//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Virtuous Desperado // by Dumakey93 //------------------------------// I had made it to Ponyville by nightfall, since I decided to take my time to plan how to protect Twilight from the Changlings and the robed skeleton. I knew where her place was, for I had visited her home upon stumbling into this world. I saw the treehouse (or is it tree house) just a few feet away. Looking around, I spotted a sufficient hiding spot to spy on her from. It was an old barn out in the distance, with only a few scattered lanterns to lead me there. Deciding to be stealthy, I jumped over a white picket fence and crawled to the barn. In hindsight, I should have considered the mosquitoes and cow manure that I had to endure. I took off my trenchcoat and my hat, as I hung them on the inside peg of the door. Without much thought, I laid myself down on a small pile of hay and fell abruptly asleep. I woke up with a start, as the walls crumbled around me. I had no time to wonder what was going on, as I grabbed my equipment and peered outside. There was a trench just to the side of the barn, where some pony had a hat on. The backside of the barn started to crumble, as I saw a rainbow out of the corner of my eye. From what I could tell, she was a pegasus with a rainbow mane, which seemed extremely abnormal for a pony to have such a color scheme. Suddenly, the rainbow-maned pony was pulled from her work by Twilight. She procured glasses out of thin air, as she appeared to console the other pony. I had to get out of the barn, or else I’d have it collapse on me. Diving into a nearby bush, I saw Twilight’s gaze turn toward my direction. I held my breath, hoping that she didn’t see me. Sure enough, she didn’t and continued to lecture the other pony. I was lost in thought, as I heard a whistling of wind, as I was thrown out of the barn. With the whistling came a loud boom, which burst my eardrums, as I struggled to note my position. I knew that I was being thrown at a fast speed, because I could barely make out the scenery flowing past me. Using my legs, I dug into the ground as well as I could. I barely slowed down, as I dug into the ground with all of my extremities, hoping my body would stop moving through the air. I stopped sliding after several feet, stopping to catch my breath. Seeing movement near me, I rolled into one of the many bushes that surrounded the barn. Hiding in wait, I let Twilight and her friends leave, taking note of where she had gone. I decided not to track Twilight for the rest of the day, for I was dead tired. I wondered why I became so fatigued easily, then I realized that I hadn’t slept in days. I needed to rest, but I couldn’t stay in the farm, it was too much of a risk for being spotted. I carefully made my way to a forest which seemed dark and gloomy. After spending some time in the brightness of Ponyville, the darkness of the forest creeped me out. I went in anyway, despite a feeling that I couldn’t shake, the feeling of being watched. ~~~~~ The timberwolves had smelled something foreign in their midst. It mattered not to them what it was, they were just looking for their next meal. Their yellow eyes gazed in the direction of the scent, it was a raw one at that. Apparently whatever creature was giving off the smell seemed tired. The lead wolf grinned in anticipation of his long awaited meal. He motioned for the group to move in on their prey. The group split into several groups of two, making sure to surround their prey. Dashing with great speed, the wolves now lurked within the dense trees of the Everfree Forest. Breathing heavily, the alpha male creeped up from behind the bipedal creature, and growled. ~~~~~ I heard a loud growl, as a wolf-like creature pounced on me, pinning me to the ground. My arms were far too weak to lift him off me. I scrambled to find any sort of weapon to at least blind the creature. After mere seconds of fumbling through my pockets, I felt saliva run down my neck. The creature then sank it’s teeth into my neck, as I decided to endure the pain. I felt my blood boil, and my fingers became numb, as my senses became deluded by the pain in me. With a burst of energy, I kicked the creature off with my left leg. I spun around to face the creature, only I found at least twenty others were surrounding me. My heart began to beat slowly, as I sat down and closed my eyes, beckoning them to come closer. With a steady form, I focused all my energy into my hands and feet, spreading the power throughout my body. I opened my eyes, as the leader began his attack again. His fur was tattered and he was missing an eye, just like me. I knew that I needed to deal with him first, even if he seemed overpowering in a head-on fight. Clenching my right fist, I punched at his remaining eye. He dove at me, absorbing the blow, as I ducked to avoid him. I kicked at the creature’s neck, as I heard a satisfying snapping sound from it. The creature quickly turned to face me, and gave a smirk, as he collapsed on the forest floor. The other creatures backed away as I walked towards them. Each of them bowed at me, recognizing me as their leader. I gave no objections, since my body became sore from my recent fight with their leader. They followed me through the Everfree Forest, perhaps being the only decent company I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.