//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Journey to the South and Attacked by the Fighting Trees // Story: My Little Wizard of Oz // by BlueBioWolf //------------------------------// The next morning, Dorothy bade Jellia goodbye and they all shook hands with Omby Amby, who had walked with them as far as the gate. When the Guardian of the Gate saw them again, he wondered greatly that they could leave the beautiful city to get into new trouble. But, he at once unlocked their spectacles, which he put back into the green box, and gave them many good wishes to carry with them. "You are now our ruler," he said to Bartleby. "So, you must come back to us as soon as possible." “I will,” Bartleby promised. “If I am able, but, I must help Dorothy and the others to get home first." As Dorothy bade the good-natured Guardian a last farewell, she said: "I have been very kindly treated in your lovely city, and everyone has been good to me. I cannot tell you how grateful I am." "Don't try, my dear," he answered. "We should like to keep you with us, but, if it is your wish to return to Kansas, I hope you will find a way." He then opened the gate of the outer wall and they walked forth and started upon their journey. Sunset opened the map and looked to see which direction was south. She focused her magic on the map, causing multiple dots of different colors to appear on it. “So, which way is south, Sunset?” Dorothy asked. “I’ve enchanted the map so that it shows us where we are,” Sunset said. “These dots just outside the Emerald City are us.” “Hi, us as dots,” Pinkie said happily. “The Yellow Brick Road leads to Munchkin Country in the east,” Sunset said. “So, since we’re right outside the Emerald City and some of us are facing the direction it leads, we’ll have to travel this way.” She pointed to the right, as she was facing the east. “Alrighty,” Applejack nodded. “Let’s get a move-on, y’all.” The sun shone brightly as our friends turned their faces toward the Land of the South. They were all in the best of spirits and laughed and chatted together. “I’ve been thinking,” Pinkie said. “What about, Pinkie?” Rainbow asked. “If Zelena could be melted by water,” Pinkie said. “How do you think she took a bath?” “Maybe that wasn’t monkey we were smelling,” Starlight said. “So,” Pinkie said. “She didn’t bathe? Eww…” “Let’s just agree to not discuss this further,” Sunset suggested. “Agreed,” Pinkie said. Dorothy was once more filled with the hope of getting home and Bartleby and Nick were glad to be of use to her. As for Raw, he sniffed the fresh air with delight and whisked his tail from side to side in pure joy at being in the country again while Toto ran around them and chased the moths and butterflies, barking merrily all the time. "City life does not agree with me at all," remarked Raw as they walked along at a brisk pace. "I have lost much flesh since I lived there and now I am anxious for a chance to show the other beasts how courageous I have grown." “Lost flesh?” Rainbow asked. “He means he hasn’t gotten much exercise,” Sunset said. “Oh, that makes sense,” Rainbow said. “I can feel him. I have a hard time standing still unless it’s napping and I don’t do that much anymore.” “I see,” Raw said. “I expect Equestria has very few cities.” “Actually,” Sunset said. “There’s quite a few cities.” “I was born in the capital city of Equestria called Canterlot,” Twilight said. “I was hatched there,” Spike said. “Fluttershy and I were born in Cloudsdale,” Rainbow explained. “Although, I lived there longer than she did.” “Cloudsdale?” Dorothy asked. “It’s the pegasus hometown,” Rainbow said. “It was made by Pegasus himself.” “And, as you can guess from the name,” Fluttershy added. “It’s made of clouds.” “You can walk on clouds?” Raw said. “Not all clouds,” Rainbow said. “Fog, dust, steam, smoke, and mist are the only types of clouds pegasi can’t touch.” “Interesting,” Raw said. “Pegasi and other flying species in Equestria,” Sunset said. “Have special air-sacks connected to their lungs that allow them to breathe at heights that would be dizzying for earthbound creatures.” “A way for earthbound creatures to counteract with the effect,” Twilight explained. “Is the Icarus Cloudwalking Spell, a spell that can allow them to walk on clouds, which is an easy spell for magic wielders to cast.” “It’s preferable to the Icarus Effect,” Rarity said. “I think I’ve heard Auntie Em tell me about Icarus once,” Dorothy said. “He flew too close to the sun with wings made of feathers held together with wax and fell into the sea.” “We have a similar story in Equestria,” Rainbow said. “Oh, my,” Dorothy gasped. “I didn’t know there were humans in Equestria.” “There aren’t,” Sunset said. “Not anymore.” “It’s true,” Twilight said. “Humans died out long before any of us were born. They’ve been gone so long, most ponies and other creatures didn’t even know they existed in the first place or what they were called.” “So,” Dorothy said. “How did you learn what humans were called?” “Well, remember how I said Moonrise would physically assault me on a regular basis under the pretense of punishing me on the Princess’ behalf?” Sunset said. Dorothy nodded grimly at this. “That world I went to was full of humans. I myself was a human there.” “I see,” Dorothy said. “I spent three years among humans, giving me ample time to learn as much about them as I could,” Sunset said. “That must have been quite a time,” Dorothy said. “Minus Susan slipping Essence of Lavender into my morning tea on my last year there,” Sunset said. “Oh, dear,” Dorothy said. “What is Essence of Lavender?” “It’s a potent ingredient in sleeping potions,” Sunset said. “A single drop can make the consumer sleep uninterrupted for eight hours straight.” “That’s terrible,” Dorothy said. “Susan kept pouring some from my supply into my morning tea every morning for a whole year,” Sunset said. “Luckily, she wasn’t aware of an important detail.” “What’s that?” Dorothy asked. “The tolerance effect,” Sunset said. “She kept feeding me doses without waiting a week between them, allowing me to develop an immunity within a few months.” “Oh, that’s very good,” Dorothy smiled. “I think.” “It’s a mixed blessing,” Sunset said. “I brought Essence of Lavender to help with my insomnia. Now, it doesn’t do anything for me anymore.” “I see,” Dorothy said. They now turned and took a last look at the Emerald City. All they could see was a mass of towers and steeples behind the green walls and high up above everything the spires and dome of the Palace of Oz. "Oz was not such a bad wizard, after all," said Nick as he felt his heart rattling around in his breast. “Well,” Rarity said. “He wasn’t evil by any means.” "He knew how to give me brains and very good brains, too," said Bartleby. “I suppose,” Fluttershy said. "If Oz had taken a dose of the same courage he gave me," added Raw. "He would have been a brave man." Dorothy said nothing. Oz had not kept the promise he made her, but, he had done his best, so, she forgave him. As he said, he was a good man, even if he was a bad wizard. Spike and the ponies comforted the girl and they continued on their way. Phoebe would give comforting nuzzles. The first day's journey was through the green fields and bright flowers that stretched about the Emerald City on every side. They slept that night on the grass with nothing but the stars over them and they rested very well indeed. Chapter 19: Attacked by the Fighting Trees, Sunset said internally. In the morning, they traveled on until they came to a thick wood. There was no way of going around it, for it seemed to extend to the right and left as far as they could see and, besides, they did not dare change the direction of their journey for fear of getting lost. So, they looked for the place where it would be easiest to get into the forest. “Hey, look!” Bartleby said. He pointed to a big tree with such wide-spreading branches that there was room for the party to pass underneath. “A very good show,” Nick said happily. Bartleby walked forward to the tree, but, just as he came under the first branches, they bent down and twined around him and the next minute, he was raised from the ground and flung headlong among his fellow travelers. “Bartleby!” Twilight exclaimed. Bartleby wasn’t hurt, but, he was surprised and dizzy when Dorothy and Applejack picked him up. “That tree really sent you flying,” Pinkie said. "Here is another space between the trees," called Raw. “Let me go first,” said Bartleby. “For it won’t hurt me to be thrown about.” He walked up to another tree as he spoke, but, its branches immediately seized him and tossed him back again. “And I thought those apple trees that we encountered earlier were tough,” Rainbow noted. “Now what do we do?” “Well,” Sunset said. “We have two things we didn’t have last time.” “You mean like my heart and Raw’s courage?” Nick asked. “What I was getting at is a lumberjack and a phoenix,” Sunset clarified. “Oh, that’s right,” Nick said. Shouldering his axe, he marched up to the first tree that had handled Bartleby so roughly. When a big branch bent down to seize him, Nick chopped at it so fiercely that he cut it in two. At once, the tree began shaking all its branches as if in pain and Nick passed safely under it. “Well done,” Rarity called. “Why, you–” the tree said, readying more branches to attack. “Go get them, Phoebe!” Sunset said, pointing at the branches. In response, Phoebe flew towards the branches, engulfing herself in flames to cut said branches off with her wings. The tree wailed from pain. "Come on!" Nick shouted to the others. "Be quick!" They all ran forward and passed under the tree without injury, except Toto, who was caught by a small branch and shaken until he howled. But, Nick promptly chopped off the branch and set the little dog free. Dorothy gently cradled Toto in her arms. The other trees of the forest did nothing to keep them back, so, they made up their minds that only the first row of trees could bend down their branches and that probably these were the policemen of the forest and given this wonderful power in order to keep strangers out of it. “Let’s just let them through,” one tree said to another. “Or we’ll have our branches cut off like Garrett.” “Yes, of course,” said the other tree. The travelers walked with ease through the trees until they came to the farther edge of the wood. Then, to their surprise, they found before them a high wall which seemed to be made of white china. It was smooth, like the surface of a dish, and higher than their heads. “I’m guessing breaking this is out of the question,” Starlight said. “It would be dangerous,” Fluttershy said. “And there’s still the issue of more non-flyers than flyers here,” Rainbow said. “I’m really starting to hate that.” “So, we’ll have to tread lightly,” Rarity said. “I’ll build us a ladder,” Nick said. “That way, those of us who can’t fly can climb over the wall.” “That’s a mighty good idea, Nick,” Applejack smiled. “Since those o’ us made o’ flesh’re plum tired, we’ll catch a few winks while ya work.” Nick nodded understandingly and he got to work.