//------------------------------// // Night Approaches // Story: A Grand Adventure // by QuillStroke //------------------------------// "So there's something else living here?" George asked trying to avoid looking at the bone on the floor. "It would appear there are a bunch of things living out here, but they follow a food chain." Jimmy said putting down the fur and looking for anything else left by the mystery creature. "Do you think it would eat us? I mean, what if it's never seen a human before? What if-wait, why hasn't it attacked us yet if it wanted to eat us?" George pondered, his questions coming out faster than anyone could answer them. "Well, it could be nocturnal. But that would require it to be night time for a few hours every day. The sun still hasn't moved though and I know it's been at least three hours since we woke up." Jimmy said staring up past the canopy to see the sun. Seeing it hadn't moved he looked back down, thinking. "Uh...Jim?" George said looking up a few seconds after Jimmy looked down. "What? What's wro-...that's...not possible!" Jimmy exclaimed as he looked up to see the sun moving at an alarming rate towards one direction, the sky getting dimmer and dimmer with every passing second. Eventually, it was pitch black and neither of them could see anything. "Oh man! What do we do now!?" George began to panic as he walked into what he suspected was a tree. "OK, stop moving. Let's try to find each other. Is that your hand? Ugh, this would be easier if there was a moon in the sky!" Jimmy said as he was feeling around trying to find George. Suddenly, it was getting easier to see, it was getting brighter. The both of them began to see better and saw each other, realizing they were only a few feet away from each other. "Is that...a moon?" Jimmy asked looking up and noticing the moon rapidly rising into the spot where the sun once resided. "Do you think it will move or stay in the same spot like the sun did?" George asked observing how much darker the forest looked at night. "Not sure, probably will but we can't be sure unt-...George...don't move a muscle." Jimmy said mid sentence as he froze up staring at George, eyes wide with terror. "Why? What's wrong?" George asked as he turned around meeting what appeared to be a lion. But this lion had yellow fur with a red mane. George immediately froze up in terror and let out a scream, shortly followed by a roar from the mystery lion. "COME ON! RUN!" Jimmy yelled as he grabbed George's arm and pulled him away as the creature swung at him with its large arm. They both began running, searching for someone to help them, something to use as a weapon, a house, anything to help them. Suddenly Jimmy tripped over a large tree root, hidden by the darkness of night, hitting the ground and losing his breath. The mystery creature approached him and raised its arm to strike. "JIM! LOOK OUT!" George yelled as he picked up a rock and threw it and the monster, causing it to stagger back and fall over. "LET'S GO!" George yelled as he helped Jimmy up and they both began to run. They ran for a few seconds before hearing the creature's mighty roar and the sound of it running. They both kept running until George spotted a house in the distance, a house that seemed to be carved into the lower bark of a giant tree. "Look! Is that a house?" George asked as they began running towards the house. The creature right behind them. Then Jimmy began yelling at the house for help from whoever was inside. "Wait! How do we know whoever lives there won't try to kill us? What if they think we're monsters too?" George suddenly asked realized this could possibly be a dead end, trapped between two forces trying to kill them. "I don't care if they like us or not! It's better than dealing with that thing!" Jimmy yelled. They both stopped dead in their tracks as the door to the house opened and a hooded figure stuck its head out. They felt relieved until they saw the creature fly past them both and land in front of them, brandishing two large bat-like wings and a scorpions tail at them. They both stopped and froze in terror as it raised the large tail and aimed it at them both. Suddenly, the hooded figure ran outside, holding a flask in its hand filled with a strange liquid emitting a powerful odor that would have bothered Jimmy and George had they not been in immediate danger. "Flee! Flee you nasty beast! You will not add these two to your night time feast!" the hooded figure yelled as it shook the flask at the beast. The beast quickly shrieked and flew away, wanting to get far away from the liquid as fast as possible. The hooded figure, which sounded female and seemed to walk on four legs walked towards Jimmy and George, both of them catching their breath. "Do not worry about that nasty manticore, he should not bother you two anymore." The hooded figure said as she removed her hood. It was almost hard for Jimmy and George to believe, both of them staring in disbelief at who had just saved them. "Are you...Zecora?" Jimmy asked as he stared at the Zebra standing before them. "Ah, you know my name? Well, I wish that for you I could say the same." Zecora said letting out a little laugh as she stared back at them. "Oh. Uh, well, I'm Jimmy, and this is my friend George." Jimmy said introducing the two of them while George was still in shock over this whole incident. "Did you just...scare that thing away with some water?" George asked staring at the flask full of clear liquid that now rested on the ground, standing on its base so the liquid stayed inside. "Oh that? It is a powerful repellent. Most creatures dislike its powerful scent." Zecora raised the flask again and the smell came back stronger than before, causing both Jimmy and George to cover their noses. "That smells disgusting! I actually think I lost my appetite from that smell." George said as he now used both of his hands to cover his nose. "Wow, I actually forgot about that. We've been looking for a place for so long that I forgot about finding food." Jimmy said. "Well then you two should come inside. I do not mind if it is my house in which you reside." Zecora said as she went into the house letting the two in. "Wait," George said as he grabbed Jimmy's shoulder and stopped him. "If Zecora is here...doesn't that mean we're in Equestria?" After a minute Jimmy seemed to look up and around and link everything together. "George! You're a genius! This is the Everfree Forest, that thing was a Manticore, and the sun and moon have been acting that way because-" "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna raise them to the center of the sky and don't move them until it's time!" George declared realizing everything they hand't noticed before. The two gave a quick high five before going into Zecora's house. ~~~~~~~~ OK guys, we're finally here :D They know they're in Equestria now and things are going to start picking up. I'm gonna try to add one chapter every day. Special thanks to my friend xRezurrected. He's helping me by proof reading and brainstorming with me at lunch at school. Yes, that's George from the story. Anyway, you should check out some of his stories, they're really good.