Chapter 3:
And Then There Were Two
I woke up early and fully awake, as was my custom when in an unfamiliar bed. Looking at my watch, which said 1:24, I had only slept for approximately six hours. Despite the early hour, I got up quickly to examine my surroundings. It was almost pitch black at first, but, as my eyes adjusted, the light from the large moon filled the area and illuminated my path.
The first objective of today was to make fire, and in the dark of the night I pulled some of the dried bark pieces from earlier and unsheathed my knife. I also found my sharpening block, and a few quick swipes along the short blade created enough sparks to start the fire.
Venturing down to the forest again I found some wool-like moss and more dried wood, and used half of it to keep the flames going. With the cave more illuminated, I did some exercises on the stone floor to wake myself up. I didn’t know what was up with my leg, but it seemed to be completely healed. I took off the splint and tested my weight, then jumped a few times. It was a strange occurrence, but I just shrugged it off as probably being related to my new powers. It was important to keep an open mind in a world that still made very little sense.
After getting a feel for my healed leg, I searched the small area near the back of the cave. I found nothing of interest, so I decided to go back to the fire and set up my next move. I needed answers, so I would have to find someone out there. If the city ahead was for these ponies, then I would have to get answers out of them, probably by force.
The sweater, which was a little ripped up but still wearable, kept me warm in the night as I exited the cave with a flaming branch. I stayed near the entrance, looking into the horizon. The forest in front of me led into plains, and further in, the small village that I first noticed after being captured the day before.
From my high vantage point I could also see what appeared to be a large castle construct hanging precariously from a rock face, on the mountains opposite my cave. That would have to wait, as there were many lights on around the city. I set out through the forest, which held numerous sights and noises, but none that caught my attention.
After making my way to the plains, without being mauled by any more hybrid animals, I put out my torch and approached the fence I had been tied to. The chains and ropes were still there, and while the former would get me caught if I held on to them, the latter was silent and had just as many uses. I took the rope and looked across the surrounding area, planning my course.
Directly to my left, near the forest threshold, was a small rustic home overtaken by a tree. The lack of disrepair told me that either someone still lived there and accommodated for the damage, or the tree was older than the house and it was simply constructed around the trunk. In front of me was a small copse of trees, and to the right appeared to be a large farm that swept across the further hills and grassland.
I looked to the left again, decided that a tree house would be easier to infiltrate than a farm, and made my way through the short hills and over a small river, opting to jump instead of taking the nearby bridge. There were lanterns on the main path, and while making sound was not an issue, being seen would be. I noticed a chicken coop and some low fences, which only served to confuse me about what the place was. It wasn’t connected to the farm, but had the means to support small livestock like pigs and chickens.
I slipped by the sleeping animals, and arrived at the tree house, which had lantern light coming from the further halls. It became apparent that somebody lived here, so I tried my best to mask the footsteps. Unfortunately, the creaky wood patio was unpredictable and betrayed my secrecy. Smoothly retreating around the side to a dirt path, I heard the door open and more light filled the area.
“Hello? Is anypony out there?” whispered the small voice. I recognized it as one of the pony creatures that captured me, and as it made its way down the steps and looked around, I saw that it was the yellow pegasus from earlier. I seemed to run into her a lot. Either way, this was my chance to get some answers. For example, what was up with it saying, “anypony”?
I waited for her to lose interest in the search, at which point she shrugged (how!?) and turned around. Darting silently across the dirt, I quickly returned to the porch until she stopped and flicked her ears, probably detecting my presence. I carefully walked behind her, taking out the rope, but my presence was revealed when I accidentally scuffed the ground, kicking a rock into one of her hooves. She slowly turned around, shrinking before my large, silhouetted form.
Looking at the wide, innocent eyes, I whispered, “Sorry,” and brought a closed fist down on the back of her head.
Catching the lantern before it fell to the ground, I carefully covered all evidence of my presence, before lifting the small, unconscious creature and returning to the cave. I hoped that no animals would approach me on my way back, because the small yellow and pink pegasus’ survival was quite possibly my last chance to gain any answers. If she died out there, and I was left injured, the others would very reasonably accuse me of the death and use their vastly superior powers against me. With this one alive, and in my possession, I could either use it as leverage to reach an agreement or find answers as to how I would return to my world.
Another uneventful trip through the forest later, I arrived at my cave with the fire almost dissipated. Before I attended to that, I needed to secure the still knocked-out pony to a large stone near the fire, via the rope I had acquired earlier. Luckily for me, the stone was ball-shaped and increased in size near the middle, nullifying the possibility of using her wings to escape.
I stirred up the fire again, and after laying the pegasus down in a pile of grass, I proceeded to eat a few apples I had found on her property before laying down in my own bed. It was two o’clock, and I was still slightly tired.
I woke up to the sound of something dragging behind me. The early morning sun was not out yet, but the fire was still going, casting deep shadows around the cave. I slipped into the darkness and observed my rising prisoner. She opened her eyes, yawned, and started to look around. After seeing the fire, she came to the realisation of what had happened, and looked around more quickly. Seeing the sunrise sky outside the cave, she ran towards it only to be stopped by the rope I had tied earlier. Starting to whimper and stutter, she tried to fly up, only to be stopped by the same, well placed restraint. Now without hope, she could only cry and occasionally call for help.
I decided to let this continue for a few minutes, until she finished crying and just sat by the fire, staring into it. I was also well prepared for that, as the rope was too short to be pulled over the fire, and she couldn’t reach any of the embers. I silently exited the shadows, slithering up near the fire just outside her vision. After the two previous run-ins with her, I picked up that she scared easily, so in order to get the best first impression I would have to take that into account.
"Hello." She closed her eyes and tried to back away from me, but was flanked by the wall and just scrunched up next to it.
"Please... dont hurt me! I didnt do anythi...." She became too quiet to hear after that, but I got the gist of what she meant.
"Contrary to popular belief, I am not dangerous." After hearing the reference, she opened her eyes in surprise, looking up at me. I was crouching, but I still towered over her shrunken form. She retreated even closer to the rock wall and tightly shut her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I.. I just.... I..." She squeaked out a few more sounds, but I finished her thought.
"I'm sure you didn’t mean it. I forgive you." Now she was looking at me with confusion, but I got the feeling I guessed right. She became more articulated after hearing that, but it didn’t last long.
"Who... I mean, ummm... w-what are, oh, of course, that is, if you don’t mind answering..." I heard another squeak that sounded like "sorry", so I knew I would have to try harder.
"All you need to know right now is that I need answers."
"Oh, ok, I’m just..... sorry..."
"I'm a human, to answer your question. I came here only one day ago, but I don’t know how or why, or what this place is. Do you remember the time when you first saw me in the forest?"
She nodded.
"That was only a few minutes after my arrival. I heard screaming and shouting, and my first reaction was to save whoever was in danger. As it turns out, that person was you." I pointed at her for emphasis. She seemed to understand, and trusted me a bit more.
“Now, what are you?” I asked.
“I’m a pegasus.” I hoped to get a better answer, but I guessed she was a pegasus.
“Do you know why the others attacked me, specifically the orange one, the cyan-rainbow one, and the purple one?”
“I think they saw you attacking me, and I, I mean… you… I…” I was losing her.
"Before the run in with the creature that was attacking you, I discovered that my voice was replaced with thunder and explosions. After defeating the creature with my voice, I tried to retrieve you from under the tree. Communication backfired, because of my voice being uncontrollable, and, as a result, your friends thought I was the one attacking you. I think you know the rest."
I had left out a key piece of information, but it was not the most appropriate time to mention that I had, with me, the same weapon that played a part in fighting a manticore. My explanation seemed to make her mind click and she looked up at me, with wide eyes. They looked off, somehow, as if the black pupils were actually endless holes. I shook myself away from their gaze as she started to speak.
"So... y-you just... fought a manticore... to save somepony you didn’t know?"
I nodded.
"After waking up in a place you knew nothing about?" She seemed to be getting a little excited, but I had no idea why.
"Yes."
"Thank you!" she jumped up and hugged me, nearly knocking me over. I didn’t like hugs, but there was sort of a give-and-take situation here.
"What do you mean?"
She looked up at me, and said with another confused look, "Nopony has ever defeated a manticore before!"
I looked at her with mirrored confusion and said, "I had never even seen a manticore before." Now she backed away from me, cautious of where I was going with this. I continued, "In fact, it’s common knowledge where I come from that manticores don’t exist."
"You must be far from.... Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to remind.... sorry...” She saw that I was saddened after thinking of my home.
"No, it's fine. I’m far from home, but I often go into the forests to the north. There’s been a recent problem, though.”
“You go into the forest on purpose? But…”
“Yeah, that’s the problem. I don’t remember these woods; I don’t even remember half the animals I saw in there. Plus the whole voice-of-power thing, I think I’m either dreaming or in a different world.”
“I don’t think this is a dream, I’m awake. I can see you.”
“You don’t need convincing, but I thought it wouldn’t be the first option, either. What’s wrong with that is this has never been done before, ever. The furthest anyone ever got, before now, was our moon.”
“Wow, you must be famous! Where do you come from?” She queried. I laughed, but the humour was lost on her.
“Well, I come from Kanata, Canada, and I don’t think I’m famous yet. Well get to that later though. What I want to know now is this: where am I now?”
She was deep in thought, probably contemplating on why I repeated the word “Canada” twice, but with different pronunciations, before she answered, “Oh! We’re in the land of Equestria, near the city of Ponyville, but, I-I don’t really know where I am now…” She began to show the initial fear, perfectly evident in her using of ‘I’ instead of ‘we’.
“Thanks, but I don’t really know where we are either. This cave is beyond the forest that borders your town, the same forest I woke up in.”
“That’s called the Everfree forest, and it’s dangerous, filled with all kinds of strange creatures…”
“Like manticores?”
She shied away even further, tugging at the rope around her waist. I decided now was the time to tell her.
“Do you know why you are here?”
She shook her head, “No…”
“I kidnapped you in the night.” She almost screamed when I said it, but brought her hooves to her mouth.
“I know you can never forgive me, but I thank you for giving me some answers. It really was my only choice, but that doesn’t begin to justify it. I have one last question for you.”
She was calmed slightly and looked up to me and, with a quiet voice, asked, “What is it?”
“Do you know any way for me to get out of here, back to my home?” I was almost pleading, and I didn’t do a good job of concealing it. She shook her head.
I let out a held breath as my guess was correct. She didn’t know what happened, so this captive was of no use to me.
I untied her rope.
She was originally very shocked, but quickly trotted towards the exit. I sat down closer to the fire, and started to put more wood in before being interrupted by hoof steps. I turned to the yellow and pink pegasus, who looked at me with slight concern before sitting down beside me.
“I forgive you.”
I backed away and looked straight into her eyes. I opened my mouth to ask her why before she continued, “You seem really nice, and I forgive you for doing what you did, especially since you intended to save me. It was all a big misunderstanding, I’m sorry.” She hugged me again, and I contemplated returning it, but I really wasn’t that kind of person.
“What’s your name?”
“Fluttershy.”
“You’re a good person, Fluttershy. I’m Ethan.”
“You’re a nice pony too, Ethan.”
We looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before laughing at the differences in dialect. I was becoming friends with this pegasus, after knowing her for less than a day, trying to kill her twice, and kidnapping her in the night. I looked back to her again and my eyes were drawn towards those eyes… I felt weaker, somehow. I drew myself away and looked at my watch, and saw that it was almost seven in the morning.
“You know, I don’t think anypony would have expected you to talk. I mean, you look like a forest creature.
“Yeah, well, don’t go spreading it around. The authorities will probably let me off easier if they think I can’t.” There were other reasons for that, but it was still a bad time.
“Why do you think they’re after you?”
“Because I stole a cookie, obviously.” I said with a sarcastic smile. She thought for a moment and giggled, but then looked below my eyes and stopped abruptly.
“What?”
“Oh, umm, I just noticed… something…”
“What?” I asked again, with an expectant tone.
“Um… you have… you look… nice.” She was a terrible liar, but I was a terrible interrogator, so I didn’t pursue the thought. I would find out eventually, probably.
I got up and put out the fire, and stepped towards the cave mouth, motioning for her to follow.
“Where are we going?”
“To the forest.” She began to protest, but I continued, “I have to show you something.” Content with the answer, we continued onwards, chatting about what was in the forest. I learned that she was extremely knowledgeable in the field, and after hearing names and descriptions I told her that the forests in Canada were much like this one, except larger and colder. She asked why, and I elaborated.
“Canada is an extremely large place, but most people live on the south borders, or on east and west shores. Forests cover most of the northern areas. It’s cold there for two reasons: one, it’s in the middle of winter right now, and two, Canada is so far north that some places never experience the warmth of summer.” She was extremely interested in what I had to say, even though her expression told me that she didn’t understand all of it.
“How cold does it get over there?” I told her the average was -22 Celsius, but she shook her head saying she didn’t know what a Celsius was.
“You know how cold it is when water freezes into ice and snow?” She understood that.
“It gets twice or three times as cold as that, every day.” That was true, but her overly sympathetic response told me she didn’t know I had a house. I wouldn’t correct her, I liked the attention. I still wasn’t much for hugs, but she liked giving them.
After a few more small discussions about plant and animal life, we arrived at the spot where I woke up only 24 hours ago. I told her about what I felt when I stepped back inside and she decided to give it a try. She shook her head and said there didn’t seem to be anything special about that place.
“Well, if there’s anybody that knows about something like that, it would be my friend Twilight Sparkle!”
“She wouldn’t, by any chance, be an all-purple unicorn, would she?”
“Actually, yes! That’s her! How’d you know?”
I groaned, “That’s the one that almost killed me. She attacked me with a glowing horn, and used some sort of teleportation on you before I ran off.”
“That doesn’t sound like her at all! You should meet her, I bet you would have a lot in common.”
“I’ll bet. Speaking of that, how are you around loud noises?”
“I dont really… wait, why?”
“Cover your ears.” She sat down and held her hoofs into her ears.
I took a deep breath, compressed it just like before, and released the blast at a nearby tree, sending the leaves flying. She looked up at the leaves before settling her gaze at me, and as I approached again she backed away slightly.
“Wha… what was that?”
“I don’t know. I discovered it after breaking out of this tree,” I said, patting the rotting trunk, “and used that blast to defeat the manticore. I’ve learned some more tricks, but I don’t think I should be shouting out in the open. The others might find me, and I don’t think they’re as trusting as you.”
“Well you won’t know until you meet them!”
I was distracted by noise in the distance. She noticed I was staring past her and followed her gaze. She turned back after seeing nothing, and asked about what I was looking at.
“I think I already know, actually. They aren’t.”
“Why not?” She asked, justifiably mixed with confusion and denial.
“They know where I am, and have some others with them. We don’t have much time. Do you trust me?”
“Yes, I do, but why-”
“Do not tell anyone about me. They can’t know that I can talk, that I have more powers, or even if I’m intelligent. I might die if they find out, but I trusted you to know. Please.” I was practically begging, yet again. She started to tear up, but quickly regained her stature.
“I promise. You can trust me, too.” I put my hand on her shoulder in gratitude, and returned to looking over her to the incoming convoy.
This time, when she turned to match my gaze, she saw it with me. At least two dozen white ponies, unicorns and pegasi, were charging in this direction. Near the back, in the rear of two carriages, there were two smaller ponies, one orange and one purple. Fluttershy would be unable to hear them, but with my abilities I learned of their intentions as they debated.
“I’m telling you, AJ, we need to bring it back!”
“Are ya kiddin’? Ya saw what’t did ta poor Fluttershy, an’ how it made all our voices? Ill bet’t has somethin’ ta do with Fluttershy goin’ missin’, no doubt ‘bout it!”
“That’s no reason to banish it to the moon, Applejack. Besides, I think it’s intelligent. If we capture it, we could learn a lot about what it is, where it came from, how it did the….”
Fluttershy tugged on my pant leg and pointed to the oncoming vehicles. Snapping out of that eavesdropping session, I quickly pushed her and told her to get away, before running in the opposite direction. I ran up to a large hill for a better vantage point, breathing in deeply. Before the impending fight, I grabbed my knife and threw it towards the trees behind me. It stuck into a trunk with a tell-tale ‘THUMP’. I began to run towards the forest, but there were large, armoured pegasi trying to flank me. I turned back, seeing my only chance at escape, and exhaled.
“BOOM!” The first carriage flipped over, momentarily stopping the ponies pulling it and knocking out those within. I tensed up for another blast, aiming at the second carriage, the one that contained the orange and purple ones, but missed high as I was tackled by one of the armoured pegasi. I easily kicked the small animal off of me, but quickly lost the satisfaction when six more flew overhead. I knew I had to act fast to avoid capture, but that hope was dying quickly.
After blasting a few pegasi out of the air, the concussive force rendering them unconscious, I turned to the next pack of regular ponies that were charging me. I knew I couldn’t disable them all in time, but once again, in the heat of battle I thought of another crazy idea. I aimed down and inhaled, charging a blast inside my lungs.
“BOOM!” The blast hitting the ground created a wide, deep crater, shooting out tufts of grass and dirt in front of the oncoming pack. Some of them fell over, clutching their eyes, while those near the edges continued, unfazed. I blasted the one to the right, and rolled to dodge the two lefties before they collided into each other. I ran towards the forest, but was tackled head on by two more ponies, while several more surrounded me. I couldn’t shake them off, and sucked in another blast, ready to fire, when everything stopped.
A purple glow surrounded my body, tugging at my arms and compressing my lungs. It was a struggle to move, but the assault forces that was caught in the glow were lifted away and set down, completely unharmed. As the unfrozen soldiers backed away, I was rearranged to face the purple unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. Her horn was glowing with a purple glow again, like when she teleported Fluttershy out of my arms.
It was almost as if she was laughing at me, at my simple sound manipulations, when she was virtually omnipotent, capable of using full telekinesis.
She looked at me and said something to the orange pony, whom I remember being called ‘Applejack’, but it was just a muffled noise that I couldn’t make out, even with my enhanced hearing.
I prepared for my last ditch effort to get out of there: the ultrasonic frequency that I had used to escape from them before. The unicorn, however, sensed whatever energy I was using and constricted me further. I started to suffocate, my chest being compressed more and more, and everything went black.