Chapter 02: Pastel... Pastel Everywhere!
A dreamless night. I was hoping I'd get lucky with yesterday being the dream. Oh well. Deep down I know I've been through worse, even if I still can't recall any of it. I feel like I'm being watched, but I can't find anything when I take a look around. Plenty of sunlight is filtering in through the high windows... damn, I must've slept a lot more than I should have.
Achoo!
...And the pastel thing was right. Now I'm sick. Exactly what I need right now. Only way this could get worse is if-
Grrruhghhh.
...For the love of. No, that's not a wild animal. That's my stomach. Eating, that's a thing, right. I'll have to set off. What that... whatever she was said before has me a bit concerned, but there must be some kind of civilization nearby. I'd rather not live off furry woodland creatures if I can help it. I push aside the various rocks of my makeshift shelter-inside-the-shelter, hopefully disguising the fact I spent the night there, then head off into the woods.
Now I can definitely feel it as I walk. Eyes. Watching my every move. I feel like I'm going to get jumped by a bunch of guard hounds or something. That won't be a pleasant experience to deal with unarmed. Guard hounds... I guess I can remember something, at least. Better than being completely blanked. Maybe that mea-
…
I just saw it. Something, jumping through the trees. And it did look like a guard hound, at least in terms of its shape. Though... it also looked kind of like a tree. Whatever it is must have some damn good camouflage to pull that off. I can feel them though, stalking me, that feeling of eyes on my back. Lots of eyes. I quickly move to a full run, deciding this is not where I want to be anymore. What I can't figure out though, is why they won't pounce. I'm not exactly well defended, here. Am I really that much of a strange and unusual creature to this... wherever I am, that even the pack animals are unsure if they want to pounce on me?
After a while of running, they seem to finally back off. I can see their vague forms retreating deeper into the woods. As I keep moving forward, I stop feeling their eyes as well, hopefully meaning they're gone completely. Good. There are plenty of other creatures in that forest for them to hunt, like this thing that looked kind of like a lizard-chicken hybrid. In retrospect, I probably should've paid more attention to the other forms of local fauna in case I'm stuck in here for a while, but the need to get away from my previous location was in charge, not my common sense. Oh well, whatever doesn't get recognized kills me later. Assuming the reason they stopped chasing me isn't a bigger preda-
Well. Definitely not a bigger predator. Unless a town's a predator, which I'm pretty sure it's not. A town with an industrial-scale treehouse in the middle. I'm pretty sure I've seen stupider things, so I'll go with it. All I know is right now, a town is answers... and food that's not a small lovable animal or potentially poisonous plant. I nearly break into a run, but decide to use more tact, lingering behind a tree to see exactly what kind of creatures inhabit this town. And what I see are more of those four legged pastel... things. Some with wings, some with horns, some with neither, but none with both despite the fact I saw images of such at that castle I stayed in last night. I suppose this means they're at least one of the main sentient beings in this wherever I am. But... how do they build things without hands? The lack of thumbs seems like it would greatly inhibit construction efforts.
I spend some more time taking things in. Their color patterns are completely ridiculous - yellows and greens and pinks and marshmallows and a veritable rainbow of other colors. I'm suddenly feeling like I'm trapped inside a little girl's coloring book with the variety I'm seeing, but the actual combinations are generally too well-coordinated to be something a little girl would do. Maybe they all dye their hairs and furs then? They do seem to have some kind of tattoo or embroidery or... something stuck square on their ass, though I can't make out what any of them are from this distance.
Then, I begin hearing footfalls nearby me and look around. That's when I realize... I'm hiding behind a tree directly next to the path into the forest. Idiot! Stupid, stupid, stupid! A bit more looking around confirms my fear - I've been seen. The one walking up the path I'm inadvertently 'hiding' on is one of the horned ones, some shade of purple with streaked hair. I suppose that confirms the dye hypothesis? It looks at me quizzically, eying me up and down in a way that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable as I begin wondering why I haven't just bolted it already. That's when I notice the small, purple lizard clinging to its back.
“Uhh... hey there?” It... she says to me? Either their entire species sounds like women, or I'm getting lucky in the field of four-legged suitors. ...No. Definitely not going there. She waves her hoof at me in what I can only assume is meant to be a friendly greeting, though she keeps a safe distance.
“Masterful greeting there, Twi.” The lizard on her back snarks. So there's sentient lizards too. This is just going to be one of those days, isn't it?
“Too weird for me, sorry!” I can't help saying aloud as I turn to book it again, back the way I came. This place just really is too messed up for me to deal with right now, so it's back to the woods. Some poor furry woodland creature is being turned into stew tonight. I probably should have kept my dumb mouth shut, though. Now at least one of their kind knows I'm more than just another forest critter that just looks really strange. Too late though, that ship's sailed. Now just to-
“Wait up!” A voice calls behind me. That 'Twi' thing's voice, as the lizard referred to her. I turn back behind me and sure enough she's chasing me at a full sprint... gallop? Bah. She's also doing much better at keeping up than the butter-colored one did. This could be a real problem. I take a moment to consider how I'm going to shake her. Nothing jumps to mind, though, considering I have no idea where I am and she's way too close to try hiding in the foliage. That's when I feel it again - the eyes, the ever-present eyes of those hound... things. And then, as we get deeper into the woods, I hear the scream.
Good news? No longer being chased by a purple horned whatever. Bad news? She's surrounded by those hounds. And apparently - they are made of wood. What the actual hell? Her horn is glowing, and she's put up some kind of bubble that deflects their pouncing at her, but they've got her surrounded. Unless she can walk back to her town like that, I think it's safe to say she's screwed. She's not even looking at me now. I can just leave and...
...It's times like this I hate having a conscience. I look around the nearby trees, breaking off a large branch and letting it rest in my hands. This feels... natural. I run back toward her, instinct telling me to leap as I bring the branch over my head. I'm able to come down with enough force to shatter the branch on the wooden hound's head, leaving more than a few visible cracks behind as it slumps over. Unconscious? Dead? Hell if I can tell. The others leap back for a bit, circling us and sizing us up with hungry eyes as I pull another, smaller branch from a nearby tree.
“Thanks for the help.” She says, her previously panicked face becoming a lot more confident as she turns back to the wood things. “Sorry if I spooked you before.”
It's now I notice the lizard peeking out from her hair. It looks terrified, though it's quickly becoming braver as it notices the hounds backing off. “Yeah, that's right!” It jumps up, shaking its fist. “The cavalry has arrived! You nasty old timberwolves aren't-” Oh dear god help me he's gonna get us killed.
“Spike!”
“Heh, sorry Twi...”
Now the 'timberwolves' are closing in on us. The little lizard's outburst pissed them off, most likely. At least six or seven of them, maybe more blended into the background. Who knows? I'm still busy computing the fact they're actually made of wood. One leaps for us, and Twi blasts it with a shot of energy from her horn. Right now I'll take what I can get and try to make sense of it later. I turn, intending to go back to back with 'Twi' to minimize terrible surprises, only to see a second one leaping right for us. I swing hard with my stick, stunning it but shattering my new weapon in the process. I don't have time to re-arm, though, as another lunges in my direction, and it's all I can do to dodge to avoid sharp, wooden fangs tearing at my flesh. As I recover, I'm able to grab a low-hanging branch off yet another tree, but these ones are too flimsy for much beyond annoying something with a hide as thick as a goddamn wooden dog.
I catch a glance of my new companion to notice she's back into her bubble, being hounded by four of the things at once. They really see her as more threatening than me, huh? Either more threatening or more delicious, but I guess the distinction is irrelevant right now. One of the timberwolves lunges at me again, and I swat it away with my meager stick, rolling back towards Twi and the original one I downed before. Already needing another new weapon, I grab the downed wolf by its hind leg, turning and swinging it directly into one of the wolves about to pounce at 'Twi'. The distinct crack of heavy wood smashing into more heavy wood rings out as the offending wolf becomes a crumpled heap on the ground. It doesn't take long for me to notice all their eyes are on me now. Using one of their own kind as a weapon is probably something they're both not used to and something they don't take all that kindly to.
Three lunge at me, intent on making sure I go down, and I ready myself. There's no way I'm blocking all of them and there's no space to roll, except into more wolves. Twi readies a blast for one of the wolves, but... suddenly my eyes are drawn to my left wrist. Specifically, to a pair of the inlaid gems on my bangle. One green and one blue. I can... remember...! On instinct I drop my makeshift timberwolf bat, closing my eyes and clutching my hands shut. I can feel the power... flowing... as I shoot my eyes open and open my hands, motioning them toward the wolves as my body exudes a green glow... the same green glow as before I arrived here. The two gems I'd taken note of seconds before are now also shimmering brightly. Suddenly, each of the wolves is encased in a ring of numerals and hangs in the air. The ones to the sides of us have paused as well, posed as if ready to strike but ultimately frozen.
“Quick, let's get out of here!” I turn to Twi, who has a bit of a confused look on her face as she nods and runs off back towards... whatever that town was. This time I follow, not wanting to deal with those things when they unfreeze.
“So... you can use magic?” Twi asks me as we run. When she says magic, I assume she means similarly to what she can do with her horn?
“Sort of.” I reply vaguely. In honesty, I still can't remember all that much about those gems or how they work. It was more like instinct took over and did what needed to be done. “...We better run faster.” I say, hearing the rustling from behind us. Clearly, she heard it too, as there was only a quick nod as we picked up our pace.
“Hey Twi,” the lizard on her back spoke up, “didn't you say a long time ago that timberwolves were noc... noctur...”
“Nocturnal, Spike, and yes, they are...” Twi replied. “Most of Everfree's predators are, so normally the daytime is pretty safe, even if you're still better off not going in there at all.”
“Then... why were they-”
“That's what I'm trying to figure out, Spike.” She replies, scrunching her brow in thought before turning to me. “Do you have any idea what's going on... err... sorry, what's your name?”
“Cloud.” I reply quickly. That's the name the girl in the mist gave me, I think. It's a good a name as any other, whether it's my real name or not. Just as I reply, though, we break free of the woods and make a beeline for that town I saw earlier, the other inhabitants giving me confused and scared looks that I really don't care about right now.
"Quick, we're almost to Ponyville!" Twi's pace quickens again and I be sure not to be left behind. Once we're within the town's limits, both of us turn back to make sure our pursuers are gone, but unlike last time, the wolves are right on the border of the forest, growling at us, tempting us to step back in.
“...That's new.” Twi says, the introductions seem to have become an afterthought for her. “Nothing ever comes right to the edge of the Everfree like that, usually...”
“They must be really mad at us then, huh!” Spike says rather cockily from her back, like we've just done some great thing.
Twi merely narrows her eyes at the thought, slowing to catch her breath. There's a good idea, I could use a bit of that myself. Breathing, that is. It feels like all I've done since I woke up yesterday is run, and run, and run some more. We slow our pace to a walk as we enter the town again, me receiving more stares from the locals and debating if I want to just say screw it and try booking it in a different direction.
“Hey...” Twi says, looking up at me. “Why don't you come back to the library with me to rest for a bit? Least I can do after you helped us back there.” She says with a bit of nervous looking grin. I nod approvingly. Rest would be good, and I can try to question her about where I am. I imagine from that curious look in her eyes she has similar motives for inviting me back. Not that she'll get much out of me, since I can't remember a goddamn thing. “Oh, my name's Twilight Sparkle, by the way,” she says, before motioning with one of her oddly flexible forelegs to the companion on her back, “and this little guy here is Spike.”
“Number one assistant, at your service!” He proclaims proudly, puffing out his chest. I think it's safe to assume at this point he's just a kid.
I merely nod at their introductions, which seems to have Twilight Sparkle a bit offput and nervous. What does she expect me to do, bounce around and sing a song? Soon, we reach that giant treehouse from earlier and she pushes one of her legs against it, opening the door that was clearly not meant to let in anything of my height. This giant thing... is a library?
“Welcome to the Golden Oak Library!” She says cheerfully, “I'm Twilight Sparkle, and I'll be your librarian today! Apologies about the door not being high enough, I'll talk to the management about that. Wait, I am the management!” She looks up at me with a cheerful grin, before it slowly turns sheepish and her ears lower and press against her head. “No good...?”
I let out a small laugh under my breath as I crouch to get into the large, book-strewn room, folding my arms against my chest. I kick the door shut with a foot and lean my back against it.
“You can take a seat, if you like.” She calls to me over her shoulder, already walking toward a desk in the center of the room as Spike hops off her back. “Spike, can you get us some tea going?”
“Tea? No problem! Number one assistant is on the job!” He gives her a salute as he runs towards where I imagine their kitchen is, and I look for a decent place to sit.
It's quiet for a moment, but Twilight is the one who ends up voicing the question on both of our minds. “So... what are you? I've never read about anything like you in any of my books before.”