Chapter 3: One Step Closer to the Edge
We hiked for what seemed like days, even though I knew it was still the same night. Every time I looked at my watch it said we only left about an hour ago, but I didn't buy it. Literally, it was an anonymous gift on my door one day, and I never had to pay for a thing.
"So that mare," Tomb started saying as he walked ahead of me, "she said that Yaplap guy would wake up in an hour?"
"And twelve minutes," I added. "And that she's my daughter."
"So that would imply that he still needs to travel here after, and break free from whatever she contained him in, correct?" He asked, ignoring my second statement.
"She also said I'm her father," I restated.
"Then we have nothing to worry about!" Tomb exclaimed, putting a skip in his stride. "If she's really that accurate, then at the rate we're going at we'll make it to the palace long before he finds us! And-"
We both stopped as we heard a twig break, about 20 feet from our spot in the woods. "Who's there?" I said, as typical of a thing to say as it is. I thought for sure Yaplap had found us.
"I could be asking you the same question," a voice replied, a sea blue stallion stepping out from behind a tree. His buttmark was of two hearts, and he wore a long goatee just as brown as his mane and tail. "Name's Cliff. And you two would be..?"
"Hello!" Tomb replied, waving a hoof merrily. I tried to do the same, and almost dropped my laser gear. "I am Professor Lee Tombstone! And this is my partner LaserPon3!" He waggled a hoof in my direction.
Rolling my eyes, I said "He isn't a professor, he's just a mad scientist. Emphasis on mad. Maybe not so much scientist."
Cliff looked back and forth between the two of us, his face telling me that he thought we were both nuts. "Yeeeeeees... And why exactly are you marching through my land? I don't typically get a lot of visitors."
"Well," Tomb started, "We are trying to get to the Water Palace, and judging from my map.." He pulled said map out of his coat pocket, looking it over. "We should be coming up on a ravine with a bridge, yes?"
Cliff noded to us. "It's only a little ways more up the hill, and past that is a straight and short shot to the palace. We're on the edge of their grounds right now. C'mon, I'll take you there." He waved a hoof, then began walking further into the woods. With a shrug we followed Cliff up just a stroll's way away, coming to the rickety rope bridge.
"This is the road less traveled to get to the palace," Cliff continued, stopping at the bridge. "If you had come the other way you would have gotten a royally bricked street, and a train station."
"Oh, would we have?" Tomb muttered just low enough to not be heard by our guide, looking tired from our hour hike.
We both started to cross as Cliff said a few parting words. "Tell the guards you're entertainers, they always let those ponies in!"
"We actually are, so we're good there!" I called back over my shoulder at him.
"AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!" Cliff's voice screamed, getting quieter as he went. We quickly looked back to see Yaplap with one hoof retracting, laughing maniacally.
"DIDYOUJUSTFUCKINGPUSHHIM?!" I blurted in shock, but without answering he launched ninja stars at the bridge nearest to him, slicing the ropes on one end. Evasively Tomb grabbed the side of the bridge and the flailing me with his two front hooves, forcing him to drop the map.
"ADBMGDCNJDDVJG!" Would be a good way to spell the sound I was making as I dangled off the edge of the ravine, held up only by a partial stranger while a crazed murderer had, of course, the ability to use throwing stars. He lobbed another one, hitting the top of the other rope. We were stranded on the last straw, quite literally.
"You two stay there so I can collect you're gear! That is, if you don't mind hanging around a bit longer!" Yaplap cackled, leaving us to head around the edge of the rift.
Tomb gripped my hoof tighter, yelling down at me. "SWING THE ROPE!"
"WHAT?!" I was feeling woozy, looking down into the foggy abyss.
Without repeating, Tomb started to go without my help, using momentum to propel himself forward and back. Catching on, I did the same. With yhe wind rushing through my mane we finally swung over the ledge, landing on it with a thump. We muttered in pain, turning to see the palace gates in front of us.