//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Lost and Found (Edited) // Story: Ink // by Cyanjames2819 //------------------------------// It is the twenty first century, everything's getting smaller and thinner by the year; iPods, Cell phones, Computers and every other electrical devices, both handheld and not. Most of the forests around the world are beginning to disappear; factories and power plants are heating up the atmosphere faster than the planet could naturally. Those should be the last thing I should be caring about since I live in a barren, cold, treeless land, the Arctic. I live at the tip of Baffin Island, Pond Inlet. Not a very big town, just only two thousand residences, give or take a few. The main people that live here are Inuit, people of the Arctic. They still hunt, go out camping on the land and make traditional clothing like the Amautik, a woman's parka. But they use guns to hunt; use modern camping materials and most clothing they make are now made from fabric sent up north from the south. But even with all that, they still keep the tradition going. I don’t mind partaking with the traditional activities but I lean on more to the modern day. Every Inuit in town aren't pure Inuit, all half northern and southern blood, or the Qallunaat, which means big eyebrow and belly. Not my fault it became that way when the first whalers and Europeans had big bellies and eyebrows when Inuit's saw them. At least that's what I heard. To everyone, they see me as the helpful, kind, smart, caring, quiet, sometimes daring person and the savior. My friends see me as the artist, game loving, somewhat weird, a leader at times, brains and a good friend. But the thing they all know about me is that I'm almost always alone. I hate it, I'm getting tired of being alone, but I'm also getting used to it, so I hate it even more. I can try and ask but most of my friends are either too busy, have other things to do, they got girlfriends to tend to and I don't want to disturb them. My life is bittersweet in so many ways. So I got myself a job, substituting my old teachers and assisting them in both High school and Elementary school. I passed my free time at home drawing, reading, playing my fiddle, watching movies, listening to music, writing short stories and so on… Most of all, I write on my journal to keep track of my life. I have two reasons why I'm doing this; one, my memory is not that good anymore, and second, I live in fear of losing all of my memory. So yeah, I’m a lonely, paranoid young adult whom has a part time job at the old school buildings. Today is summer; the weather is warm, the open sky is blue and the sun stays up twenty four seven. Yup, you heard me, twenty four hours a day and seven days a week for two whole freaking months. So most people stay out to spend the summer staying awake to stock up on traditional food like Arctic Char (The best tasting fish ever to swim the frozen Ocean, Hands Down!) and picking both Black and Crow berries, or blue berries as most people call ‘em here or other greenery. Even with all these great things, I’m not too fond of the summer, it's too warm and especially too bright for my eyes. I get migraine and headaches if I'm in a bright room or outside without my sun glasses for too long. But I love winters, it's cold, dark for four and a half months and the snow, just love ‘em. As I walk on the sandy shore of my town, I grabbed my pocket watch I bought from down south and looked at the time. Having a watch is probably the only way to tell time around here now. If you don't know what the time is, you are either late for work or you're way too early for work. I looked up hearing a sea gull above me and smiled, "Hey there!" I greeted the bird and it flew off. ‘This place might be a pain in the summer, but it's my home’ I thought to myself while I continued to stroll towards Salmon Creek with my thoughts to watch my friends and other people partake in a Fishing Derby. I got back to my home after the walk. It was in the middle of the town, only one floor, off the ground on thick metal stilts like all the other houses in the arctic to prevent the frozen ground from melting and making a sink hole. I got in, took off my shoes and started walking to my room, "Good afternoon, dear." I heard my mother while she read a small book from the living room couch. "Good day." I replied as I continued on to my room. I opened my door, got in and closed it. My room was dimmed by covering my window with a thick fabric. I got to my bed and just lay down with a sigh, "I need to get out of town." I said to myself as I stared up at the ceiling in thought. So the next day, I grabbed my backpack, put in a first aid kit just in case, a swiss army knife my friend gave me in Christmas, extra clothing just in case I get wet and other things you need just in case you get lost. I doubt you can get lost out here but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. My friend lost his fifteen year old little brother to the harsh elements of the arctic and I’m not making the mistake of not being prepared. After that I put on my statson hat I bought in one of my trips from down south, sweat shirt, my broad sunglasses, loose navy blue pants, grey sport socks and climbing shoes. I knew what I was doing and knew what to expect on this land. I lastly grabbed my full water bottle and slid it on the side to its little pouch. Just as I about to go out I stopped, I had a feeling I needed taking my journal along. So I looked for it in my desk and threw it in my backpack, "Don't know why, but what the heck. Might find a new place to map out and explore." I said to myself with a small smile, while putting my backpack back on. I told my mother I would be out for at least a day. I unchained my bike beside the steps, got on and started going on my little adventure. There were three ways on going out of town in the summer but for the winter, if you have a snowmobile anyway, any which way is the way out. So I took the route that goes by the small airport and leads to the town Water Lake. Just a mile and a half of bike ride, nothing too crazy or tiring. I don't know how or why, but when I passed the broken down giant Inuksuk and went downhill, everything around me morphed, twisted and a rainbow of colors surrounded me like I was high on some bad weed or some unknown drug. One moment, I was in my cold, treeless dessert home, the next, I was surrounded by a lush green forest on a dirt path. I immediately braked, making a long drag mark on the path in my wake. I looked around and wondered if I was hallucinating. I rubbed my eyes for a couple of times, trying to figure out what in the world just happened. "Uhh…" I looked around. I grabbed my water bottle and thought I was somewhat dehydrated. So I drank half of the bottle and waited for a moment, nothing happened. "How the hell?" I put the bottle back on my pack and adjusted my glasses, "Wait… maybe…" I took them off. It was a little bright to say the least but nothing happened, "Okay, not that." I took my glasses back on and looked around a little more. I scratched my head and wondered, "Hm… Maybe if I bike far enough?" I said to myself in confusion. I started peddling and continued to look around to make sure nothing would jump at me. I went down the path for a good half hour, and I was sure I was very lost. I started to get a little tired so I looked ahead and saw a large boulder with an almost flat wall. I stopped in front of it, just a blank rock wall covered with moss and vines. I looked up the sky and it started to dim, I smiled, "Hm… near the equator I guess." I said to myself. I sighed and hopped off my bike. I propped it against the bolder and sat down beside it. After a moment, I started thinking what my parents and friends would think that I mysteriously vanished to another part of the world. The town would probably go on a manhunt to find me or get a good idea to what happened to my disappearance. After a year or two they’ll have a funeral and move on… probably I stood up and started looking around. I grabbed my army knife and grabbed a few fallen branches, twigs and cut off a long strait branch and snapped a vine. I got back to the boulder with my arms full and dropped the pile on the ground. I took off my backpack and took out a small match box. I also had a flint but match will go first. I put the small box in my mouth, dug a few inches into the ground, positioned the sticks and brushed aside some dead leaves and grabbed a few more leaves and sprinkled it to light up the wood. I piled the leaves inside the sticks and started to light one of the matches. I got a light in the first try and gently dropped it in the pile of leaves. The dried leaves started to burn and lit up the sticks. I looked through my backpack and took out an energy bar as a small bomb fire started to light up my surroundings with a yellow glow. After a few hours, everything and where I looked was dark. I was used to the dark back in my town but here, it’s creepy as hell. I tied my knife on the end of a long sturdy stick, just in case something dangerous comes around a corner. I just played around with the wrapper on my hands, having nothing else to do but to wait for the morning sun to rise. I looked up and saw the bright moon, but something about it was a little off for me, but I couldn't get my finger on it. "How in the world did I get here anyways?" I asked myself and looked back down. I grabbed a stick and shifted around the wood in the fire. During the night, I had a hard time sleeping, harder than trying to go to sleep with the twenty four hour sun. There were constant noises around me, growls, roars, chirps, squeals, and any other kind of sounds animals make. I had a restless night. When I woke up, I yawned and rubbed my eyes and quickly followed by a groan as my body felt sore from the hard ground. When I opened my eyes, I saw a yellow face, big teal eyes, long pink hair and ears at the top of its head. I just froze there, held my breath and hoped for dear God I was just dreaming. I blinked and then it followed right after. "Are you okay?" it asked in a soft voice. "Aaaah!" I yelled and started backing away, and it seemed surprised by my sudden scream as it hopped away with a little squeak. It then took a few steps back as I continued to crawl away. I stumbled up and got behind a tree, grabbing my hand made spear before I got up. I held onto my weapon tightly and took my breath, "This can't be happening, this can't happening, this can't be happening-" I repeated to myself with my eyes shut tight. I reopened them and wished I was back home. I slowly looked to the side of the tree and saw it had four legs, long pink hair and tail, canary yellow body, wings and three little butterflies on her bottom that looked like it was tattooed there or something like that. It got up on all fours, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." it said to me again in a soft, apologetic tone. I looked at it, dumbfounded by its appearance and its ability to talk. Its head only reached up to my hip by my guess. "W-what are you?" I asked, holding onto my spear tightly. "Oh, um… my name is Fluttershy." she introduced herself in a near whisper. "Ah… hi?" I said, still a little nervous of what to do next. "H-hi, it's nice to meet you… Um… if you don't mind me asking." she said shyly. "James." I said, still looking at her as I searched her body for any weapons. "Oh, nice to meet you, J-jay-mes." she tried to pronounce. ‘Where in the hell am I?’ I thought to myself I stared at her while she continued to pronounce my name in a silent whisper. "Um, ar-are you lost?" she suddenly asked as she noticed my stare, taking a step closer. "What is this place?" I asked, still hiding behind the tree, hoping I was still on earth. "You're in the Everfree forest." she answered as gestured around. "Ever-what?" my hopes started to melt away. "Everfree… near Ponyville in Equestria." she said to me. I took off my hat, dropped my spear and bashed my forehead on the tree, and in an instant, my world went dark. The last thing I heard was, "O-oh my." from the timid creature. When I woke back up, I was propped up against the bolder. Then I saw the same creature looking at me to my right. I groaned and accidentally hit my head on the rock wall, "Ow…" "You've been out for a while. Are you ok?" she asked in concern. "I'll be fine. I just give me a minute." I answered and covered my face with my hands. "Oh… um, where are you from? If you don't mind at least." she asked shyly and pawed at the ground. "Pond Inlet, Nunavut, in Canada, on planet Earth." I answered. I looked at her and she looked very confused, ‘Yup, I'm stuck.’ I thought to myself. I looked to my left and grabbed my backpack. I took out my water bottle and tried to drink the liquid in side, but was only met with a drop. "Great." I said and shook the open lid towards the ground. "Um, do you want to come with me to my home?" she asked. I looked at her, a little warily "Home? What do you mean?" I asked. "Um, you know, a home. A place to sleep and relax." she said as she lightly fluttered her wings. "I mean, is it a structure of some sort, a building?" I asked again. "Well, yes." she answered with a little nod. I sighed, "Sure, why not." I agreed as she fluttered her wings in excitement with a smile, "Better than sleeping on solid ground anyways." I said and stood up. I grabbed my spear and took out my knife and put in my pocket. I took on my backpack, wore my sunglasses and checked my bike for any damages. "Um… what's that?" she asked. "A mountain bike." I simply answered and checked the pressure on the tires. "How do you use it?" she asked again. "You use the peddles to turn the chains that spins the wheals at the back, and you use the gear shifter on the handlebars on how fast you want to go." I answered as finished checking my bike. I got back on and rode around to make sure everything worked as it should. I stopped beside her, "So which way?" I asked. I casually rode my bike and she followed by flying beside me. Then we both heard crashing in the woods and broke through onto the path from behind. We both looked back and saw something I thought was fake and mythical. "Manticore!" Fluttershy yelled. It roared and chased after us. I instantly started peddling faster and shifted the gear. Fluttershy started to tire so I slowed down, "Get over here!" I grabbed her right out of the air with a yelp, set her down on my handle bars and raced down the path. "Which way!?" I said. "Oh, um, left then right." she said. I got to the end, turned left and raced down, then turned right. There was a little swerve, and then I saw another splitting path, "Left." she said. I looked back and it looked like the creature started to tire. I turned left and saw a little town at the end of the path, filled with these colorful creatures all around. ‘Oh damn.’ I thought to myself and peddled harder. "Get to the Tree house, Twilight should help us." she pointed to a large tree with a few building parts, windows and a balcony. I peddled faster as I felt my legs started to burn. I swerved around a couple of these creatures, surprising them and reached the entrance of the tree house. Fluttershy hopped off and knocked on the door, "T-Twilight! Are you home!?" she said. I looked at back at the path and saw the creature charging towards the tree as the small creature dispersed with screams of terror. "Uh, Fluttershy, it's getting closer." I warned as I started to back up. Then everyone in town starting running around, screaming and panicking, either by me or the monster that's about to rampage through town; my money was on the big monster. Then the door finally opened and a short, purple, scaly figure looked up at Fluttershy, "Hey Fluttershy, what's… going… on?" the little reptilian creature said, looking at the crowd running around, screaming and looked up at me. "Hi Spike. Um, is Twilight home? A Manticore is going rampage into town." she said calmly. "Uh, yeah… Twilight! A Manticore is about to go through town and eat everypony!" he yelled. I looked back at the path and saw the thing charging towards me. "Oh no… Oh no-oh no-Oh No-OH NO!" I stumbled off my bike and started running away. It ran past Fluttershy and the Tree house as the creature set its target on me. I ran on the stone bridge, but then the creature leaped in front of me and tried to strike me with its scorpion tail. I dodged it with a short and a totally manly scream and jumped over the bridge and onto the small river. I got up in a panting and now wet mess and tried to walk myself over to the dry ground as the monster got on the river as well. I quickly got out and looked back. It jumped at me with a Lion roar and pinned me down with one of its large paws as the tips of its claws dug into my flesh. It forced air out of my lungs and looked at the creatures eyes, ‘This is it I guess. I'm stuck on an alien planet and I'm about to be torn into pieces by this monster everybody thought was just a myth… great adventure’ I thought to myself. I closed my eyes and prepared to be shredded by the creature. Then the thing just fell on top of me. I heard muffled voices, "Ah, help! Please!?" I muffled, being crushed by the creatures’ weight. I then tried forcing my way out and got my hand out. Then I felt a field of energy coursing through my free appendage and made my hand tingle. Then I was yanked out from under the creature and I gasped, breathing in deeply. I opened my eyes and saw different colored faces and hairs looking at me strangely and curiously. My nervousness meter just broke and I started to sweat bullets. Then I saw Fluttershy move into view, "A-are you okay?" she asked with a bit of worry in her tone. I looked at the crowd for a moment then slowly nodded, "Yeah… I almost got shredded and crushed… but yeah, I'm fine." I answered calmly. I knew freaking out would not help at all at this point, being surrounded by these beings and outnumbered. Then I saw a lavender face with a purple and pink hair, "You okay?" she asked as she leaned in curiously, examining my face like I was an interesting creature. "Ahh, yeah, I'm fine." I nodded once again, still on the ground and getting more nervous of being watched by the strange creatures. Some taking a step closer to either sniff me or pock my body.