“Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.”
-Thomas Jefferson
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It was in the late afternoon by the time we got back, we thanked the guards and they flew off with the chariot in the distance towards Canterlot. Twilight and I had planned to go and meet her friends a bit more thoroughly before anything else. Fluttershy’s house/cottage was the place to begin in my opinion, since she had refused, non-intentionally to speak to me upon first meeting her, I felt it would be best to get the worst out of the way before moving on to the other four.
We started down the path leading towards the everfree forest, the landscape beginning to look more rugged and less colorful as we walked down the trail leading there.
“I would have done the same in my opinion, get the worst out of the way first, and from there on in it would be ‘easy street’.” Twilight was agreeing with my logic of getting the more difficult parts out of the way first before moving on to the others.
“Yeah well, I just want her to trust me though, I feel that if I'm going to be here permanently, that is, if Celestia would be willing to allow me to do so, I would need the trust of all of you, besides I’m human, an alien species unknown to your kind.” I was merely trying to get a point across in our little conversation we were having.
I suddenly felt a chill down my spine as we approached the entrance to the forest, the trees and bushes surrounding the path becoming less sparse as we drew nearer, giving the place a more ‘dangerous’ feel, as it was supposed to have.
“You do have a point there, however I still thi-”
Twilight was cut short as a group of stallions jumped from behind the nearby shrubbery and threw a net over my body, disabling any movement of my own as I became entangled in the large mass of mesh and rope.
I thrashed as I frantically tried to get free and face my attackers, however, I was far too tangled to get myself to a standing position.
“Go take care of the mare,” the unicorns attention turned towards the pegasus, ” you got the thing there? hit it hard, but make sure it can still stand when we get it back.”
that was about all I heard before I was hit upside the head with what was supposedly a club of sorts, and the unconsciousness kicked in soon after.
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When I woke up I was aware of a few things; one: I’m tied up and am incapable of any such attempt at getting up, but rolling around wasn't going to get me anywhere, or at least anywhere fast. Two: I’m moving, and it seems I’m in a cage too. three: I’ve been kidnapped, I think, by three stallions waiting in the bushes of the everfree forest.
I was able to peek over the edge of the cage, only to see that there was a lock and chain on the door, preventing any such attempt at escape. The two stallions were in front pulling the cage of a cart and chatting to one another, one of them was a pegasus, light gray in color with a jet black colored mane, the other was an earth pony, with a yellowish mustard colored coat and lighter tinted maroon mane. I silently listened in along the bumpy road we traveled on.
“...Yeah but still, I mean, what would you do in that kind of a situation at a time like that? I had to defend myself despite the conditions.” The earth pony was trying to defend himself from some sort of argument including an
The pegasus heartily laughed at the rest of the sentence before responding.
“Well, I wouldn't have that sort of a problem with all that because I didn’t do any such a thing, and I don’t have an ex to begin with.”
The conversation about ‘situations’ with exes and whatnot soon ended and the topic changed quite abruptly.
“Hey! Whatcha got planned for this thing here?.” The earth pony said to the third pony, who upon which I was guessing was on the top, lounging on the cage/cart.
“Don’t worry about it. You remember when Iron Hoof found the other one? It was so skinny and non-muscular that I'm sure two or three parasprites could kill it. But look where it is now, this one’s gotta have some potential, we didn’t even have to travel that far in order to find it, he said he found it far off over the mountains where the map of all of Equestria ends, and we find this one talkin’ to a mare towards the everfree! what’re the chances of that?”
“wait another one? there’s another human...” My mind began to fill with questions regarding how many humans were here, and how they would know about my kind.
We came to a darker part of the forest and the cart was coming up to a cave nearby, as it stopped, the unicorn on top hopped down, as I got a better look at him, I could see he was a darker midnight colored blue, much like Luna, he also had a gray colored mane and tail, with darker teal eyes. The pegasus and earth pony unhitched themselves and came around back to the cage door to get me out.
The pegasus fumbled with the lock and chain for a moment, there was a loud ‘click’ and it fell to the floor in a metallic clump and they opened the door.
“Now, we don't want you trying anything funny, but I don't want to carry you all the way in, you don't try and run, we wont use any force.” The pegasus was now glaring me down and talking in a stern tone, as if for me to think twice before doing anything I might regret.
I nodded my head in agreement and he undid the ties around my ankles, allowing me to get up to my full height, I was a good three quarters of a foot taller than them all, I could have ran if I wanted, but I didn't know where in god’s name I was.
They guided me into the cave that split down multiple paths, I could hear muffled sounds of something non-human or non-pony further down the path we took. The three of them brought me to a large metal door, rusted from the dampness and years of mistreatment, they opened it to reveal a long hallway filled with multiple cages, all of them filled with creatures of all kinds, from wild dogs to large bears, the entire hall was filled with barks and roars and screeches from them all.
They brought me to the cage on the very end of the row, where no light shone in and in the farthest corner, whatever lived in there was concealed in shadow. They opened the cage and whatever was in the corner scuffled to get up and see what was here as they threw me in and shut the door.
“Welcome to your new home.” the unicorn said smugly.
“You think they won’t kill each other? I don’t wanna have to go over the mountains for another one.” The pegasus stated, uncertainty in his voice.
“Don’t worry bout’ it, they’re the same species anyways, they wont do that cmon’.” the unicorn replied reassuringly.
As they walked off, my attention turned to the other, apparently human in the cage with me, he/she slowly came out of the shadows and approached the only other known being of his/her species.
“So, they found another human... great... just great.”
The voice sounded masculine, and scarily familiar, and I was inclined to find out who this person was.
“I know you... from somewhere...” I subconsciously blurted out.
He froze for a second, “I said something that must have spiked his memory”, before speaking again.
“Wait... T-...Taylor? is that you?”
“Oh my god...” was all that I could get out right then and there, I knew him, we were great friends during the time I lived in Minnesota before coming here, and to finally learn that he was still alive was too much shock to handle for myself just then.
“It sure has been a while hasn’t it Travis?”
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