Fluttershy stopped for a moment and looked back. She seemed to have gone far enough from the ogres. She knew she wasn’t in danger anymore, the ogres decided not to eat her after all. Still, it seemed like a good idea to run away. Now she knows, wherever she is, it’s not in Equestria anymore.
“What am I gonna do now?” She asked no one in particular, in a quiet outburst of fear. She had no other choice, but to walk along the hilly grasslands and search for help.
She has walked for a while, aimlessly. She observed the different creatures around her, many animals she was familiar with, many animals she never seen before. She tried talking to a group of rabbits, but they were too timid to talk to. They haven’t seen too many horses around and when they did it didn’t mean to much good. So the rabbits ran away. She went into a small patch of trees, to try and communicate with some birds. They seemed much more welcoming. Unfortunately, their songs were incomprehensible. One swallow on a branch was glad to talk to Fluttershy. But she could only hear gibberish coming from the bird. She tried talking to a small brown bird on the ground. It greeted Fluttershy with a happy little hop. But her hopes of communication have quickly faded, as the bird let out a wet belch.
Finally she heard a familiar sound, although this sound was rather disconcerting. It was a bison calf, yelping for help. She waded through the patch of trees into the field and saw a bison and her calf surrounded by four figures in minimal armour, each carrying large axes and spears. The two bison were desperately trying to escape the slashing of the axes and the flying spears. The mother kicked and used herself to shield her calf, which yelped anytime one of the figures got close. They were fighting fiercely, but they couldn’t hold it for much longer.
Fluttershy looked for a moment, considering what she should do. She decided to help the bison the only way she knew. She flew from out of the bushes and approached the fight.
“Leave them alone!” She cried. The fighting stopped as the figures turned their unsightly faces and armour covered heads towards her. For a moment it did seem to work, as they stopped bothering the mother bison and her calf. But that peaceful moment wasn’t long.
“Watch out, the flying horse will kick us!” A green skinned one exclaimed sarcastically, to which the rest of them replied with laughter.
“I said,” Fluttershy tried again. “leave them alone!”
“The flying horse commands you!” Said a grey skinned one, making fun of the one trying to stop them. The bison mother and calf slowly backed out from between the goblins as they were distracted.
One of them, with red skin, wearing a helmet that covered most of their head, stepped forward. “Okay, we will leave the bison alone.” The words seemed reassuring, but the mood didn’t get any more pleasant. The red goblin continued: “But, we will eat you instead!” The goblins cheered their red brother on, as Fluttershy didn’t know what to say. “Silence is agreement!” He shouted after a few seconds of waiting for an answer and they all raised their spears.
Thankfully a noise distracted everyone again, a noise that came with a shaking ground. The bison mother and calf, who were now slightly behind the whole group, cried out towards the noise. And the noise cried back, with the thunderous roaring of a herd of bison. Everyone looked at a nearby hill, as a large figure, riding on top of an even larger bison appeared at the top. The bison reared and at least, ten other bison run from beyond the hill. All ready to save their trapped brethren. The goblins tried to look tough, but even they were too scared to face the entire herd, so they ran away.
The herd of bison surrounded their now safe relatives. The one carrying the green-skinned person stepped forward to Fluttershy. He wore very minimal armour and had many healed scratches all over his body.
“You must have great courage and foolishness to try and take on a band of goblins, all by yourself.” He said straight towards Fluttershy, with a voice filled with both appreciation and discontent.
“I know,” Fluttershy replied. “I just couldn’t let the poor bison be hurt.”
The green-skinned person smirked in amusement. “What sort of creature are you and what is a kind soul like yourself doing in these harsh lands?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I was at home, then suddenly I was here. I have no idea where I am”
“You fell into a magical passage?”
“Possibly.”
“Well I know nothing about magic, but I know someone who does. He lives in the Elven Forest to the south.” The orc pointed his spiky mace towards the distance. “I can take you there if you need.”
“Oh, that would be nice!” Fluttershy exclaimed in relief.
And sure enough, they started walking into the distance, the herd of bison following along, the saved calf prancing along with its mother.
“Oh, by the way,” The orc remembered something. “You still haven’t answered my question. What exactly are you?”
“Oh, right.” Fluttershy replied. “I’m just a regular Pegasus pony and my name is Fluttershy.”
“A regular Pegasus?” The orc asked in surprise. “There’s nothing regular about pegasi, especially ones that can talk.”
“Have you never met a Pegasus before?”
“Not exactly, no. They’re very elusive in the wild.”
“Wow, I must be really far away from Equestria.” Fluttershy said in quiet amazement. “And what exactly are you?” She passed the question back to the orc.
He chortled to himself for a bit. “And I assume you had never seen an orc before.” He said jokingly. “My name is Hadrik, son of Vlamuk and Grumlak. And this is my family.” He pointed at the herd of bison with his face. “You want me to introduce them to you, Fluttershy?”
“Sure.”