Breaking News

Late Friday evening there was a motor vehicle accident on Old Mill Road around mile marker 12 at 12:48 AM involving a motorcycle and a pickup truck. The driver of the truck was unhurt, but arrested at the scene for driving while intoxicated. The rider of the motorcycle is currently unnacounted for. The driver of the truck stated that after the colllision there was a flash of light and the rider disappeared, but when questioned as to what caused the flash, was unable to provide an answer. Police are currently engaged in a search of the area to find the rider.

Splitting pain. My entire existence was made of white hot pain, forcing me from the warm embrace of unconsciousness. I barely cracked my eyes open, then smashed them shut with a groan, trying to shut out the blinding light that assaulted them. I slowly forced myself into a sitting position, gritting my teeth against my screaming muscles. I tried once again to open my eyes, hissing to myself with each assault of light. After several attempts I was finally able to get my eyes open to the point I could make out blurred shapes. I blinked my eyes to clear them until I could make out where the hell I was.

It looked like I was In the middle of a clearing in some forest. I've been all over the forests around my home and knew every inch of them, and right now I didn't have any idea where the hell I was. I forced myself to my feet and staggered over to a gnarled looking tree to lean against while I collected myself. I quickly looked myself over, noting the ragged appearance of my clothes.

I still had my leather jacket on, but there was a huge rip down the left arm. My jeans were no better, with huge rips on the legs. My t-shirt was covered with rips, and I could see patches of raw skin through them that looked like road rash, almost like I had laid my motorcycle down and slid. There was also splashes of blood on my clothes, making me wonder what the fuck had happened the night before. My steel toed biker boots still seemed intact, just scuffed up.

I took a deep breath and hissed, as it felt like every rib in my side was broken. I closed my eyes against the nauseous spinning that swam in my head. After it had abated some, I gingerly lifted my shirt and jacket and stared shocked at the bruising that covered my left side. I laid my hand gently on my ribs and probed. It hurt like a bitch, but I didn't feel anything moving, so I at least could rule out broken ribs, leaving me to guess cracked as the culprit. I let the material fall and leaned against the tree, letting my thoughts swirl in my head.

OK. I'm in severe pain, it feels like I'm being stabbed every time I breathe, I have no clue where I am, and my motorcycle is nowhere to be seen. Fuckin perfect. I must have been mugged and left somewhere. Ok, focus. I'm still breathing, even though I'd rather not, yes I'm banged up, but nothing seems truly broken. I can still walk, it's daytime, which means I don't have to worry about being attacked by wild animals. Just breathe, shallowly, and focus on finding help.

I took another, much shallower breath, then pushed off the tree and took a tentative step forward, testing my balance. I wobbled a little bit, then took another step, then another, getting my footing back. I looked towards the spot where I had started and saw my rucksack laying there. I walked over to it, hissing through my teeth as I felt muscles twinge and ache. I quickly leaned down to grab the bag, gritting my teeth against my ribs and spine sending bolts of pain to my brain.

I straightened up and looked at the sky to see where the sun was to try to get a fix on what direction was what. I reached into my rucksack and pulled out my phone and checked for a signal. Finding none, I noted the time, finding it to be mid-morning. Well no time like the present. I noted where the sun was again, then struck out in a roughly westerly direction, hoping I would come out somewhere near civilization. With each step I could feel my muscles protesting, but I pushed through the pain. I could stop and rest when I was dead, or had found someone to get me to the nearest hospital.

To take my mind off of the pain, I plugged my headphones into my phone and hit play on the first playlist on my phone. As the opening notes to Ten Thousand Fists by Disturbed started to blast in my ears, I pushed on through the underbrush, letting the lyrics flood my mind, pushing everything else to the back of my mind. Yes I was still in pain, but I could at least focus my mind on something else. I closed my eyes, inhaled, exhaled, then started walking again, hoping I would find help before nightfall.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I leaned against a tree, trying to catch my breath, and trying to ignore the stabbing pain in my side every time I inhaled. My injuries must have been worse than I thought. If I didn't get medical attention, and soon, I'd probably end up just collapsing. I glanced at my phone, finding I had been walking for about four hours by this point, and I still had no service. I had noticed that my battery was approaching the twenty percent marker about an hour prior, so I turned it off to try to conserve the battery in case I found somewhere with service.

I felt my stomach grumble, and I was dying of thirst by this point. Food I could do without, but hydration was a necessity. I dug through my ruck, looking for something, anything, to drink. Towards the bottom I found a half empty bottle of warm water, and luck must love me, a small medicine bottle. I pulled both out and quickly opened the meds, finding four ibuprofen at the bottom of the bottle. I dumped the pills into my mouth and necked the water, feeling the water sate my thirst for the moment. I put the empty bottles back into my rucksack and did a quick inventory.

Phone charger, an orange, change of clothes, art supplies, some notebooks. Standard fare for my bag. Under everything I had some airsoft supplies as well. Handgun, MP7 mockup, some ammo and gas clips for the guns, and a propane canister to refill the clips. I also had a Beretta 96F in a holster that I carried for my job and a full box of .45 ammo. I found a granola bar in the bottom of the bag which quickly ceased its existence. I tossed the wrapper into my bag and resumed my journey, hoping that the thinning trees up ahead meant that I was about to leave this infernal Forest behind. I had started to hear less than friendly noises in the last hour, and I had no desire to meet the things making them. I was in luck however. The trees had given way to a small path that twisted away in a northerly direction, and out of the trees. I made a beeline for the path, wanting to spend as little time as possible in this place.

I followed the path towards what looked like a lake in the distance where I could just barely make out sounds like some people having fun. I broke into a jog, praying one of them had service. As I broke the tree line, the laughter turned to screams of terror. I broke into a run, feeling my ribs scream in protest, and headed for the lakes edge, well more like a very large pond as it was at most sixty to sixty five feet across. I could see two young girls panicking on the other shore. When they saw me they started screaming louder and gesturing.

"It's our friend! She was fine then she went under and she hasn't come back up! Please help her!" the one screamed to me. I dropped my rucksack and threw my jacket behind me as I ran to the shore and dove as far out as I could. I sucked in a breath at how cold the water felt on my skin, and nearly ended up drowning myself. I quickly surfaced and coughed out a mouthful of water and made my way towards the center of the pond, took a deep breath, and dove. Even though this was only a pond the bottom was a good forty plus feet down. I had moderate visibility, so I quickly started searching the depths looking for any…There! I could just make out a body floating below me close to the bottom. I dove down and seized an arm, then made for the surface dragging the limp body behind me. I broke the surface and sucked air into my burning lungs, coughing as I felt my ribs burn. I pulled the body up to reveal a young girl with purple hair in her face.

I quickly started swimming for the edge of the pond the two young girls were at, noticing a tanned woman with a Stetson running towards them from up a hill. The closer to shore I got the more I became aware of my muscles protesting and how fatigued I was from my injuries. I pushed through and drug myself and the girl onto shore as the three rushed towards me. I had taken an emergency response training a few months ago, so I quickly started to assess the girl's condition. She wasn't breathing and I couldn't find a pulse anywhere.

"Is she alright? Why isn't she moving? Why is she so pale? Can you help her? Can we help?" I had the young girls yelling questions at me while the woman was standing back on a cell talking to someone.

"EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP!" I shouted at them, as I quickly started to administer chest compressions, trying to get her heart started. I felt something slam into me, knocking me onto the ground.

"Wha the buck do ya think yer doin to Scootaloo?" the woman was standing over me yelling. I quickly jumped up and pushed her back. "I'm trying to save her life you dumbass! Haven't you ever seen CPR?" I yelled at her as I dropped next to, what did the bitch say, Scootaloo? And resumed my chest compressions.

"What the hay is sea pea are?" the woman asked me. "It's a medical process. Her heart stopped beating and I'm trying to get it going again." I responded as I delivered another three compressions, then quickly tilted the girls head back and pinched her nose closed. "She's not breathing so I'm going to blow air into her lungs to replenish her oxygen levels." I told the woman before sealing my mouth over the girls and blowing. I only had to do that twice before I felt her convulse.

I quickly rolled her onto her side in time for her to cough and vomit water onto the sand. Her two friends helped her into a sitting position as two more women ran up to us. I stood up as the group reached us and surrounded the three girls. The woman from before walked over to me. "Eh, sorry bout before mister. I saw ya doin that an thought ya were doin something to Scootaloo."

"It's fine. Seeing someone performing CPR and not know what the hell they're doing would confuse anybody Miss…? I said to her, brushing my hair out of my face. I had been growing it out for the past year, and now my bangs would fall in my face if it wasn't tied back.

"Oh where are mah manners. Names Applejack pardner, but mah friends' call me AJ. I run Sweet Apple Acres just over the hill there with mah family." She said as she extended her hand to me. I took it and she nearly broke my fingers with her grip. Well, when in Rome, I thought to myself as I squeezed back, doing my best to break her hand too.

Applejack threw her head back and laughed. "Yer the first stallion I've found who's actually tried to match my shake. Kinda nice to find somepony who don't mind bein a lil forceful. Never did catch yer name mister…?"

Stallion? Somepony? Must have hit my head too. "Uh, my names Nicolai. Nicolai Romanov. I'm sorry, my heads a little bit fuzzy. I coulda sworn you just called me a stallion and used the word somepony." I chuckled. AJ cocked her head to the side and looked at me.

"I did." She said, looking at me like she was confused. "Eh Nicolai, what happened to ya? Ya look like ya got chewed on by a whole pack of Timberwolves."

"I'm not exactly sure to be honest. I think I got mugged last night and dumped in the forest." I responded, pointing over my shoulder towards the forest I had come out of.

Her eyes widened and she looked at me again. "You came out of there?! The Everfree?"

I quirked an eyebrow at her and nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Hey, I left my stuff on the other side when I jumped in. Mind if we go get it?"

She looked at me oddly again, then nodded. I started around the pond, quickly finding my stuff. As I went to bend over a gust of wind caught AJ's hat, knocking it off her head to reveal a pair of pony ears on top of her head. She turned and quickly picked the hat back up and stuck it back on her head. When she had turned I had caught sight of a tail protruding from her jeans.

"Heh, trying on your Halloween costume early?" I asked as I picked up my rucksack and coat, then started to walk back around the pond towards the other group. She looked at me again, then followed me.

"What the hay is Halloween? An what do ya mean costume?"

Ok, this chicks messing with me now. "The ears and tail AJ. They're part of a costume for Halloween. You know, kids going door to door getting candy?"

AJ gave me yet another strange look. "Ya mean Nightmare Night? An what makes ya think my ears an tail are fake?"

I stopped and faced her. "Ok Applejack. Enough with the joke. You're wearing a fake tail and ears. We both know it. It's cool if you wanna wear that stuff, but at least admit that they're fake."

She was suddenly in my face. "Listen here. I don't know where the hay ya think ya get off sayin mah ears or mah tail are fake. Who the Buck do you think you are?" She yelled in my face.

I scoffed and turned to walk away. We were only about forty feet from the other group by this point. As I took a step I was hit with a wave of dizziness and stumbled. I managed to catch my balance and stay upright, but the dizziness wasn't going away. By that time Applejack had gotten in front of me.

"Don't you walk away from me when I'm… Nicolai! Yer bleeding!" she said, pointing at my chest.

I looked at where she was pointing and saw a dark stain starting to spread across my shirt. I grunted in surprise, then collapsed. I tried to sit back up, but nothing was responding to my orders. I was just too weak. "Well fuck. I must have been injured worse than I thought."

"Fluttershy! Come quick!" Applejack yelled towards the group. One of the women rushed over to me and pulled at my shirt to get at the wound. She finally just ripped it, tearing the shirt off. She gasped, then grabbed the bag she had dropped nearby and started pulling bandages out of it.

"Ww. happened to him?" She asked as she folded and pressed a bandage against my chest. I had managed to gather enough strength to raise my head so I could see the wound. The wound wasn't all that big, only like four or five inches long, but it looked deep. I was starting to feel dizzy from the adrenaline leaving my system and blood loss, so I started to act just a hair loopy.

"Well how bad is it cutie? Will I make it?" I said, well more I mumbled, to her. She blushed, but never let up with the pressure on my wound. She did look cute with her pink hair framing her face the way it did, her teal eyes looking so determined, her bangs in her face, even the pony ears she was wearing looked cute on her.

I reached up and brushed her pink bangs out of her face. She eeped and flinched away from my hand. "Sorry. Just wanted to see the face of the angel who's trying to save me." I said to her before my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I sank into darkness.

-.-Fluttershy's POV-.-

I watched the stranger pass out, his hand falling to the sand next to him. There's so much blood. I don't know if I can stop it fast enough. I reached over to rummage in my bag, searching for one small packet. Finally my hand closed over it, and I quickly ripped it open, revealing a needle, some sutures, and a small hand sanitizer packet.

"Applejack, I need you to keep pressure on this." I said. She quickly took my place and pressed down, doing her best to staunch the blood flow. I opened the hand sanitizer and sterilized my hands and the needle. I quickly threaded the suture on the needle, then moved over to the stranger's side.

"Ok, I need you to lift the bandage so I can stitch his wound closed." I ordered. AJ quickly moved the bandage and I set to stitching. It only took me thirty seconds to get the wound closed enough to stop him from bleeding out before we got him to the hospital. "Applejack, what happened? How did this stallion get like this?"

AJ ran her hand through her mane, streaking some blood through it. "Ahm not sure. All I got out of him was his name is Nicolai and he reckoned he was mugged and dumped in the Everfree. But something ain't right. He thought mah ears an tail were fake. An that's not the only thing. Ah mean look at him. I was too stressed out earlier to notice, but look. He doesn't have a tail or hooves, or even ears like ours. Jest what is he?"

"I'm not sure AJ, but whatever he is, he need a hospital." I said to her. I quickly turned and looked for my other friend Rarity. "Rarity, can you levitate him please? T..that is if you don't mind?" Rarity quickly nodded, then picked up Nicolai with her magic. Applebloom and Sweetiebell had helped Scootaloo to her feet, but she was still weak, and they were supporting her. We all quickly made our way towards Ponyville and the hospital to get Scootaloo checked over and this strange being stabilized.