Different Shades

by Sonson-Sensei


Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Memory 3

As the distortion faded, Celestia gazed up at the sun. By its position in the sky, she knew it was seven thirty, give or take a few minutes. Looking around the area, she directed her gaze back to the occupants or, better yet, occupant.

_

Scootaloo tiredly opened her eyes and looked around the area in confusion. ‘Why aren't I in my bed? For that matter, why am I sleeping on the forest floor?’ she pondered. Removing a couple of large banana leaves that had been placed over her as a makeshift blanket, she stood up.

“What’s going on?” she asked aloud before her memories came flooding back to her, all at once. Her eyes widened as she scanned the area. “…Kimbo?” she called out tentatively. “You still out here?”

Her question was answered with silence, apart from the natural sound of the forest. Narrowing her eyes, she cantered to the tree that Kimbo had been resting against before she had fallen asleep. She could see a smear of dried blood painting the bark and a small trail of it that led off in the direction that she knew a stream was located.

Grumbling something to herself about troublesome creatures, she made to follow in the direction that the blood indicated that Kimbo had gone.

_

Celestia quickly made to follow Scootaloo as she disappeared into the brush.

_

It hadn’t taken long for Scootaloo to find the stream, and she trotted along it briskly. Spotting a wisp of smoke that was rising into the air, she headed in that direction. When she got there, she found Kimbo in a makeshift camp, sitting against a tree, along with a fire that had three fishes roasting on a spit above it.

She didn’t think much about the fish; however, the act that Kimbo was currently engrossed in sent shudders down her spine. He was literally stitching his wound together with an improvised needle, made from a thin fish bone, and a saffron colored thread, salvaged from the shorts he was wearing.

Scootaloo simply watched the process in gross fascination. How somepony could stitch themselves with such improvised items and not even grimace was beyond her.

Finishing his work, Kimbo set the needle aside and turned his attention to his guest of sorts.

Scootaloo stiffened at his gaze. Now that there was adequate light, she could finally take in all of his features. She took note of the small fleshy protrusion sticking out of the bottom center of his face, identifying it as a nose. Both of his ears were small and had strange wavelike patterns. His mane was pitifully short and coarse. His strangeness was only complimented by the two thin patches of fur on both of his brows. Finally, his eyes were small and housed dark brown irises that bored into Scootaloo’s own eyes.

The two simply stared at one another in silence, both trying to decipher the other. Scootaloo couldn’t make heads or tails of what the creature was thinking. His face was bare of anything resembling emotion. She’d only ever seen such a stonelike expression on a statue.

Realizing that she would never get anywhere by just staring, she slowly walked closer and opened her now dry mouth to speak. “…Are you feeling better?” she asked, as her eyes observed the freshly stitched wound.

“Sore,” Kimbo said, as he stood up from the tree and limped towards the fire and sat down next to it. Removing one of the fish from the fire, he bit into it and chewed on it slowly.

Scootaloo sniffed the air, as she slowly made her way towards the fire and sat on the opposite side of Kimbo. She admitted the smell of roasting fish wasn’t exactly repulsive, like she had expected, but almost appetizing.

After finishing the fish he was eating, Kimbo grabbed another from the fire and held the stick it was on out towards Scootaloo.

Scootaloo looked at the offered fish for a moment and grinned sheepishly. “Uh, I don’t eat meat. Yah know, flat teeth and all.”

Kimbo shrugged as he pulled the stick back and proceeded to eat the fish himself.

Scootaloo licked her dry lips. Having missed out on eating something the previous night, not only was she thirsty, but famished as well. Looking at the nearby stream, she stood up and trotted over towards it. “I’m gonna have a drink,” she said, as she looked at the dark water with unease. It was just a stream, but somehow it was too deep to even see the bottom of it.

Kimbo watched her with a careful eye as she leaned over the stream and started to lap up the water with her tongue.

Scootaloo hated drinking directly from a stream, but her thirst hadn’t given her much choice. Having drunk her fill, Scootloo pulled her head up from the stream with a content smile. “That wasn’t half bad…” She paused, as she felt something cold, wet and slimly wrap around her forehoof.

Looking at what had grabbed her, she screamed at sight of the webbed appendage.

Kimbo’s eyes hardened, as he saw Scootaloo suddenly pulled into the stream. In an instant he leapt over the fire and sprinted towards the stream, ignoring the searing pain in his abdomen.

_

‘Grindylow,’ Celestia thought with a narrowed brow, having easily recognized the long, webbed fingers that had grabbed Scootaloo. She recalled grindylows were small water demons, notorious for their aggressiveness.

Turning her attention back to the scene, she watched as Kimbo dove into the water after the filly.

_

Scootaloo was scared to say the least. Something with an impossibly strong grip was pulling her towards the bottom of the stream. The water made her vision too blurry to make out anything significant, only allowing her to see the general shape of the offender. It wasn’t much bigger then she was, but it powered through the water with impressive speed.

Flailing her hooves pitifully, she struggled against her captor. She realized that she could only hold her breath for another half a minute or so. If the creature hadn’t killed her by then, she’d simply drown.

Kicking with even more vigor, Scootaloo tensed as she felt another strong grip wrap around her other forehoof.

All the momentum of being dragged ceased, and she stared up at what was holding her by the forehoof. Although blurry, there was simply no mistaking the form of Kimbo.

Having a good grip on Scootaloo, Kimbo drove the heel of his foot into the grindylow’s face, causing it to let go and swim a short distance away.

Scootaloo felt herself being pulled between one of Kimbo’s arms, as though he were shielding her from something. Peering through the water the best she could, she nearly screamed as she saw that they were surrounded by half a dozen of the creatures.

Meanwhile, Kimbo looked around with a calculating eye, as he readied his spear in his free hand. The creatures were swimming in a circle around them and grinning, revealing rows of needle like teeth.

Having waited long enough, the first grindylow tried its luck, only to receive a well placed thrust of Kimbo’s spear into its gut.




Kimbo wrenched the spear free from the grindylow, spilling it's blood and tinting the water red.

The grindlylow began to sink, but not before its own comrades swarmed on it and tore into it like a school of piranha. Kimbo took note of how the blood seemed to drive them into a feeding frenzy, even if it were on one of their own.

Scootaloo’s lungs were screaming for her to breathe, as she watched the scene. Not able to fight her instincts any longer, she struggled in Kimbo’s grip in order to get free and break for the surface.

Kimbo looked down at the struggling filly held his arm. Realizing that she was at her limit, he slashed himself with his spear along his thigh. Releasing Scootaloo towards the surface, he hoped his blood would attract the creatures to him, while Scootaloo got away.

Kimbo smirked as he saw that he was correct, and the grindylow swarmed him, all at once.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo was kicking towards the surface for all that she was worth. Breaking the surface, she sucked in a lung full of air. Paddling towards the shore, she pulled herself onto it and laid on her back, panting heavily.

“I…I a-almost died!” she choked out between heaving breaths.“This guy is going to be the death of me,” she quipped before her eyes widened and she pulled herself to her hooves and dashed towards the water. “Kimbo, Kimbo!” she shouted, as she peered through the blood stained water. “Oh no, what have I done? T-those things, they k-killed him, it’s all my fault.”

Scootaloo sat on her haunches, and her ears fell. “I got somepony killed,” she muttered in a gloomy tone, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

A moment later, the loud splash of something breaking the surface of the water grabbed her attention. Her ears instantly perked up, as she watched Kimbo emerge from the stream, dragging two dead grindylow by the legs.

“Y-you’re a-alive!?” Scootaloo stuttered, in a mixture of surprise and relief.

Kimbo was quiet as he walked by Scootaloo and tossed the two dead grindylow next to the fire. Turning his attention back to Scootaloo, she took an unsure step back, as he stared at her with the same unreadable expression that he normally wore.

“This forest, too dangerous for child,” he said in an even tone. “Return home, young one.”

“Of course, it’s the Everfree,” Scootaloo barked back. “It’s too dangerous for anypony, even you.”

“Everfree?” Kimbo repeated the words in confusion, as he sat down next to the fire and dropped his spear to the ground.

“…Yes, the Everfree. You do know where you are, don’t you?” Scootaloo said as she walked up next to him. “This forest is full of weird animals and monsters.”

“If dangerous, why child here?” Kimbo asked, as he grabbed one of the dead grindylow and started to skin it with his curved blade.

“I’m here because of you,” Scootaloo said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I wanna know who you are, what you are, and where you came from,” Scootaloo said, as she grimaced at Kimbo casually peeling the skin from the grindylow.

“Gross,” she muttered. “What are you doing with that thing anyway?”

Kimbo quirked his brow at the question. “Food,” he answered bluntly.

Scootaloo looked repulsed, taking note of how disgusting the amphibian looking creature looked.

_

“At least he isn’t wasteful,” Celestia mused.

_

“Have you even eaten anything like that?” Scootaloo said while scrutinizing the grindylow with a nasty glare. “How do you even know it’s safe for you to eat?”

Kimbo shrugged as he tossed the skin aside.

Scootaloo frowned. “Is that how carnivores are, just eating whatever you can kill? Do you even care if you get a tummy ache?”

Kimbo narrowed his eyes, as he grabbed his spear and stood up.

“Okay…I’m sorry if I upset you,” Scootaloo squeaked out, taking a few steps back.

Kimbo peered at the stream, and without taking his eyes from it spoke to Scootaloo. “Get behind me.”

Scootaloo looked confused for a moment, before obliging to the request. Her eyes expanded to the size of dinner plates, as the stream began to churn violently, and a large serpent like creature sprang forth from it.

It was gargantuan in size with deep purple scales, orange hair, and two different colored halves of a mustache.

Scootaloo looked horrified, and even Kimbo was staring wide eyed at the serpent.

“I absolutely must know who’s responsible for slaughtering all of those grindylow.” The creature spoke with a posh accent. Looking down at the makeshift camp site, the serpent observed the bodies of the two grindylow.

“It was you, I presume?” the serpent asked, pointing a large, clawed finger towards Kimbo.

Kimbo readied his spear and shifted into a defensive stance.

The serpent stared at Kimbo for a moment before letting lose a chuckle. “I’m not here to fight with you,” the serpent said. “I’m here to express my gratitude! I just adore the taste of grindlylow, but being so small, they’re impossibly hard for me to catch. You’ve done me a great service, and I simply had to thank you.”

“Huh, that monster just wants to thank you?” Scootaloo said with an incredulous expression.

Kimbo searched the serpent’s eyes for any hint of deceit. Sensing none, Kimbo simply responded with a nod of his head.

“Not much for conversation, are you?” the serpent said while observing Kimbo carefully. “What a pity.”

“You kind of get used to it,” Scootaloo said from behind Kimbo’s leg.

The serpent looked around Kimbo’s leg to see who had spoken. He beamed when he saw the small filly. “Oh, how adorable you are, and your coat is such a magnificent shade of orange.”

“Uh…thanks, I guess,” Scootaloo said with a bashful grin. She wasn’t sure what to make of the serpent's friendly demeanor.

“Well, good sir, I’ve sought you out to thank you and now that have, I will bid you farewell,” the serpent said as he began to sink back into the water. “Oh, yes, before I go, I feel I should warn you, there’s a particular nasty storm on the way. It’s prudent that you take shelter as soon as possible.”

“Wait, how do you know a storm is coming? There aren’t any rain clouds.” Scootaloo asked.

“I’ve lived in this forest for well over one hundred years, little one,” the serpent answered. “I’ve learned to recognize the signs,” he said before disappearing beneath the glassy surface of the water.

Kimbo stared up at the sky, as he stuck his index finger into his mouth. Removing it, he pointed it into the air. After a brief moment he frowned and walked towards the fire.

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re actually taking that monsters word,” Scootaloo said, as Kimbo began kicking dirt onto the fire to smother it.

“Return home,” Kimbo said, as he grabbed the un-skinned grindylow and chucked its carcass into the stream. Slinging the skinned grindylow over his shoulder, he picked up his spear and tied his blade to his shoulder before he started to walk off.

“Hey, wait a minute, you can’t just leave me here,” Scootaloo said as she cantered up to Kimbo’s side. “I mean, what if something attacks me on my way home?”

Kimbo stopped in his tracks, and stared down at the young filly, who was now giving him her best puppy dog eyes. His expression never changed as he pointed his spear ahead of him. “Show the way.”

Scootaloo grinned, just as a loud crack of thunder sounded through the forest. “Geez, that serpent thing was actually right?” Scootaloo muttered, noticing that the wind had become chilly and that the clouds were darkening at an unnatural speed. “We should get a move on,” Scootaloo urged as she trotted off in the direction of Ponyville.

Kimbo simply followed after Scootaloo without a word.

“Well, this stinks” Scootaloo grumbled approximately three minutes later, as the familiar pitter-patter of raindrops began to resound throughout the forest. “We’re gonna get soaked to the bone.”

Kimbo removed the straw hat from his back and placed it on Scootaloo’s head as they ran for Ponyville.

“…Thanks,” Scootaloo said, grateful that the hat would at least keep her mane and face dry. At least, that’s what she believed until the slow, steady drops of rain evolved into a full on downpour.

Seeing no other choice, the two decided to take shelter within a small cave that they had found. Scootaloo shook herself like a dog as they entered, expelling a great deal of water from her coat.

“It’s really coming down out there, huh?” Scootaloo said, as she sat on her haunches and removed the straw hat from her head.

Kimbo was quiet, as he stood at the entrance of the cave and simply watched the downpour taking place outside.

Scootaloo watched him with a confused expression. “So, you think it’s weird too, huh?”

Kimbo quirked his eyebrow at the vague question.

“I mean, how it’s raining without somepony making it rain,” Scootaloo explained. “That’s another thing weird about this forest: It just does what it wants to,” she said while wringing out her tail with her forehooves. “So…while we're stuck here, mind telling me what you’re doing here in the Everfree, or do you actually live here?”

Kimbo sighed as he looked down at the spot on his abdomen that had recently been home to an arrow. “This forest is not home forest, unfamiliar it is to me.”

“That figures,” Scootaloo said with a thoughtful expression. “I’ve heard about a lot things in this forest but nothing like you before. At first I thought you were big hoof, but you don’t have hooves or fur so that’s a no go.”

“I have question now,” Kimbo said as he walked over to a nearby boulder and sat on it.

“You do?” Scootaloo said, clearly surprised by Kimbo’s sudden willingness to talk. “Well, let’s hear it.”

“How can little horse speak?” Kimbo asked bluntly. “Sorcery is it?”

_

Celestia found the question strange. Regardless of the fact that Scootaloo was a pony, Kimbo had still mistaken her for a horse. That could only mean that he was privy to what a horse was. ‘But why wouldn’t he know that we can speak?’ she wondered.

_

“Sorcer-what, you’re pulling my wings right?” Scootaloo said, as she looked at Kimbo as though he had grown another head. “Why wouldn’t I be able to speak? All ponies can.”

Kimbo chose not to argue about the matter and went back to staring at the downpour.

“What, that’s it? You don’t have anything else to ask?” Scootaloo said as she cantered in front of Kimbo and obstructed his view. “What’s with you? It’s like you don’t give a flying feather about anything. You’re in the Everfree alone and you’re okay with that?”

“One does not ask why the wind blows,” Kimbo responded without even bothering to look at Scootaloo.

“You’re impossible you know that?” Scootaloo grumbled in frustration. “I just want to make sure you’re going to be okay.”

Kimbo looked down at Scootaloo with an expression that bordered on softening. “Is my atonement young one, my health is not your burden.”

“Atonement…atonement for what?” Scootaloo asked curiously. “Is somepony trying to punish you? Is that why you had that arrow stuck in you?”

Kimbo sighed as he stood up. “Rain has slowed, we go now,” he said while making to pick up his spear.

Scootaloo frowned, realizing that Kimbo was merely trying to avoid the question. Turning her attention to the cave's entrance, she shook her head. Although the rain had lessened, she still wasn’t thrilled about going back into it. Placing the straw hat back on her head she took her position in front of Kimbo. “Fine, let’s get going.”

_

Celestia watched as the world around her once again began to distort, and she soon found herself in the classroom of Ponyville’s school house. Spotting a nearby calendar, she was surprised to find that two weeks had passed.

She thought that, in the interest of time, Twilight had opted to show her only the most important memories. This memory in particular would have taken place on the day Kimbo had brought an unconscious Scootaloo into Ponyville.

_

Scootaloo looked bored to say the least, along with every other student. Clearly Miss Cheerilee’s lecture on the foundation of Trottingham’s mausoleum wasn’t the most interesting of subjects to hear.

“Pssst,” Apple Bloom whispered, trying to gain Scootaloo’s attention. “Hey, Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo looked over her shoulder at Apple Bloom. “What’s up?” she said in a hushed tone.

“Me and Sweetie Belle was jus' wonderin if yah wanted tah come with us to the hoof ball court after class. We were thinkin' we could get our cutie marks in hoof ball, whadya say?” Apple Bloom asked with an eager grin.

“Sorry, I can’t, I’ve got other things to do after school today,” Scootaloo replied as she stared at the clock in the corner of the room, a trace of anxiousness clear on her face.

Apple Bloom frowned. “Alright ,wha's goin' on with yah? It’s been two whole weeks since yah last went crusading for cutie marks with us. Everyday yah rush off on your lonesome, what are yah tryin' tah hide?”

“I think she’s got a new friend,” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

“Ah new friend, is that what yah been trying tah hide?” Apple Bloom said with a raised brow. “Ain’t like yah need to go hiding that from us…well, unless it’s Diamond Tiara, you can keep that to yerself.”

“It’s not Diamond Tiara,” Scootaloo shot back a bit irritably.

Sweetie Belle beamed “So, you do have a new friend?”

“…Well, sorta I guess,” Scootaloo said as she scratched the top of her head.

“Whadya mean sorta? Yah either do or yah don’t, which is it?” Apple Bloom pried.

“Look, it complicated okay, just forget about it will yah?” Scootaloo said in a louder voice then she intended.

“Ahem, girls, is there something you’d like to share with the rest of the class?” Cheerilee asked.

“No, Miss Cheerilee,” the three of them said in unison.

“Good, now where was I…” The bell sounded, interrupting the teacher. “Oh, horse apples, seems we’re out of time,” Cheerilee said with a smile. “Okay class, that’s it for today and remember to study for your spelling test this coming Friday.”

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee,” The class chorused, before they sprang for the exit, eager to get away from the learning establishment.

Scootaloo was no exception to the rule, as she too exited hastily, grabbed her scooter, and took off. She felt bad for having left Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle without so much as a goodbye, but she wasn’t up for being bombarded with any more questions.

_

Celestia was impressed with the young filly's speed on the scooter, finding that she actually had to exert some effort to keep up with the foal.

_

It wasn’t too long before Scootaloo arrived at her home.

“Just a quick pit stop,” she said as she entered her house and retrieved a bag of apples from her kitchen table. “I still don’t get why he’s so determined to stay in that forest,” Scootaloo muttered while trotting towards the familiar woods with the bag of apples held between her teeth.

Taking a safe path she had familiarized herself with, it only took her fifteen minutes to locate the cave Kimbo had taken residence in.

Entering the mouth of the cave, she sat the bag of apples down. “Hey, Kimbo, I’m back, and I’ve brought you some apples,” she called, sporting a large, toothy grin on her face. “Hey, Kimbo aren’t you in here? There’s something I wanted to talk about,” she called once again, only to be greeted with silence.

“That’s weird, he never goes hunting for anything this early in the day,” Scootaloo said, as she sat down on her haunches and picked an apple for herself. Just as she was about to bite into it, she heard the sound of something moving towards the back of the cave.

“Huh…” she muttered, looking over her shoulder for the source of the noise. “Hey, Kimbo were you here all along?” she asked as she stood up and trekked towards the back of the cave. “I mean, you could have at least said something.” She continued to talk. “I was thinking that maybe I’ve kept you a secret for too long, and it’s about time we tell somepony else about you. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are already on to me, and who knows, maybe we can get you out of this cave and into somewhere nicer to live,” she finished as she rounded a large boulder.

“What’s this?” she asked as she stepped into a mound of sticky cotton like material. “Uh, this stuff is tough.” She grunted as she struggled to wrench her foreleg free. Finally prying herself from the silk like thread, she looked up with a frown. “Is this some kind of spider web?” she said before taking notice that the thread like substance was literally everywhere throughout the cave.

“What in the hay, did a few thousand spiders move in here over night?” she quipped before taking notice of a large form that was laying incased in the substance on the ground a few paces in front of her.

She thought that it was roughly the size of Kimbo, and her eyes widened in fear. “K-Kimbo is that you in there!?” she said in a panicked voice.

The mound of white began to struggle upon hearing Scootaloo’s voice.

“Hang on, I’ll get you out,” she said, as she galloped towards the mound and bit down on the substance at the head and pulled as hard as she could. The bit of thread she managed to tear away revealed Kimbo’s face.

“How did you get all wrapped up in this stuff?” she asked while making to tear away more of the silk.

“Leave now!” Kimbo ordered in a harsh tone as soon as he was permitted, causing Scootaloo to reel back in surprise.

“Hey, I’m just trying to help y…” she trailed off as something large and frightening made its presence known.

Scootaloo couldn’t even find her voice to scream at sight of the monstrosity currently creeping towards them from further within the cave.

“Get out now!” Kimbo roared once more, as he watched the massive spider slowly make its way towards them.



Scootaloo found the courage to glare at the spider. “Is there ever not something trying to kill us!?” she shouted, as she desperately started tearing away the silk from Kimbo’s body.

_


Celestia watched the scene in absolute horror. It had been centuries since her last encounter with an actual acromantula. They were creatures of old and were very resistant to magic. Even a juvenile would take no less then half a dozen unicorns to put down.

How they escaped certain demise Celestia could only wonder at, as she watched the memory play out.







Sorry for the late update people, couldn't be helped. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter at least, I'll see yah with the next update.