So...now what, genius?
Rumble trotted along the beaten path of the forest, willingly crossing the maw of trees like a bug entering a fly-trap. He couldn't stay on the path forever, though. It left him exposed to any surrounding predators, but they would have to reveal themselves to attack, hopefully giving him enough warning to fly out of reach. It was a stalemate at best, and that wasn't what he came for.
But where would he go? He had one place in mind: the castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. What could be better than an abandoned castle in the middle of nowhere filled to the brim with treasures and relics from centuries past? In theory, it was perfect. In reality, it had been done before. Also, the rumor around town was that Princess Twilight and her friends were renovating it. Blazing his way down a trail already blazed only to snatch an item that might be noticed missing didn't sound like a good idea.
Rumble looked up to the sky. The narrow alley between the trees that he was following left him a clear path upwards for now. The canopy was closing, however. If he wanted to take a look from the air he needed to do it sooner than later. He dismissed the thought, thinking he could get to the sky whenever he wanted. All Rumble would have to do was dodge a few branches, fly through some leaves, and he would be gone. But what fun would that be?
The path curved left ahead of him. Rumble decided to keep going straight, but his view of the forest ahead was obstructed by a curtain of vines and shrubs. He grinned with anticipation. There was only one thing to do.
With one quick motion, Rumble pulled out his sword and swung it in a low arc, cutting from right to left. A thousand little snaps marked his weapon's progress. The small twigs in the bush in front of him couldn't stand up to his thicker wooden blade. Again and again he swung until the shrub was cut down, and he could walk under the dangling vines overhead.
The cool shade welcomed him. Rumble's skin tingled at the sensation. It felt so inviting, the shade, but he knew he was more vulnerable than ever now. The electricity of the moment made him smile. He was doing it! It was weird to feel so alive while standing still, but he was doing it! When he stepped into the shade, he stepped into his own personal legend. There were things in this forest that would literally eat him alive, and Rumble was going to match himself against them.
But, even though he was one little colt who willingly came alone into a forest filled with more things that could kill him than he could count with no protection but a club of a sword, he wasn't stupid.
Rumble flew up and pulled himself onto a tree branch. He put his sword back in its place and balanced on the branch, walking towards the end. Rumble jumped over to another branch on another tree. He stumbled and quickly flapped his wings once to right himself. His eyes were already scanning ahead, looking for the next branch. As long as he could keep this up, he could keep his wings fresh for an emergency.
He stopped and looked down after his next jump, keeping an eye out for any animals. Rumble knew he wouldn't stand a chance against the brutes, the apex predators. The manticores, the ursas, the cragadiles, he would just be a pesky fly to them. If he kept off the forest floor, and out of their way, he would be OK. They wouldn't waste their time and energy on him.
Rumble was more concerned with the monsters the next level down. Running into a pack of timberwolves would suck. They might be the fastest and smartest things in the whole forest. A cockatrice would also be bad news. Turning to stone was easy enough to avoid, just don’t look at them, but that left the obvious problem of not seeing the monster right next to you. There were others, but thankfully, like the big boys, none of them could follow him into the air. Maybe a cockatrice could, but Rumble was sure he could outfly one. They didn’t sound very aerodynamic.
His biggest fear, by far, was the flying monkeys. One, they could fly, obviously. Two, they were monkeys, and monkeys just creeped him out. Third, they had no weaknesses that he knew of. Of course, as Rumble paused to take a sip from his canteen, he couldn’t remember ever reading about them at all. He probably never would have heard about them if...Thunderlane...didn’t mention them when he first moved to Ponyville. Rumble facehoofed and sat down. Scratch one fear.
Overall, this place wasn’t so bad. Rumble leaned against the trunk of his tree and took another mouthful of water, planning his next move. The colors of the forest were no longer so vibrant. Everything seemed a blend of gray and green and brown, except for a few rare spots of sunshine piercing the leaves overhead.
The forest itself seemed to be changing. The trees ahead of him were getting taller. Thick, gray walls of moss were starting to decorate their branches, blocking his view through them. It wasn't just the vegetation that he noticed, either. The longer Rumble sat, the more sounds his ears picked up. Insects buzzed through the air. Scurrying footsteps of smaller animals pounded the brush below. Leaves were rustling over his head.
Finally!
Rumble jumped to his feet and turned, right hoof resting on the hilt of his sword. What beast was coming for him? It had to be something small being this high in the tree, but quick and agile, like him. Was it some swift bird of prey? Maybe an ugly buzzard coming to defend his perch? The rustling grew louder, and Rumble waited.
A pair of blue birds flew away, chirping happily.
Blue birds lived in the Everfree Forest? Rumble was helpless to stop his laughter. Maybe he could bring Scootaloo bird watching. Why was every pony so afraid of this place? To hear the old mares talk, you'd think there was nothing but toothy death three steps in. With a sigh, Rumble turned and took a running start to jump to the next tree. He just had to go deeper.
Rumble stretched out and grabbed the next branch. A shrill, head-splitting shriek immediately shut his brain down. The sound bounced within his skull. His entire body reverberated under the continuous assault. Rumble went numb, limply grabbing at his ears to try and stop the flow of pain. After what felt like minutes, the terrible scream gradually faded away, and for that he was grateful.
Until he hit the ground. The wooden sword bit deeply into the length of his back. Rumble would have screamed himself if the impact didn't drive the air out of his body. He arched his back before rolling onto his side, legs pulled against his chest. Every breath was a burning labor, and Rumble held back the tears in his eyes.
What...in Equestria...was that?!
It didn't matter. He was on the ground. Noise meant attention. He wasn't ready for any more attention. Get off the ground!
In spite of his dizziness, Rumble forced himself up. His head spun, sending him stumbling into the tree trunk. Again, the horrifying scream bellowed down on him. Rumble fell back down, clutching his head, trying to keep the sound out. He rolled dumbly on the ground. Away, away, he just had to get away!
His back hit another tree trunk. Rumble instinctively curled up with his head buried in his chest and under his forelegs. Silence. Tentatively, his head emerged from its hiding place. The forest was completely silent. In a panic, Rumble scraped the bark behind him with his hoof. He heard the sound, so he wasn’t deaf.
What did he do? Rumble got to his feet more slowly this time, studying the tree in front of him. Did...the tree itself scream like that? The sound only came after he touched it. He never heard anything like this before, either that horrible sound, or anything that could possibly make it. This was a mystery, and mysteries were just asking to be solved.
This could be it! He might have found something new, something no pony had seen before! Rumble took several cautious steps forward. There was no reaction. It didn’t make any sense; Rumble was just inches away from the blasted thing. Did the tree only react to touch? And if that was the case, did it matter what touched it? Rumble's right hoof rose to the hilt over his shoulder. Here goes nothing.
The dull thud of wood striking wood rang out, and was immediately interrupted by the expected screech. Rumble grit his teeth and endured, looking up to investigate. A bulbous gray shape fell out of the tree and plummeted to the ground below. What the-?!
Rumble jumped forward, pressing himself against the tree. The gray mass hit the ground behind him, and he bucked his hind legs as hard as he could, knocking it away. A fourth scream split his skull when his kick connected. It was alive, whatever it was. Rumble turned to face this beast he found. His determined gaze met the infuriated eyes of the creature before him. All six of them.
Two sets of three solid, cold blue eyes were set diagonally, the bottom pair closest together. A pair of mandibles right under them snapped together from the sides. Eight long legs covered in gray hairs spread out to support the biggest spider Rumble had ever seen. The segmented body was at least as big as he was, and each leg was easily that length again.
The sword nearly fell out of his trembling hooves. His wings refused his command to spread. Every nerve and muscle in his body was paralyzed by the sight of the monstrosity glaring at him. For the love of all that was holy, was this thing really what-
The spider shrieked and leaped, spreading out all eight legs to ensnare him. Rumble dove forward, rolling over his shoulder and under the monster. When he got to his feet and looked back, the spider stood on the tree trunk. The head tilted back, giving Rumble a clear view of the top pair of blue eyes. Oh, no.
The beast sprang backwards, twisting in midair to come down on top of Rumble. The colt tripped over his hooves trying to make a hasty retreat. Rumble fell. A scream of triumph blasted down on him. At the last moment, he thrust his sword upwards to meet his enemy. His blade sunk deep into the soft underbelly. The scream died with a blast of hot air in Rumbles face, the crushing mandibles inches away from his snout.
Rumble held firm, feeling the spider struggle weakly. Instead of the hated screaming, Rumble only heard a sharp hiss of an inhale. He threw himself to the side, pulling his forelegs along to throw the spider off of his sword. The eight legged freak fell over to its back and wrapped its legs to protect its body. Rumble seized the advantage, raining down blows on the winded monster.
Three strokes smashed into the creature's head. His sword suddenly stopped cold on the downswing of a fourth. One long claw partially hidden in gray hair hooked around the blade. Rumble tried to pull it free, but the spider was too strong. He did nothing but waste time until the spider could recover.
A swipe from one of its powerful legs sent him flying. Rumble flapped his wings and managed to right himself before his body could crush his thermos or canteen. His sword clattered to halt on his left. Rumble dove for it and stood up, ready for the spider's next charge.
But it didn't move. The spider stood where it just got up itself and screamed again. It spread the front four legs out wide, one to the left, one to the right, and two overhead. Another scream followed as the back four legs carried it side-to-side.
Rumble took the invitation and charged. He wings propelled him, and he took aim at the leg on the left. If he could break the legs, the monster wouldn't be able to move or attack. He brought the sword overhead and zeroed in on a narrow joint. Rumble swung down, only to be blocked by the two overhead legs. The two claws wrapped around his hooves.
Not again! Rumble kicked in the air until the other two legs slammed into his chest. The strength of the push sent him flying back the way he came. He hit the ground hard, flipping backwards and skidding to a halt on his stomach. Dazed, Rumble stood up before he realized his sword was missing. The spider still held it, and with a flick of its legs, the sword was sent spinning through the air. Rumble managed to get his hooves in front of his face before it smashed into his muzzle. The spider's throw was still strong enough to knock him backwards again.
Rumble stayed down this time, watching the spider carefully. To his surprise, the monster chose not to attack him. It backed up slowly to its tree and began to climb, never taking its eyes off of Rumble. The legs moved one at a time all the way up the trunk until the massive creature slowly disappeared in the gray moss. Rumble let out a heavy sigh and panted for breath. Every muscle burned as the adrenaline of the fight wore off.
He just got his flank kicked. There was no nice way to put it. There was no way to avoid it. He had no idea what he was getting into, and he got his tail handed to him on a platter.
The only silver lining was that nothing else came along during the fight. The giants in the forest would have a field day with him right now. Although, with that thing around, he couldn't blame them for not showing up. It would still be a good idea to get off the ground.
In a minute...
Again, Rumble struggled to stand. The spider was completely hidden from his sight. Was that what all the moss was for? The forest was blanketed with the stuff now. Rumble looked up and took a slow step towards another tree. With a menacing hiss, six blue eyes emerged from the gray strands hanging overhead. This one probably saw the whole scuffle Rumble had with the other one.
Rumble stepped back, and the eyes returned behind their curtain. He tried to weigh his options. For the moment, he was relatively safe. These things seemed content to leave him alone if he left them alone, and that worked just fine for him now. He could push further into the forest, hoping that the spiders really were keeping the big predators away. If he was wrong about that, he seriously doubted the spiders would let him get to the sky through the upper branches easily. The other choice was to return to the path and try his luck in another section of the forest.
What did it matter where he was in the forest? Better to stay on the path he knew than one that could be worse, right? He really didn't have a clear plan or goal in mind anyway. The first seed of doubt began to sprout in Rumble's heart at that realization. He crushed it as best as he could. He made his choice. Second guessing himself led him here in the first place. This was one plan he would see through to the end.
Rumble checked his gear, sheathed his sword, and pushed on.