//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Camp Memories and the Journey to the Great Oz // Story: My Little Wizard of Oz // by BlueBioWolf //------------------------------// The party had obliged to camp out that night under a large tree in the forest, for there were no houses near. “Let’s hope this camping trip goes better than the one with Chrysalis’ copies,” Starlight said. “Considerin’ they ain’t here,” Applejack noted. “It should be.” “Chrysalis?” Dorothy asked. “Chrysalis,” Sunset explained. “Was the queen of a species known as the Changelings. Named for their ability to change their appearance and even their voices.” “She must have been very scary,” Dorothy said. “You don’t know the half of it,” Twilight said. “Luckily, she has one weakness.” “What’s that?” Dorothy asked. “Her own arrogance,” Sunset said. “Her first two schemes to take over Equestria failed because she didn’t see one pony alone as a threat. That one pony rallied allies and her schemes fell apart.” “Who was that?” Dorothy asked. “The first time, it was me,” Twilight said. “And me the second time,” Starlight said. “Though, I at least had Sunset and Trixie to help me out then.” “Starlight was somewhat afraid to step into the leader role,” Trixie added. “But, she’s really good at it and she managed to help out a lot.” “Why was Starlight afraid?” Dorothy asked. “Long story short,” Starlight said. “I wasn’t all that good at being a leader the first time.” Dorothy could tell that Starlight was starting to feel uncomfortable, so she decided not to press forward with the matter any further. “Anyway,” Sunset said. “Chrysalis lost all of her followers after her second attempt and vowed revenge against Starlight. She used magic, pictures, and strands of hair from Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy to make clones of them with opposite personalities.” “Luckily,” Spike said. “She underestimated all ten of us and didn’t know that only Auntie Sunset can activate the Elements of Empathy, Redemption, and Humility.” “My goodness,” Dorothy said in an amazed tone. “Then, there was the Tree of Harmony destroying the copies and turning them into logs!” Pinkie said. “Great,” Spike said sarcastically. “There’s four hours of sleep I won’t be getting tonight.” “Not to worry, Spike,” Rarity said gently. “You and I can sleep close together as usual.” “Dare I ask what the Tree of Harmony is?” Bartleby asked. “Well,” Sunset explained. “It started as a crystalline tree that grew the most powerful objects known to ponykind, the Elements of Harmony. It was recently destroyed and subsequently revived in the form of a clubhouse used by six of our students.” “That sounds truly incredible,” Bartleby said. “Originally,” Sunset continued. “There were six Elements of Harmony. Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic. I created three more: Empathy, Redemption, and Humility.” “You are capable of making these elements?” Nick asked. “I studied the Elements of Harmony for a while,” Sunset said. “Initially, I thought that finding the originals would be too difficult and dangerous, so, I decided to make new ones.” She sighed. “Things would’ve gone smoothly were it not for… her.” “Her?” Raw asked. “Moonrise Dazzle,” Sunset said. “She was a classmate of mine at magic school.” “To say that she was awful would be an understatement,” Rarity said. “The stories Sunset told us about her were bad enough, but, then, there was her stint as the vampire alicorn.” The non-Equestria companions shivered with unease. “But, Sunset here’s a phoenix alicorn,” Rainbow said. “The anti-vampire alicorn.” Sunset modestly presented her wings before them. Bartleby, though startled, found beauty in the flame-like appearance of her feathers. When everyone got a chance to see them, she refolded her wings. “Moonrise would regularly physically assault me under the pretense of punishing my failures on behalf of Princess Celestia, our teacher,” Sunset said. “I was so afraid of what the princess would do to me herself that I fled to another world to escape the consequences.” “That all sounds dreadful,” Nick said dismally. “Three years later,” Sunset said. “Twilight and Spike came to that other world and tried talking me into going back. At first, I was reluctant, but, that changed when I realized what the me of that world was doing with the knowledge on Equestria I gave her. I decided I’d rather face my consequences than let my research be used to achieve the ambitions of a power-hungry bully.” “So, what happened?” Dorothy asked. “I went back to Equestria,” Sunset said. “And when I saw Princess Celestia again, I was ready to accept my punishment. To my surprise, she didn’t do anything. I asked if she was going to have me arrested, beaten until I bled, or if she was going to use her magic to make me experience the agony of being crushed by a ton of bricks.” “But, nothing happened?” Bartleby asked. “The princess was shocked that I thought she’d even consider doing such things,” Sunset said. “Even more so when I presented the list of things Moonrise did to me.” Sunset held a scroll and let it unroll, revealing it to be several feet long. The non-Equestrian companions were horrified by what they saw. Dorothy picked up a section of the scroll and gasped. “My goodness!” she exclaimed. “That is not the proper use of a broom!” Sunset rolled the scroll back up. “My surprise gave way to anger when I learned the princess wasn’t aware of any of this.” “That’s still terrible of Moonrise to do those things to you,” Dorothy said. “I know,” Sunset said. “The princess allowed me to continue my Element of Harmony project with her full support. However, there was a slight problem.” “What’s that?” Raw asked. “After being in that other world for so long without the ability to use magic,” Sunset explained. “I was barely able to perform magic when I got back.” “Oh, my,” Raw said. “Luckily,” Sunset said. “I was able to relearn everything in under six months.” “Ah, that’s very good,” Dorothy said. “I managed to create the Elements of Empathy, Redemption, and Humility in time for my birthday,” Sunset said. “And their creation made me a phoenix alicorn.” “That sounds wonderful,” Bartleby said. “I stayed in Canterlot for a few months thereafter,” Sunset said. “To get my affairs in order.” “I see,” Nick said. “That’s enough about me,” Sunset said. “Nick, could you go get some firewood?” “Of course I could,” Nick said. He stood up and walked to look for firewood. He chopped a great pile of wood with his axe and Dorothy built a splendid fire that warmed her and the Equestria residents. “Thank you, Nick,” Fluttershy said politely. Dorothy and Toto ate the last of their bread and now she did not know what they would do for breakfast. Chapter 7: The Journey to the Great Oz, Sunset said internally. "If you wish," said Raw. "I will go into the forest and kill a deer for you. You can roast it by the fire, since your tastes are so peculiar that you prefer cooked food and then, you will have a very good breakfast." "Don't! Please don't," begged Nick. "I should certainly weep if you killed a poor deer and then, my jaws would rust again." “Thank you for the offer,” Fluttershy said. “But, a lot of us don’t eat meat, cooked or otherwise.” “Uh, auntie Sunset,” Spike asked. “Is deer red meat?” “Yes,” Sunset explained. “Venison is red meat.” “Then, I won’t be having that,” Spike said. “Only chicken and fish for me.” “Raw, are there rivers nearby?” Sunset asked. Raw held his head up to pick up the sounds around him. He did in fact hear the sound of a river flowing. “Yes,” he said. “Looks like we’re going fishing for you, Spike,” Sunset said. “Thanks,” Spike said. “Don’t cry, Nick,” Fluttershy said. “Spike needs some meat in his diet to make his scales more durable to protect him from harm.” “And on top of that,” Twilight said. “Some animals need to eat meat. It wouldn’t be healthy if they didn’t. It may sound hard, but, I’m afraid that’s how nature is sometimes.” “After Spike’s initial experience in the Dragonlands,” Rarity said. “He nearly had his scales bitten through.” “And he was still a whelp when that happened,” Rainbow said. “That means a young dragon.” “Spike chose to not eat meat most of his life,” Twilight said. “This made his scales softer than most dragons his age, but, still more durable than pony hide. Dragons who ate meat their whole lives would be able to bite through his scales easily. A friend of ours recommended feeding Spike more meat.” “I see,” Nick said. “I think I understand.” Raw went away into the forest and found his own supper and no one ever knew what it was, for he didn't mention it. Bartleby found a tree with more nuts and filled Dorothy's basket with them so that she and the Equestria residents would not be hungry for a long time. She thought this was very kind and thoughtful of Bartleby, but, she and others laughed heartily at the awkward way in which the poor creature picked up the nuts. His padded hands were so clumsy and the nuts were so small that he dropped almost as many as he put in the basket. Some of the ponies did what they could. Bartleby did not mind how long it took him to fill the basket, for it enabled him to keep away from the fire, as he feared a spark might get into his straw and burn him up. So, he kept a good distance away from the flames and only came near to cover Dorothy with dry leaves when she lay down to sleep. These kept her very snug and warm and she slept soundly until morning. Spike found himself growing sleepy as well and Rarity held him close to her. “Sleep well, Spikey-Wikey,” Rarity said affectionately. She gave him a loving goodnight kiss on his forehead. When it was daylight, the girls and Spike bathed their faces in a little rippling brook and soon after they all started toward the Emerald City. This was to be an eventful day for the travelers. They had hardly been walking an hour when they saw before them a great ditch that crossed the road and divided the forest as far as they could see on either side. It was a very wide ditch and when they crept up to the edge and looked into it they could see it was also very deep and there were many big, jagged rocks at the bottom. The sides were so steep that none of them could climb down and for a moment it seemed that their journey must end. “This won’t be a problem for those of us who can fly,” Rainbow said. “Not all of us can, Rainbow,” Sunset said. “And those of us who can can’t carry all the others at once.” “There has ta be some other way,” Applejack said. "What shall we do?" asked Dorothy despairingly. "I haven't the faintest idea," said Nick and Raw shook his shaggy mane and looked thoughtful. But, Bartleby said, "Most of us cannot fly, that is certain. Neither can we climb down into this great ditch. Therefore, if we cannot jump over it, we must stop where we are." "I think I could jump over it," said Raw after measuring the distance carefully in his mind. “As long as you don’t look down,” Twilight advised. “Ah’ll try jumpin’ first,” Applejack said. “Be careful, Applejack,” Starlight said. Applejack stepped back a bit, reared up, and ran towards the edge of the gulf before jumping off and landing safely on the other side. “Excellent jump, Applejack!” Rarity said. Spike scooped Rarity up bridal style and used his wings to carry her across the ditch. Rarity couldn’t help but blush at the thrill of Spike carrying her in his embrace. “Spike must be strong to carry her,” Dorothy observed. “He is,” Twilight said. “Though before, she was able to carry him.” “She still is,” Sunset said. “Though, not as often anymore.” “Oh, right,” Twilight said with a light blush. “At least he still enjoys riding on your back for old time’s sake,” Sunset said. “That sounds lovely,” Dorothy said. “Meanwhile, back at the current situation,” Sunset said. “I propose those of us who can fly use that ability to cross the ditch. The ponies that can’t fly can jump it.” “Good idea,” Bartleby said. “I’ll ride on Pinkie’s back as she jumps.” He climbed onto Pinkie’s back. “Hold on tight, Bartleby,” Pinkie said. She went back, reared up, and ran towards the edge of the gulf before jumping off and landing safely on the other side. “That was easy as–” she started before looking back to see Bartleby wasn’t on her back. “Huh?” She turned around and saw Bartleby on his face halfway to the edge of the gulf. “Oops. Guess I went too fast.” “Say, Bartleby,” Sunset said as other ponies made it across. “How about you try riding Raw’s back?” “Why, that’s a splendid idea,” Bartleby said as he made his way back onto his feet. “If he found that he could not jump over the gulf, Dorothy would be killed or Nick badly dented on the rocks below. But, if I am on his back it will not matter so much, for the fall would not hurt me at all." "I am terribly afraid of falling, myself," said Raw. “Hey,” Sunset said. “You’re not much bigger than any of us ponies. If the ones without wings can do it, so can you.” “You’ve got this, Raw,” Fluttershy said supportively. “Yay.” Bartleby sat upon Raw's back and the big beast walked to the edge of the gulf and crouched down. "Why don't you run and jump?" asked Bartleby. "Because that isn't the way we lions do these things," Raw replied. Then, giving a great spring, he shot through the air and landed safely on the other side. “See?” Pinkie said. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” “No, I suppose it wasn’t,” Raw admitted. Bartleby got down from Raw’s back. “Now, you only need do it–” he began before finger counting. “Four more times.” “Four more times?” Raw asked. “You need to jump to get to either side,” Bartleby said. “And you carry one passenger at a time.” “Well,” Raw said. “I suppose that makes sense now that I know for certain I can.” He jumped to the other side. Dorothy thought she would go next, so, she took Toto in her arms and climbed on Raw's back, holding tightly to his mane with one hand. “I’m ready,” she said. The next moment, it seemed as if she were flying through the air. And then, before she had time to think about it, she was safe on the other side. “Two more to go,” Pinkie said. “You can do it, Raw,” Fluttershy said, giving him extra motivation. Raw went back a third time and got Nick and then, they all sat down for a few moments to give the beast a chance to rest, for his great leaps had made his breath short and he panted like a big dog that had been running too long. “You’re… heavier… than… the others…” Raw panted to Nick. “It must be because I’m made of heavier stuff than the others,” Nick admitted. “My apologies if I was a bit of a strain on you.” Pinkie looked ahead. “The forest looks pretty thick on this side,” she observed. “Dark and gloomy, too.” “We can use our magic to light the way,” Sunset said. She reopened the map to make sure they were indeed on the right path to the Emerald City. “Huh.” “What is it?” asked Twilight. “It says that between here and the Emerald City is a river,” Sunset explained. “There aren’t any alternate ways around it, so we must go through it.” “Does anyone here know how to swim?” Rainbow asked. “I cannot,” Nick said. “I would rust.” “Right,” Rainbow said. “And I doubt there are any river serpents in there to lend us aid,” Rarity observed. “Tell you what,” Sunset said. “We can worry about that when we get there. Does that sound fair?” “It does indeed,” Dorothy said. After Raw had rested and they were back on the road of yellow bricks, the lion looked around nervously. “Is something troubling you, Raw?” Fluttershy asked. “This,” Raw whispered. “Is in the part of the country where the Kalidahs live.” “Who are the Kalidahs?” she asked. "They are monstrous beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers," replied the lion. "And with claws so long and sharp that they could tear me in two as easily as I could kill Toto. I'm terribly afraid of the Kalidahs." "I'm not surprised that you are," returned Dorothy. "They must be dreadful beasts." Raw was about to reply when suddenly, they came to another gulf across the road. But, this one was so broad and deep that the lion knew at once he could not leap across it. “Oh, dear,” Raw shivered. “The flyers taking the others will take a while,” Rainbow said. So, they sat down to consider what they should do and after serious thought, Bartleby said: "Here is a great tree, standing close to the ditch. If Nick can chop it down, so that it will fall to the other side, we can walk across it easily." “Why, that is a splendid idea,” Nick said. "That is a first-rate idea," said Raw. "One would almost suspect you had brains in your head instead of straw." So, Nick figured out the point in which to cut the tree, making sure that it was able to reach the other side when it fell. When he figured it out, he got to chopping. So sharp was his axe, that the tree was soon chopped nearly through. Then, Raw put his strong front legs against the tree and pushed with all his might and slowly the big tree tipped and fell with a crash across the ditch, with its top branches on the other side. They had just started to cross this queer bridge when a sharp growl was heard. “That wasn’t me,” Pinkie said. “I already had a few nuts.” “Oh, dear…” Raw said with a slight quiver. “That must be…” They all looked back and to their horror, they saw running toward them two great beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers. "They are the Kalidahs!" said Raw, beginning to tremble. “Quick!” Sunset said. “We have to get across!” So, the traveling group hustled across the makeshift bridge. Dorothy went first, holding Toto in her arms, Nick followed, and Bartleby came next. The residents of Equestria made their way off soon after. Raw, although he was certainly afraid, turned to face the Kalidahs and then he gave so loud and terrible a roar that Dorothy screamed and Bartleby fell over backward while even the fierce beasts stopped short and looked at him in surprise. “Oh my,” Fluttershy said to her. “That was really brave of him.” But, seeing they were bigger than Raw and, remembering that there were two of them and only one of him, the Kalidahs again rushed forward and the lion crossed over the tree and turned to see what they would do next. Without stopping an instant, the fierce beasts also began to cross the tree. And Raw said to Dorothy: "We are lost, for they will surely tear us to pieces with their sharp claws. But, stand close behind me and I will fight them as long as I am alive." "Wait a minute!" called Bartleby. He had been thinking what was best to be done and now, he asked Nick to chop away the end of the tree that rested on their side of the ditch. The tin woodman began to use his axe at once and, just as the two Kalidahs were nearly across, the tree fell with a crash into the gulf, carrying the ugly, snarling brutes with it and both were dashed to pieces on the sharp rocks at the bottom. “Whew,” Starlight said. “That was close!” “I saw my life flash before my eyes,” Trixie said. “The memories of that stint with the Alicorn Amulet are as painful as ever.” Starlight and Fluttershy both comforted Trixie patiently. "Well," said Raw, drawing a long breath of relief, "I see we are going to live a little while longer and I am glad of it, for it must be a very uncomfortable thing not to be alive. Those creatures frightened me so badly that my heart is beating yet." "Ah," said Nick sadly. "I wish I had a heart to beat." “Still, though,” Rarity said. “It was incredible the way you roared at them. You startled them for a little bit.” This adventure made the travelers more anxious than ever to get out of the forest and they walked so fast that Dorothy became tired and had to ride on Raw's back. To their great joy, the trees became thinner the farther they advanced and, in the afternoon, they suddenly came upon a broad river, flowing swiftly just before them. On the other side of the water, they could see the road of yellow brick running through a beautiful country with green meadows dotted with bright flowers and all the road bordered with trees hanging full of delicious fruits. They were greatly pleased to see this delightful country before them. "How shall we cross the river?" asked Dorothy. "That is easily done," replied Bartleby. "Nick must build us a raft so we can float to the other side." Nick looked over at the trees and saw that they were indeed suited for raft-making. So, he took his axe and began to chop down small trees to make a raft and while he was busy at this, Bartleby found on the riverbank a tree full of fine fruit. This pleased Dorothy and the Equestria residents, who had eaten nothing but nuts all day and they made a hearty meal of the ripe fruit. "This is much more refreshing than those nuts," Rarity said. But, it takes time to make a raft, even when one is as industrious and untiring as Nick, and when night came, the work was not done. So, they found a cozy place under the trees where they slept well until the morning and Dorothy dreamed of the Emerald City and of the good Wizard Oz, who would soon send her back to her own home again.