Chapter 1 Josh Dies Twice, Fluttershy Meets an elongated gorilla.
Josh is a student like many students in the hard sciences: in over his head. It wasn't that he was not smart enough for the material, it was that he was constantly distracted, he had a part time job and bills to pay to thank for that. We join Josh trying to ignore the fact that he was taking public transportation as he did every moring, the bus people scared Josh, not their appearance or smell but the very idea of them scared him existentially.
These people were all young once like me once, I'm sure that they did not want to end up here at their age... he thought this anxiously to himself while trying not to look at a 40-something man who was poorly shaven and seemed presently to be hygienically challenged.
Josh knew that he wasn't a very good student, and he knew that he wasn't getting any younger either, the fact that less than half of college students graduate didn't comfort him either. He pulled a multi-tool out of his pocket and started fidgeting with it nervously, running his index finger and thumbs along it's titanium scales, opening and closing the heavy object that was made of titanium, iron, nickle, chrome.
It made him think of his job which was the reason he owned the object with which he was so nervously fidgeting. This very job he dreaded was bringing him ever closer to being that 40 something man who's existence terrified him so.
The bus stopped, more people got on, and the smells in the stagnant air changed, the bus was entering the city now despite closing his eyes not to look at the 40 something stranger, he could smell the city's scent lingering about poor souls who boarded the bus, at the best it smelled of shampoo, fast food, and car exhaust, at the very worst it smelled like a mixture
of hard liquor, cigarettes, caked sweat and other human body waste. But this let Josh know that his journey to campus was
almost over, as he looked out the poly-carbonate window of the bus he could see the city, the sky was a sullen gray color.
Oh great! it's gonna rain, I knew I should have brought an umbrella or raincoat instead of just my Motorcycle Jacket.. he thought to himself.
Outside the bus people walked too and fro on the wet sidewalk and worked their way between the tall buildings clad in glass, stone, concert and stainless steel. Cars whizzed about giving the air a sub-noticeable unfresh quality one associates with a freeway, a homeless group of people swapped meager possessions and a gaggle of school children laughed. When the bus came to a stop in front of campus Josh was more than happy to get off of it.
he pocketed his multitool and hurried towards his first class, it was all very ordinary this dreary morning which would be something that Josh would not be experiencing for a very long time.
-JS-
It was morning in Equestria, the Everfree Forest hummed, chirped, growled and rustled with activity. Fluttershy was on this particular morning searching for one of her chickens who had gone missing earlier that morning. It was no secret that the Everfree frightened her or really anypony for that matter, she had, run from a hydra, faced down a cockatrice, and had several other close calls.
It always seemed that the everfree had some new and strange creature lurking about it, she tried not to think about it as she tracked her wayward hen through the forest.
“Henretta?” she cooed, calling for her lost hen,
“Henretta?” She called again nervously trying not to alert any predators.
It always struck her as odd that her animals would sometimes wander into the Everfree, being as dangerous as it was it seemed like the last place any cute little creature would want to be.
-ES-
Josh's classes proceeded smoothly throughout the day, well as smoothly as can be expected on 4 hours of sleep receiving a failed midterm. Calculus was almost incomprehensible in his tired state, and he managed to break a few watch glasses in chem lab earning a dirty look from one oh his his labmates.
If there was any silver lining in the day it was his organic chemistry class and the oatmeal cookie he packed himself for lunch, he had studied ahead for the organic chemistry course and the oatmeal cookie was about the size of his hand, semi sweet and packed with raisins and butter.
Josh made his way to a grove of trees on the outskirts of campus in order to enjoy his oatmeal cookie. He liked to eat in this grove, it was quiet, and he could eat his meals undisturbed and nowhere else on campus could make the same claim. He was tired, and sat down on the ground preparing to eat his snack and doze off.
Suddenly the ground shook beneath him,“Oh shit it's an earthquake!!!” he yelled as he dropped his cookie and grabbed his backpack, without warning the ground buckled, cracked, and opened beneath him and his world was enveloped by black. He screamed and clung to his backpack as he plummeted, his life flashed before his eyes, from the time he was a bright young kid, to his awkward high-school years,and finally his first year in college, “Fuck Dammit!! I don't want it to end this way!!!” he screamed as a flash of light consumed him.
ES
Fluttershy suddenly heard a boom and than a scream about a mile off into the forest, she scrambled for cover in a group of bushes as the loud noises rattled her ears.
It sounded like to her like somepony was either in trouble or was about to be, the predators of the Everfree zeroed in on ponies making loud noises, which meant that whoever made the scream would not last long unless they knew their way around the forest, which if the screaming was any indicator they more than likely didn't.
Oh dear fluttershy thought to herself, I should try and find them before they any of the scary creatures in the forest do
But then her fear spoke to her
oh they will be ok, if they made it that deep they probably know what they are doing...I'll just leave the forest and get help, it's not like they will run into a hydra or a cockatrice, or perhaps a manticore...,
But then a realization flashed in her mind as she hid frozen with fright nestled and nestled in the bushes:
A cockatrice, hydra, or a manticore could find them!!, and if I get help it could be too late!
The fear in her gut was replaced with steely determination, she jumped out of the bushes and took off towards the direction of the loud noise, somepony could be in dire trouble, and not many ponies knew the dangers of the Everfree as well as she. She readied her stare as she dashed through the underbrush towards the location of the loud noise.
ES
When Josh came to he woke up screaming. He wasn't falling anymore, hell he could even smell open air, it didn't make any damn sense. He felt something like wet spongy earth beneath him, he could feel grass between his fingers and smell the wet nature all around him.
Had he dozed off in the grove and dreamed up the whole catastrophicearthquakeswallowinghimwhole thing?
well that was one hell of a nap, how long was I out? he thought to himself.
When he opened his eyes he could not believe what he saw, he expected to see the normal grove around him, or at the very least to be at the bottom of some godawful hole.“Great I'm either dead, dreaming, or in a morphine coma” he mumbled to himself as he took in his surroundings.
He was in a forest clearing, not unlike the grove on campus, but different as it was much wilder, the trees were twisted in unnatural shapes, moss hung from everything and there were strange animal noises coming from every direction, many of which did not sound friendly.
He found his backpack besides him and pulled the mud soaked pack onto his back,
“And they say you can't take it with you.” he quipped to himself sarcastally.
As he prepared to find his way out of wherever the hell he was lost in he heard a loud roar, adrenaline pumped, his heart thumped loudly against his chest and sweat ran down the side of his face, even if this was a dream he didn't want to take his chances.
He slowly dropped his pack and then drew his multi-tool and flipped the knife out, it wasn't much longer than his index finger but it was better than nothing. He assumed a defensive stance and prepared for his would be attacker,
Suddenly from behind he heard the crunching of brush, he swiveled around to face his foe when suddenly something huge jumped out of the brush and lunged at him. He ducked and dodged out of the way just in time not to be tackled by his advisory.
The huge mass that sailed over him was behind him, Josh raised his elbows to protect his neck and to bring his knife into a striking position but in his low position he could not swivel around fast enough to face the beast. It turned around and tackled him tossing the tool from his hand, he could feel it running it's claws across and through the leather of his motorcycle jacket, and it was getting ready to tear apart his neck.
Without a second thought Josh grabbed the earth beneath his hand and flung it backwards at the creature's eyes. The beast recoiled in pain giving him just enough time to wiggle free and face the beast.
It was an unearthly creature standing about two meters high, it seemed to be a lion with the wings of a bat and the tail of a scorpion. Josh didn't care about this though, he was just focused on how to survive it, whatever it was.
The creature turned to face him with renewed anger in it's eyes, it wasn't just hunting now, it was getting even. As the creature and Josh were locked eye to eye Josh felt a huge impact on the back of his jacket, something had struck his jacket's spine plate really hard, Josh doubled forward and the world faded to black, as he fell only one thought went through Josh's mind;
I must be dreaming I'm dying for the second time today, and I swear I can hear some woman yelling...
ES
Fluttershy was closing in quickly on the noise's location, as she came to a clearing she could hear a manticore's roar. There in the clearing she could see a creature that looked like a elongated upright gorilla dodge a pouncing manticore.
The top of the bipedal creature was black and had what looked like a giant scale with a metal plate on it's back, the creature's legs were blue with black hooves, and it had a head with a blackish brown mane, and it's claws and neck appeared to be pink. In all her years on minding animals fluttershy had never seen one like it, and right now it appeared to be fighting for it's life.
The elongated gorilla was not fast enough and the manticore tackeled it. Fluttershy flew strait towards the fight, as the manticore went in for the kill the elongated gorilla threw dirt in it's eyes, and wiggled free.
Just as the gorrila moved to face the manticore eye-to-eye the manticore struck it in the back with its poison tail, and the strange creature doubled over and fell forward.
“STOPPPP YOUU BIGGGG MEANIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!” Fluttershy screamed at the top of her lungs as she landed between the manticore and it's prey.
The Manticore gave out a roar, sputtering saliva all over her face, but she stood firm and glared directly into it's eyes.
“You will NOT be EATING this Creature TODAY!” she yelled keeping her stare level with the beast's, the hypnotic effect
of her stare taking hold.
The manticore moved back slightly, “You Will go HOME and THINK About what YOU have DONE YOU GOT THAT??!!!” she ordered, with a yelp the maiticore retreated back into the brush.
After the Manticore had retreated Fluttershy got a better look at the creature. She cautiously moved closer to the creature to assess it's physical condition, she was anxious because she knew that it had been stung by the manticore's poison tail, and she was cautious because it had fought with a manticore however briefly.
What if it is also a dangerouspredator” she thought to herself Surely manticores don't just attack strange creatures out of the blue...
As she inspected the biped she and could see where the stinger had landed, it had hit squarely on the scale with a metal plate on the back of creature's coat, and that was not all, she could also see where the manticore's claws had cut through the strange animal's coat and drawn blood.
oh no... she told herself as she assessed the puncture on the scale further.
It looked really bad for the biped, the puncture wound on the creature's back was not only square on the it's spine, but shards of the stinger were lodged in the puncture ensuring that poison would be continuously seeping into the wound.
As bad as it looked, curiously there was no blood in the wound. Additionally the creature was still breathing, clearly it had some type of resistance to the poison as a wound such a wound would have killed a pony in seconds.
She touched the creature's coat, then it's neck to take it's pulse and found that it's coat was cold but it's neck was warm. After taking this in she had a flash of realization...
The creature wasn't poisoned at all!
The biped was in fact wearing clothes! It did not have a coat of blue and black, what she thought were hooves were in fact boots, and the creature's black top half was in fact a jacket with a metal plate, and its legs were covered by some type of blue trousers.
Upon surveying the site of the brief conflict she could see what looked like a singular saddlebag with two straps, and then a shiny tool with an open knife blade.
The creature looked worse for wear, it was covered in mud and she still had to take it home to treat it's wounds. This was defiantly something to call Twilight about, she was a smart pony perhaps she knew what this creature was, and how to best care for it.
This creature is more than likely as intelligent as a pony she thought to herself.
The thought made her intensely nervous but at the same time she knew if left untreated the strange biped would die in the Everfree.
Henretta will have to wait for now. Fluttershy told herself as she trudged on through the forest. She dragged the biped back to her cottage leaving it's belongings in the Everfree.
ES