//------------------------------// // CH3: The journey begins // Story: The journey // by Dashed_Brony //------------------------------// He had only taken a few steps out into the grass, off from the path that lead to the Sweet apple acres. The crowd that had waved to him slowly dispersed, and only a few remained until he could no longer see them any more than they could see him. His first hinder was a forest. It was known for its vastness more than the danger it held. He soon bypassed the first mark of what started the maze of trees. His vision got hindered by one tree after another as he walked on. The further he ventured, the more thick they grew together. He hadn'e entered the Everfree forest, just a normal, and more friendly forest. At least he considered it more friendly. Mostly because the everfree forest had been known for more than just one horror story, but also because this one wasn't constantly dark either. It was rather bright, actually. The sun was still high in the skies, he hadn't been walking for too long. The leaves had some major gaps which allowed for the beams of sun to heat the ground. There was nothing which didn't seem to want to wish him well off on his journey. One good sign after another. He became more optimistic by the second. "Maybe being out in the big world isn't so bad after all?" He wasn't alone though, but nor was he aware he was in company of someone... Or something, rather... He wandered on, oblivious to the not quite so silent, and even somewhat clumsy steps behind him, lurking from tree to tree. Eventually one of them stumbled into the other, and a loud argument initiatated behind a large oak. Even he couldn't ignore them. The voices were rather frail, quite young by the tone. As he made his way around the barricade between the two, three little puppies had gone at a full assault at each other. They were diamond dogs, no doubt. Their appearance and lack of any decent clothing revealed it. More so, one of them had a rather pretty gem tied around their neck with a simple, but sturdy thread. It was the leader, no doubt. He was bigger than the other two. Not by much, but enough to make a difference. "Uhm... Are the three of you okay, or...?" He asked, both curious and nervous at the same time. Kids weren't his speciality, aside from story-telling. "Oh grayt! hessss seen ush!' One of them shouted. "It's probably all your faulth!" The 'leader' replied with the words and a punch, and once again the three of them were at it like the wild dogs they were. The three had gone and ignored him again, and he simply let them at each other's throats until they all sat there, panting and exhausted. "So... Why are you out in the forest, all alone?" He broke the silence the three had finally gathered in. They weren't in a condition to try and fight or argue, so he could ask as openly as he pleased without meeting any resistance. "Huff... Huff... None of your business..." The third one, smallest of the three, not even fully reaching his chest in height, growled out. "Well... You were obviously following me, so I'd consider it my business, you know..." He quickly threw in as a reply, feeling clever about it. "Well... Werrrr hungryyyy... We thoght yuuu had food!" The first one exclaimed. He was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Then again, his appearance probably betrayed that anyways. The poor puppy hadn't finished his sentence before he was slapped at the back of his head and whimpered. "And now he knows that too! Great! Anything else you want to say, meathead?" The leader was more aggitated now than he had been when they had been busted. "Oh... You're hungry? Well... I don't know how much I can save, but I'll go through my backpack and see what I've g-..." He had opened the bag and started searching in it as he spoke, but no sooner did he find himself slowly 'falling asleep'. The last words he remembered before passing out was 'That oughta keep him knocked out for a few hours', and the unmistakable pain of being wacked in the head. -------------------------------------- The scent of dirt tickled his nose. He didn't really want to wake up, but the uncomfortable bed he was laying in practically forced him to find a better spot to lay down on. It wasn't a bed though. It was solid dirt-floor. What wasn't dirty, was mud. "That's your drinking pond" He heard a dark-toned voice. He was still waking up. His senses were at their worst, and his sight was blurred. It was like he had been out for days. "Jeesh... I can't remember the last time I had a this bad headache..." he mumbled, still sleepy. As his eyes finally adjusted to waking up, he still felt rather blind. It was dark, and barely lit up by a small candle at the wall. The only 'Door' that lead to an exit, was shut off by a set of rusty bars. It was much like a prison cell. Minimum food, bad drinking circumstances and a wooden-plated bed attached to the wall by chains. He walked over to the rusty bars and looked left and right. To his left, more prison doors, the same to his right. There was also someone wearing a hood. Based on the tone he had heard before, his guess was that this was the one who had spoken. The hood was as dark as the night. It might have been purple, but the entire place was too dark to tell. There was no harm in asking questions at this point. He knew he was jailed. What more could they do? He could only guess what they'd do to him. They had gotten his stuff and Diamond dogs and ponies weren't always known for getting along. "Uhm... How did I get here, and why am I being kept here exactly? You've got my stuff? I don't really have anything else to offer... Heh... So if you could just open this prison cell, I'd be taking my leave and we'd both have a nice day, right?" "No can do that." Still the dark tone. It was too dark to tell just who or WHAT sat on that chair, but his best guess was a diamond dog. Who else would be set to guard a pony's cell? Or any cell for that matter? His mind faded over to thoughts about the story Rarity had told him about how she out-won... Or rather, whined the diamond dogs. He could only hope that he'd be given the chance to whine himself to freedom, but the doubt was strong. She could find diamonds. What did he have that might've been useful for them? Nothing as far as he knew. His thoughts flew, as did the time, and before he knew it, he heard footsteps from the other end of the room. That was the stairs that lead to freedom. Not that he was expecting to walk up them without it being to go to some other grim future that probably awaited him. Two diamond dogs walked over to the cell, looking into it. "We caught ourselffffs a mighty fine one, di'n't we?" He wanted to crawl as far back into a corner of the cell as he could. He would've fought back if he could, but those gazes through the cell bars only made them seem like giant, massive and frightful monsters. Their toothfilled grins practically lit up his cell, and that just made it worse. All he could see was two faceless creatures with glowing eyes and sharp, giant teeth. "Well... His majesty wans an audience whiff this one. Open th' door, cellkeeper." Laxed had given up all hope at this point. There was no way he'd win versus three of them alone, and he knew that if he tried escaping, he'd probably only worsen his own situation. He closed his eyes and hoped he wouldn't have to ever open them again. Fear was eating away at him. "This was such a stupid idea... Why couldn't I just have remained a bookworm?" His thoughts raced with regret. "Get up off the floor already..." The same dark tone. It was friendly though. He opened his eyes, and to his surprise, he saw a hoove reaching down to help him up. He grabbed hold of it, and gained his balance on all four once more. Looking over the shoulder of the hooded stallion, he saw the two diamond dogs, both passed out. Their expressions were revealed by the little light from the candle, and they were both knocked into a lasting sleep. His saviour started galloping off. He wasn't headed towards the stairs though, but to a cell close to them. Unlocking it, he walked inside. "Close it" The stranger mumbled once they had both gotten inside the cage. He did as ordered, and simply looked confused to the stallion that had gone ahead and pushed against a wall. After a few striving seconds, it gave in, and slowly budged, sliding far enough in to reveal a stairway leading even further down. It made him wonder just how close to the surface they were right now. "Come on... It won't stay open for long and it's a pain to open..." The dark tone had faded, and it was... A female's voice? He hadn't gotten a close enough look to differ the gender, but from what he had heard, his assumption was that it was a stallion. The darkness held many secrets, and this just seemed to be another. He followed 'her' down the stairs, and saw the pathway they had entered shut behind them after just a few seconds. Time passed, and they walked both down, up and straight ahead through many corridors. The darkness had been maddening, but to his luck, his saviour was also a unicorn who cast a bright light. It was like having a live torch that walked on its own. "S-So... You're a mare?" He was nervous to ask. Not because he was shy around females, but because of how he had been a coward, and she had saved his flank. He was both embarrased, and felt humiliated. Talking was the least he wanted to do if it hadn't been for how long they had walked. The stranger didn't reply. It wasn't his only attempt at trying to start a conversation, but it was by far his best one. The more he tried, the more he felt rejected, and the less it tempted to try again. Silence returned. The only thing that vibrated in the air was the sound of hoovesteps across stone flooring. That was how it remained for a longer time period. He didn't even know if they were above or below the diamond dog lair anymore. They had walked up and down too many stairs for him to keep track, even if he had tried his hardest to focus on it, to know whether or not they were headed towards the surface, or somewhere else. Then it struck him. The walls had been slightly curved. "We've been walking in circles... Haven't we?" The stranger stopped. Didn't speak, just stopped. Then she continued to walk on. He refused to keep doing it. He ran up in front of the unicorn and blocked the path. The light revealed the face. It was indeed a mare. Fully grown and beautiful at that. He had to contain himself in order to not blush, but he had lost all will to speak. She walked past him, and continued on. He followed. Pink eyes, a blue, magnificent mane that fell straight down like a waterfall, jagged at the end, and a tail to match, all along with a white coat. He didn't see any wings, so he was certain she wasn't an alicorn, which only made him more shocked she had handled those two diamond dogs earlier. They were both bigger, and probably stronger than her. This time, she only walked for a few minutes before she stopped, and directed her horn at a wall. The wall lit up with the same blue glow that had kept the walls visible up until this point. There were many things scribbled all over the wall, but none made sense. Not a single sentence. Not even a word, or a letter. It was all written in a language he hadn't even seen or heard of, not even in his storybooks. And those were basicly knowledge books on stuff like this. Some was fictional, but most was based on truth. He tried reading them, but the only results was his vision blurring. Again, he felt the soft embrace of sleep craddle him. - End -