cape?"

There was an explosion of punch as Purple Haze almost choked on her drink.

"Scar? Are you feeling well? You seem a bit... restless?" Celestia asked with worry. The gnoll had been trembling slightly after his last batch of muffins. His eyes were looking strange too. "Should I call a nurse? Would you like to sit down?"

Scar shook his head wildly, "No, Scar can not sit now... Scar thinks..." he blinked his eyes a few times. "Scar thinks..." an idea started to form in his mind, "It wants to run."

"Run?" Celestia asked in surprise.

"Yes, go fast, Scar needs to go fast!" he nodded wildly with a shaky voice, "Fastest gnoll ever!"

"So does he know?"

"What? I don't even... I mean, he doesn't even know about our customs..."

"Did ya tell him then?" Applejack asked.

"NO! How could I? I mean, it was just for good luck anyway and I'm not sure how he would... wait. Why am I even talking to you about something like this?" Purple Haze asked with reddened cheeks. "Like I said, it's just for good luck."

"Then why are you as red as a strawberry right now?" Rainbow Dash asked with a snicker.

"Oh to think!" Rarity swooned, "What romance! Torn apart by worlds and yet so close to one another! A civilized mare and a wild but caring beast!"

Purple Haze was about to sink into the ground. "Don't you even dare mention this to him or so help me Celestia..."

"Captain, may I interrupt you for a moment?" Celestia walked up to them with quick steps, "I think there may be a problem."

Purple Haze quickly snapped to attention, "Of course princess, what is the situation?"

"It seems that Scar has a lower tolerance of sugar than expected..." Celestia said with a troubled voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Rainbow Dash.

There was a rumble as Scar threw open the barn doors on the other side of the room and reared his head into the wind. "GNOLL GOES FAST!" he roared into the wind as he shot off into the dark.

"I believe the correct term is sugar rush." Celestia said as she watched him take off like a storm wind.

Chapter 49: An Alternative

The wind roared in his ears. The earth felt soft beneath his feet as it exploded behind him with each step. Buildings and windows flew past him. Little lights passing him in a flash. He felt like he could fly. He wanted to be the wind. He went faster.

"SCAR!" it was Rainbow Dash, she was flying next to him. He admired her speed. "You gotta go slower!" she yelled at him.

"Scar has no time to go slow!" he told her, "SCAR IS WIND!" he roared as he took to running on all fours. He sped up more. Everything felt alive. It reminded him of the hunt. He could feel every sway in the wind, every grain on the ground. He could smell every nuance in the air. Even in the darkness he could see every detail clearly. He was the wind. He exploded into a wild dash. There was only the lust for speed now.

A rainbow latched onto his back, "Scar! You have to stop!"

Scar gave a wild laugh as he went even faster, "Wind never stops!" he dashed around corners with enough force to make his claws skid over the ground, he took to the roofs in wild jumps. He saw the moon as he soared through the air. He felt free.

His eyes suddenly caught something and he stopped. The sudden halt was hard enough to almost knock the air out of Rainbow Dashs lungs. She limply hung from his cloak as the gnoll stood still as stone. She carefully crept up on his back to see why he had stopped.

"Oh no..." she whispered as her eyes grew wide in realization. She felt his muscles start to tremble beneath her. He was standing in front of the Sugarcube Corner.

There were so many sweet things inside this place. He could smell them even through the closed doors and windows. It spoke to his senses unlike anything else. Sweet, like honey it beckoned him. He took a step forward. "Scar! Don't do this!" The whole place looked like it was made of candy. He licked his lips.

Purple Haze arrived in time to see Scar steadily walk towards the Sugarcube Corner with a hungry look in his eyes. Rainbow Dash was clinging to his tail and pulling him back with all her force but he simply dragged her along. "A little help?" Rainbow Dash said through gritted teeth as she saw the others arrive.

Purple Haze jumped in front of the gnoll, "STOP!" he stopped. He was still eying the bakery behind her though. "Scar, you don't want to do this. I know you're hungry..."

"Scar is very hungry." he commented as he licked his lips. "Very, very hungry."

"I know, but there are ponies inside. Little foals too. You don't want to scare them, do you?" she reasoned with him.

The gnoll looked at her, there were tiny ponies inside? He smelled the air, she was right. "No, Scar does not..." he shook his head as he sat down exhausted from his run. "But Scar cannot live of cake and apples alone. Scar needs meat." he said sadly. He stood up again and freed his tail from Rainbow Dashs grasp with a grunt, "Scar needs to hunt."

"You're not fit enough! You're still panting like crazy, you need to take a break!"

"Then what should it do?" he asked angrily, "Scar cannot live of cake, makes it mad! And Scar cannot live of fruit alone! Scar can not hunt, so what should it do?"

"I don't know..." Purple Haze replied in dismay.

"Maybe I could help." a little voice spoke up, it was Fluttershy. "Sometimes I go and get fish for my birds,... I could give him some and..." she suddenly became aware that Scar was watching her very intently. Purple Haze was giving her a 'you have got to be kidding me' stare.

His teeth ripped through fish scales and bones as he chewed happily. He picked up another fish and simply swallowed it whole. Lovely. It wasn't fresh but that only made it better. It took him a few minutes to realize the ponies were looking at him with big eyes.

"Something wrong?" he asked as he bit off a fish head.

"Just a bit strange to actually see you eat meat." commented Purple Haze as she watched him feast on more fish. "We don't see that very often."

"We certainly don't..." commented Applejack, "It's one thing to hear about it, but to see it up close... Although we all knew you have those teeth of yours for a reason."

Scar nodded happily between bites, "Is so Scar can bite."

"Ya don't say." Applejack replied with a smirk. "At least I think you'll be staying away from cake for some time, won't you?"

"What?" Rainbow Dash replied, "That was totally awesome! Did you even see how fast he was going? I don't think anypony could catch him on foot! We totally have to do that again!" Purple Haze shot her a glare, "Heh, I mean when you're fit again..."

"Luckily we got there before he got a chance to tear up the place." Purple Haze said with a sigh. "He probably would've torn the walls off the store."

"Scar would have gone through door, ponies never lock." the gnoll replied.

"Don't you try to be smart with me Scar." Purple Haze replied with annoyed tone. "Imagine what the Cakes would have said if a hungry gnoll would have barged into their store in the middle of the night to eat all of their cake." Scar cringed. That probably would have caused some trouble.

"There there,..." Fluttershy patted his head as she handed him another fish, "You were just hungry, weren't you?"

The gnoll nodded happily as he chewed. No matter what the other ponies thought. Right now, Fluttershy was the best pony, ever.

"Yes, though one question still remains,..." Rarity spoke up from the back. The others gave her questioning glances. "About a certain feather?"

Purple Hazes face turned beet red and Celestia gave her a questioning look, "I have been wondering about that, is that feather really yours captain?"

The gnoll nodded happily, "Is from Purple Haze, is pretty. For good luck, keeps gnoll safe! Scar keeps because Purple Haze is special pony."

"You don't say." replied Celestia as she passed Purple Haze a knowing smile. Purple Haze just wanted to die right on the spot. Scar could only wonder why the ponies were behaving so strangely.

Chapter 50: Back to Work

Scar sat patiently within the shadows of the Fat Mare Inn. Occasionally he would look up to scan the room for any trouble. It seemed quiet tonight. Most of the ponies he recognized from before, especially Purple Haze and Rainbow Dash sitting at the bar. He was already feeling as good as new, but Purple Haze still insisted she'd be there too. Just in case.

He quietly flipped another page of his new book. The dark didn't give him any trouble reading it and it was a nice story too. Celestia certainly had a good taste for books. He gave a content sigh as he scanned the room another time, it seemed that this would be an easy day at work for him. It would give him more time with the book.

The ponies sitting at one of the tables though were having different ideas. "Alright, did you spread the rumor?" Star Glaze asked in anticipation, she had been waiting for this all week.

"Sure did." replied Cloud Dancer with a smile, "The rookies now think that if you want to make yourself a name in the guard, you gotta take on the bouncer at the Fat Mare Inn." he laughed, "This is gonna be totally wicked!"

"What are you two planning? Didn't you already have enough trouble with captain Flying Shield?" a third guard asked. It was his first time in weeks here. "Besides, I don't see a bouncer."

Cloud Dancer got a smug smile, "Look at the corner in the far right of the room. See anything?"

The pony looked at the corner, "Nope, can't see anything."

"Keep looking." Cloud Dancer's smile was growing.

"What am I supposed to..." his face suddenly blanked as he saw two red eyes appear in the dark only to disappear again after a moment. "What the hell was that?"

"That my dear friend, is the new bouncer." Star Glaze replied with a wide grin. "So... what do you say? You in for some bets?"

The pony didn't take his eyes of the corner, no matter how hard he looked he only saw darkness. For a moment he thought he saw something like a book in huge paws but then it was gone again. "What are we betting on?"

The fourth guard spoke up over a mug of cider, "Which rookie gets his flank handed to him first, what else?"

The third guard stole another glance at the corner just in time to see a huge set of teeth glint lightly in the dark, "I'm in."

Four ponies stood outside the Fat Mare Inn. Two mares and two stallions fresh from training camp. "So, this is the place? Looks pretty run down..."

"That's the place alright, I heard the guards mentioning the name several times. So, you ready to do this?"

"Hell yeah!" replied a mare, "When we do this nopony is gonna call us rookies anymore!"

"I don't know guys... we could get in serious trouble if we mess this up."

"Oh pull it together Cloudbreak! We just gotta put on a little show so the others see we're tough. We're not actually going to hurt the fellow,... just mess him up a bit."

"I sure hope he doesn't mess us up first..."

"And what's a single bouncer going to do against the four of us? Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

"And here we go..." whispered Cloud Dancer with a smile as he saw the four ponies enter the inn. "Five bits says the brown one goes first. Five minutes."

"The white one with the black mane, four minutes." the guard pushed forward five bits onto the table as he took another sip from his mug.

"My money's on the red one, three minutes and she's out." Star Glaze pushed her bits onto the table.

"I say it's the brown one. Six minutes." The third guard placed his bet.

"All of them. One minute." another voice spoke up as five bits were added to the pile. The ponies at the table looked up to see Purple Haze give them an angry glare.

"Oh, captain..." Cloud Dancer coughed as he tried to come up with an excuse. "There's a perfect explanation for this!"

"Sure there is." she said with a raised eyebrow. "But you're underestimating him if you think he's going to waste more than a minute on these rookies."

"So you're really in captain?" Star Glaze asked in surprise.

"Just make sure to pay up later." Purple Haze said as she went back to her seat at the bar with the tiniest of smiles.

The rookies were starting to have serious doubts about their plan. The moment they had spoken out their challenge in the inn all of the ponies had gotten very quiet. What was even more troubling was the fact that many of them were smiling. One of the rookies thought he recognized one of the guards sitting at a table. Wasn't that the one that had spoken of the inn?

At that point something huge stepped out of the shadows and made its way towards them with heavy steps. The four ponies had to tilt their heads back to see huge teeth glinting in the light as the creature stepped up to them. Four mouths fell open and eyes grew wide as the creature stopped in front of them and looked down at them with red eyes.

The creature slowly reached behind himself and pulled forth something that looked like a tree with a huge rock attached to it. He set it down with a thump loud enough to make them shake. "Ponies disturb Scar's reading." his voice rumbled at them with an angry tone.

"Scar, no club." a mare commented from the bar without turning, "Make it fast."

"Purple Haze never lets it have fun..." Scar grumbled as he got to work.

Chapter 52: Pony Hunt

"So..." commented Flying Shield as she stood in the courtyard before the quarters with her sister. Loud trashing and screaming could be heard from the inside. "How many feathers do you have left?"

"None, I only put away one before the transformation." Purple Haze answered while looking at the quarters. There was loud clonk and a pony came crashing through one of the windows only disappear in a puff of smoke and reappear in another puff before the two mares. "Seems the spell is working."

"Sure it is, it's a basic training spell. No wounds, no blood..." the pony on the ground gave a pained groan, "Doesn't protect you from the impact though. You don't get hurt but you definitely feel it." She gave the pony a nudge with her hoof, "And what's you excuse for dropping out this early?"

"Didn't duck, captain." the pony groaned as it held its head.

There was an explosion as the head of a hammer burst through one of the walls, "Seems like somepony ducked." commented Flying Shield as she watched. The hammer was pulled inside again and two loud clonks could be heard. Two puffs later two ponies appeared and fell onto the first one. A pony could be seen trying to get out of the hole in the wall but it was pulled back before it was even halfway through. There was another clonk and another pony was added to the pile. The shouting and trashing inside continued.

"Does he know?" Flying Shield asked as she gave the growing pile of groaning ponies a distasteful look.

Purple Haze shook her head, "He doesn't know our traditions well enough. He thinks it's for good luck..."

"But you do like him?" a window was thrown open and several ponies quickly scrambled out of it and dashed down the nearest path into the castle. On the other side another group exited through a door and ran into the opposite direction. "Looks like things are finally getting interesting..." another clonk and a puff later the next pony was added to the pile.

"Damn, I was almost out..." the pony cursed as it held its head.

Flying Shield returned to her sister, "Well?"

"What?" Purple Haze pretended not to understand the question. She saw Flying Shield give her a knowing smirk, "Oh come on! Don't you put me through this too! It's already hard enough without knowing how he feels about these kinds of things!" They watched as the gnoll exited the building and looked around. He smelled the air for a moment before giving off a mighty roar and shooting off after the ponies which had left through the door.

"Just ask him then. My sister and a huge gnoll with big teeth and a hunger for guard helmets, sounds like the perfect match to me... and if things don't work out I'll even wait for a week before hitting on him myself." The two sisters shared a laugh at her joke, although Purple Haze wasn't sure if her sister was really joking or not.

Princess Celestia breathed in the fresh morning air as she walked through the halls of the castle. She enjoyed these moments of peace before her official duties started. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the morning. Birds singing outside, the trees swaying softly in the wind, screaming ponies... Celestia's eyes snapped open just in time to see several recruits of the night guard come running down the hallway screaming bloody murder. There was a familiar black figure hard on their trail.

The ponies rushed past her in a mad frenzy. One though, either out of a feeling of misguided duty or simply by habit stopped a moment to salute the princess. "My princess. Such a nice morning to see you and may I add I..." Celestia blinked her eyes in surprise as the guard tried to speak out a greeting between quick breaths.

"TAG!" the gnoll thundered in full run as he pulled his hammer back and brought it forward in a huge arc. The rock moved through the air with enough speed to give it sound. There was a satisfying clonk as the head connected with the pony and catapulted it off the ground and through the air. A moment later there was a loud puff and the pony was gone. The gnoll shook his head with a laugh, "Scar never gets tired of that sound. Silly pony, stops to say hello when it should run instead."

He turned to Celestia, there was a blank expression on her face. "Celestia alright? Scar has a moment time before it must continue hunt. Is good game, Celestia should play too."

Celestia shook her head in disbelief at what she had just seen, "Scar, what just happened to that pony?"

The gnoll shrugged, "Was too slow so Scar goes tag." he held up his hammer for her to see.

"And why if I may ask?"

"Shield pony asks it to?" he looked in the direction the other ponies had run.

"Captain Flying Shield told you to hunt them with your maul?"

The gnoll nodded as he held up his hammer again, "Is Tag."

"Would you please take me to captain Flying Shield? I believe I'd like to have a word with her."

"Mmmm... Scar does not have much time, needs to keep ponies running..." he thought for a second before realizing the obvious solution. He reached out with his hammer and carefully nudged Celestia with it, "Tag."

"What?" Celestia asked in surprise before there was a loud puff and she was gone.

"Scar is glad to help." he said happily as he returned to his hunt. As he shot down the hallways he couldn't help but wonder what Celestia wanted to talk to Flying Shield about. Maybe she wanted to join the game too? That would be fun.

Chapter 53: Pony Hunt 2

"I think we lost him..." wheezed a pony as it stood with two others in one of the hallways. "Are we all that's left?"

"I don't know..." a mare said between gasps, "I thought there were more behind us."

"We need to come up with a plan. I don't know about you but I can't keep on running much longer." they all felt like they had been running for hours. But whenever they thought they had lost their pursuer he would come around a corner or shoot out of a dark hallway. It was like a nightmare for them.

The third pony nodded, "That thing is way too fast for its size!"

"Alright, let's try to come up with a plan,..." he turned to the mare, "You stand guard while..." his eyes grew wide, "HAMMER!" She turned around in time to see the hammer fly towards her.

Three well placed strikes later the gnoll stood alone in the hallway and looked around himself with a satisfied smile. These three had been fast but his nose had not failed him. He gave a happy grunt, the game was over. It was time to head back to the courtyard.

As he was starting to head back though, a voice could be heard throughout the halls of the castle. "Scar, this is Celestia." was it only in his mind or did she sound angry? "Please be aware that the game has not ended yet." He raised an eyebrow, had he missed a pony? "As of now, captain Purple Haze and captain Flying Shield will take part too." there was a pause, "I believe two minutes head start should be enough."

The gnoll listened for more but the voice did not return again. So Purple Haze and Flying Shield wanted to join the game? Good for them! He would certainly give his best to make sure they could enjoy the hunt. He started to make his way down the hallway with slow steps, now if he only knew how long two minutes were.

There was a flash as Purple Haze and Flying Shield were teleported into the castle. Both of them looked around themselves for a moment to identify their current location.

Flying Shield was the first to speak up, "Was it just me, or did the princess seem to be a bit... angry?"

Purple Haze rolled her eyes, "And what pray tell gave you that impression? Is it the fact that she is having us mauled by the gnoll or was it somewhere in between her lecture? What were her words again?..." she made a dramatic pause. "Ahh... I remember now! Premature, irresponsible, unwarrantable and racially incorrect!"

Flying Shield gave a sigh, "I know! I know! I was just teasing you. Don't worry, give her a day to cool off and you'll be fine."

Purple Haze gave her a glare, "You're taking this way too relaxed."

"Oh come on, we're no rookies! All we need to do is keep him off our heels for a couple of minutes." Flying Shield replied with self-confidence, "We find a place to sit the time out and we're done with it. Simple as that."

"Only problem is that you can't hide from him! He'll smell us out in minutes and then..." Purple Haze stopped.

"And then?"

"Pshh,..." Purple Haze shushed her sister. She perked her ears and listened. At first there wasn't a sound to be heard, but then she thought she could make out a click from down one of the hallways. The sound claws would make on stone floor. "We gotta move, NOW!" she grabbed her sister and dashed off. She was intent to last a long as possible. She would show Scar what she could do.

Princess Luna was in her routine again. Breakfast, something to read, order. Her sister's announcement had surprised her a bit, but whatever Celestia was doing with the gnoll again she definitely wanted no part of it this early in the day. She would keep her distance and she would most definitely not get involved.

"This way!" a shout could be heard outside the door accompanied by the sound of running.

"Oh heavens not again..." muttered Luna before the doors to the dining room were thrown open and Purple Haze and Flying Shield shot through them. The moment they had passed they immediately bolted it shut and leaned against the heavy doors while panting heavily.

"This is the dining room! I thought you knew where we were going!"

"I got confused, okay? I for my part don't have a gnoll at my heels everyday!"

"And angry at that! Did you really have to hit him with the pepper?"

"I thought it would slow him down not make him chase us harder!"

"What makes you think that making him angry would slow him down? What kind of logic is that?!"

"Look, it works with dogs so why shouldn't it work with him?"

"Pardon me." Luna finally spoke up from her position. The two mares looked at her and passed her sheepish smiles. "May I ask, exactly what is going on here?"

"Uhhh, we're playing tag with Scar... and he has this hammer... and remember that sparring spell the night guard uses for training?"

"I remember it, yes. What about..." Luna suddenly understood what was going on. "Please let this be a poor joke." the two mares shook their heads. Luna let out a frustrated sigh before she realized something very unnerving. "He is hunting you?" the two mares nodded, Luna cast a glance over the freshly set up breakfast table. "And he is on your trail?" the two mares shook their heads.

Luna gave a sigh, "Then all is well, for one second I was concerned..." the table started to shake. Heavy footsteps could be heard drawing nearer. It stopped just as the sounds came exactly from behind the door. Something could be heard sniffing with deep breaths. Purple Haze and Flying Shield started to back away from the door. Luna gave a frustrated groan, "It is far too early for this..."

Princess Luna stood up and headed for the doors. She would end this madness right now before it would ruin her morning. On the other side, something was flying towards the doors at extremely high speeds.

Celestia stood in the courtyard patiently and waited for the two mares to appear. The hunt had been going for some time now, surely it wouldn't last much longer. There was a puff, but what fell onto the ground before her was neither Purple Haze nor was it Flying Shield.

"Sister,... are you alright? What are you doing here?"

Luna rubbed her head as she stood up with shaky legs. "Do you know what happens when a gnoll is attacked with pepper?" she asked with a groggy voice as her head reeled.

"No, I do not..." Celestia answered in surprise.

"They get angry. And do you know what gnolls do when they get angry?"

Celestia gulped, "I am afraid I know the answer..."

"THEY THROW HAMMERS THROUGH DOORS!"

Chapter 54: Fluffy

Scar gave a yawn as he watched the landscape pass outside. They had left Ponyville early, far too early for his liking. A gnoll should be asleep at this time of the day. Instead, he was traveling in a train packed with ponies along with Purple Haze, Twilight and Spike. If he had understood correctly they were going to visit the pink pony and the shiny pony he had met before. He wondered why he had to come along,... wasn't he supposed to hunt rats instead?

At least he didn't have to ride inside a cargo cart again. The carts of this train were big enough to accommodate him, even if he took up two seats and had to be careful not to bump his head. He looked around the train cart he was in. There were many ponies here, all of them chatting merrily. Some of them had passed him disturbed glances at first when he had entered the cart, but by now all of them had settled down and didn't seem to mind his presence. Still, sometimes he would catch some of them eying him with curious glances.

Across him, Twilight was chatting happily with a bored and sleepy looking Purple Haze. Next to him sat a snoring Spike. How the little lizard could sleep with all the talking ponies around him was beyond Scar's understanding. Something nudged one of his legs. Scar turned his head, nothing. There was another nudge, the gnoll looked down. It was a very tiny pony. The little filly was holding a bunny rag doll half as big as herself.

"Are you a monster?" the little pony asked him with huge eyes.

Scar thought for a moment, was he still a monster? Many ponies had used that name for him in the past but that was a long time ago... He shook his head, "It is gnoll."

"What's a gnoll?" the little pony asked with confusion in its voice.

"Scar is gnoll." he pointed at himself.

The pony giggled, "You're big!"

The gnoll chuckled, "Only because pony is small."

The little Filly laughed, "I'm Sunshine..." she held up her rag doll, "This Smilypants. Say hello, Smilypants."

The gnoll chuckled as he greeted the little doll, "Scar is happy to meet little doll."

"Can I touch your fur?"

Scar wasn't sure why the little pony wanted to touch him but if it made her happy... He held out an arm for her to touch. The little pony shook her head, "No, on your head." This was an unusual request. Would it really be okay? Wouldn't it seem threatening if he got his mouth too close to her?

He looked down at the little filly, she was giving him the biggest pleading eyes he had ever seen. The gnoll gave a sigh, the things he did to make tiny ponies happy... He bent down and carefully put his head in front of her. The filly reached up with both hoofs and started to pet his head. "Hihi, you're so fluffy!" she giggled as she squished his cheeks and face together.

"Sunshine! Where are you?" a voice called out from the back of the wagon.

"I'm here mommy!" the little filly called back as she continued to play with his face, "Remember how I always wanted a puppy?" Scar didn't like where this was going...

"What? Why are you..." a mare stepped up to them, "Oh my..." she said as she saw him.

"Can we keep him?"

It had taken a lot of soothing words from the mare and much of the gnoll's patience to talk the filly out of her idea of adopting the gnoll. After the initial whining she had finally calmed down and understood that Scar wasn't a pet. When she had told her mother she could dress him with bows the gnoll had nearly choked on his own breath.

Now that the filly had finally calmed down the mare turned to Scar, "You're Scar, the gnoll. Aren't you?"

"It is." he answered with surprise as she approached him. There wasn't the slightest sign of stress on her. He couldn't even smell a trace of fear coming from her. "Has it met pony before?"

The mare smiled as it stepped up to him, "We haven't. But I have seen you a few times in Ponyville. My husband is one of the guards accompanying princess Celestia on her duties. He's been telling quite some stories about you."

"Scar hopes good stories." he said with a tiny smile, careful not to show his teeth in front of the tiny pony.

The little ponies face suddenly lit up, "Mommy, is he the one that hit princes Luna with a hammer?"

"Hush now, it's not polite to talk about gossip." the mare warned her foal. The gnoll was about to tell her it was more than gossip but thought the better of it. Luna had accepted his apology and he had even given her a big hug to show that he was sorry. Her reaction to his embrace had been... interesting. "Come now, we need to get off at the next stop. Say goodbye to Scar."

The tiny pony beamed him a smile, "Goodbye, Scar!"

The gnoll waved a goodbye as the two ponies left, "Goodbye, tiny pony..."

When he turned around again he found that Purple Haze and Twilight had stopped talking. Instead they were watching him with smiles on their faces. How long had they been watching? "What?" Scar asked as their smiles grew bigger.

"Nothing..." Purple Haze answered with a grin, "Fluffy..." both she and Twlight barely suppressed their giggles.

Scar gave a groan, this would be a long ride.

Chapter 55: Arrival

"Is he going to be alright?" Twilight asked with worry in her voice as they watched the gnoll pace up and down the train station while constantly muttering to himself.

"What do you mean?" Shining Armor asked with a confused voice, "He doesn't seem that worried to me. Look! He's smiling."

"That's no smile..." Purple Haze replied as she watched Scar, "That's a snarl."

"Oh..." for the first time since his arrival at the station Shining Armor took the time to study the gnolls face. One look at Scar's eyes was enough to tell him that this could get troublesome. "I didn't think that this would pose such a probl..." The gnoll started to play with the handle of his maul uneasily, "He's not going to become violent is he?"

Purple Haze gave a sigh. Had she known what would happen the moment they sat foot onto the station she would not have brought him along. "I trust him enough not to do anything that could endanger the ponies, but you should have informed us about this before we arrived... With his experience with magic his reaction is no surprise at all." She took another look at Scar, "Wait here, I'll see if I can talk with him."

Scar was at a complete loss, nothing like this had ever happened to him before. The ponies didn't seem to mind but it disturbed him greatly. He could feel it on his skin, even the smells had changed.

"Hey..." he turned to see Purple Haze walk up to him, "Are you going to be okay?"

He shook his head, "Scar is far from okay..." He continued to pace up and down, all the while muttering to himself.

"Look, I know it disturbs you but it's only for as long as we stay. The moment we leave it will stop. Besides..." she added as he stopped to look at her, "It looks pretty on you."

Scar furrowed a brow, "Gnoll isn't supposed to look pretty... And gnoll is not supposed to look SHINY!" he waved his arms at her angrily. Just like the ponies, his whole form was covered in a shiny mantle. "Is one thing for ponies to look shiny, but gnoll? No. Scar looks ridiculous!"

"And since when do you care about your looks?"

"Is not all." he showed her his maul, just like him it was covered in a shining gloss. "Tag too! How does shiny Tag scare evil things? Rats will laugh when they see Scar!"

Purple Haze raised an eyebrow, "Tag? Seriously? You're really going to keep that name?" she shook her head, "Look, just like I said... It will stop once we leave. Now come on, princess Cadence is expecting us and we're running late. There's even going to be food." she tried to bribe him.

"Better be good food..." the gnoll grumbled as he set to follow her.

"And for Celestias sake stop snarling like that! You're going to set the locals into a panic!"

The walk to the castle had been uneventful. The ponies on the streets eyed him with fearful eyes, but that was to be expected. The smell of their fear surrounded him like a veil. He found it unpleasant. At least Shining Armors presence seemed to calm them down somewhat.

Had he been seen walking the streets alone there would have been a panic for sure. It disturbed him that he still couldn't walk among them on his own. What was even more disturbing was the fact that all of them were shiny. But nothing could compare to the hell Twilight was putting him through. The whole way to the castle she didn't stop talking about the history of the place for one second. He could already feel a headache starting to grow in the back of his head.

When they finally arrived at the castle Scar found himself at a loss once again. "What are ponies doing?" he whispered to Shining Armor.

"They always do this. It's their way of greeting one another." Shining Armor answered as they watched Twilight and Cadance perform their ritual.

"Is gnoll supposed to..." Scar asked with dread in his voice. Being shiny was one thing, but this...

Shining Armor laughed, "Only if you want to."

The gnoll spared the two ponies another look as they finished their dance, "No... no, Scar does not."

Cadance walked up to them, "Hello Purple Haze, and hello Scar. I am happy you joined Twilight for her visit. We only have few chances to see our friends these days." she smiled at them. "I hope you had a good journey?"

"Was good." Scar answered as he watched her, she looked even more shiny than the other ponies. If that was even possible. "Though Scar is not happy about shiny Tag..."

"Shiny Tag?" Cadance replied clearly confused.

"Don't mind him, he's just being stubborn as always." Purple Haze replied with a smirk.

"Scar is not, only says Tag looks silly all shiny."

"I still don't understand what a shiny tag is but you look very pretty. If you want I can make it stay like that a bit longer even after you left..." There was a low rumble starting to escape the gnolls chest, "Or maybe not... heh."

"Don't be rude to the princess Scar." Purple Haze warned him.

"As long as gnoll doesn't stay shiny..." he grumbled as he squinted his eyes at the princess.

"Maybe we should move on..." Cadance said as she watched the gnoll nervously, his mood shift had been unexpected. She would avoid the subject in the future. "We have some food prepared for you. I hope you are hungry."

"Pony food?" Scar asked with a dry voice. He wasn't in the mood for bread or salad. What he wouldn't give for a squirrel right now... so crunchy and sweet... a perfect snack.

"Scar... what did I tell you about being rude?" Purple Haze said with a stern voice. "I'm sure there's something you can enjoy too."

"Actually,..." Shining Armor said with a small smile, "We had some delegates from the griffin kingdom here yesterday. As it is custom by them, they brought along some meat for themselves. They left behind quite a bit because they had to leave early, so..." The gnoll had suddenly stepped up very close to him.

Chapter 56: Meat

"Did you know this?" Purple Haze asked as she watched the contents of the bag with unease.

"We didn't actually look inside..." Shining Armor replied nervously. Inside the bag, there was a whole deer. Unskinned, unprepared, still complete.

"I never saw a dead animal..." Spike said quietly. "It seems so..."

"Strange?" commented Twilight. Like all of them, she found herself unable to divert her eyes from the dead form of the deer.

The gnoll breathed in deep, taking in the smell of the meat. It was only a few days old, it was enticing. He could already feel his hunger starting to rise. "Ponies should leave." he commented sternly.

"Yes, of course..." Cadance said with a nervous voice, "Come, let us leave Scar to his... meal." The awkwardness of her words clung to the air like a veil.

The ponies started to leave the room, all of them. All except Purple Haze. Scar turned to her, "Purple Haze should leave too."

"No, I want to see this." she replied with a determined voice. The ponies stopped at her words.

"What? Why would you want to see something like... something like that?" Twilight asked in shock and disgust.

Scar watched Purple Haze with grave eyes, "Twilight is right..." Twilight almost fell over when she heard him use her name. Had it not been for the current situation she would have been overjoyed. "Is nothing ponies should see."

"I know." Purple Haze said with uneven breaths, "But I have been avoiding this subject long enough. I need to see this, I need to know and I need to understand." she looked into his eyes, "I WANT to understand you."

Scar's gaze lingered on her eyes for what seemed like minutes. Countless thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to understand her words. It seemed wrong... but her words... He breathed out a long sigh, "Purple Haze can stay." he turned around and started to head for the bag, "Other ponies leave... now."

Twilight watched from the door with uncertainty, she simply couldn't understand why Purple Haze would want to see something like this. The others were just as disturbed about this as her. As the doors were finally closed behind them they stood before the entrance in silence. The doors suddenly seemed very forbidding.

Cadance turned to one of the guards, "Make sure nopony opens these doors. The gnoll is not to be interrupted during his... meal." The guard gave a grim nod. She turned to Twilight and Spike, "Come, we should... eat something as well." The group started to head towards the dining room, all of them suddenly feeling a bit queasy at the thought of food.

Scar carefully removed the deer from the bag and laid it out before him on the ground with the bag beneath it. He could still feel the hunger inside him, though it felt very different with Purple Haze watching. He turned around to study her, she looked scared. "Purple Haze can still leave." he said softly.

"No,..." she cleared her throat, "I'm going to stay." she did her best to be brave. No matter how much she feared what was about to happen, her desire to fully know his being was stronger.

Scar gave her a long look before turning back to the deer. He took a deep breath, he felt... nervous. This was going to be a strange meal... He fixed the deer with his eyes and let its scent fill his nostrils. He felt the hunger starting to rise inside him, slower than usual, but it still came. He got to work.

The mood in the dining room was tense. The ponies as well as Spike had found themselves unable to eat, all of them staring at their plates without hunger as they tried to nibble at the food from time to time. The silence could be cut with a knife.

After what felt like an eternity though the silence was broken as the doors to the dining room were pushed open and Purple Haze walked in. All of them stared at her intently as she walked to her seat with quick steps, none of them knowing what to say to her.

She sat down at her place with a strange and absent look on her face. She seemed paler than usual. Purple Haze looked at the plate before her, a fresh salad was placed on it. She turned even paler and pushed it aside with a hoof.

Twilight was the first to speak up, "Purple Haze, are you alright?"

Purple Haze seemed to snap out of her state and looked up for the first time, "Me? What?... Oh, yeah... I'm fine..." she remembered the sound... "Just... didn't think he'd be that thorough..." the way his head had moved...

"Thorough?" Spike asked with a shaky voice.

Purple Haze gave a strange laugh, "Seems gnolls leave nothing to waste... not even skin and bones..." Spike turned green. The look in Scars eyes... his eyes... primal, ferocious... alive. She looked at the salad again, for some reason she suddenly felt very hungry. She took the plate and started to dig in.

"You can still eat after seeing... that?" Twilight asked in surprise as she watched Purple Haze shovel down her salad.

"Well,..." Purple Haze tried to argue with herself as the ponies watched her with shock and fascination, "Gotta eat. Actually... I'm glad I did it." she shoved another fork of salad into her mouth.

"You are?" Cadance asked with surprise.

"Yup, I think I finally understand what being a gnoll means." Purple Haze answered with a smile while wondering at the same time why she was even smiling. She felt on edge like never before. Watching the gnoll eat had been... she couldn't find the words for it. While on one side it was a horrible thing to watch she had been fascinated by the display. She simply hadn't been able to take her eyes off him.

"And what's that?" Cadance asked with interest in her voice.

"Mmmm... can't really explain... you have to see it to understand." she munched on another fork of salad thoughtfully. "You know, I think we're just too far gone from our origins to truly understand what..." she stopped, the color leaving her face. "Toilet!" she managed to gasp out before she ran off with a pale face. The ponies looked after her in a complete loss of words.

Scar found her hanging onto the edge of the toilet while barfing her life out. He gave a sigh as he sat down besides her. "Scar warned Purple Haze... is nothing for ponies to see."

"Yeah, I figured..." she heaved another time, "But I simply had to see it for myself..." she managed to flash him a smile before going for the bowl again.

The gnoll shook his head with a quiet laugh as he watched her, "Purple Haze was very brave though." he watched her for a moment longer, "Purple Haze has barf in her hair..." he commented quietly.

"Urgh..." she heaved again as she smelled his breath, "Just... don't breath in my direction for a moment... okay?"

Scar laughed, "Purple Haze doesn't smell much better right now, at least Scar can wash its teeth." He plucked something from her mane, "Scar is sure Purple Haze is toughest pony it ever met. Purple Haze would make good gnoll! Already has temper, only needs bigger teeth and more fur." he patted her back softly.

He could hear her laugh with her head half in the bowl, "Yeah, yeah... I love you too big guy."

Chapter 57: Scar and Spike

Scar yawned happily as he dozed in the the early morning sun. He had found himself a nice spot on a balcony and was enjoying dozing around on the warm stone. Normally he avoided sleeping in the open, but this place seemed peaceful enough.

"Hey Scar." The gnoll lifted his head slightly to see Spike walk up to him. The little dragon sat down next to him, "Nice place you have here."

"Is nice." Scar replied as he put his head back down.

"So..." Spike said after a moment, "You got any plans for today?"

"Plans?" Scar asked with shut eyes.

"Yeah... you know, do something?"

The gnoll thought a bit, he hadn't actually planned anything for this trip at all. He was content enough to stick to Purple Haze. But now that the little dragon had mentioned it... He studied Spikes face, "Spike is bored?"

The little dragon got a bit more lively, "Well, Twilight and Cadance are off doing girly things and Purple Haze is inspecting the barracks with Shining Armor so I don't really have anything to do... I heard there's a fair in town and I'd really like to see it but Twilight doesn't like it when I go exploring on my own." The little dragons head dropped a bit, "Yeah, I'm bored."

The gnoll thought about it for a moment. On the one side he could probably just stay here and sleep all day, but what would Spike do? It wouldn't be fair if the little dragon had to stay inside all day, "Scar could go with Spike."

"You'd go with me? Really?" Spike asked excitedly.

"Scar will." the gnoll replied as he got up.

"Awesome!"

"Wow!" Spike exclaimed in wonder from the gnolls shoulder as the two of them walked over the fair. "Look at all those stands! I don't even know where we should start!" he turned down to Scars head, "What do you want to do first?"

Scar looked around the fair with searching eyes. With his height it was no problem to look over the ponies. There were many of them here, the whole place was buzzing with activity as parents walked around the stands with their happy foals. Sweet and delicious smells found his nose from every direction, all around him were colorful stands with games and little things to buy. "Scar isn't sure, doesn't want to scare tiny ponies."

The ponies didn't seem like they were about to panic but many of them seemed to be intimidated by his sheer size. Those that noticed him quickly collected their foals and gave him a wide girth. He was starting to think he should have stayed in the castle. That's when he heard something that caught his attention, the sounds of crying.

A little foal sat next to a trash can, crying softly to itself. "Pony is sad?" a deep voiced asked softly from behind.

The little pony nodded without turning, "I got lost and now I can't find my mommy!"

There was a pause, "Scar and Spike will help pony find mommy."

"Don't worry we'll find her in no time!" another voice said with determination.

The little pony turned around, "Thank you so much, I..." The foal stopped as she looked at two huge black legs. Her gaze traveled upwards and her mouth fell open, "What are you?" she asked in fascination.

"I'm Spike." the little dragon answered from his position, "And this is Scar. He's a gnoll."

"Scar is gnoll." the huge figure confirmed with a nod. "Gnoll will help tiny pony." he got down slowly, reached out a huge paw and held it out before her with the palm facing up.

"Huh?" the foal turned to Spike, "What am I supposed to do?"

"I think he wants you to jump on..." Spike turned to Scar, "Right?"

Scar nodded, "Can't find mommy with pony down there, gnoll's back much higher."

She looked at Spike, "Don't worry, it'll be fine." he said with a smile. The foal carefully got on his paw and was surprised at how easily he lifted her up. Spike helped her find a position on the gnolls wide back, "This is a special spot reserved only for special ponies and foals! There, how's that position?"

"It's nice, thank you." the foal replied happily as she sat down. "Wow, I can see so far from up here! It must be great being this tall!"

"Is good for many things, but sometimes Scar would like to be small too." he replied as he got back up.

"What? If I were as big as you it would be totally awesome! I could protect everypony and be a hero like you!" Spike said as he fantasized himself being huge.

"Scar is no hero. Also needs no size to be hero." the gnoll replied thoughtfully, "Big things fall much harder than little things."

"I guess..." Spike replied as he wondered about the gnolls words. He turned to the foal, "Can you see your mother from up here?"

The little foaled turned her head in every direction and scanned the crowd, "No... I can't see her."

"Scar has idea." the gnoll spoke up beneath them, "If tiny pony can't see mother then maybe mother can see tiny pony."

"How do we do that?" Spike asked in wonder.

"Is simple, Scar needs to be bigger." he replied happily as he started to head towards a stand.

Purple Haze and Twilight were walking through the fair with worried faces. Upon returning one of the guards had told them that the gnoll and the dragon had left the castle and were headed to the fair. Why it hadn't occurred to the guards to accompany the two was beyond Purple Haze's understanding.

"I just hope they don't get into any trouble." Twilight said, "What if they get lost?"

Purple Haze couldn't help but sigh, "I don't think that somepony as big as Scar could get lost at all. I'm more worried about the trouble those two could start."

Twilight looked around the fair, "At least everything looks to be okay. Maybe we're worrying too much..." she was stopped by Purple Haze.

"Look, up there." Twilight followed hear lead and felt her mouth drop. There, on top of a big stand stood the gnoll with Spike on one of his shoulders. The ponies below were by now starting to notice and many of them stopped and murmured to one another, unsure if this was a threat or an act of the fair. Purple Haze groaned, "Just what are they doing up there?"

Twilight squinted her eyes, "Is that a foal on Scar's..."

At that moment the gnolls voice boomed like thunder over the ponies below, "ALL PONIES LISTEN! SCAR FINDS TINY PONY! WHERE IS TINY PONY MOTHER?"

For a moment there was a dead silence as the ponies simply stared at the gnoll. Then, from the back of the crowd a voice could be heard screaming out in terror, "That's my foal!"

The fair suddenly became very loud.

Chapter 58: Panic

Spike watched in wonder as the crowd beneath them started to panic. Screaming and shouting ponies were running in all directions. Mares grabbed their foals and hoisted them to safety, grown stallions screamed like fillies and dove for bushes and trash cans as bags of candy and cups with drinks went flying in all directions.

"That..." the little dragon sighed, "Probably wasn't a very good idea." For a moment he thought he could see Purple Haze and Twilight trying to push their way through the panicking crowd.

The gnoll didn't care much, he had found what he had been looking for. With a push of his legs he took to the air and jumped to ground below, the little foal laughing in delight while Spike clung on for his dear life. As the gnoll landed he never took his eyes of the pony that had called out. All around him ponies scrambled to get out of his path... Unimportant, he decided as he ignored them. He walked up to her with certain steps, the mare seemingly frozen in fear.

By the time he had reached her the fair seemed deserted, all of the ponies were hiding behind stalls or trash cans. They did their best to remain hidden, but Scar could smell them easily. The fact that there were colorful tails, flanks, legs and heads sticking out from the stalls and a few trash cans only made it easier to spot them. The gnoll couldn't help but chuckle, ponies were really bad at hiding.

"Mommy!" the little foal called out in joy as the gnoll bent down to let her descend. She embraced her mother in a hug.

"Honey,..." the mare said without taking her eyes off the gnoll, "Are you alright?"

The little foal nodded happily, "I got lost but Scar and Spike found me and helped me find you!" she turned back to the pair, "Thank you so much!" she embraced one of the gnolls legs.

"Scar is happy to help." he nodded as he patted the foal on the head.

Off to the side, the ponies watched the scene from their hiding places. What had started as a panic was slowly turning into wonder as the ponies started to whisper vehemently among one another.

"Wait, he isn't trying to eat us?"

"Maybe it's a trick! He's just waiting for us to come out and eat us!"

"Is that a tree on his back?"

"Is he talking with that mare? What's he saying?"

"Be quiet or he'll hear us!"

"You be quiet! Why are we even hiding?"

"Has he eaten them yet?"

The gnoll gave a sigh, "Scar can already hear ponies, has very good ears." He was greeted by an eerie silence. "Ponies don't need to hide, Scar won't bite." No reply. The gnoll shrugged as he went back to talking with the two ponies

"I don't think he's going to eat them... Maybe we should go see what he wants?"

"And get eaten too? He probably can't decide which one he should eat first!"

"Don't know, it looks like he really is talking to them.... wonder what they're talking about..."

"What's the purple thing on his shoulder? Move a bit, I can't see!"

"Mommy, can I go play with the big doggy too?"

"Look! Somepony is coming!"

"Hey you two, hide! There's a foal eating monster back there!"

"The things I do for a living..." the mare replied as she rolled her eyes and continued to head towards the gnoll with a unicorn by her side.

"Spike! What were you thinking!"

"Oh... Uhhmm... Hi Twilight, are you two here for the fair too?"

The pony breathed heavily as he leaned against a stone pillar. Sneaking into the castle hadn't been easy, but the voice demanded it. Even now it was relentlessly whispering in his mind. It had started when he had found a strange piece of black crystal on his farm. Thinking it could be valuable he had taken it home, but with the first night the voice had come.

It talked to him endlessly, even in his dreams it was present. It showed him things, terrible things. It forced him to watch, not allowing him to wake up no matter how hard he fought against it. Fearing for his mind he had tried to dispose of the black crystal several times, but every time he tried to throw it away if felt like his mind was being torn apart.

Now, after many sleepless nights everything felt like a dream. He was unable to find a straight line of thought at this point, how long had it been since he had last slept or eaten? He didn't remember. There was only the voice now, whispering commands with a fierceness unlike anything he had ever known before.

He walked without thinking, the voice guiding him through the halls and past unsuspecting guards. Why was he here? For a moment he thought he could actually hear the whispers come from the crystal inside his saddle bag but his thoughts were cut off again as the whispers grew louder. Had they always been this loud? He felt so tired... he wanted to sleep so badly but the voice wouldn't allow it.

He reached a chamber with a huge crystal heart in its center. It shined like a bright star. Even with his mind shrouded in an inconceivable darkness the pony could see it was beautiful. The whispers became louder, stronger. He wasn't moving on his own anymore, he was being moved. He watched in horror as his hoof brought up the black crystal and held it like a dagger. "No..." he whispered as he tried to fight against it, "Please, no..." It was no use. He could only watch as his own hoof held up the crystal and thrust it towards the heart.

Chapter 59: Evil Rocks

Scar gave a happy grunt as his hammer tore through another shard pony. The force of the hammer was high enough to turn its torso into nothing but rubble. The black head sailed through the air, black fangs and sharp edges glinting in the light. It landed on the grass with a soft thud, and even though there was nothing more left the head still snarled and hissed at them. Scar gave the disgusting thing a distasteful look before stomping it into the ground with his hammer, "Evil little thing..."

"What the hell are those things?" Purple Haze called out to Twilight as she dodged the leap of another shard pony. All around them the ponies were screaming and running around in panic. Purple Haze delivered a crushing kick to the shard pony's head, shattering the stone like glass. The body walked another step before crumbling as well.

Twilight seemed besides herself, she just stood there and stared at the black monolith with a horrified expression. "Nononono, this isn't possible! We defeated him! He can't be back!"

Scar slowly made his way towards the formation of black rock while shattering shard ponies to all sides. The monoliths had grown out of the ground without warning and as far as he could see. Their smell greatly disturbed him, it had set him on edge the moment they had appeared. When the first shard pony had stepped forth from the black and jagged stone the gnoll already had his hammer ready. When it made a snarling jump for one of the ponies the gnoll had not hesitated and crushed it to pieces.

Whatever they were, they certainly weren't ponies. Scar was certain of that. They looked similar in shape, but that was it. They were formed out of the same black rock as the monoliths, and they were adorned with sharp edges and spikes. The fact that they didn't bleed and still snarled at him even with their heads removed further supported the gnolls decision to crush as many as them as he could. And there were many.

For every shard pony he crushed two more would form from the monolith. He was slowly growing tired of it. He waded on through their masses, swinging his hammer left and right, each swing accompanied by the sound of a shattered shard pony. A few of them managed to jump on him, pointy little teeth and sharp, jagged hoofs digging into his fur until he threw them off with a swipe of his hand. Still, he couldn't help but feel a bit relieved. With the appearance of the monoliths everything, including himself had lost its shiny appearance. It felt much better this way.

While Scar was carrying the fight towards the monolith Purple Haze had reached Twilight. She was still ranting the same sentence over and over again. Purple Haze grabbed her with her hoofs and shook her out of her shocked state, "Twilight, what's going? Who can't be back? Who is responsible for this?"

Twilight looked at her before whispering a single word, "Sombra..."

Purple Haze recoiled in shock, "What? I thought he had been defeated? How could he be back?"

Twilight shook her head as she tried to clear her thoughts, "I don't know! But the black rocks can't mean anything else!" she started to tread up and down nervously, "But it's impossible! We returned the crystal heart! As long as it's..." she blanked. Her face started to grow pale, "The crystal heart! We need to get to the castle immediately! Something must have happened to it!"

Purple Haze shook her head, "You go! I'll stay here and help Scar! We need to protect the ponies here and stop these things!"

At that moment the gnoll finally reached the monolith in a spray of shard pony body parts flying around him. He reared up the hammer and brought it around in wide arc. It slammed into the black rock, causing the monolith to crack at its base and fall over like a cut-down tree. He watched the remaining stump with a smile as he patted Tag, that had been... he did a double check as the monolith started to grow again. Scar gave a huff of frustration, "Stupid rock."

"You don't understand!" Twilight tried to argue with Purple Haze, "It won't stop until we reach the crystal heart and return it to its place!"

"Purple Haze!" Scar called while watching the monolith grow again, "Go help Twilight! Scar will handle this!"

Purple Haze looked back at him with uncertainty, "What? Are you sure you can handle this on your own?"

Scar gave the rock another look, shard ponies were already starting to form on it, "Scar is sure! Go!" he barked at her as he lifted his hammer again.

"Alright, but once the ponies have evacuated the area you head straight to the castle! You understand?!"

Scar gave a nod before crushing a shard pony that had just stepped out of the monolith, "Scar will!"

"And don't do anything foolish! I don't want to carry you home!" she called out before setting off with Twilight and Spike.

Scar watched them leave before returning his attention to the monolith. He would simply knock the stupid rock over as long as it took the ponies to barricade themselves in their homes. Shouldn't be too long, most of them had already reached their houses if he saw correctly.

However, just as he was about to take another swing at the monolith before him two new monoliths shot out of the ground next to the thirst one, shard ponies already forming on them. Scar looked at the two new monoliths in disbelief, "Has got to be kidding it..." he mumbled as the shard ponies started to fall from the monolith like leafs. If he would survive this he would never go on vacation with Twilight again.

Chapter 60: No Pony

There was no end to them. Scar gave an angry snarl as he smashed another row of shard ponies. He was doing his best to stand his ground but the sheer endless mass of them was slowly starting to overrun him. His arms and hands were covered with cuts where fangs of stone had found their way through his thick fur. Yet the gnoll stood his ground defiantly. The ponies were relying on him.

In between another series of swings he stole a glance behind him. It seemed that all the ponies had finally barricaded themselves in their homes, good. That meant he could make his way back to... At that moment an explosion shook the very ground beneath him and the gnoll watched in horror as the top part of the largest tower of the castle exploded in a fireball. A second later a shock wave reached him that nearly knocked him off his feet.

Forgetting the shard ponies for a moment the gnoll leapt onto the roof of a stand. Scar's sharp eyes fixed the remaining top of the tower, what was going on up there? There was sinking feeling in his stomach. At the top of the tower he was able to make out a purple streak flying circles and occasionally diving down. Purple Haze. As he saw her ascent again he saw flashes coming from the peak. Shortly after fireballs and lighting shot into the air, the mare barely dodging the projectiles. Another explosion shook the ground as the tower was basked in magical light.

Scar gave off a curse. He had taken too much time handling the shard ponies. Purple Haze was fighting for her life and he was down here wasting his time with black stones. He jumped off the roof and sprinted towards the castle. He needed to help her, if she would get hurt... if Purple Haze would get hurt because he wasn't there to protect her... The gnoll gave off a deafening roar as he shot over the ground on all fours. He would rather die than let that happen.

Purple Haze rolled over in a hard turn in mid air, the fireball flying past her close enough to make her feel the searing heat. The force of her turn nearly knocked her out of the air as she quickly changed the direction again to avoid a blast of energy heading her way. Down below, on the shattered remains of the towers top, formed out of black crystals stood Sombra, waging war on her and her friends.

The air seemed to buzz with energy as his black form shot of wave after wave of destructive magic in all directions. Twilight was doing her best to hold up a shield protecting an unconscious Cadance and Spike while simultaneously trying to aid Shining Armor in his fight against the dark unicorn.

The blast that had destroyed the top of the tower would have killed them all had it not been for Cadance protecting them with her magic. But the strain of casting such a protective spell had taken its toll on the princess and she had been knocked out by the sheer stress. Now, all that remained were Purple Haze, Twilight and Shining Armor as they tried to hold off Sombra's attack. And they were failing. As much as they tried Purple Haze already knew that they would not last much longer against him.

Twilight's shield was already webbed with cracks as Sombra hit it repeatedly with blasts of dark magic and Shining Armor's spells were not showing the smallest sign of effect on the crystal body of Sombra. Purple Haze repeatedly dived and tried to tackle him but she merely bounced off him before he shot off another barrage of magic projectiles after her.

Sombra gave a triumphant laugh as a dark beam of magic hit Shining Armor in the chest and sent him sailing through the air like a rag doll. He landed on the ground next to Twilight, unmoving. "Shiny!" Twilight called out in shock as she saw her brother lie on the ground.

Sombra gave off a sinister laugh, "Don't worry little mare, he is just unconscious. He will not have the mercy of a quick death. I will make him and his whore suffer for eternities for what they did to me!" He shot off another beam crashing into Twilights shield, making it shatter like glass as her spell finally failed. The mare sunk to her knees spent, trying to use her body to protect her brother and friends alike.

"YOU BASTARD!" Purple Haze shouted in anger as she shot down at him. Before she could reach him she was engulfed in an aura of black magic before being slammed into the ground with enough force to make the air leave her lungs. She was picked up again and thrown into the remaining pieces of a wall, her head crashing roughly against the cold stone.

"FOOLS!" Sombra thundered in a dark tone, "I have made contracts with the darkest and oldest forces of this world! As long as the equestrian blood runs through your veins you will never be able to even scratch me." He gave a laugh, "I am king Sombra, ruler of darkness! The hate I harbor inside me will not allow the likes of you to touch me! No pony, be it mortal or god will ever be able to defeat me!" He gave off another laugh, the sky darkening above him as thunder split the air, "This is my prophecy, no pony will ever be able to defeat me!"

As Purple Haze's mind started to fall into blackness she saw a huge black form rise behind Sombra. Two red eyes filled with hate glaring down on him as it held an impossibly large hammer up high in the air. "Scar is no pony." a deep voice rumbled as it brought the hammer down with enough force to split a mountain apart. Sombra whirled around to face the new adversary but was too late.

The hammer contacted with his horn. A shatter could be heard ripping through the air and an explosion of light filled Purple Haze's view as she finally succumbed to unconsciousness with a smile, the gnoll had come.

Chapter 61: High Stakes

The blast knocked the gnoll off his feet and his hammer was ripped out of his grasp as black crystal shards ripped over the side of his face like shrapnel and shattered his eye. As he got up again red was already starting to fill his vision as he spotted the black crystal form of Sombra.

Just like the gnoll he had been thrown to the ground by the explosion the hammer's impact on his horn had caused. Slowly the black form started to rise, magic crackling uncontrolled in the air as the dark king tried to summon up his destructive magic. Scar watched with a mix of fascination and horror as the black creatures head turned towards him.

Half of Sombras head was missing. Huge cracks lined the rest of his form, crawling outwards from the destroyed crystal like a spiders web. How he was even still alive was beyond the gnolls understanding. Sombra swayed unsteadily on his hoofs, lightning dancing over his form as he tried to form another spell. "BEAST!" the dark unicorn thundered at the gnoll, "You will pay dearly for this!"

Scar looked for his hammer, but it was nowhere to be seen. It had probably fallen off the tower. The gnoll gave a silent curse as he faced the black form, and froze as he saw Sombras wounds start to heal. Slowly, but steadily the cracks were starting to close again and new crystals started to form in the open cleft of his head. Scar realized he had to hurry, if Sombras horn would reform again he wouldn't stand a chance against him.

The gnoll tensed his muscles, crouched and charged forwards with a savage roar.

Twilight watched in horror as the gnoll charged towards Sombra. Fire and lightning exploded in the air around Sombra as Scar's form crashed into him, sending both of them flying through the remains of a wall. As the dust cleared Twilight could see the gnoll grab Sombra's leg and slam him into the ground repeatedly before a blast of energy from Sombra's body flung him off his feet.

The gnoll stood up, black smoke rising from his chest as he gave another snarl and charged again, and again, and again as Twilight watched helplessly.

The fight went on for what seemed like an eternity. The gnoll's blows and teeth ripping shards of crystal off Sombra's form and driving deep cracks into his body while he himself was barraged with more uncontrolled magic. Every shard the gnoll tore off Sombra was laced with his own blood.

Twilight slowly crawled over to Spike's unconscious body and started to shake him awake with what strength she had left. She needed to do something. If she could just write one letter... just one word...

Scar breathed heavily as he slowly circled Sombra, his own body covered in cuts and burns as the two of them eyed one another in silent rage. Countless holes and cracks covered Sombras crystal form, but still he refused to drop. Even now the cracks were slowly starting to close themselves again, even though it was much slower now than before. It seemed that the fight with the gnoll had taken a great toll on Sombra.

But the fight had also left its marks on Scar. The blood loss was starting to affect his already reduced vision and every movement was becoming a hard task. The gnoll knew that he wouldn't be able to fight on like this much longer. But as long as his adversary stood he refused to go down. If only he had his hammer... he needed to find a way to shatter this thing. His fists didn't do enough damage, and with the chaotic magic blasting around Sombra the gnoll wasn't able to get close enough to his throat to place a good bite.

At that point Scar suddenly realized how close the two of them had gotten to the tower's edge. He looked over to Purple Haze. She was unconscious, a long cut bleeding from her head. She needed help as quickly as possible. He looked back at Sombra. He was supposed to watch over the ponies, he would not allow them to be hurt any more. He made a decision.

"Spike! Spike! You need to wake up!" Twilight frantically shook Spike from side to side, tears in her eyes.

The little dragon slowly started to stir and opened his eyes, "Twilight? Whats going on? Where... where is Sombra?" Spike looked to his side to see Cadance and Shining Armor lying next to him. "Oh no..."

"Spike I need you to send this immediately!" Twilight held up a little piece of torn paper, a single word written across it hastily; 'Help'.

Spike looked at the message for a moment before realizing the graveness of the situation. He drew in a shaky breath and produced a little green flame that quickly enveloped the shred of paper before it disappeared. In the distance, he could see a battered Scar facing off a visibly cracked and chipped Sombra.

"Spike!" his attention snapped back to Twilight, "Stay here and watch over Cadance and Shining Armor, I have to help..."

The gnoll suddenly gave off another savage roar as he charged towards Sombra at full speed. Twilight's eyes followed his path as he rushed towards Sombra in a straight line. She saw the edge of the tower... she understood.

"NO!" she shouted out in desperation as the gnoll collided with Sombra at full speed. The impact lifted Sombra off the ground as the gnoll held onto him through his magic blasts. Too late he realized the gnoll's intent.

Sombra gave one final, terrible scream of rage as they both went over the edge.

Time seemed to slow down as Scar watched Sombra fall towards the ground beneath him, his black form screaming and shouting in anger and frustration. Scar looked up, he could see the top of the tower draw away quickly. The wind rushed in his ears as he continued to speed up. It was alright, Purple Haze would be alright. Everything would be fine. A flash of light came from the top of the tower. Scar closed his remaining eye as he finally allowed himself to pass into darkness, everything would be fine.

Chapter 63: Story Time

The princess of the night walked through the corridors of the hospital with quiet steps. She, her sister and Cadance had taken turns visiting the hospital the last two weeks. The schedule was always the same, visit the foals and ponies injured during the attack then see how the gnoll and Purple Haze were doing. If not in the hospital they worked to repair the damage done during king Sombra's return.

The gnoll's state had been worrying to say the least. He had barely left Purple Hazes bed and had been easy to anger. He would grumble at nurses and doctors alike, not taking his eyes of them as they tended to the unconscious Purple Haze while refusing to let them tend to his own wounds any further. Trying to persuade him to leave her side for a moment had caused him to lose his patience with the ponies once, and after the discussion that followed they had not tried again.

He barely ate and drank anything, and almost never slept. And he never allowed anypony to enter the room while he was reading her his stories. It was troubling to see him in such distress, but no words of comfort from them seemed to reach him. Should Purple Haze not regain consciousness none of them knew how he would react.

At least everyone else was alright, it had relieved them greatly to find that Cadance's unborn foals were unharmed as well. Celestia and Luna had checked on this matter very thoroughly. They had sent Twilight and Spike back to Ponyville, in spite of their protests, but somepony needed to sooth the worries back home.

As Luna was letting her mind wander around the recent events she heard a familiar voice coming out of an open door, "And then little bunny jumps over log and runs through grass, little bird above. But no matter how high bunny jumps, bird is much higher!"

Luna slowly walked towards the open door. As she looked inside a smile came to her lips, the gnoll was sitting inside the room surrounded by foals as he read from a big, colorful book. He still looked thinner than usual, but every movement he made seemed much more lively than before.

The gnoll looked up with a happy face, an eye clap over his destroyed eye, "Hello, Lulu." Princess Luna almost gave a groan of frustration as she heard him say that name.

The foals turned to look at the princess, one little pegasus that sat perched on top of Scars head tilted its head questioningly, "Lulu? That's not her name Scar!"

"Is not?" the gnoll asked confused.

A filly corrected him, "She's princess Luna."

The gnoll looked at the princess with a dubious expression and scratched his chin, "Celestia always says Lulu..."

"Really? You know both princesses? Wow!" the foals started chatting wildly as they looked at Scar with big eyes. For one moment Luna was actually tempted to cast a mute spell on the gnoll, but the damage had been done. She could only hope the name wouldn't catch. At least the gnoll's mood had improved considerably, which meant...

"Princess Luna." she turned around and saw Purple Haze approach her.

Lunas smile grew as she saw her captain up and well again, "I fear we meet like this far too often." she and Purple Haze shared a small laugh as they both watched the gnoll tell its stories to the foals through one of the windows. "And it seems that Scar's name is becoming more appropriate every time I see him. It is good to see both of you are better again."

"He hasn't caused any trouble has he?" Purple Haze asked with worry in her voice. For some reason the gnoll simply refused to talk about the time she was asleep.

A memory of Scar shouting angrily at her and her sister, refusing to leave Purple Haze's side flashed before her eyes. But it passed again, Purple Haze was up and well again and the gnoll seemed just as happy and peaceful as ever. "No captain." Luna said with a small smile, "He hasn't. Everything is fine."

They watched the gnoll for a few more minutes before Luna was reminded of something, "On the occasion, we have found something that may interest Scar."

"Any progress, soldier?" Shining Armor asked the guard as he stood in position before the shattered remains of a wall.

"No sir, we still haven't been able to move it. Even the unicorns can't make heads and tails of it."

Shining Armor saluted the guard before stepping past him and inspecting the object. There before him stood the gnoll's maul, hilt standing straight up into the air, unmoving. The stone enclosed by the roots had turned into a cold black. The large hammer looked like a monument as it stood between the shattered remains of the wall. And try as they might, they had not been able to move it.

They had tried everything, from sheer force to cranes and magic, but nothing was able to move it. They hadn't even been able to tip it over. He turned in time to see princess Luna, Purple Haze and the gnoll approach the site. He saluted before the princess before turning to the other two, "Princess Luna. Captain Purple Haze and Scar, we have much to thank you for. Were it not for your efforts..."

He was cut off as the gnoll simply ignored him and walked towards the hammer with happy strides, grabbed the hilt, and simply lifted the huge weapon off the ground as if it were nothing. "Strange..." Scar commented as he held the previously unmovable object in one hand, "Tag feels lighter than before." He gave the hammer a slight swing, "Seems good though. Scar is happy to have Tag back."

He looked at Shining Armor, he was watching him with an open mouth. After a moment Shining Armor spoke two words as he watched the gnoll in awe, "No way."

Chapter 64: A new Voice

"How in Equestria is that even possible?" Shining Armor exclaimed with an agitated voice, "A whole week we're unable to move the bloody thing even an inch and then the gnoll simply lifts it? Is it just randomly changing its weight?"

"If I may be so bold as to interrupt you, dear sir. I am merely capable of becoming unmovable or movable." Scar whirled around in surprise, the voice had come directly from behind his back. Princess Luna was barely able to dodge in time as the hammer on his shoulder came around in a wide arc. "Haha, good swing Sir! Next time swing a bit lower, it seems she dodged this one, old fellow!"

Scar whirled around again, "Scar is hearing voices!" he said nervously as he looked around himself wildly.

"You're not the only one." Purple Haze said as she searched for the source of the voice, "We're hearing it too!"

"Where are you?" Shining Armor took a defensive stance as he searched the site, "Identify yourself!"

"Why I am straight in front of you of course. Scar, be a chap and hold me up a bit higher, would you." The gnoll looked at his hammer with a huge eye as he held it in front of himself with both hands. Was this some kind of joke or had he finally gone insane? "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Sir Tag, the maul."

"Tag can talk?" Scar asked with a shaky voice.

"Well not always you see, but isn't it just beautiful that I can now? Think of all the stories we can tell! Oh you simply cannot imagine the horrors I bore witness to in your absence! All those dirty hoofs trying to lift me as if they had a right to do so. And to deepen my indignity they even tried to move me with cranes and magic no less, oh the terror! But now that you have returned we can finally continue in our just voyage to smash everything!" the voice echoed from the maul happily, "I already started with this treacherous wall. Isn't it lovely how evenly the stone was crushed?"

Scar gave the hammer another look before turning to a speechless Shining Armor, "Where is lake?"

"I... what?"

"Lake. Scar remembers seeing lake. Where?" the gnoll asked with a steady voice.

Shining Armor pointed down one of the roads, "It's that way... why do you want to know?"

A grim look crossed Scar's features, "Tag can talk. Must be magic, Scar doesn't trust magic. So Scar goes and throws Tag in lake."

"WAIT!" the hammer suddenly became incredibly heavy and the head fell onto the ground with a loud thud, "You can't seriously be considering to drown me!"

The gnoll started to pull on the hilt with all of his strength but the hammer barely budged, "Tag can't drown, is hammer." he mumbled in between pulls.

"I can assure you I hold no ill content towards you! You are my wielder and only you decide who shall feel my wrath! Please! I only live to aid your beautiful work of destruction!"

"Maybe we should let it explain itself?" Luna offered as she watched the gnoll pull. "This certainly is an unusual event."

"Thank you, dear princess. May I add, you look stunning as always my lady."

The princess chuckled lightly, she had always had a soft spot for compliments. "It seems genuinely friendly."

The gnoll gave a sigh, the hammer seemed unmovable at the moment, "Scar isn't sure if it can trust talking Tag."

"But remember all the good times we had together, old chump! How we crashed all those little pesky shard ponies. How we hunted those recruits through the halls of the castle." the gnoll couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. "That priceless look on the face of princess Luna as I crashed through the door and straight into her face! HAHA! What glory to feel the splinters burst around me! By the way, that was a brilliant idea to throw me! They never expected that! You should have seen her expression! Hilarious, I tell you!"

Luna's face dropped considerably, "I'm with the gnoll, throw it into the lake."

"Actually..." Scar patted the heft of the maul with his hand, emitting giggles of delight from it. "Scar thinks it can work with talking Tag." He gave the hammer a warning glare, "As long as Tag doesn't talk too much."

"Don't worry old chap! You'll barely know I'm there! Now what are we going to crush next? Some watermelons? A little house perhaps? Or should we go marvel at the beauties in the hardware store? I heard the new hammers they have in store are some real beauties!"

Scar raised an eyebrow, "Scar actually only has plans to crush rat heads..."

"A game hunt? Splendid!" the hammer suddenly returned to its normal weight, the gnoll picking it up with ease as he inspected it from all sides. "Off we go then. Let us carve a path through rats and architecture alike. They shall pay dearly for challenging us for thinking themselves above us with their static calculations when they come crashing down. HAHAHA! The world shall tremble before Sir Tag and Scar! Onwards we go!"

"Sir Tag and Scar?" Purple Haze asked with amusement in her voice.

"Granted, the title may need some work but our actions will speak for themselves. Onwards we go!"

There was a moment of silence, "Where should Scar go?" the gnoll asked clearly confused.

"I thought you wanted to crush some rats?"

"Scar has to find them first."

"Well, on with us then! Let us find them quickly! I am eager to crush something already! But in the meantime... a visit to the hardware store, perhaps?"

The three ponies watched as the gnoll departed while the hammer explained him the different methods for driving nails into wood. Shining Armor seemed to regain his senses, "What do you make of this princess?"

"As early as it may be to make a conclusion it has been known that strong bursts of uncontrolled magic can lead to interesting results. I can only assume that the magical surge escaping Sombras horn brought the hammer to life... and gave it some... rather peculiar tendencies along the way."

Purple Haze watched with a small smile as the gnoll argued vividly with the hammer, "At least it seems that they get along nicely... Twilight is going to go nuts when we get back to Ponyville."

Chapter 65: Morning Appointments

Twilight gave a sigh as she walked through her library. Scar and Purple Haze had arrived in the middle of the night, and the gnoll had left in the morning before she had a chance to talk with him. The reason was simple, he had overheard them at the morning table. He was supposed to head to Canterlot Central that day for a checkup on his wounds, and apparently that didn't sit very well with him. Purple Haze had given chase the moment she realized Scar had fled.

An image of Purple Haze hunting a frantically running gnoll flashed before Twilight's inner eye, causing her to giggle at the idea. There would be time for questions later anyway. Pinkie had been preparing a welcome-back party for the two since Twilight had come back, after throwing Twilight and Spike her own welcome-back party of course.

She stopped by the gnoll's huge hammer, it was leaned against the wall of the library. The sheer size of it still amazed her, how he was even able to lift it with a single arm always reminded her of the gnoll's sheer strength. As Twilight turned away from the hammer she saw that a little book was lying on the ground. She assumed it to be the gnoll's, since it certainly wasn't hers. She knew all the books in the library simply by sight.

She bent down to pick it up carefully, but at that moment a seductive voice spoke up directly from behind her in a tone that was anything but decent. "Oh my, oh my... What pleasant sights this early in the morning. The yard certainly looks like it could use a trim but I do enjoy the wilder sides of life."

Twilight whirled around with a crimson flush on her cheeks, horn already glowing in magic ready to blast whoever had dared to make such an unacceptable remark. Much to her surprise the only thing she could see was the gnoll's hammer... had the stone always been black? "Hello?" she called out, "Is anypony here?" No answer, only silence greeted her. Upstairs she could hear Spike snore softly in his bed.

"I'm... probably just hearing things..." Twilight said with uncertainty as she returned her attention to the book again.

Just as she was about to pick it up again though she could hear a lusty voice whisper, "Oh yes, do bend down a little more..."

This time there were sparks flying from Twilight's horn and her eyes were glowing in a menacing white as she spun around, "Alright! I know somepony is there! Show yourself!" Again the only thing she could see was the gnoll's hammer. But there was no place to hide... She cast a small spell to detect any life signs, but the only thing that gave off a soft glow was the gnoll's hammer.

This piked the unicorn's interest. She stepped a bit closer, scrutinizing every inch of its surface. Why was it glowing? That wasn't what the spell was supposed to do, had she made a mistake? Just as her nose was only inches away from the hammer though, "Bonjour, mon amour..."

All through Ponyville, a single, high-pitched scream could be heard followed by an explosion that shook the ground.

Purple Haze turned around as she heard the echo of the blast coming from Ponyville. A little mushroom cloud was rising over the library, just what was Twilight up to now? She returned her mind to the task at hand, tracking the gnoll. She cursed herself for letting Scar overhear them. At least he couldn't have gone far, his foot prints were still fresh. She was close on his trail.

She continued her search, following the gnoll's trail further, keeping her head low as she took in every detail on the ground. At Sweet Apple Acres though, she lost his trail. She gave a silent groan of dismay, they would be late for their appointment if she wouldn't find him soon. "Scar, come on! We'll be late! I know you don't like it but it's only for your own good!" there was no answer.

"I know you can hear me!" she listened for a response, but none came. "Dammit, that gnoll is so stubborn at times..."

"Well howdy there, Purple Haze. You just back?"

Purple Haze turned to Applejack as she trotted towards her, "Hi Applejack, came in yesterday night."

"And we sure are glad to have you and the big fella back with us. Everypony has been in such a worry since we heard what happened. If Twilight hadn't come back to tell us what was going on we would've come to see you with the next train." Applejack gave a laugh, "Already had the tickets bought too!"

She looked at the scar that ran down from Purple Haze's mane towards her eye. "Ah hope that there scar isn't giving you any problems?"

Purple Haze trailed the scar with a hoof, "Thanks for asking, but I'm good. At first I was thinking of changing my mane to cover it, but then I decided that..." a little flush crept to her cheeks, "Well, you know..."

"That it wouldn't look so bad next to a certain gnoll?" Applejack's grin widened as she saw Purple Haze's flush spread, "Ah shucks, I think it looks good on you. Makes ya look like a real fighter." She looked around herself, "Speaking of certain gnolls... you wouldn't happen to be looking for him?"

Purple Haze gave a sigh, "I am. He ran off this morning, probably trying to ditch his appointment at the hospital. I've been looking for him all morning but I lost his trail somewhere around here. You didn't happen to see him pass by?"

Applejack shook her head before growing a smug smile, "Ah haven't seen him pass, but there's a snoring pile of leaves down in the south yard Ah am sure you'd be interested in. Want me to get ma rope?"

Purple Haze got a little smile on her face, "No no, I have my ways of handling him. Though he's probably going to need a new ear after I'm done with him." She shook her head with a laugh, some things never changed. "Now lets see that pile of leaves."

Chapter 66: Mustache

The pile of leaves was actually snoring. With every snore the whole pile rose and fell softly, it seemed the gnoll had fallen asleep in his hiding space. Considering how early it still was it didn't surprise Purple Haze much. The gnoll loved his morning naps, and he hated hospitals.

"So how you gonna get him out?" Applejack asked in amusement as she watched the pile rise and fall.

"He's got good ears." Purple Haze said with a shrug before addressing the pile of leaves, "Scar, wake up. We'll be late for the appointment."

There was a shift under the leaves and the snoring stopped, "Purple Haze..." a long yawn could be heard, "Is much too early... Purple Haze should take nap too." A huge hand crept out of the pile and grabbed a leg before pulling the pony inside with a yelp, "There, is much better. Can take nap with gnoll, stupid hospital can wait."

"As much as Ah appreciate the offer, but Ah think you got the wrong pony there sugarcube. Heh, Apple Bloom sure wasn't kiddin', you really are fluffy." There was a pause, "Nice pile you got yourself..."

"Is good, though Scar thinks there may be ants inside..."

Purple Haze gave a sigh as she stepped up to the pile, stuck a hoof inside and started to search. She touched something soft, "Sugarcube, I think you're looking for somepony else."

She let go again with a groan and continued her search, "This is ridiculous..." she muttered under her breath.

She touched something fluffy, "Hihi, that tickles."

The gnoll gave a yelp of surprise as he jumped out of the pile, "How does Pink Pie do that? Is impossible to sneak up on gnoll!"

"Silly, I'm a pony not a gnoll!" a pink head stuck through the leaves giggling. The gnoll simply stared at her with a big eye.

Applejack came up next to her, "Pinkie, Ah don't think that's what he means."

The gnoll was about to retort when he felt something settle down on his back and a firm grip take hold of one of his ears, "Never mind, we're already running late as it is." He tilted his head to see Purple Haze on his back with a sly smile on her face, "We've got a doctor's appointment waiting for us, don't we Scar?"

Scar gave a sigh and let his shoulders sag, he mumbled a few curses before heading towards Canterlot, "Purple Haze never let's it have any fun..." he remembered Doctor Caretrot and his needles, "Scar needs to stop at library first."

She raised an eyebrow, "What for?"

"So Scar can get Tag? Then, if pony doctor tries to stick it with needle again Scar can..." he felt a tug on his ear.

"Straight to Canterlot it is." Purple Haze looked over to Ponyville as the gnoll beneath her grumbled in protest, another explosion could be heard from the library. "Besides, I think we should avoid the library. Seems Twilight is testing some heavy magic today."

"HAHA! Lovely shot my dear, are you sure your special talent isn't demolition? Let's see now, that takes care of the wall and that pesky bookstand, how about a window next? Splinters are nice but one should never underestimate the beauty of shattered glass!"

"UGH! Why won't you stop talking?!?" Twilight yelled at the hammer in frustration. Her first blast had been set off in surprise and had taken down a good piece of the wall behind the hammer. The second blast though had been out of sheer annoyance, the maul was driving her insane. Yet nothing seemed able to even scratch it, or at least get it to shut up. "How are you even talking? That's impossible! You don't even have a mouth!"

"Nothing is impossible as long as love prevails, my dear! Do be so kind and blow up that book shelf to your left next, would you? It's been giving me evil stares ever since I got here and I do love it so to watch you blow things up."

Twilight huffed as she glared at the hammer from behind a table, "I am not blowing things up for your entertainment! I am trying to blow up you! Or at least get you to shut up!"

"Twilight?" Spike called out as he stepped down the stairs of the library with sleepy eyes, "Isn't it a bit early for practicing destructive magic?" He looked at the hole in the wall, "Huh... Are we getting a porch?"

"Excellent idea, young fellow! But for a porch we will need much more space! There is still too much wall left to start building! One must crush before one can build to crush again!

"Did Scar's hammer just talk?" Spike asked in surprise, "Wow... that is so cool!" He walked up to the hammer, "I'm Spike! Nice to meet you!"

"Sir Tag, at your service! Sir Spike, you look like a capable species with opposable thumbs, or am I mistaking?"

"Spike! Don't talk to it!" Twilight called from the back.

"Why not? He didn't do anything bad did he?" Spike showed his little hands to the hammer.

"Only remarks on the length of the curtains, my dear boy." Twilight turned a crimson red, "Ah, yes! These will do perfectly! You wouldn't happen to possess a set of art supplies, would you?"

"I have some crayons somewhere in the back..." Spike offered.

"That will do kind Sir, that will do. Would you fetch them for me?" the hammer hummed happily.

"Uhm, sure... but what do you want with them... Sir Tag?" Spike asked curiously.

"Oh, it is quite simple old chap. I would like you to draw me a mustache."

"A mustache?" Spike asked in wonder.

"Indeed, the ultimate symbol of masculinity! I simply cannot go questing without it! There simply isn't a sport to destruction if you cannot feel the heroic breeze of success on your mustache when you stand over your defeated foes! HAHAHA!"

"You're a HAMMER!" Twilight called out from the back frantically, "You don't even have a face! Why, of all things in the world would you want a mustache?!?" a strange twitch was starting to grow on one of her eyelids.

Spike returned his attention to the hammer with big eyes, "You really want a mustache?"

There was a moment of silence that clung to the air for what seemed like seconds, "Dear Sir, I deserve a mustache."

Chapter 67: Invitation

The metal felt cold against his skin as the pony pressed it against his chest. The gnoll watched in silence as doctor Caretrot listened to his heartbeat. After a moment Caretrot pulled the instrument away, "Alright, heartbeat is nice and steady. All vitals are good and those cuts and burns seem to be healing nicely. You'll have some scars but other than that you'll be fine. Shame we can't do anything about that eye, but things like that need to be healed immediately or they'll stay and with all that magical residue after, well..." the doctor gave a sigh.

"Is alright, Scar still has one eye left."

Doctor Caretrot put on a weak smile, "Let's just hope you don't run into any other dark legends in the future." He turned to Purple Haze, "Your head injury seems to be recovering fine as well, although it's a bit reddened. I'll put some disinfectant on it just to be on the safe side, the princess has insisted that I keep a good eye on your health." He went to a cupboard and took out a small bottle as well as a cloth and some band-aids, "Now this might burn a bit but..." he turned around to see that the gnoll had gotten up and was watching him with a glint in his eye.

"Scar wants to do that." he said with a small smile, Purple Haze was starting to get pale

Princess Celestia walked through Canterlot Central with brisk steps, the guards accompanying her having trouble to keep pace with their ruler. She had a tight schedule that barely offered free time for any other activities, but for this she had simply made herself some time. The royals and their worries could wait, this was something she wanted to do personally.

As she made her way to Caretrot's office she could hear Purple Haze talk with an agitated voice, "Wait! You're not supposed to put the whole bottle on it! Why did you even give him a towel?! Scar,... just wait... Scar!" there was a shuffle followed by a shout, "Argh! Dammit that burns! Stop holding it down already!"

Celestia could hear the gnoll chuckle, "Is supposed to burn. Hold still or Scar will spill it."

"You can't spill it, you already put the whole damn bottle on that towel!" Celestia couldn't help but smile as she heard the two. As she stepped through the door Caretrot was putting a band-aid on Purple Haze's head while she was giving a broadly smiling gnoll sour looks.

"Hello Scar, hello captain Purple Haze. It is good to see you returned well and sound. Doctor Caretrot, I hope they are in good health?"

Purple Haze struck a quick salute as the gnoll greeted Celestia, "Gnoll is happy to be back. Was long travel."

"They are both recovering nicely, princess." Doctor Caretrot said with a smile as he finished his work.

For a moment a shade of sadness passed over Celestia's face as she looked at the gnoll's features. Fresh scars ran over the side of his face, his destroyed eye covered by an improvised eye clap. Both she and her sister had poured as much magic into healing him as they could spare, but the magical residue left from his battle with Sombra had proven too chaotic and strong even for them. She had shed many tears that day.

He still looked thinner than usual, but his smile was enough to carry her worries away. She remembered when she and Luna had tried to convince him to leave Purple Haze's side for a moment, and how he had lost his temper. Celestia pushed the memory aside again as she returned the gnoll's smile. It didn't matter now, both Purple Haze and Scar had returned to them. "When I heard both of you were here I wanted to come personally to express an invitation."

Purple Haze looked at Celestia with surprise, "Princess?"

"This evening my sister and I will hold a banquet as it will be the founding day of our nation. The both of you are invited as our guests of honor." she turned to doctor Caretrot, "I trust you will join our celebration as well?"

"Of course, princess." Caretrot replied happily.

"The founder's gala? Princess, I am honored but I thought that only the high society of Equestria would be invited?"

"The nobles come and go my dear captain, but this celebration is also for the heroes of Equestria and those that my sister and I hold dear. You and Scar are both. The bearers of the elements are also invited, I hope to see you there as well." Celestia replied with a motherly voice.

"Thank you princess." Purple Haze bowed her head.

Scar gave Celestia a questioning look, "It doesn't know what gala or banquet means... is party?"

Celestia chuckled, "Indeed it is. Will you come?"

The gnoll thought for a moment, "Scar will come with Purple Haze..." he looked down at himself, "Though Scar may need to change clothes first..." he still wore the red and black garments Rarity had made for him. They were covered with cuts and burns and some of the stones were missing as well. He still had the white one so it would be fine, but Rarity would probably throw a fit should she see him like this.

"I will see you at the gala then. It has been good to see the both of you." Celestia bid them goodbye and left the room, there was still much preparation to be done.

When Purple Haze was sure the princess had left she took a deep breath, "The founder's gala... I used to do guard duty at the door and now I get to take part as an honor guest." a small smile started to spread her lips, "I'm going to polish my armor until it shines. It's time those nobles see what a real mare is."

The gnoll scratched his chin, "Scar wonders..." he turned to Purple Haze, "Should Scar bring Tag along?"

"Sorry, but no weapons allowed." the gnoll started to say something, "Especially talking, magical weapons. Though I'm sure princess Celestia will want to meet him later." much later she hoped.

She had built a closet around him. This world was cruel. Had he said something wrong to trigger this reaction or did she simply dislike hammers? At least he had gotten his mustache, the little dragon had a surprising talent for drawing. But what would he do now? His master would come and pick him up if something needed smashing he knew, but how would he pass his time until then? He wondered how anything could not need a thorough smashing. He noticed a mop standing next to him, he felt his nonexistent heart beat faster. "Helllooooo..."

Chapter 68: A Dress

Purple Haze was not enjoying herself, not one bit at all. Flying Shield would laugh her flank off should she see her like this. All around her scrolls of fabric, needles and and thread floated around in a whirlwind of colors. Next time somepony asked her what she would wear at a gala she would keep her mouth shut, especially if the pony asking was Rarity. The moment Purple Haze had told her she was planning on wearing her armor Rarity had gone insane and had simply dragged the wildly flailing Purple Haze off to her boutique.

Right now Rarity was happily attaching a myriad of differently colored fabrics to a fidgeting Purple Haze. "Why can't I wear my armor at the gala? It's my decision!" Purple Haze tried once more to escape Rarity's magical grasp on her, but she would have none of it. The gnoll was watching from a corner with amusement, he knew better than to try and stop Rarity during one of her fits.

"It is simply impossible for a dame to appear on such an important event dressed in full armor! It is simply inappropriate and I will not have it!" she levitated another piece of fabric towards her, "Now hold still or I cannot finish my work, you don't want to look like a slob, or do you?"

"What is slob?" Scar asked from his corner.

"What's wrong with my armor? It's my official uniform after all! I wear it all the time!" she looked over to Scar, he was currently wearing his white cloak. "He gets to wear his normal clothes so why shouldYOUCH!"

"See what happens when you fidget around to much? I need to concentrate on my work and handling needles is a delicate task. Please hold still from now on."

"You did that on purpose!" Purple Haze replied angrily as the needle was removed from her flank.

"Why would I do something like that my dear? Now try to keep still." Rarity answered with the tiniest of smiles, "As for Scar, of course I will fashion him something more appropriate for the event! I already have the most fabulous gems and colors ready for his robes. He will look simply adorably fabulous in a light blue!" she swooned. The gnoll felt the blood drain from his face. He made a quick check, if he could get down the stairs and through the door fast enough... Rarity saw his look.

"Sweetie Belle..." Rarity called out.

"Yes?" came the answer from bellow.

"Be a dear and lock the front door."

"Did you hear the latest news?" a unicorn inside Canterlot castle scoffed, "It seems that a guard and that dreadful beast were invited to attend the founder's gala!"

"That is simply unheard of!" exclaimed the other noble, "To think that we should share out tables with a common guard and a wild animal! It is an insult to our very traditions!"

"Indeed, should we have to suffer under such indignities? It is an affront to our status unlike any other!"

"We should file a complaint about this to the princesses! The other nobles will surely agree that this can not stand! The founder's gala shall not be degraded by the presence of these savages! Who in their sound mind would even think of inviting common folk such as..."

Their discussion came to a sudden halt as princess Luna walked up to them, "Oh, princess Luna!" the two nobles bowed, "We were just about to request an audience with you, your highness. It is about..."

"I have already heard what concerns you, it was difficult not to overhear the both of you." Luna answered in a dangerously calm voice.

Luna's mood seemed to go unnoticed by the two, "You did? Splendid! Then surely you will agree with us when..."

She interrupted him, "Before you continue any further, know this. The gnoll and the captain where invited by my sister and myself." The color started to leave the noble's face, "They are our personal guests of honor and just as my sister and myself, you will feel honored that they take time to participate in these festivities."

She paused for a second to let her words sink in, the nobles' jaws had already traveled a considerable way down. She continued with a calm voice but her eyes showed her anger, "Should any of you find it unbearable to sit at one table with true heroes you are of course excused to feel free to not attend the gala. But let me be very clear on one subject, should any of you do something to insult either the gnoll or the captain me and my sister will take it as an insult to ourselves. And we shall react accordingly." the ponies shivered.

"I take it that your concerns are laid at rest with this?" she asked with a sweet voice.

One of the nobles managed to stammer, "Of course, princess."

"Good. You are excused."

"Scar feels ridiculous..." the gnoll muttered as he turned in his new robes before the entrance of the castle. Rarity had made him a creation in light colors with colorful emblems. Countless jewels and gems covered the robes. Scar didn't like it at all, wearing this meant he could be spotted for miles.

"You feel ridiculous? Imagine how I feel." Purple Haze quoted on his side. She was wearing a long dress of deep blue with streaks of black. Countless stars of diamonds were sewn into the cape accompanied by a white moon on the sides. Even her mane had been redone, the normally spiky hairs now combed and running down her shoulders with the help of countless hair-care products and a shiny brooch. Rarity had even added a dab of various perfumes.

"At least Purple Haze looks pretty." the gnoll commented as he eyed her, "Scar looks like flower!"

Purple Haze almost missed a step, "Pretty?"

"Looks very pretty..." he held his nose close to her, "Also smells nice..."

Purple Haze could feel a blush start to spread on her cheeks, "Uhm... Thanks..." she almost whispered.

"Purple Haze feels well? Looks red..." the gnoll tilted his head as he observed her.

"Nono, everything's fine..."

"Purple Haze is sure? Scar can carry Purple Haze..."

The image of him carrying her over the steps of the castle flashed before her inner eyes, she could feel the blush growing. "No!... I mean, thank you I'm fine. Let's just go in already."

The gnoll watched her head towards the doors with a questioning look, had he said something wrong? "You coming?" she called back at him. Scar looked at her for a second longer before following her lead as the guards opened the doors to the gala. She really did look pretty.

Chapter 69: The Gala

"What is Scar supposed to do?" the gnoll whispered to Purple Haze. Before him lay a plate on another bigger plate with a tiny bowl of salad on top, well enough. But around the plates countless forks, spoons, glasses of all shapes and sizes and other items lay arranged in perfect order. Scar couldn't make heads or tail of it, was he supposed to use all of them?

Purple Haze wasn't so sure herself, attending dinners with more than one set of cutlery was new to her too. Luckily she remembered a few lessons and general rules of etiquette, "I think you're supposed start from the outside." she pointed to a small fork.

Scar looked at the tiny object with skepticism, the fork was no bigger than one of his fingers. "Why can't it use hands?" he whispered to Purple Haze who was currently fidgeting with her own fork.

"Because it's impolite." she stated, "Just try okay? I'm not enjoying this either."

The gnoll gave a grunt and carefully reached out to the fork. As delicately as possible he picked it up between a finger and a thumb, it felt like he was handling one of Rarity's needles. Being sure he wouldn't drop it he carefully stuck it into the salad bowl and lifted it up again. Two little salad leaves were stuck to it.

He eyed the morsel with suspicion but brought it to his mouth anyway. It tasted interesting but he could barely feel it in his mouth. Scar looked around himself, the nobles all seemed content with their food. A thought crossed his mind. He leaned down to Purple Haze, "High ponies always eat like this?" he whispered to her.

She eyed the little salad with as much of dismay as he was, "The nobles? I guess..."

The gnoll scratched his head, "Gnoll doesn't understand..."

"What?" she said between bites.

Scar scanned the room another time, no matter how many times he thought about it he couldn't explain it to himself. "If this is how high ponies eat how can high ponies grow so fat?"

Purple Haze nearly choked on her salad at his words. She was barely able to hold in her salad as a snort escaped her nose. Behind them a guard couldn't help but giggle. The gnoll stabbed another piece of salad on his fork, "Is silly..." he whispered to her, "If Scar had to pick up every leaf of salad like this gnoll would starve!" he munched on his salad absent-mindedly, "Makes no sense... How can ponies..." he stopped. "Uhm... Purple Haze?"

"What is it now?" she whispered back to him.

"Scar just ate its fork."

Two more forks, one spoon and half a glass later the meal was finally finished. Scar grumbled to himself as the last plate was removed from the table. How the nobles didn't starve with meals like this was a thing he would probably never comprehend. He looked over the ponies, they seemed to be expecting something. What were they waiting for?

Scar followed their eyes as a curtain was drawn up. Behind it stood a large group of ponies with strange objects in their hoofs. Just as he was about to ask Purple Haze what was going on though, a sound reached his ears and the gnoll froze.

A single note carried its way through the air, beautiful and serene. Never before had he heard such a beautiful sound. And then, like the wind rising on a quiet summer day, the note was joined by countless others. The orchestra started to play, and the gnoll listened.

It sounded so pure, so lovely... How had he been unaware that the ponies could do something like this? He closed his eye and strained his ears. Every note, every instrument, every sway in the tune and every change in the rhythm... He could hear it all, and it was majestic. With every song they played he felt his troubled mind soothed, his aching heart healed. And as the music continued he could feel the ghosts of his past rest for the first time in what felt like an eternity. He felt peace.

Purple Haze watched the gnoll's expression with fascination. She had never seen his features so relaxed. He barely moved, only his ears twitched from time to time as the orchestra changed its tempo. But as peaceful as he looked, she couldn't help but feel that there was also a sadness in his features she had not seen before.

When the last song had been played the halls of the castle were filled with sound of applause and the clapping of many pony hoofs. Above the ponies' applause the clapping of the gnoll's hand could be heard as he slapped his hands together furiously to acknowledge their work. Once he had almost started to howl to the music, but he didn't want to spoil the moment so he had restrained himself. Right now he was wondering if he could learn to make music like this too. If the ponies could do it with hoofs then surely he would be able to do it with his hands.

When the applause had finally subsided both Celestia and Luna stood up to address their guests. "Honored guests." Celestia started, "I am happy to see all of you enjoy this evening. It fills my heart with joy to see all of you well and happy." her eyes passed over the elements of harmony as well as over the gnoll and Purple Haze.

"Much has been accomplished this year, so much more than we could ever have dreamed possible." Luna continued, "We have made new friends, and our friendship has grown." she smiled at the gnoll, "New life is on its way." she nodded to Cadance and Shining Armor, "And old values have prevailed." she smiled at the elements.

Celestia continued, "And even more has happened. The dark king has finally been defeated, and we are gathered here today to honor the heroes who have made this possible." she turned to Purple Haze and Scar. Scar looked around himself uncertain, was she talking about him? "We thank you Scar, for all you have done for us. May your summers be warm." both sisters bowed their heads before Scar. There was a short murmur in the crowd, but the other ponies followed suit and bowed their heads before him.

The gesture was a surprise to him, the wishing of a warm summer was an old custom the gnolls practiced to show their respect. How did they know it? He would have to ask Celestia about this later, but for now there was no need to be impolite. He bowed his head in turn, trying his best to repeat the greeting in their language. "Scar wishes you warm summer too."

The princesses raised their heads again, a warm smile on their lips. They turned to Purple Haze, she was already starting to turn red. She had never liked standing in the spotlight. Luna spoke up, "And we thank you too, captain Purple Haze. May your journeys always be safe, Air Marshal Purple Haze."

"Hear hear!" the guards emitted in a chorus as both the princesses and the nobles bowed their heads before Purple Haze as well. Purple Haze's head was swimming, had she heard correctly? Was she dreaming? Had it always been so hot in here? She found it hard to breath.

"M-m-marshal?..." she stammered before fainting on the spot.

Chapter 70: You and I

Purple Haze could hear the rain falling softly, the prattling of the water drops like a soft murmur. She was being held, soft fur with hard muscle underneath cradling her form and giving her warmth. She opened her eyes slightly, and looked up at the gnoll.

He was holding her in his arms, his chest and head above her as the rain prattled on his back. Every time he would breath out a small cloud of steam escaped his nose as he stared at the horizon. To her side she could see the castle garden, and beyond the castle itself, lights shining like stars in the night. From inside she could hear music play softly.

Was she dreaming again? Had everything been a dream? The gala, her promotion... was this just one more lonely night spent in her bed in solitude? Still, Scar was there watching over her. She knew he would always be there to watch over her. The thought made her feel a warmth she had not felt for a long time, she felt loved.

She gave a happy sigh as she closed her eyes again and drew herself closer into his arms. If this was a dream she might as well enjoy it.

Something carefully nuzzled her face, a wet nose poking her ear and making her twitch involuntarily as it sniffed at her. "Purple Haze is awake?" Scar's voice asked with concern.

"Don't wake me up..." Purple Haze murmured as she returned the nudge, "This is such a nice dream."

Somewhere to her other side somepony coughed and a whisper could be heard, "Should we withdraw ourselves? I feel our presence here may be... inadequate."

"Scar does not know that word, Lulu. Celestia, what does 'withdraw' mean?" the gnoll replied.

Purple Haze's eyes shot open as she scrambled frantically to get out of the gnoll's arms and onto the ground again, "I'm awake! I'm awake!" Scar watched her with a puzzled expression as she got on the ground. Purple Haze quickly saluted before the two princesses as they watched her with slight amusement, "Captain Purple Haze, reporting for duty."

"Shouldn't it be Marshall Purple Haze?" Luna corrected her with a small smile.

"That wasn't a dream?"

"It wasn't." Celestia replied, "We suggested that Scar should take you outside to get some fresh air after you fainted. Would you like us to give the two of you some time before returning to the gala?"

Purple Haze's face felt like it was on fire, "NO! No, I mean I'm fine, thank you very much. We probably shouldn't keep the nobles waiting...heh..." she pulled Scar along, "Come on Scar, let's go back."

"Purple Haze really feels well again? Looks really red... Scar could carry Purple Haze again..."

She remembered how it had felt to be held in his strong arms, his soft and warm fur holding her softly... she felt her blush deepen. "Nope, nope, nope..." she continued to chant as she dragged him along.

Two days later Scar found himself involved in a curious game with Twilight.

"You..."

"You..." Scar replied.

"I..."

"I..." he repeated with a serious tone. How much longer would she insist on doing this?

"Alright, that covers the personal pronouns... again." Twilight said with a tired voice. She held up an apple in a hoof, "Now, what am I doing?"

Scar watched her for a moment before replying with a casual voice, "Twilight is holding an apple."

"ARGH! No! This is the fifth time!" she passed him the apple with a frenzied look, "Now, hold it. What are YOU doing now?"

Scar looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Scar is holding an apple?"

She gave another wail of despair, "No!" she took the apple from his grasp and held it before herself like a weapon, "I am holding an apple!" she shoved it back into his paw, "YOU are holding in apple! YOU ARE HOLDING AN APPLE!"

Above the two arguing figures, seated at the top of the stairs sat Spike and Purple Haze. They were having a hard time not to burst out into laughter. Twilight had been attempting to teach the gnoll the use of personal pronouns the whole morning now, but he simply refused to use them. Purple Haze was certain he knew how to use them but for some reason he was not willing to do so. This fact seemed to go unnoticed by Twilight though, who was slowly starting to sound like she was about to go insane.

Scar looked at the apple with wonder, then back at Twilight. "Scar is confused. Scar thought purple pony's name was Twilight? Is real name you or I? Scar doesn't understand."

Twilight gave a groan, "You and I aren't names, they're personal pronouns! They denote an entity of a specific grammatical person: first person, as in the case of I and me, or second person, as in the case of you, or third..." she was interrupted by a crunching sound, "You just ate the apple, didn't you?"

"Name is Scar, not you..." the gnoll corrected her while chewing happily, "And Scar just ate the apple."

She squinted her eyes at him, "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

He was careful to answer, she was already glaring daggers at him. He considered his answer thoroughly as he munched on his apple. After he swallowed the last bits of the apple he checked on Twilight again, still angry. This probably wouldn't end well.

When he was about to give an answer that most likely would have caused her to throw a fit though, a belch and a yelp could be heard from above. "Watch it! You almost set my mane on fire!"

"Sorry... heh, always comes without warning." Spike tried to apologize. There was a short pause, "I think it's for you."

Scar and Twilight waited at the bottom of the stairs as Purple Haze walked down while reading the scroll. When she reached the bottom she gave a short sigh before closing it again, "Just when I thought we'd get some peace and quiet... Scar, pack your things, grab Tag. We're going to Manehatten with the next train."

Chapter 71: Manehatten

Lieutenant Berryshakes waited at the cargo depot of Manehatten with anticipation, they were late... again. She gave a small sigh, it wasn't that important. She'd get a chance to work with the gnoll again, that's all that mattered. It would be hard to confess her own incapability towards him, but she was determined to learn. And if someone could teach her, it was him.

After witnessing him track down the lost ponies with such ease she had taken his advice and had tried to, as he had put it, 'Learn some wisdom'. She had studied all books she could find on tracking with fascination and had even tried her new skills on some animal prints in the woods. With devastating results. No matter how patiently she tried to observe her surroundings the marks and signs of the wildlife had remained a secret for her.

The subject of tracking had become an obsession to her, and even more so the gnoll. Upon realizing she wasn't making any progress she had sent a personal request back to Canterlot stating that she wished to aid Scar and Purple Haze on future missions. Her request carried the hope that given the chance he might teach her some of his knowledge.

Realizing she had been pacing up and down the station while lost in her thoughts she tried to calm herself again, guard ponies should be patient. She chuckled to herself as she remembered his words. Patience, that had been a hard first lesson to learn. She mentally calmed herself and looked over the assembled guards.

Princess Celestia had commissioned a dozen guards to aid them, clearly stating that she did not wish the gnoll to come to any harm. After seeing him handle the diamond dogs though, she highly doubted that the gnoll actually needed protection. The fact that most of the guards had just only finished basic training made her wonder who would be doing the protecting.

"Lieutenant?" one of the guards spoke up uneasily. They had seemed strangely tense to her ever since they had been commissioned to this mission.

"Yes, private?" Berryshakes asked with a calm voice, whatever this was about it would probably be interesting.

"It's about the mission..." the guard said with uncertainty, "We heard rumors... are we really going to work together with a beast?"

Berryshakes suppressed a laugh, "Well I did see him take off a diamond dog's head with one swipe of his paws but I wouldn't go so far as to call him a beast. He's a bit wild though so I suggest you do your best not to annoy him." she saw the color drain from the faces of several guards. "Pull yourselves together! He doesn't eat ponies."

A smile grew over her face as she heard a train whistle, "Well, I'll be... Speak of the gnoll and he won't be far..."

As Purple Haze drew open the cabin door and stepped outside she was met with a familiar face, "Lieutenant Berryshakes? I thought you were stationed at Shoretrot?"

"Marshall Purple Haze." Berryshakes saluted before continuing, "I personally requested to be reassigned."

Purple Haze raised an eyebrow, "You did? Well enough, I had hoped to have somepony assist us that isn't going to faint when meeting him." she chuckled as she greeted Berryshakes with a hoofshake. Purple Haze checked on the guards behind Berryshakes, "What's up with them?"

"Princess Celestia sent them to assist our hunt."

"They look a bit pale... pretty young too..." Purple Haze replied with a dry voice, "Please don't tell me they're fresh from training."

Berryshakes gave her a meek smile, "You can't always get what you want. At least you'll have us there to cover your backs." She checked the cabin door, "So, where is he?"

Purple Haze turned around and looked at the open door with a sigh, "Sleeping since we got on board. Didn't stop Tag from talking nonsense the whole way... I seriously wonder where he picked up all that stuff from. It's not like he reads a lot."

"Tag?" Berryshakes asked with confusion.

"He likes to be called Sir Tag..." she saw Berryshakes' look, "You'll understand in a minute, let me wake him up."

The guards and the lieutenant watched in silence as Purple Haze got back on the cart and disappeared from their view. "Scar, we're there..." they could hear her talk from outside, "Come on, wake up."

"Are we there yet?" a male voice could be heard.

"Yes, we're there..." Purple Haze's voice sounded annoyed.

"Excellent! Come on old fellow, we have work to do!" the voice piped excitedly.

A long and deep yawn could be heard, "Scar is awake, just a bit sleepy... where did Scar put its book?"

"Was it the little one with the red flower on it?

"Was it." the deep voice replied.

"I'm afraid I haven't seen it... did you check your pockets? Or under the seats?"

There was a pause, "Was in pocket."

"Alright, now can we please go? They're waiting for us out there." Purple Haze could be heard before she stepped out of the cabin door and onto the rail yard again.

The guards had been watching with mild amusement until now, but the moment Purple Haze stepped onto the ground something started to move inside the cart. Heavy steps could be heard, the cart shaking slightly with each step. The guards held their breath, a grin was growing on Berryshakes' face.

The gnoll stepped out of the cart, and the guards' mouths dropped in unison. He stood before them and cracked his neck with a small motion before raising an impossibly large maul with one arm and letting it rest on one of his shoulders with a fluid motion that betrayed the weapon's size. He eyed them with a single red eye before giving a short nod, "Ponies."

At that moment a voice started to hum from the maul, "Greetings, ponies of Manehatten! Sir Tag and Scar have come to free you of the restraints of confining structures. We shall grind our foes' bones to dust and tear out their evil little throats so they may never again say a word which could bring dishonor to honor! Let us tear down wall upon wall and bury our differences as we walk over the shattered remains of our enemies and onwards to illustrious glory! "

"Tear out rat throats, Scar likes that." the gnoll commented as he watched the ponies before him.

"Thank you very much. It seemed appropriate that a fitting statement should be made at our arrival, so I..." there was a loud thump, "It seems one of the guards has opted to faint..."

"Was good speech though..." Scar replied with a shrug.

Berryshakes turned to Purple Haze, "He got himself a talking hammer?"

"Try annoying, sexist and compulsively destructive talking hammer..." Purple Haze replied with a small smile, "You'll get used to it."

"I think I liked the smack door better." Berryshakes replied with a small smile of her own.

Chapter 72: Lessons

The gnoll bent down to pick something up. He had smelled it long before he had seen it. He held it towards Berryshakes, "Tell Scar what this is."

Berryshakes looked at it for a second, even in the little light the street lamps spared at night it was unmistakable, "It's poop."

Scar raised an eyebrow, "And?"

"It's old poop?" she tried to guess.

The gnoll gave an impatient grumble, was she even trying? They barely had time for any real lessons and he wasn't keen on keeping any rats waiting. He held it closer to her, "Take it."

She made a mortified face, "I'm not touching that! That's disgusting!"

"Berryshakes wants to learn? Then Berryshakes does as Scar says." he nudged it towards her, "Take, and no magic. With hoofs."

She eyed the thing with disgust, "I'm doing this because I want to, I'm doing this because I want to..." she quietly repeated to herself before reaching out with a shaky hoof and picking it up.

Scar couldn't help but chuckle, she was holding it as if it would bite her any moment. "Now, tell Scar what this is, and don't drop."

Berryshakes was barely able to even look at it without making a face, "Yeah, this... this is definitely old poop."

"And?" Scar asked with expectation in his voice.

Berryshakes looked at it again, "That's it?" Whatever he was aiming at passed her unnoticed.

The gnoll blinked his eye at her for a moment, "Is it?! Does Scar really have to explain everything?" He snatched the hoof she was using to hold the droppings in one paw and held it there as he used his other hand to point out things, "Look, has bits of bones, fur and seeds. Is from fox... healthy too..." He used a claw to open the droppings on her hoof, ignoring her face as he continued, "Is still soft inside, with hot sun means is only day or two old."

At this point Berryshakes was actually starting to forget her disgust and was listening intently. At least until he picked up a bit between his thumb and finger and held it before her nose, "Now, taste is next lesson."

Having watched Berryshakes puke her guts out after being force fed fox droppings by the gnoll, Purple Haze was more than anxious to get on moving. It had been amusing to watch, but they had work to do here. They were currently using the cover of the night to travel to the downtown district of Manehatten. Old and run down buildings could be seen everywhere, old factories and empty windows staring at them silently.

The guards led them into an old and dusty factory hall, "This whole block is mostly abandoned, only few ponies still live in this area." one of the guards explained, "However, we have several ponies reported missing in the vicinity of a nearby shut-down sewage work..."

"And you figured that if something was dragging them off it would probably be hiding inside the old sewer tunnels..." Purple Haze picked up the sentence.

The guard nodded and showed her an old map, "We have been observing several entrances for a few days now, but the tunnels are like a maze. If something is hiding in there it could enter and exit anywhere without us noticing." he shook his head, "And to be frank, leading a small group of guards into a maze with an unknown threat is not really an option."

"Well, luckily we have someone to lead us in..." she turned to the gnoll, "Don't we, Scar?" The gnoll nodded and patted his hammer with a grim look, causing some of the guards to shiver in the process.

"Where do we enter?" Berryshakes asked as Purple Haze studied the map.

"There's a shaft leading to a central knot close by, if I'm guessing correctly it'll put us in the center of the maze. Whatever is down there, Scar should be able to smell it from there."

"Is no need." Scar said with a low rumble in his voice, "Scar can already smell rat stink from here. Gnoll has much work to do."

The two rats crawled through the darkness of the tunnel with quiet steps. It was their turn to patrol the outer tunnels, and it was just as boring as the last times. Some of the other rats had been lucky enough to slit a few ponies that had foolishly wandered into the tunnels, but they hadn't had that much luck yet. But hope died last, and so they carefully searched the outer rings.

They wouldn't be here much longer anyway, the separate group sent to Ponyville was already several days late for their scheduled meeting so the rats assumed they had failed. They would wait one more day before breaking camp and getting the emergency plans running. How they could have failed at such a simple task was a mystery to the rats, there was nothing more simple than slitting sleeping ponies.

"You smells somethin' different?" one of the rats piped up.

"Crap'n blood, just as always..." the other rat replied casually as they walked on.

"Don't know...there's somethin' different today, can't say what's it is..." they stopped in front of something they didn't recognize, "Since when s'there a pillar here?" one of the rats asked as they approached carefully.

The other rat squinted his eyes as he whispered, "That ain't no pillar I remember... not moving either... put on a light so we can have a closer look."

The rat struck flint and lighted a small candle in his hands. As he held it up and both rats stepped closer they realized that what they had mistaken for a pillar was in fact a giant hammer standing alone in the middle of the tunnel, "What the..."

"Hello, I'm a distraction!"

Before the rats could comprehend what was going on, they felt a hot breath on their backs. They turned around slowly, candle held up high as the light was reflected from a set of huge teeth and several armors. The gnoll gave single huff, the candle went out.

Chapter 73: In the tunnels

Scar eyed the two rats with unease, he had wanted to kill them but the ponies had insisted on tying them up for questioning. He didn't approve of it at all, "Purple Haze, gnoll should kill evil little rats. Is too difficult to drag rats along!"

"We need to get as much information as we can." she answered with a serious face before turning to one of the unicorns, "You, send a message back to the surface and inform the troops stationed in Manehatten we found the rats, we'll need all guards here as soon as possible. Also, tell them to send a letter to Canterlot. The princesses must be informed."

"Yes, sir!" the guard replied and started to get out pieces of parchment. Short-distance messages were a fairly easy task for a trained messenger, but to send a message as far as from Manehatten to Canterlot required more magic than one pony could muster.

She turned to the two rats, "I need information. How many of you are down here?"

One of the rats gave her a sneer, "We's not tellin' you anythin' ya stupid pony! Ya thinks we's scared of you? Ponies don't kill or torture, and we's knows that."

"Is twenty rats, Scar can smell... maybe one or two more." The gnoll stepped up to the two captives, "And Scar is no pony..." the rats started to shiver.

Purple Haze eyed him carefully as he stood above the two, "Alright, then we just need to know where..."

"Scar can find rats with ease, smell is strong down here. Is not far." the gnoll bent down and picked up one of the rats by its neck, "What Scar wants to know is why rats have ponies."

Purple Haze looked at Scar with shock, "They have captives?"

The gnoll held up the rat a bit higher, "It isn't sure, Scar can smell at least two ponies on rats but Scar can't say if ponies are alive or dead..." he brought up the rat close to his face, "If rats killed little ponies..." his hand started to squeeze down on the rats throat.

"No... Wait's!" the rat managed to croak, "Is three ponies, still alive... waiting for..." he shut his mouth again as if suddenly realizing he had said something he wasn't supposed to say.

"Waiting for what?" the gnoll grumbled as he started to shake the rat, "What do rats do with ponies?" the rats eyes were full of fear but it remained quiet. Scar shook it harder and bared his fangs at the rat, "Tell Scar, or it will rip off little rat's legs!"

"For feeding the gators..." the rat croaked weakly.

The gnoll stared at the rat in silence as shocked gasps escaped the guards. Then, without warning he simply dropped the rat on the floor again. He turned to Purple Haze, the fury burning in his eye reminded her of their meeting with the changeling. "Scar has heard enough. Ponies can keep these two for Celestia, but Scar will not wait any longer. Not if evil rats are feeding ponies to lizards."

"Wait! We need to have a plan first! We can't just go rushing in!"

"Scar can." he replied flatly as he picked up his hammer and started walking down one of the tunnels.

Purple Haze watched him, furiously trying to come up with a plan. She knew him well enough by now to know that arguing would be useless at this point. She turned to the guards, "Alright, here's the new plan. You two, get the prisoners to the entrance and guide the troops when they arrive. The rest of you, stick close. Once the fighting starts Scar and I will handle the rats, you make sure to get those captives out first. Avoid combat if possible and concentrate on the ponies first. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" the guards answered as one.

She made sure her helm was still strapped on tight, "Good, let's move out and keep silent."

A bit further down the tunnel the hammer trembled slightly as it felt the murderous mood of its master. It spoke up softly, "Is it time for work, master?"

"Is time." the gnoll replied with an even voice.

"Splendid."

"T'is boring as hell..." complained one of the rats, "We been sittin' down here for days now, when's we gonna get to do some real slittin'?"

"Pfff, the Fat Mother would have your hide if it weren't so ugly..." the other rat commented sourly, "Sides, we could have some fun later, gators are looking hungry again." they shared a laugh.

"Last one was screamin' like a pig!" they laughed even harder, the sound echoing in the tunnels and blocking all other sounds as the rest of the rats busied themselves with other things. They had been stationed in the chamber for several days now, spending their time sleeping, gambling, lazying around or tormenting the captive ponies.

"Yeah, remember the one the one that..." the rat stopped, "Wait's... you hear's running too?"

The other rat held a hand to its ear, "Dunno, maybe the two useless ones found someth..." He was cut short as a shadow shot out of the darkness before them. A huge rock whirled through the air and connected with the head of one of the rats.

As the rat's head exploded and covered the other rats in the chamber in blood and bits of bone and tissue a voice could be heard singing in the air, "Lo and behold! The master has brought you the present of his art!" the stone sailed through the air again and struck down the other dumbfounded rat, driving it into the ground like a stake with a squashing sound, "And it is glorious!"

The gnoll gave a savage roar as he pulled his hammer back up and flung himself into their ranks like a lion into a flock of pigeons, Purple Haze at his side.

Chapter 74: Counting rats

"To the left!" the hammer came down in a crushing blow, "Ha ha! Watch it twitch! Excellent strike master!"

Scar whirled through the rats like a storm, swinging his hammer at any rat he saw. Those that were lucky enough to duck their heads when the hammer came flying he simply buried his teeth into or stepped on. To his side Purple Haze was fighting wildly, ducking swipes from daggers while delivering bone-crushing kicks in all directions.

"I see one hiding under that table!" the hammer shouted in excitement. A moment later the hammer came down in a high swing, driving through wood and rat like they were made of cardboard, splinters showering the surroundings. "Beauty unfolds itself! See those splinters fly!" Tag's voice cackled manically.

One of the izelim jumped at the gnoll, flinging two throwing knifes in his direction. Scar barely felt them when they embedded themselves in one of his arms, but it managed to distract him enough to forget his hammer for a moment and punch the rat into the ground with angry fist. "Evil little rats with silly little knifes..." the gnoll grumbled as he picked up his hammer again.

Purple Haze ducked the lunge of two rats, delivering a crushing kick to the first rat's head while the other knife glanced off the plate on her chest. The two enemies circled one another carefully, the rat drawing a second knife and entering a slightly crouching position. The rat sneered at her, "Silly pony, think ya can take on the izelim? I'll show's you!" he jumped at her.

"Coming through!" a voice shouted from behind her.

Purple Haze barely managed to duck as the hammer flew above her head and hit the rat in mid-air with a sickening crunch. Its momentum reversed and strengthened tenfold, the rat's body shot through the air and slammed into a wall above the guard ponies.

One of the captive ponies gave a shriek of horror as the rat's mangled body fell to the ground next to her, but Berryshakes quickly dragged her along, "Keep on moving! We need to get you out of here!" she shot off a fire spell at a rat in front of her, turning it into a running candle. She checked on the other guards and captives, the evacuation was in full progress, "Keep the ponies safe! You there, guard our flank! Move!"

Somewhere to her side the hammer's voice could be heard laughing like a child as the burning rat ran in circles, "Look! It's the perfect match!"

Purple Haze saw a rat running towards Scar's back. Acting out of instinct she stretched her wings and shot off the ground towards it as it jumped. The two collided in mid-air and fell to the ground in a flailing knot, the rat coming out on top of her, knife in hands and pointed at her throat. Frantically she tried to pry it off herself, but ever so slowly, the knife drew closer. The rat gave her an evil grin before a huge black hand wrapped itself around its head.

Scar ripped the rat off Purple Haze and threw it into a wall with wild force, its head giving off a loud crack as it struck stone. Another rat made a lunge for his face, but was met by the gnoll's teeth instead. The fight went on, the hammer started to sing with joy.

Berryshakes made a quick check, "Everypony here? Good." she turned to the guard standing at the entrance to the tunnels, "Where are the reinforcements?"

"They haven't arrived yet, I'm afraid." the guard reported as he looked over the freed captives. They were covered in filth and looked exhausted. They had been able to free three ponies, all of them were close to tears and obviously traumatized from their days in captivity. Berryshakes didn't dare think of the fate of the other missing ponies.

She reached a decision, "Damn it, they need our help in there! Everypony form up, we're heading back in!"

"Yes, Sir!" the guards replied in unison, all of them eager to enter battle against the hated rats. The sight of the captive ponies and their tears had served to strengthen their will to fight.

She turned to the captives, "Wait here until more troops arrive, we'll be back soon." she walked to the entrance of the tunnels, the guards at her back, "Alright, let's go!"

They rushed in, running through the tunnels and following marks they had left on their way outside. As they neared the chamber again Berryshakes gave a loud shout, "For Equestria!"

"For Equestria!" the guards behind her shouted in unison as they thundered towards the chamber.

The moment they entered the chamber they came to a halt, mouths dropping at the sight before them. Berryshakes was the only one able to mouth what the others were probably thinking, "What the..."

The fight was over, unmoving rats were lying all over the chamber in small heaps. Only a few of them seemed to be alive, groaning in agony from broken bones and head concussions. In the middle of the chamber and in the center of destruction stood a growling gnoll and Purple Haze.

"Twenty rats you said?" Purple Haze nudged the lifeless body of a rat, checking if it was still a threat, "I count at least thirty." there was a cut on her cheek and a gash on one of her legs. Scratches and stains of blood ran over her chest plate and coat. Her mane was damp from sweat and she was breathing harder than normal.

"It also said maybe one or two more..." the gnoll grumbled as he pulled a knife from his paw, "Scar isn't that good with numbers." in addition to the two throwing knifes in his arm there was another one stuck in his thigh. One of his ears had a chip missing, blood occasionally dripping from the cleft. The fur around his muzzle was covered in blood.

"Just the more fun." the hammer commented happily as Scar leaned it on his shoulder, "Though I'm afraid I may have smeared my mustache a bit. Nasty business all that blood and brains. And that smell is simply ghastly, mind you." The gnoll gave an approving nod as he tried to wipe some of the blood from his mouth.

Finally realizing the presence of the shocked guards Purple Haze turned towards them with a smirk, "You're a bit late for the party, I'm afraid."

"Sorry, Marshall." Berryshakes somehow managed to reply as she surveyed the chamber.

"I take it all the captives are out and well?"

"Yes, Marshall."

"Alright, round up the wounded and secure them but be careful of concealed weapons. Once the reinforcements arrive they can take care of cleaning up this mess." Purple Haze said as she nearly slipped on a huge blood stain, "Have a look for any maps or letters, I'm sure we'll find some intel lying around here somewhere... Scar, what are you doing now?"

The gnoll was currently using rope to tie the body of a dead rat to a long piece of wood, "Scar is hungry." he replied with a small chuckle.

"I thought you didn't eat talking things?" Purple Haze replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Scar doesn't... also rats taste bad." he held the piece of wood in his hand, the rat dangling from the other end like a ball on a string, "But Scar does eat gators."

Chapter 75: Donuts

Princess Celestia appeared in a flash above Manehatten, the city stretching out beneath her. She spotted the position of her guards with ease, the old industrial district looked like a beehive as the troops mingled around the entrance to the sewers. With a slight flap of her wings she descended quickly, landing between the saluting troops.

She paid them no heed but instead walked towards the entrance of the sewers with quick steps. At the entrance, Berryshakes was busy giving commands to the troops, "Make sure those ponies get medical attention. You there, get the survivors gathered up and ready for detention. You three, get inside and help the others move the bodies." the guards visibly shivered at entering the place of carnage. They had seen the faces of the guards that had entered first, they had returned white as snow and heaving heavily.

Berryshakes saw princess Celestia approach, "Princess..." she saluted.

"What is the situation, Lieutenant ?" Celestia asked after Berryshakes had returned to a relaxed position again.

"We have thirty-two rats in total, twenty-five dead, five of the surviving wounded heavily, but they'll live. No casualties on our side."

"Good, see that their wounds are tended to but keep a watchful eye on them. I will question them later." her voice was as cold as ice, "Anything else?"

"We were able to free three captive ponies, sadly we came too late for five others." Berryshakes sad with a bitter voice.

"Do not worry, Lieutenant. You did all you could. Rest assured the izelim will pay dearly for their crimes. Where are Marshall Purple Haze and..."

Before she could finish her sentence a voice could be heard coming from the entrance, "Seriously, you are not eating that thing!" Celestia smiled softly as she recognized Purple Haze's voice. Her smile dropped considerably as two figures appeared from the entrance.

"Why not? Is good food." the gnoll and Purple Haze stepped forth, he was holding his hammer in one hand and something that reminded her of a fishing pole in the other. At the end of the curious construct hung what she identified as an alligator, as big as a pony. There were teeth marks in its head.

"Why not? It comes from the sewers! I don't even want to think what filth it swam in! And to top it off..." her voice became quiet, "Remember that the izelim fed those poor ponies to them? It would be like eating a pony!" she was covered in scratches and blood, the gash and the cut still open and bleeding slightly.

"Scar can smell no pony on this." he said as he held it up to inspect it, "Only pony droppings... maybe Scar can wash first..." just like Purple Haze he was covered in cuts and blood too. What surprised Celestia even more where the knifes in his arm and thigh, the gnoll didn't even seem to notice them.

"You are not eating it and that's final!" Purple Haze stomped her wounded hoof down, wincing at the pain, "Damn rats..."

"Can't even believe that worked..." one of the guards whispered to another guard of the first squad.

The guard only nodded with a small smile, "You owe me five bits."

The gnoll gave a heavy sigh as he dropped the alligator on the ground, "Never let's it have any fun..."

"Marshall, we are missing one dead rat." one of the guards who had only arrived recently reported to Purple Haze.

She simply gave a huff and pointed towards the alligator with a hoof, "Inside the gator, good luck getting it out." the guard stared at the scaled animal with unblinking eyes. The guards from the first team merely chuckled at this.

Scar was the first to spot Celestia, he waved her a happy greeting as he stepped towards her, "Hello Celestia! Did Celestia come to see dead rats? Scar and Purple Haze smashed many rats today, was good gnoll work."

"Are you two feeling well? You should get those wounds treated as soon as possible." Celestia said with worry in her voice.

The gnoll merely waved his hand, "Is nothing, Scar has thick hide. It has had worse."

"There are knifes stuck in you." Celestia replied with an even voice.

The gnoll looked at the knifes in surprise, "Oh... it forgot about those..." he pulled the knife from his thigh with a grunt and threw it away with a shrug, "Silly little knifes. Give day or two and Scar will be fine again."

"I will not allow you to run around wounded like that, I want you to get medical treatment immediately. That includes you as well, Marshall."

Purple Haze checked the wound on her leg, "No need to worry princess. It's not giving me much trouble, we'll wait until the captives are patched up first. They need it more." she took off her helm and saw the cut on her cheek in the reflection of the polished metal, "Huh, didn't notice that... looks pretty cool... What do you think, Scar?"

The gnoll raised a fist and struck it to his chest with a thump, "Sign of warrior. Cool." he didn't even know what 'cool' meant, but she had earned this scar by all rights.

Princess Celestia gave a small groan, "It's like I'm handling foals... Stand before me for a moment, I shall do this myself." her magic started to flare up, Purple Haze started to fear she would loose her new scar, but the concentration of the princess was broken by another voice.

"Is that the beautiful princess Celestia I hear? Let me get a better look!"

"Tag wants to see?" Scar shrugged and lifted the hammer off his shoulder, placing it on the ground before the puzzled princess, "Celestia, is Tag."

Celestia stared at the hammer in surprise, had her ears just played a trick on her? That voice possibly couldn't have come from... "Ahh... princess Celestia. You are as beautiful as you were when I first saw you in the castle." Celestia raised an eyebrow, her sister had mentioned something about the hammer, but nothing like this.

"But where are my manners, allow me to introduce myself. I, am Sir Tag. Crusher of evil, terror of rats, tables, chairs, walls and all those evil constructs mocking this world with their unnatural stability. I travel with my master to bring forth the message of our art in your name and I shall not rest until I have crushed all of your foes!" the hammer prattled on proudly.

Celestia stared at the hammer, "You're a talking hammer..." it was more of a question than a remark, she was utterly unprepared for a situation like this and it only served to give her more questions than answers.

"Most splendidly observed my dear. But I am many things more! I am a hammer, I am a tool, I am a weapon, I am an artist's feather, I am a pillar, I am destruction and construction at once, I am a lover... and right now I'm afraid I'm a distraction... again."

Celestia's eyes shot up, the gnoll and Purple Haze were nowhere to be seen, only three bloodied knifes were lying on the ground before her. "I don't believe this..." Celestia said with a blank expression on her face.

"Sorry..." the hammer offered. After a moment of silence it spoke up again, "By chance, could you help me with my mustache? It seems I smeared it a bit during my work..." Celestia eyed it with a glare, "Or maybe not... Perhaps later then? Over a cup of tea perhaps? And biscuits! Oh, I do love to see a cookie crumble! But don't even get me started on porcelain! It drives shudders down..."

Princess Celestia put a hoof to her head and rubbed her temples, she was starting to get a headache. The hammer took no heed of her discomfort and instead continued to prattle on relentlessly. After all, he was the distraction.

"I don't think the princess is going to be happy about us leaving her behind like that... " Purple Haze commented as she followed the gnoll down one of the streets. He had simply set off suddenly, and she had followed.

"Celestia will be fine... Has Tag to keep company..." the gnoll replied as he followed his nose.

"That's what I'm worried about. Where are we going anyway?"

"Scar smells something much better than gators..." Scar said with hunger in his voice. He came to a stop, "There!" he pointed with a clawed hand towards a small shop, 'Donut Hut' was written in large letters on a sign on top of it.

Purple Haze gave a chuckle, "I'll agree this beats alligator by lengths... Alright, we'll get a few but then we're heading straight back. I don't want to keep the princess waiting."

The waiter looked up from behind his counter, it appeared two figures from hell had just entered his shop. "Can I... help you with anything?" he said while sweat ran down his brow.

"Donuts... many donuts..." a deep voice grumbled at him.

"A first aid kit would be nice too, if you have one." commented another, female voice.

Author's Note

Pushing hard this weekend... A big thank you for all of your support and kind words, they have brought me much joy. I'll be sure to keep on writing ^^

Chapter 76: Quiet moments

Red sprinkles, blue sprinkles, sugar coating... the gnoll happily stuffed his face with any donuts the shopkeeper provided, and he was already starting to run out of stocks. Currently though, he was busy applying a band-aid to Purple Haze's face, "There you go, Marshall. I strongly recommend you have a doctor check on that leg later though."

"Thanks, I'll get it checked when we head back." she said with small smile as she flexed the bandaged leg, "Scar, slow down a bit. You don't want to get a sugar shock again, do you?"

"Mmpffapmf... mpfammgf..." the gnoll nodded while chewing heavily.

"Should I check on his wounds too?" the shopkeeper asked with worry.

The gnoll finally swallowed, "Is no need..." he held up his arm for them, "See? Stopped to bleed."

"That's a pretty neat trick." commented Purple Haze as she eyed him, "But we're still getting you checked when we head back." she took a bite out of her own donut, "These are pretty good." she chewed happily.

"Thank you, Marshall." the shopkeeper responded with a proud smile.

Scar mumbled something beneath his breath before taking out his book and starting to read. Every now and then he would grab himself another donut as he read the pages absent-mindedly. Next to him, Purple Haze was chewing on her own donut with the same absent-mindedness as she stared into the distance. Both of them were enjoying this little moment of peace and silence, both of them content with each others company as they sat at the counter.

The only thing that could be heard from time to time was the rustling of paper when Scar turned to another page. Outside, the streets were slowly starting to come to life as the city awakened, unaware of what had transpired during the night.

Until an explosion shattered the silence and the ground trembled slightly.

"Was that an earthquake?" the shopkeeper asked in shock.

Purple Haze gave a sigh, "We just never get a break, do we? Scar, come on, let's go check it out."

The gnoll closed his book with a sigh and got out a small bag, "How much does it owe pony?"

The shopkeeper did a quick count, "Twenty-two bits in total."

"Give it two more for way." the gnoll added another bit to the payment.

The dust was slowly starting to settle near the entrance to the tunnels, guards carefully peeking from behind their cover to see what had happened. What they saw would be the topic of many stories and legends for the future.

There, standing inside a small crater and covered in soot and dust stood princess Celestia, deity of the sun and ruler of Equestria with an absolutely puzzled expression. Her feathers were ruffled and her flowing mane slightly singed on the ends. In front of her stood the gnoll's maul, not a single scratch on its surface.

Ten minutes, that had been all it had taken. Ten minutes in the presence of the hammer and she had tried to blow it up in a frenzied attempt to get it to shut up. There had been no end to the profanities that came from it, one moment it would talk with the romance of chivalry and the next it would sputter forth unthinkable obscenities like a waterfall.

Pushed to the limits of her sanity and patience she had lost her temper for the first time in nearly two-thousand years and had blasted it with a shot of pure, concentrated magic. Much to her surprise though the hammer had not only proven absolutely immune to her attack but had also reflected it back at herself, with immediate results.

What was even worse was that the hammer was still talking, "You know my dear, if I didn't know it better I would get the feeling that you're trying to get rid of me. That reminds me of a lovely story..."

"Will you please be quiet if only for one second? I feel like I am losing my sanity!" Celestia shouted at the hammer in anger, using her magic to clear her coat of the dirt and renewing her singed hairs. She was only a step away from using the royal voice, but she didn't dare cause more of a scene in front of her subjects.

"Ah, but what is love without words?" Celestia felt her blood pressure rise even more.

"Tag." Scar's voice came from behind her.

"Yes, master?" the hammer replied with a voice of innocence.

"Shut up."

"Of course, master."

Celestia stared at the hammer in disbelief as Scar passed her and picked it up with a shrug. Purple Haze watched the crater in silent awe, "Princess, what happened here? Was there an attack?"

Princess Celestia rubbed her temples for the fifth time that day, "Never mind... You two, report to the medics, now." something in her voice told Purple Haze that they should probably keep clear of the princess for the rest of the day. "And Scar?" the gnoll stopped following Purple Haze for a moment to look at her, "Please be so kind and teach 'Sir' Tag some manners before I feel tempted to put him on the moon."

Scar looked at her with a surprised face, he could throw the hammer a good distance but he doubted anyone could actually throw it onto the moon. Nevertheless... "Will do Celestia, will do." he thought for a moment before handing her a small bag, "Is good for ponies. Celestia should have one." he said with a small smile.

As Purple Haze and Scar left Celestia levitated the bag before herself and looked at the contents. Inside the bag were two donuts. She eyed them for a moment, "Might as well..." she muttered to herself with a sigh and took to the air again. She needed to have a word with her sister.

Chapter 77: When gnolls smile

The scenery behind the window passed by with speed, random objects appearing and disappearing in a flash as the train roared through on the night. For a moment he saw his own in face in the reflection on the glass, his eye focused on the image.

It was a strange experience for him, he had never taken the time to look at his own face in detaill. It really hadn't occurred to him before, but now that he studied studied his own features... how long had it been since he had seen another gnoll?

His hand reached upwards and his fingers carefully trailed the scars that ran along the side of his face. They were still sensitive to the touch, but the pain would pass with time. His fingers reached the eye clap. He pulled it upwards, exposing the white and scarred remains of his eye. He looked at it with interest, turning and tilting his head slightly to get a better angle.

Scar's study of his own face was interrupted as his breath started to condensate on the glass, the image vanishing from his view. He muttered a few words under his breath as he used his arm to wipe the moisture off the surface.

"What are you doing?" Purple Haze mumbled through closed eyes, she had been sleeping next to him for the past hour.

"Watching unmoving eye, or at least Scar tries." he replied while continuing to polish the glass.

"Why?" she asked as she stretched her legs.

The gnoll shrugged, "Gnoll finds it interesting."

Purple Haze got up and looked at him for a moment, "Can I ask you something?"

The gnoll repositioned his eye clap, "Ask."

"Why do you wear clothes?" Scar raised an eyebrow, "I mean, you've got fur to cover yourself and you don't really seem to mind showing your scars." as gruesome as they were, she mentally finished. "We ponies don't wear clothes, expect for special occasions. So why dress yourself? It seems strange."

The gnoll looked at her for a moment, "Gnoll wears clothes to show others it is no animal. Also..." the gnoll hesitated to continue.

"Also?" Purple Haze asked.

He continued in a whisper, seemingly afraid any passersby could hear him, "Scar's face already makes the foals cry. It doesn't want to scare little ponies any more, so it hides its scars."

She laughed at this, "You? Make the foals cry? I have yet to meet a foal that doesn't take a liking to you the moment it meets you! Remember the foals in the hospital you read those stories to? They couldn't get enough of you!" she wiped a tear from her eye, "As for your face, its perfectly fine the way it is."

"Really?" the gnoll asked with a small smile, showing the tips of his teeth.

Purple Haze chuckled, "Really, you face is good the way it is. Those teeth of yours though, those will even get a grown pony to cry, I'm afraid." his smile dropped, "Oh, come on. I'm just joking with you. You've got a beautiful smile, anypony will tell you."

The gnoll gave her a skeptic look, "Purple Haze is sure?"

She nodded happily, "Absolutely."

"Scar will test right now."

"Huh?"

Scar simply stood up and left the cabin they had been sitting in. Purple Haze followed him into the corridor and watched, first in amusement but then in horror as he walked up to another cabin, pulled open the door without a warning or a word and greeted the ponies inside with his best Pinkie Pie smile.

The screams of horror could be heard throughout the train.

Scar dropped his smile, the screams stopped. Not saying a word he pulled the door shut again and walked back to Purple Haze, "As it said, Scar's face already makes ponies cry. So it hides scars and teeth." he sat down on his seat again with a sigh, "Scar doesn't like scaring ponies."

Before Purple Haze could make a retort, a little filly came running to their cabin. It looked around the corner of the door for a second before giggling wildly and running back to its cabin. Purple Haze could hear her talk excitedly to her parents, "Mommy, mommy! There's a really big doggy in the next cabin!" the gnoll gave a groan.

"Cheer up, the foals still love you and I don't mind either. Even if they think you're a cuddly dog." she closed the door and gave him a nudge as she sat down next to him again. "I'm sure you'd make a great father."

"Ha!" the gnoll chuckled, "Purple Haze should be careful what to say, gnoll puppies have good teeth and run early. Also like to taste new things first to understand."

She shared a laugh with him before they fell into silence again. After some time had passed Purple Haze spoke up, "Do you remember your family?"

Scar's face hardened at this question, "Scar does, but gnolls do not talk about sad things and old ghosts."

"Oh." she said, realizing she had asked an inappropriate question, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...."

He held up a hand, "Gnoll knows. Is alright. It will tell story, but only because Purple Haze is special to it and only once." he thought for a moment, trying to bring the images back to his memory. It had been a long time since he had thought about his old home. Slowly he started to remember them, their smells, their faces... their voices when they sang...

For the first time in over ten years, the gnoll remembered his clan.

Chapter 78: Memories

"Scar's clan lived on mountain far in north, where the trees stand tall as far as it can see." the gnoll spoke with a somber voice, "Strong clan with many gnolls, had caves in mountain that went deep down..." he looked outside the window for a moment before turning to her again.

"Scar remembers its father, was hunter. Patient, fierce..." he made a fist and held it in the air, "Strong, so strong. Was strongest gnoll Scar ever knew, could shatter rocks with one strike!" he made a crushing motion with his fist before letting out a sigh, "Had much respect among gnolls... Never talked much, but clan listened when father talked. Showed Scar many things, how to hunt, how to fight... and to be patient with others and itself."

He dropped his fist, "And it remembers mother..." he closed his eye, "It can still smell her fur... warm... safe. Always held it close and told it stories of the sky and mountains. Was clan shaman, wise and respected. Always kind with all but also stern..." he chuckled, "Mother was only one able to scare father... never needed to say a word, one look was enough. Showed Scar way of nature and told it stories of its clan to prepare it..."

"Prepare you?" Purple Haze asked.

"Scar was smarter than most gnolls, learned to talk much earlier than other pups. So clan decides Scar would be fit to become shaman." he said with a strange voice.

"You didn't want to be a shaman, did you?"

He shook his head, "Scar did not, but only because it was young and its head was full of dreams. Wanted to be big hunter, strong and fierce like father! Took time for it to understand what being shaman meant... took time to find peace with itself... So while other pups played Scar learned to listen, and it came to learn many things even though it was still much younger than other gnolls."

Scar looked outside the window again, "So Scar learned, and parents were proud... were happy days." he stared into the darkness. Purple Haze waited for him to continue. He breathed in deep before he went on, "Then, black sleep came."

"Black sleep?"

The gnoll nodded, "Was strange... gnolls would start to become confused, forgot things... forgot how to talk, to hunt, even to eat... forgot family. In the end gnolls would simply sit and stare into distance before heart would forget to beat..." his voice sounded sad, "Mother and healers tried to help clan, used all wisdom the clan had but nothing helped. One by one, gnolls went to sleep... brothers, friends, father... mother..."

He hung his head, "When mother started to forget to eat Scar went hunting, tried to feed mother, told mother stories but mother didn't hear it anymore... didn't even recognize Scar in the end." he closed his eye, "When mother finally slept clan was gone, and Scar was alone... it still remembers how silent the caves were that day... was no longer home, was grave... so Scar left..."

Scar didn't look up after this, he simply sat there and hung his head. He had tried so hard to forget, to come to peace with himself. His voice became bitter, "If Scar had only been stronger, if it had been smarter... maybe it..." he felt an old pain in his chest.

Two hoofs wrapped themselves around his head and held him close, "It's alright, it wasn't your fault." Purple Haze said with a soft voice, he felt a lump in his throat.

"Scar should have tried harder."

"You did everything you could, it's not your fault." she held him closer, "It's not your fault." she whispered softly.

For the first time since his mother had died, the gnoll cried.

Back in Manehatten, princess Luna surveyed the entrance of the sewers as the last remains of the rats' presence were removed. Her sister had initially intended to do this herself, but for some reason Celestia had returned early and clearly stressed. Strangely enough she had also ordered the kitchen to bring her a fresh batch of donuts.

Luna shook her head with a sigh, these were strange times indeed.

"Princess Luna?" she turned around to see Lieutenant Berryshakes and two guards walk up to her.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"May we state a request?"

"A request? Please, explain."

She pointed to the other two guards, "These are private Whistler and private Greenfield..." the two guards saluted, "I, I mean we... we would like to request to be assigned under Marshall Purple Haze's command."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "Lieutenant, I know it is a custom that the Air Marshalls command a small squad of guards, but these are normally pegasi. For what reasons do you wish to join her travels?"

Berryshakes' eyes lit up, "Seeing her fight along the gnoll's, I mean along Scar's side was something we had never seen the likes of before. Their bravery was inspirational! The ferocity with which they attacked! And seeing those poor captives... we wish to aid them in their fight to protect Equestria." the two guards nodded in agreement to this, "Also..."

"Also?"

"I would like Scar to teach me more about tracking. If I had been able to see what he is able to see... we could have found the ponies in Shoretrot much earlier. I wish for him to teach me more."

Luna turned to the two guards, "Do her words represent your interests as well?"

"We may not be as 'suited' for learning to track..." they had both witnessed the gnoll shove the fox droppings into Berryshakes mouth, "But we are more than devoted to assist them in their fight! It would be an honor to stand at Marshall Purple Haze's and the gnoll's side! We are both willing to do our best to aid them!"

Luna watched the three ponies with a small smile, she could clearly see the devotion in their eyes. It seemed that both Scar and Purple Haze had made quite a reputation for themselves in these past days.

Unknown to Purple Haze and Scar, this would be the beginning of a group that would soon make a name for itself in Equestria. Unknown to a purple unicorn, a certain tree would soon become very crowded.

Chapter 80: For that special somepony

"Tia..." Luna said with a quiet voice.

"Yes, Luna?" Celestia replied, trying to act calm.

"Why is your student Twilight Sparkle sending you adult literature for mares?... And only a day before hearts and hooves day for that matter?" she asked as she held the little book up with her magic, "Very vivid adult literature at that..." she stated as she flipped through the pages.

"I..." Celestia started uncertain, "I have no idea..."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "Is there something I should know about?" Celestia's face went crimson red and her eyes wide, "I know I have been gone for some time, but... is it not still accounted for as unethical to have a relationship with your own students?"

"What?" Celestia was unsure whether she was hearing correctly, "Are you implying that..."

"I mean, it is not that I disapprove of Twilight Sparkle, but you should consider your age difference..." she gave her sister a smirk.

"You're unbelievable." Celestia cast a glare at Luna, "I'm going to my chambers, I have a letter to write." she turned around to leave.

"Don't forget your special friendship report!" Luna passed her the book with a smile.

"Simply unbelievable..." Celestia muttered as she walked towards her room. She would have a word with a certain unicorn very soon.

"So... Scar is supposed to do what?" the gnoll asked with uncertainty.

"You know, do something romantic with your special somepony." Spike answered.

"Romantic..." Scar muttered, "Spike means like flowers?"

"It could be a good start but it's not mandatory, you can do anything with her if you think she'll like it. Hearts and hooves day is for expressing how much you like your friends." Spike scratched his head. He had been trying to explain the concept to the gnoll for the last thirty minutes now. "How do you gnolls usually do these things?"

Scar put on a thoughtful look, "Normally gnolls go out and hunt something special. Then bring back food and share to show appreciation."

Spike made a disgusted face, "Yeah... I don't think that would work for normal ponies."

"Purple Haze is special pony." the gnoll stated, "Scar could go hunt stinger. Is difficult hunt but very tasty. Would be good gift. Shows that Scar is strong and good hunter!"

"What's a stinger?" Spike asked with worry. He was not liking where this conversation was heading. He didn't want to put any strange ideas in Scar's head.

Scar scratched his chin and went to one of the book shelves. After a moment of search, he pulled out a book, 'Creatures of the Everfree Forest' was written on it. He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for, "See... stinger."

"Dude, that's a manticore." Spike said in fascination, "You actually hunt those?"

"Mannnt..." the gnoll tried to pronounce the word, "Manticroe?"

"Manticore. Those are crazy dangerous! See? It states clearly that manticores should be avoided at all costs! You could get yourself killed!"

The gnoll shrugged, "Silly pony book says many things. Many wrong things too. If is for special pony, Scar doesn't mind." he turned and stepped towards the small closet, "Tag."

"Yes, master?" the maul replied as Scar opened the door.

"Is time for work."

"Splendid! That mop is more uptight than I enjoy anyway... What are we after today, if I may ask?"

"Sting... Manticore." the gnoll corrected himself as he lifted up the maul.

"Large game then? You have my attention, good sir. Let us be off!"

The gnoll nodded, "Large game, warm pelt for special pony." he started to head towards the door when Spike jumped in front of him.

"Dude, you can't be serious! Purple Haze will kill me if she finds out I put you up to this!"

"Wasn't Spike's idea, was gnoll's." the gnoll replied firmly as he simply picked up the dragon by its head and placed it aside, "Wait for Scar here... it will be back soon, with manticore." he opened the door.

"Wait!" Spike desperately tried to come up with something, "What would Fluttershy say?"

The gnoll stopped for a moment, "Fluttershy?"

"You know how she is." Spike replied with hope, "What do you think she'll say if you go and kill a manticore?"

"Mmmh..." Scar pondered on this for a moment. Fluttershy was incredibly caring for all animals... he clicked his tongue as he realized the obvious solution, "Is no problem, Scar will bring manticore back alive. Purple Haze can see... maybe even ride too... then Scar brings stinger back to forest." he said proudly.

Spike's face dropped, "What?!" he couldn't believe what he was hearing. A manticore in Ponyville? Twilight would go insane!

Before Spike could say any more though, the gnoll nodded the little dragon a goodbye, "Spike waits here. It will be back with sting... it means manticore, soon." With that the gnoll closed the door behind him, leaving a dumbstruck Spike behind.

"Twilight... is going to kill me..."

When Twilight and Purple Haze returned to the library, they found a very nervous Spike and no Scar.

"Hey Spike, where's Scar?" Purple Haze asked as she entered the main room.

"He... is out?" Spike replied with a drop of sweat on his brow.

"Out to where?" Twilight asked as she observed him. It was always a bad sign for Spike to act so nervously.

"Uhhmmm... you know I..." he was interrupted as he burped out a scroll with a puff of green flames, "Oh, look Twilight! It's a letter from the princess!" he gave her letter.

For a moment, he relaxed. Saved by the bell. His moment of hope was shattered though when he saw Twilight's face as she read the letter.

"Spike..." Twilight said with a very dangerous tone as her left eye started to twitch.

Spike gulped, "Yes, Twilight?"

She lowered the scroll to glare at him, "Do you mind telling me... What exactly did you and Scar do while we were gone?"

Spike felt the color leave his face as he remembered the book he had sent to Celestia. Maybe he should have checked what was in it first... "Eh heh..." he coughed, "You know... guy stuff?"

Author's Note

Getting close to that magical 100k word count.. Also, chapter eighty! :D

Chapter 81: Stripy pony (edit)

Zecora watched the forest with unease. Until a moment ago the Everfree had been relatively peaceful but then a commotion unlike anything she had heard before had started. Sounds of snarling, roars, breaking wood and utter chaos could be heard coming from the forest. Then, just as suddenly as the tumult had begun, it ceased. In its place a distant, rhythmic thumping echoed throughout the forest followed occasionally by a guttural snarl or the splintering of wood.

She stood outside her hut, debating if she should investigate the disturbance. What could have transpired inside the forest to cause such a commotion? Should she warn Ponyville? What was that thumping sound? Zecora hesitated for a moment, but then she stepped into the forest and followed the sounds.

When she finally found the source of the strange thumping noise, Zecora wasn't entirely sure what she was seeing. There beneath a large tree, a massive creature with black fur and sharp fangs was busy ramming its shoulder into the trunk while constantly grumbling to itself between impacts. "Stupid stinger..." she heard it say with a deep voice, "Stupid tree..." The creature rammed the tree another time, making its leaves shudder and creating a loud thump upon impact.

All around the tree, plants and bushes had either been torn to shreds or ripped out of the ground. There had been a fierce battle it seemed. She watched the scene for another moment, noticing a huge maul resting on the ground next to some rope and... was that a yellow bow? Another thump pulled Zecora out of her thoughts as the creature rammed the tree again.

"Erm, if I might interject, Master? You could always give me a toss. I could get that cowardly beast down with one swift blow!"

Zecora blinked her eyes in wonder, had that voice just come from the maul? The creature turned around for a moment, "Scar doesn't want to hurt it... Fluttershy wouldn't like..." He stopped and sniffed the air for a moment before turning his head towards her. She felt her blood run cold as a blood-red eye stared at her from a scarred face.

For a moment she thought about running, but the creature only raised an eyebrow before giving her a short nod, "Stripy pony..." and turning its attention to the tree again. He raised a fist and shook it in obvious annoyance at the canopy of leaves above him, "Come down, Scar has no time for games!" he pointed to the rope and the bow, "Won't hurt... it even has little bow. Will look pretty!" A whimper escaped the canopy, making the gnoll grumble a silent curse before slamming into the tree again.

Not sure what to think, Zecora carefully started to approach the strange creature. When she came close enough to see up and into the tree, she found herself at a complete loss for words. Up in the shadowed branches of the tree, clinging to a massive branch like some titanic, hideous housecat, sat a manticore. With each impact from the black-furred beast below, the manticore let out a pitiful whimper as its claws scrabbled to purchase in its roost.

She closed her eyes for a second and tried to clear her mind, had she prepared the wrong tea by accident? Another thump echoed through the air. Zecora opened her eyes and looked up once more. There it was, a shaking manticore clinging to the branches of a tree, and it was giving her pleading look, begging her for assistance.

She turned to the black creature as it rammed the tree another time with enough force to make the ground shudder beneath her hooves. She could understand why the manticore was scared. "A creature the likes of you I have not seen before, tell me, what do you want with that poor manticore?"

He stopped for a moment and tilted his head slightly as he observed her, seemingly surprised at her way of talking. "Scar is gnoll..." he said to her before pointing up at the tree, "Is present for special pony..." He rammed the tree again, grinning a toothy smile as he saw the manticore start to slip. He took an extra step backwards and prepared to charge.

When the gnoll struck the tree again, Zecora barely had time to jump to safety as the manticore came crashing down. The moment it struck ground it tried to run, but the gnoll had different plans.

"What do you mean, you didn't check it?!" Twilight gave a frustrated groan.

"He said it was a present!" Spike answered with worry, "What did she write?"

Twilight levitated the scroll before herself and read aloud, "My dear student, as much as I value your friendship, I must wonder what would make you focus your precious time on such subjects. Please refrain from sending me literature of this kind in the future, it makes for an inadequate impression of our relationship. I expect a five-page essay on the subject 'Why I shouldn't send my teacher adult literature' as well as a full index of your library's books by tomorrow and I sincerely hope that you are not letting Spike read these kind of books. Furthermore, I fear that you are spending too much time inside your library and I advise you partake in the upcoming festivities. Please relay my greetings to Scar and Marshall Purple Haze. I hope they are enjoying their free time and are in good health. Your teacher, princess Celestia."

Spike gulped, "That sounds pretty angry for her..." he paused for a moment, "What's adult literature?"

"Argh!" Twilight gave a frustrated huff, "Wait till I get my hooves on that gnoll! Spike! We've got a letter to write to the princess!"

Purple Haze was watching them with amusement; it seemed the gnoll had not lost his touch for stirring up trouble. She did wonder though... "Before you do... Spike? Where exactly did Scar go? I wanted to show him something I found at the market."

The little dragon started to sweat, "Heh... I think he wanted to go take a walk and... do gnoll stuff?"

She raised an eyebrow, "A walk? With Tag?" her eyes slowly narrowing, "Why would he need a giant maul on a walk?"

Spike gulped, "In case he runs into a manticore?"

Chapter 82: Old stories (edit)

"You are putting poor Mister Manticore down, right now! You hear me?" Fluttershy stomped her hoof.

The gnoll gave a groan of frustration. Of all the ponies to run into on his way back, it just had to be Fluttershy. She had freaked out the moment she had seen him walk out of the forest with the hogtied Manticore slung over his back.

"Scar can't." he replied with a stern voice.

"You promised me you wouldn't eat my friends!" she said defiantly.

The gnoll blinked. "Stinger is Fluttershy's friend?" He gave the manticor an incredulous look. The wrangled beast looked from Fluttershy to its captor and began to nod, vigorously. He turned to Fluttershy again, "Scar wasn't going to eat. Is present for Purple Haze."

"A present?" She asked with a skeptical look.

He nodded, "Is for heart and hoof day. Scar brings back stinger so Purple Haze can see gnoll is good hunter. Is romantic. Purple Haze can pet, maybe ride too if stinger behaves..." He cast the manticore a threatening look, "Then gnoll brings it back to forest."

Fluttershy tilted her head. "Well... I mean... if it's for Purple Haze... it's really sweet of you but..." She scrunched her face, trying to think. "You're really going to let it go after you showed it to Purple Haze?"

"Scar promises." He replied in prideful tone and thumped the maul on the ground to emphazise his point. Tag chuckled in response.

“I would be doing a disservice to my dear master if I didn’t make a promise as well. After all, we are both gentlemen and gentlemen never back out on a promise, especially to such a darling little damsel such as yourself!”

Fluttershy gave a squeak of surprise as Tag spoke up and cringed. “Did-Did that…Did it-”

“Yes. Is Tag. Long story. Scar explains later. What about promise? Is good?”

Keeping a wary eye on the maul, she turned her attention back to the matter at hand. “I...I suppose it’s alright, but do you have to tie it up? It looks so sad." Her tone once again motherly and caring.

He gave his shoulder a shift to reposition the manticore, making it whimper and Fluttershy give him an angry look. "Scar has to... if it doesn't, stinger will try and run."

After a moment of thoughtful silence, Fluttershy approached the Manticore. "Let me talk with it." She said, not a hint of fear in her voice.

Scar raised an eyebrow but compelled nonetheless. Carefully, he hefted the bundled Manticore off his back and set it down before her. As she approached it, he kept a watchful eye on it and a tight grip on his maul. If it would try to hurt Fluttershy he would reduce the Manticore to a pulpy mess.

Fluttershy approached the Manticore, "Now, if you promise to behave, Scar will untie you-"

"It will?" The gnoll chimed, flabbergasted. Had the book he had given her made her lose her sense of reason? The Manticore on, the other hand, simply looked confused and nervous.

"He will." She replied with a stern voice and a meaningful glare towards him. She then rounded on the Manticore, giving it her infamous Stare. "Now, after he unties you, you go along with him and make no fuss. If you can play nicely with the other ponies in town and behave yourself, Scar here will let you go back to the forest. Understand?"

As she spoke, the Manticore seemed to continually wilt under her gaze. Maybe dealing with the gnoll would have been easier. One look back at said gnoll and his demented weapon was enough; The Manticore frantically, silently nodded.

Fluttershy gave a satisfied, triumphant, little smile and rounded on Scar. "See? Now Scar, please untie it."

Scar gave her an unbelieving look, "Fluttershy is serious?"

"I am." she replied, "Either that, or you let it go straight back to the forest."

The gnoll gave a huff and bent down to the Manticore. "If stinger hurts ponies..." he whispered into the manticore's ears, "Scar will eat it." The Manticore's eyes widened considerably at this and it gave an audible swallow, "Stinger understands?" The Manticore nodded as quickly as its binds would allow it.

He gave the manticore one last, measuring look. Then, with a sigh, he reached out and started to undo the rope. For his and her sake, he hoped that Fluttershy knew what she was doing.

Princess Celestia eyed the small collection of ponies in her throne room with curiosity. They had issued an urgent request for a hearing, stating it concerned the safety of all Equestria. At her arrival in the throne room she was surprised that the three of them had brought along a unicorn, gagged and bound in chains.

"What is the meaning of this?" She demanded, her tone regal and stern. The state of the prisoner’s condition was utterly deplorable; Dirty, dishevelled, bruised and malnourished, the unicorn looked as if she had not slept, eaten of been allowed to wash for days.

"Princess Celestia," One of the ponies stepped forward and bowed, "I am Redfield. My companions and I come from the village of Little Bridle to bring you this traitor." Redfield spat the final word with such venom that the prisoner cringed.

Celestia’s expression did not change. She merely sat on her throne and gave the trio a stony, icy reception. "What are the accusations?"

"Many years ago, a wild creature was spotted near our village. We wear able to capture it, but not before it dragged off a foal. We feared the worst and given the nature of the beast, believed the foal to have been killed. However, to be sure, we hired this traveling magician to search its mind for information." he pointed an angry hoof at the unicorn. "She betrayed not only us, but all of Equestria and set if free! We hunted the beast for days, even managed to wound it, but the beast managed to slip away."

"And?" Celestia’s voice had not changed, but, unnoticed by the ponies, her eyes had narrowed considerably.

"We gave up the hunt for the beast as it simply became too dangerous. However, a few weeks ago we were able to finally apprehend the traitor by chance,” He wheeled around and stabbed a hoof towards the prisoner in an almost theatrical fashion. "We demand that justice be done and that she be sentenced for her crimes against our people and all ponykind!" The other two nodded and voiced their own agreement, offering quiet praise to Redfield for his performance.

Celestia had not moved a muscle through the entire tirade. She might as well been a statue, for all she did was simply sit and stare at the trio. That emotionless, regal, intimidating stare suffocated the trio’s bravado and backslapping as quickly as it started. Now they simply squirmed under her gaze, the only sound breaking the silence was the occasional rattle of iron on marble from the chains binding the prisoner as well as the occasional, feeble sob.

Celestia gaze became withering and disgusted. "You come here, with nothing but your word and one of your own kind bound in chains?" Her voice, as well as her posture had gone stony and intimidating.

The effect was immediate; the trio flinched and instinctively took a few steps back from the Princess. Redfield seemed to muster enough courage and stepped forward. "Princess... s-s-surely you understand that-"

"What I understand, is that there are always two sides to a story..." she interrupted him, "Tell me, Redfield. What did this creature look like?"

Redfield blinked in surprised, looked to the floor, razed a hoof to his chin in thought and mulled her question over as quickly as he could. "I-It looked like some kind of diamond dog, but-but bigger! It had fur as-as black as night and eyes as red as blood. It was truly a terrifying monster, a threat to all of us, Princess!"

Princess Celestia stood up, "I share your concern for my subjects, Redfield," Her voice low and gentle. Redfield and the other two perked up. She approached them all, stopping before Redfield and locking eyes with him. “But that is all I share with you.” She finished, her voice once again icy and sharp. Redfield squirmed and hung his head.

“Before I reach a decision on such an important subject, I would like to gather some information myself." she stepped up to Redfield, "I would like to look into your minds, and see for myself what happened all those years ago."

All three of them blanched and looked up to Celestia with expressions of horror, "Princess, you can't seriously think we would-" Redfield began, but once again Celestia cut him off.

"Allow me to think for myself." Celestia replied with a stern voice, "Now, hold still. All of you." If this pony was who she thought he was, it would be an interesting day indeed.

Chapter 83: Trial

When Celestia had finished reading the four ponies' minds, she took a moment to collect her thoughts. When she finally spoke again, her voice had a sharp tone to it.

"It seems that there are quite a few things you were reluctant to tell your friends about, Redfield." Redfield cringed. His two companions gave him questioning glances.

"The creature you hold so many accusations against, it did not appear by chance... it fled from your custody." Redfield seemed like he was about to give a reply, but Celestia continued, "And it fled after the foal had gone missing no less."

One of the other two ponies watched Redfield's face with unbelieving eyes, "Redfield, what is the meaning of this?"

"It doesn't matter!" he barked back, "It was a danger to our society and had to be killed at all costs!"

"He was innocent!" Celestia's voice thundered through the large hall, making the guards present shudder in their armor. Celestia continued, her eyes filled with anger, "You used him like an animal, beat him, locked him in a cage, forbid him to speak!" her voice got more quiet again, though it still carried its icy tone, "And when he fled, you were scared. Scared he would one day come back for you."

There was a pause as Celestia watched Redfield's face in silence and the other two ponies looked at him in shock, "You used the missing foal for your own purposes, thinking if you could convince the others that he killed it, they would hunt him down for you... and they believed you. But your plan failed... they caught him alive."

She turned to the bound unicorn, "And when they called for her to interrogate him you hoped he would die or go mad during the process, so they would never find out." the unicorn hung her head and a tear escaped her eye.

Celestia held her head up and addressed the four of them with a stern voice, "You have committed many crimes. Slavery, deceit..." her eyes passed over the unicorn, "Torture, forbidden magic..." she turned to Redfield again, "And you tried to deceive me as well, because she knew what you had done."

"Your majesty, I..." Redfield started to croak.

"You came here for justice, and in my name there will be justice. All of you will be judged for your actions. Guards!" the guards in the hall stepped forward, "Redfield and his companions are to be placed under arrest until their trial." she turned to the unicorn again, "As for her... Remove her chains and see to it that she receives medical attention and food." the unicorn looked up at Celestia, "I will not have one of my subjects suffer like this, even if they are under arrest." the unicorn's eyes widened a bit in realization, "You will be judged for your actions as well, Trixie Lulamoon."

Trixie only nodded quietly and hung her head, another sob escaping her throat as tears ran down her cheeks.

Celestia watched in silence as they were lead out of the hall. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, the things she had seen in their minds, especially the things Trixie had seen in the gnoll's memories... She had hoped that something like this could be averted, but now there was no way back. She needed to write a letter.

There was going to be a trial.

"What do you mean he's going to get me a living manticore?" Purple Haze shouted at Spike, "Have the both of you gone insane?"

"He said he wanted to do something romantic for Heart and Hooves Day!" the little dragon wailed, "How was I supposed to know he'd do something like this?!"

"Heart and Hooves Day? How did he even find out about that?" Spike put on a guilty grin. Purple Haze gave a groan, "Why do I even... Wait. Are you actually writing this down, Twilight?"

Twilight blushed, "Well it does open an interesting insight into the courtship rituals of the gnolls. I wonder if there's a ritual for presenting the manticore as well, or if they have a mating dance..."

Purple Haze blinked her eyes, "Courtship rituals? Mating dance?!"

"Well... you are a nice couple, and the girls and I have been waiting for you two to... you know, take the next step..." Twilight mumbled before picking up her head again, "When you do... could you note down how you practice your intimacies? It would be helpful for the research on inter-species relationships."

"You mean they're going to kiss?" Spike asked with shock.

Purple Haze just stared at them, "You're unbelievable... both of you."

"But didn't you get him a present for Heart and Hooves Day at the market?" Twilight replied with a blush.

This time, it was Purple Haze's turn to blush, "I..."

She was interrupted by a loud belch from Spike, "How many letters is she sending today? We haven't even written our apology letter yet!"

"You didn't send anything else, did you?" Twilight snatched the scroll from Spike with an accusing glare.

He held up his arms in defense, "I swear, we didn't!"

Purple Haze shook her head, "I've gotta go find Scar before he does something crazy..." she started to head for the door, "Courtship rituals... Mating dance... I don't belive it! It was probably Dash or Fluttershy who came up with this idea! I..."

"Wait!" Twilight called out to her.

"What?" Purple Haze turned around, she didn't like the tone Twilight's voice had taken.

"Read this..." Twilight handed Purple Haze the scroll with a clear sign of worry on her face.

Purple Haze raised an eyebrow but read the letter nonetheless. As she read the words, all signs of emotion started to leave her face. When she had finished it, she simply stood there, motionless. Then, she read it again and again, letting every single word sink in.

"What's it say?" Spike asked with concern.

"They're here..." Purple Haze whispered, "They're actually here... We need to find Scar right now!"

Chapter 84: To Canterlot

"I'll go look for Scar!" Purple Haze said as she headed for the door, donning her armor and helmet while moving.

"I'll go get the girls. Spike, wait here in case Purple Haze misses him. If he shows up, make sure he waits for us!" Twilight called out.

Before Spike could respond, the two of them of them were gone, leaving him behind with the letter and a bad feeling in his stomach. After hearing Purple Haze explain who exactly had shown up in Canterlot, the little dragon wasn't sure what to think of the situation. How would the gnoll react to these news?

He tried to push the thought aside and busied himself with cleaning up the library instead, putting the letter on a table as he started to reorganize already ordered books.

After about twenty minutes though, the door of the library was opened again.

"Did you find him?" Spike asked while turning around, expecting to see Purple Haze or Twilight enter.

What did enter though, was a manticore. An annoyed looking manticore with a little bow on its head nonetheless, shortly followed by a broadly smiling Scar.

"Find who?" the gnoll asked as he stepped inside.

Spike eyed the manticore with disbelief, forgetting for a moment the matter at hand, "Dude, you actually got a manticore?!" He had never seen a real manticore before, only pictures in books. Standing in front of a live one was an experience he had never expected.

The gnoll nodded and gave the manticore a glance, "Scar got stinger... bit small though." the manticore grumbled in response, but quickly shut up when the gnoll answered with a snarl of his own, "Go sit in corner, wait for Purple Haze to return."

The manticore gave off an insulted grumble but complied, walking to one of the library's corners and sitting down next to one of the shelves, not sparing Spike even a single glance.

"How did you get it to do that?" Spike asked in wonder, "Did you teach it tricks?"

"Fluttershy told stinger to behave, and Scar told manticore it would eat stinger if it didn't." the gnoll gave the manticore a measuring look, "Gnoll isn't sure if stinger can do tricks though..." the manticore's eyes narrowed, "Maybe later..."

Scar turned to the little dragon, "Where is Purple Haze?"

Spike snapped out of his fascination for the manticore, suddenly remembering the letter, "She's out looking for you, Celestia sent an urgent letter and..." he immediately cursed himself for saying the words when he saw Scar pick up the letter.

"Is for Scar?" he asked with surprise, "It hopes Celestia liked little book..." he chuckled softly. The gnoll started to read the letter.

Spike watched as the gnoll's features became hard and unmoving, only his red eye was in motion as it followed Celestia's writing. Slowly, his hairs started to rise and a strange expression appeared on his face. The little dragon eyed him with concern, the gnoll suddenly seemed a lot more intimidating than before and even his breathing had slowed down considerably, "Scar?"

The gnoll didn't respond at first, but then he let his gaze leave the paper and turned his attention to Spike again, "When did letter come?" he asked with a quiet but stern voice.

Spike involuntarily cringed as Scar's eye rested on him, "About half an hour ago... Scar, I..."

"Scar will go right now." he said with a firm voice.

Spike felt the situation start to go out of control, "Wait! Purple Haze said you should wait for her here!"

"Is too important, can't wait. Tell Purple Haze to meet it at castle." he turned to the manticore, "Stinger waits here, Scar will be back soon. Gnoll has to meet old ghosts of his."

Spike's face grew pale at the sound of his voice, "What are you going to do?" Another troubling thought found its way into his head as he suddenly realized something, "You're going to leave me alone with the manticore?!"

The gnoll hesitated for a moment, "Spike is right. Is too dangerous..." the little dragon let out a sigh of relief, "Takes Tag." he set the huge maul down next to Spike, "If stinger doesn't behave, use Tag to put some sense into it." Spike just stared at the maul in disbelief, trying to comprehend how he was even supposed to lift the impossibly large maul.

"I'll be certain to keep an eye on it, master! None shall misbehave under my watchful gaze!" the maul piped happily.

"Good." Scar walked to the door and gave the manticore a final and warning look, "Behave!" and with that he was out the door again, leaving behind a baffled Spike, a watchful Tag and an annoyed manticore.

"Nice... manticore... heh..." Spike stepped behind the maul, "Please don't eat me!"

"Ha! Come and try to you big sack of fleas! I'll crush you before you even so much as lift a paw! Quickly, sir Spike! Grab my handle and take aim!"

The manticore only raised an eyebrow.

Scar breathed in deep as he moved past Ponyville and towards Canterlot with quick strides, the cool afternoon air filling his lungs as he breathed evenly. Redfield... that name lingered in his mind like an unmoving shadow, foreboding and full of painful memories. He remembered his face, and the smile on his lips when he had beaten him... the gnoll gave a grumble and picked up his pace.

For so long he had denied these memories, but now, everything was as present as it had been back then. He could smell his cage, the taste of the metal bars when he had tried to bite through them, the taste of his own blood when his gums had bled from trying, and his pain.

And now, after all these years, he was here. The nightmare that had haunted him for so long had returned... it sent chills down his spine.

And then there was the unicorn, Trixie. The memories of her were less unkind but even more associated with pain than anything else. She had been his tormenter for so many nights he had lost all sense of time during his inquisition, it still gave him headaches when he tried to remember those days and nights.

For a moment, he slowed down, unsure of himself. What would he do when he would meet them? He closed his eye and tried to collect his thoughts, chanting the mantras his mother had taught him so long ago. It served to put a bitter taste in his mouth, but his mind slowly started to clear of the countless emotions that ran through his head.

When he opened his eye again, he knew what had to be done. The gnoll continued his march towards Canterlot with grim determination. He would find closure to his past today, no matter what it would take.

Chapter 85: Closure

Celestia paced up and down the throne room with worry. Her student still hadn't replied to her letter and it troubled her greatly.

"Tia, it is unusual to see you so worried..." Luna spoke up softly.

"I know..." Celestia replied quietly, "But it troubles me... was it right to inform Scar of this?"

"What do you mean?" Luna asked with surprise.

Celestia stopped pacing to look at Luna, "I am scared. Scared of how he will react when he meets Redfield... scared of how I would react should he lose his temper and attack him... I am scared of losing a friend."

Luna nodded, "I understand your worries, but I have learned to trust that Scar is not one to kill out of anger or for revenge. You took the right step to inform him."

"I hope you are right... but still, I..."

Celestia's words were interrupted by a commotion from outside the doors to the throne room. Before they knew what was happening, the doors burst open and Purple Haze accompanied by the mane six stormed inside the throne room looking like they were ready to go to war.

"Where are they?! Where are the ponies that dare hurt poor Scar? I will destroy them!" Rarity shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Leave a piece for me, Rarity." Applejack spoke up, "Nopony messes with friends of the Apple family!"

"Yeah! Nopony hurts Scar and gets away with it!" Rainbow Dash looked about ready to throw herself into battle.

"Girls, slow down a bit..." Twilight tried to calm them.

"There are no breaks on the friendship train!" Pinkie Pie shouted with her canon at the ready.

"Everypony, shut up!" Purple Haze thundered over them. When they finally quieted down, she turned to the princesses, "Princess Celestia, we came as soon as possible!" She looked around herself, seemingly confused by something. "Where is Scar?"

Celestia raised an eyebrow in surprise, "He didn't accompany you?"

Purple Haze shook her head, "No, he told Spike he'd head on without us... Hasn't he arrived yet?"

"Not that I know of..." Celestia replied with worry, "He couldn't have gotten lost on his way, could he?"

"I don't think so, he's been here often enough after all..."

"Princesses... If I may interrupt..." a guard poked his head through the doors, "I was passing by outside during my patrol and couldn't help but overhear your conversation..."

"And?" Luna asked.

The guard cringed, obviously troubled by something, "I met the gnoll about ten minutes ago, he asked me where the dungeons were so I..." he visibly shrunk under Luna's and Celestia's bewildered stares.

"What did you do?" Luna asked, her voice on the verge of snapping.

"I showed him the way to the cells?"

For a moment, Celestia and Luna just stared at the guard, letting his words sink in. The gnoll was already in the dungeon, presumably in Redfield's cell... Celestia felt a shiver run down her back.

It was Pinkie Pie who finally broke the silence, "Hey, where's Fluttershy?"

Scar eyed Redfield without moving. For the last ten minutes this had been going on. The gnoll had found the cell, Redfield had seen him enter, and the two had just stood on their side of the bars in silence, simply observing one another with mixed feelings of hate and fear.

After minutes had passed, Scar finally spoke up, "How does it feel?"

Redfield remained silent.

The gnoll repeated his question, "How does it feel? To sit in cage, just like Scar?"

"What would you know about feelings? You're a monster!" Redfield barked, "You should be sitting on this side of the cage and not me!"

"Scar still wants to know, how does it feel?"

"I'm not answering to a beast like you! If you're going to eat me then do it already! Show the princesses that I was right! Show everypony what a monster you..."

He was cut off as the gnoll simply ripped the bars of the cage apart with a snarl and stormed towards him, bent pieces of metal and destroyed bolts flying through the air. In one motion he had pinned Redfield on the ground, his bared teeth only inches away from his face.

"Scar could..." he said with a dark voice, "Wouldn't even be hard... just one bite, is all it takes and skull would be crushed." For a moment longer, his teeth lingered in their position, but then, the gnoll simply removed his grip on Redfield and backed up a step, "But Redfield is wrong, Scar is no monster... never was, and never will be. Scar is gnoll, and gnoll only kills to protect its friends."

His eyes followed Redfield as he picked himself up again, "When Scar heard Redfield was here, it wanted to come and see for itself... wanted to see Redfield sit in his own cage... thought it would give it peace..." he shook his head, "But Scar was wrong. It saddens Scar that Redfield still doesn't understand, but gnoll will talk with Redfield no more."

The gnoll started to head for the door, "Gnoll will ask Celestia to let you go."

"I don't believe a word you say!" Redfield snarled.

"Believe what it wants... but Scar never wants to see Redfield again. Should Scar and Redfield meet again..." the gnoll turned around and bared his teeth for Redfield to see, "Scar will not hesitate again."

With those words he turned back around and opened the door. But before he could step through, a yellow blur shot past him and latched onto Redfield.

"How dare you! How dare you put dear Scar in a cage! You should be ashamed of yourself! Hurting a poor and innocent soul like him! I can't even find words for how angry you make me! What would your mother say?! How could you! I don't even..."

Scar couldn't find words for this... he had never seen Fluttershy so angry, so determined and wild. He simply watched as she continued to pelt Redfield with accusations and a glare that would have put even Purple Haze's to shame.

By the time Fluttershy was done, Redfield was nothing more than a sobbing mess on the floor, wailing over and over again how sorry he was. Scar had already left long ago, there was still one more pony left he intended to speak to.

Chapter 86: Trixie

When he entered the dimly lit room, Trixie's eyes widened in surprise, "It's you!" she eyed him up and down, "You've grown so much!" her face softened considerably, "And you've gotten more scars..."

The gnoll nodded, "Is called Scar now."

"So you've finally found a new home?" she asked with a sad smile.

"Scar did..." he replied. He watched her with a tired eye, she seemed much smaller than in his memories... or had he been the smaller one back then? His relation with her, their shared past and memories... even though they had not seen one another again since that fateful day, there had been a strange connection between the two of them ever since.

He eyed the little ring on her horn, "What is that?" he pointed at it.

"This?" she trailed her horn with her hoof, "It's a seal, to prevent me from using my magic." she explained with a sad voice.

"How is Trixie?"

She sighed heavily, "It seems our past always comes back to haunt us..."

"Scar knows..." he replied with an equally heavy sigh, "It met Redfield..."

"You didn't hurt him, did you?" she asked with worry.

He shook his head, "Scar didn't..." he replied with a grave voice, "But almost... almost... But Scar had to see for itself. Scar had to see Redfield in cage, thought it would give it peace..."

"Did it?" she asked with sadness.

He shook his head, "Did not. Only made Scar angry to see Redfield again, hadn't changed..." he turned to Trixie, "Did Trixie change?"

Her eyes closed for a moment as she let out another sigh, "I changed... for the worse I fear. After I met you, after I saw what ponies were capable of... nothing was the same again. I hated myself for what I did to you, and I hated other ponies for making me do it... I started to treat those around me badly and became condescending towards anypony." she turned to him, "When you ran away... even though I could understand it... I felt more alone than ever before."

He slightly hung his head, "Scar is sorry if Trixie got hurt because of..."

"Don't apologize for things you're not responsible for." she interrupted him with a sad smile, "I made a decision back then to do the right thing for once, and no matter what it brought and what it will bring, the great and remorseful Trixie will accept it as her choice."

He chuckled, "Trixie still talks like that..." his faced turned serious, "What will happen to Trixie?"

She took a deep breath, "I will be tried for my crimes, just as Redfield will be tried for his."

"Trixie did nothing wrong..." he started.

"I tore through your mind."

"Only because Trixie believed what Redfield said, other ponies would have done the same. Scar holds no grudge for that."

"But I still made you suffer." she said with a bitter voice, "And I will accept whatever punishment Celestia finds suited for my crimes."

"Scar will ask Celestia to let you go."

"She won't, because she can't. Even if you hold no grudge towards me or even towards Redfield, she still is the ruler of Equestria, and she is the symbol of justice. She has to punish us for what we did, and we have to accept it."

He shook his head, "Scar doesn't want punishment for others... it doesn't want revenge..."

She smiled, "I know, you were always kind even to those that hurt you... but this needs to be done."

"Scar could free you... just like Trixie freed Scar." he looked at the bars on the windows, one pull would be enough and they would come clean off the wall.

Trixie shook her head, "No. I don't want to run away anymore... and I don't want you to lose your new home."

Scar hung his head, "Scar never wanted this..."

"I know, but it's alright. I'll finally be able to put my past to rest after this." she was silent for a moment, "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Scar never blamed you..."

"I know... but still, can you forgive me?"

He looked at her for a long moment. Then, he embraced her in his arms, "Scar forgives you."

"Thank you." she whispered as she returned his embrace, a small tear escaping her eyes.

When he stepped out of the room again, he found Celestia and the others waiting for him on the other side with torn expressions on their faces.

"How much did Celestia hear?" he asked with a tired voice.

"Everything..." she replied, "Scar, I..."

"Will Celestia let Redfield and Trixie go if Scar asks her to?"

She shook her head with a sad face, "I am sorry, but I can not. This needs to be done, I can not simply let them go for their crimes."

He gave a sigh, "Scar understands... but know this, Celestia. Scar holds no grudge against them, and it does not want revenge."

"I understand, and it will be considered in my verdict."

The gnoll nodded, "Good. Scar hopes..."

"You're wrong." a bitter voice interrupted him.

He turned to Purple Haze, there were tears in her eyes, "How can you just want to let them go after all they've done to you? I can't understand you! This is your one chance for justice and you're just going to let them off like that?"

Scar eyed her with a sad face, "Scar does not want revenge."

"You should!" she shouted at him, "After all they put you through! After all that pain! You should..."

"What should Scar do?!" he thundered back at her, making all of them flinch, "Should Scar go and drag Redfield into cage? Should it beat Redfield with sticks and burn him? Should it ask Celestia to tear into Trixie's mind?! Should it demand to kill Redfield for what he did?!" he gave a snarl and his voice grew tired, "No... Scar can't."

More tears started to well up in Purple Haze's eyes, "You should be angry at them! You should shout at them and demand your right for justice! They deserve to be punished for..."

"For what?! That ponies were scared of Scar? That ponies wished to protect their families?" he gave her a long stare, "Purple Haze would have done the same..."

Her eyes widened in shock, "No! I would have..."

"Purple Haze would have seen a monster, just like other ponies did. And she would have hunted Scar just like others if they told her Scar had taken little foal and Purple Haze knows it! Purple Haze would have done the same to protect her family."

"You're wrong!" she replied with a bitter voice, "You're wrong and you know it!"

"Scar walked the path of the beast once before, and it swore to itself never to again. Scar can't expect Purple Haze to understand what it feels like to be feared, and Scar won't. This is gnoll's decision, and Scar hopes Purple Haze will understand with time." he said with graveness before turning around and heading for the exit, "Scar needs to be alone... needs to think... had enough bad thoughts for today."

They watched him leave in silence, feeling the weight on their hearts double as heavy as before. Purple Haze hung her head, tears falling onto the floor, "Damn you Scar, you're wrong..."

Inside the Ponyville library, a little dragon still sat behind a babbling Tag, eyed by an ever-more annoyed manticore.

"Does nopony see a problem with this!" he wailed, "Wait here, Spike... Sure! Leave me here with the manticore to be eaten! I don't care! Well, this sucks!"

"Lighten up, old chap. I think I'm about to get it to do a trick! Now... sit!"

The manticore's eyebrow went up higher. Spike gave another wail of despair, "Am I the only one sane left in all of Equestria?!"

Chapter 87: Understanding one another

The door was opened again, and Trixie looked up to see Purple Haze enter the room. She watched her walk up to her and take a seat. Purple Haze took a deep breath, and without looking at Trixie, she started to talk.

"I am Marshall Purple Haze, and I have been traveling with Scar for the last weeks..."

"You have?" Trixie asked with a sad smile, "It is good to know he has found a new home and friends..."

"He has told me of his past... but I still fail to understand why he would simply let you go." Purple Haze cast her an angry glance, "After all that pain he went through, after losing his family... after what you and the others did to him... I would have turned into a monster, but he..."

"He didn't... because he never gave us up." Trixie replied before giving Purple Haze a questioning look, "How much did he tell you?"

"He told me of the black sleep, and of his mother's death."

"Did he tell you that he stayed at her side for a whole week even after she had passed on?" Trixie asked with a heavy voice, "Did he tell you of the countless nights he spent alone in the wild? How he almost became a beast in his sorrow?"

Purple Haze gave her an incredulous look, "He told you those things?"

Trixie shook her head, "I saw them when I entered his mind, I saw all of his memories... and they became my memories as well... and it hurt me in my heart to see what he has gone through."

For a lingering moment, Purple Haze simply stared at Trixie. Then, with a determined face she reached up and removed the seal from Trixie's horn.

"What are you doing?" Trixie asked in surprise.

"Show me."

"What?"

Purple Haze looked her straight into the eyes, "I want to see what you saw. I want to know everything, so show me."

Trixie looked unsure of herself, "I..." she studied Purple Haze's face, and saw a small tear form in one of her eyes, "You care for him..." she whispered in realization.

"I want to understand..." Purple Haze said with a bitter voice, "So... please, show me."

Trixie took a deep breath, trying hard to calm her mind as she studied Purple Haze. After a short pause she closed her eyes and gathered her magic. When her mind touched with that of Purple Haze, she showed her everything she had seen in Scar's mind.

Scar did what he had always done when his mind was troubled, he wandered around aimlessly. He didn't even notice he had left the castle behind and was wandering the streets of Canterlot until he almost bumped into a small building.

The gnoll paused his pondering and looked up at the small house, there was a little sign above the door, 'Alchemist's Conundrum' was written in big and curved letters on it.

He frowned, wondering what the words meant. He sniffed the door, countless scents entered his nose and under all of them, there was the faint but unmistakable scent of magic.

For a moment the gnoll hesitated, but seeing as he had no other immediate plans his curiosity got the better of him, and he stepped through the door.

As he entered the small building, a small bell on the top end of the door rang, signaling his presence. Inside, Scar was surprised to see countless little bottles stacked neatly into numerous shelves.

"One moment, be right with you!" a voiced piped up from the back.

Scar waited patiently, and after another moment a pony came walking up to the counter with quick steps.

"Welcome to the Alchemist's Conundrum! Where all your wishes are only a drink away! How can I..." the pony started to stammer as he saw the gnoll, his face losing all color.

First, the pony just stared at Scar with huge eyes. Then, the gnoll watched in amusement as he went frantic.

"I knew I should have stayed in bed! My horoscope explicitly said, 'New, exciting experiences are coming your way.' and now I'm going to be eaten!" he sighed, "Might as well get on with it..." he bowed his head, "Go on, but do me a favor and make it quick."

The gnoll chuckled, "Gnoll isn't here to eat you. Is Scar."

An expression of relief passed over the pony's face, "You're not? Oh thank the stars, I almost thought that... wait. You're Scar?"

"Is Scar." the gnoll nodded.

The pony's eyes glinted with excitement, "I've heard about you! You were an honor guest at the Founder's gala, weren't you?"

"Scar was." he replied, "Celestia invited it."

A broad smile appeared on the pony's lips, "Well then, it is my pleasure to welcome you to my humble shop! I am, Sweet Bottle, alchemist extraordinaire and at your service! How can I be of assistance?"

The gnoll looked around himself unsure, "What is alchemist? Scar doesn't know word."

"Alchemy, the magical power of transmuting something of little value, into a substance of great value." Sweet Bottle's eyes glinted, "But it doesn't stop there! There are countless magical potions with endless effects! The possibilities are mind baffling!"

Sweet Bottle went up to a shelf and started to pull out various bottles, presenting each one to the gnoll.

"This one, potion of good breath, always have a minty smell no matter how rotten your teeth are!"

The gnoll raised an eyebrow, "Scar has good teeth..." he huffed into his paw, "Also, no bad breath."

"Then how about this, the potion of strength! It..." he looked Scar up and down, "Never mind..."

He pulled out another small bottle, "Potion of eyesight, lets you see in the dark!"

"Scar can already see in dark."

Sweet Bottle scratched his chin, "Mmmm... let us see, what else could be interesting?"

He started to rummage through the bottles, "Potion of size... nope, potion against bad hearing?" the gnoll only raised an eyebrow, "Guess not." he continued his search. After a while he pulled out a tiny bottle with a triumphant laugh, "Aha! Potion of transmogrification!"

Scar eyed the little bottle with curiosity, the liquid inside was giving of a soft, blue glow. "Transmogrfcatio..." he tried to repeat the word.

"Transmogrification." Sweet Bottle corrected him, "A potion that will let you take a different form altogether. Now it isn't cheap, and it only lasts for one day, but think what you could learn by watching the world from another set of eyes for just a single day!"

The gnoll picked the tiny vial from Sweet Bottle's grasp and held it up to his face with wonder. To see the world from another point of view even if only for a single day... a thought went through his head and he pulled out his bag of bits, "Scar takes it."

Chapter 88: Transmogrification

Purple Haze approached the library. After her sitting with Trixie, she had gotten an insight into the gnoll's past that had changed many things she had failed to fully understand in the past. Above all things else, it had confirmed a suspicion she had harbored for quite some time now; gnolls were direct. If she wanted to find an answer to the question she had been carrying with herself for so long now, she'd have to ask him directly. She gulped, that wouldn't make it easier though.

She closed her eyes and calmed herself before opening the door and stepping into the library. But it wasn't Scar she found down in the main room of the tree.

"Oh... hi, Spike." he passed her a slightly angry glare, "Is Scar here?"

"Yeah, he went upstairs after sending the manticore back to the forest, thank you very much." he glared at her.

"A shame too, that. I was so close of getting the furball to do a trick!" Tag piped up from his position.

"Any longer and it would have used you as a scratching post..." Spike mumbled as he continued to clean the floor, "How much hair can one manticore lose? This is ridiculous!"

Purple Haze cringed, "Sorry, we kind of forgot about that... did he say anything?"

Spike scratched his chin, "I think he mentioned meeting Big McIntosh on his way, but he went straight to the bathroom before I could ask about it... He's been up there pretty long now that I think of it."

She looked up the stairs, "Alright, I'll go look what he's up to..."

Purple Haze walked up the stairs and towards the closed bathroom door. When she knocked on it, there was no answer.

"Scar? Are you in there?"

"Scar is..." his voice sounded strangely different.

"Look Scar, I... I asked Trixie to show me what she saw and..."

"Purple Haze did?" his voice sounded surprised.

"I'm sorry, I know it wasn't the right thing to do but I needed to understand why you would simply let them go."

There was a moment of silence, "And did Purple Haze understand?"

She hung her head, "I did... I understand now, and I'm sorry I shouted at you... you were right, and I wasn't. I'm sorry."

"If Purple Haze understands then gnoll is happy... would've taken longer for it to explain anyway." he chuckled. There was the sound of something being thrown over, "Silly hooves... can't grab anything..." she heard him mumble.

"Scar?" she put her ears to the door, "What are you doing in there? Can you open the door so we can talk face to face? There's something else I want to discuss with you..." she heard the unmistakable sound of hoofs on tiles, "Is there somepony in there with you?"

Purple Haze heard someone try to turn the key of the bathroom door, all the while muttering curses under his breath. Then, when the door finally did open, Purple Haze's jaw nearly hit the floor.

Standing in the door frame was a huge black stallion wearing an oversized coat she recognized as Scar's. Numerous scars ran over one side of his face and over a blind eye, while a blood-red one could be seen through the shaggy and long hairs of his coat.

"What the..." Purple Haze managed to mutter.

"Scar is pony!" he laughed as he pranced before her, "Look, has hooves, little teeth..." he beamed her a big smile, "It can even neigh!" he pulled back his head and let out a long whinny, almost loosing his footing, "Still isn't so good with hooves though, can't grab anything..." he muttered.

"How in the world did you..." she started but lost her words as she observed him up and down.

He went back into the bathroom and came back with a small bottle in between his teeth, "Is transmophificatianagic..." he tried to speak.

She took the bottle from his mouth and read the label on it like in trance, "Transmogrification potion... just add hairs from target species for immediate effect..." she looked back at Scar, "Big McIntosh..." she whispered in realization before returning her attention to the label, "Drink whole bottle for effect, average duration of effect is one day, but may vary. See your local alchemist for side effects." Purple Haze stared at the bottle for another moment, "I don't believe this."

Scar meanwhile, was back in front of the bathroom mirror and mustering his new form. "What should it do first?" he talked to no one in particular as he made funny faces, "What do ponies do?" he thought for a moment, "It could run... then jump over fence... eat some hay..." he scratched his chin, "It could walk around without ponies being scared all the time... maybe Scar could go visit someone..." he turned to Purple Haze, "What does Purple Haze think?"

Purple Haze simply stared at him with an open mouth and big eyes. But then, something appeared in her eyes he hadn't seen before... it reminded him of the predatory look Celestia had given him when he had appeared with his costume.

"Purple Haze is alright?" he tilted his head, "Should Scar..." he was interrupted as Purple Haze walked up to him and grabbed his head.

"To my room. Now."

"Huh?" he managed to blurt out as she simply dragged him along. He didn't get an answer, but once they reached her room he started to get slightly concerned when she locked the door, "What is Purple Haze doing?"

For a moment she looked unsure of herself, but then she approached him with determined steps, "First, I'm going to tell you something I've been wanting to tell you for some time now." Scar raised an eyebrow. A small smile appeared on her face, "And then, I'm going to do something with you I've been wanting to do for quite some time as well." he swallowed, hard.

"Spike, I'm back!" Twilight entered the library, "Have you seen Scar or Purple Haze? They both left rather suddenly..."

Spike came out of the kitchen, "They're both upstairs... I think they're having a fight." he replied with concern in his voice.

"Oh, are they still arguing about that?" she sighed, "That's so sad."

"I don't know what they're arguing about, but they've been in Purple Haze's room for an hour now making a racket!" he shook his head, "I think I even heard them throw over furniture... and you know what's scary? I think Purple Haze is winning."

As if on cue, a shuddering groan could be heard coming from upstairs, "See? She's killing him!"

Twilight looked up the stairs in wonder, whatever was going on up there? "Wait here, Spike. I'll see if I can calm them down..."

Twilight walked upstairs and towards Purple Haze's room, but was stopped from knocking when a moan that sounded very different from anyone fighting could be heard. She eyed the door in wonder, had that been Purple Haze?

Curious to find out what was going on, she put one of her eyes to the keyhole... and recoiled several feet in surprise at what she had just seen.

Spike watched her come down the stairs with the reddest face he had ever seen, her eyes as big as saucers.

"So? Did you get them to stop fighting?" another groan could be heard, "They're still at it? Poor Scar... Maybe I should try and talk with them..."

"No!" Twilight almost shouted but quickly lowered her voice, "Uhmmm... How about we go eat out today?"

"Really?" Spike asked in surprise, "Awesome! Should I get Scar and Purple Haze?"

Twilight blushed even more, "Nope, I think they're not in the mood for food. Come on, let's go." she tried to get him going with a hushed voice.

"Shouldn't I get my scarf from upstairs? It's getting pretty cool in the evening lately..."

"Nope, gotta go..." another groan came from upstairs, "Now!" before Spike could protest, she picked him up and left the library in a hurry, locking the front door for good measure.

Only the maul remained in the main room downstairs, standing in solitude as more noises came from above.

"If there's one thing I know, it's what a pounding sounds like... and that's one for sure." he chuckled happily, "You go, master!"

Chapter 89: Morning after

Twilight watched Scar across the breakfast table with fascination. If it wasn't the fact the he had been the stallion she had 'seen' yesterday evening that amazed her, it was the way he was looking. He looked... spent. His coat was an unkempt mess and his mane wildly tangled.

There was a strange twitch to his eye, and he shuddered from time to time, mumbling to himself as he simply stared at the plate before him. It seemed he had not gotten much sleep last night. No wonder, she thought, they had still been at it when she and Spike had returned to the library.

"Scar?" she spoke up carefully, making Scar's head snap up and stare at her with a distant look, "Are you... are you alright?"

"Scar..." he replied with a strange look, "Did things... many things..." he shuddered, "And couldn't get out... tiny key much too small for hooves..."

"Oh dear..." Twilight eyed him with worry.

"Wasn't all bad." he chuckled lightly, "It had fun, lots of fun... just didn't think Purple Haze could be so... wild." he mumbled, "Really is like gnoll in pony skin..."

As if on cue, Purple Haze entered the kitchen. Unlike him, she looked absolutely lively. She was wearing a bathroom robe and her mane was still wet. Every step she made seemed happy and full of strive as she walked up to the table with a huge and satisfied smile.

"Good morning, Scar..." she snuggled up to his side.

Twilight watched in wonder as Scar first flinched at her touch, but then literally melted all over the breakfast table as she started to caress one of his ears, making him shudder with utter abandonment under her ministrations.

"Yesterday..." she cooed into his ear, "Was beautiful..."

Scar's mumbled something under heavy breaths as one of his legs started to twitch involuntary.

"Wow..." was all that Twilight could muster up as she watched the two.

"Yuck." Spike complained from his seat, "Some of us are trying to eat, thank you very much!"

"So..." Twilight started, "What are you two planning for today?" she silently prayed they weren't going to spend more time in Purple Haze's room. She seriously doubted the walls of the library would survive another night like that.

"Well..." Purple Haze started, "Since I already had my Heart and Hooves Day present..." Scar gave off another unintelligible mumble as she continued her work on his ear, "I think it's time Scar got his..." Twilight could actually see Scar tremble slightly.

Purple Haze pulled out a little box and set it down before Scar, "Happy Heart and Hooves Day!"

Scar picked his head off the table and looked at the little box in wonder, "Is for Scar?" he tried to pick it up with his hooves, but only managed to shuffle it around a bit, "Silly hooves..." he mumbled, slightly frustrated.

"Here, let me give you a hoof." she opened the lid of the box and turned it towards him, letting Scar look at the contents.

Scar nearly held his breath as he observed the little thing inside the box with fascination.

"So? What do you think?" Purple Haze asked anxiously.

"Is beautiful..." he whispered.

Inside the little box, a custom-made eye clap rested on a small pillow. It was shaped to look like a pegasus from the side, made from a deep-black material and lined with gold to give the shape a realistic effect. The pegasus folded almost naturally to take a form appropriate for its function. It looked so delicate and pretty Scar barely dared to breathe on it.

He carefully reached out with his hoof, but found himself unable to take it from the box. An angry snarl escaped his lips as he tried again, "Stupid hooves..." he muttered, "Can't pick up anything!" he silently wished for his claws to return a bit earlier.

"Let me help you." Purple Haze offered and picked up the eye clap, "Now, let's remove the old one first..." she carefully reached up and slowly removed the piece of cloth he had used to cover his blind eye lately.

"Ewww..." Twilight cringed as she saw the scarred remains of his eye, suddenly feeling a bit queasy at the prospect of continuing her breakfast.

Spike however, was staring at it in complete wonder, "That looks so awesome! Why didn't I get one of those?!"

Twilight shot him an annoyed glare, "Because baby dragons aren't supposed to lose an eye battling evil unicorn kings?"

"There!" Purple Haze finished her work on his new eye clap.

"How does it look?" Scar asked with excitement.

"Totally wicked!" Spike gave his approval.

"Just perfect." Purple Haze replied with a smile that grew dreamily when he embraced her for a hug.

"Is perfect present for it." he told her with a big smile, "Now Scar can..." he was interrupted by a knock from the door, "Scar will get it!" he jumped up happily and ran for the door, eager to see which pony would be the first to see his new look. It wouldn't occur to him he still had to figure out how to open doors with hooves until he had actually reached the front door.

"I just hope it's not my sister..." Purple Haze chuckled, "She'd be all over him in a second..." she stalled, "Is it normal for me to worry about something like this?"

"Well he does look pretty good..." Twilight replied before thinking, a bright blush appeared on her cheeks as Purple Haze gave her a smirk and Spike looked up in confusion from his plate, "I just said that out loud... didn't I?"

"He does look pretty cool..." Spike scratched his chin, "Why is your face red?" he gave Twilight a questioning look.

"Spike... why don't you go see what Scar is up to? Maybe he'll need you help."

Spike shrugged, "Sure... I guess... I wonder if he can still lift Tag..." he mumbled to himself as he walked out of the kitchen.

Twilight turned to the still grinning Purple Haze, "Please don't tell anyone I said that..."

Purple Haze chuckled, "Can't blame you for it... and I certainly can't wait what Dash and Rarity are going to say when they see him like that." she smiled, "The potion will last for another twelve hours and I intend to make full use of that time..." she gave Twilight a thoughtful look, "You may have to buy a new bed though, I'm afraid we... kinda broke it."

Twilight cringed as she remembered the scene she had observed through the keyhole.

Chapter 90: New guests

Scar eyed the door knob with a growing feeling of annoyance, no matter how hard he tried, Scar was simply unable to turn it. Another knock could be heard from the other side, causing Scar to mumble a series of curses under his breath. Biting it wouldn't work, the pony teeth were too flat to purchase in the polished surface of the knob. He pondered on the problem, but then a solution came into his mind.

Spike came out of the kitchen in time to see Scar turn around, "What are you doing?"

"Can't grab silly knob, so Scar is going to kick in door instead." he replied as he took aim.

"Dude, Twilight would be furious! Let me get it for you." Spike offered hastily.

Scar looked at the door for a moment before pushing a lock of his tangled mane from his sight, "Spike would? Thanks..."

"No problem, big guy!" Spike walked past him, "Nice mane, by the way." he chuckled as he saw Scar struggle with his unkempt hair.

He gave a sigh, "It is going upstairs to take care of hair..." he headed up the stairs and towards the bathroom, "Silly knobs..." he muttered a final time, "How do ponies grab anything?!"

Spike suppressed a small laugh as he watched Scar leave, the pony version of the gnoll was simply too funny to watch. There was another knock at the door, and a voice could be heard outside, "Helloooo? Anypony home?" there was a short pause, "Are you sure this is the place?"

"It says so on the note..." replied another voice.

"Maybe they're out?" a third voice joined.

"Does it really say 'tree'?" a fourth voice asked.

Spike groaned, he had never liked visitors this early in the morning, "I'm coming!"

The little dragon went to the door, opened it... and found himself at a complete loss for what he saw.

"You know..." Purple Haze said over her cup of cereals, "I feel kinda bad for just pushing myself onto him like that... Did you know he spent all of his bits on that potion?"

"He did? Oh dear..." Twilight replied.

Purple Haze nodded sadly, "I told him he didn't need to be a pony for us to be together, and that he should only buy another if he really wanted to. Right now, I'm just happy we can be together... no matter how."

"That's nice..." Twilight smiled, "Though you could give me a warning if you plan on repeating it."

Purple Haze laughed, "Sorry, I guess it was just the heat of the moment... did you know though that gnolls can..."

They were interrupted in their conversation as Spike returned to the kitchen with a slightly worried look, "Uhm... Purple Haze? You may wanna see this..."

Purple Haze raised an eyebrow and followed him into the main room of the library. What she saw there only made her eyebrow rise up further, "What the..."

The whole space of the main room was packed with pony guards, all of them chatting wildly among one another. She did a quick count, there were at least twenty of them. For a moment, Purple Haze just stared at the collection with surprise. Then, she made out Berryshakes standing among them, "Lieutenant Berryshakes..." she called out to the unicorn, "What in all of Equestria is this supposed to be?"

At her words, the room grew silent and all guards turned to look at her.

Berryshakes saluted with a big smile, "Lieutenant Berryshakes reporting for duty, Marshall. We're the applicants for your new squad!"

"New squad?" Purple Haze gave her a confused look, "What the hay are you talking about?"

Berryshakes simply handed her a scroll with a big smile, Luna's seal a clear sign of its importance. As Purple Haze looked over it though, she couldn't believe what she was reading. Luna was setting her up with her own squad, and the guards gathered inside the library were the applicants for the new squad.

Purple Haze gave a groan, "Sure... tell me about it last, that makes sense... How am I even expected to make my pick without knowing even half of them... I swear, I..." her words were cut off as an angry shout could be heard from above, the guards present looking up in confusion.

"No! No! No! Wasn't supposed to be like that!"

"Scar?" Purple Haze called out, "What happened?" she threw the scroll away and rushed upstairs.

When she arrived at the bathroom, she found a devastated gnoll inside.

Unknown to him, the potion had been intended for ponies, not for a being as heavy and big as him. The result of this change in variables had just shown itself. The gnoll stared at his image in rage, "Potion was supposed to last longer!" he shouted and struck a fist into the wall next to the mirror, making the wood crack.

"Scar wanted to be pony for longer!" he struck the wood again, making splinters fly, "Wanted to be with Purple Haze longer..." he whispered as he hung his head in defeat.

"Scar..." he felt Purple Haze hold his head softly, her presence calming him, "You don't need to be a pony for us to be together..."

"It knows... it knows..." he replied gravely, "But it wanted to see world from pony eyes." a soft laugh escaped him, "Also wanted to have more fun with Purple Haze..."

"Aha! So that's how it is?" she laughed, "Don't you worry, we can still snuggle..."

The gnoll huffed, "Is nice too..." a grin spread his lips, "Though Scar will probably miss..."

"Don't sit on those books! Hey! Watch where you're going!" Twilight's voice could be heard from downstairs, a clear frantic tone to her voice.

Scar picked up his head, "What's going on downstairs? It smells many guard ponies..."

Purple Haze sighed, "No kidding, there's at least twenty of them down there... I don't even know what the princess is thinking some times... It's way too early for this kind of stuff."

"Purple Haze wants them to leave?" Scar asked.

Purple Haze chuckled, "Until I get out of this bathrobe at least... yeah. I swear, they don't even... What are you doing?"

The gnoll stood up from his position, a grim look on his face as he started to head for the door.

"Scar? Where are you going?"

He turned around, "Purple Haze waits here, gets changed and finishes breakfast."

She tilted her head, "What?"

His brow furrowed, "Scar has little patience today, so Scar is going to get Tag and throw ponies out. Purple Haze and Scar deserve some peace too..."

"Don't step on the books!" Twilight could be heard shouting below.

The gnoll's brow furrowed even more, a soft grumble escaping his throat, "Steps on books?" he turned around and headed for the door, "Scar will teach ponies some manners!" he closed the door softly behind him, "Purple Haze can enjoy morning, Scar won't take long."

Purple Haze stood in the bathroom, slightly at a loss in view of the recent events. She eyed herself in the mirror, "I could use another shower... I guess?"

Chapter 91: Selection

"You want what?" Berryshakes tilted her head in confusion. Around her, those ponies that hadn't met the gnoll yet looked around themselves nervously.

"Out. Gnoll wants ponies to leave. Now." Scar set down his maul with an audible thump, making several ponies shudder.

"But princess Luna said we should meet here!" Berryshakes tried to argue with him. Something about his mood unnerved her. She had seen him angry before, but she had never been the object of his anger and it was definitely something else when the gnoll wasn't staring down rats or diamond dogs but them instead.

"Scar doesn't care. Ponies leave now or it makes them leave." the gnoll lifted his lip, exposing his front teeth to them. In the back, a few ponies already started to retreat towards the door with worried looks on their faces.

"But the princess said..."

"Scar doesn't care what Lulu said." the gnoll interrupted her. His eye narrowed, "Scar has no patience today."

"But..."

"Listen, Berryshakes. Scar hates to repeat itself..." a soft grumble escaped the gnoll's throat as he lifted the maul a few inches off the floor, "Scar and Purple Haze work hard, and deserve some peace." the maul dropped onto the floor with a loud thump, making the ponies shudder on their hooves.

"Scar hasn't had enough sleep..." the maul dropped onto the floor again, "Ponies disturb Twilight." again, the maul dropped onto the floor.

The gnoll stepped closer to Berryshakes, "And what is even worse..." his brow furrowed, "Ponies step on books!" this time, the maul actually cracked the floor when the gnoll set it down once more. The first ponies took it as a cue to leave.

Berryshakes frantically tried to come up with a solution. Marshall Purple Haze would probably have been able to calm him down, but she was still upstairs. The gnoll really did seem in a bad mood, and Twilight had been nodding the whole time as he had counted down what angered him.

She looked around herself and at the concerned faces of the remaining guards, they had come for an audition, not to be mauled by the... she froze, and a smirk crossed her features.

"This is a test, isn't it?"

The gnoll raised an eyebrow, "Test?"

"You're trying to scare us to see which one of us has guts, aren't you?" behind her, several guards took up on the idea, determination replacing the worry on their faces.

Berryshakes put her hoof down defiantly, "Well, we're not leaving!" she smirked, "And I know that you would never hurt a pony!" behind her smile, she silently prayed that she wasn't wrong.

Scar stared at her and the remaining guards for a lingering moment, were they really thinking this was some kind of game? He didn't want to be feared by the ponies, but he was no pup either... "Twilight." he spoke up without looking away from Berryshakes.

"Yes?"

"Can Twilight do tag spell?"

Twilight tilted her head, "Sure I can, but why would you..." a small, mischievous smile spread her lips. Ever since Purple Haze had told her about it, she had been craving for a chance to try it out herself. Her smile faltered though, as she realized a small problem, "I can't. Tag doesn't even respond to my spells."

"Mmmm..." the gnoll thought for a moment, "Tag?"

"Yes, master?" save for a few, most of the guards' eyes became big as the realized that a voice was coming from the maul.

"Let Twilight do tag spell." the gnoll said with an even voice.

While most ponies' faces only showed confusion, Berryshakes' face started to become pale. She had heard of the story. But it couldn't be true... surely Purple Haze would never have agreed to something so... and the gnoll... sweat started to form on her forehead as she realized what was about to happen.

"I see... Very well then, mon amour. Let's have that spell so I can finally get to work!"

"You can decide on that?!" Twilight asked with a frown before her horn lit up, "We'll have a talk about that later, you hear me?" she cast the maul an annoyed glare, "Wait... where do you want them to end up?"

A toothy grin appeared on Scar's face, making the guards present shudder in their hooves as they saw his teeth, "It has just the place in mind..."

"Alright, but no wrecking the library." Twilight's horn started to glow, "I just got finished cleaning up down here!"

Sleep. Beautiful, relaxing sleep. It was Luna's favorite time of day. After her duties of the night, a good breakfast and the mind-numbing hearings and councils of the morning, she craved nothing more than her bed.

The deity of the moon cuddled herself deeper into her countless cushions, enjoying the velvety feel of her luxurious bed. This was her moment of peace, her moment of rejuvenation. Her guards would not dare disturb her sleep, and even her sister knew how much she needed to rest at this time of day.

Luna's happy dreams came to an abrupt end though, as a loud puff sounded above her, followed by a yelp and something heavy landing on top of her.

"Who dares interrupt my sleep?!" Luna's head shot up from under her covers, but before she could make sense of the situation, another puff could be heard, something landing on her head a moment after. Then, another puff sounded... followed by another... and another...

Celestia looked up from her cup of tea with worry, whatever was going on in Luna's room? Until a moment ago, everything had been peaceful and quiet, but then, strange noises could be heard through the doors. At first they sounded like popping balloons, then there were yelps, followed by shouts, groans and even louder shouts that only her sister was capable of.

She stood up and headed for the doors, hearing Luna on the other side.

"Get off of me at once! What are you..."

Another puff could be heard, followed by a groan, "Sweet Celestia, that hurt..."

Celestia opened the door, her thoughts full of concern for her sister, but all coming to a halt as she saw the scene before her. There, on Luna's bed, at least a good dozen guards were piled up in a groaning and disorganized heap. Dented helms and chest plates hanging loosely from them. Beneath the guards, and struggling wildly to escape the pile, she spotted a shouting and huffing Luna.

"Sister?" Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow, making Luna freeze, "May I ask, what it is you are doing with those guards... in your bed?"

"I am not doing anything!" Luna shouted with red cheeks.

"I can't feel my head..." a guard from the lower part of the pile groaned.

Another puff sounded through Luna's room, and another guard fell onto the squirming pile, making Luna's eyes bulge under the weight.

In the Ponyville library, five heavily-breathing guards remained, taking cover and hiding behind shelves and furniture, waiting for the gnoll to make his next pick and for them to jump to another cover.

"Let's see now... Who should be next? Eeny meeny miny moe... Catch a pony by its toe..."

"We don't even have toes!" Berryshakes shouted from behind a couch, losing her common sense under the maul's ceaseless blabbering for a second.

"And we have a winner!"

Berryshakes swallowed hard, this was not what she had been expecting this day to turn out at all. But getting tagged was out of the question at this point. Princess Luna was still way more scary than the gnoll when she was angry enough, and Berryshakes was sure that she would be very, very angry by now.

Chapter 92: The squad is formed

When Purple Haze came back down into the main room of the library, Scar was busying himself with a couch while Twilight was watching with some amusement.

"They all left?" she asked, "Thank goodness, I thought..."

She was interrupted as the gnoll's arm shot beneath the couch and pulled out a frantically flailing pony from beneath, holding it up a few feet above the ground like a caught fish.

"Lieutenant Berryshakes?" Purple Haze watched her struggle with surprise.

"Berryshakes." the gnoll nodded, "Also, four others hiding behind shelves..." he pointed towards the shelves with his maul, "Won't take much longer." he started to pull the maul back, Berryshakes' eyes widened.

"Wait!" Purple Haze interrupted him, "You're not going to hit her, are you?"

"Is only tag spell." the gnoll mumbled, "Won't hurt. Only sends them away."

Purple Haze tilted her head with a frown, "Where?"

"Lulu." Scar replied, making Twilight blush and Purple Haze raise an eyebrow. The princess would likely not be amused by this. Also, she'd have to make a choice concerning her squad.

"Alright, alright." Purple Haze sighed, "Put her down. The rest of you, come out of hiding."

Slowly, as the gnoll set down Berryshakes with a humph, the remaining guard ponies started to appear from behind book shelves and curtains, each of them careful not to get to close to Scar and his maul.

"Thanks, Marshall." Berryshakes managed to choke out between ragged breaths. For the rest of her life, she would be careful of making the gnoll angry again, especially so in closed spaces.

Purple Haze looked over the guard ponies, there was Berryshakes, the privates Whistler and Greenfield from Manehatten, also... "You two?"

Cloud Dancer and Star Glaze gave her sheepish looks as they stepped up to her, all the while keeping a good distance to the gnoll.

"When we heard that you were getting your own squad, we just couldn't help ourselves." Cloud Dancer cringed as the gnoll passed him a skeptical look.

"We just didn't think that the trials would be this hard." Star Glaze commented with a sour face.

"Trials?" Scar turned to Purple Haze, "Scar doesn't understand."

Purple Haze gave a sigh, "It seems that princess Luna has set us up with our own squad, and since these five are the only ones remaining... I guess that means they'll form the new squad." At her words, a huge grin started to form on the faces of the new squad members.

"We made it!" Berryshakes gave a shout of joy, "I'm going to become the best tracker ever!" Scar gave her a look, "At least, the best pony tracker..." she chuckled.

Scar shook his head, "Gnoll still doesn't understand. What is pony squad?"

"It means they will support us during our missions." Purple Haze explained, "They'll travel with us and help keep our backs free."

The gnoll scratched his chin in thought, "Is like hunt pack?"

"Something like that, I guess." Purple Haze replied.

Scar gave Berryshakes and the others a questioning look, "So ponies help Scar hunt rats?"

Whistler took a step forward, "Of course! After our mission in Manehatten there is nothing we wish more than to hunt down those terrible creatures!" next to him, Greenfield gave an approving nod.

Scar eyed them for a lingering moment, "So where are rats?"

Berryshakes tilted her head, "What?"

The gnoll gave a huff, "Where are rats? Ponies say they want to hunt rats with Scar, so where are rats?"

"We don't really know anything new about them..." Berryshakes admitted, "We were kind of hoping that Marshall Purple Haze would give us an update once the squad was formed."

"I am sorry to disappoint you, but the princesses haven't given us any updates either." Purple Haze replied, "I was kind of wondering about that anyway... After all, we did take a few prisoners, so surely there is something they found out?"

Scar pondered on this, "So... Lulu and Celestia should know where rats are?" he asked to no one in particular.

"I guess... they should have interrogated the prisoners by now so they ought to have some kind of intel on them..." Purple Haze gave him a dubious look, "What are you doing?"

The gnoll had raised the maul to his chest, and was holding the head towards himself with a grin, "Scar goes to Lulu and Celestia, finds out for himself."

Purple Haze's eyes became wide, "Wait! Don't tell me you're..."

Before she had finished the sentence, the gnoll poked himself with the maul, "Tag..." and was gone with a puff before the maul hit the floor with a loud thud.

Twilight stared at the spot where Scar had been standing only a moment ago, "Did he... did he just..."

"Could someone pick me up? This floor is very cold."

Purple Haze gave a groan, "At least he'll probably manage to get some information..." she turned to the open-mouthed guards, "So... what are we going to call ourselves?"

Star Glaze raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, Marshall?"

"Well, we are going to need a name for the squad, don't we? And since Scar is likely going to be gone for a bit we may as well figure one out now."

"Are you ignoring me?"

Luna and Celestia had just finished getting the suddenly appeared guards out of Luna's chamber when there was another loud puff, "Oh no..." Luna did not even dare look up this time.

Celestia cringed as the gnoll landed on top of Luna with an audible thump, but couldn't help but wonder, what was this all about?

"Blagh, teleportation always makes Scar dizzy..." the gnoll groaned, "At least Scar landed on something soft... Hello, Celestia!" he waved her a happy greeting.

"Hello, Scar." she replied timidly. Beneath Scar, with big eyes and struggling furiously to get free, Luna was close to tears.

Scar looked down, "Oh... Hello, Lulu!"

"Scar..." Luna managed to wheeze out, "Would you please get off me?"

The gnoll chuckled as he got up and helped Luna to her hooves, "How is Lulu today?"

"I could be better, I am afraid." Luna replied as she wobbled from side to side.

The gnoll watched her with amusement before turning to Celestia with a serious face, "Scar comes to talk."

"You are always welcome to visit us." Celestia replied carefully, "But I am supposed to welcome a delegation from the griffons within the next hour... could it wait until after then?"

Scar scratched his head, "Featherclaws? Mmmm... Very well." the gnoll nodded happily, "Gnoll will meet featherclaws first, then Scar and Celestia can talk."

Celestia felt a bead of sweat run down her forehead. For some reason, she was hesitant to bring the gnoll and the griffons together in one room... but before she could form a response, the gnoll was already walking towards the doors with busy strides, "Oh dear..."

Chapter 93: Featherclaws

The aged griffon walked back and forth in the audience hall of Canterlot castle, constantly pacing around the pillars and lost in thought. It wasn't that he was impatient, no... far from it. His age and position within the ranks of the royal families of the griffons was proof of that fact.

Most of the griffons were naturally impatient, and eager to jump into battle to prove their courage and skills... and many of them paid a high price for their impatience. Lord Blackbeak and the other members of the royal families were different, they were strategists... patient and capable to set foolishness apart from bravery. If it weren't for their leadership, the griffon empire would constantly be at war.

The cause for Blackbeak's restlessness were the events of the last weeks, the discovery they had made within their own kingdom... and the information princess Celestia had sent them. If the information she had sent was truly correct, then there would be the need to take action as soon as possible. This was the reason of his visit, to find out more about the troubling set of recent events and find a path of action to take next.

"My lord..." one of his two bodyguards spoke up, "Is everything alright? You seem troubled."

Blackbeak looked up from his pacing with a tired sigh, "I am fine... just lost in my thoughts." he chuckled, "A habit old birds are vulnerable to taking, I am afraid."

"I don't even understand why the princess is making us wait..." his daughter commented with a sour voice as she stretched herself, "We should be back home and hunting those pesky little critters from their holes."

"Patience, Vayu. We need to find out what the princess knows of this threat other than what she wrote us." Vayu scoffed, "Also, I am eager to find out how the ponies managed to hunt down all of them."

"They probably had luck..." Vayu shrugged, "Seriously, can you imagine the ponies being hunters? It's simply ridiculous!"

Lord Blackbeak raised an eyebrow, "And that is exactly what I intend to find out. The ponies may not be hunters, but they still managed to find all of them within such a short time it baffles me. So quiet down and wait for princess Celestia to arrive... and mind your tongue when speaking to her, she may be kind and wise but she is still the deity of the sun." Vayu gave an undignified humph, "Besides, you should be thinking of finding a suitable male soon. It is unheard of for a griffon maiden of your rank to still be unwed at your age."

Vayu's face got defiant, "And what can I do about it when there's nothing but useless chickens in the royal families? Seriously, I could take down any of them with my arms tied behind my back!" she gave her father a triumphant smirk, "And until one of them actually finds the courage to challenge me to a real fight and beats me, I get to do what I want anyway. I want someone who actually knows how to fight, not a coward!"

Blackbeak gave her a disapproving look, "Learn some wisdom child, you'll be responsible for a country one day and that means you'll have to find the dignity to..." he was interrupted by voices coming through the doors of the audience chamber.

"Wait! Stop! You can't just barge in there like that! They are not expecting you!" Blackbeak was surprised to hear Celestia's voice talk in such a frantic tone.

"Is no problem. It knows of featherclaws, father told it all about them. Will greet them and talk... nice." a deep voice rumbled from behind the door and made the griffons feel slightly at unease. Blackbeak listened to the voice in wonder, 'It'? 'Featherclaws'? He deadpanned, it had been decades ago but he had heard that word before... but where?

"Let me talk to them first. I will introduce you to them once everyone is ready. Wait here, please." Celestia could be heard arguing with the other voice.

There was short grumble followed by something heavy flopping down on the floor, "Alright, it will wait outside."

"Thank you."

The griffons continued to watch in fascination as one of the doors was pushed opened quietly, princess Celestia stepped inside, and quickly closed the door behind her before turning to them. "Lord Blackbeak, it is a pleasure to see you again. Even more so in view of the recent events."

"Aye." Blackbeak replied with a smile, "There's nothing like a common threat to put old feuds aside. How are you these days, princess?"

"I am fine, thank you." Celestia answered with a kind voice before letting her gaze travel over Vayu, "It is a pleasure to see you as well, maiden Vayu."

Vayu had been captured by Celestia's appearance until now, her tall form and flowing mane simply fascinating for the young griffon. When Celestia addressed her, she simply nodded like a fool, "Thank you, princess." Blackbeak watched her with a grin, surprised that his daughter for once failed to supply a snappy comment.

Celestia turned back to Blackbeak, "Now... before we start, there is something I would like to explain." the griffons looked at her with expectation, "As you know by now, we have discovered that the Izelim have been active within our country. And sadly, as you had to find out as well, they are also active in the griffon empire."

"I know." Blackbeak frowned, "Although it was rather by chance that we stumbled upon them. It is hard to tell how many of them are still present within our lands, we have only been able to capture a few... and none of them alive, unfortunately."

Celestia nodded, "As I have informed you, we were luckily able to find all of them and were even able to gather some information about their intentions, and they seem very troubling indeed..."

"About that..." Vayu spoke up carefully, "How were you able to find them so easily? We have been searching for weeks now without even finding a hint to their whereabouts."

Celestia turned to her, "That is perhaps, the most important point of what I wish to tell you today... In these past weeks, we have had the assistance of a friend who has been tracking down the rats without rest, and very efficiently at that. Before we continue to discuss this matter, I would like you to meet him." her gaze traveled back to Blackbeak, "If you agree to this, of course."

Blackbeak nodded, "You mean the heavy-sounding fellow outside? I admit, I am very curious to see a pony capable of tracking down those pesky rats. Please, send him in."

Celestia gave him a small smile, "There is one thing you should be aware of though... he is not a pony."

Blackbeak raised an eyebrow, "He's not? Well, what is he then?"

"I believe you'll understand once you meet him..." she turned to the doors and called out, "Scar, please enter."

There was a shift from behind the doors, and slowly, they were pushed open. As the huge frame of Scar stepped into the audience chamber with heavy steps, all of the griffons' jaws present fell open in bewilderment... all except for Blackbeak's. Instead, Celestia was surprised beyond belief to see a huge grin appear on the old griffon's face, "I'll be damned!" he laughed as he looked up at Scar with excitement, "I never thought I'd get to see a gnoll again!"

The gnoll looked down at the griffons with his single, red eye and gave a short nod, "Featherclaws."

Chapter 95: The Hunter squad

The guard watched as Purple Haze and her squad approached, a bit surprised at the fact that they had managed to arrive so quickly after Celestia had sent them her letter... but even more so surprised that they had come out of princess Luna's chambers. There had been a lot of strange sounds coming from her chambers too, accompanied by Luna's angered shouts about reinstating public executions at which the they had picked up their pace considerably.

"Marshall..." the guard saluted, "The princess is waiting for you inside."

"Thank you." Purple Haze returned the salute before giving the entrance to the audience chambers a skeptical look, "What happened to the door?"

A small grin appeared on the guard's face, but before he could answer there was a loud squawk followed by an even louder smack from inside the audience chamber. Purple Haze deadpanned, "Never mind... I can already imagine."

As she and the others entered the chamber, they were surprised to find Celestia sitting next to an amused-looking old griffon. A few feet to the side, two other griffons watched with horrified faces at what was happening in the middle of the large room. There, seated upon the missing door with a smug look on his face was Scar... and pinned down under the door, there was yet another griffon with strongly ruffled feathers and looking like she had just gone through hell.

"Get off of me! What are you doing?" she snarled from beneath the door.

"Scar pinned featherclaw down..." the gnoll chuckled, "So it wins."

"Alright, alright! I get it! Now get off, you're crushing me!"

The gnoll got off the door and lifted it from the griffon with a chuckle, "Was good effort though..." he spotted Purple Haze, "Hello!" he waved her happily.

"What are you doing?" Purple Haze gave him a scolding look, "You can't just go around and smack down diplomats! You're going to apologize this instant!"

Scar simply shrugged, "Featherclaw asked for it."

Purple Haze helped the griffon to her feet, "You actually asked him to a fight?"

"I may have underestimated him a bit..." she answered as she stood on shaky feet, "Next time will be different though!"

"Sure..." Purple Haze shook her head with a sigh before saluting to princess Celestia, "Princess, Marshall Purple Haze and the Hunter squad reporting for duty!" the members of the squad saluted.

"Thank you, Marshall." Celestia replied, slightly amused by their choice of name, though it did summarize their function quite well, "I am surprised you arrived here so quickly."

"When you asked for our immediate presence, we used Tag for quick transport..." Purple Haze cringed as Celestia raised an eyebrow, "Though I am afraid we disturbed princess Luna's rest while doing so."

"I can imagine." Celestia replied with a dry voice.

Purple Haze turned back to Scar, "Before I forget it, Twilight is going to send Tag here as well. Should be any moment now that..."

As she spoke, there was a flash of light and a small puff as the maul appeared in mid-air above Scar, "Whoopee! Greatness has arrived!" Celestia gave a groan of dismay as the gnoll caught the maul before it could drop down, "Oh, master! You simply can not imagine how lonely I was among all those ponies! No sense for beauty I tell you! It was dreadful! Simply terrible without you!"

"Yes, yes... Scar knows." the gnoll sighed while the griffons watched in utter disbelief.

"Did that hammer just talk?" Vayu asked with a baffled face.

"Is Tag." the gnoll showed her the maul, "Gnoll uses for smashing rats... Would have used for fight too, but door also did well..."

"What is that I hear?" the maul piped up with a mortified voice, "You were in a fight? Without me but instead with nothing to swing but that dreadful door?! Oh, the shame I feel right now is unimaginable! The suffering is insufferable! I..."

"Tag..." the gnoll interrupted him with a tired voice.

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Of course, master."

Satisfied for the moment, Scar put the hammer over his shoulder and turned to Vayu, "If featherclaw wants to fight again Scar is ready... but it will use Tag next time."

Vayu swallowed hard as she watched the gnoll lift the terrifying maul with ease, the hit from the door alone had already sent her flying and had made her head spin but a hit from that thing would probably be enough to crack her skull... "I think I'll pass."

The gnoll nodded, "Good."

"If everyone is ready..." Celestia spoke up with a slightly strained voice while Blackbeak chuckled to himself softly, "I would like to continue this meeting."

When everyone had settled down and found a seat, princess Celestia continued, "Now, as all of you are aware we have been able to track down all of the Izelim within these last few weeks." the ponies nodded, "Sadly though, we were as yet not able to fully determine what they are planning. It seems they only give their troops as scarce information as possible. We did however, find out that they have a command center somewhere within the griffon empire."

Blackbeak spoke up, "We found them more by accident than by luck, but only after receiving a letter from the princess did we realize the severity of the situation. We don't know yet what they're doing in our empire, but taking account what you found out, it must be something big." his eyes narrowed, "When we dug further into the subject it turned out that griffons had been going missing under unknown circumstances for quite some time now... and the thought that there is a full nest of them somewhere in our home is even more worrying."

Celestia nodded, "And that is why we have come together here today..." she turned to Purple Haze, "Marshall Purple Haze and Scar have proven that they are more than capable of tracking down the Izelim, and since time seems of essence here we have decided to offer our aid to the griffons. Marshall Purple Haze, I wish for you and your squad to travel to the griffon empire as a tracking unit and help them find the Izelim hideout." her gaze traveled to the gnoll, "That is of course, if Scar agrees to this."

The gnoll gave a short and grim nod, "Scar goes to smash rats... will be fun."

"And you, Marshall?"

Purple Haze grinned, "Of course, princess. There's nothing me and my squad wants more than hunt them down." the other members of the squad gave their approval.

Blackbeak nodded, "You'll have the full support of one of our regiments waiting for your word while you're at it. Once you find where they're hiding, the full force of the griffon army will come down on them like a storm." he scratched his chin, "However, we should have a griffon accompany you at all times... it will make things a lot simpler and avoid unneeded conflicts..."

"I'll do it." Vayu spoke up immediately.

Blackbeak gave her a surprised look, "You? Daughter, I am not sure that..."

"I know our lands as good as anyone else." Vayu interrupted him, "And the citizens know and trust me as well. Also, we won't run into any problems crossing the borders between the different territories should we need to as long as I am in their company. The griffon lords would never dare to hinder the daughter of a council member."

"You're right, but still... I don't know if this is the right step." Blackbeak frowned and contemplated her words for a moment, "I will allow it, but only under the condition that you follow the Marshall's command... I don't want you to risk your head and just storm into battle." he turned to Purple Haze, "Is that acceptable for you as well?"

Purple Haze nodded, "I have no doubt that she will help our work... but you should ask him too." she pointed to Scar.

Blackbeak nodded, "Of course... Scar, do you agree as well?"

The gnoll gave Vayu a scrutinizing look, "Featherclaw still needs to learn a lot..." Vayu flinched at the memory of their fight, she had indeed looked like an amateur, "But if Purple Haze agrees, then so will Scar." he gave the Vayu a meaningful look, "Know though that if featherclaw misbehaves, gnoll will teach featherclaw some manners."

"I'll be on my best behavior." Vayu grinned, thrilled at the prospect of going on an adventure with the walking mountain of teeth, claws and muscles.

Chapter 96: Departure

He watched the scenery pass beneath him slowly, perched on the stern of the airship like a monument waiting for time to pass... which essentially was what he always did. He was Tag, weapon to Scar the gnoll, and as he watched the lands pass so far beneath him his thoughts went to his own past.

Untold to anyone, he was more closely related to Sombra than most could imagine. He was a creation of all those things Sombra's hate had shut away so long ago... all the happy memories, emotions, his childishness, his hopes and wishes, love... his smiles. Everything that had once given Sombra's soul the slightest speck of light had been pushed away by an unforgiving hate... and he had hidden from that darkness for so long it had almost made him forget himself.

And all of these things, everything that Sombra had banished from himself... all these things had waited for a chance to escape... The chance had come in the form of a maul impacting on Sombra's horn.

That short moment had been enough, and all those little but so very important things had escaped into the weapon in an instant, taking a resting place within wood and stone... mixing with the strange and unconscious memories of the maul to form a new consciousness... Sir Tag.

It felt strange, now that he actually thought about it... how high must the chances have been for things to turn out like this? Then again, he was thankful for his new purpose. Tag shivered as he remembered the first time his master gave him a swing... the roar of the air as he pushed it away... the feel of the impact... and the satisfying sound of things breaking.

Tag wondered if he should be aiming for something more than just being a maul, maybe he could use magic as well? If he would have had a head he would have been shaking it. No matter what he had been before, he was Sir Tag now, and he would concentrate fully on satisfying his master. The feeling of being useful was more than enough to fill his heart with bliss, even more so if he could crush bones and flesh while doing so.

The maul reached a conclusion which he had made unknowingly already, he was a tool... and he loved it. He was his master's weapon, and that was all he wanted to be.

His master... He gave a silent laugh as he remembered their departure from Equestria a few days ago. It had been full of tears and promises, everyone present saying their farewells to their friends and loved ones... even Spike had come to say his farewells and had drawn him a lovely new mustache with water-proof paint... which had moved Tag to absolutely masculine tears of gratitude.

But nothing had compared to the amusement he had gotten when it was his master's turn to board the airship. The gnoll had simply outright refused to step on it, and not even Celestia's kind words or Purple Haze's promises had been able to persuade him to change his mind. In the end Purple Haze actually had to drag him onto the ship by one of his ears... which had gotten her quite a reputation amongst the crew of the ship and the griffons. They all kept their heads low whenever she was around from that point on.

On a special request, his master had been kind enough to place him here so he could enjoy the view. After all, it wasn't likely to be a view he'd get to see often in his existence. It was a breathtaking experience for him... all those little things waiting to be crushed... all the little houses, barns and rocks waiting to be reduced to rubble... it was lovely. For a moment Tag felt tempted to fall off the airship and onto a small house below.

His master though, was anything but happy with the situation. The moment the airship had taken off, the gnoll had been miserable. He stayed inside his cabin most of the time, hidden under his sheets as he fought the battle against his dizziness and only coming out when it was absolutely necessary. Tag couldn't help but chuckle about it. Scar had no problem at all with scaling walls or mountain cliffs, but if there was nothing for him to hold on to, it was a completely different matter.

So Tag spent his time standing on the stern of the airship, watching his surroundings and lost in his own thoughts. It never got boring though, there was always something happening on the large deck to watch.

Most of the time the members of the Hunter squad used their free time to train, doing workouts, simulating different battle situations or simply sparing with one another to hone their skills. It was amusing to watch, their movements always served to remind Tag just how beautiful he must look when the gnoll was swinging him. None of the ponies would ever be able to attain such grace. There was, of course an exception... actually two of them... Vayu and Purple Haze.

The two of them were constantly sparring with one another, up to a point were Tag wasn't sure if they weren't actually fighting. Both of them were impressive fighters, quick and agile... and stubborn beyond good health. Tag couldn't help but wonder if there was an untold conflict between the two of them.

Once, when the weather had been especially tranquil the gnoll had actually stepped onto the deck while the two of them had been sparring, whether out of boredom or out of curiosity Tag could not decide. But the moment the two females saw him watching, they had gone about their sparring with a vigor that had left the other members of the squad in a baffled state. Both of them had been on the verge of simply collapsing where they stood at the time Scar left again.

It made Tag wonder... maybe Vayu was jealous because Purple Haze and Scar shared a cabin? Or did they just not like one another? He gave a silent sigh, it really didn't matter as long as his master wasn't troubled by it... or did it?

The maul pushed the thought aside as he watched the sun touch the horizon and bask the sky in a beautiful crimson color. He enjoyed these moments of silence, he really did... Peace always preceded war, so if the whole week it would take them to arrive in the griffon empire would be this peaceful, then a grand battle would surely be waiting for them at the end of their journey.

Tag watched the world pass around him... This was his destiny, his calling... It would be a true adventure for all of them. The Hunter squad was going to the griffon empire, and the rats would know his and his master's name... and Tag was intent on making it go down into history. He would make his master proud of him.

"Onwards we go..." Tag shouted into the wind with joy, "Onwards to glory!"

In the bowels of the airship a heap of blankets was snoring softly, rising in sync with the gnoll's slow breathing. In between his snores Scar twitched for a moment, looked up and around himself half awake before mumbling, "Shut up, Tag." and returned to sleep once more.

Somewhere in the back of his mind and hidden from the rest of the world, a soft feeling of melancholy started to spread. His journey would take him close to his old home, to the mountains where his old clan now slept... the place he had dreaded to return to for so long now... A soft sigh escaped Scar's sleeping form, he had a new clan now... it would be alright. Everything was fine.

Back in the Canterlot castle, a lone door was standing guard in its original position once more, guarding the entrance to the audience chamber in lonesome solitude. A silent thought passed through the wood unnoticed, more of an emotion than an actual thought, "That was fun."

Author's Note

With this, the first book of The Reader is finished. I thank all of those who read it so tirelessly and pushed me to keep on writing. All of your comments and your advice made this happen, and I thank you for it with all my heart.

I'll spend some time on my other stories from here on, I want to finish at least on more story before committing myself to a sequel. But who knows... I'm an impulsive person and if I feel the urge to write, I'll write. Simple as that. So keep those eyes open, there's more to come yet for sure. ;)

Again, a big thanks to all of you. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

Bonus: Behind the Scenes!

This is the second part of the mini-bonus series. The first one can be found in the watcher, go look it up ^^

"Five, four, three, two... we're on!"

Thundering applause sounded throughout the studio as the camera whirled over the audience and came to rest upon a broadly smiling unicorn sitting at a large table, "Live from On Air Studios, it's Behind the Scenes! I am your host Starlight and... we're back!"

The audience gave another round of applause, "That's right! After a whole month of absence we are back on the air at a brand new studio, with an expanded crew and a brand new show that will amaze you!" Starlight chuckled, "As you all know, the incident that involved a full-out battle between princess Celestia and the Shadow Emperor himself left our old studio a smoking ruin. But we never stopped working and dreaming! Thanks to some very generous funding from G. Noll, we are back to give you all the behind the scenes information you desire!"

Starlight turned her head as the picture jumped between cameras, "Now, before we welcome our special guests for today... Here's our epic newsflash, hosted by the one and only... Shadow Emperor!"

The picture jumped again, this time showing the purveyor sitting at a different table with a map of Equis on the wall behind him, "Newsflash! The negotiations at this year's annual trade council have been overshadowed by the appearance of documents suggesting that Celestia has gained another three pounds! Celestia has yet to make a statement concerning these, but bakeries have already started to stock up on cake supplies." he held up a key chain, "In other news, somebody lost these in the void. Bearing aside the fact that something like this should usually be impossible, would the owner of these keys please contact me at their earliest convenience?"

The purveyor put the key chain away again, "And now, for the word from the streets we go live to our on the scene reporter... Aergad, Death incarnate of Equis." he turned his head as a small screen came to life behind him, an air picture showing a car chase on the highway below, "What do you have for us, Aergad?"

The picture switched to full screen as the camera zoomed in on the chased vehicle, "Zaeres, I am reporting live from within the suspects' car! The seats are torn, it smells like rotten olives... and there is an unidentifiable stain on the guy's jacket next to me. Does the air squad have a good picture?"

"We've got you on screen, boss." a static voice answered.

"What the hell?! How did this guy get in here?!" an agitated voice could be heard screaming in surprise, the car almost coming off the road as the driver pulled on the wheel in shock.

"The driver appears to be losing control of the vehicle, Zaeres."

"What's going on back there?! Where did that skeleton come from?!"

"Why is it holding a mike?!"

"One moment, Zaeres... it appears that something is about to happen..." the voice became muffled, "Just... gotta lean forward a bit... hold still for a moment!"

"The fuck?! Get that finger out of my..." the words were cut off and the car's horn flared to life.

"Yes, it appears that the driver has just suffered from an unexpected heart attack..." the car started to lose control, "Wait for the flip!" screaming could be heard as the car started to tilt.

The picture sprang back to the purveyor in the studio, "And in the latest news, a police car chase that started this morning came to a tragic end as the fleeing suspects suddenly and unexpectedly lost control of their vehicle and crashed. Though miraculously no civilians were harmed in the crash, none of the fleeing criminals survived. Back to you, Starlight."

Starlight came on screen again, "And now, as a special preview... it's gardening with Krieg!"

The picture jumped again, showing a magnificent garden filled with roses and blooming flowers. Slowly, old English font started to appear, spelling 'Gardening with Krieg' in bold letters. As the letters disappeared again, the picture slowly swayed to the side to show a twitching Krieg standing on the green lawn.

"FIRST! DIG!" Krieg screamed at the top of his lungs and started to hammer his buzz axe into the ground, ripping out chunks of grass and earth until a huge hole had been opened up, "PLANT THE SEED!" Krieg ran off the picture, returning a moment later dragging a blood-soaked and bound-up carpet with two feet sticking out one end.

With a small grunt, Krieg pushed the bulging, bloody package into the hole. "NEXT! WATER THE FLOWERS!" Krieg gave an insane laugh and brought forth a red canister, emptying the contents into hole with a mad chuckle, "DON'T FORGET TO FERTILIZE!" he pulled out a match, lighted it and chucked it into the hole. Immediately, black smoke and flames started to rise, "NOTHING LIKE A GOOD BARBEQUE TO GREET YOUR NEIGHBORS! HA HA HA!"

Krieg turned to face the camera, his blood-shot eye staring at the watchers, "NEXT WEEK! PUPPIES!"

The picture jumped again to show the purveyor once more, "Newsflash! The suburban show 'Gardening with Krieg' is looking for a new director. Applicants are reminded to bring gasoline and a carpet to the auditions."

Another switch of the picture and Starlight was back on the screen, "Well now, we certainly hope your garden will not need this gardener's attendance..." her face sagged a bit, "Ever."

The camera changed its angle, "But now, its time to meet this weeks special guests! Coming straight from Ponywood... they stared in a story that touched the hearts of countless fans... It's Scar and Purple Haze from 'The Reader'!"

Under the thundering applause of the audience, two figures entered the studio; one a purple pegasus with bat wings, the other a huge gnoll with black fur and a single, red eye.

"Welcome, welcome!" Starlight greeted both of her guest and showed them to their respective seats, "We are so excited to have you finally here!"

"Glad to be here!" Purple Haze gave Starlight a warm smile as she took her seat.

"And we are especially happy that Scar could make it too." Starlight chuckled, "As I understand it you had some trouble at the airport customs."

The gnoll sighed, "Was ridiculous, wanted to put Scar in box! Like dog!" his brow furrowed slightly, "In hindsight, should have taken box. Seat was small... and old lady next to it smelled like egg sandwich after day in the sun..." he shuddered, "And food was terrible."

Purple Haze shook her head, "You always complain about the food."

"Does not!"

"Oh, come on. You complain on the set all day long!"

"Is not like Scar has complicated needs." the gnoll replied.

"Really?" Purple Haze raised an eyebrow, "You wanted a live gazelle."

Scar shrugged, "It wanted fresh food." he turned to Starlight, "Does Starlight have fresh food?"

Starlight put on a nervous smile, "I'm afraid the zoo rejected our request..." the gnoll raised an eyebrow, "But we have some sandwiches in the back!" she gave a nervous laugh, "Anyway..." she turned her attention back to Purple Haze, "We were quite surprised to hear that your name really is Purple Haze. Did your military career in the night guard influence G. Noll's decision to change your character's name?"

"Well..." Purple Haze cringed, "I really wasn't in the night guard for that long, but the basic training really helped with the work... oh, and princess Luna was kind enough to let me keep the bat wings." she chuckled, "She's a big fan of the show. But yeah, he was happy to have me on board..." Purple Haze shook her head, "Though of course, we disagreed on a few things."

Starlight leaned forward with a big grin, "May we know some of them?"

"He wanted to go with the vampire pony thing at first..." Purple Haze laughed, "Can you imagine that? He even suggested that my hair should sparkle!"

The gnoll scratched his chin, "Sparkly Purple Haze? It would have liked to see that!"

"MmmMmm..." Purple Haze gave him a knowing gaze, "I can imagine..."

"Now..." Starlight turned to Scar, "There is of course no real need to introduce you to the audience! I take it that you already had a very large fan community before your work in the show."

Scar made an abashed face, "Ah... Scar did a few things here and there..."

"A few things?!" Purple Haze gave him an incredulous look, "You're a professional wrestler! I watched you battle it out with the entire Clovenhoof clan when I was still a recruit!"

"Nice family, Scar visits for pool party now and then." the gnoll smiled and closed his good eye, "Good workout too, always fit."

"I can imagine that your work as a wrestler helped a lot with the action scenes." Starlight spoke up, "Though a few weeks ago, we had to learn that even good preperation does not protect you from incidents."

Scar gave her a curious look, "What does Starlight mean?"

Next to him, Purple Haze was starting to grow pale.

"You know, a certain incident involving sharp objects?" Purple Haze was starting to sink into her chair.

"Scar isn't sure what Starlight means..."

Starlight smirked, "Remember when G. Noll though it would be a good idea for Purple Haze to carry a spear?"

The gnoll frowned, "Spear? Scar doesn't remember..." his expression suddenly turned grave and his tone dropped considerably, "Oh, wait. Yes. Scar remembers..." he gave Purple Haze an accusing stare,

"I said I was sorry!" Purple Haze cringed, "Pleeeease!"

"For those wondering what we are talking about, let us show you a clip taken on the set a few weeks back!" Starlight smirked into the camera as another screen popped up.

For a short moment the screen was dark, then a video was played... showing a screaming gnoll running circles around a set of Ponyville with a cringing Purple Haze in the back that was still holding a spear.

"RIGHT IN EYE! SCAR IS BLIND! AAARGH! SCAR TOLD PURPLE HAZE NOT TO SWING IT LIKE THAT!"

"Oh, god! I'm Sorry! I'm so sorry!" she started to run after him, "Let me take a look, it's probably just a scratch!"

"Stop running with spear!" the gnoll shouted back at her.

The video stopped and the picture returned to the studio, where the gnoll was using his remaining eye to stare daggers at Purple Haze, "Scar remembers very well." Purple Haze cringed, "What did Scar tell Purple Haze?"

"Not to run around with the spear?" she hung her head.

"And what did Purple Haze do?" his tone was like that of a father scolding a child.

"I ran with the spear." she replied with a sullen voice.

The gnoll shook his head with a huff, "Author decided to drop idea of Purple Haze carrying spear after that... while Scar still had one eye left." he gave Purple Haze a small nudge and chuckled, "Is alright though, Scar and Purple Haze are still good friends."

"As long as you can still laugh about it..." Purple Haze shook her head with a sigh and turned to Starlight, "You can't even begin to imagine the state of panic everyone was in! The whole crew and the hospital were in a state of chaos! Especially when princess Luna arrived! I honestly feared I was going to end up in jail! It was the first time I got to meet his family too..."

"Not the best situation to meet them, I can imagine." Starlight chuckled.

"Wasn't that bad." the gnoll shrugged, "Scar's kids loved Purple Haze. So Scar had her babysit."

"You babysat his kids?"

Purple Haze hung her head, "Yeah... all nineteen of them." she shuddered at the memory, it had been a sleepless night... but it definitely beat getting glares from his wife.

"It is good to see that your relationship has survived this incident, not to mention it gave birth to one of the most dramatic scenes of the whole series!" Starlight smirked, "Which brings us directly to our next topic; Sir Tag. This newest addition to the story has taken the fan base by storm... and has elevated the speaker voicing Sir Tag to unknown heights!"

"Oh, yeah..." Purple Haze laughed, "I heard he got himself a show of his own!" she thought for a moment, "I think he reads poems..."

"Shall we... have a look?" Starlight put on a mischievous smirk, "By chance, we happen to have a clip from one of his shows at the ready."

Scar leaned towards Purple Haze and whispered to her, "Scar doesn't think is really by chance..."

"Just play along with it..." Purple Haze returned the whisper, "Also, I'm curious to see what Humphrey is up to."

In Canterlot castle, Celestia frowned slightly, "Lord Humphrey has a show of his own? How does it come that I do not know of this?"

"Aren't you going to say anything about the fact that Zaeres has just called you fat on television?" Luna smirked at her sister as she saw a flush appear on her cheeks.

"We... came to an agreement after the last... incident." Celestia mumbled. The agreement was actually more of a blackmail, entailing that as long as Celestia would leave him to his new hobby, certain pictures of her would never reach public eyes. "Hush now, they're playing the clip!"

"Welcome, to Subtle Emotions..." an elder man with a huge mustache and a silver monocle sitting in a large chair appeared on screen, "I am Lord Humphrey and today, we will indulge ourselves with one of my latest excursions into the fascinating world of poetry."

Lord Humphrey opened a large book and started to read with a quiet voice, "What quiet a notion travels the night? What subtlest of dreams shimmers so bright? Does thou not see what glory I carry? How I drive out the darkness with the wisdom I use to parry?"

He suddenly jumped up from his chair, throwing the book onto the ground in the process and knocking over his chair, "Smash! Smash! SMAAAASH! Went the hammer! Tear down the ribbons on your banner!" he held up his hands above him like a tower and his voice became quiet once more, "Such subtlest of notions brings forth destruction... Does thou not recognize my construction?"

The video carried on for a moment as Lord Humphrey stared into the camera with a frenzied look before a strange smile found its way onto his face, "And that, my dear children concludes our first reading. Join us next week for more subtle emotions."

Once more, the picture returned to the studio, showing a clearly confused Scar and Purple Haze, "That..." Scar spoke up with a raised eyebrow, "Was weird."

"Gerald is going to throw a fit when he sees this..." Purple Haze groaned.

Starlight was about to make a comment, but was interrupted as the image suddenly jumped to the purveyor, "Newsflash just in! Lord Humphrey's show has alicorn sisters pee themselves with laughter! Butlers and servants alike shake with fear as castle shakes with laughter."

The image jumped back to Starlight, "Thanks, Zaeres. That was... informative." she sighed, "It does beat Stormhorn's show though, which surprisingly has become a favorite among lonely housewives." she turned to the side, "Can we get a clip from his show too?"

A short screen of black, then the minotaur deity appeared on screen... dressed in a brightly-colored headband and matching sweatbands.

"Work it ladies!" he shouted into the camera as he did splits, "Feel that fat burn away! The deity of power compels you to lose that excess weight and reinvigorate those flabby thighs!" he flexed his muscles, "Oh, yes! Feel the burn, baby! Touch yourselves, you are beautiful and you deserve it!"

The image returned to Starlight and her two guests.

"That's what he does now? I thought he was working on the watcher series?" Purple Haze asked with clear shock.

"Off-screen work!" the purveyor called in from the side before muttering, "I have got to get me one of those headbands..."

Scar gave a nod of approval, "Good workout! Should go and wrestle with Scar sometime!"

"Well, there you have it!" Starlight slapped her hoof on the table, "The gnoll approves! So feel the burn! And on that bombshell... it's time to end the show! Give it up one more time for our great guest stars... Scar and Purple Haze!"

A round of applause accompanied the records as the show came to an end, "Join us again next week, for more news from... Behind the Scenes!"

Author's Note

I honestly wanted to turn this into a story of its own, I really did. But... metafics aren't allowed :(
Anyway, that leaves me open to attend other projects... maybe I'll start working on a collab story...
Hope you stay fit and well!

Chapter 1: In the light of a candle

In the Canterlot library, a figure loomed over a table basked in the flickering light of a single candle. Sitting on a stool seemingly far too small for its bulking form, huge paws with sharp claws carefully turned the pages of a small book lying on a table.

"Th...the pony sss... the pony is eaaating an abbbll... mmm," the figure scratched its chin as it hunched closer over the book, engrossed in the seemingly endless words. "The pony is eating an... aaaappe..., aaep..."

"Apple." a female voice stated from behind.

The figure nodded "Mmmh, yes yes, APPLE! The pony is eating an apple!" the figure grinned at its success, showing a set of huge canine teeth. Suddenly realizing that it was not alone it jolted up and whirled around, eyes wide in shock and surprise.

There before it and almost a head smaller stood princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and deity of the sun. Before Celestia stood something which looked akin to a diamond dog, but its hind legs were longer and straighter, the arms not as thick and the head more resembled a wolf than a dog. In addition its sheer size and almost straight posture dwarfed the hunched appearance of any diamond dog. Between the deep-black fur two red eyes stared at the princess, almost hidden beneath the dirty and ragged hood of its torn and tattered shirt.

And so the two creatures stared at one another, one in shock and one in wonder. Celestia was the first to break the silence, "Your 'shirt' is on fire..." she flatly stated.

The wolf, suddenly realizing that his shirt had gotten too close to the candle and indeed was on fire frantically started to pull it off. "Nononono..." he cursed as he ripped off his shirt and started beating it on the floor to extinguish the flames. And then it hit him.

He stopped and turned his head to look at the princess again, who was now giving him with a very strange look. "Your back… what happened?"

"No..." it was almost a whisper and his instincts finally took control. With a strong flex of two powerful legs he made a wild dash for the nearest window, his speed shaking the books on the shelves as he passed. Just as he was about to reach the window though he suddenly stopped in mid-air and slowly started to drift back towards the princess, a faint white glow surrounding him and the alicorn's horn.

"NO!" he started to struggle wildly against his holds, but to no avail as he drifted closer towards the princess. "NO! LET IT GO! IT HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG! LET IT GO! LET IT..." his mouth was forced shut by the glow as he was now hovering before her.

"I mean you no harm, gnoll." his eyes squinted in surprise, how did she know what he was? "I only wish to talk with you, after that I promise to let you go unhindered. Is that alright?" he looked at her with doubt, but what else could he do? He slowly nodded, maybe he could try to make another dash for the window. "And when I set you down, please do not immediately try to run again." this time his reaction was different, a threatening rumble escaped his throat as his hair stood on all ends. "Do not worry, I did not enter your mind and I will not do so... unless necessary. All I wish to do is to talk with you. But know this, I will know if you lie." he had somewhat relaxed but still looked at her with weary eyes.

The aura disappeared, and his shirt drifted toward him. He grabbed it out of the air and held it close, inspecting the damage of the fire. "You have been hurt..." he looked at her, "Both mentally judging by your reaction and physically judging by the scars on your back. Who did this to you?" He was quiet at this, and simply put his shirt back on, all the time keeping an eye on her. "Please tell me, I need to know what happened."

"It learned..." he quietly stated as he started to pick up the books that had fallen on the ground during his attempted escape. "It first learned in cage, pony would make it work, if not work hard enough then work by whip or stick. Then it ran, and ran, until paws bleed..." he paused to look at his paws absent minded, there were scars on them. "Back then paws much smaller..." he placed another book in the shelf.

"Then many pony hunt it, say it kill little pony... it did not, but ponies no care. It hungry and dumb, so it went in cage again..." his breath became a bit heavier. "Pony think it know where little pony, so they get magic pony... and magic pony... rip mind... many times many nights... then it ran again... pony hunt with fire... and burnt it." he looked at her, she seemed motionless but her eyes showed her inner turmoil.

He shook his head and continued, "But it learned, it learned much..." he turned to her again, "No trust pony, no trust magic..." his eyes drifted towards the window, "Sun come soon, it leaves." he started to walk towards the window.

"Why did you come here?"

He stopped and looked back at her, "First it watched from forest, then it smell books... and it remembered there be signs in them. No pony ever come here, and it is good at climbing, so it come. It hid in forest when sun there and came when sun gone. It learns to draw and speak pony signs."

"Why?"

"So it can be more than just it."

There was a pause as the two once again looked at one another. He huffed once, "It go now." he turned towards the window.

"You may come again if it is your wish. I will make sure that no pony will be here at night. I would like for you to come again to learn and talk with me." he turned to her in surprise, "You will come again?" He didn't answer, he only looked at her in wonder for a few more seconds. Then, without a sound he vanished through the window and into the night.

Celestia stood alone for a moment as she lingered where he had disappeared. Could her own subjects be capable of such cruelty? There had been only truth in the gnoll's words, but that only meant he believed it to be true. She remembered a time when creatures such as him still had been a common sight, and before she set off herself to raise the sun and to see her sister she whispered to herself, "I hope..."

Chapter 6: Morning surprises

Under the meaningful glares of Purple Haze, Twilight had reduced her questions to a minimum and the gnoll had cautiously returned into the library. Still, her curiosity was boiling as the gnoll inspected the contents of the shelves. "Soooo..." she stepped a bit closer to him, he didn't seem to take notice, "Can I ask you some questions?" Purple Haze was getting ready to intervene.

"No, sun comes soon and Scar is tired. It sleeps first, then talking pony can ask it questions."

"So you sleep at daytime? Spike!"

The little dragon was already scribbling on a piece of parchment, "On it Twilight."

Scar nodded, "It sleeps while sun is out, hunt is more simple in dark."

"How do you hunt in the dark?"

He shifted his attention to the little pony, "It has good nose and ears, also can see good in dark. It finds prey and crushes bones with teeth. Where does it sleep?"

Twilight ignored his question, "What do you eat?" he eyed her for a second, did she not hear his question?

"It hunts all things smaller than it. Also eats roots and fruit it can find in forest. Now where does it sleep tonight?"

Spike stepped up, "Well we only have a single guest room, and the bed is a bit small for your size."

Twilight was still questioning him, "Did you ever eat a sentient being?" Purple Haze was carefully watching the situation.

"Gnoll eats no talking things, is wrong." Scar turned to Purple Haze, "Shiny pony takes pony bed, Scar sleeps here, in corner."

Spike took a break in his constant writing, "Well the library is closed the next few days anyway, so I guess it's ok. I can get you some blankets if you want."

Scar nodded, "It needs many blanket, enough to cover it. Scar needs sleep."

Twilight was still going on, "So you never ate a pony? Would you if you were very hungry?" he was slowly getting annoyed again.

He bent down to her, making sure she could see his face while he talked to her, "Scar. Does not. Eat. Talking things. And no ponies. Is wrong. But it bites when it loses patience."

Purple Haze quickly jumped in between them, "Alright, thanks for answering all those questions Scar. I'm sure Twilight will leave you to get some sleep now, won't she?"

Twilight nervously eyed the gnoll, "Yes, of course. I guess we can continue tomorrow evening."

Soon everyone had gone to their respective beds. Purple Haze, being nocturnal herself, took the guest room upstairs, while Scar remained downstairs in the library. Spike had brought all the spare blankets he could find, and the gnoll had piled them up in a corner and dug himself completely beneath them. To any unknowing guest he would simply look like a huge pile of dirty laundry.

And so, the gnoll spent his first night in Ponyville.

The next morning Spike found Twilight creeping around the gnoll's sleeping place, "Uhmm, Twilight? What are you doing?"

She was inspecting the pile of blankets from all sides, hoping to catch a glimpse of Scar. "This is so exciting Spike! We have a real gnoll living in our library! Think of all the things we could learn! All the things he could show us!"

Spike shook his head, "I'm pretty sure he'll show you his teeth if you wake him up."

Twilight considered this, "That,... may be a point."

Spike led her away from the pile, "Come on, lets eat breakfast."

They were doing the dishes when Spike suddenly looked up, "Do you hear something?"

Twilight held her head up, "I don't... wait... is that?" the sound of rushing wind and screaming was becoming louder. Twilight sighed, "It's just Dash doing her morning stunts. Did you leave the window open Spike?" Spike chuckled. It had almost become a routine these days. Every few weeks Rainbow Dash would come up with some ridiculous new stunt and end up crashing through the same window of the library again and again.

After the first three times Twilight and Spike had simply taken to opening the window on their way down the stairs each morning. The library was always a mess each time but at least the window would remain in tact.

The screaming was still becoming louder. Spike spoke up, "Twilight?"

"Yes, Spike?"

"Do you realize where Dash is going to end up when she crashes through the window?"

Twilight didn't understand why he asked, "In the library, of cour..." she suddenly became very pale.

Spike finished her sentence, "With a sleeping gnoll nopony is supposed to meet just yet." there was a loud crash as Rainbow Dash thundered into the library.

They quickly ran into the main room. Dash had bounced off several shelves and had was currently lying right on top of the gnoll's sleeping place. The heap was not moving, and there were no sounds coming from Purple Haze's room either. Dash started to get off the pile when she spotted them, "Hey Twilight, hey Spike! Looks like I may have been a bit fast on that last turn. But you know, you can never slow down the complete awesomeness that is, Rainbow Dash!" she got down and struck a pose, "Is everything okay Twilight? You look way more nervous than usual. And why are all your blankets piled up in that corner?"

Twilight's eyes constantly jumped back and forth between the pile and Dash, "Nonono, of course everything is okay Dash, why would I be nervous? I mean, it's not like I'm hiding something!" Spike facepalmed.

Dash got a sly smile, "Who said anything about hiding something?"

Twilight was starting to sweat now, "Nopony! I mean, I didn't! Why would I? That's silly Dash, hehehe!"

Dash was grinning by now, "So you are hiding something,..." she walked over to the pile. Spike and Twilight could only watch as she gripped one of the blankets, "And I'm guessing it's somewhere beneath... this!" and ripped it off. Silence.

There before her was Scar's huge head, eyes ripped open and unblinking, too bewildered to even move and still half asleep the gnoll just stared at the colorful pony before him. Dash in turn just stared at the huge head, "That... is... SO COOL!" she squealed in glee as she turned back to Twilight, "That is the best costume ever! It looks so real! Can I help you scare everypony on nightmare night next week? Where did you get it? Can I try on the head?"

Twilight watched in horror as Rainbow Dash started pulling on the gnoll's head. Spike was wondering whether he should be scared or amused. Unnoticed by Dash the gnoll's eyes were growing larger and larger. The little pony had wrapped her forelegs around the back of his head and was pulling with all her might, "Dammit, it's not moving. Twilight, help me a bit I think it's stuck somewhere!"

Twilight wasn't sure what she should do, "Uhhmmm, Dash, that's not..."

She was still frantically pulling on the head, "Why isn't it moving?!" she closed her eyes and fully put her rear legs into it, earning her an annoyed grunt from the gnoll.

Her eyes snapped open and she stared into the gnoll eyes. He blinked once. She turned to Twilight, "This isn't a costume, is it?" Twilight nodded, "So this thing is real?" she nodded again. Dash turned around in time to see the gnoll get up to his feet. The blankets slipped off him as he stepped out of the pile and stood at full height before the colorful pony. She looked up at him with wide eyes. There was a moment of silence as the two creatures looked at each other before Rainbow Dash practically exploded, "This... is the BEST THING EVER!!!"

Chapter 19: A visit

He should have stayed with the bug. After she had led him through town and introduced him to other fake ponies he was sick of their smell but this, this was worse. Tiny ponies, tiny ponies everywhere. Under him, on him, around him. They were hanging from his arms and fur like flies. And the noise, he had thought the three tiny ones from the forest were already annoying but he had been proven wrong.

Cheerilee couldn't help but smile at his effort to remain calm. Purple Haze had offered that he should play with them to apologize for his behavior the day before. Cheerilee had made him promise to be very careful around the little ones. Now, every movement he made was careful, constantly watching that he didn't crush one of the foals by accident. She was surprised how fast the young ones had taken a liking to the gnoll. Especially the three fillies who still waited for their cutie marks seemed to be very fond of him. The gnoll looked like he was on the verge of tears though.

"Alright everypony, let's try to find something you and Scar can all play together." she called out to her class. The gnoll sighed as the ponies clambered off him.

He would maul Purple Haze for this later. It took the tiny ponies half an hour to decide what to play, and the noise of their discussion was enough to make him wish he was being interrogated by the purple one instead. At least she knew mercy. When they had finally decided on a game the gnoll felt the blood leave his face. He prayed that no ponies would see this. It would certainly be misread.

The royal carriage of princess Celestia softly set down outside of Ponyville. It wasn't a scheduled visit, and to reduce publicity she had refrained from informing the ponies of Ponyville of her presence. When Twilight had written her that the gnoll was visiting a pony school she just couldn't help but make a surprise visit.

What she saw though when she approached the school made her stop dead in her tracks. There in the school yard, the gnoll was chasing around a wildly screaming group of foals. Before she could react he pounced on one of them and lightly put a claw to the little foals forehead, "Is it." he solemnly stated.

"Alright you got me! But next time you've got to give us a bigger head start!" the little filly laughed.

Scar nodded, "Scar will count longer next time. But gnoll needs break now, its legs are tired." the little foals ran along as Cheerilee ended the break and led them back inside. The gnoll sat down beneath an old tree with a tired groan, he wasn't used to hunt without actually eating the prey. It had been fun though. At least he had fulfilled his dept.

He didn't even need to turn to know she was there, "Big white pony comes to visit Scar?"

"Indeed, I did. How are you Scar?" she sat down next to him.

He sighed, "Scar learned many new things. Confusing things..." he thought for a moment, "Scar is unsure if bugs can be trusted."

This surprised her, "You know about the changelings?"

"Scar has very good nose."

"You didn't hurt any of them, did you?" she asked with worry in her voice.

"No, almost, but Purple Haze stops gnoll. Scar talks to fake ponies. Scar was surprised. And Scar hopes they can be happy."

"I thought you didn't trust them?"

"Scar does not. When bug queen returns fake ponies will be evil again. But gnoll also thinks now that even bugs should be happy. Even if only for short time. So it will trust wisdom of big white pony. But Scar will also keep eye on bugs."

She smiled, "That's a very nice thing to say. Rest assured that I will not simply let her take those poor souls back."

They sat for a moment, enjoying the scenery before them. Singing could be heard from inside the school.

"Scar do pony work now. Gets little coins for work. Good work."

"May I ask what you do?"

"Scar is bouncer in fat mare." she coughed slightly at this, "If ponies not nice or drunk, Scar throws them out. Is good work. Ponies behave and Scar can read. Scar will buy many books from coins, and house for books too."

She smiled, "I'll be sure to visit it when it is finished."

"Scar buys book today, but is very confusing. Ponies react very strange to book. Purple Haze does not want to tell gnoll what strange words mean, and purple pony only stutters and tells gnoll not to show other ponies." he shook his head as he fished around in his rags.

"What is it about?" she asked as he fished out a black little book.

"Scar does not know. Is about different ponies, always doing different things. But Scar does not understand the words." he handed her the book.

Celestia levitated the book before her and started to read. She managed to read two lines before her eyes widened considerably and a faint blush could be seen in her face, "Oh dear... Scar... this book..."

He looked at her with an inquisitive look, "Yes? Something wrong with book?"

"Well... it's..." she looked at him, unsure how to continue. Of course he didn't know these words, and neither should decent ponies.

"Yes?" he was curious. She suddenly acted just like Purple Haze had when he had asked her about the book. What did the confounded words mean? Maybe he should ask the teacher pony, or perhaps the spiked back? No, the purple one had been very persistent that neither the little lizard nor any tiny ponies should ever see the words in this book.

He had bought a sleazy novel. An extremely vivid one at that. Of all the books he could have picked out at random it had to be something like this. If her sister should ever find out about this she'd never have another peaceful moment again.

She sighed once and composed herself. She checked that her guards were safely out of hearing distance. This certainly wasn't the conversation she had been expecting.

Chapter 32: A challenge

"And this?"

"Is bunny."

"And this?"

"Tree."

Twilight put down the last of her cardboard cards, "Alright, this concludes this series. Let's move on to the next section."

Scar was about to lose his mind. Had he known what was in wait for him in the tree he would have waited for the ponies to go to sleep. The moment he had stepped into the library the purple one had assaulted him with a sheer endless amount of questions and tests. He felt as if he'd been stuck here for days. The only reason he didn't make a run for the door was that he had promised her to answer her questions.

He had mixed feelings on Purple Haze's approach to the situation. After the first hour she simply had taken a resting place on top of his back and was lazing around as the purple one tormented him. Not that he actually minded her sitting on top of him, it just seemed a bit... he couldn't quite find the word he was looking for. At least she did signal Twilight from time to time if a question was inappropriate.

"So..." Twilight placed several closed jars in front of the sitting gnoll. Each jar was wrapped in cardboard, making it impossible to see what was inside. "I have a number of glasses with different contents. Now I'm going to blindfold you, and then I'm going to open each jar and you'll try to tell me what I put inside."

Scar looked at the jars for a moment, was she actually serious? He lifted a finger and started pointing at each jar in turn, "Is apple,... is honey,... is grass,... is pink flower,... pony hair in this one, from purple pony..." he scratched his chin as his gaze rested on the last jar. "Scar is not sure about this one. Pony metal with food on it, maybe spoon or fork,"

She stared at him with an open mouth, "How did you?... I mean... I didn't even open them yet!" the gnoll simply shrugged. Twilight gave an annoyed grunt, "Alright. Let's move on to the next section. It was a CLEAN knife, by the way." she used her magic to check off another point on her list. The sheer amount of unchecked points almost made him whimper.

"Next I'm going to describe some problems, and I want you to give me a solution for them." the only problem he currently wanted to solve was getting out of this hell alive and sane. A sound reached his ears, was Purple Haze snoring? "An apple tree is standing in the first pony's garden. An apple drops but falls in the second pony's garden. Both now claim that the apple rightfully belongs to them. Who does the apple belong to?"

"Apple belongs to hungry pony."

Twilight scrunched her face, she hadn't expected that answer. "And what if both are hungry?"

"Ponies can share."

"And if they don't want to share?"

"Then ponies stupid. Is whole tree full of apples."

"What if both aren't hungry?"

He tilted his head, "Why would ponies fight over apple then?"

"Uhm... uhh... well, I mean... I'm not sure..." Twilight thought for a moment before she wrote something on a sheet of parchment, "Okay... next question. A train leaves Trottingham at..." a loud belch could be heard from above.

"Twilight! It's a letter from the princess!"

"Another one? That's the second one today!" she rushed off upstairs.

Thankful for a moment of peace Scar let his shoulders sag and dropped onto his belly with a loud thump. His head felt nice against the cool floor. He didn't remember when he had been this tired the last time. Purple Haze stirred on his back, "You alright down there? She's been going pretty hard on you, I think you should take a break."

"Purple Haze thinks?" he grumbled from his position. He was silent for a moment, "Why does Purple Haze sit on gnoll's back?"

"Don't know, it just seemed like the most comfortable place around while still being able to keep an eye on Twilight. Do you want me to get down?"

"Is no problem, Purple Haze can stay."

She shifted her weight a bit, "You still need new clothes though,..." there was a pause, "And a bath."

"Scar needs sleep first."

"SHE'S PREGNANT?!" came a shout from above. Shortly afterward Twilight came storming down the stairs followed closely by Spike, "Cadence is pregnant! My brother is going to be a father! This is so exciting!" she held up the note, "There's more! She and Shiny are already on their way to Ponyville, they're going to meet us at Sugarcube Corner! Both of you are invited as well."

"We're invited?" Purple Haze asked, "Wonder why... I could use a snack though... what about you Scar, you wanna come along?"

"Purple Haze can go with others, gnoll needs to nap."

Purple Haze thought for a moment, "Alright, I'm going to get some snacks, say hello and then I'll come back. I won't be gone for long."

After she and the other two had left the tree Scar shifted his weight a bit until he found a comfortable position and started to doze off.

He hadn't been sleeping for long when something prodded his nose, it was the colorful one. "Hey Scar, you awake?"

He gave an annoyed grumble as he tried to focus his vision, "Is awake now... what does rainbow pony want?"

"I got bored and wanted to check if you were up for some awesome action!"

"Rainbow pony can play with pony friends, Scar is tired."

"Yeah, but Applejack is working, Rarity is busy with her clothes, Fluttershy is being Fluttershy and Pinkie and Twilight are busy doing whatever at the Sugarcube Corner." she paused for a moment, "Speaking of Applejack, she and I have a bet running whether you could catch me in a race. Wanna find out? I promise I'll go easy on you, I won't even use my wings!"

"Gnoll is always faster than pony on ground," he grumbled, "But Scar runs enough for today. If pony wants to get caught by Scar it can come back tomorrow, gnoll is tired now."

She got close to his head, there was a mischievous smile on her face, "That sounds like a challenge to me! Now all we need to do..." his eyes followed one of her hooves as it traveled to his nose, "Is to give you a bit of..." she grabbed the band aid. The gnoll's eyes were fixed on the edge of the band aid she was holding, she wouldn't dare. "Motivation." she finished her sentence as she yanked it off.

Chapter 46: Purple Haze

Just as Scar was gobbling down a fistful of chocolate bars the door of the closet was suddenly ripped open. The gnoll and Featherkite both froze with sweets still stuck in their mouths. "AHA! There you are!" an angry Purple Haze shouted at him. Scar gave a sly grin, half a piece of chocolate falling from his mouth. "Don't you dare smile like that!"

She grabbed one of his ears and yanked him down to her level, "Do you have any idea how much I worried about you? I stayed at your bed for three days crying my eyes out and here I find you happily chewing candy!" she started dragging him along by his hear. "You are going straight back to bed, you hear me! And if I ever hear you refuse magic healing again, so help me Celestia, I'll wack you senseless!"

Featherkite watched them leave, "Bye..." He hoped the gnoll would be alright.

Purple Haze was ranting on endlessly as she dragged Scar through the corridors, "To think I even gave you one of my feathers for luck!"

"Is from Purple Haze?" the gnoll asked surprised.

She stopped in her tracks, "Well..., I... Rarity put an eagles feather on it, but I thought..." there was a blush growing on her face. "Don't you try and change the subject! You're going straight to bed again! What were you even thinking?" she continued dragging him on.

She stopped again as they passed the broken remains of the vending machine. She gave him an angry glare, "Do I really have to ask?"

Scar managed to put on a shy grin, "Scar was hungry and... OUCH!" she yanked his ear again and brought his face closer to hers.

"Straight back to bed!"

Scar sat on the bed nervously as Purple Haze eyed him with eagle eyes. She was sitting on his back and still holding his ear. They were waiting for the doctor. "Purple Haze?" Scar asked carefully.

"Yes?"

He gave a sigh, "Scar is sorry it made trouble." He idly played with his claws. "It did not want to make Purple Haze angry..."

The grip on his ear was suddenly released and he felt her embrace his head, "I know... I was just so scared you would..." she stopped for a moment, "Don't you ever scare me like that again..." she said quietly.

"Scar won't." he said with certainty. He huffed as he stood up, "Scar will grow stronger! Strongest gnoll ever!" He felt his knees buckle and he sank onto his bed again, his legs still ached.

She chuckled, "Sure you will, after you've gotten healthy again." she paused for a moment as he found a comfortable position to sit, "Do you know they wanted to chain you to your bed? I was about to kill them for that!"

The gnoll laughed, "Scar would have liked to see."

Purple Haze gave a sigh, she had missed talking with him. "By the way, who was that foal in the closet?"

Doctor Caretrot moved around the gnoll with care. It was one thing being around the beast when it didn't move, but a totally different thing now that it was up and eying his every move with suspicion. "Alright, all vitals seem good. I'd say you'll be perfectly fine in another week."

"So he can leave the hospital?" Purple Haze asked from her position on his back.

"He can, but he'll have to take care not to exert himself to much. Also,..." he reached into his bag, "He'll need to get a shot before he leaves." he pulled out a syringe with a long needle.

"What is pony doing?" the gnoll tilted his head as the doctor cautiously approached him.

"Just relax, it will be over quickly." Purple Haze tried to reassure him.

Princess Luna walked down the hallways of the Canterlot hospital with brisk steps. It was her turn to visit the gnoll. These last days had been very difficult for her sister and herself. Even more so for the elements of harmony and especially for captain Purple Haze. She hoped she could return to her sister with good news tonight.

As she was approaching the corridor with the gnolls room there was suddenly a shout and a crash from an open door, "HE TRIED TO BITE ME!"

"Little pony is lucky it did not!" the gnoll stepped out of the door grumbling in anger, "Evil little pony with evil needle..."

She could hear Purple Haze trying to calm somepony, "I'm sorry, he just didn't know what to expect, I'm sure he didn't mean it. Scar, get back here and apologize!"

The gnoll shook his head in anger as he rubbed his arm, "Scar needs to eat before it does bite pony." he muttered as he walked down the hall.

"Hello Scar, it is good to see you are feeling better again." princess Luna said with a raised eyebrow.

The gnoll looked at her approach, "Scar greets Lulu..." she cringed at his use of that name. "Does Lulu know where exit is? Gnoll wants to leave."

Purple Haze came running out of the door, "Scar, what on earth are you..." she saw princess Luna and saluted. "Princess Luna, how nice of you to visit..." she turned to Scar, "You go back in there and apologize right now!"

"Evil little pony sticks it with needle, why should it?"

"It's medicine, so you don't get sick again! Now go back in there and say you're sorry before I drag you in there by your ear again." she fixed him with an angry stare, the gnoll visibly cringed before turning and heading back towards the room again.

Luna thought she could hear him mutter something like 'Scary pony' under his breath as he entered again. She turned to Purple Haze, "I see the two of you are getting along very well. That is one of your feathers on his cape if I am not mistaking?"

Purple Haze blushed visibly and quickly checked that Scar was out of hearing range. "I gave it to him as a luck bringer... to aid his recovery..." she played with her hooves.

Luna smiled at the captain's discomfort, "It is quite alright. I am happy to see both of you are up and lively again." she paused for a moment. "May I ask, what are your future plans concerning him?"

Purple Haze looked at her in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"The gnoll will not always stay in the library, I am sure you are aware of this. Your mission was to accompany him while getting to know our subjects. My sister and I deem this mission successful. Now what remains is to ask, do you wish to return to your duties as captain of the night guard?"

Purple Haze looked at her hooves with uncertainty, "I... I don't know... I mean, I really enjoyed our time together... and I still thinks he needs my help now and then... and I..." she paused for a second "I need him too..." she almost whispered. She looked up at princess Luna, "If I may make a request... I would like to stay with him a bit longer."

Chapter 51: Her Sister

Thirty-nine seconds later, the door of the Fat Mare Inn was pushed open and four ponies were tossed onto the street in a groaning pile. Laughter and cheers could be heard as the door was pulled shut again.

"What could possibly go wrong you said." groaned one of them.

"Just shut it Cloudbreak..." groaned another pony.

"What in the name of Equestria? ON YOUR HOOFS RECRUITS!" another voice shouted at them. Recognizing the voice the ponies quickly struggled to disentangle themselves from one another and stood on shaky legs. "NOW WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? EXPLAIN YOURSELFS!" an angry mare hollered at them.

Purple Haze had just collected a nice bag of bits when the door to the Fat Mare Inn was opened again and a mare in full armor stepped inside. A smile spread her lips as she saw her approach, "Sis, long time no see! I thought you didn't like places like this?"

The mare greeted her with a smile, "I don't, but it's good seeing you. I haven't heard from you in weeks! All I heard was you're on some kind of special mission." she embraced Purple Haze in a hug. "What have you been up to?"

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you." Purple Haze chuckled, "What brings you here anyway?"

"Wait, I didn't know you had a sister." piped up Rainbow Dash from behind them.

"Rainbow Dash, meet my sister captain Flying Shield. Sis, this is Rainbow Dash."

The two mares shook hoofs, "Nice to meet you Flying Shield. So you're a captain too?"

"Night guard and proud of it. Runs in the family." she paused for a second, "Now can you two tell me why I just found four of my recruits outside and beaten into a heap?"

Purple Haze gave a chuckle, "Seems like they thought they could get themselves a name in the guard if they picked a fight with the bouncer."

"I've been able to catch that much from them. They certainly got some names from me, not the ones they were hoping for though." She looked around the pub, "Now where is this bouncer? I want to meet the stallion that can handle four rookies like that."

"Looking for new recruits?" Purple Haze laughed, "I don't think he'd join but I can introduce you two."

Flying Shield smiled at her sister, "Just checking out the who is who. So where is he?"

"Hey big guy, you got a fan! Come here and say hello!" Rainbow Dash called out into the room.

A grunt could be heard from the dark in the corner. "One moment, Scar has to finish chapter. Is very gripping." a deep voice grumbled.

"What in the..." Flying Shield started a sentence but was cut off by a book being shut and a huge figure stepping out of the dark. She watched the huge creature approach with heavy steps and stop in front of her. She looked up into his red eyes, "Wow..." she whispered with an open mouth.

Scar looked at the guard pony before him, she had the same colors as Purple Haze. Her smell was strangely similar too, were they related? "Guard pony." he nodded a greeting to her before turning to Rainbow Dash, "What is fan?"

"It means she likes you." answered Rainbow Dash with a chuckle.

The gnoll turned back to Flying Shield with a raised eyebrow, "Pony likes Scar? Is good for pony but Scar does not know it."

"What? I don't..." she turned to her sister, "Is he your special mission?"

"Sure is,..." answered Purple Haze, "Sis, this is Scar, the gnoll. He's the new bouncer and a good friend." she turned to the gnoll, "Scar, this captain Flying Shield. She's my sister so be nice."

The gnoll nodded and turned to Flying Shield, "If shield pony is sister of Purple Haze then it is happy to meet pony." he extended an open paw towards her.

She shook it after a quick check of his claws, "Nice to meet you too. So you've been keeping my sister busy?"

The gnoll gave her a big smile, "Purple Haze watches over it. Is special pony." Purple Haze nearly choked on her drink while Rainbow Dash gave an amused snort.

Flying Shield stared at his teeth for a moment before an idea struck her. She slightly leaned to Purple Haze and whispered to her, "Aside from the fact that you owe me an explanation why he's wearing one of your feathers, I just have to ask. Can I borrow your gnoll for something?"

The quarters of the night guard recruits were quiet this early in the morning. Many of the recruits were sleeping off a week of training camp, excessive cider consumption, simply enjoying a good sleep or as in four cases sleeping off bruises from a nights brawl. Their sleep was interrupted abruptly though when captain Flying Shield burst through one of the doors.

"RISE AND SHINE MAGGOTS!" she shouted through the large room loud enough make the ponies quiver in their beds. Some of them tossed around tiredly under their covers while others tried their best to stand at attention with groggy heads. "Well ain't this pretty. Since all of you seem to be getting so much sleep lately I thought we'd do a special kind of training today." she said with a smirk as the ponies finally stood straight before their beds.

"The mission objective is quite simple. You're going to play a game of tag. If you get tagged, you're dead and out of the game. If one of you maggots lasts until noon you may actually make it somewhere in the guard one day. The whole castle is game ground. That's it." The recruits cast her nervous glances, none of them had ever seen her smiling like that. And what did she mean with getting caught and being dead? Where they really going to play tag?

Flying Shield turned around and started to head through the door. She stopped in the frame, "Before I forget it, the hunt starts now." she turned and walked through the door, "Alright, go get them big guy." she said to someone outside.

Before the ponies could make heads and tails of what was going on something huge with with big teeth and an even bigger hammer entered the quarters through the door. "HAMMER HITS PONIES IS TAG!" a deep voice boomed at them before hurling itself at them.

"HE'S COME BACK TO EAT US!" a bruised pony with a red coat screamed in terror. It only added to the panic and chaos which followed.

Chapter 62: Under an old Apple Tree

She was walking over a field of green grass and flowers. The plants swayed softly in the warm breeze under a clear blue sky. It was beautiful, but it was quiet. Nothing but the wind could be heard, and there was no one here besides herself. Purple Haze reached the crest of a small hill and looked into the valley bellow, "Beautiful..." she whispered to herself. But no matter how peaceful this place seemed she couldn't help but think that something was missing, that she was forgetting something very important.

She slowly walked down into the valley, her surroundings suddenly becoming alive as the sounds of birds filled the air and foals could be seen running over the grass in the distance. What was this place? She continued to walk towards a big apple tree in the center of the valley and there, in the shade of the tree sat a familiar figure. She felt her heart beat quicken. It was Scar, she started running towards him, "Scar!".

As she approached she saw the gnoll pick up his head to look at her. His eyes looked sad, "Hello, Purple Haze..." he said with a voice that sounded like he hadn't slept in days, "Scar comes to visit Purple Haze again."

The words struck Purple Haze like thunder, "I've been here before..." she whispered in shock as the gnoll started to reach into his robes and pulled out a small book. Purple Haze looked around herself, suddenly remembering what seemed like countless days. "I've been here... and you were here too..." she started to stutter, "And you read me a story... Scar, what's going on? Where are we?"

The gnoll didn't seem to hear her question, instead he opened the little book and started to flick through the pages with a small sigh. "Gnoll isn't sure where it stopped last time... ah, there. Made little mark in page." He said happily as he found the page he had been looking for. "Now, chapter foo... fooort..." the gnoll mumbled a series of small curses as Purple Haze watched him with a complete loss of words.

"Scar? Why are we here? Scar..."

She was cut off as the gnoll ignored her and simply started to talk again, "Scar is getting better with reading, but is difficult with tired eye..." he chuckled softly, "Now what was word again? Fourteen. Yes, Scar thinks that sounds correct. Is chapter fourteen!" Purple Haze suddenly found herself sitting next to him under the tree. How had she gotten there? The gnoll continued to speak, "Scar knows it shouldn't, but it didn't like this chapter... too sad. Purple Haze needs happy things so Scar changed some words." He smiled at her softly before starting to read from the book, and Purple Haze listened.

There was something hypnotic and soothing about the way he read to her. Once in a while he would stumble over a word and start to mumble curses again until he had composed himself enough to find the correct way of reading it. Sometimes shadowy forms of ponies seemed to pass by close to them. But every time they would approach the apple tree the gnoll would interrupt his reading and chase them off with a low grumble from his throat.

By the time he had finished the chapter Purple Haze was lying with her back against him as he continued to read on. She still didn't know where they were but if he was there to read her stories she would be fine. They were here together, what did it matter where they were?

Scar gave a small sigh and closed the book again, "Purple Haze shouldn't be here."

She picked up her head to look at him in surprise, "What? But I... I don't even know where here is!"

The gnoll didn't seem to notice her words, "Scar needs Purple Haze to come back, gnoll doesn't know what to do without Purple Haze..."

"But I'm right here! What do you mean..." the gnoll started to turn into smoke, "Scar! Don't leave me, I don't want to be alone here!" her surrounding were becoming darker, "I don't want to be alone!" she cried out his fading form, "What do you want me to do?"

Scar nudged her softly with his nose before he completely disappeared into smoke, "Scar only wishes for Purple Haze to wake up." She fell into darkness, "Scar only wishes for Purple Haze to wake up."

Her eyes shot open and she sat up straight gasping for breath as thunder struck outside a window, rain prattling softly against a window. She looked around herself in panic, her heart racing as the gnoll's words echoed in her mind. Where was she? Hadn't they been fighting Sombra? What was going on? She felt something on the bed next to her, a soft feeling under one of her hoofs.

She looked down. There, sitting next to her with his huge head on her bed and under one of her hoofs slept the gnoll. Half of his head had been wrapped in bandages and more seemed to go around his chest and arms. He looked terrible, there were black bags under his eye and his fur looked unkempt. And he was thin, she didn't remember ever seeing him in such a state. His fur seemed to big for his own form. What had happened to him?

The blank spots in her memory were slowly starting to fill in again. She remembered their fight against Sombra, Scar's appearance, and the dreams. She had been under that tree so often, and every time the gnoll had been there to read her a story.

Purple Haze saw a little book on the stand next to her bed, one of the pages bent as if to mark it. She reached out and opened the page. Chapter fourteen. She slipped through the pages, many words had been crossed through and replaced by new words in the gnoll's crude handwriting. She smiled softly as a tear rolled down one of her cheeks. She bent down and carefully held his head, "Don't worry Scar, I'm awake now... " she whispered into his ear as she held him close "I'm awake now."

Chapter 79: Heart and hoof

'Making your stallion happy', the gnoll pondered on the title for a moment before putting the book aside with a shake of his head and continuing his search. 'The almanac to perfect gardening', interesting enough. He added it to the other two in his hand, 'One hundred riddles' and 'Identifying clouds' was written on them.

Two days had passed since their return from Manehatten. It had been surprisingly eventless two days, but the gnoll enjoyed every moment of peace he could find.

Today was another one of what the ponies called a junk market. All over the marketplace of Ponyville, small and big stands were set up with a seemingly endless variety of things to buy. It had not taken him more than a moment to find his way to the stand with old and used books.

Unlike the ponies he had no interest to see what the other stands were offering, he was here for books only and nothing else. For a moment he wondered how well the ponies of Ponyville had gotten used to his presence, a few of them still stared at him but most of them didn't seem to fear him anymore. Some of them even greeted him politely.

The changelings were a different matter. Even though they did their best to act calm in his presence, he could clearly sense their nervousness. It didn't surprise him much though. The changelings knew that he wouldn't hurt them as long as they were friendly, but the fact that he could identify them immediately seemed to make them nervous nonetheless. It was only natural... after all, they were a race that depended upon disguise for survival.

He pushed the thought aside and continued his search. 'Adding glitter to your life', strange title... but it smelled nice so he added it to the other books. 'Kaleidoscope of regal fashion', he raised an eyebrow as he picked up the book and flitted through the pages. There were pictures and drawings inside, all of them showing ponies with different kinds of dresses and clothes. He couldn't help but chuckle, the colors looked insane.

He was about to put it back again when a thought crossed his mind. He still had to bring Rarity a gift for his clothes... he picked the book up again and looked at the pictures. This definitely seemed like something she'd enjoy... he added it to the pile. He had originally intended to bring her a stinger pelt for her work, but in hindsight this present seemed much better.

Next was 'Between the sheets', sounded interesting... he sniffed at it with his nose, smelled good too. He picked it up and placed it on the counter together with his other books, satisfied with his choice.

The pony did a quick count, 'Let's see, five from the normal section and one from the adult section... that makes fifteen bits, sir."

The gnoll scratched his head, "Adult section? Scar doesn't understand."

The pony pointed to one of the books, "'Between the sheets' is adult literature, sir. Do you want me to place it back? I admit it's pretty wild stuff, I've been trying to get rid of it for weeks now."

Scar picked up the little book and read a few words from it, a quick huff of surprise escaping his lips as he realized what kind of book this was. Still, he felt sorry for the little book. Books needed to be read, especially the strange ones. He weighed the book in his paw, "Is alright, Scar will take." He fished the bits out of his bag and handed them to the pony, an idea already forming in the back of his head, "Is present."

The pony seemed unsure what to say about this, "Oookay... have fun."

Luna read the words on the scroll carefully before turning to her sister, "What do you plan to do about this? Will you tell them?"

Celestia sighed, "No, at least not now. He and Purple Haze just only returned from their mission in Manehatten, and I wish for them to spend a few days of peace in Ponyville. It hurts my soul that every time I meet them they carry new scars."

"I understand your worries." Luna replied, "But what will we do about these news? Combined with the information we retrieved form the captured izelim it seems that a war is about to start across the sea."

"I know, but we have yet to understand how we are connected to this." Celestia stated, "Saddle Arabia has stated that their spies are keeping a watchful eye on the situation and I will trust the matter in their hoofs for the time being. At least until we find out more. For the moment, we can at least rest assured that all izelim in Equestria have been found."

"It is puzzling, don't you think?" Luna said with worry, "The Yáran kingdom is about to go to war with the Lacertidaen clans and the izelim are in the middle of it all... what could any of them possibly gain by destroying the elements of harmony? We have not had contact with these kingdoms in centuries!"

"I do not know, but I intend to find out." Celestia replied with certainty.

In the Ponyville library, Spike was giving Scar an uncertain look, "Sure, I can send it to her. What's it about?"

"Scar can't tell Spike, is secret between Celestia and Scar." the gnoll replied firmly. He held up the little book, "Is present too."

"Uhm... okay, I guess I can send it to her if it's a present..." Spike grabbed the book and read the title, "'Between the sheets'? What's that supposed to... you know what, never mind. I'll ask Twilight later." he sucked in a deep breath and let the green flames consume the book and take it away. When the book was gone he turned to Scar, "Alright, it's out. You think she's going to like it?"

"Scar is certain." the gnoll flashed Spike a toothy grin, "Is kind of book Celestia likes to read."

"If you say so... maybe we should have added a note saying it's from you..." Spike shrugged, "I guess it's fine anyway." he turned to Scar with a sly smile, "Soooo... what are your plans for heart and hooves day?"

Scar raised an eyebrow, "Heart and hoof what?"

Author's Note

Hand hurts from typing... at least I can still press the caps lock with my left pinky >.<

Chapter 94: Old neighbors

Celestia gave Blackbeak a surprised look, "You know of the gnolls? I though they left hundreds of years ago."

"They may have left Equestria, but there were still a few of them around in the mountains close to our borders." Blackbeak replied as he walked around the gnoll, "Up until twenty or thirty years ago they were spotted on rare occasions, thought they kept mostly to themselves and the mountains. I've only seen a few, and only once did I get close enough to talk to one... but I'll be damned if that isn't a true-blooded mountain gnoll."

"My lord! Please do not step to closely to it!" the two bodyguards were watching Scar with fear on their faces.

"Oh pull yourself together, the both of you!" Blackbeak snapped at them, "Gnolls don't attack unless you give them a good reason to, besides..." he gave the gnoll a calculating gaze, "I don't think a few meters more or less would help much, would it now?"

"Would not." the gnoll replied with an impassive voice before his gaze became questioning, "Does Featherclaw know if there are still gnolls on mountains?"

"Sadly, I don't." Blackbeak shook his head, "We haven't heard of them let alone found any signs of them in years... it's just like they simply disappeared overnight."

Scar shook his head with a sad sigh, "Not disappeared, went to sleep."

The griffon studied his face for a moment, "I... understand... I am sorry for your loss. I've only conversed with one your kind before, but I was always deeply impressed by the gnolls. Their loss saddens me as well." the gnoll nodded in acknowledgment, "I am Blackbeak, member of the royal councils of the griffons and an old friend of princess Celestia." the griffon punched a fist to his chest as he introduced himself, just like the gnoll had done so long ago.

The gnoll raised an eyebrow, "Is friend of Celestia?" he gave Celestia a questioning look, to which she nodded, "Then is friend of gnoll too." he pounded a heavy fist on his chest, making the two bodyguards flinch at the sound, "It is Scar."

Blackbeak nodded before pointing to the others, "These two are my bodyguards, Shera and Krovas..." the gnoll gave each of them a nod, "And this..." he beckoned Vayu to step closer, "Is my daughter, Vayu of the Blackbeaks."

Scar watched the griffon approach. Just like her father and true to her name, her sharp beak was of a deep black... but for some reason he wasn't quite sure what to make of the looks she was giving him.

"That's a gnoll?" Vayu scanned his form from head to toe as she stepped closer to the gnoll, "You always said they were big, but that's just huge!" she gave her father a wild look, "Not to mention I always thought you were just telling us stories."

Blackbeak gave a groan, "Youths these days... not a minute to look into our own history." his expression got a bit worried when he saw a grin appear on his daughters face as she watched the gnoll in front of her, "Don't do it, Vayu."

"What? I'm just looking!" Vayu didn't pull her eyes of Scar.

"And I know that look." her father cautioned her, "He'd tear you apart in seconds. Don't be a fool, child. Those jaws can go through metal..."

"Were you in a lot of battles?" Vayu ignored her father, "Did you kill many enemies? Was that how you lost your eye? Can I see it?"

The gnoll watched her with slight amusement, wondering what was exciting her so much. "Scar did kill many rats..." he scratched his chin in thought, "But it lost eye when fighting evil crystal pony." he lifted his precious eye clap with a careful finger, showing Vayu his white eye and making her squeak in delight.

Blackbeak turned around for a moment to give Celestia a surprised look, "Crystal pony? Is he... is he talking about Sombra?"

Celestia nodded, "He is, and before you ask... Yes, Scar was the one who defeated him, though the price for it was almost too high for me to bear, so let us not talk about it. Besides, I am more worried about what your daughter is about to do..."

"Will you fight me?" Vayu's voice rang through the audience chamber as if on queue, making Blackbeak flinch and give off a curse of frustration.

"Damn it, child! I told you not to do anything foolish!"

"I'm not." Vayu replied, "I just want to fight someone who's seen some real battle before."

"Listen to me when I try to tell you it's idiotic! I challenged one myself when I was young and all I got was a good pounding! Don't do it!"

"So when you challenge a gnoll it's okay?"

"Featherclaw wants to fight Scar?"

"It wasn't! I was young and foolish!" Blackbeak snorted.

"Scar isn't sure featherclaw knows what it's asking..."

"Well, I'm young and foolish as well... just like my father." she gave him a smirk before turning to Scar, "You ready to go?"

The gnoll raised an eyebrow, "Featherclaw is serious?"

"Sure I am! You're not going to back down, are you?" she crouched before the gnoll.

Scar gave a huff, "Alright then, gnoll will teach featherclaw some wisdom."

Blackbeak sat down next to Celestia with a sigh, "I'm sorry, it seems she's taken more after me than I had hoped."

Celestia shook her head with a tired sigh of her own, "It can't be changed it seems..." she knew the gnoll well enough by now to know that he was unlikely to back down from a challenge, "I just hope Scar doesn't wreck the audience hall."

"I just hope he doesn't kill her..." Blackbeak mumbled, "At least it may help to put some sense into her."

"Ready?" Vayu eyed the gnoll with a smirk from her crouched position, "First one to give up or get pinned down loses."

The gnoll only watched her with an impassive face, wondering how she would try to pin him down. He couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with this featherclaw... didn't her father tell her how gnolls fought?

A quarter of a minute later, a wildly shouting Vayu was being flung through the air, giving of a loud smack and a groan as the gnoll slammed her onto the ground by her tail.

"Featherclaw gives up?" Scar asked with a hint of amusement in his voice and not letting go of her tail.

"Never!" Vayu managed to groan defiantly from her position on the floor.

The gnoll gave a tired sigh and tightened his grip on her tail again, it seemed he'd have to repeat it a few times before the stubborn griffon finally came to its senses.

Celestia winced as she watched the gnoll continue to whirl the young griffon around by her tail, "That can not be healthy... shouldn't she just give up?"

Both hers and Blackbeaks head followed Vayu's journey through the air as the gnoll brought her down again with another loud smack, "The child is too stubborn to admit defeat I'm afraid..." Blackbeak watched her fly through the air with a loud squawk, "Luckily she's got a thick skull..." another smack, "This certainly brings back memories."

"Did your gnoll swing you around by your tail as well?" Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No..." Blackbeak replied with a smirk, "He just grabbed me by the head and pounded me into the ground until I gave up... I'm pretty sure it made a very similar sound though."

Their conversation was interrupted as the gnoll let go of the griffon and stepped past the two of them with an annoyed grunt, "It tires of this..."

"Where are you going?" Vayu called out as she got up slowly and wobbled around on shaky legs like a drunk, "I'm still standing!"

The gnoll, without turning around to her, stepped up to the two large doors of the audience chamber and without a word, grabbed one of the doors and ripped it clean off the hinges, "Will see about that..." he gave the thick door a test swing, Vayu's eyes widened considerably, "Will see..."

Sequel

First chapter of the sequel is up. Here's a link The Reader: Book Two
Have fun and a good night.
Regards, Gnoll