//------------------------------// // Leaving // Story: The Other Route // by Silent Strider //------------------------------// With a sigh Big Mac looked back. He had just reached the fork in the road and his sister still hadn’t returned. He shook his head; perhaps he should go back, talk some sense into her… Nope. While Big Mac was sure Apple Bloom was ready to handle the house and chores alone, he also knew Applejack had to reach that conclusion on her own. Besides, he thought, if I waste too much time I will never reach that village. He took a look at his map and glanced around. To the right the path continued to climb over hills of ever-increasing height, soon leading to a rocky plateau devoid of anything green. It would continue to climb for a while, sometimes steeply; it was a route that required raw strength and some of his more unique talents. To the left the ground descended again, ending in a great mass of deep green, a sea of sorrowful trees. Straining his eyes Big Mac imagined the tiny pinpricks of light that could be seen at night, a beautiful sight that disguised how dangerous be the swamp underneath all that green could be. It was a route that favored his lighter and more agile sister. With a final look back, and another glance at the Sun already past the zenith, Big Mac took the right path, his muscles straining against the increasingly barren incline. In front of him, the low .grassy hills slowly made way for a high plateau, a nascent cliff to his left. The road had been slowly, but steadily, climbing for the last hour. At his left the cliff had turned into a sheer drop, the swamp visible at the bottom as a mass of green with occasional brown spots; to his right the plateau had given way to a high stone wall, some loose boulders resting at its base from time to time. Some distance ahead the path curved to the left, a series of caves dotting the exposed cliff The path was still wide, which suited Big Mac just fine; he didn’t expect company, not after last time, but nevertheless he tensed his muscles and adjusted the cart’s harness so he could let it go at a moment’s notice. Slowing down, Big Mac progressed as silently as he could, ears perked as he looked around. After a few minutes of near silence he started to smile; perhaps this time he could avoid them. His face turned into a frown as wordless singing reached his ears, the voice as sweet as a honeyed gala. But it was too distant; if the creatures were hunting him they had given themselves away too early. But if they were not hunting him… Ignoring the chaffing of the loose harness, Big Mac broke into a gallop, his eyes madly scanning the path ahead. The cacophony of the cart drowned out the song, bringing increased clarity to his thoughts. Slowing to a fast canter, Big Mac looked around for places where an attacker could hide. The song soon died; either the hunt was done or the creatures, alerted to his presence, wanted to remain unseen. He was looking behind a boulder when the same honeyed voice from before spoke. “Want to have some fun, handsome?” A comely mare’s head was rising from behind a large stone ahead, a provocative smile on her face. Her fur was golden, shining in the sun; her eyes were blue as the unclouded sky; her mane wild like Scootaloo’s, brown like the bark of an apple tree. Focus, thought Big Mac. The creature got up, wings wide spread, her body now visible. Big Mac glanced at where the creature’s cutie mark should be. Her hindquarters were blank and feathered; where a pony tail should be, a bird’s feathered tail could be seen. Big Mac’s eyes narrowed menacingly. “How’s the wing, Stormy?” Stormy winced, flapping her right wing slowly. “Let me guess, you want safe passage? We don’t hurt you, you don’t hurt us? Done. Now be gone.” Big Mac slowly circled the stone, eyes on the creature. She moved slowly in turn, always facing him, her frown deepening. As the creature’s feet - bird feet - were finally visible, Big Mac saw what he was searching for; the creature’s prey, a white unicorn mare — thankfully still breathing — could be seen behind the creature’s tail, the mare’s green eyes open but unseeing. “Nnope.” The creature screeched, her face contorted into a grimace. “She is ours! You can’t claim her. She was driven out by her own. Leave!” Big Mac slipped out of the cart’s harness and balanced a stone on his hoof. “Nnope.” He tossed up the stone and, with a spin, bucked it towards the creature. It exploded just besides the creature’s open wing, showering her with dust. The creature took to the air, her eyes fixing on him like a falcon’s. “You can’t have her! I will lure her to the cliff!” She started singing the same wordless tune as before, her mouth set in a menacing grin, wings flapping towards the cliff; the unicorn stirred. Big Mac felt his head swimming. Following the song seemed just… right. His eyes had lost their edge when he finally opened his mouth. “Pom pom pom para para ram pom pom para ram.” Finding the music in him, Big Mac could think straight again. There was a kernel of truth in the creature’s words. She could lure the unicorn with her song; it was those creature’s most dangerous weapon. Singing could shield a pony — Granny Smith made sure to teach him this before he took this route for the first time — but, with anything less than a full band, it was impossible to fully shield others unless they sang along. He could knock the unicorn cold… Nope. I can’t fight carrying her. The unicorn’s only hope was to sing, and before she could sing Big Mac had to pull the mare out of her trance. Wincing, Big Mac lifted a hoof and struck her face, while his mind raced to find a tune that could work. Something short, catchy, that anypony could get going after hearing just once… The mare’s head turned with the strength of his strike. Big Mac’s eyes glittered as he saw the unicorn’s eyes brighten slightly, her hoof touching her reddening face, but her expression was still vacant. She was not completely free of the creature’s siren call, but perhaps she was conscious enough to obey a single command… Bringing his muzzle close to the unicorn’s ears, Big Mac interrupted his own song for a brief moment to yell “Sing,” and conjured the catchiest tune he knew. “Tu tu turu, tu tu tu turu, tu tu turu, tu turu tu tu” He repeated the tune two, three times, his ears deflating with each passing second, all the while blocking the unicorn’s advance with his own body. It wasn’t working; the unicorn was still forcing his way forward with unseeing eyes. Big Mac was lifting a trembling hoof to knock her out when her lips finally started moving, faintly mimicking his own loud singing. The creature noticed it too, her face assuming a bird-like scowl as she let go a primal screech. “Noooo!” The brief pause in the creature’s song broke the spell holding the mare. She blinked, looking around, Her eyes went wide as she looked behind the red stallion. Big Mac yelled “Don’t stop,” following her gaze as he started singing again. The creature was coming at him, her claws glittering in the sun. Big Mac turned around, his weight on his forelegs while he kept glaring at the creature, ready to strike with his powerful hind legs at a moment’s notice. The creature interrupted her dive and hesitated. “You’ll pay for this! You hear me? You’ll pay!” Flapping her wings to gain altitude, the creature slowly flew backwards until she was over the drop again, and after a few moments resumed her siren song. Keeping an eye on the creature, Big Mac led the unicorn to his cart. He looked between the cart and the creature angrily flying nearby; he hated to make others do his job, but it would be safer to be ready to fend off any further attacks. Wordlessly he pointed to the cart; the unicorn nodded, putting on the harness. As the two ponies walked up the road, Big Mac switched to the other half of the melody. “Na naaa, na na na na na, na na na …”