//------------------------------// // Bonus - The Leucrota's Secrets // Story: Solar Sails: Marooned In Equestria // by Bluecho //------------------------------// The Leucrota's Secrets (Bonus) “Learn their words well, lad,” said the Crocotta, his words disconnected. They were pulled from multiple sources, linked together to form “new words” as he would often say. The Leucrota turned back to the distance, where a gathering of ponies played. Unaware of the predators watching them. The Leucrota turned back to its sire, motioning with its legs towards the prey. “Hunt?” it managed. “No,” returned the Crocotta simply. “Too many. Dangerous.” The father turned back to his crossbreed child. “Know you're hungry. Wait. They'll go apart some time.” He turned back to watching the pastel ponies again. “Get alone. Lead one away. Safe way. Live longer.” The Leucrota wanted to protest, to whine more, to go into the ponies, but decided to yield. Father knew best. Father was a big dog-like beast. Knew the words well. The child's stomach protested. Father kept them safe, but because of that they went long periods between food. The ponies would get angry if too many went missing at once. Would form mobs. The slow way was safe. But not satisfying. The Leucrota was often hungry. The Leucrota wished there were more dumb animals in the forest. But none could be found. They all ran away, Crocotta Father said. Still, this was home. Crocotta Father hunted here. Pony Mother used to be here. The Leucrota child missed Mother. Missed her, missed visits to the cave where Father kept her. She never liked Father, but she liked the Leucrota. And the Leucrota loved Mother. Missed Mother. … The Leucrota's first hunt didn't go well. Sure, the pony went down. The Leucrota looked forward to the meal it would be. But the pony hadn't gone down without a fight. The Leucrota's side was bleeding. Crocotta Father had stood back. The son needed to do it alone, because the Crocotta wouldn't be around forever. Wouldn't likely even be around for much longer. As he saw his child's first wound, the Father saw this as another opportunity. “Come. I'll show you where good plants are” They traveled around to a particular outcropping of stones. Weeds grew amongst the grass. The Crocotta pointed out one in particular. “Good plant. Heal cut.” He tore a leaf off, winced at the taste. Bitter. All the more reason not to get hurt. He helped the child kneed the juices into his cut. Eventually the bleeding stemmed. The Leucrota nuzzled the Crocotta. Crocotta Father is smart. He knows everything. All the words, all the plants. The Leucrota loved his Father. … As it munched on a good meal – first meal in a long time – the Leucrota adult thought of Father and Mother. Missed Father and Mother. Someone came to the forest, long time before, took Father's eyes. Why take Father's shiny eyes? Ponies were strange. Was it a pony that took Father's eyes? The Leucrota was never sure. It walked like a pony, but some things were different. He wished Father had been there to tell him. Father would have known. Crocotta Father knew everything, all the words, all the whys, all the creatures. Crocotta Father knew everything. The Leucrota missed Crocotta Father. … Another pony was in Mother's cave. The Leucrota remembered the cave from long ago, remembered the inside. Remembered what Crocotta Father did when a pony was inside. He slide the big rock in front so the ponies were trapped. Leave them there for days. Let them out, then pretend to leave. The ponies would go out after a while, and Crocotta Father would get them. Crocotta Father was so smart. Father knew everything. The Leucrota followed Father's example. Father always knew best. No way out of the cave. Father said so. Just wished it wasn't so wet. Cave was best place to hide from rain. Couldn't go in cave, had to wait. Rain was cold. … It wasn't a pony. The Leucrota had seen ponies, many ponies. Even the one who took Father's eyes, who only looked sort of like a pony. This one wasn't a pony. What it was was smart. Nothing could get out of the cave, yet this one did. Did that mean this one was Nothing? Is Nothing eatable? The Leucrota was confused. He wished Father were there. Father would know the name of the Nothing. Know if it could be eaten. Nothing talked like ponies, though. Stood on two legs, but talked like ponies. And it was fast. The Leucrota thought rabbits were fast, that nothing was faster. Guess Nothing really was faster than rabbits. The Leucrota wished he could move his neck around. Move it like Crocotta Father, or like ponies, or like the Nothing. Wished the Nothing would scare more. Nothing was scared at first, but then fought anyway. Too fast, too smart, too not afraid. Nothing should be that fearless. The Leucrota guessed that Nothing really was that fearless. Or maybe it just knew fear better. Was Fear a friend of Nothing? Or was Nothing the child of Fear, just like The Leucrota was the child of Crocotta? Maybe Father would have known. He knew all the words, learned them from watching ponies. He would know about Fear. Fear and Nothing. He wished Father was here to explain things again. The Leucrota missed Father. … The Leucrota was dying. It wasn't fair. Get a pony on its own, it's easy to kill. Father always said get them alone, they'll go down easy. Even if they fight back, draw blood, they still go down. Ponies don't draw enough blood. Plants handle it. Alone ponies always go down. But it wasn't a pony. It was Nothing. Nothing was scary. Things were going dark. Darker than the night. Nothing was darker than the night, Father said so. Why did the Nothing make it so dark? And cold. Would the Nothing take the Leucrota's eyes, like the thing that might have been a pony took Father's? He didn't know. Father would know. He knew everything. Maybe even Mother would know. The Leucrota missed Father and Mother. He missed them so much. He missed them...