//------------------------------// // Day to Day // Story: Painted Mirror // by Lord of Turtles //------------------------------// Raj's first thought upon waking up was that it was far too early to be so hot. Lines of hard sunlight beamed through his window, heating the inside of his car like an oven. He sat up and peeled his back off the soaked seat, wincing at the uncomfortable sensation. He kicked open the door and took a second to revel in the rush of comparatively cool air. Banjo hopped out, panting and shaking his head. He stepped out and hissed immediately from a flair of pain in his foot. He looked down and saw a dry, crushed pinecone and several sharp barbs stuck in the bottom of his foot. He kicked the thing away and sat with his legs crossed. Cautiously pulling a sliver out, he muttered “Well, that certainly sets a precedent for the day.” He took to the morning chores he'd set for himself. He gathered firewood, far more than he needed for the day, and started stoking a flame to cook breakfast. The weather seemed fair at the moment, but he never could predict it in the forest. The wood caught easily and he left it for the moment. He lowered a plastic cooler from a tree and retrieved a pair of fish, one for himself and one for Banjo. He flipped out his knife and set to gutting and de-boning them. With that done he fitted them on skewers and leaned them over the fire. The whole time Banjo eyed the meal with intent, debating whether or not to simply snatch it as is. Raj saw his dog staring at the catch and chuckled “I'm hungry too boy. Just wait.” After a few minutes of sizzling and popping Raj couldn't take it anymore and descended on the meal. The meat of the fish was bland, but very filling and fatty, just what he needed in a breakfast. He un-impaled Banjo's and tossed it into his bowl. The greedy dog gulped it down after knocking it to the ground and spicing it with a layer of dirt for some inscrutable, canine reason. He downed a bottle of warm-ish water and shared another with his dog. He knew it wasn't enough, the previous day had been sweltering and exhausting and this one was looking to be the same. He knew he was dehydrated, could feel the annoying pang in the back of his head from it. He only had one full bottle left and couldn't bring himself to take it outside of a grave emergency. Down by the river, he started filling each empty from a fast-moving section of water, inspecting each one for clarity and grit. Satisfied, he climbed a high stone outcrop and nestled each one near the top to be heated and cleansed by the the sun. Banjo had no such reservations and simply took deep gulps of the babbling stream. Heading upstream, he came upon a feeder pool: a section of the river that fed into a flat basin of water that moved sluggishly. He peeled his clothes off and sat them beside the pool before lowering himself into it. He hissed at the sudden chill, his skin erupting into gooseflesh. He let out a shuddering breath and started peeling off the parts of the makeshift bandages plastered all over him that he didn't simply sweat off in his sleep. The work was undone easily, revealing pink edged cuts and abrasions that look as though they had seen a week of knitting rather than twelve hours. The terrible itch underneath them that he'd been ignoring all morning suddenly seemed worth it. He made a mental note to ask Zecora about this stuff, maybe even take some home when he went. The leaves and ointment peeled, he set to gingerly washing himself and his clothes with handfuls of sand and gravel, scrubbing off the worst of the previous day's exertions. He hummed as he worked, enjoying the easy, mundane chore while Banjo contemplated a frog just below the water's surface further up the river. While he was combing his hair, doing so carefully to avoid breaking a tine, he heard Banjo start barking frantically. Thinking the animal was warning off a bird or his own reflection he turned slowly to see him woofing and snarling at something on the other side of the river. He followed the dog's gaze, did a double-take at the creature he saw and immediately dropped, submerging himself beneath the water. Raj hunkered underneath the surface, gripping the rocky bottom with his toes. He held tight, wondering if the thing across the way saw him. After a full minute of hiding he couldn't think of a reason to stay where he was and cautiously slipped his head above the surface, just below his nose so he could breath, and studied the thing. It was roughly the size of a horse as he commonly knew them, its shoulder rose to just below his head height but that was where the comparison to any normal, sensible creature ended. Its large, leonine head, thick with a mane, drooped into the river, gulping water. Another head, this one of a gray furred goat, sat perched between its shoulder blades, twisting and scanning the area. The differing fur tones between the two fought for dominance along the sides of the beast, the goat's heavier coat winning out and claiming the back-legs as a pair of rough, cloven hooves. Then that hide gave way to green scales that crawled up a ridiculously long tail and ended at a listlessly drooping snake's head. The creature lifted its head from the water and the Goat bleated, tilting its head at Banjo. The Lion scanned around and finally noticed the barking dog. A growl that could be heard over the river rumbled from the thing's barrel chest and it took a step into the rapidly flowing water. Banjo immediately clammed up, a frightened whimper coming from him and his tail tucking between his legs. He turned and started to trot away, back up the hill. Satisfied, the Lion turned its bulk away, back into the forest while its Goat head started braying. The Snake was shaken back into coherency and the last thing Raj saw of the great beast was the Snake flicking back and forth furiously, trying to find the source of its counterpart's merriment. He let out a breath, a shudder of relief passing through him. Genuine concern and worry pulsed through him, as well as a healthy amount of confusion. He said quietly “Huh, there's something you don't see everyday.” * * * When Raj met Zecora, she'd spent some time trying to impress on him the dangers of the Everfree without going into specifics. He thought that it was her own, unconventional method of communication that limited her as well as the language barrier, but he had always been somewhat resentful that she hadn't given him more information. After seeing the thing by the river though, he was grateful she hadn't, because he is certain he wouldn't have believed her. Raj is not a stupid man, nor was he an uneducated one. He was a child once, and watched cartoons and learned history. Academically, he knew he just saw a Chimera, a creature from Greek myth and legend. The issue he's having was justifying it. He spent the entire walk to Zecora's hut trying to do just that. Simply from a biological point of view, the creature made no sense. The nervous system alone!. And the digestive system! And the respiratory! Did each head have its own, independent organs or did they all share? Were they all in control of each limb, or was locomotion segregated? If it was, then what controlled what? What did its bone structure even look like? These questions and dozens more flashed through his mind. He remembered every detail that he could about the thing, trying to determine facts about it. He knew that it was strange and beautiful and undeniably dangerous. From the claws, to the horns, to the teeth (Three sets! What did it eat?), and the scales and the thick cords of muscle all over, there was nothing about the Chimera that didn't look dangerous. He knew that wanting to know more about it was foolish, idiotic even, but he wanted to understand this creature. He wanted to understand... something about this place. So engrossed in his thoughts, he almost walked face-first into the door to Zecora's hut. He stopped just short and laughed nervously as he rapped his knuckles on the frame. He stood silently for a moment before he noticed the pair of jars on the step and a note. He snatched the note and scanned it for a moment before declaring “I can't read this.” He held it in front of Banjo “What about you, do you know what this says?” To his credit, Banjo looked no more bewildered by the page than he did about anything that was not food or something that could be chased. He flipped it over to check the back, hoping for something there. When nothing is apparent he held it up to the light, hoping for something. “Nope, that didn't work. Still can't read it. Curses. Zecora!” He shouted at the empty hut. “Zecora! You in there?” No answer was forthcoming, to his call or when the dog barked in response to Raj, so he assumed the Zebra was out. Shrugging, he inspected the jars. One was a green oil and he immediately knew it was what he came for. The other was a thick lotion whose scent informed him was the same material that was slathered on him the previous day. He grinned at Zecora's unexpected generosity and resolved to do something to repay the favor. Once back at camp he placed both jars in his trunk and opened the container of green oil. The moment he did his dog let out a yip of annoyance followed by an distressed grumble as he pawed at his nose. “Oh, right. I can't smell this stuff, but you can, can't you boy?” He dipped a stick in the substance and smeared it on a nearby tree. Banjo barked in irritation and whined. Raj frowned “I know Banjo, I'm sorry, but this stuff is gonna keep us safe. No more weird animals coming into our camp and messing with our stuff. You'll get used to it, I promise.” The dog seemed unconvinced, but flopped down on his favorite rock anyway. Once that was taken care of, he looked skyward. The sun was in its late morning position, he believed. Even after four months he didn't have a solid grasp of how the sun acted. Regardless, he was able to tell that he had several hours worth of daylight left. Going to the river again, he checked the shoreline for wandering mythological beasts. Finding none, he drew his fish-trap from a deep pool far upstream. The item itself was based off the design of a lobster-trap he saw once in a textbook, modified significantly and made from roughly carved chunks of wood and re-purposed lengths of seatbelt. In the last four months it had captured dozens of meals for him and Banjo. Raj knew that the little hunk of junk was worth its weight in gold and he hoped to take it home with him when he went. So he was understandably dismayed when he found his little device torn asunder. He couldn't tell if a massive fish got caught in it and shook it apart or if some other malicious river denizen simply destroyed it. Either way, he rationalized, it probably wouldn't have been something he would want to eat. With no small irritation he set it back at his camp. He was already going over a list of things he'd need to fix it: Wood, heavy stones, more twining. He wanted to get to work on it right then, but his larder still sat near empty. He would run out of food in a day if he didn't do something. He un-strung his laundry line and set it for its original purpose, a dog leash. Banjo whined sadly as he lashed him to the bumper. “Yeah, I know you hate being left alone buddy, but you are a terrible hunting dog. Last time we tried that you barked at a low cloud for two hours.” Banjo yipped and smacked his tail against the ground, looking at him squarely in the eye. “Oh, I get it, you're still worried about the thing we saw down by the river this morning. Well, if I stay here I'll be eating you in a couple days.” The dog didn't comprehend the jest and pawed at his leg. “Stop worrying Banjo, I'm just going to find some berries and those weird tuber things. Maybe catch something if I can find it. Nothing dangerous.” His words did nothing to mollify the animal's worries, and he barked after him as Raj headed into the woods. He made for the northern edge, far away from the bramble thickets and a pair of possibly still enraged Bugbears. He saw a flock of ducks flying that direction the other day and he hoped to find where they've nested. Even before coming to Equestria he loved the taste of roast duck. Luck favored him. A swamp-water lake two hour's walk north of his camp was playing host to a large flock of waterfowl. He counted at least two dozen mallards with their distinctive coloring bobbing along in the water and occasionally upending to dive for some morsel of plant matter. It took him hours of patient, predatory waiting, but he was able to slink across the pond and pounce on the unsuspecting waterfowl, drowning them beneath the surface in a flurry of feathers and quacks. He was grinning from ear to ear as he strode out of the pond covered in mud and loose reeds. Three ducks would be enough to for him and Banjo for days, and quite tasty besides. The rest of the raft abandoned the pond, fleeing for their lives. He trudged back to shore, humming lightly to himself and scraping a layer of stinking muck off his chest. The animals were stowed in plastic garbage bags and sealed up. He'd pluck and dress them back at camp where Banjo would be able to enjoy the organs and he could store the offal as fish-bait. He was just about to head back when a thought struck him. There were still hours of daylight left and he wasn't far from a grove of berry bushes. A cramp in his leg complained painfully at the idea of any more walking, but the idea of duck slathered in blackberry sauce made the decision for him. Following sign he left for himself, he made his way to the grove. It wasn't far from the edge of the Everfree, the smoke from the nearby settlement was visible on clear days. That and the fact that the bushes themselves showed signs of organization, he was worried that he was intruding on somebody’s garden or crop. Zecora assured him that wasn't the case. He once again doubted the Zebra's words when he heard muttering voices echoing around the trees as he approached the grove. He immediately froze and crouched, pricking up his ears and listened closely. A stuttering laugh wafted from behind a line of bushes. Instantly all thoughts of blackberry sauce were gone as Raj dropped his bounty and crept closer. Peering through some leaves and brush, he saw two ponies. Superficially, they looked like Zecora, maybe a bit smaller and with thicker legs. One, a boy, was as brown as dirt and had platinum blonde hair-no, mane he corrected himself. There was a mark stamped on his upper thigh, something resembling a thin tree. He picked a berry from a bush and dropped it into a basket hanging from his side. He said something Raj couldn't make out and the stuttering laughter sounded again. Shifting in his hiding spot, he saw the sound's source. A plum colored mare pony with a mane and tail shaded a light mulberry. She wore a pair of baskets as well and tried to vainly pick a few blackberries while giggling helplessly. He searched for the image on her flank but the basket obscured it. Whatever words they spoke were lost to the distance between them. He considered creeping closer, but didn't see enough cover to keep himself reliably concealed. Just as well, he supposed. He already felt like a voyeur looking in on them like this, he didn't need to be eavesdropping on top of it. He watched the ponies as they gathered berries and seemingly joked with one another, at one point the mare dropping to the ground from out-of-control laughter. The sight was odd, but it made him smile. Curiosity started to chirp in the back of his mind, telling him to learn something about these creatures. The chimera sighting earlier sparked it, and now the inquisitive part of his mind demanded he learn something, anything, about this strange place and the beings that inhabit it. He wanted so desperately to step into view, let these two see him and greet them kindly. They might respond, they might run, they might even attack, but at least he'll have learned about the inhabitants of the world he'd accidentally entered. It would be first contact, there's no other way to describe it. A meeting of two different species, the kind of thing any scientist or academic would kill to be able to witness, much less take part in. It had the potential to be one of the most incredible events of his life. Yet, he remained hidden, watching these ponies forage for food. Zecora hadn't told him much about this world except that it decidedly belongs to ponies. And here, in these woods and in this place, he felt like an invader. This place is not his and it is not for him. He still watched though. He could not conceive of a way that observing them could cause any harm. He paid close attention to their dynamic, trying to figure anything out about them. Were they a couple? Siblings? Was this their garden or were they like him, simply gathering from a wild resource? To his elation, the last question got an answer when the mare peered over a low bush and turned back to the male, calling out excitedly. He galloped over to see that she had discovered a previously unknown bush that was heavy with fruit. The pair moved on it quickly and Raj had to scramble to remain unseen. The new position offered a new vantage point on something else as well. Beyond a thick line of trees he caught something serpentine bobbing behind a screen of leaves. He strained his neck to get a better view and realized what it was a moment before it struck. The Chimera burst free from its cover, eating up ground at a breakneck pace. By the time the ponies realized it was there the thing stood between them and town, effectively cutting off their escape. Both equines stared in open mouthed shock for a moment before the Chimera opened all three mouths and it roared/bleated/hissed in a chorus of nightmare sounds that sent the small creatures sprinting deeper into the woods, their baskets of berries tumbling to the ground behind them. The Chimera pawed the ground and gave chase, and then a moment later was followed by the swift feet of a human.