//------------------------------// // Chapter 51; Trotting Though The Brush // Story: The Wander Through Lands Unknown // by Tomas Lutwig //------------------------------// Sundace practically hopped down the road like a school filly who just got a new bow. My mind drew a blank at the bizarre action, even as she twirled the note around in her magic. 'Am I dreaming?' I questioned looking up into the sky, searching for the moon, or other sign that the lunar princess was watching. Shaking my head I caught up with the giddy mare grabbing her tail as she made another leap into the air. A light tug caught her off guard, causing a squeak as she approached the ground to land on her flank. In her surprise, she lost her grip on the note. “James, what the buck?” She said turning to give me a look akin to one I had assumed reserved for the most hated of enemies. I blinked in surprise at the sudden change of attitude but shook my head. “What was that all about?” I asked, confusion easily finding it's way into my voice. “I mean I've seen ponies react that way when meeting Celestia, but Discord?” The guard pony scoffed, “You wouldn't understand” she said turning her head away from me and frowning. Movement caught my eye making me turn to see the small note fluttering away in the wind. “Uh Sundance?” I said watching it. “Oh fine I suppose I can tell you. I've always been interested in less well known or less common types of magic.” She said a smile growing on her face again as she turned away. “I mean everypony knows about the elemental magics, but what about the Agrokinisis and Ferrokinesis? So many ponies prefer to focus on...” Reaching for the familiar cool flame, I grabbed the small note before it could get too far away. 'After all that she probably wouldn't be too happy if this got lost' I thought as the mare continued talking, having switched to talking about the applications of Chaos magic. “... And that!” She said whirling around as the note landed in my hand. “Is why I want to talk to Discord! Chaos magic is not only the hardest to control, and master, but the hardest to corrupt! It could be so useful if ponies could learn to properly use it!” I held out the small note making raise an eyebrow. “You dropped this by the way” I said, a humored smile forming as she snatched the note out of my hand. “So you wanted to talk to Discord about using his magic?” I started walking towards the Everfree forest again listening to the nearly obsessed sounding mare beside me. “... If we could just get him to help us, teach us how to use magic like he does then we could stop disasters before they could even start! Ponies, Griffins, Miotuar, even the Yak would never have to worry about food shortages again! Creating food is more than possible with such power!” A chuckle sounded from my throat which made her stop and glare at me. “And what's so funny about nopony ever starving again?” Shaking my head I retained a smile. “Sorry to burst your bubble Sundance, but Discord is the spirit of disharmony and chaos. He thrives for such things. Why would he teach ponies how to use magic like him if he knew it would take away the little bit of chaos he still has in his life?” I asked. Sundance scoffed again, “I sincerely doubt the Spirit of Chaos can be so easily predicted” she said rolling her eyes. She opened her mouth to continue only to notice the darkness that seemed to be creeping up on us. Stopping she looked at me, “Why are we going into the Everfree?” “Hmm? Oh, I wanted to take a bit of a rest at the bonfire deeper in. It's been a while since last time I was here.” I said with a smile looking around the forest's entrance, familiarity bringing a small feeling of peace to my mind despite the forest being dangerous. Concern formed on the unicorn's face even as she approached. “Are you sure that's a good idea? With what happened in here, it might be better to wait a bit.” Sundance said. The implication of her words made me shiver a bit, but I shook off the feeling. “Don't worry. The only reason they got to drop on me was because I was alone. That was a completely different part of the forest too.” I said, trying to reassure her. I could tell she wasn't entirely convinced, “Trust me, I know this place like the back of my hand” I said holding up the appendage and wiggling my fingers to get the point across. Sundance shook her head and sighed. “Well okay then, you get me killed though and I'm haunting you for the rest of your short life” she said, a smile creeping onto her face. I returned the smile though I could still see the concern in her eyes. “C'mon then, it's not too terribly far.” “I thought you said it wasn't terribly far” I heard Sundance say behind me, her voice a whine nearly matching the level of annoyance and grating I remember Rarity having. Almost. I let out a quiet “Shhh!” behind me before looking around and listening. “Not much farther Sundance, but you need to be a little quieter, we both know there are things in here that could, and no doubt would, kill and eat us” I whispered earning an annoyed look from the mare. The mare mumbled something under her breath, only catching something about shoving something “not terribly far” up my rear end. I gave her a look of confusion and concern before turning back around. 'Geeze, I know the forest is a bit dangerous, but c'mon.' I thought looking around and listening closely for some kind of noise. The sounds of bugs and animals deeper in the forest ruled as the two of us continued down the overgrown path. After a while I noticed a lump of scattered bone near the path where a fight had obviously taken place by the look of the surrounding trees. “By the stars...” I heard Sundance whisper as we got closer, I felt something tugging at me making me turn around to see the mare standing back her horn ignited and the aura surrounding my belt. I shot her a questioning look which she replied by motioning for me to come closer. “All humor aside James, I don't think this is safe.” She said before motioning to the pile of bones with a hoof. “I'm pretty sure whatever made that happen is most likely not going to be happy with us being in it's territory” Looking back at the trees something about the scene felt familiar. 'Perhaps...' the thought went through my head as I approached the pile of bone looking through them despite Sundance's whispered pleas. The skeleton gave little information besides that the creature was quite large and that something penetrated it's skull, cementing the unicorn's concerns. The trees however told the story of a fight that sounded all too familiar. I let out a weak chuckle as a hand went to my side. 'I wonder if they got that breastplate fixed...' I thought turning back to Sundance. “It's fine” I said motioning for her to come. “If I'm not mistaken, I did this” I said after she got closer. A look of disbelief fell on her face as she looked up at me. I nodded mentally laughing at the look. “It was another manticore, this one attacking a cub. I stepped in trying to save it” I said, good humor quickly failing as memories and thoughts flooded back in. Sundance rolled her eyes. “I remember hearing something a guard who's breastplate was badly damaged from a manticore attack... but...” She trailed off as I gave her a weak smile. “That cuirass was nea-” A hand went to her mouth as her voice had gotten too loud. I put a finger over my mouth offering another quiet 'Shhh' before taking it off. “That cuirass was nearly caved in, how did you survive that?” she said, this time a whisper. “It was not easy I tell you” I said, starting forward again towards where I remembered the bonfire being. “I'm still seriously thinking about making some padded armor to wear beneath if for that reason” I said more to myself than to her before shaking my head. “Either way, I ended up carrying the cub to Fluttershy's cottage before healing myself.” I offered the mare a sad smile patting my side lightly. Concern was marred by sadness as she noticed my face. “Did... Did it make it?” she asked quietly, prompting a shake of my head. “Do you want to talk about it?” I shrugged offhandedly. “Not much to talk about. Basically what happened was that Fluttershy told me she couldn't do anything for it. After I explained what had happened, she realized that sack of shit” I emphasized my words with an arm thrown behind us in the pile of bone's direction. “Had killed the cub's parents in some sort of territorial dispute. She told me that if she helped the cub, she would have had to raise the cub herself, and at that point if she released it back into the Everfree, it might see ponies as an easier target” My eyes close as I rubbed a hand down my face letting out a tired sigh. “What happened?” the mare said, her voice quiet enough I almost confused it for the wind. I took a deep breath and shook my head. “I told her I would deal with it.” I said looking down the path towards our destination. “I took it out into the forest and ended it's suffering.” The sounds of the forest ruled once more as we continued walking. The silence was heavy, but I was glad the questions had stopped. 'I guess you never really get over doing something like that. Or at least if you do you're not much of a person anymore' I thought, remembering the different animals I had killed when hunting with friends or family. 'I suppose that was for a purpose though, that manticore cub-' “Couldn't you of done something for it?” Sundance's voice sounded through the rustling of the trees. I shook my head. “I wouldn't of known how to take care of it, not to mention I've been told multiple times that animals that haven't been domesticated are dangerous to keep as pets” “Wha...” The unicorn mare trailed off, allowing the silence to fall back over us. Once again I welcomed the quiet sounds of the forest. Light caught my eyes, throwing me from my thoughts making a tired smile form on my face as the familiarity of it made me relax. “I think we're about there” I said glancing back at my friend only to find her staring at the road, a thoughtful look on her face. “Sundance?” I asked, slowing to a stop at the edge of the clearing. The mare looked up surprised which quickly turned to embarrassment. “Oh sorry, I was just thinking. What's wrong?” she said. I pointed with a thumb behind me, “Nothing, we're here is all” I said cocking an eyebrow. Turning around I walked into the clearing and immediately felt a comforting warmth on my face. A smile formed as I approached the still relatively small fire and sat down. Aches and pains that I didn't realize I had disappeared, leaving little more than a memory of their passing. Embers spiraled up into the hole in the canopy, the blue sky showing in to reveal that less time had passed since we entered the forest than I thought. “Wow” A voice sounded behind me making me turn to see Sundace looking around the small clearing before finally landing on me and the crackling bonfire. “So this is that nice little forest clearing you told me you woke up in?” she asked, her eyes looking past me, glued to the small fire and the strangely shaped blade that stuck out from the ashes and charred bones. “That it is” I said turning back to look in the fire as well. The sound of the mare's hoofsteps on the soft grass sounded through the clearing, I only realized how close she was when she laid down next to me. My eyes opened as my pillow moved. Turning, I saw Sundance wearing a knowing grin. I blinked a few times, sitting up as my senses slowly came back to me. “How long was I out?” I finally asked rubbing my eyes with the heels of my hands. A giggle sounded “Not too long, maybe long enough to put my let to sleep” she said making me turn to see that my makeshift pillow had, in fact, been her flank. “Sorry about that” I said sheepishly, a hand rubbing the back of my head. The mare smirked, “Don't worry about it, you've had a long day, and from what I remember you didn't get much sleep last night anyway” she said calmly, lightly shaking her leg, no doubt trying to get some feeling back into it. I chuckled, “Well to be fair you do make a pretty good pillow” I said getting up, allowing myself a stretch and yawn. “Oh well thanks” she said sarcastically, “How bout you buy me dinner next time before just falling asleep on me?” I smiled down as the mare slowly got up still shaking her hind leg. Looking up she returned the smile, shooting me a questioning look despite the smile. I just shook my head, “Well c'mon let's get outta here. It's been interesting walking down memory lane, but we should probably be getting back soon” Sundance opened her mouth to say something, but a low gurgle beat her to it making my eyebrows rise. “Hungry are we?” I asked as her cheeks flushed. She shot me an annoyed look, “How bout you buy me dinner now then eh? You were the one who asked me to come along on your little escapade” I raised an eyebrow as we started walking, “I can't say I remember asking for anything” I said looking up into the dark canopy, the light from the bonfire blinding us in the darkness of the forest. The mare scoffed, “We both know what that look meant” “Oh well, yea, I suppose. Th-” I started, my retort less than witty, but a loud roar silencing me before I could finish. Sundance opened her mouth, but my hand flew to it before anything could escape. 'Shit!' I thought the familiarity of the sound sending shivers down my spine. “We need to move” I said quietly motioning for the way we had come. Another roar sounded, closer this time. Both of us knew the implications and decided the rational thing to do was run. Full tilt, I sprinted down the overgrown path leading outside the forest. Sundance, galloping just as hard, easily passed me continuing down the path, though keeping me in her sight as she glanced back every so often. 'How thoughtful' I thought my breaths becoming ragged, 'she remembered not to di-' The sound of a large creature lumbering through the forest sounded behind me making my blood run cold. Glancing back, a large black maned gray furred manticore bounded after me, gaining quickly. 'Just my luck' I thought looking ahead again to see Sundance keeping pace a few feet in front of me. Images flashed before my eyes as I thought what would happened if it caught up. Crumpled, broken beneath a tree as the beast continued after the mare, slowly gaining until... I shut my eyes tight. 'Not this time' I thought, anger building in my chest. My eyes shot open as I looked around the forest. 'Just had to be when I forgot my axe' I thought patting the spot where I normally tucked the weapon into my belt. A very familiar pile of bones came into view not far from the unicorn, glancing back I grimaced as I saw it was nearly upon me, nearly within distance to pounce. Suddenly I changed directions, shooting off the path towards the pile of bones. The sudden change of direction caught the creature on my tail off guard, but it continued after me. Diving behind the tree the bones laid nearest to, I managed to dodge the manticore's pounce my mere inches. The creature's momentum causing it to skid to a stop using it's wings to right itself before it struck out with it's tail. Swinging around the tree, I felt the impact as the tail stabbed into it reverberate through the large plant, shaking it's branches causing a few leaves to tumble down around us. Looking at the pile of bones I grabbed a few before moving to another tree. Insects crawled over my hand as I looked to see what I had managed to pick up. A pair of the dead manticore's ribs, what looked to be part of a leg, and a few vertebrae. Cursing to myself I steeled myself to attack the creature with what I had only for a large paw to swipe out as I came around the tree. I felt myself flung to the ground a few feet away, pain threatening to split my head. In my flight not only had I managed to lose a good majority of my 'weapons', but the rib that I had managed to keep from losing was now embedded in my side, sticking out at an awkward angle. I pulled myself behind a nearby tree with what little strength I still felt in my appendages. Grimacing I sat up and yanked the, now broken, foreign object free nearly crying out in pain. “James!” The shout rang out through the forest. I closed my eyes in a mixture of pain and disappointment. 'No, keep running Sundance' I thought reaching for the only weapon I had left. The knife slid from it's scabbard easily, it's edge glinting in the low light. Getting to my feet, supporting part of my weight on the tree, I peered around the side only to find the Manticore looking from where the shout had come from. All too soon I saw motion further down in the forest and another shout sounded “James!” My ears rung as the manticore roared in response. My breaths were shallow as the manticore growled at the approaching mare. Focusing I reached for my magic it flickered to life, barely managing to rustle some of the bones behind the beast, drawing it's attention. Using it for what I had, I leapt from behind the large trunk at the creature. Aiming the blade of the small knife for the neck. Everything was silence as I managed to reach the beast, the blade easily sliding into flesh seemingly slower than life. The manticore roared again in pain lashing out with it's tail even as I slid the blade down drawing a long deep cut through the creature's neck. Blood flowed freely, though I didn't see it. The manticore's tail slammed into me, the tip only grazing me though the full weight of the impact threw me away from the dying beast. My breaths were painful as sound seemed to fade back in. The gagging sound of the dying manticore, choking, drowning in it's own blood as it filled it's lungs. Angry pleasure filled me as I winced, pain quickly returning. “James! Oh Celestia!” Sundance's voice sounded again, surprise and fear evident as she saw my broken body. I groaned as the mare flipped me, even as gently as she touched me everything seemed to ache. “By the stars... This can't be happening” I heard her whisper. Shallow breaths rushed from my throat. Opening my eyes I saw my friend, tears dripping down her face as she loomed over me. “Sundance” I managed, my voice raspy. I couldn't tell if the manticore's claws had managed to pierce my lungs, or if broken ribs offered little but pain. Shock painted the mare's face as she looked down at me, tears dripping down on my arm. “Shh, It'll be alright, I'll get you to the hospital, they'll fix you right up” She started her horn igniting before sputtering back out. After a few more attempts, the appendage lit properly before the light surrounded me. I shook my head, thankful that it at least didn't offer pain. “No... Take me... Bonfire” I wheezed. “Na-no. James we'll get you to the hospital, they'll patch you up, you'll be fine.” She said, trying to keep from breaking down and keeping me in the air. “Trust... me. Go to-” I grunted as a wave of pain washed over me from my chest. “Bonfire” I finished. I heard the mare's labored breaths managing to turn to look at her, wincing as I pulled at my chest. “James please I...” she started only to see my look. “Trust, me” I managed trying to take deeper breaths. Sundance was soon galloping through the forest. Pulling me behind her still surrounded by the glowing aura. In what felt like hours, the comforting warmth found me once again, as I found myself floating above the floor of the small clearing. “Put me... by... fire” I said between breaths. Something in the back of my mind knew I wasn't going to die soon, but the pain preached a different sermon, making me wish I would just bleed out and make it end. Soon I felt grass beneath my back, tickling at my scalp and neck through my mess of a hair. The pain quickly faded, just as it had before, replaced by a warmth that filled me, caressing my wounds as they vanished. My eyes closed, the feeling of the pain fading nearly rapturous. Allowing myself an experimentory deep breath, I silently thanked God the pain didn't resurface. Sitting up slowly, I managed to blink before a pair of hooves wrapped themselves around me squeezing tightly. Sundance sobbed quietly into my shoulder as I wrapped my arms around her, offering quiet “Shh, it's alright”. After a while the sobbing slowed though she still sniffled a few times. “When I turned around and you weren't there I was terrified” she said emphasizing her words with a squeeze. “I call out for you and the manticore is roaring I could only assume the worst and came running. When I saw you on the ground though...” her voice trailed off, breaking up at the end as the threat of her breaking down once more loomed it's head. “I'm sorry” I said gently patting her on the back, unusually calm as the bonfire still warmed me. “I didn't want that monster getting at you, I did the only thing I could think of” Sundance took a few deep breaths, moving to wipe tears from her eyes over my shoulder. After a moment she pushed off of me. “Don't you ever pull that again!” She said, anger creeping into her voice. “If you end up killed trying to protect me from something like that I'll have Princess Celestia raise your stupid plot up so I can kill you again myself!” I let out a little sigh, a calm smile coming to my face as I nodded. “I understand Sundance” She nodded, turning away and walking to the edge of the clearing. Getting up from my seat I shook off the dirt that clung to my clothes and grimaced at the blood that stuck to my hand. Looking on the ground next to where Sundance had set me down, was my knife, the blade still coated in bright red. Wiping it off on my already filthy pants I let out a quiet sigh before sliding it home in it's scabbard. “How did that fire there heal you anyways?” The unicorn's voice sounded making me look up at her. “Well” I started looking back at the bonfire before joining her at the edge of the clearing. “There is a curse...” As the pair of us continued down the forest path, neither noticed the shadow standing just out of the firelight, hiding in the trees. The figure waited, listening as our whispered conversation faded into the background of the forest's noise. 'Perhaps, next time more than one manticore...' it thought. The steel plates of the figures armor clanged together quietly as it moved through the forest. Fading back into the darkness.