A Fruity Adventure

by King Fruit II of Apland

Chapter 6 - The Forest

It was before dawn when Rainbow Dash woke up, unable to sleep soundly on the damp, rocky forest floor. She looked around at her surroundings, the pile of broken timber that was once a shoddy pear-built carriage, the pulsating remains of the small campfire, and the sleeping forms clustered around it. She stood up, stretching and yawning, and took a short stroll away from the camp to rouse her muscles after the uncomfortable night. The wet leaves beneath her hooves crunched mutely as the pony walked, looking forwards into the dimly lit woodland at the gnarly trees; the ones in the distance appeared to be broad leaved, unlike the oaks and birches they were under presently.

That was when it struck. The extremely cliche feeling of being watched that one always seems to get while alone in a spooky forest at night. Rainbow was suddenly gripped by the snaking tendrils of paranoia, shooting her eyes around at every slight sound. She felt a supernatural urge to get out of there and bolted into the air, Rainbow Dash looked back behind her and thought she saw something run out from the bushes right next to where she’d been standing.

The pegasus continued flapping upwards and bashed her way through the spidery upper canopy, twigs and leaves grasping for the smallest ray of sunlight beyond the forest’s endless shade. She finally burst out and looked far away for the first time recently. To the east, from whence they had come, was the edge of the wood, bordered by the steep incline they had crashed down. The road wound its way around the perimeter off to the mountainous north, stretching out of sight behind the treeline. Next, Rainbow squinted off into the west, where they were headed. Her sight was mostly filled with the green carpet of jungle, but a long way away, in the hazy early morning distance, she thought she could see their destination -- a tall spire stretching to the heavens.

With three of the four compass directions covered, Rainbow Dash turned her head to the south, but couldn’t see beyond the forest when the only light was a twinge of orange over the fields of East Pearussia. The pony’s vision was suddenly dazzled by something bright in front of her. Dash squeezed her eyes shut and tried to shake the stained spots from her retina, opening them again a moment later to see what the light was. Over beyond the southern horizon a tiny plume of orange twirled into the sky and dissipated, appearing to leave the world darker than when it had entered it. Paranoia seized control of Rainbow Dash again and she shot back down to the camp, suddenly remembering that she’d left her party behind, vulnerable in their slumber, and that she was supposed to be being loyal.

Back in the campsite, the pegasus was relieved to find that everything was as she had left it, and she could therefore still pretend that she had kept them all safe through the dangerous night. Despite this, she was still extremely anxious, and was sure that there was something stalking them on the ground. Dash decided it was time for them to evacuate, and set out to rouse her still snoring co-travellers.

“Everybody wake up!” Rainbow Dash shouted into the camp, flapping off the ground. Her campmates bolted upright, startled by the sudden disruption and blearily looked around to find a culprit.

“It’s barely sunrise, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity complained, trying to lie back down, but her friend zipped over and plucked her out of her sheets into standing.

“I have been very loyally keeping guard since I woke up some time ago, and I have decided that we are no longer safe here. We must continue our push towards New Stalk City and the apple king.

The Fruitlord pulled his stained shirt on and rolled away from the purple horse whom he had been “keeping stable” throughout the night. “Why isn’t it safe?” He asked, “Twilight’s still unconscious, we can’t travel well with her in this state.” He lifted up one of her hooves and dropped it again to accentuate his point.

“I feel like somebody has been watching us, waiting.” She shuffled uncomfortably. “You’ll have to trust me, I’m pretty much the most important character here now Twilight’s out.”

“Good point.” The Fruitlord commented, lurching over to the carriage remains with his hunchbacked gait. “We can make a stretcher out of these bits to carry Twilight.”

“I am a fashion designer with magic” Rarity added. “I shall make it.”

The unicorn walked over and picked up some wooden poles and some canvas from the wreck and began to swirl them around one another in her light blue aura. Her tongue poked out of her mouth in concentration as the pieces began to weld themselves together into something vaguely resembling a stretcher.

“It’s just two sticks and a bit of cloth.” Rainbow deadpanned.

“I’m not sure it will even hold her weight.” The Fruitlord inspected the shoddily built thing.

“Oh don’t be so pessimistic darlings,” Rarity defended, “I know what I’m doing.”

“Well, I suppose it’s the best we’ve got.” The Lord shrugged, and hauled the limp pony onto the makeshift carrier. “Let’s move out.”

The trees seemed to bend over imposingly towards the travellers as they made their way deeper into the forest, leaving the plains and charted territory behind. The deeper they got, the thicker the underbrush became until it was almost impossible for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to heave the stretcher through the branches and the party was forced to a halt.

“We can’t go on like this.” Rainbow complained, lowering Twilight to the ground. “The only way we’re going to make progress is if me and Fluttershy can carry this thing above the tree layer.”

“It’s ok, I have a plan.” The Fruitlord said. “like you say, you pegasi are going to have to take Twilight over the canopy to get anywhere, but the rest of us can’t fly. Because of this, I’ll go on on my own and try to find an easier path through while you three keep heading west. Rarity will be able to magic some brush away to get herself going and she can send up a beacon to keep us all in contact. Sound good?”

“Not at all.” Dash replied, “But it’s better than anything I can be bothered to think up. Let’s do it.”

With that, Rarity sent up a glowing blue beam from her horn straight into the sky and through the clouds. “I’m ready.” She confirmed.

“Are you?” Rainbow asked the yellow pony behind her, eliciting a nod. “Alright then, let’s go.” The two flyers promptly rose through the leaves, clutching the canvas stretcher in their hooves as they went.

Soon, The Fruitlord was left alone in the freshly forged path, with creepers and grasses in every direction. He had no idea what he was doing or why that plan he just thought up had to involve him going off on his own, but here he was, and it was adventuring time.

***

From above the shadow of the trees, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy could see that the sun had fully risen, and it now hung over the eastern hills, casting an orange outline around the wispy clouds high above. The distance was obscured by the mist of early morning, so the ponies had only the sun to guide them in the right general direction. From the forest below an orchestra of birds, or whatever the fruit equivalent was, sung away merrily in the dawning sunlight.

“Are you managing okay down there Rarity?” Rainbow asked, shouting in the direction of the soft blue beam emanating from the canopy.

“Quite alright, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity said, “It’s so much easier to get through with just one pony.”

“a’ight.” The pegasus replied, continuing the steady push onwards.

***

The further The Fruitlord went from his starting point, the stupider he realised this plan of his was. Of course there wasn’t going to be a fucking path, this was virgin forest, who was there to make one? He briefly turned around and looked up at the clouds to his right illuminated light blue by Rarity’s beacon, and considered rejoining the group. No, he thought, It’s only been 20 minutes, I can’t give up already. Just as his will was beginning to bend, The Fruitlord punched another small tree out of his way and burst out into what looked very much like a path, and a good one at that. He stamped around a bit, laughing, to make sure he wasn’t just imagining it and looked up to see which direction the infrequent shafts of sunlight originated from. It went from east to west. It was perfect. The Lord spun around to find the location of his companions only to find his vision filled with glowing eyes and dripping fangs. Realisation struck: this wasn’t a path…

It was a game trail.