>You don't know how long you've been here.
>A day? Probably no more than a week, based on the notoriously unreliable stubble on your face.
>Unless she's been shaving you while you were unconscious.
>'She' being the talking yellow horse who has been taking care of you since you got here. Wherever 'here' is.
 
>You remember standing in the shower back home.
>Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through your body. You had no idea that anything could hurt that much, and the fact that you couldn't even seem to figure out what part of your body was actually hurting somehow made it even more confusing and unpleasant.
>The taste of vomit, a blinding light, darkness, then light again.
>You vaguely recall seeing the sky for a few seconds before it was replaced by leaves, branches and more pain.
>Goodbye, sweet consciousness.
 
>You were eventually woken up by the feeling of something wet and soft rubbing against the wounds on your chest. It felt like somebody was cleaning them.
>Remembering your ninja training, you kept your eyes closed and steadied your breathing, not wanting your captor-slash-saviour to know that you were awake.
>Ok, so maybe it was comic books and not ninja training, but they're basically the same thing.
>After a few seconds, you decided to gamble and open one of your eyes just enough to see what was going on.
>Here we go...
>Pink... clouds?
>You were still pretty out of it.
>Let's try that again.
>Pink... hair? Attached to a... floating yellow horse.
>Nah.
>Goodnight.
 
>Over the next however many days, she took care of you as you drifted onto and out of consciousness. You managed to stealthily gather a bit of information about her without revealing that you were awake.
>She could talk.
>The reason she was able to fly was because of a pair of wings growing out of her back.
>She had been taking care of you since she found you near a forest you didn't quite catch the name of.
 
>You have been sipping from the bowl of water she leaves on the floor next to your bed every morning. Just enough that she doesn't notice any water missing.
>Last night, after waiting long enough that she had hopefully gone to bed, you searched the room and found a stack of linens in a closet in your room. You fashioned two of them into a simple toga and hid them at the bottom of the stack.
>Your caretaker seems friendly, but you want an escape plan ready just in case.
>You're on the second floor, but not very high up.
>You should be able to squeeze through the window.
>”Oh Angel, I feel so guilty.”
>What?
>”I know I should tell Twilight, but what if the Princess comes and takes him away? He hasn't recovered yet and I'd just be so terribly worried...”
>Princess? Your caretaker knows somebody who knows royalty?
>Why would she 'take you away', anyway?
>You've never seen talking yellow horses before, so maybe they've never seen humans?
>You don't particularly feel like getting probed or carved open, but you also don't really think you'll be able to keep hidden even if you manage to escape.
>Maybe if you ran off into that forest and lived the rest of your life as a hermit, surviving off roots and tree sap...
>Gamble on the Princess?
>Gamble on the Princess.
>Now then... how to tell her?
>Your train of thought is interrupted as you hear the door opening and reflexively shut your eyes and calm your breathing.
>”Don't worry Angel, I know he's big and scary, but he looks so peaceful. I just know he'd never hurt anyone.”
>Angel being the rabbit she occasionally brought with her while treating you. She seemed pretty intelligent, but couldn't actually speak, as far as you could tell.
>She spends a few minutes replacing the bandages that cover your last few remaining wounds. You hear her leave, and decide that you might as well get it over with. Right before she closes the door completely, you speak.
“Thanks.”
>You hear the door close, and then nothing for a few seconds.
>”Eep!”
>Looks like she heard you.
>Another minute passes before you see the door open a little. You see a single eye peering in at you.
>”Y- you can talk?”
“No, I just mimic sounds I've heard recently. Sort of like a parrot.”
>Why the hell did you say that, you ass? It wasn't even funny.
>Guess it only took about a week for your already lacking social skills to atrophy.
>She meekly whispers “Oh, okay then...”
>She closes the door and another minute passes.
>Did she actually believe you, or is she just too shy to call you on your obvious bullcrap?
>”Who- what kind of anim- what sort of creature are you?”
>You barely heard her whisper from the other side of the door.
“Human.”
>You see the door open a little. A tuft of pink hair pokes through.
>”I've never seen a... hooman before. Where did you come from?”
I have no idea. I was at home taking a shower, then I was suddenly... here. I don't even know where here is. I've never seen any... ehm... what are you, exactly?
>She is slowly moving closer to your bed as you speak.
>”Oh, I'm a pony.”
>”A pegasus” she adds, spreading her wings to give you a better look. She seems to be blushing a little.
>You wrap your blanket around yourself and sit up. She reacts by taking a couple of quick steps back, then gives you an apologetic look.
“Where are we?”
>”Oh, we're in my cottage.”
>You give her an incredulous look.
>”Erhm- I mean- We're in Ponyville, in Eques...” Her voice trails off.
“Sorry, I didn't hear that last part.”
>”Equestria”
“The village of Ponyville in the country of Equestria?”
>She nods.
>Wherever that is, it's clearly not on Earth.
>You don't seem to be dreaming, which means that you are either on another planet, in another dimension, or on the worlds most elaborate and least legal reality tv show.
>Well, you were always complaining about being bored.
“So, what's your name?”
>”I'm- I'm Fluttershy.”
“My name is Anonymous, but you can call me Anon.”
 
>You spend an hour or so talking about Fluttershy's world. She asked surprisingly few questions about you.
>Maybe she was just being polite.
>She lives in a small town a few hours south of the capital city of Canterlot.
>By train. Apparently they have trains.
>She lives on the outskirts of town, and receives a small stipend every month from the town for taking care of and feeding the local animals.
>The strange butterfly symbols on her backside were a 'cutie mark'. A magical change of fur color that appears when a pony 'discovers her special talent'. She was good at caring for animals, so she got a trio of pink butterflies on each side of her flank.
>So... yeah. Magic exists.
>That one led to quite a few followup questions.
>Apparently, one of the three pony subspecies could use magic. Unicorns had a horn on their head that allowed them to channel magical power and cast spells. Most of them only learned a few spells that were related to their cutie marks, as well as a telekinesis spell that they use for everyday tasks.
>One of her friends was an exception though.
>Her “special talent” was magic itself, allowing her to learn just about any spell with enough practice.
>She sounded like a powergaming munchkin, but whatever.
>Apparently, the other two subspecies also had magical powers, but of a far more passive nature.
>Pegasi had the ability to interact with clouds as though they were solid, and part of their flight capabilities were magical in origin.
>Earth ponies were stronger than other ponies (she didn't know if that was because of magic though) and had some sort of 'attunement to nature' that made them great farmers and such.
>There was also a fourth subspecies: Alicorns. They were much larger than other ponies, and had the traits of all three subspecies. Fluttershy thought that they were also better at them. Greater magical power than unicorns and so on. She wasn't sure though, because there were only two of them, and they were both millennia-old gods. And rulers of the country.
>She said she wasn't sure if they were powerful because they were ancient, princesses because they were powerful, alicorns because they were princesses or any other possible cause and effect relationship she could imagine.
>She actually started rambling. It was adorable.
>After you interrupted her and she gave you a completely unnecessary apology, she returned to the topic of her friends.
>Twilight Sparkle: Genius unicorn and personal magic student of Princess Celestia.
>Rarity: Local kind-of-a-big-deal fashion designer. Unicorn.
>Rainbow Dash: Childhood friend (sort of) and in charge of the local weather control team. Pegasus.
>Applejack: Apple farmer who supplies a large portion of the local population with food. Earth pony.
>Pinkie Pie: Works at the bakery. Famous for throwing parties at the drop of a hat. Pretty intense, it sounded like. Earth pony.
>And together, they form the Super Senthay! Champions of peace and justice!
>No, seriously. Apparently, the six of them were the only ones that could wield a set of magical artifacts with the power to banish evil.
>You're not sure why that of all things was hard to believe, but she sounded sincere.
>A few minutes later, an extended silence ended with her offering you some tea.
>You accepted, feeling dehydrated and acutely aware of why you haven't felt the need to take a leak since you got here.
>Once she left, you drank the water in the bowl she left on the floor every morning. Best thing you ever tasted.
 
>She comes back after about ten minutes, offering you a cup of tea.
>Also good, but not nearly as good as that glorious floor water.
>”So... Anon. Now that you're awake and feeling better, I really should tell Twilight about you. If everything you said about being from another world is true- erhm- not that it wouldn't be- I'm not calling you a liar or-”
>You hold up your hand and move your index and middle finger in a circle, a gesture you started using during your orientation session that she basically understands to mean 'It's fine, keep going'.
>”Sorry. Would you mind, though?”
>Would you mind?
>Not really, but it's not like you would have much of a choice even if you did.
“No, that's fine. You can tell her about me if you want to.”
>She looks relieved. You can tell she was probably feeling guilty about hiding you from her friends.
>”I'm sure she'll want to meet you right away. Would it be ok with you if I brought her here now?”
“That's fine.”
>”Oh, that's great. Just wait here and I'll be back as soon as I can.”
>She walks out the door, and as you watch her do so you are struck by a strange thought. Do ponies have genitals? Her tail was covering the area where you would expect them to be, but based on the way she used it while you were talking, it seems they move their tails around quite at bit.
>Do they only do that when they're sure there's nobody standing behind them? Do they just not have any nudity taboos? She mentioned 'parents' and 'children' a few times during your talk, so you think they reproduce 'normally'. Then again, magic.
>Despite the fact that your interest in your caretakers privates is completely innocent and purely scientific, you decide to get the answer from a book rather than asking her directly.
>They have books, right?
>How would non-unicorns write them, though?
>Maybe they just dictated to a unicorn.
>Her civilization seems advanced enough that you find it hard to believe they have no form of writing.
>After spending somewhere between ten and thirty minutes processing everything she told you, you hear a door open downstairs.
>Okay. Time to meet this 'Twilight Sparkle' pony. Hopefully without a squad of armed guards and a god-princess backing her up.
>You decide to stay in bed. You're not exactly dressed to impress. Or at all, for that matter.
>She was supposed to be a spellcaster, a uni-
>”Fluttershy, dear? Could you help me with-”
>She was being pretty loud. Sounded like she was looking for someone.
>But Fluttershy should have either come back with her and be right there, or stayed behind in town for whatever reason, presumably far out of earshot.
>Why did she stop talking in the middle of-
>”AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
>You try to stand up out of shock, but pull the bedsheets with you and end up in a heap on the floor.
>”FLUTTERSHY?!”
>Did she hear you? What the hell is going-
>”Whoever you are, I |demand| to know what you've done to Fluttershy!”
>Her voice was shaky, but determined.
>This makes no sense. Why would probably-not-Twilight think that anything was wrong just because Fluttershy wasn't home?
>Your cartoonish pratfall could have been Fluttershy dropping something or bumping into something, for all she knew. Was it just the lack of a timely response? It had only been a few-
>Was that a footstep?
>Wait... hoofstep?
>Not the time!
>She was slowly coming up the stairs. Sounds like she's trying to be stealthy.
>Shit.
>Shit.
>Do you stay and try to figure this out?
>What if she's a unicorn?
>Based on size, you could probably handle a normal pony or a pegasus in a fight.
>Magic, though?
>You have no idea how magic works.
>She seems to believe that her friend is missing or hurt for some reason.
>If she opens the door and finds a never-before-seen giant monster that could probably kill her with one hand tied behind his back, she might fry your brain. Or teleport you into a volcano. Or-
>You hear her hoof on the door handle.
>Leave. Run.
>Grab the toga. Out the window.
>Window stuck. Pull.
>Window open.
>Door opening.
>Turn to face threat.
>White.
>Purple.
>Horn on head.
>Run.
>Out window.
>Unicorn screaming?
>Flash of light.
>Run.
>Forest.
 
 
>God dammit.
>That was a thoroughly shameful display.
>You could have stood your ground and tried to explain.
>Better yet, you could have shouted something while she was coming up the stairs. Given her time to react to your presence before she had a chance to reflexively blow you up.
>...Unless unicorns could blow you up through walls.
>Now the whole town is going to be hunting you, you're going to look guilty because you ran, and you don't have any food or shelter.
>What if Fluttershy was actually missing? There would be nobody who could vouch for your not-a-giant-monster status.
>...
>What if she was actually hurt?
>The sooner they meet you and figure out that you have nothing to do with it, the sooner they will stop chasing a red herring.
>...
>You should turn yourself in. What if something had actually happened to her?
>But what if the rest of the inhabitants aren't as nice as Flutters?
>You find it difficult to believe that she would be friends with people who would casually form a lynch mob, but what if the legal system is completely different here? What if 'innocent until proven guilty' is just a human thing?
>You've read enough horror fiction to know that if a town seems too pleasant to be true, it's probably full of people who secretly want to eat your skin and drink your eye fluids.
>But what else can you do?
>Can't hide out in the forest forever.
>Besides, Flutters might need help.
>Deep breath.
>...
>Does that ever work?
>You always make them too deep, and now you feel lightheaded.
>Fuck.
 
>Ok. After spending another five minutes resting on the Rock of Tranquility (formerly Generic Rock #16377), you feel ready to get shit done.
>Location:
>The Everfree Forest. Home of assorted monsters, according to Fluttershy.
>Inventory:
>1. Two pony-sized bedsheets fashioned into a toga (worn)
>Looks like the bandages fell off. They weren't really needed any more, anyway.
>Status:
>Sort of nasty, actually. You were going to ask Flutters if you could wash up before meeting Twilight, but you never got around to it.
>At least your wounds seem to be-
>Ow.
>You stop tracing your limbs with your fingers.
>What the fuck?
>You spend a few seconds staring at the bright red burn on the back of your left arm.
>Where did...
>The flash of light. That shouty magic horse zapped you or something.
>Plans:
>Not going back to laser horse town, that's for damn sure.
>Maybe you can find a stream or lake around here.
>You may be stuck in a spooky forest being hunted by ponies with lasers beams attached to their heads, but that doesn't mean you have to be filthy.
>Filled with determination, you stand up, stretch, flinch, curse, and look around.
>You want to find some sort of landmark that can help you navigate the forest.
>Fluttershy's cottage is somewhere behind you, there's a huge mountain in front of you and a bit to the left. The sun is right above you. Midday?
>Didn't Fluttershy say something about one of the princesses controlling the sun?
>Whether that was true or not, you have no idea how the sun behaves in this world.
>You walk off to your right, trying to create a map of the area in your mind.
 
[Rarity]
>Finally!
>It's taken you all week, but you were finally finished.
>The most spectacular pair of dresses you've ever made. One for Fluttershy and one for yourself.
>The two of you are going to be the most stunning mares at the grand opening! You can imagine the stallions eying you already.
>Fluttershy might not like that, but you just had the most amazing idea for a dress for her, and you simply had to make it.
>You smile a little at the idea that there might be such a thing as 'too much admiration' but you know that poor Fluttershy doesn't deal with that sort of thing very well.
>You arrive at her cottage and, trying and failing to contain your excitement, enter without knocking.
>Rude, but just wait until she sees her dress!
“Fluttershy, dear? Could you help me with-”
>You go quiet as your eyes fall on a pool of red liquid on the floor.
>Was that... blood? Was that... Fluttershy's blood?
“AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
>”Thump!”
Fluttershy?!
>No, the- You swallow and force yourself to look at the ground. There is a trail of blood leading outside. If the blood was from a hurt animal, there is no way she would be upstairs. She always kept her first aid kit by the front door. She would be out there helping.
>Which means that the large, heavy creature who made that sound was probably responsible for the- you look at the red splashes on the wall and have to steady yourself against the door frame- blood. An animal even Fluttershy couldn't handle.
>You steady your voice and speak.
“Whoever you are, I |demand| to know what you've done to Fluttershy!”
>You wait a few seconds. Everything is quiet.
>Well, Rarity, it looks like you are going to have to go up there and confront... it.
>For Fluttershy.
>You feel your heart beating as you sneak up the stairs.
>Another sound.
>Hoof on the door handle, you ready yourself.
>Was that the window?
>You push open the door and find yourself face to face with...
>Time stands still as you stare at each other.
>It was tall. Really tall. Probably twice as tall as a pony, if not more.
>Taller than Celestia.
>It had a white body... no, that was some sort of fabric.
>It stood on two legs, and you saw two other limbs bulging against the flowing fabric near its neck.
>It had small eyes. Small, terrifying eyes.
>You don't know why, but this creature scared you like nothing you had ever seen before. It wasn't as big or dangerous as a dragon, or as awe-inspiring as the princess, but there was just something about it that stirred up a primal fear in you. Something deep, instinctive.
>You don't notice the open window until the creature is already halfway through it.
>Thinking back to your self-defense training with Twilight, your thoughts fill with magic as you reflexively fire off the first spell you remember at it.
>Scorching Ray. A weak but quick way to incapacitate somepony.
>The creature didn't even seem to feel it.
>He disappears outside and you run up to the window to see where he's going, careful not to get too close just in case he is still hanging from a ledge or something, waiting to grab you.
>Fortunately, that's not the case.
>As you jump on the bed and look out the window, you see him running off into the Everfree.
>Even though he was a biped, he was fast.
>Twilight!
>You have to tell Twilight!
 
[Anonymous]
>Forests suck.
>You've been walking for hours now, and all you can find is more trees.
>There are so many trees that you can't even see the forest anymore.
>After spending far too long laughing to yourself at that brilliant display of wit, you realize just how dehydrated and delirious you are.
>The hunger is tolerable, but the thirst? You need some damn water.
>You would suck moisture off a hobos foot.
>You would do nasty things to Poseidon for even a small glass of his domain.
>You would even pay money for a bottle of the stuff.
>Actually, you're not quite desperate enough to do any of those things yet, but letting your imagination run wild helps you keep your mind off of how GODDAMNED THIRSTY YOU ARE!
>Is that a lake?
>That's a lake.
>DRINK THE MOTHERFUCKER!
>You run up to the sizable body of water, spend far less time than you should making sure that it's safe, and then... you drink.
>And the drinking was good.
>You spend the next ten minutes or so alternating between drinking and resting on the grass by the lake.
>After sating your mad water-lust, you strip off your robe and jump into the lake.
>It's just deep enough for you to swim, and you grin as a weeks worth of grime washes off into the lake. Then you drink some more.
>No regrets.
>Spending the next half hour lying in the grass waiting to dry off, you marvel at just how much clearer your thoughts are now that you've had something to drink.
>Next step: something to eat.
>She mentioned one of her friends running an apple orchard on the outskirts of town. The sun should set in a few hours (magical pony gods willing), giving you a perfect opportunity to steal some food.
>The mountain is to your...
>And you came here from...
>Then the way back to town should be...
>Having done your best to figure out where you are and what direction to go, you drape your improvised robe over yourself again and set off.
 
[Rainbow Dash]
“Guys, I found her!”
“Over here!”
>You fly towards the yellow and pink- and red-
>Oh Celestia.
>Oh nono.
>No...
“She's hurt! She's really...”
>Twilight is the first to arrive, giving an audible gasp as she sees her friend in a heap on the ground.
>She pushes you out of the way and pulls some medical stuff out of her saddlebags.
>You want to help, but other than basic first aid and some wing health stuff you picked up in flight school, you don't know anything about this stuff.
>AJ sprints towards the three of you.
>”How is she, Twi?”
>”I'm still cleaning off the blood, but the cuts aren't as deep as they look. She's lost a lot of blood though, and she's unconscious. We need to get her to a hospital as soon as possible!”
>”Moving her all the way there with magic might reopen a wound. Could you get a wagon and some clean blankets?”
>”Sure thing Twi, Ah'll be right back!”
>”Oh, and bring some clean water, too!”
“I'll fly ahead and warn the hospital!”
>You don't wait for a response before you fly off towards Ponyville Hospital.
>The most important thing right now is making sure that Fluttershy is ok.
>Once that's done, you are going to find whoever did this to her, and you are going to
 
[Anonymous]
>Finally! You spent hours getting back to town, and then another half-hour at least circling around until you got to the orchard.
>Apples on trees, far as the eye can see.
>It was already getting dark. You saw what was either a house or a barn off in the distance, and decide to chance it.
>Appletime.
 
>The heist went spectacularly.
>Ten delicious apples rest on the ground before you.
>You are back in the forest, away from vigilant eyes and nosy townspeople.
>Nobody saw you, and there is no way they will be able to tell that a measly, glorious ten apples are missing.
>Ten red orbs of sustenance later, you find yourself marveling at just how good it felt to be rid of that last, pesky -INT penalty.
>Unfortunately, the lack of pressing physical concerns also allowed you to remember your current predicament.
>Do you go deeper into the forest and try to get some sleep?
>Do you surrender? If so, should you just wander into town and ask to speak to the police?
>That would probably cause a panic, and you still don't know how dangerous unicorns actually are.
>Maybe you should just reveal yourself to a single pony, calm him down, explain the misunderstanding, and ask him to go get the local law enforcement?
>This farm is pretty isolated. Maybe you should just- Oh fuck, that was close. You almost forgot that the reason you knew about the orchard in the first place was because it was run by Fluttershy's friend and fellow superhero... Apple... Applejack?
>She probably knows about whatever Purplewhiteunicorn thinks happened to Flutters, so revealing yourself to her would likely get you... Well, you have no idea how good she is in a fight, but it's something you'd rather not find out.
>Wait, she only had two close friends who were unicorns, right? And the one you met probably wasn't Twilight, which would make it... Rarity?
>Rarity...
>You give a muffled pseudo-shout.
“Screw you Rarity, you laser-happy bitch!”
>Yeah, that sounds about right.
>Did Flutters mention any other houses at the edge of town where you might find just one or two ponies?
>Don't think so.
>Your mind goes in circles for another few minutes, refining your options.
>1. Hide in forest for rest of life.
>2. Leave, try to find other town elsewhere.
>3. Walk into town and try to explain yourself. Cause a panic. Even more so if Rarity told anyone other than her friends about the “fact” that the big, scary human also eats Fluttershies.
>4. Corner lone pony and convince him of your innocence or at least desire to surrender, avoiding a panic. He can then go get the cops and calm them down to the point where they won't stab or laser you to death on sight.
>5. Reveal yourself to one of the search parties that will no doubt come looking for either her or you. One of the no doubt heavily armed, nervous search parties. Maybe they have somebody stationed by her cottage you could talk to.
>6. Try to leave a note or something somewhere, explaining yourself and avoiding a panic. You don't have anything to write with or on, and you don't know if they even use the same alphabet as you.
>There is another possibility. Maybe the matter is already settled. Maybe Rarity found her at Twilight’s, sipping tea and talking about you. Or maybe her friends went looking for her and found her helping a bear or hugging a tree or something and she cleared up the misunderstanding.
>But why would Rarity have panicked to that degree if the only “problem” was that Fluttershy wasn't home when she came to visit?
>Maybe she found a ransom note or a blood stain or...
>Was... was Flutters actually on the first floor, dead?
>Is that why she had been so sure that something was wrong?
>No. No, she can't be dead.
>You try to remember exactly what Rarity had shouted.
>She 'demanded to know what you had done to Fluttershy'.
>You let out a sigh of relief.
>If she had actually found her dead, the only thing that statement could have meant was 'What exact method did you use to murder my friend.'. Not something you would ask right after finding a close friend dead.
>If Flutters was alive but injured, Rarity would have likely either gone to get a doctor or carried her to one using telekinesis instead of looking for you.
>...unless she had to drive off the monster first so that it didn't finish off her friend while she was getting help.
>This is going nowhere.
>You'll just... hide in the forest. Get some sleep. Figure out what to do tomorrow.
>You don't really feel tired, but you want to be at your sharpest mentally when-and-if you interact with the ponies. Might as well get into the habit of sleeping at night and being awake during the day like you're fairly sure they do.
 
>The moon is up. The leaves cover most of the sky, but you think it happened faster than it should have.
>Princess magic?
>You've set up a makeshift campsite about fifteen minutes into the forest. Honestly, it's just you leaning against a large tree wrapped in linens and trying to get some sleep, but calling it a 'campsite' makes you feel better about your situation.
>You don't feel the least bit tired.
>Come to think of it, are the days even 24 hours long here?
>Even if the sun and moon don't move at the whim of magic pony princesses, the orbit of the planet and/or moon could be completely different.
>Maybe the sun orbits the planet.
>”-ow how you feel, but we need to get some sleep. If we get tired, we get reckless. We could be walking into an ambush right now.”
>Shitfuck.
>”I don't care! I'm going to find that freak and kick his head off!”
>Assballstits.
>The voices came from a direction you have, in a feeble attempt to make sense of your mental map, decided to call 'mountainward', on the other side of the tree.
>Maybe 80 meters or so.
>There are plenty of trees and bushes in the way, but they would probably hear you if you tried to run.
>Don't panic. Panicking is for people who haven't had anything to eat or drink in a week.
>Hide? They would find you if they came this way. Dirty as they were by now, your rags don't exactly make for proper camouflage.
>Run? They might catch up. You don't know how fast a pegasus can fly. Also, magic.
>Oh, fuck. They might have magic that can find you if you hide too.
>Surprise attack? They could be hostile, and you still owe Rarity an indian burn or ten, but they haven't done anything wrong. Yet.
>Talk? You should talk. Shout something while standing behind the tree so that they don't reflexively incinerate you as soon as they hear your voice.
>Oh fuck, they're getting closer.
>Too close.
>You can feel your options disappearing one by one.
>Are they... whispering?
>Ohfuckityfuck magic x-ray vision or something probably fuck.
>No. Do NOT panic. Remember your poker face. No matter how you feel, you never let them see you sweat.
>More whispering.
>Better yet, don't just look calm and confident, |be| calm and confident.
>You hear them scattering in different directions.
>Okay, the confident part might be difficult, but at least you look and feel calm.
>Time to weigh your options. Fast.
>Run? Probably no point.
>Hide? Can't.
>Attack? Unethical.
>Talk? Yes.
>Threaten? No.
>Beg/grovel/excessive use of 'please' and 'you have to believe me'? No, you still have some dignity.
>Smug but friendly? Worth a shot. Acting a little arrogant and pretentious was a trick you sometimes used to stay calm. Not the best way to make friends, but it would have to do.
“Attempting to surround me?”
>You hear several sounds from all around you, but make no attempt to make sense of them.
Good plan, assuming there is no weak link.
>”Show yourself!”
While I would be happy to offer you a proper introduction, you seem somewhat hostile. If this is about your friend-
>”You're damn right it is, you ugly freak! Come out here so I can knock your head off!”
>”Dash!”
>”Come on, Twilight! You saw what-”
“While... I don't exactly feel like 'getting my head knocked off', I would be willing to try to resolve this peacefully. I had nothing to do with-”
>”Come out then!”, commands the pony 'Dash' referred to as Twilight.
“Very well.”
>Deciding to reveal yourself to the presumed leader, you stand up and start making your way towards Twilight.
“If that is what it will-”
>Having gone through the tall bushes on your right in an attempt to walk around the tree, you find yourself face to face with Rarity.
>Face to stomach, to be more accurate. You are standing right in front of her, easily twice her height.
>Her eyes go wide and she screams.
>You hear bushes rustling to your right.
>Then the world goes purple.
>Then the world goes black.