//------------------------------// // Part One // Story: Spider Quest // by Dilos1 //------------------------------// “Come on, come on. Work you damn thing!” Cassy muttered angrily, keeping the microbus going straight with four hands on the wheel while she used her other two to fiddle with her cell phone in an attempt to get a signal as she sped down the dirt road. It was more than likely that she had long since violated the speed limit in every way possible, but at this given time Cassy was too rattled and desperate to really care. Much to her continued and ever escalating frustration, Cassy’s phone was being rather uncooperative with as it struggled to find a signal, and no matter how many times she refreshed it, it yielding the same unsatisfactory result it had been giving her for the past ten minutes since she left the talking pony behind: the words “no service” pasted next to a faded out wi-fi symbol. Cassy growled bitterly, certain that it was working just fine a short while ago. Why was it now deciding to act up all of a sudden? There had to be a cell tower somewhere around here, right? Glancing at the road to ensure that she didn’t crash into anything, Cassy made one more attempt to get the device working as she removed the casing and took the battery out. Praying against all odds, Cassy reinserted the battery hoping that it would finally kick into working order. “Please work. Please work, come on,” she pleaded, her anxiety levels nearly at their limits as she nervously waited to the device to lazily turn back on, and she caught herself holding her breath. Almost teasingly, the screen lit up briefly, displaying the distributer logo before finally going to the lock screen, whereupon Cassy’s myriad of eyes immediately darted to the upper right corner. No service. “Dammit!” Cassy threw the phone onto the passenger seat, casting it away for its failures as she put a hand to her brow in an attempt to assuage an oncoming headache. This only resulted in her making it even worse when the little block of glass and plastic that was her phone collided with her cranium. The resulting pain and surprise nearly made her swerve off the road, prompting her to hit the breaks as the microbus skidded to a halt, kicking up a plume of dust. She looked at her hand, dismayed to find that her phone was now stubbornly stuck to her fingers despite her making no effort to hold onto it. Her anger building, Cassy shook her hand, almost yelling in her efforts to pry it off her person. She tried to use her other hands, but found them to be equally tied up as they remained fastened to the steering wheel. “Oh, for fucks sake!” she screamed, ready to completely throttle the phone and the wheel, and chuck both out the window with extreme prejudice. She stayed her hand however, taking deep breaths in a conscious effort to calm herself. “Okay. Okay, let’s just. . . take it easy. Everything’s going to be fine, just. . . don’t lose your head.” Her own attempts to convince herself of this were hardly very convincing, but it did the trick as Cassy felt her stress and anxiety lessen as she forced herself to relax, if only slightly. A moment later her phone pried itself from her palm with a sound akin to velcro, startling her slightly as it thudded into her lap. Likewise, her remaining hands were also released from the stranglehold she had on the steering wheel. “Huh,” she mumbled with slight interest, taking a moment to inspect her appendages in closer detail, running a pointed finger along the palms. Deciding that she needed some fresh air to properly think things over, Cassy shut off the engine as she stepped out, hands on both her hips and chin and skull as she mulled over everything that occurred in the past few hours. The hot sun beat down on her relentlessly, but at the moment she preferred it to the cramped interior of the microbus. Her curiosity taking hold of her, Cassy gave into it as she proceeded to inspect the rest of her changed body. Her outward appearance was the most obviously affected by whatever happened, as evidenced when she peeled back bits of clothing to reveal stiff skin the color of light lavender, as well as certain aspects of her body being drastically altered. This left her wondering what else about her had changed, particularly in regards to her organs and such. She didn’t feel any different, so there was some comfort in that. Unsure if she wanted to know the answer to her rapidly growing list of questions, Cassy refocused her thoughts on how she was going to fix all of this. The obvious answer was to get back home, see a doctor, maybe even a psychiatrist. Unfortunately, this came with the equally obvious hurdle that she currently had no idea where she was. She looked around, scratching her head. Hoping to get a better look around, she clambered up to the top of the microbus, ignoring the hot metal as she stood on the tips of her small feet, surveying the area. and as far as she could tell, there was nothing for miles save an empty wasteland, with only the distant silhouettes of snowcapped mountain peaks in both directions to offer any sort of waypoint. Neither held any familiarity for her. “Great,” Cassy muttered, her shoulders sagging. She checked her phone one last time, finding it to be as unhelpful as ever before shaking her head, trying to decide her next move. Within moments, her brain went into survival mode as she hopped down and summarily began rummaging through whatever belongings she may have had inside the vehicle. She lifted the seats, hopeful to find something worthwhile. The entire process took about five minutes, at the end of which she had a depressingly small pile of various items that she could only hope would be able to serve her. She had a spare blanket, two extra gallons of gas, snow chains, a small tool box, a flashlight, some winter gear left over from a camping trip, and a box of raisins. She also had a spare set of clothes which she was tempted to exchange her rompers for, but decided to hold off in case they no longer fit her in this state. She remembered to count her cigarette lighter as well, so she had that going for her. The only problem now was food and water, which she had basically none of. The singular box of raisins didn’t count. Thinking of a way to remedy this issue, it was only a matter of time before Cassy’s thoughts eventually returned to the little building, and the mare who could potentially offer her some help. Cassy found the thought of going back displeasing, but soon came to the conclusion that it was her only option. In short order, Cassy had the vehicle started up. She checked to dial on the dashboard, seeing that she had burned away well over a quarter of a tank. She tried not to think about it too much however, making yet another possibly illegal U-turn to go back the way she came. Cassy burst through the swinging doors in a rush, nearly tripping over a potted plant in the progress and startling the green mare into wakefulness. The talking pony nearly fell over in surprise, flailing her limbs as she blurted out, “It wasn’t me, I swear!” Cassy hurried over to the mare, whereupon she was greeted with a “Oh, you’re back? Did you decide to buy something?” “No, not right now,” Cassy replied urgently, then shook her head. “I mean yes. Maybe. We’ll see, but listen. I could really use your help right now.” The mare leered away from Cassy. Appearing slightly put off by being in such close proximity to the woman. “Okay, um, I would like to do that, but like I said I don't really know where the place you want to go is, so I really can’t help you there.” “That’s fine, you don’t need to worry about that,” Cassy insisted. “I just need you to give me a general direction I can start heading in, anywhere that I won’t be just sitting out in the middle of nowhere.” Cassy paused in her rambling when she took notice of the mare not so subtly reach a hoof under the counter, and only then she realized how off putting it likely was to have a distressed spider monster in ones’ vicinity. Taking a moment to steady her frayed nerves before she got herself too worked up, Cassy attempted to come off as nonthreatening as she could muster. Letting out a heavy sigh, Cassy explained, “Look. I ‘m just really out of my element here. I have no clue where I am, and no idea where to go. I know you’re not obligated to, but any advice you could give would be really helpful.” For a long while the mare regarded Cassy with a raised eyebrow, making her afraid that she would just be turned away. To her relief to the mare seemed sympathetic to her plight. “Alright,” she sighed. “Alright I’ll help. Did you have any particular place in mind that you want to go?” Cassy thought for a moment, putting a hand to her chin. “You mentioned there were a few towns or something around here, right? Dodge Junction and. . . what was the other place?” “Klugetown.” “And what are they like?” The mares brow furrowed slightly at the question. “Well, Dodge Junction is about fifty or so miles to the West, which is. . . that way,” she said, gesturing with her hoof. “It’s a nice place, if a bit small. It’s mostly kept afloat as a stopping off point for ponies traveling by train. If you head there, then I suggest getting in touch with a mare named Cherry Jubilee if you can. She can help you better than I can.” “Assuming I don’t get chased off with torches and pitchforks, right?” Cassy said jokingly with a dark chuckle. The lack of any sort of humorous response from the mare was somewhat concerning. She cleared her throat, putting it out of her mind. “Ahem, and uh, Klugetown?” “Ehhh. . .” the mare mumbled, suddenly looking much less eager. “Klugetown is. . . well, it’s Klugetown.” Cassy’s eyes narrowed worryingly. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Well, for one it’s a trade city right on the border of the badlands in Storm King territory, a hundred miles or so in the opposite direction of Dodge. It’s kind of a rough place, and believe me, that’s putting it mildly. It's outside of Princess Celestia's jurisdiction, so if you happen to find yourself there, you better be on your hooves. Folks there will do whatever they can to sell something to you, and if not they might end up trying to sell you instead. You look pretty fancy, so they might even like you, assuming you have the money. That’s pretty much all I know.” Cassy blinked, attempting to process the information she had just been given, left unsure how much of it to trust. Storm King territory? Badlands? Princess Celesti-something-or-other? Not once in her life had she ever heard of anything like those before, which only served to make her feel that much more lost and clueless. At least she had some sort of goal in mind now, that being getting to Dodge Junction. If the talking mare could be trusted, then it at least sounded like a somewhat friendlier destination. She also wanted to conserve on gasoline, which only made it sound that much more appealing. She wasn’t sure what to do from there, but it was a start. And right now, a start was the best she could hope for. Cassy was pulled out of her thoughts when the mare mentioned, “I um, I hope that helps you at least.” “Oh, d-don’t worry about that. You’ve been plenty help, trust me.” The mare beamed with delight at the praise, appearing slightly bashful. “Oh, well, glad to be of assistance. On that note, is there anything you wanted to grab before you head out? It is a bit of a trip to Dodge Junction.” Unexpectedly, the mares’ horn lit up in a shimmering aura of sparkling emerald, and little cloth bag, encased in similar emerald glow, floated upward from somewhere beneath the counter to rest in front of Cassy. “We do offer complimentary portions of dried apples to new customers. Homegrown.” Cassy did not answer right away, staring hard at the bag of dehydrated fruit. She blinked a few times, attempting to process what she just saw. The mare coughed into her hoof, fidgeting nervously when no reply was immediately forthcoming. Cassy shook her head, clearing away her moment of bewildered stupor and arriving to the conclusion that it was better to simply not question anything anymore. “Y-yes. Thank you. That’d be nice. Yeah,” she mentioned somewhat warily, accepting the offer as she slid the bag over to herself. Trying not to overthink it too much, she summarily began gathering up at least one of everything she felt she would need in the foreseeable future, and before long she had a small pile of various dried goods and jugs of water on the counter while the mare rung her up. It was only when she was about to reach into her pocket that she realized a crucially important detail that she overlooked in her haste. “Uh,” she said bashfully. “I don’t know if I have anyway to pay for this.” Putting a hoof to her chin in thought, the mare suggested, “Well, do you have anything you’re willing to trade? We do barter.” Cassy took a moment to think, wondering if she had anything on hand that the mare would be interested in. She was hesitant to give up anything essential, which left her options woefully limited. Just when she was about to give up on being able to buy anything, a thought entered her head. “Well, I do have one thing. . .” After loading up her microbus with as much supplies as she was able carry in her six arms, Cassy hopped into the drivers seat, taking the time to bid her farewells to the mare, who watched from the door with a lit cigarette floating next to her. “Thanks again miss talking unicorn,” she called, and with that she began making her way westward, following the mare’s directions to Dodge Junction. Watching her leave with a mixture of mystification and sullied appreciation, the mare took another draw of the strange little cigar the spider lady provided her, rolling her eyes as she watched the odd visitor roll away in her magic metal carriage. “Chamomile,” she muttered, trotting back inside and out of the sun.