//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Out of the Forest // Story: The Exiled One // by joe mother //------------------------------// Chapter 3 - Out of the Forest Zecora let go of Zircon's hug as the sky started to change color, fading from blue to orange. "It is getting late," she said, standing. "And we have still not found your home." Zircon stood as well. "We need to go!" he yelled, pulling on Zecora. "Then follow me." The older zebra started to walk, sticking close to Zecora's body. Any light that pierced its way into the forest was starting to disappear, being replaced by shafts of darkness. "I'm scared," Zircon said as he clutched onto Zecora's hindleg, quivering. "It's so dark." Zecora spotted a hole between two rocks in the wasting light and led Zircon to it. "It is too late to find your way home," she said, ushering him into the small shelter. "We must stay the night here to avoid the creatures that prowl the forest during the night." Zircon hopped into the depression and glanced around. Zecora followed him, leaving very little room to move. She settled down and laid her head on the dirt and snorted. "Get some sleep," she said, holding one eye open to stare at Zircon. "Finding your home will be difficult if you are tired." The young zebra sat down next to Zecora. He stared out into the forest, longing in his eyes. "I want Mom," he said. "I want Dad." "We will find them tomorrow when there is light to see by. For now, you should sleep." Zircon looked for a few more seconds into the darkness, then set his muzzle down and sniffed. Zecora heard soft sobbing come from next to her, and she sighed lightly. The crying faded into nothingness as the colt fell asleep, and his even breathing was all that could be heard. Zecora heard Zircon shift in his sleep, and a weight pressed down on her back. She crooked her head back to see his form curled up against her spine. She smiled, and she laid her head down next to his. She was soon asleep. ~ Crrrack. Zecora's eyes snapped open as the sound tore through the quiet. She watched a shadow pass by their encampment, and she shuddered. Crrrack. The noise came again, and Zecora realized that it was not the sound of a branch snapping or anything else. It was a growl from an animal. It was a growl unlike anything Zecora had heard before, something that resembled a stick being run across a piece of wood full of grooves. A heavy thud echoed in the air, and her ear twitched slightly. Crrrack. The noise grew louder. Crrrack. It was right outside of their sleeping area. The air was heavy as warm breath filled it. Zecora resisted the urge to cough from the smell. Hrrack. The growl was different this time, slightly louder. Zecora's ears rung as the sound went over a safe decibel level. The snuffling breaths receded, along with the growls. She exhaled a pent up breath, full of relief. Zircon shifted in his sleep next to her, and she almost laughed. "How did he manage to stay asleep?" she whispered. "That was one loud animal." ~ A ray of light shot through the forest gloom, falling straight onto the face of Zecora, who twitched her nose idly as she opened her eyes. She blinked to clear her vision and took a look behind her, where she saw that Zircon was gone. "Zircon?!" she yelled, darting up, hitting her head on the ceiling of the rock enclosure. She ran from the space and looked around wildly, her heart pounding in her ears. A soft rustling came from behind her, and she turned to see Zircon come from behind a small bush. "Oh, you're okay," she said in happiness. "I just had to go to the bathroom," Zircon said with a smile. "I wasn't lost or anything." "Well, we have to go," Zecora replied, patting him on the head. "We've got to get you back home." "Actually, I've been thinking," he said, fidgeting. "And, what if I didn't go home? What if I ran away? It sounds like fun!" Zecora laughed and smiled. "I envy your youthful spirit, Zircon," she said. "But I think home is the best place for you." Zircon looked slightly dejected, but he was soon back in his young energy. "Then let's go!" he said with a hop, pressing himself on Zecora's side. The two began to walk, their path lit by sporadic shafts of sunlight that streamed in through the leaves. The forest was still; not a leaf moved, or a limb on a tree shifted. It was a moment of complete perfection that sent chills down Zecora's spine as she watched. The world seemed to be unbreakable, unable to be tarnished or tainted, settling an aura of calm over the zebra, relaxing her. She paused for a second to drink in the area, smelling the crisp air and hearing small creatures chirp and snicker. It was almost if the world revolved around the forest and the things in it. "Ms. Zecora!" Zircon's outburst interrupted her euphoria, and she looked to the colt. "Yes?" she asked the excited youngling. "There's a way out!" he said, hopping around. Zecora looked up and saw a large entryway of glaring light, shining like a beacon. She started to walk faster, desperate to leave the dark forest. Zircon followed, having to jog to keep up, and they burst from the trees into an open field. Hooves flew to eyes as they were momentarily blinded by the brightness, unable to get a good view of anything. "Who are y'all?" The voice made the two jump, and when they grew accustomed to the light, they found themselves facing a pony wearing a Stetson with burnt orange fur and a silver mane. He was wearing a vest made of brown leather, covered in pockets. "Wha-?" Zircon said, looking around. "This isn't home!" Zecora only stood there, her eyes wide. She had not been rhyming for the past few hours, so her mind was blank. She needed to rhyme, to show that she was exile. It was her job. "Well?" the pony asked, his accent now becoming painfully clear. "Y'all not gonna answer?" "We have been lost in these woods," Zecora said, going off of her head, trying to find a suitable rhyme. "And I was trying to get this colt home if... I could." The stallion narrowed his eyes and stared at the distressed Zircon, who was just staring off into the distance with a look of shock on his face. "This isn't home!" he said again, dumbfounded. "Why aren't we home?!" The pony looked at him and looked back at Zecora. "What's he on about?" he asked, pointing a hoof. "Well, he has been deeply concerned, for he has been lost after taking a wrong turn. I have been trying to take him home, but it appears we have found the wrong biome." Wrong biome was right. The field they had arrived in after leaving the forest was filled with dry, cracked grass that broke under hoof, and the air sweltered in a dry heat. "So y'all are lost?" the stallion asked. "Yes, we are," Zecora said. "And it leaves on this colt a terrible scar." "Then follow me," the pony turned and walked off. "And, stop your rhymin'. It's drivin' me buggy, and it's sure ta do the same ta the rest of the town." Zecora grabbed Zircon's hoof and led him after the departing stallion. "Where are we going?" he asked, looking up at Zecora. "He is taking us to his town," she whispered. "He is being nice." "But what about home?!" "I'll ask about it when we get there." Zircon fell quiet and waited as a small set of buildings formed. "So," she said, dropping the rhymes from the pony's request. "Why were you out near the forest?" "I do patrols to watch for anything that may leave," he replied, glancing back. "We have to protect our town from attacks." "Why do you live out here?" Zecora asked. "There's nopony around." "There once was. But, the forest starting creepin' up on us, and they left. Now, we're stuck in the middle of here without connection to the outside world. Surrounded on all sides by the trees, and every year they get closer. Soon we'll be in the forest as well, and it won't be good. Every once in a while a wanderer will come out and we'll get to know them. Then they'll go runnin' back in to never show up again." "Why don't you try and go?" "We've sent ponies out to go and try and find a new place, but they never come back. We've sent out groups of twelve, and only once has at least one come back, injured and near death. The forest don't want us to go, and we can't fight it." The group became silent for a minute. "How do you get food?" Zecora asked. "We don't," the stallion replied. "As soon as the forest started catchin' up on us, we started to conserve food until we had generations worth of hay and other things. Now, with the forest blockin' off where we used to grow our crops, we've had to ration from our storage. It's been hard times." They arrived at the outskirts of the village, where a small band of ponies awaited them, dressed similarly to the stallion. "Who are they?" a mare asked, flicking her eyes at Zircon and Zecora. "They're some travelers from the forest, Stardust," the stallion responded. "Don't glare at them! They're lost. The older one was tryin' to get the colt home. They're not just random wanderers. Where are y'all from anyways?" "We're from Zebrica," Zecora said. "From the tribe of Seven Suns." "Zebrica?!" one of the waiting party said, tensing up. "That's miles away! How'd y'all get lost so far from it?!" "Miles?" Zecora asked in confusion. "But we were only lost for a few hours yesterday and we spent the night! How are we miles away?!" "The forest likes to mess with ya," the stallion who had led them to the town said. "It'll send you to places it would take years to reach on hoof in a few hours." "How do you know this?" Zecora asked. "He's not actually from here," Stardust said, stepping forward. "He was lost in the forest after leaving from a town called 'Appleloosa.' We found him stumbling out and we brought him here. He didn't want to go back in; still hasn't said why, and he stayed here. He's proven his worth many times over, whether in be fighting off forest creatures trying to get the taste of pony flesh, or doing odd-jobs around town." The stallion blushed, and he rubbed his mane absentmindedly. "What are your names?" Zecora asked. "I got yours, but what about the rest of you?" "I'm Whistle," an albino stallion said. "Dust," the mare next to him said. "Leaves," the stallion next to her said. "And I'm Strike," the stallion who had brought them to town finished. "What are your names?" "I'm Zecora," Zecora said. She pointed at the silent and awed Zircon. "And he's Zircon." "Welcome," Stardust said. "You may be here for a while, so make yourself at home." Zecora grabbed Zircon by the hoof and led him into the town.