Day 14: Ursa Major Problem
Something woke me up. It was pain. Pain, it seemed, was a common occurrence when it was time for me to open my eyes. This time it came as a sharp twinge on my left flank.
“Ow,” I said aloud without much emotion before remembering that I was supposed to be dead and rotting in a pile of discarded and forgotten corpses. The pinching stopped the instant I moaned. Looking back to the source of my most recent discomfort, I spotted a rat. It looked like the same one from before. It stared right at me. Was it hoping that I had died during the night and was settling in for a snack? Did I even sleep through the night? Was it still night?
My stomach rumbled. I was starving. Trying to stand up proved to be futile. My legs buckled under me and could not support my weight. Whether this was from exhaustion from my run or from lacking energy eluded me. Was my body more hungry than tired or was I too tired and hunger a mere annoyance?
“I wish I had something to eat,” I whispered.
Think, Forest! You need to get out of here!
But my body would not obey. Not only could I not stand up, but all I could think of was food. I could barely crawl, I felt so weak. Do I risk sleeping some more? Perhaps I needed more sleep. But my stomach was yearning for something to digest. It had not had anything in it since that pizza at the café… no! Don’t think about food. Think about something else…
But what? My mind was still shrouded with food. All those delicious, delectable Equestrian dishes, made with such love and care. And how they tasted…
What I would give for an apple.
Closing my eyes, I thought of Applejack. Was she worried? She was strong. She would be fine. She did worry a little too much about me.
There was a nearly inaudible squeak from behind me. Again, I turned my head and my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Food! Not the greatest of choices, but beggars can’t be choosers. The rat had brought me a bundle of grass or hay, I don’t know which, and had laid it down on the ground behind me. It took quite a lot of effort to pull myself around and then crawl towards it. The rat watched me and when it was clear that I was not going to reach it on my own, it pushed the bundle towards me.
I gobbled it down, and it was delicious. I guess it’s true about what they say; everything tastes better when you’re hungry. Well, I was starving and these few tiny handfuls of hay were the best things I had ever eaten in my whole life. Funny how grass would be so fantastic, but I guessed that was due to my new physiology. I was a Pony now, obviously I’d like grass. Already I could feel energy returning to me. But it wasn’t enough. I needed more.
“Thanks, little guy. I owe you one,” I whispered to the rat.
It gave a squeak in reply before touching my muzzle with its tiny hand. It held it there for a long moment as if trying to read my expression. After a moment it turned and departed. I watched it go. Perhaps ‘rat’ was too harsh of a word to describe it. Rats always seemed to have a negative connotation behind it. On Earth they were filthy, disgusting, dirty, diseased-ridden vermin - but what about here? Were they abhorred the same way? I found that hard to believe.
Slowly, and shakily, I managed to stand up for a full five seconds before I fell back down. Well, now I answered my own question from before. It was hunger that was holding me back. If I could get some more, I might actually have enough strength to get out of this situation.
As if on cue, the rat – no, my new friend – returned once more with more of that delectable grass. Again and again it returned with it. Each time it placed the new handfuls on the ground in front of me. After the ninth or tenth trip it came back empty handed. Either it got bored, or there was no grass left.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself up from the ground and found that I could stand! Guess I was more hungry than tired.
“Thanks, little buddy. You’re a lifesaver. Since you saved my life, is there anything I can do for you?”
The rat ran and sat down at the base of my hoof and looked up at me. It looked like he was blocking my way. Then, it raised its little arms upwards, similar to a how a human child would reach up to its parent. It gave me the silent demand of ‘carry me’. Did it want a ride?
“First, I need to call you something other than ‘rat’. Let me think…” What could I call this him? I smiled.
It stared at me blankly for a moment before tilting its head to one side.
“How about Jerry?” I asked.
It laid on the ground and put its hands over its eyes.
“Okay, okay. Not Jerry. Then… a girly name? Are you a girl?”
It sat up and nodded.
“You can understand me?”
It nodded again.
“How… how is that even possible?” It was impossible!
“Earth Ponies have an affinity to plants and animals…” I heard Tutela’s voice say in the back of my mind. She had explained it to me a long time ago. Perhaps she used different words at the time, but that’s how I remembered them. But even so, I had no affinity to magic. Unless…
“So, I might actually have some magic in me after all!” For the briefest of moments I had thought that I actually possessed magic like a normal Pony. The reality set in. It was faint, but I felt it. My wrist had a slight burning sensation, the same type of sensation from before. The bracelet was charged. The charge wasn’t there from before. Did it come from the grass I ate? It was weak, but that little bit of magic would explain how I was able to communicate with this animal.
“Okay, then a girly name. For a rat…” I thought and thought, but nothing came to mind. Then it just came to me, “What about Tessie?”
The rat tilted her head.
“It means ‘harvester’, or something like that. That a good name? I thought of it because you got me the grass,” I spoke in low whispers.
The rat stood on its hind legs and gave me one big nod. She liked it!
“Hello, Tessie. I’m Forest, Forest Fire. Pleased to meet you,” And I held out my hoof. She shook it carefully. I then lowered myself onto the ground, “Hop on.” Tessie didn’t need to be told twice as she bounded onto my back and sat at the base of my neck, holding my mane tightly. “Now, what d’ya say we get out of here?”
Tessie gave another barely audible squeak, and we were off!
Slowly, that is. I tip-toed (tip-hoofed?) slowly, making my way to the edge of the bundle of bones. That was when I spotted something strange. I had not noticed it before, but now that I was more away of my surroundings, the entire ground was littered in tiny, tiny skeletons. Sure, there were gigantic ones all around, but there were also tiny remains all over the place. Rodents, birds and various small creatures, anything! That made no sense – couldn’t these little guys get in and out of places like these easily?
Just then the Ursa walked in and looked around. Instinctively, I ducked behind some bones. It looked like a really big rib-cage, about half the size of the Ursa. Tessie was shaking pretty badly, shivering with absolute terror. The bear-like creature walked towards us swinging its head from left to right, sniffing the air. After a while, it turned around and exited the same way it came in.
Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, I slipped on something and fell to my side knocking over some bones, which had a domino effect. The ruckus drew the attention of the Ursa’s again as its face popped back into view.
Shit, shit, shit!
It approached the pile of bones and started to sniff around. I didn’t move. I didn’t even breathe. I closed my eyes as the large snout poked itself through between the ribs where I hiding and inhaled deeply. The sound of it snuffling a few feet away from my face made me nearly wet myself. I would have, but I was too dehydrated. A part of me wanted to run in panic, but I forced myself to remain calm. After all, if Tessie could remain quiet then I could too.
Finally the beast once again turned away and left the way it came. As quietly and as slowly as I could, I let out a long sigh of relief.
But what had I slipped on? Looking down, I saw the ground. It was a smooth stone slab that disappeared under the dirt. But why would it be so prominent here? Instinctively I told myself that I had to fully comprehend my situation. There was something amiss.
A few things really bothered me. First off were these bodies and their remains. It was understandable why there would be so many of them. The Ursa was a huge animal, and judging from the size of some of the skeletons, a very proficient hunter. Using that logic, why would there be so many tiny skeletons lying around? Surely a fierce predator like that would have no problems getting a proper meal from bigger prey instead of resorting to these tiny nibbles? But I wasn’t a predator, so I didn’t really comprehend the concept of ‘opportunistic hunter’. Still, an animal this small would be like a grain of rice.
Secondly; why was this guy the only rat around? Surely a pile like this would be swarming with rats and other creatures that fed on rotting flesh, but no. He, or was it a she, was only the one. There weren’t any sounds of pitter-pattering little feet or the occasional squeak, just complete and utter silence.
Third was exactly that. The rat’s reaction to the Ursa was complete silence. It didn’t squeak like crazy, which was what I would’ve done if I hadn’t spent a few hours inside its disgusting mouth, nor did the rat try to run. The rodent put the term ‘silent as a mouse’ to shame. It did not make a single sound. Rats don’t act like that, do they?
Then it dawned on me. This guy must be a prisoner here! That would make perfect sense. It didn’t matter if she was small. I ran for over six hours in a single direction in an attempt to escape. Did it work? No! I was caught eventually and brought back.
But why didn’t Tessie dig her way out? The ground was solid stone in a few places, but surely she could have dug through the dirt. Perhaps I could…
My hoof scraped against something hard and smooth after just two scoops of the dirt. It felt like a large rock, so I dragged my hoof over the rock in one direction attempting to find the edge. There wasn’t one. The ‘rock’ melded with the wall. Then I realized that the entire ground was solid. But what about the dirt, surely that had to come from somewhere, right?
My heart started to beat faster. It wasn’t just dirt either. It was decomposed remains of the unfortunate creatures that had met their tragic demises here. It was the flesh, blood, furs, pelts and whatever else that remained. A sudden wave of nausea threatened to make me empty the contents of my stomach. Where did Tessie get my little feast from?
My eyes spotted a little bit of grass growing underneath a skull. How did grass grow in this place? There was no sunlight, no… water.
That was when my eyes drifted upwards. A small hole at the top was enough to bathe this entire miserable place in light? It didn’t seem possible, and yet I could not deny what my eyes were seeing. So, this wasn’t a cave.
And water? Blood was like water, and the ground was blood. Dried, coagulated blood. I tried hard not to retch at the thought.
And why should I retch? I used to eat my meat practically raw back on Earth. But as a Pony, the thought of eating flash was… disgusting. Had I completely immersed myself in my new persona? Had I forsaken what I was? Was I… no longer human?
Stupid! Of course you are! I screamed to myself in my head. Now start concentrating on getting out of here. If Tutela hasn’t pulled you out to safety then that means you still have a chance.
That rationalization helped me calm myself down. Once again I looked up at the tiny dot of light so close yet so far away. Funny how light worked like that. Just that tiny bit had such an impact; it illuminated my situation, it brought life to this place and it gave me hope.
Walking to the nearest wall I rubbed my hoof across the surface. Smooth as glass. Unless I sprouted wings, I was not getting out that way. That left only one other way out and that was past the Ursa. I knew it, Tessie knew it, but that didn’t make the prospect any easier to accept.
Peering around the corner, I spotted the Ursa at the far end of the cave chewing on something. I shuddered.
Creeping along, I slowly walked around the edge of the cave, sticking to the far wall as close as possible, wishing that I could somehow become a part of it. The Ursa stopped, turned towards my direction. I froze. Then it let out a terrifyingly cute mew. Wait, that can’t be right. But indeed, it was mewling away, and spinning around and chasing its tail, looking at me it sat on its haunches with its paws up. It looked… cute. Or at least it would have if it didn’t have teeth longer than me.
Suddenly I felt a frantic tugging on my mane. It was pulling to my right, as if Tessie wanted me to look that way. So I did.
And I regretted it.
The cave wall had long since ended. My attention was so focused on the Ursa across from me that I failed to see where I was going. What was beside me wasn’t a wall at all. It was an eye. A massive, bloodshot eye, and it was looking right at me.
“Are you serious?” I shouted. There was no point in being quiet now, was there?
The eye lifted itself up off the ground, as it did it revealed a huge head. The creature had been lying down, rolled up in a dark violet or purple pelt with the same star-like pattern on it as the Ursa on the far side. Up it rose, on and on while I could only look in stunned silence. As it reared itself on its hind legs, I couldn’t help but feel a part of my soul escape my body. The sheer terror that gripped me when realization settled in didn’t help. This was an Ursa. The thing that chased me across Equestria was a frigging cub! A cub!
As the Ursa reached its full height, towering over me like a sky-scraper, it bared its fangs and let out a low rumble. It bared its teeth, snarling at me. Me! A creature the size of an ant! But that was not the worst thing. The worst of all were those eyes staring right at me. Right into my soul, telling me that it was not impressed that I was there. Anger. So much anger.
Tessie pulled on my mane again, and I turned instinctively to look. The little Ursa was heading straight at me.
Great! Perfect! Could this get any better?
Where was the exit?
The little Ursa launched itself at me, but I easily bolted to the right as it slid across the floor crashing into the bigger one’s feet. It growled after that. Perhaps the bigger one was the mother. Not that I cared.
No time to lose! Run!
As I ran, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye coming right at me. Slamming my hooves down hard, I stopped impulsively, before doing a ninety degree turn away from the object and ran as hard as I could. That action might’ve saved my life. Something like a typhoon blew past my body lifting my rear up into the air. That ‘something’ was the larger Ursa’s paw! A wall of muscle, flesh, fur and claws!
Picking itself up off the floor, the little Ursa charged towards me again. This time it had its mouth wide open revealing where I had sat hours before. I tried to turn around, but I slipped landing on my chin. Not missing an opportunity, the Ursa leapt into the air heading straight at me. Pushing with my legs, I slid backwards just in time as crashed hard into the ground. It was not pleased with this outcome. It looked at me from the top of its eyes, staring me down. It was hunting me.
But that wasn’t my only concern. Another huge paw crashed inches away from me, and slid itself along the ground towards where I lay. In that moment I tried to use my sudden burst of speed to escape, but there was no traction on the ground! Nothing happened. My necks snapped back, but I remained where I stood. So, I braced for impact.
It must have been for only a few seconds, but I awoke to find myself at the complete other end of the cave. My head was spinning. Where was I? What was I doing? What were those things? And why are they running at me…
“Ow!” I yelped as I felt a painful sensation on my shoulder. Tessie had bit me again. At once I remembered! Two Ursas, a big purple one, and a little blue one. Both wanted me dead. “Thanks, Tessie.”
The little Ursa charged at me again, and while it did so I noticed something behind the both of them. My salvation! An escape! The way out! The exit! Somehow, I had to get there. But how?
“You pinkie promised…” A voice whispered in the back of my mine. Pinkie’s voice.
“You’re such an idiot, you know?” Another voice. Lavender’s? Not sure on that one.
“There’s somethin’ I need to tell you…” Applejack…
Narrowing my eyes, I grinned, “Come on, ugly! Eat me!”
The little Ursa didn’t need to be told twice and it charged at me again.
“Hang on, Tessie. Hang on as tightly as you can!” I shouted at my passenger. She understood me and gripped my mane tighter than before.
Backing up a step, I pressed my rear legs against the wall and bent my knees. Already I could feel my body tensing itself, my body getting ready for what was needed.
The distance between us quickly decreased and when it got close enough the little Ursa opened its mouth.
“Eat this.” I whispered.
It was a lot faster than I had anticipated, but its effect was the same. I aimed just to the left of the Ursa cub, missing it by inches. It had tried to snag me in mid-air by turning its head and snapping its jowls shut. All that it caught was air. The sound of its jaws closing behind me sent chills down my spine. But I was out of the frying-pan, and was now heading straight for the fire. And it was a very big, angry looking fire.
The larger Ursa saw me running at her at full speed. Almost full speed; I still had one more speed above this.
The massive beast gave an ear-splitting roar that reverberated through the cave, and through me. Tessie pulled my mane over her tighter. She was a brave little rat.
The larger Ursa raised its gigantic arm above its head and swung towards me. This was what I was waiting for! This was what I wanted. I was gambling, my life against my freedom. It all boiled down to speed and timing. I just needed to time it exactly right.
The giant paw swung down at me, I could feel the wind shifting from the sheer force of it. That was when I turned, running laterally to the Ursa’s arm so that it looked as if it were chasing me, hot on my tail. Slowing down just a tad, I counted.
One. I inhaled a deep breath, keeping an eye on the beast as I ran in a wide circle around it.
Two. I narrowed my eyes seeing the target; the exit. It was there, just past the giant Ursa’s legs.
Three! I turned and jumped right into the Ursa’s palm. The impact dazed me for the briefest moment as we collided.
My mind was blank. For only a moment, though. That was when I noticed that I was flying! Really, I was! Soaring through the air, like a bird – no, more like a bullet. Tessie let out a long, drawn out squeak that made it sound like she was screaming.
My gamble worked! I had purposely made the giant Ursa swat me out of the cave. With the creature so prominent in the entrance there was no way I could have run around it. And, yes, I knew that if worse came to worse I would be safe. That was always something I was sure of; Tutela wouldn’t let me die. I was her toy, her plaything, her source of entertainment. But I couldn’t leave Tessie behind. For her, for saving my life, I was going to return the favor.
Hurtling through the air, I landed on the ground sliding to a halt. My lip was bleeding, but I was out of the cave. Slowly, I pushed myself up to my feet and looked up. I was free, right?
Wrong. This wasn’t a cave; it was a cave system or something like that. An underground expanse that was enormous! Light streamed down from above, and I couldn’t decide if I really was in a cave or at the bottom of a steep ravine. But as my dizziness faded, I became acutely aware that there were creatures staring at me from all sides.
I did the only thing I could think of.
I screamed.
Ursas. Dozens of them! In all shapes and sizes! Each alcove had one. Each nook had one. Each cranny had one. They were everywhere.
My scream acted like a trigger. They poured out of their caves and charged at me. If Tessie was making noises, I couldn’t hear her above the din the Ursa’s were making. Why they would get so excited over one little Pony was beyond me, but I didn’t feel like asking them why. Running as fast as I could, the Ursa’s filed behind me in hot pursuit. A few started to fight amongst each other, but the vast majority was far more interested in me and by the looks on their faces, they really wanted to eat me. Why? What did I ever do to them? I was nothing more than a raisin to them! Were Ponies an Ursa drug? Did they get high from eating Pony flesh? Was this a community of bear-crack addicts?
As I ran down the only path available to me, Ursa’s that were minding their own business instantly joined the pursuit when I rushed by. So, as I was running away more and more of those damned giant bears were tailing me, and the more bears that tailed me made me run! I was screwed! It would have been so easy to just let it all end, to go back to Tutela, but I couldn’t abandon Tessie. Not after she saved my life. She had risked everything to get out of here, gambling on me. And I was not one to disappoint.
Why do I get myself into these messes!
There was no option on where I could go. I had to keep dead center in between the walls of the cavern, which was beginning to stretch out into a long humongous tunnel now. If I went too far to the left or right, those Ursas would tear me apart with their sharp, nasty, pointy bits! Further and further, I made my way down the tunnel.
I wanted to look back, but I couldn’t risk it. It was getting harder to see where I was going; the cracks and holes high above that allowed light through were getting smaller had starting to close. With each step that took me deeper into the tunnel, the darker it grew.
Now I was running blind. If having an army of Ursas was not enough, now I was charging through darkness at breakneck speeds. But I didn’t dare slow down. Those beasts were right behind me. Their lumbering footsteps were right there.
Then I felt something whizz past me face to the left. What was that? Then it happened again on my right. Then, right in front of me was a stalagmite rising from the ground. Leaning to the left I barely avoided it. Behind me I heard the Ursas crashing into the obstacles. There was a little light in this area, still from the ceiling that towered high above me. And… was it getting hotter?
Then I saw something beautiful! Light! Lots of it! Without thinking, I headed towards it. Anything was better than getting stuck here in the dark.
Tessie squeaked out loud pulling my mane back, which made me come to a sliding halt.
“Why am I not surprised?” I yelled to no-one in particular.
In front of me there was indeed a lot of light, because it came from a damned ravine of lava! A river of lava! It was a long, long way down, but it still felt as if I was burning. Still, if I had run into that… let’s just say I’d become Forest Burned.
A roar bellowed from somewhere behind me in the darkness. Had to go round…
Two glowing eyes appeared to my left.
Doing an about-face, I headed to the right.
Two more glowing eyes appeared again, eyes that reflected the red light from the lava. I backed up. Tessie squeaked continuously. Now she was panicking? Think, Forest! You need to get out of here! I had no choice, I had to run back into the darkness…
Several dozen eyes glared at me before I could even take a step in that direction, eyes the size of my entire body. The Ursas were crawling on their bellies to get to me, trying to reach me, to catch me. What could I do? There was nowhere to go!
Then I heard a squeak behind me. Tessie ran into the gap where the lava was located far below! Why would she do that? Why should she kill herself after I worked so hard in trying to help her escape? Why was she giving up? Why wou-…
Tessie squeaked again. She wasn’t dead! She was… wait, where was she?
Not needing another warning, I bolted through the gap and leapt over the gorge looking down at the lava far below. The hot air felt like it was burning underbelly, and I closed my eyes as I landed face-first against a wall. I had made the jump! Tessie was there tugging on my tail. I turned around and saw a tiny path. The path led upwards, to a small light. Freedom! Salvation!
It was a shame that it was barely big enough for one hoof.
The Ursas attacked the hole where I had jumped through. Their claws were nowhere big enough to reach inside, but they were trying. If that wasn’t so bad, the tongues were next. A few Ursa’s decided that since they couldn’t reach me with their paws, they’d try to lick me out of hiding. Their tongues reaching quite close, but not near enough. Their manky, putrid breaths making me gag.
“Get out of here, Tessie! Save yourself!” I shouted, “Don’t worry about me! I’ll be fine!”
The little rat stood there and stared at me trying to avoid getting ‘licked’. In the back of my mind I was wondering if I should just leap into the lava and back to Tutela’s. That thought kept replaying itself over and over in my mind like a broken record. Still, there was that nagging comment from the last time. She also told me that she couldn’t save me all the time. She couldn’t pull my ass out of the fire whenever she wanted. That sometimes I really was on my own.
Was it worth the risk?
“Pinkie promise…”
“Damn you, Pinkie!” I shouted, why was it that every time I was in deep shit that stupid promise echoed in the back of my brain, and I actually smiled, “I said I’d stick a muffin in my eye, didn’t I?”
Tessie was gone. I didn’t even notice her leave, but at least she was safe.
“Well, Forest. You’ve got yourself in a fine situation this time,” I mumbled as the tongues kept trying to reach me, “Here you are on the ledge of a ravine that drops into a river of lava. In front of you is an army of Ursas trying to eat you, behind you is a wall. You’re trapped.”
The Ursas had begun clawing their way through the hole using their strength. Slowly the gap that I had jumped from grew wider and wider. Within minutes the hole was double the size and one of the Ursas peered through it staring right at me with one eye – as if it were peeking through a keyhole on the floor. It saw me trapped. The large head with the eye was instantly replaced by its large arm as it shoved in through the hole. I leapt to the side as the Ursa swatted the ledge I was on in a downwards strike destroying half of it. Things were not going well at all.
Well, if I was going down, then I might as well go down fighting! Placing my rear legs once again against the wall behind me, I got myself ready to attack. Right now I only had one chance, and I needed to time it perfectly. Just like before, timing was everything.
The Ursa peeked through the hole – either to see where I was or if it had killed me. That was what I was counting on.
Now!
Using all my power, I fired myself back across the ravine - right into the Ursa’s eye. I felt the slimy texture of its eye as the intraocular fluid acted like an adhesive sticking me to its cornea right in front of the pupil. Getting hit in the eye isn’t a pleasant experience, and the Ursa shrieked in pain. Instinctively it shut its eyes as tight as it could. My ribs couldn’t take; I heard a crack followed by a sharp pain. Not good.
Then the Ursa started to swing its head around, my body slowly getting unstuck. To make matters worse for one of the other ‘galactic’ beasts tried to attack me, but because the other Ursa was shaking its head so fiercely the latter’s attempt at me failed and instead clobbered the other one on the face. The impact shuddered through beast, snapping its head to one side, the momentum cobined with the impact freed me from the slimy goo, and I sailed through the air.
When I landed, I slid for quite a distance before coming to a stop crashing against something on the far bend. In the light of the lava’s glow, I saw that the two Ursas were now fighting amongst one another. This had distracted the rest of the giants and I used this distraction to slip away.
My right side hurt real badly.
As quickly as I could, I hobbled away, trying to get away from there. I had no time to loose! I had to get out of there. This was my chance!
I am not sure how long I walked for, but I was surrounded in complete darkness. On and on I went, using the wall as a guide, sliding along it for support.
Then I saw light! Not a red glow of lava, but the bright goodness of sunlight! Salvation!
As I exited the cave, or whatever it was I was in, I soaked in the sun’s rays. It was late in the day and the orange tint of twilight had already started to taint the beautiful sky. Taint, because it meant that the sun was already setting, meaning that I had no time to sit and rest. Applejack had clearly stated to get out of the little Usra’s way when it returned to the Everfree Forest. Night time would come soon, and I couldn’t be stuck there.
There was no clear way for me to go. I didn’t know how far I had come the night before, and I didn’t know the direction. So, I just followed the path that led away from the cave system.
Every step that I took felt like someone was stabbing me in the side, but I just ignored it as much as possible. I could worry all about it when I reached safety.
“Forest!” A voice shouted, “Forest! Is that you?”
Aiden ran over to me, “You’re alive! I knew you were! I just knew…” He actually hugged me. I groaned in pain. “What’s wrong?”
“Can’t… walk…” I said through gritted teeth, “Ursa… big ones…”
In his eyes, I could see a thousand questions that he wanted to ask, but Aiden knew what I had meant and didn’t like it.
“Ursa Majors? How many?”
“Lots.”
Aiden nodded, “Lean against me. I’ll get you out of here!”
Suddenly I felt something tug on my hoof. Looking down I saw a familiar looking rat, “Tessie!”
“That a new friend? You should thank her, Forest. She led me this way. She was very insistent that I followed her. I’m glad she was…”
All I could do was force a weak smile on my face. That was the second time that little Tessie helped me. She was one clever rodent. But we weren’t out of the woods yet. There was no time to relax.
Night had arrived. We were nowhere near the exit; it was really slow going because of me. The darkness of the woods coupled with the night almost impossible to see where we were going. Aiden did not was to use any light spells for fear that he would clue in the Ursa Major as to where we were. He did admit that he could fight off an Ursa Minor, but it would take a squad of very well trained Ponies to take down an adult.
Aiden kept talking. It helped me ignore the pain. There were no questions as he didn’t want me to respond. Statements and sentiments, opinions and concerns spouted out of his mouth endlessly and I was thankful for it. It was nice to hear about everypony back home. How they were doing, and how they were helping in their own way. It had only been a day since I was gone, but it felt as if I had been away for a long, long time.
Fear gripped me. It flooded into me when I heard something behind us. Not that far away.
“Was… that…?”
The look on Aiden’s face revealed what I feared. The Ursas were on our tail.
“Why… are they… chasing me… so badly?” I asked, trying to step up the pace.
“That’s something I want to know too,” Aiden shrugged, “Could be the Muzen honey…”
“Stuck… to my… chest…”
“Then that’s why. Muzen honey is very hard to get and very popular. They probably smell it on you. You don’t understand how… good it is, especially to Ursas.”
Bears and honey? Of course! It was so obvious.
“Oh no! This can’t be…” Aiden suddenly stopped before blinding me with a sudden explosion of light from his horn. It brightened the area around us bathing it in a bright white glow – strange seeing as his magic was a beige color. But the area in front of us remained unchanged. It was dark and a cold breeze blew towards us, and there was a distinct lack of trees, or any foliage. There was also a distinct lack of ground as well.
“Lost?” I asked.
In front of us was a sheer drop, and far below there was a river. We stood atop the edge of a cliff. Aiden looked down over the edge, while I plopped myself on my rear. The Ursas were still following us. We could hear them getting closer.
“I must have taken a wrong turn!” He looked at me, “I didn’t pay attention because I was following your little friend. I’m sorry, Forest…”
“Oh, that’s okay. I’m used to this.” I replied, the pain had subsided significantly when I sat. Sadly, my statement was true, I was getting used to it, “You should use your…” I grimaced in pain as a sudden wave of agony surged across my right side, “You should use your magic to get out of here.”
“I can’t do that, Forest. I’m your guardian. It’s my job to watch over you, and I leave nopony behind. Not now, not ever!” Aiden said walking over to me, “Let’s head along the ledge. We’ll find a way down…”
The expression on his face made it abundantly clear that he was going to stay with me. Stupid Stallion! Just run away already!
We didn’t get five steps before a large figure appeared, towering high above the trees. It looked around and before Aiden could turn off his magic, the Ursa had spotted us.
Man, I just can’t cut a break! I yelled in my head.
Aiden gritted his teeth, and a huge ball of magic surrounded me. My wrist burned.
“What are… what are you doing?” I asked, trying to ignore the pain.
“Forest Fire,” Aiden shouted, “Show me where you are!”
Inside my brain I felt something click. He wouldn’t dare! Not right now! Not with my broken ribs! Did he want the entire sloth of space-bears to find us?
“Show me where you are!”
My body started to react. Already I could feel a breeze swirl around me. My wrist was in agony! It was burning. How much magic did he put in there?
“Aiden… sto-“
“Show me where you are!” He shouted the last word, prolonging it.
The wind around me sped faster and faster. Aiden rushed to my side as my hoof pointed upwards, the pain from my broken ribs burned in my side. It. Was. Agony! How could he do this to me?
My hoof got hotter and hotter, the pain at my side increased with each passing second. Then the explosion of light discharged into the heavens. Like a pillar of light, it ascended upwards, slowly fading out of existence the further up it went. The sudden shock from the light’s ignition jerked my hoof in the opposite direction, sending bolts of anguish through me. But Aiden wasn’t done torturing me yet.
“I’m sorry, Forest!” He shouted over the din of the wind rushing around us. Little Tessie clinging tightly to his mane, “I’m really sorry!”
And before I could respond, he grabbed onto my arm that was extended upwards, and using his body strength, pushed it down right at the Ursa Major’s face. It screeched in pain before falling backwards as the light struck it. It landed with a resounding crash on the forest floor. Moments later, the light from my hoof died out.
Dropping to my knees, I coughed. In my mouth I tasted blood. This was too much. I couldn’t take it anymore. Aiden was trying his best to help me, but I… just couldn’t take it.
We heard crashing coming from ahead of us, and my heart sank as the purple figure of the Ursa started to stand again. Only one damned beast! Just one! At least it was only one… I hoped.
“Take him! I can get out of here on my on! Take him!” Aiden shouted. Who was he talking to?
Turning around, my heart leapt to my throat, “Forest, come on! We have to go! Right now!”
She hovered over me with her hooves extended.
Come on, Forest! One last try! You can do it! Up you go. Come on!
Pushing myself up one more time, I reached over to Rainbow Dash and fell into her extended arms. She was strong as she pulled me towards her in a tight, yet gentle embrace. Then she shot upwards easily, high into the sky. I looked down below as Aiden watched us rise. Then, in the next moment there was a bright flash of light and he was gone. In the back of my mind, I had hoped that Aiden had taken Tessie with him.
“Thank… thank you… thank…” My vision got blurry.
“Hang on! I’ll get you home in no time!” Rainbow yelled.
Raising my head, I looked up at her. She was incredible.
The last thing I heard before blacking out was the sound of the Ursa wailing. It knew that I had finally escaped. I was going home.
As the feeling of relief flooded through me, I felt the welcoming embrace of darkness. Nothing hurt anymore.