Chapter 11 Except, Fallout Equestria - Letters to Celestia · 5:19am Jul 15th, 2019
(Chapter in Progress)
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/289691/fallout-equestria-letters-to-celestia
"“What do you mean the war isn’t over?” I called to her as she moved through the underbrush. She led the way and I tried to follow. I stepped where she stepped, but I felt like a new-born deer trying to walk for the first time. She moved over branches and roots as easily as I might have through the trash and dunes of the Wasteland; whereas I, behind her, stumbled, tripled, caught my hoof on unseen things that she seemed to so easily avoid.
“No stop. No time.” She said sharply, turning to me and gesturing for me to hurry up.
I couldn’t help but grumble to myself as I tried my best to speed up. I had no idea where we were going, every inch of this jungle looked the same to me. “I need to find my friends. Do you understand that word? Friends?”
“I understand.” She replied without even looking at me.
“Okay,” I began, hoping we were getting somewhere. “Is this the way to them then?”
She climbed up onto a particularly large fallen trunk of a tree, its surface having become mossy and slippery in the dew that had collected, yet she climbed it easily as though it were a set of stone steps. “No.” She answered simply before jumping to the other side of the trunk.
I paused at that answer and glared a little. I approached the trunk, it was bent in a way that allowed access to the bottom and underneath it, and I, rather than wanting to climb over the thing and likely break my neck, began squeezing myself under the log.
“No!” Ukoo suddenly yelled at me, she rushed the other side of the trunk, slipped to the ground mid-run and skidded into a form kick that slipped under the trunk and straight into my chest, launching me back out the other side. I yelped and skidded back a few feet away from the trunk and panting from the pain.
“The fuck?!” I gasped, looking over to her, only for my eyes to widen. The underside of the Trunk looked like it had TEETH. But it wasn’t the trunk, on closer inspection I saw it was some kind of massive insect that had buried itself into a crevice on the underside of the log, it probed eagerly for anything to grab, large bonelike teeth that reached and wriggled and explored, but thankfully it found nothing, and slithered once again away from view.
There was silence for a moment after the large insect had slipped away. Ukoo climbed up onto the trunk again and looked at me, but even as I tried to make myself look at her, I couldn’t help but glance again and again back at the underside of that log. I didn’t know what that thing was, but my heart was pounding in panic over it.
“Meno Nyeusi. Sumu, how you say, poison. Kifo, death.”
I gulped and managed to force myself to look back at her this time. I nodded now, showing I understood.
“Over tree.” She said stiffly before jumping once again to the other side of the tree.
I approached it wearily, my chest still hurting from her kick, but I would rather have received that than allow myself to be taken by that thing. I looked for a way around the root, but the surrounding trees were wrapped in a natural web of vines that left little to no room for movement. This really was the best way.
Giving the underside a wide berth, I stepped up onto the mossy surface and almost immediately slipped. Thankfully I’d braced myself against a nearby upright tree, so I didn’t fall flat. I simply tried again, got a better purchase, and found an almost unseen hold that was just enough for my hoof to bear my weight. This was likely how she’d ascended it the first time, I told myself. I pulled myself up and on top of the trunk before jumping to the other side. I glanced back at the log and quickly moved further away from it.
“Are there many more of those things out here?” I asked in a nervous voice.
She thought about my words for a moment, likely giving herself time to translate them in her head before she nodded with a slightly disconcertingly broad smile spreading across her face. “Oh yes, many. Meno Nyeusi, very common. Good for Mikuki.”
I asked, “mikuki?”
She nodded. “Spears.” She informed me.
I nodded, that made sense. “You said they were poison? Is that if they bite you?” I asked, my heart rate finally having levelled out. She nodded at my question. “Then it’s venomous.” She looked confused. “Poison, is if you eat it and you die, erm, kifu.” I said, borrowing the word she’d said before; assuming that it was the correct translation. “Venom, if it bites you, and you die, kifu.”
She seemed to think about that. “Two? We have one. Sumu. Means same as two. Poison and venom.”
I thought about that and shrugged. That made sense too, it was also more efficient language wise. I filed that information away in case I needed it. While I was here, I figured I might as well pick up as much of the language as possible. “Sumu.” I repeated to myself, trying the word on my lips. “Thank you for letting me know.”
She beamed at the thanks and we continued moving."
So far so good. No glaring errors grammatically. It also seems to be carrying on well from the last chapter. Thanks for sharing with us. I look forward to reading more of it. I am really glad to see you are continuing this story.
5089061
Even if people stopped reading it, I'd still finish it eventually. I put way too much work into planning it, and love it too much to really abandon. But I'm also working on actual original novels to get published at the same time. ^-^
I understand how that is. I feel the same way about mine. But so far I am enjoying your story and plan on finishing it when you are done with it it.
5089303
Thanks, that means a lot. It's good knowing some people with be with me in this ride to the end.