Chapter 1 - Fleet of Foot
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In the Everfree Forest, it was natural, even in the most unnatural places, for the struggle of life to be at work. Timberwolves would hunt down their prey in their personal hunting grounds, the sole cockatrice would freeze any who came too close for comfort, and the Ursa Major would protect her cub at any cost.
Each and every predator had a massive discrepancy toward intruders, as you can tell, and so anything and everything that strayed into their line if sight would be labeled as either food or an enemy. Massive creatures, like the manticores, would be set upon by packs of ravenous timberwolves, and even little squirrels were added to the garden of statues that marked the territory of the cockatrice. Nothing was safe.
Tonight, though, there was was a new addition to the ecosystem of the Everfree.
This creature was no exception.
The bushes shivered and rustled as the newcomer burst through them, small enough not to break anything in the green. It hit the ground running, sprinting at full-tilt on all four stubby legs as the bushes behind it exploded, revealing a massive timberwolf. It snarled, odorous breath escaping its cavernous maw as it set off, hunting the tiny creature.
The creature ran as fast as it could pump its legs, breathing in ragged squeaks. Its deep, gem-blue eyes flittered back-and-forth in a wild panic, searching for anything, truly anything, that could get the massive beast away from it. Unfortunately, the only things in sight were trees, bushes, grass, and another timberwolf directly in its path, mouth wide open.
With a frightened squeak, the creature veered off course and ran past, earning a snarl and a swipe, which thankfully missed. The near death pressed it onwards, and it swerved through trees and shrubs as it ran as fast as its heart.
It cried tears of iron-laden desperation, but it kept going. It knew that to stop was to die. Such a base instinct was at the top if its thoughts: survive. Even the smartest of creatures and sentient beings had that instinct, curled up in a little ball in the back of their mind. Now, though, it dominated the creature.
The two-strong pack of timberwolves barked and howled in the thrill of the hunt, eager to sink their teeth in the promising morsel ahead of them. The smell of sweat and fear was ripe upon the air, exciting the wolves.
The little one looked behind itself, if only to make sure the monsters tailing it were real. As it locked its gaze with a pair of glowing lime-green eyes, it panicked again, picking up speed as it burst through seas of grass and flowers as the canines crushed everything underfoot.
It closed its eyes, simply wishing for the nightmare to be over already. It didn't look, it didn't want to look, and it sped on, energized by the prospect of maybe getting away from these things.
It opened its eyes, and, unfortunately, was unable to stop itself from ramming into a decaying tree. The bark chipped upon impact with the dense, metal helmet, but it provided a clear stopping point for the creature as it turned, now face to face with the two timberwolves. It shivered in fear, pressing itself back against the gnarled tree as its chasers growled, stepping closer as they searched for a weak spot on it; a neck to snap or a throat to tear out for a quick kill.
The fetid stench of their breath drove the creature farther back, covering its head with two, silver legs as they came within biting range.
"Bark! Bark!"
"What's gotten into ya'll, Winona? Get on back here this instant!"
With a snarl, the timberwolves looked away from their prize, sweeping their gaze among the green and brown where the voices originated from. One made a quick motion with its head to the other, and they set off in the direction of the noises. They knew the sounds of ponies, and the larger the prey, the better to eat.
Taking advantage of the moment of respite, the miniscule being tore into the wet soil underneath, covering itself up. Its natural armor protected it from the clammy cold.
Taking its time to get comfortable, the creature reminisced of what happened before entering this nightmarish realm...
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Rain showered on the small alleyway as thunder cracked the sky, briefly illuminating a man in a trench-coat before darkening again.
A stray cat hissed at the man as he walked past, keeping its eye on him as he idly kicked a can down the alley.
Sebastian sighed. It was too damn cold tonight to be doing this. He searched the alleyway, scouring every nook and cranny for his items.
"Fuckin' rain..." he muttered to himself, looking up into the cloudy sky. The rain pelted his glasses as he simply looked, as if he would find what he needed in the black abyss above him.
The items he were looking for were all stored in a toolbox. He had lost it when he had been moving his belongings into his garage for storage, where he had dropped it in the alley behind his house. His career as construction worker depended on some of the tools, and he hated cashing out and buying new ones when he could just find them again. And so, after putting on his trench-coat and saying a quick goodbye to his dog, he went searching for his tools.
Lightning split the sky once again as Sebastian peeked behind one of the trees that sat behind his property, a massive, gnarled oak that had lost some of its leaves, but still retained a healthy brown color. A carving of a heart and initials on its bark made him loose a deep chuckle.
Sebastian was, surprisingly, an extremely wide young man, but most of it was from his naturally broad shoulders and thick skeletal structure that gave him a natural strength. He was short, though, but he more than made up for it.
Light flashed above him as lightning came dangerously close to the branches above him, but Sebastian didn't notice. He swore that, with the brief illumination, he saw his toolbox wedged into the roots of the tree, a brick red among the brown.
Even if he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, Sebastian knew he could easily retrieve the toolbox from between the roots with proper force. So, grabbing the handle and the side, he pulled the toolbox, wiggling it back and forth as it scraped between the rough roots.
Another spear if lightning lanced the night sky as he worked, several flashes lighting up his vision.
One small branch of lightning struck the tree above him, cracking through one of the larger branches, splitting it clean off the tree. It tumbled through the air toward the unknowing man underneath, coming closer, until-
A sickening, wet crack sounded through the night, and a body fell to the ground, red liquid oozing out of a gaping wound. There was no scream, grunt, or cursing. Just a pool of blood, slowly spreading over the cobblestone of the alleyway.
---
Fresh tears mingled with the soil of Sebastian's hiding place as he sniffled, wiping them away with his stubby leg. He normally wasn't one for showing his emotions, but now seemed as good a time as ever to him.
My whole life is gone...
Everything I worked for, disappeared...
And now, what do I have left?
The body of some kind of critter...
I'm being hunted down by giant plant-wolves...
And now I'm stuck in some fucking hole...
Pathetic.
Sebastian pounded the dirt with a steel leg, squeezing his eyes shut as he fought back the new wave of tears that threatened to overcome him once again.
I'm pathetic.
He looked down at the little armored cone serving as his leg, staring at the limb with a twitch in his eye. He briefly contemplated if this was some kind of twisted dream, if only to ease his pain.
No... No, this is real... I can feel the ends of these legs... The lids of my eyes... The soreness of my muscles... This is real.
Resigning himself to his unknown fate, the changed Sebastian let the exhaustion of fleeing overtake him. The smell of rotting plants lulled him into a comfortable sleep, his eyelids fluttering closed.
---
Applejack rushed after a barking Winona, yelling to her mostly-loyal companion to return.
"Winona! Come on, now! Ya' gotta come back now!" the farmer yelled. Winona, in the other hand, simply ignored her, yapping madly as she came closer to the edge of the Everfree Forest.
Now at the edge of the forest, the border-collie circled around herself anxiously, looking into the forest. Applejack galloped up beside her dog, skidding to a stop. Winona sat down, her tail waggling as she whined to Applejack.
Applejack patted Winona's head. "Come on, sugarcube, what's gotcha like this?"
Winona could only produce a light yap. Before Applejack could stop her, she made a break for the tree-line, hopping through the wildly overgrown shrubbery and disappearing into the Everfree.
"Consarnit, Winona! Get you're fluffy rear back over here right now!" Applejack yelled. Her plea fell upon deaf ears as Winona continued yapping and running deeper into the forest. With a dejected sigh, Applejack steeled herself, then broke into a gallop and plunged into the Everfree.
The change in atmosphere was palpable, both literally and figuratively. The stink of rotting plants permeated the atmosphere, leaving a bad taste on Applejack's tongue every time she opened her mouth to breathe. Humidity clung to her coat, and mud clung to her hooves as she moved onward. Her eyes stung from some unknown, acidic substance flowing through the air. A cacophony of animal shrieks and howls met AJ's ears as she searched for her beloved companion.
Among the noise of the forest, Applejack could make out the distinct barking of Winona. "Winona!" she called out, receiving a hurried yap in return.
Applejack hurried to the source of the barking.
"Bark! Bark!"
"What's gotten into ya'll, Winona? Get on back here this instant!"
AJ leapt over a bush, finding herself in a small, square clearing. Winona sat at the opposite side, watching the edge of the clearing with a determined gaze. She let out a growl as Applejack came closer, standing up and setting into a pouncing position.
A bestial howl shook the forest as two timberwolves erupted from the wall of foliage, snapping at Winona and the mare. The two backed off, the timberwolves snarling at their opponents.
Winona and her master backed up into the center of the clearing, the former baring her teeth and snapping at the massive canines in return. The wolves circled around, trapping them in the clearing.
AJ sighed. "Winona, you take the small one; big one's mine, got it?" she turned to her companion, who yapped once and turned her gaze on the timberwolf in front of her.
The smaller of the wolves pounced first, opening its jaws and aiming for Winona's head. Winona dove under the would-be fatal blow and clamped her teeth down on the wolf's Achilles heel, snapping it off and wrecking the beasts lower leg.
AJ took a running start to her own opponent as Winona stripped the bark from her's. The larger timberwolf raised a paw for a swipe, swinging down at AJ's flank. The attack missed, narrowly. AJ skidded on her hooves and twisted around, closing in her hind legs and, with a crack, bucked the wolf's head.
The canine exploded into shards of wood, raining down on AJ and Winona, who was currently gnawing on the former leg of her timberwolf with apparent delight.
"Whew!" AJ sighed, "Fine piece of work, Winona. Them timberwolves woulda been runnin' 'round Sweet Apple Acres if ya' hadn't sniffed 'em out!"
"Yap!"
Applejack chuckled mirthfully. "Well, c'mon Winona, lil' Applebloom's gotta be worried sick about us."
Trotting away from the clearing, Applejack whistled a tune to herself, until she noticed that Winona had stayed right where she was. Turning around, she also noticed the way Winona sat, staring at the wall of trees almost thoughtfully.
"Come on, lil' doggy," AJ cooed, "let's go home now."
Winona didn't listen. Instead, she put her nose to the ground, sniffing at an unseen trail.
With a shrug, Applejack followed the canine as she followed the trail, directing them to the area the timberwolves had burst from. They climbed through the rough hole in the bushes, and emerged in an area infested by massive, crooked trees. Claw marks were easily distinguishable from a small path torn through the bushes and ferns.
Winona pressed on, searching through the forced path to a tall, gnarled oak tree that slanted to one side, creating a hood of shadow over Winona as she pawed at a mound of freshly churned soil. She snuffed at it, then fell upon it in a shower of dirt and loose grass. Applejack dodged several clumps of dirt as she tried get a better look at whatever her friend was digging up.
Winona stopped suddenly, pressing her snout into the small hole she had made, snuffling at the hidden object.
A sharp squeal made AJ and Winona jump back in surprise. Now that Winona had fully uncovered the thing, AJ could clearly see the mound of silver in the pit.
The moving mound of silver.
A short, blunted spike stuck out from the center of it, two dark holes under it. Slowly, as AJ watched in wonder and Winona wagged her tail eagerly, another mound appeared, this time without a spike, and with three holes spaced evenly on each side.
Two deep blue orbs appeared in the centermost holes, punctuated by a small pupil that raced around, switching from Winona to the awestruck mare in the Stetson.
A whimper escaped from the little metal being as it shrunk back into its hole, shivering in apparent fear.
Applejack's senses kicked back in as the being attempted to flee.
"Hold up there, little guy. Ah won't hurt ya'! Promise!" She held out her hoof, trying to halt the small unknown from burrowing any deeper.
As if understanding, it halted, opening its eyes to the rust colored mare. Its eyes twinkled from recent tears as it stared up to her, frozen as it looked her over.
Applejack looked back in amazement as she saw the deep pool of blue, betraying the intelligence of the being before her. Any pony could see the way its eyes looked over her features, seeming to settle a bit longer on her Stetson and her emerald green eyes.
They stared at each other like that for a while, a very long while, the two trading glances as they looked each other over. Before either could do anything, Winona took a few quick steps forward, closing in on the metal one. It flinched suddenly, and Applejack was about to step in, when Winona nuzzled the little one gently, like a mother to her pup.
AJ smiled sweetly as Winona pushed the creature from its hole toward Applejack, revealing a body of iron-black and four stubby silver legs. It didn't seem to mind the force, though, as it slowly took a petite step toward Applejack. Since it was about as small as a newborn puppy, it wasn't much, but it quickly made its way to Applejack. In a surprising move, it curled up against Applejack's leg, shaking feverishly, but nuzzling her affectionately nonetheless.
AJ cooed to the little one, nuzzling it in return and giving it her warmth. Its skin was of a cold metal, a surprising trait for a creature in the Everfree. It smelled of plants and copper, a surprisingly weak smell, though.
An idea came to being in Applejack's mind. "Hey," she whispered, "Little guy? Can ya'll understand me?" She awaited its answer.
In a move that surprised AJ, it looked up to her, nodding slowly, but surely.
"Can ya' talk? At all?" she pressed on, curious about her new friend.
Disappointingly, the only response it could give was a strained grunt and squeak, akin to somepony clearing their throat.
"Darn..." she stamped the dirt. "Well, this probably ain't none too safe a place to stay, is it?" she asked. The steel one nodded in return. "Well... Do ya' wanna come stay with me? Ah got plenty a' food for you." she ventured, quietly hoping for a nod.
A nod she received, rushed and frantic, and the little creature wrapped its legs around Applejack's foreleg, nuzzing its head against her.
Applejack let out a laugh that was significantly more feminine than usual, embarassingly so. She was glad nopony was around to hear that. "Well," she started, "come on up, lil' fella, get on mah back. 'S gonna be a long ride back home." With several cute little shimmies, Applejack's new friend climbed onto her back, hugging her withers and resting its head in her fur.
With a whistle to her loyal companion, AJ trotted back through the brush, Winona at her side and her new, surprisingly heavy friend resting on her back.
---
What the fuck am I doing with myself, Sebastian thought as he hugged the back of a talking horse.
He watched the trees move by at a leisurely pace as his transportation trotted through the forest, the clipping of her hooves mixing with the soft padding of her dog.
More importantly, he mused, what the hell am I getting myself into?
Letting myself get picked up by some freak with a hat? The hell am I, some six-year-old in a sci-fi movie? Shoot...
Well, at least she owns a dog, so something here is normal. But what's with the cowboy hat? Farmer or rancher, is she? Interesting...
As the trio emerged into the clearing, Sebastian noticed the scraps of wood laying on the ground, including what appeared to be a misshapen head.
Made from wood.
Holy shit, did they kill those things!? Sebastian looked to the back of the horse's head, seeing the cute cowboy hat and the blonde hair tied off with a red band.
...
Nah.
The border collie barked happily as it snatched up a discarded limb, gnawing on it happily as it pranced along next to the rust-colored mare. She chuckled, stopping a moment to pat the collie's head before continuing on.
Well, she seems nice enough, at least. She said there was food, too, right?
Well fuck it, I'm hungry. Nap time for Sebastian!
---
He soft snores of the creature on AJ's back reached her ears. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing its body slowly rising and falling with each tiny breath.
"Poor little fella mus' be exhausted," she observed, wiggling her body to right her friend on her back correctly.
Ah better hurry on home, she figured, picking up the pace as she pushed through another wall of foliage. Sunlight filtered in through the canopy as she neared the edge of the Everfree's territory. Winona sped ahead, bursting through the green and panting as she ran around, waiting for Applejack.
She momentarily emerged from the forest, blinking from the sudden brightness, having become used to the darkness of the Everfree. She sighed in content, spotting the nearby apple trees lining her property. Out in the distance, the roofs of the family house and the barn peeked over the horizon of trees.
"Home sweet home, Winona." AJ remarked, once again whistling to Winona. "C'mon, girl, let's go!"
"Yap!"