Cross roads of fate
Special thanks to Alexstrazsa for editing the story.
Dave and Octavia emerged from a thick bush and immediately stopped, eyes wide. Before them stood a strange, deadly looking beast. It stood upon three tentacle-like legs as a tripod would, but had more appendages to spare. Its semi-transparent body had certain areas covered with a hard carapace, almost like a shell. As they came into its vision, the creature stared down at them using two green eyes sprouting from what they assumed to be its head.
That alone would be enough to make the blood of most creatures run cold, but for the unlikely duo, there was an even bigger shock in store. The midsection of the plant-monster hybrid bulged out, and within it were Trixie and Vinyl, struggling to escape. Even from a distance away, the terror on their faces was apparent.
Reflexively, Dave picked Octavia up and jumped to the side as a clump of tentacles swarmed towards the two of them.
Since seeing her friends, Octavia had become visibly pale, and it hadn’t even registered to her that she was being held under the human’s arm as he made his evasive maneuvers.
In the meantime, Dave had begun to analyze the monster. Its tentacles looked sticky, and could be poisonous as well. He counted nine of them, plus the one with eyes in the center. It’s definitely some kind of plant, and plants and fire don't mix well he thought, glancing down at his plasma cutter. And there’s no better fire than super-heated plasma! He reached for the tool and spotted a large piece of dry wood to the side, but before he could grab it, he noticed the creature closing the gap between them. In one motion, he set Octavia on the ground and grabbed the piece of wood, setting it ablaze with the plasma cutter.
The mere sight of fire made the creature retreat, well aware of its own weakness. However, this wasn’t good enough to save those trapped inside. With impressive speed, he launched the burning wood at the creature, aiming so that it wouldn’t hurt the unicorns. The beast thrashed about in pain, attempting to hit the human with its tentacles while also clinging to nearby branches to speed up it's escape. In addition, it tried in vain to remove the burning wood from its body.
Dave continued to hurl flaming chunks of wood at the beast. Long ones were thrown like lances, while flat ones like a throwing star. They were all aimed at the base of the appendages to cripple it, and after several hits, the fruits of his relentless onslaught began to show. The beast could only wriggle in torment, and in a last ditch effort, it threw up its recently acquired lunch. The two ponies landed on the ground covered in green fluorescent slime, shaking and retching the very same fluid out from their systems. Within a moment’s time, they had been picked up and carried to safety.
Dave took several large leaves from a nearby bush and began to wipe them off, trying to get rid of the disgusting fluids. Meanwhile, Octavia came to her senses and rushed to Dave in a panic. The two unicorns gagged and shook, staring at the ground with semi closed eyes and gasping for air. Octavia reached and held their hooves in hers as she sat on her haunches, then looked from one to the other with tears in her eyes.
Dave gently set the unicorns on the ground while the earth pony helped, and they slowly calmed down. They breathed easier, but were otherwise fully drained and shaken to the core. The two looked at Octavia and the bipedal being that saved them from being eaten alive.
Dave gave a look towards the monstrosity, still laying on the ground in pain, but unable to move any more. Green liquid oozed from it's body as the wood still burned in parts. He walked over slowly, with the plasma cutter powered up again in his hands, and with a quick stroke, put the creature out of its misery.
Many hours later, all of them had returned to the shoreline camp. Both Vinyl and Trixie were cleaned of slime, and now they rested on their stomachs with legs outstretched onto the soft sand. Every bit of strength had been drained from them, leaving no choice but to lie down. Octavia sat between them and gently caressed their heads. The campfire was already lit, spreading warmth over them, and fresh water and fruits had been gathered by Dave. He took a seat next to them and stretched out, even though he didn’t really need the rest.
“That was… That was scary. I've seen many things in my long life, but this takes the cake,” Dave said, shaking his head from side to side. “It's sheer luck that our paths crossed like they did.”
Quiet followed as the ponies stared into the fire. After a bit of time had passed, Vinyl willed herself to move and turned her head towards the human. She looked up to him with crimson eyes. She was still tired and shaken, but the shine of those tired, worn red orbs spoke clearly as they met with the cyborg. She was grateful and forever in debt, for they’d been saved from a fate that made nightmares seem like a filly’s lullaby in comparison.
“I-I hope we never come across a… thing like that… ever again,” Octavia said, putting into words the thoughts of her immobile friends. She shuddered at the very thought of finding herself inside a thing like that. After a moment she composed herself and continued to stroke the freshly dried manes of her two companions.
“I can only agree with that. I just hope this was the biggest of the freaks of nature, or better, the only one. I'm confident in my abilities, but I don’t wanna fight another, or worse, a pack of them.”
“Yet, you have the best chance.” Everyone shifted to look at Trixie, who had spoken for the first time in a while. “It was resistant to my magic. I blasted it with fireballs, but it just shrug them off… Magical fire was worthless.”
“Good thing my fire is technology made and not magical.” He lifted his handy plasma cutter into the air and idly inspected it.
“Yeah...” Trixie solemnly said, before looking up to Dave. She was battered, but had the greatest endurance among the mares, being a travelling magician. “Trixie will never forget what you’ve done today, Dave.”
He smiled back to Trixie. “Don’t mention it. It was the right thing to do.” He then stretched out and got up, then returned a few moments later with fruits in his hands. “Now, I know you still feel horrible, but it’d be a good idea to at least try and eat some.”
“Let’s hope our stomach agrees,” Trixie replied, flopping her head back down on the sandy ground.
“Here, I'll help,” Octavia offered, as she handed the fruit to Trixie while Dave made the same gesture to Vinyl. The shaken mares took small bites and slowly at their meals. To everyone’s relief, the food stayed down, so the magic-less duo ate their own fruits as well.
As they finished, and idea popped into Dave’s head. “How about some music, ladies?”
“That be wonderful, but sadly I'm amiss my trusty cello, and Vinyl her turntable and records... Not that her music would be the best right now,” Octavia said.
“Well I do look forward to hearing music from you too, but I also have music of my own. Er, it’s not mine, but I have a trick or two up my sleeve.” Dave winked and pulled out a small box from his pocket. The mares curiously looked at it as he held it in his hands. “Thankfully, this is one sturdy little multi media device and still has plenty of battery life left.”
Vinyl had a confused look on her face. Electronic music, instruments, and devices were her world, but she failed to see how the small object would make music. Soon, though, the melody began and she was stunned. The others follow suit and stared at the little object emitting a strange but refreshing song.
“I love this kind of music, but my taste isn’t bound to one style. This is a music track from a game. A collection of songs. The game is called 'Deus Ex: Human Revolution'... And ironically, I’ve never played it, but I love the music. It’s from the golden ages of my kind, before the asteroid hit.”
The group listened to the music, then Trixie spoke up, curious what kind of magic was at work, for she felt none. “You are a strange being, Dave, and so is your ‘act.’ What kind of magic is this?”
He gestured to the small device. “This is purely technology. The little box is just to play the music aloud, but the music is comes from me, from my cybernetic data banks, and it’s wirelessly transferred to the device.” He smiled and chuckled as he was met with confused looks. “Well, Octavia—” He look at her and she nodded, “—You do remember when I told you that most of my body is in fact a machine, right? Eighty percent of it.”
She gave a half-nod. Not clear, but partial understanding. However, the other two mare’s eyes grew big.
“Now, there’s no need to be scared of me. I'm not a monster. My cybernetic body is a prime example to our ingenuity of the human race. We’ve been able to improve upon our natural body, and after a point make it even more incredible. This isn’t just limited strength and speed, but many more things. You could say we created our very own version of magic with technology. The perfect melding of flesh and machine, and solely thanks to this, we’re still around. We were forced to do this to ourselves after the great disaster in order to survive. My world, even after nearly two hundred years, is a barren wasteland… A frozen world lacking the life it once had.”
The girls remained quiet and only gave a nod of understanding. They enjoyed the alien, yet brilliant songs, one after another, and slowly but surely began drift into sleep, with exception of Octavia. She was still very much awake, and continued to caress her friends and watch over them as they slept.
“These songs... are just beautiful,” Octavia quietly said, after a long absence of words. “They feel… strange. They have fire... and coldness... An odd and elegant mix of calm and ferocity.” She laughed and look at her relaxed human companion. “I suppose it’s a perfect snippet of your souls and nature.” He gave a smile and turned around onto his belly. Octavia followed suit, and now all of them laid before the fire, stacked close and warmed by the fire, blankets, and the boat cover half way above them.
“Good night, Octavia.”
“Good night, Dave.”
And so, they all drift away to the lands of dreams under Luna’s night sky as the music played softly.