Sweetie Belle
Fluttershy
Apple Jack
Xenilla
Anguirus
Rainbow Dash
Aero
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Meanwhile at Vacation Camp Evergreen
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Gentle Leaf beamed a smile as she ran out onto the forest’s trail. Her green summer camp vest practically glowing in the glints of soon fading sunlight that shown through the overcast. The camp was small and homey, close enough to a small city that it gave an easing sense of home nearby for some that staved off the feeling of isolation; while still being far enough away to get away from the urban life. It was perfect for camping. Close enough to feel safe, and distant enough to be free. The forest, lake, swamps, and distant mountains however were more than enough for any foal to feel as if they’d stumbled into a jungle Daring Doo would have passed through. Normally shy, Leaf had just gotten used to the freedom of exploration, and like the pith helmet clad heroine of the movies from last night, she had every intention of living the wilderness up to the fullest.
The counselor frantically running through the list of his charges was less enthusiastic.
"Gentle?!"
"Gentle Leaf!?"
Aero turned around a corner as he bolted around the cabins and tents, skidding to a halt to avoid crashing into the clinic so quickly his glasses whipped off of his head and into Nurse Redheart’s face. The stallion was sent skittering backwards and trying to force back blushing.
"S-sorry Nurse!", he said with a stutter.
Redheart chuckled lightly, shaking her head before picking up the fallen glasses and handing them to the counselor.
"Calm down Aero, I promise I don’t bite. You seem to be in a hurry. Where’s the fire?"
The memory of why he came was skittering out at best, his face was getting hot and his tongue was beginning to knot over itself.
"I-I-I-I-I uuu-uuummmm…KID! Yes a kid. Is Gentle Leaf here or did she maybe check in today?!" Aero nearly shouted before reigning his voice back in.
Nurse Redheart calmly shifted through her saddlebag and pulled out her clipboard, reading through the names of any who had arrived in her clinic, flipping to the current day’s page; eyes scanning the text.
"Gentle Leaf… Gentle Leaf… mmm… No, I only saw her admitted a few days back for a scraped knee but haven't had her since. Though I did see her about a half hour ago."
"WHERE!....Oh! Sorry didn’t mean to raise my voice there, eheh... Where did she go? Was she with anyone?"
Aero uttered, lowering his ears and backing up a bit.
Nurse Redheart outstretched her arm, pointing out like an arrow to the Eastern Swamp and Forest trail on the closest border of the camp.
"Over there, I saw her walking off onto the trail. She was alone but I assumed she was meeting you and your group there. Anywho do I need to report a missing cam-…"
Redheart cut herself short as she looked back to where Aero had been, seeing only a dust trail and the yellow blur of a frantic Aero bolting down the East Trail.
"-per?…"
==============================================
On the East Trail about 2 kilometers away from Camp
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Gentle Leaf bounced along the downhill path, mutely counting down a row of dew covered grass flowers. So attentive she was, the filly didn’t notice the tall shadow eclipsing the last flower until she crashed into a muscular hind leg.
A gleaming flower was crushed under a hoof as a tall earth stallion slowly turned and loomed over the downed filly. Gentle Leaf sat on her rump as she looked up at her overseer, half confused and half afraid. The stallion was a dull brownish gray, with multiple ivory colored spots on his face and back. He was an earth pony, his spiky mane and tail laying across a hornless brow and wingless back. Abnormally though were the ivory colored spines similar to a porcupine’s quills jutting out from his tail. With the turn flicker and sway of his tail, some of the quills had smacked against one another, a clacking sound reverberating out that continued when he fanned his tail. Clad on his forearms were some of the oddest articles Gentle Leaf had ever seen. They reminded her dimly of the greaves some of the royal guards wore, but instead of shiny metal bracers, his gauntlets seemed to be made of toughened, dull leather and bones, with sharp spikes jutting out in a manner that made his forelimbs resemble maces more than they did any legs.
Slowly, with sharpened fangs poking out from his maw gleaming in the lights above; he looked down at the filly.
"……The Daiei are you supposed to be?", the massive stallion grunted, lowering his head down to eye level with the half shocked filly.
Gentle Leaf’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates, falling onto her back before trying to claw her way backwards with her arms. Her frightened and surprised expression was universal.
The stallion rolled his eyes.
"Hey, listen nestling, I ain’t not gonna skin you alive, calm down or you’ll give yourself a heart attack. Li-Listen can you tell me where where I am-", He was cutting off and on given how much she was thrashing.
Gentle Leaf didn’t change at all her expression or action, still trying to crawl away with her mouth open in a silent scream. The stallion was more annoyed than anything, rolling his eyes before taking in a deep breath.
"Oh for the love of- STOP CRAWLING AWAY AND SPEAK UP WELP!"
Gentle Leaf froze as she felt wind blow past her, starting to hyperventilate. The adult grumbled to himself and lowered his voice.
"Ooooye…… Yeesh even looking like this ridiculous, people still run away…… Aaaaaannnyways, I have no idea how I got looking like this nor where the hell I am. You seem to understand me, so you’re the only way I’m getting that information. So, do you know what I am?"
Gentle Leaf, still wide eyed, nodded her head.
The stallion shrugged, "That’s better…. Can you tell me where I am?"
Gentle Leaf, eyes relaxing a fractional amount; nodded slowly. Noting it a bit odd she wasn't be too talkative but thinking it was out of fear, he lightened up his tone to ease her, "Alright, spit ‘er out then."
Gentle Leaf sagged down a bit, her shocked facade shifting to slight sadness. The brown stallion tilted his head, curious as to the silence. He knew this song and dance well. Scare the daylights out of someone by default, and get the info you need. This works so well usually.
"Come on then, speak up welp if you wanna be heard-"
Gentle Leaf looked up at him, frowning dimly as she tapped her throat before making several gestures the abnormal pony didn’t recognize. She opened her mouth silently, mouthing some syllables, and by the time she shut it the message was clear.
"Oh…mute eh?"
Gentle Leaf nodded sadly, getting to her feet.
"Well, can you point me in a direction so I can find out where I’m at? Where did a tot like you come from anyways?"
Gentle Leaf quickly nodded, glancing about as childish innocence erased her fear second by second. She began to spin around as she tried to look for a recognizable path… And kept looking…and looking… and looking, obviously confused as she spun around in a circle. The stallion rolled his eyes, grumbling,
"Yooooooou’re… lost aren’t you?"
Gentle Leaf stopped spinning as the realization began to hit her. These woods were vast, and she’d run so eagerly she easily could be far from camp, and she’d never see her friends and family, never see her home again; and-and-and-
The tiny, heart rending squeak of mute crying exhale echoed into the stallion’s ears.
Pity overwhelming stubbornness, he shrugged slowly as he bent down and gently gripped the tearing up filly in his maw, who seemed too saddened to notice until he’d lifted her up. Careful not to prick her with his fangs, he placed her gently on his back; nuzzling her head gently as a father bird would his nestling. The monstrous stallion hummed softly as Gentle Leaf’s tears subsided. With that, he turned his head forward again and started down the forested game trail.
"Yeesh whoever you had watching you need a whoopin’. If my days on Solgell taught me anything it’s never leave someone’s kid unattended. Doesn’t end well… Come on, if we keep walking you’re bound to recognize something eventually."
Gentle Leaf sniffed once to clear her nose before nodded slowly, sitting down on the massive pony’s back, thankful his hair, as quill-like as it looked; wasn’t sharp.
"Names’ Anguirus by the way…"
==========================
Back at Sweet Apple Acres
==========================
Applejack and Fluttershy raced down the beaten path, kicking up a small dust cloud behind them. Xenilla was hot on their heels, but his unaccustomness to a quadrupedal form and larger size meant he lagged behind just enough to be caught up in the kicked up dirt and dust.
While thankful he retained the trait of not having to breath, an adaptation for deep space; not even one of his energy barriers would save him from getting coated in road grit. By the time all three came skidding to a halt in front of the barn, the massive unicorn’s blue and crystal colored hide was dull brown and black. At the urgency of the situation though, no parties seemed to notice.
"Fillies found ‘er outta town, got into a fight with some Timberwolves. Out cold by ‘time Big Mac and I got there. She’s in here."
Applejack uttered before pulling the slide lock aside and opening the barn door. Inside the barn it was impossible to not notice the changes the day had brought upon. Blankets and buckets of fresh water were strewn about. Granny Smith was ringing out a wet cloth, ridding it of excess water before returning to the center of the room, and to the most obvious change to the barn. Strewn out on of a tied hay bale made into a makeshift bed, was the largest pony any in attendance had ever seen. Her crimson face cringed up a bit as the Apple Family matriarch gently laid a cool towel on her forehead. Spotting the mare’s wounds at an instant, Fluttershy raced forward, digging into her saddle bag full of medical supplies. Xenilla looked on as Applejack tracked his gaze upon the ill mare knowingly.
"Xenilla, you know ‘er don’t yah?"
Xenilla craned his head back and looked out to the forests, trying to spy any obvious crash site his fallen ally had impacted, "That I do. She’s from my home realm. ”
Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Home real-‘Oh fer’get it, who is she?"
Xenilla looked back into the barn, slowly walking towards the center of the barn with Applejack following alongside.
"She had no parents to christen her; though some peoples referred to her as ‘Destroyah’ so she just adopted that label."
"D-estroy’ah?..."
Applejack’s eyes narrowed in the same manner she would look upon someone like Chrysalis or Nightmare Moon. There were nice names in this world, that was not one them. She hadn’t even met the mare conscious, but her looks and name were already putting the earth pony on edge. An edge Xenilla could detect.
-Hm….She’s uneasy… Smart mare… Knowing Destroyah, when she wakes herself up it’s not going to be a good day for these ponies… Considering what Fluttershy has told me about this world and its powers, and our diminished state; that won’t end well for either of us. If even some suspicion is raised due to that witch’s actions we both could get done in. Destroyah., you always were a ‘Kill first, ask questions later’ type. Perhaps it’s time I put the attack dog on a leash-
"I know, not the friendliest name, but she is an old ally of mine. Don’t worry though, she has a lot more bark than bite. So long as no one annoys her, she’ll be fine. Don’t expect her to show up to any parties though. I thank you for rescuing her, who found her again?"
Xenilla’s words hardly put anymore ease into Applejack’s mind, but before she could answer, three small forms bolted in from the barn doors. Darting across the barn floor, two forms weaved their way between Xenilla’s legs and shot towards Fluttershy. The third arched around and came grinding to a halt in front of the massive stallion. Looking down, Xenilla didn’t know whether to be amused or annoyed at the glaring eyed, white filly blocking his path.
"WHO ARE YOU?-YOU’RE HUGE!-HOW’D YOU GET HERE?-YOUR HORN IS AWESOME!-YOU HAVE FANGS! ARE YOU EVIL!?-"
Applejack decided to cut Sweetie Belle’s question barrage short. "SWEETIE, one at a time please. This fell’rs a pal of your friend the’r. He just came to see how she’s holdin’."
Xenilla lowered his head down into the now grinning filly, obvious annoyance starting to show through that he quickly bit back. Good first impressions if it were.
"Greetings, I presume you’re one of the fillies who found her?"
Sweetie Belle nodded rapidly.
“Mhm mhm! Over by the stream. Then she saved us from some Timberwolves!”
Xenilla’s eyebrow cocked up before the realization hit his mind, he walked harmlessly over the filly and towards the downed Destroyah, his horn beginning to glow.
–Saved you?...Heh… little one you have no idea…-
===================
Back at the forest
===================
Aero was not having a good day, not a good day at all. To say he was anxious was the understatement of the decade. One of the fillies he specifically was put in charge of had disappeared down a trail she’d never been before and had a good head-start on him. The unicorn was frantically darting about, looking behind every shrub, stone, and tree in hopes to catch a glimpse of Gentle Leaf’s little form, hopefully in good condition.
So concentrated on his hunt, the stallion didn’t notice the streak of cyan that darted overhead, and barely heard the frantic cry before a streak of blue and rainbow nearly slammed into him.
"gaaaaaaaaAAAAANG WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"
A scrambling form slammed into Aero dead on his center mass, knocking the wind out of his lungs and turning his world black…
Several moments passed before his vision began to return in a blurry mess of light blue, the piercing ringing in his ear deafening the world as his vision spun. He could hear a mare’s voice, but the ringing in his ears distorted the voice so much he’d have better luck trying to discern her words underwater.
"Oh my g- -ou OK?! I’- -orry!"
The lack of a slight weight on his muzzle at least told him why his vision seemed so blurred. Instinctively his horn ignited and readjusted his fumbled glasses, putting them into their proper place as his mind and senses returned.
"-And I c-uldn’t pull up –n -ime and the down draft kinda shoved me into you."
The cyan blue mare cracked a nervous grin as she rubbed the back of her head. Her multicolored mane was recognizable nationwide and Aero’s newly adjusted eyes widened.
"Anywho, name’s Rainbow Dash."
The mare, who was hovering just above him with steady wing beats, extended her forelimb to offer him a hoof up. A half dumbstruck Aero obliged. The Pegasus helped the unicorn to his feet and continued on.
"Still sorry about that, I swear that draft came out of nowhere! I didn’t think I’d land on another pony all the way out here. What you doing all the way out here anyways?"
Aero stood himself up to his full form and dusted his vest off, shaking out his mane and tail from anymore loose particles. All it took was one look at a mare with less than perfect definition of personal space for his stutter to kick up.
"I-I’m-m-m Ae-ro … I’m a Va-cation Camp Coun-nselor, I was o-ut looking for-…oh Faust….GENTLE LEAF!"
Aero’s hair nearly stuck up on end at the remembrance of why he was out here, frantically jumping up and darting at every shrub or tree nearby and calling out the filly’s name. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes before flying over to the screaming Unicorn, grabbing him by the shoulder and gently but firmly smacking him across the face to snap the poor stallion out of his panic. Aero stopped instantly, rubbing his cheek lightly, thankful she avoided hitting his glasses.
"Thanks….Sorry."
Rainbow Dash sighed and set herself on the ground in front Aero.
"No need for you to lose your head in the middle of the woods. Now, who or what is this ‘Gentle Leaf’ that’s got you flipping out?"
Aero’s eyes lowered in a dual sensation of shame, concern, and a very adult fear.
"She’s just a young filly, barely past foal age, and one of the campers I was in-charge of. She’s an eager explorer and ran off on this trail when I wasn’t with her. She’s lost somewhere out here… If I don’t find her soon she might be…"
Aero closed his eyes before he felt a hoof on his shoulder.
"Hey, I’m sure she’s fine. Tell you what, I’ll throw my hoof into this little search party. Between the two of us she’ll be safe ‘n sound back at camp within the hour!"
An honest smile under her magenta eyes was enough to give sense him some sense of ease. Aero exhaled slowly to ease his heart rate as he walked past her and down the trail.
"Well, got a lot of ground to cover… Not exactly a game of Hide and Go Seek."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with a chuckle, giving Aero a friendly punch in the shoulder.
"Ah put a cork in it, I’ve saved runaway carriages before. One misplaced filly is no problem!~"
Anguirus had been walking for some time and his charge hadn’t given the former kaiju any indication she recognized anything for a while. The added weight of her head on his back and the near silent sound of light snoozing confirmed one reason why that was so. Glancing back at the curled up form of the filly, the fanged stallion signed and continued walking, now relying solely on his senses to try and find where this filly had come from. Crossing a shallow stream, Anguirus gave a freighten look at his new reflection.
-This place is weird…. Just… weird…. Many things, the trees, the creatures, the feelings all seems vaguely familiar, but different. The sights and sounds all reminiscent of back home, but distinct. Everything is close enough to be recognizable, but something just made them all see so odd they seem alien. Even the air smells funny here…’Least walking is still the same-
Wading out of the stream, Anguirus closed his eyes and put his snout into a breeze to try and detect any similar scents, fanning his ears to pick up any sounds. After a short time, the stallion convert shrugged in failure.
-Yep, you’re definitely not in Solgell anymore.-
"Gentle Leeaf?"
"Gentle Leeeeeaf?"
Anguirus’s eyes shifted slightly as he homed in on the direction of the voices, the differing pitches and growing volume showing their were at least two and they were growing closer. Walking up to the trail that should be been in their path, Anguirus drew up a plan and put it into motion. If this world mimicked his well enough, only a few races would be sentient enough to talk and understand speech. So far the only one he’d seen in this world was his own, the same race this filly belonged too. Chances were, those voices were equines as well, possibly searching for something. If the cards played out right, both parties could benefit. They get the child; he’d follow them back to a settlement and get his bearings, maybe try and find any others who got flung into this messed up world along with him. The former dinosaur kaiju smirked at the thought of some monster like Destroyah being stuck in this form.
Craning his neck around and gently gripping the sleeping filly by the back, Anguirus picked Gentle Leaf up and set her down in the middle of the path; the search party’s voices growing louder and louder. Noting their greatly increasing volume and the fleeting glimpse of cyan blue through the trees ahead, Anguirus turned and hid in a thicket of shrubs and a fallen tree trunk just off of the trail, peering out through a small hole in his camouflage. Intuition paid off.
"Over there!"
"Gentle Leaf!"
It took several minutes and Aero fretting over if the now groggily shaken awake filly had so much as a paper cut on her before the trio setback for the camp, Gentle Leaf waking up enough to walk alongside. Questions abounded in the two young adults’ heads. They had found the filly just past a deep brook, yet she was perfectly dry. They had found large hoof prints, but she seemed totally alone. The mute filly herself seemed occupied with something on her head. Near every step they group took, Gentle Leaf was off looking in seven directions, as if she was looking for someone. Finally after 2 minutes of walking the first indication they weren’t alone became obvious. A deep shake echoed out from the shrubs, masking a large form wading through the foliage. Gentle Leaf shot up in mute glee and darted at the form, sure she knew exactly who it was.
Rainbow Dash reacted first as Gentle Leaf disappeared into the greenery, internally begging that SOMETHING would happen to alleviate the utter bore this trip had been so far. Flapping her wings into a boosted jump, the mare sprang over foliage and landed in a small clearing.
"Alright, shortstop, what’s got your attention-o-on!"
Gentle Leaf’s mouth and eyes were agape in fear, frozen in place atop wobbling legs as a bipedal form twice the size of most stallions loomed over her, grinning behind batteries of razor edged teeth meant for cutting through gem stone. Yellow eyes glared over to the Rainbow Mare as half a dozen young drakes with a plethora of shapes emerged out from the tree line.
A stomach growl made intent clear.
"Well well well, look what the manticore dragged in."
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes in defiance of fear as she lowered down to the ground, Gentle Leaf hiding between her legs.
"Garble"