Chapter 18
Camping
Isaac waited patiently for the other five mares to arrive outside his door. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were the first to arrive followed by Pinkie, Twilight and Fluttershy. The morning dew was starting to shine as the sun rose. “Everyone ready?” Isaac asked.
“Yup.” Pinkie said as the rest nodded.
“Okay Dash, since you know where we’re going then you lead the way.” Isaac said as he threw his bag on his back.
“Right.” She said as the ponies entered the woods. Dash was in front followed by Twilight who had a map. Applejack was behind Isaac and Fluttershy was bringing up the rear. The timid mare seemed to jump every time someone stepped on a twig. Isaac let out a sigh as they stopped for the eighth time.
“Okay everyone, hang on.” Isaac said as he stopped.
“What now?” Dash asked in an impatient tone. Isaac looked back towards Fluttershy who was struggling to keep up. “Ugh! Come on! It’s gonna take us forever to get there.” Dash complained. Isaac removed his bag and walked down towards the mare.
“I-I’m sorry Isaac.” Fluttershy said as she hung her head. Isaac put a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s okay. We’ll get there.” The man then noticed the mare rubbing her shoulders as she bit her lip. “Is your pack too heavy?” He asked.
“N-no. I can mange. I-” Before she could react the human grabbed her pack and strapped it to his own. “Y-you don’t have to do that Isaac. You’ll hurt yourself!”
“I’ll be fine.” Isaac said with a smile. “How much farther Dash?”
“It’ll take us another two days to get there, but there’s a rest stop just up ahead where we can camp for the night.”
“You sure?”
“Eeyup. Dash, Rarity and I took the CMC up there a few months ago.” Applejack said with a smile.
“Good, then let’s get going.” Isaac said as he continued forward. As the day went on it only got hotter and more humid. Isaac was carrying the most weight and kept the best pace. The group stopped as they came to an opening in a field. There were three logs around a stone fire ring.
“This is it.” Applejack said with a smile.
“Good then let’s unpack.” Isaac said as he threw his bag down and cracked his back. The yellow mare took her bag from the man and had a guilty look on her face. “Fluttershy I’m fine. I’ve carried heavier things than your backpack.”
“I just feel bad.” Applejack came over and lifted the bag with one arm. She looked at the yellow Pegasus in shock.
“What do ya got in here Shy? This thing is lighter than air.” She said as she set it back down. “Where’s your tent?”
“I....um....don’t have one.” She said in a timid tone.
“What?” The group said in unison.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Dash asked.
“I was afraid to.” The cyan mare then face palmed. Isaac let out a sigh and looked at the other four mares.
“Can she bunk with one of you?”
“Sorry, I’m bunking with Pinkie.” Twilight said.
“Dash and I could probably-” Isaac was cut off as the cyan mare held up her hand.
“I’m bunking with AJ.” She said in an almost angry tone.
“Okay then?” Isaac said as he cocked an eyebrow. “My tent holds two. So you’ll be bunk with me.” The yellow mare’s face turned red.
“A-are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother.” She said in a timid tone.
“It’s fine. It’s only for a few nights.” He said as he started to set up the tent. When they were done Isaac had stashed his and Fluttershy’s bags inside the tent. “Okay now that thats out of the way we need to get cracking. Twilight, I want you and Dash to go find some sticks for the fire.”
“On it.”
“AJ, Pinkie. I need you two to look at our food supply and be ready to start cooking once the fire is made.”
“Okie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie said with a salute.
“What about you then hot shot?” Dash asked.
“Shy and I are going to go find some water and purify it.” He said as he held up a bag. “Oh before I forget.” He said as he went over to his bag and pulled out five knives. “Take these.”
“Why?” Dash asked.
“Better to have one and not need it then to need it and not have one.” He said as he withdrew his own knife. Unlike the one the mare’s had seen this knife was a bit more worn and had a sleek black leather sheath. The blade had a few nicks in it and was a bit rusted on the edge. “If it needs sharpening then just come and see me.” He said as he and the yellow mare walked away from the campsite towards the sound of running water.
As the two made their way deeper into the thicket Isaac heard the sounds of the rushing water getting louder. Once they got to the stream the human filled the odd bag with some water and the two started to make their way back to camp. He saw that Dash and Twilight had returned with the fire wood.
“Hey Twi can you light this?” Dash asked.
“Sorry, I don’t know any fire magic.” She said with a shrug.
“Relax, I got this.” Isaac said as he went over to his pack and withdrew a box of matches. He lit the kindling and the fire was started. Soon the farmer and the pastry chef started to cook. “So how did the inventory go?”
“By my count, we got plenty of food till we get there plus the return trip.” The farmer said with a smile.
“Excellent.” Isaac said with a grin. The orange mare then opened the pot to see the stew peaking.
“Soups on everypony.” Applejack hollered. The group then sat around the fire place and started to eat. As the sky grew darker and the fire seemed to get brighter the ponies started to tell stories. Fluttershy gulped and grabbed Isaac’s arm as Dash finished her story about the Headless Pony.
“And they were never heard from again.” She said in a creepy tone. The ponies gulped as Dash made a spooky laugh. Fluttershy instantly ducked behind the log and started to shake.
“Not bad Dash.” Isaac said with a grin.
“Think you could do better?” She asked in a cocky tone.
“I’m not one to boast but....yes.”
“Prove it!” She yelled.
“Okay, this is the story of Slenderman.” As Isaac told his tale the mare’s all leaned in closer. The man could see the worried looks on the mare’s faces as he came to the climax. “So if you ever feel a shiver run down your spine. Chances are that he’s creeping up behind you....watching, waiting for the opportune moment.” A leaf from the over head tree drifted down from the branch and touched the cyan mare’s shoulder.
“AH SLENDER MAN!” She yelled as she jumped twenty feet in the air. Fluttershy screamed as well. Applejack and Pinkie started to laugh while Twilight tried to contain her composure.
“You okay Dashie?” Pinkie said through the giggles.
“I-I’m fine. The leaf just surprised me!” She stammered.
“It’s okay to be scared by something like that Dash. Hell, I couldn’t sleep for days after I heard that story.” Isaac said with a yawn. “Well, it’s getting late and we have a full day of hiking to do tomorrow. Good night.” He said as he walked over to his tent with a trembling Fluttershy in hot pursuit. Twilight and Applejack stomped out the fire before heading to their tents.
Inside the human’s tent, Isaac had removed his shirt and slipped into his sleeping bag. As the man tried to fall asleep he felt the yellow mare shaking.
“You okay Fluttershy?” He asked.
“I-I was just wondering. Is that story....true?” She asked in a timid tone.
“Doubtful and if it does exist then it would live in MY world.” He said with a smile.
“S-sorry for troubling you.” She said in a low tone. Isaac sat up and looked at her.
“Look Shy, it’s perfectly natural to be scared of things. I’m scared of things too.” He said in a reassuring tone. The mare still had a sad look on her face. “Look if you’re ever scared just call out my name and I’ll be there.” He said with a smile.
“Promise?” she asked.
“Promise.” He said with a smile. The mare felt a wave of relief wash over her as she laid back down to sleep beside the man.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Isaac woke up to find himself in a pitch black forest completely alone with nothing but the small fire burning brightly in front of him. Isaac clutched the hunting knife in his hand waiting and listening. He looked passed the fire and saw a pair of yellow eyes staring at him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The man’s eyes snapped open from the dream and felt something against his chest. He looked down to see that the yellow mare had rested her head on his chest. The top of her light pink hair was just below his chin. Isaac attempted to move his right arm but felt that it was caught between something. The man slowly adjusted his head and saw that his arm was elbow deep between the mare’s breasts.
Isaac blushed in realizing that Fluttershy was significantly more developed then her friends. The man gulped and slowly slid his arm out from between the two soft breasts. The man gently rolled the yellow mare off his body and threw a shirt on before walking outside the tent. He grabbed his compound bow and his quiver and made his way away from the camp.
He stood in front of a standing tree and aimed for the center. He drew the arrow back and released it. The arrow went to the far right and missed the target.
“Damn it.” He said as he shot another. The arrow went too far to the left and missed. The man groaned and withdrew a third arrow. The man took a deep breath and concentrated. He focused and felt something inside of him burn. As he released the arrow he saw it fly through the air. As it his it’s target he saw the arrow pass through the tree and land in the rock behind it. The arrow was stuck in the rock causing a massive crack in the hard surface. “What was that?” He asked as he looked down at the bow.
The man heard something to his right as he drew another arrow. Isaac turned to face a deer. It was a doe. Isaac looked at the timid animal with his arrow drawn. The man’s hand holding the arrow was shaking as he frowned. The deer didn’t move an inch. The human squinted his eyes trying to remain focused. The man grunted and dropped the weapon. Isaac fell to his knees and cursed himself under his breath. The deer cocked it’s head to the side in confusion.
“Just....go.” He said as he looked at the deer. The animal backed away and ran off in the other direction. The man closed his eyes and remembered a conversation he had a long time ago.
You’re too soft.
I didn’t see the point in killing it.
Whatever, you’ll never make it as a soldier if you hesitate like that. Otherwise it’ll cost you your life.
It was defenseless!
Looks like I was right, you’re nothing like-
“Isaac?” The man opened his eyes to see Fluttershy staring at him from afar. “Is everything okay?”
“Y-yeah, I’m fine.” He said as he stood up and picked up his bow.
“What were you doing?” She asked in a timid tone.
“Practicing.” He said in a flat tone. The yellow mare then saw the doe looking at them before running away. “Are the others up?” He asked as he retrieved his arrows.
“Y-yes, Applejack is cooking breakfast right now.” She said with a gulp.
“Good we’ll need our strength for the walk ahead.” He said as he and the mare made their way back to camp. The man had his weapon over his shoulder and the quiver in his hand. He saw the orange mare over the fire cooking while the other mares broke down their tents. Isaac packed up his things and started to disassemble the tent. Once he was done he joined the mares in their meal.
“How’d you sleep Isaac?” Twilight asked.
“Good, you?”
“Just fine.” She said with a smile.
“Good, we’ll need the energy.” Dash said with a smile.
“How long a walk is it to the next checkpoint?”
“I’d say five miles.” She said with a shrug. Isaac walked over and scooped some of the oatmeal into a bowl.
“Not too bad. After we’re done here we should be able to reach it by late afternoon.” He said as he took a bite from his meal. After the dishes were done and the group was packed up they continued through the forest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seven hours earlier.
Back in the town of Ponyville a jet black Unicorn stallion with a vibrant red mane made his way through town with a large over coat on. It was almost three o’clock as he approached Carousel Boutique and made his way inside to see a purple dragon stacking boxes of fabric.
“Can I help you?” Spike asked.
“Yes, I’m looking for a Ms. Rarity Belle.” Skull said with a smile.
“Rarity, some stallion wants to talk to you.” Spike said as he called up the stairs.
“Coming~” She said in a sing song voice. The stallion looked up to see the white unicorn mare with a wavy purple mane and donning a white dress. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique. How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for an odd creature and sources say you might know where he is.” He said as he withdrew the paper with Isaac’s picture on it.
“Yes, I know him.”
“Do you know where he is?” The stallion asked. Rarity looked at the stallion and got an odd vibe from him.
“No, he’s out of town on business.” She said with a shrug.
“Do you know when he’ll be back?” He asked.
“No.” She said in a flat tone.
“I see. Sorry for troubling you.” He said as he turned and left the establishment. The dark stallion made his way through the small town grumbling to himself. He heard three fillies talking amongst themselves.
“Why can’t we go see Isaac again?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“He’s camping with Dash, Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy.” Applebloom said in a flat tone.
“Where are they going?” Scootaloo asked.
“They were heading up to that rainbow waterfall they took us to a few months back.” The farmer said. The stallion’s ears perked up at the words. He then approached the fillies with a smile on his face.
“Excuse me, did you say rainbow waterfall?” He asked.
“Sure did. Why?”
“Well, I’m a traveler and I’m on the look out for beautiful landmarks.” He lied. “Do you know where it is?”
“Sure do ah got a map to it back at the farm.” Applebloom said with a smile.
“Can I see it?”
“Sure, I know ah’d hate to get lost in a place like that.” The farmer said with a grin. The large stallion followed the three fillies to the farmhouse where the farmer dug out a map. “This her is the most direct route and will take you three days to get there.”
“I see. Sounds like quite the trek.” Skull said in surprise.
“It is so worth it though!” Sweetie said with a smile. “It is so beautiful.”
“Do you mind if I copy this map?”
“Sure.” The farmer said with a smile. The stallion’s horn glowed and a duplicate of the map was made in his hands. He handed the original back to the fillies and smiled.
“Thank you very much. You three have been a huge help.” He said in a kind hearted voice. The stranger then got to his feet and walked out the door.
“No problem mister. If you see Isaac or the others tell them we said hi.” Scootaloo said as she waved goodbye to the stallion.
“Oh trust me, I will.” He said keeping his eyes front and his evil smirk hidden from the fillies. The stallion quickly made his way into the forest and pulled out a spell book filled with odd symbols. He put the book on the ground and placed his palm on top of one of the seals. The circle started to glow and a black puff of smoke came out. Through the smoke a pair of bright red eyes stared at him. “He’s traveling with five mares, don’t let them see you.” The beast roared and charged down the path after the group. “Time to see if this human is either prey or hunter.” He said with excitement in his voice.