No...
The sky screamed with thunder as if befallen with a most horrible rage, almost as if directed at the small figure that fell through its dark clouds.
No... Please, no!
Thunderous winds struck the girl while water washed against her body, sodden hair whipped about behind her with the ever increasing descent.
No!
Lances of lightning clashed along the sky narrowly missing her as she continued the free fall, finally tearing free of the clouds to see the ground with each illuminating flash as if taunting her.
Please... anyone... ANYONE!
Details upon the ground became clear as rocks, trees and other defining features came into eyesight. Most alarming however was her descent was not decreasing as the airflow rushing pasts her ears testified. Tears streamed across her face as she crossed arms in front of her with tremendous effort, a futile and childish defense against the unforgiving landing to come.
I DON'T WANT TO DIE!
A flash of lightning betrayed a small glow that encompassed the girl causing her descent to slow almost as an afterthought. Tears trailed behind her as her eyes clenched shut knowing even on just an instinctive level that she would not survive the fall at the speed she was now approaching the ground..
She was right.
I... don't want... to die...
The aura surrounding the girl pulsed and her momentum was slowly robbed as her speed decreased. One last almost spiteful flash of lightning was thrown from the black vortex of clouds she originated from and struck a tree that rapidly approached sending flaming shrapnel over the landscape. Slowly her eyes opened to see the ruined tree approach at dangerous speeds, a scream catching in her throat as her descent had been slowed drastically by whatever the aura was. The scream echoed before she felt and heard a sickening thud as her left shoulder impacted the smooth bark causing her to change direction directly for the sloped hill below.
Falling through the branches slowed her descent even further before she fell the last four meters upon the already existing injury with a scream that almost, almost drowned out the crunching sound. Rolling down the small slope she ended up in an undignified crumpled heap once the ground leveled out, lying upon the wet grass... soggy, hurt, confused, and barely conscious through the pain. Her vision swum as her shoulder shot lances of red hot agony directly into her brain before she did two very natural things.
First she emptied the contents of her stomach into a small stream beside her head presumably created by the storm.
The second was to surrender to the bliss of unconsciousness.
~~~~~~~~~
Jessica always hated mornings, she was not an early riser... oh no. She adored the comfort of her bed while music filled her room at an acceptable level. Normally her room-mate would have to eventually tug her sullenly out of her comforter to make sure she got to University. Her room-mate must have tried one of her other dirty tricks this morning as Jessica squirmed mildly aware of a throbbing in her left shoulder. Ah yes, the old sun in the face routine. She wouldn't let it work this morning, however! Jessica deserved a sleep-in afterall that study the night before, oh yes she did! However that pain in her shoulder was becoming quite... distracting as she gave a little wince and moved to try and relieve her pain.
The pain from the ever-so-slight movement onto her shoulder caused her to give a loud scream and curl into a foetal position sobbing softly. The events leading up to where she now was rushed through Jessica's head as she recounted the vortex of clouds, the falling and lastly the painful landing. As the pain slowly faded to mere vision blurring she winced and got to her knees wincing with each minor movement. Her sun-dried auburn locks fell over one side of her face as she slowly tried to remember how this had all happened.
She had been studying at University, when... something... something had happened. She recounted a book, and someone... but the rest was a blur right now, her mind unable to focus as if it simply refused to recollect the event. Jessica thought back to her first aid courses she had done a year ago; her body was most likely near going into shock if she wasn't already and with a tentative inspection of her shoulder she didn't feel any blood. A fracture or dislocation, neither of which she could deal with right now.
With a deep breath she tried to calm herself working her rational mind to try and think through the pain. She needed to contact an ambulance, or find out where she was first and then do that. She needed medical attention as, other than her shoulder which, while extremely painful, she deduced wasn't life-threatening, she had just fallen from the sky which could and should have caused several serious injuries.
Her eyes went wide with realisation – how had she survived? She had heard stories of people doing so, but she had hit a tree while most had fallen through branches or other miraculous saves. A little whimper escaped her lips as her shoulder continued to make known its discomfort and she reasoned that it didn't matter how she survived, the pain proved she had done so. A quick inspection with her good hand found none of her ribs were broken, and following up she found despite several rather nasty grazes and a few shallow cuts, nothing even compared to her shoulder injury. Granted, she was extremely tender over most of her body and would probably bruise something awful later, but she was alive!
Her clothing was, well, it hadn't coped well with her unexpected flight or lack thereof. Her pleated skirt had several small tears near her thigh leading to a nasty graze upon her skin underneath and one sleeve of her sweater had been torn off quite probably by one of the branches she had brief images of becoming acquainted with. The other sleeve was barely holding on by a few threads near her shoulder, but given the state of it she wasn't about to aggravate the injury by tugging the sleeve completely off for the sake of fashion.
"Okay... focus, Jess..." Her voice felt reassuring, it was then she realised that it had been quiet... too quiet. For a city girl like her she only just now realised she had yet to hear the sound of a car, of commuters or even one of the annoying airplanes that used to fly overhead. She reached down with her good arm to hunt for her cell phone, retrieving the device with worry and then relief, apart from a large crack through the screen it was otherwise functional. With hope in her heart, the attempt to call the emergency service snagged a new issue, there was no service. This confused Jessica greatly as she was sure there was coverage nearly... well, almost the entire world now with satellites, or so the adverts had said. She also certainly didn't seem to be in a desert or arctic region which could feasibly have explained that.
Slowly with another wince she turned quickly and released another scream of agony as the remaining sleeve was snagged upon a small bush nearby. With gritted teeth she removed the offending material and then made use of it as a makeshift sling to try and keep her shoulder from moving too much. Satisfied, and with the pain once more diminishing to a dull aching throb she took more notice of her surroundings.
Something felt... off.
She couldn't put a finger on it, there was just something definitely not right about all this, excluding the obvious finding herself miles in the middle of a storm and crashing into the ground. That was a given.
No, there was something else wrong. Unnatural even.
It was then she noticed, truly noticed where she actually was. Her mind finally catching up to the information her tired eyes were giving her and sorting it out before re-filing back into the in box, so to speak. She was near a small hill, the ruined tree that had thankfully cushioned her fall thanks to its damaged trunk and its now multiple broken branches, was near the top of said hill. A small stream flowed nearby while a wide dirt path cut along the grassy plain from one horizon to the next. Foliage and birds made the landscape seem so... picturesque, but that wasn't what alarmed Jessica most.
It was the two horses that were trotting down the path as if it was the most natural thing to do. Jessica squinted and noticed that they were towing something behind them, a large wagon... with several cages upon. As they got closer she gasped and covered her mouth with her right hand as she could take in more details, things her mind was struggling to comprehend. Each was cream-coloured, they walked on all fours and had the basic shape of a horse, but that was where the similarities ended. Each had a horn upon their head and their shapes were... wrong.
They walked like horses but they weren't horses, horses didn't wear striped shirts. Horses didn't wear hats. Horses didn't move in the more fluid manner they did. Horses did not have moustaches like one of them did! Horses did not have tattoos on their butts! Horses did not have red and white striped manes and tails! Horses... did... not... have... horns! Horses did not, do not, and cannot have intelligent green eyes and act like they're having a conversation! It did... not... happen!
Jessica's mind almost just decided to check out, it had enough. It was still attempting to work out the whole vortex thing and recount what caused them to get in this position. Having to now deal with the two not-horses was just outright cruelty and it was having none of it! No-sir-ee!
As the horses... unicorns... equines approached Jessica could finally overhear them talking, well she presumed it was talking. A series of garbled mess that could, in theory be constituted as words matched up with their mouths moving but she couldn't even begin to understand their meaning. She could pick up their tone, however, one sounding a little smug while the other having a more bouncy sort of tone as if almost singing in show tunes.
Jessica tried to comprehend this, despite her shoulder aching she really did try. Two unicorns were walking down the dirt path tugging a wagon with several cages holding what she could see now to be various creatures. A blindfolded scaled chicken thing with a snake like tail, a large lion-like beast with a scorpion tail and wings... the last occupant her poor mind just gave up trying to decipher. She could feel her vision swimming again, her head pounding before becoming rather light.
She staggered and placed her good hand to a tree in an attempt to support herself before one of the unicorns finally noticed her. Its eyes went wide before it nudged its companion with one front leg causing it also to look her way. The other's expression matched the first before Jessica fought through the fog to try and communicate, she needed help... and even if they were figments of her imagination her brain decided they were good enough to try and get help for medical attention.
"P-Please... I... I need help..." Jessica pleaded, the pain starting to flare up while her lightheaded-ness continued to make her eyelids heavy. She took one shaky step towards the dual unicorns before her co-ordination gave out and she collapsed in a heap causing a small cry of pain. The last thing her eyes saw before they shut was the moustached unicorn approaching her and lowering his head to regard her closer. One green eye dominated her vision before all was darkness.
~~~~~~~~
Ow...
Jessica slowly became aware of the ground rumbling under her, bouncing and shaking as she felt small pains from her aching body with her shoulder the primary culprit.
Ow! Hey...
Her eyes slowly opened, blinking away a sense of vertigo as the world slowly came into focus. The pain in her shoulder had decreased somehow, it still hurt but she also noticed the scrapes and cuts that had adorned her body were now nothing but unblemished mocha skin once more. Except for the dirt, and the grime, and... okay, not completely unblemished but no longer injured. She still felt pain in her body, aches from bruising, her shoulder still throbbed and sent small spears of pain but overall it was a welcome diminishment from what it once was.
Reaching with her good hand she brushed aside some of her shoulder length auburn hair, the blonde highlights catching the sun that fell down upon her causing her to squint. She was in a cage, that would explain the cold metal pushing to her back as she sat. She was also on a wagon... which her brain proudly pointed out would explain the rumbling.
"W-What? Why... how... why am I in a cage? Why am I in a cage?!" Her frustration and anger threading into her words as the girl snapped from the days activities. She caught sight of the two unicorns ahead of her, pulling the wagon while one flicked its ear. It looked over its shoulder to regard her with a green eye as the other also did the same. Their strange language once more failed to be comprehended by her. The one with the moustache, he... she had decided with its voice too far on the side of masculine it must be male, regarded the other... another male.
Moustachey... Jessica had already nicknamed him, gave a shrug to his companion who also looked back at her with a more inquisitive glance. The wagon paused as he slipped from the harness and trotted close, raising a front hoof to tap upon her cage. Nonmoustachey... her brain was still compiling a better nickname for him, spoke to her in a questioning tone of voice making her lean forward and grip the bars with her good hand.
"I... I can't understand you, but please! I'm not an animal! I'm a girl! Let me out of here!" Her pleading tone took one of anger as she found the idea of being in a cage appalling, disgusting even. Nonmoustachey jerked back at her loud exclamation and his horn glowed making Jessica gasp as she felt a strong slap occur across her cheek. She raised her head in shock to touch the stinging skin, the unicorn giving a satisfied nod at her return to quietness and repeated the same to the creature in a cage next to her.
The creature resembled the unicorns vaguely, except covered in black chitin-like substance. Its eyes glowed an almost sickly blue with bug-like wings giving an irritated buzz. Jessica gasped seeing the holes within its legs, retreating further into the corner of her own cell spying the large winged lion beast regarding her with a look of hunger.
The beast was covered in dozens of small wounds, as were the others she finally noticed. The chicken creature had a metallic blindfold clamped tightly about its eyes as it too hissed in her general direction, almost as if sensing her fear. It un-nerved her greatly with its scaled body and strange wings, so very bizarre. Jessica hugged herself with her good arm as a loud crack filled the air when Moustachey procured a whip from somewhere on the wagon. A snap caused the lion beast to curl its scorpion tail and bat wings about itself in an attempt to hide from a second lash along its body.
The other two quit their hissing immediately and retreated to the corners of their cages, each sporting a new small wound upon their body. Jessica was about to word her thanks to the unicorn for stopping them when she felt a sharp stinging pain as the whip contacted with her leg. She gave a cry of pain as tears welled into her eyes before both unicorns nodded at each other, satisfied their creatures were now behaving and once more continued to tug the wagon down the path.
Jessica blinked through her tears as she tried very hard not to sob, she was always the strong one out of her friends... she wouldn't let this break her, she wouldn't!
Sniffing back her tears she stared resolutely ahead as the wagon continued on into the night. Eventually the unicorns paused to set up a tent and campfire. Jessica watched through half lidded eyes, her anger at them not diminishing her morbid fascination as they levitated objects to construct the campsite. A small box of supplies was opened and each took a few items out along with a large jug of presumably liquid. Moustachey... or Stache Jessica decided, approached the wagon with four bowls suspended in the air behind him.
One was slipped into each cage, the contents slopping over the side as it landed roughly. With a quick nod and more incomprehensible words he turned and made his way to the other equine, where they sat on their haunches and levitated what appeared to be warm pie into their mouths to take savouring bites. The jug was popped open allowing the warm scent of apple cider to fill Jessica's nose, each pouring a glass and taking a long swig.
Moving slightly in her slightly cramped cage she heard the sounds of eating and slurping from the surrounding cages causing her to look at what was offered to her. What she saw made her heart grow heavy and tears threaten to spill from her eyes once more. The bowl was divided down the middle with half being water and the other half undiscernible gruel. The smell was enough to deter her from sampling the food while she noticed another wasn't eating. The black chitin-like creature with its curved horn had curled up in a corner away from the bowl and was looking at attempting sleep. With a heavy sigh despite her rumbling belly Jessica decided to do the same. The jovial tones of the unicorns almost mocking her as she drifted into sleep.
The next day followed closely along the same trend. She awoke to the pain in her shoulder as the wagon was already on the move causing her to joustle and bounce into the bars. The bowl of uneaten food had been removed sometime during the night and while her stomach growled its displeasure at her not eating she could not even entertain the idea of consuming... whatever that was. Determined not to cry again she tried several more times to yell at the equines only to have them either ignore her or share puzzled looks and a shrug between the two.
It was then that a sudden and horrible realisation hit her, they weren't just ignoring her... they couldn't understand her, either. Jessica felt foolish upon coming to the discovery, it made sense if she could not understand a word they said there was no reason for the reverse not to be true. Adjusting her improvised sling she simply took in the landscape as the wagon made its way along the road. Reaching into a small pocket upon her now sleeveless sweater, she removed her cell phone and powered it on to check for signal.
It was quickly turned off to conserve power and pocketed once more when that hope was once more dashed. She was starting to realise the truth as she gazed through the metal bars to look at the creatures sharing her fate. This can't be Earth, there is no way such things existed there but that begged the question how did she get here, where exactly was here, and how would she get home? The thought sent small slivers of pain into her heart, could she even return home? She had no idea how she arrived at this place and hadn't the first clue on how to even escape this new prison she inhabited or what the two equines planned to do with her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the wagon rolling over something upon the road causing her to slam her injured shoulder into the cold unforgiving metal. The other three creatures all gave sounds of displeasure but hers was a loud scream of pain which stopped both cream furred equines. Moustachey regarded her with a green eye before seemingly conversing with Non-Moustachey. Several exchanges of their strange language before there was a nod and Non-Moustachey trotted back towards her cage.
His forelegs rested upon the wagon as his horn glowed lime green which in turn began to envelope Jessica's body. She grimaced before opening her green eyes slowly as she registered the pain was becoming more tolerable. The whip injury from the day before had also ceased to throb, but before long the glow was suddenly ceased and the equine looked a little out of breath before giving a satisfied look at his work. With a push from the wagon he returned to all fours and made his way back to the other, resuming their pulling of the wagon while conversing animatedly.
Jessica gently touched her shoulder then winced, it still was for all accounts and purposes unusable at the moment, but at least the pain had lessened so that was something to be thankful for. She reached up to brush hair from her face only to find that the insectile equine was almost regarding her with what seemed to be... curiosity? Its glowing blue eyes stared at her as Jessica moved a little further back into her cage, a little un-nerved by this unwanted attention.
"Stop looking at me." She had given up trying to communicate now, but the words felt better to say out loud. The creature simply continued to stare before it suddenly gave a little nod as if satisfied with some conclusion it had reached and lay back down to rest. Jessica blinked twice before exhaling and following its example, she could see in the distance some form of civilisation as she tried to get somewhat comfortable. The black creature seemed... sentient, or at least with that last gesture it was a strong suspicion. With a belly growling and her mind in turmoil she drifted off to a dreamless sleep unsure of what the next day would bring. So mentally exhausted she didn't even wake for the gruel bowl at all.
~~~~~~~
The third day of captivity started very differently from what yesterday had brought. It wasn't the lack of jostling that woke Jessica up, nor was it the sun beaming down upon her face although that was a welcome feeling. It wasn't even the multitude of voices that made her eyes quickly open and her body press closer to the bars of her cage. No, it was the feeling of that slap to her cheek that brought Jessica to waking as the telltale glow surrounding Non-Stache's horn singled out the attacker.
More equines surrounded the wagon which had now been folded out so all the cages were in a row, several smaller equines bouncing in apparent excitement as different variations and colourings of equine gazed up at her cage in wonder. Some of the equines hovered in the air with wings positioned upon their backs, each wing flapping to keep themselves airborne as they moved to get better views. Others lacked the horn or wings of the others looking more familiar to the ponies Jessica was accustomed to, but only just. The two... brothers she had come to presume of her captors were whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Their tones musical as their voices bounced off each other in sequence as if they were... singing?
How they moved, how the crowd responded and the throwing of coins into a chest Stache gestured to made Jessica just realise what was going on. Her good hand gripped the cage in anger of what was happening... this... this was an exhibit!
"HEY! Y-You can't do this! I'm a human being, you can't treat me like this!" She tried to shake the cage earning sounds of astonishment from the crowded equines, some backing away in fear of her anger, others looking amazed at her and finally some looking at each other nervously at her alien words. Non-Stache placated the crowd with a little wave of his horn, a whip she was becoming all too familiar with levitating and unfurling before she felt the biting sting along her back. She gave a cry of anguish as the whip snapped over her injured shoulder next, bringing hot tears to run down her face.
Jessica bit her lower lip almost hard enough to draw blood in an attempt to stop her second scream, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction! Next the lion creature received the same treatment for its roars of anger, the chicken beast just flaring its wings as the equine creatures gasped in apparent shock and avoided its cage. Jessica surmised it was blindfolded for a good reason but she couldn't for the life of her figure out why.
A whip crack brought her attention to the cage directly next to her and saw the chitin-covered equine looking somewhat sickly. It wasn't even attempting to hiss in retaliation to the injury it just received, barely able to stand upright as its hole-covered limbs shook with the effort. A loud roar made her jump before she noticed the large lion beast was getting another strike with the whip while the crowd looked on with mixed emotions.
Taking a better look she noticed several differences among them, some looked smaller with more feminine type features. They were softer, their eyes long lashed with longer manes styled as if they were hair. Others, not quite as lanky as the two brothers were, she deduced them to be male but still larger than what she now thought as the female equines. Then there were the little ones, the children she presumed that bounced excitedly in front of her cage but hid behind the legs of the taller ones when the lion roared or the insectile equine in the cage next to her regarded them with its blue eyes.
"Please... I don't want... to be here." She wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to give in and give them the satisfaction. She sniffled a few times and just turned to look away forlornly as the day passed away. Crowds would come, throw coins into a chest for the brothers and observe before moving on. Eventually night came and the wagon was folded back together with the brother's magic. The chest was lifted and placed beside her cage with a visible sagging of the wagon, she wasn't sure what the coins were worth but there was a very large amount within the container. The brothers looked rather pleased with themselves, talking animatedly as they started to pull the wagon away.
Her stomach roared with hunger as she looked down at the bowl that was slipped into her cage, the sounds of feeding came from the two others while the chitin covered creature just lay down not even looking towards its own bowl. Its breathing was becoming laboured as Jessica hesitantly looked at the bowl of gruel and water knowing that if she didn't eat she would be in the same situation. With a hesitating hand she lifted it up and swallowed some water before screwing her nose up at the disgusting taste of whatever it was sliding down her throat from the other half.
Bits of fish, bits of plant matter... it was all blended together making her wince as she swallowed a small mouthful. It took all her willpower to keep the foul concoction within her belly before she placed the bowl down with a shaking hand. That same hand snapped up to her mouth quickly as tears came to her eyes, swallowing down the rising bile as she tried so hard to keep the so-called meal down. Finally with many bitter swallows her stomach stopped trying to purge itself as she fell back against the bars and quietly sobbed to herself until sleep finally claimed her.
~~~~~~~
Days passed and soon the same show had been shown in at least two other venues. The results were the same even if the methods changed slightly each time. The brothers would set up their little exhibit of 'monsters' and the pony-like equines would show up and pay for watching and getting to look at them. Each was expected to show off a little, the winged lion was expected to roar and then be whipped, the chicken-thing was to cluck and hiss, the chitin insect-like equine was also expected to hiss although recently it could barely bring itself up onto its legs let alone hiss or try to make a scene.
Lastly Jessica was expected to talk, or scream... it didn't matter, as long as she made what was to the equines presumably strange noises the brothers were happy and the crowd loved it. She had tried one day to simply not speak, to not be degraded so.
The whip soon had her making sounds.
She was healed by one of the brothers after each show before they moved on, just enough to keep her active and enough to cover the whip marks. Her shoulder was slowly starting to improve, but it was still tender and she could barely use her left arm but it was at least something. She was starting to lose weight too, not a big girl to begin with she was starting to feel her ribs become more pronounced down her sides. The rancid stench she was starting to emit was very low on her caring list right now she had to admit, otherwise she would have to really think on why she smelt so bad.
She didn't wish to mull on that, it was already degrading enough when they brought out the small paper bags with their horns to dispose of... No! She wouldn't dwell on that, her dignity had already been crushed enough. Her clothing was grime-covered, sticky and she would probably eat every bowl of slop given to her for something as simple as a bath and fresh clothing. Her matted and tangled hair fell over one eye as she exhaled and felt the wagon continue to move. She had started eating the food with no complaint, she had... been broken. There was no hope of escape... there was no hope.
She was trapped, she was nothing more than an oddity to be watched, laughed at, scared of and apparently in some equines' expressions, pitied...
The tears cut lines down her dusty cheeks revealing the mocha skin underneath as she sobbed once more. The brothers had become... she assumed somewhat concerned when she had started becoming listless, spending most of her time sitting in sullen silence, crying or sleeping. She assumed it had been concern, she was getting their healing far more often but it couldn't heal the hurt growing inside.
The chitin creatures' breathing was becoming even more laboured, it didn't even try to stand up now as it turned its blue eyes towards her. In that second a silent agreement was passed between the two. They both knew it, they were trapped and unable to escape. She had come to realise it was sentient, at least as far as she could gather and in turn it had seemingly come to the same conclusion. Seeing it like this, it had hissed and seemed to have hatred at her for the first few days but now it looked... pitiful. It looked to be almost on deaths door, and no creature deserved that, not to go trapped in a cage and seemingly starving itself to death.
Her mind made up, she would at least attempt to comfort the creature; she could do that much. Shakily she reached over with one hand and through the bars of her cage. The creature looked at her with one blue eye with its fanged mouth open as it breathed deeply struggling to fill its lungs. Her hand passed the second barrier, shaking as she gently rested her filthy fingers and grime-filled nails upon its head. The chitin was surprisingly cold to the touch and had several small grooves where the whip had struck it as she trailed the fingers gently over.
She felt... Jessica didn't know what she felt towards this creature. It was a prisoner like herself and unlike the other two it seemed to at least show some form of emotions towards her, even if they were hard to read. Her hand jerked back as it moved but instead its short snout pushed to her fingers and she gently stroked its head once more. She felt... anger at the equines for doing this to her, she felt anger for her situation, she felt... scared of them. They laughed at her, enjoyed her suffering, enjoyed watching her being caged... used her for entertainment.
But this, this creature was in the same boat as her. She hadn't seen one like it elsewhere in any of the towns they had visited. Although she hadn't seen any of the other two creatures either to be honest, but this one looked more like the others as if it could fit in or be the same species at least... if vaguely. The word filtered into her mind as a small smile, something that hadn't touched her face since her arrival tugged at the corners of her lips. She knew what she was feeling, something she felt she wouldn't feel again.
Compassion... she felt sorry for the creature, its current state. It was then she felt a strange tugging from within as if something were reacting to her emotions. The chitin started to feel a little warm under her fingers as its wings buzzed, something that hadn't happened since the first day when it had hissed towards her. She looked on in shock as the creature started to regain its strength, bracing its legs under itself as it shakily got to its four hooves. The brothers didn't notice as they trotted upon the dirt road, seemingly avoiding a large, dark forest nearby.
The insect-equine hybrid started to breathe with less labour, its eyes glowing a far stronger blue as the tugging feeling increased within Jessica's chest. It wasn't... painful, it was just a strange sensation as if the creature was seeing inside her, seeing her emotions and sharing in them. Its posture grew more determined as the strength she had seen wane from it suddenly returned in earnest, her compassion was eclipsed by another emotion... fear. The tugging feeling started to lessen until with a swift turn of its head it locked eyes with Jessica, her hand jerking away in response and holding her arm tightly to her chest. With a small nod of its head the creature braced all four limbs and lowered its neck. The brothers realised something was amiss at the same time green fire started to erupt around the black chitin-covered equine's hooves.
A sharp intake of breath and terrified scream passed Jessica's lips as the other two creatures backed up in their own cages as heat issued from within the green fire filled cage. Slowly the fire consumed the chitin creature then dropped away just as quickly leaving a large exact twin of the winged lion, a very furious twin. With a loud roar of anger the new doppelganger threw itself against its cage as the brothers quickly turned and horns glowed to steady the prison. Their eyes and expressions conflicted with shock and fear, this was something they had never expected but they quickly surrounded the cage with their green magic.
It was a quick reaction. It was working.
Then the unexpected happened.
The other lion beast launched itself at its copy either mimicking its actions or trying to attack the other beast out of some territorial thing, Jessica didn't know. The cage was made to contain such a beast and as such the bars of its cage stopped its pounce. Sadly for the brothers, the energy had to go somewhere. For some reason Jessica recalled something her high school physics teacher had taught her; Every action has an opposite and equal reaction.
The wagon rocked with the momentum before both lion creatures threw themselves at their prisons once more upsetting the balance of the wagon beyond the control of the unicorns. Jessica barely had time to squeal as the wagon tipped, all four cages crashing down onto the grass as fresh bruises and pain found their way upon her body. With three sharp and cracking strikes of its tail the doppelganger managed to remove the lock at the cost of its stinger, causing an agonised roar to issue out. The door to its cage swung open and it bellowed at the two brothers who wisely hesitated and crept backwards onto the road behind the upturned wagon.
Jessica trembled within her cage, nursing her shoulder from the tumble she took before a large claw swung in her direction. Eyes closed waiting for the impact, only to hear the shearing of metal. Opening one eye slowly she saw the green fire erupt around the doppelganger as it returned to its true form, heading into the dark canopy of the forest at a fast gallop. Crawling her way out of the cage on three limbs she quickly got to her feet just as the equine brothers noticed the ferocious monster had vanished.
Jessica ran on pure adrenaline, her body had been cramped in the cage... her muscles ached and she staggered at least three times but she followed with an urgency only terror can bring. Without warning a sharp jerk backwards caused her to almost fall as she saw a green glow surround her wrist as one of the brothers, Stache tried to hold her back with his magic.
"No! Let me go! I don't want to go back into the cage!"
She was so close! To be so close and to be snatched at the cusp of freedom was too cruel. She struggled with all of her diminished might as the green glow spread up her arm strengthening the grip. As she felt herself starting to be tugged back along the grass her arm was suddenly freed sending her stumbling forward. Catching a glance behind her she saw the aftereffect of a strange green light while Stache was flat on his haunches rubbing a hoof where a small burn mark near his horn was still smoking. Non-Stache was busy with the roaring lion beast as it struggled to escape its own cage, his horn glowing but too late to prevent Jessica as she followed the origin of the attack on Stache towards the forest.
Her aching legs screamed at her to stop, her pounding heart begged her not to push herself, her lungs felt like hot coals were dragged down her throat with each ragged breath. She didn't care. Each time her foot impacted upon the grass was another step closer to freedom. Each step brought her further away from being stopped by their magic. Just as her tear filled eyes gazed back to see Non-Stache gallop after her along with a recovered Stache, she felt the branches whip against her bruised skin. Their magic tugged at the trees instead of their desired target as she pushed through the foliage with reckless abandon, blocking their line of sight.
She heard them shout in their strange language as she ran, tears blinding her while she stumbled, tripped and made her way through in panic. Her heart hammered, her lungs were unsurprisingly rather angry at her impromptu sprint and her muscles were already burning past the point of exertion. Fear drove her though, fear kept her running until the voices of the pursuing brothers faded away and fear kept her body running far past her limits.
Limits, however, are put into the body for a reason.
After several minutes of terrified fleeing deeper into the forest she finally felt her body succumb to the multiple injuries, unable to focus as she staggered, then fell onto the small bushes and plants. All Jessica could hear was the pounding and rushing of blood through her ears, eyes closing to try and focus. One thought dominated her mind, however.
She was free.
Free.
The warm feeling of tears rolled down her cheeks at this realisation, tears of relief, happiness. A week of torture, was it really all over? She gave a small happy laugh, mixed with the tears rolling down her cheeks as she slowly finally took in the fact she had escaped the unicorns. Every equine seemed to treat her like a...
Monster.
Jessica achingly sat up, looking at her filthy hands as she slowly clenched and unclenched her fingers. Her mocha-coloured skin covered in dirt, grime and things she didn't even wish to think about. Her hair felt sticky, and although she couldn't see it she knew it must look atrocious right now. Tugging at her cream sweater she looked at the small tears within, the makeshift sling created from one sleeve still supporting her left arm at least.
Her skirt, something she had indulged some savings on certainly had seen better days. The fabric was torn in at least two places showing more leg than originally designed and she wasn't sure even if she made it back home she could ever get it clean again. She was strangely thankful her bracelets were still on, and greatly thankful she had worn flats as opposed to heels when...
When it happened.
She furrowed her brow trying to remember what had brought her into this strange world, to find herself plummeting through the clouds. She had gone to the library and started studying, someone had then approached her but other than that it was like trying to look through thick fog. Her brain was simply refusing to recollect the information, but she was still able to get fleeting glimpses at ideas, thoughts, memories. She tried to focus on the image slowly replaying the events but all it caused was her right hand to rest fingers to her forehead, a pain creeping along her skull.
What a time to get a headache, she could only muse bitterly.
Having reduced her breathing from painful gasps into something resembling normality, she achingly got to her feet once more. She had to move, she knew this. To stay would invite discovery. To be captured. Taunted. Jeered. Hurt...
No!
She clenched her right hand into a fist, her long nails almost biting into flesh before she released the tension. With resolve she took one step forward, then another. Gradually she began walking at a slow pace, mindful of her aching body and the new injuries her freedom had cost her. The place felt... more natural to her, attention shifting to the woodlands around her. Despite the oppressive nature of the canopy making the sun barely able to peek through she... felt strangely at ease.
She could now put a finger on what made her so uneasy a few days back, it was the world. The world had seemed tailored, structured... ordered. Not in a bad way, but in a very non-natural fashion nonetheless. As if everything were planned, but here it seemed normal. The clouds she could see up through the gaps in the trees moved with the patterns she was used to, the trees were randomly scattered, plants growing in a seemingly chaotic fashion. It was... natural, reassuring.
"Okay, now you're just being silly, Jessica." Her words were more for the benefit of hearing someone speak than for any other reason. The forest, while seeming more like one she was familiar with was actually starting to make her nervous. There were... sounds, that she couldn't place. The moments turned into an hour as she continued to slowly make her way along, hoping to find shelter or at the very least fresh water and hopefully food. Her stomach made its emptiness known as much as it rejoiced in the lack of whatever it was the unicorns were feeding her. Soberly she rested a hand to her belly, at least they had fed her... now she didn't know how she was going to get food, or even what she could eat within the forest.
A cracking twig made her head snap around with eyes wide in terror before a shape slipped just out of her view behind bushes. She paused and felt every fibre of her being beg her to run as adrenaline started its enticing flow into her body once more. Another crunch of undergrowth made her head look the other way, only to once more only catch the glimpse of something out the corner of her eye. Panic started to curl its cold fingers around her heart as her breathing grew more shallow only to have the brush snap directly behind her. With a jolt up her spine she slowly turned wishing to face her death at least face on only to have two glowing blue eyes gaze back up towards her.
"Y-You?" Jessica looked down at the insectile equine as it regarded her with what she presumed to be curiosity. She gave a little terrified squeak from deep in her throat remembering what this creature had just done previously, the giant monster it had become. The rational part of her mind, fighting against lethargy over the captive week pointed out that it had also freed her from the cage. The creature didn't move, simply looking up at her with a slight tilt of its head, the tattered ear-like shapes flattening as if showing its curiosity.
Jessica hesitantly moved a hand down towards it, aware of the power this creature possessed despite it reaching just past her waist. The chitin covered equine gave a look at her fingers before realising what she was attempting to do and pushed its head against her hand. She ran her fingers gently over its head and down the small frill upon its back, her fear slowly reducing as she realised it had saved her and seemingly meant no further harm.
What's this feeling?
She blinked as the strange tugging sensation started again as she stroked its head, hearing its wings buzzing. It seemed to be, savouring something as its eyes closed which in turn put her more at ease. The very weird, but not completely unpleasant feeling continued as the creature pushed its head to her hand and then took a step back to break the contact. Jessica looked confused as she gazed at her hand, gently clenching and opening her fingers as the feeling faded away. The black chitin creature unexpectedly gave a small smile up towards her making her return one of her own in reply realising what the feeling was.
She was happy, or at the very least feeling gratitude directed towards the insectile thing. With a small frown she shook her head, not a thing. She was through being treated like a thing and wouldn't treat others as one. It looked so different from the female and male equines she had seen, but at the same time it did almost have a feminine shape to it. Maybe she was imagining it but she couldn't continue to refer to the creature that saved her as 'it'. With a thoughtful look upon her face she considered for several seconds before a word passed her lips.
"Ebony." The creature looked up at the sound of her voice before tilting its head signalling it didn't understand, or at least Jessica interpreted the action as such. She knew it couldn't understand her, but now she had a name at least to refer to it... to... her?
"Ebony." Jessica repeated with confidence in her voice, perhaps for the first time since she arrived. Ebony shook its head as if dismissing whatever it had been thinking before it trotted past her upon its hole-covered legs. When Jessica failed to follow it turned its head to regard her before making a quick jerk of its head, she then understood what it desired.
Falling into step behind Ebony the two made their way slowly deeper into the forest, the equine creature keeping its pace slow so she could slowly walk after, her body still protesting the activity. The insectile equine paused several times during their trek, each time it would raise its head slightly and a green glow would encompass its horn. After every instance of this Ebony would veer off in a seemingly random direction, pausing just long enough for Jessica to follow at her reduced pace.
She was baffled by this until in her mental exhaustion she had failed to notice one such direction change, and stumbled forward only to be pulled back at the last second by two fangs digging into her ruined sweater. Eyes wide with fear at what she saw she gently bit on a knuckle to stop herself screaming, slowly backtracking and following Ebony as cold sweat beaded on her skin.
Only once they were far enough away did she feel the terror start to ebb, but she couldn't purge the image of what she had seen.
T-That can't have been real, w-was that a Hydra?
She followed Ebony completely obediently after this point throughout the day, her nerves completely shattered. Eventually the already small amount of light was beginning to decrease as the sun started to set. This presented a new problem as she held her injured arm gently to her chest, shelter. Strange noises that before seemed merely odd were now given a malicious and sinister air about them, the memory of the barely avoided hydra fresh in her mind.
Ebony turned its head to regard Jessica curiously and seemingly took in her body language. With a small sigh it looked about with its luminous blue eyes taking in their surroundings before trotting towards a small cave. Disappearing within, it returned a few seconds later, walking past Jessica to bend down and tug several large leaves from a bush. After Ebony was satisfied it trotted back into the entrance with a tilt of its head indicating for her to follow. Still mindful of what happened earlier when she had accidentally strayed from Ebony's directions she followed almost robotically, having to bend slightly to enter into the low opening.
A small blanket of leaves had been scattered over the dirty ground to offer some comfort, the insectile equine already laid down in a posture of rest with its head resting upon hooves. Jessica gently moved beside and sat with her back to the surprisingly smooth wall, the cave itself rather shallow but providing enough cover from the elements. Ebony continued to gaze at the entrance before turning its head to regard Jessica with a small nod, in reply she gave a small tired smile and complied with the unspoken reassurance. Her body needed little coaxing to shut down, eyelids drooping as sleep claimed her despite her aches.
~~~~~~~
Jessica chewed upon the end of her pen, a bad habit she never had really gotten rid of since she was a little girl. Her earphones were isolating herself from the outside world, giving her music of which to study with. Didn't help that this problem literally made no sense, she mused.
She was on the sixth floor of the library cramming for the upcoming exams when she had stumbled across a book that had pulled her attention immediately. Why it had been in the psychology section was beyond her given its subject matter, or lack thereof. Someone must have gotten lazy and stuffed it there instead of putting it back properly she deduced as she toyed with her loose curls. Closing the book with her other hand to observe the title once more; A picture of a unicorn under what appeared to be ancient runes. The unicorn itself made her give a small giggle, the wizard hat, long flowing cape and the beard upon its muzzle was a nice touch if a little cartoony.
She had no problem with the pictures in the book, they were either pictures of random herbs and plants she had never seen before or runes and symbols that wouldn't look out of place in a magic book, at least she could understand them. She quickly flicked back to the page bookmarked with one of her sticky notes to look once more at the problem. It seemed to be some form of equation, or she deduced it was. She couldn't read any of the characters but the symbols seemed to repeat and she could make out what she assumed were plus, minus, division and equals. A small bemused smile came to Jessica's lips, they looked close enough at least.
For some reason she felt drawn to this page, she had already been looking at it for twenty minutes and the scrap piece of paper covered in attempts to decipher were testament to this. The doodles in the corner of a rabbit gnawing on a pocket watch was simply icing on the cake she decided. Doodling and sketching, another habit she had carried with her from childhood but one she never really pursued any further than a casual hobby. Still, it made the page look somewhat productive other than the multiple crossed-out equations.
A frown came to her face; why was she wasting so much time on this book? She really needed to be studying, it was the whole point of her coming up here afterall. Closing the book she pushed the large tome aside and continued flicking through her reading materials. An hour later after a stretch and a glass of water she returned but found her gaze falling back onto the strange tome. Seating herself she tugged the book over and reopened, once more finding the pages turned to the same equation as previously. Her eyes scanned the page, hunting for any clue, any fragment of code she might have missed.
Equations were scribbled and crossed out as she continued to try and solve the mystery. A long nail tapped upon the desk while she mulled over a few of the symbols before she decided to write the equation out in full as it was put into the book. It might inspire her, stranger things had happened she reasoned.
The first few attempts were for lack of a better word, abysmal. Attempt eleven held promise. Attempt twenty-seven added to the scrunched up balls of paper now lining the basket, a depressing number having made their way into the rubbish bin. Attempt twenty-eight went into the bin with no rim, go her!
On attempt thirty-one, just when she was about to call it a night she looked down at the paper and realised she had copied the equation. It wasn't perfect, but well it looked about as close as she was going to get it. It was then she heard footsteps approaching her from behind, turning to look who it was Jessica felt a hand fall upon her shoulder...
Only to be pushed out the window with no warning, the glass exploding outwards as her mouth parted in a frozen scream. Tumbling through the air she spied the concrete approaching, people looking up with shock on their faces and then...
"Aaaaah!" Jessica's eyes snapped open as she abruptly woke up from the nightmare. Slowly her breathing came under control as she found herself staring into glowing blue eyes, one brow raised in a patient yet visibly confused expression.
"Ah!" She jumped back and banged her head upon the cave wall behind her, wincing as she rested her good hand to the now-throbbing pain. The events caught up to her as the nightmare released her mind from its cruel grip. She was in a cave, check. She had escaped the horrible and cruel equines yesterday, check. She had run into a dark forest with an insectile equine who had saved her and apparently could change into a giant lion thingie, check. She was now in the cave with said creature which she had nicknamed Ebony, check.
Ebony was looking at her with a very deadpan expression right now, oh... check.
Jessica gave the other occupant of the cave a small apologetic smile as Ebony in turn exhaled and gestured with one of its hole-covered hooves in a forget-about-it gesture, at least Jessica assumed as such. She also became aware of something else, primarily the sound of heavy rain impacting upon the ground just outside the cave entrance. Upon seeing her awake Ebony stretched its limbs, limbs that Jessica was still kind of grossed out by given the holes were a little unsettling. She frowned and exhaled softly, compared to everything else though at least Ebony had shown her more kindness than anything else in this world so far.
The chitin-covered equine, unaware of Jessica's thoughts trotted out into the rain which washed away the dirt and grime covering its carapace. With a gesture of its head it indicated Jessica do the same as it wrinkled its nose almost in a playful manner. The girl could only exhale at the indication she stunk, she knew she did.
"Fine..." Her voice a tolerant grumble as she made her way out of the cave to feel the cold touch of the rain upon her skin. Holding an arm around herself she felt her clothing become weighed down with the water, on the upside her hair and face were washed clean of a good portion of the grime and dirt. She held her good arm out, a smile coming to her face watching the filth drip from her skin before gripping her sweater and giving it a half-hearted wringing out, her skirt receiving similar treatment after. The cold rain continued to fall over her body until with a small jolt a sneeze erupted from her mouth.
Ebony looked up towards her then bent down to pick up a few pieces of wood that had escaped the downpour so far. Heading back inside the small cave it dropped them down as Jessica followed curiously only to jerk in shock as it lowered its head to touch the tip of its horn to the wood. A green spark flared along the tip slowly smouldering where it contacted, then with a bright crackle of flame the wood was alight. Ebony lay down beside the fire, gesturing with its head for Jessica to do the same who quickly complied.
"Thank you." Ebony tilted its head at the words, but the gratitude in her tone was seemingly enough to convey her message as Ebony merely gave a small nod and closed its eyes. Jessica relaxed as well, her green eyes watching the flames dance over the wood, feeling the warmth slowly dry her off. She watched as the smoke slowly rose to the cave roof prior to flowing out the entrance to filter into the sky, watching the patterns and shapes form in the smoke while her mind slipped back to the nightmare she previously had. The details were starting to slip from her mind but she remembered the book, the equation... that was what she had been doing on the day, wasn't it?
But... the window, and falling – she didn't recall any of that at all... nor the person who entered. With a little groan of annoyance she dug fingers into her damp hair while leaning back to the wall. Why was it so hard to remember what happened? Ebony peeked open one eye before giving a small snort and lowering its head again as Jessica sighed and lowered her hand back to her lap. The rain provided an easy distraction, she had always loved it. The sound, the smell upon asphalt or upon the concrete, the sensation of it upon her skin. Like an old friend it provided her comfort after her harrowing few days as she gave a small smile and relaxed once more.
Both the insect-like equine and the girl drifted off to the sound of the rain and the warmth of the small fire.
~~~~~~~
I wonder if anyone misses me yet?
Jessica had woken early to the sight of Ebony patiently waiting for her to awaken, the fire having burnt itself out in the night. Upon blinking the sleep from her eyes she became aware of two objects upon her lap, what she saw made her belly growl in need. Two of the most perfect apples she had ever seen in her life rested upon her skirt. Almost afraid they would vanish if she touched them she looked towards Ebony who gave a small nod of its head. The all too familiar feeling of tears leaking down her face made her sniffle softly, but a smile easily came to her lips as Ebony looked up in seeming alarm with one of its tattered ear like shapes askew.
Jessica reached down and gently gripped an apple with her right hand, still not ready to believe it was real until it reached her mouth. Her lips parted and her teeth bit into the surprisingly juicy flesh of the fruit. Her eyes closed in delight as the tastes flooded over her tongue, chewing and swallowing as she bit into the apple once more. Over a week ago she would have cared about how she was perceived, she was always proud of her looks and was always a stickler for good manners, something her mother had reinforced into her up until she died two years ago.
Right now Jessica decided, she could have been eating the apple completely naked in the centre of town and she wouldn't have cared. Each mouthful was a salve to the horrible things she had been forced to eat while in captivity. She was almost ready to eat the core before she stopped herself with a shy blush. Gazing towards Ebony she was surprised to hear a soft sound from her fellow ex-captive. Her eyes blinked upon realising Ebony was laughing softly, a small blush found its way across Jessica's cheeks as the sound continued. Finally remembering her manners she offered the second apple down towards Ebony, figuring out it was the chitin covered pony who had retrieved them. Ebony simply shook its head at the offered second apple while still emitting that strange but soothing laughter.
Jessica offered it once more, very mindful of the fact that she had never seen Ebony eat since she was captured by Stache and Non-Stache several days ago. Ebony just nosed the apple back towards her and turned, heading outside causing Jessica to follow. Biting into the apple so she could use her good arm to steady herself she made her way outside into the noticeably dark forest, the events of yesterday never giving her a chance to appreciate just how little light spilled through the canopy.
Her eyes watched the low amount of light play over the black surface of her companion as they slowly walked from their makeshift shelter, her mind once more wondering if it wasn't starvation that had almost caused Ebony to die then what was it? Why after she had touched the strange equine did it suddenly regain its strength?
Gripping the apple with her right hand she bit into the succulent flesh once more and savoured the second apple. She knew the other animals had eaten, but Ebony never had. With a small shrug which earned her a wince and sharp intake of breath not to mention several internal insults at her own intelligence, she decided to drop the matter. Her mind once more going back to the apple in her hand as she smiled and took another bite, giving a girlish little high pitched sound of delight.
Best. Apple. Ever!
Her mood however instantly lowered upon remembering the thought she had upon waking. She had never known her dad and from what her mother had said he had skipped out on them when she was young. She held no anger or grudge against him, at the time she had her mother and that's all she needed. Two years ago however her mother had passed away in an accident, despite the time she still felt a little surge of pain remembering. Shaking her head however she took another bite of her apple, the pain was minor compared to how it once was as she had accepted the loss long ago. Her mother had been from the Philippines, her father was apparently from India, New Zealand, or if her mother had been in a particularly bad mood he had been from the backside of a bull. It had gone some way to explaining her looks, not that she would like to see how she looked right now however as she assumed she looked more like the third option currently.
Another crunching bite of apple before she tasted the wonderful juices upon her tongue once more. Continuing to follow Ebony she looked up at the canopy as she continued her train of thought, it helped to think of home. Something to remember. Something to strive towards returning too.
She had no-one after her mother had passed away, but she was still at University and still had her friends. Other than them, though, she doubted anyone would miss her, especially her ex-boyfriends. The last thought brought a small laugh at the pure randomness of it as she discarded the apple core into a nearby bush, wiping her fingers on her skirt reasoning it wouldn't really make any significant difference to her appearance.
I hope they're okay...
Pulled from her thoughts as Ebony found a path she noticed the tracks in the soil and trodden plants causing a chill to run down her spine. Hoof prints, like the ones the brothers left behind. Equines used this trail, she surmised, an opinion shared by Ebony who started to head towards the trees on the other side as Jessica followed. It was so close, yet they both never made it across.
A loud wailing scream filled the forest as the sounds of impacting hooves on the dirt caused both Ebony and Jessica to freeze in their tracks and look towards the source. Jessica expected to see a horde of ponies charging towards her intent to lock her back up, to whip and mistreat her, her mental imagery doing far worse to her than the sound alone ever could. She certainly did not expect to see a small little filly-like equine running as fast as her legs could take her while a monster straight out of Greek myth chased after the terrified pony. The young filly screamed in what Jessica had come to surmise was the local language as tears streamed from her yellow eyes. Her light purple body was pushing itself as hard as she could make it while her blonde tail and mane trailed behind.
The chimera was just behind, its lion head snapping at the tail of the filly while the goat and dragon heads were more getting in each others way than making any close attempts at shortening the young equine's life expectancy. Jessica paused as Ebony turned to make its way back into the forest to avoid the three-headed beast, her own body starting to move to follow before another wailing cry tugged at her heartstrings. She turned to look at the approaching young filly, seeing the small horn upon its head making her legs leaden with fear. A unicorn, just like the brothers.
I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do...
She turned to push into the foliage, to follow Ebony when another wail and a loud snarl caused her to grit her teeth. The small equine was almost upon them now, the chimera snapping with all three heads as its large claws tore into the dirt as its pace increased. The yellow fear-filled eyes suddenly saw her, tears matting the light purple fur as her speed faltered seeing Jessica.
The momentary distraction was all the beast required as the dragon head pushed the other two heads aside and lashed down with its longer neck. There was a loud scream of pain accompanied shortly after by a loud crunch that echoed into the canopy. When the draconic head raised itself upright and swallowed its mouthful Jessica staggered to catch her breath, tears running down her cheeks. Her chest rose and fell with deep staggered breaths as pain lanced through her entire side, now on the other side of the dirt path struggling to stay conscious.
A bitter thought crept into her mind as she watched the chimera savour its meal while she felt a warm sensation trickle down her left arm, fighting to stave off the frustratingly all too common pain.
This place just really freaking hates my shoulder.
In her right arm clutched tightly to her body was a small hyperventilating filly, her eyes wide in unbridled terror as she watched the chimera suddenly realise the only thing it had swallowed was a good portion of the dirt path. Jessica winced as she pushed off from the tree leaving a smear of blood upon the bark, the scream and crunch had been all her while she ruefully recounted the last few seconds. Her body had acted on its own, her tortured legs pushing her along the path to scoop up the filly and jump with all her might. Unfortunately the tree had not been at all impressed by her selfless act and decided to attack her shoulder unprovoked when her momentum threw her into it. Her pain-addled mind made a mental note to bring untold vengeance upon this tree at a later date.
The chimera quickly found where its meal had gone along with the strange creature that had denied it. With a bleat-accompanied roar it readied itself to attack when a burst of green fire exploded out of the opposite side of the road and impacted against the goat head. Staggering back the chimera looked at its assailant as Ebony reared its hind legs back and gave a powerful buck to the lion head next. Roaring in pain while trying to shield its now-tender nose with a paw the chimera's attention was solely focused upon the new arrival. Ebony cast a look at Jessica and gestured with its head back in the direction the filly went, Jessica replying with a firm shake of her head suddenly realising what her only companion was telling her to do.
The black chitin-covered equine gave a very firm glare in her direction and pointed with a forehoof back down the trail before kicking the draconic head as it too tried to take a chunk out of Ebony's haunch. Jessica sniffled before clutching the small filly closer to her chest as Ebony suddenly buzzed its wings and took off at a gallop, the chimera's attention now focused solely upon the retreating equine as Jessica pushed her protesting body down the dirt path.
Her heart ached at hearing the sounds retreat into the distance as Ebony lured the chimera away. She realised despite not being able to communicate with language, Ebony had been the first to treat her as if she were a sapient being. Pushing her legs faster, running purely on adrenaline now she felt each breath burn with exertion along with the added weight of the still very quiet and shocked filly held to her chest.
Please, please be alright!
She was never a religious girl, but she hoped whatever force watched over this world kept Ebony safe. Right now however she had other problems, her body couldn't keep up the pace, in fact it was downright rebelling openly now. It was a miracle she had gotten as far as she had with what little energy remained in her. Emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted she felt her run slow to a jog. The jog slowly degraded into a shambling, zombie-like gait and soon she was barely staggering. With great effort she saw light spilling into the forest from a large opening in the trees ahead, uncertainty eating at her resolve. Out in the light were the equines, threat of recapture and...
The filly stirred in her arm, looking up at her with wide fearful eyes before much to her shock offered a small shaking smile up towards her rescuer. Jessica blinked through the sweat that stung her eyes, that smile...
The small filly sniffed a few times, the terror being replaced with the need to vent, to let out her emotions. Jessica's indecision was cut away with each small sniffle and that small unsure smile offered towards her. She gave the small filly a gentle tug to her chest and staggered forward into the light wincing as her eyes adjusted. She stumbled forward, each footstep becoming harder.
She heard the small filly say something, her voice sounding concerned as Jessica bit back a cry of pain as the adrenalin left her system. Each step was taking every ounce of her determination to make, every placed footstep the combined effort of her tired muscles, burning lungs and fading consciousness.
"Not yet..."
She could make out a blurry object in the distance, her eyes blinking to try and focus through the sweat that stung and the darkness that approached from the edges. A house? It was civilization, at least, as she gave a small smile, whatever it was the small filly should be safe. The filly gave a small cry of distress, Jessica could only assume at her condition as she felt her knees give out under her. Falling forward she shielded the filly from the fall by falling onto her left side earning a strangled scream from her mouth.
Oh, now I'm the one attacking my own shoulder, touché world... touché.
She released the light purple equine onto her hooves as her thoughts returned to home, but also once more fretting over Ebony back in the forest.
Please let Ebony be safe...
Her eyes started to close as she saw the small filly lower its head to look at her with concern before speaking in its strange language. She barely had time to admit how cute it was that the small pony seemed concerned about her when all strength left her body.
The last thing she saw before once more falling to unconciousness was the filly turn to shout urgently to something out of her field of vision and then an all too familiar darkness claimed her.