Chapter 73
July 14th 16 A.B.
“Are you sure you got everything,” Scamp asked her daughter as she finished helping pack her bags.
“Yes, mama,” Shayla said with a little sigh as she checked over her bags one last time. “It’s just a single night camping in the woods, we don’t need that much.”
“You say that till you get out there, and realize you forgot something,” Mallogory chuckled from the doorway as she held up some snacks she’d made for her daughter.
“I got this, mom,” Shayla assured her as she put on her saddlebags and picked up the other bag in her claws, lifting off the ground with her wings.
Mallogory just smiled as she stepped forward and put the snacks away in one of her bags. “I know you do.”
“If you need ANYTHING, just text me, I’ll be out there as fast as I can,” Scamp said, checking her daughter's saddlebags again to make sure she had her phone.
“I know,” she said in a bit of annoyance. “I promise, I’ll be okay, plus it's just one night. So don’t worry about me.”
“That’s impossible,” Scamp chucked as she and Mallogory hugged their daughter.
After letting them hug her for a few moments, she began to shrug them off, “okay! I gotta get going!”
“So rude,” Scamp laughed as they released her and let her fly for the door. “I love you, honey.”
“Yeah, love ya both too!” she said quickly as she flew down the hall and out the front door.
“She’s growing up too fast, Mallo,” Scamp muttered as she leaned against her wife.
Mallogory just chuckled and picked her wife up into an embrace. “Well, that may be true. But we have the house to ourselves for once.”
Scamp blinked at her, then smirked as she made eye contact with her wife. “Oh?” Then she cleared her throat as she lowered her voice into her guttural singing voice, “So that’s what we’re doing?”
ooo000<^>000ooo
Flying for the meeting point, Shayla barely struggled to carry all of her stuff. Despite just being a small filly, she seemed to have the strength of a full grown stallion. Her parents said it was due to her genetics, being the granddaughter of Mr. Bleak and being part Kejtdra.
She didn’t care why, she just enjoyed being able to do stuff the other kids around her couldn’t do.
As she flew lower to the ground, she saw someone waving for her. Diving to the right, she flew to them and stopped above them, hovering above the ground.
“What do you want, Kal?” she asked, frowning at him.
“I heard you and your friends were going camping?” he asked, smiling up at her.
“And?” she replied, clearly not happy being stopped.
“And I got you something,” he said as he pulled out a box and tossed it up to her. She caught it in her free hand, and gave it a little shake.
“What is it this time?” she asked, eyeing the box a bit eagerly.
He just smirked, “well you’ll be out in the wilderness, so I thought you kids would enjoy some explosives.”
“Stop, these are bombs?!” she asked, her eyes lighting up as she now looked at the box with envy.
“Yep! Pull the pin and throw them! Don’t worry, they’re safe, they are magical and will not detonate as long as a living creature is within the blast radius, so blow some trees up or something.”
She smiled and gave a sharp nod, “oh, you fucking bet we will.”
Now with her new gift, she flew for the forest entrance, her excitement clear in her movements.
Behind Kal, glaring with absolute hate, stood the colt Domitor, hiding a bush. He growled as he watched his father give his rival more attention than he’d ever given him.
He watched where Shayla was heading and decided on his next course of action.
ooo000<^>000ooo
“I’m still not sure these are a good idea for us to have,” Flippy Dew said as she watched the others stand around Shayla as she fiddled with one of the little bombs Kal had given her.
“Why would you say that?” Shayla asked as she pulled the pin by accident, causing it to start beeping. “Ah, yeah, that’s probably why.”
“THROW IT!” Nightstreak yelled, trying to run, but tripping over his sister and falling to the ground.
“Relax!” Shayla calls out, holding the bomb in her claws. “He said it won’t go off as long as living creatures are near it.”
“... and you believed him?” Roxxy asked, eyes wide.
“Huh… good point,” Shayla muttered, turning and throwing the beeping bomb at a nearby boulder.
“This raises the question; does the bomb count bugs as living creatures,” Dude said as they all looked in the direction she’d thrown it.
A few seconds of silence passed.
“Huh, I guess-”
The boulder ahead of them disappeared in a sudden explosion, sending tiny pebbles in all directions.
“...”
“...”
“...”
“THAT WAS AMAZING!” Flippy Dew screamed.
“So apparently bugs aren’t considered living creatures, according to these bombs,” Dude said, smiling widely. “Let’s blow some more shit up!”
A beeping was heard behind them as they looked to Shayla as she held up another beeping bomb, “already WAY ahead of you!”
ooo000<^>000ooo
Working together, the six ponies gathered up some firewood as the forest around them started to get darker, the sun slowly going down.
“We shouldn’t have put this off till it was almost dark out,” Roxxy commented as she picked up a few sticks.
“What can I say? Those bombs were epic and we made a good choice spending the day playing with them,” Shayla replied, picking up bigger sticks than her sister.
As they worked, Shayla suddenly giggled.
“What are you snickering about?” Roxxy asked, glancing at her sister.
“Nothing,” Shayla said nonchalantly. “Just, I found someone who may give me a badass tattoo if I pay enough.”
“You shouldn’t get a tattoo, you’re too young,” Roxxy scolded, but it fell on deaf ears.
“Nah, never too young! I mean look at my cool ear piercings! I’m getting more of those when my moms finally say yes!”
Roxxy rolled her eyes, “that’s going to look super dumb.”
“You look super dumb,” Shayla said, sticking her tongue out at her.
“Your mom Scamp will KILL you if you come home with a tattoo.”
She only got a shrug in response as Shayla laughed, “she’d get over it. The worst she can do is ground me from shit, or make me do other kinds of work. It’ll be worth it though, because I’ll be the coolest filly at school. And of course, the most badass.”
“Then you grow up and regret everything,” Roxxy deadpanned.
“Shut up and support my dreams,” she replied, snickering as she threw a stick at her sister.
“Your dreams are dumb sometimes,” Roxxy responded, throwing a stick back at her.
“Guess it’s a good thing I’m the leader, huh?” she said smugly as she walked back towards camp.
“Leader? I never voted for you!” she called after her, but Shayla only popped her tail like a whip, laughing loudly.
ooo000<^>000ooo
Nighttime
The group sat around the fire as it cast shadows all around them, laughing as they told stories to one another.
“Shayla, tell us about your moms home dimension again!” Summer Breeze asked, getting nods from the other kids.
“Really? Which mom though? They both have cool stories from their home dimensions,” she asked as she messed with the wrapper on one of her snacks.
“Mallogory!” the other filly exclaimed with a wide smile.
“Alright, let me think of one,” she muttered, finally opening her snack and stuffing it into her mouth. “Ah, the Blind Hero, that’s a good one.”
Leaning forward, she waved for all of them to lean closer.
“Long ago, or at least long ago on Eris, there was a little bug guy named Legon the Blind Painter. He was what’s called a Halwen, which is like a Kejtdra, just more insect and not as cool. Plus they can regenerate, which is for pussies according to my mom.”
Everyone giggled at this.
“Legon the Blind was just a simple bug man, and even though he was blind, he spent all his time drawing. He could never see what he was actually drawing, but he still somehow produced some of the best art his village had ever seen. Which may not be that impressive, since ya know, it's a crappy bug village.
“But regardless! He was known to make some of the most wonderful and beautiful paintings, bringing any to tears that saw them. This story probably sounds pretty boring, huh? What can a blind painter do that could be exciting?” She leaned forward, smirking as everyone slowly leaned closer to her, then suddenly, “BOOM! The village is attacked by a mad Helwen by the name of Baptow with a Thorn that lets him always know the next move someone is going to make. So no one could fight him or trick him!
“He took over the village very quickly and became their new master as he had them all do his bidding. This was apparently his agenda; take over a town or village, have some fun, move on to the next one. While in their village, he took a liking to Legon and his paintings. He began to demand he draw things for him. They started simple, like a house or landscape, but eventually he began to ask for strange things. Like drawing the moon, which Legon had never seen, or to draw Baptow himself.
“Every painting brought much joy to Baptow, as he loved the imagination that Legon had despite being blind. But eventually, he grew bored and began to start hurting the villagers, getting ready to move on to the next town. Legon wanted to stop him, but he could do nothing against the other bug.”
Dude whistled, “This Baptow sounds like a real prick.”
“Oh he is a prick,” Shayla said with a nod.
“How does Legon save everyone?” Flippy Dew asked quietly. “I mean, the story is the Blind Hero, so he wins right?”
Shayla just winks and resumes the story.
“One morning Legon woke up as he normally did, and tried to leave his room. But something was in the doorway, blocking his exit. This was strange, as there was no way something could be in front of this door, as he did not own anything of value, especially something shaped like the object before him. He ran his hand over it, curious as to what was before him. But as he ran his hand across the top of it, something stabbed him through the palm of his hand.”
Everyone looked worried, as they didn’t know what Shayla knew.
“What lay before him was a Scarification Pillar, or a Scapil for short. It is the thing on Eris that gives everyone their Thorns. But! Using it could kill you! Not everyone who uses one will survive, as it is literally STABING you in the SOUL!”
“Hardcore,” Roxxy mumbled, nodding along.
“Yeah it is!” Shayla said excitedly. “But if you are worthy, then you get a unique Thorn! And this is what happened to Legon! He now had a Thorn, a very special Thorn. And he knew what he had to do.
“Approaching Baptow, as he did every morning, the other man demanded he paint a picture of him standing above the town, laughing as it burned behind him. Legon agreed, and got to work, painting blindly as Baptow watched. As he finished painting just Baptow himself, he stopped, angering the insect man. ‘What are you doing?! Draw the rest! The burning village!’ he yelled at the blind Legon. ‘No,’ Legon said coolly, taking his brush and standing before the painting. ‘I do not think I will.’ This just angered Baptow further, but as he started to step for Legon, he stopped, eyes wide as his Thorn warned him of what was about to happen.
“‘Don’t do it,’ he said to the blind Legon, who was too far away for him to reach in time. Without a word, Legon slapped his brush against the canvas and dragged it downward, right through the center of the drawing of Baptow. At the same moment, the insect man behind him let out a scream as he was split right down the seam, in the same fashion as the line was drawn on his painting.”
“That’s fucking brutal,” Dude said, eyes wide in awe.
“Even with a Thorn that allowed him to see everyone’s next move, he never saw Legon’s next move till it was too late. After defeating the mad insect Baptow, the village rejoiced, asking how he’d done it. Instead of telling them, he showed them, by painting an almost perfect portrait of the village as it had been before being attacked by Baptow. As soon as his brush left the canvas for the last time, the village around them seemed to change and repair itself, returning to normal.
“Legon the Blind had gained a Thorn that allowed his paintings to become reality. Now you’d think someone would use this to become the ruler of the world, or at least something cool like that, right? Nah, not Legon. He settled down in his village and only used his Thorn for the betterment of those around him. But he was careful not to draw anything too damaging, or out there, as he knew his powers were too great for this world. One wrong stroke of his brush, and it could spell disaster.
“So, one day many years later, he suddenly woke up and left his village, never to be seen again,” she said, poking at the fire to get the flames to rise. “Some say that he’s still around today, wandering and painting the world around him, adding little details here and there to make things better. It is said, if you are in great peril, and if you’re lucky enough, he may paint you, saving you from certain death.”
“Wow, is that true though?” Roxxy asked, causing Shayla to shrug.
“I dunno, my mom loves that story though. She says it's one of her favorite folk stories from her world. Legon the Blind Painter, a hero who never asks for anything and does only good for the world around him. Honestly, I prefer the story about this one guy who-”
A twig crunched behind her, causing her ears to twitch in that direction.
“What is it, Shayla?” Nightstreak asked, as none of them had heard anything.
“Hm,” she mumbled, looking behind her, eyes scanning the darkness around them. “Somethings out there.”
“Like what?!” Flippy Dew asked, huddling down into the ground as she hugged a pillow to herself.
Shayla didn’t answer as she stood up and faced the darkness, eyes slowly moving over the treeline.
“Gotcha!” She suddenly yelled, propelling herself into the bushes.
“Ah shit…” Roxxy mumbled, starting to go after her.
But as the group started to follow, something came flying out of the bushes, like it’d been thrown with great force. With a yelp, the dark blur hit the ground and rolled, coming to a stop right by the fire.
Shayla exploded out of the bushes and landed before the lump on the ground, frowning.
“Domitor, trying to sneak up on us?!” she growled as the other colt slowly climbed to his feet.
“No, I came out here to ruin your camping trip!” he snapped, causing her to raise up on her hindlegs, taking a fighting stance.
“You want to fight? Again? I kicked your ass last time, remember that?” she sneered, a little sly smirk on her face.
“I remember breaking your wing in that fight,” he snapped back. But then composed himself, “I came out here to fight, but that story you told, is it just make believe?”
This question caught her off guard as she slowly lowered herself, still eyeing him suspiciously. “I don’t know, like I said, it's a story my mom told me.”
“My dad is super interested in your mom’s home dimension,” Domitor said, frowning. “It’s all he seems interested in sometimes.”
Shayla looked him over, then pointed to a log. “Take a seat, prick. If you can play nice, we can continue swapping stories.”
He glared at her as he took a seat, “this means nothing in the long run, just so you know! We’re still rivals, I’m just interested in those stories.”
“If you answer my questions, then we got no problem with you staying for the moment, right guys?” she asked, getting nods from her friends. “But you piss me off, I’m breaking your leg.”
“Not if I break all of yours first, bitch!” he sneered, but held up a hoof, composing himself. “May we continue?”
Everyone slowly returned to their seats, putting Domitor by himself on the other side of the fire.
“My questions first, then you can ask whatever you want,” Shayla began, getting a reluctant nod from the colt. “My moms said this guy Vicar was your dad, but you call Kal your dad all the time.”
Domitor growled a bit at this. “It’s… complicated.”
“How?”
He looked away, looking conflicted, then turned back. “Ask me anything that’s not that.”
“Fine,” she said while rolling her eyes. “Fucking pussy…” she muttered under her breath.
“What did you just say?!” he yelled, but she waved him off.
“Forget it. Why does your dad want to go to Eris?”
With a sigh, he settled down a bit, but still had an attitude as he spoke. “I can’t tell you.”
“Yes you can,” Shayla huffed. “Unless you’re too scared of daddy to tell his secrets.”
This set the young colt off as he slammed a hoof into the ground next to him. “Fine! My mom said dad lost his Ego some time ago and wants to get a Thorn so he can continue on with his normal life! Happy?!”
“Nope,” she chuckled, smirking at him.
“Now my turn!” he yelled, gritting his teeth. “Tell another story from that dimension! A cool one, with a hero that fights a big bad guy!”
She smirked, looking at the ponies around her. “Oh? Yeah, I got a story like that. Pretty bloody too.”
“Then speak it!” he demanded.
With an exaggerated movement, she jumped to her feet, striking a pose. “As you wish! This story… is that Jerry?”
Everyone looked at her weirdly as they followed her gaze to the little gator as it dumbly waddled towards them in the darkness.
“Damn it,” Domitor groaned as he got up and picked up the little gator. “He keeps following me everywhere I go for some reason. I can’t get rid of him.”
Shayla made eye contact with the docile little guy, narrowing her eyes at him. “Yeah, I hate that little fucker.”
“Jerry is harmless,” Domitor snapped, sitting back down and placing the gator next to himself. “Now, get on with your story!”
She frowned at the pair as the pony crossed his legs and scowled at her, while the little gator just sat there, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
“Right,” she mumbled, then struck her pose again. “As I was saying! This next story takes place…”