As promised, James had reorganized his priorities, and had been going over them since he hid on the train.
During his journey back to Ponyville, James had been looking out at the landscape as it passed by, bleeding into one large portrait of what the kingdom of Equestria looked like. It was remarkable; he had been here for almost three weeks, and he was still seeing places and things that he felt positive were nothing like his homeland. The night sky, for one. James could just feel how far away from home he was by seeing that sky at any time, especially at night when it turned into a brilliant light show. Watching the clouds turn from white in the day to pink at sunset to black at night was enthralling, and turning his eyes to the ground showed him an ever-changing landscape of trees, barren plains and boulders, even faraway towns, their lights reaching James from where they were. The blue mountains stretched up to the sky, creating what looked like teeth scraping the air from the atmosphere. It was wonderful.
In those moments of watching the kingdom roll by, James felt the yearning to see his home lessen greatly. Everything about this world was so serene, so calm… unfortunately, he was snapped out of that idea by the sight of a golden-white object in the skies above. It was at this point that James closed up the door to the car and hastily found a crate to hide in.
Turning his thoughts back to the present, James looked around the new environment. Even the creepy, unnatural-looking Everfree was comforting to him. Thick in the air were fireflies that lit the area up, turning the usual blackness of the forest to a faint glowing yellow. Crickets broke the silence of the night with their constant chirping, and the outside world had gone away, leaving only James, the fireflies, the crickets, and James's thoughts.
Over the past day or so, James had written down his experience in this world, from the day he woke up in the forests outside Ponyville to the moment he boarded the train. From it, he finally managed to set his goals in order; the way he saw it, he couldn't get home until he could find a way to open a gateway back. He didn't have the power to do that, but he did know what did: the presence from his dreams. In order to make the presence send him back, he needed to either find him and thwart his plan or go along with it. James chose the former, which meant that his first goal would be to find this being, whoever or whatever he was. And it would begin here and now; no more slacking off.
From here on in, there would be absolutely no contact with the rest of the world. Nobody would know he ever made this undertaking; it would be as if he had simply vanished. And, in the following months, the story of James Alistair, the human bandit that stole from Ponyville and escaped from Canterlot, would slowly fade into myth, rumor and eventually slip out of public memory. He vowed that he would find whatever had caused this and make it send him home.
It suddenly became apparent, however, that James, for all of his drive, was bone-tired. Perhaps his plan would begin here and tomorrow; he'd need his strength for the journey ahead. Climbing up a nearby tree, he found a high up branch and drifted off to sleep.
James half-expected to be greeted once more by the presence in the darkness. Instead, he found himself on a grey-sanded desert. At first, he had forgotten if he had seen it before, but he had, albeit weeks ago. This time, he could move and look around.
James surveyed his surroundings in silence. Looking around, he could see that the grey desert wasn't a desert at all; roughly forty feet behind him, a dark blue-grey ocean stretched out to the horizon, from which jutted black, jagged rocks. Above him the sky was a grey-white color, and the sun was blotted out. It was like watching an old silent film, except James retained his own natural pigments.
And yet, there were still things missing.
Why can't I remember?
The thought tugged at the back of James's mind. It was like he already had the last pieces of the puzzle, but he just didn't know where they fit properly. Eventually, he remembered what was missing; the first time he had this dream he was looking down at some kind of stone. Beside him was some form of presence. Another human, although James never got a good look at them, didn't know if they were male or female, old or young. He had also been carrying things, heavier than what he was carrying now. Without the presence nearby, it felt empty, devoid of anything but him.
Before he could contemplate this, James felt a feeling of foreboding that was enough to awaken him to the night. Looking out over the forest, the sky full of stars above, the trees full of lightning-bugs below, James felt his heart sink. Even with a plan laid out before him, he had no idea what to do or where to go. Hell, even with all his talk of going home, he didn't even know what he wanted anymore. This was a beautiful world, one that James felt reluctant to just leave behind, like he was passing up some golden opportunity. This feeling only grew when he thought of his only memories of the world he hailed from, the grey-brown sphere of polluted dirt.
'I'm lost,' James realized. 'I'm lost and alone and I don't even have someone to bounce things off of. In the time since I've arrived here, I've gone back and forth between two cities and have done nothing to help me in leaving. I have clues to get home, but I have literally nothing else to go on. Besides, goddesses, magic, monsters? I'm just some guy. Maybe whatever is taunting me in my dreams is right. Maybe I can't prevent the inevitable.'
James looked out over the tranquility of the planet and felt ready to descend into hopelessness. There was no victory in fighting this empire. There was no victory in going back home. There was just him. Him and his struggle against the world.
And no matter what, every struggle has to come to an end, one way or another.
Morning had come, and with it a harsh, blazing summer day that scorched the backs of workers that toiled in the sun.
Twilight was almost glad to be under the cool canopy of the Everfree.
As promised, Twilight was going out again to look for James. What she neglected to tell her friend Rainbow was that she was going alone. Twilight wasn't ready to go up to her friends yet again to ask them to solve a problem she could have easily solved alone, especially since they had all just shaken off their initial encounter and had just fallen back into routine. So, she left early before anyone else had the chance to wake up and made haste into the forest.
Using her horn as a torch by lighting it up with magic energy, Twilight moved through the all-encompassing darkness of the Everfree's thick sheet of leaves, the eerie purple light casting long shadows. Being in this forest alone again brought up uncomfortable memories for her; specifically regarding a certain type of reptilian monster. The experience only made Twilight's senses sharper to danger, and she was wide awake and covering every angle every step of the way. After roughly a half-hour of stressful, silent walking, Twilight found what she was looking for. She had come back to the clearing where she and James first met, and sure enough, he was there too, gathering water in a glass bottle. Twilight had theorized that, like any animal, James would find his way back to familiar grounds. Now she just had to nail him again, this time with a knockout spell to make sure he didn't somehow get the upper hand…
James watched as bubbles rose up from the tip of the bottle, blurting up to the surface and silently popping. It had been a fortunate morning so far; he was able to find out current events in Ponyville through a slight recon mission around sunrise, then move back through the forest to this clearing to stock up on water before moving on to somewhere else. It seemed that they finally put up an actual reward for his capture now; 100 'bits', which James assumed was either currency or slang for currency.
James had just felt it when he had finished filling the bottle.
The bristly ozone feeling of magic in the air.
Before his body could register the command, James rolled, and the blast of energy missed his head by mere micrometres, filling his nose with a metallic stench and scorching a mark across his ear, leaving a ringing sound behind. James grabbed the stolen spear from the ground and aimed it at the spot where the blast came from, but saw only darkness. The aura of the magic was a familiar color, and James knew who would be most likely to come after him already.
After a moment of stillness, James called out to the darkness. "Why don't you and your friends come out where I can see you, Twilight?"
Another blast of energy from behind was his answer. Again, James dove to one side and took cover behind a boulder, limiting Twilight's angles of attack. The blast had come from behind him, even though he was facing where Twilight should have been. This was particularly great, seeing as James could barely deal with Twilight's abilities without her teleporting everywhere.
"Not in a chatty mood, I see?" James called out again.
This time it resulted in a response. "You humiliated a friend of mine," Twilight replied. "Why?"
"Ah, y'know," James said. "Life is so much more interesting when you've got enemies."
"It's much more fulfilling with friends," Twilight countered.
"Which is why you all came out here to track me down and take me prisoner, right? Real big, happy friendship right there, I can see why you're all so close. By the way…"
James quickly dashed over to another nearby boulder before continuing, a magic blast scoring the heel of his boot as he moved. "100 bits, huh? So much for 'reward pending,' right?"
For almost a minute, there was no answer. Then Twilight spoke. "You gave us no choice, James. You forced our hoof!"
"Really?" James asked. "And by 'us,' I'm assuming you mean you and your mentor the Princess?"
James could almost smell the stunned feeling Twilight was giving off in the air.
"How… How did you—"
"Know? Well, when I was in Canterlot, as your tutor probably warned you, I started making a few connections between you and her. The fact that you're both well-versed in etiquette and magic, the fact that you both own more than a few books… but really, the real kicker is that you just confirmed it."
There was no answer.
"What's wrong, Twilight? She did tell you I was there, right? Just like she told you about how I was back on my way here? Surely you had to have planned ahead, just like with those bounty posters."
James took the time window he had opened to sprint over to the edge of the clearing and hide behind a tree, and a good thing too, because the next blast aimed at him was enough to cleave the boulder he was hiding behind in two. Something was wrong though; if her friends were here, what were they waiting for? Twilight had him pinned for a good while there, which would give the rest of them a fair chance in capturing him. Unless…
"Ooh," James called out afterwards. "Now that didn't look like a positive response. Did I touch a nerve?"
James went to move his spear, but found that it wouldn't budge. He saw why before it happened, as an unseen force yanked it from his hands and aimed the tip at his throat. Looking around, James eventually saw Twilight emerge from the shadows and stare at him.
"Yes," she said angrily, "you did."
"Well," James replied, "100 bits to you. Doesn't seem like much, split six ways, but then again, you didn't bring anyone else, did you? So, what, you wanted it to yourself? Hardly seems fair to the others…"
"I don't care about the money," Twilight said to him. "I care about removing you from the streets."
"Your streets?" James asked.
"Everyone's."
"Hmm. Beautiful eyes, by the way, I can see how well they match your hair. I remember your friend Rainbow had a very similar look to her when she was flailing around in a tree trunk, and you know what? You're just as ugly when you're angry as she was."
The spear whipped around, pried James's back off the tree and aimed its point at his back.
"Move," Twilight growled.
"You know," James said, advancing carefully enough to make Twilight back up directly behind her. "You really shouldn't go for a 'bad cop' feel, know what I'm saying? It doesn't really suit you."
Twilight made an attempt to answer when suddenly she felt the ground crackle beneath her hooves. For a moment, James thought that his ploy hadn't worked, but then Twilight looked down at the leaves below and took one step back, not thinking much about it…
…Before losing her footing and, despite her attempts to regain balance, being pulled up into the air until she was looking at James upside-down. A Snare trap!
"You know what else your strong suit isn't? Street smarts."
"Hey!" Twilight yelled, her concentration leaving her and causing the spear to drop. "What!? How did you…?"
"What, you didn't really think I was stupid enough not to plan ahead, did you? Especially since I had come to a really obvious spot." James paused to admire his handiwork. "Nice snare trap, yeah? Takes about a few minutes to make, which is why I took the time to rig up a few several hours ago. You know, just in case."
Twilight made an effort to swing over to James, but he simply walked back a few steps out of her reach. Whistling some forgotten tune to himself, James knelt down and retrieved his spear. "Y'know, we're not really all that different, come to think of it," he continued.
"I'm not even remotely like you," Twilight said to him. "You're a thief, and a brute, and you care nothing for anyone but yourself."
"First off," James argued, "what has anyone in this world done for me thus far to make me like them, let alone feel guilty about what I've done? Secondly…" suddenly, he paused, as if thinking over what he was about to say. He chose not to finish his thought, and instead turned around, beginning to walk away into the forest.
"Hey—wait!" Twilight yelled after him. "Where are you going!? You're not just going to leave me here, are you?"
James stopped in his tracks. Then he turned and strode back to Twilight, drawing a makeshift knife from his jacket. He had gained a look in his eye that didn't seem natural; it was a sharp, clear blue colour that took on an ominous glint in the darkness of the woods.
"What are you…?" Twilight's nerve began to lessen as James stood next to her. She had realized that, when standing at his full height, he was much taller than she was. James didn't answer her question, and instead lifted the knife, made from a shattered spearhead, towards her neck. For a terrifying moment that seemed to last forever, James let it hover there, as though contemplating…
Then he raised the knife upwards, sliced the creeper holding Twilight up, and cut her loose. With a grunt, Twilight landed painfully on the ground. As she was recovering, James spoke.
"Go home, Twilight. Leave and go back to your friends, and your Princess, and your quiet little life. You needn't worry about me anymore, because I'm leaving too."
Without another word, James turned and vanished into the Everfree, leaving Twilight to think about what he meant by that.
Before long, James was well away from the clearing and Twilight, making sure she hadn't followed him. As soon as he was certain he wasn't being watched, he sat down next to a tree to rest. All around him the forest seemed to breathe alongside him, the darkness punctuated by shafts of light creating a sense of claustrophobia. The encounter with Twilight was a close call, closer than James could admit, and several things didn't make sense.
Aside from the fact that Twilight's friends should have been present at the time, she had multiple chances to take him down alone too, but she didn't seem to take them. If she wanted to capture him so badly, why would she hold back? James had multiple theories; the first being that Twilight was attempting to lull him into a false sense of security by attacking him alone while her friends moved into a position where they'd have the advantage. The thing was, they had already passed up a good opportunity to box him in a while ago. It could be that they were hanging back and tracking James to see where he was going, or to catch him off-guard.
Regardless, it wouldn't work. James may not be able to win, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight. If Twilight and her band of 'heroes' wanted to have a go at him, he was here and he was waiting. James rose to his feet, and stared into the blackness surrounding him, holding him in a crushing grip, and declared this for the world to hear.
"My name is James Alistair!" he roared into the abyss. "I don't care who or what you are, but I deny you the ability to frighten me! I am here, and I am waiting, and if you want to take me, you'll have to take me STANDING!"
He didn't care who or what heard him; he was just glad to finally say it aloud.
On her way home, Twilight thought about what James had said.
Go home to your friends, and your Princess, and your quiet little life.
His voice carried a weight to it that Twilight didn't quite understand. It was almost as if he sounded bitter; like he was envious of what she had. James had also said he was leaving as well, but where was he leaving to go? Come to think of it, where did he come from in the first place? He clearly wasn't native to Equestria, that much was certain; a creature like him wouldn't be a well-kept secret for long. There was something bigger at play here, and perhaps Celestia knew this before she did.
Why didn't she tell her that James was in Canterlot? Surely she could have helped! If she had just implied that he was there, at least give her a scrap of news about the event. Thinking of Celestia not telling Twilight about James suddenly got her thinking about what would happen when she gets back to Ponyville and her friends find out that she went after him alone.
Before Twilight could contemplate this, a sudden movement in the corner of her eye shifted her attention to her surroundings, pulling her out of her own head. At first, she thought that James had trailed her back, but the reality was much worse; the hulking, catlike shape, the twin heads, and the fact that the tail moved in an erratic, almost intelligent way.
'Oh, come on,' Twilight thought. 'This has to be some sick joke. There's just no way my luck could be that bad.'
But in response, the Chimera lunged from the trees, and Twilight was fighting for her life.
Because of course her luck would be that bad.
It was late in the day, and Rainbow Dash was just finishing her regularly-scheduled work. All in all, she felt well-rested and much better than yesterday, and as she had promised Twilight, she hadn't gone after her friends when they went out to look for James. Which made it all the more confusing when she touched down outside of Sweet Apple Acres on her way home after seeing Applejack working her butt off as usual.
"Applejack?" she called out to her friend.
The orange workhorse looked up from her job after giving a mighty kick to a sizeable apple tree, causing the huge, red fruit to rain down from the branches onto the ground. She looked genuinely surprised to see her.
"Oh, hey, Rainbow!" she said, a grin spreading across her face. "My my, haven't seen you around in a while! How've ya been?"
"Great, great," Dash replied. "Quick work, huh? You guys didn't take very long doing what had to be done, did you?"
Applejack regarded her friend with a puzzled look, then looked over her shoulder to the tree she had just apple-bucked. "Oh, the apples!" she said. "Yeah, it doesn't take very long ever, really. When the Apple family is on the job, you can be sure things get done!"
"No," Dash said, "I mean going out to find you-know-who."
Applejack's expression changed from puzzled to confused. "I was supposed to go out to find someone?"
"Yeah!" Dash replied. "Didn't Twilight come to you this morning to—"
"Dash," Applejack said, "I haven't seen Twilight all day. I did have a chat with Spike, though."
"Wh-what…?" Dash stammered.
"He came by not ten minutes before you did," Applejcak explained. "Askin' if Twilight came by here at some point today. Said he'd been to the Carousel Boutique to ask Rarity too, but she didn't know either, so I told him 'Sorry, I wouldn't know', and suggested he go ask Pinkie or Fluttershy…"
Dash's blood froze. "Y-you mean she didn't come here… or to anyone else?"
"Guess not," Applejack confirmed.
"Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Why would she go alone!?" Dash began to mutter to herself. "Why would she—oh, that—of all the stupid, featherbrained…!"
"Go alone?" Applejack said. "Rainbow, what in tarnation are you talking about!?"
"Twilight!" Dash cried out. Her voice began to take on a rapid-fire tone closer to how Pinkie Pie would talk. "Okay, so, y'know how James trapped me in a tree two weeks ago? Well, I didn't really get over it well, so this one night—last night—I saw these two Canterlot guards heading out of the train station so I went to Twilight and we had an argument, and then Twilight said 'We're going out tomorrow to look for him', and she told me I wasn't going and that she'd go see you and Rarity and Pinkie and Fluttershy and go out tomorrow to look for him, and I thought she was going to do that exceptshedidn'tandnowshe'southerealonewithhimand—"
"Dash!" Applejack yelled. "Just calm down, okay? Try and tell me what happened again, maybe in a, I dunno, slower tone?"
"Twilight's in trouble!" Dash shouted. That got Applejack's attention.
"What!?" Applejack said. "Well, were is she? We've gotta help her!"
"She's in the Everfree!" Dash said. "I'll go ahead. You go get the others. Hurry!"
Before Applejack had a chance to argue, Dash was in the sky and bulleting over the forest at subsonic speeds. Twilight, for whatever dumb reason, had gone into the Everfree alone, and now she was in danger. And Dash knew exactly who was responsible.