John sighed, winded from his explanation of all the events that had brought him up to this point. He was sitting on a small wooden stool, barely large enough to fit him. Across from him sat Zecora, a zebra as he had found out. She was staring at him with one eyebrow raised, sorting through the information he fed her.
"Your tale is very interesting,
but you have yet to continue questing."
John looked around, and realized that there were no clocks to speak of in the tree household. Once he had settled down on his stool, he realized that it had a homely feel. The masks had stopped unnerving him a long time ago, and the warm fire relaxed his tired muscles.
He glanced out one of the small round window, and was surprised to see the hints of a downs light creeping above the horizon. Had he really spent that long telling his tales? It had seemed to go by in one big blur, moving too fast for him to remember any details of how it went.
Looking around him once again, John realized all of his friends were passed out on the floor. All of them had their eyes closed, peaceful expressions dominating their faces. He would go so far as to say they looked adorable. A sudden wave of tiredness washed over him, drowsiness overcoming all other senses.
He could feel himself begin to slump over in his small, little stool. He was hardly aware of the sensation of a warm, thick blanket being draped over his form. the warm embrace of slumber gripped him as he sank into its comfortable depths, enjoying the sense of relaxation in the room.
* * * * *
A beam of light sneaked its way from the noon sun, in through the window of the tree house, and onto the closed eye of John Abraham. His eyelids fluttered open as he tried to cover them with his left hand. When he felt nothing, the memories of everything crashed down upon him.
All thoughts of sleep now gone from his mind, he simply looked at the cealing as he thought about his life as it was at the moment. He had been thrown into another world, with the task of saving many worlds on his shoulders. It was almost to much to bear. Yet, he pulled through, and had survived so far.
His ears twitched when he heard the sounds of movement all around him. The dull echo of hooves on wood came from all sides. Apparently everyone else had already woken up. John sat up, giving a groan of delight as he stretched his back, a loud crack emanating from his bones.
he looked at everything around him. He could see Twilight holding plates, bearing many waffles on top of them with her magic grasp. Applejack was setting out syrup while Rainbow Dash put out eating utensils like forks and knives. Fluttershy was looking out a window, staring at a large bird on the other side. Rarity was nowhere to be seen.
As she set the plates of waffles down on the small, wooden table, Twilight let out a greeting to John. "Good morning, mister sleepy-head. How long did you spend talking to Zecora anyways?"
John blinked a few times, before letting out a small yawn. "I think we talked until sunrise."
Twilight stared at him, before letting out a short giggle. "No wonder you're so tired! Even I think that's too long, and I study late all the time!"
John froze for a second. She had just said that she stayed up late studying. His wife, Diane, had done the same thing. He had often found her slumped over in her favorite sofa, drooling on some textbook or other. His mind began to piece together similarities between Twilight and his deceased wife. It was phenomenal how slimier they were to each other.
Twilight put on a slightly concerned look, before waving a hoof in front of his face. John fell over backwards in his stool, crashing to the ground with a loud 'Bang!', eliciting another giggle from Twilight. "Just checking if you were spacing out again!"
John sighed, staring up at the ceiling. He hated remembering every day of his life that his wife had died, that she was no longer able to comfort his woes. And now, every time he looked at Twilight, he would remember it all, down to the last terrible detail that his mind had kept locked inside.
Then the scent of warm waffles drenched in delicious syrup reached his nose, and saliva instantly began filling his mouth. He swallowed, before getting to his feet, and walking over to the small table where the delicious-smelling breakfast had been placed.
He sat himself down, glancing at the ponies next to him. Fluttershy was on his left, Rainbow Dash on his right. he realized quickly that with only one hand, it would be a tough task to enjoy the meal in front of him. Lively chatter arose almost as soon as they all started eating, and many questions about Earth before the apocalypse were asked.
* * * * *
Once the meal was finished, The group of ponies and one human left Zecora's tree abode, breathing in the morning air. The smell of exotic flowers wafted through the air and into their nostrils, bringing small smiles to the group's faces. A gentle mist left much of the forest in a white haze, obscuring their view to roughly fifty feet.
Once again, John placed the palm of his right hand on his eye, the horrible crunch causing a wince to come to his face. the dull red eye on the back of his hand opened, and once again searched in quick, shifty motions for the nearest tear in the barrier between worlds.
It locked on to a spot, back in the direction of ponyville, its pupil dilating, before the eye closed once again, resuming its still state of being. John tore his palm from his face, managing to remain on his feet this time. He breathed in deep, letting his nerves return to a calm state.
Fluttershy walked up to John, and tapped him as high up as she could with her hoof. "So, um... How far away is it?" she said, managing to barely stutter at all.
John wished he knew the answer to that question. "I don't actually know how far away it is. I just know it's that way." He lifted a finger, pointing towards the red smudge on the horizon that only he could see. Apparently satisfied with the answer, Fluttershy nodded her head, hiding her actual disappointment.
They set out, walking through the the underbrush of the forest. Small side conversations sprung up between various ponies, and John made no effort to intervene. He simply placed one foot in front of the other, walking in a machine like fashion. They had basically just started their journey, and he had lost an arm. He couldn't think about this issue enough.
If things kept going at this pace, would they even last? Would Rainbow Dash lose a wing? twilight her horn? Any number of things could go wrong, yet they moved forward, unwilling to step down from their task. Their chances of success seemed to slim with every second that John lingered on his thoughts, as if victory was now impossible.
Eventually, they did make it back to Ponyville. They stopped, letting everypony tend to their various needs, checking on a pet here, making sure a sibling had everything under control there. And through it all, John simply stood waiting at the chosen meeting place, the side of the town opposite the Everfree forest.
John was just standing there, looking at the landscape beyond on his vantage point on top of a small hill. Hills sprawled out for a long distance, rolling hills of green. But on the edge of the horizon, the terrain suddenly grew rocky and rough, giving way to mountains, filled with the entrances to small caverns.
He looked at all this natural beauty, and only sadness filled his mind and heart. His world had destroyed this beauty, murdered it with weapons of mass destruction. Humanity had leveled entire cities and mountains in bickering, and had brought ruin to the natural world that had lived on the brink of destruction.
The view was one he could not pull from the depths of his memories. John was content to simply sit there and enjoy the view, time flying by in an instant. Before he knew it, everypony else was already there, tapping their hooves impatiently. "So... we're going that way?" he asked the whole group.
"Well, ya'll are the guide, right?" Applejack stated, and John immediately felt silly for asking that question. Of course he was the guide, with the whole magic powers thing going for him. He began trekking off into the hills, all of his friends following after him. Finally, a feeling of belonging began to creep up on him, though he didn't realize it.
* * * * *
It had been many days since they had set out on their second journey. They had long since passed the peaceful plains of hills, the rocky mountains, and even a small desert. Now, they were stuck in a jungle, clouds of bugs mercilessly swarming them every chance they got, humid air causing sweat to break their brow.
This resulted in the trademark whining from Rarity. No one's ears were in good condition only a few minutes into the jungle, and it was beginning to form tensions in the air.
"With all due reh-spect, sugarcube, shut 'yur pie hole!" Applejack was on her last nerve, and it was not feeling to good at the moment. Finally, Rarity's constant steam of high-pitched whining stopped, if only for a moment. The relief on everyone's ears was immediate, and a collective sigh escaped their lips.
The sun soon began its decent into the horizon, and they began to set up camp. Tents were put up, and a fire was started. They all got out packs of food, and settled in as darkness began to surround them in the swamp.
Eventually, when they were all getting into their tents, John in his own separate tent, he heard the zipper on his tent go down. "You mind?" It was Twilight, standing in the doorway, looking at him with a sheepish grin. John had no reseaon to say no, so she stepped into the tent.
"What do you think will be on the other side of the next portal?" she asked, sitting down next to him. He still wore his cloak and all his cloths, preferring the familiar comfort they brought to the blankets in their back-packs.
"I don't know what to expect. There could be anything on the other side, friendly or out to kill us. We just have to wait and see, won't we?" he said in an almost monotone voice. he himself had thought this many times as they hiked through woods and mountains, occupying his thoughts through the boredom. There was really no way to predict what they would find.
"I hope that we go somewhere without anything, so we don't have to worry about dealing with anything, good or bad." John sighed, looking out the open tent flap at the stars. He felt a small wind, chilly against the little exposed skin he had, and he closed the tent flap.
"What does it feel like... Without your arm...?" Twilight almost whispered, fearing that she would strike some nerve with her inquiry. John only looked straight at her, before he spoke slowly, carefully choosing his words. "It feels like it should hurt, that there should be feeling there. Iinstead, the'res just this... Hollow feeling, a cold bit of air that should be my arm." Twilight digested this information, and nodded.
They sat there for awhile, thinking silently on what they were to face. They didn't even know if they might find the portal tomorrow, or in a week's time. The feeling of being in the dark, of not knowing brought down a weigh ton all of their shoulders, and the warmth of the tent help drive away their fear. They could worry in the morning.
In the end, Twilight never went back to her tent. Both John and her simply passed out at some point, sprawled out inside the small confines of the tent. Already in the depths of sleep, neither was aware that the now slept leaning against each other, side to side in the tent. The warmth of the other served better than any of the blankets, and they both slept peacefully.
* * * * *
Rainbow Dash woke to the sound of birds chirping. It was a familiar sound to her, her flying sessions often bringing her close to the birds themselves. It was comforting to her, since her back had other thoughts about sleeping on the ground. She stretched, and slowly walked out of her tent.
It was a surprisingly chilly morning, and she shivered in the tiny breeze that filtered through the trees. She immediatly regretted getting out of her wram blanket, but shook her head clear. She was the toughest and coolest of ponies, she could handle a little cold weather! Hay, she controlled some of the weather.
Deciding to tough it out, she looked at where they had made last night's fire. All that remained were tiny ashes, not even a hint of heat or light present in them. She would have to tell John to go out and find more firewood, so they could cook breakfast.
She steeped over the patches of mud that littered the campsite they had chosen. It was the only flat chunk of land that wasn't one huge pit of mud, and they had taken what they could get. rarity had even used her magic to 'tidy up' the place, meaning she cleared out any rocks or bushes, made certain the groud was perfectly flat, and dug a little pit for their fire.
Rainbow Dash trotted up to John's tent, and un-zipped the flap, her request already in the tip of her tongue. It stuck in her throat when she saw Twilight laying next to him. That in and of itself wouldn't have been a problem, but there was no space between them. John was slumped over, still sitting up, and Twilight had her head on his knee, her side pressed to his leg.
It almost made Rainbow Dash queasy. Neither of them looked at all uncomfortable with the close contact, but that wasn't what really bothered Rainbow Dash. Something she had managed to keep locked up inside of her, always hiding her real feelings. The closets call had been when she was demolishing Applejack's barn, and Twilight had told her she didn't need to hide her feelings from her.
She neede some fresh air. She pulled her head from the tent, and took a deep breathy of the chilly morning air. It helped calm her confused mond somewhat, and she shook her head. Come on, Rainbow! Your the coolest of the cool! Stop getting flustered over something so small. She went off into the trees to gather the firewood herself, no longer having the confidence to ask John, though she would never say so herself.
Nopony else had been awake, so she assumed that she had somehow been the early-bird of the group. The concept of Rainbow Dash, champion napper, waking up before everyone else was ridiculous enough that it brought a smile to her lips. She snapped small branches off of any trees she passed, and soon had a big enough load.
She walked back towards camp, trying her best to not think about what she saw. It was simply so... weird that it had trouble computing in her brain, and it gave her a headache. Her mental complaints were interrupted by the sound of a twig snapping, and she sharply turned around, her wings stretching out.
Rainbow Dash didn't see anything, but she peered into the forest loom with an intense stare. Pinkie, if your trying to prank me, I swear i'll... She never finished that thought. The tree in front of her began to shimmer, a haze on its bark. Something began getting out of the tree, stepping into the swamp.
To put it lightly, rainbow Dash was scared. The thing looked reptilian, with large mud brown scales covering its body. It had a large alligator like head on its wide shoulders, with long needle teeth lining its mouth. Cold amber eyes stared at Rainbow Dash from sunken in sockets, and large, well muscled arms bore large claws.
It slowly began to advance on Rainbow Dash, its long alligator tail dragging behind it. She didn't even think, just acted. Her wings pumped, and she shot into the air. The sticks she had athered were no longer important, and the chilly air wasn't either. Just getting away from that... thing.
She flew as fast as she could in the direction of camp. The tips of the tents could be seen, and Rainbow Dash flew all the faster. Wind whipped at her, but it was nothing compared to the speeds she went at trying to do Sonic Rain-booms. She reached the camp quickly, and her stomach dropped when she didn't see anypony awake.
"MONSTER!" she yelled, putting as much volume as her tired lungs could manage. Almost instantly, ponies got out of their tents, looking frightened and very much awake. Applejack trotted over to her, looking around frantically. "Wheres th' monster, Dash?"
"I was out getting firewood, and this reptile thing walked out of a tree, and-"
Applejack shushed her with a hoof, laughing a little. "Walked out of a tree? Ah' aint' ever heard something more story-like in all mah' years!"
Rainbow Dash gave her the best glare she could. "Applejack, we fought a demented goddess who wanted to bring eternal night. That was a story."
Applejack realized that she was being silly. "Sorry, sugarcube. Either way, where is this monster?"
Rainbow turned to point at where she had come from, and found out that she didn't need to point at all. Standing there, just inside the clearing of their camp, was the lizard monster. It licked its lips, and began stepping towards them, brandishing a large stick that most certainly was not there last time Rainbow Dash checked.
* * * * *
A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this one out, guys! I had a week-long bought with writers block, though I think its gone for now. In other news, A small plastic SHIP was seen sink-ING in my tub yesterday.