There was never a place for me. I had to make one for myself away from anybody else. When you're different it's always your fault and people are scared of you or don't like you. Sure, it's true that it's probably because they just don't understand but that doesn't mean the victim doesn't feel it. Living your life alone, orphaned, with all the people around you treating you like some kind of freak, which you know you are, is no way to live. So I left. I knew I could survive on my own thanks to my abilities. When I left I hated people. All of them. I'd lost faith in human kind. That's why I don't understand what inspired me to help her...

**

I hear a scream. It's a loud, horrified shriek. It's a girl, and obviously she's scared. I quickly realize someone is chasing her because I can faintly hear a man calling after her. I'm not sure what he's saying but I don't particularly care. The girl screams again, it's closer this time. She's heading in my direction so I jump up, my fingers curling around a branch, then pull myself up. I jump higher and higher until I'm a good fifteen feet in the air. I seem to have made it just in time because as I reach my perch the girl trips over a root and falls to the ground. She must have hurt her ankle, because she doesn't get up.

She seems like your run-of-the-mill girl. I'm sure she's pretty but it's hard to tell. She's covered in dirt and leaves and stuff. Her hair is an odd colour though. It's sort of a midnight blue with a a streak of pink and a streak of violet going through it. Her tail has the same colour scheme. I can just barely make out a mauve horn poking through her hair. A magic-user, huh? I briefly wonder why she doesn't use it to defend herself but those thoughts are pushed from my mind as two men catch up to her.

"Finally caught 'ya." the first guy says.

"You're coming back with us." the second guy adds on.

There's nothing really standing out about the two guys. Sure, they're big-ish. They've got muscles and it looks like they're used to doing this kind of work. If I had to guess I'd say they're thugs; nothing more.

I hear a sniffle. The girl must be crying, upset they'd caught up to her. She can't be very smart if she took off running into this forest, panicked none-the-less. I sigh as I ponder what to do. Sure, I could save her but then I'd have to explain who I am and stuff. If I let these men take her though who knows what'll happen to her. I narrow my eyes. If the roles were reversed either of them would let me die without even thinking about it.... I think to myself. It's probably true, too.

I'm still unsure but my mind is made up when the first guy steps forward and grabs the mystery girl by the wrist. She screams again, another loud shriek. If I were smart I probably wouldn't get involved but... Just because the rest of the world is scum doesn't mean I have to stoop to their level right? I'll just deal with the consequences.

I let myself fall forward. Right before I hit the ground my descent slows and I land almost inaudibly. The first guy is too distracted trying to grab the girl to notice me, the other guy is looking at me like "Where the fuck did you just come from?" It's quite amusing, actually.

I rush the second guy before he can alert his buddy. I raise my leg and send my foot into her knee causing him to collapse forward. As he falls I lift my knee into his chin and he lifts from the ground momentarily; landing on his back with a loud thud. His buddy turns around. He's not sure what the hell's going on.

"Who're you?" he asks practically seeming confused by the whole thing.

"Does it matter?" I reply.

He lets go of the girls wrist and turns towards me. I can tell he's trying to look menacing but it'll take more than some run-of-the-mill guy to make me nervous. He runs towards me with his fist raised and I grin. I hold my hand out in front of me and he stops moving before he reaches me. He's confused; unable to move. Then he's flung backwards and his back hits one of the trees hard, knocking him out on impact. He probably didn't even understand that I was using magic.

That's because magic is channelled through a horn, which I do not possess. It's just one of the things that makes me a freak. I might be the only person who can use magic without a horn, I'll never know. I don't really care either. I guess I don't care about much, huh? Now that this has been taken care of I can get back to my day, the girl should be able to look after herself. If she's smart she'll escape. I don't even bother to look at her again before walking away.

A few moments later I hear the sound of footsteps running after me and I sigh because I know what's coming next. She runs past me then turns herself to face me.

"You saved me." She says. For someone who just got saved she doesn't seem very surprised.

"So?" I ask then try to push my way past her.

The girl frowns but steps backwards so I don't end up passing her. "Thank you." she says, still confused by my actions.

"Yeah, don't mention it." I nonchalantly reply and try to push my way past her again. She stops me. Again. Now I'm just getting annoyed. "You know, if I knew you were going to be this annoying I would've just let them have you." I didn't mean it but I guess she didn't understand that because her eyes widen and she seems at a loss for words. She stares at me for a few seconds and I take those few seconds to note that she is in fact pretty. I'm really caught up on her hair but that's probably just because I've never seen anything like it. Her eyes are lovely too, they match the colour of her horn. Kind of. Maybe all girls are this pretty. I don't really remember. I haven't seen another girl up close in like...Four years so I don't think anyone can blame me. She still hasn't said anything though so I figure I'd better explain myself. "It was a joke."

"Oh!" she seems relieved. She tilts to the side, looking behind me towards her two would-be-assailants.

"Don't worry, they won't get up for quite a while. When they do I'm sure they can find their way out of here just fine. Just like I'm sure you can." I'm trying to give her a hint. I'm worried she won't take it though so I spell it out for her. "You should probably get out of here before they wake up."

I finally manage to get past her and start walking towards the old ruins where I live. It actually takes me a few moments to realize she's still following me.

"My name's Twilight Sparkle." she calls out from behind. "What's yours?"

It's a standard question, I'm not so uncivilized that I don't know that. "Not important." is what I reply though. I don't feel like giving this stranger my name.

"Oh..." she sounds disappointed. "Well, I'm lucky you were out here. What were you doing so far out in the woods?" another annoying question.

I stop walking and turn around to face her. For someone who just got attacked she seems awfully happy. It's kinda suspicious, really but I don't dwell too much on it. I thought of my own question I want to ask her. "Why didn't you use magic to try and protect yourself?"

"Huh?"

I point to her horn. "You have magic don't you? Why didn't you use it to defend yourself?" I repeat. I don't think she was expecting that question because she seems surprised.

"I'm just not very good at it..." there's something weird about the way she says that. Is she lying to me? No, I'm just paranoid. She has no reason to lie about something like that.

I'm pretty frustrated at this point. All I wanted was to do a good deed. Not be harassed by some unicorn girl. "Why are you following me?" There's not point being subtle and if I beat around the bush any more this conversation will turn to idle chatter. I hate idle chatter.

I actually feel bad for a minute. Twilight looks down to the ground and starts fidgeting. She looks...Sad. Like she was expecting more from me, like she was expecting something different. That's ridiculous though. How can a girl I've never met before expect something from me?

"I don't...Have anywhere to go." her voice is odd again, her words keep trailing off. I don't get it; maybe it's just the way she speaks. Even though her head is down her eyes lift up now. She's looking at me so sadly...She doesn't think just because I saved her I can take care of her, does she?

I have to make it clear that I have no interest in forming some kind of bond. "I'm sorry, Twilight was it?" she nods "I can't take care of you. There's...Barely a place for me in this world and I had to make it on my own. Besides, I live here. In the Everfree Forest in some old abandoned castle place. That's no place for a lady." I'm just hoping she'll understand. I've been bitter towards people for so long I never considered one of them being...Decent.

"Of course." she's looking directly at me now and again it's like she's looking for something more. That stare...It's driving me insane.

I don't understand what makes me say this. Maybe I have been lonely but that's a big maybe. "For tonight...you can stay with me. It might be safer anyway. If those men do happen to travel far enough in to find us I'll be able to take care of them. Most likely they'll wake up and leave the forest thinking you've left too though. By then it should be safe. Deal?"

Her face lights up. It's like I just offered her the world. This too makes no sense but whatever. I don't like being asked questions about my past, or present for that matter, so I'll let her keep her secrets too. Common courtesy.

"C'mon." I say and turn around leading her to the place I call home.

**

Walking to the ruins was nice. Silent. Just how I like it. I think Twilight was just being courteous though. She probably took the hint I didn't like talking earlier. As I lead her deeper into these ruins which I haven't been able to make sense of her eyes light up like earlier. She seems comfortable here, like she's been here before. As far as I know though no one's been here in a very long time excluding me.

We reach the place I consider 'my room'. It has kind of an altar in it. Maybe not an altar, but that part of the room is raised compared to the rest of the floor. I have a sleeping bag up there and a single pillow. When it gets really uncomfortable I make a kind of bedding with leaves under the sleeping bag. I've gotten used to this over the last few years though. The way she looks at those stones that decorate the altar though...It's almost like nostalgia.

"How did you find these ruins?" she asks as she walks around, her hands firmly behind her back "If you don't mind me asking." she adds as an afterthought.

"When I left my home I just happened to stumble upon them. It seemed better than braving the wild."

"Makes sense. Your chances of survival increase quite considerably with proper shelter. What do you do for food, or if your sick?" Geez, she sounds like she's writing a paper or something.

"Every once in a while I head into a small town nearby. It's called Ponyville or something. I break into the pharmacy and steal medicine and food. Only what I need though. There's fruit that grows everywhere too, so when I can live off that I do that instead." It's a little odd talking to someone but I figured there was no harm in answering. After all I saved her life. She won't tell anyone about me or that I steal to survive. I pick up a small sack and throw it towards her. She gasps and catches it, but barely. "There's bandages and stuff in there." I state and she looks at me confused. I point to her legs, which are bare because she's wearing a skirt. Looking at her outfit I realize now it's a uniform of some kind. Maybe from her school?

Twilight looks down at her legs and seems to only be realizing now they're covered in cuts and bruises. "Thanks." she says, giving me a sweet smile.

"You can use the...'bed' tonight. Tomorrow I'll lead you out. Ponyville's a short walk to the North-East. That sound good?" She's tending to her legs as I tell her the plan for tomorrow, nodding to my words. "Make sure you get some rest, you've been through a lot." I start walking away to give her some privacy.

"Thanks, again..." I turn around because it sounds like she has more she wants to say. I tilt my head quizzically. "I don't know why you're so guarded or why you went out of your way to save me but... Without you I might not be standing here. You're a good person."

Her words are soft and warm. It makes me uncomfortable but it feels...Nice too. No! I shake myself out of that moment of weakness. Tomorrow she'll be gone for good. That's all there is to it. I can't go getting all sentimental now. The bottom line is she's like all the others, she just doesn't know me well enough. She's only grateful I saved her, nothing more. Something has been bothering me though, and I figure there's no harm in asking. If she doesn't want to tell me she won't, and I won't pry.

"Why were those guys chasing you anyway?"

"It's...Really complicated. I come from somewhere far away. I was a prisoner in a way and I escaped. That's not exactly a great explanation but it's all I can offer for now...Even if I told you the truth you wouldn't believe me. It all sounds so wild. The man who wants me back though...He'll stop at nothing to find me."

I nod. "Fair enough."

"Maybe one day I'll get to tell you the whole truth." she sounds...Happy at that thought. This is starting to get a little creepy.

I chuckle a little at her comment. I resume my walk out of the room and call out back to her "Nooooot interested."

Twilight only smiles knowingly at my response.

Author's Note

This is an idea I've been toying with for a long time. It was hard to do, just because of the human thing. It wouldn't have work ponified. They're Anthro to some point. No fur or anything like that. Just wings/horn so it's definitely leaning more towards human. I'm not sure how well received this one is going to be but whatever. I don't really care, I just enjoy writing. This is the first part of a trilogy I have planned involving this idea. This is what I do when I get writer's block, I start writing something else and it always clears up my mind for the other things I'm working on.

I actually started this off with a lot of back story, and explanations and you know what I realized? I read it over and said "This is boring as hell." I decided I want the readers to learn about the main character as Twilight does. It's not interesting if you know everything about him right off the bat. I think the big plot of this story is an interesting one too. It deals with nature over nurture and some other stuff I can't mention or it would ruin it. Anyway I hope some of you decide to stick with this one.

If any of you guys can figure out the deal with Twilight before I reveal it I'll give you a cookie. Obviously this is set in an alternate universe. The other mane 5 may only be playing a minor role in this particular story, if they appear at all. I think they'll appear in both sequels though. This is a really ambitious project for me so I hope it turns out all right.

Also don't worry, the main character has a name. It's just revealed next chapter.