//------------------------------// // Zoyk // Story: Beasts and Beings - Stories of Equestria's Inhabitants // by Strongbolt Stonewing //------------------------------// Zoyk. Z-o-y-k. Something wrong? Is it just me, or does the word 'Zoyk' sound like it could be applied to a variety of different situations? How so? Well, say for example you stub your hoof on a table, you could yell 'Zoyk!' Or, maybe if a monster jumps out at you in the dark, you could yell 'Zoyk!' Or, if you go to a party and see somepony wearing the same clothes as you, you could yell 'Zoyk!' Are you implying that 'Zoyk' is an expletive? A what? A swear word. Oh, no. It could probably be used in good situations too. Like, if you think you're out of lemonade, then you go to the fridge and see you have another bottle, then you could yell 'Zoyk!' Actually, no, I don't see how 'Zoyk' would apply to any if those situations... Well, I'm starting a trend then. Hey, readers! Please don't. New trend! Oh, dear lord... Hashtag Zoyk! What the hell is a hashtag? Zoyk! Look, enough, we haven't even explained what a Zoyk is! Well, Shiera, the stage is yours. *Sigh* A Zoyk is a half-monkey-half-insect type of creature. It has the shape of a large chimpanzee, but has a dark-cyan, shell-textured skin and large ocelli. Bug eyes, in simple terms. Zoyks are very similar to monkeys in the way they act, their likes and dislikes et cetera. However, they are not classified under the same family for obvious reasons. ... Strongbolt? Oh, Zoyks! Is it my turn to write? You did that on purpose. As Shiera sort-of-explained, Zoyks have managed to replicate most of the actions of regular monkeys and copy their abilities. For example, they swing from trees using their tails. However, unlike regular monkeys, they have abilities specific to their species. The most noticeable being the use of large stingers on their tails. When we were traversing the Monponyan Jungle, we came across a group of these little fellas. Or rather, they came across us. Yeah, curious little things, Zoyks. At first, they just kinda wanted to investigate us. Allow them to do that and they should let you pass. But in our case, this was not what happened. As soon as the first Zoyk came close, Strongbolt screamed: "Ah! Spider monkey!" And began frantically swatting them away with his brick. We were chased out of the Jungle by the Zoyks and their stingers; almost hit me a few times but I got out alright. Yeah, YOU did! I spent the next week in hospital recovering from Zoyk-induced nausea! Oh, yeah, sorry about that. In fairness, I did buy her flowers to make up for it. You brought me chrysanthemums! Yes? I'm allergic to chrysanthemums! Oh, yeah, sorry about that... again. That put you back another week, didn't it? Gr... Yes... yes it did... Well, I certainly learnt my lesson about attacking bug monkeys. Yeah, I think we all did. Hey, Shiera, guess what? What? Zoyk! ... ... You've got five seconds to start running.