//------------------------------// // —All By Myself // Story: Unexpected Adventure // by WhooshieWoosh //------------------------------// Ineffable is a word that means, “Indescribable, unexplainable.” An example of this is the sentence, “The aching pain, splitting headache, and overall feeling of weakness I experienced upon awaking was ineffable.” I attempted to rub my forehead but found that my arms weren’t responding. That spike of panic caused me to attempt to move my legs which were also unresponsive. I groaned, and a distinctly accented voice said, “Easy mate, you’re in damn rough shape. I’d just sit there and save me strength if I was you.” I cracked an eye open and gazed at my surroundings. My eyes landed on a griffin sitting in a chair beside me. Upon completing a brief survey I surmised that I was in a bed in a small house/cabin. Exactly where? No idea. How long I was out? No clue. What even happened? Nadda. I swallowed, my mouth parched, and asked, “W-wha—*cough cough*” I doubled over as I devolved into a coughing fit. My mystery caregiver was immediately at my side with a glass of water. I gratefully accepted the cup and gulped down the water within seconds. After a few shaky breaths I tried again. “What... happened?” The griffin shrugged. “I have no bloody clue. I was hopin’ you’d tell me.” “How... did I get here?” “Well, I was out doin’ the washing up, and I look over and there you are washed up on the bank of the stream. So I run over to you so I can see if ya dead or not. You aren’t, if you hadn’t guessed, so I picked you up and brought you here. It’s been, ooh... five days? Yeah, five days since I brought you here.” Five days. And who knows how many before that. “Honestly, I was kinda worried you wouldn’t wake up. Oh!—“ He picked up a bundle beside the bed and set it on my lap, “Here’s everything you had on you.” I looked down at my coat and bag. Whether everything was still inside or not, I had no idea. My hand twitched as I strained to move. “Uh... you gonna check those?” “...I can’t move.” The griffin stared at me dumbly as he processed it. He gulped and asked, “You... what do you mean... you can’t move at all!?” I grit my teeth as I strained every fiber of my being in an attempt to move my wayward limbs. I would not accept this! I refuse to be a cripple! “C’mon! Move!” I wriggled my torso as I furiously strained away at the prison my body had become. “Easy! Easy! Calm down! You’re still recovering!” “No! I don’t want to be stuck here! I want to be able to move!” “But you need—“ I growled as desperation set in. None of you know how terrifying it is to become a prisoner in your own body. To be trapped, completely unable to move for some mysterious reason. If only I could remember what happened! But... everything’s all blurry and muddled in my mind. It was like my brain was filled with cotton that was slowing down my thoughts. I began to panic. I usually have very good control over my emotions, but this was too much. As ashamed as I am of that moment of weakness, I admit I almost completely lost it. I came to a screeching halt as my rescuer wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest. “Ay, ay... calm down. Just breathe. In... out... in... out.” I focused on calming down as he began to rub my back. I also typically didn’t do physical contact. I mean, I’d be willing to hug my family if they expressly asked for it, but I didn’t exactly enjoy it. But... this was nice. I honestly could admit that I needed a hug right now. “You good, mate?” I slowly inhaled before gradually letting it out. “Y-yeah. I’m better now. It’s just... what am I going to do?” He shrugged. “Well, what do you think I’m gonna do? Seeing I’ve let you stay this bloody long why would I throw you out now. Besides, I like to think of you as a friend. Odin knows I talked to you plenty when you were out. You’re a good listener by the way.” He smirked and jostled my shoulder. I snorted and gave him a small smile. “I’ll accept that.” I looked down at my now useless limbs and sighed. I glanced at my still unidentified rescuer and said, “Would you mind scooting over a bit. You’re sitting on my hand.” He nodded before giving me a curious look. “Wait. You can still feel your arm?!” “Yeah, I... hey... I can!” “Which means—“ “That I might be able to move again! I just need to build my strength!” He grabbed my shoulders and shook me, an excited grin on his beak. “Mate, I promise you. I will help you walk again.” I nodded and gave him a smile. “I’ll do my best to not let you down.” “That’s the spirit!... I just realized I never introduced myself or got your name. I’m Gehrman, but my mates call me Garry. And you are?” I was about to respond with “Drake,” but I realized that maybe... I should lose that name. “Drake” the large, muscle-bound dragon thief was already wanted and had guards amd bounty hunters attacking him on sight. To be honest, I looked almost nothing like I originally had, so why not... rebrand myself. Though what should I use for a name? If not Drake... them maybe.... “...Cain. I’m Cain.” “Well then, Cain. How about something to eat?” My stomach chose then to demonstrate the mating call of the humpback whale. “Yeah... some food sounds good right now.” Gehrman walked across the room and began to mess around with something just out of my sight. “Hope you like toad in the hole.” “...Excuse me?” He glanced back and said, “You know, toad in the hole. You never had it?” I honestly had no clue what that was. It sounded like toad pie, but nobody would seriously make that, right? He must have noticed how confused I was because he continued, “Toad in the hole! It’s a staple back in the Gryphon Empire! Like dead man’s arm or leg and shepherd’s pie!” “First off, do I look like a griffin? Second, I have literally never heard of any of those except shepherd’s pie. Third, what is toad in the hole!?” He walked over with a large thing on a wooden plate. “It’s a sausage baked into a loaf of bread. It’s good!” “That... actually does sound good. But why is it called that?” He opened his beak... and then closed it. “I... uh... don’t know. I’ve never actually thought about it. It’s just... What we call it back home.” “Is... that where we are? The Gryphon Empire?” He flipped his claw back and forth in the usual “So-so” gesture. “It’s more like the no-man’s land between Equestria and the Gryphon Empire. No ponies live here because they don’t want to be too close to any griffins, and no griffins live here because they don’t want to risk ticking off any ponies. Well, less the actual ponies and more Celestia and her Royal Guard.” “Of course. Should have known.” He waved a claw at me as he cut the toad in the hole in half. “You should be happy about that. Celestia just issued a decree to force all dragons to stay out of Equestria. Apparently some have been crossing from the Dragon Lands and pillaging villages. Burning them to the ground, stealing anything shiny, killin whoever gets in their way. Uh... no offense to you or dragons, but please avoid pillaging my cabin.” “On my honor as a dishonorable dragon.” He squinted as he thought it over. “You git.” He shoved my shoulder as I smirked. “Don’t worry, I’ll try not to sneeze.” (Meanwhile, near Ponyville) A bizarre creature sniffed the air. His ears perked up as he caught a faint scent. He got down on all fours and began to bound towards the small town, his claws digging into the soft soil. His breath came in quick pants as he rushed towards the town. In town, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were standing outside Rarity’s house, waiting for their friend. Rainbow Dash groaned, “Ugh! How long does it take to get ready for lunch! It’s not like we’re going to a fancy restaurant, we’re just meeting Twilight and Fluttershy at a cafe!” Pinie giggled, “Silly Dashie, you know Rarity always looks her best. It doesn’t matter where she goes!” Applejack shrugged. “She’s right you know. She’s always gittin all gussied up fer the littlest things. I just wish it didn’t take her half a day to do it.” Rainbow Dash sighed as she idly hovered over her friends. “I know, but we’ve been waiting for, like, hours!” Pinkie pulled a watch out of her mane and hummed. “Hmmm... nope! Only thirty-eight minutes, forty-nine seconds, thirty milli- no wait, uhh... I’ll just stop. Milliseconds go to fast to tell you about them.” Just then, the door opened and out strode Rarity. “Sorry about that, my mane just refused to cooperate today! Anyway, shall we?” With that the four friends set off for the cafe. Upon arrival they joined Twilight and Fluttershy before looking over their menus. They all turned as they heard shrieks of surprise from down the street and Mrs. Cake breathlessly ran over to them. She halted, panting before the six ponies and gasped, “Pinkie! *huff* you’ve gotta *puff* help! *gasp* there’s *pant* a monster! And *huff* it’s chasing *huff* me!” Everyone gasped before moving to form a barrier in front of the mare as the shrieks got closer. Soon, a bounding creature rounded the corner and skidded to a halt in front of the ponies. Rarity screamed as she recognized what it was. “DIAMOND DOG!” Sitting panting before them was a brown canine creature with oversized paws and mismatched eyes. But... there was a slight difference between the other diamond dogs the mane six and this one. Rainbow Dash scoffed, “Seriously? But this one’s scrawny! I mean, just look at it!” It’s true, this diamond dog was a runt. Still large compared to ponies, but not nearly as massive as typical. He shook himself before growling, “Where... pony go?” The six ponies scowled and Pinkie said, “You meanie! You better leave Mrs. Cake alone! You are not snatching her up and making her dig gems for you!” The dog shook his head and growled. He caught a glimpse of the pudgy mare and lept over the six ponies, landing before Mrs. Cake. She yelped in surprise as he leaned in and sniffed her as Twilight and gang turned to face him. His ears perked up and his tail wagged before he said, “You... food pony! I right!” “HE’S GOING TO GOBBLE ME UP!” The dog yelped as Twilight shot a magic blast at him. “Run Mrs. Cake! We’ll take care of this.” Mrs. Cake fled as the mares proceeded to attack the diamond dog. He fled under a hail of magic and hooves, his tail tucked between his legs. After he was sure he’d lost his pursuers, the diamond dog whimpered and rubbed his stinging head. “Why pony hurt so bad?” He growled in frustration before choosing a direction and setting off again, sniffing the air for the scents he was searching for.