//------------------------------// // Look Before you Bite // Story: A Lampent's Lament in Equestria // by Iridescence T Wind //------------------------------// "Sublime upon sublime scarcely presents a contrast, and we need a little rest from everything, even the beautiful." -Victor Hugo ---∞∞∞---∞∞∞---∞∞∞--- [So I have been thinking.] Soul had stated to Night Lily who was munching on yet another of the Everfrees predators, three days after the dragon incident in which Fluttershy had surprisingly glared down, [We really need to find or build a real shelter.] [What makes you say that?] Lily had replied before resuming her meal of Cockatrice meat. [Well Twilight said there was a storm scheduled for tomorrow. Though I do not know if that would include the Everfree Forest.] Lily yawned, [It wouldn't. The Everfree does its own thing without Pegasus aide. Freaks most of them out so they tend to stay away in the first place.] [Well it would still be nice to have someplace to live inside of in case it is ever stormy here.] [It is called a cave.] Lily snorted unconcerned. [Or a house or hut,] Lampent argued back ideas forming in his head, [Think about it, sleeping on a nice soft pillow instead of the ground all the time or having a nicer place to store food so your diet isn't as sporadic as it has been.] Lily rolled her eyes as well as her head, [Whatever you say Boss. If you’re looking for a building there’s an old abandoned one that the ponies made a long time ago.] [Great where is it?] [Deep in the Everfree, I can take you there if you want. Though the place was pretty beaten down compared to it in its glory.] [Alright show me.] Without further words traded Lily stood up and trotted towards the North West with the Lampent in tow. Eventually after a mess of vines and bushes being cleared away Lily came to a halt behind the last set of trees blocking their line of sight. She quietly spoke up, [I do not know why this was built where it was but powerful magic remains there, I would tread carefully for a while until we have completely claimed this area for our own. We are not alone in the Everfree forest Boss.] [Well it’s a no brainer that we aren't alone. Though thanks for the warning about the castle. Now let’s see it.] Night Lily shook her head smiling at Soul's lack of tact, she pushed forward into the rising sunlight of the day momentarily blinding Soul into the process, as his eyes adjusted he was stunned by the view from the hill they were on. When soul had finished taking in the image his brain pointed out the various flaws with the state of it, nothing that couldn't be repaired with time but still a problem [Wow that is an impressive building alright though there’s just a few problems with it...] [That would be what boss?] [Well from here I can see all of it lacks a roof, and that it is more of a ruin than a castle. I will have to see if we can get a few ponies to help us reconstruct it if we want to use it.] [Okay then... so you are serious about this huh?] [Yep. Now let us see if it is occupied or not.] Together, Soul Light and Night Lily headed off down the hill towards the castle ruins. ---∞∞∞---∞∞∞---∞∞∞--- The Manticore pup couldn’t have found a worse day to explore his surroundings. Today she had gone out of her cave to explore the forest in search of her next meal only to run into, literally, a trio of hungry Lions. While a full grown Manticore like her father would be able to take care of this easy, a pup could at most handle one of the three that had chased her. Unlike her Father, she wasn't big enough, strong enough, or producing venom from the tip of her scorpion like tail as a full grown Manticore could. The only reason why she was outside in the first place was because her father had vanished from the forest over a week ago and she had no sign of him ever returning again. She had managed to elude the lions through the Everfree for half an hour, not an easy feat by any means, but her arms and legs were tiring and becoming sore from exertion when she had spotted the abandoned ruins. She gave it her remaining strength to charge into the half destroyed ruins and knock open a door only to shove it shut behind her and put the entirety of her weight against it. Three thuds followed not a second after of three bodies ramming into the door. a Paw scratched at the door loudly while a sneering blood thirsty voiced whispered menacingly from the other side, [Come out, come out and play with us little one. We promise to make your death swift and eat you with respect.] The young manticore shivered but didn't respond. Her ears picked up the sound of the other two lions moving around for another entrance. This wouldn’t be hard providing the state these ruins were in. What struck her as odd though was how there was no more force on the door just scratching on the large rotted oak construction. Quietly the manticore took a few halting steps towards a set of stairs that lead deeper in, the only choice left for her. She was halfway there when a set of wooden doors opposite of her and the lion started to move. She dived behind a pile of fallen stones nearby, the sound causing the lions to burst through the door she had previously been blocking not minutes before. ---∞∞∞---∞∞∞---∞∞∞--- Both the lions and soul were surprised by each other, however Lily was not. Sensing danger from these three Lions from the hungry looks on their faces and their threatening pose, she lunged forward for the first strike, almost casually leaping across the room and landing on the closest' back ripping at the back of its neck under its fluffy circular mane. Soul and the lion being attacked were the next to recover, one floating up higher into the air and the lion with lily on his back trying to knock the aggressive Timber Wolf into the wall to get her off. The attempt was in vain as the lion was wider than the wolf only halting Lily’s attack for a fraction of a second before she resumed clawing and biting with all the fervor of a rabid bear attacking a trapped fish. Soul in contrast was beginning to have a frustrated time with the lions he was fighting. Normally he would use fire for such an encounter but with his wooden friend nearby he didn't dare. Instead he resorted to some of his less standard attacks, "Acid". He stated before spraying hide-melting quality acid from where his mouth would be onto the lions. Causing them both to yowl in pain as they burned and their defenses went down. They also seem blinded from the acid attack, flailing about with their eyes shut as they roared at him. Unimpressed soul took a deep breath in before starting his next attack, "Smog." He spewed a cloud of poisonous smoke directly into the roaring lion’s mouths’ choking them with the smoke cloud and causing them to retch and gag on the foul air. One turned green from becoming poisoned and demoralized they hightailed out of the building, running into each other constantly. The lion that was being attacked by Night Lily fell down at last under her brutal ripping and tearing collapsing into a bloody heap under her ministrations. Soul felt himself relax, while he floated over and collected the lion's soul before sending it off to be judged by Lord Arceus. This world was a lot easier than the one he came from, not that he was complaining. The sound of a soft scuffling made itself apparent to them and Lily wasted no energy all but flying across the room in a single bound and landing on something behind a pile of stone that made a loud Squeak of fear. Curiously Soul followed to what Lily had landed on, [Who is it?] [Manticore Pup.] Lily stated growling at the Manticore that was about as tall as a pony that she was standing on. [Relax Lily, if she was hostile she would of attacked first. Why don't you carve up that lion and eat your fill while I talk to this... Pup.] Lily sighed and stepped off the pup, turning around towards the lion who was still bleeding all over the floor, [Whatever you say boss.] Gesturing for the Pup to stand up, Soul floated down before resting on the remains of a stone pillar nearby, [Hello, I am Soul Light, friends call me Soul. What's your name.] There was a lack of response as the young manticore paused to consider this act of mercy instead of becoming lunch for the two potential predators that had easily handled the life threatening situation she had been in, she spoke up her tone betraying her gender and youth, [I... am Rose Roar. Daughter of Manny Roar and Pearl Roar...] [Where are your parents? Surely they would want to know where their daughter was in these dangerous woods.] [... I don't know, Mother died giving birth, and Father left a week ago and never returned. I lived perfectly fine alone before those Lion's showed up. Thanks but don't think this will be over, those lions will probably be back with reinforcements.] Curious, an organization of animals in the Everfree perhaps? He inquired, [What do you mean reinforcements?] His response came from Night Lily instead of the Manticore, [Lions tend to live in large Packs or Prides as the ponies call them. Life is harsh in the Everfree though so most Prides have united long ago into a central Pride almost a hundred lions strong. They give my kind a bad name by leaving dead bodies half eaten everywhere and having the blame put on us instead. A pack however wouldn't just leave a dead body, we would bury the bones for later if we wanted them after stripping it of its flesh.] [Oh...] [So boss,] Lily asked aloud, [What are you going to do about that pup?] [I was thinking actually about having her come with us. Unless either of you have any objections.] Lily and Rose considered the statement, Lily nodding first a minute later,[Could always need a new pack member.] Rose thought, but the more she thought the more she was resigned herself to joining. Manticores, even young ones, did have a code of honor. If someone or thing had saved or helped a Manticore, the Manticore would be duty bound to do the same. Manny Roar her father was helped by a yellow pony and as a result that pony and her friends were allowed free way across his territory for a few days. Having her Life saved even on accident indebted her to them. She spoke her tone a mixture of both a quiet wind and a church bell, [You two saved my life, by Manticore code I will do as you ask and join until such a moment as I can repay that debt.] Soul would of smiled if he could, instead he patted her on the shoulder, [Congrats your our third member. Lily mind telling her the rules with dealing with ponies while I check out the rest of this place?] [Sure Boss,] Lily paused from eating to gesture the Manticore to come closer before resuming her feast while explaining how they interacted with ponies. Soul glided away while they chatted, Exploring the rest of the castle for inhabitants. Luckily enough the rest of the ruined castle only had plant life in the form of vines and weeds. Upon his return he found the two having fun joking with each other. [So then I said, Oatmeal? You crazy?] The two burst out laughing. [Sorry to interrupt, but I will be clearing a path to Ponyville. Just to let you two know.] [How do you plan to do that?] Rose and Lily asked at the same time. Soul grinned with his eyes, [Replanting.] [What?] Lily asked. [You'll see. Come get me if you run into anymore Lions and what not.] Soul looked in the direction of the stormy clouds in the distance and left the building, starting to clear a path with his powers of Calm mind to boost his power temporarily and Telekinesis to move the trees. Elsewhere a trio of ponies would be having a sleepover in Twilight's library. ---∞∞∞---∞∞∞---∞∞∞--- "There’s a tree in my tree. This isn't how trees reproduce!" Twilight shouted at the tree in her house that Applejack had lassoed in. "Well if Applejack hadn't of underestimated her brutish strength maybe it wouldn't of happened in the first place!" "Ah said I’m Sorry!" Applejack retorted. The argument went on for several more lines before Twilight butted in, "Enough! This is the worst sleepover ever and it's the only one I've ever had..." Twilight looked miserable and trotted downstairs leaving the two friends of hers alone to their argument. The argument had halted with Twilights statement and the two felt ashamed with how they were acting towards their friends. In a normal tone devoid of rage and sass, Applejack started conversation with Rarity, "Look, I'm sorry, alright?" "What was that?" Applejack took a deep breath from her makeshift burial of a giant tree in the tree house before starting again, “I said I'm sorry! I should ‘a listened to you when you noticed where this here branch would end up. Yer annoyin' attention to detail would'a saved us from this whole mess. But right now, ya need to stop bein' so dang fussy pickin' up all the little things and help me move the one big thing in here that actually matters! Please!" Rarity shook her head in a negative and stated her voice slightly disgusted, "But I'll get all icky." Applejack had to resist stomping a hoof at that, continuing on in a voice of one would tell a filly Applejack replied in turn to her friend, "Yes, ickiness is often a side effect of hard work. But y'all need to get over it, on account I just can't fix this mess I made myself. I need your help." Rarity considered for a moment, before giving way as another branch flew in through the obstructed open window and whacked her in the face, she shook her head to clear it and glared at the offending tree, "Oh. Let's do this." ---∞∞∞---∞∞∞---∞∞∞--- Moving well set trees in the Everfree was harder than it looked. For one the trees were firmly rooted against being moved so he had to quietly inch his telekinesis around the roots and give them a subtle tug to dislodge each of the tall trees, then displace the well set ground as he moved the tree into the pair of lines with a path wide enough for three carriages to go through easily. So he attempted such bursts of energy in short periods rather than a constant flow. He was halfway between the castle and Ponyville when he decided to take a break. Looking behind him he winced at the upheaved dirt and cleared away ground that looked significantly uglier than when he had started but also felt pride at the neatly arranged trees that each had enough space between each one to be able to grow comfortably but also keep out any threats bigger than a few inches. A noise in a nearby brush to his left disrupted his thoughts on the path he was carving out of the forest; quickly he rotated in place to come face to face with a cloaked pony like figure with glowing yellow eyes, her face cloaked in the darkness of her cowl. Both stared at each other for several minutes of rising intensity before Soul broke the silence, "Who are you?"