//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - In Defense // Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds // by Kamahido //------------------------------// Two days later Arc emerges from the forest with Snowflake at his heels. He is dragging two massive dead snakes behind him. Snowflake looks to Arc proudly. “That second one really put up a fight!” “Yes, well… you really handled yourself well back there, Snowflake. I didn’t even see that one until it was coming right at me!” “Thanks! Hanging out with you, Big Brother… I just feel like I could do ANYTHING!” “You had that in you the whole time. All I can figure is that you just needed the proper partner.” Snowflake giggles. “We do make a pretty good team.” A voice rings out nearby. “That you do.” They spot Shadow stepping out of a nearby shed. Snowflake runs over to him. “Look what we got, dad!” “Good work. Their skin can be used to make some pretty durable armor.” “Can we make Big Brother something to protect him?” “Well… I don’t like the idea of…” Sunshine walks over. “It may save his life one day, Shadow. Think of all the materials he’s already brought us.” “That may be, but…” Sunshine sighs. “But all that could end with one swipe of a claw. Then you’ll lose your proverbial golden goose.” Snowflake gasps as she puts her front hooves around Arc’s leg. “I don’t want to lose Big Brother! Please, dad!” Shadow sighs. “Fine. I’ll get to work skinning this thing and treating the flesh. As long as your mother will stitch everything together.” Sunshine nods. “Alright. I’ll take his measurements later and tailor some proper protection when the time comes.” “Shouldn’t take more than a day or so for me to treat the skins. But you two should take a bath. That snake blood is pungent stuff.” Snowflake grins. “I’ll get a thermal bulb!” Sunshine calls out after her daughter as she runs toward the house. “Better get two. We just finished work on an extra-large tub for you and your pet.” “Okay!” Sunshine turns to him. “You should be able to fit in this one a bit better.” “Thank you. That other one was a bit cramped.” “I’ll get supper cooked while you and Snowflake bathe. It’s still going to be a while though.” Arc makes his way behind the barn. Spotting the new tub, he grins. “No more knees to the chest now.” Filling the tub from the pump, Arc muses to himself absentmindedly. A few moments later Snowflake bounds around the corner and hurries over to him with several items. “Here’s the thermal bulbs!” “Thanks.” “And here’s that soap from last time! Mom just made a fresh batch!” Arc takes it as he sits down in the tub. Dropping in the bulbs the water temperature rises considerably. Sighing, he leans back against the side of the tub and closes his eyes. “Washing myself and my clothes at the same time. Not sure how I could be more efficient.” The sound of a small splash rouses Arc from his thoughts. Opening his eyes he spots Snowflake desperately treading water as she tries to keep her head above the water. Grabbing the struggling filly he picks her up as she coughs violently. “Snowflake?! What were you…?!” “I need a bath too, remember?” “Yeah, I guess you do. But this tub’s a lot deeper than the other one.” He looks around. Spotting the bucket from last time Arc grabs it and pushes it under the water. Allowing it to fill, he turns it upside-down and sets Snowflake on it. “There you go. Now you won’t have to worry about drowning.” “Thanks, Big Brother!” A short time later Sunshine walks around the barn with something on her back. She smiles as she watches Arc rinsing Snowflake off. “How’s it going in there, you two?” “I’m all clean now, mom!” Sunshine nods approvingly. “You do look so, yes.” She lays something on a nearby shelf. “I made you some fresh clothes, Big Brother. There’s a few more sets in the barn next to your bed.” “Thanks! That should make things a bit easier in the hygiene department.” Sunshine giggles. “Oh no, thank YOU! For all your hard work, I mean.” “What do you mean, mom?” “He’s been getting me everything I’ve asked for lately. It’s nice to have somepony around to do that for me.” “No problem.” Sunshine turns to her daughter. “Snowflake, I made you a new cloak as well. It’s lying upstairs on your bed.” Snowflake hops out of the tub. “Thanks mom!” She bounds away without even bothering to dry off. Sunshine giggles as she turns back to Arc. “She’s such a sweet little filly. Even with her… deformities.” “That she is.” Sunshine lowers her voice before speaking again. “Again, thank you for everything.” Arc nods nervously. “Shadow’s been going down a lot faster these past couple of nights.” Sunshine grins. “That he has.” “Um… how’s your… backside.” Sunshine smiles and turns around. Lifting her tail she exposes her genitals. “Much better. As you can see the bruising’s completely gone now.” Arc blushes as he turns away. “Th-that’s good.” “Is something wrong?” “It’s nothing!” “Maybe you’ve been in there too long. You should finish up and put on your new clothes. But in any case, I need to get back to the stove.” “Okay.” Sunshine walks away as Arc puts a hand to his forehead. “That was… I don’t know.” Smacking himself a few times, Arc soaks for a bit longer before getting out of the tub. “In any case, I should get dressed.” Tossing off his old clothes, Arc dries himself off judiciously before slipping into his new outfit. “This is a lot softer than the old ones. I wonder what Sunshine made it out of.” Picking up his old clothes, Arc hangs them up to dry as Sunshine’s voice rings out behind him. “How do they fit?” Arc turns around quickly. “Sunshine?! I… didn’t hear you walk up!” “Sorry if I startled you.” “It’s fine. And the clothes fit very well, thank you. Tell me, how did you make the inside so soft?” “If you look a bit closer you’ll see that it’s actually a few layers of material. The outside is rough and rugged like your previous outfit. However with this one, I specially treated the inner fabric to allow it to glide over your skin. It’s a rather complex, time consuming, and material intensive process.” “Well, thank you for going through all that trouble.” “In all honesty, I felt that I really had to do something to repay you. After all, you’ve done so much to help treat my injuries and made sure Snowflake didn’t notice them.” Arc frowns. “Yeah, you deserve better than that though.” Sunshine blushes slightly. “I thank you for your concern, but… what I want is what I want.” Arc sighs. “That’s why I haven’t tried to stop you and Shadow. Because you told me you don’t want me to.” “Yes. Just please continue to keep what happens to me at night a secret from Snowflake. She’s too young to understand.” “I can do that. Um… can I assume your earlier plan is working?” Sunshine nods. “It is. When I go to fetch him his first drink, I simply add a small amount of Lobelica Root before giving it to him along with his tankard. He barely has time to mount me, of course. But Shadow’s somehow always able to finish before he passes out on the floor. That much I’m sure you saw from my flank.” She turns and gestures with a wave of her hoof. “But why don’t we head to the house? Supper should be almost ready.” “Alright.” Meanwhile, Dinky and her friends sit around a small table in Doctor Lighthoof’s room. Sereb limps in and sits down next to Dinky. “The doctor will be here with some of the soup soon.” Apple Bloom grins. “Great! I’m starving!” Sweetie Belle raises an eyebrow. “Are they cooking it outside?” Dinky sniffs the air. “Sure smells like it.” Sereb nods. “Yes. There is currently a large pot in the center of the village. Everyone is lined up outside to get some when it is done.” Apple Bloom gasps. “They must be REALLY low on food then!” Sweetie Bell puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “Well, Doctor Lighthoof did say the ponies in this town were pretty hungry.” Dinky frowns. “Yeah. But I can’t help but think there’s more to it than that.” Sereb raises an eyebrow. “Oh?” Apple Bloom turns to her friend. “What makes you think that, Dinky?” Sweetie Belle sighs. “Yeah. These ponies don’t seem any different from the one’s back in Ponyville to me.” “I know, but… something here just seems a bit… off. Sorry, but I just can’t put my hoof on it.” Doctor Lighthoof enters the room levitating five bowls of steaming hot soup. She sets one before each of them including Sereb on the floor. “There we are! The first bowls from the pot! Eat up, everypony!” She sits down and begins to eat ravenously. Dinky looks to her. “Doctor Lighthoof, can you tell us anything about this town?” Lighthoof nods and speaks between bites. “What… do you want… to know?” “Well… how did this town get started?” “I’m told… it was formed by… ponies… fleeing… something or other a long time ago.” Apple Bloom appears nervous. “Monsters?” Sweetie Belle grimaces. “War?” Sereb frowns. “Disease?” Lighthoof finishes her soup with a slurp and sighs contentedly. “Nopony really remembers. After all, it was MANY years ago. We’re all just descendants of the original settlers, after all.” Sereb nods. “How many years would you say that was?” “Several hundred, at least. But if everypony will excuse me, I’m going to see if there’s any more of that soup! All of you please stay here and don’t hurt yourselves.” The doctor bounds out the door with her empty bowl as the fillies look to Dinky. “She seemed pretty normal to me.” Sweetie Bloom shrugs. “Well… for somepony who was REALLY hungry, that is.” Sereb grimaces. “I agree with Dinky. Her body language was strained and her heart rate elevated.” Dinky grits her teeth. “That’s troubling.” Apple Bloom looks to Sweetie Belle. “What should we do about it?” “Not much we can right now. Remember, all of us still have holes in our sides from those barbs.” Sereb shakes his bandaged paw and looks at his side. “Some of us more. Even if we were to discover anything, we would be unable to act on it.” Dinky sighs. “I suppose that’s true. But we need to keep our real objective in mind. Finding out if my dad came this way.” Sereb nods. “Basic logic says he would have either come here, or the other village the doctor mentioned.” Apple Bloom gasps. “Knothole Village?” Sweetie Belle shudders. “I hope he didn’t end up there. Those ponies are thieves!” Dinky frowns. “Nopony here knows for sure they did anything. We shouldn’t just jump to conclusions.” Meanwhile, Doctor Lighthoof enters the village chief’s hut and calls out. “Mistress?” “You have news of our little guests?” “Yes. They’re asking a lot of questions about the village.” The chief chuckles. “They’re fillies. Very inquisitive by nature.” “We should help them move on quickly.” “Where to? Knothole?” The doctor sighs as the chief continues. “They need our help, Lighthoof. Even if uninjured, they would not do well in the forest unaccompanied.” “So what should be done? Are you suggesting we allow them into the Family?!” The chief shakes her head. “I am not. After all, they must have domestic ties elsewhere. Fillies don’t just appear out of nowhere. Tell me, you mentioned before that they claimed to be looking for somepony, correct?” “Yes. The purple unicorn’s father. However they have not said more on that matter since that time.” “I can only assume they are as fearful of us as we are of them.” “What are you instructions, mistress.” “See to it they’re fed and wounds tended to while trying to find out more about the filly’s missing father. Perhaps we can help each other.” Later that day, as the sun sinks below the horizon and the moon comes out, Arc lays on his back in the barn. Snowflake has long since fallen asleep snuggled up to him. He stares up at the wood beams overhead as the nightly sounds coming from the cottage intensify. Sighing, he muses to himself. “This… just doesn’t feel right. I know Sunshine said she enjoys it, but… they need to think about how this’ll affect Snowflake.” He looks over at the filly lying next to him and puts a hand on her back. “Eventually she’s going to figure out what her parents are doing in there every night. Then what?” Groaning, he closes his eyes. “Snowflake adores her mother and respects her father, of course. But… what will she think of them when she learns that…?” Arc’s thoughts are cut off as he hears a high pitched scream ring out from the direction of the cottage. Carefully and quietly getting up in a way so as not to wake Snowflake, he runs over to the barn door and slowly opens it. Stepping out into the warm summer night he hurries to the house and peeks in. Shadow is thrashing violently as Sunshine lies on her back under him. She struggles to escape, but cannot break free of the combined might of her husband’s weight and his hooves smacking her in the face. Arc runs over and, grabbing a nearby vase, smashes it over Shadow’s head. Pushing the now unconscious stallion off Sunshine, she jumps up and wraps her hooves around Arc’s neck as she shakes uncontrollably. “It’s okay, Sunshine! I’ve got you! What happened?!” “I… I put the Lobelica Root in his drink, but… s-something went wrong! He went out of control and started hitting me!” “How many did he have?!” “One!” Arc raises an eyebrow. “Just one?” “Is he alive?!” Arc puts his head to Shadow’s chest and listens. “I hear him breathing just fine and his heart is beating. Should we take him into town to see the doctor?” “Oh, no! He absolutely HATES going there! The doctor and my husband don’t exactly like each other. Shadow even made me promise not to take him there no matter how severe the injury.” Arc sighs. “So do I just put him to bed?” “Please do.” Picking up his owner, Arc walks the stallion to bed and lays him down. Returning to the kitchen he sees Sunshine struggling to stand. “Wait! Let me help you!” Running over to her, Arc is able to catch Sunshine before she falls. “What hurts?!” “Nothing in particular. I think I’m still just a bit… rattled by all this.” “Do you want me to carry you to bed?” Sunshine shakes her head. “I’m worried that he’ll wake up and have a relapse.” “Well, there’s always the barn with Snowflake and I. If it wouldn’t make you too uncomfortable.” “Thank you, I’d like that.” Arc carries Sunshine out the front door and to the barn. He lays her down carefully before taking his place next to Snowflake. “Sorry it isn’t very… um… are you okay?” Sunshine shakes her head as she shivers. “I just… this has never happened before!” “Scared?” “Y-yes.” She continues to shake as Arc reaches for a blanket. “This should help.” “Th-thank you.” “Get some rest. We can look into this in the morning.” Pressing her body against Arc’s, Sunshine sighs contentedly as she closes her eyes. Meanwhile, Dinky’s friends sleep peacefully in their rooms. Sereb lies at the foot of Dinky’s bed as the filly stares up at the ceiling muttering to herself. “Something just doesn’t feel right here.” Sereb raises his head and turns to face her. “Is something wrong?” “I… don’t know. Something in the air just feels… off.” “Do we need to act?” “Maybe not so much ‘act’ as ‘observe’.” Dinky slowly stands up and pulls back the corner of a heavy shade covering the window. Peeking outside she frowns. Sereb grunts. “What do you see?” “Nopony.” “Isn’t that a good thing?” “Maybe. Then again, I find it kind strange that a town like this wouldn’t have any guards keeping watch.” “Perhaps they are watching from high overhead?” “That might be it. But I’m still sensing some really weird energy, and can’t figure out where it’s…” Dinky suddenly stops talking. Sereb frowns. “What is it?” There’s something out there!” “A beast of some kind?” “I don’t know. It looked kinda like a pony. Or at the very least ran on four legs like us.” “Could it have just been a pony?” Dinky shakes her head. “No way. It was definitely an animal of some kind.” “Perhaps I should go outside and sniff around.” “Let’s ask Doctor Lighthoof first. Maybe whatever is out there is already known and harmless.” Sereb growls. “Or deadly.” “That would certainly explain why nopony is outside. Other than the fact it’s the middle of the night, that is.” Getting up, Dinky makes her way slowly out of her room. Walking across the corridor she knocks on the doctor’s door. She answers momentarily. “Dinky? What’s…?” “I saw something outside!” “That’s not likely. There are wards all around the village to keep the beasts of the forest at bay. But just in case, everypony stays inside after dark for safety. What… exactly do you think you saw anyways?” “A four legged creature about the size of a pony.” “Oh my! I think that may have been somepony from Knothole Village!” “But it wasn’t a pony!” “How could you tell?” “It’s features were definitely… different.” Lighthoof smiles at the filly before her. “Tell you what. You just go back to bed and forget whatever it is you saw out there.” “But…!” “It can’t get inside, so we’re all safe here. Now come along back to bed.” Lighthoof takes Dinky’s hoof and leads her back to her room. After putting the filly back to bed, she closes her door and sighs. “This is… disturbing.” Returning to her own room she closes her eyes. Lighthoof concentrates and speaks. “Mistress.” The voice of the village chief rings out in her head. “Yes, Lighthoof?” “One of the fillies here just informed me that they saw what sounded like a Crimson outside the clinic.” “Yes. However I’ve already dealt with them.” “What happened?” “They became… agitated, and had to release their aggression. Fortunately they did not turn their attention toward Knothole Village.” “Perhaps it would have been for the best.” “They don’t need any more reasons to hate or fear us.” “Yes, mistress. But what are your instructions?” “Keep the fillies inside, sequestered, and safe from anything that might hurt them.” “That’s it?” “It’s all we can do at the moment.” Lighthoof sighs. “They can’t stay here forever.” “Yes, I know. But for the moment they cannot leave, lest the denizens of the forest feast on them.” “What about after they’re healed?” “I will have to give that matter more thought. But for the moment we need to do our part to keep them safe, but in the dark.”